Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

Here is the final chapter for this episode! The first chapter of Episode VI will be posted on Friday:

Doctor Who: Parallax – Saints and Sinners

After defeating the Dalek, The Doctor decides Rose needs a break from all the chaos. He takes her the year 76043 to spend a few days on a luxury starliner touring the Eagle Nebula. It soon becomes clear that something is off, however, when the ship's guests can't seem to stop dancing.

Narutoluvr9: I. Know. :D Hahahaha, glad you're enjoying it! Royslady51: Well, if this were the original Nine, he'd think it meant "Hits on anything that moves. And, if she's drunk, coat racks." Jeni27: Muahahahahahaha... *Cough, cough, hack, clears throat* I really need to work on that. Mauve Guest: Oooh, I have the feeling Chamberlain knows exactly what he's unleashed... *rubs hands together maniacally* Emmitha: Well, since you asked so nicely... Payton-Hale: I know how you feel. I was lucky enough to discover "Outlander" when there were already six books out. If I had been with it from the beginning, I'd have rioted in the damn street after Book 2 ended. Vaylyn: Good to know I've created the literary form of black tar heroin. :D Blue Stone Shining Wolf: Yeah, sorry about that. You had just gotten done saying how you like alternate universe stories partly because of Jake and I was like: ...awkwaaaaaard. Also, it's Batman or no-man. Lady Dunla: I am very glad to hear I managed to pull off proper Dalek scariness. I don't have a ton of experience with truly evil, menacing characters. Practice, practice, practice! TK: It's all cool, just figured we should stick to British protocols. Like Dame Judy Dench and Dame Helen Mirren. Holy crap I love Helen Mirren. But, back to topic, glad you enjoyed the bonus! Unfortunately I can't answer a single question because, and it almost kills me to say this, "Spoilers!" But you will have your reunion wish granted very shortly!

The Doctor felt oddly calm as he strode with grim purpose through the barren halls of Level SB12. He had no weapon, no escape route, and no plan. What he had was a crystal-clear, resolute mind devoid of all fear, and two simple objectives. First, he would kill the Dalek; not for his people, not for himself, and not to end the Time War. He would destroy the creature because he had to. Then, he would find Rose, and he would bring her home to her family and see her buried. The empty ache in his chest redoubled at the thought, and he let it. He could do no less for her, and he didn't think much further beyond that; his mind rebelled at the thought of returning to the TARDIS without her. He didn't know where he'd go, but he knew without hesitation who he would be: the man she believed in, the man she'd died for.

Tonight, though, he was filled with decisive purpose. He had finally faced the darkness inside himself, the soldier he'd so feared. He knew it would always be a part of him, but from this moment on, he would learn to live with it, to understand and control it. He turned corner after corner, searching for the creature who had wrought such destruction. He couldn't even think of the Dalek as the enemy, as the last surviving soldier of the late Great Dalek Empire. It was a lone animal, without conscience or empathy, that had done what it was bred to do, and in the process it had signed its own death warrant. The Doctor would see the suffering ended. He would not taunt it, and he would not gloat. He would kill it as quickly and mercifully as he could, for there was no victory in this.

"You're lucky. So very, very lucky," his own words, the words of the man he would someday become, echoed in his mind.

"I know," he'd replied.

"No, you don't. Not yet. But you will." And he did. Probably better than his alternate self could ever have imagined. He could only hope the last bit was equally true, "Just know that it's worth it. All of it. Even after she's gone."

The Doctor turned a corner, then, and stopped short. Every thought fled from his brain and his breath escaped him. He barely noticed the demolished casing of the Dalek, blasted open like a macabre orchid, for the vision in red silk that stood over it, her back turned to him. She still held the Plasma Canon limply at her side, the strap dragging on the concrete floor. For several seconds, he well and truly didn't believe his eyes, but as she slowly began to move, turning in his direction, unreserved joy and relief crashed through his body. She held herself high, a bruised and bloody Boudica, her weary face a reflection of relief and regret until she saw him standing there.

