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“Am I ever going to see you again?”
“You can’t.”
“What are you going to do?
"Oh, I’ve got the T.A.R.D.I.S. Same old life, last of the Time Lords.”
“On your own. I … *hiccup* … I love you.”
“Quite right, too. And I suppose if it’s the last chance to say it, Rose Tyler …”
And then he was gone. For good.
Rose suddenly jerked up from her bed. She had had the same dream again. It was the nightmare, a memory of her last adventure with him. The Doctor.
How could Rose describe the Doctor? She most certainly could not do it in one word. He was an alien from outer-space, a Time Lord. He traveled through space and time to places and people in need of his help. He often traveled alone. He had lost the rest of his people in the Time War. He needed a companion to be with him as he traveled. Rose had filled that position. She had promised to stay with him forever. And, little by little, Rose had fallen for the doctor. He had become the most wonderfully fantastic and brilliant man she had ever met. That was how Rose would describe the doctor (for lack of better words).
But that all was stripped from Rose. She and her family were trapped in a parallel universe, on a parallel Earth. At Dårlig Ulv Stranden, she and the Doctor were able to say goodbye via hologram. And Rose confessed that she loved him (It was rather interesting. She didn’t even know his real name; and yet, she still loved him.) And then he vanished.
Forever.
Rose checked her clock: 6:15. Normally, she would have gone back to bed for 15 more minutes of sleep. However, today was important; she had to go to work early. She worked at Torchwood, as the “defender of the Earth” he had called it.
After getting dressed for the day, Rose went to the kitchen for breakfast. Nothing special or fancy was eaten, just a bowl of cereal with some orange juice. It did not feel appropriate to cook eggs and bacon or pancakes that morning.
Jackie Tyler, Rose’s mum, was already up. She was an early riser, even with the new baby, christened “Tony”, keeping her up at night. She saw Rose and wished her a good morning, to which Rose nodded in response. Even though she looked tired, Jackie was her usual chatty self, talking about her upcoming wedding anniversary. Rose nodded and nodded as she listened. Jackie opened her mouth to say more, but Rose stopped her with an apologetic look, which said: “Sorry, but I don’t feel like talking just right now.”
The rest of the meal was awkwardly quiet. Everything was like that until Rose got up from her chair and headed towards the door. When her hand was on the doorknob, her mum asked, “It’s today, isn’t it?” Rose looked back at Jackie and nodded, fresh tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Jackie got up and pulled her daughter in for a hug before letting her leave.
Next thing she knew, Rose was on the bus. She stared out of the window at the rain, her breath fogging up the glass. After that, she was subconsciously watching the other people on the bus. They were all regular life. Rose wondered if she would ever get used to her brand new life. All that time in the T.A.R.D.I.S could not be easily forgotten. It had been magnificent, and she had loved every moment.
When she got to the Torchwood building, Rose got into the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. It seemed like an eternity until she heard a ‘ding!’ and the doors opened.
The top floor was empty and eerily quiet. It was still pretty early in the morning (even for Torchwood hours), so the emptiness made sense. Rose was thankful for the silence, though; she wanted to be alone for what she was about to do. It was personal.
Today was the end of one year inside the parallel universe. To acknowledge this anniversary, Rose had written a note to the Doctor. The note would tell him all about her new life: the new aliens she had encountered, how her parents and Mickey were doing, how she was doing, etc.
Rose wasn’t exactly sure how the note would be delivered to the doctor. That is until she noticed the crack. There was a giant crack in the wall, which was glowing. When she saw the crack, she felt something warm in her pocket. It was her T.A.R.D.IS. key. 'Maybe …?’
Rose pressed her lips against the golden key for good luck and put the key into the crack as if unlocking it. More light was emitted from the crack, as the crack opened up a little bit. It was not enough for her to see through to the other side; but, it was wide enough to put the enveloped note inside. Rose slipped the envelope into the crack, just before the crack closed and disappeared. She put the key pack into her pocket, silently praying that her note would be delivered.
…
The Doctor sat down on a chair in the library of the T.A.R.D.I.S. He was extremely tired. The Master was dead, making the Doctor really the last of the Time Lords. Martha had also just left, saying that she had to stop traveling with him. 'Poor girl,’ he thought. 'She had fancied me, and I had never looked at her twice. That must have been painful.’
Wishing not to dwell much on the matter, the Doctor looked for a book on one of the shelves. He wasn’t looking for anything in particular, whatever caught his eye first. He was especially drawn to this tall, skinny book, called “Mansfield Park”. Although he was a fan of Agatha Christie novels, there was something about this book. He flipped the book open to the first page, and something fell out, onto the ground. The doctor picked up an envelope addressed to “My Doctor”. Intrigued, he opened it to see a letter. It read:
“Doctor,
"It has been an entire year since I had to leave you and the T.A.R.D.I.S. Not a day goes by where I don’t think of you and the adventures we shared. Torchwood doesn’t compare to our time together. We have discovered a new race of aliens, the carnivorous Vashta Nerada. They swarm together and pretend to be shadows before they attack and kill. I thought you might be interested.
"Mum and Dad couldn’t be happier together. They are eagerly awaiting the first anniversary. Mickey is also well and still working at Torchwood. They all miss you. I miss you, too.
"With Love,
"Rose Tyler
"P.S. Promise one thing: You’ll always have a companion with you. You can’t afford to be alone, anymore.”
The Doctor let a single tear fall down onto the paper. He missed Rose terribly, too. It was different without her around. He reread the postscript and smiled. She was right; he needed a companion. But, he just wanted a mate now. He didn’t want to hurt anyone else.
The Doctor put the tip of his sonic screwdriver on the letter, on Rose’s name. He couldn’t see or talk to Rose. However, maybe he could send this. “Rose Tyler, I love you.”
…
Rose got up from her seat on the ground. She was about to leave when she heard a whizzing noise. It sounded like … the Sonic Screwdriver! Could it be …?
Rose’s face brightened with excitement as she turned towards the noise, and then darkened when she saw the doctor wasn’t there. Instead, a message had been etched into the wall: “Have a good life. Have a FANTASTIC life. Do that for me. – Your Doctor”.
The markings faded away, but the message was permanently implanted in her brain. “Thank you, Doctor,” she whispered, a smile on her face and tears glistening in her eyes.
“Thank you.”