Gone with the Morning Pt. 2-3 - SiT Spring Hopes Eternal Ficathon (Doctor Who)
Gone with the Morning
Part II: Wander a Thousand Miles Away
“The Doc said our Owen is worse,” Jack said, loving the shocked look on Owen’s face a bit too much. Rose shrugged.
“Don’t know your Owen, do I?” she asked. “My Owen’s not that bad, though. Bit of a prat, but Tosh settled him down good enough.”
“Tosh?!” Owen asked, eyes widening, and she gave him a curious look.
“You two aren’t married here?” she asked with a frown, and he winced.
“They dated a bit, long time ago, but it never really took off,” Gwen said. She held out a hand to Rose. “Gwen Harkness.”
“Oh, I know,” Rose said, grinning. Gwen frowned, and Rose smiled. “The Doctor’s shown me pictures from your wedding. Congratulations, by the way - never thought anyone would tie this one down.”
Jack and Gwen shared a smile, and Owen frowned.
“You mean you don’t have a Gwen?” he asked, and his frown deepened. “And how do you have a me, anyway? What’re you…wait. Rose Tyler? The Doctor’s girlfriend trapped in another universe?”
“Not so trapped now, am I?” Rose asked, smirking; she chose to ignore the fact that she’d already said she’d come in from another world and really, he should have realized that earlier. Owen’s eyes widened.
“Another me almost dated the Doctor’s girlfriend?” he asked, and then he winced again. “No wonder he doesn’t like me…”
“That’s not why he doesn’t like you,” Jack, Gwen, and Rose said unanimously. Owen glared at them, but his retort was cut off by a moan from the Weevil. Rose nudged it with her foot, and another moan came from it. She looked at Jack, who grinned.
“Better get him back to the Hub - the Doc’s probably there by now, anyway,” he said, and she nodded. Her hand slipped to her stomach again as Gwen and Jack detained the Weevil; she felt a tickling in her mind, her little girl’s excitement bleeding through their link clear as day, and she smiled.
That’s right, sweetheart, she thought, Daddy’s almost here.
- W -
The whooshing sound that heralded the arrival of the TARDIS was practically commonplace in the Hub these days. With the Doctor’s tendency to just pop up - and Jack’s tendency to call in his help on their bigger cases - the Torchwood team had grown accustomed to the sound; as it was, when the grating vrowmp-vrowmp-vrowmp filled the air no one really batted an eye. Most of the team had already gone home for the evening, anyway - the only ones there to consider the Doctor’s arrival were Jack, Rose, and Gwen, and none of them were in the central hub upon his ship’s materialization.
The space continued to be decidedly abandoned when the doors opened moments later and a tetchy Doctor stalked out, fists shoved so deep in his trouser pockets he slouched. He paused and gave a look around, his frown deepening as he noticed the lack of people inside the Hub. His bad mood worsening, he turned on his heel and prepared to head back to the TARDIS, thinking of all the really mean and nasty things he could leave on Jack’s voicemail for this apparently unneeded call. ‘Very urgent you arrive as quickly as possible’ his arse.
He was about to reach for the handle when he heard it, the first signs of life from the offices. He turned slightly, ears pricking at the laughter floating towards him from…the autopsy room? He turned away from the TARDIS, uneasily making his way back towards the pit Owen usually worked from as he strained his ears to pick up just who was in the room and why they were laughing.
A gasping, giggling noise - too light to properly identify a voice, but definitely female and so familiar it caused the hair on the back of his neck to bristle in that eager, hopeful anticipation he attributed to…no. Impossible.
Jack, making full-blow guffaws and slapping something as he talked with Gwen, also laughing. He thought he heard something along the lines of “Stop squirming,” and he knew that voice was Martha’s. That nervous twitch in the back of his mind grew; usually, when Jack called him in and Martha was there it never meant anything good. But if that was the case, why were they laughing? And who was…
He reached the large arch marking the pit’s entrance, and his hearts stopped.
