One of the harder things that Rose had had to accept when she was stranded in the parallel world was the idea that she might never see the TARDIS again. In some ways, this was almost harder to face than the idea of leaving behind her old flat. In the almost two years that Rose had been traveling with the Doctor, the TARDIS had become her home: her bedroom was there, the kitchen was always well stocked with her favorite tea, and she always made sure that the wardrobe room got a good work-out.

Every now and again, Rose and the TARDIS would even have a girl's night in: Rose would put on some movies (Rose preferred anything with Colin Firth, although the TARDIS seemed to love the Lord of the Rings films), do her nails, and gossip out loud. The Doctor had walked in on her once - her first Doctor, with his big ears and leather- and laughed a bit at her, but he had looked oddly touched.

After that, whenever Rose mentioned having a night in, he never complained.

So when Rose found herself alone in her small flat in parallel-London, it had been hard. She even caught herself talking to her ceiling a few times.

But now-

Rose found herself standing only a few feet from the TARDIS, mouth dry and palms slightly clammy.

After Donna had left them, she, the Doctor, and Jack had made a run for the TARDIS. They had been worried about more guards or being caught by Saxon, but it turns out their concerns were rather pointless. With the psychic field disabled (and time once again in one piece), wizards and muggles alike had come to their senses and realized what Saxon had done. The guards were too busy dealing with the angry mob storming Saxon's headquarters to notice as three figures slipped out a back entrance

The TARDIS, as it happened, was not far, which is how Rose found herself in the aforementioned position.

"Rose?" the Doctor asked her gently. Rose turned to him wordlessly. "Would you like to do the honors?"

The Doctor held out her key and she couldn't contain the small laugh of unadulterated joy that just bubbled out of her. When Saxon had taken her key, Rose had thought it was gone for ever.

(In hindsight, it was a rather silly thing to worry about, but as the Doctor had told her on many occasions, humans were a sentimental lot.)

Taking the key from him (and noticing that it was still hooked onto the chain she used to wear it around her neck), she approached the TARDIS door and placed the key in the lock. She raised her eyebrows as she went to turn it, surprised.

Rose looked at the Doctor. "It's already unlocked."

The Doctor's expression darkened and he walked passed her, pushing her gently aside and opening the door. Rose took her key out and followed him inside the TARDIS, Jack bringing up the rear.

When Rose entered the console room (home), she was surprised, or maybe not, to see the Master already standing there, by the rotor, looking for all the world as though there were no where else he'd rather be. Admittedly, Rose thought to herself, there wasn't much any of them could do to make him leave. Even Jack, who had closed the door behind him and pulled out his sonic blaster, wouldn't dare fire it in the TARDIS.

They were all at a stand-still.

The Doctor stood several feet away, looking murderous. This didn't surprise Rose. The Doctor had always been incredibly protective of the TARDIS. She was all that he had left of Gallifrey and the closest thing to family the Doctor had known in many years. Once or twice, Rose had heard the Doctor refer to her and the TARDIS collectively as "his girls," and the endearment, which placed her on the same level as the TARDIS in the Doctor's heart, had left her glowing for days.

The Master, to his credit, didn't seem too surprised to see them. "You broke out, I see. It took you long enough. Your parallel counterpart was always a slippery thing. No wonder you turned out the same."

"Give it up!" Jack ordered, from his position next to Rose. "Your game is over. The Doctor disabled your psychic field and fixed those cracks in time."

"Oh! Good!" the Master said delightedly. "I would've hated for the world to end just as things were getting fun. Tell me, did you ever figure out what was causing them? Your little trip here, perhaps?"

"No," the Doctor said firmly.

"Anyway, whatever it was started before the Doctor got here," Rose protested. "You were in Torchwood! You saw that first crack!"

The Master ignored her in favor of the Doctor. "How did you get here? I've been trying to access your TARDIS's memory banks, but she's not telling."

"She's loyal, my old girl is," the Doctor said. He stopped glaring at the Master for a moment to look affectionately at the console.

"Very old girl," the Master snorted derisively. "She's a what? Type-40? Those were ancient even when we first started out at the Academy."

"She's the very last of her kind," the Doctor said carefully. "Just like we're the last of ours."

"Not for long," the Master said. "As soon as I figure out how you managed to traverse universes, I will be on my way out of here."

"The Time Lords are gone in my universe, too," the Doctor warned. The Master shrugged, unconcerned.

