AN: I took a break from homework to post this chapter! I greatly appreciate the response this story has recieved. Enjoy!

Ten Years Ago:

After much arguing and a lot of shouting, Jackie Tyler made it perfectly clear that she did not approve of Rose going out with a man in his twenties, even if Rose insisted John most likely assumed it was totally platonic.

But Jackie was not convinced. "Rose, there is no way that that man would go out of his way to buy flowers that he wants to make sure you would like if he only wants friendship!" Jackie had shouted. "He's just trying to take advantage of you!"

However, Jackie's words had no effect on Rose, other than to make her angry. Rose insisted that John was a nice man that would never do anything she didn't want. Their argument had caused a lot of tension between them and it still did, even a week later. In that time, Rose had gone on two more dates with John, or at least she think she did. Over the past two dates, John had been a complete gentleman but he had yet to make his intentions clear.

To say Rose Tyler was frustrated would be an understatement. Last night, she thought that John taking her out to the fancy restaurant made it clear that he thought of her as more than a friend. She thought he would finally kiss her; after all she was used to teenage boys that tried to kiss her as soon as they could. But like the previous times, John had merely kissed her on the cheek and told her he had a great time and he would call later.

So as she got ready for her next date with the man, Rose was determined to make her intentions clear and if he didn't feel the same way, she just hoped they could still be friends. She put on a light pink dress that cut off at mid-thigh and applied her makeup. She rushed to the door when the doorbell rang and opened it to find John standing there, wearing his worn leather jacket. He stared at her for a moment before leaning down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.

The truth was, John was nervous. After taking her to that romantic restaurant the last time, he was sure she realized that his feelings for her were not platonic and she would tell him tonight that she wasn't interested.

"Ready to go?" John asked, anxiously. He had passed on buying her flowers since the first time after she told him it was her mum that sold him the orchids. JOh winced when Rose told him her mother was still extremely angry about the situation. And John was convinced in that moment, his relationship, whatever it may be, with Rose Tyler was over. But Rose insisted that although her mum was furious and despised him, she hadn't outright said that Rose couldn't see John anymore. So Rose took that as sign that she could proceed with seeing John, at her own risk.

"Yeah, just a mo'," Rose said, "Let me get my jacket and then we can leave.

John waited in the doorway while Rose went back into her room and retrieved her coat.

"So where are we going tonight?" Rose asked eagerly, taking the hand he offered her as they walked down the steps of the Estate.

"Patience, Rose," John teased her gently. "I told you it's a surprise."

Rose pouted but didn't press him for anymore information as she got into the passenger seat of his car.

The ride was comfortable and Rose dominated much of the conversation, not that John minded. He enjoyed listening to her as she rambled on about school, her despised job at Henrik's, and drama with her friends.

Finally, John pulled into a crowded parking lot facing a large screen.

"You took me to a drive in?" Rose asked in disbelief.

"That alright?" John replied, frowning slightly.

Rose saw his frown and was quick to reassure him. "Of course it is," she said before giving him a large smile. "It's just, you really are old."

John scoffed and glared at her. "Rose, I'm not that old," he said, trying to convince himself what he was doing wasn't wrong. But he knew it was.

"No, you're not," Rose said, suddenly serious. She reached out and placed her hand on his arm.

Eventually John left to car to go buy some chips for Rose. When he got back she smiled at him brightly.

"It feels like we're a couple in the 1950s, yeah?" Rose said giggling as the movie began.

John just shushed her playfully and tried to slow his heart beat. She called them a couple. Is that what she wanted them to be? She hadn't seemed opposed to the idea but he still didn't know.

For the duration of the movie, they stayed fairly silent, only talking when one of them had a comment or joke. Rose complained about being cold, so John motioned for her to lean against him.

Instead of moving closer, she laughed. "Wow, we really are a proper couple of the 50s. Really, John, these are your moves?" Rose teased. Even though they both thought the idea was cliché and silly, they were both pleased when Rose settled in closer to John, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"You want moves, Rose? I'll show you moves," John whispered into her ear and Rose shivered at the feel of his breath against her face. But to Rose's disappointment, John didn't do anything else.

"John," Rose murmured.

"Hmm?"

Rose took a shaky breath before turning up to look at him. "Why won't you kiss me?" and Rose felt him freeze beside her. "John?" she asked again when he didn't respond.

"D'you want me to?" John asked, and her breath hitched with anticipation.

