A/N: I didn't want to ship 10 and Rose. I tried very hard not to ship 10 and Rose. I knew there was only heartache in store. And yet, it was inevitable.
I know there are so many Rose/Tentoo post Journey's End fics you can literally shake a stick and hit about five, but when I ship a couple, I have to write them. I can't resist! So, I hope whoever reads this, still finds it enjoyable and hopefully, not too redundant.
Chapter One
This beach was a long strip of hell, she was sure. The biting wind whipped her hair as she stared at that bloody blue box disappearing once and for all; fading out of her life for a final time with a shuddering and whooshing noise that always sounded so sweet to her ears. Her heart cracked and her arms hung limply at her side. He'd gone again and again she was left feeling adrift as her feet sunk deeper and deeper into the shifting, wet sand. She waited for all those horrible emotions to come sweeping back through her, crashing into her as the waves battered the shore only a few meters away. Nothing came. All she felt was dead inside. Dead and empty.
And then something brushed her sleeve. She waited, breath catching in the throat. Her hand was clasped in a slightly bigger, slightly cooler one; tight and safe and right. She could see him in the corner of her eye glancing at her before looking forward to where the TARDIS had been moments before. The hair was shorter but it was still messy and tussled, thick and shiny. The suit was a different color but it still clung to his tall frame that was a little more filled out than it had been a few years ago. They turned to look at each other. It was the same man but different; he still caused the same pulse racing, heart pounding, body tightening reaction inside her, but it was different. This time it was all there for her to see, mirrored in his eyes as they bored into hers.
Rose had wished on countless stars, moons, planets and even a gaseous cloud formation that heralded mystical energy to look into the Doctor's warm, chocolate colored eyes and just once, catch a glimpse of what might be lying underneath. Here it finally was. And Rose had no idea what the hell to do with it. Rose felt the weight of words in her throat but they were lodged on something. She swallowed, working to get whatever phantom object obscured the words she felt she needed to say out of the way. In the end, neither of them broke the silence that was suffocating them.
"Come along, you two," Jackie, who still stood a way off from them, called tentatively. "You'll catch your death of cold in this wind, you will. Mark my words. And with him being newly human and all, who knows what sort of bugs his immune system is vulnerable to?"
Rose smiled widely at the Doctor. "Looks like you got your Mother Hen back, then. Did you miss her?" Rose asked teasingly.
The Doctor's eyes softened and the familiar crinkles appeared as he smiled back. "Oh, yes."
The tears Rose stifled flooded her eyes at the two emphatic words spoken so softly. With a cry that was somewhere between delight and sorrow, Rose launched herself into the open arms of the waiting Doctor who knew that noise so well. She looped her arms around his neck, plastering herself to his body, burrowing her face into the crook of his neck and shoulder. Taking great gulps, she filled her lungs and her nostrils with his scent until she was sure she no longer smelled like the drug store equivalent of a sunny day but of alien motor oil and 35th Century shaving foam and the sharp metallic flavor of space and time.
Just like before when Rose had pulled him close and kissed him with all the passion he'd felt but never been brave enough to return, he wrapped his arms around her; instantly noticing how much more toned she felt. Instead of soft curves, lean muscle pressed against his tall frame. He clutched her as close as he could, longing to pull her in and completely surround her with himself. His fingers dug into the smooth leather of her jacket, the urgent need to meld her to him apparent.
Rose ran her hands up and pressed them against his neck as she pulled away, sniffing back any remaining tears. She blinked a few times to clear her eyes and glimpsed her father standing a few feet away with her mother.
"There's Dad. We better go," she whispered as the Doctor pressed his forehead to hers.
The Doctor nodded, not releasing Rose from his embrace.
Rose smiled; tongue finding its way between her teeth and lips to peek out. She sucked it back in with a small gasp as she watched the Doctor's eyes latch on and darken, his jaw tighten and his lips tremble. Not wanting to stop touching him, Rose let her hands drift down from his neck along the lapels of his suit, stopping to tuck beneath the fabric, pressing one hand again to his one rapidly beating heart.
"Do you feel okay?"
The Doctor swallowed. He nodded, not trusting his voice to speak just yet. Here he was; living the one adventure he never thought he could have: a day to day life with Rose Tyler. To grow old with Rose Tyler. To love and touch and kiss and so much more for the rest of his human life with Rose Tyler. His thoughts drifted to his other self. How he pitied the man who'd strode back to the TARDIS without the love of their life for a second time. That other man who knew he could never give Rose all the things he wanted to. But this man could. And he swore he would. He would love Rose enough for the both of them.
