Some of you might've already seen the new DW 50th trailer that's circulating. It's gorgeous... but it's also fanmade. Just so you know.
A FEW THINGS. PLEASE READ:
*To the nonny who said: "One problem! Susie's dead but I don't care!"
Uh, no. At that point, Susie was not dead. The Doctor says this is "late summer" and if you paid attention, you'd have noticed Jack didn't say Gwen's name anywhere in there. This takes place before the beginning of the Torchwood TV series.
**Friendly reminder to everyone: I don't accept collab requests. This decision is indefinite.
***I had to yell at a user the other day about this (you know who you are and you're lucky I'm not saying your username) and I felt like I needed to make sure everyone is aware of this. Don't ever contact another user doing a season 3 rewrite and tell them to just stop because WSITW is better. Telling that to another user, no matter what your intentions may have been, is mean and completely out of line. I do not want to get into an altercation over something like this and if I ever find out it happened, I will be having words with the person responsible because. You may love WSITW, you may think it's better than all the others, but don't ever tell other writers to just stop because you don't think they're good enough. That just makes you a bully.
THE. END.
Now please enjoy the chapter ^_^
Something pinged the back of her mind. It hadn't come from the TARDIS, not exactly. It was more of a reaction to something the TARDIS had sensed. Like the nausea from the Carrionite's magic or the tingling when a telepathic being other than the Doctor tried to communicate with the TARDIS.
Rose stopped walking, cocking her head to the side curiously. While reacting with the TARDIS was nothing new, that pinging thing was. It wasn't pain, it didn't carry any sense of urgency, and a quick look around didn't reveal anything out of the ordinary. As if that ever helped her figure out what these things mean. She shook her head. She was about to call the Docotr away from that shop window when she felt it.
The TARDIS was afraid. Oh so very, afraid. It triggered an adrenaline rush like she'd never felt before. She gasped loudly and the bag she held slipped from her fingers. Dimly, she was aware of Martha standing right in front of Rose, demanding to know what was wrong. Then the Doctor was there and he was asking, too.
But the TARDIS was showing her a series of images. A glowing green ship streaking through the sky, an overhead view of Cardiff, her face, the Doctor's, and Martha's; then Martha and the Doctor racing in to the TARDIS and a laser firing over their heads. "Get down!" the Doctor shouted and "These creatures, they're…they're telepathic parasites. When they're in a familial unit of four like the group after us, they're called a 'Family of Blood.'"
They'd found them.
She blinked, looking at her love and her friend, and she was so afraid, and they found us, and they were open out here and exposed, and they could come at any minute. So she did the only thing that made sense. She grabbed their hands and ran.
They didn't get far before something exploded.
The Doctor had known seconds before the shop exploded what would happen. Maybe the TARDIS had warned him as well. Because when the shop exploded she was pressed the wall with Martha and the Doctor's body was curled around them protectively. When the shaking stopped the Doctor lifted his head and shook the broken glass from his hair. The shop they had been in not two minutes ago had been reduced to a smoking heap of rubble. The air stank with the stench of smoke, the stench of burning flesh, and something like ozone—the sure sign of a laser blast.
"What's happening?" Martha cried.
"It's them," Rose gasped, finally finding her voice. "The Family."
"But we lost them!"
"I guess not," the Doctor growled. "Our escape attempt was a long shot to begin with. They must have locked onto the TARDIS itself." He stepped away from the wall and grabbed their hands. "Come on!"
They ran for their lives through the crowds of screaming and panicking humans. The Doctor kept his hands locked around theirs so they wouldn't be separated even as people shoved past them. Sirens wailed in the distance and police officers raced towards the destruction.
Rose's heart thrummed in her chest and the TARDIS sang in her head. An image of the building they'd just run past exploding flared in her mind. Five seconds later it actually happened. Everyone in the vicinity went flying from the force of the explosion. Rose screamed as her hand slipped from the Doctor's.
Pain exploded in her side as she collided with the ground. She rolled a few times, finally stopping on her back. She gasped for air, her ears full of nothing but ringing for a few seconds before the garbled screams filtered in. Above her the sun shined bright and happy. She lay there, gasping in pain and surprise, until she registered the Doctor shouting at her. His face appeared above her, twisted in fear, and he pulled her to her feet.
He pulled her forward and she caught a glimpse of Martha's dark skin on his other side.
