Hermits United~ An RP of Pete's world awesomeness!

        "Then go back to UNIT," John told her, a hint of a snarl in his tone. "I haven't told them anything yet and I won't if you go quietly." His eyes flashed again. "Unless you plan on causing more trouble?"

        "Ah, yeah, that's it," Jake nodded, smiling back. "The Racnoss." He laughed. "Well, yeah, I can't divulge any top secret info or anythin' like that, but I can tell you that, as far as I'm aware, we don't have any massive tunnels goin' down to the center of the Earth, no. At least, I certainly hope we don't!" He laughed again. "The last thing we need is for a bunch of giant spider babies to invade the planet!"

        John watched her leave, his eyes burning into her back before she turned down the hallway and disappeared from his sight. He could still scarcely believe that she'd caused as much trouble as she had, and there was still a part of him that felt the sting of betrayal. He now knew she'd never been interested in him in anything less than a romantic sense, but part of him still wished they could've been friends. The other part was just glad that the snarky, sour-tempered woman was out of his life.
        Once she was gone, John turned around with a sigh, his shoulders slumping. He spotted the tribble in the cage and, after a moment's hesitation, reached in, gingerly taking the fluffy creature into his hand and beginning to stroke it, trying to calm himself.

        Jake nodded understandingly - he remembered John telling him that Donna hadn't started traveling with him right away. "Yeah, what a coincidence, eh?" he said with a grin. "It sure was fortunate the two of you managed to run into each other again. Handy wouldn't even exist if you hadn't, after all, so he said!"

        John stayed in the empty lab for a few minutes, petting the tribble, but after a little while, he gave a heavy sigh, putting it back in its cage and making his way slowly back to the main bio lab. He supposed he needed to get back to work, though he didn't much feel like it.

        "'Course you are!" Jake exclaimed, frowning slightly at her. "Everybody's important, in their own way. And apparently, you made a pretty big impact - and not just by helping to create John. He's told me about some of the things you did to help save the universe."

        John was thankful that the main lab was empty - now that he thought about it, it was lunchtime, though he wasn't all that hungry.  He thought about calling Rose, but didn't really want to bother her - he knew she likely had her hands full with the children.  But after a few minutes of working, he couldn't seem to get her from his mind, so with a reluctant sigh, he took his phone from his jacket pocket and dialed her number, waiting for her to pick up.

        Jake smiled.  "Well, as John himself likes to say, 'Being accidentally brilliant is even better than being purposefully brilliant.  It means you don't have to work as hard.'  So I'm not sure that really matters."

        John frowned slightly at her odd answering words. She must not have checked caller ID - she'd answered so quickly. "Sorry, it's just me," he told her apologetically. "I hope I didn't wake the kids. It's just... I just got through with Melissa and... ...I needed to hear your voice..."

        Jake nodded. "Yeah, he and Rose and Mickey fell through some gap in time and wound up here. They helped my little gang of rebels take down Lumix and the London Cyberfactory."

        "It's alright," John sighed.  "Sorry I worried you.  ...Everything alright there?  The kids aren't giving you too much trouble, are they?"

        "Well, the Doc and Mrs. Moore went in through the access tunnels, while Rose and Pete... well, they went right in through the front door.  And Mickey and I handled the control zeppelin up on the roof."  He grinned.  "Mickey was a whiz with computers.  We couldn't have done it without 'im."

        John's eyes bugged out at that. "Well, blimey, that's not good," he said. "I'll have to think of a better way to try and protect the outlets..." He was silent for a moment, thinking, then gave a sigh, guilt washing over him. "I'm sorry you're there by yourself... I always hate leaving you. ...Maybe I'll see if I can get out of here a bit earlier today..."

        Jake frowned slightly, nodding. "Well, I sure hope so," he agreed. "He never stopped caring about Rose, though a' course she was far too invested in finding a way back to the Doctor to really even take notice of him... I think that was all she really ever thought about - she always seemed so distant..." He sighed. "I suppose once John came about, he probably knew what would happen - that's why he decided to stay in the other universe once everything was said and done... I hope he's happy there. He was my best mate." He continued to frown for a few seconds, thinking, before looking back up at Donna with a small smile. "Well, I'm not too terrible with 'em, yeah. I've come to do a little bit 'a everything nowadays."

        John felt somewhat disappointed at that; he'd rather been looking forward to heading home early. Even without the stress of firing Melissa, he never really liked to be away from Rose and the children for long. "Okay... Well, I guess I'll just see what happens, then," he told her. "I might just head home after I finish what I'm working on. In any case, I'll see ya in a bit, alright?"

        Jake glanced over as the server brought their plates, humming in agreement with Donna and giving the waiter a quick word of thanks. He lifted his own fork and took a bite, thinking on how to respond to her question as he chewed. "Well," he began once he'd swallowed. "Mostly we collect alien artifacts and ships that make their way to Earth, and use them to further our own technology, as well as protect the planet in case of invasion. We also try to keep tabs on anything going on in this area of space, including natural phenomena and alien activity. Basically, if it involves otherworldly occurrences, we study it."

        "Yeah, I can do that," John agreed, nodding, though she, of course, couldn't see. "Is there anything particular that sounds good?"

        Jake nodded, taking another bite. "Yeah, it is a lot of fun, though it's also pretty dangerous at times. Angry mind-controlling aliens, near-exploding tech, even this mental group 'a people who were bent on killing John and the kids because they're not fully human..." He shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder why I risk my neck... But then I remember all the fascinating stuff we've learned, and all the good we're doing, and I know I could never leave..."

        "Alright, that sounds good. I'll pick it up on my way home," John agreed, smiling. "Love you, Rose."
       Once he'd hung up, he got back to work, quickly finishing up what he was doing, eager to get home. Once he'd finished, he let Jack know he was heading out before he left, driving off to pick up the soup and lemonade.

        Jake just smiled at her, wondering if there was something he could do - she certainly didn't seem very happy with her own job. "So... I've told you what I do... How about you? What exactly does a temp do?"

        After picking up the necessary groceries, John continued onward toward home.  He pulled into the driveway and got out of the car, bag in hand as he walked up to the door.  He opened it quietly to avoid waking up the children, and walked inside, heading into the kitchen to set the groceries on the counter. Once that was done, he moved toward the living room in search of Rose.

        "You don't sound like you enjoy your job very much, if you don't mind my saying," Jake observed.  He wondered if perhaps there was something she could do at Torchwood - perhaps she'd be happier there - but wasn't sure it was his place to offer...

        John spotted Rose on the couch after a few seconds, and smiled at her as she sat up, happy to see her. He walked over and sat down next to her, reaching up after a moment to smooth her hair before leaning to give her a kiss. "How's it going?" he asked her softly.

        Jake nodded. "Ah, yeah, I get it. I'll bet that's difficult." He paused, giving a small sigh. He should say something... Surely John would want him to, anyway, right? "...Maybe... Maybe we could find something for you to do at Torchwood?" he offered quietly after a moment.