Once they arrived at the house, Pete was all business. He indicated for one of the staff to show John to his room but Rose stopped him, he s sharing my room, she declared.
Pete scowled, not while you re under my roof, he shot back, you will have separate rooms unless you are married, understood?
Oh come off of it, she sighed, you and mum shared a room before you took the plunge!
Jackie stepped in, that was different, she sniffed, we was married on the other Earth before.
You were married to my father, not him, Rose pointed out, that s not the same thing.
Looking at Pete s face when she said that, Rose was instantly sorry, he had come to think of her as his true biological father and hearing her point out the uncomfortable truth, made his face fall, it s not that I don t love you like you were my real dad, she soothed but he was having none of it.
Separate rooms, he repeated, put him in the west wing, the room with the garden view.
John looked uncertainly from Rose to Pete to Jackie, as the servant shifted impatiently from foot to foot waiting for someone to follow him. Deciding not to get in the middle of the standoff between Rose and her Stepfather, John let himself be lead to his new room.
The room was bigger than the entire hotel suite they had stayed in the night before. A huge four poster bed stood near a big bay window and there was a separate sitting area and huge wardrobes set in one wall.
He found that amusing, the only clothes he had were the ones he was wearing and he doubted they would need a bank of closets to hold them. Curious he opened up the nearest one and peered inside. Contrary to his expectations, they were chock full of garments. All new with tags still attached. Taking a shirt from the wardrobe he held it up to his chest and it seemed to be just his size.
How in the he started then heard someone clear their throat behind him. He turned to see Pete standing in the doorway.
Figured you d need a change of clothing, Pete smiled at him, I used to work at a tailor s when I was young before I made my fortune. I still have the eye, he shrugged, then coming to stand by John he put a fatherly hand on his shoulder, I hope you like them.
I do, John nodded, thank you.
Pete looked around the room, clearly trying to come up with the best way to approach a subject he was a bit uncomfortable with, and stalling for time, this room was going to be the nursery when Jax, well my first wife not the current one, and I had children. When it became apparent we were not going to do that, I had it redone.
He looked out the window and went quiet for a moment. Then he turned back to John, I know, technically, she s not my real daughter, Rose that is. But I couldn t love her more than and as her father now; I have a great interest in seeing that no harm comes to her.
Knowing it would be imprudent to interrupt, John waited for him to continue.
You seem a decent bloke, and I know you come from good stock, Pete continued, but I don t know you from Adam, and until I feel sure
John held up his hands, I don t blame you, he assured the concerned man, but I promise you I won t harm her.
No offence, but you don t really have a lot of experience to base that on, Pete laughed nervously, you are still just a babe in grown up clothing.
What can I do to make you believe me? John asked.
Pete felt sorry for this man on some levels, it couldn t be easy being thrown into life the way he had but that s precisely why he was being extra cautious. He had seen The Doctor, seen his power, felt his rage, witnessed his fury and this human/Time Lord mix would be capable of all that plus adding in human anger on top of that, could be deadly.
He had prepared an answer for that question, come with me to Torchwood, we ll run some tests and decide if you re safe.
John s heart skipped a beat at that. He had inherited The Doctor s distrust of the place embedded in his mind. Even though the Time Lord loved Jack and trusted him completely, he still didn t like the organisation he worked for.
But then the image of Rose s smiling face, her warm touch on his skin and her sparkling eyes made him quickly agree to this plan. Pete shook his hand, glad to see you re willing to be reasonable, he said before turning to leave the room.