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Chapter 43 - Sam's Scans
As soon as Lewis popped away, The Doctor propped his feet up on the coffee table and lay Sam in his lap. Rose had dressed him in a blue and white, striped sleeper. Sam slept peacefully as he held The Doctor's finger with his tiny hand.
"You know, Sam. I probably should take you back upstairs and go to sleep myself." He told him.
Sam didn't move as he continued to sleep. The Doctor could sense that Sam felt comfortable, warm and safe.
"Or, I can get something done. Mum won't be awake for a while yet. What do you say we go see Daddy's ship?" He asked the sleeping baby.
The Doctor pulled a small, silver box out of his pocket. He held Sam in his arms as he stood up, pressed the button, and disappeared from the sitting room.
He reappeared in the transporter room. He put the small silver box back in his pocket. "And you will probably sleep though this entire thing. Just like your mum. She's an Olympic sleeper, too."
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Pete walked into the medical section of the ship. The Doctor stood there, wearing his glasses and looking at the screens that hung on the walls. He heard the door slide open and turned his head.
"Oh, hey!" He greeted Pete.
Pete walked over to him. "What are you working on in here?"
"Looking over Sam's scans. Strange stuff." The Doctor told him.
Pete looked surprised, "Sam? He's here?"
The Doctor nodded his head. "Yeah, he's over here." He led Pete over to a small plastic crib where Sam was kicking his legs and looking around.
Pete smiled, "Oh, he's beautiful. Can I pick him up?"
"Sure, you can. I'm finished with everything here." The Doctor smiled at Pete.
Pete picked up the baby and smiled down at him. "Well, hello there young man. I'm your grandfather."
Sam raised his hand to Pete's mouth. Pete gummed the little boy's hand and smiled. The Doctor smiled proudly at them. "He looks just like Rose did."
Pete laughed, "He even has Rose's eyes. I honestly don't see any of you in him."
The Doctor laughed. "Yeah. There's a good reason for that. There's not any of me in him at all."
Pete shook his head, "What in the hell? Really?"
The Doctor nodded his head. "That's what I'm seeing here. I didn't think Rose and I would be able to have children. Either her genes completely took over mine, or I really wasn't involved in the creation of this child."
Pete looked confused. "You mean, Rose was with someone else?"
"No. Nothing like that. He is just….. Rose. He'll have to be older to run more tests on, but that's what I'm finding now."
"Bad Wolf?" Pete asked.
"Yep." The Doctor popped as he put his finger back where Sam could grip it.
"Rose is not going to be happy about this. How are you going to tell her?" Pete asked.
"I wonder if I really should. You know how she is about the entire Bad Wolf subject."
"How certain are you?"
"95% certain."
"Damn. Well. It really doesn't make much of a difference. He is still your son." Pete said as he looked down at Sam.
"That's very true." He agreed as he smiled proudly down at Sam. "You're up early. Is Jackie awake, too?"
"Yes. She's getting ready to go down and meet this little guy." Pete laughed, "I should just take him to her. Shall I?"
The Doctor smiled at Sam. "Let's go surprise Gran." He walked over and turned off the monitors where he had been working. Then he walked with Pete down the hallway.
Pete spoke as they walked. "I thought of a name for your ship last night. Tell me what you think. How about…. Asclepius?"
The Doctor looked impressed. "The Greek god of healing and medicine. Son of Apollo. I like that! Great idea, Pete!"
They got to the door of Pete and Jackie's suite. Pete opened the door and they walked in. "Jackie. Are you decent? Your son in law is here."
Jackie walked out of the bedroom. As soon as she saw that Pete was holding the baby, she covered her mouth and screamed. Sam jumped and looked around.
The Doctor laughed, "Yeah, that's Gran. She's loud."
Jackie smacked him playfully as she held her hands out. "Give this child to me."
Pete handed him to her. She kissed his face.
The Doctor laughed, "He says you smell funny."
Jackie rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, you can just shut it. He can't say anything yet."
The Doctor held up his hands and laughed. "Alright. Whatever."