"Yeah. I've wanted you to since the second date, silly," Rose said. "You start taking me to romantic places and then leave without so much as a kiss on the cheek. You, John Smith, are the master of mixed signals."

John grinned at her confession. "Oh, Rose. I wasn't sure if that was what you wanted. And you didn't try to kiss me either. I'm so much older than you after all. I didn't know if you wanted to be with someone closer to your age."

"John, you daft man," Rose scolded softly, "I know I tease you about your age, but it doesn't matter to me. Most of the guys my age don't even compare to you."

"Rose," John said tenderly, grinning at her words and his smile grew when she returned it with the tongue in teeth smile that always made his heart beat a little faster. He cupped her cheek, pulling her face closer to his, until they were only of few inches apart. He paused then, and murmured, "I'm going to kiss you know."

"Took you long enough," Rose managed to get out before John cut her off with his lips.

His lips were smooth and he placed almost no pressure in the kiss. He kept it tender before he started to move his lips. He then settled his lips more firmly against hers as he grew more confident. He pulled back to look at her and Rose whimpered slightly at the loss of his lips touching hers.

He grinned at her and pulled her into an embrace as best he could in sitting in a car. If Rose was uncomfortable, she didn't seem to mind, instead choosing to snuggle closer to him, face buried in his chest.

"Worth the wait?" John couldn't help teasing and Rose giggled.

"Yeah, just as long as you don't wait so long for the next time you kiss me."

"Well, it certainly is rude of me to make you wait," John smirked, pulling her face closer to his own. "And I believe I did promise to show you some moves."

Rose decided that she had heard enough of his cheeky banter and moved up to kiss him. John seemed to pause for a moment and she suspected he had wanted to be the one to initiate the kiss. She was right. But John decided not to protest. After all, Rose kisses were Rose kisses no matter how they came, and to both of their delight, he began to move his lips against hers.

Present:

"Mum, would you just calm down and let the doctor speak," Rose said, exasperated and her mother glared at her in response.

Rose had been with her mum in the emergency room for hours before they had moved Jackie up into a room. It was a Wednesday, and Rose didn't have to be at work until later, so Jackie convinced her to come around for a visit. Jackie had dragged Rose to the grocery store and while they were walking up the steps, Jackie had slipped and injured her knee.

They had taken Jackie in for an x-ray and now the doctor was trying to tell them the results. The doctor told them Jackie had broken a bone, and Jackie had started to go on about how that was obvious given the amount of pain she was in and how she wanted a doctor that didn't just tell her what she already knew.

Rose's words had gotten Jackie to stop talking, so the doctor continued to speak, a little more nervously. "Mrs. Tyler, you injured the joint in your knee as well, so I'm afraid the best option for you is to have surgery."

"What? Absolutely not!" Jackie said firmly. "Why can't you just put a cast on me, and my daughter and I will just be on our way."

"Mrs. Tyler, while that would heal the bone, you need surgery to smooth out the joint again so you can walk properly after it heals. If you don't, you risk hurting your knee even more," the doctor explained.

Jackie still refused to have surgery. Rose eventually asked the doctor to give them a moment and the doctor took the opportunity to hastily leave.

"Mum, you need surgery," Rose said firmly.

"Rose, I can't. Think of how many risks come with surgery."

"Is that what you're afraid of, mum? It's just a routine surgery, I'm sure the doctor that's gonna operate on you has done it plenty of times," Rose comforted.

After some more coaxing, Rose convinced Jackie to go through with the surgery just in time for the doctor to come back. The doctor was relieved that she hadn't had to do anymore to convince the stubborn patient.

"Doctor Jones, will you be doing the surgery?" Jackie asked.

"No, Mrs. Tyler. I'm just an intern, but one of our best doctors will be operating on you," the woman told Jackie.

"Well, who is it? Do I get to meet the doctor that controls whether I live or die," Jackie asked, and Rose rolled her eyes at how dramatic her mother was being before giving an apologetic smile to the intern.

"He's on his way now, Mrs. Tyler," the doctor informed her.

To Doctor Jones' relief, the unfortunate doctor that would have to deal with Jackie Tyler next came in a few minutes later. However, Jackie was not pleased.

"You!" She shouted, "What're you doing here?"

The doctor rolled his eyes and replied, "Jackie, nice to see you again too. I'm here to tell you about your surgery."

"Oh, absolutely not!" Jackie said angrily, to Doctor Jones' surprise, "I wouldn't let you operate on me if I were dying!"

