Rose awoke the next morning, although not as early as her body had become accustomed to the last two years. She decided to take her time getting ready. She even took time to put on a little make up and then headed downstairs to enjoy a cuppa with the hotel's free breakfast. Rose picked up a few new brochures from the display near the front desk and wandered back to her room to decide where to explore today.

Rose had always enjoyed art museums and decided to visit some of Manchester's best museums and galleries. She found herself enjoying the art so much that before she knew it, it was early afternoon and her stomach was beginning to rumble. She found a small café and enjoyed a light meal while thumbing through an art book she had purchased at one of the gift shops. John always loved a little shop, she remembered with a gentle smile.

Rose was about to get up from the table when her phone dinged with a text.

Jason: I hope you've found something fun to do today.

Rose: Just finished exploring some art museums and galleries.

Jason: Great! I will finish up soon. Can you meet me in the lobby of your hotel in two hours?

Rose: Yes. Any hint about where we're going to dinner.

Jason: All I'll say is: Ci vediamo stasera.

Rose grinned. Italian for dinner. In the words of her beloved, "Molto bene" she thought to herself.

Rose decided to take a cab back to her hotel. She wanted plenty of time to get ready. As she rode the lift up to her room, Rose suddenly panicked. She hoped the TARDIS had thought to pack something appropriate for dinner out. She entered the room and quickly dug into the bag, deciding to lay everything out on the bed to see what her choices were. Inside the bag were three different dresses of varying lengths and fabrics – a black cocktail dress, a flirty red dress with a puffy skirt (great for dancing, she thought), and a floor length TARDIS blue gown. There were three pairs of coordinating heels, and silk and lace underthings that would work for each dress.

Rose smiled at the options before her. The TARDIS never did disappoint when it came to her wardrobe and this trip was no exception. Rose would have to give the console a good massage when she got home. Rose decided to wear the cocktail dress with the matching low heels, perfect for an after dinner stroll. She touched up her makeup and headed downstairs to the lobby. As she exited the lift, she glanced around the room and her eyes immediately met the icey-blue eyes of Jason. He was wearing black slacks, a purple jumper and a black leather jacket. Rose's breath hitched as she took in his appearance. Unlike her first doctor, Jason's leather jacket looked relatively new and fit his proportions so well, it looked more like formalwear than outerwear.

Jason took in Rose's appearance. He stared at her for a moment as she approached him. "Blimey, you look great, Rose."

Rose knew she was blushing, but hoped her makeup kept most of it hidden. "Thank you. You're not so bad yourself." She motioned to his attire.

"Shall we?"

Jason offered his arm and they walked out to his waiting car – a TARDIS blue antique roadster. Jason opened the door for Rose and then walked around to the driver's side. The drive to the restaurant was quick. Jason had obviously made reservations, as a table was ready for them when they arrived, and they walked past all the other patrons waiting in the bar. Rose heard familiar mumbling from the waiting crowd. She knew she would be recognized eventually. Hopefully the paparazzi would stay away tonight.

Their candlelit table was in a secluded corner of the restaurant. A long-stemmed red rose sat on her menu, a detail Rose noticed that was only on their table. Next to the small table was a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice. Jason pulled out Rose's chair. As Jason was moving to sit in his chair, Rose asked "What are we celebrating?" and pointed over to the bottle of champagne.

"I don't know about you, but I'm celebrating dinner with a beautiful woman," he flirted with a goofy grin on his face. Rose rolled her eyes. "And… I was offered a promotion at the University today. You're looking at the new head of both the departments of physics and history. So, I figured that was also worth celebrating." He beamed at her.

"Congratulations, Dr. Tempest." Rose smiled her signature tongue-in-teeth grin at him.

A waiter approached the table to open their champagne and describe the evening's specials. After pouring their drinks, he left them alone to look at the menu and make their selections. Once their food was ordered, Rose raised her glass and held it out towards Jason. "A toast to Dr. Tempest and his new prestigious positions at the University of Manchester."

