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Rose had never been so exhausted in all her life. There was a possibility that she'd been almost as worn out when she'd done a series of several dimension jumps in a row, much to the dismay of her dad and just about everyone else at Torchwood. She vaguely remembered being in a haze of exhaustion then. This was worse.
Now, Rose could divide her life into two phases- “Pre-Susannah,” and “parenthood.” Since their daughter had arrived, and apparently decided sleep was not her thing, Rose had become a zombified milk machine with an apparent case of permanent parental brain fog.
It hadn't been much better for the Doctor, whose part human body actually needed the sleep he wasn't getting. He had been a dream, really. He'd been up with her every night, fetching water and nappies. He burped and rocked Susannah, relishing every moment he spent with his daughter in his arms. He sang and told stories she wouldn't understand for years. Susannah was captivated by his voice.
Life was good but they were exhausted.
On this particular day when Susannah was nine days old, Jackie had brought them a lasagna and rocked her grandbaby while the Doctor and Rose took turns showering. The Doctor emerged first, damp haired and bleary eyed. This part human body was also predisposed to facial hair, so he was sporting five-o-clock shadow at half ten in the morning.
“Well, you look like rubbish,” Jackie commented. The Doctor shot her as much of a glare as he could muster in his exhausted state. “But it's for a good reason,” Jackie amended.
He collapsed onto the comfy couch and sighed. He knew it wouldn't be long before his eyes closed but he couldn't resist the draw of the comfortable cushions. “Thanks, I guess….is Susy okay?”
“She's fine. She can survive not bein’ in yours or Rose’s arms for a bit.”
He snorted. “I didn't think she was in any danger.”
His eyes were incredibly heavy and as he relaxed into the sofa’s sweet spot he gave up and let them close. “I can still feel the weight of her in my arms,” he murmured.
Jackie chuckled and continued to rock Susannnah, who raised her tiny eyebrow in sleep, looking very much like her father.
It was twenty minutes more before Rose came out of the bathroom wearing a clean pair of pajamas, her hair in damp braids. Susannah was beginning to snuffle and purse her lips. Jackie stood up carefully with the tiny girl. Susannah let out a small yelp and blinked her eyes open. “Looks like you got out of there for the little miss’ morning tea time.”
Susannah was making increasingly disgruntled sounds, punctuating each grunt with a tiny cry. By the time she'd been handed off to her mother, she was gearing up for a full-out wail. “She's been nursing constantly! I think she's havin’ a growth spurt,” Rose sighed, accepting their daughter. She sank down on the sofa next to the Doctor, settling her disgruntled, hungry daughter in place while she opened her pajama top.
Suddenly her mother gasped and began to giggle. “Rose, Rose...look at himself!” She gestured toward the Doctor, who was still sound asleep.
He was sleeping, mouth open, snoring slightly. His hands, however were quite busy. He'd raised them to shoulder level, and he was currently patting the air and beginning to sway his upper body back and forth slightly. The Doctor was comforting a baby who was not resting on his shoulder.
Rose’s eyes widened and she felt a laugh rippling up. She tried to be quiet, so she wouldn't disturb Susannah or her sleeping husband.
He was still comforting his daughter. She wanted to remember the sight of her exhausted husband still tending to his daughter even in sleep, for the rest of her life.
As it turned out, she didn't have to. Jackie whipped out her phone and videotaped the Doctor as he mumbled and patted the air. Rose’s laugh burst forth and it startled both him and Susannah.
“Wha? S’okay? Where's Susy?” he blurted, looking around frantically.
“She’s fine, love,” Rose chuckled, helping Susannah latch on again.
“S’good,” he mumbled, his voice trailing off as he dozed back off.
*******
Later on, they were folding tiny onesies and matching little baby socks on their bed while Susannah took one of her ten minute power naps in the bassinet. “So did you get any good sleep on the sofa today?” Rose asked.
He looked sheepish. “Yeah, I sort of bailed on you, didn't I?”
“Don't be daft. Mum was here, so I had plenty of help. You need to rest, too!”
“Wellllll….” he drawled, absently scratching his neck and shrugging.
“We were fine. And you helped in your own special way.” Rose couldn't help the giggle that burst forth.
“What?” the Doctor asked suspiciously. “What's so funny?”
Rose fell about laughing. “You...well...here, you'll just have to see for yourself.” She snatched her phone from the bedside table. “Mum texted me this….” She found the video her mother had taken earlier. “This one.”
The Doctor watched the video, his eyebrow raising into his hairline. “What? Jackie videotaped this?”
“Yep,” she said, popping the “p”.
A horrible thought occurred to the Doctor. “Did she post this on her Facebook page?” he asked.
“It has seventy-five ‘likes’ so far. Mrs. Tillerman...Dad’s secretary….commented that she thinks you're the most adorable thing she's ever seen. And Sandy from R&D thinks we could win the big money on Britain’s Best Home Cinema. Lucy from Mum’s garden club wants to marry you. Too bad for her, you're taken.”
The Doctor gaped adorably at her. “I don't know what to say.”
“Embrace it. You're the cutest dad in any universe. I already knew that. Now seventy-five….” Rose opened the app on her phone. “Oh, eighty-three of Mum’s best friends know it, too.”
The Doctor sighed heavily, rolling his eyes. His lips were pressed together, barely containing his smirk. It didn't take long for the dam to burst, and soon he was joining her in laughter.
Rose embraced him as they guffawed. “That's my Doctor,” she gasped. “On duty, even as he sleeps. Our little girl is so fortunate to have you as her dad.” She kissed him gently.
“You're both my whole universe,” he murmured, kissing her again.
And with that, Susannah began to whine and cry in her bassinet. Her exhausted, but blissful parents smiled at each other and Rose got up to begin the cycle all over again.