[Doctor Who] "Moons and Meiosis" (PG)
Author's Note: Written for < lj user="tamingthemuse">'s Prompt ~#385 SYZYGY, and < lj user="adventchallenge">'s "ice". Nine/Jack Harkness/Rose Tyler, with implied mpreg. Follow up to "Three Way Question"
The syzygy of the moons of Women Wept: a once in a millennium occasion and the Doctor wanted the three of them to see it.
"Nine moons, all lined up in a row across the sky," he said, leading Rose, heavy winter coat in hand, down a corridor of the TARDIS, heading for the "bridge" (console room? she never knew quite what to call it). "Well worth risking the cold, this time o' the year."
"Will Jack be joining us?" Rose asked, glancing to the door of the room where Jack kept his stuff, though he had started sleeping in the room which he shared with Rose and the Doctor.
"Wasn't feelin' well when he got up, so he's havin' a lie down by 'imself," the Doctor replied, puzzled by the situation, but not letting it break his stride. "Said he might join us if he felt better."
"Hope he's not coming down with something: who knows what sort of space germs are out here," she said.
"Plenty of vaccines in the medical bay for those," the Doctor said, as they reached the console room and set to work hitting switches and throwing buttons or throwing and hitting button switches. Rose still had no idea what half of the components on the console did, and Jack seemed to have a passing idea of what some of it did, but she gladly assisted, hitting and holding down the things that the Doctor directed her to.
At length, she felt the TARDIS rattle and clatter to a halt, touching down with a dimly heard icy crunch, signaling Rose needed to pull her coat on and flip the fur trimmed hood over her head before they headed out. No repeats of what happened to her the first time they came here, when she had tried swanning out, thinking she could handle a little cold and she had nearly caught her death of cold. "'Ere we are, just in time," the Doctor said, proffering his arm to Rose and leading her to the door, flinging it open.
The snowy wastes of Women Wept lay spread out before them, the sky deep violet overhead and the icy slopes gleaming in the light of the moons overhead. The frozen sea seemed a brighter mirror of the . The nine orbs, ranging in size from a spot Rose could cover with her thumbnail to a circle the size of an airship overhead, lined up nearly from one horizon to the other.
"So how come the moons don't affect the tides like it does on Earth? Aside from the cold and ice, I mean," Rose asked, remembering a factoid from science class.
"So many moons they cancel out each other's effects," the Doctor replied. "Plus the sea's frozen too solid for it to be affected by the gravitational pull. They got snow tides, instead."
"Snow tides: good for the skiers then," Rose said.
"If yer into that kind of thing: done some half-grav skiing on Winter," Jack's slightly tired voice said, behind them as he crunched out to join them.
"Feelin' better?" the Doctor asked, looking over his shoulder as Jack emerged from the TARDIS, a heavier coat than usual wrapped about his form and a blanket draped about his shoulder.
"Thought I saw some ginger ale in the kitchen: that an' some crackers always put me right. Mum swears by 'em," Rose offered.
"Less nauseous, but I don't think I'm gonna be better for a while yet," Jack said. "Nine months to be precise," he added, with a mysterious little smile.
The Doctor stared at Jack's face, then looked at Rose, grinning from ear to ear, like a loon.
"What?" Rose asked. Of course she knew about "the little Captain's sister", having met her on their wedding night, but she did not expect this. "I thought you said human and Time Lord DNA didn't always match up right?"
"Operating word being 'not always'," Jack replied. "Plus I might have a stray strand of some other species's genetics further back on my family tree, to say nothing of the modifications that some scientist made to my grandfather with several dozen greats, the one who used to be a breeder on a generational ship."
"Meanin' why he's eager to have a variety on his dance card," the Doctor added.
"And why you're so hot to trot," Rose asked, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
"So, the bug turned out to be the non-catching variety," the Doctor said, opening his arms to their husband.
"Mum's gonna go nuts when I call her," Rose said, joining the hug. "Gonna be a mum but I'm not the one havin' the kid."
