IMPORTANT: THIS IS AN ALTERNATE ENDING. It diverts from Part Four of Viera, my main Doctor Who project. This chapter should still mostly make sense even if you haven't read that, but the later chapters might not.

DISCLAIMER: Doctor Who does not belong to me, but this is how things might have gone if they did.

SUMMARY: Journey's End AU. A few seconds can make all the difference in the universe. Fate shifts and the whole of reality changes. 10th Doctor, Rose, Viera, Jack, Donna, and the rest of the crew. Alternate ending for Part Four of "Viera".

ALLERGEN WARNING: The following product may contain faith, doubt, SPOILERS for Doctor Who, an OC, the occasional monologue, and more than a few nuts.

Supplemental Soundtrack:

Alt 4:1 - What Might Have Been: "Triumph March" by Tom Salta

ALTERNATE PART FOUR – JOURNEY'S END

Diversion One – Three Seconds Sooner

"Sarah Jane said that they were taking the people. But what for?" the Doctor questioned aloud. He turned to Donna. "Think, Donna. When you met Rose in that parallel world, what did she say?"

"Just… the darkness is coming."

"Anything else?" he urged.

Donna looked thoughtful a moment, then her eyes shifted to one side and something in her expression changed. Viera turned around to follow her gaze. There was a blond woman walking towards them down the street. She was carrying a huge gun, confidence in her stride. She seemed familiar to Viera, but she couldn't quite place why.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Donna asked softly.

That's Rose? Viera turned back just in time to see the Doctor's expression as he caught sight of her. It was just shock at first, then wonder and awe filled his eyes. And hope. So much hope. Then he took a step towards her and suddenly he was running. Viera stepped up beside Donna, both of them smiling in shared relief and happiness at the reunion. The Doctor deserved Rose.

He almost didn't made it.

"Exterminate!" ground out a metallic voice from the shadows. A creature glided into the light, covered in gleaming metal with slender weapons instead of arms. Dalek.

The Doctor skidded to a stop, halfway turned towards the armored creature as its weapon leveled at him. None of them were close enough to stop it, even if they'd had a way.

Then out of nowhere Captain Jack of Torchwood appeared, shooting the Dalek before it could fire. The creature exploded. They were all left staring at its remains, then at Jack, then the unharmed Doctor, then back to the scraps of metal that had quite nearly ended him.

"Miss me?" Jack asked with a wide, cocky grin, hefting his enormous gun to his shoulder.

He didn't get an answer from the Doctor just then. While he was busy staring in surprise, Rose had closed the distance between them. He turned just in time to catch her as she leapt at him, arms outstretched. They clung to each other, Rose making sounds somewhere between laughing and crying. The Doctor just held on.

The other companions: Jack, Donna and Viera wandered closer to each other, giving the couple their space. They were close enough to see the shock on the Doctor's face fade into joy as he finally allowed himself to believe that Rose was real, really real and right there in his arms. Finally.

Then Rose drew back and punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow!" he protested, rubbing his arm with a petulant expression. "What was that for?"

"You almost died!" Rose yelled, tears on her cheeks from the high emotion, fear and adrenaline and fierce, explosive joy. "I finally find you and you nearly step in front of a Dalek blast!" She hit him on the shoulder again but didn't give him time to complain. In the next breath her mouth was on his and they both shut up.

"It's about time," Jack sighed, shaking his head with a laugh.

"Think we should tell them to move it into the TARDIS?" Donna questioned, eying the couple with a smile of her own. None of them were really willing to interrupt the pair quite yet.

"Nice timing, by the way," Viera told Jack. "Absolutely amazing, really."

"I am, aren't I?" Jack stated.

"I'll say," stated Donna, grinning back slyly.

Oh, here we go, Viera thought.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was going to be a one-shot until I realized I needed to backtrack a bit more to fix a couple other things… Anyways, this looks like it should be about four chapters long. Like this one they may not be very lengthy. I'm just fixing things, not burying myself in another project (so I keep telling myself), and really rewriting the whole episode once is probably my limit.

This chapter is for MayFairy, for leaving inspiring reviews.