Hello! So this is my first attempt at a multi-chapter fan fic... well... first attempt in years I should say. This is going to be a bit more serious than my previous stories too, but I'm going to try and put in some lighthearted stuff too, because let's be honest, Doctor Who really can go from serious to silly in a heartbeat.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. Please read and review.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Doctor Who. If I did there would have been a Tentoo/Rose spin-off by now even if I had to throw tonnes of money at David Tennant and Billie Piper to do it!

Rose stood and just stared at the square indent in the sand where the TARDIS was standing just moments before. It was gone. He was gone. The man she loved above all else. She promised him that she would stay with him forever. She crossed entire universes just to see him again, and she succeeded. She thought that she could finally fulfill her promise to him and that he would at last allow himself to show her just how much she knew she meant to him. She saw it on his face when he first laid eyes on her, the way he ran to her.

That damn Dalek.

Things suddenly had to get so complicated, and yet so very simple. Now there was two of him: one that would live to an impossible age, and one who would age with her. She chose the latter. She chose the one that could promise to be with her forever, even if it meant they both grow old and eventually die. She chose the one who wasn't afraid to say those three small but complicated words: I love you.

She knew it to be true. She felt it in his kiss.

He walked up to her and slid his hand into hers. They fit perfectly as they always had. The only indication that anything was different was this hand was warm, before it was always so cold – a by-product of his alien nature. But this body was physically human. It was a body that would match her in terms of aging.

He could finally give her the forever she deserved.

She looked up at him. He looked down at her with those deep brown eyes that she fell in love with. He looked just like him. Well, of course he did. He was a clone, a duplicate, a copy.

No.

Rose shoved those thoughts aside. It didn't matter how he came into existence. All that mattered is that she was with him. She was with the Doctor. So far, he hadn't done anything to make her feel he was anyone else.

Except there was one thing the original Doctor said.

"He destroyed the Daleks, he committed genocide. He's too dangerous to be left on his own."

But Rose herself destroyed an entire Dalek fleet including the Emperor. Bad Wolf or not, she would gladly do it again to keep the Doctor safe. And he accepted her after she did it. She even suspected that this was around the same time his feelings towards her blossomed beyond just being friends.

"You were born in battle, full of anger and blood and revenge."

He practically spat those words at the Human Doctor. But then he had cast a kinder look towards Rose.

"Remind you of someone? That's me when we first met. And you made me better."

Rose had watched how the Doctor turned from being a bitter, old warrior into a kind and gentle man. He showed her a better way of living. She showed him kindness, even when he thought he didn't deserve it. Together they made themselves better people. If she had to start at square one all over again, so be it. She already knows the kind of man he's capable of being, and if he really has all of the original Doctor's memories then he knows she'll never give up on him. It would be different this time around without the TARDIS, but with an entire new Earth to explore and only one life to do it with, she was certain they would manage.

There was something else that lingered in her mind and it was breaking her heart wide open.

"He didn't say goodbye…" She said looking back at the empty sand, her voice a mere shaky whisper. With a heavy sigh he shrugged and gripped her hand tighter.

"He hates saying it. Does whatever he can to avoid it, really. It's too heartbreaking. And for someone with two hearts that's saying something." He chuckled humorlessly and pulled her closer to him, letting go of her hand and wrapping his arm tight around her shoulder. For whatever reason, this small act on his part shattered all her emotional defenses. All the tears she was holding back where fully unleashed. He bundled her close to his chest, letting her just cry into his shoulder. "But Rose, listen: I don't ever have to say it. Not ever." He whispered into her hair and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head before ducking down and resting his forehead on hers. He reached out and gently brushed her cheeks with his thumbs, wiping her tears away. "I love you. I've loved you for even longer than you may know."

"Even when you were all ears and leather?" Rose chuckled through her remaining tears as found herself getting lost in his gaze. His face broke out into that wide grin that always managed to melt her insides.

"Oh yes!" He playfully kissed the tip of her nose causing another giggle to bubble out of Rose before he dropped back into a more sombre mood. "I'm so sorry I never told you before today. There were so many times I wanted to but… well… you know." Rose nodded knowing what he was getting at.

"It's okay. You have no idea how many times I wanted to tell you myself." This revelation caused him to smile again.

"And then you did. And that…" his voice hitched, and he needed to draw a shaky breath before continuing. "And that is what kept me fighting when I felt like I lost everything. And I did. I lost you. Oh sure, I had the TARDIS. Martha and Donna were good company. Even if Martha fancied me and if it weren't for Donna, well, I'd never even exist…" caught himself rambling and took another deep breath as he reached out and cupped her face with his hands. "But none of them even held a candle to you." Rose breathed his name feeling the pads of his fingers trace her jawline as he pulled her in for another kiss. She wrapped her arms around his thin frame as she felt the world disappear around them. He poured all the love he had for her into the kiss and she responded in kind. For a long moment they were the only two people in the entire universe. Two hearts beating as one, just as it should be.

But then, everything has to end sometime.

