Hello, anyone still here? I'm really sorry about the unexpected hiatus but a lot had happened in my life and I was not in the right state of mind to write. But I'm back in the game and with this, a new chapter! I hope you will like it! Don't forget to tell me what you think of it!
Big up to my beta, who kicked my butt when needed.

Chapter 16

As soon as Rose took the Doctor's hand, she knew that her life had irrevocably shifted. Before that moment she could have changed her mind. She could have walked away, keeping her mind and heart mostly intact. She would have even been able to tell herself that she did the right thing. But now she knew the truth. She could only go forward.

She had waited for that moment for decades, dreaming it for days when she had only the night and stars for company, knowing perfectly at the same time that it was still only a dream. But now she could change everything, even if she knew deep down that second chances were not for people like her. She had made that mistake once after Canary Wharf and she almost lost herself. So this time, she'll run head first into it and hope for the best, until the universe would stop being kind and let her fall.

But at this moment all she could do was smile as she looked into his eyes. Eyes so full of kindness and pain. At the same time, also made her temporarily forget the countdown towards full disclosure running in the back of her mind. "Doctor, we need to discuss our next move." Rose said with a smile as he was looking just like the madman he was. "But first I need a change of clothes."

He dropped his hand, old habits making himself embarrassed at that display of emotions. "Right. I'll be in the console room if you need me," he answered while taking a step back.

Rose nodded and started a few feet down the nearest corridor. Suddenly she halted as she looked around in confusion before turning back to him. "I..I kinda forgot where the wardrobe room is," she admitted with a nervous chuckle and light blush on her cheeks.

The Doctor looked a little taken aback by her statement. "Oh… Really?"

She gave a pained smile in response. "Well a little. It's just that I've had a lot on my mind, and I can't remember everything. You know how are those pesky human brains are." She laughed gently, trying to make him at least smile.

But the opposite happened as his face became more somber. "Sometimes I forget…" he said wistfully, looking at her with a painful look.

"Forget what?" she asked as gently as possible, afraid of what his answer would be or how he'd vocalize it. She recalled times when he was like that, and they were never good times to be had.

"How human you are." He passed his hands through his hair, more in a gesture to not break down in front of her than anything else.

"Hey, I just forgot one little thing. It's not like I suddenly couldn't remember my own name. It's not like I'll die tomorrow." She approached him and nudged his shoulder playfully with her own. "I'm sure that I don't need to remind you how big this ship is, Doctor? And besides, it was not me who fell into the garbage can after I mixed up the place with the Wiklen garden. Even after I told you three times that it was the wrong way."

He chuckled, her playful manner melting away the bad mood he was falling into. "Okay you're right. But I'm still sure it was the right door and that the TARDIS was playing with us."

She snorted. "Yeah right..." She turned around and picked one of the hallways without a second thought, walking like a woman with a purpose.

"Wait!" he called, making her stop in her track and turn around curiously. "You remember?"

She smiled, brilliantly. "No. But she does," Rose answered while pointing upwards at the ceiling with a flourish before resuming her walking, smirking as she heard his laughing in the background.

Almost an hour later, she walked back into the console room, looking much more like the human she was and with a clean uniform. The Doctor didn't want to even know where she had found it.

"Ok, what's next now?" She asked, hopping around as she tried to lace her right rangers as she was walking, amusing him to no end. Some things never changed visibly. He winced a little as she almost collided with one of the pillar but she continued like nothing happened.

"Well look who it is!" He said with false surprise. "I almost forgot you were here!" He continued, smiling at her like a loon.

"Ahah…" She said with as much sarcasm she could muster before throwing a yoyo she found on the ground at his head. He avoided it with ease, letting it crash on one of the walls, before making a face to her. Making her laugh at the stupidity of the situation.

The door of the TARDIS suddenly opened with a clatter, startling Rose while her right hand reached instinctively for the weapon that was always at her side, and the Doctor jump in surprise. As he was taking out the sonic, they realized at the same moment that it was only Donna at the door.

"Ah good, you are still here," she said, oblivious to the fright she just gave them. "If you two could stop making eyes to each other for a bit. We need you outside."

"What's wrong. What did you do," the Doctor asked cautiously while crossing his arms with a suspicious look on his face, making Rose snort in her chair. She was happy to see that she was not the only jeopardy friendly passenger on the TARDIS.

Donna looked affronted. "Nothing!" She looked quickly to Rose the back to the Doctor. "Do you want me to remind you of Xiloras and their princess? Because I can."

The Doctor looked suddenly alarmed, his eyes going back and forth between Rose and Donna. "The less said about it, the better thanks!" he said in a shrill, making Rose very curious.

"Oh do tell," she said in Donna's direction, who had clearly the same look as someone who had won the lottery.

