#dimensionhoppingrose
Title:Illusions of the Sunlight
Rating:K+
Pairing:Rose Tyler/Tenth Doctor, implied Rose Tyler/Ninth Doctor (all human)
Summary:Everyone always thinks death is the end. Unfortunately, the death can’t always leave until the living let them go.Notes:This….this is just angst. I’m sorry. This is pure angst.
Listen to this song to get the full effect.
WARNING:Character death. So much character death.
James gritted his teeth as he listened to the funeral director hassling his wife, trying to get her to buy the six-thousand pound coffin. It would be so much better, he was saying, and James wanted to punch him. Who was he to take advantage of a poor, mourning woman?
“Listen, bub,” Donna cut in. “We gave you our budget and this coffin wasn’t in it, so move on.”
James had never been more grateful for his sister than he was in that moment. He watched her drag Rose off, the hapless funeral director sputtering and trying to keep up.
Poor idiot didn’t know what hit him when Donna Noble walked through his door.
He had been dead for days, and everyone knew it. Everyone except Rose. He had stood off to the side and watched her argue uselessly with his mother, demanding that they keep him on life support for just a little longer. He could still recover, she insisted.
It was an odd feeling, standing next to his own, prone body (broken and useless), and watching Rose fight to keep him alive. He wasn’t quitedead – he was still sitting here, tied to his body. He couldn’t move on as long as Rose was holding on to him.
And he was strangely okay with that. He didn’t want to move on.
“Rose, listen to me.” Donna had stepped in to take over when Sylvia had failed. James knew Donna would succeed. She was harsh, but gentle when she needed to be. “You know Jamie wouldn’t want this. He wouldn’t want to be kept alive by machines. He’s gone. He’s not going to recover.”
And that was when Rose finally snapped, breaking down sobbing in Donna’s arms. It took her another hour to finally sign the forms and let James go.
And it took another hour after that for his body to finally die. As soon as his heart stopped beating he was swept away…
But of course, that hadn’t been the end. He’d reappeared in his the bedroom he’d shared with Rose for so many years, watching helpessly as she cried into one of his shirt. He had reached out to touch her, only to be horrified when his hand had gone right through her. He wasn’t sure what else he had been expecting – he was dead, he could hardly comfort her.
He was dead. That was weird.
And he had been following Rose ever since, unable to get away from her. Not that he would have wanted to – he had promised he would never leave Rose and he had meant that. He was literally tied to her, though. He couldn’t leave her side for even a moment – whatever cosmic forces were controlling this mess compelled him to follow her at all times.
This was probably Hell. Not that James had ever believed in such a thing. But if there had to be a Hell, following Rose through her mourning was probably it.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Rose, sweetheart, come on. You can’t keep his stuff forever.”
If anyone knew what it was like to bury a husband far too early, it was Jackie Tyler. And James honestly respected what she was trying to do for Rose.
Rose… didn’t respect it as much.
“He’s been dead for a month, Mum.”
“I’m not trying to set you up on a date, I just think it’s time to pack up his clothes. You can donate them. People always need clothes.”
“I don’t want to do this.”
“I know you don’t, love.” Jackie’s voice was soft. “I know you want to keep his stuff forever. So did I. But your grandmother came over and started packing all of your dad’s stuff without even asking me. At least I’m giving you a choice.”
Rose curled tighter around the shirt clutched in her fingers. She had been sleeping with it every night, clinging to it like a small child would cling to a teddy bear.
It was hard to watch.
“You don’t have to get rid of every single thing. Let’s just start with his clothes for now, yeah?”
Rose let out a shuddering sigh, finally rolling out of bed and shoving the shirt under her pillow, making it clear that that wasn’t going. Jackie didn’t argue.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Sometimes she had nightmares. Those were the hardest times. During the day she could call her mother, or a friend, or Donna, and have someone to comfort her. And James didn’t feel quite as bad for not bein able to help.
At night she was alone. And there was nothing James could do.
He wasn’t sure what the nightmares were about, but he could guess it was the accident. How she had gotten out of it relatively unscathed – some busted ribs and a broken leg – James would never understand. The physical damage would heal fine.
The psychological damage… not so much.
“JAMES!” She screamed a she shot awake, tears already streaming down her cheeks. James reached out automatically touch her, pausing right before he touched her. Sometimes he forgot, and didn’t stop until his hand had already gone through her.
