Beta: MusicKeeper

Prompter: Patches531

Time In A Bottle

A storm was approaching, and he could see it coming a mile away.

He sensed it— something in the air, hovering at the forefront of his mind just out of reach, taunting him with knowledge he's not allowed to take a proper look at until it's too late. He'd sensed it for a long time, starting with when he'd landed on the impossible planet underneath a black hole, where he'd been certain for the briefest of earth-shattering moments that he'd lost both his TARDIS and his Rose. He'd gone face to face with the Beast in the pit, who'd said Rose would die in battle, and he'd dismissed it as a lie. Soon after, the tiny cloud of apprehension appeared in his timeline, like a long, string-thin stretch of foreboding black over the horizon in contrast with a brilliant blue, cloudless sky. It wasn't the first time, so at first he'd just sent it a proverbial frown of confusion. When it started to grow nearer and darker a few adventures later, he'd conceded to himself that it couldn't be ignored any longer and reached out his mind towards it so he could further examine it.

What he saw terrified him.

Once back in the safety of his TARDIS, who was slightly apprehensive about the roiling emotions coming from her pilot, he declined Rose's usual offer of a nightly cuppa and instead retreated to one of the deeper rooms of the ship for privacy, so he could curl up in a ball and panic to the point of near-hyperventilation. The TARDIS could do nothing but send him comforting caresses over his mind as he shook underneath his coat, eyes blown wide as he stared into the darkness.

The Doctor wasn't sure exactly how, but all he knew was that at some point, in some disastrous way, Rose would die.

His body trembled so violently he nearly dislodged himself several times, and at one point he truly thought, despite his Time Lord superiority, that he was going to vomit. He even ended up falling asleep at one point, and he wasn't sure when or for how long— it should have alarmed him at how much his time senses were dulled, too focused on the foreboding line on the horizon. When he'd woken, he'd spent a brief moment of peace wondering curiously where he was before remembering a split second later and curling in on himself tighter, whimpering.

The TARDIS nudged at him in his mind, but when he realised it wasn't to offer him any comfort he shoved her away, lower lip trembling. He yelled out in alarm when she telepathically shrieked in his ear, scrambling up so quickly he stumbled backward and banged his head on the wall. She furiously sent him a mental image of Rose, and he whimpered at first and tried to block it out, but then he realised she was trying to remind him that Rose was still on board and, no matter how much he'd rather just stay huddled in the corner, he still had to pay attention to her.

Picking himself up off the floor, the Doctor stumbled out of the room without thanking the TARDIS, even when she brought the door to the galley directly in front of him, where Rose was probably residing. When he entered the room and desperately tried to avoid looking at her, he therefore missed her initial look of fury when she finally spotted him.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Rose fumed, setting down her mug so hard some tea splashed out onto the table.

"Err… what?" he said vaguely, tugging on his ear and reluctantly raising his eyes to meet hers.

"What d'you mean, what?" She looked so furious with him that he just had to stop looking at her, staring at his chucks instead, unable to stand seeing her upset with what he knew. "You've been gone for a whole day, you bloody git!"

"Have I?" He frowned, looking to the TARDIS for confirmation. She hummed at him in a chastising manner, and his brows arched upward sadly when he realised he'd selfishly wasted a full day that he could have spent with her, leaving her to fend for herself. "I'm sorry," he whispered, so regretfully that it stunned her. Stepping forward, he took her hand and forced a smile onto his face. "I'll make it up to you. Wanna watch a film?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Is anything the matter?"

"Something has to be wrong for me to offer to watch a film with you?" he exclaimed, pretending to be affronted.

Rose finally grinned at him, much to his relief. "Yes!"

He led her quickly into the media room, letting Rose pick the film. Thankfully she bought right into it, snuggling with him on the couch and leaving unnoticed how tightly and rather desperately he was holding her and the looks he sent in her direction whenever she turned around or got up to make them both some popcorn. Whilst she chattered out comments about the silly romantic comedy film from 3092 that he would have otherwise scoffed at, had he been in his right mind, he let his thoughts wander back to the world-shattering truth he'd discovered. It seemed surreal now, the possibility of the universe existing without Rose.

The little tendril that was her timeline had been present since he'd met her, wrapping itself around his like a playful ribbon in the wind and making the burden of an empty mind seem so much easier to bear. It'd burned fiery gold, so bright and lively that it'd shocked his Northern self when he'd first taken her hand and told her to run. He'd run from it at first ("That's who I am. Now forget me.") only to latch onto it with desperation later, using her like a candle left lit in the window to find his way back home and keep him from getting lost.

