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As Rose sat in the exam room, she nervously counted the holes in the air vent above her head while drumming her fingers against her ribs in time with the rattling of the overburdened HVAC unit. Anything to keep her mind occupied on something other than the absolute nightmare her day was shaping up to be.
To make matters worse, the draftiest window in London was currently letting in rain from outside and the incessant drip of the exam room sink only added to her discomfort. She longed to escape to the loo again, her bladder control lately as unreliable as her kid brother Tony's. Even the mere thought of water was enough to trigger the urge, and that was on days when she hadn't nervously consumed two of those awful Pink Unicorn energy drinks they sold at the corner shop near her flat. She was vibrating on a different frequency, and not a good one. The drinks had given her something, but it was more like anxiety than energy.
The stress and chilly weather were already taking their toll on her, but the bombshell Martha had just dropped put it all into perspective. The endless trips to the bathroom, the raging tension headaches, the intense cravings for a Marmite and pickle chip butty - it was all starting to add up. In hindsight, it seemed painfully, glaringly obvious and the fact that she hadn't picked up on it before now was a testament to how entirely preoccupied she'd been with getting the Doctor back home.
If he'd been with her, it never would've come to this, her finding out alone in a frigid cold medical office wearing a stupid, scratchy gown with stereotypical green cartoon alien heads on it. The absurdity of it made her want to scream.
Despite her deep affection for Pete, it was hardly surprising that the unit designated to care for Torchwood's human employees was the most rundown. After all, employees were more easily replaced than alien artefacts and less likely to generate residual income. Even though Torchwood had access to the heights of technology, it still suffered from the same problems as every other profit-focused organisation.
As guilt and regret mixed with the already nauseating cocktail of anxiety brewing in her guts, she felt a wave of sickness threaten to overtake her. She knew that she could have, and should have, convinced her stepfather to allocate more funds to upgrade the medical unit. However, she had prioritised the dimension cannon project instead, and not entirely for unselfish reasons.
There was no going back now; the budgets were out of Pete's hands, and they had to work with whatever the Presidential spending committee allocated. The predicament she was in was karma finally catching up to her for all the toes she had stepped on during her desperate attempts to reunite with the Doctor.
She should've been more focused on working to make Torchwood better from within while still aligning with her goals to move the dimension cannon project forward. Emotions had gotten the better of her early on and she knew she'd made mistakes, but surely that didn't mean she was irredeemable?
"Are you gonna sign off on the clearance or not?" she finally broke the silence, picking at the edges of the paper underneath her and tearing it into little strips. Once she was back home with the Doctor, she resolved to figure out a way to get Martha proper funding for a fully staffed medical unit. Now that she knew she was sticking around, she had no excuse not to do everything in her power to fight the extremist government from within.
The damp chill of winter had easily seeped through the dilapidated building, causing her nipples to stiffen uncomfortably against the thin fabric of the stupid, scratchy alien heads gown. Were the Doctor there he'd probably call it offensive and he'd be at least half right. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling all the more alone for his absence.
He should've been there with her. It shouldn't have been like this.
After only ten minutes in the frigid medical unit her bare arse was numb, chilled like a slab of meat in a butcher's case, blood slowly seeping onto the paper beneath. What sort of sadist (or sandwich fetishist) decided that a plastic chair covered in deli paper was the best environment for examining your lady bits anyway?
Crossing her arms, Martha let out a beleaguered sigh. "Rose, you know I love you like a sister, but I can't go risking my job for you. I could be accused of impropriety if I break policy for the boss's daughter and that's almost worse. The rules are the rules, and as it stands, I can't legally authorise a medical clearance for you to leave the country to go into a warzone in this condition."
"C'mon Martha, you know me and you know I can handle this. I've done significantly more dangerous missions where I was actually sick. This is...unfortunate, but it's an inconvenience at best. The rules are stupid and sexist."
