The Doctor and Rose walked back to the TARDIS in silence. Rose walked ahead of him and he watched her in concern. She hadn't spoken since it had happened and he wasn't sure how she would be feeling. She seemed to be in shock so he couldn't sense much coming from her.

She got to the TARDIS first but she didn't go in. She placed a hand on the door but she just stood there frozen. If she was feeling at all the way he was then she wasn't looking forward to facing anyone else. They hadn't dealt with their actions yet themselves and he knew it was hard to face others when you hadn't faced yourself.

She was still silent when he reached her. She was breathing hard and gripped the door handle in her hand until her knuckles were white. He placed a hand on her shoulder and he felt her crumble. She began to cry and soon she was sobbing. She turned her back to the TARDIS and leaned against it as she fell to the ground. The Doctor sat down next to her and pulled her head to his chest, holding her for both their sakes.

He reached out his mind just to check that she was alright. Physically and mentally he found her unharmed from their battle. Emotionally, he found her as he expected. There she didn't fare as well and hadn't been left unscathed. He felt her full of guilt and the sorrow that was brought on by it. He could feel the shame she was feeling. It was all just as he knew it would be. It was just as he always felt it, just as he now felt it.

The Doctor had always hoped to protect Rose from this. He had never wanted her to know the pain of this. He had, at one time, never even wanted her to know this part of himself. He had never wanted her to know the things he'd done and feel the weight of those actions on herself. Because of the bonding she had come to know that about him. She had seen his past and now held part of his guilt from it in herself. But part of him had hoped that she still would never know the pain of this on her own. He had tried to hope that she would never personally know the guilt of delivering justice. It had felt bad enough to lay his guilt on her but now, despite his longings, she had her own.

Of course, he knew it must be this way. They were a team now, like she had said. They were bonded and soon would completely know each other. They couldn't be separate in anything anymore. From here on out he could never separate her from himself. Even in this. The thing he'd always wished to hide from her she had now participated in herself. His beautiful Rose now had blood on her own hands.

He hated that it had come to this. He always hated it when he had to intervene in this way. It always hurt and this time was no exception for either of them.

"I never knew…Doctor, I never knew," she said through her cries, shaking her head.

He held her tighter and didn't hold himself back from her. They might have be silent in mind but there was comfort in just feeling they shared the same emotions. "I know," he whispered. "It's alright."

"You told me what it was like for you. Even after you showed me, even when I could feel it for myself, I still never really understood what it was like for you."

"I know. I never wanted you to," he said, clutching her even closer to himself.

"I never knew the choices you had to make…I'm sorry I never realized."

"You don't need to be sorry about that."

"Doctor…why did he do it? Why did he have to do it?" she asked shaking her head.

"I don't know," he answered. "I really don't know. I can say it was greed and selfishness. I guess that's the answer but I still don't understand it. It doesn't make any sense to me either."

"I can't imagine how he could do this to people who were defenseless. Whose minds were open and vulnerable, who didn't even know what they were capable of."

The Doctor let out a sad sigh. "I don't either."

"And still…" Rose started but she began to cry again. "I don't know why I'm so sad. He was so terrible and we tried to get him to stop. We gave him every chance. He even struck first; he attacked us. So...why do I feel so awful?"

The Doctor pulled back so he could look at her now his hands securely on her shoulders. "That's the way you're supposed to feel. Don't ever stop yourself feeling that way. You have to let yourself feel the sadness and guilt."

She hung her head, still crying and he knew how much it hurt. He reached out and touched her heart, stirring it with his touch to keep it from dulling. He wanted her to let herself remain open. As much as he wanted to let her hide from her feelings and numb the pain he knew he couldn't. He was tempted, he was so tempted, to let her go, to try and protect her now, in any way he could. But he knew he couldn't. She was going to live a long time now and this would sadly not be the only time they would face this.

She cried even harder and he almost lost his nerve but somehow he remained strong enough. "I know it's hard," he whispered as he leaned in close to her ear. "But you have to remember this; you have to remember what we did. You have to remember him and why you did it. You have to remember how you feel."

"But…I feel…" she stuttered and she sounded almost like she was about to be sick.

"How do you feel?"

"You know," she moaned.

"Tell me though. Please."

The Doctor realized he had tears streaming down his face as he watched her struggle. It killed him to be so harsh with her this time. If he hadn't done so many things in his own past that he regretted, if he hadn't come so close to that edge of turning away from good, he'd have never had the strength for it. But because of his mistakes he knew this time had to matter or all the others wouldn't. If she didn't understand the cost of it now she might never learn. And that was a fate he could never accept for her.

