A/N: I'm incredibly overwelmed and overjoyed to have received so many reviews for the first chapter of this, thank you all so much for your enthusiasm! I hope you continue to like it xxx

Chapter 2

In the car on the way to Rose's flat, Jackie regaled the Doctor with the things he'd missed. She told him all about Tony, about how Pete and her got married, about how she loved her new life and all the freedom and happiness it had brought. About how grateful she was to him for everything; everything she'd not had a chance to thank him for until now.

She also told him something else, sensing that he was itching to ask...

She told him that Rose was absolutely not married.

"Oh? Mmm. Right, well..." he stuttered nervously, internally relieved but trying so very hard not to show it.

She also told him that Rose was sharing a flat with a guy.

"Oh," he nodded, acting nonchalant. "Oh, that's...uh. Right."

"But she's not dating him," Jackie added.

"No?" He failed to keep the eagerness out of his tone.

"No. She's never even slept with him."

"Oh," he gulped. "Okay."

"In fact, he's dating someone else," she continued.

"Oh, that's...nice."

"Yeah. And he's gay, anyway," Jackie concluded.

The Doctor glared her. "You could've just said that first, you know. Would've saved me from getting a headache."

"But it wouldn't've been as much fun," Jackie grinned.

-x-

They pulled up outside a block of flats after around half an hour travelling, and Jackie turned in her seat to face the Doctor. "Right. You ready?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "Well. Um. I suppose," he answered hesitantly.

"What do you mean, you suppose!" Jackie exclaimed.

"She hasn't seen me for six years, Jackie. I'm terrified. I've no idea what to say. Or how to make this up to her. Or even - "

" – oh, be quiet, you big banana. She loved you then and she loves you now. She'll forgive you for being away for a bit."

"A bit? Um, several years doesn't count as a bit, Jackie. By the very nature of them being several years," he retorted, sounding scandalised.

"Well, better late than never, eh?" she replied with raised eyebrows.

"That's true," piped up Tony, to whom the Doctor then turned to face.

"What do you think, Tony? You're the most trustworthy one in your family - "

" – you wouldn't say that if you knew the trouble he gets into," chuckled Pete.

"He's quite fond of making up stories; aren't you, Tony?" Jackie tutted. "I blame Rose for that."

The Doctor grinned. "Well, Tony? What do you think I should say to Rose?"

"Hmmm. I think," Tony began. "That you should just..."

"Yeah?" the Doctor prompted.

"Kiss her?" pre-empted Jackie.

"Eugh, no!" cried Tony. "Kissing is disgusting!"

The Doctor's grin grew wider. "I bet you ten quid that in ten years time, you will not have the same opinion," he told the little boy ruefully.

Tony rolled his eyes and changed the subject back to non-kissing territory. "Just tell her you're sorry," he shrugged, as if it were the most obvious of universal truths.

The Doctor's eyes widened and he nodded mutely in agreement. He vaguely registered Jackie opening her door and getting out of the car.

"Oh, and by the way, Doctor; it's February 14th, today," Pete whispered wisely, breaking the silence but trying not to let Jackie hear what he was saying.

"Should that mean something to me?" the Doctor whispered back worriedly.

"Yes!" Jackie butted in, hearing every word as she opened the Doctor's door. "Valentine's Day, Doctor! Romance and love and all that! Now, shift."

"Oh!" he realised belatedly. "Oh, okay. Weeelll, that's...that's..." He sighed regretfully as he stood up. "Oh, what a day to come to Pete's World on. I'm feeling nervous enough as it is! Should I have brought flowers? Chocolates?"

Jackie laughed, and patted his arm reassuringly. "I'm sure getting to see you again will be all the gift she needs."

He smiled gently. "Thanks, Jackie." He paused, considering his words carefully. "You know...I've missed you, too. I missed all of you."

"Oh, stop it," Jackie chastised half-heartedly. "You'll make me cry again!"

"Right," he nodded, shaking his head at himself. "Shall I just..." he gestured to the building.

"I'll come and buzz the buzzer thingy for her flat so that you can get in," Jackie said, leading him to the entrance. She pressed the intercom button to ring Rose's flat, and said into the receiver, "Only me, love!"

The Doctor was a bit disappointed when Rose didn't answer; she just simply let them in.

