Hey, my first finished Doctor Who thing. Finally. I've got about a million things in plan, and this was the first I got finished.

Angels Take Manhattan was on tv tonight, and I just got a random idea, so . . .

Yeah, if you couldn't tell, I never let go of Rose. Still haven't.

And, hey, my first DW fic, of hopefully quite a few.

Enjoy :)

Afterword

Dimension-hopping could really take its toll. The blonde staggered a little as she materialised on a bridge, and caught onto the stone railing to keep herself steady. The gun strapped to her back hit it at the same time she did, making a loud clack and startling her.

Looking around the unfamiliar surroundings, Rose Tyler tucked the device she had used not ten seconds ago inside the folds of her jacket, and gave a slightly awkward grin to a shocked woman who had been walking by at the time. The woman paused, frowned, then shook her head as though dismissing a figment of imagination, before continuing on.

'Right,' Rose muttered, straightening her gun. Holding up a hand to shield her face from the bright sunlight, she thought: Where am I?

It was Earth, definitely. And a time period not all that different from the one she had left a few years ago.

This thought gave her hope. Maybe she was close.

A small object in her peripheral vision prompted her to turn around and walk further down the bridge, before stopping in front of a basket resting on the ledge. A piece of paper was resting there, as though it had been placed inside not all that long ago. Prompted by the familiar feeling of curiosity she had never been able to control, Rose picked it up.

Afterword: By Amelia Williams

Hello, old friend. And here we are. You and me, on the last page. By the time you read these words, Rory and I will be long gone, so know that we lived well, and were very happy. And above all else, know that we will love you, always. Sometimes I do worry about you, though. I think once we're gone, you won't be coming back here for a while, and you might be alone, which you should never be.

Don't be alone, Doctor. And do one more thing for me.

There's a little girl waiting in a garden. She's going to wait a long while, so she's going to need a lot of hope. Go to her. Tell her a story. Tell her that if she's patient, the days are coming that she'll never forget. Tell her she'll go to see and fight pirates, she'll fall in love with a man that will wait 2000 years to keep her safe. Tell her she'll give hope to the greatest painter who ever lived, and save a whale in outer space. Tell her: this is the story of Amelia Pond, and this is how it ends.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He hadn't been alone, after all, like she had been afraid of. That was one of the best things she could have hoped for.

And by the sound of it, there had been no shortage of adventures. Pirates, a whale, a man that would wait 2000 years . . .

But clearly Amelia had been torn from him. Rose could detect the painful ache behind the message, and smiled again, but this time it was small and sad. There she was, this Amelia Williams, trying to lessen the blow for him.

Rose was tempted to pocket the piece of paper, but her subconscious told her that it was there for a reason. The person who was meant to read it hadn't found it yet. So she set it back in the basket at just the right angle so it couldn't blow away. Something told her that the Doctor needed hope right now. And she was going to let him have it.

But, she also had a feeling she was at the wrong point in time. This wasn't the Doctor she was searching for. She had to leave, now.

And so, she walked back along the bridge, before hoisting herself up onto the ledge and sitting there, watching the ripples on the surface of the water. She knew she needed to leave, but couldn't fight the urge to wait. Just for a bit.

And sure enough, a man sprinted past her, almost too quickly for her to see. He skidded to a stop in front of the basket and delicately picked up the piece of paper, the grief evident on his face. His green eyes scanned over the message, and he started to exhale slowly. Rose took that moment to examine him from afar, as apparently he hadn't noticed she was there.

Or perhaps he did, and he just didn't care.

This was obviously a future regeneration of him. He wore a tweed jacket and suspenders, and his hair was longer than it used to be. He had changed quite a bit.

But he was still the Doctor. And it still pained Rose to see him, yet refrain from just running over there and flinging herself at him.

This wasn't the Doctor she was looking for.

And she needed to leave before her self-control caved in. Searching around in her jacket once more, Rose fished out the dimension-hopper, ready to press the button.

And just seconds before she left, the Doctor looked up and saw her properly. In that space of time, surprise, happiness and pain seemed to cross his face all at once. But Rose knew she had to go. She gave him her signature tongue-in-teeth smile and waved a little, before punching the button.

The last thing she heard was his cry of 'Rose!' before she hurtled through the Void.