Hello! This is my first fanfic, so I hope you guys like it. Reviews would be great, constructive criticism is awesome, and if you have ideas for where the story should go, feel free to PM me. Also, I will try to update fairly regularly, but Please be patient.

x ProfessorTimeLady

Chapter 1: The TARDIS Departed

"Doctor?"

The biological meta-crisis Doctor-duplicate looked up from the sand on Dårlig Ulv Stranden. They had been standing in the salty wind for a few moments of awkward silence after the sound of the TARDIS dematerializing had broken their kiss. He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh-ahem-um yeah?"

"So um what do we," Rose paused and bit down on her lip. "What do we do now?"

She had no idea how to act around this new doctor. The Doctor, her Doctor, the one she spent four years trying to get back to, was gone, and this time she didn't think there would be a way back. Now the only thing she had was someone who claimed to be him. She felt a familiar lump in her throat as her eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, no, come on don't do that," the not-Doctor said as he pulled her in for a hug. Her head fit perfectly on his shoulder, just like it always had. Except it wasn't his shoulder, it was the real Doctor's shoulder she wanted. But this Doctor looked like him, acted like him, even smelled like the real Doctor. She wrapped her arms around him as she sobbed into his suit jacket. He might not be the real Doctor, but he was almost him, and that was the best option she had. Losing him again just wasn't an option.

Her tears dried and he pulled away a bit so he could see her better. She refused to meet his eyes, so he tilted her head up gently with a hand under her chin. When she finally looked up at him from under her long eyelashes, he couldn't stop his hand from reaching up to cup her cheek.

"Rose. My beautiful Rose. I'm never gonna leave you again." He pressed a kiss to her forehead then buried his face in her hair. She knew he would never admit it, but Rose felt a few tears leak onto her scalp. That feeling, the feeling of knowing he was crying, something so human, shifted into focus what she couldn't see before.

This man, the one she couldn't quite let go of, was the Doctor. Her Doctor. More than the Doctor in the other universe ever had been, because unlike before, he was hers as much as she was his.

But for now it was her turn to comfort him. He had just lost everything. All his old friends, his old life, and most especially, the TARDIS. The TARDIS had been his home for over 700 years, and now he was never going to see his beloved ship again. He had no choice but to be domestic. The horror!

"Oi, Doctor. Look at me." She pulled his mouth down to hers for another searing kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so. This was going to be hers, for the rest of her life. It was hard to believe. The idea of a life with the Doctor again made her laugh, and once she started, she couldn't stop. This should've been impossible. A human Doctor. The same Doctor that was currently looking at her as if she were insane.

"OI! Just what the hell is goin' on over here?" Oh dear god. The Doctor gulped. Jackie Tyler. The very reason he avoided domestic. She was terrifying. Annoying, too, but mostly just terrifying. No one could slap like she could. She looked to be in a slapping mood, too. And she was heading his way. Just his luck.

Oh. Rose? Could you help out just a bit, thanks?" he said in a higher voice than usual. Jackie was now standing right in front of them with a murderous gleam in her eye. Rose chuckled quietly.

Jackie rushed forward and hugged Rose tightly.

"Rose! Oh Rose thank god you're all right! I was worried sick. What with those Dalek things and all that reality nonsense! I think you ought to go down to the police office, put in for compensation! You could get a right lot of money out of this, you could!"

"Mum, mum just calm down. I ain't going to get compensation; it happened it another universe! If I told a policeman that they'd lock me up!" Rose protested. Her mother began to grumble.

"Well all right, fine, if you don't want to listen to what I have to say. But you!" Jackie's voice rose as she turned to the Doctor. He gulped and braced himself.

"What's all this stuff about you being human now? What happened to all that alien stuff? Where'd the other guy go? What happened to the TARDIS? Are you here for good now?" Jackie's voice got more and more shrill as she spoke.

Well that could've gone worse. At least they were easy questions.

"Well the last time I regenerated, as soon as I woke up my hand got cut off in a sword fight with the Sycorax emperor. When the Dalek shot me earlier, I channeled all of my regeneration energy into that hand, instead of changing myself. Then, when Donna touched that hand, it grew into a whole new being, half time lord, half human. Weelllll I say half, I'm really 30% time lord and 70% human. Still got the time lord brain. But I won't ever regenerate. I'll grow old in this body. And I've just got the one heart. So once I die, I'm gone for good. The other Doctor; the full time lord is back in your original universe with the TARDIS. They won't be coming back now that all the walls are sealed for good. "

"Hmph. Well at least I won't have some alien hanging about all the time! I suppose I'm gonna have to feed you now too. You picked a fine time to come back; we've got nothing in!" Jackie snapped.

