Rose Tyler groaned. It was an unusually slow day at Torchwood and so Pete had told her she could stay home and work on her side project, the dimension cannon. The frustrating part was she was so close to drafting a working prototype she could feel it...she just couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong.
A tiny little knock sounded on her door, and she smiled. There was only one person that could knock that quietly and it was her little brother, Tony.
"Yeah, Tony?" she called.
The door was pushed open a crack.
"Can I come in?" he asked shyly. "Mummy said you were busy."
Rose sighed. "I am, but you know I always have time for my favorite man."
Tony beamed at that and pushed the door open further. He clambered over to his sister and into her lap. He reached up for her hand, making her heart melt.
"What can I do for you, my love?" she asked.
The toddler scrunched his nose up at the term of endearment. "I builded somethin' I want to show you, Rosie."
She grinned. "Well, what are we layin' about for? Let's go see it then!"
Tony pulled on her hand eagerly and led her down the hall. When they reached the play room, he pointed eagerly to a crudely built area in the center.
Rose waited patiently for an explanation of his newest Lego creation.
"I made the TARDIS, and you, and me, and the Doctor, and mummy, and daddy, and the aliens we're gonna see!" he exclaimed proudly, waiting for pride in Roses face.
Her heart clenched a bit as it always did when it had to with the Doctor. "It's lovely, Tony," she said honestly.
His face fell. "I've made Rosie sad."
"No!" she tried to cover up quickly.
Just then, the doorbell rang downstairs.
Rose sighed, scooping Tony up and placing him on her hip to go answer the door.
"Coming!" she shouted, running down the stairs. She opened the door and said "What-" but that was as far as she got.
A face Rose had thought was lost forever greeted her.
"Rose," he said reverently. Then he took one look at Tony and fainted.
Rose immediately put Tony down on the floor, and placed a hand on his forehead.
"Who's that, Rosie?" Tony asked. "How does he know you? An' why's he done that?"
"I'll explain later, Tony, go get mummy, please!" she exclaimed, turning away from the face she thought she'd never see again to stress to the toddler how it important it was that he hurry.
Tony took off at a run, shouting, "Mummy! There's a man on the doo'step that know Rosie, and she needs you!"
Rose turned her attention back to the 'daft, old face' as this regeneration used to call it, and frowned at the sight before her. She had seen the Doctor change right in front of her, so how could he be here? In this universe to boot?
It was then she heard a large huff coming up the front path, and months of Torchwood training as well of years with the Doctor prepared her to always be on guard. She grabbed the sonic screwdriver where she remembered this Doctor had always left it, and sprang to her feet. She pointed it at the coming invasion, only to find herself further confused.
Jack Harkness, the man she had believed dead, was running towards her, squareness gun pointed right at her face. She dropped the screwdriver first in disbelief.
"Jack?" she asked. "How can you both be here?"
Jack seemed to realize she was there for the first time. "Rosie!" he exclaimed, throwing himself arms first into her body. He scooped her into one of his sweeping hugs, planting a kiss firmly on the top of her head. "The Doctor said he was tracking you here, but how?"
"I think we're both confused here," Rose said, "and the only man that can help us is indisposed, typical." She rolled her eyes and smiled her tongue touched grin in spite of the worry she was feeling.
Jack matched her grin, before frowning at the still form of the Doctor on the ground. "What happened?" he asked, dropping to his knees to check for a pulse.
She laughed, remembering why the silly alien had fainted. "He saw my little brother Tony on my hip, you know him, musta thought he was mine."
Jack laughed heartily at the thought of that, and reached down to pick the Doctor up into his arms. That was the moment Jackie Tyler decided to come running to the rescue, a curious Tony at her hip.
"Rose!" she exclaimed. "Is it himself?" She paused, seeming to take in Jack's form. "Well," she purred, "they certainly get handsomer each time they regenerate, don't they?"
"Mum!" Rose yelled, horrified. "This isn't the Doctor! If you'll take notice to the lump in Jack's arms, he's the Doctor." She pointed at the unmoving form of the previous regeneration, big ears and all. She couldn't help it, she grinned at that. She had missed that face, whether she had admitted it or not.
"Well, who's the one carryin' 'im then?" her mother demanded.
"Mum," Rose said, "meet Captain Jack Harkness. I'm sure Mickey told you stories about him when we came to Cardiff."
"Oh," Jackie said in recognition. "This is Captain Cheesecake."
Jack nodded. "M'um." He placed the Doctor gently upon the couch Rose pointed to and stuck out a hand for Rose's mother. "Captain Jack Harkness, at your service. I can see where Rosie gets her good looks from." He added his usual innuendo with a wink.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Jack, please. Not while he's fainted."
"Just splash some cold water, and tell him he's still got a shot," Jack offered with a shrug.
"She's married now Jack, for heaven's sake, with another small child to boot."
Jack sighed. "It seems I'll never find out how the Tyler women are in bed."
Rose laughed as her mom turned red. "Not for lack of tryin' though, eh Jack?"
Jack scowled. "I'll go get some water. Where's your kitchen?" he asked.
"Down the hall, three doors to the left, sweetheart!" Jackie called.
With a salute, he was off.
Rose sighed, flopping down to absentmindedly stroke the shorn head of the Doctor.
"Mummy, who is he?" Tony demanded.
"That's the Doctor," Jackie said.
"But he don't look the same," he accused.
"Remember I told you he changed, Tony?" Rose asked. "This is what he looked like when I first met him."
"Oh!" Tony said brightly. "He's the big eared one?" He frowned at that. "I like the way the other one looks better."
Rose looked appalled, but Jackie snickered. "Me too, Tony. Me and big hair got along better, too."
"Oi!" Rose said. "If you two are quite done? I'd like to figure out why these two are here in the first place." She dropped her voice so Jack and Tony couldn't hear. "You know I told you Jack died, mum, back on the Game Station. The Doctor regenerated, you saw it! I don't know how this happened!" she finished exasperatedly, putting her head in her hands.
Tony toddled down from his mother and into his sister's lap to hold her hand. "This is good, right?" he asked.
Rose nodded. "The best," she assured, with a smile.
Jack came back with a cup of water, and promptly dumped it onto the nine hundred plus year old Time Lord.
The Doctor awoke, spluttering, wiping the water from his face and looking about wildly. "What happened?" he demanded. "Where's Rose?"
"M right here, Doctor," she assured from her position at the head of his body.
His eyes widened at the sight of Tony again, and he gulped. "Is that-"
"My little brother, you daft Time Lord," Rose said, rolling her eyes. "Isn't that right, Tony T?"
He nodded enthusiastically, and sprang into the lap of the Doctor who looked very uncomfortable. "I'm Tony!" he introduced himself, holding out a hand for him to shake.
The Doctor took it skeptically, and was surprised the little boy pumped it up and down with more force than he should have. "I'm Rosie's little brother, an' she's told me lots an' lots about the Doctor."
"Oh yeah?" he asked, looking over at Rose with an eyebrow raised. "What sorts of things?"
"That you're an alien, an' you have a spaceship that goes through time an' space, an' it used to be and Jack over there travelin' together, even though she missed just travelin' alone sometimes, but she loved Jack still, an' that she lo-"
Rose sprang to her feet, clamping a hand over Tony's mouth. "That's enough, Tony, thanks!"
Jack smirked amusedly. "Little tyke is very, very smart. Just like his older sister," he said, winking at Rose and making her blush.
"Doctor," Rose said, not looking at anyone else. "D'you mind tellin' me what you're doin' here?"
"That's what I was hopin' you could tell me, Rose," the Doctor said. "Who should go first?"