This is a bit more rehashing, okay a lot, but the few chapters are original. This is just to establish internal thoughts if there was a "relationship" between them.

Rose and the Doctor walked down the dark street, her hand in his, something that had been natural for them from the first moment he met her. They enjoyed the closeness of each other as fireworks went off in the distance.

"You know what?" Rose asked. He turned to her. "They keep trying to split us up, but they never, ever will."

An uneasiness settled over him.

"Never say never ever," he said.

She glanced up at the fireworks.

"Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me." The uneasy feeling inside of him grew. He traced her timeline, something he'd been doing since that beast in the pit. "Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

He'd been trying to put as much distance and time between them and that black hole since the beast that called itself the devil spoke of her death. It wasn't the devil of course. Couldn't be. The Doctor didn't believe in such things, but it had known about him, about what he had done, which could be explained telepathically, only there was something in the way it said how she would die. He tried to shake the feeling, but the fear was there, in the back of his mind and so he kept a careful watch on her timeline because he couldn't lose her. It would have been hard enough before, but now…now that things had changed, now that he'd crossed that line, he didn't think he would be able to survive losing her.

"Something in the air. Something coming," he said, more to himself.

"What?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

Her timeline was shifting. He could feel it. Nothing had happened yet, but he could sense that something was about to change.

"A storm's approaching."

He felt Rose tense up at his words, but that feeling was secondary to the fear that gripped both of his hearts. He had to keep her safe. He had to stop her timeline from shifting.

The Doctor stared at the monitor from the TARDIS console. The moment he saw the soldiers his hearts dropped. The words of the beast returned. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon. Her timeline was still shifting. He couldn't let her see the fear he felt.

For the first time he was glad Jackie was there. She wouldn't let Rose put herself in danger.

"Oh, well there goes the advantage of surprise. Still! Cuts to the chase," the Doctor said, turning to walk to the door. "Stay in here, look after Jackie."

Rose followed him.

"I'm not looking after my mum," she protested.

"Well, you brought her," he replied, glancing over his shoulder.

"I was kidnapped," Jackie complained, trailing them to the door.

Swiftly, Rose positioned herself in front of the door. Blocking the Doctor's exit.

"Doctor, they've got guns," Rose said in a low warning.

He knew she was trying to protect him. That's what she did, but he had to sort out the ghosts and keep her safe at the same time.

"And I haven't," he replied, catching her around the waist and gently moving her out of the way. "Which makes me the better person, don't you think? They can shoot me dead, but the moral high-ground is mine."

He opened the door and stepped outside. The group of soldiers aimed their weapons at him, cocking them. He put his arms up, hoping Jackie would keep Rose inside.

A woman ran into the room through the open doorway. She wove around the soldiers to stand in front of the Doctor.

"Oh! Oh, how marvelous," she exclaimed excitedly. She began clapping. "Oh, very good! Superb! Happy Day!"

The soldiers began clapping with her.

The Doctor just stared at her. Right, what's going on? He lowered his arms, stunned, trying to work out exactly where this was going.

"Um…thanks," he said, uneasily. "Nice to meet you. I'm…the Doctor."

Everyone began clapping again.

"Oh, I should say. Hurrah!" the woman said, excitedly.

He looked around at the soldiers and then back to the woman, wondering if they were all mad or if there was something else going on. The whole scene was unsettling.

"You…you've heard of me then?"

"Well of course we have. And I have to say, if it wasn't for you, none of us would be here. The Doctor ANDthe TARDIS!" She began clapping again.

He smiled nervously. He still had no clue what was going on and he needed to work that out. He put his hands up to try to get them to stop clapping, putting a finger to his lips and when that didn't work he motioned for them to quiet down.

Once the room settled down he asked, "And…and…and you are?"

"Oh, plenty of time for that. But according to the records, you're not one for travelling alone. The Doctor and his companion. That's a pattern isn't it, right?"

He stared at her for a moment. There was obviously something strange going on with these people. With Rose's timeline still shifting there was no way he was going to let her anywhere near them.

"There's no point in hiding anything. Not from us," she said, taking on an almost cold, authoritative air. Then her attitude suddenly lightened. "So, where is she?"

They would never believe he was alone. He had to do something, but he wouldn't risk Rose. She had to remain safe inside the TARDIS until he worked out what was going on and solved it. Jackie. For the second time he was grateful that she'd tagged along.

