The Earth was saved, but at a cost. Everyone celebrated on board the TARDIS, and the Doctor joined in, knowing with a heavy feeling in his heart that this could be the last time everyone would be together, celebrating. Happy. Safe.

He slowly looked at the screen as he passed, staring at the co-ordinates. Darlig Ulv Stranden.

"Doctor," Mickey quietly murmured. The Doctor looked up sharply. "Can you drop me back on the normal Earth? Not the parallel universe, the normal Earth." He gave Mickey a quizzical look. "My gran died. Spent her last years in a large mansion. There's nothing there for me now. Certainly not Rose."

"What will you do?" he quietly asked back.

"I dunno! New life!"

The Doctor nodded. "Course, right." He then looked up at everyone. "Right," he spoke up. First stop - parallel world." Everyone slowly left the TARDIS as they stood on a freezing beach.

"Norway!" Jackie said loudly. "I'm going to have to call your father. He's doing the nursery run. I had a little boy. Called him Tony." Sarah Jane, Donna, Jack and Mickey said their good byes to both Jackie and Rose, Rose a bit confused.

"Been nice meeting you," Martha said to Rose.

"Yeah, hopefully see you soon Rose," Jack said, holding Rose tightly. "Bye Rosie." They both walked away to where Donna-Doctor, Mickey and Sarah Jane stood, just in front of the TARDIS. The Doctor stepped forward towards Rose.

"I'm not going back now!" Rose said to the Doctor as he stood in front of her. "I spent all that time trying to find you!"

"We saved the universe, but at a cost," the Doctor in the brown suit said slowly, stepping forward out of the main group. "And that cost, is him." He nodded to the other doctor. "He destroyed the Daleks, he committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

"But you made me!" the other Doctor protested.

"Exactly. You were born in battle, full of blood, anger and revenge. Remind you of someone?" Rose slowly shook her head. "That's me. When we first met. After the Time War. And you made me better." Jack, Mickey, Sarah Jane and Martha looked to Rose, who stood there with tears gently rolling down her cheeks. "Now you can do the same for him."

"But he's not you," Rose protested.

"He needs you. That's very me." Martha leant into Jack, understanding fully now the Doctor's sadness and grief when she met him, and why he never could truly let go. Jack gently held Martha, as Mickey nodded slowly. Being with those two, you could see how they depended on each other.

"But it's better than that," Doctor-Donna explained, stepping forward so she was one pace behind the brown suit Doctor. "Don't you see what he's trying to give you. Go on, tell her." Rose turned around to see the blue suited Doctor. The blue suited Doctor took a deep breath.

"I look like him, I act like him, same memories, same everything. Except I've only got one heart."

"Which means?" Rose nervously prompted him.

"I'm half human. Specifically the ageing part. I'd grow old and never regenerate. I've only got one life, Rose Tyler. I could spend it with you. If you want."

"You'd grow old at the same time as me," Rose stuttered.

"Together." Rose shook her head, before gently placing her hand on his chest, feeling the single heart beat. Donna-Doctor and the brown suited Doctor smiled weakly, although they were the only ones.

There was a sudden noise, like the howling of the wind which seemed to last a second. Everyone turned round to the TARDIS, then looked at the brown suited Doctor.

"We've gotta go," he said quickly, "This reality is sealing it's self off. Forever." He walked slowly backwards before turning. The group behind him started to walk into the TARDIS.

"But," Rose protested, running forwards. "It's still not right." Everyone turned round. "'Cos, the Doctor's... still you!"

"And I'm him," He replied quickly.

"Ok," Rose said, trying to get some sense into the situation. "Alright. Both of you, answer me this." The two Doctor's stood facing each other, with Rose in the middle, looking at both of them. "When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life... what was the last thing you said to me?" There was a pause. "Go on, say it."

"I said Rose Tyler," The Doctor replied sadly.

"Yeah, and how was that sentence gonna end?" Rose asked.

"Does it need saying?" The Doctor said emotionally. He could never really tell her how he felt, but everyone there knew exactly what he meant.

Rose stared at the brown suited Doctor, and then looked at the other Doctor.

"And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?" The blue Doctor put his hand on Rose's arm and leant in to whisper three words into her ear. As he stood upright, Rose stared into his eyes as the other Doctor swallowed deeply. It would have never worked, Rose and him. But that didn't make it any easier when he watched Rose hold onto the Doctor and kiss him. He pretended he was fine with it though. He kept his guard up as he turned around and walked back into the TARDIS, with Doctor-Donna closing the door behind him. Everyone else stood already in there, staring at the Doctor. He didn't look at them, but quickly set the co-ordinates before staring at the screen.

---

Rose turned sharply at the noise of the TARDIS door closing. She jogged over, just as it began to disappear, the blue Doctor watched her emotionally as she hurried towards the other Doctor, the proper Doctor. She heard the whisper of the TARDIS as she groaned out of existence. All that was left was a stranger, a shadow of the man she fell in love with. But this stranger, this shadow could be her Doctor, one day. And he could do what his counterpart could not - he could give her forever. So maybe she could accept this man, and in the years to come she could trust him as completely as her own Doctor, the proper Doctor. But for now she'd still look up to the star-studded sky and think of him every night, not quite moving on.

---

The Doctor was beyond sad, he was devastated, Jack decided. The human meta-whatsits, the Doctor-Donna had had to have her mind wiped and now she lay in her mum's ordinary house, and went back to being the ordinary Donna Noble. She no longer knew of her times in a mysterious blue box with the amazing man, who had changed her life so much for the better. So as Jack left the TARDIS to go back to his team he gave the Doctor his number and told him where Torchwood was, in case he ever wanted to visit. He knew that man needed someone, and Jack would try and help to soothe that giant hole in his chest, if the Doctor wanted. But now was the right time for him to intervene, and he left the TARDIS with a pang of despair as the Doctor continued his life of solitude and unhappiness. That truly was the curse of the Timelords.