"This isn't a ghost story, it's a love story!"

And it had been, ever since he'd first stepped inside the TARDIS. A love affair with the all the glory and wonder of universe - so many things to see and hear and taste, and people to share it all with. So how had all that joy and wonder led him here, to a dark place controlled by an unseen madman, placing two of the most precious people in all of his existence in such terrible jeopardy?

"Doctor?" Clara asked in a worried tone that suggested it wasn't the first time she'd called him.

"Yes?" he asked abruptly.

She squeezed his hand. "You zoned out on me for a minute, there."

"Sorry. Just thinking. No sign of the TARDIS?" he asked his other self.

"No. None a'tall. And no idea of how we came to be here."

A large explosion shook the structure above them.

Rose looked around nervously. "Look, can we just give those two some distance to settle their differences?"

"Brilliant idea!" her Doctor concurred, grabbing her hand and heading for the door.

They ran until they were out of sight of the building with the cells, and the two humans in the party were thoroughly out of breath. Neither Time Lord thought for a moment that physical distance would actually keep them safe, not in this bizarre nightmare of a place, but the illusion of safety was all they had to offer their companions just then.

"Tell us about the one who took you," Rose's Doctor asked, once the girls had managed to catch their breath.

"It was just a voice, from the ceiling or somewhere. Couldn't really tell," Rose began.

"Tell us about the voice," Clara's Doctor prompted.

"It was cold," Clara stated, "and arrogant."

"But more than that," Rose continued. "It was like he just expected you to do what he wanted…like he really believed that he was king of the world, or something."

"And he knew who we were, our names and what we'd done," Clara added. "He called me the Impossible Girl. No one but you has ever called me that."

"He knew about me, too," Rose continued, "he knew that I was Bad Wolf, and about the Time Vortex, and he said…he said that I'd cost you one of your regenerations." Her expression was stricken. "I'm so sorry…I only meant to save you…I didn't mean…"

Clara's Doctor reached out involuntarily. "Rose…"

Clara wrapped both hands around his arm, pulling him back a bit to give the other two a semblance of privacy. "Shh…no…let him," she whispered.

The other Doctor shot her a grateful look before turning to Rose. "Rose, look at me." He gently tucked a hand under her chin, tipping her face up to his. "You didn't cost me anything, Rose. I was going to die there anyway, I knew that from the moment I decided to send you home. I was alone and unarmed against the Emperor of the Daleks. They were going to exterminate me…and I was going to let them.

"Everything in life is a choice, Rose. A Time Lord has the choice to regenerate, or simply die. I was ready to die until you came back, and gave me a reason to live. You did save me. I'm here because of you."

Rose looked up at him, smiling despite the tears shining in her eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

A discreet few steps away, Clara leaned her head against her Doctor's arm, a faint sheen of tears sparkling in her eyes as she watched his former self interacting with the great love of his life. She wondered, briefly, and a tiny bit enviously, if he'd ever look at her like that. If she could have seen the look in his green eyes just then, she wouldn't have had to wonder at all.