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lastbluetardis · 5 years

Text

And Babies Make Five and Six (15/16)

Summary: Sometimes the things we want the most stay just out of reach. But after an extra helping of heartache as they try for a third baby, James and Rose are blessed with double the joy. Triggers for infertility.

Betaed by the marvelous @chocolatequeennk. This is also for @doctorroseprompts because it’s Doctor x Rose and I’m giving the tag a teeny break from ficmas ;)

We’re almost to the end! The penultimate chapter!

Ten x Rose AU

This chapter: Teen, 8600 words

Ages of the Tyler-McCrimmons at the start of the chapter: James: 38, Rose: 32, Ainsley: 8, Sianin: 5

AO3 | TSP | FF | Perfectly Matched Series

Ch1 | Ch2 | Ch3 | Ch4 | Ch5 | Ch6 | Ch7 | Ch8 | Ch9 | Ch10 | Ch11| Ch12 | Ch13 | Ch14 | Ch15 | Ch16

James’s mind was a mess of noise, with one thought at the forefront: they’d made a baby. They’d finally made a baby. After four years—four agonizing, heartbreaking years—they were pregnant. And now he couldn’t seem to stop crying. He cried for the pain he and Rose had unwittingly caused each other, for the sheer exhaustion that seemed to settle over him, and for the undiluted, all-consuming joy he felt.

How many times had he and Rose wished for this very moment over the last four years? How many times had he taken her into his arms and whispered that it would be okay, that they’d try again, that it would happen for them eventually?

Then he thought he’d rescinded all chances of becoming a dad again, and he’d been okay with it. Happy, really, when it meant that he and Rose were happier. The last seven months had been filled with love and laughter despite their decision to stop trying to prevent a baby from being made. As Rose had put it, they were playing a lottery they never expected to win.

Only now they had won. And it was more emotional than James remembered their other two lottery wins being.

He was aware that Rose was rocking him gently from side to side and murmuring words of comfort and support into his ear while her hand made long, slow lines up and down his spine. The ache in his knees told him they’d been kneeling on the floor together for quite some time, and now his back was beginning to twinge at the awkward angle of their embrace.

Yet Rose was still holding him, and he knew she’d continue to hold him for as long as he needed.

He pulled back and rubbed his palms vigorously over his face. His eyes were heavy and scratchy and his nose was utterly clogged.

Rose reached up for the box of tissues on the vanity and set it between them. They each blew their noses and blotted their faces, and finally James turned to look at Rose.

“How long have you suspected something?” he croaked out.

“Just this morning,” she answered. She moved to sit on her bum, and he sat beside her. He wrapped one arm around her waist and rested his other hand low on her abdomen. “When I puked at Sianin’s banana and realized the last time I’d gotten sick over bananas was when I was pregnant with her. And then I saw an unopened box of tampons you’d picked up for me two weeks ago in anticipation of my period. It took me a damn long while to figure out the last time I’d had my period, by the way.”

James chuckled and buried his nose into her hair, breathing her in. A new little life was living inside of his wife. A little life he helped to make, and one that he could offer no help in growing or nourishing, apart from keeping Rose happy, healthy, cared for.

“You are happy, right?” Rose asked quietly, playing with his wedding band on the hand resting on her belly.

“Of course I am,” he answered immediately. “I know I’ve done nothing but cry, but God, I’m so, so happy. I feel kind of exhausted though. A good exhausted, I think.”

“Me too.” She tilted her head up to look at him with a cheeky grin. “I’m glad you liked your surprise.”

“I have never been happier to receive a wee’d-on stick,” he drawled, and she laughed. The sound triggered his own, and they giggled together on the floor of their en suite. “What do we do now?” he mused when their laughter subsided.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

He shrugged. “We’re pregnant. And my body feels like it’s going to burst apart with happiness and love for this human I haven’t even met yet, but we’ve still got nine whole months before we meet our baby. It feels like my entire world just changed, but really nothing has yet, and nothing will for a while, and I just…” He shrugged again.

“I know. I suppose we keep on with our daily lives as normally as we can,” Rose answered. “But if you want to actually do something, maybe you could start by cleaning out the pantry of those godawful bananas that Sianin considers edible.”

James laughed and pressed a kiss to her forehead before he pushed himself to his feet.

