And awaaaaaaay we go!

Chapter Eight

The silence that filled the room was deafening. Rose and Jen stared at each other, each daring the other to speak. Inside, Rose was both eager for and at the same time dreaded the next words that Jen would say. An admission would mean that the Doctor was not, as he'd felt for so long, alone.

But the implications of it would nearly be too much for her to take.

Finally, Jen averted her eyes. "You don't seem too surprised," she finally said, flatly. Anger simmered just below the surface of her tone.

Rose felt as someone had punched her, so quickly did the air rush from her lungs. Stunned, her legs gave out from under her and she found herself sitting on the bed staring blankly at Jen. "No, not surprised," she managed to murmur. "He mentioned once that he'd… been a dad."

Jen finally dared to glance over at her. "Rethinking going with me?" she asked, toying with the papers lying on the desk in front of her.

Startled, Rose blinked at her several times. The thought had never crossed her mind. "No," she replied, vehemently. "Why would I do that?"

A soft chuckle escaped Jen's lips and she lifted a brow and smiled tiredly at her. "It can't be easy to be traipsing off with the child he had with another woman," she pointed out, softly.

She swallowed hard as she turned to glance out the window. "He had a life before I came along," she said, softly. "I realize that. It's just… a shock, I guess."

"I'm sure it is," Jen replied, tipping her head back over the back of the chair and closing her eyes.

Again the uncomfortable, overwhelming silence surrounded the two of them. "He thought you were dead all this time," Rose finally blurted out, accusingly. "How could you let him think—"

"I thought he was dead too," Jen replied, gently but firmly. "The circumstances under which we last saw one another weren't exactly ideal," she added, sourly. "Confusion does tend to erupt in the middle of a battle."

"What happened?" Rose encouraged softly.

Jen rose and folded her arms over her chest as she paced over to the window. "I was young," she replied, evenly. "Little more than a Time Tot when the Time War broke out. I had little experience, and with no experience usually comes poor choices." She snorted. "I'm a prime example of that." She turned from the window to look at Rose. "I'm not sure how I survived; I was knocked completely unconscious and fell through the Time Vortex to another dimension – this dimension. I woke up some time later. I have no idea how long I was out… It could have been hours, days, or even weeks. When I came to, though, I couldn't sense any other Time Lords. I tried for a while, but never could."

"The Time War was devastating to many races, and many peoples had very good reason to hate the Time Lords. A young, inexperienced Time Lord on her own would have made a very good target. And so, I made a decision in the name of self-preservation and did what any young, inexperienced, frightened young woman would do: I ran. I found a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way planet, and settled down. And I did something that pained me to no end, but that had to be done: I blocked myself off of the pull and feel of the Time Vortex."

"Can you really do that?" Rose asked, suspiciously.

"Not completely," Jen amended, a small smile tugging at her lips. "But enough that I could fly in under the radar of anyone looking for me." She sighed and sat down on the bed, curling her knees up to her chin. "I regret it now. If I hadn't, maybe…" Closing her eyes, she shook her head and continued. "It was only when a particularly large disturbance appeared in this dimension that it even got my attention. I couldn't ignore it any longer. And so, I took my Tardis out of mothballs, and here I am."

Rose took several moments to absorb all that Jen had said. "I'm surprised that you're not more excited about seeing him," she finally said, softly.

In a rare expression of vulnerability, Jen bit her lower lip. "If you want the truth… I'm a bit nervous," she admitted. "It's been a long time, and the events that led up to our parting were disastrous." She paused and eyed Rose for a moment. "How much has he told you about the Time War and the Fall of Arcadia?"

"Only that the Daleks were completely wiped out at the cost of the Time Lords, and that his entire family was lost," Rose replied.

Jen remained quiet for several moments. "Yeah," she finally murmured. "That's the basic gist of it…"

"Are you sure you're not forgetting anything? That you have everything you need?"

Rose bit back a smile and turned around to jerk the knapsack on her back away from Jackie's grasp. "Mum, I'm sure," she replied, softly. She knew that Jackie's mother-henning had more to do with Rose's leaving than actual concern over the contents of the backpack.

