Here's the final installment. Thank you for all the love! I greatly appreciate it. If you've never left a review before, but have enjoyed this, please let me know what you think! I love writing things like this, so any feedback will be appreciated.

And I've got a few projects in mind, so keep on the lookout for those.

Thank you, and enjoy!

Everything has an end, even sentences.

[Now all your love is wasted, then who the hell was I? -Birdy]

Early morning light peeks through the hastily closed blinds behind her, gold hitting the cream walls. That yellow color makes her sick. These sheets are scratchy, the room is freezing. How the hell did she get to this point in her life?

A lazy arm over her side hinders her escape. Damn him. She thinks she's going to be sick. Her head is killing her, and it's (probably) not from the exorbitant amount of alcohol she consumed the night before. She is sore, unable to decide if that's good, bad, or just plain sad. Probably a little bit of each.

The man behind her sighs, hot air hitting the back of her neck. His lips press to her shoulder blades and Rose cringes. This is not what she meant to do last night. She used to be so good at handling alcohol. Everything has changed. Too many drinks, a nice bloke talking to her...how could Rose resist?

She slides out of the bed, dragging the duvet with her. Rose wraps it around her as best she can, and the man in the bed looks at her like she's a piece of meat. Oh, God, what has she done? This sort of thing was expected with Shireen, or even with her mum-that stabbed at Rose's heart-but never with her.

Rose Tyler had only ever slept with three men (well, now four). Damn it, she was an idiot.

Her clothes are scattered on the floor, and Rose just wants to get out of there, but at the same time, she doesn't want to give the man-with-no-name any more of a show than he might have already gotten. (An unfortunate side effect of having all of time and space running through her head, Rose remembers everything that happened the previous night.) She turns her back to him, slides on her knickers, then drops the blanket so she can put on her bra.

In her absent-minded hurry to leave, Rose didn't hear the man get of bed and sneak up behind her. Hot arms slide around her waist. Rose shrugs him off, but he doesn't get the hint. Before she can stop him, his lips are on hers. Just as suddenly, her knee moves. Rose pulls on her jumper as the man doubles over, clutching his crotch.

Once fully dressed, Rose grabs her bag from the ground and sprints down the stairs. She doesn't lose it until she was four blocks away. Rose sits on a bench and holds her face with her hands. She feels disgusting. How could she do something like that?

So many species, so little time.

The words of her first Doctor make sense to her now. Rose wipes tears from under her eyes. Maybe she could find Jack. Surely he was out here in the universe somewhere. He was one bloke she wouldn't mind dancing with.

Of course, not even Jack Harkness could be on the same level as the Doctor.

Rose hangs her head, swinging her hands between her knees. What was she doing? Without a transport, without a device to manipulate time, without a weapon, she was nothing. What had she gotten herself into?

Closing her eyes, Rose tries to piece together a weak image of what could possibly a timeline for her to follow. What she sees surprised her. Her eyes flicker open, frantically studying the grass while her mind works through the information she had just been given. Rose had seen her fingers tingling gold, then (as an out-of-body experience) disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Was this possible? Of course, with the power of Bad Wolf, anything was possible. She could destroy or create anything she wished. How had she not seen this sooner? There was no need for her to go around on the slow path, waiting for the Doctor to arrive on this planet at this time out of an endless amount of planets and time periods.

She could travel herself.

Feeling rejuvenated and full of new hope, Rose quickly takes to her feet. This is the most exciting news she's had in the several years she's been back in this universe. She will find the Doctor, on her own terms, in her own time.

And if she has anything to do with it, she will find him soon.

Rose can't keep the smile off her face (the first to reach to her eyes since she left Pete's World, maybe even the first real smile since she was left there the first time) as she flexes her fingers, closes her eyes, and concentrates.

If anyone had been watching her, they would have thought they were going crazy. Just like she thought she could, Rose disappears.

[You have suffered enough and warred with yourself, it's time that you've won. -Glen Hansard]

It is a beautiful day, the first that the Doctor has seen in a long time. Walking hand in hand with Michelle, they are in Toronto on the day that the zombies first attack. Just like Harry and Hermione in the third Harry Potter book, they are careful to avoid places where their past selves might see their current selves. Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey shit, there.

There is only one way to be sure that the zombie epidemic would not spread across the globe, and that was to destroy Patient Zero. The hard part was that neither the Doctor or Michelle knew the identity of Patient Zero. With the help of Madame Vastra, Jenny, and Strax, the Doctor was able to put together a genetic extrapolation locator device. All they needed was some DNA of a zombie to enter into the machine, which would give them a reading of Patient Zero.

