The Slow Path - (#1 TenRose Fanfiction)

A Slap From Jackie Tyler

~Chapter 3

The Doctor's POV

My hands tremble as I ring the doorbell to Jackie and Rose's flat. There's no answer. I ring again. They must been in, the car's still- Suddenly the door opens, and there stands a very angry looking Jackie. "What do you want?" She snaps.
"I want to see Rose." I say.
"Do you? That's funny, cause' she doesn't want to see you!"
"Jackie- Please, let me explain-" But I don't have time to finish, because suddenly a massive clash comes in contact with my cheek.
"Ow!" I shout, staggering back and smoothing my newly Jackie-slapped cheek.
"And I should think so too!" Jackie huffs and steps in front of the door, shutting it tightly behind her. Great, now there's no way of getting around her. "You upset her, you upset my daughter."
"Look, it's not what it sounds like, Rose doesn't understand-"
"I think she bloody well does understand! Going and snogging a French woman and leaving her stranded on an alien ship? No wonder she left you." Jackie says, a disgusted look plastered to her face.
"But I didn't kiss her!" Now I'm shouting. Jackie goes quiet.
"What?"
"Reinette, I didn't kiss her," I say, my hearts hammering in my chest "She kissed me, but Rose doesn't know that yet. And- and I'm just afraid that I'll loose her."
"You're tellin' the truth?" Jackie asks.
"100%" I say firmly. After a minutes silence, Jackie sighs.
"She hasn't told you, has she?"
"Told me what?" I ask, confusion clouding my thoughts. Jackie shakes her head
"She obviously doesn't trust you enough yet."
"Trust me enough? Jackie, of course she trusts me!" I protest.
"Really? Then why hasn't she told you? She came to me in floods of tears last night, and I knew, as soon as she came in, that she'd be crying over you. At first I thought you'd abandoned her, but then she said she was the one that'd left you. I was confused at first, but then when she told me her secret, I realised why she'd really left, and I soon realised why she couldn't trust you anymore."
"What do you mean, why she really left?" I ask, a confused frown forming on my forehead. Jackie shakes her head.
"She needs to be the one to tell you, not me. And I doubt she'll be telling you for a while, going by what you did."
"But what she thinks isn't the truth, I didn't kiss Reinette-"
"Yes, whatever, she kissed you! But that's not the point Doctor, Rose obviously thought you and her were something more than just friends, but that kiss proved to her that you obviously weren't, and being abandoned didn't help-"
"I love her." I suddenly blurt out, making Jackie immediately stop talking, which is a very rare occurrence. "I'm not lying. I really, really do love her. I've always loved her but I've never told her, and now....and now she's never gonna trust me enough to tell me her secret, is she?"
"Maybe not yet," Jackie sighs, and hugs her jacket closer to her in the winter cold. A few long seconds pass before she speaks up again "She loves you still, y'know? After all you've gone and done to tear her heart apart, she still loves you, and that's saying something. And now....and now she needs you more than ever, but you won't be able to help her until she tells you. So let her come round. Wait a few days, and then come back, she might be ready by then." Jackie nods her head, and then goes back into the house, leaving me outside in the cold winter breeze.