A/N: Last chapter after this one! :D
Chapter 39 – The Morning After
"Poha, poha, alee," a voice said from somewhere in the outside world, little hands pulling on his arm. "Alee, poha."
The Doctor groaned, but didn't move an inch. "Ber'mio, Leah, poha'afa'eela," he muttered tiredly.
"Alee!"
"Fo, Leah..."
"Fia, poha, alee rio!"
"Leah, ei'lera'eela..." he muttered, and turn over onto his side, covering his head.
"What are they sayin'?" another voice suddenly said. "Doctor? Are you awake?"
"Fo, eon'ber'mio," the Doctor muttered.
"Leah, what did he say?"
"He said no, go away."
There was a brief moment of silence. "Doctor, you say that to my face!" the voice suddenly shrieked.
The Doctor eased open his eyes, but could barely even get them all the way open. He saw a slightly annoyed Jackie towering over him, staring down at him with her hands on her hips.
"Ei'joi," he muttered, yawning. Then he realised he had IV lines going into his arms, then he realised he was in one of the infirmary beds. Then he remembered why, and his eyes shot open, head moving back and forth and pushing up to sitting position. "N'je'chali? Jahi'afa'Liala? Ei'miea?"
"Doctor." Martha suddenly appeared behind Jackie, looking very exhausted but quite alert. "Wrong language."
"Oh, sorry, where's Rose? My son?"
"They're fine, Rose is asleep and your son's in an incubator, doing fine. How are you feeling?"
He sank back down into the mattress, relaxing at her words. He still absolutely exhausted. "Can I see them?"
"Let's sort you out first," Martha replied gently. "How are you feeling? You went through a lot, last night."
"Are you hungry? D'you want some toast and tea, love?" Jackie butted in suddenly, eager to help.
The Doctor blinked, a little surprised. "Um, tea, please, thank you."
"I'll be right back," Jackie said positively, leaning forward to kiss his cheek and hug him, before bounding off like a happy gazelle out the door.
The Doctor stared after her for a moment, confused. "... What's wrong with her?"
"She's happy," Martha replied, laughing.
"Oh, that would be it," the Doctor supposed. "Can I see them now?"
"I need to explain to you what happened first," Martha said gently, glancing at Leah. "Does Leah want to stay for this?"
The Doctor looked at his little girl sat next on him on the bed, staring at Martha, not moving an inch. A few moments passed, and she still didn't move.
"Looks like she's staying," the Doctor confirmed, reaching up tiredly to rest a hand on her head, stroking her hair. "What happened?"
Martha nodded, and pulled up a chair. "To cut a long story short, Rose had a c-section..."
"What?"
"Hear me out, Doctor," Martha continued quickly. "I arrived shortly after you went into shock, just after it was discovered the baby was breech, and that his heartsbeat had begun to weaken because the umbilical cord was prolapsed and compressed. I had to make a quick decision, and with the threat to your son's life, the fact he was a footling breech and his prematurity my choice was to deliver him by c-section. It went smoothly, took fifteen minutes."
"And they're both okay?"
Martha nodded. "Though Rose will need time to recover and your son is still premature and needs to be monitored at all times. After the birth I detected signs of some respiratory distress, but that's common for prematurity. I haven't had the chance to check him over in full, yet."
"Are you giving him surfactant?" the Doctor asked tiredly.
Martha nodded. "He's got every tube and medication he could ever want, be assured. But I expect he's dying to meet his parents and his big sister," she completed, smiling at Leah. "I'll bring the incubator over if you like."
"Yes, please," the Doctor replied, and she moved off. He looked at Leah and she beamed and hugged him around the neck instantly.
"I looked after you, Mummy and baby all night," she said proudly, kissing his forehead. "Uncle Jack and Granny were really bad at it."
He smiled a little at that, but then suddenly frowned as his hazy brain processed something. "... Have you been to bed?"
She nodded. "A bit last night and then a bit earlier before Granny woke me up with Cheerios."
"Oh, then thank you," he said quietly with an exhausted smile.
"You're welcome, Daddy," Leah continued. "Now you and Mummy are both still sick and you're boring when you're sick so I'll get you better really fast," Leah insisted, tucking the covers around him. "I read this book Granny found for me in the liba-rary about sick people and that they need soup and oranges so I'll get you soup and oranges, okay?"
"Sure," the Doctor replied, too exhausted to laugh but being unable to resist a smile.
"And cos you and Mummy are sick I'll look after the baby as well. Though I think he's sick too. Why is everyone else always sick? I'm always looking after you. Get better so we can play again, Daddy."
"It'll be a couple of days," the Doctor told her. "Mummy's got a big cut across her stomach and we'll need to help her walk again when she's ready to try."
Leah nodded. "Okay. But don't get me anymore brothers because I don't think I can go through that again. That was really tough for me."
"Tough for you?" the Doctor repeated.
"Yeah," she said, "it was really hard. So don't order me anymore brothers."
"Order?"
"Yeah," she said, "you know, like how you ordered that tape you gave to Uncle Jack and Uncle Ianto."
