By the time they reached London, with all the blimps flying overhead they had figured out where they stood. They would take things slowly. But there was no way either of them wanted to be apart from the other. They would both live in Rose's flat while they focused on growing the TARDIS and continue to do some work for Torchwood in their spare time. After that, well only time would tell if they moved beyond friendship. As they walked down the streets of London, Rose told him how this world was different. Slight changes, but changes all the same. The Doctor laughed at some of them, especially when Rose told him that here, Police Boxes had been red.

"I am not turning the TARDIS red!" He protested. "It just wouldn't be right! It's something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue!" Rose laughed at him.

"Well, it never actually blended in anyways, so why should its color make a difference? Besides, I don't think it would be the same if it was red." The Human Doctor grinned at her. His brilliant Rose. Finally, Rose stopped in front of a building and stood looking up at it. "We're here." She said quietly, and then looked over at him. "Why am I nervous?" The Human Doctor squeezed her hand reassuringly, and then looked over at her suddenly concerned.

"They're not going to want to arrest me for being an enemy of the state for anything like that are they?" The Human Doctor asked. Rose laughed and shook her head.

"No. In this world, Queen Victoria founded Torchwood even without our involvement. Oh, and you still owe me that ten quid!" The Doctor deliberately ignored her last comment.

"And they're not gonna want to dissect me either?" He asked with a smile.

"Only over my dead body." Rose assured him grinning. He grinned back at her.

"Then come on Rose Tyler! Allons-y!" The Human Doctor grabbed her hand and she grinned at him as they ran together through the doors.

"Dad's office is on the 20th floor." Rose said as they entered the lobby and steered The Human Doctor towards the lift.

"Rose…" he said, looking over his shoulder as they waited for the lift to arrive. "Everyone's staring." Rose looked over her shoulder and everyone quickly averted their eyes. Rose just grinned at him.

"They probably never expected to see me again. Most people thought that I was crazy for even trying to get the Dimension Canon to work. The only reason I was allowed to continue is because I'm Pete's daughter." The lift dinged as it arrived and the Rose and The Human Doctor stepped inside when the doors slid open. Everyone stared as the door slid shut behind them and the lift began to rise. When they arrived, Rose and The Human Doctor stepped out of the lift and began to walk across the floor towards Pete's office. Heads turned to follow them, watching their progress.

"Just ignore them." Rose whispered to The Human Doctor who was rubbing the back of his neck, the way he always did when he was feeling self conscious. He grinned at Rose who smiled back. The Human Doctor held the door open for Rose as they reached Pete's office, then followed her inside. Pete was facing away from them, talking on the phone with someone. Rose nudged him, and pointed off to the side. Standing there was Jackie Tyler, holding a young boy by the hand who must be Tony.

"She's not gonna slap me is she?" The Human Doctor whispered to Rose, rubbing his cheek. Jackie's slaps hurt. Rose just grinned cheekily at him.

"You're such a baby."

"Am not!" But their whispered conversation was interrupted by a high pitched shriek. Jackie had noticed them.

"ROSE!" She cried and rushed her daughter to envelope her in a humungous, bone-crushing hug. Rose hugged her mum back.

"Hey Mum." Jackie held on to her, crying.

"I'd thought I'd never see you again!" She exclaimed. Pete had come to stand behind his wife, holding Tony in his arms. The Human Doctor ran a hand through his hair. Jackie turned to him, finally releasing Rose to face him. "And you!" The Human Doctor flinched, moving slightly to hide behind Rose.

"Hi Jackie." Rose reached down and took his hand reassuringly.

"It wasn't his fault Mum…" Rose tried to head off her mother. But Jackie ignored her daughter.

"Do you know what the last two years has been like for my daughter because of you?" She demanded to know.

"Mum…" Rose tried again.

"Jackie…" Pete assisted his daughter, laying a hand on Jackie's shoulder.

"If I could go back and change what happened that day, I would." The Human Doctor said softly. "That day was the worst day of The Doctor's life. His whole world fell apart, shattered, that day. He was lost without Rose."

"Why are you saying 'The Doctor' as if you were talking about someone else?" Pete asked. Rose and The Human Doctor looked at each other.

"This isn't actually The Doctor." Rose said.

"Not exactly." The Human Doctor added. Pete and Jackie gave him blank looks. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. How to explain…. "I'm a human biological metacrisis."

"A human biological …. What?" Jackie asked, confused.

"Metacrisis." The Human Doctor said. "The Doctor was dying. Regenerating. But luckily, he had a bio-matching receptacle nearby. Mainly, his hand. Remember, he lost his hand on Christmas Day in a sword fight with the Sycorax? Well, anyways, Donna touched the hand, and WHAM!" Jackie and Pete jumped back started. "Instant biological metacrisis!"

"He looks the same, acts the same, thinks the same, but there's one major difference." Rose added. "He's only got one heart."

"What does that mean?" Jackie asked.

"I'm part Human." The Human Doctor said. "Specifically the aging part. I'll grow old and never regenerate."

"So you're here to stay?" Jackie asked.

"As long as she'll let me." He said, squeezing Rose's hand.

"But, what are you going to do?" Pete asked.

"Well, The Doctor gave me this." The Human Doctor said, digging the chunk of coral out of his pocket and holding it up. "With this, I can grow my own TARDIS. Within a year, it should be functional enough to travel."

"And you're going with him." Jackie said to Rose. It wasn't a question. Rose nodded.

"He needs me Mum." She said. "And I need him. You saw what I was like without him. Besides, at least we'll be in the same universe. We'll come visit." Jackie nodded. Because when she looked at her daughter and this human Doctor, she could see their love and need for each other in their eyes. And that was all that really mattered. That Rose was happy. Jackie smiled then hugged Rose again.

"Come on. I'll make us tea and you can tell us the whole story." Together they filed out of Pete's office and headed towards the lift. All was right in the world. The Doctor and Rose Tyler. Together. Just as it should be.

A/N

I hope you liked this! Please leave a review and let me know what you think!