Many thanks to YouCleverBoys for the beta. 3

Crisis averted; everything was sunshine again as they sorted through the small treasures left from her old life. Until an hour later, when Rose discovered the blue couch and remembered that bad things usually come in threes.

She had just reached the entrance to the media room -one of their favourite hangouts lately- and the sight of it caused Rose to nearly drop the crate she was carrying.

The Doctor came in. "Oh, brilliant, the TARDIS has gotten into the spirit of things!" he remarked exuberantly, taking the box from Rose and going to set it on the coffee table. "She's given us an upgrade. Didn't go quite as all out as she did for our bedroom, but still..." He shrugged, smiling as he took it in, and then plucked a few framed photos from the crate. "I tell you what, she never changes things around like this just to please me. Begged her for years to update the kitchen from that café theme and did she? No, oh no. Although I guess I don't mind it anymore now that you're back, and..."

Rose tuned him out as he rambled on. He certainly had made a fair point when he claimed that the TARDIS didn't care much for pleasing him, she thought, fiddling with the strap of her cover-up as she took in the all-too-familiar furniture. Aside from the huge, cushy blue sofa, dark-stained bookcases now flanked a new fireplace. Why would the sentient ship-

Her name being called caught her attention. "Your mother had these photos up on her mantel, is that where you want them too? Because we have a mantel now, it seems. And a fireplace. That's cool."

"Yeah, all right," she replied, nail of her pinky finger between her teeth as she watched him arrange, examine, and then rearrange the frames. "Doctor? Do you recognise any of this? In the room, I mean?"

He pursed his lips, scanning around. "Well, of course I do, but that's not unusual. Aside from the fireplace, all she's really done is swapped out the sofa for a larger one -good colour, by the way- and brought a couple of bookcases in. Rather thoughtful of her really, be nice to not have to pop into the library all the time-"

"It's my stuff," she blurted out. "From my old flat- well, ours. Mine and his."

The Doctor stilled, taken aback, fingers denting his chin as he looked around again. "Of course it is," he murmured, nodding to the blue couch. "Bit unique, that is. I should've remembered."

"I'm sorry," Rose said, going to him. "I don't know why-"

"Because she loves you," he said, though his smile was weak at the corners. "It's a gift, dear. Quite like what I just gave you, in fact. The TARDIS is thrilled to have you here and she wants you to feel you're at home."

Rose considered this. "But...I don't know if that's how it makes me feel."

He came over to her. "Does this hurt you, then? To be reminded?"

She shook her head, dipping her chin as she peered up at him through her lashes.

"Ah. You think this will hurt me." Rose couldn't help a nose-wrinkle and he chuckled, bending to kiss her forehead. "He was me. Why would I be jealous of my other self?"

Eyebrows arching high, Rose stared him down for a moment before focusing in on his nose, and then spanned its length with her thumb and forefinger. "Yep. Definitely just grew a little bit."

"All right, all right. Why would I be jealous of my other self when I'm the one with you now?" The Doctor tapped his forehead. "Look, all of the men that I used to be are still rattling around up in 'ere, and believe me, big ears and sandshoes are beyond chuffed to know that you still love their daft old faces."

Rose was quiet, not really up to debating this with him again. Finally, she shook her head. "But he's not. I mean, I get what you're saying about your last two selves. I miss the quirks, the faces, the shallow stuff, but in the end I adjust because you didn't actually die, you are still you. But...seventy-two years. For all that time, a lifetime, it wasn't you, he was a different person, and he died. He's gone, forever."

The Doctor grew thoughtful, tented hands against his lips. "'We are the sum total of our experiences,'" he quoted at last. "So, in that way I guess you're right. He isn't me, since I wasn't there for any of it. But you were. So that would make him part of you."

Overcome, Rose drew a quick breath. She had never thought of it like that. She'd felt somewhat guilty, knowing she would never be able to let go of him, but perhaps she didn't have to. Perhaps...she shouldn't. "You think that's what the TARDIS is trying to tell me?"

