Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, if I did who knows what strange, twisted happenings would have gone on?

Sorry again about the wait, I know I'll hardly have any readers left but for the faithful of you whom I have screwed about with the past months (exams and stuff like that), here's chapter 7. I hope there are still some readers left to enjoy it……..

Chapter 7 – A Night of Many Faces

Rose greeted him with a firm kiss and a hug,
"Hello," she gripped his hand tightly and pulled him into the enormous, marble floored lobby, "Come in, the family'll be out soon. Watch mum especially," she winked at him, "She's been a bit, well, hyper all day."

Just as Rose finished warning her lover her mother appeared in the hall, a bright smile plastered on her made-up face and an expensive blue dress hanging from her shoulders. Immediately she headed towards Harry and enfolded him in a friendly hug,
"Oh Mr Saxon," she exclaimed as she released him, "A pleasure to met ya properly at last. We've heard so much about ya." Harry nodded, he had met Jackie briefly before, but as he had told Rose a few days ago they were short encounters where only words of greeting had been exchanged.
"No we haven't," came a small yet firm voice and Harry stared down into the face of a little sandy haired boy with a serious, suspicious expression. Rose held out her hand motioning towards the two,
"Harold Saxon, this is my mum Jacqueline."
"Jackie please."
"And this is my brother, Tony." Harry stood there staring for a little while until Rose gave him a sharp shove in the back, immediately with a well faked smile the Master knelt down onto his haunches and offered the little boy his hand,
"Pleased to meet you Tony." The young child glared at the man, and shook his head dismissively,
"Yeah whatever!" Jackie gave her son a light slap on the back and scolded him for his rudeness,
"TONY! Mind your manners."

"And finally Peter," said Rose, motioning at the man who had just arrived in the hallway. Harry shook his hand firmly.
"Pleasure to meet you at last Mr Saxon," Pete said but did not smile; he appeared quite uncaring about Rose's love life. Jackie smiled, not seeming to notice her husband's coldness; she gave her daughter's companion an almost harsh stare and questioned him seriously,
"So, if ya don't mind me askin', what do ya want us to call ya? Is it Mr Saxon or the Master?" With a roll of her eyes Rose muttered something inaudible under her breath, however Harry seemed unaffected by the probing question, he took her hand and squeezed,
"No Rose, it's all right. Call me what you want Jackie whatever one you feel comfortable with." He met Jackie's eyes, and for the first time that night she gave him what looked like a real, honest smile, she chuckled lightly and nodded,
"Harold Saxon it is then."

The doorbell rang again; Rose sighed and untangled her hand from his.
"That must be Mickey and Clarissa."

Rose opened the door and allowed Mickey Smith and a pretty, young woman with a bulging stomach into the crowded entrance hall. Mickey was the first to make conversation, enveloping Jackie in a warm hug as he greeted her like he would greet his mother,
"Hello! Jackie you look lovely," the man moved over, bending down to give the lad a high five with his right hand, "Hi there Tony, high five!" Next he progressed to Pete and shook his hand severely, "Pete, good to see you," and then he gave Rose a small hug which she shrunk away from shyly, "Rose, you're still smiling it must be a miracle!" Mickey's wife gave a half-hearted smirk and hit her husband playfully on the arm,
"Ignore him Rose. It's lovely to see you again....."
She was cut off by her spouse, who had finally made his way over to Harold,
"And you must be the one and only Harold Saxon. Nice to meet you."
"And you." Mickey led his wife away from the rest of the Tyler family and introduced her to Rose's new man,
"Clarissa, this is the famous Mr Saxon. My wife Clarissa and of course unknown here," he finished jabbing his thumb rudely at her swollen belly.

