The Doctor didn't bother asking for an opinion on where they should go next. However, he seemed to recognize on some level that he owed both Rose and Donna an apology, because he took them to the beaches of Rankori - the most renowned resort moon in the Andromeda galaxy in the eighty-second century.

Donna was dazzled by the all-inclusive spas and the luxurious amenities. Rose was simply eager to finally be on a beach that had sun and surf and no negative, heartbreaking memories to it. All in all, it was a fantastic welcome-home gift and the best destination she could have asked for to celebrate her return to her home universe.

While Donna had gone off on her own to investigate the extent of the resort, Rose had retreated to the beach to get a better look at the ocean, and the Doctor had trailed silently after her. They ended up walking through the sand together at a slow, comfortable pace. They kept a companionable distance; never quite touching, at least not on purpose.

"So how was it, then?" Rose asked as casually as possible in an attempt to break the silence between them.

"How was what?" the Doctor replied hesitantly.

"All the time I've been away. Did I miss much?"

"Well, that depends." The Doctor turned to flash her a strained smile as he continued, "Are we talking about from the last time I saw you , or the last time that you saw me ?"

"Oh, right." Rose let loose a small breath of laughter that had no real mirth to it. "I forgot how barmy time can be with you."

The Doctor's tense smile remained as he looked out over the waves before them and refused to meet her eye. However, he did reach out and let his fingers slowly twine with hers.

Rose had been able to feel the Doctor's presence in the back of her mind ever since she had returned to this universe and they had first established contact with one another, but with his skin on hers, the connection was somehow strengthened. She sighed as she felt the familiar edges of his thoughts settling against hers. It seemed that the more that they did this "contact" thing, the more connected their two minds became. At this point, the Doctor's presence in her thoughts was beginning to feel almost like second nature.

"I missed you." Rose's gaze tracked over features that were at once so familiar, and yet so strange. With their minds linked so closely together, she didn't have to use words to explain to him her conflicting sensations of regret and joy, reunion and loss, peace and guilt. She wasn't sure if words even existed to convey the sensation of missing someone who was sitting right in front of you.

The Doctor's mind silently embraced her solemn emotions. His brow furrowed over brown eyes that had always been far too expressive for his own good. I miss Theta sometimes, too, he admitted quietly.

His mind finished the sentiment using emotions rather than words. Rose gasped as she was nearly overcome by the great sense of regret and loss that came hand-in-hand with living so many different lives. The Doctor had come so far, and been so many different people. It was hard not to miss parts and pieces that had been lost or irrevocably changed along the way.

"You're the most impossible man I've ever known, Doctor," Rose murmured as she continued to examine the profile of the man at her side.

She realized, belatedly, what a gift this was. There were days and months and years when she thought that she would never be able to reunite with the Doctor again. She had waited two years to get to be able to communicate so openly like this with him. She had had a few stolen moments on Gallifrey along the way, but now she had an eternity to learn and relearn the Doctor as many times as he would allow her.

"Always fancied the impossible," he informed her as he finally turned and met her gaze. He flashed her a teasing wink as he added, "That, at least, has never changed."

"Probably never will," Rose agreed with a small smile.

"Suppose not." Once again, he completed his sentiment in silence. Rose could sense him mentally reviewing his renewed memories of her visit to Gallifrey and all the time that they had spent with each other. You were the one who taught me to believe in impossible things, Rose, he whispered gently. I don't know if I'd be here today if it weren't for you.

And I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, either, Rose reminded him. She followed his lead and silently reviewed all of the long days and nights of hard work that he had put into her dimension cannon in order to help her get back to her current position in space and time.

The Doctor's answering grin was so wide that Rose couldn't help but reciprocate it. He offered up another mental image of herself from those red grass fields on Gallifrey. There were tiny threads of gold weaving in impossible patterns all around her head and spelling out a promise of eternity. Layered underneath it all was the memory of the brightest and strongest gold thread of all - the one that had nearly bound them together for life when Rose had accidentally gotten carried away during their first contact with one another.

What is it, Doctor? she asked as she silently brought up her own memory of the tantalizing golden bridge that remained uncrossed between them. You never properly explained, before.

It's a bond, Rose, he informed her, his voice sounding wary and hesitant within her head. They had come to a stop without Rose realizing it. They both now faced one another while their shoes sank slowly into the warm sand.

Why does it scare you so much? She could feel the aching pull of it even now, as they spoke mind-to-mind with one another. It was warm and comforting and insistent. She couldn't understand why it filled the Doctor with such a sense of hesitant foreboding.