"I feel so sad…so guilty."

"Why?"

"Because I keep hearing his screams…because he's…he's…"

"He's what?"

"Doctor," she begged. She wanted him to let her off the hook. She didn't want to have to say it out loud. He wanted to do that for her; he wanted it so badly. But they couldn't let themselves feel like the victims here.

"He's what, Rose? Say it."

"I don't want to," she pleaded, hoping he wouldn't make her.

"You must."

"He's dead," she whimpered. "And we did it."

He could practically feel her crack inside. Guilt and shame came gushing out and as much as she had been feeling before, it was nothing in comparison to what she felt now. She was wide open to feel this completely and her emotions were so strong that he knew she had no choice now but to ride these feelings out. He also knew that she would remember this. He could tell without a doubt she would not forget.

"Yes, we did," he acknowledged.

He was so relieved now to be able to reach for her. He hadn't wanted to hold back for a second and hated that he'd had to do this first. But now that he knew she understood it all there was no reason he had to hold himself back. There was no reason to be cruel and he gratefully took her in his arms and joined her in the mourning. For once, he didn't have to do this alone.

He couldn't say he was glad to have her go through this with him; it was too selfish to have wished for it. But it did help. If nothing else, at least she would never have to face this pain alone. She would never have to bear her guilt solely on her own shoulders; he would always bear half of it with her. Having her there with him, clutching her against him and knowing she felt what he did, that did make the storm pass quicker.

It took a while for them to overcome it. While their shared feelings seemed to help at times, it almost felt as if it made it worse. It was very emotional to feel for two. But the Doctor knew it was worth it. It was worth it to bear double the emotion when you had someone else there to hold you while you felt it. It wasn't easy and he had no idea how long it went on but they anchored each other while they went through it.

Rose was the first to speak. Even after the bulk of it all had pasted they had still remained where they were, quiet both inside and out.

"This was harder than I expected," she admitted as she pulled back, taking several deep breaths and wiping her face.

"Delivering justice is never easy. Just because you're right doesn't mean you're happy about it. It always costs something and that hurts whether it's justifiable or not. The second you don't feel terrible about it is the second you become a monster. I only know it because I've come close to it."

"Thank you for helping me through this."

"Thank you for going through it with me," he said reaching out and holding her face in his hands.

It was a fine line between remembering your guilt and somehow still living with yourself because of it. But he would help her find that balance just as she, unknowingly at times, had always done for him.

He reached out and took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Come on. I know the perfect remedy for times like these."

"What's that?"

"Company. Let's go in and see our friends," he said smiling at her.

She smiled genuinely back at him. "That sounds good."

He helped her to her feet and opened the door. In the good times and the bad they were a team and he was glad that she knew it. And he was glad to know she accepted it. He walked into the TARDIS with her able to raise his head because, even though what had happened was terrible, this was not. He knew they could face their challenges together and that was a really good thing.


"So, you really are leaving us?" Rose asked leaning against the door frame of Martha's bedroom. Jack had told her that Martha had already said goodbye to him and sure enough Rose found that Martha was putting the last of her things in her bag and was almost ready to go.

Martha turned towards Rose and smiled. "Yeah," she said with a small sigh which betrayed some of the emotions she was really having despite the smile she wore. "I think it's about time."

"You don't have to," Rose said sincerely.

"Yes, I do," Martha said zipping up her bag and sitting on the bed beside it.

Rose walked towards her and sat down beside her. "You really don't have to leave. You are more than welcome to stay here with us. I mean it."

"I know you do," Martha said honestly. "And I really appreciate the offer. But you and the Doctor need some time alone after all you've been through and I don't want to get in the way of that."

"You wouldn't be in the way."

Martha smiled a little. "That's nice of you to say. But, yes, I would. You two have been apart for a long time and you deserve some time just to yourselves."

Rose knew that Martha was right but she felt torn. There was nothing more she wanted than some good quality alone time with the Doctor but she didn't want to kick Martha out either. She was so grateful to her for everything she'd done for them. She had taken care of the Doctor when Rose had been unable to be there herself. She had risked everything to reunite them. It was a very unfair position Martha was in now and Rose knew she deserved so much better.

"I hope you know you will always be welcome here," Rose said genuinely, looking at Martha in the eye. "We would love to have you, anytime."

