Author's Note: Hello again! Yes, I know, I haven't posted anything in months...
This a story I wrote with my Whovian friend, APirateByAnyOtherName :) we've been doing this thing called fic tennis, where one person sends a prompt and the other replies with a few paragraphs, back and forth until it's a story. I don't have the link to the picture we used, but I know it was one of David Tennant in a Christmas jumper holding a tiny stocking. Also, if you want to see the other fanfiction that we wrote together, go check it out on ApIrateByAnyOtherName's profile!
APirateByAnyOtherName's parts are bold and the parts I wrote are regular text.
The Tyler mansion was filled with the sound of laughter. It was Christmas Eve and all the Tylers, Jackie, Pete and little Tony were gathered in the living room along with a heavily pregnant Rose and her Doctor. A big Christmas tree sat in the corner of the room, twinkling merrily and a fire crackled in the large fireplace. A string of colorful Christmas cards hung from the rafters on a bit of red ribbon and Jackie had lined the fireplace mantle with chubby red and white candles.As was their tradition, the Tylers had gathered to open one present each on Christmas Eve. Pete was now sporting the new leather jacket he had wanted, Jackie had dabbed on some of the perfume Pete had gotten her, Tony was playing with his new set of Legos (and already spreading the pieces all over the floor) and Rose was wrapped up in the TARDIS blue blanket her Doctor had given her. With a smile, Rose picked up a small box wrapped in blue and gold paper. "Open this one, John," she said.The Doctor, after arriving in the parallel universe had decided to go by the name of John Smith. Rose and most of the Torchwood staff still called him Doctor, but John preferred this other alias which felt as he put it, "Simply human and quite right."He certainly looked human in his red holiday sweater with a white and black diamond pattern on it and his fluffy hair messily combed down and slightly damp from the shower. With childlike glee he tore open the present, his eyes sparkling with the curiosity Rose had rarely seen him without. His curiosity and glee turned into full-blown joy as he discarded the shiny paper and lifted the lid of the box. With gentle fingers he picked up a tiny red and white stocking from the box and held it up. The words "Baby's 1st Xmas" written in slightly wobbly script stood out proudly on the fabric. "It's fantastic," John said, hurrying to Rose's side to place a kiss on her huge stomach and pink cheek.Rose flushed with pleasure. "I had thought this little bugger would be here by now," she said with a pointed look at her stomach. She rubbed her hand over it fondly. "But you just don't want to come out yet, do you baby?" She received a kick in response. Rose quickly grabbed John's hand and placed it on her stomach. "Feel that? Ornery little bugger. I know this baby is doing this on purpose."John grinned that adorable grin he used whenever he was especially pleased about something. "Probably waiting for snow," he said wisely."Wouldn't want to come out unless Christmas is perfect, and that means snow. Doesn't it, baby?" said John to Rose's stomach. The baby kicked again in response."See! This baby knows what we're saying, I know it," Rose said in mock-defeat."Really?" asked Tony, suddenly looking up from his game of Legos.
"No, darling, not really." Jackie assured him. "God forbid it hear the things its mum and dad get up to at night-"
"Mum!" Rose's already-pink cheeks were stained bright scarlet. Luckily, John had noticed (or he was pretending he hadn't, which Rose figured was more likely).
Tony, oblivious as always, asked, "The baby hears them sleeping?"
"Just ignore mum." Rose scooped the blond little boy from among the Legos. She settled him awkwardly between her stomach and the arm of the couch, kissing his head. "Are you excited for Santa, Tony?"
"Yeah!" he chirped, bouncing up and down. "Is he gonna bring me a nephew for Christmas?"
"Santa's not-" John managed to say just as Rose shoved a pillow at him, effectively silencing what might have crushed all of Tony's little-boy dreams. "Well," he conceded, once his mouth was unobstructed, "There was an alien that could be considered Santa-like."
Rose blatantly ignored him. "Yeah, Tony, he might bring you a nephew for Christmas. But, then again, who can know for sure? Besides, could be a girl."
Satisfied, Tony wriggled out of her grip and back to his Legos. "No girls." he added as an afterthought, little eyes scrunching together. "Except for you and mum."
John, stocking in hand, took a place next to Rose. "What do you want? You never said. And a red-and-green stocking is not really much to go by. Now blue, or pink, or even orange I would understand, but red-and-green is just uniform Christmas-y."
