The Doctor was still frowning as he continued to look at the TARDIS. He couldn't understand what had happened.
He turned when he heard something splashing noisily in the distance. He could just make out a figure running towards him and the water splashing out behind them. Luckily, the TARDIS had landed just where the water stopped.
He reached inside his coat pocket for his sonic screwdriver and pointed it at the light on top of the police box. It turned on and lit up most of the beach. The light caught the hair of the figure.
The Doctor froze as he saw the blonde haired person coming towards him. There was no way of not knowing who it was.
"Rose." The Doctor whispered.
Rose ran up to him and flung herself at him. He stumbled and wrapped his arms tight around her as she wrapped hers around his neck. He lifted her off her feet and buried his face in her hair, closing his eyes as he took in her scent.
"Doctor, you're here." She sobbed.
"Yes, it's me. I'm here." He told her, his own tears of happiness rolling down his face.
She broke away and held his face in her hands.
"But how?" She asked.
"I don't know. I guess the TARDIS didn't want you to leave either. She must have figured a way to get back." He told her.
"I've missed you." Rose smiled.
"Me too, even though it's been…what? A couple of hours by the looks of it." He said.
"Doctor, you've been gone for almost a year." She told him.
He looked back at her in shock. He could see the pain and misery he'd caused her in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered.
She stroked his cheek with her thumb and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. He held her around her waist tightly and deepened the kiss. When they broke away, they looked deep into each other's eyes.
"It's ok. You're here now. I can come back with you again and we can be together." She told him.
"Rose, I'd think we'd better speak to your family first. I don't want to whisk you away without telling them." He said.
He could see her thinking of an argument to this but in the end she gave up and nodded.
"Come on, my dad's waiting in the car." She said.
As they walked back towards the car, he held her hand and threaded his fingers through hers. She looked up and smiled at him.
When they reached the car, the Doctor looked at Pete and smiled. He saw delight change to anger in his eyes.
Rose climbed in the back and the Doctor sat beside her. Rose placed her head on his shoulder and smiled contentedly. She shivered slightly in her wet clothes so he took off his jacket and placed it over her like a blanket. She smiled gratefully and snuggled closer to him. Pete ignored him and stared ahead as he drove them home.
When they reached the house, the Doctor received similar reactions from Jackie and Mickey.
"Rose, I need a word." Jackie told her.
"Yeah sure." Rose nodded as she made her way to her mum.
"No, with him." Jackie nodded towards the Doctor.
Rose frowned and looked back at the Doctor. He nodded and went to walk out of the room with Jackie. Rose caught his arm and looked at her mum.
"Whatever you have to say to him you can say in front of me." She frowned.
"Alright." Jackie nodded and turned to him. "I want you to know how much pain you've caused this family. Since you've been gone, Rose has struggled to put her life back on track. Every night she wakes up screaming your name and crying. Then you walk in here like nothing's changed and expect everything to be fine."
"Jackie, I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt Rose and I never expected everything to be perfect if I came back even though I didn't think I was ever coming back." He explained.
"Why did you come back? When you leave you're just going to put Rose in more pain. Didn't you think about her feelings before you turned up again?" She shouted.
"Mum, that's enough. I've forgiven him so why can't you? And he's not leaving me because…I'm going with him." Rose told her.
"Rose." The Doctor and Jackie said together.
"Jackie, I've got this. Rose, you have to think about this properly. Give it a few days before you make a decision. Personally…I think you belong here with your family. It's too dangerous out there. I don't think I could live with myself if you…" His voice trailed off.
"I'll be with you. You'll keep me safe, I trust you." Rose said.
"There are so many things to think about. What happens if I regenerate and I'm not the man you love any more? Please just think about it before you decide." He begged.
"I'll always love you no matter what. But I'll think about it like you said, although I'm pretty sure of what my decision will be. Will you stay here in the meantime?" She asked.
