Part Five

Sarah Jane and Harry were left at the UNIT headquarters with the promise that the Doctor would be back for them soon. His priority was to sort out what to do with Rose and Susan – both were from his future. Susan was simple, really. She asked to be left on Earth for her to quietly live out the remainder of her days. She'd explained that her own children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren already thought she was dead, so there was little point in returning to the 22nd century.

When the Doctor asked her what she would do for a living, Susan had smiled and said that she would be happy teaching, and would find Ian and Barbara Chesterton. It was better for her to leave, after having met Rose, and had learnt to forgive her grandfather (even though the man had no idea what she was forgiving him for). Susan gave the Doctor one last hug and said that he would see her again. The last time she'd seen the Doctor, when she had lost her son and she was upset and angry at him, she still worried about what he would do in the future. But after getting to know Rose, she wasn't so worried; she knew Rose would really look after her grandfather and make sure he looked after himself.

That left the Doctor alone on his TARDIS with Rose Tyler; a woman he still couldn't quite make heads or tails of. Without anywhere in particular to go, he sent the TARDIS into the vortex and decided it was time for him to check on his patient.

He made his way to the medical bay and where Rose was resting. When he entered, she looked up from the text that she was reading. He smiled at her. "You look much better than you did a few hours ago."

"I'm better than I was. The TARDIS really helps with that." Placing the book the TARDIS had provided for her, she really looked over the Doctor she was with and took him in. "Did Susan decide to stay in the 20th century?"

"Yes. How did you know?"

"She's not in here with us, and we're in the vortex. Plus, she told me where to find her once I find my way back to my proper point in your time."

The Doctor gave Rose a wide grin and sat in the chair next to her bed. "So, how did we meet?"

"Your first time meeting me, or my first time meeting you?" Rose asked with a laugh. She started coughing and knew that if she looked at the cloth in her hand, there would be blood on it. She just hoped that the Doctor wouldn't spot it. But he had.

"There's a difference?" he asked, focusing more on what she was saying, not her present health.

"Yes. And you're really going to hate me saying this because I don't know how much you'll remember but that really long story is one big spoiler." She laid a hand over her injured ribs and grimaced before she started coughing again. Catching the Doctor giving her a concerned look, she tried to give him a reassuring smile. When his concern deepened, she knew that it hadn't worked. "They broke a few ribs. I think a shard of bone nicked one of my lungs. Do you mind checking?"

"All you had to do was ask," the Doctor answered.

It took him a few hours to thoroughly check her over. He, with the TARDIS's help, set and healed what injuries he could, before he asked if he could run an ultrasound to check the progress of the baby. Rose's face lit up at the prospect.

'Could you show my Doctor too?' Rose telepathically asked the TARDIS. The TARDIS hummed a positive response.

The Doctor was surprised at the response Rose got from his TARDIS – and even more questions were raised in his mind as to who this woman really was to him in the future. But he knew that neither Rose, nor his TARDIS, would be forthcoming with any answers. He found himself growing jealous of his future self; what had he done in the future to deserve a remarkable Time Lady like Rose Tyler and what had she seen in him? He knew that he wasn't like the rest of his people.

He was pulled out of his musings when Rose started to drift off. Neither of them really noticed that there was not just one tiny Time Tot forming inside Rose's womb.

Rose was almost asleep by the time the Doctor crept to the door. But somehow, as if she sensed him leaving, she woke up and looked toward his retreating form. "Please don't leave me," she whimpered. "I really don't want to be alone right now."

The Doctor gave her a reassuring smile. "I won't leave," he promised.

NTLNTL

Jenny gave her father a tentative smile as she allowed him to check her over. It was nice for a change to have someone else care about her needs, she thought. Clara had mentioned that it seemed strange that the Doctor would take an interest in the young Time Lady's wellbeing, and when the young brunette confronted the Doctor about it, he shrugged it off.

"I'm a doctor," he'd said. "I want to make sure that Jenny is well cared for while she travels with us."

"Gee thanks, Dad," Jenny shot back with a smirk. She still wasn't too sure about this new gruff version of her father, but she also knew he wouldn't really leave her on her own after all that had happened in the slavery ring.

The Doctor looked over at his daughter and tried to give her a reassuring smile. The three of them were in the TARDIS infirmary. Clara had only really followed the two Time Lords there to find out what exactly was in the medical bay. She wandered over to one of the other stations that the Doctor wasn't currently using and frowned as the screen flickered on and a stream of Gallifreyan started scrolling onto the screen.

"Doctor, what's this?" Clara asked.

The Doctor looked over at his current companion and told Jenny that her examination was over. He declared that she was fine, if a bit shaken, by her ordeal with the slavers. The man made his way to Clara's side and focused on the report that the TARDIS was running through. As he read, he began murmuring to himself in Gallifreyan.

