After they had tired Maisie out again by Alec running her around on the beach, he waited for his wife to join him when they had put the girl to bed, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was still confused, her imagination was still trying to get the better of her but she was trying her best to come to terms with what was now her life. He was still bothered by what she had told him not remembering getting married and having their daughter but with some extra therapy, things may start coming back to her, well so he hoped.
"So are you finally going to take that test?" he asked after they'd had sex.
"Yeah, tomorrow," Rose had to agree, not that she actually wanted to know but if she was stuck here, at least she'd remember this time. "Maybe it was best I left it, get a better result?"
"Oh, I think it's fairly certain after the last couple of weeks, don't you love?" he asked, kissing her cleavage and sprawling himself over her as she ruffled his hair.
"Yeah, if I'm not, it's not for the lack of trying on your part," she giggled.
"Well I know you were a bit reluctant love but I can understand that. You have to try to put all that behind you now and concentrate on the present. Maisie needs you and she has to get used to being in nursery for longer and when you do have another. We will know tomorrow what's happening at Torchwood but try not to worry too much, your dad will take care of things. Did I tell you he tried to get me to take over while he takes your mother on holiday?"
"Really?" Rose giggled as he bit one of her breasts then kissed it, which was becoming one of her favourite things he liked doing to her. "I hope you said no?"
"Really Rose, why would I want to take over? You don't remember he tried to recruit me when you first took me home to meet him," he replied, moving onto his back and indicating he wanted her to do the same to him.
Rose was game as she took the hint and followed him and they both went quiet as Rose bit him and he fondled her breasts from the side and kissed her neck. The next morning, Rose got Maisie ready for nursery.
"I'll be okay until my dad gets things sorted Alec, don't send a patrol car around," she smiled at him as Maisie messed with her cereal and Alec tried to get her to eat it properly, to which the girl giggled.
"Well okay but any signs you are worried, I will have someone around in a few minutes, I will blame it on the plumber if I have to. I made sure Miller knows he's been bothering you."
"You shouldn't have Alec, she's friends with Beth as well," Rose told him.
"I know love but I would rather tell her now than break off something if I have to come back. I do not want her knowing someone from Torchwood may be trying to drag you back to London to see if you really can show Owen Harper how to get what he wants," Alec replied, cleaning the girl's mouth and making her squirm.
"No Daddy," Maisie told him as he persisted.
"You can't go to nursery like that princess," he smiled at her. "Want me to take you today?"
Maisie nodded and indicated she wanted off the chair booster seat.
"Rose, ask about her going the odd afternoon as well love, she needs to get used to it."
"Yeah, I'll call in before I collect her but maybe just one for now, she's only been doing five mornings for a week," Rose replied.
Rose couldn't believe this was the start of her third week here but things were getting better, if Pete could get the pressure taken off of Owen trying to get her to show him how agents could hide away and jump out whenever they wanted. He'd never get to know because neither did she, it had been a fluke or as Alec had first suggested. She had thought nothing more about it being the Doctor who was interfering, it had been a case of her clinging at straws, hoping whatever had caused it was not exclusive to the now almost dismantled dimension cannon.
She hoped that whatever had caused it hadn't been her own device, now being guarded by Jake, who had been her best friend but she had to trust this version of him. She only handed it to him because if Owen sent someone after her, he'd get his hands on it and if it had started working, he'd send someone to where she had come from. She could never allow that if she couldn't get back then no-one else was going there.
Pete had argued with Jackie before he'd set off early to get to Torchwood before Owen had the chance to try anything and defy the board's orders and send someone after Rose. He'd been worried after Alec had told him the strange things she'd been coming out with but since her latest incident, he'd not been that surprised she had regressed back to her childhood and mixed it all in. He was glad his son-in-law had taken it all so well.
Jake was waiting at reception for him.
"Sorry Pete, no sign of Amy, I've got agents looking for her up in Scotland though. If she's up there, we'll find her. Owen must have really scared her or paid her well," Jake told him.
