Not Enough

Disclaimer: I don't own it!

Summary: Alternate Ending to "Age of Steel." What if the Cyber-Controller was a bit quicker? What if Jackie hadn't responded so well to the TARDIS' appearance in her flat? A bit of Doctor abuse and an angry Jackie, because those are great combinations.

They'd done it. They'd found the code to turn off the emotional inhibitor and deployed it, rendering all of the Cybermen useless as they screamed in agony over their condition. Explosions erupted all around them as they frantically made for an exit, any exit they could find. Just behind them, the Cyber-Controller was pulling at attachments that held him in place, roaring in anger as he went.

Just as the group thought there would be no way out, Rose's mobile rang with instructions from Mickey to head for the roof. They raced up the stairs as explosions and fire burst out around them. Once on the roof, they saw the zeppelin hovering above them. It didn't take long for a door to open on the bottom of it and for a rope ladder to unfurl towards them. The Doctor ushered Rose on and then Pete before glancing back at the door they'd come out. It seemed that Lumic wasn't about to let them go without a good chase.

The Doctor jumped on the rope and the zeppelin slowly started to ascend, but they were jolted when Lumic caught hold of the rope several rungs below where the Doctor was holding on. Rose screamed at him to climb up, but he instead chose to pull out his trusty sonic screwdriver, holding it to one of the ropes at knee level.

Lumic had already progressed by several rungs and was one rung away when the rope finally snapped. With a cry of rage he swung his arm upwards and grasped the first thing he could reach even as the other rope broke under his weight. Lumic began to fall back towards the burning building, but it wasn't all for naught. He'd managed to grasp the Doctor's ankle, gripping it tightly and ripping him from the rope as well.

Rose shrieked even louder as the two fell back through the air. Above her, Mickey saw what had happened and hurried to lower the zeppelin beside the building.

The Doctor screamed in pain as his ankle was nearly crushed under Lumic's grasp. He shut his eyes and tried to brace himself for the fall towards the building and almost couldn't believe his luck that Lumic was underneath him. The Cyber-Controller's metal body crashed through the roof and through another floor before losing momentum and hitting a concrete floor painfully hard.

Lumic released his hold on the Doctor as they fell through the burning layers of the building. The Doctor gasped painfully as they crashed through the building, not able to avoid a rather deep contusion on his right shoulder. When the fall came to an end, he hit Lumic and was propelled a few feet from the metal man. He struggled to pick himself up off the floor but his arms shook and he collapsed back down on his back, letting his eyes slide shut for a moment.

Falling embers and loud explosions brought the Doctor back to awareness, and he groaned in pain as he clutched his shoulder and leaned to the left to get the weight off of it. As he breathed in hot air, he glanced around for any sign of Lumic, finding him just over a meter away and inching closer.

"Doctor! Look around you! Look at what you've done!" Lumic shouted as he pulled himself closer.

The Doctor winced painfully as he used his uninjured arm to push himself further out of Lumic's reach. "This was your own doing, Lumic!" he cried in response, flinching as he felt something singe his jacket.

"No! This was your doing, Doctor!" Lumic roared. "Look at them writhe in agony from their emotions! I had saved them from that until you came along! You've torn them apart, killed them, in the worst possible way, and you know it!" The Cyber-Controller pulled himself forward a bit more and reached again for the Doctor, though he was still just out of his grasp.

The Doctor knew Lumic was right; what worse way was there to die then to let your own emotions kill you? Lumic saw this in the Doctor's angered gaze and shouted over the ongoing explosions and crashes, "Thousands of innocents that I made better," Lumic growled, "dead by your hand! What kind of doctor would murder so callously?"

"You left me no choice!" the Doctor growled as he pushed himself back further.

"You had the choice to leave them be! But instead, you took it upon yourself to save them..." the Cyber-Controller responded as he pulled himself forward a bit more. "If that's how you save people, Doctor, then the least you can do is join them!" Lumic raged as he shoved himself forward and within reach of the Doctor, who had gone still at Lumic's words. Just as he was about to finish him off, Lumic's metal form was pumped with electricity and he froze in agony, just inches from the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rose's voice sounded from behind Lumic, jolting the Doctor into movement. Forgetting his injuries at the sound of her voice, he jumped up and darted over to Rose's side. Mickey and Jake stood next to her, each holding a weapon that was still firing at Lumic and holding the Cyber-Controller in place.

