She had dreamed about this moment.
Rose Marion Tyler stepped out onto the small widows peak that went off of the roof of their house and looked over the coastline in need. It wasn't just the wind this time. The familiar sound of the Tardis echoed through her ears and filled her eyes with tears. Quickly she rushed down the stairs to the shoreline, leaving the door swung open and her shoes off of her feet. She ran down the beach, her heartbeat pounding inside of her chest until she reached the spot where so much had happened all of those years ago. She skidded to a stop as she saw the blue box sitting there, just as she had left it. Carefully she walked towards it, afraid that one false move might cause it to disappear again forever.
She fumbled in her pocket for the old silver key that remained with her at all times. Her hand clutched the cold metal and she sighed with relief that it was actually there. She stepped in front of the door of the Tardis and looked at it up and down for a moment. It seemed different somehow- a bit bluer perhaps- not as worn and torn as it had been when she had traveled with the Doctor. All the same, it was for sure the same one. How many of these blue 1950's police boxes could be roaming the universe anyways? She placed her hand on the wooden frame, and with the other placed in her key and unlocked the door.
Stepping inside it was obvious that it was not the same as it had been in the past- everything seemed different. The old "bigger on the inside" seemed even more so now as she circled around the console. She breathed in the familiar smell of electronics and dust, and of millions of different places and people that had once traveled through these hallowed halls. She sat down on a small seat that was on the nearest side of her and simply looked around with her eyes. Suddenly, footsteps from up above began to come closer, but Rose Tyler simply sat where she was. There was only one person that those footsteps could belong to- and that was the same person she had been waiting all of this time to see: The Doctor.
The footsteps grew more rapid as they grew closer. He knew the Tardis better than anyone, and he sure as hell knew when someone new was inside of it- regardless of where he was at the moment said person came inside.
"Who on earth?" The Doctor muttered as he rushed down to the console area to investigate. As he rounded the final corner to the main area of the ship, he hesitated. Something seemed a bit odd. The intruder hadn't made a forced entry, and it seemed like the door to the Tardis had been left open based on the now salty air smell that was wafting through the halls. Where on earth- or otherwise- was he now? He took a deep breath and hurried down the remaining stairs to see someone there already waiting for him. Her blonde hair and brown eyes shown at him with familiarity, and he almost gasped in shock upon seeing her- but no sound came out of his mouth. Rose Tyler- one of the few companions who had made a truly, deeply, irreversible impression on him- sat waiting.
"Rose Tyler-" He whispered, just loud enough for the both of them to hear. She stood up as he walked towards her, his arms still simply down by his sides, the shock of seeing her again still in effect.
"You've changed," Rose said motioning towards his obviously younger and newest regeneration form. "You actually look somewhat my age now- or well, what was my age when we first met anyways."
He stepped towards her a little more, observing her up and down and being very tempted to pull out his sonic screwdriver as if to make sure it wasn't just some sort of illusion to trick him. He started to circle around her as Rose continued talking.
"You've changed the inside of the Tardis too," She said, pointing at the console in the center of the room. "It's different- like everything it seems right now. Personally, I think I liked the old version better, but I guess it just takes some getting used to."
The Doctor was silent as he stopped right in front of her, looking into her eyes, examining what it seemed was the inner workings of her soul. Rose didn't protest, simply looked straight on back into the Doctor's eyes and stood there as so many memories danced through her sub-conscious. The Doctor hesitantly reached up and brushed a loose strand of blonde hair out of Rose's face, leaving his hand there on her cheek for a moment.
"Rose Tyler," he said again. "Rose Marion Tyler."
"Doctor," She said smiling. "My Doctor."
He grinned and quickly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him, as if somehow suddenly she might disappear if he let go too soon. She returned the hug, wrapping her arms around him and burying her head into his shoulder and neck area and breathing in his smell.
They both stepped back from the hug, still close to one another, their hands intertwined like they used to be after going through a frightening near-death experience. His forehead touched up against hers, and they just stared at one another, enjoying the moment.
Rose laughed, and pulled away her forehead from his. "What?" He said, still holding onto her hands.
"Oh nothing," She said, tears filling up into her eyes. "It's just- this is all just so strange still. This is the first time I'm seeing this regeneration of you. I didn't think that you would change again for a long while."
"Oh Rose," He said, looking down to their hands. "It's been longer than you think. How long has it been since you last saw me? How long has it been since that dreadful day with my clone?"
"5 years," Rose said quietly. "And every minute of them I've been hoping that you would come back to properly say goodbye to me and Henry."
The Doctor looked up at her puzzled. "Henry? Who's that? Your brother?"
Rose stared at him for a moment then burst out into laughter, "That's right," she said smiling. "You don't know. Henry is the name your clone chose for himself. His name is Henry Patrick Smith, officially."
"So," The Doctor hesitated a moment. "Are you even, Rose Tyler anymore?"
