Hey guys! First of all I just want to say thank you for sticking with this story. It's far from over yet i promise you, so please don't stop watching for updates. I apologize if this is a little bit...anticlimactic but I just had my first day of year 11 today so I kinda wanted this chapter out of the way by tonight. I'm not happy with it, I never am, but I hope this doesn't disappoint all of you who have been long awaiting this chapter, thanks bros :)
When Rose woke up in bed the Doctor was already gone and the room was still dark. Of course it was dark outside but the TARDIS provided artificial sunlight so that Rose would know when to get up. She checked the clock to see that it was only five thirty, so she slipped out of bed and padded down the hall to find the Doctor.
She found him in the kitchen but he didn't seem to see her come in until she was by his side. His face was in his hands as he sat at the table, untouched toast sitting on his plate. She managed to pry his hands off his face, only to see that there were tear streaks running down his cheeks. She gently wiped them away and gave him a weak smile.
He closed his eyes at her touch and instantly drew her in closer to him. She placed a soft kiss on his forehead and murmured words of comfort into his ear.
When he finally raised his head properly he failed to hide the devastated expression on his face. "What's wrong?" Rose asked him gently.
"What's wrong?" he asked incredulously, his voice hoarse. He was about to reply with his usual rant about the woman he loves being torn from him and the universe dying when he just felt like her couldn't do it to her anymore. It was hard for her too right? By constantly sulking about the possibilities, he was ignoring the fact that she might have other feelings on the subject, or maybe she just didn't want to talk about it? "I love you" he whispered, ducking his head slightly.
Rose smiled "I love you too".
"Are you ready to go and visit your mother?" he sniffed.
Rose took a deep breath "We can't hold off any longer" she shook her she and smiled "Mothers aye?"
He managed a small smile "You know we could run away, same as on the game station. We could run and no one would ever have to die or be separated".
Rose shook her head, a proud smile on her face and she cupped his cheek "But I know you wouldn't do that...and neither would I".
"Then you better kiss me then" he smirked "You know, just in case".
She raised an eyebrow at him "You know you don't even have to ask, right?"
He snaked his arms slowly around her waist "Yeah but it's polite to ask. I don't want to just surprise attack you or something".
Rose giggled "Surprise attack?!" she snorted "You are a very silly timelord".
"And you are a very attractive pink and yellow human" he countered.
"But you still love me".
"And you still love me".
He leant down and captured her lips with his before she could respond again. She delighted in the feeling of knowing that he started it. Usually it took her to initiate anything like that between them because, aside from his very humanlike traits, he was still an alien and didn't have a clue about human relationships in that respect.
She broke apart from him and pulled him from the room. When they reached the console room the giddiness Rose was feeling from their kiss disappeared altogether and she was faced with the reality of what was going to happen. 'Alright' she told herself 'Everything will be fine just don't do what you did last time. But what did I do last time?!' she yelled in her head 'Apart from the lever everything went alright. Better not let the Doctor send me to the parallel universe though, probably die in an instant being separated from the TARDIS like that'.
The Doctor watched Rose frown and mumble as he put in the co-ordinates. The sight made a faintly amused look appear on his face every time he glanced up at her, but he knew despite the adorable frustration of his companion, this was not an amusing situation. She was determined, that was clear, but would that be enough when the time came to either fail or succeed? He wanted to pull her away from it all so that she was safe. To face the battle alone like he had so many other times. He needed a hand to hold, but would it be worth it when they failed? 'When we fail' he thought to himself 'Blimmey Doctor when did you become so pessimistic? You've faced much of what the universe has to offer and now that your life is completely in someone else's hands you can't even muster the motivation and the optimism to hope, but hope for what? A life with Rose? But for how long?'
The Doctor was forced from his thoughts as he absentmindedly pulled the last lever and the TARDIS lurched, pushing him to the floor where he lay on his back beside Rose.
"You'd think you'd have got like a mat or something by now" Rose laughed and the Doctor smiled. She was trying to lighten the mood, and who was he to blame her? He wasn't the one stuck with a morbid timelord.
"Well I do apologize, Miss Tyler" he leapt up and offered her a hand up off the floor.
"Thank you Sir Doctor" she said cheekily as she stood up.
"Of course" he grinned "Shall we, Dame Rose?" he offered her his arm.