Finally pulling away, Rose held out a hand, waggling her fingers just as he had so many times before taking her hand in his.
Looking down at her hand, a slow grin spread across the Doctor's face as he slipped his hand into hers, twining their fingers and sighing contentedly. He swung their clasped hand between them childishly, making Rose giggle. He beamed at her.
"Come on, then, you puny human," Rose said as she began pulling him along toward her parents.
"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed. "I have never called you lot puny!Brilliant! Indomitable! Fantastic! But never puny!"
Rose snorted. "Oh, but you've thought it."
"I have never thought any such thing!" The Doctor continued to sputter as they met Jackie and Pete over by an out-cropping of rocks.
Pete held out a hand to the Doctor, shaking the one that wasn't attached to Rose vigorously. "Great to see you again, Doctor."
"Nice to be back in Pete's World, I suppose!" The Doctor returned, an exuberant expression overtaking his face as he looked around and took a deep breath. "Yes, this will do nicely."
"Nicely for what?" Rose asked, her eyebrows quirked with interest at the Doctor's increasing excitement.
"For living, Rose Tyler! Living!" He exclaimed, throwing out the opposite arm wide and gesturing to whole of creation he could see. He spun back to Rose, breathing erratic as he stared at Rose with wide and manic eyes, a huge grin aimed in her direction.
Rose quickly slipped her hand out of the Doctor's and steadied him with both of her hands on his torso. The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut and grasped Rose's shoulders for support as a wave of pain washed over him. He gritted his teeth and groaned.
"Doctor?" Rose questioned, trying to disguise her fright. "What is going on?"
The Doctor breathed through his nose, feeling the pain began to ebb and then slowly seep from his body. He felt weak and fought not to sag against Rose. He opened his eyes and shook his head a few times. He took a quantitative analysis of his system. Ah, adrenal glands. Those were new.
"It's okay, Rose. The adrenaline for my system has been depleted. It was keeping the regeneration side-effects at bay."
He felt an arm wrap around his waist and tug him to lean against Rose. A feeling of indignation expanded his chest and he looked down at Rose with a full pout. He may be only half Time Lord, but that half was still far superior than his human half. He was The Doctor. He could handle a little bit of regeneration fall out. He just needed to kick start his adrenal gland to produce some more adrenaline to continue to keep his metabolic rate stable which would help with the regeneration cycle.
"Oh," The Doctor breathed out. He couldn't do that! He was basically a prisoner in his own body. He could look out and see what was going on, but he couldn't control it. "Oh."
Even after the years of separation, Rose could still read his moods and emotions. She gripped him tighter and rested her chin on his upper arm, gazing up at him.
"Are you gonna start spouting out those little golden wispy things, then? Need a good bit of strong tea?" Jackie suggested, unable to be quiet for a long period of time.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and glanced over at Jackie. "Have I mentioned lately that I am a 908 year old Time Lord and am perfectly capable of seeing to my own needs, thank you."
"Still rude then, I see. Lovely to know that this one is exactly like the last without the very much needed improvements!" Jackie retorted but the harshness of her words was undercut by the affection in her clear blue eyes.
The Doctor pressed his mouth against Rose's ear, smirking at the shiver that ran through her lithe frame that was still pressed to his side. "She's not going to kiss me, is she?" He whispered audibly.
"Just you wait, big fella! I'll getcha when you least expect it!" Jackie crowed.
"This one?" Pete finally asked in confusion from beside Jackie. "What the hell are you on about?"
"I'll explain in the car, love," Jackie answered Pete, stroking his arm. She turned back to the couple across from her. "I am bloody freezing on this bloody beach! Why can't you ever pick somewhere tropical for your grand gestures, Mr. Have-a-time-and-space-machine-and-will-travel?"
The Doctor's mouth plopped open with an insulted yelp. Before he could properly retort that it was not he that had been their pilot (well, he'd been one of them, but certainly not the only one) and had landed them on this gawd forsaken stretch of beach, Jackie and Pete tucked their arms around each other and turned away, walking presumably off to where Pete had parked the vehicle.
"Bring him along, Rose," Jackie threw over her shoulder.
"Bring me along," the Doctor muttered petulantly as he and Rose followed along behind her parents. "I am not an invalid, you know!"
