Chapter 3

"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

"Last time I stepped in there, it was spur of the moment. Now I'm signing up. You're stuck with me."

"How long are you going to stay with me?"

"Forever."

St Mary's Church Cemetery

Weston On The Green

April 2220

The sound of birdsong filled the air, claims of ownership of the trees in the church grounds. A young red headed woman wearing denim shorts and a black vest top, guided a hover chair through the ornate, wrought iron gates, following the path towards the church. She veered off away from the path, towards a particular grave.

The ancient man in the chair, had white hair that was swept back over his head. He was wearing a grey pinstriped suit, a pale yellow swirly patterned tie, and red converse with white rubber toe caps and trim. "You don't have to push me you know Susan my dear. Mmmm. The chair knows the way."

"I know Grandee, but I don't mind. I've always enjoyed spending time with you. And besides, I want to pay my respects to Greatly Rose."

The old man chuckled at her terms of endearment. She was one of his 573 great great great great great grandchildren, and she couldn't remember a time where he hadn't been a part of her life.

He seemed to revel in repeating the 'greats' over and over, but Susan got bored with it at a very early age, abbreviating the five greats to Grandee for him, and Greatly to the memory of the great great great great great grandmother she had never met.

They arrived at a white marble headstone, and they both read the inscription, even though they had read it many times before.

Rose Marion Smith

1987 - 2114

Loving wife and mother

Everything must come to dust.

All things.

Everything dies so that everything may live.

The Doctor took his silver headed cane in one hand, and the bunch of pink roses in the other and started to ease himself out of the hover chair.

"Hold on Grandee, let me help you. You're not used to Earth's gravity these days," Susan said as she supported his elbow.

For the last ten years, he'd been living in New London on the moon, where the low gravity was kinder to his knees. She helped him to kneel by the grave and then reached her own floral tribute from the basket on the back of the chair. Together they arranged the pink and yellow roses in the stone vase on the grave.

"Happy birthday Rose. How have you been?" He started to chat away to his wife. Susan silently watched and listened, basking in the love that the Doctor had for his wife. A love that even death itself couldn't diminish.

"My song will be ending soon and we'll be together again… forever. Just like you said."

"Grandee?" Susan said with a look of worry on her face.

"Oh, don't look so worried my child. Haven't you read the inscription," he said, nodding to the headstone. "Everything dies in the end, even me."

"Yes, I know, but it's as if you know when it will be."

He chuckled to himself. "I know; it used to drive Rose crazy when I did that."

Susan smiled at him, and he felt both joy and sadness in that smile. If her hair had been blonde, then it would be Rose smiling at him, and he loved that smile, especially when her tongue peeked out from between her teeth. And for 93 years now, he had missed that smile.

When he was first introduced to his great great great great great granddaughter, he could see the similarity with the six year old Rose Tyler, who he had travelled back in time to see her win the bronze medal at Jericho Street School.

Susan set about tending the grave, whilst the Doctor carried on chatting to the memory of his wife. She would listen to his reminiscing, and mentally record the conversation. She had inherited the Gallifreyan genes that had been passed down the generations, and she had the same remarkable brain as her Grandee John.

She was only nineteen years old, but had already achieved BA's in literature and history, before qualifying as a nurse, specialising in geriatric medicine. She had appointed herself as his unofficial nurse, whether he wanted a nurse or not. She was also the family genealogist and historian (unofficially of course).

Her parents couldn't understand why she tolerated this crotchety old goat, and seemed so enamoured with him. But Susan had seen through his facade from the start, and had seen the courageous, compassionate man underneath who had a wicked sense of fun.

What she didn't know of course, was that the Doctor had seen the similarity with Rose, and was charmed by this cheeky, intelligent and thoughtful young lady. He had spent many an hour when she was little, sitting on the terrace of the manor, telling her the stories of their adventures.

One benefit of all of this for Susan, was that she had taken one of the tall tales of Grandee John, and posted it on a fan fiction website. To her surprise, she developed a cult following which spread around the world. The responses she got to this story, encouraged her to post another one, which again got rave reviews. With all this enthusiasm, she decided to contact a publisher, who signed her up to produce a series of books which became a science fiction sensation.

The Doctor ambled to the end of his one sided conversation, while Susan stood with a handful of dandelions and found a bin to put them in.

"Well Rose, I can't sit here all day gossiping, I think my young companion is ready to go."

"Grandee John! You know you can stay as long as you like," she said indignantly.

"Uh-oh, busted," he said with a chuckle and a waggle of his eyebrows. He looked at the headstone. "She has infinite patience with me, just as you did my love. But I happen to know that she needs to get back to the moon, where a producer is waiting to strike a deal to create a holovision series of her books."

Susan's mouth fell open in surprise. "Wha? How…"

"How did I know? Well my child, by the time you get to two hundred and six, you find you have acquired a network of contacts that makes the internet look like a hermits phone book."

He planted his walking cane in the ground and started to pull himself up, as though he were climbing a rope. Susan came around the grave and gently helped him up, giving him a questioning look.

"Did you have something to do with that producer contacting me?"

"I wonder who'll play me? It would have to be someone handsome," he said, ignoring her question. "And foxy," he added with a chuckle and eyebrow waggle as he sat in his hover chair.

"You did, didn't you?" She pressed him for an answer.

"And Rose, any actress who takes on that role will have to be stunning." He looked up at her with a mischievous grin. "If you dyed your hair blonde, you could play the part. You are SO like her, in every way."

"Grandee! Did you or did you not have anything to do with that producer arranging a meeting with me?" She demanded, her fists on her hips.

"Me? How would I know a holovision producer?" He said, giving her his best innocent expression.

"42 - The answer to life, the universe and everything. Your documentary about subatomic physics and the nature of time and space?" She said in accusation.

He looked over at the headstone. "Busted again."