Author's Note: sources used:
Sources I used:
a href=" /house/doorbell-dream-interpretation/" rel="nofollow"Dream Meaning Net/a
a href=" spiritual-awakening/the-spiritual-meaning-of-hearing-a-doorbell/" rel="nofollow"The Spiritual Meaning of Hearing a Doorbell/a
Rose opened her eyes, sitting up in bed suddenly, as the last echoes of a doorbell rang through their apartment.
She was surprised to find the Doctor undisturbed. He was a light sleeper at all times, alert at the tiniest changes in the atmosphere of the flat. Rose envied him mightily: he still woke up fresh and bushy-tailed even after sleeping so lightly.
She tended to sleep like a log, and she still felt all kinds of hell in the mornings.
Rose pressed her lips in a "dunno" expression, then stood up and shrugged on her cotton wrap while she was walking to the door. The lights switch clicked with a deafening noise, and Rose cringed, hearing the Doctor turn in bed.
When she finally looked through an eye, she saw that no one was there. Rose pulled back, frowning, then searched for some shoes to put on. Her black office flats were there, and she stepped into them, unlocking the door and walking outside, to the further side of the hall.
There was no one there. Not even traces of footsteps were heard, there wasn't anyone on the stairs, and the elevators were quiet.
Rose pressed a hand to her cheek, puzzled and slightly scared.
She was sure that she'd heard the doorbell ring, yet there was no sign of anyone doing so.
"Rose? Rose, what's happening?"
She must've jumped three feet to the ceiling upon hearing the Doctor's voice.
Rose put her hand over her heart that was beating madly in her chest and turned to the Doctor.
"God, you scared me, you git!" she accused, then shoved him slightly, expressing her pent-up anxiety from the strange occurrence. "How in the world are you walking so softly, and wearing those boots!" she nodded her head, indicating the chunky black boots he used to wear on an outing for a Torchwood mission.
The Doctor smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." That moment, he immediately turned serious. "Are you okay?" he asked, wrapping one arm around her shoulders.
Rose leaned into his embrace. "There was a ring on the door…I woke up to see who it was, but they must've been a ghost or an alien to disappear as quickly as they did," Rose mused, biting her lower lip.
"Or an alien ghost," the Doctor couldn't stop himself from joking. Upon seeing how bothered his wife was, however, he pulled them back to their apartment. "Rose, there wasn't a doorbell."
Rose harrumphed.
"'Course there was! I heard it, loud and clear," she explained, feeling offended at the Doctor not believing her.
"I would have heard it, you know that," he continued calmly, letting her enter the flat first and locking the door behind them. "I can hear the water moving in the pipes, surely I wouldn't have missed something as loud and jarring as a doorbell."
The Doctor ushered Rose back into their bedroom, not forgetting to switch off the lights, and assisted her with shedding the wrapper off. "It's only 4 am, we can still catch some sleep."
Rose looked at him mulishly but crawled under the blanket the Doctor held open for her. He dived into bed immediately after her and snuggled closer. Rose snaked her left arm around the Doctor's ribs, pulling him closer, and she felt him tuck her head beneath his chin. She could feel the soft, steady thumping of his single heart, and she relished in the knowledge that she was living her dream. The Doctor, her Doctor, was there, already falling asleep next to her, their TARDIS was almost grown to the point where they could take her out for longer, more distant, trips, her mum and Pete and Tony were forty minutes away, and she never, ever had to be alone, facing the horrors and the wonders of the universe on her own.
Rose sniffed, nuzzled into the Doctor's t-shirt-covered chest, then muttered stubbornly.
"There was a doorbell."
She heard the Doctor huff with laughter softly, and then she was lulled to sleep by the sound of his even breaths and his reassuring heartbeat.
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A week later, Rose shot up on her bed, awoken by a doorbell again.
The Doctor appeared right next to her, no longer asleep, too. He placed his palm on her back, running it up and down in a soothing motion.
"Did you have a nightmare?" he asked, kissing her right shoulder. Her night top was wrinkled, and one strap fell down, leaving her shoulder bare.