"I never said they weren't. Nonetheless-" Martha held up her hands in frustration. "Think about it from my perspective. What happens if I sign off on the papers and something happens to you abroad? What if you become septic, or worse? I'll be the one held accountable for letting you travel. You know they're arresting doctors over this stuff now, yeah? A lot changed while you were gone and I know it's not your fault but you have no idea what it's been like for me as a medical provider. I have to balance doing what's best for my patients with the law, and those things are in conflict now more often than they aren't."
Rose's voice trembled as she spoke, "I know and I'm sorry, I'm sorry for even asking. But if I don't go this week, there won't be another zeppelin going that way for almost a month, right?" She focused her eyes on the suspiciously pear-shaped stain on the ceiling, attempting to hold back a hysterical sob and wishing the Doctor were there to crack a stupid joke about pears being his most detested fruit because they're a harbinger of misfortune.
She couldn't bring herself to say it aloud, but the thought of spending another day alone in her flat without him, let alone weeks, made her want to throw herself into traffic. If she couldn't be with the Time Lord or the Doctor, what had been the point of all her struggles with the dimension cannon? The universe lived on safe and sound while the ones who helped save it got to go on alone, dying from the inside out?
Was this how the Time Lord felt every time he saved yet another planet, only to return to the TARDIS without her? Perhaps she was catastrophising but it was hard not to after having the carpet yanked out from underneath her.
"He's all alone in Norway and has been for weeks. I was only supposed to be gone for a few days. I have to go get him, Martha. I'm supposed to look after him," she pleaded desperately, hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes and spilling onto her cheeks. She hadn't wanted to cry but it was impossible to hold back any longer. Weeks worth of disappointment and frustration were only amplified by the hormones swirling through her exhausted body. "Please...I don't want to have to go through this without him."
What was supposed to have been a temporary separation - merely a few days for her to return to England and procure the necessary identity documents for the Doctor to gain legal entry into the country - had stretched into unbearable weeks following a seemingly endless cascade of failing circumstances.
Surprising no one, the Time Lord's ability to navigate the time and space continuum remained erratic and Rose, Jackie, and the Doctor had been left stranded in Norway nearly two months into their future, in the middle of a multi-country military conflict that had erupted in their absence. The Doctor had cautioned about the potentially far-reaching consequences of the reality bomb, and a newly installed authoritarian English government was just the tip of that iceberg. The world they had just barely saved was on the brink of war.
Davros would've been immensely pleased. Rose had to wonder if it was a bug or a feature that the reality bomb had failed, but humanity was still dead set on destroying themselves in other violent and unnecessary ways.
It broke her heart thinking of the months Pete and Tony had spent believing she and Jackie were both gone forever. For Pete especially, she couldn't even imagine how it must've twisted the knife in the wound of losing his first Jackie. Although her brother was still too young to entirely grasp the concept of death, he was amazingly perceptive when it came to picking up on the moods of grown-ups around him. A bunch of adults whispering about how your mother and sister were probably both dead while your father believed the same couldn't have been comforting.
In true form, Pete again rose to the occasion and conjured up a plausible explanation when his supposedly deceased wife and stepdaughter suddenly reappeared. He'd spun a grand yarn about needing to fake their deaths as part of an undercover mission related to the planetary disruption. It wasn't that far from the actual truth, but the looks and whispers prevailed. Reality was stranger than fiction, but nobody would've believed the truth if they'd been aboard the Crucible to see it.
When Rose lay in her bed at night, turning over those events in her head and wondering if there were anything at all she could've done to change the outcome, it felt unreal even to her.
The English government's seizure of Torchwood assets for the war efforts meant that smuggling anyone into the increasingly xenophobic country by zeppelin was nearly impossible since they had full access to their records. Furnishing a plausible fake identity for travel usually wouldn't have been an issue, but the untimely apprehension of their favoured document fabricator on charges of trafficking stolen goods had left them scrambling, and the Doctor stranded. Everything that possibly could've gone wrong did.
