I'm working on a cover picture for this right now. It looks pretty cool right now. I've got half of the background done. Then I just need to do Rose and I can post it.

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Son and Daughters

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It was dark and dingy where she arrived. She seemed to be in some sort of… lower area of a spaceship? A data core burnt bright red, an alarm going off. And there, just off to the side, a woman in a spacesuit was handcuffing the Doctor to a pillar.

"What the hell are you doing?" she cried aghast.

The woman jumped. "Mum!" she cried in surprise as she turned. With horror, when Rose saw her face, she realised that it was an older version of the girl she had seen in the picture. River. "What are you doing here? You know you can't be here… Oh god, this is before you settle, isn't it?"

"What are you doing?" she asked again, very confused. "I know he can be annoying, but tying him up…"

"He was going to kill himself," River replied.

"What?"

"This computer is actually the mind of a child. This library was built for her, to keep her alive. But it has 4022 people waiting to be teleported out of its hard drive. But she doesn't have the power. Dad was going to hook himself up to the computer and give her some of his memory space. But it would kill him instantly," she explained. As she talked she was going around, picking up bits of cables and putting things together. Rose didn't understand what she was doing, but it was something that she could see the Doctor doing, were he awake.

"So you just knocked him out and handcuffed him to a post?"

"I couldn't let him do it," River told her mother. "If he dies now, then you will never get back to him and I won't ever be born anyway. If I don't do this, then I cause one huge big paradox!"

"Do what? River, no!" she cried out in horror when she realised what her daughter was going to do. "You can't!" She rushed forward and tried to grab River's arm as she sat down in a chair, but she shrugged her off.

"I have to."

"River Tyler, you may not even be born yet in my timeline, but I am still your mother. You can't do this!"

"You don't have a choice!" River said forcefully, grabbing her arm. Then her face softened. "It's weird hearing you use that stern tone with me… especially now. Although, you're missing the middle name. And it's River Song now, I got married… once you and Dad relented… Oh! Oh, you two are so stupid! Trying to change my name would never have changed events! Oh, you've known all along what would happen. So many things make sense! …And you had to go through my whole life knowing I was going to die and you couldn't stop it…"

"Want to bet!" Rose cried fiercely, a tear running down her cheek.

"I love you, Mum," River whispered.

Suddenly Rose felt the familiar heavy feeling seep through her body and she became light headed… But she wasn't moving. She had been frozen still for the last two minutes. Looking at River she saw fear and… an apology in her eyes. Rose realised that somehow River had done this to her. River was making her jump. Making her leave so she couldn't stop her.

"No!" she shrieked… But it was too late.

?...DW…?

The Doctor fingered the TARDIS blue cover of the book. River Song's diary. He was tempted to look in it… so tempted to look in it. It had his future in here. But… one look wouldn't hurt right?

Both he and Donna had decided that it wasn't worth it 'reading ahead', but she had known his name. Once he could have imagined telling it to one person… now there was no one. If he could just find out who she was to him.

He could just try the first page. He doubted the first page would hold all too much, and if it even had one mention of his name then he would shut it. Yeah, he could get away with that. He just wanted to know who she was.

Cautiously, he put the now burnt out modified sonic-screwdriver to the side and picked up the book. Carefully he lifted the cover to reveal the first page. He was almost surprised to be met by the messy writing of a child in a blue pencil.

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'Dear TARDIS… (Most peopol say Dear Diary but why would I tork to a book when I have a sentent ship?)

My name is River Tyler. I am 8 years old. Mummy gave me this diary the day my baby sister was born. Aria is really cute.

Jack is confust about why Mummy's tummy is flat now. Jack is 5. He will get smarter in a few years.

We are all very happy that the baby is here. But now Mummy is really tired. So Daddy took me out to get a preasent for her. I got her a rose. He thougt that was funny and clyshay. I don't know what clyshay means yet but it is beacuse her name is Rose-'

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The Doctor slammed the book shut. He couldn't read any more. It wasn't possible. It just wasn't possible. There was no way that this could ever be. River Song could not be the daughter of Rose Tyler.

It was clear, even from the child's writing that she had grown up on the TARDIS. But that was impossible. There was no way that he could get back to Rose. She was trapped in the other universe. He had tried many, many times to get her back. All had failed.