Rose took a deep breath "We shall, Sir Doctor" she linked her arm through his and gave him another quick kiss on the lips before exiting.
They made their way up to Jackie's flat pretty quickly and Rose was automatically engulfed in a bone-crushing hug. The Doctor tried to sneak past but Jackie grabbed him too and kissed him right on the mouth. The Doctor had the sudden wild thought that she might realise Rose had just been kissing those very same lips. He didn't want to get another famous Jackie Tyler slap.
Jackie told Rose excitedly about her Grandad Prentice coming to visit and she felt her heart break for the woman. Of course she wanted that to be true. She was only thinking what she wanted to think. "Mum grandad Prentice passed away years ago" Rose spoke to her softly.
'Rose I have to draw you in for a moment'.
'But why?'
'Because the glitches are getting worse and I'm trying to control them'.
Rose let herself be sucked away again, waking up on the couch like she usually did. "I don't get it, why are they getting worse?"
Jack didn't look up at her from his position but continued the fiddle with knobs and buttons "Everything you've changed is backing up against the end of the timeline that is currently being rewritten. The machine is fighting it all because that's not what happened the first time. You never saved Eva; you never had a relationship with the Doctor. These are all major things it's trying to make room for".
"So it will work yeah? I'll still be able to save us both?"
"As far as I can tell you'll be able to do just that, but that doesn't mean either of us can just kick off our shoes and relax. You have to ensure that you don't change too much before you have to open the bridge".
"Wait so I can't save people?"
"It depends on who it is but basically you can't do anything unless I tell you it's alright with the machine. Not going to the parallel world will be a big enough problem, so please don't change anything without asking me first".
"Ok so I can't change anything" Rose nodded "So what's the point of me being conscious for most of this then?"
"You can change some things just not major things. If I could put you out completely for this then I probably would".
"Alright so I'll just try not to do anything that causes a significant change to events".
"That's my girl" he turned and winked at her causing her lips to involuntarily twitch upwards.
"How long have I got here anyway?"
"Oh not long, about a minute left now. When you wake up your mother will be talking to you in the TARDIS".
"Right, thanks".
"Have fun out there kid" he grinned at her.
She smiled and rolled her eyes "Yeah loads".
As Jack faded from her vision her mother's voice filled her ears and she flinched for a moment at how loud she was being. Her voice got softer though, as she spoke and Rose adjusted to being back in the real world.
"What happens when I'm gone Rose? When I'm dead and buried? You'll have no reason to come back".
Her words cut into Rose like a knife through her heart. She wouldn't be dead and buried if they succeeded. She would have a new life with the man she loves and they would have a son. Rose would have no reason to come back to Earth if she didn't want to, but she did, she wanted to come back and see the place, watch history continue and the technology improve.
"Mum..." she croaked "I'm not...oh I could never explain it to you. I love him mum, and he loves me".
Jackie's eyebrow shot up "My daughter in love with an alien? I can't say I'm surprised" she sighed "But how does that work, he doesn't age and he doesn't die like we do. You'll become an old woman and he'll still be all spikey-haired and goofy, whatever he'll look like by then".
Rose had to bite her lip to hide her smile at her mums words "Mum that's another thing I haven't told you..." she paused "I won't be an, an old woman because I won't age like that".
Jackie's eyes went wide with fear and disgust "What happened to you? Is that what happens when you shag an alien?"
Rose snorted "Mum no it's fine, he's fine. Besides I haven't shagged him" she frowned "Who do you think I am?"
"My daughter" Jackie looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"No I haven't, mum, so stop looking at me like that. Anyway there was this thing that happened, all complicated but basically the Doctor doesn't know so we can't tell him, but I'm probably gonna live as long as he does".
Jackie's eyebrow went, if possible, even higher "A secret like that Rose? He knows".
"What? No he doesn't!"
"Yes he does" Jackie nodded her head "Somewhere deep down inside him he knows. Even if he is a git he would definitely have discovered something like that".
"Mum, I just told you that I could live for thousands of years and you're talking about what the Doctor knows, why aren't you even reacting?"
"Because nothing surprises me anymore" Jackie shrugged "You were going to spend your whole life with him anyway, you may as well do it properly".
Rose stared at her in disbelief and was about to say something when the Doctor's voice came from outside "Here we go!"
"The scanner's working. It says Delta one six!" she called back.