Despite the setback, Pete had pulled some strings and managed to procure the necessary documents from an outside source, but at an exorbitantly high price. Rose couldn't help but notice the glaring inadequacies of their quality, leaving her worried about their authenticity. With no other viable options, they had to make do with what they had and pray that the documents would pass muster long enough to secure the Doctor's safe passage out of Norway and back home.
With the stakes higher than ever, Pete's paranoia had reached fever pitch. Constantly fretting over the likelihood of being audited for compliance, her stepfather had become a haggard shadow of his former self, still likely dealing with the emotional fallout of once again thinking his wife was dead. Though they'd always played fast and loose with their own internal rules, the added layer of government oversight meant adherence to policy was non-negotiable. The whole organisation was struggling to adapt to the new structure, navigating the uncharted waters with no end in sight.
Pete had done everything within his control to help her retrieve the Doctor, but there could be no official extraction mission on the books without violating international law, and it was a lot harder to fabricate a bullshit reason to go to Norway with the government watching over their shoulders. Officially, the reason for the mission was to search for salvageable rift debris or any evidence that the walls of the universe hadn't totally sealed and ensure they were properly closed. Of course, there would be nothing there to find, but the President didn't need to know that.
The war had brought about a multitude of challenges for Torchwood, and the zeppelin shortage was one of the most immediate ones. With no private chartered Torchwood-only flight available, Rose was left at the mercy of pre-scheduled flights that the government deemed appropriate and necessary. As a result, her travels would be subject to strict schedules and numerous restrictions that made her true mission all the more difficult.
Now more than ever, she wished the Doctor was by her side. Their contact had been limited since she'd left Norway to avoid arousing suspicion and it was eating her alive not knowing how he was doing. A Torchwood run only by Pete wouldn't dream of poking or prodding at a half-human Doctor, but there was no telling what the new government would do to an alien if they thought it could be of use to their war strategy.
Above her, the fluorescent lights hummed and flickered, the vibrations buzzing in the roots of her teeth. The tap dripped, the rain beat against the window, a dying smoke alarm was chirping somewhere in the distance, and everything was just so goddamn loud. Rose gritted her teeth, clenched her fists and bit back the newly renewed urge to scream.
"I know you're upset you might not make it to Norway this week, but I'm worried you're not processing what I just told you," Martha said firmly but gently. "Rose...you've had a medically traumatic event. You need to prioritise giving your body time to rest and recover."
"I'll rest once the Doctor is back home with me. What needs to happen for you to issue me a clearance?" Rose pressed.
"If everything is-" the young doctor paused, carefully considering her words. "...resolved by the weekend, I'll consider signing the papers. However, I cannot, in good conscience, clear you for a work-related mission in your current condition. There's no telling what could happen if you developed sepsis or other complications while abroad, and I can't take responsibility for that. Your health and well-being must come first."
Rose rolled her eyes and chuckled bitterly. "Guess this is what I get for letting my clearances lapse. I wasn't expecting to return from that last dimension-hopping mission, so I didn't bother renewing them. If I hadn't come in today I never would've known it wasn't my period, just figured it was business as bloody usual."
"Nobody likes to talk about it, but what you're going through is incredibly common," Martha said sympathetically. "We just have to be careful. With some of these new laws in place, if they think you did anything to intentionally jeopardise your pregnancy-"
Rose cut her off. "I know. We could both get in trouble if they think I did this on purpose and you helped me cover it up."
"You see it happen in other countries, you never expect it to happen here at home. I hate that it's come to this."
"Me too."
"Our bodies have been criminalised by men who don't understand the bare basics of reproductive health and probably couldn't point to the clit or the uterus on a labelled diagram. They've created a world people are reluctant to bring children into and rather than fix that they've decided to force us to have more babies anyway because they need a disposable labour force to replace the ones dying in the war," Martha fumed.
