A/N: I should just be honest with you all right now: I really really love happy endings with tons of fluff and happy people and love and maybe bunnies and puppies, but I'm not sure I can write one. So, you have been warned, no guarenties for a happy ending.
Thanks for the great response, you all make me super happy, and really, who doesn't like to be super happy?

Oh, and I sadly don't own anything affilated with Doctor Who or Torchwood. Just a crazy imagination that can't be tamed (I call it Miley)

I will be

"Rose? Are you alright sweetheart?"

Rose inwardly cursed at herself for even answering the phone. And Pete for telling Jackie. "I'm fine, just a bit shocked, is all…"

"I want you to come home and stay until this is over!"

"Mum, you know that's not going to happen. It doesn't even matter, he'll find my anyway. I might as well stay here and do some good."

"Rose, I'm worried about you!"

"I know, mum, but I'll be fine. How are you doing? All settled in?"

"Yeah almost. Found a good school for Tony and your dad's working around the clock. I miss you, though."

"I miss you two. How are the boys?"

"Mickey and Jake are working hard as well. Something about cracks or something."

"What about Duncan and Tim?"

"Who?"

"Mum, come on. Duncan and Time, they crossed over with you?"

"Sweetie I don't know what you're talking about. It was just me, your dad, Tony, Mickey and Jake. No Tim or Duncan."

"Mum I need to go. I'll talk to you later, yeah?" Rose hung up before Jackie could reply. She found Jack in the kitchen. "Do you remember Duncan and Tim? The crossed over with my family."

"Of course I do, Rose. What are you talking about."

"I just got off the phone with my mum and she had no idea who they were."

"I don't mean to be rude, but Jackie is a bit…" Jack gestured with his hands.

"No, she doesn't know who they are, like she'd never heard of them."

"That's weird." Jack found Owen in the living room, watching TV. "Do you remember Duncan and Tim?"

"Who?"

"Duncan Boyles and Tim Schroeder, they crossed over with Rose's family."

"I have no idea what you're on about. It was just Jackie, Pete, Tony, Mickey and Jake. Remember" Owen said in a bored voice. "I helped get them their fake papers."

Rose looked at Jack with big eyes and he motioned her to follow him out into the kitchen. "What's going on" she whispered.

"I don't know. Last time I talked to Pete, he told me they were all working hard at tracking the cracks. Duncan and Tim were surveying the one in Norway…"

"Could they have been like sucked in?"

"It's a possibility, but that's doesn't explain why no one remembers them but us. Obviously we need to be extra careful about the cracks then, not go near them or touch them."

"What about mum and the others? We need to warn them."

"I'll talk to Pete, I promise" Jack said and gently took Rose's hand. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm not" Rose whispered in a hoarse voice, trying to hold back the tears. "It's just too much, all this. I don't know who or what I am anymore, the Doctor has left me and it's my fault that Duncan and Tim are gone."

"Shh Rose, it's not your fault" Jack said and enveloped her in a warm hug. "And we'll figure it all out, I promise."

"Hello Donna" the Doctor greeted his red headed friend as she entered the kitchen.

"Hello" she said back and sat down. "I was wondering if maybe you would do something for me? Well, it's actually for my granddad…"

"What?"

Donna noted that he had stopped rambling some time ago, only really talking when necessary and it bothered her more than she thought it would. "It's his birthday the fifth. I think that's tomorrow. And I think he would like to see a little bit of the space, yeah? Like the moon or something?"

"And you want me to take him?" The Doctor sipped his tea. He liked Wilf, he really did, but he wasn't looking forward to being anywhere near Rose.

"I know that you don't do domestics" Donna said and made a wild gesture with her hands. "But…"

"Relax Donna" he interrupted her. "Of course we can do it."

"Thank you" she said and grabbed his hand that was resting on the table. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm always okay" he said and smiled.

Wilf had been ecstatic at the prospect of seeing the stars. The Doctor had taken them to a far away one, called Nostru, inhabited by tall, ostrich-like people with claws instead of feet. Wilf had been wandering around with an amazed look on his face and Donna had thanked the Doctor a thousand times. The Doctor and Martha had opted to walk a few steps behind them in order to give them a little peace, but close enough so that the Doctor could make sure they didn't land themselves in too much trouble (something Martha found highly ironic given the Doctor's disposition for trouble).

