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Chapter 40 - Football Stress Relief

The Doctor and Tony walked down the hallways of the ship. The robe Tony wore was open, and flowed behind him as they walked along.

The Doctor looked over at him, "You know, I could send you back-"

Tony threw his hand up to dismiss his statement. "Nah. Don't worry about it. Being out here with you keeps me out of that damn Christmas party tonight."

He chuckled, "You really don't want to go that bad?"

Tony groaned as he stopped walking and faced his friend. "I really don't. I hate that shit."

"Why?"

Tony put his hands on his hips and looked at him. "Let's see how I can put this. Ever avoided a party because you are sure you will see one of your ex's there?"

"Sort of."

Tony pointed at him as he walked off, "That's a good reason. Times, maybe 100."

The Doctor chuckled as he joined him, "Playboy. You did that to yourself."

"Don't I know it? Hell, I regret nothing. Well, several of them. But."

The Doctor shook his head and laughed. "That's the same, too."

Tony looked back at him, "Oh, I did that where you came from?"

"That was the story. I don't know if it was true or not."

Tony laughed proudly.

They arrived at the spot in the hallway where the Doctor turned to go to his suite. "Alright. I'll see you in a bit."

Tony continued to walk. "Right."

The Doctor pressed the button next to the suite's door and walked inside. Genie was handing Legate a plate to put back on the food replicator. She had clearly just finished having her dinner.

She turned and saw him, "Daddy!"

He leaned down and held out his arms which she jumped into and hugged him tightly. He smiled and groaned as he held her. "There she is! My precious Sara Gene."

She leaned back and looked at him, "Legate and I are going to play. Where is Tony?"

"Tony went home to his Mum and Dad. It's Christmas. Can you imagine Grand?"

"I don't understand why you brought us to the ship. Are we still helping Grandfather?" she asked.

"Yes. We are. It was a bit more complex than I thought at first." He laid his forehead to hers.

Legate walked over to stand with them. "We are going to the Top Observation Deck. I thought she needed to run around a bit. Would you like to join us?"

"I might. I have something I need to chat with Rose about first."

Legate nodded his head and looked towards the bedroom. "She's giving Sam a feed. Or changing a nappy, or something. I don't recall."

Genie smiled, "She's giving Sam a feed. That's what she said."

The Doctor smiled and kissed her cheek. "Tell me Sara Gene. Do you think Santa will visit us while we are on the ship?"

She tapped her lips with her finger as she thought, "Maybe. If he doesn't, I know he will just deliver everything to our house. How long until we get back there?"

"It will be a few days."

"Where are we going? Someplace neat?" she asked.

"We might end up someplace you like." He told her quietly.

She smiled, "That's better than anything Father Christmas could bring me."

He chuckled as he kissed her again. "If they lined up every little girl in the entire universe, which one would I pick to be mine?"

Genie smiled at him and giggled, "Me."

"That's right. Always remember that."

She held his neck tightly.

He looked at Legate and choked out, "Tony is getting dressed. I think he's going down to the hanger to work on something."

"Doesn't he have another suit up here?"

"Yeah. He has three."

Genie quickly leaned back and looked at him, "My Tony is with us?!"

He smiled at her. "He is."

She danced in his arms. "Brilliant!"

"Don't be a pest to him."

She rolled her eyes. "I won't be."

He sat her down on the floor. She took Legate's hand and led him out of the room. The Doctor stood alone for a few minutes. He took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips. He reached out in his mind.

'Rose.' He asked.

She was so shielded, he couldn't tell where she was.

He sighed.

'Rose. Do you need me to bring you anything? A cup of tea? Glass of whiskey?'

The door to their bedroom opened. He walked over and stood in the doorway. She sat in the middle of the bed, feeding Sam. She looked surprised at him, "Whiskey?"

He laughed as he shook his head. "It got your attention."

She looked down at Sam and smiled, "You are so silly. I'd love a cup of tea."

He nodded his head. "Coming right up."

He disappeared back into the sitting room as Rose stood up and walked in the room to join him. She sat down on the sofa, still with Sam in her arms. The Doctor walked over and sat a tray in front of her. It contained tea for them, a bowl of strawberries, grapes and some small sandwiches.

