Glimpses of Time

Chapter Nine: Meet the Parents

By Lumendea

AN: I hope that everyone is safe and staying healthy. Please take care of yourselves and be as kind as you can be.

…..

Athena was coming for dinner, and she was bringing her boyfriend. The Doctor had asked if they needed to go to a 'human place' rather than the TARDIS. Athena had said not to worry about it. That was when Rose had known what was coming. It had finally happened. Jack and Athena were together and had decided to come clean.

They should have gone to a restaurant. Yes, it was annoying that Athena couldn't call them Mum and Dad in a public setting like that, but at least the Doctor wouldn't be able to try killing Jack. Instead, Rose had agreed to dinner in the TARDIS and made Athena and Jack's favorites. And the Doctor's current favorite since his regeneration for good measure. With a little luck, there would be limited yelling.

The Doctor was trying. He was pacing in front of the console, talking at breakneck speed with his hands flying about. Every so often, he fixed his bowtie no matter how many times Rose assured him it was fine. A knock on the door made him jump. Rose was surprised that they knocked and hurried over before the Doctor could.

As she expected, Athena was standing beside Jack, and both of them had nervous expressions on their faces. They were neat and tidy, but neither had dressed up, which Rose was grateful for. There was no need to make this more awkward than it already was.

"Hello, sweetheart," she greeted Athena first. "Hello, Jack. It's nice that the two of you could join us."

"Hi, Mum," Athena replied nervously.

Rose opened her arms, and the younger woman stepped up to hug her tightly.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" the Doctor asked behind Rose.

"He's here for dinner," Rose said calmly as she released Athena and gave her a small push towards her father. "Athena told us she was bringing her partner for dinner."

"Be nice, Daddy," Athena begged.

"Hi, Doc," Jack offered. He stepped into the TARDIS, and Rose gave him a quick hug. "It's been a while.

"He's here? But that-" The Doctor blinked and scowled.

"We're seeing each other," Athena confirmed. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin. "Romantically. Jack is here as my partner."

"Wait," the Doctor said slowly. He swung around, and his green eyes settled on Rose. "You knew."

"I did." Rose held back a smile. Showing her amusement would not help.

"You knew, all those years ago! Trapped in a room, hiding from gas mask zombies, and you laughed about Jack's future romantic partner!" The Doctor was waving his hands about wildly, his eyes wide and horrified. "You knew it was Athena."

"I did."

"How could you let this happen, Rose?" the Doctor demanded, a hint of whine in his voice now. "Our precious little girl with- with-" He gestured wildly at Jack. "That!"

"Hey!" Jack protested.

"Oh shut it, Jack, you know what I mean!"

"Dad, seriously, you're overreacting," Athena said. "There's nothing wrong with it. Jack and I were good friends, had adventures together, and fell in love. Like you and Mum."

"Yeah," Jack said. He was trying to rally. "You did meet Rose when she was eleven."

"Don't dig your grave any deeper, Harkness," the Doctor growled.

For once, Jack did look scared of the Doctor. His jaw snapped shut with an audible click and Athena shifted in front of him. Athena's eyes kept jumping over to Rose, silently begging her for help. It was all too funny, but tensions were getting a bit too high.

"Doctor," Rose said gently. She touched his arm, pleased when he scowled but didn't pull away. "I know it's something that needs to settle. It took a bit of time for me as well, but Athena has someone in her life that we know is trustworthy, understands her life, is compassionate, and who cares about her. That's what we should be focusing most on." Putting her chin on the Doctor's shoulder, she smiled sweetly up at him. "And we want Athena to be happy. If Jack is who makes her happy then we, as loving, supportive parents, should accept that."

The Doctor curled his nose at the words. His displeasure was clear, but he grumbled and looked down at Rose. "That's really unfair, you know."

Giving him a tongue touched smile, Rose leaned up and kissed him softly. "I know. But it gets the job done."

Jack visibly relaxed in relief, but the Doctor's head snapped back to glare at him. "You're not off the hook, Jack. I'll be watching you." The Doctor pointed at his eyes and then at Jack. "If there is one person in this universe that can figure out how to kill you, it's me." The Doctor shifted back and wrapped an arm around Rose's waist. "Now that that's been said, I believe that we were going to eat."

"We were," Athena agreed. She grinned and headed for the dining room the TARDIS had opened up for the event.

The Doctor pointed as his eyes again and then at Jack before kissing the crown of Rose's head and following his daughter down the corridor. The grateful look Jack gave Rose was the most intense she'd ever received from anyone. The Doctor grumbled once again, and Rose held back a sigh. This hasn't gone great, but at least it was over for now. She wasn't looking forward to the future conversations with Rory and the Doctor when Melody joined their relationship. Amelia would probably stay calm, but it would be Rory's turn to freak out.

The joys of out of synch timelines.