Run.

Too many memories can have horrific effects on the mind. So what happens when that mind belongs to a nine-hundred year old Time Lord? His memories are catching up with him, and they've given him an ultimatum. His well-being… or his Rose. Ten/Rose

Don't own anything. Always the BBC, so I'm not making a Dime with this. Enjoy!

Run.

Don't look back. You must never, ever look back. Looking back means pain. Looking back means suffering and neglect. The past is to be nothing but a nightmare, always to repeat itself in your mind until you are consumed by your own misery.

You know this. You have seen this. You have done this.

And you understand what it means, what it shows and teaches. You are to learn from your mistakes, but you must never look back. If you have to learn, wait for your mistakes to find you.

Run. Don't look back.

Think of fire, death and destruction. Burning. Everything Burns. Think of life. Think of souls ripping from burning bodies, screams ripping from screaming throats, life ripping from everything. Lifeless, dying, screaming, burning, pain, begging, pleading.

But still you must run. They will find you. They will haunt you. Forever you will be plagued by their dying requests, their begs, their sobs, their lives. Which is why you must never look back.

Run.

Keep running.

Don't look back.

Run.

oOoOoO

The lump was rising painfully in her throat. She could feel it, pushing its way ever upwards, threatening to block her only chance of comforting him. He was in pain. He was suffering, but she could think of nothing to say or do to help. She felt the agonizing sting of tears at the corners of her eyes as she watched, helpless.

He was trembling, his shaking hands ringing themselves through his already ruffled hair, sweat glistening gently against his brow, his deep but darkened eyes swimming with unshed tears.

She wanted to see him cry. She hated herself for thinking such a thing, but she knew from experience that tears were the first step to recovery. She needed him to demolish those annoying barriers, rip them away, tear them down until there was nothing but the honest him staring through. He needed to admit everything, even if it was just to himself. She knew nothing of his troubles, nor could she believe that she ever would.

He leant against the console, encouraging the TARDIS to support his quivering weight, as his own legs seemed to be failing abysmally at the task. She stepped forwards, placing a hand on his shoulder. He flinched slightly at the contact, but soon relaxed.

He couldn't even look at her. She felt her heart break at his sadness. Something had happened, but she couldn't bring herself to ask, and he seemed unable to say anything. He was staring blindly at the wall, watery eyes lingering on anything but everything. Trying to ignore all there was to see, but desperate to see something he could take notice of.

Rose squeezed his shoulder gently and she felt him tense slightly. She sighed, blinking back tears of her own as she spotted his.

"What's happened, Doctor?" she asked quietly.

No reply.

Not even a blink to acknowledge he'd even heard her voice. She paused, then continued, a slight pleading desperation behind her words.

"Doctor? Please, what's wrong?"

He never moved, unable to justify lifting his sightless gaze to her face. She wouldn't understand. He couldn't bring himself to burden her. Her happiness was too important.

"Nothing," he sighed, turning to the console, and fiddling with the screen. His shaking hands were out of his control, no matter how hard he held them. She could see. She had noticed. He suddenly stopped, fully aware that he could not leave things as they were. Not any more.

"Doctor?" she whispered.

He couldn't hold them in any longer. The tears, hot and fresh, cascaded gently down his cheeks, shining brightly against the unnatural paleness of his skin. He was shaking, everything trembling despite his efforts to steady himself.

"Oh, what is it?" she asked softly, reaching for his hand. Rose had never seen him like this before. She wasn't sure she could cope with this.

The Doctor simply blinked and turned away. He couldn't do it.

Keep running, Doctor. Run. Always run.

Not this time. He couldn't run any more. They had found him. As the tears threatened to increase, he shook his head violently and pushed himself away from her, running towards the doors and disappearing into the depths of the TARDIS.

Rose felt her arm drop to her side numbly, her own tears slid silently down her face, the bitter taste of them lingering on her lips. She leant against the console, staring after him, unable to think of anything to do next.

He needed space, she concluded. She sighed, wiped her eyes on her sleeve roughly, and set off towards the kitchen. Maybe things would be alright after a cup of tea. Her mum seemed to think that tea was always the answer. Perhaps everything would look better after a break. It had helped them once before, after all.

oOoOoO

The creak of an old, wooden door. Millions of books. Cluttered, towering shelves. A friendly Darkness. Flickering candlelight. Solitude. Silence. The Doctor wandered senselessly between the aisles towards the glowing fireplace at the other end.

He paused, then dropped to his knees on the threadbare rug, staring at the flames. The tears fell without his notice, now. He could no longer feel them. He couldn't feel anything anymore. Nothing but pain. Biting memories. Pain.

You've stopped running.

"Go away."

