He'd once declared, in an attempt to postpone his death— long story there— that he could help Rose Tyler with her homework.
So here he sat, trying to do just that. Rose grumbled unintelligibly, gnawing on the tip of her eraser while he tried to quiz her.
At last, she groaned, throwing her hands up in the air, "What does it matter if I know the square root of pi to the negative second power?"
He fought off the urge to say recreational mathematics could come in handy and that the answer was 0.318309886. Instead, he chose the simpler, "I dunno."
"It's not like I'm going to be in school much longer anyways."
"You've still got two years," he said.
"Less than that," Rose said.
"...My math is just fine— I went to school, see— You have two more years. You'll be eighteen when you graduate."
"I dropping out," Rose said.
"What?"
"Yeah," Rose nodded.
"Why?" he asked, struggling to remember the circumstances that had led to Rose's working in a shop. She'd said once that it was all Jimmy Stone's fault. Whatever that meant.
"Jimmy and I are—" Rose began.
"What!" his eyes widened, "You are sixteen! You can't!"
"Can't what?" Rose asked.
"Get married!"
Rose stared at him. "I'm not. We're not. Wh- why would you even think that?"
"You're not?"
"No. And for the record, I'm seventeen!" Rose folded her arms.
"Sorry," he said.
Rose folded her arms. "Alright."
"So... what are you doing, then?"
"Just dropping out," Rose shrugged. "Moving in with Jimmy."
"Yeah, well, you're not doing that either."
"Oh, I'm not?"
"No. You can't throw your future away over some boy," he said. And that's not at all hypocritical, is it, Doctor? he thought to himself. He'd asked that of almost every companion. Of course he wasn't just some boy. He wasn't a boy. He was a man... sort of... a Time Lord... did that count...?
"Mickey, are you paying attention?"
"What?" he looked up.
"Nothing," Rose muttered.
"You're not quitting school," he said. "You've got your whole life ahead of you."
"So? Is there some reason I can't spend it with Jimmy?"
He quited for a few moments, then sighed. "Alright. If this is what you want, I'll shut up now."
Rose smiled, hugging him. "Thank you."
"But listen, missy, if it doesn't work out, and it ends in tears..."
"Don't come crying to you?" Rose guessed.
"No," he shook his head. "I want you to come crying to me. I'll always be here, got that?"
Rose smiled at him, "Thank you for understanding."
He shrugged.
Within a month, Rose had dropped out of school and moved in with Jimmy. The Doctor visited her a week after she'd moved.
"Hey!" Rose greeted him with a smile. "Come on in."
Mickey glanced around the small, one room flat. "It's not very big."
"There's only two of us," Rose shrugged. "It works."
A man appeared over her shoulder. Sweet Rassilon, he was big. He was tall, muscled, and everything the Doctor wasn't at the moment. It made him feel very small.
"Who's this?" the man asked.
"This is Mickey Smith," Rose said. "Mick, this is Jimmy."
Jimmy stared down at the Doctor. "You Rose's friend?"
"Yes."
"I'm her boyfriend. Keep that in mind."
"Jimmy," Rose moaned. "He's just a friend."
"Whatever. I have to go," he kissed Rose. "See you."
"Bye," Rose said dreamily.
The door slammed behind him as he left.
"So what does he do for a living?" the Doctor asked.
"He's a musician," Rose said.
"Ah... Bet that makes lots of money."
"I thought you said you were going to shut up."
"I am, I am," he sighed. "I should be going too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I got to get down to the shop."
"Oh, alright," Rose said, hugging him. "See you later?"
"Course."
As a few months passed, she seemed happy enough, although the Doctor still felt uneasy.
"Relax," Jack said. "We both know she turns out okay in the end."
"I know. I'm just worried about her."
"What's there to be worried about? She's human. She's still a kid. She'll make plenty more mistakes in her life. Whatever happens here, I doubt it does any permanent damage."
