Chapter 13

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The Doctor's ragged whisper was pained. "Jenny?"

River and Rose had both frozen. River spoke first, her eyes on the petite blonde stranger. "Jenny!?"

Rose stared at the Doctor, her mind whirling. She cleared her throat and spoke. "Dad?"

Lee had helped Donna up from the floor and had been watching them warily, but now he cleared his throat. "The—the lights are moving again."

Rose's spine straightened as her Torchwood training took over, her mouth a thin line. "Right, back to the TARDIS it is. You—whoever you are—can either come with us or stay here, but we've got to be off. Doctor, can you get the lift working again?"

He nodded dazedly, his eyes still glued to Jenny's face, and Rose's jaw tightened. "Right, let's do that, then."

Donna was watching her warily before she looked back at Jenny, her eyes widening. "Rose..."

"Let's get back to the TARDIS before we talk, shall we? I don't exactly fancy getting caught by the Time Agency."

Jenny nodded her head, her lips pursed thoughtfully. "I'm with you. Need any help with him?"

Rose stilled, facing away from her. "I'm all right."

Donna groaned, rolling her eyes as they approached the elevator. "Blimey, you two are idiots. Lee, come over here and help me with the spaceman. Jenny, go help Rose."

Rose stiffened, staring at Donna with wide eyes. "I'm fine!"

"You are not. You're I don't know how many months pregnant with the number one target of those mooks, and Jenny here has had more than enough combat training to keep you safe. Now let's get moving, people." Lee slipped into Rose's place, helping brace the Doctor upright as he turned the elevator on, and Jenny moved over to Rose as River pulled out her pistol again.

Rose glanced sideways at Jenny, her thoughts roiling, and a pained thought came from the Doctor. It's not what you think, Rose.

Then what is it? 'Cause a surprise child doesn't exactly give a girl a boost of confidence, you know.

Rose, she was just as much a surprise to me as she is to you.

Rose blinked, her eyebrows pulling together. How's that work, then?

He unlocked his memories for her—the thoughtless soldiers with guns, the stabbing, singing pain of the machine and the mind-numbing shock of a light female voice saying, "Hello, Dad."

The grief as her life faded in his arms.

I'm... I'm so sorry.

He gently soothed her chagrin, the weight of centuries brushing along her mind. You couldn't have known. I don't exactly talk about it.

Still...

Jenny cleared her throat and leaned closer to Rose, watching the Doctor with anxious eyes. "Is he all right?"

Rose's eyes opened, and she smiled and reached out to squeeze the girl's hand. "He'll be fine once we get back to the TARDIS. We had to do a bit of work to block out the Time Agents back there, and he's just a little tired, is all."

Just a little? I could sleep for a day. Is this what it felt like, being human?

Oh, hush.

Jenny's eyes widened. "That's the two of you. That's why the signal was so strong, it's not just him, it's both of you—you're a telepath, too."

A small smile tilted Rose's mouth as the elevator drifted towards the surface, the wind calming as they slowed. "Not just that."

"What d'you mean?"

"Well, I had an incident a few years ago, and I woke up Time Lord."

There was a resounding silence as the elevator slid into its dock, and Rose had to hide a smile at the gob-smacked expression on Jenny's face. The younger blonde cleared her throat, shaking her head as they made their way back down the hallways carefully. "Is that normal, then?"

The Doctor laughed once and winced, breathing heavily. "It's utterly impossible, but that didn't stop her." He grimaced, leaning heavily into Lee. "Right, the talking is a bad idea."

Donna snorted, rolling her eyes. "Oi, I could've told you that." She glanced back at River, her eyebrows furrowed. "Not that I'm complaining, but is there a reason we haven't run into any of the tall, dark, and scarys yet?"

At that, Jenny grinned almost ferally. "Well, it might have something to do with the beacon I set up in their ship a few minutes before I sent it off into the Vortex." She sighed and shook her head mock-regretfully. "They always park in the same places—no imagination."

The entrance hall was still buzzing with people, and Rose glanced in as they made their way to the empty room they'd parked the TARDIS in. The clerks were out of the desk, looking around dazedly. They had quite a story for their supervisors, and she didn't envy them the telling of it.

The Doctor sighed with relief as they reached the TARDIS, fumbling in his jacket for the key before Rose stepped forward, pulling her necklace out and slipping it into the lock. Donna bit her lip and looked around the Doctor's slumped figure to Lee as River, Jenny, and Rose entered. "Just to warn you, it's—"

Jenny's voice echoed out, full of laughter. "Bigger on the inside!" Donna winced and nodded, and they slipped in, closing the door behind them.

Lee gasped, his eyes widening, and Rose stepped up to him, resting a hand on his arm. "Here, let me take him." He passed the Doctor to her, staring up at the ceiling, and she bit her lip as she settled the Doctor's arm around her shoulder. "It's a bit overwhelming at first, I know—" she looked at Donna. "Maybe a cuppa?"

Donna chuckled, fiddling with the cuffs of her sleeves. "Blimey, you really are British, aren't you?"

"H—how?"

She jerked her shoulders up in an awkward shrug. "Does this work? No idea. But it does, and that's good enough for me." She glanced around at the rest of the room, but Rose had already disappeared with the Doctor, River and Jenny close behind them.

"Th—this is your life?"

She crossed her arms, looking down. "Not a bad life, I think."

He shook his head, running a hand through his dark hair. "N—no wonder you didn't look for me."

She froze, and he crossed his arms, his shoulders hunching as he stared at the floor. "No. No, that wasn't it at all—oh, please don't think that."

He shrugged, looking away, and she reached out to touch him before jerking her hand away. "Lee, that life I had with you... the house and the kids and the arguing over who gets to decide what's on the telly... that's the life I never really thought I could have. And that I got to spend it with you..." She laughed shortly and turned away, brushing a hand against the console. "I should've known it was a dream."

"But you get all th—this... I don't know what this is." She looked back at him, and he ran a hand through his hair again before shoving them in his pockets. "I could n—never offer you something like this."

"No." He flinched, but she continued. "No, but you were you, and we were happy. And that was enough for me."

He stepped closer, reaching up carefully to cup her cheek. "Th—that's enough for me, then."

She smiled as he leaned down, her eyes slowly fluttering shut as their lips met.

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