Part Of the Family

After numerous, numerous, hours of tedious searching, neither team found anything of interest. The Doctor managed to fix whatever it was he needed to fix… or un-fix - Rose wasn't exactly sure on the details of that one. But either way, he'd done what he needed to do, and Bilis was still nowhere to be found, even with the Doctor scanning the area for Temporal Shift anomalies.

And with that, they'd returned to the Tardis empty handed; going back to Owen's apartment to meet with the others. After tossing around a few theories of why Bilis needed, or wanted, to open the rift, all of them agreed that there were just far too many variables to work it out. And besides, they'd stopped him that was the important thing.

A few hours later, after many tearful hugs and goodbyes, coupled with promises they'd keep in touch in the coming months, Rose, Mickey, Jack and the Doctor said farewell to the rest of the Torchwood team; now officially disbanded until the hub was rebuilt.

It was hard for Rose to say goodbye to all her friends, it really was. But what was the alternative? Waiting here with no rift activity, the Doctor going stir crazy, and Jack having to wait even longer to visit his own time?

Absolutely not.

And, of course, Rose wanted to go. She wanted to see new skies, she wanted Jack to show her around his old haunts, she wanted to see more of the 51st century. She wanted to meet all kinds of different and amazing people from other planets.

The whole thing must've been on her mind more than she realised, enough for the Doctor to notice.

"Rose, you alright?" he asked softly, putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

They were sitting together on the sofa of her mum's place, a cup of tea in her hands, watching the TV. It was just the two of them in the house. Jack had mumbled something about tying up the last few loose ends, although Rose was pretty sure that meant Ianto - talking to him, that was. Whilst Mickey and Pete had gone down the pub to watch the footie with Owen, and her mum was out… somewhere with Tony. It was quite late in the evening, but the summer sun was still out, meaning they had to close the curtains in the living room to see the TV properly.

She shook her head gently to refocus her thoughts. "Yeah…" she said, sounding unconfident. "Yeah." she repeated, sterner this time.

The Doctor wasn't convinced, his expression harsher. "Rose, I meant what I said. We can stay… if you want?"

She took one hand from the cup she was holding and used it to hold the Doctor's leg instead, gently tapping it to reassure him. "I know, and I want to go, I do. But, it's just hard, you know… saying goodbye and that. But, no, I want to go." She paused for split second as a thought crossed her mind. "But, wot about you, though? You want to go?"

The Doctor's brows furrowed. He looked stunned, completely blown away that she'd even ask such a thing. Rose knew most people who knew him wouldn't bother asking. Of course he'd want to go, he was the Doctor; the wonderer, a hermit, the man without a home. But she had long suspected that he actually liked having a home to come back to, that he liked being around Jackie, Pete, Jack and Mickey, even Tony.

He liked having a family.

Even though he'd never admit it.

"Me?" he asked shocked. "Blimey, of course I want to go. What makes you think that I don't?" Something crossed his mind and he became flustered, stumbling over his words and rambling a mile a minute. "Unless, you just asked me that to make a decision on whether we stay or not, in which case forget what I just said, just do what you want to do, because when I think about it, it's not that bad, I mean yes, the whole Jackie, Pete, and Jack situation leaves a lot to be desired, and the whole 'no rift activity' might make things a bit dull, but it's not so bad, and I can be very adaptable, you know, so rea-"

"No Doctor." Rose sighed, giving his leg a squeeze, stopping him completely. She set her tea down on the coffee table in front of her and shuffled to face him more on the sofa, the Doctor slipping his arm off of her shoulders. "I'm not lying and I don't want you to either, I really want to go, but I want to make sure that it's what you want. Cos it isn't just me on the Tardis, is it? Obviously you're there, and now Jack is too. An' I don't want to do something you or Jack really don't want to do, do I? So I just need to check." Her stern voice turned cheeky as she grinned knowingly at him. "Cos I think you're enjoying being domestic, you just won't admit it."

