Author's Note: I came up with this story when I read a post on Pinterest, or something similar, mentioning a theory about the bio-damper The Doctor gave to Donna in "The Runaway Bride". The theory, put short, claimed that The Doctor wanted to give the ring to Rose as an engagement ring because the bio-damper was supposed to make the person who wears it safe(r). I really liked the idea of this and this caused me to think about Doomsday. Another running theory is that Rose was pregnant but didn't tell The Doctor because she didn't want him to destroy a universe or two or three or all of them. Anyway put the two theories together and you get a heart-breaking story. I also decided to put a small relationship building process in the story. This is my first attempt at writing anything remotely romantic so I hope it's not too bad. Also please leave a review, tell me when you found a sentence that's not right or if I made a typo or something or if I'm not making any sense at all. English isn't my primary language. So don't be afraid of correcting me ;)

Disclaimer: Do I really need to spell it out. I'm posting this story here, so I obviously don't own doctor Who!

1. Afraid

Rose sat on her bed, staring at a point on the carpet.

She was pregnant!

For three weeks now, at least, that was what the pregnancy test the TARDIS had provided told her. She had to tell him, but how would he react? Would he panic, party, smile? Abandon her?

No!

He would never abandon her if she told him, she was sure of that. But, where was she going to get the courage to tell him?

She put her head in her hands and sighed.

The Doctor sat on his bed, fiddling with the ring in his hand. He sighed. He had had this ring for 4 months now. But every time when he had planned to ask her, either something interrupted him or he chickened out. Well, if he was being honest, he had chickened out seventeen of the nineteen times he had planned to ask her. The other two times were only different because he got interrupted before he could've chickened out, but he likes to claim that he really got interrupted.

He was the Oncoming Storm, destroyer of worlds, he was a brave man and would face things most people would be running away from. And yet here he was, in his bedroom trying to find the courage to propose to a human. Oh, his enemies would be laughing if they could see him like this.

He laid back on his bed and sighed again, he hadn't spent much time in his bedroom since he and Rose had become more than just friends, he either slept in her bedroom or just laid in her bed while she slept, humans still needed much more sleep than Time Lords did.

That was part of the problem, he wanted to have a life with her and yes, marry her. But she was human, she would wither and decay while he would regenerate and even if he didn't regenerate, Time Lords had a much longer lifespan than humans. when she was old, he would barely have aged.

He knew that he never should've fallen in love with a human in the first place, but yet here he was. He couldn't just leave her, that would break both their hearts. Would that be better than to lose her? Probably not.

The Doctor had always felt something for Rose, from the moment they had met. His feelings only became stronger once he regenerated. What he didn't know was that Rose had the exact same. Just after he regenerated they were both cautious, it was different. Rose was still shocked because he changed and he was still getting used to his new body, while he did his best to get Rose to trust him again. What had happened with Cassandra, caused both of them to be more cautious. Both of them had secretly enjoyed the kiss. Despite the fact that it was Cassandra who had kissed him, Rose had experienced it too and remembered it. But they were both afraid that the other had become uncomfortable about what had happened.

After they had left 1879, The Doctor had finally taken her to Barcelona, the planet not the city, like he had promised. She had loved it, just as he had expected. For once, nothing bad had happened. They explored the planet and met with the locals. The Doctor had introduced her to the nose-less dogs, she had thought that they were really cute. They eventually went to the top of this hill, it provided a spectacular view of the forest and a lake behind it. They spent a few hours talking and watching the view, sitting on the top of that hill.

The view is beautiful!

Rose now understood why The Doctor wanted to take her here. She was glad that they eventually went here. It was beautiful, the locals were yellow colored, about 1 meter and had three eyes. But rose had learned by now not to judge and they were very friendly and had allowed Rose and The Doctor to explore the planet on their own, that barely never happened, usually, they either didn't walk into lifeforms at all or got escorted by a guide. The Doctor had shown her the nose-less dogs, they weren't at all like she had expected them to be, but they were so cute! Now they were sitting on the top of a hill. They talked the whole time, Rose told him about her life before she met him and he told her about all these planets he had visited and promised to take her to as much as possible. But now they were quiet and enjoying the view and each others company.

Rose really enjoyed her life with The Doctor and they had become good friends. Of course, his regeneration had been a drawback, but it helped that he was a bit more open and likeable than Big Ears, that and she had almost processed the regeneration.

Something he had forgotten to mention, until it was too late!

Rose thought that the new him was beautiful, she liked his friendship, but she wanted something more. The problem was that he was an alien, not that she cared, but it would certainly make things more complicated. A bigger problem was that she didn't know whether he felt the same way, she was afraid that Cassandra had caused him to become uncomfortable with her.

