Title: Rose's Love
Author: Forensic Fan '93
Beta: None
Genre: Family, Angst
Characters: Rose Tyler, Jackie Tyler, Pete Tyler, OC, The 10th Doctor
Minor: Mickey Smith
Pairing: 10/Rose
Set After: Doomsday (S2E14)
Warning: Corporal Punishment
A/N: For the record, I don't like that Rose Tyler suddenly had to leave. DAMN YOU BILLIE PIPER! WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE STAYED? And yes, this is assuming that Rose and the Doctor were traveling together for much longer than we thought. And no 10.2. Because I've only see up through Doomsday (and that was a while ago, so I'm rewatching)… You get the picture. Basically AU after season 2. Oh, and I apologize if I don't get the accents right. I'm American. Sorry. This is assuming that the Doctor doesn't regenerate at the end of season 4 and we don't know who the hell Amy and Rory Pond are. And I can't resist happy endings…
Word Count: 4,107
Summary: Rose Tyler held her stomach and wept. He'd never know what he was missing. Or: Rose Tyler gives birth to the Doctor's son while trapped in Pete's world and has to watch him grow up much like she did, without a father and with a mother, but this time with excellent grandparents. She writes him letters and keeps them.
Disclaimer: If I owned Doctor Who, I'd be owning Sherlock as well. As I am neither Mark Gatiss or Stephen Moffat
Jackie Tyler put her arms around her daughter as Rose wept. Pete stood off to the side, not knowing what to do. "Oh, sweetheart," Jackie murmured, rocking Rose back and forth in her arms like she used to do when she was a baby.
"Mum," Rose bawled into her mother's shoulder.
"He'll come back for ya," Jackie whispered into her daughter's hair. "He always does."
Rose shook her head. "Not across the Void, he can't," she wailed.
Pete noticed that she was drawing the attention of the Torchwood workers so he moved to help Jackie and Rose up. "Let's take this back to the mansion, shall we?" he asked, already moving them towards the exit.
The weeks moved by faster than Rose thought they would. Mickey was helping her get the hang of this world, with the zeppelins in the sky and whatnot. Pete had gotten her a job at Torchwood as the head of a team. Obviously, with her experience with aliens, it would be quite useful.
Mickey leaned back and stared at Rose from across the table. "Somethin's differen'," he said.
"Whaddya mean?" Rose asked, after swallowing her chips.
"I mean, yer inhalin' chips faster'n ya used to," Mickey said, leaning forward to look at her. "Yer always sick in the mornin's. I heard Jackie complainin' about it to Pete the other day. She finks it's the food, but it agrees wit' 'er alright."
The blonde shrugged, before wiping her fingers on a napkin. "I dunno what ya mean by tha'."
He shrugged. "Wha'eva'."
That night, Pete brought it up. "Rose? Are you okay?"
She turned to look at the man who was her father in all but DNA and blood. "Whaddya mean? I'm fine." She paused. "Did Mickey set ya up to this?"
"No, he didn't. And neither did your mother, before you ask that. You've been off for the past month or so…"
"I'm fine! God! First Mickey, now you!"
Rose stormed off and up the grand stairs to the room she now called hers. There was a box on the bed and she moved to the bed. What was that? She picked it up. A note on it in her mother's handwriting said 'take the test, or I'll shoot ya myself'. She giggled before actually looking at the box. "Pregnancy test?" she breathed out loud. "Oh my god…"
She flipped the note over and looked at it. 'You're acting like I did when I was pregnant with you, so take the test. I wanna know if I'm gonna have grandkids.'
Rose sat on the edge of the tub, waiting for the results. She didn't know what to think. It would be the Doctor's baby. And she had to admit, her period was late. She hadn't ever been regular, but she'd been getting more and more regular, thanks to the help of the TARDIS who always seemed to know what she needed when she needed it.
The required five minutes had passed, and she sighed as she picked the piece of plastic up like it could burn her.
Positive.
She dropped it and watched as it clattered to the floor. Oh God. She was… She was going to have the Doctor's baby and he was never going to know about him or her because Rose was trapped in Pete's world. Rose Tyler held her stomach and wept. He'd never know what he was missing.
It could have been twenty minutes, it could have been hours later, Rose didn't know. A knock sounded on her bathroom door. "Sweetie? I'm coming in…" Jackie's voice rang out into the utter silence that was Rose's bathroom.