Rose inhaled, shuddering a bit from cold and a bit from the Doctor's proximity. Being with him, next to him, never failed to send shivers of pleasure and anticipation down her spine.
She shook her head. "No, no. Wasn't a nightmare. T'was the stupid doorbell dream again," she said, unhappy.
The Doctor hummed, sympathetic. "Don't worry. Dreams don't mean anything," he explained as he guided her back into a lying position. "It's just your sorting through the events, your unconscious trying to cope with the events."
Rose sniffed stubbornly.
"I'm not saying that your dreams are silly or unimportant," the Doctor reassured, stroking her hair. "I'm saying don't get so worked up because of them." Rose stayed silent. "Ro-ose," the Doctor drawled, hugging her closer. "It'll be alright."
"I'm not worried or scared," Rose muttered, slightly exasperated. "I just can't get it, why the doorbell, why so often, why…"
She was stopped abruptly by the Doctor's lips descending onto hers. Rose reciprocated immediately, agreeing to be distracted.
The numbers, projected by the electronic clock onto the ceiling, shook in rhythm with their movement.
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"What are you reading?" the Doctor asked as he plopped on the sofa next to Rose, jarring the book settled on her lap out of balance.
Rose clutched her mug with both palms, trying to prevent it from spilling all over her legs.
"Doctor! Careful! Tea!" she admonished.
He only smiled playfully, his eyes gleaming.
"Ohhh, one-word sentences. Love that one. I shall go with some Imperatives," he bubbled, jumping up and down slightly. "Rose! Move! Don't hog the sofa!" he exclaimed, and Rose had to smile at how cheerful he was. Then, the Doctor frowned. "Oh, bummer, that wasn't one word. Anyway!" He diverted his attention to her book again. "What are you so engrossed with?"
Rose carefully placed her tea cup onto the table next to the sofa and raised the book for the Doctor to see. It took him milliseconds to read the title, and he pulled a displeased face. "'The Meaning of the Dreams…' What are you reading that for?" he asked, insulted.
Rose couldn't decide if to laugh or to act defensive.
She shrugged, smiled in embarrassment, then explained.
"I keep dreaming about the doorbell. I hear it several times a week in my dreams, it's driving me barmy. I told the girls at lunch about this, and Tracy said that she had a book about the meaning of what you dream about."
The Doctor rolled his eyes but moved closer and snatched the book from her hands. Rose protested with an offended 'oi!' but let him keep the book.
"Dreaming of a doorbell repeatedly sounding suggests that someone may be after you. People are trying to hold you to your responsibilities and actions. Perhaps make sure that you have all of your affairs to avoid being hassled," he read aloud, dramatically, then pulled a disgusted face, closing the book and throwing it to the corner of the sofa.
Rose gaped, shocked by his rudeness. "Oi! Book's not mine, you daft alien!"
The Doctor gave her a dirty smirk. "Only 25% alien, thank you very much. And you're alien to me, too, so don't go forgetting that," he quipped and shoved her in the hips gently with his toes.
Rose rolled her eyes.
Suddenly, the Doctor turned serious.
Rose was sure she nearly got whiplash from the sudden mood changes.
"Rose, it's just a dream. It's only your mind obsessing over what you can't solve. But there's nothing to solve, I promise. Actually, the scientists from the human colony RillaRolla came to a proven decision that the brain comes up…"
Rose blocked the Doctor's scientific gibberish up, too preoccupied to be truly listening to it today, and too wound-up to divert his attention by seducing him.
And so, she allowed the Doctor to crawl in-between her legs as she reclined on the pillows again, hugging him close while he leaned his back on her stomach, and played with his hair. The Doctor attempted to steal her tea, but quickly abandoned the idea when he tasted mint instead of the usual Earl Grey, snatching the offensive book again and starting to read passages in a mocking voice.
"Hearing a doorbell is associated with someone or something coming into your home, which is also a huge part of your life."
