Chapter 7

A/N: Ok, so I guess I should apologise for taking so long to update. I have been suffering from some serious writer's block for this chapter, for some reason or other it just wouldn't come to me...so I took a bit of a break from it, by writing other bits and pieces, getting the challenges out of the way, and now I can just sit down and focus on it without getting distracted (gotta keep those plot bunnies at bay).

I thought it might be nice to give a HUMONGOUS thank you to all of my fantastic readers, reviewers, favourite-ers and alert-ers... You have no idea how warm and fuzzy it makes me feel :D

Also, congratulations to MayFairy for figuring out the metacrisis reference in the prophecy...that will be referred to later on for anyone who doesn't quite get it.

Disclaimer: It makes me so depressed that I don't own Doctor Who... :'(

Last time...

"Well...I don't think she could have taken it much worse..." the Doctor was clearly upset at his confrontation with Rose. "But I think she was slightly mollified by the fact that she is the friend, despite not being the lover..."

"But she's not, is she?"

"She isn't?"

"Doctor...I've been thinking about it...what about Donna?"

At her name, the Doctor's face became a mask of pure shock. "Shit. Donna fits it better than Rose...the prophecy is almost fulfilled...we're running out of time...and Rose...she's not in the prophecy, but why? After all we've been through, why isn't she a part of my destiny?"

"I don't know, but we'll sort it out, won't we?"

He nodded vigorously. "Of course we will. I'm not losing you, Lucie."

.oOo.

Chapter Seven

The Doctor and I spent a long time in my bedroom, trying to figure out how we could get out of this mess. And what a mess it was…with the prophecy almost fulfilled, and time running out, we had to work out how to prevent the rest of the prophecy being fulfilled.

The Doctor had his "concentrating" face on, and was mentally ticking things off on his fingers. "ok," he said, "what we need to do is break it down. What exactly did it say?"

I shuddered. I could remember the exact words. I doubted I would ever forget them. I took a deep breath and began to recite:

"Doctor...healer of past, present and future...soon your own destiny will destroy you. A friend, a foe and a lover...destroyed by your own mistakes...The friend will stick by you, never let you down. A bond closer than brothers will join you. But you will be forced to part as a result of too much trust. Nothing can overcome that destiny. The foe will follow you, and will be destroyed thrice by you before dying for good. And the lover, the most dangerous of all, you will not be able to resist. Every time you touch, the desire will rip you apart...but the pursuit of this lover will destroy both you and her. Doctor...the last of the Time Lords...Fate is waiting on your threshold, and if you do not invite it in, the fire will consume you...There is one way to change Fate. Only those who are great believers in Fate know the secret."

The Doctor didn't look particularly pleased to hear those words again either, especially now knowing the significance of them. "Right," he began. "Let's do this step by step."

Just as he was about to take out a notebook and pen to write our ideas down, there was a light tap at the door. I looked at the Doctor, alarmed. In a TARDIS with only three people living in it, it was fairly obvious as to who was at the door. The Doctor looked at me, as confused as I was.

"Come in," I called, a tad nervously. The door opened slowly and Rose peeked her head around it.

"Can I...?" She began uncertainly.

I shrugged. "I guess...unless you're coming in to scream at me, in which case I can tell you that I really don't have the time."

Rose shook her head sheepishly. "No...I guess I ought to apologise for my behaviour earlier. I guess it's not entirely your fault..." she glanced at the Doctor. "Some things just aren't meant to be, eh?" she said with a half smile, sadly.

I couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her. After all, she had been under the impression that her love for the Doctor had been returned, only to find that he never really thought of her in that way. And even now, she still loved him, knowing that nothing would ever become of it. I could almost empathise with her, after all I thought my love for the Doctor was unrequited for a long time. But at the same time, I couldn't quite shift the way she had looked at me out of my mind. It had been truly venomous.

I gently smiled at her. "I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you, but I think we have to move on from there..." I said, looking to the Doctor for support. He nodded emphatically, no doubt still trying to work out how he could break even more bad news to Rose.

"Yeah, of course," he said. "Besides, we could do with some help in working out the rest of the prophecy."

Rose seemed happy to have been accepted back into the team. However, I could see that she still hadn't quite got everything off her chest.

"Doctor..." she began, "give us a second? Alone?"

The Doctor was clearly unsure about leaving me alone with her. He looked at me, concerned. I nodded. "Doctor, it's fine. Give us ten minutes, yeah?"

He gently touched my temple with his forefinger, and suddenly I heard his voice in my mind. "I'll be right outside if you need me." I nodded again. The Doctor stood up and left, with unease in his eyes. I watched him close the door gently.

Rose turned to face me, and I could clearly see the sadness in her eyes. she took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Listen, Lucie...I know that my actions earlier were quite unforgiveable."

I shook my head. "Understandable, and not unforgiveable. Not unforgettable, but I've already forgiven you."

She smiled. "Well, thanks. You're more forgiving than I think I could ever be..."

I had to say something. "I'm sorry, Rose..."

She shook her head dismissively. "It doesn't matter. I know now that the Doctor and I will never be more than just friends. We have fun together, but I don't complete him. He loves you, and chose you. I get that. I can't- I can't force him to love me." She took a deep breath. "Just...be good to him for me, 'kay? Look after him, love him, and keep him safe."

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat as I thought about the sacrifice that Rose was making. "Always," I whispered.

"Thanks. Because you know...if you hurt him, I'll have to kill you." She said, flashing a grin, and we both laughed lightly.

I was glad that we had managed to reach an understanding of sorts.

"Right," she said breezily. "Let's get the Doctor in here, and let's figure out this mess we've got ourselves into."

A/N: Ok, so this was more of a filler chapter, but I really wanted to get things sorted with Rose...

I would love feedback on this chapter more than ever, because I really don't know if I like how this chapter turned out...let me know either way what you think. Give me criticism, I'm a big girl, I can take it :)

Thank you! XOXO