Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC. I do not own any of it, nor do I get paid for it.
A/N Welcome to a brand new story in the 'Celestial Love' verse. As always, it will contain 13 adventures with approx. 4 chapters per adventure. The first one is called 'Home' and picks up immediately after the last chapter of 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'.
Happy Reading!
Home: The Powell Estate
The TARDIS materialised slowly in the alleyway between Kerry's market and the chippy. The residents of Powell Estate paid it no mind as they went about their business, hoping to get their shopping done before nightfall. An air of tension hung around the usually mundane surroundings, though not palpable enough to dim the continuous chatter and cacophony of voices.
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor waited patiently for Rose, who had rushed to her room when he had been piloting them to the Powell Estate. The Doctor had successfully brought them to only two months after their last visit but it had been close to two years for the Doctor and Rose.
Rather aware that her mum would realise that it had been far longer than two months for Rose, she had decided to try and make herself appear as young as possible to soften the blow. The Doctor didn't deign to tell her that Jackie was bound to pick up on it, regardless of what Rose did.
To her credit, Rose did her best to appear younger. She had dug out her baggy jeans and bright pink t-shirt and hoodie from the back of the wardrobe, and tied her hair into two braids. Even her makeup was a bit on the heavy side. The Doctor raised his eyebrows when she emerged into the console room, but didn't say anything until she paused at the doors.
"Something wrong?" he inquired, slightly concerned.
She shrugged a little. "Just nervous, I guess," she said. "Are you sure it has been two months?"
"Two months to the day that we were here with Rory," said the Doctor, giving the scanner a quick glance. "Rose?" he asked again, when she made no move to leave the TARDIS and chewed nervously on her lips.
"I'm being silly, aren't I?" she asked embarrassed, loosening her braids and combing her fingers through her hair.
The Doctor's eyes softened as he walked up to her. "Jackie is your mother, and I am certain she will understand."
"I know she will," said Rose, tossing off the hoodie and picking up her leather jacket. "I'm just not sure how I will even start to explain for her to understand."
"I have complete faith in you, Rose," said the Doctor, cupping her face and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You'll know the right thing to say."
Heartened, Rose nodded with a soft smile. "'Kay," she said. "You comin'?"
"Do you want me to?" he asked cautiously, rather aware that she might not want him there until she'd had a chance to catch up with her mother.
"Yeah," she said after a brief moment of hesitation. The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
They opened the doors and emerged out into the cooling late afternoon in London. The Doctor kept his eyes trained on Rose, smiling a little when the familiar surroundings seemed to calm her down.
The walk towards Bucknall House was quiet, with Rose too busy soaking up the familiar surroundings of the Estate and the Doctor's attention being completely focused on Rose. They climbed up the stairs quickly, and Rose had to marvel at the fact that the usual breathlessness she experienced while climbing these familiar stairs was suspiciously lacking. Running around and saving the universes had done her stamina a huge favour. Well, thought Rose, with a sideways glance at the Doctor. Not just the running.
The door to number 48 was slightly ajar and Rose could hear the telly rattling off some show that had been running longer than Rose had been alive. Rose braced herself with a deep breath and pushed the door open.
"Rose Marion Tyler, where the bleedin' hell have you been?"
"Mum, I can explain."
Jocelyn Miller pulled her threadbare coat closer to her body and tried not to shiver violently at the cold afternoon air. She kept her gaze down, as her mum had told her over and over again, and did not look up even when she realised that she was being followed. She increased her pace then, seeing the cross street only a few yards away.
Mrs. Davis' bakery was right on the corner of the cross street and she knew Jocelyn and her mum well. If she went in there and told her that someone was following her, Jocelyn knew that Mrs. Davis would keep her safe until her mum came for her. Gaining some of her courage back, Jocelyn walked as fast as her eleven year old's legs could carry her.
The afternoon seemed to get colder and even as Jocelyn felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead, she shivered violently. She was almost there now, and could smell the buns that Mrs. Davis sold off right before she closed up shop. Throwing caution to the wind, Jocelyn broke into a dead sprint.
Behind her, she heard her pursuer's steps grow fainter and fainter and she slowed down a little. Maybe nobody had been following her and she was just overreacting. It was all too possible considering how much her mum had put the fear of kidnappers into Jocelyn's mind. Four estate kids missing, her mum had said. Gone for a day and then back home as if nothing had ever happened.