Rose shook her head at the Doctor's behaviour but let him enjoy making fun of the book. Truth be told, she didn't rely on the dream's meanings too much. Both her and the Doctor knew how crazy and hallucinogenic her dreams could be: she'd told him a fair share of what she saw in her sleep. Yet somehow, this dream that was following her like a shadow kept buzzing at the corners of Rose's mind, never quite leaving her alone in real life. She welcomed Tracy's book offer, reading through some of the most popular dream meanings, but she couldn't quite decide if she believed the offered analysis or if she was just entertained.
Rose huffed a short laugh, hearing the Doctor offer his own ideas about possible dreams and their meanings, and hugged him closer to her chest, enjoying the happiness of her husband.
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"Rose? Rose, where are you? I'm home, and I've got pizza from the new place down the street!" the Doctor announced as he entered their flat. He was happy to see the lights in their bedroom on, as well as in the kitchen - that meant that Rose was home. Their work schedules parted ways some time after Wednesday, and he craved some together time, free from work, from their friends, from the extended family. Speaking of family. "Remember the place Jackie hated? Yeah, that's the one. Their pizza is delicious, though, they even let me do the tasting - generous lot, they are!"
Silence greeted him.
The Doctor frowned.
"Rose?" She must have been home, surely. Otherwise, who was the person who'd switched the lights on?
He toed off his shoes, walked into the kitchen, then placed the pizza boxes onto the table. "Rose?" he called out again, starting to worry.
"In the bathroom!" a muffled reply sounded, and the Doctor felt his shoulders relax.
Rose was home. She was there. Still with him.
She didn't disappear, she didn't vanish.
She didn't leave him.
Oh, he was a daft man. Rose had never, ever shown indication of wanting to abandon him, and he never held her hesitation at the Bad Wolf Bay over her. That was a stressful day, and everything happened too fast, confusing each and every one of them. He didn't blame her for the hiccup that took place when the other him announced that she had to stay in Pete's World again.
Ever since their kiss, ever since he'd told her what he failed to say while he was burning up a distant sun, Rose had been incredibly accepting of the fact that he was the Doctor, too.
Just with several…updates…that allowed him to spend the rest of her brilliant life with her.
That allowed him to finally let go of the lines and borders that kept them apart.
That allowed him to love her as much as he knew she loved him.
And he felt like he was the luckiest, the happiest man in all of the parallel universes alive.
Rose didn't leave him.
She was with him.
She married him.
They were a real, proper family.
They were together.
The Doctor shook his head, trying to disperse the stray thoughts, and tapped onto the bathroom door unnecessarily, stepping in.
He'd never, ever get tired of the sigh that Rose Tyler, sans her clothes, was.
His wife was sitting in a bathtub, leaning her back against the porcelain. Myriads of tiny, glittering bubbles floated above the water, gleaming like miniature rainbows.
Fluffy, milky clouds consisting of teeny-tiny rainbows covered her skin, hiding her from his view, and the Doctor wanted to blow the bubbles away.
Maybe Rose's pink hair dryer could do the job, he mused, looking at the device that was hanging off the hook innocently.
The Doctor turned his attention back to Rose.
"Half past six. A strange time to have a bath, eh?" he said, genuinely a bit puzzled at the strange timing. Rose was usually the 'shower just before bed' person, oftentimes also 'shower before bed and after sex', too, and this was a bit out of character for her.
Rose smiled at him. She tried to look bright, optimistic, but he honed in on her tiredness immediately.
"Are you okay?" the Doctor asked and stepped closer to where she was.
"Mmm," Rose replied and leaned into the Doctor's hands that cupped her face gently. His thumbs caressed her flushed cheeks, cooling her a little bit (it was chilly outside today), and he was frowning.
"I've got some cramps is all," she replied. "My body must be trying to make my period come, you know I'm irregular at best these days," she smiled, although it was a strained smile.
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Oh, he knew. The Doctor knew very well. Before being separated by the Void, Rose's menstrual cycle was 29 days precisely. Seriously, you could count the days on the Hihannin calendar (the galaxy, not the planet), and on the 29th day one human Rose Tyler would hide away in her room, nursing her symptoms.