Inside the ominous black cloud growing ever nearer, he'd found her timeline present along with his— which was nothing new, except that hers abruptly disappeared at the end of the storm.

And his didn't.

"Doctor?" Rose's voice permeated his thoughts, and when he looked down at her he realised that his brow had been furrowed into a scowl and his gaze had been in his lap. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," he said swiftly, sending her a beam that didn't reach his eyes in the slightest.

"You looked a billion billion miles away," she said, narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Err, was thinking about paying your mother a visit," he lied, because he knew it would distract her.

"You were what?!" Rose gaped, lips parting in shock.

"Weeell, it's been a few days since Elton," he shrugged, tugging at his ear awkwardly. "Reckon we should, er, check in?"

"Sure," she said, still looking at him like he'd sprouted carrots from his ears. Before he could get up from the couch, Rose added quickly, "Can we go in the morning though?" She snuggled into him deeper, looking up at him from underneath her lashes, and his stomach swooped. "'M comfy."

His hearts cracked a bit at the knowledge of what was to come, but he smiled at her anyway and nuzzled her temple with his nose, breathing in her scent. "Yes, Rose."

The Doctor had to carry Rose to bed that night, since she'd fallen asleep in his more-intimate-than-usual embrace with her head pillowed in the crook of his neck. It wasn't the first time, but it was still different— he strode down the halls extremely slowly, both to keep from jostling her awake but more so that he could prolong whatever time he had left with her. Oh, how he hated the knowledge that he had to desperately cling onto every second until they ran out like the last grain of sand through an hourglass. Under normal circumstances, he'd tuck her into her bed and leave, maybe giving her forehead a chaste kiss if he was feeling bold, but this time he just couldn't stand the thought of retreating to his own room or the library as usual.

Instead, to his slight shame, he set her down gently on one side of her fluffy pink bed before crawling underneath her covers as well, with his front to her back. The Doctor didn't cuddle up to her like he wanted to but instead kept a good few inches of distance between them, since he was afraid that if he held her while she slept he'd start to weep. He did grant himself the luxury of reaching a hand out and splaying it over her jumper-covered back, having to squeeze his eyes shut against tears anyway when she sighed at the contact in her sleep.

Gods, he loved her.

With that notion in mind, he stayed in her bed until early morning, tracing gentle circles over her back and eventually stroking her hair when she rolled over. Then, just before she woke, he quickly tiptoed out of her room and grinned at her with false joviality when she padded into the galley grumpily for her morning cuppa as she would on any other morning.

Rose once again took forever to get ready, insisting on doing her hair and putting on her daily application of makeup before joining him in the console room. The Doctor had no idea why she needed makeup on to see her mother, and had contemplated seriously about dragging her out of the TARDIS, but was too frightened of her potentially yelling at him to do it. The last thing he wanted was for her to be angry with him in the sparse time they had left.

He decided to just materialise in Jackie's flat instead of on the curb outside to save time. They heard her scream of alarm from inside the TARDIS, but he still stubbornly thought it was worth whatever slap he might get.

Rose, with her bag of laundry on her arm, exited the ship and tossed her arms around her irritated-looking mother with a loud, "Hi Mum!"

"Hello sweetheart," Jackie said, setting down the spatula she was holding so she could hug her daughter back, while the Doctor watched from the doorway with his hands in his pockets and a sombre expression on his face. "Was just making some brekkie— want any?"

"Nah, the Doctor and I ate in the TARDIS," Rose said, hauling her laundry bag over her shoulder again.

"S'that when you decided to bring your box into my flat?" Jackie said, shooting the Doctor an annoyed glare that he didn't react to in the slightest. "What's the matter, hm— the sidewalk outside not good enough for your time machine no more?"

"Mum, stop it," Rose said with exasperation, not noticing that the Doctor still hadn't even acknowledged that Jackie was talking, let alone to him. "The Doctor was nice enough to suggest a visit, see how you were after Elton."

"Were you really?"

Jackie's expression softened a little, and when she glanced at the Doctor properly for the first time, frowning at his stoicism.

"Yeah— turns out he was after you so he could get the Doctor's help with an Abzorbaloff."

"A what?!" Jackie frowned, turning her suspicious gaze away from the Doctor.

"I dunno— some fat green thing that absorbed a bunch of his friends and his girlfriend that looked kind of like a great big bogie with a face." Rose adjusted the strap of her bag and added, "Hang on a mo', gonna put this in my room."

