A/N And so we reach the end! For now… My original plan for this story was to leave the door open for a sequel should I ever want to revisit it, and in the meantime end at a place where John and Rose's future was full of possibilities. The more I imagined their future, however, the more I realized I was already itching to explore it. I can't promise how soon (a few months, at least), but there will be a sequel coming.

For those who supported this story, I truly cannot say thank you enough. *hugs*

Epilogue

Life, Rose Tyler had learned, was brimming with so many twists and turns and surprises that at times it was almost like living a mad adventure. Maybe all of it, every single challenging and impossible experience that had taken place in her life until now, had helped prepare her for what was to come. If someone had told her just six months before of the drastic changes that were to take place in her life, she would have laughed in their face. Little did she know, everything she had experienced up to this point was just the beginning.

It was a clear autumn night, the October air a crisp caress across her rosy cheeks as she sat atop the grassy hill behind Gallifrey Manor, sharing a blanket and a telescope with her now father-in-law, Wilfred. John was currently tinkering in his workshop, and Wilf had offered to share a thermos of tea in exchange for Rose's company.

He had told her it was time they got to know each other better. He had told her it was time she came to know a lot of things. Rose's curiosity was piqued as she settled beside him on the blanket and gazed up at the starry sky.

"I don't think you realize just how happy you make him," the old man began.

Rose smiled, hugging her knees to her chest to ward off the chill. "The same can be said for me."

"You love him very much, don't you, sweetheart?"

There was no pause in her response. Rose loved John so much it made her heart swell and chest ache. "More than I can say. I don't think I could put it into proper words if I tried, soppy as that sounds."

Wilf reached over and patted her hand. "You don't need words. I can tell. I'll admit, there was a time early on when I wondered if things would work out for you two."

"We had…a lot to get past," she agreed.

"But you did get past it. That's what matters. I think you two could take on just about anything now, which is why I thought it was time for our chat. Do you remember the talk we had the first time you agreed to marry John? I told you that a life with him would bring some unexpected things, but that a man like him was still worth it. That's important for you to remember, because there are some things I think it's time for you to know. Things it's time for him to know. But…we'll get to that."

Rose frowned in confusion. "What'd you mean?"

He poured a cup of hot tea from his thermos and handed it to Rose. "I've known that man for a good many years now."

"Since he was a little boy," she agreed, blowing across the top of her steaming beverage.

A mysterious gleam lit his aged eyes. "I'm not quite that old. But for as long as he's been John Smith, at any rate. For a bit before that, too."

She paused, tea halfway to her mouth. "I'm…not following."

He chuckled. "I don't expect you will for a bit. But hear me out." She nodded. He had her attention. "John wasn't always the man you know him as today. He was…broken. So broken. I could see it every time our paths crossed. We met here and there under…extraordinary circumstances. Just seemed to happen that way, like something was binding us together. We got to know each other during those times, and he even let me travel with him a time or two. Because he was lonely, you see. He ended up fulfilling an old man's dream of seeing the stars."

"He's, umm, taken you to the observatory?" she ventured, trying to make some sense of what he was saying.

He gazed skyward, smiling. "A bit farther than that, my dear. That man showed me places and things I can't even begin to describe. It's what he does. He takes people with him whenever he can, because a man like that doesn't do well on his own. And we got on, him and me. I think because we were so much alike. Mind you, I couldn't run as fast, which is why my trips with him were just a few rare treats. But we understood each other – both old soldiers, both alone…"

Rose was growing more confused by the minute, but Wilfred went on.

"Then one day about ten years back, he turned up and asked for my help. He looked so…hollow. So tired. He wanted what we all want: happiness; peace. But those were things he couldn't have. Not with his life and his losses. But he could have another life. John Smith's life. Oh, it was a mad old plan, it was. And I still don't really understand how he flitted about into the past and set all this up – a backstory, an identity for himself, a whole life, really. And he asked me to look out for him. It was the least I could do. He's looked out for all the rest of us on this planet more times than anyone even knows. So how could I not? I might not be his dad, but I'd be honored if I were. So I watched, proud as any father could be, as John Smith's life took shape, founded a corporation from the ground up and eventually married…even if it turned out that first match wasn't quite meant to be."

Rose had gone from confused to concerned, actually starting to question Wilfred's sanity. Flitting into the past? Looking out for the planet?

"This…really isn't making any sense," she admitted.

"Hang on, sweetheart. It will. You see, he'd been through so much, lost so much, hurt so much – and he couldn't bear it anymore. He didn't want to. He just wanted to…forget. Just for a little while, just for a bit, he wanted to feel happiness again. He wanted to find peace. He wanted a chance to heal. That's all. Just to heal."

"But–"

"You've done that for him, Rose. You've made him better. I can see it. I'd wager even the nightmares have stopped, eh? That's what he needed. You're what he needed. There were things he was able to forget, and that helped. But now I've also seen the importance of remembering. He helped you remember who you were, find who you are, and heal. Now you can do the same for him. He's not alone anymore. He's got you. He can find himself again and be the man he once was and the man so many need, but now he won't be alone. And, I dunno, but it seems to me that if this chameleon thing can make him like us, he could use it to make you like him, too. If that was something you both wanted some day. Oh, but listen to me. I'm just an old man talking gibberish, eh? He's the one you need to talk to."

Rose shook her head side-to-side. "I-I don't understand any of this."

Wilfred reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out. He opened his wrinkled hand to reveal a fob watch resting in his palm.

Her eyes were instantly drawn to the object. It looked…familiar. Rose realized she'd seen it once before in John's strongbox. Her mind flashed back to the memory:

Nestled in the middle was what must have been some sort of heirloom – an old fob watch. She paused for a moment, her gaze oddly drawn to the silver timepiece. She reached a finger toward it, then paused and drew back, shaking herself out of whatever had pulled her focus.

"I always thought I'd give this back to him on my deathbed. But now I think the new life you two have begun is a far better occasion. Give this to him, sweetheart. I think it's time." Wilfred pressed the watch into Rose's hand.

As her fingers curled around the warming metal, her mind was suddenly awhirl with images and voices and emotions. Her eyes tumbled shut and the visions intensified – fire and ice and rage, burning at the center of time, ancient and forever. It was terrifying and wondrous and for a moment she couldn't even breathe, much less make sense of it. But in the midst of the chaos was him. It was him. It was John. She could feel him. She could hear him calling to her, enveloping her.

"It is time. The time is at hand. The time is now. Time needs its Lord. Set me free, my Arkytior. Find me again..."

Her eyes flew open on a gasp. Drawing a shuddering breath, Rose sprang to her feet and hurried to find John.

To be continued in "Transparency"