7: Uncle

"He's brilliant!"

"Shh, keep your voice down or mum'll have both of our heads."

"But I've only got the one left."

"Come on, then, let's let 'im sleep."

"Alright. Goodnight Tony Tyler. Rose!"

Rose rolled her eyes, not for the first time since bringing the Meta Crisis Doctor home to meet her little brother. It had been a month since the fateful day that the DoctorDonna was created; three weeks since he'd found a job beside her at UNIT; only a few days since Jackie had finally said they could babysit Tony by themselves while she and Pete had a much needed night out.

Of course she trusted her daughter, and she even trusted the Doctor a bit more, though the fact that he was part human, part Timelord didn't help any. But being in the parallel universe with Pete alive again and with more economic and social stability gave Jackie extra incentive to do her best. She'd struggled with Rose; gave too many thrift store presents and invited too many men into their home, all ending in disappointment and heartbreak. With Tony, she was determined to do it right. She had everything she needed to give him the best of lives, and she knew it. She, better than anyone, understood how lucky she was to be living the life she now did.

So it came as no shock to anyone when Jackie kept Tony held firmly in her grasp every time the Doctor seemed all too enthusiastic to grab him in his own arms. As the Doctor appeared more and more dejected, and as Tony's terrible twos started showing, Jackie finally decided it was time to let the young couple babysit, just for one night.

So here they stood, leaned over Tony's crib on a Friday night, Rose tugging the Doctor's sleeve as he fawned over her baby brother.

"Tony Tyler, more like Tiny Tyler."

Rose sighed again, smiling despite all attempts to be annoyed. She couldn't help finding the Doctor a bit endearing as he gazed down at Tony with a big smile on his face. That combined with the terrible dad jokes made her daydream about their own children. Their own family. Maybe they would take some time off of UNIT for a while. Move into a little cottage...take walks on the beach every morning...have two kids and a dog running around in the garden.

Rose shook her head as Tony began wailing, finally woken by the Doctor's incessant chatter. Her beautiful daydream washed away with the tide, as did her infatuation with the Doctor, temporarily.

"Now you've done it."

The Doctor stepped aside with a cringing smile as Rose lifted Tony into her arms. The Doctor fiddled with his earlobe awkwardly as Rose bounced her brother and shushed him quietly. When their eyes met, he mouthed a quick apology.

"Shhh; what's wrong, Tony? The Doctor wake ya?"

The boy's crying softened to a whimper. The Doctor muttered, "Sorry."

Rose turned to him with a softer expression. "It's fine. He's like this a lot lately. Everything sets him off."

Tony had quieted down and started to close his eyes, so Rose placed him gently back into the crib and locked it. "I'm gonna pop to the loo for a second. Can you make sure he goes to sleep?"

"Sure."

"You're okay by yourself, right?"

"I used to be a dad, Rose, I think I can watch him for a minute."

His tone had been light, almost playful, but his words sent chills down Rose's spine. How could she have forgotten? Actually, had he ever really mentioned it before? Perhaps in passing. But had he ever really talked to her about that part of his life? Maybe he didn't want to. Maybe it hurt too much.

Rose realized she was staring at him when his left eyebrow arched in an unspoken question. She laughed it off and quickly left before it could get awkward, but his last words echoed in her brain all the way down the hall.

As Rose went out of the room, the Doctor sunk into the rocking chair in the corner of the room beside a lamp filled with stickers depicting footballers and trains. From a bookshelf he plucked The Rainbow Fish. He had it read by the time Tony began mumbling something to him a minute later.

"Iwan' mil."

The Doctor set the book back on the shelf and came beside the crib, feeling a bit more nervous than he should have to be addressed by a two year-old. "I'm sorry?"

"I want milk."

"Oh," the Doctor's eyes widened, "right. Milk. Okay."

He left the room in a hurry and went right to the kitchen, where he dashed around for a second completely lost. When he finally found the bottle of milk in the fridge, intelligently already prepared by Jackie, he silently thanked her and started back towards the room. In the hallway, though, Rose was carrying her ringing phone towards the kitchen he was leaving. She eyed him curiously before she noticed the bottle in his hand.

