Disclaimer: I don't own "Doctor Who" or "Twilight", and the essential details of the original concept of this fic came from a video posted on YouTube by heroesdwtw- which has unfortunately now been taken off YouTube- and is used with their permission

Feedback: Much appreciated

AN: As requested, the final part of this series, jumping to a few years after Bella's departure from her time as a regular TARDIS traveller, looking at what she's been doing since she left the Doctor before she's reunited with a few old acquaintances

The Funeral

It had been four years since I'd been travelling in the TARDIS, but when I was met by UNIT soldiers during my 'working holiday' in Italy, it was still the most shocking news I'd ever received.

The Doctor is dead.

I'd built such a complicated life for myself since those long-ago days when I travelled through time and space with the most incredible man I'd ever known, going from a traumatised teenage girl unable to get over the loss of her boyfriend to the United Nations' official liaison to the world's resident vampires, but this news was still the most devastating blow I'd ever felt. Even as I'd known that even the Doctor couldn't live forever, the knowledge that his death had taken place at a time when I could be told about it…

The moment I'd received that news, I'd swiftly called the Cullens to ask for Rosalie and Emmett to act as my representatives in the meeting with the Volturi that I'd been attending at the time. I still maintained a good relationship with the Cullens as a whole, even if Edward still wouldn't talk to me unless it was absolutely necessary, but most of the time I insisted on dealing directly with the Volturi unless other circumstances demanded my attention at the time of a scheduled meeting.

Of course, interacting with the Cullens was easier now that they had two human children to care for thanks to my actions, as it meant that I now felt like I had a definite part in their lives, beyond just being someone they had to protect. Obviously Esme was particularly devoted to Steven, and Carlisle had always treated the boy as though he had been Steven's father rather than Esme's first husband, but they had both made it clear that I could consider myself Steven's 'godmother', due to my role in bringing him to this time. I had a similar relationship with Rosalie and Emmett's son Jonathan (they had never explicitly told me that he was named after the Doctor, but the Cullens were too well-read to have been short of ideas for names, and they didn't know any other 'Johns' who might have inspired that choice), and whenever I came to visit, the Cullens always seemed to be ready for a hunt so that I could spend time with their two new children.

Steven and Jonathan could become frustrated at the protectiveness of the rest of the family, but as much as a couple of five-year-olds could understand the situation, they understood that their parents were careful because they loved their children rather than anything more selfish. The Cullens had avoided giving the boys any specific details of their vampiric nature, and I was never sure if Esme had told Steven about his 'real' father, but so long as everyone was happy I never felt the need to pry.

Even with the guarantee of protection thanks to their new deal with UNIT, liaising with the Volturi would never stop being unnerving at the very least. Despite that, whenever I met with the Cullens, what made me feel better was the knowledge that my actions were ensuring that Steven and Jonathan would grow up with their parents and be allowed to make their own choices. Work on the blood substitute still wasn't completely perfect, and we were still working out exactly how it would be distributed on a large scale given the nomadic nature of some vampires, but the Volturi had agreed to our original term of preventing the kind of hunts or revenge hunts that had driven James and Victoria to try and kill me, and we had achieved a kind of compromise when it came to 'permitted' human targets for the moment.

Neither side was entirely happy with it, of course, but I had liked to think that the Doctor would understand that we were making the best of a difficult situation… and now, here I was, being driven to his funeral…

Of course, as I was driven towards Mount Snowdon, I already knew that there was more to this story than what I'd been told in that hologram.

"The Shansheeth did journey to the wastelands of the Crimson Heart, whereupon we found the body of the last Time Lord. Witnesses say that he perished saving the lives of five hundred children from the Scarlet Monstrosity. The Doctor's home world is long since lost, but legends talk of his love for the Earth. Therefore, the Shansheeth will return the Doctor to the human race. Oh, weep for him, peoples of the Earth. Mourn his loss, for the universe feels darker tonight."

