Disclaimer: Characters contained within do not belong to me.

Author's Notes: Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this story; I am so grateful for all the kind reviews and comments;) I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!

All These Things That I've Done

by Kristen Elizabeth

After five straight minutes of watching John circling the console, looking over each bit and every bob, Amy gave up trying to figure out what he was searching for and took off on the same path that Martha had taken into the further reaches of the TARDIS.

She didn't have to search long before she found the Doctor's former companion standing in the middle of the white and grey corridor, staring at a bare expanse of wall.

As Amy approached her, Martha answered the girl's unspoken question. "There used to be a door here. It was my room." She lifted her shoulder, but the gesture was neither carefree nor dismissive. "Better that it's gone, I suppose. Why waste space on what's past?"

"I think a lot of rooms got shifted," Amy told her. "Yours might still be around. Just not where you left it exactly."

Martha glanced at her. "How long have you been traveling with him?"

"I have no idea." Amy's forehead crinkled when she realized the truth behind her answer. "It feels like just a few days, but I know it's been more than that. Back home, though...I've been gone five, maybe ten minutes."

The older woman nodded. "That's how it goes with the Doctor. When you're in this box...when it seems like time should be the most important thing in your world...you completely lose track of it."

"Is that why you left?"

The ghost of smile played across Martha's lips. "No. I'm afraid it was much more complicated than that."

"Well, with a face like he had back then, it must have been a really good reason," Amy concluded. There was a moment of quiet before she dared to ask, "So...you knew Rose, yeah?"

"Yes." Martha turned and started walking back towards the console room. "And no."

Amy followed close behind. "Which is it?"

"I knew of her, but I really only met her once," Martha replied evenly.

"Who was she? To the Doctor, I mean."

Martha's gait slowed just for a second. "Amy, do you believe that everyone has one great love of their life?"

The question caught Amy off guard. "I'd like to think so." An image of Rory's smile came to her mind. "Sure. I do." Blinking out of her thoughts, Amy frowned. "Was Rose...?"

"After the TARDIS..." They entered the console room just then and Martha finished with a simple, "Yes."

John looked up as the Doctor's companions appeared at the top of the short flight of steps. "How long have you two been gone?"

"Oh, hours," Martha teased. "Thanks for noticing before now."

John rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Been busy, you know. As much as everything is the same here, it's all different, too. I can't seem to figure out..." He trailed off as something new caught his eye. But when he pulled the lever, there was nothing but a cold rush of wind, as if he'd turned on some sort of invisible fan.

"What are you looking for?" Amy finally asked.

"I should be able to call her up straight away," John mused, as he grabbed the view screen with both hands. "Can't figure out why I can't get a signal lock on this thing."

In his mind, it was probably a very complete answer to her question, but Amy was quite put out at being ignored yet again. Fortunately, Martha had a lot more experience in deciphering Doctor-speak. "You're searching for Donna, aren't you?"

"I...he...he always keeps a trace on his companions. It's not weird," John hastily added. "It's just for their own safety. It's not as if he follows their every move, but from time to time, he does have to make sure they're where they're supposed to be. But for some reason..." John lightly slapped the leather-covered screen. "She won't locate Donna."

This set Martha on edge. "You don't think anything's happened to her, do you?"

"No, no, there is a signal. She's out there. But the TARDIS won't lock onto her position. It's like...she doesn't want me to find her."

While they were talking, Amy slipped her phone out of her pocket. "It was Donna Noble, wasn't it?" she interrupted.

"Yeah," Martha confirmed as she joined John at the console. Amy was forgotten as she pointed out a button. "Try that one."

"Already did." John ran his hand through his hair. "Wouldn't recommend pressing it again."

From her spot on the landing above them, Amy only had to tap the surface of her phone a dozen times before she found exactly what they were looking for.

"Donna Temple-Noble, 41 St. Alban's Court Road, Kensington." Both John and Martha looked back at her in surprise. Amy pocketed her phone with satisfaction. "You're welcome."

"Hey, you heard the girl," Martha told John a second later. "Kensington, it is."

"And step on it," Amy added. "With any luck, my Doctor will be back in time for tea."

The universe, they said, depended for its operation the balance of four forces which they identified as charm, persuasion, uncertainty and bloody-mindedness. - Terry Pratchett

"No."

The one word made the Doctor blink. "No? What do you mean, 'no'?"

"You heard me perfectly well." Rose shook her head as she drew in a deep, calming breath. "I am not having this baby today."

With the handle of the spatula he'd used to cook her breakfast, the Doctor stratched the back of his head. "Mind you, I don't know this about humans for certain, but I've been lead to believe that this isn't something you get to decide either way." Still grasping the spatula, he gestured to her stomach and the child within. "Isn't it up to him?"

