Hope Floats

Disclaimer: All rights of Doctor Who belongs to BBC.

A/N: Written for the nine year annivesary of Doomsday. Please read and review! :)

On a faraway planet in the Andromeda galaxy, a blonde laid unconscious on the ground. Strapped to her wrist was a black chunky device with a male voice full of electrical interference sounding, "Agent Tyler! Come in, agent Tyler!"

"Dammit, Rose! If you don't respond, I'm coming over to get you!" Another anxious voice took over. At last, the blonde figure, Rose, stirred from the ground and pressed a button on her dimension cannon, signifying to her teammates in a different universe of her wellbeing. She groaned slightly in pain, massaging her head as she sat up. She cleared her throat and pressed another button on her device, "I'm up, I'm up. The jump knocked me out, that's all."

Mickey, her correspondent and childhood best friend, let out a sigh in relief and said, "You were unconscious for the past quarter of an hour now. Pete said to tell you that this will be your last jump for at least a week." Rose opened her mouth to argue but was stopped by a wave of dizziness and sighed, "I'm going to check out the area, we will see when I get back." Leaving no room for argument, she quickly turned off the intercom of her cannon.

Years spent travelling with the Doctor had given Rose good instincts in tracking the nearest area of civilisation around. In less than half hour, she found herself wandering around the town that seemed to specialise in selling electronics. It seemed like a place the Doctor would frequent but Rose did not dare to allow herself to hope. Not again, not after countless times of disappointments and dashed hopes. She continued walking aimlessly, relishing the feel of the alien ground beneath her feet when a familiar wheezing and groaning sound startled her out of her stupor.

Out of her instinct, Rose started to sprint towards the beautiful sound that she has been yearning to hear for years now. When she turned around the corner to see her beloved blue box, she eagerly fished out her key from under her shirt and instantly felt her heart dropping. The key laid stone cold, glinting mockingly at her. Whichever Doctor that stood in the TARDIS is not in her timeline. Rose swallowed her saliva painfully, desperately holding back tears, and turned around to run away.

As she ran away, Rose thought bitterly that hope was such a cruel and foolish emotion. A sudden wave of dizziness hit Rose once again. The vertigo caused her to trip, releasing an unintentional yelp from her. Darkness overtook her conscious the moment her head struck the ground.

The Doctor winced slightly as the TARDIS landed. He hoped that the bump that always accompanied the landing did not wake Rose up. Pausing slightly to hear for any sound coming from Rose's room, the Doctor was assured by the TARDIS that his dear companion is still sound asleep. Feeling rest assured, the Doctor headed out of the TARDIS to do some quick shopping for the TARDIS. A familiar yelp drew his attention as he closed the door shut. His head turned to the direction of the sound and spotted a painfully familiar blonde collapsed to the ground a short distance away from the TARDIS.

He quickly ran towards her and drew in a sharp breath. It was Rose. But it was not his Rose. This Rose, while just as beautiful, was skinnier and had very dark under eye rings. He gently picked her up, unwittingly noted how light she was and walked towards a nearby bench. Once he set her down on the bench, he kneeled down and softly swiped her fringe away from her face. He lightly took her hand into his as he let his brain race and supply him with all the implications of her being here. His jaw tightened when all his theories pointed to one thing, they will be separated. Whatever storm that awaits he and his Rose, they will not be strong enough to weather it.

He let his lingering hand drop to his side and stood up. He could not stay here, he had to leave. With one last pained look at the unconscious Rose, he turned around.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor froze and closed his eyes. He had to walk away. From her heart beat, he could tell that she was not fully conscious yet. He could leave and lock this memory away, leaving the timelines undisrupted. However, for all of his thirteen lives, he could not move a muscle. Not when Rose is lying down just behind him sounding so pained and vulnerable.

He slowly turned back around to face his precious flower.

"Rose."

Rose opened her eyes slowly. She swore she felt someone holding her hand. As she subconsciously noted a brown pinstriped suit, she softly called out, "Doctor?"

She must be hallucinating. Her head was pounding distractingly, maybe Mickey was right. She did need a break but right now, she is just going to close her eyes and let her brain trick her into thinking that the Doctor was here with her. Just for now.

"Rose."

Her eyes snapped wide open. Could it be that he was actually here? She quickly sat up but had to shut her eyes to let the giddiness wash over her. Strong arms held her upright when her body threatened to fall again. Her eyes opened to bottomless, impossibly old brown eyes. Tears welled up in her eyes as she pulled him into a tight hug. She felt his arms hesitantly closed around her back before tightening their hold. Unable to hold it in any longer, she started sobbing into his shoulder.

After a few minutes, Rose became acutely aware of the still cold key pressing into her chest. This was not her Doctor. She weakly withdrew herself and glanced up to look into the Doctor's pained eyes. Grey skies and a cold, empty beach flashed across her mind.

"I'm coming back for you. Even if you will never be able to remember this, just know this. I am coming back for you." She said with renewed resolve.

"Oh, my precious girl." The Doctor said softly.

"How much time do we have left?" She asked, echoing her words from another heart breaking memory.

"Not much. I shouldn't even be here at all." The Doctor replied sadly as he cupped her face, his thumb lightly brushing her cheek. As tears threatened to take over again, Rose raised herself to lightly meet his lips with hers for a chaste but emotional kiss.

"Wait for me." She told him.

"Always." He promised.

As Rose watched the man she loved walk away from her, she felt her heart clench in agony. She knows in her head that her Doctor is still out there waiting for her but she could not move just yet. She sat motionlessly on the bench, staring blankly into space. For the second impossible time for today, a distinct wheezing sound reached her ears. She sat there in shock as the TARDIS materialised before her.

She numbly took out her key to find it warm and glowing. She shook her head to snap herself out of it and got to her feet. With two quick steps, she threw open the TARDIS doors. Standing in a blue suit at the console was the Doctor.

Her Doctor.

She ran towards him and threw herself into his arms. He spun her around in the air before carefully settling her down. Disbelieving, she asked, "How?"

"Just needed a reminder from the TARDIS. I found this note with this planet's coordinates tucked away beneath the console earlier today." He answered, showing her a note written in Gallifreyan. Rose sent a grateful thanks to the TARDIS and received a warm and reassuring hum in return. She thought fondly of the timeship before moving her gaze back to her Doctor. They quietly looked at each other, each mentally cataloguing the other's features.

"Well then, Rose Tyler. How long are you gonna stay with me?"

"Forever."

And she means it, nothing is going to separate the two of them again.

End