Another building exploded behind them and they were knocked to their knees. Rose whimpered in pain but the Doctor didn't even give her a chance to gather her wits before he was hauling her up. He pulled Martha up next and Rose winced when she saw the wet redness seeping through her friend's white dress. The Doctor looked them up and down once then started pulling them along.
Finding her voice, Rose shouted, "We have to help!"
"We can't!"
"People are dying!"
"I know!"
Rose gritted her teeth, slammed on the brakes, and jerked her hand free of the Doctor's. He whirled around, letting go of Martha, and marched towards her. "Come on!" he snapped.
She folded her arms. "NO! People are dying, Doctor! We can't just leave!"
"Yes we can and we are." When she didn't move, he seized her by her upper arms. "Don't you understand, Rose? They're after us! If you want to help them then we need to get into the vortex. They should follow us."
"And if they don't?"
"Rose, we can't face them outright. If we stay and hide they'll possess people and sniff us out and they'll kill everyone they have to until they do! We have to go!"
She reached up and grabbed his hand. "Okay."
The Doctor nodded, held his other hand out to Martha, and the three of them started running again. Another explosion knocked them down but this time Rose pushed herself up immediately and bolted. Her body's natural adrenaline combined with the energy buzz from the TARDIS made her feel like she was flying. She didn't realize she'd let go of the Doctor's hand until they reached the Plass and then immediately locked her fingers around his.
Another explosion rang out behind them as Rose shoved her key into the lock. The moment the door was open he thrust them both inside. He raced past them and immediately started to stop the absorbing process. He had the TARDIS release a burst of artron energy to gain the Family's attention before throwing the switch to send them into the vortex. A moment later the screen registered the ship entering the vortex behind them and he smiled darkly.
"They're following us," he reported. He glanced up at them briefly before looking back at the screen. Then what he'd seen registered and his head snapped up.
Their dresses were ragged and their skins were covered in abrasions and lacerations. Martha's dress had blood on it and he wasn't sure all of it was hers. There was also a cut above her eye that was bleeding profusely that she didn't seem to notice. Rose had an ugly bruise forming on her arm and her eyes were fading back to their normal brown. Plus on top of all that they were covered there was dust and debris from head to toe.
His fingers tightened on the console and he looked down. He needed to keep ahead of them while he took care of his companions. If they were going to try and shake the Family off again then he needed their help. The Old Girl had several autopilot modes, some activated automatically during different types of emergencies, others he had to manually activate. He racked his brain for one that would be useful at the moment.
Oh. There was one. He'd designed it two bodies ago in the early stages of the Time War. Since some of their foes were able to chase them through the vortex he'd come up with a setting that told the TARDIS to flee within the vortex in any direction she needed to avoid being compromised in the event he was unable to pilot himself. As an extra precaution, he'd programmed it to activate automatically if he lost consciousness while on the run. He'd never had a reason to use it during the War and afterwards removing autopilot modes wasn't high on his list of priorities.
Now if he could just remember the entry code for it.
"You two go to the infirmary, I'll be right there. Martha, you need to apply compression to that cut above your eye."
Martha reached up and fingered the cut. She pulled her hand away and stared at the blood on her fingertips. "Oh."
She swayed slightly.
The Doctor dug around in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to Rose. "She's losing a lot of blood. Hold that on firmly. We don't want her passing out."
Rose did as he ordered and wrapped her other arm around Martha's shoulders. "Come on, Dr. Jones."
He watched them go. When they were out of sight he turned back to the console. "Think, think, think," he muttered, hitting his head furiously. It would've been something simple. Something he could easily remember but few others would guess.
"Oh," he murmured. Jumping over to the keyboard, he typed in three letters. In Gallifreyan that particular combination of letters was a suffix commonly used to describe actions that occurred one's fifth regeneration.
R-U-N
The TARDIS hummed around him and the ship trembled as she prepared to follow never before used programming. He pulled the screen around and both watched and felt the ship accelerate. Millions of years forward, then billions back, a hundred forward, two million back. She raced through the vortex like a fish through the sea, completely in her element. The Family were still tracking her, there was no way to prevent it, but there was no chance they'd catch her.
"That's it, Old Girl!" he shouted. "Keep it up for as long as you can!"
When he got to the infirmary, Martha was sitting on the examination table while Rose tended to her wounds. She'd already cleaned the cut on her forehead and was working on the bad scrapes on her knees. She didn't seem to notice or even care about the state she herself was in. He shucked his coat, tossing it over a chair, and joined her by the table. He picked up a cotton ball, dipping it in the disinfectant, and started to deal with the abrasions on her arm.
