Disclaimer: I own nothing, except the plot.

Firstly, I should mention that this contains SPOILERS! for Doctor Who The End of Time. So if you haven't seen that and don't want to be spoiled, please do not read on.

I rather loved EoT (as it shall be known as from here on) especially the end bit. Although - Martha and Mickey?! Sure didn't see that one coming. Anyway when I watched the part with Rose and the Doctor then fell over onto the ground, I was so sure Rose would come rushing back out and help him up. Alas, I was disappointed. So I have resorted to FanFiction as per usual. :P

For those following Camelot's Angels a new chapter will be up soon. :) I haven't forgot about it!

I hope you enjoy this anyway. To David Tennant - thank you for brining the 10th Doctor to life!

A Helping Hand

The Doctor couldn't carry on. Falling to the ground on all fours, he realised he was fading fast. He wasn't going to make it to the TARDIS in time. He was going to change in the middle of the Powell Estate in the centre of London. He would change, right where it all had begun for him. When he had met Rose for the first time...

"Oi, mate," it was Rose. "You sure you're alright?"

She had returned and despite his pain and anguish, the Doctor smiled. Rose, seeing him fall, had rushed back down a flight of stairs and back out into the cold.

"Yeah," he croaked out, barely managing a reply.

"God you must've had one hell of a night," Rose muttered, bending down beside him.

"Please, no," he groaned, not making himself sound convincing. He didn't want to consider what would happen if she saw him, no longer hidden in the shadows. From experience he knew that meeting someone before you've actually met them can mean trouble. "I'm fine really."

"I'm not leaving you," oh, how very Rose. "You're in a right state you are. Here, gimme your hand."

The deteriorating Time Lord shuddered, feeling her hands on his back and on his arm. For a moment he feared what she was going to do.

"'s alright," she soothed him. "I'm just gunna help you up. Can't leave you lying in the snow to catch your death."

The Doctor gave a weak chuckle, before the pain overwhelmed him again and he moaned, pressing his face into the fresh snow, not caring how much it stung. The warms hands of Rose felt so wonderful and for a moment he disregarded the possible dangers of her seeing him.

"Come on now, it's alright," Rose continued, tugging against his arm. "Although, you could lend us a hand. I'm not Iron Man, you know!"

Groaning with the effort, he was half pulled to his feet; however, he continue to look downwards, at the snowy ground.

"There you are. Wasn't so hard, now was it," and the Doctor could hear the smile in her voice.

"Thank you," he managed to mutter.

"Anytime," Rose replied, her grip still vicelike on his arm, as though she were afraid he might fall again. "So, what's you name then?"

On impulse he turned to look at her. He was dying, he decided. So screw the laws of time. Just this once. Their eyes met and for a moment the Doctor's mind drifted back to a Christmas where they had stood, holding hands as ash fell down upon them, imitating the snow he stood in tonight.

As the pain suddenly subsided for a moment, he smiled at her and she returned the gesture, her tongue just poking out between her teeth. Just like he remembered. "I'm John Smith," he finally answered her smoothly.

"Rose," she continued to smile and the Doctor noticed how warm her eyes were. This was not the look one usually gave a drunken idiot at one in the morning.

She saw the pain in his eyes, the suffering; something much more which told of anguish millions of years old. How was that possible? But she trusted him. Amongst the dark horrors, she also saw love and gratitude. Emotions she rarely saw in random strangers in the middle of London.

"It's lovely to meet you, Rose," he spoke again, sounding calm and contented.

"You too," and her grin widened, almost turning into a laugh. "So, you'll be right now?"

"Course," the Doctor replied, as if to say, 'don't worry about me'. "Thanks again."

"No problem. And I'll see you 'round then, yeah?" Rose smiled again and slowly released the grip on his arm. Not waiting for an answer, she turned, her scarf fluttering in the slight breeze behind her.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling against the pain. "See you around, Rose Tyler."

He spoke her name for the last time. The last time in this body, anyway and walking strongly back to the TARDIS. Rose had given him strength. Of course she had. She always could make him better.

Opening the door of the TARDIS, the Doctor stepped inside. He only had minutes to spare before he changed. Swiftly he twirled the dials and left the Powell Estate. Left Rose for the last time.

"Goodbye," the word was lost in the sound of the TARDIS dematerialising.

Back in the snow and out in the cold, Rose Tyler turned around as the sound of the universe sounded in her ears. There was nothing there. Not even the mysterious John Smith. Only the swirling of the snow and the remnants of a beautiful machine noise, echoing into the night. After a moment she shook her head, incredulously. Maybe she did have too much to drink.

Pushing the thought to the back of her mind, Rose bounded up the stairs to the apartment with a new found energy.

It would only be another four months before the sound of the universe once again hummed in her ears and her life was changed forever.