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Chapter 29 – A Malfunction

Rose and the Doctor popped back to their island bedroom. As soon as they landed, the Doctor picked Rose up and carried her to the bed. "And to bed with you."

She laughed. "Baby, I'm really fine."

"Yes, you are. Extremely fine." He agreed as he laid her on the bed.

Rose rolled on her side to face him. "I've not had that much."

He smiled and lay down on his side in front of her. He moved his body to be as close to her as possible. She put her hand on his hip.

He ran his hand through her hair and kissed her on the end of the nose, "Woman. I can tell. You are completely….legless. You can't drink as much as you used to before Sam was born."

"You were the one that kept pouring my glass full!"

"Maybe I had alternative motives." He smiled at her and laid his hand on the side of her face. "Is the room spinning?"

She closed her eyes. "A bit."

"Here. I'll keep it from getting too bad. So, you won't get sick."

"I'm really alright."

"Yeah, Doctor Alright. Stop trying to be so brave."

Rose groaned, "You sound like Dad."

He kissed her lips as he kept his hand on the side of her face. "Tell me. Is it helping?"

She smiled, "I don't know what you are doing, but yes. The room is spinning, but I don't feel sick. It's….nice."

He smiled, "All of the fun without any of the pain."

She smiled as she kept her eyes closed. "This is nice. How are you doing that?"

He kissed her quickly, "I'll tell you in the morning. You won't remember if I tell you know." He laughed.

She giggled at him. "I'm really not that bad."

He kissed her again, slipping his tongue in her mouth briefly. "I'm sorry. I should let you sleep."

She put her hand on top of his that still rested on her face. "You can kiss me all night if you want to. I love you to kiss me."

He kissed her again. "I had to wait for so long to be able to kiss you, Rose. I never want to stop."

She closed her eyes and whispered. "How long did you wait?"

He kissed her again. He felt her slip her tongue into his mouth briefly. He licked her lips and snogged her for a few moments. She caught his bottom lip and sucked it. He moaned and kissed her on the end of the nose.

"Why is Pete so worried about you? Is something wrong?"

Rose didn't open her eyes. "I'm not sleeping. Before I got sick, I stopped sleeping. Dad thinks I'm about to get sick again."

He kissed her again. She smiled and didn't open her eyes. 'I love this. Will you stay here all night and kiss me?'

'All night, my darling. Yes. Timon has the children. They are fine. Sam is having a bottle now.'

He caressed her cheek with his thumb.

She whispered, "He is growing." She smiled proudly with her eyes closed.

"Tell me about this sickness you had. Before I came."

She held his hand on her face tightly. "No, Baby. You will worry. You will blame yourself."

He kissed her again, "I won't. Please, tell me. Rose, I might be able to help."

"I slept." She whispered.

"Slept?" He asked.

She didn't reply. He kissed her again and she woke up. She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "You are still kissing me."

He smiled warmly at her. "I should let you sleep. How long has it been since you slept? Properly?"

"I'm not sure." She told him as she closed her eyes again.

He leaned in and kissed her again. She laid her hand on the side of his face and snogged him back. He put his forehead to hers and rubbed her breast through her shirt.

'Rose. I'm going to let you sleep.'

'But, I'm enjoying kissing you so much.'

He smiled, 'Me too. But, you need to sleep.'

He slid his hand up her body and laid it back on the side of her face. He stopped kissing her, looked in her eyes and whispered, "I love you, Rose."

She whispered, "I love you." And closed her eyes. She could hear his voice speaking to her. He seemed to getting further away with each word.

"Dream of how much I love you. How much I adore you. You are the most important person to me. You are my other half and I'll do anything to keep you safe. Sleep, Sweetheart. I'm here with you."

She fell into a deep sleep. He kissed her forehead, and sat up to rub his own face. He took off her trainers and socks. She still wore the dress she had on earlier that day. He pulled the duvet over her and tucked her in.

After a quick pop into the closet to change into his jim jams, he lowered the lights and climbed back into the bed with her. He put on his glasses and propped himself up on several pillows with his tablet. He pulled Rose onto his chest, where she normally slept and kissed her head. He whispered, "I'll never finish falling in love with you."