Their giddiness lasted the entire day. When they went to pick up the kids that evening, Ainsley and Sianin caught on to their infectious mood. They ordered pizza for dinner and went to the park, where the family laughed and played together for hours.

When the girls went off to join a group of kids playing a game of football, James and Rose collapsed in an exhausted heap onto the blanket they’d brought. Rose nibbled on a slice of cold pizza and watched James, who’d become quiet and pensive.

“What’s going on in that big brain of yours?” she asked, nudging her elbow into his ribs.

“Oh, just thinking.”

“Obviously.” She paused for a beat, then asked, “D’you want to talk about it?”

He said nothing, and Rose tried not to be hurt that he didn’t seem to want to share his feelings. But she reminded herself that he always gave her time and space to think. So she finished up her pizza in silence and then rested her head on his shoulder as she watched Sianin crash into a little boy and kick the ball away from him.

“She should take up sports when she gets bigger,” James mused softly.

Rose snorted. “God knows she needs ways to burn off all of her energy.”

He hummed noncommittally and leaned down to peck a kiss to the top of her head before he finally said, “I was thinking about the baby. And how in the past, we waited until the first trimester was over to tell people about the pregnancy.”

Rose shifted her head off his shoulder to look at him. “You want to tell people?”

“Not everyone,” he clarified. “But Dad and Jackie? Their hearts have been breaking for us, love. And they’ve been so supportive. I think they deserve to know. And…” He blew out a shaky breath and reached out to brush his fingertips over her flat belly. “And God forbid anything happens… We’ll need emotional support. I think we need emotional support now, too.”

Rose nodded and covered his hand with hers on her stomach.

“We don’t have to if you don’t agree,” James said. “But it’s what I was thinking.”

“Thank you for telling me,” Rose said, bringing his hand away from her stomach to kiss his knuckles. “Let me think about it?”

“Of course.” He pressed a kiss to her temple, and she felt him smile against her skin before he said, “Just let me know within the next nine months.”

Rose giggled and pinched his side. “Nutter.”

“Your nutter.”

Rose took the next few days to mull over what James had said about wanting to tell their parents the good news. She weighed the pros and the cons of it all, and kept coming back to one hiccup in the plan.

“I think the girls deserve to be told first,” she said a few nights later as she joined her husband on the couch after tucking the kids into bed.

“Hmm?”

“About the baby,” she clarified. “This is their new little brother or sister. And I dunno, it seems like they should know about it first. I think they’re old enough—Ainsley especially—to understand what’s happening even if I don’t have a baby bump to prove anything yet.”

“If we tell them, they’ll blurt it out to their grandparents unceremoniously,” James warned.

“Yeah, I’d considered that,” Rose admitted. “But I think I’ve got a solution…”

James agreed wholeheartedly with Rose’s idea, and the two of them worked together to get everything arranged for the reveal.

The morning that the family was scheduled to depart for Brighton, James and Rose ate breakfast with their kids. When everyone was done, Rose moved to the living room and grabbed two photo albums she wanted to show the girls.

“D’you know what my favorite pictures of you two are?” she asked. When Ainsley and Sianin shook their heads, Rose set the photo albums on the table. They were of the girls’ first year of life. She opened the books to the first page, where a series of black and white sonogram photos were taped. “These. They’re the first photos your dad and I have of you. These are from when you were growing in my belly. You two were so wanted and loved right from the very start.”

Sianin cocked her head to the side. “It looks like an alien.”

James chuckled and ruffled his fingers through her hair. “Yeah, I guess it does a little bit.” He stepped over to Rose and wrapped his arm around her waist. He could practically feel her body vibrating with excitement. “You look less alien as time goes on.”

He reached forward and traced his fingertips across the sonogram photos, guiding Sianin’s eyes to the growth and progression from tiny fetus to baby. His fingers finally landed on her newborn photo. Not to brag, but James was certain he and Rose had made the most beautiful babies to ever exist.

“D’you want to know why we’re showing you these photos?” Rose asked. “It’s because we’re soon going to be starting up a whole new album.”

She reached to the kitchen island for the photo album she and James had bought together earlier that week. She set it on the table between Ainsley and Sianin.

James watched as Sianin’s face remained blank, but Ainsley’s split into a wide grin.

