A/N: The Doctor is reunited with an old friend, and he and Rose have a talk.
Donna and her husband Lee met them inside, and they walked to their table together. Rose introduced herself to Lee whilst they waited in the wardrobe queue. He seemed nice, but it was obvious from his stuttering and constant shifting that he was nervous, so she went easy on the conversation until Donna returned.
They started by getting a drink each, and mingling with the other guests. Rose was introduced to a well of people, so many that she had to give up on remembering all of their names.
"I did not know the Doctor had fallen in love again. It is good."
"Oh, we aren't together," Rose said, looking over at the Doctor who was completely engaged in a conversation with someone whose name had slipped her mind, but who she was sure he had called an old family friend. He was gesturing madly, running his fingers through his hair, making it stick up in every direction, when his enthusiasm for the subject of the conversation became too much. He was probably talking about science or astronomy, she decided. She realised that she had been staring at him, and quickly turned away before he could notice.
Leela smiled, following Rose's gaze. "That is not what I said. I did not say that you are 'together' only that he is in love with you, and you with him."
Before Rose could reply, she felt a hand at the little of her back "Rose?" the Doctor said, stepping up beside her "We are getting seated at our tables now. Oh… Leela... I didn't know you would be here tonight," he said flatly.
Leela looked at him. "I did not plan to be here. But it is good to see you, Doctor."
His features softened. "It's good to see you too, Leela. It's been a long time. Too long."
"It was your own choice to stop seeing me," Leela pointed out.
"You know it was necessary. For Jenny's sake."
"It was not necessary, but it was your choice. Yours and Romana's."
He sighed "Can we talk about this later? Jenny and Rose's son Jack are waiting for us." The Doctor was smiling at Rose as they left
"Everyone you have talked to is telling me how nice you are. They all love you."
Rose smiled "I don't remember all their names, though. There were so many people, it was a bit overwhelming."
He nodded "It can be. I'm lucky to have known most of these people since I was a very small child, so I have that advantage. My parents would have people over for dinner almost every night, and they always had to show me and Donna off," he muttered. He had loved his parents, but his relationship with them had always been strained, especially with his father. Ever since he had first been allowed to look at the night sky through his grandfather's telescope, the Doctor had wanted to be an astronomer. However, his father had had other plans for him, and Donna too for that matter. He had realised early that he would not be able to follow his dream, and settled for getting a doctorate in business management. He had almost forgotten about his interest in astronomy, until Jenny was born and she had shared it with him. She would often ask him to take her to the planetarium, or to go stargazing, on their days off, and he was happy to comply. He knew that his parents had meant well, but the problem was that his father had viewed the company as his child, as much as he had the Doctor and Donna, and he wanted to be sure that it stayed in the family after his death. He knew for certain that he would never choose Jenny's future for her. No matter what she wanted he would support her.
"But anyway," he started, nodding over at Donna who was sitting with Jenny and Jack at their table, "dinner is about to be served."
Rose nodded, smiling over at them as they walked "What's wrong?" she asked him, noticing how on edge he was.
He sighed. Of course Rose had noticed. "Leela is an old friend of mine," he started
"So I gathered," she urged him on.
"She is also a close friend of Romana. Jenny's mother."
"Oh," Rose said, finally understanding, "are you afraid she'll tell Jenny something?" she frowned.
He shook his head, "She knows how Romana and I feel about it, and she respects it. But, she doesn't agree with Romana's choice to have limited contact with Jenny," he sighed.
"So you are afraid she will tell Jenny?"
"No…" he frowned, "Not afraid as such. I know she won't tell Jenny anything. I guess I just don't like being reminded that one day Jenny will want to know who her mother is, and I will have to tell her everything."
Rose bit her lip, feeling sympathy towards both the Doctor and Jenny. She couldn't imagine what it must be like for him, having to hide such a big part of Jenny's life from her. She squeezed his hand. "Jenny knows that she's loved. She may not have a mother, but she has a loving family in you and Donna, yeah? Don't worry."
He smiled at her. "Rose, I… Thank you," was all he could say. He wanted to tell her right then and there how much that had meant to him, and how much she meant to him. But then he looked up at her and saw her reassuring smile, and he knew that he couldn't. Even though he had known her for a limited amount of time, he could still see from her body language and facial expression that she was so much happier than when he had first met her. There was a slight difference in the way she carried herself; she smiled more often, even when she thought no one was looking; She was more confident in her way of speaking and dressing. And for every day she became happier, he fell more and more in love with her. But it was clear to him that she only wanted him as a friend, so he didn't want to spoil her joy by telling her of his feelings. So instead he leaned down and pulled her into a hug, which she immediately returned. This, he would allow himself.
