Glimpse of Truth (17/?) Life Got Complicated
Title: Glimpse of Truth (17/?) Life Got Complicated
Author: sinecure - My master fic list
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: Teen
Genre: AU, drama, angst
Summary: Rose was having contractions...
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Thanks: to momdaegmorgan for the beta.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 (all ages version). Chapter 4 (adult version),
Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11,
Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16
Rose blinked up at the ceiling, watching the columns slowly come into focus as the thrum of the TARDIS hummed in her ears.
"The baby?" she asked immediately, remembering pain and an inability to breathe, then more pain. The Doctor had given her a shot... she thought.
Maybe.
Turning her head to the side, to where he was sitting, she raised her voice past a whisper. "The baby?"
The Doctor jumped to his feet, sudden as a shot, startling her. She was used to him, used to the other him, and the previous him, but this him was the most animated and energetic of the three.
"The baby's fine," he responded, squinting at the monitor beside her, showing a clear image of the baby. "I stopped it. You're no longer in labor."
Eyes straying to the image on the screen, seeing the little hands and feet clear as a silhouette, Rose relaxed and settled back.
Relief poured through her, settling in her chest, making it tight. She hadn't realized until just now that, underneath the pain and panic, there'd been genuine fear that she'd lose her baby. Lose his baby. The last bit of him she'd ever have.
"You'll need to stay in bed for a few days, I'm afraid."
Flicking her eyes to the Doctor, whose head was down as he fiddled with the monitor buttons, she reassessed that. He had her lover's memories now. He was almost him.
Smoothing her hand down her stomach, fingers brushing bare skin, she felt for the familiar movements of the baby, needing that reassurance on top of the Doctor's. But the baby was still. "Doctor--"
"The baby's fine, Rose." His eyes rose to her briefly, then darted away again. "You're fine. I'm f-- well, you and the baby are fine."
She pushed up on her elbows, pulling her shirt down over her exposed belly. "You're sure you stopped it? It's too soon, isn't it?"
"It's-- I don't know," he admitted, standing back, hands in his pockets, that look on his face; the solemn one that she hated because it never preceded anything good. "I'm not really sure how long your pregnancy should last, but the baby is still growing, and it is too soon right now. Seems to be in line for a human-length pregnancy."
A breath left her, one she'd been holding for far too long. Months maybe. Along with the voices, she'd been afraid something else was abnormal with the pregnancy. The Doctor had warned her, after all, told her that the baby wasn't human, but she'd thought that maybe that just meant he had his father's telepathy and awful sense of timing.
And kept perfect time.
The Doctor tapped the monitor and the image disappeared. He glanced her way. "I need you to know that I am him. Same as he was me. You may not want to think so, but I have his memories and he had mine before that."
She lay back down, staring at the ceiling again. "He stayed."
The Doctor drew back as if she'd smacked him one worthy of her mum. "He did. I know; I was there." He tapped his temple. "Every step of the way. I saw the highlights and the lowlights while he was alive, and now I've got it all."
"So? Doesn't mean anything. It's like... like looking at a photo album someone else has kept and calling it yours."
He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Rose Tyler, you stubborn, brilliant human. I was me. Then he was me. Now, I'm him." He adjusted her shirt, pulling it lower over her stomach. "We're one and the same."
She closed her eyes, unable to argue with his logic, but also unwilling to believe him, because, in her mind, she needed to keep them separate. Keep them apart. This Doctor hadn't been at the ceremony of W'Uhila of Zed-Three-One with her. He hadn't made love to her beside a cliff while meteors fell to Earth, lighting up the sky in a streaking orange haze.
"Yes, I did," he said softly. "I danced with you after the prince declared it a celebration of life rather than the stale, boring ceremony of succession. You danced with the prince twice, then begged me not to let him drag you away again because he kept stepping on your toes." He grinned widely, her favorite smile from him. "The prince was slightly offended and left U.N.I.T. headquarters in a huff."
