Rose spent far more time than she would ever admit staring into her closet, looking for something that was distinctly "Rose". She sighed in irritation at her boyfriend. It was not an unusual request for him, and it was often his response when she asked what she should wear or how she should act.

She smiled at the thought of someone who saw her as completely perfect, much in the same way that she thought of him.

It had been hard, the first few weeks together, two years ago – almost to the day, actually. He'd only just been born, he didn't understand the limits of his human body, and he resented being stuck in one place at one time – stuck on the slow path.

For her, she'd resented him for looking so much like the Doctor she wanted, the one that seemed to constantly leave her behind, the one who she'd spent years of her life trying to get back to, only to be dumped back on Darlig Ulv Stranden.

It had taken time for the two to adjust to each other, but in time, they had.

It had really started when Rose had had a frightening realistic nightmare, back when they were living at her parents' in separate bedrooms. She remembered it all too clearly – it had been how things would have turned out if Donna had not saved them on the crucible. She'd woken up with a gasp, sitting up and shaking violently.

And John had burst into her room, his hair wilder than usual and his eyes wide, dressed only in fleece pajama bottoms. He'd rushed to her side upon seeing her state, sitting on her bed and holding her close to his chest while he smoothed her hair and rubbed reassuring circles with his thumb on the small of her back. Rose managed to stop shaking after several minutes, and he had kissed the top of her head before standing to leave.

Rose had kept a grip on his wrist and begged him not to leave her.

He'd sat back down, his eyes meeting hers, and brushed a strand of hair from her face before cupping her cheek. "I'll be here as along as you want, sweetheart." He'd whispered to her.

When she'd lied back down in her bed, he had gotten under the covers with her, holding her tightly.

They hadn't slept apart since.

She settled on simple clothing – a black pair of trousers, a pink t-shirt, and a black leather jacket with a fur-lined hood. She undid the bun that her hair had been tightly tied and left it loose, and left her work makeup on. She grabbed a black pair of runners from the closet and slipped them on.

She continued to stare at herself in the mirror for several minutes. She was unsure about the last item of the outfit – her TARDIS key on a silver chain. She did not want to hurt John by reminding him that they were stuck, trapped, with no TARDIS, but it was distinctly Rose and so she carefully slipped it one and tucked the key under her shirt, so it wouldn't be visible.

John, true to his word, arrived at their flat at precisely 6:00. She'd been sitting on the couch, only having been ready to go for about 5 minutes, when she heard a knock on the door. She was utterly confused as she went to answer.

Before her, in a tight blue suit, was John Smith, grinning madly at her. He was leaning on the doorframe, hands tucked easily into his pockets, as though waiting for her to say something.

"I – I don't –" Rose sputtered ungracefully, staring at him in wide-eyed shock. She hadn't seen that suit since their first day in the parallel world, and had simply assumed that he'd gotten rid of it out of frustration.

"What do you think?" John asked her cheekily, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Rose stepped forward carefully, bringing her hand up and gently pressing her fingers to the lapel of his suit. "I thought you'd gotten rid of this." She whispered, opting to keep looking at every detail of the suit rather than meet his eyes.

She could feel his warm brown eyes on her, regardless, and when his hand came up to catch hers, she finally lifted her gaze, seeing an unsure smile on his face. "No," he told her simply. "I wasn't sure – I didn't – I left it at your mother's." He finally managed to say. "I didn't think either of us would want to see it, not at the start, anyway."

"I've missed it," Rose told him honestly, smiling at him. She felt tears prick at her eyes and cursed herself for being an easy crier when it came to him.

He reached out with his free hand and cupped her cheek. "Me too," he said with a crooked smirk, before leaning in to press his lips to hers.

It was only a peck, a quick reassurance kiss, but Rose felt her lips tingle at the contact and she smiled widely at him when they both pulled back.

He returned her smile before tugging her out of the flat. "Come on, then. Allons-y!" She let herself be pulled to their car, and giggled when he chivalrously opened her door with a bow, allowing her to go in first. She did as good a curtsey as she could manage in her trousers, making him laugh before he carefully closed the door and made his way to the driver's side. He climbed in rather gracefully, and turned to shoot her a million-watt smile before he started the car.

John parked the car in an empty lot, making his way around the car again to open her door for her. She raised her eyebrows at him when he reached down to give her a hand, making him smile widely again. When she was out of the car and the door shut behind her, he surprised her again by reaching into the back seat and pulling out a picnic basket.

"We're going on a picnic?" She asked him with a smile.

He said nothing, taking her hand with his free one and leading her into the park. It was starting to get dark, so the park was empty of joggers and children playing. They walked for several minutes before John deemed a spot good enough, laying down the picnic blanket with great flair. The space was on top of a small hill, where they could see the stars that were starting to come out.

She sat on the blanket, extending her legs, as she watched John as he carefully put down the picnic basket, sat next to it, and promptly started reaching into it.

He pulled out a container of strawberries, and Rose immediately helped herself to one, laughing with the fruit still in her mouth when the Doctor shot her an affronted look. He continued to pull food out – finishing with two peanut butter and jam sandwiches. She shot him a tongue-in-tooth grin.

"Well, I think cheers are in order," John said, situating himself comfortably on the blanket and holding up a juice box. Rose laughed, grabbing her own juice box and carefully tapping his before she put the straw in and took a sip. She laughed at the look of satisfaction on his face, which only made him smile wider.

"Rose," John said suddenly, after a long silence between the two of them. She'd been leaning back on her elbows, watching the stars, and turned her beautiful whiskey-coloured eyes to him. "Rose," he started again, stumbling over many words before finally getting a semblance of a sentence out. "Rose, I love you."

She raised her eyebrows, "I love you, too, John." She smiled sweetly at him.

He cleared his throat, "But I – Rose, you're my life. Quite literally the reason for my existence, I think. I had the stars and time at my feet, and I can't think of any time I've been happier than the time we've spent together. If I'm ever upset or sad or angry I look at you and you make me feel like everything is going to be okay. You smile at me and I think that earth is the most perfect place in the world because you're in it. You make me so happy, Rose, and you don't even have to do anything. I never thought I would want to do this, Rose, I never thought I would ever be the one who would want to settle down, but with you…I…" He trailed off, lost in her eyes. She was looking him with wide eyes, tears beginning to form, and sat up so that she was kneeling in front of him. Taking a deep breath, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, royal blue box. He heard her gasp and looked up to see shock written all over her beautiful face, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Rose Tyler," he opened the box to reveal a simple silver ring with a blue diamond in its centre, "Will you marry me?"

Rose stared at him for a moment, her eyes boring into his. Her mouth was still open in shock, and she covered it quickly with her hand. She sniffled once and removed her hand to whisper a very quiet, very simple, "Yes."

He smiled so widely he thought his cheeks might crack, and gently held out his hand. She slipped her left hand into his, and he noticed it was shaking slightly. With a wink, he carefully slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. She sniffled again, and then let out an ecstatic laugh, throwing her arms around his neck.

He laughed as well, hugging her tightly in return.