AN: This is the first of one hundred (hopefully!) stories about the Doctor and Rose, my favorite pairing of the series. I haven't written fanfiction of any sort in a very long time, so I may be rusty. If you have feedback, feel free to R/R or even just do so for fun! ;) Either way, please enjoy!


In the past few days, not much had occupied Rose Tyler's mind beyond the many fantastical places that the Doctor, her Doctor, had taken her: first, they'd traveled to the planet of Thon, where the citizens seemed to take particular pleasure in garish hats. Then, there'd been the world where everything was purple. Now, as she sat in the garden, the Doctor had the TARDIS en route to Aeterna. This wouldn't have normally bothered Rose; she would have even been quite excited. But the people of that world defined themselves by their immortality, which brought up Rose's own latent fear of someday leaving him behind; it was in the midst of these thoughts that the Doctor found her. Therefore, he took care in his approach.

"Rose?" he began, trying to catch wisps of emotion from her.

The dark eyes that he'd come to love fell on him when she turned her head. Worrisomely, there was darkness present. She felt melancholy. "Yes, Doctor?"

Although he'd been about to ask her if she'd care to come out of her seclusion to have tea with him, he now simply approached her and laid a careful hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" He waited for her permission to take a seat.

When she moved over to make room, he took the gesture as an assent. Maneuvering so that his long coat wouldn't get wet from the fountain behind him, he looked into her eyes, hoping that his own would reveal his concern. "Now, what's hurt my companion?"

He noticed when she averted her eyes, but did not respond in kind. She began to speak, her tone uneven. "It's nothing, Doctor… just…," she was devolving quickly into tears, "I'm gonna have to leave you someday and, well…" She ceased in speaking.

The Doctor, who had been listening, paused before answering. He knew that this was part of why he kept up such strong barriers with his companions, but this one was different: Rose Tyler, his Rose Tyler, had already healed him in more ways than she could ever know, and his strongest desire was only to keep and protect her for the rest of her life. It was the closest thing he had felt to love in seven hundred years. He sighed.

"Rose, look at me," she turned to face him and he placed his hands on her cheeks; their eyes were locked and he looked at her with complete sincerity. "You are the first good thing I've had in my life since before the War." She could tell he was serious; he never spoke about that painful time lightly. He continued, "When you first met me, I was angry and irrational; I was hurting more than I ever had, and you healed me. You took me on as nobody else has, and made me a better man. For that, I thank you. And," he pulled her into a tight hug, speaking quietly into her ear, "you never have to leave me. I don't want you to…"

It was the closest he had ever come to telling her that he loved her.

"But," she began, pulling away so that she could see him. "What about when I get old? You'll never age, yeah?" She was tearing up, and her mascara left black streaks down her face.

At that moment, his eyes looked more ancient than they ever had. "Rose, no matter what, if I have to go to the end of the universe, I swear to you that I'll find a way for you to remain here, if that's what you want." His words were scaring him, but he did not retract them.

She brightened, and that grin that he loved so much lit her face. "Oh, Doctor..." It was her turn to throw her arms around him. "I do want to stay with you… "

The Doctor leaned back so that he could return her grin. "Then fear not, Rose Tyler! Now, I believe there is tea waiting in the kitchen for us, we'll be landing soon. Allons-y!" With that, he grabbed her hand and the two of them ran through the door and out into the hall, laughing and smiling.

To Rose, this is how it was and should always be, because when she was with the Doctor not even Death could stand in her way.

In that moment, they were immortal.