We're All Going To London ... To Buy Heat Magazine!

bonjourno! not long to go know until the end (: and then it's the sequel!
anyway, i hope you likey. and for the record: i have been to london,
and i bought a heat magazine. for those in the uk, you'll know the advert!
(p.s. cookie to whoever spots the line i kinda ripped off from friends ... xD)

"Overnight bag?"

"Check."

"Handbag?"

"Check."

"Amber's stuff?"

"Check."

"All four of us?"

"Check."

"That copy of Heat?"

"Oh, for God's sake. Yes, check!"

The Doctor smiled as he looked around the room that had been his home for all of forty-six hours, if that. Rose was dressed in extra clothes that she'd brought with her in her overnight bag, Amber was in the cutest little white babygro known to mankind, and Martha was in the same clothes she'd had on for about three days now. She'd been moaning for the past hour and a half that all she wanted was a nice, relaxing bath. They'd agreed - well, Martha has insisted - that Martha would return home for the time being, so that the family could settle in by themselves. Rose and the Doctor promised that they would pop in so Amber could see 'Auntie Martha' whenever they were in London.

Rose had been cleared for discharge an half hour ago, so they'd spent the time clearly up their mess that they'd managed to accumulate over the past two days. It was surprisingly a lot of mess, since they'd been basically living there for the entire time, unlike others, who'd been able to go home. There were magazines of all kinds, newspapers, food wrappers and countless coffee cups strewn across every surface. The Doctor, obviously, didn't want to leave Rose's (or Amber's, once she'd been born) side and Martha wasn't exactly sure where they'd parked the TARDIS, so they'd all ended up in Rose's (thankfully spacious) hospital room.

And now they were ready to depart. Rose had checked everything off on the list as the Doctor read them out, and Gadney was standing by the door to see them off. They'd developed a nice friendship with the midwife, she could talk (almost) as much as the Doctor and always stayed for a chat when she came to check up on Rose and Amber.

Rose embraced the midwife, thanking her profusely for all that she'd done over the last couple of days. The Doctor gave her a one-handed hug, as he carried Amber in her comfy car-seat (even though they didn't have a car, Rose deemed it safer and easier than carrying her around all the time, especially in the TARDIS) that they'd bought before the birth. It had been safely in TARDIS storage, along with all the other things they'd bought Amber.

Gadney smiled as the group left, giving directions to the nearest exit - the hospital was huge, and Rose had sworn a few times in the last two days - when she was screaming her head off - that it was the size of south London.

The group walked through the corridor that Gadney pointed them down, before they came to a crossroads of three different corridors.

"She did said right, didn't she?" Rose said, peering down the right hand corridor.

"I thought she said left," the Doctor said.

"Straight ahead, wasn't it?" Martha said confidently, pointing ahead of them.

"I'm sure she said right."

"It's like a bloody maze, this place," Rose said, shaking her head and wishing she'd grabbed a pen and paper when Gadney had been speaking.

"Well … let's go left, shall we?" the Doctor said, striding confidently out to the left and through the double doors that was there. Rose and Martha shared a look, eyebrows raised, and sure enough twenty seconds later the Doctor came back out the double doors with a sheepish look on his face.

"It's a … it's a dead end," he said quietly, rubbing the back of his neck with the one arm that wasn't carrying Amber's car seat.

Rose smirked. "Right, wasn't it?"

The quad set off right, and after working their way around a maze of corridors, dead ends and wards, they eventually found the ground foyer that was about the size of Chiswick itself.

The Doctor was walking quite confidently towards a set of exit doors, so Rose and Martha followed, taking in the sights of an alien hospital. Rose had been in too much pain to really appreciate it before.

"Ahh! Home!"

The Doctor's voice floated backwards towards the women, and they could see the TARDIS was parked in what seemed like a car parking space - although these 'cars' had seven wheels and seemed to be two storeys high.

"Doctor," Martha said, frowning at the TARDIS. "You've parked on a disabled space."

Sure enough, just behind the TARDIS, was something that vaguely resembled an Earth disabled parking sticker.

