Haha! New story!

This is actually the sequel to my sequel of Without You by my Side. So if you don't read those first, then this story may not make a lot of sense - although it is pretty confusing anyway so maybe you will be able to follow it just as well without having read my previous two stories.

Well, if you decide you're going to go back and read my stuff, I suggest you read this chapter first to see if you like what I write. Always good to check first, but I definitely hope you enjoy it.

Well, in case anyone has forgotten, the starting scene is on board the TARDIS, and The Doctor is trying to remember how to get back to the right universe with Rose in tow.

The Doctor started off by pushing numerous buttons and murmuring to his beloved TARDIS. Rose contentedly watched him stabbing at buttons, pulling at wires and kicking things for about half an hour before she got bored. She walked over to the console and ran her hand along it. The TARDIS shuddered and Rose jumped backwards.

"What was that?" Rose asked nervously, not taking her eyes off the blue pulsing rotor.

"She's probably just happy to see you." The Doctor muttered nonchalantly as he continued with whatever he was doing.

"She shuddered. It was as if something recognised me, but it wasn't her."

"Hmm." The Doctor didn't seem the least bit interested as he fiddled with his whatever-it-was.

"It was as if… as if The TARDIS was trying to protect me from something." Rose continued as if she hadn't noticed The Doctor's apparent ignorance of her distress. At her words, though, The Doctor looked up sharply.

"She can't save you from what's going to happen if you come with me." The Doctor told her sadly as he stood and slowly approached Rose. "If you choose to be with me, then you choose to share in my curse, the curse of the Time Lords."

"You make it sound so ominous, Doctor. There is no curse, not with me around. I'm already dead to that universe, so there's no one to have to watch die."

"Maybe."

"Not maybe, Doctor. It's as simple as that. I-" Rose's hands flew to her head and she sank slowly to her knees.

"What?" The Doctor asked, alarmed. "What's wrong, Rose?" He knelt down beside her and took her in his arms.

"Being here in the TARDIS. It's like you said, Doctor. We don't know what's going to happen to me."

"Well, I know a little." He assured her, letting her out of his grasp. "It happened to me first, after all."

"What happened to you, Doctor?" You don't even know. I was there and I-" She paused and frowned. "I wasn't there. Why do I think I was? Who do these memories belong to?"

Rather than looking concerned, Rose saw The Doctor smile.

"Wow. You remember." He said excitedly. "Do you remember being with me?"

"I… remember… being without you."

"Yeah I know, but at the same time you-"

"It was so many years." Rose cut him off and spoke as if she hadn't heard him at all. She was talking to herself. "I was so lonely, tried so hard to reach out to you because the only thing that hurt more than my loneliness was…" She looked him in the eye. "…yours."

"Mine?"

"Doctor… I can feel your pain." Rose now sounded distressed. "Why… why do I know everything you felt? Why do I feel so much of your loneliness, Doctor? A lost world, lost friends and family… Why couldn't I help you?"

"Oh Rose, I'm so sorry." The Doctor turned his face away from her. Rose didn't move with him, though, she just stared blankly at his back.

"I kept trying to reach you, but every time you pushed me away." She placed a hand on her chest. "I was my fault, so I had to keep trying with everything I had." The Doctor turned to her again, and took a hold of her face to make her look at him.

"It was not your fault, Rose." He stated firmly.

"And you thought it was your fault." Rose continued sadly, still talking as if she was in some kind of trance.

"Rose. Listen to me. Stop this." The Doctor now had her by the shoulders and was shaking her.

"But these memories, they're…" Rose looked right into his eyes, the sanity back in her voice. He let go of her as she lowered her voice. "Mine?"

"They're a part of you, yes. But they're… I don't know how to explain it." He told her just as softly.

"Something else you don't know. What happened to my old Doctor?" She joked slowly, swaying a little. "Is there a way to get them out of my head?"

"A way to get your own memories out of your head? No, I can't."

"Well, tell me where they came from, then. Maybe that'll make this all better."

"Okay. When you had me with you these past three years, I had you with me, too."

"You… you told… me that." Rose seemed to be finding it hard to string a sentence together, she winced at almost every word.

"Yes, and if you could remember anything beyond all of those emotions, then you'd remember being with me, telling me that everything was going to be alright, that we'd be together no matter what. These past three years you haven't been whole, Rose. And I guess that headache is how it feels to get a part of you back."

"And you… weren't either?"

"That's right. I was with you." The Doctor took Rose's arms and pulled her to her feet. He started to take her out of the room, but Rose pulled out of his grasp and leant on the console.

"Can you remember me, then?" She asked slowly. She was no longer in pain, but still slow with her words.

"Not yet, but sometime soon I probably will."

"The TARDIS is making me feel better, clearing my mind a little. You should keep working on getting us back home."

"You're right." The Doctor sighed. "I just wish that I had some idea of where to start."

"Well, start with me. If I can remember…" Rose pushed herself away from the console, but staggered when she was just a step away and had to go back. "…If I can clear my mind enough to remember how you got here…" She closed her eyes to concentrate and felt The Doctor move in front of her. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"It's so hard to concentrate with you there." She said cheekily.

"Fine, I'll go then." The Doctor said. He turned to move and Rose grabbed his arm.

"You're not going anywhere." She told him. As he turned back around, Rose reached up and kissed him passionately. "I need you so much." She said as she pulled away to take a breath. The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Rose cut him off with another kiss.

"Rose." The Doctor gasped as Rose stopped for another breath. She started to move in again, but he jumped backwards. "Don't you think that we should be working on a way of getting out of here?"

"I think we've done too much in one day and it is time for a break now, Doctor." Rose moved away from the console again, this time only wincing slightly. "I'm sick of getting sidetracked by Sim and lost memories and… The Face of Boe?" She frowned at the memory, but then shrugged. "I don't care right now. I think some sleep will help with the memories, and I think that I need to kiss you again, Doctor. I need you with me, and I need to promise you forever again because we're together and now nothing can pull us apart."

"Whatever you say." The Doctor surrendered to her kiss as she jumped into his arms. "But tomorrow, we're moving out of this backwards universe."

Haha. Sorry it didn't really go anywhere. I kind of got lost in that chapter. It was quite fun to write, as well. Hoping to update every week now, sorry it's gonna take so long, but there's some stuff about computer-sharing that needs to be resolved…

Anyways, hope you liked the chapter. See ya next time. REVIEW!

Mikkifavo