[He stares at her in disbelief. Joyous disbelief. And yet...there's something that makes him wonder how long she's been gone, and what she's gone through. Something is obviously bothering her.]
It's alright, Charley. I'm not leaving. I'm never leaving.
I-- I know. [ ahahahaha, well. In a manner of speaking. Though she knows better know than she did back home what was happening. That he didn't really die, that he never mentioned their run-in with the Cybermen, who the other him was. Still, it's a lot to process and she was still grieving him and she is beside herself with relief that he wasn't dead. ] I'm here, I'm here.
[ she cuts off the connection and all but slams in the door. ]
[Eight pounds his way down the stairs at the sound of the slamming door and her voice and barrels into her, scooping her up and clinging tight. His voice cracks several times, but he doesn't cry...not yet, at least.]
Charley. Oh, my Charley. I thought I'd lost you forever...again!
[ Charley, on the other hand, throws herself into his arms and bursts into tears, clinging tightly to him. ]
God, I thought you were dead! You were dead and I was trapped on the cybership when it crashed and then you came for me but it wasn't you and-- and I thought you were dead!
[Well, there goes his control. Tears start spilling down his cheeks as he holds her, fingertips sliding over her hair. But wait...Cybership? He doesn't remember any of this.
Still, he let Charley cry herself out for a while before speaking again, tenderly petting and kissing her hair and cheeks, murmuring wordlessly to her in comforting tones.]
...Charley? Darling, I don't know what you mean. What cybership?
[Unfortunately for him, everything after he stepped into the TARDIS to prove to her that something was wrong has been lost from his memory.]
What Cybersh-- The one the Cybermen originated from, of course. The ones on the Batavia? January 15th, 1942? Right after-- [ her voice hitches, and she closes her eyes. ] Right after C'rizz died. You tried to take me home but we ended up in 2008. Oh, you must remember!
[He settles her down on her feet, red-rimmed eyes looking her over with confusion, and a bit of pain. That day. That day she walked out on him and told him never to go looking for her. The day after C'rizz had died.
Wiping the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand, he shakes his head.]
That isn't how I remember that day. I remember going back to the TARDIS to prove to you that I hadn't gone to 2008 deliberately to keep you from leaving me and... I think that temporal hump hit the TARDIS pretty badly and knocked me out or something, because I woke up on the floor of the console room.
[He takes a deep breath, having never really said any of this to her before. He never thought he'd have the chance.]
When I went back to the Singapore Hilton, the woman at the reception desk handed me a letter. From you, telling me that you were going to disappear and that I wasn't to go looking for you.
That is how I remember the day I lost you, Charley.
He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten that they'd had one last victory lap, that she was even starting to change her mind, and all he'd had was that irritated moment when she stormed off to the hotel and left him that note.
Frankly, she looks a little horrified. ]
Oh... Oh Doctor. Oh, I'm so sorry, you-- whatever Byron did to you, it must've-- you forgot. We left you on the floor of the console room, and you didn't have a heartbeat, not on either side, I thought you were dead, and then when I was trying to get back, the HADS activated before I could get back in and...
[ she lets out a deep breath ] Oh, you must've revived on your own somehow, and-- no wonder you weren't the one who found me.
I...I must have gone into a healing coma, to fix whatever this Byron person did to me.
[He frowns thoughtfully, and a bit forlornly. When he goes home, he'll never remember this. Never remember that he got it all wrong. He'll still think that she walked out on him in disgust, and that that's all that happened.
[ she laughs a little, watery with tears - of grief and relief all at once. Wanker, making her cry. ]
I built a crystal radio, out of what was left of the Cybership. Sent out an SOS, every hour, for... well, a while. And then the TARDIS appeared, but it wasn't you. [ she shakes her head ] Six. It was Six, not that I knew that. Blue jacket, blonde curls, fondness for cats. It was just-- yesterday, I suppose, I hadn't-- and being back here is just--
[ She tightens her hold on him again, kissing his cheek ]
How long was I gone this time? It wasn't long, was it? Have we lost anyone else?