"Right, Doctor," Jackie said. "She's in flat 606 on the sixth floor. 'Cos she knows I'm here, she'll leave the door on the latch, but don't go giving her a heart attack by simply bursting in. Ease her into it, yeah? I don't want her dying on us now that she's got you back."

"No, that would be rather awful," agreed the Doctor, his lips quirking up.

"Well then. Go get her!" Jackie grinned. "We'll be up shortly."

"Course you will," the Doctor replied, smiling widely. Then his smile faded exponentially. "Oh, blimey. This is the scariest thing I've ever done."

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic!" Jackie laughed.

The Doctor's eyes widened at the irony of Jackie Tyler saying that to him. "Right. Of course. Okay."

"Now go!" she exclaimed.

"I'm going!" he insisted, walking towards the lifts. Thankfully, one was already at ground level, and he quickly entered and pressed the button for the sixth floor. "Wish me luck," he requested, just as the doors began to close.

"You don't need it," Jackie disagreed, beaming proudly.

Once the lift was in motion, the Doctor began to panic again, his hearts beating far too quickly and his breathing all out of control. He had no idea why he was so nervous, not really; Jackie had been rather reassuring, after all. And he knew Rose so well – years apart couldn't change that – so deep down he knew she'd welcome him with open arms.

It was just...oh, he'd been waiting for this day for so long. He'd finally found a way to get back to her; what if his dream reunion didn't go as he'd planned? For instance, he'd thought about this so much in those first few months without her – what he'd say, how he'd say it, if he ever saw her again. Even when the hope of reaching her had faded slowly away with each unsuccessful attempt, he'd still had in his mind the perfect conversation to start.

But now he could remember nothing. His mind was blank, and as he stepped out of the lift and into the corridor, quickly finding number 606, he realised that this was the first time in his long life that he really, truly, did not reckon he could utter a single word.

The Doctor hovered outside her flat, his breath coming out fast and shaky. This was it. She was there. The other side of the white wall.

Thank goodness there's a door to her this time.

Clinging on to a solitary strand of courage, he took a step forward, and knocked on the door.

"Mum, it's open, you just spoke to me on the intercom thingy!" he heard Rose mutter to herself.

Her voice. Oh that was her voice. So long since he'd heard it and oh, it was as beautiful as he remembered. More so. That, at least, was reassuring. Her voice could always relax him. Well. Unless she was shouting for help, of course, in which case he was always on full alert, and no power on Earth, or Other, would relax him until he knew she was safe.

Tentatively, he pushed the unlocked door forward, and it swung open to reveal her modern and posh-looking flat. He couldn't see her, but he supposed from the nice aroma of bacon coming from one particular direction that she was in the kitchen.

Rose was cooking.

She had better have learnt how to over their years apart, or else they were all in trouble, he thought to himself, smiling widely.

"Did Debs ring you in the end?" she called out, amongst pots clattering and taps running and things hissing. "She said she would. Oh, bugger! Damn it, that's the eggs ruined. Why's this so flipping hard, eh? How comes you manage alright, but I can't even make bloody breakfast?"

The Doctor simply stood in her living room, not knowing or caring who Debs was, only listening to the sound of Rose cursing her own cooking skills emanating from the kitchen.

Blimey, he'd missed this. So, it sounded like she'd ruined the eggs. She hadn't become a domestic goddess in those six years away from him. He was glad of it; Rose didn't need to change her ways, he loved her just the way she was. It was so endearing, he remembered, every time he caught her in the TARDIS galley attempting to bake or something; and every time he saw flour all over her face and in her hair and over the floor, he'd fallen for her even more.

"Mum? Are you even listening to me? Cor, it's like I'm invisible this week. Look, just 'cos it's Valentine's Day and, unfortunately, yours and Dad's anniversary on top, doesn't mean everyone has to go all googly-eyed over the ones they love. It's such a commercialised holiday, anyway. And we loners feel bad enough about being forced into chastity, without having a bloody festival to rub it in our face that we're single while everyone else is getting romanced by tall, dark, handsome strangers!" Rose concluded, wiping her sweaty brow with a stripy blue tea-towel as she stepped out of the kitchen.

"Oh, so cynical, Rose Tyler. What's become of you?" he murmured teasingly, instantly surprised but immensely grateful that his brain had spontaneously worked out some words for his voice to say. "And here I was, hoping to ask you out."

-x-