He is briefly reminded of Prisoner Zero, but shoves off the thoughts to a part of his mind that he will deal with in a few decades or so. On a mission, there is no time for reflection and self-pity and feelings. Oh, how Sherlock Holmes of him.

Michelle's fingers are shaking, so he gives her hand a reassuring squeeze. It's a hard thought, knowing that your family is out there dying and there's nothing you can do. He knows from experience, probably better than anyone else. At least Toronto wasn't in a Time Lock.

They had been traveling together for nearly three months. The Doctor and Michelle knew each other well enough, but he knew from every woman he'd ever known, regardless of species or era, that giving her false hope would be detrimental to her mental stability, whether his plan worked or not. So he didn't tell her that if everything went according to plan, her family need not die on this day.

Would she stay with him anyway?

She gives him a half smile, flickering between nervousness and apprehension. "So where exactly are we going?"

He points at a building a few blocks ahead of them. "That's the closest university science department. If I'm right, and I most always am, Patient Zero will be in that building."

"How can you be sure?"

These opportunities are surprisingly rare for him nowadays, so he can't help but be cocky. "Because I'm clever."

She laughs, releasing some of the tension in her shoulders. Michelle drops her head against his shoulder; he remembers a time so long ago (two entire lives), when another young woman did the same thing, but under much different circumstances. Smiling, he thinks of the big hug he's going to give Rose when he sees her. As long as there's no pesky Dalek-

The Doctor is bowled over in the street, falling on top of Michelle in an effort to keep her body safe. Humans don't have spare regeneration energy they can call upon to heal wounds quickly. She pulls out her gun (which she really shouldn't have) and shoots their attacker in the brain.

The zombie falls to the ground, and the Doctor immediately turns on Michelle. "Now others will know we're here!"

"Take the damn sample!" she shouts.

"Oh, yes," the Doctor says, clutching his forearm as he struggles to keep from being affected by the bite. He quickly sticks the syringe in the dead zombie's shoulder, filling it with its blood before jamming it back into the genetic extrapolation locator device. Passing it off to Michelle, the Doctor focuses on healing himself. It shouldn't be too hard, but not the easiest thing he's done all day.

Golden light begins to seep from his arm, music ringing in his ears. In only a few seconds, his wound is healed; he is clean. (But really, he should have known that regeneration energy would attract some attention.)

Michelle tosses the beeping device back at him before emptying her clip in the heads of several zombies who have quickly made their way to the pair. It surprises the Doctor how good of a shot she is; something he would have expected more from an American than a Canadian. Well, to each their own.

He skims the results and takes off toward the science building. Michelle follows immediately, turning her head about to find the zombies and shoot them before they can attack. For her to be traveling with an alien, zombies seem to be a pretty normal monster. At least she'd read books about the zombie apocalypse in high school. (It was a bit of a fad.)

They are on the steps of the university building, when the Doctor suddenly stops in his tracks. At first, he thought he was mistaken. Surely it was his imagination- But there it is again.

"Doctor!"

He turns on his heel, not caring that he pushed Michelle into the banister. A voice he hadn't heard in a century or so-a voice he never thought he would hear again-was calling his name.

"Doctor!"

It takes him a few seconds to locate her, but she's running down the street, a flimsy backpack hanging off her shoulder, beating into her hip where he's sure there will be a bruise. Her hair is long and miraculously blonde, a bit ragged from all the running. He doesn't know how she got here, but it doesn't matter.

He didn't realize he had taken steps toward her, but then she's in front of him. Just for old time's sake, he grabs her hand and whispers, "Run!"

Her hand still fits perfectly in his, but he tries not to get distracted while they're running for their lives from the undead. Michelle looks at him quizzically as they run past, so he quickly says, "Rose, Michelle. Michelle, Rose."

"Nice to meet you," Michelle shouts.

Rose doesn't sound winded at all when she responds, "You too!"

An unfortunate side effect of zombie evolution: they react faster and learn to keep up with their food. Translation: they're growing faster. Michelle shoots her pistol at them, and gold energy tingles at Rose's fingers.

Like a sleeping limb, Rose senses the budding energy and recognizes what will happen. But she's just found the Doctor again; what if he doesn't like her anymore? What if Bad Wolf frightens him?

Rose knows that she loves him, and so she will protect him every day of her possibly never-ending life. If he has a problem with that, he can go regenerate without her help.

She slips her hand out of his, immediately spinning around and throwing out her arms. "Duck!" she screams, and Michelle drops to the ground. Rose's eyes burn gold, and the monsters beyond them all begin to shimmer.

