(Epilogue)
Six months after that, when he felt a whispering in the telepathic centres of his mind, he knew who it was and he wasn't afraid to go out there and face whatever it was the Doctor had to talk to him about. He knew he'd feel better afterwards. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. This was his chance to get some much needed closure.
He told the Tyler clan that he had to do this by himself. Yet, as he boarded the zeppelin back to Norway, he was both looking forward to it and dreading it at the same time. It was the first time, truly his first time, of doing anything in this world entirely on his own.
Thankfully his stomach didn't decide to rebel against him on the journey, this time.
He booked a room at the same hotel he and Jackie had stayed in before, and settled in for the night, not that he got any sleep. He knew he'd be seeing the Doctor, and maybe Rose, the following morning bright and early.
All he really wanted to know was what had happened to Donna. After he'd learnt that, he could go back home. He didn't care about anything else really. Just that.
He left the hotel and sat on a rock on the windswept beach, glad that he'd brought a jacket with him, now it was autumn. He'd only been waiting a half hour when the image of the Doctor appeared.
They stared at each other for a bit, but time was wasting away. He could feel each second passing, dreading it would be the last. Finally, he got up his courage and asked. "Donna?"
The Doctor looked sad at the mention of her name, took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. A habit, Jack realised with a jolt, that he himself had lost, shortly after he'd arrived here.
"I couldn't... I couldn't take our knowledge away from her. She refused to let me, and Rose backed her up. We took her home to her mum and Wilf, and stayed with her to the end. It wasn't messy either, by the way. One minute she was there, and then she was just... gone. Oh, Rose says, 'Hi' by the way. I'm sorry, I can only project one of us at a time."
Jack nodded. "Tell her I say, 'Hi' back."
The image of the Doctor looked away for a moment as he relayed his message.
"She says she's sorry. And so am I. Really, I am. It just... Wouldn't have worked with two of us in the same..."
"I know why you did it. And I am not going to say it's all been sunshine and daisies, living here, because it hasn't. You hurt me, both of you."
The Doctor looked away again, a frown on his face, and said something he couldn't catch. When he turned back to talk to him, he could see the look in the Doctor's eyes was that of someone who was truly unhappy about something. "I'm sorry. And so is Rose. She's crying right now."
He nodded. He'd pretty much guessed that Rose would start crying. He was amazed he hadn't started himself. "But I'm better now, for the most part. It's the reason I'm standing here now. Oh, and I've got a name now, by the way. It's Jack. Jack Noble Jones; a little bit of everyone who's really important. And I have a girlfriend as well."
The Doctor nodded, and smiled slightly. "Good, I'm happy for you. We haven't got much longer and Rose wants to tell you something. So, goodbye 'Jack'."
"Bye Doctor. Take care of Rose. Oh! And thank you. For this moment, that is."
The Doctor smiled, nodded, turned away and disappeared and Rose took his place. She had wiped her face free of tears, though makeup still stained her cheeks under her eyes. She sniffled and smiled.
"Hello, Jack. I just want you to know I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I never even really thought of what you'd be like. I don't think I ever saw you as anyone quite... real. And I am so, so sorry."
Smiling, he nodded. "I know you are. Thank you for telling me."
She sniffed again, looking over his shoulder. "Where's mum? I wanted to talk to her too. Just to say a proper goodbye; I didn't last time. I was in too much of a rush and 'in the moment' I guess."
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm sorry Rose, she didn't come. I think she realised this was going to be a... private moment for me. Actually, it was Pete who wanted to come. I managed to convince him I needed to do this on my own. I'm alone, Rose. There's no one else with me."
Sniffing, Rose looked startled for a second. "But... but this is my last chance to say goodbye to her! I'll never have another one. We're using a window into this universe that only opens once every few decades. Or so the Doctor says, anyway. By the time I get to do this again she'll probably be gone or too old to get here."
Jack laughed and shook his head. "You underestimate Jackie. She's tougher than nails, your mum. She'll probably outlive us all. Well, apart from the Doctor."
"It's not funny! That's my mum you're talking about, and she didn't even come to say goodbye to me!"
He knew what her problem was. Rose had acted rashly, made a split second decision, and was now feeling guilty for not saying farewell to her family. He smiled, sadly.
"I'm sorry Rose. It was good to talk to you anyway, even if it was for a little while. I'll tell Jackie you miss her, and that you're doing well, alright?"
She started really crying then, big tears rolling down her cheeks. It reminded him of the image of her that the Doctor carried in his head, from when he'd said his last goodbye to her on this very beach. She nodded slightly, gave him a little smile through her tears, and disappeared. He waited a few minutes for one of them to reappear, but his link to the Doctor was gone and he was truly alone on the beach.
Sucking in a breath, he turned around, walked back to the hotel, went up to his room and collapsed onto the bed.
He thought he'd feel sad or cry himself back to sleep, but in the end he didn't. He felt refreshed, and like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had got his wish for Donna. He had been so afraid that her memories would have been wiped but they hadn't been, and she had died happy, the way she, obviously, had wanted.
His goodbyes said, he felt like he could finally get on with his life, even if he still didn't know what he was doing half the time.
A smile crept onto his face. It wasn't from excitement or relief, it wasn't even a way to stop himself from breaking down like it had been so many other times before. For the first time, it felt like it fit his face. It was only then that he realised that today was October 11th. His birthday.
The start of his adventure had finally begun. And he wanted to know what was going to happen next.
One thing he knew for sure. He was going to have a fantastic life.