Epilogue

Rose woke to an empty bed aboard the TARDIS. She'd gotten used to that pretty quickly, given the Doctor didn't need nearly as much sleep as she did. More often than not, she found him tinkering with something in the console room whilst he waited for her to get up. Some things never changed.

She got out of bed and slipped on a dressing gown, making her way to the kitchen first. A cup of tea sat on the table, still hot, judging by the steam rising from it. She sat down at the table and carefully lifted the mug to her lips, taking a tiny sip in case it wasn't meant for her. Becoming part human hadn't altered the Doctor's preference for overly-sweetened tea. Fortunately the cup tasted of tea, not just liquid sugar, and she felt significantly more awake by the time she'd finished it.

The Doctor had yet to make an appearance, and as if waiting for a cue, the TARDIS sent her a brief image of the console room. It was the first place she would have looked for him anyway, but it was nice to have confirmation. Rose left her mug in the sink and padded out to the console room, expecting to see pinstriped trouser-clad legs and trainers sticking out from under the console, but the room was empty.

Odd, Rose thought. Why would the TARDIS send her here? "Doctor?" she called aloud.

A moment later, he popped into the hallway just beyond the console room. He was once again in his brown suit, but it was unusually rumpled. His hair was strangely flat, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"Were you up all night again?" Rose asked in a concerned tone as she crossed the room to meet him. She wrapped her arms around his thin waist and laid her head against his chest. She felt him pull her closer as he rested his cheek on her hair. She pulled back slightly to see his face, and the dark circles under his eyes worried her. He'd been less energetic than usual for the better part of a week. She placed a hand on his cheek. "Is everything all right?"

The Doctor only smiled in response before lowering his head to hers and thoroughly kissing her. When they broke apart, both slightly breathless, Rose momentarily forgot she was supposed to be worried.

"I have a surprise for you," the Doctor announced giddily. Although he looked like he could use a good nap, he still managed to bounce on his toes with excitement. "Close your eyes."

Rose raised a suspicious eyebrow before complying. She heard him walk away followed by the sound of a door opening before he came back. It sounded like he was wheeling something behind him, and Rose had no idea what it could be. She prepared herself to react positively, even if it turned out to be a giant toaster.

"Though a puppy on the TARDIS didn't seem like a good idea, I thought we could use another companion."

Rose, her eyes still closed, couldn't help a tiny frown at the word "companion." "Can I open my eyes now?" she asked with slight apprehension.

She felt his hand brush her unkempt hair behind her ear. "Yes," he said, keeping his hand on her shoulder. Rose wasn't sure what to expect, but the squat metal form on the floor in front of her wasn't it.

"K9!"

"Hello mistress," the robot dog's synthesized voice greeted. He was a little less boxy than Sarah Jane's K9 but retained the same red eye piece, oscillating satellite dish ears, and antenna-like tail.

Rose knelt down next to K9 to give him a closer look, noting the colourful buttons spread across his back and the blue collar with burgundy pinstripes around his neck. "You can call me Rose."

"Affirmative, mistress Rose." Rose laughed and looked up at the Doctor who was grinning proudly at them.

"May I present K9 Mark V," he announced grandly. "Loyal, intelligent, and hover-capable."

Rose stood and looped her arm through the Doctor's. "You built a robot dog. Wherever did you get the parts?"

"I made a little side trip to the fifty-first century one night when you were sleeping."

"And you stayed up all night working, didn't you?"

He nodded. "Well, maybe several nights. Do you like him?"

"I love him," Rose responded emphatically. "And I love you, my Doctor." She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him.

As the Doctor held her close, he couldn't help hearing a little voice in the back of his mind telling him that despite the single heart and exile in a parallel universe, maybe he hadn't gotten such a bad deal after all. He might only have another fifty years or so to his human lifespan, but he could spend them with Rose, together in the TARDIS, just as it was meant to be.

...

A/N: Whew! Here we are at the end. Thanks for tagging along! There are (hopefully) more adventures still to come for Rose and the metacrisis Doctor, starting with a rather angsty one-shot, "A Proper Goodbye for the End of Time."