DW Fic: Plotting a New Course (2/4) Ten II/Rose
Title: Plotting a New Course (2/4)
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.
Pairing/Characters: Ten II/Rose, Jackie, Tyler clan
Summary: The Doctor and Rose, post-Journey’s End. There it was, then. The Doctor hadn’t even been in this world a whole day and all ready Jackie had lost the attention of her eldest child. Typical.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through 4x13.
Word Count: 3, 455
A/N: Big thanks to mrv3000 for the beta read.
( Chapter One)
****
Jackie had to concede that the Doctor had a point. Car travel was slow. And bumpy.
Pete had offered to send them a jet, but he couldn’t procure one quickly on such short notice and, anyway, it didn’t look so good nowadays, flying around in jets when there was Global Warming to consider.
Mostly, though, Jackie felt eager to get home and waiting for a jet to arrive was out of the question. She wanted to scoop her son up in a hug and kiss her husband again. She wasn’t built for Rose’s life. She’d watched a woman turn to dust in front of her-and all she could do was think ‘thank god, it wasn’t me, I have a son, and he needs me.’ Never mind that the woman had a family of her own, that she could have been a mother, just like Jackie.
Their driver had yellow teeth and a wide hat. He’d spent the first hour of the trip humming under his breath until Jackie snapped and told him to turn on the bloody radio. Now they were subjected to a steady drone of politicians trying to take credit for bringing the stars back.
“That was my daughter, you idiot,” she said to the radio as Georgia Smith, MP from West Ham claimed it was Labour’s new emissions plan that ended the Darkness. Jackie glanced behind her. The Doctor looked amused from where he had an arm draped over her daughter’s shoulders. For her part, Rose looked comfortably spooned into his chest, her fingers linked with his. They’d been doing that all trip-practically hanging off each other.
It didn’t look like they’d had any trouble sleeping. The pair of them were probably used to death and destruction by now. She couldn’t even blame the Doctor for it, not really. It wasn’t like Rose had been willing to sit at home and stay out of trouble these last few years.
“The Doctor helped,” Rose said. She titled her head back to stare adoringly into the Doctor’s eyes. “Just a bit.”
He stared adoringly back. “And Donna,” he said, after a pause. “All Donna, really.”
They smiled sadly at each other, and then returned to the stupid staring. There it was, then. The Doctor hadn’t even been in this world a whole day and all ready Jackie had lost the attention of her eldest child. Typical.
Jackie eyed him critically-he had the same untameable hair, same sideburns, same crinkles in his eyes when he smiled. He was still too skinny. She made a mental note-that man needed more meat and potatoes. And extra pudding.
He’s too dangerous to be left on his own, the Doctor had said. And Jackie had looked at this blue suited version of him - the man who looked like the Doctor and called himself the Doctor, but could be the closest thing to Frankenstein, for all Jackie knew. He could be the product of some freak alien accident, an evil clone gone wrong-and left with her daughter.
But even Jackie had to admit that the Doctor always did what he could to keep Rose safe, and she couldn’t quite believe that he’d leave her with someone he thought was truly dangerous. No, that wasn’t the man Jackie knew, and certainly not the man who cared for her daughter. When it came down to it, the Doctor made a choice, and Jackie wanted to hug him for it. She wanted to slap him for it, too, for up and leaving Rose like that. But he’d left Rose with her family, and Jackie would always be thankful for that.
She chanced another glance in the backseat.
Now they were kissing. Rose had one hand behind his head, and his fingers brushed her cheek, thumb rubbing against her temple. Jackie opened her mouth-“Oi, you two,” hovering on the tip of her tongue-and then couldn’t quite bring herself to ruin the moment. Instead she watched silently, aching and joyful for Rose in the same heartbeat.
Her thoughts strayed to Pete-better because he was alive, worse because he wasn’t hers-and how he still began sentences with “Do you remember when we…?” before stopping with a pained look in his eyes when he remembered his Jackie-his real wife-was dead.
She hoped Rose never made this Doctor feel like that. And I’m him, the Doctor had said, but that wasn’t quite true, was it? That Doctor turned around and left Jackie’s daughter on a beach, and this Doctor took her hand and stayed. He stayed.
The same. But not. Like her and Pete-but at least this Doctor had all the same memories of his time with Rose. That was the one thing she could never give Pete even if she resembled the Jackie he’d lost. She and Pete were happy, though, even with all the changes and the years between them. That was the important thing.
