Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. Never have, never will.
I wrote this quite a while ago, but I was debating on whether to post it on this site for the longest time. It will become a full fledged story, although it does sort of read like a one shot in this chapter. I have a plan on where I'm going to go.
Rose watched the Doctor disappear from her life for the second time, but this time, she didn't sob her heart out. She merely stood, holding the hand of the man whom she now had no doubt was the same man. A small part of her was hurt that he didn't even say good bye, but it was miniscule.
Jackie wandered over to the silent pair. "Right, I've phoned Pete, and he's agreed to pick us up. Now, all we have to do is wait." She glanced at the Doctor. "Is he coming home with us?"
Rose looked away from the empty space ahead of her and saw that the Doctor was staring at her intently. Breaking the gaze, Rose turned to her mum. "Yeah, he's coming with us."
"He can have Mickey's old room," Jackie decided. She turned away to give the couple some privacy and wait expectantly for her husband. "You can explain him to Pete, young lady," she called over her shoulder.
Rose groaned. It had been hard enough explaining the appearance of Jackie and Rose in this universe. If this kept up, the Tyler family would have to relocate.
"What are you going to tell him?" The Doctor asked, sounding both hesitant and amused. It was the first time that he had spoken since whispering those sacred words in Rose's ear, and the sound of his voice startled her.
"What? Oh. The truth," she said quickly. "He can handle it. Torchwood can, too. The rest of the world, however…" she trailed off with a sigh. The Doctor opened his mouth to say something, but Rose had a feeling what he was about to say, and she cut him off. "I'll do the talking. You just stand there and look charming."
The Doctor looked visibly affronted. "But-" he began. Rose cut him off again.
"If you had a bit of Sarah Jane or Martha Jones in you, then maybe. But you've got Donna Noble in you, and the Doctor plus Donna is a catastrophe waiting to happen. They're the two noisiest creatures in that universe," Rose explained, a small smile playing on her lips.
The Doctor grinned. It wasn't the usual manic grin that Rose knew his face could contain, but it was a start. "Fair enough," he grinned. Rose returned the grin. Tentatively, the Doctor released Rose's hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. He was a little nervous. Rose hadn't seemed overjoyed at being left with a broken, angry man, but, then again, it had been him she had kissed, not the other man whom she had fixed. The Doctor was delighted when Rose leaned into his embrace. When she rested her head on his shoulder, he tightened his arm.
The two of them stared across the water with Jackie Tyler. It was Rose who broke the silence in a quiet voice. "Why did he have to drop us off in Norway? The least he could've done was drop us off across the water."
"Not without causing the universes to collapse…again," The Doctor told her. "The gap in the Void came out in this very spot two years ago, so, naturally, this was the safest bet. It's just a little bit weaker than
the rest of the universe," he paused. "He also thought that it was a, shall I say, romantic choice, this being the last you saw him."
Rose was silent. She feared that if she spoke, she would dissolve into tears. It was stupid to dwell on past events when nothing could be changed. After the first time she had parted with the Doctor, Rose had taken two weeks to figure that out. The Doctor didn't want her to mope around feeling sorry for herself; he wanted her to get out there and live her life.
Davros was wrong; the Doctor didn't give people death; he gave them life. Because of him, the "Children of Time" knew of the wonders of the universe. They were better for it, and the Doctor had drawn them all together. Sarah Jane Smith had her son; Martha Jones had a fiancé; Captain Jack Harkness had Torchwood; Mickey Smith got his gran, and, when she was taken, he was given another chance; Jackie Tyler had her husband back and a little boy. As far as Rose Marion Tyler was concerned, she got the best deal – the Doctor. She knew that he was essentially the same man, and, given time, she could accept that.
The wait wasn't as long as Rose had anticipated. Within an hour, a van had arrived to pick them up. Pete Tyler was well renowned on both the Torchwood front and on the Vitex front. One of his Norwegian contacts picked them up and dropped them off at a rather fancy hotel. Jackie got them three rooms on credit. Despite her previous words from so long ago, Jackie Tyler did care about the money.
When Rose and the Doctor had complained about the separation, Jackie flew into a fit of rage.
"You two have been separated for two bloody years!" she raged. "If you think I'm going to have my daughter spend the night alone with an alien that's been deprived of sex for god knows how many years, then you've got another thing coming, mister!"
"Mum, I told you – it's not like that," Rose mumbled, feeling all the stares that they were getting.
"Then what do you call that little moment on the beach?" Jackie demanded.
Rose sighed and didn't answer. She knew a lost cause when she saw one.
The Doctor, less than tactfully, put in, "But – if you separate us for longer, wouldn't it make the results worse when we finally do find ourselves alone?"
Jackie slapped the Doctor – hard. "Who says I'll ever let you be alone with her?"
The Doctor, too, knew a lost cause, but he did not know how to give up. "But –" Jackie raised her hand threateningly, and he ducked away with a yelp.
Rose gave the Doctor an apologetic grin and rushed off to her room.
Much later, Rose stepped onto the balcony clad in a terrycloth robe. It was a clear night, and the stars were out – all back in their proper place. Vaguely, Rose wondered if the world even remembered the dire crisis that it had once undergone.
A breeze lifted her hair, still damp from her shower, and Rose looked to the sky. She wondered what new adventures the Doctor and Donna were embarking on at this very moment. Glancing toward the room that contained her Doctor, Rose whispered into the night, "Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much for a second chance."