They both listened as the Doctor continued to yell at the ghost. When he came bursting back inside, rapidly explaining what was going on Jackie retreated to a seat further away and Rose bit back her laugh. He was back; her Doctor was still in the spirit of the adventure. She knew that later on he would become a little more serious as things got closer, but for now she just enjoyed his enthusiasm.
"Allons-y! Hmm allons-y, I should say allons-y more often, allons-y. Look sharp Rose Tyler allons-y, and then it would be really brilliant if I met someone called Alonso, then I could say allons-y Alonso every time! You're staring at me" he looked down at her and grinned, pulling her to him before she could even say what she was going to say. Luckily or maybe not luckily, the kiss was only short and Rose soon managed to pry him off her, though his arms were still around her waist.
"My mum's still here" she whispered to him.
He looked up fearfully to where Jackie was sitting; glaring at him "Oh by all means" she waved her hand "Start shagging on the jump seat never mind me!"
Rose giggled and the Doctor went bright red "Mum that's not a very appropriate thing to say".
"Why not? He'll probably be my son-in-law one day so he's family I guess".
The Doctor's eyes widened "Uh...um I think...we've arrived".
Rose looked down at the monitor and sighed. The men were already surrounding the TARDIS. "Mum I think you better stay in here".
"I think you better stay as well and watch your mother" the Doctor tried, knowing he would fail.
"I'm not looking after my mum, she'll be fine".
"You brought her" he pouted, starting to move towards the door.
"Doctor" she quickly stood in front of the door "They've got guns".
"And I haven't" pulling her away from the door with both arms around her waist "Which makes me the better person, don't you think? They can shoot me dead but the moral high ground is mine" he put his hand on the handle to open it.
"Doctor" she repeated and he stopped and turned to her. She gave him a small smile "You be careful".
He grinned, pulling her in for one last kiss, earning and a frustrated sigh from Jackie. Ignoring it he looked down at Rose "You be careful too Rose Tyler".
"Love you".
His cheeks went slightly red at the thought of saying it in front of Rose's mother but he soon shoved any of those thoughts from his mind "I love you too". With that he stepped outside, leaving Rose and Jackie to listen at the door.
A few minutes later he reached back inside and pulled Jackie out with him. Rose nodded to herself as the door shut behind Jackie.
Almost immediately she felt the TARDIS being picked up and moved. She checked the monitor to find that the Doctor and her mum were long gone. She waited a few more minutes before opening the doors a crack. The Doctor caught her eye and nodded. She quickly shut the doors again and raced over to hit coat to find the psychic paper. Of course she knew it didn't work but there was no use in changing things unnecessarily.
Once she had found it and grabbed a lab coat from a table outside, she made her way through the rooms, following the same scientist she had followed last time. When she made her way inside to the sphere she stopped dead. It felt wrong, even more wrong to her then it had the first time. It was like the air around it was too thick to breathe and it terrified her. That ship had come through the void, the same deadly void that would kill her if she tried to cross it now.
"Excuse me what are you doing in here?" a man asked her.
"Sorry they sent me from personnel to check the lines of communication. There was something about a Doctor being taken prisoner, have you heard anything?"
"Show me your ID?" the man asked, holding out his hand.
Rose just smiled at him "Of course".
"Well that's lucky" he said once he'd looked at it "Everyone here at Torchwood has at least a basic level of psychic training, this is"-
"Blank" she nodded "Still worth a try though aye?"
He man ordered for the doors to be locked and addressed the man 'Samuel' who grinned at Rose and put a finger to his lips. Rose nearly smiled but she stopped herself. Mickey did a good job getting in that far and she didn't want to blow his cover til he was ready to blow it.
Rose sat down and the man connected communications to Yvonne, where the Doctor was sitting. "She one of yours?" Rose heard Yvonne ask.
The Doctor shook his head slowly "Never seen her before in my life".
"Good, then we can have her shot" Yvonne's voice sounded almost sickeningly nice and Rose cringed slightly. The Doctor's reaction this time however was a little different.
"Don't you dare" he hissed at her.
"Well who is she?"
"She's Rose Tyler" he sighed "This is her mother".
"Yes I am and you better take darn good care of her or you won't just have him after you" Jackie frowned at the woman.
