THE FINAL CHAPTER.

See the afterword for a special note from meeeeeee...

"Wha—what?" The Doctor turned to Rose, the gears in his mind visibly working to process this. For the first time in a very long time, however, Rose's thoughts were far from that Doctor.

"What?" she asked the human Doctor, her voice small.

"You want him," the man replied before turning his gaze to the Doctor. "She's always wanted you; you knew that. Her heart broke when you left."

"But—she needs you," the Doctor exclaimed. Behind him, the minister seemed dumbfounded as what to make of this situation. Donna looked on silently, but there was a compassionate sympathy in her eyes. "I'm always going to change—well, look at me—and she doesn't deserve some emotional roller-coaster who's never the same in the morning as he is after tea. Let Donna worry about that!"

At this, Donna rolled her eyes, though in good humor. "Thanks," she murmured; the Doctor shook his head quickly.

"No—I mean—Rose," he said finally, softening his tone, "that man…he's dead, Rose. He loved you as much as anything in the world, but I'm not him. You need that Doctor, the one who'll never change his face, who can always be the same for you."

Rose barely heard him; she couldn't take her eyes from John Smith.

"You…you'd give me up, just so I could be happy," she murmured softly.

"Rose Tyler, I'd give anything for you to be happy."

Suddenly she could see him, there in those eyes. The man she'd followed, all those years ago, into his mad box, and then run so far with…that daft 900-odd year old man who'd protected her and shown her the whole of the universe, and everything that mattered: compassion, bravery, and endless wonderment at it all. The Doctor had changed so much, but this man...

This was the man she had fallen in love with.

"You're not the real Doctor," she murmured softly. John lowered his gaze to the floor, but a long-lost smile broke upon Rose's face as she took a step towards him. "But you're my Doctor."

A look of astonishment crossed John Smith's face then; he met Rose's eyes, and saw the bright smile there. He could only smile with her as he scooped her up into his arms.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed.

"Fantastic," Rose agreed, squeezing him tightly. Suddenly the doors flew open again; Jackie, Pete, and Tony Tyler entered, looking on in confusion. The Doctor leaned to the side to look past John and Rose, and offered a thumbs-up to Pete.

"Mum!" Rose looked up in astonishment before releasing the human Doctor and running back to embrace her family. "I'm sorry—I had to—but now—"

"Well then."

They looked up at the Doctor's shout as he threw his arms into the air. "I suppose everything's all well and good now, isn't it? Except for one teensy detail—minister, take it away!"

The minister jumped, but hurriedly nodded.

"Doctor, Donna Temple-Noble, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may—"

"You may kiss the groom," the Doctor finished with a smirk on his face as he leaned forward.

"Oi," Donna laughed before throwing her arms about his neck, pressing her lips to his.

In the front pew, Sarah Jane and Sylvia leaned on one another, their shoulders trembling as they pushed away tears of happiness. Rani leaned over to Clyde.

"Best wedding ever," she murmured.

##

"I can't dance."

Amy crossed her arms, ignoring Rory's pleading glance. "I can't. You can't even get me into arm's reach anymore, I'm so…elephanty," she grudgingly muttered, clutching her stomach. "It's your fault," she added.

"My fault…that you're beautiful?"

Amy tried to scowl, but couldn't mask a smile. "I hate it when you do that," she murmured, leaning on his shoulder to look out at the Doctor and Donna.

After seeing the bride and groom completely redefine the dance the Doctor performed at Amy and Rory's wedding, the DJ selected a slower piece of music; the Doctor and Donna spun slowly among the others on the dance floor.

"They look happy," Amy murmured; she wasn't speaking of any one couple, but all of them. As Rory curled his fingers slowly through her hair, she sighed. "I suppose…Isabella's not such a bad name," she said thoughtfully.

"I had actually—I like Elizabeth," Rory allowed. Amy smiled.

"You're such a sucker for reverse psychology."

"Mhm. And don't you know it?"

Across the room, the Doctor pulled Donna closer to him, pressing his nose into her hair contentedly.

"John and Rose are happy," Donna said with a gentle smile.

"Of course they are." The Doctor sighed. "He loved her."

"You'll never lose her," Donna murmured, flicking her gaze upward into the Doctor's eyes. "She'll always be your friend, Doctor. You'll always be hers."

"And now they're all here," the Doctor said with a small smile. "In this universe. Makes postage a lot cheaper, doesn't it?"

Donna laughed. "I suppose it does, at that." She thoughtfully cocked her head to the side. "You know, I forgot to throw the bouquet. Tradition, and all that."

"I think I know who would've caught it," the Doctor replied, watching Rose and John happily. The two spun wordlessly with one another, as if each was mystified at how perfectly they belonged together.

At the end of the song, Rose laughed softly.

"What is it?" John asked.

"Everything started at that stupid little shop," she whispered. "Everything scary, everything mad, everything just awful…and I'd never trade it for anything."

The universe seemed to slow down that night, just for them. There was dancing, there was laughing, and beyond everything else, there was love. As the hour of midnight rolled by, and Sarah Jane began to fret over taking Clyde and Rani home late, the Doctor nodded, one foot in the TARDIS before the last song even ended.

"Alright, everybody, it's been a lovely night," he exclaimed, Donna at his side, as the last song was coming to a close. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we're off on our honeymoon. Only the family, sorry." As he swung the door closed behind him, everyone stared in disbelief.

It was only a moment before he threw open the doors again.

"Well? What are you all waiting for? Come along, family!"

Fin.

Okay.

First of all, a congratulations to everybody who's stayed with this story, all the way from 'Old Friends, Crackers, and the End of the Universe'! You people are awesome, and I am passionately in love with you all.

Next, for everybody who backed Donna, I love you all as well! If you backed Rose, I hope you weren't disappointed...;) Everyone had a happy ending.

Okay, now for the obligatory explanation. Of course I ship River/Eleven and Sexy/Eleven in canonical reality. I'm not knocking either of those pairings. This is a work of fan fiction, and there are mightier works at play here than canon.

And, just a big thank-you to anybody at all who read this story, and ESPECIALLY to my faithful reviewers! You guys got me through this, and made this my second most popular story on FanFiction! (First place by reviews!) This is also my longest story, which is incredible, too.

Finally, although I don't believe I even have to ask, reviews are adored. Tell me what you think!

Adieu, adieu; parting is such sweet sorrow, that I say adieu 'til it be the morrow...

XOXO,
Bella