Chapter 7 – A Night Alone

"Hi, I'm Leah!" Leah said boldly, sticking out her hand to Penelope and beaming.

"Hello," Penelope replied with a smile, shaking the offered hand. "I suppose I'm your granny."

"So you're Daddy's Mummy?"

"Yes, I am."

"But aren't you dead?"

"I don't feel very dead," Penelope replied.

Leah beamed. "Will you buy me loads of presents like my other Granny?"

"Leah," the Doctor warned. "What did I say about being rude?"

"No, it's fine," Penny replied with a soft chuckle and continued to smile at Leah. "Of course I will, Leah."

"Thank you!" she said, beaming before looking up at her Mum. "Mummy, can I go and play?"

"Of course you can," Rose told her and instantly Leah got up and skipped out the door.

"Well, that was short," the Doctor said, a little apologetically to Penelope.

Penelope chuckled again. "She reminds me of you when you were just out of the loom."

Rose giggled as the Doctor went bright red. "Would you like to meet Alex, now?" she asked Penelope.

She nodded. "Yes, please."

"He's in the Infirmary," Rose explained as they got up and moved out into the corridor. "He's not well."

"Oh, nothing serious I hope," Penelope said quickly.

Rose shook her head as they continued down the corridor. "No, but the Shadow Proclamation did somethin' to me when I was pregnant and he was born prematurely. He can't talk or walk yet and Leah was doin' that all by four months. He's always ill."

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Penelope said gently. "If there's anything I can do to help...?"

"We're just keeping an eye on him," the Doctor explained, his voice dropping as they entered the quiet Infirmary. "The TARDIS keeps a watch over him and she alerts us if his condition changes."

"It seems we have a lot to catch up on," Penelope said.

"About two-hundred years," the Doctor supplied, grinning.

They reached Alex and found him lying there not moving. However, the instant he felt his parents' presence his eyes snapped open and he threw up his arms, giggling.

"Hello, sweetheart," Rose said gently, taking him in both arms and kissing him. "How are you?"

He giggled again and hugged her, before he looked up at the Doctor and threw his arms to him as well. He obliged, hugging him and kissing him before Alex was finally satisfied and looked up at the new person.

"Alex, this is your Granny," Rose told him.

He threw out his arms for a hug from her too. Penelope smiled and took him, cradling him in both arms.

"Hello, Alex," she said gently.

He giggled and instantly went to grab her hair.

"He's got a hair fetish," Rose explained, laughing.

"Hey, Doc, I've got..." began a voice from the doorway and they looked up to see Jack standing there, staring at Penelope.

"Hello, Jack," she said, smiling.

"Hey, Penny..." He glanced between her and the Doctor for a moment, a little unsure how to phrase his next question. "... You guys made up?"

The Doctor nodded and moved forward. "Jack, this is my mum, Penelope. Mum, this is Jack."

"Yeah, we've met," Jack said, smiling at Penelope.

"Jack, if you flirt with my mum I'll break your manipulator again," the Doctor warned lowly.

Jack was all innocence. "I didn't do anything!"

Penelope decided to interject before they ended up rolling around in the dirt trying to bite each other's throats. "Perhaps Jack could show me the err... is it called the Hub?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jack said as she gave Alex back to his mother with a good bye to the boy, who giggled even more than before. "Just follow me."

And with that, he linked his arm through Penelope's and strode off out the Infirmary.

The Doctor sighed, rolling his eyes and looking to Rose.

She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you for givin' her a chance."

He nodded, dropping to sit down on the bed next to her and Alex. "Just... Just promise me that if this all goes wrong you'll be there for me."

"I'll always be there for you," Rose told him seriously, and kissed him.

He drew back, gazing at her for a moment, before pulling a face. "Oh, this is mushy."

She giggled, triggering a giggle from Alex as he stared up at them both with wide eyes. They both looked down as he reached up to their faces, his eyes full of wonder before he suddenly launched into a chesty coughing fit. Rose held him through it, kissing him until he was done.

"I really hope he'll start talking soon," Rose admitted, brushing back his hair. "Do you think it could be brain damage?"

"Well, he's not deaf or mute," the Doctor muttered. "Maybe he just doesn't want to yet." He turned his attention to Alex who was silently gazing up at him. "Hello, Alex, I'm Daddy. Can you say Daddy?"

Alex didn't say a word.

"Maybe we should start signing with him?" the Doctor suggested, looking at Rose.

"What do you mean?"

"As a form of communication, make things up or pinch from sign language," the Doctor clarified, looking at Alex. "Alex, you..." he pointed at the boy. "Hungry?" he gestured holding something in his right hand and moving it back and forth from his mouth. Alex seemed to get it instantly, shaking his head. "Thirsty?" the Doctor continued, holding up his left hand to his mouth and moving his head back, as if drinking. Alex shook his head again. The Doctor smiled. "Happy?" he asked, smiling and tracing a bigger smile on his face with his index finger. Alex nodded, giggling. "Thank you," the Doctor finished, tapping his chin and moving his hand forward. Alex copied happily.

"He seems to understand us fine," Rose observed.