Yvonne smiled "So Doctor, judging by your reaction just now you care about Rose Tyler quite a lot".
"Oh you have no idea" he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Then we will make sure that she remains unharmed then" Yvonne smiled sweetly.
The communications were cut off after that and Rose sat back in her chair as Raj spoke into his earpiece "Yvonne I thought you said the next ghost shift was cancelled, what's going on?"
A shudder shook the room and the sphere seemed to vibrate. Rose looked fearfully over at Mickey who gulped. He ran over to her and clutched her hand "Hey babe".
"Good to see you again" she smiled at him.
"You knew you were going to anyway" he winked.
"The Cybermen have found their way across the void" he said hurriedly "But I'm ready to fight now".
"Mickey" Rose spoke quietly so that the other man couldn't hear. He was too busy running around to even notice them anyway but she continued in a whisper "Those aren't Cybermen in there".
He looked at her wide-eyed "Then what are they?"
"You'll see" her voice shook a little as the sphere started opening. Fear shot through her. In order for things to progress she couldn't kill them, she was more than capable and more than ready to, but she couldn't, she didn't even need Jack to tell her that one.
The Daleks descended to the ground and started screaming at them. "EX-TER-MIN-ATE!"
"Daleks!" Rose bellowed, her eyes glowing slightly in warning "I could kill every last one of you in seconds if I wanted to but for now I'm gonna let you live. Consider yourselves lucky".
"You, are, the, Bad, Wolf" stated one of the Daleks.
"Your, ex-ist-ance, was, fore-told" said another of them.
"Then you better be careful" she shook her head slowly "Because I am not very happy with you lot".
"You, can-not, kill, us".
"Why not then?" Rose continued bravely.
"You, are, us-ing, time-lord, sci-ence. You, can-not, change, what, has, al-read-y, hap-pened".
"I've been doing it for nearly two years Daleks, I can change what I like".
"You, are, a, leg-end, fall-en, through, time. You, can-not, kill, us".
"Ok so you know that I can't kill you" she paused, thinking for a moment "but that doesn't necessarily mean I can't stop you".
"You, can-not, change, time".
'Rosie they're right, you have to let these things happen'.
"Then do what you have to but don't kill anyone".
"We, req-ui-re, in-form-at-ion"
"Please let me help you" Raj stepped forward "Leave these two alone".
"We, can-not, kill, the, Bad, Wolf" said one of the other Daleks.
"Kneel" the main Dalek instructed "We, must, har-vest, brain-waves".
Rose and Mickey looked away while Raj screamed in pain, the Dalek suckers encasing his head. "Is what they said true?" Mickey asked quietly "Can you really not do anything?"
"Jack told me I can't" Rose whispered back "There's very little I can change if I want the timeline to run smoothly enough for me to avoid...well something that's coming up very soon if I'm not careful".
"But surely you can change something like this".
"Mickey this isn't even the worst part" she paused "See that?" she gestured to the genesis arc "That's a timelord prison, you know like the TARDIS?"
"Ok so what's in there?"
"Millions of Daleks" Rose bite her lip "If I could destroy the whole thing now than it would mean I wouldn't have to worry about what's coming later, well it would be less threatening anyway, but I can't and it's as simple as that. Everything from now on has to go completely the way it did before or we're all done for".
Rose's phone rang at her side and she quickly pressed the button to answer it. This went unnoticed by the Daleks as they were too busy insulting the Cybermen. When the Doctor appeared on the screen Rose really did feel her heart rate increase dramatically.
"The, fe-male's, heart-beat, has, in-creased. I-dent-I-fy, him".
Rose laughed "You want to know who he is? Sure I'll tell you. That's the Doctor" she finished with a smirk.
The Daleks all moved back a little bit in fear and Rose grinned "Five million Cybermen? No problem. Bad Wolf? Not really worried, but one Doctor, just one Doctor? Now you're scared".
The Daleks recovered and moved aside to talk amongst themselves. Mickey pulled out his dimension hopper and showed Rose "I guess you know all about this then?"
"Yeah" Rose nodded.
"I'd go and take you with me, but you know it only takes one. I dunno why they're keeping me alive really".
"They're keeping both of us alive because they need one of us to touch that" she pointed to the genesis arc "We're time travellers; we've been through the vortex. We've absorbed background radiation and that's very powerful stuff. Who knows what would happen if I touched it, it'd probably explode or something".
