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Oh, he knew she was-a-comin’.
He wasn’t certain how he knew, but he knew. He could feel it. Feel her.
There were signs, subtle signs, like Clara singing Hungry Like the Wolf aboard the Russian submarine. And not so subtle signs like the blonde Barbie doll with the pink shirt, magically appearing in his bigger-on-the-inside pocket on that same adventure.
He knew it couldn’t really be her. She was gone. Living out her life with his previous self’s duplicate, with a mortgage and carpets, having the one adventure he could never have. Left her there without a goodbye because he couldn’t bear to do it again.
But she was coming. The BAD WOLF was coming.
And then, there she was, in his greatest hour of need.
The solution to saving Gallifrey, right there in front of him, and well, him twice more, proved to be the place, the MOMENT. His Secret, no longer a secret, howled joyfully and proclaimed that he could kiss her. His Tenth self looked shocked. The loss of his beloved was still a fresh wound for him. But now, this time, even though absolute confirmation of her presence snuck up on him a bit and he was understandidly bewildered, he knew who she was, knew she was there, her vow to always keep him safe echoing in his mind.
It all came back to him instantly: the first time as his Secret and not knowing who this beautiful girl was but grateful for her help, the second time as his Tenth incarnation with a flash of the previous memory and all the memories of his love for her, and now, as his Eleventh self.
The pieces fell into place. It had taken him 400 years to decipher this. The knowledge had been lost to him due to crossing time lines, but he could still sense something, someone that had been manipulating events for a very, very long time. And now it clicked.
He could just catch a glimpse of her, out of the corner of his eye, his pink-and-yellow girl an angelic vision of white not meant for his eyes. But he knew. She was there. She was always there, and would be there forever, just as she promised.
And as the celebration continued, he looked her way and knowingly smiled.