Jackie Tyler lugged her lone bag of laundry along. She was used to lugging two. Preferred it really. She liked the feeling that came with taking care of her daughter. As much as she'd complained before, nagged at Rose for not taking the trash out, for leaving dirty dishes in her wake, she missed cleaning up after her.

They didn't understand, those two. What their danger and fun and adventure did to those they left behind. Not that she wanted to go along. No sir. Not her. Aliens and the like were not for her. She'd had enough of it what with the killer mannequins and crash-landing spaceship. Not to mention the murderous Christmas tree.

Abandoned. That's was it was. What she felt. It was worse even than the first time Rose had disappeared. Disappeared and Jackie didn't know where to. At least back then she'd believed Rose didn't have a choice, that if she'd had a choice would have been right there at Jackie's side.

Now Jackie knew better. Rose chose to leave. Rose chose the Doctor. 19 years well-spent raising her brilliant beautiful daughter and it was the Doctor's turn to dance. Jackie didn't blame Rose. Part of what made Rose so brilliant was the fact that she would go with someone like the Doctor.

None of that made the getting left behind part hurt any less.

The thing about getting left behind wasn't that the one doing the leaving was having so much fun out there. The thing about getting left behind was that the one doing the leaving never saw anything worth coming back to. Not for long. There was always something better out there in the great wide universe. And Jackie Tyler couldn't even compare. That was the thing.

It got to the point where it had become second nature to listen for the sound of that ruddy machine. To the point where Mickey didn't even realize he was listenting for it. Any noise that even slightly resembled the scratchy melodic tune made him start. That's what getting left behind did to you.

Mickey was in a constant state of waiting. He couldn't help it. Having seen what he'd seen with Rose and the Doctor...suffice to say he worried constantly. Mostly for Rose's safety. Life with the Doctor...well, any minute could be her last, it seemed. He wasn't sure when the day would come that she would never come back or the machine would but the only one tumbling through that door would be a tall skinny bloke in a pinstripe.

Sometimes Mickey wished he had the courage to go. Then he'd never have to wait again. He'd be in the thick of things, never wondering, always knowing. But there was the Doctor and there was Rose. No room for Mickey Smith. Their leaving of him behind was intentional. Not cruel, just intended.

In a way, it wasn't fair. Or just plainly, it wasn't fair. Mickey knew he was missing the entire universe staying behind. But it was more than that. Just seeing the two of 'em, Rose and the Doctor, Mickey knew he was missing much more than just the vast old universe, and that made him lonelier than anything else could.

The thing about getting left behind wasn't that the one doing the leaving was the girl you loved. The thing about getting left behind was that the one doing the leaving, the girl you loved, never looked back. Because no matter how much you still loved her, and no matter how much she still cared about you, she left you for someone else.

This investigation business was exciting, but it was almost starting to get old. This was nothing like the life she'd had before. Aliens were hardly involved. No adventure or danger at all really. But most importantly, no him. Sarah Jane sighed nostalgically, sipping from her tea and absently petting K9.

The thing about getting left behind wasn't that life was never going to be the same again. No more blue box. No more space. No more time. No more Doctor. The thing about getting left behind was that the one doing the leaving ceased to exist. And it drove her mad.

Eggs and beans on toast. Bit o' tea to go. Pick up the dry cleanin'. Avoid mornin' traffic. Get into a parkin' spot just in time for work. Oh, Donna loved being on time to work. Made the rest of her day go smoothly. She finished a report left incompltete the night before and joined Margaret in the break room for just a bit of tea and gossip. Made some phone calls. Caught up with emails. Slipped out the front for a quick bit of shopping for her date that night. Got back in time to chat up the boss. Spent the rest of her work day browsing wedding blogs and sipping tea.

Donna got home in time to catch the early evening news report with her mum and grandad. She rushed up the stairs once that was done to get ready for her date. She wore a bright dark blue dress that complemented her eyes and skin.

The thing about deja vu wasn't the creepy shivers it ran along Donna's spine. The thing about deja vu was you'd never really know if the feeling was real. Not that it particularly mattered. Donna had more important things to worry about. Like her date. And her wedding. Well, not that he knew about the wedding. Best save that for later.

The thing about getting left behind was that Rose hadn't really known what it felt like to get left behind. He never left her. Even on the planet of Cottoclox. When she thought she was finally a goner for good. Tied up in ropes, slowly being lowered into molten lava. Oh did she drop. Right into the Tardis. He never left her behind. 'Til now.

Her mum, Mickey, Pete...they were all in the truck waiting for her. She was waiting too. For a moment that would never come. The ocean waters of Norway stretched seemingly infinitely away from her sandy, lonely beach.

Rose had always been the one doing the leaving-behind. Hand-in-hand with the Doctor. It was going to be the two of them forever.

The thing about getting left behind was...she hadn't really been left behind. She'd been lost. She had no choice. And neither did he. The thing about getting left behind was you couldn't do a thing about it.