A/N: Sniff, sniff. It's THAT episode. Still look what we ended up with ladies!!!! Must explain why I started where I did. If any of you missed the Children in need special that was set just after "Where was I? oh that's right, Barcelona!" You might wana try and find it on the net. That's the whole reason I've started the Doctor/Rose part of this one where I have. We've already seen Rose's immediate reaction. Anyway. first we;'ve got poor Jacky boy to see.

Bad Wolf & Parting of the ways

Jack stood staring at the spot where the TARDIS had stood. He was gone. The Doctor was gone. He'd left him behind. Didn't the Doctor know he was alive?

He can't have, Jack reasoned. The Doctor wouldn't have left him behind if he had known, he wouldn't. They were a team, the three of them together.

Jack sighed and flopped to the floor. He'd been dead. He was sure he'd died but somehow something had brought him back to life. Maybe the Doctor had gone to get Rose and was coming back. He almost laughed at the thought. This Doctor wasn't a repeat visitor. Land, do the job, move on.

Jack had to face facts; he was well and truly stuck, the only survivor left on board the game station. Abandoned and alone.

No change there then, still at least the Doctor hadn't wiped his memories. The old Jack would have found a corner to curl up in and waste away. Not any more. The Doctor had made him into a fighter. He wasn't just going to sit here feeling sorry for himself; he still had his Time Vortex Manipulator. Jack Harkness was going to find a way back to 20th century earth, track down the Doctor and slap him six ways to Sunday!

Oh no, Captain Jack was down but not out. Just you watch Time Lord, you're not the only one capable of the near impossible.

XxXxX

Mickey and Rose struggled through the front door, carrying the Doctor between them.

"Better put him in my room. Your room's still a tip," Jackie said, guiding them in.

"Careful!" Rose snapped as Mickey dumped the Doctor heavily on the bed.

"Like he's gona notice!"

"That's not the point."

The three stood staring at the unconscious man.

"Where's Jumping Jack Flash anyways?" Mickey muttered, still unsure if he was happy to see Rose or not.

"I don't know," Rose replied quietly.

"Oh," he shuffled from foot to foot unsure how to respond. "So what do we do now?"

"Well, first things first," Jackie declared, suddenly overtaken my motherly instinct. "First we make him more comfortable. Mickey, help me get that jacket off."

Rose started unlacing his boots, her gaze flicking back to his face every few seconds. It still shocked her to look at him. She kept expecting to look up into quizzical blue eyes and hearing his northern accent declaring them all completely mad. But this was real. This stranger lying on her mum's bed was her best less than half an hour ago, now she didn't know who he was.

She hadn't notice her mother retrieve a pair of pyjamas from one of her drawers.

"Here, these should fit him. Mickey, I think me and Rose can cope. Why don't you put the kettle on?" Jackie told him, shutting the door behind him as he left. "Right, come on you. Lets make this quick."

Between them Rose and Jackie had the Doctor stripped and changed before Mickey had even put the milk in the tea.

"There, see? Much better." She looked up at her daughter. "You alright love?"

Rose shook her head. "I don't know. He's gona be alright isn't he?"

"'Course he is sweetheart," Jackie assured her, putting her arm round her shoulders. "Tough as old boots your Doctor." They both stood looking at him for a moment.

"He looks like he's getting paler," Rose murmured.

"Let's get him tucked in. A decent rest is what he needs by the looks of him although I reckon he should go to hospital."

"No! You can't. Alien, remember?!"

"You look shattered. Why don't you get your head down for a bit?"

Rose shook her head as she helped her mother manoeuvre the Time Lord under the duvet. "I want to be here when he wakes up. I need to talk to him."

Jackie sighed and left her daughter sitting on the bed staring at the new man.

XxXxX

"I mean how do we even know it's him?" Mickey asked. "What if he's one of those things that have those zips in their head?"

"He's not," Rose told him. "I know he's not. He couldn't know the things he does if he was. Besides there's no zip on his head."

There was an awkward silence between them and Mickey shuffled in the doorway, unsure of what to say. He was never a priority when the Doctor was around and now he had Rose fawning over him in his sleep. If that really was the Doctor then he was a lot better looking than the last time Mickey had laid eyes on him and it made his stomach twist. Before when it had been her and big ears it hadn't mattered, that version wasn't Rose's type. Too old and weird looking. But this new one, Mickey wasn't so sure.

"So, how long's it been since we saw you?"

"Dunno, a couple of hours," she shrugged her eyes never leaving the Doctor.

"Not enough time to miss us then?"

Rose didn't respond. She was studying him, Mickey noticed. Trying to convince herself it was really him probably.

"Why'd he pick Christmas Eve to come home?"

"He thought I wanted to come home so he brought me. Said it was a Christmas present. Can't believe he didn't tell me he could do this."

Mickey nodded to himself and sighed. There was no way he was going to be able to keep her attention and he really had to get back to the garage. "Listen I've gotta lock up. How bout I come back and we can go shopping? Get your mum a present?"

"Yeah, sure," Rose replied not really listening, she didn't even hear the door close behind him.

"You and me are so gona have words when you wake up!" she told the sleeping Doctor. "Doesn't this seem like the sort of thing you should've told me about?!" she paused and watched him for any sign of a response but he remained still. "Please wake up. What else haven't you told me?"

She heard the front door go and her mum swept into the room holding a stethoscope.

"There we go. Tina the cleaners got the lodger, medical student. And she was fast asleep so I just took it. I still say we should take him to hospital."

XxXxX

A/N: Next it's the Xmas invasion obviously, which I really enjoyed writing. Made my self all warm and fuzzy, just like you should at christmas. Shame I wrote it in august really isn't it?!

Let me know what you think,

"Catch ya on the flip flop!"