In spite of her resolutions, it took some time to get to her feet again. Instead of the familiar surroundings of the estate she was in something she was tempted to call a palace. Instead of working at a shop, she was a rich heiress.

She didn't know what to do with herself. Servants were obviously a part of this richer lifestyle and she found herself unable to do anything herself anymore. At any given moment there were at least two hovering over her shoulder trying to take any task she was doing, off of her in an attempt to help.

Rose was well and truly sick of it. Her entire world revolved around getting back to the Doctor, but instead she was being dressed up and presented as Pete's and her mum's daughter who had grown up hidden away. Parties, interviews, dresses and in no time a month had passed before she finally decided she'd had enough.

Her mum had obviously been waiting for it, as had Mickey, but poor Pete never knew what hit him. The dirty laundry she'd been about to wash had been taken away by a servant but she easily caught up and took it back. With heavy steps and eyes ablaze with anger she stomped down to where her father was sitting at the dining table with her mother, throwing her laundry on the floor.

"I'm leaving!" her declaration was met with a not very well hidden grin from her mother and a furrowed brow from Pete.

"Where to? It's 9 o'clock at night!"

Frustration gave way to anger as she rounded in on him.

"And I - don't - care! 'm not living here a second longer!"

With a strangled scream she burst out the front door. She could hear her mum's I told you so's echoing down the hallway and Pete's footsteps. She was tired of this large house, the servants, of the endless how are you's. It had been over a month since she'd last run or run at all, period. A month since she'd seen other planets, other species, a month... a month since there had been a hand in hers, urging her along, making her laugh.

And the moment her feet stepped outside and she felt the cold air, the moment she saw the stars in the sky, she could feel the itch, the unbearable urge to feel the wind, to hear the pounding of her heart beating in time with her steps on the pavement. And for the first time since she had come to this strange, new universe, she felt as if she could escape is she could just run for long enough.

She barely heard Pete opening the door behind her, yelling her name as she took off. She started running, faster than ever, jumping over the low fence and continuing to run, barrelling past reporters, across roads, down alleys. Her heart was pounding, her blood rushing in her ears and yet she couldn't stop, didn't want to stop, eyes continually flicking up to the stars high up in the sky, the unfamiliar constellations dotting the horizon.

Planets she had, in another universe, seen with the Doctor. But some of them weren't even here and others were galaxies and centuries away. Another reminder that she would not see him again.

She grimaced at the maid outfit she was forced to wear and was about to complain to the Doctor, how, once again, she'd ended up in one of the menial jobs, when he turned around and her mouth fell open.

The Doctor, this Doctor, in a tuxedo was a sight that set her heart racing and made her cheeks flush. His self-assured grin faded slightly when, after a moment or two, she'd still not made a sound.

"Not good?"

Finally, a grin grew on her lips, stepping into his personal space, straightening the bow tie, tongue poking out between her lips and eyes sparkling with laughter.

"I love bowties."

He grinned before finally laughing slightly.

"Really? Bowties?"

"Hey," she elbowed him gently, smile firmly fixed on her face, "Bowties are cool!"

"Nuh-uh. Bowties? Definitely not cool."

Rose scoffed.

"Doctor, I would not take your fashion advice. Ever. I saw that multicoloured thing you wore in your younger years. Take my word on it; Bowties are cool...," she shot him a mischievous smirk, "especially on you, with that Tuxedo."

She heard him flounder behind her, unsure whether to be offended or proud. Grinning to herself, she rushed into where her father and mother were supposed to live. Parallel worlds.

Running through yet another dark alley, she heard the sounds of a scuffle and before she knew what she was doing, Rose followed the sounds.

"GIMME YOUR MONEY!"

The voice echoed around her. Before she had time to think her actions through, Rose stepped loudly around the corner; the would-be muggers let their victim go who ran without a glance back just as she stepped around the corner.

"'s not very nice, that."

"Oh, the 'forgotten heiress', 'm shaking in my boots."

A slow smirk crossed her lips and she could feel her tongue poking out the corner of her lips playfully, amber eyes glinting with a hint of golden threaded throughout as she stared at the two youths.

"More of a Bad Wolf, really."

By the time she'd cajoled the two into talking with her, hours later, she'd finally realised what she wanted to do. Helping people. Continuing to do what she'd done with the Doctor. Both were now working in Torchwood, under Jake's guidance.

With her mother's support, it was easy to find a small one bedroom flat close to her new work; Torchwood. Everything inside of her cringed, but she knew it was the only place she could build a way to travel through dimensions and back to him.

Pete had backed her, but only to a point. He couldn't spend too many resources and aside from Mickey and Jake, they didn't trust anyone when it came to the idea of other dimensions. So, with only three of them working on it, it was all very slow-going to her endless frustration.

And then, one night, she heard him. Her Doctor. His voice, in her head, calling her, his tongue wrapping lovingly around her name, speaking it with a reverence that jerked her out of her sleep and into the waking world. She doesn't have much money yet and despite the knowledge in the back of her head, insisting it isn't going to happen, she keeps hoping, keeps holding out, that maybe, just maybe, he'd found a way for her to come back.

