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Jackie Tyler stood in her kitchen, arms crossed and face beet-red.
Words had failed her, which was no small feat for anyone to accomplish, but here, this alien had done it.
At the moment it was hard to remember that was what the man standing before her was- an ancient alien, unknowably powerful and fierce. To her he looked very much like a terrified, lovesick man. Which at the moment, Jackie supposed, that was exactly what he was. Just a man, standing before the mother of the woman he loved, waiting for an answer.
It had been eight months since Rose had sat her down and explained that while she'd been wrong the first dozen times she'd accused Rose and the Doctor of being together, she'd not been completely wrong in how she could see that the two were mad for one another from the moment she'd first brought him home. Rose had explained that she and the Doctor had taken a long time and had a couple false starts- but finally decided not to waste any more time and were properly a couple.
Jackie had not been overly thrilled, but she understood. And she knew that if she said anything against it, that would only hurt her relationship with Rose. So she smiled and told her daughter that so long as he took care of her and made her happy, she'd be happy too.
But now he stood in her kitchen- without Rose, but with a ring in hand.
Asking for her blessing to ask Rose to marry him.
Honoring their traditions. Promising her that both his hearts would belong to her daughter for as long as he'd live.
"What kind of life can you offer her, Doctor?" Jackie said finally, after close to ten minutes of perfect silence. "What sort of life can you really give my girl?"
"Whatever she wants." The Doctor shrugged. "Where and whenever she wants."
"Yeah, but you don' mean that, do ya?" Jackie scolded. "I mean- the way you nearly took off when she tried to get you to stay for tea-"
"I'm sorry, Jackie." The Doctor sighed, his eyes falling to the floor between them. "Things are just- It's different, now. I'm different."
Jackie's face paled a bit.
"She not p-"
"No." He cut her off. "She's not. It's not about that, either. I'll do anything for her. Even if that means rentin' a place here at Powell and goin' back to UNIT or teachin', done a bit of both here on earth in my time."
"You're serious." Jackie gawked.
"Of course I am." The Doctor shrugged slightly. "When am I not serious about Rose?"
"What about her life, though?" Jackie moved to prop against the opposite counter from the Doctor. "I mean- you're centuries old, yeah? What about Rose?"
"Remember when you used that truck to open the TARDIS?" The Doctor swallowed thickly. He'd realized Rose had not been completely honest with her mother about everything, but it seemed to important to not tell her now. "When I sent her away- when I thought we were gonna die- lookin' into the heart of the TARDIS, the vortex of time itself- Jackie she..."
"She what?" Jackie demanded when his voice trailed off a bit too sadly.
"She bound her timeline to mine, Jackie." He snapped. "Which is something I fervently wish she hadn't done, and never would've asked of her. I sent her back to you on purpose."
"What does that mean, 'bound her timeline'?"
"Means she'll live as long as I do, or longer by a short bit, maybe. Dunno, can't see it. When she did it she hid it from me, I assume so I couldn't undo it. A life this long is hard and full of pain an' loss. I didn't want it for her." The Doctor sighed. "I tried to take that power from her before she did it, which is why-"
"You spent most of an alien invasion knocked out in my bedroom?" Jackie finished.
"Mm. Nearly regenerated on that one- She stopped that, too. Still had to have the healin' coma, mind. Didn't want a regeneration wasted so soon, she said." The Doctor sighed again. "The point is, Jackie, I love her. And given the frankly fantastic and slightly unhinged way she loves me back, I think gettin' married is the right next step."
Jackie Tyler had reduced to tears. She took a shuddered breath.
"You just told me the little girl I raised is basically immortal-" She raised a hand when he started to speak up to correct her, "An' you're talkin' 'bout marryin' her like its the most normal and casual thing in the world. But Doctor, it sounds to me like Rose basically tied your souls together..."
"It's not entirely incorrect to say she did." He nodded.
Jackie took a few moments, trying to collect herself. She took several deep breaths and continued to try and pat her eyes dry.
"Could you... Have children?" Jackie asked carefully.
"If she wanted." The Doctor shrugged again. "Or not. It's not impossible because 'm alien, if that's what you mean."
"I just wanna make sure anything she'd want isn't given up, ya know?"
The Doctor nodded again.
"Then me sayin' anything other than yes would be ridiculous, wouldn' it?" Jackie finally gave him a small smile. "You're not what I wanted for her, Doctor. An' I think we both know that you already knew that. But God knows I knew when I was on the phone, an' that bomb was comin' you nearly let the world burn to jus' take her and run- I knew then nobody could or would ever love her more... Except maybe me." She smiled when the Doctor grinned at the statement.
"Like I said... Two hearts- both of them Rose's." He agreed. "Thank you, Jackie."
"Just... Do me a favor?"
"Yeah?" The Doctor waited as Jackie came across the kitchen and pulled him into a tight, slightly awkward hug.
"Have a proper weddin' here? Where I can be there?" She let him go and waited.
"Of course." The Doctor grinned again. "But then of course you could always come in the TARDIS an-"
"No." Jackie cut him off. "No, here in my time."
The Doctor laughed, even as Jackie jumped and gave him a kiss on cheek.
"Alright, alright." He grumped, though he couldn't make the smile fade. "Thank you, Jackie. Truly."
"Oh, don' go soft on me." She smiled back. "Jus'... Don't call me 'mum'."