Seeing the young doctor fired up like this, it was easy for Rose to see why, in another universe, the Doctor had chosen another Martha as a companion. She was compassionate, fierce, witty, and brilliant.
"Look... there's not much I can do, but I'll hold off on filing the paperwork for your clearance renewal. And I'll arrange for these test results to mysteriously disappear. No one but me will even know about the positive pregnancy test. So like I said...so long as everything appears normal by ultrasound and bloodwork by the weekend, I can sign off on the clearance. If not, we can talk about sending Jake instead."
Rose shuddered, exhaling a breath she didn't realise she'd been holding in. "Thank you, Martha. I don't know what I'd do without you."
With a hint of playfulness, Martha quipped, "Well, dying seems like the obvious answer, but I think we can come up with something better than that." She then returned to her earnest tone. "I'm sorry you're going through this. I know all you want is to be with the Doctor, but please promise me that you'll rest and take care of yourself until we see each other again. And if you need anything, you text or call me. You don't have to go through this alone just because he's not here."
"I promise," Rose said, but the words felt hollow leaving her lips. She knew Martha meant well but had doubts her friend could relate to the specific brand of emotional whiplash that came with finding out you were pregnant and having a miscarriage simultaneously, before you'd even had a chance to think about whether or not you even wanted a baby at all.
What she wouldn't give to be able to crawl into the Doctor's arms and sob right about now.
*****
Vworp...Vworp...Vworp...
As the TARDIS dematerialised for the last time, Rose felt the wind off the cliff tops slice through her like sharpened steel.
He'd actually done it, the bloody coward. Outside the chip shop near Deffry Vale he'd promised not to abandon her like he'd done to Sarah Jane, but he'd broken his word without a second thought and walked away without so much as a goodbye.
How could she believe his word that the human Doctor was the same when breaking promises seemed to come so easily to him? She felt foolish for thinking he wouldn't do to her what she'd seen him do to countless others: lie to her when he believed it was for her own good.
If the two men really were the same, the human Doctor was just as likely to shatter her heart into a million pieces, and now that he had finally revealed his love for her, the pain of his absence would be a thousand times worse.
"Hey, I think you dropped this," he said, sounding considerably more Northern than he had a few seconds ago.
Like an unsettling lenticular postcard, the Doctor's features flickered and wavered between spiky hair and a youthful grin to big ears and mournful blue eyes. Alarmingly, nothing about this seemed to faze him. Rose supposed it was just another Tuesday for a man accustomed to changing his face or growing a handy extra self from a severed hand in a jar.
Arms still shifting between pinstripes and leather, the Doctor was suddenly holding a suspiciously still bundle swaddled in red satin. Around them, the surf pounded, violent and relentless against the sand, threatening to drag them under if they dared lose their footing. Leaning in for a closer look, Rose felt dread spring up in her twisting guts, turning them to ice as she laid eyes on an infant made of glass, full of bones and blood.
Blood, anger...and revenge.
"Well, isn't that wizard," the Doctor said sarcastically, exhaling a plume of gold before dissolving into the waves, leaving the glass infant to shatter on the hard-packed sand in a violent splash of crimson.
Rose only realised she'd been dreaming when she hit the floor screaming, trapped in a tangle of sweaty sheets.
******
The Doctor sat waiting in the zeppelin terminal, vibrating with a nervous and uncontrollable energy that threatened to bubble over like lava. Delirious with anticipation, he ran his fingers through his hair for the umpteenth time, making sure it was just artfully dishevelled enough to seem unintentionally stylish. He'd even had his suit dry cleaned and bought cologne with the meagre earnings he'd made doing odd jobs and repair work around the resort. The cologne claimed to smell of fresh mountain air, rich woods, and exotic spices suitable for every man, but he wasn't yet convinced. Nonetheless, he hoped Rose would be.
