Bannerman Road was quiet when Sarah Jane pulled into her driveway. It was after eleven o'clock, and in suburban neighbourhoods like this, that was past everyone's bedtime.

The Doctor climbed out of the car first, then held out a hand for Rose. All three humans were stifling yawns as they walked up to the house, and after she hung up her jacket and keys, Sarah Jane turned to her guests.

"I'll show you where you can sleep, but then I think we should get to bed and save any planning for morning. I know I'm too tired to think strategically right now, and I assume everyone else is too." She smoothed her hands down her shirt and wiped her palms on her jeans. "I only have two rooms, but one has a queen bed…"

Everyone looked at the Doctor, and after a quick glance at Rose confirmed that she was comfortable with the idea, he nodded at Sarah Jane. "We can share."

Ten minutes later, he and Rose were staring at each other from opposite sides of the bed. They'd both changed into the pyjamas he kept in his coat, and he grinned delightedly at her adorable pink vest and shorts set decorated with bananas.

Rose tucked her hair back over her ears, and the nervous tic caught his attention. "Is something wrong?"

She shrugged. "You don't… I know you don't sleep much," she mumbled. "You don't have to stay with me all night, if you'd rather sit and read or something."

The Doctor turned down the duvet and climbed into bed, then patted the empty space beside him. "I don't need to sleep, but I love holding you," he told her, feeling a sharp burst of warmth when her eyes lit up. "Come to bed, love," he invited, unsurprised that the pitch of his voice dropped when he uttered such an intimate sentence.

Rose turned the lamp off, then slid beneath the duvet and pulled it up around her shoulders as she cuddled next to him. Her head rested on his shoulder and her hand was splayed between his hearts. "This all right?" she whispered.

The Doctor swallowed. "Yeah. It's perfect." She sighed, and he shivered when he felt her breath against his neck. Rose shifted and draped her leg over his; thankfully, the thin barrier of his pyjama bottoms kept him from picking up her emotions or train of thought. But when he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close, he found a sliver of bare skin just above her waist.

Contentment. Rose was relaxed and warm and just happy to be with him. He felt a very soft hum of desire, but mostly she was sleepy and in love.

The Doctor kissed her temple, then let his hand slide under her top to press firmly to her back. He tugged at her telepathically, encouraging her to sleep, and a moment later, he felt her drift off.

Holding Rose like this, he could feel her mind buzzing at the edges of his consciousness. He remembered how good it had felt the day before yesterday when he'd demonstrated what touch telepathy would be like during sexual intimacy, and he finally admitted the truth to himself.

He couldn't hold back from Rose any longer. If, after thinking for three days, she was still willing to have him in her mind, he wouldn't deny either of them.

oOoOoOoOo

The room was still dark when the need for the toilet woke Rose up, and the blinking numbers on the alarm clock indicated it was just past three in the morning. She shifted out from underneath the arm the Doctor had wrapped around her waist and crept out of the room.

There was a light on at the end of hallway, and after Rose used the facilities, she followed it to the kitchen, where Sarah Jane was sitting at the table, staring at a cup of tea. The older woman looked up and offered a weak smile before standing.

"Cuppa?" she offered, holding up the kettle.

Rose hesitated, but nodded after a moment. They needed to clear the air, and this might be the best opportunity. It was easier to spend time with the Doctor's old companion now that he'd promised her he wouldn't just drop her off at home one day, the way he had in the past. But she had a feeling Sarah Jane wasn't quite as comfortable with spending time with her old friend's new… partner.

A few minutes later, she was sitting down across from Sarah Jane, holding a warm mug. "So."

Sarah Jane took a deep breath. "Rose, can I give you a bit of advice?"

Rose narrowed her eyes. "If it's anything about a relationship with the Doctor, I oughta tell you, we've been together for almost eight months now. I think I've got things pretty well figured out."

Sarah Jane blinked, and Rose wondered if she was more taken aback by her blunt reply, or by the length of time. The latter had been a surprise to her, when she'd sat down to figure it out.

"Travelling, or…"

"Together," she said firmly. "I think it's been more like a year and a half since I started travelling with him." Her lips curled up in a wry smile. "That's harder to measure, since he accidentally skipped a whole year the first time he brought me home."

