Chapter Text
Their ‘I love you’s had been said and their tears had been shed, but the Doctor was determined not to let his precious girl not get her goodbye. Although he still couldn’t believe that Rose had sacrificed so much for him, he had finally exhausted all plausible reasons to stop him from revealing his true feelings. Honestly, it was too late; the Doctor was too far gone to even argue about the fact that his Rose was human and that he would have to watch her wither away. Oh, there was no question that he wouldn’t love Rose as she got older, but the Gallifrey sized hole in his heart that she had unknowingly filled was soon to be ripped away like a plaster in a blink of an eye.
Rose was currently in her room as the Doctor furiously worked in finding a way that he could get the blonde girl to say her final words to her mother before the walls were permanently sealed. Although he knew that one of the main reasons he was working so hard on finding a crack in the universe was because of his love for Rose, he also knew that if he did stop working, he would have time to think and be forced to relive the horrid memories of Canary Wharf, something he was extremely unwilling to do. Having to send Rose away and then having her come back only to almost lose her again all in the span of an hour had done terrible things to his hearts and brain.
A soft hum from the TARDIS gently jolted him from his thoughts, informing him that their precious human had fallen asleep. Satisfied that at least one of them was getting rest, the Doctor tirelessly continued his search for a dying sun or star- he wasn’t being particularly picky. Several hours had passed when the TARDIS thrummed in his mind and the lights in the console room flashed. There was only one thought that passed through his mind as this occurred: Rose. The Doctor wasted no time in rushing to the room right next to his and yanked the door open to find a flailing Rose, struggling against her covers with an agitated look on her face. The Doctor felt his hearts shatter as her mouth opened in a silent scream, her body getting tangled up in the covers.
“Rose? Rose!” the panicking time lord exclaimed, quickly pressing his hands on her temples and forging a quick connection. He didn’t intrude into any memories, just focused on sending calming waves to the clearly agitated woman below him. Rose’s nightmare gradually receded, allowing the Doctor to gather her up in his arms and gently rocking her back and forth slowly. The Doctor looked down just in time to see Rose’s eyelids flutter open. She seemed to gauge her surroundings for a quick moment before looking up at him with the most pain-filled vulnerable eyes. The Doctor didn’t even notice himself murmuring phrases that alternated between English and Gallifreyan, the melodic nature of the language calming Rose even further.
“Doctor?” Rose murmured quietly. The Doctor refused to relinquish his grasp on her but leaned down, chastely pressed his lips on hers, then peppered tiny kisses on her face. Rose allowed herself to revel in this rare display of affection knowing that she probably wouldn’t have seen him until the ‘morning’ if it hadn’t been for her stupid nightmare.
“Do you want to talk about it?” the Doctor softly prodded but Rose shook her head. She knew she wasn’t the only one replaying the events from earlier and she didn’t want to add unnecessary burden. “Ok.” he smiled softly, knowing that he shouldn’t press when, when the roles were switched, he always refused to talk about his nightmares as well. “I’m glad you’re safe. I...I almost lost you.” The Doctor suddenly piped up, surprising both of them. It seemed that those words had finally done it and the floodgate of emotions opened up for both of them. The adrenaline seemed to have worn off and the possibility that they could have lost each other today truly took both of their breaths away. Although Rose was actually shedding tears, the Doctor seemed to look away, but not before Rose caught his glassy brown eyes and his abnormally heaving chest.
“I love you Doctor. I’m glad I managed to stay in this universe to tell you,” Rose shivered as the ‘what if’ scenarios once again played in her mind. A memory of her nightmare, one of falling into the void and ending up in another universe. The Doctor’s eyes softened though his grip on Rose tightened. “Doctor I’m scared of falling back asleep.” Rose whispered.
“Would you like me to block the nightmare and give you a dreamless sleep?” the Doctor asked, knowing how Rose felt about people meddling in her mind. Rose nodded briefly knowing she wouldn’t be able to sleep any other way and gazed at her Doctor who was so clearly looking at her with all the love in the universe. Rose snuggled under the covers and allowed the Doctor to press his fingers to her temple and block the nightmare. He pressed a kiss to her forehead as she fell asleep, then got up to continue his crusade.
oOoOoOo
Rose was greeted in the console room with a cry of triumph. “Ha! Rose, I did it! I found it!” the Doctor pranced around the TARDIS, pressing buttons and levers, making him a sight to see. Rose walked to the console now extremely confused.
“Found what?” she questioned. The Doctor’s brown eyes twinkled happily, his eyes crinkling as well.
