Author's Note: This is my first endeavor into the world of Doctor Who fanfic, so please tell me what you think. I've never seen a fic quite like this before and I felt we needed one. I may be adding on to this to include times Eleven meets Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, ect.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. If I did, Rose Tyler and the Doctor would be married.
Rose Tyler sighed and shoved a few chips in her mouth. The Doctor said he would be right back, smiling that smile at her. He said he was setting up a surprise. Rose had no idea what he was planning, but knowing him it could be anything from a planet of talking fish to an amazing ice cream sundae. She smiled softly to herself as she heard the familiar mechanical sound of the TARDIS in the distance. Rose jumps up, wipes her greasy chip hands on her jeans, adjusts her stocking hat, and jogs home.
"Uh…Doctor? What's happening?" Rory asked. The TARDIS had landed normally, but now was flashing lights and making a loud, forewarning sound. If Rory didn't know any better, he'd think the TARDIS was trying to tell them something.
The Doctor's floppy hair appeared from under the control panel. His safety goggles were pulled lopsided on his head, his bowtie crooked and slightly stained with TARDIS grease. He looked as confused as Rory was.
"I think she's trying to tell us something, Sweetie." River said, while Amy nodded. They were sitting cross legged on the floor, matching looks of annoyance on their faces. River had busted out of jail to accompany the Doctor and her parents on an adventure. Although they'd get where they needed to be much faster if he'd let her drive. Men, they were the same if they had one heart or two.
The Doctor pushed a seemingly random assortment of buttons. He pulled out a hammer and banged on the panel a bit, but that didn't seem to help any. He pushes his goggles even more hazardously on his head.
"What is it, Sexy?' He asks the TARDIS. In response, more lights flash and the noise becomes louder. The Doctor shrugs, and figures something must be wrong under the hood. He puts his goggles back on, rolls up his sleeves, and goes back under the control panel, hoping to find a solution.
Abruptly, the screen flashes two words the Doctor thought he'd never see again.
"Doctor? What's Bad Wolf mean?" Amy asks from her place on the floor. There's a loud bang as the Doctor falls from his hanging seat under the TARDIS, and he runs rather spastically to the screen.
"No." He whispers. "It can't be." River looks just as shocked as the Doctor, her mouth forming a perfect circle. Amy and Rory make eye contact and shrug.
There's a sudden sound of a key being wiggled into a lock, and the TARDIS doors open.
"Rose." The Doctor says, so soft it sounds like a sigh.
Rose looks around the TARIDS, extremely confused. Was this the surprise, a new décor?
"Doctor?" She calls. Rose has not yet noticed the small group of people staring at the words Bad Wolf. She takes a few cautious steps up to the control panel, throwing off her jean jacket.
"This isn't good Doctor. Think of what you could do. We need to get her out of here." River whispers to her husband. There's so much that could be ruined in his time line. But he doesn't seem to care. He smiles the most heart breaking smile she's ever seen. It's part joy, part unbearable grief.
"Rose!" The Doctor shouts and he runs to her, arms flailing. Rose smiles brightly, and looks up at this new man. Her face twists in bewilderment.
"Doctor? What-"And that's all she has time to say before she's scooped up into a tight hug by this new man in a bowtie. She melts into his hug, because he is the Doctor. Even with the new face, she can tell. It's the eyes, no longer brown but green, and the way they look at her.
"Rose Tyler. I've missed you." It's only then that Rose realizes that the Doctor has tears in his eyes. The Doctor had forgotten what an armful of Rose felt like. He forgot the shape of her small figure against his, the way she smiled so bright. He slides his hand down to grasp hers, and isn't surprised when they fit perfectly. The Doctor figures he'll never have a set of hands that don't match hers. He slowly, reluctantly, releases Rose. She stares at him with wide eyes.
"Did you get hurt? Why did you change again?" Rose reaches for a chip from her bag and pops one into her mouth.
"Rose Tyler and the Doctor, in the TARDIS, with chips." He grins as he grabs one. Funny, he hasn't really had a taste for them until now. "Just as it should be." Amy, Rory, and River are watching the exchange with great interest. River looks rather disapproving.
"Doctor, tell me what's going on." Rose demanded. The Doctor shakes his head sadly.
"Ponds, meet Rose. Rose, the Ponds." He says, his voice shaking. Rose shakes everyone's hand, but never takes her eyes off the Doctor.
"Doctor? Where am I?" Rose has figured out that this is a future Doctor, but she doesn't know how far. She thinks an older version of herself must be around her somewhere, and the thought excites her for a moment.
"Oh, how old am I? Do I look like my Mum?" She honestly doesn't expect any different. The thought that she is not with him never crossed her mind.
"Rose Tyler, defender of the universe, the valiant child, the Bad Wolf. You are beautiful." Rose blushes pink. The Doctor wants to brush her blond hair behind her ear, hold her close, and tell her all the things he should have told her a long time ago. Oh, she knows. But he doesn't, he can't. He gives the only thing he can, his sincere apology. He can't meet her eyes, so he fidgets with his bowtie.
"Rose…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She looks angry at this. An act of contrition is the last thing she wants from this man.
"No. I was gonna stay with you forever. You'd always have a hand to hold. Forever, I decided a long time ago. You and me." Just as stubborn as he remembered, so he decides to give her something else, damn the consequences. He meets her eyes and spins Rose a story, the stuff of ledged. Things he felt to be true, somewhere.
"What if I told you we did have forever? You and me, together. I'm a better man, one you deserve. Someone who can give you the one adventure I can never have." The Doctor somehow knew Rose and his meta-crisis got married, had children, and lived happily together for the rest of their lives. He pulls Rose close again, the hug lifting her off her feet.
"What are you saying?" Rose asks.
"I love you." The Doctor whispers back, words he knows he'll have to smudge from her mind. Words he knows he needed to say.
He feels, rather than sees, her smile.
"Quite right, too."
Those words are his undoing. The universe loves coincidences; it's what it does for fun. He cries and holds Rose Tyler for the last time. The Doctor slowly puts his hands to Rose's temples, dives into her mind. He removes the events here as best he can, glossing over those three little words. Her eyes flutter shut, and the Doctor scoops her up into his arms.
"Rory, get the door." He orders, trying hard to keep his composure. Rory does as he's told, and the TARDIS doors close behind Rose Tyler and the Doctor.
"What the hell just happened?" Amy asks River. River had been watching her Doctor with Rose, realizing her Doctor wasn't just hers at all. River Song did not have a monopoly on the Doctor, no matter how much she wished she did. She looks at Amy with sad eyes.
"You know how everyone is supposed to have that one person that fits them perfectly? Others are good, great even. You can love anyone. But there's always that one that stands out above the rest. Some call them soul mates." Rory nods and grabs his wife's hand. River sighs, sadly knowing that while the Doctor may love her, he'll never love her as much as she loves him. She's okay with this, because any amount of love from the Doctor is all she ever wanted. She picks up Rose's jacket, running her fingers over the worn material.
"As much as I'd like to believe other wise, Rose Tyler is the Doctor's one person."
The Doctor gently sets Rose on a park bench, smoothing her golden hair. He hears the mechanical vworp of the TARDIS, and sees himself step out in a brown suit and trainers. The Doctor briefly makes eye contact with his past self. He nods, the man in the suit nods back, makes his way to Rose. The Doctor quickly kisses Rose Tyler on the forehead and heads back to his own TARDIS.
The Doctor in the TARDIS. Next stop: Anywhere but here.