A/N: In this chapter The Doctor has some reflections on Mickey and we get to the bottom of Rose's illness. A teeny tiny bit of recognizable dialogue from the Age of Steel.

Chapter 3 - Unexpected

Jackie Tyler was in the kitchen filling up a pitcher when she heard the sound of the TARDIS materializing within the flat. Setting the pitcher down on the counter she ran out into the living room; a smile spreading across her face at the sight of the big blue box.

Rose flung open the door and stood motionless for a moment, staring at her mother in awe. "You're alive?" she murmured in disbelief. "Oh mum, you're alive." she said again as she threw herself into her mother's arms.

Jackie's excited expression quickly faded into one of confusion. "Well I was the last time I looked." she chuckled softly. Her concern growing as Rose gripped her tighter. "What is it? What's happened sweetheart?" she asked rubbing her daughter's back as she clung to her. "What's wrong? Where did you go?" She was now directing her questions to The Doctor as she looked over Rose's shoulder.

He was leaning up against the wooden doors looking quite exhausted. "Far away." he replied softly. "That was…far away."

"Where's Mickey?"

"He's gone home."

At The Doctor's statement, Rose buried her face into her mother's shoulder; gripping her tighter. Jackie reached up to stroke her daughter's hair, noticing how warm she was when she touched the back of her head. Pulling back she cupped Rose's face in her hands. "Oh sweetheart, you're burnin' up." She turned back to The Doctor. "What happened? This isn't some sort'a alien virus is it?"

"No mum," Rose interjected. "I think S' jus' a case of stomach flu, that's all."

"Thought you said you had access to all them new age medicines?"

The Doctor held up his hands in a placating manner. "I wanted to take her back to New Earth for a cure but she wouldn't go."

"Oh Rose." Jackie chided gently. "Sweetheart, if it would make ya feel better…"

"No." Rose said firmly and shook her head. "I jus'… I didn't really like that hospital and M' already feelin' better. I jus' need some rest." She looked up at their concerned expressions. "Really M' fine. Jus' need a kip and I'll be good to go, yeah? So the two of you stop your worryin'."

Jackie sighed and slumped her shoulders. "Fine, but M' still gonna make a run to the market and pick up somethin' to help your stomach and maybe somethin' light for you to eat. So you have your nap and when you get up, I'll make lunch alright?"

"Sounds great mum."

Jackie nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading off to her bedroom to retrieve her handbag.

The Doctor walked up and slipped his hand into Rose's. "You sure you're alright?"

"M' fine." She let go of his hand to place both of hers on his chest. "I promise." she assured him when she saw the look of doubt in his eyes.

He wrapped his arms around her waist; pulling her tightly against him. "I just want to make sure you're okay." He nuzzled her nose with his. "I'm very fond of you, you know?"

"Yeah?" she grinned; encircling her arms around his neck.

"Oh yes." he said softly, as he pressed his lips to hers.

Jackie had to admit she was startled to see The Doctor snogging her daughter in the middle of her living room but she wasn't surprised; not in the slightest. At that moment however, she was at war with her conflicting emotions. On one hand, she could pretend she hadn't seen anything and go back to her room for a few minutes; allowing them to compose themselves before she 'conveniently' announced that she was coming back or she could interrupt them, start the interrogations and demand to know just what that daft alien's intentions were with her daughter. But as she stood there watching them, seeing just how exhausted Rose looked as he held her close, she opted for stepping back into the hallway out of sight.

"Ok Rose," Jackie called loudly to give the pair a chance to separate before she walked back into the room. "M' headin' out." she said slipping her handbag over her shoulder. "Is there anythin' else you need?"

"Thanks mum, but I think M' good."

The Doctor placed a hand on Rose's shoulder. "I'm going to move the TARDIS down into the alleyway where we normally park her so if you need me for anything, just call."

She placed her hand on top of his and gave it a squeeze. "I will." she smiled up at him.

The Doctor returned her smile and gave a quick nod to Jackie before turning and heading back into the TARDIS.

Both women watched as the TARDIS disappeared before them and within a few seconds they heard the wheezing sounds once more as it materialized out in the alley.

Turning to her daughter, Jackie crossed her arms. "So are the pair of ya together properly now?"

