Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to DW (or Eastenders).

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First, had come the emotional reunion. Tears had been shed, hugs had been exchanged and apologies had been uttered over and over.

Next, had come the questions. The Doctor hadn't gone into any real specifics as to why Rose had been admitted, only that she was ill. Rose was thankful for this as, after an internal debate, she had decided it was better that Jackie didn't know the truth. If her mother knew just how bad things really were, she would never be able to tear herself away again. She would stay until her only daughter died, a feat that would kill her in itself and then what would she have left? A proper family, lost forever, locked away in a parallel world. She would have nothing. Rose would not allow that to happen. This goodbye didn't have to hurt more than was already necessary. She would leave her mother with hope, if nothing else.

After that had come the anger. This had been directed both at the Doctor and Donna. Jackie had become convinced that the Doctor had never really cared for Rose, that he had replaced her almost immediately with Donna, who was some sort of home-wrecker. The Doctor had floundered comically at these accusations, completely taken off guard. Donna had tried and failed to explain the situation to Rose's mother. When this only made matters worse, she had exited the room as swiftly as was humanly possible.

Rose had figured that was as good a time as any to interrupt.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't want...Come to think of it, how did you even get here, mum? What are you doing here?"

"We're going to bring you home," Jackie replied, as if that was blatantly obvious.

Rose's protests died in her throat when Jackie's words sank in. Instead she found her eyes narrowing. "Hold up a second, what do you mean we?"

That was when she caught sight of Mickey Smith, shamefacedly hovering by the door, a familiar yellow button grasped securely in his right hand.

"You two have been watching the soaps again, haven't you? What was it this time, Eastenders? It doesn't matter. There was no need to come all this way, that was really dangerous. Besides, I'm feeling loads better," Rose attempted to reassure her mother. She was usually able to calm Jackie when she was in such a distressed state which, when it involved the Doctor, was fairly often.

"I thought he might have taken you, you know, against your will," Jackie admitted.

"Mum, I vanished into thin air. How on Earth could you come to that conclusion?"

"Exactly," her mother emphasized. "How on Earth?"

"With her gymnastic skills?" the Doctor waggled his eyebrows dramatically. "I wouldn't dare," he assured her. Then he turned to face Rose, studying her every move. He hardly seemed to be breathing, his overwhelming disbelief scarcely allowing himself to hope. "Is that true? Are you really feeling better?"

"Well, Donna insists they haven't given me any medication since you left. If that's true then, yeah, I feel fantastic," she concluded, beaming at their code word. "Must have just been a false alarm. Close call, that's all."

His brow furrowed, Rose knew full well that there was no such thing when a Dalek was involved. However, he knew better than to broach this particular topic when Rose's protective mother was in the same room.

"How long was I gone for this time?" he asked, changing the subject.

"What, just now? Oh, five hours, give or take," she said nonchalantly.

"Only five? Rose, that's a new record, isn't it?" the Doctor exclaimed gleefully. He seemed to look around the room for some sort of applause before catching Rose's eye. He tugged on his ear awkwardly. "I mean, oops, that's still not good enough...I'll have to continue to work on that. Yeah, that's what I meant to say."

"But you heard her, Doctor. It's like she just said. She didn't want to go!" Jackie wailed.

"That's not what I was saying, mum, you just never let me finish. I wanted to tell you that I didn't want to go like that. Not in that way, without any explanation or a goodbye. I didn't want it to happen that fast. I was so sure I'd still have time to explain what was happening. I wanted to say goodbye to you two and dad and Tony. Don't get me wrong, I never wanted it to happen like that but I was glad it was time."

An icy breeze rippled through the enclosed space, drawing each of them back to their own sad realities.

"Jackie, Mickey," the Doctor started. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but it's almost time. In your present day, reality is healing itself. The walls are closing and your world will be sealed off. I'll need to take you both home or you'll be trapped on this side forever."

