Kinda disappointed that this story didn't do as well as some of my others in relation to reviews. (Especially with 65+ followers! Wow! :)) That makes me scared to post the sequel since sequels never ever do as well as the original stories (mainly why I don't write them often). Anyway, thanks to those who did, even if you did want the Doctor to get with River, which was never, ever the goal of this (if you knew me or read any single one of my other DW stories, you'd have to know the Doctor would eventually end up with Rose ^^). It's been fun, and don't forget to author alert me so you won't miss the sequel!

Epilogue – River Song Has Been Saved

"Life is to be fortified by many friendships. To love, and to be loved, is the greatest happiness of existence." ~Sydney Smith

Over the next few days slowly companions started trickling out. People who needed to get back to jobs, families and overall lives. The Doctor made an open invitation for anyone to travel with him, either indefinitely or for just one trip. Pretty soon all that was left was Rose, River, Jack, Donna, Grace, Sally Sparrow, Jenny, Amy, Rory, Luke, Clyde and Rani. The Ponds and Donna said they had to leave, but made the Doctor promise to visit them sometime. River and Jack left to help River's parents relocate and to help them get used to the idea of her new boyfriend who couldn't die. Grace, Sally, Luke and his friends opted to stay for only a couple trips, and Rose and Jenny knew they weren't leaving anytime soon.

Also, at the last minute, Ian Chesterton and his wife Barbara, looking the same age as they did back in the sixties, said they'd give it a go, for old times sake. They were probably the most surprised out of anyone about the Doctor's newest regeneration, seemingly like an entirely different man than the one they had met in a junkyard in a rusty phone box with his granddaughter.

"I really should be mad." The Doctor said to Jack, River and Martha.

"But you're not." Jack said with a smile.

"No. Not at all. You could have blown up New York, fried Donna's brain or ripped apart the barriers between universes, and I'm not mad even a smidgen." He turned and grinned at Rose and Donna who were beside him.

"And thanks for not being mad about...y'know, us." River motioned down to her hand that was grasping Jack's.

"You made your own choice. I shouldn't have done that to you in the first place."

"We still have to think about the time lines though, you already met me, but I still need to meet you." She saw the Doctor stiffen and got that horrible feeling again, like he knew she was going to die. Jack squeezed her hand comfortingly, seeing her tense up as well.

"All I can say is that you whispered my name in my ear at one point." It was a good thing he had decided to tell her his name the day Melody Pond first met him, when he was dying and she sacrificed her remaining regenerations for him.

And then he got an idea. A brilliant idea. A way to say thank you to Jack and River. "Jack, can I speak to you, outside?" Jack frowned, wondering what was on the Doctor's mind. They stepped outside the TARDIS, and the Doctor pulled a piece of paper and a pencil out of his pocket.

"This is the time and the place that River dies." He wrote the coordinates for his vortex manipulator as well, before sonicing the device on his wrist so he could make the trips.

"Why are you telling me this?" He was beginning to guess what the Doctor was getting at.

"So you can take her place." He began to tell him details of what had happened in the library. "Talk to her when I'm knocked out. We're already bending the time lines by preventing her death, if I see you there who knows the damage it'll cause."

"Got it." A smile began to grow on Jack's face. "Thank you."

"It's the least I can do. No one has ever done something like this for me, and it was your idea in the first place to get Donna, the Ponds and Rose back."

"Speaking of Rose, what are your intentions for her?"

"What do you mean?" The Doctor was immediately on his guard, not liking being told what to do in relation to Rose.

"You can't just leave her hanging. You have to be there for her."

"I know that." He snapped, growing more irritated. Jack raised his hands in defense.

"She is still grieving over John, she hides it well, but she still is. Don't let her go through it alone." The Doctor tried to calm himself, knowing he was doing this to watch out for Rose, who was like a little sister to him. He sighed before replying softly.

"I don't ever plan on abandoning her. No, she won't be able to get rid of me now. The biggest mistake of my life was leaving her and I won't be doing it again, not ever." Jack stared at him for a few seconds, debating whether or not he was telling the truth. Finally, he smiled, slapping him on the shoulder.

