You guys are lucky you get another chapter! Enjoy and review!

The Situation Begins

Over the next few mornings, Rose woke well before John and was forced to rush to the bathroom to empty out her stomach. She didn't mind her new morning routine as much because John slept through it every time, not suspicious about her present state at all. She still had no idea how to tell him that she was probably pregnant, or even sure if she should ever tell him at all. After all in a week the Doctor would be back and the father of her child would no longer exist. She climbed back into the comforting bed, making sure to curl up extra close to John, and managed to catch another hour of sleep. John woke up at his usual time, bidding her goodbye with a gentle kiss that brought her halfway out of her sleepy state. She wanted to tell him not to go, to spend what precious time he had left with her. But she couldn't, so she just held it in and stayed in bed, wondering what her next course of action should be.

For the past few days Rose had called in sick to her job at the café, preferring to spend the days with her mother. She needed her mother's comfort right now, she missed her rambling on about the silly Estate gossip. Plus, she rationalized her actions with the fact that she wouldn't be working there in a week when the Doctor came back. That is if he didn't leave her. The job wasn't really what bothered her, it was just the fact that she felt so terrible about receiving a text from Emma without fail everyday asking her if she was alright. Rose was being pathetic, if anyone needed comforting it was Emma after what had happened with Paul. But Rose was too overwhelmed to delve into that, practically every thought that she had anymore was about the baby that was surely developing inside of her. Knowing that she had to do something, Rose reluctantly got out of bed once John was at work, drinking a bit of tea and nibbling on some bland crackers until her stomach settled. Of course she knew exactly what was wrong with her and really needed a friend she could confide in. Emma would never be able to comprehend why she had so much angst over this, in Emma's mind it was a reason to celebrate. And she had no idea how to even broach the topic with her mother, didn't want to see her joy at the thought of a grandchild. So she called Captain Jack Harkness.

Not long after she had hung up, of course not telling him why she wanted to see him, just informing that she needed him as soon as possible, Rose heard the beautiful sound of the doorbell ringing. She practically ran to the door, smiling in relief with tears in her eyes when she saw Jack standing there. Good ol' Jack, she could always count on him. She missed him, had treated him terribly the last time they saw each other, but he was who she needed right now. Rose just ignored his quizzical look, probably confused why she wanted him now when she had rather rudely ordered him off in a cold manner the last time she saw him. She just stared at him for several seconds, still slightly surprised to see that he was alive and real. Finally throwing her arms around him, she began to cry against his shoulder as he tried to comfort her by patting her back in a brotherly manner.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked quickly, surprised that Rose was practically crying and acting so nice to him after what he had said in the past. He had assumed that he wouldn't hear from her again until the Doctor returned. She had seemed rather adamant about him ever being near 'her husband' ever again. "Where's John?" he asked, imagining that the worst had happened. The rest of the flat appeared to be empty, though nothing appeared out of sorts.

"He's at work," Rose explained, trying to be as vague as possible. She, with that sentence, informed Jack that the Doctor had indeed not returned yet. "Can you come with me to buy something? Please? I don't want to do it alone," Rose whispered quickly, wiping off her eyes and half-heartedly smiling up at Jack, the smile never reaching her panic-stricken eyes. She didn't know why she needed him there, but she couldn't do this alone without giving in and telling John. And she was thinking that she shouldn't tell John at all, it wouldn't be fair to him.

"Sure, anything you want, Rose. Are you okay?" he questioned, observing her as she waved off his questions. Deciding to get a response out of her, he brought up the Time Lord. "Only a few more weeks until the Doctor comes back, right?" Jack asked to fill the silence as Rose led him to the nearest store. Jack was hoping that she was at least a bit excited about that. However, judging from the way she was acting right now something was definitely off. Plus, he wanted to make sure that she wasn't going to just let the Doctor rot trapped inside of a watch as she ran away from her responsibilities with John Smith.

"One week exactly," Rose answered slowly, as if she wasn't sure if the words were the truth or not. She knew without a doubt that the hours were running out, she just didn't want to accept that it was so soon, especially right now when she needed John the most. "Then I'll open the watch," she admitted as Jack visibly relaxed.

Jack just nodded and followed Rose as she walked into the shop and walked down an aisle that he had never had cause to walk down, being male. He was confused as to why he had to come with her just to go shopping for these kind of items until he noticed exactly what she was standing in front of. That could have been a mistake that she had stopped there, but the way she was staring at it, her hazel eyes wide and terrified as her body began to tremble. "Rose, do you mean to be looking at pregnancy tests?"