They stopped kissing, but didn’t break apart. Rose shifted forward, curling into him. His head came down to press against her cheek. He whispered something in her ear; Rose smiled and turned her head to kiss his cheek before settling against him. Rose sighed softly, contentedly, and then shut her eyes, soft smile on her face.
Jackie swallowed and fastened her eyes back on the road. She couldn’t quite bring herself to ruin this moment for them, this quiet reunion they were finally allowing themselves to have.
She turned her attention back to the radio, twisting the knob while static blared out of the speakers. The driver sent her a dirty look, but she didn’t give two twats about what he thought-anything was better than listening to another word about the Darkness.
*****
“Can you believe that?” Jackie asked as their car pulled away from the curve. “The nerve of that man, taking advantage of our situation-"
“He did drive us all the way to London, Mum,” Rose said, leaning into the Doctor and using his arm to hide her yawn. The Doctor had one arm around her waist and they both shuffled forward, looking exhausted.
“Jackie, you are rich,” the Doctor pointed out.
“Oh, don’t say that,” Rose said, patting the Doctor on the arm. He mouthed ‘what?’ at her. “She spent a long time on the Powell Estates. We both did. You’re sort of… trained to think everyone’s trying to take advantage of you.”
“But…”
“Are you two coming or not?” Jackie said, beginning to plod her way down the driveway. The Doctor and Rose followed behind her.
Up ahead, the door to their house swung open and Pete stepped out, hand coming up to shield his eyes from the setting sun. She couldn’t help but break out into a grin when she saw him.
He ran down the steps as she started up the driveway. They met each other halfway. Jackie practically jumped into his arms and Pete stumbled backwards a few feet, letting out an “oomf” of surprise before he took her face between both his hands and gave her a stern look.
“I told you not to go, Jacks. You didn’t even leave a note, I had to find out from the maid. I’ve been half out of my mind with worry, haven’t slept in days-”
“Missed me, then, did you?” Jackie said.
“You’ve always been stubborn,” Pete admitted and then leaned in to kiss her.
They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was the Doctor. Rose smiled wistfully, like the sight of her parents together was still a novelty.
“Yes, hello!” said the Doctor, giving a little wave. “We’re still here. Nice place. I don’t remember the gardens. Were they here last time?”
“Yup,” said Rose.
“Ah,” said the Doctor after a pause. “Was just a touch distracted at the time. Cybermen and all that. Anyway, lead on! Pete, Pete Tyler, nice to see you. How’ve you been?”
“Doctor,” said Pete, as they walked the rest of the way to the house. “Have to admit I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Yeah, it’s a… long story,” the Doctor said.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad.” They reached the door and Pete held it open, ushering them all inside. He gave a sad smile as it shut behind them. “I wasn’t expecting to ever see Rose again, truth be told.”
Rose abruptly let go of the Doctor’s hand, beginning to look uncomfortable. “Yeah, the thing is…”
“It all worked out for the best,” Jackie said, sensing that the last thing the Doctor and Rose wanted was to get into the particulars of their new relationship.
Rose nodded “It’s good to be home. I’m just gonna…” she gestured in front of her, “I’m going to… go.”
“Go?” said the Doctor, looking like he was trying to keep from sounding terrified and not doing a very good job.
“Shower,” Rose said, “just… the shower.”
“Oh,” said the Doctor. “Right.”
They gazed at each other and then Rose hurried away, the Doctor staring longingly after her. He looked so forlorn that Jackie almost leaned over to pat him on the shoulder and tell him Rose would come back very soon if he just counted backwards from one-hundred and maybe did some finger-painting.
“Okay, what did I miss?” said Pete.
“The Doctor’s human now,” Jackie said.
“Half-human,” said the Doctor. “I'm still half-Time Lord.”
“And there’s two of them,” Jackie finished. “The other one is gone.”
Pete blinked, but only said, “Right.”
Jackie turned to the Doctor. “Rose isn’t the only one who should shower.” She eyed him critically. The blue suit was beginning to look more than a little rumpled on him. They were going to have to buy him some replacement clothing. And quickly. Suppose he’ll want all suits, too, Jackie thought with a frown.
“There’s a guest-bath just down the hall,” Pete said. “And Rose’s bedroom is on the third floor, very last door on the left.”