"Oh look at that, they appear to be waiting for us outside!" the Doctor exclaimed, pushing Donna in direction of the door with a desperation that would have looked suspicious on a lesser man. He then had the sudden realization that if the two women decided to talk, like really talk, he was bound to regenerate from the shame alone.

"Hey stop manhandling me, Spaceman!" Donna loudly protested, snatching her arm from his grip. "And preferably before you get your knickers in a twist." He made a strangled sound at the mere suggestion. "I came to say that Tony is waiting for you. Apparently they are in the middle of a treaty and they need your output." She looked at Rose above the Doctor's shoulder. "Well more you than him I'd say."

All humor disappeared from Rose's face at the mention of her son's name and turned her full attention to the Doctor, blasting him with a black look like it was all his fault. "I told him to go easy! He was supposed to just talk and have a rest! I knew this would happen!"

The Doctor grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'Like mother like son' before grabbing his sonic and running outside. Probably aware that going against Rose on the warpath was not something he needed to do if he wanted to stay alive.

"Ha what a wuss," sneered Donna at the sudden disappearance of her friend before turning to Rose. "Don't worry, Tony is just fine. He was really having a blast the last time I saw him."

Rose huffed as she walked slowly to the door. "I through I would never say this, but I suddenly totally understand how my mother felt."

Donna laughed and gave her a friendly pat on the back. "Come on, blondie, I will take you to him. Because I'm ready to bet that Spaceman is long gone now."

When Donna and her arrived at the makeshift camp, Rose realized that the discussion of a treaty wasn't being taken lightly amongst the negotiators. A big table had been mounted and at least five people were talking at the same time. And the Doctor was in the middle of it, visibly trying to calm everyone with Martha before it could go badly.

"It's been like that for ten minutes," she heard Tony's amused voice behind her. "I don't think the Doctor had realized it's how the Hath are negotiating," he continued while coming around to face his mother, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Are you okay?" asked Rose immediately, her gaze going directly to his shoulder, still held securely into place with a cloth sling.

"It's ok. Nobody asked me to write or anything like that, so I'm doing good." He shrugged with a smile. A smile that made her think of her mother. "I'm really happy to see you, Mum."

"Me too," she replied, going against her urge to hug him with all she had. "So, how is it really going out here?" She turned around to look at the spectacle, realizing that Donna had gone to the group while she was talking with Tony, and was now talking to Martha, who was laughing at something.

Tony started to walk in direction of the tablep. "Really good. I think that both groups are ready to make peace. What Cobb did made them realize that the violence was clearly not the answer." He looked a little sheepish. "And your reaction was exactly the electroshock they needed… But don't worry they're not holding that against you!" he quickly assured her as he saw the face of horror Rose made. "They totally understand, just believe me on that. What they saw was just grief and pain, not any horror or fear. You made them realize that we can be more than soldiers. How we are worth more than that."

"They are not afraid?" she asked with a little voice, apprehensive of the response.

"No. Ok, maybe a little. But not so much that they'll give up on change." He shrugged. "They are molded by Cobb's influence and ideology. He clearly lost his mind at some point during the war, and sadly some of them can't help but think about themselves first." He nodded with sadness. "I still think it's my fault."

Rose stopped him with a hand on his good shoulder, forcing him to look directly at her. "Never think that. It's Cobb fault, he is the one to choose to fire, not you. You saved the Doctor's life." she said with a serious tone, hoping to make him really understand.

"So, it's not yours either you know." He shrugged. "You just reacted and if what the other said is true, Cobb tried to egg you on until you snapped."

She felt her skin ran cold. Did anyone saw the Bad Wolf in action? She through that only Martha and Cobb had been witness to the return of the beast, but perhaps she had been wrong. "Did they told you anything about that?" she tried to be nonchalant in her question, trying to not cross the eyes of anyone as they approached the table.

"Just that they had felt bad for you. If you didn't notice, they are mostly all big on gun and lost on emotions. It's going to take time to not go directly to violence to resolve things."

As she looked around, she realized that Tony was mostly right. Nobody was avoiding her or looking at her like the monster she was. It was just mostly curiosity and apathy. They had seen too much during that endless war to be jaded by her outburst.

"It's going to take a lot of time to have something really working," said the Doctor, entering the conversation with an air of thoughtfulness, looking at the different groups talking. "Even if I'm certain that the Hath are saying no, more for the fact that it's funny for them than anything else." Rose and Tony exchanged a conspiratorial glance behind his back "So I was thinking!" continued the Doctor as if nothing happened. "We give them a little nudge in the right direction, and then back to Earth we go! Even if Tony already did a lot." He turned to the young man. "I heard you had been able to make them all sit and talk. It's already a very good start," he finished with a look of pride all over his face. His fondness for Tony very obvious.

