Once everything was said and done, and they were getting ready to leave for Earth Prime, or home to them, Rose simply looked around as the police and military personnel left the area and Harold took her hand in his. Hazel eyes gazed at him, no longer mad, but she had been hoping to avoid this; she hated saying "goodbye" to people anymore, she'd had enough to last a lifetime.
As he spoke to her, she felt her eyes watering as she gazed at the floor, afraid to meet his eyes. They had gotten close during her time here, not as close as Harold would have probably liked, but close enough; Rose had kept pushing back, refusing to let their relationship pass beyond friendship and business. Guilt washed over as she remembered Mickey, who had stayed with her until…He was presumed dead now, though no body had ever been found. What had that evil Time Lord done to him?
Harold squeezing her hand gently snapped her out of her guilt trip and she glanced up at him, taking his other hand with hers, not really caring what The Doctor thought at that moment in time. "I'm going to miss you too, Harold. I…You…" she faltered as she glanced down and then back up to him.
"Don't blame yourself for their deaths. It wasn't your fault, it was mine and we all know that. Because of me, they died. He used them and when I refused, thinking he was bluffing…" she discontinued what she was saying, refusing to go on.
"You have been there for me through so much, kept me from totally losing myself and going insane. Without you, I probably would never have made it this far. I probably never would have survived to see The Doctor again." Rose gave a small smile and moved a hand to brush Harold's cheek. "Thank you, my friend."
Leaning forward, Rose gave him a soft kiss on his cheek and then leaned back once more. "I'll try to come back and visit you. Trust me, I shall try. Travel between universes is supposed to be impossible, but I've done it more than once, so it's only improbable." Her soft smile turned into that famous Rose grin, "I'll be back."
He wondered as he stood there and said his goodbyes what might've happened between them if the Doctor had never shown up. Perhaps they would've wound up together, perhaps not. It was something he'd desired for a while, but had never acted on it, not wishing to seem like he was preying upon her while her defenses were down from grief. The Master was not that kind of man. He'd try to stop thinking of what possibly could have been, as there was no way in hell it was happening now.
He looked down into her eyes as she finally looked up at him, still feeling guilty about the deaths, but not saying anything further on it. He gave her a faint smile, forced, keeping all of the current intense emotions bottled up inside. He had to hold it together; he would not allow her last image of him to be him in tears.
He sighed softly as her hand brushed his cheek, biting down on his lip as she kissed him. "You're welcome." Her words left him slightly skeptical; why would she want to come back to this place of pain and misery? "Alright then. I'll be waiting for you."
He forced a full smile, mingled with plenty of sadness, glancing up as the Doctor came over and held out his hand. Harold reached forward and shook it, giving the other a nod. "Doctor. Thank you for everything." He would've said more, but the words wouldn't come. Too much, too many thoughts, and of course that damned drumming assaulted his mind.
The Doctor shook his hand, then pulled back, placing his hand on Rose's shoulder. "No need to thank me. It was all of us. Well...guess we'd better be off then, yeah?" he said to Rose, giving her a slight smile, then looking to Harold, giving him a salute. "Cheers, President Saxon. Take care of this world, it needs as much as it can get," he said, walking backwards, then heading into the TARDIS, starting to get it ready to go. He'd had a brief moment to speak to Harold, and though few words had been said, he hoped what had been said would stay with him.
She released Harold's hands as The Doctor placed his hand on her shoulder, her smile faltering but not fading from her face; although the sadness could be vaguely seen there too. She felt his hand slip away as he backed up and then went into the TARDIS. Slowly, Rose did the same, going backwards and then turning away and walking in as well.
Just outside of it, she rested a hand on the outside and turned her head to give Harold one last final look, her smile faded due to the sadness of leaving a friend behind. "Take care, Harold." Finally, she took her hand off of the TARDIS and placed it to her head in a salute, "see you around, Mister President." With those words she allowed her hand back to her side, smiled, turned and went inside, closing the doors, albeit reluctantly, behind her.
Leaning against the doors, she closed her eyes, a deep sad sigh escaping her lips; she was leaving people she cared about behind again, but, as she told The Doctor years before, she made her decision a long time ago.
Opening her eyes, she stepped away from the doors and towards the center console, the smile returning to her face once again as she came up beside The Doctor. Though, she was hesitant about this particular TARDIS, she knew that they were just using it to get home. After that? Well, she didn't know, nor did she really care.
"So, home we go!" She spoke, happiness filling her voice and face as she leaned against the console. "You have got to tell me. What has happened since I've been gone? I want to know everything! Who. What. Where. Absolutely everything!" Her eyes sparkled as she began to move around the console, helping him if needed.
Harold nodded, smiling at the salute, watching them go into the TARDIS. He'd remain until the TARDIS was gone, in case something went wrong.
The Doctor had set the controls to 2008 Earth Prime, London, the exact date it had been when he'd left. He triple checked it, knowing that sometimes, well, things went a bit wonky and he wound up in places he didn't expect to wind up in. It was imperative this time they ended up back in London, however. He suspected he was going to get an earful from Donna when they returned.
Looking up as Rose entered, he gave her a smile. It was almost as if nothing had ever changed. The interior of this TARDIS was so similar to his own, why, they might as well be in deep space, ready to hit the random button and head off to another time and place. The thought of that brought a wide grin to his face, the solemness that had hung around him most of the time since his arrival on Pete's World, finally fading away, his old enthusiasm back.
"Oh, there's so much to tell, Rose Tyler, so much. Made a new friend. Couple, actually. Lots of adventures...but those stories can wait, because now," he said, quadruple checking everything, "we need to get ourselves home. Here we go, allons-y!" he declared, hitting the button, the TARDIS trembling for a moment, then dematerializing, the familiar whooshing sound filling the air. Grinning wildly at Rose, the Doctor monitored the screen, watching their progress.
"It's working, Rose, it's working!" he declared, the TARDIS continuing on for a few moments before finally settling down. This should be the right destination, and there was only one way to find that out.
Moving away from the console, the Doctor quickly went to the door, rubbing his hands then pushing the door open, looking outside. London, 2008ish. No zeppelins.
"Rose," he said, beckoning her close. "Look. We're home."