This fic was cross posted esewhere as 'The future' but due to a stupid mistake on my part, my other Rose/Ten fic ended up being called 'The Future' on FFN! sorry to be so confusing!
An All-Consuming Love. Ch1
I've almost forgotten what it feels like to wake up in a leisurely fashion, when you slip gently into consciousness, stretching out across the bed, working the knots of sleep from your muscles. These days I have precisely three seconds to get myself to the bathroom before I there is a puddle, and agility is not a skill commonly associated with being nine months pregnant. It's the fifth trip to the bathroom tonight and it's only 3:28am so I know it won't be the last.
Disaster averted for the time being I wash my hands and stare at my reflection in the mirror. My face is a bit pale and my eyes look tired and puffy. My hair looks great though, it's grown so fast during my pregnancy and is so sleek and glossy I can't help fiddling with it, flicking it around like they do in the adverts. I waddle back to bed and try to get comfy but it's become impossible in the last few weeks. I'm so huge now it's not even funny and the baby is nocturnal and loves a disco of an evening so a good night's sleep is a distant memory now too. I've also had backache for the past few hours now, low down in the small of my back. It's a dull nagging ache that's annoying rather than painful but right now it's the last straw and I give up on sleep altogether. The Doctor is actually fast asleep beside me, in one of his rare deep sleeps. I don't want to wake him so I head for the kitchen for a cup of tea and a trashy magazine.
My concentration on 'how to make the most of your wardrobe' is interrupted for the third time by a steady wave of pain and tightening across my lower belly. It passes soon enough but my backache seems to be getting worse and sitting down feels like it's the wrong thing to be doing so I stand up and walk about the TARDIS, pottering and fussing with things, pausing every now and then as the pain returns, each time a little bit stronger. An hour later and I'm in no doubt anymore, I'm in labour.
I am awakened from a deep sleep by a sound I can't identify at first. It's so faint I'm not sure I really heard it until I hear it again. It's a heavy, breathy sound, like someone is trying to hold back from making any noise. I suddenly realize Rose is not in bed next to me and I'm on my feet and out of the door before I know it. I find her in the lounge room, leaning over the back of the sofa, head down with her hair fanning around her face. She is blowing out through her mouth slowly and wiggling her hips from side to side but as I approach she straightens up and smiles at me weakly. "Sorry, did I wake you?" She tucks her hair behind her ears and tries to stifle a yawn.
"It's started hasn't it? You're in labour" My head is spinning and I feel a wave of panic threatening to flow over me. "Rose, why on earth didn't you wake me?"
She comes to me and takes my hands in hers. Her eyes connect with mine and I feel myself calm down instantly. "It's ok, this is just the start, it'll be hours yet, you so rarely sleep like that I didn't want to disturb you, and anyway, I'm gonna need all that energy of yours later when things get tougher."
I take her in my arms and hold her as close as I can although it's not so easy with her huge bump in between us. My hand finds its way to rest on her belly as has become routine over the past
nine months. I cannot quite believe this will all be over in a matter of hours now, a new phase of our lives is about to begin.
Oh no, here we go again Another wave of pain begins in my back and radiates out around my sides, spreading over my abdomen, reaches it's peak and then starts to subside. I stop my slow walk around the TARDIS as each contraction starts and lean into The Doctor, breathing deep and slow as the pain increases. The Doctor rubs my lower back and talks to me calmly and I focus on his voice until the pain passes. We make our way gradually along the corridors until we come to the delivery room the TARDIS has created for me. Martha is waiting for us, along with Jack, Gwen and Ruth, the midwife Jack found for us who knows all about our unusual situation and can be trusted 100. Ruth examines me and tells me I'm progressing well. "How are you coping with the pain?"
"Um, ok at the moment" She smiles at me warmly "Let me know if that changes, the pool is ready whenever you need it." We've decided to try a water birth, I've watched programs on real life births and it seems like a nicer way to give birth, if there is one. The TARDIS had done us proud again and there is a huge pool, full up and constantly warm, just waiting for me. At the moment I'm managing the pain with my breathing and I'm hoping that the pool and gas and air will be all I need later on but I'm keeping an open mind.