"This is nice" she said in a low tone, as Donna and Wilf looked at trinkets from the market.

"Yes, it's very nice place" the Doctor agreed. "Used to visit a lot when I was younger. Not so much anymore."

"Why not?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know, I just don't… How's your family?"

"They're good" Martha said and played along at the Doctor's sudden change in topic. "Mum's well, mum, and Tish has a new job and new boyfriend, so she's happy. Leo spends all his time partying and dad spends his time with the golddigger. At least that's what they were doing the last time I talked to them."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I lost my phone somewhere in the TARDIS. Stupid really" Martha said. "But it'll turn up somewhere, I'm sure. Until then I'm disconnected. Quite peaceful, actually."

"Yes I can imagine" the Doctor said.

"It was nice of you to do this for Wilf. It can't have been easy to be back on earth."

"It was fine" the Doctor lied. It had actually been a struggle for him not to land in Cardiff and go looking for Rose. And something was off, although he couldn't figure out what, but something in this universe was wrong. He tried to tell himself that it was just the aftershock of Rose and her family coming through, that it would fix itself eventually and Jack was monitoring the situation closely, but he still felt uneasy. He would have to look into that at some point, or at least give Jack a call. If he was quite honest with himself, he would most likely put it off until the very last minute because he wasn't in the mood to deal with Jack.

Wilf sat down opposite the Doctor in the library, looking around at the surrounding room. "Quite the place you've got here.

"It's my sanctuary. The TARDIS can get a bit crowded sometimes."

"Yes I can imagine" Wilf said with a smile. "And I'm sure Donna won't bother you too much in here."

"She prefers the pool, I think."

"She's changed so much, I can tell. She's better here, with you. She says she wants to stay forever."

The Doctor sighed. They all said that, at some point. Some changed their minds, other were never given the chance, but they all shared the same problem: forever for them were hardly a moment for him. And it hurt more and more. "You apes and your silly conception of time… Forever is a long time. Eventually Donna will break that wow as well."

"Time is on your side when you are young. But as you grow older it turns on you and becomes your enemy and you can't control it. Donna is still young, but trust an old man, some day forever will seem like no time at all."

"I'm older than you."

Wilf looked him over. He looked mid thirties at most. "Get away!"

"I'm 905."

"No? Really?" Wilf gave him another critical look. "Is that why…" Wilf stopped himself. "Donna told me you lost someone you loved. Is it because of the…"

"It's hard to watch someone you love die" the Doctor said. "Rose is human and I'm not!"

Wilf wanted to ask what he was, exactly, but didn't want to be rude either, and he knew Donna had been so worried about the Doctor and his refusal to speak about Rose and his heartbreak. Maybe the Doctor would finally open up a little. "Where is she now, Rose?"

"She's with her family, that's what she chose and rightfully so. I could never give her what she deserved."

"Oh I hardly think that's the case" Wilf said. "Maybe love is worth the heartbreak, in the end? Even though Rose someday, in the future, won't be here anymore, you will still have the memories. And as long as you have those, she will always be there, with you in your heart."

"Hearts" the Doctor corrected Wilf. "I have two hearts…"

"Oh… What are you, exactly? If you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm a Time Lord." The Doctor sighed, glad he momentarily managed to distract Wilf. It felt like opening the wound all over again, just talking about Rose, it was still so raw.

"It seems unfair, you being a Lord of time and Rose having so little of it" Wilf noted.

The Doctor nodded. It did! And it was! It was so unfair that Rose was at the mercy of time, while he, a Time Lord, could do nothing but stand by and watch as time would eventually destroy her.

"Don't you ever get lonely?"

Wilf's question hit hard. Because he was lonely, so so lonely, even with Martha and Donna here. "Yes I do" he said honestly.

"I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about love, but I know there is some truth to that old saying. Sometimes it truly is better to have loved and lost than to never have experienced love at all."

"Rose is safe with her family now, that's all that matters. I can handle being lonely if it means she is safe and being loved."

"Even if it's not you who is loving her?"

"Yes."