"We'd best hope it's one of those Jake, you know what the other alternative is? I didn't know her that well but did you get her background?" Pete asked him.
They got into the lift, remaining silent up to Pete's new office, knowing Owen still had the lift monitored, something that was going to change shortly if Owen was at least suspended. Once in Pete's now hopefully temporary office, Jake handed him the folder he'd been carrying. Pete glanced at it, noting Amy had come highly recommended but her psych evaluation was almost as bad as Rose's and she'd had an imaginary childhood friend who could be Rose's Doctor's brother.
"No-one questioned this?" Pete asked him, thinking it was a bit of a coincidence Amy's 'friend' had worn a raggedy brown pinstripe suit and had emerged from a badly damaged blue police box.
"You mean when she was seven?" Jake grinned. "I've just seen it myself, bit of a coincidence don't you think?"
"Do you think Owen's seen this?" Pete wanted to know, reading she'd been engaged to her boyfriend of several years. "She must have had a very good reason to leave him behind, unless he's her imaginary friend?"
"I don't think so Pete but Rose and Amy making up almost the same thing, it's a bit odd," Jake had to admit. "Still, at least Rose never admitted when she was seven she fed him fishfingers and custard," he laughed.
"Be serious Jake," Pete tried not to smile. "Right, continue trying to find her and I'm going to call a board meeting. No doubt they'll be pleased with that on a Monday morning. Did you inform all security and agents not to take orders from Owen?"
"Yeah, I sent the memo from home, they'll get it on their screens when they switch on. Want me to back you up?" Jake offered.
"I can handle them Jake. You have that device of Rose's in a safe place?" Pete asked.
"It's safe but it's not one of ours Pete. Amy got it from some place else and slipped it onto Rose, who she got it from is anyone's guess. I expect Owen will deny any knowledge of it?"
"Of course he will Jake but the question is, if Martha wasn't lying about not being able to find Rose's implant, where is it? You really think Amy got to Rose?"
"She had to have done Pete, there's no other explanation," Jake replied, picking up the folder. "I'll let you get on then?"
"Yeah, I don't want to give Owen the chance of finding out but if Amy took Rose's implant, who put her up to it, if it wasn't Owen?" Pete wanted to know. "He has to be behind it, why else would he be so keen to keep her here?"
"I wish I knew Pete," Jake admitted. "Do ya think Owen's working for someone else?"
"He could be I suppose, what better way to get to us than using the new director?" Pete asked.
Jake left and Pete called the chairman, who reluctantly agreed to assemble the board in an hour and to keep it quiet.
"I saw the memo you sent Pete," the chairman told him. "You really don't trust him, do you?"
"Would you if he was trying something out on your daughter?" Pete asked him. "He's dangerous and that's what I want to discuss with the board. He wants to use Rose to recreate what happened to her, I told you that already."
"I know Pete and I have every sympathy about what happened to Rose. She has her family to think about but I can't believe Owen would go that far."
"He would, if someone else was behind it," Pete told him. "See you in an hour then?"
It went better than Pete expected, since some more results had come back about the cannon. The board called for Martha first.
"So Doctor Jones, you're supposed to be the new medical director of the now defunct cannon project. How did you not realise there was something very wrong with Rose?" she was asked.
"Well I tried to give her a brain scan but her husband flatly refused," Martha replied.
"Yes, well that scanner is now officially off limits to all Torchwood personnel and the public, understood?" she was asked. "Mr Tyler is concerned about her implant. Did you remove it without anyone's knowledge?"
"What? No, someone buried it deep in her arm or she had it removed before she came back to see me," Martha insisted, looking at Pete.
"He insists that Doctor Harper got you to say that," another board member told her.
"I'm not saying anything without my representative," Martha huffed, folding her arms.
"You don't have to," Pete told her.
Martha was excused and the board members talked amongst themselves, Pete crossing to the window and the table with the coffee machine. As he sat back down, the chairman spoke.
