A/N: Okay, so it's been a few months but nowhere near as long as the last one. So heres the next chapter. Let me know if you're still reading!

Chapter 7

She found him rocking slowly on a swing in the children's playground.

"You'll freeze out here," she said as she sat on the swing beside him. "So come on, talk."

"Nothing to say."

"That's a first; normally we can't get you to shut up." She had hoped to raise a smile but his eyes stayed firmly gazing ahead.

"Just don't know what to say," he shrugged.

"How about saying what's on your mind?"

The corners of his lips twitched as he gave a small huff of amusement. "You sound like a mother."

"I am a mother. I may not actually be your mother but you're still part of my family, I've told you that before. Everyone needs a mother sometimes. Even Time Lords."

There was a moment of silence and Jackie could almost see his mind whirring, trying to make sense of things.

"I don't think I'll ever lose that image," he whispered finally. "It's never going to go away. I don't even have to close my eyes and I can still see it and feel it. I've lost so many people over the centuries, seen so many die but never…..I hate guns. I hate all weapons, and Earth's are some of the most barbaric. I've never seen someone…..I've never seen that happen to anyone."

"There aren't many who have, sweetheart. I'm sorry you had to see it but I'm glad you're all safe and if Jack hadn't….well, who knows what would have happened?"

"I know. If anything had happened to her…." He felt his eyes welling up. "But I just can't stop seeing it."

Jackie rose from the swing and stood in front of him, pulling him into a hug. "This is why everyone needs a mum," she whispered as he shivered in the cold night air.

XxXxX

Rose sat stroking Chester's head as Jack paced round the living room talking to Owen on the phone.

"He's not well, Owen. I know the Doctor and this isn't normal for him."

"Give him a chance, he'll be fine."

"You can't say that, you haven't seen that look in his eyes."

"Jack, you're getting worked up over nothing."

"Don't tell me it's nothing!"

"Which one of us in this conversation is the medical professional here? Keep him warm, keep him occupied and give him a chance to talk if he wants to. Shock hits everyone at sometime, Jack. Even the Doctor."

"Shock?"

"Are you telling me, after all your years working for Torchwood, you didn't recognise shock?"

"But he's the Doctor, he's seen everything!"

"Obviously he's never been close enough to see someone's brain escaping the back of their head, let alone have it splatter him. We've seen it so often that after a while we've become detached from it. He doesn't seem to detach from anything. The whole universe means something to him and everyone in it. It's amazing he's stayed sane for the last nine centuries. Just give him a break. Talk crap at him, you're good at talking crap."

"Hey, just because you're in Cardiff doesn't mean I can't sack you!"

"You wouldn't dare."

"Don't push your luck," Jack warned but couldn't keep the smile from his face. He had a good team holding the fort and he trusted them with his life. He snapped the phone shut and looked at Rose. "Good news is the Doctor's not sick. The bad news is I'm really, really stupid."

XxXxX

Rose saw him, exactly where her mother had left him, swinging gently on the swing.

"Mum said you were here. Why don't you come inside?" she asked as she approached.

"In a minute," he replied softly, frowning at the distance.

She stood and watched him for a moment, saying nothing. For the first time in ages she didn't know what to say to him and decided he was best left to his own thoughts.

"Stay," the Doctor said as she turned back towards the flat. "I remembered you and wrote about you when I was human."

Rose frowned as she sat on the swing beside him.

"I remembered you clear as day; your face, your clothes. I kept asking you where to find a rose but you just walked away. John Smith didn't understand but I did. Even trapped in a pocket watch I was still trying to find you and John was drawing your face. He drew creatures and aliens too, and Martha was in there but he could never see her face. But you….you were clear as day; he just didn't know who you were or how important you are."

"What's brought this on?"

He shrugged. "Where's Chester?"

"With Mum and Jack. I think she quite likes him."

"Which one, Chester or Jack?"

"Both... Jack got so worried about you he phoned Owen."

"Owen?"

"Only other Doctor he knows."

"Ah. You alright?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You're the one who had a gun held to her head?"

"And you're the one will someone's brains over their face and shirt!" Rose looked at him incredulously. "Not the first time I've been threatened and I bet it's not the last. I guess I just wasn't expecting it. Stupid really." She reached out and grabbed his hand; it was ice cold. "Can we go home?"

"Hmm? Oh yes, course." The Doctor stood and turned towards the flats.

"Doctor? Homes this way," she told him with a half smile, inclining her head towards the TARDIS.

The Doctor smiled back. "Right you are."

XxXxX

Jack and Jackie stood on the walkway looking over the playground.

"Well, thank god for that!" Jackie sighed with relief. "Maybe he'll burn that shirt and have a shower."

"I can't believe you hugged him with brain matter all over him," Jack told her.

"When you're a mum you hug your kids no matter what they're covered in, if they need it."

Jack looked round at Rose's mum. "You know, I don't know why he complains about you the way he does." He winked.

