She walked across the beach, not knowing what to expect. She didn't know what to feel, she didn't know what to think lest the universe judge her. Had she been wrong in bringing her family all the way here? Perhaps she had been hallucinating. Yes, that was it. It wouldn't be him. It couldn't be him.
She saw something out of the corner of her eye and slowly turned her head. She wondered whether she had finally gone over the edge. It was him staring at her sadly, a little smile on his face. He looked the same as always with his unruly hair and blue pinstripes only he was semi-translucent. He was the same, just a little different, that's all.
She stared at him for a while, scared to speak lest he disappear. She decided that it had been too long and finally said, "Where are you?"
The hologram-Doctor wore a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Inside the TARDIS."
"There's one tiny little gap in the Universe left, just about to close, and it takes a lot of power to send this projection. I'm in orbit around a super nova." He let out a forced chuckle. Even when it was okay to cry, he would still try to piece things together and act like everything was alright, "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."
Rose nodded, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to spill. He had acknowledged that this was a goodbye.
"You look like a ghost."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows, "Oh, hold on." He pointed the sonic screwdriver towards something she couldn't see and the hologram solidified. It looked like he was just there, if she just raised her hand…
"Can I—" she asked, her hand reaching forward.
"I'm still just an image," he said, "No touch."
Her hand slipped back down immediately. She was beginning to prefer the semi-transparent Doctor over this one. He looked so real. It was just like before, him being there but her not being able to touch him. Only literally now.
She bit her lip, holding onto the little piece of hope she still had left, "Can't you come through properly?"
The look in his eyes hardened, "The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."
"So?" she tried to joke. He smiled at her, "Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"
"We're in Norway," she replied, suddenly unable to meet his eyes.
"Norway. Right." He confirmed, fidgeting a bit. Rose concluded that if this would be her last meeting with the Doctor, it would be everything but awkward. She held her breath and tried to keep the conversation going, "About fifty miles out of Burgen."
She tried to remember what the place was called. She remembered seeing a sign on the way, "It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."
The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed, "Dalek?"
She tried not to wince. The Daleks, the Cybermen, Torchwood. The memories came flooding in.
They were the reason she was here. The reason she was stuck in Pete's World.
"Dårlig." She corrected, pronouncing each syllable slowly. She didn't know how, maybe the TARDIS was still in her mind, but the translation popped into her head, "It's Norwegian for bad."
She let out a choked laugh. How ironic, she thought.
"This translates as Bad Wolf Bay."
She shared a broken smile with the Doctor, "How long have we got?"
"About two minutes."
Rose nodded. It was too long and too short at the same time. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She closed it as thoughts whizzed past her mind. They stayed long enough for her to know they had passed but not enough to comprehend what they were. She chuckled, scorning herself at the same time, "I can't think of what to say!"
The Doctor let out a short 'hah' before finally saying, "You've still got Mister Mickey, then?"
"Yeah. There's five of us now. Mum, Dad, Mickey…" she paused, wondering whether she should tell him, "And the baby."
She thought she saw something flicker in his eyes. Worry? She shook the thought off.
"You're not…" he trailed off. She realized she had phrased it wrong, "No," she smiled, "It's mum. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way." She stared at him, waiting for his reaction but once again he hid all signs of emotion other than calm acceptance.
"And what about you?" he inquired, "Are you—"
"Yeah, I'm back working in the shop," she lied, wondering what he would think. Rose Tyler, from ordinary shop girl, to the Doctor's companion, to the Bad Wolf, to the stuff of legend then back to shop girl.
"Oh…" he said, "Good for you."
She internally sighed, had she actually expected something more?
"Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."
"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth," he smiled, maybe genuinely this time. There was a hint of pride in his voice. Then his eyes shifted back to the calm state they had been before—the kind of calm expression that, to anyone who knew him would know that he was holding something back.
"You're dead, officially, back home," he said, "So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead…" he trailed off before giving her a smile, "But here you are, living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."
She bit her lip, a question pounding in her head. A question she wasn't sure she wanted the answer to.
"Am I…" she cursed her voice for cracking, "Am I ever going to see you again?"
"You can't."
And there it was. The homerun. Emotions crashed down on her as he confirmed that, yes, this would be the last time she would ever see him. Anger, resentment, grief, loss…and one more thing. One thing that never seemed to leave her ever since she had met the Doctor.
"What're you going to do?" she said, the urge to collapse right there was so strong. But she wouldn't—no, she would be strong. A Tyler never broke down. Not when they were kicked out of what they thought would be their home, not when they weren't accepted, not when they thought that they wouldn't amount into anything. And definitely not now.
"Oh, I've got the TARDIS," he said, looking around the beach. Well, no, the TARDIS.
"Same old life, last of the Time Lords."
"On your own?" she asked. It was barely a question. Did the answer need saying? The Doctor thought not. He just stared at her, the look in his eyes confirming everything. She swallowed and looked up, trying to face him properly but the wind kept blowing her hair in her eyes. She tucked a loose strand away and she couldn't help as the words fell out of her mouth. Words that she whispered into her pillow every night before she slept and the nightmares took over. Words that made her want to tear the space that separated their two universes apart.
"I-I love you."
The Doctor, for a moment, looked lost before he slipped back into his façade. A smile graced his lips and she tried to return it, but she couldn't. Not now.
"Quite right, too," he said, then the lost-expression surfaced again. He looked indecisive, as though he were piecing his next words together. He blinked as though he had reached a conclusion and opened his mouth, "And, I suppose…" he paused, "If it's my last chance to say it…"
Rose's heart pounded in her chest, was he going to confirm it? Give her the three words that she had been wanting, needing, to hear from him for the longest time?
"Rose Tyler—" he began before the image faded away.
The beach was the same as always, except for the sobbing girl in her mother's arms. The beach did not care for her, it did not even care for the other man who had been there but had not been there just a few moments ago. It did not care for anything.
Everything was the same—just a little different, that's all.