“Honestly, you’re worse than my three-year-old!” Martha laughed as none other than Rose Tyler squirmed away from her, laughing and slapping at her hands as the doctor tried to rub a clear gel on her…
Oh.
Oh, oh - oh, Rassilon, it couldn’t…
He couldn’t breathe, and his respiratory bypass system was refusing to be of any assistance.
“Never realized you were quite that ticklish, Rose,” Jack said, grinning, and Rose threw her head back, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Tears filled her eyes as she shook, shaking her head from side to side and gripping the table.
“I-I’m not!” she gasped, giggling again. Martha stopped, crossing her arms over her chest and giving her a stern look.
“Rose Tyler, you said this baby hasn’t had a proper checkup in five months because you didn’t have an alien baby expert in that other universe,” she said. Rose shot her a sheepish look.
“Well, it’s more we couldn’t really trust anyone, could we? Big public figure like Rose Tyler ends up pregnant with an alien baby, and go to the wrong doctor it would be all over the press - we’d both be in danger, and I wasn’t putting her in that kind of trouble,” Rose said. Jack grinned.
“Especially if she’s inherited the jeopardy-friendly genes from her parents - she’ll get in enough trouble all her own when she’s old enough,” he said, and Rose rolled her eyes.
“Point is, I think you were lying. I think you just couldn’t sit still through an exam long enough,” Martha said, grinning at her. Jack snorted, and Rose whipped her head around to shoot a reply at him when her eyes finally fell on the Time Lord gawking from just behind the Torchwood head. Her eyes widened as her entire face lit up, splitting with a grin bright enough to outshine entire universes. The look seemed to drag him back to life, and a breathy laugh escaped him. He shook his head, and any mood he had been in upon arriving vanished like so much morning smoke as he stumbled forward. Jack and Gwen turned, both smiling when they saw him, but Martha merely flicked her eyes in his direction before taking full advantage of the distraction to rub the rest of the cool gel on Rose’s very exposed, very pregnant belly.
Well. Slightly pregnant. Half-pregnant. Little under, actually, since the baby was part Time Lord - had Martha said five months?
“About time you turned up, Doc,” Jack said, and his eyes jerked towards him - only for a moment, though, as they still refused to leave the impossible sight before him. He stopped next to Jack, right by the stairs that led into the pit where Rose was propped up on the table usually reserved for autopsies. The thought should disturb him, he knew, but looking at that beautifully pregnant, beautifully here stomach he just couldn’t acknowledge it. And he knew he should probably say something, but for once in his very long life he was completely gobsmacked. And all at the sight of his Rose - his pregnant Rose. Rassilon, she was bloody pregnant! “Any longer and Gwen and I were planning on taking Rose here home with us for the night.”
“Caught me at a bad time,” he said, his mind latching onto the one thing it could comprehend. He tore his eyes away from Rose, looking back to Jack. “I was half-buried in the console, trying to fix the dimensional stabilizers when Ianto phoned. Well, it was a few things - we were in a pretty tough scrap a day or so ago, and she took quite a beating. Had to finish that last repair before I could safely land her anywhere. But blimey, Jack, if he had said…”
“Thought he’d surprise you,” Gwen said, grinning at him. She gave him a little wave. “Hello again, Doctor.”
“Mrs. Harkness,” the Doctor said, grinning at her. A gasp caused them all to look back to Rose, whose eyes were fixed on a monitor Martha had rudely constructed to show an ultrasound. Her mouth was hanging loose, her eyes wide as her hand reached out to press against the screen; blacks and grays flickered around, but there in the center was what was unmistakably a little baby. The Doctor’s chest tightened at the sight; not just a little baby. His little baby. Rose’s little baby. Their little baby.
“Rose, meet your baby,” Martha said, smiling at her. Rose glanced at her stomach, her hand pressing against the monitor. “He’s turned funny, so I can’t tell what the gender is, but -”
“Girl,” Rose, the Doctor, and Jack said, cutting her off. She gave them all a skeptical look, and Rose looked back to the Doctor, grinning.