Rose chewed her lip. "Mum does have a point, Doctor. The last time you regenerated you did have to put yourself into a healing coma and you were emitting that golden energy... stuff." She waved a hand in the air, making a spiral motion meant to imitate the xanthous energy he had been breathing out that initially drew the attention of the Sycorax.
"Ah, yes, that," the Doctor nodded. "Yes, that regeneration was a little tougher than others, though. You'll remember I had just absorbed most of the Time Vortex radiation from this very jeopardy friendly little pink and yellow human I was traveling with. This time, I only got shot by an extermination ray from a Dalek. Those are two very different things, Rose Tyler."
"But you're half human this time, Doctor," Rose pointed out; her voice softening on the word human, like a caress. The Doctor felt it all the way down to his toes and it tingled wonderfully.
"Weelll," he drawled. "There are bound to be some differences. My body may be half human but my noggin-" he paused and tapped his forehead with two fingers. "Is all Time Lord. I could tell if something really nasty was up with my internals and so far just that one itsy little –"
The Doctor doubled over at the waist; teeth gritted in pain as he sucked in deep draughts of air through his nose. Rose was at his side in an instant, bracing one hand on his back and curling the other around his bicep. Pete and Jackie stopped from a few yards ahead and turned back, watching with concern. Rose lifted her head, meeting her parents' gazes with anxiety.
"Jacks, go get the car and pull it round," Pete told his wife, pressing the keys into her palm. Jackie took off in a hasty jog as Pete walked back to Rose and the Doctor. Pete stood a few inches from the hunched man, not really sure what exactly he could do. "Jackie has gone to get the car, Doc. Just hang in there."
The Doctor continued to bend over his knees, his eyelids closed as he watched dim stars dance on the inside of his head. There was pain everywhere. All he wanted to do was lay down in the sand and pull Rose to him and curl around her. That sounded like a good plan. The laying down part, not the curling around Rose part. At least not now; not with her father present, but later. Oh, yes! Definitely a plan for later. He shifted his weight, allowing his butt to hit the sand as he sat down.
"Doctor!" Rose exclaimed, frantically grabbing for him as he fell back against the damp ground.
The Doctor hissed at Rose's shrill cry, as it echoed in his head. Eyes still closed, he reached out and took Rose's hand, holding it tightly within his own.
"Rose, it's okay," he told her thickly, his throat from the throbs of pain that seemed to be centered in his abdomen and radiating outward. "I am just getting dizzy. New feeling, that! Needed to lay down for a bit. Nothing to worry about."
Rose knelt close to him, fear gnawing at her belly as she held his hand. His hand would tighten around hers every so often and she knew another wave of pain was wracking over him. She smoothed her hand along his forehead in what she hoped was a soothing motion. What would she do if he needed medical attention? He was half human now! Could his human half handle the regeneration energy that was swirling within him? When he'd regenerated from his ninth incarnation, (a man she now affectionately designated as Ears), he'd told her to keep back her own safety. Later, she'd asked Pretty Boy, the version in front of her now, why Ears wouldn't allow her to touch him. The Doctor had explained it was for her own safety as he didn't know how humans would fare against the near nuclear radiation that exploded from him as his body rewrote each tiny cell in a golden explosion, showering around him like a firework on Bonfire Night.
The purr of a motor was soon heard and Rose saw her mother swing the Land Rover around the rocks and park just a few feet from them. She jumped out and ran around the hood of the car, her eyes wide. She quickly grabbed the handle of the backdoor and yanked it open.
"Here we go, Doc," Pete said as he broke into action. "Ride's here."
Pete knelt down, he and Rose steadying the Doctor as he pulled himself into a sitting position. Even with eyes closed, he could tell his world was spinning. Clinging to Rose, he allowed Pete to pull him to his feet. With Pete on one side and Rose on the other, they helped him to the car, an arm around each neck. Rose surrendered the man to her father as she scampered around the vehicle to the other side, clambering inside to help pull the Doctor into the backseat. Jackie and Pete pushed him up into the high vehicle, folding his legs inside as the Doctor sat resting his head back against the seat.
"Never realized what a tall drink of water that man was 'til just now!" Jackie exclaimed when she hauled herself up into the Land Rover, twisting in her seat to look at her daughter and the man grimacing next to her. How the hell was she supposed to introduce him? Her daughter's boyfriend? Her man-friend? Maybe 'Rose's fiancé' would do the trick. Yes, that would work nicely for her circle. Rose's fiancé who'd been away on business finally come home to roost and wed. The Doctor looked like a intelligent enough bloke to have a traveling job.