"Oi, you two! You can snog all you like later! Can we just get home now please? It's bloody freezing on this beach!" Jackie's timing was just impeccable. The Doctor successfully tramped down the urge to release that little bit Donna left behind in him and shout 'Oi! Shut it blondie I'm having a moment here!' in Jackie's general direction as he pulled away from Rose. But one word she said washed over him bringing up an emotion he didn't quite know how to describe.

"C-can you say that again?" He asked Jackie.

"Well, I was just sayin' that there's a time and a place for that kind of thing. I mean I know you two…"

"No," He interrupted her with a wave of his hand. "I meant, where are we going?"

"Home." Jackie said simply a small smile on her lips. The Doctor swallowed heavily around the lump in his throat, fresh tears pooling in his eyes. He already came to the realisation that the slow path would be filled with doors, carpets and windows… all that domestic stuff that his full Time Lord self scoffed at. But to hear the word out loud and applying to his life hit him harder than he thought it would.

"Rose… we're going…" He couldn't get out the last word. He didn't even realise that he had even started crying. "We're going home!" He finally exclaimed breaking out into the widest grin ever happy tears streaking his thin cheeks. He picked Rose up and spun her in the air a couple of times, laughing at the cute noises she made when she was surprised, before setting her down and hugging her tight. He looked over at Jackie knowing that she would be a big part of this new adventure and reached his arm out to her while still maintaining his grip on Rose. Jackie ran over without hesitation and threw her arms around him and her daughter. The three of them held on to each other for a long moment before breaking away slowly. The Doctor calmed himself slightly, but the thought that these two were his home and family warmed his heart (singular, he still had to tell himself) without measure.

"Alright," He took a steadying breath before continuing. "Let's go home. Allons-y!"

"Alan's… what?" Jackie asked scrunching her nose.

"Never mind…"

Rose only giggled.

They had to walk a fair distance from where the TARDIS had landed before Jackie was able to get a signal strong enough on her mobile. The teleports no longer worked. Rose's phone had unfortunately shorted out during her last trip through the dimension cannon. The Doctor had muttered something about wishing he had swiped the Sonic Screwdriver. Jackie got through to Torchwood in the end, briefly explaining how they got back and the whole Metacrisis situation as best she could. Within an hour Pete had sent out a team to bring them back to London. The Doctor could barely reign in his excitement that he was truly going home. He couldn't wait to meet Rose's little brother, Tony, especially after all the stories Jackie told him while waiting for Torchwood to arrive. He was even curious to see how this organisation functioned under Pete Tyler's command. But most of all, he couldn't wait to just spend some time alone with Rose. As soon as they arrived in London he was going to see if that little chip shop she took him to after their adventure on Platform One existed in this universe, and if it did that was going to (once again) be their first date.

The helicopters approached and they waved them down. Rose felt it odd they sent more than one. As they got closer, she realised one was a medical transport. Why would they need one of those? They hadn't reported any injuries so why-?

Rose couldn't even register that thought fully as she watched the Doctor's hand fly up to the side of his neck as he suddenly cried out in pain. He managed to pull a dart out of his skin and he momentarily looked at it in confusion. Then it seemed to dawn on him what was going on.

"Oh, you are kidding me…" his eyes rolled back into his head as he unceremoniously collapsed face first into the sand. Rose threw herself onto her knees after him screaming his name. Jackie started screaming at the Torchwood agents pouring out of the medical transport with a gurney. One forcefully grabbed Rose and pulled her away from the unconscious Doctor as they started to move him onto the waiting transport.

"The hell are you doin' to him!? Let me go!" Rose tried to wriggle out of the grasp of the burley agent. She slipped into what had been dubbed her 'commander mode' as she spoke to the man who was roughly handling her: "I order you to release both me and the Doctor! You hear me? If you won't you're fired!"

"Sorry, Rose, but this is for his own good." Rose snapped her head around and saw that Pete had arrived as well. She calmed slightly and it was enough for Pete to wave off the agent holding her.

"How is drugging him and dragging him away against his will in any way 'good'?" Rose was livid. Pete sighed.

"Jackie explained it to me. He's a brand new form of life and should be checked medically to ensure he's healthy." Pete explained as kindly as he could. "Don't blame your mum, this was my decision."

"But Pete, you didn't need to knock him out to do it…" Rose looked over and shuddered as she watched the medical team fit an oxygen mask over the Doctor's face and insert an IV into his arm. Pete placed a hand on her shoulder.

"The other Doctor was so unpredictable and I gather this one's the same way. We needed to ensure his cooperation."

"You didn't even give him a chance!" Rose was screaming now. Pete just shook his head. "I'll never forgive you for this! He won't either!" Rose was shaking with anger at her adopted father. Jackie walked up and wrapped her arm around her.

"C'mon love. You should ride with him. You should be there when he wakes up." Jackie glared at Pete as she guided Rose towards the medical transport. Rose climbed aboard and sat as close to the Doctor was possible, not caring she was in the way of the medical staff.

She held his hand all the way to London.