“I know you’re probably still cross about that near-death experience, but no punishments until she’s actually offended the royals, yeah?” she asked, and he laughed. He laughed long and hard, unable to control the giddy mirth bubbling in him. He hopped down the steps and ran over to her, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulders to give her the best hug he could, given her position. He felt her tears against his cheek, and that part of him that he was convinced was becoming too human and sappy felt he could cry with her.
“Rose,” he choked, squeezing her gently. “Rassilon…how’d you do it, you beautiful, brilliant girl?”
“You were there,” she teased, and he pulled back to give her a confused look - only to find she was looking back at the screen. His gaze followed her own, settling on their squirming baby girl. Even if she would land a past version of himself in a rather uncomfortable, unhygienic jail cell, he had a feeling she would be every bit worth it.
“That’s our daughter?” he asked, and Rose nodded. He looked at Martha, who also nodded.
“That’s your daughter, Doctor,” she said. She moved the probe a little to the left, and Rose gasped at the sliding sensation. Martha gave her a look, and she grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry,” she said. Martha paused the screen and pulled the probe away, pulling out a damp cloth to wipe it off. She handed another one to the Doctor, who gave her a confused look.
“Make yourself useful,” she said. When he continued to frown, she rolled her eyes. “You’ve left this poor woman alone for the first half of her pregnancy. Way I see things, you owe her some serious pampering.”
“I like the sound of that,” Rose said, and he looked back to her to see her tongue caught between her teeth in that all too familiar grin. He shook his head, chuckling as he began to wipe the gel off her belly.
“Oh, believe me - you’ll be pampered,” he said, still shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re here. Rose…how did you…and you’re…and…blimey!”
“I think you’ve got him gobsmacked, Rose,” Gwen said, and Rose laughed.
“Not often that happens,” she said. She reached up, laying her palm against his cheek. He leaned his head into her hand, looking up from his task to catch her eye. Her smile warmed. “S’like I told Jack, Doctor: it doesn’t matter how I got back. We can go into all that later, if you really want, but all that matters is the multiverse isn’t collapsing and I’m here - we’re here - and you’ve got us back. How’s that for impossible, Mr. I-May-Never-Get-Through?”
“You’re an impossible thing, Rose,” he said, and Jack laughed.
“I thought I was special, Doc!” he said, and the Doctor gave him an amused look. Jack looked back to Rose. “Any idea what you’re calling her yet?”
“We’ll figure that out later,” she said, looking back to the Doctor. He left the cloth on her belly and pulled her towards him, hugging her tight. She gasped after a moment when their daughter jumped, and she laughed as he pulled back and looked her over in concern. “She senses you. Happy you’re here, is all.”
“That makes two of us,” he said, and before she could comment any further he brought her face to his own and kissed her. He jumped back when Martha thwacked him, pointing to Rose’s stomach.
“Oi! No snogging until you’ve cleaned her up!” she said, and it seemed everyone in the room was laughing at him.
“Motherhood has made you mean, Martha Jones,” he sniffed, and she thwacked him again.
“Martha Milligan, thank you very much,” she said. She grinned at him. “And it’s not the motherhood making me mean - it’s Girls’ Night Out with Donna. And you better swing by and see her, you know - she’ll want to meet Rose, what with all your going on about her, and you have to see Ella.”
“Ella?” the Doctor and Rose asked, and Martha grinned.
“Mr. Save the Universe here hasn’t been by to see Donna in quite a while. Lee got her pregnant again - a little girl this time. She’s just a few months old, but she’s so precious,” Martha said, grinning. The Doctor laughed, shaking his head.
“Blimey, if the old me could see me now,” he said, and Jack grinned.
“You’ve officially gone domestic, Doc,” he said. “Family and babies and everything. Next you know Rose’ll be joining them on Girls’ Night Out and you’ll be holding a steady nine to five with us here.”
“Never!” the Doctor cried, eyes widening. He slid the cloth across her stomach, cleaning up the last bit of the gel. Martha handed him a dry cloth and he set about rubbing that against her. “Though…might not be all bad. Long as I don’t have to get a mortgage, that is. I can’t stand mortgages.”