"Dimensional retroclosure," Rose muttered glumly, recalling the term Donna had used whilst on Bad Wolf Bay, on the day that would now, hopefully, never happen. The Doctor looked towards her with a quizzical expression before Jackie Tyler spoke again.

"How can you expect me to just leave her here? You told me she was sick and now, all of a sudden, she's not. She seems like herself but who knows what I'm supposed to believe? What do alien illnesses even look like? Is she going to be safe with you or not, Doctor? You never could promise me that."

"No, Jackie, I couldn't and do you want to know why? Because I'd be lying to you if I did. I can promise you a multitude of things. For instance, I can promise you I will always try my best to keep your daughter safe but I can't guarantee it. I can give you my word that I'll never hurt Rose by choice. But that doesn't mean it won't happen. This is the life I live, Jackie. It's not necessarily the way I want it to be and it's not always a safe life but it's mine and, with Rose, it's better."

He dropped his gaze to the floor before continuing on.

"If Rose chooses to return with you today, then I won't fight her on it, not if it's what she really wants. That's her choice," he said flatly. "But I won't abandon her again. I've sent her away before. She ripped apart time and space to come back to me. I'm done making decisions for her. It's her choice this time, regardless of what that choice might entail."

After what felt like an eternity, he finally raised his head to look at his young companion. A mingle of heartache and uncertainty burned deep in his ancient eyes before Rose realized what exactly he was asking. He was asking if she wanted to be with her family, if she wanted to go back Pete's World to die. It was all Rose could do to stare back. It was one of those odd little moments they had when the entire outside world ceased to exist around them and neither of them even noticed.

Rose took his hand gently in her own with an encouraging smile. "Do you even have to ask?" she asked.

"The thing is," Mickey said, breaking the silence, "even if Rose leaves today, I'm not going back with Jackie. I'm staying put." He coughed, elaborating. "Well not here obviously but on Earth, if you'll give me a lift back."

"Mickey, you can't do that," Rose said. "What about your nan? Your old nan?"

"She's gone, Rose. She passed on a couple of months back." He brushed off her apologies. "It's okay, honest. She went properly this time. It was peaceful, she would have wanted it that way. I had years with her that I would never have got otherwise. For those I'm grateful."

"Are you sure this is what you really want, darlin'?" Jackie pleaded, taking Rose's hand. "Maybe if you just gave it some more time. Maybe in a couple more years you'd meet somebody else. I mean, look at me and Pete. All these years where I thought I'd never love anyone again..."

"Exactly, mum," Rose pointed out. "Listen to what you just said. For you it was always dad. You never stopped loving him. You can't say I didn't try either, that isn't fair. I gave it four years, mum. That's enough time to know. It's always going to be him."

The Doctor's eyes widened in her peripheral vision. That was clearly news to him. He cocked his head and mouthed the word four? at Rose. She shook her head in return. She hoped they could talk about that later. They already had so much to discuss.

"What if I showed you the life your daughter could have with me, Jackie? Proved that, no matter what animosity you may feel towards me, that your daughter is not the latest in a long line? Not to me."

"Suppose I can't come, too?" Rose asked, though she already guessed the answer.

"I'm afraid not," he replied. "I already know where we'll need to go so it should be an easy trip. It won't take long but you can't be there. Too risky, you need to stay here and rest. Mickey Mouse will look after you, won't you?"

"Sure thing, boss," Mickey said, settling into a nearby chair.

The Doctor turned and looked significantly at Rose's mother.

"Blimey, I never thought I'd say this. Jacqueline Tyler, welcome aboard."

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This chapter was a tricky one to write. First off, I wrote it that Jackie had been told that Rose was dying but it just didn't seem plausible that Rose would choose to inflict that pain on her own mother. So I rewrote it. As you do!

I wanted to come back with a strong chapter, so I hope I accomplished that. It's certainly one of the longer chapters I've written but quality and quantity don't always amount to the same thing. Let me know what you all thought!

Your reviews so far have all been so kind, it's sort of blowing me away. They are my main motivation for updates so please keep them up if you'd like to see more soon!