"I'm tired, Rose. I'm so very tired." He didn't mean physically, though there was that, too. The conversation was exhausting his reserves, but he couldn't leave it unfinished. There were so many things he and Rose had needed to say to each other, and if not now, then when? The next time he almost died? The next time he nearly lost her? No. The Doctor wasn't going to take that chance again.
"Maybe the next me can move on. Maybe I had to become him to leave everything else behind ... but I'm not him, yet. I don't plan on being him for a long time, for as long as the Seal will let me stay here. His companions, his friends, they aren't mine."
The Doctor hesitated, then, almost holding his breath. He was afraid to ask the next question, afraid of what Rose might say in response.
"Can we try again? You and me. Is it too late, or do we have another chance?"