A/N

Okay, so this is my very first attempt on a Doctor Who story so be nice.

It will be a rewrite of season six and seven with original adventures in between the episodes. Don't know yet if I will go on to season eight, might just make it into an epilogue.

It's Rose/Eleven centred but it will be a slow-build so be patient. River will still have a big part of the story so there will be no bashing. I will just change her role with the Doctor a bit. I like her as a character so that's why.

The chapter is beta:ed by my dear friend Sam who is both a native Englishman and a whovian so you're in good hands.

Now on with the show =D

Chapter 1 Broken Parts

I might have shown
Too many faces,
Out with the old

Here's where it changes
Here's to our brand new start,
I won't be waiting for nothing.
I'll mend the broken parts.

~Måns Zelmerlöv

Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor managed to lock the hatch and prevent the Dalek from following them downstairs. It had been a close call, but he already knew from his future self that he had more time left before he got shot so he wasn't worried.

"Doctor, come on." River urged him on but he shushed her, glancing quickly at her aimed gun. He wished not for the first time that she wouldn't be so obsessed with it, especially after what she had done with his beloved fez, but in a way he was thankful for the protection she could give Amy and Rory while he was gone.

"It's moving away, finding another way in." He explained as he finally climbed down the ladder. "It needs to restore its power before it can attack again. Now, that means we've got exactly," He checked his watch more as a habit than anything else, his Time lord senses already telling him the exact time he had left. "Four and a half minutes before it's at lethal capacity." He gave them all a reassuring smile before hurrying down the stairs.

"How do you know?" Rory questioned and the Doctor sighed internally. Why can they never pay attention?

"Because that's when it's due to kill me." Without waiting for a reaction he continued his way down the stairs, the other following closely behind.

"Kill you?" River's slightly worried voice called out behind him. "What do you mean, kill you?" Oh how he wished she would just...

"Oh, shut up, never mind." He gave in. "How can that Dalek even exist?" Now that was the real question, one he hoped they would be smart enough to understand. "It was erased from time and then it came back. How?" He asked as they made their way down the hallway and towards the exhibition hall.

"You said the light from the Pandorica..." Rory said, finally paying attention to something other than Amy.

"It's not a light; it's a restoration field, but never mind. Call it a light." He waved his hands dismissively as he realised it would be easier to just go with it. "That light brought Amy back, restored her," He stopped suddenly, waving his hands as he tried to emphasise his point. "But how could it bring back a Dalek when the Daleks have never existed?" He looked at Amy.

"Ok, tell us." She said and he hesitated for a second before continuing, he had hoped she would at least try and figure it out on her own.

Ro... Another companion of his always tried to come up with her own explanation before he had to correct her. But that was a long time ago now, no use in living in the past, unless you were there as a traveller of course.

"When the TARDIS blew up, it caused a total event collapse, a time explosion." He explained. "It blasted every atom in every moment of the universe. Except..." He looked at Amy again, willing her with his eyes to understand what he was getting at.

"Except... inside the Pandorica." Amy said slowly and the Doctor gave her a small smile.

"The perfect prison." He looked at them all with excitement in his eyes. "Inside it, perfectly preserved, a few billion atoms of the universe as it was. In theory, you could extrapolate the whole universe from a single one of them, like-like cloning a body from a single cell." He stopped short as an impossible thought entered his mind. An impossibly wonderful thought. Could it work?

"Doctor?" Amy questioned.

"No, too fast, I'm not getting it." Rory said with a grimace at the same time but the Doctor didn't hear either of them.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, checking to see if it was still there. As his fingers closed around the familiar object, his eyes lit up with the possibility it brought forward. Shaking himself mentally, his brain registered Amy's and Rory's words and locked eyes with the plastic centurion.

"The box contains a memory of the universe," He started to explain. "And the light transmits the memory. And that's how we're going to do it." He looked over at Amy, a manic grin on his face.

