The Doctor Is In

The Passing Of A Loved One

Rose Tyler, my beloved grandmother, was breathing her last few breaths. Every breath shaky. Weak. Her heart beat keeping a steady pace... for now. 

She would be remembered as an extraordinary woman; the woman who raised me when my real mother couldn't. The woman who acted as a real mother to me.

My father had run away to be with his new girlfriend, three months later he proposed, getting married two days after that. He abandoned me. Then Rose came in, taking me in as one of her own. She is a hero, the only woman I look up to, the only loving woman in my life. 

I sat in her hospital room alongside my real father and his girlfriend, my real mother and her new child, my real mother's new boyfriend who was my age (that being 20 years old), and my beloved grandfather, Mickey.

There were only two people in the room that actually cared my grandmother was dying. Those being me and my grandfather, everyone else was here to hear what they would inherit. They didn't care, they just wanted the things she left behind for them. They weren't my real family, they don't care, they never cared. 

"Mikey, darling," my grandmother said, voice quiet and shaky. She gestured with one wrinkly finger for me to come closer. I stood up from my chair and walked towards her bed, kneeling beside her.

"Everyone leave, we would like to speak to our granddaughter alone," my grandfather said. Everyone stood up, angrily, and left the hospital room. 

"What's going on?" I asked. My grandmother held out her hand. I took it in my hand, graciously, waiting for an answer.

"Mikey, it's time you knew the truth," she replied. She took a breath before telling me what she wanted to tell me. "Darling, I never had Alzheimer's disease."

"What?" I asked calmly, trying to make sense of the situation.

"Listen to your grandmother," my grandfather replied.

"I faked my illness. I know it's hard to take in, but I need you to listen closely to what I'm about to tell you," she said. "Can you do that?"

I nodded.

"You can't tell anyone."

"No, I won't tell a soul. I promise," I said honestly.

"A very important part of my life was spent time travelling," she took a breath. "With a man. The Doctor, they called him. He was one of the sweetest men I've met in my life, aside from your grandfather."

It wasn't as difficult to take in this information as I thought it would. Rose never lied, my grandmother always told the truth. This one time she lied, it was for a good reason; if she had told anyone that she was a time traveller, they would have never believed her. She would have been placed in a home, they would have thought she was insane.

"It is crucial that you find him," she told me.

"How will I do that?"

"While you're going through town at any time, search for one thing in particular."

"What is it?"

"A blue box," she informed me. "You will know when you see it. It doesn't exactly 'blend in.'"

"I can do that. I'll do it for you," I smiled.

"Thank you, Mikey," she smiled.

"You're welcome, grandma," I said. "I love you."

"I love you, too," she said, opening her arms for a hug. I fell into her arms, hugging her for a long, long time. I didn't want to let go, not yet, not ever. "Take care of your grandfather for me," she smiled against my cheek.