WOW, 139 followers! How did that happen? Thank you all for your support, each one of you have my appreciation for taking time out to read my story.

I am sorry about being late with this chapter. I blame Benedict Cumberbatch, he seduced me. I tried not to watch Sherlock, I knew that it would suck me in, but I listened to that handsome devil and ended up watching all three seasons, twice.

I would like to say that as soon as I win the lottery, I am moving to London. What in God's good name do they put in the water over there? Is it fair that one small island has that many smart, sexy, and funny guys?

Anyways after many cold showers and jumping in a few snow banks, I managed to finish chapter 12. I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think.

Of course once again, a great big THANK YOU to my beta reader G. Goodwren, who helps me keep my writing on track.

PS. I don't own Doctor Who, but I would really like too.

Chapter 12

It was nearly dawn when Thomas dropped Rose off at the end of her driveway.

"Ma'am, I still think that you should go to medical," Thomas said as he watched her struggle to jump down from the SUV.

Rose closed the SUV door. "I'm fine. Nothing is broken, I'm just sore. A hot shower and a few hours of sleep is all I need. Now you go home and get some rest, I'll see you in a few hours."

Thomas knew better than to argue. With a salute, he drove off.

Rose watched as the tail lights faded into the distance before turning to walk up the driveway, the invisible Doctors following behind her. They were surprised when, instead of going in the front door, she walked around to the back garden. She headed for the large weeping willow that grew at the very end of it. The tree had long branches that hung down like a thick, green curtain. She parted them and stepped into nature's hidden room. There was a rope swing tied around one of the tree's thick branches. The wooden seat was smooth and there was an indent in the dirt below the swing, giving evidence of frequent use.

Rose sat down and pushed off with her feet. She pumped herself higher and higher, her feet just about touching the hanging branches, stirring them enough so they parted to give her a glimpse of the stars that she so loved. She closed her eyes and felt her control of her emotions slip. Ten watched as the wind caught the tears that slipped from her eyes. They hung in the air for an endless moment, sparkling like diamonds in the starlight, and his hearts ached for her. The Doctors could feel her fear as her mind replayed each moment of the night's events. Like a film in slow motion, her mind replayed each time she could have been killed, how her decisions could have gone wrong, the children dying, her team dying, and all that blood on her hands. She brought herself to abrupt stop and flung herself onto the soft grass. She lay on her back with her hand over her mouth to hold the scream deep in her but the Doctors could hear it echoing in her mind. Her body began to tremble as the emotions she had kept a tight lid on burst out. She could still feel the blood and gore, sticky and wet, on her hands and she rubbed them on the grass. She hated that she had yet another death to add to her soul. So much blood, so many lives she had taken. So much pain. No matter how hard she tried to stop it, everything always seemed to end in death and darkness. There were moments where she wondered if there was any light left in the universe.

Nine sat beside her. "Yes Rose, there is. You of all people should remember that. Who was it that opened my eyes again to the light again? Wasn't it you?"

Rose tilted her head towards him and felt his voice wash over her. In that moment, she would have given all that she had to be in his tight embrace; to feel the soft stroke of his hand in her hair, to breathe in the smell of leather and time, and to hear the reassuring beats of his two hearts. Rose buried the wish deep inside her, almost as soon as she made it, too much guilt came with that impossible wish. She knew she should be questioning her sanity but she was just too tired in body and soul to care if she was going mad.

Ten joined them, sitting at her other side. They could feel her longing for Nine, her joy at hearing his voice but they could also feel her guilt. She was too emotionally wrought for them to try to reassure her that she wasn't going crazy, that they were there. The Doctors eyes met over the head of their brave girl, both sets mirroring the pain and helplessness they felt.

Taking a deep breath, she brushed the tears from her face and made herself clamp down on her surging emotions. John would know that she was upset but she had to shield him from how deep her pain was. She knew it frustrated and hurt him that he couldn't link with her mind. She would never let on that she was secretly relieved he couldn't. She didn't want him in her mind. Too much darkness and too many secrets she kept hidden, things that if he knew would cause him to leave her. She knew that it was selfish of her but he was all that she had to hold her to this world.

