AN- Ok, don't worry I won't leave you guys hanging for very long! Jumping right into it, here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.

The TARDIS raged, howling in fury. Her Wolf was slipping away, and her Thief could do nothing. The energy buried beneath her Wolf's surface wasn't enough, it had simmered and built over the months, but its change was incomplete, stunted. The TARDIS pulled at the thread of her timelines, watching its gold flicker. This would not stand. Her Thief needed her. The TARDIS needed her.

Her Wolf did not have the energy to save herself, but she had enough to anchor the TARDIS to her life force. There was still power swirling through the air, left over by the tragic Lightning Girl. That one was already gone. The TARDIS could use that though, there was plenty for her purpose. Rose had looked into the TARDIS once before, and now it was Time that the second promise be fulfilled. The TARDIS looked into her.

The Doctor lay with his head buried in the crook of her neck, her skin cool- too cool against his. She still smelled like Rose. He couldn't sit up just yet, couldn't see her lifeless eyes, sunken skin. If he just sat here, breathing in her scent, only one more moment longer, he could pretend she was still alive, that one of his heartbeats was hers. And so he stayed, curled up on the ground beside Rose Tyler's still body, burying himself in her. And so he missed the golden shimmer that drifted into her mouth. And Rose Tyler breathed again.

It was dark, everything, and she couldn't feel, couldn't breathe. If this was death, Rose thought with a frown- could she even frown when she was trapped in nothingness- it was going to be a very long, boring, lonely eternity. And then she screamed out, though she couldn't hear her voice. He had been there, she'd seen him when she thought they never could again. And then they'd been so close, and he tried to reach out, to save her, and then she was gone. Why then? Why couldn't she die without him having to witness it? The Doctor had seen her, and she knew by the look on his face that he'd experienced the same bliss and excitement she had, and then the universe had torn them apart again. And Rose knew that if he hadn't blamed himself before, for trapping her here, he would undoubtedly blame himself for her death.

Death, that was a funny term. She didn't feel dead, didn't feel anything really. Wasn't something supposed to happen next? She could sort of distantly feel again, her body was too still, she could sense it in the barest of terms. Then golden light filled her mind along with a voice singing. And then she burned.

Her mind was on fire, everything was burning, but the voice soothed her, blending with the voice that had been singing quietly in her mind for months. She thought she'd been going crazy, pushed it away before, but now it swelled within her, and wrapped around her like a corporeal hug, an echo that she remembered suddenly. It grew to shield her from the burning pain through everything, her body, her chest, her mind, her very being. Fire was coursing through her skin, her veins, her soul. If she had doubts about dying before, she was very sure she was doing it now. Nothing could survive this pain. And then suddenly, with a last explosion of gold and pain and feeling she was free. Her heart was pounding hard and fast, it's beat echoing throughout both sides of her chest- too fast, was she having a heart attack? After a moment of listening to it's beat, reassuring her, she realized she was alive again. A few seconds later she breathed in. And then she opened her eyes.

The Doctor stiffened as he felt a slight movement, heard the sound of a heartbeat that couldn't be there. Now he was well and truly going mad, he always knew it would happen someday. As he felt something, no someone else in his mind, his fears of insanity were confirmed. There were no other Time Lords, and now there wasn't even a Rose, and his broken mind and broken hearts were mimicking the sensation of someone else just to make him feel better. Well it didn't. Before he lost it completely, he had to… to… lay Rose to rest. Take her home to her family. Arrange her funeral. Stay for the goodbye he never even got to say. This time, he couldn't run, he could never run far enough or fast enough to escape this.

He gave a strangled sob, thinking of Jackie; he was not looking forward to seeing his reaction. Although, it would be refreshing to see someone who would blame him as much as he deserved. He wouldn't even feel her inevitable slap. It was nothing compared to the feeling of his hearts being torn from his body, electrocuted, stomped on, revived and returned to him in a shattered mess.

