"What's that?" she asked Loki a short time after their breakfast discussion that one day. She pointed to what looked like a long, rainbow colored bridge heading to the outskirts of Asgard to a giant dome shaped building.

"It is the Bifrost—it stretches between Asgard and Midgard," he explained, and when he saw her confusion, clarified, "Midgard is what you call Earth. It is part of the Nine Realms."

"Can I see it?" she asked with a playful pout. "That bridge, I mean." He sighed deeply, but shot her a crooked smile.

"Of course."

Rose turned to where the stable of horses were, expecting Loki to saddle them up to go, but he touched her arm. "We won't need that," he said smoothly. "We will need to pass Heimdall, and I have my own special way of sneaking in."

She grinned at that. Of course he did.

Loki took hold of both of her hands, and bid her close her eyes. She did so, and felt a gentle breeze around her. "Open your eyes," he instructed. When she did, she was startled to realize that they had not only crossed the bridge, but were inside the spinning domed building on the other end.

"This is where the guard, Heimdall, can send anyone between worlds," Loki explained, seeming amused at her blatant astonishment. "I have shrouded us from him now, so we cannot be seen here."

She gazed in wonder at the silvery white tree in the center of the room, its branches flowing outward in every direction like a lightning strike. There was a breathtaking tunnel at the other side of the room. "Is that where…"

"Yes, that is where anyone can come or go between the worlds. As long as the Bifrost is engaged, transport is always possible between any of the Nine Realms."

Rose opened her mouth to ask something, but immediately forgot what it was when she heard the faint sound of an engine whirling. No—it can't be…There was no mechanics here, not in Asgard. That meant that this sound was coming from the tunnel between the worlds. She would know that sound anywhere.

It was the hum of the TARDIS.

Sure enough, as she watched in disbelief, the familiar blue police box appeared from nowhere and solidified in form inside the room. Before Rose had a chance to gather her scattered thoughts, the door swung open, and out stepped the Doctor.

All at once, Rose's chest clenched when she saw him. That mop of messy brown hair, those crinkly eyes always so full of merriment and childish wonder, that dashing pinstripe suit…he looked exactly the same. But then of course, he would. "Rose Tyler!" he exclaimed joyfully, immediately sweeping her up in a tight embrace. She smelled the spicy scent that was very him.

"I thought I would never see you again," she whispered into his shoulder, tears leaking from her eyes.

He held her tighter. "I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry. I will never let you go again," he promised. As she pulled back, he gazed deep into her eyes. "Come, on then—The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, just as it should always be."

Rose blinked up at him. "And be with you forever?" She remembered a time not too long ago when that was all she wanted in the world. Will he say it this time? Will he?

The Doctor smiled widely and sincerely at her. "Forever. I didn't get a chance to tell you before but—I love you, Rose. I always have."

After all this time, somehow she always knew. He had never said the words, but she had known it. So when he bent his head to kiss her, she made no move to pull away.

"What?!"

They broke apart instantly at the sound, and Rose's cheeks burned as she realized that she had completely forgotten that Loki was there. She turned and saw the horrified expression on his face, looking more vulnerable than she had ever seen him. He looked absolutely destroyed.

"You're going with him?" his normally smooth voice cracked. "Why?"

Rose couldn't find the words to explain what was going on—she wasn't sure even she knew. She whirled back around to the Doctor, hoping that perhaps he would step in on her behalf or something, but he was silent, keeping his eyes locked suspiciously on Loki. She took a deep breath. "Loki, please—it's…it's not like that, it's just—"

"Do you love him?" Loki stared at her, his mouth hanging open and his chest heaving. When she didn't answer, his eyes widened and she was startled that they were shining with tears. He screamed, "Tell me!"

Her heart stuttered when she saw his broken expression—he looked so young and fragile, like a lost child. "I-I suppose I do," she whispered, seeing out of the corner of her eye that the Doctor had also been awaiting her answer. "But," she added quickly, walking to where Loki was standing, "I do love you too." She reached for him but he recoiled from her touch.

"Do not touch me," he hissed. "So I suppose these last few months meant nothing to you, then. Was everything you told me a lie? I thought I was the liar of the two of us, Rose."

"No, of course it wasn't a lie!" she protested at the same time that the Doctor said, "Wait, what does he mean? What happened between you two?"

A shadow crossed over Loki's face, and a hateful spark lit in his eyes. "Tell him, Rose," he snarled menacingly under his breath. "Tell him what happened."