"You're alive," he rasped, as her eyes met his and the smile slowly spread across his face, "Rose, you're alive."

"'Course I am," she replied, "An army of Daleks couldn't kill me, and believe me, they've tried." She was trying to be flip, trying to put on a brave face, but as he saw the already weak, watery smile begin to collapse, his own smile fell.

"Oh, Rose," he breathed, and rushed forward. She dropped the gun and threw herself into his arms, threading her own under his jacket and clinging to him desperately as the wracking sobs overtook her. He hadn't missed the blood trailing heavily from her right ear, but as it clearly wasn't her primary concern, he put it on the backburner.

"He's dead," she sobbed into his jumper, "Jake's dead. They're all dead." He held her tighter.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, earnestly, kissing her forehead, "I'm so very sorry."

"They..." she stumbled on the words, "They died because of me, Doctor. They died so I could get away, so I could..." With that, the guilt and anger overtook her and she fell into incomprehensible, wailing sobs, her whole body shaking as she cried and struggled for breath.

"No, Rose, this isn't your fault," he insisted, gripping her shoulders more tightly, his hearts aching for her, "None of this is your fault." She continued to cry, holding on to him like she might collapse if she let go, and he stood torn between his own unending joy at finding her alive and his utter sorrow for her profound loss. A loss he knew all too well. It didn't take long for her sobs to abate, that magnitude of outpouring could never last long. When she seemed to have caught her breath, he took her shoulders and put some space between them, just enough that he could see her face.

"Rose," he prodded gently, "Rose look at me." She reluctantly lifted her gaze to his, eyelids puffy and red under the darkly smeared makeup. "It isn't your fault," he insisted, moving his hands to cradle her face, "Please, believe me. I know, and you don't want to live with that. It isn't your fault they died, and it isn't your fault you lived." She wouldn't believe it right away, probably not even in a day or a week or a month, but someday she would, and as she looked up at him, it was clear she trusted him absolutely. When she seemed to be calming down further, he continued.

"Right now, we need to find a way to get word to Pete and Mickey you're all right, Rose. I don't want to get slapped anymore tonight." The surprised snort of laughter was exactly what he'd been looking for, and he gave her another quick, firm hug before they eased apart. "Also need to have a look at that ear," he pointed out, brow creased in concern as he tilted her head for a better look, "What happened?"

"Dalek blasted the communicator out of my ear," she explained, and he couldn't control the shocked look on his face or the chill that ran through him as he realized how close she'd come. "Speakin' of, where's yours?"

"Left it behind," he said, schooling himself and taking her hand as they started down the hall, away from the remains of the Dalek, "I couldn't listen to Pete callin' your name while I – while I looked for you." Rose squeezed his hand, understanding.

"Thank you," she said, and there was nothing else to say.

Once the lockdown protocols had been lifted, Rose and The Doctor took the elevator up to the lobby where Pete, Mickey, and Donna were all waiting for them. There had been all manner of hugging and fussing over Rose, and The Doctor had tolerated all the rampant domesticity fairly well. However, when Pete had tried to usher her off to the medical unit, The Doctor had put his foot down, insisting he bring her to the infirmary in the TARDIS. They found compromise by doing as The Doctor said, though Pete, Mickey, and Donna all insisted on accompanying her. The Doctor had been less than patient about catering to Pete and Donna's surprise upon entering his ship, and Mickey had blessedly assumed the task of acquainting them with Superior Time Lord Technology.

So it was that Rose found herself sitting on the gurney with The Doctor hovering around her with his Sonic and all manner of other medical devices while her stepfather, ex boyfriend, and one of her dearest friends stood around questioning him and trying entirely too hard to soothe her. She was exhausted, her nerves were frayed, and though she was eternally grateful to have such loving, concerned people in her life, she desperately wanted a moment alone with The Doctor. There was so much she had to say, and after everything they'd been through that night, she was running low on patience.

