A/N: So, I did decide to continue this, and will strive to update this once a week, probably on Wednesdays or Thursdays. As for which Doctor I chose... Well, you'll just have to see!

Disclaimer: Still don't own!
Fixed a tiny plothole in this, thanks to Genisis Chi for pointing it out!

Chapter 2

Rose thought her face would split from the grin she was wearing as she threw her arms around her Doctor again. She couldn't believe she was here, in his arms, saving the universe again.

And then someone knocked four times.

Slowly, the pair let go of each other and faced the radiation chamber where Wilfred was still stuck. The timelines once again showed Rose what was supposed to happen, showed her the only two possibilities that could occur.

Rose sat back as the Doctor talked to the old man, and watched in pain as he raged against what even he knew would happen.

"But this is what I get; my reward… But it's not fair!" the Doctor shouted, shoving everything that was on a nearby desk off of it in anger. Rose stepped forward, but hesitated to touch him, knowing he would just push her away now. He needed to vent. "I've lived too long," he whispered then, raising his eyes to hers.

She dared to cup his cheek then, wiping away a tear with her thumb. He was right; it wasn't fair.

"I've only just found you," he breathed, pulling her closer, burying his face in her hair.

A stupid idea then occurred to her, an idea the Wolf inside of her did not agree too. She shut it up quickly. "What if you didn't have to die?" she whispered in his ear.

The Doctor pulled back to look into her eyes. "Rose-" he started, shaking his head, but she interrupted him.

"I know you have to go in there, and you have to save him, because I can't, I'm not physically here enough, but what if I could make it so the radiation didn't kill you?" Rose was still whispering: Wilfred didn't have to know this.

Hope shone in the Doctor's eyes, no matter how much he tried to hide it. "You can't."

Rose stepped back. "I can and I will. It will exhaust the last bit of energy the Wolf has, but I can do it. It would take her another hundred years to reawaken, but I don't care. I love you, and I'm not losing you again."

The Doctor stared at her for a moment, shock evident on his face. A moment later his lips were on hers, threatening to drown her with the love she could feel radiating off of him. With a slight start, she realized this was their first proper kiss together, as their first had technically been Cassandra and their second had technically been the metacrisis. That idle thought was quickly drowned out, though, as she poured everything she had into that kiss.

It couldn't have lasted longer than a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime, and yet not long enough. Rose was gasping for air by the time the Doctor pulled away, and even he was breathing a little hard. He rested his forehead against hers. "Rose Tyler," he whispered, before dashing off to the radiation chamber.

Rose was dazed enough by the onslaught of emotions to not react right away while the Doctor rushed into the chamber and ushered Wilfred out.

"Doctor! No!" she shouted as the Doctor cried out in pain. She desperately tried to grab hold of the Bad Wolf's power that coiled within her, but she knew it was too late. Rose barely held back a sob as the Doctor convulsed on the floor of the tiny glass room. She ran to the cabin and slid down to sit next to him, aching to hold him, and comfort him.

Eventually the chamber shut down, though the Doctor stayed on the ground, unmoving. Rose watched him nervously for a minute, before getting up and opening the chamber herself, trying to help him up.

Finally the Doctor responded, and let Rose help him.

"Still with us?" asked Wilfred hesitantly. He didn't know who Rose was, and while he was not afraid, he didn't really want to get closer to a creature that could make a whole room full of Time Lords flinch.

"The system's dead," the Doctor replied, managing to stand on his own now, though he never let go of Rose's hand. "I absorbed it all… whole thing's kaput."

"Well, here we are then, safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state," Wilfred said, pointing to the Doctor's scraped up face. "You've got some battle scars there."

The Doctor raised a hand to his face, wiping it down and healing the cuts there. It was the start of his regeneration, helped along by some residual energy from the Bad Wolf.

Wilfred stared. "But they've… your face… how did you do that?"

The Doctor looked down at his free hand, realizing what must've happened. "It's started."

A teary-eyes Wilfred stepped forward, not even caring that Rose was there now, and wrapped his arms around the Time Lord. Rose stepped back and watched the scene. When the Doctor's eyes finally connected with hers, they shared a significant look, and she could read the sadness in his eyes just as he could read it in hers.

/*/

After they'd said goodbye to Wilfred, and were back in the TARDIS, Rose took the Doctor's hand in hers, twining their fingers together.

The Doctor looked at her, and the sadness in his eyes almost broke her. "You can't stay, can you?" It was more of a statement than a question, but she answered it anyway.

"Not yet. But I'll be back. It'll be a few days for you, tops," she promised, stepping closer.

He let her kiss him softly, but barely responded. It was nothing like the desperate kiss they had shared earlier. "I'll have to change now," he said as she pulled back.

She nodded. "But I don't care what face you wear, You'll always be my Doctor, and I'll always love you."

This time, he pulled her in for a kiss, and both of them just held on to each other. Relief, joy, and sadness at what their story had been up to that point clear in the way they wrapped their arms around the other. But there was also love. Though this Doctor had never told her outright, Rose knew he loved her as much as she loved him, though it didn't seem possible. Even when they pulled back, they stayed entwined in each other, both unwilling to let go just yet.

Because letting go would mean saying goodbye again.

