Title: Full Circle
Author: Shen
Rating: PG-13
Setting/Spoilers: Post-Journey's End
Teaser: "We're not going to let this stand, are we?" Rose is not satisfied with how things turned out on Bad Wolf Bay, but it's a long path back to 10 and the TARDIS. What discoveries and hardships will she and 10.2 find along the way? A JE fixit fic.
Author's Note: Hey, everyone. I'm sorry I let this one go for a while, but it's done now. Last chapter will go up in two days. If this fic is on your alert list, but you don't remember exactly what's going on, I suggest you skim Chapter 9. All the major plot points are mentioned there, plus it's the lead-in to this chapter.

Chapter 10: Choices and Chips

Rose trailed behind Jack as they left the main Hub, and Mickey walked behind her. As soon as they were in the tourist information center, Rose threw her arms around Jack and hugged him fiercely.

"I missed these like you wouldn't believe," he said, gathering her up and squeezing her tightly. Once relinquished, she turned to Mickey and embraced him just as hard.

"Hey, now," he said, amused, but he held her all the same.

"Eleven years, or didn't you hear?" explained Rose with a teasing lilt. She pulled away and looked at them both. Her mood felt improved just looking at the familiarity of their handsome faces and lopsided grins. "Sorry. I would've done that sooner, but my personal life was busy exploding." Abruptly, the men looked at her in dismay.

Jack cajoled, "Hey, he was happy to see you. He burnt himself out pushing people away today, and then you bounced right back! If you're in a less-than-ideal state, he'll deal with it and still feel lucky. It balances to a positive."

Rose protested, "But-"

"Uhp!" Jack cut her off. She stared at him incredulously and opened her mouth again, but Mickey suddenly clamped his hand over it. She inched her own fingers towards her service pistol, glaring menacingly, and he jumped back a meter, laughing.

Jack smiled and said, "Homicidal is a new level of cranky on you, Rose, at least to me. Come on; we'll pick up some food on the way to the flats, and you can argue all you want when we get there." As they walked towards a takeaway joint, Rose leaned over to Jack.

"Jack, I'm sorry. About what I did to you all those years ago. I wondered how you got to this century after hearing about you in..." she trailed off, feeling foolish, "er, that pocket dimension of Donna's that you can't possibly remember. Well, trust me when I say I heard about you being here and wondered, and then I met you but didn't have time to ask, so I asked the Doctor about it. Unable to die... I can't imagine." She looked up at him remorsefully.

"And he told me it was an accident. Don't worry, I'm kind of used to it now. Water under the bri- no, wait, what I meant to say was, 'I might forgive you for a kiss.'" Jack jutted out his jaw in a mockingly reproachful look, and Rose giggled. It seemed only fair, so she stood on her toes and gave him a chaste peck on the lips. At which point the blue-eyed man began to grin like an idiot.

A short while later, they all sat in Rose's temporary room, in a circle on the bed with their fish and chips. After some munching, the men looked at Rose expectantly. She nervously fidgeted and casted about.

"We don't have to just talk about me, you know."

"I'm rootless but issue free; nothing to talk about," said Mickey easily.

Jack nodded and added, "Pretty stable over here, too. We can catch up on my situation later; you're more important right now." Rose swallowed a chip and looked to the side, contemplating.

"Let it out," Mickey prompted. She glanced sidelong at him, and he stared back expectantly.

Finally, it burst out, "That was awful. I can't believe I acted like that!" Remembering the hurt on his face felt like a stab between the ribs.

Jack commented, mouth half-full of fish, "Well, to be fair, Rose, he's an idiot."

"No, I'm the idiot. I should have worked out my issues before coming back. I mean, my plan hinged on a time machine; it could have waited. I didn't have to show up and be so... cold." Her eyes took a downward cast. "I just wanted to see his face so badly."

"You've been through a lot; he'll forgive you. Now, tell us about these issues. Mickey and I'll sort it right out; Jeremy Kyle's got nothing on us."

"I don't know. I thought I was over all this! I mean, it's been eleven years. I got over being left, because I understood why he did it, at least somewhat. Davros and the Daleks were as much to blame as him. And because I had a Doctor there to help me through it. But now I'm back to the one that got me angry all those years ago, and I'm... It's petty."

Jack reasoned, "Well, you just said it: This is the one that wronged you. That body pulled the dematerialization switch. Of course you're having a reaction."