Pete laughed as he continued to look down at Sam. "The Doctor says he looks like Rose did. Wait, how do you know what Rose looked like?"
The Doctor chuckled. "I saw her when she was a baby. She was older than this, but not much."
Jackie looked at him, "When was that?"
"Ummm…. the 7th of November. 1987. Rose would have been…. What?"
"That day?!" Jackie asked him. "Why were you there on that day?"
"What happened on that day?" Pete asked them both.
Jackie shook her head. "We're not talking about that the first time I'm seeing my grandson! I'll tell you later, Pete."
Pete put his hands on his hips. "Phhh…. Fine."
Jackie smiled back at the Doctor. "He does look like Rose. Just like her. She was tiny like this, too. How much did he weigh?"
"5 lbs, 3 ozs. He weighs 5 lbs., 2 ozs. today. I just weighed him."
Pete looked confused. "What? He's losing weight?"
"All babies lose weight after they are born. He lost down to 4lbs, 10oz. But, he's eating good and gaining now. He's just fine." The Doctor smiled down at Sam.
The Doctor looked at Jackie. "He says you have a nice face, even if you are loud."
Jackie smacked his shoulder playfully. "Oh hush."
He laughed as he went over to the food dispenser, mumbled something and returned with a bottle. He handed it to Jackie. "Here you go, Gran. The way to this man's heart is clearly through his stomach. Besides, he's starting to get hungry again. Then he'll need a change."
Jackie smiled as she sat down on the sofa and fed Sam.
The Doctor and Pete sat down with her.
Pete asked, "How's Jake this morning?"
"Ah, he's alright. Just sore. Summus assures me it wasn't bad at all."
Pete nodded his head. "Chelsea has already sent me a schedule this week that you wouldn't believe."
"Oh, I bet I would! I have one similar. I think we're both supposed to go to Japan and talk to these people."
Pete groaned, "Ugh. Well, it's just one day. At least we don't have to stay a long time. I bet you are more grateful for your watch than ever, huh? You can pop back to Rose and the children."
"Yes. It makes things easier. Especially with Genie." The Doctor admitted.
"Is she still so scared of everything?" Jackie asked.
"She has been better. Rose really scared her because she had to stay in the bed for so long. Genie thought she was sick. It was hard to explain to her. Sam seems to have distracted her for now. She's even started sleeping in her own bed since he was born."
"How are you sleeping?" Pete asked.
The Doctor shook his head. "Oh, I'm fine. Too much to do to sleep."
"Still not sleeping?" Jackie accused him. "Rose says you have been staying up and rocking Genie so she will stay asleep. Then you get up and work on something. Since this child has been here, you haven't slept at all. You need to sleep."
He rubbed his face and groaned, "You sound like Rose. Ugh. I'm going to go back down to the surface. Rose is awake and wondering where I'm at. Do you want to come down with me?"
Jackie shook her head. "I've still got some packing to do here. Take Sam back to Rose and we'll see you later today."
The Doctor took Sam in his arms. "Alright."
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The Doctor appeared back in his bedroom. He carried Sam over to the bed and changed him. As he was putting back on his sleeper, Rose walked out of the bathroom wearing her pajamas and blue robe.
"Well, there you two are. Where were you?" Rose asked.
"Ah, just out. Men hanging out together. Probably better you don't ask." He teased as he brought Sam up this mouth and kissed him.
Rose rolled her eyes as she watched him put Sam down in his crib. She smiled as she watched him tell Sam, "Go on back to sleep. I'll wake you if anything interesting happens."
Rose sat down on the sofa and pointed at the telly that was on a news channel. "They have been playing this all morning. When did you do this?"
The Doctor rubbed his chin as he looked up at the telly. He saw himself accepting an award at a fencing tournament. "Ah…. Harriet called and needed someone come fill in."
Rose giggled, "Like hell she did! They said you were the favorite to win in that. Why didn't you tell me you went back to England for that?"
He sat down next to her on the sofa. "It was after I left Torchwood one afternoon. It's not a big deal."
The news announcer spoke, "Yes, Doctor Smith seems to be an amazing swordsman! One can only wonder if it's from his time he spent as a Secret Agent."
