Chapter Four

"Jus' me. Have you got some tea on? I could really go for a cuppa. Boring day, as always. Hate just sitting behind the desk doing paperwork. I need to do something, I just feel so useless, you know? I -" Rose dropped the bag she was holding and gasped when she walked into the kitchen.

There was no way he could be here. No way at all. He said it was impossible, but there he was, standing with a smile on his face in the kitchen. She blinked several times to get him out of her vision, but he wouldn't go away. Rose took a few steps towards him hesitantly, as if she were to cross some invisible line he'd vanish.

"I'm going mad, aren't I? You can't be here. You can't. This is just my mind playing cruel jokes on me again. Tell me it's not you. I'm dreaming. This isn't real. It can't be real." Tears were flowing down her cheeks now, and she was having difficulty breathing.

Jackie left the room then, feeling like she was intruding on something horribly private.

"Rose Tyler, you are in no way, shape, or form dreaming. It's me. Oh, it's me. I'm here, Rose. I came back for you." He said, stepping forward until he could feel her sobs against his neck. He wanted nothing more than to have her in his arms right now, but he didn't want to startle her. He was just as shocked to see her as she was to see him. His eyes were watering, but he refused to let the tears fall, because even though he was so in love with her, he still didn't want her to see him cry, even at a moment like this. His fingers ached to hold her hand once again, and he realized that his cold fingers didn't have to ache anymore in this moment. They could be warm again, and so his hand reached out to touch her arm, trailing down until it found its other half; its home.

"Doctor..." she sighed and closed her eyes when his right hand found her left. It was almost as though it'd never left her; it still fit so perfectly in her palm and against her fingers. She couldn't wait any longer. She pulled him towards her with such a force that he stumbled, but neither of them noticed or cared when he was finally in her arms, and she in his. She was crying in earnest now, not able to contain her emotions because he was back, he came back for her and she was never letting him out of her sight again.

"Rose. Rose. Rose, oh Rose I've missed you. I missed you so much." He said into her neck, pecking sweet little kisses there.

"Oh, you have no idea, Doctor. No idea at all." She pulled back then, just a little bit, so she could see his face. She lifted her hand to trace the features of his face. "How can you be here? You said it was impossible, that the worlds would collapse."

"Don't worry about that for now, alright? You're here and I'm here, we're together again, and that's all that matters." The Doctor pulled her in for another hug, but she resisted.

"I know, but Doctor... If the walls are breaking down, we have to do something, or we won't be together for much longer. We-" The Doctor interrupted her.

"Rose, don't you get it? I don't care if the walls of the universes are breaking down, I don't care if the world is about to end. I only care that you're here, that you're really, really here and I can hold you again and hear your voice and feel your heart beating against my chest right now. I can fix it all later." he said, looking into her eyes and begging her to just stay with him for this one moment, that they can fix everything soon, but just please let him hold her for just a few more minutes.

She cried into his shoulder, "How long have we got, though? Certainly not long."

"Probably about eight hours before it starts to break down. So, we've got plenty of time. Can you relax now and let me do the one thing I've wanted to do from the moment I took your hand?"

She nodded, and then it happened.

He leaned down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. She shifted so he was as close as possible, though it was a bit uncomfortable - but neither of them cared.

Rose eventually had to pull back for breath, but rested her forehead against his.

"Rose..." Oh, no. The words were not going to get stuck in his throat this time. Not this time, when he'd just kissed her like he's always wanted to - like he thinks Rose has possibly always wanted to. He takes in a deep breath, about to try again when she interrupts him.

"Shh, it's okay. I know. I know, Doctor. You don't have to."

Oh, but did he want to. He wanted to say it, to finally say it out loud, to finally say it to her. Why couldn't he get it out? His Rose, always knowing what he was trying to say. She could read him like an open book, even when he thought it was closed tight and had unbreakable chains around it.

"No, Rose. I need to say it." He took a deep breath. "Rose Tyler, I love you."

Rose grinned up at him, and then kissed him again. The kiss was much quicker and fervent than before. She was scared that now that he'd said it, he might disappear, like last time.

"I meant it when I said it at the beach, and I still mean it. I love you." Rose said against his lips.

When they finally separated, the Doctor looked into her eyes. The very same eyes he thought he'd never see again, be able to see the remnants of the Time Vortex swirling around the edges of her pupils, the very warmth that they gave off, mirroring exactly how he was feeling right now.

"You wanna tell me how you got here?" Rose asked him, biting her lip in the oh so glorious way she used to.

"Long story, but I suppose we have time, don't we?" He wasn't sure if he should tell her what happened on Mars. Would she be disappointed? Angry with him? Scared of him? Although, if he started lying about things it would surely ruin everything. So, he explained everything to her. Trying to leave, but how seeing them so frightened and helpless ate at him inside. He couldn't leave them behind, not when he was feeling so vulnerable and lost himself. He told her how for the first moments in his long life, he lost control and messed it up. How Adelaide was so brave she even took her own life to right what he had done wrong.

He then retold the story of how he broke through the walls, poking a hole in the fabric of reality to get to her again, because he was going mental without her.

"Oh, Doctor." Rose whispered as she embraced him again, rubbing the hairs at the nape of his neck in a smoothing manner. "You shouldn't have done this. It's dangerous and you know it is. I'm not saying that I'm not happy you're here, because really.. I'm.. I can't even begin to explain it, Doctor. But for now, we've got plenty of time to talk later, let's just go save the world again. Just like old times."

The Doctor smiled down at her, "Right. Okay. We will talk though, Rose. There's so much I've got to tell you!" He pulled away, but took her hand instead. "Come on then, I need to get to the Torchwood here and check for any other holes before I start patching the one I made up."