"Couldn't have a better set of parents to look after the little one," Jack said, opening the blanket to fold the corners about their respective shoulders, nuzzling first Rose's neck then the Doctor's. Even the chill in the air and from the ice under her boots could not chill the warmth she felt hugging her family....
The syzygy of the moons of Women Wept: a once in a millennium occasion and the Doctor wanted the three of them to see it.
"Nine moons, all lined up in a row across the sky," he said, leading Rose, heavy winter coat in hand, down a corridor of the TARDIS, heading for the "bridge" (console room? she never knew quite what to call it). "Well worth risking the cold, this time o' the year."
"Will Jack be joining us?" Rose asked, glancing to the door of the room where Jack kept his stuff, though he had started sleeping in the room which he shared with Rose and the Doctor.
"Wasn't feelin' well when he got up, so he's havin' a lie down by 'imself," the Doctor replied, puzzled by the situation, but not letting it break his stride. "Said he might join us if he felt better."
"Hope he's not coming down with something: who knows what sort of space germs are out here," she said.
"Plenty of vaccines in the medical bay for those," the Doctor said, as they reached the console room and set to work hitting switches and throwing buttons or throwing and hitting button switches. Rose still had no idea what half of the components on the console did, and Jack seemed to have a passing idea of what some of it did, but she gladly assisted, hitting and holding down the things that the Doctor directed her to.
At length, she felt the TARDIS rattle and clatter to a halt, touching down with a dimly heard icy crunch, signaling Rose needed to pull her coat on and flip the fur trimmed hood over her head before they headed out. No repeats of what happened to her the first time they came here, when she had tried swanning out, thinking she could handle a little cold and she had nearly caught her death of cold. "'Ere we are, just in time," the Doctor said, proffering his arm to Rose and leading her to the door, flinging it open.
The snowy wastes of Women Wept lay spread out before them, the sky deep violet overhead and the icy slopes gleaming in the light of the moons overhead. The frozen sea seemed a brighter mirror of the . The nine orbs, ranging in size from a spot Rose could cover with her thumbnail to a circle the size of an airship overhead, lined up nearly from one horizon to the other.
"So how come the moons don't affect the tides like it does on Earth? Aside from the cold and ice, I mean," Rose asked, remembering a factoid from science class.
"So many moons they cancel out each other's effects," the Doctor replied. "Plus the sea's frozen too solid for it to be affected by the gravitational pull. They got snow tides, instead."
"Snow tides: good for the skiers then," Rose said.
"If yer into that kind of thing: done some half-grav skiing on Winter," Jack's slightly tired voice said, behind them as he crunched out to join them.
"Feelin' better?" the Doctor asked, looking over his shoulder as Jack emerged from the TARDIS, a heavier coat than usual wrapped about his form and a blanket draped about his shoulder.
"Thought I saw some ginger ale in the kitchen: that an' some crackers always put me right. Mum swears by 'em," Rose offered.
"Less nauseous, but I don't think I'm gonna be better for a while yet," Jack said. "Nine months to be precise," he added, with a mysterious little smile.
The Doctor stared at Jack's face, then looked at Rose, grinning from ear to ear, like a loon.
"What?" Rose asked. Of course she knew about "the little Captain's sister", having met her on their wedding night, but she did not expect this. "I thought you said human and Time Lord DNA didn't always match up right?"
"Operating word being 'not always'," Jack replied. "Plus I might have a stray strand of some other species's genetics further back on my family tree, to say nothing of the modifications that some scientist made to my grandfather with several dozen greats, the one who used to be a breeder on a generational ship."
"Meanin' why he's eager to have a variety on his dance card," the Doctor added.
"And why you're so hot to trot," Rose asked, feeling her cheeks grow warm.
"So, the bug turned out to be the non-catching variety," the Doctor said, opening his arms to their husband.
"Mum's gonna go nuts when I call her," Rose said, joining the hug. "Gonna be a mum but I'm not the one havin' the kid."
"Couldn't have a better set of parents to look after the little one," Jack said, opening the blanket to fold the corners about their respective shoulders, nuzzling first Rose's neck then the Doctor's. Even the chill in the air and from the ice under her boots could not chill the warmth she felt hugging her family....