How did it come to this? Both men glaring at her, demanding her heart and what was worse was knowing that both had a viable claim to it.

Feeling helpless, she turned back to the Doctor. "I didn't think you would ever come back," she tried to explain. "I had no choice but to assume that I would never see you again."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed. "So you—and him—did you…" he trailed off accusatorially.

She dreaded his response when he heard the answer. "Yes," she breathed. Sure enough, he ran his hand violently through his hair and spun on the balls of his feet. Her head whirled back around to nervously meet Loki's gaze and saw that his face was wiped clean again, with only the wet trail of tears on his cheek to give him away.

"It is me or him, Rose," he warned. "You know how I refuse to share."

"But, I can always come back to visit you!" she suggested desperately. The thought of giving Loki up was far more painful than she had expected. She ran her hands over his chest, wishing at that moment that he would gather her in his arms the way he did before, so strong and warm—his cold skin warming under her touch…

His fingers wrapped around her wrists gently but firmly. "You cannot have both, but be warned. If you should choose him, I will make it so that you shall never see me again."

Her eyes widened. "You—you wouldn't…"

"Choose. NOW."

What should I do? Who could I live without? She had been with the Doctor longer, but could she just pretend that what she had shared with Loki was not equally as meaningful? She tried for a different approach. Who could more easily live without her? She remembered what she had told her mother when she first met the Doctor—"he can never be alone. Not ever."

She inadvertently took a step backwards, her hands falling from Loki's chest. Any light that had been in his eyes extinguished immediately, and Rose could actually see his heart breaking. "Loki—"

But he had taken the opportunity to move around the other side of the white tree. In the blink of an eye, he had summoned his curved scepter. His eyes flashed once at her, and then he thrust the scepter deep into the tree.

A sudden burst of light exploded from the tree, and Rose was instantly blinded by a swirl of color outside, followed by a deafening cracking sound. It wasn't until the initial blast of light died down that Rose saw what had happened. The Bifrost was exploding, cracking into disintegrating pieces with every passing second.

"What are you doing?!" the Doctor shouted at Loki, his eyes filled with horror. "Stop this!"

Rose was thrown off balance as the room shook from the blast. "Loki, stop!"

He strode out from behind the tree, leaving the scepter intact. "With the Bifrost destroyed, there can be no transport from one world to another," he reminded her, his face contorting into a snarl, fierce and animalistic. "If this is your choice, then know that you can never return." She thought she detected a slight tightening in his eyes, but couldn't be sure.

"You can't do this!" the Doctor shouted again. "We can work something out—you can come with us!"

"I can do whatever I want," Loki growled. "You cannot take from me the only thing I want and then expect that I would follow willingly! And you should not have expected that I would let her go easily." He was veritably trembling with hurt and rage. "It is within my power to destroy either your Doctor or your only way of returning. Make. Your. Choice."

The Doctor was shaking in fury as he glowered at Loki and looked to Rose to make her decision. In that one impossible second, Rose saw flashes of two different lives—her lives with them. She saw herself in the TARDIS, travelling endlessly with her Doctor, keeping him company and seeing new worlds…

But then there was Loki—who had loved her with a dark passion that she had never known before, who was so full of mischief and fun, but struggled with the shadow of who and what he truly was. But he had his brother…

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she gave her answer. "I'm going to go." She stepped backwards, her back against the TARDIS door. Please, just take me away before I change my mind.

Loki's glare faded and he simply stared at her blankly. "As you wish."

More of the dome was crashing in around them, and the Doctor grabbed her arm insistently as he pushed open the TARDIS door. "I'm sorry!" she cried to Loki, as she was pulled inside the police box. "I'm sorry!"

She collapsed inside, her forehead pressed against the door. She only vaguely heard the Doctor behind her, pulling levers to get them moving. As the hum of the engine roared in her ears, she pulled herself up to look out the window in time to see what was left of the Bifrost crumble, taking the entire golden domed building with it. Her heart slammed to a stop in her chest. He got out, didn't he? He wouldn't have just stayed in there while everything was collapsing, right? He used his magic to get out of there—right?

Hysterical sobs ripped through her chest. Loki, Loki, Loki…his name played like a mantra inside her head, and she didn't realize she was hoarsely screaming for him until she felt a pair of arms wind their way around her body, holding her as she cried.

The last thing she caught a glimpse of through a river of tears before the TARDIS disappeared was a flash of green falling into the abyss below.