Title: Armageddon

Rating: T

Warnings: Major spoilers for "Utopia", "The Sound of Drums" and "Last of the Time Lords"; violence; mild language; allusions to rape (but I promise nothing explicit or graphic)

A/N: *sheepishly waves* So… I did tell you that I was making no promises on this being a quick finish, and boy was that an incredible understatement. I've just been under so much stress lately, mentally, emotionally, physically. I won't go into all the gory details, but suffice to say, mental illness really fucking sucks and I do not EVER advocate just trying to push yourself through tough times through sheer will alone. It will not end well, trust me.

But, as I said in the previous chapter, this is just… so much less than I wanted for this part. I had such big plans for it, but they all kind of went to shit after these last couple of years decided to viciously pummel me into the ground. I have been having a difficult time writing, reading, watching shows… just. All motivation for anything is basically gone and it really sucks….

This story was one that I've been alternately incredibly proud of, frustrated by, infuriated with, and absolutely exhausted by for… what, five years now? Jesus, five years. That's fucking ridiculous. And to be honest, when I think about this story now I am filled with nothing but absolute hatred. I hate this story. All I see when I look at it anymore are all the things I fucked up, all the glaring, huge plot holes and mediocre (at best) writing…. I see every single flaw and I forget how much fun this story used to be. How much I loved sitting down to hammer out a new chapter, or a new scene. I feel disconnected with the characters now, with the story. I absolutely hate that.

And I hate that that means you guys are getting a subpar ending, from an author who has all but given up on the story. (If there even is anyone still reading this ridiculous monstrosity, anyway). I am so sorry, both for the terrible gaps between updates, and the increasingly shitty quality of said updates.

That being said, this is, finally, the last chapter of this story and I could not be more relieved to finally be posting this. I believe I've mentioned before that I plan to overhaul this fic and do an extensive rewrite, and I still do want to do that. But given current events that could be anywhere from six months to six years down the road…

I do want to say thank you to anyone and everyone who stuck with me through this process. Thank you for all of the support, the advice, the critique. If nothing else this was a huge learning experience and despite all the headaches this story has given me I absolutely wouldn't go back and undo it for anything. So thanks for reading, thanks for commenting, thanks for just being here to experience this with me. I appreciate it.

And now that I've rambled for about five hundred words, let's get on to the actual chapter, yeah?

Armageddon:

Part V: The Long Road Home

Chapter Two

Martha was right, the healing certainly did take time, but things slowly seemed to return to a version of normal. The extra guests in the TARDIS trickled out, bit by bit. Kate was the first to leave, citing UNIT's dire need of her in the coming months. She and Mycroft Holmes worked together quickly to get the Jones family out of the media and cleared of all charges—far more difficult than Mycroft would have let on, but doable given the Master's largely publicized mental break.

Francine and Clive seemed to be doing better—with one another, at any rate. Martha commented that her parents had rarely been in one another's company for so long without bickering, but these days they seemed far more content to just be. Tish was jumpy, but she had more resolve than perhaps their parents gave her credit for. It was barely two weeks later that she insisted on going back to work. Martha wasn't sure if was a good idea, but Tish insisted that she had to do something to feel normal again or she never would.

Jack left shortly after Kate did, insisting that the Doctor certainly didn't need his help in working with UNIT to get everything sorted out. And besides, his team was likely missing him. Even without the Year of Hell between them, it had been quite a while since he'd seen any of them. He thought of seeing Gwen again, alive and smiling, of Tosh and her sparkling eyes. Of Owen… God, he needed to see Owen again if only to get the image of his bloody corpse out of his mind. And Ianto, who he probably missed the most if he was being honest. He missed them all, of course, his little family.

"If you ever need anything…" Jack hesitated before stepping out the doors. "If you ever need anything you know where we are."

"Of course," the Doctor's smile still seemed sad, and forced, but every day it looked a little bit brighter, a little bit more natural.

Sarah Jane came and went for a while, but ultimately she too had other obligations, and she'd already spent much of her youth with the Doctor. She would rather be grounded these days, and she had a son to look after now.

"But my home is always open," she promised him with a smile and a hug. "Any time you want to visit."

