Okay, so I decided to post an extra chapter today. :)

Rose had hardly set foot outside the TARDIS, when Mickey came into view at the end of the street. Though deeply distressed, Rose hadn't felt the urge to cry until she saw him. Seeing Mickey there, same old Mickey, made everything feel more real. She was stuck here. It wasn't that she didn't love Mickey and her mum. She just didn't belong here anymore. She really was stuck and she had really lost the Doctor.

Rose missed the words in Mickey's excited greeting and just turned into him, crying against his chest, accepting any comfort he could give. Her mum showed up just a minute later, having heard the TARDIS engines just as Mickey had. Rose didn't feel very much like explaining, but she did, in part, at least.

Two hours later, her mind hadn't gained any further clarity. Her brain was buzzing like it was working overtime, but she could hardly put any thoughts together. It was just the same weary thoughts cycling: the Doctor was dying, she could do nothing, she was stuck here, and then there were the many things that meant for her future. Just the basic facts because they just couldn't sink in.

Her mum and Mickey tried to be consoling, but it wasn't very effective. They didn't want the Doctor or Jack to die, but they weren't close enough to the two men to really feel any sting from it. As for Rose being sent back to London to stay with them permanently, Mickey and Jackie told her sorry, meaning they were sorry Rose was upset about it, but they themselves were relieved.

Their condolences didn't last long. It had hardly been a half hour before Jackie and Mickey thought Rose should be moving on, putting the Doctor and everything behind her. They didn't put it like that. No, they just pushed conversation in other directions, making awkward small talk. They tried at first to make small talk with Rose, filling her in on things she'd missed while she was gone, but when Rose didn't respond, Jackie and Mickey started talking to one another in front of Rose, throwing just an occasional comment in Rose's direction.

Sitting down in a local restaurant, it was clear that they were running out of topics. 'New pizza place?' - 'What's it selling?' - 'Pizza.' Rose just ignored them. Couldn't they see that she just didn't care? Couldn't they see there was only one thing that she did care about? She needed to get back. They just didn't understand. They really didn't and when she snapped and tried to explain, it only came out wrong. It wasn't that Rose believed she was better than anyone else, as she had been accused. It was only that she knew she didn't belong there. As much as she loved them and would treasure the time she lived there, her life with the Doctor was the better life for her. He was the most incredible man in the universe, she loved him, and he was dying and there was nothing she could do. Emotionally overwhelmed by her rant, she fled the restaurant and the company of her mum and Mickey.

Rose was granted a bit of time to herself, but it wasn't long before Mickey found her wandering about the play yard. After a short apology, he started right back in with, "You can't spend the rest of your life thinking about the Doctor."

"And just how do I forget 'im?" Rose responded quietly. She wouldn't. She knew she could never forget the Doctor, so how could she move on then?

"You've got to start living your own life," said Mickey. "You know, a proper life, like the kind he's never had. The sort of life that you could have with me."

Rose scowled, ready with a biting remark, but her attention was stolen by something else. Fresh paint on the tarmac in the play yard, huge letters that read 'Bad Wolf.'

"No…" Mickey anxiously denied with a shake of his head. "No, this can't happen anymore, right?"

Rose was staring without blinking, her foggy brain clearing and frantically considering possibilities. There were more possibilities than she could think up, but she knew what it meant. "It is happening. Bad Wolf means I'm supposed to be with the Doctor so I'm going to get back. I'll find a way. This is proof."

Mickey called out as Rose raced across the play yard. "It's just spray paint! Anyone could've done it!"

Mickey shook his head and raced after her. Who was he kidding? Rose was going back. He had to do what he could to help.

"All the TARDIS needs to do is make a return trip. Just reverse." The way Rose stated it made it sound like an easy feat.

"Yeah, but how are you supposed to do that if the controls are locked?" Mickey pointed out.

"Well, I was thinkin'… I told you that this ship is alive. Not just alive, but telepathic. She can listen," Rose said emphatically.

Her bubbling hope was obvious, but Mickey was still pretty doubtful himself. "Right… not listenin' now though, is it?"

"Course she is. She always is. She's in my head right now." Mickey looked unsettled by that news, but Rose continued unaware. "Problem is, she doesn't get into my head right. She's just about the surface of my mind. Or… maybe the problem is that my head's not big enough for a proper chat…" she said thoughtfully. "Anyway, last time I saw you, in Cardiff, everything was breakin' apart, right? So was the TARDIS. A bit of the console opened up and I made contact with the heart of the TARDIS. Well, more like she made contact with me. That is what I need. I know it is now. I can feel it. I can do this."

"So… what? You hafta break open the TARDIS?" Mickey asked skeptically. He was becoming more and more uneasy about this whole thing, which was saying something considering he didn't like any of it from the start.

Rose smiled softly at the glowing column. Terrified as she was, she still felt safe in the TARDIS. "You know… I don't think I do."

"But I thought you just said-"

"I think I need it open, but I don't think I need to break it," Rose explained. "This, er, might not work. But if it does… Well, I'll try to come back if it can, but still… just tell my mum that I love her. And you, Mickey… thanks."

"Wait, but you haven't said how you're going to open it."

Rose flashed him a smile. "I'm going to ask nicely… beg if I have to."

"But…"

"Best if you stand back," she suggested, placing both her hands on the edge of the console. She was going to be humiliated if this didn't work, but humiliation was the least of her worries. There were too many other feelings. Hope was a big one. She liked hope. Fear was another big one. She remembered quite well how horrifying it was the last time the console popped open. The third towering emotion was desperation. Hope and desperation were strong enough to tamp down the terror. She knew the Doctor would risk anything for her. It was time for her to rescue him.