Rose narrowed her eyes at her mother. "What is that look for?" She demanded.
Jackie widened her eyes innocently. "What look is that, sweetheart?"
"The 'planning' look," Rose replied knowingly. "Don't even try to deny it, Mum! You were planning!"
"I was not!" Jackie spat indignantly.
Pete climbed in and settled behind the wheel. "Seatbelts, everyone," he reminded absently.
Rose shook her head, pointing a finger at Jackie. "Don't you get any of your ideas, Mum. I'm not having it!"
"I don't have a single thought in my brain!"
Rose rolled her eyes. "Twenty-four years I've been your daughter, Mum. I know the 'planning' look. Well, you can forget it." Rose leaned forward and lowered her voice. "The last thing the Doctor needs right now is a loony bat aiming to be his new mother-in-law! Don't."
"Me?!" Jackie shrieked. Pete flinched but didn't jump, his ears used to the decibel by now. "Mother-in-law to that old fossil?! I would rather eat paint chips!"
"Let's keep it that way," Rose hissed before settling back against the seat, turning her head and appraising the Doctor. They hit a little bit of a rough patch as Pete pulled the Rover onto the deserted road and it jostled the passengers causing the Doctor to flop over in Rose's lap. She yelped in surprise and realized she'd been so distracted by her mother and her schemes, she'd forgotten to put his seat belt on. Rose made to push him back to his side when the man curled up and nuzzled into her lap. A soft smile bloomed on her face as she ran her fingers through his hair, some places gritty with sand from the beach.
He turned his face up, a content upturn to his lips. "So, we're getting married, are we?"
Rose felt her cheeks suffuse with a deep blush. She lowered her brows in mock annoyance. "I see your hearing is still in prime condition."
"Jackie Tyler isn't much on subtly, is she?" He responded.
"Oi! I heard that!" Jackie snapped from the front.
The Doctor's smirk widened to a grin. "I think her hearing might be as good as mine."
"Mum can hear talk of marriage from across the room. The only old fashioned thing about her, I think." Rose continued to comb the hair out of his eyes, the warmth that they bathed her in making her stomach swirl. "But, don't worry. She's enough manners not to force you into a tux on your first day back."
The Doctor made a face, the expression saying he was mulling something over. "Give me a week and I am sure I can be ready," he replied with a cheeky grin.
The pleasant swirling in Rose's belly turned into an abrupt clenching. She fought to keep her face neutral and breathed a sigh of relief when the Doctor's eyes slipped shut and his mouth lolled open; his body in the pose of sleep. She swallowed a few times. After today, it would be her and the Doctor. Her and the Doctor for the rest of their lives. Not just hers, but theirs. They had a forever. The panicky feeling that had abated on the beach came screaming back through her bloodstream. It was what she always wanted but never thought she'd have. Was he serious about the marriage or just playing along with her mother? Suddenly, all of this seemed very domestic and Rose felt almost like she was suffocating.
Groping for the switch, Rose depressed it, the window making a whirring noise as it came down a bit. She took a long gulp of the tangy sea air; closing her eyes and letting the wind wash over her face. The weight of the past few hours didn't feel so heavy any longer. They could do this. She had traveled stars and galaxies and dimensions to be by his side again and here she was.
"Rose, sweetie," Jackie cooed from her seat. Rose opened one eye. "What are you doing? It's freezing."
Rose smiled tiredly before rolling up the window, leaving at least a tiny crack at the top. "Sorry, mum."
Jackie turned back around, reaching over and taking her husband's hand and lacing their fingers. Rose's eyelids were getting more difficult to keep open. The sight of her parents' clasped hands was the last thing she saw before she, too, nodded off in the back, a snoring 900 year old Time Lord sprawled in her lap.
On the ride back, Jackie filled Pete in on what she could about the Doctor and the New Doctor, the one currently purring like a cat in their backseat. Jackie laughed softly as Pete kept glancing in the back at Rose and the Doctor. This Pete may not be the Pete Jackie had made Rose with, but he was her father all the same and to Pete, Rose was his little girl. There was something disconcerting about the thought of an ancient alien pursuing his precious little girl. The two slept peacefully and only when the Land Rover shuttered to a stop at the private airstrip Pete had reserved, did they rouse.
