Halfway Out Of The Dark || The Doctor

Rose

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Rose was soon back at the Tyler family flat on the Powell Estate. BBC News 24 was on the telly, doing a broadcast on the Henriks fire. Rose was sat on the settee watching it. Soon, Jackie entered the room, a cup of tea for her daughter in one hand, and the phone pressed to her ear. "I know, it's on the telly!" Jackie said into the phone, "It's everywhere! She's lucky to be alive." She handed Rose the tea. "Honestly, it's aged her. Walking in here now, you'd think I was her daughter! Oh, and here's himself." she remarked as Mickey appeared in the doorway.

"I've been phoning your mobile." Mickey fussed, "You could've been dead! It's been on the news and everything! I can't believe your shop went up!" He hugged his girlfriend.

"I'm alright, honestly." Rose reassured him. She loved Mickey, but he could be very clingy at times. "I'm fine. Don't make a fuss!"

"Well, what happened?" Mickey asked.

"I dunno." Rose lied, remembering what the Artist had said about putting people in danger.

"What was it, though. What caused it?" Mickey persisted.

"I wasn't in the shop, I was outside. I didn't see anything..."

Just then, Jackie came back in, still on the phone. "It's Debbie on the other end." she said to Rose, "She knows a man from the Mirror. 500 quid for an interview."

"Oh, that's brilliant! Give it here!" Rose said sarcastically, taking the phone and hanging up.

"Well, you've gotta find some way of making money." Jackie remarked, "Your job's kaput, and I'm not bailing you out." Rose could see her point. Jackie had sacrificed a lot in single-handedly bringing her daughter up after the death of her husband Pete in a hit-and-run back in 1987 and Jackie had continued to support Rose, even after the Jimmy Stone fiasco. The phone rang again and Jackie answered. "Bev! She's alive! I told her 'sue for compensation.' She was within seconds of death..." Jackie went off into the kitchen, gabbling for England.

Rose turned her attention to her cup of tea. "Whatcha drinking, tea?" Mickey questioned, "No, no, no, that's no good. You're in shock, ya need something stronger."

"I'm alright." Rose insisted.

"You deserve a proper drink." Mickey persisted, "You and me, we're going down the pub, my treat. How 'bout it?"

"Is there a match on?" Rose smiled, knowing Mickey by heart.

"No, no, I'm thinking of you, babe." Mickey protested.

"There's a match on, ain't there?" Rose said knowingly.

"Well, yeah, but that's not the point." Mickey said hastily, "We could catch the last five minutes."

"Go on, then, go." Rose told her boyfriend, "I'm fine really, really. Go. Get rid of that." She gestured to the dummy arm, which was lying on an armchair.

Mickey pointed to his lips and Rose gave him a kiss. He pushed her back into the chair and they shared a laugh. Mickey got up to go and Rose put a leg out to trip him up. Mickey picked up the arm and made for the door. "Bye-bye!" he said in a silly voice, waving with the arm.

"Bye." Rose called back. Mickey then pretended to strangle himself with the arm and left. Rose shook her head fondly and turned back to the news.

Outside, Mickey walked across the estate and tossed the arm into a bin, and that was that, or so they thought...

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Next morning, Rose's alarm clock went off at 7:30 as usual and she whacked it to shut it up, then sat up in bed. "There's no point in getting up, sweetheart." Jackie's voice called, "You've got no job to go to." Rose flopped back on the pillow to have a lie in.