Author's Note: I can't apologize enough for the lateness. I suffered a personal loss that set me back a lot in terms of pretty much everything. I'm attempting to move on, so I present to you the last chapter. I know it's literally been a while at this point, so just remember this is set after "The Angels Take Manhattan," but before the rest of series 7, so the only Clara related thing that's happened was "Asylum of the Daleks." I suppose the story is pretending that the series 7 finale and the 50th Anniversary never happened, and who am I to argue with my story? A special thanks to "this is my pseudonym" for special encouragement when it was truly needed, and also to the anonymous guest reviews I can't personally reply to. Enjoy.

"So it turns out more than half of the regular soldiers only joined because they'd heard of the Doctor or been touched somehow by all those heroics he's always up to. They only wanted a chance to meet him and maybe thank him or help him in return," Dai explains to Rose.

"So what are they doing with everyone they've captured?" Rose asks. There's a surprising amount of activity going on around them as handcuffed scientists and officers are being searched and confined, machines are being dismantled, and sleeper agents are awoken. Alonso glances over at Rose and Dai from where he's questioning a frightened-looking young woman in a junior officer's uniform. He smiles briefly but warmly at the two women before turning back to the soldier.

That makes two people here who aren't afraid of me, Rose thinks. Since Kovarian's death, the stories of all the incredible things she's done today have spread quickly throughout the base. Much to her dismay, even Bentley and Ruskin are avoiding eye contact.

"Most are being sent for trial and possible incarceration at Stormcage Containment Facility for various crimes related to meddling with established timelines and planetary population schedules. Several of the medical and science officers are also being charge with war crimes of torture and illegal experimentation. Mass murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and endangering life and existence as we know it were all mentioned, as well."

Rose frowns, thinking of the abominations she and Jack witnessed in the laboratories. "What about the converted soldiers?"

Dai's expression grows incrementally more serious as she answers, "They've been wholly deactivated and are to be sent home to their families for burial with full honors. Alonso decided he didn't care whether they'd served under Kovarian willingly or not; no one deserves to end that way."

Rose shivers, despite the warm sun on her back. After spending so much time in the deepest underground areas of the compound, she's relieved to be back out in the open air, even if she is surrounded by a much larger crowd than she's comfortable with. Her gaze falls on the TARDIS, parked a short distance away, and she winks at the old girl.

Couldn't have saved the day without you, she thinks, but that's just an average day in your life, isn't it? In the back of Rose's mind, the TARDIS hums contentedly (and just a tad bit smugly) in the affirmative.

Rose starts to turn her attention back to Dai, but she's diverted by the sight of River and the Doctor standing near the TARDIS, heads bent towards each other, deep in conversation. Their backs are to her, and there's too much ambient noise to hear their exchange, so Rose can only imagine how that discussion is going.

"I'm sorry, Dai, what did you say?"

The first lieutenant follows Rose's line of sight, and Dai gives her a sympathetic half-smile before repeating her remark. Rose is grateful that Dai is tactful enough not to comment.

"I was saying that our people are searching the base for any hidden surprises and dismantling the most dangerous equipment. We're planning on removing as much of this place as possible so the planet can get more or less back to its natural timeline. Barring any nasty surprises, things should be back to more or less normal in a few weeks."

"What will you do after you've finished here?" Rose asks curiously.

"Go back to fighting the good fight in the name of the Doctor, I suppose. I really only joined because I heard the he was in danger," First Lt. Scott confides. "When I was little, my Gran Ida used to tell us grandkids the story of the time the Doctor saved her and most of her crew from a black hole and something else so horrible she never would say what it was. The Doctor was different then, from the way she told it, a bit more dashing and swaggering," Dai says.

She pauses, looking intently at Rose. "He traveled with someone else then; she was this amazingly brave, blond woman who also saved everyone from the same unspeakably evil thing."

Rose stares blankly at Dai for a long moment before the memories click into place. "Wait…Ida? Ida Scott? She was your gran?"

Dai smiles brightly and snaps into a formal salute. "It's an honor to have met and served with you, Rose Tyler."

Rose returns the salute sincerely, "You did your gran proud today. She was a hell of a woman herself. Take care, Dai, and maybe we'll save the Doctor together again someday."

