Once again she had to go there. One more time before she couldn't. She was old and she had a bit problems in walking. Sometimes her feet just couldn't move. The pain in her back was annoying, but she didn't care. Of course Rose Marion Tyler didn't care about that small thing when she had bigger problems in her life, too.
About 60 years ago she had to leave the biggest love of her life, the biggest gift and curse she could get. Her Doctor. He gave her this copy of him, John Smith he was called, and he looked just like her Doctor. They were actually the same, but John was half human. He could grow old with her. And he did, he lived old, but left her when his one heart gave up.
Rose raised from her car and looked at the Bad Wolf Bay. Here she said goodbye to the Doctor twice. Twice! It was a miracle that she was still alive after all of that. She slowly walked by the beach and looked at the bright blue waves. She remembered the first time when they were separated.
She would always remember his words: "And I suppose... If it's my last chance to say it... Rose Tyler..."
The way he said her name before he vanished broke her heart. She could have a future with him. A wonderful future with the last Time Lord. But he didn't even have a chance to say what he thought of her.
The second time was a bit confusing.
"Does it need saying", he had said.
She, a stupid ape as her first Doctor would have said, didn't realize what he meant and asked from the other Doctor what he thought. And even though he wasn't the Doctor, she kissed him when he said that he loved her. So, her Doctor left her with John. And he never came back. Sometimes she thought that maybe he fell in love with someone else. For some reason his companions were almost always girls.
But she wasn't any better. She loved John. Maybe because he was the Doctor, but without extra heart. But something was always missing in their relationship. Because she loved the Doctor, her Doctor, and when she loved someone else she couldn't love him as much as he deserved. Of course her life was good and she had many great moments with John, but she missed her life in the TARDIS. But, nothing lasts forever.
She woke up from her thoughts when she saw a figure on the beach. She never had seen anyone there. She walked quickly closer to the person. It was a man. He sat on the beach and watched far to the sea. He had a brown suit, a white shirt and a red bow tie. And his hair - oh God, his hair - it was brown and wonderful. Not as great as her Doctor's hair (he had a really great hair), but brilliant still. She realised that she was staring at this man and blushed. He was about 30, and she was 80!
Rose, you could be his grandmother, so keep yourself calm and normal, she told to herself.
She smoothed her grey hair that she had put into a bun and looked at her baby blue dress that reached the top of her black sandals. The man didn't see her when she slowly sat next to him.
"Hello", she said.
He finally realised that he wasn't alone anymore and looked at her.
"Hello, ma'am", he said politely.
Rose looked at the sea. The man shifted his gaze to the sea, too. They quietly watched the waves and listened to the voices they made when they wiped the sand. She looked at the man from the corner of her eye. He looked very sad. She was sure the man was very broken inside, like she was. He hid the pain well, but something in her could see inside him, like she had known him for a long time.
"I have been on this beach many times, and this is the first time someone else is here", she said without looking at him.
He forced a small smile to his face and said: "Yeah, I know this isn't a very popular beach. I have been here twice."
"What made you come back?" Rose asked and they looked at each other.
A sad smile took his face.
"I wanted to release the pain. I'm always fine, but last few days have been hard. I had this friend a long time ago. I lost her. I almost could continue my life, but after one... Thing, she came back to my mind and didn't want to left. I have tried, I have tried SO many times to move on, but I can't. I love her. She made me better. A lot better. I know that she got a good man and a life I couldn't give her, a life she deserved, but I am still sad. It's selfish to hope that everything could be like before, but I just can't stop hoping."
Rose gave him a comforting smile and told him her story: "I lost my love here. I traveled with him for years, and then I had to leave him. Twice, actually. I somehow started a new life with another man, but it wasn't what I wanted. Of course I loved him, we went married and we had children, but always something just was wrong. I missed the one I traveled with. I loved him more than anyone. I just wanted to be with him again and travel. We had so many places where to go. But now, look at me. I am so old. I can't have the life I wanted anymore. I want to meet him, though. I want to see him once more before my time is up. I feel that the death is coming to get me, too. My husband died a year ago."
The man hugged her. Tears fell down Rose's cheeks. When he released her she saw that he was crying too. Two broken people with dreams that would never come true. They looked again at the sea quietly. Words weren't needed anymore. She slowly turned her gaze to him when he started to talk.
"I made many friends after her, but they didn't make me feel much better. And I lost them all. Like her. Before her I had lost many friends, too, but she is the only one who won't leave me alone. She's like, burned in me. She's like a tattoo. I can't take her off. Once I took her, and she will be there forever."
Rose dried her cheeks with a sleeve of her shirt. The man took the tears away with his thumbs.
"What was her name?" She asked.
He smiled the small sad smile of his when he said the name of his love with soft voice.
"Rose Tyler."
Her eyes widened when she heard the name. Could it be? Could this man be her Doctor?
She covered her mouth with her hands and whispered: "Doctor?"
His eyes widened too and he whispered: "Rose?"
In a time less than a second he had her in his embrace. He said her name endlessly to her ear.
"Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose, Rose..."
She released herself and said: "You have chanced, my Doctor."
"Oh, yeah, I kind of regenerated a bit after I left you with me, or, I mean, the other me... You get it. And you, my Rose, have aged. The one thing humans do well", he said and grinned.
His grin wasn't as goofy as her first Doctor's was and not as adorable as her second Doctor's was. This Doctor's, her third Doctor's, was between cool and cute. Or is he her Doctor anymore?
She put her tongue out of her mouth as she had always done and said: "I don't know do I like this Doctor so much."
He raised his eyebrows.
