Doctor Who belongs to the BBC, not to me.

"Raggedy Man, I remember you and you are late for my wedding!"

Her words floated through the Doctor's head again as he watched the newly married couple slow dance in the center of the room. He smiled gently at them. They looked so happy together, and he was thrilled that his best friend had found him in her heart in time for him to witness this moment. Love seemed to surround them and they were in their own little world. They looked so right together.

The Time Lord took a deep breath as he remembered the last time he had been to a wedding reception. Oddly enough it was for another redheaded wily woman. Donna had missed the wedding, and looking back now he knew it was a good thing. But she had enjoyed herself with her fiancé as they danced around the floor. No slow dances for them. His eyes hadn't been trained on them at the time; no, he had been too busy staring at a blonde woman being dipped by her date.

His eyes started to water against his will. After all these years he still missed her. His Rose. There had been no getting back to her once the walls closed. He had tried so hard, but without breaking reality there was nothing he could do. And oh how he often thought of her. He saw her in random things that meant nothing to everyone but everything to him. Walking through the gardens in the TARDIS he saw rose bushes that were abnormally large. It was apparent his beloved ship missed the girl as well. Purple jackets brought him to a halt during shopping trips. He avoided all planets with large populations of wolves. Just thinking about them brought back his memories of Rose as the Bad Wolf.

The Doctor shook his head slightly and wiped the tears that stained his cheeks. It was in moments like these that he let his feelings take over. He was in control of everything all the time, but that can wear on a soul as old as his. Having his happiness ripped away from him had hurt more than anyone ever knew. Never knowing why had only made it worse. He continued his research in private, hoping to come across something to ease the burden. A single piece of information or a new piece of technology that would allow him to travel to another dimension. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers as an image of Rose smiling rose to the front of his mind. He missed her so much.

"They look good together," a voice said from behind him.

"Yea they do," he agreed, clearing his throat and lowering his hand. He didn't dare turn around; that voice sounded like hers and he couldn't bear the disappointment when he found it was just another stranger.

There was a moment of silence before the voice spoke again. "Not looking so bad yourself there Doctor."

The Time Lord felt both his hearts skip a beat as his eyes widened. He stiffened and turned slowly on the balls of his feet. There, looking all pink and yellow, was Rose. She looked the same as when he left her. Well, her hair was a bit longer and her eyes held a deeper level of intelligence. But oh, it was her. He was frozen on the spot, his mind unable to comprehend the sight in front of him. He wondered vaguely if he had finally lost it and was hallucinating.

"Well don't just stand there. Don't I get a hug?" she asked as she smiled. Her tongue poked out a bit from behind her teeth.

"Rose?" he whispered. He subconsciously reached out his hand to make sure she was real. He didn't realize he was holding his breath until he pressed his hand against her cheek. She was real. His knees almost gave out on his as he let out his breath in a relieved laugh. "You're really here."

"Of course I am," Rose said, her hazel eyes dancing with joy. "Told you I was gonna stay with you forever. I never break a promise."

The Doctor needed no further proof. He quickly pulled her into a hug and spun her around. He inhaled the scent of roses and oranges and what was simply her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her feet high in the air. Her giggles mixed with his happy laughter as they moved together for almost a full minute. He gently set her back on the ground but refused to back out of the embrace. His eyes searched her face, trying to memorize every feature anew.

"Doctor?" Amy asked, approaching him with caution. Rory was right behind her. They eyed Rose with concern. "Who is this?"

"Oh where are my manners! Amelia and Rory, meet Rose. Rose, these are the Ponds! This is their wedding," he answered as he pulled away a bit. One arm remained entwined around her waist, almost as if he was afraid she was going to disappear on him again.

"Rose?" Rory asked with a hint of something akin to awe in his voice. "Not Rose Tyler?"

"One and the same," Rose said with a smile. "I assure you, whatever bad he said about me just isn't true."

Amy stared at the woman in front of her. Oh she had seen pictures of Rose through the monitors on the TARDIS, but they did the blonde no justice. She was simply beautiful in a very down to earth sort of way. The emotions that showed in her eyes were so vivid Amy felt herself almost drowning in them. There was wisdom and joy, and when she chanced a glance at the alien next to her Amy saw longing and a profound love.

She mentally shook herself. "Oh y-yea, nice to meet you Rose! I've heard so much."

