The Doctor was jarred awake by the rough wheezing noise of the TARDIS' brakes, as she materialized at the corner, by Rose's apartment building. He staggered to his feet, with a sense of urgency and rushed to the door. He opened it and stumbled out into the sunlight. He sighed a sigh of relief when he saw that they were finally in the right place. Shaking off a flash of queasiness, he made his way back to Rose's bedroom and staggered in. After checking her pulse once again, he gently lifted her, in his arms and made his way, through, the TARDIS, and out to the door. He stopped when he heard a voice calling nearby.
"Doctor? Rose? Doctor are you in there?" Jackie raced around the corner and inquisitively circled the blue box.
Dreading the encounter, but knowing it was inevitable, the Doctor steadied his nerves and stepped out of the TARDIS, carrying Rose.
"Doctor!" Jackie greeted, then realized her daughter in his arms. "Rose! Doctor what've you done!? What's happened to my Rose!?"
The Doctor interrupted her. "Jackie, call and ambulance, Rose had been hurt. She's unconscious. Now go!"
After a moment of angry hesitation, Jackie conceded and pulled her mobile from her pocket and stepped a few steps away. At that moment, Mickey came running from the other direction shouting.
"Doctor! Rose! I was right! I thought I heard it! You're back!" He stopped short when he saw the Doctor gently lowering Rose onto the pavement. "Rose? Doctor what's happened?"
The Doctor stood and looked him in the eyes. "Mickey, I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"
Mickey interrupted, "Yeah! I'll bet you are! And you're gonna be a whole lot sorrier! Now, WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?"
"The TARDIS crashed! She fell, I had nothing to do with it!" He insisted.
"NO! This is all your fault! I KNEW this would happen! You did this, you…you…Alien freak! You promised you'd bring her back safe!" with that flash of anger, the furious young man drew back a coiled fist and let it fly into the Doctor's face. The Doctor stumbled, but did not fall. However, after the first punch, Mickey was overcome with a burst of energy and flung himself on to the Time Lord, fists blazing. After several painful seconds, the Doctor was able to throw Mickey off of him, just as the ambulance was arriving.
The medics rushed out of the ambulance and after a few moments of explaining that was a close to the truth as possible, the Doctor allowed them to take Rose away. Within a few minutes they were gone, and on their way to a hospital with her. Mickey stormed away, to collect his car, but as he left, he gave another angry glare to the Doctor as he passed. The Doctor rubbed his bruised face gingerly with a shaky hand and gave a deep sigh.
Jackie passed by him, as well, on the way to her car, also ready to follow the ambulance to the hospital, however, as she passed him, she stopped and turned to him. "Are you alright, Doctor? You said that old ship of yours crashed, and that Rose was hurt, what about you, are you alright then?"
Astonished at her care towards him, he gave a small smile. "I guess I'll be alright…it's Rose that we should be worrying about…I'm so sorry Jackie…I should never have taken her away from this planet! From her home… What an old selfish fool I am!"
With mixed emotions and tears in both their eyes, she placed a comforting hand on his arm and replied, "No, though I never thought I'd admit it…it wasn't selfish…and it wasn't just you…it was the both of you…and it was love. You needed her, and she needed you; you both completed each other and I can see it in the eyes of both of you! Now, come along Doctor, I suppose even you could use a lift sometimes!"
He slowly followed her, still shocked by her kind reaction, when he had been expecting a ball of rage from her. He stopped as they were reaching the car, and called to her. "Jackie?"
She turned to him, a bit annoyed. "What is it now, Doctor?"
He flashed the only smile his battered face would allow. "Thank you…"
