Chapter 12

Rose woke slowly, memory slowly creeping back in as to the reason she felt so happy and content, she stretched slightly, her leg rubbing against the Doctors; she turned over and wrapped her arm around his waist

"Good morning" he rumpled happily, his hand reaching to brush her Rose's hair from her face

"Mmm" she murmured not sure she was awake enough to talk, snuggling her head onto his chest, loving the feel of his two hearts beating under her ear.

"Come on sleepy head, time to get up" the Doctor said, ruffling her hair before bending to kiss her lips, loving the way her eyes stayed half closed when she first woke up, loving everything about her

"By the way you snore" the Doctor said with a grin, "Most un ladylike"

Rose swatted him half heartedly

"Don't snore and I never claimed to be lady" she muttered, stretching again and slowly sitting up in bed, pulling the covers with her to cover her naked breasts, the Doctor grinned at her bashfulness

"Saw them plenty last night" he said nodding down at her now covered chest, watching Rose's cheeks go, well rosy

"Shut up" Rose muttered folding her arms for good measure across her chest "S'not the same" she told him

"Yeah it is, saw them in the shower, and in this bed and I…"

Rose reached over and covered his mouth with her hand

"Shut up" she laughed at him, finally giving up on the blanket. "It's not the same" she told him leaping out of the bed, grapping the blanket and heading for the shower, leaving him totally naked

"Is too" the Doctors laughing voice called out to her

"Is not" Rose muttered laughing as she stepped into the shower.

………………………………………………..

Rose was sitting in the control room wishing that this day had never arrived, when there was a knock at the Tardis front door, she sighed and crossed to open it

"Hi mum" she said seeing Jackie standing there

"All set then?" Jackie asked, noticing the worry in her daughter's eyes, the strain about her face

"Yeah, just about" Rose said crossing back to her seat and putting her feet up on the console trying to relax, trying not to think about what it would mean if they failed today "You sure you can do this mum?" she asked looking at Jackie carefully.

Jackie smiled at her daughter, wishing she could take away the pain of this day for her

"Course I can, I'm a Tyler aint I?" she said cheerfully, hiding her own doubts as to the wisdom of this plan

"Where's the alien freak then?" Jackie asked trying to divert Rose's mind, and succeeding very well

"Mummm, please be nice" Rose pleaded, Jackie just shrugged and turned to look around at the room

"Could do with being decorated" she said scornfully "It's really dark and dismal, a real bachelor pad" she turned to look at her daughter "How do you plan to raise a child in this place?" she said fingering a wire hanging down from the ceiling

"Managed just fine before" the Doctor said as he walked into the room, grinning as usual.

"What do you mean before?" Jackie asked her eyes narrowing; Rose sat up and looked at him in shock

"You have other kids then?" Rose asked quietly, a little afraid of his answer, realising that in truth she knew very little about the Doctor

"Yep, you don't get to my age with out at least one child, and she's been dead along time" he said his eyes faraway in his memories.

"Lovely girl, gave me a granddaughter too, Susan. I raised her, she was my companion in the 60's, stayed behind one day and married, she's dead too. Must have some great, great grandkids too by now" he said slightly wistfully "But I don't know them, and they don't know about me, Susan and I felt it was better that way" he added sadly. He stood looking down at the ground for a moment, before looking up and grinning

"Susan loved the Tardis, best playground for a kid, lots of places to explore, and the Tardis always looks after kids" he added patting the central console lovingly

Rose stared at the Doctor, seeing a different part of him, realising that he was talking about one of his past regenerations, a different Doctor in a Different time but with the same memories. Rose wasn't sure if she would ever get used to the idea that one day he would just up and change.

……………………………………………………

Rose and the Doctor crouched in the alley and waited for the men in black, Rose shivered slightly and huddled closer to the Doctor, she wanted him to tell her it was all going to be ok, but she dare not risk speaking in case the men in black were around. Rose prayed that her mother was able to keep Sky out of the way; if she didn't then she was going to have to watch her daughter die, only to have to live through the pain again in the future.

Suddenly the Doctor tapped her on the shoulder and nodded to the left slightly; she turned and saw the men in black with a large glowing object.

Rose looked down at her watch and saw that there was only 4 minutes till Sky entered the alley, she willed her mother to succeed, she looked back at the doctor and raised her eyebrows in silent question

Bomb he mouthed silently, moving slightly to get a better view, watching silently as they placed it at the entrance to the alley, near the little dress shop. He turned back to Rose who looked at her watch, 2 minutes.

The Doctor reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it in reassurance, his eyes calm, Rose looked into them and felt her fears ease slightly, they could do this, she thought.

Rose looked down at her watch and grinned slightly, bingo, no sky! She thought happily, grapping the Doctors arm and pointing at her watch. He looked at her and smiled, it slowly turning into a grin as he stood up and left his hiding place

"Hello again" he called out happily to the three men huddled around the glowing object "we do seem to keep meeting in the strangest places" he said as they all swung round to look at him in shock.

"Doctor" the one in the middle said in confusion "You should not be here" he said in his odd monotone. "This is not expected"

The Doctor smiled "You should always expect the unexpected" he told them "Then nothing is really unexpected is it" he continued in his own brand of logic, enjoying the looks of confusion on their faces

The Doctor seized the opportunity and ran forward scooping up the glowing bomb and running like hell away from the alley, Rose close on his heels.