The first time it happened, the Doctor was clueless. He came banging on her door, cheerfully announcing that they'd landed on that day's destination only to be sent away with an angry, "Not today! Go tinker!" Later, when Rose crawled out of her room's sanctuary for tea and pastries (which the Tardis surprisingly had in store), his Ninth regeneration understood what was going on.
Rose didn't say, the Doctor didn't ask, but their travels continued on without hiccups daily.
Only two days out of 29 were spent in the Vortex, the Doctor and Rose both recuperating, even if none of them admitted needing that.
The first time Rose's period came after the Doctor's regeneration, he was prepared.
When Rose awoke on the morning of her period's first day, the Doctor was sitting on her bed, right next to her, smiling as if he'd gone and won a lottery.
Rose frowned, her thoughts still muddled from sleep, and smacked her lips before croaking:
"What're you doing here?"
If anything, the Doctor smiled wider, pointing to something on her bedside table.
"Good morning! How're you feeling? I've got a special delivery for one Rose Tyler: breakfast in bed!
"Huh?"
"Breakfast. In bed," the Doctor repeated, not stirred by her slowness. "The TARDIS got you your favourite cream horns, too! Budge up, you, there's also something for you here," he said, offering her a hot water bottle.
Rose pressed her lips together, touched to her very core:
"You remembered," she said, surprised, and felt warmth flowing through her chest at the realisation.
"Of course I remembered, Rose," the Doctor said, smiling softly, "told you, new package, same filling."
Rose grinned, feeling slightly ashamed at doubting him when he'd been proving again and again that he was the Doctor, her Doctor, just not blue-eyed and black-leather-jacket-wearing anymore. Of course it was him, she just wasn't sure if he'd like all of their little rituals and routines to be done as before...
The Doctor didn't let Rose's thoughts linger, urging her to sit up in the bed and offering her a cup of tea.
She sighed happily, allowing herself to relax fully, easing into pillows and drank her tea.
It was perfect, just as she liked it.
Just as the Doctor - both blue-eyed and brown-eyed versions of him - knew how Rose took her tea in the mornings.
She closed her eyes, inhaled the enticing aroma of Earl Grey and listened to the Doctor witter on about the capacity of the metal coils from Tonzia Seven.
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"You sure you're okay?" the Doctor asked Rose the next morning. She said that her pains settled after the bath, but he knew for sure that the cramps had returned by the time they'd eaten and got into bed. Rose had been restless throughout the night. One time when she almost fell asleep, she flinched awake from yet another doorbell in her dream. The Doctor had to catch her into his embrace at one point because she kept on tossing and turning, and while it didn't irritate him, it interfered with her emotional state.
Eventually, closer to four in the morning, they were to fall into a light doze. Well, the Doctor fell into a light doze, watching over Rose, and she finally was able to fall asleep properly.
Rose was ready to put on a fake smile, but the genuine concern on the Doctor's face changed her mind.
"No," she said, then backpedalled when she saw him frown worriedly, "I mean, the painkiller should've helped, and it didn't, and I don't want to take anymore. The bath should have worked for longer, too, but it didn't. It's like my period is here but it's not."
She bit her lip, starting to worry. Her last check-up at the ob/gyn's office didn't show anything too serious. She got diagnosed with dysmenorrhea and an inconsistent cycle and was offered the pill to try and deal with that (it's a shame that the same problems haunted women all across the universes, really). Only Rose knew from personal experience that pills wreaked havoc on her emotional state and caused her terrible migraines, so she chose to have cramps and to get surprised every time her period arrived.
The Doctor was immediately by her side. He grasped her hands, dropping his case with the Torchwood documents carelessly.
"Should we call in and ask for a day off? Or maybe we should go see a doctor," he offered, but then pulled a grimace of distaste. "Not the one who offered you those stupid "Flow-Flow" pills. Honestly, who calls pills like that?" he lamented, genuinely angry.
