Jackie Tyler had been having a hard day.

First of all, all of the clients she'd seen today had been the demanding annoying ones who don't shut up about the people that Jackie didn't know and quite frankly didn't give a toss about.

Second, she'd left her bag on the bus.

Third, she'd gotten it back but all of her money was missing.

Fourth, the man next to her was listening to his headphones and singing along, while the woman across from her had been shrieking down the phone to her husband about something altogether unshout-worthy.

Among other things.

The culmination of all these things made Jackie want to stand in the middle of Piccadilly Circus and shout that all of the problems of these people were insignificant to the fact that her only child was off God only knows where (no really, god only knows when and where), with an space-man, (who might as well be her son-in-law) who had the nasty habit of exploding her toaster, and attracting alien invasions to earth by his mere presence, and that she had walked in on the pair snogging in her kitchen that morning, AND that she, Jacqueline Andrea Suzette Tyler, had been having a REALLY bad day.

(Had she actually shouted this in the middle of Piccadilly Circus then they'd have her in a strait-jacket faster than you could say "what a nutter.")

By Jackie having the reputation of scary-almost-mother-in-law to uphold, Jackie had chased said alien back to his blue box with a frying pan when she'd found him snogging her daughter on the kitchen table that morning, when in reality she didn't really care that much anymore. (Which was a scary thought on its own, but that really was beside the point.)

So by this time all Jackie Tyler really wanted to do when she got back to her apartment on the Powell Estate was to curl up in a comfy track suit with a cuppa and watch a marathon of her favorite trashy soap. But that was unlikely with her alien-almost-son-in-law and half-mad daughter being in. Jackie would feel lucky if the sky didn't start raining man-eating bunnies that breathe fire, or if her whole cutlery set didn't randomly sprout legs and walk right out the door.

So one can imagine her unease when Jackie Tyler stepped into her apartment and found it completely unharmed in anyway and silent. That strange blue box was still in the court yard down stairs, so Jackie knew that Rose and the Doctor were still on Earth so she couldn't imagine where they were off to for it to be so quiet. It was never quiet when they were visiting…

"Rose sweetheart? You in?" Jackie called setting her keys in the little glass dish sitting on the lamp table by the front door.

"Yeah mum!" Rose's muffled voice came from the general direction of her old bedroom. 'Oh Lord… please God don't let them be naked.' Jackie said to herself. 'The last thing I need today is a view of his skinny arse!'

"You two decent in there?" Jackie asked standing outside the closed door of her daughter's room.

"Mum!" Rose's best horrified shriek came from behind the wood.

"Well I don't know what you two get up to when I'm gone! You're an adult now love, you think I don't know what it is that adults get up to when they're left alone together? Especially when I walked in on you two this morning…" Jackie defended herself as she pushed the door open.

Jackie stared for a moment before what she was seeing registered properly and she burst into hysterical laughter.

The sight which greeted her was Rose and the Doctor sitting on Rose's bed with pillow cases over their heads that had funny faces drawn on the fabric. It was by far the funniest thing Jackie had seen all week.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Rose and the Doctor pulled the pillow cases from over their heads and watched Jackie Tyler sink to the floor, her knees giving out from laughter.

"Well I didn't think it was that funny." The Doctor said cocking an eyebrow.

"I used to do this as a kid." Rose explained. "When I knew mum had had a hard day I'd do my best to make her laugh when I got home."

"But really, pillow cases with silly faces?"

Rose's response was to pull said pillow case over her head and face the Doctor.

The Doctor was soon doubled over with laughter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After she had recovered, Jackie Tyler walked up to her daughter and held her in a tight hug.

"Thank you." She whispered. "You still always know just what I need."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: It's true, laughter really is the best medicine.