Time in a Vacuum

The time trails unravel and swirl around her, engulfing Rose in a halo of golden light. The Doctor is speechless; thousands and thousands of paths lead to her, away from her. He can see eternity stretching from every inch of her not-so-human skin and everything starts to make a cosmic sort of sense.

From the moment he placed his hand in hers, the Doctor has been drawn to Rose Tyler. He has often used the word 'unfathomable' to describe her but never out loud, never to her face. She is incalculable, immeasurable, almost impossible except that she exists, there inside his TARDIS. He has spent many a night pondering her magnetism, her draw, her power to sway him where others have mightily failed. He has questioned his logic and his judgement, if only because she has and through it all, he has never placed it, never recognized what is laid out now so plainly in front of him.

Her future has always been hidden from him. Even before she joined him, it was hazy, murky, unpredictable, even to his foresight. He has not forgotten about it, only pushed it to his pile of current unsolvable problems until the time revealed itself.

Rose is a goddess in visions of time and gold. She is intoxicating, alluring, devastatingly gorgeous. For a moment, for a lifetime, he can see forever stretching out in front of them. She is all powerful and he, standing beside her, is all knowing. Together, they save the universe, together they love, together, they thrive.

But Rose will never again be Rose. She will be burdened with all the needs of the universe, in all its iterations and no matter what he does, it will use her up. Burn away every inch of humanity until the women he loves ceases to exists.

The choice is easy.