Months passed and their bond only strengthened, but the Doctor still could not a definite answer to the question that has been bothering him ever since he made his way to Pete's World for the first time. Rose.

Golden eyes shone brightly for a few seconds before fading into their regular shade of deep brown. Her skin would shimmer with the essence of Time at those occasions, too. Times which were seemingly unconnected, but also increased in frequency as the days went by.

It was as if she was the very embodiment of Time itself, and he didn't know what to think. His ship wasn't very cooperative, giving him inconclusive results, and after a few months of trying the Doctor accepted that he will just have to wait. He hates waiting, absolutely despises it, but there was no other way. Whatever it was, it was still forming, and he wouldn't know until it was ready.

He did tell Rose about it, of course, but she dismissed it as some sort of consequence for fusing with the TARDIS, which it very well may have been, but...

But he couldn't help hoping that it would be a bit more than that.

So, yes. Months passed. A few months back in their home universe. They saved planets and people and stray dogs and they saved themselves and it was perfectly right. Eventually, they attempted to go back to Pete's World, estimating that around a year must have passed for Rose's family left back there.

Admittedly, it was a bit of a stretch, the whole traveling-between-universes thing. Very taxing on the ship, a tad dangerous, but they both loved danger. Although, the Doctor hated putting Rose in danger, but that is precisely why he made very sure that it wouldn't be all too dangerous. Plenty of safety measures, a lot more calculations than on his first trip, a huge amount of energy just in case the ship loses its hold on the Time Vortex again...

To be fair, looking at Rose, the Doctor silently thought that she alone may be big enough an energy source to power up the ship, should anything happen. No, of course not like that! Just the way he did, simply blowing a golden cloud into the rotor. Not merging with the ship, the Doctor wouldn't allow that, but the essence of Time that seemed to flow through her veins only grew stronger by the day. It did not seem to change anything in her, but it was there. It certainly was.

Right, so, Pete's World. His calculations were a tad off and they arrived two years after their departure. Jackie was in tears, even Pete shed one or two, little Tony recognized Rose only from the photographs which his parents kept safely in an album but she was quick to steal her little brother's heart once more.

They stayed a week and then went back home. Their departure was still as heart-wrenching as the first time, but Rose felt more certain that she might still see her family again, and the Doctor would never deprive her of it.

Back home they ran into Jack and found out that he was the Face of Boe, they ran into Donna Noble and they ran into Martha Jones and saved the world on numerous occasions, but in the end, they preferred to be on their own. Although they've made a couple of trips with Jack who incessantly teased them about starting a family and having little Time Lord babies on the TARDIS, they've let him go back to his job at Torchwood at the end of it all. They visited, mind you, but they never stayed.

At the end of the day, it was just the two of them, and that was exactly how the Doctor liked it best.

He was still in an awe at everything she did, everything she said. Every time their lips met he wondered if this time he will wake up from this breathtaking dream, but he never did. And Rose was much the same.

She grew, matured, lived by the values that she has always had but was afraid to follow prior to meeting her Doctor. She loved helping others and she loved their life among the stars just as much as she loved their quiet evenings on the sofa, in bed, by the fireplace, sitting on the fluffy carpet that she just had to have and spent thirty minutes convincing him to get. In her old bedroom, both staring at her very own stars, or sitting at the exit of the ship, drifting calmly in the Vortex, snuggled up to him as he kissed her forehead and told her about the many wonders of the universe they were still yet to see.

There were still times they were mere inches or seconds away from losing one another, but they always prevailed, always found their way back together, and with time, even he started to believe that even though the events keep trying to split them up, they never ever will.

After a few visits to Pete's World, just as the Doctor was finally starting to get the hang of this whole parallel universe travel thing, Jackie and Pete surprised both Rose and the Doctor with the decision to move back to Jackie's home universe. Tony was old enough to travel, nearly four years old, and Pete, after confirming that they do in fact use the same currency in the other world's London, was certain that their family would be just fine. Many hours of arguing against it and presenting all the downsides, the Doctor observed with a sigh as his TARDIS sheltered the entire Tyler family, ready to take them on a trip across the universes.

Rose thought that Mickey would follow, but Pete left him in charge of Vitex, not to mention the fact that Mickey was now actually married. He met Martha Jones, a wonderful, ambitious doctor, and just six months later he was a happily married man awaiting his firstborn child. The Doctor observed the happy couple fondly, remembering the woman he saved a hospital with and recognizing many of the same traits in this parallel Martha, and Rose couldn't help but feel overjoyed for Mickey. He has finally found his way in the universe, as did she.

