So glad you guys approve of River/Jack, I was kinda nervous about it. One reviewer did mention how much they would try to outflirt each other, oh boy would that be fun to see, plus the Doctor's reaction! Lol :D

It's going to get really domestic at one point, but there's a very good reason for it, just stick with it 'til the end of the chapter :)

Oh and also, I've made a trailer for this video, if you want to see it, either in your reviews or a message to me leave your email. Remember to leave a space in the middle! yaddayaddayadda whatever. com


Chapter 4 – Cruel Reality

"Rose, you still had so much back there though, your family, your job, what...John left for you, why did he urge you so much to come back to me?"

"Because Doctor...I'm pregnant."

The Doctor jumped back as if he had been shocked.

"Y-you're pregnant?" He said, rather loudly, looking at her stomach like it was a ticking time bomb. There was no anger in his voice, just surprise. Still, Rory felt it was their time to go.

"Come on Amy." He pulled her up with him and Amy reluctantly let him lead her out of the library.

"Yeah, I'm four months along now." She removed her jacket so he could see her small bump. "It's alright Doctor, we got married, a few months after you left us." She tried to not make the last few words sound spiteful, but was unsuccessful.

"After I left you? Oh please, I just didn't want to interrupt your snog fest!" The Doctor couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth, but he couldn't stop it. He was just so shocked.

"Snog fest?" Rose growled, standing up. "He finally told me he loved me, something I had been waiting years to hear you say. You left me on Bad Wolf Bay the first time with those words on your lips, and the second time you still didn't have the guts to say them!" Her eyes flashed angrily at his accusation.

"Because I knew...I knew..." He stopped. He really didn't know. A tear slipped down his eye.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, knowing it was the only thing to say. "It was the biggest mistake of my life, leaving you. I never should have." Rose's heart softened towards him. She came up to him but the Doctor suddenly backed away. "But what does that make me? A mere replacement for your husband?" Rose shook her head.

"No, of course not."

"But what if he hadn't died? I would still be here, pining away after you while you guys lived on with your happy lives, raising a family..." He stopped, staring at her stomach.

"Doctor, you know I fell in love with you first, and always. And it was you who told me that you and John were the same person, except you've gone and changed again while I was away." The Doctor ignored her last statement.

"Except he was half-human, which makes your child three quarters human." He turned away, his heart slowly breaking. The child technically wasn't even his.

"Actually Doctor...she's only one quarter human." The Doctor spun back around.

"What? But that's not possible!"

"John ran his own tests, we're sure." She paused. "We think it's because I'm a full Time Lord."

Whatever had been running through the Doctor's mind suddenly ceased. The presence in his mind, he hadn't felt it for so long, but it was the presence of another Time Lord, and the secondary link was the child she carried within her. He hadn't realized it until now.

"Bad Wolf." They both whispered at the same time.

The Doctor turned away from her again, his mind spinning with everything Rose had told him. She came up and put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"One thing I don't get though," She said. "If I died, shouldn't have I regenerated? And what about the baby?" The Doctor thought about this for a moment. He pulled out his sonic and ran it over her body. He examined the results and nodded.

"You're not actually a Time Lady. The Bad Wolf inside you is mimicking the DNA of Gallifreyans. That's why you didn't regenerate, and she must have protected the baby as well. Children were usually loomed on Gallifrey so there's not much information on that."

"Well, whatever I am, John wanted our child to have two Time Lord parents. A proper Gallifreyan home and upbringing, one that he felt he could never give." She sighed. "He never told me but I knew he was working on the Dimension Cannon before he was killed. I'm sure he would've sent me here without his permission if he hadn't died..." The Doctor's face suddenly lit up.

"Do you know what this means Rose?" She shook her head. "I'm and Time Lord, and you're a Time Lady, well, as close as you'll ever be. We'll never be apart again." He placed his hand on her stomach. "Your child is a Time Lady as well." He smiled. "I promise never to leave you again, and to give our daughter the home that she will need as per proper Gallifreyan standards." Rose smiled as her eyes filled with tears of joy.

"Thank you Doctor." She said, embracing him. "That's the greatest thing you could say to me."

"No, it's not." The Doctor replied. Rose stopped, looking at him in confusion. "This is." He leaned over and whispered in her ear.

"Rose Tyler Smith...I love you." Rose grinned.

"And I love you Doctor."