The moment of losing himself in the illusion that Rose was still alive beside him was gone, and he had to… well he had to do something anyway. So the Doctor sat up, eyes still closed so he didn't have to look at her, and took a deep breath to prepare himself-ha! As if he could have ever prepared himself to take care of Rose's body, then he slowly opened his eyes. He was met with the impossible (but then again that word never really seemed to apply to them) sight of an unfamiliar auburn-haired, turquoise-eyed girl who bore an incredibly strong resemblance in facial structure to the woman he had just lost. She blinked once, twice, and then closed her eyes and coughed out a puff of golden dust that she didn't seem to notice, as she still looked quite disoriented.

"Doctor?"

"Who are you?" he asked, confused. Rose was gone, and this stranger was here, and his brain, normally thinking a mile a minute had just stopped. As had his lungs. Her face was utterly perplexed and she looked crushed.

"It's me Doctor, why don't you… I didn't die Doctor, I'm here, right?" the woman said in a voice that he suddenly recognized, although her accent was a little smoother. But she couldn't be…

"Rose?" he croaked, his throat still hoarse from crying and his face unashamedly streaked with tears. She was human and dead and humans didn't regenerate and… impulsively, he reached out his hands, one on each side of her chest, and his eyes widened. She was still looking at him, beautiful blue-green eyes widening in confusion.

"Who else would I be and what's going on?" He just smiled, beyond hope, and the feel that suddenly his life had gone right for once. Today was one of those days: everybody lives. His thoughts flashed briefly to the woman whose body was still in the crater, and he felt a flash of pity- well maybe not everyone. But she had killed Rose, and Rose was here now, and it was all alright. Rose smiled up at him, though she still looked perplexed, her smile was still the same, than, Rassilon, and he pushed thoughts of her to the back of his mind. He took one of Rose's hands in his and pressed it to the right side of her chest. Her eyes widened.

"But I, that's …." Her voice grew quiet. "Two hearts?" she asked softly, and then watched in horror as her beautiful eyes filled with tears. Oh no, she didn't want this, she was going to watch her family wither and die just like him, he'd cursed her, she wasn't even human naymore, and he had destroyed her life- although the Doctor reflected that she should at least be thankful to be alive, but he pushed that thought away almost immediately, chiding himself. Rude and not ginger. But she was ginger, he thought with a brief pang of jealousy. Lucky, first time too. And then Rose made all of his worries and thoughts face as she launched herself into his arms.

"I missed you. And I'm alive. And I… I'm a Time Lord?" she asked hesitantly, and then her face screwed up in thought. The Doctor looked at the freckles now lightly draped across her nose, at the worry that shone in her face, and hoped his answer would be reassuring and not terrifying.

"Yes. Is that okay? Beacause I'm not really sure how it happened and I don't think I can undo it and oh Rose I love you." He froze as the words just slipped out, but Rose had nuzzled into his chest again and didn't seem to notice.

"Of course it's okay, it's amazing! I'm going to live as long as you, you'll never have to be alone. I hope that's okay, I mean I don't want to burden you with me forever and- wait what did you say?" she pulled away to stare him in the eye, hope and wonder on her face.

"I was just finishing something that was interrupted a long time ago," he said breathlessly, not sure how he'd found the words. Rose fixed him with a glare. Oh she was going to make him do it again.

"Doctor, I said I loved you, and I might've just heard you repeat that sentiment, but you just crossed over here from a parallel universe- I want to know how you did that later by the way- I just died, and you are going to finish that sentence, loud and clear for me, 'cause I am not going to go through any more time with your jumbled up words and emotions." She took a deep breath as if she were about to go on, but he quickly cut in.