"Do what?" Amy and Rory still looked confused, but River looked at him with a mix of sadness and happiness at the same time. Ignoring her confusing reaction, he focused on Amy and Rory instead.

"Relight the fire. Reboot the universe." He grinned, his thoughts once again drifting to the precious object in his pocket. "Come on!" He called out and walked away.

"Doctor, you're sure about this." River said as she hurried after him. "The Pandorica partially restored one Dalek. If it can't even reboot a single life form properly, how will it be able to reboot anyone else, much less the whole of reality?"

He stopped dead at her words; something that she just said didn't sit right with him. He turned around and strode over to where she had stopped in the hallway, a little ways down from him; his shoulders slumped forward as he walked.

"You know something." He looked her in the eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She huffed out an irritated sigh.

He studied her face for what felt like minutes, but thanks to his faster reflexes was only a couple of seconds. Finding nothing that gave way to if she knew about his plan or not, he decided to let it go for now.

"What if we give it a moment of infinite power?" He said instead. "Transmit the light from the Pandorica to every particle of space and time simultaneously?"

"Well, that would be lovely, dear," She rolled her eyes. "But we can't, because it's completely impossible!" Her voice rose at the end.

"Ah, no, you see, it's not." He tapped her nose. "It's almost completely impossible." He smiled. "One spark is all we need."

"For what?" She looked at him with an exasperated expression.

"Big Bang Two!" He whispered. Now listen..." He turned around and was about to start walking again when the blaster from the Dalek shot him right at his left heart.

The pain was just as excruciating as the last time it had happened, but this time he didn't have her eyes to look into. Ignoring River's attempt at talking to him, he quickly typed in the coordinates in his vortex manipulator and zapped away while Rory took care of the Dalek.

He appeared at the top of the staircase just as he had seen himself do earlier, and unable to stand upright, he fell down on his knees and tumbled down the stairs until he hit the second landing where the younger him stood in shock.

"Doctor, it's you. How can it be you?" He heard Rory's voice and then Amy's.

"Doctor, is that you?"

"Yeah," His younger self answered. "It's me. Me from the future." And that was his cue. Using his last strength, he opened his eyes and grabbed on to the younger him, telling him exactly what he himself had heard twelve minutes earlier. He debated telling him of his newfound idea, but the effort of the action was too great, and he fell back on the floor with his eyes closed, knowing he had to appear to be unconscious.

It was unsurprisingly easy to act unconscious since he had to use all his willpower not to actually succumb to it. Blocking out everything else but his slow heartbeats, he lay still until he felt the weight of Rory's jacket on him.

Waiting a few extra seconds just to be sure, he then rolled over onto his stomach with a grunt and started to crawl his way to the Pandorica as quickly as he could. The only thing keeping him going was the thought of being able to see her again. Granted, it all depended on Amy being able to do her part as well. Otherwise she would be all alone with no one to explain things to her.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, he lifted himself up into the seat in the Pandorica, making quick work with all the wires. Or at least, as quick work as was possible with his deft fingers.

He could hear Rory's shout just as he connected the last wire, and with his last ounce of strength, he pulled out the single lock of hair from his pocket. It only consisted of a few strands that had been neatly braided, its once golden colour mat from years of lying in his pocket. The first few years had been in his suit pocket, and then the last few months in his tweed jacket.

He had taken it from her jumper a few months after Canary Wharf, having needed something to help him lock onto her DNA as he sent her his goodbye, and it was the same shirt she had worn before they left for Torchwood. It had been unfortunate that Donna had noticed it later.

The lock had then just stayed in his pocket without any conscious thought, and when it was time to change into his new clothes after regeneration, he just slipped it into the pocket of his newly acquired tweed jacket as he fished out some other useful things from his old suit.

As the hurried footsteps from his companions grew closer, he quickly dropped the lock on the floor, sighing as he felt the almost indecipherable weight of it leave his fingers. Closing his eyes he pushed all his believes into that single string of hair, hoping beyond hope that he would be compensated greatly for letting it go.

