Chapter Three

"No." The Doctor growled to the TARDIS in frustration. The ship hummed in annoyance before urging him on again. "No!" He shouted, pounding the console with his rubber hammer. "I'm telling you, the electro spanner is not going to help!" Another light tingle rang throughout the ship. "No, the hydro spanner isn't going to help either you cheeky little thing." The TARDIS chirped lightly, imitating a giggle and the Doctor sighed. "You know, this is why I stopped traveling alone. Otherwise I end up bantering with my own ship!" Once again, the old blue box hummed affectionately and the Doctor went back to tinkering with the console.

"But alone is better," he assured himself. "No innocent people get hurt this way." The TARDIS let out a sad whine, obviously worrying for her Time Lord, but the Doctor gave no indication of having heard and continued on with his work.

"Now then!" He exclaimed, hopping up and wiping some grease onto an old towel. "Where d'you feel like heading old girl? I was thinking of saying hello to the ol' Virgin Queen, her majesty Elizabeth the First? What do you think?" The ship whirred in excitement causing the Doctor to grin hugely and start pulling levers and pushing buttons. "Off we go then!" He shouted. "Allons-y!"

With a muffled groan, Rose Tyler poked her head out from under her pillow to investigate the sudden brightness making it's way into her bedroom. Glancing around, she found that her mother was standing at the foot of her bed, her arms crossed. All the windows around the room were wide open.

"Five more minutes..." She grumbled, pulling her pillow back over her face. She felt the mattress sink next to her with the weight of her mother. It didn't move until Jackie lifted the pillow and began stroking her daughter's face softly.

"Rose?" Jackie questioned softly as she tucked a strand of blonde hair behind Rose's ear. Her only answer was an incoherent groaning noise as the young woman leaned into the warmth of her mother. "Rose honey, it's time to get up, I think it's time for you to tell me what happened with John last night."

"I don't want to talk about it." Rose claimed, pulling back from Jackie's touch and rolling over.

"Rose, you came home a sobbin' mess an' ran right into my arms, then went up to bed an' stayed there for twelve hours! Not to mention you've been distant since the night before last. It's time you gimme an explanation." Jackie expanded, nudging Rose with her elbow. "I need you to talk to me Rose." With a sigh, the young woman rolled back over to face Jackie. She peered up at her mother from under her dark lashes pleadingly, but Jackie didn't give in.

"Ugh, fine." Rose mumbled, sitting up and pulling her pillow to her chest. "Remember that time when I insisted on traveling with the Doctor no matter what you said to me? You said that one day, there was gonna be some girl in some marketplace somewhere that may look like me, but wasn't me. Not the simple human Rose Tyler from the Powell Estate. And you were right mum, by the gods, you were right."

Over the next half an hour, Rose explained to her mother about what had happened just before the Doctor's regeneration. She told Jackie every last detail from the Game Station with the exception of the last few moments after the destruction of the Daleks, as they were still unclear to her. To Rose's surprise, the elder Tyler took the information better than she had expected. She was beginning to feel as though there was nothing to worry about until her mother asked the question she'd been hoping to avoid.

"What about John?"

Rose froze. Cautiously, she looked up from where her gaze was focused on her hands and met Jackie's eyes.

"What about him?"

Jackie rolled her eyes at her daughter's insistence of being difficult.

"What happened last night that had you so upset?" Rose hesitated for a moment longer before giving in and answering.

"I tried to tell him is all." She assured, wiping at her eyes as tears threatened to emerge. "I showed him the medical records and the DNA information an' he got mad. He got, he got so furious! He yelled an' got us kicked outta the restaurant, then he drove me home without a word and when I tried to talk he just told me to get out." Tears were flowing freely down Rose's face now as a look of surprise spread across Jackie's. The younger Tyler took a deep shuddering breath before she started speaking again. "An' I thought that wasn't bad enough. He went an' chucked that bloody engagement ring at me out the window, told me I had already taken everything else from him. Then he just drove away mum! He just left! He just- I-" Rose broke down in sobs and burrowed herself into her mother's side, Jackie's arms wrapping around her tight as she rocked her daughter back and forth comfortingly.

