Rose backed away slowly, biting her lower lip. The lights of the buttons on the console of the TARDIS blinked, small dots being reflected on the polished floors. There he was, teeth bared, fist gripping the wheel so tight his knuckles turned white.

"Doctor….?" she asked hesitantly, her voice trembling. The Doctor shook his head, letting go of the wheel. Where his fist hand been there was a permanent imprint of his fingers in the metal. A red satin was on his trench coat, looking almost black against the brown color of the fabric.

"Doctor, is that….blood?" Rose asked, her gaze fixated on it. The same red substance covered his sneakers, trailing in little dots along the floor. Rose let her eyes follow the trail, a gasp escaping her, almost a scream as she saw it.

Mickey's body, lying in a pool of blood.

"Doctor! Doctor what happened?!" she screeched as she ran over to him, her hands skimming the darkened clothes.

"What do you mean, Rose?" the Doctor asked, almost nonchalantly as he ran a hand through his hair. Rose looked up at him in disbelief- how could he be so calm about it?! Here was Mickey's dead body lying not eh floor of the TARDIS and all the alien could think about was what? Travelign through space and time some more?!

"Doctor- Mickey! What did you do to him?!" Rose exclaimed.

"He was getting in the way, Rose," the Doctor said looking at his nails with a bored expression on his face, "besides, you told me yourself that he was jealous of our relationship."

"But…." Rose began, trailing off. Indeed, she had told the Doctor. Yes, Mickey was jealous- but did it really need to result in his death?

"But what, Rose?" the Doctor repeated, "now we can travel together, without having to hear your boyfriend complain about every little thing!" Rose shook her head. There was no way that he was dead.

"No, no no….." she muttered to herself, remembering the random flash of light, the bloodcurdling scream….

"Come on, Rose," the Doctor said lovingly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Rose jerked her arm away.

"No, Doctor…." Rose said, her voice becoming harsh, "what happened?"

"Well, there was the random flash of light," the Doctor answered, "and the scream- which, blimey, was music to my ears let me tell you-"

"What did you just say?" Rose said in bewilderment, whirling her head in his direction. It wasn't like the Doctor to say those things. He was always a kind man, a man who loved her for who she was, a man who, behind all the mystery, was the most gentle creature she had ever encountered.

"What?" The Doctor blinked.

"You just said his scream… was music to your ears…" Rose said, standing up to her full height.

"And? What about it? I just thought that if he was out of the way-"

"You thought if he was out of the way I would be happy?" Rose guessed, narrowing her eyes at him. The Doctor- if Rose should be calling him that- shrugged, "Well yeah. Isn't it what you want? To be happy? With me?" There was a hopeful look in his brown eyes as he said this, as if this…. abomination was able to feel that she might return his affection.

"Yes, i want to be happy," Rose answered, "but not like this- not with my boyfriend dead! Not in this blue box that goes who knows where all the time!" At this, the alien's face fell, and they stood there silently, so quiet you might have been able to hear his two hearts beat in sync. The Doctor shook his head.

"Well, I guess that's it then," he said forlornly. Shoving a hand in his pocket, he took a jaunty step toward her.

"What is?" He breathed a heavy sigh, letting his hands now swing idly at his sides as he stopped in front of her. Rose suddenly felt the rough wood of the door press against her back, scratch her skin through the fabric of her pink hoodie. Yes, the look in his eyes was sad, but then it hit her

This was not the Doctor. A horrified expression overcame her as she went to scream, a creepy smile decorating his face as he noticed her realization. The grin grew wider as she screamed even louder, his brown eyes now becoming black, the color taking over his entire eyeball, not a vein in sight anymore.

"Goodbye, Rose Tyler," the Doctor said, cocking his head to the side like an innocent puppy that wad caught chewing a roll of toilet paper. Rose shook her head, the tears flowing freely as he placed his hands on her shoulders, nails digging into her.

"No… Docttor come ba-!" she began to please as the door suddenly swung open, revealing the blur of the London streets below. Then there was nothing, only her scream as she plummeted down to Earth, the blank stare the only thing she saw as he looked on, placidly calm.

"It was a pleasure traveling with you," he muttered, closing the door slowly.