She looked down as Sam finished with his dinner.

"Is he done? Here, give him to me." He held his hands out. Rose handed him the small baby. He put him on his shoulder and started to pat his back.

Rose sat up and took a sandwich and her cuppa. "Thank you for this."

He shook his head, "It's nothing. Thank you for this." He glanced at Sam.

She smiled. "He feels heavier to me."

"He's gained some weight. No doubt from being a pig today." He told him as he burped. He laid him down his lap and smiled at him. Sam smiled back up at him and grabbed his face as he leaned down. "I know you love Daddy not having a beard."

Sam coo'ed.

He blew air onto Sam's stomach, making him laugh.

"Where is Genie?" Rose asked.

He smiled at Sam. "She's with Legate."

She sipped her tea. "Does Tony have any clothes to change into?"

He looked back at her, "Yeah. He kept all of his stuff up here from when we were gone last time."

She nodded her head as she held her cup.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "No."

He nodded, "That's alright." He smiled at Sam. "Samuel Tyler-Smith. You are growing. I can tell."

Sam coo'ed as he lifted his hands towards him.

He laughed proudly at him. "This never gets old. They are always so different."

Rose pat his thigh as she felt sadness from him. "Are you alright?"

He smiled at Sam. "I'm perfectly fine. Just playing with the baby."

Rose pulled her legs under herself.

"Any pain?" he asked her.

"No. I feel…..full. But, nothing really hurts."

"That's good." He smiled at Sam. "That's because some child is being a pig!"

Rose giggled as she pulled a blanket over herself.

Sam coo'ed again.

"Alright. I'll put you were you can see the lights." He stood up and took Sam into the bedroom. Rose heard him turn on the music box on the side of the cot. He returned and sat next to her on the sofa, picking up his cup of tea. He blew it as he sat back and put his arm on the back of the sofa.

He mumbled, "Alright. So, we're not talking about it."

She sat her tea down. "No, we are. What is going on with you?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You've been…..I don't know. I catch glimpses of something. I can't put my finger on it. It's almost like an….intense, indiscernible fear. A sadness."

"You can feel that?"

She dropped her shoulders, "Daft alien. We're joined. I feel everything you do."

He bit his lip as he looked at her. "Nah, I don't want to talk about that. No way."

She rolled her eyes. "This is a very productive chat."

"Like most of our chats." He said as he stood up and ran his hand through his hair. Rose watched as he walked over to the screen on the wall and pressed a few buttons. Music started to play in the room. She recognized it as 'Can't Help Falling in Love' by Haley Reinhart. He walked over and took her hand and started to dance with her.

She smiled as she laid her head on his shoulder. "It's been a while since we've danced together."

He kissed her forehead as he held her close.

Neither of them said anything as they danced. When the next song, 'I'm Not in Love' by 10CC began, Rose finally spoke. "How weirded out was he?"

He shook his head. "Not bad. I explained. He's alright with it. He's just relieved he is out of pain. I can imagine how bad that had to hurt."

They continued to dance. He could feel how guarded she was.

He laid his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. He whispered, "Sweetheart, what are you shielding from me?"

She leaned back and looked at him. "That's rich. What are you keeping from me?"

He sighed as he put his hands on his hips and looked at her.

After a bit of him not saying anything, she smacked him across the chest. "You deserve worse than that." She turned around and went back to sit on the sofa.

He groaned as he shook his head. "Rose."

She covered herself back up with the blanket as he joined her on the sofa. He propped his head up on his fist and looked at her.

"How pissed are you?" he asked.

"I'm trying not to be."

"Tell me why."

"I can tell you are keeping something from me. Something I should know."

He ran his hand though his hair as he looked away. "It's not important. I would tell you if it was important. Anyway, how did we get on me? We were talking about you."

She shook her head. "Don't start. Is that?"

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face. "No. It's not-"

"Jealous. You're jealous."

He groaned, "I'm not."

She looked surprised, "You are. It's really strong. Why?"

He took a deep breath. "You've never done that for anyone except me. Now you have done it for Tony. Is there something you haven't told me about you two?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Are you really asking me this?"