He pulled on the mask that he wore so well, changing his entire demeanor into one of blissful cooperation.

"Yes! Sorry. Good point. She's just a bit shy, that's all." He reached through the TARDIS door without opening it all the way and felt around for Jackie. Then he pulled her out. "But here she is. Rose Tyler." He gave Jackie a once over, as if appraising her. "Hmm. She's NOTthe best I've ever had. Bit too blonde. Not too steady on her pins. A lot of that." He mimed chatting.

The woman laughed while Jackie shot him a glare that warned him there might be a slap in his near future, but he ignored her look. Slaps were bad, but there were far worse things for him to worry about at that moment.

"And just last week, she stared into the heart of the Time Vortex and aged fifty-seven years. But she'll do," he continued.

"I'm forty!" Jackie insisted.

"Deluded. Bless. I'll have to trade her in. Do you need anyone? She's very good at tea. Well, I say very good, I mean not bad. Well. I say not bad... anyway! Lead on. But not too fast. Her ankle's going," he said.

He could feel Jackie growing angrier by the second as she stood next to him, but he couldn't tell her that he was trying to keep that woman from finding out that he was hiding things. First and foremost of which was the fact that the real Rose Tyler was safely inside the TARDIS. He could put up with Jackie's wrath as long as Rose stayed where she was supposed to.

A footprint doesn't look like a boot. The ghosts were Cybermen, but the sphere was something else. Torchwood just had to go and poke that bloody tear in the universe. They didn't have any idea what it was, but, of course, they thought they could use it for their own benefit and now Cybermen were flooding from the parallel universe into this one, which was bad enough, but there was also that sphere and he had no idea what was inside of it. And where was Rose? Safely back in the TARDIS where he left her? No, she was down there with that bloody sphere and whatever came out of it. Jeopardy friendly.

He thumped his head against the wall. Her timeline wavered. She was in danger, probably more danger than she'd ever been in. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon. No, he couldn't let that happen. He had to save her, but without knowing what threat she was facing he had no idea how he was going to do that.

"What's down there? She was in that room with the sphere. What's happened to Rose?" Jackie asked, fearfully.

"I don't know," the Doctor snapped.

He glanced at her as she started to cry. Feeling guilty for taking his frustration out on her, he crossed the room to stand next to her.

"I'll find her. I brought you here, I'll get you both out. You and your daughter. Jackie, look at me." When she didn't look up he repeated, "Look at me," with more insistence. She looked up. "I promise you. I give you my word." He tried to get her to see the truth of those words in his eyes. He would save them, both of them, no matter what it cost.

The Doctor watched the screen on the laptop intently. Two Cybermen had established a visual link after going out to investigate what came out of the sphere. He could see part of a room with an open doorway. A moment later a Dalek entered the room. The Doctor's hearts dropped as a hollow feeling settled in his chest.

"Identify yourselves," the Dalek ordered.

He wasn't sure what he expected, but this – Daleks – it was the worst thing that could've happened. Rose. He felt the surge of adrenalin as fear flooded into this mind. Was she already…No, he couldn't allow that thought to form. To take root.

"You will identify first," one of the Cybermen commanded.

"State your identity."

"You will identify first."

He had to save her. He had to get her out of there. He tried to see her timeline. He had to know if she was still alive. If there was still time, but he couldn't push the fear aside long enough to concentrate.

"Identify!" the Dalek insisted.

"Illogical, you will modify," the Cyberman ordered.

"Daleks do not take orders."

"You have identified as Daleks."

The Doctor was still wrestling with his emotions, trying to push them down long enough to trace her timeline.

"Rose said about the Daleks. She was terrified of them. What have they done to her, Doctor? Is she dead?" Jackie asked, fearfully.

He spun around, abruptly. One thought cutting through the fear in his mind.

"Phone," he insisted, through gritted teeth.

"What?"

"Phone!" he hissed again.

He had to know. Had to find out.

Jackie handed her phone over, making sure the Cybermen weren't paying attention. He snatched it and quickly dialed Rose's number. It rang once before someone picked up. He could hear the Daleks talking in the background, but he knew Rose must have been the one to answer. The Daleks wouldn't have and he could almost feel her presence on the other end.

