Chapter Ten

Jonathon went to make him and Rose some popcorn while she used the loo and prepared to talk to her mother. He reached into his larder and pulled out a box of microwave buttered popcorn. He glanced at it and looked at Boots who was munching the dried cat food in her bowl.

"Not very romantic but it's all I know how to make," he said to her.

He stroked her back while she ate.

"Still, I bet you'd choose this over that, eh?" he said. "My little puss puss."

He pulled a couple of bags out of the box. While one was in the microwave popping, he found a large red bowl and pulled two beers out of the fridge. He glanced down and smiled when Boots sauntered over, stood up on her hind legs and peered inside.

"Yup, I can tell you definitely want something better," he said.

His eyes widened when Boots hopped up onto the first shelf and made a beeline for some cheese.

"Oi! you get out of there, you cheeky little thing," he said, grabbing her. "You are not a mouse."

He held her to his chest while he shut the door with his foot and carried the two bottles of beer in his other hand. He put them down on the counter while he walked over with her to the microwave.

"Nope, you are definitely not a mouse," he said to Boots as he took one bag out and put the other one in. "But if you want me to, I'll call ya Squeaky."

He turned his head when Rose came into the kitchen.

"Did I ever tell ya you look cute with a kitten in your hand?" she said.

"The little scamp was trying to get at my cheese when I had the fridge door open," he said. "I told her she wasn't a mouse."

"Well, she's small like a mouse," Rose said, walking over to them. "That's what makes her so cute."

"Well she won't be this size for much longer so enjoy her cuteness while you can," he said.

He took the last bag out of the microwave while Rose opened them and poured the popcorn in the bowl

"So how'd the talk with Jackie go?" he asked.

"I haven't done it yet. I'm kinda nervous about it. I don't wanna listen to her anger."

"Don't blame ya there," he said."Got beers for us, they're over on the counter."

"Thanks," Rose said, walking over to the counter.

She grabbed one and opened it while Jonathon set Boots down on the floor and picked up the bowl.

"Jonathon, can I tell ya something?" Rose asked.

"You can tell me anything," he said, shrugging.

"Well, I don't want ya to get angry."

"I won't, Rose. Just say whatever you want to say," he said.

"It's just that sometimes I wonder what the Doctor's doing and if he's alright," she said. "I mean it's strange that he's a whole universe away but at least he has Donna to keep him company."

She noticed the pained look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked.

Jonathon grabbed his beer and took it and the bowl out to the living room while Rose followed him. While they put their food down on the tables, Jonathon explained his theory about the Doctor having to drain Donna's memories. Rose was horrified.

"God," she said when he finished and they were sitting down. "Poor Donna. I didn't realize...oh God, that's not going to happen to you as well, is it?"

"No, she siphoned off enough of my Time Lord mind that I can contain it within my human mind. I'm not in any danger of burning up."

"But, Donna...I mean I never got to know her that well but I liked her and...I hate she's lost all her memories of her time with the Doctor. When I was in her universe, I told her that she was gonna die but I thought it meant a physical death. I was relieved when she survived the Crucible but I s'pose death meant she'd lose all her memories then."

Jonathon nodded. He put a hand on her shoulder when Rose shook her head.

"I hope that didn't happen. The Doctor's clever. If anyone could figure out a way to save her, it'd be him."

Jonathon nodded. He felt guilty when he noticed the pain on her face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said..."

"No, it's alright. I want to know. Besides, I still have to talk to mum and that's much worse," she said.

She sighed deeply and reached into her pocket for her mobile.

"Better get it over with," she said.

Jonathon munched on some popcorn while he listened to Rose. He rolled his eyes when he heard Jackie's screechy voice yelling at Rose the moment she told him she was spending the night.

"That man is nothing but trouble, Rose!" he heard her saying. "You need to stay away from him before he gets you killed. The Doctor nearly got you killed when he opened up that void. You wanna risk death all over again?"

"Mum, we've had this conversation a million times. I trusted the Doctor and I trust Jonathon. Besides, at the moment he can't even leave Earth."

