Epilogue
That first time that the Esteemed Father brought the 100 or so rescued Gallis to Karn marked a profound change in Jon and Rose's lives. Between what they had in reward money and what the Esteemed Father added (at his insistance, and his purchasing agents obeyed him), they were able to buy enough territory to create their own country, which they did, and promptly named it (what else?) New Gallifrey.
The Krillitane Empire remained a close friend to New Gallifrey, although Jon never really trusted them. The old Earth axiom, 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer' was never far from Jon's mind. Thanks to them, they were safe from the Shadow Proclamation, at least for the time being. Although Jon knew that the Shadows were keeping close tabs on the Gallifreyans, he also knew they would not outwardly do anything lest they should anger the Krillitanes.
The population of New Gallifrey kept growing. The Krillitanes, true to their word, kept bringing in rescued Gallifreyan mine slaves whenever they had the opportunity to liberate them without invoking a war. A Loom was in the planning stages, but reproduction was also happening naturally. Surprisingly, Jon and Rose's son Peter was not the firstborn. The day before Rose gave birth to Peter, Carra gave birth to a half-Gallifreyan, half human son she named Stephen. She and Jack remained close, but they did not marry.
Isana left shortly after her return, to settle on the other side of Karn. It was rumoured that she and Willem had hooked up, but no one ever saw either of them again to confirm it. About 20 other refuges decided to take the offer to divest themselves of their Gallifreyan genes and left. The rest stayed, and contributed their talents to the growing population. Soon there were bakers, farmers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and laborers aplenty for their needs.
Jon and Rose took up careers as administrators and teachers. Between the two of them, they taught Old Gallifreyan History and numerous other subjects. Jack initially ran the Mining Industry. Yes, mining. Many of the rescued Gallis could not bring themselves to ever set foot in a mine again, but there were quite a few who were willing, of their own volition and under safe conditions. Karn was rich in precious minerals, and that industry ensured the health and endurance of the New Gallifreyan economy. Soon the country was stable and a much sought-after source of employment and commerce, although New Gallifrey had a very strict immigration policy. No one who was not at least part Gallifreyan was given citizenship, although work passes for the mines could be obtained after a thorough security investigation.
Monna was elected Prime Minister of New Gallifrey, Dorvack was appointed Secretary of State. They relied heavily on Jon and Rose at first, but the couple wisely left them more and more on their own as time went by, trusting them to make the right decisions, and they did. The citizens of New Gallifrey had initially wanted to make Jon and Rose monarchs, much to their chagrin and Jack's unending amusement. Needless to say, they politely but insisitently refused. Besides being dead-set against a monarchy as a form of government, they also knew that they would be traveling as soon as the infant TARDIS was ready. They needed to slip into their original universe to get certain technolgy that they could bring back with them and replicate here, plus Jack needed to be returned. He knew his future lay there, and now that he was somewhat healed in spirit, he wanted to get back and get on with it. He would miss Carra and Stephen, but he simply was not cut out to be a family man. Carra had known this from the outset, and was happy to simply have shared part of his life.
Jack had relented and let Jon use part of his vortex manipulator to help the baby TARDIS develop faster. She was now two years old, and ready for her maiden voyage. Rose had christened her 'Lourdes'. The bond between Rose and her ship was undeniable. Jon had told Rose that the bond was even deeper than that he had had with his own TARDIS, because Rose and Lourdes had been bonded from the ship's birth. Although they had taken Lourdes for some short hops around New Gallifrey, the trip to Pete's World, aka Earth, was to be her official maiden voyage. Rose could feel the ship's excitement as easily as her own. Lourdes knew that they would be going beyond Earth, she knew they would be slipping into the other universe and seeking out her mother, and Lourdes positively trembled with excitement. Similarly, Jon and Rose were feeling butterflies in their stomachs. Rose was anticipating seeing her Mum, so she and Lourdes were kindred spirits in that respect. At the front of Jon's mind was seeing his brother again. He couldn't wait to tell him of New Gallifrey.
Only Monna and Dorvack knew of Lourdes' existence at this point. They were also, unknown to the general population, the only Gallifreyans who could see time lines and regenerate, besides Jon and Rose. It was a gift Jon gave them when they agreed to take on the leadership of New Gallifrey. They didn't want to take a chance of those abilities being lost just in case anything happened to them. When they returned, they planned on working on rules for who else in their population would go on to become Time Lords.
