AN: This should satisfy all of you who've been waiting for more of Nine!
Rose bit her lip and held her breath as the Doctor opened the TARDIS door. She could still feel her family's eyes on her, but for the moment, the excitement of being home again far outweighed the sorrow of leaving them behind.
When the door opened and she saw the console room, lit by the familiar blue-green light, a sob choked in her throat. The Doctor picked up her suitcase, then took her by the elbow and led her gently over the threshold. A moment later, the TARDIS herself wrapped her in an affectionate telepathic embrace.
Rose rested her hand on a coral strut, letting the unique feeling of the telepathic ship flow through her mind again. A moment later, the baby kicked and turned in her womb. She could almost feel tiny hands grasping for the connection with the TARDIS, and she brought the baby's mind closer to hers so they could get to know the ship.
A moment later, the Doctor's mind brushed against theirs, and she looked at him over the console. "Come sit down on the jump seat, Rose. She's added a safety belt so you won't fall if the ride gets bumpy—and going through the Void will definitely be turbulent."
Rose let go of the strut and walked over to the jump seat. "How exactly did you manage to get through the Void?" she asked as she buckled herself in. "I thought it was impossible."
"And yet you were going to try," the Doctor countered as he reset the controls. "A dimension cannon?"
His words were teasing, but seeing his hands shake slightly as he closed down the gravitic anomaliser reminded Rose of his earlier words—I wanted to rip the universes apart as soon as I realised you were pregnant. She made a mental note to come back to that, then redirected the conversation.
"Come on, tell me," she cajoled. "How'd you do it?"
The Doctor wrapped his fingers around the dematerialisation lever and a grin finally stretched across his face as he threw it, sending them hurtling towards home. He laughed, then spun around and sat down beside Rose, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.
"I followed some very good advice and got help from someone as clever as I am." Rose's forehead wrinkled in confusion, and he chuckled and tapped her nose. "And beyond that, love, you'll just have to wait and see."
Rose huffed, and the Doctor giggled at the exasperated frown on her face. I missed this, he told her as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers. Just being with you, talking to you, teasing you…
Their teeth clacked together as the TARDIS jolted, and they broke apart, wide grins on their faces. "Hold that thought," the Doctor murmured.
Rose nodded, then shifted so her head was resting on his shoulder. The Doctor's hearts stuttered as he turned his head and kissed the top of her head. Just twelve hours ago, he'd been resigned to the fact that he'd never see Rose again. He pulled her closer and buried his nose in her hair, catching the combination of her familiar fragrance blended with the new pregnancy hormones.
Not new anymore. He ran his hand over her belly, trying to gauge how far along she was.
Rose put her hand over his and laced their fingers together. "Six months."
The Doctor sighed; he'd known when he arrived in Pete's World that more time had passed for her since their last conversation than the two weeks he'd lived through, but three extra months didn't seem fair. For Rose to be left alone, pregnant with an alien child…
He felt Rose shift next to him, and he knew she'd picked up on the guilty direction his thoughts were travelling. Before she could call him on it, the TARDIS landed and the engines went silent.
Rose straightened up and looked at the door. "We're back?" she whispered. "Back in the right universe, with no zeppelins and chips that taste like chips?"
The Doctor lifted an eyebrow. "You'll have to tell me more about these rubbish chips you apparently suffered through, but yes. We're back. Why don't you open the door and tell me what you see?"
He knew exactly what she'd see. He'd taken them straight back to Enesta, and he could feel his other self only a few dozen yards away. Rose had once told him she wished she could have said goodbye, and he was determined to give her that chance now.
She cast him a curious look, then slid off the seat and walked down the ramp. The Doctor stood up and leaned against the railing as she opened the door, waiting for her reaction.
He could hear her gasp from where he stood, and a moment later, her head swung around and she stared at him with wide eyes. "Someone as clever as you," she said, a hint of amusement in her voice.
The Doctor smiled. "As clever as me, and as devoted to your safety as me. Why don't you go tell him we made it back safely?"
Rose bit her lip. "Is it you?" she asked. "I mean, the you I know?"
He nodded. "Inside that TARDIS, there's a grumpy, leather-wearing Doctor who is very worried about you."
To his surprise, instead of running across the clearing, Rose jogged back and hugged him first. "Thank you," she whispered, and then she was gone.
Alone in his TARDIS, the younger Doctor had just made it through one of the most nerve-wracking ninety minutes of his life. From the moment his older self appeared on his ship, his entire life had been thrown into upheaval. It seemed impossible to him that he would not only allow a romantic relationship to develop with Rose, but that she would one day be pregnant with his child. But the mental anguish he'd sensed in the other man was unmistakable. Even if he was wrong about Rose being pregnant, she was alone in a parallel universe suffering the pain of a broken bond.