"Fine, then," he said. "I'll go to another universe. Or another. They're bound to be Time Lords left somewhere. As soon as this ship tells me what I need to know!"

The Master whacked the TARDIS console hard.

The TARDIS flashed her lights, clearly annoyed with all the hitting and tired of all the drama. Rose wasn't really sure why the TARDIS hadn't done it earlier (maybe she was waiting for her Time Lord to come back), but the next thing she knew, a thick, leather-bound book was flying through the air and hitting the Master straight in the head. Rose could only watch, dumbfounded, as the Master's eyes rolled back and he fell, unconscious, onto the floor.

"Did that just happen?" Jack asked, as shocked as the rest of them.

"I told you the TARDIS was loyal," the Doctor said proudly. He walked over to the console, gingerly stepping over the Master's body, and began checking to make sure that the TARDIS was unharmed. "She'd never let the Skasis Paradigm go without a fight."

"One of the most evil men in the universes and he's defeated by a falling book?" Rose said, still unable to comprehend it all.

"Story of our lives. Pun completely intended," the Doctor laughed. Then, he couldn't help but ask, "Which book?"

Rose picked it up and glanced at the cover. "Hogwarts: A History. Figures. The one book nobody ever reads, and it ends up saving the universe."

"Universe-s," corrected Jack idly. He has dragging the Master into a sitting position and leaning him against one of the coral struts. When he finished, he turned to the Doctor. He asked, "So, what now?"

Rose wasn't paying attention. She had opened the book to flip through a few pages, but instead of images of Hogwarts or long, boring passages about the moving staircases, all she saw was a single word, repeated over and over again.

BAD WOLF.

Turn page.

BAD WOLF.

Turn page.

BAD WOLF.

"Doctor?" Rose said shakily, but it sounded strange to her own ears, long, drawn out. Slurred. At the sound of his name, the Doctor looked up, just in time to see Rose go completely pale. His smile dropped.

"Rose?"

Before he could approach her, Rose doubled over, her hands clenched tightly, as though she was about to be sick.

"Rose!" Jack and the Doctor exclaimed simultaneously. The Doctor reached out and grabbed Rose's shoulder lightly, but had to pull back his hand in surprise. She was burning up.

Then, Rose straightened and looked right at him. The Doctor felt his hearts migrate to his throat. This was not the Rose he knew. The woman standing in front of him was bathed in gold light, her eyes lit up from the inside. This was the Bad Wolf.

"You're impossible," the Doctor whispered.

"You taught me that nothing is impossible, my Doctor," the Bad-Wolf said. Rose's mouth was the one that moved, but it was not her who spoke. Jack's eyes widened as he realized that there was only one thing that this could be.

"She's the-"

"Yes." The Doctor said. "The Bad Wolf."

"I am not the Bad Wolf. I am Rose."

"You are not Rose," Jack said harshly.

"I am she and she is I," the Bad-Wolf (Rose?) responded. "We are one and we are the TARDIS. We live in her heart, just as she lives in ours."

"I don't understand," the Doctor said, mind spinning. "Rose is human. She'd burn."

"I am as human as you, Doctor," Rose said- and it had to be Rose, the Doctor realized. Who else said his name with that much affection or with that much (dare he say it? Yes...) love. "I destroyed the Emperor of the Daleks. I set the destiny of Captain Jack Harkness in motion and rewrote time. Do not think this above me. And now, once more, I will grant you a gift."

Before Jack or the Doctor could stop her, she raised her hand in the Master's direction. A gold light enveloped him and the Doctor worried that Rose was destroying him, much like she had the Daleks. When the light settled, though, the Master was still there.

Only. Well. He was a baby. A newborn old, from the looks of it.

There wasn't much time for the Doctor to consider this new development because, at that moment, Rose fell to the floor in a dead faint. The Doctor ran to catch her, before easing her gently onto the floor. He checked her pulse, her temperature. Normal.

Jack, meanwhile, was fussing the new baby Master. The Master's clothes were obviously far too large, now, but Jack did manage to swaddle the baby in his old shirt, which was, incidentally, when he noticed something else.

"Doctor?"

The Doctor, who had picked up Rose and was about to take her to the infirmary, looked over at Jack and raised an eyebrow in silent acknowledgement.

"He's human."

The Doctor almost dropped Rose. He did drop his jaw, at any rate. Finally, he managed a rather unimpressive. "Huh."

