I'm posting a little early today. Unfortunately, the next week is going to be a bit busy, so I probably won't post another chapter for a week. But, hopefully you'll feel better about things after you read this update. There are only 5 or so more chapters to the story, so things will be resolved eventually.
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Rose took a seat in the waiting area and Pete returned to his office after Rose refused to leave the medical floor. An hour later, Jackie rushed into the room and wrapped Rose in a fierce hug.
"Oh, sweetheart," Jackie said. "Pete told me what happened to himself… well, his parallel self. How is he?"
"Still in surgery," Rose replied. Rose buried her face into her mother's neck and sobbed. "He took a bullet for me, Mum. He can't die! I just found him again and he can't die! The multiverse can't take him from me again!"
"There, there," Jackie comforted Rose. "He won't die. He's too stubborn to do anything that stupid." Jackie offered her daughter a tissue and looked at her face, assessing the state in which her daughter sat there. "Have you had anything to eat today?"
"Nothing since breakfast," Rose answered.
"Do you have a change of clothes around here?"
"In my office, I always keep extra clothes up there."
"Well, I imagine he'll be in surgery for a bit longer and knowing you, you're not going to want to leave his side for the foreseeable future, so I'll just go up to your office and pick out some fresh clothes and then stop in the cafeteria to get you something to eat, yeah?" Jackie offered, but it was clear that Rose had no choice but to accept. Rose nodded wordlessly.
"Good," said Jackie. "And I'll get that Ianto bloke to bring down a good cuppa for you."
Jackie left and true to her word, Ianto arrived shortly after with a large cup of coffee in his hands and Rose's clothes. "Your mum said to bring these to you," Ianto explained. "Why don't you step inside the bathroom across the hall and I'll wait here while you change. I'll come get you if Dr. Sullivan comes out."
"Thanks, Yan," Rose replied. Rose hesitated a moment, glancing toward the door that led to the hallway and then quickly walked to the ladies' room across the hall. Rose took an inventory of herself in the mirror. Her clothing and hands were stained with blood. A smear of blood, tears, and mascara ran down her cheeks. Her eyes were red and puffy and her hands shook as the adrenaline was leaving her body finally. Rose began scrubbing away the stains from her hands and face. She lingered a moment at the sink to let the cool running water soothe both her physical and emotional aches. After a while, she dried her hands and then carefully removed the stained clothing, noting places on her stomach and chest where the blood had seeped in and stained her skin there as well. Rose scrubbed away the blood from her torso and put on her dry clothes. She felt a tiny bit better physically. Rose collected the bloodied clothing and paper towels, remembering John's instructions to incinerate anything with Time Lord DNA on it. Rose then returned to the waiting area. Ianto stood up when Rose walked in.
"The nurse said Dr. Sullivan is closing up Jason's chest and will be out in about an hour to give you an update," Ianto explained.
Rose released a ragged breath. So far, Jason had survived the surgery. That had to be a good sign, right? "Thanks, Yan."
"Any time, Rose. Can I get you anything else?"
Rose shook her head and took her seat again and Ianto left the room, holding the door open for Jackie who was laden down with a tray of food.
"Here we are, sweetheart," Jackie said as she set the tray down on a side table. Rose and her mother sat in silence as Rose picked at the food Jackie had brought her.
When it is clear that Rose wasn't going to eat any more, Jackie asked, "So, why don't you tell me the story about Jason, yeah?"
"I'd like to hear that as well," Pete said as he walked into the waiting area. "But first, I thought you'd like to know that Jake took care of everything. Max is in custody and the photographers are now blissfully unaware of what transpired."
"Good," Rose sighed. "I hope Jake didn't have too much trouble."
"No," replied Pete. "Sounds like Captain Harkness was a big help." The smirk on Pete's face revealed that there was probably more to that story and she'd have to ask about it later. "So, what's the story with the Time Lord who, for all intents and purposes, saved your life a few hours ago?"
Rose took a deep breath and began at the beginning, telling her parents everything from their first meeting on the stormy morning last week up until their arrival in triage, leaving out only the more intimate details.
"So, this Time Lord is from another parallel universe that collapsed and his TARDIS brought him here because of you? And he thinks he's a human?" Pete inquired.
"Yeah," replied Rose. Before Jackie or Pete could ask another question, Dr. Sullivan entered the waiting area. Rose jumped up to meet him.
"How is he, Dr. Sullivan?"
"Jason is stable and has been moved to a recovery room. I'll take you back to see him in a moment," Rose's knees buckled and she nearly collapsed to the floor in relief. Pete and Jackie each reached an arm around Rose to offer their support. "He lost a lot of blood and both hearts actually stopped beating during the operation, but thankfully John's notes on Gallifreyan biology indicated that Jason had entered a healing coma. First time in my career to continue operating on someone with no heartbeat. By the time I closed his chest back up, both hearts were beating again, although they are weak from the trauma."
