Reunion (3/5)
This chapter is rated FRT.
Chapter Three
“How’s Mickey doing?” The Doctor asked, pointing his sonic screwdriver at Rose’s mug.
“He’s fine, should be home tomorrow, actually.” Jackie answered, narrowing her eyes. “What’re you doing?”
“Heating Rose’s tea.” He replied, as if it should’ve been perfectly obvious. “The TARDIS tends to heat water more than Earth kettles are capable of...she’s gotten used to it.”
“What do you mean he’ll be home tomorrow?” Rose interjected, staring at her mother.
“Just that...” Jackie said, taking a sip of her tea. “I’ve known that kid since he was just a little’un...and after his flat got blown all to hell by some kind of chicken alien, he didn’t have anywhere to stay. There was just me and Pete here at the time...”
“A chicken alien?” The Doctor asked, instantly intrigued.
“Yeah, well that’s what we thought. Turned out it was just Gareth dressed in a chicken alien suit...playing silly buggers with Mickey. And then he accidentally shot the block of flats with a rocket launcher.”
Rose’s mouth dropped open in disbelief while the Doctor’s eyes darkened slightly.
“How does one accidentally shoot a block of flats with a bloody rocket launcher?”
Jackie shrugged her shoulder and sighed. “He thought it was the display model. No one was hurt, mind you. And...Pete restricted everyone’s access to the armory after that.”
The Doctor shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words for the moment. Rose ran her fingers through her hair and leaned back against the cushions. Jackie glanced down as her daughter’s shirt rode up the tiniest amount as she stretched.
“You’re pregnant!” Jackie exclaimed, dropping her mug onto the coffee table.
Rose quickly pulled her shirt back down as the Doctor blew out a heavy breath. “Mum...”
“You got her pregnant!”
The Doctor’s eyes widened as he shifted uncomfortably. “Jackie, I - ”
“Don’t you know what a condom is?” She glared at Rose and pointed her finger at her. “I know that you know what they are!”
“Mum...” Rose started, only to shake her head as Jackie continued.
“I raised you to be more responsible than that, Rose Tyler! How are you supposed to take care of a baby when you’re gallivanting across universes and getting thrown into dangerous situations every time you turn around?”
“We’ll be careful...”
“If you were being careful, you wouldn’t be pregnant right now!”
“Enough!” The Doctor stated, anger tingeing his voice.
“Enough?” Jackie stood up, hands on her hips as she glared at the Doctor. “You’re a bloody alien and she’s human! How is this going to affect her? Or the baby? Or...did you even think about that?”
The Doctor pushed himself up and stared at Jackie, his eyes growing darker by the second. “Of course I bloody thought about it! I love her, Jackie! And I love this child...our child...”
“You’re marrying her because she’s pregnant, aren’t you?”
The Doctor opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. The muscles in his jaw clenched and released...Rose recognized the action as him trying to maintain control of his temper.
She stood up quickly, shaking her head as she placed her hand on his wrist. “No, Mum...it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all!”
Jackie continued staring at the Doctor. And the Doctor stared right back, just as hard.
After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and looked down at Rose. “Would you like another cup of tea?”
Without waiting for an answer, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, yeah?”
Rose nodded and lovingly stroked his sideburn with her thumb. “Will you see if there are any salt and vinegar Hula Hoops?”
“Yeah. If I can’t find any, I’ll go get some.” He whispered, brushing his fingertips over her abdomen as he stepped away from her.
He moved to walk around Jackie, pausing when he stood next to her. He met her eyes and sighed softly.
“I’m marrying her because I’m in love with her. The baby...well, he has nothing to do with the fact that I want to marry Rose. I would’ve asked her anyway.”
Jackie’s eyes softened somewhat and she took a deep breath. “Second shelf in the pantry. I always have salt and vinegar Hula Hoops...Rose’s favourite and all.”
The Doctor gave her a gentle nod, a tiny smile on his lips as he continued on his journey to the kitchen. Jackie watched Rose watch the Doctor slip out of the room. And as she watched her daughter, she realized that their love for each other had done nothing but become stronger since she saw them together last.
