Wow. I just realized I have nothing author's note-y related to say. I wrote this chapter, and now I'm posting it. What a crazy life I lead.

Thank you for your support, thank you SOOOO much! There isn't much left of the story left (sad *shedding tears, being fried by the computer because I cried over a few electrical thingies*), so I really appreciate all the love, which is seriously the only thing that kept me going. And yes, electrical "thingies" is the correct term.

...

Okay then. lol.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who. You want a list of things I do own? A hairbrush. Some cotton candy. The box that holds my hopes and dreams. But Doctor Who is not on that list.

The Doctor did not know why he chose the planet Iris to be married on. There were thousands of other more agreeable planets to have a wedding ceremony, and yet, he chose Iris. It was probably because of the beautiful scenery that he knew Rose would love (thus earning him brownie points, which weren't always mandatory but nevertheless helpful) and the kind communities he'd been accustomed to knowing over the years. Now, however, as he sat out in the waiting room with most of the wedding party, tapping his foot anxiously, hearts pounding like mad inside his chest, he wished he'd picked a different planet, any other planet besides Iris.

Iris was old-fashioned. This was a refreshing trait to see in planets nowadays, especially as they became more modernized, but now it was dreadful.

Iris did not allow soon-to-be fathers in the delivery room.

He'd fought this ridiculous concept, oh yes. Probably more than he'd ever fought for anything. What had happened was this: he was allowed to wait with her in her hospital room until the contractions worsened, and when she was definitely about to have the baby, the nurses kicked him out by order of hospital policy and wheeled his new wife away. After threatening a few doctors and yelling at a couple of nurses, he was nearly sentenced to be thrown back in the prison cell he'd only just gotten out of (upon insisting that the Chief of Police release him and Rose and the wedding guests because Rose had gone into labor, and it seemed law enforcement was a squeamish bunch). Unfortunately for his dignity, the Doctor had to back off of lashing out at the medical staff for two reasons:

1: They controlled the meds that would be given to Rose.

And 2: He really, really, really did not want to go back to the jailhouse to share a cell with the Master.

So he gave up (still pouting) and sulked in the waiting room, with Jack comforting him. The Doctor continued to replay the moments he'd had with Rose before she left with the nurses and her mother.

"Do you need anything?" he asked her for the umpteenth time, and she laughed, if not bitingly, which he didn't blame her for. He expected that he was not her favorite person at the moment.

"Honestly, Doctor, I think I'm as comfortable as I'm going to get," she reassured him, patting his hand.

To be honest, he felt useless. Rose was in pain and there wasn't a thing he could do about it. "I'm sorry about the wedding. And the Master's existence."

She smiled weakly. "All of that hardly seems important now. We can always have another wedding, perhaps at some place with less people… and mental criminals passing off as the bane of our existences."

"Are you saying we should elope, even though we're already married?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised, Rose. I thought you had loved the idea of a fanciful wedding."

She scoffed. "Give me a break. After today, all I could ever want for a second wedding would be a vicar and a nice, small shrubbery to carry as I walk down the hall." She gave him a small smile. "Maybe we could elope on Ariellus."

The Doctor looked puzzled. "How do you know about Ariellus?"

"Don't you remember? It was what you were rambling on about when I told you I was pregnant with Little Alien Baby."

The memory swam back into the Doctor's mind. "Oh, that's right! You were freaking out and I was completely oblivious."

"Hadn't been the first time."

He chuckled. "Indeed, it hadn't."

The moment felt so normal, so much like the old days, when they would be laughing and joking around the console of the Tardis instead of waiting for the moment when they would get to meet their child. Neither noticed the current situation and continued to revel in their peace.

"Is it all going to be different?" Rose spoke quietly. Out of all the concerns they'd had involving the baby, this was the one thing they always managed to veer clear of, merely because they feared the answer, which they both knew perfectly well. It seemed they could no longer play the avoiding game now.

The Doctor answered, "Yes, but I don't believe it will be necessarily worse. I mean, we will have to ease up on the life-threatening situations a bit, and there will be babysitting moments to replace the running, but if you really think about it, you and me, we're all about new adventures, aren't we?"

Rose flashed him a brilliant grin that disguised all traces of pain. "This may be the best of 'em all."

"That's the spirit! And anyway, imagine later years. We could be running just as much once again, and at that time, we'll have a little Doctor or Rose trailing behind us. Maybe even a few of them."

Rose gave him a pointed look.

"Too soon?" he asked.

"You can bet your funny hair, it's too bloody soon." On perfect timing to add to the drama, she took in a sharp breath and squeezed his hand tightly whilst bearing another contraction. The Doctor hid a wince. After a few minutes, Rose eased her grip and let out a distinctive moan, shifting in the hospital bed uncomfortably. She did not feel less irritated. Like she'd done with him (but not nearly as hard), the Doctor clutched her hand tightly, pressing a kiss to the center of her palm.

"Let's go to Barcelona after this," she sighed.

The corner of his mouth curved up. "Have the need to see some nose-less dogs?"

"It's all I've ever wanted in life, and I hear nose-less dogs are the only thing the planet is good for." She smiled as the Doctor laughed, relishing in the precious moments they had left before their lives changed forever.

It felt like the time spent with Rose had been ages ago. The Doctor now stared at the wall opposite him, taking to brooding rather than feeling sorry for himself. Shockingly, the wall was of no help to lift his spirits, and its blank gaze back at him made him feel even angrier.

Now I know I'm going insane.

"Hey, Doc!"

Since they were in a hospital, the Doctor almost didn't look up, certain that someone was referring to any one of the professionals walking past. It was the voice that got to him, that stung him to the core and absently made him think about how horrible the universe was. He looked up, scowling at the Master, who grinned brightly.