But Jocelyn knew that it wasn't completely true. Carrie Taylor had been Jocelyn's classmate and she hadn't been quite the same since she had disappeared and reappeared after a day. She had left the band, and stopped coming to the hiding spot behind the shed where Jocelyn and her friends went to find the half smoked cigarettes left by the older kids. She never spoke much to anybody, and her grades had suddenly gone up. It unnerved Jocelyn to even look at Carrie anymore.
The bakery was so close that Jocelyn could tell that the buns had been slathered with mango jam, not raspberry like always. Her mouth watered and she decided that she would buy one of them on her way home. Her earlier fear had all but melted away and she slowed her pace as she neared the bakery.
"You dropped your headband."
Jocelyn gasped and whirled around at Carrie's voice. She was standing right behind Jocelyn and holding up a bright pink headband.
"I-It's not mine," stammered Jocelyn, some remote part of her brain shuddering at the thought of the bright pink headband in her red hair.
"Oh," said Carrie, with no surprise whatsoever and lowered her hand. "Never mind then. Are you going home?"
Jocelyn nodded mutely, wondering what Carrie would do if she just started running. Something about the deadpan look in her eyes was scaring Jocelyn.
"Can I walk with you?" asked Carrie, still with the same look on her face. "My mum says I am not to walk alone anymore."
Jocelyn nodded again and Carrie fell into step beside her. The two girls walked in silence for a while, and Jocelyn started to relax again when Carrie grabbed her arm. "Did you hear that?" she asked.
"Wh-What?" asked Jocelyn, feeling her throat go dry.
"I heard something down that alley," said Carrie, pointing to their right. "Come on, let's go look."
Jocelyn shook her arm from her grip. "I'm not wandering down any alleys," she said firmly. "You shouldn't either."
"Oh come on, someone could need help. I think I see someone with our school uniform," said Carrie as she walked into the alley slowly.
Jocelyn considered running and leaving Carrie behind but she had seen the familiar blue and grey checkered pattern of skirt as well. Someone from their school was down that alley. Remembering the recent disappearances, Jocelyn realised that this person from their school might be getting abducted. She thought about going for help, but Carrie had already gone down the alley and Jocelyn huffed in frustration before running after her.
The alley was dimly lit and Jocelyn could only barely make out the girl at the end of the alley. She had red hair much like Jocelyn's, except it hung down straight instead of the neat braids that Jocelyn's mum had made in the morning. "Hello?" called Jocelyn, realising that she couldn't see Carrie. "Carrie?"
There was no answer and Jocelyn decided to move towards the girl instead, who had her back to Jocelyn. "Hello?" called Jocelyn. "Are you alright?"
The girl turned around slowly and Jocelyn only had a brief moment to realise that the girl was perfectly identical to Jocelyn herself, with the same deadpan look in her eyes as Carrie. Before she could scream, her world had gone dark.
"Rose Marion Tyler, where the bleedin' hell have you been?"
"Mum, I can explain."
Despite that quick response, Rose found herself quite unable to form words in the face of her mother's expectant look tinged with anger. She blushed deeply and tried to think of what to say when the Doctor took it upon himself to break the awkward air in the flat.
"How about some tea?" the Doctor asked with a cheerful smile.
Mother and daughter turned to him with identical looks of incredulity and the smile vanished from his face as he slunk off to the kitchen, presumably to make tea.
Jackie turned back to Rose. "Still as mad as ever, isn't he?" she said.
"Dunno, he might have got worse," said Rose with a small smile. It held for a moment before she ran to her mum and threw her arms around her. "I missed you," she sobbed, not even bothering to hide the tears flowing from her eyes.
Jackie held her tightly, feeling her own eyes watering. "I missed you too, sweetheart," she said. "How long were you gone? You look so much older than when I last saw you."
"It's been a while," confessed Rose, still hugging her tightly. "So much has happened, mum. I don't even know where to start."
Jackie pulled away from the hug and in a familiar gesture, wiped the tears from Rose's face with a hankie. "You start from the beginning, love," she said, leading Rose to the sofa. "Himself is making tea, and you and I are going to have a chat. Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."
Rose chuckled through her tears and nodded. "It's been two years since we were last here, I think," she said, looking at her mum with slightly scared eyes.