The Doctor's face fell. "OH, no, no, no, no, no." he denied adamantly. He shook his head dramatically from side to side, speaking a single word with each shake. "No, nope, nein, 唔想要, kehe."He looked at her sternly. "No."

Rose giggled. "Alright, alright, message received." she joked, nudging him with her shoulder.

He let out a chuffed sound - a happy Doctor squeak, Rose liked to call them - in agreement. "But really, me? The Doctor? enjoying living with your mother? Pete? and whoever else? Forced to be bag carrier every time the supplies run low? No, you, Rose Tyler are completely and utterly wrong. How could you even come to such a conclusion?"

Got ya, she thought. Her tongue moved subconsciously to the roof of her mouth as she jerked her eyebrows upwards, grinning at him evilly. "Mum told me that you complemented her today."

The Doctor's lips attempted to meet, but faltered during the first few tries as he flailed around in search for the words. His head dipped in admittance for a second before looking up again. "That, was a temporarily lack in judgement while my neurons were still reactivating from being dormant, due to a long, long overdue sleep." he tried to defend himself, but Rose knew it was complete bull.

"Yeah, whatever." she scoffed, throwing her head back.

Rose waited for him to sass her back, but instead his expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Which I've been meaning to ask you about, by the way." he said, catching her off guard.

She looked at him puzzlingly, the Doctor intently searching her expression. For what, she had no idea. "Yeah?"

"What happened last night?" he asked.

"Wot do you mean?"

"I mean, after I drifted off, what happened next?" he asked a bit impatiently, his eyes now boring into hers, his body leaning more towards her. It was obvious this was something he really needed to know. But why? Singing wasn't that weird, right? The jimjams thing? It wasn't that embarrassing; she'd only seen his back.

"Err... well, at first you just sort of went to sleep."

"Yeah, and?" he asked quickly.

"And then, I must of drifted off sometime after you, but then you started havin' a bad dream and woke me up."

"Woke you up how?"

Rose stopped touching the Doctor's leg and started fiddling with her sleeves instead. "Well you sort of… moved around a bit." she said awkwardly.

His voice instantly sharpened, his body stiffening. "I hit you?"

Rose needed time to think of the exact wording to use that wouldn't immediately drown him in guilt, but her pause told the Doctor all he needed to know. "...Well, no you didn't hit me, not the way you're thinking." she tried to reassure, but it was too late, the Doctor's face had drained of colour.

"We shouldn't sleep together anymore." he said hurriedly, completely shutting down and pushing himself as far away from her as possible on the sofa, before deciding that even that wasn't a safe distance enough and rushed to get up.

Rose whacked him mildly on the arm as his body hovered over the cushions, his arms poised to push him fully off the sofa. He flinched at the contact, staring back at her.

"That's all it was." she said sternly. "That didn't hurt, did it?"

He mulled over her words for a few moments before reluctantly sitting back down and squishing himself back into the corner of the sofa. He placed one arm on the armrest and one awkwardly tucked over the outside-back, so he could spring up and away in a second; his movements unnatural and stiff, like how animatronics move. Once he settled he concentrated on her, waiting for her to speak.

Rose followed his movements, analysing his expression. He'd closed the gates, sealing away his emotions deep inside. His face was unreadable, but the look in his eyes told Rose he was frightened, desperately wanting to run away but forcing himself to stay. Her heart ached for him. He was so thrown by something she hadn't given a second thought to.

"Doctor." she said softly. "I don't know if you remember, but last night I said I'd take seeing you in a state over not being there any day. And I meant it."

He scanned her once up and down, his expression unchanging. He opened his mouth to say something, but Rose promptly reached over to him. She put a finger on his lips to silence him. He tensed at her touch.

"No, listen." She pleaded, but he remained rigid. "I know you might hit me in your sleep or whatever but honestly it's okay. I know you'd never do it on purpose, yeah?" She mustered up as much certainty as she could. "I trust you." she said unwaveringly.