He immediately knew he had made a mistake. "Nevermind! I'm good."

She glared at him. He could feel her anger.

"10 minutes?" He asked.

"You probably need to make that 30." She told him.

He nodded his head. "Sounds fair. Do you need to punch me?"

"Maybe later." She told him.

"Right." He agreed.

He stood up and walked out of the suite. Rose took off her shoe and threw it at the door as it closed.

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Poltious walked onto the indoor football pitch. He immediately heard the Doctor kicking the ball towards the goal. It hit the top bar and bounced into the net. He clapped his hands together once and the ball flew into his hands. He caught it and swore under his breath.

"We're getting some information from the Andromedaens."

The Doctor dropped the ball and kicked it as hard as he could towards the goal. "Yeah? Anything helpful?"

Poltious stood next to him. "Not really. Timon is putting it through the computer to see if it's anything we can use. Seems like a bunch of codes and locations."

The Doctor clapped his hands together again and caught the ball. Poltious watched him as he dropped it and kicked it into the goal. He had the ball return to him. "You alright?"

The Doctor grit his teeth as he kicked the ball again. "I'm completely fine."

Poltious nodded his head. "Alright. Lewis is working on improving Howie's security."

"Yeah, I've been chatting with him about that." He said absentmindedly as he continued to kick the ball and return it to himself.

Poltious put his hands on his hips and watched him. "You probably know the Shepherd's are fine."

"They are at the mansion with Pete. The media thinks they are in New York with me." He continued to kick the ball at the goal.

Poltious sighed as he watched him. "I should probably warn you about something. Now is as good a time as any."

He caught the ball and looked at him. "Warn me about what?"

"Lewis is probably going to be rather hard to live with. What with Arla being pregnant. Yeah, he told me. I know you know, but I'm not sure who else does."

The Doctor rolled the ball onto his hip and held it. "Yeah. She's carrying twins."

He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. "Oh, that's worse." He mumbled.

The Doctor looked confused, "What's up?"

"I've known Lewis a long time. A very long time. He knew me before Legate and Lenox were born. He knew….their mother."

"What happened to her?"

"Lenox was a difficult birth. She died the following morning. Lewis and Summus were there. He took Legate home for me and looked after them both for several days. I wasn't able to care for them."

The Doctor dropped his head. "Damn. I'm sorry. I never knew."

He shook his head. "It's something that's not spoken of. I'd rather not think about it. The boys don't know. They believe she died of a sickness a few weeks later. I've never told them the truth. I asked Lewis and Summus to never speak of it."

The Doctor nodded his head, "I understand why. Yes, Lewis probably will be a bit difficult to live with. Thank you for telling me this Poltious."

He nodded as he clapped his hands together. The Doctor tossed him the football. He dropped it and kicked it into the goal. He smiled, "This is just so satisfying. It's been a hell of a few days."

The Doctor chuckled as he clapped to return the ball to his hands. He tossed it to Poltious. "I need to ring Pete before it gets too late. He wanted to talk to me about something."

Poltious kicked the ball again, "Oh, I know what that is about. Call him if you want, but I think it's all sorted now. He asked Adriano how long the Quauhtin could remain on Earth to protect the family. Seems as if he has started to work on his last wishes."

The Doctor tossed him the ball, "He's doing what?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "He told Adriano that he needed to update it, and this mess with Howie has made him realize he needed to do it now."

The Doctor sighed, "I hope that's all it is."

Poltious kicked the ball. "I'm surprised you aren't with Rose. Genie and Legate are in the Zero Gravity room with Tony. They are shouting like a bunch of idiots."

The Doctor smiled, "I'm surprised you aren't with them. Sounds like something you would do."

He smiled at him as he tossed him the ball again. "Who says I didn't just come from there?"

He laughed at his friend as he watched him kick the ball into the goal.

"Nice kick, Poltious." They heard a voice say.

They turned to see Rose walking onto the pitch. She had pulled her hair up into a messy bun. She wasn't wearing any shoes with her jeans and an oxford shirt of the Doctor's.

Poltious smiled at her. "Thank you, Rose." He turned to the Doctor, who had just caught the ball. "I'll go check on the prisoner while I'm between things."

