Sorry for the delay in updating today; I haven't been home long enough before now.

Anyhow, I want to thank all of you who have favourited and subscribed and reviewed and even just read this, because you guys make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. I'm so unbelievably grateful, I can't even express it.

This chapter marks the end, and as of this moment, I have one WIP I really need to get my butt moving with, but no others. Find me on tumblr (link on my profile) or Teaspoon (same) if you'd like, I'd love to have you around. This has been fun, and I owe it all to you. Love you guys! Mwuah!

Disclaimer: Come on, even my cat knows I don't own DW (and she's really stupid...).

The following morning, Rose was admittedly terrified she'd dreamt the whole thing. She wasn't sure she could go back to "normal" after experiencing not only the Doctor's criminally talented lips dancing on hers, but also hearing those four little worse whispered in her ears. There was no way, she decided, she could go back from that. Not a chance.

To her great relief, though, she didn't have to.

She woke up to find the Doctor still holding her tightly. She smiled broadly and snuggled deeper into him, twining their legs together and winding her arms around his skinny frame. He only pulled her closer with a lazy noise of approval. And they stayed like that for ten minutes, by her reckoning. The sun was casting beams of light on the hardwood floor behind her, even through the drapes, but she paid no mind. She was more than content to just stay in his arms forever, if she could.

Eventually, though, her stomach growled, sending the Doctor into a tangent all about the importance of a good breakfast, subsequently causing her to drag herself out of bed and get dressed. They were downstairs in a matter of minutes, the aroma of pancakes wafting through the hallway from the kitchen. She let go of his hand to catch the little boy who was barrelling his way down the hall towards them. He squealed in delight as she picked him up and carried him upside down to where the smell was coming from. Angela was sitting at the island, a large grin planted on her face, with Brendan standing against the wall, drinking a glass of orange juice, Desiree to her right, wolfing down what looked to be chocolate chip pancakes, and a tall, well built man flipping the ones on a skillet. It was the picture of a happy family.

Duran clung to Rose as she flipped him right side up again, refusing to be let down. With a chuckle, she didn't object, rather sat down next to Desiree with him in her lap, with a bright "good morning" to the others.

"Morning," was the collective reply.

"We thought you'd never get out of bed," Angela joked, sliding two plates towards Rose and the Doctor.

Rose's cheeks turned bright pink. "We were up late; I couldn't sleep."

"Honey, you don't have to explain anything to me," the woman replied, a twinkle in her eye.

"Mom," Brendan rolled his eyes, pushing off the wall and heading to the refrigerator.

"What?" she asked, innocently, then winked at Rose. "Rose, Doctor, this is my husband Hank. He got in early this morning. He says the roads are clear enough he can get you back to your car."

The man turned around and smiled warmly at them. "Nice to meet you. She's told me how attached Duran's gotten. Might want to be careful there; he's learned the puppy dog face and knows how to use it." Mirth danced in green eyes that were accented by his light hair. "It's gonna be another few hours before we can go, but I'd be happy to get you back."

"Thank you so much," Rose tried to convey how truly thankful she was to the family. She elbowed the Doctor, who had already begun to dig in.

"Yes, thank you very much," he agreed through a mouthful of food.

"You'll have to excuse his rudeness; seems he was born without manners."

Desiree giggled. "Mommy says manners are important."

Rose leaned towards her, around Duran, and stage-whispered, "I don't think he much listened to his mummy."

"Oi!"

A few hours later found them in the tiny backseat of Hanks rather large pick-up truck with Desiree stuck between them, and Brendan sitting in the passenger's seat. One of their elderly neighbours had called and asked if they could help shovel him out, and they'd eagerly jumped on the opportunity, Hank using the outing as the opportunity to bring them to what they let him believe was their car. If he only knew, Rose mused.

It had been a tear-filled goodbye – mostly on Duran's part – where 'thank you's and phone numbers were exchanged and a certain little body clung to Rose like a koala. She promised him he'd be more than happy with his family and that she would try her best to visit, throwing a pointed look at the Doctor, and that seemed to calm him enough for them to leave without much more incident.

Desiree asked them, but mostly her, as many questions as she could fit in one car ride about anything and everything – where she lived, how old she was, if she had any pets, about her mum, where they met, where they travelled…the list went on and on. The Doctor actually found it rather exciting, eagerly answering every question she didn't immediately jump on that didn't pertain to her personal life. Of course, Brendan jumped in a few times to ask some of his own questions, and Hank put in a few good words, but they seemed more content to let the two with the gift of gab carry on the conversation, Rose eventually fading into the background as well.

"That's it up there," Rose said when she caught sight of the TARDIS on the opposite side of the road. She pointed so Hank could see.

"That blue box?" he asked, astonished.

"That's the one," she answered, proudly.

"You're joking."

Rose smiled. "No, not joking. 't's a bit bigger on the inside." The Doctor grinned.

Hank pulled over and they all unloaded from the truck. Rose hugged Brendan and thanked him again for picking them up, then Desiree, while the Doctor shook Hank's hand and waited for Rose to be done. When she stepped away from the little girl, she waved and took the Doctor's outstretched hand. "Watch this, you're gonna love it," she told Desiree, a knowing grin engraved on her face.

The three stood beside the truck and watched as the two travellers bounded over the snow piles and made their way to the TARDIS. Rose laughed as she slipped and stumbled through the deep snow, the Doctor tugging her along. She'd never been so grateful that the 'Pull to Open' sign was ignored in her life, as trying to pull the doors open with two feet of snow on the ground would have been more than a minor inconvenience. She waved one last time at the family before following the Doctor into the console room. He flew about, flicking switches and turning knobs and pulling levers to start the dematerialization sequence, then slapped on the monitor so they could watch the eyes of the three they had just left widen and their mouths drop open as they watched. He took her hand and squeezed as she watched with a touch of wistfulness. "We'll visit them, yeah?" she asked after a long pause.

"Yeah, we'll visit."

She nodded, then shut off the monitor and turned to him. "Can we visit my mum? I think I'd like to tell her about Mickey now."

He pressed a soft kiss to her forehead and went about setting their destination without a word. She shut her eyes and leaned against the console, listening to the mix of humming and her companion's movements. She smiled softly to herself. She knew she wasn't just his companion any more. She was so much more than she even knew. She was his, as he was hers.