#and i tried him once before i even beat ulv

[foxstens]

i just second tried the apparently tankiest boss in the game

[chasingthecosmos]

Three Hearts to Own

Fandom: Doctor Who Rating: G Pairing: The Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Chapters: 11/12 Read on AO3 here.

A (sort of) season re-write centering around the Doctor’s touch telepathy and the many ways that it makes his life difficult while he attempts to move on from the loss of Rose Tyler. This work is based around Seasons 3 & 4 and the Tenth Doctor. It’s the final entry in the “A Hand to Hold” series, but it can also be read as a stand-alone. The first four or five chapters will just be short excerpts from the Doctor’s time away from Rose, but there will be a Journey’s End fix-it and a happily ever after at the end. Tags will be updated as I go. Chapters will vary in length.

Chapter Eleven: Journey’s End (Part Three)

They all ended up escaping with their lives only because of Rose's brilliance and Donna's nimble fingers. In fact, the Doctor found that he really didn't need to do much work at all when he had his two fantastic girls at his side working with him, and with the added help of Jack, Sarah Jane, Mickey, and Jackie (yes, even her), Davros and the daleks really never even really stood a chance to begin with.

They ended up leaving the whole horde of daleks spinning helplessly and completely disabled after Rose, Donna, and the Doctor sent the twenty-six planets in the Medusa Cascade home and then prepared to handle the remaining twenty-seventh themselves. Even though the Doctor may have preferred a more fiery end to the remaining ship full of hateful robots, he had Rose in his head reminding him of just how far he had come since the Time War, and he found that he simply couldn't muster up the same level of hate and anger that he had had all those years ago when they had first come across a broken down dalek buried underneath the sands of the Nevada desert.

Instead, the Doctor merely extended one last half-hearted attempt to save Davros, but when his offer of mercy was vehemently and predictably denied, he gladly shut his TARDIS doors on the whole bloody crucible and set it resolutely behind them.

Rose didn't have any additional words of comfort or reassurance for him, in the end - though the Doctor didn't really think that there were enough words in the universe that could heal the complexities of the Time War and all of the damage and destruction that it continued to leave behind, even now. But his brilliant, beautiful girl still managed to overshadow any lingering despair and anger with her feelings of love and peace, which she projected into his mind until there wasn't room for anything else.

With Rose filling his thoughts and the rest of his companions filling his TARDIS, the Doctor's hearts were more full than they had been in a very, very long time - though, of course, the knowledge that goodbyes were inevitably around the corner did dampen the mood somewhat.

Sarah Jane went first - she was eager to get back to her son (a story that she still didn't bother to tell him completely, though the Doctor suspected that he would find out the details sooner or later). She was followed close behind by Jack and Martha - then, to all of their surprise, Mickey.

"There's nothing in that world for me, now," the young man proclaimed decidedly as he left Pete's World behind him and set his sights on the new world that lay before him, "certainly not Rose."

The Doctor shared a weighted look with the young man who he had spent an inordinate amount of time being jealous over in the past. It all seemed like such a long time ago, now - even though he knew that, in reality, it had only been a few years. Mickey had grown up and changed so much from that frightened kid cowering in a back alley just because a couple of plastic dummies were attempting to threaten his life. The Doctor still couldn't admit it out loud - not even now - but there was no denying the fact that he was proud of him.

When he finally ran off after Jack and Martha, the Doctor knew that he wouldn't have to worry about Rickey the Idiot anymore - he already had all of the resources that he would need in order to make a successful life for himself all over again. However, the rest of the Tyler family was another story.

"Time for one last trip," the Doctor announced as he swaggered back into his TARDIS with an air of easy confidence that he didn't really feel at all. Rose and Jackie didn't meet his eyes as he moved back to the TARDIS monitor, but he caught Donna's look of pained sympathy that did nothing at all to improve his mood as he declared resolutely, "Dårlig Ulv Stranden."

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"Oh, fat lot of good this is. Back of beyond - bloody

Norway

?" Jackie moaned as soon as the TARDIS touched down again and they all stepped out onto that cold, cloudy beach once more.

"Couldn't you have gotten her a little bit closer to home?" Rose agreed, sighing heavily as she scowled out at the horizon. The Doctor could sense that she was just as wary at seeing this place again as he was. There were simply too many bad memories of half-formed sentences and rushed goodbyes.

