Donna hated to leave the Doctor alone with Rose, and it had nothing to do with trust. Rose was a weak spot for him, a big pile of guilt that made him slightly irrational. She knew, though that the Doctor needed to have a private conversation with Rose. And honestly Donna thought that the poor girl deserved to have that conversation without Jack and her staring at her. She didn't envy the Doctor, the man who avoided uncomfortable things as much as possible, but sometimes you had to finish the story. Sometimes it didn't work to just close the book, and this was one of those times.

Aside from that, she had a strong desire to slap some sense into Jack. He had hurt her little girl. Oh, her Grace was strong, she hardly needed a protector. But Donna was always going to be there to do that for her.

Grace was also forgiving, despite the worry that Jack carried in his eyes at this moment, he needn't worry. She would come around, she always did.

She knew Jack, knew that sometimes he made stupid decisions, especially when it came to things like kissing.

She would forgive, but a mother doesn't forget.

Jack was backing away from her, and she hadn't even started yet. She let him back away until they were far away from that kitchen. She didn't want to disturb the conversation that was going on in there.

"I'm sorry," Jack finally stopped moving, apparently catching on to her desire to be far away from the kitchen. He now stood his ground, willing to accept his punishment.

"You should be," Donna told him plainly, she was trying to stay calm. "But not to me. To Grace, who would never dream of doing what you just did, she would remember. She would remember that we are having a ceremony for you two next week on Earth. She would remember that she was taken, Jack."

Jack hung his head, "I know."

"Then why did you do it?" She might have been yelling just a little bit at that point. Maybe…just a little.

"Because I'm an idiot," Jack offered, giving her a very good puppy dog look. She might have hit him if his blue eyes didn't look so sad.

Donna sighed, all the anger passing now. "Got that right."

Jack nodded. "Complete and always."

"Well," Donna heard Grace's voice from behind Jack. She could tell Grace had been crying, but she seemed better now. Her hand was in David's and he looked at her gently. "Maybe not always-"

He spun and looked at Grace. "I'm so sorry, Grace. So sorry. I'm a fool."

Grace nodded, "But you are my fool."

He let out a ragged breath. Donna wondered how he could have possible thought that Grace was going to give up on him because of this. Didn't he see how she looked at him?

"Come here," Grace instructed, with open arms.

He moved quickly, David stepping out of the way. Jack pulled Grace into his arms, squeezing until she slapped his back. "I have to breathe, you know."

He chuckled, a warm sound. "Do you forgive me?"

Grace looked over at David, "What do you think, David?"

Donna wondered why she was asking David, but then it clicked. Not only was she trying to include him in the family, she was trying to make sure Jack liked him as well.

David smiled gently, "He did say he was sorry, and admit he was a fool."

Grace nodded from her perch in Jack's arms, "All right forgiven. I have rules though."

Jack sat her down with a laugh, "This ought to be good."

"Very," Grace nodded, ignoring his sarcasm. "Rule one, your tongue does not go into other women's mouths."

"Just women?" Jack asked with a wink.

"Don't make me hurt you," Grace suggested, before continuing. "Rule two…well, it's not really a rule, but I want some chocolate."

Jack laughed. "Oh, my precious girl."

Donna smiled at them both, backing off a little. Her cub was safe, she could retract her claws.

Jack turned away, "Thank you, David."

David shrugged. "No problem."

"No," Jack walked over. "Really. Thank you for talking to her, and thank you for pulling us here. I think this was something that needed to happen. My vote is for you staying, if that's what you want."

David nodded, "Very much."

Donna walked over, and patted David's back. "We will make sure of it; I don't think the Doctor will object. Not now."

David nodded again. He looked relieved, and Donna pulled him into a hug. "We love you already, always."

"I love you too." David told her, and Donna knew that he wasn't lying.

DW

The Doctor wasn't having fun. Not at all. Rose was crying, and he hadn't even told her everything, yet. He was worried. He wouldn't turn David away. He might have acted like a jerk, but he wouldn't do that to him. If it hadn't worked out, then David was welcome with them.

He would be a good addition to the family, and if he was still that man born in war he couldn't think of a better group to help bring him back from the edge.

But what if Rose wanted to come? He had told her that they wouldn't be back, but it didn't seem that she cared now. Here they were, and here she was.

All because Rose couldn't accept that the other man was him. Except he wasn't. Still, the Doctor was sure that he would have been willing to love Rose. There was a part of him that would have been. Maybe not now, but back then. The part that he left with her.

"Doctor," she sobbed out. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

He wanted to yell, he wanted to tell her she was wasting what she had. But that wasn't fair. Even if she was older Rose was still just a child. She might have come a long way, but he couldn't be unkind to her. It was his fault after all, back when, before he lost her, he had led her on.

She hadn't had time to properly heal, and he supposed leaving David with her probably felt like the cop out that it was. She wasn't dumb, even if she was young. She had to know he was blowing her off. He might have done it will good intentions, but the road to hell and all.

"Rose, I'm sorry," he told her. He made the decision and reached for her hand. It was soft and warm, and for him it had been so long. He still loved her of course, it just wasn't the same. He would always love her."I never thought I would be back, I wasn't lying."

He didn't think that was why she was crying, but it was a start. An apology, that maybe would help level some of this pile of guilt. The more guilty he felt the more likely it was that he was going to do something stupid, like ask her to stay.

"Why did you leave me here, with him?"

Him? The Doctor did get a bit angry now. "David? He has a name, and he would have loved you. You were just too stubborn to give him a chance!"

Okay, that hadn't come out well. He was struggling with blaming her and justifying her. There were equal points in both categories.

She took her hand back and he regretted the outburst. That wasn't why they were here. If this turned into the blame game, she had plenty of ammo against him.

He had walked her into life or death situations time and time again. He had done things along the way that were right at the time but could only be regrets now. So if they started down that road, it would get dark and lead to an argument. He didn't want to argue with Rose, he just wanted to help her understand.

"I know he has a name," she whispered. He reached for her hand again, her tone heart breaking. She let him take it. "And I know he thinks I didn't try, but I did. He is a good man, but he wasn't you. And it wasn't just that, he was just enough like you that it hurt."

She sighed and went on, "It wasn't like dating someone new. No, I had to stare at the face of the man I loved, but know the whole time that it wasn't him. He was just enough of you to break my heart every day."

The Doctor frowned. He had been hard on her, without knowing the details. That would be like someone asking him to be with someone who looked like Donna but wasn't. He could imagine that would only serve as a form of torture.

"I'm sorry, I really thought-"he began but how could he finish?

"I don't need you to love me, Doctor," she sighed and swallowed thickly. "I'm an adult, no matter what you think. I just need you to be honest."

The Doctor looked into her moist brown eyes. Honest was hard, but he owed her that. He took in a breath and nodded. "Okay, honest."