Chapter Thirteen; Goodbye, Hello (Hullo)

Rose sniffed as she looked down at her father's tombstone while The Doctor parked the car and then he and Mickey and Martha ran into the cemetery. "Rose?" he questioned when suddenly she looked up and saw the man inside the leather jacket standing beside her. "Are you alright?" he asked her.

"No." she answered with another sniff before she looked back down at the tombstone.

"You know you shouldn't have run off like that, but I really can't be mad at you right now with everything that's been going on." He told her as a moment of silence fell. "You know that nothing has changed between us right?" he questioned her.

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry that I said that." She began. "I didn't mean that I was just upset." She told him.

"I know and you have every reason to be." He began. "But I think I can tell you something that will make you feel better. There is a slim chance that I might be able to change back." He said as she quickly turned over to look at him.

"Really? How?" she asked him.

"Well it's kind of complicated and I would have to do a lot of research for it." He began. "There's a rumor going around that I'm not the only time lord left on Gallifrey. I'm not sure of whether or not it's true but if it is and I find a way to contact him I can find out what went wrong and undo it." He explained.

"But how do you know that he would have the answers that you're looking for?" she asked him.

"Because I've got rather in touch with the internet and I've been reading up on him. He regenerated backwards before just like I did." He told her.

"Well you know even if you can't change back I'll still love you." She told him.

"I know, I just know that you were getting all girly and twitter pated about it and I thought that might help get your mind off things. I mean unfortunately there is never any guarantee about the future." He said.

"You can say that again." She said shakily as she broke out into tears.

"Oh sweetheart, come here." He told her as he held out his arms and she slowly walked over to him and got inside them while she started to sob harder. "Shh,.." he whispered as he wrapped his arms around her tighter and rested his chin on the top of her head before giving it a soft kiss.

"I'm sorry, I just can't believe she's really gone!" she cried.

"I know." He began soothingly before kissing her forehead. "But you know that she isn't really. You heard what she said before she died. She'll always be inside your dreams, and now that we know the way back out we can go visit her anytime we want to on Fantasy Island." He told her.

"I know, but it's still just so hard to say goodbye." She sobbed.

"I know,.." he whispered as he planted another kiss on the top of her head. "I know." He told her as she continued to sob. "Shh,.. it's alright." He whispered gently as he rubbed her back and kissed her head. "It's alright. I love you." He reassured her softly as he gave her one final kiss on the top of her head. "Rose Tyler, my Rose Tyler. Forever." He whispered as he continued rubbing her back and hugging her tightly while Mickey and Martha watched them from afar holding hands and looking as though that they might break into tears themselves.

….

Rose wore a black dress with a black hat and a matching bow, gloves, and shoes while The Doctor wore a black suit as they looked down at Jackie's tombstone while a church bell rang solemnly in the background while grey clouds flew in overhead along with a foggy mist that surrounded them. "Surely, goodness, and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of The Lord forever." The preacher read out of the Bible before he closed it and started to walk away.

"Doctor, can I ask you a question?" Rose began after the funeral was over and they started walking down the street together.

"Yeah, sure. What is it?" he asked her back.

"Do you believe in Heaven?" she questioned him.

"I dunno, never been there. The closest thing I've been to it is with you." He answered as he smiled at her lovingly.

"Well just because you've never been there doesn't mean that it's not real." She pointed out.

"Never said that it wasn't. I just said that I wasn't sure. But if there is such a place you can bet that your parents are there watching over you and your family." He told her. "You know, I've been thinking, we've been having some upsetting things happen to us lately and we need something to brighten the mood." He began. "So when we get home why don't you tell the kids that they can pick which kitten they want to keep then." He told her as her face suddenly lit up.

"What? Are you serious?" she asked him with disbelief.

"Yeah," he answered with a grin and a chuckle. "I figure that we're a big enough family already so one more addition can't hurt." He told her as she grinned back at him. "I knew that you would learn to like them." She told him before they exchanged a quick peck on the lips and then wrapping their fingers around each other's they continued walking down the street.