"She's answered. She's alive," he whispered to Jackie, who let out a sigh of relief. "Why haven't they killed her?" The question was more to himself because he needed to know how long they were going to keep her alive. How long did he have to save her?

"Well, don't complain!" Jackie exclaimed, taking his question wrong.

"They must need her for something."

What? What would they need her for? How much longer would they keep her alive? He listened, hoping he could figure out the answers to those questions.

"We must protect the genesis ark," a Dalek said from the other end of the line.

"Genesis Ark?" the Doctor asked.

He turned to the laptop screen, pulling out the 3D glasses he kept in his top pocket. He slid the glasses on and looked at the Dalek on the screen. Void stuff. Just like the Cybermen.

He had to take care of the Cybermen and the Daleks, save Rose and Jackie, and everyone else. He began formulating a plan, but he knew he would have to get to Rose before he could act on it.

When the Doctor saw Pete at the parallel Torchwood after Jake teleported him through the Void his plan snapped together. He could save Jackie and Rose. His hearts weighed down with the realization of what it would cost him, but she would be alive. He'd kept his emotions in check, wearing the mask that hid them so well, but she was catching on, like she always did, and he knew he'd have to tell her.

"But it's... like you said, we've allgot Void stuff. Me too, 'cos we went to that parallel world," Rose said. And there it was. His brilliant Rose figured it out, like he knew she would. "We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in."

He heard her remove the 3D glasses as he stepped in front of her, unable to look at her just yet as the emotions that he kept buried resurfaced.

"That's why you've got to go," The Doctor said, catching her eye as he looked up. He saw the disbelief in her eyes. "Back to Pete's World." He glanced at Pete because he needed to look somewhere else, if only for a moment. "Hey, we should call it that, Pete's World." He turned back to Rose and found, for the first time, that he couldn't pretend he was fine because he wasn't and probably never would be again. "I'm opening the Void, but only on this side. You'll be safer on that side."

"And then you close it. For good?" Pete asked.

"The breach itself is soaked in Void Stuff, in the end it'll close itself. And that's it. Kaput," the Doctor replied.

He turned back to Rose.

"But you stay on this side?" she asked.

"But you'll get pulled in," Mickey protested.

The Doctor looked into Rose's eyes. There were so many things he wanted to tell her. How she saved him in so many ways. How much it was going to hurt for her to leave. How much she met to him. How she was imprinted, not only across his hearts, but in his very soul. Three words that he wanted to say, had wanted to tell her for so long, but hadn't voiced and now he never would because he knew if he said anything she would stay and he couldn't let her do that. He couldn't let her die. Not her. So, he tore his gaze away and ran to the desk, lifting one of the magnaclamps.

"That's why... I got these. I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life," he said.

"I'm supposed to go?" Rose asked in a low voice.

He could hear the pain in her voice and the feelings that came with it seared through his chest, but he tried to pretend that it didn't bother him.

"Yeah," he said, dropping the magnaclamp on the floor.

"To another world and it gets sealed off?"

"Yeah."

He turned without looking at her and walked to the nearest computer. He couldn't chance her finding out how very fake his nonchalant attitude was and he knew if he looked at her at that moment he wouldn't be able to do what had to do. He couldn't let her die and he couldn't separate her from Jackie.

"Forever?" Rose asked, but he didn't dare look at her. She laughed at the absurdity of it. "That's not going to happen."

The building shook, reminding everyone in the room of the danger they were all in.

"We have no time to argue. The plan works. We're going. You two. All of us," Pete insisted, gathering everyone together.

"No, I'm not leaving him," Rose protested, angrily.

"I'm not going without her," Jackie argued.

"Oh, my God, we're going," Pete demanded.

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it. I'm not leaving her."

Rose grabbed her mum's arm and turned her so they were facing each other.

"You've gotto," Rose said.

"Well, that's tough!" Jackie snapped.

"Mum..." She took her mum's hand. "I've had a life with you for nineteen years. But then I met the Doctor," The Time Lord stepped away from the computer and watched Rose, making sure to stay behind her where she couldn't see him. "and... all the things I've seen him do for me. For you. For all of us." He knew she wasn't going to leave on her own, but he couldn't let her stay. He couldn't let anything happen to her. "For the whole... stupidplanet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum."

