Rory was not making Rose any more confident about her decision to offer her child up for DNA testing. He said he had some experience with this stuff, but he was more nervous than she. The Doctor, eyes properly averted, held her hand as Rory got the machine all set up. The Doctor vaguely knew how this 43rd Century device worked, but it was Rory's knowledge that would make it actually useable.
"Don't worry Rose. We shouldn't even touch the fetus. It shouldn't be necessary," he choked out as the machine began to hum. She shut her eyes and refused to breathe. In all of two minutes, it was over. She had to admit that her worries had been a little over done. "And that's it. If the Doctor can have all the genes shifted out, you should be able to find John," Rory sighed. Rose's head fell back onto a pillow in relief.
"Good job Rose!" The Doctor said as he patted her hand, as if she had just accomplished something. She rolled her eyes and watched the Doctor type commands into the computer. "Well, how about some tea?" he cried once that was done. "It should take a few hours. Tricky business gene sorting, especially on someone as complicated as John. But it should be fine, and your son should be just fine!" Rose gasped and tears filled her eyes. A son. The Doctor would be so happy. He'd recently gotten into football and he talked about someday teaching his son to be the finest goalie in the world. "Are you all right?" Rose nodded, biting her lip.
"Yeah, I just... I hoped John would be here to find that out too. He... he would be so happy," she gasped. The Doctor hugged her tightly as she cried and Rory took that moment to leave the two of them alone. He rocked her back and forth as the tears fell and sobs ripped through her body.
"We'll find him Rose. Don't worry. Have I ever let you down?" he asked. She shook her head 'no,' even though that wasn't entirely true. Still, she forgave him for things he could not control.
"I'm sorry," she finally whispered weakly, wiping at her tears and sniffling. "I'm just a wreck lately. I haven't even asked about you. What have you been up to since we last saw each other?" She wasn't just curious, but she needed a distraction. The Doctor was always a good distraction. He pulled her into another hug, allowing her to close her eyes, as he told her all about Amy and Rory and the crack in space. She began to grow fond of these new companions.
"It sounds like me and Mickey," she giggled. Mickey the idiot as he used to call him. How Mickey had proved them both wrong. She hoped he was doing well.
"Hardly. You aren't half as difficult as Amy can be. Your mother just beats her at times. I could at least get away from your mum though," he joked, causing her to really laugh. "And I fear life will not be getting easier," he trailed off. She leaned back to look him in the eye. He was having one of those moments where his age shone through.
"Doctor?" she subtly inquired.
"I met my wife," he stated matter-of-factly. She was taken aback by this. "Yep. Back in my old face while I was with Donna. We met in a library, a good place to meet people, but not this library. Oh no, not good. Well, she knew all about me, and I wasn't really supposed to meet her then. She died that time. But we get our timeline all mixed up. We met again when the Angels attacked, when they were sent to your world probably. She calls me 'sweetie'." Rose gave a most ungraceful snort at that. Of all the terms she had heard the Doctor be referred to, that had to be the worst.
"I should try calling The Doctor that," she told him.
"You call him the Doctor?"
"Of course. He really is after all. He just doesn't change on me all of a sudden. So, your not quite but eventual wife, does she have a name? She sounds fascinating," Rose inquired. She was happy to note that this information did not hurt. He wasn't her Doctor and it was good that he was going to eventually find someone.
"River Song. Perhaps one of the most stubborn people I have ever dealt with. I'm actually growing fond of her I must admit." An alarm went off in the control room breaking them both out of their peace. The Doctor sprinted off, assuring her it was nothing serious. Her heartbeat slowing, she made her way into the kitchen, finding Amy sitting on the counter.
XXX
Rose walked in, unknowingly saving Amy from her own mind. Amy looked at the distraught woman. She looked like she'd been crying recently, and for justified reasons no doubt. Amy was sure she didn't look much better.
"Tea?" she offered, holding up Rory's mug. He was late, and therefore he forfeited his tea rights. Rose thanked her and took a few sips. "How are you doing?" Rose sniffled once again as the warm water caused her nose to run, but she put on a good smile.
"I'll be all right. I want to apologize for upsetting you." Amy waved it off as she took a sip.
"Don't bother to apologize. I know what you're going through. I lost Rory twice and thought I would never get him back again," she explained. "I'm going to do everything I can to help." Rose thanked her and took a seat next to her on the counter.
"You have an extraordinary husband. You must be proud. How long have you two been married?"
"Just a few months now. It's hard to tell in here though. We ran off with the Doctor directly after the reception. When you met us, we were on our honeymoon." Rose appeared more uncomfortable with this information, and Amy mentally scolded herself. She was making Rose feel like she was intruding. "Don't worry! This just gives The Doctor another chance to get us to Rio," she jested. Rose laughed at this.
"The Doctor has a tendency to do this. We're going to New York, but end up in London. He says we're going to the '60s and suddenly we're talking to Queen Victoria. You... you never know where you're going to end up." Amy sensed something deep behind those words.