"Or you and my granddaughter can," Dai replies. She and Rose embrace quickly, then Dai heads off through the mass of moving people toward the last place they saw Alonso. Rose wonders for a moment about the exact nature of their relationship. They seemed so intimate and familiar earlier, but she distinctly remembers Jack making allusions about also having had relations with Major Frame.

"I suppose Alonso's entitled to have whatever and however many companions he wants," Rose muses as she loses sight of Dai in the crowd. "Must make for some interesting stories when the conversation lags."

She glances up in time to see the Doctor shaking his head at River, who is smiling that knowing, secretive smile of hers. As Rose watches, the Doctor sighs, taking River into his arms and kissing her cheek before turning and stepping into the TARDIS.

River looks up in time to meet Rose's eyes and starts to weave her way towards her through the mass of people. Rose mentally braces herself; this should be an interesting conversation.

"I don't suppose you'd mind if I had that back, would you?" River asks, nodding in the direction of Rose's wrist. Confused, Rose follows River's gaze and realizes she's still wearing the other woman's vortex manipulator.

"Of course not; here," Rose says quickly, fumbling the clasp open. "I don't exactly need it anymore, do I?"

River smiles a little too knowingly as she accepts the cuff. Having no doubt been filled in by the surprisingly austere and mature Doctor, River is most likely fully aware of everything that Rose did to save her and the Doctor.

"I suppose not," River murmurs. "I can't thank you enough for what you've done today, so I won't embarrass either of us by trying too hard." She gives Rose a brief, speculative once-over before continuing, "You changed almost everything, you know. Quite literally. He wasn't supposed to regenerate, not today and definitely not here. He could've died permanently without you, and that wasn't supposed to happen today, either. For that matter, a lot of people could've died today, not to mention throughout all of time, without your intervention."

Rose can't think of an honest answer that doesn't sound dismissive or boastful, so she changes the subject, grasping at the first topic that crosses her mind.

"What will you do now? I know you and the Doctor travel together sometimes…" She trails off, her face crimson with embarrassment, silently cursing her ridiculous brain. Excellent subject change, she thinks caustically at herself. Bring up the most uncomfortable point between the two of us to distract from the next most. Rose mentally slaps herself.

"Oh, not this one, I think," River replies, that enigmatic smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "The timelines have shifted, but this regeneration's gone about the same way it would have done regardless, and he and I just don't get along this time around. Very sure of himself, this one, and very, very serious. Good for late night debates on the fall of the Roman Empire or the merits of Rassilon's Thirteen Tenets of Ascension, but I couldn't get him to crack a smile for anything. The last time I met this regeneration, he asked me to travel with him, despite all the arguing and clashing. I wanted to, but I have a rule about one resident psychopath per TARDIS. He'd lost so much by that point, lost so many people, and he was shattered. I wasn't able to give him what he needed, so I told him no."

They eye each other for a few seconds, nothing hostile or wary in either woman's gaze: only mild speculation and a new, mutual respect. Finally, Rose breaks the silence.

"So, what does he need?"

"You, I think," River answers with frank sincerity. "I don't remember anything that happened between the prison cell when Kovarian pulled out the remote and when I woke up after everything was over, but I remember everything from before that. I meant what I said to you on the TARDIS, and I still mean it. He's broken inside, and he needs you."

"Broken?" Rose replies, baffled. "I've never seen him look more put together in any of his regenerations. Ten quid says he comes out wearing starched, pressed socks."

"Be that as it may," River says, repressing her smile, "he regenerated practically into a hermit. If there was ever a Doctor who needed you to draw him out of himself, this is the one. I've been right so far, haven't I? Everything today depended on you, and everything today turned out differently because of you. Who knows how Kovarian would have ambushed him or what she would have done to me to get to him if you hadn't been here? Rose, trust me. This is a Doctor who needs changing. He was born set in his ways, and it'll take a miracle to pull him out of that darkness inside of him."

Rose is once again struck speechless. Her eyes rest on the TARDIS doors as she remembers a Doctor who needed something similar from her oh, so long ago. Her mind wanders over all the different twists and turns and changes she's been through ever since a renegade Time Lord took her hand and told her to run.

"That alien just changes everything," she murmurs. "All that time with him, everything we've been through…I'd say I don't even know who I think I am anymore, but I think it's more accurate to say I'm not even sure how to think anymore."

