Chapter Eight

SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING. I am a bad person. So some nice drama for you in this chapter. Keep the name suggestions coming, they are all fabulous so far and I am double smiley with knobs on top.

They walk back to the TARDIS, in the crisp summer night air after spending the day at Jackies. Rose clutches The Doctor's hand and they swing their arms as they walk, The Doctor's coat blowing around his ankles in the light summer breeze.

"What about Tycho?" he says, looking up at the sky

"Sounds too tough. Too butch, like our boy's going to be some kind of inter galactic thug. What about Kyle?"

"Sounds too common, what about Kiam?"

Rose scrunches up her nose and shakes her head, "Nah, not feeling Kiam."

"What's wrong with the name Kiam?" he asks, eyebrow raised

"It's not that there's anything wrong with the name, he just doesn't feel like a Kiam." She pats her stomach.

The Doctor just laughs and shakes his head slightly. "I give up, let's just call him baby for now. Names are boring anyway, look at me- nobody knows my name."

"But you could tell someone, if you wanted too?" Rose asks hesitantly, slowing her pace, slightly turning her head to face him. He turns too, to face her.

"Yeah, I could if I-"

But then he stops talking as he notices Rose wincing. "What is it?" he asks

"It's nothing, just like this pain in my head. Like a headache… but- different. But I'm fine, don't worry about me."

"Hey, I will always worry about you. Are you sure that you're okay? You don't want me to take a look inside and see do you?"

"No doctor, don't be silly. I'm fine." She insists.

But he still worries about her. So he turns back to start walking again, but Rose doesn't move. "Rose?" he asks, tugging her hand. Her other hand clutches her head, and her eyes screw up again.

"Rose?" he asks again, more urgently this time.

"It's like, this light…Doctor help me, it burns!" she shouts. He tries to put his hands on her temples and enter her mind but her forehead is red hot and burns his skin to the touch. She can't even open her eyes and then suddenly she just collapses. His quick instincts ensure that he catches her, and he quickly picks her up bridal style, and rushes her into the TARDIS.

The TARDIS doors are waiting open for him. He can sense that she is almost as worried for Rose and baby as he is, but he doesn't have time to soothe the TARDIS. Rose isn't showing any signs of consciousness and her head is still burning up, and he really doesn't know what to do.

He doesn't know if he can save her.

oOo

Five days later

"Hiya Rose," he says, sitting by her bedside, watching her chest rise up and down with steady breaths. His hands are squeezed together so tightly that his knuckles are turning white, and his leg is shifting up and down nervously "You've been asleep for about five days now. I'm still quite worried because you don't usually sleep this long, even though you do enjoy a lie in, but this is getting ridiculous, ha-ha. I've come to see you every day, all day. Haven't done much else really, haven't saved any civilizations, because it wouldn't be the same without you there by my side. I keep forgetting to eat too, because you're not there reminding me to. I'm not sleeping much either, only an hour or so since you collapsed, because I can't bear to think you'll wake up and I'm not there. But I wouldn't mind it so much, if you do just wake up Rose. I miss you. A lot. The TARDIS misses you too, she seems very sad at the moment. I don't understand it Rose, I really don't. You are the perfect epitome of health and baby is fine, I checked, but you still just won't wake up Rose. Please wake up, for me? I'll even let you name him, if you really want to. Kyle or Mason or John flipping Smith if you really want to Rose. You can't leave me Rose, not like this… I-I lost so much in the time war and I thought I wanted to die. I'm serious Rose. I wanted to die. That's why I went onto the titanic, at first- to die. But there was something stopping me, and then I met you and I had a reason to live again Rose. And now, look at me- I'm a total mess. I can't even remember to eat without you which probably say's a lot. Please come back to me Rose."

And then he stands up, furiously wiping the tears off of his face. Because what if she wakes up right now? She can't see him like this. He leans forwards and gently kisses her on the forehead and then on the lips. He's tried entering her mind, several times, but he can't quite get through and pull out her consciousness and he has tried. Oh he's tried.

He's asked the TARDIS for help, but even she doesn't know what to do which really worries him. What if she isn't up in a week? Or a month? Or three? What will he do without his son? He can't have been given all of these wonders of family life and domestics and general happiness and have it all snatched away from him in one go. Now that just won't be fair. But that won't happen, it won't he tells himself, over and over, because it's the only thing keeping him sane really. He hasn't even spoken to anyone since because he can't bear to be away from her for too long.

He heads into the kitchen, and makes himself some toast extra dark with jam, and then makes some lightly toasted with butter for Rose. Just in case she wakes up this time. He makes her a cup of tea as well, because he knows she likes it when she wakes up in the mornings. He arranges It all on a tray, the same purple flowered one that he made her breakfast with a little while before and he thinks for a minuet, before placing a small vase on it, and pulling the red rose out of his pocket. Still fresh as the day he picked it from the TARDIS garden.

Once the tray is arranged, he heads back to Rose's room, and sets it down beside her on the bed.

"I made you breakfast Rose. Just the way you like it. You can keep the rose this time to, because you deserve it. Just for being fantastic. Now I'm going to have a shower, and you promise me you'll wake up and eat that breakfast by the time I'm back?" he pauses for a moment, anticipating her reaction. But it never comes. But still he puts his bright smile on, and heads out the door, "I'll take your silence as a yes then!" he calls cheerily.

As soon as he exits the room, his face falls, and he can feel his eyes welling up. He furiously holds it back. Because he doesn't want to cry out here, what if Rose wakes up and comes out and sees him?

But of course she doesn't so he heads into the bathroom, stripping off and standing under the water jet, letting it all run on his face. That's it, he's not crying, of course not. It's just the shower water pouring on his face. And he's sniffing because he thinks he's caught a cold, that's all.

He's not crying, because Rose is okay. He's going to get out of the shower and put his suit on and there she'll be, sitting up against the headboard munching on her toast and sipping her tea, talking to baby and telling him how much both his parents love him. She'll notice him in the door and smile at him, her smile and invite him to sit down next to her, and they'll cuddle and bicker about names and he'll pretend he never said that he'd let her pick, but he can if she wants to really- because he loves her. He loves her more than anything.

He clings to this thought as he gets out of the shower, and puts back on his blue suit, because Rose likes it and will be happy to see it, now that she's definitely awake. He glances in the mirror and smiles, licking his teeth and ruffling his just washed hair. He wants to look his best for Rose, because she is awake. He can feel it this time. She'll smile and joke "Well where've you been, I finally get up and you're not even there, good baby father you are."

He exits the bathroom, and heads down back towards the bedroom, with a spring in his step. He knows that she's awake now.

He opens the door with a grin, but his face falls again because Rose is still asleep, the same level breaths heaving her chest up and down the breakfast untouched beside her. So he sits down, and tries to drink the tea on her behalf, to convince himself that she was awake at one point, but spits it back out, because it's stone cold. So he sets the tray down on the floor, and takes of his jacket, kicks off his shoes and climbs into the bed beside her, cuddling up under the covers against her, snaking his arms around her waist and he lays there for hours; just sobbing quietly into her shoulder.

Dun dun duuuuuuuunnnnnn. Cliffhanger, coma, doctor gon' crazy. Its all happening in chapter eight. Reviews pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeee.