A/N: A little story for the upcoming anniversary. Not sure if it should be expanded, let me know what you think.
Rose Tyler stared into the sky watching the stars, knowing she would never see them up close. In the other universe, she had done things people could only dream of, run from the deadliest of enemies, save entire planets from destruction, all of it accomplished with him. Her hand stroked the blanket underneath her, reminding herself that this wasn't a dream, she was still here. He had left her behind, letting her have the one adventure he could never have.
On the plane journey home, she and the other Doctor had hardly spoken. A couple of words exchanged along with a small smile but nothing meaningful, not like it would be with him. She used to share comfortable silences with the Doctor after they had watched a film in the media room, neither of them could be asked to move, so warm and comfy, they stayed like that for minutes of pure bliss with his arm around her shoulder, and head rested on his chest breathing in his scent.
Now all that was gone and she was left with a memory. There is no such thing as forever, kind of like the stars, someday they will burn away and be nothing but a distant memory to someone.
Rose sighed and pulled the zipper up on her jacket higher, feeling the cold night finally getting to her. She used to watch all the stars most nights when use was building the dimension cannon, knowing that she would be travelling again. An old dream now shattered. Lying on the Tyler mansion roof with her skylight to her room not three feet from her, Rose considered this place a safe haven from reality, her escape.
She heard a creaking coming from behind her and whipped her head around to see the other Doctor's head poking through the window. He looked like him, same dress sense, same quirky habits, but his voice was different, so human, thanks to Donna. Another change Rose would have to get used to.
"Jackie said you would be up here. You missed dinner." he told her quietly, almost as if he was asking for permission to come up.
"Yeah, what time is it?"
"Nearly ten." he replied. "Aren't you hungry?"
"No, I'm okay." Her gaze returned to her original focus point, her elbows propping her up and the Doctor's heart sank a little.
"Do you want me to leave you alone?" the Doctor asked, silently praying that he was imagining all this, that they would go back to how they once were.
Rose sat up and turned to him. "No… I just," the words caught in her throat. It's not that she didn't want him there but she needed time to adjust. "This isn't something I can process overnight, you know. I lost you once, big ears and leather jacket gone in a burst of bright light, then I lost you again and I waited for five years to find a way back, then he… he left again."
The Doctor nodded. "I know this will be difficult, Rose. No one saying that it was going to be easy. Relationships never are from what I've seen. But please give me a chance." Not the long ramble she was expecting but all the emotion that could have knocked her off her feet, an honesty that was new and refreshing.
"Want to stargaze for a bit?"
His face cracked into a grin and he lifted himself up. A minute later he was lying next to Rose with his legs in the opposite direction to hers, but their heads just a few inches apart.
Another silence, but one not so daunting. Rose bit her lip, trying to think of what to say next. It was a strange concept that they didn't have anything to say to each other.
"You know I can do domestic as it turns out." he said, eyes on the sky. "Me and Martha were trapped in 1969 for three months. I lived in a house with windows and carpets, granted it was rented not a mortgage, but it was okay."
Rose turned her head to face him. "Yeah, but you knew you were getting the TARDIS back. You weren't trapped like you are now."
"I'm not trapped, Rose." he said, firmly. "This is where I want to be, here with you."
"And the old you…" She swallowed hard, before finding her voice again. "The other you didn't want that?"
"Of course he did. You think he made this decision easily? He would have taken you back on the TARDIS in a double heartbeat, but Rose, that wouldn't have been right." Rose arched an eyebrow at him, wanting more of an explanation than she was used to getting. "Travelling in the TARDIS is dangerous and unpredictable. If something were to happen you, he never –- I would never be able to forgive myself."
He lifted his hand over his head, to grab hers but then quickly brought back, not wanting to cross any unwritten boundaries. "He meant what he said, he needs you, and I need you."
Rose let out a long shaky breath she didn't realise she was holding. The Doctor watched her carefully, waiting for her response, putting his single heart on his sleeve.
"Yeah?" she asked, gazing into his brown eyes.
"Yes."
"I'm glad you're here." Rose murmured, "I am. But you're so different; it just feels like I need to get to know you all over again. I don't want to rush this."
"Who says we have to rush? Fifty years is a long time."
"Fifty?" Rose smirked.
"Yeah, I put it in my paperwork for Torchwood." He sniffed nonchalantly, "I could pass for man in his late twenties."
She giggled, sticking her tongue out between her teeth. "Late thirties more like."
"Cheeky woman." He reached back and playfully swatted her arm. The sounds of two old/ new friends chuckling echoed through the air, bringing them closer.
Once the laughter had subsided, her smile faded showing how fragile she truly was. "We're going to be alright, aren't we?"
The Doctor couldn't bear to see his Rose in any pain and forgot boundaries. He sought out Rose's hand and kissed it gently.
"Yeah, we're going to be fine."
He brought his her hand to cup his cheek so she knew he was real and to stay. Rose's finger stroked the back of his hand, tracing the imaginary wrinkles she knew that would one day be there. Forever might not exist, but living for now was very real.