"I wasn't an agent! The hell!" he fussed at the telly.
The news announcer continued. "Meanwhile, Rose Tyler's interview with Life Magazine has forced the magazine to reprint for a third time this week! No one can get their hands on it! After months of silence, everyone seems interested in what the Vitex's heiress has to say!"
Another reporter came on the screen, "Everyone. Worldwide has been worried about Mrs. Tyler, especially after the explosion in New York. No one has seen her and rumors continue about her being injured beyond recognition. Our interview was handled completely over the phone. She assures me that she's just fine. Just taking a break from the public eye with her-"
The Doctor turned off the telly with the remote. "Ugh. Nosey damn…."
"Apes." Rose filled in for him.
"Well, honestly in this case, no. Both of those reporters are aliens." He pointed out.
Rose shook her head. "I wish I knew how you could tell that."
He rubbed his lip with his finger. "Nah, you probably would be grateful if you didn't know. The truth is rather surprising. The world is a very strange place."
Rose nodded her head and smiled, "Oh, don't I know it?"
He looked at her and laughed. She sat back and he put his arm around her. "How are you feeling? Alright?"
She smiled and nodded her head. "I feel really good. Rested. I vaguely remember you coming back and leaving again. Am I mad?"
He rubbed his face and rested his head on his fist. "No, that's what happened. Genie, Sam and you were all asleep. Sam got restless and needed a feed. I took him downstairs."
"Why didn't you wake me up? You need to sleep." Rose fussed at him.
He rubbed her thigh and smiled, "No, sweetheart. Not as much as you do. Especially now. You need to rest to heal from all of this. It gave Sam and me some quality time together."
Rose sighed, "Okay, I give up. I'm not going to bark at you about sleeping anymore. I know you and if I can get you still….I know you will go to sleep like you always have."
"That doesn't seem to matter. I can't stay asleep for long. My dreams wake me up." He confessed as he rubbed his face with his eyes closed.
"Nightmares?" Rose asked him.
He nodded his head, not taking his hand off of his face or opening his eyes.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He shook his head. "Pete and I have to go to Japan tomorrow. I imagine after I deal with some stuff in London. I'll bring you back something."
"Are you staying the night there?" Rose asked.
"I haven't decided yet. If I do, I'll take Genie with me. She'll be extremely upset if I'm not home."
"She's gotten so much better about that. I suppose it's because she's spent so much time with me." Rose told him.
"I've got to figure out what the hell happened there at Torchwood last night. A Dalek just doesn't pop out of nowhere. I think Malcolm must be messing with the Void again."
"Is that where you went?" Rose asked him.
He shook his head. "No, that's a story I'll tell you when you are feeling better. Not something you need to hear now."
Rose sat up and looked at him. "That means I'll be proper cross about it. What the hell did you do?"
He sighed as he stood up. "I need some jam. It's been that sort of night. Do you need anything?"
Rose looked at him suspiciously, "I won't be mad. Where did you and Sam go?"
He smiled at her. "I took him to see our ship. The Asclepius! How do you like that as its name?"
"Asclepius? What the heck is that?"
"It's the Greek god of medicine. Pete suggested it. What do you think?"
"Well, it's not the TARDIS. But, I imagine you will still call her that when she grows up. How is she doing?"
He smiled, "She loves her new room. All hidden away. Safe. She can see around. I've put her a telly in there so she can watch cartoons." He laughed.
Rose laughed, "Cartoons? Genie's suggestion?"
He smiled as he nodded his head. "Yeah. Hey! I can't complain. She's grown more these past three weeks than she has the entire time I've had her. She's doing great!"
Rose smiled. "That's wonderful."
He started to walk away and then remembered something. "Oh. Your mum and Pete will be here in a bit. They were just taking stuff home, then they were going to pop here."
Rose groaned. "To finally meet Sam."
He smiled, "Oh no. Both of them saw him on the ship. We just came from there."
"Why did you have him on the ship?" Rose asked.
He held up his finger. "Wait, the more important question is, 'What is his name?' Have you decided?"
Rose smiled.
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