What's To Come Is Still Unsure (9/16?)
Title: What's to Come is still Unsure (9/16?)
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: TenII/Rose
Word Count: 2989
Beta: The incredible cookie2697
Summary: Part One in an epic love story spanning time and space: When the Doctor abandons Rose in Pete's world with his counterpart, they must learn to live without him. Slowly they build a life together that is filled with love, adventure, danger, and more surprises than either had ever thought possible.
Authors Note:Special thanks to earlgreytea68 for extra help on revisions to this chapter.
As always, thank you to the people who helped me bring this story to life: cookie2697, tardismate, gioiamia, rumpelsnorcack, meremoon and earlgreytea68 *massive hugs to you all*
The title of this story comes from a line of a song in Shakespeares "Twelfth Night" commonly called "O Mistress Mine".
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
Chapter 9
Someone was screaming, but the sound was tinny and far away, mixed with other noises like scuffles and shouts. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw flashes of light and shadowy images flickering above her. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and focusing on her body. She was certain that her head should be pounding right now, that her heart should be thumping in her chest. To her surprise, she was perfectly calm, feeling nothing but energy - familiar, yet foreign - racing through her veins.
She opened her eyes again, and this time the images were a bit clearer. She moved her hand slowly, raising it to her face. It was glowing, emitting white, iridescent light. She studied it for a moment, marvelling at the serene peacefulness that filled her.
She stood slowly, blinking as her surroundings came into focus. She surveyed the room, taking in the Ood that circled her. She paused for a second as she spotted Jackie and Tony standing just inside the TARDIS doors with their eyes wide and fearful. She smiled at them briefly before continuing her scan of the room. They were all in danger. She needed to stay focused.
"Rose?" Jackie's voice was shaking. "What's going on?"
Her bright gaze was fixed on the Ood as she spoke. "I am the Bad Wolf, reawakened after years of sleep."
Another buzz sounded through the air. She saw the energy from the Ood’s gun as it came hurtling toward her mother. "No," she said firmly, holding her ethereal hand out to block the blast. The energy shimmered for a moment then dissipated in a fall of sparks that imitated fireworks. She turned blazing eyes toward the Ood who had fired the blast. "You are insignificant. Nothing but the face of a foe whose mind is elsewhere." Images floated through her consciousness as she spoke, and she instantly recognized them as threads from a timeline.
The Ood continued to close in around Rose. One of them had reached the TARDIS and was attaching something to the side and Rose knew in that moment that it wasn't her, or her mother, or even the Doctor that Ood were after. They wanted the TARDIS, though to what purpose, she wasn't sure. Normally the thought would have panicked her, but at the moment all Rose felt was calm, and power. She knew who she was, what she was, and she knew what to do. She was the Bad Wolf and enslaved or not, she would not let them harm the TARDIS or her family.
She held out her hand, palm up to the Ood touching the TARDIS. "You are trapped in slavery and do evil not of your own free will." She closed her fist and the Ood collapsed to the floor, unconscious. "I gift you with the slumber of innocence for you know not what you do." She twirled, spreading the energy throughout the room as one by one the rest of the Ood fell, not dead, but no longer a threat.
The light emanating from her faded as each Ood dropped to the floor, until she was back to normal, save her eyes.
"Rose?" Jackie whispered, coming to stand before her daughter. "Rose, what happened? You were -" her voice broke, "You were on the ground, hurt, not moving, not breathing. I thought you were..." Jackie sobbed. "Then suddenly you were standing and glowing. Rose, it was so bright, and your eyes, they're still different."
Rose looked at her, the last vestiges of a thought drifting from her mind as her eyes dimmed. She could still feel the remnants of power floating through her; a tiny frisson of tingling that lingered against her skin. "I'm okay, Mum. The power is gone now."
"But what was that?" Jackie stared from her daughter to the heap of unconscious Ood that surrounded them.
"Do you remember when we ripped open the TARDIS so that I could get back the Doctor?"
"How could I forget that? You vanished and didn't return until you came for Christmas with your new Doctor."
"Well, I was able to get back to the Doctor because I absorbed all of that energy from the TARDIS. It turned me into the Bad Wolf," Rose explained. "Just like now. I thought it was gone for good." Her eyes filled with sadness for a moment as she remembered her first Doctor, who had sacrificed himself to save her.
