~Rose~

Rose's head was fuzzy. She pressed two hands to her temples, trying to remember where she was and how, exactly, to open her eyes.

"You alright?" The Doctor's voice asked her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, and everything came back into focus.

"Bit weird, that," she replied, and then looked around.

The first thing she saw was the other two future Doctors; one of whom, the eldest, was staring at her with absolutely no subtlety, while the youngest was watching Aurelia with dark, calculating eyes. Rose felt a small shiver travel up the back of her neck, and decided to look away from him.

"Something wrong?" she asked Eleven, who clearly wasn't planning on looking away.

"No. No! Sorry! Absolutely nothing wrong. Fit as fiddle. Are fiddles fit? We'll never know. Anyway," he stopped rambling, throwing up the object he had threatened Aurelia with and catching it. He then, to Rose's surprise, took a bite out of it.

"Love a biscuit," he said, with a small wink, and she couldn't help the small smile coming onto her face. He was really rather cute.

"How many of those do you have in there?" she asked him, amused. Then she stopped, face more serious, and she swallowed. "You wouldn't have really shot her, would you?" her voice was quiet but firm.

Eleven hesitated. Before he could answer, however, Aurelia and walked over and given him a clean slap across the face. He stumbled back, surprised, and everyone else stood in shock for a moment, before Ten grabbed her arm.

"What was that for?" he demanded, as Eleven rubbed his face with a pout.

"He tricked me!" she replied, sounding offended.

"After you kidnapped my-" Eleven paused for a moment, finger still in the air, pointed at her, and Rose's breath caught in her throat. "Friend," he finished, and she breathed out again.

"So where is she?" Nine asked next to her, before walking over to stand next to his future selves.

"I told you - she's here," Aurelia gestured around her, with a smirk.

For the first time Rose really took in her surroundings. They seemed to be on a space ship of some kind. It had the same general aesthetic as the instruments in the time bubble had – sleek, modern and a little bit dangerous.

"Where are we?" she asked, voice curious. "Are we in orbit?"

"Well done," the woman answered her, crossing her arms. "Although, we can move very quickly."

With that comment she lunged at Nine, grabbing the teleport button he had taken from her. Before he had time to grab it back out of her hands she had vanished, leaving the group running towards the spot she had been rather pointlessly.

"Well, that was a little smooth," Ten said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But she can't have gone far."

"How'd you know that?" Rose asked him.

"I locked it," Nine answered, with a smug smile, waving his sonic.

Rose grinned at him. "Your jiggery pokery teacher'd be proud."

"So," Eleven said, rubbing his hands together, "one spaceship, and two women. Who wants to look for who?"

"Can't we stay together?" Rose said. "Or is this gonna be a 'Rose don't touch the baby' situation? You know, keep us as far apart as possible?"

"Nah, you were already in the same room back in the bubble," Ten said, "she just moved the older you out before we got there. Just… well, don't touch the baby."

"I'm not a baby anymore!"

"Obviously," Eleven added with a small smile.

"Thank you," Rose said, nodding at him.

"If we split up we'll cover more ground," her Doctor said, crossing his leather clad arms and looking at the others.

"Rose wants to stick together, we'll stick together," Eleven announced, in a voice that suggested he was the final authority.

Rose wasn't sure whether to be touched or a little confused, as Ten looked between them with a slightly curious expression.

"Cheers," Rose said, a little apprehensively.

"Alright then," Ten said slowly, before taking out his sonic and scanning the air.

"I programmed my Rose's bio-signature into this a little while ago, it should give us a general idea of where she is…" The sonic started flashing blue. "Ah-ha! Next floor up!"

The four of them half ran over to the lift on the right side of the room, soniced open by all of the Doctor's in perfect unison. Rose laughed at the sight of them moving as if choreographed, and all three turned to look at her at once, making her laugh even more.

"Sorry," she said, "you're just so... I mean you're different, but you're so the same."

"We are the same," they said at the same time, before all looking at each other and scowling slightly.

Rose grinned. "If my life wasn't in danger this could be fun," she said, allowing a small teasing glint in her eye.

Her Doctor raised an eyebrow, while Ten may have actually blushed. Eleven, however, wasn't wasting time, and was holding the door open for them.

"We don't have time for this," he reminded them, and they all moved quickly inside as he pressed the smooth white button on the wall.

The lift was small, and Rose was stuck in the middle, squished in between the three men, whose faces had matching dark expressions.

"Blimey you take up a lot of room for one bloke," she muttered, and felt Ten chuckling against her.