Sarah Jane gasped, a breathless laugh. "I suppose it was too much to expect that his driving would have improved with age."

Rose snorted and shook her head. "I think he'll still be missing landings in five hundred years."

"Do you know, when he brought me home for the last time, he dropped me off in Aberdeen instead of Croydon?" Sarah Jane rolled her eyes. "And then tonight when I told him that, he just said, 'That's next to Croydon, isn't it?'"

Rose clapped her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter. "He wanted to take me to Naples for Christmas in 1860. We ended up in Cardiff in 1869. And then there was the time he promised to take me to an Ian Dury concert, and instead we met Queen Victoria."

Sarah Jane's eyes danced. "1979, 1879… such an easy mistake to make."

"Exactly!" Rose took a sip of tea and eyed Sarah Jane over the rim of her cup. "With you, did he do that thing where he'd explain something at like, ninety miles per hour, and you'd go, 'What?' and he'd look at you like you'd just dribbled on your shirt?"

Sarah Jane nodded fervently. "All the time. Does he still stroke bits of the TARDIS?"

Rose smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, he does, but… to be fair, I've picked up on that one, too."

Sarah Jane's smile faded slightly, and she stood up and took her cup to the sink. Rose watched, trying to think of something to say.

"We talked some tonight, and I think I understand why he leaves people behind," she said finally. "He lives so much longer than we do, and as long as he leaves you at home and alive, he could potentially always come back, if he chose. It's his way of never losing his friends." She shook her head. "But it isn't right, and I'm sorry he left you like that, Sarah Jane."

Sarah Jane nodded. "Yes, I'd just reached that same conclusion before you walked in." She tilted her head and studied Rose. "You aren't afraid he'll do the same thing to you?"

"He's promised that he won't, and if I can't trust him on something like that, why am I with him?" Rose said practically. A yawn nearly swallowed the end of her sentence, and she pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna lie down for a few more hours. If we're going after those bat things tomorrow, I'll need the rest."

Rose yawned again as she crawled into bed. As soon as she pulled the covers back up, the Doctor rolled over and wrapped an arm around her waist again. She relaxed against his chest, sighing when his lips brushed against her shoulder.

"Heard you talking with Sarah," he murmured, his voice low.

"Yeah. We had a bit of girl talk. There aren't many people who know what it's like to travel with you, after all."

The Doctor huffed, and Rose pressed her lips together to hide a giggle. She'd suspected he wouldn't be thrilled by the thought of his companions swapping stories.

He sighed after a long moment, then said, "Just as long as neither of you ever meet Tegan or Ace." Rose felt his grimace against her neck and waited for him to explain. "I doubt anyone thinks less of my driving than Tegan, and the last thing you need is lessons in blowing things up from Ace."

Rose laughed softly as those words gave her enough of an idea of the companions in question to understand why he'd mentioned them by name. She rolled over to face him and pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss.

"I love you," she whispered as she rested her head on his shoulder.

His hand moved automatically to her hair, combing through it slowly in a way that was putting her to sleep. "I love you, too, Rose," he replied. "Now, get some rest, sweetheart."

oOoOoOoOo

The text alert on her mobile woke Rose up the next morning, but she didn't reach for her phone right away. First, she took a moment to savour the feeling of the Doctor spooned behind her, his arm wrapped snuggly around her waist holding her close. One of his legs was wedged between hers, and it was tempting to roll over and snog him breathless.

Instead, she scooted closer to him, frowning when she felt something hard protruding against her bum. Surely that wasn't… She shifted again, deliberately this time, and heat swept through her when the Doctor groaned in response.

"Minx," he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep and desire.

"Thought Time Lords didn't get morning wood," Rose teased, not caring if her voice sounded a little breathless.

He kissed her neck, making her shiver. "As a rule, no," he murmured. "But a Time Lord in love, holding the object of his affections in his arms?" She felt him take a deep breath. "A Time Lord who's decided to take that final step of intimacy with his lover?"

Rose sat up and stared down at the Doctor, taking in the half-lidded gaze and pink cheeks. "Are you sure, Doctor?" she asked.

