I really like the way you incorporated so much of older episodes into his thought processes here. Like his mind is too full of all he didn't do with Rose and all he can no longer do, and he's still finding himself.
Thank you - and yes, that's what I was aiming for, pretty much. Also I wanted to show how - despite loving her dearly - Rose only knows a tiny snippet of him. He is very, very old, and has done pretty much everything (including being human, being trapped on earth, had a family etc), and he tends to only open up in bits. That is, different companions see different parts (as it were), and suddenly being stuck in one place and one time with one woman, he's going to have to learn to open up in a completely different way. (He's kinda skimming the surface a lot here, holding back on all the dark stuff, continually being drawn to it, but pulling back for her sake. WHich is of course one reason he needs her.)

I'd never realized how often those elements repeat themselves in this story.
As I wrote I just kept thinking of more things - it kept running away from me!

I think that's why his relationship with Rose resonates so well with me - because she's the antidote to all that.
The wonderful thing with Rose is that a lot of the time she *didn't* demand answers, she just wanted to be there. I think their relationship might be pretty hard work (to say the least), but I think they'll probably make it.

Like you write about humans always searching for that second heart - out of biological necessity.
Oh thank you so much for mentioning that part - I was very pleased when I thought of it! :)

You're playing with so many ideas and history here. I really loved it.
Squee! I'm so glad you liked it, because my head was spinning with all this stuff, and I really hoped it'd work for other people too. Thank you lots and lots for your wonderful feedback!