WHO: Dr. Liam Smith and the Ninth Doctor. WHAT: The Time War & Rose. WHEN: Friday Night. WHY: A regained memory, narrative. WARNINGS: PG-13; Mentions of War & Genocide, guilt and suicidal thoughts.
Gallifrey was burning.
Daleks and Time Lords were both destroyed, and the Doctor felt the guilt of millions of lives sinking onto his shoulders. He had no choice, he had told himself realizing he'd be telling himself that for millenia to come. The Moment had presented itself, and without it Rassilion would have destroyed everything in the universe.
He had no choice.
But now, he was alone. The Last Time Lord, and the sole survivor of the Last Great Time War. There were far too many capital letters for his liking, and the Doctor wondered if this regeneration would be his last. What would be the point? What had been the point of any of it? His people were destroyed; why continue on alone for regeneration after regeneration when all of his kind had been deprived that?
The questions seemed to crush him, and he found himself on Earth again. Earth, which had so often played host to him in the past. The apes went on with their lives, unaware of just how close they had come to total annihilation. So young, so much potential. In spite of himself, the Doctor found himself engaged. At least when picking a spot to die in, it was one he was fond of.
But then the Nestene Consciousness reared its ugly, plastic head. They were parading as store mannequins, and he had been too late to stop the death of the Watchman. But they had trapped a blonde girl, couldn't be more than twenty if that. Darting in at the last second, he reached out and grabbed the girl's hand.
"Run!"
And in that moment, the Last of the Time Lords saw his own Timeline shift. Funny that; a girl he had never met just had changed everything. And he didn't even know her name. They got in the lift, and he ripped one's arm off, tossing it to her with a little grin. Where would this all take him then?
She thought they were students. She was thinking at all. That was very interesting indeed. They got out of the lift, and he pulled out the explosives. You know, to make a point.
"I'm going to go upstairs and blow it up, and I might well die in the process, but don't worry about me, no. You go on home. Go on and have your lovely beans on toast. Don't tell anyone about this 'cause if you do, you'll get them killed."
For the first time during this mad dash, he realized he sort of hoped that he would live. Now wasn't that something? He stuck his head back through the door as an afterthought.
"I'm the Doctor, by the way, what's your name?" The girl blinked. "Rose," she replied, utterly confused. "Nice to meet you, Rose. Now run for your life!"
And off he ran, realizing how the Timeline had shifted. He now had one.