"Doctor!" Amy's shout brought him out from his reverie, and he looked up sadly at the girl who waited. River went over to him while Amy and Rory stood back, watching him with worried eyes.

"Doctor, can you hear me? What were you doing?" She asked but he didn't have the strength to open his eyes, much less talk to her.

"What's happening?" Rory's voice drifted towards him.

"Reality's collapsing." River explained. "It's speeding up. Look at this room. The displays are empty."

"Where did everything go?" Amy asked and his hearts ached when he heard her scared voice.

"History is being erased. Time is running out." River said and then he could feel her coming closer. "Doctor, what were you doing? Tell us! Doctor?"

"Big... Bang... Two." He said slowly, still not opening his eyes.

"The Big Bang. That's the beginning of the universe, right?" Rory said and the Doctor smiled in his mind that they were starting to get it.

"What, and Big Bang Two is the bang that brings it back? Is that what you mean?" Amy asked and he nodded once in confirmation. River seemed to get it then and she rushed to explain it to Amy and Rory.

"River." He said slowly, cracking open his eyes a little.

"What do you need?" She leaned forward, blocking Amy and Rory from his view.

"Amy." Was all he said but he could see the understanding in her eyes, willing himself to ignore the flash of hurt that crossed there first. She nodded once and then stepped back.

"Amy..." She walked over to her. He watched as the two talked, too far away for him to hear, and then Amy walked over to him slowly.

"Hi." She said as she reached him and he could see that she was uncertain how to act.

"Amy Pond." He said weakly. "The girl who waited. All night in your garden. Was it worth it?" He sure hoped so.

"Shut up. Of course it was." She tried to joke it off, but he was glad over her answer. Too often did he wonder if he was doing right by his companions.

"You asked me why I was taking you with me and I said..."No reason". I was lying." He looked her in the eyes, conveying everything into that one expression.

"It's not important." She shook her head.

"Yeah, it's the most important thing left in the universe." He smiled. "It's why I'm doing this. Amy, your house was too big. That big, empty house. And just you." He looked at her sadly.

"And Aunt Sharon." She added with a weak laugh.

"Where were your mum and dad?" He could see her smile disappear. "Where was... everybody who lived in that big house?"

"I lost my Mum and Dad." She said, looking down sadly.

"How?" He pushed on. "What happened to them? Where did they go?"

"I..." She stopped and he could see her trying to remember. "I don't... "

"It's OK." He assured her with a smile. "Don't panic. It's not your fault."

"I don't even remember." She looked scared.

"There was a crack in time in the wall of your bedroom and it's been eating away at your life for a long time now. Amy Pond, all alone. The girl who didn't make sense. How could I resist?" He gave her a small smile.

"How could I just forget?" Her voice almost cracked.

"Nothing is ever forgotten," He thought back to his pink and yellow girl. "Not really. But you have to try." He looked into her eyes as the ground started to shake.

"Doctor! It's speeding up!" River's voice was heard somewhere in the distance, but he ignored it.

"There's going to be a very big bang. Big Bang Two." He explained as she put his screwdriver in his front pocket. "Try and remember your family and they'll be there."

"How can I remember them if they never existed?" She leaned forward.

"Because... you're special." He whispered, placing his forehead on hers. "That crack in your wall, all that time, the universe pouring into your head." He leaned back slightly, looking past her to Rory. "You brought Rory back...you can bring them back, too. You just remember," He kissed his hand and placed it on top of hers for a second. "And they'll be there."

"YOU won't." She said as she backed away from him.

"You'll have your family back." He said as he leaned back and let the chair strap him in. "You won't need your imaginary friend any more." He laughed weakly. "Amy Pond... crying over me, eh? Guess what?"

"What?"

"Gotcha." The doors closed, hiding him from her chocked face.