He reached out his hand and ran his fingers down her bare arm, and she sucked in a breath when she felt how absolutely certain he was. "Not here, obviously," he said, though he couldn't hide the rumble of desire in his voice. "But later, when we're home again…" His eyes darkened. "I would very much like to make love to you, Rose Tyler."

The sincerity in his words and voice left no room for her to doubt, and for a moment, looking down at him lounging on the bed, Rose couldn't remember why they had to wait. She imagined sinking back onto the bed and trailing kisses along his jawline before nibbling gently on his ear.

Heat flared in the Doctor's eyes, and he suddenly let go of her arm and jumped out of bed. Rose felt her face flush dark red when she realised he must have picked up on her thoughts—or at least the direction they were going, if he didn't see an actual picture of what she wanted.

Thankfully, the aroma of bacon frying wafted into the room, and they both dove for their discarded clothing, starting the awkward routine of a morning after when there hadn't been a night before.

Mickey was already in the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee when they arrived. "Morning, Boss," he greeted the Doctor. He handed Rose a cuppa, which she took absently while replying to her mum's text. "Morning, Rose."

The Doctor sat down and filled a plate with toast and bacon, slathering raspberry jam on both slices of toast. "Morning," he said, then took a big bite.

Sarah Jane sat at the head of the table, a cup of coffee in her hands and an empty plate in front of her. Clearly, she'd eaten before the rest of them had gotten up.

"Do we have a plan for today?" she asked.

The Doctor nodded and wiped crumbs from his mouth before answering. "You and Rose will go to the maths room and use the sonic to break into the computers. I need to know what's inside—it might give me a clue as to what they're using the children for." He pulled the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and after a brief hesitation, handed it to Sarah Jane instead of Rose, as had been his first instinct. After what Sarah had told him the night before, he wanted to do something to show her that he still trusted her.

"And what about me?" Mickey asked.

"Mickey…" The Doctor tipped his chair back. "I need you to wait outside and keep watch. You can call for help if something goes wrong, or come in to save the day if we're all stuck."

"The Man in Havana," Sarah Jane interjected, and Mickey grinned at her. "Sometimes, they're the real heroes in the end."

"All right, yeah." Mickey nodded enthusiastically.

Rose tapped him on the shoulder. "And what about you, Doctor?"

His lighthearted facade faded. "It's time I had a word with Mr. Finch."

oOoOoOoOo

Two hours later, the Doctor was underneath a table, ready to howl in frustration. Mr. Finch had been both unbending in his plot and purposely vague as to what the plot was. The computers were deadlocked, so he couldn't break in and see for himself what the Krillitane were up to.

He heard the hum of the monitors turning on while he tried to force a computer open with brute force.

"You wanted the programme?" Sarah Jane asked, catching his attention. "There it is."

The Doctor clambered out from under the table and stood up, looking at the large monitor at the front of the room. "Some sort of code."

He watched the screen, first paying attention to the numbers locking in place, but then noticing the numerical system that was being used. No one had used those characters in millions of years. In fact, the last time he'd seen this particular set of problems…

"No," he whispered. "No, they can't be."

Rose slipped her hand into his. "What is it, Doctor?"

"The Skasis Paradigm," he said as the numbers continued to scroll across the screen. "They're trying to crack the Skasis Paradigm."

"The Skasis what?" asked Sarah.

"The God-maker. The universal theory," he explained, feeling sick to his stomach at the thought of such a tool in the hands of the Krillitane. "Crack that equation and you've got control of the building blocks of the universe. Time and space and matter, yours to control."

Rose's hand spasmed around his. "What, and the kids are like a giant computer?"

"Yes." A moment later, he finally connected the rest of the things they'd learned so far, and he pulled away from Rose to pace. "And their learning power is being accelerated by the oil. That oil from the kitchens, it works as a, as a conducting agent. Makes the kids cleverer." He leaned over a bank of monitors.

"But that oil's on the chips," Rose protested. "I've been eating them."

"What's fifty nine times thirty five?" the Doctor asked her.

"Two thousand and sixty-five," Rose answered automatically. Her eyes widened as soon as she realised what she'd done. "Oh, my God."

"But why use children?" Sarah Jane asked. "Can't they use adults?"

The Doctor shook his head. The whole plan made sick sense, now that he understood the goal. "No, it's got to be children. The God-maker needs imagination to crack it. They're not just using the children's brains to break the code; they're using their souls."