"Thank you," Martha said with gratefulness. "I will be sure and take you up on that."

"Good," Rose said smiling. She hadn't had a lot of time to get to know Martha. She'd hardly spent any time with her at all and she really did hope to change that in the future. She liked what she'd come to know about Martha and she knew there must be even more to learn about her character; it took a very special person to travel with the Doctor.

A moment of silence passed between them and Rose felt herself getting emotional as she thought of all Martha had done for her. With everything that had been going on she hadn't gotten the opportunity to properly thank Martha but she planned on remedying that.

"Martha…I can never thank you enough for what you did," Rose said her eyes watering and her voice wavering. What could she possibly say to the person who had given the Doctor back to her? There weren't thanks enough to repay the woman who had risked her life to restore the two of them back to each other.

Martha shrugged. "It really wasn't that big of a deal."

But Rose wouldn't let her down play it. "Yes, it was. It was a huge thing you did for us. For me. You were much too modest earlier. Jack told me the danger you put yourself in to come to find me. He told me how unstable that vortex manipulator was and how neither one of you knew whether it would work or not."

Martha looked away, embarrassed. "I didn't want you to know about that."

"I'm glad I do. You risked your life for us. Thank you…so much."

Martha swallowed, pushing down her own emotions. "You're welcome."

"Why did you do it?" Rose asked honestly.

"What?" Martha asked confused.

"Why did you take such a risk? I mean…you could have been killed. You could have been lost or trapped in an alternate universe. It was a big gamble to take."

Martha shrugged again and looked down at her hands nervously. "I did it for the Doctor. He was dying and I just knew that you were really the only hope of saving him."

"You put a lot of faith in me…without even knowing me."

Martha raised her head and looked at Rose now. "The Doctor is special. Everybody knows that," she said with a smile that was a bit sad. "I knew that the first time I met him. He saved my life and I owed him. But it's more than that. The universe needs him. But... he's not just him anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"It isn't just him that the universe needs anymore; it's him and you."

Rose was honored at Martha's words her eyes watering even more. "How did you know?" she asked in disbelief.

"The Doctor is amazing on his own. I saw that. But I also saw a lot of something that was missing. It was like he was just a ghost of who he could be; there was always sadness in his eyes. I didn't know him when he was with you but I saw enough to know that, even though he was an incredible man, he could be even more. You're both special and this universe needs you both together."

Rose could see how extraordinary and selfless a woman Martha was. She was so smart and so perceptive. "Martha, I want you to know about me and the Doctor," she said, wanting to explain it for the first time to anyone. Martha already seemed to have seen more than most people did but Rose felt she deserved to hear the complete truth of it as well. "I'm sure he didn't explain to you what we are to each other."

"Really, you don't need to explain."

"You love him, right?" she asked softly. It was impossible to deny that Martha cared very much for him but there was no jealously or anger in Rose's words. She knew that she and she alone belonged to the Doctor and he to her.

But that wasn't the way that Martha took it. "Rose," she said looking at Rose with a startled expression. "It's not like that. I promise it's not like that. I never tried to get in the way. It may have started out as something else but that was entirely on my side. And it didn't take me long to realize that he was fully devoted to you and I'm fine with that."

"I know," Rose said with a smile, quick to reassure her. "I'm glad he found you. Truly, I am so thankful he found someone to travel with. The Doctor needs somebody. He's not quick to admit it but he does. I was so worried thinking he was alone all this time. I'm glad he had someone to care of him."

"I really never tried to replace you. I never tried to take your place or try to take him from you. He was very clear that I wasn't a replacement for you."

Rose reached out a hand and took Martha's. She pulled up some strong feelings of understanding and calm and tried to send them through in her touch. "I know," she reassured her again. "I really do understand. Thank you for taking care of him when I couldn't."

"I was happy to do it," Martha answered and Rose was glad to see she seemed to feel more at ease. "I mean, it was the chance of a lifetime; to travel the stars and time. Who wouldn't jump at the chance at that?"

"Tell me about it," Rose said smiling. "I know he must have been difficult at times. I'm sure he wasn't at his best during this time you knew him and I want you to know I'm grateful you stuck it out with him."

Martha didn't try to deny that it was true. "I knew he was in mourning. It was easy to see he was grieving and depressed. I understood why he acted the way he did at times."

"It shows how special you are that you do understand that. And I know he would have appreciated you more if he hadn't been blinded by the pain. He couldn't have ever 'moved on' after he lost me and I know he didn't explain why that was."