Finally, The Doctor had rendered his diagnosis, and it was much as she'd expected. The eardum had ruptured, and would eventually heal, but the cochlea was damaged beyond repair. Rose was hardly concerned with the news, though Pete, Mickey, and Donna were all outraged and demanded The Doctor explain why he couldn't fix it. After shouting them down, no easy feet where Donna was concerned, he had gone on to explain that he could take her to a hospital where she could have a new cochlea, grown from her own DNA, implanted in its place. To lighten the mood, Rose had asked if she could maybe get one from a bat, instead. No one laughed.

"What's that?" Rose asked as The Doctor began fiddling with something that looked terribly similar to a hot glue gun.

"Medical aerogel," he said, tilting her head sideways a little, "I'm using it to fill your inner ear cavity, support the basic structure and keep the air pressure equalized until we get you to the hospital. Silver nanoparticles will prevent the growth of bacteria. Now, hold still." Rose did as she was asked, though she cringed a bit, expecting something cold or slimy or generally unpleasant. Instead, it felt light and soft, perfectly adjusted to her body temperature.

"Why not take her, now?" Mickey asked, not bothering to mitigate his critical tone. The Doctor shot him a scathing look.

"So that Rose can stay for the memorial," The Doctor said coldly as he finished the application. That shut Mickey up. "All right, next stop, the Tyler estate. Anyone who wants to go elsewhere, leave." Without further ceremony, The Doctor exited the infirmary, leaving Rose's odd little hodgepodge family speechless in his wake.

"Well," Mickey finally said, "Guess that's me, then. Sorry, Rose, I just need to get back to Julie and the kids. Let 'em know I'm all right." Rose shook her head, smiling.

"Don't worry about it, Mick. I understand," she said, "Say 'hi' to them for me, yeah?"

"Of course," he smiled and gave her a sideways hug as she sat on the gurney.

"Last call!" The Doctor's booming voice drifted back to them from the console room.

"Oi!" Mickey shouted back, releasing Rose, "I'm comin', then!" Rose shook her head as he marched out of the room.

"What about you?" Rose asked Donna.

"What? And leave you with that freaky Martian? Not bloody likely," Donna said, crossing her arms, "Besides, granddad's at your place tonight. There was a meteor shower or somesuch."

"For the last time, he's not a Martian," Rose said, plopping backward on the gurney in exasperation.

"Come on, then, Rose," The Doctor prodded gently a few minutes later, "I can already hear Jackie bangin' down the doors."

"I was once assured the assembled hordes of Genghis Khan couldn't get through," Rose smiled. She was feeling a touch better after Donna had dug some wet wipes out of her handbag and gently cleaned the smeared makeup and dried blood off Rose's face and neck.

"Yes, well, Genghis never met your mother," The Doctor replied, and Rose and Pete couldn't help but laugh at that. Even Donna smiled despite her best efforts. Still chuckling, Rose allowed The Doctor to help her off the gurney and onto her feet.

"Don't suppose there's time to change." Rose commented as he walked her out of the infirmary, Pete and Donna trailing behind. The growing sound of Jackie's shouting was more than answer enough.

"'Fraid not," The Doctor replied, unnecessarily.

Much to The Doctor's surprise, after being team tackled by both Jackie and Tony and finally changing into tracksuit bottoms and a jumper, Rose had declined to go to bed. Instead, she'd followed Donna outside to where Wilf had set up his telescope, saying the only thing she wanted after being trapped more than ten stories underground was to spend some time under the open night sky; and what a sky it was. It would be days, perhaps, before the grid was restored, and with all of Britain and Western Europe gone dark on the new moon, the Milky Way was truly breathtaking. So, The Doctor found himself sitting on the soft, cool grass of the Tylers' back lawn with Rose leaning gently against his side.

"You know," The Doctor began, softly, "The London sky hasn't looked like this in over five hundred years."

"Prove it," Rose teased, nudging him gently. Donna and Wilf sat several yards away on the posh chairs taken from the formal dining room, giving Rose and The Doctor enough space to talk amongst themselves.

