A/N: This, my dear friends is it. The end. The finale. The final chapter. It's been a pleasure writing this for you, I really do hope you've enjoyed reading it!
Oh, Raxacoricofallapatorius beta'd this chapter for me!
I won't keep you any longer. Enjoy:o)
Oooh, and it carries on straight from the previous chapter too.
The Doctor pulled himself from Rose reluctantly.
"So then, first trip back, where do you want to go?"
"Home. I want to go home. I want to be on my Earth for a day or two." Rose said, her eyes brimmed with tears once again as she looked up at the Doctor.
He smiled. He wasn't surprised, despite living on 'Earth', he knew she'd missed it.
"Anything for you. Powell Estate today's date do you?"
A single tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank-you."
He wiped the tear from her cheek, placed a light kiss on her forehead, and moved over to the console, and fiddled around setting the date and destination.
Rose looked over to Martha. She was still stood near the door, an awkward look on her face as if she was imposing.
She walked over to her. She felt a bit awkward in doing so, but surely not as much as Martha was feeling, stood there, all left out, and well, awkward!
"So.. how did you get to travel with the Doctor then?" asked Rose, cautiously, although she wasn't sure why.
"Oh, we met in hospital. I am, or well.. was a medical student, and there was some kind of kind of blood drinking thing there.."
"A vampire you mean? I met one of those once.. don't care to do that again" Rose cut in.
"No, a Plasmavore.. drank the blood to pretend to be human." Martha was annoyed now. How could Rose think that she didn't know what a vampire was?
"Oh right, I'm sorry, so, he what after that?" Rose did seem really sorry.
"Well.." Martha carried on tentatively. She decided that she actually really didn't like Rose. She was a bit too.. well she didn't really know what she was, she just didn't like her.
Rose listened. She could feel her heart breaking. Although she was with the Doctor now, she just wished she had been there when that happened, been the one to save the Doctor's life, been the one who had helped to save the planet… again.
The Doctor had walked up behind Rose and slipped his hands around her waist and was holding her tightly. Martha stopped talking, and looked at them. Rose had turned her face to look at him as he rested his head on her shoulder. He kissed her lightly on the nose and she giggled. Martha looked on with a sense of jealousy in her stomach. She wanted that with the Doctor, to be held in his arms and loved. But she knew it would never happen, even if he hadn't got Rose back. She sighed inwardly and walked off.
"Martha? Where you off too? We're about to land on Earth." The Doctor called after her.
"I'm just getting something to give to my mum when we land." She called back, as she walked down the corridor towards her room. The truth was, she was getting her stuff.
With a loud bang, as was custom, the TARDIS landed. Rose ran to the door, throwing it open and jumping through it. She stopped just beyond the TARDIS and closed her eyes, tilted her head to the sky and breathed in deeply. She was back. Home. Earth. Her Earth. A smile crept on her face as she felt the Doctor come to stand next to her. She was home, on Earth with the man she loved so much with her, loving her back.
--
Back in the TARDIS, Martha was gathering up the last of her things. Tears began to rise, and she swallowed them down hard, determined not to cry. Not yet. She walked into the console room, bag in hand, and stopped. She moved towards the console, and reached for a pen and the Doctor's notepad. She paused, wondering what to write.
"Thank-you"
She ripped the note from the pad and stuck it to the monitor, placing her TARDIS key on the top, letting her hand linger on the console. She knew by now that the TARDIS got inside your mind and translated, and could read your thoughts. It was part of the team as much as the Doctor and her, or Rose, were.
"Thank-you." Martha said, a sob threatening to release itself from her throat. The TARDIS hummed a low sad note as Martha walked towards the door. She opened it slightly and saw the Doctor and Rose standing there, holding each other. She could go, and she wouldn't be missed or seen. It was better that way, for her to slip off unnoticed.
--
The Doctor turned to Rose. "Welcome home."
Rose opened her eyes and turned to look at the Doctor, tears in her eyes once more. "Thank-you." Her voice was quavering, and the Doctor could tell she was trying not to cry. He pulled her into his chest, his hand stroking her hair.
