All of Rose's petty jealousies were soon forgotten when their group of four entered into the Eye of Harmony and they soon discovered that they were now trapped between two oncoming sets of ashen zombie monsters.
"There's no way out! We're trapped!" the man called Gregor shouted as he slammed the door shut on their one remaining chance at escape.
"Doctor!" Rose shouted, grabbing the Time Lord's arm as he attempted to race past her and forcing him to stop and face her. "You know what they are, I know you do, so just tell us!"
"I can't," the Doctor replied, his eyes wide with panic as he fought and failed to find another option for their survival.
"Tell me!" Rose insisted desperately. "What's the use in secrets now?"
"Secrets protect us! Secrets make us safe!" the Doctor shouted in response, bringing his hands to either side of her face as though he could somehow protect her through sheer willpower alone.
But the old argument did nothing to reassure Rose. In fact, it only served to make her more frustrated than ever with him. She was tired of secrets. Maybe she had been spoiled by her life of humanity with her half-human husband who held nothing back from her, but whatever happened now, Rose knew that she never, ever wanted to go back to the times when the Doctor used clever lies and witty half-truths to keep her at a safe distance - telling her all the while that it was for her own good.
Just then, a robotic female voice interrupted them from somewhere over Rose's left shoulder. "Sensor detects animal DNA," Gregor's intelligent sensor announced. "Human core element. Calculating data ... calculating data ..."
"No, no, turn it off!" the Doctor shouted desperately, immediately releasing his hold on Rose and pushing past her in a mad dash back towards the two salvage dealers behind them, who were currently holding the sensor up to one of the charred monsters.
"Unidentifiable substance," the sensor declared resolutely before the Doctor could reach them.
Gregor and Tricky stared at one another in silent confusion while the Doctor froze in place, his hand half-raised as though to snatch the sensor out of Gregor's hand.
"What is it?" Rose asked from where she stood frozen watching them. "That thing said ... it said 'human core element'. What does that mean, Doctor? What are those things?"
Gregor and Tricky, finding no further information or anything of value, ran past her towards the door on the other end of the room without comment.
"I'm so sorry," the Doctor muttered quietly. "It isn't just the past leaking out through the time rift. It's the future." He stepped closer to her once more, returning his hands to either side of her face as he bent close to level his gaze with hers. "Listen, I brought you here to keep you safe, but it happened again. You died again."
"You're saying we're going to die here?" Rose asked breathlessly as she met his gaze. The half-crazed look in his eyes was making her more nervous than she had been in a long time. "Doctor, those things ... are they ...?"
But he turned away from her before she could finish her thought, running his hands through her hair and over his face and suddenly showing every single one of his thousand years in the weary set of his shoulders.
Rose didn't need to finish her question, through - she had already put the pieces together to come to the truth. She knew that these creatures were somehow their future selves - or, at least, what was left of them after they all fell to their fateful deaths in the Eye of Harmony.
The TARDIS's song had risen to a scream within Rose's head and she winced as the ship's pain and sorrow filled her mind. She watched helplessly as Gregor and Tricky fused together and transformed into an indistinguishable black mass right before her eyes. The TARDIS lamented with her, groaning out a melody of loss and regret.
Too late, too late ... death, fire, pain ... run, you have to run ...
She must have been projecting the same commands to the Doctor, because he immediately rushed to Rose's side, took her hand in his, and then pulled her after him as they raced to stay out of the clutches of the new two-headed, red-eyed monster that was lumbering quickly towards them.
"The engine room," the Doctor commanded, pointing the way forward with his free hand. "The heart of the TARDIS."
Rose followed him obediently, not needing him to guide her as he normally did since the TARDIS was leading them both quite clearly in the direction that she wanted them to go. However, the sentient ship failed to warn either of them to watch their step as a set of doors opened before them and they nearly ran head-long over the edge of a rough cliff face. Rose and the Doctor shouted in unison and pin-wheeled on the spot in an attempt to regain their balance and keep from tipping over to their deaths.
"'The engine room'?" Rose repeated dubiously as they paused to catch their breaths and get a better look at the rocks shrouded in mist around them. Her hand was still being held firmly in his, and she made no move to step away even though his grip was irritating the burn on her palm.
"Yes, well, we're almost there," the Doctor replied, motioning across the great expanse of empty space that stood before them as though that were explanation enough for the fact that they suddenly seemed to be outdoors.
"But there's no way across," Rose muttered, eyeing the impossible distance that stood between them and the other side.