Rose began fiddling with one of her hoop earrings. "What do you mean mum?" she feigned ignorance.

"Oh don't give me that. I saw the two of ya snoggin' out here a few minutes ago."

Rose's face turned a deep crimson shade and she began to fidget; not meeting her mother's eyes. "S' hard to explain."

"Always is with you two." Jackie commented dryly.

"I was gonna tell you." Rose tried to reassure her. "M' sorry. S' not the way I wanted you to find out." She sighed and put a hand to her temple.

Her mother eyed her carefully and then her expression softened. Choosing to put the conversation off for later in light of Rose's illness she said. "You look exhausted. Have you been sleepin' at all?"

"Yeah, more than normal actually. But I still feel tired when I get up. I jus' need to get over this flu an' I'll be fine."

"So how long have you been feelin' ill? Jackie asked.

"A couple weeks I guess." She shrugged. "But I feel more rundown than anythin'."

"And when was the last time you ate?"

"Well, I haven't really been able to keep much down in the last couple of days. Jus' been sick to my stomach an' all."

Jackie nodded and looked her daughter over carefully. "Ok, M' gonna head out to the market an' pick up a few things and while M' gone I want you to lie down for a bit. You're practically dead on your feet and I want you to get some rest."

"Okay mum." she said, knowing better than to argue. "See you in a bit." Rose leaned down and kissed her cheek before heading off to her bedroom.

Jackie watched with a slight frown as her daughter left the room. Something was definitely off with her. She seemed extremely upset when Mickey's name had been mentioned; which would be something else they would need to discuss later and she had now just confirmed that she was in an actual relationship with The Doctor. It was clear that something happened on their last adventure that had deeply affected Rose, but there was also another underlying element. As the possibilities ran through her mind, one kept pushing itself to the forefront and armed with that thought she picked up her keys from the table and headed out of the flat.

-oOo-

The Doctor was still in the same position he had been when he landed the TARDIS fifteen minutes ago. He was leaning back in the jumpseat; arms crossed, with his feet propped up on the console. He knew he should probably get started on the repair work, but he hadn't yet motivated himself to do so. He kept thinking about everything that had happened over the last few weeks, although mostly he was worried about Rose. Their relationship was still relatively new, yet he had asked her to share his bedroom last night. At the time she seemed happy about it but now he was wondering if maybe she thought he was only doing it because of what happened in the parallel world. The one thing he didn't want to do was to make her uncomfortable by moving too fast. Then there was her illness. He knew she had deep aversions to the hospital on New Earth after the whole ordeal with that loud-mouthed flap of skin Cassandra but he still wished she would have let him pick up a cure so that at least her body could be healthy because everything they'd been through over the last month, combined with her grief over Mickey's departure, was putting way too much stress on her.

Mickey…that was unexpected to say the least. He definitely hadn't always treated the young man very well, making him the butt of jokes and comparing him to a tin dog. He supposed that it had everything to do with the jealousy he had felt towards his relationship with Rose. Although they had broken up, they still had a strong friendship and it bothered The Doctor to no end when she would turn to the younger man for advice or when they started to reminisce about the past. He always wanted to one-up him by taking Rose to some lavish planet or try to show that he knew her better than Mickey ever could. Looking back on those times he realized he had been a complete arse. Always trying to dominate himself as the better man for Rose, yet it took him a regeneration and a brief glimpse of his possible future on a 51st century spaceship to finally admit his love to her. Mickey had always seen it though; even calling him out on it a few times and although The Doctor had basically come in and swept Rose away from him, he still lent a hand when needed and became a reliable resource. His computer expertise had helped thwart the Slitheen's plan to destroy the Earth, he crashed a car through a school full of Krillitanes in order to help free all the children before it went up in flames, he protected Rose from the clockwork droids while The Doctor was trapped in France and most recently, he saved them from being blown up in a cyber-factory. He was truly more extraordinary than The Doctor ever gave him credit for and now he was gone.