"What are you doing?" shouts the Doctor, but Rose can't hear him over the sound of Bad Wolf in her ears. She hears singing with a golden timbre that not even every composer combined could challenge. "Rose!"

Her voice rings with power when she snaps, "I am the Bad Wolf. Don't you forget, my Doctor."

The Doctor and Michelle stare on in shock as the golden light engulfs the zombies, dissolving them into atoms. To the Doctor, it feels as if he were on Satellite Five once again, like no time had passed at all. How was Rose Tyler still alive?

She doesn't even collapse this time. The Doctor walks up to her, placing a gentle hand on her arm, wordlessly asking if she was alright. Her eyes, familiar brown once again, meet his. She studies his face, running her gaze over his cheekbones, his chin, his nose.

"You've regenerated," she says plainly. He nods. "You've got a bit of a chin there." Another nod. "And you wear a bow tie." This moment is pivotal, because for Rose Tyler, he would do anything, including lose the bow tie. "I like it. It's," she pauses to think, "cool."

Tears fall down their faces as the Doctor pulls Rose into a rib-crushing hug that rivals every hug they've ever had. She is as close to him as they could possibly get. His nose is buried in her hair, her face against his chest, breathing in the scent that can only be described as ancient and beautiful-the smell of Time.

His hands clutch at her shirt, lifting her off the ground. Rose's fingers scratch on tweed, trying to prove that he was real, that this was no dream. "I thought I would never see you again," he whispers.

"My Doctor," Rose returns, not wanting to be away from him ever again. Not even the Void could keep these two apart.

Michelle eventually returns home to her family, alive and well. She and the Doctor part amicably, much like he and Martha Jones, only Michelle never fancied the Doctor. He was a bit too grandfatherly for her liking.

Only an hour after being reunited, Rose and the Doctor walk slowly to the TARDIS, hands intertwined. When the blue police box stands in front of them, Rose can't possibly be happier. After years of wandering the universe, she's home. Because for Rose Tyler, home could never be anywhere else other than the Doctor's TARDIS.

He moves to unlock the door, but she beats him to it with the key she always kept on a chain around her neck. Even though the ship's exterior has changed, Rose's key still fits. She suspects that it always will.

No words are exchanged as Rose takes in the new new console room. The TARDIS herself fills Rose in on all the details, about how it went from being coral to orange and metal, and now this futuristic blue and silver design. The lights brighten slightly-like a smile-when Rose assures the ship that she does, indeed, like it. Their telepathic conversation goes on for a bit before the Doctor coughs gently, reminding the ladies that they are not alone, and he missed Rose just as much, if not more.

Rose's eyes flick to meet the Doctor's, and she can't help but fill with mirth; he looks so glad to see her. This is true joy, she knows. When she dreamed of this moment so long ago, she never pictured such silence between them. She had thought of hugging, crying, shouting, laughing, but not this. It's tense and full and she can't think of any other ways to describe it.

Her stomach is in knots, she feels like she's going to suffocate or be sick or faint, or possibly all three. They just stare at each other for what feels like eternity. Of course, in a time machine that's really another dimension, eternity is relative. Her breathing quickens, fingers twitch. She's nervous. What will he say? What will happen now?

For starters, he says nothing. She doesn't either.

They stare and stare and stare until Rose thinks she's going to explode. Her pulse rushes, her heart pounds. Her fingertips shake, she instinctively chews on her lip, because this is the most human she's felt in a very long time. It's almost normal.

And then the second hand moves, and the moment is gone.

In only a few steps, they are apart no more. The tension that was spread between them like a rope is taut no more, snapped with their resolve. Every word that was never said is put into these motions, bringing them as close as possible so that they don't ruin what reunion they've had. So much time apart was painful for both. The time for that has past.

The Doctor's arms are wrapped around Rose as tightly as possible, while she scrambles to get her fingers around his face, tracing this new Doctor's features. Her palms are against his cheeks, and his hands come to hers as well. The Doctor's thumbs trace her cheekbones while his eyes flicker between hers. He never wants this moment to end.

Butterflies fill Rose's stomach, and things have never been so perfect. His face draws closer to hers, and her eyes flicker shut. The Doctor brings his lips to meet hers, and it is the moment that the entire universe has waited for.

A proper kiss between the Doctor and Rose Tyler-no goddess interfering, no possessive flap of skin in her place, the real Doctor and the real Rose Tyler.

Several long seconds pass, but Rose still needs to breathe, even if she won't die from it. He rests his forehead against hers, and as her eyes shut, he lightly presses kisses to her nose, eyelids, cheeks, forehead. Rose smiles up at him, her eyes full of tears.

"I've waited so long for you," she says, her voice shaky.