"Dunno." Rose admitted. "Don't care, really." To her, the very idea that she was able to have a baby-to have this life-was enough for her. She let out a contented sigh, head falling to his shoulder.
"Although," she added, "I'd really like to not be this size. It's nice not to be throwing up, but..." she gestured at her swollen feet. "Do we have any pears?"
John rolled his eyes dramatically. Of all her pregnancy craving, pears had to be the most absurd. Pears? Pears?! He had understood chips and vinegar, lemonade, all sorts of exotic teas, and he'd encouraged her short-lived banana obsession, but he could never fathom what she loved so much about pears. Still, he got up and brought her one from the kitchen, held distastefully between two fingers. "Here you are."
"Ta." she tipped her head back and gave him a long, deep kiss. At his surprise she said, "What? I expect you want to be kissing me after I eat this."
"Pears are evil." He mumbled, returning to his place on the couch.
"I like pears," Tony chirped up. Rose laughed as John made a face.
"Quite right too," Rose said, patting her stomach. "Baby likes pears too."
"Does Santa like pears? Maybe we should leave him some pears," Tony said, his little face scrunching up in thought. John looked horrified.
"No, no, no, Santa does not like pears. Definitely not. It's absurd. Just stick to leaving him some biscuits, Tony. No one can resist a good biscuit."
"Especially not you," Rose admonished, lightly smacking John's hand as he reached for yet another cookie from the coffee table.
"You're no fun," he said, reluctantly dropping the cookie.
"If the baby was waiting for snow," interrupted Pete suddenly, "I reckon we'll see the little bundle soon." He gestured to the window. As one everyone in the room turned their head in the direction of Pete's pointed finger. Tony shouted in delight and ran up to press his face against the cold window, grinning like mad as he watched big, fluffy white snowflakes fall to the ground.
"Help me up John, I want to see," Rose said, holding her hands out. John smiled and obligingly pulled her to her feet. Once up Rose wrapped her new blue blanket around her shoulders and waddled over to the window to take a look. "It's a good thing we're staying here tonight, John," said over her shoulder. "Doesn't look like anyone will be driving anywhere for a while." She glanced down at Tony."Except by sleigh, of course."
Tony looked giddy. "Can we go outside and play, Mum?" he asked excitedly.
"What? At this hour of night? It's past your bedtime, young man," said Jackie in a mock-scolding tone, but there was a smile on her face. "Got your dad's energy, you have," she said, looking fondly at Pete.
"And his mum's stubbornness," added Pete, kissing Jackie lightly on the nose.
"Gross!" shouted Tony, covering his eyes.
"Alright, that's enough out of you, off to bed! Or Santa won't visit tonight," Jackie said. Tony snapped to attention and hurried up the stairs.
"Beat you to my room!" he shouted, and was gone. Pete laughed and ran after him.
"You going to be alright, sweetheart?" Jackie asked, her eyes looking at Rose's stomach with concern.
Rose smiled and rubbed her stomach. "I'll be fine Mum. John will take care of me. This baby hasn't come yet, so I doubt tonight will be the night."
"That's precisely why it will be tonight," Jackie mumbled.
"What was that?" Rose asked.
Jackie smiled innocently. "Nothing, dear." She gave a firm look to John. "You look after her, alright? That's my grandchild she's carrying."
John nodded. "I wouldn't dream of anything else," he said indulgently at the same time Rose admonished, "Mum!"
"Oh alright, good night you two, see you in the morning, bright and early is Tony has his way."
"Goodnight!" Rose and John said together as Jackie left the room, following after Pete and Tony.
Once they'd gone, Rose made her way back to the couch. "It's beautiful," she commenting, gesturing at the snow.
"There's a lot of it." John answered, a bit pessimistically for Christmas. "What if we have to drive somewhere?"
"Wellllll..." she said, reaching out an arm for him to join her, "I don't think you'll have to worry about that today or tomorrow, because baby's not coming until after Christmas."
He snuggled down next to her, earning a light slap when he tried to tug her blanket free and steal a corner for himself. "And how exactly do you know that?"
"I just do." was her smug reply.