"And a toast to the lovely Rose Tyler, my gorgeous dinner companion." They clinked their glasses together and took a drink of their champagne, each finding it hard to hide the smiles on their faces.

The conversation flowed easily through dinner. Rose told Jason about her day exploring art all over the city. Jason talked about his students and today's lectures in history and physics – Medieval Manchester and Hellmann–Feynman theorem.

"Would you care for dessert? Tonight's special is a sweet banana gnocchi drizzled with a chocolate hazelnut ganache and fresh whipped cream."

Jason's eyes widened and Rose wondered if they would fall out of his head. "Bananas! Can't resist bananas, me. Good source of potassium, you know." Jason looked to Rose for approval and she nodded back at his puppy-dog expression. "One serving of tonight's special and two forks, please." Jason was bouncing in his chair and it reminded Rose of Tony on Christmas.

"I take it you like bananas?" Rose grinned at him.

"Love 'em!" Jason replied enthusiastically, complete with ear-to-ear goofy grin.

Once they had eaten and drunk their fill, Jason suggested a stroll through a nearby park to help their stomachs settle. He offered Rose his arm and they sauntered slowly through the neighborhood, Rose holding her single stemmed Rose in her free hand. Jason couldn't resist falling back into tour guide mode, telling Rose the history of the area. The park was quaint, with benches and a small playground. It was late, so no children were out playing. They walked over to the swings and each took a swing for a seat. Jason gestured to a nearby school, "and to conclude this portion of the tour, someone very well-known and brilliant attended that primary school across the way."

"Really? Who?"

"Me!" Jason responded with a goofy grin and she giggled at him. Rose had resisted asking Jason about his childhood, but decided to bring up the subject now that he had mentioned it. Jake should have his research completed soon and if nothing else, Rose could compare Jason's story to Jake's research.

Rose smiled at his goofiness and continued the subject. "So, you grew up near here, then?"

"Yep," Jason popped the p with aching familiarity. "I grew up on a council estate not far from here. Me, me mum, dad and older brother, Braxton. Was a right terror as a kid, me. Surprised I ever made it out of here. Followed my brother into the military as soon as I could sign up; not sure where I would have ended up otherwise." His expression sobered a bit and Rose reached a comforting hand out to squeeze his arm.

"Spent eight years in service of our country. My brother was killed in action and I decided I was ready to get out then and move on with my life. I enrolled at the University of Manchester and finished my degrees in record time and was invited to stay on as a professor. Met my wife, Lynda, there; she was a teaching assistant of mine." He paused briefly to inhale a big breath of air. "Then one day she shows up to work after a few days off and I notice evidence of bruises and scrapes that are partially healed. Didn't take long to get her to fess-up; persistent, me," he smiled triumphantly before continuing. "She'd been beaten by her abusive boyfriend when he found out she was pregnant. He claimed she had cheated on him but the truth was that he was usually too drunk to remember." He growled before we continued.

"I couldn't stand to see her like that. She had been one of the brightest students I'd had and I knew she was destined for great things, but after that, she was a ghost of her former self. It killed me to think that the prat had taken her spirit from her. I wanted help, so I asked her to marry me. Probably was a bit brash, but I knew I could protect her and the baby, and help her rediscover the brilliant mind I knew had in there." He paused again, staring off into nothing before he shook himself and continued.

"We had only been married a couple of months when she was killed in the cybermen attacks. She was seven months pregnant with a little girl. She had just started to return to the spirited, brilliant young woman I had first gotten to know." Rose and Jason sat quietly for a few minutes. Rose felt a tear run down her cheek and wiped it away before breaking the silence.

"I'm so sorry." Rose twined her fingers between his and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"Thanks. In all honesty, looking back at it all, we hardly knew each other, but I had hoped that with time, we would grow to love each other. And I wanted to be a father for that little girl." He paused for a long time and Rose wondered if he was finished. She was curious about his parents and asked as much.