And just like that, her anger faded away.
“So...how far along are you?”
Rose pulled her gaze from the doorway and met her mother’s eyes. “About sixteen weeks.”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “How long has it been since...the Daleks?”
Rose heaved a heavy sigh. “Two months.”
“It’s been three months for us...so, we’re a little ahead of you.” Jackie reached out and took hold of Rose’s hand. “You were pregnant before we ended up here, then...”
Rose nodded as tears filled her eyes. “Didn’t know though. Not until a couple of days after...”
“Well...I was wondering how I was going to tell you this, but...”
Rose furrowed her brow, gently squeezing her mother’s hand. “Tell me what, Mum?”
After a dramatic pause that only Jackie could make seem longer than it really was, she exhaled a deep breath and smiled at her daughter.
“You’re going to be a sister.”
“What?” Rose asked in surprise, sounding more like the Doctor than she ever thought she could.
“You know...that was easier than I thought it’d be.” Jackie stated brightly.
“What? Mum...what?”
Hearing the high-pitched tone of Rose’s voice, the Doctor grabbed the bag of Hula Hoops and ran back into the living room. Jackie turned to look at him while Rose continued to stare at her mother.
“What’s going on?” The Doctor asked, quickly making his way to Rose’s side.
Jackie gave a very nonchalant wave and picked up her nearly forgotten cup of tea. “Just told Rose that she’s not the only one who’s pregnant.”
“She knows that. We’ve seen plenty of pregnant women. Even saw a woman who was pregnant with twins. Luckily, we’re not having twins. I think one’s enough for us right now...but, the baby does have twin hearts...”
“No, she meant - ” Rose began, only to be interrupted by her mother.
“What do you mean ‘twin hearts’?”
“Oh...the baby has two hearts. Like me.” The Doctor grinned proudly as he handed the bag of Hula Hoops to Rose. When he saw the concerned look in Jackie’s eyes, he quickly continued. “But, he’s perfectly healthy. The doctor that we’re seeing has dealt with all kinds of different alien/human combinations. Obviously not Time Lord/human combinations...since I’m the last of the Time Lords and - ”
“Mum’s pregnant.” Rose interrupted.
“Oh...right, well...um...congratulations!” He moved around the coffee table and wrapped his arms around Jackie. “You’re going to be a mother and a grandmother...all at once! Brilliant!”
He pulled back from the hug and raised an eyebrow at her. “Just for future reference...that’s the reaction you’re supposed to have when told of an impending arrival. Not accuse the father of marrying the mother simply because of a baby...”
Jackie rolled her eyes and slapped the back of her hand against his chest. “You’re still rude.”
“And still not ginger.” He countered with a bright grin. “I really am happy for you, Jackie. You and Pete...Pete’s happy, yeah?”
“What? Oh...yeah. We weren’t really expecting it to happen, but...we weren’t doing anything to prevent it either, so...”
“Like me and Rose.”
Rose stared incredulously at the Doctor. “Tell me you didn’t really just say that.”
“What? We weren’t using any contraceptives at all...neither one of us. And we knew that we’re compatible, that we were physically able to conceive a child. It’s not so different than your Mum and Pete.”
“Where’s the TARDIS?” Jackie asked, chuckling nervously and hoping the question would be enough to change the subject. The last thing she really wanted to talk about was her daughter’s sex life with a 900 year old alien.
The Doctor smiled brightly. “Well, I knew that Jack and Martha would want to explore the city, so I landed her right in the middle of Leicester Square.”
“What?” Rose snorted.
“Well, when I say right in the middle of Leicester Square, I mean...about half a mile away. But, close enough that they’d know how to get back to her.”
“As if you purposely landed the TARDIS there!” Rose laughed, earning her a glare from the Doctor.
“Well...I meant to land her in London!”
Jackie laughed back her tears, suddenly realizing just how much she’d missed the playful arguing between her daughter and the Doctor. And then she suddenly realized something else...and her laughter ended abruptly as her eyes widened.
