The moment you've all been waiting for. Or dreading. Either way, there's only one more chapter after this. Enjoy!

Chapter Seven "Home"

"Dive in and swim away from your loneliness and miserable days. And when you wake up on your own, look around you 'cause you're not alone. Let your hopes go, and they'll survive 'cause this is the future, and you are alive. You're headed home."~Owl City

The Doctor didn't have time to wonder what was going on when the TARDIS suddenly began moving even faster than before. Faster than it should. Rose was unconscious on the floor, there were strange words in the void, and now they were being sucked through to another universe much, much too quickly. At this rate, they were going to crash very hard.

To top it all off, the Doctor was still thinking about going home without Rose. Not that he would live long enough to see that happen at this rate, but for some reason, the thought just wouldn't go away. There was a part of him that wanted to shout, "It's not fair!" Shouldn't there be another version of Rose just as there was another version of himself? If only small changes occurred from universe to universe, then why was Rose not there? She wasn't a small change. She meant everything to him, even though he still wasn't sure why. She had mentioned things they had faced together, and he got the feeling she had barely scratched the surface. Rose wasn't just a little deviation in a parallel world. Rose wasn't just another human.

It didn't matter now. Or shouldn't because things were about to get very ugly, and Rose might not even live to see her own world again. Even if the Doctor could manage to land safely, she might be too far lost to the algae to come back from it. Maybe that wasn't death, but it was about the closest you could come without actually physically dying. She would lose herself, her memories, everything that made her Rose Tyler. And she would become a host to a sentient form of green scum. It was difficult for the Doctor to sympathise with the terrified bacteria at this point. If it took Rose from him...

From him? How could it take Rose from him? She wasn't his.

Trying to focus on surviving a descent into an unfamiliar world, the Doctor began engaging every breaking mechanism he could find. Nothing seemed to slow the TARDIS, however. Whatever this Bad Wolf was, it wasn't letting go.

What did Rose mean by saying it was her? How could she be the words in the void? At that thought, the Doctor remembered her telling him about looking into the heart of the TARDIS and absorbing the energy of the Time Vortex. Even he didn't know what that could do. Maybe she had done something then that had ripple effects throughout all of creation.

It was a nice theory anyway, but largely irrelevant at the moment since the Doctor was fairly certain they were both going to die in a fiery crash. He had done all he could to slow down their landing, but nothing helped, and now they were free falling.

The Doctor stepped away from the console, steadying himself on the railing. "I can't stop it," he said out loud, even though he knew Rose couldn't hear him.

Then, as if struck by lightning, the Doctor jumped forward and grabbed the console. "Of course!" he exclaimed.

It might not work. There probably wasn't time now. But he had to try. So, he sent a message as fast as he could, knowing the other Doctor would receive it on his psychic paper wherever and whenever he was. It was such a long shot, but it just might work.

The Doctor lost his footing as the TARDIS suddenly stopped moving. They hadn't crashed. Reading the scanners, the Doctor saw that they had been caught in a gravitational beam. The other Doctor had come to their rescue after all.

With equal parts excitement and dread, the Doctor went over to Rose to try to wake her, but no matter what he did, she wouldn't even stir.

"Come on, Rose," the Doctor said. "Not when you're so close."

By this time, the TARDIS had been brought down to the planet, and the Doctor realised that he was going to have to face the other one. But he had one thing to do first. Lifting Rose in his arms, the Doctor headed for the door. He took a deep breath before stepping outside to find that they were parked on a deserted beach. A short distance away was another TARDIS, and the man exiting it looked nothing like how the Doctor would have imagined himself. But he didn't have time to worry about that. Though he knew the other Doctor was running toward them, he had to get Rose in the water. It was the only way he could think to save her from the algae if it were still possible. He wasn't sure why the other Doctor had chosen to land them on a beach, but at the moment, he was only thankful for it.

All the jostling around and even the shock of cold water did nothing to waken Rose. The Doctor held her head above the surf as he watched to see what the algae would do. At first, nothing seemed to change. Then after a moment, as if it were getting used to the water, the algae began to fall off her skin and be carried away on the waves.

There was nothing but joy as the Doctor watched Rose open her eyes and blink in the sunlight. She moaned softly, and then seemed to discover where she was.

"Why am I all wet?" she said.

"You're home, Rose," the Doctor said.

