A/N: Oh SQUEE! I finally figured out how to squeeze a happy ending from The End of Time - I've been so afraid that I was going to have to kill somebody off. Unfortunately for you lot, you'll have to wait to find out my solution till after I've done with the Traveler. In the meantime, though, I'm celebrating with this bit of fluffery and tribute. Enjoy!

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Surprises

One fine spring morning John walked into the kitchen and found Donna surveying the cabinets with a rueful expression. "Trouble?" he asked.

"I want something different for breakfast, but I don't know what," she sighed.

He grinned sympathetically, and reached past her for the coffee – then suddenly stopped, arm outstretched, and looked sharply down at her, staring into her eyes from a few inches away.

"What?" she asked, startled.

He didn't reply, just eased back a few inches and kept staring intently.

"You're scaring me, Spaceman. What?" Still no reply – but his mouth twitched.

"What's going on?" came Mike's voice from the doorway, halfway between amused and concerned.

Donna turned to her husband, exasperated and a tiny bit frightened. "Beats me. Spaceman here just keeps staring at me. Tell him to stop it!"

John finally took his eyes away from Donna's, turning them on Mike, instead. Still he said nothing, just raised his eyebrows at his twin, significantly, waiting.

"What?" Mike's turn to be perplexed.

John rolled his eyes, then with a kind of "OK, let's try this again" expression glanced briefly at Donna, then turned back again to Mike expectantly. Finally he spoke, "You're slipping."

Completely mystified now, Mike walked over next to the pair and turned to study his wife's eyes. Suddenly his jaw dropped, and he stared.

She took a quick step back. "OK, now you're both scaring me. What is it?"

Mike stepped up right next to her, and brought up one hand, resting it low on her belly, while a look of wonder and delight swept over his face.

It only took her a beat. "I'm pregnant?" came her incredulous whisper.

All Mike could do was nod, and then they were wrapped around each other, laughing and crying for joy simultaneously.

After a minute, they turned to share it with John, but stopped at his amused expression. He looked at Mike and said, "You're still slipping. Look again."

Slightly worried now, even though John's face didn't show any alarm or sorrow, Mike turned back to Donna again, placing his hand back on her stomach with an air of intense concentration.

Slowly his jaw really dropped, and he raised his eyes back to John, whose face finally cracked a grin. Mike gulped and whispered, "Two?"

The grin got wider, and he held up two fingers. "Two."

Donna gasped. "Two what?" When they both turned to her, slightly mystified that she hadn't caught on, she shook her head. "Two babies, or two hearts? Twins or a Time Lord?"

Mike gulped again, smile fading, and he started to move back towards her for yet another exam, but John chuckled. "Two babies. Hearts haven't developed yet." Then, shaking his head at Mike and smirking, he added, "You're hopeless."

Just then, Rose came into the kitchen, moaning and rubbing her back. She leaned sideways against her husband. "Please tell your son to stop kicking me in the liver." She was due any day, and really shouldn't have been out of bed. The human obstetrician they were consulting, through Torchwood, had put her on bed rest for the last month – although not absolute, he didn't want her on her feet for more than a few minutes a day.

John turned and pulled her into his arms, supporting her and rubbing her lower back at the same time. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder, then looked over at the other couple, noticing their happy expressions for the first time. "What?"

"I'm pregnant!" Donna sang joyfully.

"With twins!" Mike crowed.

Rose let loose her brilliant smile, and began to congratulate them, then winced, hard. "Owwww! Quit kicking!" She dropped her face back to John's shoulder. Quickly, he brought one hand around to her bulging stomach, concentrating, trying to soothe the baby back into peacefulness. As she winced yet again, though, his eyes grew huge and round.

"That's not kicking. That's a contraction! You're going into labor!"

She pulled back and stared up at him. "I'm wha- OWWWW!" And just then, with perfect timing, her water broke – which in turn kicked her contractions into high gear. She almost screamed as the next one hit, clutching her husband even tighter.