"I'm trying not to be offended," said Nine, as the doors opened. Ten, Nine and Rose walked out quickly. Eleven took a moment, straightening his bow tie and smoothing down his hair, before following.

Rose didn't miss the roll of the eyes Nine gave his future self.

"Pretty boys," he mumbled, and she bit the inside of her cheek to stop for laughing.

She stepped forward, making to look around, when her foot caught on something, and she stumbled, arms moving out to catch onto something.

In a blur of quick movement, all three men raced forward, each grabbing onto her at the same time.

Rose blinked, surprised

"Uh- cheers," she stuttered, before patting each of them a little awkwardly in thanks.

They all beamed at her. Rose raised her eyebrows slightly, smiling back bemusedly, before walking forward and past them.

"Yep, still weird," she said under her breath.

Ten walked up next to her, taking her hand. She looked at him in surprise, and he quickly dropped it, looking rather embarrassed.

Feeling bad, she smiled at him, but he was already ignoring her, once again scanning the air with his sonic.

"This way," he said, walking to the right. The other's fell behind him, following his signal.

Rose found herself walking next to Eleven, whose long legs were striding at the same pace as her own.

She looked him up and down as subtly as she could, not for the first time trying to take in his appearance.

"So," she said, "bow ties."

"Are cool," he replied, as if finishing a sentence, not looking over at her.

"Thanks for before," she continued, smiling at him. "For saying we could stick together, I mean."

He looked at her, and for a second she saw a flash of sadness in his eyes, and then he smiled, taking her hand.

"Always," he said, and she felt a few butterflies dancing in her stomach.

~Eleven~

Holding hands with Rose felt a little like a waking dream. More like a very tactile memory than reality. In his mind he couldn't help comparing it to getting very, very drunk. It burned a little, and it probably wasn't very good for you in the long run, but it felt good. Intoxicating. And he really, really didn't want to let go.

He ran his thumb over her skin gently, delighting in the tiny, almost indiscernible exhale she gave, hearts racing more than he would ever let on.

She would be gone again after this was over. That was fine. He only had one more day with Rose Tyler, that didn't matter. He didn't think he'd had anymore at all. In a way, he was lucky. After all, who else looses someone to a parallel world, and then sees them again? Twice! Sure, he had to give her up, but least he found her at all... Lucky. He was going with lucky.

He looked straight ahead as they walked, ignoring the increasingly frequent glances Ten was making over his shoulder at them.

Amy would like Rose. They'd probably be friends! He imagined them both in the Tardis – his Tardis – leaning on the console and laughing, asking him where they were going… Amy teasing him about his bow tie and Rose saying that actually she thought it was rather-

"You okay?" Rose interrupted his thoughts, biting her lip very slightly, with an expression of concern on her face.

He dropped her hand quickly, rubbing his own as if he'd been burnt. He looked at her with a slightly shocked expression, then closed his mouth, swallowing. It was too easy to want her again.

"Of course," he said, both to himself and her.

She frowned at him, and looked like she was about to say something. He walked away from her quickly, standing next to Ten, who was sonicing a door in front of them.

"Please tell me you've found her," he said quietly.

Ten looked at him with a curious unease. "I don't know," he said, voice low.

"Why did you walk away from Rose?"

Eleven fingers moved slightly anxiously for a second, and then he smoothed down his tweed jacket, reminding himself he held the cards.

"Spoilers," he said simply.

Ten looked at him, and a little voice in the back of his mind said 'wrong answer.' But he simply pulled out his own sonic, and began to help the (increasingly suspicious) man unlock the door.

~Ten~

With a triumphant clicking noise, and a rather loud beep, the door swung open.

"Rose!" he said, running inside. "Rose, can you hear me?"

There was silence. "Look everywhere," he said to the other's, voice urgent.

The room was small, and the walls were lined with what looked like storage lockers. At first the Doctors went to sonic them open, moving quickly, but they were all already unlocked. So instead the group, Rose included, took a wall each, flinging open each locker quickly.

The Doctor had just flung his fourth locker open, with some force, when he heard Rose make a quiet noise of alarm behind him. He spun around, stomach twisting in fear for his older Rose.

At first, he thought the locker she was looking in was empty, and his brow furrowed in confusion. Then his eyes settled on what was lying on the middle shelf, and he felt his hearts clench.

He walked forward slowly, and gently pushed Rose out of the way.

"That's my hair," Rose said, one hand reaching up to touch her own locks. "Oh my god that's my hair, isn't it?"

The Doctor silently scanned it, and then looked at the reading. The bio-signatures matched.

