Doctor Who_ Winner Takes All - Jacqueline Rayner [72]
* * *
They landed back on the Powell Estate, opposite the Chinese and the youth club, and Rose wasn’t a bit surprised. The place was deserted, though – the latest of latenighters had gone to bed, and the early birds weren’t up yet. It was that depressing time in the early morning where the only people about were milkmen, police officers – and time travellers.
She explained to Daisy and Robert where they were. ‘There won’t be buses for an hour or two, I don’t reckon,’ she said. But Daisy said that was fine; they’d find a night bus, or they’d walk, or get a taxi, or something. Robert seemed to be about to protest, didn’t want to go, but Daisy stood firm, and only a minute or two after the TARDIS had landed, the two of them were walking away together, Robert shrugging off Daisy’s protective arm. Rose had suppressed a laugh, reflecting on how intensely irritating she had found her own mum only a few years ago. Well, and many days since, but in a different way. The lad had kept glancing back at her, and she knew why, so she smiled and waved goodbye.
* * *
They walked away together, the boy and his mum. Rose seemed sorry to see them go, so Robert kept throwing back looks, trying to reassure her.
But she couldn’t bear it, and came running after him.
‘Please don’t go, Robert,’ she said. ‘Please stay with me. With us. It’ll be great, the three of us together, being heroes out in the universe.’
And Robert wanted to stay with her, wanted to go back, wanted it more than anything else ever. But he knew he couldn’t. So he said, ‘I’m sorry, Rose. I’ve got to stay here. Got to look after my mum.’ He smiled. ‘Got to be a hero by myself, here on Earth.’
And although she still looked a bit sad, she smiled and said, ‘I understand. You’re doing the right thing.’
And he knew that he was.
He turned to his mum and said, gruffly, stumbling a bit over the words, ‘I’m glad you’re OK. I’m glad they didn’t hurt you.’
And she gave him a look full of sunshine, lighting up the world.
Then together, happy, they went home.
* * *
Rose stopped waving as Robert and Daisy turned the corner and disappeared from sight. She looked at the Doctor and sighed. ‘Suppose we’d better hang around till the morning then. Go and see everyone. Thank Mickey for saving the day, and all that. Make sure he’s given Mrs Burton her shopping basket back. Stuff like that.’
The Doctor looked horror‐stricken. ‘Tell Mickey the idiot that he saved the day? What d’you wanna do that for?’
‘You said he did! You told me all about it!’
He shook his head. ‘No I didn’t. Didn’t say anything of the kind. I said he’d been of some slight use, and at least he didn’t muck everything up like normal.’
‘You could tell him that then,’ she said. ‘It’s high praise, coming from you.’
But he looked quite alarmed.
‘And then there’s my mum,’ she said. ‘I need to call the hospital, find out how she is.’
She glanced at Bucknall House, up high at her flat.
There was a light on in the window.
‘Mum said that Darren Pye nicked her keys!’ she said. ‘We’ve got burglars!’ And she raced off.
* * *
Rose let herself into the flat as quietly as she could. The Doctor was following on behind. Burglars didn’t stand a chance against them.
Light was coming from under the door to her right. Her mum’s room. She pushed the door open, ready to shout or fight or scream.
But inside there was just her mum, asleep. The bruises on her face shone brightly coloured in the illumination from the lamp, and Rose’s heart twisted.
She put up a hand to stop the Doctor coming any further, and padded softly over to the bed. But she must have made some noise, because Jackie’s eyes flickered open. There was alarm in them for a moment, then relief and happiness as she recognised Rose.
‘Hello, darling,’ she whispered.
‘Hello, Mum,’ said Rose. ‘They let you out then?’ She hadn’t thought they would, not yet. Her mum had looked