"We will call Owen Harper to appear before us, pending a decision to suspend him. If what you say is true about using Rose for his experiments, he's out of line and if someone has got to him, he's a danger to all of us, not just Rose. Rest assured Pete, he'll do no more damage and we're all really sorry for what he tried on your daughter."
"Yeah, I'll leave it with you then but when are you calling for him?" Pete asked.
"Soon, before he can make any plans and as for this Amy Pond disappearing? Has she been found yet?"
Pete shook his head. "Jake's got agents on it. So, what about the remains of the cannon?"
"We'll deal with it, it won't be used again for a long time," he was assured.
Pete left and went back to his office to call Alec. At least they seemed to think Owen was a liability but there were still a lot of unanswered questions he may never get an answer to. Alec was in his office having just got rid of his DS, who had been trying to get him to accept a dinner invitation. It hadn't gone well.
"You know Rose does not like your new partner," Alec had told Ellie.
"That was a long time ago, hasn't she forgotten it yet?" Ellie asked him.
"I'll ask her but she's still not right and I'm worried about her," he admitted, leaning back in his chair sideways and tapping a pen on the clear part of his untidy desk.
Ellie sometimes wished Rose had never come along, the detective was very good looking, especially when he'd tidied himself up when he'd met his wife to be a few years ago. Alec's phone rang and he indicated she should leave.
"Rose?" Ellie asked.
Alec shook his head. "Her father, this is important Miller."
He listened as Pete told him it was just a matter of time before Owen was out and he was full director again pending finding someone more suitable than Owen had been.
"I hope you don't have me in mind for the job?" Alec asked him.
"Relax Alec, Rose would be mad with me for even suggesting it," Pete told him. "I'll get Sarah-Jane back from her trip to Wales, if she can tear herself away from Jack. I'll have to train her to take a bit more responsibility but I can't hand the directorship to her."
"Well I'm sure Rose will be relieved. I'm going to make her take that pregnancy test tonight, she's been putting it off," Alec replied.
He ended the call and decided not to call Rose but to tell her over lunch she had nothing more to worry about, well maybe just trying to remember their past because he hated her not knowing their special moments. Their first time together properly, resulting in Maisie, then their wedding and the hospital, him pacing up and down while they were getting her ready and when their daughter finally came into the world.
Rose had been doing the laundry, Beth had called and they'd arranged another get-together on the beach so she was enjoying a cup of coffee and reading the news on a website. She'd looked out and seen no sign of Mark Latimer's blue van so she hoped he'd actually got some work without pretending it was in their street but Mark had just got finished with a job and had parked a few doors down on the opposite side.
He was about to pretend to be looking at some paperwork as he had started doing to stop Hardy from hassling him over watching the house. The detective thought he fancied Rose but it wasn't that, it was jealousy. Jealousy Alec Hardy had a wife and a family and he'd lost everything, this was his way of dealing with it, making the detective nervous that his family might come undone just as easily.
His phone rang and it was his ex wife.
"What do you want Beth?" he asked.
"Hello to you too Mark. Can you watch Lizzie for a few hours? I have to go somewhere," Beth asked him.
"Another job interview eh?" Mark asked her. "What was wrong with that job you had?"
"You seriously have to ask that? I screwed up Mark, I let someone down badly because you couldn't share responsibility of your daughter and pick her up from the nursery. Has Alec Hardy been on to you again for watching his house?" she asked him angrily.
He wondered how she'd got to know, maybe Rose had told her or their other friend Ellie.
"What time do you want me to come over?" he asked, not wanting to admit he'd been confronted again by her friend's husband.
"Three, sharp. I have to go the Town Hall and get registered, I'm applying for a job at the nursery. That way I can fit it with Lizzie being there and before you say anything Mark, the nursery is divided, I won't be spending much time with her, I've already put my name down."
"I never said anything Beth," he sighed, watching in the rear-view mirror for Alec Hardy to creep up on him and drag him out of the van. "I have a job to do, see you at three," he told her half-heartedly as he saw who looked like Hardy come around the corner from the seafront and wondered why he was around at eleven fifteen.