"Allons-y!" he gasped, pulling on Rose's arm. Mickey turned and led them out the way they had come in. They escaped again just in time for the entire ceiling to come crashing down on Lumic, ensuring their victory for now.

If Rose noticed that the Doctor was gripping her arm tighter than usual, she didn't comment. Together, the group set off for the zeppelin, greeting Pete and making their way back to the TARDIS. Once there, the Doctor limped towards it, letting Rose say her farewells to her parallel father. After getting the power in the TARDIS back online, he leaned out the door to let Rose know that they had five minutes before they'd depart for the proper universe.

The news that Mickey wanted to stay in this universe didn't surprise him as much as it shocked Rose, who was immediately consumed by tears. Her grief only grew when her parallel father turned her away, not wanting to recognize that this strange girl that seemed so familiar could actually be his daughter. When the Doctor finally got Rose to back into the TARDIS, she was biting her lip to hold in the emotions.

He limped back toward the console, beginning to feel the ache from his entire body as he started the sequence that would send them home. Rose staggered back to the console and held on as they flew through time and space, the tears already seeping through her resolve.

The sound of the TARDIS faded away as they appeared where the Doctor had sent them. Able to relax now, Rose nearly collapsed against the console as her emotions hit her fully, but she paused as something pounded repeatedly against the doors of the ship. Momentarily worried that he had sent them to someplace even worse than before, Rose backed away from the door, but the Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to him, tears still streaming down her face.

The Doctor was still leaning against the console, not about to test if he could hold himself up on his own just yet. Knowing that Rose needed to be reassured, he looked into her eyes and said calmly, "We're at your mum's, Rose. I promise you that what we're hearing right now is nothing but your mum." If he'd been feeling better, he would've added a rude comment about how Rose was right to be scared. As it was, that was the last thing Rose needed to deal with.

Rose didn't need to be told twice as she swiped a hand over her face to clear her tears and ran to the doors to swing them open. She barely had them open before her mum stormed in, shouting about how rude the Doctor was to go and fill up her flat with his 'bloody spaceship.' Thankfully, she was distracted when she turned to look at Rose and saw how upset her daughter was.

"Rose, sweetie, wha's happened?" she asked, instantly switching to the mode of the worried mother.

Rose swallowed painfully and choked out, "Got s-stuck, in a parallel universe. Mum, it was h-horrible! Mickey's..." Rose couldn't say anything more and burst into tears at her friend's name.

The Doctor sighed and flicked a switch into the off mode and tried to avoid Jackie's gaze as it swung around the TARDIS. As her eyes filled with frightened confusion, she let go of Rose and stormed up to the Doctor, backing him even farther into the console.

"Where is he?" she asked sternly.

It wasn't that he was afraid of Jackie, but rather that he really didn't like it when she was angry – particularly when she was angry at him, which was most of the time. Trying not to sound nervous, he answered, "He's not here. He stayed in the parallel universe."

"You lost him!?" she shrieked, now just shy of enraged. He didn't have any time to dodge her as she whipped her hand up and smacked him cleanly on the face. The Doctor's face wasn't the only thing that stung in the moments that followed as he could almost feel his pride and composure slipping away through the floors of the TARDIS.

The Doctor was about to respond in like form when Rose stepped up and put a hand on her mum's shoulder. "It's not his fault, Mum," she said, sniffling still.

"The 'ell it's not!" Jackie nearly screamed. She stepped back from the Doctor and appeared to be preparing for her lecture mode when she stopped abruptly and actually looked at him. "What on Earth happened to you, then?" she asked, in a much calmer tone than either the Doctor or Rose had expected. His tux was ripped in several places and there were a few stains that barely stood out on his black jacket and the lower half of one of his pant legs.

The Doctor, glad for a distraction from Jackie's anger but not wanting that much attention, quickly tried to redirect the girls. "What on parallel Earth, you mean, Jackie."

Rose stepped closer and peered at him as well. "Doctor..." she said hesitantly, looking at the rips in his tux and obviously thinking back to the mess that was Cybus Industries and all that happened there.

"I'm fine, anyways," he asserted, crossing his arms protectively as they stared. "Rose, why don't you go catch up with your mum?" he asked, knowing how much she wanted to be near her mum at the moment.

Sure enough, Rose glanced at her mum and the Doctor saw traces of tears building up in her eyes. She turned back to him and asked, "Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Of course," he said, grinning easily at her. "I'm always alright. I've got to make some repairs in any case, so go on."

