Life After Death

Chapter 8: Confirmed

Warning: Slight LotTL spoiler

The Doctor sighed once again as he looked at the test results. Everything was pointing to the same answer, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

The TARDIS was still "charging" but they'd taken the train to Cardiff so that he could use the TARDIS's computer to solve this…dilemma? He wasn't really sure what the right word for it was. He, the 910 year old Time Lord, who knew hundreds of languages and had the ability to talk the ear off the most horrendous despot…was speechless.

Rose came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, perching her chin on his shoulder to look at the screen. "So what's it mean?" she asked after a moment of trying to decipher the language and failing.

"It means," the Doctor said heavily, "that the two of us are immortal."

She squeezed him. "That's good, yeah?"

He sighed and turned to her, wrapping his arms around her. "Yes, and no," he said, sighing yet again. "On one hand, it means that we don't ever have to worry about one of us dying." He paused to consider this. "Well, we do, but we'll come back," he said offhandedly.

Rose was watching him. "And?"

"Well…you remember the Face of Boe?" the Doctor asked.

"How could I forget him?" Rose smiled fondly. "He was a part of our first official adventure in both your bodies."

"Blimey, you're right," the Doctor said, scratching his head. "I'd never thought about that!"

"Anyway…the Face of Boe?" Rose prompted.

"Well, he turned out to be someone we both knew…the Face of Boe is, apparently, Jack."

"Jack?!" Rose stared at him in amazement. "How is that? Last time I saw him, Jack wasn't a six foot tall head. And from what you said, last time you saw him he wasn't either."

"Ah, but when you factor in millions of years…" the Doctor shook his head. "Anyway, I don't think we're really immortal. I just think we're going to be around this universe for a very long time."

"So what now?" Rose asked, still holding onto him.

The Doctor leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her squeal. She looked up at him with wide eyes before grinning.

"I knew you were brilliant!" she said, laughing.

"Aren't I always?" he smirked, before she drug him from the room.

A/N: Oh…that was rubbish. I'm sorry. But I was just trying to get some sort of update to this.

New Year's Resolution; write something every day. And since I'm up at 6:45, eating breakfast by 7:20, and haven't any classes until 9:30 or 10, I've got some time to do it in.

Now, Rose's question about what next was really one for all the readers too. I've had about 25 people make this a favorite story, and about 35 have it on Story Alert, which absolutely AMAZES me. I've NEVER had this sort of response to any story (granted, I usually do one shots). But I'm feeling a little like I'm floundering around here, so what do you want to see? NewDrWhoFan suggested they revisit some planets they've been to (it's the parallel universe, after all!), so which planets/times were you particularly fond of? What do you think may have changed in the other universe? Perhaps Elvis is nothing more than a nightclub singer! Where do you want to see Rose and the Doctor go on a personal level? I've had a lot of questions about "are they going to get married"; what do you think?

I live to please my readers, so if you have any ideas about where you want this story to go, leave a review and let me know.