The night before the voyage everything was packed and loaded on board Lourdes. Jack had written volumes of letters for Stephen, each to be given to him on a specific birthday. He tenderly handed them over to Carra, who took them with great care and put them safely away before saying goodbye to Jack.
"I can't come back," he said regretfully, "but I will love you both forever."
"We will never forget you," she promised. Unknown to Jack, she conceived a daughter that night.
Jon and Rose had tossed fretfully as they tried to sleep. Finally, they gave up. Much like the night before they left Earth, they spent the remainder of the night making love and talking.
Finally it was time to leave. Monna and Dorvack came to see them off. Before they left, Jon gave them a piece of coral from Lourdes 'just in case', along with instructions. After they left, Dorvack dutifully stored the package on Voyager, in the escape capsule where Loudes had originally been kept.
As they dematerialized into the vortex, the adults and older children whooped and hollered, while little Peter whimpered a bit. "Don't worry, luv, you'll get used to it," his mother comforted him.
"So," Jon asked after a bit, "should we use the brake when we land?" Rose had accidentally discovered that they could land silently if they simply left the parking brake off until they actually landed.
"Nah, you know my mother, she'll need some warning we're arrivin'!" Rose joked.
"Alright then, we're coming in loud and proud, HAH!" He laughed jubilantly as the familiar whoosh began and announced their arrival.
They set down in the backyard of the Tyler mansion. They waited a few moments, watching the monitors, until sure enough, Jackie came running out and stopped and stared, gob-smacked.
"Jon, what did we set the chameleon circuit to before we left?" Rose asked.
"Oh, I left it on Auto-Select. I wonder what she thinks she's looking at?" He giggled.
"One way to find out!" Rose laughed.
Out they all poured, Rose holding little Peter, Jon, Alia, Arianna, and Jack. Out of an evergreen, as it were. Lourdes has selected a Spruce as her disguise, so Jackie had been standing in front of what looked like a tree that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"You two!" Jackie admonished, although one could tell, not seriously. She hugged them all by turn and brought them into the house, instructing Cook that there would be guests for dinner, and having the maid prepare the guest bedrooms.
"Pete and Tony are out fishin', they'll be back soon, and what a surprise they'll have!" Jackie positively glowed with delight.
All in all, it was a very merry evening. Pete and Tony arrived, were suitable gobsmacked, and they all spent the evening eating, drinking, and telling tall tales. Pete in particular was moved almost to tears at meeting his grandson and namesake. Jack and Pete crept away later in the evening for a de-briefing.
Very early in the morning, Jon, Rose, and Jack prepared to leave again. The children were left in the care of their grandparents, as had been arranged the night before. Jon and Rose had taken special care to prepare Alia, assuring her that they would be back.
The spruce tree opened at the snap of Rose's fingers, and they left quickly and quietly. They went back in time, and hovered near a large crack between the universes.
"There you go, via the Dimension Cannon." Jon said to Rose, as they saw a bright light shoot past them.
Rose took over Lourdes. Ok, Sweetheart, here we go, she told her. We need to find your Mum, but in the future, preferably when we won't interfere with any fixed points in Time. Lourdes' rotor pulsed, and into the vortex they went, slipping through the crack and traveling into the future of their original universe. The monitor above Rose came to life, and a pulsing red circle showed the location of the Doctor's TARDIS, Lourdes' mother.
All three, Jack, Jon, and Rose collectively gasped as they saw the location. It was on board a Dalek ship. In a flash, Lourdes materialized next to her mother. Cautiously she scanned the vicinity of her mother, but found no life forms. They appeared to be in a huge, mostly empty vault aboard the Dalek ship. Lourdes had materialized as a support pillar next to her mother, Rose could sense the excited communication between the two ships.
"The Doctor, River, and a companion have been captured by the Daleks," Rose reported. "Another companion is aboard the Doctor's TARDIS. He needs our help."
"Who the hell is '*River*?" Jack asked.
"She's the Doctor's future," answered Jon. "If she's in trouble, we need to save her at all costs!"