"My thoughts exactly," Jack said, bouncing the baby slightly. "I'm going to go see if I can get this guy a bottle or something. You go ahead and make sure Rose is okay, alright?"

The Doctor nodded, glad that he wasn't the one giving the orders right now (for once, he didn't know what to think) and headed towards the infirmary. The TARDIS seemed to understand what he wanted because she had placed the infirmary right down the hall from the console and, once the Doctor got inside, had prepared all of the necessary equipment for him.

He gently placed her on one of the cots and hooked her up to machinery to monitor her temperature, heart rate, and breathing. Unsure really of where to begin, then, the Doctor took a small sample of blood and sent it through the TARDIS computer.

When Rose woke up about ten minutes later, he was still staring at the results.

"Doctor?" Her voice sounded normal to her ears, if a bit raspy. The Doctor, apparently hearing it, too, sprung into action. He disappeared from her side, which gave Rose a moment to realize that she was in the infirmary in the TARDIS. When the Doctor returned, he had a glass of water with him. He helped her sit up so she could take several, grateful gulps.

When the Doctor had no other choice but to pull the glass away ("You'll make yourself sick," he warned), Rose asked, "What happened?"

His expression suddenly guarded, the Doctor asked, "What do you remember?"

"The Master was in the TARDIS," Rose said, trying to recall. "He was hit with a book. Then it got all- well, blurry."

Rose grew nervous at the Doctor's look. "Doctor. What happened?"

He seemed to struggle to find the words. Finally, he settled for, "The Bad Wolf." When it became clear that Rose didn't understand, he elaborated. "On the Game Station, I thought I had saved you- taken out all traces from you of what you did. However, I failed to take into account your magic."

If Rose was confused before, that was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Remember how I explained that magic is nothing more than a manifestation of psychic energy?" The Doctor asked. When Rose nodded, he continued. "The TARDIS needs Huon particles to work- you've heard of those already, I think? Good- and no doubt, when you looked into her heart, some of those particles made their way onto you. As I said, I had assumed that I had taken everything from you, but it seemed as though a few of those particles- and it would only have to be a few, mind you- bonded themselves to your magic and have been slowly using that psychic energy to bond to, well, you. And your magic."

"I see," Rose said, even though, no. She didn't.

"Do you remember when you were little and used to do accidental magic?" The Doctor asked. Rose grinned fondly, thinking back to the time when she had made her bed fly.

"Of course, I do."

"It's like that. Upon entering the TARDIS, you were experiencing an emotional upheaval. Your magic- and the Huon particles- reacted."

"So is that going to happen every time I try and use my magic?" Rose questioned, aghast.

"No, no, no!" The Doctor assured her frantically, having his hands. Then he stopped and considered the matter more thoroughly. "At least, I don't think so. It might take a bit of practice, however. Like your magic did."

"And that's all it's gonna be, then?" Rose made sure. "Just my magic being strange for a bit? No other effects?"

The Doctor pursed his lips. "The Huon particles have forged a connection between you and the TARDIS. Ianto mentioned that you'd been having head-aches, fainting, that sort of thing. It's because you and the TARDIS was separated by universes. Now that you're together, you should be fine."

"Was it hurting her? The TARDIS, I mean."

"She's fine, too," the Doctor assured her, touched by Rose's concern for his ship. "Those particles coming in through the crack were a consequence of her trying to reach you. Makes sense, really. Finally explains those cracks in time."

"Those were because of her- me- us?"

"Well," the Doctor drawled, "The Master, too. The TARDIS made the cracks through the universe."

"And through time," Rose realized, "Because we move a bit faster, here."

"Right. But if he hadn't been taking the Huon particles from you, there never would've been more flowing through the crack- think of it as air flowing from high pressure to low pressure. That's what started creating more cracks. Although, to his credit, he was right when he said that he might've also been saving your life. Huon particles can do nasty things to humans."

"I thought you said I'd be fine!" Rose panicked.

"You will be," the Doctor argued. "You just- I mean, Rose."

He turned the screen he had been looking at several minutes ago to Rose. She frowned at what she saw. According to the information listed, she was looking at her own DNA, but it looked strange to her. To be fair, she was hardly an expert in the sciences.

"Is it supposed to look like that?"

The Doctor pulled the screen back towards him and slowly shook his head. "There have been minute changes to your DNA, Rose."

