Work Text:
Jackie woke up in a dark room, still in her clothes, with a terrible, pounding headache and tinsel still draped around her neck. She groaned, the memory of too much wine from the night before coming back to haunt her, and forced herself to sit up. She needed the loo, needed to put on fresh clothes, needed paracetamol desperately, and needed to sleep for a few hours before Christmas morning with Rose, Jack, and the Doctor.
Speaking of...where were Rose, Jack, and the Doctor? Jack and the Doctor had wandered back to the TARDIS, she supposed, but she should at least check on Rose; see if she needed anything.
She took off the clothes she’d been wearing, dropping the tinsel over the back of her mirror. It was chilly so she pulled on a pair of long striped pajamas, slipped her feet into a pair of slippers, then staggered a little to the door of her bedroom and opened it. Blue light flickered from the television in the lounge and the Christmas tree twinkled in the corner, but the flat was dark and quiet otherwise. She took two steps towards the lounge, already preparing a lecture for Rose the next morning about leaving the electricity running all night, then came to a stop as she rounded the corner.
The Doctor was propped in the corner of the couch, his head drooping forward, obviously asleep. His long legs were crossed at the ankles and his feet rested on her coffee table. Rose was with him, also obviously asleep, curled into his side and snuggled under the arm he had draped over her. Her face was nestled comfortably against his shoulder and her slender hand lay on his jumper-clad chest, underneath the Doctor’s own hand. Her legs were curled up, her feet under her bottom and her knees lying delicately against his lap.
“They’re like that a lot, you know,” came a soft voice from behind her, and Jackie turned sharply to see who was speaking, forgetting the effect that the remaining alcohol would have on such a movement. Strong hands came out to steady her, and she closed her eyes until the world seemed to right itself.
“You alright there?” Jack asked when she was able to focus.
“M’fine. What do you mean they’re like that a lot?”
Jack indicated the Time Lord and her daughter, curled around each other, asleep. “Like this.”
“Are they sleeping together?” Jackie demanded in a hiss.
“I don’t know about that,” he replied, and Jackie suspected a lie. “But I do know that they mean more to each other than anyone else in the world. His world revolves around her and hers around him.”
“So they’re in love.”
He waved his hand towards them again. “Doesn’t it look like they are?”
“I won't have it!” Jackie hissed, protesting. “S’my only daughter and some alien pervert is running off with her!”
Rose stirred against the Doctor, her face screwed up in sleep and the Doctor’s arm tightened around her, his hand over hers moving reflexively. Jack grabbed Jackie by the arms and pulled her to Rose’s room, shutting the door behind them. Jackie looked around the dark room blearily; she could tell that the bed was mussed and could only assume that Jack had been sleeping there since Rose and the Doctor were elsewhere.
The Captain came to stand in front of her. “Look. I know this isn’t ideal for you. This isn’t what you wanted for your daughter, but it’s what she wants for herself. She’s happy, Jackie. He makes her happy. And I won’t even get started about what she does for him.”
“Oh, I’ll just bet,” Jackie snarled, putting her hands on her hips. “That creeper had better not have -”
“Shhh, Jackie, that’s not what I meant. I mean that he’s miserable when she’s not around. She’s the only thing that lightens him. And I can tell you this - he’d rather die than let her go. But that’s not a problem, because she doesn’t want to leave.”
She stared at him for a minute, her brows furrowed and headache forgotten, then asked, “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because Rose loves you. She wants to come visit you, wants to spend time with you, but if you make it difficult for her to be with the Doctor, the visits will get fewer and farther between.”
“Are you threatening me!” she demanded.
“No, Jackie, you’re not getting it. That’s not my call, anyway, it’s Rose’s and the Doctor’s. What I’m telling you is that accepting that the two of them are together is going to be your best bet for peace and harmony. The best Christmas gift you can give them is your blessing.”
Jackie watched him, gauged the sincerity in his eyes, and felt her lip wobble. “I just want my little girl to come home.”
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. “There’s nothing you can do that will make her come home. Right now, in the position you’re in, you could only drive her further away by not accepting what the two of them are.”
“What are they?” Jackie muttered against his shoulder, knowing the answer.
“Together,” Jack replied simply. “They’re together. And there’s nothing anyone can do to tear them apart, so you’d be better off not to try.”
Fresh tears sprung to Jackie’s eyes and she felt Rose’s friend swaying her back and forth in a comforting gesture. She accepted it for what it was and did her best to process what he’d just told her. After a while, he released her and she wiped her eyes.
“Thanks, Jack,” she whispered, and gave him a watery smile.
“My pleasure, Jackie.”
Jackie nodded once and left Rose’s room, closing the door behind her to give Jack a little privacy. She stood in the hall for a moment, debating her next move, then went towards the lounge. Bending down, she pressed the button on the telly to turn it off, but left the tree on. Then she stepped over to her favorite chair, pulled off a throw blanket and laid it carefully on the Doctor and Rose.
The Doctor’s head jerked up when the blanket touched him, and his startled eyes focused on Jackie.
“Shhh,” she warned him. “Be still or you’ll wake Rose.”
“Jackie -” he began, and his eyes were wide now for another reason.
“Hush, now,” she chided him. “We can talk later. You just take care of her, alright?”
“I always do.”
“I believe you. God help me, I believe you.”
The Doctor just looked at her speculatively. Jackie kissed two of her fingers and pressed them to Rose’s forehead gently, then turned to go.
“Jackie -” he stopped her.
Jackie turned around to look at him. “She loves you,” she said by way of answer.
The Doctor nodded.
“Do you love her?”
“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his answer.
She felt her lip wobble again and nodded before she turned away, resolved to leave before he saw her cry.
“Jackie…” he called out again, and she looked back from the entrance to the hallway.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
Jackie just nodded. “Happy Christmas, Doctor.”