What he'd asked had been easy enough. Every Time Lord knew how to create a wormhole through the Void and keep it stable enough for trans-dimensional travel. Admittedly, it would have been easier if he were not working alone, but it could be done.
The Doctor had watched the TARDIS' progress through the Void on the monitor, then the ship had disappeared from the scanners when it reached the universe Rose was trapped in. He'd waited an interminable thirty minutes, working against the basic laws of physics to keep the wormhole open until Rose and his future self started travelling back to the prime universe.
And now, they were here. He'd felt them come through the Void ten minutes ago, and the other TARDIS had landed on Enesta just a moment ago. His self-protective instinct screamed at him to take off before he could see the future Rose, before he could be reminded that as much as he loved her now, he apparently had to wait until he regenerated before he could have the relationship with her that he dreamed of.
The TARDIS blew a raspberry at him, and he knew that even if he were truly able to leave without seeing Rose, she had no intention of taking off just yet.
The door creaked open, and the Doctor caught his breath when Rose poked her head inside. The differences between her and his younger Rose were obvious at a glance—her hair was shorter, and thicker, and a bit more naturally tinted. Her face was fuller, and her skin glowed with the vibrancy of pregnancy.
More obvious than any physical change was the way she felt in his head. Both her mind and the tiny, developing consciousness of their unborn child twined around his own mind, filling a hole he'd struggled with since the moment his people were lost.
"Well, are you going to stand there all day?" He kicked himself as soon as the gruff question left his mouth, but instead of getting upset, Rose just rolled her eyes and stepped into the TARDIS.
All the air left the Doctor's body in a rush when he saw Rose's pregnant figure. Knowing she was pregnant was one thing; seeing physical proof that she carried his child was another.
Concern flickered in Rose's eyes and she jogged over to him. "Let's sit down, Doctor," she suggested, gesturing to the jump seat behind him.
The Doctor sat down readily, still trying to process everything. To his surprise, Rose sat down beside him, then lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder before nestling into his side. It was all achieved so quickly and effortlessly, as if them cuddling together on the jump seat were an everyday occurrence.
Well, it probably is.
Rose looked at him, amusement glinting in her eyes, and he realised that with a full bond between them, his thoughts were an open book to her. His ears turned hot, and he was grateful when she didn't comment on train of thought.
"Well, was there something you wanted, or are you just going to stare at me all day?"
"Might do," Rose replied, her cheeky smile teasing him. "It's been a while since I saw this face, after all." The Doctor rolled his eyes, and Rose shook her head. "No, I wanted to thank you. Without you, the baby and I might have been stuck in that parallel universe forever."
At the mention of the baby, the Doctor's hand drifted down from her shoulder to hover over her pregnant belly. "Can I…"
Rose took his hand and put it on the round swell of her stomach. "The baby's moving," she whispered. "Can you feel it?"
The Doctor felt the ripple of movement as the baby turned a somersault. Then the infant mind reached out for him, asking to be held close. The Doctor sucked in a breath and reached out carefully, wrapping his own consciousness around his child's.
"They know me," he whispered to Rose when the baby relaxed into his embrace with complete and utter trust.
Rose traced patterns on her stomach. "Of course they do. You're Daddy."
Tear pricked in the back of the Doctor's throat, and he swallowed hard to get rid of them. "You didn't need to thank me for helping bring you home," he said, replying to her earlier comment. "No matter what kind of trouble you land in, I will always come for you, Rose."
To his bafflement, Rose's eyes filled with tears. "I'm sorry," she said as she burrowed into his chest, letting her tears soak through his jumper. "Pregnancy hormones. It's just… that's what you told me the first time you told me you love me."
The Doctor tugged Rose closer and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Her mind brushed against his, and he had to grit his teeth to keep from diving into the warm sanctuary it offered.
The bond didn't belong to him. Even though it resonated just as clearly in his mind as it would in his future, she hadn't bonded with this version of him—she'd married the future, pretty boy instead. As impossible as it seemed that she would want a bond with him at all, he was a little jealous of that relationship.
Rose sighed against the Doctor's shoulder. No matter what his face looked like, he was always the same man. Never able to see himself as she did, always thinking he didn't deserve her. She turned towards him, deliberately letting her lips brush against his jaw. His breath caught in his throat, and she rested a hand on his cheek and waited for him to look down at her.