He hated that.
Rose curled up tight in bed, sobbing into her knees. “Come back…” She whispered. “Please come back… come back…”
“I’m right here,” James said in response to her pleas. “I’m here, Rose. I’m right here. See me, please see me, I’m here see me…”
But of course, she couldn’t.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Why don’t you come over dinner?”
It wasn’t quite a suggestion, and if Rose had been paying attention she would have heard Donna’s tone. James certainly did.
Rose didn’t care, though. “No thanks,” she mumbled, and Donna sighed.
“Rose… you know he wouldn't–”
“It doesn’t really matter what he wouldn’t want, does it Donna?” Rose snarled, whilring to glare at her sister-in-law. “He’s gone, so his opinion doesn’t count for jack, does it?”
Donna, to her credit, didn’t instantly snap back. James was grateful for that. “It’s been seven months, Rose,” she said quitely. “You can’t lock yourself in the house and mourn forever.”
“Go away.” Rose’s voice was harsh in a way James had never heard it before. It hurt. So much. Donna sighed again, shoulders falling.
“Alright, Rose.”
She left. James knew that wasn’t the end of it, but Donna usually knew how to pick her battles. Rose was shaking as she stormed into the living room, locking the door with more force than what was necessary. She started back to the kitchen, pausing when she walked by their wedding photo, hanging on the wall. They had been so happy that day.
It seemed cruel now.
“I hate you!”
James jumped as Rose screamed, ripping the photo off the wall and hurling it across the room. The frame shattered against another wall, and for a moment James could just stare.
“You… PROMISED!”
Another picture – this one from their honeymoon – was taken and thrown, going right through his head before it hit the wall.
“You said you would never leave!”
Another photo flew, and James had a very bad feeling about their photo wall.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” A photo with each I hate you, glass and wood shattered, and James could only watch, helpless, as she destroyed photo after photo.
She probably needed this. It had been building it up for a while. She needed the release.
It still hurt to watch.
It took nearly ten minutes for Rose to tire herself out. She had grabbed another photo off the wall, but this time she paused to stare at it, breathing heavily. It was of them, of course – the day they had moved into this house. The house they were supposed to live in together, forever.
“I hate you…” She whispered, shaking. She collapsed against the wall, holding the photo tight to her chest, and she slid down to the floor. “I hate you… I miss you… god I miss you…”
“I miss you too,” James said quietly, kneeling beside her. “I miss you too, Rose. I miss you so much. I’m so sorry.”
She couldn’t hear him. He didn’t know why he was even talking.
He was useless.
Eventually Rose dragged herself off the floor, still crying as she called Jackie. Jackie, god bless her, came right over, and didn’t question the destruction at all. She simply made some tea and set to work with cleaning up the glass, salvaging the photos from the wreckage.
“I never really hated you,” James told Jackie as he watched her. “I think you knew that, though. I hope you knew that.”
He’d had plenty of differences with his mother-in-law. But he had never hated her. Jackie sighed as she looked at the pictures in her hands.
“You idiot.”
“Oi! I take it back, I do hate you!”
But there were tears in Jackie’s eyes. She wiped them away quickly, letting out a shuddering breath. “Idiot,” she said again as she finished cleaning up the glass, and this time James heard the affectionate note in her voice.
“Love you too, Jackie.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Jackie sort-of lovingly forced Rose to go to a grief group after that. She was… not pleased, at first, and refused to talk for the first few sessions. James didn’t blame her. He probably wouldn’t have spoken either if someone had forced him to go to a group like this.
He was proud of her when she finally started opening up, though. She even made a few friends who dragged her out to eat after the sessions.
And that seemed to be exactly what she needed. She finally took Donna up on one of her numerous offers for dinner, and started going out with her friends again, a little by little.
It was taking time. Small steps. But she was making progress. And James loved her so much.
“There’s this new doctor, I think you’d like him,” Martha said thoughtfully, sipping her tea.
“I don’t think so, Martha.” It had been a year and four months. Jackie had been pushing Rose to date again. She didn’t want to, though. She didn’t think she was ready.
James wasn’t sure he was ready, either.
“Just give it one chance,” Martha said. “Go on. What could it hurt?”