"And now
As long as I can,
I'm holding on with both hands.
'Cuz forever I believe that there's nothing

I could need but you.
So if I haven't yet
I've gotta let you know...

You're never gonna be alone
From this moment on.
If you ever feel like letting go,
I won't let you fall.

When all hope is gone,
I know that you can carry on.
We're going to take the world on,
I'll hold you 'til the hurt is gone.

I'm gonna be there all the way.

I won't be missing one more day..."

~Nickelback


And so, months passed and the time came closer for Rose's child to come.

Three months after Rose returned and seven months into her pregnancy, Amy had something special of her own to reveal...

"You're serious?!" Rory cried. Amy nodded, her smile growing bigger as Rory's eyes shined with joy. "Amy!" He embraced her lovingly, his heart soaring.

"I saw the wistful look in your eyes after Rose announced she was pregnant. I also remember how proud you were of what we had accomplished in the Dream World so long ago." They both were silent, thinking memories of that day. Rory had wanted so bad for the Dream World to be the real one. To have a family, to have a symbol of their love to each other in the form of a child...only to have his hopes dashed away by the Dream Lord. But now his dreams seemed to be coming true again.

The Doctor came up to the proud couple. He hugged Amy, remembering the day they met very vividly.

"Oh little Amelia Pond, seems like just yesterday you were frying me bacon, now look at you!" They both laughed.

The Doctor sensed Rose's presence both through their new link as Time Lords, and also her footsteps betraying her condition. He felt her place her hand on top of his. Looking over, he saw she was glowing with the seven month child inside of her. He couldn't keep the pride out of his smile.

"Come on Rose, and you too Amy, you both need check-ups to see how your little ones are doing." He waved towards Rory. "You better come along too mate, you need to see what Amy's going to be like in the next few months." Rory groaned and Amy slapped his arm in reply.

"Oh stop it, I won't be as bad as Rose." To which Rose slapped Amy's arm lightly. Then all four of them burst into laughter. It felt so good to be happy again after so much heartache in their lives.


Two months later...

"Look at me, I'll never fit into these jeans again!" Amy cried, staring at her ever-growing stomach, horrified at not being able to wear her favorite jeans.

"Oh please, you're tiny compared to me." Rose frowned. "I haven't been able to see my own feet for two months. How can something you can't see hurt so bad?" She sat down upon the bench in the enormous wardrobe of the TARDIS and tried to massage her aching feet.

"I can't tell you that yet, I can still see mine." Amy laughed looking down, but Rose stuck her tongue out at her.

"Very funny." She placed a hand on her stomach as the tiny Time Lady within her started kicking. "Ow." She winced at an extra hard kick. Amy looked on enviously.

"At least you can feel her. I can't wait to feel mine as well." She placed a hand on her own small bump and willed the baby to reply, but it remained still. She sighed, removing her hand. She looked up and saw Rose's startled expression.

"What?"

"It's more than kicking." Her face clearly showed pain. "You better get the Doctor."

"Have you ever delivered a baby before?" Rose cried.

"I'm a Doctor!" was his only reply.

"Answer the question!" She was getting frustrated.

"Well...no." He turned towards Rory. "But Rory's a nurse." Rory gave a half-smile, but worry shone in his eyes.

"I've delivered babies before, but never without the help of a doctor." The Doctor pointed to himself but Rose shook her head, before crying out in pain.

"If my mum was here she could help," Rose gasped. "She's had a bit of training as a mid-wife."

"Not surprising." The Doctor muttered. Suddenly he had an idea.

"Hold on for me Rose." He ran to the console room as quickly as he could, not willing to be away from Rose for as long as possible.

The TARDIS landed as gently as she could, and the Doctor rushed out the door. He frowned. He never liked Torchwood, but it had to be done. If he got his time lines right, she should be here...

"Martha!" He cried, spotting her inside the Hub. Martha frowned, not recognizing him. "It's me, the Doctor!"

"Doctor? But..."

"No time to explain now, Rose is in labor, come on!" He dragged Martha away from the Hub and back towards the TARDIS. Hearing the urgency in his voice, Martha decided to ask her questions at another time. Tosh and Owen looked at each other in shock.

Back behind them, unnoticed, were River Song and Jack Harkness, completely oblivious to the rest of the world. And what they were doing was...well, let's leave that up to your own imaginations.

