The Doctor and Rose are getting married! Complications ensue.

- - - - - - - -

"She'll be happy about it," Rose insisted as she pulled the Doctor after her. "She really will be, you'll see."

Reluctantly trailing as he tried to think of an escape plan, the Doctor suggested, "Can't we wait awhile to tell her? Say, a few decades or so?"

"No!" Rose tugged at his hand to hurry him along. "Now stop being such a baby. How did you ever get to be a Time Lord anyway, if you're afraid of a little thing like this?"

"Your mum is not a little thing," the Doctor muttered, but he did it quietly. If Rose heard, she gave no indication. After another minute of walking, they ended up in front of Jackie's flat. As Rose raised her free hand to rap upon the door, the Doctor wondered if he could make up a decent excuse and escape. Maybe if he tried the old line about another alien invasion, or said he hadn't turned the teakettle off in the TARDIS, he could make a run for it.

Before he could even try, the door flew open and Jackie had enveloped Rose in a huge hug. "Where've you been, then?" she sniffled. "It's been three months since I saw you. Three whole months! And not one letter or phone call in all that time!"

The Doctor glared at Rose's back. He'd given her that mobile for a reason.

"Sorry, Mum, I've been really busy. But I'm here now. We're here now."

The Doctor had been wondering when his name would be dragged into the conversation, and had been hoping for "never". Since Rose had called Jackie's attention to him, however, he smiled weakly and managed a, "Hi, Jackie. Hope you've been well."

"I would have been better if you didn't keep dragging my daughter off to who knows where." Suddenly seeming to realise that they were having this conversation practically out in the open, Jackie stepped back into her flat and guided Rose in with her. The Doctor, seeing no graceful way to leave, sighed and followed them in.

"I'll get you some tea, Rose," Jackie began chattering. "Tea and biscuits. I know I have some new ones around here somewhere. Just let me find them." She scrabbled around in the kitchen, glancing back at Rose from time to time as if to make sure she hadn't suddenly disappeared.

Rose shifted her feet and glanced appealingly at the Doctor, who pretended not to notice. This had been her idea, after all. If it had been up to him, they would have been in another galaxy.

Seeing no help coming from that corner, Rose turned back to Jackie and took a deep breath. "Look, Mum, this isn't just another visit. We, the Doctor and I, we have something really important to tell you. It might upset you a little at first but it's what I want, it really, truly is."

"You're not pregnant!" Jackie screamed before collapsing to the floor in a dead faint.

"Well, she took that better than I expected," the Doctor observed. "Except for the fact that it wasn't our real news!"

tbc