After a few moments the Doctor nodded weakly, appearing less tense than before but still on edge. Rose took her hand away and shuffled further down the sofa, giving him space.

He took his arms off the edge and leaned forward somewhat. "But Rose, you don't understand. I don't want to hurt you. The-" He quietened his voice, like he didn't want anyone to hear even though there was no one in the house, running a hand through his hair. "-dreams, last night, they were mild, very mild, in fact; compared to what they usually are, probably due to the fact I hadn't slept in so long. - " He turned away from her, his voice changed to a mumble, like he was talking to himself, " - Honestly, they were so mild I think I …" He refocused himself and yanked his attention back to Rose. "That doesn't matter, what's important now, is they'll be back in full force next time, and that means I'll be worse, much worse. I could hurt you Rose, really hurt you." he explained, eyes pleading, desperate for her to see things from his point of view.

That's when it struck her.

He didn't know that she'd soothed him last night. Well, to be fair she hadn't told him, why would she? It was personal and he needed her help. Why make a big deal out of it? He hated talking about stuff like that. She looked away and let out a sigh.

"Rose? What is it?" he asked, his voice regaining its fear, his earlier stiffness returning, bracing himself for more bad news to come.

"Your dreams last night." Her earlobe became more interesting, she fiddled with her earring. "I think I might've helped a bit."

The Doctor scanned her up and down, his posture relaxing a moment later. "Weelll," his tone was light as he flicked his head to the side, another good sign. "I mean it's possible you're breathing pattern might've helped, yeah. But, scientifically speaking, the more likely scenario was that I was so exhausted that my brain didn't even have the energy to concoct such intense dreams in the first place."

Rose blinked at him, for all the Doctor's intelligence sometimes he just couldn't pick up on the obvious. She let out a tired sigh and smiled sweetly at him. That was enough for him to clock he'd missed the point and swallowed, retreating back into the corner of the sofa, instantly shutting down again.

Great.

"Why? Did you do something?" he asked fearfully.

"Well… yeah. I wasn't going to just leave you there, was I?" She looked over to him, expecting him to say something but he didn't. "So yeah… I just sort of… ermm" Rose tentatively reached forward, moving a hand towards his head. Now, of course, she could've just told him what she did, but she wasn't sure telling him would have the same impact as showing him, maybe it'd get through to him more?

The Doctor's eyes widened as he moved his head away, avoiding her approaching hand. Like a mistreated puppy who was being shown kindness for the first time and wasn't sure quite what to make of it. "Rose…"

She stopped at his unease, not wanting to force him any more out of his comfort zone than he already was. But, a moment later, he blew air out his nose, changing his mind. He timidly moved his head to meet her hand, relaxing the tiniest of amounts at the contact. She calmingly stroked her hand through his hair, the same way she'd done the night before.

"And well I sort of…." she continued, still petting him. Her voice suddenly hardened. "And don't laugh." she demanded. The Doctor raised an eyebrow, relaxing even more and giving a weak half smile in understanding.

Rose took in a long breath to prepare herself and started to sing, her cheeks flushing red. She only sang a few lines of whatever song came into her head - she'd die of embarrassment otherwise. She tried not to look him in the eye while she was singing, but when she glanced in his direction he looked something between utterly mortified and totally shell-shocked, throwing her off completely.

"So, yeah. I did that and…" she said, stumbling over her words, speedily pulling her hand away and fiddling with her sleeve in her lap, her face turning to an even deeper shade of red.

Why did she do that? Why did she do that? Why did she not just tell him? She had a mouth didn't she? She spoke English? God, Rose wanted to crawl in to a hole and never come out.

"It wasn't that bad was it?" she asked with a nervous laugh, after several seconds of excruciating silence and an unchanging expression on the Doctor's face. She back tracked. "Wait, don't answer that." she rushed out, fidgeting as she tried to move the conversation on. "But it worked, cos after a while you calmed down. But when I stopped, you started up again a few minutes later, so I ended up singing you a whole cover album." She forced her voice to lighten, trying to ease the heaviness in the air. Oh please let this work. "Aren't you lucky?" she joked.

