**Sorry for the long wait! Now that I’m near my laptop again, I’ll be able to actually get some work done. The writing’s complete, but now it’s time for me to sit down and actually type it all up. Hope you enjoy the next few chapters – I know I’m having fun writing them!**
412Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8RSBqZrG92
After the initial shock, Jackie embraced Rose’s idea of her and the Doctor staying with her for the next few days or so.
“Of course you can stay here, sweetheart! And the Doctor, too, if he’s up to it,” she told them enthusiastically, and she wasn’t being sarcastic. It was lonely being the only occupant of their tiny flat, and Rose’s week-long events were rare and often cut short by some alien invasion of one type or another, especially if the Doctor was with her. That man seemed to bring trouble with him wherever he went, Jackie mused, and this new event was no exception. She continued, “Your bed’s all ready for you whenever you need it. Hasn’t been used since you went off adventuring.” Jackie flicked her eyes to the Doctor who was sitting on the other side of Rose on the couch. “Sorry, Doctor, but you’ll have to sleep out here.”
The Doctor waved his hand nonchalantly in the air. “Fine, but I don’t need much sleep. Superior biology, me.” But the Doctor’s reply lacked its usual, upbeat tone. Jackie had wondered about him all through their conversation, as he had sat in an uncharacteristic silence while Rose had explained their problematic situation.
Her daughter now sent the Time Lord a worried look, and Jackie’s concern heightened. Had something happened between them on a distant planet? That wasn’t uncommon. Often the Doctor and Rose would return to the Powell Estate just to enjoy the comforts of home, as a break from all the bad they’d seen. Rarely did they tell her all the details, but then again, Jackie never wanted to know them anyway. Only the most terrible creatures imaginable could be able to faze the Doctor.
Or was there more to the TARDIS’ disappearances? The way they were glancing at each other made Jackie wonder if this had happened before.
They sat in a tense silence, Jackie picking at a loose strand coming from her red sweat jacket, and Rose and the Doctor lost in their own little thought bubble that contained no one else but them. Then Jackie remembered something that made her groan inwardly. “Oh, I’m daft. I forgot to mention. Howard’s coming over tonight.”
The Doctor smiled at her and seemed to shake himself out of his stupor. “Wonderful! The more the merrier!” Then he glanced at Rose and saw the incredulous look she was giving her mum. “Is there a problem?”
“The problem is Howard the plumber,” Rose practically growled. She and her mum got up from their chairs almost at the same time, and quickly walked into the kitchen. Both knew each other well enough to know when a fight might be coming on, and it was always polite to move such a domestic thing away from guests. Plus, both women had a strong feeling that if they had this conversation where the Doctor could hear, he would try to butt in. “Helping”, as he called it, though it usually turned out to be anything but.
As Rose faced her mother in the flat’s square kitchen, she tried to sort out the thoughts rattling through her head. For some reason, she was stunned by her mum’s announcement, and all that such a statement implied. Why was she so stunned? She’d been aware of her mother’s placement in the dating circle ever since her dad died. Subtle hints alerted her at first, like being allowed to stay late at a friend’s house on random nights, or smelling strange things coming out of Jackie’s bedroom. When she was old enough to get the full answer from her mum, it had horrified her at first. Rose remembered getting so angry they both were spewing insults at each other, until one of them had broken down in tears. She forgot who dissolved first, or maybe they’d done it at the same time.
And Rose could hardly blame her for wanting company. She couldn’t imagine being alone in this tiny flat, for days on end, wondering whether the last remaining family member was safe, and when they would return. Hoping that they would return eventually. And it was far too cramped in these walls. If Rose could feel the tempting urge to run off and explore the universe after a few hours, how must her mum feel? Maybe she was just stunned by the bluntness of it all. Traveling around time and space must have made her forget about the little things that had been happening right under her nose.
She forced herself to get back to the matter at hand. “Mum, why tonight?”
“Well, it’s not like I knew you were coming, did I? No phone calls, nothing from either one of you until you come waltzin’ in here this morning. I’m allowed to make my own plans you know.”
Rose flinched guiltily at the stab at her lack of phone calls. She tried to dial her mum weekly, she really did, but she knew that excuse wouldn’t cut it. She opened her mouth to say something, but Jackie kept talking without pause. “And I’m not canceling it. He’s a nice bloke, but he’s busy with plumber contacts most of the time, so this was the only day he could make it. This afternoon, while you two were gallivanting in Hyde Park, I confirmed the date. I figured you two love birds would be long gone.”
“‘Love birds’?” Rose repeated, but Jackie had already turned her attention away from Rose and onto a large chicken breast that sat on the counter. She opened her mouth to tell her mum to be careful, but Rose couldn’t find any reason to. She remembered Howard from when he used to fix their toilets on occasion, and although his face didn’t come to mind, she knew he was a nice bloke and not particularly strong. If something should happen, Rose was confident her mum could take care of herself. She rubbed her temple and sighed in resignation. “Alright, mum, we’ll leave you two be. But what do you suggest I do with the Doctor all night? He’s not exactly one for being bored.”
