A/N & Disclaimer) What if the Doctor had let the rewind go on for a little longer in 'The Big Bang'? What if he had the chance to finally say how he feels? This contains spoilers for the end of Series 5 and I do not own Doctor Who or its characters I am merely borrowing them for this little plot bunny. Enjoy (and review if you have the time)
He knew that he shouldn't. Just going through his own timeline with Amy Pond, the impossible Amy Pond was painful enough but knowing what came next…well the Doctor thought that it would be too much and yet given the choice to skip the rest of his rewind and to see her again—well it was no choice at all. And so he watched as he saw spare moments of him travelling alone. He saw the best of times with Donna and Martha. In each time he tried to call out to them, to say goodbye but they didn't recognize him so he gave up. He had watched his alternate half-human self kiss the woman he loved and for a moment the Doctor wondered if he would be able to say it.
He had decided just to take one last glimpse of her but when he saw how heartbroken she was standing on that alternate world; the Doctor just knew that he had to call out to her. "Rose!" he said and watched as she turned. Her face was streaked with tears and he realized that his holographic self must have vanished moments before. "Rose…" he repeated again a little softer as he walked up to her.
Rose for her part seemed confused, startled even, yet through the last remnants of her sobs he saw a look of recognition in her eyes. "Who are you?" she asked looking up at him. "You seem familiar."
"Oh Rose," the Doctor whispered as he reached out to caress her cheek but she pulled away. "It's me."
Rose searched his face for a moment before her eyes widened. "But you can't be…" she whispered as stared into his eyes. "…Doctor?"
The Doctor smiled. "That's right."
"My Doctor?" she asked again, clearly in shock.
"It's me."
"But I don't understand," she whispered. "How can you be here? And your face."
"Long story short but I regenerated," the Doctor began with a small smile. "More than that, an alliance of my enemies trapped me in a box just as the TARDIS was exploding and I had to sacrifice myself to bring the world back."
"So…what does that mean?' Rose asked, frightened that her Doctor would vanish once more before her very eyes.
"It means that the universes will be short one Doctor," he explained.
"You'll never have existed," Rose added, tears coming to her eyes once more. "But then how can you be here?"
"I'm on the rewind," the Doctor explained. "I'm going through my own timeline. Seeing my life flashing before my eyes…."
"So you'll be gone soon?" Rose asked. "Forever this time?"
The Doctor nodded. "Yes, but before I go…Rose Tyler there's something that I want to say to you," he began as he took Rose's hands in his.
"And what's that Doctor?"
"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth…I love you." The Doctor stated glad to have finally said it for himself. "I always have and I always will. I wish more than anything that you could have spent your forever with me and that I could have somehow spent my forever with you but despite the impossible mad universe….that was never going to happen," the Doctor paused and gave Rose a small smile as the light of the crack opened up behind him.
"Wh…what's that?" she asked as the Doctor looked behind him.
"That's the crack in time. I have to go through there and everything will be set right," the Doctor stated with a sigh as he turned back to Rose—his Rose. "I know that you won't remember me Rose and maybe that's for the best—"
"—how can it be for the best?" she choked out. "I'm losing you...again."
"You'll never remember me."
Rose shook her head. "That's even worse."
"I know," the Doctor agreed as Rose collapsed against his chest. "I know and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. But this was the only way to save the universe."
"Universe be damned," Rose cried. "I can't live without you."
"You have to…" the Doctor stated, tears in his own eyes. "…but at least you'll know that I love you."
"How do you figure?" she asked with a choked sob.
"You may not remember me," the Doctor began as he pulled away so he could look into her face one last time. "But you'll know that you were loved by and I'm quoting a friend here 'the best man you'll ever know' and that counts for everything." He paused and reached down for a kiss which Rose Tyler eagerly returned. "I love you," the Doctor whispered one last time as he pulled away from Rose. "I love you."
"I love you too!" she cried out and she could see the smile of the Doctor—the changed Doctor—one last time before the light of the crack swallowed him up.
Author's Note: I was really hoping to see Rose in the series five finale. They had the most brilliant concept and yet they stopped short which made me very sad...so I added it in for my own sake. I love Rose, she's my favourite companion of the Doctor and I always felt (and still feel) like she deserved the Time-Lord to tell her how he really feels. I hope you enjoyed. Please review if you did.