"Dear," River laughs, tapping coordinates into her vortex manipulator, "I know exactly what you mean. When you feel up to the task again, though, try to think on what I said, will you?" Without waiting for a reply, River places a quick kiss on Rose's cheek, takes a step back as she presses one last button, and vanishes in a crackle of light and sparks.

Rose stands motionless in the midst of the scurrying, anxious people who brush past her, murmuring apologies as they rush by. Voices swirl around her, conversations mixing, none of them making any sense. Suddenly, Rose feels suffocated by the crush of people and longs for a few moments to herself. She's taken in a lot of information today, and she longs for a good, peaceful, solitary sit.

The TARDIS doors begin to open, and Rose knows she isn't ready for a conversation with the Doctor. Not yet. Deciding that now is the perfect time to do instead of think, Rose randomly chooses a destination and disappears in a swirl of gold.

…

The tiny red creature chitters excitedly to Rose as it stares up at her from its perch on her knee. She waits politely for him to finish before replying, "Well, Ferdinand, I don't know what you could use for a singular form of 'FLUFS.' Normally, I'd just tell you to use 'FLUF' and be done with it, but if someone were to ask you what that stood for, the answer wouldn't make sense."

Ferdinand trills tiredly, interposing a few clicks into his rant, and then waits for Rose's response.

"If I were you, I'd just put it to the council the next time you meet. I know you're Lord High Potentate, but that doesn't mean you can't take advice. A good leader knows when to listen to his people. And I do agree that it's much more convenient to speak directly rather than using the Doctor as a translator. I just…didn't quite have the nuances of your language down earlier. I seem to understand it much better now."

Before Ferdinand can respond, a wheezing sound groans through the clearing, and the TARDIS materializes a few feet away from the pair of them. The door creaks open, and the Doctor steps out, glancing around before spotting Rose and her companion.

New, new, new, new Doctor, Rose thinks, one corner of her mouth tilting up. She's broken from her reverie by Ferdinand's indignant squall as the Lord High Potentate of the FLUFS eyes the Doctor suspiciously.

"I assure you, Ferdinand, it is in fact the same me, and I can prove it, if you wish, with the secret FLUFS handshake you were so kind as to teach me earlier," the Doctor replies with complete dignity and without one hint of sarcasm.

Ferdinand eyes him suspiciously for a moment, and the Doctor holds out his hand in an open, non-threatening gesture. After glancing at Rose for confirmation, he reluctantly sniffs the Doctor's proffered fingers. His tiny eyes brighten in recognition, and he leaps easily from Rose's knee directly to the Doctor's shoulder.

"I will confess, I'm relieved you recognized me," the Doctor replies to Ferdinand's excited chitters. Ferdinand seizes one of the Doctor's fingers in both paws, shaking vigorously. "I would have been more than willing to attempt the handshake with you, but I don't know how well this body's knees would've done hanging upside down from the tree limb, nor how my new back would perform during the somersaults. Early days, you see."

His eyes flick to Rose, and she's pleased to see a genuine sparkle of amusement there.

"Now, my fine fellow, if you don't mind, I'd like to have a word with my friend here. Would you be so kind as to give us a little privacy?"

Ferdinand bobs his head, chittering a farewell to the Doctor and Rose before bounding up to grab a low hanging branch and disappearing upward into the foliage.

"Is this seat taken?" The Doctor nods at the empty space next to Rose on the comfy rock she's using for a bench. She pats the spot in wordless invitation, inching over to give him more room. They sit in companionable silence for a couple of minutes, studying each other, learning and relearning lines and patterns and imperfections.

Their hands join automatically, and Rose wonders if it's possible for a Time Lord to go through multiple regenerations but keep certain parts of himself the same.

"Always a perfect fit with you, Rose Tyler," he murmurs, echoing her thoughts. His eyes slide down her arm to where their fingers are intertwined. "Even if it usually takes me too long to realize it."

They muse on this thought, gently flexing their fingers in each others' grasps, listening to the squeaking and chattering of the FLUFS overhead and other nearby wildlife.

"Curly hair is a good look for you," Rose says finally. "Haven't had that in a few regenerations, yeah?"

"Definitely not something I was expecting," the Doctor replies, his tone clearly indicating disapproval of his new hair's willful behavior. "Speaking of things I wasn't expecting…how's your head?"

"Doesn't hurt a bit now," she replies, leaning back and stretching her legs out on front of herself, yawning deeply as she continues, "but I'd have killed for some aspirin a few hours ago."