"I think she believes that you need a reminder," he said, and rested his hands on the curve of her waist. "That it's okay- no," he modified, after another look around, "that it's your job to remember that life. And tell me all about it, of course."

Rose was fairly certain she had never loved him more. "Really? You'd want that?"

He began walking her backward, not stopping until the backs of her knees hit the sofa, and Rose gave a tiny shriek as in one smooth maneuver the Doctor grabbed her, taking her with him as he dropped like a stone down onto it, flat on his back. "To hear about Sunday dinners with your family, or what it's like to catch a taxi home at two a.m.?" he asked, rather breathless with her weight fully atop him. "Absolutely. I feel like I totally missed out."

"Okay," said Rose softly, growing serious as she traced the shell of his ear.

His fringe tickled her face as his mouth latched onto her neck, slowly making its way to her throat. Blood heating, Rose sighed and lifted her chin, giving him better access. "And just so we're clear," he murmured against her collarbone, "I don't much care which me used to own this couch, since this me is the one who's on it now." The last part all escaped him in a rush of breath, as he flipped them so he was on top of her. "Well." His green eyes met hers, darkening. "On you, on it. To be precise."

Oh yeah, not jealous at all, this one. With a roll of her eyes, Rose plunged her fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth to hers.

"I've changed my mind," called the Doctor to Rose, the instant he emerged from the woods. His pace was quick as he made his way over to where she was waiting at the Smith's fire-pit, their prearranged meeting place for after the time-ships had been left in their respective parking spots. "One measly month together has not been nearly enough time for me to shore up the strength to be away from you for an entire day. And I don't care if that makes me the most pathetic man alive."

In spite of the half grin on his face, Rose knew his words were not entirely in jest. "I hate this too. But I can't just skip out on my friends, especially when they've planned this party for me tonight and everything-"

"I know," he interrupted, joining her on the log bench and pecking her lips. "You need to tell everybody goodbye. And hey, it will give me a chance to go break the news to Clara."

Rose smiled at him, and then sighed as she looked across the wide lawn to the house. "Not looking forward to breaking the news to Martha and Mick, though."

"They're going to miss you," he agreed, springing up and helping Rose to her feet. "But they'll be happy for us. I know it. Besides, it isn't as if they didn't know this was coming; it's just a few days sooner than planned, is all."

"Yeah, you're right," said Rose, nodding as their fingers entwined.

The kitchen was empty as they walked in, but there was tea in the pot and Rose could hear the low murmur of the television in the next room over. Sure enough, as they stepped into the lounge they came upon a dressing-gown clad Martha curled into a corner of the sofa, a steaming morning cuppa in her hands. Charlie, in footed dinosaur-print pajamas, sat cross-legged on the rug, captivated by some children's show with brightly coloured puppets.

"Oh, there you are!" exclaimed Martha, hurriedly clunking her mug down on the coffee table so she could spring up to wrap them each in one of her warm hugs. "Been waiting for my chance to congratulate you two!" She stepped aside, to call up the stairs. "Mick! Rose and the Doctor are back!"

Blinking, Rose shared a brief glance with the Doctor, then absently reached down for Charlie, who had attached himself to her leg. "Congratulate us?" she said to Martha, cuddling her favourite little boy and kissing his soft cheek. "How did you know?"

Martha smiled, though she was looking at Rose funny. "You left us a voicemail, saying you'd made it back safe but not to look for you till morning. Remember?"

"Oh!" Rose laughed a little as she caught on. "Right. You mean congratulate us on closing the rift."

Her friend's smile turned sly. "Yes. And on your marriage."

"But-"

"C'mon," said Martha, giving Rose a pointed once over as she waved her questions away. "It's totally obvious what you've been up to."

Alarmed, Rose set Charlie down and touched her fingers to her neck, searching for a telltale mark as her eyes met the Doctor's. He looked rather lost.

Martha laughed out loud. "Oh, good grief, I'm talking about your tan. It's gorgeous. The work of weeks, if I'm not mistaken. Have fun explaining that one today."

"Explaining what?" asked Mickey, jumping down the last two steps and rushing to engulf Rose in a hug.