"But you didn't absorb the energy now, so why did it happen?"
Rose shrugged. "I don't know, but it was the same thing."
"Is it dangerous?" Jackie wanted to know, pulling a frightened looking Tony to her side and hugging him tightly.
Rose shook her head. "No, I don't think so, not this time."
Jackie narrowed her eyes. "You mean it was before?"
"Not exactly. I don't quite understand it, my memories of that day are rather fuzzy, but I remember it hurt. I could see all of time and space, just like him, and it hurt, it burned. The Doctor, he took it out of me. That's why he changed."
"Are you saying he died for you?" Jackie asked, wide eyed.
Rose nodded. "In a manner of speaking."
Jackie's eyes glistened. "He kept his promise," she said softly, awed.
"Yes, Mum, he did. And it killed him. Back then he could just regenerate, but now he would die. You can’t tell him about this."
"I won't," Jackie said uncertainly.
"Promise me," Rose said fiercely, her eyes suddenly glowing again. "Because if he finds out, he might try to remove it again and then I'd lose him - permanently. I need him, Mum, so I need you to keep this from him."
Jackie released Tony and gathered her daughter into a large hug. "Oh, sweetheart. Of course I promise." She studied Rose for a moment. "But if it could kill him, won't it hurt you?"
Rose shook her head, surprised at her own confidence. "The power is a part of me. It's safe for me... but ONLY for me."
"I won't pretend that I understand all this," Jackie said, frowning. "But I won't say a word."
"Thank you." She hugged her mum, then pulled away and took out her cell phone. "I should call Torchwood to clean up this mess."
"I'll leave you to it then," Jackie led Tony toward the house. "We'll meet you inside when you’re done."
Rose watched as they disappeared from sight before sighing and surveying the Ood. It was going to be a long day.
*****
The Doctor returned to the mansion later that night, frustrated that his efforts to track the missing Ood hadn't panned out.
He found Rose in the sitting room, chatting with her mother over a cup of tea. He joined her on the chesterfield after retrieving some tea of his own. Jackie excused herself and he found himself alone with his beautiful wife.
They sat cuddling together, happy just to be near each other as he filled her in on his unsuccessful attempt at tracking the source of the teleportation of the Ood. When he finished, she studied him for a moment before hesitantly whispering, “They came here.”
“Who?” the Doctor asked absently as he idly traced patterns on her bare arm with his fingers.
“The Ood; they came here today.”
“What?!?” The Doctor sat up abruptly, nearly knocking Rose to the floor.
He stared at her, distracted momentarily when she bit her lip and all he could think about was kissing her. Her next words startled him back to reality. “I gave Mum and Tony a tour of the TARDIS and when we came out they had us surrounded.”
Instantly, he pulled her into a tight hug, his brain filled with a million images of things that could have happened to her. “Are you okay?”
Rose nodded against his shoulder. “I’m fine now. We all are. We contacted Torchwood and it’s been taken care of.”
“You should have called me.” His voice was stern but filled with worry.
Rose hugged him more tightly. “There wasn’t time. Besides, you needed to try and trace the source.”
“Fat lot of good that did,” the Doctor muttered. He pulled away from her embrace slightly so he could see her face. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
He kissed her gently and was surprised when she returned it with fervour, clinging to his shirt as she pulled him closer, pressing her body to his. Losing himself in her affections, the Doctor wrapped his arms around her and brought them both to their feet increasing the level of contact between them. Rose broke the kiss, panting as she rested her cheek against his and whispered, "I love you," into his ear.
"And I you." The Doctor smiled, taking her hand and guiding her down the corridor to their bedroom to show her just how much.
*****
The next few months passed in a blur as Rose and the Doctor continued to travel through time and space. They returned to earth regularly so that Rose could visit Jackie, but they seldom stayed longer than a day or two, preferring instead to keep moving. Sometimes the Doctor would let the TARDIS choose where they were going, and though this often resulted in trips where they risked imprisonment, or worse, and had to run for their lives, there were just as many that became relaxing outings where the Doctor was able to show Rose the many things he adored about the universe.
It was as they were on their way to Sixteenth Century France to see the first ever hot air balloon flight that trouble arose.