"Oh, good ol' Jackie Tyler!" the Doctor laughed, letting the R roll off his tongue. She struggled a bit and gave Rose a wide-eyed look as the Doctor enveloped her in a big hug. Usually the Doctor tried to stay as far away from her as possible. She warily squeezed the Doctor, unsure of what to do.

Finally, he pulled back with a huge grin. "I'm so glad to be here with you apes!" he exclaimed.

Rose sputtered, "Apes? You're an ape now too, better get used to it!" She stuck her tongue between her teeth and smiled.

"Rose, hush I'm talking to your mother. I've quite missed her, you know," the Doctor deadpanned, then looked intensely at Jackie and tried to ignore the indignant blonde standing next to him.

"Did you just shush me? Wait a mo'. Missed my mother? My bloody mother?" (Oi what's wrong with that?) "Four years and the only thing you can do is talk to my mother on some bloody beach? Doctor! Would you look at me when I'm speaking to you?"

"Nope," he popped his lips on the P. "Not until you ask nicely." The Doctor then proceeded to turn his back completely and lean forward to whisper something in Jackie's ear. Her mouth dropped open as he pulled back.

"Well?" the Doctor asked in his normal tone of voice. Jackie still looked a bit shell-shocked.

"I umm well I dunno do I?" she stammered.

"Come on Jackie. Please?" the Doctor murmured.

"'Course yeah I s'pose. I mean yeah, definitely. But you'll have to ask Pete too. He ought to be here soon..." she trailed off as she looked around the beach, as though expecting her husband to magically appear. The Doctor sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Jackie. Thank you so much," the Doctor said in a low voice.

Rose's head was going back and forth between them like a tennis match. One of them was going to tell her what was going on or neither of them would be happy. From the look on the Doctor's face, she knew interrogating him would be pointless. She also knew questioning her mother right now wouldn't help. She would wait until later when she was alone with Jackie.

There were other things to be done now, however. She moved next to the Doctor, touching him at every point down the sides of their bodies. It had been many long years and they both needed to assure themselves that the other was really there.
Rose felt a gentle squeeze on the hand that was in the Doctor's grip. When their eyes met, she couldn't help herself. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips gently to his. Her arms wrapped themselves around his waist with no direction from her, and she rested her head onhis shoulder and just held him. In return she felt his arms around her and his face pressing into the crook of her neck.

Sometimes a hug was all that was needed. They didn't need anything but to hold each other.

Until Jackie, once again, forced them to focus on reality.

"If you two love birds are done, Pete's here with the car. We're driving to town, gettin' a hotel, then flying home tomorrow. Unless you two just want to stay here, in which case, I'll be in London."

Rose started to reply, but was cut off by a three year old running across the beach towards her.

"Rosie!" Tony Tyler shouted, "You're home!" Rose couldn't help but laugh at her adorable brother.

"Yeah I'm back little buddy. Did ya miss me?" Rose asked as she scooped Tony into her arms.

"'Course I did. You miss me?"

"Of course! I would be lost without my baby Tony!"

"Rosie I'm not a baby! I'm three!" Tony exclaimed as he held up three fingers. Then he seemed to notice the Doctor for the first time. "Who's that man?" he not-quite whispered. The Doctor took this as an invitation.

"Hello. You must be Tony. I've heard a lot about you. My name's the Doctor," the Doctor said with a cheeky grin. Tony still looked a bit wary. He peeked at his big sister for help.

"It's ok. You'll like the Doctor, I promise. He's very nice," Rose whispered with a peck on the cheek.

"Oh. Hi Doctor. Rosie says you're nice, so I'll talk to you. But you can't be mean to my Rosie! 'Cause then she'll have boo-boos, and boo-boos are bad," Tony said, very firmly for a three year old.

The doctor looked a bit puzzled for a moment. After consulting his considerable memory, he recalled that 'boo-boo' meant an injury of some sort.

"Oh! Oh, right, yeah. Oh, no Tony. Don't worry, I promise I won't ever hurt Rose. And if I do on accident, I promise I'll make her all better again. Is that okay with you?" the Doctor asked the toddler.

Only after careful consideration did Tony's expression change to one of happiness, and he said, "Yeah that's okay. As long as you promise!"

"Pinky swear," the Doctor said, deadly serious, as he held out his littlest finger. The offer was accepted. The Doctor met all of his qualifications, apparently.

Rose's heart nearly burst at the sight of the Doctor promising to her baby brother not to hurt her. It's was just about the sweetest thing she'd ever seen. She shifted Tony to her right arm and wrapped her left around the Doctor's waist as they walked across the beach towards Pete's car. Jackie was already sitting in the front seat, so Rose, the Doctor and Tony all piled in the back. Somehow the Doctor ended up stuffed between a car seat containing a very messy child, and Rose, who was entirely too close for his well being. He could smell her sweet strawberry shampoo. It was going to be a difficult ride.