Title: Mickey in the Middle
Author: Shen
Rating: PG-13
Setting: Start at the tail end of School Reunion.
Characters: Tenth Doctor, Rose Tyler, Mickey Smith
Teaser: After Sarah Jane leaves, the Doctor and Rose have a row. Are they split up for good? And what part does Mickey play in all of this? Sequel to the much happier Flirting and Peril. It's not terribly necessary that you read it, but as the author of course I'd like you to. :D
Author's Notes: To be frank, this is my way of rationalizing the emotional clusterf that was the middle of season 2, including Girl in the Fireplace, within my fic-verse. That said, I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1: The Split

Rose and Mickey were alone and silent in the control room. The Doctor had just walked out with Sarah Jane, leaving them in the wake of the obvious disdain Rose had shown moments before. Mickey had asked to travel with her and the Doctor, and she'd reacted...uncharitably. And even though she was still quite agitated at the prospect, she was beginning to feel bad about the way she had acted. Mickey was her best mate and more loyal than she had any right to expect.

Except, she now realized, he may have thought them more than "mates." They'd gone on a date or two at Christmas, when she and the Doctor had stayed an extra few days before departing for New Earth. They had parted with an "I love you." Rose had not returned the words, but she had kissed him goodbye. What was she doing? Stringing him along, letting him be a comfort after the Doctor's change of face, she supposed. The universal constant, Mickey being there for Rose. But then came Cassandra and realizations and a serious turn of flirtation. Followed by sex. Lots and lots of sex between her and the Doctor, something of which she had neglected to inform...anyone.

Oh, shit. What kind of daytime television, twilight zone nightmare had the Doctor gotten her into?

Fighting off a heart attack and forcibly slowing her breathing, Rose turned to a hurt-looking Mickey and said, "Let's set you up with a room. The TARDIS always has a spare." She smiled but did not reach out a hand, trusting that her ex- that her boyf- that Mickey would follow. To her relief, she heard his shoes on the grating behind her. In a manner strikingly similar to her lover of a few months, she began to ramble.

"It's hard to keep track of the days and the nights in here, and it may take some getting used to. I just kind of...go until I'm sleepy. The Doctor doesn't need much sleep, so it's pretty much up to us humans to regulate these things. And he will forget if you let him. What else... Never suggest that the ship is just a piece of technology and not sentient. It'll result in some cold showers for you, if you're lucky." As she spoke that part, Rose let her hand trail along the coral wall affectionately. "Don't worry about getting lost unless, again, you make the ship angry. Oh, we should let you pick up some things from home, shouldn't we? We'll get to it soon. Anyway, here's your room." The pair had walked into a room that was bare except for a double bed, a wardrobe, and a nightstand. Mickey looked surprised.

"The ship just has these stashed away? Whole rooms with furniture?" Wonder had overcome his sullenness for the moment.

"Something like that. Well, I'll leave you to get settled in. Bye!" Before Mickey could say anything else, she was down the hall and headed for the control room. She'd heard the dematerialization moments before and knew that was where she would find the Doctor.

Truthfully, she suspected he would not be in the mood to talk, having just bid a second farewell to an old friend. She did not feel inclined to wait, however. Besides his irrational decision to invite Mickey aboard, which she could believe had some innocuous explanation, he had said some things over the course of this adventure to seriously bother her. And if her emotions were still running high, she would just have to try and keep control of herself. She was already capable of psychically keeping her feelings to herself, for the most part; the Doctor had been working with her. She would just have to work to keep him from seeing or sensing how upset she was. Because this could not wait.

The Doctor had put the ship into the Time Vortex and was trying to think of what to do next. Where to take Mickey and Rose? He certainly didn't know what the man was capable of handling or what he expected to see. And where were the two humans, anyway?

Just then, he heard Rose's gait and turned to see her enter the room. He was a little dismayed by the look on her face, however. He knew that expression. It was stubborn and a little upset, and it rarely resulted in pleasant conversation. The Doctor sighed inwardly.

"Doctor," Rose addressed him evenly, "can I talk to you?"

"Of course!" he responded with false cheerfulness. He gently probed their link to see what she was feeling but found her closed off. Still, he walked over to her and pulled her into a hug; he felt a need for comfort after bidding Sarah Jane farewell again. After that, all he wanted was some comfortable time alone with his girl, and he tried to convey that with his arms and the snuggling of his head. However, to his disquiet, she responded stiffly before stepping back, creating a distance. Apparently this discussion could not wait.

"Doctor, I didn't bring it up before because we were mid-mission, but those things you said last night...

I think we should finish the conversation." She again spoke evenly, but her eyes dared him to deny her.

"I'm not sure what else needs to be said," said the Doctor honestly, crossing his arms. The closed-off body language did not deter her, however.

"You've had...I don't know how many people you've traveled with. And you never mention them, not even Jack! It seems like you just drop them and forget they exist. Is that how it'll be with me?"

"I told you, you're different."

"Yes, different. We shag. You respect me enough that you won't just drop me off somewhere, someday out of the blue. At least, I think so. But will you forget me? Never mention me to anyone? Pretend that I- that we- don't exist?" A tremor crept into her voice over the course of her questioning, but her eyes were steel. She wanted answers, and the Doctor was frozen, unsure of what to say.

Rose pressed on, "What is this to you? Are we just fuck-buddies?" There was a lovely vocabulary term he could probably blame on Jack. "Something to pass the time and be forgotten later?"