"Your, hand-print, will, o-pen, the, genesis, arc".
Rose nodded "Yeah but it could do a whole lot more than that. I don't know, you don't know; better not to test it really".
"You even sound like him" Mickey was gaping at her.
She winked at him and continued "You've heard a 'legend' about me. Fallen through time or whatever" she faked a yawn "but did it include the very important detail of what happened to your Emperor?"
"The, Em-per-or, sur-vived?"
"Well yeah" Rose shrugged "Until he met me. I'm surprised that they missed that part out. The Emperor thought he was a god. I took him and all of the other Daleks and turned them to dust. Nothing but golden atoms remained of your Emperor".
"You, will, be, EX-TER-MIN-AT-ED!"
"But you can't do that" she laughed "I may not be able to kill you but you definitely can't kill me".
"A-lert" said one of the Daleks "The, Doc-tor, is, here".
They all looked to where he stood in the doorway and he beamed "Oh hello" he greeted cheerily.
"You, are, un-armed".
"Always" the Doctor grinned, moving casually towards them.
"You, are, pow-er-less".
"Nah, never" he moved over to embrace Rose, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips "You alright?"
"Perfect" she grinned, kissing him again.
"You, will, cease, this, dis-play, of, a-ffect-ion".
Rose just laughed, pulling away, and the Doctor moved on to greet Mickey "Mickety-Mick-Mickey! How've you been?"
"Good boss" Mickey bumped his fist to the Doctors "Obviously not as good as you two though".
Both Rose and the Doctor blushed, the colouring spreading over their faces.
"Soc-ial, in-ter-act-ion, will, cease".
"How, did, you, sur-vive, the, time-war?"
"By fighting" the Doctor said bluntly "On the front line. I was there at the fall of Arcadia. Someday I might even come to terms with that, but you lot, you ran away!"
"We, had, to, sur-vive".
"Doctor they've got names" Rose put in "They called each other by names, like Dalek Khan and Dalek Sec".
"Oh hahaha!" the Doctor exclaimed "You lot are the cult of Skaro, I thought you were just a legend. The secret order above the Emperor himself" he elaborated to help Rose and Mickey understand "Their job was to come up with the ideas, new ways to kill, to conquer the enemies".
"But that thing, the genesis arc, its timelord technology, timelord science".
The Doctor looked at it "But what does that mean!?"
"The, wolf, un-der-stands".
Rose looked around at the Daleks then back to the Doctor who was staring at her with an eyebrow raised "One of the things you couldn't tell me?" he asked.
"Can we not talk about this now?" she frowned at him "Seriously though, now's not really the time".
"But it is" he strode forward to stand beside her and turned to the Daleks "What do you know about Rose?"
"There, is, no, time, for, this".
"Tell me! She can't tell me so you will!"
"She's..." Mickey started but trailed off when Rose glared at him.
"You told Mickey something that's really important, life or death important but you didn't tell me?!" the Doctor exclaimed in disbelief and hurt.
"Doctor!" she yelled over his ramblings and he fell silent "I Have told you before that anything I hide from you is because you can't possibly know or it'll jeopardise the future. After this is done then the books are open, I promise you, but for now we need to get this done!"
He nodded and continued over to the Daleks. Rose watched his whole speech with her usual interest and well...awe. She still couldn't help but feel hurt that he was hurting because of her. She thought he understood that he couldn't know, but she underestimated that part of him that was truly human, the curiosity and the frustration.
She was very suddenly torn from her thoughts as the door crashed in and they all fell to the floor for cover. Pete reached her first and helped her out of the room, following by the Doctor and Jake, and finally Mickey, but only after he had touched the Genesis Arc.
The Doctor soniced the door and they all raced down the corridors. Two Cybermen were just ahead of them and Rose just heard her mother's plea before Pete shot both of them. Rose had never forgotten the look on her mother's face when she'd first seen Pete, and now that it was fresh in her mind she doubted that she ever would.
The Doctor moved over to Rose and took her hand while they watched the scene before them unfurl. "I'm sorry for getting upset before" he Doctor murmured.
"Hey it's alright" Rose smiled up at him "I still love you".
He smiled softly "And I still love you".
Rose swallowed "You know how there's soon to be that great big decision-making moment where we either fail or we lose?"
