Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

Returning to You

Chapter 2

by

Iconic Superheroes

Rose had fallen asleep on the sofa not long after she spoke with Jackie. She was dreaming of Daleks and Cybermen and that her Doctor was falling….

"Mum!"

'That was strange', Rose thought. 'Emily wasn't there.'

"Mum, I'm home!" Emily called again. "And I have a surprise!"

Rose realized muzzily that she was no longer dreaming and that Emily had returned from class. She rubbed her eyes and peered at her daughter, who was standing over her and grinning. "A surprise? I hope it isn't something ridiculous like last time…"

Emily grinned guiltily. The last surprise present she had bought her mother was some particularly naughty lingerie. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted her mum to date, but she certainly wanted her to be happy. And now she could make Rose happy by giving her the Doctor.

Emily motioned for the Doctor, who had been around the corner by the door. He stepped into Rose's line of sight and grinned self-consciously. "Rose Tyler," he said, spreading his arms out. "I think there's something I've need to tell you."

Rose's breath caught in her throat. 'I'm still dreaming,' she thought desperately. 'This can' be real.'

"This isn't real," she whispered.

The Doctor's grin faltered. "Rose?"

"It's real, Mum!" Emily said excitedly, urging her mum forward. "It's really the Doctor!"

Rose looked between the two most important people in her life and knew that she wasn't dreaming. This moment was real, and it was the moment she had waited for ever since she had been trapped in this parallel world.

"Doctor?" Rose said, so softly that he could barely hear her. His smile widened a bit and he nodded. She didn't need any further prodding, and rushed into his open arms.

"I missed you so much!" she wailed, embarrassed that she lost control and was crying so much.

"I missed you too," the Doctor said. "And there's something I've waited months-" he ignored her questioning glance for the moment "-to tell you. Rose Tyler, I love you."

Rose grinned up at him. "Quite right, too."

Emily watched all of this with a smile. She was so glad that her mum was reunited with the Doctor. She was very tired of Rose constantly having an air of sorrow and loss, and it was quite obvious that the Doctor had something to do with this. And she felt partly responsible for reuniting them, even thought she only showed him where they lived.

After a few minutes of being held by the Doctor, Rose pulled back. "But how? How did you come back?" she asked, wiping at her running mascara. The Doctor smiled down at her.

"I don't often say this, but I have no idea."
Rose gasped theatrically. "You? You always have some idea."

His smile widened. "Well, you'll just have to ask the TARDIS. She had everything to do with this. I just woke up and here I was!"

Rose smiled. "Well, I'll have to thank her. But what did you mean earlier about 'months'? It's been eighteen bloody years!"

The Doctor pondered this for a minute. "I suppose that time runs differently in the parallel Earths. Something I'll be looking into later…"

Rose leaned her head against his shoulder and sighed happily. They would have stayed like that for hours had Emily not cleared her throat. "Oh! Emily!" Rose said, startled and not a little guilty that she had forgotten her daughter. "How exactly did you two meet?"

To Rose's surprise, the Doctor laughed. "She ran into me. Literally."

Rose snorted. "That's nice. So you finally get to meet my Doctor!" Emily and Rose shared a smile before Rose looked away and bit her lip. The Doctor noticed her frown and a touch of concern struck him. "What is it?" he asked, worried that Rose wasn't entirely happy he had come back after so long. Rose sighed and looked from Emily to the Doctor. "Why don't we sit on the couch and have some tea," she said, avoiding the question.

The mood had quickly turned from warm and happy to silent and uncomfortable. Rose and the Doctor were next to each other on the sofa and Emily sat on the armchair across from them. Emily couldn't stand any sort of discomfort, and this awkward silence was the worst she had ever experienced. "Well? What's going on, Mum?" she asked impatiently.

The Doctor was giving Rose a calculating look, trying to figure out what had suddenly made her so nervous. He and Rose hadn't been uncomfortable in each other's presence since his previous incarnation, and it must be something big to make her behave this way now.

Rose appeared to be plucking up her courage when the doorbell rang.

"Bloody perfect timing!" she muttered darkly, getting up to answer the door. The Doctor and Emily shared a glance. They were both apprehensive about what Rose was going to tell them. The Doctor was about to break the awkward silence when they heard Rose say, "Mum! What are you doing here?"