"Well, let's hope it stays that way. He's no good for you, Rose. You need to forget him and concentrate on working at Torchwood, settling down and having a family. Your father and I don't want you throwing your life away dating some alien."

"He's not alien anymore, Mum, he's human."

"He's half an alien and that's alien enough!" she retorted.

"You're being unfair."

"No, I'm being sensible. Leave him along and let him get on with his life. Just because the Doctor told you to mind him doesn't mean you should. You got hurt and nearly got killed being with the Doctor and someday the same thing will happen if you stay with him."

"I'm not gonna argue, Mum. I'm staying here tonight with Jonathon and that's final."

"Well, I suggest you stay there permanently then because I don't want him coming round here," Jackie said. "I also ended up being threatened more than once just because the Doctor decided to be in our lives."

"Fine, Mum, good night. I'll talk to ya when you're not angry anymore. Bye."

She sighed angrily and hung up.

"Rose, you can stay here anytime you need to," Jonathon said.

Rose smiled and took his hand.

"Thank you. I hate that she's doing this but if she won't accept you, I can't do anything about it," she said.

"Like I said, if you need to, my flat is yours, Rose."

"Thank you," she said, snuggling close to him. "Saves me the trouble of taking Boots back to the mansion."

"You're just obsessed with her, aren't you?" he said while she giggled.

She reached down and picked her up when she neared the sofa.

"I just love animals. The Doctor never had any in the TARDIS," she said, stroking her while Boots meowed and looked around.

"Well, that's not entirely true. He had a cat in his seventh life that he loved and…"

Rose looked at him while she was reaching for her beer.

"And?" she prompted.

"Well, in his sixth life he had a penguin as a companion."

Rose nearly choked on her beer. Jonathon giggled when she lowered it and gave him an odd look.

"Sorry, I don't think I heard that right. Sounded like you said the Doctor once had a penguin as a companion," she said.

"He did, name was Frobisher."

"Right, Jonathon, pull the other one."

"He did. He wasn't really a penguin, mind. He was a shape-shifting whifferdill named Avan Taklu and he was more humanoid in form but his whifferdill girlfriend took the form of a penguin so he did as well."

Rose gave him a skeptical look.

"I'm being serious. He was a detective and he traveled with the Doctor for awhile."

"Okay, if his name was Avan, why did he call himself Frobisher?"

"Oh, he did that because it sounded British and he thought that might please the Doctor."

"And did it?" Rose said amused.

"Eh, the Doctor didn't care one way or another."

"You are so full of shit, Jonathon."

"I am not! He really did travel with an alien penguin named Frobisher!"

Rose thought about that for a moment and then got a case of the giggles. Jonathon chuckled as she kept on giggling and had to set her beer back down.

"Okay, got an image of the Doctor walking around with this alien penguin behind him. Did this Frobisher talk?"

"Oh yes, talked incessantly."

Rose started giggling again as Jonathon reached over to the table beside him, grabbed a handful of popcorn and fed one to Boots who was now on his lap. Rose continued laughing which made Jonathon grin. He ate his popcorn slowly with the same smug grin while Rose tried desperately to calm herself down. But every time she stopped laughing, she would think of the penguin and start up again.

"Damn you, Jonathon, now I'm gonna be laughing all night," she said, giving his arm a playful shove.

"Well, in that case, I s'pose you won't need the popcorn since you won't be able to eat it," Jonathon said.

"No, I will stop laughing…eventually," she said.

Jonathon looked down when he felt Boots's claws and saw her climbing up his body. Rose laughed harder as the kitten mewed and scaled up him to his shoulder. Then once she got to his shoulder, she mewed and gave his face a sniff while he stared at her in shock.

"Have fun?" Jonathon said as Rose split her sides laughing, "I bet you're knackered after climbing Mount Jonathon, huh?"

Boots went up onto the back of the sofa and walked across it.

"Oi, get back here, you looney thing," Jonathon said as Rose laughed.

Rose turned her head and looked at Boots when she walked up to her face.

"Mew."

Rose got a fresh case of the giggles as Boots nuzzled her cheek. Jonathon rolled his eyes and grinned when she couldn't stop laughing.

"You're hopeless sometimes, Rose," he said as Rose swatted his arm.