"If he knows what's good for him, he'll stay put," she scowled.

"Rose." Setting the utensil aside, the Doctor reached for her hand. "He's a little bit Time Lord, a fair bit Noble and a whole lot of Tyler. What on earth makes you think he's ever going to follow orders?"

She let out a laugh that could have been mistaken for a sob. "I hate when you do that, you know."

His smile was sad. "I know. That's mostly why I do it." Threading his long fingers through hers, he squeezed lightly. "Is it time?"

Rose blew out a pent-up breath and nodded with great reluctance. She wouldn't have been able to carry off the lie for very long, she told herself. If there was one thing the Doctor recognized it was when anyone was in pain.

"Yeah, I think so." A second later, her face crumpled. "But I'm not ready!" she cried. Her fear-stricken expression cut straight through him like a knife. "I don't think I can do this, Doctor!"

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, gently, but firmly. "You're the girl who faced the Dalek emperor and won." He wiped a tear off her cheek before it reached her chin. "You can do anything, Rose Tyler. That I do know for certain."

"What about John?" She lowered her lashes for the briefest of moments. "I need him here."

When he could, the Doctor looked back and forth between her eyes. "I'm going to get him back in time. For you." He tried to smile again. "I promise."

"What if you can't?" Rose whispered.

His forehead touched hers for a second before he drew back and kissed her brow. "That's not an option."

One phone call and ten minutes later, Jackie Tyler burst into the house like a hurricane, shouting Rose's name at the top of her very powerful lungs.

As Rose was lying on the couch, caught up in the middle of the strongest contraction yet, it was the Doctor who greeted her mother when she found them in the parlor.

"Hello, Jackie." He waved the hand that Rose didn't have a death grip on. "It's me. Sorry 'bout the face-change. Again."

Jackie ignored him and rushed to her daughter's side, fairly knocking him out of the way. "Rose, sweetheart, can you hear me?"

"Mum...I'm having...a baby." Rose gritted her teeth against the pain. "I'm not...going deaf."

Great big tears welled up in Jackie's eyes, threatening to ruin her liberally-applied makeup. "My baby is having a baby! I can't believe it!"

With the contraction easing away, Rose threw the Doctor a look. "And this is after she's had nine months to come to terms with it."

It was just his luck that at that exact moment, Jackie finally acknowledged him. "What are you smirking for?" His smile died as she pointed a manicured finger at him. "This is some of your fault, you know!"

The Doctor blinked. "It is?"

"You left that other Doctor here and he," she indicated her daughter's belly, "did this!"

"Mum!"

Jackie narrowed her glare as she looked the Doctor up and down. "How's it that you keep getting younger? Is that the deal with your lot? You age backwards? Next time, you'll need a nappy, you will!"

The Doctor pulled at his chin. "Oh, it's so good to see you, too, Jackie."

Rose struggled to look at them from over the mound of her stomach. "Can this bit wait until after?"

For a split second, Jackie looked properly chastised. "Of course, darling. Let's get you to the hospital, shall we?"

She made a motion to help Rose stand, but the Doctor was already sliding his arms under Rose's legs in order to lift her off the couch.

"What are you doing?" Rose protested. "I told you before...you can't pick me up; I'm a bloody zeppelin!"

"If I have to leave you on your own with your mother, the least I can do is carry you to the car," the Doctor said in a voice just low enough to escape Jackie's hearing. As he moved through the house with her in his arms, he went on, "Jackie isn't all together wrong. This is my fault. I should have listened to Amy and left the crack alone. He might still be here if I had."

Rose searched the strange face that she somehow felt she knew so well. "Amy, eh? Should have guessed there would be an Amy."

Once outside, the Doctor set her onto her feet beside Jackie's car. "And if you think you've been replaced, you're very wrong. But my life had to move forward, too. Yes, there is an Amy and if it wouldn't punch yet another hole in the universe, I would love it if you two met someday. For right now, though, you've got more important things to worry about, eh?"

After a second, Rose nodded. "Suppose I do, yeah." The Doctor opened the passenger door and helped her lower herself into the seat. Before he could close the door, she stopped it with her hand. "Doctor?"

"Trust me, Rose. I will bring him back. He will not miss this."

"But how?"

The Doctor offered her his most charming smile. "Knowing me, I'll figure something out."

Rose scowled at him as Jackie plopped behind the wheel. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

She waited for a reply, but all he did was close the door and kiss his fingers before pressing them against the glass. The car took off just then, rambling down the road towards the city.

Back in the house, the Doctor placed a second phone call.

To Torchwood.

To Be Continued