When he woke up three hours and sixteen minutes later, it was dark out. Rose was still asleep beside him, her eyes closed and her mouth curved into a content, sleepy smile. Slowly and carefully as not to wake her, the Doctor extracted himself from Rose's body. She shifted, rolling into the place in bed where he had slept, humming in contentment at the imprint it left. He picked his trainers up off the floor, sliding them onto his feet and doing the laces. He picked up his jacket and slid it on, taking his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and running it over his suit, taking out all the crinkles. He walked towards the door, opened it, looked back.
She was so beautiful when she slept. In fact, she was the most beautiful person he's ever seen. He stepped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. Once outside Rose's bedroom, the Doctor could really take a look around the Tyler residence; It was much cleaner than it was before, and the walls had definitely been painted over. Over the fireplace- Which actually was filled with wood rather than magazines like it was during his last visit- were pictures of the Tyler family. He slowly advanced, looking at each picture with interest.
There was a picture of Rose when she was a baby, taken by a professional photographer. Next to it was a picture of Pete Tyler holding Rose. She was sleeping, and Pete was smiling broadly at the tiny infant in his hands. Beside that picture was a photograph of Rose just a few years younger than she is now. She was laughing, Mickey beside her smiling down at her, and beside them a woman he could only guess as Shereen, Rose's best mate. She'd talked about her on several occasions, each story always ending with a perverted joke Shereen had made. From what Rose has told him, the Doctor got the impression Shereen was a bit of a slag; Mouth wise, not so much as a slag in general. He smiled to himself, moving on down the line of pictures. The one to the far right surprised him; It was a picture of him and Rose at Christmas last year. He picked the picture up wit his right hand, putting his left in his pocket. He took his glasses from his pocket and put them on, looking at the picture more closely; He was sitting in his borrowed pajamas, Rose wearing a revealing tank top and long pants. She was looking at the Doctor, who was staring intently at his, the biggest grin on his face that he'd ever had. He was holding a bunch of bananas, insisting Rose have one. She was laughing, her hands out in front of her. There were tears of happiness in her eyes. The Doctor could feels his own getting moist.
"That's a great picture," Jackie Tyler said, her voice sounding distant. The Doctor spun around to face her. She was smiling, her hands crossed over her chest.
"It is," He agreed. And it was. Even though he really thought he looked like a pillock, it brought back a great memory. Not to mention Rose looked absolutely beautiful.
"How is she?" Jackie asked, a hint of worry in her voice. The Doctor put the photo back on the stand above the fireplace, took his glasses off, and looked back at Jackie, "Is she okay?"
"I hope so. Before we got here, she was crying so much, I didn't know what to do.." His voice trailed off. He didn't want to think about it, or let Jackie hear his voice falter. She smiled weakly,
"Well I'm glad you brought her home. Just in time too. Didn't think you'd come this Christmas." He nodded,
"Yeah well, Rose needed to see you. I wasn't planning on coming this soon; I was gonna wait a couple of months to come for Christmas actually. Rose would want to and the TARDIS makes you forget the days."
He heard the slap before he felt it, and when he did it shocked and hurt his now reddening cheek,
"Oi! What did you do that for?" The Doctor seethed, rubbing his cheek. She slapped the other one,
"Oi! If ya keep hitting me I'm gonna get real angry Jackie!" She hit him again. The Doctor's cheeks burned, and his eyes were full of tears, "Will you stop hitting me!?" The Doctor exclaimed through gritted teeth. She did, but he was surprised when he pulled away from her to find that she had tears in her eyes.
"Do you know how hard it is Doctor?" She said his name with poison in her voice. The Doctor winced. "Do you know how hard it is to wake up every morning, wondering if your daughter is alive? I sit by the telephone every day, hoping I'll get five minutes on the phone with my daughter before she has to go on another adventure without me! It was never easy, but at least before I had Mickey. Came over everyday he did. We talked about things, but never about Rose because we both knew we'd cry.." Her voice had been loud but broke as the tears came down her face. "I love my daughter Doctor. More than anything. And I don't know if I can have her galavanting across the Universe with an alien, who won't, who wont.." Who won't what? He wondered.
"Pardon?" The Doctor said dumbfounded. He should have said something rather than sound like a wanker who wasn't listening. Jackie's hand swooped down and cracked him again. This time she actually split his lip.