The Doctor sighed as he stood up and rubbed his hands over his face. He wondered if maybe deep down Rose blamed him a little for that too. He knew she'd never say it, but maybe if he had treated the young man better he wouldn't have left. Mickey had pulled him aside after their rescue in the parallel world and gave him a good talking to about protecting Rose. He supposed looking back on it now he should have known Mickey was leaving by the tone of the conversation and maybe if he had realized that then he might have been able to talk him out of it. But instead, he chalked it up to the young man finally accepting The Doctor and Rose's relationship; even giving his blessing in hopes they would be happy. There was no doubt in The Doctor's mind that at that moment, Mickey had been the better man. He just hoped that one day Rose could forgive him for driving her best friend away. Sighing once more, he pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and began climbing underneath the console to start the repairs.

-oOo-

"Rose…Rose sweetheart, wake up."

"Mmm." Rose mumbled rubbing her eyes. "Mum?"

"Yeah, S' me. I jus' got back."

Rose sat up and yawned. "What time is it?"

"S' a little after ten. I bought you some foods that should be easy on your stomach. But first," She handed rose a small paper bag.

"What's this then?" Rose asked smiling as she opened the bag. "A present to make feel better or…" As she peered inside the color drained out of her face.

"The first one's not always accurate, so you'll need to use both."

"Mum, that's not…S' ridiculous really. I mean we can't even…S' not possible without…"

Jackie put her hand up, effectively silencing her daughter. "If that's true then you have nothin' to worry about. So jus' humor me ok?" She patted her daughter's arm as she stood up from the bed. "Now, M' gonna go put the kettle on. You finish up with those." She nodded to the bag. "And then meet me in the kitchen." Jackie then left the room, leaving her daughter sitting in stunned silence.

She couldn't tell whether or not the fact that her mother wasn't freaking out was a good thing or a bad thing. Rose tried to slow her breathing as she lifted one of the pink and blue boxes from the bag with a shaky hand.

"S' not possible." she told herself out loud. They were compatible he had said but not without help. Her mother was wrong. She'd take the tests and then Jackie would see. "S' jus' stomach flu." she told herself again as she stepped into the ensuite. "She's wrong."

-oOo-

Rose was sitting on the edge of her bed clutching her cell phone in a vice-like grip as millions of thoughts ran through her mind when the alarm rang; startling her and almost knocking her onto the floor. Walking into the ensuite on shaky legs and taking deep breaths, she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as she lifted one of the tests from the sink and then opened them. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe and that was how Jackie found her ten minutes later. Standing in the same position; back stiff, as she stared down at the object in her hand.

"Rose?" her mother said gently.

When Rose finally turned to face her, she had tears streaming down her face. "Oh mum." she choked out.

"Oh sweetheart," Jackie soothed; pulling her daughter into her arms and rocking her. "S' gonna be alright Rose. We'll figure somethin' out, M' so sorry. Oh, I could kill that man! I knew this would happen eventually. The pair of ya' shaggin' in that box like rabbits."

"No mum." she groaned. "S' never been like that. We've only been together once."

Jackie's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. "One time? You s'pect me to believe that with the way you two are constantly all over each other and gigglin' even before himself changed into a pretty boy?"

Rose sighed. "S' true mum. One time, about three weeks ago."

"Well, one time is all it takes. He must have some determined little swimmers that one. I bet his sperm's as hyperactive as he is. S' no wonder you got pregnant so qui-"

"Mum!" she cut in, mortified.

"I'm jus' sayin'. Were you even usin' protection?"

Rose looked away guiltily.

"Oh Rose…" Jackie was shaking her head. "I know all about those lines that are said in the heat of the moment, about how 'it doesn't feel as good' or 'I can pull out at the last minute', but they're jus' lines sweetheart and himself should 'a known better. Alien or not, he's still a man"

"No mum, S' not his fault." Jackie started to open her mouth again but Rose beat her to it. "Before you go gettin' all mad at him, there's some things you should know first."

Her mother sighed heavily. "Alright, I'll make us a cuppa and we can talk."

"Ok." Rose agreed with a small smile and followed her mother out into the kitchen.

-oOo-

"Looks like himself will busy enough with that box of his for us to have a descent chat then." Jackie mused as she set a mug down in front of her daughter before sitting down to join her with one of her own. "So spill."

"Well, first off S' not all his fault. I gotta share the blame in this too. But you gotta know mum, he didn't think this was even a possibility. See, his people didn't exactly procreate like we do."

"Oh god, you're not gonna lay an egg or somethin' are you?" Jackie gasped.