He sent them one last message before giving in to the force of the Pandorica pushing through the atmosphere and into outer space. It felt like he was sitting in a rocket ship, the pain from the Dalek's blast combined with the impact of several rocks and debris the Pandorica flew into was almost enough to make him pass out. But as quickly as it has started, it stopped, and time flew in reverse until he found himself inside the TARDIS.

Going through several memories, he finally ended up outside of Amy's house. He carried her inside and told her the tale of how he acquired the TARDIS, once again giving in to a tendril of hope that she would be able to bring him back again.

And then he walked through the crack and all that he once were, was gone in an instance.

The Doctor didn't remember much from his time in the void, he only recalled snippets of emptiness and crippling cold.

But then the warmth started to trickle in when Amy started to remember him. She pulled him from the nothingness and into his beloved TARDIS once again, his ship still positioned exactly where she had been on the moment of impact.

He took a moment to freshen up and change into his tuxedo before joining Amy at her wedding. He danced with all her relatives, including the male ones, and then took them off on their honeymoon trip.

It was while watching Kazran and Abigail that the Doctor remembered his last act before the Pandorica took off. The fact that he could have forgotten about it in the first place sent a wave of guilt through his body and he wowed that he would go look for her the moment he had dropped Amy and Rory of at their place.

"What do you mean, you're leaving?" Amy said as they all sat in the galley, drinking some tea while he told them all about Kazran and Abigail; Amy still in her Police uniform and Rory as a Roman.

"There's something I need to do." He said while fiddling with his teaspoon.

"And why can't we come with you?" Her defiant tone made him look up at her again.

"Because..." He warned. "It's something I need to do on my own."

"Will you come back?" She asked then and the vulnerability in her voice made him swallow back every remark he had ready.

"Of course I will." He leaned forward and grasped her hands in his. "I would never do that. Not to you." He glanced at Rory who had been silent the whole time. "Plus," He leaned back with a smirk, crossing his arms. "You two could use some time alone without me hanging over you."

"How long will you be gone?" Rory spoke up for the first time, which was probably for the best because Amy looked like she was on the verge of either crying or shouting at him. He couldn't always tell her emotions apart.

"Oh, I would think a couple of months will suffice." He tried to act nonchalant, hiding the fact that a couple of months for them would probably be much longer for him if things went according to plan.

"He is right though." Rory told Amy. "We could use some time with just us two, getting into the whole married life thing." He laughed weakly. Amy stared at Rory for several silent seconds before grabbing his hand and turning to face him.

"You promise you won't abandon us?" She levelled him with a glare that would make a Dalek back away.

"Cross my hearts." He said at the same time as he did the gesture.

They sat in silence after that, finishing their tea quickly so they could go their separate ways; the Doctor into the council room to tinker while he waited, and Amy and Rory to get some sleep before he dropped them off.

"Behold, Leadworth." The Doctor opened the door with a flourish and Amy and Rory walked passed him to take a look themselves.

"Ehm..." Rory scratched the back of his neck.

"What's wrong?" The Doctor looked out as well, finding nothing amiss about the boring place they called a home.

"You said you would drop us of in August." Rory said, and the Doctor nodded.

"Yes," He said hesitantly.

"I don't think there's usually snow in August." Rory said with a pointed look, and for the first time did the Doctor notice the lack of leaves on the trees and the white cover on the ground.

"Yes, well..." He wriggled his hands.

"It's February." Amy glared at him while pointing at the church billboard advertising for a midnight mass on Sunday, February 27th.

"Oh, well," He shrugged. "Six months' not so bad." He grimaced. "Try a whole year."

"Can't you just take us back to August?" Rory sighed while Amy kept glaring at him.

"Sorry, timelines." He smiled sheepishly. "Any who," He swirled around and stepped back into the TARDIS. "See you in two months." He closed the door before Amy had a chance to start yelling at him and sent the TARDIS into the vortex before she could reach the door.