Jackie waited until Rose properly left the sitting room before turning towards the Doctor. "What's got your knickers in a twist, eh?"

"Hm?" he said, straightening up and plastering a smile on his face.

Jackie scowled at him. "Oh, no. Don't you pull that phoney face on me, mate. Ever since you got here, you've been lookin' like somebody's died." He flinched visibly at her choice of words. "What's the matter, hm? Got secrets?"

"Dunno what you mean, Jacqueline," he said, tone turning sharp with the use of her full name.

"Hmm." It was clear she didn't believe him, but to his relief she picked up the spatula again and turned her back to him, saying, "Cuppa?"

"Please."

He didn't seat himself on the couch like he usually did, instead staying close to his TARDIS and her comforting mental hums. The Doctor leaned his head gratefully against the doorjamb, glad Rose and Jackie were both out of the room so he could let his expression of despair shine through without anyone questioning him about it. How exactly could he possibly tell Jackie that she had maybe a few more months left with her daughter, half a year at most? The corners of his mouth curled downward when he imagined her reaction, ranging from slapping him, to collapsing to the floor in tears, to shouting at him when he also told her there was nothing he could do to stop the approaching storm.

Unless…

He could leave her behind. He could really do it.

His eyes widened and he stared at his chucks in astonishment as realisation dawned on him. Rose couldn't die in battle if she wasn't in battle, but safe on her own home planet with her mother, doing domestic human things instead of following him into danger. He wasn't sure what was worse: the idea that Rose's beautiful, vibrant life was going to be cut short, or that he was going to be forced to live without her. When he'd first started travelling with her, he'd quickly realised that her effervescence was the only thing he was sustaining himself on. He couldn't possibly leave her behind, despite threatening to when she'd created a paradox to save her father. Had he lost her back then, there would be no question over whether or not he would have hurled himself into the nearest supernova. Hell, when he'd been certain the Dalek had killed her, he'd seriously contemplated going down into the vaults and letting it kill him too. This Doctor knew he was a little more stable and independent than his previous self had been, but the idea of having to live without her made him sick to his stomach. Still, it was better than living while she was dead.

His suggestion to visit Jackie, while meant to distract, had also been genuine, since the Prentice woman deserved what time she had left with her daughter. Now, though, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to keep her properly safe. Oh, she'd despise him— he knew she would. And he'd despise himself, and life as well, but that was okay, because she'd be alive.

Inhaling deeply to steel himself, expression hard and utilitarian, he turned on his heels to storm towards the console and pilot himself away, but Rose said behind him, in a tiny voice, "What're you doin'?"

The Doctor stiffened before turning around, drinking in her terrified and hurt expression that told him she knew full well what he was about to do. His hearts broke a little more, and he knew in that moment that he just couldn't.

"Was just gonna move the TARDIS to outside," he said, smiling at her brightly. "Doesn't seem like your mum enjoys having the ship behind her couch."

"'Kay…"

Her eyes still looked wary, and he desperately needed her to smile, so he shifted from one foot to the other for a brief second before hurrying forward and hugging her tightly. "Don't go anywhere, Rose Tyler! Back in a mo'."

She relaxed in his hold, and his sigh of relief blew a strand of her hair back slightly. "Yeah. Don't be too long."

"Oh Rose, I won't be."

It held more promise than she knew.

Later on, when they were back in the TARDIS after a long-winded chat over tea and a brief rerun of Fawlty Towers, the Doctor retreated back into the empty room to re-examine their timelines and realised, with a sinking feeling, that leaving her behind would have actually guaranteed her death.

He was loath to be without her for longer than a few seconds outside the security of the TARDIS, so when they ended up in Dame Kelly and the Isolus decided to stick him in a child's drawing he spent the majority of the time sitting on the two-dimensional grass panicking to the point of nearly passing out. Rose was outside all on her own, with an upset alien child ready to turn anybody that got in its way into stick figures— and she couldn't even retreat into the TARDIS for safety, since the Isolus had drawn her into the picture as well. The Doctor had told the Beast that if there was anything he believed in within this stupid, twisted universe that seemed determined to tear away everything he held dear, it was her. But the knowledge that one day she would just die, no matter what he did, made him nigh positive that she couldn't possibly keep herself safe, not unless he was there to hold her and shield her from danger.

Sufficed to say, it was a bit of a surprise when the poorly drawn green line that was his ground disappeared, and suddenly he was standing next to the collapsed torchbearer on the carpet. So he did what any person in his situation would do— he scooped up the torch and took off gleefully up the steps to light the flame and send the Isolus home. Then he hurled himself back into his ship so he could get to Rose, because she'd saved him and he desperately needed to hug her.

