A/N: Well another chapter done and ready to post. Enjoy.
Rose let herself be dragged through the crowded mall. Actually the 'crowd' probably only amounted to about a dozen other shoppers but it felt like thousands. She could feel the eyes of everyone they passed burn into her flesh making her pull her jacket more tightly around her body. Maybe she should have worn a parka.
The Doctor gave her hand an encouraging squeeze as they approached a maternity wear store. She had fully expected him to leave her at the entrance and wander off in search of less feminine stores but he walked right inside with her.
A cheerful saleswoman greeted them. "Hello I'm Annie. Can I help you with anything?" She flashed a genuine smile at Rose who only clung more tightly to the Doctor's hand.
"Well um…Rose is pregnant," the Doctor said, rather unnecessarily.
Annie, the saleswoman, gave Rose a knowing nod as she showed her a few popular items. Similar to all great geniuses, the Doctor became engrossed in discovering the hidden working of the simplest contraptions like, for instance, pants with super expandable waists. The two women left him playing in a corner to use the fitting rooms.
"Is the your first?" Annie asked as she helped Rose sort through the pile of 'maybes'.
"Yah," Rose answered. "Is it that obvious?"
"Oh don't worry," Annie assured her. "When you see pregnant women all day you begin to have a sixth sense about those kinda things. I could even tell that my sister was expecting before she did."
Rose smiled shyly and headed into the stall to try a few different things.
"You're gonna be fine though," continued Annie. "That man out there is completely smitten. Though," she started to sound concerned, "is he supposed to be eating that?"
Rose quickly peeked out the door to see the Doctor licking a pair of yellow baby booties. "Doctor," she called harshly.
He jumped and discovering that he had been caught in the act. "They look so much like bananas that I thought I'd just give a little taste," he said sheepishly.
Rose rolled her eyes and pulled a few new pairs of pants into the change room with her. Nine hundred years of time and space and the Doctor was still barely past the toddler stage. Thankfully her baby was going to be one hundred percent human.
"I must say," reflected Annie, "I don't envy you trying to raise HIS child."
Rose choked on her own laughter. The Doctor, hearing her coughing, hurried over. "Are you okay Rose?"
"Yep," squeaked Rose. "Just fine."
Wanting to get out of there, Rose sorted through the rest of the items quickly and let the Doctor take care of the actual purchasing. Normally he would have grumbled at being forced to carry all her packages but he grabbed all the bags without complaint. Rose tried to take a couple but he insisted. She grumbled and he finally handed her the smallest one.
"I can carry my own stuff," she remarked as they headed back to the TARDIS.
"I'm sure you can," he answered, "but can you imagine the looks I'd get if I made YOU, the pregnant one, carry everything. Oh do you smell that?" he asked as they passed the food court. "I fancy chips. What about you?"
Rose didn't fancy chips. What she really wanted was to get away from all these people and the noise and the looks. The Doctor didn't really give her a choice, as he was already ordering two plates of fresh, golden chips. Rose sat at a nearby table while he waited at the counter.
He tottered over, balancing both orders of chips in one hand while still carrying the bags of clothing. "This was so much easier when you were the one paying for everything," he commented, cheerily.
"You always were a terrible date," she added smugly. "You took me to watch my planet blow up and then I had to buy the dinner."
The Doctor just stared at her face happily. "What?" Rose finally asked.
"I was just thinking..." He stopped and looked down at his plate. "It's just nice to see you smile again."
Rose blushed and looked away self-consciously. "Oh don't stop," he pleaded. "I've missed it."
She gave him a shy, faltering grin and he beamed back at her. "See," he urged, "the world doesn't end because Rose Tyler is happy. I should think it would be the opposite."
Rose turned the color of her name and dug into her chips. "Good to see you've got your appetite back," he commented, as he watched her finish off the last crumbs and start on his. "What do you want to do next? We could go buy some more stuff. A crib, maybe?"
She shook her head, swallowed her mouthful and answered. "No, I want to wait until I know how much space I'm gonna have before I get the crib. I'll probably end up having to share a bedroom with her."