Saving children from the Scarlet Monstrosity on the wastelands of the Crimson Heart sounded dramatic, but even if I hadn't already known that the Doctor was destined to die on the planet Trenzalore (wherever that was), it almost sounded too tragic and melodramatic, as though someone was trying to sell everyone a story.

Whatever the Shansheeth's role is in this, I'm not going to get anywhere if I don't at least attend this funeral…

After the fastest flight I could find to take me to Britain- one advantage of working for UNIT was that I could make quite a few last-minute purchases so long as I could justify them later- I was standing in front of the UNIT base of Mount Snowdon, looking apprehensively up at it. Considering UNIT's need for secrecy in most of their bases, I could understand how a few people might feel the urge to 'indulge' when establishing such a remote facility, but that didn't stop me feeling uncomfortable at the sight of that large tower sticking out of the side of the mountain.

"Miss Isabella Swan?" a voice said. Turning around, I smiled politely at the older Indian woman in the UNIT uniform.

"That's me," I nodded, shaking her hand. "And you?"

"Colonel Karim; I'm head of the team responsible for organising the Doctor's funeral."

"Oh," I said, only able to nod at that news. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier…"

"You're in time; that's what matters," the colonel said politely. "The funeral's due to start in the next few minutes, and the other available guests are already present or on their way to the funeral room; I can show you down."

"Thank you," I nodded, following the colonel as she led the way deeper into the facility. I was briefly surprised when I saw a group of short blue creatures with tentacles coming out of their heads, but decided to focus on tracing my path; if I'd learned anything travelling with the Doctor, it was to always have an escape plan, and those blue things were too short to be really dangerous.

Actually, as I walked along the corridors, I was briefly struck by how 'samey' these places could become after you spent enough time in them. Military bases might have their own variety and organisation, but there were still a certain pattern to the layout that I'd become familiar with since I left school…

And what does it say about my life if I've become the kind of person who can recognise a pattern in the design of military bases?

I briefly registered the rocket that Karim told me would take the Doctor's body into space in a lead-lined coffin once the funeral was over, but somehow even that didn't feel quite right to me. Lead was probably secure as a means of protecting the Doctor's body, and the idea of him forever flying through the stars he'd travelled among and protected felt nice, but the whole rocket concept seemed a bit too functional for someone as wild as the Doctor.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," a Shansheeth said, standing solemnly at the door to what Karim had identified as the funeral room. "The Claw Shansheeth invites you to spend tonight reflecting in the memories of a loved one lost."

"Thanks," I said, nodding awkwardly at the purple-cloaked alien. As I walked into the funeral room, taking in the basic benches and a few candlesticks arranged around the edges of the room in front of the large lead coffin, I smiled as I saw a few familiar faces sitting up at the front, even if they were accompanied by two less familiar ones.

"Hey, Sarah Jane," I smiled at the older brunette sitting at the front of the room, who barely looked older than the last time I had seen her five years ago, before turning to the two teenagers beside her. "Clyde, Rani; is Luke OK?"

"He's at uni… ohmigod, Bella?" Rani said, standing up and hurrying over to give me a hug, smiling as she stepped back in time for Clyde to walk over, the teenage boy awkwardly holding out a hand before I pulled him into a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Clyde asked, before shaking his head in frustration. "I mean, I get why you're here, but… I mean, you look…"

"I travelled with the Doctor when I was in my late teens and my home time was five years ago," I explained, looking over at Sarah as she stood up to smile at me. "I was working in Italy when I heard the news, and… well, here I am."

"Bella…" Sarah smiled at me.

"I'm sorry; who are you?" the other woman said, her voice displaying a strong accent that sounded somewhat Australian to me. She seemed to be in her sixties, but still looked like she was in good shape, with thick blonde hair and a lined face that still somehow managed to look young in some manner.

