Rose had been dreaming about those three words since she was eleven. She dreamt about a perfect man who would take her on a perfect day, kiss her goodbye, and hold her close to him.
The first man to say 'I love you' to her had been Jimmy Stones.
She knew now he hadn't meant it. Sure, at the time she believed him, but he proved her wrong when he had left without any explanation at all. No goodbye, nothing.
The second man who had told her he loved her had been Mickey Smith.
She knew he meant it. He had been so kind, and she had been loved. Mickey had been the perfect boyfriend, and for a while that had been all she needed.
Until.
Until she met the Doctor. He had shown her a different life style, a way to living that made Rose feel so complete. She also knew it wasn't just the adventure that kept her away from her mum, away from Mickey. It was him. The Doctor.
He was crazy and rude and called her stupid and insulted her and risked her life repeatedly.
She loved him. She loved him so much that for a while it was just enough to be with him, to hold his hand and laugh with him and run with him and experience this lifestyle with him.
But then… He regenerated, and though he was the same man, he felt so different. He was even crazier than before and he was bouncy and playful and liked to lick things.
But she learned to love this version even more than before. They still ran around holding hands and laughing and having such a grand time. But every now and then she would look at him and long for her Doctor, the Doctor that wore a green jumper and a worn leather jacket. The Doctor whose hand felt so rough. The Doctor she had felt so safe with.
Then something changed. He left her for Reinette, and that made her see reality, see that she was like any others, like Sarah Jane, like all those he had left behind. So, Rose came to a conclusion.
She didn't want to be forgotten.
She didn't want to merge with so many other women in his long life. She wanted to be remembered. She wasn't really sure how to do this, so they continued on as they had. Nothing changed, and Rose never acted on how she felt. She ignored the love that was under every nonchalant touch.
They battled the Cybermen, and at first it seemed like any other battle they had fought. But there was something different about this battle. Something sinister.
"No! Don't let go!"
There was nothing she could do. She was slipping, and nothing could stop it.
And then Pete grabbed her waist and she was torn away from him.
She pounded upon the wall, hoping, wishing. If all that was needed was desire to do something, Rose would have been to get to her Doctor ten times.
Unfortunately, you needed more than desire to do something, and no one knew that better then Rose Tyler. She would have given anything to get back to her Doctor.

All she wanted was to get to the man she loved, her Doctor.
She never did.