[Really, he wants to say more, but he's so bloody confused. He'll have to ask Six about that later. If even Six knows anything about it. The blue jacket was from later years.
Still, Charley's here. She's back. He hasn't lost her forever. He cups her cheek, lovingly brushing his thumb along the soft skin there.]
Only a day. [There's a little, watery laugh of his own.] Thankfully, I only embarrassed myself in front of two people this time. In my defense, it had been an emotional day yesterday.
Oh, that's right, that was... yesterday, blimey. [ She kisses him briefly, a hand on each cheek, then looks up at him with concern ] How did it go? Of all the times for me to up and disappear...
[Ugh, yesterday. His body tenses a bit at the memory, unsure if he's ready to fall apart.]
The good news is that Eleven went home for a while, and found a way to save Gallifrey. I don't end up killing my own people in my future.
The bad news...
[His voice cracks, wavers and breaks, and he tries to blink away the tears that are threatening to spill over again. He had wanted to fall apart on Charley the night before, but after what she's been through, it's hard to bring himself to do it.]
I found out about my death. It's...not as heroic as I might have liked.
[He takes a deep, shaky breath.]
It fits how my life had been going for a while before I came to Asgard, I suppose. Failing to save someone, reviled, used...
[The dam begins to break and the tears start spilling down his cheeks.]
Choosing to die because the universe doesn't need the Doctor anymore. I gave up. I just...gave up, Charley.
[ She tugs him down, pulling his head to her shoulder and running her fingers through his hair ]
Oh, my darling, darling man. [ she kisses his hair softly ] It's all right. It is. No matter what happened, even if you... chose it, you became the Doctor again. All right? It... [ she huffs a little, sadly ] I'm so sorry.
[He clings to her, letting everything out. Every bit of pain he'd been holding onto and had only let out in shouting in all the months he's been in Asgard. Great sobs of grief, frustration and pain shook him as he wept on her shoulder.
Thank the gods for Charley. She'd been a part of his very soul for so long, and now she was here again. He could let it all go with her arms around him.
He didn't have to be strong for anyone right now.]
[ Charley just holds on to him, standing in the hallway, murmuring nonsense and softly humming snatches of lullabies and absent melodies.
This had been building for a long time. Probably since he read her letter, if not before. She would absolutely let him get it out of his system. Hopefully it would help. ]
Shhh, I've got you. I've got you, it's all right. It'll be all right.
[There is so much he needs to let out, if he's honest. He can be emotional, but it mostly comes out in anger. Rarely would he ever cry, despite all the traumas he's suffered through this incarnation. Everyone he'd failed, everyone he'd lost, he'd pushed it down as best he could. He would hold himself together and either try to go numb, or shout a bit when he couldn't.
Not today. Today, he's just going to let it all go. And yes, Charley has him. It would be alright.
After he's cried himself out, he sags a bit and just holds onto her, fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt. When he finally speaks, his voice is barely a whisper.]
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It's alright, Charley. I'm not leaving. I'm never leaving.
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[ she cuts off the connection and all but slams in the door. ]
Doctor!
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Charley. Oh, my Charley. I thought I'd lost you forever...again!
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God, I thought you were dead! You were dead and I was trapped on the cybership when it crashed and then you came for me but it wasn't you and-- and I thought you were dead!
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Still, he let Charley cry herself out for a while before speaking again, tenderly petting and kissing her hair and cheeks, murmuring wordlessly to her in comforting tones.]
...Charley? Darling, I don't know what you mean. What cybership?
[Unfortunately for him, everything after he stepped into the TARDIS to prove to her that something was wrong has been lost from his memory.]
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Wiping the tears off his cheeks with the back of his hand, he shakes his head.]
That isn't how I remember that day. I remember going back to the TARDIS to prove to you that I hadn't gone to 2008 deliberately to keep you from leaving me and... I think that temporal hump hit the TARDIS pretty badly and knocked me out or something, because I woke up on the floor of the console room.
[He takes a deep breath, having never really said any of this to her before. He never thought he'd have the chance.]
When I went back to the Singapore Hilton, the woman at the reception desk handed me a letter. From you, telling me that you were going to disappear and that I wasn't to go looking for you.
That is how I remember the day I lost you, Charley.
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He'd forgotten. He'd forgotten that they'd had one last victory lap, that she was even starting to change her mind, and all he'd had was that irritated moment when she stormed off to the hotel and left him that note.
Frankly, she looks a little horrified. ]
Oh... Oh Doctor. Oh, I'm so sorry, you-- whatever Byron did to you, it must've-- you forgot. We left you on the floor of the console room, and you didn't have a heartbeat, not on either side, I thought you were dead, and then when I was trying to get back, the HADS activated before I could get back in and...
[ she lets out a deep breath ] Oh, you must've revived on your own somehow, and-- no wonder you weren't the one who found me.
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[He frowns thoughtfully, and a bit forlornly. When he goes home, he'll never remember this. Never remember that he got it all wrong. He'll still think that she walked out on him in disgust, and that that's all that happened.
But, wait. What?]
Found you? Who found you, then?
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I built a crystal radio, out of what was left of the Cybership. Sent out an SOS, every hour, for... well, a while. And then the TARDIS appeared, but it wasn't you. [ she shakes her head ] Six. It was Six, not that I knew that. Blue jacket, blonde curls, fondness for cats. It was just-- yesterday, I suppose, I hadn't-- and being back here is just--
[ She tightens her hold on him again, kissing his cheek ]
How long was I gone this time? It wasn't long, was it? Have we lost anyone else?
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[He looks startled. What the hell?]
I don't...remember any of this.
[Really, he wants to say more, but he's so bloody confused. He'll have to ask Six about that later. If even Six knows anything about it. The blue jacket was from later years.
Still, Charley's here. She's back. He hasn't lost her forever. He cups her cheek, lovingly brushing his thumb along the soft skin there.]
Only a day. [There's a little, watery laugh of his own.] Thankfully, I only embarrassed myself in front of two people this time. In my defense, it had been an emotional day yesterday.
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The good news is that Eleven went home for a while, and found a way to save Gallifrey. I don't end up killing my own people in my future.
The bad news...
[His voice cracks, wavers and breaks, and he tries to blink away the tears that are threatening to spill over again. He had wanted to fall apart on Charley the night before, but after what she's been through, it's hard to bring himself to do it.]
I found out about my death. It's...not as heroic as I might have liked.
[He takes a deep, shaky breath.]
It fits how my life had been going for a while before I came to Asgard, I suppose. Failing to save someone, reviled, used...
[The dam begins to break and the tears start spilling down his cheeks.]
Choosing to die because the universe doesn't need the Doctor anymore. I gave up. I just...gave up, Charley.
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Oh, my darling, darling man. [ she kisses his hair softly ] It's all right. It is. No matter what happened, even if you... chose it, you became the Doctor again. All right? It... [ she huffs a little, sadly ] I'm so sorry.
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Thank the gods for Charley. She'd been a part of his very soul for so long, and now she was here again. He could let it all go with her arms around him.
He didn't have to be strong for anyone right now.]
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This had been building for a long time. Probably since he read her letter, if not before. She would absolutely let him get it out of his system. Hopefully it would help. ]
Shhh, I've got you. I've got you, it's all right. It'll be all right.
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Not today. Today, he's just going to let it all go. And yes, Charley has him. It would be alright.
After he's cried himself out, he sags a bit and just holds onto her, fingers curling into the fabric of her shirt. When he finally speaks, his voice is barely a whisper.]
I don't know what I'd do without you here.