Rose sighed shakily. “Fine. Just… just for coffee or something. Fine.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
James was trying very, very, very hard not to be jealous. He knew he couldn’t keep Rose to himself forever – he was dead, she was alive, and she did need to move on.
But god, it was hard to watch.
“Rose?”
He gritted his teeth as a rather tall man in a leather jacket approached the table. He was certainly more built than James, and his hair was cropped. Rose smiled as she stood, holding a hand out to him.
“John, right? Nice to meet you.”
James was stunned when his vision started to go black – just like it had when he had finally died. He was fading away again.
And something told him it was for good this time.
“I love you,” he whispered as he watched Rose and John sit down. “Be happy. Please.”
And then he was gone.
Title:Second Chances
Rating:K+
Pairing:Rose/Fem!Metacrisis
Summary: Rose and the Doctor begin the daunting task of building a family.Notes:Child!Fic
Notes (2): It’s TenToo Day and there’s a sad lack of fem!TenToo fics, sooooooooo. Have this.Warning For: Slightly homophobic language (one instance of)
Children were a rough subject with the Doctor.
Rose tried not to bring them up, wanting instead to focus on their relationship, and trying to find themselves again – that was the most important thing, after all.
But of course, Jackie had to ask, “So when do I get grandchildren?” every time she saw them, and Rose could see the twitch in the Doctor’s eyes every time.
“Ignore her,” Rose whispered to the Doctor every time, squeezing the woman’s hand. “Just ignore her.”
“Do you…want kids?” The Doctor asked quietly one night as they left the Tyler mansion. Jackie had opened the dinner with her usual line, only to yelp when Rose kicked her – she was done being nice.
“Shush,” Rose said with a small smile, leaning over to kiss the Doctor’s cheek. “Just ignored her, she’ll stop eventually.”
Still, the Doctor was unnaturally quiet the entire way home. It worried Rose. “Talk to me?” She finally asked once they were home and inside. The Doctor frowned deeply, not quite meeting Rose’s gaze as she spoke.
“Do you want children, Rose?”
Rose blinked, surprised. It was the first time the Doctor had brought children up on her own. “I…I’ve never really thought it?”
The Doctor raised an eyebrow, properly looking at Rose now. “You’re an awful liar.”
Rose sighed. The truth was, at one time, she had wanted children. Her priorities had changed when she’d met the Doctor, but now that they were settling down and creating a life together…the feelings were starting to come back.
“I…guess I’ve thought about it a little,” she admitted after a moment. The Doctor sighed, taking Rose’s hand and pulling her to the couch so they could sit down together.
“Do you want children, Rose?” She asked again.
“I…guess, yeah. I do. But I’m not going to push you either.”
The Doctor ran a hand through her hair, clearly struggling to find the right words to say. “Parenthood…never really worked out for me,” she said finally, quietly. “I was a horrible mother before, and I can’t just run away if I screw up the kids this time.”
“What makes you so sure you’ll screw them up?”
“Past experience?”
“You’re supposed to learn from that.” Rose pressed a kiss to the Doctor’s cheek. “I know you’re worried, but…you know better than anyone that you can’t let fear hold you back.”
The Doctor smiled hesitantly, and Rose pulled her in for a tight hug.
They decided to look at adoption. Neither of them knew how pregnancy would even work for the Doctor (was she biologically human enough to sustain one?), and Rose wasn’t sure how she felt about being pregnant. Besides, there were so many kids who needed a family…adoption was just a better option.
So they put in the paperwork to become foster parents. It was nearly two months before they took in their first child – a twelve-year-old girl named Alice. She’d been in the system for a while, according to her social worker, and had a bit of an attitude.
“So I’m stuck with two dykes?”
“This should be interesting,” the Doctor murmured to Rose after showing Alice where she’d be staying.
Alice was with them for six months, and slowly they chipped away at her icy, untrusting exterior. They were pretty sure they cemented her trust when she got into trouble for skipping a school a month after coming to stay with them and they didn’t instantly throw her out.
At six months they asked Alice if she wanted to become a part of their family. And eight months after taking Alice in, they signed the adoption papers.
And that night Rose woke up alone in bed. She rolled her eyes, yawning as she climbed out of bed to go find her wife – standing in the door of Alice’s room, watching their daughter sleep.
