Chapter 7

A/N: Next to last chapter...in which we finally find out why Rose is back! Thanks for the reviews! This one's a little longer than usual but not by much!

Mickey, Martha, and Jack had run after the Doctor until they saw Rose running towards him. The three stopped and waited to give the two, who had been worlds apart, their moment.

The Doctor ran faster than he had ever run before. He ran as if his life depended on it more now than any other time. And in a way, it did. Rose was his life. She had been since the moment he grabbed her hand. And his life hadn't been the same after he lost her that day in Torchwood. It was even worse the second time he lost her.

And Rose ran too. She ran for her memories. Every moment they had run hand-in-hand came flooding back to her; every conversation; every argument; the jokes; the tears; she remembered them all.

Then she remembered the human doctor. She remembered the day on Bad Wolf Bay the second time, standing between her Doctor and that new creation. She began to run a little slower as the memory hit her like a pile of bricks…

Rose: "All right. Both of you, answer me this. When I last stood on this beach, on the worst day of my life, what was the last thing you said to me? Go on, say it." Doctor: "I said, 'Rose Tyler.'" Rose: "Yeah, and how was that sentence gonna end?" Doctor: "Does it need saying?" Rose: (to the new Doctor) "And you, Doctor? What was the end of that sentence?" The new Doctor leans down to her and whispers into her ear. Rose looks at him, then pulls him closer and kisses him.

Rose stopped running completely, just a few feet before reaching The Doctor, as she remembered why she was sent to this world. She fell to her knees in tears, her face in her hands.

The Doctor stopped momentarily confused. This wasn't how he imagined this moment ending. However, he quickly rushed to Rose's side. He sat down beside her and pulled her into his lap, gently rocking her to console her. He didn't know why, but he could guess it had something to do with the ring on her left hand.

He held her in his arms silently for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, Rose regained control of herself enough to look up at him. She reached up and touched his cheek. The Doctor turned his face into her palm and kissed it. Rose managed a half-hearted smile. The Doctor sighed.

"What happened?" he asked. "Do you remember?"

Rose simply nodded and looked away. It was a full two minutes before she was able to speak. Before she did, she took a deep breath…

"We got married, me and John. That was the name he chose, not a huge surprise, John Smith," she laughed a bitter laugh. "It took him a whole year to get me to realize he was, in essence, you! A whole year! But he waited. We didn't 'date' very long, just a couple of months before he proposed. Mum went nuts planning the wedding! It drove me crazy! So, we eloped! Can you believe that? Me and John, eloping?" Rose smiled at the memory as fresh tears slid down her cheeks.

The Doctor wiped her tears away. He gave Rose an encouraging smile, telling her to continue.

"We'd been married a year exactly. It was our first anniversary. We were at Mum and Dad's place, little Tony running around. And then it happened. The windows crashed. Three Daleks came in," Rose felt The Doctor stiffen at the mention of his biggest nemesis. "Something hit me in the back of the head, a board or maybe a chair, I don't know. I fell to the ground and heard Mum screaming for Tony."

Rose was starting to lose control again. The Doctor pulled her closer. She took a minute before continuing again.

"I heard the Daleks. Dad was telling Mum to get Tony out. She said she wasn't leaving without him. He said he was going to help John with me. John told them to go on and that he'd be right out. He knelt down beside me and took me in his arms. I felt something tight around my wrist. I was already loosing consciousness. He told me he loved me, then kissed me. A Dalek came up, and screamed 'Exterminate!' I couldn't see anymore but I felt John push whatever was on my wrist. And just before the manipulator brought me here, I heard…I heard…"

Rose began to sob. The Doctor pulled her as tight as he could and nuzzled her hair.

"They killed him, Doctor! They killed my John, my husband!" Rose cried into The Doctor's shoulder. He rubbed her back trying his best to console her. He felt a mix of emotions; sadness for the loss of his human clone, rage at the Daleks for causing Rose this much pain, and jealousy for how Rose called John "hers". He continued to console her though as she slowly drifted off to sleep in his arms.

Once he realized she had fallen asleep, he waved Jack, Martha, and Mickey over. As they approached, The Doctor stood, Rose cradled in his arms.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Mickey asked, concerned.

"Eventually," The Doctor said with confidence. Rose always pulled through these situations sooner or later. "Martha, open the TARDIS door for me. Jack, go to the Medical Bay in the TARDIS and find me a cold compress. Mickey, go to the kitchen and fix Rose some tea." The Doctor delegated as he carried Rose into the TARDIS.

He took her to her old bedroom. It hadn't been touched since the day she left. He laid her on the bed and brushed her hair out of her face. She looked so peaceful at that moment. Without the weight of both her worlds on her shoulders.

Martha, Mickey, and Jack all came in together. Jack gave The Doctor the ice pack and he gently dabbed at her face. Mickey set the tea on the table by the bed for when she woke up.

"So Doctor, what happened?" Martha asked.

The End

A/N: Just one chapter left for this story! I can't believe my first fanfic is ending! Or…is it? ;) REVIEWS PLEASE!