Not gonna go on a bit rant about reviews. Who needs 'em, hey? I can live with knowing that I at least have three people who can be bothered (that was me trying to guilt-trip you into reviewing, in case you didn't notice) So thank you Jacqueline Roget, horsefly and gaiafreedom21

And people without a account? You can review too, you know. Just click the review button at the bottom of the page (I do enable anonymous reviews) (cough, cough Andrew cough, cough)

So, without further ado or pleading, I return to Forever where I left off (well, almost)

"Rose?" At the soft voice of her Doctor, Rose opened her eyes to the console room of the TARDIS. She had been thrown off the chair and was lying on the floor.

"We had a bumpy ride," she mumbled, smiling at The Doctor. "Am I... I'm back home?" She asked him. He nodded. "But that's... impossible." She grinned at him and she sat up.

"Yes. But coming home means..." The Doctor winced. "... That you're going to... change."

"Nothing I can't handle," she commented happily, but frowned as she said it. "Doctor..." She started.

"Yes?"

"Why am I restrained?" She asked, holding up her arms to reveal that she was chained to the grating on the floor. The Doctor gave her a pain-filled look.

"Because this is going to hurt," he answered apologetically, watching her with sad eyes, "and I can't do anything about it."

"How much?"

"Enough."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" She asked playfully, trying to change the mood.

"Nope." He answered sadly, not even letting Rose's smile cheer him up. The chains rattled as Rose reached out and held his face underneath his chin.

"Good to see you're still you." She said before she kissed him. The kiss only lasted a second before Rose gasped and pulled back. The Doctor looked stricken, but said nothing.

"Doctor, don't look so depressed, you're gonna make me scared." Rose chided him, giving a little shiver even as she said it.

"You're not scared already?"

"I've told you before. I'll never be scared as long as I have you with me."

OIOIOIOIOIOIIO

The Doctor cringed with every scream Rose gave. He didn't know it was going to be like this, or he'd have never willingly submitted her to it. He had caused her pain and that knowledge cut to his heart, but all he could do was sit and watch just out of Rose's reach as her eyes flashed gold and she struggled against her restraints.

"Doctor!" She screamed out in agony.

He could deal with the screaming, had dealt with screaming both inside his head and from many others over his long life, but it broke him when Rose started to cry.

"Doctor, where are you?" She called out as tears began to edge down her face. He couldn't reach out to her, couldn't help her so he simply slid down the console and tried to drown out her cries as he retreated into his thoughts.

I'm so sorry. He wished that his thoughts could be heard by Rose, wished that there was a way around the pain, wished that he hadn't lost her in the first place. Oh, there was so much that The Doctor wished, so much that he had hoped he would never subject his beautiful Rose to, but at the same time, he was pleased – at least a little.

She could be with him. They could be together, forever, just like she had promised all that time ago. Nothing could ever separate them again. The Face of Boe had promised... He'd promised that there would be no more lonely god. Then he had to wonder just what he had gotten Rose into without ever having meant to.

Falling asleep to Rose's cries did not make for a peaceful sleep, but in dreaming he had an outlet, a way to escape. Something was tugging at his memories and seemed determined to come about in his dreams.

He felt her pain. For the first time, The Doctor felt what Rose had been feeling. It wasn't her present pain that he could still hear her cries for even without being awake, but it was something different, something more.

"Doctor?" She had choked out when she had first seen him.

"Shh. I'm here." He soothed her. "I promised I'd never leave you, didn't I?"

"Are you really here?" The Doctor felt the discomfort of his other self – so different to the feelings of his past regenerations. These were so much more tangible, alive. They were so much more of who he was, even if he knew that his body had never really been there.

As memories and feelings flooded back to him, conversations and comfort and stolen kisses that were never quite real, he woke with a start. Rose had ceased making any sound at all, and was lying peacefully on the grating.

He felt so guilty, so very guilty. Not only for falling asleep while she was screaming, her body changing in ways neither of them could understand, but because he had left her. He had felt the pain of her love for Sim. His jealousy that she could ever love another man, and he had left her alone when he had promised he wouldn't ever do that to her.

It was yet another wish. He wished he hadn't done that.

He sat in a daze then jumped up suddenly as he realised there was another presence in his TARDIS. He turned around and scanned the room. It seemed no one was there, and yet... As his eyes fell back onto Rose, he saw a ghostly figure lean over her.

He recognised the figure, but why would he be there?

Hope you liked. Sorry it wasn't up earlier. I swear my impatience was making me move quicker, but my internet connection has even been making me wait for new episodes of Doctor Who - man, LOVED Blink!! It was a great episode. Up there with my favourites.

Anwyways, please review. I love reviews (don't we all)

Mikkifavo