Part 17 (1/2)

I think I am, Rose. Robert would you do us the very great honour of staying with us? Travelling round the universe with us? Doing good and having fun. That's what we do. That's what the three of us will do.

You mean it? Really? Me, travel with you? With you and Rose? Being the hero, being the special one? Of course I...

But there's your mum, now. Look how upset she was. And she'd know all about it. She might even want to come with you. You can't take your mum on an adventure. That's not how it works, that's not right.

And the Doctor won't ask you. And you can't ask him, because you couldn't bear it if he said no. You'd be so mortified, and 'mortified' does actually really mean 'killed' and you would have to kill yourself. And there's only the two of you, you and your mum. And you couldn't really leave her on her own. Not really.

Now the four of them were on their way back to Earth. Rose, the wonderful girl, seemed a bit quiet. He'd imagined her more happy, more bouncy. But then maybe she was, normally. Holding his breath, not quite believing what he was doing, he went over to her.

'h.e.l.lo,' he said. 'I'm Robert.' Stupid, stupid! She knew that already!

'h.e.l.lo, Robert,' she said, smiling and making his heart jump up and down like a yo*yo.

'Are you... are you all right?' he asked her.

She waved a hand. 'Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. The Doctor's got rid of all that stuff from inside me, all the bits that went inside my nerves.'

There was silence. Robert desperately tried to think of something to say, something witty and charming, something to show that he was perfectly at home in her company and perhaps they could be friends...

He still hadn't thought of anything when Rose spoke again. 'Well, maybe I'm not fine. You you had one of those things stuck on your head, didn't you?'

Robert told her that yes, he had. But not one that had been activated. Not one that had made him do things.

'It was horrible,' she said. 'Not being in control. Makes you think, though. Makes you wonder if you're going through life like that, anyway.'

Robert gaped. 'But you're going round the universe saving it!'

She shrugged. 'Yeah, right. But I'm only Robin. And I don't mean I have a thing for tights and underwear on the outside.'

Robert tried not to think of Rose's underwear. But he remembered what the Doctor had said when he'd suggested the same thing.

'Actually, I'm not even Robin,' said Rose. 'I'm more Lois Lane. He ' she nodded at the Doctor, who was busy at the console 'gets to be the superhero. I get to be rescued.'

'That's what you think?' asked Robert.

'It's what I know,' she replied.

Robert grinned. 'Funny that he doesn't know it,' he said.

Rose's mouth fell open. 'He's been talking about me?'

'Might've,' said Robert, hardly daring to believe he was actually teasing the wonderful girl. 'Might've said a thing or two.' And still scarcely crediting his own courage in the face of extreme gorgeousness, he just laughed and refused to say any more.

They landed back on the Powell Estate, opposite the Chinese and the youth club, and Rose wasn't a bit surprised. The place was deserted, though the latest of latenighters had gone to bed, and the early birds weren't up yet. It was that depressing time in the early morning where the only people about were milkmen, police officers and time travellers.

She explained to Daisy and Robert where they were. 'There won't be buses for an hour or two, I don't reckon,' she said. But Daisy said that was fine; they'd find a night bus, or they'd walk, or get a taxi, or something. Robert seemed to be about to protest, didn't want to go, but Daisy stood firm, and only a minute or two after the TARDIS had landed, the two of them were walking away together, Robert shrugging off Daisy's protective arm. Rose had suppressed a laugh, reflecting on how intensely irritating she had found her own mum only a few years ago. Well, and many days since, but in a different way. The lad had kept glancing back at her, and she knew why, so she smiled and waved goodbye.

They walked away together, the boy and his mum. Rose seemed sorry to see them go, so Robert kept throwing back looks, trying to rea.s.sure her.

But she couldn't bear it, and came running after him.

'Please don't go, Robert,' she said. 'Please stay with me. With us. It'll be great, the three of us together, being heroes out in the universe.'

And Robert wanted to stay with her, wanted to go back, wanted it more than anything else ever. But he knew he couldn't. So he said, 'I'm sorry, Rose. I've got to stay here. Got to look after my mum.' He smiled. 'Got to be a hero by myself, here on Earth.'

And although she still looked a bit sad, she smiled and said, 'I understand. You're doing the right thing.'

And he knew that he was.

He turned to his mum and said, gruffly, stumbling a bit over the words, 'I'm glad you're OK. I'm glad they didn't hurt you.'

And she gave him a look full of suns.h.i.+ne, lighting up the world.

Then together, happy, they went home.

Rose stopped waving as Robert and Daisy turned the corner and disappeared from sight. She looked at the Doctor and sighed. 'Suppose we'd better hang around till the morning then. Go and see everyone. Thank Mickey for saving the day, and all that. Make sure he's given Mrs Burton her shopping basket back. Stuff like that.'

The Doctor looked horror*stricken. 'Tell Mickey the idiot that he saved the day? What d'you wanna do that for?'

'You said he did! You told me all about it!'

He shook his head. 'No I didn't. Didn't say anything of the kind. I said he'd been of some slight use, and at least he didn't muck everything up like normal.'