Chapter Nine; A Step Back In Time
"What did you say?" Rose questioned him with disbelief.
"Rose, listen, I'm terribly sorry but your mother is dying. She has terminal cancer." Jack told her.
"Just like Jane said she would." Peter realized.
"That's complete and utter nonsense, a three year old couldn't possibly predict the future." Rose said. "Who told you that she had cancer?" she asked him.
"Sarah did. She was going to the doctor's to get a checkup and that's when the doctor told her that Jackie had just been there before she got sent to the hospital. Our doctor is a very good friend of ours." He explained.
"But I don't understand, she was always extremely healthy." Rose said.
"The sky people told me that_" Jane began before her mother quickly turned her head.
"I don't care about what your imaginary friends told you!" she yelled before she could stop herself. "Your grandmother is very sick and right now she's in the hospital dying without anybody beside her!" she snapped before she ran out the door and slammed it behind her.
That's when suddenly Jane broke into tears. "Mummy yelled at me." She sobbed when suddenly her father squatted down in front of her.
"It's alright child please don't cry." He told her as he brushed away her tears. "Your mother loves you very much and she didn't mean to yell at you. It's not your fault, she was just upset." He explained as he picked the little piggy-tailed girl up and handed her over to Jack. "Can you watch them for a second? I have to go to stop Rose." He said.
"Sure." Jack replied with a nod as The Doctor opened the door and ran out into the hallway.
"Rose, Rose wait up!" he cried as he rushed out of the apartment building. That's when suddenly he saw his precious wife running a crossed the street just as a car had been headed straight towards her. "Rose no!" he exclaimed as he sprinted towards her and pushed her out of the way causing him to get himself.
Rose hit the ground for a moment before she sat up and realized what had happened. "No!" she screamed as she quickly leapt up onto her feet and ran over to him as fast as she could. "Doctor!" she shouted as she bent down in front of him seeing that he had been knocked unconscious. Rose blinked away her tears as a golden light surrounded his body. "No, not again. Please don't change." She whispered but it was too late, he had already been regenerating.
Rose covered her eyes and turned her head away so that she could shield the light from her eyes. A few moments later The Doctor took a deep breath and sat up. Rose turned over to see what his new look would be but suddenly she realized that he hadn't changed at all. Rather he didn't regenerate into a face that she had never seen before. "Doctor?" she questioned with disbelief.
"Yes? What's the matter? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked her. "Wait a minute, that voice. Where have I heard that voice before?" he questioned.
"You look like you did when we first met." Rose told him.
"I do? That's odd. I've never regenerated backwards before something must have happened. Oh well, I'm glad that I didn't throw out that leather jacket and at least I'm still wearing my wedding band." He said as slowly got to his feet before he bent down and helped her up. Rose continued staring at him as he brushed himself off.
"What? Why do you keep looking at me like that? I'm still your husband. I mean I still love you." He told her as a moment of silence fell between them. "And you still love me don't you?" he questioned her.
"Yes of course I do." She answered.
"Then what's the problem?" he asked her.
"Well it's just that even though I still love you and everything, you were so hot." She answered as she heaved a great big sigh of disappointment.
"Oh yeah, I'm really feeling the love right now." He said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes when suddenly an older gentlemen approached them.
"Are you guys alright?" he questioned as The Doctor waved at him.
"Yes don't worry we're fine! Thanks!" he called before he turned back to his wife and shot her an angry glare. "And as for you, what the hell did you think you were doing!? You could have been killed!" he shouted.
"Look, I'm sorry alright? It's just that it was a lot for me to take in. Jane was right about my mum. I dunno how but she was." She began as she pulled a strand of hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. "And what if she's right about me?" she questioned him.
"Listen Rose, I understand that you're upset but it's like you told me. Nobody knows their future, and you can't spend your time worrying about something that may or may not happen." He told her.
