There was no one there.

I turned all around, but there was nothing.

I sat down, almost crying. "Doctor..." I whispered.

There was no answer.

That pushed me over the edge. I began sobbing.

He had been there. Maybe he could come back. I sat on the park bench and cried until Mickey, Oliver, and Maris came to find me.

"What happened?" Mickey asked with concern.

"I heard him." I managed to get out. "I heard the Doctor."

Maris climbed up on the park bench and put her hand on my shoulder. "Who's the Doctor, Mummy?" she asked quietly.

I looked at her and smiled through the tears. "He's a man that I used to travel with. We went so many places together." I trailed off at the end, but continued after a short pause. "But before you were born, he went away."

"Why?"

"He left to save the world from monsters."

"What monsters?" Maris asked, curious.

There was so much of her father in her. "I'll tell you later, sweetie."

Mickey was still worried. "But if you heard him, does that means he's coming back?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. He said 'Turn around.' That's all." I got up and pointed behind me. "But when I turned, nothing was there."

"Maybe you were hearing things," Mickey said.

"I don't know," I replied. "I just don't know."

We all walked back home. I couldn't get the Doctor's voice out of my head. I kept hearing him calling my name. I couldn't get him out of my head. Maris kept asking me questions, but I didn't answer them. I went to bed right after dinner. But the Doctor even invaded my dreams.

In my sleep, he kept calling to me. "Rose."

"Where are you?" I said.

"Turn around," he replied.

"I did," I said. "I turned around, but you weren't there."

"Rose, remember and turn around," he said.

And then I woke up.

--

A few days later, at the end of my week working from home, it hit me. I knew what the Doctor meant. He wanted me to remember and turn around. He meant for me to go back to Norway. That's where I last saw him. That had to be the answer.

I rushed down the stairs, calling out, "I've got to go to Norway! He's in Norway!"

Maris and Oliver looked a little scared when I got to their playroom. I looked at Maris. "Sweetheart, Mum has to go away for a few days. I'll be back as soon as I can. Tell Mickey that I've found the Doctor. He'll know what it means.

Oliver looked up at me. "You gonna be okay, Rosie?" I nodded to him.

Maris looked up at me and said, "I hope you find your friend."

"Me too, Maris. I'll be back. Make sure you tell Mickey what I said."

I ran back up the stairs to my room and packed up a few things. I got on the Internet and bought a ticket for the next plane to Norway, which left in about five hours.

I printed my confirmation of purchase, ran out to my car, and drove as fast as I could to the airport.

--

Waiting in the airport had been excruciating. I felt like time was slipping away, like my chances of finding the Doctor were dropping every second.

We finally landed in Norway. I rented a car and started driving. I didn't care how long it took, I was getting back to Bad Wolf Bay as fast as I could.

I arrived very late at night, or very early in the morning. It was about four. The moon was beginning to get low in the sky and its' light was reflected in the water.

I put my car in park, turned it off, and jumped out. I started to shout, "Doctor! Doctor, I'm here!

I shouted for a few minutes with no answer. I sat down on a rock, sobbing. Maybe it was all in my head. An imaginary voice. Maybe I should just go home.

As I walked back to my car, there was a noise. A very familiar noise that I hadn't heard for over five years. The sound of the TARDIS' engine.

About twenty yards from me, I started to see that wonderful blue light. Then the strange blue box started to appear. When the engine finally stopped, that wooden door opened. I saw a hand. His hand.

He walked out of the TARDIS. He saw me and he looked was as shocked and excited as I was.

I said quietly, "Doctor..."

He started laughing, that wonderful, excited, overjoyed laugh. "Rose!" He started running towards me. I started running towards him.

I was afraid I was imagining him, but as we came together, as his arms wrapped around me, I knew it was real. "I've missed you, Doctor," I whispered.

"Rose, I've missed you too. And I want to say something that I haven't been able to say for a very long time. Rose Tyler, I love you," the Doctor whispered back.

We stood there for a while, holding each other. After he let go of me, I just wanted him to hold me again. He looked at me, as if he still couldn't believe we were together again.

"How long has it been?" he asked me. "Since I disappeared?"

"Over five years," I replied.

He didn't say anything, just sighed, like he was wishing it hadn't been so long.

"How come you didn't come back to when you left?"

The Doctor put his hand behind his head. "Because I can't always come out exactly when I want to."

We didn't talk for a short time. "How long has it been for you?" I asked.

He didn't answer.

"How did you get here?"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me over to a large rock. He sat down and I sat down next to him. Still holding my hand, he started to explain. "Do you remember when we were stranded on the impossible planet? With the black hole?"

I nodded.

"Well, something you said about black holes leading to other universes got me thinking. What if there was a black hole that led to the universe you were in? I spent a long time trying to change the extrapolater to be enough of a shield to protect the TARDIS from the forces of a black hole."

He sighed "That time actually went the fastest, even though it felt like forever at the time. Going through black hole after black hole, trying to find the one you were in. I was starting to believe I would never find your universe. But I couldn't give up." He looked at me. "I was about ready to give up. I found a black hole I hadn't been in yet. I went through and went to Earth. Did you know that not every universe even has an Earth?" He smiled, then got back to his explanation. "Anyway, when I got there, it was 1634; I knew you weren't there. So I went to Norway, to Bad Wolf Bay. I tried to travel to when we left each other, but I was off a little. Five years off apparently."

He smiled. "I sent you a message and I waited for you to come to Norway. I would have come to where you live, but I didn't want to show up there, if you'd..."

"If I'd what?" I asked.

"If you'd married," he said quietly, bracing himself for the answer.

"No, I didn't get married."

"Mickey?"

"No, not even Mickey. He still lives with us though."

"Well," the Doctor said, getting up off the rock. "Let's get to your house. I want to see what you've been doing while I was gone."

I didn't answer, but I followed him to the TARDIS and went inside.

--

We landed on the edge of the yard. I got out of the TARDIS first, hoping to brace him for my surprise. I wasn't sure how I was going to tell him about Maris.

Mum and Dad were out; their car was gone. Mickey was playing outside with Maris and Oliver. The Doctor smiled, "So you're an aunt to twins? What are their names?"

I was about to explain that I was just an aunt to one when the children noticed me.

Oliver called out, "Rosie, you're back!" He got up and started running towards me.

And then Maris said the only thing I didn't want her to say.

Maris saw me and started running towards me. "Mummy, you're back!" she called out to me.