Rose just blankly nodded, knowing that if she opened her mouth she would cry or say something she would regret. She grabbed several of the tests, not caring about the brand name at the moment. With hurried strides, she walked to the cash register and dumped them at the checkout counter, avoiding Jack's confused gaze as the cashier rang them up. Still refusing to answer any of his questions, Rose walked back to her apartment with her purchases, glad that Jack hadn't said anything too offensive until she opened the door to her flat and flopped down on the nearest chair to look up at Jack. Tears beaded and hung from her eyelashes and her pathetic, single human heart was racing in her chest. Her palms were slick with sweat and she was sure she was going to be sick again.

"Why did you call me to come here, Rose? Are you just going to sit there and not talk about what you just bought?" he asked, sitting down on the chair across from her and grabbing the bag from her. "Why would you tell me like that anyway? Come on, Rosie!" he practically begged as he stood up and instead settled down next to her in the chair, reassuringly putting his arms around her shoulders as he did so. Rose rested her head against his shoulder and swallowed back the rest of her tears, right now wasn't the time to be weak. She had never felt so alone and frightened before in all of her life. She had been so stupid, hadn't even thought about this as an option. She hadn't been taking the pill since she started traveling, there was no point, and hadn't thought of it since. And she and John had been safe...usually. Gah, it's no wonder this had happened, it was inevitable really and she hadn't even had the foresight to think about it. She really was a stupid ape.

"What am I going to do? Oh God, I never even thought this would happen, it didn't even cross my mind. I don't know what to do, I'm so scared, Jack," Rose whispered, taking the bag with the tests in her trembling hands and pulling one out to study the instructions on the back of the box. "This was so not part of the plan."

"So, why don't you go take the test to see if we even have to have this conversation right now?" Jack suggested, glad when Rose sighed and stumbled into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her without another word.

After several minutes that felt like hours to her, Rose opened the door slowly and walked over to Jack, her expression unreadable as she settled down on the floor in front of the chair and curled in on herself.

"John Smith won't be here with me in a week. I need him, right now more than ever, I need him so much, and he can't stay with me," Rose murmured, answering Jack's unspoken question that she was indeed pregnant, the truth that she already knew verified by the multiple positive pregnancy tests. "I don't know anything about babies. I can't do this, Jack. I just can't," she admitted, looking her young age.

"Tell me what you are thinking about this…this situation here?" Jack asked cautiously, wishing he had more experience. Actually, he took that back, this was not something he enjoyed. Even if he had knocked up two hundred women before now he wouldn't know what to say to Rose.

"John really wanted to have a baby, he'd even asked me about it but I kept insisting that it wasn't the right time" Rose explained slowly, keeping Jack's rapt attention. "I never expected this, no matter how much I selfishly wanted to tell him yes. I just knew it wouldn't work out because I couldn't keep John forever, that it was just temporary really. And now the Doctor is going to come back…and this won't be good, he'll for sure hate me for this," Rose exclaimed, rambling on as she listed all her worries about the situation. She felt so stupid, of course this happened. She hadn't read all the obvious signs. "But the thing is I want this baby so much. It's a miracle for me, but I know I should be more upset about it than I am, I am so happy too. I just have so many conflicting emotions right now. I guess it makes sense now…how hormonal I've been and all of that. I'm sorry I pushed you away like that before…" she finally finished, having worked through a lot of her emotions through her long monologue with Jack.

Jack was silent for a long while before he responded again, weighing his words. "This is one of the most baffling things I have ever heard of, especially with you and the Doctor. I suppose he is to be included in this, involved in it like he is," Jack made a silent vow to himself that if the Doctor even thought about leaving Rose to handle this on her own, he was going to punch the Time Lord so hard he'd feel it in his next regeneration or whatever it was that made him change his face and voice.

Rose was about to respond that she sincerely doubted it when she heard the front door rattle as someone put a key into the lock. She assumed that John had come home early, and hissed at Jack to hide the tests as she tried to make herself look halfway presentable before she ran to the foyer.

"John! You're home already?" Rose said, feeling excited for a strange reason, enthusiastically hugging him. "I've missed you!" As she said the words she knew how true they were, as she really had missed John. In a perfect world where John wasn't just a story, she could imagine how this moment would go. She would whisper it in his ear, laugh as she took in his shocked face and relish in how excited he was once she assured him that it was true. Except that was a fairy tale and Rose Tyler was far from a princess. So she kept her mouth shut and tried to blink back the tears, of fear instead of happiness, as she tried to bury herself deeper against him. She would give anything to have him be with her forever, but for now she would have to settle for the firmness of his chest in this single moment in time.

