A/N: So, holy shit. It's been 3(?) years since I last updated this story. There isn't a whole lot left to tell in this story, but I will get the rest out to you. Thank you for sticking with me so long. This is short, which sucks, but I wanted to save the good stuff for the next chapter.

Warmth was what she first noticed.

It was a comfortable feeling, like a soft embrace, that kissed her skin with each caress. Next was the blinding light. Beneath it, figures danced and twirled, losing focus beneath the golden film. She was sure nothing had ever quite felt like this.

A beautiful song sung in her mind, with it came memories and futures. She couldn't make sense of the images, not yet, but she felt her mind drifting in the music.

Then, as if it were a switch that had been turned off, it all just stopped.

A soft whirring took over, the light fading into a room that was new, but somehow familiar.

The TARDIS. Not her Doctor's TARDIS, but one of his incarnation's, she was sure.

"He thinks he lost you, you know," a voice spoke, one she'd heard not that long ago.

Startled out of her confusion, she moved her stiff muscles and creaky limbs so that she might get a better view at the man who spoke. Wide, green eyes met her stare, a nervous hand twiddling with a bow tie.

"Doctor," she breathed, relieved.

"Back then, I thought the worst thing I could do was love you," he admitted aloud. "I thought if I pushed you away, if I forced myself to stop being so close, then maybe when I lost you..."

His voice trailed off, the words lost on a sad sigh. His eyes were shining with memories she was sure she'd had yet to live. A hand gripped her heart, squeezing as she moved closer to the Doctor.

"I was wrong."

"Doctor, I don't understand..."

He reached his hand towards her, brushing his fingers along her palm softly before settling them in between hers, right where they belonged.

"I brought you here," he answered her unasked question. At the quirk of her eyebrow, he continued. "I needed confirmation."

"Confirmation?" She inquired, still not quite getting it. She scooted closer to him, narrowing her eyes in hopes that she might be able to notice something.

"Why did you choose to do this?" He questioned.

Rose opened her mouth, her automatic response at the ready, but the Doctor interrupted. "Truly, why? This will never be the easy path. I can't promise it's worth it, I can't promise you that you'll be happy. I can't promise you safety, or-or a family, I can't even promise you a real home. All I can promise you is the TARDIS and I."

Rose exhaled. At the back of her mind, she heard that gentle song wrapping itself around her mind.

"If you want, I can stop it." The Doctor offered. She looked to him sharply, a feeling of nervousness rising in her throat. "A timeline I can work out. It will be a little wibbly wobbly, but you'll be in a different universe with a different version of me, a human version. You'll be happy, you'll have a family..."

Her mouth opened and closed as she considered the offer. She noticed the Doctor's expression turn from anxious to acceptance. He bowed his head, nodding to himself.

"I don't want it." Rose finally spoke up.

Startled, the Doctor looked up. His eyes were flitting around her face, looking for signs of deception, of hesitation. "Rose..."

"This whole time, all of the different versions of you that I've met, you still don't get it, do you, Doctor?" She didn't give him a chance to answer. "This has never been about me being safe, or having a family, or any of that. This hasn't been about me, it's been about you. Maybe I would be happy with this other you, the human you, but what about you? Where would you be?"

He breathed in, unsure how to respond.

"You'd be here, on the TARDIS, alone. You'd be the madman in a box, saving everyone. But who would save you?" Rose laughed sadly, tears in her eyes. Her emotions were reflected in the Doctor's stare. "I will choose you, every single time. I want to happy, I truly do, but it's not about me. It's you, it's always been you. I would give everything I could to make you happy, Doctor.

Rose sucked in a shaky breath, tears falling unbidden against her face, like so many raindrops, "I will always choose you."

The Doctor, wide-eyed and shaken, swallowed thickly.

"Okay," he breathed, "okay."

Rose noticed he was fiddling with something in his pocket, his fingers nervously playing with the box. Just as she opened his mouth to ask, the door to the TARDIS jingled, as if somebody were trying to get in.