The longing in his blue eyes made her heart ache. Rose rubbed her thumb over his cheekbone and smiled when he leaned into her caress. His ears caught her eye, and she moved her hands up to touch them, like she'd dreamed of for over a year.
His eyes widened, and she knew he'd caught that thought. "How…" he asked, his voice raspy.
She shook her head. "You were the Doctor I fell in love with," she told him. "Or… maybe I should say that I fell in love with you when you looked like this—because regenerating isn't really becoming a new person. It's just… changing a bit. My current you, the one waiting in our TARDIS, he's still you—just with a bit more experience and a bit more hair."
The Doctor closed his eyes, and Rose waited patiently for him to accept the truth of what she'd told him. He would always be the Doctor to her, no matter what he looked like. And she would always love him.
He drew a shuddering breath, and Rose shifted to get closer to him. His hand dropped to her waist, holding her tight to his side, and his eyes fluttered open. "That's right, Doctor," she whispered. "It's your soul I fell in love with, and I'll always love you, no matter how many times you regenerate."
The Doctor mouth opened, but no words came out. Rose only considered her next move for a second before she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, catching his lower lip between his.
He remained still for a moment, before his hand moved up to her neck and he turned her head slightly to deepen the kiss. Rose sighed when he flicked his tongue against her lips and she caught a hint of his taste—so familiar, and yet just a little bit different than what she was used to.
My Doctor, she told him as she scraped her nails over his scalp. I love you so much.
The Doctor groaned, then his tongue plunged into her mouth and Rose let herself be swept away by his ardor, matching him stroke for stroke until she had to pull out of the kiss to take a breath.
"Wow," she panted, looking up at his red lips. "Always wondered what kissing you would be like."
Before the Doctor could reply, they heard the door open and they knew their stolen moment was at an end. "Time to go, love," the older Doctor said quietly. Rose sighed, then kissed her first Doctor once more before sliding off the jump seat and walking to the door.
The Doctor couldn't resist catching her hand as she walked by him. Letting Rose have these ten minutes alone with his past self had been torturous—not because he was jealous, but simply because after four months without her, letting her out of his sight, even to be with himself, had been almost more than he could bear.
Rose smiled at him and squeezed his fingers. I'm really here, love, she told him. I'll be waiting for you in our TARDIS.
He swallowed hard and forced himself to let go of her, then he turned to his younger self. "Obviously you'll need to lock these memories."
The other Doctor rolled his eyes. "Figured that out for myself, strangely enough. It's almost like I'm a Time Lord and know how to maintain timelines." He put a hand to his chest. "Oh! Maybe because I am."
The Doctor scowled at his younger self. Meetings with other incarnations of himself were always fraught with tension. It seemed now that Rose was home and safe, they were back to snarking at each other like usual.
"As I was going to say before you interrupted, I think the easiest moment for them to unlock would be as Rose and I leave the planet."
The other Doctor leaned back in the jump seat and crossed his arms over his chest. "Makes as much sense as anything, I suppose," he agreed.
"Good." The Doctor turned to leave, but he paused before closing the door behind him and looked once more at his younger self, slouched in the jump seat. The words were on the tip of his tongue, but they were hard to say, given his adversarial relationship with himself.
"What is it, Pretty Boy?"
The Doctor gritted his teeth, then took a deep breath. "Thank you," he said simply. "I can't tell you how much losing Rose broke me—I don't think I really need to, actually. We would have been lost without you, Doctor."
The other man shifted uncomfortably on the jump seat, and instead of waiting for a reply, the Doctor closed the door and walked back to his TARDIS, where Rose and their future waited for him.
She was standing just inside the door, and he pulled her immediately into his arms. Her laughter chipped away at the last four months of loneliness, and he twirled her around the console before kissing her.
"I love you," he mumbled against her lips before kissing her again.
"Love you too," she replied. Then, to his chagrin, she pulled back and buckled herself into the jump seat. "Let's go," she told him.
The Doctor sighed, but did as she asked and adjusted the coordinates to take them into the Vortex. As they left the planet, he felt a set of memories unlock. Meeting his future self, learning that Rose was pregnant and trapped in a parallel universe…
Then the memories flashed forward an hour, and his throat closed up as he remembered what Rose had told him. "How did you know?" he asked, his voice raspy. He'd never told her how unworthy he'd felt of her then, or how those thoughts still dogged him.
Rose slid off the jump seat and put her hands on his chest, over his hearts. "My Doctor," she whispered. "I know you."
The Doctor drew a shuddering breath and pulled Rose close with his hands on her hips. For a moment, he simply rested his forehead against hers, trying to believe that she was really here with him.