He doesn't even have anything to say, still weighted with guilt from the past-their past. He holds her close, enjoying the way her head is pressed against the double beating of his chest. That's where she belongs, close to his hearts. "They keep trying to tear us apart," he says softly.

Rose looks up at him and smiles. "But they never ever will."

[Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness, too, so I stayed in the darkness with you. -Florence + the Machine]

They sit in the library, staring out the floor to ceiling window into space. Well, not really, but the TARDIS is kind, and shows them what they want to see. The Doctor's arm is around Rose's shoulders, and she is tucked up against his chest. They've only been together for thirty-six hours, but they've not been separate since. Neither took a step into a bedroom, not wanting to sort out all the domestics yet.

Rose understands peace, leaning against the Doctor's chest and listening to his hearts beat a pattern that, she comes to realize, has been flickering away in her soul for quite some time. The sentence is still incomplete, but that doesn't matter to her. Not anymore. Sometimes, it is enough just to know.

They are together, and since she couldn't even have that for so long, anything else is a frivolous privilege.

She stares at the stars, and knows from the relaxed, even breathing that the Doctor is asleep. It's strange; she never saw either of her first two Doctors sleep, only the human Doctor in Pete's World. He looks so young. But after a while, she knows he's awake, but the Doctor doesn't want to move, as he is unable to truly believe that Rose Tyler is really there.

"Doctor?" she eventually asks, smiling at the low rumble of a response she can feel in his chest, hears as a hum. Rose shifts so that her chest is pressed to his, so she can see his face. Even with floppy hair and a big chin, he is beautiful. "How old are you?"

He doesn't answer at first, and Rose thinks it's because he doesn't know. She is right, confirmed when he says, "Well over a thousand, I should think. Time passes differently in here, but you know that. Even before I met you so long ago, I didn't really know my age. This is my eleventh body, longest life I've had in a while." She sighs, and he runs his fingers slowly through her hair. "You don't look a day over twenty."

"'s because I'm not," Rose says, and it's the response he was afraid of. "Not physically, that is. I don't know why and I don't know how, but I've lived a very long time, and I haven' aged a bit. I mean, my hair grows and everythin' else functions like a human does, but I don't age. I dunno how old I am either, but I've been twenty for a long time. Since the Game Station, I think."

They are silent, but, like always, she knows what he is thinking. "It isn't your fault, Doctor. I made my choice, and it's brought me back to you. I had a good life in Pete's World, but I didn't fit in. After the human Doctor died, I just knew I couldn't stay. There wasn't any point."

"Rose-"

"It was a crack in the wall. He went close to it, and the light touched him. He was erased from history, but I still remembered him. Me, an' Mum, an' Pete, even Tony. Anyone who knew you, who had traveled here, they all remembered 'im."

Comprehension dawns on the Doctor's face. The crack from Amelia's bedroom wall was what took the human Doctor metacrisis from Rose. She made him better, and now she would make him better. He was so old, has seen and lost so much, he needed Rose Tyler again.

"I ran into a friend of yours a year or so ago," Rose says. His interest is peaked, raised eyebrows indicating attention and want for a continued thought. "She was on her way to the Library. The other Doctor told me about her, it just slipped my mind. River Song, he said. The Doctor's wife."

"Did you and he-"

"No," she answers, a little too quickly. He is taken aback, possibly hurt, so Rose amends, "We never married or had kids. I don't think he could ever be that domestic. I mean, we-well, we did our fair share of dancing" (he tries not to blush or cringe) "but never anythin' serious."

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor breathes, tracing her hairline. "That was his biggest mistake."

She tries to crack a smile. "You got more domestic than he did. Married an' everythin'."

His expression falters, and Rose knows that she didn't know the whole story. There was so much that happened after he left her in Norway for the second time. So he launches into his story. She already knew about the Library, so he tells her about everything that happened after she left.

He tells her about Adelaide Brooks, about the Master, about the Time Lords. He relives the pain of regeneration, having someone to hold his hand this time (just like before), shares his journey to fish fingers and custard. Rose rolls her eyes when he tells her about some of the stupid things he said, and laughs in all the right places. She swats his arm with an open hand when he mentions being twelve years (and then another two) late.

Rose would have liked Amy and Rory. The story goes on and on, eventually leading to the Pandorica and Big Bang II, about Rory's deaths, and River's mystery. She acts genuinely shocked when he reveals River's parentage, though he is sure that is not new news to her. Eventually he reaches the impromptu wedding and his death.

He tears up and she cries when he describes Manhattan. She knows the horror of the Weeping Angels, and to lose his friends to them is terrible. Rose tells him she would love to meet Vastra, Jenny, and Strax, and agrees that they should stop by Clara's.