"Let the lesson begin."

The Doctor stiffened and turned around to face Mr. Finch.

"Think of it, Doctor," the Krillitane cajoled. "With the Paradigm solved, reality becomes clay in our hands. We can shape the universe and improve it."

"Oh yeah?" The Doctor put his hands on his hips. "The whole of creation with the face of Mr. Finch? Call me old-fashioned, but I like things as they are."

The Krillitane tilted his head. "You act like such a radical, and yet all you want to do is preserve the old order?" He advanced slowly on the Doctor. "Think of the changes that could be made if this power was used for good."

The Doctor looked him up and down. "What, by someone like you?" he asked, not bothering to hide what he thought about that.

"No, someone like you," Finch whispered. "The Paradigm gives us power, but you could give us wisdom. Become a god at my side." He took another step towards the Doctor. "Imagine what you could do. Think of the civilisations you could save. Perganon, Assinta. Your own people, Doctor, standing tall. The Time Lords reborn."

Possible timelines suddenly spun away from this moment. Gallifrey back where it belonged in the Kasterborous Constellation. The Daleks completely destroyed, never to return—not even just periodically in small groups. The toxic attitudes of the Time Lords themselves contained, no longer in charge, no longer influencing the next generation.

"Doctor, don't listen to him," Sarah Jane begged.

The Doctor turned slowly as Finch walked past him, and some of the temptation to agree to the Krillitane's plan faded when the other man zeroed in on Rose. "And you could be with him throughout eternity. Young, fresh, never wither, never age, never die." He cast a sidelong look at the Doctor, a smirk on his face as he repeated the words he'd told Rose the night before. "Their lives are so fleeting. So many goodbyes." He looked straight at the Doctor again. "How lonely you must be, Doctor. Join us."

On the screen behind Finch, the numbers were still flashing as the students continued working on the Skasis Paradigm. "I could save everyone," the Doctor said, feeling dazed by the possibilities.

"Yes."

He looked at Rose, imagining a timeline where they could share a forever. "I'd never have to lose you."

"No."

Sarah Jane's sharp exclamation caught his attention, and his head swivelled to look at her, instead of the screen.

"The universe has to move forward. Pain and loss, they define us as much as happiness or love."

Beside her, Rose nodded, though he could tell from the way her head was tilted back that she was fighting tears.

Sarah Jane took a shaky breath and continued. "Whether it's a world, or a relationship, everything has its time. And everything ends."

The Doctor stared at the screen for a long moment. The students were so close to solving the Paradigm. Just a little bit longer, and he'd have the key… the key to fixing the universe so it was exactly as he wanted it.

The absolute wrongness of that thought struck him before the idea could take hold, and he grabbed a chair and threw it at the screen to keep from being tempted further.

"Out!" he yelled, grabbing Rose and Sarah Jane by the hand and pulling them with him.

Ten minutes later, hunkered down in the physics lab with Rose, Sarah Jane, Mickey, and a student named Kenny, the Doctor quickly went over everything they knew, trying to find a the chink in the Krillitane's armour.

"It's the oil," he realised suddenly, remembering how Rose had told them the dinner lady had reacted to having oil spilt on her. "Krillitane life forms can't handle the oil. That's it!" Mickey, Rose, and Sarah Jane all straightened up at the excitement in his voice, and the Doctor leaned forward as he continued his explanation. "They've changed their physiology so often, even their own oil is toxic to them."

And the oil would be highly flammable. If there was enough of it, and he could somehow set it on fire, the resulting explosion would not only cover the Krillitane in their oil, it would bring the kitchen down on top of them.

He looked at Rose, sitting beside him. "How much was there in the kitchens?"

She grinned and jumped to her feet. "Barrels of it."

Loud pounding and screeching at the door dampened their sudden excitement, especially when claws pierced the wood.

"Okay, we need to get to the kitchens." The Doctor looked at his team. "Mickey."

"What do you need?"

"Get all the children unplugged and out of the school." Mickey nodded, and the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "The Man in Havana really is saving the day today," he added.

The assault on the door had only gotten worse, and he knew they had less than a minute of safety left. "Now then, bats, bats, bats. How do we fight bats?"

