Our Perfect Universe

By: SilverLunarStar

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership whatsoever over Doctor Who. I'm just dearly obsessed. I also don't own the song Love Will Find a Way by which this story was inspired.

Author's Note: This is my first official 11/Rose fic. StarryNight101 has been a great reviewer and online buddy for quite a while so this story, which she prompted a few months ago at Doctor-Rose-Fix on LJ, is written especially for her. The prompt? Eleven/Rose+Lion King 2's "Love Will Find a Way".

A HUGE thanks to Isilien Elenhein for her wonderful beta work.

There was no such thing as a perfect world. Rose knew this. After meeting the Doctor this knowledge expanded to there being no such thing as a perfect universe that could save them from loss, from heartache, from having to make the decisions that no one else would, or could, make. She'd learned this during her time with the Doctor and she was living through it now. She was about to partake in the most difficult decision she'd had to make yet. Rose was leaving the place she had called home for the past sixty years. She gazed at the headstones she kneeled before and knew it was time.

In a perfect universe, she wouldn't have been left to face eternity alone.

That was the reality, however, and as harsh as it was it had toughened her up. She wasn't jaded - she hadn't spent enough time on her own to become so, but Rose was no longer the naïve nineteen-year-old girl who had run away with the Doctor. Traveling with the Time Lord had opened avenues she never thought possible. He'd shown her that there was more out there, that she had more to offer. She had also learned that there were few impossibilities when he was involved.

After their goodbye on Bad Wolf Bay, Rose gave her all to Torchwood and, a few months later, in school. She'd graduated in the top five percent of her class and helped the techs at Torchwood build what were supposed to be dimension cannons, but they didn't work. Rose knew they couldwork, but she refused to get back to the Doctor when there was a chance of the universe imploding. Someday she'd get her chance, but not now.

Years went by and Rose's aging, or lack thereof, could no longer be ignored. Rose had thought her mother would throw a fit and blame the Doctor when they finally sat down to discuss this, but the older woman had simply sighed in resignation and ordered Rose to give the Doctor a good slap when she finally got back to him. Rose hugged her mum tight and vowed to spend as much time as she could with her mother, her little brother, her best friend Mickey, and this world's Pete, the man she had come to love as a father. Rose didn't, wouldn't, allow herself to fall into the dark and lived her life day after day, like the Doctor wanted her to, but there was always that one place within her soul that was an abyss. Rose had a great life, but it could never be the brilliant fantastic life that she had when she was with him.

Rose finally stood up, glanced at the grave markers with unshed tears in her eyes one last time, and programmed her upgraded dimension cannon. There were cracks appearing all over the universes and the equipment back at Torchwood had been able to correctly identify her home from the 'energy signature' she still carried. Wherever the TARDIS was, she'd be there. With a silent goodbye, she disappeared from what had been nicknamed 'Pete's World' as a calm wind passed over her family's graves.

After fixing the crack in little Amelia Pond's bedroom, the Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS to help his beloved ship along with the repairs. A swing waited for him under the glass floor that had replaced the metal grating. He grinned and rushed down the steps, sat down, and took out his sonic screwdriver to mend some wires. He was so focused on his work that the notion of what Rose Tyler would think about the swing came out of nowhere.

The Doctor thought regenerating would dull the feelings, but they didn't. Instead, he simply found it easier to push them away and lock them up in a corner of his mind so that's what he intended to do. However, as soon as he did, he immediately brought the memories back when he suddenly felt as if his entire being had stopped functioning. He jumped off the swing, heading back up. For so long, the Time Lord had been afraid of his feelings for Rose and this regeneration was no different. Green eyes stared at the new console desktop. "Rose Tyler," he tested and smiled.

He'd cared for many people in the millennium he'd lived, but Rose was unique. One nineteen-year-old girl from Southern London had managed to get passed all the barriers he'd put up during his long life. After losing her, the Doctor had been angry and full of regret, but a finality descended upon him that had eventually made him snap. 'Time Lord Victorious,' he scoffed in his head. What would Rose have thought? He'd been a coward for so long - it suited him. Why should he have tried to change?