The Doctor nodded and then, as if realizing what he was doing, whipped his head around to stare at Jackie in panic.
“Oh, honestly,” Jackie said, “you’re both adults. God only knows what the pair of you were getting up to in that box of yours all those years.”
“Actually-” the Doctor began, but he stopped and shook his head, seeming to think better of following that line of thought. He glanced at the stairs with a troubled expression. “She never moved out? Four, five years and she’s been here, all this time? That doesn’t sound like Rose.”
“And you’d know, would you?” Jackie said. The Doctor blinked at her in confusion and she couldn’t stop herself from continuing, “It’s been years since she last saw you. You’re the one with the great big spaceship. Why did Rose have to be the one finding her way back?”
The Doctor opened his mouth, but nothing came out and he stood there, hands shoved into his pockets, looking downright miserable.
“Jacks,” Pete said quietly. And then, “She didn’t want to move out. I suppose she thought that would be too permanent, that she’d lost you for good.”
“I know the feeling,” the Doctor said. He drew in a breath and visibly pulled himself together, even forcing a smile. “It’s been ages since I’ve stayed in a real house. It’s not half-bad, I suppose. D’you have an attic?”
“Yes,” Pete said. “Why?”
“I like a good attic,” the Doctor said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than them, but he disappeared down the hall towards the guest-bath.
“I better check on Tony," Jackie said after he was gone. "I don’t know what I was thinking leaving the pair of you alone.”
Pete watched her with a fond half-smile. “It’s good to have you home, Jackie. It’s been… a difficult few days.”
Jackie thought about Daleks on London streets, reality bombs, and warp stars set to destroy all their lives in the hopes it might save the universe. She shivered. “It’s over now.”
There was a crash from down the hall and then the Doctor popped his head out. “Found the towels!” he yelled. “Although… you might want to replace the brown vase. Hope it wasn’t a family heirloom.”
“The brown vase?” Pete said worriedly. “The one that belonged to my mother?”
“I reckon I can piece it back together in no time,” called the Doctor. “It just needs setting 19E on the sonic screwdriver. And maybe some glue.”
“No, that’s fine,” Pete said. “You just… stand there. And don’t touch anything.”
Never before had Jackie been so glad for the Doctor’s ability to distract and annoy people.
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” she said, making an effort to sound sympathetic. She patted Pete on the shoulder. “I’m going to go check on Tony. You’ll make me a cup of tea, won’t you? That’s a dear.”
********
Rose didn’t cry until she was in the shower, the pounding of the water masking her sobs. She was just… having a… a delayed reaction, she told herself, leaning one shoulder against the tile to catch her breath. That’s all. It’d been a long few days-Daleks and being back in the TARDIS and the Doctor leaving and-
She sucked in a loud gasp of air, leaning more heavily against the wall. This-it felt so wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be here. All that time, building the dimensional cannon, fighting her way back to the Doctor-she always figured it would end with them both back in the TARDIS.
Thing was, this Doctor was so undeniably him. And it was so easy to fall back into their old rhythm, like nothing had changed. If only she could forget there was another version of the Doctor out there. One who hadn’t just turned his back and… and…
She pressed her palm to her eyes to keep the tears at bay. The Doctor had said-he couldn’t say goodbye, it would have hurt too much. She was just going to have to be content that they’d been allowed one last hug, one last chance to see each other again. Besides, that Doctor had Donna with him. This one didn’t have anyone. He didn’t even have the TARDIS-just her.
Finally, throat dry, limbs shaking, she shut off the water. She pulled on a pair of pyjama pants and a t-shirt and swept her hair back into a ponytail before going to look for him.
She found the Doctor in her bedroom. Surprised, she froze in the doorway, watching him. He was rifling through her things, hair still damp from what must have been his own shower. He picked up the photos lining her dresser-Mum, Dad, Mickey, Tony, Jake-thumb brushing across the corners before he set them back down. Then he moved to her bookshelf and picked up the top book-Introduction to Physics-smiled, and then moved on. On her desk, he found a stack of memos from Torchwood, yellow sticky notes dotting the papers. He slipped his hand in his pocket, searching for something, before removing it empty-handed. Frowning, he leaned forward, squinting at the pages. He made a “hmm” noise and then nodded to himself.
Oh, Rose realized. His glasses. Of course. They’d have to get him a new pair.
