A/N This story, which takes place after an AU deviation from Doomsday, has been on my to-write list for ages and is basically just an excuse for Ten/Rose UST. So if you're looking for something plottier, best move on now. ;) It will also be told from Rose's POV, keeping her guessing as to the Doctor's inner thoughts on certain aspects…until a particular point when it all becomes quite clear. And fair warning, the rating will eventually apply.

Chapter 1

A dazzling green light streaked across a moonless night sky, its trail shimmering like a string of blazing emeralds. The light descended and settled gently upon a serene expanse of water, the unearthly glow fading away.

A man and woman emerged from the thick fog that rolled off the lakeside scene, dressed in the traditional clothing of the planet upon which they had landed, as if they belonged. As if they were harmless.

"Planet Earth," the man pronounced, beholding his surroundings with an air of accomplished satisfaction.

"Our people's future," the woman beside him solemnly proclaimed.

The man turned to the woman at his side, linking his fingers with hers. "Perhaps in time we will possess the might and power to harvest and integrate the entire race."

She faced him, placing a fond hand on his cheek as she smiled. "Oh, Jarvis my love, always such ambition. But this is certainly the beginnings."

They fell silent as the sound of feet running swiftly down the lake's rocky shore was heard. The approach grew louder until a young man came into sight, skidding to a halt upon seeing them.

"Did either of you see that?" he panted, gesturing skyward. "It was so close! Some sort of light! Like…like a meteor, but…but this was different!"

The man and woman exchanged a secret smile.

"We didn't see a thing. I'm sure there's nothing to be concerned about."

-:-:-:-

Rose Tyler could summarize her life using two simple words: Never Boring. She helped save planets and civilizations as a full-time job, ran for her life on an almost daily basis, and her occasional downtime usually consisted of being held captive in one type of prison or another. It was life with the Doctor – mad, thrilling, dizzying and dangerous. And she wouldn't miss it for the world.

But once in a while, it was also nice to catch her breath. To relax. To re-center and reconnect with her human roots. There was really only one place in the entire universe where that could be achieved, and that place was home. Though she now considered her primary home to be a magnificent ship that traversed all of Time and Space, a part of her heart would always belong to planet Earth, South London, the Powell Estate and, specifically, her mum.

It had been close to a month since she and the Doctor had made a stop back on Earth to visit Jackie Tyler. Or near enough, at least. It was sometimes hard to keep track of time's linear progression when it came to a life of time travel.

The Doctor had, of course, carried out his obligatory whinging at the suggestion, offering a myriad of alternatives…

"Why visit plain old boring run-of-the-mill Earth when there are so many noteworthy sequels, Rose?! New Earth was just the tip of the iceberg. We've been to New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York, but have you stopped to consider all the in-between versions still to see? Oh! And then there's the lovely little planet known as Home Sweet Home. Literally, a place capable of recreating any home environment you desire. Brilliant! The telepathic interface scans your brain to dig out the needed info… What? Don't look at me like that, Rose. Have I ever steered you wrong? Hold on. Don't answer that. Annnyway, your homey little council flat could be recreated for you down to the very last detail. Including a holographic version of your mum! Mind you, that's not exactly a selling point. But still… A hologram surpasses the alternative…"

And so he'd rambled. Futilely. In the end, she'd won and he'd grudgingly agreed for a stopover at Jackie's. Despite the Doctor's show of anti-domestics, Rose suspected that he secretly enjoyed the visits to home. In his own dysfunctional way, he was a part of the family; and she knew it had been a very long time since he'd had anything close.

Part of the Doctor's current reluctance, however, might've been due to the trouble they had encountered during their last visit to Jackie's. The immense battle between the Daleks and Cybermen had been much too close a call. Yet the harrowing events that transpired were also part of the reason they owed Jackie a visit, considering the sacrifice she had made in choosing to remain here. She had given up the offer of a parallel world – with its readymade life and love – in order to remain with her daughter.

After the dust had settled and final choices had been made, Rose had asked the Doctor if there was a chance a doorway to the parallel world could ever open again. He'd explained that the walls of Reality would have to once again be compromised in order for that to happen, which was highly unlikely.

