She wished she was home, her real home, not this copy, not the world that had never given birth to Rose Tyler. She wanted the world she'd spent her childhood upon, but it would never be. The rift was shut, and the Doctor couldn't bring her home. Not this time. He wasn't here.
It had been two years, exactly two years, since the event at Canary Wharf. Two years since Rose Tyler died on her world, only to be alive on this one, the world where she never exsisted. Alive with her mother, alive with Mickey, alive with Pete, the man who was, but wasn't, her father. The man that was dead in her world.
Rose was most often alright on normal days, pulling herself through the day while focusing on not thinking about it, not thinking about what had happened, what she had been forced to leave behind, but this wasn't a normal day. This was the day she died, and she never could stop it all from coming to the surface.
She had escaped from London, from Torchwood, from her family, so she could go over the events of the wonderful life with the Doctor, without them trying to distract her away from what mattered that day.
Her breath hitched as a sudden sob overcame her. Pressing her eyes closed the tears spilled from where they had been gathering. Opening her clenched fist the TARDIS key shone in the dying light of the sun. The last thing she had of the Doctor, the only thing on this Earth. She opened her teary eyes to look at it, and a tear fell into the palm of her hand.
Her shoulders shook as the bottled emotion from the past year burst out. She hadn't allowed herself to cry before, but now she couldn't stop the torrent of emotion. It overwhelmed her, and she felt an odd sense of relief over the sudden escape of emotion.
Closing her eyes again she let out a deep breath, trying to calm her emotions ravanging through her mind. She focused on listening to the steady beat of the waves upon the shore, the seagulls screeching and the wind tugging at the tufts of grass scattered around on the sandy beach. The flap of fabric as the wind tugged at it…
Rose opened her eyes slowly. The feeling of being watched swept over her, and she turned slightly, looking behind her. What she saw made her eyes widen in surprise, bewilderment, and hope, there he was, that familiar brown suit, the coat flapping in the wind, blowing out behind him.
"Hello," He said casually, a slight grin spreading across his face.
Rose let out a heartwrenching sob and fresh tears cascaded down her face. His grin weakened, and he held out his hands in invitation. Then she ran, ran towards him, hair flying behind her and arms reaching out, reaching out to the man she had thought unreachable.
They collided and embraced, falling together as lovers long parted. He hugged her close, tears in his eyes, but unwilling to spill them. Rose clutched at him as if he was her last chance to live, her last chance to love.
"Doctor." Her voice was filled with relief, with pain and with sadness, and she pressed her face into his chest, smelling something she could only describe as him.
"Oh, Rose, my Rose." He murmured in her hair as he held her close. Then they both fell silent, content to share this moment forever.
When Rose's tears had subsided and she looked up at him, he only said three words.
"I love you."