"Did we get away?" Martha croaked as he brushed the cotton across the cut on her hand.
"Not exactly," he said. "Right now the TARDIS is leading them around in circles."
"Are we going to do the jumping thing again?"
"That's the plan, yes. But I can't do it alone." He set it down then went to get the dermal regenerator and set it to 'human.'
Rose, meanwhile, was in deep thought. She knew her silence hadn't escaped the Doctor's notice but she couldn't bring herself to care. She moved mechanically, hopping onto the table and cleaning her own wounds as the Doctor helped Martha with the regenerator. The medicine stung and she knew she deserved the pain.
All those people. How many were injured or killed in the explosions? They'd been shopping in the first building mere minutes before it had exploded. And it had been crowded, too, with men, women, and children alike. There'd been a man buying a present for his daughter. One of the women had been pregnant. There were three children that had been laughing loudly and admiring the sparkly jewelry. They all would've still been in there when it went up. And how many people had been in the other shops? Or just outside of them but caught in the explosions anyway?
The sting of the medicine suddenly become unbearably potent, the smell of the drying blood too strong, and the lights too bright. Her stomach did backflips and the cotton fell from her fingers. She didn't realize she was running until she was already out of the room. The Doctor might've called after her. She might have cared.
She ran without direction, letting the TARDIS rearrange itself around her into an endless maze until her already sore muscles were screaming, her wounds stung, and her chest heaved. Then the first door she opened lead to her room. Her dress was ripped and dirty and stained with drying blood, some of it hers, some of it Martha's. She yanked it up and over her head, tossed it to the side, and then collapsed on her bed. Pulling her legs up to her chest, she pressed her face into her knees and cried.
That was how the Doctor found her a few minutes later. He wrapped her pink blanket around her shoulders and held her. He whispered comfortingly into her ear while his hands stroked her arms and back. Her sobbing increased in volume before she gradually allowed his gestures to soothe her and her body stopped shuddering.
Cardiff had proved they couldn't run from the Family. When the Doctor said they could follow them right across the universe she hadn't realized it meant they would. Some people would do anything to gain eternity, whether it meant making a bunch of Horcruxes or chasing a Time Lord through time. And they wouldn't ever stop until they had him or they were dead. Nowhere they landed would be safe until then. There was nothing to prevent another massacre.
And he'd warned her, dammit, but she hadn't cared. Stupid, selfish her. Her desires were not more important than the world. She'd forgotten and all those people had died for it.
"Doctor?" she mumbled.
"Yes?"
"How did they track us today?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but my theory is they emerged near the TARDIS's location then tracked my location through my scent. Actually…I wouldn't be surprised if they have both your scents now, too."
"And could you disguise our scents?"
"Yours, yes," he said. "It'd be very simple if you were among humans."
"But not yours?"
He shook his head. "No. Not indefinitely. There is something I can do to make myself smell human; it's bit like ventriloquism but with the nose and not the mouth. But that would only work for a few minutes at best. For you two I can rig something that will cause your natural scent to be distorted by those around you. The same way you could blend in with a crowd of blondes."
"Why wouldn't that work for you?" she asked.
"Because I don't smell human, Rose. If I was hiding among my people then, yes, it would work. Although," he added, wrinkling his nose, "considering they're after me because I'm a Time Lord, I don't think hiding in a group of Time Lords would be very helpful even if I could."
She swallowed. "But that Chameleon Arch. If it made you human, would they be able to track your location even if they landed?"
"No."
Rose closed her eyes and exhaled shakily before twisting in his grip and pulling his face down to hers. He was surprised at first but then he was kissing her sweetly and stroking her cheek with one hand, giving silent reassurances that he was there, that it was going to be okay, that they could get through this without that silly machine, but that wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want a gentle lie. They'd allowed themselves to believe they were safe, forgetting the ferocity of the drive to survive, and now it was blowing up in their faces. Things weren't going to be okay and she was going to lose him.
So she pressed against him, sliding her hands into his hair, and tugged gently. He responded with a low sound in his throat and she decided she wanted to hear it again. When she nipped at his lip he seemed to understand what she wanted. His hand slipped lower, pulling her closer, and he deepened the kiss.
When she had to stop for breath he kept right on, peppering her face with kisses then continuing down her throat. She shivered, scraping her fingers across his scalp, and he made that sound again. She filed that away for later.
His lips returned to her mouth and the hand that had previously been on her back came up to cup her cheek. Without anything to hold it in place, the blanket fell from her shoulders. Startled by the sudden chill, she arched into him but he didn't seem to notice, drawing her lower lip into his mouth. But then one of his hands slipped down to her waist again and he realized what happened and he pulled away.