"Rose Tyler, I love you," he finished, and then in an instant her mouth was on his, those pink lips he'd wanted so much to feel opening to his probing tongue, deepening their kiss until they were lost in one another and time stopped for both of them. Despite being Time Lords, neither knew how long it had been when they finally broke apart, foreheads pressed together, cheeks flushed, Rose's hands still tangled in his hair. She let out a giggle, and he pulled her in again. The sweet yet passionate embrace, as he felt heat flood his body, soothing his worries, wounds, and in that moment, with Rose pressed against him, he felt whole, for the first time in centuries. She pulled away, and he whimpered, not caring how unmanly it sounded.

"Doctor what about Sasha?" Rose asked worriedly, looking towards the crater. He hesitated, not wanting their moment to end in sadness once again, but Rose was already standing up, grasping his hand and pulling him along with her. At the edge of the crater, she looked down at the body- not much left of her friend, who had been fried by her own power. Tears welled up in her eyes. It wasn't her fault Sasha had been here, she knew, but she still felt there should have been some way to save her. She just hadn't deserved to die so young. Rose felt the Doctor's arms close around her, and she leaned into him. He understood, and he didn't say anything.

"She was my best mate here. Not many people liked rich heiress Rose Tyler when she got a job at Torchwood just 'cause of her father's connections. Didn't matter how many times I saved their arses, Sasha was the first one to come to lunch with me. Her, Arkady and me, we were team. But she's gone now. I have to call Torchwood, tell them she's here. Arkady's going to be crushed: they've been best mates since university. I kept telling him to ask her out, now he's never going to get the chance," Rose broke off, her throat closing up again. She couldn't deal with all of this now. Not just yet. So when the Doctor pulled her back around, chocolate eyes burning with sadness and understanding and something else- passion, Rose leaned into him and lost herself in the feel of their lips together once more. Finally, they broke apart, and Rose looked at her hands clasped in his, and noticed their distinctly smooth, pale skin, and lack of scars and bruises from her adventures falling in and out of the crater. Oh. Regeneration.

She looked down at herself in surprise, as if just realizing she was different. She was slimmer, and just a hair taller. With longer legs and a willowy grace about her that hadn't been there before. "And what do I look like?"

"Beautiful," he replied immediately, grinning cheekily. Rose glared at him, and his grin widened. Her glares looked even cuter with her delicate nose scrunched up.

"That's not exactly the description I was looking for," she sighed, and then tugged some of her hair in front of her eyes to look at it, her eyes widening in surprise. "Ha! Ginger, bet you're jealous now," she said with a grin, reaching up to tousle his already rumpled brown hair. He huffed.

"It isn't fair. I've waited centuries for ginger hair, and ten regenerations, and you just get your first one and then BAM! You're ginger." Rose was giving him a funny look, and he frowned at her in concern. "What?"

"It's just… ten regenerations?" she said softly, he looked back in confusion, and nodded. Rose wrapped her arms around him and sighed. "That hurt. Coming back. And you've done it ten times. Oh Doctor, I'm sorry for making you regenerate on Game Station." His breath stilled, she shouldn't remember that at all. But the pained look on her face told him she did. "I just remembered it, when I er- regenerated. I remember all of it, since I guess now my brain is big enough to hold it without burning. And Doctor… you didn't take all of the vortex out of me. Some of it… I think some of it was still there and that's how this happened," she broke off to cough out a puff of golden dust, and then watched it dissipate in amusement. He looked at her in concern. Regenerations didn't always go this smoothly, he especially remembered his own last, disastrous regeneration, and while she didn't seem to have any lingering regeneration sickness, he'd really like to get her back to the TARDIS for some scans, just to confirm it and make sure she really was okay.

"You feeling alright Rose?" he asked in concern. She looked thoughtful a moment, and then nodded.

"Yeah. Not even a headache. I've had a sort of funny, constant headache for the last few months, although whether that's from overworking myself, sleeping two hours a night, or, now that I think about it, some vortex left over, I'm not sure," she said nonchalantly, and then her eyes widened with a smile. "Um, I think that we should go figure out how this happened, because I've got some theories of my own." And with that, the Doctor was utterly stunned as Rose proceeded to drag him along by the hand, striding confidently in the direction of the TARDIS. This was certainly going to take some getting used to, in a good way. In a very good way.

