Notes: Rose and the Doctor return home and try to return to their normal routine, but find it's not that easy.

Chapter 14

Jackie was up and about, busying herself with her morning routine. She had warmed a bottle of milk for her Grandson and was now sitting in the Living Room with EJ guzzling away happily, while she watched the news. Soon she would have to wake up her son Tony and get him ready for school.

There was a report of a terrorist attack on a police station in Cairo. Hadn't that been where Pete had said Jack and Gwen were going? That line of thought was interrupted by her mobile phone ringing.

Jackie looked down at EJ and saw that he was quite happy holding his own bottle, smiling at his Grandma with his eyes. She smiled back at him and reached her phone out of her pocket.

"Jacks, it's me. Rose has phoned, they're okay," Pete said.

"Oh thank God," she said with relief. "Did everythin' go alright?"

There was a pause as he decided what to tell her.

"She was upset; John said that they had been through an ordeal."

"What happened?" she asked urgently. "What kind of ordeal?"

"I don't know. He said she was uninjured, just shaken up a bit."

"What? And you didn't think to ask I suppose?"

"Jacks."

"What's that daft alien gotten 'em into this time?"

"Jacks! They were on a mission."

"Mission my arse. You didn't know 'em before, in the other world. Always goin' off an' lookin' for trouble they were."

"Jacks, calm down! It wasn't just them."

"Eh?" That stopped her rant.

Pete took a deep breath before continuing. "Julia was shot. She's in surgery being fixed up. Apparently it's not life threatening, I'm waiting for Jake to report in. Jack and Gwen were arrested and then the police station was bombed. They're okay as well, but it's been a sod of a night Love."

"Oh. Sorry Love. I'm just worried about 'em when they go off on these missions."

"I know. You're her Mum. It's your job to worry." He tried to allay her worries and fears. "John didn't sound too concerned about Rose. It sounded like she'd had a bit of a shock or a near miss. We'll know more when they get back."

"You'll let me know as soon as they get back?"

"Yeah, of course. But the way Rose was asking about EJ, I think you'll see them before I do."

"Okay Pete. I'll talk to you later then."

"Yeah, see you later. Oh, and Jacks, I love you."

"Of course y'do yer big dope. See ya later."

She ended the call and looked down at EJ, taking control of the bottle once more.

"What are we goin' to do with your Mummy and Daddy eh?" she cooed at him. He studied her face as though trying to work out a response to her question.

"I hope you don't inherit their trouble magnet, or you'll be sendin' me grey before me time."

As if in answer, there was a 'phutt phutt' noise and an accompanying odour which told her he needed a change of nappy.

EJ pushed the bottle out of his mouth and chuckled at her.

"Yer cheeky monkey!" she exclaimed and tickled his tummy.

After the school run with Tony, Jackie brought EJ back into the house in his car seat. She went through to the Living Room and 'buzzed' Alistair to make a pot of tea. She unbuckled EJ from his seat and lifted him onto her lap to take off his jacket.

He started jiggling excitedly and clapping his hands together as he chuckled. "Mam-mam-mam-ma," he said.

"What's got into you then you little tyke?" she asked him.

"Dad-dad-dad-da."

She soon found out. The sound, distant at first, became louder and more distinct. It was the sound of a TARDIS materialising in the room. The blue wooden police box became fully opaque, and the noise stopped.

She looked down at EJ open mouthed. "I swear ya must be psychic or somethin'," she said in awe.

There was a soft click as the door opened and Rose stepped out, followed by John. Jackie could see immediately that Rose was not herself. She had a haunted look about her, but her face lit up with her old smile when she saw her son holding his arms out for her.

She ran over and enveloped him in a big hug, placing a big wet kiss on his cheek.

"There's my big man. Oh I've missed you," she said as she blinked back tears.

Jackie looked to John, the question on her lips and in her eyes. He came over and gave her a reassuring hug.

"She's missed him," he whispered in her ear. "I'll let her tell you all about it."

She pulled away and nodded at him, smiling her thanks.

"So, you've got time for a cup of tea have ya? Alistair's just makin' a brew."

Rose looked at John and he nodded. "I'll just be in the TARDIS sorting some stuff out."

