"He who believes is a dreamer or a fool."

The Doctor had a lot to worry about, and that didn't even include when some creature had mentioned the timeless child to her. She hadn't had much time to consider such meaningful phrases. She needed to get Yaz, Graham, and Ryan back to Sheffield. She needed to learn how to manage driving and reading her new Tardis. She needed to figure out what her newest universal threat was, but she did not have time to worry about such a small, possibly meaningless phrase such as the term "the timeless child."

Every time some such phrase came to fruition in her lives, something drastic would occur in the life of that current regeneration that she couldn't control. Besides, the timeless child could mean any of a number of things. It might just be Jack Harkness.

The Doctor couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at that thought, making Yaz give her a curious look. She offered the girl a smile.

"Just thinking about an old friend," She explained.

"You didn't look very happy to be thinking about them," Yaz observed. The Doctor chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, well, you'd understand if you had ever met him. He's-" She shivered. "Unnatural, but I suppose I do miss him."

She brushed her hand through the air, trying not to think of her old friend. He was alive somewhere in this universe, but not likely meddling in her affairs. No, he couldn't be the timeless child.

Could it possibly be Jenny? She was likely still out there somewhere. Protecting the galaxies.

The Doctor leaned back against her console, resolving to take a break.

"It's been a while since we rested," she said. Ryan and Graham looked at her.

"Where could we rest here? Isn't this a spaceship?" Graham asked, his frosty brows furrowing together.

"A live-in spaceship," The Doctor corrected. She scanned the corridor and pointed down one of the halls. "There should be some doors down that hall, sexy will show you to your rooms. Get some rest. Eat some food, it'll be a blast."

"Sexy?" Ryan questioned with a roll of his eyes.

"The Tardis! I've been calling her that for so many faces, it'd be rude to stop now!" She said eagerly. "Now off you all go. I'm going to stop the Tardis off somewhere, but don't worry about a thing, just fueling her up."

Her tentative companions didn't look very eager to wander away from her, so she shooed them away with a soft noise and a wave of her hands. Once they had disappeared down the hall she began to direct the Tardis to the nearest spot to land. They weren't in Sheffield yet, but they were on Earth. Not in America anymore, no they were in Cardiff, and not in 2018. More in 2010.

Once she had parked, the Doctor peeked out the doors.

She hadn't been to Cardiff in ages. With Captain Jack protecting the town with Torchwood, she hadn't really needed to. Still, the city was everything she remembered it being. If she squinted she could almost see where she and Rose and Jack and Mickey had strolled the streets. Laughing, saving the day.

Her heart warmed at the memory.

She was almost surprised she could still remember such a tender time. She had spent so long forgetting things like that.

But could she ever forget Rose?

Looking in the mirror, she wondered if her own appearance was affected by that simple pink and yellow woman. She had never fully explored the implications that her blonde hair and thin frame really meant for her. She looked like Rose, that was undeniable.

All these years later, and she still missed her.

Of course, she still missed the others. Liz and Sarah Jane were never not in her heart, but she had always known, deep down that Rose was different.

Could she…?

She didn't dare dream that Rose was the timeless child. She didn't dare hope that her Rose was still alive, back in this universe trying to find her. Would she even like this new face?

A woman? Rose had always liked pretty boys, not pretty women.

Of course, she knew better than most that the Doctor could change into anything and anyone. She had always been prepared for something like this to happen, but that didn't truly mean she would like it, did it?
She was a fool to imagine that Rose would return to her after all this time. Likewise, she was a fool to dare and dream that she had somehow become timeless.

Of course, they had only experienced a short time together after she had peered into the heart of the Tardis. A number of things could have changed in her body when that occurred. No, she wouldn't be a time lady, that was for sure. However, she could have turned into something else, something timeless.

The Doctor stepped out of the Tardis, carefully closing the doors behind her. She peered out at the streets of bustling people.

Even if Rose had changed. It was too late now. She had stranded her in the alternate universe twice now. She had given her her own Doctor and she had left her with her family. Rose had gotten everything she had ever wanted in the end.

If the meta-crisis Doctor hadn't died.

Now that was a thought the Doctor didn't like to think of. The idea that the Doctor's duplicate had met the same fate that she had just barely saved Donna from reaching was something that she didn't dare consider.

She would be too hurt if she ever allowed herself to think that her Rose hadn't gotten a happy ending. She had deserved one. She had deserved to live happily, even if the Doctor couldn't live it with her.

Now, Donna, she knew how Donna was living. She was married, she was happy, and she believed in herself now. The Doctor had made sure of that. Yes, Donna had always been her best friend. She had been wonderful, kept her level-headed, always platonic. Exactly what she had needed.

Unlike Amy, whom, yes, she had loved but had presented a romantic essence to her life she didn't really need anymore. Loving people that much only lead her to more and more pain in her future. Losing the Ponds had been the worst event in her life.

Then there was Clara, but she was on her own now. She couldn't be the timeless child. No, even that was impossible for her impossible girl.

She knew that this timeless child would be someone new. The likelihood of it being someone she had never met before was simply more realistic. The Doctor ought to focus on being more realistic. She had been such a dreamer in the past that it only made sense to be more practical now.

Yaz and the others would never let her be practical though. She had a duty. A duty to be the impractical dreamer of a Doctor she had always been.

She owed at least that much to Rose.

Rose would want her to continue on. She would want her to be happy, to have companions, to dream of what could be and firmly believe in that no matter how impractical it truly was.

Maybe she would ask Yaz, Ryan, and Graham to stay with her. Not forever, just for a time. They were a good band of companions. They were dependable, strong, and had a lot to learn about the Universe.

Besides, it wouldn't do her much good to be alone again.

Rose had never wanted her to be alone.

None of her companions had ever wanted her to be alone.

She yawned aloud, gaining the attention of a passing child. She smiled at it, a boy, and waved. The boy waved back.

Maybe she needed to get some rest. The Universe didn't need saving today.

So, the Doctor returned to her Tardis, she wandered down the hall, past familiar doors that she knew her old companions had inhabited once upon a time and made her way into her room. Pictures were plastered on this faces' wall. Memories that she could bear once again.

She smiled, slipped into her pajamas, and slid under her pink sheets.

Maybe one day she would see them again.

Maybe one day, she would see her again.

And just like that, the Universe's favorite timeless child went to rest.

Author's Note:

A friend I recently made, a whovian, and I was considering what "The Timless Child" could possibly mean. It made me want to write this. I dare not actually believe that Rose will come back, but I sure can hope and I believe the Doctor does too.