An answering smile tried to lift her lips, but she forced it back, though the memories of that night flooded through her. The laughter and dancing and champagne. The sweet kiss he'd given her in the mess hall.
"The night we made love during the meteor shower, you slid down an embankment and nearly broke your neck. Frightened the daylight out of me."
Rose's eyes burned with tears, but she refused to shed them. Curling up on her side, away from him, she fought the sobs rising in her throat. "You're in my head."
"Actually, yes, but that's not why I know those things. I am him as much as can be now."
She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She'd loved the other him just as much as she'd once loved this Doctor. "Why are you in my head?" she whispered, trying in vain to block him from her. Her thoughts were scattered, obsessing over little details, not focused enough to block him.
"Unavoidable, I'm afraid. Little junior, or juniorette, is broadcasting them rather loudly. I can't block you out for some reason. Not since--" He moved away, footsteps fading on the metal flooring, then growing louder again as he returned to her side. "I suspect my-- his-- the memories damaged my abilities temporarily. I'm absolutely rubbish at keeping the baby--and you, by extension--out of my head now."
Opening her eyes, she stared at the wall across from her, blinking at the bright white and the contrasting, glowing, blue lights coming from somewhere. "I can't hear you now."
Her head felt better as well; the headache had receded some.
"No, but I can hear you." His hand touched her temple, then her forehead. "I'm sorry. I've tried stopping the flow, but I can't seem to."
She rolled over with a sigh, looking up at him, looking at the man who'd meant so much to her over the years in different guises. She loved him and she didn't care if he knew--she saw his lips form a smile at her thoughts--but he wasn't the same man as the one she'd lived with for so long on Earth.
He was the same Doctor as the first one she'd known, but after that... life got complicated. He'd been here, on the TARDIS, traveling with Donna--
The Doctor flinched and turned away and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. He'd told her that Donna had gone home, but his reaction flowed back on her, battering her with sadness.
"What happened to Donna?"
"You should rest." He was brisk and businesslike as he pulled a blanket up over her.
Shutting down.
She felt her heart sink lower.
Chapter 18 - Interlude
Author: sinecure - My master fic list
Character/Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: Teen
Genre: AU, drama, angst
Summary: Rose was having contractions...
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who.
Thanks: to momdaegmorgan for the beta.
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4 (all ages version). Chapter 4 (adult version),
Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11,
Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16
Rose blinked up at the ceiling, watching the columns slowly come into focus as the thrum of the TARDIS hummed in her ears.
"The baby?" she asked immediately, remembering pain and an inability to breathe, then more pain. The Doctor had given her a shot... she thought.
Maybe.
Turning her head to the side, to where he was sitting, she raised her voice past a whisper. "The baby?"
The Doctor jumped to his feet, sudden as a shot, startling her. She was used to him, used to the other him, and the previous him, but this him was the most animated and energetic of the three.
"The baby's fine," he responded, squinting at the monitor beside her, showing a clear image of the baby. "I stopped it. You're no longer in labor."
Eyes straying to the image on the screen, seeing the little hands and feet clear as a silhouette, Rose relaxed and settled back.
Relief poured through her, settling in her chest, making it tight. She hadn't realized until just now that, underneath the pain and panic, there'd been genuine fear that she'd lose her baby. Lose his baby. The last bit of him she'd ever have.
"You'll need to stay in bed for a few days, I'm afraid."
Flicking her eyes to the Doctor, whose head was down as he fiddled with the monitor buttons, she reassessed that. He had her lover's memories now. He was almost him.
Smoothing her hand down her stomach, fingers brushing bare skin, she felt for the familiar movements of the baby, needing that reassurance on top of the Doctor's. But the baby was still. "Doctor--"
"The baby's fine, Rose." His eyes rose to her briefly, then darted away again. "You're fine. I'm f-- well, you and the baby are fine."
She pushed up on her elbows, pulling her shirt down over her exposed belly. "You're sure you stopped it? It's too soon, isn't it?"