As he saw who he thought was Alec go into the driveway, he didn't recall the detective owning a brown pinstripe suit and his hair looked to be styled differently but they'd been away since Friday night, he'd not seen him since.
Rose jumped when the doorbell rang, hoping Mark hadn't gone mad and was going to make a nuisance of himself and she'd have to get Alec to arrest him. Well it would serve him right if he was arrested, it would save Alec ramming the car into man's van. She came out of the kitchen and as she got to the glass door, she stopped. Whoever it was had his back turned and was looking around but from the back, it could have been Alec or The Doctor.
As she unlocked the door, the man turned around, a smile creeping across his face. He'd been right, his actions had landed Rose in this newly created parallel world and he'd screwed up again. He knew he had to put this right but only if she wanted he'd already done enough damage by tearing her away from her family and her Alec Hardy who could possibly be the twin who had gone into hiding in the past.
Rose was speechless she knew it wasn't Alec, the clean-shaven man looking at her with a big grin on his face told her that.
"Hello Rose, can I come in then?" she was asked.
Rose stood aside. She had to set off to the nursery in twenty minutes or call Beth.
"So, this is where you've been hiding then, Rose Hardy?" the Doctor grinned, looking around at the photos on the shelf in the entranceway. He picked one up. "You have a daughter? She looks just like you when you were that age. I mean from the photos your mother showed me," he corrected himself.
"So which one are you then?" Rose managed to ask him as he put the photo down and followed her. "I have to go pick her up soon or call my friend."
"Is that all you have to say to me?" he asked, going to stand at the window. "This is a very nice house. This Pete Tyler rich as well?"
"Yeah. What do ya want me to say? This is another version of my adopted world, isn't it Doctor?"
"Yeah, sorry Rose, it was entirely my fault. I got these signs someone was trying to break through and I realised it was your Torchwood and well, you know me eh?"
"Yeah, I do know you. You saw a gap being made or whatever and you had to come and see, didn't you?" Rose asked him, picking up her phone.
"Calling your husband?" the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows. "Best not, he probably thinks you imagined me, if you told him about me."
"Him and Pete think I invented you when I was a kid. They almost convinced me," Rose managed to smile as Beth answered. "Hi Beth, can you pick Maisie up for me, I got held up. Alec should have left the car seat."
"Yeah, no problem. Want to meet at the playground behind the old station?" Beth asked her.
"Yeah thanks, I'll get there as soon as I can." She turned to the Doctor. "I should call Alec."
"Go on then but can he cope with your imaginary friend turning up at his house?" the Doctor grinned.
"So you still think you're clever," Rose had to admit. "Go on then, what stupid thing did you manage to do that landed me in the land of Oz?"
"It's just another reality Rose and I am so sorry it happened but something helped cause it. Did you have one of those devices you had last time I saw you?" he asked her.
"Yeah, I thought that had caused it somehow. Alec, I mean this Alec thought it was a ripple, everything changed around me."
"That's sort of what happened. I saw a chance and thought you deserved an explanation and no, I don't know where he went. He made himself human Rose and I left him in the past, in Aberdeen. He chose it, I didn't know until he'd left but he could be your Alec I suppose?"
"What? How could Alec be him? He had a bad heart."
"Exactly, my twin only had one heart, something could have gone wrong with it and he had enough awareness of you to look for you. Rose, the Tardis could have sent him to your adopted world while there was still time."
"No, I can't accept that Doctor but I was trying to get back to ask you for an explanation why your twin ran away from me."
"So that was why you aimed that cannon device?" the Doctor asked.
Rose was watching the time. "I don't suppose you care to answer why he ran off?"
"I can't, he never said anything. He just used the chameleon arch and told me to leave him alone. He never asked to be created I suppose and I shouldn't have blamed him for almost wiping out the Daleks, they'll come back at some point."
"You were mean to him," Rose smiled.
"I know, I owe you both an apology but I came to put things right Rose, to take you back."