"Were you not listening to me alien boy!?" Jackie roared. She would have hit him again, the Doctor knew, had it not been for the sight of his blood.
"Oh," She said, confusion and guilt portraying on her face instead of the sadness and anger that was once there. "Doctor, I'm-" But the Doctor wouldn't let her apologize. He deserved it,
"Jackie don't apologize, you have every right to be angry with me. But we have to get one thing strait; I would never let Rose get hurt. I'll never let anyone hurt her because I love her Jackie." He couldn't believe he had just said all these things to Rose's mother before he even told Rose herself.
All the talking they were doing made them completely forget about his lip, when suddenly the Doctor had the taste of blood in his mouth. As much as he loved to lick everything as Rose said, blood was something he didn't go for.
"Come on dear, let me fix ya up, maybe make a nice cuppa yeah?" Jackie grabbed his hand and pulled him through the kitchen, where she practically pushed him into a chair at the table. She first started the kettle, then came back with a damp washcloth and began dabbing at the Doctor's lip.
"Jackie, I'm quite alright. I think I can survive a split lip. I've been tortured before. Mind you, it wasn't in this body, thank God. Although I do remember the bloke that was torturing me. Bloody manky that one was. He actually enjoyed taking a blade and putting it right under my-"
"Doctor," Jackie said, eyebrows raised. "Where exactly did this torturer put his blade?" Jackie smiled her I-know-what-you-were-going-to-say-but-want-you-to- say-it-anyway smile. The Doctor blushed a bright tomato red,
"Uh, just the soft part of my skin.." The Doctor mumbled, tugging at his ear and looking in the other direction. Jackie Tyler was a magnificent woman. She could be icy and harsh, crude and vile, and sweet and caring all at the same time. It was maddening.
"So how long has it been?" Jackie asked, her eyes full of anticipation. The Doctor's eyebrows shot into his hairline,
"How long has what been?" Jackie raised an eyebrow at him while he picked up his tea and took a sip,
"How long have you been shagging my daughter?" The Doctor sputtered into his cup, lucky it was still at his lips. If it wasn't he was sure there would be tea stains on his favorite suit.
"Sleeping with Rose? No! No! Haven't ever slept with Rose before! No! Not saying I don't want to! Oh that came out wrong.. She's very attractive! I mean beautiful! Really really beautiful! But no, no, no!" And the Doctor could have kept rambling had it not been for Jackie clamping a hand down on his mouth,
"Okay, okay alien boy. Don't get your nickers in a bunch." The Doctor's cheeks burned. He didn't wear nickers.
"I just thought what with you sleeping with her back there for three hours that you're in a relationship's all.." Jackie smiled at the Doctor's horror struck look,
"Oh I was just making sure she was asleep. I was just gonna sit next to her, but she was the one who curled into me. She curled into me.." The Doctor mumbled. Jackie smiled,
"So you're not shaggin' my daughter?"
"Nope." The Doctor said with that familiar popping sound he made when he got to the 'p'.
"But you want to?" Jackie asked. The Doctor sighed. When had this conversation gotten so intimate?
"Jackie.." The Doctor started, but she stopped him by waving a hand in his face,
"Doctor if you want to be in a relationship with my daughter that's fine. I have only but two rules: No weird alien sex, and no getting married without me." The Doctor was stunned. He opened and shut his mouth several times until he finally just blurted out,
"Weird alien sex?" He really hopped he sounded appalled because he was completely and utterly appalled. Jackie smirked,
"Well I don't know if you have sex the same way as we do. You do have a penis right?" The Doctor's eyebrows were so far up his hairline they were barely visible. His eyes bulged out of his head,
"Yes I have a bloody penis, would you like to see it?" The Doctor exclaimed, instantly regretting the words that had poured out of his mouth. Jackie smiled,
"As much as I would love to see it sweetheart, I don't think Rose would be too happy. Plus you are basically just a strip of nothing.." His cheeks burned. Looking for any way to get off the subject of his genitals, the Doctor asked,
"So what should I do for her?" Jackie tilted her head to the side in confusion. "You know, when she's upset. Is there anything she might want to do? Watch a movie, eat food, I don't really know. I haven't ever actually seen her cry before." Jackie seemed to be lost in thought. Finally she said,
"Well when she's sad she likes to walk around town, 'getting a feel of the place' is what she called it. Oh I know, take her to see the Christmas tree! With all your galavanting across the universe she hasn't actually gotten to see the tree in three years! It was her favorite thing about Christmas."
