Chapter Text
As the TARDIS faded into nothingness, Rose broke apart from the Doctor, her lips tingling from their kiss. Her hands were frozen in the brisk air but her cheeks felt burning hot. Jackie and Pete stood a little way apart from them, keeping a respectful distance. It would have embarrassed her once, to have her mother be present for such an intimate moment but they had all been through so much, it didn’t seem to matter now. Rose looked up at the Doctor and he returned her gaze. She didn’t know what to say.
He had sacrificed a life of time travelling and adventure…for her. A part of him would remain here forever, stranded on Earth while his other self, his core self, would explore the skies and stars. How could you give up all you have ever known just to settle down on one planet for the rest of your life?
The Doctor took her hand and his hand felt so familiar. He brushed her knuckles with his thumb.
“Home?” he asked her.
“Yeah,” she said.
Pete had a small, private plane sent for them. The Doctor grinned in delight at the expanse of it, the gleaming white metal crawling across the ground like a beached whale.
“Blimey, this is high class! You’re going up in the world, Pete.”
“I prefer the TARDIS.” Rose said, smiling. They shared that smile, a conspiratorial one. Although Pete and Jackie had spent time fighting the Cyber-Men and the Daleks alongside them, they had never fully grasped the awe-inspiring wonder of time travelling.
Pete exchanged a few words with the pilots and led the way to first class. Rose sank into a plush seat, leaning back and the Doctor flopped down beside her. Pete and Jackie sat down several seats away. Jackie immediately opened her purse and began fussing, searching for her water bottle and her eye mask and a dozen other objects, loudly asking Pete to stop messing around and help her look.
“She’s the same as ever. Good old Jackie.” grinned the Doctor.
Rose turned in her seat. “Yeah. A whole parallel universe, these crazy new inventions and technology and her biggest worry is still the latest celebrity gossip.”
“Ah, bless her. And…you said she had a baby?”
“Tony. He’s amazing. I’ll show you.” She thumbed her screen and it lit up. She set it to aeroplane mode and swiped through her photos. Her favourite was one taken at Christmas. Tony was a chubby baby, dressed in a Christmas pudding costume. His brown onesie was padded and he wore a little bonnet shaped like a sprig of holly and berries. He was sitting on Rose’s lap in the picture. Jackie had insisted she sit down. You might drop him! And Pete had chuckled and said He’s wearing so much padding, if you drop him he’ll just bounce down the street. It was a fun holiday memory, only slightly dampened by how lonely she had felt at times. She was delighted beyond belief for her mother’s happiness with Pete, but seeing them be so in love had made her long for company. She hadn’t attempted Tinder dates or any of the usual dating avenues. Her breakup with Mickey had taught her that no man could ever come close to the Doctor. It didn’t seem fair to try and meet men when she knew she would only disappoint them, unable to fully give them her heart.
The Doctor cooed at the photo and Rose melted. “He looks cheeky! I love babies. Do you have any baby photos of yourself? I’d love to see them.”
Love. He said that word so casually. Another way in which he differed from his other self. Rose bit her lip. “Not really. Most of our old stuff is back home — in the other universe, remember? But I might have some photos, yeah.”
“Ah.” He straightened up a little in his chair and she recognised the stiffening of shoulders, the thinning of his lips. Guilt. “Of course. You didn’t exactly have time to pack, the first time around. Just got swept up in this universe and—”
She laid a hand on his arm. “It doesn’t matter. Doctor, I’m happy here. Mum’s happy, too. She gets a second chance with Dad, it’s fantastic. I feel like this is where we’re all meant to be.”
His face softened and he was her smiley, happy Doctor again. “All of us?”
“Yes. You too.” She nudged his ribs with her elbow. “You’re part of the Tylers now.”
He mused on that for a moment. “Huh. I never thought of that. The whole name thing. Can’t keep calling myself Doctor, can I? Might need to slip back into an old alias…”
Pete must have heard them because he sauntered over and threw himself down on a seat near them.
“Don’t worry about any of that nonsense, Doctor. We’ll get you a new identity, alright?” he said, his rough cockney accent smoothed out by genuine sincerity and concern. “Fake passport, driving licence—”
“No need,” said the Doctor. He waggled a blank white card, framed in a slim leather case.
“Psychic paper!” Rose said, beaming.
“Nabbed it from…me while we were all distracted earlier. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.”
“Do you know what name you’ll use?” Pete asked.
The Doctor glanced at Rose.
“John Smith!” they said in unison and broke out into laughter. Pete grinned, bemused.