"Yes it is," he said, not knowing how his voice sounded as he picked up the chunk of hair. It looked like a knife, hacking rather than a clean swipe, had cut it of. He felt his blood grow hotter.

He wanted to get angry, very angry, but he was still conscious of the younger Rose beside him. He didn't want to frighten her.

Instead, he tucked the hair in his coat pocket, and turned around to face her, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"We will find you," he said, looking into her eyes. "I promise you, Rose, I'll protect you."

"I know," she said softly, and he dropped his hands, nodding.

"We should leave," Eleven said suddenly. "We should really, really get out of this room right now."

"Why?" Rose said, looking between the two men quickly.

The Doctor looked at Nine, and a light bulb went off for both of them at the same moment.

Nine ran forward and grabbed Rose's hand, and the four of them raced towards the door, which slammed shut in their faces.

"No, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor heard himself saying, hitting the door with his hands.

"What happened?" Rose said, sounding alarmed.

"Aurelia must have assumed we'd have Rose's bio-signature," Ten said, running a hand over his face.

"So she grabbed some of her hair, and waited for us to follow it here," Nine continued.

"And then locked us in," Eleven finished.

"So it was a trap," Rose said. "Here we go again, then."

Ten slumped against a locker, trying to think of a way out, while Nine paced and did the same.

"What have we got?" the Northern man asked them, looking for a solution.

"Well, we don't have the sonics anymore," the Doctor replied, tugging his ear, "that doors dead locked now."

He looked up at Rose, who was biting her lip and looking back at him. The old him though, he realized a little bitterly.

"Stop it," he chastised himself internally. "Focus on Rose."

His eyes travelled over her jeans. Did she still wear those?

"No, your Rose. Focus on your Rose."

Without thinking he pulled out the lock of her hair, and held it tightly in his hand. It was both comforting and horrifying all at once. He was painfully aware of how much danger Rose could be in, his hearts hadn't stopped racing properly since she first vanished outside the house. But at the same time, she was still with him, perfectly safe. Well, apart from the whole locked-in-a-trap thing. He felt a small flash of sympathy for the girl in front of him, still looking intently at his past self. Multiple versions of one person was a headache, to say the least.

"Storage compartment A14-7, scan initiated. Commencing security protocol stage one," a calm voice said, interrupting his thoughts.

He stood up, looking around the room.

"What was that?" Rose asked, although her tone indicated she knew exactly what it was, and didn't like it one bit. He shot her an apologetic look.

"Intruders detected," the voice said again, "commencing security protocol stage two."

"Please tell me stage two is just asking us very nicely to leave," Rose said.

"Stage two is just asking us very nicely to leave," Nine said, and Rose gave a sigh of relief.

"What, seriously?"

"Nope, but you asked me to say it," he gave her a slightly cheeky smile, and she groaned at him.

"It's probably asking the crew what to do," Eleven said. "Unfortunately for us, we aren't on the best terms with her."

"Level six security protocol initiated. Dangerous intruders detected. Beginning decompression."

"Dangerous," Nine scoffed, rolling his eyes."She hasn't seen dangerous!"

"Decompression," Rose repeated, "Doctor tell me you have a plan."

"I have a plan," Nine replied again.

She looked at him, and he grinned at her.

"Not again!"

The Doctor ignored the look they gave each other, and began hitting the door again.

"Let us out!" he yelled, using his fists.

"That's not going to do anything," Eleven said.

Ten growled, turning around to face his older self. "Have you got a better idea? Because every second we're in here, about to be sucked into space, apparently, is another second Rose is out there on her own!"

"Reconfiguring airlock position. Sixty seconds until decompression."

Suddenly, without warning, a bright light shone in the centre of the room. And then, out of nowhere, the figure of a woman came into focus, silhouetted be the white light.

The Doctor stared, confused. This wasn't security protocol, was it?

"I don't want this," he heard Eleven say quietly behind him.

The light blinked out, and the woman breathed in, as if steadying herself.

She looked about twenty-three, but there was also a heavy, tough nature to her that made her seem older. She had straight, light hair, and defined cheekbones, and a large gun was slung over her shoulder, which was covered by a blue leather jacket.

Rose. The Doctor stopped breathing, in complete shock.

"Fifty seconds until decompression."

The older Rose snapped up, as if the words had pulled her into reality. Her eyes darted to the door, and the shocked Eleven standing in front of it.

"Get down," she told him, and he ducked just in time to avoid the laser of her gun, as she shot open the door, tearing it from it's hinges.

"Move out!" she ordered them, and the shocked group obeyed, running out of the room.