Rose blew out a slow breath and closed her eyes. She'd never tried to initiate a telepathic connection before, but then she realized that she still didn't have to. She could feel the TARDIS, just as she always could. She just needed to slow down and reach out to that sensation. She was astonished at how different it felt this time. There was no fight. The TARDIS was welcome.

"Go, Mickey!" Rose ordered. "Go now!"

"But, Rose, what-?"

"Just leave!" Rose turned her head to look at him and Mickey staggered backward. He stared at the golden light in her eyes for just a second before turning and fleeing as instructed. In his rush, he forgot to close the TARDIS door. It appeared that he didn't need to worry about it as it swung forcefully shut on its own.

"Bloody hell," he muttered.

Rose refocused her attention. Though the console still needed to be opened, she wasn't afraid anymore. The TARDIS was a calming presence in her mind. There was no more fight, no more storm. Harmony. It was time.

The console opened at her request, bathing her in light, an exquisite light that blinded the eyes, but brought clarity to the workings of the universe. She could see everything. She could see her Doctor. And she could see that the time had come.

Coward. Any day.

The Doctor had done everything he could to prepare. The delta wave was ready for use. One press was all it would take for him to wipe out every single Dalek. He could exterminate them all with no regrets. But the Earth, the people there… that sacrifice… He told himself that he had to, but in the end, he just couldn't. He didn't have it in him to make that kind of decision again. He was going to die either way. He wouldn't live to see the consequences. Let him die standing for peace, not murdering the masses. Let someone else fight them…

Rose was safe. That was enough for him.

The Doctor closed his eyes and breathed calmly, waiting for the Daleks to exterminate him.

And then he heard it. So did the Daleks, so it wasn't his imagination. The Doctor whirled around and stared in shock as the TARDIS finished materializing. The doors opened suddenly and he shielded his eyes from the overwhelming light streaming out. It wasn't just streaming, the light was flowing and swirling, all around a silhouette in the doorway. Rose.

The Doctor tripped backward and stared up at her with wide, terror-filled eyes. The light wasn't just coming from the TARDIS. Rose herself was encompassed by a nimbus of light with a golden glow swirling in her eyes.

"What have you done?!" the Doctor demanded in horror.

"I showed my heart to the TARDIS and she shared hers with me." Rose's voice was as ethereal as her appearance. Gone was her South London accent, her enunciation polished and her tone impassive and regal.

"You looked into the Time Vortex. Rose, no one's meant to see that."

"I am," she disagreed.

"This is the abomination!" the voice of the Dalek emperor boomed.

A beam shot out of the weapon of the nearest Dalek as it cried "exterminate." Rose lifted her hand in front of it and the beam stopped where it was and then retraced its path to the source.

Rose continued speaking with the stunned Doctor as though nothing had interrupted. "I am the heart of the Bad Wolf. I created myself. I take the words and I scatter them in time and space." When Rose waved her hand, the letters in the Bad Wolf logo lifted away from the wall and dispersed, scattered just as she'd said.

"A message to lead myself here," she explained, "just as they were scattered before to lead you to me."

"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've got to stop this now," the Doctor implored. "You've got the entire Vortex running through your head. You're going to burn!"

Rose looked down at him, her eyes directly on him, and the Doctor saw her then, beneath the power and light, his Rose as he knew her. He saw the emotions of love and fear that were driving her. "I want you safe. My Doctor. Protected from the false god."

"You cannot hurt me. I am immortal," the emperor proclaimed.

Rose's attention snapped back up to the emperor and the warmth that the Doctor had glimpsed was gone. "You are tiny. I can see the whole of time and space, every single atom of your existence, and I divide them." When she raised her hand at the nearest Dalek again, it wasn't in defense. She held the power as judge and executioner. She needed no weapons, only thought. The raise of her hand was only for show, a formal decree, as she caused the Dalek to slowly disintegrate. She spoke again, but there was a distinct waver in her voice. "Everything must come to dust… All things. Everything dies…" Her voice choked, but the strength returned to declare, "The Time War ends."

The Doctor watched from his place on the floor in silence, awe, and fear as all of the Daleks disintegrated. It should have felt like a victory, but Rose was the weapon. Rose was burning. Any scenario in which he lost Rose could never be called a victory. "Rose, you've done it. Now stop. Just let go."

"I can't," she said simply.

"You can. You have to," the Doctor told her, finally climbing to his feet. "Just let it go, Rose."

"But I can't," she repeated, her voice breaking. This was his Rose again. Though her voice was still unnatural, vibrating with an unworldly echo, the air of authority had vanished. She seemed so much smaller this way, more delicate.

"Rose," he pleaded. "Y-"

"I'm not holding it anymore, Doctor," she tried to explain. "The Bad Wolf is holding it. I can't let go."

"No!" The Doctor seized her by the arms and stared desperately into her eyes. "Let me take it. Please. I'll take it and I'll-"

"We won't let you die. We came to save you."

"We?"

"Bad Wolf," she answered. "I've finished what she wanted. The Time War has ended. Bad Wolf is done with me now. It's over, Doctor."

"NO!" the Doctor bellowed. Rose's body began to steadily glow brighter, burning the Doctor's hands as he tried to keep hold of her. "No! No, just stop! Please!"

"Don't forget me, Doctor," Rose implored, her voice fading in the light. "Don't forget me."

The light had completely enshrouded her and the Doctor hissed in pain from the scalding heat in his hands, but he refused to let her go. As soon as Rose finished her last word, the light burst, throwing the Doctor across the floor. He immediately looked up and Rose was gone.

A/N: Both sorry and not sorry for any painful feels this chapter evoked. Only two more chapters after this, but I assure you, I'm a happy ending kind of writer.

So... going rather differently than canon. Let me know what you think?