In her life with the Doctor, however, Rose had come to learn that highly unlikely meant fairly possible. It wasn't her wish for the divide between realities to be in danger. But a lone version Pete Tyler was still out there…and a lone Jackie Tyler was still here. Maybe traveling the limitless expanse of the universe had put a stroke of fantastical whimsy in Rose, but she liked to think the story of Peter and Jacqueline Tyler was far from over, no matter how unlikely another chance encounter might be – and despite her mum's final pronouncement on the matter.

"I've had twenty years without you, so button it! I'm not leavin' her."

Rose's heart warmed whenever she thought back on Jackie's fierce motherly devotion, but it shuddered over the darker details of that day. She still trembled when recalling those final perilous moments, and how the three of them had clung to the Magna-Clamps, she and her mum on the right and the Doctor on the left. If her mum hadn't been there to help hold her fast as Rose had reset the slipped lever, she didn't even want to think about the fate that might have otherwise befallen her.

The Doctor no doubt felt the same way in wanting to banish such a grim thought, and his reluctance over a return visit was likely due in part to his avoidance tendencies when it came to unpleasant memories. If that was the case, he needed to move on from the fear and memory of that fateful day. Plus, Rose figured even the Doctor needed some downtime now and then. The respite from running for their lives would likely do them both some good.

Rose was already looking forward to her mum's sheppard's pie as she assisted the Doctor in keeping the flux capacitor on an even keel as he piloted the TARDIS to 21st century Earth.

The routine trip was a little rougher than expected, though; and she had trouble just staying on her feet as they jostled their way out of the Vortex.

"Something wrong?" she called over to the Doctor, who was currently stabilizing a spindly lever with the toe of his trainer while stretching his lanky form to reach a square dial halfway across the other side.

"There seems to be a concentration of warp field…residue within this timestream," he replied with a distracted frown. "Passing through is giving the TARDIS a bit of indigestion."

"Residue?"

With a practiced kick, he flipped the lever he'd been stabilizing and lowered his foot. "Mmm."

"That another technical term?"

"Highly."

"So what's it mean?" she queried as he completed the landing sequence.

"Emissions from a Gamma-Four warp engine passed fairly recently through this same timestream, but its trail wasn't very clean. Relatively rudimentary technology, as warp engines go."

"Where'd it come from?" she asked next.

"Dunno. Sectors throughout the universe use Gamma-Four engine drives, so that doesn't exactly narrow the possibilities. And the field itself has now dispersed, leaving an obscured end point. But it passed very near to our same course, apparently. That's why we encountered the remains of the stream as we exited the Vortex. Whoever it was had a course set for Earth."

The jostling came to a stop, signaling their arrival. Rose momentarily put the anomaly at the back of her mind and was ready to go greet her mum, but the Doctor was already wholly absorbed in this new distraction. She inwardly sighed. So much for a little R&R.

She rounded the console and stood beside the Doctor at the monitor. "Do you think it's dangerous? Someone or something up to no good?"

"Hard to say," he absently responded.

"Well, over dinner we can ask Mum if she's heard of anything suspicious goin' on lately," Rose suggested, redirecting back to the reason they were here in the first place. After all, the possibility of aliens on Earth was far from a new occurrence at this point, and not necessarily a reason to go into Mauve Alert and jettison their immediate plans.

The Doctor looked up from the monitor, scowling. "Jackie Tyler is hardly on my list of credible sources of information," he replied dryly.

"Oi! That's my mum," she chastised. "Besides, all your alien tech isn't tellin' you anything definite, so it looks like you'll just have to take the 'domestic approach.'" She smirked at his grimace, then couldn't resist adding coyly, "But taking the domestic approach isn't always so bad. 'Cause if I recall, that's what you like about me."

"Weeell," he drawled, casually pocketing his hands and giving her an easy grin, "one of a great many things on my list of Rose-Tyler-Likability Factors."

Rose was momentarily taken aback by his frank declaration. "Thanks," she chuckled, blushing faintly. Her eyes then widened slightly. "Hold on…you actually have a list?"

"Mmm," he responded with an enigmatic little nod. "And growing at a healthy rate. Just added to it today, actually."

"So, umm…what made the list today?" Rose couldn't help but inquire, feigning nonchalance as she twisted a strand of golden hair around her finger.

The Doctor's eyes briefly dipped along with his voice. "Your jeans."

"Huh?" she intelligently responded, mouth slackening.