“I don’t mind the idea of Girls’ Night Out, but a steady job would kill him,” Rose said, grinning at Jack.
“Being in one place longer than necessary would kill him,” he said. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Jack held up a hand. “I know - you’ve stayed in the same place for an entire year before, but you were forced into that. You get itchy feet, and longer than you have to stay is hard for you.”
“Not that I mind,” Rose said, taking his hand.
“Martha, are you about done?” Gwen asked, and Martha nodded as she snapped her case shut. Gwen nudged Jack, and he nodded. The Doctor gave them all a curious sort of look. “I think we’re all in need of a good cuppa, don’t you? Doctor, watch over her, yeah?”
“Of course,” he said, nodding, and with shared smiles the three left the pit. He looked back to Rose, who was trying to hide a laugh behind her hand. He grinned and pulled her close, burying his head in the crook of her neck. “Welcome home.”
“I’m not home yet,” she said, and he grinned despite himself at the meaningful tone in her voice. He gave her a squeeze, and she held him tighter. “Can we? Please?”
“Jack would kill me,” he said. “Though…five months without a checkup, Martha said? I would like to take a proper look at her…”
“Please? We don’t have to leave yet, and Jack’ll understand. Please, Doctor?” she asked, and he laughed as he pulled back. He placed his palm against her cheek, eyes twinkling at her.
“Rose Tyler, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you missed the TARDIS more than you missed me,” he said, and the grin she gave him was nothing but cheeky.
“Well, I’ve been able to see you once a year for a while now - I haven’t seen her since…please, Doctor? I want to know I’m home. I need to know I’m home,” she said, and his hearts swelled further at her words. He squeezed her again and nodded. “Go tell Jack. I’ll be right behind you.”
He was reluctant to leave her side, but he nodded all the same and headed back up the steps. He heard her moving around behind him, and he turned back just slightly to see her adjusting her clothes and grabbing her pack. She turned and gave him a look, half amused and half annoyed fondness, when she saw him still standing at the top of the stairs. She jogged over to him, and when her hand was safely back in his he continued on his way.
“Trying to sneak out?” Jack asked, walking over to them. They stopped, sharing a guilty look as if they were teenagers caught sneaking out of the house at midnight. He gave them a fond look. “Martha wanted me to apologize. Tom just called - Zach’s sick, and Martha had to pick up some medicine for him before heading home.”
“We’ll see her again before we’re off,” the Doctor said, squeezing her hand. “Besides, like she said: we need to stop by Donna’s, too.”
“We weren’t sneaking out,” Rose said, and Jack quirked a brow at her. “We weren’t, Jack! I just…I need to see the TARDIS. And he wants to give a proper poke at the baby.”
“Lovely consonance,” the Doctor said, and she grinned at him.
“Thank you,” she said, and Jack chuckled before slapping the Doctor on the back.
“All right, all right - but I want that TARDIS right where you left it when I get back in the morning,” he said, and Rose and the Doctor gave him mock-salutes. He pulled Rose towards him for one last hug, and she smiled against his neck as he squeezed her. “Good to have you back, Rose.”
“Good to be back,” she said, and he let her go. He gave a finale salute to the Doctor before heading back towards the vault door, where Gwen was waiting. She waved at them before Jack took her hand and led her out of the Hub. Rose looked to the Doctor and grinned. “Home?”
“Home,” he said, and with a tug on her hand he led her back to the TARDIS.
- W -
They were barely inside before the Doctor pressed her against the door, kissing her fiercely. There was a desperation in the gesture, an overwhelming joy clashing with sheer disbelief and too much longing that fought to prove to his recovering mind that it really was Rose Tyler against him and yes, she really was pregnant. His free hand slipped down from her waist, sliding to rest against her bump; he felt their daughter moving beneath his hand, and he smiled against her mouth. He released her lips and buried his face against her shoulder, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her.
