You don't even write to say "Goodbye"
So it's been a long time since I've written fanfic. Please be gentle. I spent about an hour and a half on this, so I imagine it could use some concrit, and you guys are the best betas I can think of.
Without further ado, I present to you:
The Kiss that Saved the Universe
"YOU ARE THE HEATHEN. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED."
He'd done a lot of stupid things in his time, most of them in the name of bravery or justice. But before, he had always left himself a way out. Standing there, face to eyestalk with the Daleks with no TARDIS at his back, The Doctor thought for a moment that he had finally made his fatal mistake, finally come to the death that would not be followed by a regeneration. He didn't regret it. In a way, it might be a release, an opportunity to forget the horrors of the Time War and the accident that had allowed the Daleks to survive it. But it wasn't a mistake. I kept the TARDIS out of their hands. I saved the rest of time from them. He allowed himself a small internal smile. And I saved Rose.
"Maybe it's time," he said, and closed his eyes.
And then, that terrible and miraculous sound, like wind being pushed through an engine that won't quite turn over.
"ALERT! TARDIS MATERIALISING!"
The Doctor opened his eyes, spun around. Part of him wished that this was just the escapism of a mad mind that knew it was about to die; but he knew Rose better than that, knew that she was really bringing herself and the TARDIS back into harm's way to save him. She never would give up. That stupid, lovely ape.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" The Emperor Dalek might almost have seemed furious, if he could have felt such a plebeian emotion.
The Doctor wasn't thinking of escape after the doors swung open. He was thinking how much more beautiful Rose's eyes were without the glow of the Time Vortex obscuring them. He was thinking that he hadn't seen power of that magnitude since the Time War. He was thinking that his pure, sweet Rose might have gotten a taste of the Vortex's destruction. With hands up to shield his eyes, he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. "What've you done?"
She turned her gaze to him, her eyes full of the flames and the beauty of every sun the universe had ever known. "I looked into the TARDIS. And the TARDIS looked into me." Every trace of her London accent was gone. Her voice was all the voices of time itself.
His hearts skipped, in despair and fear. "You looked into the Time Vortex-- Rose, no one's meant to see that." Even a mind like his surely could never encompass the vastness of the Vortex. It must be burning inside her, burning her up like coal in a furnace.
"THIS IS THE ABOMINATION!"
"EXTERMINATE!" The horrible springlike noise of a Dalek bolt, and the light leapt forward toward Rose. She held up her hand and turned it away the same way she would turn away a paper straw wrapper that Mickey had launched at her. The Vortex rippled in her hair.
"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."
"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now." As Rose continued to stare ahead, insensible of his urgency, The Doctor had a brief vision of himself during the Time War standing behind her, guiding her through the paths of destruction. I did this to her. His breath caught in his throat. "You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're gonna burn!"
She turned her face to him, some of the hardness ebbing away. She looked a bit more like herself. "I want you safe." Tracks of tears shimmered down her face, refracting the light of the Vortex in sparkles. "My Doctor, protected from the false god." Her eyes burned brighter, fixing on the Emperor.
"YOU CANNOT HURT ME. I AM IMMORTAL."
"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence. I divide them." When Rose raised her hand, the Dalek in the center of the group melted into golden mist. "Everything must come to dust... all things. Everything dies." The rest of the Daleks shimmered away, leaving the Emperor to speak with her alone. "The Time War ends."
"I WILL NOT DIE. I CANNOT DIE." Fear pulsed beneath its skin, its single eye squinting with determination. It had only a moment of defiance left, before the Dalek armada was dissolved into the swirling gold of the Vortex.
The Doctor watched her in fear. She was shaking. He could see the power coursing through her, could feel her fighting within herself not to burn away. I should have been the one to destroy them, so this power wouldn't destroy you. Gratitude colored his thoughts, but with the Daleks finally gone his worry bubbled over. "Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."
Her voice came out near a whisper, the thundering command of the moment before hushed now that the danger had passed. "How can I let go of this? I bring life!"
He felt her power surge, and felt the life flow back into Jack, and knew that something terribly wrong had just happened. He was beyond frightened now. He was becoming truly terrified of what the Time Vortex could do, using Rose as its vehicle. "But this is wrong! You can't control life and death."
She looked at him again, as though she were looking into him and seeing, with eyes more than human, something new. "But I can. The sun and the moon, the day and night." Her eyes darkened, her voice trembled. "But... why do they hurt?"
Anguish broke over him like a wave. He wasn't sure if he even spoke his thoughts aloud. "The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault." He lowered his head, certain that his failure was finally complete.
"I can see everything," she said. He raised his face to her, with the dawn of a mad idea beginning to break. "All that is, all that was, all that ever could be."
He stood, and looked down at her. "That's what I see all the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?" He wanted to laugh at his own joke, but her tears were rolling down again like gold melting from her burning eyes and he just couldn't laugh at her now.
The whisper faded softer. "My head...."
"Come here."
"It's killing me."
"I think you need a Doctor."
And kissing her was everything he knew it would be, even with the Time Vortex pouring into him. It blazed and it burned and it warmed the coldest parts of him and both his hearts beat faster, trying to meld with her one. He didn't even try that thing with his tongue that he knew he was good at because she felt so perfect there, held still against him, and wrapped in the Vortex energy he could feel just a touch of her love.
He would have liked to end the kiss slowly and sweetly and maybe have another one, but when the energy of the Time Vortex was gone, Rose slumped against him, drained. He lowered her to the floor carefully, as though she were fragile, in spite of the evidence she'd just given of her strength. He turned and exhaled, letting go of the Time energy he held, putting it back into the TARDIS where it belonged. He knelt down to stroke Rose's hair, thanking her without words for her courage, and apologizing silently for what he knew would come next.