And it was all he needed to say. Rose leapt out of his arms, standing in the knee-deep foam looking all around her. She stopped when she saw the tall figure standing at the tide line. There was no hesitation, no looking back. Rose ran as best she could through the water, ran back to her Doctor.

It was then the Doctor knew, really knew, that everything he felt for her was just that, a feeling. That it would fade over time, and all that would remain was the stinging memory of giving someone everything they wanted at the expense of everything he wanted. It was right that Rose should be here with the Doctor she knew. That didn't make it easier, but it was true.

He wasn't losing her. She had never existed.

~oOo~

Freezing and wet, tired and hungry, Rose ran as fast as she could in soaked jeans and knee-deep surf. She had felt the algae leaving, sensed thoughts of "goodbye." It left a lingering sadness, but she was quickly forgetting about it.

There was the little matter of being soaked to the skin, but that didn't stop Rose from nearly knocking the Doctor to the ground with her hug. He stumbled back a bit, then wrapped his arms around her and spun around once.

She was home. Really home. This wasn't just another dream tormenting her over and over again. She was here in her Doctor's arms, and everything was going to be okay.

Rose didn't want to let go, but she had to. She had to explain so many things. The Doctor looked at her in shock and disbelief and something else that might have been every possible emotion at once.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. His voice was coated with confusion and concern. There was something in his eyes that showed the conflicting happiness at seeing her again, but the fear of what must have happened to bring her back. Rose didn't want to, but she had to tell him the truth.

"I'm sorry," she began. "I... I couldn't save him." The memory of that day brought tears to Rose's eyes. "I tried to do what you said, but, but he's dead. I'm sorry."

The Doctor put his hands on her face, stringy wet hair sticking to his fingers. "Don't," he said. "It's not your fault."

"I asked him to come. We were under attack. I thought he could help. I thought..." Rose stifled a sob. "I thought it would be like always. That we'd make it out alive just barely."

"Rose." The way he said her name made everything else seem irrelevant.

"Doctor," she replied, smiling now.

"How did you get here?"

"He told me to find you. I thought it was impossible, but..."

"And that's another thing." The Doctor looked over at the other version of himself who had also come out of the water and was standing a bit away from them. "Why don't I remember this?"

The other Doctor replied, "Because I'm not you."

Rose shrugged. "Parallel world, parallel Doctor."

"But I thought..." The Doctor trailed off.

"That you were the only one?" the other said.

"No." The Doctor shook his head. "I thought that I was dead in that world because there was no Rose."

The weight of those words caused everyone to fall into silence. The three of them stood there on the beach for what seemed like a very long time before the other Doctor broke the silence.

"Well, I guess it could be worse," he said, regarding his other self. "At least now I know what to expect."

"How did you find Rose?"

"I didn't. Just ran into her one evening, and she asked for a lift to a parallel universe. Talk about a strange first date."

"Did you really?" The Doctor looked at Rose.

"Well, sort of. I think I explained it better than that."

"I could never say no to you back then."

"So I guess the universes aren't so different?"

"Except that you're not there," the other Doctor said.

"And that's huge," the Doctor said.

Finally Rose began to feel what her actions might do. She had managed to get home, but in order to be with one Doctor, she was leaving another behind in a world where her absence might change his life completely. It already had in some ways.

"What about the others?" Rose asked. "Jack and Martha and Donna and everyone? They all exist. I checked. He might still meet them."

"You probably shouldn't be telling," the Doctor said. "I always met people in unexpected ways. To know what was might happen would have changed things."

"She's already given away too much," the other Doctor said.

"In that case," the Doctor said with a serious expression, "if you do meet someone named Donna, look after her. Everyone else will probably be fine if they never meet you, but take care of Donna."

The other Doctor nodded. He couldn't know what that would mean, but Rose hoped, for his sake, that he would meet Donna. She had a feeling they might get along quite well. Or kill each other, but that was always a concern.

"I should go," the other Doctor said, and turned to head back to his TARDIS.

"Wait." Rose followed him and gave him a wet hug. He was soaked too, so it didn't matter much. "Can you do one last thing for me."

"Anything."

"Just let my mum know I made it, and everything's okay. And take care of yourself. Remember how beautiful the universe is."

"I will." He smiled, probably more for Rose's benefit. "I'm glad to have met you, Rose Tyler."

He left her standing there on the beach and returned to the TARDIS. It was only a few seconds before he was gone completely, and Rose realised that she would never see him again. She wouldn't cry though. She was home, and that was all that mattered. He would be all right. She was certain of it.