"Deal," he said, simply. Rose was alive. He would spend a hundred thousand nights just staring up at the stars from every world he could think of, and a number he couldn't, as long as she was there. For the first time in a long, long time he could see the vast, terrible, and humbling beauty of the universe. He could feel just how tiny and insignificant he was, even with all his nine hundred years, and marveled in the knowledge that they could get in his ship any minute and see all of it. Together.

You're lucky. So very, very lucky.

"I think I've put some of it together," Rose said, after a time.

"What?"

"Chamberlain," she said, softly, "He was Metropolitan Police Commissioner before he became head of Torchwood."

"So?"

"So, he won the position after 'saving' the city after a freak summer storm. He had first responders dispatched to all corners of the city in record time. Saved hundreds of lives. He even harassed the mayor into using the city's disaster insurance to help residents rebuild their homes and businesses."

"The Goane," The Doctor suddenly realized, cursing inwardly, "He abducted the Goane and forced her to generate the storm so he could step in and save the day."

"And win over the Torchwood Board of Directors," she concluded, "Though, he could've run for mayor, instead. Easily. Not sure why he wanted to be in charge of Torchwood so badly."

"And we interfered," The Doctor pointed out, "Too late to really ruin his plans, but just the same."

"I can't figure out that bit about another companion, though," she continued, "When I figured out the connection with the Goane, I thought maybe it meant Martha, but she isn't in Cardiff. She's here in London."

"All the same, we should check it out. Maybe she's travelling."

"Nearly full term? Unlikely. But you're right. Just in case." Rose allowed. Then, somewhat hesitantly she added, "It might not be over, Doctor. With the Daleks." The Doctor shifted slightly, to look at her, but he said nothing, and she could see his expression was open, relaxed. Taking a deep breath, she sat upright and turned herself around to face him. She struggled for her words, unsure where to start, but once she'd begun, she found her pace. For the next two hours she told him everything. Everything she'd done and every place she'd gone with The Doctor, the good and the bad and the fun and the tragic. She told him every detail she could remember, not knowing if any of it might have any relevancy some day. She told him about Adam and about Jack, not catching the unwitting flash of jealousy in his eyes as she picked at the blades of grass and pulled them apart in her fingers.

She told him about Satellite Five and, later, the Gamestation. She told him what she'd done to return to The Doctor, about the Bad Wolf, and what he'd told her after it was over, about the things she couldn't remember. She knew he'd held some of it back, only disclosing those things that couldn't be explained by anything other than the truth. She told him how she suspected it was her fault he regenerated, though he'd refused to ever explicitly confirm as much. She told him how the regeneration went badly, how he'd woken up to save them from the Sycorax at the last minute. He listened with an inexplicable displeasure to everything thereafter, everything she'd gone through with his next regeneration, with the pretty boy. Hearing about Madame du Pompadour and the incident on the planetoid orbiting a black hole didn't improve matters much. She told him about Mickey traveling with them, and though he was mildly horrified by the notion, it did explain how Mickey the Idiot knew the first thing about his magnificent ship.

Finally, with a steadiness she never thought she'd be able to muster when discussing the matter, she told him about the Cybermen and the Cult of Skaro and the Battle of Canary Wharf. As she recounted how The Doctor had informed her so matter-of-factly that she would be going to the parallel universe with Jackie and Pete and Mickey; without The Doctor; his fists reflexively clinched. Still, he listened quietly, patiently, as she told him how she returned for The Doctor, yet again, and how Pete had saved her at the last minute when she lost her grip. He didn't say a word as she told him about driving thousands of miles to a deserted beach in Norway to say 'goodbye,' and she never told him what she said to her Doctor. The only part she held back in the whole, long tale was how she'd felt about the other Time Lord. When it was over, they sat there in silence for some time.

"What did you do?" he asked, finally, "After that?"

"I spent the next two years trying to find a way back, and then," she paused, a memory bubbling up unbidden, and she smiled, "And then I traveled. I ate the food, used the wrong verbs, got charged double, and ended up kissing complete strangers." The Doctor couldn't help but laugh at that, clueless that she was, in a way, quoting him.

"That's fantastic, Rose," he beamed at her, "Absolutely fantastic."

