Rainfall In The Silent Night (Doctor Who/Wings of Fire)

Homeward Bound, Part 3

Rose, Rain, and Jackie stepped out of the kitchen to see Rose's boyfriend standing in the entryway as silence fell over the flat. Rose winced slightly, realizing she should have gone to find her boyfriend right after discovering she had missed a year. She'd been distracted, yes, but that was hardly an excuse. The uncomfortable air thickened the longer the silence remained and soon Rose found herself breaking it just for relief.

"I was going to come and see you." She told him, trying to explain herself. Mickey just continued to stare at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Rain had begun to fiddle with the sleeves of her light grey coat and her nerves became more and more on edge. Wanting nothing more to be anywhere but right here.

"Someone owes Mickey an apology." A woman said from behind the three silent women who were still staring at the dark skinned man.

"I'm sorry." Rose blurted out, trying to sound as sincere as possible. but the apology seemed to bounce off her boyfriend and splatter pitifully the the floor. 

"Not you." The woman who spoke up before turned and gave Jackie a pointed look, making her roll her eyes.

"It's not my fault. Be fair, what was I supposed to think?" Jackie threw her arms up in exasperation. Jackie moved into the kitchen which had cleared out to give them some privacy, not that the other people in the flat weren't trying to listen through the door and window between the living room and the kitchen, the girls and Mickey following her.

"You and Rain disappear and who do they turn to? The boyfriend! Five time's I was taken in for questioning. Five times!" Mickey scowled at Rose and even Rain as he paced back and forth in the small space.

"No evidence, of course there couldn't be, could there?" He shot them both a heated glare and Rain could feel pinprick in the corners of her eyes warning her that she was close to crying.

"And then I get her, your mother. Whispering around the estate, pointing fingers, stuff through my letterbox, and all because of you two!" He finished angrily.

"We didn't think we'd be gone so long." Rose tried to soothe him just a little bit, but Mickey didn't back down.

"I waited for you, Rose. Twelve months! Waiting for the two of you to come back with that Doctor!" He huffed, and the mention of the Doctor caught Jackie's attention.

"Hold on," Jackie spoke up stepping back into the conversation. "You knew about the Doctor? Why didn't you tell me?!" She demanded, a confused frown on her face. Rose quickly closed the shutter on the window and pulled the doors closed, cutting off the eavesdroppers, and Mickey glared at Rose again.

"Yeah, yeah, why not Rose? Huh? How could I tell her where you and Rain went?" He taunted them. Biting her lip wasn't helping Rain to hold back the tears growing in the corners of her eyes. Deep breaths weren't helping either, but she also knew she couldn't interrupt the fight, that would just put all the attention on her while they demanded answers.

"Tell me now!" Jackie snapped, looking between the three with fiery eyes.

"You might as well." Mickey scoffed, a cruel smirk forming on his lips. A look Rain decidedly hated. "'Cause you're stuck here. The Doctor's gone. Just now, that box thing faded away." Ice shot through Rose and Rain's veins and their eyes widened in disbelief.

"W-what?!" Rain squeaked out and Mickey grinned maliciously.

"He's left you. Some boyfriend he turned out to be." He sneered, causing Rain's hands to fist at her sides. Rose growled at Mickey in anger, grabbing Rain's wrist as she charged out of the flat. Mickey and a still very confused Jackie hurrying after them.