Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and please keep doing so. If I get the dates slightly off, or canon events wrong, many apologies, but technically this piece is AU, so hopefully I'll be forgiven those minor slips. This is the penultimate chapter, and the final one should be uploaded soon.
Disclaimers: I own nothing but the idea.
The Doctor ran off into the console room, setting controls, pulling buttons, pushing levers and twisting dials like a madman. He hoped that the TARDIS would materialise gently this time, and not wake Amy up. This was one trip he'd be making without her. He was dressed in his now traditional tweed suit with a bowtie, and his hair, as ever, was sticking up all over the place.
The TARDIS landed, more gently than usual, and the Doctor checked the place and date one last time, just in case. The display read 'Scotland, Earth, 1991'.
"Keep her safe, old girl," the Doctor whispered to the TARDIS, before walking quietly out of the door, being very cautious as he left the safety of the TARDIS. After all, he didn't always get the date of place exactly right. This time, however, everything was as it should be.
He walked down the street, wondering how to go about finding Rose and her Doctor, when he stopped suddenly. There, walking down the road towards him, were the two people he'd come to see. For a few moments, he just stared, transfixed.
They were walking hand in hand, and Rose kept stretching up to whisper in her Doctor's ear. They both looked a little older, but the Doctor was pleased to see that although Rose's face had a wisdom and maturity that hadn't been there before, she still looked the picture of health and vitality. It made the Doctor's heart ache to see the love radiating from her eyes when she was with her Doctor.
Realising that they were about to walk past him, the Doctor thought quickly. As they passed, he called out "Help", and then as they turned to see what was happening, he fell to the floor in a perfect imitation of someone fainting. Rose and her Doctor rushed to his aid, Rose telling her Doctor to call an ambulance. Before he could do this, the Doctor opened one eye, grinned at Rose, then pretended to come round.
"What...what happened?" he asked, his voice foggy. Rose had his head on her lap, and she smoothed his hair back from his forehead.
"You fainted, love. Do you think you can walk, just to the cafe over there, so that you can recover in peace, away from all these people?" Her voice was full of compassion.
The Doctor nodded, then swayed slightly as he stood, causing Rose and her Doctor to both wrap an arm round his waist, and take one of his arms over their shoulders. Together, they walked across the street to a small cafe, and while Rose's Doctor got water for the Doctor and tea for himself and Rose, Rose waited until the Doctor was sat down at a table, and then looked at him quizzically.
"Alright, what's going on? Why did you wink at me just then?" She asked.
"He's the Doctor – the other Doctor. This must be a future regeneration" a voice behind them said. Rose's Doctor was stood behind Rose's chair, his hand on her shoulder, frowning.
The Doctor looked at Rose and nodded. Rose just stood up, her face a picture of shock.
"The Doctor...you're the Doctor? You're...are you the next one, or a future one?" Rose asked. She sounded confused, but as always, the Doctor knew exactly what she meant.
"I'm the next one on from your Doctor. It was about six months ago – a problem with the Master." At the mention of an old enemy, Rose's Doctor looked up.
"I thought he died – he refused to regenerate." Rose's Doctor asked. The Doctor shook his head.
"He survived somehow. He's dead now, though. I really am the last one left. In the process of stopping the Master, and a few other enemies, Donna's grandfather nearly got blanketed with radiation – I saved him from that." The Doctor's voice was calm, and even. Rose's face changed suddenly, into one of those radiant grins that he used to live it see. She ran round to his side of the table and threw her arms round him. The Doctor wrapped his arms round her, and lifted her off her feet, swinging her around, before putting her firmly back on the floor, next to her Doctor.
"So you're still with this old face then?" he joked. Rose nodded, beaming with joy and love.
