Rose smiled at the security man and left the office building, shifting her handbag up onto her shoulder. It was Friday night, which always put her in a good mood. There was always something wonderful about Fridays. The weekend lay in wait, two whole days of relaxation. She couldn't wait.

As she walked down the pavement, her heels clopping against the hard asphalt, she considered the activities she may get up to that weekend. A pot of Ben and Jerry's ice cream and a movie that night, some shopping on Saturday and then…

She found herself slowing down, and soon coming to a halt. Is this what her life was now? Ice cream and shopping? Her eyes slowly began to well up with tears as she thought about something The Doctor had said. You go home and have your beans on toast. He hadn't been lying. Human life really was as boring as that. She had been to the end of the universe and back, and now she was left living this life. She considered. It was hardly a life, it was just limbo between birth and death.

How could she live without The Doctor?

She had never loved somebody so much in her entire life. Why did they have to be ripped apart in such a brutal fashion? Why had The Doctor taken such a long time to answer her after her tearful confession on the beach? Did he love her at all?

She began walking briskly again, the old biting at her face harshly. If she could have one thing in the world it would be The Doctor's answer. Her tears had frozen on her face and she brought her woollen-gloved hand up to wipe them, smudging her mascara and staining the fabric.

Rose scurried down to the small shore she often visited in parallel Cardiff. It was too cold today, but she didn't care. She had to be alone with her thoughts so she would calm down. Besides, she felt like she had to be there at that moment.

Pictures of him flashed in her mind constantly as she went to sit on a jagged rock near the shoreline. Smiling, frowning, looking quizzical. She smiled. She loved his clever face. She loved everything about The Doctor. His smile, his eyes, his wit, his heroics, his smarts, his humour. She could go on, and nobody would ever beat him. Nobody would ever replace him. Nobody.

Then she felt it. His presence. She knew it was his. It was the same she had felt that day in Bad Wolf Bay. She wanted to look around, so badly. But she didn't think she would be able to bear to see him again and not be able to touch him. Though she would've given anything, just to hear his voice one more time…

"Rose…" She screwed her eyes closed, the tears stinging them. She couldn't bear it. She willed it to be real, for the whisper to be there, not her imagination travelling on the wind. Maybe he was behind her. Waiting to tell her he loved her too.

She didn't hesitate any longer. She swivelled around, her expression expectant. He wasn't there. How could she have been so stupid to think so? He would never come back. She would never hear his voice louder than a whisper on the breeze.

She turned to stare out at the sea again, it soothed her. Her view had been obstacle free previously, which was why she sat there. There were no rocks in the way, or umbrellas or sun lounges. The obstacle blocking the quiet ocean was a person. A tall, thin person wearing a blue suit. A man with tousled hair and brown eyes she could lose herself in forever. It wasn't just a man. It was the man. The man she had been waiting for, for so long.

She jumped up in excitement, hardly daring to move too much in case it was fake…in case it was her wild imagination.

"Doctor?" She whispered, still grinning broadly, still preying he wasn't just a ghost, like last time. She clasped her hands together, her handbag cradling on her arm. The man smiled, the beautiful smile she loved.

"Rose." She felt like screaming, it was torture standing there, not touching him. But how could she be sure? She eyed him, holding her breath, standing completely still.

His hair ruffled in the breeze, and then she knew. He was standing on the same beach as her. In the flesh. He'd come back for her. She knew he would!

"Doctor!" She yelled, her smile reaching her ears, her handbag flying to the floor as she sprinted towards him, laughing away, giddy. He spread his arms, laughing too, and embraced her, spinning her around numerous times, both of them in complete ecstasy. Rose buried her face in his shoulder, the tears beginning to flow like rivers of pure happiness and disbelief. "You came back for me!" She sobbed into his jacket, both of them finally standing still, the Doctor still with his arms around her. "You came back." She muttered more quietly, beaming all the while.

"Course I came back!" He said in his usual upbeat tone. "I was always going to come back! Rose-" He paused holding onto her arms and easing her away from him, so he could stare into her wide eyes. "-I love you. I've loved you ever since I took your hand in that basement. I've loved you since we were so cruelly ripped apart and I'll love you forever." Rose felt her stomach flipped and a lump in her throat. How long she had waited for those words.

"You know how I feel!" She shouted, her smile wider than she could stand it as they moved together, lips touching and finally being part of the kiss they had both wanted forever. Rose felt alive, like she had found the missing piece of her soul. His kiss said his feelings, even though she had heard them, and she never ever wanted to let him go, just in case he vanished. This time there was no vortex to absorb, no mind control. It was just Rose and The Doctor, in love and reunited.