The Doctor's Daughter Part 12

Chapter Twelve

Rose patted the bed beside her.

"I s'pose I'll have to get to know you again," Rose said as the Doctor walked over and sat down beside her. "How'd it happen? Your death."

"Radiation. I absorbed a large amount of radiation to save Wilf's life."

"Again? You need to stay away from radiation in future."

The Doctor chuckled.

"Yes. I do have a problem with that," he said.

"I'm sorry if Hannah bothered you," Rose said.

"She didn't bother me. I'm glad she made her presence known to me. She's a wonderful child."

Rose grinned and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm very proud of her," Rose said. "Me and Jonathon were both proud."

"Rose, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for Jonathon to die so soon."

Rose lowered her head and shrugged.

"He died protecting me. He didn't have any regrets," she said, looking at him. "He told me that before he died. But after he died, I just…fell apart. It was too much, losing you again."

The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder and Rose put her hand on top of it while she looked into his eyes.

"What happens now?" she asked.

"I want you to come back with us and stay with Sarah for awhile, you and Hannah."

"Why? I thought you wanted me here," Rose said.

"Rose. I did what I thought was best for both of us but I realize I was doing what was best for me at the time. I fell apart as well. Donna…I had to wipe her memory because my mind in hers was too much for her to handle and I was left alone again."

"Oh God," Rose said.

"My other self vowed never to travel with anyone again but I couldn't take it. I became lonely and I craved company so when I met Amy, I took her with me. And then eventually Rory came as well. But I've missed having you around. You and I…we had a special bond that I don't have with the Ponds. So when Hannah came into my life with a solution on how to cross the void safely, I leapt at the chance. She was hoping I could replace Jonathon but I don't want to replace him. I do want to be in her life though…and yours."

Rose gazed into his eyes for a moment before leaning in and kissing his lips. The Doctor put his arms around her as he returned the kiss and Rose put her right hand on the back of his head, running her fingers through his hair while they kissed. When they finished Rose laid her head on his shoulder while the Doctor watched her.

"I'm glad you didn't die," the Doctor said as he rubbed her back. "It would have devastated Hannah and me if I'd known about it."

"I didn't know what else to do at the time. It was a stupid thing to do but I wasn't thinking properly. I regret doing it, especially since it took me away from Hannah. God, she nearly lost both parents."

"And Jackie would have gotten custody of her, just like she's hoping for now."

Rose raised her head up and looked at him.

"What?" Rose said.

"Jackie keeps nagging Pete about getting custody of Hannah because she thinks you can't take care of her now."

"Excuse me?" Rose said incensed. "I am more than capable of taking care of her. Ooo, mum, I shoulda known you'd try something while I was in here."

"So you still want custody of the child?" the Doctor teased.

"Too bloody right I want custody of her. I'm depressed but I'm not quite as bad as some of the people in here. Have you seen some of them?"

"Seen and heard them and I agree, you're not a raving lunatic. You just need somewhere where you can rest and recuperate."

"I want to go back to the other universe, especially if mum is trying to take Hannah away from me. Hell, maybe I'll stay there permanently."

"I think the majority of the people outside that door would love that. I know I would."

"Even if I kept on growing old in front of your eyes?" Rose said.

"I'll take that risk," the Doctor said, laying his hand on her cheek. "Besides, I know have a dimension cannon of my own inside the TARDIS which needs to be used more than once. If you like, you can use it to travel back and forth to see your mum and Pete."

"What about traveling with you again?"

The Doctor shrugged.

"As long as you don't mind the Ponds being there."

"Will they mind me?"

"I don't think so. Although…AMY IS A BIT OF A HARPY SOMETIMES!" the Doctor yelled.

"I AM NOT, YA GIT!" Amy yelled through the door.

Rose laughed along with everyone else. She looked over when Amy opened the door and stuck her head in.

"Whatever Mister Barmy is saying about me, it's not true! I am not a harpy!" she said before she slammed the door.

"She is, trust me," the Doctor said softly with a wink.

Rose looked over when the door opened again and Jack stuck his head in.

"Hey, I'm Hannah's uncle now and he said I could be so…there," he said before slamming the door.

"He twisted my arm for that privilege," the Doctor said with a shrug.

"Just as long as he doesn't take Hannah along when he goes shopping for his next bed partner," Rose said.

"If he does, I will kill him ten times in a row as punishment," the Doctor said.

Rose chuckled and held the Doctor's hand.

"Rose, technically speaking I am Hannah's father, albeit indirectly. I told Hannah she could call me Other Dad if she wanted."

"Do you want to be her father?" Rose said.

"I've been a father before so why not? She's brilliant and I see a lot of her in you."

"I see a lot of you in her," Rose said. "She acts like you…or your former you at any rate."

"She ran off to my universe without telling anyone she was going. So even the next generation disobeys the don't wander off command," the Doctor teased.

"And you don't swan off without telling anyone?" Rose teased back. "You do that as well so don't put all the blame on me."

The Doctor rubbed her back.

"I s'pose that means we'll both have to keep a close eye on her from here on out. Especially if she does want to travel with me."

"Oh God, she does. She couldn't wait for that coral piece to grow up so we could travel."

"Where is the coral, Rose? I need to take it back so the wrong people won't get their hands on it."

"It's in my cupboard in a box. I hid it there and threw some blankets on top of it."

"Good, I'm glad we have easy access to it. I was afraid we'd have to go through Torchwood to get it back."

Rose snorted.

"Put a growing time machine inside Torchwood, even I'm not that thick," she said.

"So…shall we let the others back in now?" the Doctor said.

"Only if it means Pete can get me out of here. I'm ready to leave."

"Leave and confront Jackie?"

"Yes, since I want to give her a piece of my mind about trying to take Hannah away from me."

"Ooo, I can't wait to see that. But if I were you, I'd let Amy do it. AFTER ALL, AMY'S THE HARPY AROUND HERE!"

"Damn you, Doctor," Amy yelled while everyone laughed.

She opened the door and the Doctor told her to let everyone in.

"I think we're ready to leave here," the Doctor said to everyone.

"Pete's gone to speak to the staff about letting Rose leave," Martha said.

"Good because I'm ready," Rose said as Hannah sat down beside her.

They chatted while they waited for Pete to come back. A half hour later, Pete appeared at the door and grinned.

"Get your things, Rose, you're leaving here," he said.