"What? No, mum. I mean…ok, S' kinda like test tubes. They had these machines called looms that were kinda like a cloning device that took DNA from both parents."

"So they didn't actually have live births?"

"No. It was all done on a genetic level."

Jackie's mouth dropped open. "What, so no shaggin' either?

"Well, most marriages were arranged so there wasn't a big interest in sex. The Doctor said his people used telepathic connections instead."

"So even though his people didn't have sex, you were still compatible? I mean, S' not some weird alien anatomy or tentacles down there?" Jackie inquired.

"Oh my god." Rose put her head in her hands; her cheeks flushing crimson.

"What? S' a valid question."

"No mum, he was…very human-like." she finished quickly and her mother just shrugged. "Anyway, that's why we didn't think it could happen this way. It wasn't that we were deliberately bein' reckless. We jus' thought it was impossible. Well, not completely, jus' not without genetic help. I mean, I sorta already knew we were gonna have a child, so…"

"What'ya mean you already knew?" Jackie interrupted.

Rose took a deep breath. "Cause I met her."

"Her? What'ya mean her? Her who?"

"Your granddaughter." she said softly.

Jackie's eyes widened in shock. "My… but…" she sputtered. "Oh, this whole bloody time travel business of yours is so confusin'. How's that even possible, you met her?"

"S' kind of a long story."

"You got somewhere else to be?" Her mother raised an eyebrow.

Rose didn't particularly want to fill her mother in on everything that happened involving the clockwork droids, Madame de Pompadour and her short abandonment on a 51st century space ship, so she decided to give her the slightly abridged version.

"The Doctor and I had a sort 'a disagreement that we were havin' trouble movin' past."

"In other words he was bein' a stubborn git." Her mother supplied.

"Well, yeah…and then she jus' sort 'a showed up to like talk some sense into him." She paused for a moment; furrowing her brow. "Ok, S' kinda like in that movie Back to the Future, when Marty had to try to get his parents back together. At least that's what it seemed like. She was adamant about us gettin' together even before I knew who she was."

Jackie continued to shake her head in disbelief. Rose had told her plenty of stories about her trips with The Doctor but this certainly beat most of those by mile. First she goes back to the past to meet her dad, now she's meeting her child before it's even born.

Rose reached out and gave her mother's hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance. "She's beautiful mum. Red hair, hazel eyes, and so very clever. You're gonna love her."

"And you're sure without a doubt that's who she was?"

Rose nodded. "Isn't that part of some sort 'a motherly instinct? To jus'…know?"

She was thinking back to when The Doctor; in his ninth incarnation, had taken her to the past to be with her dad when he died. Her mother at the time had been relatively cold towards her, thinking that she was some sort of home wrecker moving in on her husband but when Pete told Jackie that she was 'their' Rose, one look in her eyes and her mother knew it as fact.

"Cause deep down, I jus' knew. Like I'd already seen it."

Jackie smiled fondly at her daughter. "S' a bond that mother's form with their children. They'd know 'em anywhere." She patted Rose's hand before returning it to her mug. "So The Doctor wasn't freaked out about meetin' his own daughter then?" she asked taking a sip of her tea.

"Um, not exactly. He…" Rose bit her bottom lip. "He doesn't know she was his daughter."

Her mother choked on her mouthful of liquid. "You didn't tell him?"

"He's always sayin' no one should know too much about their own future. 'Cause, he can see timelines and all yeah, but he doesn't like to look too far ahead cause he hates endings." She sighed. "He finally admitted he loved me mum." Jackie's jaw dropped. "Yeah," she nodded. "And I thought that he might not believe me or worse that he'd get scared and close down again. He doesn't like to think about that kinda stuff 'cause he doesn't think he can have it. He doesn't think he deserves it." She leaned back in her chair absently fiddling with her own mug. "He's always blamin' himself for everythin' that goes wrong and he carries the weight of worlds on his shoulders. Not to mention he's constantly worryin' about how much time we'll have. That was the reason for him not wantin' to do this in the first place. He told me he couldn't give me a proper life with a house and kids. And I tried to tell him that it didn't matter 'cause he was enough for me. But he jus' kept sayin' our time was short and eventually he would be alone again. He basically said it wasn't worth the pain."