“You said ‘he’!”
“Um...” The Doctor stammered, looking over at Rose. “Well, it hasn’t been confirmed or anything...medically, I mean. But...well, she has the...not mark, because it’s not a mark or anything, but...”
Rose sighed and placed her hand on her abdomen. “Apparently, when the baby...a Gallifreyan baby...is a boy, the hormones or something causes a red patch of skin to appear. Only the boys, not the girls. I have a red patch of skin...the baby’s half-Gallifreyan - ”
“Time Lord.” The Doctor corrected. “Half-Time Lord.”
Jackie narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Isn’t it the same?”
“No, not really. Well, similar, but...all Time Lords are Gallifreyan, but not all Gallifreyans are Time Lords. I prefer to be called a Time Lord, not because I’m pompous or anything, it’s just...kinda like Rose would prefer to be called ‘English’ as opposed to ‘Earthling’.”
“Doesn’t stop you from calling me ‘Earthling’...” Rose muttered.
“No, it doesn’t...just for the purpose of pure annoyance...once in a while.” The Doctor grinned and turned his attention back to Jackie. “I’m a Time Lord, from Gallifrey. Our son is a Gallihu, from...well, I’m not really sure where he was conceived, to be very honest.”
“Gallihu?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started on that.” Rose grumbled. “He totally contradicts himself with that...mister ‘Call me a Time Lord, not a Gallifreyan’ blah blah blah. But, Gallihu sounds better than Hulord...”
Jackie merely stared at her daughter for a few seconds before nodding slowly. “Well, I’d have to agree with him on that...”
The Doctor’s grin broadened as he rocked back and forth on his heels.
“Have you talked about names?” Jackie asked, chewing on her bottom lip as she gently rubbed her own abdomen. “I only ask ‘cause Pete’s kinda got his heart set on ‘Tony’ and...it’d be a bit strange to have a son and a grandson both named ‘Tony’...if you were considering ‘Tony’, that is...”
“You’re having a boy too?” Rose smiled warmly, tearing open the pack of Hula Hoops.
“Dunno...” Jackie laughed. “But, if we are...his name’s Tony.”
After a moment’s pause, in which Rose ate a handful of Hula Hoops before handing the bag to the Doctor, Rose ran her fingers through her hair and answered her mother’s question.
“Charlie. Charles Gallifrey Tyler, I think. Though we haven’t really talked about the middle name at all...”
The Doctor’s grin slipped into a look of bewilderment. “Gallifrey? You want his middle name to be Gallifrey?”
“Yeah. Is...is that okay?”
His grin returned as he nodded quickly. “Yeah, I just...well, I hadn’t thought that...well...”
“I want his name to reflect his father...and since we can’t use a Gallifreyan name, I thought it was the next best thing. Because...I’m not naming him ‘Doctor’...”
“He’s going to be a Tyler? Don’t you have a last name?” Jackie asked, sitting down in the chair.
The Doctor chewed a Hula Hoop and then grimaced, handing the bag back to Rose as he sat down on the sofa and gently pulled her down next to him. “ ‘Course I do. But, no one would be able to pronounce it...and I’m changing my name to Tyler when we get married anyway, so...”
“So, you’ll be Doctor Tyler instead of just Doctor?”
“Doctor John Tyler...for official purposes. It’ll be weird having a full name...I’ve been just ‘Doctor’ for so long...”
“You’ve never been just ‘Doctor’.” Rose chuckled, popping another crisp into her mouth.
“When are you getting married anyway?”
“Friday.” The Doctor answered without thought.
Rose cursed softly as Jackie’s eyes widened.
“Friday? This Friday?”
“Yep.” He replied, popping the ‘p’ as he grinned. “Have the rings and everything...”
He stood up when Jackie did, assuming that she was going to give him another hug.
One day he’d learn not to assume. Assumptions were wrong...nearly 83.4% of the time.
Chapter Three
“How’s Mickey doing?” The Doctor asked, pointing his sonic screwdriver at Rose’s mug.
