They stood in front of Jackie's door on the Powell Estate. He had the oven mitts in his pockets, just in case things went pear-shaped. Rose took his hand and squeezed it as reassurance, knocking twice. It swung open and Jackie grinned. "Rose! You've come home!"
"Hi Mum," she smiled as they embraced. "We thought we'd stop by."
Jackie glared at the Doctor. "I haven't seen my daughter in over a month, Doctor. Over a month."
"Sorry," he smiled widely. "So sorry. Time is a problem. Even on a time machine. For a Time Lord. It's all…timey-wimey and…such."
She didn't seem to appreciate the answer. They ushered inside as Jackie put on a pot of tea. Rose sat beside the Doctor on the couch. "She's already cross," he whined. "I just know that she'll attack. Sort of lunge forward and go in for the kill."
"Are you afraid of my mum?" she teased.
"Of course I am. A mother is the most dangerous thing in the universe. I once saw a mother defeat an entire group of Cybermen with her bare hands. Just reached out and snapped the circuits."
Rose gave him an incredulous look. "That did not happen."
"Well, no, but the point stands. Just wait until our child enters this universe. I am staying away from you if we get in a fight. You're already feisty."
"Feisty?" she giggled. "Seriously?"
"For lack of a better term," he cleared his throat with a blush on his cheeks.
Jackie entered with their tea and sat across from them. "So, the other day I was just walking down the street and this bloke came over—"
"Mum," Rose interrupted politely, wanting to get it out of the way. "We have something to tell you."
"Don't tell me the world is ending again. And don't tell me when. Well, it'll probably be on Christmas seeing how the world always seems to end on Christmas. Is it Christmas? No, don't tell me. I'd rather be surprised. It wouldn't be a good surprise. A surprise party is a good surprise. Not the end of the world. That's what you want to tell me, isn't? I knew this would happen eventually. It was only a matter of time."
"That's not it," Rose grumbled. "Mum, listen to me very closely."
"All right, I'll listen closely. When do I not listen closely? I think that I'm an excellent listener. A lot of people do. In fact, when I was talking to Jodi, she's the lady at the bus stop I see every morning—"
"I'm pregnant!" Rose shouted, instantly silencing her mother. Jackie's eyes seemed to glaze over and her tea cup hung in midair. "You okay? Mum?"
"Jackie, everything all right?" the Doctor seconded.
After a long pause, she grinned. "I'm going to be a grandmother!"
She squealed excitedly and hugged Rose, prattling on and on about pregnancy and children and the best schools and the best discount clothing stores and what she still had from when Rose was a baby…
Almost ten minutes later, Jackie let go of Rose and stopped talking. Her smile had faded and her eyes fell on the Doctor. He stood up, moving away from them quickly. His oven mitts were out and on either of his hands, ready to deflect the blows. "Jackie…" he started slowly. "Let us explain…"
"You," she hissed, holding a finger right in his face. "Are you going to marry her?"
"What?" they exclaimed together.
"You got her pregnant and you better do right by her!"
"No, that's not what—we didn't—Rose!" the Doctor called helplessly. "Please tell her before she hits me."
Jackie spun around. "Tell me what?"
"We aren't a couple, Mum…" Rose made sure that she didn't sound saddened by that fact.
"So you're just sleeping together?" Jackie roared. "You think that you can just have sex with my daughter, get her knocked up, and not commit to her?" she attempted to swat him and he caught it with the oven mitts. "What kind of bloke are you?"
Rose got up and wedged herself between them. Her hands held Jackie back and the Doctor was holding onto Rose's waist like a shield. "Mum! We aren't doing anything! We're mates and that's all! Even if we were, he's a different species."
Jackie visibly calmed down. "So he's not the father."
"No, I am," the Doctor nodded with a smile, holding onto Rose tightly as Jackie stepped closer.
Rose had to take control. "We were on a spaceship. There were some aliens and they experiment on people. We were taken and they decided to create a hybrid of me and the Doctor. It's half human and half Time Lord. By the time we woke up, it was already done."
On that, Jackie had to sit down. "This baby was made by aliens as an experiment?"
"Yes," Rose confirmed.
"And you're keeping it?" Jackie asked in disbelief. "What if it's got two heads?"
"I asked that same question," the Doctor attempted, though he stopped talking at the look Jackie gave him.
"It doesn't. It's a healthy baby," Rose assured her. "And we didn't have a choice really. They've made it so that I have to carry it to term. I'm going to be a mother. You'll have a grandchild."
That got Jackie smiling again. "That's so wonderful!"
"Isn't it?" Rose grinned.
They embraced and the Doctor motioned to the door. "I think that you two should have some time. I need to put my mitts back in the TARDIS anyway."
Neither woman acknowledged him. Jackie smiled at Rose softly. "So where are you going to raise this child? Not on the TARDIS, are you?"
"Of course on the TARDIS. I don't want to settle down. Get the flat and work in some shop. You know that I can't live this life anymore."
"But what about the baby? What about school? What about safety?"
"Have you met the Doctor? He's the smartest person in the universe. A perfect tutor. Besides, history lessons can be actually visiting history. There's a garden and a pool, not to mention so many other things. It's massive inside. Almost like a whole city. It's the safest place I know. I think it's a great place for a child to grow up."
"And what about you and the Doctor?"
Rose fidgeted with her lap. "What about us?"
"Aren't you going to raise this child as a couple?"
She snorted. "We're friends, Mum. We'll raise it as friends."
"You remember when you were little and I'd bring men home, don't you? You were always looking for a father so that we could be a family. Kids want their parents together. And isn't that what you want?"
"What?" she blushed. "Don't be daft."
"Don't be in denial, Rose Marion Tyler. You're in love with him and he's in love with you. For some reason, you two are too thick to admit that. Now you have a perfect reason. I'll bet that you can't look me in the eye and tell me that you aren't thrilled this baby is his."
Rose attempted to hold eye contact. "I'm…I…"
"Exactly right. I'm only thinking of my two babies. My daughter and my grandchild. They should be happy, and we both know what would make you happy."
"But what about him? I hardly think he wants to be with me," she admitted sadly. "What if we tried and it didn't work? How would it be then?"
"But you have to try," Jackie smiled comfortingly. "By the way he was smiling about being this kid's dad, I doubt that you'll have any worries at all."
She looked at her mother happily. "I can't believe we're having a baby."
"I know! Let's go through your old things! I'm sure that you can use it for your daughter…" Jackie led her by the hand towards her old bedroom.
"We don't even know if it's a girl or a boy yet!" Rose laughed elatedly.
"Mothers know things. I know that this will be a girl. C'mon, I'm sending you off with baby clothes and toys and all that! Not to mention a few home remedies. Wait until the morning sickness kicks in and your belly pops out like a pumpkin."
Rose scowled. She hadn't thought about all that yet. She was going to get sick, fat, moody, and sore from head to toe. How exciting. "It's not too bad, right Mum? The pregnancy and birth and all that."
"It's horrible. You feel horrible and you look horrible. Remember those scary movies where the girl screams bloody murder? That'll be you when you're in delivery. Worst pain you've ever felt. But the good thing about that is that you can remind your daughter of that whenever she's being cheeky. I nearly died giving birth to you, Rose. Passed out for hours."
She swallowed hard. "Thanks for that."
"You're welcome. Just be ready to ask for drugs. Drugs are good."
As Jackie dug through old boxes, Rose sat on her old bed deep in thought. She couldn't think of a better reason to scream bloody murder than giving birth to the Doctor's bundle of joy.