Part II-1 | Part II-2 | Part II-3 | Part II-4
Part II: Wander a Thousand Miles Away
“The Doc said our Owen is worse,” Jack said, loving the shocked look on Owen’s face a bit too much. Rose shrugged.
“Don’t know your Owen, do I?” she asked. “My Owen’s not that bad, though. Bit of a prat, but Tosh settled him down good enough.”
“Tosh?!” Owen asked, eyes widening, and she gave him a curious look.
“You two aren’t married here?” she asked with a frown, and he winced.
“They dated a bit, long time ago, but it never really took off,” Gwen said. She held out a hand to Rose. “Gwen Harkness.”
“Oh, I know,” Rose said, grinning. Gwen frowned, and Rose smiled. “The Doctor’s shown me pictures from your wedding. Congratulations, by the way - never thought anyone would tie this one down.”
Jack and Gwen shared a smile, and Owen frowned.
“You mean you don’t have a Gwen?” he asked, and his frown deepened. “And how do you have a me, anyway? What’re you…wait. Rose Tyler? The Doctor’s girlfriend trapped in another universe?”
“Not so trapped now, am I?” Rose asked, smirking; she chose to ignore the fact that she’d already said she’d come in from another world and really, he should have realized that earlier. Owen’s eyes widened.
“Another me almost dated the Doctor’s girlfriend?” he asked, and then he winced again. “No wonder he doesn’t like me…”
“That’s not why he doesn’t like you,” Jack, Gwen, and Rose said unanimously. Owen glared at them, but his retort was cut off by a moan from the Weevil. Rose nudged it with her foot, and another moan came from it. She looked at Jack, who grinned.
“Better get him back to the Hub - the Doc’s probably there by now, anyway,” he said, and she nodded. Her hand slipped to her stomach again as Gwen and Jack detained the Weevil; she felt a tickling in her mind, her little girl’s excitement bleeding through their link clear as day, and she smiled.
That’s right, sweetheart, she thought, Daddy’s almost here.
- W -
The whooshing sound that heralded the arrival of the TARDIS was practically commonplace in the Hub these days. With the Doctor’s tendency to just pop up - and Jack’s tendency to call in his help on their bigger cases - the Torchwood team had grown accustomed to the sound; as it was, when the grating vrowmp-vrowmp-vrowmp filled the air no one really batted an eye. Most of the team had already gone home for the evening, anyway - the only ones there to consider the Doctor’s arrival were Jack, Rose, and Gwen, and none of them were in the central hub upon his ship’s materialization.
The space continued to be decidedly abandoned when the doors opened moments later and a tetchy Doctor stalked out, fists shoved so deep in his trouser pockets he slouched. He paused and gave a look around, his frown deepening as he noticed the lack of people inside the Hub. His bad mood worsening, he turned on his heel and prepared to head back to the TARDIS, thinking of all the really mean and nasty things he could leave on Jack’s voicemail for this apparently unneeded call. ‘Very urgent you arrive as quickly as possible’ his arse.
He was about to reach for the handle when he heard it, the first signs of life from the offices. He turned slightly, ears pricking at the laughter floating towards him from…the autopsy room? He turned away from the TARDIS, uneasily making his way back towards the pit Owen usually worked from as he strained his ears to pick up just who was in the room and why they were laughing.
A gasping, giggling noise - too light to properly identify a voice, but definitely female and so familiar it caused the hair on the back of his neck to bristle in that eager, hopeful anticipation he attributed to…no. Impossible.
Jack, making full-blow guffaws and slapping something as he talked with Gwen, also laughing. He thought he heard something along the lines of “Stop squirming,” and he knew that voice was Martha’s. That nervous twitch in the back of his mind grew; usually, when Jack called him in and Martha was there it never meant anything good. But if that was the case, why were they laughing? And who was…
He reached the large arch marking the pit’s entrance, and his hearts stopped.
“Honestly, you’re worse than my three-year-old!” Martha laughed as none other than Rose Tyler squirmed away from her, laughing and slapping at her hands as the doctor tried to rub a clear gel on her…
Oh.