Finally alone, he tried to think back to the exact time he would need to arrive in. She had taken of her jumper while he and Jackie had been lead around Torchwood so hopefully the hairs would have fallen of a few hours before that while they were still in the flat.

Taking into consideration that the universe would probably have done its best to avoid a paradox, he set the coordinates for a few minutes after they had left to follow the trace of the ghosts, materialising at the exact same spot where he had stood in last time, on the small patch of grass beside a playground. He opened the door tentatively, poking his head out to take in his surroundings.

His hearts swelled when he spotted her sitting on one of the swings, her bored look changing to an angry one when she spotted the TARDIS. She stood up and walked over to him as he stepped out fully onto the grass, his hearts fluttering with joy as he drank her in.

"Who are you then?" She asked as she came up to him, taking in his appearance. He hadn't thought it would shake him so much to see her eyes raking over him again, but then again, she always had a way of surprising him."Where's the Doctor? I thought we would chase these ghosts together." She tried to look past him into the TARDIS, but he blocked her view. Her expression turned into one of defiance, but he could see the hint of hurt just behind the facade.

"I... He..." He struggled to get the words out, not knowing how to best explain to her that the old him, sandshoes and pinstripes, would never come back for her. It had seemed like such a good idea while the universe was collapsing, but now he was starting to realise he might have made a huge mistake.

"Come on then, where is he." She started to look worried now, and he pushed back any rational thoughts in his head as he took one step forward and engulfed her in a bone crushing hug.

"I've missed you." The stranger with the bowtie said as he hugged her.

Rose wasn't sure what to do at first, being too chocked to form any coherent thought, but then she regained her senses and pushed him away with her hands and gave him a Tyler patented slap across his cheek.

"Ow!" He cried out and cradled his red cheek. "Why did you do that for?"

"I could ask you the same question." Rose countered. "Hugging me like tha'. I don't even know you." She glanced at the TARDIS. "If I 'adn't seen you step out of the TARDIS with my own eyes, I would 'ave called the police by now."

"But you won't." The man said with raised eyebrows, his hand still massaging his cheek.

"I will if you don't start explaining who you are." She threatened, trying to sound braver than she was. Then again, if she could make a Dalek see mercy, then this stranger shouldn't be much of a problem.

The stranger looked directly at her then, his green eyes meeting her hazel ones. It was odd, Rose thought, she could have sworn she had seen those eyes before, but she couldn't connect them with the man standing in front of her.

They were old, impossible old, just like the Doctor's. They seemed to convey a feeling of trust and belonging that only the Doctor had been able to evoke in her.

Thinking of the Doctor brought her back to her original dilemma, where was he?

"Has something happened to the Doctor?" She could see a flash of regret cross the man's face before he broke their gaze, and it filled her with terror. "He's left me behind, 'asn't he?" She snivelled once before looking away, out over the playground.

"It's not like that." The young man said silently. "He didn't have a choice."

"Didn't 'ave a choice?" Rose turned on him, this time unable to keep her tears from falling. "He could at least 'ave said goodbye."

"Rose, please." The man pleaded and cupped her face. She would have flinched back, but the sincerity in his eyes drew her in. When he leaned forward to place his forehead on hers, she just closed her eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "Just listen, okay." She opened her eyes and looked into his again. She nodded once and then closed them again as he leaned back to kiss her on the same spot he had just vacated. It shouldn't have felt as good as it did, but Rose push the feeling back, not wanting to dwell on it right at the moment.

"Something happened and he lost you," He began and Rose was about to interrupt when he shook his head once and dropped his hands from her cheeks. "The ghosts were Cybermen, Rose."

"What do you mean, were?" She said silently, fearing what he was about to say; a realisation about the man before her growing in her mind.

"Because to me it has already happened." He looked down at his clasped hands, his words made her suspicion grow even more but she didn't want to ask him. Saying it out loud would only make it true. And God, she hoped it wasn't true. Not like this.