"Can you? What about this world, this Alec and our daughter? They think I lost my memory, twice and I had to go along with it," Rose admitted, hoping Alec wouldn't choose this time to come and check on her. "I have to meet him in an hour."
"You did what you had to Rose, I don't blame you for that but this isn't real, you know that?" he asked. "I'm really sorry Rose but this will all disappear when you leave with me, unless you want to stay here?"
"It'll all disappear, when I die, won't it?" Rose asked sadly. "Like the world Donna created?"
"Yeah, sorry Rose. I can't explain what happened but your device somehow created this world when I was trying to get through to you."
"You saw Pete?" Rose asked.
"No, I stayed away when I found out you'd gone missing for two days. I can take you back Rose, to before it happened, if you want?"
"How were they?" Rose wanted to know.
"I stayed away, I just had to find you and there you were, in a tiny pocket of time, like a stasis cube, your adopted world but different. Things were put right that went wrong. I got here yesterday but no-one was home. Have you got that device?" he asked.
"No, I left it with Jake. Do I need it?" she asked.
"No, guess not. I can take you back to the morning you were going to find me but when you get to Torchwood, change your mind and don't go."
"But I'll remember all this, won't I? Or will it be like when Donna created her world?"
"I can make you forget, if you want but do you want to know if the Alec you left is my twin?"
Rose looked at the time. If she was going back, she should leave before this Alec got worried and thought either Owen had sent someone after her or Mark had kidnapped her and she wouldn't like to be either of them.
"No, I don't want to know, not if he doesn't know who he is but I don't want to remember any of this. I had to survive and I can't face the other Alec after being with this one. Please Doctor, you owe me that much."
"I know I do. Right, the Tardis is parked not far away but there was a man in a blue van outside who must have thought I was your husband," he grinned.
"Well get into my car and he won't know any different, will he?" Rose smiled.
"Best just walk eh but we can hold hands like we used to? I still want a hug. Just leave everything Rose but have you got the clothes you arrived in?" he asked.
"No, just what I'd supposed to have left at Torchwood. They thought I'd been gone for four hours."
"Right. Well, I can land behind the mansion, say early morning and you can pretend you got up early for a walk. I'll leave you enough awareness to explain and not to go on that mission. What do you think?"
"Fine, as long as I get my Alec and my little brother back," Rose smiled. "I don't think I would have settled properly here although this Alec is more like the actor I used to have a crush on."
"He's doing really well back in your world. I almost got mistaken for him a few times," the Doctor grinned.
With just the clothes she was wearing and hoping no-one would question why she'd not worn them before, they opened the door and then Rose locked it, making the Doctor raise his eyebrows.
"Been married to a detective too long?" he joked.
Rose nudged him. "We still have to maintain the charade or someone will call Alec and tell him I left the house unlocked," Rose smiled, taking his arm.
"Rose, I hate to tell you but all this will be gone once the Tardis is in flight, sorry."
"Yeah I know but before we leave, you'd best make me forget, yeah? I don't want to feel guilty about it."
"I will and I'm sorry for getting you into this but your Alec is well now. I read up about him, you got him to go get his heart fixed and I really don't know if he's my twin or not but I like to think he is."
As they walked out into the street, Mark was just leaving and looked in the mirror. If they were arm in arm, it had to be Hardy who'd lost his weird fashion sense. They sneaked inside the Tardis, the ship happy to see her again.
"Don't forget that hug," the Doctor grinned as he made the preparations for the return trip.
"Yeah but will you get back okay?" Rose asked.
"Yeah, I'll make it back, things won't change until you're supposed to stand in front of the cannon device. When you don't go, time will just carry on and eventually, the signs they had of finding your old world will disappear."
"I still won't know why you both left me," Rose told him sadly, leaning on a strut.
"Why do you think Rose?" he asked.
"That if he'd stayed, he would have put us in danger," Rose smiled.