Listening to Rose's thoughts, Ten now understood the metacrisis's frustration when they were talking earlier. The Time Lord in John needed to be able to link with the woman that he loved in order to feel complete but for some reason, he couldn't connect with her. Ten could empathize with John, but knowing that Rose was going to be alone in the future - and how losing a bonded mate could drive a person insane - he couldn't help his relief. There were other more petty reasons but Ten pushed those down. Now was not the time to admit he was secretly doing a dance in his head that they had not bonded in the most intimate way of his people.

Rose slowly stood and looked up at the stars. Someday the TARDIS seed would be ready to fly up there and she could run again. She ached to run. Run so fast and so far, somewhere and sometime, where the blood and darkness couldn't catch her.

Feeling more in control of herself, and her body calling out for relief, she headed back towards the house. Letting herself into the kitchen, she silently walked into the living room. The T.V flickered in the dark and John lay on the sofa, snoring softly. An empty pudding bowl sit on the coffee table and bits of wires and electrical equipment were scattered about. She smiled down at him as she took a small blanket from the back of the sofa and gently covered him with it.

Rose slowly made her way up the stairs, biting down on her lip to keep her groans of pain from escaping. The night's toll on her body was making itself known with a vengeance. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the shower as hot as she could stand it. While the water ran she took off her clothes, moaning slightly as her hand brushed against the large bruise that the knife had made. Every muscle and bone in her body ached. The Doctors had followed her upstairs concerned at her deteriorating condition. They quickly turned around as she started to undress but that brought them face to face with the bathroom mirror and neither one of them could look away as, inch by inch, Rose's body was revealed to them.

The Doctor's breath caught in their throats as she pulled her shirt over her head, a soft moan escaping her tightly compressed lips. Her back and arms were covered in vivid purplish, blue-green bruises and red abrasions. The sight of her abused body caused Nine's fists to clench in anger. She should not be dealing with this alone. He should be helping her. He should be soothing her injuries and yelling at her for putting herself in danger. Nine had never felt so frustrated in his life; he wanted nothing more than to be able to comfort her but he was nothing more than a shadow. He cursed under his breath and walked out of the room.

Ten couldn't look away from the reflection of Rose. Her soft pink skin was marred with wounds that she had willingly taken to save others. He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss each wound, heal her pain. He needed to link his mind with hers and show her that there was still goodness and light in the universe … that she was that light. He had always known that she was the single most beautiful and precious person to him in all of the galaxies, but he had always been able keep his love for her hidden. That is, until today. Seeing her again, bearing witness to her courage and feeling her emotions, shook the foundations of the walls he kept around his hearts.

And so, in a bathroom, in parallel universe, staring at the bruised and battered refection of his pink and yellow human, the last Time Lord of Gallifrey stopped running. He let go of all the excuses and for the first time in his long life he let himself love without reservation.

Rose's head jerked up as electricity jolted her whole body. Emotions poured over her in waves - love, regret, joy, passion, fear, pain, possessiveness. Emotions mixed and swirled in her, but they were all wrapped in love. Love immeasurable, it washed over her, filled her from within, pushing aside the darkness she carried, and for a moment she felt him, her Doctor, the one that had left her behind to live this half-life. There in the bathroom mirror she could almost see him staring at her refection, with all the love she had dreamed he felt for her in his eyes.

Ten gaped in astonishment as Rose's shocked eyes met his in the mirror. She could see him! His eyes widened in wonder as he experienced an unlikely feeling in his mind; a soft, seeking touch. His own mind reached for it and his mind was suddenly filled with her presence, the impossibility and fullness of her drove him to his knees in wonder and joy.

The bathroom door flew open, followed by John's bellowing voice. "Rose what the hell?!"

Rose jumped in shock.. She grabbed her head as pain suddenly tried to split it in two. Dark spots swam up before her eyes and she fainted.

John ran forward and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Rose?" He said, softer this time, shaking her gently. He looked accusing at Ten "What in the hell did you do to her?"

Ten could barely raise his head. He was trying to deal with the wrenching emptiness after having her in his mind and then suddenly being torn from her. Nine lifted him from the floor and half carried him out of the room.

John gently shook Rose again. He breathed a sigh of relief to see her coming around.

She looked up at the Doctor. "Wh-what happened?"

"You fainted, don't you remember?" He asked, softly brushing her hair back and kissing her lightly on the lips.

