Hello, Again!

Alright, just realised I was looking at the publish date in horror and not the update date...SO apparently it's only been like a month - but what the hell, I like this story so have an extra chapter on the house.

I don't own DW or a moped. Is that how you spell it coz it looks wrong....really wrong, so I'm going to stop looking at it.

Come on guys you can remember what happened last chapter - it was but a moment ago...and I'm lazy so I can't be bothered cutting and pasting.

Rose walked between Jack and Mickey while Jack struggled to put her sim card back in while they walked. They'd finished their breakfast without any more interruptions, with almost the entire meal polished off. She looked at her watch; they had about ten minutes to get back – plenty of time. She stopped walking. Jack and Mickey walked another couple of steps before stopping and turning to look at her. "Rose?" Jack asked looking up from her phone.

She met his gaze steadily and then looked away, "We get back, we do the hand off with the dinosaurs and the Doctor and I leave." She breathed out slowly. "I'm not going to see either of you for a couple of months…a year? I'm not sure I'm alright with that." She frowned.

Jack and Mickey walked back to her, Jack held out a hand. "Do you want to stay?" he asked sceptically. Mickey raised his eyebrows looking between them.

Rose took his hand and shook her head, "He'd never agree to that, he can't-"

"It's not all about him, Rose." Jack interrupted seriously.

She studied his face for a moment, "I don't want to lose anyone else." She confessed.

"Would you consider coming with us?" she asked carefully. Mickey's mouth dropped and his eyes widened as he noticed Jack thinking it over.

"Jack! You can't. What about Cardiff? Gwen?…Ianto?" Mickey protested finally finding his voice.

Jack turned his serious gaze to Mickey, "It'd all still be here when I got back." He pocketed Rose's phone and used his left hand to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. Rose held her breath. "If you need me. I'm there." He promised holding her gaze.

Rose released her breath, "I need you." She murmured, pulling him into a tight hug. "Oh, Jack." She smiled into his shoulder, she pulled back to look him in the eyes "The Doctor's going to-"

"Lose it." Mickey supplied. "Stamp his foot? Throw something? Trash the console room? Refuse to go along with it?" he shook his head. "I can't believe this! You're just going to abandon the team? Run off for the stars with Rose and the Doctor? Who the hell's going to keep Cardiff safe? We can barely handle what we have to deal with when we're all working…what's it gonna be like with our one indestructible fearless leader swans off coz he got a better offer?! He ranted angrily.

"Mickey, it's a time machine-" Rose started, trying to calm him down.

"I bloody well know that! But since when has the Doctor been good at accurately landing anywhere? Has he got better with age? Because he seems like the same guy who tried to take us on a visit home and landed us in 1356…in a swamp!" Mickey objected. Jack put a hand on Mickey's shoulder and he shrugged it off.

Jack took a deep breath to calm himself, and ushered Mickey and Rose into a nearby alley. "Look here Mickey, I understand my responsibilities better then anyone." He disputed, scowling. "If I want to leave I'm going to. Not you. Not anyone can tell me that they know better."

Rose forced herself between the men, placing a palm on both their chests. "Look, I didn't meant to-"

"You never do Rose. You just act without thinking." Mickey said scornfully.

Jack took a quick step forward and Rose spun, placing both palms on his chest to stop him. "Jack." She said getting his attention after a long moment. "Mickey has a right to an opinion, and he's right I do act without thinking sometimes." She sighed. "And he's bared the brunt of it." She admitted softly. "It was a stupid idea, we should just go." Rose indicated to the street with her head.

No one moved. The heavy silence was broken by a ring-tone version of 'The Pretender'. Rose raised an eyebrow, "You've got to be kidding me. I knew it was taking you an awfully long time to fix my phone." She made a sound in the back of her throat. "What did I say about changing my ring-tone?" she chastised Jack forgetting to be apprehensive.

Jack's scowl melted away and he looked sheepishly down at her, "You used to love it." He dug out the phone and handed it to her.

"No. You're the one who thought it was hilarious." She looked at the phone in her hand, "We'd be hiding from the police and The Ramones start playing coz the Doctor's trying to find out where you'd dragged me off to." She sighed, "I don't wanna answer it. What do I say? 'I invited Jack to come with us, but Mickey has a problem with it. Could you give us a few'?" Jack shrugged at her.

"Well, if you don't answer he's gonna ring back…or worse show up." Mickey reminded her.

The ringing stopped and they all looked at the phone, Mickey over Rose's shoulder. "Well that solves that-" Jack started before being cut off by the Doctor calling back.

Rose made a face, flipped it open and brought the phone her ear, "Doctor." She answered.

"No Rose. That would be me." The Doctor corrected. "Are you screening your calls now?"

"Uh, hang on…I'll put you on speakerphone." She stammered, pressing the button and holding the phone out in front of her. "Alright, go for it."

"I asked you if you were screening your calls." The Doctor repeated. They all grimaced but stayed quiet. "Alright, lets try an easier question. Where are you? The chopper is five minutes away and the dinosaurs need to be moved closer to the pick up point."

"We'll leave right now." Rose assured.

"As opposed to standing in an alley way between a drycleaner and a florist?" The Doctor asked.

Rose, Jack and Mickey frowned, "Excuse me?" Jack asked suspiciously. Rose handed the phone to Jack, moving away and started walking back towards the street; Mickey and Jack shared a look.

"Cal rang to say he'd be there shortly. He couldn't get in touch with you because your phone's off, apparently." The Doctor clarified.

"Not that." Jack muttered, "I understand that part."

"Oi, you there in the pinstripes." Rose called out, "Stalking is illegal." Mickey and Jack turned and saw Rose dragging the Doctor into the alley towards them. "Look what I found wandering the streets." She looked back at the Doctor, "I knew you having your own phone would be trouble."

Jack sighed and hung up the phone, he ran a tired hand through his hair. "Just missed us to much to wait?" he asked dryly.

The Doctor glanced at Rose, "Some of you more then others." Rose bit back a grin. He placed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, "Any particular reason the three of you decided to loiter in an alley way? I thought you all were as anxious as me to get this day over with…guess I was wrong, as there's time for both breakfast and dawdling."

Rose rolled her eyes, "We needed to talk about somethin' out of hearing of the general public."

The Doctor stared at her, his eyes sweeping her face. "Are you okay?" he asked hesitantly, reaching out a hand unconsciously for hers. Rose didn't look away, no use in hiding from him. The Doctor's face set in hard lines and he turned to the two men, he looked from Jack to Mickey. "Right, who was it? Which one of you said something to upset her?" he asked calmly. "Personally, my money's on Mickey."

Jack took a deep breath while Mickey threw up his hands in disbelief; Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand. "These are our friends, that's not how you speak to friends." She reprimanded gently.

"I thought you said they were family, well this is how I. Treat. Family." He retorted. Jack and Rose shared a look, he gave a tiny shake off his head and she nodded.

Mickey found his voice suddenly, "She wants to take Jack with you." He blurted abruptly. All eyes focused on Mickey in surprise; slowly the Doctor turned to Rose and raised an eyebrow.

"We're adopting strays again." He smiled insincerely, "Since when?"

Review if you still care. I hope you do.