The Doctor said nothing.

AHHH

"Then, after a while, your breathing kind of changed. At first I thought I'd killed you or sommin, your breaths in and out were so long." She awkwardly patted her hands on her lap, trying again to remove the painfulness of the conversation, feeling like something was crawling under her skin. "But no, you were okay."

She should've just told him. Now things were super uncomfortable. She was such an idiot.

The Doctor was still silent. Fuck, Rose thought, why did she never think about these things? She was cringing about it already. Hopefully, he'd just move on and pretend like it never happened like he usually did….

if he ever spoke again.

"But that's just a normal Time Lord thing, yeah?" She asked, waiting for him, begging him to seize the chance and ramble on about being a superior life form so they could snap back into their normal banter.

But he didn't, and was silent for an agonisingly long time. She tried to wait him out but the suspense was too much. "Doc-"

"You did that for me?" he muttered helplessly instead, his voice breaking.

Rose felt like something had cut her in half, her heart aching. "Of course." she said tenderly. "I want to help you, yeah? I care about you. More than that I love you." She grabbed his hand on the sofa top-back with both of her own, looking deep into his eyes, wanting with every fibre of her being for him to believe her. "So, really, I want to. I don't want you to suffer alone."

He studied her for a moment and his expression softened. She saw the tension in him unwind as he let out a long ragged breath and his shoulders sagged, looking away as if trying to distract himself from crying.

Rose fought against her own tears. Had no one ever done this for him? Or did he never believe he deserved it? Even before the Time War? Even when he was a kid? She squeezed his hand tighter.

The rise and fall of his chest became more pronounced, his breathing more battered as he struggled inwardly to keep his composure.

"Hey it's okay." she soothed, stroking his hand she was holding with her thumb.

He stayed like that for a while, until he exhaled a final long breath through his nose and turned to face her. "Yeah?" he asked with a cheeky small half smirk, seeming completely at ease now. Although, Rose was sure it was an act.

"Yes." she said with resolve.

His smirk grew into a toothy grin, his reaction appearing more genuine. Rose relaxed a little. "Really?" he asked giddily.

"Yes." she said, pretending to be annoyed that she had to repeat herself.

He giggled in victory, before suddenly seizing her in a fierce and desperate hug.

The abruptness of it startled Rose at first, instantly reminding her of that time in Utah. But she quickly recovered, squeezing him back as tight as she could.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck. "Rose Tyler, you're amazing. You know that?" he said softly, the sound a bit muffled by her hair.

Rose blinked hard, banishing her tears. She willed her voice not to quiver. "Damn right I do." she smiled, still clinging on to him.

Somehow, he hugged her even tighter. Rose rubbed her hand calmingly up and down his back.

She'd never seem him this vulnerable before. He was trusting her with his weaknesses and she wasn't going to let him down. She'd get it right this time, she'd help him.

They stayed like that for a good few minutes; until the Doctor started squirming about. "Hold on, can I just…" he started to pull away and she released him, a questioning look on her face. She watched on as he got up and felt around in between the seat cushions. "I'm sitting on something." he announced, prying the remote control for the TV out of the gap, waving in it victory in front of her. "Ah ha!" He turned up the volume before chucking it back on the coffee table and slumping back onto the sofa.

Oh, Rose realised, he'd had enough.

The Doctor put his feet on the coffee table and his arm around her shoulders. She contently followed him, resting her head on the top of his chest and putting her feet up next to his. She reached for his free arm to hold his hand, intertwining his fingers with hers.

They sat watching TV in comfortable silence, the light slowly dimming outside, the rest of the house quiet.

"It is, you know." he said, once the adverts began.

"Is wot?"

"A Time Lord thing, breathing like that." he replied casually with a sniff. "Just as humans have sleep cycles, so do Time Lords. And that's the final stage."