What if he abandons me?

Rose was really afraid of that happening, would he abandon her, because she kissed him while being possessed by "The Last Human"? Oh, she had felt and enjoyed that kiss, but she decided that it was best not to mention it. If he was uncomfortable with being around her, he certainly didn't show it, also he looked genuinely happy when Cassandra had finally left her body. She was starting to doubt that what had happened had an influence on their relationship, except for the fact that the urge to just kiss him had become nearly irresistible, but she would probably just scare him away when she did so, so she tried everything to get it from her mind. She looked at him and saw him looking at her. He was smiling and she found herself smiling back. This was starting to become very hard.

He should take her more to places like this, Rose clearly loved it and he would do anything to please her. What did he do to deserve a friendship with someone like Rose, she was beautiful, brilliant and brave. He had nearly lost her several times, with the Slitheen, the lonely Dalek, the game station and when Cassandra took over her body. Every time when he thought that he had lost her or would lose her, it had hurt his hearts. But the one that had hurt the most was the possibility of losing her because he had regenerated and therefore changed.

He was so thankful for the fact that she hadn't left him, he didn't know whether he had convinced her after handling the Sycorax or that she had just given him a chance, maybe both. He didn't really care. They had become good friends and he really enjoyed her traveling with him. But, if he was being honest, he wanted them to become more than just friends. He had been trying to push that thought out of his mind basically since he had taken her to platform 1, to watch Earth being swallowed by the Sun.

After all Time Lords shouldn't fall in love, especially not with a human. In the beginning, he had been successful at doing so, but it became harder and harder and after his regeneration, it had become impossible. He had finally come to the conclusion that he couldn't ignore his feelings for Rose, but she would probably not want him. He was an alien, why would she want an alien when she could have a perfectly normal human man?

Cassandra kissing him while possessing Rose's body certainly hadn't helped, he was afraid that she was uncomfortable about what had happened or worse being uncomfortable about being around him, it would break his hearts if she would leave him. If she was uncomfortable around him she certainly didn't show it, but maybe she was hiding it. Of course, he could be worried about nothing. Maybe what had happened didn't have any influence on their relationship, except for the fact that the urge to just kiss her had become nearly irresistible, but he would probably just scare him away when he did so, so he tried everything to get it from his mind. He looked at Rose, she was just turning her head towards him. He smiled at her and she answered with her beautiful smile. Oh, he loved that smile. This was starting to become very hard.

They looked at each other, both of them fighting the urge to kiss the other. Both of them started to lean in, without being aware of it. Eventually, Rose pulled back a bit and settled with kissing his cheek. It was more than she had ever given him, so it did satisfy the urge to kiss him enough to resist it again.

The Doctor felt his hearts skip a beat when she kissed his cheek, it was more than she had ever given him, this satisfied the urge to kiss her enough to resist it again. Rose started to lean in on him and rested her head on his chest. He embraced her and kissed the top of her head. This wasn't what he was longing for, but for now, it certainly, did it. The sat like this for another hour, then the sun set and they made their way back to the TARDIS.

The Doctor smiled, he had been so thick back then. Well, admittedly he was still thick sometimes. He couldn't believe that he hadn't realised that Rose had wanted him as bad as he wanted her. Their date, as they decided to call it, on Barcelona certainly was the beginning of their changing relationship. He loved remembering it.

He sat back up and took another look at the ring. It was a beautiful golden ring covered with small diamonds, it was a special kind of gold from the planet Glortora, it would change to sapphire red when the atmosphere changed as a warning that it wasn't safe. It was also a bio-damper, to keep Rose safer. That was all he wanted her to be, safe. He put the ring in his breast pocket, where he had kept it for the past 4 months.

If he was scared of asking her to marry him, how was he going to survive the trip to Jackie, when they would finally tell her that they had started to date each other?

He promised himself that he would ask her before the end of the week, how he was going to survive Jackie was a problem he would think about later.

He stood up and walked to the console room.

Rose smiled, she still didn't know how she hadn't realised that The doctor wanted her as bad as she wanted her. Their date, as they decided to call it, on Barcelona certainly was the beginning of their changing relationship. She loved remembering it.

She looked up again and sighed, they had come so far since Barcelona, but now? She was pregnant. While her mother didn't even know that her friendship with The Doctor had grown into a romantic relationship.

Mum would kill him, if she finally heard about it, especially when she learned that they had been dating for 5 months and that they had visited her 7 times in that time.

But her first problem was telling The Doctor that she was pregnant, she promised herself that she would tell him before the end of the week, how they were going to tell her mother without him getting killed in the process, was a problem they would think of later.

She stood up and walked to the console room.