Chapter 18 Christmas Presents
He grinned and took her hand. They walked together down the stairs to the den. The light from the star was so bright. A manifestation of their new family. When they got to the couch he had a pot of tea and cookies all ready in front of the fire. She looked at him and said "You're good, You're really, very good. That is just what I need." She poured for both of them and they relaxed on the couch.
Rose took his hand in need of comfort. "So, you were in the Tardis. Did you see the screen?"
"Yes, I saw it."
"Is she human or Gallifreyan?"
"She's beautiful, just like her mother." He kissed her on the forehead.
"Tell me." Rose was dead serious. He decided to give it to her straight.
"She has two hearts and three brainstems." Rose didn't flinch. "At this point it's too early to tell the rest."
"Will she be healthy? Is there anything I should be looking out for?" Rose was scared, not knowing what to expect. This was her first baby, and it was an alien baby. He could feel her fear and tried to comfort her. "Her Gallifreyan traits will tend to be dominant, if diminished. That means she will be extremely healthy. We removed diseases from our genetic line long ago. It should be a normal pregnancy, except in length.
She will mature much faster than a human child." Rose stared at the fire. "Will she be able to regenerate?" "I don't know, but, probably." Rose was solemn "I remember what it's like to regenerate, from when you showed me your life in the meadow." Rose burst into tears. "I can't bear the thought of her going through all that pain." She was inconsolable.
"Rose." He held her gently. "Listen to me. It's part of being my child, and she will bear it, as I do. She will have both of us to love and guide her. It's going to be ok. Trust me." He smiled and held her close. "Funny, there are things about her being human that worry me." Rose was pulling it together for his sake. "Like what?" she sniffed.
He chuckled, "Well if she is anything like you, she'll have a temper, and a stubborn streak a mile wide. She's going to wrap me around her finger, and I'm going to spoil her rotten. Just telling you now." Rose smiled at the thought of her little girl getting the better of the Time Lord. He could feel Rose begin to relax a bit.
She grimaced, "You know we'll have to leave here sooner or later to give her a proper education. Home schooling is only good so far and she needs to learn to interact with others. She'll need friends and someone special to be a prom date. Then there's a career and her own place.." "That's years from now." he moaned. "She's not even born yet, can't we just enjoy her for a little while before we plan her whole life?"
Rose smiled and started making fun of him. "I suppose you're right. Even if I do have her wedding gown all picked out." He visibly shivered, "Stop that! She's the most beautiful little girl in the galaxy, and she's going to stay that way!" Rose asked a bit shyly. "Then you didn't wish for a boy? A man wants a son to follow in his footsteps." He grabbed her and gave her a big sloppy kiss. "I love you, and I love her. And who's to say she won't follow in my footsteps? Or better yet, make her own.
Besides, boy or girl she can always change if she wants." Rose looked at him with that, I don't understand look. "Oh…, never mind" The Time Lord tried to back peddle. Rose had a sinking feeling. "Never mind what?" He smiled wishing he hadn't spoken out of turn. "Did I forget to mention, Time Lords can change their sex when they regenerate."
"Yes! Yes you did! Do you mean to tell me if you regenerate I could be married to a woman!" "Yepp." He popped the p and grinned at her. He was having way too much fun with her discomfort. "Oh, don't worry about it wife. Most of us stay the same sex through all our regenerations, but it's not unheard of. Not always a conscious decision, it generally takes quite a trauma for someone to want to change that drastically."
Rose still felt weird about it. "Is there anything else I need to know about Time Lords before I have your child?" He took her face in his hands and kissed her so gently and completely she forgot what the fuss was about. He looked deep into her hazel brown eyes, "Only that I love you with all my soul." Rose snuggled in close to him wanting to change the subject.
"That pot of tea was a lovely surprise. Thank you."
"That's not the surprise, this is."
He pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it. Inside was a ring. A perfect circle of gold with a white gem, bright as the star on the tree. She looked at it amazed. "I found it today and thought it was about time. It belonged to my mother. It's a white point star.
More than a diamond, they are found only on Gallifrey. This is the last one in the universe." He placed it on her finger and kissed her hand. "Will you wear it for me?" She looked into his eyes, about to burst with the love she felt for him. "I will wear it always."
"Oh, and one more thing Rose. Something I want you to know." Without ceremony he whispered his name in her ear. Offered to her in humility and total trust. Her eyes widened in shock. He looked at her solemnly. "It is my gift to you for clarifying my life. For giving me peace, and the understanding I need to go forward. I can look at the past now and not be afraid of the pain. I can stop running from it and perhaps do something about it.
I can never repay you for what you have given me, and so, I wanted to share who I am with you." Rose looked up at him with adoring eyes. "I am so proud that you would tell me." She hesitated a moment.
Rose was, as always, curious. "But can I ask? It's so simple, why is it such a secret? Does knowing it hold some kind of power over you?" He laughed, "No, it has no power. Do you remember my telling you about the cloister wraiths? The prophecy that a hybrid would stand in the ruins of Gallifrey?" She nodded. "There was a little more to it than that.
They actually used my name. That's why they let me go unharmed. That's why I was so terrified. Everyone knew my name back then. My friends at the academy, my foster parents, my teachers. I knew if anyone else heard the prophecy my life would be in danger. I don't doubt that they would execute me for such a thing.
When I got out of the cloister I started to call myself "The Doctor". Knowing they would forget my true name in time. They would assume I wanted to change it because it was so strange and different, being a human name, and most of them couldn't pronounce it anyway." He winced at the memory. "You should have heard some of the ways they twisted it. It was always a source of embarrassment for me, but father insisted I keep it to honor my mother's memory.
I chose, The Doctor, first because I knew I wanted to help those in trouble. And second, it has its own air of authority. A sense of pride and confidence I needed very much back then." Rose smiled "I understand, and it makes perfect sense. I guess that makes me a Doctor's wife." She smiled with her own sense of pride. "Mum would love it.
Hey, if anyone ever asks, can I use Mrs. John Smith? You've used that one often enough." He chuckled, "Yes, if you like. It's better than some I have used in jest." He hesitated to ask her, but wanted to know. "You haven't called me Doctor since the wedding. Why not?"
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