Rose moved first, stretching as much as she could. She shook the Doctor's shoulder gently. "Doctor," she whispered. "Doctor, we're here."
Pete got out the car and walked across the pavement to speak with the crew. Jackie followed, crossing to meet a woman who was carrying a squirming little boy, his arms wiggling and reaching out toward Jackie who scooped him up happily and squeezed him tightly.
The Doctor came out of his sleep slowly, a groggy and hazy fog filling his brain. It took him a few moments to realize he was in a car and why. Looking up, his face broke into a sleepy grin, causing Rose's pulse to beat like a snare drum.
"Hello." His voice was slightly lower, back in his throat.
"Hello," Rose replied, catching her tongue between her teeth as she grinned.
The Doctor groaned as he sat up, turning to face her fully. His face was still slack with sleep and Rose stifled a laugh. She had never seen him so relaxed. Or maybe it wasn't relaxed, but it certainly wasn't the tightly wound string of energy he normally was. He leisurely perused the scenery outside the car, smacking his lips together.
Finally, he looked back at Rose, a small frown of confusion between his brows. "Where are we?"
"Some airstrip Dad got, I guess," Rose answered, as she, too, looked around. "Mum called him from the Tardis and told him where to meet us. Or, her, probably. We'd all been prepared that I –"
Rose broke off, tearing her gaze from his as she looked out the opposite window, worrying her bottom lip with her top teeth.
And there it was; the thing that had been hanging above them, forgotten until this moment. Rose hadn't planned on coming back to this world. Rose had planned on saving the universe and returning to the Doctor. Her Doctor. The proper Doctor. Pressing his lips into a thin line, the Doctor laid a hand on top of Rose's hand that was flat between their thighs. She looked over her shoulder at him, down to their hands and then back at him. He held her gaze openly, regret filling every crevice.
"I'm sorry, Rose," he said softly.
"No," Rose countered firmly. She shifted back to him, turning her hand up and cupping his hand in her palm. She reached out and laid a warm hand on his neck, pulling him forward to stare into his eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry for. Nothing."
"But, I'm not him –"
Rose leaned forward and kissed him sweetly, nothing more than a press of lips. She pulled back, framing his face with both hands. "When you grabbed my hand in that basement, what was the first thing you said to me?"
The Doctor swallowed, remembering this same conversation after another regeneration.
"Run."
A wide smile broke out upon Rose's face. "You were the same then and you are the same now."
The smile didn't quite reach her eyes. He could tell she was trying to comfort him and convince herself at the same time; but the Doctor knew his Rose. She may have doubts, but soon they would dissipate. She would see in time that while another version had walked away with the Tardis, he was that same man who grabbed her hand in the basement and the same man who burned up a sun just to try and say what was in his heart. Only that man could at last finish the sentence he'd started out there on that beach.
There was a knocking and the Doctor looked over Rose's shoulder to see Pete motioning to them on the other side of the window.
"I think we are being summoned," the Doctor said, taking Rose's wrists in his hands as she looked over her shoulder at her father walking away. She flicked her eyes over and saw the aircraft being made ready to board.
She turned back to the Doctor. He had followed her gaze, looking a little uneasy.
"It's okay, Doctor," Rose told him with a giggle. She withdrew one of her wrists and instead gripped his hand once more. "I'm still here to hold your hand."
A smile bloomed on the Doctor's handsome face. "I'm glad to hear that."
Rose could still hear a note of anxiety in his voice. "Doctor, are you okay? Are you still feeling poorly?"
His brows furrowed darkly. "Yeah," he answered slowly with a nod. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just –" He broke off as he rubbed a hand roughly across the back of his neck. Rose watched with an amused expression, waiting for him to start tugging on that ear. The gesture was so full of nerves it always made her want to hug him tightly until it all seeped out from his body. "I'm just not sure if I like flying."
Laughter bellowed out from Rose. The Doctor reared back, scowling at the woman who shared the seat with him.
"Oh! That is rich coming from you!" Rose exclaimed, holding her sides as she doubled over with guffaws.
The Doctor huffed, spinning and opening the door, alighting from the vehicle and turned to look back at Rose. "I don't think it is polite to laugh when someone imparts a particular fear about certain modes of travel, Rose Tyler." He shut the door with a slam.
Rose rolled her eyes. Was he going to be touchier than the other one was? She slid out on her side and met him at the back of the vehicle.