"This way Martha!" The Doctor ran so fast that Martha could barely see where he was going. Despite the situation, she couldn't help but wonder who this man was and why the TARDIS looked so different on the inside.

She entered the med bay and saw a man and a pregnant woman standing beside another very pregnant woman, Rose.

"This is Rory and Amy, and Rose you've already met, Rory, Amy, this is Dr. Martha Jones." The Doctor explained.

"Actually it's Martha Smith."

"Stop with the introductions and do something useful!" Rose cried, clearly in pain.

"Yes, of course." The Doctor seemed frazzled and was shaking with nervousness.

"Doctor, first of all, I need you to wait outside." Martha urged him.

"What?! I'm not leaving her." Rory came up to the Doctor.

"She's right Doctor, we can handle it. Amy, go with him." The Doctor moved towards Rose, gazing at her one last time.

"I'll...be okay Doctor, you can go." She half smiled, half winced at him. Reluctantly, the Doctor left the room with Amy by his side.


"How long does it take?" The Doctor said, circling the room again.

"Doctor, if you keep pacing you're going to wear a hole into the floor!" Amy had grown weary just watching him.

"But what if something's wrong? It's been over five hours, Time Lady deliveries don't usually take that long, even though naturally born children were rare then..."

"Well, Rose isn't exactly your ordinary Time Lady. You can't go in there!" The Doctor's eyes flashed at the command.

"I'm going to go in there, they might need my help." He walked over to the door, but as soon as he motioned to open it, Martha opened it for him and came out.

"Well?" The Doctor asked, exasperated.

"You're a father! Congratulations!" The Doctor shouted for joy and hugged Martha, picking her up off the ground.

"Save it for Rose, Doctor, she's waiting for you."

"Oh...right." The Doctor released Martha and hesitantly entered the room.

Rory was standing there, wiping a wet cloth across Rose's forehead. He smiled when he saw the Doctor and left the room.

The Doctor moved slowly towards Rose and the bundle in her arms.

"Come here, Doctor, she won't bite." There were lines under her weary eyes but they sparkled with pride. As he approached Rose pulled the cover farther back so the Doctor could see her daughter's face.

The Doctor gasped. She was gorgeous. A perfect epitome of his past self and his darling Rose. The tiny child had a mop of dark blond hair, sparkling brown eyes and the Doctor could tell by her cheeks that she would get freckles in a few years. He was in awe.

"She's so beautiful Rose."

"John would've been so proud." Rose whispered, causing the Doctor's heart to ache a little. But she smiled and looked up at him.

"Why don't you name her?"

"Me? But I'm not-"

"You're as much the father as John is, come on, name her." She insisted.

"I couldn't–"

"Please. I need you to be a part of this family, it's what John wanted most for us."

"Okay." The Doctor stared into his new daughter's face until a name flashed up in his mind.

"Jacelynetorianlaonda." Rose looked at him blankly.

"Time Lady names tend to be long, but can be shortened." He explained, remembering his old friend Romana's ridiculously long name. "Jacelyn?" He offered. Rose smiled.

"I love it." She looked down at their daughter. "Jacelyn."


An hour later, the Doctor quietly opened the door to find Martha, Rory and Amy chatting quietly.

"Rose is sleeping, she deserves it." Martha stood up, glad to finally have a chance to absorb everything new. She stood in front of the Doctor, staring into his eyes.

"It's me, Martha." He grinned at her.

"How am I supposed to know?" She teased him, wondering how he would reply. She already knew it was him, having talked to the Ponds while the Doctor was with Rose.

"Oh you're on Martha Jones." He thought.

"Well, I know your mother's name is Francine, you work for Torchwood and/or UNIT, depending on what year we landed, you kissed a bloke named Riley(and don't think I didn't see that), you've been engaged to both a Tom Mulligan and a Mickey Smith, and-

"Alright alright I believe you!" Martha said, trying not to look embarrassed. Amy and Rory just laughed.


Later that day the Doctor found himself at Rose's bedside, where she had been moved to from the Med Bay a few hours ago. She was still asleep, weary from her previous labor. Little Jacelyn cooed softly from a crib set by the bed. The Doctor moved slowly to her and stared at her, entranced. She reached her fingers up towards him and he gladly let her clasp them around his index finger. He grinned in pure joy. Even though he hadn't physically fathered the child, he still felt like her father, something he hadn't been able to call himself for many, many years. And Rose had done that for him.