"But," she argued feebly, "he's the same man. But... he isn't. Ugh, it's just complicated. I want to reconcile the two people into one, because they started that way, but then I feel guilty for doing that. As if this one isn't good enough without those eleven years, or as if the other one was replaceable."

"Rose," Mickey countered, "it isn't all about you, you know." She raised a peeved eyebrow at him.

"No, hear me out," he said, raising the tone of his voice and putting his hands up in placation. "It's the Doctor's brain that's going to undergo an overhaul with this. I'm sure he doesn't want to replace any of his personality with a different person. So they must be alike enough for him, right? Because he wants it. Even I can tell that." Rose looked down, deep in thought.

"Well, the human one actually did have some behavior differences. He was part Donna Noble." She made a face. "He really had a flair for shoes, which was weird at first. Slightly different sense of humor, more blunt. But at heart, he was the same." As she finished, she looked back at Mickey and nodded once.

Unperturbed, the former mechanic continued, "Well, then I'm sure the Doctor knows that! Either he's fine with adopting those things, or it's just a memory upload. Of time he's missed. And who knows? Maybe the regeneration made him unstable, and this will make him whole again. I mean, the man did split in half; that can't be good for you. It would explain how addled he must have been to drop you off in the first place."

"The lad may have a point," Jack encouraged, but then Mickey shook his head.

"Don't mistake me; I'm not saying she should do it. I mean, what the hell do I know? I apparently haven't seen you in over a decade. I'm just saying that you shouldn't worry about wanting to replace this Doctor or… stepping on the human one's memory or any of that. It's up to what you want, seems like it to me. I certainly wouldn't blame you if you if you didn't go through with it. It's weird and a little creepy, even for your life."

"I thought you just said it wasn't all about me!" Frustration strangled her tone.

"I meant-" he stuttered, stymied, "I was sayin' that deciding whether it was mean to the Doctor or not wasn't just about you, because it's his brain, and he thinks it's not. It's been a long day, alright? My point is, do what you want."

"Well, I think you should do it," Jack stated with conviction.

"You do?" Rose looked at him anew. He had even more reason to spite or deny the Doctor than she did. Being left alone on a dying space station was worlds away from being trapped with friends and family, like she was.

"Rose... I would never suggest that those years were a waste. No matter what you do. But wouldn't it be nice if you could share them with the Doctor? I've lived a long time and taken a lot of lovers. Some who meant a great deal to me." Wistful reminiscence clouded his gaze. "And when they go, besides wishing for more time…" He paused, seeming to struggle with the words. A small grunt of frustration escaped him, but he shook himself and continued.

"Try to understand, I lose people in ways few others do. I outlive every other person who's ever known them, so all I have is my own memories. It's taught me to value that ability to reminisce, to share with someone. You'll have more time with your lost loved one, in a way, no matter what you choose. But don't you want to share those memories with him as well? Have them together? Whether this Doctor is the same man or different, your dead lover lives on that way, at least somehow."

"I... I don't know," she despaired. God, after all that had just been said, she wasn't even sure it was her decision. She had been inclined to feel like it. The Doctor gave up the right when he booted her and his double off the TARDIS and sealed them away. But then, the double was the one who made the watch and told Rose to share it with his Time Lord self. And they were his memories, after all.

She fell back on the bed, heedless of the chips sent flying out of their takeaway containers.

"Hey!"

"I think I need to sleep on it." Jack patted her leg.

"Eat your comfort food first. Mickey'll be next door, and I'll give you my number if you need me. There's a phone in here."

Tiredly, she uttered, "Thank you, Jack. You too, Mickey. I'd be completely lost without you."

"Hey, none of that," chided her childhood friend. "We're just happy to have you back. If things don't work out, you and me can still be a team. Maybe clean up the mean streets of Cardiff?"

Jack protested, "Excuse me, this is my town. No vigilantes!"

"Fine, mean streets of London. Rose, you'd look smashing in a spandex costume. And maybe a cape?"

Suddenly enthusiastic, Jack described, "Oooh, a cute half-cape to show off her ass and a giant gun for contrast. And Mickey, you definitely need something sleeveless to show off those arms." He raised an eyebrow at the younger man suggestively.

"Err…" Mickey sidled away from Jack until Rose hit them both with a pillow.