He was greeted with a little banana-flavoured cupcake (with edible ball bearings!) and Rose's expression of terror that she was trying to hide from him poorly when she said, "I thought I'd lost you."

He deflected, as usual, determined to take her to the Games like he'd planned and pretend like nothing was wrong and have fun, but then Rose just had to say, "You know what? They keep on trying to split us up, but they never ever will."

His hearts shattered into tiny, needle-sharp pieces, and he looked off into the distance. "Never say never ever."

She just grinned at him, oblivious. "Nah, we'll always be okay, you and me. Don't you reckon, Doctor?"

He swallowed hard, opening his mouth to blurt out his discovery, to tell her the truth for once— she deserved that much, since she'd soon lose her life and it'd be all his fault. He shut it with an abrupt click, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head hard despite knowing full well that Rose was looking at him.

No.

He refused to accept that the universe was going to tear her away from him like it had everything else, and he couldn't do anything about it. So help him, he would scour the universe for a method of keeping her alive, safe and with him, even if it meant tearing time apart into tiny sparkle-sized pieces or trapping it in a bottle. It was probably selfish, but he didn't care, not if it meant Rose got to shine another second.

So instead, he turned to stare at her with such intensity that she actually stumbled back for a moment. Then, because he couldn't stand the newfound distance, he stepped forward and scooped her into his hold, burying his face in her neck as he promised softly, "Yes, Rose. Always."

The Doctor could sense her confusion, but she curled into his hold anyway. And for now, that was enough.

His behaviour changed sporadically, and he knew Rose was noticing, but he couldn't quite bring himself to care. They avoided Earth at all costs now, since he was now absolutely certain whatever disaster was about to happen would take place there. He instead took her to planets at the edge of the universe, as far away from the little blue-green planet as he could get, where he tried desperately to avoid danger and failed every time.

The first place had been one of those famous museum planets in the Jakota sector, where the whole planet had oceans and lakes made of perfumed milk and the local flora was all varying shades of pink. Rose had refused his offer to go swimming ("I'm not swimmin' in a giant bloody pool of nasty old milk!" she'd insisted) but had agreed to go berry-picking, since the planet was also known for having juicy pink berries the size of human heads. They ended up stumbling into an area that had been closed off to protect a critically endangered species that could only eat a certain type of plant that grew only in that area — several of which they unknowingly stepped on — and eventually got arrested for trespassing. The second place was an amusement park planet, and the both of them were nearly thrown from the top of the highest roller coaster in the whole galaxy when somebody decided to sabotage the hover-rails. The third was a quaint, very isolated cabin in the mountains, so they could just relax in seclusion— up until, of course, they found a wanted murderer hiding in their basement.

This pattern continued to his increasing frustration, so he was clingy and possessive on all of their adventures — he'd actually set a record for how long he'd held onto her hand, which ended up turning into a full seventeen hours and twenty-seven minutes — but when they reached the TARDIS, his behaviour switched from following her around like a lost puppy, since he couldn't stand not being near her for longer than a few seconds, to mumbling something nearly incoherent about 'repairs' before retreating to the deepest rooms in the TARDIS in search of something that might help him cheat the universe.

He'd tried and scrapped several theories, the foremost being to just keep Rose and the TARDIS in the Vortex for the rest of Rose's life— that one had been especially tempting, but he knew Rose wouldn't hear of it and it wasn't fair to keep her from her mother. He was even seriously contemplating hunting down the remnants of the Matrix and storing himself and Rose there, to live out the rest of their lives in a virtual reality of his creation— unfortunately he wasn't even certain there were any remnants of the Matrix now that the Time Lords were gone, and it would be a waste of precious time to go looking for them.

It was clear Rose was growing progressively more annoyed with each erratic change in his conduct. The Doctor would spend hours being handsy, brushing his hand 'accidentally' over her arms, her waist, her neck and once even her bum, before either fleeing or following her everywhere— sitting on the counter next to her while she made tea, following her to her room and making himself at home on her bed and even trying to follow her into the loo, until she ordered him to get out or she'd get the TARDIS to hide all the jam. At one point, when she'd insisted she needed to shower, he'd sat on the countertop and chattered idly while she washed her hair behind the (very thin) curtain.