The Doctor's eyes widened and he mouthed 'Jackie' to Emily, who nodded her head and gave him a look of sympathy. She had heard stories of her grandmother's famous slapping, but had yet to witness it.

Rose was glad for the distraction. She had waited eighteen years to have this opportunity, but she couldn't find the words to explain herself. So when the bell rang she was glad to have an excuse to leave the room. When she opened the door she was somewhat surprised to see her mother. "Mum! What are you doing here?" she said, opening the door wider so Jackie Tyler could enter the house.

"I just wanted to come over and apologize for earlier, Rose. I know how hard this has been for you, and I know how difficult today is especially." Jackie said, walking further into the house. She rounded the corner and came face-to-face with the very man of her daughter's dreams.

"You!" she said, stopping in her tracks. The Doctor rose to his feet and spread his arms. "Jackie!" he said, smiling at his love's mother. Jackie approached him as if she were going to hug him, but when she got close enough she drew her arm back and slapped him as hard as she could.

"Mum!" Rose cried, rushing forward to the Doctor, who had stumbled back into the couch. "Grandma!" Emily said, following her mother.

"What!" Jackie said, panting slightly from her exertion. "He left you, Rose!" When Rose opened her mouth to protest, Jackie wouldn't let her speak. "No! I know he didn't do it on purpose, but it all comes down to the fact that he left you. You were alone, heartbroken, and pregnant!"

"MUM!" Rose gasped, putting her hands over her mouth. She gave a horrified look to the Doctor, waiting for him to react. The Doctor gaped back at her, then slowly turned to gaze at Emily.

Emily, for her part, was trying to act shocked. She thought she was doing exceedingly well at it, too. 'Honestly,' she thought. 'If Mum thought I was that bad at math, or that I couldn't tell from her stories…'

The Doctor looked back at Rose and Jackie. "Rose…" he started. His voice cracked a bit and he cleared his throat. "You said…on the beach you told me that it was Jackie who was pregnant!"

It was Jackie's turn to gape at Rose. "I thought you told him that day!" she said, putting her hands on her hips.

Rose hung her head, but she couldn't help feeling relieved that Jackie had unknowingly done her dirty work. "I'm sorry, all of you, but Doctor-" her eyes pleaded with him to forgive her "-I couldn't let you know. You would have been more hurt, knowing what you were missing." Rose turned her gaze on Emily. "And I wanted you to live normally, thinking that your father was here-" She couldn't hold the tears back any longer. "I'm just so sorry!"

The Doctor walked forward solemnly and held her in his arms. "Ssh, Rose. It's all right," he said, stroking her hair as she cried. Once she had calmed down some, Rose looked to see how Emily was taking all this.
"Oh, er…how could you…" she stuttered. Everyone looked at her expectantly. "Oh, sod it all. I knew."

Rose's eyes widened. "You knew? How?" She was completely surprised at her daughter's statement.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on Mum. You talk about him constantly. And the math adds up. I was born six months after you, Grandma, and Uncle Mickey were trapped here. It doesn't take a rocket scientist."

The Doctor looked at Rose again, eyebrows raised. "You were three months gone when that happened?"

If possible, she looked even guiltier. "I couldn't ever think how to tell you. The time was never right," she said, biting her lip and looking up at him. "Are you mad?"

He sighed. "Oh, Rose, I could never be mad at you. Besides, having a daughter…it's fantastic!" He turned to Emily. "Do you mind? You know, having me for a dad? I was a dad before, and I hope I did okay at it but I never had the chance to ask so I don't-"

"You never mentioned that he could babble so much!" Emily interrupted. Upon seeing his chastened look, she relented. "But how could I mind? I've dreamed of meeting you since I could understand Mum's stories." She grinned, a grin that looked so very much like his own, and went forward to join their hug.

They were all together again, a family reunited.

AN 2: Sorry folks, but this is the end of my little fic. I'm glad at least some of you reviewed, so thank you for that! You know who you are. Anyway, I appreciate your interest in this and I'm sorry it wasn't better. Thank you.