"Take it from someone who knows sweetheart, no matter how short 'a time you've got S' worth it. Love's worth it. You make the most of what you got while you got it." Jackie said; voice tight with emotion.

"You still miss him, yeah?"

"Every day. And M' so thankful for the time we had. Even with all those daft gimmicks of his."

The memory of her parallel father on the Vitex advertisement flashed in her mind and she pushed it away. That was not something her mother needed to know about. It had bothered her enough when she told her about being with him when he died.

Jackie brought her back from her thoughts. "So what're you gonna do?"

"I know S' a shock, and maybe…maybe you think S' too soon, but I want it mum. I want a life with him and the baby." She looked down and ran a hand over her stomach. "And at least one day when I'm gone, he'll still have a piece of me with him and he won't be alone." She looked up to see Jackie's eyes shining with tears. "What?"

"You've grown up so much. This isn't the life I always thought you'd have and I still find all this space travel stuff so confusin' but I see how much it means to you, how much he means to you. You even talk like him sometimes you know that?" Rose chuckled softly and nodded. "I know don't say it enough, but M' proud of you Rose and I only want the best for you. So if he makes you happy, then I give my blessin'."

"Thanks mum." Rose said with tears streaming down her cheeks as both women stood up to embrace one another. They stood like that for a moment; Jackie holding her daughter tightly and stroking her hair as the younger woman buried her face into her shoulder.

"M' scared mum." She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I know I gotta tell him, but M' afraid of how he's gonna react."

"He loves you sweetheart, he'll be so happy. And if he's not, then you jus' march him right on in here and I'll slap some sense into that daft alien git."

Rose snorted softly. "He is afraid of the almighty Jackie Tyler slap. Mickey would always tease him about…" she drifted off and looked down at her hands.

"Rose, what is it? What are you not tellin' me?"

She looked up; taking in her mother's concerned expression and took a deep shuddering breath as she sat back down; not meeting her eyes. "Mum, about Mickey..."

Jackie grasped the kitchen table with one hand; lowering herself back into her own chair as a tightness formed in her chest. "What happened to Mickey?" She took a breath and closed her eyes. "Did he..? Is he…?"

Rose looked up quickly. "He's alive mum he's jus'…" She took another deep breath and tried to keep the tears from falling. "The Doctor was takin' us to some kind of tropical planet when the TARDIS was thrown off course and we somehow ended up in this parallel world."

"Parallel? You mean like in all those comic book movies he used to talk about where everythin's basically the same but slightly altered?" Rose looked at her mother in surprise. "What? Me an' Mickey spent a lot 'a time together while you and you're Doctor were off travelin'."

Rose smiled ruefully and continued. "Well, we kinda crashed there and had to wait around for twenty-four hours until the TARDIS was healthy enough to get us back home. But you know us yeah? Magnet for trouble." She paused; choosing to leave out the part where her mother's parallel double had been murdered. "There were these aliens called Cybermen that were tryin' to take over that world and we stopped 'em, and Mickey…he was so brave. Oh mum, you would 'a been so proud of him, he saved us all." Her voice began to waver. "You remember Mickey's Gran, yeah?"

Jackie nodded thoughtfully. "Great woman she was. Raised him proper."

"Yeah, she did." Rose smiled softly. "Well she was still alive in that world, so…" She choked back a sob. "So Mickey decided to stay there. He wanted to help them continue to take down all the Cyber factories."

"So when's he comin' home then?"

"He…he can't."

"Whadd'ya mean he can't!" Jackie shrieked.

"We… we can't ever go back there. We fell through some sort 'a crack in time by accident and when we left, the world sealed itself off." She put her head down as the tears began to flow.

Jackie put a hand over her mouth to stifle her own sobs that were now coming freely.

"S' all my fault he stayed mum. I didn't appreciate him enough. I jus' always expected him to be there and then… I begged him to come home mum, I begged him but he said I didn't need him anymore 'cause I had The Doctor now. I…I know we weren't together anymore but I should 'a treated him better, 'cause I still care about him and now I can never tell him M' sorry. S' all my fault mum. Oh god, S' all my fault." She put her face in her hands and wept uncontrollably.

