Disclaimer: Once again, Doctor Who and All It's Characters Belong to the BBC. I'm just borrowing them.

For a human life, time seems to pass in the span of the beat of the wings of a butterfly. Fleeting moments, unyielding in their resolve. Few and far between, they become precious. Such cannot be said for the life of a Time Lord. Time remains an endless stream. "A curse to be lived out alone." he'd told her.

The Doctor saved Rose for last. She was the first person his eyes saw after he regenerated into his tenth form. Reborn out of her love and devotion and he in turn created from his to her. It seemed only right that hers would be the last face these eyes beheld as well.

He hadn't meant for her to see him, timelines and all that. But as much as he wanted to touch her, hold her, the fact that he was close to the end quickly outweighed those desires. He preferred not to have to deal with dodging reapers from an accidental paradox while he was in the middle of a regeneration cycle. The radiation causing havoc on his body seemed to have other ideas however and he sucked in a shuddering breath, groaning as he doubled over.

"You alright, Mate?" she asked; wrapping her arms around herself to brace the cold.

"Yeah." He replied straightening up.

"Too much to drink?"

"Something like that."

"Maybe it's time you went home."

Oh, if she only knew. "Yeah." He swallowed thickly.

"Anyway, Happy New Year." She dipped her head, slightly shivering as she smiled.

"And you." He paused, contemplating on how to keep her there for just a moment longer as she started to turn away. "What year is this?" he blurted, wincing inwardly at the stupidity of the question.

She spun around, her confusion quickly replaced with an amused grin. "Blimey, how much have you had?"

"Weelll." He shrugged.

She chuckled lightly. "2005. January the first."

"2005?" He nodded, a lump forming in his throat as he thought about how their paths would be crossing in just a few short months. "Tell you what. I bet you're gonna have a really great year." He smiled, igniting the laugh lines around his eyes.

"Yeah?" She grinned back just as big, swaying her body back and forth as a warmth spread through her at his words. "Well, See ya!" she gave him another smile and a small wave before taking off in a lighthearted jog back towards the Powell Estates. She paused to take one last curious look at him before stepping through the door and after another quick glance through the window, she turned to jog up the stairs.

He smiled after her as another wave of pain washed over him, causing his teeth to clench and he doubled over again. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he began to stagger along the side of the building, pressing a hand to the wall to steady himself.

Rose didn't know what made her stop as she pulled her keys from her pocket to unlock the door of her flat. Something was nagging at the back of her mind and she had the immediate urge to see the man in the alley one more time. She felt drawn to him for some reason and she couldn't seem to shake the feeling. "This is crazy." she murmured to herself, trying to focus on unlocking the door. But something was pulling deep within her and she had a sinking sensation that she would regret this moment for the rest of her life if she didn't go to him now.

Rose turned and ran back down the stairs and out into the night, hoping she wasn't too late. She spotted him quickly. He hadn't made it far from where he had been standing when she first noticed him. She was relieved, but also felt slightly worried that there was something else wrong with him. Something more than "a few too many" down at the pub.

Running towards him, she called out. "Hey, Mate!"

The Doctor looked up to see Rose coming towards him. His eyes widened and his hearts began to beat out that old familiar samba that played whenever he saw her smile. He instinctively moved to take a step forward, aching to reach out for her hand and then caught himself. Reapers, paradoxes and the aftermath of what happened on Mars involving Bowie Base 1 flashed through his mind. Not to mention the fact that he wasn't supposed to cross his own timelines, ever. He shouldn't have even come here in the first place, but the desire to see her one last time had overridden all rational thought. If he changed something now all that time they had together could be lost or worse and with that sobering notion, he began backing deeper into the shadows, praying for strength and trying to keep his face hidden.

When Rose reached him, she faltered for a moment. She hadn't really thought this far ahead and had no idea what she was going to say to this man. He was a stranger. She didn't even know his name, but something about him called out to her on a whole nother level. His face was mostly hidden by shadows but in the dim light she could still see the warmth in his eyes and the outlines of a smile that made her breath hitch. Something about him just made her feel like… she was home. Safe, and warm, and complete. Her heart pounded in her chest and she let her gut instincts take over. Stepping up to him, Rose grabbed the lapels of his jacket and pulled his lips down to meet hers. After a few seconds, her arms moved up to wrap around his neck while one hand slid into his hair.

The Doctor was in shock. All thoughts about paradoxes and reapers were completely thrown out the window. The pain seemed to dissipate as well and all he could feel was the warmth of her body and the softness of her lips against his and he reveled in it. One of his arms quickly wrapped around her waist, pulling her tighter against him while the other moved up to cup the back of her head with his hand, deepening the kiss. For a few moments he lost himself once again to the woman in his arms. The pink and yellow girl who saved him time and time again from himself. This brave and wonderful human who owned his hearts and continually offered him redemption, and for that fleeting moment, time stopped for him.

After a few minutes they broke apart, resting their foreheads together. Neither of them spoke. They just held one another as the snow swirled around them, dancing to the invisible beat of the wind.

"Happy New Year." Rose finally choked out before pulling out of his embrace and walking away. She didn't understand why her heart was breaking as the tears silently spilled down her face. All she knew was that it felt like a part of her was dying and she didn't know why.

The Doctor remained in the shadows, eyes clenched shut and mouth firm. A single tear ran down his cheek and it felt like Bad Wolf Bay all over again. Opening his eyes, he watched as she reached the door to the flat. "I love you, Rose Tyler…Always." he whispered into the winter whipped air and staggered around the corner of the building towards the TARDIS.

Rose paused for a moment, hand on the door. She turned to look back, but he was gone. She raised her other hand, pressing her fingers lightly to her lips as another tear slipped down her cheek and a song carried through the wind…

"The universe will sing you to sleep…"

A/N: I always felt that Rose and The Doctor were soul mates, and that even if she didn't know who he was yet, something deep down called out to her. There was a point in the scene when she goes into the flat and kind of ducks her head down to look out the window at him again, and she has this look on her face of slight curiosity and yet also seems concerned about him, and thus the plot bunnies took over from there. On a side note this also made me cry when I wrote it. Damn bunnies.