Thank you all so much for those who are reading and following. Reviews keep my creative muse following :) Prepare for some turbance with our happy couple in this chapter!
It hadn't been long before Rose had drifted off to sleep herself. She hadn't woken until late the next morning; the Doctor had, unfortunately, been long awake by that point.
Rose had almost drifted off to sleep in the rocker, her head filled with memories of the joy of the previous night, when little Pete gave her a particularly forceful nudge. Rose's head snapped back up and her eyes popped open. "Alright, alright...I'm awake" Rose said, putting her hand on her stomach as she got out of the chair. Already she wanted to feel that extra connection with him and knew without a doubt that this was soon to be a daily event. It was such a special connection that Rose couldn't imagine not having it, now having had it.
Rose made her way to the TARDIS' kitchen, feeling suddenly hungry, having gotten up too late for breakfast and having neglected lunch until now. She searched through the freezer trying to decide what she wanted; since she couldn't decide whether she wanted chips or ice cream, she ended up having both. She was sitting at the kitchen table dipping her chips into the ice cream when the Doctor came in and sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table. The Doctor scrunched his nose up at the odd combination. "Interesting choice" he said, disgust on his voice.
Rose looked down at the ice cream before saying, "Wouldn't be my first choice either...but it seems our son has some interesting food preferences" It was hardly the strangest thing she had eaten during pregnancy; the time she had added both pineapple and anchovies to her pizza or the time she had dipped her cheeseburger in custard had to be at the top of the list. She could only hope that little Pete had better tastes when he was born than he did now.
The Doctor laughed before swiping some of Rose's chips. He popped them into his mouth, giving her a playful smile. "Did you have any particular plans for tonight?" he asked after devouring her chips.
Rose shrugged; they didn't have much in the way of 'plans' going on these days. "No...not unless you do" she said.
"I was just thinking perhaps you should have dinner with your mum" the Doctor suggested. "You haven't seen her in a few days. I'm sure she would enjoy that"
Rose smiled. "Yeah...that sounds like a nice evening" she said pleasantly. "I'm surprised to hear you suggest such a thing. I don't think I've ever heard you willingly volunteer to spend the evening with my mum"
The Doctor gave a laugh, but Rose could tell it was forced. "I thought maybe you two could have an evening alone. Mother-daughter stuff, whatever it is girls do when they get together" he said with another forced grin.
Rose didn't know why he was acting so strange, but she felt something was off, very off. "What would you do all evening, though?" she asked hesitantly.
The Doctor waved a hand dismissively. "Please, Rose. I've got more than enough to keep me occupied. The TARDIS could use some maintenance; she needs some routine scans. I'm sure that will take most of the evening"
The Doctor was doing a really good job at being convincing but Rose knew him well enough to know the slight shifting, the way he didn't look her quite in the eye meant he was lying. "Surely that can wait, Doctor" Rose said, more cheerfully than she meant. "We're not planning on going anywhere, right? Can't it wait until tonight? Give you something to occupy your time while I sleep?"
The Doctor continued to play it off. "No, really Rose" he said causally. "Have some time just you and your mum. You don't need me hanging around all the time"
"But I want you there, Doctor" Rose insisted. She said it gently but desperation crept into her tone. Something was wrong and she knew it. The Doctor was hiding something.
The pleasantness was gone from the Doctor's tone when he spoke again and she saw something of a shadow cross over his face. It made her uneasiness grow. Suddenly the odd combination of ice cream and chips was churning uncomfortably in her stomach.
"Rose...just do it, please" he said. The intensity of the look he was giving her scared her.
"No" Rose said simply, meeting his eyes. She wanted to know why he was trying to get rid of her, why he seemed so insistent on it. "I'm not going unless you do"
The Doctor leaned against the back of the chair, huffing loudly. He seemed upset, angry, agitated. It was such a sharp turn from where he had been just a second ago and Rose felt nervous. "Rose, can't you just make things easy?" he asked with irritation. "Please, just go and have fun with your mum. Don't be...difficult."
Rose knew her hormones were off the charts right now but she felt sadness and anger instantly flare up in her. "I'm not being difficult, Doctor" she said. "You're trying to get rid of me...I just don't know why"
The look that passed over his face, just for a second was enough to tell her that she was right. His look of regret was quickly masked by a hard look. "I'm not trying to get rid of you" he said. He couldn't be less convincing.
"Why can't you just be honest with me, Doctor?" Rose asked. Her voice sounded small to her own ears. She had hoped that it might spark some sympathy in the Doctor but his look remained unchanged.
"Rose, for your own good, please just do what I ask and don't ask any questions" he said, danger in his tone.
Rose felt a lump forming in her throat despite the fact that she desperately tried to fight it. He wasn't even denying it now; he wanted her to leave for some reason and he wouldn't tell her why. She wondered if she left now, would he even be here when she came back? "Why can't you just talk to me, Doctor?" Rose asked, her cracking voice betraying how upset she was. "Just tell me why you want me to leave"
The Doctor looked across the table at her, a storm of emotion behind his eyes. He didn't speak, didn't loosen up. It was obvious he was not going to tell her anything. "So that's it?" Rose asked, the lump in her throat growing by the second, making it difficult to speak. "You're finally getting tired of this? You're just itching to leave aren't you?"
"Rose, don't be stupid" The Doctor said, his tone not loosening up in the least. "That's not what it's about"
The Doctor had only used such a harsh tone on her once, the only other time he had ever gone so far as to call her stupid. She knew that he didn't really mean it but it didn't stop her eyes from stinging in response. "I'm not stupid" Rose said, her voice wavering. "You're trying to get me to leave and you won't tell me why. What else am I supposed to think?"
"Rose, just listen to me" The Doctor said, leaning across the table, his voice urgent. "Just do what I say...for once"
Rose's lip was quivering and she bit it in an attempt to try to hold it in. She thought about the closeness she and the Doctor had shared last night, mere hours ago and wondered how things had changed so quickly that he now wanted to leave. The more she thought about it, the harder it was to keep herself from crying. And she desperately didn't want to cry in front of the Doctor right now and let him know how much he had hurt her. "Well, that's not going to happen" Rose said, keeping her voice as strong as she could. "I'm not going to leave so you can take off. You want me gone, you'll have to drag me off this TARDIS" Rose pushed back from the table and ran from the room. She didn't care if the Doctor was telling her to stop or yelling at her or chasing her. She didn't look back and she didn't stop; she ran all the way to her room, throwing herself on the bed. Rose had so rarely used her own room of late and it felt cold and empty. She had gotten so used to sleeping in the Doctor's bed that to be here in her own bed only reminded her something wasn't right. Rose lay on her bed, a shiver going through her as she pulled her arms around her tightly in an attempt to keep her warm. It didn't work and as crushing loneliness pressed on her, she began to cry. She could feel little Pete's hands and feet press against her stomach and she put her hand against him, trying to console him while at the same time comfort herself.