"Ah well, what they gonna do, clamp us?" the Doctor replied, gesturing for Rose to open the TARDIS doors as he had his hands full.

Rose snorted as she took the key off the chain from around her neck and opened the door to the TARDIS. The Doctor carried Amber in, smiling.

"Well, Amber, this is home," he said. "Not exactly the most decorative, but it's by far the best. Don't really want a decorative home, do you, Amber? Nah. Wait 'til you see your Gran's. Then you'll be put off decoration for life. Way too much paisley."

Amber made some squeaking sounds in response to her Dad's ramble.

"Don't try and turn her against my Mum already, Doctor," Rose said, eyebrows raised.

"Wouldn't dare," the Doctor smirked, handing Amber's car seat to Rose so he could punch in the coordinates for Martha's.

Martha looked around the TARDIS with a wistful eye. She would be sad to leave this beautiful, wonderful, amazing and completely mental spaceship she had called home for the brief time she'd been on board.

She'd had the time of her life here, with these people. She would miss them even more than she'd miss the spaceship and the aliens and the new planets and the running. Definitely a lot more than the running.

They'd been more than happy for her to stay with them, but Martha just felt wrong staying. She had a feeling within her, a feeling familiar to overstaying your welcome at a party. She had to leave, she knew it was the right thing to do. But doing the right thing isn't always the easiest. It would be hard to go back to her normal life, Martha knew, back to work and chips and TV and Saturday nights down the pub.

She glanced over the new parents, ooh-ing and aah-ing over their newborn. Yes, it was the right thing to do. They needed to have some space, to get used to life with another person.

And to be honest, Martha didn't fancy being awoken at random times in the middle of the night with Amber's crying.

Not to mention the Doctor and Rose wouldn't probably be the best people to live with for a few months, due to said crying. Although, on second thoughts, Martha decided that it would just be Rose that would be kind of difficult. The Doctor seemed to get by on little to no amounts of sleep whatsoever, so having a newborn baby crying at all hours of the night would probably be a walk in the park for him.

Pity he wasn't the one that actually needed to be awake. Poor Rose.

Martha perched herself on the captain's chair, taking in everything that was going on around for the final time. The Doctor was trying to plead with Rose not to go straight to her mother's house from dropping Martha off, but Rose was having none of it. Martha smiled. Quite right too. She'd never met the infamous Jackie, but she reckoned that she'd be a firecracker. She'd raised a pretty amazing daughter - after all, not everyone can handle travelling with an alien, loving said alien, saving alien worlds and carrying an alien child after all - and from what Martha had heard Jackie had done it single-handedly as well.

Martha liked to think that if she ever met her, she'd buy her a drink and tell her what a wonderful job she did raising her daughter.

She left the family and went to retrieve her suitcase from her room. She'd been preparing for this. It was only, really, a matter of time before she said goodbye to her life here.

"We don't have to tell her. We can sneak off and introduce Amber to Orion Nine. She'll never know. We'll just say we came straight away."

Rose rolled her eyes. "No. Do you know how fast babies grow? Mum'll notice if we go back with a two-week old baby instead of a day-old one."

"No, she won't," the Doctor mumbled, despite knowing full well that she would.

Rose whacked around the head with the well thumbed copy of Heat.

"Ouch!" He cried, clutching his head. "Don't be violent in from of Amber. Already bad enough she's destined to inherit the Tyler Slap without picking up on needlessly violent tendencies from her mother as well."

Rose just stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh. Really mature, Rose. Twenty-one, and a mother, and your best comeback is that. Mature," he repeated, shaking his head as he walked around the console.

Martha came into the console room, small bag in hand.

"Gosh, feels like I'm leaving home all over again," she commented, wiping her eyes as Rose enveloped her in a hug.

The coordinates set, the Doctor took Amber's car seat from Rose so that she could wrap both arms around Martha comfortingly.

"We're here," he said softly, leaning back against the console.