The TARDIS began to shake as they moved through the vortex and suddenly they were both hurdled into the grating on the floor. Lights flickered as the entire console rattled ominously and the Doctor managed to crawl to Rose just before the TARDIS spun sideways and they both went flying toward the ramp. They clasped hands and Rose groped for the metal rail as she passed it, grasping it tightly as the Doctor dangled from her arm. The Doctor clung to Rose, as the TARDIS continued to shake. Just as he felt himself beginning to slip, there was an ear shattering bang and the ship fell still and silent.
Her grip wrenched loose from the force of the crash, so Rose and the Doctor found themselves tumbling again. They landed near the door in a heap. Rose groaned, her arm and shoulder aching as she tried to stand. The Doctor had already scrambled up the ramp and was examining the console as best he could with the sharp angle, surveying the damage and muttering. Tentatively, he returned to the door and tried it, surprised when it opened easily. He stepped out onto a moonlit sandy beach that stretched on for miles and motioned for Rose to follow.
Hand in hand they walked for a few feet before turning to look back at the TARDIS. It was tilted sharply to one side and slightly forward, giving it the appearance of a shorter, more rectangular tower of Pisa.
"What do you think happened?" Rose asked.
The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not sure. Possibly a malfunction with the conversion fribrulator, or the flux-o-metre."
"Can you fix it?"
"Of course I can fix it! We need to get her upright first though so I can diagnose her properly." He circled the TARDIS trying to figure out the best way to adjust her. After some quick deliberations, he and Rose carefully shifted the box, rearranging it until it was standing upright on level ground.
Several hours later, the Doctor had determined that a coil within the dichromatic capacitor had cracked and caused the flux-o-metre to melt. The damage was reparable but in the meantime they were grounded on whatever planet they'd landed on.
In the morning they went for a walk along the endless sandy beach. After walking for almost an hour, they came to a small, seaside village inhabited by human-looking aliens with yellow skin and long tails. Rose and the Doctor made some inquiries and discovered that they were on a planet called Illyria. Further questioning revealed that the planet was comprised of four islands, each with their own inhabitants. The villagers welcomed them with open arms and held an impromptu feast in their honour. As soon as it was polite to do so, they took their leave to a chorus of requests for them to return for another visit soon.
They were stranded on Illyria for a month while the Doctor repaired the TARDIS. During their second week on the planet, Rose took ill, spending her days running between the bed and the loo. By their final week, when she showed no sign of improvement, the Doctor began to worry. He took a day off from his repairs to bring her to the village where she was seen by a healer.
The healer, an elderly female villager with wise eyes took one look at Rose and ushered her into her sandstone hut, motioning for the Doctor to wait outside. He paced impatiently for over an hour, his mind whirring with all the possible reasons for why Rose was so sick: Glorms disease, Practomiatical Flu, Hemes Syndrome, or any number of other alien diseases she could have been exposed to during their adventures. His stomach was in knots as he tried to resist barging in to see what was going on.
Finally, the door opened and Rose emerged, looking perkier and happier than he'd seen her in days. She hugged the healer and thanked her, before turning and smiling at the Doctor.
"Well?" he blurted. "What was it? Are you better?"
"In a manner of speaking," Rose said, taking his hand. "Come, I'll tell you everything when we return to the TARDIS."
*****
Rose bit her lip nervously as the Doctor paced in front of her.
"Pregnant?" The Doctor spluttered. "What? But... all the tests said..." He gaped at her, his eyes wide.
Not knowing what to say, Rose remained silent and let the Doctor continue to process the news. She was still absorbing it herself. She suspected that the pregnancy had to have something to do with her becoming the Bad Wolf again, but she had no idea how she was going to explain that to her husband without putting his very existence at risk.
The wave of emotions that passed over the Doctor's face - happiness, confusion, concern, love, elation - echoed the feelings Rose had been experiencing since the healer had told her the news. She had been so overjoyed that her desire for a child had finally come to fruition that she'd broken down in the hut.
The Doctor finally stopped moving and met her gaze. "A baby?" he said hopefully. "We really made a baby?"
Rose grinned. "We really did."
He beamed back at her, closing the distance between them in two quick strides and scooping her into his arms. "I don't know how this happened, but it doesn't matter." He twirled her around, laughing. "I love you, Rose." He kissed, her, a warm and passionate kiss that made her toes curl and her skin prickle. As she sank into him, the angst she'd been feeling for years began to ease and relieved tears began to flow from her eyes.