"I do, I'm the closest thing he's got to a mother in law. It's an unwritten rule."

"He doesn't really complain. Well, not that much, and I don't think he ever really means it."

"I'll let you into a secret. I don't ever really mean it, not in the long run."

"You're a good woman, Mrs Tyler."

Jackie blushed. "They gona be alright on their own or are you going to check on 'em?"

"Think I'll leave them too it for a while. They could do with some quiet time. If anyone can bring him round its Rose." Jack looked at her. "He can be so human sometimes. We think because he's an alien and so old that nothing can scare him, nothing shocks him. We just take for granted that he'll be there to fix things."

"S'pose that's 'cause he always seems to be there, fixing things." Jackie shrugged.

XxXxX

"Right, get that shirt off." Rose shuddered as she marched into their bedroom and straight to the wardrobe. Pulling out a clean shirt she dropped it on the bed before heading to the bathroom to run a bath.

The Doctor watched her move from room to room, fussing with cupboards and towels.

"What you standing there for?" Rose asked, coming to stop in front of him. "You need to wash..." she waved her hand up and down "that... off."

"Right, yes." The Doctor shook his head as if trying to clear it.

"Come on I'll help wash your hair." She gave him a light push towards the bathroom as the Doctor stripped off his clothes. "And that shirt is going in the air lock. We can ditch it somewhere far away." She picked up the offending article between her finger and thumb, not wanting to look at it let alone touch it, and dropped it into a bin bag.

The Doctor sighed as he slid into the warm water.

"Better?"

He looked up at Rose with a small smile. "A bit." He ducked under the water, soaking his hair as Rose poured shampoo into her hands. The instant he resurfaced Rose was massaging his head, working the shampoo into a lather and the Doctor gave a sigh. He was starting to unwind a bit. He'd never been one for baths but the warm water was comforting him tonight.

"You coming in?" he asked, before ducking under the water again to rinse the shampoo.

Rose felt a tremor of relief as the Doctor, HER Doctor, seemed to be re-emerging from his shocked state. She didn't need asking twice either, she practically tore her, bath clothes off and joined him in the warmth of the water. Wrapping her arms around him, she rested her head on his chest, listening to his heart beats. After a few silent moments she pressed a kiss to his skin before looking up at him. "We're alright aren't we?"

"You mean as in 'us'? Of course," the Doctor frowned. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Just my mum pointed out earlier that I take you for granted. No, wait listen," she held up her hand when he might interrupt. "You always take care of me, make sure I'm okay but I don't look after you as well as I should."

"What are you talking about? And WHY in the name of Rassilon, would you listen to your mother about us?"

"Because she's right! You're always the one to pick up the pieces for us and we get used to it, take it for granted and forget to look out for you."

The Doctor shook his head. "You're wrong. If it weren't for you I wouldn't be here now. Remember, I told you you'd saved me? I meant it. If it wasn't for you I would still be that lonely, miserable northern bloke with big ears. You, Rose Tyler are the best thing that has ever happened to me. In 900 years I have never felt as part of something as I do you. I'm not quiet whole without you, I belong. So you do take care of me, even if you don't realise you're doing it. In fact if I'd taken better care of you tonight you wouldn't have been in that position and I wouldn't have ended up covered in... well things wouldn't have ended the way they did."

"They might have. Besides. I'm bad wolf remember? Lot of good that did me."

"Again, my fault. I've been lax in working with you on that."

"I prefer the work you have been doing with me," Rose gave him a cheeky smile.

"I'll bet, minx. In fact, if I remember correctly, half of the 'work' I've been doing has been at your instigation."

"Yup, and I've got a bit of overtime for you now if you're interested?" She shifted round to face him completely and settled herself against him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He smirked, "as tempting as that sounds there is a far more pressing matter that needs to be taken care of first."

Rose frowned.

"We're sitting in horrible dirty water. Before we do anything else we're going to shower off."

She wrinkled her nose and jumped up quickly, darting to the shower. "Good plan"

"I sometimes have them," he smiled a little as she turned on the water, while he emptied the bath.

When he stepped under the spray to join her, Rose had already soaped herself up and turned to face him. She gently rubbed the shower gel in soft circles across his chest while he watched her. Soon, she reached up round his neck and kissed him deeply, pressing herself against him at closely as possible.

The Doctor gave a small sigh as his hands travelled over her smooth wet skin.

Rose rubbed her leg up the outside of one of his and pressed herself hard against his thigh, grinding slightly, trying to ease the ache that had begun.

The Doctor's lips left hers and travelled along her jaw and Rose opened her eyes for a moment, catching her reflection in the mirror that was beginning to mist up. She watched herself run her hand down his back and cup his bottom as she licked his .shoulder.

"Bedroom, now," she hissed.

XxXxX

A/N: Okay so if you hadn't guess the next chapter is gona contain 'adult themes'. It's been a while since I've written one so wish me luck. Oh and please review? Pretty please?