Dear Rose Tyler:

This is actually the first letter I will be writing to you knowing that you will be reading this very soon. Just that thought makes my hands tingle. I've asked the clone Doctor to give this to you as soon as possible. After you finish this he will give you a stack of letters that I have written after nearly every one of my adventures in the past three years that we were apart. I hope you two have fun reviewing them. Don't hesitate to ask him any questions or descriptions about anything that I wrote, as he wrote them as much as I did.

But for this letter, there is so much to explain, and in so little time. I slipped out while all of you are now piloting the TARDIS to write this last note to you. Might as well start at the beginning.

Hearing and seeing the words BAD WOLF again, honestly it brought fear to my hearts. Because the only reason it could be possible would be that the sinking feeling in my hearts was true, that the universe was ending. Finding the Earth to be gone didn't help. But contacting Torchwood, Sarah Jane and Martha did help, but I could feel that you were missing. I knew you were doing all you could to help, but all I wanted was just to see you.

And then finally I did. I've never seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. And believe me in 900 years I've seen a lot of beautiful things. All the memories, heartaches, pains, triumphs, everything of the past three years (counting the year that never was) faded away, and all I could see was your face and the two years we spent together when you traveled with me. Those two years I have never felt more complete and I felt that contentment as I saw you begin to run towards me. You were over there, and suddenly you were all I wanted in the entire universe. I felt a desperation to get to you, and I didn't want to stop my feet from running to you. Even being shot by that Dalek couldn't taint the joy of seeing you again. In my first letter to you I said I'd sacrifice a regeneration just to be with you, and I wasn't lying. But I knew that would traumatize you, after how much you had gone through to see me again.

Then you and me were together, just like you had never gone. And there were others too, those wonderful humans (and Jack) fighting against Davros, and we did it. We won.

But there's a catch. My clone. Earlier I saw you look at him with a strange look on your face, like you can't wrap your head around there being two Doctors. Well it's hard for me too. And what I'm going to do to you breaks my hearts.

I hope you won't hate me for too long, and that you'll see the wisdom in my actions someday.

When I look into my clone's eyes, I see a fire that is so familiar. It's the same as the one in the form that you met me in, just after the Time War. He was born in the heat of battle, filled with blood and war. And I am reminded of all that you did for me, to make me who I am today. You need, you must do the same for him.

My whole life has been running. Away from danger, or most of the time towards it. Most of those years I've had someone by my side, but after nine hundred years of doing it, it actually does get tiring. Seeing couples holding hands, falling in love and growing old together...it makes me want it desperately too. But I can never have that. I'm the last of the Time Lords, forever cursed to wander the galaxies until the end of my final regeneration. So the best I can do is give it to you. In the letter I wrote to you after me and Martha were nearly killed by the Family of Blood, I said that I wanted there to be a a John Smith there for you, a brilliant man attentive to your every need, who will never leave you, someone who could do more than I ever could. Well now I can be absolutely sure of giving that to you. I trust him more than any other man to take care of you, to be with you, to love you completely.

My final reason for doing this is that I have been distraught as of lately, seeing you in Davros' clutches, and I knew I could not go on if you had died today. I can't even bear the thought. I'd rather sacrifice you being with me just to know that you were alive, and my clone is more than capable of protecting you. Not that you need protecting, but it does make me feel better. I have a tendency to be reckless and I'm ashamed to say, abandon you at times. With his confession he'll never do that to you.

I know you're probably thinking of every objection you can think of, that I had no right to make the choice to change your life for you, but please, if I have ever been able to do anything for you, it's to give you a long life, hope and a future. And love. Because I won't be able to say it when you ask me. Now that you are reading this, I can tell you the truth.

Rose Tyler, I love you. There, I finally said it.

And my clone has the same exact feelings for you too, so never doubt his devotion. He'll be able to tell you when exactly we fell in love with you too.

I always had a fondness for you when we first met and began traveling. You certainly impressed me when you saved my life by flying on that chain into the Autons!

But when we were stuck in Downing Street, and the only way out was a dangerous option that I hadn't even explained yet, you said something so wonderful, so powerful. It was the fate of the three of us against the entire world. Your mother would have none of that, but then I heard the two most fantastic words I had ever heard come out of your mouth up until that point. I can still hear them now.

"Do it." I was so shocked - yet I was not - to hear that you didn't care about your own life at all. That you would sacrifice it all to save everyone else. And that's when I knew you were special.

And that thought brought a sinking feeling to my stomach. Because you were so special, I hesitated putting my plan into action. Because I didn't want to lose you. When I told you so you gave me a small smile, and right then I knew I wanted your hand in mine for as long as possible. And I got that. We had two wonderful years together. Years I will always cherish.

I should have admitted it to you a long time ago, but I've been in love before, numerous times. I told you I was a dad once, and I've had past companions who...No I'm not going to burden you with those things. They are all dead and gone, and even though they brought joy and happiness to me in that time of my life, what you did for me was equally fantastic. Before I met you, whenever I closed my eyes all I could see was fire, rage and the blood of two empires forever stained on my hands. And in your own simple, human way you made me better. You saved my life, in more ways than one. And I love you for it. It will be hard to move on without you, but if I can think of you defending your dimension by the side of someone who loves you with his whole, single heart...that alone is enough to keep me going.

So do this for me. Have a fantastic and brilliant life. Live the life I never can. Seize every day, love to the fullest, believe and fight for what's right, and never lose hope. I will always love you.

Your Doctor

-Always-