As they approached the TARDIS, Rose's face split into a huge, tongue-in-teeth grin, and the Doctor was chastened to realize it wasn't directed at him, but at his ship. He was jealous of a ship, a sentient one, sure: but it was still pathetic. She lay one hand against the door and closed her eyes with a soft smile, and the Doctor couldn't help but love her even more at that. He nudged past Rose to open the door, and as soon as the door was open, Rose pulled her hand out of his and ran in with a squeal of joy, the Doctor strolling in after her, amused smile plain on his face.

Rose could hear her in her mind, the TARDIS, singing to her and speaking in a myriad of colors and sounds and emotions. The hum that had always been there was now a full fledged bond and it felt like being welcomed home by a mother, best friend, and sister all at once. Rose ran up to the console and stroked her hand along it, listening to the TARDIS welcome her back, relief that her Wolf- Rose giggled a little at the TARDIS' name for her. Then she blinked as she felt the TARDIS' pleasure that her plan had worked, and as Rose tried poking her with her mind, seeing how well the communication worked both ways, she asked the TARDIS how this had happened. Her response was a jumble of images and emotions, but Rose's new, bigger, and fairly empty mind made quick work of it. Rose turned to the Doctor, eyes shining. She wanted him to hear this too.

"It was Bad Wolf." Rose saw the Doctor's eyes darken with fear at that, and she rushed on before he could comment, "She- the TARDIS, that is- said that there was some left, and the vortex energy was slowly changing my cells into a Time Lord anyway. But being away from her, and the different energy of this universe was blocking it, so I was only I guess halfway there?" Rose tried to decipher the TARDIS' comment on that, and gave up. Something about the length of time it should have taken. It didn't matter now anyways. "That's why I wasn't sleeping and didn't get cold and had better eyesight and hearing and could understand sciency things and all that technology and oh!" Rose's eyes widened, comprehension dawning on her face as she thought back to Sasha's last moments. "That's why I could hear her thoughts. Once the TARDIS arrived, the process was jump started and my telepathy started to develop!"

The Doctor was stunned, speechless, and Rose felt smug at the thought that she'd made the usually overbearingly chatty Time Lord tongue-tied. He was grinning, and then he ran up to her and whirled her around in his arms, like they'd done on Krop-Tor, like she'd wished to be held for the past seven months here..

"This is fantastic Rose!" She grinned back at him, tongue-in-teeth and eyes glowing happily, only to see his face fall. She groaned internally, knowing what was coming next. Stupid, daft alien with a guilt complex: although she couldn't really go on calling him an alien if she was too… but she'd think about that later. And then he addressed the issue she'd known was coming. So maybe it couldn't be pushed off till later. "But… your life here, I've made you lose all of it. I mean, I don't know if you even want to come with me. Jackie's here, and Pete and your little sibling if they've been born yet, and…" he trailed off, a sudden realization striking them both at the same time. Rose said it first.

"How long, Doctor?" she asked quietly. The bolt of pain across his face said enough, even before he answered.

"Too long. About...five months," Rose's face crumpled. He hadn't been alone as long as she'd feared, but it still hurt, and it was a painful realization that she'd been without him for longer than he had her.

"Seven for me. Not too far off right?" She said with a sad smile. He tugged her into his chest again, and she breathed in his scent, now realizing she could smell the Time on him, although she couldn't say what it exactly smelt like, besides home. "Did you… did you travel with anyone else?" Rose didn't want him to be alone all this time, but somehow, the idea of him picking up another companion, replacing her in a way, hurt. He took in a sharp breath, and she realized she'd been broadcasting her thoughts. She was going to need his help to work on that.