"If you're sure…" Jackie murmured. Her eyes met Rose's for a long moment, and then filled with tears for the tenth time that day. Abruptly, she turned away to face Jen, who was exiting the Volkswagen van behind Rose. "You take care of her, you hear me?" she said to the other woman. "Make sure she's safe!"

Jen offered her a sympathetic smile. "I'll do my best," she promised Jackie.

"And you!" Jackie then turned back to Rose. "Don't go lookin' for trouble! You and the Doctor, the pair of you just itch for it. Be careful! And tell him I said to keep you both out of trouble!"

"I'll tell him, Mum," Rose managed around the tears that had begun to choke her voice. She cast a brief, questioning glance at Jen who nodded slightly.

"It's time," Jen murmured.

Rose swallowed hard, nodded, and then turned to her family. When she'd faced never seeing them again the first time, the decision and action had been made so quickly that she hadn't had time to think about it. This time she did, and saying goodbye was nearly impossible.

Mickey was the first she stepped up to. "You know, I'd kinda hoped…" he murmured, resting a hand against her cheek. "After Canary Wharf…"

"I know," Rose choked, nodding. "But I couldn't…"

"I know," Mickey replied, smiling. "Couldn't let him go. I wish I could hate him for it, but he's a good guy." Fighting back tears of his own, he pulled Rose into his arms and enveloped her into a hug. "I love you, Rose," he whispered. "And I always will."

"I love you, too," she managed back. And she meant it. Maybe she didn't love him in the deep, romantic way that he wished she did, but she did love him. After a moment, the two of them released one another, and Rose tearfully approached her next target.

It was a pair of targets, actually. Pete Tyler stood holding baby Lilly, his own tears dangerously near the surface. "I feel like I've just finally got to know you, and now I'm leaving," she said, regretfully.

"I know," Pete replied, his own regret shining in his eyes. Silently, he reached over with his free hand and brushed the tears from her cheeks, tears that were immediately replaced with fresh ones as soon as his hand moved away.

Lilly suddenly squealed, prompting a tearful chuckle from Rose. She leaned over and kissed her sister's forehead, then stroked the downy cap of blonde hair on the top of her head. "You be a good girl, alright?" she said, softly. "Don't give Mum and Dad too much trouble." Tearfully, she looked up at Pete. "Promise me…" she began, and then swallowed away the tears in her voice. "Promise me that you'll tell her about me," she requested, softly.

"Absolutely," Pete replied. "I'll tell her all about her brave, beautiful big sister who helped save the world and everyone in it."

Undone, Rose threw herself into his arms and hugged him tightly. Pete held her for several minutes, unwilling to let her go. Finally he pressed a kiss to her temple and released her, gently turning her around to face the last of her goodbyes.

Jackie made no effort to stem the flow of tears that slipped openly down her cheek. This was the hardest good-bye of all. Through Rose's mind flashed a million memories of her and Jackie together through the years. With a soft cry, Rose dropped her bag and threw her arms around her mother.

"I can't let you go," Jackie whispered, holding her oldest daughter tightly.

"Oh, you don't need me anymore," Rose tried to sound cheerful. "You've got Dad and Lilly…"

"And I love them, terribly," Jackie replied. "But no one can replace my Rose."

"I'll still be able to call you," Rose choked. "Let you know how I'm doing. Let you know that I'm alright. And, maybe one day…"

"I won't get my hopes up," Jackie replied. "I couldn't stand having my heart broken if you never come back." Bravely but reluctantly, Jackie released her daughter. "You take care of yourself, now," she said. "Don't forget about us."

"I never will," Rose replied, squeezing her mother's hands. She hugged her tightly one last time, and then bravely turned to face the Tardis. Wiping away her tears, she nodded to Jen. "I'm ready," she said, her voice wavering with tears.

"Well then," Jen replied. She cast a goodbye wave to each of the gathered members of Rose's family and then slipped into the Tardis.

Slowly, Rose made her way to the van. She put one foot into the open door, and then paused to look back at her loved ones. A soft, wavering smile touched her lips. "Goodbye," she murmured softly, and then hoisted herself up into the van, the door slipping shut behind her. A moment later, the bright light on top of the ship began to flash, and within seconds the ship was gone.

They were on their way.