But not only that, but if she ever did come back… how could he stand to sit back and watch her raise a family on his TARDIS. How could he stand to watch her with her children and her husband, knowing that it wasn't him?

Oh, he wished it was. Secretly he wanted that life so bad. But if it was even possible for Rose to get back, he knew that he could never have a family with her. She was human, and that caused so many complications that it broke his hearts just thinking of them.

Yes, she would whither and die, but the thing that confirmed that he would never truly have his Rose, was the fact that River even existed at all. Because Humans and Time Lords may look alike, but they were different species. They didn't have enough DNA and gene codes similar. It was impossible for them to conceive a child together.

Rose's three children could not be his. Could he really stand to take her in the TARDIS and watch her be with another man? Did he love her that much that he would throw away his happiness and his chance to be with her, just so that he could keep her by his side?

He thought of what River had said. 'Picnic at Asgard. Have we done Asgard yet?' She had said 'we'… but who exactly was 'we'?

But then again, for any of this to be true, Rose would have to be here, in this universe. And she wasn't.

?...DW…?

A chocked sob escaped her lips as she slumped against the wall. She didn't know where she was, and she didn't really care.

How could she have done that? How could she just throw her life away like that when she had her family everything in the world to live for? How could she let herself die for him when she knew neither of them wanted her to? Knowing that they would know her fate for her whole life and have to live with the pain of watching her grow up, wondering which day would be her last. Wondering what day she would be going to the library.

Couldn't she have thought of another option?

Tears streamed down her face as she sunk to the floor. It was wrong. It was just so, so wrong. No parent should ever have to bury their child. The Doctor was 900 and something, Rose would be much older by that time. How old had River been?

But she didn't quite understand it. That was the first time she had ever met River. The idea of her having kids one day still seemed weird and not quite real, like it was happening to someone else, not her. So why was she grieving like she had just lost the child she had spent years raising and loving?

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She felt arms wrap around her and she was cradled against someone's chest. She could faintly feel two hearts beating against her.

"Shh, shh," a voice soothed, but it wasn't a familiar voice. "I know," he told her soothingly, but his voice cracked a little. "You couldn't have stopped her. I tried, Dad tired. We all tried. But… she - she's stubborn. She's a Tyler, what did you expect…"

He gently rocked her until her sobs subsided and he helped her to her feet. When she finally looked at him she was met with startlingly bright blue eyes set in a handsome face. He looked to be somewhere in his twenties, but she knew better than that. She was face to face with Jack Tyler.

"Now," he said, brushing away her tears. "I know how hard it is. And it's still going to be pretty hard… But you're almost there. Don't give up. You've got to go, just keep walking."

"But…" she trembled. "What if I can't find him?"

"Mum, you are the strongest woman I've ever met. Now, I'm pretty sure that I'm proof that things will work out alright in the end." This caused Rose to laugh a little, but it was pretty pathetic.

"I'm always so close. Why can't I just reach him?"

"Because there will be a day when he's worse than ever. He's given up hope. Hope in most of humanity, hope in travelling, hope of ever seeing you again. He's convinced that he's insane and the cause of all these horrible things that happen, not the cure. You can't prevent him having that moment, but you will be the one to pick him up and give him hope again. He'll need you then."

"And how much longer till then?"

"I don't know, I didn't get the travelling gene, did I?" he grinned. "Don't worry, it's not long now…"

"But-"

"Mum," he said sternly. "Start walking."

The tiniest of smiles tugged at her lips, and giving her son a hug and a thank you, she turned and started walking, until she walked into somewhere new.

?...DW…?

"Mum!" the voice called out to her. "I'm just going to pop back to 2000 to get some decent Creameggs… you know, before they ruined the center and cost a fortune. Do you want anything that's been discontinued. I can-"

The girl froze as she walked around the corner. Even in the shade of the trees, her aqua blue dress seemed bright. It made her sea blue eyes stand out even more. She was in the process or ringing water from her very long hair, the exact shade as the Doctor's. she looked to be about eighteen here, not the ten year old Rose had seen in the picture.

The girl looked her up and down a moment before she figured out what was bothering her.

"Oh…" she drew the word out. Then she sighed in frustration. "Why did you never tell me this was going to happen? Then again… it occurred to me that as I'm saying this, I'm making you not tell me by saying that you aren't going to tell me… I love how time works!" she grinned.

