A/N: Oh my God it's the last chapter! D: I'd just like to take a minute to thank everyone who story alerted and commented on this- for a first story I'd say it went pretty well, and it means a lot that you took the time to read :) Hope you enjoy the last chapter!

The universe really is beautiful.

Jenny was sat in the open doorway of the Tardis' main console room, her legs dangling over the edge and amongst the stars as they drifted, peacefully, through the depths of space; she twirled the arrowhead bullet that had injured her father absent-mindedly in her small hands. The others were all in their beds and so the Tardis' lights had been lowered, meaning that the stars and galaxies spreading out in front of her seemed to shine more brightly than she had ever noticed before.

Magical.

"What're you doing up so late?" a familiar voice asked gently from behind her, and she turned to find the Doctor padding, barefoot, towards her in his Tardis blue pyjamas.

"I was scanning this," Jenny replied, guiding him into a sitting position beside her in the doorway and showing him the bullet. "Trying to find its origin."

It had been roughly a week since he had awoken from his coma but, even with his tough Time Lord DNA, the Doctor still struggled to move at times and often needed help.

"How did you figure out how to work the scanners?" he asked her curiously, glancing back towards the central column of his beloved machine.

"She's been speaking to me ever since I arrived- she told me what to do... She sings to me sometimes," Jenny replied, a small smile touching her face. "It's from the Jiphavati tribe of Naphoon apparently."

"Ah, yes, they really aren't very fond of me. I might have accidentally broken their sacred bowl of indifference last time I visited. It doesn't make sense- I told them- how can they worship something indifferently? They really weren't happy though..." The Doctor turned to Jenny as he trailed off, an eyebrow raised.

"What?" Jenny asked, squirming slightly under his gaze.

"A scan takes literally a second. What's the real reason that you're awake so late?" he asked her seriously.

"I could ask you the same question..." Jenny replied cheerily, but the Doctor held firm. He knew she was hiding something and so, knowing she wouldn't get away with it, she told him softly: "Nightmares."

"Snap," the Doctor replied, nodding slightly bitterly. Jenny looked up.

"You get nightmares too?" The Doctor nodded in response. "What're yours about?"

"Oh, just the complexity of life, the bad decisions I've made and the consequences that have therefore come to pass because of them. Faces from my past, conversations of times gone by, even things that seemed happy at the time- it all haunts me now... What about you? What're your dreams about?" the Doctor finished with another question, looking directly at Jenny again in the same moment that she looked away.

"The same, really. Except my nightmares seem to be focused on one bad decision- the worst decision I've ever made- and three faces that I'll never forget."

The Doctor saw tears begin to roll down Jenny's cheeks and it frightened him. After everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks- finding each other again, seeing him shot and even fearing he might die- the Doctor hadn't once seen Jenny cry. Therefore, whatever her nightmares consisted of, whatever she had done, it must've been either terrifying or monstrous.

"What happened?" he asked softly, unable to stop himself from reaching out to wipe a tear away from Jenny's face. She looked so young, so childlike and fragile, and it was devastating. He just wanted to give her a huge hug, to make all her pain and guilt go away, but even he didn't have that sort of power.

He'd messed up big time with this one.

Jenny sighed and took a deep breath. "Well, did you know I was married?" she asked, finally braving a glance at the Doctor. He shook his head silently, signalling her to go on. "No, of course not, I didn't tell you... But I was. And to a Human, no less."

Jenny chuckled sadly as the Doctor smiled.

"Had to get some things from me, didn't you? And it just so happened to be a love for Humans," he told her kindly, before waiting for her to go on.

"This was in a previous regeneration, of course, before I was this," she gestured to her young body. "His name was Tom. He had dark hair and blue eyes and the most beautiful soul I had ever seen, and have ever seen since. And... oh, I loved him with every fibre of my being. I felt lost before he found me. I was empty unless his hand was in mine, I missed him every time he left the room, even for just a few seconds. I couldn't sleep unless he was lying next to me..." Jenny trailed off, tears threatening to spill down her pale cheeks again.

The Doctor didn't know what to say. Seeing a, supposed, thirteen year old speaking about a love so unconditional and life altering, albeit in a slightly clichéd manner, was totally surreal. But he didn't doubt for a second that what she said was true, which somehow made the whole thing a lot worse. He had a feeling that something terrible was coming, and he felt a strange sense of guilt over the fact that, if he'd waited longer for her, he could have spared her the nightmares that now haunted her nights.

"We were married after six months, and within five years we had two kids," Jenny told him, having to stop again to compose herself.

"I'm a grandfather?" the Doctor couldn't help but ask, a small, shocked smile spreading across his face.

"The emphasis in that sentence being on the word had," Jenny replied, wiping tears from her eyes as the Doctor's face fell.

"Oh."

"I have a picture of them here..." Jenny said, taking off her top hat and pulling a photograph out of it, which she offered to the Doctor.

"You keep a photo in your hat?" he asked as she put it back on her head.