"No!" denied the Doctor, hurt that she would suggest it, "But you're...we can't be something permanent. We can do this; we can feel this," he hesitated briefly, "affection and live in the moment. And it's real, and it's not just sex, but we can't...there's no forever here. Things don't always work out." As he spoke, he saw Rose's hard expression start to break. And, despite what must have been her best effort, her inexperienced mind could no longer keep all of her hurt and anger from reaching his own.

Rose spoke with derision, "I never asked for forever, Doctor. Just to know that I... But what's the use, since we clearly want different things? The use in going on like this, if in a few years it will make no difference to you either way? Maybe I should just go back to Mickey. Because there's more chance of it 'working out' the way you define it." Then she froze. Had he cared to examine her, the Doctor would have noticed a look of dawning horror, but he was too angry and torn to see anything clearly. He looked away from her, focusing on the console. Mickey the idiot? Is that what she wanted, a man to snivel after her? He could give her the stars, and he had thought they were happy. Couldn't she leave well enough alone?

"Maybe you should." The words escaped him before he could think about it, but he didn't take them back.

I love you. The Doctor's eyes widened, and he spun to look Rose in the face again. The thought had come from her, clear as day. How could that be? They shared emotions easily enough, mostly while physically close, but she had just barely learned how to erect mental barriers. The link had been strengthening, yes, but words had never been sent. All he could do was gape at her, and it was clear from her mortified expression that the creation of her first coherent psychic message had been a complete accident. She backed up a few steps, turned around, and hurried away from him.

After turning a few corners, Rose leaned against the wall and let out a sob. What had just happened? The Doctor had cast her aside? She hadn't thought it would happen so soon. But of course, she was just a diversion for him. Sex was fun for them, certainly, and she had come close to putting a name to the feelings they empathically shared in the heat of making love...but no. When the human got too clingy, it was time to cut her off. And then came her little psychic outburst. Rose's cheeks burned with mortification. Why not just send him 15 "don't leave me" text messages and leave a crying voicemail? It would show about as much pride as she just did with that "I love you."

Quieting her sobs, she began to walk to her room. However, that involved walking past Mickey's.

"What's wrong, babe?" He had peeked into the hall upon hearing footsteps and seen her tear-streaked face. When Rose didn't respond, fearful of crying again should she try to speak, he led her into his room and sat her on the bed.

"What did he say to you? He doesn't do this to you all the time, does he? The bastard. Aw, don't cry," Mickey begged, looking pained. He gave her one long, conflicted look, then did the thing that historically did the trick for calming his girl: he kissed her. Rose did not return it at first but neither did she push him away. She'd never broken up with Mickey, and the Doctor had just dumped her, so this was finally her doing the honest thing, right? Snogging her official boyfriend. So she kissed him back, putting her arms around him and instantly feeling him grow more confident. But, if this was right and honest, why did it feel like she was cheating on the Doctor?

"No." Rose had gently pushed him away. He looked hurt but not at all surprised. "We shouldn't."

"Yeah, I...I figured. Can't blame a guy for trying?" Mickey smiled sadly, and Rose's heart broke a little bit more. She managed a small smile in return, for his sake, even as her eyes welled up again.

"You're the best, Mickey. And I really want you to enjoy this trip. I'm so sorry about how I acted before; I don't know what got into me." She supposed it was cheating, apologizing when she was already crying over something else.

"'S forgiven. Are you and the Doctor...?" he asked cautiously.

"No," Rose responded, voice breaking again. Now Mickey did look surprised, but perhaps the look on her face dissuaded him from pressing the issue because he quickly changed the subject.

"So what's fun to do on this ship?" Rose gave him directions to the library and a few other rooms of interest – there were enough movies and TV shows on the ship to last a person weeks. Then, she excused herself to her own room.

An hour later, she lay with a book sitting forgotten on her chest, staring at the ceiling. God, she should have known better. As a matter of fact, after Jimmy Stone, she had sworn that she would never get attached to that sort of man again – the sort who let you love more than he loved and dropped you when it became inconvenient. Mickey had been the safe choice after that, and if she was being loved a little more than she was loving back, at least it had stability. But then came the Doctor and his fantastic machine, and they changed her forever from being the sort of girl that was good for Mickey Smith.

It occurred to her that there was another good reason to not get re-involved with Mickey: Should she ever start... enjoying herself, she was nearly certain it would bleed through the link to the Doctor. How monumentally screwed up would that be? At the least, embarrassing for her and, at worst, upsetting to him. No rebound flings for her, then. Even if he'd stopped their physical relationship, the Doctor had always been possessive of her, and it was never good to upset the driver. Part of her, the bitter part, thought he might deserve it. But only briefly.

Rose groaned aloud and rolled to bury her face in her pillow. Traveling in space and time with an ex boyfriend who still made puppy eyes at her and an emotionally constipated alien she was in love with. This could only go so well.

The Doctor watched on the monitors as Rose went into Mickey's room and, after a moment, switched them off. He had intended none of this. His cheerful agreement to let Mickey aboard had been due in large part to a desire to not seem petty in front of Sarah Jane. To say he sensed Rose's disapproval would be an understatement; it came off of her in peals she made no attempt to disguise. However, in addition to trying to save face, the Doctor agreed to Mickey's request because he honestly thought the man deserved it. He had demonstrated superhuman patience with him and Rose, especially when his bad driving had led to Mickey being a murder suspect.

For these reasons, he had thought, he and Rose could make an effort to keep him from feeling like the gooseberry in the middle. For a few trips. Now, in an ironic twist of fate, he was the gooseberry and would remain so indefinitely. Because he knew he couldn't kick Rose to the curb, not even after this.

The Doctor buried his face in his hands. How had this happened?