They stayed on the couch for a while; watching the snow lightly coat the ground, then grow to about three inches. Rose thought it was lucky they'd decided to stay with her mum and Pete this Christmas; otherwise it'd be awful driving home. Home wasn't too far-only seven miles, since the Doctor and Tony were adamant that they couldn't possibly be separated by much more distance than that, because how else would they be able to finish building their tree house? That meant Rose and John had been coerced into staying in one of the guest rooms of Pete's huge mansion. It was, of course, a different one from the one Rose had first seen, with the Cybermen.
Eyes becoming heavy, she finally heaved herself up, and the two went to bed. Both of them knew Jackie was right; if Tony had his way, they'd all be up at the crack of dawn.
Or, as luck would have it, maybe a bit sooner.
...
Rose tossed restlessly from one side to another. She'd drifted off for maybe an hour or so. The glare of the digital clock told her it was exactly 1:43 AM, and she wasn't able to fall asleep again. She glanced briefly over at John, wondering if she should wake him and have him get her some tea, but he so looked peaceful with his sleep-mussed hair that she decided to get it herself.
All was quiet in the kitchen as she boiled water and got passersby tea from one of the cabinets. She missed all the alien teas she and the Doctor had discovered, but regular human tea worked just as well.
While the teabags sat in her cup, she lazily stirred, mind drifting from work at Torchwood, to thoughts of maternity leave (it would be nice to take a break, but how would she go back after? Would they get a babysitter?), to wondering if there would be any pears for breakfast Christmas morning-
A surprisingly loud cry of pain escaped her lips, the cup clattering onto the ground as Rose dropped it. She doubled over, tears clouding her vision. What was it? It couldn't be just a practice contraction... Gasping, she screamed, "John!" mind fogging over with panic.
He was at her side in a moment, gently wrapping an arm around her as far as possible as she shakily fell to her knees. He shushed her softly, hand gripped tightly in his. "Rose, what's happening, is something wrong?"
She got her breath back, the pain in her stomach subsiding. "I dunno, I think it was a contraction, but a real one, because it hurt, and John, I can't be having the baby now!"
He nodded, carefully helping her stand and steering her to the couch as she spoke. "Of course you're not going to have the baby right now, that takes hours."
He was rewarded with a small smile. "You know what I meant."
"Yeah, and don't worry, because you'll get to the hospital in time." He assured her. He kissed her forehead and sprinted back up the stairs, shouting for Jackie. Rose rested her head against a pillow, wondering why she'd ever expected to have one normal Christmas.
Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly to John and Rose) Jackie was the frantic one, flitting about Rose like an over-excited hummingbird and talking a mile a minute. She glared at John every time Rose grimaced in pain and kept asking her, "Are you alright, sweetheart? Can I help you with anything?"
"I'm fine, Mum," said Rose with a wince. "Just help John pack the car and go back to bed. John can get me to the hospital; I don't want you to miss Tony's Christmas."
"Nonsense," said Jackie, fetching Rose's coat and hat from the hall closet. "You're my daughter and that's my grandchild in there. I'm not missing this for the world. Besides, Tony will want to meet his new niece or nephew soon as possible, you'll see." Rose nodded and shifted uncomfortably on the couch.
Relief flooded her face when John returned to the living room with her travel bag in hand, which she knew was already packed with everything she'd need for a couple days' stay at the hospital. He gently lifted her up from the couch, his face wrinkling into a worried frown with each flash of pain across Rose's face.
"I'm fine, really," said Rose, slipping her arms into the coat John was holding for her.
"You don't look fine," John stated. He winced as Rose suddenly grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip and she gasped in pain.
"Inconvenient little bugger!" Rose snapped at her stomach. John chuckled. "Not funny, John," she said wryly. "Can we just go now?"
John started to answer but was interrupted by Pete running into the living room, his hair and jacket wet with melting snow. "I've got some bad news," he said a little breathlessly. "The roads are completely covered. You're going to have a hard time getting out of here."
"What do you mean?" asked Rose, panic starting to creep into her voice. "I can't stay here, I'm having a baby!"
"You're having the baby now? Cool!" said a wide-eyed Tony, who had slipped into the room to join the commotion.
"What are you doing out of your room, young man?" demanded Jackie.
"I just wanted to see Rose have her baby," said Tony petulantly.
"Go back upstairs now!"
"No," said Tony, his lip forming a pout.