They will find you. For too long you have lingered on, clinging to the skin of your pathetic existence, meddling in so many lives simply in the hope that you can override the damage you've caused.

"I said go away! Go! Leave me alone! I didn't ask for any of this!"

Keep running, Doctor. You have no other choice. Run, or they will find you.

"GO AWAY!" he half sobbed, half shouted, shaking his head violently, his trembling hands digging dangerously hard into his skull, tearing at his hair in the hopes that he could rip them from his mind if he worked hard enough.

You once believed we were the nightmares, didn't you? You thought you could hide from us. Smother yourself in adventures, in sunlight. But you broke, didn't you? You slept. You slipped away, leaving yourself vulnerable. And we found you. We are your only chance of survival, Doctor. They are hunting. They will find you eventually. You cannot hide forever.

"But I had no choice! I couldn't do anything else. I didn't ask to survive! I didn't want to! I couldn't! I shouldn't have! It isn't my fault!"

Oh, but it is. You sold yourself short, Doctor. You lingered on. You should have died with them, but you didn't. Outcast, rebel, The Oncoming Storm. Coward.

"What do you want me to do?"

Your companion holds the answer, Doctor. Have you not noticed? Are you so stupid as to ignore all of the signs? Everything is there, Doctor. She could end your endless torment.

He was rocking backwards and forwards on his knees, holding himself against the chill that was creeping its way through his body, ignoring the heat blazing onto him from the roaring fireplace.

"No. I couldn't do it."

Oh, come on, Doctor! One more life would be enough to convince you. One tiny, stupid, insignificant little human girl would break you. You would finally pay full redemption for your deeds. You do not deserve happiness, Doctor. And as long as she is here, you will suffer.

"No. I need her. She's the only one who can keep me going. I won't do it, no matter what happens to me, I won't do that to her. I won't!"

But how do you know that's not what she wants?

The Doctor fell uncharacteristically still, staring at the flickering flames, his breath catching in his chest.

Ah, silence always did speak louder than words. You don't know, do you? You don't know if she's coping with your change. You don't know if she wants to leave you, and you don't want to think about it.

The tears fell harder, throwing themselves from his eyes onto the floor below him, staining his pale hands, eating away at the flesh, tearing at his hearts. He had no choice.

They will come for you, Doctor. They will come for her, and she will be your final sacrifice. They will take her, and in doing so, they will take you. The last thing you ever see will be her, dying in front of your staring face, screaming her sorrow and pain to the heavens in your place. That will be the last thing you ever see, the last thing you ever hear. Your Rose, the ultimate sacrifice.

"But what if she doesn't? What if she chooses to stay? What if I can't convince her to leave?"

You will force her to if you have to. It doesn't matter how you do it. But she will leave, and you will give yourself in. Running cannot help you any longer. You have run too far, and they have found you. They're here. They can see you.

"No."

Run to her, Doctor. Run with her, force her to run for herself. She will leave, and she will be safe. Only then can we leave you. Only then will you be free to mourn in peace. As long as she is with you, we are with you. You do not deserve the happiness she offers. You know that, Doctor. You know that full well. Think about it. You have precious minutes before they take over. We must go, but they will find you in the end. They always do.

"No! Wait! What do I do? What am I supposed to tell her?"

But there was no reply. The sneedy little voices had vanished, leaving him staring at the ceiling, tears burning, his hearts breaking. He fell backwards, his eyes shutting on him, his hands tearing at his face, the warmth from the fireplace washing over him, but the cold harshness of his mind forbidding it's playful warmthness from touching his frozen skin.

He moaned quietly, silently begging for another way. Anything. But there was nothing.

The dreams had started mere days after his regeneration, starting so subtly that he hadn't noticed their true potential until it was too late.

Always the same, golden light, blinding brightness, singing angels, kisses, gold. But then the voices had arrived, laughing at the brightness, squashing it down until it was nothing more than a glittering star, hanging alone in an endless blackness. They'd found him, and they were taking over everything. He couldn't sleep. Nightmares, always hovering above his head, waiting until the early hours of morning to attack him. He'd shut himself away from slumber, hoping to block them.

But they were right. There was no stopping them. He had dropped his guard for mere seconds, and they had taken over completely. He was nothing but a slave to them, now.

Another conquest.

They always won in the end, and now they were going to take his Rose down with them.

Run, Doctor. They are here.

Run.

The Doctor sobbed, moaned, tore at himself mentally in any way he could, but there was no way out. He stumbled absently to his feet and tried to walk towards the door.

His blackness was consuming him, and he needed to get Rose away before it was too late.

oOoOoO

Rose drained the two tea bags and carried the cups across to the table, sinking down in one of the chairs with a sigh. She smiled slightly, thinking about her mother's face when she had heard that a cup of tea had been the answer to a speedy recovery for the Doctor.

