Well guys, here it comes, the big reunion! Again, so sorry for the wait, I got busy AND started the Mortal Instruments series which I can't put down. This is a longer chapter, so hopefully this makes up for the wait, plus the last, shorter chapter!
I was counting down the minutes until I could use the cannon to bring her home. I couldn't risk using the TARDIS to travel forward, just in case I missed the time. Because despite what I used to tell Rose, I knew I often got the time wrong.
So, to pass the time, I tinkered around the console, hoping, no, praying that she would be able to follow the instructions in the letter without encountering any trouble. Rose was pretty jeopardy-friendly, after all.
A sudden, terrible thought occurred to me as I fiddled with the chameleon circuit, trying to see if I could fix it. (Not that I would even if I could) Would Rose even want to come? Was she mad at me because I left her? Would she give me a chance to explain? The idea that she would ignore the letter out of anger terrified me.
Me, a 900 year old Time Lord, terrified by the thought of having to face a little pink and yellow human. Who would have thought?
I pushed away these negative thoughts and looked at the clock on the side of the console. Five minutes until she should arrive. In that moment the saying 'stomach full of butterflies' felt like a hideous understatement. More like 'stomach full of killer bees'.
Quickly, I ran over to the jump seat and grabbed the dimension cannon, then ran out the TARDIS doors. The crack was still there, thankfully. To be perfectly honest, I really don't know what I would've done had it closed back up.
Inching forward cautiously, I peered through the crack. All I could see was darkness. I sighed. I was just going to have to hope that Rose had received the letter and actually followed the instructions inside.
I checked the time. Two minutes before I fired the cannon. Two minutes before I would finally be reunited with my beautiful Rose.
I felt my heartbeats speed up and I felt like I was going to explode from sheer excitement. To calm myself down I counted each second. It felt as if I was counting down a ticking time bomb.
Using my superior Time Lord time sense, I checked the time once more. It was time.
Taking a deep breath, I raised the dimension cannon and aimed at the crack and fired.
There was a loud sucking noise, and the pressure all around me increased until I felt my ears pop. An explosion of what looked like… smoke mixed with silver glitter? What?
But I didn't have any more time to contemplate because as the silvery-grey cloud dispersed a girl seemed to materialize in the middle. No, not a girl, but a woman. Rose.
My lungs seemed unable to draw in enough air. I felt frozen. All I could do was stand there and stare, my mouth open comically like a character from a cartoon.
After a moment I came back to reality enough that I could study her expression. What I saw there both startled and terrified me.
There wasn't the much expected anger there. There wasn't sadness. No, there was disappointment. Her eyes were full of it. Every line of her face radiated her dismay, and it was aimed at me.
This was so much worse than what I had imagined. I had expected anger, and a fierce, whiplash-inducing Tyler Slap. Then, I had imagined she would pull me down by my lapels and-
No. The disappointment in her eyes felt like a dagger in my heart. I desperately wanted to run to her, but her facial expression told me that if I did, she might make a run for it. So I did the only thing I could do.
"Rose." I whispered. The sheer emotion in my voice startled me. And based on Rose's face, it startled her too. There was so much pain, sadness, longing and love expressed in that one beautiful word that I felt my barriers break down and a tear trickled down my cheek, and it was like a dam had broken. Tears ran freely down my face and all I could do was look at her. Finally I gathered up the courage to speak
"I did it for you. I didn't want you to face the bitterness of immortality. I don't age like you do. You would grow old, yet I would stay the same. I didn't want to do that to you, and I knew that watching you age and eventually die would destroy me. I did it for you, Rose. All for you."
She let out a quiet gasp and ran to me, and her arms flew around my neck. Automatically, mine came up around her waist and I spun her around, a smile breaking through on my face.
"I love you," she whispered into my ear.
"Rose Tyler, I love you too,"
And I knew that the immediate future would be difficult, and explanations would be owed. But that didn't matter. Everything would be alright, because Rose and I were together again. And we were ready to run.
~PLEASE READ~
Well this concludes the story! I didn't think it would be this short, but it worked out I decided to do a series of shorter stories after this, following Rose and the Doctor throughout their adventures.
The sequel is up, called Where You Go, I Will Follow
Thanks to all my fantastic readers!
Disclaimer
~United-Whovians