My Dad is waiting outside the TARDIS when we emerge into the gloomy day light, it's stopped raining but only for a bit, judging by the heavy sky.

He hugs me and checks I'm ok, then turns to the Doctor. "You seem to be making quite a habit of managing the impossible."

The Doctor grins but looks a little uncomfortable. "I'm not here intentionally, no matter how much I wanted to be." He looks at me and the pain in his eyes is completely unguarded.

We follow my Dad back to the house in my car. We chat about this and that, stupid things really, neither of us ready to face up to more in depth questions about the lives we've been living since we were ripped apart.

He looks up as my Dad's car suddenly indicates to turn off into our driveway. "This is not the house I remember from before." I can see him looking at me from the corner of my eye. "No, we moved here a year ago, Mum just couldn't settle in the old house."

He tries to suppress a snort but isn't very successful "I would have thought your mother would love living in that huge house, servants to wait on her hand and foot, everything money could buy." His eyes sparkle the way they always did when he teased me about my mother.

I swing my car into my usual parking space and turn off the engine. "She really hated it actually, so did I. It made me so uncomfortable, being expected to summon somebody just to bring me a tissue, never being 'alone' in 'our' house, not even being able to cook my own chips!"

He laughs, sharp and clear and my heart explodes with love for him. "So Pete gave up his mansion for Jackie then? "

His grin is so infectious; it spreads to my face in seconds "Yeah, he did. I think it was a relief to be honest, to let go of the memories tied up in that place. He's been much happier since we moved."

My Dad has gone inside leaving us still sitting in my car in the rain. We sit in silence for a minute and then he opens the door. "Come on then, let's put poor Jackie out of her misery, I bet she's dying to slap me"

He walks round to where I'm standing and reaches for my hand. Electricity sparks up my arm as our fingers touch and we walk hand in hand towards the front door.

Mum and Dad are in the kitchen, Mum's face breaks into a huge smile as we walk in and she hugs me tightly. "You ok sweetheart?" The stupid grin on my face is obviously answer enough as she turns to The Doctor, standing by my side, throws her arms around his neck and plants a huge kiss on his cheek.

"I knew you'd come back one day, I just knew it" She releases him and he gapes at her in shock, 

he really was expecting a slap. Mum obviously finds this hilarious "Blimey, first time I've seen you speechless." The Doctor looks at me, eyebrows arched before assuming a more Doctor like composure.

An hour, and several cups of tea (which The Doctor all but pounced on) later we are still all sat round the kitchen table. Questions have been asked and answered as well as they can be and I still can't quite get my head around the fact that he is really here, sitting next to me in our kitchen, holding my hand under the table.

Mum jumps up to answer the phone and as soon as she starts to speak I get a jolt as I am plunged back into reality again. Mum and Dad have arranged to go away this weekend, today actually, and I've agreed to look after my baby sister. It was my idea really, Mum has been a bit knackered recently, Lucy is not the greatest of sleepers at night and she was also quite poorly a couple of weeks ago and Mum's been feeling the strain a bit so I thought a weekend away might do her good.

Mum hangs up and beckons me to the hallway. "Look sweetheart, I know me and your Dad are supposed to be going away tonight but I just spoke to Cathy and she says we can go another time …."

She is looking at me with such concern in her eyes. "No it's fine mum, I can still have Lucy, you need a break, it's fine."

"But Rose, you and him have got so much to catch up on, you need time alone." She looks at me meaningfully and I can feel my cheeks turning red.

The Doctor comes up behind me, his hands rest gently on my shoulders. "It's ok Jackie, Pete told me about your weekend, I'm quite happy to help Rose take care of the baby, I'm rather good with babies actually."

Mum swats him playfully, "Is there anything you're not good at?" He just laughs and she turns her attention to Dad. She doesn't see the doctor's index finger trace a slow line up the side of my neck, or the way my entire body shivers as he does it. The tension between us is beginning to crackle.

"Rose, you show the doctor round, the spare room is all ready up there. Can you check on Lucy too, she's been asleep for hours."

This house is of much smaller proportions than the other one but it's still huge compared to the flat. After a quick tour of the rest of the house we come to my room, it's not very tidy but that's no surprise. He walks round the room, picking up this and that until he comes to the photo by my bed. It's of him, taken just after we got back from the 2012 Olympics. He didn't know I was taking it till the flash went off so it's a really natural picture. It's also the only one I have of him. "It was still on my phone, which happened to be the only possession I came through the breach with." My voice is a bit shaky, I realize as I speak.


He turns to look at me and I'm shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I didn't have a picture of you, it's not something I usually do, keep photos, but I would have liked one of you." His voice is so quiet it's almost a whisper.

Before I can respond he's pulled me to him and his face is buried in my neck, and all I can do is stroke the back of his head as he holds me tight. A long while later he releases me and straightens himself up. "Sorry about that, I just, you know, needed to."

He's embarrassed I realize so I reach up and stroke his face. "It's ok, I needed it too." On impulse plant a kiss where I've just touched him and hug him again.

"You need to check on the baby don't you." His voice, suddenly back to normal shakes me from the trance like state I seem to have slipped into.

Lucy is awake when I open the door, and greets me with the most enormous smile. "Hello gorgeous girl." Her little arms and legs flap up and down in excitement as I approach the cot and scoop her up.

"She's certainly pleased to see you," The Doctor says as Lucy nuzzles into my shoulder. I kiss her soft fair hair and breathe in her baby smell. The Doctor comes closer and Lucy eyes him warily. She's got to the age where she's a bit funny with people she doesn't know well. He talks gently to her for about a minute and then she totally floors me by smiling and reaching out for him. He takes her into his arms and I'm amazed at how naturally he holds her.

"She's the spitting image of you as a baby, She could be the same baby." Lucy gazes at him intently, then looks at me, then back at him.

"I know, scary isn't it? Mum says she's got my temperament too, stroppy when she doesn't get her own way!"

Mum's face is a picture when the doctor walks into the kitchen carrying Lucy. "Oh my god, she usually screams her head off if a strange man even looks at her."

The Doctor grins at her. "Told you I was good with babies."