The whistle of the fire alarm pierced the air, and he chuckled and nodded at Kenny. "Well done," he said as he pushed the door open. "Come on!"

They raced past the cringing Krillitanes, then split up at the next hallway intersection. The alarm stopped before the Doctor, Rose, Sarah Jane, and Kenny reached the main floor, and he knew Mr. Finch and his teachers wouldn't be far behind them.

Rose, most familiar with this path, led the way to the kitchens. "Here you are," she said, pointing to the metal barrels gathered in the middle of the room.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver, but it seemed Mr. Finch had been prepared for him here, as well as in the maths classroom. "They've been deadlock sealed." He tried another barrel, but no luck. "Finch must've done that. I can't open them."

He was still trying to come up with a way to drill a hole in the metal barrel when K9 said, "The vats would not withstand a direct hit from my laser, but my batteries are failing."

The Doctor nodded. "Right. Everyone out the back door."

Rose put her hand on Kenny's back and pushed him towards the door first, then she and Sarah Jane followed.

"K9, stay with me," the Doctor said, belatedly remembering the little dog's penchant for taking instructions literally.

The robot dog rolled back the few feet he had already taken towards the door and wagged his tail slightly, waiting for directions. The Doctor tugged on the barrels, lining them up so K9 could easily shoot each one individually.

"Capacity for only one shot, Master," K9 told him. "For maximum impact, I must be stationed directly beside the vat."

The Doctor frowned and ran over to kneel in front of his dog. "But you'll be trapped inside." True, the fryer was the most vulnerable point. Shooting it would start an electrical fire that would ignite the oil, and once ignited, it would explode within thirty seconds. That would trigger explosions in the nearby barrels that would be strong enough to destroy the kitchen and everything in it.

"That is correct," K9 said matter-of-factly.

"I can't let you do that," the Doctor protested.

"No alternative possible, Master."

He was right, but that didn't make it any easier. Everything ends, Sarah Jane had said, but neither of them had thought at the time that they would lose their pet.

The distant screeches of the Krillitane reached him, and he knew he only had a few moments to get to safety himself. "Goodbye, old friend."

"Goodbye, Master."

"You good dog."

"Affirmative." K9's ears twitched and his tail wagged at the praise.

The Doctor patted K9's metal cheek, then pushed himself to his feet and backed away a few steps before running out the door. Sarah Jane was waiting for him, and he didn't look at her as he sealed the door, trapping her dog inside.

"Where's K9?" she asked immediately.

The Doctor turned around and slipped the screwdriver back into his pocket. "We need to run," he said, taking off.

"Where is he?" Sarah Jane's voice got higher when she realised what must have happened. "What have you done?"

He spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders, then took her hand and ran with her as the first rumble of explosions began.

Out in the schoolyard, the students cheered as smoke billowed out of the windows. When they chanted Kenny's name, the Doctor looked over at Sarah Jane and winced at the devastated look on her face.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

She shrugged. "It's all right. He was just a daft metal dog. It's fine, really."

The Doctor was already wrapping an arm around her shoulders when she burst into tears. She pressed her face into his shoulder, and guilt lanced through him, worse than he'd felt last night. K9 was the only thing he'd left her with to remind her of her time with him, and now he was gone. An idea came to him—maybe a daft one, but it was the only olive branch he could think of.

Rose and Mickey made their way towards them, working slowly around the edge of the crowd of shouting children. Rose raised her eyebrows and gestured towards the school, and he nodded.

"We need to get the TARDIS out of the school before it isn't safe to go up the stairs anymore," he told Sarah Jane quietly.

She sniffed and straightened up. "Of course. And I should go home. I suppose this is goodbye?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Is there a park where we could meet?"

Sarah Jane gave him the address of the park nearest her house and the time she would expect him.

"We'll be there," he promised.

Rose took the Doctor's hand as they went back into the school, Mickey right behind them. "K9 was still in the kitchen, wasn't he?" she asked as they climbed the stairs.

The Doctor nodded, then looked over his shoulder. "But, with your mechanical expertise Mickey, I think we could build her a new one in no time."

"I don't know anything about gears in the thirty-fourth century," Mickey protested.

