A/N And here it is. This was alluded to in chapters 25 & 28 of Falling Slowly and the follow-up one-shot Impossible Things, so after all of the hinting/teasing I'm finally making good on the follow-through. We're nearly there now! Just one chapter remaining.

Chapter 36

When Rose finally stirred and began to wake, awareness of her surroundings came slowly. She was left feeling groggy and disoriented. Her dry tongue felt like it was stuck to the roof of her mouth and she was so weak it took effort just to open her eyes. As she did, the Doctor's face came into blurry focus. Rose blinked several times in an attempt to clear the haze. She was back in their bedroom on the TARDIS, and the Doctor sat beside her on the bed. One hand was cradling hers and the other was stroking her hair.

"Hello," he whispered gently.

A heavy cloud of confusion still had her thoughts in disarray. Rose opened her mouth and tried to speak but couldn't. The Doctor released her hand and reached for a cup of water beside the bed, then brought it to her lips, his other hand going behind her head to help lift it. Rose wanted to down the whole glass in one sip. "Easy, easy. Just small sips," he advised as she slowed her pace. "That's it."

He pulled the glass back and eased her head back down, then took her hand again in his. Questioning eyes were intently studying hers. "How are you feeling?"

"I..." Suddenly, the horrible, crushing memory came flooding back as her hand pulled from his and went to her abdomen. "The baby! Is t-the baby...?" Her eyes on his were frantic and quickly filling with tears.

The Doctor placed both his hands over hers as he spoke in a soothing tone. "The baby is fine, Rose. Just fine. You both are. I promise."

"No," she nearly choked. "It can't be. I..."

The Doctor briefly squeezed his eyes shut. The image of Rose convulsing in pain, already losing blood as their child was mere seconds from death was not something he could easily block from his memory. Maybe neither of them ever could. But the Doctor had also known even in the midst of it that whatever came, he and Rose would somehow make it through it together, as they had through any challenge or trial they'd faced. What he'd never imagined, though, was the outcome in all this that left him currently and quite thoroughly astounded.

The Doctor wondered if Rose even remembered those last few moments before she'd lost consciousness. "Do you remember what happened?" he asked softly, his thumbs stroking across the tops of her hands.

Rose remembered what she desperately wished she could forget. But all she remembered at the end was feeling like she was burning alive from the inside out. She shook her head weakly. "What happened?"

The Doctor drew a shaky breath, then exhaled something like a sob or a laugh – maybe both. "The baby. The baby, it...it regenerated inside you, Rose."

Rose's tear-filled eyes went wide with disbelief. "But...how? How could that even...? I thought that being part human, that wasn't even possible."

"I didn't think it was possible. But apparently I forgot to tell that to our child." This time there was a definite laugh in his voice, but tears in his eyes to accompany it as he then went on to explain. "The contrasting human and Time Lord DNA were literally warring against each other inside you, but it seems the Time Lord physiology won out. It was the only way the baby could survive, and it was catalyzed, as all regenerations are, as...death became imminent."

A chill ran through her as Rose thought of how close she'd come to losing their child, but she was left in utter astonishment at what this meant. She'd just gone from one extreme to the next in emotion. "So the baby is...is okay. And...fully Time Lord now?"

His eyes momentarily lingered on her belly. "The baby is still part human, but the Time Lord genes are dominant now." The Doctor placed one hand on the side of her face and gazed intently into her eyes. "That's not all that happened, Rose." He squeezed her other hand with his. He was still trying to wrap his own spinning head around this. "You've been changed by this as well."

Rose was silent for a moment, her voice a little unsteady when she finally did speak. "H-how do you mean?"

"The connection between a mother and child during pregnancy is the closest link two living beings can possibly share. During pregnancy you and the baby share everything. Nutrients, blood supply, oxygen – what affects you affects the baby, and vice versa. The two of you are connected on every physical level, and the baby's Time Lord DNA within you had been affecting you, changing you, like what happened with your drop in temperature to accommodate the baby's needs. Those contrasting genetics were warring against yours, but not to harm you. It was to adapt the baby's environment in order to keep it safe. And then, with the regeneration process taking place inside you, with the two of you sharing that connection, it affected you both. It not only stabilized the baby but stabilized its environment, making you compatible for carrying this child."

Rose took several moments to process what he was saying. "Compatible. So...so does that mean...I'll have some sort of altered Time Lord traits until I give birth? Like...my temperature will just naturally be lower until the baby's born without it being a problem?"

He smiled slowly, but the movement was unsteady as his chin quivered with emotion. Every test and scan he'd performed since carrying Rose back into the TARDIS had confirmed this, but he could still scarcely believe it. "Yes and no. You have undergone some biological alterations, but those changes in you won't simply disappear once the baby has been born. The changes that have taken place are permanent."

"What...what kind of changes exactly?" Rose stammered, trying to grasp just what this could mean.