"He didn't have to. You don't have to either."

"I know but I want to. I want you to know." Rose paused and took a deep breath before explaining. "The Doctor's species are telepaths; that won't come as any surprise to you, obviously. But it's different than what one usually assumes. Telepathy wasn't about reading each other's minds to them; it was about forming connections between people. Most of their relationships were based on telepathic communication and when people were very close they would become bonded.

"That means that you become linked to that person. You need mental connection with them. It's a lifetime commitment to a person. You will always need to be with them. Me and the Doctor were bonded before we got separated. And people who are bonded are never supposed to be separated so when they are parted, as we were, there are consequences. When me and the Doctor were separated it was very painful and hard for us to adapt to the loss."

Martha took in Rose's words, looking a little surprised to hear the whole story but also grateful to be learning what had been going on with the Doctor. "I knew there was more to it than he was letting on. I knew it wasn't just a normal loss but he would never talk about it."

"It's a very personal thing," Rose explained. "I've never told anyone, not even my own family. And the Doctor has never been a person who is good at talking about personal matters. I don't want you to take it personal that he didn't tell you because it is a very private matter between two people. Also, talking makes it worse. Being separated caused us physical pain and when you talk about the person you've lost it actually makes the pain worse."

"You know, he said talking about it wouldn't help but I didn't believe him. Thank you for explaining it to me."

"Well, I know that he didn't and I wanted you to know why he wasn't at his best."

Martha smiled. "For all his faults, I still wouldn't have traded this time for anything."

"Thank again for giving us this again. I hope you know now how much you've given us by bringing us back together."

"I think I do now. It's a very special relationship you too have together. I'm glad I could help."

Rose reached for Martha and hugged her tight, making sure she let her gratitude push through her touch. When they pulled apart, Martha reached for her bag and Rose followed her as she walked out of the room and down the corridor.

When they got to the console room the Doctor was there. He turned towards them and taking in the sight of Martha's suitcase his face turned solemn and he seemed to tense. The Doctor hated moments like these and Rose could see Martha didn't look forward to it either. They stood just looking at each other without speaking for several heavy moments before Rose broke the silence for them.

"Well, I'll just give you two a few minutes," Rose said to them both before murmuring a final goodbye to Martha.

They both gave her a grateful look before they walked slowly down the ramp and out the door. The Doctor dug his hands deep into his pockets and felt awkward and nervous as they came to stand outside of the TARDIS. They were parked in front of Martha's house but she lingered. He didn't know what to say or how to handle this.

Martha spoke first relieving him of that burden. "Well, I guess this is where me and you part," she said bravely.

"I don't suppose there's any way I can convince you to stay?"

"No," she said with a smile, shaking her head, her answer certain.

The Doctor was at a loss again for what to say. These were difficult terms that Martha was leaving on. They both knew she didn't want to go and if Rose hadn't returned then Martha wouldn't be leaving him. He didn't want it to seem as if he had only had her around because he couldn't have Rose but now that she was back it seemed as if he had no more use for Martha. Despite all the best intentions and the fact they both knew this wasn't entirely true, they both also knew that it still felt like that was what had happened.

There was no other solution but he wished there could be. Martha deserved better than this. She had always deserved better than what he had given her. Now, she had risked her life to return Rose to him and save his life. It was the greatest gift he'd ever received and he wasn't sure how he could thank her for it.

"Martha, I want to say thank you. But..." he said, his voice trailing off unable to find the right words.

She smiled, understanding what he meant. She appreciated the moment of honesty; he, unfortunately, hadn't given her very many. "Doctor, you've already thanked me like a thousand times."

"I know. But it isn't enough."

"It is to me," Martha said.

The Doctor could see the peace on her face and the acceptance. Despite all his failed attempts of speaking, of explaining, it was there somehow and he was glad to find it. "You've just given me so much, even more than you know."

"It's alright; I do know. Rose explained it me."

"She did?"

"Yeah and I get it now. I understand what it was you were going through. I see now how much you had lost."

The Doctor was relieved he'd been spared from having to say it. "I'm sorry I didn't explain it myself," he said looking down a bit embarrassed that he hadn't been able to give her the explanation himself.

"It's alright," she said sincerely.

"I do…care about you," he admitted awkwardly.

"I know you do."

"You were here for me during some of my darkest days and I really am very glad you chose to be my friend in this time."

"Thank you for giving me this chance."