"Because of the Huon particles?"

"The Huon particles," the Doctor said softly, "It looks like, were making you ill, despite the Master's assistance. Your magic and these particles are closely linked, though, so together they sort of reworked your DNA a bit. Made you capable of holding the Huon energy within you."

"So I'm not human anymore?" Rose's voice rose a bit in pitch.

"Only on a molecular level. Nothing too fancy, really. You might experience a few minor changes. Less sleep, longer life span, stronger immune system-"

"What was that?" Rose swung her legs over the edge of the cot so she could more fully face the Doctor. He put on his best "innocent" face. Rose wasn't buying it.

"Stronger immune system?"

"Before that," Rose ordered crossly. He shifted, like a little boy being scolded by his mother.

His voice was far more higher pitched when he said, "Less sleep?"

"In the middle, Doctor." Rose was getting impatient.

"Longer life span?" He said this all in one breath. If Rose wasn't so used to decoding Doctor-speak, she might've missed it. Rose felt her palms grow clammy as she realized the implications of what the Doctor said.

"How much longer?"

"I can't be certain," the Doctor hedged. "It looks as though the decay of your cells has slowed to a rate that should stop your aging for at least a few hundred years." He looked at her gobsmacked expression. "I am so sorry, Rose."

Rose's shock and fear and everything else was replaced by two emotions in that instant: anger and a small bit of insecurity. She whacked the Doctor hard in the arm, hoping that might knock some sense into him. "Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault and you saved me, like you always do. I'm not- I'm not mad, Doctor. Surprised, shocked, a bit confused. Not mad, especially not at you."

"You should be mad," the Doctor said bitterly. "Nobody deserves to live such a long life and watch their family die. Do you understand that, Rose? They'll die and you'll keep on living."

"I won't be alone," Rose said, voice shaking. "Even after my mum and dad and Al and Hugo are gone. I'll miss them, all of them, but I'll have Jack and you."

The Doctor looked at her strangely. She added, quickly, "Unless you don't want me to stay."

"Of course I want you to stay!" He protested. For a moment neither of them did anything. Looking back, Rose wouldn't say who started it, but the next thing she knew, the Doctor's lips were on hers and he was wrapping his arms firmly around her waist.

She shifted onto her knees on the cot, so she could be about the same height as he was and tangled her hands in hair. He let out a happy sigh and she giggled into the kiss. Eventually, though, Rose had to breathe (it seemed as though her respiratory system was not something that had changed) and she pulled back.

"We've got an evil Time-Lord on the TARDIS," Rose said panting. "Now is really not the time to be doing this, don't you think?"

"Actually," the Doctor said, "We've got a baby human on the TARDIS, so yes. This is the perfect time to being this."

He leant in to kiss her again and she let him. After a moment, she pulled back.

"What do you mean?" she demanded through narrow eyes.

"You turned the Master into a baby."

Rose gaped. "Why would I do that?"

"Infinite knowledge of time and space," the Doctor pointed out. "You probably knew something we didn't."

"Well, whatever it is, I've forgotten it now."

The Doctor looked at her oddly for a moment. "Have you forgotten that day on the beach?"

"I don't think I can ever forget that day," Rose said softly.

"I never got to finish my sentence."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to. For so long, Rose, I've been afraid of telling you because I could feel our time together growing shorter. It wasn't until it ran out all together that I realized my mistake. But now, Rose, now we have all the time in the world. And I am not going to waste a second of it."

"Okay." Rose said, smiling softly at him.

"Rose Weasley, I love you.

"Quite right, too." Rose laughed with a watery grin on her face.

The Doctor kissed her again. Rose hoped that this was some sort of indication about how the much of their time on the TARDIS would now be spent. Some voices from down the hall made them separate. Donna's distinct screeching could be heard even through the almost soundproof walls of the TARDIS.

"Looks like the gang's all here," the Doctor said. He cleared his throat and helped Rose off of the cot. "Let's go see what they're up to, shall we?"

"Sounds good to me," Rose said laughing and taking the Doctor's hand.

When Rose and the Doctor entered the console room, Jack looked up at them from where he had been talking to a shell-shocked Ianto. He smirked when he saw their held hands. They had always held hands, of course, but there was something different about them now, which made Jack quite happy. The fact that the Doctor had let Rose out of the infirmary was also something that pleased him, since it meant that Rose was fine.

