DISCLAIMER: Still don't own Doctor Who. Still don't make any money from this. But if he doesn't stop leaving TARDIS prints in my flower bed, we're gonna have words…

SUMMARY: Something goes horribly, horribly wrong in the Parallel Universe and the Doctor's not there to save the day.

A/N: So things get pretty emotional for the Doctor-man. Probably, most like, almost definitely OOC, but who knows? ose and 11 have yet to meet so...

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Jackie Tyler had fallen asleep in the chair across from her daughter's hospital bed, a blanket draped across her legs. She was exhausted, emptionally and physically. Five months of watching her Rose waste away, machines breathing for her, feeding her, keeping her heart beating, not once moving on her own. If it wasn't for the baby, Jackie would have begged the doctors to let her go months ago.

As Jackie softly snored away, she never saw the Doctor quietly make his way into the room. Then froze.

Rose. His Rose. Laying so quietly, so still in the sterile room. Tubes and wires twisting into and around her body. His little pink and yellow human.

Pregnant, too.

Two tears fell down his cheeks as he closed his eyes, wishing more than anything her child was his. Well, his his. Jealousy raged through him for a moment before he drew in a deep, ragged breath and let it go to approach her bedside.

"Hello, Rose." He let his gaze search her face for a few precious moments, hoping for a reaction of some kind. Nothing. Just the sound of the machines filling her lungs, then emptying them.

"It's me, Rose. The Doctor. I regenerated again. You know, I don't even wonder if you'd know me with this new face. I know you, of all people in this or any other world or universe, you would." He reached for her hand, noting it still fit his perfectly.

"I missed you so much, Rose. So, so much." He stroked the back of her hand, soft skin cool and dry and so very Rose. "I had other companions after... well, after I left you. You told me not to be alone and I listened. For once." He laughed a little at himself. "I even tried to lock you away in my mind, but you were always there. All pink and yellow and oh, so human."

He paused at this, his gaze following the line of her protruding stomach. "I never did tell you I love you, did I? Maybe this could've been mine." He reached a hand to stroke her baby bump. "I do love you. Still, that is. Thought this regeneration would supress it. Scared that it would as much as I wished it would. But, no."

The baby kicked his hand and he laughed softly. "That's so beautiful, Rose," and stroked her stomach again.

"She missed you so much, ya know?" He looked over his shoulder to see Jackie Tyler, staring at Rose. "Had John and all, but you could see it."

He smiled at Jackie, actually missed her snarky attitude, quick comebacks, and really, the best cup of tea he'd ever had. Then, winced at the memory of the infamous Tyler Slap he'd been on the receiving end of so many times.

"What happened, Jackie?"

Jackie sighed and looked to where her hands were entangled in the blanket. "S'been seven years since you left us on tha' bloody beach, Doctor."

He had the decency to look as ashamed as he felt.

"I know you thought you were doing the right thing, but you were wrong. She cried. Again. For days because you left her. Again. But this time you left a copy. A copy! Now, I love John, I do. He's been good to my Rose, even when she was so hard on him. He never gave up on her. Took two of the hardest years before he'd had enough. They fought, Doctor, like nothin' I'd ever seen or heard. Sayin' things and accusin' each other, throwin' and breakin' things for at least a solid week. But they got over it, worked things out, and were stronger for it."

Jackie looked to Rose's still form and tears formed in her eyes. "They got married six weeks later."

She noted when the Doctor flinched and was not-so-secretly pleased.

"She got pregnant almost immediately, but she miscarried before the end of the second month. Happened twice. Not that she was doing anything dangerous, no. They both figured it had something to do with th' Time Lord part of John. Broke both of their hearts, it did."

He gestured to Rose, "So..."

Jackie swatted at him. "I'm gettin' there, ya plum." She took a deep breath and continued. "Five months ago, her and John got called in to help with trade talks. They did that a lot at that Torchwood. Helped folks."

She looked back to Rose. "They helped. Turns out some kind of shape-shiftin' alien was impersonatin' these other aliens. 'Parently they'd gotten a hold of some weapons and wanted to use Earth to fence 'em, or somethin' or another. Rose an' John figured out real quick they weren't really there to talk peace or trade and confronted them about it. Turned nasty real quick, Doctor" Jackie looked up to this new new new Doctor then, tears pooling in her eyes. "That's what they did though. Defendin' th' Earth no matter what."

The Doctor looked a little sick at this, so Jackie sat him in the chair next to her.

"Not sure 'bout the whole story but accordin' to Pete, there were some shots outside the conference room they were meetin' at in Torchwood. They had their team and all, but by the time the other teams got there, their people were dead and the aliens that attacked were dead or escaped. Rose got a bunch of 'em apparently, before they got away."

The Doctor huffed out a breath at this news but Jackie continued.

"Jake and Pete thought she was dead when they found her, laid out in a pool of blood. Hers and John's. They were bringin' her here and she kept saying 'Bring 'im back' and callin' his name." She wiped the tears from her eyes .

"By the time they got her here, she was like this," and gestured to Rose. "Found out she was 3 weeks pregnant then. She didn't even know."

Jackie rose from her seat to go to Rose's bedside, silent as she let the Doctor process everything. Before she could turn around, the Doctor was at her side, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Jackie, John's dead."

She jerked her shoulder from his hand and turned her head sharply to look him in the eye. "And how do you know that?"

"How do you think I'm here?" he gentled.

He relayed to her everything that had happened so far, then had to explain Bad Wolf.

"So, my little girl had all that in her head?" Jackie was in shock. "No wonder she...," she stopped.

"She what, Jackie?"

Jackie carefully put down her daughter's hand and turned to face this new old man she never thought she'd see again. She took a deep breath and released it carefully. "Doctor. Rose has been... different... since we came back to this universe."

"How do you mean?" Alarm colored his voice even more.

"She had dreams, all the time, and they'd come true. She'd know things she shouldn't, or couldn't, know about people, places. She started readin' all these books about maths and physics. And understood 'em! She even stumped John a few times. I could hardly follow their conversations most days." She snorted. "Not that I could after she met you." Her voice gentled. "Now the baby..."

The Doctor seriously panicked then. "The baby? What's wrong with Rose's baby?"

She touched his arm and took his hand, placed it on Rose's stomach.

"The baby's got two hearts, Doctor." She released his hand and watched the mighty Time Lord as his hands started shaking and knees went weak.

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