“He’s fine, should be home tomorrow, actually.” Jackie answered, narrowing her eyes. “What’re you doing?”
“Heating Rose’s tea.” He replied, as if it should’ve been perfectly obvious. “The TARDIS tends to heat water more than Earth kettles are capable of...she’s gotten used to it.”
“What do you mean he’ll be home tomorrow?” Rose interjected, staring at her mother.
“Just that...” Jackie said, taking a sip of her tea. “I’ve known that kid since he was just a little’un...and after his flat got blown all to hell by some kind of chicken alien, he didn’t have anywhere to stay. There was just me and Pete here at the time...”
“A chicken alien?” The Doctor asked, instantly intrigued.
“Yeah, well that’s what we thought. Turned out it was just Gareth dressed in a chicken alien suit...playing silly buggers with Mickey. And then he accidentally shot the block of flats with a rocket launcher.”
Rose’s mouth dropped open in disbelief while the Doctor’s eyes darkened slightly.
“How does one accidentally shoot a block of flats with a bloody rocket launcher?”
Jackie shrugged her shoulder and sighed. “He thought it was the display model. No one was hurt, mind you. And...Pete restricted everyone’s access to the armory after that.”
The Doctor shook his head, seemingly at a loss for words for the moment. Rose ran her fingers through her hair and leaned back against the cushions. Jackie glanced down as her daughter’s shirt rode up the tiniest amount as she stretched.
“You’re pregnant!” Jackie exclaimed, dropping her mug onto the coffee table.
Rose quickly pulled her shirt back down as the Doctor blew out a heavy breath. “Mum...”
“You got her pregnant!”
The Doctor’s eyes widened as he shifted uncomfortably. “Jackie, I - ”
“Don’t you know what a condom is?” She glared at Rose and pointed her finger at her. “I know that you know what they are!”
“Mum...” Rose started, only to shake her head as Jackie continued.
“I raised you to be more responsible than that, Rose Tyler! How are you supposed to take care of a baby when you’re gallivanting across universes and getting thrown into dangerous situations every time you turn around?”
“We’ll be careful...”
“If you were being careful, you wouldn’t be pregnant right now!”
“Enough!” The Doctor stated, anger tingeing his voice.
“Enough?” Jackie stood up, hands on her hips as she glared at the Doctor. “You’re a bloody alien and she’s human! How is this going to affect her? Or the baby? Or...did you even think about that?”
The Doctor pushed himself up and stared at Jackie, his eyes growing darker by the second. “Of course I bloody thought about it! I love her, Jackie! And I love this child...our child...”
“You’re marrying her because she’s pregnant, aren’t you?”
The Doctor opened his mouth and then snapped it shut. The muscles in his jaw clenched and released...Rose recognized the action as him trying to maintain control of his temper.
She stood up quickly, shaking her head as she placed her hand on his wrist. “No, Mum...it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all!”
Jackie continued staring at the Doctor. And the Doctor stared right back, just as hard.
After a few minutes, he took a deep breath and looked down at Rose. “Would you like another cup of tea?”
Without waiting for an answer, he bent his head and brushed his lips across hers. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, yeah?”
Rose nodded and lovingly stroked his sideburn with her thumb. “Will you see if there are any salt and vinegar Hula Hoops?”
“Yeah. If I can’t find any, I’ll go get some.” He whispered, brushing his fingertips over her abdomen as he stepped away from her.
He moved to walk around Jackie, pausing when he stood next to her. He met her eyes and sighed softly.
“I’m marrying her because I’m in love with her. The baby...well, he has nothing to do with the fact that I want to marry Rose. I would’ve asked her anyway.”
Jackie’s eyes softened somewhat and she took a deep breath. “Second shelf in the pantry. I always have salt and vinegar Hula Hoops...Rose’s favourite and all.”
The Doctor gave her a gentle nod, a tiny smile on his lips as he continued on his journey to the kitchen. Jackie watched Rose watch the Doctor slip out of the room. And as she watched her daughter, she realized that their love for each other had done nothing but become stronger since she saw them together last.
