Pete was having none of it, saying in a different interview that the future of Vitex was for his family. So Rose had been asked how she felt about the possibility of it being passed to her but she had declined to comment. She had met with Pete one night after work when the papers wouldn't leave it alone.
"I told ya Dad, I don't want it," Rose was insisting.
"Well none of my current rivals are getting it," Pete still insisted as he looked at Jackie.
"Don't let it just go Pete," she told him.
"The only thing I can do is hold off until I feel the time's right," Pete relented. "That's my final decision. Until then Rose, the news will soon die down about you being the Vitex heiress."
"I hope you're right," Rose had to agree. "I don't know what Jamie thinks about it, he's not said. He's just about got over us announcing we're dating."
"Well he'd best get used to it," Jackie told her.
"I'm staying at his place again this weekend," Rose then admitted.
"Well don't let any reporters catch ya sneakin' out," Jackie warned her.
"Well they don't know where he lives, do they Mum?" Rose asked her. "Well they'd better not anyway. I'll have to dash, he's picking me up in half an hour."
"Well call if ya gonna be late back," Jackie insisted.
As Rose left, Jackie questioned Pete about Rose's choice in boyfriends.
"Do ya think he's the right one for her Pete?" she wanted to know.
"Jackie, it's down to her, she has to decide," Pete reminded her. "I told you, I didn't hire him because of who he looked like, I never thought either of them would be back. Mickey never said anything to Jamie about who he looked like, there was never any need."
"Then how did ya explain Mickey going to stop the Cybermen?" Jackie wanted to know.
"Jamie had nothing to do with that. Mickey was just part of the advance team, as far as anyone else was concerned. Rose never went to Torchwood except for the time you both arrived. The lever room was just about the only place not cleared, there was no rush," Pete explained.
"Ya could have fooled me," Jackie laughed. "That and the underground garage were all we saw."
"There was no need," Pete told her. "Our priorities were to get up and running and to make sure the Cybermen didn't come back. I trusted The Doctor to take care of the other end but by leaving the lever room as it was, it meant nothing could get through from anywhere else. While Rose was away, we cleared it all out and made it into the cannon room by adapting the devices we used before."
"Well as long as she's happy I suppose?" Jackie replied. "Do ya think it'll make any difference to him, her being suddenly famous?"
Pete let out a laugh.
"Come on Jackie, it'll give him a chance to show off."
Jamie had taken Rose to a local wine bar and he was trying to get her to stay over at his place on Friday night as well.
"Come on Rose, then we can go somewhere on Saturday as well," he was trying to convince her. "Or if you want, we could maybe go somewhere for the weekend?"
"Jamie, slow down will ya?" she tried to tell him. "Okay, I'll stay over on Friday then but let's work up to going away for the weekend?"
"Fine. Why don't you think of somewhere then? You're always saying you enjoyed that Saturday night out the other weekend though. How about seeing another play, maybe Shakespeare? We could go to his home town, see it done properly?" he suggested.
"In a couple of weeks then?" Rose agreed as she sipped her white wine and lemonade.
"Are you planning on going when your favourite actor's appearing there?" he teased her, making Rose blush. "Ah, I caught you out, Miss Tyler," he laughed as he nudged her. "Okay, have a think about it then?"
By the time the weekend came around, Friday morning, Rose was almost late for work as she decided if she was going to pack for an extra night as one of the maids knocked on her door to say Pete was waiting to set off for work.
"Miss Tyler, your father said you'll have to get to work yourself if you're not downstairs in five minutes," she told Rose.
"Will ya ask him to just hang on?" Rose called out as the maid was about to close the door. "Tell him I'm just coming."
She threw another dress and nightwear into the small case and grabbed the rest of her things then saw Pete pacing the hallway as she went down the stairs.
"Sorry Dad. I was deciding if I was gonna stay at Jamie's tonight as well."
"Are you?" Pete queried, as he headed for the door. "You'd best tell your mother, I'll wait in the car. She'll not be happy if you just call her later."
"I know Dad. Can ya take my case for me?" Rose asked.
"How exactly are you going to explain carrying it to your office or haven't you thought of that?" Pete raised his eyebrows.
"Can I keep it in your car and get it later?" Rose asked hopefully.