"We had a good run, didn't we?" the Doctor asked self-consciously even though it was obvious he was trying very hard to appear collected.

"Yes, Doctor. We sure did. And," she said with a smile, pointing a finger at him, "it's not over yet. I expect you to come and visit me. Once you and Rose have had a good long spell getting to know each other again I expect you to come and take me for an adventure now and then."

The Doctor smiled widely. "That is a promise Martha Jones."

She reached out and hugged him and he reciprocated tightly. There had been days when it had felt like the only thing keeping him alive were these hugs and he felt a swell of emotion inside of himself. He was glad she pulled back and started to walk away before he could get too emotional but he was also disappointed it was over.

"See you around," she said with a wave as she walked towards her house.

He watched her go and stood there staring in that direction for a long time even after she had gone in. After a few minutes had passed he heard the door of the TARDIS open and he felt Rose wrap her arms around his waist and hold on to him. There were tears in his eyes so he kept them focused ahead but he wrapped his arms around her and held on to her.

"You alright?" she asked quietly when he hadn't spoken for a while.

"I'm sure you know the answer to that," he said, knowing she could feel the waves of emotion inside of him. They were so strong he knew they wouldn't go unnoticed by her.

"It's alright to be sad," she said knowing exactly how he was feeling.

"It's a lot harder than I thought it would be," he admitted. "I know we'll see her again sometime but…" he said struggling.

"But it won't be the same," she finished. "I know. I know what you mean." She reached up a hand to his face and turned it towards her.

"You're not upset?" he asked, worried about what she was thinking now that she could see how much he was feeling.

"Of course not," she said with a smile. "I'm really glad you met Martha. I am glad you asked her to travel with you."

The Doctor looked back towards Martha's house. "I don't know how I got so fortunate to find a friend like her. I certainly didn't deserve the kindness she showed me. It wasn't a good time in my life but there was some good in it," he said reminiscing.

Rose knew what he meant. They both had wanted nothing more than to be reunited and they wouldn't want to go back to the time when they were parted. But there was a sadness in losing those people who had gotten them through those difficult months of separation.

The Doctor looked down at her and smiled. There was still some sadness there but Rose could see it was genuine smile. His arms tightened around her and he kissed the top of her head, fully appreciating her presence there with him. "Yes, I sure have been luckier than I ever thought I would be."


Things started to calm down and Rose finally got to focus some of her attention on her long lost friend. That evening, her and the Doctor and Jack spent hours sitting around and talking. She was glad she finally had the time to be able to talk to him and that they were all able to catch up with each other. So much had changed for all of them since the last time they'd traveled together and they had plenty to talk about.

Rose had almost expected the Doctor not to give Jack a hard time for using his vortex manipulator. After all, it had been used to bring her back to him and save his life. But she had assumed wrong. He still gave Jack a thorough lecture on the risks and consequences of using 'cheap time travel' though she knew he did it in good humor. Which was good because his words fell on deaf ears; all three of them knew full well that Jack was going to continue doing what he had always done. He then came back at the Doctor with his own accusations, giving the Doctor a hard time about abandoning him on Satellite 5 and avoiding him ever since. Rose even joined in with Jack a little bit on that one.

Rose would have intervened in what was becoming a heated discussion between the two of them if she hadn't felt the undertones of it all and known that neither of them was really angry. What they were both saying might have been the truth but she didn't think either harbored truly bitter feeling about those things. It even seemed like the more they bickered with each other the more they showed how much they had truly missed one another. Men.

After they had all caught up on the many events they'd missed in each other's lives and Jack and the Doctor had each had a good long argument, Rose directed the conversation back to their previous travels and they began to fondly reminisce on old memories. As they continued to recall the past, Rose felt as the Doctor quietly reached a hand over to her hair and wound his fingers in the midst of it. On the surface it looked like he was only playing with her hair as he ran his fingers back and forth across her head and pulled them down the length of her locks but under the surface there was quite a bit more going on. She was very surprised he was teasing her in this way. He knew the kind of affect such an action had on her but he didn't even look at her as he did it. He played innocent, choosing to look at Jack who was in the middle of a story, and pretended he wasn't playing with her mind.

She was pleasantly pleased with his convert flirtation. Maybe their absence really had brought about some positive changes; the Doctor never used to flirt with her like this. He continued to play with her hair very slowly and she became so distracted that she completely lost track of what anyone was saying. After she'd been deprived his touch for so long she still was nearly undone by even the slightest provocation. And this was far from being slight. She was soon nearly incoherent and had to focus all her available energy on keeping appearance and not embarrassing herself in front of Jack. The Doctor knew exactly what he was doing to her too and was rather enjoying himself as evidenced by the slight upturn of his lips.