Jackie's eyes went wide. "Two bleedin' years?" she shrieked. "Doctor!"
"Mum, it isn't his fault," said Rose hastily as they heard the clinking of china suddenly go silent in the kitchen. "Lots of stuff happened, 'kay?"
"You keep saying that but I haven't heard what all this stuff was," said Jackie. "What was so important it took you two years to visit your own mother?"
"We were in another universe," said Rose.
Jackie narrowed her eyes. "Is that some fancy way of saying you and him were off doing god-knows-what in that blue box of his?" she asked.
"What?" asked Rose, appalled. "Mum, no. We were literally in another universe. Another Earth, just like this one. And we weren't just visiting either. We were trapped there."
Jackie stared at Rose as if expecting her to yell out 'Just kidding!' at any moment. When the silence continued to lengthen, she glared towards the kitchen. "Why did he go and get you trapped there then?" she asked loudly.
"Mum, it was my fault, not his," she said. "I have been infected...by this radiation."
Jackie's anger instantly morphed into concern. "What infection? Rose, are you…?"
"I'm fine," said Rose quickly. "Not dying or anything, I promise you. Not even sick. But it is not good for this universe if I stay here. The Doctor's people took us into the other universe to keep me in quarantine."
"His people? The fancy time travellin' folk then?" asked Jackie, still looking shaken.
Rose nodded. "They helped keep me safe and have given us a week here to visit," she said.
Jackie looked up in alarm. "You're not going back, are you?" she asked.
Rose's eyes softened. "Mum, I have to. I can't stay here. I'd be putting the whole universe at risk."
"I don't care," snapped Jackie. "I don't want you in another bleedin' universe where you can't even visit. Half the time I don't even know if you are alive or dead and now...no, you're staying right here, you are."
Rose sighed softly and took her mum's hand in comfort. "I am sorry, mum, I really am. You have no idea how much I missed you. Not getting to talk to you on the phone or visiting here was so hard. If I had my way, I would not go back to that universe either. But I can't do that."
"But you can, sweetheart," said Jackie, tears filling her eyes. "It's not safe for you to go away."
"It's not safe if I stay either," said Rose gently, sniffing lightly. "The universe will be destroyed if the Time Lords don't kill me first."
At Jackie's gasp, Rose realised her slip. "They're trying to kill you?" shrieked Jackie.
"Not really, mum," said Rose hastily, trying to placate her. "They just wanted to make sure that the universe was not destroyed. One person's life isn't such a huge deal in the grander scheme of things, I guess."
"Like hell it isn't," snapped Jackie. "You're my daughter and the most important thing in my universe and I'll be damned if I let a bunch of posh, time travel idiots take you away from me."
Rose chuckled. "That's more like it," she said.
Jackie did not smile, but her eyes softened. "You were away for two years?" she asked, as if she still couldn't believe it.
Rose smiled sadly and nodded. "Almost two, yeah. Wanna hear about it?" she asked.
"'Course I do," said Jackie at once, before raising her voice. "And you can stop hiding in the kitchen now."
The Doctor emerged from the kitchen bearing a sheepish smile and a tray of tea things. Jackie glared at him as he set the tray down and went about making the tea. "Don't think I'm not gonna have words with you," she said coolly, glaring daggers at the Doctor.
The Doctor nodded and handed her a cup of tea. "I would deserve every word, Jackie," he said sincerely.
Jackie looked between him and Rose for a few moments and huffed. "Fine then," she said. "You can start by telling me how long you've been shagging my daughter."
"Mum!" said Rose, shocked and embarrassed.
The Doctor didn't bat an eye at the question. "Nearly six months," he answered casually. "I could give you the precise…"
"Oh god," muttered Rose, dropping her head into her hands.
Jackie nodded curtly at the Doctor. "And?"
"And, I have asked Rose to bond with me which she has chosen to accept," he said.
"What's that then?" asked Jackie.
"It's a bit like getting engaged, mum," said Rose meekly.
Jackie's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're engaged?!"
Rose sighed and looked at the Doctor. "I think we are going to need something stronger than tea."
A/N End of Part 1. What did you think?
Part 2 will deal with the budding crisis as well as the Doctor and Rose explaining things to Jackie. Plenty of character interaction to come along. Part 2 will be up soon.
See you then!