Jack watched as Rose noticed who else was on the ship: Al and Hugo; Jackie and Fred and their son; Ianto and Donna. She let go of the Doctor's hand and headed straight for her cousin and brother and threw herself at them. Together they joined in a group hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she told them. Her words came out muffled against Hugo's shirt. She felt, rather than heard, when Albus answered back. His chest rumbled, even if she couldn't make out the words, as he most likely repeated her sentiments. She stepped back and turned to Ianto. He smiled at her and opened his arms and she went into them, hugging again tightly.

"Is Lisa alright?"

"She's fine," Ianto assured her. He let go and she straightened herself up. "Whatever your Doctor did, the cracks are gone. People are themselves again. We may not be alright now, but we will be."

Rose blushed. "He's not my Doctor."

"Yes he is," everybody chorused, all except for the Doctor who said, "Yes I am. Well- you and the TARDIS share me, I suppose."

Captain Jack waggled his eyebrows. "Kinky."

"What happens next?" Donna asked, once the silence descended.

The Doctor let out a whoosh of air as he mulled the matter over. "We need to get back to our own universe soon, I suppose. What happens in this universe is up to all of you."

"Actually, Doctor," Fred said, stepping forward, "I don't think it is. Jackie and I have been talking and, if it's alright, we'd like to head back with you. Our family is gone. Rose is leaving. There's nothing here for us anymore."

The Doctor seemed to consider the offer. Finally, he warned, "You'd be starting off with nothing-"

"George and I started off with nothing the last time," Fred shrugged. "I'm sure Jackie and I can manage."

"You won't be able to contact George and in my universe," the Doctor added. "He doesn't know about any of this and, even if he did, he's a different George. Not your brother. You'd have to stay somewhere remote, where nobody who knew The-Other-Fred could find you. Perhaps in a different century or planet-"

"Cardiff, in the 21st," Jack said. Seeing the incredulous glances between shot his way, Jack said, "I hear they're starting up a new Torchwood branch there. They could use somebody to make sure they don't get into trouble."

The Doctor nodded to show that this plan was acceptable to him and looked over at Fred to hear his answer. Fred and Jack exchanged glances and then looked down at their son. Fred finally nodded.

"That sounds good," he breathed, relieved. Then he turned to Ianto with a proud look on his face. "They'll need somebody to lead this branch of Torchwood, you know."

Ianto's face a picture, Rose thought. He pointed to himself. "Me? But I'm a muggle."

"You're brilliant!" Rose protested.

"And things are about to change here," the Doctor pointed out. "Can't you feel it?"

"Go on then," Donna prodded. "Take it! Don't be thick. That job'd be a piece of cake, I'd bet!"

"I am not thick," he protested. "But if you think working at Torchwood is so easy, why don't you come and see for yourself?"

"You don't have the power to hire me," Donna scoffed.

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I do! I am hereby accepting Fred's offer. First order of business: Donna Noble, come and work for Torchwood."

"Fine," Donna said smugly, "But I ain't nobody's assistant. I want a proper job."

"Deal," Ianto said. Then he paused. "Wait. What just happened?"

"I think you were just tricked," Hugo snickered.

"I think that's business settled then," the Doctor said. He, like the others, seemed unwilling to break up this newfound friendship. Donna gave both the Doctor and Rose a large hug. For Jack, though, she had reserved a large smack on the lips. He laughed as she finished bidding goodbye to everybody else.

If her eyes were shining more than usual when she told Ianto that she'd be waiting for him outside, nobody mentioned it.

Ianto also went ahead and bid his goodbyes, saving Rose for last.

"This is it, then," Rose said with a slight laugh. Ianto smiled at her.

"I guess so," Ianto said.

"I'm gonna miss you," she said. "Take care of Ianto Jr., yea?"

"Actually, it's a girl," Ianto said proudly. "The healers down at Diagon Alley told us only yesterday."

"Congratulations," Rose offered. "I wish I could be here to watch her grow up."

"I wish she would get to meet her godmother," Ianto said. Rose gasped and he grinned at her surprise. "You've helped us so much since you've been here. You deserve the title."

Once again, Rose found herself throwing herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. He squeezed back and, after a minute, he was the one to let go. He gave her one last salute (a joke about their old positions, her as the head of the team and he as the assistant, but it had never been that way and he knew it) and left.

"You okay?" Al asked her. He was leaning against a coral strut. Rose nodded, so turned to the Doctor. "Home?"