If only everything could be that simple.

Rose frowned as a loud clattering echoed towards her. She froze, listening, as the noise loomed ever closer. She jumped to her feet, knocking the chair over in her haste to investigate.

"Doctor?" she called hurriedly, staring up and down the seemingly endless corridors as she stood stock still in the kitchen doorway. She ran through another corridor, skidding to a halt when she noticed an open door. Of course. Curiosity would always get the better of her. Inevitable, some would call it. She walked cautiously towards it, pushing it softly until she could see the room beyond.

She gasped.

Beautiful, was the only way to describe it.

Endless, luscious green fields covered with flowers of every kind imaginable, swirling pink clouds amidst a roaming lilac sky, birds twittering happily to each other from the branches of strange trees with long, flowing leaves.

The Doctor was standing at the crest of one of the closer hills, staring out at something beyond her vision. She began to climb towards him, smiling in spite of herself. It was so quiet, so calm, so peaceful… so 'Doctor'.

She laughed softly when she reached the crest, staring at a vivid blue sun, sinking below another crest a little way ahead of them. Shooting stars and comets rocketed around them, whistling gentle rhythms and songs of no particular meaning into her ears as they passed her.

"How are you feeling, now?" she asked calmly, the atmosphere releasing her stress with one breath. She felt strangely at peace, despite everything she had seen so far that day.

"You need to leave."

Rose sighed, almost aware that he had spoken then. She turned to him, the seriousness on his face hitting her harder than the view had.

"Sorry, what?" she sighed.

"You need to leave," he repeated, trying to keep his voice even and firm.

Rose blinked, staring at him now.

"I, er, what? What do you mean, leave? Leave what?"

"Leave this. Leave the TARDIS… leave me." He couldn't look at her, no matter how much he was dying to see her face again. He needed her to go, and he was rapidly running out of time. Seeing her would kill his resolve, he was sure.

"No, sorry, I'm not following," she said, no longer smiling. "Are you alright?"

"Rose, listen to me," he practically begged, turning to stare at her, gripping her shoulders. "You need to leave, right now, get out, get away, go home. You can't stay with me any more."

Rose felt tears prick at her eyes, and she gasped, staring at him, her eyes wide.

"This is about earlier, isn't it? This is what you were upset about before. What's happened, Doctor? What's made you think I've got to leave?"

"Rose… I need you to leave, that's all," he tried, unable to think as she stared at him, breaking him. They didn't have time for this. He felt his head begin to throb, as whispers erupted at the edge of his mind.

No, please, not yet. I need more time, please, please, not yet.

"Why? Is it some alien? Because I've never left before, and I don't know what makes you think I'd leave now. We've been through too much. How could you think I'd go? What's going on, Doctor? You're scaring me now!" She stared at him, her eyes blazing. Strangely out of focus… strange…

Stop it! I'm trying, go away! Please, I need more time!

Time's up, Time Lord.

"Rose… please, go!" he cried, his voice breaking. "Just go, right now. You're in danger. GO!" he shouted when she simply stared at him.

"Wait, danger from what?" she cried back, staring as his eyes began to glaze over, almost as if he was seeing something beyond her.

"Danger from me," he sobbed. He blinked, shaking his head as a dog would to rid its ears of water. "No," he muttered, "please, you can't, you can't take her!"

"Take me where? Who? Doctor, what's happening?" she tried, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Rose," he muttered feebly, "go. Just go, leave… run."

"Never," she cried back, gripping his shoulders. "Let me help. What is it?"

The Doctor shook his head once, opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Before Rose knew what was happening, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he weakened against her, stumbling backwards.

"I'm so sorry, Rose," he whispered faintly. "I'm so sorry…"

His voice trailed away as he fell backwards, disappearing into his nightmares, consumed by his memories, drowning in despair.

Rose felt herself fall to her knees beside him as he hit the ground.

"Doctor? Doctor!"

A sudden pain erupted in the back of her mind, and she hunched herself up, holding her head, gasping. Before she could do anything else, her subconscious claimed her, and she fell backwards into an endless, starless night, the pain fading away into nothing. She was gone before she hit the ground, her hand somehow landing clasped within the Doctors'.

A deathly cold silence fell across the once warm and beautiful landscape, as two worlds fell away into suffering and darkness. Memories and nightmares took over, and his final chance at running away was left unguarded. There was nothing to be done now.

You're too late, Doctor. They've found you. They've found you both. We tried, Doctor. She will suffer, now. Your memories will be her undoing. You can run no longer. They've found you.

I hope that was alright! I think this'll be a two-parter, and I'll try to update it soon. In the meantime, reviews would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!