Rose entered the TARDIS five days later, a bag full of new clothes Jackie had insisted she buy slung over one shoulder. The Doctor looked up from his work as she entered, smiling warmly, before returning his attention to the console.

"So, how was it?" he asked, concentrating on the monitor. Rose dropped her bag on the floor and sat down on the jump seat.

"It was lovely," she said, a bit wistful, "Cried a bit when Mickey spoke." The Doctor's look was sympathetic.

"How is Mickey?" he asked, and Rose glanced at him to see if he was sincere. He absolutely was.

"He's holdin' up. They were best mates, he and Jake, and Mickey knew nearly all the tac team members. Trained at least half of them. It's rough, but he's strong, Mick. And he's got Julie."

"That's good," The Doctor acknowledged, "I'm glad."

"Oh, off with ya," Rose teased, her tongue between her teeth, "You can't stand 'im."

"He cares about you, Rose," The Doctor said simply, "That's enough for me." For a moment, she smiled at him with that broad, genuine smile, and his hearts warmed. However, there was business to attend to, and he clapped his hands together, "Now, we've a few ground rules to discuss."

"I already know," Rose dismissed, "No wanderin' off; don't incite revolutions; dress appropriately for historical time periods, especially during eras when people still believed in witches; never 'hit' on eighteen; don't feed the wildlife; and never get involved in a land war in Asia." The Doctor gave her a withering look. "What?" she asked, innocently.

"There are new rules," he began, "Just for you. Turns out, there are some things I didn't anticipate."

"So you didn't think of everything."

"Can I have a bit of hush?" he asked with exaggerated dignity, "First, Rose Tyler, is that you are never, ever to leave me behind again while you go swannin' off to get yourself killed. No goin' where I can't follow. Got that?" He was trying to keep it light, but the uncertainty in her eyes tugged at his hearts. "Look," he said more seriously, walking over to her and holding out his hand. She took it and stood up to face him. "I know why you did it. It was the only thing you could do, but I promise you, Rose, I will never put you in a position to make that choice again," he said, searching her face, "And, Rose, I will never leave you behind. Not willingly. It's together, or not at all, from here. Do you trust me?"

"Yeah," she smiled, not hesitating a second, "I trust you."

"Good," he beamed back before dragging her, unceremoniously, to the console, "Next rule is flip that switch."

"That's oddly specific," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. He smirked back at her.

"It has become abundantly clear to me that you will not stay put when asked, and while I promise not to leave you behind, that doesn't mean we won't get separated. As such, you will be required to learn to fly the TARDIS. Because, Rose," he grew gravely serious all of a sudden, "You cannot look into the Vortex again. Not ever. You did it once, in your universe, and it's a wonder it didn't kill you, then. If you do it, here..." He didn't finish his statement, just stared into her with those fierce gray eyes, trying desperately to convey the importance of his words.

"What?" Rose asked, "What will happen?"

"The Time Vortex is incomprehensibly powerful, Rose. How it didn't burn out your mind, I'll never know, but I do know a little was left behind. Sort of like a stained coffee mug. That ring is never coming out, and if you did the same here, if Vortex energy from my universe blended with the remnants from your universe..." he struggled to find his next words, "It could tear you apart, Rose. Two opposing universes pulling you apart, atom-by-atom. It could destroy you, or erase you from history, or pull you into the void, I don't know. Just promise me. Promise me you will never try to access the Time Vortex, ever again." Rose swallowed hard.

"I promise," she said, and after a few moments, he smiled.

"Well then," he said, stepping back, "Flip the switch. Oh, and it's a bit close in this wardrobe, try not to scratch up the sides. I haven't got comprehensive."

"'S 'cause you can't insure a stolen vehicle," she pointed out, flipping the indicated switch.

"Just for that, I'm making you learn how to parallel park."

Footnote:

"So give me hope in the darkness that I will see the light

'Cause oh that gave me such a fright

But I will hold on with all of my might

Just promise me we'll be all right"

-Mumford & Sons: Ghosts That We Knew