Rose cleared her throat. The Doctor jumped and spun around, a Torchwood memo still clutched in his hand.
She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “We’ll have to go shopping.” She almost added that the blue suit looked plain weird on him, not at all like she remembered. Not bad, exactly, just… not him.
The Doctor looked blank and then perked up. “Right, no glasses,” he said. “Well… not much of anything, I suppose. I did stash a few things in my pockets. Including…” He dug around in his pocket again and pulled out a familiar blue object, twirling it around in his hand before saying, “Our very own sonic screwdriver. Can’t make teleport pods without them, you know.”
He grinned proudly at her and she felt her stomach flutter.
“You never said-” He pointed to the memos on her desk, breaking the moment. “How long have you been working on the dimensional cannon?”
Rose shrugged. “Sort of what kept me sane at first-I reckon Dad was just happy I was doing something other than crying my eyes out. Never got much support for it, though. Not until the Darkness started.”
The Doctor nodded. “You have your own team? Department?”
“Um…” Rose played with her earrings, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Not exactly.” The Doctor stared at her and she blew out a breath. “I tried to work my way up the ranks at first, yeah? Didn’t want to be given special treatment for being Pete Tyler’s daughter, but… the thing is, apparently I don’t take orders very well.”
She tried very hard not to look at him, but she could hear the amusement in his voice, “What? You?”
“I almost got sacked on my first day. One of our superior officers told me that the cannon was out of the question.” Rose shrugged. “So I dumped my lunch tray on his head.”
The Doctor sniggered. “Of course you did.”
Rose took a breath, feeling more confident now. “So Dad put me in charge of my own department-Unknown Alien Lifeforms and Artifacts. I kept working on the cannon, though-just did the other stuff as well. Getting funding was tough, but… things are getting better. After the stars started going out, I got my own office and everything.”
She chanced a glance at him. His smile was soft and full of pride. She felt her stomach do that fluttering thing again.
“Sounds dangerous,” he said, after a pause.
“Can be, yeah.”
He frowned, looking caught between wanting to probe her for more information and lecturing her on being careful. She considered reminding him that ‘Unknown Lifeforms’ was practically his area of expertise and, anyway, it was all because of Torchwood that she got back to him in the first place. But she didn’t think he was quite ready to listen to that yet.
Instead, she closed the distance between them and reached for the Torchwood memo he was still holding. She placed it back on the desk and then tilted her head up to meet his eyes.
“You’ll stay here tonight? With me?”
He gave a nervous swallow and then a bob of his head.
“Good,” she said, “that’s… good.” Then she leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back tentatively, arms sliding around her waist before he pulled back.
Eyes closed, breathing hard, he said, “Rose, we should talk.”
“You? Want to ‘talk?’ This really is a parallel world.”
He gave a strained smile. “Must be the Donna in me.”
“Must be,” Rose agreed. She kissed the corner of his mouth. “We’ve got our whole lives to talk.”
She sensed his body relaxing, leaning into hers. His mouth found hers again and his hands smoothed down her back. Rose reached for the buttons on his jacket, but he pulled back again, looking jumpy. She began to regret throwing on an old Manchester United t-shirt that once belonged to Mickey. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to wear for seducing half-human aliens.
“Rose.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with nerves. She thought it was rather cute. “Is it a good idea to rush into this? Things are so new-”
“Not that new,” Rose said.
“I’m new,” he said and it was like being dumped with cold water. Right. She couldn’t exactly forget that if he was going to keep reminding her of it. “I mean,” he said, catching the look on her face. “This should take some getting used to. It shouldn’t be easy.”
“Why not?” Rose said. “We haven’t seen each other in years, and it’s been two mad days of fighting Daleks and barely surviving and ending up stranded without the TARDIS. Seems like a good time to me.”
“I just…” he began, “I don’t want you thinking that I… that I’m not…”
“I love you,” she said, putting as much feeling into the words as she could muster.
His eyes lit up, the expression making him look more relaxed, younger. “Yeah?”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I jumped across parallel worlds looking for you because I was hoping for a quick shag.”
The Doctor grinned and kissed her, still smiling against her mouth. She leaned into him, arms winding around his neck.
"So," she said, "we'll talk later, then?"
He pressed his forehead against hers, managed to mumble "Later sounds good" before kissing her again.
Chapter Three
Disclaimer: I don’t own Doctor Who.