Oh, oh - oh, Rassilon, it couldn’t…
He couldn’t breathe, and his respiratory bypass system was refusing to be of any assistance.
“Never realized you were quite that ticklish, Rose,” Jack said, grinning, and Rose threw her head back, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Tears filled her eyes as she shook, shaking her head from side to side and gripping the table.
“I-I’m not!” she gasped, giggling again. Martha stopped, crossing her arms over her chest and giving her a stern look.
“Rose Tyler, you said this baby hasn’t had a proper checkup in five months because you didn’t have an alien baby expert in that other universe,” she said. Rose shot her a sheepish look.
“Well, it’s more we couldn’t really trust anyone, could we? Big public figure like Rose Tyler ends up pregnant with an alien baby, and go to the wrong doctor it would be all over the press - we’d both be in danger, and I wasn’t putting her in that kind of trouble,” Rose said. Jack grinned.
“Especially if she’s inherited the jeopardy-friendly genes from her parents - she’ll get in enough trouble all her own when she’s old enough,” he said, and Rose rolled her eyes.
“Point is, I think you were lying. I think you just couldn’t sit still through an exam long enough,” Martha said, grinning at her. Jack snorted, and Rose whipped her head around to shoot a reply at him when her eyes finally fell on the Time Lord gawking from just behind the Torchwood head. Her eyes widened as her entire face lit up, splitting with a grin bright enough to outshine entire universes. The look seemed to drag him back to life, and a breathy laugh escaped him. He shook his head, and any mood he had been in upon arriving vanished like so much morning smoke as he stumbled forward. Jack and Gwen turned, both smiling when they saw him, but Martha merely flicked her eyes in his direction before taking full advantage of the distraction to rub the rest of the cool gel on Rose’s very exposed, very pregnant belly.
Well. Slightly pregnant. Half-pregnant. Little under, actually, since the baby was part Time Lord - had Martha said five months?
“About time you turned up, Doc,” Jack said, and his eyes jerked towards him - only for a moment, though, as they still refused to leave the impossible sight before him. He stopped next to Jack, right by the stairs that led into the pit where Rose was propped up on the table usually reserved for autopsies. The thought should disturb him, he knew, but looking at that beautifully pregnant, beautifully here stomach he just couldn’t acknowledge it. And he knew he should probably say something, but for once in his very long life he was completely gobsmacked. And all at the sight of his Rose - his pregnant Rose. Rassilon, she was bloody pregnant! “Any longer and Gwen and I were planning on taking Rose here home with us for the night.”
“Caught me at a bad time,” he said, his mind latching onto the one thing it could comprehend. He tore his eyes away from Rose, looking back to Jack. “I was half-buried in the console, trying to fix the dimensional stabilizers when Ianto phoned. Well, it was a few things - we were in a pretty tough scrap a day or so ago, and she took quite a beating. Had to finish that last repair before I could safely land her anywhere. But blimey, Jack, if he had said…”
“Thought he’d surprise you,” Gwen said, grinning at him. She gave him a little wave. “Hello again, Doctor.”
“Mrs. Harkness,” the Doctor said, grinning at her. A gasp caused them all to look back to Rose, whose eyes were fixed on a monitor Martha had rudely constructed to show an ultrasound. Her mouth was hanging loose, her eyes wide as her hand reached out to press against the screen; blacks and grays flickered around, but there in the center was what was unmistakably a little baby. The Doctor’s chest tightened at the sight; not just a little baby. His little baby. Rose’s little baby. Their little baby.
“Rose, meet your baby,” Martha said, smiling at her. Rose glanced at her stomach, her hand pressing against the monitor. “He’s turned funny, so I can’t tell what the gender is, but -”
“Girl,” Rose, the Doctor, and Jack said, cutting her off. She gave them all a skeptical look, and Rose looked back to the Doctor, grinning.