The Doctor's eyes had been sad, but he grinned and hugged her back. "The TARDIS will certainly always have a place for you, Sarah Jane." It looked to Spencer like it broke his heart a little to see her leave, but he had little doubt that the Doctor would see her again. She was probably the best friend he had in the world and nothing could keep them apart for too long.

Finally, nearly a full month after the Master had been stopped, Martha announced that she was leaving. The Doctor rarely stayed in one place for so long, but Spencer got the feeling that he had stayed as long as he had in the hopes that Martha would eventually be ready to travel again once her family recovered. Only, recovery was a daunting and long process, and Martha had her own recovering to do as well.

Spencer stayed back while the two of them talked, but he could still read the expression on Martha face, and had talked her himself while she struggled to make the right choice over the last few weeks. In the end, she'd decided it was better for her, and her family, if she stayed in London. Not only did she not want to leave her family alone, but she'd realized that she was only hurting herself by nursing what she had called a "ridiculous crush" on the Doctor. The adventure was fun, soaring through time and space were amazing, but she felt it was time to keep her feet on planet earth. Make something of herself, for herself.

Spencer could hardly blame her. If he was in any way ready, mentally or emotionally, to go home he would have himself. But his head still felt off-kilter, the nightmares seemed less intense inside the comforting walls of the TARDIS, but he was certain they would be worse alone in his small, dark apartment back in 2011. No, he was certainly not ready to go home just yet. He couldn't even begin to figure out how he was going to deal with seeing the team again (and he longed to see them, he really did), but until he was sure that he could do so without breaking down immediately, the TARDIS felt like the safest place for him.

Besides, he couldn't leave the Doctor with no one. Not when his eyes still seemed so sad and his smile still came so rarely.

He quietly eased himself into the control room once Martha had said her final goodbye.

"She's really gone…" the Doctor whispered quietly.

Spencer came to stand next to him and gently reach out, taking his hand in his own. "It was for the best," he told him. "She needed to leave."

The Doctor turned to look at him, dark eyes curious. "And you, Spencer? Do you need to leave too?"

He shook his head. "Not just yet," he said. "I… don't think I'm ready to face the future at the moment. Too much still rattling around in my head for that."

"Hmm," the Doctor grunted quietly, nodding. They stood there for a long moment, the Doctor staring at the door where Martha had left, seeming to will her back inside the TARDIS. Finally, he pulled his hand out of Spencer's and turned to the console, running his fingers gently over the buttons and watching the screens with somber eyes.

"She's starting to get a bit restless," he commented, glancing at Spencer. Spencer moved closer, watching the Doctor. The sadness was still there, heavy behind his eyes, but there was something else there, too. Something Spencer hadn't seen in over a year. A small spark.

"Probably not used to sitting still this long," he said.

"Nor am I, really…" The Doctor said. He touched one of the levers and seemed to consider his next words very carefully. "Martha… Martha mentioned a friend of hers, from medical school. Molly Hooper. Said she'd seemed interested in taking a trip… We could… look her up. Take a quick trip, somewhere nice. Tropical maybe."

Spencer grinned, feeling a bit lighter than he had a few moments ago.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said. "Get away from London. Make new memories."

"New friends…" the Doctor nodded. He thoughtfully stroked the lever before locking eyes with Spencer. "No time like the present," he said, trailing off a bit, still wary of pushing too quickly, or too hard.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Spencer asked.

The Doctor's sad eyes sparkled and he flipped the lever, his smile lighter and more real than it had been in weeks.

"Allons-y!"

-fin-

A/N: *collapses* Is… Is it over? Am I done? Holy shit! It's over! *shoots off fireworks* IT'S FINALLY OVER! PRAISE LUCIFER IT'S FINISHED!

*slumps down* It's… well it's short, not anything at all like what I had planned, and probably disappointing (I am so so sorry!), but it's actually OVER and I already feel like I can breathe again!

And I will work on a better ending for when I actually get to the rewrite, but for now you guys get this short, likely not-worth-the-wait ending. Again, I'm just. I'm sorry. I appreciate you guys sticking with this, I love your comments and support and everything and you deserve better, but… this is really the best I can do right now and that's not fair, but I could not stand leaving this unfinished any longer so I hope you all understand.

Thank you so much for putting up with me and for reading!