He pulled her arm across his chest and kissed her hand.

She smiled in her sleep, and hugged his chest.

He turned on his tablet and logged into her medical records. He had looked at them before, but never had looked too closely at the mystery illness she had before his arrival. He looked back over the years. His heart filled with sadness when he reread the injuries she had sustained during her kidnapping. He was reminded at how close she had came to dying that night. How he had held her heart together with his hands. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought to himself, "Just, a patient. Just someone….else."

He went further back and saw all sorts of accident records. Sword fighting that resulted in a stabbing incident, a training exercise where her arm was dislocated. Another record of her running headlong into a swarm of angry, aliens who were firing at the Torchwood agents sent to stop them.

He stopped reading and closed his eyes again. He held his lips to her head and whispered, "You are alright. You are right here with me."

He sighed and found the report of her injuries after the attack she had went through in the labs. He reread everything and had to set the tablet down and wipe the tears from his eyes. The anger rose in him so quickly and strong, that Rose started to wake up. He quickly held her tightly and whispered, "I'm sorry. You are alright. You are safe and laying in the bed with me. Sleep, Rose. Rest."

He held her until he felt she had drifted back into a deep sleep. He clicked through the records and exhaled slowly. Then he found it. Three years before he had arrived, she was found unresponsive at the mansion. She appeared to have passed out while walking across the floor. Pete had her taken to Torchwood where she remained in a coma like state for two days. She ran a slight fever, and had very heavy brain activity during the coma. After she woke up, she remembered nothing of the two weeks prior to the sickness. She had blinding headaches, backaches and dizziness for three weeks afterwards. He took off his glasses and sat down the tablet next to him. He wrapped both of his arms around her and held her as she continued to sleep. He could feel her comfort as he became consumed in his own thoughts.

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The morning sun rose and shown through the windows and into the bedroom of the island home. Rose still lay on the Doctor's chest, sleeping. He lay with his eyes closed and ran his finger tips up and down her back.

The bedroom door slowly opened and Genie's small face peered in. The Doctor smiled at her and motioned for her to come to him. She smiled and ran over to the bed and gently climbed under the duvet with him. He wrapped his free arm around her, kissed her forehead and whispered, "Good morning, my Sara Gene."

She smiled at him. "Good morning. Is Mummy alright?"

He looked back at Rose and smiled, "She's sleeping. How are you this morning?"

"I'm better. I'm sorry I got so upset last night."

He shook his head. "I'm not cross with you. You were tired. But, next time….let's try to do that differently. Alright?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"Let's start over."

She nodded and lay down on his shoulder.

"Tell me. Did you have a nice time at Disneyworld?"

She rolled on her back and giggled. "Legate is so silly. We went on this ride with a dragon. He made it talk."

"He did? What did it say?"

"That it was going to eat me."

He chuckled. "What did you tell the dragon?"

"I told him to be honorable about it and not to make me part of a disgusting meal like Legate eats."

He laughed, "Well. That sounds right."

She giggled, "He was eating biscuits and salsa yesterday."

"Now, I like that."

"Daddy. That's nasty. You and Legate need your tongues checked."

He kissed her head. "Maybe so."

She rose her hands in front of her and watched as she bent her fingers together. "Is Lewis really alright?"

"That's right. You haven't seen Lewis. Would you like to see him, today?"

She continued to watch her fingers. "No. Not if he's hurt."

"He's alright. He is just tired. He has to rest a lot."

"Is he sad?"

"Yes. He doesn't want to talk about Arla."

"Why not?"

"Well. I imagine it makes him sadder. Like you and your Mum. How you don't like to talk about her."

She sighed, "I don't talk about her because it will make you sad."

"Oh. That's why?"

"Yes." She insisted. "It reminds you of your family. The one you lost."

He held his lips to her head. "Well, thank you for considering my feelings. But, Daddy is made of strong stuff. If you need to talk to me-"

"No, Daddy. No one can be made of anything that strong."

Rose took a deep breath and rolled over on her back.

He turned his head to look at Rose. "I'm sorry. We didn't wake you, did we?"

She rubbed her eyes and opened them. "No. We?"

Genie rose up and smiled at her. "Good morning."

