Chapter Four
"Well, here we are."
Rose gestured to the modest little house she shared with her mother, Pete and her baby brother, Tony.
The Doctor groaned.
"Do we have to do this?" he asked Rose. "Can't we just stand here, scream goodbye and make a beeline for the TARDIS?"
"Doctor."
"Because Jackie had to know this day would come eventually, right?" the Doctor said grabbing her hands. "So I'm sure she's already prepared for the day you wouldn't walk through the door, so we can just blow this whole thing off and leave this universe."
"No, Doctor. I want to say goodbye properly." Rose replied.
The Doctor sighed.
"Alright, just don't expect me to be happy about it." He muttered.
She put his arm around her back as they walked up the stairs towards the door. As they reached the front door, the Doctor turned and looked at Mickey.
"Let me do the explaining." He said. "I don't want you running through the house screaming the Doctor's back and he regenerated again. I want to be the one to tell her, got it?"
Mickey nodded.
"Good."
He took a deep breath and squeezed Rose's shoulder as she opened the front door.
As they walked inside, the Doctor looked around.
"Well, Pete's done alright for himself, hasn't he?" he said.
"Mum! We're back!" Rose called out.
"I'm in the kitchen, love!" Jackie called back.
Rose looked at the Doctor.
"After you." He said.
Rose gave his hand a squeeze and led them all towards the kitchen.
"Rose, you're back early." Jackie said looking up from the cutting board. "I thought you and Mickey were gonna go see a movie and…"
Jackie paused as she noticed two strangers stepping into the kitchen alongside Rose and Mickey.
"Who are they?" she said gesturing to them. "Friends from work?"
"Um, kinda." Rose replied.
"Well, they're welcome to stay for supper, if they want."
"Actually, mum, I have something important to say to you." Rose said. "Or rather my friend here has something to say."
Jackie looked at the dark haired man that Rose was pointing to. Laying her knife down on the cutting board, she walked over to him.
"You have somethin' you wanna say to me?" she asked him.
"Yes, I do, actually." The Doctor replied.
Jackie looked at him and looked at Rose and noticed how close they were to each other.
"Let me guess. You're Rose's new boyfriend, yeah?" she said.
The Doctor paused.
"Um, old boyfriend, actually." He finally said.
Jackie was taken aback.
"What? You've been dating Rose?"
She turned to Rose.
"You've been dating this man and didn't tell me?" she asked.
"Mum, it's not like that." Rose said holding up her hands.
"I know you're an adult, Rose. But I'm still your mother and I'd still like to be kept informed of things." Jackie said.
"Mum, would you please let him explain?"
"I mean, I love you and I want to be sure the man you're dating isn't some kind of nutter."
She glanced at the Doctor.
"No offense." She said to him. "I don't mean you're crazy necessarily, but she's already been with one loony guy before you came along, and I don't want her making the same mistake again."
The Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"Loony…guy." He said slowly.
"Ought oh." Martha muttered to herself.
"Mum." Rose said.
"I mean the man was certifiable. Dragging my poor daughter all over the place getting her into all sorts of danger; and him being irresponsible on top of it. It's a wonder Rose didn't get killed."
The Doctor gritted his teeth and mentally counted to ten.
"Mum…"
"I'm sorry, Rose. I know you loved the Doctor deeply, but things have finally calmed down and gone back to normal since he's been gone. Good riddance, I say."
Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand when he made a move towards Jackie.
"Anyway, I'm sorry; I'm just going on about Rose's ex." She said to him. "My point is I'd like to know something about you before you go running off with my little girl."
"Okay," the Doctor said. "Here's goes. My name is the Doctor. I'm a certifiable loony nutter and I'm about to kidnap your daughter, pop her in my TARDIS and take her back to her original universe. Happy?"
"Now see, that's what you should have done before you starting dating my daughter and…"
Jackie paused.
"Wait, what did you say?"
The Doctor sighed and looked at Rose.
"Does delayed reaction syndrome run in your family or something?" he asked.
He looked back at Jackie who was staring at him, dumbfounded.
"Hi, Jackie, I'm back." He said with a smirk on his face.
Jackie's eyes widened and she stumbled back against the counter.
"Wait a minute. You can't be the Doctor. You don't even look like him."
The Doctor raised his eyebrow.
Jackie looked at Rose.
"Is this some kind of alternate universe Doctor or something?" she asked her.
"No, mum, it's the original Doctor." Rose replied.
Jackie looked at him.
"But, you look different." She said.
"Yes, Jackie, I think we've established that. I also seem to recall that when I first met you, I looked different and then I changed my appearance. Remember, Jackie. It's called regeneration."
"What'd you do, go and get yourself killed again?" Jackie asked.
The Doctor put his hands on his hips.
"Well, when I woke up that fateful day; I can assure you at no point did I say to myself you know what, I'm bored with my appearance; I think I'll go find the Valeyard and have him torture me to death so I can get a whole new look."
"The Valeyard?" Rose asked him. "Who is he? And he…tortured you?"
The Doctor glanced at her.