"Well, alright, as long as you mean it. And no offense, if you break her heart, I'll break both of yours until you're out of regenerations." The Doctor laughed, thinking he was talking with jest.

"Deal." However when he glanced at the time agent, his smile slipped as he saw a determined look on his face and realised he wasn't kidding.

The Doctor shut the door to the TARDIS after the last of his guests had left. He turned around at the companions who had stayed, either for a few trips or for many, many more. Grace Holloway, Luke Smith, Clyde Langer and Rani Chandra, Sally Sparrow, Ian and Barbara Chesterton, Jenny Smith and Rose Tyler. Rose and the Chestertons stood off to the side, Rose remembering that only six people were needed to pilot the sentient ship. Jenny seemed the most excited, hopping impatiently on the balls of her feet, dreaming of this day for nearly as long as she could remember.

Rose however was having a blast talking to the people who could be considered the Doctor's first companions, back when he was a stodgy old man, but yet compassionate and warmhearted.

The Doctor looked at them all, never feeling this far from lonely in his whole life. Suddenly he remembered what he was doing, back before all this.

"Hey guys, there's this woman I want you to keep an eye out for." He chanced a glance at Rose, she used to stiffen in jealousy whenever he mentioned another woman. Nope. She just smiled at him. She really had grown up. "She's sort of a mystery and I need to find her soon." He beckoned everyone over to the console screen and brought up the only picture he had of her, the one he met in Victorian England.

"Introducing...Clara Oswald." He grinned, before throwing the first lever that sent them into the vortex.

Sometime later, far in the future and in a newly populated library...

"So, what do we do now?" River asked while Jack swung their arms in the air lazily.

"Anything you want." The smile hadn't left his face since he'd woken up with River staring into his eyes. Saving her life without the Doctor knowing had been a gigantic task, but he knew it was worth it. Now they were strolling down the stairs without an immediate purpose.

"Anything I want?"

"Mm, and I think I know what you want," he adjusted his pants with a cheeky smile on his face. "After all, dying sure puts me in the mood."

"Or almost dying." River wanted to be disgusted with his audacity, but she really was more amused. And turned on. "Alright, lover boy, there's got to be a good hiding place somewhere among these books."

Without a cue, the two of them took off, running and giggling among the massive book shelves.

THE END

STAY TUNED FOR THE SEQUEL "Starlight in Our Souls", featuring The Eleventh Doctor, Rose Tyler and Jenny Smith!

Summary: The Doctor's having the time of his life traveling with his daughter and the love of his life. But one day Jenny is kidnapped, and it's a race against time to save her before it's too late. And Rose continues to struggle with what happened to her in the parallel universe...

"I know it's been three years and I thought I was doing better. But seeing her, your daughter, just brings it all back."

"We need to deal with this now, Rose. You can't keep putting yourself through this kind of torture. I thought you were done blaming yourself over her death."
"Well I lied okay? It's not that easy when every waking minute I see her face in my head."

"Why would you want me? I'm a broken mess."

"I am the child of the Oncoming Storm and the goddess of time."

"Look at you, being all protective mother style."

"Doctor, I'm worried. She wouldn't have just run off."

"Oh bloody hell, not another pirate ship!"

"You always know just what to say, don't you?"

"Well, the TARDIS did lead us here so Jenny was on this ship within the last twenty-four hours."

"Well that's different."

"Let her go. If she wants to die with him let her."

"Don't worry, I've got a plan."

"Since when have we ever been careful?"

"Doctor, I don't know what to do! Doctor, I can't do this without you!"

"Please don't shut me out!"

"I fixed him once, I'm going to have to do it again."

"I can't keep holding on to you, it hurts too much."
"But you haven't really let me go, have you?"

"Oh my brilliant Rose, you figured it out before I did."

"They found her compatible, you have to hurry!"

"ROSE!"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Please, don't do this!"

"I'm sorry."