Rose rolled her eyes at him, since he was always making repairs to his ship. She gently guided her mum out of the TARDIS and as the doors shut, the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief that Jackie would be occupied for at least a few hours. He turned and leaned against the console again, feeling more tired than he cared to admit at the moment. With a groan, he sank to the floor next to the console and decided that he'd start on any repairs in a while.

Outside the TARDIS, Jackie led Rose to her room and onto her bed and then went to make some tea. When she came back with the tea, Rose was sitting and leaning forward on the bed, crying softly. Jackie set the tea down distractedly and sat next to her daughter, pulling her into a tight hug as they both thought of Mickey. Rose tried to explain a bit more, but she was still too choked up about it all. Jackie didn't press her for more, and she was almost relieved when she looked down at her daughter a while later and saw that the girl had fallen asleep.

She carefully eased Rose back onto her bed and then stood up, looking over at the tea that had gone cold since she'd come back to find Rose crying. With a sigh, she picked it up and took it back into the kitchen, dumping it out and starting a fresh pot. Jackie couldn't believe that Mickey was in some parallel universe, though judging from how upset Rose was, it really wasn't that hard to believe. The way that Rose clung to her made her more worried than she cared to admit though. It was as if something else had happened that her daughter couldn't quite voice.

As the water for the tea boiled, Jackie decided to pour two cups and go in search of the Doctor. She needed something to do, and with any luck, he'd answer some of her questions about what had happened. As she set out two cups on a tray, she smirked to herself. 'That bloody alien will probably be wondering if I poisoned the tea,' she thought, rolling her eyes. She walked out of the kitchen with the tea and nudged the doors of the blue box open.

Once inside, Jackie looked around but didn't see the Doctor anywhere. "Hmpf. Figures he'd make 'imself scarce when I go t'all this trouble," she muttered to herself. Not having anything better to do, she walked up towards the console so that she could set down one of the cups of tea in the hopes that he'd find it eventually. She jumped and nearly spilled the tea as, before she got to the chair, she noticed him sitting and leaning against the console.

"Oy! What you doin' down there?" she asked loudly, trying to cover how startled she'd been. He appeared as if he'd been sleeping, and his eyes remained closed even at the sound of her voice.

Hesitantly, she knelt before him and peered at him closer. His breathing sounded a bit strained and she could see the way that one of his hands was clenched in the fabric over his thigh. The other was braced against the floor to his left as if it were holding him up.

She reached up and patted his left shoulder a bit, asking, "Doctor? Wha's wrong?"

He let out a shaky breath and groaned lightly. "Mm fine..."

Jackie snorted and stated flatly, "Riiight... And I'm the Queen of England." He didn't respond to this, but she noticed him shiver and bring his arms up to wrap them around his waist. "You're cold... Can ya get up? I've got blankets in the flat an' we can get ya all sorted out," she asked, starting to get worried at this point. The Doctor wasn't supposed to be anything other than alright.

He didn't respond again except to continue shivering. "Righ'... Stay here, then. I'll be right back, yeah?" she told him even though he didn't acknowledge her at all. She jumped up and hurried out of the TARDIS. As she grabbed blankets from the couch, she prayed that another catastrophe wouldn't occur while the Doctor was like this. 'At least it's not Christmas this time 'round,' she thought with a sigh.

Several minutes later, she returned with a couple of blankets. Just as she was about to wrap one around him, she remembered the rips and stains on his jacket and one of his pant legs. Jackie realized that he needed to be moved out of here and taken care of properly, since it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to do it himself any time soon. She straightened up and pulled out her phone, punching the number for Mickey's cell as she watched the Doctor. It was only as the call went to voicemail that she felt a cold sensation flow through her – Mickey was no longer here for them.

Snapping her phone shut in frustration, Jackie bent over the Doctor's form and shook the shoulder that looked less torn and stained lightly. "Come on, Doctor," she prompted quietly. He groaned and turned his head away from her sleepily. "You need to get up for jus' a few minutes an' then ya can sleep some more."

He cracked an eye open and watched her through tired eyes. "Where?" he asked, sounding half asleep.

"Jus' inside the flat. We'll put you up in my room, alrigh'?" Jackie almost expected him to argue since she doubted he wanted to spend any time in a place where she also spent time. He surprised her by nodding once and lifting a hand towards her. She grabbed it and helped him to stand up and lean against the console. Though she hadn't really looked, she knew his right ankle must have been injured since he let her help him limp all the way to her room.

The trek to her room seemed longer than it actually was and Jackie could feel how much the Doctor was shaking from the exertion. He nearly collapsed just before the bed, but she was able to steady him in time. He fell on the bed, totally exhausted and with a pained expression.

