The Doctor knew this was it. He was about to reboot the universe, trapping himself on the other side of the void.

But just as he was about to throw himself in, he felt his body jerk as he flew back in time, again.

He gulped in fear when he realized where he was.

Bad Wolf Bay.

He spun around, dreading what he might find.

He was a little surprised, to say the least.

He thought for sure, with his luck, that he'd find Rose Tyler and his clone snogging away like no tomorrow. He was sure the universe would want that last memory to be imprinted on his brain before he faded away from existence.

But what he found was one lonely woman, sobbing her heart out. Her cries were slightly muffled by the sound of the crashing waves, but they tore at his hearts deeply like no sound had before.

He knew what year this was. 2006, the first time he left her on Bad Wolf Bay, after she nearly fell into the void.

The day his soul died.

Suddenly Rose spun around, and stopped. Through her tears there was a definite face of surprise at seeing a stranger standing twenty feet away from her on a beach in Norway. She spoke no words, only staring at him in shock while tears of grief still rolled down her face.

The Doctor knew he couldn't stop himself. He came up to her slowly.

"Rose...it's me."

She finally spoke. "But...how can..."

"No, no questions, let me just say I'm your Doctor, from the future. Now I only have a little time before I have to go back, before I...disappear." He didn't want to lie to her, but telling her he was basically erasing himself would be the worst thing to tell her at this moment of her life.

"Oh...Doctor!" She threw herself into his arms and grabbed his jacket, clinging to it as her last lifeline on life.

"Shh..." He whispered as he rubbed her back, soothing her. "I'm here."

"This is just a dream, I just know it. Tomorrow I'll wake up and find myself in the TARDIS, with the Doctor, and none of this ever happened." If only. The Doctor wished with all his hearts that that would be the truth. But it wasn't.

"Rose Tyler." He spoke her name reverently. He slowly let go of her and lifted her chin up to meet her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and tear tracks ran down both sides of her face, but the Doctor thought she had never looked more beautiful in her entire life. "My Bad Wolf. I wish it was a dream." He sighed. "But it's not."

"How can I ever go on without you? What do I do now?" She nearly sobbed again, the thought of going back alone scaring her more than death.

"You don't stop. Don't ever think about stopping. Do all you can, never give up."

"I want to die." Her terribly blunt words pierced his hearts.

"No, don't talk like that! Don't you ever think about taking your life. I don't know if I could live going on knowing you were dead by your own hand. You're the most wonderful, passionate, courageous woman I've ever met in my entire life. You'll make everything work out, just like you always do." He smiled sadly, trying to stop his own tears from falling.

"Really?" She smiled at him for the first time.

"I'd bet my life on it." He hugged her again.

"I missed you Doctor."

"I miss you too Rose." He then stopped.

"I never got to finish what I was going to say." Rose let go of him suddenly, a look of surprise and hope spreading across her features. As the Doctor leaned down towards her face, he whispered so quietly but so passionately Rose knew she wasn't imagining it. The Doctor knew this was his last moment with her. Damn the universe for tearing them apart. Forget the fact that he was changing the time lines, that he could never have her but yet had a chance to tell her his biggest secret. Forget everything.

"I love you." And their lips connected. Rose felt like she was soaring. The Doctor finally felt complete, something he hadn't felt in years.

Rose tried to deepen their kiss, but as she went to throw her arms around him, she realized with a start that he was fading. Fading away like dust in the air.

"Find me." were the Doctor's last words before he faded from her presence forever more.