“She’s ours,” the Doctor whispered, and Rose pressed a kiss to the Doctor’s cheek.
“We’re hers.”
Title:To Your Grave
Rating:K+
Pairing:Rose/Fem!Doctor
Summary: –Post-Doomsday– Graves were for the living. Visiting them was pointless. It made even less sense to visit when the person whose name the stone bore was still alive. And yet here she was.Note:@angstybananabread will be taking all responsibility for this. Whether she likes it or not ;)
Also please do me a favor and listen to this song while you read. It enhances the experience.
The Doctor never looked back.
It was one of the rules of her life. She never thought about the companions she lost – the ones who had walked away, or who had been left behind, or had died. She never thought about them, because if she did she would go absolutely mad.
And this was a prime example of that.
The Doctor stood in front of the grave with a bundle of flowers – an even more idiotic tradition, really. A waste of perfectly good flowers – clutched in her hands.
“Oh, they’re beautiful!” Rose cooed as she broke off from the Doctor to look lovingly at the flowers the vendor was selling. They were a very unique shade of pink – one that wasn’t obtainable on Earth.
Of course Rose would like them.
“Perhaps your girlfriend can be convinced to buy you some?” The seller asked with an innocent smile. Really, it was no surprise he thought that – they hadbeen holding hands until Rose had torn away from the Doctor to see the flowers.
Rose didn’t even bother protesting the title. She just whipped around to beam at the Doctor, who sighed in return.
They left the fair with flowers.
The Doctor knelt slowly, setting the bundle of too-pink flowers at the base of the gravestone. The vendor who had been selling the flowers hadn’t recognized her, thank god. She’d just been happy to find he still had some of the flowers.
Rose had loved them so much.
It seemed stupid to keep coming back here and visiting this empty grave. The Doctor knew perfectly well that Rose Tyler wasn’t dead, after all. Trapped and unreachable, yes. But perfectly and wonderfully alive, living a perfectly wonderful human life. Happy.
At least…the Doctor hoped she was happy.
One of them deserved to be.
“It’s been six months.”
The whispered words out of the Doctor’s own mouth surprised her. She’d tried to resist the urge to talk to the stone like it was actually Rose – like the blonde could actually hear her. Talking to this gravestone was just a step too far.
“I mean, I guess time is relative with how much I travel, but it’s been about six months on Earth since Canary Wharf.” And now she was babbling. “London’s recovered well. It’s like nothing ever happened. Everyone’s buried the dead – or the assumed dead – and moved on. Everyone’s moved on.”
Except for her.
“I went back to that marketplace you liked. I mean, obviously I went back, you can see the flowers – I mean you can’t see the flowers – oh blimey what am I even saying. It doesn’t matter.” The stone was silent. Of course. “It wasn’t right…being there without you. I just…thought you’d like the flowers. Not that you’re here to appreciate them. I know you loved them though. I’m sorry I never took you back to get more.”
It was absolutely inane to think to herself that if she had a chance she would bring Rose back to that market to get more flowers. That was what she would do if she had one more chance with Rose Tyler? That was the only thing she would do?
But of course it was. She was too much of a coward to do anything else. She hadn’t even been able to properly say I love you.
But she’d been able to give Rose Tyler flowers.
The Doctor knelt carefully on the cold ground, reaching out to trace a slender finger over the R. Rose wasn’t dead. She needed to keep reminding herself of that. She wasn’t dead. She was alive, and hopefully happy, with her family in the other world.
She was alive. Even if the Doctor would never see her again. Even if all she had to remember her by was this stone with her name carved in it and the empty grave below it.
Even if this was the only connection she would ever have to Rose Tyler again.
Title:The Flower Girl
Rating:K+
Pairing:Rose/Fem!Doctor
Summary: She came in every day to draw the flowers, and never noticed Jo watching her.Note:*sigh* This is dedicated to Lisa, who requested Fem!Ten x Rose florist/tattoo artist AU last night before Tumblr decided she was too pure for this shitty website.
Warning For: Mention of domestic abuse.
She came in every day to draw the flowers.
Jo knew she worked at the tattoo shop across the street, and she came over every afternoon on her lunch break to draw flowers and munch on chips while she worked.
And she never noticed Jo watching her.