"Hide," the Doctor insisted, shoving her behind the console, just in time for the newcomer to enter the TARDIS.

"You look you're hiding something from me," A very familiar voice teased.

She realized, with a start, that it was her voice.

"I would never," the Doctor sound downright scandalized, and Rose's heart warmed when she heard the sound of intermingled laughter.

From her spot behind the console, she dared to peek around the corner. This Doctor, dressed down in tweed and clumsy limbs, was shifting between his two feet. Her, well not her, but the older her, didn't look too different than she did now. Her hair was a little longer, her muscles a little more defined, but she mostly just looked like plain old Rose Tyler- save for the darker clothing. She had begun to grow rather found of the outfits the TARDIS was supplying her with.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Rose watched as her smile fell from her face, her eyes full of concern for the Doctor.

She knew she was just as in love with that Doctor, as both of her Doctors.

"Yeah, it's just... No." He conceded.

The future Rose took a step towards her Doctor.

"Rose Tyler, Defender of the Earth, the Bad Wolf, Savior of Mankind," he let out an affectionate sigh. "I just had the most enlightening conversation."

"On the TARDIS?" Rose's future self raised a brow.

He hummed confirmation, sticking his hand back into his pocket as he began fiddling with whatever lie within once more. "I was going to wait. There's this light show in Maxirine Prime, just spectacular. The whole city sits in silence as sun descends over the horizon, a thousand stars appear, each glowing brighter than the last. A myriad of colors, some even unnoticeable to the human eye. But then I thought of the waves on Women Wept, remember? We spent the whole evening laughing, watching, joking together. It was perfect. But what about Barcelona? I promised to take you there so long ago. That would be fantastic. The dogs, Rose, you have to see the dogs!"

"Doctor," Rose's future self interrupted him, and Rose herself felt tears prick in her eyes once more. This silly man who held her heart was rambling off, and Rose had a sinking feeling she knew exactly why.

"But the truth is, Rose, anywhere is perfect. Anywhere with you is perfect. Rose Marion Tyler, I love you. I love you more than anything in this universe or the next." He knelt down slowly, and Rose felt as if time itself was stopping. She could feel her heart race in her chest, her palms pressing roughly against the console to steady herself.

A feeling, which at first she was sure had everything to do with what she was watching, began to envelop her. It was that same comforting warmth she'd felt earlier, only now she knew it meant it was time to leave. This moment wasn't meant for her, she realized, not yet.

With one last glance up, she watched with awe-filled eyes as her future self mouthed a 'good luck' to her.

She closed her eyes, ready to face what was next. The song in her mind transformed to words, the voice lyrical and familiar.

My Wolf.

Rose nodded into the blinding light that had hugged her once more. She knew, without a doubt, that it was time for her to return to her Doctor, once and for all. When she awoke, he would know. He would finally see what she had been hiding for so long. He would finally understand.

The fear she felt, the anxiety, all slipped away as she thought about that scene in the TARDIS. Her future, it seemed.

Are you ready?

Rose thought about her future, the one where her and the Doctor looked so happy. Already, she could feel the memories begin to fade- not forever, just locked away somewhere she couldn't reach them until it was time. Then, she thought about the past- when her first Doctor, all grumpiness and leather coats, told her to "run", to when he saved her life one last time. She thought about when her current Doctor had woken up on Christmas at her plea of "help me", to when he jumped through the mirror on a horse like a knight in shining armor. She thought about the pain, the fear, the desperation. She remembered the smiles, and the laughs, and the jokes.

She remembered the moment she first fell in love with him, to the moment she realized she would never love anyone the same way.

With a shaky breath, she nodded.

I'm ready.

The warmth from her body faded, the light receding. She didn't open her eyes quite yet, her mind trying to adjust to the sudden change. She didn't need to open them up to know where she was though.

She could feel a head on her chest, tears seeping through the soft fabric of her shirt.

She knew, this was her Doctor.

She was home.