As if in answer, the two women jumped at the sound of something shattering in the adjacent room. A muffled curse and a “Sorry!” rang through the flat.
Jackie raised her eyebrow in the Doctor’s direction. “Well, you’re right about that.” Rose giggled, and Jackie smiled in sympathy despite herself. Her daughter certainly had a lot on her hands at the moment. “There’s a fair going on down the street. Why don’t you two go and bring back a giant teddy bear or something.”
Rose laughed out loud at the image of the Doctor holding a mega-sized stuffed bear aloft, a triumphant grin plastered on his face. She patted her mum’s arm in gratitude, and then stepped into the living room to assess the damage.
She was mildly relieved that it was only the shattered remains of a picture frame’s glass on the floor and not the tele. The Doctor glanced up from where he was kneeling by the mess and licked his lips nervously. Being the bumbling Time Lord that he was, he knew that he had exactly five seconds to explain why there was a pile of broken glass on the floor. He quickly stood up, the picture frame’s photograph still clutched in his hand, and stuttered out, “Sorry, sorry! I was just looking at the, um, photographs, but then one of them fell and, ah…I’m sorry about the mess. Lovely picture of you by the way…”
“Don’t worry about it. Mum needs new fames, anyway,” Rose said, laughing at the Doctor’s comical expression of apology. She loved it when he was nervous. Well, loved him no matter what mood he was in. Whether he was beaming and jumping around like a puppy or tugging at his ear in embarrassment, Rose couldn’t deny that she had fallen in love with this time-traveling alien. This was not a new sensation, as she seemed to recall her feelings for a certain man in leather, but only recently had Rose noticed how the Doctor’s little quirks made him look, well, sexy.
But her grin faded and a blush crept to her cheeks when she saw which photo the Doctor was holding. It was her as a little girl, barely ten, holding an empty mason jar above her head like a trophy. She was grateful the Doctor didn’t know the back story behind this picture, and how at the time, she had thought she had finally caught herself a fairy.
The Doctor noticed her blush and assumed that it was due to his obvious prying. He swallowed heavily, kicking himself for making her feel embarrassed in any way. Maybe a compliment would help? “You look…cute,” he tried.
‘Cute’? Rose looked at the photograph again and tried to see what a 900-year-old Time Lord might consider to be ‘cute’. But it was difficult for her to see past her younger self’s dirty knees and frayed skirt.
“Thanks,” Rose finally replied. She set the picture on the coffee table and cleared her throat. Time for the question. “So, Jackie and Howard are gonna want the night with each other…”
She waited and watched as the Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets. No explosions yet, Rose noted, that must be a good sign.
“But mum says there’s a fair down the road.” Rose shrugged, and was sorely tempted by the Doctor’s pose to stick her hands into her own pockets. It seemed to work well enough for him. Ugh, since when had asking the Doctor to go somewhere with her been so difficult? Maybe it was all the domestics they might have to wade through if they went somewhere as normal as a fair. “Wanna check it out?”
The Doctor grinned from ear to ear, and Rose couldn’t help but mirror his smile. If he was still upset by his absent TARDIS, he was doing a better job of hiding it. “Brilliant!” he said, “And we’re leaving…?”
“Now, if you like. Preferably five minutes ago,” Jackie answered as she appeared in the entrance to the kitchen. She made shooing motions towards the door. “Well, go on, you two. Go have fun and let me get the dinner on. And don’t you even think of coming back till midnight, or later. There’ll be no meal waiting for you here, so you’ll have to think of something.”
“Oh, I’m sure we can manage,” the Doctor retorted, giving Rose a wink.
Rose rolled her eyes, but couldn’t contain the blush that spread to her cheeks. She turned back to Jackie. “You’re sure you’ll be alright, mum? Need help with the chicken?”
“Listen to you. Used to be that you’d be out the door the second I gave you permission.” Jackie shook her head and practically shoved them into the hallway. “Rose, I’ll call you’re mobile as soon as Howard leaves. Now go have fun!”
Just before the pair stepped out of the flat, Jackie yelled after them, “But if there’s an alien invasion, don’t count on me to save you!”
Rose laughed and tried to imagine that the Doctor’s chuckle was genuine, not mixed with that flash of pain in his eyes. Then his face cleared and he was off like a race horse: “Love a good fair! Even met the man responsible for inventing them. Well, maybe he didn’t so much invent them as put them together. Following someone else’s instructions, I might add…”
Jackie rolled her eyes as the flat door clicked shut and the Doctor’s ramble faded until there was nothing left but blissful silence. She turned back to the kitchen and rolled up her jacket sleeves. “Alright, chicken,” she muttered, “let’s see what you’ve got.”
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