The Doctor nodded his head. "He's not going anywhere. But, you are welcome to check in on him."

Poltious walked out of the room, leaving the Doctor and Rose by themselves. The Doctor dropped the ball and kicked it into the goal.

Rose bit her lip. "Nice kick."

He caught the ball as it sailed back to him. "Thanks."

She watched as he kicked the ball again. "I feel as though I owe you an apology."

He caught the ball and shook his head. He looked back at her. "No. You don't. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have … even went there."

He dropped the ball again and kicked it.

"The thing is, you didn't. I felt your emotions and attacked you because of what you felt. That wasn't fair, and I'm sorry."

He caught the ball and looked at her again. "I shouldn't have felt that way. I need to…..umm…."

"Relax. That would be a good start." She crossed her arms.

He chuckled, "That would be."

"Did he say you have a prisoner?" She asked.

He nodded his head. "Yeah. He's in a time stasis, so there is no risk he will escape. Everything is safe."

"Someone from Torchwood?"

He looked down at the ball he held. "Yeah."

She nodded her head. "Okay. A time stasis. I didn't know the ship could do that. Is what it sounds like?"

"Yeah. But, the ship didn't do it. I did. I….umm…" He thought as he looked back at the goal.

Rose, sensing his hesitation, suggested, "Let's get you some water and sit for a bit."

He agreed and tossed the ball towards the goal as they walked together to the seats on the edge of the pitch. She sat down as he went to a food replicator on the wall and asked for a bottle of water and a cup of tea for Rose. He brought them both and sat down next to her.

"Thank you." She told him.

He smiled at her as he opened his water.

She sighed as she held the mug. "Tony was in so much pain. I really expected he would pass out onto the floor. It couldn't wait. You said he had crushed his shoulder and his collarbone. I was worried it would put a strain on his heart. I held his hand and really just willed anything that was causing him pain to repair itself. To heal. He's a pain in the ass, but he's my friend. He's your friend. You have been beating yourself up over one thing or another for months. I know you blame yourself for him getting hurt that badly. Baby, it's not your fault. He put himself in that situation."

He nodded his head. "I still shouldn't said that."

She turned and looked at him, "I wish you would just talk to me. What is this fear I keep getting from you? Are you worried I will leave?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Worried I'll kick your ass? Punch you out again?" she teased him.

He laughed, "I probably should be."

"Then what is it?"

He didn't look at her. "Him. It's him. I can feel his emotions. He's in a blind panic about something. He has been for months."

"Baby, I didn't know you could feel emotions from him."

He groaned, "I hate it. Worse than anything else. I started feeling it….after the explosion. I thought it was me, but realized after a while that it wasn't. It's strange. It feels like I'm having small panic attacks throughout the day. I have my own problems. He needs to deal with whatever is going on."

She took his hand, "Do you think he can feel yours?"

He sipped his water. "Probably. Yeah."

She smiled, "Then, be happy. Annoyingly happy. Feel loved. You are so loved here. Not only from me, but from your children. Your family. Your friends and Quauhtin. You aren't alone anymore and never will be again. Send that back to him."

He smiled and put his arm around her. "I like how you think." He leaned in and kissed the side of her head as she laughed with him.

She rubbed his thigh, which made her feel butterflies from his stomach in her own. She smiled as she looked at him. "See, that's a great start."

He smiled and drank his water as he looked away. "So, you saw a vision tonight. Was it strange?"

"You know, it was. I've been thinking about that since I saw it with you. I thought you two were up to something else. It's a relief to know you were just reading a tabloid. You still read that crap?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Some of them. The guys will bring me one if they think I'll find it interesting."

"So, tell me. Who is the guy with the big chin that helps me off of the floor?"

"Oh, that's him. That's what he looks like in his next regeneration."

"You're sure?"

"Oh, I am. And that Scottish bloke. That's him, too. I'm sure of it. Thirteen regenerations. Wow. I wonder what the hell."

"But, not sure that he takes us to Gallifrey?"

He shook his head. "Nope. He could be….millions of years older. Completely mad by then." He looked at her, "I'm not too far from it now."

She giggled, "Oh please. You are fine. You just have your moments."