Then Rose tilted her head back, and he bent down to catch her lips in a kiss. Their mouths moved together slowly, each of them wanting to stay in this moment of togetherness as long as possible.
Rose's hands moved up to the back of his neck, curling in the shorter hairs there and drawing a hum of pleasure from the Doctor. But when he moved to deepen the kiss, Rose pulled back and her mouth opened in a wide yawn.
The passion that had just begun to stir in the Doctor was immediately dampened. He moved his hand up to stroke her cheek, noticing the circles under her eyes. "Tired?" he asked quietly.
Rose nodded. "It's been a long couple of months, and it's not easy to sleep when you're pregnant."
Guilt welled up in the Doctor. Even though she didn't say it, he knew she'd pushed herself on the dimension cannon project, determined to find her way home.
To his surprise, Rose scowled at him. "An' you can stop feeling guilty," she said, her voice sharp. "I know you worked just as hard for however long it took you—and don't you dare blame yourself for time moving differently in Pete's World. You might be a Time Lord, but that doesn't mean you're actually in control of all of time."
The Doctor chuckled and kissed her on the forehead. "I missed you, love." He took her hand and led her towards the corridor. "Come on, let's go to bed. I unpacked your suitcase for you while you were saying goodbye to me, and I'm pretty sure I saw pyjamas in there."
Sure enough, Rose found her favourite nightgown—a loose camisole that didn't get bunched up around her belly or thighs—in the bureau. As she changed, she noticed that her brush and makeup were still out on the vanity where she'd left them six months ago, and the book she'd been reading was still on her nightstand. In fact, the room looked like it had hardly been touched.
Again, she remembered the Doctor's words, and this time she was determined to say something. He was already in bed, having just stripped to his pants before lying down. The covers on her side of the bed were pulled back, and he had his arm out, inviting her to curl into his side.
The TARDIS mattress cradled Rose's body so perfectly that she almost sank into it and drifted off to sleep. Instead, she stifled a yawn and rolled onto her side so she could look at the Doctor.
"What's on your mind, love?" he asked as he rolled over to mirror her position. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
Rose bit her lip, then nodded. "Tell me what happened while I was gone."
For a moment, the shield in the Doctor's eyes dropped and she could see the lingering grief and fear. Then he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I don't… I can't talk about it," he said, his voice hoarse. "But… I could show you?" he offered. His eyes opened, and she was unsurprised to see tears on his lashes. "Over the bond, it would only take a few seconds to share the memory with you."
"Yeah, okay."
The Doctor's fingers drifted up to her temple, and they both closed their eyes. Through his memories, Rose relived the two weeks since their conversation on Bad Wolf Bay, seeing how lost he'd been when Donna had arrived. Her heart ached when the persistent awareness that he was missing something coalesced into the realisation that she was pregnant. Then she watched him read book after book and not come any closer to finding a way to bring her and the baby home.
A sob caught in her throat when he decided to break the laws of time to recover them. She was unsurprised when one of her own holographic messages appeared to him—that was exactly the kind of situation she'd created those messages for.
And then the memory turned, a glimmer of hope entering his mind when he realised that Donna had been right—he needed to get help from someone as clever as him. Rose laughed when the memory ended with himself standing in front of the mirror, fixing his hair so it looked just right before he came to get them.
His fingers left her temple then, and their eyes fluttered open. Rose ruffled his hair, and he leaned into the touch, a soft purr escaping his lips when she scratched his scalp. She giggled at the blissful expression on his face, then leaned forward to press a kiss to his chest, in between his hearts.
"Thank you for showing me," she told him.
The Doctor sighed and pulled her closer, rolling over until he was on his back and she was draped over his side. "Thank you for saving me."
"That's—" Rose's jaw split on a huge yawn. "That's wha' Bad Wolf is for," she mumbled, wanting to get the words out even though she was falling asleep.
The Doctor ran his fingers through her hair, relishing the fact that Rose was here in his arms once again. "Go to sleep, love," he whispered as her mind quieted. "I'll be here when you wake up."
She mumbled something unintelligible, then he felt her drift off.
He had no intention of sleeping himself, however. Despite the odds, he'd found a way to bring Rose and their baby home, and now the three of them were curled up together in their own bed.
Bad Wolf had saved him yesterday, Bad Wolf had made this new life possible, and Bad Wolf had given them forever. Their separation had certainly proved the adage that "the course of true love never did run smooth," but the reward they'd been given once they'd pressed through to the other side more than made up for all the trials.
They'd made their choice a long time ago, and they were never going to lose each other. He'd brought them home, and now they could keep that promise.