After yet another adventure, this one involving being kidnapped by pirates at a hot spring, the Doctor led her back to the TARDIS with his hand clamped firmly around hers. She had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from prematurely demanding to know what the hell was wrong with him— she wanted to do it in the safety of the TARDIS, both because those pirates might come back and because he'd have fewer reasons to run away. When they finally stumbled into the console room, battered and bruised from being tossed around the brig, she turned around with her free hand on her hip and opened her mouth. Before she could utter a single word, his hand left hers abruptly and he mumbled something unintelligible (probably about repairs again) before disappearing through the door at once.

Rose sighed out her annoyance, rubbing her suddenly cold hand with her other one as she headed off to her room to shower off the grime of the day's adventures. Thanks to the massive finger-shaped bruises on her upper arm, she winced every time she had to reach up to lather shampoo into her hair or rinse it out. Then, just for the hell of it, she drew herself a perfumed bubble bath and sank into it with a grateful exhale, the heat doing wonders on her bruises. Feeling satisfied and a little less irritated, she drained the tub and wrapped herself in a fluffy towel, before slathering lotion over her skin, dressing quickly and setting out in search of the Doctor.

She checked the galley, the media room, the console room and even his bedroom, though he rarely went in there. Once again, like all the other times she'd gone looking for him went he left to 'repair' things, he was nowhere particularly obvious. On all her other tries she'd given up and just tried to entertain herself, but there had been dark circles growing underneath his eyes ever since he'd disappeared in the TARDIS the first time for a full day, and it was high time she found out what was happening with her Time Lord.

"Can you help me, girl?" she whispered, leaning her forehead against the wall. "Can you… I dunno, point me towards where he is?" The TARDIS remained silent, only confirming her theory that the Doctor most definitely didn't want to be found. Her lower lip trembled with frustration and she begged, "Please? Something's wrong an' he's just… he's not right, all right?" Finally, the ship hummed at her before the corridors lit up to light her way, and she whooshed out a grateful sigh. "Thanks!"

Rose followed the lights down twists and turns throughout the ship, to the point where she was genuinely afraid she'd get lost— well, if she found the Doctor he'd be able to help her. She ended up in front of a steel black door at the end of the corridor, and she reached out towards it with her hand only to yank it back in fear when she heard a loud shout of, "FUCK!" and a loud bang. Squeezing her hand into a fist, she inhaled to steel herself, grabbed the doorknob and shoved the door open.

She found the Doctor in the centre of a gigantic room, empty save for bits and bobs of alien junk scattered here and there over the floor. There was a massive pile next to his lap, along with some kind of awkward-looking contraption he'd put together that looked kind of like a printer with television antennas. His hair was sticking up in places and in the dim lighting she could see how sunken and sallow his cheeks looked, like he hadn't eaten, slept or seen daylight in years even though they'd returned from outside not even two hours ago.

"Doctor?" Rose said tentatively, cringing at how loud her voice sounded in the large room.

He actually visibly jumped, so violently it dislodged the printer/television thing and caused it to topple over. "Rose!" He scrambled up off the floor, scattering bits all over the place. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" she said incredulously, stepping into the room properly. She gestured almost angrily at the junk around her trainers. "What are you doing here?! Is this what you've been doin' every time you disappear?"

"No," he said, and it was incredibly clear he was lying. Seizing her by her shoulder, he tried steering her out of the room. "I'll be a moment longer, go wait in the galley."

Rose shoved his hand away, glaring at him when he stumbled back a step, looking sombre. "No! What the hell are you doing here, Doctor?"

"Could you please just—?"

"I said no— now tell me what the hell you're doin'!"

"I'M TRYING TO KEEP YOU FROM DYING!" the Doctor suddenly screamed, fists clenching and upper lip curling.

She blinked at him, stunned into silence as he all but snarled at her. Then, because it was all she really could say, she whispered, "What?"

His facial expression crashed from fury into devastation at once, and with a pathetic-sounding whimper he stumbled towards her, arms outstretched for comfort. She accepted him immediately, wrapping her arms around him tightly even as he fell to his knees in front of her and buried his face against her stomach. He was shaking violently, and at first Rose thought it was from sobs, but when she looked down at him his face was contorted but dry, like he was desperately trying to hold them back.

Shoving aside the initial shock she'd gotten — more to do with the fact that he'd shouted at her than his statement — she carded her hands through his hair in comfort and pressed her lips to his forehead, saying quietly, "Please explain."

"I—" He swallowed hard, trembling for a moment longer before whispering almost inaudibly, "A storm's approaching." Rose frowned confusedly, but before she could ask him to elaborate further he said, "Time Lords can see the timelines that surround a person— th-the possible futures they have. And—" He takes another moment to collect himself. "And something's going to happen, something horrible."