As if sensing his presence, Rose seemed to stir into wakefulness. Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled, seeing the Doctor watching Jacelyn. The Doctor noticed she was awake and came up to her.

"How are you feeling?" He spoke quietly.

"Better." She replied. She opened her eyes wider as she came fully awake. She frowned as she remembered a horrible thought that had occurred to her just before she went to sleep.

"I can't travel with you." She said bluntly. All the color drained from the Doctor's face.

"Why?" He was crushed. Why didn't she want to travel with him?

"No, it's not that I don't want to, I do, more than anything. I've got nothing else now but you. It's just...it's just, I have Jacelyn to take care of now, and we'd only hinder your life of danger and adventure."

"Oh Rose." The Doctor shook his head while he sat down next to her on her bed. "You assume that's the only thing I do now." Rose looked at him strangely.

"Umm, yeah it is. Basically."

"Well, yes." The Doctor grumbled. "What I meant what you assume that's the only thing I can do."

"Doctor, what are you saying?" She asked frustratingly.

"I've taken care of the universe more than enough times. It's time I deserve to put us first. And I can be a father. Sure, it might take a few years, but we can always go back to adventuring when Jacelyn's old enough." He went over to her crib and lifted her up gently into his arms. "You underestimate how quickly Gallifreyan children mature. By six she'll be able to start learning how to fly the TARDIS."

"I'm still stuck on 'I can be a father.'" She replied, her eyes having a far-off look to them. She sat up and the Doctor carefully placed Jacelyn in her arms.

"It feels like a dream." She whispered. The Doctor merely nodded his head. She couldn't have been more correct. Just a short while ago he was all alone, with nothing for his future. Now he had everything.

"Thank you." He said suddenly.

"For what?" Rose replied.

"For giving me a daughter, a life to live, and for coming back to me." He leaned over to kiss her. She smiled against his lips, and the Doctor knew life would never be the same.


Nine Years Later

"Jacelyn, Tanya, Lohrna, and Treynohl, out here now!" The Doctor shouted in mock-anger, adjusting his bow-tie. He nearly fell over as his four children bowled him over. "You guys are all late for your TARDIS flying lesson!"

"It's not our fault!" Jacelyn the oldest replied. At her stature of nine years, she basically could fly the TARDIS blind-folded, but she was an invaluable help to her younger brothers and sister.

"Yeah!" Little Treynohl piped up. "Mum was teaching us how to make apple scones!" He was only three but he acted older than his age. The Doctor spluttered at his statement.

"Apples? She knows apples are evil!"

"Evil apples, evil apples!" Twins Lohrna and Tanya cried. The six year-olds loved to shout.

"Alright, everybody settle down, Aunt Amy's here!" The four children turned and exclaimed in excitement. The Doctor gave a sigh of relief as Rory and Amy with their two girls Melody and Sasha walked inside the TARDIS and herded his children out.

Later that day everyone gathered in the library, the children playing quietly on the floor while Rose and the Doctor caught up with Amy and Rory.

"So how long has it been?"

"Two years since we saw you last." Amy replied to Rose's question. "Melody just started school. Wants to be called Mels now, no idea why."


The Doctor leaned back and looked at everything: his wife, his children, his best friends. It felt surreal, and strangely he couldn't remember what had happened the last few years.

Suddenly birds began chirping in his head, and all the color drained out of his face at the familiarity of it.

"Doctor?" Rose cried. "Doctor, are you alright?" He didn't answer. With a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach, he tried to get up but instead collapsed to the ground, unconscious.


The Doctor awoke in what looked like the middle of a battle. He was in some sort of building, or a ship, he couldn't tell, and there were hooded men everywhere.

He heard a scream, and instantly knew who it was.

"RORY!" He turned and saw Amy sobbing and grasping a white cloth.

"Rose!" His mind instantly thought. Where was she? And why was Amy crying? He realised with a startling blow that Rose wasn't here.

She was in the other universe.

"The Dream Lord." He gasped. Who else could it be? He had heard those damn birds, teasing those caught who could not change what was happening to them. With that came a horrible thought.

"Rose might not have come back to me."

He winced as the birds' song grew strong and he fainted again.


I KNOW I KNOW I'M SO SORRY! *ducks at rocks thrown* I'm so mean!

So was it all a lie? Did Rose really come back? READ ON!