When she asks about Sarah Jane, he cries again.

His story eventually wraps up, and it is her turn. She gives the short version of her time in Pete's World, knowing that he will always be uncomfortable with the dancing aspect of a relationship.

It's during her story about River that she slows down to take time. "She knew who I was immediately. She said you talked about me."

He nods. "It's hard not to when you're such a special person." Rose blushes, but he ignores that. "I did love River, but not as much as she loved me. She was-well, she was no you."

Rose smiles, her heart swelling with pride. He doesn't want her to leave, doesn't wish she'd never returned. "She told me that it was alright, that she knew. And...she seemed supportive, even."

"That's River," he says. "She would even want to know the details. You know, if we danced." Rose lowered her eyes, completely thrown and embarrassed that he would bring that up. "That is, if you want-"

"I'm not saying I'm not-"

"We don't have-"

"I just-"

"Whatever feels-"

She shuts him up by kissing him, an effective means of silence. He smiles at her when she pulls away, and she returns the gesture. "Let's just take this one step at a time."

"Okay."

This might not be moving too slow, really, but Rose feels like the conversation has made a right turn, and the question has been burning her mind for years and years. How was that sentence going to end?

"Doctor," she says, suddenly very self-aware and shy.

He senses it, and traces his fingers down her arm until he reaches her hand, then laces their hands together. Still a perfect fit. They probably would be in every body he would ever have, had ever had, if they went to test it. "You don't need to be shy, Rose. You can ask me anything. I will tell you anything you want, answer any question, I promise."

Rose thinks she's about to chicken out, but is afraid of what he might say if she does, what she will think of herself. It takes bravery, and she's hardly courageous. They had all of the time in the universe, why did she have to ask this question now? Because it was burning away in her soul. If she didn't ask for an answer soon, she thinks Bad Wolf might take a bite out of her.

He waits patiently, though Rose can tell he's nearly jumping out of his skin with anticipation. They both know what's on the tip of her tongue, just waiting to escape if not for her nerves and doubt. The Doctor gives her hand a squeeze, tilts her chin up to look at him.

That makes the nerves worse, but it's now or never. If she doesn't ask soon, Rose fears she never will. Finally, she summons up every ounce of courage she can muster (more than she ever needed or would need facing an army of Daleks and Cybermen), and begins. "That day, on Bad Wolf Bay, the first time...that sentence." She takes a big breath, and tries to calm her heartbeat and breathing. Why was this so difficult. "How was it going to end?"

The Doctor's lips spread into a smile. He places his hands on her cheeks, and she covers them with her own, feeling a grin come to her lips. This is finally it. He doesn't seem nervous at all, which is most likely a facade, but a good one at that.

"I said Rose Tyler..." He pauses, and Rose thinks she's going to cry if he makes her keep waiting. She's waited an entire lifetime; she needs this. The Doctor's nerves flicker in his eyes, but then he finds his strength. "Rose Tyler, I love you."

She grins, and tears fall anyway. "I love you,too," she says, "My Doctor."

They kiss, and it suddenly grows deeper than before. They part for a few seconds, but there's no going back. The sentence is complete, what's done is done. Nothing can tear these two apart, not even two universes. Rose would keep fighting to get back to her Doctor, and his stubbornness for her happiness would no longer be a barrier between them. She was no longer human, able to give him the forever she promised, and promised again and again.

He doesn't seem to quite know what to do with his arms, but it's okay, because they eventually settle down. Rose places a hand on his chest, the other drifting in his hair. He is surprisingly good at using his tongue in this body, which is somewhat surprising to Rose based on the ungainliness of the rest of him. But it's still the Doctor, and he's magnificent.

A long time passes before the Doctor shifts Rose into his lap. Out of nowhere, he scoops her up into his arms, and she gasps in surprise. Rose clings onto his neck, determined not to fall. She bursts out laughing. "Where are we going?"

"Bedroom," he says, his voice deeper than before. The Doctor's a lot stronger than he looks, but Rose has always suspected that. She raises her eyebrows, because he hasn't really answered her question. "Our bedroom, if you want."

Rose smiles against his lips. He takes that as a yes, and begins to move in that direction. The TARDIS is helpful and shifts the rooms around so that he doesn't have far to maneuver. (It is rather difficult to see whilst ones tongue is down another's throat.)

But they make it in one piece, and begin the dance that was a long time coming. The Doctor and Rose Tyler in the TARDIS, as it should be.

[The world was built for two, only worth living if somebody is loving you. Well baby, now you do. -Lana Del Ray]