"I'll explain later, I promise." He said gently.
Jackie looked over at Martha.
"Who's she then?"
"This is Martha Jones. She's been traveling with me for about a year and a half."
"So, you suckered some other poor girl into leavin' her family and going with you?"
"Mum." Rose said as she noticed the Doctor fighting to keep his temper under control.
"He didn't sucker me." Martha said quickly. "I saved his life and he offered me a trip in the TARDIS as a way of saying thanks."
"Yeah and somehow that one trip turned into about 200 trips. Go figure." The Doctor added.
"So you suckered her into staying with you, just like you did with Rose. You make these women fall in love with you and guilt them into staying with you so you won't be alone."
Rose grabbed the Doctor's hand when she noticed him balling them into fists.
"The Doctor didn't guilt me into anything. I wanted to go with him just as I'm sure Rose did." Martha said gesturing to Rose. "And we're nothing more than friends."
"Yes, Jackie, because if I had fallen in love with her; I never would have taken the risk of collapsing two universes to come back here and get Rose." The Doctor added.
Jackie sighed.
"And I suppose you're going to go with him." She said to Rose.
"You know I do. You know if the Doctor ever came back for me, I would go with him." She replied.
Jackie sighed and laid her hand on the counter. The Doctor noticed it was resting near the knife and wondered for a moment if she was going to pick it up and use it on him.
"And what about your family?" Jackie finally said.
"You have Pete and Tony and Mickey. I have the Doctor and Martha. I'm sorry, mum. But being stranded in this reality didn't kill my desire to be with the Doctor. It made it stronger."
"But we'll never see you again!" Jackie protested. "You'll never see Tony grow up. Don't you want to be a part of your baby brother's life?"
Rose raised her chin defiantly.
"Tony would want me to be happy, and I'm not happy here, mum. I love you, but I don't belong here. I never did. Now I know you want to blame the Doctor and say he's put all this in my head, but that's about as far from the truth as you can get. As I told you all before, I made my decision a long time ago and I'm never gonna leave him. I fell in love with the Doctor all on my own. He never manipulated me at any time. In fact, there were a couple of times when he tried to discourage a relationship, but the feelings were too strong to deny; both for him and for me."
She walked over to Jackie and grabbed her hands.
"Please, mum, I need to be with him." She pleaded. "Please let me go with him. I feel trapped here. I want to be out with him exploring the universe and having fun. He'll protect me, mum just like he's protecting Martha. Nothing will happen to me; he'll make sure of that."
Jackie looked at the Doctor.
"Will she be able to come back?" she asked.
The Doctor shook his head.
"No, I took a big risk coming across the void. I consider myself lucky that I didn't destroy both realities. I'm going back with her one more time and then I dare not risk any more trips. I'm afraid this is goodbye." He said.
"You hear that, love?" Jackie said. "If you go with the Doctor, you'll never see us again. Do you still want to do it?"
Rose nodded.
"Yes, I want to go with the Doctor." She said.
Tears came to Jackie's eyes as she embraced Rose.
"I'm gonna miss ya, my baby girl. But this is your decision and I'm not gonna stand in your way." She said. "Just know that I love you and I always will."
"I love you too, mum." Rose replied, hugging her tight.
Jackie gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek and looked over at the Doctor.
"Would you at least stay long enough for her to say goodbye to Pete and her brother?" She asked.
"Of course I will." He said.
Jackie nodded. She stepped back slightly and held onto Rose's upper arms as she stared into her eyes.
"You're such a big, brave girl." She said as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I'm so proud of you."
Rose smiled and kissed her cheek. They pulled into another embrace while the Doctor, Martha and Mickey watched quietly.
Jackie looked over Rose's shoulder at Mickey.
"You goin' as well?" she asked him.
Mickey looked at the Doctor and Martha.
"Um…I don't think they want me along." He said.
"You can come if you want, Mickey boy. I have a big enough TARDIS." The Doctor said shrugging.
Mickey looked at him and then looked over at Martha who was smiling at him.
"Um…I'm not sure. I mean, in a way, I'm glad it's over, but there were good things about it too." He said.
"Your decision." The Doctor said.
He glanced back over at Martha who winked at him.
"Um…can I think about it? 'Cause I mean if there's no way to come back, I want to be sure." He said.
The Doctor shrugged.
"Just as long as you let us know by the time we're ready to go." He said.
"I will."
He looked back over at Martha who was staring at him with a huge smile on her face.
"I have a feeling I'll be sayin' yes, though." He muttered to himself.
"Well, as long as we're waiting for Pete and your brother." The Doctor said. "Rose, would you like to accompany on a little walk so we can talk some more?"
"I'd love to."
He looked at Martha.
"You don't mind if Rose and I go by ourselves, do you?" he asked her.
"No, in fact, I think I'll just hang out with Mickey for awhile." She said.
The Doctor looked at her and looked at Mickey. He gave Rose a pointed look.
"Okay, well, let's get going, shall we?" he said as Rose giggled softly.
Rose gave Jackie a quick kiss and taking the Doctor's hand, walked towards the front door.