Rose glanced up at him but he remained focused on the TV. "And wot does that mean?"

He looked at her. "Hmm?"

"You know, like there's a stage when we dream and stuff like that. What does that stage mean for Time Lords?"

"Oh, right." His attention shifted back to the TV. "Well, it means my brain has significantly shut off outside influences, reduced activity to survival processes only, give the old neurons a break from firing all day. Basically the same as stage three in humans, although our REM sleep, when you dream, I mean, happens before we enter deep sleep, not after, like you lot. Kind of rare for me actually."

Rose's eyes darted to his face. So that was why, why he'd been so curious to know what happened, yet didn't suspect it was something to do with her. He'd entered the final stage of his Time Lordy sleep cycle and he wanted to figure out why. She hesitated a little, a thought crossing her mind. "So… if that happens again, I don't need to wake you up or anything?"

The Doctor shifted, looking at her face, searching it, startled by her question. "No…" he answered distractedly. "But you… you really don't mind doing that again?"

"Nope." she popped her 'p' mimicking the way he did it.

His voice sharpened. "Rose, I'm serious."

"So am I." she snapped back.

He relaxed, his voice softening. "It's not too much?"

"No." she said as seriously as she could, hoping this would be the final bout of reassurance he needed to truly believe her. "You and me, we help each other out. We're a team."

"But, every other night?"

"Yep."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

His mouth slowly formed into a warm smile, his eyes sparkling, so touched by her words. He had that look of pride and fondness on his face that Rose had only ever seen directed at her. "Well in that case, Rose Tyler…" She bit down a smile, knowing what was coming. "After this is over, do you want to keep sharing? Back on the Tardis?" A thought struck him and he lost his confidence, breaking eye contact, his question morphing into a ramble. "And not just when I need to sleep, but you too. I mean, I don't need to sleep every night, but I can stay in the room with you, or stay with you in the bed until you fall asleep… if you want to that is, either way is fine with me…. really. And don't think you have to stay the whole time either... if you don't want to." He stopped himself as he attempted to regain his earlier courage, meeting her gaze. He took a big sniff to further calm himself. "So, what do you say?" he asked more calmly.

It was Rose's turn to smile like an idiot this time around. "Sounds great." she giggled, her giddiness overwhelming. This was such a big step. She wrapped her arms around him. "Oh, you're so cute!" she squealed, incapable of stopping the words from spilling out.

"Cute?" he said indignant, pulling away.

Rose was only a little embarrassed that she'd said that out loud. "Sorry." she muttered.

"Time Lords aren't cute, Rose."

She smirked. "The one I know is; very adorable."

His face fell. "Don't tell a soul." his voice was dire, but it was obvious he was messing around.

Rose mimed zipping her lips together and throwing away the key.

"Good." he stated, satisfied.

A second later both of them starting sniggering. Another second passed and they burst out into a fit of hysterics.

Something on the TV caught his attention, stopping his laughter instantly. "Ah, the adverts are over." he announced. He returned his attention to the box. "Let's see…" he watched the screen a few seconds to gauge the show, waiting for the title. "Midsummer Murders! A classic. Never actually seen it though."

Half way through the episode the Doctor bolted up like he left the stove on. "Oh!" he yelled before his voice returned to normal and he dramatically slumped back down. "Me too."

Rose's face scrunched up. "Me too, wot?"

He turned to look at her. "I love you too." he shrugged; like it was no big deal, like it was obvious. He turned back to the TV, twitching in his seat a little. "Now, who do you think this murderer is then, eh? Cos I'll tell you another thing Rose, how is there anyone left in this sleepy little village? Surely no one would touch the place with a ten foot pole, murders happening every weak, the crime statistics for the area must be horrific, the whole town has probably been killed off ten times over. Why move there when you know that?" he rambled, keen to brush off his earlier -very important - words.