"Oh, Doctor," Rose gushed happily, taking his hand. "Of all the times I had my arse thrown to the floor of the Tardis, you really want to stand there and tell me you think there is someone out there who is a worse pilot than you?"
"Yes," the Doctor sniffed, bopping Rose on the tip of her nose before crossing his arms and leaning against the car. "You forget, Rose Tyler, that I was piloting a ship meant for six!And I have years of experience! In light of that, I think I should go down in history as the universe's best pilot, I should!"
"Yeah?" Rose replied, her shapely brows rising up her forehead. "You are such a pompous git."
The Doctor hummed contentedly, stepping closer to Rose and slipping his arms around her waist, lacing his fingers at her back. Rose inclined her head back, her heart thumping harder at the close proximity of their lips.
"Am I a pompous git?"
Rose nodded. "But a pompous git with a machine that travels time and relative dimension in space. One can never resist a man with a Tardis."
At the word 'Tardis', the Doctor's eyes bulged and he whipped his arms from Rose, frantically diving into his pant pockets and jacket pockets with groping hands.
"Oh, come on! Where is it?!" He snarled as he searched each and every pocket.
"Where is what, Doctor?" He didn't answer, just kept digging in his pockets. Rose rolled her eyes. "You know, Doctor, if you insist on carrying things in your pockets, maybe they shouldn't be bigger on the inside."
"I will have you know I did that for your sake," he replied bitingly, flicking his eyes to hers. "It was more convenient than you lugging around that ridiculous suitcase you called a purse. I swear, every intergalactic flea market you wandered into – Where is the bloody thing?!"
"What is it we're looking for?" Rose demanded as she joined in helping comb his pockets, thrusting her arm in his hip pocket, not even batting an eyelash when her arm disappeared halfway to her elbow.
"Ah – ha!" The Doctor cried. He whipped out his hand with a flourish, the chunk of the Tardis resting in his fingers. "There you are, you sexy thing, you!" He brought the chunk of coral to his lips, pressing a smacking kiss to the small root.
The Doctor brought the root up to his eyes, examining it closely. Rose flexed up on her tip toes to get a closer look herself. The thought that the infinite Tardis had once started out the size of a ginger root was more than amazing.
"Do you really think you can do all that stuff that Donna rattled off?" Rose asked as she looked at all the intricate little crevices on the Tardis coral.
"What? You mean about shatterfrying the plasmic shell and modifying the dimensional stabilizer to a foldback harmonic of 36.3 to accelerate the growth by the power of 59?"
Rose snorted when the Doctor didn't even look up. "Yeah, that."
"Rose Tyler," he finally lifted his eyes and they glinted with teasing. "Are you implying something about my performance?"
Catching the meaning of his double entendre, Rose blushed hotly. "Seriously, Doctor. Is that something you can do?"
"Meaning since I am half – human now do I still possess enough Time Lord intellect to understand the far superior physics of the experiment to execute the procedure?" The Doctor replied with saucily.
"All right, smarty pants, keep your knickers on," Rose spat back playfully.
"The zeppelin is fueled and ready to go, you two," Pete announced as he arrived a few feet from them. He motioned them aside and opened the hatch, dragging out four large luggage cases.
"Here, Dad, let us help." Rose scampered behind her father to take some of the luggage.
"No, no, we got it," Pete replied as he cocked his head, bringing two crewmen running over. "You take care of him. He looks a little green."
Rose looked back at the Doctor. He stood wide-eyed by the Land Rover, clutching his Tardis coral so tightly his knuckles were white.
"Trying to grow another Tardis by sheer will, Doctor?" Rose commented gently as she returned to the Doctor's side.
The Doctor looked longingly at the chunk of root in his hand and then at Rose, his eyes almost pleading. Rose reached out and touched is arm and then ran her hand down, clasping the Doctor's hand in hers.
"It's time to go home, Doctor," Rose told him softly.
Home. The word floated from Rose's lips into his soul. He was home. The moment he saw her wide, bright smile in that deserted, war torn street, he'd come home. Rose was his home. Wherever she went, he'd be sure to follow.
With the Tardis coral clutched tightly in one hand and Rose in the other, the Doctor followed Rose up the ramp and into the cavernous flying machine, his one human heart beating out a rhythm for two.