Martha extracted herself from Rose's arms, and walked over to the Doctor. "C'mere, you," she said, and the Doctor laughed as he found himself being thoroughly hugged by Martha. She released him, and sighed as she turned to little Amber. "I'll see you soon, little one, yeah? Mummy and Daddy better not let leave it too long before I see you again!" Martha cooed, shooting a friendly warning glance at the Doctor and Rose.

"Oooh, we wouldn't dare," the Doctor said, sounding scandalized. Rose socked him in the arm.

Martha picked up her bag, and sighed. "If I don't go now, I won't go at all," she said, and after one last hug from Rose, she walked down the ramp and left the TARDIS, only stopped once to wave back at the couple who stood at the doors, a tear rolling down Rose's cheek as she said goodbye to her dear friend. Even though she'd be able to see her whenever she pleased, it just wasn't the same as having Martha around all the time to have girly chats over cups of tea, or watch The OC re-runs with.

"We'll go and see her again soon, yeah?" the Doctor said, noticing Rose's tears. She nodded silently as he put his arm around her, kissing the top of her head comforting. She walked up the ramp towards the console, and he closed the doors on Martha's home.

"I'm surprised she hasn't been camped out here to greet us," the Doctor said as he poked his head out of the TARDIS, as they landed on the Powell Estate, in the same courtyard they always do.

"She's probably heard the engines, though," Rose commented, zipping up her leather jacket. "She'll be here in no time. What day have we landed?

"A Tuesday. I think. No - definitely a Tuesday. We always seem to land on Tuesdays."

The Doctor opened the doors and walked out, Amber's car seat in one hand and Rose's hand in another. Swinging from Rose's shoulder was a baby bag, full of nappies and bottles and everything else they would need. She was breastfeeding, but she did want to be able to get some sleep - especially with their lifestyle.

Jackie wasn't anywhere, and Rose was frowning. "Is my Mum's hearing going?"

"Is that the only reason you can think of as to why she isn't out here snogging me already? Can't say I'm disappointed that she isn't."

Rose squeezed his hand, but laughed anyway. "Yep," she said, as they made their way carefully up the stair towards Jackie's flat. "I'm slightly worried."

As Rose's hand came up to knock, the Doctor's hand reached out, quick as a flash, and caught her wrist, stopping her from knocking. "What?" she said, frowning.

"Shh!" he said, and put a finger to his lips.

Jackie's warbled singing was clearly heard through the door. 'You are the dancing queen, young and sweet only seventeen … da da, da da, da da! See that girl, watch that scene, here comes the dancing queen …' She sang, moments before she blasted the hoover on.

"So that's why she didn't hear us," Rose said, nodding in understanding as she banged on the door loudly to be heard over the Dyson.

"I can see where you get your singing talent from," the Doctor joked, laughing as he got elbowed by Rose - just as Jackie threw open to the door.

"Rose! My darlin'!" she said, not paying any attention to Rose at all. All her focus was on Amber.

The Doctor walked into her flat and handed Jackie the car seat. "Jackie, your granddaughter."

Jackie carefully unbuckled Amber from her car seat, and cradled her gently. "Oh, Rose, she's just gorgeous. All her Mum," Jackie said, winking at Rose.

The Doctor huffed loudly as he sat down on the sofa, feet perched on the coffee table. "Making it seem like I had nothing to do with it!"

Jackie smiled as she stood behind the sofa. "There is only one person she could have got all this bloody hair from!" she said, ruffling the Doctor's hair from behind. True, Amber's hair was as out of control (and as brown) as her father's.

Amber's little blue eyes blinked up at her Gran, and Jackie smiled. "So, Amber, yeah?" she said, stroking her granddaughter's little cheek gently.

"Amber Rose," the Doctor said, leaning his head against the back of the sofa.

Jackie looked up. "Whatever was wrong with Jacqueline? I called your middle name after my Mum, Rose," Jackie said, looking a little put out.

The Doctor shrugged. "We'll call the next one Jacqueline."

"The next one?" Rose exclaimed, shaking her head. "You're on your own for that one, mate."

