Rose had told him it would be fun when a few friends The Doctor had made at his teaching course, had invited them along to the pub. And she'd been right, at first. The evening had started well enough. Too bad it couldn't end on the same note for him. Feeling another wave of vomit making its way to his mouth, he bent back over the toilet just in time.
"I take it you've had a good time tonight?" The Doctor hadn't heard the bathroom door opening, but Jackie Tyler's voice now ran unmistakably through the quiet house. "You've overdone it a bit, perhaps?" She took in his rather pale complexion and generally dishevelled appearance. "Too much to drink?"
He glared at her, leaning heavily on the toilet bowl with both arms. Jackie had clearly just woken up, while he himself hadn't even had the time to change into his pyjamas yet. "Time Lords don't get drunk."
Jackie snorted. "I'm sure they don't. How much have you had?"
"Well, we started with some beers," The Doctor started mock cheerfully. "I lost count after my ninth. And then someone offered me some wine. I quite like wine, actually. Sophisticated drink. Becomes nicer with each glass, you know." Just in time, he turned his head back towards the toilet bowl and threw up once more.
"And Rose didn't tell you you'd had enough?" Jackie wondered out loud, taking in his hair that was plastered to his forehead and the rumpled suit he was still wearing. He really did look miserable. "And didn't Pete and I warn you about drinking too much?"
He ignored her last comments. He wasn't her child, after all, and he refused to be treated like it. "I said to Rose: 'Time Lords don't get drunk.' She didn't believe me. Told me to prove it. So I did."
"I bet she was impressed," Jackie said, unable to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
"She was, actually," The Doctor replied, missing her sarcasm completely and wiping his mouth with a disgusted expression on his face. "I didn't get sick until we got back here."
"Speaking of Rose, where is she?" Jackie found it hard to believe that her daughter had been so callous as to leave The Doctor alone in this state, even if he did have it coming.
"She's sleeping."
He avoided her eyes, which led to her questioning him further. "Didn't she want to help?"
The Doctor suddenly looked vaguely embarrassed. "She went to bed straight away. I was about to join her, when this ..." he gestured to the toilet bowl. "happened. I didn't want to wake her."
"Why not?" Jack asked incredulously. "She'd want to know! You've spent years taking care of her, Doctor, she really wouldn't mind reversing the roles for once. I'll wake her for you, it's her day off tomorrow anyway."
"No!" The Doctor made an attempt to get up, but swayed on the spot, evidently dizzy. Jackie rushed forward and took his arm to make him sit down again.
"Why not?"
He hesitated, still not looking her in the eye properly. "Because ... because Time Lords don't get drunk!"
"Yes, so I've heard," Jackie snapped. She glanced at her watch. It was just about three pm. "And if you're going to say that one more time, I'll remind you that you're not too old for a slap. It's way too early in the morning to listen to your drunken ramblings."
"No," The Doctor responded impatiently. "No, you don't get it. Time Lords don't get drunk." He paused momentarily, before stating quietly. "And I got drunk."
Jackie needed a few seconds to comprehend what he'd just said. When she did, she slapped him on his arm. He looked up at her, affronted. "You plum! I've told you before, Rose doesn't want you to be a copy of him. She doesn't want a Time Lord. She wants you, even though you do get drunk and act like an idiot sometimes." She put her hand on his back and felt him shaking slightly. He still looked miserable, not quite believing her. She hated seeing him so defeated.
"Please don't wake her, Jackie. I'll be alright." He swallowed with some difficulty. "I'll just sleep in my own room tonight. She doesn't need to know."
She nodded, giving in. "Let me get you a glass of water from the kitchen first. Get that nasty taste out of your mouth." She stroked his back once and got up, leaving the bathroom as he nodded gratefully.
A few minutes later, the door to the bathroom opened again. The Doctor was back to dry heaving at that point and didn't look up to see the person coming in. When a hand brought a glass of cold water to his lips, he drank hungrily, but as he identified the person holding the glass, he quickly pulled away.
Rose sat down next to him on the floor, pretending that she hadn't noticed how he'd startled. She wiped his brow with a cold cloth and then placed it on the back of his neck. He closed his eyes, enjoying the water of the cloth cooling him down and feeling slightly less nauseous for the first time in several hours.
"I remember the first time I got smashed," Rose said softly. "Mum was livid. Woke up all the neighbours by screaming at me in the middle of the night. You got off lightly! I'm surprised she didn't slap you silly!'
"You know what? So am I," he replied with a smile, before his expression turned more serious. "Rose, I'm sorry. Really, you can go back to bed if you like."
She looked offended by his suggestion and instead handed him the glass of water again. She leaned with her back against the bath tub and allowed him to lay against her, his head on her shoulder.
He laughed as she told him the story of how she'd arrived home that one night, drunk, and how Jackie had screamed herself horse, especially when Rose had made the situation that much worse by throwing up on her mother's shoes.
Eventually, he felt well enough to leave the bathroom. Rose wouldn't hear of him going back to his old room and took him with her to the bed they'd been sharing for several weeks now. When The Doctor woke up the next morning, he smiled, in spite of the headache that was threatening to split open his skull. Rose hadn't said once; "I told you so." Carefully and tentatively, he started believing that they might be right for each other after all.