Their foreheads pressed together as they both struggled to catch their breath. He reached behind her and pulled the blanket around her again. She almost shouldered him off. Considering she was about to go for an indefinite amount of time without him, she didn't give a damn about her modesty. In her opinion they were both wearing too many layers. But his eyes never left hers as he tucked the blanket around her and something in them pleaded with her not to push. That now wasn't the time for more.
Well, now seemed like the perfect time, thank you very much. But she didn't know how long the TARDIS could run from the Family and still have enough in her to work the Chameleon Arch. There hadn't been enough time to completely refuel, after all. She wasn't sure how it worked but rewriting an entire biology didn't sound like an easy task.
So she took a deep breath and swallowed. "Do it."
"What?" he whispered, confused.
"The Chameleon Arch."
"Rose—" he started to protest and reached up to touch her cheek. She jerked away from him.
"How many people died today, Doctor?" she demanded. "Forty? Fifty? More 'en that? We can run but if they can track the TARDIS then they'll just keep catchin' up. How many more people can we let die? You…you have to do it."
He was silent for a long minute. "I thought you didn't want to see someone in my body."
"I don't. God, you have no idea how much I don't, but that's why those people died today."
"Don't do that," he ordered. "Don't you blame yourself for this. Please, Rose." He tilted her face up and his eyes searched hers. "Are you sure you want me to do this?"
"We don't really have a choice here."
The Doctor sighed. "Alright then. I'll do it."
Tears welled in her eyes and he brushed them away with his thumb before they could really fall. "It'll be okay," he murmured. "It's not forever. Remember, I told you they don't live very long, and if they're pursuing me this viciously then it can only mean that the senior members are running out of time in their natural lifespans Three months should be long enough. That's all. Just three months."
She nodded. "What's going to happen to you?"
"Well..." he took a deep breath. "I've never done this before so I can only tell you what I've heard from other Time Lords or read. The Arch has four functions all linked together. First it establishes a link between my mind and a fob watch—I'll show it to you later—so as it's rewriting my biology it can slowly transfer my consciousness into the watch. They say it's like being asleep. As my consciousness is transferred my basic human persona is created and around that the TARDIS finds me a place in history to fit the persona. Once she does that the finer details are developed. When it's over I'll be unconscious for a few minutes as everything settles and gets adjusted. After that I'll wake up and walk out of the TARDIS. I won't even see you. And you mustn't touch me, speak to me, or make any sort of contact after I wake up or you'll snap me out of it. Just let me leave. I'll come to on my own when I reach a certain distance from the TARDIS."
She nodded again. "Alright. And what about us?"
"The TARDIS can't find a place for you two, I'm afraid. Although—" his eyes twinkled with faint amusement "—I wouldn't be surprised if she chooses somewhere that accommodates you as well. If not, well, I should have enough residual awareness to let you and Martha in."
The possible scenarios raced through her mind. What if the TARDIS made the human man believe they were dating or married? Her stomach rolled at the thought of having to pretend to be in love with the human who looked like the Doctor. Oh, God, what if she actually did fall in love with him? She'd have to choose at the end.
Please, please, please, she begged the TARDIS. Don't make me go through that.
The distress on her face did not escape his notice. He slid his arms around her again, pulled her close, and rubbed her back. She tucked her head under his chin and pressed her face into his chest, breathing in deeply. They really should move. The sooner he changed the sooner he could comeback. But would be three months before she could have this again and wasn't quite ready to leave his arms.
"Rose, will you do me a favor? Keep the watch with you," he implored. "I… They say I won't really be aware but I think I'll feel better knowing that I'm with you."
"I'll keep you safe," she promised and kissed his chest.
He waited outside her closet as she pulled on a t-shirt and denim capris. When she emerged he had a pair of socks and her trainers ready and waiting. She smiled at him and he sat beside her as she slipped both on. He brushed a bit of hair away from her neck so he could nuzzle it and press a soft kiss just below her ear.
They sat together for a few more minutes just holding each other. He kissed her one final time, slow and tender and heartbreaking and nowhere near enough.
They walked hand in hand back to the infirmary to finish cleaning and healing her wounds. They were surprised to see Martha there as well, dressed in street clothes once more.
She looked up when they entered. "What happened?" she asked.
"Sorry if I worried you," Rose apologized. "I just…" she swallowed.