Rose didn't do anything as her mum entered the room. Jackie picked up the test and sighed. "I knew it. Oh, sweetheart…" Jackie held Rose tightly as the girl wept again.
"Mum… he's never gonna know he has a kid. All because I'm trapped here!"
Jackie ran her hand through Rose's hair. "He did what he had to, to save ya. To save ya both, even if he didn' know it."
"Yeah, but…"
"No buts. He doesn't do domestic, I know… but what would he wan'cha to do now?" Jackie asked, already knowing the answer.
"He'd want me to go on… And to be strong."
When the doctor contacted her a few days later to say his goodbyes in Bad Wolf Bay, she didn't tell him. Why would she? He would only worry about her more. But he promised he would find a way to bring her home. At all costs. When he tried to give her a clone of himself, she stopped him. "No, don't. You'll only make it tougher," she'd said to him.
Rose had insisted on a midwife and a home birth, for obvious reason, as she had explained to her parents. "I mean, if the baby has two hearts, they're gonna take 'im or 'er from me and dissect it."
So, in the end, Pete and Jackie had agreed to find the best midwife they could. One who could keep quiet.
When little Alexander Sterling Tyler was born, Jackie asked what the names meant.
"Defender of the people," Rose breathed, looking down at her perfect little boy. "Defender of the people and the stars. Just like his Daddy."
Jackie turned away and into her husband's comforting arms. "She still loves him," Pete explained, after he led Jackie out of the room. "And she always will. I guarantee she will never get married. Not as long as she's sure he's out there."
When Alex was five, some of the teachers at his school looked down upon him for not having a father. Alex was a smart kid, and he took after his father like that. Not wanting to hurt his mummy, he went to his poppa who was the smartest man he knew.
"Poppa?" Alex asked, sitting on his lap. "Why are the teachers all mean to me for not having a Daddy like Mummy has you?"
Pete looked at his grandson. "Alexander, is your teacher not treating you differently? From the other kids?"
Alex shrugged. "I dunno… When Miss French asked me if my daddy was coming in for 'Daddy Day' I said I didn't have one, and she got all closed up and wouldn't answer me when I asked if that was a bad thing."
"You did nothing wrong. Your mother is one of the bravest women I know. Alexander, you must never tell anyone this, but your father is still alive. He just doesn't know you exist. If he did, you still wouldn't know how to walk because he would be holding you constantly. Understand, Alex?"
The boy giggled. "You're silly, Poppa."
The next day, Pete Tyler entered his grandson's school. He looked at the secretary. "Is Miss French in her classroom?" he asked.
"Y-yes, but—!"
Pete strode out of the room and down the hallway to where he knew Alex's class was. He knocked politely on the door and waited for the woman to call out "Enter."
He did so when bidden. "Hello, Miss French? I'm Pete Tyler, Alexander Tyler's grandfather."
The woman gasped. "You're Alex's grandfather?"
"Yes, now, I'm here to inform you of one very important fact. Alex told me you implied you thought Rose was a whore for not having Alex's father in his life."
"I did no such thing."
Pete shook his head. "The boy has his father's intelligence, so don't try to even think of slamming the man in front of him. And you did. When Alex asked you if it was a bad thing he didn't have a daddy coming to Daddy Day, what did you do?"
"I didn't answer him but… I just assumed… Being your daughter and all…"
"So, you implied it was a bad thing and that Rose was no good? That boy reads into things deeper than you know. And just so you do know, Alex's dad helped save us from the Cybermen. John Smith was the bravest man I ever knew and he died before Rose ever knew she was pregnant."
"I didn't know…"
"Which is why I'm informing you of your mistake." And with that, he strode out. He paused in the doorway and said over his shoulder, "Oh, any by the way, I'm coming to Daddy Day for Alex."
Miss Isabelle French had never felt so mortified in her life.
That night was a night that Alex had one of his nightmares. He never told anyone, just wrote them down as best he could and drew what he couldn't.
That night, he dreamed that his Daddy was on the moon, in a hospital, saving people from these giant rhino like things. This was the same dream as before. There were others, but they all repeated until a new one came, and then that one was thrown on repeat.
He woke up sobbing. Rose was in there, faster than a Weeping Angel. "Oh, Alex…" she breathed, holding him to her. "Don't cry, sweetling. Don't cry. Mummy's here…" She picked him up and carried him back to her room, where he laid, listening to her heart.
"Mummy?" Alex asked. "Will you tell me a story?"
"About what?"
