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"oh but doctor. we've got something of yours." the doctor froze at the hissing of the gerect's, a vile yellow species that wanted to invade earth to melt it down and sell its minerals.
he looked to his right, clara stood safely at his side.
"something more precious than that little pet." clara looked offended, and had it not been for the gerect's teleporting them to a different location, she would've ripped them a new one for calling her his pet.
her head was too shaken up from the teleport to think about it.
"clara." the doctor rushed over to her and helped her stand up. "human brains. teleports like this scramble them like alphabet soup."
she shuddered.
"gross. don't say that." she stood up slowly with his help. "where are we?"
"doctor!" a female voice startled them both. clara held confusion on her face.
"who is that?" clara asked. the doctor, however, froze in his tracks.
"no, it can't be." he didn't want to turn around, but clara was already making her way over to the unfamiliar girl. "clara."
"oi!" clara called. "are you alright?"
the girl didn't pay any attention to clara, almost as if she couldn't even see her.
"doctor!" this time, the doctor couldn't ignore it. he forced himself to slowly turn around.
he was right. the voice that was calling to him was none other than rose tyler.
in front of him, rose was bound to a stake, and looked like she had been beat. his anger grew in him.
he turned back to the creature standing near him. the gerect smirked at him, and the fire within him kept building.
"well doctor? give us what we want. or your woman will die." it sneered. clara rushed over to the doctor.
"doctor she can't see me. i can't get her down. who is she?" clara's words were hurried. if he heard her, the doctor gave no indication.
"let her go." the doctor growled. clara physically recoiled at the pure hatred in his voice.
"and why would we do that?" the gerect taunted him.
the doctor did something he had never done before. but when rose was threatened, he didn't even think twice about it. in his pocket, he held the one weapon he swore he'd never use. the sacred button, the only thing that could bring eternal torture and misery to all life ever to exist in the universe.
he pulled it out.
"because i am an old man who has seen way too much and lived way too long." his voice was lower and calmer than he'd ever spoken before. "and i will use this."
he held it up, showing it to the gerect. it's eyes widened.
"where did you get that?" it hissed.
"the important thing isn't where i got it or even that i have it. the important thing is that i will use it."
"you're bluffing." the gerect said, but the doctor could tell it was nervous. he stepped closer to the vile cretin who stood in front of him threatening his rose.
"you can beat me, hurt me, kill me, take my whole life away, but you will not. touch. rose." the menacing look in his eyes were enough to convince the gerect that he was serious.
"you haven't seen the end of us doctor." it sneered. "until next time. your precious flower is safe in her universe."
the doctor paid almost no attention as the gerect teleported itself and the rest of them somewhere else. instead, he watched as the binding that held rose was released and she fell to the ground with a thud.
"thank you." rose whispered. "thank you, doctor. wherever you are."
she sighed as if she wanted to stay and search for him, but decided against it and started walking slowly to wherever, tears slipping down her face.
"doctor?" clara asked. "who is she?"
"her name is rose." the doctor said. rose stopped and turned around.
it was almost as if she could hear the doctors voice, she looked around cautiously.
"who was she to you?"
"we traveled together." the doctors answer was short and curt. "but she's gone now."
"she's not gone, she's right there." clara told him as if it was the most obvious statement in the universe. the doctor chuckled bitterly as he watched rose tyler take a few steps towards him.
"she's here, but not really. she's trapped in a parallel universe that runs adjacent to this one. the walls are closed. i can't ever see her again." the hatred in his voice had returned. he couldn't do anything but stare at the love of his life, who stood mere feet in front of him.
and it killed him.
"doctor." rose called quietly. "i don't know where you are, but i know you're here. thank you doctor. thank you."
"rose tyler." he spoke a little louder and she jerked her head towards the direction he spoke from. "oh rose."
"goodbye doctor." she sighed as she began walking away, for real this time. the doctor sighed.
he sat down on the rock that was sitting next to him and clara and put his head in his hands.
"doctor, i'm sorry." clara whispered. she didn't know what to say, so she sat down next to him.
he didn't say anything, he just looked at her.
"i know." clara whispered. "it's alright."
she pulled him into a hug and held him tightly. in clara's arms, he allowed himself to fall apart.
from a ways away, rose tyler heard the gentle cries of her doctor.
"oh doctor." she whispered. "my doctor."
she didn't want to turn around, knowing he could probably see her and it would upset him.
"i love you, rose tyler." she heard him whisper.
with a smile, rose answered him, knowing he could hear her too.