Her frown deepened as her mind tried to piece together what little information the Doctor was giving her. "So… so what, you can see my timelines…?"

He nodded into her jumper, and Rose could feel his whole body tense up when he cried, "They just disappear, Rose. You're gonna die, and I've been trying so hard to find a way to stop it but I just can't, I can't—"

The Doctor properly started to sob, tears soaking through her jumper. Rose swallowed down instinctive fear of upcoming death and shushed him gently, saying to try and lighten the mood, "Well, hopefully s'for a good cause." He let out a strangled noise of despair, and she mentally slapped herself for saying something so stupid. "Doctor. Hey, Doctor." With a lot of coaxing and gentle combs through his hair with her fingers, she managed to get him to look at her, and seeing him stare at her with red-rimmed eyes and a devastated expression made her almost start to cry herself. In hindsight she seriously regretted getting angry with him, when he was carrying this burden and trying so hard to keep her alive when she didn't even know it. "We can't let it get to us, yeah? We've got a bit of time left, don't we?"

"Not enough," he breathed, nudging his face into the palm of her hand. Despite the situation, her stomach swooped. "Only another month, at most."

"We'll make it be enough," she said firmly, letting go of his cheek so she could hoist him to his feet. "A month, then. And," she said, playing idly with a button on his coat, "when the day comes… we'll find a way."

"We'll find a way," he repeated with a sliver of hope in his voice, smiling at her despite the situation because she was just so brilliant.

"We will," she assured him, smiling back. "'Cos we'll always be okay, you an' me, yeah? We'll make every second count 'til the day comes. No more regrets."

The Doctor tensed up at her last words, before he swooped down and kissed her hard, to the point where her head thumped against the wall behind her. She stiffened at first but melted into him at once, and he deflated into a puddle of jelly when her fingers wove back into his hair again, one hand remaining to lightly trail over the stubble on his jaw. God, he should have done this the second he found out his time with Rose had a limit on it.

No more regrets.

Pulling away for a moment, he rested his forehead against hers as they panted in unison. Rose licked her lips and was about to say something, but before she could he blurted out, because she deserved to hear it, "Rose Tyler, I-I love you."

Her breath hitched, and now it was her turn to clutch at him while tears rolled down her face, clinging to his lapels. "God, Doctor, I love you too."

His hearts shattered and sang at the same time, and with all the certainty of a man with little time he picked her up gently and carried her, away from the room full of hopeless contraptions and into his bedroom.

It was hard to pretend everything was fine, with the looming cloud growing ever nearer, but he shoved it aside anyway so he could properly live in the moment, for her.

Their adventures were only to save people again, since Rose had made it perfectly clear that that was the lifestyle she wanted instead of failed attempts to relax. Instead they relaxed in the TARDIS, the Doctor sitting through any and every telly programme Rose wanted to watch without a single complaint. If he could help it, there was never a distance between them larger than a few inches— all showers were spent together, ending several times in shagging, and they spent every night in her bed tangled around each other. When the Doctor wasn't sleeping he was idly stroking her hair, or simply holding her until she woke up and grumbled out a request for a cup of tea.

Despite the Doctor's protests, Rose insisted she visit Jackie— she'd bought her an alien trinket a few months back but kept forgetting to give it to her. And, although it was left unsaid, she wanted to see her mother again before she possibly died. Eventually, after a lot of hopeful looks and coaxing kisses, he obediently piloted the TARDIS to the Powell Estates and headed off hand in hand with Rose.

Soon after they saw the ghosts.

Things looked grim.

The storm was directly above their heads— Daleks and Cybermen were roaming the Earth, millions were dying in two different universes and there was a parallel version of Pete Tyler and the regular version of Mickey who'd been poking holes in the multiverse with their Void necklace things. The Doctor could feel Rose's timeline drawing to a close, but when Pete Tyler handed Jackie Tyler a jumper necklace and suggested going to the parallel universe, he realised with a half-gleeful half-painful jolt that there was a way to keep Rose from dying.

He had a set of magna-clamps, loads of sparkly Void stuff and a pair of 3-D glasses at his disposal, which Rose was currently looking at him through with interest while the computer chimed out the minutes left until reboot.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Void stuff."

"Like, er, background radiation," Rose guessed, and he beamed at her.

"That's it!" He pointed around the room at everybody else who was present. "Look at the others. And the only one who hasn't been through the Void— your mother. First time she's looked normal in all her life!"

"Oi," said Jackie with annoyance, and Rose grinned.

