This piece contains a bit of "fluff" as I believe it's called... It's of the really very fluffy variety... which ain't my usual style, but I -and others - felt it was kinda... necessary. Anyway you've been warned. Any complete haters of Doctor/Rose stuff should look away now!
"Ah, Martha! Jack!" BrownDoctor greeted them enthusiastically as they entered the console room. Mickey and Sarah-Jane were seated to one side, whilst Donna and Jackie stood behind him, the latter looking rather impatient. "Good timing mes amis! We're just debating where to stop off first. Where you heading, Martha?"
"Well actually," she looked at Jack, who nodded for her to continue. "We were just coming to speak to you about that. And you too, Mickey, if you've got a minute?" He nodded and approached them cautiously. "Mr Harkness has made me an offer which I'm intending to accept, if you think it's a good idea, Doc."
"Torchwood?" BrownDoctor asked, simply, left eyebrow raised.
"Absolutely," Jack beamed. "We're a bit er... thin on the ground..." His grin vanished as once again the reality struck him.
"Yes, I'm so sorry about that Jack..." BrownDoctor looked him in the eye sincerely. Jack simply nodded and continued.
"Anyway, I don't know about you but I'm not too big on UNIT personally... I think our Doctor Jones here would be far better suited to a... er... less military role with Gwen, Ianto and me."
"Brilliant!" BrownDoctor beamed his approval. "Keep all of you in one place, will make it easier for me should I need you!"
"That's... great and everything," Mickey said. "But where do I come into this?"
"Well," Martha ventured. "I was telling Jack how you said you had nothing left in your world now..."
"Eh?" BrownDoctor looked worried.
"Ah, yeah. My Nan died Doc, nice and peaceful, and well... whatever happens with Rose and you guys, I know it won't involve me anymore..."
The Doctor nodded his understanding and allowed Martha to continue.
"Well, you said you were looking for a new challenge and..."
"And we want to invite you to join up too Beefcake!" Jack finished with a wink.
"Oh right! Will I be subject to innuendo and flirtation all day long?"
"Naturally!" Jack couldn't deny the perks of the job.
"Ah what the hell, I can cope! I'm in!"
"Wahey!" The Doctor cheered and clapped Mickey on the back whilst he hugged first Martha then Jack. "Keeping it in the family, brilliant!"
"Mickey?" Jackie's interest had been roused by this conversation and she looked at him sadly. He grimaced and went over to her.
"I'm gonna miss you," he smiled. "But it makes sense. I can do some good here. Now that dimension cannon stuff is finished with I'm out of a job really, in your universe."
Jackie forced a supportive smile and hugged him fiercely. "You do what you've gotta do kid. We've had a good time of it all these years... I'll miss you."
"Well that's that settled then," Donna suddenly entered the fray. "Bellissimo! Brilliant! Fantastic! HA!" She stepped in to gain her own Mickey hug, before congratulating Martha and finally embracing Jack again.
Moments later, Donna still with her arms around Jack's waist, Rose entered, followed dotingly by BlueDoctor.
"What have I missed now?" she challenged the room, hands on her hips.
"The Doctor will fill you in," Jack said, fixing the Time Lord with a stern glare. He disentangled Donna's arms from his torso. "I need to talk to my new team here!"
"New team?" BlueDoctor questioned Martha, looking perplexed.
"Come to our briefing, we'll explain all!" Mickey beamed at him and BlueDoctor shrugged, giving up his place at Rose's side to BrownDoctor and joining Torchwood recruits new and old.
"Sorry to disrupt all your happy gatherings," Sarah-Jane spoke out from obscurity. "But I have a son to get home to, if you don't mind!"
"Me too!" Jackie spoke up in support of the older woman.
"Ah. Right," BrownDoctor gestured for Rose to follow him to the TARDIS controls once more. "Jackie, I'll deal with you shortly. Sarah, homeward bound it is!" He flicked a few switches, spun a wheel and everyone was jolted about once more, clinging onto one another and railings for support. Moments later all was calm. "Say your goodbyes, Ms Smith!" BrownDoctor grinned.
Sarah-Jane traversed about the group, hugging everyone, receiving a kiss on each cheek from both Jack and Mickey and sharing "nice-to-meet-you"s all over the place. Then she nodded to BrownDoctor. "Ready when you are!"
The two of them stepped outside the TARDIS together for the most emotional farewell so far. The Doctor closed the door and faced her with a big open-armed shrug.
"So, here we are again!"
Sarah-Jane gave a quick chuckle then stepped forward to hug him once more. "You know Doctor; you act like such a lonely man all the time... yet look at you! All those people in there... You've a family of size to rival the Queen's!"
"Hmm," The Doctor nodded, reluctantly accepting the sentiment. "Well, thanks for everything Sarah-Jane. I can always rely on my Ms Smith!"
"We'll meet again Doctor, I'm sure of it! I'd better go. Luke. He's only fourteen you know!"
"Yeah... about that one..?"
"Oh it's a long story," Sarah-Jane chortled. "I'll explain another time!"