Meanwhile, Rose was stunned both by his nonchalant-ness, and his ease to say the words, her mouth a gape. The last time he told her she was sort of dying at the time, it felt like a dream, it was a dream… technically. His words caught up with her feelings. She beamed, joy surging through her like a bolt of lightning, radiating pure happiness. He'd said it again. He said he loved her.

He loved her.

The Doctor loved her.

Her.

Out of sheer bliss she reached up to him and kissed him on the cheek. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"I learn from the best." he said sincerely, looking straight at her.

Rose giggled out of pure glee, her body barely able to contain her joy, dragging him into a vice like hug.

"Alright, alright." he complained, though didn't mean it. He nodded to the TV. "We'll miss finding out who the murderer is."

Rose released him, returning to their previous hand holding, more than happy to let him escape from the domestics.

They spent the next hour and a bit just enjoying being close to each other, chatting about this and that while the adverts were on. The Doctor seemed perfectly happy with it, content even. But, all of a sudden, he got up, moved to the other sofa in a single bound, flicked his shoes off next to it, and flopped into it, lying down like he'd been there the whole time.

Then Rose heard the key go in the door, and her mum announce herself.

Ah.

She bit back a smile. The Oncoming Storm, who defeated Daleks and Cybermen, and countless others, was frightened of getting caught cuddling on the sofa by her mum.

Yep, sounds about right.

Jackie peered her head around the door. "Oh good, you're in. Come give me a hand with the pram."

Jackie had directed the question at Rose, but the Doctor sighed loudly. "Oh, if you insist." he complained, getting up off the other sofa with great effort, putting on a dramatic performance.

"Rose, come on, you can help en all." Jackie called, just as she heard the Doctor begin to yell.

"Jackie, how has this pram not collapsed from the sheer weight of the shopping tied on to the back of it? Poor Tony'll be launched into space if it tips."

"Oh hush you. Stop your whining."

The Doctor, however, did not stop whining until all the shopping was put away and Tony was happily chowing down on some chopped bananas in his highchair, and he was back lying on the sofa that he was pretending to have been on for the last few hours.

"Oh, yeah. Almost forgot." Jackie said as she rummaged in her handbag and pulled out a key and gave it to the Doctor. "'Ere." she said, dangling it impatiently over his head as he lay on the sofa.

"What's this?" he asked, sitting up to study it, looking at it like he'd never seen a key before.

"It's a letter opener." she said dryly. "Wot do you think it is, you numpty. It's a key to the 'ouse. Can't have you using that screwdriver thing or whatever it is. Last time I had to get the council out to fix the lock." Her voice sharpened. "And don't lose it otherwise you'll be paying to get another one cut." She rolled her eyes, getting tired of the Doctor staring at her and physically placed it into the palm of his hand and closed it.

"Now I'll put dinner on, I'm starving." she said moving into the kitchen without another word, well almost. "And you better help clean up this time, you lazy sod." she yelled down the corridor.

Somehow, Rose thought, this day had gotten even better. It's times like this when she was positive she had the best mum in the universe. She felt all gooey inside. When Rose got the chance she was going to give her the biggest hug, and maybe take her out to lunch, or, even better, book and pay for a holiday for her and Pete, since she basically paid for their date nights already. She wanted this to be a special thank you.

Now there was no way the Doctor could think he wasn't part of the family.

"Look Rose." the Doctor said giddily, holding the key like it was an Olympic gold medal. "I have a key. No one's ever given me a key before." His head twitched to the side. "Well, unless it was my own place." he said flatly, before perking up again. "But look, it's my own key." He moved the key closer to her face.

Her heart melted at how happy he was. "We'll have to get you a keychain now." she joked.

The Doctor's face fell. "You're right!" he said, one hundred percent serious. "I've got two keys now, you can't keep two keys on a piece of string." He searched around in one of his jean pockets and pulled out the Tardis key on a long loop of twine. "Where do you get keychains from?" he asked examining the two. "And what's the difference between a keychain and a key-ring, of course with the words chain and ring you'd think it'd be obvious, but it's not."