"What?" the Doctor mouthed, "Just trying to keep the peace."

"It's fine," Jackie said, not looking away from Amber. "I'm just glad she's healthy and whole."

There was a few moments of silence, as Jackie took in her granddaughter and the Doctor and Rose just rested after a few days of mania.

"Do you think her eyes are just gonna stay blue?" Jackie asked quietly, catching Amber's tiny gloved hand.

"I dunno," Rose said honestly, leaning back against the Doctor as she watched her Mum with her daughter. "I haven't got blue eyes, and neither has the Doctor. Maybe they will, or maybe they'll go hazel like mine. Or really brown like yours," she said, the last part looking up to the Doctor as he looked down at her. "But I really dunno."

"I really love your articulation skills, you know that, Rose?" the Doctor said, playing with a strand of blonde hair.

"You're just as bad," Rose said, laughing.

"Too much time spent with you," he said, tickling her nose with the strand of her hair he was playing with.

Jackie laughed. "I'd rather you went a little bit less posh that suddenly Rose came back with 'airs an' graces' and 'talking like one is going to Buckingham Palace'," Jackie said, putting on a posh voice that wasn't actually that false-sounding.

"Hmm. Not bad, actually, Jackie," the Doctor said. "You could pass for a lady-in-waiting."

"Oi!" Jackie said, but she soon laughed as well. "I couldn't be posh if my life depended on it," she said, bouncing little Amber up and down. "I wouldn't wanna be anyway. Except for the money, 'cause who's gonna refuse that? But all the rest? They could stuff it. I'm much happier here," she said, smiling down at her granddaughter and missed the look that Rose and the Doctor exchanged.

"Anyway," she continued, "I'mma put some dinner on. Fish and chips all right for you two?" she said, reluctantly handing Amber back to her mother.

The Doctor nodded.

Jackie's voice floated out from the kitchen. "Have you two got everythin'? Like nappies, and bottles, and clothes?"

"Yes!" Rose said.

As the Doctor said, indignantly, "We're not completely hopeless, y'know."

The Doctor turned to Rose, frowning. "I like how she seems to think we're completely incompetent parents when we've actually only been parents for less than forty-eight hours. You can't judge someone's parenting skills in that short period of time."

"I wasn't judgin' your parentin' skills," Jackie said, coming back through with tea and biscuits. "Fish an' chips is in the oven, should be about half an' hour. But like I said, I wasn't judgin'. I was just sayin'. 'Cause you two are always gallivantin' off around the universe, I didn't know if you were prepared or not."

The Doctor smiled. "Thanks for your concern, Jackie, but I think we've got everything."

"Cot? changing table?"

The Doctor frowned, then tugged on his ear. "We've got that, but they aren't put up yet."

Jackie beamed. The Doctor frowned. "Well, you can stay here tonight, I'll get Rose's old cot - "

"You still have that?" Rose said disbelieving. "I'm twenty-one! Surely you've thrown it out by now!"

"No, I kept it just in case. You never know when these things might be handy," Jackie said, "And I'll get that out and you can stay 'ere! And you can put that cot up tomorrow."

"Okay, yeah. That sounds good, doesn't it, Doctor?" Rose said.

"I'm guessing I have no choice," the Doctor groaned, getting comfy. He was in for a long night. He grabbed Rose's handbag - Rose and Jackie exchanged glances - and rooted through it until he found the copy of Heat they'd been carrying around with them. "What? We bought it when we were buying milk. Best entertainment I'll be getting tonight."

"Don't be so cheeky," Jackie said, although she seemed to be amused rather than insulted. She was getting used to his whinging - Jackie just took it as a back-handed compliment. He never usually made a lot of fuss about saying, usually just a few choice words here and there. He might be alien, but he was still like any normal bloke she knew. But Jackie knew that if he really minded about staying, nothing would stop him from walking out the door - and he hadn't even made a step in that direction. Just sat on the sofa, alternating between staring at Rose and gazing at Amber.

Big softie.

And if Jackie had anything to do with it, they wouldn't be leaving any time this week.