"Right," the Doctor said, trying not to laugh. "Don't worry, I don't think we're gonna order anymore brothers."
"Good." She nodded. "But why didn't they send him in a box like they did the other thing coz it woulda been easier."
"Err..."
Thankfully the Doctor was saved by the sudden arrival of Martha, reappearing from across the Infirmary wheeling the portable incubator to the side of the bed... And he caught the first glimpse of his brand new son lying in amongst the blankets, tubes going in him.
He was so lost in thought that he was startled when he found Martha had already reached in and carefully taken the boy out, depositing him on his exhausted father's chest.
The Doctor just stared. Even though he of course had held Leah like this when she had been born, this seemed so much different. The boy was tiny compared to how Leah had been, and he was just lying there; his tiny head place sideways on his chest, covered in thin brown hair. His even tinier hands spread out across him. The Doctor could feel his son's tiny double hearts beating for all they were worth, seemingly reverberating in the Time Lord's chest. Tubes were running everywhere, but it wasn't like the Doctor cared about that. He just stared, taking in every single part of his son as though observing a piece of beautiful art. It certainly felt like he was.
"Do you have a name yet?" Martha asked.
"No," he replied, still staring at the boy. "He's so beautiful. This was worth it. Every second."
Martha couldn't help but admire him. He'd almost died from the amount of pain trying to bring his son into the world, and now here he was as altruistic as always and loving his son all the same. Any less of a man would resent the boy. The Doctor didn't, and never would.
"He looks weird," Leah suddenly said.
"He's perfect," the Doctor breathed, his eyes shining. "Is Rose awake?"
Martha looked over at the bed. "Not yet, she'll be awake in a bit."
"Mmm," the Doctor replied tiredly as he yawned slightly. Martha made to take the boy back, but the Doctor glared at her, locking his arms in place around the boy.
"Mine," he said shortly.
She smiled understandingly and pulled away. "You can have him for ten minutes, then he has to go back in. He's still very sick, and he's high risk for life-long disabilities."
"I know," the Doctor replied. "I'll fix them when they come."
Martha blinked. "You can fix things just like that?"
"Not all of them," the Doctor conceded. "Some things only to a certain degree, and it all takes time. But he should be okay."
"I've got tea!" Jackie's voice announced from the doorway, and everyone looked up to find Jackie strolling in holding a tray, Tony tagging along behind her. "I've also got some biscuits, I know you said you weren't hungry but I thought... Oh!" She saw him sitting up with the baby boy on his chest, holding him protectively. Instantly she turned into a puddle of Grandmother love and shuffled towards the bed, eyes aglow.
"Oh look at his little face, oh his little nose, his little ears... Oh his little fingers!" she cooed, run her thumb over his tiny hand. "Oh he's so beautiful!"
Leah harrumphed, folding her arms and staring at her grandmother indignantly.
"Oh, you too, sweetheart," she assured the girl, smiling. "Does he have a name, yet? Can I hold him?" She didn't even wait for an answer, setting down the tray and picking him up gently, holding him close. "Oh, thank you for him, Doctor," she said quietly, looking at the father with absolute gratitude. "My first grandson!"
"Your only grandson," the Doctor corrected under his breath.
"Oh, Tony, come say hello..."
"Doctor, wake up, lazybones," Rose's voice said in his ear a few hours later and the Doctor opened his eyes again to find Rose sitting in a chair beside his bed, brushing his hair back and kissing him gently. Everyone else had gone now, and the boy was on his chest once again.
He managed a smile at her. "Have you seen him?"
She giggled quietly. "Well I'd try, but you're holdin' him so tightly no one can help him escape."
"Oh," he muttered, looking down and pulling back his arms. "Sorry."
She giggled again. "Don't worry." She looked at their boy for a moment, then at the Doctor. "Shift over."
"What?"
"Make room."
"Oh," he muttered, mustering up what little energy he had to methodically move to the right of the bed whilst balancing the boy on his chest to let Rose get in. He caught a glimpse of the stitches pulling together the vertical caesarean incision and instinctively leant forward to kiss her, shifting the boy into her chest as he did so. She noted he seemed to have some sense of guilt, she knew it was for the caesarean, and she smiled at him reassuringly.
"It's fine," she said. "We've got him now, and Martha says I'll be able to walk again properly soon. I'm all drugged up, can't feel the pain. Shuffled over here earlier with Jack's help."
He nodded and kissed her again. "I didn't mean for it to be like this, I thought it'd be easier."
"It's not your fault," she assured him, looking down at their son and putting a finger in his tiny hand. Instantly his palm curled and he gripped her finger tightly. For a moment they both just watched him lying there sleeping.
"Rose," the Doctor suddenly croaked. "You can kill me however many times you like, but I am never going to have another child. I'm not doing that again, not even for you. I'm sorry."
She nodded. "I understand."
"I'm scared," he admitted. "That one was... I can't even describe it. I thought it might be easier because I was expecting it this time, but I've never been in so much pain. Not even close. I'm scared that if we had another, the moment where I hate you and the baby won't be temporary, it'll be permanent. I'm scared that it'll get so hard that... I won't think it's worth it anymore."
