"Doctor?" Amy asked, coming into the console room.

"Yes, Amy?" He replied.

"Who was Rose?" Her voice was timid as though she knew it to be a forbidden question.

The Doctor looked up immediately at the mention of her name. It was a name he hadn't heard in years, but one he'd never forget. His face paled as all the memories, terrible, fantastic memories flooded his mind.

He was close to tears when he said, "Who told you about her?" His voice was just a hoarse whisper but it was still demanding and furious. NO ONE knew except for him, and she was something he'd never share- it was just too painful.

Amy cleared her throat, "I found her room."

His mouth opened slightly, but the words choked in his throat. Why hadn't he gotten rid of her room? He'd closed off Martha's and Donna's as soon as they'd left, no problem. He couldn't blame it on forgetting; in fact he'd been in there once after she left – just after he regenerated.

But he knew the reason why.

Because then he would be admitting it. He would have to accept that she was never coming back. That she was gone. Forever.

So really, he could only think of one honest answer; "She was the most amazing woman I've ever met. She was the only woman I ever loved," his voice cracked but he continued. "And I lost her."

"But, Doctor, I don't understand. How did you lose her? Did she die?" Amy asked after a while, pulling him out of his dreamy daze; he really did love her, Amy thought.

"Oh, Goodness, No! No," he replied. "I don't think I could live with myself if that had happened. No. Er, she… she got trapped. Trapped in a parallel universe, and now, nothing can get through. I'll never see her again," he sighed. "But that isn't the worst part. The worst thing is I never got to tell her. I never told her I loved her… and now it's too late… Of course she knew. It didn't really need saying. And someone else told her. But I never did."

"What do you mean, Doctor?" He wasn't making sense and he knew it.

"What Rose got was special. I gave her me. I gave her a human version of me. A me she could marry and settle down with. I suspect they may have even had children… But you see… I don't get a Rose."

Amy still didn't understand. How could there be a human version of him? But she knew the Doctor was done talking. And she knew never to ask about Rose again.

But she did know the he loved her. And that he would always regret losing her.