Pairing/Characters: Ten II/Rose, Jackie, Tyler clan
Summary: The Doctor and Rose, post-Journey’s End. There it was, then. The Doctor hadn’t even been in this world a whole day and all ready Jackie had lost the attention of her eldest child. Typical.
Rating: PG13
Spoilers: Through 4x13.
Word Count: 3, 455
A/N: Big thanks to mrv3000 for the beta read.
( Chapter One)
****
Jackie had to concede that the Doctor had a point. Car travel was slow. And bumpy.
Pete had offered to send them a jet, but he couldn’t procure one quickly on such short notice and, anyway, it didn’t look so good nowadays, flying around in jets when there was Global Warming to consider.
Mostly, though, Jackie felt eager to get home and waiting for a jet to arrive was out of the question. She wanted to scoop her son up in a hug and kiss her husband again. She wasn’t built for Rose’s life. She’d watched a woman turn to dust in front of her-and all she could do was think ‘thank god, it wasn’t me, I have a son, and he needs me.’ Never mind that the woman had a family of her own, that she could have been a mother, just like Jackie.
Their driver had yellow teeth and a wide hat. He’d spent the first hour of the trip humming under his breath until Jackie snapped and told him to turn on the bloody radio. Now they were subjected to a steady drone of politicians trying to take credit for bringing the stars back.
“That was my daughter, you idiot,” she said to the radio as Georgia Smith, MP from West Ham claimed it was Labour’s new emissions plan that ended the Darkness. Jackie glanced behind her. The Doctor looked amused from where he had an arm draped over her daughter’s shoulders. For her part, Rose looked comfortably spooned into his chest, her fingers linked with his. They’d been doing that all trip-practically hanging off each other.
It didn’t look like they’d had any trouble sleeping. The pair of them were probably used to death and destruction by now. She couldn’t even blame the Doctor for it, not really. It wasn’t like Rose had been willing to sit at home and stay out of trouble these last few years.
“The Doctor helped,” Rose said. She titled her head back to stare adoringly into the Doctor’s eyes. “Just a bit.”
He stared adoringly back. “And Donna,” he said, after a pause. “All Donna, really.”
They smiled sadly at each other, and then returned to the stupid staring. There it was, then. The Doctor hadn’t even been in this world a whole day and all ready Jackie had lost the attention of her eldest child. Typical.
Jackie eyed him critically-he had the same untameable hair, same sideburns, same crinkles in his eyes when he smiled. He was still too skinny. She made a mental note-that man needed more meat and potatoes. And extra pudding.
He’s too dangerous to be left on his own, the Doctor had said. And Jackie had looked at this blue suited version of him - the man who looked like the Doctor and called himself the Doctor, but could be the closest thing to Frankenstein, for all Jackie knew. He could be the product of some freak alien accident, an evil clone gone wrong-and left with her daughter.
But even Jackie had to admit that the Doctor always did what he could to keep Rose safe, and she couldn’t quite believe that he’d leave her with someone he thought was truly dangerous. No, that wasn’t the man Jackie knew, and certainly not the man who cared for her daughter. When it came down to it, the Doctor made a choice, and Jackie wanted to hug him for it. She wanted to slap him for it, too, for up and leaving Rose like that. But he’d left Rose with her family, and Jackie would always be thankful for that.
She chanced another glance in the backseat.
Now they were kissing. Rose had one hand behind his head, and his fingers brushed her cheek, thumb rubbing against her temple. Jackie opened her mouth-“Oi, you two,” hovering on the tip of her tongue-and then couldn’t quite bring herself to ruin the moment. Instead she watched silently, aching and joyful for Rose in the same heartbeat.
Her thoughts strayed to Pete-better because he was alive, worse because he wasn’t hers-and how he still began sentences with “Do you remember when we…?” before stopping with a pained look in his eyes when he remembered his Jackie-his real wife-was dead.
She hoped Rose never made this Doctor feel like that. And I’m him, the Doctor had said, but that wasn’t quite true, was it? That Doctor turned around and left Jackie’s daughter on a beach, and this Doctor took her hand and stayed. He stayed.
The same. But not. Like her and Pete-but at least this Doctor had all the same memories of his time with Rose. That was the one thing she could never give Pete even if she resembled the Jackie he’d lost. She and Pete were happy, though, even with all the changes and the years between them. That was the important thing.