The Doctor turned around, looking back at her. She was staring at him as if she'd just noticed him. Her eyes were suddenly glassy, and a huge smile came over her face.

"Doctor," she said softly.

"Rose," he replied, slightly warily.

She ran forward, dropping her gun on the floor, and practically jumped into his arms.

"Hello," he laughed, surprised.

All of his confusion was swept aside as she held him tightly, and he hugged her back eagerly, having missed touching her, even for a few hours. He breathed in her smell, closing his eyes in spite of the situation. Her shampoo was different - it smelled more clinical, like something from a hotel, not the usual strawberry scent. He pulled away; reminded that this couldn't be the Rose they were looking for.

"You're in the wrong time," Eleven said, and the older Rose span around to face him, dropping the Doctor's arms. "You haven't been on the beach yet."

What beach? Ten raked his mind for any hint as to what was happening.

"I know," she said, sounding sad.

"You do?" Eleven replied, frowning at her.

"I remember this," she said. "Some of it, at least. Anyway, you lot are a bit of a give away," she motioned to Nine, who was looking at her with an expression of alarm.

"You've got a gun," he said, eyes on the weapon, holding onto the younger Rose tightly, whose own eyes were just as wide.

"The gun that just saved your life," she reminded him, smiling fondly. She hesitated for half a second, and then she ran over to him as well, hugging him with the same force she'd hugged Ten. Nine softened visibly as she touched him, wrapping his arms around her.

"I missed you," she whispered into his ear.

The younger Rose bristled slightly, despite her shock, at the sight of the older her hugging the Doctor. She bit her lip as he released her, and her leather jacket rode up slightly, revealing her tiny frame.

Ten noticed it at the same time, and his brow furrowed in worry.

"Blimey," the younger girl said softly, looking at her older self, "I loose some weight."

The older Rose bit back a laugh as she walked away from Nine.

"You loose a bit more than that," she joked. Her voice sounded good-humoured, but there was a hint of bitterness that the Doctor didn't miss.

"What do you mean?" he said, voice serious.

She turned around to look at him again, and he noticed her clenching her hands, as if trying to hold herself back.

"You find it," Eleven said, apparently unable to stop himself. "You find what you're looking for."

The older Rose stepped towards him slowly. "You're him, aren't you?" she asked quietly.

"No," he said quickly.

"Yes," the younger Rose said. "That's him."

Nine looked at her in surprise.

"What?" she said. "I'm not gonna lie to myself, am I?"

The older Rose hadn't taken her eyes off Eleven, who seemed somehow smaller under her gaze. Ten walked closer silently, wanting to see her face. It was the picture of tenderness, as she reached out and touched his cheek.

"Is he… were you angry with me?" she asked softly. "For this?"

"Never," Eleven replied."I was thankful."

She smiled brilliantly, grin lighting up her face. Eleven grinned back at her, the first proper smile of his Ten had seen.

With that, the older Rose stepped back, looking down at a black watch-like device on her wrist.

"She's ready," she said, and Ten had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, as she slung the gun back over her shoulder. She seemed oblivious to it's obviously heavy weight, despite the almost unhealthy tint to her complexion. "It's time."

"Time for what? Whose ready?" he asked her.

Rose looked at him, smiling that beautiful smile again, and he felt like he had the wind knocked out of him. Rose Tyler...

"The most important woman in all of creation," she said, laughing, and then she was gone again.

Ten stared at the spot where she had vanished, and then looked back up at Eleven, who looked caught somewhere between nostalgia and dejection.

There was a moment of silence, and the remaining Rose breathed out heavily.

"Right," she said, looking at Eleven, "I've got a few questions."

He looked back at her, and the Doctor watched him closely. "I can't answer them," he replied.

Rose frowned at him. "But it's my future! I should be allowed to prepare for it!"

"Exactly. It's your future. No one can know their own future."

"But you do," she said, pointing between the Doctors.

"That's different," he said. "They don't know what's going to happen."

She walked over to him, looking frustrated. "But I had a gun!"

He grabbed her shoulders forcefully, and she looked at him in surprise.

"You don't get to know, Rose. You might try to stop it, or change it, and I can't let that happen. I will never let that happen."

She looked up at him, wide eyed. "But you said time can be rewritten," she said.

"Not that time," he said, holding her even tighter. "I will never, ever, let that time be rewritten. I won't let you, and I won't let anyone else either. That's why I'm still here... I could have run away the second I got here, I should have, but I didn't, because your timeline is too important to me, Rose. I can't change it."