"I suppose so, just don't make a habit of it eh? Decide what you're going to do Rose," Pete agreed. "You can get Jamie to collect my car keys at lunchtime so he can put your case in his car."
"Thanks Dad. I'd best go face Mum then? I hope she had no plans for tomorrow?"
"I knew it," Jackie was about to object. "Is that gonna be every weekend? What about spending time with your brother?"
"I'll talk Jamie into coming over with me some Saturday mornings and maybe some Sunday lunchtimes," Rose suggested.
How he'd take that, she had no idea but he had to understand that her family were important to her. They didn't talk much about it during the day, Jamie agreeing to getting her case but when it was time to leave, people were nudging each other.
"What's wrong with you lot, not seen anyone leaving an' holding hands?" Rose turned on them.
"Leave it Rose," Jamie insisted.
"Well haven't they got anything better to do on a Friday night?" Rose replied as they waited for the lift after signing out.
"We don't usually leave together on a Friday," Jamie reminded her.
"They'd best get used to it then," Rose told him, loud enough for anyone passing to hear.
"I see you're taking all this admitting who you are and the fact we're dating seriously then," Jamie joked as he saw Jake.
"Rose!" Jake called out just as the lift arrived. "Don't go out the front way, there's loads of photographers out there."
"What?" Rose wanted to know as Jamie held the lift door open. "Can't ya get your men to clear them away?"
"They've already pushed them back but the press aren't on our property any more. Jamie, go around the back way," Jake suggested. "I thought ya gave interviews?"
"We did," Jamie told him, holding the door button and trying to get Rose into the lift. "What's your mother been saying now?"
"Hey, how do I know?" Rose huffed at him.
"What are you two up to?" Jake grinned. "Leaving together?"
"Stop it Jake," Rose told him as the lift door closed, even though someone else was waiting.
"Hey, I wanted the lift, the man objected. "Who do they think they are?"
Jake thought the man must be the only one who'd not read a newspaper recently.
"The boss's stepdaughter and her boyfriend?" Jake offered as he walked off.
Once at Jamie's car, he opened the grill with the remote he had and turned right instead of left, leading them to a side road, missing the press, who were getting impatient.
"I hate to think what they'll make up by Monday morning," Rose admitted.
"Hey, forget it Rose, I'll have to get used to it. There's something I want to talk to you about before I take you out. I thought we'd go to this nice quiet candlelit place I've been meaning to take you to," he smiled at her through the mirror.
"Sounds important then?" Rose replied.
"It's not that bad," he tried to assure her.
Up in Sandbrook, Alec was now staying at a small hotel after having a blazing row with Tess and walking out the previous Sunday night. He'd gone to get the police to pay for it, annoying Tess even more when she was called by the personnel officer dealing with it that she'd no longer get the full amount of her housing allowance.
On the same morning Rose was deciding to stay all weekend with Jamie, Tess was complaining to Dave about it when she got back to her desk.
"Well at least you don't have to argue with him," Dave was telling her.
He thought maybe that was what she'd been enjoying though.
"Stop it Dave, he did it on purpose, didn't he?" Tess snapped at him. "Why didn't they tell me before then?"
"Maybe he told them not to?" Dave smiled as he glanced over at Alec, who was sat in his office.
Alec had thought why should he bother telling Tess, she'd find out soon enough and she'd have to learn to cut down instead of wasting her money on things she and Daisy didn't need. He'd decided that if Daisy needed anything urgently, then he would provide for her but that was all. Daisy hadn't taken it very well when he'd told her he'd moved out but she was still just about talking to him.
He was about to go get his lunch when she called him and he rang her back.
"Dad, are you coming to see me over the weekend?" Daisy wanted to know.
"How about I take you out tomorrow morning?" he suggested, so he could avoid Tess. "Do you need anything for school?"
"I'll think about it, will you pick me up?" Daisy wanted to know.
"Sure. We can have some lunch as well. Daisy, you do know my leaving is not your fault? I thought it would avoid all those arguments with your mother, so you won't have to listen to them."
"Dad, she still goes on about you," Daisy admitted. "Can't you try and get on?"
"I'm sorry Daisy, she won't even stop arguing with me at work," he admitted as he saw Dave making himself at home on the corner of Tess's desk.
