Chapter 2

A couple of not-improved and not-very-pleasant weeks later, Rose and her friend Marie, who also had two kids, decided to go shopping together after Marie finished her teaching job and picked up her kids from the daycare center.

"You're such a homey mother, hon," Marie teased her as they sorted through clothing together. "Honestly, when are you going back to work?"

Rose smiled, not really sure how to answer. "I dunno," she replied, shifting her weight as she realized Alex was asleep in his Snuggie on her chest. "I like bein' a mum. It's a lot of work, obviously. I might never go back."

"You're still on leave; better make up your mind soon," Marie reminded her supportively.

Just then, Rose's phone rang and she fished through her overcrowded diaper bag to find it. The caller ID indicated Pete Tyler.

"This would be my Dad, tellin' me that leave is about over," she rolled her eyes at Marie, who laughed at her. She raised the phone to her ear. "This is Rose."

"Rose, honey, I've got bad news," Pete's voice warned her, before he continued.

"How bad?" Rose answered, sounding unconcerned. "Sycoracs? Sontarans? Weeping Angels? Don't tell me it's Weeping Angels. That would be actually scary."

Pete hesitated for a moment. "It's John."

Blood drained from her face. "What about him?"

"We've taken him to the hospital. You might want to meet us there."

Rose drove to the nearest hospital in a frenzy, after Marie agreed to take Jackie to her house for the rest of the day. She rushed around the front desk and found her father waiting outside a room on the second floor.

"How is he? What's goin' on? Have they found what it is yet?" the words exploded out in a rush as she struggled to catch her breath, clutching Alex to her chest in a vain effort to keep him from waking up with all the excitement.

Pete grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye. "It's all right, Rose, settle down! Whatever it is, they—they do know it's nothing serious."

"Then they don't know what it is?"

Pete reached for his grandson. "Here, let me take Alex. You go on in and see John. But keep calm, dear, everything is all right."

Rose pulled the Snuggie straps from her shoulders and waist and carefully handed her baby to her father. Her hands shook with the simple task. She knew everything was fine, and yet—she'd lost the Doctor so many times, it seemed like the Devil was toying with the idea of doing it again.

She ran into his room without stopping to compose herself first. It was fine; John would expect her to appear like that, anyway. Flustered and with her hair and clothes all askew, she crossed the floor with two steps and sat down abruptly beside his bed. He raised his eyes in amusement at the sight of her.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. I wanna hear, everythin', right now, so you better take a deep breath. How do you feel?" she added, her heat melting into concern in an instant.

"Rosie, I feel fine," he said, honestly. "I don't know why they brought me here; probably 'cause I scared them; I do that a lot, sometimes. Was a freak thing. Only lasted a minute. And now I'm stuck here for the rest of the day!"

"But what was it?" she prodded anxiously.

"My blasted head! I was in the middle of something, and all of a sudden it just started killing me, and then I almost passed out—mark that, almost—and then your dad got scared, 'cause I guess he's a lot like you—"

"Oi!"

"—and he drove me up here, kicking and screaming, and then he called you."

"I hope you don't mean you were literally kicking and screaming…?"

"Well! I was hoping you weren't going to ask that question…"

"Doctor," she warned.

"Alright! So, I sort of was—not badly, though—just cause—it hurt," he attempted to explain.

"How bad?"

"Well, they've got me on painkillers now. Completely messes up your brain—you can hardly think with this stuff."

He seemed pretty cheeky to her, but that was not what mattered right now.

"And they still don't know what's wrong with you?" she demanded.

"Nope, still don't know. Useless bunch of 21'st century Earthlings," he added under his breath. "And did I mention, this hospital is disgusting. I'm gonna catch something actually dangerous just by sitting here if I don't get out soon! Do you know, Rose, hospitals give me the creeps; they really do."

He seemed out of breath by the end of the sentence and Rose stared at him curiously. "Yeh, I know that," she answered, slowly. Something about the way he was speaking sounded off. She looked down at her hands, then back up at him.

"You're gonna figure out what's wrong wif you, then?" she asked, just making sure.

"Soon as I get out of this hospital, you know it," he replied, with less of an edge in his voice as he reassured her. "It's rubbish; not bein' able to think straight, half the time." He motioned her forward, and gave her a sound kiss to seal his promise.