He saw Pete reach for the yellow disc shaped dimension jump in the inside pocket of his jacket. The Doctor reached for a similar device in his pocket. He pulled it out as Rose talked.

"But not anymore," she continued. He stepped closer to her as she backed up, still focused on her mum. "'Cos now he's got me." He hung the dimension jump around her neck. "What…?"

Pete pressed the yellow disc and the entire group vanished.

The Doctor's hearts broke as an empty feeling opened up inside of him. The only thing that kept him going was knowing that she was alive. She was safe. He tore his eyes from the space she'd occupied and raced to the computer.

"I think this is the on switch...," Rose said.

He turned at the sound of her voice. She must have used the dimension jump to return. He stared at her for a moment in disbelief then quickly closed the distance between them, grabbing her shoulders, roughly. He looked straight into her eyes. She had no idea what she'd done.

"Once the breach collapses, that's it. You will never be able to see her again. Your own mother!" he yelled.

"I made my choice a long time ago, and I'm never gonna leave you," Rose said.

He stared at her in stunned silence. She…she was choosing him over her own family. He didn't know what to say. Part of him was angry that she'd come back from the safe place he'd sent her. Putting herself in danger for him. But another part couldn't believe that she would chose him over everything, that someone like her could care about him that much.

"So what can I do to help?" she asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Those coordinates over there, set them all at six," he said, after another moment. "And hurry up," he snapped, still not sure if he should be angry or not.

The Doctor hung on to the magnaclamp. Daleks and Cybermen flew past him as they were sucked into the Void. He couldn't believe how foolish he'd been, letting that beast in the pit get into his head. Rose was doing a good job of hanging onto her own magnaclamp. In a few minutes the breach would seal and it would be over.

He felt bad that she'd left her mum and he knew she'd be upset about it, but he couldn't help the joy he felt at the prospect of her staying with him. The Doctor in the TARDIS with Rose Tyler, as it should be.

The lever on Rose's side sparked and then began to move.

"Offline," the computerized female voice said.

Rose reached toward the lever with one hand while hanging onto the magnaclamp with the other. No! If she lost her grip she'd fly into the Void.

"Hold on!" he yelled, reaching for her, but he was too far away to be of any use.

She continued to reach for the lever. Her hand slipped, releasing her hold on the magnaclamp. She grabbed the lever with both hands.

"I've gotta get it upright," she yelled.

His body flooded with fear. If she slipped she'd be lost in the Void. It would kill her.

She pushed the lever up, slowly as the breach pulled at her, whipping her hair around her face. The valiant child who will die in battle so very soon. He should have sent her back to Pete's World. He should've made her stay.

The lever snapped into place.

"Online and locked," the computerized female voice announced.

The suction increased. Rose struggled to hold onto the lever.

"Rose, hold on!" the Doctor yelled, reaching for her in vain.

She winced and cried out with the effort to keep her grip on the lever. She's going to slip. He couldn't lose her. If she was pulled into the Void it would kill him. He was sure of it.

"Hold on!" he screamed, reaching for her again.

Her strength was draining and he was powerless…powerless to help her. He watched in horror as she struggled to keep hold of the lever. With one last cry her fingers slipped from the lever.

"Rose! Roooooose!" the Doctor yelled in desperation as she was pulled toward the Void.

Pete materialized, catching her right before she reached the breach. She glanced at the Doctor over her shoulder and then Pete pressed the dimension jump and they both vanished. The Time Lord couldn't take his eyes from where she disappeared.

He hardly noticed as the breach sealed itself and the wind died down. When he could finally move, he walked up to the wall where the breach had been. Each step a slow, agonizing torture. He felt as though a piece of his soul had been ripped from his body.

He placed his hand against the white wall and then leaned his cheek on the cold surface. She was there, just on the other side. He could feel her, but he would never be able to see her again. He lost the one person in all of existence who made him feel whole. His golden angel.

They might be separated by the Void, but he could feel her pain. It mirrored his own. He straightened and turned around, walking back to his TARDIS. The loss that he felt devastated him and he knew he would feel it for the rest of time.

The Doctor needed to make sure she was okay. He had to see her one last time. So, he did something he hadn't done since before the Time War. He reached out to her through the last remaining window, whispering her name into her mind while she slept. If she was anyone else it wouldn't have worked, but then, he wouldn't have done it for anyone else.