The Doctor wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "How much space you're gonna have?"
"Well think about it Doctor," she said. "I've don't have any A-Levels. I have no formal training in anything and I'll have a baby. Who's gonna hire me, other than some place like the shop I was workin' in before?" She sighed, dejectedly and pushed away the rest of the Doctor's chips. "All my family's gone. I'm gonna be just like my mum, raising a daughter alone, with no father."
The Doctor looked hurt, like he had been kicked. "Oh," he murmured. "I hoped…I thought maybe… never mind. Are you done eating?"
She nodded and helped him clear away they paper plates and collect the packages. They walked back together in stony silence. As she unlocked the TARDIS door, Rose found herself wondering if it may be one of the last times she got to do that. As they entered the console room, Rose felt all her energy flow out and she was forced to drop her bag and lean against a pillar. The Doctor placed his armload on in an empty space on the floor and began to moodily press buttons. The TARDIS seemed to move into the Vortex with angry jerking.
"Maybe you could help me find a place?" Rose put forth cautiously.
The Doctor's answer was both forceful and violent. He looked straight at her, his dark eyes burning with pain and said, "No!"
Rose jumped back, slightly shaken but the Doctor advanced on her before she even had time to think. He placed his hands firmly on her shoulder. "You're not leaving. I can't watch you walk out that door. Please," he begged, "please don't make me."
Rose let out a shaky breath. The anger in his eyes, the closeness of his body and the feeling of his cold hands gripping her shoulder brought a cascade of frightening memories to her vision. She struggled to keep them at bay but as they overwhelmed her senses she felt her knees buckle beneath her. Rolling into a tiny ball, Rose rocked back and forth as wave after wave of terrifying images pounded her mind.
Long arms surrounded her, pulling her into a warm embrace as the Doctor spoke soothing words into her ear. Rose fought to maintain her hold on reality as tears leaked through her tightly shut eyelids.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, over and over. "I'm so sorry."
"You weren't there," she spat, angrily. "I waited for you to come, even after I stopped believing in you. What took you so long?" She pounded his chest, not caring how much she hurt him.
"Oh Rose." His voice cracked and she could feel his pain reflected in each syllable. "I ask myself that every day. It's my fault, all of it. I wish I could change it but I just can't."
Rose stopped her wild attack and pulled him into a fierce hug. He clung to her more fiercely than ever before, as though his very life depended on it. "Please don't leave me," he pleaded. "I know you hate me but please don't go."
Rose sniffed through her tears and replied, "I never hated you."
"Then stay," he begged.
"I want to but…" she sniffed.
The Doctor stopped her. "Don't answer now," he said, voice laced with desperation. "Just think about it."
Rose didn't need to think about it. She knew she'd have to decline. He wanted her to stay now but how long before the call of the universe started to wear on his patience? How long before he started to see her as a burden and treat her with contempt?
Even Grigo had treated her tenderly at first but soon grew frustrated with her unwillingness to co-operate. He had turned hard and cruel and took what he wanted when it pleased him. Weren't all men, human or otherwise, the same? She desperately wanted to be wrong, to believe the Doctor was different. But if she was right it would break her. Better to leave before finding out.
But in that moment, as the Doctor desperately clung to her, she couldn't deny him. "I'll think about it," she whispered. He let out a shuddering breath and held her closer, if that was even possible.
Rose loosened her arms, trying to extract herself from his grip. "I should put my new clothes away."
"Hmm," he mumbled. "Oh yah, I'll help you carry them."
"No really, its okay let me do it." In a flash she gathered up the bags into her arms and made a hasty retreat to the solitude of her bedroom.
A/N: I actually really like that chapter. It's short and sweet but I think the story really needed one set entirely from Rose's POV. Oh Rose is being so silly.
I fear I might have to beat the Doctor soon because he is being entirely too perfect. Grrrr. But maybe it's not so out of character considering how badly he wants to make things better for Rose. But no worries. He can't resist trouble forever.
Plz, plz, plz, review.