Rose dozed on and off during the plane ride. Warm and drowsy, her head stuffed with cotton, unable to grasp conscious thought. Each time she awakened, her eyes slid automatically to the side, to check the Doctor was still there. He was. Pete had leant him reading material, some book about brand recognition and marketing, it looked like. He raised his eyebrows at her and she smiled sleepily, slipping back into sleep. He was here. He wasn’t leaving her…
When they got home, Jackie immediately declared it was bedtime to prevent them from becoming jet-lagged.
“Doctor, I know you like to run on fumes but the rest of us mortals need beauty sleep, ok?”
“Oh, but Jackie, you’re beautiful enough!” the Doctor cried and she rolled her eyes.
“He can be charming when he wants to, can’t he?”
“You love me. You don’t slap me anymore so that’s something.”
“You slapped him?” Pete chuckled. “God, Jackie.”
“It was a long time ago and I didn’t know him!” she whined. “Ugh, I feel disgusting. I think I sweated off my makeup on the plane. I need to have a shower and put my cream on. Sleep well, darling.” She said, hugging Rose on the way to the stairs.
“Night, mum.”
Rose wondered what the Doctor thought of their house. The house, while large and roomy, showed signs of Pete’s and Jackie’s decorating styles. It had the kitchen, living room, three bedrooms and entertainment room but Pete also had a home office and a ‘man cave’ equipped with practically every video game console Pete could get his hands and a home bar filled with bottles of beer, spirits and wine.
Pete glanced between Rose and the Doctor. “So, Doctor, you’re here but your — your clone is out there, in the TARDIS? With that woman? Donna?”
The Doctor nodded.
“Is he ever coming back?”
“No,” said the Doctor quietly.
“Oh. Well, you know, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like. I didn’t know this was all gonna happen, if I’d known, I would have had my staff get a room put together for you—”
“No, Dad, it’s fine. He can stay with me,” said Rose, blushing furiously when her father’s eyes widened.
“Oh, right, yeah, of course. Um, goodnight, kids. I’d better scram — Jackie’s probably going to need me to help take her earrings off.” Pete said and left quickly.
“Kids,” The Doctor chuckled. “I’m old enough to be his grandad! His great-grandad.”
“You know what he's like. He means well. He’s really got used to the idea of…I don’t know.”
“Being a dad?”
“Yeah.” Thank God, the Doctor knew what she meant. It was such a complex situation and not one that she could ever truthfully tell to another soul. If she told a therapist that her dad wasn’t actually her dad but a parallel universe version of him, she would get prescribed some pretty heavy medication, for sure. But the Doctor understood her perfectly, as if he could read her mind.
“He said it felt right. And he said that when he looks at me, he can see that we’re the same, that we’re family.” She glanced up at him shyly and almost felt like crying. The tenderness in the Doctor’s expression made her want to cling onto him before she shattered into pieces. He looked at her like he understood. But then, she thought, the Doctor was a father, wasn’t he?
“Come on. I’m exhausted and I know your frail human body needs a rest too,” she said cheekily. She raced up the stairs and the Doctor chased after her.
Rose grabbed her shower caddy and her nightgown from her bedroom and got ready inher tiny, on-suite bathroom bathroom. She felt better after a shower and she had combed her hair and wiped off her makeup. She plunked her earrings down on the sink and eyed her reflection thoughtfully. She had changed since she and the Doctor had last spoken. She was a little older, a lot wiser and could handle a gun. She still helped out at Torchwood, and Pete was always asking her for advice on his little business ventures. Not that he needed help, he was doing just fine. But he probably did it to make her feel appreciated. It was so nice having a dad.
She heard the floorboards creak in the next room. The Doctor was already in there. In her bedroom. Damn it, why did she have to feel so nervous? He was her best friend and the love of her life. Being with him felt as easy as breathing. They had faced down hideous, man-eating monsters. She had stared a dalek in the eyestalk and felt no fear. Why was her heart hammering in his chest now? Why were her palms clammy? This was the Doctor. He would never talk down to her, cheat on her, hurt her. He wasn’t like normal, flawed humans. Yes, he had his issues but he had a limitless capacity for love and kindness in his hearts. His heart, she corrected. Still getting used to that. She dressed slowly, smoothing her silk slip down her legs. She normally wore fuzzy pyjamas, a pink set that her mother had bought her. But tonight, she wanted to look her best. She took a deep breath. On the other side of this wall was her soulmate, the man who had woken her up and given her life meaning. She was going to make tonight count.