Life Summary

Life continued, as it is wont to do, as they continued their adventures. Joshua kept up very well with Rose, even after his hair started greying at the temples. They spent their weeks saving the Universe and their weekends at the Tyler mansion. They watched Tony grow into a rebellious teen. More than once, Joshua had to track him down so Jackie wouldn't worry where he'd run off to. In these moments, Joshua would sit next to him and talk. He'd talk about his life on Gallifrey and how he'd felt trapped. He'd tell Tony how he stole the TARDIS when he was basically just a teen. Eventually, Tony would go home and apologize to his parents.

By the time he was ready to go to University, Tony Tyler had learned more about Joshua and the Doctor than anyone, except Rose. Because of this, Tony decided to walk in Joshua and Rose's footsteps. He majored in Theoretical Physics with a minor in Business. Eventually, he hoped to take over Vitex. He never thought anything of Torchwood. Sure, he was a junior agent, but unlike Rose, he wanted to focus on his studies first. His entire family was proud of him for that.

Eventually, he did end up becoming a full agent, but that wasn't until later. By that time, he had a Doctorate under his belt. He was exceptionally smart. His expertise was focused mostly in R&D with the occasional field work. But all-in-all, Tony Tyler had followed in his family's footsteps.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Joshua was almost fifty-five before their first big disaster. It wasn't to himself, though, but to Tony. Tony had been injured chasing a Slitheen. The were just as ruthless in this Universe as their own. None of the injuries were life-threatening, but they did take Tony away from field work for a considerable amount of time. Pete's health had been steadily declining. He'd had to get a pace-maker. After Tony's accident, Pete pulled him aside and began teaching him how to run the family businesses.

With both of them unable to really do field work, Tony began absorbing all the knowledge he could from his father. By age thirty, he became the youngest Director of Torchwood, by a unanimous vote. Pete Tyler retired, knowing his companies were in good hands. Even more importantly, the secrets of the family would stay sealed for that much longer. Rose and Joshua had time to finish out their lives.

Pete Tyler was a smart man. He knew that if certain other people in Torchwood became aware of Rose's changed physiology, she would become a science experiment. So long as Tony was in charge, he had no fear of that happening.

~DW~~DW~~DW~

Jackie Tyler was seventy when she received the news. She was dying. Oh, she knew that Rose and Joshua could whisk her away and find a cure, but she was strangely okay with dying. She had cancer. Not breast or ovarian, that could be cured easily. It was intestinal cancer. She was given six months to live.

Rose was devastated when she found out. She begged and pleaded with with her mother to let her take her to the future, where they could cure her. Jackie patted Rose's hand gently.

"Everything has a time, Rose. Everything dies. I've lived a long life and didn't think I would get to have the life I had with Pete and Tony. You and the Doctor made that happen."

"But I don't want to lose you."

"Sweetheart, you're going to outlive all of us. And you're supposed to outlive me."

"But not like this."

"Maybe not. But it's how things happen, Rose. And it is how it will happen. You'll outlive us all. And one day, when you're ready, when you've stopped mourning, you'll go find that mad man and be with him. Long after Joshua is gone, that's what you'll do. Because you deserve to be happy, sweetheart. And so does he."

"He left me."

"With himself. I can't begin to know what kind of love that would take. He wanted you to have your happy ending with a himself, even if he couldn't be here. Not that version. But one day, you'll get back to him."

"I don't...I don't want to talk about it."

"Fair enough. Let's go sit. Tony should in by soon. I'm sure the entire family will be in tow."