"Jackie, let's not be to overly dramatic."

"Oh, I'm being dramatic. You deserve it. You broke my daughter's heart!"

At that point, Doctor Jones saw herself out, not wanting to be caught in the middle of what was about to happen.

"Mum!" Rose spoke up. "Let John do your surgery. You heard Doctor Jones; he's one of the best."

Jackie looked at her calm daughter suspiciously. "You knew!" she accused. "You knew he was here and you didn't even tell me."

"Yes," Rose admitted. "I ran into him last Friday and we met for coffee on Sunday. I knew he was in London, but I didn't know he worked here."

Jackie's eyes widened. "You've been seeing him again? Rose, you were a mess after he left you!"

John winced at that, not wanting to think of the damage he'd caused Rose. Jackie saw it and glared at him. "It's true, you know. You didn't have to see how torn up Rose was after you left her, but I did. I was the one who helped her get over you and I'm not about to let her get her heart broken by you again!"

"Mum, we've agreed to be friends," Rose said quietly and added, "we aren't back together."

"Well," Jackie started, "if you're alright with it, then I guess I'll tolerate him. But I still think you're making a mistake, Rose, and I'm not happy about this!"

"Great. Now that we've gotten this settled, let's talk about your surgery, Jackie," John said, ready to divert Jackie's attention from his relationship with her daughter. To be truthful, he was scared Rose would listen to Jackie and realize he wasn't worth her time.

"I told you," Jackie protested, "I'm not letting you operate on me!"

"Mum, please, let John do his job. Regardless of what's happened in the past, he's still a good doctor," Rose pleaded.

"Fine, Rose, I'll let him," Jackie said crossing her arms and glaring at him, "But, again, I'm not happy about it!"

Eventually, John was forced to ask Rose to leave the room so he could prepare Jackie for the operation. The last thing he wanted to do was be left in a room alone with Jackie Tyler without Rose to keep her from attacking him, so he ordered some interns to drop what they were doing and prepare Jackie to provide a buffer between her anger and him.

John left the interns to do their job and went in search of Rose. He found her in the cafeteria, picking at a salad.

"Where are the chips?" John asked as he approached her.

Rose laughed and said, "They looked rubbish. Besides, I'm not that hungry."

"Are you alright?" John asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, it's just, just tell me she'll be alright," Rose replied, her eyes filled with worry.

"Oh, Rose, it's a routine surgery with very few complications. Of course Jackie will be alright." John comforted.

"I know, I know. It's just, she's my mum and as much as she frustrates me sometimes, I still need her," Rose sniffed, a few tears leaking out of her eyes.

John reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "I know, Rose, I'll make sure that she'll be okay." Before John could comfort her anymore, his pager beeped, indicating that it was time to operate on Jackie. "I'll come find as soon as I can when the surgery is over." John promised and Rose watched him go.

A few hours later, John found Rose in the waiting room for families of patients, talking on the phone with someone. Her eyes widened when she saw him and she quickly hung up.

John pulled her into the stairwell for some privacy. Immediately Rose asked, "Is she alright? How did it go? Were there any complications?"

John was quick to reassure her, "Jackie's fine, Rose, there's no need to worry. There were no issues and Jackie's expected to make a full recovery."

Rose's eyes filled with relief and she quickly moved towards him and the next thing he knew, Rose's arms were clasped tightly around him. "Thank you, John" Rose whispered, still not pulling away.

John returned the hug and relished the feel of her in his arms again. "I told you, everything would be okay," he soothed as he rubbed her back.

Rose pulled away slightly, but didn't remove her arms from around him, so he didn't either. "I know," she whispered, "I knew you could do it, I was just worried."

John was suddenly aware of how close Rose's face was to his own. He was tempted to close the distance and press his lips to hers, but that would violate their terms of friendship.

Rose, also aware of their terms, did not seem to care about them because she moved even closer until their lips were inches apart. She whispered his name before closing the final distance and pressing her lips firmly against his. John gasped in surprise and Rose took advantage of his surprise by rediscovering his mouth with her tongue. Eventually John realized that he had been still the whole time and began to respond. But once his tongue passed her lips and entered her mouth, she suddenly pulled away.

Rose stared at him in shock. She couldn't believe she had done that. He didn't seem to mind, however, and he stared at her with a dazed look, his lips swollen from her kiss.

"I'm sorry," Rose whispered, before she ran out of the stairwell, ignoring John's desperate voice calling out after her.

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