"Is he the reason you ended up in an alternate universe?" she recalled that bit of information. Rose nodded, but did not offer up more information. "Did you meet John there or here? Forgive my asking if it's too difficult!" she was quick to add. Rose actually laughed lightly at this question.
"Well, that is a can of worms you're opening. I met him in this universe on my first trip back. In some ways though, I'd known him for years before that." Amy was completely lost. Rose shifted to face her, setting her tea cup down. "You see... I don't quite understand this process even though it's been explained to me several times, but the Doctor has a tendency to regenerate. So, when he's close to dying, all his cells die and he is... rebuilt with a new body." Amy's jaw dropped. "My thoughts exactly. I knew him two regenerations ago. But the one before this one, he was about to regenerate, but managed to somehow stopped it with the help of Donna - past companion- and my John was created from the Doctor's spare hand. His hand was chopped off and he had it in a jar." Amy's mouth opened and closed several times as she tried to process this information. Rose's husband was a clone of the Doctor? But a different Doctor. The Doctor could change bodies. This was just weird. "Would you like to see a picture?" This snapped her out of the whirlpool of thoughts that was consuming her.
"I'd love to." Rose pulled a folded photograph out of her pocket and handed it to Amy. It was a picture of a summer's day. Rose and John (The Doctor?) were sitting next to each other beside a lake. He was handsome. His messy brown hair stood on end, and his eyes had a glorious happy shine to them. He was probably taller than this Doctor and a bit slimmer.
"He had that suit made special to match what The Doctor wore all the time," Rose explained. Amy noted the brown pinstripe suit with the white converse. This would have been an interesting Doctor to have known. Perhaps she'd get to meet him.
"Does he act like The Doctor?" she inquired quietly. She was still overwhelmed with all of this.
"Just like him." A few tears slipped down Rose's face.
XXX
Rory sipped his new mug of tea (Amy had given his away) and watched the computer as it ticked away the final few minutes before they would see if they reading worked. The mood on the TARDIS was both tenser and lighter than it had been a few hours ago. Everyone was eager to know the location of John (hence the tenseness), but Amy and Rose were becoming quick friends, and based off some conversation, Amy ended up yelling at the Doctor about changing faces and not telling her, and why did he have a spare hand, and what else he was keeping from her! Rose, between fits of laughter, had managed to save Rory from being accused of something, by quickly urging Jake to take Rory somewhere. The two then found some excuse to save the Doctor who was completely caught off guard by the sudden outburst. Rory knew the Doctor to be a man prepared for most anything, but his wife's temper was something that still caught him off guard at times. He should have felt bad, but he was just happy that was directed at him for once. Though admittedly, Amy was adorable when she was all worked up about something. God, he loved that woman. He'd gladly spend another two millennia waiting for her if she required it.
"Anything yet?" Jake asked as he tossed himself into the seat next to Rory.
"No. There's still three minutes left to go. I hope this works," Rory sighed, running a hand through his hair. Jake nodded and began to fiddle with his gun.
"If not, the Doctor will find a way. He always has a plan," Jake commented after a few seconds. Rory shrugged and stared into his cup. The Doctor wasn't perfect and he didn't want to have to risk anything more than he had to.
"How'd you meet the Doctor?" Rory changed the topic. Jake messed with a button a bit before answering.
"He popped into our universe during an invasion of Cyber Men. Saved us. He looked different then. Then I came over to this side as part of a rescue mission. That's how Rose ended up in my universe. Now, I know him as John. He's a human version of the Doctor, but he's still as crazy. He's taken Torchwood in a whole new direction." So John was the Doctor. He thought he'd gathered that much from Amy's tirade. "What about you?"
"Oh, he was Amy's imaginary friend that showed up one day to save the Earth from an alien invasion. He took her away the night before our wedding supposedly." Jake laughed at this. "Apparently after months of travel, he shows up at my bachelor party, telling me she was coming on to him, and so I come along, we do more traveling, everything's going well, when suddenly I'm killed by a crack of light and turn out to be a robot Roman soldier who kills Amy, then has to guard her while she recovers for the next two thousand years! So that's how I met him," he finished smoothly. Jake just stared at him.
"Feel better?"
"Oh much!" A red, blinking light appeared on the screen. Rory and Jake sprang to their feet, tea crashing to the ground. "Where is that?" Jake scribbled the coordinates down and they rushed to the control room. They'd found him.
XXX
The Doctor was honestly, truly puzzled. Of all the places to go, why there? This wasn't his favorite of memories, but it wasn't the worst. It's not like they'd found a way to Gallifrey. Why there? He sighed and stroked the TARDIS consul. Girlish laughter danced in from somewhere in the distance. Rose and Amy were getting along well. He thought they would. They were very similar. Two girls who'd been waiting for their lives to start, now doing extraordinary things. He just hoped Amy didn't end up like Rose. All he knew is that Amy and Rory wouldn't stay forever. They never do. If River didn't know who they were, then that was a good indication.
River...
A/N: So, I think at some point I said this would only be told from Amy and Rose's point of view. I lied. Well, it changed is more accurate. So, tell me, what did you think?