"How she got a month's worth of tan in one day," replied Martha matter-of-factly.

Mickey gave Rose a sharp once-over, then shook his head at his wife. "Wow, babe, you are good," he said, putting one hand in the air for Martha to slap it. "You totally called it."

Brows drawn, the Doctor's gaze darted back and forth to his friends. "Have I missed something? Because you all seem to be talking in riddles, and I don't like it."

"Nah, it's just that we know you too well," said Martha, patting him. "When Rose's message said that the rift was relocated and she was safe, but not to look for her until next morning, it was pretty simple to work out that your wedding was happening a bit earlier than planned."

The Doctor smiled at Martha. "Clever girl. But, ehm...well." He puffed his cheeks up with air and blew it out. "Sorry we didn't pop in and tell you sooner."

"No, you're not," she replied, chuckling. "But we're fine. And so happy for you."

"Happy for us, too," added Mickey, perching on the arm of the sofa. "Mar and I were getting sick of all that sexual tension."

Rose giggled and the Doctor huffed, crossing his arms as his gaze fixed on the television.

"You're still workin' today?" asked Mickey, grinning when Rose nodded. "Better go get changed, then. Train leaves in twenty minutes."

She rushed off. When she came back upstairs a few minutes later, dressed and gear packed, the Doctor was scowling and red-eared, Mickey looking only too pleased with himself. "Leave him be, Micks," she said reproachfully. "Get your boots on. I'll meet you out front."

After popping into the kitchen to say a quick goodbye to Martha and Charlie, Rose and the Doctor crossed back through the house to exit from the front foyer. On reaching the driveway, the Doctor swung her up in a tight hug. "This is new," he commented, setting her back on her feet. "Look at me. About to say goodbye to the wife as she heads off to her little job."

Rose smirked at him, tapping her foot on the gravel. "Well, get on with it. Let's see what you've got."

Bending forward, he gave her a light peck on the lips. "Have a great day, honey!"

"Sad," Rose scoffed, with an eye-roll. "And here all that Time Lord superiority had me expecting so much better."

The Doctor flashed her a grin and rose to the challenge, bidding her proper farewell with a long, deep, toe-curling kiss that ended only because it was interrupted.

"Oi!" shouted Mickey, his tone rich with indignation. "Just because I know you're 's much a bloke as the rest of us doesn't mean I wanna see it!"

In spite of Rose's mixed feelings and apprehensions, her last work hours ever tripped by in a rather anti-climactic blur. Before she knew it she'd bid farewell to the shining glass building forever, and found herself celebrating with her closest mates in a cosy little brick-walled pizza parlour.

"And there's another one!" hooted Mickey, as Rose spun the handle expertly, sending another little ball zooming past the painted wooden goalie. "This probably isn't even fun for you anymore," he said, in an aside to Jim and Ethan. "You're never gonna catch up, mates. Sure you don't wanna call it quits, save a bit of dignity?"

"No way," Jim retorted, despite the slump to his broad shoulders. "Though in all fairness, it would have been nice of you to mention this girl's crazy foosball skills before we picked teams."

Mickey rocked back on his heels, smirking.

"Ha, 's Mickey's fault," Rose informed them. "I spent too many hours with 'im down the pub, back in the day. There was a foosball table so a few other girls and I got pretty good at it. Good enough that none of the blokes were too keen to play us, anyway."

"And you kept up the skill for all these years," said Mickey, sliding his goalie back and forth. "Good girl."

"Course I did." Rose nudged him with her hip. "You never know, might help me save the world someday."

"Save the world? With foosball?" Ethan snorted, shaking his blonde head at her. "That settles it, Prentice, your ego definitely needs deflating, and I know just the guy to..." He scouted out the room. "Barclay!" he yelled, on spotting the person he wanted. "Put your stupid phone away and come help us!"

"Leave him be," said Rose too late, cringing a little as Matt looked their way from across the room, a distracted look on his face. He'd been like that, distracted and unavailable, all day. Grateful as she was for this party, a rather large part of Rose was now regretting allowing it. Matt had feelings for her, and here they were, celebrating her departure into a new life, because of her relationship with another man. Of course it was awkward.