He nodded his head. "Oh, I do. What else did we see that night? Sam regenerating, Tony being beat up, which I honestly thought you had done to him."

She smiled back at him. "Gosh. I'm not that bad. Dad at dinner."

"Yeah, that's a no brainer. He's working on his will. Is he alright?"

Rose looked surprised, "As far as I know. Is he?"

"That's what Poltious told me just now."

"This stuff with Howie has probably got it on his mind. I wouldn't worry about it."

"That's what I want to believe. But, in my mind and in my heart, I feel it is something."

She rubbed his thigh, "Fight the anxiety you are getting from the other side. Be happy and send it back."

"Right. You're probably right."

"I had a thought. Tell me if you could do this." Rose asked. He started to run his fingertips up and down her shoulder. It sent butterflies in her stomach to his.

He smiled as she realized he was feeling it. "Alright. What's on your mind?"

"You love the flat. You want to spend more time there."

He nodded his head, "Yes."

"Could you make a bigger on the inside spot on the ship, and copy the flat here? You would have the best of both worlds then."

He chuckled, "That is a brilliant idea! Yes, I could do that. Do you want that?"

She smiled, "That would be so great. But, could you fix it in a way so you could see the stars through the big wall of windows?"

He relaxed as he thought, "I think I could. Yes. I could. Yes. Finally, no damn Zeppelins through the flat's windows. Brilliant!"

She giggled, "Then, it's settled."

"Alright. I'll do that when we get back."

"You still haven't told me why we left so quickly. You transported me up while I was-"

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you. No. Not ever."

She smiled at him and whispered, "Thank you."

He continued to run his fingertips across her shoulder, "Yeah. I really hope this isn't what I think it is."

"What is it?"

He explained what had happened. Rose reacted the way he expected she would.

"Ashena and Logan came to our room and asked to hold Sam. She said she was having a terrible day and Logan suggested it."

"Oh, she is. I really hope this is the worst day and all of this is just a scare."

"But?"

"The chances are very slim, Sweetheart. I wouldn't tell her that, but. It's really not good."

Rose shook her head. "That poor girl."

They sat in silence for a while. Rose sipped the last of her cup of tea and sat it down in the seat next to her.

She rubbed high on his thigh, which caused him to tingle again. He stared at the pitch and laughed under his breath. He said quietly, "Take that."

She giggled, "I love this. Even though, we're on a pitch, this probably reminds me more of the TARDIS than anywhere else on the ship."

He looked surprised at her, "Really? Why?"

"I don't know. I can't put my finger on it. It just does. Maybe because it's so big?"

He chuckled and rubbed his face. "Why, thank you, my dear."

She rolled her eyes. "You idiot."

He smiled, "I need to ring Pete. What did he want to talk to me about?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "I have no idea. Probably work stuff. Who is this prisoner you have?"

He groaned as he stood up and helped her up, "Nothing you need to worry about."

She wrapped her arms around his waist as he put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. When he leaned back, she was looking at him in surprise.

"What?" he asked.

"Ah. Nevermind. I'm not going to say it. Let's try to only have one argument a day."

He nodded his head. "Oh, if we can make that a rule, I'm all for it. I owe you a massage. Are you still alright?"

"I just feel….. full. I was going to go pump some out."

"I put that in our suite. That way you don't have to go the med bay each time. I thought it would make you more comfortable."

She smiled, "Thank you. It will. Doing it in the med bay is just so, clinical."

He held her and smiled. "I love you. I hope this is alright. Spending Christmas out here."

She smiled, "It doesn't matter where we are. As long as we are together."

"All of the time. Not just at Christmas." He told her as he leaned down and kissed her. She held him tightly and felt his hands on her bum. He pressed her close to him as he snogged her.

His wristband lit up. Lance spoke. "Hey, John. You might want to come up here and have a look at all of this. It's a mess."

He laid his forehead to Rose's and sighed, "It always is a mess. I'll be right there."

"Right." Lance said, and ended the transmission.

Rose smiled at him and whispered. "You know it's bad luck not to make love on Christmas Eve."

He smiled, "I've never heard that. Is that true?"

"I'm going to make it the rule. Go help Lance."

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