(AN) Enjoy! Any reviews are appreciated!

When Rose awoke, all of her limbs ached, and her throat felt dry and constricted. She managed to open her heavy eyelids with some difficulty, but wished she hadn't. When she saw the white room that she lay in, and became aware of the fact that her whole entire body was restrained, the memories of earlier that afternoon returned, albeit somewhat sluggishly.

She had seen a file. It was the color of the TARDIS, which had attracted her to it initially, and it contained information about the Doctor. But not her Doctor. The file was about a Doctor who lived in the parallel universe.

Rose had no awareness of this information previously, and she hadn't even taken into account the possibility of another Doctor existing in the parallel universe. She had too busy trying to see if it was possible in any way she could get to her Doctor.

Doors slammed open somewhere to Rose's right, and then it hit her, with extreme clarity, the situation she was in.

She heard the sound of footsteps, a blurry face swam into her vision. Mickey. Rose tried to twist her head around, to see him better, but like the rest of her body, her head was locked in place.

Another face came into view, a woman, dressed in a white laboratory coat. Rose stared at them blearily, trying to recall why it was exactly that she felt this anger rising in her chest when she saw Mickey.

"Rose," he said simply.

That was all it took. Memories rushed back. After Rose had read the file about the Doctor, Micky had drugged her water and brought two security guards to take her down. Rage, flooded through her drugged brain, and she thrashed in her restraints, trying to scream. But she could only muster a rasp. Her throat was dry and stinging, and her tongue felt like a fat useless lump in her mouth.

"Rose, I'm sorry, I really am," Mickey said apologetically, reaching to stroke her arm. Rose cringed away from him, eyes wild.

Mickey drew back his hand. "Rose, it has to be done. You weren't supposed to read that file."

Rose stared at him confusedly. What had to be done?

Mickey didn't meet her gaze as he continued. "We have to wipe your memories Rose. Of what you read, and of the Doctor in general."

Rose was frozen in shock for a few seconds, but she soon recovered, twisting in her bonds, tears of frustration building up in her eyes. She tried to yell, to beg him not to do this to her, but she couldn't form words. A pathetic whimper escaped her lips, and she shook, feeling completely and utterly useless. She couldn't imagine losing every last memory that she had of the Doctor

"Sweetheart, this is for your own good. The Doctor will only do you harm," Mickey whispered, trying to soothe her.

Rose had an extraordinary desire to slap him at that point, to rip that stupid look off of his face. He couldn't be more wrong, and what he was doing was nothing but cruel.

The woman set down her clipboard on a side table and approached an area out of Rose's vision. She could now hear the sound of switches and buttons being triggered behind her, and Rose finally realized with a sense of dread that this was really happening. It wasn't a nightmare, and she was about to forget everything about the man she loved. After this procedure, she would believe herself to be a citizen of this universe, living a normal and mundane life, having never met the Doctor and never having these emotions inside her.

She sagged on the table, silent sobs wracking her body, both physically and mentally defeated. She could see Mickey out of the corner of her watery eyes, and she swore that for just the tiniest fraction of a second, regret flickered in his eyes. He hesitantly patted her arm. "It's better this way Rose. You won't have to suffer from the heartbreak any longer."

Rose didn't even bother jerking away from him this time, and her only response was a fresh onslaught of tears cascading down her face. Mickey couldn't even hide his guilt anymore, so he just walked away.

"Mr. Smith, we are prepared to initiate memory replacement. We will start on your command."

Mickey tore his gaze away from Rose, his features hardening into a stony look. "Yes. I hereby authorize you to-"

"No."

A new voice entered the scene. Mickey whirled around, confusion apparent in his countenance.

"What?!" His eyes set on a fixed point that Rose couldn't see, and a horrified look came onto his face. "What?!" He repeated.

"I said, no," the voice responded. And then it struck Rose, the familiarity of that voice, the authority it held. That voice, which she was not expecting to hear, especially not now, shook her to her very core.

Mickey stumbled backwards, as the sound of footsteps approached him. "Security!" he yelled into his mouth-piece.

And then he was there. Her Doctor, but not with the sky-high hair and the pinstriped suit. It was her first Doctor, with his close shaven head and old leather jacket. He had his back to her now, but she could hear the cheeky, daft smile in his voice.

"Quite frankly, I'm impressed!" He proclaimed. "You human's weren't supposed to come out with this degree of mind control machine for another half century!"

A second after saying these words, he dashed from the spot to the unseen machine behind Rose's head, sonic screwdriver whirring. He didn't know her, Rose realized. He was the parallel of her Doctor, and he had never seen her before in his life.

"Fantastic!" he shouted. "The use of globular energy circuitry in here is just sublime! Which makes it really a shame..." Rose heard a few clicks, accompanied by the whirring sound of the screwdriver.

"...that I have to disable it." There was a loud sparking sound, and the acrid smell of smoke hit Rose's nose.

"Can't let you humans get ahead of yourselves," he continued calmly. The Doctor approached Mickey, who was staring at him with a blank look on his face.

"Now release the girl," The Doctor said severely,"or I will-" He froze as his eyes set on her. Rose felt her heartbeat quicken as he gazed at her, his mouth hanging open.

This was the moment. The moment in which he would blurt out something absurdly scientific about how it was too late for her, how he would have to leave her hooked up to the machine.

However, he didn't say anything, instead, approaching her in silent awe. When he reached her, to her great surprise, he took her hand, gingerly, as though it would shatter if he gripped it too hard. The look in his eyes was so familiar, so emotional, so incredibly Doctor, that Rose knew, she knew for certain what he would say next.

"Rose," he whispered raggedly.

"Doctor," she replied, her voice cracking at the end. She could speak now, for it was him. She could see only her Doctor in this man's eyes, and there no words to describe what she was feeling at that moment. But she had to speak. He was back.

"Rose," he repeated, dropping down at her side. His eyes raked her face with an intensity that she had never experienced with anyone else. He leaned in, pressing his forehead against hers, his lips tantalizingly close to hers, his breath tickling her cheek.

"Doctor," she murmured faintly, almost too softly for him to hear her. His eyes were a centimeter from hers, and they conveyed a message that she couldn't interpret. He was staring at her like she was some form of alien. Which, she supposed, she was, but that was far from relevant in that moment.

"...What is it?" she inquired gently. She felt rather flustered by his proximity, and it was difficult for her to get the words out.

"Rose Tyler," the Doctor said simply. "You're not supposed to exist." And with that point made, his leather clad form collapsed to the floor, a dart sticking out of his neck. Rose's eyes shot up, and all she could see were the dark forms of the guards approaching her, dart guns at ready.

She screamed.