"I think this me is okay, but I wanted to be ginger. I'm never ginger. That's so mean."
She laughed. Yes, he still was her Doctor. Even when he had someone with him, he always would be her.
"Do you want to see the TARDIS again?" the Doctor asked her.
"Yes! But is it far away?" she said.
Once again she remembered that she wasn't young anymore. Her legs couldn't carry her long periods. Also her back didn't like being up. He stood up and offered his hand to her.
"It's behind that rock", he said and pointed behind her.
Rose looked at where his finger pointed and saw the blue police box behind a big rock about ten meters away. She wondered how she didn't see the space ship earlier.
"How you couldn't see it? You couldn't see it because you didn't expect it to be here."
She looked at the man who had just said and answered the question she was going to ask.
She saw the excitement in his face when he said: "I knew you were going to ask that!"
He had changed. Last time when he regenerated Rose couldn't believe that in front of her was still the same man. He was grumpy and cold when they met the first time, but he became a bit softer when she was with her. He looked about 40 years old. But she liked him. Or, she actually loved him. Then came this funny, happy, good looking guy. First she had many suspicions about him, but she quickly started to relax with him and she realised that she still loved him. Different man, but at the same time her Doctor. Rose had to admit that he looked a lot better after the regeneration.
He stopped her thoughts when he grabbed her hand and marched towards the TARDIS.
"Oi! I'm not as young as I was the last time when we were together!" She said.
The Doctor mumbled: I'm sorry."
He slowed down a bit and carefully held her hand. She was going to say that she wasn't made from glass but she didn't. When Rose saw the look on his face she didn't want to make the Doctor feel worse.
He opened the door for her and she stepped inside.
"She's beautiful isn't she?" He said with excitement in his voice when she looked at the space ship with amazement.
He walked inside and closed the door. He walked to the console and leaned against it.
"Wow", was everything she could say.
The TARDIS had chanced as well. She liked the earlier Doctor more, but this TARDIS won the old one.
"I knew you would like it", he said and grinned.
Rose smiled and walked closer to where he was standing. She moved her hand on top of the console.
"There's one thing I have to ask you..." He said slowly.
She turned her head at him and said: "Yeah?"
"When did you become old?"
She felt a little twist in her stomach. The Doctor didn't age. He could be 3000 years old and look like 30. And she, she was just a human, aging beside him
"Doctor, we met last time about 60 years ago."
He looked at her, surprised, and said: "Oh."
She was a bit annoyed. She had waited for 60 long years and he said "OH"?
"What?" He mumbled and turned to the console.
He pressed many different buttons and other things and looked at a screen.
"No way. How... You didn't... What?" She heard him say.
"What's wrong?" She asked and tried to look at the screen.
The Time Lord turned at her and tapped the screen.
"I have no idea why I'm here now. Why she brought me to this time? I'm about 1200, so the TARDIS had to take me back quite a long time... But why now?"
She raised her eyebrows. "That's a hell of a age."
"I sometimes just don't get you", the Doctor whispered to his space ship.
She looked at the Time Lord better. He had changed so much.
"You're wearing a bow tie?" She asked.
"Bow ties are cool", he said and fixed his bow tie.
Rose raised her eyebrow and looked at his face. She grinned.
"Your chin looks stupid", she suddenly told.
The Doctor put his hand on his chin and said: "What's wrong with my chin?"
She just laughed and he looked at himself in a mirror.
They were definitely meant to be together. After all those years they still were with each other like nothing happened. It was again the Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, like it should always have been. The Bad Wolf with her Doctor.
"Yes", he said quietly.
She asked: "What is it, Doctor?"
He turned around and looked at her eyes seriously.
"Something's wrong with the whole universe. That's why I'm here. There was a crack and the TARDIS went here, maybe because this is the place I want to be the most. I think I can get out, and maybe, just maybe, I could try to get you earlier. Then we could be together once more! I should try that. Do you think I should? I should. I love you Rose Tyler. And I'll get you even if it's the last thing I'll do! Time can be rewritten. We could travel together. Okay. Right. See you soon. Or not soon. A lot earlier. It's Timey Wimey..."
Rose put a finger against his mouth. He started to explain so much she couldn't listen to it anymore.
"Shhh", she said and moved her hand to his cheek.
She smiled softly and kissed his other cheek. The Doctor smiled.
"It's okay. I had a good life with John, even though I always wanted to be with you, not him. But it's okay. You don't have to. Go back with your companion and save the world", she told him with a soft voice.
His eyes were full of sadness when he said: "I don't have a companion."
"Why?" She asked. "You should never be alone."
"They're gone", he said quietly, "all of them."
A tear fell down her cheek.
"I am so sorry", Rose said.
The Doctor smiled a bit and fixed his bow tie.
"I think I should at least try it."
They were outside the TARDIS and looked at each other, hand in hand.
"I guess it's goodbye then", Rose said.
"Yeah", the Doctor mumbled.
They hugged and he whispered to her ear "Goodbye."
She whispered the same word to his and closed her eyes. She couldn't keep the tears in her eyes. They fell down her cheeks and made them wet. When he released her, she saw that he was crying too.
"If all goes like it should, you don't have to wait so long. I will always come for you, Rose."
"I know you will, Doctor."
There he went again. The Doctor, the Last of The Time Lords. The man she always loved. Always had, and always would. Her Doctor. She took few steps and fell on the sand. She tried to breath, but it was hard. It had come. The day when Rose Tyler died. She put her hand on her chest to the place where her heart beat its last beats and whispered the one word that always had kept her alive: "Doctor."