Rose buried her head in the Doctor's shoulder and inhaled that typical smell that was just his. Even John, who had been a near clone, had never quite smelled the same to her. She sighed quietly, knowing the Doctor was wondering what had happened between her and his duplicate, but didn't ask because he was afraid of the answer.

John was dead.

And didn't that thought just kill the mood. Reluctantly, Rose wiggled out of the Doctor's hold. He let her go.

"I have to go," she told him. "I'll see you in a few days, I swear."

"You won't recognise me," he countered.

Rose rolled her eyes, right pessimist, he was. "I'll always recognise you." She grinned. "Besides, all I have to look out for is a loon with a blue box, right?"

He smiled, but she could tell it was a little forced.

"I know you're going to say goodbye to your companions, but you can't forget to say goodbye to me too."

The Doctor frowned at her, a hint of panic in those expressive brown eyes. "I remember a bloke on New Years Eve in 2005 standing outside my building. He was in pain, and he was wearing a brown pinstripe suit." She raised an eyebrow at him. "He said I was going to have a fantastic year."

The Doctor looked at her with wide eyes. "You remember… Then why did you act all panicky when I regenerated last time?!" he exclaimed.

"Because I didn't make the connection until much, much later, and I figured you'd done it while I was in the other universe. It sounded like a goodbye, even though I didn't know you yet."

The Doctor nodded. Rose kissed him one last time, lingeringly on his lips, and then stepped back. The last remaining energy of the Bad Wolf enveloped her, and everything faded to darkness.

/*/

When she opened her eyes, she was back in the same spot in the TARDIS, but she could tell that some time had passed, a week maybe. The interior had changed a lot, but she liked it. Not as much as the coral, but at least it was easier to navigate.

"You look beautiful," she whispered. The TARDIS gave a quiet hum of approval.

Rose was about to call out for the Doctor when she heard muffled voices outside of the door. Grinning, she opened the door just a little and peeked out.

The TARDIS was parked in someone's bedroom, and a man and a woman sat on the bed. Something told her the man was the Doctor. A wedding dress hung in the corner of the room, Rose assumed it was the girl's.

"No, still not getting it," the Doctor was saying, frowning at the pretty redhead. Rose rolled her eyes. Huge Time Lord brain, and still he couldn't understand a simple human conversation.

"Doctor, in a word, in one very simple word even you can understand-" the girl said, and leaned forward.

Rose's jaw dropped, and she was just too confused to react. The Doctor had jumped back, so she was sure he didn't return this girl's obvious feelings, but it was just so weird to see someone actually try to jump the Doctor. Everyone fell in love with him, but no one ever acted on it. At least, neither she nor Martha had. Donna didn't count, the woman was far too scary at times.

"You're getting married in the morning!" the Doctor protested, running towards the TARDIS. Luckily, he was too preoccupied to notice Rose.

"Well the morning's a long time away," the redhead countered, following him and pushing him up against the side of the TARDIS.

Rose couldn't see them anymore, and that was a little too much for her. She opened the door completely and stepped out, letting her mother shine through.

"Get. Your hands. Off. The Doctor!" she said, hands on her hips and glare in place.

The redhead jumped back and looked at her in confusion, while the Doctor looked horribly embarrassed, pushing his suspenders – and why was he wearing suspenders? And a bowtie? – back up his shoulders.

"There is no way you get to kiss those lips if I haven't, missy," Rose said, stepping closer and slipping her hand into the Doctor's. He still looked embarrassed, and quite possibly afraid, but also relieved that he hadn't kissed that girl.

"Who are you?" the redhead asked, putting her own hands on her hips.

"Rose Tyler. You?"

"Amy Pond."

They just stared at each other for a while - well, more like glared – but then Rose started laughing.

The other girl frowned at her. "What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," Rose replied through her giggles. "He gets himself into these situations more often than you'd think. He kissed Madame de Pompadour once."

The Doctor actually looked guilty while Amy raised an eyebrow. Rose elbowed him gently. "Oh, stop it. I was upset about it back then, but I got over it. I know you love me," she said quietly, turning to face him and taking his other hand.

He pecked her gently on the lips. "I do."

Rose quirked a smile. "Isn't she supposed to say that in the morning?"

The Doctor started to smile, but it melted off his face just as fast. "In the morning…" the Doctor said, almost to himself, and then turned to face the redhead. "It's you, it's all about you. Everything, it's about you…"

Rose rolled her eyes. If she wasn't so sure he didn't feel anything for Amy, she might've been hurt, but this was the Doctor. He did odd things all the time, and thought of things other people would never have imagined.

Amy frowned at him in confusion too, and glanced from him to Rose and back again.

"Amy Pond, mad, impossible Amy Pond… I don't know why, I've no idea, but quite possibly the single most important thing in the history of the universe, is that I get you sorted out right now."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you," Amy replied with a smirk, but the Doctor ignored her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the TARDIS.

"And here we go again," Rose muttered to the empty room before following the odd pair into the spaceship. Adventure was waiting.

A/N: Tell me what you think! I'm sorry if I chose the wrong Doctor for some of you, but I figured this would work better, and this way I can do the whole season if I feel like it!

Anywhoo, review!