Chapter 44 - Don't let me down

He was right, I like his idea. I've seen it before, but of course, live, from just across the street, it's a whole different thing.

We landed on a rooftop. I was confused for a minute, but when I looked down, as the Doctor held my hand climbing a staircase down to a lower terrace, I immediately recognized Soho. Not just that: Soho, end of the Sixties.

He looks around, his finger up in the air to check the time. "In a minute", he says, beaming.

I can see he's genuinely happy about his idea. He walks back into the Tardis and quickly comes out with a lovely red short double-breasted coat for me. He's wrapping a Burberry print scarf around his neck.

I smile at him. He's happy, quite right too. I know when we are, and why we're here.

I hear "Roll cameras, take one", and I turn suddenly, and even if I know what to expect I'm still overwhelmed at being here. I yelp a little, giggling, as the first notes of Get back start to fill the London sky.

Ok. I might actually cry. They're so handsome, really fabulous, all four of them - five counting Billy Preston on the keyboards. I've seen many bands live, but this is something else.

"This is definitely the best use of a time machine", I tell the Doctor, who is now donning sunglasses and lip-syncing to Paul McCartney's voice. "I mean, for entertainment purposes", I add.

It's cold and under the coat I'm not dressed for the January weather. He smiles and takes my hand, we start dancing as the band repeats Get Back (take two). More and more people start popping up on rooftops, ledges. Faces stretched outside windows, cars stopping, passers-by now standing as audience.

I am happy. And I'm starting to realize something. I look at the Doctor who is still singing.

It's a love that lasts forever, it's a love that has no past.

John Lennon nods at him from the distance, a smile of recognition on his face as he keeps singing. The Doctor waves at him, Ringo smiles at him too. Of course the Doctor knows the Beatles personally.

"Quite fitting for a last trip", I tell him. "A rooftop, 1969, and the Beatles last ever show".

He looks at me puzzled.

"We first met on a rooftop, remember?".

He scans his memory. I bet he's confused too. "You mean the first time you met me", he corrects. "I've met you long before that".

"I'm aware of that. But that all came later for me".

"Timey-wimey", he says. "Doesn't really matter now, does it?".

I think about it. "I guess it doesn't, no- and also, 1969. We've been here already. More than once".

He smiles. "No we haven't. Rolling Stones in the park. Just that one time".

It's my turn to smile. "Then I must be mistaken. I meet so many time travelers".

"Haha", he mocks me. "But have they got moves?", he says joking, making me dance again.

"Nobody dances like you, Doctor", I joke back, holding his hand as he makes me twirl. The rooftop we're standing in is now crowded, and not many people seem surprised by the fact we know the lyrics to all these new unreleased songs.

My mind is racing, images of all the places I've been with the Doctor overlap with flashes from these past two weeks in the bedroom. I smile by myself, and I feel his mind gently reaching out to mine. It's not words, just a general wave of peaceful affection.

I am tempted to make him change his mind, to make him stay. I still don't know how long he's actually going to stay away from me. I've seen the human companions he left behind - they're still in his thoughts, but he rarely speaks about them and he rarely visits or sees them if there's no emergency. Me? I'm a different case, but how different, really?

"Do you think they already know?", I ask them at the pause before Dig a Pony. "That this is the last time they play together?".

"Nobody really ever knows when they're doing something for the last time, Zoe". His smile softens, and he looks away from me. "This… this is not goodbye. I mean it".

I smile, looking away too, before he can see that my eyes are getting wet. I nod.

"I will be back, whenever you need. And I expect you to do the same, right?".

"Right", I repeat, looking at him. "Just putting some space between us and learning how to be functioning independent adults again".

I say that fully aware of how I don't think it's a good idea at all for him to be alone. I will, of course, be mad if he replaces me right away with another traveling companion, but at the same time I hope he doesn't stay alone for too long.

"Temporarily", he says, softly, when he finally turns to look at me again. The Beatles are playing Don't let me down again, and I'm sure that if I stay in his gaze another second, I'm going to kiss him.

That's it. I am sure now.

The police has made it to the Apple studios rooftop, and I know the show is almost over. I turn abruptly away from the Doctor. "I'm going to take a look from the street. See you later?".

I don't wait for his reply, and I feel his eyes burning the back of my head as I leave. As I make my way through a window inside a staircase I remove my Tardis key from my necklace and stop a girl who is walking outside.

"Would you mind giving this to my friend, please? Skinny fella, spiky hair, pinstripe brown suit".

"Sure", she smiles, walking past me.

I thank her and run down the stairs as the Beatles are playing Get back again, the last song they will ever perform together in front of an audience. I stop on the street, when I'm outside, looking at the curious faces of the spontaneous crowd gathered there. I turn around, searching again for the Apple studio rooftop, and I spot the Doctor, leaning on the fence across the street, just waiting for me. He's holding the key. He meets my gaze, he makes a disappointed, resigned face, tilting his head. Oh.

I smile at him, and wave, stepping towards him.

"Nice try", he says, waving the key in my face.

"And I thought I was being so smooth".

"I'm very good at sneaking away mysteriously, I know all the tricks in the book", he jokes.

And he's right. How did he get downstairs so fast without me even noticing? Damn.

"Besides, what were you going to do stranded in 1969? With other versions of us, and Martha, and Chloe, all around this year".

And well, of course I wasn't leaving the Doctor without the Tardis. I admit that for a moment, I thought about touring around and getting to see all my favorite dead musicians playing live. But. I still think that the Doctor needs the Tardis more than me.

He slaps the key into my hands. I sigh. "Fine. Let's go back to 2009 then". I smile, he smiles back. Those eyes. He walks me back to the Tardis, his hand slides to the small of my back. Yep. Still there. I guess I understand what he's worried about, now. But I am going to leave the Tardis with him anyway.

I'm in love for the first time

Don't you know it's gonna last?

It's a love that lasts forever

It's a love that has no past

Writer's note: Naaah, it doesn't end like this, I promise. review if you like please! I'd like to know what you readers think if you made it up to here.