"I thought it would never happen." Rose confessed, burying her face in his shoulder.
The Doctor sat on the jump seat and pulled her into his lap. "I stopped believing in miracles a long time ago, but this one is irrefutable!"
"He is a miracle, isn't he?" She placed her hand over her abdomen, her eyes alight with joy.
"What do you mean, 'he'? The baby could just as easily be a 'she'," the Doctor protested, placing his hand over hers.
Rose shifted her hands so he could touch her stomach directly. "You're right. Could be either. I just like the idea of a mini 'you' running around with his own little sonic screwdriver."
The Doctor groaned, "Do you know how much damage a child could do with one of those?"
Laughing, Rose shook her head. "Considering this little one is related to you, I'm guessing a lot."
"We're talking worlds imploding. There will be restrictions placed and lectures given before any offspring of mine has a sonic screwdriver in his or her hands."
"Yes, because your rules have always been obeyed in the past," Rose teased.
Scowling, the Doctor muttered, "It's a simple rule: 'Don't wander off.' Honestly, how hard is it to remember?"
Rose snorted. "Well, I think it will be a little while before we have to worry about that." She touched her stomach again, her eyes radiant. "Or baby proofing the TARDIS."
"What?" He gaped at her, dumbfounded.
"The TARDIS has all kinds of small, sharp and hard parts that could harm a baby. We'll have to baby proof it," Rose explained patiently as the Doctor looked around, frowning.
"Baby proof the TARDIS? But that will take ages."
Rose slid off his lap and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Don't worry, we have time. I'll help."
"How much time?" His voice held an edge of panic that Rose found adorable.
She kissed him briefly, on the mouth. "If this is a normal human pregnancy, you have about eight months."
The Doctor relaxed slightly. "That just might be enough time."
Amused, Rose chuckled and reached for the Doctors hand, pulling him to his feet. "Come, I think it's time we visited the nursery again."
He watched her face fill with elation as she said 'nursery' and he felt his heart swell. He knew how much she loved that room and he was thrilled that she was finally going to be able to enter it again. He squeezed her hand and beamed at her. "I think so too."
Next Chapter
Author: lorelaisquared
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: TenII/Rose
Word Count: 2989
Beta: The incredible cookie2697
Summary: Part One in an epic love story spanning time and space: When the Doctor abandons Rose in Pete's world with his counterpart, they must learn to live without him. Slowly they build a life together that is filled with love, adventure, danger, and more surprises than either had ever thought possible.
Authors Note:Special thanks to earlgreytea68 for extra help on revisions to this chapter.
As always, thank you to the people who helped me bring this story to life: cookie2697, tardismate, gioiamia, rumpelsnorcack, meremoon and earlgreytea68 *massive hugs to you all*
The title of this story comes from a line of a song in Shakespeares "Twelfth Night" commonly called "O Mistress Mine".
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
Chapter 9
Someone was screaming, but the sound was tinny and far away, mixed with other noises like scuffles and shouts. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw flashes of light and shadowy images flickering above her. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply and focusing on her body. She was certain that her head should be pounding right now, that her heart should be thumping in her chest. To her surprise, she was perfectly calm, feeling nothing but energy - familiar, yet foreign - racing through her veins.
She opened her eyes again, and this time the images were a bit clearer. She moved her hand slowly, raising it to her face. It was glowing, emitting white, iridescent light. She studied it for a moment, marvelling at the serene peacefulness that filled her.
She stood slowly, blinking as her surroundings came into focus. She surveyed the room, taking in the Ood that circled her. She paused for a second as she spotted Jackie and Tony standing just inside the TARDIS doors with their eyes wide and fearful. She smiled at them briefly before continuing her scan of the room. They were all in danger. She needed to stay focused.
"Rose?" Jackie's voice was shaking. "What's going on?"
Her bright gaze was fixed on the Ood as she spoke. "I am the Bad Wolf, reawakened after years of sleep."
Another buzz sounded through the air. She saw the energy from the Ood’s gun as it came hurtling toward her mother. "No," she said firmly, holding her ethereal hand out to block the blast. The energy shimmered for a moment then dissipated in a fall of sparks that imitated fireworks. She turned blazing eyes toward the Ood who had fired the blast. "You are insignificant. Nothing but the face of a foe whose mind is elsewhere." Images floated through her consciousness as she spoke, and she instantly recognized them as threads from a timeline.