Rose smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek. He was going to give them some mother-daughter time together.

In the Control Room, John contacted Pete and told him where they were.

"Thanks for that John. It'll keep Jackie off my back for a while. You know what she's like when she starts clucking like a mother hen," Pete said with a laugh.

"Yeah, and I think Rose needed to see her too. Those bastards in the jungle rattled her a bit and I think she just needed to see EJ and her Mum."

"Understood," Pete said. "I'll need a full report from both of you though."

"Sure thing Pete, we might be bringing EJ with us though. I sense that Rose is going to be a bit 'clingy' for a while.

"Er, about that John, is Rose alright? The last time I heard her like that was when she first got stranded here in the Lever Room."

"Just wait to see what she puts in her report for now. She'll tell you about it when she's ready."

"Okay, I'll see you later then." Pete ended the call and John shut down the communication panel, before heading down the ramp and out of the door.

When he stepped out into the Living Room, Jackie was hugging her weeping daughter, who in turn was hugging her son. EJ was obviously upset, as he could pick up his mother's distress telepathically.

John sent him a wave of reassurance and happy thoughts, which calmed him and let him settle. Jackie looked up at him, distressed and uncertain of what was going on.

"She just keeps sayin' she's alright," she told him.

"Hey, that's my line," he said jokingly. "Get your own catch phrase."

Rose laughed through her tears and wiped her eyes with a tissue. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're in shock Love. When you stop to think about what's happened, that's when it hits you," John said.

"What happened?" Jackie asked. "Why won't anyone tell me?"

"Not now Jackie, maybe later."

What was so bad that they wouldn't talk about it? And then she put two and two together and made five.

"Wha? Dear God no. Don't tell me she was…. Oh Rose, my poor baby, no…. You weren't…?"

"No Mum," she said, barely audible. "I wasn't. But I could have been."

Jackie grabbed her into a protective hug. "My poor baby."

She cast an accusatory glance at John. "How did this happen?" Which John knew meant, 'how could you let this happen to my daughter?'

He had his own guilt about that, thank you very much. He didn't need his mother-in-law blaming him as well.

"Mum," Rose said, as she came out of the hug. "John rescued me. If it wasn't for him…." She looked up at him and blinked away the tears. Neither of them wanted to finish that particular sentence.

"Your Dad would like us to file a report when you feel up to it. I told him we would probably be bringing EJ with us," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go an' do it. The sooner it's done, the sooner we can go home." She kissed Jackie on the cheek. "Thanks for havin' EJ Mum. We'll see you later."

John picked up the car-seat and baby bag and they headed for the door of the TARDIS. The door closed, the noise started, and the blue box disappeared. Leaving Jackie to stare at the space it had occupied, wondering how the pair of them were going to deal with the trouble that she could see coming.


John was sitting at his computer typing up his account of the mission in Cambodia. He had inherited 100 words a minute from Donna, and was making short work of his report. Rose was using dictation software so that she could hold EJ and play with him as she recalled the days events.

She skimped on the details in the shack, merely saying that she had been captured and that John had rescued her. She also reported that John had questioned the five men before handing them over to the Cambodian authorities.

Pete came into the office to see how they were getting on.

"Any idea what's going on, or who's behind all this John?"

"I've got an idea, yes. All we're missing at the moment are the mummies," he said mysteriously. "But to be sure, I need more evidence. I'm waiting for some information from Mexico City and Cairo. Can we have a briefing in the morning when Jack, Gwen and Jake are back?"

"Yes, of course. Shall we say Midday? That will give everyone chance to prepare for it."

John nodded. "Midday then. I'm done here, are you ready Love," he said to Rose.

"Yeah, c'mon, let's go home." She stood and kissed Pete on the cheek. "See you tomorrow Dad."

Pete returned the kiss and kissed EJ on his head. "Get some rest, I'll see you tomorrow."

Hand in hand, they walked out of Special Operations and headed for the Standby Room and the TARDIS.

"So who do you think it is then?" Rose asked as John selected their home from the favourites menu and started the Time Rotor.

"Well, it was in the old universe when I was in my fourth incarnation."

