"I have had twenty years without you so button it!" Jackie Tyler cried, pushing away the parallel double of her dead husband. "I'm not leaving her!"

"Mum, you've got to!" Rose told her.

"Like Hell I will! You're my daughter!"

"Jacks, please-" Pete began, but Jackie immediately turned back to him and began shouting once more.

Rose spun around and met the Doctor's gaze. She knew he wanted her to go with her mum to Pete's World, where they were safe. They were all covered in Void Stuff now, her mum having unknowingly grabbed into the Doctor when Jake transported them back to the parallel Torchwood. But he would never force her, and she would never go. Her place was by his side, as she'd been for the last two years.

She moved towards him and grasped his hands, pleading at him with her eyes. "Save her," she whispered. "Please. I don't care what you have to do."

"Rose," the deep, velvety voice she loved so much washed over her. "You'll never see her again. We can't just pop over to Pete's World when this is all done..." He took in a breath and squeezed her hands. "You could still go with her..."

She ducked her head and took in a deep, shuddering breath. She raised her eyes to meet his blue gaze, the emotion in them strengthening her resolve and forming her final decision. "I made my decision a long time ago, Doctor, remember? We stood on that planet and I promised you my forever. Whether it's one day or a hundred years it's yours. I'm never gonna leave you. I-"

Rather than let her finish her sentence, the Doctor pulled her into his embrace, holding her so tightly she could barely breathe. He placed a firm kiss to her forehead, pressing his against hers when he broke away. "Turn her away from me. Say what you need to say, I'm going to put this around her neck and Pete will take them over. I'm sorry-" He stopped for a moment and swallowed. "I wish there were another way."

"I know," she whispered back, trying to choke back the lump in her throat. She didn't realize she'd been crying until the Doctor's thumbs ever so gently brushed away the tears on her cheek. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me until it works," he muttered, squeezing her shoulders briefly before spinning her around to where Jackie and Pete were still arguing.

"Mum," Rose began, putting herself between the pair. "If you stay here, you're gonna die or worse. I can't let that happen to you!" She broke off, reaching up to gather Jackie in a hug. "You've been the best mum I could ever ask for. And I promise, I'm gonna be okay. I've got the Doctor, and he's got me." She met his gaze over he mother's shoulder and nearly melted at the look of incredible tenderness that passed over his face. "You don't need to worry. I love you."

Rose pulled back just in time to see the Doctor drop the dimension hopper around Jackie's neck. Rose stepped back, trying to hold back her tears as her mother stared at her questioningly.

"Rose, what-?"

Those were the last words she heard her mother say before Jackie disappeared in front of her eyes.

The Doctor immediately stepped forward, gathering her into his arms. She took in great, shuddering breaths, trying to push gown the wracking sobs that were threatening to escape.

"I'm sorry," he murmured as Rose let the familiar feel and smell of his leather jacket wash over her. She let her sense memories calm her, the feelings of always being safe whenever she was nestled in his arms.

"I'll be all right," she whispered back, raising her eyes so she could meet his gaze. "Save the world first, yeah?"

She barely had a moment to register the flash in his eyes before he was kissing her, pressing her body against his so tightly that she could barely breathe. Everything melted away, the blinding white of the room, the screeches of Daleks and Cybermen, the fact that she would never see her mother again, and all she knew was that the Doctor was kissing her. She'd been imagining this for the better part of two years and the reality was incomparable. His lips were pillow-soft against hers, his slightly-cooler tongue was stroking against hers, the kiss somehow balancing perfectly between reverent and voracious.

The groan that escaped his chest when she snaked her fingers through his closely-shorn hair was intoxicating. She whimpered and pressed herself as close as possible as he led her back towards the closest possible surface...

Which turned out not to be a surface at all. She stumbled back against one of the levers, smiling at the Doctor's completely dazed expression as he broke the kiss but still clutched her to him, keeping her upright.

"Blimey," he muttered, pressing his forehead against hers. He reached out one arm to steady himself against the lever and frowned.

"This lever isn't steady," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead and pulling the sonic out of his coat pocket. "Go set those coordinates to six. I'm going to fix this and then how about you and me save the universe?"

The winds from the Void died down gradually as the last Daleks and Cybermen were sucked in, the edges crumpling in like paper, closing itself just as the Doctor said it would. Her feet touched the ground gently. It was almost anticlimactic, certainly not the drama that she was used to. She let go of her clamp and stared at her hands without really seeing them. She didn't even realize they were shaking until the Doctor's larger ones closed over her, stilling her tremors and gently imploring her to look at him.

"We did it, Rose. It's over," he said, cupping her cheek. "We saved the world."

"Yeah," she replied, allowing him to pull her into his arms.

The walls were closed. No way for her to get back and no way to get there. Her mother was trapped on the other side of the blank, bleak white wall and there was no way she could get to her.

Rose broke away from the Doctor and stepped towards the wall, pressing her cheek and palm against the cool plaster. She closed her eyes, desperate for any contact with her mother, and imagined she could almost feel her, just on the other side of the wall, reaching out for Rose just as Rose was reaching out for her.

The Doctor came up behind her and pressed his hand over hers, letting his other rest on her shoulder as he laced their fingers together. Rose turned away from the wall and, letting the entirety of her loss wash over her, buried her face against his chest, finally allowed her tears to fall.

The Doctor ended up needing to carry Rose back to the TARDIS. She had sobbed against him for the better part of half an hour before going eerily silent except for the occasional deep, shuddering breath. She was conscious, but not responsive, and he was terrified that she was going into shock. He had to get her where he could monitor her and keep her warm.

He managed to cradle her against him with one hand and unlock his ship with the other, kicking the door shut behind him and using the same foot to flip a lever and send them into the vortex. He immediately took her into the hall and into his rarely-used bedroom, sending a mental thanks to the TARDIS for always keeping it tidy and ready, just in case he ever needed it.

He lay Rose gently on top of the navy duvet and sighed as she curled into a fetal position. She was shivering, and he set about the task of removing her clothing with a great deal of effort focused on clinical detachment. Finally he had her down to her black camisole and knickers, stripping down to his own pants and climbing into the bed behind her. He coaxed her under the duvet and spooned next to her, pulling her against him so that as much of their skin was in contact as possible.

The Doctor, despite being rather distracted by the scantily-clad Rose nestled in his arms, concentrated on raising his body temperature several degrees in order to help keep her warm. Her shivering slowed after a few minutes and she seemed to become slightly more aware, turning to face him and burrowing snugly into his chest. He stroked her hair as she drifted off to sleep, feeling a wave guilt wash over him for being so content while his precious girl had just lost most of what mattered to her in the world because of him.

He sighed and buried his nose in her hair. He'd take her to Barcelona. They still hadn't made it there, despite numerous attempts, and he knew the isolated, sunny beaches would be the perfect place for her. She could spend their days swimming and tanning while he could bury himself in research. Even if they couldn't get Jackie back, they could still send her a message. Allow Rose to have a proper good-bye.

Maybe if they were very, very lucky, he would be able to make his girl smile again before they left the planet.