He whispered her name, over and over, calling her to him. He could feel her drawing closer, closing the distance between them. Once he could sense her on the other side of the window he began the projection.

When he saw her, standing on that beach, he wanted to run to her and wrap his arms around her, but he couldn't because they were merely images to each other. She was alive and that would have to be enough.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Inside the TARDIS," he said. "There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, just about to close. And it takes a lot of power to send this projection, I'm in orbit around a super nova. I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

"You look like a ghost."

"Hold on."

He pulled the sonic out of his pocket and located the right setting. Then he pointed it at the console and pushed the button to strengthen the projection.

Rose walked over to him and reached her hand out.

"Can I t-"

"I'm still just an image. No touch," he explained, regretfully.

He wished he could touch her. That he could somehow bring her back through that window. He wouldn't though. She was with her mum and he wouldn't take her away from her family.

"Can't you come through properly?"

"The whole thing would fracture. Two universes would collapse."

"So?"

They both laughed sadly. He gazed into her eyes for a moment, completely overwhelmed by the loss he felt. He finally tore his eyes away to gaze around the beach. It was the only way he could keep his tears at bay.

"Where are we? Where did the gap come out?"

"We're in Norway," she said.

"Norway. Right."

He was trying to hold himself together for her, but it was hard, so very hard.

"About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."

"Dalek?" he asked in concern.

"Dårl-IG. It's Norwegian for 'bad'." He looked at her in confusion. "This translates as Bad Wolf Bay," she said with a sad laugh. He joined her laugh with his own, but sobered a moment later.

"How long have we got?" she asked, her voice cracking.

"About two minutes…"

"I can't think of what to say."

"You've still got Mr. Mickey then?" he asked, looking over at the jeep, trying to focus on something else because the pain in her eyes was almost too much to bare.

"There's five of us now. Mum, dad, Mickey…and the baby."

Baby? His hearts tightened. Was she? If she was what would he do? Tear a hole in both universes to get her back? Very likely.

"You're not?" he asked, barely above a whisper.

"No." She laughed. "It's mum." He knew he should feel relieved. He did feel relieved because he didn't want her to go through that alone, but at the same time he couldn't help the whisper of sadness that passed over his hearts. "She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."

"And what about you? Are you…?"

"Yeah, I'm-I'm back working in the shop."

"Oh, good for you."

"Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet. It's open for business. I think I know a thing or two about aliens."

Her voice began to tremble. He felt the dam of tears he'd been holding back threatening to spill.

"Rose Tyler. Defender of the Earth," he said, proudly.

That was his Rose. Always protecting someone and now she'd be protecting everyone.

"You're dead, officially, back home," he continued, looking up for a moment to try to regain his composure. He was close to losing it and he didn't want to do that in front of her. It would be easier for her to get on with her life if she thought he was fine, which he was, well, his version of fine. "So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead." She began to cry, making him want to comfort her, but he couldn't even touch her. "Here you are. Living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."

He was barely able to keep his voice from trembling.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" she asked, through her sobs as the tears began to fall.

"You can't," he said, barely above a whisper.

"What are you gonna do?"

He had no idea what he was going to do. He'd spent every moment since she was taken from him trying to find a way to see her again. One last time. But he couldn't tell her that. She needed to be able to get on with her life, not worry about him.

"Oh, I've got the TARDIS. Same old life. Last of the Time Lords."

"On your own?"

He nodded, unable to trust his own voice.

"I lo-" Her voice broke. She took a breath and he could tell she was trying to regain some control. "I love you."

"Quite right, too," he replied, softly.

"And I suppose…if it's my last chance to say it…" His voice began to waver. He steeled himself to say the three words that had been burned into his hearts almost from the moment he first took her hand in his. "Rose Tyler…I love you." Only she didn't hear the last three words because the image faded.

He was unable to hold back the tears. She was gone. His golden angel. And he would never see her again. He stood there, in the TARDIS, feeling the weight of both his hearts. A feeling of loss, utterly hopeless loss, settled in his chest.

I don't own Doctor Who, any of its Characters, any of its Story Lines, any Jammy Dodgers (because I live in the states), however I do have bananas and I own a fez.

Thank you to all my brilliant readers and if you have time reviews are always welcome! :)