The Lord and His Lady

Reunion

After the rift closed, the Doctor sank to the ground and just let go. If only Pete could have grabbed her! If she were in the other world, if he could just know that she still existed out there, somewhere, he could have held on. But losing her like that, seeing her pulled away, sent to a place he called hell, it was enough to make anyone crack.

So it was with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks that he looked up when he heard her call for him.

"Doctor!" she cried, running over to him, "Doctor!"

He stood up, just in time to catch her as she ran into his arms and hugged him for all she was worth.

"Rose! How-, you-, this-, this isn't possible!" he grabbed her shoulders, as if to be sure she was real, "Nothing can exist in the void! That's why the Daleks needed a void ship, why the Cybermen went to all the trouble of imprinting themselves on our world before they could come through, this is impossible! The moment you entered the void, you should have ceased to exist! So how-"

"Doctor," she cut him off, "it's really me!" She grabbed his hand and held it to her chest, over her heart. First heart, now, I guess, she thought to herself. "I'm really alive!"

"But, how?" was all he could ask, for once in his long life helpless, unknowing.

"Long story short, the Void's alive."

"What?"

"The Void is alive," she said, "it's alive, and apparently because of me. Some of the void-stuff that was on me stayed where we went, when we went, and when I was pulled into the Void, it went with me."

His face lit up as he came to some realization. She really loved her Doctor – hardly into her explanation and he already understood. And now, if she wasn't mistaken, he was going to explain it to her instead.

"Of course!", he shouted, "Even nothing is something, otherwise there wouldn't be any void-stuff! But only nothing exists in the void – or is it the Void now – so there's no time, and therefore no change! And a sentient entity doesn't just pop out of nothing, it needs something to change first, so there needs to be time, but there isn't any time in the void! So it had to hitch a ride on something that passed through and then pull that thing back in, but the void couldn't do that by itself because it isn't alive, except now it is! So now it's alive, of course it's able to put you right back where you came from! It's BRILLIANT! But," he finally paused, and Rose couldn't help but smile at seeing him back to his old self, "but, how do you know it's alive?"

"It talked to me."

"Really now, you spoke to the Void?"

"Yup! It just wanted to ask a couple questions." She was really grinning now.

"What kind of questions?"

Honestly, she loved the way he spoke, the way he moved, drawing out some words as he tilted his head, or bent over sideways, or gestured, or all three like right now.

"Just two. First thing was which world did I want to put be in. 'Cause I came from this one, but all my family's in the other. But I already said I wanted to stay here with you."

"What was the other one?"

"That one needs some explanation. You see, you're right. When you go into the Void you cease to exist. And you can't just-, just 'pop' back into existence. The Void's still in my body. All through me. Nothing's the only thing holding me together right now."

The Doctor's smile faded at this, but before he could say anything she went on.

"It's not so bad as it sounds! Every breath of air puts a little more of the world in me, and pushes a little more of the Void out. It won't be permanent. In fact, it'll be alot quicker than it could be."

She squeezed his hand, still over her heart, still needing proof she was really there.

"What I'm leading up to here is that the Void had to put me back together. Literally. And, well, Mum's in another world now. So's Micky. I don't have a life on this Earth to return to. The only reason I came back, was to be with you," she paused before plunging on, "And because of that, the Void didn't see any reason to put me back together human. But it asked me to be sure. And I said yes."

She took his hand now, still over her heart, and guided it down to her right side, just over her SECOND heart. The Doctor's eyes widened as he felt the second heartbeat, but Rose wasn't quite done.

"In a few minutes, the Void will pull out of my body, and that will trigger a regeneration. I'll live, and I'll be void-stuff free afterwards. It even agreed to guide the regeneration so my face doesn't change too much while I'm still gettin' used to all this. But, right now, the Void's still holding me together. I could be human, if that's what you want."

She bit her lip as she waited for his reply. He seemed almost in shock, his other hand coming up to feel her first heartbeat. Two hearts, undeniably beating, within the body of girl he knew, knew, to be human. But then he grabbed her shoulders again and said,

"If it's what I want? What I want? What does what I want have to do with it? What do you want? Is this what you want, Rose?"

And then she smiled up at him.

"Doctor," she said, "I just told you the only reason I came back was to be with you. You're the only reason I exist here. And I want to be with you for as long as I possibly can! If I stay human, the Void will have to hold me together for years! Hurtling through space and time, what if it messes up? It said so itself, holding me together could be more difficult than anything else! And even if it doesn't, even if I survive 'til there's no void-stuff left in me, a human lifespan isn't enough. I want more! But do you?"

"Do I want more?" he asked, incredulous, "Of course I want more, Rose! I want you! I want you, for the rest of time! Rose Tyler, I love you!"

Her jaw dropped open and she stared at him in shock.

"Too much?" he asked, taking a hand off her shoulder to pinch a forefinger and thumb together.

She snapped out of it, closing her mouth and giving him a glare.

"What?" he asked, holding up both hands in surrender.

"No fair!" she said as she punched him in the arm, "I wanted to say it first!"

After picking his jaw up off the floor, he laughed. A good, long, true, laugh, and she joined in, and they didn't stop until her face suffused with light.