Jump No. 32
Rose stepped out of the void, surprisingly in control of all her limbs. She must finally be getting used to this. She looked around her, trying to figure out where the universes had landed her. There was grass, houses and a few cars wandering down a quiet, lonely street.
She was in England, she noted, looking at the number plates of the cars, but it seemed too quiet to be London. She looked around her again, at the houses lining the street and wondered what could possibly have ever brought the TARDIS here.
"Rose?"
She whipped around to see Mickey, staring straight back at her. Mickey? What on Earth was he doing here? She groaned.
"Mickey, I told you. I'll let you know when I need a rest cycle. What did you bring me back for?"
Mickey just stared at her. "What?"
"Where did you even bring me, anyway? Is this some kind of vacation? There aren't even any zeppelins. Where are we?"
Mickey had been threatening her with forced vacations for a while now, but she was sure he would never go through with it. He didn't understand, nobody understood her desperation. Her need. Even Mickey, who seemed to understand nearly everything about her couldn't understand just how much she needed to find The Doctor. Oh, he understood that they needed him to save reality, most people understood that. But nobody quite understood why she, Rose Tyler, needed to find her Doctor. Mickey thought he understood of course, thought that Rose was in love with The Doctor and wanted to find him to spend the rest of her life loving him. And he wasn't wrong, she supposed. But he wasn't quite right, either. And the fact that she could never explain just what it was that drew her to The Doctor so profoundly just fed Mickey's assumptions even further. And who was she to deny that he was right? He was. He just…he just didn't understand.
"Rose…" Mickey said, looking as though he couldn't believe she was there. "You came…"
Rose felt her face crinkle in confusion. "Obviously," she said. "You brought me here."
"But I never thought you'd actually say yes," Mickey said, his face slowly turning into a grin. "You didn't answer the wedding invitation, or James's Christening."
Rose's face crinkles further. What on earth was he talking about?
"Where's The Doctor, then?" Mickey asked, looking around. "Do we have a surprise for him!"
"Mickey, don't!" Rose said, her face going red. "You don't actually expect me to have found him already, do you? I told you, it would take time. No, you told me!" She rubbed her arms up and down, comforting and protecting herself. He was always going on about how it would take time, and that she couldn't ask for an instant fix because there was no way they would ever get one. He sounded like her mother when he talked like that and she hated it. So what if she just wanted The Doctor back right now? So what if she just wanted to hold him and know that he was there and never ever let him go? Sometimes Mickey made her feel extremely juvenile, and that fact in itself made her feel even more so. He was Mickey, for goodness' sake! Mickey the Idiot. Not Mickey the Parent, Mickey the Smart, Mickey the Responsible. The new universe had changed him.
She wondered if she had changed as much.
"Look at you," Mickey said, his eyes slackening as he looked her up and down. "You don't look a day older. You're even wearing…" he trailed off, his eyes sharpening again.
"What?" Rose asked, annoyed, confused, and though she was loathe to admit it, more exhausted than she thought she could ever be.
"Your clothes. Your hair. Your face."
Rose raised an eyebrow at him. She was too fed up to play along.
"I can't believe I've figured it out before you have," he said, the grin reappearing on his face. "Mickey the Idiot."
Rose growled. "Will you shut it and tell me what I'm doing here?"
"What jump are you up to?" he asked, still staring at her as though he hadn't seen her for years.
"Well, this was meant to be thirty-two, but I take it you've interrupted the transmission. Is it the weekend or something?"
Mickey's eyebrows furrowed. "Thirty-two…"He was trying to remember something. "I don't remember the mission report," he said.
"Well I haven't written it yet, have I?" Rose asked, exasperated.
"I suppose someone asked you to keep it light on the details," Mickey said, chuckling to himself.
"Right," Rose said, fed up. "What the hell is going on?"
"Jump thirty-two," Mickey explained, as though his answer was satisfactory. Which it wasn't. Not even nearly. So Rose didn't answer. "Come on, Rose," Mickey goaded, his mouth open wide in a grin. "Ask me what year it is!"
"I know what year it is."
Mickey laughed. "You're pouting! You're actually pouting!"
"Mickey!"
"Alright, alright," Mickey grumbled. "I forgot how cranky that cannon used to make you."
"Used to?"
Mickey grinned again. "It's 2015, Rose."
"What?"
"2015. Farnham, my house." He gestured to the house behind them.
"Your –"
"House, yeah. Normal universe, as you can tell. No zeppelins."
Rose looked around her again. 2015. So she was still base-jumping. This was weird.
"How'd you get back?" she asked.
"Oh, you know," Mickey said, waving his arm. "Realities collapsing, stars disappearing. Stuff I suppose I can't really tell you about." He shook his head, gloating.
Rose rolled her eyes. "Wait," she said, remembering. "You said wedding?"
"Yeah," Mickey said, shoving his left hand in her face. There was a thick golden wedding band on his finger. "Five years," he said.
Rose felt her eyes widen. Mickey Smith, married? That was just so…unlikely. "Who's the lucky lady?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Mickey teased and Rose felt like she was sixteen again and they were back in high school, sharing stupid gossip.
"Come on," Rose whined. "Tell me! Is she a catch? Do I know her?"
"Do you always get this distracted in jumps?" Mickey asked, obviously evading her question.