Jackie turned to get the blankets back but was stopped by his hand around her wrist. "Do ya need somethin'?"

"No... aspirin, Jackie..." he muttered, sounding as if he'd already starting to fall asleep.

"You want some then?" she asked, trying to clarify.

Without opening his eyes, he shook his head lightly and mumbled, "No... 'm 'llergic."

'Well then,' Jackie thought, 'I suppose I won't mix any into your tea then.' She stepped away to go fetch some clean water and bandages and considered waking Rose. Shaking her head lightly, she decided that she could handle this well enough for them.

Jackie spent part of the next hour carefully removing the Doctor's torn tux, trying to be gentle around the many scratches and bruises that were littered across his body. She marveled over the fact that he'd even been standing earlier when he and Rose had first arrived in her flat, and she immediately felt bad for slapping him when he was in such a state. Thankfully, neither Rose nor the Doctor woke as she tended to him. She did her best at cleaning the various cuts and wrapping them up.

The worst of the injuries seemed to be focused on his right shoulder and left ankle. The ankle looked like it had been broken in several places and the bruising was awful. She did the best that she could and, when she deemed the job to be finished, she dressed him in the same pajamas he'd worn before. She tucked the covers in around him and sat back, watching him as he slept for a moment. With a light smile, she said out loud, "You know... I don't want to slap you nearly as much when you're asleep."

Jackie got up and walked back to the kitchen, shutting the door to her bedroom quietly. She was about to start preparing something for her and Rose to eat, figuring that the Doctor probably wouldn't be up for a while, when Rose's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Mum? Mum!" Rose called.

"Yeah, Rose?" she answered, stepping into the living room in time to see Rose step out of the TARDIS.

"Mum, have you seen the Doctor? I can't find him in the TARDIS. Did he go somewhere?" Rose asked, worry overtaking her expression easily.

"Umm, not exactly," Jackie answered. "He's here in the flat."

"What you mean? Where?" she asked, glancing around the living room futilely again.

"He's in my room, love. I went to take him some tea after you'd fallen asleep and found him nearly passed out in that ship o' his. Couldn't hardly get up on 'is own," Jackie explained, wringing her hands together. Rose nearly ran the rest of the way to her mum's room and when Jackie caught up with her, she found Rose sitting next to the Doctor on the bed, gazing down at him. Rose was biting her lower lip, obviously upset at the state the Doctor was in.

"I didn't even think he'd be hurt..." Rose muttered quietly. "I was so upset about Mickey staying and..."

Jackie put her hands on Rose's shoulders and said, "Oh, swee'hear'... I think he'd understand tha'..."

"Did you do all this?" Rose asked, gesturing to the bandages and clean pajamas that the Doctor was now wearing.

"Yeah, well I couldn't jus' leave him sittin' there like that, now could I?" Jackie offered and Rose gave her a teary smile.

"Thanks, Mum," Rose said quietly, fingering the edge of the blanket that was tucked in around the Doctor. "Oh, I hope he'll be up soon, an' that he doesn't go an' change or summat."

Jackie nodded and stated, "I'll just be happy if those ruddy aliens would take a few days off while he's laid up."

Rose snickered lightly and said, "Oy, don't jinx us."

"Come on, let's go have a cup of tea now while he rests."

They walked into the kitchen together and Jackie set herself to making another pot of tea. Rose sank into a chair tiredly. "You know, Mum... I can see why Mickey wanted to stay in that other London, but it just doesn't feel right with him not barging in at the first sound of the TARDIS," she said, letting her mind wander again.

Jackie laughed sadly. She was still irked at the fact that the Doctor had managed to leave Mickey behind. "Yeah, an' you can bet that I'll be havin' a chat with that Doctor of yours about it as soon as he's up."

Rose shook her head and looked down. "It was Mickey's choice to make, Mum."

Jackie didn't respond to this, but instead decided to change the subject. "So tell me about some of your other adventures then," she asked with a smile. Rose brightened at the distraction and followed her mum into the living room where they could sit and talk more easily.

As Rose began to speak, Jackie made a mental note on the brightest Post-It she could find in her mind to question the Doctor later about Mickey's decision. She also wanted to ask what made Rose so anxious to be around her mum, not that Jackie was complaining. Still, it wasn't quite normal and she wanted answers.

If you made it this far, please drop a review and let me know what you think :) This is my first story on here and I'm sort of nervous about it... I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!