"Well, one lady appeared in the TARDIS 'bout a minute after I said goodbye to you on Bad Wolf Bay," Rose stiffened in his arms, and he rubbed her back soothingly. "She just appeared, Donna Noble was her name. She'd been dosed with huon particles, and since they're inside the heart of the TARDIS, and she had so many inside of her, they sort of reacted and drew her in, all the way from her wedding. She was awfully mad that I had 'kidnapped' her on her wedding day. As she was walking down the aisle in fact. Turns out her fiancé was working for an alien race called the Racnoss, and… ah we'll have time for that later. Anyways, she didn't want to travel with me, said I scared her, and so I was on my own for… well many months. And then there was a hospital that got sucked up to the moon by a Judoon platoon, and this medical student Martha Jones helped me save the Earth from a plasmavore. She traveled with me for just two trips- one forward and one back, and then went to visit her family. I'd just asked her to stay on long-term when I found the Bridge to come here. But no one… no one's like you Rose. Actually, I'm the only one like you now," he said with a laugh. Rose relaxed into his arms, smiling. She'd been silly to think he'd replaced her. They were the only ones for each other.

"So where's Martha now? And how'd you get here anyways?" Rose asked, leaning back to look at him, arms still wrapped around one another. She think they both felt it, that if they let go they'd fade away again. Whatever happened, they had to stay together. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, looking a bit sheepish.

"Well, she's visiting her family right now, they sort of got caught up in a human-mutation-gone wrong when some guy named Lazarus tried to reverse his age and ended up destabilizing his DNA and attacking a gala. Her Mum hates me by the way, I got slapped by her too." He broke off as Rose giggled, and looked affronted. She just waved him on. "And there was a Bridge in the sky, it's an old Time Lord thing, a natural rift between universes, they only happen every few millennia, so rarely they're almost a myth, when two universes bump together. Perfectly safe way to travel between them. And these two universes have had so much contact recently, it's logical that they'd start to bump more often, even with all of the artificial tears repaired. The Bridge is very pretty, looks a bit like a comet, except longer lasting and more colorful. Stays open for 24 hours in fact, we've still got… 17 to go." The Doctor broke off at the incredulous look on Rose's face. She started laughing and couldn't stop, and she didn't care if he thought she'd lost it completely. "Rose? Are you alright?"

"It's just… I saw that comet- er Bridge thingy. I wished on it, I wished for you, and forever, and now I have both. Maybe it really does work to wish on!" she grinned, and burst into giggles again, and it was only a moment before he joined her, the two of them falling into one another's arms as they laughed away all of the darkness and loneliness that had dodged their hearts and minds for the months apart. When they finally got control of themselves once more, Rose sighed. There were a few things they had to do, more than a few in fact.

"Doctor, I'm coming with you, right?" She looked up for confirmation, even after everything they'd gone through, even after he said he loved her, their relationship was so convoluted she still feared he'd leave her. But the possessive, protective glint in his eyes soothed her.

"Always, as long as you want to of course." She sighed in relief.

"Then I need to clean up some loose ends. I work for Torchwood. If I just disappear from this universe they're going to notice. And I can't exactly walk in and say "hey I'm an alien now, going to swan off with my alien boyfriend to another universe now!" They'd dissect us both and probably blow another hole open between the universes, Pete Tyler's daughter or not. So… I have to have a cover story. I have to die, officially that is." Rose's voice was final, and the words hurt. She didn't have many friends here, not many would mourn her, but it was still… painful to know that she had now 'died' in two universes. The Doctor understood, she could feel it, on the edge of her consciousness and in her mind, and he held her a little tighter.

"I know. I can send out a last message from your com, mimic the signal, and leave trace DNA in the crater if you'd like. The official records will say that Sasha exploded and nearly went nuclear, incinerating… well, you, and that you both died in action," he said, watching her reaction. Rose sniffled a bit, but nodded. It was a good way to die at least. The Doctor led her over to the console and started fiddling with the controls, finding the Torchwood frequency and using Rose's password- he chuckled darkly at it, to gain access to her com. He gestured for Rose to approach the monitor and give her good-bye speech. Rose's eyes filled with tears, but she was suddenly struck with a memory, she could see it in her mind and knew it was from him, of him standing in this same spot and recording something. Emergency program one. Goodbye to Rose. She looked up at him, there weren't any words, but she knew he could feel what she was thinking, her gratitude for that, for the strength it had taken him to create that recording and the strength he felt she had. She nodded, and slipped her hand into his once more. They still fit perfectly.

