The poetry quotes come from Robert Frost's The Road Not Taken. Thanks to my lovely beta IncurableRomantic and to my friends who have been cheering me on in this. I love and appreciate you all! If it's not obvious by now, I ship Doctor/Rose and they are always my end game.

~oOo~

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

Change was never easy and sometimes it was incredibly painful, even if you knew deep down in your soul that it was what you needed to do. Rose's fingers caressed the coral strut as she watched the Doctor fly around the console for possibly the last time. Mickey sat on the jump seat as oblivious as the Doctor as to what was about to happen. She had asked him to take her back to London but he still didn't know why, and as much as she hated to trick him she wasn't going to tell him until after she was back on the Estate. He grinned over at her, and she looked away. Her determination to do this was tentative at best.

It was the right decision, one that she had spent the better part of this week debating. Staying versus leaving, allowing herself to fall deeper in love with a man who not only obviously didn't want her but had taken her, her life and the life of her best friend for granted. She watched the Doctor, wanting to make sure that he would bounce back after the death of a woman he had loved so completely that everything else fell by the wayside.

To her it had seemed like his mourning Reinette lasted a pitiful amount of time. In fact he hadn't mentioned her after they left the spaceship. If anything, his disregard for the King's mistress made her pity the woman. How would she feel if she could see how fast the man who had supposedly loved her so deeply was over her in the blink of an eye?

Between Reinette and Sarah Jane, Rose had learned the hard way that a Time Lord, this Time Lord, didn't value emotional attachments the way that humans did. None of that made it any easier knowing that he had broken his promise to never leave her. And that broken trust was why she had to leave. She knew that he would bounce back. He was the Doctor and he would move on, find another little ape to show the Universe to. Hopefully, they didn't fall in love with him the way that she'd done. The Doctor needed a mate, not someone who could convince themselves that they were special when they weren't.

There was a small thud as the ship landed. "Goodbye, old girl. I'll miss you most of all," she whispered softly before bounding down the ramp. Turning towards the Doctor, she pasted a fake smile on her face. "So Earth, London, Powell Estate, a few weeks after meeting Sarah Jane, yeah?" She backed towards the door as he came to join her.

"Yep," he popped the "p" as he pulled on his long brown coat. "In time for tea with Jackie. Just like you asked, your wish is as always, my command."

Her smile faltered. "Yes, thank you." As quick as she could she grabbed her knapsack and bolted out the door. She was several meters away when she stopped and turned back around, refusing to give into the stinging wetness in her eyes.

"You didn't say it was laundry day." He came up beside her, trying to take her hand, but she shoved them both into her pockets. Raising an eyebrow, he gave her a quizzical look before speaking again. "I would have landed earlier so we didn't stay too late. You know how your mother gets if we're here too late."

"Doctor, it's not laundry day." She closed her eyes. This was it, the moment that she was going to say goodbye.

His brow furrowed as he studied her. "I don't understand." Mickey came up behind the Doctor but Rose ignored him.

Letting out a long slow breath, she pasted the smile back on her face. "This is goodbye Doctor. I think it's time, and I hope you understand. Goodbye, and thank you for everything." Shock was evident on his face and she waited a beat for him to say goodbye when he didn't she turned around. "See ya."

A moment later, he grabbed her arm and turned her around. "Wait, Rose. Why?" The pained look on his face and his puppy dog eyes were almost enough to break her resolve.

Almost.

Steeling herself once more, she spoke. "After everything that's happened in the last week, do you even have to ask? Sarah Jane, Reinette, Mickey and me almost dying while you shagged your way through Paris."

"I never did anything with her."

"Right," Rose scoffed. "Doesn't really matter though, does it? You showed me my place, and I just didn't want to accept it then. I should have left when you invited Mickey on board. I was gonna, but Sarah Jane talked me out of it."

"What are you talking about? Your place? I don't understand." His eyes were pleading. "Why would you want to leave me?"

Taking a calming breath, she stared him straight in the eyes. It was time to tell him the whole truth. "Look, you needed me before, when you had lost all of your people, all of your family. You told me they were all gone, but you were never really alone. I bet you have hundreds of friends across the Universe. I held your hand when you felt alone, but you're not anymore. You can make new friends." She swallowed and waved a hand up and down his body. "This new you is happier and more friendly, flirty; ladies love you. I'm sure you'll find another assistant in no time. I need to move on with my life. I can't just have you drop me off in a year or two when the new, shiny, more sophisticated, more intelligent girl shows up and snags your attention. I deserve better than that."

"Rose, I don't want anyone else; I want you." He grabbed her hand in his and clutched it tightly. "I promised that you can spend the rest of your life with me, and I meant it. I won't just drop you off one day. Not you. Please believe that I won't leave you."

She pulled her hand away and bit back a sob. He means it in the moment, she told herself. It's a promise that he knows that he can't and won't keep. "But you already did. You jumped through a time window when you knew you had no real shot at coming back."

"But I did come back, and I wasn't even gone that long." He grabbed at her hand again, and she dodged him.

"You got lucky." Her tone was accusatory now.

"I would have found a way back to you. I would have caught a ride with one of my former or future selves. You have to believe me."

One shot: that's what he always gave everyone, and that's what she would give him. "I'll tell you what Doctor I'll stay, if…."

A wide grin formed on his face. He looked relieved and joyful. "You'll stay."

"I'll stay if you can tell me the name of the ship that you stranded me, Mickey and your beloved ship on."

His face fell. He didn't know, and she could tell the moment it hit him just how lucky he had been to find a working window. Blundering into danger with no plan had almost cost him the last part of his home planet he had left, and it had just cost him his best friend.

"That's what I thought. You never knew, did you?"

"I'm so sorry, Rose. Let me make it up to you." He stepped closer, and she stepped back and shook her head.

"Tell you what, Doctor; make it up to me by having a fantastic life. Because that's exactly what I'm gonna do." She took off running, not stopping when she heard him calling her name or when she heard Mickey yelling at him to let her go. No turning back now.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~oOo~

Ten Years Later

Rose snuggled deeper under her duvet. Sinking deeper into sleep, she began to dream. Most of her dreams these last few years had been mundane, but occasionally she dreamed of apple grass or frozen waves. There was wistfulness deep down inside of her for what could have been. Rose rolled over; at least the nightmares had stopped.

A keening metal-on-metal noise, one that she hadn't heard in a decade, suddenly cut through the silence of the house. Rose bolted upright. "Shit."