"About the Doctor and his companion Lily."
Rose held back tears. Travelling was in the boy's blood. Of course he would ask for stories about his father, without even knowing about it. "Of course, sweetie… Which one tonight?"
Alex sighed, breathing in his Mummy's scent—applegrass, vanilla, and melon—and said, "The one where the Doctor and Lily meet."
"Once upon a time, a young girl was told she had to go back to her work to straighten a few things out for 'er boss. Truth was, 'er boss didn't need her. She called out for him, and when the plastic dummies started attacking her, she freaked out. A man tapped her on the shoulder, smiled at her, and said 'Run' with a smile like you've never seen in your life…"
Half way through her story about how she met the Doctor, her son had drifted off. She kept telling the story, if only to reassure herself.
She sighed, and laid her hand on his chest. "Oh, Doctor…" she breathed after her son's two hearts had slowed down and evened out, and she knew he was asleep. "I wish you were here. You'd do domestic for Alex… I know you would. You'd love him to pieces. Oh, he reminds me of you. He has your hair, and your eyes."
Rose pulled a sheet of paper out of the notebook she always kept by her bed and started writing. She started it off with "Dearest Doctor" like she always did.
Once she was finished with the letter, she put it in the dresser drawer, like she did with all the other letters she had for her Doctor.
It was several months later, with Alex asleep right next to her after another nightmare, when Rose swore she heard the familiar whoop whoop whoop of the TARDIS. Easing out of bed, far slower than she would have liked, she finally was able to tip-toe her way to the window. Her son had far better hearing than she would like to admit. Something he got from his father she thought, smiling back at her son before looking out the window.
There is was, the TARDIS. She gasped as she saw the man she loved, standing out in front of it, hands in his pockets, looking at the mansion.
"Mummy…?" a sleepy voice asked from the bed.
Rose turned to the bed. "Alexander Sterling, this is very important, do not leave this bedroom unless me or Momma or Poppa come and get you, understand?"
"But, Mummy…?"
"What's rule one?" Rose asked, voice soft, but with an edge her son knew not to cross unless he wanted a very sore bum and ears that rung from a talking to.
Alex repeated, "Don't wander off. There's no telling what might be out there."
"Exactly. And if I catch you with a single toe out of this bed before one of the three of us comes to get you, so help you…"
And she left. Alex stared at his mother's retreating back. Something was different, but he wasn't willing to risk a spanking to find out what it was. Well, maybe he was.
Downstairs, Rose inched towards the door, small handgun in her hand. Her father was behind her as was her mother.
She cracked open the door and saw the Doctor standing in the same place he was when she had spied him from her window.
"Rose!" he cried out, moving in close, but stopping when she leveled her gun at him. He raised his hands."Rose?" he asked, this time, less confident.
"What happened to us the first time you took me on the TARDIS?" she asked, voice hard, gun pointing at his first heart.
"We were going to watch the sun go supernova, but Cassandra decided to get greedy and tried to kill us all."
Rose didn't lower her gun. She turned her head slightly and said, "Mum, call Mickey. He's at work. See if he got any reports of weird activity."
The Doctor kept his hands raised. "Rose, what's going on…?"
Jackie disappeared into the house.
Rose shook her head. "What did I tell you on Bad Wolf Bay?"
"Not to send my clone with you. Which came in handy by the way," the Doctor said, almost looking nervous. "Is everything okay here?"
Rose stuffed the gun into its holster. "Come on in, Doctor."
Once they were in the house, she turned and hugged him. "I thought I was never gonna see you again…" she whispered into his neck.
"Oh, Rose…" the Doctor whispered, kissing her head. "I told you I'd find a way to get to you."
"Yeah, six years later."
"It's only been three for me. Rose, is everything okay here?"
She shrugged into his hug, not looking at him. "Can't be too careful." She extracted herself from his hug but kept their fingers intertwined as Pete eyed the Doctor.
The older man asked, "You sure this is him?"
"Yeah, Dad," Rose assured him. "I am."
Jackie came back into the room and threw herself at the Doctor. "Oh, Doctor! I'm so happy you're here!"
The Doctor hugged her back awkwardly, patting her back like he didn't know what to do. He shot Rose a look that said help me! but Rose wasn't gonna offer the help.
She smiled as Jackie nodded to her over the Doctor's shoulder. It slid off her face when she heard a voice she knew wasn't supposed to be out of bed at this hour.
"Mummy?"