"Jo, this is Bella Swan; she travelled with the Doctor… well, we met her last year," Sarah Jane Smith said, smiling at the other woman and me. "Bella, this is Jo Grant; she was the Doctor's assistant before he met me."

"Really?" I looked at Jo in surprise. "Does that mean you knew the Brigadier?"

"You met Alistair?" the woman asked, even as the smile on her face answered that question for me.

"The Doctor and I ended up in the mid-seventies saving UNIT from a Japanese mob boss who had a grudge against our mutual friend," I explained. "It was… an interesting time."

"Aren't they always?" Jo smiled back at me before her expression became more solemn. "Well… it's good to meet you, anyway; this is my grandson, Santiago."

"Hi," the unknown teen smiled at me.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled at him.

"How did they find you?" Sarah asked.

"I… I'm a liaison for the United Nations and UNIT between humanity and… well, it's simplest to think of them as vampires," I answered.

"Vampires?" Clyde and Rani stared at me incredulously, along with the third teen.

"We're working on finding a substitute food source for them at the moment," I said, waving a hand at the two teens. "We can talk about that later."

"With respect, the cradle will continue," a Shansheeth said firmly from beside the coffin.

"Right…" I said, moving into position to sit just behind Jo and Sarah.

"They used to tell so many stories about you at UNIT," Sarah noted to Jo.

"Those soldier boys," Jo smiled. "Ooo, happy days."

"So you're still married?"

"Oh yes," Jo said. "He's picketing an oil rig in the Ascension Islands at the moment. And I've got seven children."

"Seven?" Sarah and I said simultaneously.

"And Santiago is one of twelve grandchildren," Jo added. "Would you believe number thirteen on its way? How about you two?"

"No kids, but I do have a couple of god-children I'm… very close to," I said; as much as I trusted my fellow former companions, this wasn't the time to discuss my complex extended family dynamic.

"I have a son, Luke; he's just gone to university," Sarah put in. "No dad in the picture."

"Playing the field?" Jo smiled between Sarah and I. "Good on you, girls."

"It's funny," Sarah said suddenly, smile shifting to a wistful expression. "All of this today… it got me thinking. The Doctor… he showed me such a remarkable life, and when he went, it took me a long while to get over it."

"Me too," Jo put in.

"I'm not sure I ever did," I added. "I mean, I was aware of the vampires I'm working with before I met the Doctor, but I only really tried to do anything about their situation because I met him…"

"Lucky you," Sarah said, looking at me with an expression I found it hard to judge. "It took him coming back for me to realise that the life I wanted was right under my nose."

"Who?" Jo asked, looking at Sarah in surprise

"Who came back? The Doctor? Recently?"

"About four years ago."

"I… I never saw him again," Jo said, her brow furrowing for a moment before she settled for looking wistful.

"It was just a coincidence," Sarah put in. "The first time we were both investigating this case-"

"The first time?" Jo cut Sarah off, looking at her in shock. "You mean it was more than once?"

"Yeah," Sarah said. "That's how I met Bella; she was travelling with the Doctor when… he had to save me from something."

"Oh, he must have liked you," Jo said, before she moved slightly to lean against Sarah while staring at the coffin. "You know, it's funny, but I have this notion that if the Doctor died one day, I mean, even if he was as far away as Metebelis Three, that, that I'd feel it, you know, in my heart."

"That's exactly what I thought, but I didn't feel a thing," Sarah said.

"Me neither," I put in, deciding to hide my current knowledge about the Doctor's future death; we were getting on to the topic I had wanted to confront since I got here, and that was what really mattered.

"Nor me," Jo said. "Not a peep."

"Are we all thinking the same thing?" Sarah asked.

"What?" Jo asked, moving away from Sarah to look directly at our fellow ex-companion. "Because I think-"

"He's still alive," Sarah and I said along with Jo.

I still didn't know what was really happening here or how I was going to explain it without going into detail about future events and making things more complicated, but I had allies in my quest to find out what was really going on here.