“I know you’re probably still cross about that near-death experience, but no punishments until she’s actually offended the royals, yeah?” she asked, and he laughed. He laughed long and hard, unable to control the giddy mirth bubbling in him. He hopped down the steps and ran over to her, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulders to give her the best hug he could, given her position. He felt her tears against his cheek, and that part of him that he was convinced was becoming too human and sappy felt he could cry with her.
“Rose,” he choked, squeezing her gently. “Rassilon…how’d you do it, you beautiful, brilliant girl?”
“You were there,” she teased, and he pulled back to give her a confused look - only to find she was looking back at the screen. His gaze followed her own, settling on their squirming baby girl. Even if she would land a past version of himself in a rather uncomfortable, unhygienic jail cell, he had a feeling she would be every bit worth it.
“That’s our daughter?” he asked, and Rose nodded. He looked at Martha, who also nodded.
“That’s your daughter, Doctor,” she said. She moved the probe a little to the left, and Rose gasped at the sliding sensation. Martha gave her a look, and she grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry,” she said. Martha paused the screen and pulled the probe away, pulling out a damp cloth to wipe it off. She handed another one to the Doctor, who gave her a confused look.
“Make yourself useful,” she said. When he continued to frown, she rolled her eyes. “You’ve left this poor woman alone for the first half of her pregnancy. Way I see things, you owe her some serious pampering.”
“I like the sound of that,” Rose said, and he looked back to her to see her tongue caught between her teeth in that all too familiar grin. He shook his head, chuckling as he began to wipe the gel off her belly.
“Oh, believe me - you’ll be pampered,” he said, still shaking his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re here. Rose…how did you…and you’re…and…blimey!”
“I think you’ve got him gobsmacked, Rose,” Gwen said, and Rose laughed.
“Not often that happens,” she said. She reached up, laying her palm against his cheek. He leaned his head into her hand, looking up from his task to catch her eye. Her smile warmed. “S’like I told Jack, Doctor: it doesn’t matter how I got back. We can go into all that later, if you really want, but all that matters is the multiverse isn’t collapsing and I’m here - we’re here - and you’ve got us back. How’s that for impossible, Mr. I-May-Never-Get-Through?”
“You’re an impossible thing, Rose,” he said, and Jack laughed.
“I thought I was special, Doc!” he said, and the Doctor gave him an amused look. Jack looked back to Rose. “Any idea what you’re calling her yet?”
“We’ll figure that out later,” she said, looking back to the Doctor. He left the cloth on her belly and pulled her towards him, hugging her tight. She gasped after a moment when their daughter jumped, and she laughed as he pulled back and looked her over in concern. “She senses you. Happy you’re here, is all.”
“That makes two of us,” he said, and before she could comment any further he brought her face to his own and kissed her. He jumped back when Martha thwacked him, pointing to Rose’s stomach.
“Oi! No snogging until you’ve cleaned her up!” she said, and it seemed everyone in the room was laughing at him.
“Motherhood has made you mean, Martha Jones,” he sniffed, and she thwacked him again.
“Martha Milligan, thank you very much,” she said. She grinned at him. “And it’s not the motherhood making me mean - it’s Girls’ Night Out with Donna. And you better swing by and see her, you know - she’ll want to meet Rose, what with all your going on about her, and you have to see Ella.”
“Ella?” the Doctor and Rose asked, and Martha grinned.
“Mr. Save the Universe here hasn’t been by to see Donna in quite a while. Lee got her pregnant again - a little girl this time. She’s just a few months old, but she’s so precious,” Martha said, grinning. The Doctor laughed, shaking his head.
“Blimey, if the old me could see me now,” he said, and Jack grinned.
“You’ve officially gone domestic, Doc,” he said. “Family and babies and everything. Next you know Rose’ll be joining them on Girls’ Night Out and you’ll be holding a steady nine to five with us here.”
“Never!” the Doctor cried, eyes widening. He slid the cloth across her stomach, cleaning up the last bit of the gel. Martha handed him a dry cloth and he set about rubbing that against her. “Though…might not be all bad. Long as I don’t have to get a mortgage, that is. I can’t stand mortgages.”