Suddenly Jackie clapped her hands together firmly, causing everyone to jump, and announced that it was time to eat, before she led everyone into the large, ornate dining room of the Tyler mansion.
"So you know the Doctor then?" Mickey asked flippantly as he swallowed a mouthful of scrumptious food, his eyes bored into Harry in an attempt to intimidate him. Of course it did not work. Rose scowled, her hand poised, holding a laden fork near her mouth,
"How do you know that!?" She turned to glare angrily at her mother, the only one who would have told Mickey such a thing, "MUM!"
"I didn't know it was a big secret, so don't shout at me!" Apparently unaware of the tension he was causing, Mickey carried on digging, his voice light,
"Were you good friends or what? And why did he always tell us his race or species was dead? Does he know about you? Do you have much to do with him?" There was a loud clatter as Rose dropped her fork onto her plate and sat, like a sulking child, with her arms crossed defiantly over her chest and her head lowered,
"Mickey! Shut up about him!" She ordered him severely.
"You know how he left Rose don't you?" Mickey continued ignoring Rose's embittered protests, "Is that just him or is that a Time Lord thing?"

At last Rose snapped, she leapt up from her seat sending it crashing backwards with a BANG, then she pointed a long, sharpened nail at her old friend, her eyes narrow and her mouth unsmiling, "SHUT IT SMITH! Why do you always have to bring him up!? You bastard!" And she fled furiously into the kitchen, slamming the door hard behind her. The Master made a move to follow her but was motioned back to his seat by Jackie with a dismissive but flustered wave of her hand,
"She's changed so much since that day," she murmured to no one in particular, her tone full of sorrow, "I'm sorry Harry; she's not usually like this. Excuse me." Then she too left the dinner party to go after her stressed daughter.

Jacqueline found her daughter in the kitchen, leaning against the fridge with her eyes closed and her breathing rapid. In an attempt to reassure her child, the worried woman placed a hand gently on the girl's shoulder whilst trying to hush her softly,
"Rose darlin' hush."
Yet Rose quickly shrugged the hand away, "Don't touch me!" She screamed heatedly into her mum's face.
"Okay," Jackie said immediately, and took a few paces away from Rose; she had grown used to her daughters quick, violent tempers that had emerged over their time in this universe, she had grown used to the cold distance that now separated her daughter from the rest of the family, and although it saddened her, it had become just another fact of life, "You know I like him," she said slowly, trying to anticipate Rose's reaction, "Even more than the...........other one."
"The Doctor mum," Rose huffed, "Ya can say his name!"
"Well I like him more than the Doctor then. He's attractive and quite charming. And I can see he makes you happy, which is the only important thing," drawing in a breath of air she gulped anxiously, "Mickey was wrong to bring the subject up......." She paused, knowing Rose would not let her forget this moment easily, "And I shouldn't have told him." Slamming her hand hard against the fridge door, Rose cried,
"You think!" Years ago the scene would have bought Jackie to tears, but now she observed the behaviour with a cool severity, as if she was an onlooker rather than a member of this volatile situation.
"I'm sorry sweety. I'm really, really...."

The door swung open smoothly on its well-oiled hinges and the slender figure of Harold Saxon entered, his face contorted with worry and his eyes pouring with love. Ignoring Jackie and her half-finished phrase the Time Lord crossed the kitchen in two huge strides, stood so that Rose was facing him and grabbed her shoulders tenderly, forcing her to look up at him.
"Rose? Are you all right?" The blonde nodded thoughtfully, her eyes no loner vacant but fixed on the figure before her. The pair stood in silence for a while, as if they were the only two people in the whole world, Jackie was almost upset when she had to shatter the comfortable peace,
"Mr Saxon!? What are you doing here? Ya should be in there.........."
"Mum, go away. Leave us alone," Rose muttered, though her eyes never left the Master's face. With a defeated glance to the floor Jackie left the kitchen, the door closed behind her allowing her to catch the first words of the couple's conversation,
"Really I'm fine..."

The remainder of the party stared at her with questions burning in their eyes as she returned to her seat at the head of the table. She sipped contemplatively on her wine before raising her eyes to the others and stating,
"I think they're in love!"