The Doctor nodded and turned to Jackie. She gave him a cold but grateful look. Mickey glared at him, not forgiving him as easy as the others did.
"It's late, we should go back to bed." Pete said.
"Yeah. I'll get a blanket and some pillows for the Doctor. You can sleep on the sofa." Jackie told him.
"No it's ok. He can stay with me." Rose said.
Everyone looked at Rose and she gazed back at each of them in turn saving the Doctor for last.
"I think it's best if I sleep on the sofa." The Doctor told her.
"No, it's fine. Come on." She said and pulled him up to her room.
The Doctor avoided the angry looks of Mickey and Pete as he passed them and focused on the back of Rose's head.
She sat him down on her bed while she went to change into some dry pyjamas.
While she was gone, he noticed Rose's diary on the bedside table. It lay open and when he noticed his name written on the page, his curiosity got the better of him. He listened to see if she would return any second before reaching across and taking the book. Flicking to the beginning, he noticed his name occurring many times. The diary was first dated that night he'd left her. He read the passage.
"He's gone. It feels like my whole world's collapsed around me. It feels as though someone's punched a hole through my chest and ripped out my heart. The Doctor, my Doctor, has gone. Mum, dad and Mickey say he's gone forever and he can't come back and I know it's true but I don't want to believe them, I can't believe them. I won't give up hope. I have faith in him and I love him so much. I wonder what he was going to say before we got cut off. Was he going to tell me he loves me too? Would that have made it harder for us both if he'd have said it or is it worse not knowing? I don't know. Doctor, my Doctor, please come back. I love you."
He noticed the page was tear stained and the writing smudged. Tears began to build up in his own eyes. He flipped to a more recent date and read.
"I had the nightmare again last night. This time it was worse. The Daleks and the Cybermen were closer than they've ever been before. The Doctor was there of course. This time he managed to get to me. It looked like he was going to grab my hand but he smiled and faded away, leaving me with them. It's been seven months and I still can't stop thinking about him. Is he still thinking about me? Has he moved on? I don't know if I can ever move on. Mum and dad are always looking at me concerned. Mickey just avoids me. I love you Doctor, please come back."
Every passage ended in the same way. Always saying she loved him and begging him to come back.
He looked up and saw Rose standing in the doorway watching him.
"I'm sorry I -"
"It's ok, I don't mind. I brought you some of my dad's pyjamas, they might be a bit small. I know you don't sleep but I thought maybe you'd be a bit more comfortable in…bed wearing them instead of your normal clothes." She said quietly.
He noticed she was holding a pair of blue and white striped pyjamas in her hand.
"Thank you." He said and took them from her.
"The bathroom's the second door on the left." She told him.
He walked out and entered the bathroom.
As Rose had told him, the pyjama bottoms were a few inches too short.
When he returned he found her already waiting in her bed, reading her diary. She looked up and smiled at the sight of him. Putting the diary back on the side, she patted the bed beside her. He sat down nervously and slid under the covers. She leant her head on his shoulder.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you so much." He whispered, wrapping his arm tightly around her.
"I know. I'd almost given up hope of you ever coming back. If the TARDIS hadn't brought you here and you did find a way of coming back, would you?" She asked.
The Doctor placed a hand under her chin and pulled her face to look at him.
"Of course I would. I love you Rose Tyler." He told her and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"Promise me you won't leave me until I've made my decision." She said.
"I told you I wouldn't." He answered.
"Promise me." She insisted.
"I promise." He whispered.
She looked at him for a few seconds to see if he was lying before lying down. He lay next to her and wrapped his arms around her. She lay her head on his chest and listened to the rhythm of his two hearts. Soon, her eyes grew heavy and she drifted off.
The Doctor watched as she slept, running his hands through her hair.
"My Doctor…I love you." She mumbled.
He smiled and kissed the top of her head.
That night, Rose Tyler's dreams were, for once not invaded by the Daleks or the Cybermen and she slept without waking.