"You're still human," he assured her. "But with distinct alterations to your cellular structure." He spoke slowly, measuring her reaction within her eyes as he grasped both her hands. "Rose, do you remember how I once told you that I don't age?"

Rose swallowed, her disbelief mounting. "Are you trying to say I won't age?"

He squeezed her hands. "You will, but in analyzing your cellular structure now, it's clear the process has been markedly slowed, much the same way the baby's will be once our child reaches adulthood."

"H-how long?" she asked haltingly, her mind desperately trying to catch up and process this.

He swallowed hard, still grappling with the truth of this himself. "Many more decades than you would have otherwise had. Or...perhaps longer than decades. Perhaps even about as long as I might have left."

Rose opened her mouth to respond, but nothing managed to come so she closed it then attempted again. "Oh, p-perhaps is good. Very good. Perhaps is...is–"

"Perhaps is brilliant!" the Doctor cut in, no longer able to hold back as he dipped his head to press his lips to hers.

Rose thought her heart might burst from the sheer magnitude of joy suddenly overtaking her. A dull, perpetual ache had taken up residence in her chest and was one she'd simply learned to live with. It was a pain that throbbed every time she thought ahead to the day the Doctor would have to carry on alone, as he always eventually did. She died for him a little inside each time she would catch a glimpse of that haunting look of loss in his eyes. There were times he would look at her and Rose knew he was numbering their days, seeing the hands on the clock winding down; times when he would touch her and Rose knew he was cataloging every facet of her being, committing to memory what one day would only live in remembrance. But that pain she felt associated with those moments was melting away, and the joy filling its place was telling her that the pain was never meant to be permanent. If they had the courage to love no matter the sacrifice then it would also bring reward. Each second they had together was their reward, and now one that would endure.

Rose could taste the saltiness of his tears mingled in the kiss, and it was the most beautiful kiss they'd yet shared. For once in the Doctor's life his tears were not of heartbreak. This was joy set free. She clung to him and pulled him closer, her own tears cascading down her cheeks.

The Doctor had seen this – at least a glimpse of this possibility – starting the night he first bonded with Rose and gave himself fully to her. He had seen the faintest hint of a timeline – a timeline which showed Rose at his side throughout his life. But he had scarcely let himself hold to the hope that it could be true. He hadn't known how it could possibly be true, so refusing to believe at all was easier than losing that hope.

Rose had seen glimpses of that timeline, too. She didn't understand it, and like him, didn't know how it could be possible. She thought it must simply be a deep longing they both had that manifested itself through their shared bond. Neither had once spoken of it to the other because neither wanted to stir up the pain associated with its false truth. Now that seemingly unattainable possibility was before them as reality.

Past words spoken from a broken soul had now been abolished.

"You can spend the rest of your life with me, but I can't spend the rest of mine with you. I have to live on. Alone. That's the curse of the Time Lords."

This impossible miracle, their blessing, had broken the curse.

The Doctor held Rose tightly, both trying to grasp this and let it somehow settle in. It would undoubtedly take some time to even fully begin to realize it was actually true; yet somehow, accepting this also felt as natural as breathing air into their lungs, like the progression of where they had always been heading when the question of "How long are you going to stay with me?" and the answer of "Forever" had been spoken as fact. Their forever was a fact.

The Doctor gazed down at Rose in his arms, a soft, joyous smile crossing his face that quite possibly might become permanent. "What are you thinking?" he murmured against her cheek.

She pulled back enough to lift her eyes to his. "I...I don't even know quite what to think yet. It's just so..." She shook her head, laughing softly.

"Yeah," he agreed breathlessly, pulling her closer. "It is."

Rose's mind was still rushing trying to comprehend this turn of events when just the night before she thought their future held death. She had lived the anguish of thinking their child's life was ending. After a moment Rose tensed in his arms, reliving the dark moments when death had come so close to stealing their child. "And you're sure the baby is okay? Perfectly okay?"

He placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her head to look at him. "Rose, our baby is perfect. I promise you." An idea came to him then as he softly stroked her cheek. "Do you want to see just how perfect our child is?"

She scooted around in his arms to face him. "Should we go to the infirmary and you can scan and–"

"No, I don't mean the infirmary," he corrected, smiling softly. "I was thinking of something else. I can show you...here." The Doctor brushed his fingers across her temple.

"In my mind?" she whispered.

He nodded. "Let me show you." The Doctor closed his eyes, and her own fell shut as she felt his gentle connection to her mind intensify. He was there, consciously within her, and then moving with purpose to an area so deep within that it normally lay outside her realm of awareness. He drew her with him as they delved deeper in and approached a tiny tendril of light. Still just a spark, but so vibrant, so thriving, so alive.

"Can you feel it, Rose?" his encompassing voice echoed around her.