He cleared his throat. "They…compliment that particular maroon jumper you're wearing quite well. Very aesthetically pleasing. You, Rose Tyler, have superb fashion sense." He straightened his tie and sniffed. "That's a quality I myself both possess and appreciate."

She wasn't quite sure how she should respond, but likely wouldn't have to. The Doctor had a knack for dropping tantalizing tidbits of veiled adoration and then rapidly moving on. This time, however, the diversion that followed came from elsewhere.

Their attention was directed to the TARDIS' doors, the muffled voice of Jackie calling out on the other side.

"Oh, how many times have I gotta say it? Not in the bleedin' parlor, you plonker! How do I explain when guests come over about that daft box smack in the middle of the flat?"

The Doctor expelled a heavy breath. "Right. I'll just move the TARDIS down the street and be back in, oh…say…a day or two?"

"Coward," Rose snickered. She reached out and drew a reluctant Doctor by the elbow. "C'mon. You can re-park the TARDIS later. Time to say hello."

"Goodbye also has its merits," he mumbled, grudgingly trudging along behind Rose as they stepped out.

"Mum!" Rose greeted Jackie with an enveloping hug. "Oh, I missed you!"

Jackie hugged back with equal enthusiasm. "I missed you too, sweetheart. I don't get to see you enough by half these days, what with all your dashin' all over creation, gettin' up to heaven only knows what kinds of trouble."

"The bits in between, Jackie. The bits in between," the Doctor breezily commented as he ambled past. "Most days there's no trouble at all." Both women shot him a dubious look as he glanced back. "Weeell, I say 'most.' I suppose a more accurate word choice would be 'some.' Some days there's no trouble. Well, at least that can be said on occasion. Here and there. The odd day of no imminent danger comes along once in a while. Once in a long while, but still…"

"Doctor," Rose cut in. "I think you just proved her point."

"Well…" He scratched the back of his neck. "Happy to help when I can," he finished lamely.

Rose rolled her eyes, turning back to her mum. "That's sort of why we're here." Jackie's eyes grew wider. "Not 'cause there's trouble!" Rose was quick to assure her. "But 'cause there's not. I thought we could do with a bit of a break."

Jackie's face lit up. "A proper visit! And about time, too. Bev was just sayin' the other day, she said, when is Rose and that bloke of hers gonna come back 'round these parts? Always travelin' the pair of you. Flittin' in and out, hardly ever seen. People start to talk."

Rose cut her eyes to the Doctor, feeling the conversation take an awkward turn the moment he was casually referred to as "her bloke." Although, she couldn't deny feeling a little pleased on the inside by the assumption. But she suspected he was uncomfortable with the bestowed title, which suggested intimacy and domesticity in equal measure – two things the Doctor seemed to avoid like a tin of pears.

The Doctor didn't seem to take notice, however, having donned his specs and was now examining the telly with the look of The Oncoming Tinkerer. He'd no doubt have it in pieces within minutes.

"Since when does it matter what people say?" Rose responded with a shrug, settling onto the couch.

"Some things said are true, though. It ain't normal, the life you lead," Jackie expressed with disapproving concern, sitting down beside Rose.

"And you would know 'normal,'" came the slightly muffled, wry voice of the Doctor from behind the TV, proving that he was, indeed, tuned-in to the conversation. Bloody multitasker.

Jackie shot a glare at the spiky tufts of brown hair peeking over the appliance.

"I don't want 'normal,'" Rose replied earnestly, both for her mum and the Doctor's sake. She'd always made her feelings clear on this matter. "I want the life I have. I love the life I have."

Her mum looked unconvinced. "Just said yourself you needed a break."

"Everybody needs that now and then, no matter what it is they do. Besides, I wanted to come see you." Rose smiled and nudged her mum's shoulder.

Jackie smiled back, slightly mollified. "Well, at least come 'round with me to Bev's for tea while you're here. Prove you're not up the duff and keepin' it under wraps until himself over there musters the sense to make an honest woman of ya."

Rose immediately blushed, darting another look toward the (hopefully) distracted Doctor. "Mum, honestly! The things you say are completely mental sometimes."

"It isn't me," Jackie protested. "That's what some of 'em think around here."

The Doctor's face reappeared from behind the telly, chin propped thoughtfully on his arm. "Up the duff?" he repeated quizzically. "What's that? Some sort of primitive Earth slang? Seems I've heard it before, but there are so many to keep up with on this one little planet alone…"

Rose sank lower in the sofa cushions and groaned. "Forget that one. It doesn't matter."