They stopped kissing, but didn’t break apart. Rose shifted forward, curling into him. His head came down to press against her cheek. He whispered something in her ear; Rose smiled and turned her head to kiss his cheek before settling against him. Rose sighed softly, contentedly, and then shut her eyes, soft smile on her face.
Jackie swallowed and fastened her eyes back on the road. She couldn’t quite bring herself to ruin this moment for them, this quiet reunion they were finally allowing themselves to have.
She turned her attention back to the radio, twisting the knob while static blared out of the speakers. The driver sent her a dirty look, but she didn’t give two twats about what he thought-anything was better than listening to another word about the Darkness.
*****
“Can you believe that?” Jackie asked as their car pulled away from the curve. “The nerve of that man, taking advantage of our situation-"
“He did drive us all the way to London, Mum,” Rose said, leaning into the Doctor and using his arm to hide her yawn. The Doctor had one arm around her waist and they both shuffled forward, looking exhausted.
“Jackie, you are rich,” the Doctor pointed out.
“Oh, don’t say that,” Rose said, patting the Doctor on the arm. He mouthed ‘what?’ at her. “She spent a long time on the Powell Estates. We both did. You’re sort of… trained to think everyone’s trying to take advantage of you.”
“But…”
“Are you two coming or not?” Jackie said, beginning to plod her way down the driveway. The Doctor and Rose followed behind her.
Up ahead, the door to their house swung open and Pete stepped out, hand coming up to shield his eyes from the setting sun. She couldn’t help but break out into a grin when she saw him.
He ran down the steps as she started up the driveway. They met each other halfway. Jackie practically jumped into his arms and Pete stumbled backwards a few feet, letting out an “oomf” of surprise before he took her face between both his hands and gave her a stern look.
“I told you not to go, Jacks. You didn’t even leave a note, I had to find out from the maid. I’ve been half out of my mind with worry, haven’t slept in days-”
“Missed me, then, did you?” Jackie said.
“You’ve always been stubborn,” Pete admitted and then leaned in to kiss her.
They were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. It was the Doctor. Rose smiled wistfully, like the sight of her parents together was still a novelty.
“Yes, hello!” said the Doctor, giving a little wave. “We’re still here. Nice place. I don’t remember the gardens. Were they here last time?”
“Yup,” said Rose.
“Ah,” said the Doctor after a pause. “Was just a touch distracted at the time. Cybermen and all that. Anyway, lead on! Pete, Pete Tyler, nice to see you. How’ve you been?”
“Doctor,” said Pete, as they walked the rest of the way to the house. “Have to admit I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Yeah, it’s a… long story,” the Doctor said.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t glad.” They reached the door and Pete held it open, ushering them all inside. He gave a sad smile as it shut behind them. “I wasn’t expecting to ever see Rose again, truth be told.”
Rose abruptly let go of the Doctor’s hand, beginning to look uncomfortable. “Yeah, the thing is…”
“It all worked out for the best,” Jackie said, sensing that the last thing the Doctor and Rose wanted was to get into the particulars of their new relationship.
Rose nodded “It’s good to be home. I’m just gonna…” she gestured in front of her, “I’m going to… go.”
“Go?” said the Doctor, looking like he was trying to keep from sounding terrified and not doing a very good job.
“Shower,” Rose said, “just… the shower.”
“Oh,” said the Doctor. “Right.”
They gazed at each other and then Rose hurried away, the Doctor staring longingly after her. He looked so forlorn that Jackie almost leaned over to pat him on the shoulder and tell him Rose would come back very soon if he just counted backwards from one-hundred and maybe did some finger-painting.
“Okay, what did I miss?” said Pete.
“The Doctor’s human now,” Jackie said.
“Half-human,” said the Doctor. “I'm still half-Time Lord.”
“And there’s two of them,” Jackie finished. “The other one is gone.”
Pete blinked, but only said, “Right.”
Jackie turned to the Doctor. “Rose isn’t the only one who should shower.” She eyed him critically. The blue suit was beginning to look more than a little rumpled on him. They were going to have to buy him some replacement clothing. And quickly. Suppose he’ll want all suits, too, Jackie thought with a frown.
“There’s a guest-bath just down the hall,” Pete said. “And Rose’s bedroom is on the third floor, very last door on the left.”
