The next time the Doctor woke up, the unhappy Time Lord was back. He wrapped himself tighter around the pillow that had replaced Jack's leg while he slept. The drugs continued to dull the pain in his stomach but did nothing to stop the queasiness. He let out a long low groan as he rolled onto his back, still holding the pillow against his chest. His abdomen protested the movement and he bit the pillow to stop from crying out. He forced his eyes open to see that he was alone on his side of the medi-bay at the moment. Through tear filled eyes he turned them to see the doctor's working over by the incubators. Jack was with them, speaking softly to Martha. He was worried that there was something wrong with the babies and the longer Jack stayed over there the more concerned he became.
"Jack," he finally whimpered moving the pillow away from his face and alerting them to the fact that he was awake.
"I'm right here sweetheart," Jack spoke up rushing over to his side.
"What's wrong with my babies?" The Doctor questioned softly in concern. Jack furrowed his brow in confusion.
"The babies are doing well. Martha and I were just discussing long-care for Anwen. Martha was curious if it would be possible to create a pill form of the energy medication so that we didn't have to give her daily injections for the rest of her life," Jack explained to the Doctor.
"I don't know. I haven't had time to try to create a pill. I can work on that once I wake up a little more," the Doctor whispered. Jack sat down on the edge of the bed, running his fingers along the side of the Doctor's head. Despite the Doctor's offer it was easy to see that he wasn't going to be able to work on the pill today or even tomorrow. He was barely keeping his eyes open and was still way too pale.
"It can wait a few days sweetheart. She is too little to take pills right now, anyway. Also, we still have plenty of vials of her medication at the moment," Jack explained to him. The Doctor nodded his agreement, wishing that he hadn't when the room began to spin. He moaned closing his eyes tightly. "Are you alright, Doc?"
"Dizzy," The Doctor answered. He pushed the pillow aside as he reached out to take Jack's arm in his hands holding on tightly.
"Is it going off?" Martha wondered as she joined them standing beside the bed. He made the mistake of shaking his head no causing the dizziness to get worse. He swallowed hard trying not to be sick even if it wasn't possible with the anti-emetic in his system. He couldn't help groaning again as a cool stethoscope was pressed against his chest listening to one heart than the other. He put up with her test as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his bicep then pricked his finger to test his energy levels. "Open your eyes for a moment," Martha requested. He forced his eyes, closing them again quickly as a bright light was shone in them from Martha's pen light.
"Martha," he complained with his tone.
"Alright, I'm sorry. You lost a lot of blood earlier today and both your energy levels and blood pressure are low. I have already added your energy medication and potassium to the IV, so I will be monitoring you closely but I am not going to give you additional medication at the moment unless your energy levels start to fall," Martha explained to him.
"K," He answered not really caring. He wanted more than anything at the moment to slip off back to sleep in Jack's arms, yet he couldn't bring himself to move as he was afraid that he would get dizzy again.
"You must be feeling poorly if you aren't going to argue me," Martha exclaimed. He shrugged at her not responding verbally. He trusted Martha to take care of him while he was sick and wasn't in the mood to argue her.
"Lay with me," He requested tugging on Jack's arm as he chose not to answer her.
"I don't know if I want to since you are planning on castrating me," Jack teased him even as he toed his shoes off.
"Jack," He complained with his tone tugging harder on Jack's arm. He wasn't sure where the idea of castrating Jack had come from because while he had thought about it, he was positive that he hadn't voiced it recently to Jack. Also, he wouldn't need to castrate Jack if the surgery worked and kept him from getting pregnant a third time. He wasn't sure if Martha had actually managed to remove the uterus completely but even if she did, only time would tell if his body would regrow the missing tissue. He thought about asking her except he decided the conversation could wait as he felt the bed shift as Jack joined him fully on the bed.
