(Epilogue)

…he slowly started moving towards the edge of the cliff side. Eleven more steps. That's all it would take. David's mouth fell into a stubborn line as he continued his heavy pace.

No one was around—save for the gentle grass that swished in the breeze behind him, and the vicious gray sea before him.

'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,' David mentally counted down as he neared the cliff's edge, now spying the roaring gray ocean below. He shook his hands roughly before wiping them sharply against his dark jacket. Mind still replaying the last conversation he'd had with his agent. It was better this way…no more "one trick pony."

'Eight, nine, ten, ele—,' David continued, halting when he felt a weight leave one of his jacket pockets—temporarily distracting him.

Still balanced dangerously on the cliff edge, he stooped to see what fell.

His car keys? How had they managed to wriggle free?

Grabbing them half-heartedly, the dull keys jingled in his hand… 'Wait a minute, where'd this one come from?' David thought quizzically as he shifted the keys aside to reveal a single silver key.

Light from the sky glinted off the shiny key, blinding David momentarily. But that light…that bright white light. David's head jerked slightly, the action throwing him backward and onto the ground. A grin played across his lips as he placed a steady hand over his chest to feel two beats thrumming beneath. Then came the rest of the memories, rushing like a roaring waterfall and overwhelming his senses.

He almost didn't hear his phone ringing…almost. David pushed himself off the ground and away from the edge, pulling the phone out of his other pocket as he came to a halt. David only spoke one word as he answered the phone with a lilt of joy in his tone. That one word which plagued him no more. A friend. An ally. Just simply: "Doctor."

"So…David, was it? David. Why don't you let me show you something neat," the voice of the Doctor answered back in a humorous tone.

"I don't know, you going to steal my car keys again?" David retorted with a grin, turning to look out at the roaring sea one last time—the ocean having now lost its grim and hungry visage.

"NO! As you've noticed, it's got something very special attached to it. Best to keep that on your person," the Doctor countered, "NOW, if they were to be borrowed—well, that's entirely different."

"No. Not really," David replied with a laugh, failing to notice the sound of the TARDIS materializing behind him as the ocean's roar drowned his hearing.

Once the ship had securely landed, the Doctor gingerly popped open one door and leaned out—tapping David on the shoulder, and earning a shocked yelp in return.

"Well? Ready to go?" the Doctor inquired with a mischievous grin.

"In the words of your previous face…Allons-y!" David replied as he moved past the Doctor and into the TARDIS, "You only get that once by the way!"

"Yes, yes," the Doctor answered with a grin before snapping the door shut behind himself.

The TARDIS soon dematerialized as swiftly as it had arrived—leaving only the whispering emerald grass behind.

The End.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

AN: It's definitely been a pleasure to write this and share it with everyone. Thank you for sticking with this fan-fiction and sharing your comments—truly, I mean it. This was the first Doctor Who fan fiction I've ever written, so it really means a lot that people actually liked reading it. I don't really have a sequel in mind, but this characterization of David may (possibly) reappear again. I'll have to play with some ideas and see what comes out.

General FYI: Just a little break down to explain certain things. The "Big Bang 2" resets everything—not revert, so David's still Time Lord but can't remember any of the previous adventures, or recognize that he's no longer human. The beginning paragraph is an excerpt from the "prologue"—he has returned full circle (if that makes sense).

Now…remember the comment Wilf made? "Remember what was said. What was warned."

Cue the Dream Lord (chpt. 22): who said "I do hope you take some of what happened to heart. Otherwise, you could end up back where you started…and alone."

Implying he needed to somehow hold onto the lesson he learned at the library—that being to accept his reality as it was and to stop letting it hurt him(etc.)—otherwise, the alternative would be fatal.

Hopefully it wasn't vague. It was a gamble putting the Dream Lord's line in—as it pretty much implied the very end of the story.

Always willing to explain further if any confusion arises. Thank you again, everyone. I hope you have a great rest of the year! :)