A/N: Sorry for the delay. I was having issues with my internet. This is it, kids! Just an epilogue to go! Thanks to everyone who's followed, favorited, and reviewed. I adore you all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or anything related. That all goes to the BBC.


~25 and 35~

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mum," Rose greeted wearily after giving the cab driver her address.

"Oh, Rose," Jackie cooed, "sweetheart, you sound exhausted. Are you just now getting in?"

She pulled her mobile away and glanced at the clock in the screen. "Yeah, yeah I am. Sarah Jane and I were on an assignment in Leadworth. Sorry, Mum, I didn't even think about the time. You weren't sleeping, were ya?

Her mother tisked. "Course not, sweetheart, I was just sitting down with a final cuppa before bed. 'Sides wouldn't matter if I was asleep. I'll always answer. I called you first, you were just returning it."

Rose smiled. It had been a little over a year since she'd returned to London and though their relationship remained strained at first, thanks to long talks and a little help from Ian, Rose and Jackie's relationship was stronger than ever. Ian sat the two women down and convinced them to air all their grievances, no matter how painful the process may be. It took several visits, but in the end, her mother had apologised profusely for the way she'd treated Rose when she learned of her pregnancy. She was frustrated and scared and instantly regretted her behaviour, but was unsure how to fix it. Rose in turn apologised for her own childish and immature behaviour, starting back to when she first ran away. It was painful, but so worth it.

"I know, Mum. Was there something in particular you needed?"

"I just wanted to know if you and Imogen were still coming over for tea tomorrow?"

"Is tomorrow Saturday?" she asked.

"Yes," Jackie answered impatiently.

Rose giggled. "Then we'll be there."

"Just making sure, sweetheart. I know how things pop up unexpectedly and I don't want you to feel like you have to spend time with your old mum when you could be out with mates or on a date, maybe."

"Trust me, Mum, there's no mates or dates, or anything else, rhyming or not."

Jackie snorted. "What about Ian?"

"What about 'im?" she responded, feeling immediately defensive.

"You two aren't foolin' anyone, Rose Marion. I don't know why you're hiding it. I know there's an age difference there that, yes, would have bothered me once upon a time, but now..." she sighed. "Well, he treats you right, sweetheart, and he loves my granddaughter to bits."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Mum, Ian and I aren't... We're not... We're just..."

"What?"

Rose groaned. "I don't know. We just are, I guess. We don't really talk about it or try to define it."

Her mother gave a long sigh. "And why not? Honestly, Rose, the man is arse over elbow for you."

With a gasp of shock, she exclaimed, "Mum!"

"Well, he is!"

"I don't know why," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Now what would make you go and say a thing like that? Hm? Rose?" Jackie questioned.

"Why would he want to be with me when he could literally be with anybody else?" Rose pinched the bridge of her nose as she went on, "I'm nothing special. I'm a single mum whose lucky if there's not some sort stain on her clothes or if she even remembers to brush her own hair in the morning."

Jackie gave a sympathetic chuckle. "Oh, sweetheart. I've seen the way he looks at ya, and I don't think a bit of that matters to him. Tell me the truth, do you love him? And not just regular love, are you in love with that man?"

Smiling, she answered, "More than anything."

"Then tell him, silly girl!"

"I'll try. That's all I can promise."

"You better. Neither of you are too old for a slap and if that's what it takes to knock some sense in to ya, I'll do it!"

Rose took a moment to pull the money she had set aside for cab fare out of her messenger bag before exiting the car and heading inside her building. "I don't doubt that, Mum, but listen, I'm home now so I'm gonna get off. Im and I will be at your place at six tomorrow, okay?"

"Alright, sweetheart, and bring Ian along," her mother added. "It's been ages since he's had my shepherd's pie and I'm sure he's missed it."

Rose grinned widely. "I'm sure he has, but let me ask him first before you count on him. He might have plans."

"You'll be busy, what other plans would he have?" Jackie teased.

"Goodbye, Mum! Love you!"

"Love you too, Rose."