"What is it, Doctor?" Clara repeated. The Doctor ignored her as he read the final part of his Bad Wolf's health record – taken from his fourth self's TARDIS's information banks. He remained glued to the screen as one final image flickered onto it.

"Is that…?" Jenny began and she stopped as she also focused on the ultrasound.

"Yeah," the Doctor replied. "It is." And then the TARDIS started playing the recorded sound of the babies' heartbeats.

Clara frowned. "Is that two hearts beating?"

The Doctor ran a hand over his face. "Four," he responded. "Time Lords have two hearts." Hearing the sound of the new lives his wife was carrying made the Doctor more terrified than he had ever been since he first lost Rose so many years before. And it made him more desperate for his bonded – it had been four long, lonely months since he had last seen her on Olympus. He also knew that it had been far longer since his Rose had seen him. He spun on his heel and strode quickly through the TARDIS to the control room. 'Time for us to get to our Bad Wolf,' he sent to his TARDIS.

NTLNTL

The twelfth Doctor knew that it would very dangerous for him to park the TARDIS in his usual spot on the UNIT base – especially since he had spent so much time there during his third, fourth and fifth incantations. Yet he also knew that Rose wouldn't be up to much hiking, walking or anything since she was heavily pregnant. He was thankful that his memories had unlocked of the time he spent with Rose in his forth body (his memories had triggered when he'd started reading over Rose's medical report and heard HIS twins' hearts beating).

When he stepped out of his TARDIS, the Doctor was confronted by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, Sarah Jane and Harry.

"Who are you?" the Brigadier asked.

"I'm the Doctor."

"Another one?" Harry asked.

The Doctor rolled his eyes and put his hands into his pockets and leaned against the TARDIS. He wasn't even going to answer that. Both Sarah Jane and the Brigadier had dealt with at least two of his incantations, so they knew that if he was claiming to be the Doctor, they knew that he would actually be the Doctor.

"What are you doing here?" Lethbridge-Stewart asked.

"I assume Sarah and Harry have filled you in on what happened with the slavery ring?" the Doctor asked. The Brigadier nodded. "I'm here for Melody and we'll be out of here as soon as the clown comes back with her."

"Insulting yourself again, Doctor?" Clara asked as she stepped out of the TARDIS.

The Doctor couldn't really refute that. Whenever he met up with past incantations, he always seemed to find the most insulting names for each of his past faces. He remembered calling his second self 'scarecrow', his third self 'fancy pants', his war self 'granddad', his tenth self 'sandshoes' and his previous self 'chinny'. "What of it?"

"Why do you insult yourself?" Clara asked.

"Because that sounds exactly like the Doctor," the Brigadier put in. "He can't help himself. Which one are you, then?"

"One from the future," Twelve said as he heard a second TARDIS materialize beside him. He breathed a deep sigh of relief as he felt his bond with Rose flare brightly. Rushing to the younger TARDIS's doors, he opened the doors with a key he pulled from his pocket and bound quickly inside. 'Rose?' he called out to his wife through their bond. She didn't respond verbally, but the Doctor could follow their bond easily. Clara, Sarah Jane, Harry and the Brigadier were following behind the quick paced Doctor. He led them to the medical bay, where they found both Rose and the fourth Doctor sleeping.

The TARDIS had made the bed they occupied wider. The fourth Doctor was lying on his back with his right arm slung around Rose. Rose was also on her back, but securely nestled into the younger Doctor's side. She was using his shoulder and arm as a pillow. Her right arm was across her chest and clutching tight to the Doctor's scarf. Their left hands were resting together over Rose's belly.

The 12th Doctor took in their sleeping positions in an instance, and he couldn't push down his jealousy fast enough. How he wished it was him sharing the bed with his wife. He moved to his wife's side and sat on the edge of the bed. Placing his left hand on Rose's forehead, his right joined Rose's and his younger self's hand over their children.

"It's time to wake up now, Arkytior," he whispered.

She stirred slightly and tried to focus on the face leaning over her. "Doctor?" she whispered back.

'I'm here, love,' he sent to her through their bond. Her eyes widened and she became fully awake. He gave her a smile and she reached up with her right hand to trace his jaw. "I missed you." Rose's lower lip began to tremble and her husband helped her to sit up. He scooted closer to her as he wrapped his right arm around her waist and cupped her check with his left hand. Slowly, he lowered his head so he could capture her lips with his.

She smiled – having her husband there, sliding his lips and tongue over hers felt so right. And she couldn't help let a few tears escape. 'I really missed you, my love.'