And just like that, her anger faded away.
“So...how far along are you?”
Rose pulled her gaze from the doorway and met her mother’s eyes. “About sixteen weeks.”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “How long has it been since...the Daleks?”
Rose heaved a heavy sigh. “Two months.”
“It’s been three months for us...so, we’re a little ahead of you.” Jackie reached out and took hold of Rose’s hand. “You were pregnant before we ended up here, then...”
Rose nodded as tears filled her eyes. “Didn’t know though. Not until a couple of days after...”
“Well...I was wondering how I was going to tell you this, but...”
Rose furrowed her brow, gently squeezing her mother’s hand. “Tell me what, Mum?”
After a dramatic pause that only Jackie could make seem longer than it really was, she exhaled a deep breath and smiled at her daughter.
“You’re going to be a sister.”
“What?” Rose asked in surprise, sounding more like the Doctor than she ever thought she could.
“You know...that was easier than I thought it’d be.” Jackie stated brightly.
“What? Mum...what?”
Hearing the high-pitched tone of Rose’s voice, the Doctor grabbed the bag of Hula Hoops and ran back into the living room. Jackie turned to look at him while Rose continued to stare at her mother.
“What’s going on?” The Doctor asked, quickly making his way to Rose’s side.
Jackie gave a very nonchalant wave and picked up her nearly forgotten cup of tea. “Just told Rose that she’s not the only one who’s pregnant.”
“She knows that. We’ve seen plenty of pregnant women. Even saw a woman who was pregnant with twins. Luckily, we’re not having twins. I think one’s enough for us right now...but, the baby does have twin hearts...”
“No, she meant - ” Rose began, only to be interrupted by her mother.
“What do you mean ‘twin hearts’?”
“Oh...the baby has two hearts. Like me.” The Doctor grinned proudly as he handed the bag of Hula Hoops to Rose. When he saw the concerned look in Jackie’s eyes, he quickly continued. “But, he’s perfectly healthy. The doctor that we’re seeing has dealt with all kinds of different alien/human combinations. Obviously not Time Lord/human combinations...since I’m the last of the Time Lords and - ”
“Mum’s pregnant.” Rose interrupted.
“Oh...right, well...um...congratulations!” He moved around the coffee table and wrapped his arms around Jackie. “You’re going to be a mother and a grandmother...all at once! Brilliant!”
He pulled back from the hug and raised an eyebrow at her. “Just for future reference...that’s the reaction you’re supposed to have when told of an impending arrival. Not accuse the father of marrying the mother simply because of a baby...”
Jackie rolled her eyes and slapped the back of her hand against his chest. “You’re still rude.”
“And still not ginger.” He countered with a bright grin. “I really am happy for you, Jackie. You and Pete...Pete’s happy, yeah?”
“What? Oh...yeah. We weren’t really expecting it to happen, but...we weren’t doing anything to prevent it either, so...”
“Like me and Rose.”
Rose stared incredulously at the Doctor. “Tell me you didn’t really just say that.”
“What? We weren’t using any contraceptives at all...neither one of us. And we knew that we’re compatible, that we were physically able to conceive a child. It’s not so different than your Mum and Pete.”
“Where’s the TARDIS?” Jackie asked, chuckling nervously and hoping the question would be enough to change the subject. The last thing she really wanted to talk about was her daughter’s sex life with a 900 year old alien.
The Doctor smiled brightly. “Well, I knew that Jack and Martha would want to explore the city, so I landed her right in the middle of Leicester Square.”
“What?” Rose snorted.
“Well, when I say right in the middle of Leicester Square, I mean...about half a mile away. But, close enough that they’d know how to get back to her.”
“As if you purposely landed the TARDIS there!” Rose laughed, earning her a glare from the Doctor.
“Well...I meant to land her in London!”
Jackie laughed back her tears, suddenly realizing just how much she’d missed the playful arguing between her daughter and the Doctor. And then she suddenly realized something else...and her laughter ended abruptly as her eyes widened.