Jackie pulled her daughter into her arms once more; rocking her. "S' not your fault Rose. Mickey did what he felt was best for him. And yeah, he was mad for a bit when you left again. We both were. But we moved past it 'cause we both agreed that we'd never seen you happier. An' he still loves you after everythin'; probably always will, but he forgave you a long time ago. This was jus' his way of movin' on with his life." Jackie paused for a moment. "Did he know he couldn't come back?"

Rose nodded against her shoulder, wiping her sleeve against her cheek.

"Then you know S' what he really wanted. We both know Mickey never made any snap decisions without thinkin' about 'em first and we have to respect that."

Neither of them spoke again for a while. There wasn't really much else to say at the moment, so they both stood there in the silent kitchen; arms wrapped around each other and mourned their loss.

-oOo-

When Rose awoke from her second nap of the day it was almost dark out. She had been so exhausted after their conversation that her mother had made her lie down; saying too much stress wouldn't be good for the baby and giving her the Jackie Tyler glare that said "I dare you to argue." The clock on her nightstand read a quarter past six, meaning she had been asleep for a little over four hours. But even with the rest she was still feeling the tension of her impending conversation with The Doctor. She still wasn't sure how he was going to react to the news. Since he had always shied away from anything domestic, he never talked about that aspect of his past. She knew he had been in an arranged marriage back when he was still on Gallifrey, so it was possible that he could have had a family then as well. She never pressed him for that type of information because she knew how much the loss of his planet had affected him. There was a remote possibility that he could have lost his entire family in the war. So what did that mean for them now? Would he want this or would it make him run again? She sighed and rubbed her eyes. All these questions running through her mind were only increasing the tension. No matter what happened, she couldn't keep this from him. He had finally opened his hearts to her. No more secrets. She was going to tell him. Tonight.

Jackie was in the kitchen preparing tea when she came out of her room. "There she is. Did 'ya sleep ok sweetheart."

"Yeah, thanks. I really needed that."

"You gotta take better care of yourself now. Make that Doctor of yours take you somewhere relaxin' for a while. Take a break from all this runnin' around."

Rose chuckled. "I will mum." She leaned in and gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and then grabbed her hoodie off the chair.

"Where you goin'? Supper's almost ready."

"I need to tell him mum. I can't wait any longer."

Jackie nodded. "Alright, but I want you both in here first thing in the mornin' for breakfast. An' you tell him that's an order."

"I will." She smiled as she zipped up the front of her hoodie and headed out the door.

-oOo-

Rose took her time as she made her way across the parking lot towards the TARDIS, contemplating on how she was going to break the news to him while running over various scenarios in her head on how things could play out. Scenario one, he could be ecstatic and over the moon and want to start picking out baby names immediately. Scenario two, he could be extremely angry and tell her he doesn't want this; closing himself off again and ultimately ending their relationship. Scenario Three, he would completely freak out, leave her behind with her mother and take off; never to be seen again. She shuddered at the thought of that. He couldn't just leave his child behind could he? But even she had to admit to herself that when he got scared he was capable of all sorts of things.

As she turned her key in the lock of the big blue wooden door, she patted her stomach. "I promised you I wouldn't give up on him or let him push me away and I intend to keep that promise." Stepping inside, she pushed the door closed softly behind her and walked up the ramp; smiling at the pair of cream colored converses and pinstriped legs sticking out from under the console that greeted her. "Doctor?" she said softly.

There was a loud clanging sound followed by a muffled curse and she could only assume that she had startled him into dropping his sonic screwdriver.

"Rose," he said, grinning as he climbed out from under the console. Leaping to his feet he pulled her into his arms for a hug. "You're back!"

"'Course I am." she giggled. "How are the repairs comin'?"

"Almost done. We should be good to go by morning." he said placing a kiss to the top of her head. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." she replied; breathing him in.

"I'm so glad to hear that." he said pulling away from her and running back to the console. "'Cause I have the perfect place for us to go next. Just you wait Rose Tyler; you're in for a treat."

Rose chewed her bottom lip as his voice became a distant echo. She was still trying to think of the best way to tell him the news and she had no idea where to start. But she could do this, she had to do this. She would just tell him and that would be that. They would deal with the rest together.

"Rose?" The Doctor's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Rose are you listening to me?" He was looking at her with concern etched across his face.

