Disclaimer:DW is not mine. Never has been. Never
will be.
Author's
Notes: This isn't as good as I would have liked, but my own
grandma died mid-way through, so I wasn't really in the mood to make
it any better, but I thought I ought to get something up and stop all
the waiting. Thank you for your lovely reviews of chapter 1... and
Mickey will be the right age in future, lol.
Chapter 2 - Her Grandfather's Funeral
The church was almost full, which meant Jack was able to slip into the back pew unnoticed. He had come here on a whim: he and Rose had once discussed their families and she had mentioned her Grandad Prentice. When he saw the funeral notice in the paper, he had simply wondered and had turned up to see if he was right. He was.
The casket of Graham Prentice was displayed up the front and in the front pew just to its right, Jack could see Jackie, tightly grasping the hand of her daughter. The rector said the necessary prayers and blessings and then Jackie spoke, her words stilted and her voice choked up.
And then, to Jack's almost-delight (he knew it wasn't right on such an occassion, but felt it anyway), Rose moved to the front. She was nine or ten now, and had grown considerably since that first day of school.
The rector took the microphone from the pulpit and held it down to Rose's level. She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and, unfolding it, began to read.
"Grandpa Prentice was my favourite person in the whole world. I liked watching him roll his cigarettes, and I guess I even liked how he made me watch the cricket with him, even though he knew I didn't like it." At this point, Rose wrinkled her nose theatrically and the congregation chuckled appreciatively. Over the next few minutes, Rose described her favourite memories of her grandfather, not losing her composure for a second. Jackie on the other hand, while smiling proudly at her daughter, had tears streaming down her face.
As Rose left the altar to return to her seat, the congregation applauded. Jack raised his hand to his face in order to scratch his nose and realised one cheek was moist. He grinned. She'd made him cry.
Jack slipped out of the church just before the coffin was taken out, but he hung around just long enough to see Jackie pick Rose up and hug her tightly, before he ducked away so as not to be seen.
And this was the second time Rose Tyler made Jack Harkness proud.