"Uh… um, you can fly the TARDIS?"

"Are you kidding me?" the girl cried in amusement. "After that accident when I was four, Dad's been avoiding teaching me! Annoying really, I'm old enough now, and I do know how to fly her. I'm probably better than him!" Rose snorted in amusement.

"So… so you can jump, then… like me?"

"Course I can! Only seems to be in the female gene… that could have something to so with the fact that TARDISes were only female. But River can to it too… She's a little useless, though - don't tell her I said that - but she can't go anywhere she wants to. I mean, you said that you can nearly control where you end up, but not when you go. She's the opposite. But I've got it all down."

"Lucky you," Rose said in bewilderment. It wasn't often she came across someone who said that much in one breath.

"Yup, though, I do feel sorry for Jack, he can't jump at all. But he's plenty smart to make up for it. Almost as good as I am. Jenny can jump a little too, but she's got more of Dad's DNA than yours."

"Who's Jenny?" she asked in surprise. She thought she only had three children.

The girls eyes widened when she realised she'd said too much. "Ah, she's-"

"Aria," a familiar voice called. "Lunch is ready," he told her.

"Bye," Aria said sheepishly, before walking past the lean figure of the Doctor. He leant against a near by tree, looking rather amused.

"She's got quite the gob on her, that one," he said.

"Ah, so she's like her dad," Rose teased.

"Well…" he mused, pushing away from the tree. "Yeah, she is really. Quite a bit like you, but very much like me. That's what you always say."

Rose grinned. "This place is beautiful. Where are we?"

"Asgard. Family picnic…" Suddenly his expression darkened.

"What's wrong?"

"Just something River said once."

"At the library?"

He nodded solemnly. "She wanted to match diaries and asked if we'd done the picnic at Asgard… And I didn't even have a clue who she was... Odd thing about her jumping, half the time it seems like she's going backwards. Honestly, that girl makes me wish we'd never taught her the word 'spoilers'."

Rose giggled, then looked at him curiously. "So, how long until I finally find you?"

"Oh, really shouldn't tell you… but, it's weeks at max."

Suddenly Rose grinned and jumped towards him and pressed her lips to his. The Doctor blinked in surprise.

"Oi, careful, missy," he teased. "I'm a married man!"

"Oh, shut up!" she laughed.

"But it's not fair! You get an early one. What about poor past me? He-"

She kissed him again, stopping him from talking. "Payback," she said. "For the kisses you got that I don't remember, or wasn't in control of my body." She gave him one of her teeth in tongue grins.

"Damn," he muttered. "She's already figured it out."

"What, how to shut you up? I've had that in mind for a long while, just never tried it till now."

The Doctor laughed. "Alright, you. You should probably get going. You've got a dashingly handsome Time Lord to find. And I've got a delicious looking picnic waiting… if Jack hasn't eaten it all."

Rose cracked up. "Alright, then, see you in a few weeks."

The Doctor gave her one of his brilliant grins and a hug before he left in the same direction as Aria.

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It took a while for her to jump again, but she didn't mind. She spent the rest of the day exploring the beautiful nature reserve. And, for the first time in a very long time, when Rose Tyler left Asguard, she was completely happy.

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It's a happy ending for the chapter! Yay! I really don't do enough of those.

I originally wasn't going to have Jack in this story at all (other than being mentioned). It was just going to be River. But then I really like my OC Aria (sometimes called Gallifreya. She's either 'Gallifreya Aria Tyler' or 'Aria Gallifreya Tyler') so I wanted to add her in. I figured the best way to shut her up was by getting someone in to stop her. So I thought, why not the Doctor, have a nice scene between her and future Doctor. Bit of a reverse as to what's been happening with her and past Doctor.

Then I really wanted to show her reaction to River's death. My first idea was having the Doctor comfort her, but that didn't seem right. So, future Rose sent Jack to go comfort her.

I was always going to have the last scene in a park, it was only as I was writing it that I thought to make it Asgard.

The diary page from River, I read out to my 8 year old cousin, Yana. So that's how she spelt everything. I have it looking cool on my computer. It's blue and the font is a really messy kid like one.

…And I only just now realised it's the kids in order of birth!