A loud gasp from Rose silence the room. She glared at everyone in annoyance. "Can we please focus on me for a minute?" Instantly Jackie rushed to her side opposite John.
"Of course. What can I do, sweetheart?"
"Get me to the car. Now," Rose answered forcefully. She squeezed John's arm for reassurance, and he gave her back a supportive pat.
"But your father says the roads are too dangerous," argued Jackie.
"I don't care. I am getting to that hospital," said Rose firmly. She shared a look with John. They'd been in worse situations, hadn't they?
Getting Rose's silent message, John said, "That's right. So what are we waiting for? Allons-y!" he gently propelled Rose forward and steered her out the door. Getting out to the car was tricky in the ice and snow, and fitting her into the car was trickier yet, but they finally managed it and had Rose safely (if a bit snugly) sitting in the front seat of their car.
"I'll drive," volunteered Jackie, attempting to get into the driver's seat. John blocked her.
"I think I'd better handle this, Jackie," he said firmly.
"But…"
"I'm coming too!" Tony's shout distracted Jackie and she turned to see her little boy in snow boots, an unzipped jacket and his pajamas, grinning ear to ear.
"You'll do no such thing!" shouted Jackie, hands on her hips. "Pete! How could you let him out of the house like this?"
"I think we'd better bring him, dear," Pete said. "I need to come as well, in case we get stuck and need to push."
"Don't talk about pushing right now!" yelled Rose. John looked at her worriedly. Her face was red with the cold and her brow seemed to be constantly furrowed in pain. That was normal, right?
After a few more minutes of arguing and exasperated yelling, everyone was finally piled into the car and they started their slow drive forward through the ever-deepening snow. At the end of driveway, Rose made them stop, because she had forgotten the TARDIS blue blanket John had given her, and she wasn't having her baby without it. John practically leapt from the car and sprinted through the snow to the house and back again to the car, arriving out of breath and freezing, but still calm, blanket in hand. Rose rewarded him with a brilliant smile and a kiss before they could get started again.
Their progress was slow. Three times Jackie and Pete had to get out and push, and with every passing minute Rose's discomfort grew. "We're going as fast as we can," John said, squeezing her hand. Rose nodded and gave him a pained smile.
"Can we listen to the radio?" a bored Tony asked after the third time of getting stuck. Rose switched on the radio and soon "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was blaring through the speakers. She put her head in her hands. This was going to be a long night.
"I hope you're happy," she whispered to her stomach. A contraction was her response. "Alright, alright, we're going," she said. "Just as impatient as your father…" She smiled slightly as she watched John's face, screwed up in concentration as he drove.
"The TARDIS was much simpler," he muttered to himself, carefully steering around a particularly large snow drift. Unfortunately, just as they had successful avoided getting stuck yet again, the car hit a patch of ice and slide violently to the right, sliding clean off the road and into a ditch no matter what John did to stop it. "Oh, of all the nights to—blast it!" He pushed at the steering wheel and attempted to get back on the road to no avail.
"We'll get out and push!" said Pete quickly, hurrying out of the car. Jackie followed.
"Can I help?" asked Tony excitedly.
"I don't see why not. Come on!" Pete helped him out of the card.
"Alright, on my count everyone," said John, getting the steering wheel into position. "One, two…three!" They pushed with all their might and John hit the gas, but the wheel simply spun uselessly in the snow. Rose whimpered near-silently. John paused and turned to Rose, placing both hands on her shoulders. "You just hang in there, Rose Tyler," he said seriously. "I am going to get you to that hospital and we are going to have a baby tonight or my name isn't the Doctor."
"It isn't," she said, laughing softly. John adopted a pretend hurt look.
"Of course it is! If it wasn't, I wouldn't have this, would I?" he said, holding up his sonic screwdriver. "If I just adjust a few things…" he hopped out of the car, pointing the screwdriver at each of the tires and playing with the settings. Then he slid smoothly back into the driver's seat and prepared to step on the gas. "Ready back there?" he called.
"Ready when you are Doctor!" called Jackie.
"One, two, three!" shouted the Doctor. This time the tires spun for a few seconds before gaining traction, but it wasn't enough. They couldn't make it out of the ditch. "Right, okay, we can still fix this," he murmured, looking frantically about. "You're still okay, right Rose?" he asked, looking at her with big, hopeful brown eyes.