The Ood continued to close in around Rose. One of them had reached the TARDIS and was attaching something to the side and Rose knew in that moment that it wasn't her, or her mother, or even the Doctor that Ood were after. They wanted the TARDIS, though to what purpose, she wasn't sure. Normally the thought would have panicked her, but at the moment all Rose felt was calm, and power. She knew who she was, what she was, and she knew what to do. She was the Bad Wolf and enslaved or not, she would not let them harm the TARDIS or her family.
She held out her hand, palm up to the Ood touching the TARDIS. "You are trapped in slavery and do evil not of your own free will." She closed her fist and the Ood collapsed to the floor, unconscious. "I gift you with the slumber of innocence for you know not what you do." She twirled, spreading the energy throughout the room as one by one the rest of the Ood fell, not dead, but no longer a threat.
The light emanating from her faded as each Ood dropped to the floor, until she was back to normal, save her eyes.
"Rose?" Jackie whispered, coming to stand before her daughter. "Rose, what happened? You were -" her voice broke, "You were on the ground, hurt, not moving, not breathing. I thought you were..." Jackie sobbed. "Then suddenly you were standing and glowing. Rose, it was so bright, and your eyes, they're still different."
Rose looked at her, the last vestiges of a thought drifting from her mind as her eyes dimmed. She could still feel the remnants of power floating through her; a tiny frisson of tingling that lingered against her skin. "I'm okay, Mum. The power is gone now."
"But what was that?" Jackie stared from her daughter to the heap of unconscious Ood that surrounded them.
"Do you remember when we ripped open the TARDIS so that I could get back the Doctor?"
"How could I forget that? You vanished and didn't return until you came for Christmas with your new Doctor."
"Well, I was able to get back to the Doctor because I absorbed all of that energy from the TARDIS. It turned me into the Bad Wolf," Rose explained. "Just like now. I thought it was gone for good." Her eyes filled with sadness for a moment as she remembered her first Doctor, who had sacrificed himself to save her.
"But you didn't absorb the energy now, so why did it happen?"
Rose shrugged. "I don't know, but it was the same thing."
"Is it dangerous?" Jackie wanted to know, pulling a frightened looking Tony to her side and hugging him tightly.
Rose shook her head. "No, I don't think so, not this time."
Jackie narrowed her eyes. "You mean it was before?"
"Not exactly. I don't quite understand it, my memories of that day are rather fuzzy, but I remember it hurt. I could see all of time and space, just like him, and it hurt, it burned. The Doctor, he took it out of me. That's why he changed."
"Are you saying he died for you?" Jackie asked, wide eyed.
Rose nodded. "In a manner of speaking."
Jackie's eyes glistened. "He kept his promise," she said softly, awed.
"Yes, Mum, he did. And it killed him. Back then he could just regenerate, but now he would die. You can’t tell him about this."
"I won't," Jackie said uncertainly.
"Promise me," Rose said fiercely, her eyes suddenly glowing again. "Because if he finds out, he might try to remove it again and then I'd lose him - permanently. I need him, Mum, so I need you to keep this from him."
Jackie released Tony and gathered her daughter into a large hug. "Oh, sweetheart. Of course I promise." She studied Rose for a moment. "But if it could kill him, won't it hurt you?"
Rose shook her head, surprised at her own confidence. "The power is a part of me. It's safe for me... but ONLY for me."
"I won't pretend that I understand all this," Jackie said, frowning. "But I won't say a word."
"Thank you." She hugged her mum, then pulled away and took out her cell phone. "I should call Torchwood to clean up this mess."
"I'll leave you to it then," Jackie led Tony toward the house. "We'll meet you inside when you’re done."
Rose watched as they disappeared from sight before sighing and surveying the Ood. It was going to be a long day.
*****
The Doctor returned to the mansion later that night, frustrated that his efforts to track the missing Ood hadn't panned out.
He found Rose in the sitting room, chatting with her mother over a cup of tea. He joined her on the chesterfield after retrieving some tea of his own. Jackie excused herself and he found himself alone with his beautiful wife.