Rose laughed and squeezed his hands.
"They aren't that bad, Doctor, I promise. They aren't even too disturbing," when he raised his eyebrows, remembering the night, Rose clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Okay, they're a bit disturbing. But that's not too bad, just…strange."
The Doctor frowned and pursed his lips.
Rose put her jacket down on the bench in their hall, turning to hug the Doctor.
"Don't worry. I'll be okay."
The Doctor didn't hesitate a moment to hug her back, mindful of her pains.
"Promise me you'll schedule an appointment if the cramps don't stop tonight," he murmured into her ear, stroking her back.
Rose nodded into his shoulder.
"I promise."
With that settled, the Doctor sat down to help Rose step into her shoes, lacing them, then promptly assisted her with the jacket. Rose smiled, pecking him on the lips quickly, then pointed at the case on the floor when the Doctor couldn't find him.
That day started out relatively normal.
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Four hours later, just before lunch, the Doctor was dashing through the blue-tinted halls of the Third Torchwood building, out of his mind because of worry.
Ronnie from Rose's department called him and said that Rose had fainted in the middle of the weekly meeting with her department's chiefs.
"Where is she? What happened?" the Doctor yelled as he skidded through the glass walls of the meeting room.
There were so many people…
"I'm okay…ish," Rose's soft, weak reply came from somewhere to the left.
The Doctor's eyes honed in on his wife.
Rose was laying on the floor on her back, her head was lying in Gemma's, her colleagues, lap, and one of the chiefs, Mr. Larke, was holding her legs elevated in his hands.
Larry the secretary was still talking to the ambulance team on the phone.
The Doctor's ears caught the conversation.
"Yes, Torchwood Institute, Third building, twentieth floor. I will alert the security about your arrival. My boss, Rose Tyler, 29 years. She fainted all of a sudden…she says that she has stomach pains. Erm…" Larry hesitated, blushing a little, "erm, woman's stomach pains. Yes, yes, thank you." He hung up and turned to everyone. "They'll be there in ten minutes, Mrs. Tyler."
"Larry, how many times did I tell you to call me Rose? Mrs. Tyler is my mother!" Rose scolded, but there was little fire in her words.
That moment, the Doctor finally broke out of his stupor and hurried to Rose's side, arranging her head in his lap and taking her wrist to count her heartbeat.
Rose gave him another smile, and this time it had more light behind it.
"How did you know?" she asked, nuzzling into his other hand. He caressed her cheek affectionately, softly, but the frown on his face spoke of great anxiety.
"Ronnie," he replied shortly, still concentrating on her heartbeat and respiration.
"My, world travels fast," Rose joked and threw an exasperated glance at Ronnie the IT specialist.
Ronnie scuffed the floor with his shoe, smiling shyly.
"We all got so worried, Rose. At first you went pale as chalk, then you gripped the desk like it was the only thing keeping you upwards - and it was - and then you just folded on the floor like a character from a 3D game!"
Everyone in the room rolled their eyes fondly at yet another online game reference. Ronnie would be Ronnie, and the team loved him for that.
"Thank you for the call, Larry," Rose whispered, her mouth suddenly dry. Mr. Larke let go of Rose's legs, placing them on the floor per the Doctor's instructions, and went to the hall to bring some water from the cooler. "Water helps fainting women, right?" Mr. Larke thought to himself, walking down the hall.
It was Rose's silence and agreement to the ambulance's arrival that spoke volumes to the Doctor. He grasped her hands, which were folded on her belly, and squeezed them, assessing her face in detail. She was still worryingly pale, and a thin sheen of perspiration formed on her forehead.
"Rose, where does it hurt?" he leaned down to her ears and asked.
Rose pursed her lips, as if holding herself from crying. He didn't blame her; she was a private person, preferring to deal with her emotions on her own, and it was partly his fault. The other him, the non-human Doctor, had been emotionally distant most of the time, causing Rose to work through what'd been upsetting and hurting her alone. It took two years for the human him to fully gain Rose's permission to see her at her worst. For a long while she still wouldn't show him what the years of separation had done to her, not allowing him to know what haunted her at nights and on her bad days.
