Chapter 28

Tears stung Rose's eyes as she looked at the broken man kneeling before her. She wanted nothing more than to say yes, to once again be the Doctor's wife. But the Doctor had always been rash when it came making important decisions. And if he was only asking out of fear or grief... "Are- are you sure? Now?"

"I have never been more sure of anything," he replied.

"But after..." she trailed off, really noticing the state of the velvet box for the first time. The edges were well worn, nearly frayed, making it seem as if he had been carrying it for a while. And that was nothing, nothing, compared to the ring which looked hauntingly familiar and caused her breath to catch in her throat. She recognized the floral stone design instantly; how many times had she been caught sneaking that ring on her fingers in her childhood? "Where did you get that?"

His eyes softened and he smiled as his thoughts turned to Jackie. "Well, I might have gone to see Jackie."

Before Rose could even consider this new revelation, an unfamiliar voice broke through their bubble followed by a series of catcalls. "Say yes!"

The Doctor grinned at the strangers that had gathered around them. "What do you say, Rose Tyler? Will you have me, this me, here in this universe, forever?"

"Of course," she breathed. Rose brushed her fingers along his temple before cupping his cheek in her hand. "Every you, everywhere, every time."

The crowd of onlookers, which had grown considerably in the last few minutes, burst into applause and cheered loudly as they watched the seemingly young couple kiss. Feeling rather dazed, Rose straightened the Doctor's bowtie before lacing her fingers through his and following his lead as they ran away from the crowd, hand-in-hand.


Rose knew that the Doctor's happiness would be short lived, that he would soon allow the grief of losing Amy and Rory to overtake him. Especially now that they had done as Amy asked and visited her eight year old self one last time. Before he lost himself though, there was one more trip that they had to take. She just had to figure out how to make him see reason, that it was necessary.

"She was an adorable child," Rose said, wrapping her arms around the Doctor and hugging him. "Thank you for taking me with you."

The Doctor smiled sadly, resting his forehead against hers. "Amy would have wanted you there. Who knows, maybe she even remembered that you were, on some level."

Rose nodded, the corner of her mouth twitching up into a half smile. "Doctor," she began, not looking forward to having this conversation. "I think- I think it's time."

"Time for what?"

Rose stepped back from him, moving toward the console as she produced a familiar looking tool from her back pocket and set it on the railing. "Do you think you have one more in you? One more goodbye?"

The Doctor looked from Rose to the older sonic screwdriver that she had set down and instantly understood. "Why? Why does it have to be now?"

"Because I know you, I know us. We'll keep running from it, hoping it will never happen."

"Would that be so bad?" He said it so quietly that Rose could barely hear him.

Once again Rose wrapped her arms around him. "My love," she sighed into his chest as he nuzzled into her hair, "It has to happen, and soon. You know that without River in the Library certain important events will never happen. All of our lives from that point on will have been for naught."

"But her parents, Rose..."

The pleading tone almost broke her, but Rose knew enough to stand her ground. "I know, but that timing is just for us. She's already been in touch, already written the book. Who knows how long there even is before she's leading that expedition and reaches out to you and Donna? She needs to know things before its too late," Rose finished quietly.

The Doctor gasped, the meaning of her words sinking in. "I can't tell her that," he insisted. "I didn't even tell her when I went through with the false wedding."

"Nor do you have to," Rose replied quietly. "It's me. It always was." The Doctor jerked his head back and looked Rose in the eyes. "Ever the paradox, me. Yeah?"

"It isn't your secret to tell," the Doctor said, a certain edge to his voice.

"Maybe not, but one of us has to, and we both know that you won't. You could have told her ages ago, in that aborted timeline, making the marriage real. But you didn't. Why?"

The Doctor dropped his arms to his side and started pacing. "I had to tell her about the Teselecta. She had to know-"

"You could have done both."

"It wasn't the right time!"

"Nor will it ever be!" Rose shouted back. "Don't you understand? She has to know, otherwise what will she say to gain your trust in the Library? You know I'm right... If you don't want to face this, then fine. I'll go on my own."

The Doctor stared at Rose as she began to glow with the golden time energy. "Rose, what are you-" His eyes widened as she disappeared. "Doing?" he finished lamely. "What the hell was that?!"


Rose let herself into the office and angrily slammed the door behind her, catching the attention of the woman behind the desk.

"What did he do now?" River asked, looking up from her book and smirking. When Rose didn't answer but instead let out a frustrated growl, River simply shook her head and pushed her chair back. "Well, come on then. Time for a drink."

Smiling gratefully, Rose took River's outstretched hand and together they were transported from the professor's office to a much more appropriate setting: a bar.

"How long has it been?" asked River as she sipped her scotch. "It can't have been that long..."

"Only hours. We just left an eight year old Amelia in her bed."

"So he asked then?"