"I'm not sure aspirin would be a wise choice anymore," he responds gravely. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see him studying her again. "I don't know what…changes you've gone through, and quite honestly, I don't know how things will affect you anymore. Aspirin can be fatal for Time Lords, but there's no telling what would happen if you took it."

"How do you mean, Doctor?" Even though she's fairly certain she knows, she wants to hear him say the words aloud.

He shifts until he's facing her and takes both her hands in his. From the solemnity of his gaze, Rose feels as if he's about to impart some ancient wisdom or lecture her on the dangers of humans interfering with the proper course of established events. She hasn't seen him this grave since she changed a fixed point and set the reapers on everyone.

"Rose, I don't believe you're properly human anymore. Your newfound abilities would certainly suggest not. Likewise, you aren't Time Lord, either. I've never seen anything like you before. You've somehow bonded with the heart of the TARDIS and the vortex in ways I didn't even know were possible. I have theories, but I don't know anything for sure. As the situation stands, I have no idea what to expect from you or for you."

"So…what are you proposing, then?" Rose replies cautiously. From the way he began, she wasn't expecting this turn of conversation, and she'd like to know what he's planning before she comments.

"I'd like to test out our new selves together. Experiment with your abilities, try my hand at different tasks, and see what comes of it all. Maybe go explore somewhere uninhabited so we don't…well…"

"Destroy anything?" Rose supplies. The Doctor nods slowly, unsure of the reception his suggestion will receive. Rose knows this is the best opening she's going to be to share her own concerns, but she still hesitates. What she's about to tell him is probably the last thing he wants to hear; it's definitely not what she'd like to be discussing.

"Doctor, I'm not sure that's the best idea," she starts, refusing to look him in the eyes. "Not the 'exploring our new selves' bit. Just the doing it together bit."

She hears him take in a breath, readying himself to argue, but she raises her hand abruptly, effectively silencing him. She forces herself to look up and face him head on and finds his face just as stunned and distressed as she was afraid it would be. She ignores the not-so-subtle stinging in her chest as she continues.

"I know you disagree, and I fully intend to hear you out, but right now, Doctor," she says, holding his gaze despite the painful intensity of the connection, "I am talking."

His eyes widen in shock at her words. To her surprise, and for the first time in their long acquaintance, the Doctor actually shuts his gob and listens to her.

"Blimey if this isn't the understatement of the century, but a lot has happened today. Before I found you again, I felt like I had a pretty good idea of who I was. Leastways, I didn't tend to ask myself over and over. Now if I try to answer that question, I don't even know where or how to begin, and I don't know that I ever will. It's not as if this has happened before so we have notes for comparison or anything. Everything I've done today, everything I've seen and heard…Nothing makes sense that should do, and a hell of a lot makes sense that shouldn't. Even some of the things Madame Kovarian said are starting to sound reasonable, and I wish to God they didn't. I wouldn't even let myself consciously think some of the things she put voice to, but now that she has, I can't go on ignoring them."

Rose takes in his dubious expression and smiles grimly in response. "I agree that she's not the most reliable source of information, but you know what they say about broken clocks and all that. But that's beside the point, Doctor. The thing is—" She breaks off for a moment, thinking hard about what she's going to say next. He'll probably balk at her suggestion, but she can't think of any other was they should proceed.

"The one thing I do know is that I love you. I've never doubted that. I still don't doubt it, and I never will. It doesn't matter how long or how far we've been apart or who either of us shared our hearts with in the meantime. I will love every version of you I meet. But you aren't that man I met in the basement of Henrik's anymore, three times over now. I'm not the ignorant, teenage shop girl you invited for a jaunt after you blew up her job. Neither of us knows who we are yet, much less each other. Don't you think we should get reacquainted or at least get to know ourselves a little bit before we jump into something quite so involved? I mean, really, at this point, it's been a while for both of us."

"Rose, you of all people know that I'm literally the same man; the trimmings are simply different," the Doctor counters. He sounds as exhausted as she feels, and the sting in her chest evolves into a full-blown ache.

Rose gazes at him steadily for a long moment, taking the time to gather her composure before answering, "You've made that argument before, and I listened to you then. My answer now is that if you are literally the same man, then you are also literally the same man who took me back to a parallel universe, refused to tell me that you loved me, and left without saying goodbye, all without giving me a choice in the matter. I'm not saying you didn't do the right thing, but Doctor, you give even the most dangerous and deadly creatures you encounter a choice before you act. Why didn't I deserve the same?"