Rose bit her lip, hating to disappoint him. "Um, actually John," she winced again, "I think my water just broke." She could feel something warm and wet running down her leg, and from all her birthing classes she knew what it was.
John's face lost a little bit of color, but determination soon filled his face. "Jackie, Pete, Tony, get back in the car," he ordered.
What's happened, what is it?" asked Jackie frantically.
"My water broke, Mum," Rose explained.
Alarm covered Jackie's face. "What? We've got to get you to the hospital now! John, John, what are you doing? We need to get out and push!"
"I said no mentioning pushing!" cried Rose.
"Just get in the car, Jackie," repeated John. "It's time I called in a few favors."
Rose lifted her head in interest, forgetting a moment about the pain in her lower stomach. "Favors? What are you talking about John? Who owes you favors?"
"Too many to count, love." He gave her a wink and put their mobile to his ear. "Hello Trish. It's the Doctor. Remember our project? I'm going to need it tested. Immediately. Send out the team." The person on the other end of the line said something in the affirmative and John nodded. He ended the called and slid back into the driver's seat, shutting out the cold.
Rose looked at him with curiosity. "What was that all about?"
John smiled. "Torchwood is coming."
'"Now?" she asked. "Or soon?"
John squeezed her hand reassuringly. He was half on the driver's seat, and half on her seat, attempting to wrap his other arm around her despite the fact that there was barely any room on the cramped car. "Soon, I promise. Just a few minutes."
Rose briefly imagined some sort of ridiculous alien ship stopping to give them a lift, but she doubted that would happen. It would be hard to explain to an entire hospital full of people why it'd dropped them off.
She cried out again, doubled over as far as her current situation would allow. "Hey, hey..." John soothed, rubbing her back,
"Rose?" a little voice piped up from the back of the car. "Are you okay?"
Tony was peering at her with an anxious expression. Poor little thing, she'd never even thought of what he must be feeling. It's not like he knew anything about how babies came into the world. "Of course, sweetheart, I'm fine." she managed, for his sake.
"Rose, are you sure-"
"I'm fine, mum." she snapped, a little more harshly than she'd intended. 'Really, everyone, I'm fine." It was hard enough to focus, much less talk to people. And now she had Tony to consider; she didn't want him to be afraid for her sake.
Jackie looked hurt, but didn't say a word. She understood what it was like, what Rose was going through. John kissed her head, nose, eyelids, distracting her in the way he knew best. The pain subsided momentarily, but the tears were still damp in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, ashamed. "I didn't mean to be rude."
Jackie reached from the back seat, patting her arm. "It's alright. Trust me, when I had you, I was much worse. Poor Pete, I kept yelling at him the entire way."
"I'm just scared." Rose added in a much softer voice, so only John could hear.
He pointed, grinning. "There's no need to worry. Here comes Torchwood!"
She squinted, at first unable to see what was there through the snow. Then she noticed a little smudge of gray, hovering above them in the sky. It was a zeppelin...except that it was moving awfully fast...
"Alien technology and human ingenuity!" John proclaimed happily, leaping from his seat and going around to open Rose's door for her. "A zeppelin has never flown faster!"
Tony was laughing, jumping up and down in the snow. Jackie and Pete, however, regarded it with suspicion. "Right..." Pete said doubtfully. "It's safe, isn't it?"
John fixed his gaze on Pete. "Would I let Rose on it if it wasn't?"
They all conceded, gathering around as a platform was lowered (thank goodness, Rose thought, because she'd never managed a ladder in this state) and then were lifted up into it. The inside was huge, and they were led into a room furnished like a living room. John forced Rose to sit on a couch, wrapping her blue blanket around her shivering frame.
"All right, we'll be get you to the hospital in ten minutes!" the captain told them cheerfully disappearing into another room.
Tony was ushered into the kitchen by Pete, with the promises of hot chocolate and marshmallows as soon as the two vanished, a groan escaped Rose's throat. Jackie sat down next her daughter, shushing her. "It's all right, sweetheart, it's going to be fine."
"Mum." she said, crying again, fist bunched and holding tightly to the fabric of her mum's tracksuit. She felt like she was five years old again. Next to her, John shifted uncomfortably in his seat, eyes creased with worry.
"We'll make it there." he said after a minute. "Promise."