"What's his prognosis, Harry?" asked Pete.
"Based on John's notes and his vitals, I'd say he'll make a full recovery without the need to regenerate, but it's important that he rest for at least a week to give his hearts plenty of time to recover and his chest wound to heal. But, seeing as how we've never treated a full Gallifreyan before, it could be less time. I'd like to keep an eye on him for a few days before I can confirm the rate of his recovery," Dr. Sullivan explained.
"Thank you, Dr. Sullivan," Rose managed to say after overcoming her relief at Jason's status. "Can I see him now?"
"Certainly. I'll take you back there now." Rose followed Dr. Sullivan to the recovery room. She stood at the edge of the curtain wall looking at Jason's form as he lay there with an IV in his arm and an oxygen tube under his nose. Rose noticed the double heartbeat on the monitor over his bed. She hesitated before slowly approaching Jason and taking his hand in hers. The emotions she had been holding back the last few hours finally poured out of her and she clutched his hand to her chest and sobbed. She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead before whispering, "I love you, Doctor. Please don't leave me. We've only just found each other." She stared at him for a moment more before Dr. Sullivan asked Rose to return to the waiting area while they moved Jason into a private room.
Twenty minutes later, Rose walked into Jason's room with Jackie at her heels.
"Blimey!" Jackie whispered. "It really is him. I never thought I'd be relieved to see that daft face and big ears again."
Rose smiled at her mother's affection for the Time Lord who she had once slapped for bringing Rose home a year late. Except this wasn't that same Time Lord. Rose wondered if this version of the Doctor would love her the way her original Doctor had, once he remembered who he was and how he got here. Would she one day get to tell Jason about his parallel self and their life together? Or better yet, show him through a telepathic bond? Rose yearned to feel that kind of connection again. Her mind had felt so empty since John's death.
Rose shook her head to clear it of the thoughts about the past and future. She needed to focus on the here and now – the man in front of her who needed her love to help him heal and remember his true identity. There was a recliner in the corner of the room and Rose pulled it over to Jason's bedside with Jackie's help.
Rose then took up vigil at Jason's bedside, not leaving his side. Rose was determined to be the first person Jason saw when we woke up. Jackie left eventually but not before giving instructions to Ianto to make sure that Rose ate three times a day. Ianto brought Rose a tray from the cafeteria before leaving for the night.
Later that evening, a nurse came into the room asking for Rose.
"Security at the front desk is looking for you, Commander Tyler. He says there's a man named Jack Harkness at the front desk asking to see you. He says he's a friend of the patient."
Rose smiled, "Yes, he is. Please tell security that I vouch for Jack and he is permitted into the medical wing. Have someone escort him here so that he doesn't get lost."
"Yes, Commander," responded the nurse before leaving the room.
A few minutes later, Rose heard Jack's flirtatious voice coming down the hall. He never could miss an opportunity to flirt with someone. Jack entered the room, "Hi, Rosie! How's the patient?" Jack asked with a soft voice. Rose stood and gave Jack a hug.
"He's stable," Rose explained, "but he hasn't woken up yet. His hearts are weak from the ordeal, but Dr. Sullivan believes he should make a full recovery."
"Hearts?"
"Yep. Time Lords have a binary vascular system."
"Well, that's good, since I thought for sure he was a dead man when that bullet went into his heart."
"Yeah, having a spare heart has its benefits," Rose smiled gently.
Jack stared at Jason for another moment before handing Rose a bag he brought with clothing for Jason.
"Thanks," Rose said. "When he's discharged, I'll probably take him back to my flat for a few days while he recuperates."
"Well, you've got my number if you need anything. I notified the University of Jason's absence. They aren't expecting him back for at least a month."
Just then, Jake came by with her laptop and some files he thought Rose might want to look through while she sat in one place. He also let Rose know that he collected her belongings from the hotel and left them at her flat. Not surprisingly, Jake and Jack left together and Rose realized that they must have planned this rendezvous after meeting at the botanical gardens earlier today. She was happy to see her two friends together; perhaps something good came out of today after all.
Rose settled down in the recliner, alternating between staring out the window at the darkening night sky and watching Jason's chest rise up and down with each gentle breath. No matter what, she never let go of his hand. Eventually, she laid her head down on the mattress next to Jason's hip, her lips pressed against his knuckles. Rose closed her eyes, her intention only to rest them for a few minutes, but her body betrayed her and she fell into a dreamless sleep.