Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn't mine. If it was things would be quite different. The BBC owns all and I bow before them.
I want to wish a very happy birthday to TenRose4ever. Look, I'm actually on time this year! :)
Author's Note: I do want to note that this fic was loosely based on something that happened to my cousin (going to the store and ending up, months later with a child). She and her husband were shopping for groceries when she ran into an old classmate who was pregnant and planning on putting the baby girl up for adoption. My cousin already had 3 boys and while they hadn't planned on any more children they had wanted a little girl. Long story short, arrangements were made and that little girl is now 5 years old. :)
Also, if anybody was wondering from my other fics, while it isn't actually used in this one, their daughter Alli's name does come from Gallifrey and for the reasons mentioned here.
Rose Tyler was two aisles away from the Doctor at Tesco when it happened. She was perusing the breakfast aisle while he took way longer than necessary (bless him) to pick out new jams and jellies for the TARDIS pantry. While they had picked up many new flavors since they started travelling time and space again, he was determined to try each and every variety their London grocery store had to offer.
One moment she was debating between oatmeal and cereal when the bond she shared with her husband flared brilliantly with a new sensation she had never felt before and she wondered what had brought it on. Uncertainty filled her but it wasn't exactly an unwelcome feeling, just very different. Then she heard a loud crash and knew, she just knew, that was him.
Alarmed, Rose abandoned her shopping trolley and rushed back to the Doctor. He stood absolutely gobsmacked in the middle of the aisle, a smashed jar of what appeared to be strawberry jam covering his white converse and the floor on which he stood.
"Doctor?" she asked, as she approached him. "Are you okay?"
He blinked slowly and looked at her in wonder. Cupping her cheek, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was sweet and gentle, but even so, it wasn't long before an "ahem" interrupted them.
Rose pulled back from the Doctor and saw a stern looking shop lady frowning at them and then looking pointedly at the mess as his feet.
"Sorry," the Doctor muttered to her, though his face was entirely unrepentant. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few pounds, and dropped them into the shop lady's hands.
"We'll come back later," he said to Rose as he took her hand and led outside.
"Is something wrong?" She furrowed her brow in puzzlement at his strange behavior.
"Not at all," he assured her. "Something is very, very right."
With that, he placed his hands on her belly, caressing it softly through her summer dress.
"Rose," he began. "You're-"
"Pregnant," she finished for him. "So that's what I felt."
The Doctor nodded. "That was her little mind joining our bond."
"Her?" Rose felt tears prickle her eyes. "We're having a little girl?"
"Yeah," the Doctor swallowed and she saw his eyes were moist too.
Rose wrapped her arms around him and they stood just stood there for several moments. While she had seen the moisture in his eyes, the Doctor rarely cried and she pulled back slightly when she felt a few tears actually fall.
Before she could say anything, the Doctor beat her to it.
"Rose, Gallifrey's going to live on." His thumb traced her jaw tenderly. "All because of you."
"Us," she corrected with a warm smile, though she was now bothered by the thought that this might not have happened. Already she could see and feel what this meant to him, and she was beyond thrilled at the news too.
They had had long discussions on the topic of children and what that would mean for them. Ultimately, they had decided they would be wonderful, it wasn't absolutely necessary for them. They were happy and loved the life they had together, split between Pete's World and traveling in the TARDIS. The universe brought them together and they would take whatever they were given.
"I thought we were both okay with our decision. That we were happy with or without children. You never brought up Gallfirey." She knew the Doctor's actions at the end of the Time War still haunted him, that he had brought about the destruction of his people. Now, the two of them had also brought life to a dead people.
"I am." He nodded vigorously and then amended his statement. "I was. But I didn't know it would feel like this. Oh, Rose, feeling her… it's not just you and me anymore. We have our own little family and Gallifrey's legacy will continue. That's amazing."
"Yeah." Now she beamed at him. "I think this will be our greatest adventure yet."
"It'll be brilliant." The Doctor grinned back her and kissed her once again. "And this time, I'm going to do it right."