Martha smiled gently. Once again was struck by the kindness of their friend and her patience. Everything she'd done for them, everything she'd done to help them, and all the times she'd saved them. And now Rose was going to have to ask her for something else, something that might be painful to her, but would undoubtedly be agonizing to Rose. She wasn't strong enough to do it but maybe Martha was.
Of course she was. Martha could save the world on her own if she had to.
Martha motioned for Rose to hop up on the table. She started cleaning Rose's wounds while the Doctor explained what they were going to do. She didn't speak except to ask him to clarify things while silently noting the misery written across every inch of Rose's face. When he was done he asked them to finish up in here and meet him in the console room. As soon as she was sure he was out of earshot, Martha set down the salve and squeezed Rose's hands.
"Hey."
Rose looked up. "I don't want to do this."
"I figured as much. Why are you letting him?"
"I told him to do it. It's…we have to. You saw what happened today. Even if we shake them now they'll find us later. We can't let that happen again." she released a shuddering sigh. "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
She squeezed her hands again. "Well, you won't be alone. No matter where we end up, I've got your back."
Rose smiled. "Good, because I need a huge, huge favor. I need you to keep an eye on his human self."
"What do you mean?"
"Stay close to him. Make sure nothing happens to him; that he stays out of trouble."
Martha's eyes narrowed. "And where will you be?"
"Around, but—but I—I can't…" she swallowed and shuddered. "I can't watch a stranger parading around in his body. I'll keep the watch safe, you keep the body safe."
Martha stared at her for a long moment then picked up the dermal regenerator and turned it on. She ran it slowly up Rose's arm, lingering over the wounded areas. Under the blue light the broken skin started to knit back together and continued when the light moved on.
"We could end up anywhere in Earth's history. We have no idea what we're getting into and if it were anyone else I'd say no. But as long as I don't have to be a slave or a prostitute to keep near him, then yes. I'll babysit."
Rose smiled. "Thank you, Martha."
After they were finished and Martha took the second half of the medicine to help her body replenish the blood it'd lost quicker than normal, they walked down to the console room together. The Doctor was finishing up something on the console when they walked in.
He turned to face them without his usual enthusiasm and held up a pocket watch. "This is it."
The Doctor held out the watch and they leaned in for a closer look. It was covered in intricate lines and circles that Rose recognized as Gallifreyan. "I'll be inside here. Opening the watch will release my consciousness and I'll return to my body no matter how far apart we are. Plus, the moment you open the watch my scent will escape and they'll be drawn to us like H'varqs to Goot berries. So don't open the watch until its time and if for some reason you have to, no more than a few seconds."
"Okay," said Martha.
"Rose?"
She nodded.
"And these—" he pulled two seemingly ordinary silver bracelets from his pocket "—are your olfactory deceivers. Wear these on your wrists, ankles, with your TARDIS keys, I don't care, just keep these on you at all times. The moment you remove them you're scent will uncloak and I wouldn't be surprised if they have your scents by now."
They both slipped them onto their wrists.
The Doctor flipped a switch on the console and from above they heard something sliding down. A bizarre helmet-like contraption descended from amongst the throng of wires, tubes, and doohickeys high above the console room. It looked like something straight from a mad scientist's lab in a B movie. The mere sight of it filled the three of them with a sense of foreboding.
"The Chameleon Arch."
Martha was not impressed. "That thing? That's what all the fuss is about?"
"Yep."
"That thing can rewrite your entire biology and suck out your consciousness?"
"It's just another feature of the TARDIS." He circled the Arch the way an animal would a sleeping predator. He glanced from Martha to Rose once more before approaching it. He inserted the fob watch into a slot and locked it into place. He held onto it for a few more seconds and then sighed. "She'll do most of the work, but my body has to kick off the process. Rose, can you run down to the infirmary? In the blue drawer, there should be a gray bottle next to a syringe. Bring it here. Martha, I need you to help me with the final sequence."
Rose sprinted out of the console room. The Doctor watched her go with a look of such intense longing that Martha knew without a shadow of a doubt that he'd lied.
"You don't need an injection," she said.
He shook his head.
"Why did you send her away?"
"I don't want her to see this." He pressed a few buttons on the console then turned to the Arch again. He took a deep breath and lifted it onto his head, shifting around until it was situated properly.
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," he told her.
"Rewriting your entire biology—it's going to hurt, isn't it?"
"Oh, yes. Worse than regeneration, they say. I don't know how long this will take and I don't know how long it'll take her to get back but don't let her do anything until it's over. Don't let her touch me, don't let her stop the process, anything."