"Oi, what about last year?" The Doctor asked, feeling guilty he took away Rose's favorite part of Christmas.
"Well she stayed with you every second. The only time she left was when Mickey threatened to stab you unless she got out and had some fun. She was so miserable. Cried so much, held ya hand, she even fell asleep beside you one night." The Doctor blushed. He hadn't known that. He looked over at the clock; 8:16.
"So, should I wake her up?" The Doctor asked. Jackie tutted,
"Nope. That's my job. You just go change into something more.. street like, yeah? People are gonna look at you like you're some sort of nutter. Do you even own a pair of jeans?" The Doctor glared,
"Of course I own a pair of jeans. Doesn't mean I have to wear them.." The Doctor grumbled, getting up from his seat and walking towards the door to the flat.
"And remember Doctor, jeans!" Jackie called after him. The Doctor sighed, then opened the door and walked towards the TARDIS.
Once he stepped inside the TARDIS put the wardrobe right next to the door. "Thanks old girl," the Doctor said, going inside and looking for the jeans isle. He hadn't worn jeans since his last body. It just didn't feel right in this one. Besides, he knew Rose liked him in a suit. Any time he was walking in front of her her eyes would trail to his backside. But then again, she did that when he wore jeans in his last body. As he was debating weather or not to actually change, he remembered Jackie's words and instantly knew he had to change or face the wrath of an angry Tyler. He winced at the thought.
He slowly pulled jeans on, then shrugged off his jacket and tie, leaving the white cotton shirt. He muttered to himself about pushy mothers. He shrugged on a jumper and his brown coat, then went back up to Jackie's flat.
"Yep, definitely an improvement." He narrowed his eyes and began muttering again.
The water felt extraordinary against her skin. She put it on super hot, not caring that it was scalding her scalp. All she could think about was Mickey. Okay, so they weren't dating, but he still had friendship obligations. He still had to be there for her, and now he never could again. There were things Mickey could do for her that the Doctor never could, like put his arms around her, hold her. Stroke her hair, whisper nice things in her ear, make her feel okay again. He used to make her cookies when she was upset. They'd eat them together while watching cheesy movies that her mother had picked up the day before. They'd laugh, and whatever had made Rose upset would just drift away.
She washed her hair, making sure it was clean and fresh. Then she shaved her legs and washed her face. Turning off the shower, she wrapped herself up in a towel and opened the bathroom door, stepping out and saying,
"Hey mum have you seen my white- Ahh!" She exclaimed, finally seeing the Doctor sitting at the table next to her mother, his jaw wide open, staring at her long, bare legs. Rose turned around to stare at the wall, her cheeks burning.
"Sorry, so sorry, didn't see anything!" The Doctor exclaimed, covering his eyes with his hands and blushing profoundly.
"So, uhm, mum, have you seen my white sweater that gran got me about three Christmases ago?" Jackie smirked at Rose and the Doctor,
"Yup. Just took it out of the wash with the rest of the whites. Check the laundry room." Rose began walking towards the laundry room when she stopped, turned around, and walked towards her room. After several minutes she emerged, hair blow dried and wearing a robe,
"Much better dear," Jackie said, winking at the Doctor who was still staring blankly out the window. He turned to look at Rose, now clad in some sort of clothing. He smiled nervously. Rose gave him a curious look,
"You're not wearing your suit?" The Doctor smiled,
"Nope. Your mother insisted people would stare." Rose made a noise in her throat and gave her mother a look.
"You know it's true sweetheart. As if his personality wont draw enough attention."
"Oi!" He said, giving Jackie Tyler a look. Deciding it best to leave, Rose stealthily made her way across the flat and into the laundry room. Once inside she slumped on the ground. She really hoped she could talk to the Doctor about Mickey. She knew if she kept it in that it would just get worse. Plus, if she told her mother she knew she'd probably cry, and she didn't want that. She didn't want someone to cry with. She wanted someone to listen to her speak, someone who wouldn't talk back. She wanted the Doctor.
She quickly got dressed and walked out the door, grabbing the Doctor's hand and dragging him out of the chair he was sitting in. He barely had time to set his tea mug back on the table,
"Well we're off mum. Be back in a tic!" She shouted over her shoulder. She was surprised that the Doctor let her drag him about her flat and out the door. Once outside, the cold air blowing in her face, Rose stopped, savoring the bite of it on her skin. She stood like that for a while, eyes closed, lips parted, her hand intwined in the Doctor's. She felt her fingers squeeze together and looked up at the Doctor. He was staring up at the stars, his eyes fixated on one point in general. He looked down at her, then squeezed her hand again for reassurance.