"No, okay, you're right ..." he agreed distractedly.
"So what do we do?" she asked, squeezing his hand in an attempt to get him to focus. "Time for a plan. Do you have a plan?"
"Well ... no. No plan. Sorry," the Doctor replied slowly as he turned to face her with a sheepish expression.
"You always have a plan," Rose reminded him simply. "So come on, out with it."
"Nope. Not this time. No plan, no escape, no chance at survival," the Doctor stated matter-of-factly. "So go on, then, why don't you just tell me?"
"Sorry?" Rose asked in confusion.
"Well, there's no point now," the Doctor reminded her, gesturing around at their lack of options before glancing back at her with a weighted look in his eyes. "We're about to die, you see. So go on, then. Just tell me who you are."
"Are we ... doing this now?" Rose asked through gritted teeth.
The Doctor immediately dropped her hand and she felt it like a slap to the face as he turned his back on her only to whirl around a second later to level a dangerous-looking glare on her. "Yes! We are!" he shouted angrily, making her flinch as he came close and bent over her intimidatingly. "I look at you every single day and I don't understand a thing about you. Why do I keep running into you?"
"Doctor, I ..."
"I met you in the dalek asylum," he interrupted her. "There was a girl in a shipwreck and she died saving my life, and she was you."
"Doctor, please, let me ..."
"Victorian London!" he continued as though she hadn't spoken. "There was a governess who was really a barmaid, and we fought the Great Intelligence together. She died, and it was my fault, and she was you!"
"Doctor, listen to me!" Rose begged, feeling tears prick at the back of her eyes as he simply continued to advance on her threateningly. This was the first time in her long, long life that Rose had ever been afraid of the man who she loved and it was breaking her heart to see him like this. She knew that the time for the truth was now - if only he would just listen.
"What are you, eh? A trick? A trap?" he demanded loudly, continuing to back her up closer and closer to the ledge and the steep, steep drop below ...
"Doctor, please!" Rose cried, but her voice ended on a choked gasp as she felt the rocks beneath her feet shifting and then she was stumbling backwards towards the great chasm behind her.
The only thing that stopped her from plummeting to her death was the Doctor's hand quickly taking hold of hers and pulling her back to him in a tight embrace. Rose felt as though she was unraveling with his arms being the only thing holding her together as he squeezed her closer and pulled her quickly out of harm's way. Her heart was filled to overflowing with a combined ache for the Doctor she had known in her previous life, her husband, and for the man who was here with her now. Even here, when he was accusing her and doubting her at every turn, he was still saving her life, and being in his arms felt like she was finally, finally coming home.
"Oh, Clara, I'm sorry ..." he whispered quietly as he heaved a sigh and buried his nose against her neck.
The false name was what finally broke her last shred of resolve. Rose squeezed her eyes shut tight and murmured against his shoulder, "My name's not Clara."
The Doctor instantly went very still and very silent, but Rose refused to let go of her strangle-hold on his neck - she didn't want him to be able to step back and see her devastated expression as tears began to slowly fall from her eyes. He still fidgeted uncomfortably within her grip, though, as he murmured a questioning noise into her hair.
"My name's not Clara," she repeated, stepping back slightly and resting her forehead against the rough wool of his waistcoat. "It's a fake name - an ... alibi."
The Doctor made quick use of what little space she had put between them and immediately stepped back so that he could keep her at arms-length and look her fully in the eye. "Who are you, then?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous once more.
"I know how important names are to you, Doctor," Rose muttered slowly, flashing him a sad, uneven smile. "I know the value of a true name on Gallifrey."
She watched as his green eyes widened in surprise, but Rose forced herself to continue on before he could give voice to the many questions that she could see running through his mind. "I can tell you my real name, but I need for you to understand the gravity of the situation. It's a name that's a secret. No one else in this universe will know it, except for you. You're the only one who will ever be able to speak it out loud. Do you understand, Doctor?"
Rose had received similar instructions after she had married her husband and learned his true name - the same name of the man currently standing before her. It was a sacred tradition amongst his people - a ceremony that was not to be taken lightly.
The Doctor's gaze was hesitantly curious but also gravely serious as he examined her carefully before giving one quick nod of assent.
"Well, in that case, I'll give you all three," Rose told him with a nervous smile. She took another deep breath to steel herself before she looked him directly in the eye and whispered, "The first name ... is Bad Wolf."