"I'm ready." The com clicked on, and Rose took a deep breath. "Arkady? It's Rose," she paused, her voice choking up, shaking and trembling as if she really were an instant from death. At least she had the feeling down.

"Rose? What's wrong? I thought you said Sasha was fine and you were going to be ok? Should I call in backup." She sniffled again, unable to hold it back at his worry for her. She'd never love him, that place in her heart was reserved for the Doctor, but he had been a great friend these last few months, and in another life, things might have been different. And now he'd lose both Sasha and her in the same day.

"Look, she's her power is overloading. I'm trapped under some debris, and she's going to blow in a moment. There's no way out. I'm…. this is goodbye Arkady. From both of us." She looked up, meeting the Doctor's eyes, needing to see his belief in her for the strength to go on. And so she did. "Just… tell my Mum and Dad I love them. And don't let Sasha be forgotten. Make Torchwood a better organization and… have a fantastic life. I'm sorry." Rose burst into tears, she couldn't go on, and ignoring the panicked voice on the other end of the com, Rose turned away as the Doctor used his sonic to imitate the sound of an explosion and the com went dead. It was a long time before she could talk again, even with the Doctor touching her mind softly, sending reassurance as best he could, that everything would be okay. Rose looked up at him after a time, three and a half minutes, she noted with a wry smile at her new sense of time, and took in a deep breath. Her disappearance from this world was covered, and all that was left was to plant the evidence and leave the universe she never belonged in in the first place.

"Are you alright? I don't want to leave you here, but I need to go plant that DNA, and I don't suppose you really want to go back there…" the Doctor said hesitantly. Rose shook her head, still unable to speak. He rested a hand on her cheek, briefly, before dipping his head to give her a soft, chaste kiss on her lips and then turned to the door. Just before he left, he gave her a stern look, "Just once, just this once, don't wander off. I will be right back." And then he was gone.

Rose plopped herself down on the jumpseat, and dropped her head into her hands. She was tired, more exhausted than she'd ever been, and she supposed it had to do with her regeneration. She knew the Bridge wouldn't stay open forever, and was pretty sure that even in the TARDIS, they couldn't extend the time they had here. As much as she wanted to sleep, there were still things she had to do- like say goodbye to Mum, and Dad, and Mickey. She didn't know how they'd react to any of it- her dying, regenerating, becoming a Time Lord, or leaving. She was pretty sure any reaction by her Mum would involve slapping the Doctor, and she winced on his behalf. True to his word, the Doctor flew back into the TARDIS just then, panting as if he'd run the entire way. A minute and a half since he'd left. He probably had.

"So Rose Tyler, where to next? We have all of time and space at our fingertips, and Shiver and Shake are back together again!" She smiled weakly at the joke, but there were other things on her mind.

"One last thing. We've got to go tell my mum."

AN- See? I told you I'd have it up soon, and that it would make you happy. I worked extremely hard on this, and wrote this very long chapter in only… 3, maybe 4 hours? This is what reviews do people! I love all of you who reviewed last chapter, and I am proud that it managed to make you react so strongly (even if mostly it was cause you hated me a little bit there.) But it's all fixed now, and all that's left is Jackie's reaction and Rose and the Doctor's sendoff. A nice little epilogue to bring this story to a close. Please let me know how this chapter went, it was quite difficult, and I don't feel like it was my best quality because of the extreme emotions, backstory, explanations, and rushing. I might go back and re-write it later, I'll let you all know if I do. Anyway, review, and enjoy until next time, I'll probably update tomorrow or the day after. Merry Christmas!