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Snip.
"All that running around the universe and you'd think somewhere you could find a proper hairdresser instead of dragging in here looking like a sheep dog."
There were many responses the Doctor could make, but none them seemed particularly wise in light of the fact Jackie Tyler was wielding a pair of wickedly sharp scissors perilously close to his neck. Not that he actually needed to; Jackie seemed perfectly capable of holding up both end of the conversation all on her own. "Probably don't even think about it. Just like a man -- 'cept you seem vain enough that I picture you spending plenty of time in front of the mirror every morning."
"Not that long," he offered. "Just run a comb through it and --"
Jackie snorted. "You are vain. I felt that product in your hair before I washed it and you don't just 'run a comb through it' to get things that carefully disheveled. It's at least, what, ten minutes every morning?"
"Fifteen," the Doctor admitted sheepishly.
Snip.
"You're doing it for Rose, aren't you?" she asked as the scissors trimmed the hair just above his left ear. "Before you -- well, whatever it was you did and I still don't understand it, you didn't seem to give a damn about your appearance. Always that leather coat, jumper and jeans and hair cut close. You weren't interested in making a good impression. Didn't seem to care what any of us thought."
I still don't. He knew it wasn't true, though. The Doctor cared about what Jackie thought of him because Rose cared what her mother thought about him. That was why he was sitting there in the first place, jacket off, ridiculous over-sized pink plastic bib over his shirt, letting Jackie cut his hair because she'd said he looked like he needed it. Actually, it was more that she said he looked like he needed it as she'd forcibly maneuvered him toward the sink to give him a wash and he'd shed the jacket in self-defense. He remembered something about her doing hairdressing to make money, but he had no idea what her actual skill set was and her penchant for punctuating some of her comments with those shears made him more than a bit nervous. It's just hair; it'll grow back.
Snip.
"So why'd you come around, any way? I'm sure Rose told you she was spending the afternoon with Shareen and some of the other girls."
"Oh, I think I got my time a bit muddled; happens sometimes when you're bouncing back and forth like I do." Truth be told, he'd come around deliberately because he'd gotten bored puttering about the TARDIS without Rose and was hoping that she might have gotten back early. If she hadn't, he was hoping Jackie had some of that jam he liked in the cupboard. He hadn't been expecting to be subjected to torture in the form of a haircut.
"Rose says it happens all the time; you set out for one place and wind up somewhere else." She moved in front, frowning critically at his fringe before catching the edge between two fingers and beginning to trim. "There's plenty she doesn't tell me, too. Stuff that she probably thinks would worry me."
Jackie stopped trimming and looked down at him. "It would worry me, wouldn't it?"
The Doctor took a deep breath. "Jackie, I promised you I'd keep Rose safe. I'm going to do everything I can to keep that promise as long as I breathe. You've seen some of the things we deal with; they're not always pretty. But if there comes a point where I don't think it's safe for her to be with me -- I mean, really, seriously, end of the world, possibly the universe not safe -- I'm going to do what I have to. I'll get her back to you."
He meant every word, though he knew the decision would feel like hollowing out his insides with a dull spoon. But he'd run this race for far too long, knew how fragile his companions could be. And he knew that look in Jackie's eye, the look of a parent who knew they couldn't protect their child from every possible assault or danger, especially when they insisted on running headlong to greet it, but wanted to hear the words because that was how they kept going. He knew because he'd been that father once and while Rose's mum might drive him crazy, he also understood her fears all too well.
Jackie considered him carefully, then nodded, turning her attention back to the final details of his haircut. "We'll get you all finished up and won't Rose be surprised when she gets back. I've got some new product I want to try; probably not as fancy as your alien stuff, but we'll see how it works. After that, I'll make you some tea. I've got that jam you like -- and don't think I haven't noticed you sticking your fingers in the jar when you thought I wasn't looking. Really, how Rose puts up with you, I'll never understand..."