"I'm trying to understand Dad," Daisy told him. "Mum's not helping though. See you tomorrow then?"
Alec agreed then got up to get something to eat, hoping Tess wouldn't decide to go at the same time and drag that boring Dave Harris with her. That was all he needed. Dave had picked up a magazine from under a pile of papers on Tess's messier than normal desk.
"You don't believe all that about Pete Tyler admitting he has a stepdaughter do you Tess?" Dave laughed.
"I'm not interested Dave. Daisy made me get it, then I decided she was too young to read it all. Really, why do they make these things appealing to teenagers?" Tess objected. "Daisy says all her friends at school went crazy when they found out those silly rumours were true, the head teacher should put a ban on such nonsense inside the school grounds."
"Tess, you can't stop kids talking," Dave laughed. "Don't you think it will all die down eventually? I'm glad I only have a boy."
"Well I hope it does die down, goodness knows what will happen if Rose Tyler decides to get engaged then get married, teenage girls are so impressionable these days. It's okay for Alec, he doesn't have to deal with it now," she nodded towards him as Alec left his office.
Alec knew he'd been spotted, like a rabbit in car headlights he thought. Nothing much got past Tess these days. He decided to go tell her he'd be calling for Daisy the next morning.
"Well I wish she had discussed it with me first," Tess wasn't pleased. "Maybe you can come early, to discuss my housing allowance being cut?"
"You're on your own with that Tess," Alec warned her. "Sit down and work out where you can cut down eh?"
"Well really," Tess huffed as Alec walked off.
Dave tried not to laugh, well not too much anyway but failed and Tess indicated for him to go away.
By early Sunday evening, Rose was deciding if she should go home or stay another night and face everyone talking about them at work again.
"Rose, let's just get it out of the way?" Jamie suggested. "They'll soon stop."
"I hope you're right," Rose replied. "It's been nice though," she had to admit.
"I told you it would be. Relax Rose, it can only get better," Jamie assured her as they stood at the patio window. "Maybe next Sunday, we can take a boat down the river for a few hours, have a picnic?"
"Mmm, sounds good to me," Rose agreed as she put her head on his shoulder.
"Ah, that means you agree to staying all next weekend?" Jamie smiled.
"You knew I would," Rose knew he was just teasing her. "Are ya now gonna tell me what ya wanted to talk about?"
"Oh, we never had that discussion, did we love?" he realised.
"Ya were stalling," Rose reminded him.
"Maybe on Friday night you were in a good mood and I wanted to take advantage of it?" he further teased her. "Relax Rose, it was nothing serious, it was only about you staying over. I just thought that maybe you'd want to keep some of your things here? I mean so you don't have to pack on Monday morning and get your stuff back home?"
"Wow? Seriously? I was almost late for work on Friday morning, dad nearly went without me," she admitted.
"Well, there you are then," Jamie looked at her. "Rose, you know I'm already in love with you?"
"You are?" Rose sounded surprised. "I mean are you? Jamie, I think I'm falling in love with you as well."
"Well staying over at weekends will help you decide, won't it love?" he suggested. "How about next weekend, we go off and stay over Saturday night and spend the rest of the time here? Would that help?"
"Yeah, that sounds nice. We don't have to go see a play Jamie," Rose looked up and smiled at him.
"Ah but I promised you love. Besides, I can take you on that boat ride, just down the river Avon instead of this one, then have dinner and see any play you choose. Rose, I want to show you just how much I do love you."
"I don't know what to say Jamie," Rose was lost for words.
"Just say you'll agree to go with me," Jamie replied.
He held his arms out to her and then held her tightly, kissing the top of her head.
"I think I'd like that," Rose agreed as she looked into his brown eyes.
"Then I hope to convince you that nothing the papers come up with about you or us is going to make any difference to how I feel about you. Now, do you want to go out to eat or shall we make something?" he asked. "First though, how much do you like the view of the river from here?"
"Why are ya asking?" Rose giggled. "What are ya up to Jamie?"
"Ah, that would be telling," he teased, hoping to entice her into staying more than the weekend in the very near future.
He had fallen for her in a very big way and no-one could accuse him of going after her status and money, since that had been established after they had dated several times. The only thing that remained was Rose telling him more about the man she'd left behind in her old world. Maybe she didn't want to be reminded of him though, was it fair to make her if she had fallen in love with himself the way he had fallen for her?