“I found a way to talk to your mother. Albeit it’s only for a couple of minutes and albeit you won’t be able to touch each other or else the universes will collapse and all of our hard work will be ruined, well, I say hard work but I really mean sheer dumb luck-”
The Doctor was cut off by Rose’s squealing and hug as she literally jumped into his arms and pressed a kiss into his neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she sighed happily, voice muffled by his neck. A soft smile graced his face.
“Anything for you Rose Tyler. Anything for you.”
oOoOoOo
Jackie Tyler had always believed that her daughter could achieve the impossible. Even though three years ago she would have slapped the silly out of someone if they had told her that she would grow to love a time travelling alien that had kidnapped her daughter, she truly had grown to think of the time lord as a son, and certainly a worthy man for her Rose. So, when she heard Rose’s voice in her head during the night in her dreams, she had convinced Pete and Mickey to pack their bags and head to bloody Norway of all places, onto a beach. There- Jackie Tyler could have sworn her heart stopped- stood a transparent Rose Tyler and the Doctor. With a cry, Jackie bounded towards the two figures and stopped short of them.
“Rose!” Jackie cried, tears welling up in her eyes. Rose seemed equally as affected and even the Doctor couldn’t seem to escape the waterworks as his eyes seemed suspiciously glassy. “Oh, darlin’, where are you?”
“I’m on the TARDIS mum, right where I’ve always wanted to be,” Rose smiled weakly, flashing a smile at her Doctor. A smile that Jackie didn’t miss. The Doctor looked at Rose first, then Jackie. “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 so Rose can say goodbye.”
“And how come you look like a ghost?” The Doctor muttered ‘hold on’ and with a whiz of his sonic screwdriver, he made them solid again.
“Can I-?” Jackie began but the Doctor cut her off.
“No touch, we’re both still images...I’m sorry...”
“Why can’t you come through properly? I want to touch my baby girl one last time!” Jackie wailed, tears streaming down her face.
“Oh mum, I wish we could but the whole thing would fracture and two universes would collapse,” Rose tried to explain but Jackie snorted.
“So?” Rose smiled at her mother as did the Doctor.
“Where did we end up?”
“Bloody Norway of all places! You couldn’t have sent us to a warmer place!” Jackie growled, informing them of the name that sounded so much like the word ‘Dalek’ that Rose had to ask her mother to repeat it. “It roughly translates to Bad Wolf Bay.” Rose and the Doctor looked at each other with sad smiles. “Oh darlin’ how much longer ‘ave we got?”
“We got two minutes Jackie.”
“Oh, I can’t think of what to say!”
“How’s Pete’s world mum? Those two plums treating you alright?” Rose asked, stepping as humanly close to her mother as she could, referring to her best friend and her pseudo father.
“Oh Rose, there’s gonna be four of now!” Jackie sniffled and held her hand to her stomach, Rose’s expression heartbroken and joyful at the same time.
“Congrats mum,” Rose said softly, trying not to think of all the missed opportunities she would never have with her little sibling. Jackie’s smile trembled, though she held strong.
“Your father and Mickey have taken to working at Torchwood. They finally found their callings. You’d ‘ave been so proud of ‘em Rose,” Jackie blubbered and Rose choked out a sob.
“You be sure to tell baby Tyler all about me mum. Tell him or her how much I loved them, and you guys, and the Doctor. Tell them about the sacrifice I made and how much it was worth it. You’re officially dead on this planet mum, but I’ll make sure all of your memories live on.”
“Will I ever see you again?” Jackie asked, a little seed of hope growing, and even though she knew it was going to be physically impossible, it still hurt to hear Rose say no and how much she loved her. “Oi you git, you better take care of my baby girl!” Jackie raged then softened. “Be sure you give her a lifetime of happiness, no excuses or I’ll slap you into another regeneration!” The Doctor nodded and informed them they had about ten seconds left.
“I love you...” Rose’s voice faded. Jackie collapsed on the beach, Pete and Mickey rushing to help her. Little did she know that Rose too had collapsed in the TARDIS console room, sobs wracking her body, as the Doctor held her close and vowed to never let her go. He was going to prove that her sacrifice was worth it. Suddenly, there was a sound and the Doctor looked up to see a ginger haired woman dressed in white. “What?”
“Oh!”
“What?”
“Who are you?” the red haired woman shrieked, looking at the TARDIS with fear.
“But...” the Doctor stuttered as Rose sniffled and looked up.
“Where am I, eh?”
“What?” It seemed that this was the only word the Doctor seemed capable of saying.
“What the hell is this place?” the redhead demanded, stamping her foot.
“What?”