Rose took the hand she offered and shook it gently. "Nice to meet you too. It was a lovely reception."

"How long have you been here? When did you get back? How did you get back? Did something happen in Pete's World? I've been looking for a way back but-"

Rose silenced him by putting her finger on his lips. "Slow down Doctor," she said, and he reveled in hearing his name from her lips again. "I'll explain everything. But could I get something to drink first? I'm parched."

"I'll get you something," Rory said. He leaned over to give Amy a kiss before leaving them. The redhead led them to the table and they all sat down. She smiled when she spied them holding hands under the table.

"Tell me what happened Rose," the alien said softly.

"I don't know honestly," the blonde woman answered with a shrug. "I remember living with my mum and dad in that other world. I had a job at Torchwood. Had my own place. Things were going okay. As okay as they ever really could I guess. And then, everything just sort of faded. It wasn't like dying; more like being in stasis. I was just there, waiting."

"Waiting for what?" Amy asked with curiosity in her voice.

"I don't know really. I had no idea what was going on, but before I could try to figure it out I was here. Well, I was over there against the wall. I was just sort of standing there. No idea how I got here. I tried to not look suspicious in case it was some sort of trick, but I heard people talking about this magical blue box that just appeared in the middle of the dance floor. Oh, thank you Rory." She stopped talking to take a sip of the punch the sandy-haired man handed to her.

"But how did you get here?" the Doctor said almost to himself.

"I saw you Doctor," Rose said in a quiet voice, causing him to look up at her again. "You've gone and changed on me again. What happened?"

"My song ended," he replied sadly. "It was time to move on I guess. I saved someone. You remember Wilf? Donna's grandfather?" She nodded. "He was going to die if I didn't step in. So I changed places with him. He's still alive, and happy."

"That's my Doctor," Rose said, a note of pride in her voice. "But what happened to Donna?"

The Time Lord lowered his head. "She's gone," he whispered sadly. He briefly recounted having to wipe her memory and what she was doing the last time he checked on her. They could feel the pain and anguish rolling off of him in waves as he spoke. Donna had obviously meant a great deal to him, and this was the first time the Ponds had heard him go into such detail.

Rose gently ran her free hand through his hair, causing him to raise his gaze once more. She gently placed a kiss on his forehead before pulling him into a hug. She had liked Donna. The redhead was fiery and had all that knowledge. She had held out hope that Donna would travel with the Doctor when she couldn't, filling his life with adventure and fun. Knowing he had been alone when he regenerated caused pain to twist in her heart.

"Rose, I have to ask," the Doctor said as she released him from the embrace. "When we were on the beach and you said you needed to text your dad, why did you shut the door?"

Rose blinked. "I didn't. I thought you did. I turned around and the TARDIS was fading away. You left me behind."

"I would never!" he responded, his voice filled with horror. "I wanted you to come with me! With us! Donna was ecstatic you were going to join us. But after the door shut we went through the gap and it closed. We had no way to get back to you. The walls were closed, again. I didn't know what to do."

They sat in silence for a minute. Amy heard a new song starting and stood up. "Come on Mr. Pond. I want to dance." She led him to the dance floor and they embraced once more, swaying to the music.

"Doctor," Rose said quietly.

"Yes Rose?"

"Dance with me?"

The Time Lord smiled softly. He stood and held out his hand to help her up. Never again would he turn down a chance to dance with her. He would never let go of her hand if he could help it. As he led her out to the floor and wrapped his arms around her waist he let himself drown in the feel of her against him. She still fit perfectly, even with his new body. No one else had fit like this with him.

"We'll figure it out eventually Doctor," Rose whispered into his ear as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "But we'll do it later. Can't we just enjoy this moment?"

"Of course we can," he replied. "I'm going to enjoy this moment and every other moment with you. I'm so sorry." The kiss on the side of his neck assured him that she had already forgiven what happened. Maybe she didn't blame him after all. But how, exactly, did she find her way home to him? He wanted to believe for a second that the universe was being kind for once, but that thought disappeared immediately. His Rose was here, now, in his arms; but what was stopping her from disappearing once again?

So yea, there's the second chapter. It's a reunion chapter, yay! I really like this one more than the first one, and it was a joy to write. The third chapter should clear up the confusion and I'll be posting that one sometime tomorrow I hope.