So, the whole Tyler clan made their way across the universe in order to be closer to Rose, and although it was a bit of a bumpy ride, it gave little Tony Tyler an experience he would never forget. Opting to settle somewhere else than London as to avoid being too out in the open, Pete and Jackie moved to Scotland, where Pete quickly started up a profitable business that gave his family everything they needed.

The Doctor and Rose stopped by and visited much more often now, and although the Doctor would never admit it, he enjoyed those visits nearly as much as Rose did. Young Tony took a particular liking to the strange man in a mysterious blue box, and after his tenth birthday his sister and her husband took him on a few trips to the stars. Not very often, but often enough to make him itch for the stars in a way that Rose never really did; he wanted to know everything about them from every standpoint. As an adult, he became a scientist, researching space travel and extraterrestrial life.

Now, we've gone a bit too far into the future, haven't we? Right, let's go back to just eleven months after Rose and the Doctor returned to their home universe. Or weeell, just. Relative word, that, because the Doctor patiently awaited for these results for what felt like an eternity. And by patiently he means that he may or may not have kicked his ship on more than one occasion, and he may or may not have dragged Rose to the infirmary to repeat the scans just about every week; but well, eventually, he finally got exactly what he asked for.

That day, as he dragged Rose into the infirmary for yet another scan with yet another new piece of alien machinery that he picked up on Kartoilzen, the TARDIS finally gave him a conclusive result, and it truly nearly made his hearts jump out of his chest.

The TARDIS no longer registered Rose as fully human. Not Time Lord, still about 99% human, but not quite completely, and the Doctor needed no further proof for his most-favorite theory.

Kissing her in absolute ecstasy, he took her hands in his and started dancing around the infirmary as Rose laughed and tried to ask what was going on, never getting a reply other than his disbelieving chuckles. Finally, he calmed down just enough to run an additional scan. Thirty seconds later, the results that came up on one of the screens made him grin from ear to ear even more.

"Doctor, when're you gonna tell me what's goin' on?" Rose insisted, giggling at his silly antics.

"Rose! Oh, Rose, this is-this is-err, this is-"

"Go on then, what?"

"Oh, but Rose, but this is amazing!" He exclaimed, kissing the top of her head and then keeping his hands firmly on her shoulders, beaming at her in delight. "Rose, you are- You- You have traces of Time running through your veins, Rose! Time!"

She looked at him as if he was a complete lunatic and slowly nodded, "Yeah, you already said that, y'know. Even back in Pete's World... So... I don't get it...?"

"Yes, yes I did, but you see, this is much, much different, because the TARDIS confirms it. You are, weeell, a little different. No human is meant to be infused with the essence of Time itself, but you, Rose Tyler, you most certainly are!"

The Doctor couldn't quite believe his own luck. Of course, the inevitable would still... Happen... One day. One day very, very far away. But for now, he would have his Rose, he'd have her for a very-

"And? What's that mean, then?"

"It means that when you last connected to the TARDIS, she left you with a... A... A present, of sorts. She altered you very, very slightly. Now, don't look so concerned! It's nothing bad, certainly not. She... She slowed down your aging process, Rose. By a... I suppose a... A whole lot. Not like Jack, mind you, but it means that we... That we-"

Rose gasped in disbelief, not quite sure what he truly meant. She scanned his face intently with a small frown, unable to decide if she should be happy or frightened. A space ship tinkered with her DNA and slowed down her aging process. Could that even be true? Well, she's seen a whole lot of completely mad things with this man, but none of them directly changed her.

Wait. 'course they did. Each and every one of them. All their adventures, they all made her better. He made her better.

She opens her mouth to ask for a better explanation, but he senses her confusion across their mental link and beats her to it. "A small, very tiny fragment of Time remained, Rose, and it took a while to form, to-to fuse with your system, that's why I couldn't be sure of it up until now. But now-Now, it means that we will... We will have a whole lot more time together, Rose. Much, much more even!"

"So am I like... A... Time Lord or somethin'?"

"Time Lady," he corrects absentmindedly but then shakes his head, "No. You're human, just with a much longer lifespan. And I dare say that is quite brilliant! And this, this also means... I think it might mean that we-that we could be, err, compatible. If you'd ever want, weeell, a little Tony Tyler of your own-not that I-err, I mean-"

"Really?" she breathes out and he nods, feeling a strange warmth wash over his hearts as he senses a spike of happiness across their link. It's still nothing for them to consider, but the Doctor is... Not opposed to the idea. "So we could..." she continues hesitantly, looking at him intently.

