A/N: This is sort of a character study/drabble. And if Clara ever left permanently (:() and when the Doctor was in his eleventh form. Shipping TARDIS/Doctor. Disclaimer: Clearly I don't own Doctor Who.
The Doctor had many companions. About... Fifty-three. Counting robots and aliens. He loved all of them and some of them romantically. Rose, River, Madam De Pompadour, Astrid, Clara... They all left eventually. But that was how it should be.
He was a 1300 year old alien. His companions were usually about twenty.
He patted the console of his TARDIS lovingly. He just wanted... To have children with someone of his own kind. River had been that. And yet, she was gone. All of them seemed to be gone to soon for him.
On Gallifrey, the marriage he had been persuaded into had been... He couldn't think of the word. But ever since he had seen the TARDIS, he knew he was a goner. She had been one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen.
Maybe he wasn't destined for romantic tendencies. Maybe it was supposed to be just him, the madman and his box. He did want to have children and a wife he loved with all his hearts. But, there was no one near old enough and no Timelords left in all of existence. And no one he loved enough like that who were still in the land of the living.
Rose... He had loved her but that had been a long time ago and he had been a different man then. Still, she would always have a special place in his heart. River. She was still so fresh in his mind. If she returned, he would be over joyed, but it would be awkward. Especially after his latest infatuation with Clara, but Clara too, had left.
Besides, love- romantic love- was a whirlwind of desire and then it was gone. True love, real love, many believed was like in a fairy tale. Known at first sight. But, in reality, true love was built over time.
It sort of crept up on you and you'd look at your best friend and realize that you loved them. They may not be beautiful to the standards of the world, but their face was beautiful to you, their face sort of... Made them.
And as you grew old together, worldly beauty would wilt but that love would grow stronger. That's what love is. He finally knew that now.
He ran his hands through his fringe and the TARDIS hummed in his thoughts. A sound shimmered behind him and a voice spoke.
"Maybe you should take your own advice to heart sometime."
He froze and turned, there stood his TARDIS, Sexy, in a human form. She wore a TARDIS blue dress of the green one she had been wearing in the bubble universe. Well, the exact color would be Pantone 2955-CP. Never had a color looked so magnificent and heart swarming than that one.
"S- sexy?"
"Hello, my Thief. I'm never going to get used to saying that. Hello, again. I've finally managed to create a- a body of the same genetic DNA. It's been modified... It's Timelord. I- I wanted to see you again."
The Doctor swallowed and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Y- you... I... I..."
His TARDIS stepped forward and placed a finger on his lips.
"Sh-sh. I know. Me too."
He pulled her into a hug that lasted for a long while. Eventually he let go and held her at arms length. His lips twitched up into a small smile.
"The madman and his box. It's always been that way, hasn't it?"
"Ever since I stole you, my thief."
That love, the love the Doctor had been describing? That was always meant to be. He had finally realized what love was and he also finally realized that that love had always- always- belonged to him.
A/N: Sorry if I offended anyone. That just needed to be said. And the Doctor deserves a happy ending.