"You're absolutely no help at all," the Doctor declared.
Jack shrugged and took a swig of his drink. "You didn't tell me this was going to be your attempt at a therapy session, Doc. You just said 'Hey, let's go out for drinks.' And now you're complaining to me about how your once and future girlfriend has dropped out of school for a musician."
"We were never together. Why does everyone think we were a couple?"
"Right," Jack nodded mock-seriously. "Of course not."
"The only reason I'm worried is because of the stable time loop. I don't know the full extent of what I'm supposed to be doing right now."
"Just go with it. Or better yet, screw the time loop and come work with Torchwood."
"No."
"What if I say please?"
"No."
"If I beg?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because Torchwood hates me and wants me dead. If they find out I was working for it... as beautiful as the irony is, I don't imagine they'll be very forgiving of you."
Jack shrugged. "I can deal with it."
"What about Tosh and Suzie? Could they deal with the consequences?"
Jack frowned.
The Doctor shrugged, "Know what? Ask me in a year."
"What happens in a year?"
"Rose starts her travels with a younger me. I'm accused of murder and Jackie hates me. I'll most likely lose my job and that would be the perfect time for me to do a little Torchwood work."
"Excellent."
"You'll only have me for a year and it can't go on the record."
"I'll take what I can get," Jack grinned.
As Jack was no help whatsoever in the Rose-and-Jimmy issue, the Doctor resorted to confiding his fears to Jackie Tyler, who agreed with him.
"Now, I loved Pete, really, I did. But I wouldn't want that life for Rose," she said, frowning. "She's a smart girl. She deserves better than that."
"Was it that bad?"
"Yeah," Jackie sighed. "Never knew where our next meal was coming from. All those daft schemes of his. If they'd worked, I'd have never said another word. But they didn't; it almost destroyed our marriage. And then Pete died and I had to make my own way... I'm glad she's got you, though. You'll set her straight when this is all over, yeah?"
"You don't think it'll last?"
"I give it another month."
Jackie was wrong; it lasted two more months. Money troubles came, Rose's happiness deteriorated rapidly, and she confessed her belief that Jimmy was having an affair.
And then, six months after the whole thing had started, the Doctor woke in the middle of the night to rapid pounding outside his door.
Rose stood there, a suitcase in one hand, mascara running down her face.
"H-he l-left," she whispered through her tears.
He let out a long breath. "Come on in."
Rose sat down on the sofa, her head in her hands. "I was so stupid."
"Yeah," he nodded. "You were."
Rose looked up at him, glaring.
"What happened?"
"We were having an argument... and then he was just gone when I woke up. He left a note, saying that it wasn't working out and that by the time I read it, he'd be half way to Amsterdam with 'Noosh.'"
"Well that's stupid. Who has a name like Noosh?"
Rose glared at him again.
"I'm sorry," he sat down next to her.
Rose shrugged. "You were right."
"I'm always right."
"Shut up," Rose said.
The tea kettle shrieked, making both of them jump. The Doctor got it, pouring a cup for Rose. She took it, her hands trembling.
"This is just hot water," Rose noted.
"Right..." he said, taking it back and throwing it behind him absently. "How about I get some chips, then?"
"It's two in the morning," Rose said.
"I'll get them. I know just the place."
"Where?"
"Just stay here," he said, smiling.
"Alright," Rose curled up on the sofa while he ran out.
He raced down the street to the junk yard, opening the TARDIS and racing to the kitchen. After pressing several buttons, he had a brown bag full of warm chips.
"Thanks," he called to the TARDIS, racing back down the street to his flat.
"I guarantee, these will be the best chips you've ever—" he stopped.
Rose lay peacefully on the sofa, fast asleep.
He smiled fondly at her, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "Oh, Rose..."
A/N: All the information I had on Jimmy Stone came off of the TARDIS wikia. I tried to make it work with canon as best I could. Also, this chapter was impossible to write.