The Doctor nodded "It's not as if I could forget something like that, Rose".
"Well do me a favour, yeah?"
"Anything".
"Don't try to send me away" she looked up into his eyes and saw a flicker of shock there.
"But how did you"-
"Never mind how I knew, just don't do it, because if you do...you'll actually be the one that kills me".
The Doctor's eyes widened "What could kill you on the other side and all of the dangers are here?"
"The other side is the danger" Rose shrugged "I can't survive there but I can't tell you why either".
The Doctor rolled his eyes but answered seriously, cupped her cheek with his hand "Even though I would be doing it for your own good, I promise you that I won't send you away".
"Thank you" Rose murmured, closing the gap between them and kissing him soundly.
"Right well for what I've got planned I'll need those magna-clamps" he let out a puff of air "And they are in the big room where the Cybermen and the Daleks are having their little face-off".
"Sneak in?" Rose asked.
"Oh yes!" he Doctor moved hesitantly towards the doors "I'll have to be quick though".
"You're the fastest man I know, you can do it" Rose encouraged him.
"Allons-y!" he poked his head through the door and Rose held it slightly open while he crawled for the crate containing the magna-clamps.
Rose held her breath as he rushed back over to her, shutting the door behind him. "Come on you lot we need to get to the top floor! Top floor!" the Doctor yelled at them as he ran along the corridor with them all in tow.
"We could always take the lift" Jake said, holding on to the door to the elevator to stop it closing as the others ran for the stairs.
"Come on then!" they all filed into the elevator and pressed the floor button for the top floor. The calming music wasn't really having the desired effect as the Doctor bobbed up and down impatiently.
When they reached the top floor the Doctor looked out the window at the open Genesis Arc which was releasing one Dalek after another. "Time lord science. It's bigger on the inside" the Doctor spoke weakly "A prison ship full of millions of Daleks".
"We need to leave" Pete said quietly, plucking another dimension hopper from one of the other parallel Torchwood guards and putting the chain around her neck. "This world is gonna burn and we need to be gone. After the Doctor closes the bridge then we'll be safe on the other side".
"Now I know what you were talking about" the Doctor murmured to Rose, giving her a somewhat disapproving look.
Rose just shrugged "Sorry, but you promised".
"Yes I know, don't make me regret it please" he moved away from her to face everyone "Right then you lot, if I use these magna-clamps then I'll be able to hold on while everything gets sucked into the void".
"What do you mean everything?" Jackie asked him with a frown.
"Can I try to explain?" Rose asked, giving him her tongue-in-teeth grin that he couldn't refuse.
"Be my guest" he said fondly.
"Alright then mum, basically anything that's ever been through the void is covered in these particles right Doctor?" the Doctor nodded, watching her in awe as she explain so easily the concept of what was going to happen "When the bridge is open all of those little particles will be sucked back into the void taking anyone who has been through the void with them. All of the Daleks, all of the Cybermen and...all of us if we're not careful" the Doctor noticed how she said that last part and his heart raced a little. He could sense that the time was almost upon them and that terrified him "That's why you lot have to leave and the Doctor and I will use those magna clamps to hold on to".
"But we'll be trapped on the other side?" Jackie asked her.
"Yeah" Rose nodded "I love you mum, I do, but this has got to happen. You may not understand why, but if I go to the other universe then this one will collapse. You might think that we'd be safe on the other side but that's not how it works, I'd be dead, the Doctor would be dead and so would the TARDIS. I can't live without them and if I'm dead then they can't live without me".
"So you're just gonna let me live alone in another world?" Jackie stepped closer to her, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.
"Mum I've seen the future and I know that you'll be happy. You two can get married and have a baby, Mickey and Jake can work at Torchwood".
"And you?"
"And I was miserable, I wasn't dead but I may as well have been, I was away from the man that a love and I couldn't live without him. I tried for you mum I really did, but in the end I was just a shell, trying to live but only just surviving".
"Oh sweetheart" Jackie pulled her into a hug "I will miss you".
Rose's eyes widened in alarm "You're just going to let me go?"
"Oh Rose there'd be no other way. You'd be lost without him. I'll be lost without you but at least I'll have someone. If you really are gonna be as miserable as you say if you come with us then I can't let you do that to yourself".
"Thank you mum" Rose squeezed her tightly "I love you".
