Martha returned with the bottles and gave one to each of the fathers. She then disappeared back into the lab to run a blood test on the babies to see if there was any other problems they may have missed. The Doctor and Jack didn't talk as they fed their children, each being stubborn and waiting for an apology that wouldn't come. Cerys finished her bottle off then slipped back to sleep with Jack holding her as Kui'la struggled to eat hers. She cried not latching on properly as she ate. The Doctor cooed at her, trying to be patient even as his worry about her was clear in his face. Jack set Cerys down in the incubator then moved to sit next to the Doctor. The Doctor glanced at him for only a moment as he kept encouaging Kui'la to eat.
"I'm not going to apologize," Jack started.
"Then get off my bed," The Doctor interrupted him. Jack didn't move.
"Let me finish," Jack snapped then he sighed as the Doctor sucked his lips in and stared at him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before starting again. "I'm not going to apologize for wanting to find Rose. I know you don't think her return will cause any problems between us, but I remember watching the two of you dance. It was the first time I had ever teleported anyone without them noticing. You always only had eyes for her and now she is back. I thought you would at least be curious to find out how she crossed between the two universes because it is supposed to be impossible, yet you keep avoiding the subject of her. I can't help but wonder if the reason you don't want to find her is because you are afraid I am right. If you see her that you will leave her for me and I can't lose you. You and the girls are my family. The only family I can have that can know the truth about my immortality and have long enough life spans where I won't end up alone in a few years."
"If you are so afraid that I will leave you once I see her, why do you continue to search for her?" The Doctor questioned.
"Because I have to know if she is really back. If she is, I was hoping that I would be able to talk to her. Let her see that we are happy together. Two, well three but technically two, years have passed since you last saw her, yet your eyes still hold the same pain that they had the last time we talked about her," Jack explained. The Doctor stared at him for a moment. He opened the bond again, letting Jack feel his worry over Kui'la but also the love that he felt for Jack. He understood why Jack wasn't going to apologize, but he wasn't either. He was still angry at Jack for obsessing over Rose, rather than letting it go. Even if he did understand.
"I won't ever leave you again, Jack. I'm sorry that I left you on the Gamestation all those years ago. I can't change what I did. What I can do is show you that I don't plan on leaving you again. I love you with both of my hearts. You and the girls are my family and I don't want to lose that. I just wish you would trust me," The Doctor whispered. He didn't like helping Jack to find Rose, but he didn't see any other way. Reaching for the screen he pulled it close to him and had the TARDIS pull up the data again. Sending the TARDIS the simple command the screen went blank. When the map came back up it only held a total of fifteen dots scattered around the London area. Only one of the dots was close to Cardiff.
"What did you do?" Jack wondered as he studied the map.
"I had the TARDIS remove any anomalies that were related to rift activity or that were in places known to house other alien species. The remaining dots are anomalies that she can't account for that have happened within the last year. Your team should be able to split up and check all of the locations within a day. I would offer the TARDIS, but we can't move her until the babies are stronger," The Doctor advised him. He chuckled as he felt Jack's mouth press against his. He kissed him back softly.
"Thank you, Doctor," Jack whispered before kissing him again. The Doctor smiled at him. The Doctor's smile faded as he looked down at Kui'la's half eaten bottle.
"Oh, Kui'la you have to try to eat more than that," The Doctor cooed. He tried to encourage her to eat, but she refused to eat any more than she had. The Doctor burped her then changed her nappy. By then Martha was back and she moved her to the incubator making a note on her chart about how much she ate. They would try again in a little while to get her to eat, but first it was the Doctor's turn to be examined.
Martha was thankful that he and Jack had made up as she examined him from top to bottom. Jack held his hand as Martha listened to his hearts then made him lay back. She examined him, looking for any tears or cuts that she could have missed the day before while he was giving birth. Anything that would account for the signs of infection that he had. She found nothing obvious, though. Having him turn on his side, she then gave an injection of a powerful antibiotic. As he rolled back over onto his back, she could see the Oncoming Storm clearly in his eyes. Yet, he didn't fight her as Jack tried to keep him calm.
"I just need to draw blood than I am done," Martha advised him. She got an empty syringe and found a vein in his arm. She took three vials of blood to test before applying a plaster to the spot. "All done."
"Are you sure? I am sure there is somewhere that you haven't touched or poked, but I can't think of where it is," The Doctor informed her, the sarcasm clear in his tone.
"Be nice," Jack told him. The Doctor started to glare at Jack then decided against it as they had just stopped fighting and he really didn't want to start again.
"Fine," He sighed. Martha furrowed her brow in fake concern.
"I must have missed something major if you are going to listen and be nice," Martha teased him. She changed over his IV for him. He wasn't happy to see that Jack didn't need one anymore. He was even less happy when Martha wrapped his arm several times with tape to stop him from removing his IV. He stared at her as he started to pick at it wanting the IV out of his arm. Jack moved his hand away from the tape. "You need to leave it in for a few days until your fever has broke. I know you don't like it but just try to ignore it."
"It itches," He complained.
"And don't tell me it itches. We both know it doesn't," Martha responded. The Doctor nodded at her unhappily as he tried to get his hand out of Jack's hand so that he could pick at the tape again. "Instead of picking the tape, how about you try to get Kui'la to eat again or we are going to have to put a feeding tube in place."
"She doesn't need a feeding tube," The Doctor informed Martha as he yawned. What he really needed was to sleep again, but his family came first. Martha got the little girl for him and once again he tried to encourage her to eat. She managed to finish the rest of the bottle, but it took her twice as long to eat it as it did the first half. The Doctor then cuddled her close as he closed his eyes. Jack waited until he was asleep before pulling his phone out.
"Gwen it's me," He paused. "No, I don't need you to come to the TARDIS. I am sending you a list of locations. I need everyone to investigate the list. You are looking for anything related to a Rose Tyler or the words Bad Wolf," Jack explained. He hung up his cell and tossed it back on the table beside his bed. Taking Kui'la from the Doctor he carefully moved her back to the incubator before returning to the Doctor's bed. Climbing in it, he cuddled the Doctor close. Within twenty-four hours they would be closer to finding Rose/ He kissed the Doctor on the head.
"I love you and so help me I am going to trust you not to break my heart. Please don't prove me right when it comes to Rose," Jack whispered to the sleeping man. He received a soft snore in return. Jack guessed it was as close to an answer as he was going to receive. Snuggling into the Doctor, he just got comfortable when Cerys began to cry. The Doctor groaned opening his eyes. "Go back to sleep, I will get her," Jack informed him.
"K," The Doctor agreed sleepily. He closed his eyes as Jack got out of bed. The sleepless nights were one thing he didn't miss about having a newborn. Still once he was healed it wouldn't be a problem as he normally only slept a few hours anyways. Right now, though, he needed to sleep and heal but Cerys needed him. Getting her out of the incubator, he changed her nappy, then settled down on his bed to feed her. He had just finished burping her and was about to lay her back down when Kui'la woke up demanding her turn. Jack looked longingly over at the Doctor's bed, then started his routine over again.