"Rose, I think I better be going now. Unless you want me to stay?" Jack said as he walked into the foyer. He felt so utterly helpless, knowing there was nothing he could do that would help Rose in a situation like this. As much as he hated it, she was on her own for the moment. But, if he had his way, he'd make certain she would never have to bear this burden completely alone no matter what the Doctor did. He was always one call away.

"No, you go on now," she said, patting the confused John on the shoulder and whispering that she was going to walk Jack to the elevator. John went on into the apartment and Rose tugged the door closed behind her. "Jack, I want to make the rest of the time I have with John perfect. Thank you for coming. Please promise me you won't leave me? Please, I can't do this alone," Rose pleaded, trying to keep her tone hopeful but unable to hide the fear that was present in her voice.

"Never. You will never be alone while I'm still breathing. I will see you in a week, sweetheart, okay?" Jack said in a rush as the elevator door opened. He pulled Rose in for a quick but reassuring hug as he whispered in her ear. "It'll be okay, Rosie, I just know it will be."

John stood confused after Jack had left the flat, scrunching his eyebrows up as he turned towards Rose when she slunk back through the door. "What was Jack doing here? How do you know him when I hadn't seen him until he showed up at our door a few months ago?"

"Just an old friend that I thought I would never see again…" Rose answered honestly, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt as she had no idea how to act around John at the moment. She wasn't sure if she should tell him or not. On the one hand, he deserved to know. But then again, these weren't exactly what one would consider normal circumstances. In a week he would be forever gone, so she wasn't sure if it was fair to burden him with this. Would it be cruel to tell him he was getting what he'd always wanted and then take it away from him? Finding out that he was getting the very thing he had wished for might make him decide to remain as he was with Rose and their baby, but the world – no, the universe – needed the Doctor. Shaking her head to clear it, Rose pushed the situation to the back of her mind, deciding she would see how life took her with this.

"Why doesn't he come over to dinner so I could meet him," John suggested, obviously trying really hard to accept Jack. It was just like him, to try to be nice to everyone, especially anyone she cared about. And she could tell from his stance that he was jealous of the attractive American.

"I think he's going out of town," Rose lied easily. She took a step towards John, trying to stop herself from grabbing onto him. "Why are you here early?" she asked, glancing at her watch to see that it was just after noon.

John nodded, barely even looking at her as he took off his coat and put it in the hall closet. "My only class was in the morning and I wasn't really feeling like doing anything this afternoon," he answered casually as he kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to grab a bite, you want anything?"

Shaking her head, Rose let her shoulders slump with exhaustion when John left the room to go get something to eat, oblivious to how much Rose needed him to hold her right then. In a matter of minutes he stuck his head around the corner again looking adorable as always with half of a sandwich hanging out of his mouth. "Also, I'm sorry about this but weeeeeeeeeelll, I sort of roped us into something today at work."

"What?" Rose asked, her voice sounding dull and lifeless even to her ears. She followed him into the kitchen and sat down heavily at the table. This was not what she wanted to hear, she wanted John to herself these last few days. "I'm not really feeling whatever you're talking about."

John frowned, taking another large bite as he sat down next to her. "Well, tomorrow night there is going to be this party," John explained, wincing as he thought of how uncomfortable Rose was around the stuck up women his colleagues had the misfortune of marrying. He couldn't blame her for that – none of those women could even begin to compare to Rose's vitality and vigor for life. "It's for work and the Dean came by to talk to me today to make sure I was coming. Of course I couldn't say no to him…so we are going," he said, giving Rose a look that meant that she couldn't weasel her way out of this engagement. "It's rather fancy, so the positive is that you will get to wear one of those fancy dresses that you always complain about having and never having an occasion to use them." And I will get to look at you wearing it and spend most of the evening fantasizing about how it's going to look on the floor when we get back home, he thought to himself quietly.

"John..." Rose began, trying to will away her sudden nausea. Although, if she did want to skip out on the party it would be the perfect excuse.

Apparently her suddenly pale face tipped John off because he was suddenly gazing at her with concern. "I didn't want to say anything, but I've noticed you've been sick recently..." he trailed off as he sat down his sandwich. "Maybe you should go to the doctor," he added, knowing that Rose didn't like to be babied.