"Do you ... have someone who you could call?" the Doctor asked awkwardly, not quite sure how to phrase his question without sounding completely ridiculous as he subtly attempted to learn as much as he could about the life that Rose had made for herself here without him.

"Mum could always phone Dad," she replied with an off-handed shrug. "How long can we stay? I'd like to make sure that she's alright before we head back."

When the Doctor's only reply was a beat of unsure silence as he silently gauged her expression and thoughts, Rose rolled her eyes dramatically and added, "I mean, of course I'm coming back with you. What, did you think you were just going to drop me off on this sad old beach again and leave me behind forever?"

"I thought ..." the Doctor tried weakly, not really sure how to explain the many different doubts, fears, and anxieties that he was feeling in that moment.

"Oh, no. You're not getting rid of me that easily," Rose cut him off simply. "I just ... need to explain to her everything that's happened." She paused for a moment as she tore her gaze away from him and glanced at her mother over her shoulder, her expression falling as she silently prepared herself for the last, momentous goodbye that still lay ahead of them.

Do you want me to come with you ...? the Doctor asked hesitantly, his hands shoved into his pockets as he shifted his weight awkwardly in the sand. He had always been bad at the goodbyes, and he had always been bad with his companions' mothers. He suspected that those two negatives wouldn't exactly cancel each other out - especially when it came to Jackie Tyler.

But Rose's smile was confident and infection as she met his gaze and slowly nodded in assent and gratitude. "Might want to wait a minute, though," she suggested blithely as she moved to follow after her mother. "Probably don't want to be within slapping-distance if her first reaction isn't exactly ideal."

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However, Rose needn't have worried - her goodbye to her mother was heartfelt and satisfying, leaving absolutely no loose ends like the Doctor was notoriously known for doing. He and Rose were able to explain quite clearly that Rose's lifespan now far exceeded her mother's, and that she really would be safer and happier in a place where she wouldn't constantly be having to explain to people why she wasn't aging. Jackie even took the "Bad-Wolf-leading-them-all-to-this-point-and-changing-Rose's-body-specifically-for-him" part better than he had expected.

"Always knew it would come to this, one way or another," she sighed ruefully through her tears. "From the first moment you stepped into that bloody box with him, I knew I'd never get you back completely."

"It's better this way, Mum," Rose insisted gently, blinking through her own watery eyes. "You don't need me anymore. You've got Dad and Tony and everything you could ever want here. You'll all have a long, happy, normal life without me."

"I'll always need you, Rose," Jackie muttered, bringing her daughter into a crushing hug before they parted ways for the last time. "But you need him - and we all know how he's completely rubbish without you. So you go, and you live the life you've always wanted. Just know that I love you - no matter how far you go or how long you travel, just know that, Rose. Know that I love you."

The Doctor's hearts broke in sympathy for his bondmate when they finally turned their backs on Pete's World for the last time, but he took comfort in the fact that Rose was able to say goodbye to her mother in the end, and he was pleased to find that she didn't have a single ounce of lingering regret left in her as he fired up the TARDIS engines and set their course back for their home universe.

However, as per usual, Donna couldn't let the quite, reflective moment last, and the three of them were left standing in silence for only thirteen seconds before she piped up sarcastically, "Well, there's at least one person who's still fully human on board, and she is honestly very, very tired. do you think I can trust you two not to go running off into any explosions for a few hours while I take a quick kip?"

"Of course," the Doctor replied gently at the same time that Rose grinned and teased, "No promises."

Donna heaved a weary sigh as she glared at the two of them, but she didn't offer any more warnings or advice before shuffling off deeper into the TARDIS in the direction of her room.

"Speaking of explosions ..." the Doctor muttered as casually as he could while flashing an assessing gaze in Rose's direction out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes, yes, I know ..." Rose sighed dramatically as she rolled her eyes at him with a long-suffering expression. It seemed that she knew without him having to tell her that he was still intensely curious about her new state of being and was eager to dissect the issue down to its molecular roots as soon as possible.

"I'll meet you in the infirmary," Rose muttered as she ran the tips of her fingers over the Doctor's arm on her way past him before following Donna's path deeper into the TARDIS. He didn't miss the sudden exhausted slump of her shoulders as she went, but before the Doctor could even attempt to ask her what was wrong, she tugged teasingly against his thoughts and quickly assured him that she was fine.

Don't keep me waiting, she reminded him as soon as they were out of ear-shot from one another. It's been two years and we have a lot of catching up to do ...