Wolverhampton, Great Britain [Day Four, 5 am]
It was a rift, or actually, it was a potential rift.
"Why d'you think these things are happenin' now?" Mickey asked her. He was lounging on the one sofa they've managed to fit in the zeppelin.
"Dunno, really," Rose towelled her hair dry, it's been hours since she and Jake escaped the magically appearing bog where, according to her luck, they were immediately set upon by the Tylalians, fortunately cavalry (in the form of Mickey and Ursula) arrived and they managed to stop the Tylalians from coaxing the proto-rift from opening.
And, because, Jake was ever the gentleman he beat her to the showers and refused to leave despite all her threats about putting him in the brig for insubordination. He'd gone all cheeky on her and said, "If you want to bathe so badly , then come in and join me!"
Rose almost did, decency be damned if Mickey hadn't caught her and steered her far away from the showers. She eventually did get to shower, where she proceeded to consume the last remaining gallon of water Jake hadn't siphoned. "Could be because of what those bloody Daleks did when they punched a hole in the void."
"So, you reckon they'll be no trouble on this end then? Closed the rift thing?"
She thought about it, "Really don't know, Mick. I mean, the last time we managed to close the rift it left a --"
"A scar an' it still managed to generate energy," Mickey finished for her, "I know, was there when you and the Doctor and Jumpin' Jack Flash were all doin' the space brigades impression."
Rose laughed, "Those were great times."
"Yeah," Mickey agreed, "You were all proper smug gits, the lot of you."
She sobered, he had on an expression she hadn't seen in a long time. "Mickey..."
"I know you're sorry, if you could take it back you'd be more obnoxious."
Rose looked at him, he stared right back but looked away after a few seconds. "Right, you've been doin' that passive agressive thing since you picked me up at Heathrow, what's wrong?"
There was a belligerent expression in his eyes, "The Doctor's there, isn't he?"
"Oh, God, is this what you're on about? There's nothing going on with--"
"I don't mean that, I meant what'll prevent you from goin' swannin' off again, huh? I know what you're like, given a choice between stayin' here and goin off--"
"It's not like that anymore, is it?" She snapped, "I have responsibilities now, obligations! I'm not just going to swan off. It wasn't exactly my idea to go off on a sabbatical, was it? It was yours idea and Pete's!"
"Well, I didn't know the Doctor was going to be there, did I?" He returned.
That's it. She was tired and sore and what she didn't need now was Mickey railing at her about this. "I thought you were over this? I thought you were done with bein' jealous of the Doctor? He isn't going to ask because I'm not his Rose and I'm not going to expect him to ask because he isn't my Doctor! I don't just go haring off across the universe just 'cause some alternative version of him appears! You should know me better an' that, you should know I'm takin' this job seriously! I had my chance and it's over! People move on. I moved on!"
They faced off in the zeppelin's cramp hall, old hurts and anger brought to the surface. They have so much history between them that not even the Doctor, her Doctor could compete with.
Mickey stood, eyes narrowed, "Yeah, and what would happen if he did ask?"
"He's not--"
"What would happen if he did?"
"I told you--"
"Just answer the question!" Mickey didn't often shout and when he did, Rose knew it was something simmering for a long while, "What would happen if this Doctor bloke who isn't yours, would go, 'Come with me, I've a TARDIS it can travel in time and space.' Would you? Because you have to tell us now rather than leave us hangin' waitin' for you to return. We can't do that anymore. We won't."
Rose stared at Mickey,the answer was 'No, of course I won't' but the words can't seem to get past her throat and the beat stretched to a moment, and a moment into an uncertainty. The door creaked open and in entered Jake, carrying a crate, "...believe the kind of things I found on the... What? What's wrong?"
Jake looked from her then to Mickey.
"Nothing's wrong," she said, out of habit.
"Yeah, nothing." Mickey repeated and when she looked he was already walking away.
"Mickey..."
"I have to check on the engines, wouldn't want us to crash and burn." And he was gone.
[NFB, due to distance]