The Doctor nodded and then, as if realizing what he was doing, whipped his head around to stare at Jackie in panic.
“Oh, honestly,” Jackie said, “you’re both adults. God only knows what the pair of you were getting up to in that box of yours all those years.”
“Actually-” the Doctor began, but he stopped and shook his head, seeming to think better of following that line of thought. He glanced at the stairs with a troubled expression. “She never moved out? Four, five years and she’s been here, all this time? That doesn’t sound like Rose.”
“And you’d know, would you?” Jackie said. The Doctor blinked at her in confusion and she couldn’t stop herself from continuing, “It’s been years since she last saw you. You’re the one with the great big spaceship. Why did Rose have to be the one finding her way back?”
The Doctor opened his mouth, but nothing came out and he stood there, hands shoved into his pockets, looking downright miserable.
“Jacks,” Pete said quietly. And then, “She didn’t want to move out. I suppose she thought that would be too permanent, that she’d lost you for good.”
“I know the feeling,” the Doctor said. He drew in a breath and visibly pulled himself together, even forcing a smile. “It’s been ages since I’ve stayed in a real house. It’s not half-bad, I suppose. D’you have an attic?”
“Yes,” Pete said. “Why?”
“I like a good attic,” the Doctor said. He sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than them, but he disappeared down the hall towards the guest-bath.
“I better check on Tony," Jackie said after he was gone. "I don’t know what I was thinking leaving the pair of you alone.”
Pete watched her with a fond half-smile. “It’s good to have you home, Jackie. It’s been… a difficult few days.”
Jackie thought about Daleks on London streets, reality bombs, and warp stars set to destroy all their lives in the hopes it might save the universe. She shivered. “It’s over now.”
There was a crash from down the hall and then the Doctor popped his head out. “Found the towels!” he yelled. “Although… you might want to replace the brown vase. Hope it wasn’t a family heirloom.”
“The brown vase?” Pete said worriedly. “The one that belonged to my mother?”
“I reckon I can piece it back together in no time,” called the Doctor. “It just needs setting 19E on the sonic screwdriver. And maybe some glue.”
“No, that’s fine,” Pete said. “You just… stand there. And don’t touch anything.”
Never before had Jackie been so glad for the Doctor’s ability to distract and annoy people.
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full,” she said, making an effort to sound sympathetic. She patted Pete on the shoulder. “I’m going to go check on Tony. You’ll make me a cup of tea, won’t you? That’s a dear.”
********
Rose didn’t cry until she was in the shower, the pounding of the water masking her sobs. She was just… having a… a delayed reaction, she told herself, leaning one shoulder against the tile to catch her breath. That’s all. It’d been a long few days-Daleks and being back in the TARDIS and the Doctor leaving and-
She sucked in a loud gasp of air, leaning more heavily against the wall. This-it felt so wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be here. All that time, building the dimensional cannon, fighting her way back to the Doctor-she always figured it would end with them both back in the TARDIS.
Thing was, this Doctor was so undeniably him. And it was so easy to fall back into their old rhythm, like nothing had changed. If only she could forget there was another version of the Doctor out there. One who hadn’t just turned his back and… and…
She pressed her palm to her eyes to keep the tears at bay. The Doctor had said-he couldn’t say goodbye, it would have hurt too much. She was just going to have to be content that they’d been allowed one last hug, one last chance to see each other again. Besides, that Doctor had Donna with him. This one didn’t have anyone. He didn’t even have the TARDIS-just her.
Finally, throat dry, limbs shaking, she shut off the water. She pulled on a pair of pyjama pants and a t-shirt and swept her hair back into a ponytail before going to look for him.
She found the Doctor in her bedroom. Surprised, she froze in the doorway, watching him. He was rifling through her things, hair still damp from what must have been his own shower. He picked up the photos lining her dresser-Mum, Dad, Mickey, Tony, Jake-thumb brushing across the corners before he set them back down. Then he moved to her bookshelf and picked up the top book-Introduction to Physics-smiled, and then moved on. On her desk, he found a stack of memos from Torchwood, yellow sticky notes dotting the papers. He slipped his hand in his pocket, searching for something, before removing it empty-handed. Frowning, he leaned forward, squinting at the pages. He made a “hmm” noise and then nodded to himself.
Oh, Rose realized. His glasses. Of course. They’d have to get him a new pair.
