The young pink and blonde human, The Doctor's Rose, stared morosely out her bedroom window onto the estate below. They'd only returned from Bad Wolf Bay hours ago, The Doctor having been cut off in the midst of what Rose desperately hoped had been a declaration of his feelings. Oh, she knew he fancied her, that was plain as the ears on his previous incarnation, but just once, Rose would have liked him to have told her. Tears came to her eyes as the longing welled up in her single human heart; she pressed a fist to her chest, oh gods it hurt! The endless years seemed to stretch before her; years spent alone, without her doctor beside her. Without her heart, if she was honest with herself, Rose had to admit that it wasn't just the Doctor her heart was pining for, but also that familiar blue police box, the Time Lord's ever present companion, his TARDIS. Even since she'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS, Rose has heard the music of time in the back of her head, a constant soundtrack keeping her company. Oh it was soft enough to not be annoying really, just nice and soothing for when one was alone with their thoughts. Rose heard that music now, and smiled wistfully, at first thinking that her own imagination was taking care to supply comfort. Slowly the realization of two things dawned on her. First, she had been hearing that music since the scene hours before and second, her eyes were glowing that bright, soft gold. Rose's heart beat began to beat double time as she began to pay attention to the message playing in her head. The refrain from some guns and roses song kept repeating "Just a little patience, yeah, yeah, yeah…Just a little patience, yeah, yeah, yeah…" Rose felt the hope begin to blossom choking out the despair bit by bit until it was the only feeling in her chest. She wouldn't be separated from her Doctor for long, the voice whispered over the repeating phrase; all she needed was a little patience. Rose watched the golden eyes of her reflection glow as it began to smile its knowing smile back at her. Bad Wolf had come to Pete's world with rose and neither one of them would be alone much longer. There was a way back to her universe and the Doctor was just gonna have to accept that this was just another one of those times he'd been wrong. Sighing contentedly, Rose turned away from the window as the golden glow settled back into her eyes; filled with hope she realized that she was exhausted. She needed sleep if she was going to make it back to her Doctor anytime in the near future. After all, had to be ready for anything where they were both concerned. Laying down and closing her eyes, Rose began to sleep. Smiling even in slumber, she reached out to the empty space beside her.
The Doctor slumped dejectedly in his chair, simply too worn out to do more than stare at the console in front of him. The pain in his two hearts was almost unbearable; though he knew, logically, that he'd survive never seeing Rose Tyler again, the crux of the matter was that he just did not want to. This was why he never finished the statement he'd almost said almost three whole minutes ago. Not even wanting to play his favorite game of "name that exact time", the doctor decided he preferred to think of the passing time as an eternity; one that he did not want to see stretching forward, backwards nor crossways around him. He had the whole of time in his head, able to trace each and every timeline that ever existed, the gift of a Time Lord, and the curse. Almost against his will, the doctor reached out, searching desperately for the most familiar timeline, Rose's. Crying out involuntarily at seeing it cut off abruptly, the moment he sealed the last crack in the rift between them, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that this meant she was, indeed, irrevocably lost to him for all time. The Doctor had, before looking at the timeline, nursed the small glimmer of hope that he was wrong, that it wasn't impossible, that he would, ultimately see his Rose again. As illogical as it was, he didn't want to give up hope; in truth it was all he had left, that impossible human emotion. It was Rose that had mended him when he was broken; it was Rose that had taught him that one small human emotion and giving it up was like losing her all over again. He couldn't bear losing her for a third time, so he clung desperately to the hope. It was not a Time Lord emotion, in fact, Time Lords by definition were not emotional at all but the doctor couldn't help it. He was drawn out of his deep despair to snort a little inelegantly at the refrain the TARDIS seemed to be singing under her breath. "Just a little patience, yeah, yeah, yeah… Just a little patience…" It seemed that, like her traveling companion, the TARDIS also refused to give up hope. That alone fanned the tiny spark in both of his hearts though he refused to look into the future again for her timeline, scared of what he would find. The concerned, inquisitive, almost motherly, hum from the TARDIS had the doctor rising and heading to his room and the healing sleep of the exhausted, depressed and lonely. Sleep was something that his kind did not need much of, but this time the doctor welcomed the escape of oblivion. The hum of the TARDIS soothed him and if a few tears dampened his pillow, the Doctor refused to admit that they came from his hearts. In a mere moment, he was asleep, reaching across the bed towards the empty space beside him where his Rose would, hopefully, one day be. Feeling the sensation of her arms around him, the Doctor began to smile in slumber and dream of an impossible reunion.
For the first time, the TARDIS reached into her heart, grabbed the two pieces that walked separate and held them together. Her Doctor and her Wolf could not occupy the same universe right now, but with her help they could communicate in sleep. It was the least she could do, as well as the most she could do for these two who shared her heart. They were, after all, bound together. The dreaming would ease the suffering and facilitate the inevitable reunion even though they would not consciously remember. She would remember for the both of them. After all, she loved them and brought them together throughout time and space. If time had an architect then the TARDIS was the foreman; only she saw the blueprints as they were really supposed to be, only she understood the scope, was removed from it enough to see the whole picture and this was all part of the plan. Neither of the three of them was ever meant to be alone…anywhere. Humming happily to herself, the TARDIS embraced both remnants of her heart.