A/N: This story will follow the Doctor and Rose through the four 2010 specials, and the first chapter will begin with 'The Planet Of The Dead'. But before that, the prologue. hope you enjoy :)


"Come on!" Rose pulled on the sleeve of the blue suit, urging the Doctor to follow her. He resisted.

"I can't let him get away. He'll come back and you and the Doctor will be the first people he'll look for." Rose frowned at him, gesturing wildly to the flames that were slowly engulfing them.

"Doctor, look at this! There is no way he could survive this-"

"He's done it before." The flames illuminated a darkness in his eyes that Rose had not seen since he regenerated. It was like her old Doctor was staring her in the face. It was disturbing but somehow...comforting.

"Doctor, please, come on-"Her pleas were muffled as he pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was fierce and passionate; it left her gasping for air when they parted. Even though the wall of scarlet and amber was slowly crawling nearer, Rose couldn't help but feel hazy from the kiss.

"I would never forgive myself if I didn't do that at least once." He sent her a small smile that she automatically returned.

"Please, come back with me." She urged one last time, hands clutching at his fingers. He only threw her a tender look.

"I just want you safe." Before she had a chance to speak again, he disappeared into the flames.

"Doctor, wait!" Rose kept trying to step forwards and penetrate the fortress of fire, but each movement forwards sent a searing heat all too close to her skin. Somewhere on her person she could smell something burning.

"Rose, come on, we have to leave." Her brown suited Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her towards the TARDIS. Even in his urgency he was gentle with her.

"No, the Doctor...you! He's in there, he went after Davros. We need to get him out!" She struggled in his grip, but he was stronger than her. He paused only for a second as he regarded the flames his counterpart had disappeared into. He made up his mind as a metal beam fell from the ceiling and landed before them in a pile of burning scrap.

"It's too late for him, Rose. We need to go." Despite her cries of protest, the Doctor dragged her to the ship. He flung the door open and pulled her inside, running to the control panel to put the ship in flight before Rose could even blink.


"No!" Rose pounded on the doors of the TARDIS even though she knew it was too late. She whirled around to face the Doctor who was staring at her with a solemn expression.

"You can't just leave him there, he's you!" She ran up the ramp towards him, footsteps clattering on the grated metal.

"He's gone, Rose. The whole place exploded. We go back now and we'll be caught in the middle of the blast." Her hands were fisted in the lapels of his suit, and with a gentle hand he removed them.

"But..."She threw another glance to the doors.

"We can't." Rose knew that she was fighting a lost cause. Everyone around them was silent, watching the exchange with a solemn air. Not wanting to face anyone, she buried her head in the Doctor's neck. Sensing her fragile state he wrapped his arms around her, trying to shield her from any harm that would befall her.

Somewhere in the back of his mind he contemplated staying that way forever. She would be safe like this, no one could touch her. It could happen. But the illusion was shattered when Rose stepped away with a little sniffle. Her fingers automatically found his however, and the Doctor pulled her closer.

"He died trying to protect you, Rose. That's a cause worth dying for." He whispered it to her, not wanting any of the other occupants to hear the tender moment. It was just them now. Like it always had been. It did not however, stop her auburn eyes filling with tears.

"I never wanted anyone to die for me." The Doctor had no answer to that; he just pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead.

"Come on. We need to send the Earth back home. Save the day. Shiver and shake?" Rose couldn't help but let out a laugh at his inane grin. He chucked her on the chin and pulled her to the console by his side.

They flew the TARDIS in silence, and somewhere in the back of her mind Rose registered that it was the smoothest flight she had ever been on. But her heart was still heavy with the thought of the blue suited Doctor, the human one, running to his death to save her. The thought made her head reel.


After a celebration of the Earth in its proper place, they dropped everyone home, one by one. She wasn't surprised when Mickey left. Their relationship had deteriorated in the other universe. Her determination to get back to the Doctor and his stubborn refusal to accept it had come to a head. He told her of his plans to go back to his own universe when they attempted to patch up their relationship. But it was beyond repair. She thought maybe in time they could go back to how it was. Well...she hoped.

Soon it was just her and her mother left with the Doctor and Donna.

"Last stop!" The Doctor called out, avoiding her eyes as he pulled a lever. A sinking feeling erupted in Rose's stomach as she regarded his closed off state. She knew what he was going to do. And there was no way that she would let him.

The TARDIS landed with a soft thud and Jackie walked briskly to the doors. The time apart from Tony and her husband must have been terrible for her Rose pondered. She followed behind her mother a bit more cautiously.

Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again as she the grey expanse of beach stretched out before her. Each grain of sand as miserable and foreboding as the last. Even the waves that lapped at the beach seemed to be telling her to go inside the TARDIS and never look back. But she had to say goodbye.