Without further ado, I present to you:
The Kiss that Saved the Universe
"YOU ARE THE HEATHEN. YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED."
He'd done a lot of stupid things in his time, most of them in the name of bravery or justice. But before, he had always left himself a way out. Standing there, face to eyestalk with the Daleks with no TARDIS at his back, The Doctor thought for a moment that he had finally made his fatal mistake, finally come to the death that would not be followed by a regeneration. He didn't regret it. In a way, it might be a release, an opportunity to forget the horrors of the Time War and the accident that had allowed the Daleks to survive it. But it wasn't a mistake. I kept the TARDIS out of their hands. I saved the rest of time from them. He allowed himself a small internal smile. And I saved Rose.
"Maybe it's time," he said, and closed his eyes.
And then, that terrible and miraculous sound, like wind being pushed through an engine that won't quite turn over.
"ALERT! TARDIS MATERIALISING!"
The Doctor opened his eyes, spun around. Part of him wished that this was just the escapism of a mad mind that knew it was about to die; but he knew Rose better than that, knew that she was really bringing herself and the TARDIS back into harm's way to save him. She never would give up. That stupid, lovely ape.
"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE!" The Emperor Dalek might almost have seemed furious, if he could have felt such a plebeian emotion.
The Doctor wasn't thinking of escape after the doors swung open. He was thinking how much more beautiful Rose's eyes were without the glow of the Time Vortex obscuring them. He was thinking that he hadn't seen power of that magnitude since the Time War. He was thinking that his pure, sweet Rose might have gotten a taste of the Vortex's destruction. With hands up to shield his eyes, he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor. "What've you done?"
She turned her gaze to him, her eyes full of the flames and the beauty of every sun the universe had ever known. "I looked into the TARDIS. And the TARDIS looked into me." Every trace of her London accent was gone. Her voice was all the voices of time itself.
His hearts skipped, in despair and fear. "You looked into the Time Vortex-- Rose, no one's meant to see that." Even a mind like his surely could never encompass the vastness of the Vortex. It must be burning inside her, burning her up like coal in a furnace.
"THIS IS THE ABOMINATION!"
"EXTERMINATE!" The horrible springlike noise of a Dalek bolt, and the light leapt forward toward Rose. She held up her hand and turned it away the same way she would turn away a paper straw wrapper that Mickey had launched at her. The Vortex rippled in her hair.
"I am the Bad Wolf. I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them in time and space. A message to lead myself here."
"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now." As Rose continued to stare ahead, insensible of his urgency, The Doctor had a brief vision of himself during the Time War standing behind her, guiding her through the paths of destruction. I did this to her. His breath caught in his throat. "You've got the entire vortex running through your head. You're gonna burn!"
She turned her face to him, some of the hardness ebbing away. She looked a bit more like herself. "I want you safe." Tracks of tears shimmered down her face, refracting the light of the Vortex in sparkles. "My Doctor, protected from the false god." Her eyes burned brighter, fixing on the Emperor.
"YOU CANNOT HURT ME. I AM IMMORTAL."
"You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence. I divide them." When Rose raised her hand, the Dalek in the center of the group melted into golden mist. "Everything must come to dust... all things. Everything dies." The rest of the Daleks shimmered away, leaving the Emperor to speak with her alone. "The Time War ends."
"I WILL NOT DIE. I CANNOT DIE." Fear pulsed beneath its skin, its single eye squinting with determination. It had only a moment of defiance left, before the Dalek armada was dissolved into the swirling gold of the Vortex.
The Doctor watched her in fear. She was shaking. He could see the power coursing through her, could feel her fighting within herself not to burn away. I should have been the one to destroy them, so this power wouldn't destroy you. Gratitude colored his thoughts, but with the Daleks finally gone his worry bubbled over. "Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."
Her voice came out near a whisper, the thundering command of the moment before hushed now that the danger had passed. "How can I let go of this? I bring life!"
He felt her power surge, and felt the life flow back into Jack, and knew that something terribly wrong had just happened. He was beyond frightened now. He was becoming truly terrified of what the Time Vortex could do, using Rose as its vehicle. "But this is wrong! You can't control life and death."
She looked at him again, as though she were looking into him and seeing, with eyes more than human, something new. "But I can. The sun and the moon, the day and night." Her eyes darkened, her voice trembled. "But... why do they hurt?"
Anguish broke over him like a wave. He wasn't sure if he even spoke his thoughts aloud. "The power's gonna kill you and it's my fault." He lowered his head, certain that his failure was finally complete.
"I can see everything," she said. He raised his face to her, with the dawn of a mad idea beginning to break. "All that is, all that was, all that ever could be."
He stood, and looked down at her. "That's what I see all the time. And doesn't it drive you mad?" He wanted to laugh at his own joke, but her tears were rolling down again like gold melting from her burning eyes and he just couldn't laugh at her now.
The whisper faded softer. "My head...."
"Come here."
"It's killing me."
"I think you need a Doctor."
And kissing her was everything he knew it would be, even with the Time Vortex pouring into him. It blazed and it burned and it warmed the coldest parts of him and both his hearts beat faster, trying to meld with her one. He didn't even try that thing with his tongue that he knew he was good at because she felt so perfect there, held still against him, and wrapped in the Vortex energy he could feel just a touch of her love.
He would have liked to end the kiss slowly and sweetly and maybe have another one, but when the energy of the Time Vortex was gone, Rose slumped against him, drained. He lowered her to the floor carefully, as though she were fragile, in spite of the evidence she'd just given of her strength. He turned and exhaled, letting go of the Time energy he held, putting it back into the TARDIS where it belonged. He knelt down to stroke Rose's hair, thanking her without words for her courage, and apologizing silently for what he knew would come next.