Rose reveled in her mum's parting words. She had gone so long without hearing those sentiments, had gone so long thinking she would never hear them again, that she cherished each moment they now had. She'd always known, of course. No matter what happened between the two of them, there had never been any real doubt in her mind about Jackie's love for her, just as Rose always loved her mum. And now, after years of separation and not speaking, they were able to voice those sentiments. It helped when they started their weekly get togethers for tea, which had all been Ian's idea. After the mother and daughter's first rocky meeting in several years, Ian suggested they get together weekly, not to argue or bring up the past, but to get to know each other as they are now. It would also give Jackie an opportunity to build a relationship with her granddaughter. An opportunity she was not taking for granted. It warmed Rose's heart to see how much Imogen adored her gran. The little girl loved spending time with the older Tyler woman and would often spend their time together, begging Jackie to share stories of when Rose was a little girl. Between Ian and Jackie, Imogen had heard many tales of her mum's childhood adventures and mishaps.

A grin split her face as Rose thought about her little girl. True, her daughter was still incredibly shy and occasionally dealt with anxiety, but the improvement she'd made was astounding. And Rose knew exactly who had a big hand in that. Jackie wasn't exaggerating when she said that Ian loved Imogen to bits, he really did. Back when Rose was still living in Belfast and working at a restaurant, one of the fellow waitresses, Astrid, warned Rose that there would be a time where a guy would try to get to Rose romantically through Imogen. Rose had shrugged off the warning. She was raised by a single mum and knew exactly the games men would play when dating or trying to date her mum. It was old hat for Rose and since she had no intention of dating anyone while raising Imogen, she felt that it wouldn't be anything for her to worry about. Then Ian reentered her life. She knew that if Astrid were to see the situation she would probably give Rose a raised eyebrow accompanied by another warning of Ian only wanting one thing, but Rose had no worries where he was concerned. She knew in her heart how genuine Ian was in his efforts to get to know and be there for Imogen and it had nothing with wanting to simply sleep with Rose. A thought that was entirely absurd in itself.

Not that there wasn't a bit of romance in their relationship, though Rose wasn't lying when she couldn't explain what her relationship with Ian was. They held hands constantly, hugged whenever the situation called for (sometimes when it didn't), and occasionally snogged, but they never spoke about it. Never tried to define what they were. For the most part, Rose was okay with that. There was safety in denial and she worried that if they spoke out loud about what they were, it might ruin everything, and losing Ian again was the last thing she wanted.

All those thoughts slipped her mind as she entered her flat and was met with the most precious sight that she would never tire of seeing. A sight she was determined to commit to memory and hold on to for the rest of her days. It wasn't her daughter's schoolbag that had been left precariously half open next to the front door. It wasn't the half empty bowl of popcorn on the floor or the biscuit crumbs littered on her coffee table. And it most certainly wasn't the dvd menu of The Lion King playing on loop on the television. No, it was Ian Noble lying supine on her sofa with Imogen sprawled across his chest in pajamas that were incredibly close to being too small for her, both sound asleep. She smiled softly as she tiptoed closer and placed a gentle kiss on top of her head. Sensing her presence hovering over him, Ian's eyes fluttered open.

"You're home," he greeted.

"I'm home," she confirmed.

He yawned. "It's late."

Rose ran a hand through Ian's hair and tried desperately to hold back a giggle as he nuzzled her hand like a cat. "It's just after ten, old man. What happened to you not needing much sleep?"

"I wasn't sleeping. I was resting my eyes," he insisted.

She bit her lip, hiding a smile. "Whatever you say, but I'm pretty sure Im is sleeping, so let me get her into bed, yeah?" He hummed in agreement, moving his arms so Rose was able to lift her daughter off his chest. As carefully as possible, Rose carried Imogen to her bedroom and got her under the covers without waking, an achievement that Rose most certainly applauded herself on. Heading towards the kitchen to fix herself a cuppa, she saw the Ian had beat her to the punch.

"Go sit down," he told her. "I'll bring your tea to you."