As Jamie predicted, they were ignored on Monday morning as they signed in and collected their ID badges but Rose had a message to go see Pete upon her arrival.
"I'll see you when you've finished love," Jamie told her as he kissed her cheek by the lifts.
"He's probably got a message from my mum 'cos I didn't go home last night," Rose tried to laugh it off.
Jackie had complained that Rose hadn't gone home but Pete had told her to call Rose herself, he had something else to discuss with her.
"Ah, Rose. Get yourself a coffee eh?" Pete suggested. "Guess who I had a call from last night?"
Rose shrugged her shoulders. She'd had a good weekend but wasn't in the mood for guessing who'd called her stepfather. Pete could see she didn't want to answer.
"Okay then. Mickey called me. Seems he misses the excitement of being a Torchwood agent. What do you think about him coming back? We could put him in charge of that project again, step it up a bit?" Pete suggested.
"It's up to you Dad. I work with Jamie, it's up to you where you place Mickey," Rose told him.
"Are you ever going to forgive him for telling you about Jamie?" Pete asked her.
"He was never very tactful, ask mum," Rose replied. "Geez, the things he used to come out with when he used to tag along with me and The Doctor," she recalled. "Why all of a sudden?"
"He's been working on his own, sort of freelance but mainly for UNIT. A Colonel Mace asked me for a reference, I could hardly say no just because you and Mickey fell out," Pete admitted.
"Fine, just tell him to stay away from me and Jamie then," Rose gave in.
"I'll advise him. Are you afraid he'll still say something?" Pete asked her.
"Of course I am Dad, what do ya expect? I don't want Jamie to think I'm with him because of that. He may be okay with it but I'm not gonna risk it."
"I don't blame you really Rose," Pete agreed. "Jamie will find out you two used to know each other though."
"I know that but I've not seen Mickey for a long time, ya know that," Rose replied. "I don't have to be friends with him again, do I?"
"That would be a shame Rose. At least tell Jamie you knew each other back home eh?" Pete asked her. "I'll warn your mother shall I?"
"Yeah and tell both of 'em not to mention that Christmas or Jamie might leave me for good," Rose reminded him.
She went to join Jamie, who had started going through some notes from the week before.
"Ah Rose. I was just considering something. How do you fancy visiting some sightings of alien artefacts?"
"Really?" Rose handed him a drink from the coffee maker. "Hey, that would be great. Where are we talking?"
"Just around here for now but as more are found, maybe travelling around a bit? Won't that be exciting love?" he grinned.
"How soon would that be? I mean we were gonna try long weekends together," Rose reminded him.
"We'd come home for the weekend love," he replied, patting his legs for her to sit on them. "Well until we start going further away. By then, who knows? I might have talked you into moving in with me full time."
"Oh you will, will you?" Rose decided to tease him for a change.
"Oh, you mean you didn't know the weekends were going to lead to that eh?" Jamie went along with her. "Did I get the wrong message?"
Rose let a smile creep across her face.
"Ha! Gotcha there," she laughed. "Is that what ya intended then why didn't ya just say so?"
"I didn't want you to run away Rose," he admitted. "You were reluctant staying a few extra nights."
"Sorry, it's just all new to me," she replied. "It's all happened so fast."
"You noticed?" he laughed as Rose put her arm around his shoulder. "I'll pick you up later and we'll talk about it."
"Yeah okay. Dad wanted to tell me that someone's coming back. Remember Mickey?"
"Yeah, he left as you arrived. You knew him then?" Jamie asked her.
"Yeah. Jamie, he comes from the other universe, same as me and my mum. He helped defeat the Cybermen. He stayed here when me and The Doctor went back."
"Then I thought he would have been pleased you were here?" Jamie replied.
"He was, then we fell out. It's personal, sorry, I don't like to talk about it."
"Rose, you don't have to tell me, don't worry," Jamie assured her. "Forget about it. I'm sure you can avoid him?"
"I hope so, it's up to dad if he lets Mickey back or not," Rose told him.
"I'm sure Pete will bear it in mind if he takes Mickey back. Now, Miss Tyler, back to work eh?" Jamie smiled, going for a kiss. "I'll talk to him about us going where the artefacts are, instead of us waiting for them to come to us."