"Well, like I said, he might just be waiting until he understands more before he talks, but if he's not talking within a couple of months we'll have to look into it," the Doctor said, and Alex launched into yet another coughing fit.

"Oh god," Rose muttered as the Doctor rested a hand on Alex's forehead.

"He's a little feverish, can you get the blue liquid for the needle gun?" he asked Rose and she nodded, getting up as the Doctor took Alex from her and sat him down in front of him. He'd stopped coughing, and was now just staring up at him again. Then suddenly he shifted on his bum, dropped down off of the bed and toddled off towards the door.

The Doctor blinked, staring at the sight. "Um... Rose?"

"Hmm?"

He pointed to Alex walking off across the Infirmary.

"... When did he start walkin'?" Rose asked, genuinely confused.

"Five seconds ago?" the Doctor wondered, his eyebrows so high they were almost in his hairline.

"So he can walk but he can't talk yet?" Rose asked seriously as they watched him try to reach the door switch. He jumped, then landed awkwardly and fell over backwards onto his rump. Then he got up and tried to reach the switch again without so much as a squeak.

"He jumped!" Rose realised in utter surprise.

"This is strange," the Doctor muttered, running a hand through his hair. "He wasn't even crawling that much, and now he can walk and jump?"

"This is good, right?" Rose asked, still staring at the boy trying to get to the switch but coming up short every time. "Maybe that means he'll talk soon."

"Hopefully," the Doctor replied, getting up. "Alex!" He moved over to the boy and scooped him up, taking him back to the bed. "Come on. I'm very impressed, but you need to rest."

Alex just looked up at him again, perfectly content and smiling as though nothing he'd done had been of any interest whatsoever.

Thankfully, Penelope had agreed to look after Alex and Leah to give the Doctor and Rose their overdue alone night. They stocked high with snacks and went to the TARDIS cinema where it was showing Child's Play, both opting to take the seats at the back despite the fact there was obviously no one else there.

They found a comfortable position of Rose using the Doctor's chest as a pillow, with the Time Lord himself strewn out over several seats, one arm around her shoulders and the other free to take popcorn from the box in Rose's lap.

"Oh god, I hate this bit," Rose muttered as Chucky made his first kill.

"Hmm?"

"When they think it's Andy! It's horrible."

"I'm just struggling to understand how they think a little boy possibly had the strength to push this full-grown adult woman through a solid glass window," the Doctor said in reply, shoving some more popcorn into his mouth.

"Good point. Though this film does freak me out."

"You should try visiting the World Of Aunty Winnie and getting yelled at by an annoyed dying purple pony."

"... Umm, what?"

"Never mind," the Doctor replied, and went for some more popcorn as Chucky continued his rampage on-screen.

"I always feel like a rebel when I sit at the back of the cinema," Rose admitted.

"Why?"

"It's where you make out because no one else can see you."

"Oh," the Doctor realised. Then thought about this for a moment. "Humans have some strange customs."

She giggled, looking at the screen again.

"Are you trying to subtly tell me something?" the Doctor wondered seriously after a pause, chewing his popcorn thoughtfully.

She laughed. "Nothin' of the sort."

"Right," he replied, laughing with her and almost choking on his popcorn.

"Oh, by the way, don't talk to my Mum at the moment."

"Why?"

"Well, she rang earlier to talk about Mickey and Martha's weddin', then she said how sad she was she'd missed ours..."

"Oh god," the Doctor muttered, snapping his head to look at her. "You didn't."

"Umm... Yeah."

"Oh no. She's gonna be chasing after me with engagement rings and reception seating plans isn't she," he stated more than asked.

"Yup," Rose replied, popping the 'p'.

"Thanks," the Doctor said somewhat sarcastically, smiling. "What did you tell her?"

"I said we were thinkin' about it to get her to shut up," Rose confessed, laughing.

He nodded. "... Do you want to get married?"

She shrugged, indifferent. "I don't care. We're already bonded."

"We can if you want," he said in a tone of voice that dreaded a reply.

"No," she said strongly. "If you don't want to then I don't."

"Okay, if you're sure," he replied. "I just don't see the point. Marriage means nothing to me. It's boring and pointless, a well-rehearsed play with stupid outfits that cost too much, the whole thing means nothing and would belittle how much I love you. I don't need a metal ring on my finger to prove how much you mean to me."

"So that's a definite no," Rose summarised, laughing. "Mum's gonna blow a fuse."

"Are there any fuses left to blow?" the Doctor asked seriously.

She just laughed again, and reached for some popcorn only find there was only crumbs left.

"You ate it all!" she yelped, annoyed.

The Doctor just beamed and reached under his seat, bringing out another box and putting it between her thighs.

"This one's mine," she said simply, opening it and instantly shoving as much as she could in her mouth until she looked like a hamster. The Doctor took one look at her and burst out laughing. She tried desperately not to giggle so she wouldn't spew it out and chewed and swallowed, finally clearing her mouth after a few minutes. He saw her expression and laughed again, before leaning forward and kissing her gently. Then she reached up and grabbed his head and commenced a very long and very wet snog.

Finally they both came up for air, regained their breath, and without a word started snogging again, arms wrapped around each other with the film completely forgotten.