==Epilogue==

Jamais Vu

"Your absence has not taught me to be alone, it merely has shown that when together we cast a single shadow on the wall."
― Doug Fetherling

Sally had thought that nothing on earth could hurt as much as that one day, a year ago, in which she'd lost her best friend and two would-be suitors. But meeting up with the Doctor and John and Holmes now, and not one of them knowing who she was... Sometimes, over the past year, she'd doubted that she'd ever really seen affection in John's eyes when he'd looked at her. That she'd just been imagining something she'd wished to be real.

She knew now that it had been real, however, once she'd looked into his eyes again and seen no trace of recognition. Only curiosity. He didn't know who she was.

Hugging herself, she walked away from the trio as quickly as she could and willed herself to hold it together. She had to stop thinking about him. She could make it if she stopped thinking about him.

Watching Sally encounter his past self had been the strangest experience of Watson's life to date, but the wonder of this moment of genuine déjà vu quickly faded as Sally walked away again - the look on her face was heartbreaking... As soon as he judged that she and the younger him were far enough apart, he stepped out of hiding. "Sally..."

For a moment, she forgot to breathe, head jerking up, eyes wide. "John?" she said hoarsely. It was him, standing before her, down to the clothes he'd been wearing when the TARDIS took him away. Was that remorse in his eyes? She didn't care—it was John, her John.

He nodded, smiling anxiously. "Sally, I am so sorry!" What must she have endured, waiting all this time for him to come back, and never even knowing if he would?

This wasn't a dream, right? Because she had dreamed... she had dreamed so vividly... "It's been a long time," she said slowly. "I've missed you."

"I know," he answered sadly. "Sally, believe me, if I could have come back any sooner, I would have!" The very moment he had left her, if it were possible. "But we had to let the time loop complete itself..."

She suddenly felt exhausted, right down to her bones. "Because it happened now, and it's no one's fault that it's a year later..."

He nodded, heart aching to hear the weariness in her voice. Dear Lord, he was such a fool... Most likely, she'd already decided months ago to move on with her life. What good could his returning now truly achieve, except to give her the chance to tell him goodbye? "Even so... I deeply regret that you were forced to wait so long for the answers you needed - that wasn't fair to you, not at all."

Forced to wait for the answers she needed... She forced a small shrug and shook her head, starting to tremble. "It's not like you had to. I'm glad everything worked out for you and the Doctor and Mr. Holmes—" her voice thickened, vision blurring—"it was nice seeing you again..." She ducked her head to hide her tears and made to walk past him.

His heart missed a beat - could it be...? Out of all the things she'd said, she hadn't bid him farewell... He dared to reach out and place his hands gently on her shoulders. "Sally, wait - please."

She froze, not having expected that, but kept her head down, refusing to let him see her cry. Her breath hitched, though, and she could have kicked herself. She had been dreaming and daydreaming about this meeting for a year—why couldn't she say something? Why couldn't she make herself tell him?

His heart broke to see her so distressed. "Oh, Sally..." "His voice had become a whisper, throat tight. "I've missed you, too - so much!" Just those few moments of believing he would never see her again had been torturous.

She dared to look up, eyes bright with unshed tears. She tried to speak but couldn't past the lump in her throat, and reached up for his hand instead, holding it. It was warm and solid and real. He was really here, and... he'd missed her.

His own hand was starting to tremble in hers. "Sally, you are the most... amazing young woman... and I am just a battered and scarred old army doctor with nothing to offer you... nothing except my heart. But if, by some miracle, you believe that's enough..." He trailed off, smiling tentatively. Could she really want to be with him, as old as he was - in every sense of the word?

Something in her chest ached as she listened, but her heart thrilled with joy. He did love her! She echoed his smile and murmured, "John, I'm not sure what you think I have to offer, but..." Squeezing his hand gently, she breathed, "Are you asking me to marry you?"

He shook his head gently, albeit regretfully. "Sally, you and I have had so little time to get to know one another. And Holmes and I won't travel with the Doctor forever. Eventually, we will return home to our own era – where most women are not afforded half the freedom or equality that they are in this time." Despite her love of history, to live in the past would require a great many sacrifices of them both, and Sally especially, which it could well be she was simply unable to make, however willing. "To ask for your hand now, under such circumstances, would be unpardonable... but will you allow me to court you?"

Her face falling, she kicked herself for assuming and being forward with a Victorian gentleman, of all people. But in the past year, when she hadn't been working on finishing up her bachelor's as quickly as possible, she'd been studying up on the late Victorian period, reading everything she could get her hands on. She knew what being a woman and a wife in that era would mean, and still she wanted to be with John.

She nodded slowly, uncertain now of what to do or say without sticking her foot in her mouth again.

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it, his heart in his eyes, murmuring, "I love you, Sally, so very much." It seemed so long since he had first wanted to speak those words to her. "Whatever happens, never doubt that."

Breathless and humbled by the love in his eyes, she murmured, "I love you, John..." Maybe she always had, since that very first meeting. She took a deep breath, stepped closer, leaned up... and kissed him softly on the lips.

Her kiss was even sweeter than he had dreamed it would be. He returned it gladly, tenderly, put his arms around his girl and held her close, almost breathless with joy.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him, wanting never to let go, and rested her head on his good shoulder. She loved him, and he loved her—she didn't think she'd ever been so happy in her life.

He turned his head and kissed her hair, wishing fervently that he didn't have to spoil this precious moment. "Sally, I... I know I don't have the right to ask this... and you need to understand that when one travels with the Doctor, one's safety is never guaranteed – in fact, the only certainty is that it will never be dull..." Then he realised he was babbling again, and fell silent, blushing.

She tilted her head back and smiled. "Really? I would never have guessed." The only thing that had made normal life bearable in the past year had been working overtime on her degree. The busyness had left her with little time to long for more adventures (although she couldn't say that she hadn't). "John, you can't just walk away from something like a run-in with living statues without it changing the way you look at things, at the world. Suddenly... suddenly, you realise it's so much bigger than you would ever have dared to dream... and I want to see what's out there."

He took her hand in his, beaming with pride. This incredible, courageous young woman, who had saved all of their lives... How he looked forward to sharing more adventures with her, and someday, perhaps, the greatest adventure of them all. "Then by all means, my love, come and see."

To Be Continued...

in Episode 9: 'Fractures'

A/N from Ria: *hearts for eyes* Come on, you guys knew we were going to let Watson and Sally get together, right? But of course, this is only the start of their adventures! Next TARDISode coming soon, in which more than one relationship will be put under the microscope...

Stay tuned, and please review!