This is a brand new story, not a bunch of one-shots. Please keep that in mind.

Also, many thanks to elvespiratesandcowboysohmy for her encouragement and love of this story so far :) We'll see how this goes.

Disclaimer: Of course DW doesn't belong to me. I'm not that clever :)

Moments

Because life is a series of moments.

The Doctor didn't know how to get the words out.

Normally, he wouldn't have this problem. Companions just sort of…happened. But he couldn't wait for Rose to invite herself along – she was oblivious to the opportunity. He felt his heartbeats quicken.

What if she said no?

He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. This human, this girl…Rose…was different from the rest. He didn't know exactly how he knew – it was the same way he knew the timelines; they twisted and swayed among his thoughts, not always clear but always there. And he wanted to know exactly how and why she was so different.

"I'll be off then, except…I dunno...maybe, you want to come along," he let the last part dribble out. The Doctor could feel a tremor in his hands; he kept his arms clasped tightly across his chest. He held her eyes for a moment, the intensity so vivid so…real that he stopped breathing.

Then the boyfriend tugged at her and broke the fervor of the moment. He saw her blink hard, visibly as affected as he was.

"Nah, someone has to take care of this lump," she laughed humorlessly, patting Rickey on the back. There was emptiness to the sound. So unlike when she smiled gleefully up at him after stating, proudly, that she had saved him.

He felt odd. Disappointment painted his features. He attempted to disguise it.

"Alright then," he said softly, slowly disappearing back inside the Tardis.

He rushed to the console, his heavy boots thumping loudly on the floor. He flipped switches, tugged on levers, eager to leave Rose Tyler and her memory behind.

***

Once in the Vortex, he slumped down on the console chair. She had wanted to come. He knew she did. She wanted to see what else was out there…with him. If it wasn't for that idiot…

That ordinary human girl was so extraordinary. Didn't she see that? Didn't that idiot of a boyfriend of hers see it? Or her mother? They were with her every day; didn't they see how much she didn't belong there? She was special. He saw it as plainly as he saw the sky.

What he didn't know, was how he knew that she was special.

Maybe he should go back?

No.

He never asks twice.

But he couldn't let go of this feeling deep inside his chest. It was a feeling he had long since given up on.

Hope.

Thoughts, images and timelines kept shifting in his mind. They made him feel a range of emotions – happiness, sadness, hate, hope, helplessness.

But through all the thoughts that kept flickering in his mind, there was one constant image among them…

Rose.

She was swimming in his thoughts, present, past and future. And again, he was confronted with the urge to go back to her. But it was insane, feeling this helpless over a human.

Well, he thought, I could always go and find out on my own what makes her so special…

The Tardis hummed with disapproval.

"Oh, I'll make sure she doesn't see me. Or him…I mean…me."

With a final shrug of his leather-clad shoulders, he flipped the final switch and readied himself for the past.

***