"Of course," the Doctor said.

"Wait!" Rose said suddenly, as the Doctor headed over to the console. He looked over at her apprehensively. She didn't understand why, at first, until she realized that he was worried that she had changed her mind. Well, she couldn't let that continue. "The Master mentioned his TARDIS."

"Oh, she's long gone, Rose," the Doctor said softly. "I can't feel her in my head."

"The Master was so adamant that she was alive," Rose whispered.

"He was driven mad," the Doctor said. "Or maybe he was always mad, from the moment he looked into the Untempered Schism."

"Speaking of the Master," Hugo asked, "Where is he now?"

"I gave him a bottle and put him to sleep," Jack said. Judging by their expressions, Rose assumed that Jack had filled everybody in the TARDIS in while she was in the sick bay.

"What are we going to do with him?" Rose asked the Doctor. The Master was his friend (sort of), so it should be his decision.

"I've been thinking about that," the Doctor said. "We can bring him back to our world. Drop him off in an orphanage and let some people raise him well and check in on him every now and then, make sure he stays out of trouble."

"I think that's an excellent plan." Strangely enough, it was Fred who said this. "Everybody deserves a second chance."

"Right," the Doctor said. "Let's get out of here before something else goes wrong, shall we?"

With that, the Doctor launched them into the vortex and through the universes.

Jackie and Fred left first, leaving with their son in Cardiff. The Doctor gave some Earth money (when Rose asked him where he had gotten it, he mentioned something about using his sonic on an ATM a few weeks back) and bid them farewell.

Then, Al and Hugo were dropped off with the promise that the Doctor would bring Rose back as soon as they were done dropping off the Master. When they landed wherever the Doctor had taken them, Jack left to go get the Master.

While Jack went to go wake up the baby, Rose stood next to the Doctor and asked, "Where are you thinking of putting him?"

"I like 1926," the Doctor said with a shrug. "New Year's Eve. There's an orphanage in London called Wool's Orphanage."

The name struck Rose for some reason, but she couldn't place why. At that moment, Jack returned carrying a swaddled Master. Rose and the Doctor got their first good look at him. He was pink and tiny. A newborn.

"He looks familiar," Rose said.

"All babies look the same," the Doctor pointed out. "How can you tell?"

Rose sputtered. "Don't be rude!"

"He's a baby! It's not like he understands what I'm saying!"

"Let's just get this over with," Jack grumbled. He and the Doctor stopped only to put their coats on from the coat hanger that hung by the door, while Rose put on her cloak. She was grateful that she had because as soon as she stepped outside, she was hit in the face with what felt like a bucketful of freezing water.

It was pouring rain and dark. Jack wrapped the baby more tightly in his blankets. They began heading down the street towards where the Doctor had said the orphanage was. The streets were deserted, but squinting through the rain, Rose managed to make out an odd lump on the sidewalk. She ran over to it was shocked to see that it was a woman wearing tattered clothes and bleeding profusely. She didn't seem to know what was going on around her.

Rose knelt down and tried to find where she was hurt, but she didn't seem wounded anywhere. She was wearing an old style cloak and was no doubt a witch.

"Doctor!" Rose called back. The Doctor, no doubt hearing the urgency in her voice, ran towards her. When he saw the woman bleeding on the ground, he sprang into action. Rose stepped back to let him work. Jack stepped up next to her and handed her the baby. She took it and he leant down to the help the Doctor.

Despite their best attempts, it was in vain. In the end, on that street in the pouring rain, they were left with not one, but two, dead bodies.

"A miscarriage," the Doctor said softly. Rose conjured up another blanket and knelt down next to him. "A baby boy."

She took the dead baby and wrapped him in the blanket. She was crying at this point, holding both babies, but the rain made her face wet and she couldn't distinguish it from the tears running down her face. The Doctor wasn't crying, but he was as serious as she had ever seen him. She knew he couldn't stand it when he couldn't save somebody.

"She was very young," Jack said. He pulled the woman's grimy hair from her face and straightened her tattered cloak.

Her expression was peaceful, but that wasn't what made Rose gasp.

"I know her," Rose muttered. "I mean, I recognize her."

"Who is she?" Jack asked.

"It's Merope Gaunt," Rose said. "It's Voldemort's mum. This must be the day she took him to the orphanage, and the day she died. I don't understand, though. Her baby..."