"Miss me?"

"Not particularly."

The Master chuckled and took up the seat that Jack had left behind when he went to find some coffee not a few minutes ago.

"How did you get out?" The Doctor cast a side glare but didn't turn to face the Master. Giving him the satisfaction of a dramatic grimace would only boost the Master's merriment more.

"Of what?" the Master teased. "The slammer? The pokey? The clink?" He leaned back, placing his hands behind his head. "I may be a criminal, but I am a very important man, Doctor. I have connections."

"You beat the guard out of his money, didn't you?"

"Ah, but it was the Chief himself, and he wasn't so easy to win over. We had to strike up a bargain."

The Doctor sensed dangerous territory. "What kind of bargain?"

"The best kind!" The Master was practically tap dancing, he was so smug and happy.

"Master…" The Doctor finally did swivel to meet his eyes, and while the Master was somehow finding everything in the world lovely and beautiful, the Doctor couldn't remember a time when he felt more terrified. "What did you do?"

"Well, the only reason they let me out now is 'cause of all the begging I had to do—and the extra money I paid them—so I could get here in time for the little Halfling to be born. When all this is over, I'm gonna need you to come back to the station to sign some stuff, saying that you'll keep me as your charge until they deem my parole unnecessary."

The Doctor's eyes flared. He could have slapped the Master. "What?"

"It's official! Thanks to Iris's awful excuse for law enforcement, we're roomies!" The Master threw his arms around the Doctor, ignoring the automatic cringing coming from the Doctor's part. The Master didn't have to use his impeccable skills of intellect to sense the Doctor's distaste. "What's the matter? You still angry? If there's something you want to say, then say it."

"Oh, there are a lot of things I'd like to say to you right now. Sadly, we're still in the presence of a vicar." The Doctor nodded to the reverend of the wedding ceremony, sitting in one of the chairs and reading a magazine, claiming that he had nothing else to do for that day, and that this was the most excitement he'd had in ages, so he might as well stick around to see if anything else should happen.

"Fine. "The Master rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry for ruining your wedding by getting everyone arrested. But, if you really think about it, there are tons of worse things that could have occurred."

"Enlighten me," the Doctor snapped. "I've failed to think of them."

"Well… the planet could have been blown up and everyone, brutally killed."

The Doctor took a sweet second to consider this. He couldn't help but crack a slight smile. "I suppose that's true."

"Exactly. Look at the bright side of life, Doc. And anyway, if you object to this little 'proposition' of mine involving my hitching a ride with you, Fuchsia, and Little Alien Baby—and if said child turns out to be a girl—I can always name the kid something horrid."

"That's blackmail!"

"So I've picked some things up while I stayed in the Big House. Sue me." He paused. "Don't sue me, on second thought. I don't have any more money." The Master met the Doctor's gaze, and on this rare occasion, there wasn't a hint of pure madness or mischief or overall annoyance in his eyes. "Besides, we both know that you'll never be able to get rid of me."

"I have Rose," the Doctor told him squarely, but he knew the truth to the Master's words all too well.

"Yes, you have Delphinium. But what happens when you two lovebirds don't meet eye-to-eye on some instances? You're married now. You certainly can't tell your feelings to each other."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You don't understand anything, do you?"

The Master shrugged. "Perhaps not. But one thing I do understand is you, and I understand her—to some extent—and I understand you and her together, and I understand that the kid you two are going to raise won't ever grasp the concept of normal time zones, and I understand that I don't understand the point of a government unless it's being ruled by me. So, really, that's five things I understand. Well, six, if you count cartoons."

"You know, for someone who doesn't fancy humans, you certainly act very much like one."

The Master looked appalled. "Pardon moi, but I think just threw up a little."

"Oh, well, how can anyone not 'pardon' you when you're so classy?" the Doctor snorted.

The Master ignored the comment and stared at the wall (the one that was only built to be stared at), completely silent for a matter of seconds. He bit his lip and finally asked, "Would you have left me back in 1859, even after giving me the parts to fix my ship?"

The Doctor paused, but the hesitation didn't last for long. "No, I wouldn't have."

"Knew it."

"I can always take you back—and perhaps then, I won't give you what's required to fix your ship."

"Oh, don't even try, Doctor. After all, you're going to be too busy with Little Alien Baby to put any truth into your pathetic threats."

Minutes were beginning to feel like days now. Surely, the Doctor had waited a whole century by now. Or perhaps time had slowed down in the hospital, perhaps there was some kind of barrier around the facility that made time go by at a sluggish pace, just for the purpose of seeing the Doctor tear his hair out. How bad would it be for him if he went into the Tardis and traveled just a bit further into the future, till it reached the moment when—

"You're doing that thing with your foot again," Jack said, interrupting his mental rant.

"I'm not doing anything with my foot," the Doctor protested.

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Are too."

"Are not!"

"Is this really the sophisticated intellect humans—and you, Doctor—have to offer?" spoke the Master, finishing the doodle of a dinosaur on his left forearm.

"You're the one drawing Barney!" said Mickey.

The Master set the cap back on the permanent marker. "Slander all you want. I am an artiste."

"I can't take this anymore!" the Doctor groaned, suddenly jumping to his feet. "I have to know what's going on. If I don't hear what's happening within the next two minutes, I'm going to—"

"Doctor?"

He froze. Recognizing the voice as Jackie Tyler's, the Doctor realized that he'd never been so thrilled to hear the wonderful, wonderful voice of his beaming mother-in-law.

Without a word, he spun around and followed Jackie out of the waiting room, finally ready to meet the Little Alien Baby.