Rose had made him better and he repaid her by turning into a completely deranged madman. He hadn't wanted his tenth life to end. He had somany amazing adventures in those few years, with Rose, Martha, Donna… and some of the worst as well. When the Doctor had had to block out every memory Donna Noble had of him after they'd come across a group of telepaths that had invaded her mind in order to save her life, it was like he'd also blocked out every good memory of his companions. It had made him snap and he'd fought so hard against his regeneration, wanting to see his friends, his family, one last time through those eyes, trying to regain those memories back.

Now that he was finally over his regeneration sickness and was a bit more clear-headed, he felt relieved. Not because he was 'closing' a chapter of his life (he could never forget any of his companions), but because he realized this regeneration was a little bit different. The Doctor could admit to himself that his companions always been the best of him. He'd always craved the company of others, but out of all his smart and lovely friends, he wished for Rose's presence in his life the most. Had he been able to find a way to bring Rose back while he was his tenth self, would he have been able to admit to his feelings for her? The Doctor shook his head at the thought. While he was now finally able to own up to the fact that his love for her wasn't wrong, it was still impossible for her to come back.

Suddenly, he craved nothing more than another adventure. Amelia Pond could wait a bit longer - not that she'd know any better. The Doctor went around the console, taking the TARDIS far into the future, not quite caring where he landed as long as there was lots of running.

Something exploded to his left and the Doctor ducked as debris scattered, splinters of wood and chunks of plaster grazing his side. He was headed to what was supposed to be an empty main town square as the people of Dramtop had been evicted six hours and twelve minutes ago. He skidded to a halt when he saw a female figure approach the relay device he'd been trying to disconnect. Before he could warn her off she turned and he could swear, though he'd never admit to it, time narrowed into one moment, the universe turning upside down around him. Faster than the speed of light the Doctor saw brown eyes turn from serious amber to sparkling hazel as the pink and yellow human recognized him. While his head screamed 'impossible', his hearts raced as if they were trying to escape his chest to get to her. They simply stared at each other and he felt his facial muscles move in order to match her wide grin. He caught sight of that mischievous tongue right before the universe fell away and they ran towards each other.

This new body, while shorter and more awkward than his last two, was still appropriate for catching her. It was as if she'd left a permanent seal on him, his arms immediately lifting her up for a twirl, holding onto her tight. Already his new body was calculating her weight and body shape, taking in her scent and the beat of her heart against his chest. They stayed in their own little world, neither of them willing to let the other go, but their false isolation was interrupted by a blaring alarm. They broke apart, but their hands automatically intertwined with their missing half.

Rose's heart sang as she followed the Doctor's instructions and they worked together to stop the relay device from sending out drones to terrorize the rest of the city. It was the work of minutes between them and suddenly the whole population seemed to be upon them, cheering, offering gifts of thanks; a few of the law enforcers finally grew enough backbone to arrest the government officials that had oppressed them for too long.

This, this was what the Doctor and Rose Tyler were all about. Not the heroism, not the trouble (though that definitely came as part of the package), but being able to bring happiness back to the lives of the few individuals in the vast universe. It wasn't a fix-all, to be sure, but it was a start. Their hands tightened around the other. Rose turned to him and uttered just one word: "Run." And run they did, whooping and laughing on their way to the TARDIS. The universe might be full of faults but in the end love found a way, their universe becoming just that little brighter, and that in itself was perfect enough for them.

Eleven and Rose are my not-so-secret loves and I was really nervous about writing them together. I hope you all enjoyed. THANK you Starry for your amazing prompt pushing me in the right direction. I've been writing this since September! But I could never get it just right. And even when I finished it, this would NOT have been worthy of posting unless Isi had cleaned it up. Kudos to two wonderful ladies!

~*Eli