Rose paused and looked down at the two babies in her hands. One was fair haired, reminding her of the Tom Riddle back in the parallel universe. He looked nothing like the pictures of Tom Riddle Rose had ever seen.

The other baby, though, the Master- he was dark haired and suddenly Rose realized what had happened and what she needed to do.

"Doctor," she said as calmly as she could. Her voice shook only barely. "Take her baby."

The Doctor took it unquestioningly, but watched, confused, as Rose stood up. He followed her and looked down at her through the rain. "Rose? What's wrong? You look as though you've seen a ghost."

Neither he or Jack had realized yet.

"The war against Voldemort has to happen, right, Doctor?" Rose asked.

The Doctor said slowly, "Yes. It's a fixed point. One of the biggest there is."

"How can it happen when Merope's son, Tom Riddle, is dead?" Rose asked. The Doctor looked down at the baby with his lips pursed. "I'll tell you," she continued. "Because Tom Riddle as we know him- Voldemort- was not Merope's son. He was the Master."

"Rose," Jack began, aghast, but Rose spoke over him before he had a chance to say anything else.

"This has to happen," Rose said. "It's always happened like this. Don't you understand? That's why there was no Voldemort in Fred's World. Tom Riddle was never really Voldemort and we took the Master here." Rose looked down at Merope and her blonde hair and her dark colored cloak. "You don't have to do this," the Doctor denied. "We can find another way-"

"No," Rose protested. "I remember. They found Merope's body the day after Riddle was dropped off. It was me who takes the baby to the orphanage and tells them to name him Tom Marvolo Riddle. It always was. I can do this. I have to do this. Just, please. Meet me back at the TARDIS."

Jack and the Doctor exchanged glances in the dark. Jack finally said, "Alright, doll. We'll see you in a few."

Rose nodded and turned, holding the Master (Tom?), and headed toward the orphanage. She could feel the Doctor's and Jack's eyes on her until she turned the corner. She could see, just across the street, Wool's Orphanage. She pulled her hood over her face before she made her way to the doorstep.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door was opened by a woman. "Goodness me! Can I help you?"

Rose didn't hesitate in thrusting the baby toward the woman, he took it, surprised. "Take care of him. Call him Tom Marvolo Riddle, after his father."

Before the woman could protest, Rose was running, almost tripping on the slicked steps in front of the door. She ran and and ran and ran, lungs burning, but she couldn't stop right now. She couldn't think about what she'd just done, the fate she had just handed to so many of the people she'd loved to. The number of people she had just indirectly sentenced to death.

The TARDIS, bright blue even in the darkness, called to her like a beacon and she rushed through the doors and slammed them behind her. She shrugged her cloak off and let it fall against the floor, ignoring the concerned looks of the Doctor and Jack. Rose took a few steps and leaned against a coral strut.

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor said. He pulled her into a tight hug and she buried herself in it, realizing only just then that those sobbing sounds were coming from her. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry, too," Rose sniffled. She wasn't really sure what she was apologizing for and it didn't really make her feel better, but she repeated it anyway. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!"

"You have nothing to be sorry for," the Doctor muttered. He led her down to the floor so they could both sit down, which was most likely a good idea since her legs felt weak after her long sprint.

"Merope's baby is in the infirmary," Jack said quietly, sitting down next to them. "We can skip forward a week or so and bury him next to his mother. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan," Rose muttered. For some reason, that, at least, made her feel better. At least Merope would get to be with her son, wherever they were.

"Will you be alright?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Rose thought about for a moment, then nodded. "Yea."

"Do you want to go home?" the Doctor asked.

Rose couldn't help the bubble of laughter that escaped from her then. "You idiot. I am home."

AN: So yea. That's it! I won't lie. There were moments that I thought this story would never get done, but I did it! And yes. I know I took some liberties with the true circumstances of Merope Gaunt's death, but I got the Voldemort/Master idea way back when I was writing Clarke's Third Law and this seemed like the only plausible way to make it work. Hopefully you don't mind :)

As for the future of this series, I am planning a Clarke's Second Law that will be relatively short and fluffy and just meant to cap everything off. However, I am still figuring out exactly how I want to do that and, in the meantime, I have a few other projects on my plate (including a Doctor Who/Avengers crossover!). I will probably post a one-shot for this series in the meantime, so keep an eye out.

Until next time!

Tinyrose65