“I don’t mind the idea of Girls’ Night Out, but a steady job would kill him,” Rose said, grinning at Jack.
“Being in one place longer than necessary would kill him,” he said. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Jack held up a hand. “I know - you’ve stayed in the same place for an entire year before, but you were forced into that. You get itchy feet, and longer than you have to stay is hard for you.”
“Not that I mind,” Rose said, taking his hand.
“Martha, are you about done?” Gwen asked, and Martha nodded as she snapped her case shut. Gwen nudged Jack, and he nodded. The Doctor gave them all a curious sort of look. “I think we’re all in need of a good cuppa, don’t you? Doctor, watch over her, yeah?”
“Of course,” he said, nodding, and with shared smiles the three left the pit. He looked back to Rose, who was trying to hide a laugh behind her hand. He grinned and pulled her close, burying his head in the crook of her neck. “Welcome home.”
“I’m not home yet,” she said, and he grinned despite himself at the meaningful tone in her voice. He gave her a squeeze, and she held him tighter. “Can we? Please?”
“Jack would kill me,” he said. “Though…five months without a checkup, Martha said? I would like to take a proper look at her…”
“Please? We don’t have to leave yet, and Jack’ll understand. Please, Doctor?” she asked, and he laughed as he pulled back. He placed his palm against her cheek, eyes twinkling at her.
“Rose Tyler, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you missed the TARDIS more than you missed me,” he said, and the grin she gave him was nothing but cheeky.
“Well, I’ve been able to see you once a year for a while now - I haven’t seen her since…please, Doctor? I want to know I’m home. I need to know I’m home,” she said, and his hearts swelled further at her words. He squeezed her again and nodded. “Go tell Jack. I’ll be right behind you.”
He was reluctant to leave her side, but he nodded all the same and headed back up the steps. He heard her moving around behind him, and he turned back just slightly to see her adjusting her clothes and grabbing her pack. She turned and gave him a look, half amused and half annoyed fondness, when she saw him still standing at the top of the stairs. She jogged over to him, and when her hand was safely back in his he continued on his way.
“Trying to sneak out?” Jack asked, walking over to them. They stopped, sharing a guilty look as if they were teenagers caught sneaking out of the house at midnight. He gave them a fond look. “Martha wanted me to apologize. Tom just called - Zach’s sick, and Martha had to pick up some medicine for him before heading home.”
“We’ll see her again before we’re off,” the Doctor said, squeezing her hand. “Besides, like she said: we need to stop by Donna’s, too.”
“We weren’t sneaking out,” Rose said, and Jack quirked a brow at her. “We weren’t, Jack! I just…I need to see the TARDIS. And he wants to give a proper poke at the baby.”
“Lovely consonance,” the Doctor said, and she grinned at him.
“Thank you,” she said, and Jack chuckled before slapping the Doctor on the back.
“All right, all right - but I want that TARDIS right where you left it when I get back in the morning,” he said, and Rose and the Doctor gave him mock-salutes. He pulled Rose towards him for one last hug, and she smiled against his neck as he squeezed her. “Good to have you back, Rose.”
“Good to be back,” she said, and he let her go. He gave a finale salute to the Doctor before heading back towards the vault door, where Gwen was waiting. She waved at them before Jack took her hand and led her out of the Hub. Rose looked to the Doctor and grinned. “Home?”
“Home,” he said, and with a tug on her hand he led her back to the TARDIS.
- W -
They were barely inside before the Doctor pressed her against the door, kissing her fiercely. There was a desperation in the gesture, an overwhelming joy clashing with sheer disbelief and too much longing that fought to prove to his recovering mind that it really was Rose Tyler against him and yes, she really was pregnant. His free hand slipped down from her waist, sliding to rest against her bump; he felt their daughter moving beneath his hand, and he smiled against her mouth. He released her lips and buried his face against her shoulder, laughing as he wrapped his arms around her.
Part II-1 | Part II-2 | Part II-3 | Part II-4