"Shh, Rose, it's okay, it's okay honey, everything will be just fine, I promise."

The two Tylers stayed in each other's embrace as Rose cried. Eventually, the young woman's sobs reduced to sniffles and she looked up at her mother.

Jackie looked down and offered a comforting smile. "The thing I don't get," Jackie started. "Is that I had a nice long conversation with the Doctor back when he had his old face, an' I made him promise that he'd never unintentionally get you hurt. He gave me his word, and you were happy! Why would John disregard that and make you hurt so much?"

Rose sniffed and untucked herself from Jackie's embrace. "I know why." She stated as she flopped back onto her pillow, staring up at the ceiling.

"It's because he's human." Rose said, turning her head to her nightstand where a picture of her, Jack, and the Doctor stood. Jackie had taken it for them during a visit and kept it close at hand in case something happened and Rose needed the reminder. The young woman smiled forlornly, remembering that visit. It was the first time her mother had met Jack, and it was quite considerably the last.

Jack, being himself, had begun flirting with Jackie, only to receive a vicious slap to the left side of his face. The Doctor had laughed for the whole duration of the trip, claiming that he'd warned Jack.

Things had been so much easier back then. Rose missed the Doctor with all her being, and she felt guilty as she realized that she was just using John as a substitute to fill the gap. Her heart also ached for Jack, who she had thought dead until just recently. She felt remorse for cursing him with the inability to die, but a larger part of her was overjoyed that he was alive.

It tore at her to think she could never see either of them again. Even Mickey, her best friend since childhood was back in the other universe.

"You heard the Doctor when he talked about humans." Jackie nodded in acceptance as Rose explained. "That whole superiority complex, and now he is one. Well, John is. But all of his memories are the Doctor's; everything he experienced, John experienced as well. Every stupid thing humans have done in his company- and now that's what he is. He's bitter, and he's hurt. He doesn't have his own life, not really. It's good that he left me, he can start again."

During her explanation, Rose started to become less hurt and more determined. She was right, she knew she was. John needed a new life, one without the Doctor's mistakes looming over him. She was just a memory to him, he had no choice in being with her. It was his time now. He could have a real job, meet a normal woman, and have a family of his own. He had his life, and she had hers.

"I need to get back to him mum." Rose stated, looking at her mother apologetically.

"Oh, I know." Jackie responded with a smile and a reassuring pat on the arm. Rose blinked in confusion.

"What?"

"Rose, this'll be the third time you leave us for the Doctor. I've had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that he's the one you wanna be with. I've had twenty-five years with you, and now that you know what bein' with him is like, you don't want this life anymore. I accept that. Besides, every time we try an' say goodbye, you end up back with me anyway."

Rose got out of bed and stood up to face her mother straight on, her arms crossed.

"Here I had this whole argument as to why you should let me go, an' you're just... Okay with it? Did you /want/ me to leave?" She questioned.

"What I want," Jackie responded. "Is for you to be happy. You need him for that, love." The older woman stood and made her way to the doorway. "Besides, you're an adult now, what you do with your life is up to you."

"But what about you?" Rose questioned as Jackie made to leave the bedroom.

"Don't you worry about me sweetie. I have Pete again, something that never would have happened were it not for you and the Doctor. Plus we have Tony; I really have no chance of being lonely. Now, get to Torchwood and start working on a way back."

"Oh thank you mum!" Rose exclaimed, running to Jackie and engulfing her in a hug. It was another huge weight off of her shoulders to know that her family was backing her up on her decision to return to her original universe, now all she had to do was find out how.

"Oh Bad Wolf girl! I could kiss you!" The war Doctor exclaimed, blowing a dramatic kiss into the air.

"I'm sorry," the tenth Doctor interjected as the eleventh started in surprised confusion. "Did you say Bad Wolf?"

(A/N): Here's this week's update! I hope you enjoyed it! I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone so much for their support! I already have over 50 followers on this story, which is more than I've had on any of my works before! I used to find updating my fics a chore that I had to do, but now it's a nice escape to sit down and write a chapter in between work, school, sports, and extracurricular things :) Y'all are babes. See you next week! (Oh and thanks again to my beautiful BETA ;))

~JediLlama