Rose's smile faded a little bit. She looked down at their hands as the Doctor had done earlier. "No," she said. "Not technically anyways. It's in a hyphen. It's Rose Marion Tyler-Smith." She slipped her hands out of his and stuck them in her jacket pockets, staring at him for a moment with a sad look on her face.
The Doctor nodded. "Right…" he said, awkwardly standing there for a moment, his hands also going into his pockets. He stepped over to the console and did some adjustments on a few things while Rose gathered her thoughts together.
"Did you," Rose said hesitantly. "Did you want to see him? Henry, I mean?" The Doctor looked up at her, and shook his head.
"No," He said plainly. "I didn't even plan on coming here to be perfectly honest with you. The Tardis simply sent me here. I didn't know it was even possible. If it had been possible I would have-" He stopped mid-sentence and then busied himself with adjustments.
"You would have what, Doctor?" Rose asked. She walked over to him and stared at him. He didn't make any attempt to answer or to look at her. He quickly moved over to the other side of the console. "Doctor, look at me." Rose said forcefully. "Look at me!"
He clenched his fist into a ball in anger. "What part of me stopping like that don't you understand Rose? I don't want to talk about it, I don't want to think about it, and quite frankly Mrs. Tyler-hyphen-Smith, I would appreciate if you left now."
Rose stood staring at him from across the console in shock and in anger. "What did you want me to do, Doctor? You left him there with me- you let him say what you couldn't say."
"Shut up!" The Doctor shouted at her, pounding his fist on the console. "I don't know, alright? I just- I can't stand to think of you and him…" he trailed off into silence, one hand gripping the metal of the Tardis, and the other still slammed onto the console board.
Rose stared at him in silence. "You-" She hesitated before speaking again. "You wanted me to be happy, didn't you? That's why you left him there with me, so that I would be able to be happy."
The Doctor nodded. "Yes." He said.
"Then be happy for me Doctor." She said. "Be happy that Henry has changed from the dangerous person that he was- to the fun, loving father that he is today."
The Doctor felt his hearts' strings pull. He felt his throat suddenly become dry, and his stomach fill with nausea and butterflies. "Father?" He said in a quiet voice.
Rose nodded. "Yes. We have a daughter together."
The Doctor didn't look up at her. "What's her name?" He said in almost a whisper.
"Eilian." Rose said. "It means, A moment in time. We thought it was appropriate, considering."
The Doctor looked up at Rose, with a soft smile on his face. "That's a beautiful name, Rose." The Doctor said. "Eilian Tyler-Smith…" He grinned. "It just rolls right off the tongue."
Rose laughed and smiled, looking at the Doctor's new face, and still seeing the old him in this younger version. It was in the eyes. She could see her Doctor's life in this new face's eyes. It made her happy.
The Tardis made a noise that sounded somewhat like a take-off and everything shook around. Rose quickly tried to find something to grab onto, and almost fell in the process. The Doctor caught her before she fell all the way down, and helped her back to her feet.
"It sounds like you're about to take-off Doctor," She said, brushing herself off. "I guess that means that I should be heading back to my house then."
"No more Cardiff for the Tyler-hyphen-Smith's?" He said jokingly. "Or are you all just here at this lovely beach in Norway for some holiday time?"
"No, we live here." Rose said. "Just down the beach that way." Her voice grew quiet. "I insisted we live here just in case you decided to-" The Doctor stood there in silence. Rose gripped her other arm tightly. She shouldn't have said something like that. "Sorry." She whispered.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, that's alright. Its fine." He said. "I don't blame you. We had such marvelous adventures together, its not suprising that you wanted to always continue them." Rose nodded. She could feel her eyes welling up with tears. "But you know what Rose Tyler?" He said. She looked at him, waiting for an answer. "You've gone and had a brand new brilliant adventure all alone without me. And that- is just simply," He paused and chuckled slightly. "Fantastic."
Rose grinned. The tears in her eyes fell down freely and she ran over to the Doctor and embraced him. She held onto him tightly, afraid that if she let go, she might wake up from the dream. They finally came apart and Rose looked at him lovingly. "Thank you Doctor. You changed my life."
"And you mine, Rose Tyler." He said. "Now, go on. Run along back home. Your husband and daughter are waiting for you." He winked at her. Rose laughed.
"You're right Doctor. Thank you again." She said. She turned around and walked out through the Tardis doors.
The Doctor stood there for a moment, sad and happy at the same time. Rose Tyler. The girl who would always hold his heart right in the palm of his hand. He shook out of his memories and got to work with more adjustments on the Tardis to get going back home. Suddenly he heard the Tardis doors open once more. He looked up and saw Rose's head peeking through the doorway.
"I know you don't do the, 'domestic' approach much Doctor," She said. "But if you wanted, we're going to have dinner rather soon and would love it if you would join us."
He smiled widely and nodded. "Of course!" He whipped around and grabbed his tweed jacket from the railing. "Lets be off then, shall we?"
He hopped out of the Tardis next to Rose, locked the doors, and headed off to the Tyler-Smith house arm in arm with his former companion.
"Now Doctor- I have to ask this… What's with the Bowtie?"