The take – off was smooth, the landing was smooth and so was everything else in between. Pete and Jackie sat a few rows away from Rose and the Doctor; the older couple shooting furtive glances their way every few moments. Jackie held Tony comfortably, the baby boy fussing slightly but finally being lulled to sleep by the gentle murmur of the giant aircraft. The Doctor sat stiffly beside Rose, cradling the coral just as tenderly as Jackie Tyler cradled her young son. His eyes were wide, his jaw clenched and creating those two adorable dimples in his cheeks that Rose was bonkers over. He ran a hand through his hair nervously every once and a while, pushing the hand through and then bringing it down as he peered at it, catching grains of sand in his palm. By the time they landed in London, Rose was sure that the Doctor was a few gestures away from a receding hairline.
Hovering over the landing strip, the Zeppelin glided forward, hardly disrupting her passengers. Nevertheless, when it was clear they could depart the Doctor unbuckled the safety belt and jumped out of the seat like it had been a deadly snare holding him against his will. Rose stood up next to him, chuckling softly. She wondered if it really was the thought of flight in something other than his precious Tardis or the simple fact he wasn't in control.
"I just got a text from Jake. He is waiting to meet us at Torchwood and debrief us on what happened on this side while you were in the other Universe," Pete informed them as the group stood idly, waiting to disembark the Zeppelin.
"Does he know about Mickey?" Rose asked, her voice catching. She and Mickey had said goodbye quickly before he'd left the Tardis in the Prime Universe, not wanting to prolong the inevitable. How did one say goodbye to a lifetime friend, though? Rose had known he hadn't been happy in Pete's World since his Grandmother had died a few years back. He was part of the Tyler family, but she could tell something was missing for him. When she saw the way Mickey's eyes lit up when they had landed on the elegant and beautiful Martha Jones, it clicked what was missing. The thought of Mickey finally finding the happiness and love he craved took the edge of Rose's sadness but it would be hard walking the halls of Torchwood and not expecting to see his face peeking around corners, waiting for rookies to walk unsuspectingly into his pranks or finding him lounging in her office, feet propped up arrogantly on her desk when he wanted to have a chat with her.
Pete nodded sadly. "He and Jake had a talk before Pete followed you to the other side. Mickey's team is taking it hard but Jake will be there for them."
Rose felt tears bud in her eyes and swallowed forcefully. Thoughts of the goodbyes she'd had with her team filtered into her mind and she shook them away. She didn't want to think about that right now. At least they wouldn't have to break in a new lead agent for her division now. As before, on the beach, a hand found hers. She stiffened. It wasn't cool any longer but warm, like hers. Just one more difference to get used to, it seemed. She was grateful for the support, though. She turned her head and sent him a shaky smile.
The hatch opened and sunlight filled the space, causing the group to squint against the blinding rays. They filed out, one by one, to find two town cars waiting, each with a chauffeur sitting patiently behind the steering wheel.
"I'm gonna take your mother home and then I will meet you two at Torchwood, yeah?" Pete suggested as he herded Jackie into a car. She waved briefly at Rose and the Doctor before disappearing into the car.
"Sounds good, Dad. We'll see ya there," Rose answered, going to the car parked behind the one her parents were entering.
"You be sure to come round soon, Doctor!" Rose and the Doctor turned to see Jackie hanging out the window on the other side. "You didn't properly meet Tony!"
The Doctor nodded pleasantly as Jackie slithered back inside the window. Waving as the car pulled away from the curb, the Doctor leaned over to Rose and asked, "Who is Tony?"
Rose blinked at him. "My baby brother. Remember?"
The Doctor furrowed his brow and then bobbed his head when it came to him. "Ah, yes. So, Torchwood, hmmm?"
Rose quirked an eye brow at him before sliding into the car; the Doctor following her and shutting the door behind them. Rose glanced over at the Doctor and his wide eyes taking everything in as if he'd never seen it before. She was surprised that just the short nap the two of them took in the Land Rover on the way to the airstrip was enough rest for him. She would have expected him to nod off and stay off for a few days, at least.
Halfway through the thirty minute ride to Torchwood from outside London where they had landed, Rose felt a weight fall onto her shoulder. She smiled warmly when she lifted a hand and felt the Doctor's messy hair with her palm. He began snoring softly at her throat moments later. She directed the driver to her flat instead, deciding she could bring the Doctor in for debriefing later. And knowing him like she did, his voracious curiosity for anything new and foreign, would be the driving force of their first visit to the Torchwood facility.
A/N: I am American, so if you pick up any "American", I do apologize. =D I tried to keep it as 'British' as possible, but some of my own dialect is bound to slip through.
Thanks for reading!