“You said ‘he’!”
“Um...” The Doctor stammered, looking over at Rose. “Well, it hasn’t been confirmed or anything...medically, I mean. But...well, she has the...not mark, because it’s not a mark or anything, but...”
Rose sighed and placed her hand on her abdomen. “Apparently, when the baby...a Gallifreyan baby...is a boy, the hormones or something causes a red patch of skin to appear. Only the boys, not the girls. I have a red patch of skin...the baby’s half-Gallifreyan - ”
“Time Lord.” The Doctor corrected. “Half-Time Lord.”
Jackie narrowed her eyes in confusion. “Isn’t it the same?”
“No, not really. Well, similar, but...all Time Lords are Gallifreyan, but not all Gallifreyans are Time Lords. I prefer to be called a Time Lord, not because I’m pompous or anything, it’s just...kinda like Rose would prefer to be called ‘English’ as opposed to ‘Earthling’.”
“Doesn’t stop you from calling me ‘Earthling’...” Rose muttered.
“No, it doesn’t...just for the purpose of pure annoyance...once in a while.” The Doctor grinned and turned his attention back to Jackie. “I’m a Time Lord, from Gallifrey. Our son is a Gallihu, from...well, I’m not really sure where he was conceived, to be very honest.”
“Gallihu?”
“Oh, don’t even get me started on that.” Rose grumbled. “He totally contradicts himself with that...mister ‘Call me a Time Lord, not a Gallifreyan’ blah blah blah. But, Gallihu sounds better than Hulord...”
Jackie merely stared at her daughter for a few seconds before nodding slowly. “Well, I’d have to agree with him on that...”
The Doctor’s grin broadened as he rocked back and forth on his heels.
“Have you talked about names?” Jackie asked, chewing on her bottom lip as she gently rubbed her own abdomen. “I only ask ‘cause Pete’s kinda got his heart set on ‘Tony’ and...it’d be a bit strange to have a son and a grandson both named ‘Tony’...if you were considering ‘Tony’, that is...”
“You’re having a boy too?” Rose smiled warmly, tearing open the pack of Hula Hoops.
“Dunno...” Jackie laughed. “But, if we are...his name’s Tony.”
After a moment’s pause, in which Rose ate a handful of Hula Hoops before handing the bag to the Doctor, Rose ran her fingers through her hair and answered her mother’s question.
“Charlie. Charles Gallifrey Tyler, I think. Though we haven’t really talked about the middle name at all...”
The Doctor’s grin slipped into a look of bewilderment. “Gallifrey? You want his middle name to be Gallifrey?”
“Yeah. Is...is that okay?”
His grin returned as he nodded quickly. “Yeah, I just...well, I hadn’t thought that...well...”
“I want his name to reflect his father...and since we can’t use a Gallifreyan name, I thought it was the next best thing. Because...I’m not naming him ‘Doctor’...”
“He’s going to be a Tyler? Don’t you have a last name?” Jackie asked, sitting down in the chair.
The Doctor chewed a Hula Hoop and then grimaced, handing the bag back to Rose as he sat down on the sofa and gently pulled her down next to him. “ ‘Course I do. But, no one would be able to pronounce it...and I’m changing my name to Tyler when we get married anyway, so...”
“So, you’ll be Doctor Tyler instead of just Doctor?”
“Doctor John Tyler...for official purposes. It’ll be weird having a full name...I’ve been just ‘Doctor’ for so long...”
“You’ve never been just ‘Doctor’.” Rose chuckled, popping another crisp into her mouth.
“When are you getting married anyway?”
“Friday.” The Doctor answered without thought.
Rose cursed softly as Jackie’s eyes widened.
“Friday? This Friday?”
“Yep.” He replied, popping the ‘p’ as he grinned. “Have the rings and everything...”
He stood up when Jackie did, assuming that she was going to give him another hug.
One day he’d learn not to assume. Assumptions were wrong...nearly 83.4% of the time.