"Did he ask for that?"

"Yeah."

Her phone rang out again and she cringed. "I'm sorry, I really have to take this. Do you mind-?"

"No, not at all; it's fine."

"Thank you."

The Doctor watched her pad barefoot into the kitchen with a feeling his Timelord side would probably snarkily attribute to 'domestics'. This new him, though, with that little kick of human...he was okay with this feeling. He loved this feeling. Seeing Rose walking barefoot in her pajamas as he carried a bottle of cold milk to a sleepy, slightly grumpy child...he could get used to this.

He returned to the crib's side as Tony sat up with his hands outstretched above him. The Doctor set the bottle on top of the bookshelf and scooped the child up beneath his armpits. Tony giggled, and the Doctor smiled. When he had him secured in his arms, he sat in the rocking chair and set him on his lap.

"Hi Tony. How are you doing tonight?"

"Milk!"

Tony was grabbing for the bottle sitting just out of reach on the bookshelf. The Doctor grabbed it and handed it to him, holding the bottle loosely in case Tony decided to drop it.

"This isn't so bad, is it? Your mummy didn't trust me to keep you safe. Wish she could see me now."

Rose had finished her phone conversation and returned to the room, but she stopped in the doorway with an unreadable expression. A soft smile reached across her lips as she watched the Doctor interact with her little brother. He was a natural. A beautiful, spectacular natural. Who knew the Doctor would be so good at something so domestic? Just three short years ago, Rose would've fainted at this sight.

"Your Uncle Doctor's gonna take good care of you."

"I don't think you're his uncle."

The Doctor looked up with wide eyes. When he met Rose's, though, he relaxed into a grin. "No?"

Rose entered the room, resting a hand on the back of the Doctor's chair. "If anything, maybe a brother-in-law?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, giving Tony complete control of the bottle as he unconsciously loosened his grip. "Brother-brother in law?"

Rose shook her head, hiding her face. "I didn't mean...maybe someday. This isn't a proposal...oh my God."

The Doctor sat stunned, mouth working silently for many moments. Then, suddenly, something hard made contact with his head, and stars were sent into his eyes.

"Tony! You can't do that to people!"

Rose was grabbing Tony from the Doctor's lap while he blinked and shook his head to clear his vision. She held the baby on her hip with a horrified expression as she turned to the Doctor.

"You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

She turned her attention to her brother, who was reaching out for the bottle that had slipped to the floor in the excitement. "You gonna say you're sorry to the Doctor?"

Tony didn't seem to hear her at first, but after she nudged him a bit, he turned big eyes to the Doctor, who had stood in front of him, still rubbing his head. "Sorry."

Rose nodded and set him back in the crib, making sure it was locked before grabbing the bottle from the floor and leading the Doctor to the hallway. She shut the door before Tony could protest.

"Sorry about that."

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "No, no; it's fine. Believe me, I've been hit with worse than a two year-old's bottle."

Rose bit her lip as she gazed up at him. She held his chin and turned his head to get a better look at his forehead, which was still very pink. "Well, you now you're officially an uncle; bruises and all. That was the initiation; didn't you know?"

The Doctor gave her a puzzled expression. "Uncle? Don't you mean brother-in-law?"

Rose's eyes widened. The Doctor grinned. "I-I don't have any plans, really. This isn't...I mean, I don't have a ring on me. But...I think it's an option for someday, right?"

Rose nodded subconsciously, staring into his eyes. "Yeah. Yeah; someday."

Slowly, they each smiled in turn, and Rose found her hand resting on the back of his neck. Suddenly, their lips were pressed together. The Doctor held her face in his hands gently. They giggled as they parted, and it was only then that they realized the door had opened a moment before.

They looked up sheepishly, still holding onto each other, to find Jackie and Pete standing in front of the door. She was standing with her arms crossed, eyebrow raised; he with a small grin standing just behind her. She smirked sarcastically.

"Last time I'm having you two babysit together."

Rose and the Doctor looked to each other and couldn't help but share one last smile.