"We've been married for twelve years and we've got a four year old daughter, Amelia." Rose dug around in her pocket, then drew out a picture. "Here she is Doctor." She handed the Doctor the photo – it was the same photo that Amy now had by her bed in the TARDIS. He looked at it and smiled, remembering his companion, who had always felt like family to him. He handed the picture back to Rose, then turned to her Doctor. "She's ginger! Your daughter's ginger!" Rose's Doctor matched the Doctor's grin with one of his own. "Was it bad, this time?" he asked. The Doctor simply nodded. He didn't want to talk about what his previous self had said, done, or gone through just prior to regenerating.
Rose who had been silent, suddenly spoke up as a thought occurred to her.
"You visited me, didn't you? You came to say goodbye before you regenerated" she said. Her Doctor's eyes widened in surprise. The Doctor gave a wry smile and nodded.
"Yeah, I said a farewell to all my former companions. You were the last. I was in quite bad shape by that time." The Doctor's eyes held a hint of sadness for a second, but he blinked, and it was gone again.
"I'd forgotten all about it. It was New Years Day, 2005. I thought you were just some cute drunk guy." Her Doctor chuckled. His Rose sure had a way with words.
"So, Doctor, not that it's not great to see you, but why have you come to visit, and how did you know we were here?" Rose's Doctor asked. The Doctor shuffled in his heat, and looked slightly uncomfortable.
"Let's just say that in a few years time, I travel with..." he couldn't bring himself to say that he was travelling with Amy, as it would lead to too many questions that he didn't want to have to answer today. "...a friend of yours" he finished his sentence.
"And this friend told you about us?" Rose's Doctor asked. "Yeah, she was talking about her friends and I realised that they sounded familiar. I thought I'd pop back for a visit."
"Why did you have to come back for a visit? Why couldn't you just visit us in your time?" Rose asked, the fear that suddenly gripped her evident in her voice.
Both Doctors turned to her in concern, but it was her Doctor her answered. "Probably because if he visited us in his present, he'd run the risk of bumping into his companion, and messing up the timeline. Right, Doctor?" He looked at the Doctor, who grinned and nodded. "See, Time Lord brain. Everything but the binary vascular system." Rose rolled her eyes at the Doctor, but accepted the explanation, and soon the trio were busy talking about everything and nothing, catching up on everything that had gone on since they'd last seen each other.
"So how did you end up back here? And where's Amelia now?" the Doctor asked.
"She's at nursery. She doesn't know anything – to Amelia, we're just John and Rose Pond, her parents. We're not dragging her off to fight monsters, not yet. We'll cross those bridges when she's older" Rose said. The pair then told the Doctor their story. The Doctor was overjoyed to see them again, and so clearly in love. They told the story together, in a sort of relay. First, Rose would say something, then her Doctor would jump in. They often broke off the story to reminisce about a shared memory. It made the Doctor's hearts fill with pride and love for his friends, but he knew he'd be in emotional pain later, when the shock of seeing Rose like that with someone else, someone not him, would eventually hit him. For now, though, he was content to just listen, and try to understand a little more of how Rose's daughter had ended up travelling with him.
Finally, when Rose and her Doctor had finished with their story, the trio all stood up. Rose and her Doctor had to pick Amelia up from nursery. Rose hugged the Doctor tightly, before walking out of the cafe. Her Doctor knew she'd be wiping tears from her eyes, but he wasn't jealous. He knew she loved him. He lingered with the Doctor to allow his wife a little time to compose herself.
"We're not around in your present, are we?" he asked quietly. He'd understood what Rose hadn't. "No, you're not" was all the Doctor said. He'd return again, he knew. He wouldn't be able to stop himself. Maybe then he'd tell them about Amelia and Amy, and what their daughter would grow up to become. For now, though, he only wanted them to go on as they were – happy and in love, and sharing that love with their daughter, the amazing Amelia Pond.
Rose's Doctor walked away, but turned at the last minute and looked the Doctor straight in the eye. "Look after her for us, Doctor" he said, before walking out of the door and taking Rose's hand as they strolled off together down the street.
The Doctor felt an overwhelming sadness as he walked back toward his TARDIS, hoping that she'd kept Amy safe, and that Amy was still asleep.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. Please now review...:)