"It does so matter," Jackie retorted. "If he hasn't given it enough thought to know what it means, that proves he's not given it enough thought to keep it from happening."

"It's not happening," Rose insisted.

"What's not happening?" came the Doctor's curious voice.

"It could happen," Jackie inserted.

"No, it couldn't," Rose stated with finality.

Jackie paused, looking between Rose and the Doctor. Her eyes widened. "You mean he can't–"

"Can't what?" the Doctor asked suspiciously.

Rose abruptly stood to her feet, ushering her mum along with her. "Right. Dinner. C'mon, Mum! I was looking forward to your sheppard's pie. I'll help you with it."

Jackie followed, but kept a curious eye on the Doctor as she left the room.

The two women ducked into the kitchen, and Rose turned toward her mum once they were out of earshot. At least Rose hoped they were out of earshot this time.

"Mum, I've told you before, the Doctor and I aren't like that. We're just friends. So leave it, alright?"

Jackie, as usual, looked unconvinced. "So you keep sayin'. But that's not what I see."

Rose shook her head. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

Though this fact brought an undeniable level of disappointment, Rose knew she and the Doctor had never been observed doing anything that would suggest their relationship was anything other than platonic.

"It's plain as day how it is with the pair of you. The way you look at him, the way he'd follow you anywhere, even here…"

"I care about him, yeah. And he cares about me. But not like that." Her mum snorted, unpersuaded. "He doesn't…do that, Mum."

Jackie's brows lifted toward her bleached fringe. "So you mean he really can't?" she asked in surprise.

"It's not that he can't…" Rose trailed off in thought. She'd always assumed he was physically capable, if he was that type. If things were different; if either was the same species; if a war had not been fought and planet and race had not been lost; if a curse of perpetual loneliness did not follow his every footstep; and if he showed half an interest in pursuing that sort of thing to begin with.

There were a lot of ifs stacked against it, but Rose never thought him incapable on a physical level. But in sad reality, she certainly had no proof of his theoretical capabilities. "That is…I s'pose he could in theory. Dunno, really. 'Cause we've never…you know…it's not something we…"

Jackie cocked her head to the side, genuinely curious. "Well, why not?"

Rose stared back at her in surprise. "Now you sound like you're actually encouraging it."

Jackie shook her head, reaching to assemble ingredients from the cupboard. "Lord knows an alien isn't my first choice for my daughter. I mean…the man's an alien, Rose!"

"Yeah, we've already covered that."

"So if the two of you really aren't like that, I can't say it isn't a relief. But like I said, I've seen the pair of you, how you are together. So I just wonder what's stoppin' you, is all. Must be somethin' disturbing, is what I think. I'm half afraid to ask, but what other weirdness must there be to that man that I don't know about?"

Rose moved closer to the stove and further from the door, voice quiet. "He's different, Mum, yeah. But not in a weird way."

Jackie opened her mouth to contend otherwise.

"Okay," Rose conceded with a chuckle. "Sometimes weird. But he's also just not the type to be someone's…boyfriend." Her tone grew wistful as she repeated a statement she'd once made to Mickey. "But that's okay. 'Cause he's better than that. He's…" She breathed in deeply. "He's the Doctor. He's my best friend, and the man who's saved my life a dozen times over without thought for his own. And even if he's never able to give me more, he's already given me more than any other man ever has or could."

Jackie regarded her daughter with sympathy. "Oh, sweetheart. You've really got it bad, haven't you?"

Rose jumped about a foot when the Doctor's head appeared around the doorway, voice ringing out. "There may be a teensy bit of smoke out here, but not to worry! It's nothing to be alarmed about, with no imminent danger to life or limb or property. Well…my assurance as to the well-being of your property is still a work in progress. But! Once the smoke clears – a relatively small amount, I'd like to point out – you'll find you now have reception to every channel from here to the Xybexis Constellation." He grinned. "No need for thanks!" His grin faltered as the smoke alarm blared out, and he darted away.

Jackie looked at Rose. Rose shrugged. "Like I said, he's different."

"Here for a bit of a rest break, eh?" Jackie sighed as she turned her attention back to dinner preparations. "Looks like I'm the one who's gonna need a holiday."