His smile fades as he takes in her serious expression, matching it with one of his own. He can sense all her questions, he can sense that she doesn't know how to feel about all this, but underneath the confusion, he also senses a strong surge of joy.

"So we could have... A family?"

"Errr, yes, I-If you'll want to. Some day. I'm not entirely sure, but-I think so, yes. And we will have a lot more time together, Rose."

She still seems shocked, although in a good way. They never truly considered a family before, and the aging... So many times they both worried about the inevitable. He couldn't bear the thought, she worried about how he'd live on without her, but now... And they could even...

"You mean... You mean we'll stay together for..." she whispers and he nods in reply.

"Yup. For a very, very long time. Just as it should be," he answers in a tone that is both filled with emotion and informative, allowing the news to sink in for the both of them before they do anything else.

She always yearned for forever. He always wished for forever. They both knew that it could never be.

It still might never be, but if what they'd have would be closer to forever, what else could they possibly ask for?

The golden glow settles back into her eyes as a brilliant smile spreads over her face and she says, "Well then. All of time and space, yeah?"

"All of time and space," he agrees with a matching smile, and only then does he allow himself to kiss her lips which taste of Rose and a hint of forever.

Once a year has passed since their return home, the Doctor finally completed his plan that he first thought of back in Pete's World. He woke her up early, even for his standards, and amongst all the moaning she did (Doctor, it's four in the bleedin' morning! I'm tryin' to sleep here, yeah? I mean, 's not like you let me sleep much last night, is it? [And at that, he interrupted her and before he managed to keep track of time again, it was seven. Oh well.]), he covered her eyes with his tie and secured it tightly around her head despite her protests.

He proceeded to lead her out of the ship, still refusing to let her make use of her sight, his hands firmly planted on her shoulders as she tentatively walked through the soft grass, barefoot, slowly letting a smile spread over her face.

Whatever the surprise was, it was bound to be fantastic, so Rose eventually stopped complaining and allowed herself to enjoy the anticipation. It was a two minute walk and then, as one of his hands left her shoulder, she heard his sonic screwdriver beep as he led her off the grass and onto something rough and cold, and only then did he allow her to take off the makeshift blindfold and open her eyes.

She gasped in a complete awe as she scanned her surroundings, eyes jumping from one sight to the next in under a second, each view taking her breath away all anew. She stood on a paved road, laid out among the crisp green grass. Twin suns shone in the sky, illuminating the trees of silver and blue and purple and orange, and as if she had just regained not only her sight but also her sense of hearing, she suddenly heard music. Songs sung by hundreds of birds, distant echoes of an ocean, the beat of her Doctor's hearts, all mixed into one delightful melody.

That was not all of it, though. The paved road led up to three windows, each suspended in the air. Next to every window there was a red button, and behind them, she saw different sceneries. One was a beach: the sea was wonderfully turquoise, the sand was white as snow and looked very soft and strangely endless. In the corner of the beach, she spotted a tiny stone house with a blue chimney, which did not quite fit its surroundings but still looked lovely all the same. The other window was the exact opposite of the first scenery; behind it were mountains covered in snow, very steep, and in a valley between them stood that same house from the beach. The last window hid perhaps the biggest surprise. That exact same little house, surrounded by stars, suspended in space, floating around planets and suns and asteroids in perfect harmony, as if it too was carved out of the same celestial material as they were.

She registered all that in mere seconds, disbelief and happiness fighting for domination over her features as he observed her with a loving expression, giddy with excitement, sensing her joy but wanting to hear about it and weeell, maybe feel it, too. She hasn't kissed him for a whole ten-no, twelve minutes now. Much, much too long for his liking, if you ask him.

Lastly, she took note of the fact that the paved road continued past these strange gates to different worlds, all the way up to the house she was already familiar with, only this time it was right before them and not behind a window. That same blue chimney, blue door, charming little cottage made up of gray stones and blue window panes. TARDIS blue. On the sides of the road grew flowers like the ones she has first found in one of their gardens, beautiful flowers with a name which she could not pronounce even though he tried to teach her so many times, the flowers she started referring to as Doctories because they happened to be his favorite. They instantly became her favorite too, but he did not call them Roses to match her little nickname for the plants. Rose was much more beautiful than any silly flower, and surely Yariejakeras is not that hard to pronounce, so why would he do that?