She smiled at him and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek when he let her go. She bit her lip nervously and tugged at his hand. "Come on, we better get back to the others," she said.
Jack and Jenny were both getting restless in their seats and were playing some sort of game that mostly involved them poking each other, whilst Donna tried her best to make them sit still. Jenny whispered something to Jack who looked up and laughed "Mummy?" he asked when he saw her. "Can we go to the zoo?"
"What, right now?" Rose asked.
He nodded. "Cause Jenny heard that all the animals are out of their cages at night, and I want to know of it's true. And if it is, we want to see if we can take one of the penguins with us and keep it. We're gonna name him Frobisher."
Rose smiled, ruffling his hair. "I think we should let Frobisher stay at the zoo. Penguins like water, remember? He wouldn't be happy in our flat."
"I guess…" Jack said. "Maybe when I grow up I'll buy us a big house with a big swimming pool so he can live with us."
Rose was sat down, and was a little surprised when the Doctor pulled her seat out for her so she could hold the skirt of her dress without risking it getting stuck under a chair leg. She smiled at him as a thank you, and he sat down next to her.
They all made idle small talk until their starters (or main courses in Jack and Jenny's case) were served. Several times investors or trade partners of Gallifrey Enterprise would come over and talk to Donna and the Doctor, but after awhile they started politely telling them to come back after dinner.
Rose looked down when Jack started pulling at her skirt, making a face at her. She smiled at him, getting up. "I know that face, come on, let's go to the bathroom." He smiled, taking her hand and pulling her along. Rose had noticed how Jack was thriving of the attention he was getting, and he seemed reluctant to leave the crowd. He was telling her about his latest school project, and Rose was so caught up in listening to all he had to say to notice where they were walking. Jack had his head turned so he could look up at her, and therefore didn't notice when he walked into someone, pulling Rose with him.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rose told the woman they had bumped into. Rose wasn't quite sure who she was, but certainly someone she had seen before in newspapers and magazines. Jack nodded "Sowy, lady," he said, embarrassed. He backed against Rose's legs when he noticed how the stranger was glaring at him.
"Watch where you are going next time, you little brat. I almost spilled my drink on my dress," she said angrily to Jack, a faint French accent underlying her words.
Jack's face crumbled, and he turned around to face Rose, as a loud wail escaped him. Rose crouched down and pulled him into a hug, giving him an opportunity to hide away in her embrace.
"I said sowy," he bawled, as soon as he could form the words through his sobs.
Rose nodded, glaring at the stranger who was already walking away from him. How dare she?! Not only had the woman made Jack cry because she couldn't control her anger, but she had also had the audacity to leave without as much as a word of apology.
She stood up, lifting Jack. "You were being nice and polite Jack, and the lady yelled at you for no reason. You haven't done anything wrong at all. Don't worry, darling.
He sniffled at her "But she yelled at me…"
Rose nodded, wiping his tears away. "She was the one not being nice. We should have been watching where we were going, but you apologised and she had no right to yell at you like that."
"She was really mean," Jack said, a small smile returning to his face.
Rose smiled at him and stroked his cheek. "Don't worry, Jack. I'm not mad at you."
Jack beamed at her, still hiccupping a little. His eyes shifted, and he pulled at Rose's dress again. "Mummy, I still need to go," he told her, writhing a little in her arms.
She nodded. "We better hurry, so we can get back before dessert."
"There's dessert too?" he asked happily.
"And I hear you're having ice cream."
He had finally stopped crying, and he smiled at her, "I like ice cream," he remarked, sliding out of her arms. "Wait here," he instructed, going into the men's room.
Rose chuckled, leaning back against the wall. Having lost his father at such a young age meant that Jack could be very mature for a five year old, and sometimes she could forget that he was still so young, and new to the world. Part of her secretly wished that he had been younger when his father had died, just so he wouldn't have to live with the pain of knowing that something was missing in his life. But a small selfish part of her was also happy that at least someone else understood what it was like when they lost John.
A/N: Hello everybody, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I just want to make one thing clear. I write as fast as I can, but I also have a life to lead. I update the story as soon as I can. So whereas I do love reviews, here is no need to tell me several times to update. It may take times sometimes, but I'm writing as fast as I can. Thank you.