It's eternal, he answered simply, his brown eyes so deep and sad that it nearly took her breath away. Forever. Unbreakable, unchangeable, impenetrable.

What's so bad about that?

"I'm nine-hundred-years-old, Rose," he informed her warily. "I've outlived nearly everyone I've ever cared about. I even outlived Gallifrey and the Time Lords, in the end. If there's one thing I've learned in all that time, it's that eternity can be a prison."

"Don't say that," Rose insisted with a small, vehement shake of her head. "It doesn't have to be that way."

She reached out with her mind and silently reminded him of all the time that they had spent on Gallifrey together. Back then, he had looked at her timelines with such hope and awe in his eyes. He had set his gaze on eternity and it had brought a look of wonder to his face. She knew that he had lived quite a few lifetimes since then, and had been forced through more than most people could bear, but she refused to see this one small part of him change. The Doctor was still the Doctor, and that meant that eternity held endless possibilities and hope for a brighter tomorrow.

Before Rose could finish sorting through her memories and complete her thought, she was startled out of her moment of concentration by a pair of cool lips silently claiming hers. She startled for only a moment before eagerly sinking back into the desperate, demanding kiss.

All those years, all that time, all that searching … the Doctor's thoughts muttered disjointedly. You were my hope, Rose. You were the home I was searching for. You were the reason I had to keep going.

Rose couldn't suppress the small, desperate noise that escaped from the back of her throat as she reached for the Doctor's neck and began snogging him in earnest. She didn't have words in that moment to express her undying gratitude and devotion for this one, impossible man, but as the Doctor slanted his head in order to deepen their kiss, she knew that he was able to understand anyway.

"Doctor," she whispered when she finally broke away for air once more. "Would you let me try something?"

It seemed to take a minute for her words to get through to him. He simply stood there and stared at her for a few moments. His pupils were blown wide and his hearts were hammering away in his chest. Finally, he breathed a small chuckle as he recognized the question that he had asked her in those red grass fields on Gallifrey over ten lifetimes ago.

"Of course, Rose," he replied gently. "Anything."

His eyelids slipped shut in a silent display of trust as he bent closer towards her. Rose couldn't help but notice the way that her hands were shaking slightly as she reached out to tentatively touch the skin of his face. There was no need for contact when they were already so near to one another and sharing practically every thought. She could feel the Doctor patiently soothing her nerves as he waited for her next move.

She was slow and methodical in her perusal of his features. Her fingertips ghosted over every inch of his face as she allowed herself to revel in the nearness that she had barely dared to dream of just a few short years ago. The Doctor kept his eyes shut the entire time, silently allowing her to map out this body's features while he took his time in exploring the deepest corners of her mind.

Rose's breath caught in her chest as the bond flared bright between them once more. When she tentatively began to follow the leading call of the golden light, the Doctor's eyes suddenly flew open. He leveled a sharp, intent gaze on her.

Rose …? he asked curiously.

Her only response was to pull more insistently against the unformed bond that lay between them. She could feel the Doctor's hands tightening reflexively where they rested against her waist. They pulled her even closer as he breathed in a soft, surprised gasp of air. She could feel his thoughts struggling against the current of the bond. He was desperately fighting for reason while all of his instincts were urging him forward.

You don't know what you're asking, Rose … he insisted silently.

"I promised you forever, Doctor," she reminded him. "And you … you said 'always'."

Always, his thoughts immediately agreed, despite the way that his cool, rational brain still railed against her.

"That was … a long time ago …" he muttered distractedly while he struggled within himself. His hands were still around her waist and his deep brown eyes couldn't seem to stop tracking between her eyes and her lips. His thoughts were searching hers curiously as he fought to find balance in his internal struggle. Her mind was so certain, so sure - how was that even possible?

Please, a small, desperate voice whispered quietly between them. Rose couldn't tell whose mind it had come from, or if the plea was something that was simply born of the bond that continued to pull so insistently against them both.

"I know that your 'forever' will go on long past my own," Rose admitted quietly, "but I made up my mind a long time ago, Doctor. I'm never gonna leave you. And if … I mean, I just thought … since you said all those things before …"

The Doctor silenced her rambling words with a series of long, melodic syllables in the foreign language that Rose had grown so used to hearing on Gallifrey. She recognized the strange words as the phrase that his past self had whispered to her on more than one occasion in that old, sunlit barn.

"I told you the words were a promise, Rose," he continued in English. "Do you remember?"