"What about you? If you regenerated backwards does that you'll mean that eventually you'll change back again?" she asked him.
"I'm sorry but I really don't know the answer to that. This has never happened before. Something must have gone wrong." He said before he took a deep breath. "But I guess that means that I finally have to tell Peter the truth about who I really am. I mean he's old enough now that he's going to want to know." He said as offered his hand out to her and she gently reached out and took it.
"This feels just like old times." She said with a smile as he grinned back at her.
"You're such a stupid ape, do you know that?" he questioned her teasingly before they exchanged a quick peck on the lips as they started heading back inside the apartment building. Just as soon as The Doctor opened the door Shadow lowered his head started to growl inside his teeth. "Whoa Shadow! It's me!" he exclaimed when suddenly the dog let out a ferocious bark and charged at him.
"Shadow stop! It's The Doctor!" Rose cried but it was too late. The Dog leaped into the air and knocked him over onto the ground landing on top of him. "Shadow no! Bad doggie!" Rose yelled as she took him by the collar and pulled him off of her husband. "Are you alright?" she asked him.
"That depends if you define alright as having a seventy pound animal landing on top of you." He said as Rose offered her his hand but he slowly got to his feet on his own.
"Who the hell are you!?" Peter exclaimed.
"You watch your mouth young man!" The Doctor snapped back at him as Peter widened his eyes with astonishment and disbelief before hiding behind his mother.
"Who are you?" he questioned him again inside a petrified whisper.
"Look Peter it's alright, I know it's hard to believe but I'm your father." The Doctor told him.
"No, I don't believe you." He sobbed before turning his head away from.
"Listen peanut it's really hard to explain but I would never lie to you. Honestly." The Doctor told him.
"What did you call me?" Peter questioned him with uncertainty as he turned his head and looked back at him.
"Peanut. It's the name that I've called you since you were almost as small as one." He explained.
"Daddy?" Jane questioned him eagerly as he grinned at her.
"Hullo princess." He told her.
"It's really you!" she cried as she ran over to him and jumped inside his arms. "The sky people were right, you do look different." She said.
"Wait a minute, you knew that this was going to happen to me?" he asked her.
"Mhm." She answered with a nod. "And it's going to happen again." She told him as he pecked a kiss on her cheek before handing her over to Rose.
"Uh princess, why don't you stay here with your mother for a second? I have to go talk to your brother alone for a moment." He said before he bent down and stretched out his hand. "C'mon Peter." He told him as his son slowly reached out his hand with uncertainty before taking ahold of it and walking back with him inside their bedroom. The Doctor picked him up and set him back down upon the bed before sitting down next to him.
"Listen Peter, there's something that I need to talk to you about." He began. "Do you know how you've just gotten into those Star Wars movies? The movies that take place in outer space?" he questioned him.
"Yeah?" he answered.
"Well, that's where I'm from." His father told him.
"Do you mean that you're an alien?" Peter asked him.
"Yes, I am." He answered with a nod. "You see I can travel in time, I'm something called a time lord and I bring other people to travel with me and that's how I met your mother." He explained.
"Am I an alien too?" his son asked him.
"No not yet, you're still a seedling. You'll become one in a few years though when you grow your second heart. Then you can learn how to save your life by changing into a different person if you get hurt." The Doctor explained.
"Cool." Peter asked him as his father grinned at him.
"I know, it sounds cool and it is. But it's also very dangerous. Even though you don't realize it you will become a very powerful time lord someday. And you have to promise me that you're going to keep it a secret. Do you understand? You can't tell anyone about it." He said.
"Why not?" Peter asked him. "Well I'm sorry but I can't really answer that until you're older. All you need to know is that your mother and I love you so much and we're only trying to protect you and do what's best for you." He said as Peter stood up and put his arms around him.
"I love you too Daddy." He said as The Doctor embraced him tightly and ran his fingers through his hair. "You're such a good boy." He whispered as he softly kissed the top of his head.