There's a collective intake of breath from the group, a simultaneous raising of various eyebrows.
Amy's Doctor catches himself quickly. "No, sorry!" he apologizes, shaking his head as if shaking the offer away. Rose waits for disappointment to rise within her, but it doesn't come. "Sorry, that was silly of me. Silly old Doctor. This is where you belong."
"You definitely seemed to think so," Rose smiles. "Or, you know, past-you did."
"And he was right," he replies with a sad smile of his own. "There's much more for you here. A family, a job, and," his gaze conspicuously lingers on the other Doctor, "other things."
Rose's Doctor smirks.
"And," Amy's Doctor chirps excitedly, "a TARDIS of your very own. Makes sense, too. As if either of you would ever have enough pinned down to one measly planet."
Rose's Doctor glances at Rose. She doesn't see it.
"Well . . ." he tilts his head.
"Anyway, goodbyes and things," Amy's Doctor claps his hands together. "It's been fun, gang. Well, not entirely, but it was riveting. I will now procure a hug."
Swiftly, he moves towards Rose and envelops her into a big hug. She oofs in surprise, but quickly returns the gesture.
"Oh, I feel like we barely got any time!"
The Doctor leans out of the hug. "Wouldn't be the first time, would it?"
She laughs only half-comfortably.
Amy scurries up beside him, and her Doctor steps aside to allow her a goodbye.
"It was really nice to meet you, Rose," Amy opened her arms in a friendly manner, and Rose returns the hug.
"You too, Amy." She completes the hug, then nudges her head toward Amy's Doctor, who's busy examining the ship a bit reverently. "Take care of him?"
"It's not easy," she says mock-lamentably.
"Don't I know it," she grins.
"Take care of yours," Amy reminds her, glancing up as Rose's Doctor. If he was anything like the one she knew, he'd be a handful as well.
Rose nods, still smiling. She likes Amy. She likes her a lot.
Rory emerges beside Amy, and he nods cordially at Rose.
"Bye then, Rose," he says. "Nice meeting you."
"You too, Rory. Don't let the Doctor," she gestures at Amy playfully, "corrupt this one."
He laughs, and Rose thinks she hears him mutter something that sounds an awful like too late for that.
Meanwhile, Amy's Doctor approaches Rose's Doctor. They offer each other small smiles. Amy's Doctor comes to stop in front of Rose's. They just stand there for a moment, gazing at each other. After a while, Amy's Doctor extends a hand.
Rose's Doctor looks down at the gesture, then back up at the Doctor. Both of their grins broaden, and they each instead opt to envelop each other in a hug.
"Aww, who would've thought, eh?" Amy's Doctor says once the hug has ended.
"Tell me about it," Rose's Doctor agrees. "You're brilliant, you are."
"As are you, Doctor," he replies respectfully. "And you better treat Rose Tyler well."
"Don't even act like you, of all people, would doubt that."
"Doctor!"
They both turn. Amy and Rory scuttle up to the Doctor they're less familiar with.
"Good to meet you!" Amy chirps, holding out her hand.
Again, Rose's Doctor rejects the handshake and hugs Amy, who accepts. Keeping the consistency, he then turns to hug Rory.
"You are both brilliant," he comments. "Absolutely, brilliant."
"We didn't do much," Rory shrugs. "Just ran around and listened to people."
"You'd be surprised at how many people don't even manage that," he says. "Rose and I, we're proper strangers to you, and you still—"
"Strangers!" Amy's Doctor interrupts in surprise.
"Nah, Doctor. We're proper mates now, I think," Amy proclaims.
This warrants another hug from Rose's Doctor. Rose, standing a little ways off, laughs at the display. This is the happiest goodbye she's had in a long time. Whoever had warned them of the possible explosion and allowed the time for the goodbye, she regretted she'd probably never get a chance to thank them for it.
The goodbye phase seems to end here. Amy's Doctor leads the group out of the ship with the new owner. Amy and Rory trot ahead of him to the doors of their more familiar transportation. They both turn to face the group one last time.
"Bye everyone!" Amy calls out with a wave. Rory waves meekly beside her.
Rose and her Doctor, standing side-by-side, wave back cheerfully. Amy's Doctor stands at Rose's other side, pausing for a moment.
He leans down slightly, muttering into Rose's ear just loudly enough for only her to hear.
"I know I took it back," he murmurs, "but it is up to you. If you want to come . . ."
He trails off, but Rose knows what he means. She looks up at him in surprise. He's not looking back, but he is waiting. She is his cue to leave.
A flood of memories comes rushing back to Rose. The moment she'd run off into time and space with him. The moment he'd burst into yellow and gold and a new man stood before. The moment she lost grip on a lever and let that new man fade away. The exhausting time she'd spent trying to find a way back to him.
But it hadn't been him.
She looks to her other side, where the other Doctor gazes up, smiling at Amy and Rory's face, truly fascinated by them and their presence here, however brief. They are leaving, but he could handle that. He has her.
But Rose notices the marginal clenching in his jaw, the small twitch in his upturned lips. He'd heard the other Doctor's offer, and now he is noting Rose's hesitation.
But he doesn't need to worry.
No, she isn't leaving.
Like someone had said earlier, this is Rose's Doctor.
"No, you go on," Rose tells Amy's Doctor, not bothering to lower her voice knowing full well of her Doctor's listening ear.
Amy's Doctor nods in acceptance. He lifts a hand to Rose's cheek, gazing at her as if drinking up her image for the last time. She lets him.
"Goodbye then, Rose Tyler," he says.
She smiles.
Amy's Doctor lowers her hand, and then trudges up to his ship, where Amy and Rory wait partially inside the entrance.
"Goodbye, both of you!" Amy's Doctor lifts a hand high into the air and sweeps it back and forth dramatically. He wants to add more than that, a final parting statement, but he doesn't think of something he deems good enough to act as their parting words. He eventually gives up, offering them one last smile, and then pulls the door of the TARDIS closed.
Amy, Rory, and the other Doctor disappear. Rose finds herself clutching at the Doctor's arm as the engine grinding starts up. The blue box's image fades and flares, fades and flares, and then fades permanently, the last echoes of the engine sound drifting into a silence.
Rose releases a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Well, that was . . . eventful," the Doctor comments.
"Yeah," she chortles, a little breathless.
"You didn't go with him," the Doctor notes. "He offered."
"Why would I?" she asks, holding his arm tighter and looking up at him. She looks back, and they both grin broadly at each.
"We . . ." he trails off.
"We have a TARDIS!" she shrieks, hopping a little on the balls of her feet. "Well, I mean . . . you have a TARDIS. I don't. You don't have to . . . I don't even know if you want me to . . . it's not really fair of me to assume that—"
"Rose," he cuts her off gently, "don't be ridiculous."
She squeals excitedly, performing that hopping things again, and the Doctor's grin, somehow, widens at her enthusiasm.
"Okay, okay," Rose attempts to collect herself, "mum should be properly worried at this point. We should go home, tell them we're okay before she blows up or something."
"Rose," the Doctor says, "you know the really great thing about time machines?"
Rose throws her head back in laughter. Of course. She could be back in six seconds if she wanted to.
"Well, come on then!" she urges, sliding one of her hands into his and pulling him towards their new ship. The Doctor follows her lead, disappearing into the ship and kicking the door closed behind them, the universe seeming to have opened up before him.
End of Part 1
God bless you for keeping up with my flaky updating. I hope you've enjoyed part one. I think I mentioned earlier that I plan to make it a three-part shindig, so I hope you keep following this tale.