Only ten more minutes til her zeppelin was due to land, and they were fixing to be the ten longest minutes of his brief human existence, like waiting for the last school bell before the winter holidays. Ten more minutes and he'd be pulling Rose Tyler into his grateful arms, snogging her breathless, and never, under any uncertain circumstances, ever letting her go again.
Maybe ten minutes after that, if they were both lucky, he'd pull her into a cupboard or pin her against a wall to have the desperate, passionate reunion sex he'd been dreaming of since they'd been separated again. Their first and only time had been incredible but all too brief, driven by hormones, lust, and relief. This time, he wanted to savour the experience, to explore her body like an uncharted galaxy and linger over the bits he found particularly fascinating. There were so many ways he wanted to make Rose Tyler shiver and shake.
All things in good time, he supposed, of which he now had a finite amount and strong opinions on how he wanted to spend it.
The words "I love you" had spilt out of his mouth with ease, but that confession was only the beginning of what he needed to say to Rose. How many times before he'd lost her had he almost confessed it all to her: that she was beautiful, that he needed her, that she had saved his life and made him better, but held back for fear of what losing himself in her would mean? He'd always assumed she knew how he felt, but as he'd learned the hard way, there were some things that needed saying.
It had been futile to resist anyway, him having been hopelessly enthralled the moment she'd taken his hand and he'd whispered, 'Run!' Countless enemies he'd faced in the Time War, only to be so easily vanquished by a pink and yellow human who'd seized both his hearts like they'd always belonged to her in the first place.
More than anything, he wanted to build a human life with her, one uncomplicated by the desire to constantly rescue the universe in a bid to distract himself from his unrelenting guilt over the Time War. Though he would happily take whatever Rose offered him willingly, he wasn't too proud to admit that what he wanted was everything.
He didn't want to waste any more time imagining what it would be like to live on the fringes of the warm glow of her love; he wanted to be the phoenix wholly consumed in the flames of it and rise anew worthy of her forever. To allow himself to become drunk on the smell of her right before she came, to absolve himself of every sin committed in her absence by wrenching his name like a prayer from her lips, to begin and end every day cleaved to her side. He'd had a taste of how it could be that first night together in their hotel room but, like ocean water, it had only intensified his thirst.
Since he'd gotten the confirmation she was returning to get him the day before, he'd been turning it over in his mind : the perfect romantic thing to say and do when they were finally reunited again. Should he go for funny, to break the ice and put her at ease? Or aim for smouldering and sexy, lest she think their first and only night together had been a fluke of raging regeneration hormones and the emotions of being left behind together?
Over the loudspeaker, a woman sternly announced arrivals and departures. "Now arriving at Terminal Two, inbound zeppelin from London due to depart for Stockholm in one hour. Please allow all passengers to disembark the zeppelin before attempting to board. All boarding passengers must present appropriate ID and documentation for international travel to the gate agent. Passengers caught skipping the queue will be sent to the back of it, your time is not more valuable than the rest of ours. Thank you."
The Doctor chuckled. No matter where you went in the universe, there was always at least one self-important berk trying to cut the queue, and they were usually the same person trying to board the lift, zeppelin, or train before anyone else could get off.
His gaze transfixed on the terminal door, he stood motionless, anxiously awaiting Rose's arrival. His hands instinctively dug into his pockets, and his fingers began to sift through the peculiar objects stashed inside. He found a paper clip, its edges bent out of shape, a lint-covered Jelly Baby, and a handful of interesting rocks he had collected walking by the beach. But it was the small velvet box that captured his attention, its soft texture providing a sense of comfort and familiarity as he waited for her arrival. Of all the things to make their way into his pockets from the prime universe, that box might yet prove to be the most fortuitous.
Only time would tell.
As he continued to scan the never-ending sea of people filtering into the building, his grip on the velvet box tightened, like it was a talisman that would bring her to him. His eyes scanned left and right until he finally caught a glimpse of her familiar figure, golden hair cascading down her shoulders as she looked down at her phone. Overwhelmed with relief, he let out a sigh and dropped back onto his feet, the tension in his body melting away as he let his fingers relax.