"Really?" asked Rose with delight. "I'm so proud of you!" She hugged him, making sure to not touch his hurt shoulder. "Just for that, I'm going to take you to the best fish and chips in all of England when we are back in London." She turned her head to the Doctor. "IF we are back on Earth of course."

"Hey!" He looked indignant. "That was one time, and I was not even was in that body, so that's really not fair."

Before she could respond, Tony ended the hug, talking a few feet of distance. "About that…" He looked uneasy and anxious, fidgeting with the edge of his t-shirt like it was the most important thing in the universe. "I don't think I will be coming back with you…"

Rose felt like her world had paused for a second, as the Doctor looked at her bewildered. "What?" she asked with a flat voice, staring at her son like he had just spoke chinese.

"I know I can do great things here," Tony said, his eyes appearing to stare off into the distance, as if he were peering into some potential future. "I want to be sure we have something right for everyone. To not repeat the errors of the past. Like I said to them earlier, we came onto this planet as one. We need to built it like our ancestors wanted. Together," he finished, looking every inch of the future leader Rose easily could see that in her son. Already so proud and tall, ready to take the world by storm. Everything in him reminded her of herself when she had been young, so sure of her own worth, ready to go in a blaze of glory. But life, and Jimmy Stone, had diminished that fire in her until almost nothing remained. Till the Doctor came along and reminded her of that very potential.

As Rose continued to gaze at Tony, seeing the sparkle ignite in him, she knew she would not have the heart to stop him. She could not be the able to live with herself, not after what she had to live down to gain her own back. She smiled at him again, even if she could not help but let her sadness creep out a little. "I'm sure you are going to be great," she said with a lump in her throat and tears pooling in her eyes.

Tony looked overjoyed but not surprised."I knew you would understand, Mum," he said with a grin as the Doctor had retreated back and engaged in an animated conversation with Cline (who looked rather annoyed). "You are different, just like me." He jerked his head in direction of the Doctor who was now joined by Martha and Donna, who had been drawn by all the noise made by their friend. "They don't understand what it means to be between worlds. I will always been different to them, like you are always going to be a stranger to your own world," he said as he looked at her sadly. "But I know that I can do great things here, just like you can do with the Doctor."

"But you would have been great too," Rose rebutted softly, knowing perfectly she could not change his mind. He clearly had the stubborn streak of the Tyler family.

"Hey, I'm not going to stay here for the rest of my life. You're my mom, I still want you in my life one day! But for the time being, this is where I need to be."

"Oh god I suddenly understand my mother." Rose laughed as she facepalmed herself in shame.

"God save us all," joked the Doctor, materializing beside them with Donna and Martha.

"Is someone finally going to tell us what's happening?" Donna grumbled as Martha nodded in agreement beside her. "We had to stop Spaceman from lecturing Cline about brainwashing or something and everyone is talking about Tony like he's the next Gandhi! We are away five minutes and everybody has apparently lost their minds!"

Rose looked at her son, who bowed slightly before turning back to the group. "Tony is going to stay here on Messaline," she said in one breath.

"What?" Martha gasped as Donna was asking 'why' with as much surprise as her friend.

"That's what I want to know also!" the Doctor erupted in all his manic energy. "Did they tell you something, Tony? Are you being threatened?" In the moment, the Doctor was more frightening than anything else for Tony, who took a step back involuntary.

"Ok calm down, Doctor," said Rose, placing herself between Tony and the rest of the group, trying to calm down the situation before it was too late. "Nobody is forcing anyone. Tony has just decided that for the moment he would be more helpful here than with us." Rose was trying to talk as calmly as possible, knowing that any of them could blow up if she was not cautious.

"But for how long?" asked the Doctor, in a somewhat desperate voice, breaking her heart in two. She knew that the Doctor was not good with people turning him away.

Tony shrugged. "However long it takes." As the silence following his admission was stretching out, it made it harder and harder for Rose to not cry in front of everyone. She was trying her best to be understanding of Tony's choice, but the Doctor's reaction had made it very difficult for her to be joyful.

"Well, I'm sure you will be great," Donna enthused suddenly while trying to infuse some cheer into the group. She moved to hug him, soon followed by Martha who was adding reason after reason how he will be a great asset to the human and Hath, making Tony glow with happiness. They had rapidly realized that Rose was only hanging up by a thread at that point and the Doctor was no better. So for the sake of everyone, they stepped up and distracted Tony, just enough for the Doctor and Rose to recover enough to be able to put on a mask.

The Doctor cleared his throat and looked back at the TARDIS who was still visible with the sunlight. "Well I think it's time to go home now, right ladies?" A smile too wide on his face to be completely genuine.