Rose cleared her throat. The Doctor jumped and spun around, a Torchwood memo still clutched in his hand.
She said the first thing that popped into her mind. “We’ll have to go shopping.” She almost added that the blue suit looked plain weird on him, not at all like she remembered. Not bad, exactly, just… not him.
The Doctor looked blank and then perked up. “Right, no glasses,” he said. “Well… not much of anything, I suppose. I did stash a few things in my pockets. Including…” He dug around in his pocket again and pulled out a familiar blue object, twirling it around in his hand before saying, “Our very own sonic screwdriver. Can’t make teleport pods without them, you know.”
He grinned proudly at her and she felt her stomach flutter.
“You never said-” He pointed to the memos on her desk, breaking the moment. “How long have you been working on the dimensional cannon?”
Rose shrugged. “Sort of what kept me sane at first-I reckon Dad was just happy I was doing something other than crying my eyes out. Never got much support for it, though. Not until the Darkness started.”
The Doctor nodded. “You have your own team? Department?”
“Um…” Rose played with her earrings, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Not exactly.” The Doctor stared at her and she blew out a breath. “I tried to work my way up the ranks at first, yeah? Didn’t want to be given special treatment for being Pete Tyler’s daughter, but… the thing is, apparently I don’t take orders very well.”
She tried very hard not to look at him, but she could hear the amusement in his voice, “What? You?”
“I almost got sacked on my first day. One of our superior officers told me that the cannon was out of the question.” Rose shrugged. “So I dumped my lunch tray on his head.”
The Doctor sniggered. “Of course you did.”
Rose took a breath, feeling more confident now. “So Dad put me in charge of my own department-Unknown Alien Lifeforms and Artifacts. I kept working on the cannon, though-just did the other stuff as well. Getting funding was tough, but… things are getting better. After the stars started going out, I got my own office and everything.”
She chanced a glance at him. His smile was soft and full of pride. She felt her stomach do that fluttering thing again.
“Sounds dangerous,” he said, after a pause.
“Can be, yeah.”
He frowned, looking caught between wanting to probe her for more information and lecturing her on being careful. She considered reminding him that ‘Unknown Lifeforms’ was practically his area of expertise and, anyway, it was all because of Torchwood that she got back to him in the first place. But she didn’t think he was quite ready to listen to that yet.
Instead, she closed the distance between them and reached for the Torchwood memo he was still holding. She placed it back on the desk and then tilted her head up to meet his eyes.
“You’ll stay here tonight? With me?”
He gave a nervous swallow and then a bob of his head.
“Good,” she said, “that’s… good.” Then she leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back tentatively, arms sliding around her waist before he pulled back.
Eyes closed, breathing hard, he said, “Rose, we should talk.”
“You? Want to ‘talk?’ This really is a parallel world.”
He gave a strained smile. “Must be the Donna in me.”
“Must be,” Rose agreed. She kissed the corner of his mouth. “We’ve got our whole lives to talk.”
She sensed his body relaxing, leaning into hers. His mouth found hers again and his hands smoothed down her back. Rose reached for the buttons on his jacket, but he pulled back again, looking jumpy. She began to regret throwing on an old Manchester United t-shirt that once belonged to Mickey. Maybe it wasn’t the best thing to wear for seducing half-human aliens.
“Rose.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down with nerves. She thought it was rather cute. “Is it a good idea to rush into this? Things are so new-”
“Not that new,” Rose said.
“I’m new,” he said and it was like being dumped with cold water. Right. She couldn’t exactly forget that if he was going to keep reminding her of it. “I mean,” he said, catching the look on her face. “This should take some getting used to. It shouldn’t be easy.”
“Why not?” Rose said. “We haven’t seen each other in years, and it’s been two mad days of fighting Daleks and barely surviving and ending up stranded without the TARDIS. Seems like a good time to me.”
“I just…” he began, “I don’t want you thinking that I… that I’m not…”
“I love you,” she said, putting as much feeling into the words as she could muster.
His eyes lit up, the expression making him look more relaxed, younger. “Yeah?”
Rose rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I jumped across parallel worlds looking for you because I was hoping for a quick shag.”
The Doctor grinned and kissed her, still smiling against her mouth. She leaned into him, arms winding around his neck.
"So," she said, "we'll talk later, then?"
He pressed his forehead against hers, managed to mumble "Later sounds good" before kissing her again.
Chapter Three