"My parents? They died while I was away at war." After another minute in silence, Jason looked over at Rose and managed a small smile. "I guess loss becomes more a part of our lives as we get older. Just a fact of life. Like the turn of the Earth and the births and deaths of stars and planets." Jason gripped Rose's hand tighter, finding comfort in her touch. "What about you? I imagine your life as an heiress has been pretty easy."

Rose shook her head and proceeded to tell Jason her story, at least the public story they had created when she arrived in this universe. It was so much like her own, but just different enough to work with her sudden appearance. She, Pete, and Jackie had worked hard to make sure her back story let her keep so much of her identity from the Prime Universe. "I haven't always been Jackie and Pete Tyler's heir. They gave me up for adoption when I was a baby. Pete was struggling to start his business and Mum wasn't ready to be a mother. I was adopted and grew up on a council estate in London. My adopted dad died when I was young and my adopted mum raised me by herself. When she died in the cybermen attacks, I went searching for my birth parents. When I found them, they took me in immediately. I guess the cybermen stuff caused them to shift their priorities a bit and realized that having a family was important after all. My little brother, Tony, was born not long after that." Rose glanced over at Jason to see his attention rapt on her story. She swallowed and took a deep breath, steeling herself to continue. The happiest and worst moments of her life were about to be shared.

"I met my husband, John, a couple of years before the invasion. He was brilliant and traveled the uni…. …. world helping others and he invited me to come along and help him. He was my best mate and then we got separated and lost each other. I knew I loved him before that, but I regretted not being able to tell him in person. Then one day, we were reunited during a Torchwood mission. He confessed his love for me when the mission was over and we knew we weren't going to waste any more time not being honest with each other about our feelings. Our daughter was born 3 years later. Samantha was as brilliant as her father – so smart and creative. She always kept us on our toes." Rose smiled remembering John and Samantha in a way that she hadn't let herself do in a long time. Before she could stop them, the tears started to flow and Rose took a few deep breaths before continuing.

"Two years ago, we were on our way home from dinner with my parents and Tony. It was raining and a lorry lost control and slammed into our car. I don't remember anything for a month after that. The doctors said they both died instantly; it was a miracle that I survived, much less with only a couple of scratches and bruises." Rose looked down at her bare arms at the long-disappeared evidence of the accident. This time, it was Jason's turn to take Rose's hand and offer comfort through touch. They sat in silence, absorbing solace and support from each other without words to get in the way. Their shared experiences of loss bonded them stronger than anything else they might have in common.

A cool evening breeze picked up and Rose shivered at the drop in temperature. Her subtle movement shook them both out of their thoughts. Jason stood and offered his coat to Rose and they walked back to the car, allowing the silence between them to speak volumes. When they reached Jason's car, Jason bent down to open Rose's door but stopped short. He straightened up and stood close enough that Rose could feel his breath on her face. Rose wondered what he was going to do next when he opened his mouth to speak. "Thank you for coming with me tonight. I haven't felt so comfortable with someone in a very long time."

Rose smiled gently at Jason and leaned in to place a soft kiss on his cheek. She moved back slightly and barely managed to whisper "I feel the same way. Thank you." After another pause, Jason reached the rest of the way to open the door and assist Rose into the car.

They drove in silence back to the hotel. At some point during the brief trip, their hands met in the middle and rested next to the gear shift. The softness of the moment was broken when Jason pulled up to the hotel and parked the car. He exited and walked quickly to the other side to help Rose out of the car. Their hands found each other's automatically as they walked into the lobby. They stopped near the lift and Jason spoke first.

"I have a lab first thing tomorrow, but I'm free the rest of the day. If you'd like, you can meet me after that and I can give you a tour of the University," he suggested shyly, tilting his head slightly to look at the floor.

"I'd like that," Rose replied, happy for another opportunity to spend time with Jason. Jason squeezed her hand and leaned in for another chaste, but enthusiastic kiss on her cheek as he bounced on the balls of his feet.

"Fantastic!" He exclaimed. "I'll text you in the morning with the time and location. Good night, Rose."

"Good night, Jason"

This time, it was Jason who lingered, watching as Rose entered the lift and the doors close behind her.