"Well give him my best!" The Doctor raised his voice as she started to trot away. "And to K9 – tell him what a good dog he is!"
"Of course," Sarah-Jane called over her shoulder. "Until next time, young man... old friend!"
The Doctor smiled to himself as he watched her depart, as full of life and enthusiasm as she ever was in the old days. However, what she had said about family resonated deeply with him. Here she was proclaiming what great strength in numbers he had in terms of support, and yet, she was leaving him. Off to her own, real, family. She wasn't the first, and wouldn't be the last, and he didn't resent it, but it rankled with him nonetheless. He inhaled deeply and turned back to the TARDIS door. Suddenly he was hesitant about returning to his "family", in the knowledge that they all too would soon leave, just as Sarah-Jane had, and recommence their human lives.
Averse to facing the reality of the situation, he gripped the vertical edges of the police box and brought his forehead against the door. The force of the action surprised him, and even hurt a little, but it shocked those gathered inside even more as the bang echoed around the room.
Rose went to investigate, and as she opened the door The Doctor leapt away and leant nonchalantly against the adjacent tree.
"Oh, hey Rose!" he stuttered, struggling a little to maintain his dignity. "Erm... The new Torchwood lot ready to head off yet?"
"Nah, they've just had er... you... the other you, put the kettle on," Rose said, perplexed. "He's a lot more domesticated than you ever were!" She paused and The Doctor half-smiled. "Guess it might be a while longer. Erm... Are you alright? We heard a noise..."
"Oh, that..." The Doctor looked about him for inspiration. "Yeah, it was a nut."
"A nut?"
"Yep, this angry-looking squirrel threw it down from that tree there." He pointed upwards, trying to look convincing. Rose wasn't impressed by his alibi but let it rest. "So, how are you?" He asked, now more conventionally sincere.
"Yeah... ok, I suppose. Strange day..." Rose went to sit on a nearby bench. "Just feels like I've hardly spoken to you." The Doctor frowned slightly and went to sit beside her.
"I'm here now," he smiled, taking her hand. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well..." There were so many ways she could have answered that question, so many things she wanted to ask, to challenge him about. Essentially though, she already knew all the answers. She pulled her knees up in front of her on the bench and wrapped her arms around them. The Doctor was forced to let go of her hand to allow the rearrangement of limbs. "Nothing really. It's just as if we've spent no time together, after me coming all this way." Resting her head on his shoulder, and receiving an arm round her own in response, Rose coaxed a bit further. "Still, I guess there's plenty of time for that."
The Doctor bit his lip and made an indeterminable sound, squeezing her shoulders tighter. They sat serenely for a few minutes in silence, soaking up one another's company, but Rose could not let it go without saying something.
"Doctor..."
"I know."
"Do you though?" Rose wriggled away from him so she could engage eye contact. "You know nothing's changed for me since Bad Wolf Bay? That I think of you all day and you're in my dreams every night? That however much I love my family, it was you I wanted to stay with, that awful day you tried to send me away? That I need you in my life, and whatever you might tell yourself, that you need me too?" The Doctor's hearts were creaking and cracking more with each passing word, but his mind was set. "Do you know, Doctor? Do you understand how much I love you?"
Partly because he'd wanted to all day, and every day for the past four years, but more so because he couldn't bear another word of the devastating truth, The Doctor leant forward and kissed his Rose's downturned lips. She responded so enthusiastically that her hands were around his neck before he'd the chance to register. A kiss intended as a muffler flourished into the most impassioned encounter of the tenth Doctor's life, surpassing in moments the flurries of desire with Astrid and Reinette. This was how it felt to love, and to truly express love, through more than insipid smiles and embraces.
Even as The Doctor allowed his fingers to trace up and down Rose's back, let free his lips to her advances and surrendered to the unfamiliar squirming in his stomach, his resolve was strengthened. His Rose, his wonderfully, fantastically human Rose, deserved to experience this feeling forever. To receive the attentions of a man who could fully commit to her, let his life become hers, to his dying day be dedicated. As painful as it was to accept that he could not be that man, it also comforted him to know that she, at least, could have everything she wanted.
With a continued resolute hold on her body, The Doctor grudgingly broke the kiss. He delayed opening his eyes, afraid of what truths they may reveal, and instead placed his head on Rose's shoulder. She snuggled into his neck and held him tighter than ever, the pair equally reluctant to let go of one another; The Doctor knowing it would be the last time he'd feel her warmth. Eventually he spoke, hushed words into her ear, breaking the spell once and for all.
"Your tea will be cold."
Rose let out the briefest of laughs and slowly disentangled herself. She watched as The Doctor straightened his tie and patted at his hair futilely, her eyes full of adoration but lips unable to strain towards a smile. "Doctor...?" she began as he got shakily to his feet, making no attempt to tuck in his shirt or flatten his creased lapels. His attempts at hiding his anguish, however, were more successful as he smiled down at her genuinely and held out a hand.
"Let's go inside, hey?" The warmth of his tone was frustratingly irresistible, so she took his hand firmly and was led back into the stifling heat of the still-crowded TARDIS.