"Well just set us up in a hotel then!" Jackie yelled into the phone, at her wits end trying to organise transportation back to London for herself and her family. She had been on the phone with Rose's new assistant for the past hour, a woman who knew absolutely nothing about how Torchwood worked and seemed to have never worked in an office a day in her life. If it weren't for some sort of emergency or other, she would be talking to her husband, but Pete being Pete had been called into one of several meetings and would be unreachable for at least another three hours. It was one of the only things about her new life that she genuinely didn't like. The money and parties and mansion were amazing, and a far cry from the tiny flat she had spent most of her life in, but sometimes she wished she could trade it all in just to be sure her family could be safe and secure and reachable.

Then again… She looked over to where her daughter was sitting in the damp sand, head resting on the shoulder of the Doctor. Even from so far away Jackie could see the difference in her. There was a weight that had been lifted off her shoulders, a brightness to her that she hadn't seen in a long while. It was the reason she had demanded to go through to their old universe as well, despite the danger. She knew that the moment Rose was reunited with the Doctor that would be it. Her only daughter would go gallivanting off into who knows where and who knows when and Jackie would never see her again. She had wanted the opportunity to say goodbye and to reassure herself that, even if her heart was breaking, her daughter was going to be happy.

"…xi coming to pick you up from the bay." Rose's assistant finished, snapping Jackie out of her musing.

"Good." Jackie replied. "Make sure you have transport ready for us first thing in the morning." She stabbed the little icon on the phone and spared a brief moment to grieve for flip-phones and larger clunky house phones that you could slam shut or down and not have to worry about breaking. Tapping a screen just didn't have the same oomph as a good slamming. There was no stress relief in lightly hurting a finger, no satisfying thud or snap that just sounded so damn good when frustration had its hooks in you. Moment over, she debated wandering over to Rose and the Doctor but decided against it. With a little bit of time to breathe she was starting to realise just how much she missed having a quiet moment. Tony was only two, but he had energy to spare and something always needed handling. Then there was the worry about Rose off chasing aliens and all sorts at Torchwood and Pete taking on so much with being elected head of the Earth Defence Organisation, she barely had time to stop and take a breath. With one last look at the couple, she decided to wander up the beach and towards the road. Waiting for the taxi would be a nice moment of peace, one she intended to enjoy while it lasted.

ooooo

Rose let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes; head nestled on the Doctor's shoulder. The soft salty smell of brine seemed heavenly compared to thick mechanical smoke and with the Doctor by her side and a soft breeze tousling her hair she could barely stay awake as the adrenaline leeched out of her system. Her mind lazily conjured questions that she wanted to ask, but didn't have the energy to voice. She wanted to know what had happened after they had said goodbye three years ago, where he had gone, what he had seen. What it had been like travelling with Martha and Donna and whether the whole TARDIS shortcut would actually work, which started a whole heap of other questions spiralling through her head. The doctor seemed just as lost in thought as she was. As she could feel herself start to drift off, he spoke.

"Dimension cannon, eh?"

Rose let out a giggle that may have had more to do with her exhaustion than her surprise at those being the first words he said to her after the epic snog they had shared.

"Bit nippy out." She replied, grinning to herself. If he was going to start up his equivalent of awkward small talk, she could play back just as hard.

She could almost feel him smile, even if she couldn't see his face from her position. "S'pose the traffic will be a bit busy this time of day." He retorted.

"Hm, allergy season soon."

"Huh." He broke out of their running banter and Rose looked up at him, tilting her head at the small frown creasing his forehead.

"What?" She asked.

"Wonder if I'll get allergies." He said absently.

"You don't know?"

"Well, not really, no." He admitted, one hand coming up to sheepishly rub behind an ear.

"Is everything going to change then?" Rose asked. "Is this gonna be like when you regenerated?"

"Would that be a bad thing?" He asked, an edge creeping in to his voice.

"No, just wondering." Rose yawned and flopped back into the sand, no longer worrying about grit in her hair. "S'like if you do get allergies, would you be able to take human medicine for it, or just hole up in a hamster ball or something?"

That earned her a laugh before the Doctor flopped back in the sand next to her, hand finding hers and twining together. "That'd be something."

"Wouldn't it just." Rose yawned again and her eyes fluttered shut. The last thing she felt before she drifted off to sleep was a pair of warm arms tugging her into a solid chest. She felt happier and freer than she had in months as she let herself relax for the first time since the stars had started going out.