"You're a gem, you are," she said, not even trying to argue. Walking back into the living area, she found that Ian had also picked up the mess he and Im had left behind and put away the dvd they had been watching. Settling herself on the sofa, she flipped on the telly and scoured for something to watch. She stopped suddenly on a news program when something, or rather someone, caught her eye.

"Oh my god," she exhaled, her breathes becoming quickly erratic. Her vision began to swim and had she been asked and able to offer a coherent response, Rose would have insisted she was having a heart attack. It wasn't until she felt Ian's hands in hers that she even realised he had entered the room and was kneeling in front of her.

"Rose?" he called out to her, cradling her hands. "Talk to me, love. Tell me what's going on."

With great effort, she responded, "I can't breathe. Ian... I can't breathe."

"You can breathe, Rose. You're doing it right now. Just focus on me and we can do it together. Yeah? You know what to do. Deep breath in, hold it for three, and release." Ian had her follow this pattern several time until both were sure she had calmed enough to explain what had happened. "What was that about?" he questioned, not unkindly.

"It's Adam," she answered, her eyes focused on the screen of the television.

"Who?"

"Adam, Imogen father. H-he was on the news. Something a-about being sent back to London, and fraud, and I don't know, I missed most of the story. Oh, god. Do you realise what this means?! He's in London. Adam is in London. What if he tries to look us up? What if, what if he wants to see Imogen? Oh my god, he'll want joint custody. I'm going to have to split time with her! She won't understand. She, she-"

Ian let go of her hands and moved to sit next to her on the sofa, drawing her into his side. "Rose, listen to me. Nothing like that is going to happen. You haven't even spoke to him since you first found out you were pregnant, and don't forget, he didn't even believe the baby was his. Did you list him on the birth certificate?" She shook her head. "There you go then. Here, let's see what's going on." He pulled out his mobile and looked up the story Rose had caught part of on the news. "Okay, says here that he's been deported to the UK from the States and is facing several several serious charges, the least of which being fraud. Apparently he was stealing company ideas, among other things, from his former employer, Van Statten Inc. He's looking at years of jail time. You have absolutely nothing to worry about."

She bit her lip. "But what if-"

Placing a finger under her chin, he turned her face toward him. "Rose, I would never let anything happen to you or Imogen."

"Yeah?" she asked, her eyes watery with tears.

"Yep!" he exclaimed popping the p. "You're stuck with me."

She gave him a tongue in teeth grin. "Stuck with you? That's not so bad." He waggled his eyebrows causing Rose to giggle. "Enough talk of Adam, how was Imogen's day?"

He nodded. "Good, good. There's a new little boy in her class and Miss Wright told me Imogen instantly befriended him."

"She did?!" Rose was shocked, her daughter was still so incredibly shy, she usually waited for kids to approach her.

"Mmhm. Sweet lad. I met him and his parents as we were leaving the school."

"Wow. Maybe I'll see about inviting him over for a play date. Thanks for picking her up today, by the way. The assignment in Leadworth took much longer than Sarah Jane and I thought it would."

"Of course. You know I love spending time with Imogen."

Rose began twisting her hands nervously as she prepared to share her next bit of news. "I got a phone call today."

Ian quirked an eyebrow. "Did you?"

"Yeah, it was, uh, it was from Mister Skinner. The manager of Linda's Coffee House. He said," she swallowed, "he said he sold one of my paintings."

"What!? Rose's that brilliant! Come here, you!" He jumped off the sofa, pulling her with him, and embraced her.

Rose hid her smile in the crook of his neck as her feet dangled just off the ground. "It was just one of their frequent customers. It's not like my paintings are in a gallery or anything," she said bashfully.

Putting her back on her feet, Ian pulled back. "But, look at you! It's a start. An amazing start."

"I love you," she blurted without thinking. Surprised and mortified with herself, she started to back away, but Ian's tight grip on her arms stopped her.

"Oh, Rose Tyler," he muttered, leaning his head against hers, before moving his lips to the shell of her ear, "I love you too."


"Alright, what did you drag me here for? You said you had something you wanted me to see?" Ian's cousin, Donna, asked when they finally made it to his private safety deposit box at the bank.