"Bloody Norway! His driving hasn't changed much." Jackie huffed as she pulled her phone from her pocket, frantically dialling her husband's number. The closing of the TARDIS door turned her around.

The Doctor and Donna had followed them out...and Rose didn't like the look he had in his eyes.

"This is the parallel universe." Rose said, her voice choking in her throat.

"You're back home." The word home felt like a slap in the face to her. After everything that she had done to be with him again. Donna was talking but Rose couldn't hear. Her eyes were fixed on the Doctor's.

"I'm gonna have to call Pete. He's on the nursery run. Do you remember? I was pregnant. A little boy. We called him Doctor." Jackie grinned to the Doctor, seemingly unaware of the tension between him and his daughter. For a moment a glimmer of real joy shone through his face.

"Really?" Jackie laughed.

"No. His name is Tony."

"Oh..." He ducked his head, a little too disappointed than he should be. Rose however, was still not paying attention to the joking around her.

"I'm not staying here." She said. The Doctor looked at her, uncertainty painted across his face.

"After all that time trying to find you I'm not just going to go back!" She cried, voice carrying for miles across the deserted beach.

"You have a good life here, Rose. You've got your mm and your dad...a little brother to watch grow up-"

"Nah, what you mean is that I'm safe here." The Doctor looked at her, eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"I know you, Doctor. I know what you're trying to do and I won't let you. You can't make decisions for me anymore, I won't let you." He was silent before a small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"You've grown up quite a bit since the last time I saw you."

"That a bad thing?" She challenged.

"Not at all." He grinned at her now, his smile full of pride. Somewhere in the background she could hear her mum on the phone to her dad, there was something about a helicopter floating in the conversation. Suddenly a thought struck her. Something that she never thought about...perhaps because she didn't want to think about it.

"You don't want me to come." Rose whispered, eyes wide. Had he moved on that fast? She knew he had had that girl Martha with him, and now Donna...maybe he didn't care-

"Don't be stupid." Donna said it for him. Rose and the Doctor looked at her.

"I know what you're thinking now, ever since the metacrisis. You want her to come more than anything in the universe but you're too scared-"

"Donna." He bit out sharply, the word a warning. Rose swallowed, brushing the hair from her face.

"Do you want me to come, Doctor? And I'm asking you." She said pointedly, earning an apologetic nod from Donna. The Doctor glanced around; looking for any help that he knew wasn't coming. After a minute he turned back to Rose, defeated.

"Of course I do." He said quietly. Rose walked forwards, a hand reaching to entwine with his.

"Then why are you trying to send me away?" She whispered, her face close to his. She could count every little freckle smattered across his cheeks. He could see every perfect clump of mascara on her eyelashes. A little less than she used to use though.

"I don't want to take you away from your family. Not again." The guilty look in his eyes said enough. Donna had disappeared into the TARDIS and Jackie was talking on her phone a little way away. It was just them alone on the beach. It was a strange mirror of a day Rose would rather forget.

"I told you, I made my choice." Rose dared to place a hand against his face, fingertips rejoicing in the feeling of the slight stubble there. She had taken those little things for granted when she was with him before. The stubble that used to graze against her skin when he hugged her, the cold touch of his fingers, even the way he used to snore or leave toothpaste open. It was those things that she had missed the most. Not the travelling. Just him.

"Are you sure? This is it, Rose. If you go with me then you will never see them again. It'll be you and me. That's it." He spoke it like she was supposed t be disappointed with the thought. She gave a glance to her mother, laughing on the phone with Pete. Jackie was happy. She was safe.

"Mum's got everything she could ever want. She's happy. They don't need me anymore. And I need you. You're my choice every time, Doctor. Always have been." The Doctor had a look of acceptance on his face, but beyond that Rose could see the happiness radiating from him. It wasn't the same look he gave her the last time she chose him in Canary Wharf. This one filled her with hope instead of trepidation.

"Your wish is my command, Rose Tyler." Before she could help herself, Rose pressed a brief kiss to his lips. But he didn't freeze like she expected him to. He let her kiss him and if she wasn't mistaken, pushed back into the kiss ever so slightly. Releasing him from her hold, Rose ran to her mother to say goodbye.

As the Doctor watched the exchange between mother and daughter sadness overtook him. But not for Rose. For Donna. He knew what he had to do. Resentment for his human counterpart flooded through him until he reminded himself that if it wasn't for him then they would all most likely be dead.

He died for Rose. A noble death. With that thought in mind the Doctor sent a quiet thank you into the sky, hoping that he would somehow hear it.


He wasn't to know however, that his human counterpart was currently in a Dalek escape pod hurtling towards Earth.