Epilogue
Rose went up to the Doctor's study where he was leaning against the desk. "You alright, Doctor?"
"I'm fine. Rose, what happened to you when we were separated?" he asked.
"Nothing important," said Rose. "Doctor, what's the matter?"
"Jack and Ianto told me how and where they found you."
Rose bit her lip before replying. "It doesn't matter."
"It matters to me. Rose, what happened?"
Rose sighed. "I was found wandering around by Lord Banes' mother and I spent ten months working for them. I got one credit a month for pay and at the end of ten months, Banes fired me while his parents were gone and said he'd gotten me another job. He didn't want me around anymore. I didn't get a lot of food or sleep and Banes was always shouting at me for one thing or another. When Jack and Ianto found me, I'd decided to try and find out who I was instead taking the job Banes set up. I didn't have enough for both food and lodgings, so I went to the palace."
"Did he ever hurt you?" asked the Doctor.
Rose swallowed. "For the first three months, sometimes he slapped me—but it stopped when his father intervened.
The Doctor's hands clenched into fists and Rose forced him to relax. "Doctor, it's okay. He stopped and if he hadn't fired me, I never would've gone to the palace and gotten back to you."
"I suppose so," said the Doctor sighing.
Rose squeezed his hand. She knew he hated it when he couldn't protect her, but he was there now and that was all that mattered to him.
"Come on, let's go home," she murmured.
He smiled and they shared another kiss.
XXX
Jack and Ianto back in their shabby home in New London. They hadn't done a new con in days, they were running low on credits and were missing their friend terribly. They were just making a list of possible jobs to take when their surroundings and they found themselves inside the TARIDS as described in the Time Agency files.
Shocked, both of them spun around to see the Doctor, Rose, Sarah-Jane, an older blond woman and a black man.
"Rose? What the heck—what is going on?" said Jack.
"I found out about the reward you didn't take and we're here to make you take it and invite you to my wedding," said Rose. "And give you my forgiveness and an apology for slapping you."
"I deserved it," Jack mumbled. "But like we said, we don't want the money."
"Take it darlings. Once my daughter gets an idea in her head, she'll never drop it. I'm Jackie Tyler, by the way and this is Mickey."
"So, what're you going to say?" asked Mickey.
The two were shocked and finally, Ianto spoke, "Rose, we accept your forgiveness and you don't need to apologize, but the money? We can't take it."
"Yes, you can," said the Doctor.
"The way I see it, you deserve it after helping him get my daughter back," said Jackie.
"Take it," Mickey advised.
"And if you don't, you'll have more trouble than the Oncoming Storm and the Tyler Slap to deal with," said Rose.
Jack and Ianto looked at each other before laughing and nodding.
"We'll do it," said Jack.
A few weeks later, Jack and Ianto had decided to stay in the twenty-first century and use the money for some good. The two had even found fiancés of their own, Gwen and Lisa. After the wedding reception, the TARDIS was flying through the vortex, the Doctor and Rose were dancing together as music blared on the speakers.
We
were strangers No one told me Life
is a road I'll be there
Starting out on a journey
Never dreaming
What
we'd have to go through
Now here we are
And I'm suddenly
standing
At the beginning with you
I was
going to find you
Unexpected
What you did to my heart
When I
lost hope
You were there to remind me
This is the start
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna
keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful
journey
When the world stops turning
I'll
be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be
standing
At the beginning with you
Never in a million years had she imagined all of this to happen. She had the Doctor, she had forever, and that was enough.
Life is a road I'll be
there I knew there was somebody somewhere
We
were strangers
On a crazy adventure
Never dreaming
How our
dreams would come true
Now here we stand
Unafraid of the
future
At the beginning with you
And I
want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna keep flowing
Life
is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful journey
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the
storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the
beginning with you
Like
me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been
waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart
"Promise me we'll never be separated again," Rose murmured. "Promise me."
"I promise," said the Doctor.
He never would lose her again—not because of the tracker he placed on her key, but because he would never allow anything like that to happen again.
I'll be there Life is a road and I
wanna keep going
Life
is a road
And I want to keep going
Love is a river
I wanna
keep flowing
Life is a road
Now and forever
Wonderful
journey
When the world stops turning
I'll
be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be
standing
At the beginning with you
Love is a river I wanna keep going
on....
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road and I wanna
going
Love is river I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be
standing
At the beginning with you.
"I will love you forever, my Doctor," said Rose.
"I will love you forever, Rose," said the Doctor.
They leaned in for a kiss and lived happily ever—their forever.
The End.