Not that Jo was creepy about it, of course. She worked, and she watched the blonde out of the corner of her eye, swearing to herself that this would be the day she worked up the courage to approach the woman.
It never was.
Not that she had a chance in the world. She had seen the other woman with her boyfriend many times, usually snogging against the wall outside the tattoo shop after her shift. He was a big, rather dumb looking man – not that Jo was one to judge someone based on looks alone. But he certainly looked like an idiot.
Jo tried not to be too bitter about it.
She didn’t have a chance was the point, though. Never mind that the woman was in a relationship, it was a clearly physical relationship.
And that had never been Jo’s thing. She enjoyed a good snog as much as the next person, but going beyond that wasn’t something that interested her. It had been the death of all of her past relationships. And she had no reason to believe any future relationships would be different. Really it was better to just reside herself to her flower shop and owning four cats for the rest of her life.
And watching the pretty blonde who came in and drew flowers.
* * * * * * * * *
The woman didn’t come in for an entire week.
Jo considered going across the street to the flower shop to ask about her, but that would be kind of stupid. What was she she supposed to say– “Hi I’m looking for the blonde who comes over to my shop every day to draw flowers?” That was probably a little creepy.
So instead she stewed and she worried.
Andfinally, one day, the blonde returned. She came in while Jo was in the back, and it wasn’t until she came out that she saw the bruises on the woman’s face.
“What happened?” She blurted out without thinking. The woman looked up, surprised.
“What?”
Well Jo had started the conversation. Now she had to finish it. “W-What happened to your face? If you don’t mind me asking, I mean…”
“Oh.” The woman brushed her fingers along the bruises. “S’nothing, really.”
She looked unbearably sad, and Jo didn’t want to push it. She didn’t like that look on the woman’s face. “I’m Jo, by the way,” she said instead, stupidly, and was pleased when the woman smiled a bit.
“You mean the Jo of Jo’s Flowers? Really?” Oh. Right. Her name was on the shop sign. Stupid. “I’m Rose.”
“Your name is Rose and you’re drawing roses? That’s a bit on the nose, isn’t it?”
The woman – Rose – laughed. “Well one of my regulars decided she wanted a rose tattoo so I need to come up with something good.”
“I’ve got a rose arrangement I’m working on that you might like.”
“Really?” Jo nodded. “I’d love to see it.”
* * * * * * * * *
They talked every time Rose came in after that.
Rose was more than happy to share her chips as they talked and she drew. Sometimes Jo would arrange flowers just for her so she could have something unique to draw.
The bruises faded, and with them the memory of whatever caused them. More and more Rose lightened up, smiling more and laughing openly. And Jo did everything she could to get that smile and that laugh as much as she could.
She was falling far too hard for this woman.
“So do you ever eat anything besides chips?” Jo asked one afternoon. Rose paused with a chip halfway to her mouth.
“Is there anything else?”
Jo sighed. “Someone needs to make you a good meal.”
“You offering?”
….
…..
……..
Jo became aware after about five seconds that her mouth was hanging open and she probably looked like an idiot. Rose was clearly trying not to laugh as she returned her attention to her drawing.
“Yes.” The word came out before Jo could stop it, and Rose snapped back around to look at Jo, blinking. “What are you doing Saturday night?”
A small smile pulled at Rose’s lips. “I think I’m going to your place for dinner.”
* * * * * * * * *
“Banana get off the counter.”
The orange cat mewled, clearly displeased, as Jo shoved her off the counter. Of course, then she saw Cocoa and the chase began. Jo sighed as she checked the clock. Five-fifty-eight.
“Oh!”
Jo ran around, gathering up the cats and tossing them into the bedroom. None of them were happy when she closed the door in their faces.
“Deal with it,” she said as someone knocked on the front door. “Coming!” She ran to answer the door, beaming brightly when she saw Rose. “Hullo.”
“Hello!” Rose said brightly. “I brought wine.”
“You’re brilliant. Come in, come in.”
“Do I hear meowing?” Rose asked as she pulled her jacket off. Jo sighed.
“Yeah, I have cats. I put them in my bedroom so we could eat in peace, they’re not pleased.”
“Can I meet them?”
