Part 10 - I'll Never Give Up On You

There was a knock at the door of the flat not two days after Hope's birth. Rose was alone for once with her new baby, with her mother in town doing shopping (and gossiping, no doubt), and Jack at work. She wasn't expecting anyone so she had no idea who it might be.

She had just got Hope off to sleep and was cradling the sleeping infant in her arms (she had found that the baby wanted to snooze more than anything right now, though the sleepless nights and nappy-changing duties had already begun), so she had to be as careful as possible as she walked to the door and pulled it open. She could not veil her surprise when she found none other than Mickey, laden with gifts, on the other side.

"Hi," he said, giving her one of his friendly smiles.

She suddenly felt a bit self-conscious over how she looked - two days after giving birth, and little care or attention to herself on her part, must have meant that she looked a little worse for wear - but part of her knew that Mickey wouldn't care. They had known each other too long for that.

"Hi," she eventually replied. "I wasn't expecting you. Come on in."

Mickey's eyes quickly settled on the little girl in Rose's arms as he passed, but he made no remark and just held up his hands toward her, showing off the goody bags and balloon he had brought along with him. "I got you and your kid a few things," he said, smiling kindly, "Not much, like… just a teddy and a balloon, and some chocolates for you - make sure your mum don't see them, though, or you won't get a look in."

Rose could only smile at him as she closed the door. "You're so sweet, Mickey," she said, "You didn't have to."

"Yes I did," he insisted.

They looked at one another in silence before Rose led him into the lounge.

"Thanks for coming over," she said. "It's really nice to see you again."

And she meant it. Their last confrontation had ended so badly that she had quite wondered if she ever would ever see him again.

Mickey took a seat, with the pink 'Baby Girl' balloon hovering by his side, and watched Rose lower herself carefully into the chair opposite. "You're looking good," he said.

She gave him a 'yeah, right' look, so he held up his hands in defence. "I'm only being polite!"

"I look terrible, Mickey," she asserted jokily. "The Doctor wouldn't have…" And then she trailed off. It wasn't really the best time to talk about him. It made her feel emotions she didn't want to show in front of Mickey; and she was certain that he hadn't come round to hear yet more about the Doctor…

Her caution had come to late though for an uncomfortable silence swiftly ensued, and the ghost of the Doctor now lingered in the air between them. The silence wasn't breached by either of them, though - it was Hope who made the next noise, waking up and emitting a little moan of protest which made Mickey smirk. "Well, are you going to introduce me?" he asked.

Rose gave him a quick glance then nodded. "Sure. Come over here."

He got up and walked behind her chair, looking down over her shoulder at the baby in her arms.

"This is Hope," Rose said, keeping her voice low.

Mickey smirked at the tiny little girl. "She's cute," he said. "Looks a lot like you."

"Do you think?"

"Yeah."

Hope shifted slightly and waved her tiny hands about for a moment before settling again. She then opened her eyes and seemed to stare at the stranger over her mother's shoulder for some time. Mickey stared straight back.

"She's got his eyes, though," he added.

Rose swallowed and looked at him again ruefully. "This must be hard for you," she murmured. "It feels awkward enough for me, so I can't imagine --"

"Forget about it, Rose," he interrupted quietly. "We've all had to make our choices, and that's that. We're still good friends, right?"

Rose nodded in response. "Of course." It sounded like Mickey had done a lot of thinking over the past few months and had forced himself to come to terms with a lot. Rose respected him so much for that, for his sheer goodness and integrity, and it made her realise how much they had both changed since the Doctor had walked into their lives.

Hope broke out into a well-timed infantile grin just then, which was so adorable that it couldn't fail to melt any heart, and it made Mickey laugh to see it.

"Can I hold her?" he asked.

"Sure," Rose said, further amazed by his composure. She couldn't help but feel more than a little uncomfortable, nevertheless, and was certain that, as hard as Mickey was trying to keep up appearances, he was feeling more than a little ambiguous toward her baby. It was almost the last insult the Doctor could have thrown at him.

Regardless, Mickey took the little girl up in his arms and rocked her. "The whole neighbourhood seems to know about her," he explained. "Your mum just doesn't know when to quit, does she?"

Rose rolled her eyes; Hope was only two days old, yet the world knew she had been born. "Mum will tell everyone…" she sighed. "I'm surprised she hasn't got in touch with the tabloids yet."

"Oh, they'd love that," Mickey joked, "'Alien baby born in London flats'."

For a moment, Mickey's voice had taken on a slightly spiteful hue, and it made Rose's face drop. She knew he hadn't meant anything by it, and he was quick to assure her, when he realised exactly in what manner he'd just spoken, that he hadn't meant any offence - but the façade was broken. They could never get back their trusting friendship of before, and they both knew it. The Doctor would always be there in-between them, if not in person, then in the form of his child.

"Do you think he'll come back?" Mickey then asked, trying to be realistic.

Rose hated the subject of the Doctor's return more than anything. She couldn't help but look at her child, the last vestige of the Doctor, and feel those terrible tumults of emotion reel about in the pit of her stomach all over again, those flashes of fear and dread, and of wondering whether Hope's father would ever come back. She had to bite down on her lip to prevent herself from crying, but her uneasy silence told Mickey all that he needed to know, that Rose would never give up on the Doctor, just like he would never give up on her.

He sighed and tickled Hope's belly with a finger, watching her tiny hands flail at his and grasp onto him. "You really loved him, didn't you?"

Rose looked up at him another time and met his gaze. "Yes," she confessed plainly.

He nodded, returning his sights to the Doctor's baby. "He's very lucky," he said.

Rose really felt like crying now. The more Mickey talked, the more she kept thinking 'what if the Doctor is dead?', 'what if he's really not coming back?', 'what will I do then?'. She kept herself in check, though, and got to her feet to take her child back.

"What if he doesn't come back, Rose?" Mickey asked again as he handed Hope back over. "What will you do? You can't wait forever."

Rose clutched her daughter tightly and said, "He will come back. I know he will."

It was all she could say, because she had to believe it was true.

TBC…