She turned on her heal and marched over to the doorway. Rose spun Alex around and smacked him one lightly on his bottom. "What did I say, Alexander Sterling, what did I say?"
"Not to get out of bed…? But you were acting so weird, Mummy…!" She smacked him another one.
"When I say not to do something, I mean for you not to do it. You could have been hurt," Rose said, as her son started to cry. "What's rule one?"
"Don't wander off…" Alex sniffled.
"And why is it in place?" Pete asked, arms crossed over his chest.
"There's no telling what's out there," the kid muttered, wiping his eyes.
The Doctor frowned. That was his own first rule. And Rose had a child? When had this happened? And that rule sounded like it had been drilled into the kid.
Rose nodded. "I think three more spankings and then no dessert and an early bedtime for a week would be sufficient, don't you, Alexander? Can you tell me why you need these spankings about being grounded?"
"Because I didn't do as you said…" Alex muttered, "because you never tell me not to do something if it could be dangerous… And Mummy? Who's he?"
The Doctor watched Rose's face turn red like she wanted to swear but wasn't going to. She did, however, let out a rather colorful stream of language in French. "He's the reason I wanted you to stay in my room, Alex," she said. She turned to the Doctor. "One moment. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back…"
She led her son out of the room and into her father's study. She stood him between her knees so he could face her while she talked to him. "Alex, do you understand why I had you stay in my bedroom?"
"Because you thought he was dangerous?" Alex asked.
"Yes, and you know the first rule, because I just heard you repeat it to Poppa. Do you know why I told you to stay? Because you could have possibly put your life in danger, Alex. Do you think your punishment is fair? I wasn't sure if the man you saw was the man I thought it was. I love you too much to lose you."
What Rose didn't know was that the Doctor could hear every word that was being said. He blinked. What did that mean?
"Yes, Mummy…"
"Good. Trousers off, for these last three. And then over my knee."
Alex did as he was told and laid himself across his mother's lap. "One," Rose said, bringing her hand down onto her son's upturned bottom. He was still sniveling from his earlier swats. "Two." Another swat hit his butt and he started crying harder. "Three." She stood him on his feet, hugged him, and said, "There, now, Alex, sweetie… You're forgiven. Nothing's wrong now. Shh… Don't cry, sweetling…" She held him til he stopped crying. "Do you want to go to bed, or would you like to go meet the man you snuck out of bed for?"
"Can I m-meet him?"
"Go wash your face, and then you can," Rose instructed. "Come down to the living room when you're ready."
"Yes, Mummy."
Rose sighed as she exited the study. The spanking she had given Alex would only leave him sore for about 15 minutes, which was a good thing. She walked back into the living room, seeing him talking to her father. When she entered, he smiled at her. "Alexander Sterling? What's his last name?"
The blonde shrugged. "Tyler."
"What does his name mean?" the Doctor asked. Pete knew this was a time to be silent.
"Defender of the people and the stars," Rose muttered, hearing the sink turn off. "Dad, is Mum getting hold of Mickey and telling him not to freak out?"
A small voice said, "Is Uncle Mickey coming, Mummy?"
Rose sat down on the couch, and patted her lap. "C'mere, Alex. And probably not… Uncle Mickey's at work right now."
This was the first time the Doctor had seen the boy properly. He had brown hair, and brown eyes, but he had Rose' face and smile, that much was clear. The boy was obviously Rose's. And judging by his age, no older than 6… And since she wasn't obviously pregnant while on board the TARDIS, he had to wonder who the boy's father was.
"Mkay, Mummy."
Pete stood. "I'm gonna go check on Tony, to see if we haven't woken him."
Rose smiled down at Alex and said, "Alex, would you like to meet a very dear friend of mine…? This is the Doctor."
Alex's eyes flew wide open. "The Doctor's real? And the TARDIS and everything?" he asked, excitement showing clearly on his face. He looked between the Doctor and Rose. "Does that mean you're Lily? And Uncle Mickey is actually Ricky from the stories?"
Rose blushed. She had hoped Alex wouldn't bring that up in front of the Doctor. "Yes, and yes, sweetheart." She leaned in and whispered, "Go shake his hand. He'll like that."
Alex stood up and walked to where the Doctor was standing. "Hi!" he said, "I'm Alexander Sterling Tyler." He held out his hand for the Doctor to shake it.
The Doctor knelt Alex's eye level. "Nice to meet you, Alexander Sterling Tyler. I'm the Doctor."