"Oh, now she's scared," laughed Jim, as Matt slowly rose, leaving the group of five he'd been sitting with. He arrived with his usual grin in place, though it was slightly wilted, and his eyes were tired. Rose tensed, chewing the inside of a cheek.

"Score's twenty to what? ...five?" he said, craning his neck to view the score at the table's far end. He frowned thoughtfully. "Huh. Whaddya need me for? Good job letting Rose win, dudes. Just like we agreed."

And just like that, the strained atmosphere was gone.

"Oi!" huffed Rose, feigning offense while all the guys laughed. "I could beat any one of you, fair and square. An' that includes you," she added with a purse of her lips, pointing at Matt.

"Hey," he said, putting his hands up, "no threatening the guy who's just trying to be nice. Figured it was my job to make sure you weren't sitting around, crying at your own party, all because you got your butt kicked at foosball."

Another burst of laughter from around the game table, and Rose narrowed her eyes at Matt. "Okay then, if you're so smart-"

His phone buzzed in his back pocket. "Whoops, sorry," he said, one hand up as he turned away. "Gotta take this. I'll be right back."

"I need another beer anyway," announced Jim, rolling his shoulders as Matt walked away. "Who's with me?"

Mickey and Ethan agreed quickly, but Rose shook her head. "Nah, I've had enough for now, gonna hold off till I've had some pizza. You guys go ahead." She held up her mobile, yellow light from the lamp overhead reflecting off the small screen. "Besides, I want to phone the- phone John, see if he's on his way."

She could see the smart remark forming on Mickey's lips, but then the petite form of Martha wedged her way into the small circle. "You boys go play. I want to talk to Rose for a minute."

The three obeyed, laughing amongst themselves, and Rose followed Martha to an empty booth. "Are you okay?" she asked, as Rose got situated across from her. "You look sort of tired...day not go so well?"

"No, it was fine. Patrols were uneventful. I'm just...I don't know. Things feel off, I guess. Like, Matt's being super nice, but...things are weird, and I feel dumb for not realising it would be."

"Because he liked you?"

"Yeah. I mean, it was just a few days ago -well, for him, anyway- that he outright admitted he was jealous. Should I have let him give this party?"

"Hey, it was his choice. He sincerely cares about you, you know, and I'm sure he's just hoping that you'll have fun tonight." Martha prodded Rose's foot with her own. "I was more worried about Kyle."

Rose spared a glance his way. He was still at the pool table, cockily twisting a cue in his hands. "He's fine. Stares, but that's nothing new, and he's pretty much left me alone since I promised to recommend him as my replacement. My bigger problem is that Matt still doesn't know about...you know." She lowered her voice. "Who I married."

"Really? I thought you planned to tell him first thing today."

"I was, but then he looked so, I dunno, betrayed or something, when I told him I wasn't finishing the two weeks, and that this was actually my last day. It didn't feel like the right time."

"Well, then the time is now. And the truth will help him understand," said Martha with conviction. "And then you'll say your goodbyes with things good between you."

Rose nodded, absently pulling a couple of napkins from the metal dispenser. "You're right. I mean, he's gonna be surprised, no doubt. But I won't let this be weird."

Grinning, Martha rested her chin on a hand. "Well, the night might get a little weird. The Doctor will be around, after all."

With an exaggerated shudder, Rose laughed, her eyes automatically finding the door as if the mere mention of his name might've conjured him up. No such luck though- and blimey, she wanted him. Quite badly, all of a sudden. The vague, empty ache that'd been in her middle all day had solidified, becoming set and stone-like. How had she gone so many hours without his arms around her? Without kissing him?

She became aware of Martha's knowing smile. "Miss him, do you?"

"A bit," she admitted, with a sheepish scrunch of her nose. "But speaking of, is it all right if he and I hang around for some of the weekend? I need to pack all my stuff yet, and I want to spend a little time with you and Mick and Charlie."

Martha looked surprised but pleased. "Course, we'd love that. Sure the Doctor won't mind?"

