Chapter Text
The TARDIS chose a quiet spot, the banks of a bubbling creek in 1800's Indiana, for their respite.
Rose had not felt well for days, and although she was ashamed to ask, she requested a quiet destination and time off from saving the universe. Then she kissed him and rolled back over in their bed and dozed off again.
The Doctor was willing to agree to her request because he knew something Rose hadn't discovered yet.
He knew it as soon as they kissed. Something was different. And something locked into place, a new timeline, as soon as her lips touched his. He didn't need to spend long examining it. The implications were quite clear.
The Doctor let Rose sleep on. He went out to the grass just beyond the TARDIS door and listened to the brook bubbling, watching the fireflies put on a light show in the trees. There were millions of them, lighting and dimming in a seemingly random patterns. The Doctor was well aware that it wasn't random, that the insects were calling to their mates with a fantastic show of light. Watching the fireflies, he considered what he now knew.
He was glad Rose slept on for the moment, because he needed time to process this new information. He'd never felt something so beautiful in all his many lives as when that timeline (that brand new timeline) clicked into place. He had never wanted something so much in over nine hundred years. Joy and terror filled his hearts in equal measures.
The sound of the water was soothing, and he dared to let his mind drift, to think of the possibilities the future could hold. Not so long ago he'd been prepared to burn through his remaining regenerations as quickly as possible, if he survived the Henrik's explosion. Now he couldn't imagine ever wanting to end it all, because Rose Tyler had saved him. She loved him and he loved her and she brought him back to life in a way no regeneration had ever done before. She was his miracle then. And now, his precious girl had given him a precious gift, and she didn't even know it.
Of course, as the rational part of his mind insisted, it was her decision to do with the information as she pleased. She would be scared, possibly angry. He had no idea how she'd react, if she'd leave him. He desperately hoped she wouldn't leave. But it was a possibility.
His skin crawled with anxiety and he hoped she'd wake up soon, because he needed to share this with her.
The TARDIS sent out a mental wave of calmness, soothing his mind. She also made him aware that Rose was awake. She'd be coming along soon enough. He waited. His impatience grew and he nearly went in after her. The TARDIS made it clear that he should stay still. By the time he'd given up on waiting several minutes later, the door squeaked open behind him.
Rose stepped out and walked to him. She sank down onto the grass next to him, not looking at him. She was trembling. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, as if anchoring herself in place.
The Doctor's hearts sank. "Rose," he murmured.
The sound of his voice seemed to break whatever control Rose had on her emotions and she began to cry. "You know," she stated.
"I reckon you know, too?" he sighed.
"The TARDIS left me a gift. A test kit. I know why I'm feeling poorly," she whispered in a quavering voice. "I'm pregnant."
"I know," he said in a rush. "I knew when I kissed you earlier. You felt...tasted...different. And I felt the timeline click into place. I'm sorry, Rose, but you were so exhausted, you went back to sleep....."
Rose laughed shakily. "I think I knew, too. You felt....what?"
"The timeline. Ours changing....the baby's forming. I felt it when I kissed you." He kissed her cheek again. "Rose, I know that it's a shock....."
She huffed quiet laughter. "I thought it was impossible."
The Doctor shook his head. "Just...improbable."
Rose stared at the light show playing out in front of her. One small insect flew near her and she stretched out her hand. The firefly landed on her open palm, pausing for several seconds. She watched it light up, silent in her own thoughts. The firefly finally flew off. "I'm terrified," she whispered.
Terrified wasn't the same as horrified, so the Doctor took solace in that. "Same here, me," he agreed. The Doctor angled his body toward Rose and she looked him in the eye. He was awed by the love he saw there. There was fear there as well, and she spoke in a quavering voice.
"Do you....want to......Are you sending me back to Mum?" She asked.
The Doctor hadn't expected that. "No! No, Rose, why would you even think that?"
"I can't exactly run. Or travel, I would imagine. I'm not exactly useful as a companion now, not the way you want."
The Doctor was gobsmacked. "Rose, I love you. So much. Those three little human words don't even cover the depth of what I feel for you. You stopped being just a 'companion' long ago. Long before you ever looked into the heart of the TARDIS. Long before I got the nerve up to kiss you and and make love to you. I thought you knew that. I won't send you away. I can't ever again. We're tied together, Rose."
"Then do you want this baby?" she asked. He dared to see hope in her eyes.
"Oh, Rose Tyler, I want this baby," the Doctor assured her.
She burst into fresh tears again. The Doctor didn't know what to make of the storm of emotion and hormones and love she was giving off. "Rose?" he prompted. "Rose, what are you thinking? I know...it's your decision, your body. You don't need to feel trapped or...feel that you're obligated to me. I love you, I do, and I want to...be a family, but....."