They sat cuddling together, happy just to be near each other as he filled her in on his unsuccessful attempt at tracking the source of the teleportation of the Ood. When he finished, she studied him for a moment before hesitantly whispering, “They came here.”
“Who?” the Doctor asked absently as he idly traced patterns on her bare arm with his fingers.
“The Ood; they came here today.”
“What?!?” The Doctor sat up abruptly, nearly knocking Rose to the floor.
He stared at her, distracted momentarily when she bit her lip and all he could think about was kissing her. Her next words startled him back to reality. “I gave Mum and Tony a tour of the TARDIS and when we came out they had us surrounded.”
Instantly, he pulled her into a tight hug, his brain filled with a million images of things that could have happened to her. “Are you okay?”
Rose nodded against his shoulder. “I’m fine now. We all are. We contacted Torchwood and it’s been taken care of.”
“You should have called me.” His voice was stern but filled with worry.
Rose hugged him more tightly. “There wasn’t time. Besides, you needed to try and trace the source.”
“Fat lot of good that did,” the Doctor muttered. He pulled away from her embrace slightly so he could see her face. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
He kissed her gently and was surprised when she returned it with fervour, clinging to his shirt as she pulled him closer, pressing her body to his. Losing himself in her affections, the Doctor wrapped his arms around her and brought them both to their feet increasing the level of contact between them. Rose broke the kiss, panting as she rested her cheek against his and whispered, "I love you," into his ear.
"And I you." The Doctor smiled, taking her hand and guiding her down the corridor to their bedroom to show her just how much.
*****
The next few months passed in a blur as Rose and the Doctor continued to travel through time and space. They returned to earth regularly so that Rose could visit Jackie, but they seldom stayed longer than a day or two, preferring instead to keep moving. Sometimes the Doctor would let the TARDIS choose where they were going, and though this often resulted in trips where they risked imprisonment, or worse, and had to run for their lives, there were just as many that became relaxing outings where the Doctor was able to show Rose the many things he adored about the universe.
It was as they were on their way to Sixteenth Century France to see the first ever hot air balloon flight that trouble arose.
The TARDIS began to shake as they moved through the vortex and suddenly they were both hurdled into the grating on the floor. Lights flickered as the entire console rattled ominously and the Doctor managed to crawl to Rose just before the TARDIS spun sideways and they both went flying toward the ramp. They clasped hands and Rose groped for the metal rail as she passed it, grasping it tightly as the Doctor dangled from her arm. The Doctor clung to Rose, as the TARDIS continued to shake. Just as he felt himself beginning to slip, there was an ear shattering bang and the ship fell still and silent.
Her grip wrenched loose from the force of the crash, so Rose and the Doctor found themselves tumbling again. They landed near the door in a heap. Rose groaned, her arm and shoulder aching as she tried to stand. The Doctor had already scrambled up the ramp and was examining the console as best he could with the sharp angle, surveying the damage and muttering. Tentatively, he returned to the door and tried it, surprised when it opened easily. He stepped out onto a moonlit sandy beach that stretched on for miles and motioned for Rose to follow.
Hand in hand they walked for a few feet before turning to look back at the TARDIS. It was tilted sharply to one side and slightly forward, giving it the appearance of a shorter, more rectangular tower of Pisa.
"What do you think happened?" Rose asked.
The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "I'm not sure. Possibly a malfunction with the conversion fribrulator, or the flux-o-metre."
"Can you fix it?"
"Of course I can fix it! We need to get her upright first though so I can diagnose her properly." He circled the TARDIS trying to figure out the best way to adjust her. After some quick deliberations, he and Rose carefully shifted the box, rearranging it until it was standing upright on level ground.
Several hours later, the Doctor had determined that a coil within the dichromatic capacitor had cracked and caused the flux-o-metre to melt. The damage was reparable but in the meantime they were grounded on whatever planet they'd landed on.
In the morning they went for a walk along the endless sandy beach. After walking for almost an hour, they came to a small, seaside village inhabited by human-looking aliens with yellow skin and long tails. Rose and the Doctor made some inquiries and discovered that they were on a planet called Illyria. Further questioning revealed that the planet was comprised of four islands, each with their own inhabitants. The villagers welcomed them with open arms and held an impromptu feast in their honour. As soon as it was polite to do so, they took their leave to a chorus of requests for them to return for another visit soon.