The Doctor moved forward and pulled Rose out of his older self's reach, wrapping an arm around her waist and standing in front of her protectively.

"Stop it," he told Eleven, eyes narrowed. "She's allowed to ask questions."

"You don't know what she could change," he continued, voice still raised slightly. "You don't know what you would be giving up."

"You mean what you would be giving up," the Doctor replied, trying to work it out.

"No," Eleven said quickly, voice suddenly soft again. "Not me. I don't… It's not for me."

One hand moved up to absentmindedly fix his bow tie, as his future self's eyes stared down at the floor.

"We need to find your Rose," Nine said, and Ten felt Rose being gently pulled out of his arms.

"Yes," he said. "You're right. Lead the way."

He saw Nine nod out of the corner of his eye, and begin to walk away, followed (if a little reluctantly) by Rose. When they were out of hearing range, Ten stepped forward again.

"What happens to Rose?" he asked him again. "Is it something here?"

"No," the other man replied, "not here."

"Then when?"

Eleven looked up, meeting his eye, then walked forward until he was standing very close to him.

"If I tell you, you'll try and change it. And then you'll loose everything. Everything precious."

"What do you mean?" Ten pressed him. "What will I loose?"

Eleven sighed, and then put his hands up against the Doctor's temples.

His eyes snapped shut, and suddenly his mind was flooded with an image.

A memory.

A cold beach, salty wind... and Rose. The oldest version of her.

She was standing next to someone, and then, suddenly, she pulled him into her by the lapels of his jacket. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she was pressing against him forcefully, passionately... His chest tightened in jealousy, and then the image became clearer. It was... him! She was kissing him!

He felt his hearts flutter as he watched his own arms pull her closer. They were going to be together. He would tell her how he felt. And she felt the same way. And then he would be able to hold her and kiss her and tell her, finally tell her... He didn't know how he could be seeing this from his future's memory, when he was watching the same man - him - kissing Rose, but he didn't care. He felt emotion rise up inside of him as Rose moved to break the kiss, and his future self held her in place, not willing to let go of her, and she laughed against his lips, smiling beautifully even as he kissed her...

The image vanished, and the Doctor opened his eyes, blinking quickly.

"That's what you would give up," Eleven said gently. "If I tell you anything, and something changes, that's what you give up." He gave him a slightly sad, soft smile.

For a second he rested his head against Ten's, closing his eyes, and then his older self patted him on the shoulder, and walked away.

The Doctor stood still, slightly dumbstruck, and then a huge grin burst over his face.

~Nine~

He held Rose's hand tightly as they walked away from the other two men.

"He's right you know," he told her, "old me. Or new me. You shouldn't see the future."

She nodded. "I know," she replied. He looked down at her, raising his eyebrows.

"No, really, I get it… 'S just actually seeing me there. With those clothes and that gun and… I forgot, for a second. I'm sorry," she added.

He stopped, pulling her into a hug.

"It's okay," he said, touching her face for a second before starting them walking again.

"That must've been weird," he allowed.

"Yeah," she shuddered, and he laughed. "And we've still got another one of you to go," he pointed out.

"Don't remind me," she said, shaking her head. "This day can't get any stranger. Unless Jack shows up."

The Doctor laughed. "Probably with company," he added.

Rose giggled. "Sometimes I can't believe you let him on board," she said, grinning.

"Neither can I," he said, shaking his head.

He pulled her to a stop suddenly, taking out his sonic. It was flashing blue.

"That's odd," he said, frowning.

"What is it?" she asked, peering at it.

"It's scanning for a bio-signature… I didn't tell it to do that."

"Older you did though – could that be it?"

"You're right. The links must have gotten confused. After all, it's the same sonic. Well done," he nodded at her. "Oh, Rose Tyler, what would I do without you?" he asked, and she beamed at him.

He smiled back, and then looked down at the sonic again. He held it up to his ear, shaking it.

"It's a weak link, since it doesn't have your full signature. Well, no time like the present."

The Doctor starting scanning Rose, smirking slightly at how awkwardly she stood.

"You don't have to pose," he told her.

"I know!" she said, and relaxed a little. The sonic beeped.

"Have you found me?" Rose asked, looking at him expectantly.

"I think so," he said, and then grabbed her hand.

"Run?" she asked, smiling at him.

He nodded, a new grin coming onto his face.

"Run!"

A/N: Hello again everyone! I've been packing for a big move, and unfortunately writing has taken a back seat :( From now on this will be updated more frequently, thank you for sticking with me! Please review, it's always helpful (and just lovely) to hear feedback :) x