"'Course I do," she replied breathlessly. Her heart fluttered desperately as she remembered all of the times that he had spoken those words to her.

"It's more than that, though," he continued solemnly. "These words - they're my name. My true name."

"Your name?" Rose repeated. She paused for a moment as she mentally reviewed all that the Doctor had told her about himself up until this point. He had always been cagey about revealing truths about himself, so it was difficult for her to comprehend why he would be telling her this now. But the last day that she had spent on Gallifrey - the last time that he had spoken these strange, foreign words to her - he had told her that it was a vow; a promise to be with her through any time and in any place, no matter what.

She breathed a small chuckle of amusement as she shook her head at him. "You really are impossible, you know that?" she murmured wryly.

"No one else knows that name," he continued, refusing to be swayed from the intensity of the moment by her light-hearted tone. "Gallifrey is gone, now. You're the only other person who will ever know my true name, Rose Tyler."

Rose had always liked the way that the Doctor spoke her name. Right from the very first moment that she had met him, and through every incarnation she had met since. It was like a silent, unspoken promise - a vow that gave her hope no matter what the situation around them looked like. Now, however, the promise was no longer subtle or silent. The Doctor spoke her name with reverent dedication that she knew would far outlive her.

She swallowed past the lump in her throat as she gazed up into his dark brown eyes. She silently let him know that she understood the gravity of the situation and fully accepted all of the responsibility and consequences that came with it.

Rose fumbled with the foreign vowels and consonants as the Doctor once more slowly repeated his name and encouraged her to try and mimic him. He was as gentle and patient with her as he always was as she slowly struggled through the strange syllables. She could feel the amusement in the Doctor's thoughts as she silently cursed the Time Lords for being such a ridiculous, long-winded race.

Once she was finally able to repeat his name back to him in full, she knew that it sounded stilted and her accent was all wrong. However, the spark that caught and flared between them instantly erased all of her remaining hesitation. She barely managed to get the last syllable out before the Doctor claimed her lips once more in another long, heated kiss. Rose easily reciprocated, finding that she much preferred the feel and taste of him rather than the awkward sound of his foreign name on her tongue.

If you don't mind, I think I'm going to stick to calling you 'Theta', Rose informed him wryly. They clung tight to one another as they finally allowed the current of the bond to sweep them up and pull them under.

She could sense the Doctor's amusement in his thoughts, but he made no response. He simply continued to intently explore both her lips and her mind.

Call me whatever you want, love, he whispered silently. I'm yours.

They both made a small, sighing noise of satisfaction as the bridge between them was at last established. Rose supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised by how easily it slipped into place between them. After all, they had been dancing around the connection for far longer than either of them even knew. It was so simple, so easy, so right that it nearly took her breath away.

Rose Tyler had known from the first moment that she first decided to travel with the Doctor that she had found her home in this one, impossible alien and his daft old police box. However, she didn't realize until that moment how deep the sentiment ran. Her true home wasn't a place or a time or even a person. Her home was this - golden light and a second presence melding with her mind. Her home was a sense of peace and unity that promised always and forever and eternity. Her home was the two of them together - tied in an unbreakable bond that would never fade or age with time. Her home was hope. Her home was love.

I've spent my entire life running - always chasing after something just outside of my reach. Gallifrey was never enough. Even all of time and space couldn't fill the void.

I've met monsters and aliens, seen civilizations rise and fall; watched planets burn and babies being born. I've marked the turn of the universe. All of it has been amazing and terrifying and heartbreaking and wonderful, but it still wasn't enough.

I needed hope. I needed unity. I needed her. She is the piece I've been missing; the one thing I've been chasing after all along - home, the long way round.

A/N: Thank you so, so much to anyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, or followed this fic. I have been absolutely blown away by your amazing support. I honestly wasn't expecting much of a reaction to this story, so I've been so happy to see that you've enjoyed it!

I'll make one more shameless plug and suggest that if you have a Wattpad account, come and find me under the name chasingthecosmos! I have an original sci-fi mystery novel called "Echo" that I'm going to be posting there over the next few months. Any and all feedback and support would be greatly appreciated! It's the first story in a series of three, and there will be two chapters posted a week.

Also, if you like Doctor Who and audio dramas, check out FiveSatellite on Twitter! It's a group that I'm a part of that will be producing fan-made audio stories on YouTube. Recordings are happening as we speak, so episodes should be rolling out soon!

As always, you can also find and support my fanfic on AO3 and follow me on Tumblr if you like, all under the name chasingthecosmos. Cheers!