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He travelled.

He travelled throughout the entire universe. He's seen it all: aliens and humans; Daleks and Timelords; the living and the dead; creatures with physical forms and gas people; small and big; creatures based on carbon and ones based on sodium; machines and living thing; black holes and young suns and newly formed planets. In his long life he's seen all sorts of creatures, enemies as well as friends. He's had so many people who accompanied him, so many people who trusted him with their lives. His heart was broken more than once and he even wished for death.

But none of these times was as hard as this one, none of those humans so precious to him, none of these sights so heart-breaking.

Rose Tyler. Just to say her name made him smile. Looking at her smiling made him smile. He couldn't control it – whenever he saw her, he immediately felt happier. When he saved her and when she saved him; when he came to her and when she came to him, it didn't matter. All that he needed was to see her again, standing there, safe, in front of him. He was brilliant, cleverer than any creature alive in this universe, now that the Timelords have all died, but none of this mattered when he saw Rose, young and beautiful Rose, standing there in front of him.

He loved her. It was the first time he fell in love since his wife, the mother of his children. They were all gone now: his children, his grandchildren and his wife. They all died in the Time War, leaving him alone in this universe.

Until he met Rose. For some reason, their paths kept colliding. He saved her then, in that shop, from the dummies, and then found himself in her house. He saved her in the restaurant and ran in the streets of London with her. She even got to save him in their first meeting. He showed her time and space, showed her the end of the world and Charles Dickens. He showed her everything he could think of, all the beauty of the universe and all that is bad within. He did his best to keep her safe and happy, even though sometimes she did not agree with his way, only for the sake of keeping her happy.

Because – he refused to admit it as first, but eventually gave in – he loved her. From the very first moment he saw her, he loved her. He hadn't had a companion in his travels in a long while, since the Time War, but all of a sudden he found himself asking her to join him. He even returned back to Earth for her, for a woman he didn't even know, just because of the chance of her saying yes.

He told himself he did it because it was awful to be traveling alone. Because he couldn't live with the memories of the war and the death of his race. Because he thought she might be fun. Because they were a really good team together, and that was just their first meeting. But the truth is, he was in love from the very first moment he met her.

He took her to so many places. In his ninth incarnation he took her to a journey through history, to the past and to the future and even to the present. They've been to World War II's London, 1869's Cardiff, year 5 billion and year two-hundred-thousand. They fought the last Dalek together and stopped the Dalek fleet. When Rose came back, the Time Vortex inside her, he realized for the first time just how much he loved her. He didn't mind sacrificing himself, having his tenth incarnation, if that meant she was safe. He just couldn't bear that look on her face when she asked what he did to himself.

But once she realized it was him, they just kept on traveling. He showed her the universe. They've been to a planet orbiting a black hole, New New York and a ship leading to 18th century France, as well as Earth. He watched her taking command more than once. He watched her grow up and evolve from a nineteen-year-old girl into a woman even a woman of his race would be proud to be. When she kissed him then, through the helmet, he knew for sure that she felt the same way as he did, and knew that he could never feel happier than on that day.

And then she was gone.

He was standing there, in the TARDIS, staring at the spot where she was. She was beautiful, so very beautiful. It's been so long since he'd last seen her, and he missed her like he's never missed any other human. He never thought he'd be this happy to see anyone again, perhaps except someone from his home, but when he first saw her, he really was. And right before he told her that, right before he managed to tell her that he'll always love her, and that he'll always search for a way to find her, it was gone.

So now he was travelling again. He ran into people and had more companions, but she was always in his heart, waiting for him to find a way back to her. He was travelling the universe, searching for a rift big enough for him to pass and take her back into his life. Because he could never let go of Rose. And when he'll find that, he'll find her, and they will continue travelling in the TARDIS until the end of time.