"I love you too sweetheart".
"Jackie we need to go" Pete spoke up from across the room.
"I'm coming, just hush it for a minute" she walked over to the Doctor who looked positively terrified. He was then surprised however when she pulled him in for an even more surprisingly gentle hug "You take care of her you hear me, or I will find a way to come and get you".
"I don't doubt it" the Doctor croaked "and I promise to love and protect your daughter to the best of my ability".
"Don't get all formal with me now" she waved a hand at him and smiled softly "Goodbye Doctor".
The Doctor just raised his hand and gave her a little wave. Rose hugged her again until Pete had to remove her from Jackie. He then pressed the button and they all disappeared.
"Rose Tyler" the Doctor said softly "I have never in all my life met someone who would care about me enough to say goodbye to her own family just to be with me".
"I promised you forever" she smiled softly, wiping away a tear "Anyway let's get this done".
"Alright then" he grinned and they set to work, but halfway through their work Rose felt herself getting dizzy. The world around her blacked out and she screamed inside her own head.
"Jack?! Jack!" she sobbed "No! This can't be happening!"
"I'm sorry Rosie" Jack murmured "This will be the final glitch, but it will last about thirty seconds and by the time you wake up it could be too late. I can no longer see how long it will last for but I'm certain you will be slipping off the lever".
Rose sniffed "Then we have about ten seconds left" she stood up to hug him "I love you Jack; you've always been a great friend".
"Love you too Rosie and...I'm so sorry".
Those were the last words she heard before she felt the handle of the lever beneath her fingers. The Doctor was screaming in anguish, but there was still time. She focused solely on the power inside her head. She would not let herself and the universe die. Her eyes glowed gold and the Doctor seemed to freeze on the spot. When the handle finally slipped from her grasp she fell, but just as she was falling the golden light from her eyes burst into the room and she was sucked onto something surprisingly soft. She opened her eyes to see that the bridge had not yet closed, but she was lying on a golden web of pure energy that stretched across the room, blocking her fall but still allowing the final Daleks to be sucked inside.
The suction stopped and she fell to the floor, tiredness overcoming her as she closed her eyes. When she woke up she was still on the floor but she couldn't see the Doctor. Where was he? He would usually be at her side in a heartbeat if she was injured or if she passed out.
She got gingerly to her feet and turned to look at the solid wall. Relief washed over her and she let out a strangled laugh. Happy tears rolled down her cheeks as she giggled. She had never experienced something so wonderful in all her life. She had been saved by her own pure energy and she had won! They had won! She was still trying to comprehend that thought when Jack spoke up.
'Wow Rosie, I just...I can't believe it! You won, you did it!'
'I'm still having a hard time understanding that myself, Jack'.
'Oh just let it sink in, bask in it Rose, you deserve it!'
Rose grinned and shut her eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the feeling of having the universe at peace. She could literally feel the universe around her and the ache that she had in her head disappeared. It was done. The Bad Wolf was back, and she had won.
Rose wandered down the stairs in search of the Doctor. She went all the way back to where the TARDIS had been parked, only to find it empty. She frowned in confusion 'Jack, where's the TARDIS?'
'I think it might be where your current Doctor is. You know how we spoke about the merge, right?'
'Yeah of course, hard not to notice it happening'.
'Well from what I can gather, the Doctor's merge fully took place the second you fell to the ground and because that Doctor you were with was the one to merge with your first Doctor, both him and his TARDIS were taken to where the current Doctor currently resides, now free of any timelock'.
Rose opened her mouth then shut it again. The excitement of seeing her first Doctor coursed through her and she quickly made her way down to the entrance of the building.
'Hold on I haven't told you where he is yet'.
'I already know Jack'.
'But how?'
'Where else would he be?'
She ran along the streets where people were still looking up at the tower, dazed and confused as to what had just occurred. Dead bodies lay on the ground and Rose felt terrible knowing that she couldn't do anything. Of course now the timeline was back to normal she could do anything she wanted, but she didn't want to bring back a whole army of Jacks.
'Oh thanks'.
'Sorry but its true'.
'I know'.
Rose made it to the Powell Estate in record time, running around the corner to see the TARDIS there waiting for her. She rushed to the door and burst through it. The Doctor was lying on the jump seat unconscious. She ran to his side and shook him "Doctor, Doctor you have to wake up now".