"Because I watched you make your choice, and you chose him," the Doctor spits out bitterly. Fury washes over his face, ominously darkening and twisting his new features. If ever there was a regeneration of his that truly embodied the "Oncoming Storm," Rose gets the impression it would be this one. "I couldn't stand the thought of hearing you say aloud that didn't choose me. Not after you promised me forever. I've always believed in you, Rose, and before then I never, ever doubted you. But in that one single moment of time and space…"

His eyes meet hers, fierce and grief-stricken, and the force of his gaze is like a physical blow.

"Everything I believed in was shattered in that moment. Every hope and wild fantasy I ever dared to dream for us burned to ashes at my feet, and I couldn't watch you…I couldn't see him…Rose, that day on the beach nearly destroyed me. I couldn't stay and wait for you to say the words out loud. I've run from everything else, why should one of the worst days of my existence be any different?"

The rejected anger and suffering in his voice is enough to leave her breathless. She thinks through his words, remembering every agonizing second of her last trip to Bad Wolf Bay. The look of feigned indifference on the full Time Lord's face; she realizes now the coldness in his expression was just a mask for the agony he's only now able to express. The mixed look of dismay and suppressed hope warring on her own half-human Doctor's face as he realizes he's being abandoned while at the same time he's being handed the one dream he never completely gave up on. The proud, serene intelligence resting so well (if somewhat unexpectedly) on Donna's face…

At the thought of Donna, something Kovarian said earlier snaps into Rose's mind.

"Doctor, what happened to Donna? I just assumed she stayed with you, but something happened to her, didn't it? Something to do with the metacrisis. Is she…Did she…"

"She's not dead," he replies soberly. "The biological metacrisis was too much for her. Humans aren't physiologically or mentally built to have such vast amounts of information crammed into their minds." He glances at her significantly, one eyebrow raised. "The Time Lord consciousness would have killed her, burned through her until nothing was left. I had to wipe her mind of everything we'd done together, all those memories of the people she'd met and loved and saved, and lock all those thoughts deep in her mind. She had to forget about me so she could live, and it broke my hearts to do that to her."

Rose absorbs this in silence as she tightens her grip on his hands.

"I'm more than a little surprised Donna would choose to let you do that to her instead of the alternative," Rose remarks, startled into honesty. "She was, without a doubt, the most stubborn woman I've ever met, including my mum. I could see her making some sort of declaration along the lines of 'over my dead body' or something."

She glances at the Doctor and has to study his expression before she is able to place it; guilt sits differently on his features now, she realizes. There's an anxious lurch in her stomach followed by a flash of shocked realization.

"Doctor, tell me you didn't."

He's silent, although his fingers clench reflexively around hers.

"Tell me you did not make that decision for Donna! Tell me you didn't decide what you thought was best for someone else and then go right ahead in spite of her protests! She wanted to stay with you, didn't she? Did you even ask her? Do you just prefer being miserable and alone, is that it?!"

"What else was I supposed to do?" he explodes, wrenching his hands away. He leaps to his feet, pacing furious across the clearing which suddenly doesn't seem large enough to contain all the tension between them . "I'd just lost you again! Jack, Martha, Sarah Jane, even Mickey the Idiot all ran off to their own lives, their real lives, the ones where they don't need me! All I had left was Donna. Was I supposed to watch my best mate burn in front of me when I could save her?"

He's gesturing wildly, his face is blazing and angrier than she's ever seen him before. Despite how long she's known and trusted him, Rose is taken aback by the sheer heat of his rage.

"She's alive, Rose, she's so much more alive than I've been in centuries! She's married, she has children, she has a real life because I made that decision for her! If I hadn't, she'd be nothing but so much ash scattered through the stars, and I've caused enough people to burn to last a thousand lifetimes! There was no way I could just stand by and watch if I could stop it!"

He stops in his tracks, chest heaving, his face a contorted blend of bitterness and regret. Rose tenses on her rock, torn between the instinct to comfort him and her acute desire to shrink under the weight of his wrath . If she ever doubted that he earned his title "The Great Exterminator," seeing him this torn and damaged over Donna's fate erases any lingering traces of those doubts.

