A/N: Aww, Doctor waving his domestics flag :D Calm before the storm, as the saying goes...

Chapter 4 – Chocolate Doctor

Twenty minutes later mother and daughter were standing, or rather, hovering outside the front door to their flat, wondering slightly what they might find inside. Crashed alien spaceship? Their two dead bodies on the floor? Jackie gulped, resting a hand on the door handle and pushing it down gently, swinging it open.

She waited a few seconds, just pausing to see if someone was going to jump out of the shadows and shoot her through the head with a laser gun before she even had a chance to blink.

Rose rolled her eyes, stepping first into the flat and along the hall to the living room, calling out for the Doctor and Rory. She distinctly heard the sound of rushing feet as she stepped into the room, moving towards the sofa. There was something on the table she realised as she neared…looked like…

"Wow!" Rose exclaimed, rushing forward towards the chocolate cake accompanied with a piece of folded paper. She took the slip opening it out to reveal messy lopsided writing of a child, though obviously guided handwriting.

Mummy and granny,

Sorry.

Love Rory and daddy xxx the letter read.

"Oh God," Rose whispered, looking up as Jackie crossed the living room towards the closed kitchen door, having checked all the other rooms for damaged.

"This is amazin'!" she was saying, absolutely ecstatic. "The 'ouse isn't destroyed! Not a hair out of place!"

She rested a hand on the door handle, pushing down to check the very last room for signs of destruction – the kitchen. The door swung open cleanly as Jackie stuck her head inside, peering into the room.

And then she screamed.

"DOCTOR!" she hollered as Rose walked over to the kitchen and looking inside with her. Her hand flew instantly to her mouth, accompanying a rather loud giggle.

The walls were smeared into chocolate and cake mix, used dishes were scattered all over the worktops and the sink was stacked with even more. Rose swore something had exploded inside the oven and there had been a half-hearted attempt to scrape some of the hardened mix off of one of the worktops.

"WHERE IS HE?! I'LL 'AVE 'IM! DOCTOR!!! COME OUT RIGHT NOW!!!"

There was only silence. Rose turned back into the living room, moving over to the sofa and dropping down, cutting herself a slice of cake.

"He's not here…!" Jackie sounded almost psychotic, her voice uneven and jumpy. "I bet he's back in that bleedin' box of his!"

"Mum!" Rose said, gulping down some of the sweet chocolate cake. Man that tasted good. "Ever considered it might have been Rory?"

She gasped, horrified at even the idea of it. "Not sweet little Rory!"

Rose rolled her eyes, knowing little Rory was definitely not as innocent as he seemed. He had proven that long ago.

"Doctor!" Jackie called again, her voice now light and friendly as she marched over to the front door. "Where are yooou?"

The door clicked quietly shut.

"You can come out now," Rose said aloud, before taking another chunk of the cake. There was another brief pause, before something wet a delicate suddenly kissed the back of her neck. She turned to see the Doctor grinning manically at her, cake mix smeared all over his face, hair and clothes. Rory was just the same – both looking positively over the moon.

Rose smiling gently at the Doctor, pulling his face closer and licking off some of the mix.

"Mmm, tasty!" she complimented.

"As it should be," the Doctor replied with a grin, launching over the sofa to stand infront of her. "I err…won't touch anything, might get it covered in mix."

"Thank you for this," she said with a smile, getting onto her feet to hug Rory and the Doctor. "And just to say…" she added, looking up at the Doctor, "I'll never forget you."

"Huh?"

"DOCTOR!!!"

The Doctor's eyes widened as he heard the shrill voice cut the air, two syllables that meant death. He instantly ducked instinctively, though evidently not quick enough.

Jackie Tyler marched into the room, her expression set into one of a whirlwind of fury. She strutted over to him, arm flying out to grab his collar and wrench him roughly forward.

"Doctor you alien…" she struggled not to swear, "…man, you!" she yelled, shaking him madly. "You can't worm ya way outta this one! You 'ave completely destroyed my…"

"It was me, granny," suddenly said a small voice from over by the sofa. Jackie's head instantly wheeled around to the child standing next to his mother, covered in cake mix but looking guilty. "I did it."

Jackie kept holding onto the Doctor, but knelt down infront of the child.

"Now, I don't think that's true, is it? Don't repeat what your daddy told you to say."

"No, he said he'd take the blame but it was me. I'm sorry granny," his voice was trembling, on the verge of tears. The Doctor recognised that look. That was the 'Rose Look'. The same look which bought her rare and expensive diamonds on far off worlds, the same look that made him sit through an entire dance recital without even blinking, the same look that made him take her home to her mother, the same look that she gave him at times of sleep…

Jackie's hand let go of the Doctor's collar and he al-but bolted over to Rose, seeking a shield. She rested both hands on Rory's shoulders as he bit his lip. He put his arms around her and hugged her tight.

"I'm really sorry granny…" he said again.

"Oh it's okay Rory, ya didn't know what you were doin'." She looked up, glaring at the Doctor. "But I would've thought a responsible parent would've stopped you…!"

The Doctor gestured vaguely at himself; still covered in cake mix with his expression set into one of pure disbelief at her words.

"D'you think I covered myself in cake mix for fun?"

Rose opened her mouth to answer this question, but the Doctor quickly cut over the top of her before she had a chance to speak the words.

"It got a little out of hand," he finished.

"Well it's a nice gesture, both of you," Jackie admitted. The Doctor had to replay the sentence in his mind five times to make sure he'd heard right.

"Thank you granny," Rory started up again, hugging her even more tightly. "I love you. I'm sorry."

"That's okay. How 'bout you two go get cleaned up before someone sticks ya in an oven whilst I'll tidy the kitchen and fix us some lunch." Jackie let go on Rory's shoulders, turning and disappearing onto the kitchen with the door closing quietly shut behind her.

Rory looked up at the Doctor, beaming widely.

The Doctor grinned back, gesturing at him as he turned to his fiancée once more.

"Y'know the problem with your son?" he asked in imitation of her earlier. "He's exactly like you."