Alex continued to ask the Doctor is everything Rose had told him was true. The Doctor confirmed it all, and when the boy's eyelid's started drooping, Rose scooped him up and said, "Oof, Alex, you're getting too big for this."
"S'rry, Mummy…"
"'S not your fault, sweetling."
She carried him up the stairs and into what was obviously the boy's room. "Story, Mumma?" the boy asked quietly.
"Not now… You had one earlier because of your nightmare. Now go to sleep, Alex. I'll be in the house, if you need me."
Rose turned to the Doctor and smiled shyly. "Sorry about that… I know you don't do domestic, but the only way to get through to that boy that he's done something wrong is to deal with it right away."
The Doctor shrugged. "That's all fine by me," he said. "He's obviously your son… Who's his father?"
She looked away.
"It's not Mickey… And you and Jack both have light eyes, therefore, genetically speaking, he couldn't be Jack's… Plus, he wasn't around when the boy was con…ceived… He is…?"
"And it's just now gettin' through to ya," she said.
The Doctor frowned. "When did you find out?"
"About a month after I was trapped here. How did you get here?" Rose asked, crossing her arms.
"There's a tear. It'll stay open for a good long while but… I'm assuming you'll want to stay here with your son."
Rose growled, "He's your son too, Doctor, and he already loves you more than you know. There hasn't been—" She cut herself off. "Stay here."
She ran up to her bedroom, and opened her nightstand drawer, where she kept all the letters. She grabbed them all, and went back downstairs. She thrust them at the Doctor's chest. "Read these. I'm going to bed."
She huffed off, as she was wont to do in the TARDIS after a particularly bad fight.
The Doctor opened the first one with the date "27/5/2007". It started out with "My dearest Doctor. Since I can't tell you to your face… I'm pregnant. The baby is yours. Oh, Doctor, I wish you were here. But you aren't, and I have no way of getting these to you, so… I'll hold on to them… For now. Farewell (not goodbye, never goodbye), Rose."
The next one was date "22/2/2008". "Dearest Doctor, it's a boy. Alexander Sterling Tyler. Defender of the People and Stars. Just like his Daddy. He has two hearts you know. And I'm not sure on the bypass system, but with two hearts, you never know… Mum is watching Alex for me while I'm writing this. He's only a few hours old… But he already has your eyes. God, he's the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. I miss you, Doctor. We'll see on who's hair he gets. I hope his personality is like yours. I miss you SO much Doctor, I can't even begin to describe how much. Besides, I was a little hellion to raise, according to Mum. Not that I can imagine you being much better… But still. I'm beginning to pass out where I sit, so I'll end this letter. I love you, and miss you… Love, Rose."
The Doctor sighed. He'd have to save these for later when he could actually give them the attention they deserve.
He tip-toed his way into the child—his son's room. Now that he was able to look at him without the boy talking a mile a minute—who knew which parent he got that trait from—he was able to see his own traits in the boy. Alex had obviously had his build and his hair. He knew Alex had his eyes, he had seen that earlier. Oh, boy. The kid was most definitely his. And if he remembered anything from his childhood, and if Rose wanted Alex to come along, he'd have to talk the TARDIS into childproofing herself."
He smoothed his son's hair and sighed. Moving silently, he walked outside into the darkened sky. Rose was seated on the porch, staring at the TARDIS.
"I still have my key, you know," she whispered, as he sat down beside her.
"Why didn't you use it?"
Rose shrugged. "I wasn't sure if you hadn't moved on or not. I know you don't do the whole 'domestic' thing but…"
The Doctor shrugged. "For you? Anything."
"Even childproofing the TARDIS? And spankings? And teaching Alex everything he needs to know?"
"And more," the Doctor confirmed.
Rose leaned her head onto his shoulder. "I love you, Doctor."
"And I you, Rose… And Alexander Sterling Tyler as well."
And just so you all know, the reason Pete didn't talk with an accent was I figure, as the head of a hugeass company, he'd have had to take speaking lessons like the ones anchor-men and –women have to take so they can be on air. And he's nervous, so he slips into the "I'm gonna be uptight and proper so they can't hear I'm nervous" voice. And yeah… Papa Bear mode for Pete. I could see him going into it over his grandson.
I will be honest… I started this at 6 in the evening and didn't stop til . This got carried away from me just a tad bit. And this is also going off the fact that the Doctor is good with kids, based on Reinette, and Chloe. Better than me anyway.