Ian rolled his eyes at her attitude, knowing that was just how she was. "I wanted to show you this," he responded pulling out a small, black velvet box from the safe.

She looked unimpressed. "A ring? You want to show me a..." she trailed off, realisation dawning. "Oh my god! Oh my god! You and Rose are getting married?!"

"Well, I haven't asked her yet," he mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"But we know she's going to say yes!"

"Actually, I don't know that." And he was telling the truth. It had been a month and a half since he and Rose had confessed their love for each other, and though they were growing more comfortable with their relationship, they still hadn't fully defined it. With unspoken agreement, they had chosen to limit the amount of affection they showed for one another in front of Imogen, and it was that reason alone Ian was unsure of what Rose's answer to his proposal would be. He knew how protective she was of her daughter, and worried that that protectiveness might get in the way of their future together. He tried desperately to show Rose how much he cared about, not only her, but Imogen as well. When he thought about his future, it wasn't just Rose he wanted in it. It was her beautiful little girl as well. A little girl who, so like her mother, had stolen his heart almost immediately.

Donna lightly hit the back of his head. "Don't be an idiot, Spaceman," she said affectionally. "If Rose doesn't say yes, I'll eat my hat collection."

Ian held the ring up to the light. "Do you think she'll like it? It was my mum's. Actually, it was her mum's first. The only reason I have it is because she'd sent it off to be cleaned and resized a few days before the fire."

"Oh, Ian."

"I thought it might be nice for Rose. What do you think? Maybe she would rather have something new. Do you think she'd rather not wear this one? I could get something different."

She laughed lightly. "I think you're asking the wrong girl those questions. For the record, I think she'll love it and I think she'll love the fact that you want her to wear you're mum's ring. But if you're that unsure, see what she thinks after you ask her."

He bounced on the balls of his feet, exhaling loudly. "It's just... It's Rose, ya know? I want everything to be perfect."

"And it will be." Donna grinned. "Now tell me, is there anything I can do to help?"

Ian's eyes lit up. "Now that you mention it..."

It wasn't an elaborate plan, but he felt like for this situation, simple would be best. He thought after everything they've been through together, Rose might appreciate that more. It had been a year of ups and downs as Rose and Imogen adjusted to living in London, and Ian adjusted to having them there. True to his word, when Rose found a flat she deemed right for herself and her daughter, Ian sat down with his financial advisor drew up a payment plan with Rose. It wasn't that important to him. He could care less about Rose paying him back, but he knew it was what she needed to feel like she wasn't excepting any so called "charity." He knew in the long run it made Rose happy and that was all that mattered to him. Rose's happiness was key, as was Imogen's. He had truly enjoyed every minute he got to spend with Imogen, getting to know her better and better. Despite her bashfulness, she was absolutely hilarious when she wanted to be. Like her mother, she loved art, though Imogen's true passion was for dance. Ian had gifted the little girl with dance lessons for her birthday and she had been over the moon. With his plans of proposing to Rose, he had his own plans for asking Imogen a very important question. It was something he'd wanted for a long time, but with the news of Adam Mitchell being in London, he felt now, more than ever, it was time to pursue his plans. He had made a promise, not only to himself, but to Rose, that he would be there for them and keep both mother and daughter safe.

With help from Donna, and surprisingly Jackie Tyler (who had been called by his cousin), Ian began putting his plan in place. It started with Jackie asking Rose if she could have Imogen for the day, citing that she was desperate for time alone with her granddaughter. When hearing that, Rose was only happy to oblige. Next, Donna called Rose and asked for a girl's day out. The twins had just gotten over terrible colds and Donna really was dying to get out of the house for a bit. The two women went out for manicures and pedicures, before enjoying a light evening meal together. Donna said it was her treat, though really she used the money Ian had given her, insisting that they spoil themselves. Once they left the restaurant, Donna shot Ian a text to let them know they were on their way, having told Rose that there was something back at her house she wanted to show her. In this moment Ian was incredibly grateful that his Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Geoffrey had decided to downgrade and give Donna and Lee their house. Pacing the backyard, he felt his heart rate accelerate when he heard Donna's car pull up and Rose's voice fill the house.