He resisted the urge to call out her name, knowing that it would only draw unwanted attention. Instead, he waited patiently, hoping to catch a glimpse of her before making his presence known. As he stood there, his mind wandered back to their last meeting, and he couldn't help the smile that crept onto his face at the memory. Finally, her head turned, and their eyes met, but the smile on his face faded as he realised that it wasn't Rose after all, merely a stranger who bore an uncanny resemblance to her.
A sudden sense of unease came over him; something was amiss. His fears were allayed when a familiar voice called out to him from behind, and he turned to see Rose approaching him with a soft smile on her face. Without a moment's hesitation, she launched herself into his arms, and he instinctively folded them around her in a tight hug.
As they embraced, he could sense the weight of her sorrow pressing against him, and his joy turned to concern. Her face was pale and drawn, and her eyes were rimmed with red, as though she'd been crying. Despite the fear and uncertainty that clouded her features, he found himself comforted by the familiar scent of her perfume and the warmth of her body pressed tightly against his own.
It felt like coming home.
"God, I missed you," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "I know it's silly after we were apart for so long, but I thought I might never see you again, and it was driving me crazy."
He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he whispered reassuringly, "Shh, it's okay. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."
As he pulled back to look at her, he could see the worry etched into her features. "Rose...what's wrong? What happened?" he asked gently, cupping her chin in his hand.
She gave a small, strained laugh, and looked down at her shoes. Her fingers twisted around a lock of hair, a clear sign of her nervousness. "Nothing really, just been a long couple of weeks," she lied. "Turns out working for the government's own private armoury in the middle of a war isn't all it's cracked up to be."
He studied her for a moment, unconvinced by her answer. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, her eyes avoiding his. "I'm fine, really," she said, a bit too quickly. "Nothing a good night's sleep wouldn't fix."
He didn't press the issue, sensing that she wasn't ready to open up yet, but couldn't help feel a gnawing sense of worry. "Alright then, let's get back in line. We don't want to miss the return trip."
*****
He was helping her wrestle her overnight bag into the luggage compartment of their private sleeper cabin when she casually asked, "Doctor...I know you said you were a dad before. Do you think...would you ever want kids again?"
Now it was his turn to lie and answer too quickly, like he hadn't just spent the past several weeks daydreaming about every possible avenue a human life with Rose Tyler could take. "I don't know. I haven't given too much thought to it. Why?"
"No reason," she hastily replied, slamming the luggage compartment shut. "I hope you're not opposed to babysitting, though. I'm sure Mum and Pete will want to unload Tony on us at some point in the future so they can actually have a night out."
It seemed a strange question to ask but too pointed to be a non-sequitur. "Pete and Jackie are okay, aren't they? Anything I ought to know going on?" he asked, worried one of them might be ill.
"Everything's fine," she said lightly, climbing into the bunk. She patted the space next to her on the bed with a smile. "C'mon. There's room enough for two and I've missed snuggling with you. Honestly, I feel like I could fall asleep standing up. Might not mind a little kip if it's between you and me."
As he climbed into the bunk next to her, the Doctor couldn't help but wonder what was going through Rose's mind. He knew her well enough to recognise when something was bothering her, and her question about kids had been a clear sign that something was on her mind.
He settled in beside her, the warmth of her body next to his a comfort he'd missed more than he cared to admit. "So, what's really going on?" he asked, gently nudging her shoulder with his.
Rose sighed, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt. "It's silly, really," she began, her voice barely above a whisper. "It's just that I saw this family on the platform earlier, and the way the dad was playing with his little girl, it just got me thinking, you know?"
"About having kids?" the Doctor asked, his heart skipping a beat at the thought.