The Doctor shook his head. "A gear is still a gear," he countered. "You've been hacking into government databases on a computer that was outdated when you bought it. Trust me, Mickey, you can handle this."

Rose pushed open the door of the classroom they'd parked the TARDIS in and jogged across the room, pulling her key out as she went. "Oh, I'm ready to be home," she sighed as she turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

The Doctor tossed his coat over a strut and sent the TARDIS into the Vortex to put them out of the timeline, then started down the corridor. "Come on, Mickey," he called over his shoulder.

"He'll be there in just a minute," Rose said, grabbing Mickey's hand before he could follow the Doctor. "I'll give him directions."

Mickey raised an eyebrow at her. "What's this about, babe?"

"You've got to tell me, because it's killing me. When did you and the Doctor get to be such good friends?"

Something indefinable crossed Mickey's face. "You learn a lot about a man when his girlfriend is trapped as a Roman statue," he said soberly. "Very first thing he thought of, once he realised the statue in the museum wasn't you, was to go back in time and learn to sculpt so he could make it. He didn't even blink, Rose."

The respect in Mickey's voice when he talked about the Doctor was obvious. Rose stared at him, then pointed down the corridor. "Down that way, take the first stairs on the right, turn left at the top of the stairs, second door on your right. That's the Doctor's work room."

Mickey grinned and pecked her on the cheek, then jogged in the direction she'd pointed.

Rose walked down another corridor at a much slower pace. Mickey's words had stirred up the same almost overwhelming love she'd felt when she'd realised what the Doctor had done for her. She remembered the kiss she'd given him in thanks, and how quickly the passion had ignited between them.

She ran her fingers absently along the wall, and the TARDIS' hum surrounded her. Rose blinked suddenly when she reached her room, taking in the familiar pale lavender walls and plush carpet. She was home. They were home. Which meant…

She looked down at the clothes she'd been wearing for two days now and shook her head. She quickly stripped on her way to the en-suite and climbed into the shower, after tossing her clothes into the laundry basket.

Rose took her time getting ready, knowing the Doctor and Mickey would need at least an hour to build a new K9, even if they could speed through every step. She tried not to think about the fact that she was primping for her first night with the Doctor, but when she stared at her lingerie drawer after drying her hair, some of her nerve faded.

I'm being silly, she told herself as she slid the drawer shut. He's not even human—who knows if he likes sexy underwear?

The TARDIS hummed in her mind, and Rose turned around to find an entire outfit laid out for her on her bed. The jeans and t-shirt weren't what she would have chosen for a night like this, but she knew the instant she saw them that they would look fantastic on her, hugging all the right places.

Soft pink lace boy shorts matched a smooth satin bra that wouldn't show under the thin cotton t-shirt. It was all very similar to what she wore on a daily basis, and Rose smiled gratefully when she realised the message the ship was trying to send: Be yourself—just a slightly more dolled up version of yourself.

The Doctor and Mickey were already in the console room when she arrived. "There you are!" the Doctor said. His nose twitched, and Rose smirked when she watched his gaze linger on her chest and hips.

"Are we ready to go?" she asked him as she sauntered down the ramp to the console level.

He blinked, then nodded and pulled the dematerialisation lever without looking away from her. Rose leaned back against the railing as the TARDIS' engines wheezed. Mickey was purposely not looking at either of them, and Rose slowly licked her lips, teasing the Doctor.

He'd taken half a step towards her when they landed, interrupting his plans. He blinked and checked the clock. "All right, we're ten minutes early, according to when Sarah Jane said. Mickey, would you get K9 hidden behind the TARDIS?"

Mickey walked to the door and clapped his hands. "Come on, boy," he called.

Rose pressed her lips together to stifle her laughter when the robot dog's eyes lit up. "Coming, Master," he said, and rolled after Mickey out the doors.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Rose's waist and nosed her hair out of the way to kiss her neck. "You took a shower," he whispered against her skin.

She shivered, but managed to nod.

"You smell amazing." His tongue darted out to lick the spot just below her neck. "And taste fantastic," he groaned. "Are you sure we can't just close the doors and leave Mickey and Sarah Jane here?"

The lust in his voice made her knees weak, but the deeper meaning behind his words gave her the strength to turn around and put her hand on his chest, pushing him back a few inches.