When she stopped admiring the surroundings, she finally looked at him. Her Doctor; he was all anticipation and happiness and excited sparks in his chocolate brown eyes, hand joined with hers just the way it always was, feeling more than ready to answer any questions she might have.

"Is this..." she trailed off, unsure of what to call everything that was before her eyes. Paradise? Heaven? A dream?

"A planet. A planet with no citizens. Weeell, apart from us, I s'pose," he beamed at her, "And this, Rose Tyler, this is our home. Homes," he corrects himself, pointing at the three windows and the paved road leading up to the fourth house.

Tears glisten in her eyes as she smiles and shakes her head, admiring the area again before turning back towards him. "But... How... I mean, home? What about the TARDIS? And these-these windows, they're-"

"Tiny little worlds in a box! Isn't that clever? I first saw them on this planet in the corner of Otiera, lovely little galaxy, not very remarkable, but not everything can be, now can it? I actually had to fight a rabid space lion for it, Rose, but it was worth it! It's brilliant, that's what it is! You know, in case we ever get bored of having just one home. Now, we can have many! Why have just one if you can have plenty? If we ever want to, I don't know, take it slow. Not often, mind you, that's just boring, but- but sometimes. A day here and there. If you like?"

Rose giggles and locks her lips with his in a long kiss that neither of them wants to break. They both missed that sense of home that they found when they lived in Pete's World; a proper house with windows and maybe even carpets, they longed for it but they never dared to say. The Doctor had his reputation and he wasn't the biggest fan of domestics, Rose didn't want to pressure him into having more of those slow days than they already did, so she never said a word.

In the end, it turns out that she didn't exactly have to.

He just read both of their minds and created a base, should they ever want a day or two off in their own secluded little world; a place where the only adventure of theirs would be the one he has never had prior to finding Rose.

"And this one?" She tilts her head towards the house hidden among the colorful willow trees, and his expression softens even more. "It reminds me of what I've seen in your memories," her voice is quiet and careful as her eyes intently scan his, searching for signs of pain. She does find a faint trace of guilt and sadness, but it is replaced by love as he cups her cheek in her favorite way, allowing her to lean into his hand as he strokes her skin gently.

"Weeell, that's... I... I thought you'd like it. It's not exactly the same. It couldn't be," he whispers, "But it's similar. I've seen your home and I guess I... I wanted to-to show you mine. And this one," he briefly tilts his head towards the cottage, "This one could be ours."

She beams at him and wraps her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest as he makes a happy sound at the back of his throat.

"So this was a good idea, I assume?" He murmurs, embracing her and kissing the top of her head.

"It's lovely. Thank you," Rose says, her feelings pouring into the words, a few tears of joy and affection traveling down her face.

"I'm glad," he says and then asks, "Now! Take your pick, Rose. Which one today? Mind you, we can go to them all, if you like. We could even go to all of them at once, although that is a little tricky, but-"

Smile on her lips, she pulls away and takes hold of his hand, running towards the house that is not hidden behind any window, the one under the twin suns, and then drags him into their own little corner of heaven, ready for all the days that are yet to come.

All of time and space, he thinks, observing her as she bounces happily on the bed in their little cottage and insists that he joins her, all smiles and giggles and Rose, All of time and space. Different faces and different lives and so much good, but not enough to soften the bad. Not until you. Not until you, Rose Tyler.

Trustingly letting his hearts dream of eternity, the Doctor flops down on the bed next to his Rose. It was all like a dream, being with her, and not the nightmares he had prior to meeting her, no, this was a lovely version of reality that he never thought he'd be granted.

He allows that one lone tear of joy to travel down his cheek as he closes his eyes when she leans in to thank him properly for the brilliant surprise, marking a beginning to yet another chapter of this brilliant adventure that they both wouldn't have missed for the world.

~oOo~

A/N: And that's a wrap! Phew. I hope you enjoyed the very last chapter of this story, because I know I enjoyed writing it. To be fair, I enjoyed writing the whole thing, and I feel it has taught me a lot. I hope to carry that knowledge to my upcoming fics.

Thank you so much to all of you that read this, reviewed and supported me along the way. This fic was an adventure of its own for me and while I still have much to learn, it's all of you that motivated me to keep writing. :)

I won't abandon writing after finishing this - in fact I'm going to start posting a different multi-chapter Ten/Rose AU story very soon (probably within a week) as well as all sorts of random one-shots (one of them a quick scene between chapter 15 and 16 of this story), so if you liked ADSoA, be on the lookout for more. ^_^ As always, reviews are super appreciated, and thank you so much for all your support!