She looked anywhere but at him when he went on to explain what had happen at Torchwood and how the Cybermen had crossed over from the parallel universe through a rift created by the Daleks. She shivered involuntarily at the mention of those bastards, and he must have noticed it because he took her hand in his. The fact that they fit together perfectly was something she didn't want to think about.

He explained how she had been trapped on the other side in Pete's universe; that's what the Doctor had called the other universe; and how the Doctor had said goodbye by burning up a sun, but that she had defied all the odds and managed to come back and see him when the stars were going out. She didn't dare asking how all of that could have happened if she was still here.

That's when he started explaining about the meta-crisis, and how the Doctor had left them to live a life together, and it broke her heart. She couldn't imagine leaving the Doctor for anything. Without explaining why, he told her how the Doctor had regenerated, but went back to see her one last time. That's when she hit her breaking point.

The tears flowed down her cheeks in a steady stream, and she let go of his hand so she could wipe them away, urging him to continue with the other. She could see him lifting his arms towards her but stopped before they could reach her, instead falling back to his sides. She didn't know if she was thankful or disappointed.

"So you came back to help me stop it from happening in the first place?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes. That was the only possible explanation her tired brain could come up with at the moment.

"We can't." He shook his head, and she could see a single tears escaping from his eye.

"Then why telling me all this?" She was staring to get angry now. Why tell her the future when she couldn't change it?

"2000 years ago, the TARDIS exploded, taking the universe with her." He said and she looked up at him in shock. "The only way to stop it was for the Doctor to use a prison box called the Pandorica and fly it straight into the explosion."

"Why?" She asked, ignoring all the other questions she had about the universe fucking collapsing, to later.

"Because the box was so perfect, it had preserved a small percentage of every single atom of the universe." He smiled. "Flying it into the explosion would create a new Big Bang. Big Bang Two."

"He restarted the universe?" She said, disbelief colouring her voice, surprising herself for coming to that conclusion so fast.

"Precisely." He beamed at her. He seemed as surprised as her.

"What's that got to do with me?" She frowned. If she was to be trapped in another universe, then what did this have to do with her? Surely the parallel universe wouldn't be affected if this universe collapsed.

"Because in his pocket, he had a few strands of your hair, taken from the jumper you were wearing before Torchwood." His voice almost cracked as he looked at her, and he brought a hand up to touch her arm. It felt like he was trying to reassure himself that she was still there. It only made her suspicion grow stronger. "He dropped it on the floor of the Pandorica, and therefore made it a part of the reboot. Bringing you back to the point you were at when the hair fell off."

"Where do you come into all this?" She asked, doing her best to keep her tears in. She brought her hand up to his chest, placing it in the middle. The rhythm of his two hearts beating steady under her palm.

Two hearts.

The rhythm sent a wave of comfort through her, just like when he gave her his comforting hugs after a particular taxing adventure. At the same time, their very existence created a sense of dread. She would probably never be able to see him again, just like she wasn't able to see leather and ears either.

"Who are you?" She asked, already knowing the answer but needing to hear if from him.

She looked up at him, his eyes boring into hers. Gone were the brown eyes filled with warmth and cheekiness, instead she gazed into his unfamiliar green ones. Eyes as old as time itself, but still so very him.

She felt betrayed.

She had seen him only a few hours ago, full of energy, and they had joked and laughed. But now he was just gone, without a goodbye, and she was stuck with a new version of him. A version that had probably already spent years without her, and she had no idea what kind of person he was. Could she learn to love him like she had his other two selves?

She felt scared.

"I'm the Doctor."

A/N

I hope you liked it =D

I will update every two weeks on Mondays, unless I'm really productive and manage to finish an entire episode in one week. So far it's taken me two weeks so who knows.

Have a great week everyone =D And Please review so I know if I should continue with it or not.