"M' sorry, S' jus'…" She took a deep breath. "Doctor, we need to talk. S' important."

The Doctor swallowed roughly. "Are you leaving?"

"What? No." she said incredulously and then felt a wave of fear pass over her. "Do you want me to leave?" she asked timidly.

"No!" he shouted; startling her slightly. Taking a breath he replied more calmly. "No. It's just, after everything that happened yesterday and then me asking you to share a room, I thought…" He looked away. "I thought maybe you were having second thoughts about us."

Rose walked up to him, placing a hand on either side of his face. "I have never had second thoughts about us. I told you M' never gonna leave you. When will you get that through that thick Time Lord brain?"

He gave her a half smile. "All of this is new to me. I've never had a real relationship before and I didn't want to push you too fast and I…I thought maybe you blamed me for Mickey leaving."

"Oh Doctor, no." She shook her head. "If anyone's to blame S' me."

"Rose, don't talk like that."

"What, you can blame yourself and I can't?"

"He didn't leave because of you." he said taking her hands in his.

"Didn't he?" her voice wavered. "I left him behind for a year and then I didn't even want him to come with us 'cause I was selfish and wanted you to myself. And then when you an' me got together properly, I tried not to make it so obvious around him 'cause I knew it still bothered him and I didn't want to keep hurtin' him. But I already had, long before that. I should 'a treated him better 'cause he was my best friend and I jus' always assumed he'd be there. And now I can never tell him M' sorry." She could no longer hold back the tears as she collapsed into The Doctor's arms.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and pulled her onto the jumpseat. "Rose, he forgave you for that a long time ago and…" he paused; remembering his last conversation with the young man. "He gave us his blessing."

"What?" Rose sniffed as she lifted her head from The Doctor's chest to look into his eyes.

He gave her a small smile. "I took him for granted too, but he was a remarkable young man. When were up in the Zeppelin he pulled me aside and told me that he knew what was going on between us and that he expected me to take care of you and protect you or I'd have to answer to him." They both chuckled lightly. "He said that he would always love you, but as long as I promised to love you and make you happy, I had his blessing. I should have known it was strange that he was saying all that at the time. Maybe if I had been more attuned to the situation I might have been able to talk him out of it."

Rose sniffed. "Mickey never did anything without thinkin' it through. S' what he really wanted. I was bein' selfish again. Jus' didn't want to let him go. And I don't blame you."

"And you shouldn't blame yourself either." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Pulling back he smiled. "Alright, now I think it's time you got some rest. It's been an emotional couple of days and we need to get you back to perfect health." He stood up and reached out for her hand.

Rose bit her lip. "Doctor there's still somethin' I need to talk to you about." She began wringing her hands and could no longer look him in the eye.

He looked at her sideways, trying to discern her expression. "I'm sure it can wait till morning."

"No, it really can't." She still wouldn't look at him.

"Rose, what's going on?" He started get that feeling in the pit of his stomach again and his thoughts were racing through his head a mile a minute. She had said she wasn't having second thoughts but maybe she felt they were moving too fast and wanted to stay with her mom for a bit before traveling again. He could give her that couldn't he? As long as it wasn't more than a few days, yes he could do that for her. Or maybe… was she sicker than she was letting on and she was afraid to tell him?

"You're thinkin' awful loud." she said, pulling him back to the present and attempting a smile.

He frowned at her. "Rose, this isn't funny. Just tell me what's going on. Do you want to stay with your mom for a bit?"

"No, I want to keep travelin'. But she does want us to come by for breakfast in the mornin'."

He cringed slightly and then continued. "Ok, then did I pressure you too much to share a room?"

"No," she shook her head. "I told you M' not doubtin' our relationship."

"Are you sicker than you're telling me, is that it? 'Cause whatever it is, we can go to New Earth and get…"

"M' not sick. Not really…S' nothin' like that. I jus'…" she trailed off and closed her eyes. She could do this.

"Then what is it Rose? 'Cause you're scaring me."

"I…I don't know how to say this." She was going to tell him.

"Say what?" He was eye level with her now, grasping her hands in a desperate hold. "Rose, just tell me."

"Doctor I…" She looked into his eyes. "I'm pregnant." she said softly.