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WARNING:

Triggers for physical/sexual abuse.

Epilogue: Safe

As the TARDIS hovered in space, a bright white light began to grow in the control room. Rose and I watched all of the companion doppelgangers smiling at us, the light emitting from them. They waved and blinked out of the room.

“Back to their respective timelines,” I told Rose. “It worked.”

She nodded, but refused to meet my eye. Her mind whirred uncomfortably and I frowned at the chaos inside.

“Rose?”

“Mm?” She crossed the room to the chair and sat down, yawning and still not looking at me. Maddened by the lack of communication, I crossed the room and knelt before her, peering up into her face. She closed her eyes and smiled before reopening them.

“You’re nervous,” I said, reciting the knowledge I gleaned from her mind. “You feel awkward being alone with me so suddenly.”

She gulped, more thoughts involuntarily spinning in her head.

Rose, you can read my mind, too. Remember that. She met my eye thoughtfully. Is my mind at all occupied with those expectations? I felt her probing, relaxing with each vague idea she glimpsed. Nothing needs to change between us—well, aside from our new telepathy.

I grinned at her and she wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “I’m being silly again, aren’t I?”

“Yes, you are,” I conceded ruthlessly, laughing.

Then, I saw it. I grabbed Rose’s arm, my eyes staying on the statue. “Doctor?”

“Move away, Rose.”

She turned and saw the statue, swallowing. “The face…”

“He won’t hurt you. I’m going to fix this, Rose,” I told her. “Just keep watching him.”

I moved to the control panel, glancing up occasionally to ensure that the statue never moved. I input the coordinates and returned to Rose’s side.

“I’ve got it, it’s all right,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around her and backing toward the control panel again. “Hold on tight.” I placed my hand over the control just before the lights flickered.

Angels surrounded us, their backs turned to us and blocking John’s statue from reaching us. “They’re protecting us,” Rose whispered, her voice filled with awe.

“Time has been restored,” I murmured. “They could easily turn on us and use us for a food source now, but instead they remained honor bound.”

“Pull the lever, Doctor. Let’s deposit them somewhere safe.”

I obeyed.

We released the angels in an open desert where they could roam freely without being watched for awhile. Wherever they wound up was for fate to decide, as much as I disliked the idea of them claiming any victims in the future. The fact remained that their actions, as disadvantageous as it was to human beings, was necessary to their survival.

I never held it against a species for that; everyone wanted to live.

When I opened the TARDIS door, they all vanished when we turned away—but John and the angel with blood smeared on its mouth stood just outside the door, staring directly into each others eyes.

Another being who sacrificed itself, I murmured.

You don’t have the same sadness accompanying that idea, Rose acknowledged softly.

I took her hand in mine. We’re all doing our part to protect each other, as a wise woman once said.

“Well, now you’re just buttering me up,” she laughed, smiling up at me.

The perception filter on my wrist shorted out, singing my arm hair, and I threw it off of me. “Owww,” I protested, glaring at it in reproach. It burst into flame in response.

I inclined my head at Rose, returning her smile, and we entered the TARDIS to seek out new adventures together.