"Hush!" she exclaimed, putting her finger to his lips. "I want the baby. When I dozed back off, I dreamed of a baby. It felt so inevitable and when I woke up I just knew. But, I....." She trailed off, gesturing helplessly.
"You got scared."
"Still am." They shared a smile. He kissed her lips gently. As the Doctor pulled away she slid her hand to the back of his head and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. When they broke apart she murmured, "I love you. I want you and this child." She choked back a sob and placed her hand on her abdomen. "I never thought I'd want children. Ever. Not with Mickey and God forbid, never with Jimmy. And Mum and me had such a hard time of it alone."
"You won't be alone," he vowed.
"I never thought it was something I could hope for with you, Doctor," she said, shaking her head incredulously. "I just keep thinking.....it's just inevitable. And so, so right." She took his hand and placed it atop her other hand, still resting on her abdomen. "Our baby. Inside me."
The Doctor's eyes welled up. He nodded, unable to speak. They sat together for a time, relishing the silence, breathing together. When he could, the Doctor spoke, voice gravelly. "Rose, I'm so glad...I met you. You've saved me over and over again and now....you're giving me the most precious gift."
Rose's eyes widened. "You're not the last anymore, are you?" Rose threw her arms around him, embracing him tightly. "My Doctor. You'll be able to feel the baby. You already can, yeah? I'm a little jealous."
"Who says you can't?" he challenged. You already do, to certain extent. And....may I?" He raised his hands. "Can I show you something? Bad Wolf changed you, Rose. As far as we know, it made it possible for me to get you pregnant. And if I'm right.....you won't be able to see what I can, but you'll get an impression....feel the baby. She's too young to really communicate, but you'll feel her presence."
"She?" Rose murmured with a smile.
"Just speculatin', me. Too soon to tell." He gave Rose a brilliant smile. "Now, if there's somethin' you don't want me to see, imagine it behind a door. Okay?"
Rose nodded, willing to let him enter her mind. He placed his hands on her temples, closing his eyes after hers fell shut. Rose concentrated, then gasped.
The Doctor knew what she saw. He saw it as well. Timelines woven together, gold and blue, flaring up with gold sparks where they met. The gold sparks were not unlike the light of the fireflies in the forest. They sparked and lengthened into a third thread of shining silver. He couldn't tell where the strands began and ended anymore. The timelines wove together and the Doctor could see no end to them.
"S' so beautiful," Rose breathed. "Doctor, could you see how they stretched on and on, silver and gold and blue? Was the silver the baby?"
Their eyes opened at the same time. The Doctor chose to answer her nonverbally, kissing her breathless. "Oh, my Rose," he gasped. "You saw that. They did indeed stretch on and on. Without end. I think you've changed, love."
"'Course I have, I'm pregnant. That's a big change," she stated, confused.
"I think....and I'm gonna have to run tests....Blimey, Rose, you saw exactly what I saw. If I'm right, and I think I am......."
"I think you need to finish a sentence!" Rose exclaimed.
The Doctor beamed at her. Once, he'd told her, with an identical joyful grin, that just this once, everyone lived. Maybe not just that only one time. Maybe, the thing he thought would kill her on the Game Station had saved her and him both.
He needed to stop grinning like a loon and clue her in, he realized. "I think, Rose Tyler, that just possibly, I won't have to lose you. See, Rose, your timeline....it could have been long enough but eventually I'd be able to see an end. But I couldn't. It was tied to mine. And it went on. We go on. Together. You and me, together. I couldn't see it before, right after the Game Station, but I dunno, maybe the pregnancy helped. I'll have to run tests."
"Okay, I understand....maybe....do our life spans match up now? Is that what you're sayin'?"
The Doctor nodded, grinning manically again. Their life spans had been a sticking point for him for so long. He couldn't have wished for better news.
"Brilliant Rose!" he praised. "There may be some other physiological changes, too, makin' you closer to a Gallefreyan, but I have to run tests, o' course."
Rose responded by flopping onto her back on the grass, staring up at the stars, shocked. His grin faded. "Rose? What's wrong?"
"My head's spinnin'. S' a lot to take in. I'm gonna be a mum. And now you're telling me we get to keep each other. Always. Forever."
"And it's..." He trailed off, wanting to hear her answer. He needed to hear it. His mind whirled, wondering if she did want to be tied to him forever in that way. If he hadn't damned her to an existence she didn't want. His respiratory bypass kicked in. He didn't notice.
"It's fantastic," Rose smiled. She grabbed the collar of his jacket and pulled him down to her, wrapping herself around him, capturing his lower lip between her own. He groaned his gratitude, the sound loud in the silence of the night.
They celebrated in the dark cool forest as the fireflies flitted around them, the only witness to their joy.
There would be tests to take and plans to work out later, but for now the pair of them reveled in their love.