Hours later the party were saying their farewells in the hall, Mickey pecked Jackie politely on each cheek as he thanked her for the evening's festivities,
"Thank you for a delicious meal Jackie, we'll return the favour sometime soon," he shook Tony's hand lightly, "Bye Tony," and nodded at the rest of the Tyler family, "Pete, Rose."
Clarissa followed suit, hugging Jackie gently, "Yeah, thank you for a wonderful evening. It's nice to get out of the house. See you soon everyone."
"Bye," chorused the crowd jollily as the two vanished into a cool, dark night.

Once the Smith's had left, Harry turned on his heel and headed towards the door as well,
"I'd better be off as well."
Rose pulled a glum face and sighed sadly, she clung onto his arm, stroking the back of his hand softly with her thumb,
"Do you have to?"
He gave her a gentle smile and nodded slowly, "Yes." He turned to Jackie, but made no attempt to kiss or embrace her, "It was a fabulous dinner Jackie, thank you."
"Quite all right," the woman replied with a favourable smile, only a little offended by the man's lack of hugs. Next he looked at Pete Tyler, scanning his eyes over the man's thin hair and sharp suit, the two had rarely exchanged words this night and Harry got the impression that the man had never forgotten that Rose was not his own flesh and blood.
"Thank you Pete, you have a beautiful family. It was a pleasure to meet you." The nod that followed was courteous but not entirely friendly, he did not gift him with a verbal answer. With a broad smile the Master dropped onto his haunches, Rose's hand still touching his shoulder, and offered Tony his hand for a high five, "See ya Tony!"
"See ya Harry!" Tony shouted, and slapped Harry's hand so hard it stung. Then he turned back to his partner,
"Bye," she whispered sorrowfully, her eyes locked with his, begging him not to leave her. He squeezed her shoulder reassuring, promising her he'd be back tomorrow, then kissed her lovingly on the lips.
"I'll see you soon," he said, tucking a finger beneath her chin and lifting her head up into the light, "Bye," kissing her once more and then left her with her family.

As the door banged shut Jackie offered her daughter an encouraging smile and nodded approvingly,
"He's a good bloke. You've got a good catch there Rose, the best you've ever had." Meeting her eyes for the first time all evening, the young blonde gave a forced smile and wrung her hands anxiously behind her back,
"I know." Silence fell awkwardly on the group; not an uncommon thing in the Tyler household these days. Inconspicuously Jackie elbowed her husband sharply in the ribs, making him splutter. Getting his spouse's point, the bored-looking fellow took a step towards his 'daughter' with open arms,
"I'm glad for you sweetheart." Yet his arms dropped back to his side when Rose took a deliberate step away from his approaching figure, making it quite clear that she did not wish to be embraced, particularly by her adoptive father. Tony giggled sweetly,
"I like Harry, he's funny." Rose smiled at him. It was probably a good thing that her family liked him, although Rose would not have cared of they'd hated him completely, he was hers and she would not give him up for anything. She was addicted. Yawning Jackie swept up her little son and began to talk; Rose only just caught what she was saying,
"Goodnight darling. Say nigh-nights Tony." The little lad waved from his seat in his mama's arms,
"Night-night." Rose waved back feebly,
"Night Tony tiger." Pete followed his wife and child up the stairs leaving Rose alone in the dull entrance hall.

Sighing tiredly, Rose leaned back against the door, unsure whether she would be able to cope with her family until midday. Perhaps if she remained in bed for most of the morning she would manage it? Thinking back over the evening she thought that it had gone rather well, with the exception of the 'Doctor incident'. The Master had been utterly charismatic and had put his spell over everyone present. Rose had followed his lessons, trying her hardest to get along with all and been as polite and amiable as her mood allowed. It had worked. They loved him. Their open relationship was quite safe. Now she just had to wait until she could get back to him. Biting her lip she scolded herself, realising for the first time since they'd gotten together, just how dependent she had become on him. She was only herself when she was with him.

Sorry again. Hope you weren't let down by it anyhow.

SORRY‼‼ *Sobs uncontrollably*