She nodded.
He smiled. "I'll see you when I wake up. Thank you, Martha Jones."
The Doctor pressed a button on the side of the Arch and closed his eyes.
If she lived for a thousand years, Rose would never forget the moment the sound of the Doctor's screams reached her ears.
She'd just come to the realization that there was no gray bottle in the blue drawer and was about to ask the TARDIS to bring it out for her when she heard him. Then she was racing from the room, her feet pounding against the grating in her flight. His gut-wrenching cries tore at her body like shards of glass. She skidded around corners blindly and realized after two minutes of running that she'd taken a wrong turn but trusted the TARDIS to lead her back to the console room. When she reached a staircase, however, she realized the ship was doing the exact opposite.
"NO!" she screamed, beating her fists against the nearest wall. "DON'T DO THIS TO ME!"
The TARDIS hummed sorrowfully in her mind.
Rose kicked the wall and ran back the way she came, screaming the Doctor's name. Martha must've heard her because when Rose ran into the console room she was already ready for her. Standing firmly between the door and the Doctor, she was able to throw her arms out and catch Rose, using her own momentum to swing her around. Rose fought against her, of course, swiping and jerking around and shrieking and struggling to reach her Doctor.
"Get off me!" she screamed. "DOCTOR!"
"Stop it, Rose!" Martha shouted near her ear. "You can't touch him! He told me not to let you!"
Oh, that bastard. He'd lied to her just to get her out of the console room. He'd lied. She hadn't got to tell him goodbye, kiss him one last time, or remind him that she loved him.
Sobbing, Rose continued to struggle for a few more moments, growing weaker and weaker each time until she sagged limply. Martha released her and Rose skittered back until she hit the railing, sliding down to the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest.
The Doctor kept screaming and, oh, God, it was worse than he was possessed by Torajji.
Tears trickled down her cheeks in a steady stream. Martha stood next to her, equally horrified. She stared helplessly at the man she loved as he shrieked in agony until she couldn't bear it anymore and squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands over her ears. It might've gone on for hours or only a few minutes. It was impossible to tell. All that she knew was that he was still screaming.
And then he wasn't.
Rose opened her eyes carefully. The Arch was still humming and the man's hands were still holding onto it, but other than that he'd gone completely limp. She lowered her hands from her ears and dared to hope that it was over. The Arch gave one last loud buzz and then tapered off. For a moment everything was silent, even the ever-present hum was almost inaudible.
Then the man in the Arch moaned softly, his hands losing their grip, and he dropped to the floor. The moment she heard the heavy thump Rose snapped into action, pushing herself up and racing over to his side. Martha helped her roll him over onto his back and then Rose sat down and pulled his head into her lap. She caressed his temples and ran her fingers through his hair. She ducked her head and kissed his forehead.
The tears renewed as she realized he looked the same. From his hair to the freckles on his face, this man was exactly the Doctor, but that's where the similarities ended. He was hot, much too hot to be a Time Lord, more like a human with a fever. Placing her hand on the left side of his chest, she felt the steady tha-thump of his left heart, but when she moved to the right side she felt absolutely nothing. His right heart had well and truly gone.
When she felt the TARDIS landing, she gripped him tight so he wouldn't be jolted too much, releasing him when they touched down. She couldn't bring herself to move away. This man hadn't done anything wrong and the thought of leaving him while he was in such a vulnerable state was appalling.
She heard a soft rattle followed by a click. A second later Martha was kneeling beside her and she held in her hand the fob watch. Rose accepted it with a grateful smile and gripped it tightly in her right hand.
It might've just been wishful thinking, but she could've sworn she heard a whisper from the watch. Rose…
The TARDIS hummed warningly in her mind and she figured that meant he was going to awaken very soon. She brushed her fingers across his forehead once more, kissed his lips, and then lifted his head from her lap, scooting away, and gently set it down on the grating.
Martha helped her to her feet and the two of them stood together, waiting. Thirty seconds of silence passed, and then the man on the floor inhaled deeply. His eyes opened and he got to his feet almost mechanically. He didn't stop to look at his surroundings or stretch his body, he simply walked straight for the door, bending down to pick up a bag by the ramp they hadn't noticed before, and then the man stepped out into the world.
AND THAT'S WHY WE WERE LAUGHING AT YOU.
Now, I am well aware some of you are very wary about this arc but... come on you guys. Haven't you learned by now that this is not like other season 3 rewrites?