"It's just the flu," she explained quickly, waving it off like it was nothing. Thankfully her nausea had gone for the moment, so she could pretend like it was getting better. So John had noticed her morning escapades...she would have to work on being sneakier. For how smart he was, it was quite thick that he didn't realize it was morning sickness. "And I want to keep you for myself, I feel like I'm always just sitting in a corner by myself drinking at those things."

John abandoned his food, placing his hands over Rose's. "Love, you know I try to spend as much time as I can around you," he explained, sending her a reassuring smile. "It is just that sometimes I have to make my way around and schmooze."

"Yeah, yeah…" Rose mumbled, surprising John by how easily she had accepted going. She didn't want to fight about this yet again, didn't have the energy or desire to. "We'll have fun, yeah?"

"Of course, we always have fun, you and I," John replied as he stuffed the rest of his lunch into his mouth. He felt his heart soar when Rose glanced up and rewarded him with a true smile.

…

The next night Rose had to admit to herself that she was actually enjoying getting ready for the party. At the very least, it was a nice distraction from the situation at hand. She'd only been sick once that day, a record for the past week, and she was hoping that she wouldn't turn pale and get ill while out with John at this party. He had already began to suspect something was wrong with her and she knew that if he saw her get sick one more time he would practically carry her to the doctor's to find out what was wrong with his wife. She studied her dress, glad that it lay flat across her stomach. She was worried that one of the other wives, they seemed to have eerily correct senses when it came to sticking their noses into other's peoples business, would figure out she was expecting and announce it in the middle of the party before she'd even had a chance to decide if and when to tell John…or the Doctor, as the case may be. Finishing up her make-up, Rose stepped back to look at her reflection. She did look nice, she supposed, all things considering. Her dress was deep red with long sleeves and fit her body like a glove with a rather low back and she was glad she had bought it last month. However, her favorite part was her hair. It had taken quite a while, but she loved how she had curled her hair so that it looked like that of a flapper.

"Whoa, you are actually ready on time for once," John exclaimed as he hesitantly entered their bedroom dressed in a tuxedo that only made him look more than merely dashing. "You look absolutely breathtaking. Not that you ever look anything else, Rose. Still, I have a feeling I'm going to be called a lucky bloke to have you on my arm quite frequently this evening."

"You," Rose said, her eyes scrunching up with laughter as she walked towards him and straightened his bow tie. "You're going to give me a big head. And you don't look so bad yourself, buddy. If only we didn't have this party to go to..." she cheekily suggested, sending a meaningful look back into the bedroom as she sighed aloud in annoyance at her bad luck.

John immediately got a devilish gleam in his eyes and, reached up to cup her face as the other began to trail up and down her spine. "We can be a little late, can't we?"

Before she had the chance to reply, John leaned down and kissed her, already starting to pull her back to the bed. Rose pulled away with a laugh, amused by the extremely disappointed look on his face that his attempt at seduction didn't work as he had hoped. "Not right now, maybe you'll get lucky if you are a good boy tonight," Rose winked. "Plus, you messed up my lipstick. And now I'll have to redo it before we leave."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't," John muttered, reaching up and wiping the red lipstick off of his lips. "Your mouth is beautiful enough as it is. Plus, you taste so much better without all the wax and chemicals getting in the way," Sighing in defeat as he knew that his suggestions were not going to be taken to heart when she raised an eyebrow at him, John recalled something funny that had happened today. "Rose, wanna hear something funny?"

"Sure," Rose absently responded, leaning towards the mirror as she reapplied her lipstick and watched him out of the corner of her eye.

"You know Lucille, right?" John asked, continuing when Rose nodded as she recalled one of his coworkers she could actually talk to. "Well, we knew she was a bit odd, but get this! She thinks she is psychic. She really believes it too," John continued, not noticing how Rose had suddenly became more interested when he mentioned her being psychic. "She went all mystical on me today. She asked me when our baby was due! I was all like...'Huh? We aren't expecting.' But she didn't listen and just kept on asking me that, telling me that she could sense that she was right this time."