They did indeed make it there, though not without causing a mild panic at the hospital. Security attempted to put the building on lockdown when they spotted the half-alien, half-human looking zeppelin hovering over their parking lots, but the Torchwood team was easily able to override the system and take control. They assured the security and hospital staff that this was merely drop-off, at which point Rose loudly interrupted them and told them at that getting there would be completely pointless if she had the baby on the couch in the zeppelin and could they please skip the pleasantries and get her the bloody hell inside?
Things moved quickly after that, and Rose, who was rapidly forgetting her fear and replacing it with irritation with just about everyone around her, moaned piteously as yet another contraction hit her. "Why did you do this to me?" she moaned and squeezed John's hand so hard he winced. She looked miserable in the powder blue dressing gown the nurses had put her in and her forehead slick with sweat.
"I didn't know it would be this painful," he said uncertainly and wishing for the first time he and Rose werenotholding hands.
"Don't lie to me, Doctor," Rose snapped. "Over 900 hundred years of traveling the universe and you expect me to believe you've never seen a birth?" She slammed her head back on the pillow of the trolley the nurses were transporting her on and cried out as another contraction hit.
John looked taken aback at her tone and looked at Jackie helplessly. Jackie, who was running alongside the trolley was looking down at Rose with a soft look in her eyes and speaking to her in a soothing voice. "Yes dear, I know, he's a complete wretch, isn't he? Lord knows men have no idea the suffering we women have to go through, but it will be over soon dearest…" She threw a glare John's way for good measure.
"It's not my fault," he mumbled, feeling very put out by Jackie's words.
"Yes it is!" cried Rose, once again squeezing the life out of John's hand.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said, shaking his head. It wasn't often he didn't know what to do.
"Don't worry love," said the nurse behind him suddenly. "Most women get like this during labor and delivery. Just keep holding her hand and she'll thank you later." John nodded uncertainly and was saved from answered by their arrival in the delivery room. He was momentarily distracted by the machinery in the room but was brought back to attention by Rose nearly yanking his arm out of his socket and screaming her loudest cry yet.
"Dammit!" she yelled. "Are you going to give me any medication or not?" John was relieved to hear her yelling at someone else for a change.
"Would you like an epidural?" asked the doctor, finally joining them. He finished putting on his latex gloves with a snap and smiled down at the red-faced Rose. The look she sent him would have been enough to send a Sontaran running, John thought. "I'll take that as a yes then," said the doctor cheerfully. His nametag identified him as Dr. Leonard Micheli. He signaled for one of the nurses who had accompanied them to summon the anesthesiologist to administer the drugs.
"Rose, I'll need to lie to your side and arch your back please," said the woman who came to give her the epidural. "This will only pinch a bit."
"Just do it!" snapped Rose. John and Jackie winced as the needle was inserted in her lower back and attached to a catheter, which slowly began feeding medicine into her spine. It took a few moments, but gradually Rose's furrowed brow relaxed just a bit. She still winced as the contractions hit her, but the pain was nowhere near as intense.
"You're doing wonderfully Rose, said Doctor Leonard in an encouraging voice. "You're up to eight centimeters now, we're almost there." He turned to address Jackie. "Now would be a good time for you to step outside Ma'am, unless Rose wants you to stay throughout the delivery?"
John looked down at Rose apprehensively. They had already discussed his staying by her side throughout the delivery, but not Jackie. "No Mum, why don't you go and wait with Dad and Tony? I'm sure they'll be worried…" Rose trailed off. John heaved a sigh of relief. Rose he could handle yelling at him. But Jackie? He had already been on the receiving end of her shouts enough times.
"If you're sure dear," Jackie kissed Rose's forehead. "Good luck," she whispered, and was gone.
Rose was breathing more heavily now and her heart rate beat a little bit faster on the monitor. Her contractions were coming regularly at three minute intervals. She looked utterly exhausted and John was coaxing her into doing the breathing exercises they had practiced. "Not long now love," he whispered.
"Alright Rose, you're ready. I'd like to move into pushing position and when I tell you too, push," instructed Doctor Leonard.
Rose shook her head frantically. "I can't do this," she said, panic in her voice.
John leaned in close and murmured in her ear. "Yes you can Rose, you can do anything. You've faced werewolves and Cybermen and Sycorax. You've traveled across time and space and looked into the face of the Dalek Emperor without fear. You've saved my life and countless others and youcanpush this baby out."
Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes and she nodded. Doctor Leonard smiled. "Okay. Ready? Now push Rose, push!" With an almighty yell, Rose pulled her chin up to her chest and pushed with all her might until she couldn't push anymore. "Good job Rose, you're doing a good job. Now get ready to push again."
"You're brilliant, you are," John encouraged. Rose pushed again, sweat forming beads on her forehead. "Keep going," said John, holding her hand tightly. Still breathing heavily Rose pushed again.
"We can see the head now, keep going," said Doctor Leonard.
"Hear that Rose? Our baby is almost here. Keep going!" After several more minutes of pushing and yelling from Rose, the unmistakable scream of a baby filled the delivery room.
"Congratulations, you have a boy," said Doctor Leonard. John grinned from ear to ear and Rose smiled weakly. They let John cut the umbilical cord and finally they placed the baby in Rose's arms.
"Hello there," she whispered to the wiggling red babe. Small tuffs of hair stuck up on the top of his head. "He's got your hair," laughed Rose. "Except…"
"He's ginger!" said John in complete delight. He stared down at Rose and his newborn child, pride and wonder filling his face.
"Alright, now we've got to deliver the placenta," said Doctor Leonard, looking apologetic at the little family. "We'll just take him to get him cleaned up. You can go with him if you like, John." Rose nodded and sent John after the nurse and their baby, and prepared to finish up childbirth. "This part if much easier," assured Doctor Leonard. Rose nodded, exhausted. She just wanted this to be over with so she could hold her son.
The afterbirth seemed to take no time at all, and the nurses helped clean her up so she could have her baby. Her face lit up with joy when she finally saw John and the baby in the doorway. In minutes her baby was back in her arms again and nursing gently. Rose thought she had never seen a more beautiful sight. "Thank you," she whispered, giving John her special smile.
John woke, blinking owlishly at the blurry face next to his. As his vision focused-damned human senses, always so slow-he realized it was Rose, deep asleep. They must've both drifted off, exhausted.
Rose's face was peaceful, arms wrapped loosely around the little boy. Her sweat-dampened hair had dried into uneven clumps, and the blue hospital gown was stuck to her shoulder blades. As always, he thought that she couldn't be more beautiful.
Rose stirred when he tried to brush her back a bit. "Hey."
"Hello." she said back, eyes still shut tight. They slowly fluttered open, focusing in on him and then the tiny baby in her arms. "Where is everyone?"
"Well," he said, "After Jackie came in she went out to get Tony, but Pete had taken him home. Poor little guy got really nervous, he was afraid something bad was going to happen to you."
"Oh." Rose cringed. "He knows I'm fine?"
"Jackie called Pete to tell him that everything was fine, and that he had a grandson. They're going to be here soon, right after Pete gets Tony to eat something." John confirmed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry about anything, love, I'll take care of it."
"M'kay." Rose settled back, drawing her son closer to her. She couldn't help but grin at the unruly mop of ginger curls on his head-John must be so proud, she thought.
"ROSE!"
John and Rose jumped at the high-pitched shout, and John managed to rescue the baby as Tony rocketed across the room and flung himself onto Rose's bed.
"Rose, Rose, RoseRoseRose!" Tony chanted, bouncing up and down on Rose's bed.
She flinched at the level of noise, drawing him into a hug. "Hey, Tony. Merry Christmas!"
He pulled back, poking her nose inquisitively with his finger. "Are you okay?"
"'Course I am. And look, you have a little nephew." Rose gestured for John to bring him over. Carefully, she slid the baby into Tony's arms. She was apprehensive at first, but when the expression on his little face softened she knew it'd be fine.
Awed, Tony said, "He's little."
"Yeah, he is."
"Really little."
"Yes, sweetheart." Jackie chimed in from the door, where she and Pete were standing. Pete looked so incredibly proud, smiling at his grandson.
Breaking the tension, Tony concluded, "He's not gonna be able to play catch with me, is he?"
Everyone laughed at the rueful expression on Tony's face, and he was assured that soon enough his little nephew would be able to do all sorts of things with him. The baby was passed from arm to arm, until he started wailing, given back to Rose immediately.
"So," Jackie asked, settling by her daughter's bedside, "What're you two going to call him?"
