Doctor Who | songs from the vortex [Songfic Collection]

Even in Death

Summary: People die, but real love is forever.

Note: Post-Doomsday/Journey's End AU, as the beginning could take place either during the Battle of Canary Wharf or during the Dalek Invasion of 2009. Angst.

Song: "Even in Death" by Evanescence

Originally Published: 8 June 2015

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Give me a reason to believe that you're gone.
I see your shadow, so I know they're all wrong.
Moonlight on the soft brown earth, it leads me to where you lay.
They took you away from me, but now I'm taking you home.

A scream of pain had the Doctor whirling around. Horrified, he watched as the bright green glow faded from Rose's body and she fell to the ground.

"Noo!" Heedless of the danger to himself, of the deadly beams of light flying through the air from Daleks, he dove for her body.

"Rose? Rose?" His voice cracked as he shook her—her eyes blank and staring—willed her to respond. She wasn't dead—she couldn't be dead. "Rose, c'mon. Please. Don't leave me."

There was no pulse, no heartbeat—no signs of life.

No! He couldn't lose her, not again . . .

And yet, there was nothing he could do.

-oOo-

The funeral was held a few weeks later. He stood with Jack, Martha, Mickey, Sarah Jane, and Jackie, saying nothing as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Clouds covered the sky, thunder rolled, and rain started pouring down.

It matched his mood perfectly.

The minister was saying something, but the words were white noise in the Doctor's ears. His hearts felt cold and heavy in his chest.

Rose wasn't dead, not unless he had a reason to believe otherwise.

The others left, some in pairs, others one by one, but he stayed.

He could hear her laugh on the gentle breeze, could see her smile and feel her deliciously warm human body against his own cool form whenever he closed his eyes.

They were wrong, all of them. She. Was. Not. Dead.

-oOo-

Clouds drifted across the night sky, partly obscuring the nearly-full moon. Silver light lit the way for him as he wove through the cemetery, the soft brown earth beneath his feet appearing to shift between black and various shades of gray.

The Doctor stopped in front of the newly-dug grave, read the headstone. It listed her name (Rose Marion Tyler) as well as her birth date and the day she'd died. His eyes swept over the inscription; then he stepped back, lifted the shovel from his shoulder, and began to dig.

He wasn't sure how long he worked at clearing the earth away, but five feet down his shovel hit a hard surface. Minutes later, the rest of the dirt was cleared away, he'd soniced the lid open, and he was staring down at Rose's cold, pale face.

They took you away from me, he thought as he bent down and scooped up her body, but now I'm taking you home.

The Doctor slung Rose over his shoulder, tossed the shovel up, and climbed out of the grave. He didn't bother to fill it back in. Let them find it and discover that her body was gone.