Okay, so, this time, I really DO have a good excuse! You see, there I was, sitting on a bus and writing my fanfiction in a notebook when this rabid racoon came outta nowhere…!
Erm, that's not gonna fly with you guys, is it? No? Hmm.
Fine, I admit it! There was no racoon – I'm just so lazy :( A thousand, million, trillion apologies for leaving you at such a cliff hanger! I have just been busy trying to get through schoolwork, like the Personal Project – which I've bitched so much about, you guys must feel like you've done it too -_-"
Good news about that too – I passed with a pretty brilliant mark :):):) and I can proudly say I've managed to write a novel in my life, cuz that's what I did my Personal Project on, lool XD
Okay, enough of my rambling: Here is the next chapter!
Disclaimer: Not mine. Although I have grown rather attached to 11 + Amy – what do you guys reckon? I watched the first and second episodes with them, and they're brill, but I haven't had time to watch the next few -_-"
Human Nature
Chapter 24
Jack sat in the idling car, one strong arm still wrapped around Donna as she snoozed against his shoulder. He tried to keep his eyes on the windows, should it turn out that John was wrong and the Family was still on the loose, but every-so-often his baby blues drifted down to watch the sleeping Donna, who looked beautiful even in slumber. Pregnancy looked great on her – her hair was thick and shiny, her skin was flawless, and her lips were red and plump. Perfectly kissable.
Jack shook his head suddenly, in an attempt to shake off these thoughts – yes, Donna was pregnant. With another man's baby. Albeit, a dead man's baby, but another man's baby nonetheless. It wasn't Jack's place to intrude upon that, not unless Donna wanted him too, which sometimes he thought she did, but sometimes she retaliated against his advances so violently that it knocked his confidence.
Besides, any minute now, the Doctor would come strolling back into both their lives after this three month absence, ready to hop onboard the Tardis and whisk Donna off into time and space, as if nothing had changed.
Jack couldn't help but scowl of the image on this in his head, and rationally tried to convince himself that neither of them could just vanish now – things had changed. Donna was pregnant – travelling aboard the Tardis was no place to raise a child. More importantly, though, Rose was pregnant – with the Doctor's baby! The Doctor was the flightiest person Jack had ever met, but he knew the responsibilities of raising kids, as well as the joy and excruciating love a man felt for his offspring.
Jack smiled fondly, thinking off his own daughter – Alice. About a year before he'd met the Doctor and Donna, and became caught up in their lifestyle, Jack had visited Cardiff, circa 2001 and shared a one-night stand with a friend-of-a-friend, Elizabeth Herold. She had become pregnant and gave birth to the most beautiful little girl in the whole world. Unfortunately, the responsibilities had become too much for Jack, and when the opportunity came to visit the World War Two era, he'd leapt at the chance to have some time to himself. Since he'd returned, and joined Torchwood, he had made an effort to make amends. Alice had turned seven about four months ago, and Elizabeth had thrown an elaborate birthday party and invited Jack – it was the last time he'd seen her, but they chatted on the phone frequently. He missed her.
Feeling Donna stir in his embrace, Jack turned to look at her once more, just as her eyes opened to reveal the blue-green irises that constantly haunted his mind.
"Jack?" she asked, sleepily, sitting up and rubbing her sore neck.
"Morning, sunshine," Jack grinned widely, "How you feeling?"
"Tired." came the reply, "Have I missed anything?"
"Nothing," Jack confirmed with a sigh, "Just waiting."
"Do you think they opened the watch? Do you think he's back yet?" Donna asked eagerly, sitting up. Jack shrugged nonchalantly, irrationally annoyed by Donna's excitement at seeing the Doctor again. He was about to say something, and change the subject, when Donna stiffened, her eyes fixating on something outside of Jack's window.
"Oh my God," she whispered. Jack whipped his head around to look out the glass, and saw…
John. John walking towards the car, and Rose trailing behind. Except…it wasn't John. John would've walked beside Rose, chatting about anything with his head dipped slightly, shyly, and an attentive gaze fixated on her. This man was anything but shy and attentive – his head was lifted in a confident manner, and it was clear he had other things on his mind than attentiveness. Rose, for her part, kept as much distance between her and him as possible, staring at him like he was a stranger. Which, technically, he was.