"Rose?"

She smiled reassuringly. "Oh, believe me, I intend to come back to this," she promised him. "But first, I want you to promise me that we're not going to just leave Sarah Jane behind again."

The Doctor sighed and leaned back on the console. "I won't, but I don't know that she'll believe me after last time."

Rose clasped her hands behind her back and looked up at the Doctor, her most charming smile on her face.

"What?" he asked. "What are you up to?"

"Well…" She moved forward and ran her finger down his tie. "I just thought that if we promised to come back for a visit soon, and then actually did, it might make a difference."

He rocked back on his heels and looked up at the ceiling, and Rose watched as he wrestled with himself. An open-ended promise like, "I promise not to fly off and never come back," was easier to make than something more specific. But that's why it would mean more to Sarah Jane.

"All right," he finally agreed.

Mickey came back inside then. "I think I saw Sarah Jane, coming from the other end of the park," he said.

The Doctor nodded and exited the TARDIS, leaving the door open. "Cup of tea?" he asked a moment later, then moved back and let Sarah Jane enter the ship first.

She paused at the base of the ramp. "You've redecorated."

"Do you like it?" the Doctor asked.

Sarah Jane stepped further into the ship and touched one of the coral struts as she walked around it. "Oh, I, I do. Yeah. I preferred it as it was," she admitted as she circled the console, "but er, yeah. It'll do."

Rose ran her hand over the console, smiling as she remembered their conversation the night before. "I love it."

"Hey, you," Sarah Jane said, "what's forty seven times three hundred and sixty nine?"

She shook her head. "No idea. It's gone now." Rose had felt the sharp mental acuity slip away while she was in the shower. "The oil's faded."

"But you're still clever," Sarah Jane assured her. "More than a match for him."

"I think," the Doctor said as he came around the console to join them, "that I have a pattern of asking clever women to travel with me."

Rose watched as a faint blush coloured Sarah Jane's cheeks, and she realised that even after all these years, and all the things the other woman had done with her life, this had been missing—the absolute confidence that the Doctor really had valued her as a friend and a companion. That made her even more determined not to abandon her now, and she looked over at the Doctor.

He tugged on his ear, and Sarah Jane looked at him, a small frown creasing her forehead. He smiled at her. "Er, we're about to head off, but we thought we might come by sometime soon for a visit, if that's all right?"

Sarah Jane shook her head, and Rose put her hand on her shoulder. "Seriously," she said. "We're not gonna just disappear again—I promise."

The Doctor watched the doubt slowly fade from his old friend's face, and finally, she smiled at him. "All right. You give me a ring when you're ready to pop 'round, and I'll make sure to be ready." She pointed a finger at him. "In the next month in my timeline, or I'll assume I've been left behind again."

Her smile seemed happier and more genuine than it had since they'd been reunited. "And now I think I'm going to go home. I've got an adventure of my own waiting for me—time I stopped waiting for you and went after it."

Mickey stepped out from behind the strut. "Can I come with you?" he asked. "You said you had information on Torchwood."

Sarah Jane smiled at him. "Of course. Sarah Jane Smith, and Mickey Smith."

"Defenders of the Earth," the Doctor added.

Rose opened her arms, and Sarah Jane welcomed the hug. She murmured something to Rose that the Doctor knew he probably wasn't meant to hear, but thanks to his superior biology, he couldn't quite avoid it.

"I owe you an apology, Rose. When I met you, I thought you were just a girl and couldn't understand what it was like to be with a man like the Doctor. I was wrong. You really are more than a match for him."

Rose looked at the Doctor over Sarah Jane's shoulder, and he knew she knew he'd overheard. "Thank you," she whispered, then stepped back.

Sarah Jane and the Doctor went back out into the sunny London park. She looked up at him and shook her head. "It's daft, but I haven't ever thanked you for that time. And like I said, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"Something to tell the grandkids," the Doctor suggested.

"Oh, I think it'll be someone else's grandkids now." She raised an eyebrow and nodded at the TARDIS. "Yours, maybe?"

The Doctor felt his ears turn red, and he tugged on his tie, suddenly feeling hot despite the mild spring day. "We haven't discussed… and it would take a little fiddling with the DNA…"

Sarah Jane chuckled. "It's good to see that underneath all that suave and dashing charm, you're just as clueless as the rest of us." She took a deep breath, then said, "Goodbye, Doctor."

