Rose lay in bed, fingering the empty space beside her, and sighed. She missed the Doctor; she'd hardly seen him lately. That one day he'd taken off after she'd passed out on their driveway was the last full day they'd spent together, and half the day had been spent at TMC - Torchwood Medical Center - making absolutely sure her little Jack was alright. She had been officially diagnosed with hypotension; something that had never affected her before but now with the pregnancy, it was playing up. Her baby's tiny heart beat had been elevated to an abnormal standard; not because of her low blood pressure, the doctor had assured her, just something to do with his Time Lord DNA, and all they could do was monitor it. Now she had to go in every week for a checkup.
She was just over seven months; twenty-eight and a half weeks, and when he was around, the Doctor never stopped cheekily trying to coax kicks and nudges from his little baby boy. The Doctor had been working more and more hours lately, trying to earn enough money so that he could afford to take the first few weeks after their baby was born off work, and stay with Rose. She appreciated it, but she was seeing her husband less and less, and she was missing him more and more.
Of course, she had her mum; Jackie had started coming over most afternoons with her, most the time bringing four year old Tony along with her. Rose suspected the Doctor had requested for Jackie to start visiting, but she was always happy to see her mum and especially Tony; somehow or another her little brother never failed to make Rose laugh. Tony in turn was delighted his big sister was going to have a baby boy.
"We gonna be best friends!" he'd declared when he found out, and he was constantly coming over to Rose and patting her large stomach, giggling when the baby kicked. He was worse than the Doctor in that respect, but she didn't mind. She loved feeling Jack move, and she loved seeing Tony's face light up each time it happened.
They were coming over today, Rose remembered. Tony had been begging to go to the beach, and since the weather was getting warmer, Jackie had invited Rose along. Privately, Jackie shared the Doctor's concerns for Rose; she was drawing in on herself, leaving the house less and less, and Jackie knew these coming months were going to be the hardest for her daughter. Jackie had suffered post-natal depression with Rose and had barely scraped through it, and while Jackie knew she ultimately couldn't control how Rose felt, she would be damned if she let her daughter go through any of that without help or support.
Rose swung her legs off the bed and got up slowly - advice from the nurse to combat passing out again. By the time Jackie and Tony arrived to pick her up, Rose was ready with sandwiches she'd made, a bottle of water, a towel and sunblock.
"Rosie!" Tony shouted, running over and hugging her legs, Jackie bringing up the rear and closing the front door behind her. A smile appeared on Rose's face, and she hugged her little brother around the shoulders. Tony patted her stomach. "Hello Jack. You ready for the beach?" he asked Rose, looking her up and down. "You're not in togs!"
Rose patted the large bag she was holding. "They're in here, silly monkey," she teased and ruffled his hair, letting him take the bag and sling the strap across his body.
"He'll topple if that gets any bigger," Jackie remarked, smiling after her little boy making his way to the door, zig zagging across the carpet. "How are you, love?"
"Fine, Mum." Rose had to force herself not to roll her eyes at the repeated question, instead smiling and accepting the hug Jackie offered.
"Right well, let's get on then." Jackie led the way out the door, and helped Tony into his car seat while Rose climbed up into the front seat.
"We're going to the beach!" Tony crowed happily as they drove off, and Rose laughed.
By the time they got to the beach it was nearly lunchtime. Tony already had his board shorts on, had his mother apply sunblock to every inch of visible skin, and started making a sand castle while waiting for Rose to change. She worked her way into the old baggy clothes she'd brought in favour of skin tight swimwear she would usually wear to the beach, and her brother eyed her with a funny look when she came over to their spot.
"Rosie, you're in clothes!" he exclaimed. "We're gonna go swimming!" he told her, pointing towards the ocean, and she smiled.
"What, are you sayin' you don't want me to swim in this?" she asked him, and he quickly shook his head, climbing to his feet and grabbing her hand.
"We're going, Mum!" Tony yelled, pulling his sister towards the water, and Jackie waved them off, spreading out her towel and lying in the sun. Rose let herself be dragged down to the water by Tony, wincing as he splashed into the freezing water.
"It's cold!" she gasped; Tony only grinned and dropped her hand to splash the seawater at his sister. "Not fair, cheeky!" She laughed despite the cold, splashing him back. They stayed in the shallows, splashing, burying their feet in sand and drawing shapes with sticks in the damp sand, out of the reach of the waves. Rose noticed when Tony started getting goosebumps, and she suggested they go and have lunch. He nodded, shivering, and she took his hand.
Jackie had a towel waiting for them both, and Rose accepted hers gratefully. She had only gotten wet up to her stomach so she spread her towel out and lay on it, propping herself up on her elbows and taking a long drink. The sun was shining and thankfully the wind had died down, so Rose closed her eyes and lifted her face up, soaking in the heat.
"Rose," she heard her mother say, and she turned her head to squint in Jackie's direction. She was halfway through rubbing Tony down with a massive beach towel, but she nodded at something behind Rose, an excited grin on her face. Rose sat up properly and turned the other way: and there he was, right beside her.
Her heart swelled and a huge smile broke out on her face, but before she could say anything, the Doctor leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. She had to break away first, regrettably, starting to laugh too much at the disgusted noises Tony was making.
"Hello," he said with a grin, and she grinned back, so happy he was here. How was he here? Wasn't he working? She didn't care. Rose pressed a hand to his cheek.
"Missed you," she said softly, and he kissed her palm in response.
"Eww, stop, it's yucky!" Tony protested; now free of his mother's clutches, he scrambled towards the Doctor, intending to jump on his back.
"Aha not so fast!" the Doctor exclaimed, spinning around and grabbing the boy. He heaved Tony over his shoulders and headed for the water. Rose laughed as they chased each other round, and for a moment, she wanted to freeze time to this moment. In this moment, with her mum, the Doctor and her little brother, at the beach in the sun, Rose was happy.