"I .. I bought your flat by the way" The Doctor said, a slight embarrassed tone in his voice, "It's exactly how you left it."
Rose pulled herself from his chest, tears trails down her cheeks, a look of sheer disbelief on her face. "Really? Can we go – " she stopped, the Doctor pulling keys from his pocket and holding them out in his palm for her to take. Her eyes lit up and she ran off towards the block of flats just behind her. The Doctor smiled. She was back. He still couldn't believe it. It had only been hours since they'd been reunited, yet it felt to him as though it was mere minutes, his feelings hadn't changed.
He walked back to the TARDIS, to check to see if Martha was still there and to lock it.
He opened the door, and peered in. Martha wasn't to be seen. He shouted her name and there was no sound. He walked in, his brow furrowed with thought. He walked to the console and found her note. He read it and picked up the TARDIS key, his hearts feeling slightly heavy. He'd quite liked Martha. She was nothing compared to Rose, but she was a change, and she'd saved his life at least twice. He knew it was for the best though, he didn't want to be in the situation he was in with Rose and Sarah-Jane again. 'and besides,' his mind began to wander, 'now you can have Rose to yourself again.'
--
Rose was sat up in her old flat, sat on the sofa in the main room, looking around her, memories of her mum, Mickey, even Pete when she met him on the day he died, came flooding back to her. She'd left them all behind in a flash to be with the Doctor, but she didn't count on missing them so much, so soon. The Doctor walked in, and sat down next to her. He held out her mobile phone. He'd done his jiggery pokery on it again, and she knew she'd be able to call anyone, anywhere at any time now, but not who she wanted too. Although she had wanted to be with the Doctor so bad, she knew she'd miss her mum, miss never speaking to her again.
The Doctor knew what she was thinking. "Call her."
"But how?" Rose looked up at him, "I couldn't call you when I was stuck the other side of the void, how can I call her now?"
"Just… try..."
Rose took her phone from him, and dialled her mums mobile. After a few rings she heard what she thought was the line being cut, but instead it was her mum answering the phone and then seemingly dropping it. Rose gasped as she heard Jackie's voice from the other end.
"Rose? Rose is that you?"
"Mum?" Her forehead creased up with disbelief as she looked at the Doctor and heard her mother talking to her again.
"Rose, where are you? Why are you calling me?"
She couldn't speak. There was a lump in her throat.
The Doctor took the phone from her, and raised it to his own ear.
"Jackie, it's the Doctor."
"Where's Rose? Has something happened to her?"
" No Jackie it's fine, she's just a bit… overwhelmed."
"Did you do what you said you'd do in your letter?"
"Yes, I couldn't keep you from her completely, I've left a tiny hole left for the signal to get through, so you can keep contact."
Rose looked at him, a look of sheer love on her face. He'd done that just for her. He loved he enough that he'd even sorted it so she could still speak to Jackie, despite what he thought of her.
--
Jackie was sat at the kitchen table, the letter from the Doctor in her hands, crumpled at the edges, as she had kept reading it, over and over again.
"Dear Jackie and Pete.
If I can get through the void to Rose and to you, the one thing I can almost guarantee happening is Rose coming back with me. Now, as much as I love that idea, and want that to happen, I can't help but think about the fact that she will be leaving you forever. I love her too much to see her feeling so hurt because you are so close, yet so far away from her, like I have been for so long. Because of this, I'm going to leave a small hole in the void when the TARDIS closes it. I doubt we'll ever get through again, but you can talk to her. I'll zap her phone, so she'll be able to phone you. And don't worry, I'll make her call a lot.
I'm sure this letter is surprising you a bit, not only because we found a way through the void, but because I said I loved her. Oh Jackie, that's so true. I love her so much, and I know, I know you don't like me and have your reservations, there's no point in hiding them, but I promised you once that I'd keep her safe. I promise you that again, you and Pete, and I promise, I promise that I will love her forever. You'll worry, I know you will, but please try not too. I will keep her safe, keep her loved, keep her alive for you. I promise.