"Go on and head back there," he heard Donna call out. "I'll be out in a mo'."

His world stopped spinning and his gaze focused as Rose stepped into the backyard, clearly surprised by Ian's presence. "W-what are you doing here?"

He held out his hand. "Come here," he requested.

She frowned, but did as he said. "Ian?"

"I spent hours, days really, trying to figure out what I would say in this moment. I had grand speeches plan, but we're so much more than that, aren't we? I love you, Rose. I love you so much." Getting down on one knee, Ian asked, "Will you marry me?"

She inhaled sharply. "Really? That's what you really want? Because it's not just me. There's Imogen to consider also. We're a package deal. You ask me and you're asking her too."

"Oh, I'd love nothing more."

"Okay."

He stood up, his hope barely contained. "Really?"

"Yes!" she laughed. "Yes, of course! Yes!"

Nothing in that moment could separate them. The Earth could be consumed in a ball of fire, but all Ian would be aware of was Rose's lips on his. It wasn't until he registered the small box in his pocket that he remembered something rather important. "I think I forgot to give you something," he said, reluctantly breaking their kiss, and pulling the ring out.

Rose held out a shaky left hand, looking in intense wonder as he slipped the piece of jewelry on her finger. "Oh my god. Ian, it's beautiful."

"It was my mother's. If you'd rather get something new, that 's completely-mmfph," he was cut off by Rose's lips on his once more.

After what could have been minutes, hours, or very possibly weeks, they finally moved apart. "You know," he started, "there's still one more question I need to ask someone. Come with me." Ian took her hand and led her across the yard, and toward's the neighbour's house. The house Rose had once lived in. Ian pulled out a key and opened the front door, much to Rose's apparent confusion.

"Ian, what are we doing here and why do you have a key?"

"Did you know this house was recently up for sale?"

"No."

He smirked. "Well, it was. But not anymore."

Rose gripped his hand tightly. "Are you saying you bought my old house?"

"It was a bold move, I know," he admitted, "but I just thought, if you said yes to my proposal, it would be a nice place to raise our family. If you'd rather not though..."

"It's perfect," she whispered. "I loved it here and I never thought... Thank you."

Ian smiled before shouting, "You can come out now!"

Little feet began pounding from the back of the house before a familiar voice was heard calling out, "Mummy! Ian! Gran told me she used to live here!"

Rose and Ian both knelt down to meet Imogen in an embrace. "Did she?" Rose asked. "And tell me, what would you think about living here?"

Her eyes grew wide. "For reals?"

Clearing his throat, Ian took the tiny blonde's hands in his. "For reals. See, I bought this house for me to share with you and your mum. Would that be alright?"

Imogen glanced at her mother and instantly spotted the new pice of jewelry she was wearing. "Are you guys getting married?"

"I asked her too, if that's okay with you. We're not going to do anything you're not comfortable with."

"That would mean you'd always be with us, yeah? All the time?"

He nodded. "Yep. Though I would make sure you two still had special time together."

A huge grin broke out on her face. "Okay!"

Ian and Rose both laughed in relief, before the former pulled something out of his pocket. "There's something else I want to ask you, Im, and you can tell me no, okay? It won't hurt my feelings or change how much I love you. And the option will always be there for you to accept."

Her eyes grew wide. "What is it?"

He gulped. "I was wondering if you would allow me to adopt you and became your dad. Would that... Would that be something you'd want?"

Imogen threw her arms around his neck and practically toppled him over. "Yes! Oh, yes!"

Ian pulled away, wiping tears from his eyes (and seeing Rose doing the same). "I have this necklace for you." He showed her the charm on the end. "It's a key, so you always know, that no matter what happens, no matter how old you get, or what mistakes you may make, you always have a place with me and your mum. Okay? We love you so much."

Rose gave a watery giggle before pulling her daughter and future husband into a hug, not even aware that Jackie was in the corner of the room snapping pictures. "How long are you going to stay with us?" she asked, leaning her head on Ian's shoulder.

"Forever, Rose Tyler."


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