The younger Doctor woke at the shifting of the woman who had been in his arms. He saw an older man he didn't recognize with his arms around Rose. The two of them pulled back from their intense kiss and rested their foreheads together. Sitting up, the curly haired, scarf wearing Doctor spotted the four people crowding around the doorway, watching the spectacle Rose and the 12th Doctor were making of themselves. Only one of the spectators seemed happy to see the two of them reconnecting.

'Are you okay, love?' the Doctor asked through their bond.

'I am now,' she returned, placing her hands over his hearts briefly before she wrapped her arms around his narrow waist and buried her face in his chest. He gently tucked her head under his chin before he looked over to his younger self.

"Thank you for looking after her for me. Now it's my job."

"How long do I have to wait?" Four asked.

"1672 years till you're me," Twelve shot back. "Anything else is spoilers."

"So he's really you then, Doctor?" the Brigadier asked of the younger Doctor. Four turned his attention to the four people at the door and gave a single nod. His attention was drawn to the young woman he didn't recognize.

"You look very familiar to me, young lady," Four said, addressing Clara.

"She's our impossible girl," Twelve replied and felt Rose calm down in his arms. And then, both Doctors felt pain radiating out through their bond with Rose. Twelve pulled away from his wife and laid both his hands over her abdomen. Panic seemed to radiate from Rose.

"How long?" the older Doctor asked.

"35 weeks," the younger Doctor returned, knowing exactly what his counterpart was asking. "With the amount of injuries she sustained, I'm surprised she's still with us."

Twelve gave Four a hard smile. "Oh, I'm not. You don't know my Bad Wolf. The word impossible doesn't apply to her."

"What's happening, Doctors?" the Brigadier asked.

"Melody is in labor," Twelve answered. "Harry Sullivan, we are going to need your help. Clara, Sarah, can you check on Jenny in my TARDIS?"

Both women nodded, realizing that the Doctor was giving them an out if they didn't want to stay for the birth. Twelve took in a deep breath – this was going to be tough. He had only found out Rose was pregnant two hours ago and there was only one possibility of who the father was. Now, once he was reunited with his wife, he was terrified. Was he really ready to be a father to a newborn again, and so soon? He thought he'd have more time to adjust to the news that Jenny had sprung on him, and that his TARDIS had confirmed.

He shoved aside his fears and doubts and focused on his panicked wife. 'Rose, I'm here. We're not going anywhere. Take a deep breath, I'll help with as much pain as I can,' he sent to her, along with all of his love and reassurance. She seemed to calm down a little at that, and allowed her mind to cling to his.

NTLNTL

'Bad Wolf… you can let go now,' the soft voice of the TARDIS echoed through Rose's fog-filled mind. The young Time Lady seemed to relax at the insistence of the time machine and her body began to glow golden with her regeneration.

Harry Sullivan, who had not lived through seeing the Doctor regenerate, had no idea what was happening. He moved closer to Rose's side but Twelve pulled him back. "No, stay back."

"What's happening?" Harry asked.

"She's regenerating," Four answered, returning into the room after delivering the younger twin to the care of Sarah Jane.

"She only held on as long as she did for the sake of the twins," Twelve added. He was afraid of what regeneration would mean for them: he didn't doubt his love for her (as he had loved her for his last four regenerations) or her love for him, and yet he wasn't sure how either of them would cope having brand new twins to deal with while learning a new personality that always came with a regeneration. Rassilon, Rose hadn't even held their twins yet. He couldn't even help his next thought either: Rose had regenerated three times already, and only once had regenerated into someone older. The other two times she'd regenerated into a child.

In an instant, it was over. Rose blinked a few times and then looked toward her husband – both versions. "What?" she asked. "Don't tell me I'm a child again? No wait!" Rose sprang from the bed and went through to the bathroom adjacent to the medical bay. Twelve followed closely behind her.

Rose noticed her husband leaning on the doorframe of the bathroom with a grin on his face. His eyes were running over her new form with appreciation, and a little sadness. She turned to face him. "I can try and change if you want me to."

"No. It's a good reminder of the time I talked to the Old Girl." He moved to her side and lifted her chin. "And you've gained a few inches. It makes it easier for me to do this." Twelve smiled and leaned down and planted a light kiss on his wife's lips.

Rose pulled away from the Doctor. "Our baby?"

"Our children are perfect, love. You're not, yet. But you will be."

"Perfect?" Rose repeated. "They?"

The Doctor allowed his smile to grow. At the start of it all, he wasn't sure how he'd handle fatherhood again, but seeing first his son, and then his daughter, brought into the world, they quickly stole their way into his hearts. "We have a son and a daughter."

AN: Please, please review! Any writer really likes to get feedback. What did you like, dislike, excreta? What do you want to see in the story in the future? Oh, and if you want to know exactly what Rose looks like - she regenerated into Idris from 'The Doctor's Wife'.