Slowly, the Doctor led the way to the tree, his eyes scanning this way and that, looking at nothing in particular for far too long. When they got to the tree Rose gasped. It was more beautiful than she remembered. Every light twinkled in a bright, delightful glow. The star atop it was marvelous, gold and glowing. Even the tree had a certain handsomeness about it that Rose couldn't exclaim. "Wow," She breathed, loving the sight of it. She turned and looked at the Doctor happily, then turned to the side to ask Mickey if he- and then it hit her. Mickey wasn't there. Mickey wasn't with them and he was never coming back. Her eyes filled with silent tears and she looked away.
"This was Mickey's favorite thing to do during Christmas too. He loved the tree. Used to chat up the girl that stood by the security line and flirt his way into getting us closer. He was so-"She stopped as the tears began pouring down her cheeks. The Doctor's hand slipped from hers and snaked it's way around her waist. The other one took her hands so they rested atop his own. He laid his chin down atop her head,
"Do you want to talk about it?" The Doctor asked her, rubbing small circles into her hand. Rose nodded her head,
"I just don't understand why he left, you know? He knew that he was important to me. Knew that I needed him. Maybe not as a boyfriend like he hoped, but I still needed him to be there for me. But now he can't be. Now he can't ever be there to enjoy moments like this with me.." Her voice trailed off as she looked up at the tree. It didn't seem as beautiful as it did a few mere seconds ago. She continued on, wanting to get everything out now,
"I mean, I know it sounds selfish, but when he was around I felt thought about. I felt- loved. And I loved him back- as a brotherly thing mind you- but still. I mean, I just feel like nobody wants me anymore." As the words left her mouth they surprised her. But thinking about it, it really seemed true. She continued on before the Doctor could stop her,
"It wasn't just with Mickey leaving. When I saw my mum on that other universe, we talked. She told me I was just a serving girl. That I didn't matter to the world. I even told my father I was his child, tried to help him save his wife- My mother!- and he still told me to go away. And then there's Mickey.." The tears flowed freely down her cheeks now. The Doctor spun her around to face him, his eyes boring into her own,
"Now you listen to me Rose Marion Tyler," He said seriously, "No one thinks that about you. You are one of the smartest, kindest, most beautifully brilliant people in the world and you're wonderful and just an amazing person. Don't ever think poorly about yourself. Ever." He paused and looked into her eyes, then brushed the tears away. "Now about Mickey. He couldn't cope being just friends with you, and he always felt like a third wheel with us. In that universe he was a part of something, or so he thought. I always thought Mickey was impressive. Okay, maybe not in my last incarnation, but I have in this one. He just wanted to feel like he was making a difference, and he couldn't here. Plus his gram was back there, and he loves he gram. Not saying he doesn't love you Rose, because he does. That life was just.. Easier." Rose nodded, unable to find words. The Doctor was right, and she was so happy that she had him in her life. The Doctor kissed Rose's forehead, them out them back in the same position as before; Arms around her waist and head atop hers.
"Did you know Rose," He said, "that I know the name of every single star and constellation in the sky right now?" Rose laughed out loud, a noise he was happy to hear, though not in this situation, "Don't believe me do you?" That made Rose giggle even more.
"Okay Doctor, if you really know all the star's names, what that one?" Rose asked pointing into the air. The Doctor smiled,
"Rose, you could be talking about any one of those stars in the sky." Rose giggled profoundly,
"You're just saying that because you don't know its name." The Doctor put on his fake offended face,
"Rose Tyler!" He said in mock offense. After a moment of silence Rose looped arms with him and put her head on his shoulder.
"Thank you Doctor. You're amazing." Rose closed her eyes and smiled despite everything bad that had happened the day before. It felt so good to let go and just be with the Doctor.
"Rose, I promise you a Christmas this year. A right Christmas. A human Christmas. There will be no aliens- besides myself of course- and you can invite your family and everything. And I wont mope, promise." Rose smiled brightly and turned to face him,
"Really?" She asked hopefully.
"Really," He assured her. His arms wrapped around her from the front and pulled her into his chest. He gave her hand a gently squeeze. She returned it.