So she sought out her mum and Pete and Mickey, called them, asked them to make their way with her. Rose felt a sudden rush of affection when they all, unquestioningly, did as she asked and made their way wherever her feelings led her. First over the channel to France, up via what would have been Belgium in her world, up and further north until finally she saw it on the map and the name resonated in her head, translating without any effort.

Bad Wolf Bay.

It took them days of driving, of switching drivers, changing directions and having passports checked; then, finally, there they were. She could feel it.

Everyone stepped out and she stepped away from them, towards the point she could feel it the strongest. Ancient, steeped in time, the Tardis and her Thief.

But the gap, it was closing, fast, she could feel it, creeping up on her, unravelling her bond with the ship, bit by bit.

Then, suddenly, he was there. He looked the same as always, same suit, same Tardis. And she missed heartbeat accelerated and she automatically stepped towards him. He started talking, looking at her warmly, hands in his pockets, clenched into fists to stop himself from reaching for her automatically, the way they always did.

"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," he laughed softly, but she could hear the sorrow threaded through it. "I'm burning up a sun just to say goodbye."

Rose felt her own grief rise. Goodbye. She hated it, abhorred that word. Why say goodbye? Why couldn't they just pretend? Why couldn't she just have stayed with him? She could see the grief he was trying to hide, the shaking hand, the dark, brown eyes telling her more than anyone else could about what a state he was in. He'd been alone, for several months now, probably doing calculations and trying to find a way to get her back before settling on this; a moment, at least, with her.

She shook her head slightly, voice shaking as she looked at the man she loved.

"You look like a ghost."

She could see his frown, concentration and slight surprise that he hadn't considered this in the first place.

"Hold on..."

Rose almost smiled at the whirring noise of his sonic screwdriver and the projection strengthened. Automatically, she stepped closer, her Doctor within hand's reach and it seemed unnatural for her to be so far from him, not to be touching him. Her hand hovered just inches from his face when she could suddenly feel the power and the realisation that she can't touch him, really developed. Still, her eyes sought out his.

"Can't I...?"

His eyes darkened and she could hear the regret in his voice, his hands clenched at his side, clearly fighting the same urge.

"I'm still just an image. No touch."

She already knew the answer, knew he couldn't but she couldn't stop herself.

"Can't you come through properly?"

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

She smiled at him, suppressing the tears, eyes glinting slightly with the challenge.

"So?"

To her satisfaction, her Doctor's lips curl up in an answering smile. His gaze drifts and she can feel him taking in their surroundings. Before he gets a chance to ask, she responded to his obvious question.

"We're in Norway. About fifty miles out of Bergen. It's called 'Dårlig Ulv Stranden'."

"Dalek?"

She couldn't quite suppress the snort at his automatic reaction, unknowingly echoing Mickey's a day earlier.

"Dårl-IG," she finds herself correcting, almost automatically at this point, "It's Norwegian for 'bad'."

The Doctor continues to stare at her, brow furrowed.

"This translates as 'Bad Wolf Bay'."

The twitching of her lips sets him off, making him laugh but as their eyes rest on each other, reality settled back in and cold dread curled in her stomach.

"How long have we got?" Her voice was starting to crack, the tears she hadn't wanted to shed, burning. This was not the goodbye she wanted for them. Laughter, happiness, not tears, but she seemed to be unable to hold it in.

"About two minutes..."

Fear settled in her heart. The pain would start the moment the Doctor disappeared. She had warned her family; they wanted her to tell him, tell her Doctor, but she knew there was nothing he could do, not at this point. Telling him when he was unable to help, that was unnecessary cruelty. She would never do that to him. Rose refused to make him suffer any more than he already would.

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

He could see the pure frustration and her Doctor chuckled, but the smile never reached his eyes. His eyes drift again, to the small group gathered by the jeep behind her.

"You've still got Mr. Mickey, then?"

"There's five of us now." She can almost see his eyebrow furrow, sending a second glance at the jeep before focusing back in on her. "Mum, dad, Mickey... and the baby."

To her surprise, her Doctor looks taken aback before staring at her stomach. In her confusion it takes her a moment to follow his train of thought, not really understanding until she hears his half-worded question.

"You're not...?"

Oh, if he was here she'd had half a mind to slap him. Really? Three months and suddenly she was off finding random guys to hook up with and have kids?

The glare she sent him must have conveyed the message as he flushed slightly at her unspoken reprimand.

Rolling her eyes, she finally clarifies, "It's mum. She's three months gone. More Tylers on the way."

His eyes had followed her own back to her mother but, after giving her a warm smile, jumped straight back to her.

"And what about you? Are you...?"

Eyes glinting with mischief, she made her voice slightly subdued in response to his question, knowing he wouldn't question it.

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

Her idiot Doctor just nodded.

"Oh, good for you."