"Yes. I need to discuss my decision with UNIT, and Martha needs to get back to her life. I'm sure she would love nothing more than a bath, and some time with her future husband," she said with humor as the two other woman were starting to move away from Tony.

"I would definitely say yes to any of that!" Martha shouted with part seriousness and part humor, making Donna snicker.

"We needs something to communicate!" Rose said suddenly, panicking that she came so close to remembering when it would possibly be too late. She turned to the Doctor. "Do you still have the Amrax communicator? The one we used when we were on Venus?"

He looked surprised at the proposition. "Maybe, I would have to search for it. But why not give him your mobile? I can amplify it like the old one."

Donna rolled her eyes at the suggestion and responded before Rose had time to even open her mouth. "Yeah sure, and he's going to charge it with what exactly, Spaceman? The moon?"

Rose looked at Donna then at the Doctor with a smug expression, making him drop his shoulders in defeat. "Ok, I'll go find it. I'll be back." He sighed and moved back to the TARDIS, trying his best to walk with confidence as the rest of the group were smiling at his departure.

"Well it's been a pleasure, Tony," said Martha in a cheerful voice. "But now if you'll excuse me, I want to say goodbye to some people before we leave." She waved at him with a smile before walking away to a group of Hath who were talking a few meters away.

"We had a great time and I'm sure we will see you soon," added Donna with certainty. "With those two not far away, I'm sure we will come here at a drop of a hat!"

Rose sticked her tongue out at the redhead, who laughed out loud before walking away towards Cline, who for some reason still looked annoyed. She turned to her son, who had been quiet since the Doctor's outburst. "Don't take it against you. It's just…" She turned away for a second, looking at the TARDIS who was glowing in the sun. "He's lost so many people in his life and losing you to is a little hard for him."

Tony crossed his arms, a mullish look on his face. Sometimes she forgot how young he was technically, how little of life he knew. But in that moment, she could see the teenager that she had been, who sulked at every rejection that was thrown her way. "But I'm know what I'm doing. I saw it."

She started to smile before the enormity of what he said crashed on her. "What do you mean you saw it?"

Her alarm must have show on her face because he looked suddenly way less sure of himself. "I'm not sure. It's just I realized that sometimes I just know some things. Like in the cell or right now. I know that I will do great things here, like I know that we will see each other again." He sighed. "But I don't know how."

She had the sudden realization that by using her DNA, a little bit of Bad Wolf had gone over into Tony, making him a little more aware of the universe's future. She had been worried to let him stay, but now she was terrified. Terrified of the possibilities. How much of the beast had been transferred?

She grabbed him, looking deeply into his surprised eyes. "How do you feel? Do you have the impression that you have something inside you? When you fell to the ground, did you have the impression that you were losing control of yourself?"

He disengaged himself from her, talking a step back. Feeling uncomfortable under that much intensity. "I don't think so? The only thing I felt was pain and I'm pretty sure I'm just me." He looked around, but no one was paying attention to them. They were too busy saying goodbye the the two companions of the Doctor. "It's just sometimes I feel like I'm remembering something, like a weird feeling, and then it disappears."

She relaxed slightly, exhaling a sigh of relief at his explanation. "Ok that's good, that's good." She would have never forgiven herself if her son had fallen victim to her own actions. She had taken the Bad Wolf willingly, completely understanding the price. And she would do it again in an heartbeat. But he had asked for nothing, and it would had not be fair to him. It seemed only a fraction of that power had been transferred to him, but she would still keep an eye on him. Just in case.

"Did anyone told you that you were weird?" Tony asked with a puzzled look.

She smiled. "All the time."

Before the discussion could continue, the Doctor appeared beside them, a triumphant look on his face. "I found it!" He showed a little square with a multitude of flashing colors. "Here, take it." He placed one in Tony's hand. "With that we are going to be able to communicate with you easily." He gave the other to Rose. "So it'll be rather easy to reach us if you want or need to. You only have to press that green button. Say 'calling' and then press the blue one. The other one will automatically glow and we'll know that you want to talk to us."

"Wow that's great!" Tony cried out excitedly while showing it to Cline who had approached when the Doctor had came back. "Pretty neat." He was now smiling, passing it to everyone who wanted a look.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's not your son too." Rose said to the Doctor, amused by Tony's antics.

"Oh by the way, do we know why the TARDIS took us here?" asked Martha who was visibly ready to go.

The Doctor looked at Tony who was now talking animatedly with a group of Hath and human. "Tony was the reason for the Tardis bringing us here. It just got here too soon, which then created Tony in the first place. Paradox. An endless paradox." They all looked at him silently for a few seconds. "So...Time to go home?" the Doctor asked.

Martha nodded as Donna had finally joined them. "Yeah. Home."