The Doctor carried her outside once he'd taken her painful memories away of living in a world of her own and sat her by the wall of the fountain in what he hoped was the right world but the Tardis had tried to assure him it was. He just let her remember not to go to Torchwood later and stand in front of that device. He'd been saying his goodbyes to everyone because he knew his regeneration couldn't be held off much longer and he had to do this for her after making what she'd called a stupid mistake.
He put the Tardis out of sync and waited for her to wake up. He saw her get up off the ground and sit on the wall, shaking her head that she'd dozed off. It was just after seven on the morning she was going back to get some answers but she knew deep down what they'd be and now, she wasn't sure she wanted to risk going. She looked up as she saw Alec walk down the grass slope from the conservatory that had last night become theirs. Well at least she thought so.
She'd woken up feeling a little off but had put it down to nerves and now, she was thinking of putting it off after what Alec had said to her. The Doctor was watching as who could easily be his missing twin approached her. He'd seen this Alec Hardy anxiously calling Torchwood after they'd sent him home to get some sleep when Rose hadn't come back. He knew how the man felt, he'd been the same waiting for her to arrive so he could talk to her through a gap between worlds what seemed like ages ago.
Rose deserved to be happy and so did Alec and he'd done everything he could to locate her, finally finding her in a pocket universe though he should thank his clever ship. Alec had caught up with her.
"Hey love, what are you doing out here?" he asked her as they put their arms around each other.
"I didn't want to wake ya," Rose smiled.
Satisfied he'd put things right, the Doctor put his ship into flight mode, knowing in a few hours, Rose would change her mind about trying to find him and Pete would announce a few days later they were losing the gap anyway, which he suspected that was partly what had caused it, well that and him interfering. He had one final thing to do then he'd have to give in to the inevitable and hoped he'd be ginger and not a girl.
Alec was leading Rose back to the house.
"Come and have breakfast love then see your brother off to school. You know I don't want you to go today?"
"I know Alec but I have to find out and besides, I can say hello to Mickey and see if he went after Martha."
They got back inside and Rose excused herself to the bathroom, really feeling off now. She'd felt fine last night and put it down to being nervous at getting to see the Doctor again. She and Alec had finally had their first time together last night but just maybe something had happened by accident when she'd come to her senses and gone back to him after a miserable holiday.
Over breakfast, Tony was being his usual chatty self, Alec knowing where the boy had got it from as Jackie had been grilling him the night before and Rose had to rescue him. He saw Rose was looking even more nervous. He guessed it was because he'd just had an alien equivalent of a pacemaker fitted and she was going off. He was going to make one last plea to her when they got back to Torchwood and he knew she'd not told her mother.
"Rose, will you be here when I get home?" Tony asked as the cook handed him his lunch box.
"Yeah, 'course I will and when you get home maybe we can talk about you coming down during the next holiday?"
"Yeah! Can I Mum?" Tony asked.
"We'll see. Go on or you'll be late," his mother told him.
Rose smiled as he came to sit on her lap.
"Go on, say bye to Alec and give me a kiss," she told him.
"Bye Alec, see ya later. Will you play a game with me when I get home, on the console?"
"You will have to teach me," Alec replied.
"Aw, Rose can teach you, she knows," Tony grinned.
Rose smiled as he went off, wondering what her life here would have been like if her mother had never had him. She didn't want to find out. They got into Pete's car, Rose giving a shudder as she thought yesterday morning going with Alec the pacemaker or whatever wouldn't work but then she had the feeling it was something else, that she'd made this journey before to face going in front of the cannon to find the Doctor. Alec noticed and took her hand.
"You don't have to go love," he told her, seeing Pete watching them.
"Having a change of mind?" Pete asked.
"I have to find out, you both know that," Rose replied.
"I just got a new lease of life Rose," Alec reminded her as they saw the tower in the distance.
"I know but this is my chance, to put this behind me," Rose told him.
"Then at least send Jake to make sure it's the right universe," Alec pleaded with her.
"We don't know how long it will remain accessible," Pete told him.
"Yeah, Jake could go but I might not get the chance," Rose replied.