"Alright, I've got you," Jack whispered laying down and taking him gently in his arms while moving the Time Lord as little as possible. The Doctor whimpered turning his head to face Jack as he pushed himself so that he was laying partly on his side. Jack held him supporting him as he whimpered again. He breathed in Jack's unique scent thankful that despite all the marital problems they had over the last year that Jack was still there when he needed him the most. Every day that passed it became easier to believe that Jack had truly changed and that he no longer had to worry about waking up to an angry husband and going to sleep each night next to a stranger that he had once loved. He kissed Jack softly on the chest as he drifted off back to sleep safe in his arms.
-DW-
Jack laid with the Doctor until he was sure that he was sound asleep. Then as carefully as possible, he untangled himself from his arms, guiding him to lay back against the pillows. The Doctor complained half-heartedly as he was moved but Jack continued to lay beside him until he settled back down. Watching the Doctor closely, he finally managed to ease himself off the bed. It seemed as if his foot had just hit the ground when the Doctor opened his eyes a crack to look for him.
"I'm cold," He complained reaching out his arms much like a child asking to be picked up.
"I have to use the loo, Doc. I promise, though, that I will be right back," Jack told him. The Doctor lowered his arms, watching as Jack hurried to the loo. Jack used the toilet then took his time washing his hands. While he loved his husband, he really didn't feel like laying in bed all day holding him. He wanted to go check on Imogen and then call his oldest daughter, Alice and let her know that she had new siblings. It had been awhile since he spoke to her last and he was curious about how she was doing. Stalling as long as possible, he returned to the medi-bay. He bit back a sigh as the Doctor's arms immediately rose again. Climbing back on the bed, he resigned himself to being the Doctor's pillow for a little longer.
Twice more over the next few hours, he tried to get out of the bed. The first time he made it to the door of the medi-bay before the Doctor called out to him. He lied telling the Doctor he was just going for coffee. Once again he took his time only to find the Doctor still awake waiting once more. The second time he tried was the last as the Doctor didn't even let him get his feet on the floor as his arm was gripped tightly. The Doctor opened his eyes to stare up at him with sad, sleepy eyes and Jack sighed audibly before resigning himself to be the Doctor's pillow for the next few hours. Therefore, he welcomed the distraction when Imogen came rushing into the room.
"Papa," She cried out happily running over to the bed. She was wearing her long white nightgown and her hair pulled back in a single braid.
"Did you escape from Grandma?" Jack questioned.
"I wanted to see daddy," She pouted. Jack made a tutting noise with his mouth as he shook his head.
"Daddy is sleeping. You can give him a quick hug but be careful not to wake him," Jack told her. She nodded happily as Jack reached down to help her crawl on the bed. Imogen crawled over Jack, wrapping her arms around the Doctor tightly. The Doctor smiled as he opened his eyes hugging her back.
"My baby," he whispered kissing her softly on the head and making Jack realize his mistake. Both Imogen and the Doctor were touch telepaths and he often comforted her with his mind, therefore it was normal for her to reach her own mind out to him as soon as she was in his arms. The Doctor didn't seem to mind, however, as he cuddled her between them.
"Can I sleep with you tonight, Daddy?" Imogen questioned, her little lip sticking out.
"Of course," The Doctor answered before Jack could object to the idea.
"You just had surgery, sweetheart," Jack reminded him. The Doctor looked at Jack then back to Imogen.
"She'll be careful not to hit me in the stomach, won't you Kui'la?" The Doctor wondered. She nodded eagerly. "See problem solved."
"I've missed you," Imogen informed the Doctor as she cuddled as close to him as she could get.
"I love you my baby and I've missed you so much," The Doctor told her as he kissed her on the top of the head. No longer having the heart to separate them, Jack placed a small pillow between Imogen and the Doctor's stomach to keep her from accidently kicking him. Tucking the blankets over them, he laid back down wrapping his arm over Imogen and placing it on the Doctor's arm. He still wasn't tired but he held them until they drifted off to sleep and he was finally able to extract himself from the bed without waking the Doctor. Looking at the time, he headed quickly to his office to call his oldest daughter and let her know the good news. He just hoped that she took it well.