They were stranded on Illyria for a month while the Doctor repaired the TARDIS. During their second week on the planet, Rose took ill, spending her days running between the bed and the loo. By their final week, when she showed no sign of improvement, the Doctor began to worry. He took a day off from his repairs to bring her to the village where she was seen by a healer.
The healer, an elderly female villager with wise eyes took one look at Rose and ushered her into her sandstone hut, motioning for the Doctor to wait outside. He paced impatiently for over an hour, his mind whirring with all the possible reasons for why Rose was so sick: Glorms disease, Practomiatical Flu, Hemes Syndrome, or any number of other alien diseases she could have been exposed to during their adventures. His stomach was in knots as he tried to resist barging in to see what was going on.
Finally, the door opened and Rose emerged, looking perkier and happier than he'd seen her in days. She hugged the healer and thanked her, before turning and smiling at the Doctor.
"Well?" he blurted. "What was it? Are you better?"
"In a manner of speaking," Rose said, taking his hand. "Come, I'll tell you everything when we return to the TARDIS."
*****
Rose bit her lip nervously as the Doctor paced in front of her.
"Pregnant?" The Doctor spluttered. "What? But... all the tests said..." He gaped at her, his eyes wide.
Not knowing what to say, Rose remained silent and let the Doctor continue to process the news. She was still absorbing it herself. She suspected that the pregnancy had to have something to do with her becoming the Bad Wolf again, but she had no idea how she was going to explain that to her husband without putting his very existence at risk.
The wave of emotions that passed over the Doctor's face - happiness, confusion, concern, love, elation - echoed the feelings Rose had been experiencing since the healer had told her the news. She had been so overjoyed that her desire for a child had finally come to fruition that she'd broken down in the hut.
The Doctor finally stopped moving and met her gaze. "A baby?" he said hopefully. "We really made a baby?"
Rose grinned. "We really did."
He beamed back at her, closing the distance between them in two quick strides and scooping her into his arms. "I don't know how this happened, but it doesn't matter." He twirled her around, laughing. "I love you, Rose." He kissed, her, a warm and passionate kiss that made her toes curl and her skin prickle. As she sank into him, the angst she'd been feeling for years began to ease and relieved tears began to flow from her eyes.
"I thought it would never happen." Rose confessed, burying her face in his shoulder.
The Doctor sat on the jump seat and pulled her into his lap. "I stopped believing in miracles a long time ago, but this one is irrefutable!"
"He is a miracle, isn't he?" She placed her hand over her abdomen, her eyes alight with joy.
"What do you mean, 'he'? The baby could just as easily be a 'she'," the Doctor protested, placing his hand over hers.
Rose shifted her hands so he could touch her stomach directly. "You're right. Could be either. I just like the idea of a mini 'you' running around with his own little sonic screwdriver."
The Doctor groaned, "Do you know how much damage a child could do with one of those?"
Laughing, Rose shook her head. "Considering this little one is related to you, I'm guessing a lot."
"We're talking worlds imploding. There will be restrictions placed and lectures given before any offspring of mine has a sonic screwdriver in his or her hands."
"Yes, because your rules have always been obeyed in the past," Rose teased.
Scowling, the Doctor muttered, "It's a simple rule: 'Don't wander off.' Honestly, how hard is it to remember?"
Rose snorted. "Well, I think it will be a little while before we have to worry about that." She touched her stomach again, her eyes radiant. "Or baby proofing the TARDIS."
"What?" He gaped at her, dumbfounded.
"The TARDIS has all kinds of small, sharp and hard parts that could harm a baby. We'll have to baby proof it," Rose explained patiently as the Doctor looked around, frowning.
"Baby proof the TARDIS? But that will take ages."
Rose slid off his lap and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Don't worry, we have time. I'll help."
"How much time?" His voice held an edge of panic that Rose found adorable.
She kissed him briefly, on the mouth. "If this is a normal human pregnancy, you have about eight months."
The Doctor relaxed slightly. "That just might be enough time."
Amused, Rose chuckled and reached for the Doctors hand, pulling him to his feet. "Come, I think it's time we visited the nursery again."
He watched her face fill with elation as she said 'nursery' and he felt his heart swell. He knew how much she loved that room and he was thrilled that she was finally going to be able to enter it again. He squeezed her hand and beamed at her. "I think so too."
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