All at once, his shoulders drop as if all the fight's gone out of him. He scrubs at his face, his back to Rose, and when he speaks again, she has to strain to hear the somber, muted lilt of his words.

"I know that even on her happiest days, even when she's not aware that she feels it, Donna knows there's something missing from her life. I know that he, that you…that the pair of you probably resented and hated me for most of your life together. But Rose," he says, turning back to her and crossing the space between them. He kneels before her, taking her hands in his once more and searching her face earnestly. Rose is dismayed to see how fiercely red and wet his eyes are.

"As wrong as it seems for me to have made all those decisions for other people, the point still stands. Donna's alive, Rose, and living a life I never could! And you, you both got to have your life together, even if I did manage to muck them up, as well! Dammit, you all got to live, Rose, and she…she's still alive. I couldn't…I couldn't lose her, too, not after I lost…"

And just like that, the indignant anger drains right out of Rose. Without a word, she moves to draw the Doctor into her arms. Instead of returning her embrace, he grasps her upper arms and faces her full on.

"Rose, I regret so many things I've done in my time. I wish that there'd been something else I could've done, but I always tried to do what I thought was right, and I wouldn't go back and change any of them for anything. Except one. I know I was stupid and jealous and short sighted, and I absolutely would not admit to myself how much I needed you, but I'm admitting it now."

She starts to answer him, but he cuts her off with an impatient shake of his head. "I need you, Rose Tyler, and I meant what I said. You are my always. I don't want to ever lose you again, even if I have to beg you not to leave me. I know I deserve it after leaving you on that beach, but please don't. I can't spend the rest of my life without you. I won't do it. I've lost you twice now, and I will never lose you again."

"Wait, what the hell are you on about?" Rose exclaims, startled. "Who said anything about leaving you for the rest of your life?"

His expression flashes between wild hope and confusion as he stares incredulously at her. "Rose, you distinctly said—"

"I know what I said, Doctor. I said I will always love you and I need some time to figure out what I am. That doesn't mean I won't ever see or travel with you again, you mental ball of instability! Yes, I've had my life with my own Doctor, but I've waited long enough to see you again, and you aren't getting off that easily!"

"But…you…I…I don't…"

Suppressing a grin, she shakes her head as she corrects his misapprehension. "Doctor, we need time to figure out who we are separately. For you, that might take a few days or a few weeks, but I've no doubt you'll find yourself, just as you've always done. For me, I need some time to figure out who and especially what I've become, and I think I might like a little time to test out these new powers of mine."

"Besides," she adds, assuming a stern expression, "don't think for a moment I'm just going to fly off with you in your TARDIS after spending the day chasing after you and your erstwhile wife. I have no intentions of becoming 'the other woman' in your life, so if you want me to travel with you again, you're going to do it properly."

His bewilderment is almost palpable. "Rose, River and I aren't like that. You saw us talking before she left; we're just…we aren't like…It was an alternate timeline that's been aborted now, as if it never happened. I don't understand what you—"

"You're going to court me properly, and you're going to say those three words that I deserve to hear from you. To answer your question from the beach, yes, Doctor, those words do need saying. They may not need saying often, but you have to say them at least once. And when you do say them, it shouldn't be forced or coerced or said when you think there's no time left to say it. Don't wait until the last second; start the conversation with it. If I'm your always, Doctor, then I fully expect you to prove it."

"You want me to prove myself to you?" She thinks the corner of his mouth twitches then, but it could've been a passing shadow.

"You're damn right, I do." She smiles, a little amused by his obvious confusion. "You forget I've had some proper romance now, not just chips date that I pay for. I know it's in you to say and do the right thing. For now, though, I'm going to go explore a bit and get reacquainted with my home universe."

"And I should, what? Sit around and wait for you to call?" He's indignant now, his newfound pride reasserting itself, and Rose has to work hard to keep a straight face. He couldn't be more different from his previous self if he tried, and she suspects he might be doing exactly that.

"If y'like, although I think the TARDIS might have a few things to say about that. She's tired of you shutting yourself up inside her and locking everything else out."

"Rose, I really don't…is this separation necessary? I can court you as much as you like; I would love to. I can give you time to yourself on the TARDIS to explore your new powers. We'll do and say all the things I always meant to but couldn't ever work up the courage. You're right, I've changed, and I know how poorly I treated you before. Let me make up for it."

The TARDIS nudges the back of Rose's mind with a new idea, and she brightens. "A compromise, then."

