A/N: This is a bit of a shorter filler chapter, but it sets the scene for the rest of the story and where everyone will be.

~DW~

The Doctor bangs loudly on the front door to Mum's flat. Angel reaches out for my hand and Total sits at my feet. Mickey and Sarah Jane stray a few feet behind us.

Mum swings the door open with a smile, but it fades when she sees Angel.

"Oh my god!" she shrieks. "I can't believe the two of you! Exactly how long has it been since you came to visit?"

"What?" I ask, extremely confused at her outburst. The Doctor is even more so, his jaw practically on the floor. Total jumps up, cowering behind me. Angel clutches my hand tightly, her eyes widening as she takes a small step back.

I wince even before I hear Mum's hand connect with the Doctor's face.

"Ow!" he cries. "What was that for?"

"You get my daughter pregnant and bring her back however many years later with a child and I'm not supposed to slap you?" she fumes.

"No! No, Mum, you're all wrong!" I say once I realize. "This isn't…no! The Doctor and I would never do that!"

"Then where the hell did you get a little girl from?" she shrieks. "You can't take a child across the universe, getting into all sorts of trouble!"

"That's why we're here, Jackie," the Doctor says, rubbing his red cheek.

"Mum, just calm down. I'll explain everything, I promise," I tell her. She sighs.

"Fine, come in and take a seat. But if I slap him again, don't get angry with me."

~DW~

"Well?" Mum asks expectantly. The Doctor sits on the couch next to Mickey and Sarah Jane. Total lies down under the glass coffee table, keeping watchful eyes on her. I'm still standing in the middle of the room, holding Angel's hand. She's completely silent, her eyes on her shoes as if they're the most interesting thing in the world.

"This is Angel."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Have I met you before?" she asks Angel. Angel shakes her head. Mum turns back to me.

"Does she talk?"

"Usually, yeah," I say. I reach out for her mentally.

What's wrong, sweetie?

What if she doesn't want me?I roll my eyes.

"Mum, I've told you about the Flock, yeah?"

"Of course…oh!" she exclaims, her eyes widening once she realizes. "You're Angel!"

Angel looks up from the floor to meet Mum's eyes. She nods shyly.

"Yeah," she says quietly.

"Oh, you poor thing! Have you been on your own all this time?" Mum gushes, rushing over to hug her. I let go of Angel's hand and step away.

"No, I've had Total," she says, pointing at him under the table. He groans.

"That talking dog that Rose told me about? Is that you?" she asks, turning to him. "Come on out from under there, I don't bite!"

"But you do slap," the Doctor mutters. I shoot him a glare.

"Hello, Ms. Tyler," Total says, cautiously polite. I smirk at him.

"Oh my god, you can talk! Isn't that something?"

"So, Mum," I interrupt. "Angel doesn't have anywhere to go. She's been living at an orphanage, and I don't want to send her back there, not if I have to. That goes for Total too. And I figured, if she could stay here, then you wouldn't have to be alone anymore while I was gone."

"Of course they can stay here!" she cries happily.

"Really? We can?" Angel asks hopefully.

"You're always welcome here!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Mickey get up and walk to the kitchen. The Doctor follows him, along with Sarah Jane, clearly done dealing with Mum already.

"Thank you so much, Ms. Tyler," Angel says gratefully.

"No, I won't have that. If I'm Mum to Rose, I'm Mum to you too," she says.

"Well, Mum…" I begin. "Now don't go off. Just listen to what I have to say before you freak out. I'm Mum to Angel." Before she can say anything, I continue quickly. "Not like, she actually came from me. I did raise her, though, and I was her…parental figure for years. She asked if she could call me her mum, and I said she could. So that makes you her grandmum, really."

"Well," Mum smiles. "I suppose that could do as well."

Angel lights up.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you!" she laughs. She throws her arms around Mum's neck. I join in.

Mum turns to Total. "Now, if you pee on my floor or…."

"Hey! I wouldn't do that!"

"He's housebroken, Mum," I tell her.

"Let's join the others in the kitchen," she says.

~DW~

"So, who exactly are you?" Mum asks Sarah Jane.

"My name is Sarah Jane Smith. I used to travel with the Doctor," she replies, sticking out her hand. Mum shakes it.

"Oh, that's lovely! I bet you've got plenty of embarrassing stories to tell about this stick figure over here," Mum laughs, motioning toward the Doctor.

"Hey!"

"Don't worry; I'll come by one day when he isn't here. You'll laugh so hard you'll start crying!" Sarah Jane says quietly, laughing slightly.

"That'd be great!"

"I could bring my son Luke, too, and K9," Sarah Jane says. "You and Luke would get along very well, Angel."

"Hopefully Total and K9 could learn to get along, too. I'm so glad he's okay and we found him again. As for Luke, I'd love to meet him," she smiles. "I don't have very many friends to start."

"Well, you'd fit just fine in his little group…"

I smile, watching them. I lean back against the counter.

"They'll be great," Mickey says, coming up next to me.

"Yeah, they will," I agree. "Angel is finally getting a normal childhood. She's grown up so much since I last saw her…way too quickly. It's time for her to live the life she should've gotten in the first place."

"The one you're never going to have?" he asks softly. I give him a small, slow nod.

"Yeah. She deserves it."

"So, Rose, I was wondering…do you think if I asked, the Doctor would let me come with you?" he asks suddenly.

"Really? You want to come?" I ask, surprised. "I don't know. I'd love for you to join us, but in the end it's really his choice. It's his ship. Then again, maybe it would be the TARDIS's choice…"

Mickey stares at me blankly.

"Ask the Doctor," I tell him.

"Ask the Doctor what?" says the man in question.

"Can Mickey come with us?" I ask him.

"I don't see why not. Care to see a bit of the universe, Ricky the Idiot?"

"Great! Welcome aboard, Mickey!" I say.

"Thanks, Doctor," Mickey says, shaking his hand. The two of them start talking. I take in the scene.

Mum, Angel, Total, and Sarah Jane. Mickey and the Doctor. It feels like nothing can go wrong. Everyone is happy.

Hopefully it stays that way.

~DW~

A/N: So, In case it wasn't clear, Angel and Total are staying with Jackie and Mickey is on the TARDIS. Sarah Jane will be more involved in the story than she is in the show, since she and Jackie are friends and the same will go for Luke and Angel.