"Oh, it's not goodbye," the Doctor insisted.

"No, I know you're coming for a visit—Rose will make sure of that."

The Doctor smiled sheepishly as a breeze ruffled his hair.

Sarah Jane reached for his hands and held his gaze. "But this… I never got a proper goodbye at the end of my travels with you. Say it for me, please?"

The Doctor's throat closed up, but he smiled, ignoring the tears that threatened. "Goodbye, my Sarah Jane." He picked her up in a hug, swinging her gently. She was right; it felt good to say goodbye.

The door opened and shut, and he set Sarah Jane down and held out a hand for Mickey. "Tell me if you turn anything up," he said seriously.

Mickey nodded. "Will do. Till next time, Boss."

The Doctor reentered the TARDIS, then paused and looked back at Sarah Jane. "Stay until we're gone," he requested, a smile turning his mouth up. "We've got a little surprise for you." She nodded, and he closed the door behind him.

Rose was leaning against a strut, and he could tell from the carefully neutral expression on her face that she wasn't sure if he would need a few hours to brood over Sarah Jane before they could get move on to the promised plans for the evening. But just the fact that she knew him that well made his hearts speed up, and he shook his head. She was his present and his future; why would he want to dwell on the past when he had her in his arms?

He shrugged out of his coat and tossed it over a strut. "Rose Tyler," he said, letting his voice take on a deeper timbre than it usually did. "Do you know where we're going to go?" he asked as he moved to the console and wrapped his fingers delicately around the controls.

She licked her lips as she watched him set the coordinates, and he had to readjust a dial that slipped. Then suddenly a hint of mirth entered her eyes. "Further than we've ever gone?" she suggested, pulling a bark of laughter from him.

A knot of happiness tightened in Rose's chest, making it hard to breathe for a moment. He threw the dematerialisation lever without looking away from her, and the challenge in the sexy quirk of his left eyebrow spurred her on.

She slid into the space between his body and the console, smiling when his hands automatically rested on her hips. The Doctor's eyes darkened when she linked her hands loosely at behind his neck.

"Do you know how irresistible you are, love?" he said huskily.

"Dunno." Her nails scraped through the short hairs at the nape of his neck, and he shivered and pulled her closer. "Why don't you show me?"

A moment later, his hands dropped to her bum. "Jump," he ordered, and with his help, a moment later she was perched on a relatively smooth section of the console. Slowly, the hands that had lifted her up slid around and ran up her thighs, then underneath her soft cotton shirt.

Rose gasped when she felt his bare hands on the sensitive skin at her waist. He loved her so much… He wanted her so much, and his control was already trembling on the edge of a knife.

"Are you still certain you want this, Rose?" he whispered as he stroked his thumbs over her hip bones.

Rose moaned and wrapped her legs around the Doctor's hips, pulling him closer. "Yes." She slid her hands over his shoulders and into his hair, then tugged his head down so she could nip at his bottom lip. "Please, Doctor," she whispered against his mouth. "I want to make love with you. I want to feel you in my body"—she brushed her fingers over his temple—"and in my head."

The Doctor's breathing stuttered, and Rose whimpered when a wave of arousal crashed over her. "Hold on tight," he told her, and she grabbed his shoulders and crossed her ankles over his bum as he lifted her up.

The few seconds of friction that motion created drew deep groans from both of them, and Rose shuddered as her desire built. "Your room or mine?" she panted into his neck.

The Doctor stopped at the door to his room, which the TARDIS had mercifully moved to just off the console room. "I thought… ours?"

He lowered Rose to her feet and pushed open the door, and her eyes widened when she took in the redecorated space. Her light oak queen bed, his bookcases, her vanity, a matching wardrobe that was new… Even the colour palette of rich blues and lavenders was suited to both of them.

She felt the Doctor's hands brush against her elbows, and suddenly she saw exactly how much he wanted this—not just for one night, but for a lifetime. "You can spend the rest of your life with me," he'd promised, and this was where that life began.

Rose turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Yeah. Ours," she agreed, then pressed her lips to his to seal the promise with a kiss.