He stirred and slowly opened his eyes. "Rose" he breathed "Last thing I remember there was a terrible, terrible pain in my head. Memories belonging to another person filled my head and I didn't know what was real".
"Do you know what's real now?" Rose asked cautiously.
The Doctor's face split into a lazy grin "Yes".
Rose smiled softly down at him "And what's real?"
"You" he laughed "Um the Loch Ness monster, aliens from outer space..."
"Oh shut up" rose rolled her eyes and moved to sit down beside him, pushing his legs off the seat.
"I'm joking" he sat up and faced her "Well when I say I'm joking I mean about my response. Of course the Loch Ness monster is real, and I'm living proof of aliens..." he trailed off when he saw her face "but really what I'm trying to say is that I know exactly what is happening now, and let me tell you that this feels so much better" he beamed at her.
"So what do you remember of our life together?" Rose asked experimentally.
"Well from my point of view we saved the world together, Adam came with us, Eva didn't make it and I had to say goodbye to you without telling you that I love you or giving you a proper kiss".
"Oh" Rose breathed "But do you..."
"Do I remember everything that happened the second time around? Yes of course I do. I'm him and he's me and we are both so proud of you" he said cupping her cheeks in his hands "No one would ever do something so...unselfish for me ever".
"I wouldn't call it unselfish" she chuckled "Doesn't it drive you mad, having two sets of memories? It's like two versions of you living in there".
"Doesn't it drive you mad having the time vortex swimming around in your noggin?" he countered "Besides I've had plenty of time to adjust to sharing mine. To be honest the second version of me just feels like a dream. I can remember everything but things are just not...real".
Rose's face fell slightly "So you don't..."
"Rose you seem to be forgetting that it was me that gave you this" he said fishing around in his pocket for the ring he had given her in the dream connection "I'm the one that loves you because I'm both of us. I remember ever kiss we've shared and every moment that has passed between us. I also remember every opportunity I had to kiss you and I didn't...and above all I remember losing you. I never want to experience that again, and now thanks to what you've done I never have to worry about it".
"So you're not mad that I did this?"
"Are you kidding? I'm furious" he grinned "but if you hadn't then I don't know what would have happened to me, I'd have been lost" he slipped the ring back onto her finger and clasped her hands in his.
"Do you remember anything since saying goodbye to me?"
"Not really, but I do know that we still have to go and orbit that supernova, I made sure I remembered that" he quickly jumped away from her, flicking switches and pressing buttons on the console.
"But why?" she asked sulkily, a little disappointed that he had released her.
"Because something has to happen there" he glanced up at her to see her sad expression "What's wrong?"
"Oh nothing" she smiled at him.
"What?" he moved over to stand in front of her.
"Well...it's just that you gave me my engagement ring again and you've told me you love me so..."
"So...what?"
Rose raised an eyebrow "Kiss me you daft fool".
"Oh I'm sorry I"-
He was cut off when Rose pulled his lips down to hers. 'This is it' Rose thought to herself. 'He's here, the real him anyway, and you're here and you're engaged!'
When Rose eventually had to pull away for air the Doctor looked down at her, looking adorably ruffled and slightly bemused. "Oh..." he breathed "That was even better than I was hoping it would be" he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to him again, kissing her thoroughly.
A cough behind both of them made them spring apart. A red-headed woman stood before them in a long white wedding dress and veil. "What?"
Rose and the Doctor exchanged a look "What?" he squeaked.
"Who are you?" the woman asked in a demanding voice.
"I"- Rose began but was cut off.
"Where am I?" the woman continued.
"What?" the Doctor squeaked again.
"What the hell is this place?!"
Ok so what do you think? Doomsday handled well? Also the thing with the Daleks knowing who she was. I had to make it that the legend of her had fallen through time, but she was known only and the savior of the universe and the bringer of death, not for her defeat of the Daleks (this might all be explored later). I know the Doctor and Rose's 'reunion' was kind of...oh I dunno boring? Unexciting? but what do you expect when technically she's still been living with him the whole time. I wasn't gonna make it some so-mo dramatic scene in the first place :P Anyway I thought I'd introduced Donna the same way, even now I can change anything I want I still better stick to the original for that. Please feel free to review and ask me any questions you need answering and I'll start working on the Runaway Bride, then on to season three! :D