Jo laughed. “Maybe after dinner. The food is almost ready and if I let them out now we’ll never get them back in there.“
They settled down to eat, chatting animatedly, and it was…nice. It was easy, talking to Rose, easier than it had ever been to talk to anyone else. Jo talked too much and too fast and Rose didn’t seem at all annoyed or bored. Rather, she hung on every single word, prodding Jo to continue every time she took a breath.
By the time they’d finished eating they’d both had just enough wine to be loose and a little giggly. Jo finally let the cats out, and of course they were all over Rose in a heartbeat, sniffing at her and looking for pets.
“What’re their names?”
“Banana, Bean, Cocoa, and Cookie. The Bs and Cs are brother and sister.”
Rose burst out laughing. “Those are brilliant names! Which one’s which?”
She pointed out who was who, and Rose made a concentrated effort to remember each and every one.
While the cats wandered, Jo put on a movie for them to watch. She was rather surprised when she returned to the couch, and Rose leaned over to press a kiss to her lips.
Jo’s lack of response must have been immediately obvious, because Rose pulled away after only a couple seconds, blinking rapidly.
“I…I’m sorry, I’ll go.”
She stood up, hurrying for the door. “Wait!” Jo yelped, hurrying after her and grabbing her hand. “Wait, hang on, don’t go.”
Rose kept her eyes firmly on the floor, staring hard at Cocoa, who was winding around her ankles. “I guess I thought this was a date,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
“I…I thought you had a boyfriend,” Jo said stupidly, and finally Rose looked up to meet her gaze. She looked impossibly sad and lost.
It hurt.
“I don’t. We…broke up about a month ago.”
About a month ago. That was the same time Rose had disappeared for a week and then returned with bruises on her face.
Jo did her best not to jump to conclusions.
“Did…Did you want it to be a date?” Jo asked cautiously after a minute. It was Rose’s turn to be surprised.
“I…wouldn’t mind if it was.”
“I wouldn’t either,” Jo said quietly. Rose gave her a hesitant smile, and after a moment Jo dared to step forward, pressing a small kiss to Rose’s lips.
This one went a lot better than the first one.
Title:Echo
Rating:K+
Pairing:Rose/Fem!Doctor
Summary: –Doomsday AU– For a wild, mad moment the thought of just letting go and joining Rose in her descent – because what was life without Rose Tyler? What would it matter if she survived if there was no Rose Tyler in this world with her?Note:This was not at all influenced by @angstybananabread. I promise.
Note:This is a companion piece to my story Empty. Read that to understand this.
Trigger Warning For: Implied Character Death
This was how she was going to die.
It was terrifying to think about – she was barely twenty years old, she’d had so much she wanted to do – like spend the rest of her life with the Doctor, for one.
She was going to break her promise.
All of that passed through Rose Tyler’s head in the few seconds between her fingers slipping desperately from the lever, and her fingers finally letting go, sending her plummeting toward the void. She thought she screamed – she must have screamed – but any noise she might have made was completely drowned out but the terrified shriek of her name coming from the Time Lady she was leaving behind.
I’m sorry, Doctor.
And then she tumbled into darkness.
That should have been the end of it. The void was nothing. Nothing could exist there. That was what the Doctor had said.
Rose knew falling into it would mean death.
Opening her eyes again was something of a surprise.
It took Rose a moment to realize she had opened her eyes. Everything was…black. It was an impenetrable, as far as she could see – it went on forever, unbroken by anything.
Except.
Except for the faint golden glow that seemed to be surrounding Rose. She tried to look around, to get a good look at the glow, but it shifted every way she turned her head – like she was trying to see something out of the corner of her eye and it kept moving with her.
She couldn’t see it. But she was sure it was keeping her alive. Although what kind of existence was it if she was going to be trapped here forever?
“Doctor….” She whispered, almost on reflex, as if the Doctor could somehow hear her. As if she would come sweeping into the void and whisk Rose away from this hell, just as she had done that day in Henrik’s basement.
But of course, there was no rescue. There was no magical Time Lady sweeping in to take her hand and whisper run this time.
There was no one coming to save her.
Tears slipped slowly down Rose’s cheeks, and for the first time she realized how cold it was. Every single part of her felt like ice. She shivered, curling up tight on herself as the tears fell faster.
“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m so sorry.”
The words reverberated in the silence, echoing back to her and reminding her how very alone she was.
How very alone she would always be, trapped here. Forever.