Rose smiled at her. "Good morning, Genie. Did you sleep well?"

She laughed, "I've been up for hours. It's nearly lunch. Jack and I have been playing chess. He's really good and I'm going to beat him."

There was a knock at the door. The Doctor pointed at the door and whispered to Genie. "Tell him to come in."

Genie laughed and called to the door. "Come in!"

Jack popped his head in the door. "See? I knocked. Bedroom and all."

Rose laughed. "Very good idea."

The Doctor waved him in the room. He was surprised when he saw he was carrying a tray that contained two plates with a lovely full English on each. He sat on the side of the bed and Genie hugged him. He kissed her face and smiled at her. "Here, you can help Uncle Jack."

She sat back and put sugar and cream in the cups as Jack poured tea for the Doctor and Rose.

The Doctor looked back at Rose, 'What is he about to ask of me to be bringing us breakfast in bed?'

Rose smiled, "Jack? This is really nice. Thank you."

He handed them both their tea. "It's nothing. Timon said you were finally awake."

The Doctor blew his tea. "I was just lying down with Rose. I didn't sleep."

"You've been lying down since you guys got home from the bar?"

He nodded his head.

Jack smiled. "You're going to have to do the Krackenflubitst. Especially with this ancient beds here. Do you need help?"

The Doctor shook his head. "I'm not that bad."

Jack stood up and smiled, "Right, Old Man. Stand up and walk across the floor. I bet your back is done."

Rose shook her head. "What are you talking about? The Krack?"

The Doctor groaned. "Krackenflubitst. It realigns your back."

Jack rubbed his chin, "That's right. You've probably never heard of it. It's 31st century medicine."

Genie giggled, "Sounds like a good name for a dragon."

The Doctor bopped her on the end of the nose with his finger. "You and your dragons."

He stood up slowly as Jack explained. "When you aren't used to lying on your back for a long period of time, especially with the beds you have during this time, it will make the cartilage in your spine compress. Make you feel stiff."

Rose nodded her head. "Like if I was to sleep for say…."

The Doctor leaned over, "A week. Oh man. Jack. I think you're right."

Jack put his hands on his hips. "Want to go against a wall? Or just right here?"

"I can do it. I'll just go to the wall." He moaned as he walked slowly to the side of the bedroom to a blank place in the wall.

Genie watched him. "I don't understand. What's wrong with Daddy?"

Jack smiled, "Oh. He'll be fine in just a bit. It's sort of like the Heimlich maneuver. They have that now, don't they?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yes. That was published in 1974. They know about it."

Jack smiled and nodded. "Right. Some people can do it to themselves. Others need help. I think he can do it himself."

Rose sat up and watched as the Doctor knelt down and stood on his head with his legs on the wall behind him.

Genie giggled. "That looks mad."

Jack smiled at her. "Nah. It's normal."

He pushed himself into a handstand, then slowly allowed his body to fall back towards the floor. Before his feet hit the floor, he twisted his waist quickly and they heard his back pop twice. He stood up and cracked his neck. "Ah! Yes! Right then. All better. That was a good idea, Jack! Thanks for that."

He bounced on his feet as he walked back to the bed and sat down next to Rose and Genie. He sipped his tea.

Rose smiled at him. "Maybe we should copy the bed from the ship down here. If that makes you more comfortable."

He looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "I thought you liked this bed."

"Sweetheart, a bed is a bed to me."

He raised his eyebrows, "Hmmm…. I'll look into it. Don't worry about me, Rose."

Rose shook her head and groaned.

Jack smiled and sat down next to him. "So, Pete called and wanted me to have you come into the office. He says you have meetings."

Rose pointed at herself. "Me?"

He pointed at the Doctor. "Him."

The Doctor grabbed the bacon and popped it in his mouth. "Pete. Not Jake?"

Jack smiled and shook his head. "Jake is a bit….put out….with me."

The Doctor leaned over and grabbed a thumb drive off of the table next to the bed. He smiled at Genie. "My Sara Gene. Could you take this to Timon for me? He's just downstairs. Tell Lance I'll be down in a few minutes."

She took the thumb drive. "Sure, Daddy."

She skipped out of the room.

Rose asked, "You aren't worried she'll lose that?"

