Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating:
PG-13
Disclaimer: The BBC owns all, I am merely
borrowing.
Spoilers: Through Age of Steel.
Jackie snatched the kettle from the counter and moved to the sink to fill it. "So, where did you go this time? Must of been awful with the looks on your faces."
Rose opened a cabinet and peered inside. "Went to this whole other universe, Mum."
"Cardiff?"
"No. Like here. Like a copy of our world. All of it. Except it was different," Rose explained, gesturing with the mugs she was holding.
"Zeppelins, presidents, dead relatives..." the Doctor supplied, leaning in the doorway to watch the domestics from afar.
"You're makin' that up."
He sighed. "Oh, Jackie, how I wish that were true."
Rose placed the mugs on the counter, the clatter of the ceramic sounding unusually loud to her ears. She felt strangely detached from the ritual, to be doing something so normal after what they'd seen. She wondered if this was how the Doctor felt about domestics all of the time. She looked up to find him watching her closely even as he responded to Jackie's chatter about the neighbors. He quickly looked away, but not before Rose noticed the worry that creased his brow. Absently, she rubbed her thumb along the rim of one of the mugs. "Dad was there."
"Your dad's dead, sweetheart," Jackie said gently.
"Mickey's gran too," Rose blurted out. "S'why he stayed behind. I mean, one of the reasons..."
"Why'd you let him do that for?" Jackie asked, hands flying to her hips before she turned to glare at the Doctor. "An' you Doctor? What were you thinkin'? Takin' them to a place like that?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "With dead people."
"They weren't dead, mum."
"Well, I don't see what else they could be."
"Jackie, I didn't exactly plan on..."
"You were drivin'! Couldn't you have picked somewhere a bit more pleasant?"
"Yes, well, sometimes our destination is a bit out of my control." Immediately, he corrected, "On rare occasions."
Rose bit her lip to keep from snorting at that proclamation. "Eight."
"What?"
"Last ten trips, eight of them you've gotten it wrong."
"Yes, well..." the Doctor stuttered. "There are reasons for that."
"Like what?" Rose asked, genuinely curious.
He instantly quieted, lips pressing together in a thin line until he switched his focus. "Jackie! Didn't you say your television was acting up?"
"Yeah. Telly's been nothin' but trouble lately. But don't take it apart! If you've gotta do that, I can get a proper repair man to fix it." She glanced at her daughter for verification. "He won't take it apart, will he?"
Rose shrugged, biting a fingernail as she watched the Doctor stalk out of the kitchen, focused on the new problem.
Something had changed. Jackie was certain of it now. Before when they'd come to visit, she'd suspected that this new Doctor had made a difference. The changes had been subtle as they'd nervously adjusted to a new dynamic, but now it was obvious. She knew her daughter better than anyone. Right now Rose was watching the Doctor with what could only be the concern of a lover. Jackie was surprised to discover that this observation didn't bother her as much as she'd always thought it would.
"Kettle's ready," Rose commented, when Jackie failed to respond the whistling sound.
Her mother took a deep breath, lifting the kettle and slowly portioning the water into the mugs. "Things all right between you two?"
Startled, Rose almost dropped the box of tea bags. "Yeah. 'Course they are, Mum."
"If you say so."
Rose worried her lip. "Just the last couple trips have been difficult."
"If you wanna talk about it, sweetheart, I'm here," Jackie offered.
As much as Rose wanted to talk to someone, she didn't think her mother was the ideal candidate. She didn't want anyone to temper her excitement with the pragmatic reality of being in love with an alien who was nine hundred years old and could change his face. Somewhere between "Run" and "I'm so glad I met you", Rose had decided that none of that really bothered her. Of course she'd been confused and hurt by his regeneration, since he'd not thought to warn her before it happened. But now...
Rose was still stunned by how their relationship had changed after their trip to eighteenth century France. She was elated really, but worried too.
And she'd hurt Mickey long before that.
"Maybe later," she told her mother.
The tea finished brewing and Rose carefully spooned six sugars into the floral mug for the Doctor.
"Don't think he needs more sugar," Jackie commented, watching the Doctor circle the living room. "Maybe you should try givin' him less."
"He'd know," Rose pointed out. "And I don't think it really affects him, anyway."
The television was fixed in a matter of minutes, but the Doctor had no desire to return to the kitchen and the questions that awaited him there. Spotting several framed photographs of Rose on a shelf, he pulled out his glasses to see the details. Jackie holding a sleeping baby. A little blonde terror chasing Mickey. A teenager acting tough with her mate Shareen. She'd grown up so fast. Traveling with him had caused her to grow up even faster, easily adapting to a new life among the stars. He'd convinced himself to have no regrets when it came to their relationship, but already the future scared him. Her life was so very short and that made it much more precious, especially to him. He'd promised Jackie he would always keep her safe, but he knew too well how hard that was going to be. Life in the TARDIS was generally fraught with danger and Rose was the most jeopardy friendly companion he'd ever had. The statistics were not promising. He was so consumed by his brooding that Rose's quiet voice startled him.
"Here."
She was offering him a mug and he took it gladly.
"Thanks."
Taking a long sip from her own mug, she sat on the sofa. "You brought me home."
"TARDIS needs a bit of a holiday," he explained.
"Oh. How long?"
"Week should do it."
Rose knew that he could have taken them anywhere and that visiting her mum had probably been the least favored option. "Thank you."
He nodded absently, continuing to appraise the knickknacks on the shelf. They'd both been rubbed raw by their encounter with the cybermen, but his silence was making Rose even more uneasy. She was about to press him for an explanation or at least coax a smile, when her mum strode into the room.
"How long you two plan on stayin' then?" Jackie asked, sitting beside Rose on the couch. "Usually you're off already. Can barely sit still for a cuppa the two of you."
"Bit longer than usual, mum."
"Well, we'll see. If you are around, you should visit Bev an' the rest. They always ask where you've been and I never know what to say. They're still half convinced you're travelin' with some dangerous criminal. You should bring the Doctor along. He's certainly pretty enough this time around."
The Doctor choked.
"Mum!" Rose hissed.
"It's true!" Jackie insisted. The phone rang and she jumped up, hurrying to the kitchen to answer it. "Oh! That'll be Bev. Told her I'd go shopping with her this afternoon. Can't find a decent outfit without me."
Noticing the look of panic on the Doctor's face, Rose smirked, asking, "You gonna survive a week?"