Rose stood frozen, her eyes wide with shock at what John had said. She couldn't believe the crazy woman had actually predicted the truth - that Rose was pregnant - and told John. Rose knew this could be the perfect opportunity to tell him the truth, but she didn't know if she had the courage. Last night she had decided that she had to tell him, he had a right to know about his child. She just had no idea when would be the best time since there was so little time until the Doctor returned and John Smith was gone forever. Glancing at the clock and realizing they were already late, Rose put it off once more and turned to John with a smile plastered to her face. "That is creepy, John, not funny. She is just going to mess with your head to take some of your money for her cheap parlor tricks."

"Don't worry about it, love. We need to go anyway. Let's get to the party," John said, taking up her arm and twining it through his own. He was relieved when Rose relaxed and followed him out of their flat.

…

"John, can you come rescue me for a moment?" Rose asked in a whisper after she had been roped into a conversation with a forty year old woman complaining about her preteen daughter for more than half an hour. Normally she would have been okay with that, but only after she'd had a few glasses of champagne and could make snarky comments and blame in on the alcohol. However, she obviously couldn't drink tonight and the evening seemed to be just dragging on.

After John had politely extracted himself from the conversation, he turned towards Rose with amusement in his eyes. "Well then, my damsel in distress, what can I save you from this time?"

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Rose joked, glad that he was still smiling. "I don't really know anyone here tonight and I've barely been able to be around you."

"Come on then, let's go dance," John sighed, pretending like he was annoyed but lucky to be able to spend time with Rose once again. Once on the dance floor, Rose leaned her head against his chest, relaxing against him as they swayed to the music.

However, they were only halfway through their second song when Rose noticed someone familiar out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and blanched, tightening her grip on John. There at the entryway stood Paul, his eyes boring into hers. She had no idea how he got in or how he even knew she would be there. She felt a chill wash over her as her stomach lurched, terror trying to worn its way up her throat. "John?"

Before John had a chance to respond, Paul walked over to them with a wide smile on his face. "Oh, what a pleasant surprise Paul," John muttered wondering what Emma's boyfriend was doing at a party for university faculty.

Paul, realizing that John had no idea what had happened with Emma and Rose, smirked, knowing his plan was going perfectly. "I agree, lucky I was able to get an invite and have some other friends here as well."

"Who did you come with?" Rose hissed, alerting John that something had happened as she was usually very friendly to Paul. However, John was being annoyingly thick and ignoring her.

"My sister," Paul quickly responded, smiling darkly as he leaned in and sniffed Rose's hair once more. John's smile tightened at that, but he didn't seem as concerned as he should be. "And my mother and father are coming as well. In fact, they are almost here. They are very eager to meet you in particular, John."

"I thought you were an only child and that your parents moved to America?" John asked, sensing something was wrong with the way Paul's story did not match up and how scared Rose suddenly seemed next to him. He pulled his wife away from the other man and glared at him for whatever he had done for changing Rose's opinion about him. And what was that sniffing about?

"Oh…I forgot about that," Paul mumbled, looking down at the ground for a moment before moving closer to the couple again. "But I have a new family now, a better family. And I think you can help us, John. Actually, I know that only you can help us."

John was surprised when Rose suddenly moved and was pulling him away from Paul and into the women's restroom. Thankfully, there was only one other woman in there. She just gave John a very odd look before she hurried out, wondering what kind of people were coming to these parties now. Paul did not follow them, to Rose's immense relief. "Rose, what is going on?" John asked, his brows furrowed.

"John, I'm so sorry. You will always believe me, right?" Rose whispered, her eyes looking so scared that he couldn't help but pull her in for a hug. She was shaking in his arms and he wanted nothing more than to made her feel safe

"Of course. What is wrong and why are you so frightened?" John asked. Rose closed her eyes for a moment before she looked up at him, her lips slightly trembling.

"Your dreams. Your dreams about the Doctor. They are real. You are the Doctor," Rose began, continuing when John remained silent, his eyes dark and focused as he continued listening to her. "I'm sorry, I wish it wasn't true, but it is. And those people out there, I think they want to kill you. You just need to trust me and leave right now. I will explain more when we are safe."

John remained silent, nodding his head as he held onto Rose's hand like she was the only thing holding him to the ground. She led him out of the bathroom. Reminding him to be silent, Rose pulled him out to the side of the room, hiding in the shadows. However, there was someone waiting there for them.

"Well, well, well…" Elizabeth Baxter, the woman they hoped they would never see again, stood right in front of them, preventing them from leaving. "We meet again Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

Sorry for stopping it there, hope you can forgive me.

So...like the slight changes? Thoughts? Is John going to go quietly or not believe Rose? Let me know in a review!

I love you all,

Gabrielle