The Doctor."
Suddenly, her phone began to buzz next to her, and as she looked at the screen, she saw the word 'Rose' and answered it, but as soon as she'd pressed the answer key, she dropped the phone. Cursing herself she picked it up and hurriedly raised it to her ear.
"Rose? Rose is that you?"
After a few seconds pause, she heard Rose's voice clear as crystal. "Mum?"
"Rose, where are you? Why are you calling me?"
Jackie had to fight back the tears. It was less than an hour since she'd left, and already she was calling her. She would miss her daughter so much, but she knew she didn't belong here. She didn't either, but Rose was meant for the stars. She was meant to be out there, with him, the Doctor, travelling. It was her destiny Jackie had come to realise, not long after Rose had left with the new Doctor after he'd changed his face. New Doctor, but it was the same life. Rose's life.
"Jackie, it's me the Doctor."
"Where's Rose? Has something happened to her?"
'What's happened? Oh lord did something go wrong when the vanished again? Was she ill? Where was she?'
"No Jackie it's fine, she's just a bit… overwhelmed."
"Did you do what you said you'd do in your letter?"
Jackie breathed a deep sigh of relief. She was okay. She was alive.
"Yes, I couldn't keep you from her completely, I've left a tiny hole left for the signal to get through, so you can keep contact."
"Thank-you, thank-you Doctor."
Jackie felt a tear cascade down her cheek. Maybe Rose being with him wasn't the worst thing in the world after all. He did seem to care.
--
A few days past, and Rose decided she was ready to go. The Doctor had told her about Martha leaving, and if truth be told, she wasn't too sad about it. She wanted the Doctor to keep the flat, keep it as a little hideaway for them, somewhere they could go to relax maybe. She'd spent the few days in the flat, living her life there just to remember. She hadn't gone back to the TARDIS, and the Doctor refused to let her out of his sight. After so long apart, he wasn't willing to let her go again and so soon.
"Let's go somewhere. Somewhere new." Rose said suddenly as her and the Doctor were cuddled up on the sofa one evening watching television.
The Doctor jumped at the chance. He did love snuggling down with Rose in the evening and sharing her bed with her at night, but it wasn't him no matter how much he tried. He needed to be with the stars, and he knew Rose did too. Despite being there to remember and to relax he could tell her was itching to get back to the TARDIS and pick up their lives where they left off, travelling, saving planets, exploring.
"Anything for you." He smiled.
Rose looked up at him. She was still trying to get over the fact that they were together, and together as a couple as well. She knew, she knew he loved her, before now, before they were separated until now, he'd almost told her twice. She remembered. She could hear his voice in her head "humans decay. You wither and you die. Imagine watching that happen to someone who you-- " and then that day on the beach. He'd gone, he'd vanished, before he got to tell her.
Rose looked into his eyes, deep pools of chocolate, filled to the brim with love for her. She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him. He kissed her back, slowly deepening the kiss. Their bodies entwined, the souls joined, and they were together. Together forever.
Fin
A/N: I actually can't believe this is over! It's been such a big thing writing this, and it's actually the longest thing I've ever written!
I want to thank each and every one of my reviewers. Your kind reviews mean so much to me, and have raised my confidence in my writing abilities so much, you won't even believe. Me writing this, and getting all these reviews has just been fantastic so thank-you.
I feel that the fabulous bubblez-rocks-your-socks deserves a personal thank-you. If it wasn't for her, this wouldn't have been written, because I wouldn't have even thought about writing it. I may have had the idea, but that's as far as it would go. So thank-you bubblez!
I still can't believe it's ended though! I really do hope you've enjoyed reading it, as much as I've enjoyed writing it, despite the fact it has taken me a long time. Thank-you again!
And don't worry. I have plenty of projects in the pipeline now, so you can expect another proper story quite soon I hope! And I'll keep my one shots and song fics going too!