Rose held out her left hand in response. "He did. I wasn't sure, given the timing, but..."

"Mother can be quite convincing, even from beyond." River smiled to herself. "Besides, he did go to a lot of trouble, bending all sorts of rules, to get that for you."

Rose nodded. "It was my grandmother's. I wish I could have gone with him to see mum though."

"Don't worry, from what I heard, Jackie gave him a proper slapping when she realized who he was and that you weren't there."

"That's something, at least," Rose smirked, remembering the first time she had witnessed her mother slap the Doctor. "I just miss her, I miss all of them."

"Tell me about it, sweetie."

Rose looked over at River, suddenly ashamed. "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking..."

"I know, and it's fine. Really. But trust me on this: you will get your closure."

"What do you mean?"

River shook her head. "Spoilers."

The two women stayed at the bar for several more rounds, amazingly comfortable with one another's company. Rose was very pleased with how far they had come since their initial meeting, thanks to the Bad Wolf. She had harbored so much animosity for this woman after John told her what had happened in the Library, but only now did she fully understand it all. It really was her. Even when given the exact opportunity to fulfill their apparent destiny the Doctor couldn't bring himself to do it. Surely he realized what that meant as well?

Just as they were about to order another round of drinks, they heard it: the sound of the TARDIS engines materializing nearby.

"Oh, you are in trouble, aren't you?" River said snidely, as they watched the Doctor glare around the crowded establishment looking for them.

Rose scoffed. "Oncoming Storm? Slight drizzle, more like." She rolled her eyes before turning to face the Doctor and smiling sweetly. "Fancy a drink?"


"There you are," Rose said, relieved to have finally found him. She was surprised that the TARDIS had kept her from him, but then again, the Doctor was hers first and Rose's second. Rose felt the appreciative hum in the back of her mind that was the ship's acknowledgement, but they both knew that he could easily be headed to a very dark place.

"Sorry," he replied, looking up from his spot on the floor.

Rose kicked off her shoes, rolled up her jeans, and lowered herself next to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as she dipped her feet in the pool. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked quietly.

"What?" he sighed.

"Them. River. Me. Us. Take your pick."

"What's to discuss? It happened. Amy and Rory are gone. River could be gone any day now. And you kept more secrets from me." he said flatly.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before she peered at him over her shoulder, unsure that she'd ever seen him so deep in thought. She sighed and decided to do what anyone would in this sort of situation: she splashed him.

"Oi!" He wiped the water from his face and shot her a nasty glance. "What's that for?"

"Just making sure you're still with me," she said, giving him her tongue-in-tooth smile.

The Doctor snorted, wresting a giggle from Rose. "Well, if that's how to want to play it," he said, wrapping his arms around Rose. She realized what he intended to do a split second before he actually did it, her eyes wide and screaming "No!" just as he pushed her into the water.

Rose surfaced and spun around to face the Doctor, shaking her head at the smug look on his face. "What?" he asked innocently, abruptly realizing his mistake. As he attempted to scramble back from the pool's edge, Rose grabbed hold of his ankle. "Oh, no, you don't," she said, reaching up and grabbing his braces and pulling him forward with a splash and a scream.

"You're going to regret doing that," he warned, treading water in the center of the pool. "This was my favorite bowtie."

"You'll have to catch me first," she taunted, swimming away from him.


"Wasn't there something that you wanted to talk about?" the Doctor asked, his eyes half closed as he lay beside Rose, completely relaxed and running his hand up and down the curve of her side absentmindedly.

"Did I?" she sighed. "I don't recall… something must've distracted me." Rose felt him smirk into her hair as he pulled her tighter against him. "You know, you can't always just distract me with-" The Doctor cut her sentence short with what started as a seemingly innocent kiss but quickly escalated into another, albeit enjoyable, diversion.

Panting slightly, Rose once again collapsed beside the Doctor. "Okay, that was a bit of a surprise."

"Respiratory bypass and superior physiology, you know."

"Hardly fair."

"You'll get used to it."

Before Rose could respond, she was brought back to reality by the sound of her mobile. She leaned over the Doctor and reached toward their pile of wet clothes, amazed - but not entirely surprised - that the phone had even survived its brief swim, and nearly dropped it once she looked at the caller ID. "That's not possible…" she breathed.

Instantly alert, the Doctor sat up. "What is it? Who is it?"

Shaking like a leaf, Rose accepted the call and held the phone to her ear. "Mum?"

Reflexively the Doctor grabbed a nearby towel and draped it over himself, half expecting Jackie Tyler to suddenly appear in the TARDIS with them. Parallel universe or not, it wouldn't have surprised him; he well remembered what that woman was capable of.

"Rose?" a strange man's voice responded. "Rose, is that really you?"

"Who is this?" she whispered, her heart racing in her chest.

"Rose, it's me. It's Tony."


A/N: Reviews please? Would love to know your thoughts...