"Hang on," she said smiling and closing her eyes to concentrate. "That was curly hair, long scarf and floppy hat."

One lazy, wet Sunday afternoon, John had shown her his memories of all his incarnations and the travelling companions that he had known.

"That's right. We stumbled across an ancient Egyptian God at the Priory that eventually became UNIT headquarters."

"Which companion was that with?"

He grinned at her. "Sarah Jane. We had a right old time with that one. I'll tell you all about it over dinner if you like. Talking of dinner, do you want take away, or did you want to cook?"

"I can knock up a quick casserole," she said distractedly as she started to think about his previous companions.

She had been jealous of Sarah Jane when she first met her, but she turned out to be a really nice person with no romantic interest in her Doctor.

'I wonder if she was ever in a position where she was nearly raped?' she thought with some resentment. Leela, the Sevateem warrior would probably have bitten the man's face off, not that they would have caught her in the first place.

And what about that girl who called herself Ace? Dorothy her name was. She would have blown the bastard up with some dynamite or her home made explosives that John had told her about.

After they had landed in John's workshop, they ascended the stairs to the ground floor, where the house computer greeted them.

"Hello you lot," Donna-The-House said.

"Hi Donna," they replied.

"It's good to have you back," the house computer said. "I've put the kettle on for a cuppa."

"Oh you life saver," Rose said with a smile.

They sat watching a light hearted game show drinking their mugs of tea, while EJ played in his bouncing chair.

"I'll go and start the dinner," Rose said, wanting to try and get back to some normality.

"I'll give you a hand," John offered.

"No it's okay. You stay here and play with EJ, I can handle it."

When EJ had dropped off to sleep, John wandered into the kitchen to see if he could help.

"Need any help with that?" he asked.

"No, it's okay, I can do it." She had already told him that she wanted to cook. At least this was something she felt she was good at.

"Are you sure? I could chop the peppers."

"I SAID I CAN DO IT!" she snapped at him, and then immediately regretted doing so. "Sorry. Why don't you grab a beer and and put some music on, I'll be through in a minute."

John was concerned, but thought better of antagonising her again. He seemed to be walking on eggshells around her and didn't really know how to deal with the situation. He may have been around humans for centuries, but he'd only been one for a couple of years.

They sat in comparative silence as they ate. She was preoccupied with her own thoughts, and he was reluctant to provoke an outburst again by doing or saying the wrong thing.

After the meal they sat on the sofa watching TV, Rose leaning against John, but not really cuddling like they usually do. Or was she? He thought he might be becoming over sensitive to the situation. Rose seemed happy enough playing with EJ on her lap.

"I'm beat," she said with a yawn.

"Come on then, let's go up," John suggested.

"Okay. Do you mind if EJ sleeps in our bed tonight?"

"Are you kidding? I love to watch you two together when I'm going to sleep, and I love his little snuffles and sighs."

Rose smiled at him and kissed him on the cheek before heading for the door.

John was lying in bed, stroking EJ's head, getting him to relax and fall asleep as Rose came out of the bathroom. She had a 'onesie' on that looked like a big version of EJ's baby grow. John snorted a laugh, and Rose looked at him indignantly.

"Sorry Love. It's just that you and him just look so damn cute in those."

She smiled at him, climbed under the sheets and kissed him on the cheek. She put a hand on EJ's chest and just stared at him, almost in wonder. John couldn't fail to notice that once again, she seemed reluctant to be naked in front of him.

Was this something he should be worried about, or was it just a symptom of the trauma she had been through? He nestled down onto his pillow and just watched them together, letting a sigh of contentment escape from him as they drifted off to sleep.

In the early twilight of morning, John was woken by Rose muttering and tossing her head from side to side. EJ was gently snoring between them as he reached over and gently shook her shoulder.

"Rose," he whispered. She stopped mumbling and started to whimper. He lifted EJ onto his chest and shuffled over to cuddle her, and she snuggled into his chest. He gently stroked her hair as she went back to sleep.

When Rose awoke, she was surprised to find her head resting on John's chest, looking at the beautiful face of her sleeping son. She had no recollection of her disturbing dream that had caused John to embrace her, but she was grateful of his comforting embrace.