"He'll be fine," she replied nonchalantly, glancing at her watch. "Gosh, it's almost seven. Hold on a mo', I want to try an' ring him-"

"Sorry to interrupt," said a low voice, and Rose looked up to find Matt at their booth, a troubled Mickey at his side. He motioned for the girls to slide over. "Actually," he said as they sat down, "I'm sorry to have to say any of this. But Mick and I've just been handed missions, kids. We have to go."

"What?" Rose would think it a prank if they didn't look so deadly serious. "What's going on?"

"We really shouldn't be telling you two any details," said Matt, briefly making eye contact with Mickey across the table. "Cause the fact is, neither of you works for UNIT," he went on, eyes shifting away from Rose, "and even at that, only the officers with the highest clearance-"

"They get it," Mickey cut in, putting a hand on the table. "If there's any backlash it's on my head, okay? But like I told you, you'll understand why they need to know in a minute."

Mickey turned his full attention to Rose, and the apology in his eyes made her heart skip a beat. "Don't panic, but it has to do with the Doctor. He's fine," he emphasized quickly, as Rose's hand flew to her throat, "but there might be trouble tonight. Long story short: it sounds like that little fan club of his escaped from UNIT custody in London a few days ago. Don't ask me how. All I was told is that they flew into JFK this morning, and then rented an SUV. We do have a make, model, and license plate, so that's something. Barclay and I've been asked to join the patrols out looking for it."

"They came to New York? But...but why would they do that, if they're after the Doctor? He mostly shows up in London." Rose rubbed her sweaty palms anxiously up and down her thighs, hoping against hope to be told that the group was simply fleeing custody.

Matt gave the answer she was dreading. "Because the Doctor is here again, of all crazy things. UNIT has intel, a source, that says they plan to go after him tonight and that, somehow, they know exactly where they'll be able to find him. No specifics, just that it's somewhere in Manhattan. Oh, and uh, here's another weird twist: apparently they're also intent on snatching one of his old companions." He yanked at his collar. "It all sounds pretty farfetched to me, to be honest. Especially when," he hesitated, darting a glance around, "the companion in question is a girl who actually died over a decade ago. But when HQ calls, I answer. And they're taking this threat seriously because the group did kidnap-"

Rose was vaguely aware that Matt was still speaking, that Martha and Mickey were watching her in concern, but her head was spinning. Shifting, she looked blankly at the thin man sitting beside her, suddenly seeing him as no more than a road block. "I've gotta go," she interrupted, already half-standing. "I've gotta phone 'im. Now."

"Rose," said Martha, reaching over the table to grab her wrist. "Just wait, just hold on a minute, okay?"

"I've already tried phoning the TARDIS," Mickey told her. "And UNIT is on it too; when they rang me a few minutes ago I gave them his current number. Everything is being done. But I can't let you go anywhere until after we talk, okay?"

"This is real, Mick," said Rose earnestly, as if she had to convince him. "The intel is good, all the details are too perfect. I just don't know how..." She paused as it struck her. "We've suspected they had other people inside UNIT working for them from the beginning. Someone must've figured out who I am."

Understanding dawning, Martha scanned the room, and Rose knew exactly who her friend had in mind, who her angry eyes were seeking out- Kyle. But then Matt broke in, hands going up in frustration. "Why do I feel like I'm the one who's suddenly out of the loop?"

Rose closed her eyes for a moment, and then she looked at him. "Blimey, I'm sorry. This isn't how I wanted to tell you, I tried...anyway." She took a deep, pained breath, steeling herself. "Okay, so you know what you just said about the former companion? Well, whoever UNIT's source is, he isn't crazy. She's not dead, Matt." Rose bit her lip, and then blurted it out. "I know, because she's me. And I also know that the Doctor is going to be in Manhattan tonight, because he's meeting me here."

Matt's eyes were wary, his posture gone stiff like he didn't quite believe her, but there wasn't time for her to worry over that right now. Rose pressed on. "And by here, I mean here," she clarified, in case he hadn't fully grasped her meaning. "He was invited to the party, because he's my husband."