It went better than either of them thought when Pete agreed that Torchwood would fund any extra costs for them to attend where specially trained agents were working at uncovering items found with adapted metal detectors. So a few weeks later, after a weekend away as Jamie had promised, they were on their way to Devon as some unusual items had been uncovered.
Rose thought it was rather like being with The Doctor again but she couldn't say anything about it to Jamie. After their first week, they were about to make their way home again on the Friday afternoon. The agent in charge, called Simon had been warned by Jamie to stop watching Rose as she worked with a fine brush to get all the bits of soil off a strange object that was to be sent back to London. So now, he'd had enough as they stopped work.
"Oh come on Smith, everyone's staring at her," Jamie had been told. "Everyone knows who she is."
"That's still no reason," Jamie had objected. "And that's Doctor Smith to you, I'm in charge here now, ask the director. You'd do well to remember that."
"I was told you'd be working with us, that's all," Simon had reminded Jamie. "I was told nothing about you taking over."
"Well I suggest you call Mister Tyler then and if you don't like it, he'll send someone else on Monday," Jamie had told him. "Rose is my girlfriend so stop watching her Bailey,"
"She's with you?" Simon had then laughed. "I thought she worked for you?"
"What gave you that idea?" Jamie wanted to know.
"The way she runs after you? So that's why? Still, I suppose that's an advantage?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Jamie had suddenly stood tall, Rose taking notice.
"Don't blame you Smith, having the little girlfriend fetching and carrying for you," Simon had laughed.
All of a sudden, Jamie had grabbed the other man by his shirt collar and Rose had grabbed another male agent and they'd run over to the two men.
"Jamie, what's going on?" Rose had asked him, Jamie still holding on. "Let go of him."
"Not until he apologizes," Jamie had replied.
"Me, apologize?" Simon had laughed. "Not a chance Smith. Now let me go or I'll call the director myself."
"Hold on, what are you two fighting over?" Rose tried again.
"Nothing Rose, I can handle this," Jamie still insisted, slackening his grip slightly as Simon tried to get him to let go.
"Well tell her," Simon mocked Jamie.
"Tell me what Jamie?" Rose had asked him. "If you two don't stop, I'll call my stepfather myself," she'd warned them both.
So Jamie backed off slightly, Simon straightening his shirt collar.
"This isn't over Bailey," Jamie warned the other man. "You had better change your attitude over the weekend or I'll have you removed. I'm in charge as long as I'm here, got it? Come on Rose."
"Geez, what was all that about Jamie?" Rose wanted to know.
"I didn't like his attitude," was all he'd wanted to admit.
How could he say it made him angry the way the other man had been looking at the way Rose was dressed and the way she was stood when she was working. It even drove him mad and he spent all night having sex with her and waking up with her tangled up in his long legs, a mouth full of her hair that always smelled of strawberries and the way she almost got him going as he was about to wake up if she didn't move first. If she wasn't fast enough when she felt him, they were almost late for work.
Sometimes he swore she did it on purpose and though he couldn't always see, he bet she had a wicked smile on her face because she'd be giggling into his shoulder as they both let the feeling wash over them.
Rose snapped him out of it as they entered the hotel.
"Forget it Jamie, we're going home, you can cool down over the weekend. What did ya pull him up like that for?"
"You really want to know?" he asked as they were halfway up the stairs. "I love you Rose, it drives me crazy if another man looks at you the way he was looking at you."
"Jamie, I love you too but I never saw him. No-one's gonna turn my head. There's only you," she tried to assure him. "You're so cute ya know, when ya look so moody and when ya shake ya hair. Then when ya fold ya arms and raise one of your eyebrows," she started to smile as they reached the landing and he did exactly what she was describing.
"You know me so well," he began to relax. "I'm sorry love. Want to go home or stay here tonight?"
"We'd best go home. If we see that man, I might have to bail ya out of a jail cell if ya beat him up," she tried to be serious as they entered their room.
"I might deserve to be locked up if anyone went near you," he leaned down to kiss her. "I love you Rose. Let's move on somewhere else? Maybe go abroad? What do you say?"
Rose was about to say as long as she wasn't travelling in a blue wooden box, she would go anywhere with him.