Work Text:
Prepared
It was the only time of day she could relax. When the evening breezes were cool and the wind chimes softly played their ever-changing melodies, she’d pull on a light jacket and go. No one would bother her or try to talk. No one would ask nosy questions. She would be alone with the stillness of twilight.
The last dying embers of sunlight faded from sight just as she spread out the old blanket and settled down to look at the stars. She wondered how he was and what he was doing. She wondered if he was as lonely as she was.
Rose swallowed and clenched her jaw, stopping the tears before they started. It had been six months since the hell of the beach and she felt it. Each day that passed with him gone from her life, she felt it. In every painful, terrible breath, in every heartbeat, she felt the loss.
So, she walked to the bluff and looked at the stars. Though he was in a different world, a parallel universe, she felt a bit closer to him there. She’d speak to him- not out loud, but in her mind; she’d tell him little differences between the two worlds, how her bed seemed so empty now and how she missed having him next to her at night...how deafeningly quiet everything seemed without the familiar hum of the TARDIS… More than anything, she wished she could tell him he was going to be a father.
Rose sat outside in the darkness for an hour before the night air grew too chill and damp and she retreated to Pete’s house where she lay alone in her empty bed, her hand resting protectively on her stomach.
~OOoOO~
She was dreaming of the TARDIS. The sounds of whooshing and grinding filled her mind with longing and an urge to run. It sounded like adventure and home and all the things she missed about her old life. It was all so achingly familiar.
Someone was shaking her shoulder, disrupting her dream and she let out an unhappy sigh, wanting to be left alone to remember.
“Rose,” the Doctor whispered softly.
She turned away, whimpering. It sounded so much like him.
“Rose,” came the voice again, this time more insistent.
Warily, she opened an eye…then another. The Doctor, her Doctor, was standing in front of her. She sat straight up, every muscle in her body tensed. “It’s you.”
His hand reached out to touch hers. “It’s me.”
“You’re here,” she whispered in awe. “I mean…you’re really, really here. Oh my God…you’re here.” Her lower lip trembled and her eyes shined. She choked back a dry sob. “How are you here?”
He shook his head. “I found a way.” He scratched his neck and sniffed. “Wasn’t about to give up on you.”
She stood up and his eyes bulged.
“Rose…” he gasped. “You’re…”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
His hand tentatively reached out for the swell of her stomach. “Is it…” he trailed off, afraid to ask.
Tears welled in her eyes. “Yes. Yours…ours.”
He sank to his knees. “If I had known, Rose…”
She choked out a little laugh. “You couldn’t have done anything, Doctor. I know that.”
His brown eyes searched hers. “Wasn’t even sure I’d make it through alive, but the TARDIS found a way,” he smiled. “She seemed intent on my finding you…now I know why.” He ghosted a hand across her stomach again, his head dropping. “I-I can’t stay.”
She shook her head desperately. “I’ll come with you.”
“But your family…” he trailed off.
Rose bit her lip. “How long do we have?”
The Doctor sighed. “Maybe ten minutes…” He gently placed his hand on her stomach. “I’m so sorry.”
She slid her hand along his cheek. “Don’t go anywhere.”
“Rose…”
She placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking them. “Promise me. Don’t go anywhere till I come back.”
“Rose, we don’t have the time-”
“Just stay put!” she exclaimed.
~OOoOO~
“Mum,” she shrieked, “Pete, get up! It’s happened! He’s here.”
Jackie sat up in bed, her pyjamas twisted around her stomach. “Rose…” she trailed off. “What…”
“Mum. He’s here- downstairs. Ten minutes, Mum. Ten minutes!”
Jackie’s eyes widened. “Oh my God.”
Rose looked her Mum in the eye. “Are you ready?”
~OOoOO~
Rose rushed down the steps and back to her bedroom. The Doctor was sitting on her mattress, paging through a book from her bedside table. He stood up abruptly when she entered.
“Rose, I want you to know, you don’t have to come with me,” he said soberly. “I can’t take you away from everything you know and love.” He inhaled sharply. “But I thought I’d maybe…” He scoffed, his eyes bright. “Silly old Doctor…if I’d known about the baby…” he touched her stomach again. “Rose…”
“Doctor, whatever it is you’re thinking, please stop,” she said softly. “We’re ready for you. We had a plan…in case you ever came back.”
On cue, Jackie and Pete stumbled into Rose’s room, bleary-eyed, each carrying a small suitcase.
“See,” Rose continued, “we had a talk after the beach…that if you ever came back, we’d be ready.” She swallowed. “I couldn’t leave my mum behind, but she couldn’t leave Pete behind, either.” She walked to her closet and pulled out a suitcase. “If you came through, we didn’t know how long we’d have so we always wanted to be ready.”
The Doctor sat down, dumbfounded. “So you-you’re all coming back?”
Rose smiled, tears shining in her eyes. “Why can’t we all have a happy ending?”
He looked at the three of them, sitting there, smiling, suitcases in hand. His eyes widened and he wondered what he’d done to deserve such a moment as this. “Oh, Rose…”
“Doctor,” Rose said softly, “take us home. All of us.”
He swallowed and shook his head, his eyes bright. “Rose Tyler, you are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!”
Pete and Jackie stepped through the door and onto the ship, setting their bags down on the metal grating. The Doctor carried Rose’s suitcase, his hand at the small of her back.
He paused briefly, his smile fading. “You’re sure this is what you all want? I can’t come back.”
Pete smiled and placed a hand on the Doctor’s arm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We’re all sure, Doctor. This is what we want.”
Rose stepped up to the console, patting it lightly. “Take us home, old girl.”
The TARDIS hummed appreciatively, and the Doctor’s smile returned. “Right you are, Rose Tyler. Let’s go home- all of us.”
He leaned down and softly pressed his lips to hers, cupping her cheek. She gave him a tender smile.
“Go on…” she smiled. “Say it.”
“Say what, Rose?” he asked cheekily.
“You know…” she trailed off, egging him on.
Jackie wrinkled her eyebrows. “What the hell are you two talkin’ about?”
“Ahh, yes…” he said brightly, grinning like a fool. “Allons-y!”