Donna was out of the car like a rocket, so eager to find out if it was finally over. He raised his arms, outstretched towards her, and she carriered into them, embracing him firmly.
"Doctor?" she whispered into his ear, her throat clenching emotionally. He grinned widely, and stepped back, holding Donna at arms' length as he looked her over.
"The one and only!" he confirmed, his smile and eyes so wonderfully mad and Doctor-ish, "It's been a while, Donna Noble!"
"God, how I've missed you!" Donna cried, hugging him again. Relief filled her – it had been a gruelling couple of months, and to know that the Doctor was back, and life could go back to normal was so comforting.
Rose hung in the background, her face pallid and her arms wrapped tightly around her midsection, watching the scene before her with cold eyes. This man looked so much like her John, yet there was something so different that Rose couldn't even pretend they were the same person. This Doctor was more confident, held his head higher, and had an air of genius and cockiness about him. He seemed perfectly nice, though, and Donna looked ecstatic to see him, but already Rose was missing John, and her mind kept drifting to the now-fatherless baby inside her.
As if on cue, Rose felt an agonizing stab in her belly, and she couldn't keep in the yelp of pain as she clutched at the fabric of her shirt. Instantly, Donna tore herself away from the Doctor and ran to her friend, wrapping one arm around her and allowing the other to take hold of Rose's hand.
"Rose? Rose, what is it?" she demanded, "What's wrong?"
"My stomach…it hurts!" Rose moaned, feeling her knees buckling, and Donna staggered as the blonde fell to the ground. Jack leapt out of the car and joined the pair on the floor, while the Doctor kept a indifferent distance.
"Is it the baby?" Jack asked worriedly. Rose's tear-filled eyes opened wide.
"Oh, God, what if I'm loosing it?" she exclaimed, her voice choked, "My baby…!"
"You're not loosing it." came a cool voice. The three of them looked up and stared at the Doctor, totally frozen except for Rose's uncomfortable writhing from the pain.
"I must be!" Rose gasped, still clutching her stomach, "It hurts so much!"
"No, you're alright," the Doctor insisted, and Rose could've sworn she heard the tiniest trace of tenderness sneak into his tone, before it was replaced by a matter-of-fact voice, "You and I – well, John Smith – created this baby, which means it has my – I mean, his – DNA. Now, of course, John Smith's DNA has become Time Lord, so part of the baby's genes are also changing to Time Lord, hence the pain. Don't worry to much; it should be over soon,"
With that, he stuck his hands in the pockets of the jeans he was wearing and smiled widely.
"Now, are we going to sit here all day, or shall we go find my TARDIS?"
Jack and Donna gaped at him, before she stammered, "So…so, Rose's baby is becoming…Time Lord?"
"Yep. She'll be fine – you'll be fine," the Doctor assured them.
"Is that all you have to say?" Donna demanded, hugging Rose tightly. The blonde grunted uncomfortably, gripping her redheaded friend's hand tighter. Instantly, the Doctor's demeanor changed and he stepped forward a couple of paces. Rose shrank back, and Jack moved in front of the two women, as if to protect them. The Doctor blinked at their actions, before letting out a bark of a laugh.
"Jack, come on!" he beamed, "What do you think I'm going to do? Hit two women? Pregnant women at that!"
Jack bit down on his lower lip – he hadn't known the Doctor to be prone to violence, but who knew whether or not he'd changed. Somewhat warily, Jack shifted to his feet and allowed the Doctor to advance closer to Rose, and bent down to her level.
"Can you walk?" the Doctor asked gently. Rose shook her head, to agonized to be wary of him. In one swift move, the Doctor wrapped one arm around Rose's back and slid the other beneath her knees, before scooping her into his embrace, bridal style.
"Let's get you into the car," he said, turning and carrying her towards the automobile. Forgetting herself for a moment, Rose snuggled into his chest; he still smelt like John.
"Okay," she breathed, muffled. The Doctor smiled, before tossing over his shoulder at Donna, "We still have a lot of things to discuss."
He threw a meaningful look at her, and Donna stiffened – that couldn't be good.