Rose smiled up at him, stars in her eyes. "Um, not that I'm complaining Doctor, but why are you kissing me while I am half naked?"

John cursed softly under his breath. "Rose, honey, I'm John. Not the Doctor."

Rose blinked up at John. He watched the bright light in her eyes go out as she began to remember.

"I am so sorry, John," she said, her voice pleading for forgiveness.

John smiled down at her. "Don't worry about it. Confusion is common after fainting. It could happen to anyone."

Rose smiled weakly back. She knew that she had hurt him but he loved her enough to let it go. Guilt tore at her. Would she ever stop hurting people?

John wiped the tears from her face and held her close. Nine, who had woken him up by yelling obscenities in his ear, had nearly given him a heart attack. Calling him a 'good for nothing prat' for sleeping while Rose was in pain. He ordered him to get off his lazy ass and fix her. John had jumped up only to grab his head, a loud buzzing deafening him. Nine's whole body tensed, disbelief and joy crossing his face. John had taken one look at Nine and just knew that something was happening. He took the stairs two at a time, but he had been too late. The damage had already been done. He looked down at his reason for living and his heart broke at the lost, empty look on her face. It was the same look that she had worn the first few months they had been together. The Doctors brought her nothing but pain and he hated them for it.

John helped her sit up, moaning sympathetically when he accidentally touched a bruise. She groaned lightly.

"Let me help you," he said. He pulled his sonic out of his pocket and found the correct setting.

Rose leaned her head back against the wall and watched as John ran the sonic screwdriver over each of her wounds murmuring words of comfort. His touch was soft and loving and Rose felt her heart contract in guilt again. He loved her, wholly and completely. He showed it in everything that he did for her. She knew she loved him, she did, but she was honest enough to know that a part of her soul had died on the beach when the Doctor left in the TARDIS. She knew that no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't love him fully the way that he deserved. Not when so much of her was empty.

John smiled at Rose, choosing to ignore the lingering sadness in her eyes. "I pretty sure I told you to be careful, young lady," he teased as he worked on the large bruise that took up the side of her chest.

Rose smiled weakly again. "Well it would have been worse if I hadn't been wearing that body armor prototype you made."

He pointed at the large bruise that he was working on, wearing a frown. "It doesn't look like it helped protect you much."

She laughed lightly and smoothed her fingers over his forehead to erase his frown. "It saved my life. It blocked a very large knife, thrown with deadly intent by a rather large warrior."

John looked at the bruise again. If the knife had pieced her skin…

Fear gripped him. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Rose you could have been killed!" He shouted at her, his eyes wild.

Rose scooted closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder sighing deeply into his neck. "I know," she said simply, "but I wasn't because of you."

John wanted to yell at her some more, tell her that she was crazy and she had to quit, but her tired voice silenced him. He swallowed his lecture, putting his arms around her to give her the comfort that she needed.

Nine had pulled Ten into the hall and shook him violently. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I don't know. It happened so fast. I let go and just let myself love her and then…well, you felt it too."

Nine rubbed a still shaking hand across his face. "You shouldn't have done that. She can't be bonded with us yet, she's still stuck here until we don't know when. You know that bonded pairs can't be apart without feeling crippling emptiness!"

"I didn't make the bond. She reached for me, the link in our mind responded and for a moment we were one." Ten said, his voice low and trembling as he remembered the fullness of Rose in his mind.

Nine looked at Ten in disbelief. He had felt it too but it was impossible, Rose was human. There was no way that she could have made a bonded link with them.

The Doctors looked deeply into their mind and examined all the memories they had of Rose, starting from today and looking back. They could find nothing that suggested that Rose was capable of placing a psychic link in their mind. That was, until they came to the memory of meeting Rose for the first time. They watched as Nine had taken her hand and said his first word to her: 'Run!' In the moment the Doctor's hand had clasped Rose's, there was clear sound of a bell ringing, and a flash in his mind. Nine had not noticed it then because his mind was so closed off from the Time War. Neither Rose nor the Doctor had deliberately made the bond and yet there it was all along, just waiting for them to meet and complete what fate had already given them.

Ten and Nine opened their eyes and stared at each other in shock. Bond-mates on Gallifrey were uncommon enough, but fated bond-mates were the stuff of legends.