"Well..." John began, Jackie rolling her eyes at the drawn-out syllables, "It's an odd name, by 20th-century standards..."
Jackie groaned. "Please tell me you haven't named him something preposterous, like Gallifrey or Debenhams, God forbid."
"No, nothing like that, mum." Rose assured. "We've decided to name him Boe David Tyler."
"Boe for Face of Boe." John explained quickly, before Jackie could make a fuss. "We thought it was more unique than Jack."
"And David?"
Both Rose and John shrugged. "Just fit, I guess." Rose said after moment. They shared a look and smiled down at the sleeping baby boy in Rose's arms. "Just perfect," she whispered.
Rose spent Christmas Day at the hospital, family and friends dropping in to see the new arrival and bring presents. Tony and John-to Rose's utter embarrassment-took to caroling in the other wards, and once that wasn't entertaining enough they hijacked the speaker system and sang for the entire hospital. Their very loud and out-of-tune rendition of "Sleigh Ride" that they dedicated to Rose did get a smile from her, and an eye-roll from the nurse.
She was discharged the next day, and bundled into the car with Boe safe in her arms. It went smoothly enough, save one screaming fit from him when the car slid on the road. Pete had sent their overnight things home, so John and Rose could go home right away. Tony pouted the entire time ("But really, Tony, this means that now you'll have to visit us more often to get your know your nephew!").
"Feels like I haven't been here in ages." Rose sighed, settling on the couch. She tucked her feet underneath her, Boe sleeping comfortably in her arms. "Sweet little guy... I don't want to leave him in the nursery by himself."
"I could bring the crib out here, if you want." John said, planting a kiss on his son's head as he went towards the stairs.
He got it down the stairs with only one mishap, and then they sat on the couch, the TV droning in the background while they pretended to watch. It was all too familiar-the almost uncomfortable burn of the fireplace, the sofa that sagged inwards so they invariably slid closer and closer until someone was on someone else's lap (and that varied, depending on how much they'd been drinking), the tug of hands on hair and teeth on lips. It was exactly the same, except they had a third person to share it with.
Boe Tyler gurgled softly in his crib, waving his tiny fists in the air. "I think someone wants to join us," John whispered into Rose's hair.
"Mmm?" murmured Rose, her head resting on John's chest. "We are rather cozy over here."
"Quite right," said John. "And we just need a little ginger to make it perfect."
Rose laughed and sat up to smile at John. "I can't imagine where he got that ginger hair."
John grinned. "I always wanted to be ginger."
"I know. But I suppose your son will have to do." She lifted him out of the crib and cradled him to her chest, humming softly. John watched her with an indescribable joy on his face, as though he had never seen anything so beautiful as Rose and that baby, bathed in firelight. Nothing he had seen in any of his travels, he decided, could compare to this simple sight.
"Who wants to sit with Daddy?" Rose padded her way over to the couch and sat down, immediately sliding against John with the extra weight of Boe. She settled comfortably in his arms. Boe cooed quietly and Rose sighed. "Isn't that better?" she said to Boe, lightly touching his nose. He was wrapped up in a small blue blanket with only his head and arms poking out. His tuffs of ginger hair stood up no matter how many times Rose smoothed them down. "Just like your father," she said affectionately, leaning her head back against John's shoulder and reaching her free hand up to ruffle his hair. John smiled.
They sat in companionable silence for several minutes, listening to the soft buzzing of the TV conversations and laughter that occasionally broke through. Suddenly Rose broke the quiet. "This is how it's going to be now," she said rather vaguely. John looked down at her questioningly. "I mean," Rose continued, a sort of amused look on her face, "with the three of us. No more just the Doctor and Rose. We've got a new companion."
"Well, he's a bit more of a companion," said John. "And we were never just the Doctor and Rose." She beamed at him. "I couldn't ask for more."
"He is certainly the best Christmas present I've ever received," said Rose, smiling down at Boe.
"Besides," said John, a mischievous gleam coming into his eye, "a new companion just means new adventures, right?"
"You're right," laughed Rose.
"And you know what I say to that?" asked John. In Rose's arms, Boe gave a loud gurgle and waved his arms excitedly. John beamed at him. "Quite right, Boe." He caught Rose's eye and together they cried, "Allons-y!"