The Doctor flinched as though she had hit him and there was a flare of fire in his deep green eyes as he stared down at her. Rose ignored all of that, though, as she grabbed him by his waistcoat and pulled him close so that she could lean up and whisper the second name into his ear. It was his name - the one that could never be spoken out loud unless they were completely alone, and even then only in hushed tones.
This name instantly froze him in his tracks and she swore that he wasn't even breathing as she stepped back to look him in the eye once more. His brow began to furrow in silent question, but Rose took another step back so that there could be a respectable distance between them before she gave him the third and final name.
She still wasn't quite sure how he was going to take all of this information, so she didn't want to push him even further out of his comfort zone than he already was. She ran her fingers nervously along the hem of her dress and forced herself to meet his shocked green gaze as she finally opened her mouth and stated, "My name ... is Rose. Rose Tyler."
The last name was like a punch in the gut and the Doctor seemed to physically sag as he let out a long breath of air and simply stared at her. Rose watched him as patiently as she knew how as his giant alien brain slowly put all of the pieces together and analyzed every single moment that they had been together up until this point.
"Hello ..." she muttered nervously, flashing him a tight smile and a small, teasing wave.
"How ...?" he finally asked breathlessly, his eyes still wide and disbelieving as he slowly looked her over from head to toe and then back again.
Rose let out a breathy, nervous laugh and clasped her hands behind her back so that he wouldn't see them shaking. "That's a long story," she replied. "Long and confusing. And we're in the center of an exploding TARDIS, so ..."
"No," the Doctor muttered under his breath. "No, no, no!" Each time that he said the word, he got louder - and suddenly he was stalking towards her, closing the distance that she had so carefully put between them.
"Sorry ...?" Rose asked in confusion as she gazed up at his stormy expression.
"No," he stated again through clenched teeth. "I don't care what else is going on. I want answers - now."
Rose was about to open her mouth and ask him what he was talking about when suddenly his hands were on either side of her face again and she could feel his presence creeping up around the edge of her mind as his fingers slowly drifted closer towards her temples ...
"Oi!" she shouted indignantly, raising her own arms to shove his out of the way as she stepped quickly out of his reach. There was no denying the allure of his mind being so close to hers, though. Rose had been missing her link with her husband terribly over the past few years, and the promise of having that again - even if it wasn't a full bond - with the man who she loved most in all the universe was tempting, to say the least.
But the fact that he had attempted to do so without asking first was extremely offensive, and she glared up at him with a mixture of rage and shock. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded angrily.
The Doctor blinked at her in surprise, as though it had just now occurred to him how incredibly rude he was being. To his credit, his cheeks flushed pink as he stuttered awkwardly and backed away form her once more, but Rose wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily.
"You can't just do that without asking!" she shouted haughtily. "You can't go forcing yourself into people's minds like that. Blimey, Doctor, what's happened to you? What would ever make you think that doing something like that was okay?"
There was hurt in his eyes, then, but he smiled wanly and shook his head as he backed away a couple more steps, quickly allowing Rose her personal space. "Right. Sorry," he muttered quietly. "I forgot ... I mean it's been such a long time ... Most humans don't know what this is." He raised his hands before him, shrugged lamely, and then began to wring them nervously together. "I wasn't going to intrude, I swear. I just ... needed to know."
"Know what?" Rose asked quietly, her ire dimming as she watched the dejected slump of his shoulders.
The Doctor looked up at her with a haunted expression as he replied, "I needed to know that you were ... real."
Rose sighed heavily and shook her head at her daft old alien before she stepped forward and silently offered him her hand. He took it wearily, refusing to meet her eye as he stared at her fingers like they were the most dangerous things in the galaxy.
As soon as their skin touched, Rose opened her mind to him and projected the memories of her experience with the Bad Wolf into his head. His breath hitched at the sudden mental contact, and he screwed his eyes shut tight as she silently showed him the truth of what had happened to her - the whole truth, not leaving a single detail unaccounted for between them.
Rose, however, couldn't have torn her gaze away from him in that moment even if she had tried. She was sure that she was smiling like a completely besotted fool when he finally took a deep breath and opened his eyes once more, but she couldn't quite bring herself to care.
The Doctor's lips twitched upwards as he met her gaze again and he let out a long, slow breath. "Hello," he whispered quietly, his green eyes sparkling as he finally, finally smiled at her once more.
"Hello, Doctor," Rose replied, easily mirroring his expression. "It's good to see you again."