It took a few hours for the zeppelin to arrive after the Time Lord and DoctorDonna had left. Rose cried for nearly an hour in the Doctor's arms, mourning the life she could never have back. The echo of the TARDIS engines lasted for several minutes, scaring away the birds and leaving the Bay eerily quiet while Rose's sobs rocked her entire body. The Doctor knew it was nothing against him that she was crying, and took it as a good sign that she had chosen his arms as her safe place to cry. The three of them sat in silence until the roar of Pete's zeppelin could be heard in the distance.
Rose was the first to get on the zeppelin and take her seat toward the middle, one seat away from the window. Her face was still blotchy and her eyes were red and swollen. It pulled at the Doctor's heart that she was still able to look up at him and smile. She patted the seat next to her and he sat down. Rose took his hand, and he noticed she was shaking.
"I'm glad you're here." Those were the first words she had spoken in hours, and her voice cracked a little. She cleared her throat and continued. "I really am. I'm sorry about earlier, it's just that there's been a lot happen today and it was a lot to take in, just to have him leave like that." She looked sideways at him and smiled. "But now you're here, and that makes it a lot better." She paused, stroking his hand with her thumb. "Doctor."
Without another word, Rose climbed into his lap and put her left hand on his chest. She could feel his single heart beating under her hand, its rhythm picking up at her touch. Her right hand snaked behind his head and she began stroking his thick black hair. She leaned against the window, cool on her back, and the repetitive motion of her hand, combined with the soft texture of the Doctor's thick hair, soothed her to sleep. Her face nestled in the crook of his neck. The Doctor stroked the side of her face, smiling.
"She all right?" Jackie sat next to this new Doctor on their zeppelin, handing him a cup of tea.
"Yeah, she's had a long day. Can't blame her for going to sleep – it's a long way from here back to London. Thanks," he finished, taking the tea from her.
"Didn't know if you liked tea or not, but I figured since it helped you when you regenerated that you'd still drink it." Jackie smiled at him and looked at the floor. "You know, I hated you for a long time."
"Jackie, you don't have to –"
"But I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate everything you've done for Rose," she interrupted. "She was mad about you when you left, crying for months before she was able to get herself together and meet up with Torchwood to find a way back to you. You were all she could talk about. She loves you, you know," she continued before the Doctor could interject. "And now that you're back, for good, I know she'll finally be happy. And I want you to know that I love you too, for making Rose so happy and giving her what the other Doctor couldn't." She looked at him again, tears shining in her eyes.
The Doctor gazed down at Rose, who was smiling in her sleep. He took a sip of his tea, appreciating its healing warmth, and smiled back at Jackie. "I'm still amazed at everything that happened today, but I hope you know I love your daughter more than life itself and I aim to spend the rest of my life proving it to her." Jackie patted him on his shoulder, kissed his cheek and went back up front to be with Pete and Tony.
He ran his fingers through Rose's hair and paused to take it all in. All these new sensations were so different – his sense of touch, his memory, even the way the tea Jackie gave him left a sweet taste in his mouth, none of it was as painfully sharp as it was when he was a full-fledged Time Lord, and he was able to appreciate it without being overwhelmed by it. He was so grateful that Jackie had eased everyone's transition when it came to accepting him as the Doctor, and not just some inferior clone.
Jackie Tyler, the rock of the family, he mused.
It was so strange to the Doctor to just sit there, letting time pass on its own. His Time Lord sense of time had retained, but it didn't cause him to become restless while sitting still. Every second ticked by equally slowly, but finally he was able to enjoy them without the urgency he had experienced as a Time Lord to keep moving. Now he took it slow, relishing in the way Rose nuzzled closer to him each time the zeppelin shook, and how the condensation built up on the window each time they passed through a cloud. Small things that his Time Lord counterpart would probably miss, but he never would. Not anymore.
He kissed the top of Rose's head and held her close. "I love you," he whispered into her hair, smiling as he realized just how lucky he was to be here with her.