"It's-- I don't know," he admitted, standing back, hands in his pockets, that look on his face; the solemn one that she hated because it never preceded anything good. "I'm not really sure how long your pregnancy should last, but the baby is still growing, and it is too soon right now. Seems to be in line for a human-length pregnancy."
A breath left her, one she'd been holding for far too long. Months maybe. Along with the voices, she'd been afraid something else was abnormal with the pregnancy. The Doctor had warned her, after all, told her that the baby wasn't human, but she'd thought that maybe that just meant he had his father's telepathy and awful sense of timing.
And kept perfect time.
The Doctor tapped the monitor and the image disappeared. He glanced her way. "I need you to know that I am him. Same as he was me. You may not want to think so, but I have his memories and he had mine before that."
She lay back down, staring at the ceiling again. "He stayed."
The Doctor drew back as if she'd smacked him one worthy of her mum. "He did. I know; I was there." He tapped his temple. "Every step of the way. I saw the highlights and the lowlights while he was alive, and now I've got it all."
"So? Doesn't mean anything. It's like... like looking at a photo album someone else has kept and calling it yours."
He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Rose Tyler, you stubborn, brilliant human. I was me. Then he was me. Now, I'm him." He adjusted her shirt, pulling it lower over her stomach. "We're one and the same."
She closed her eyes, unable to argue with his logic, but also unwilling to believe him, because, in her mind, she needed to keep them separate. Keep them apart. This Doctor hadn't been at the ceremony of W'Uhila of Zed-Three-One with her. He hadn't made love to her beside a cliff while meteors fell to Earth, lighting up the sky in a streaking orange haze.
"Yes, I did," he said softly. "I danced with you after the prince declared it a celebration of life rather than the stale, boring ceremony of succession. You danced with the prince twice, then begged me not to let him drag you away again because he kept stepping on your toes." He grinned widely, her favorite smile from him. "The prince was slightly offended and left U.N.I.T. headquarters in a huff."
An answering smile tried to lift her lips, but she forced it back, though the memories of that night flooded through her. The laughter and dancing and champagne. The sweet kiss he'd given her in the mess hall.
"The night we made love during the meteor shower, you slid down an embankment and nearly broke your neck. Frightened the daylight out of me."
Rose's eyes burned with tears, but she refused to shed them. Curling up on her side, away from him, she fought the sobs rising in her throat. "You're in my head."
"Actually, yes, but that's not why I know those things. I am him as much as can be now."
She wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel. She'd loved the other him just as much as she'd once loved this Doctor. "Why are you in my head?" she whispered, trying in vain to block him from her. Her thoughts were scattered, obsessing over little details, not focused enough to block him.
"Unavoidable, I'm afraid. Little junior, or juniorette, is broadcasting them rather loudly. I can't block you out for some reason. Not since--" He moved away, footsteps fading on the metal flooring, then growing louder again as he returned to her side. "I suspect my-- his-- the memories damaged my abilities temporarily. I'm absolutely rubbish at keeping the baby--and you, by extension--out of my head now."
Opening her eyes, she stared at the wall across from her, blinking at the bright white and the contrasting, glowing, blue lights coming from somewhere. "I can't hear you now."
Her head felt better as well; the headache had receded some.
"No, but I can hear you." His hand touched her temple, then her forehead. "I'm sorry. I've tried stopping the flow, but I can't seem to."
She rolled over with a sigh, looking up at him, looking at the man who'd meant so much to her over the years in different guises. She loved him and she didn't care if he knew--she saw his lips form a smile at her thoughts--but he wasn't the same man as the one she'd lived with for so long on Earth.
He was the same Doctor as the first one she'd known, but after that... life got complicated. He'd been here, on the TARDIS, traveling with Donna--
The Doctor flinched and turned away and she felt a sinking feeling in her chest. He'd told her that Donna had gone home, but his reaction flowed back on her, battering her with sadness.
"What happened to Donna?"
"You should rest." He was brisk and businesslike as he pulled a blanket up over her.
Shutting down.
She felt her heart sink lower.
Chapter 18 - Interlude