PREDATOR AND PREY
Chapter Five While the Doctor, River and Amy stayed in the console room, Rory stayed with Rose and made sure she was comfortable. He took a look at the IV drip and noticed the bag was almost empty. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do when it ran out but he figured the Doctor would be back in to check on them eventually. In the meantime, he got Rose a glass of water and asked her if she needed anything else after giving it to her. Rose shook her head for a few seconds but then had a thought. "How long have you been traveling with the Doctor?" she said, putting the glass of water down on a small table Rory found and put beside the gurney. "About a year," Rory said. "Amy traveled with him first and then I joined them later on. Mainly so I could watch over Amy." Rose chuckled. "Sounds like my ex-boyfriend, Mickey. I traveled with the Doctor and he was jealous of me spending time with him so he finally asked to come along after about a year. By then the relationship was over and the Doctor and I had grown close but he still thought I needed protecting. Funny thing was, for awhile there, he was the one who needed saving." Rose noticed Rory's sheepish look and smiled. "Same with you?" she asked him. "Well, I admit Amy is better at time traveling than I am. Especially facing down all those aliens and things but I adjusted," he said. "The reason I was asking how long you've traveled with the Doctor is there was a friend of mine named Donna that traveled with him. Is she still here?" Rose noticed the nonplussed look on Rory's face. "I can tell from your expression that you don't know her," she said. "No, never heard of any Donna. The Doctor never mentioned anyone from his past, except for River. But Amy and the Doctor ran into River several months ago and she travels with us occasionally." "Donna traveled with him as well and the last time I saw her, she was going back in the TARDIS with him after he dropped me and John off in the other universe. I assumed she was gonna travel with him but maybe she got tired of it." Rory thought for a moment and then told Rose to wait. He walked out of the room and Rose relaxed and took another sip of water while she waited for Rory to return. But after a few moments, the Doctor came in the room by himself. Rose smiled when he came over to her. "You didn't follow my suggestion about losing the bow tie," she teased as he reached her side. The Doctor's eyes sparkled with mirth. "No, I happen to like bow ties. They are very cool," he said, fingering it. "But we can discuss that later. The reason I came back here is because Rory told me you asked about Donna." "Yeah, where is she? Is she here?" Rose said. Rose's heart lurched when she saw the anguished look on the Doctor's face. She reached out and took his hand and the Doctor smiled gratefully at her before finding his voice and explaining what happened to her. The more he told her about Donna's fate, the more stricken Rose looked and the more it hurt the Doctor's hearts. He hated thinking about what happened to his best friend, let alone saying it aloud and the anguished look on Rose's face only added to his angst. When he finished telling her what happened, he fell silent for a moment, trying to rein in his emotions before he broke down and cried in front of Rose. Rose, sensing her lover's frame of mind, struggled to get up so she could hold him. The Doctor quickly snapped out of it and urged Rose to lie back down, insisting he was alright. "She's alive and she's happy, that's the most important thing," he said, trying to convince himself as much as her. "She's married and I made sure she was financially set for life. Unless…she buys hats. She might spend it all on hats, come to think of it…all those hatboxes she had with her that night that I had to carry into the TARDIS and…what?" he said when he heard Rose giggling. "You still ramble," Rose said, giving his hand a squeeze. "You changed but there are some things that didn't change." "Well…I don't change completely every time. I still keep some core elements of me when I change bodies. One of them is my sense of humor and I s'pose my tendancy to ramble on about hats. But it's still me. Just like it was me the last time I changed." "I missed you so much," Rose murmured as she squeezed his hand. "Did you miss me?" "Rose…please," the Doctor said, feeling another surge of emotion welling up from within. "I know you want me to be happy with John and I am happy. But there are moments…moments when I wonder about you and I miss you terribly. I never stopped loving you and I won't till the day I die. John is you in many ways but not entirely and it's those differences I miss. I'm sorry, Doctor, but I can't help feeling this way." She squeezed his hand again when the Doctor swallowed down the lump in his throat. Rose felt her eyes mist over when the Doctor let go of her hand and for a moment she thought he would turn and hurry out of the room. But instead, the Doctor quietly asked the TARDIS to seal up the door. She watched in wonderment as the door melted away and became a part of the wall. The Doctor then turned back to her and Rose's heart raced when he leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on her forehead. Rose whispered his name lovingly and the Doctor smiled tenderly in return as he laid his nose against her forehead. "Rose, I had to do what I had to do," the Doctor said. "I can't be with you in the way you want me to be and John can. I want someone there who can grow old with you and not remain young while you age and weaken and die. It's not fair to either of us. I do…love you, Rose. I truly do but I can never truly be yours." Rose's eyes welled up when he mentioned his love for her and she laid her hand against his cheek while they stared into each other's eyes. "But you said once, never say never, Doctor. Surely, there's some way that we can work this out? I want to stay here in this universe. If we can't be together, at least let me and John be here where you can visit us from time to time." "What about your family?" Rose sighed. "Mum has her own life now with Pete and Tony. She loves me and I love her but this is what I want and my wishes are just as important as hers. I've tried talking to her and begging her to come with John and me back to this universe if we used the dimension cannon. I even tried convincing her to come with us in the TARDIS once it was fully grown but she'll have none of it. I told her that I wanted to come back here and she and Pete told me that if John and I wanted to do that, they were okay with it. I'll miss them but I miss you as well and the friends I have over here. Donna, Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey, I miss them as well. Please…once this mess is sorted out and the Valeyard is taking care of, bring us back with you. Don't leave me over there again. I know I won't be able to bear watching you go for the third time." The Doctor kissed the back of her hand and then kissed her cheek before he walked across the room and retrieved a wooden chair from a desk in the corner. He brought it back and Rose gave him a loving look while he moved the table slightly, sat the chair down beside the gurney and sat down. Rose fingered the hair that hung down the side of his face while the Doctor thought about what he wanted to say to her. "Rose, I respect your wishes. I don't know if traveling with me is feasible at this time, especially if John is around…but…I will take you back to Earth and help you and John get settled in London or wherever you want to go. I'm not saying I don't want you traveling with me because I do. It's because…things have gotten complicated since you left… very complicated…and there's a few things that need to be sorted out before things get out of hand and become explosive." Rose stared at him in silent confusion but the Doctor looked down at his hands while Rose stroked his hair. "Jack is gone, for starters. There was an…incident on Earth that his Torchwood was involved in and he…made a personal sacrifice that nearly killed him and he left Earth. I saw him on a bar on Taurus Maltuna before I regenerated by heaven only knows where he's at now. You can't visit Donna because if she remembers you, she'll remember me and…well, I told you what might happen if she does remember me. Sarah Jane, as far as I know, is alive and well and I s'pose you could visit her and she'd probably welcome the help since she's basically defending the Earth with her son and her friends. But…I'm rambling again. The explosive situation isn't out there, it's in here. It's the reason why I told the TARDIS to seal the door shut so we could be alone." He looked up and met Rose's concerned and loving look. "Rose…I have to talk to you about River."
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