The Monologues: Wednesdays

Summary: Jackie waits for one of Rose's occasionally-weekly phone calls.

A/N: Heyy…it's me again. This is my second Monologue and I must say that I really do like how it turned out. Canon-wise this could be pretty much most of series 2, but I'm feeling after Fear Her. Okay! So, review and all that jazz.

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine.

Place: The Tyler Flat, London

Time: 4/20/2006 4:33:08 PM

Name: Jackie Tyler

Alias: None

Home Planet: Earth

Companion: None

Rose always called home on Wednesdays. Well, it was always a Wednesday on Earth when she called. She didn't call every Wednesday, but Jackie Tyler would stand dutifully close to the phone all day and hang it up if it was anyone besides her daughter. She glanced up at the clock and sighed. It was already half-past four. Rose hadn't called for the past two weeks…

Jackie took a book off the shelf by the door and went over to sit at the kitchen table. She propped the book open and pretended to read it for a few moments, her eyes flicking over to the phone every few seconds.

If it were anyone besides Rose keeping her waiting, she would have been extremely annoyed. But, Rose was her daughter and she loved Rose more than she loved anything. She flipped a few pages of her book, trying to convince herself that she wasn't anxious for her daughter to call.

A few more moments passed and the phone stayed stubbornly silent. Jackie glared at it. It was rubbish, having to wait for your daughter to get done saving some alien planet so that she could call you. It was all the Doctor's fault.

Jackie honestly couldn't stand the man. If it were her decision, she would have got rid of him a long time ago…but it wasn't her decision. Rose loved traveling with the stupid alien. Any time that Jackie insisted that she stay at the flat for longer than five minutes, her eyes got dull with boredom and sadness. Going off with the Doctor was like a drug to her. She needed it to feel okay.

Jackie had wondered what she could do about it plenty of times. Do keep on letting her take the drug or do you take it away and risk losing your only daughter to madness? There was no real right answer. And even if there was, it wasn't her decision. Rose would keep on traveling with the stupid alien until it killed her.

And it would someday. Jackie stayed awake at night sometimes, wondering if the Doctor would call her and tell her if Rose died. Would Wednesday calls fade away? Would Jackie lie awake at night, wondering what had happened to her daughter? Would the Doctor find a new girl to bring with him? Would he even notice that she wasn't Rose?

But, someday, even if she didn't die, she wouldn't be Rose anymore. The Doctor would turn her into someone who wasn't Rose Tyler anymore.

Pretty soon, she wouldn't even be human. How far can you go from home and how much can you lose and how long can you stay with an alien before you were an alien yourself? Jackie Tyler loved her daughter. But she was beginning to fear that, the next time she came home, she wouldn't recognize her anymore.

She would never listen, though. Jackie had seen the fire that burnt on her daughter's eyes when she looked at the Doctor. She was in love with him. She had been for a long time now. She'd ditched Mickey, the best boyfriend she'd ever had, in a parallel world. Now, it was just her and the Doctor. Alone. In their cozy little blue box. Jackie wondered vaguely if aliens could get humans pregnant. \

The Doctor might love Rose too. Jackie could never quiet tell. He seemed to enjoy her company and want her with him, but…he was an alien. An immensely old alien who could change his face and travel through time. What could he possibly want with a human girl?

The harsh wail of the phone interrupted Jackie's though. She sprang up from her seat, knocking her unread book aside. "Hello?" She answered breathlessly.

"Mum?" Rose's cheerful voice filled up the receiver.

"Rose!" Jackie collapsed back in her chair. "You haven't called! Are you okay?"

Rose's laugh filled up the empty kitchen. "I'm fine, Mum!" She insisted, still laughing. "What about you? You seeing anyone?"

"Not at the moment." Jackie flipped through the pages of her book, glad to just listen to her daughter breathe on the other end of the line. "But tell me about what you've been doing, I'm sure it's interesting."

"Oh, yes." Rose's voice was excited. "Me and the Doctor just got back from this planet. You should have seen it, Mum, it was brilliant! It was called…what was it called again, Doctor?"

Jackie heard the Doctor's voice faintly. "What?"

"That planet, that last one we were just on, what was it called?" Jackie listened, noting how Rose's tone changed as she addressed the Time Lord. It made her feel like she was intruding on something intimate, private.

"Oh, d'you mean Gamma 7 or Nikanna?" His voice got closer to the phone.

"Gamma 7 was the one with all the fountains, yeah?" Rose's voice got farther from the phone.

"And Nikanna was the one with the civil war." He confirmed, his voice more excited and interested than Jackie had ever heard it. "I didn't like that one too much."

Rose laughed; a laugh Jackie had never heard her use. "You're just mad they got your coat wet."

"Well, Janis Joplin gave me this coat." The Doctor countered.

Rose snorted out another laugh. "And, let me guess…your trainers used to belong to John Lennon?"

"George Harrison, actually." The Doctor said, his voice very serious.

"Seriously?" Jackie sighed as the banter continued. They were like a couple of hormonal teenagers with all their flirting!

"No!" The Doctor laughed. "But I'll take you to meet them later, if you like. But, stay close, okay? That Ringo is a handsy one.

"I've dealt with an alien civil war today and you're worried about a handsy Beatle? Nice to see where your priorities are at, Doctor." Jackie was starting to feel uncomfortable. Did they always talk like this when they were together?

"Rose?" She asked. "Should I call back later?"

"Oh," Rose seemed to have forgotten that her mother was there. "No, no, its fine. Sorry." There was a pause. "Well, we went to this planet and there was this civil war and then the Doctor…"

Jackie sort-of listened, laughing in the right places, an uncomfortable feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. She didn't have any doubts now. The Doctor was very much in love with her daughter. The question now was what on earth she should do about it.

Rose was reaching the end of her story. "And that's how we stopped the fighting. The only casualties were a couple of stains on the Doctor's coat." She laughed and Jackie joined in, apprehension growing inside her heart.

"So when are you going to be home, love?" Jackie asked hurriedly, knowing that Rose would hang up soon.

"I dunno, Mum." Rose sighed. "We've just been really busy lately, the Doctor and me. But, you'll be the first to know when we get back to earth, okay?"

"Okay, sweetheart." Jackie sighed, knowing that was the best she was going to get. "Take care of yourself. And call me soon, okay?"

"Okay, Mum." Rose's voice was hurried, like she had something else she wanted to go do. Or some alien she wanted to go do. "Love you, take care, bye!"

"Bye…" Jackie said lamely into the dead phone. She swallowed the disappointment in her throat and went back to flipping through her book, not really knowing what to do next.

Rose, Her Rose was long gone and the new version didn't seem that keen on sticking around. It was hard, being left behind. Having to get to know your daughter through rushed phone calls and having to think of her, off among the stars. But, right now, it looked like that was ever going to have of the girl who used to be Rose Tyler.

A/N: Okay, that's all for now. I'll have my next one up tomorrow or the next day. I'm feeling...Rory? Maybe? I dunno. Anyway, review and whatnot.