He looked back at her and shook his head. "I have a copy of it on my tablet. Interesting stuff."

She nodded.

The Doctor looked at Jack. "There are a few empty flats outside. Take one and get yourself sorted. Maybe you and Jake just need some time apart."

Jack ran his hand through his hair. "Maybe so."

Rose suggested. "Have you thought about maybe just stepping back? Maybe dating? Take it slow?"

Jack nodded. "To be completely honest, I've thought about using the Vortex Manipulator and just going someplace. This….sitting in one place is wearing on my nerves. How do you do it?"

The Doctor sipped his tea. "I've promised Rose I wouldn't."

"But you can't be happy just sitting in one-"

"I am." He insisted as he put his free hand on Rose's lap. "I have things I have to attend to here. I've lived without time travel before."

He looked at Rose and they both smiled at one another.

Jack nodded his head. "Well, I have too. And, maybe it's just the thing with me and Jake. But…."

Rose smiled as the Doctor rose her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Maybe you need a holiday, Jack. You've been here, working or fussing with Jake. You're not used to being around all of us all of the time."

The Doctor pointed at him. "I have something you could do that will involve time travel. If you're up for it."

Jack looked concerned. "I worry. Alright. Tell me. What do you have on your mind?"

"This damn Shakespeare thing. Those damn guys John Heminges and Henry Condell published Shakespeare's plays, but under their names. Not his. No one here knows who it is. Go back and fix that."

Jack smiled, "Sure. I can do that. 16 what?"

The Doctor thought. "1632. That's when they published the text known as the First Folio. That should be written by Shakespeare. Not those two, idiots."

Rose giggled, "Why didn't Shakespeare stop them?"

"He died in 1616."

"Of what?"

He shook his head. "It's a great mystery. No one knows. He signed his will just a month before and was pronounced in perfect health."

Jack stood up and rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Yes. I can do that! That sounds like fun! Thanks, man."

The Doctor watched as Jack opened the Vortex Manipulator he wore on his wrist and typed in some things.

"1632, right?" He asked.

"Yes. But, before you go-"

Jack disappeared.

The Doctor dropped his hand. "Damn it."

Rose could feel his frustration. "What's wrong?"

He groaned and rubbed his face. "I wanted to look at that Vortex Manipulator before he used it. It's so…unreliable. Who knows where he ended up."

She sipped her tea. "You know where he is. Tell me."

He sighed and sat back. He seemed to be listening to something. "1629, 1630. That's alright. But, there's not another ripple until….no. That can't be right. Jake is not going to like this. Not at all."

Rose could feel his dread. "When does he arrive back?"

He looked at her in surprise. "About 16 months from now."

Rose's mouth dropped open. "16 months?! Jake's really not going to be happy."

He groaned and covered his face with both of his hands. "Damn it. Damn that, Jack! Damn." Then he started to swear in languages Rose didn't understand.

She rubbed his thigh. "Baby. I'll tell Jake. He should hear it from me."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll tell him. I need to go into the office today for ….. shit." He shook his head in disbelief. "Jack and meetings. What a strange life I have now."

Rose giggled at him. "Genie and Sam. You have us, too."

He smiled back at her. "And you. The best part of all of my lives. Yes."

She smiled back at him and watched as he continued to listen to something.

He shook his head. "It might be 15 months. That's odd. It's usually clearer than this. It's rather fuzzy."

"Why?"

He looked back at her, "I'm not sure. But, when we talk to Jake, we can't tell him why he went back. Otherwise, he won't be able to change it. Does that make sense?"

Rose shook her head. "Not really. But, you understand this more than I do."

He nodded his head and looked back at her. "We can tell Jake after he returns." He sat back in surprise. "15 months. Damn."

Rose stood up and walked towards the closet.

"Where are you going?" He held his hands at her in surprise.

She didn't turn around. "To change."

He nodded his head. "Right. To change. Ugh. I can't believe this. Damn it." He followed her. "One day, Rose. One day, I'm going to be able to have a conversation about Jack Harkness that doesn't raise my blood pressure!"

"Really doubt that, Love."

He threw his hands in the air as he walked to the closet. "Damn it! That….Jack! Damn!"

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