Rose nodded, a blush creeping up her cheeks. "I mean, not right now or anything. Couldn't imagine bringing a child into the world, not the way it is right now. But maybe someday? I just wanted to know if you were open to the idea."
The Doctor couldn't contain his smile any longer. "Of course I am," he said, taking her hand in his. "But there's no rush. We have all the time in the world."
Rose's smile was radiant, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "I know," she whispered. "I just needed to hear you say it."
He squeezed her hand tightly, but a nagging voice in his head insisted something was still not quite right. Why had she been crying earlier?
"Rose...you know you can talk to me about anything, right? Please, let me help you. What happened right before you came back to Norway?" he pressed gently.
Rose looked down at their clasped hands and let out a deep sigh. "It's just...everything's been so crazy lately. The war, Torchwood being taken over, trying to find a way to get to you. It's been exhausting, and I haven't had a moment to process it all."
He nodded sympathetically, giving her hand another reassuring squeeze. "I know it's been hard. But that doesn't explain why you were crying earlier. And don't bother playing it off, I know you and I know when you've been crying. Something had you terribly upset earlier and I want to know what could be so awful that you're this reluctant to tell me about it."
She hesitated before answering, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "I had a miscarriage," she finally said quietly.
It took a moment to absorb her words before the gravity of them sank in. His heart dropped, but he tried to keep his face neutral as he squeezed her hand tighter. "Rose, I'm so sorry. Why didn't you tell me before?"
She shrugged, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I didn't want to ruin our reunion trip. And I didn't want you to think that I was defective or something."
He shook his head, taking her in his arms and holding her close. "You are not defective, Rose. And it's okay to be upset. I'm sorry I couldn't be with you sooner. You don't need to go through this alone."
They stayed like that for a few minutes, her head resting on his chest as he stroked her hair. Finally, he pulled away slightly and looked at her with concern. "Do you need anything? Painkillers? A back rub? Anything?"
She shook her head, sniffling. "No, I'm okay. It's just...I never imagined it would be like this, y'know? I didn't even get to think about whether I wanted a baby with you or not. It was over before it all started. And, well...I guess now that the choice is out of my hands, I'm realising maybe I do want that with you after all, and I'm afraid the choice may be out of my hands permanently. What if travelling through the rift so many times messed me up and that's why I lost the baby? What if we're not even genetically compatible enough to ever have kids?"
He listened to her words, his heart aching for her. What he wouldn't give to be able to absorb her pain and make it his own. "Rose, it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. These things happen, and they're awful, and unfair, but it doesn't mean anything's wrong with you. Lots of women have miscarriages, most of them not time travellers. This was just a fluke. It could've happened to anyone."
"What if it's not a fluke?"
The Doctor's brow furrowed in concern as he listened to her speak. "That doesn't mean we can't have a family together in the future. There are other options, you know."
She looked up at him, tears spilling from the corners of her eyes. "Like what?"
"Like adoption, surrogacy, or even just being the absolute best aunt and uncle ever," he suggested, smiling weakly at her. Admittedly, the idea of Rose pregnant, her belly swollen with his child, was hard to shake. "The point is, we have options. And we'll make whatever choice we have to make together. Rose Tyler...I love you. And I'm never gonna leave you again, okay? I promise."
"Okay," she acquiesced. "I love you too."
"Quite right, Rose Tyler."
"Oi! Shut up," she laughed, smacking him playfully on the chest. "Do you want to know the worst part about all this? The only thing I want to do right now is tear your clothes off...and they told me I shouldn't have penetrative sex for at least another week. The whole time we've been apart, I was planning the reunion sex. Then this happens, and I'm still the horniest I've been in years. Nature has an absolutely wicked sense of humour."
The Doctor suppressed a groan. "That she does."
"Mmm. They didn't say anything about other things being forbidden, though," Rose said, sidling closer.
He quirked his eyebrows. "Other things, eh? Like what?"
"Oh, don't worry," she said, walking her fingers down his chest. "We've got options."