"It was Frank Sinatra's. I had it modified in fifty first century France and now it's bigger on the inside," she explained, not able to stop herself from chuckling at the Doctor's expression.

"So not only are you allowed a hat, but it's bigger on the inside? That's just not fair," the Doctor pouted slightly, turning to the photograph in his hands.

A handsome young man in his late twenties stood on a beach, a boy of around seven with dark masses of curly hair sat on his shoulders. One of the man's arms was supporting the boy, whereas the other arm was wrapped around the waist of a beautiful young woman with long locks of fiery red hair. A younger boy of about four, with sandy coloured hair, was clutching at the woman's leg, but they were all smiling in a state of complete happiness and love.

"There's Tom," Jenny pointed to her husband with nothing but an agonising adoration in her eyes that the Doctor knew only too well. "There's Hugo, and he's Max," she pointed to the older boy, then the younger one.

"Who's that?" the Doctor asked, pointing to the ginger woman.

"That was me a couple of regenerations back."

The Doctor almost choked. Not only does she have a hat that's bigger on the inside, but she's been ginger as well? Where is the justice in the world? He thought to himself, but didn't voice his opinions, knowing it wasn't the time.

"They're gone now," Jenny whispered softly, taking the photograph back, putting it in her hat and placing it back on her head.

"Gone? Gone where?" the Doctor asked, suddenly confused.

Jenny turned to him, her eyes now red from the amount of crying she had done. "Well where's the one place they could go that I, of all people, could never follow?"

"They're dead," the Doctor whispered, finally understanding.

"Yes they are," Jenny croaked, her voice finally cracking with emotion. "I was stupid enough to think that I could just settle down and not expect my history to catch up with me. I was working for Torchwood at the time- you need to go and see Jack at some point, by the way, because he's pissed with you- and there was this weird sort of religious cult thing; they were offering sacrifices up to this alien creature that had crashed on Earth as though it were a god. I didn't realise until it was too late that the reason it had crashed was because it was in such a rush to flee from a planet that I'd totally obliterated years before, and had lost control of its ship... Needless to say that they ripped my family from me and slaughtered them in revenge right before my eyes..." Jenny looked up, tears pouring freely again. "That's what my nightmares are about- I hear the screams and cries of my children as their heads were sliced from their bodies and their innocent blood cascaded to the floor. And, unlike me, they didn't come back... I see the look of disappointment and utter fear etched into my true love's face as he took his last breath. I don't think I'll ever sleep again."

They sat in silence for a very long time after that, both lost for words. The Doctor opened his mouth a few times as if he were aboutto speak, but quickly closed it again before anything stupid could come out. There were simply no words in the known universe that had a hope of consoling someone who had witnessed what Jenny had witnessed, and so he didn't try to find them. She wasn't a child- he wouldn't patronise her- so, unable to express just how sorry he was in any other way, he pulled her into a tight hug and allowed her to soak his shirt with her tears.

They didn't speak for what felt like hours. The Doctor forced himself to stay silent, convinced that Jenny would speak when she wanted to, so stuck to holding her quivering body close to his and gently rocking her backwards and forwards in a soothing rhythm.

Finally, just as the Doctor thought he couldn't take any more of Jenny's out-of-character breakdown, her tears slowed and her breathing calmed to a normal rate.

"I resented you for a very long time, you know," she stated softly once she was certain she was able to speak without her voice shaking again. "For making me what I am, for being who you are... You told me on the day I was created that I was an echo, not a real Time Lord, because real Time Lords have a shared history- a shared suffering. It's funny, at first I wanted to prove you wrong, but now... well, now I have suffered, and if that makes me a real Time Lord then... I don't want to be one," she leaned towards him at this and the Doctor saw anger, confusion, hurt and countless other emotions playing across her tear stricken face at the same time.

It was almost too much for the Doctor to take. He had totally forgotten about the conversation they'd had in that damp cell before Jenny had, rather brilliantly, broken them free. He'd forgotten and she'd remembered every word. Did what he'd said to her haunt her dreams now as well?

"I was so angry for such a long time after what happened. But it wasn't just a normal anger- it was possessive. It ate away at my soul. The littlest things would set me off and I'd literally go blind with fury; I'd wake up in the morning draped in dead bodies or torrents of blood with no recollection as to what or how any of it happened."

Jenny turned to look at the Doctor with such a burning intensity that he had to look away, out towards the stars, for fear she might physically burn him with the fire in her eyes.

"There's a monster hiding beneath my skin," she whispered, voice filled with a sudden fear. "One day I realised it wasn't your fault, of course, and tried my very best to change. But it just seemed that, no matter how hard I tried to be a good person, no matter how hard I tried to be like you, I could just never save enough people to make up for the ones I killed. Never make up for my family's deaths..."

"You shouldn't aspire to be like me, you know. I'm not a very good role model," the Doctor replied quietly, risking a glance back over at her.