Rose drew closer, moved deeper, and suddenly she could feel it. The intricacy of every cell developing, every molecule engaged in creating life. Cells dividing again and again at a rapid pace, primary tissues being laid down that would give rise to all other organs, ectoderm fashioning what would become a perfect covering of skin – everything, down to a single eyelash was set to take perfect shape. A life was growing and thriving. The ordered precision of it all was astounding, miraculous. There were no words.

Neither was sure how much time passed as they remained enraptured in that moment before they both slowly withdrew, the miracle of life steadily carrying on within.

It took Rose a minute to open her eyes and look into the Doctor's, shining and focused deeply on hers. It took her several more seconds just to form words, but there was no way to articulate this. "That's...that's just..."

The Doctor's arms came around her and hugged her fiercely, his own voice nearly faltering but his words strong. "That's life, Rose. That's our child. Alive and so, so perfect."

-:-:-:-

The sun was dipping low in the sky and casting a golden radiance across the shimmering ocean. Rose sat on a blanket spread out beneath her on the beach, her legs stretched out on the white powdery sand in front of her and her back leaning against the Doctor's chest as he cradled her from behind. His arms were twined around her waist, his hands protectively covering the tiny, miraculous life within.

It had been nearly twenty-four hours since the life-changing events of the day before, and the Doctor had finally agreed to let Rose leave the bed, though he insisted on carrying her down to the beach. Despite the changes that had taken place in her, he apparently was still not easing up in his protective concern for her or the baby. Rose didn't mind. She just loved him all the more for it.

Rose lifted her hands to rest over his, lightly tracing the length of his fingers with hers. Both were lost in thought and picturing their future. A future that stretched beyond what they once never would have let themselves imagine.

She suspected that future was something the Doctor could picture just a little more clearly because there was something he now knew that she didn't. Rose tilted her face up to look at him as he dipped his head and met her gaze.

"I think you have a confession to make," she stated in a mock-serious tone, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. "You're keeping something from me."

He frowned, then lifted his eyebrows in innocence. "Rose, I don't know what you–"

"You peeked," she said with a smirk. "I know you did. I can just tell."

He drew his brows together again, trying to work out her meaning. Then it dawned on him just what she was referring to.

He cleared his throat. "Ah."

"Yes. 'Ah.'"

The Doctor looked sheepish as he shifted a little behind her. "I didn't intend to. Honestly. Not entirely. Well, I suppose it was somewhat purposeful. But I needed to check everything. Everything. Down to the last chromosome. I needed to be sure you and the baby were both absolutely, 100% alright."

Rose grinned slowly. "S'okay, Doctor. I wanted to find out early. I really did. So...?" she asked with enthusiasm, holding her breath in anticipation.

His eyes danced, a smile spreading from one side of his face to the other, crinkling his eyes at the corners. "It's a boy."

Rose felt her heart take a giant leap and soar. She honestly didn't have a preference one way or the other. As ridiculously cliché as it sounded she only cared about having a healthy baby, especially after all they'd been through. Now though, she could see it so clearly in her mind, and she utterly adored what she saw. A miniature version of the Doctor, all brown eyes and spiky hair, a penchant for trouble and manic enthusiasm for every facet of life around him.

Maybe it was the pregnancy hormones getting the better of her, but Rose felt like weeping in joy. "A boy," she whispered. "A son."

"A son," he repeated, sharing her awe. "Our son."

Rose let her head fall back against his chest as this latest revelation fully sank in. They sat in quiet contemplation for several more minutes before Rose spoke up again.

"Have you thought about any names?" she asked softly, one arm lifting behind her to twine around the back of his neck.

The Doctor chuckled, his breath tickling the top of her head. "I honestly don't have a preference, Rose. I'm so much happier than any man should have a right to be. You could name him...Archibald and I wouldn't care." Rose looked up at him, her lips quirking. "Well, alright. I think I'd have to take exception with Archibald, but anything else is fine with me."

"Jack," she said simply, after a moment.

He looked down at her. "What?"

Rose shrugged. "Well, think about it. It just seems to fit. And not just for the reason you're thinking. We can't easily name him after you because, well, quite honestly your real name is a tongue-twister to pronounce." The Doctor snorted a laugh, then he started to speak up but she cut him off. "And we are not calling him 'Doctor Junior.'" He frowned slightly at that, Rose having curtailed his budding plan, but he let her continue. "But John is the human name you always take when necessary, and we could call him that, but that's just kind of ordinary, isn't it? But Jack can be short for John, so in a way it would still be like naming him after you. And then there's my mum. It could be a male variation of Jackie. She'd just love that! And then of course there's Captain Jack. One of our best friends and someone who we know will always be there for our child." Rose grinned up at him, wide and beaming. "And just like him, this baby is an impossible thing. You always did like impossible."

The Doctor eased her back in his arms and down onto the blanket beneath them. He shook his head as he propped himself up on an elbow. "I don't like impossible." He bent forward and lifted her shirt, placing a soft kiss to her belly. He then leaned back and stretched out beside her on the blanket, moving slowly toward her lips, but paused just before touching to add, "I love impossible."