"But the Daleks lived inside the Void," he chattered on, as though Jackie hadn't said anything. "They're bristling with it. Cybermen, all of them. I just open the Void, and reverse! The Void stuff gets sucked back inside."

"Pulling them all in!" Rose exclaimed, eyes alight.

"Pulling them all in!" he echoed happily.

"Sorry, what's the Void?" Mickey interrupted with a frown.

"The dead space," he explained. "Some people call it Hell."

"So you're sending the Daleks and Cybermen to Hell." Mickey grinned at the others, adding, "Man, I told you he was good."

"But it's like you said," Rose said, suddenly earnest. "We've all got Void stuff. Me too, because we went to that parallel world. We're all contaminated. We'll get pulled in."

His eyes met hers, sombre and regretful. "That's why you've got to go."

Before he could say anything else, Rose's eyes hardened and she snapped, "No."

"Rose…" he sighed, exasperated. Couldn't she see he was saving her life?!

"No!" Rose repeated firmly, stepping away from him and glaring at him with fury. "What about you? You're covered in the stuff too— how're you gonna stop from getting pulled in?"

"I've got these," he said, holding up the magna-clamps he had prepared. "I'll just have to hold on tight. I've been doing it all my life."

"Don't be stupid, Doctor," she said. "I know what this is about, and you're not gonna force me to go to another world, which'll get sealed. I'll never see you again." Pain flashed through his eyes, and he opened his mouth to angrily point out that they'd never see each other again if she was dead either, but she interrupted him. "What did we agree on?" Rose said quietly, stepping forward and playing with the buttons on his coat, reminding him agonizingly like the way she had a little under a month ago. "We'd find a way, yeah?"

He nodded despite himself, eyebrows arched upward again into an expression of pain. Both he and Rose had forgotten anybody else was in the room, which was why neither of them noticed when Mickey turned bright red and promptly whirled around to give them some privacy, and Jackie hissed to the tactlessly staring Pete, "Stop starin' or I'll cut your bloody eyes out!"

"Well then, wasn't the last month worth it?" Rose added, suddenly looking tiny and unsure of herself.

Memories of the last three and a half weeks of bliss, of being naked and wrapped around an equally naked Rose and of addictive kisses he'd never get enough of flashed through his mind, and he closed the distance between them to press a messy kiss to her lips. He heard Jackie squeal, Pete gasp and Mickey mutter, "'Bout time," but he ignored them all, pulling away and whispering, "Yeah."

"Good," she said, beaming, before outstretching her hand towards one of the magna-clamps. "Now give me one of the things."

"No," he said decisively, but before Rose could frown at him he added, "Not until I get a harness from the TARDIS and securing you to one of those 'things'."

She looked clearly relieve, as did Jackie, who soon added, "What're we gonna do?"

"We're leaving," Pete said, pointing to the jumper with a firm look.

Jackie glanced at Rose quickly before her expression hardened. "No!"

"We haven't got time to argue. The plan works. We're going."

"I'm not leaving without her," Jackie said shrilly.

"Oh, my God," Pete growled in exasperation, looking very close to cursing. "We're going!"

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it," Jackie snapped. "I'm not leaving her."

Rose turned towards her mother. "You've got to."

"Well that's tough."

"Mum…" Rose groaned. With a quick glance in the Doctor's direction, she said, "I've had a life with you for nineteen years, but then I met the Doctor, and all the things I've seen him do for me, for you, for all of us. For the whole stupid planet and every planet out there. He does it alone, mum. But not anymore, because now he's got me." She stepped backward closer to him, and he reached forward and took her hand just so he could convince himself he deserved her, chest tight with emotion. Her head leaned against his shoulder, and she looked up at him with adoration in her gaze, which he returned unfiltered. "I love him, Mum."

Jackie's lower lip trembled, and she actually stomped her foot, tears splashing down her face. "B-but…"

"No buts," Rose said firmly. "Look! You've got Dad back!" Pete also looked near tears when Rose called him 'Dad'. "You can't just give that up!"

"You're my daughter!" Jackie wailed, and Rose let go of the Doctor's hand for a moment to toss herself into her mother's arms, letting her sob loudly for a little while.

"I know, Mum," Rose said, sniffling into her shoulder. With a quick glance in Pete's direction, Rose stepped away from her and pressed the button on Jackie's jumper, making her disappear in a flash of gold. Pete and Mickey gave Rose one last sombre look before pressing theirs and disappearing as well. Swiping at her eyes quickly, she gave the Doctor a watery tongue-touched grin. "Let's do this."

He nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. With a quick instruction for her to go towards the computer and set all the coordinates to six, he ran out of the room and practically flew down the stairs, dodging Cybermen in his wake— with the aid, he was shocked to see, of a Cyber-lady talking about doing her duty for Queen and country. Grabbing a couple of harnesses the TARDIS had already left waiting for him on the jump seat (oh, his clever ship), he ran all the way back to see Rose waiting anxiously for him by the computer.

After he'd double- and triple-checked that the magna-clamps were secure, he carefully zipped Rose into the harness and gave her forehead one last lingering kiss before slipping into his own. Metaphorically crossing his fingers, the Doctor gave Rose a sombre nod, and they both pushed their respective levers forward.

A strong wind whooshed into the room, lifting both of them up off the ground as the Void opened up on the wall in front of them, sucking in Daleks and Cybermen alike.

Rose sent him a gigantic beam, hair whipping around her face. "It's working!" It seemed like her words jinxed it when the force of the suction started to decrease, as Rose's lever started to arch towards the Void window.

She glanced desperately at the Doctor, who saw what she was thinking written plain as day on her face. He shook his head vigorously, shouting over the roar, "No, Rose!"

"I've got to get it upright!" she insisted, and to his utter horror she let go of the clamp with one hand, using the other one to unzip her harness.

Positively sensing that her timeline was fizzling out like a candlewick at its end, the Doctor shouted his protests at her while simultaneously ripping off his own harness, just in case he had to do something drastic. Rose arched towards the lever, moving it back into place with her foot before sending him a look of alarm as her fingers started slipping from the clamp's handles.

"ROSE, HOLD ON!" he screamed, looking at her with desperation etched in his expression. "HOLD ON!"

She managed to hang on for a little while longer, before her fingers finally slipped from the handles and she went hurtling towards the window with a scream. In the same millisecond he shoved himself forward, the momentum hurtling him towards Rose more quickly— his arms wove around her at once and he whipped them around, shielding her as the window closed just before they were about to hurtle into it, making his back slam hard against the wall. He crumpled to the ground on top of Rose, groaning as pain seared from several broken bones and what was probably going to be a massive bruise later on.

Rose stirred, rolling out from under him and also wincing at the pain in her neck. "Doctor?" She sat up properly, panicking when he didn't move or answer, simply keeping his face buried in her lap. "Doctor?!" His shoulders were trembling, so she placed her hands underneath them and attempted to hoist him up, but he beat her to it, lifting his head to look at her. Rose was astonished to discover that he was crying again, but this time his face was alight with the most brilliant beam she'd ever seen. "Doctor…?"

"Rose," he breathed, reaching up with one shaking hand and trailing his fingers over her face. "You're here."

With the Cybermen and Daleks all floating aimlessly through the Void, the Doctor and Rose walked back to the TARDIS hand-in-hand, despite the Doctor's slight limp. He hadn't told her he'd probably fractured one of his shoulder blades, but that was the least of his worries at the moment.

The storm was over, but Rose's brilliant, beautiful timelines were still there, still so, so alive.

"Told you we'd find a way."

Rose smiled up at him, and he beamed back, his expression the epitome of joy. "Yeah." He sobered for the briefest of moments, looking guilty. "I'm… sorry about Jackie."

Rose patted his arm gently, smiling at him a bit sadly. "S'fine. Mum'll be happy with Pete in that universe. They could start over… and to be honest, I didn't want her in this universe if I was gonna die," she confessed, a bit shamefacedly.

He nudged his nose into her temple, mumbling just to confirm it, "Oh, Rose, you didn't."

"I know." She gave his hand a playful squeeze. "Very impressive move you did, Doctor, lettin' go of the clamp just on time."

"Weeell," he said, tilting his head to the side with a smug grin. "I am impressive, aren't I?" She rolled her eyes and scoffed, swatting his arm, and his expression grew serious again. Turning towards her and looking at her earnestly, he said, "How long are you going to stay with me?"

"Forever," she said at once, and with that in mind he swooped down and snogged her deeply, delighting in the feeling of her lips and the bright golden glow of her timelines, dancing around his with a myriad of stunning possibilities he couldn't wait to explore.

A/N: Patches531 wanted a story based off of the song "Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce because the lyrics made her think of the Doctor and Rose. I think it's true, although I'm not a HUGE fan of the song itself, but if you look up the lyrics your mind will definitely jump to our favourite pairing ;) Note how this is NOT a songfic (I will never do one of those, under any circumstances... ugh) Hope you enjoyed (and I hope the fic is even a little bit like the song!)