She nodded again. "Yeah, I know. After that I don't think I wanna go again, either. You know what the scariest bit was, though? Lyin' in the operating room, the exact moment Martha put me under. Just before I went out I had the worst feelin', I felt kinda... I dunno. Alone, I guess. I wanted you holdin' my hand cos I was so scared, but I knew you couldn't come with me, I knew that you and our baby were in trouble..." She was suddenly on the verge of tears, shaking. "I thought for a minute that when I woke up you would both be dead. I just kept gettin' this picture of wakin' up, everyone starin' at me with this look in their eyes, Mum cryin', Leah cryin'... That scared me so much."
He nodded, their noses touching. "I know," he murmured softly. "But we're still here. A bit battered, yeah, but we made it, and he made it."
"But no more."
"Never, ever," he confirmed. "I love you. Never stop being perfect."
"I'll try," she said with a quiet laugh. "Let's just lie here for a few days."
"Sounds like a plan," the Doctor confirmed.
"And don't think we're havin' sex for at least a month."
"Fine by me," the Doctor replied, yawning. "Too knackered."
"And he needs a name."
"Later," the Doctor dismissed, putting one arm around her and one around their son, letting his head loll on the pillow next to her. He gave her another quick cheek kiss and then closed his eyes, perfectly content.
Thankfully Jackie took responsibility over the children as the two parents tried to recover from their ordeal. It was two days before either of them felt like trying to regain the basic skill of walking again, and three before the Doctor ventured out of the infirmary to retrieve breakfast for them both. He met Jack on the way back, the ex-Time Agent grinning at him.
"Hey, you're up!" Jack said, smiling. "How are you and Rose?"
"Recovering," the Doctor replied shortly, giving a half-smile.
"So, got a name yet?"
"No."
"I thought this would happen," Jack said, and presented the Doctor with something drawn from his pocket. A baby name book. "I've marked out my favourites."
The Doctor took the book, flicking to a page Jack had marked to find he'd underlined the name 'Jack' in red felt pen.
The Doctor looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Jack grinned. "I think it has a ring to it."
"I don't," the Doctor replied, smiling.
Jack grinned. "Do you need me to do anything for you?"
"No, thanks."
"Just ask," Jack replied, slapping a reassuring hand on his shoulder before moving off.
The Doctor found Rose sitting next to the incubator, her hand reaching in through one of the holes to rest her finger in their son's tiny hand. The Doctor rolled back his shoulders and took a breath, pulling up a chair to sit next to her.
She glanced at him, and then looked back at their sleeping son, his little lungs breathing for all it was worth, helped by a nasal tube.
"How long will he be in here?" Rose asked, her voice cracking.
"Until he doesn't need it anymore," the Doctor replied, squeezing her arm.
She nodded, and reached out for a hug, to which the Doctor obliged.
He pulled back, and took out the book of baby names.
"Jack gave me this," he told her. "How about we read some out, get things going?"
Rose nodded. "Okay, sounds fair."
"Right," the Doctor began, flipping over to a random page. "First one... Robin."
"Are we gonna give him a brother and call him Batman?" Rose wondered.
The Doctor pulled a face, flipping to a random page again. "Okay. Tyler."
"Tyler Tyler?"
"Right, fair point." He flipped the pages again. "Howard."
"Because when he's born he's going to be instantly 40-years-old."
"Okay, not Howard. Jerry?"
"Springer."
"Simon?"
"Cowell."
"Jed."
"Ward."
The Doctor sighed. "Okay, Liam."
"No."
"Shaun."
"No."
"Oh come on, Rose," the Doctor said, exasperated.
"I'm sorry, he just doesn't look like any of those," she said quietly.
He looked at her, then back at the book. "Okay, next one... Lex."
She looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"
The Doctor's eyes suddenly widened. "Wait! I think I've got something. Not Lex, Alex."
Rose looked at him, then looked at their son, and suddenly she smiled. "Yeah. Alex. He looks like an Alex. I like that."
"Me too."
"So, that's settled," she said, smiling.
"Is that it? Have we named him?" the Doctor wondered, as if unable to believe it.
"Yep," Rose replied, kissing her husband. "Alex Tyler."
The Doctor beamed, jumping to his feet instantly to make for the door.
"Wait!" Rose said quickly and quietly so as not to upset Alex. "Where are you going?"
"To tell the others we've got a name!" the Doctor whispered back.
"No," Rose said. "Don't yet."
"Why not?"
"Can we... Can we wait until he gets better?"
He stopped completely, his face dropping. "He is going to be okay, Rose," he assured her.
"I know, but I'd rather tell them with him in my arms than tell them while pointing to a box," she replied quietly.
"Okay," he replied after a moment, sitting down again next to her. "I understand."
She leant forward and held him with her head on his chest, and he held her tightly in return, kissing her gently as they both stared at the boy in the incubator. Alex Tyler, the fourth Gallifreyan in the Universe.