He quirks an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Give me some time on my own to explore a bit, and you promise to take at least a little time to feel your new self out. One or two adventures on your own, but no more than that, and find someone local to take along so you're not alone."

"And then?"

"Then we meet somewhere and have a small adventure of our own to try out our new selves together. Rose Tyler and the Doctor, the new Stuff of Legends."

The corner of his mouth twitches, his eyes softening. "And where, Ms. Tyler, do you propose we meet?"

Rose widens her eyes in mock surprise. "I'd have thought it would be obvious, Doctor. I've been waiting over a hundred years, ever since you brought it up."

His eyes narrow as he considers, then he lets out an abrupt bark of laughter. "Barcelona, then, is it? Dogs with no noses at last? My TARDIS travels in space and time, though. I can't promise I won't cheat and skip ahead. I've had to live a lot longer without you than you've been without me, Rose. I know what I want now, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to have you with me again. I won't wait any longer than I absolutely have to before I find you."

She feels her resolve flag for just a moment at the fever in his eyes, and her knees feel unexpectedly jelly-like. Then the TARDIS nudges her again (more of a mental thump, really), and she quickly regains a measure of sense.

"Skip ahead as much as you like, Doctor, but I won't be at Barcelona 'til I'm good and ready."

They stand together, still holding tightly to each others' arms. She glances him over again, her mouth pursed.

"What is it?" he asks, amusement coloring the question. "I haven't had a chance to check yet, how do I look?"

"Still different, and definitely not ginger," she muses, "but good different. And very…dignified. And your eyes…"

"What about my eyes?" he murmurs, pulling her a little closer.

"I think they've gone back to blue. Like when I first met you. You're the same height, now, too. You remind me a lot…well, of yourself, I suppose. Different and the same, just a lot of technical Time Lord jiggery pokery."

"Better jiggery pokery than hullabaloo—" he begins, but she cuts him off with a kiss. The sensation is both familiar and completely alien and somehow more perfect than it's ever been before. His arms slide tightly around her, and rational though ceases for a few lovely, peaceful moments.

Just as she begins to really and properly melt into his embrace, Rose mentally and physically forces herself back from him. She can feel her face heating, just as if she's back to that teenage shop girl the Doctor rescued all those years ago.

"Much better than hullabaloo," Rose breathes, her pulse still racing. "I've gotta go. Barcelona, then, Doctor?"

"As fast as you can, Rose Tyler."

She hugs him tightly, leaves a kiss on the tip of his nose, then turns to smile farewell to the TARDIS. Just as she's beginning to picture her next destination, a stray thought occurs to her.

"One last thing, Doctor?"

"Just the one?"

"For now, at least. This new you, any ideas on what you might be wearing?"

"I haven't really been bothered to think about it," he admits. "I was just going to put my old things back on when I returned to the TARDIS, but I realized someone has hidden all my bowties and braces, and all my trousers seem to be a proper length now. I can't imagine who would do such a thing," he says, a hint of a smirk as he glances at the TARDIS, "but I think someone's trying to hint that it's time for a wardrobe change. Anything in particular you'd care to see this time around?"

"I would say to surprise me, but you always do that anyway."

"I'll see what I can put together, then," he says. "Are you sure you don't want to help me pick something out?"

"Nice try, but there are some things a Time Lord has to do on his own," she replies.

"Barcelona, then Rose?" His voice is deep, suppressed emotion thickening his accent as he watches her.

"Yeah." She takes him in once more, surprised at how familiar and right his new self already feels. She thinks Barcelona is going to be a hell of a lot of fun. She beams excitedly, flashing the Doctor that special smile she saves just for him.

"See ya." And she vanishes in a swirl of golden light.

Author's Note: One year, one month, and two weeks. I can't believe it's done. I'm planning on going back through and fixing all those little bits and mistakes I know are still there. Thank you so much to everyone who's stuck with this story to the not-so-bitter end. I hope everyone got to see the 50th and that you enjoyed it. I'm planning on taking a slight break from Doctor Who fanfics, at least until I've cried my eyes out and laughed myself hoarse at the Christmas Special. As always, though, I love suggestions, so if there's something you'd like to see done, I won't know until you tell me.

Thank you so much for reading, and if at any point you enjoyed what you read, please take just a minute or two to let me know that my year-plus of work was worth the time and effort. Thanks, again.