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Rose stood on the beach, letting the wind whip her hair, as she stared out into the ocean. There was no sign of the Doctor or the TARDIS, but she felt that they were in the right place. Dalig Ulv Stranden -- Bad Wolf Bay. She smirked to herself at the irony behind it. Her mum and Mickey hadn't understood her horrified expression when she learned the name, but why would they? At least they had been supportive of Rose and her journey out here. She knew she had been difficult to live with these past few months in the parallel universe, but they still loved her and wanted her to be happy. So, when she heard the Doctor in her dreams, they had decided to come with her. After several hours of driving in Pete's Jeep they had ended up here, waiting to see if the Doctor would arrive.
"Rose."
Her name was a whisper carried on the wind. She recognized the soft Northern accent, and turned to see the Doctor in his usual dark jeans and maroon jumper, leather coat of armor keeping him safe. But he wasn't completely solid. He looked as he had in the hologram, when he had activated Emergency Protocol One, before she had become the Bad Wolf by looking into the heart of the TARDIS. The Doctor's quick actions had saved her as usual – funneling the Time Vortex through himself and back into the TARDIS. There was no permanent damage to himself because he was a Time Lord, who had been raised near the vortex, just as Earth children are raised near the sun.
Rose walked toward the Doctor, never taking her eyes off him for fear he would vanish if she did.
"Where are you?" she asked.
"Inside the TARDIS. There's one tiny little gap in the universe left, about to close. The TARDIS actually found it. She misses you Rose."
"You look like a ghost" Rose whispered, her voice cracking just slightly.
"Hold on". The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at the console, and his image solidified.
Rose held up her hand to stroke his cheek, as he had once done to her, "Can I…?" she asked trailing off.
"Sorry. I'm still just an image. No touch."
"Can't you come through properly?"
His face fell. He shook his head slightly. "Used to be that my people could go between universes all the time, but now that they're gone it could destroy both universes."
She gave a shaky laugh. "So."
"Typical stupid ape, always thinking of yourself," he reprimanded, but there was no anger behind his words. The word had become more of a term of endearment between them.
Rose smiled, knowing that he was just putting on a brave front, as usual. "Am I ever gonna see you again?" she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
He looked at her with his intense blue eyes, hesitating to say the answer. He knew what he should say, that he could never come back, but he couldn't break her heart. Instead, he drew a deep breath and said, "Wait here. I'll try to hurry."
***
The Doctor broke the signal to the parallel universe and sat down on the jump seat with a loud sigh. He looked across the console at Jack, who had been listening, but had wanted to give Rose and the Doctor some privacy.
Once again, the Doctor had been a coward, too afraid to tell Rose that she was trapped there, so he had lied and hoped it would buy him some time. He laughed to himself. A Time Lord who was always running out of time – that was him. He knew he would spend forever trying to get back to Rose. Trouble was, he hadn't a clue where to start. He didn't like this helpless feeling. With all of his people gone, crossing into other universes was impossible. It used to be easy when there were more Time Lords to keep the connection stable, but now it was a huge risk.
Jack could see the man was on the verge of breaking down, and that could cost them the time they needed to get Rose back. He put his hand older man's shoulder and said, "Did I ever tell you that I studied 'Multi-Dimensional and Parallel Universe Teleportation' at the Time Agency..."
***
The sound of the TARDIS materializing took a few moments to register in Rose's brain. So many nights she had wandered the around the Tyler mansion when she couldn't sleep, and she would imagine she heard those beautiful engines, only to run out to the garden and find nothing there. She was used to her imagination playing tricks on her. However, this time familiar whining became louder and more distinct. Rose noticed her mum, Pete, and Mickey standing to their feet as she turned to see the TARDIS solidifying on the sandy ground. The wooden door creaked open, and there stood her Doctor.
"Did I mention it also travels across parallel universes?" he asked.
"You think you're so impressive," she said cheekily, with a huge smile on her face.
"I am so impressive," he answered in their usual banter, his own smile giving way.
They stood grinning at each other for just a moment, and then they both moved together at the same time, catching each other in a warm and comforting embrace. Rose could feel all of her tension over the past few months leave her body, to be replaced by pure joy. It was radiating off her, and she could feel the Doctor's own happiness reflecting back at her.
"Hey. When do I get one of those?"
Rose pulled back from her hug with the Doctor just long enough to pull Jack into join them for a shared embrace.
Suddenly, Rose had a thought. "Wait a second Doctor. You said travelling here could destroy the universe. Are we safe?" She glanced up into the sky, expecting to see Reapers waiting.
The Doctor couldn't help smiling at her. "Much too clever for that, me."
Jack cleared his throat.
"Oh, alright," the Doctor said, "and Jack might have helped too."
Jack grinned at his small victory, "See, we used my Vortex Manipulator to stabilize the connection by reversing the polarity of –"
Rose interrupted him with a look. "I don't care how you got here. All I know is I've never been more happy to see you both." She looked back at the Doctor.
"The TARDIS helped us get back to you too. Ever since you looked into the Time Vortex you've been carrying a little part of it inside of you. She helped us lock onto that connection to pull us across, but we can't keep it open for long. We need to leave in about two minutes, or we'll be trapped here permanently.
Rose let the Doctor's words sink in just a moment, before turning to her mum, who had come to stand beside them. She could feel the tears already stinging her eyes as she looked at her mother, the woman who had raised her all alone.
"We'll let you say your goodbyes," the Doctor said. Then he and Jack went back inside the TARDIS.
***
Rose walked up the ramp and joined Jack and the Doctor at the console. Jack was making calculations and punching in coordinates on his wrist strap. The Doctor put his arm around Rose. She laid her head on his shoulder, letting a few teardrops cover the leather.
She looked at the monitor on the console, showing her family waiting for the TARDIS to disappear. The Doctor gave her a little squeeze.
"Are you sure you're ready to leave? I can't promise that you'll ever see them again."
Rose picked up her head. She looked over at Jack, who had paused waiting for her answer. Rose turned back to the Doctor and said, "I'm ready. We said our goodbyes at the mansion, just in case this happened. I know how much you like impossible."
They smiled at each other. Then she said, "Besides, can't you see all sorts of timelines and possibilities spread out before you?"
He slowly nodded that he did, curious because Rose already knew about his Time sense.
"Then you should know by now, that the three of us, we're a fixed point in time and space. We were always meant to be together. That's how it should be."
The smile that the Doctor gave her could have powered the TARDIS for a week. He moved around the console, flipping switches, and helping Jack make the final jump.
Then, out of pure joy, and simply because he could, he spun around grabbing Rose off her feet, and twirled her around the console.
"Fantastic!"