Well, two could play at that game. With her hands resting inconspicuously in front of her she took advantage of her newfound ability to reach her mind to him without physical touch. She reached out and touched his mind not as much as she could have but definitely enough to be noticed. She kept her eyes ahead of her as well but she felt the definite glitch in his train of thought when she touched him. His words even faltered because she'd caught him mid-sentence and it took all of her self-control not laugh when it happened.

She let her touch travel across his mind as gentle as she could make it, brushing against him in soft circles. This would normally be nothing but a comforting and soothing touch but ,like her mind, his was also still starved from the long absence. There was a great deficiency to be made up and his mind instantly wanted to go along with her and make this into more. Soon, neither one was talking much as they wonderfully tormented each other back and forth.

"If you two are going to do some Time Lord telepathic hanky-panky over there you could clue a guy in," Jack said in mock annoyance after observing Rose and the Doctor tease each other in between conversation for at least half an hour.

Rose almost burst out in laughter feeling like she was in back in high school getting caught making out. She had thought they were doing good to conceal what they were doing but they apparently hadn't been hiding it well enough. They weren't used to flirting and it seemed they would have to perfect their poker faces before attempting that again.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at Jack's not so delicate comment. "You really do have a one track mind," he said shaking his head. Rose could feel he was slightly embarrassed at being caught but she just thought it was funny.

"Yes, I do," Jack admitted with just a little bit of pride. "And it looks like I'm not the only one."

The Doctor only shook his head. Rose smiled and intervened. "It wasn't that. Just a bit of flirting," she said turning to smile at the Doctor.

"Like I said, clue a guy in so he can get in on the action," Jack said teasing.

"You know we actually have something we wanted to ask you," Rose said remembering and looking over at the Doctor.

"Oh yeah? And what is that?" Jack asked with clear interest and excitement. He had just a bit too much of both for the Doctor's taste.

"Oh, stop it," the Doctor ordered, just like he always did when Jack let his flirting get out of hand.

Rose gave the Doctor a nudge and a look. He took a deep breath, swallowing a bit of pride before he spoke.

"Rose and I were wondering…that is, we are…would you…" the Doctor stuttered, uncomfortable with the subject matter in light of who it was he was asking.

Rose smiled, not surprised, and saved the Doctor. She wrapped an arm around him and turned her attention to Jack. "We were wondering if you would be the witness at our marriage."

Jack looked surprised at the news. "Wow, so you managed to do what hundreds of others have tried to do and finally pin this rascal down?" he asked a wide grin quickly growing on his face and a bit of admiration in his voice.

"Oh please! Hundreds?" the Doctor whispered under his breath and shaking his head.

"Since my family can't be there and you are such a close friend of ours," Rose said smiling at Jack. "Will you give me away?"

Jack smiled, his face momentarily clear of the teasing and flirting that was usually there. This smile was a serious one and spoke so much of his feelings for her and their friendship. "Of course I will," he said. "I would be honored."

He reached out to hug Rose and she hugged him back tight. When he pulled back he looked over at the Doctor and, though he put up a little show of pretending he was resistant to it, he hugged Jack as well.

Jack patted the Doctor hard on the back before pulling back and laughing. "You know, you two are the only two I would consent to give to each other. If it were anybody else for either of you, I'll have you know I would be putting up a firm fight. But I always knew it. I knew it from the very beginning that the two of you were going to be together."

"We sure didn't, did we?" the Doctor asked looking over to Rose with affection.

"I think we did," she said laughing slightly. "We were just stubborn."

"You got that right," Jack said quickly. "But you know, Doctor," he said turning to him, the tease returning to his face. "You didn't have to be embarrassed to tell me that you two were getting hitched."

"I wasn't embarrassed-" the Doctor started.

"No, no it's alright. I just want you to know that just because you two are getting married I don't take it to mean that there isn't any room for me still."

"That is exactly what it means," the Doctor said strongly.

Rose smiled to herself as Jack and the Doctor got into another 'fight.' She just let it happen. She knew they would be at it for a while but she didn't mind. That's what they did and she was just so happy for this moment. She was happy to be here with her Doctor and one of her dearest friends; both restored to her when she'd thought she'd lost them both. She was so happy at the future that lay ahead and that was just about to begin.