But just as all humans say, time heals all. Smart creatures, humans, the Doctor thought fondly to himself, and he was partly human now, too.
The best gift he'd ever received in all of his lives.
And so, with time passing, Rose opened up to him, letting him in on what was burdening her, all the while helping him regain footing in that new life of his, supporting him through every excitement and every hiccup. And after a while of her helping him through the toughest moments of his life, she started to allow him to help her.
"The cramps aren't too bad, I promise, it's just that one moment the lights went blinking, and I felt so hot, and I swear that the morning coffee is still sitting like a rock in my stomach," she confessed quietly, eyeing Mr. Larke who'd returned with a glass of water for her. "I'm scared, Doctor, this isn't like me at all," she said, her voice wavering a little as she sipped on the water. The Doctor thanked the man, and Mr. Larke nodded and walked over to the group of people at the window. "This didn't happen once even during my dimension jumping days, and it worries me."
"Nah," the Doctor immediately replied, helping Rose to sit up, leaning on him, "not you, Rose Tyler. You're made of sterner stuff. You're probably dehydrated or didn't have enough sugar, or maybe it's a nasty cold or a vicious case of PMS."
He said these words cheerfully, hugging Rose to him, unbothered by the presence of their colleagues, who were pointedly busy with something at the desk that moment. "It's okay to be scared, Rose," the Doctor whispered to her, hearing the paramedics arrive on their floor. Rose sniffed quietly, and the Doctor pressed his cheek to hers, holding her even closer. "It's okay to be afraid, sweetheart, but you don't have to be afraid alone, I'm here."
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"Sir, this is a private procedure!" the red-haired nurse informed him. She was both a little irritated and charmed by the strange, anxious-looking man who wouldn't let go of his wife.
"I am her husband! She wants me there. You do, Rose, don't you?" the Doctor suddenly asked, feeling shy.
Rose held onto his hand and smiled, then looked at the nurse. "Can he come, please? The doctors haven't said anything, just done some tests, and I'm really, really worried. I'd feel a lot better if the D…if John was there."
Both the Doctor and Rose agreed that there was no need to aggravate the doctor and the nurses in the hospital by referring to him by his chosen name.
Rose looked at the nurse pleadingly, and the Doctor did the same. "If that'll get you into trouble, though, then of course we understand," Rose said and pointed at the hall. "John will wait, not a problem."
God, she hoped they'd allow him in.
The pretty nurse pursed her lips, but her face visibly softened. These two, she thought to herself, looked like otters from the BBC animal documentaries. Holding their hands desperately as if not to lose each other in this sad, cruel world.
She sighed, then pointed at the husband. "Alright. But you, sir, are staying quiet and do not disturb the doctor, is that clear?"
The look of relief on the couple's faces was enough to make the nurse's heart melt a little. She rolled her eyes, hiding her smile.
"Go on, love, come in, unbutton your blouse and lie down on the cot. The doctor will be there soon."
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"Pregnant? I'm pregnant?" Rose asked twice, blinking fast at the woman who gave her an ultrasound.
"Seven weeks. Do you and your husband use barrier protection? Your medical information doesn't say anything about oral contraceptives or an implant."
Both the Doctor and Rose blushed, looking at each other. The Doctor scratched his neck, sheepish, and Rose was the one to reply (the Doctor stayed quiet throughout the exam, letting Rose choose what she wanted to ask):
"Um…no, no, we don't."
The medic smiled sweetly, but it was clear that she thought them both a bit silly.
"Why do you both look so surprised, then?" she queried, offering Rose a paper towel.
The Doctor snatched it and wiped the sticky gel off Rose's belly and claimed the buttoning duty as she sat up.
His hands were shaking a little.
"Um…does it say in my card about my irregular periods?"
The doctor flipped through the pages of Rose's medical card, nodding. "Yes, yes, it does," she said, still smiling. "Did you never think about the possibility of conception?"