He wrapped both arms around her again for support. "Rose! Breathe! Breathe, sweetheart, that's it – otherwise you'll pass out."

Mike finally shook himself out of his shock and swung into action. "Donna – call Doctor Schoenfeld! Tell him we're on our way to hospital!"

John shook his head. "No time – this baby's coming now!" He stopped and forced himself to take a deep breath and speak more calmly so as not to alarm Rose, who was already halfway into hysterics – or would have been, if her contractions had let her. "Mike. Scalpel and clamps – and make sure they're sterilized, for heaven's sake. Donna. A very thick blanket, several towels and a pillow. Now!"

"Here?"

"Here!"

There was no time even to move her back to the bedroom. While the other pair scurried about, he turned back to Rose, rubbing her back and speaking soothingly, helping her breathe through the next few spasms, trying to project an air of calm – when inside, he felt anything but.

"Doctor?" she whispered, showing how frightened she was by using the old name rather than John. "I thought you said you'd never delivered a baby."

"Did I say never?" He managed to sound surprised. "Well, maybe it's been a while, but I wouldn't say never. Besides, why do you think I've been plowing through those medical books? No, shhhh, don't worry, darling. Everything's going to be just fine."

Donna came back first, arms loaded. "Right," John said. "Blanket – fold it in quarters, lay it out right here," nodding to the emptyish area between the large kitchen table and the door. She did so, then helped Rose out of her sweatpants and briefs.

He waited till another contraction had passed. "OK, sweetheart, onto the blanket. Just two steps, come on. Donna, help her feet. Good. Now, we're going to kneel on the blanket. Just let your knees go, and I'll ease you down. There we go! No, I've got you, I'm not letting go!" He then told Donna to put the pillow on the blanket between Rose's knees, with a towel on top, then asked her to check the progress.

"Kneeling? You're not going to lay her down?"

"For god's sake, why? That's the worst possible position, working against gravity! Now, please check!"

"Oh my god – I can see his head!"

"Michael!"

"I'm here!" came the reply. "Had to – nevermind." He joined the others on the floor. "All ready, Doctor."

John shot him a quizzical glance, but the title seemed to calm everyone down just that bit. "OK, sweetheart, everything's ready. It's all you, now. All you have to do is push!"

Less than five minutes later, a beautiful baby boy came into the world, gently caught by both Mike and Donna, who eased him down onto the pillow, and wiped off his face. As he took his first breaths and let the world know of his displeasure, Mike worked swiftly to cut the cord with the tools he'd retrieved from the TARDIS sickbay, then Donna gently wrapped him up in the waiting towel.

A short time later, mother and baby were both cleaned up and ensconced once again in her wide bed upstairs. John was leaning next to them, arms wrapped possessively around them both, smiling down at his son with stars in his eyes. Mike and Donna were perched, holding hands, at the foot of the bed. Doctor Schoenfeld had finally been called, and was on his way to check them both out – but Doctor John already knew they were fine.

"OK, Mum," John teased Rose. "You wanted to keep his name secret till he was born. Well, here he is. What's our son to be called?"

She smiled at him, dragging out the suspense for just another second. "David."

"David? I like that. That's a good name. Hello, David. Davey." He grinned down at the baby, nestled in her arms, enjoying his first meal. "Why did you choose it, though?"

"For that Shakespearean actor we saw, the one who looks just like you."

"What, the one who played Hamlet?" He turned to the other two. "Did he really look like me? Us?"

Mike shrugged, but Donna scoffed. "Dead ringer. I had to keep checking, every time he came on stage, to make sure both of you were still sitting with us in the audience."

"Really? Well, whatever. Still a good name." He turned back and gave Rose a tender kiss. "Thank you."

"Thank you. Don't know what I would have done without you." She quipped back.

"Oh, too right." He grinned, then sent it on down the bed. "And both of you, as well."

"I'd call that a good mornings' work, all right," Mike grinned back.

"Good practice," came John's reply. "Want to go for two next time?"