"Oh, I know. I've read and heard about the things you've done- the civilisations you've murdered and all that... but you're my dad. When I saw you on Messaline, you were glorious. You didn't destroy them, you saved them! Is it so wrong that I wanted to do the same?" Jenny asked confusedly.

"No. No, it's not wrong at all. Helping people is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give," the Doctor told her as, gently, she rested her head on his shoulder.

"But I can never save all of them. I can't save the ones that matter," she replied quietly, closing her eyes in a pre-emptive strike against the tears that, once again, threatened to fall.

"Jenny, listen to me because this might possibly be the most important and grown up thing I ever say to you. No life is more important that another. I know it's hard for you to understand after everything you've been though, but please believe me when I say there are a countless number of individuals out there who're sleeping safely in their beds because of you. And that matters. No, you can't save them all, but everything has its time and everything ends. The fact that you've gone though so much and have come out of the other side still wanting to help people proves just how strong and brilliant you really are. I couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now, and I'm pretty sure your family would be too," he nodded seriously to back up his statement, taking Jenny's face in his hands so he could make sure she understood just how serious he really was.

Jenny smiled sadly through yet more tears and nodded in understanding. Even though a large part of her was dying inside due to the pain of all her unearthed, previously repressed memories, she felt her hearts soar in the knowledge that her father was proud of her.

She sighed, placing her head back on his shoulder. "We were never really meant to be happy though, were we?"

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, looking down at her on his shoulder.

"Well the majesty and breath-taking beauty of the entire universe had to come with a price, didn't it? And that price just so happened to be soul crushing loneliness," Jenny stated matter-of-factly, resolved to her plight now.

"But you don't have to be completely lonely. You have me," the Doctor smiled, taking her hand in his.

"You mean I can stay?" Jenny asked, barely daring to believe what he'd just said.

"I think it would be a huge mistake on my part to let you out of my sight to be honest. But only if you're nicer to Amy," he replied firmly.

"Well I was thinking of the easiest way to push her out into space when you found me," Jenny grinned, before growing serious again. "I don't really have a problem with her, you know? It's just... Donna was the closest thing to a mother I've ever had and, well, Amy isn't the same..."

"I know," the Doctor sighed gently. He wasn't going to push it any further- he could tell this was as understanding as Jenny was going to get, and he was grateful to her for even that.

"Thank you, though. For everything." Jenny sniffed away her remaining tears as she looked from the stars in front of her to her father.

"Don't mention it," the Doctor replied, smiling to himself properly for the first time in a very long time.


When Rory awoke light was streaming in through the closed curtains in his and Amy's bedroom. He hated those windows- they weren't even real, just holograms, and served no purpose whatsoever.

Turning onto his side and expecting to find his beautiful wife, however, he was instead met with an empty bed. It's way too early for her to be up...he thought nervously to himself as he clambered from between the sheets and wandered to the door.

Out in the corridor, he was relieved to find Amy, fully dressed, leaning against the door frame of a room further down.

"What're you doing?" he asked curiously, but was immediately shushed by his fiery other half.

"Come and have a look at this," she whispered with a grin, waving him over to her.

Intrigued, Rory joined her in the doorway and, pulling her backwards to wrap his arms around her waste, he peered over her shoulder and into the room.

"Why are you looking in the Doctor's room?" he asked a little too quickly, making Amy tut with annoyance.

"He wasn't in the console room. He's always in the console room- I was worried," she told him truthfully. "But look."

She pointed past the seemingly random, broken objects, the dirty clothes and the gadgets to, underneath at least half a dozen model aeroplanes that hung on strings from the ceiling, a large four-poster bed stood. And on that bed- both in a deep, calming slumber- the Doctor lay with Jenny wrapped tightly in his arms, pulled protectively to his chest. They both looked totally at peace for the first time since Jenny's arrival- probably longer.

"They might both act like three year olds, but I have to admit that might be the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Amy gushed quietly, squealing with delight as Jenny twitched and smiled in her sleep, snuggling closer to her father.

"He sleeps with a night light..." Rory commented, pointing to a glowing orb on the Doctor's bedside cabinet, illuminating Jenny's battered top hat and a fez sat side-by-side next to it.

"After everything he's seen, wouldn't you?" Amy asked, turning to look at Rory.

"Fair enough," he shrugged.

They stood and watched the pair for a while before they spoke again.

"I'm glad they found each other," Amy whispered, resting her head on Rory's shoulder. "Maybe she'll calm him down a bit- give him a reason to be great."

"What're the chances of that, though?" Rory replied, sighing deeply into his wife's hair. "Knowing our luck, she'll be another mentally unstable, educated idiot who thinks bow-ties are cool..."

A/N: And there we are!

I always intended on ending this story with that line, but I had no idea how the rest of it was going to turn out lol :') And I'm not ashamed to say that there were moments where I cried whilst writing this... D:

I have another (semi) interesting fact for you- the conversation between Jenny and the Doctor in the doorway of the Tardis was the initial idea I had for this story, and built all the rest around it.

But anyway! Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it :) R&R?