"Shut up!" Rose fired, slapping his arm. "So I do know her then?"
"Not yet."
Rose growled again. "I swear, I am so sick of people telling me that they can't tell me things. I wish someone would tell me something!"
Mickey laughed. Rose glared at him, then after a few seconds, joined in.
"Thirty-two," Mickey said, after a long moment.
"Thirty-two," Rose repeated. "Am I nearly there?" Mickey's eyes darkened. "Nah, it's ok," she said with a sigh. "I know you can't tell me."
"When did Mickey Smith ever play by the rules?" he asked, smiling. "You're close," he said. "Really close." Rose sighed, and felt tears threaten her eyelids. Mickey was a horrible liar.
"I just want it to be over," she said.
"Yeah, I know."
Mickey held out his arms for her, and Rose welcomed them, falling into him and laying her head on his shoulder. He held her head against him and stroked her hair, like he always did when she broke down. Which was more often than she would like to admit, really.
"Daaaaaaaaaaaaad!"
Rose jumped out of Mickey's arms to find a mini-Mickey tugging on his pants.
"Hey mate," Mickey said, and swung the little boy onto his shoulder. Rose was frozen in shock.
"Dad?"
Mickey laughed nervously as the child on his shoulder played with his ears. "Yeah. Rose, this is James. James, this is Auntie Rose."
Rose felt her heart warm at the title. Auntie Rose. She liked that.
"Hi Auntie Rose," James greeted, melodically.
"Hello James," she replied. "Well, he's not shy, is he?"
She smiled at the little boy and brushed a hand over his head.
"You were meant to be godmother," Mickey said, "But you never came to the christening."
"Godmother?"
"You and Tish," Mickey said. "But…"
"But I never came…why?"
Mickey shrugged. "No idea. Mar…my wife sent The Doctor a message, but we haven't seen either of you for years. We thought we heard the TARDIS at the wedding, but if you were there, you didn't say hello."
Rose frowned. "Why?" she asked, although she knew Mickey didn't hold the answer. "I would have if…"
"I know," said Mickey. "Don't worry about it though," he said, and it was clear that he had in fact been worrying about it, "wherever the Doctor and Rose Tyler travel, there's sure to be something more interesting than domestics."
Rose smiled at the reference. But the frown that lined Mickey's eyes remained, and Rose promised herself that when this was all over, she would make the Doctor swear to take her to Mickey's wedding and little James's christening.
"You're married," she said again, looking him over. "I can't believe it."
Mickey's grin re-emerged. "You'll love her, Rose. She's…well…you'll see."
"Will I?" Rose asked, amused. "Well that's something to look forward to then." She raised an eyebrow at Mickey.
"Oh no," he said, still grinning back. "You won't get anything out of me."
"What happened to "When did Mickey Smith ever play by the rules"?"
"Only superfluous ones."
"Superfluous?"
Mickey nudged her. "Shut up. I'm not Mickey the Idiot anymore."
Rose smiled, eyes running over little James. "Obviously."
"And Rose Tyler's puppy-dog eyes don't sway me in the slightest." Rose frowned. "I'm not telling you what happens."
"No, I guess you're not," she said. It was strange to think that she wasn't around. That she hadn't seen him in years. He was Mickey. Mickey who had been there through Jimmy Stone, and high school, and both Doctors and everything that they gave her and took away. He had been her touchstone in the last few years in Pete's world, but here he was, Mickey Smith, living a life without her, day after day.
She wondered if this was how The Doctor felt when he saw Sarah Jane those years ago. It was an odd feeling. So proud and at the same time, so sad. So lost and so fulfilled all at once.
"You're so different," she said, marvelling at him. Mickey Smith.
"All because of you," he answered and her heart swelled again with pride.
Rose lingered for a second. "May I?" she asked, holding out her arms for the tiny Mickey-look-alike.
"Of course," Mickey said, "But be quick. I don't want him shooting off with you into the void."
"Wouldn't dream of it," she said, and her arms were full of little man. "Hello James," she said, kissing the little boy on the head.
"You already said that," he said back, full of cheek.
"He's his dad's son," she said with a laugh.
"More like his mother, actually," Mickey said, face glowing with pride. "That timer will go off soon," he said.
"Rose nodded. "Yeah," she said. She gave little James another kiss on the head. "Bye bye, little man."
"You're not staying for my party?" James asked, his face falling into a gorgeous frown.
Rose looked at Mickey quizzically.
"It's his birthday," Mickey said back. "He's four today."
"Happy birthday," Rose said, unable to stop her smile from showing her regret that the future her wasn't there. Although, for her to be here now meant that the TARDIS had to have been around here very recently. Maybe she was watching, unseen. How like The Doctor.
"Guess I'd better say goodbye then."
Rose nodded. "Yeah." She had nothing better to say.
"Are all the jumps like this?" Mickey asked, as James started playing the bongos on his head. "James!"
Rose laughed. "Mostly," she said. "Strange and back to front and heart-wrenching." But she still smiled. "I'll keep the mission report light on the details then, shall I?"
Mickey smiled. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, you'd better."
"Bye then."
"Yeah."
"Bye James."
"Bye Auntie Rose!"
The world started to fade.
"Goodbye Rose."
It seemed that all she did was say goodbye.
