Chapter Twelve

Rose

It was December, 2015. The stainless steel surfaces of Rose's kitchen gleamed cold in the winter sunlight. Jackie sat awkwardly at the polished glass table. Rose leaned against the dishwasher, staring at her. Jack busied himself, trying to work out how the latest coffee percolator functioned.

"So, love..." Jackie blinked nervously. "Long time no see."

Rose continued to stare. Jackie fluttered her hand over the glass surface.

"Well, love, you keep the place nice, I'll give you that. Very nice."

"Please don't call me that."

"What d'you mean, love?" Jackie looked confused.

Rose winced. "That. I ask you not to call me that."

"But, lo... But, Rose, I'm your mother! I gave birth to you. I fed you. I changed your nappies, I..."

"Please stop. You are not my mother."

Jackie looked up at Rose. "What d'you mean? What are you on about...?"

"I mean what I say," said Rose, looking down at Jackie. "You are not my mother."

Jack placed a cup of coffee in front of Jackie. "Sugar?"

Jackie was trembling. "Who says...? Who says that I am not your mother"

Rose smiled. "The Doctor, since you ask."

"The Doctor..." Jackie murmured with loathing. "The Doctor. The Doctor this, the Doctor that. That Doctor's been nothing but trouble. He's stirred things up the moment he came on the scene. And he chose his moment well, didn't he, your Doctor? He mucked up your marriage from the start. He was there sticking his nose in at the wedding... And he was there at the end, when it all fell apart. Funny, that, isn't it? And now, now he's telling you, my daughter, that I am not your mother! Why? Since he's so clever... So bloody rational... Why... How does he know I'm not your mother?"

"If you must know..."

"Yes?"

"His exact words were... 'A specimen like Jackie is not capable of producing a creature of your calibre, Rose.'"

Jackie stood up, sweeping the coffee cup off the table. It shattered, splattering hot coffee over the stainless steel units. At the same moment, Jackie's hand hit Rose's left cheek with such force that her head hit the cupboard behind.

Jack watched. He saw the two women confront each other. Saw the fury, the pain, the love in Jackie's eyes; eyes which searched desperately for meaning in Rose's, but found none. Jackie seemed to crumple. Jack caught her and sat her back in the chair, where she wept, head in hands.

"What's he done to you, Rose? What's he done to us?"

"You should leave now." Rose walked to the door and opened it. "You should both leave. It's best that you don't come back."

-

The glass doors of the elevator closed and it began its descent. Jack put an arm round Jackie, and she cried quietly into his jacket. He saw the plush lobby of the apartment block come slowly into view. A figure stood waiting for the elevator. Jackie pulled herself away and took out a hanky, trying to recover herself. The doors open and there stood the Doctor. For a moment Jack wondered. Could it be? Then he saw the dark void in the eyes. He recognized that look. This was not his Doctor.

Jack saw a flash of recognition in Jackie's eyes, followed by intense loathing. She took one step out of the lift and stood in front of the Doctor, barring his way. She looked up at him defiantly.

"I hope..." she said, her voice trembling, "...you're satisfied."

"Let me past," said the Doctor.

"To think I once gave you a roof over your head... food in your belly... And this is how you repay me. You've poisoned her against me! My own daughter! You are an EVIL man!" Jackie's voice had risen; heads were turning. A porter hurried across the deep-carpeted lobby and took her by the elbow, firmly guiding her towards the door. Jack took the other arm and squeezed it comfortingly.

"You may have bought her all this!" Jackie cried over her shoulder, gesturing vaguely around her. "But what's money when you've got no family, no husband, no friends! You've ruined my daughter's life. Got rid of her husband. Got rid of her mother. I hope you're bloody satisfied!"

-

The Doctor sat with his mobile and pint in his usual corner in the back bar of 'The Moon.'

"Hello, Jack? Where are you?"

"Hi, Doc. I'm in Jackie's living room."

"How is she? Still doing the amateur dramatics?"

Jack laughed dryly. "She doesn't need to. She's up to her eyes in the real thing. To be honest, Doc, she's real bad. The reconciliation was a disaster. Think it did more harm than good. It's all on film, so you can see for yourself. I feel real sorry for Jackie. I bought her an early Christmas present – it's a Labrador pup. She loves it. She's named him 'Stoko' and he's a real handful. It seems to have done her some good. And it gets her out. She's out walking him now. But, Doc, on the plus side I've made some real progress. Doc, do you like swimming?"

'Swimming? I haven't swum since I was stranded on the planet Ark Led. Didn't have much choice, as it was ninety-five percent water.

"Well, guess what? Your clone loves it. He goes to the local pool every day and does forty lengths or so."

"And? Where's this leading?"

"I've been watching him. He has a mobile phone which he uses a lot..."

"Ah... I think I'm beginning to get the picture..."

"Yesterday I used the duplicate sonic screwdriver you made me to break into his locker while he was swimming. I hid in a changing room and managed to fit it with one of my pan-galactic bugging devices. It was close, I can tell you. But I managed to fit it and get it back in the locker just before he returned.

The Doctor sat up.

"Jack, lad, that's brilliant! Found out anything?"

"Sure have."

"Yes?"

"It's about Rose..."

"Rose?"

"She's not a clone, Doc. Never has been. She's the real thing."