Rose finally broke and burst into laughter; and, for just a tiny moment, it's just like old times. He smiled affectionately at her, eyes sparkling again with just that little bit of life in them again.

"Shut up. No, I'm not. There's still a Torchwood on this planet, it's open for business."

Her smile faded and her voice choked up, staring at her Doctor.

"I think I know a thing or two about aliens."

She could see the pride in his face as a small smile formed on his face, more genuine than the previous one. One of the few companions, in his mind, that he hadn't screwed up, she knew.

"Rose Tyler." His voice was warm, trembling ever so slightly, pride and affection written across his face. "Defender of the Earth."

Her eyes sought out his, her hand itching for his, the body that fit hers so perfectly. So many things to say and yet she could feel the gap closing. So little time.

"You're dead, officially, back home. So many people died that day and you've gone missing. You're on a list of the dead."

Unable to help herself, Rose felt the first of many tears slip down her face. She knew without asking that he had made sure she was on it; she and her mum both, so that the remainder of their friends and family could have some closure. Knew what it must've cost him, how he'd have probably lingered and stared, how he would've left and how he would've been on his own since then, adding to the guilt he already harboured.

"Here you are." He smiled, but she could see the lack of cheer behind it. Her Doctor had a different way of smiling when he was truly happy, a way that made you want to laugh with him; and his way of smiling to hide his anger - that was the moment you really, really needed to start running.

"Living a life day after day. The one adventure I can never have."

And the one she'd never wanted to have again. Running with him, hand in hand, that had been her plan. Not here, not alone, not ever.

"Am I ever gonna see you again?"

The question slipped out before she could stop herself and she sobbed even before she heard his quiet and regretful confirmation.

"You can't."

Her heart broke and she felt her entire body trembling with the urge to breakdown. Her voice shook and she couldn't hide the tears any more.

"What're you gonna do?"

He infected his voice with the same false cheer she'd frequently used in the last few months, bouncing gently on his feet for a moment but the smile fell and he stopped whipping on his feet almost instantly again.

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

"On your own?"

He didn't respond, merely nodding in response to her question, compassion shining in the brown eyes fixed on her. Rose gasped slightly, staring at him through a veil of tears, attempting to memorise his every feature. She didn't want that for him, didn't want him alone.

"You're rubbish alone," her voice was still breaking but she could see his lips twitching at her insult and it gave her enough strength to rein herself back in. "Find someone."

Before he could reply, her voice choked up again.

"I lo-"

Rose forced herself to look away from him, to gather her breath and her thoughts. She wanted him to know, to know that when he was flying through time and space, that she really would've been with him every step of the way, that she, who knew most of him, loved him, would always love him.

Her voice grew firm and her amber eyes sparkled, allowing herself to finally let all her love for him show, for this man who had shown her the universe, who had given her strength and her life when she had been nothing but a chav from the estate.

"I love you."

The Doctor gazes at her with heart-rending tenderness and devotion and for just a moment she allowed herself to believe that maybe he loved her too.

His voice was soft, reverent, as he responded.

"Quite right, too."

Rose nodded, smiling at him through her tears. The way it should be.

"And... Doctor...? I wouldn't 've missed it for the world."

His smile widened again and she could finally see him release some of the guilt, could see him relaxing, knowing she wasn't angry, didn't feel abandoned or left behind.

"And I suppose... if it's one last chance to say it...," Rose tilted her head quizzically and he paused for a moment, eyes locking with hers. "Rose Tyler..."

The hologram disappeared and in that same moment, her mind fell apart.

Eyes wide, fixed on the horizon, she screamed. Her mind burned and everything scrambled, tears lurking in her eyes not from sorrow or grief but rather from the pain. Her connection to the Tardis was well and truly broken, no other holes left between their universes and her mind was in shambles, trying desperately to reconnect but everything was floundering mid-air all connections gone.

She wanted to scream, but couldn't find the strength in her anymore. It hurt, like someone had torn into her head and ripped out everything that made her, her. Everything inside of her burned and she was wide open, reaching out for other people despite trying very hard not to. She didn't know what to do, didn't know what to think.

Her thoughts weren't clear anymore; she'd start thinking and then lose the thought as it spun away into the gaping holes in her head, unable to hold onto anything as it all was too painful by far.

When the telepathic race of aliens came, offering to help, saying they'd heard her screaming to the entire universe at large, she'd believed them. So had her newly-christened dad and her mum. Only Mickey remained sceptical.

She would've done well to believe him. Instead, they had all listened but ultimately ignored his concerns.

She didn't know what to say other than they had stupidly, foolishly thought these were good aliens; Rose had met a fair few of those on her travels and she had become so used - too used - to the Doctor saving her when things got hairy, that she hadn't really given it the thought it deserved.

She had gone with them, onto their spaceship, trusting, as always. Too trusting, her ninth Doctor would say... He wasn't wrong.

It didn't take long before they, like the Gelth, revealed their true faces, though in a more metaphorical way on this occasion.