"Does it matter that much Rose?" Alec asked. "You thought I was him, I wish I was then you would not want to go."
Rose couldn't answer him. Something was niggling her and she couldn't shake it off. She wanted to go and get some answers but something was telling her she already knew.
Alec continued. "Something made you come back Rose, when you left me. Deep down you know even if you find him you will never get the answers you wanted."
"I have to try Alec," Rose replied, swallowing a lump in her throat.
Pete went into the underground car park and Jake was waiting to escort them to the cannon room, Alec never letting go of her. Jake smiled to himself and wondered if she'd changed her mind.
"Dad, can I talk to you?" Rose asked before they went inside.
Alec was hoping it was about calling the whole thing off. Jake patted him on the back.
"I know you don't want her to go," Jake told him.
"I just got her back, I thought she'd left me," Alec replied, seeing the cannon room for the first time and not expecting guards everywhere.
"Just a precaution," Jake assured him, seeing Alec looking around.
"So, what did you want Rose?" Pete asked her.
"I'm not sure about this Dad. Something's bothering me."
"You mean Alec not wanting you to go find who could be his twin?" Pete smiled.
"You think it's him, don't you?" Rose asked.
"Don't you? You did at first when he fooled you all that time and you got mad because of it. What did you expect him to do Rose, you were convinced it was him."
"I know and I hated the fact I was wrong and I took it out on him. He knows now I was wrong to do that but he went along with it. We've forgiven each other but that's not it. Something's telling me not to go."
"If you go, you still might not get the answers you want," Pete reminded her.
"Yeah but I was thinking that maybe I already know the answers," Rose admitted.
"Then you do think Alec is him then?" Pete asked, knowing they would be almost ready for her.
"I'll never know, will I if he doesn't. He could have made himself human and something went wrong. Maybe he felt guilty for leaving me? I think I might know though, if Alec's not him. Maybe he thought if he'd stayed, he'd be putting the world in danger if some dimension hopping aliens sense he's here, even with him being part human?"
"Well I suppose that could be it, if he's not Alec. Now are you going to find the Doctor, if he's not already changed or are you going back to Broadchurch with Alec?"
Rose kissed his cheek and went in the cannon room, Alec turning around.
"Rose, tell me you are not going?" he asked once more.
"No, I'm going home with you, to Broadchurch. I love you, Alec Hardy," Rose smiled at him. "I know I got mad at you for pretending to be him but you know what?" Alec shook his head as Jake ordered the computers to be powered down. "I thought that somehow, you were him and you'd come back to me and I was mad because you went along with it but what if you are and you don't remember?"
"Rose, I remember my whole life, well except being a wee baby, how can I be him? Yes, I know I went along with it but you seemed so happy you'd got him back, I did not know how to tell you," Alec admitted as he led her outside.
"Are you two going home?" Pete asked, since Jake was organising a car to take them back.
"Well are we?" Alec asked. Rose nodded. "Then we stay and say goodbye to Tony, I promised to play games with him and I need some practice."
As they were driven back, Rose took his hand.
"I'm sorry Alec, I was being silly. I know you're not him."
"You thought I was," Alec replied, hoping this was the end of it.
"We were both to blame but what if somehow you were and you knew enough to find me, to get help?" Rose asked.
"Leave it be love, please. Does it make any difference?" he asked.
"No, I suppose we were never meant to know. That house, well we've not signed yet. Do ya remember that one on the corner of the esplanade I pointed out?" she asked him.
"Vaguely, I seem to remember we were busy at the time," he grinned. "Rose if you want to see about renting it or buying it, that's fine with me. Now, we stay until this evening then we will make our way home, what do you say love?"
"I say anywhere is home where you are Alec, I've waited a long time to get settled and now I have."
"Good, then so am I, whoever you think I am," he replied, hoping she wasn't right but would it be so bad if he was her Doctor's twin who had run away from her and had somehow found his way back to make it up to her?
Well he could live with that, knowing she was happy.
The End!