"Dunno." she admitted. "You can ask the person at the shop, they might know. I can take you to buy one tomorrow, you can even get one of those little rubber cases to put on the end so you can tell the difference between the two."

"Can you get different colours or are they all the same?" he asked.

"No, you can get different colours, even rainbow ones."

His face lit up. "Really?"

"Really." she nodded, smirking at him.

"Definitely have to get a couple of those then." he said still studying the keys. He smiled, making a little happy noise along with it, like he'd figured something out.

"Wot?" Rose asked.

"Jackie likes me." he said triumphantly, at the exact time that Jackie walked in with two cups of tea in her hand.

"Course I do, you plonker." she stated, putting the cups on the coffee table, tutting at Rose to move her legs. Jackie glared at him. "So long as you bring both of 'em back for the weekends. I don't want Tony forgetting his sister's face. You 'ear me?"

The Doctor nodded. "I think I can manage that." He gingerly took his tea from the table.

"Good." Jackie sat down next to Rose. "Now 'ow long before we can get the stuff from the flat?"

Rose dodged a laser blast, ducking out of the way just as it whizzed past the top of her head, the Doctor pulling her along, his grip on her hand vice-like, his flowing coat brushing against her legs as they ran.

"Jack! Which way?" the Doctor yelled over the ping of laser fire from the Judoon guards, sparks flying as they hit the large technical terminals, lighting the empty, angular corridor they were in.

"Left, LEFT!" Jack cried frantically, firing warning shots wildly behind him.

The three pelted around the corner at an Olympian pace. "There's the teleport!" the Doctor cried, reaching into his breast pocket for his sonic screwdriver, aiming it at the control panel beside the pod. "Come on, come on, come on!" he yelled.

The three leapt onto the teleport pad, Jack slamming the button on the control panel down hard as he jumped. They all snapped their heads back towards the corridor just as the Judoon guards lined up to fire. A purple light surrounded them, and in the next second they were back on the flight deck.

Jack spun on his heels, straining his neck. "Where's the Tardis?"

"This way!" the Doctor announced, yanking Rose forward, her eyes darting about as she looked out amongst the different ships, searching for the blessed blue box.

The Doctor led them under an ominous bronze oval, then between a Disney–esque red rocket and a ball of transparent green slime, then around a huge engraved cube like vessel, until, at last, the wooden blue box was in sight, right at the end of the cube, about five hundred metres ahead.

Suddenly, there was a massive blast that rattled the building, alarms from different ships crying out in protest. From where they'd just come from a squad of Judoon charged in through a hole in the wall, guns at the ready.

The Doctor turned to Rose, then to Jack, his mouth forming a splitting grin. "Run!"

The trio charged towards the Tardis, their legs pumping.

"Oh, how I've missed this!" Jack sang.

Only ten metres left until they were home free. The Doctor reached down to his trouser pocket and pulled out a small, burgundy coloured, converse keychain, with two silver keys hooked on it. He primed the key with the smiley face keycap on it, perfectly fitting the Tardis lock as he slammed into it and pushed open the doors. "In, in, in." he cried, pushing Rose in first before motioning to Jack.

Laser bolts bounced off the shielding as the Doctor slammed the doors shut.

"Everyone alright?" he asked, chest heaving, examining the condition of his friends.

Rose and Jack nodded through their pained breaths, satisfied the Doctor darted to the console, dancing around it as he set the coordinates. "Off we go."

The Tardis jerked into motion, Rose and Jack stumbling a little as the machine started up, still focusing on getting air into their overworking lungs.

Rose rested her hands on her knees as she gulped in air. "Jack…" she wheezed. "Next time…" she continued through ragged breaths, slowly regaining her composure. She glared at Jack. "ask if they're married." she said dryly.

Fin

A/N:

It's DONE! This chapter took ages. I just needed to get it right.

I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Please review/ give feedback if you want. I'd love to hear it.

This is a series so I'll be offline whilst I write the next one. It'll be are more episode style.