Rose bit her lip, feeling shocked but oddly calm. It was as if she expected something like that. The Doctor now was ruffling his hair, obviously nervous.
Rose looked at him, and he smiled, chastened.
"It didn't happen for years…I thought I just was, you know," Rose waved her hand, uncertain, "infertile or something."
The Doctor shook her head fondly. "People are always so surprised to learn about pregnancy when it's the absolute natural outcome of sex."
The Doctor and Rose stayed silent, contemplating the words, until Rose let out an 'oh!' and asked the Doctor about the baby's health.
"The baby looks healthy, but we will order more comprehensive blood tests for you, Mrs. Tyler."
Still, Rose fidgeted with her blouse's buttons.
She felt Doctor's hand stroking her back, soothing her.
"I took some painkillers…and I had a hot bath…" she blamed herself, remembering the past few days.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Tyler. This is not the worst that happens in the first weeks of the pregnancy while mothers don't know about it. Babies are surprisingly sturdy and willing to survive. The scans show that everything is normal, your baby is growing just fine, but we will have to monitor you regularly from now on like any other pregnant woman."
Rose could honestly hug the calm, kind-hearted woman that moment.
"Thank you, Miss Stevens," Rose said, reading the doctor's name.
She felt like her bones were made of jello, and she slouched a little, leaning into the Doctor's side.
He was there, of course, quietly supporting her.
"Do you need time to make a decision concerning the pregnancy?" Miss Stevens asked.
Both the Doctor and Rose replied in unison.
"We're having it!"
"We're keeping it!"
Their minds chose alike without hesitation. Miss Stevens laughed.
"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Tyler. Now, you will go to another room for an IV - your blood sugar dropped, you probably didn't have breakfast in the morning, and that caused you to faint. You need more calories now, I'm sure you and your husband will take care of that."
And with that, Miss Stevens shook their hands and left the room, giving them some time to recuperate and accept their new reality.
Mere moments later, they were hugging each other. Rose started crying, weeping even, happy to receive the good news in a long while.
"Doctor, a baby," she babbled, staining his shirt with mascara and lipstick.
"I know, Rose, I know," he replied, his voice tight, and she knew that he was on the verge of tears, too."
"I want them," Rose whispered and clutched the Doctor's shirt in fistfuls.
He hugged her tighter.
"Me too, me too."
They stayed like this, clinging to each other, for several minutes until another nurse invited Rose to go start her IV.
His hairstyle was ruined, hair sticking everywhere, and his shirt bore the stains of tears, snot and makeup; her hair was in her face, mascara running, and her blouse was annoyingly sticking to her stomach where the gel had been. Rose chuckled wetly when she noticed that the Doctor buttoned her blouse unevenly.
God, they were a pair of nutters, they were.
They both giggled at their shared silliness - how in the world hadn't they thought about the pregnancy - and the Doctor helped Rose off the cot and into the room.
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Rose knew that they would encounter some bumpy rides in their journey. The Doctor had lots of baggage from the Time War and his own lost children, and Rose honestly didn't expect becoming a mother at all. She thought that the Void jumping had caused her to become barren, and she accepted it calmly, happy to just be with the Doctor, with or without children.
She always thought that they could work out together, just the two of them.
And now there would be three.
At that moment, Rose felt like both her and the Doctor were surrounded by a blissful, golden glow.
They would survive each and every turn in their life's journey.
She knew that.
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Rose shot up from the bed, pointing an accusing finger at the Doctor, who'd dropped the book he was reading in surprise while cuddling her.
"The doorbell! I knew I wasn't crazy! The doorbell - the baby - or my subconscious - was trying to tell me that! Somebody new in my, our, lives!"
The Doctor pulled a face.
"Nah, that's just a coincidence," he replied, but Rose could see a smile breaking on his face.
"A coincidence? I'll show you the coincidence," she growled playfully and tackled him in for a passionate kiss.
They didn't get much sleep that night, excited for the new life ahead of them.