“Yeah?” she asked tentatively. “Mum, are you pregnant?”

Rose nodded fervently, beaming, and Ainsley squealed. She jumped up from her seat and bolted for her mother. As Rose wrapped Ainsley in a tight hug, James moved over to Sianin.

“Do you understand, sweetheart?” he asked gently. “Mummy’s pregnant. That means a little baby is growing inside of her belly, and in about nine months, you’ll be a big sister! Isn’t that exciting?”

Sianin glanced over at Ainsley, who was still in Rose’s arms. The two of them were grinning and Ainsley had her fingertips pressed to Rose’s flat stomach.

His five-year-old looked back at him and smiled. “Yeah. That’s cool.”

“It is pretty cool,” James agreed. “Are you excited? You’ll get to be a big sister like Ainsley. You’ll have a little brother or sister to love and play with, like you and Ainsley play together.”

Sianin’s smile widened, then she scooted off her chair to join Ainsley and Rose. James watched his family embrace, his heart full to bursting with love and happiness.

“Does the baby look like an alien?” Sianin asked, squinting at Rose’s stomach as though trying to see right through it.

“Yep,” Rose answered happily. “Daddy and I don’t have a picture yet, but as soon as we do, we’ll show you. We’ll get a new picture of the baby every couple of months, and you’ll be able to see it grow.”

“How’d it get inside you?” Sianin asked.

Rose looked up at James and met his gaze. He stepped over to them and wrapped an arm loosely around Rose’s waist and said, “Well… mums and dads have two different parts that, when put together, can make a baby.”

“How?” Sianin asked again.

James glanced down at Rose. He couldn’t remember how they’d explained to Ainsley where babies came from. Granted, she’d been much younger, so she’d probably accepted their explanation at face value.

“Well,” Rose said, “when Daddy and I have our private alone time, a little part of him goes inside of me. He has these things called sperm, they’re like little seeds, and I have eggs. When these two things combine, they start the process of growing a baby.”

“Eggs… Like a bird?” Sianin asked, a furrow forming between her brow. She glanced dubiously at James.

“No, different than a bird,” he answered. His cheeks warmed from Sianin’s blunt questions, but he and Rose had agreed ages ago to always answer their children’s questions as honestly and accurately as possible while keeping it age-appropriate. “Mummy’s eggs are soft and squishy and stay inside of her to make a baby.”

Sianin considered him for a moment, then asked, “If this happens during private alone time, why haven’t you made a gazillion babies?”

“There are ways to stop a baby from being made,” Rose answered. “And sometimes a baby isn’t always made right away. It can take time.”

James gave her waist a little squeeze. “Any other questions, darling?” He turned to his eldest. “Ainsley? Anything you want to ask?”

While Ainsley shook her head, Sianin asked, “How’s the baby gonna get out of Mummy?”

“In about nine months, the baby will be too big to fit in my belly,” Rose answered. “And so your daddy and I will go to a doctor and have them help take it out of me. I’ve got a little hole between my legs—no, not the hole I wee out of—and when the baby is ready, it’ll come out of that hole. When it’s time for that, your gran and grandad will come stay with you and you’ll have a sleepover.”

Sianin’s face lit up at that.

“Speaking of Gran and Grandad,” Rose said, glancing at the clock, “they’ll be here any minute. Go finish getting ready to leave. Brush your teeth, wee, and go through your suitcases one more time to make sure you have everything. Stay in your room ‘til Dad and I call for you, otherwise we won’t stop for ice cream tonight.”

Sianin’s eyes widened, and she turned and sprinted down the hall for her bedroom. Ainsley shook her head at her sister, but dutifully followed.

When they were gone, James turned to Rose with an arched eyebrow. “Should I be concerned that you said I have a little part that goes inside you during our private alone time?”

Rose rolled her eyes and smacked his chest. “Oh, shut it. You know your part is a perfectly adequate size and I love it just the way it is.”

Their parents arrived shortly thereafter, within minutes of each other. As they all sat around the table for one final cup of tea before they departed, Robert took note of the photo albums on the kitchen island.

“I’m glad to see you getting back to photography, Rose,” he said. He jerked his chin towards the new album. “Starting another family album?”

“Nah,” she said nonchalantly, taking a sip of her tea. “Ainsley and Sianin got their own albums, so we thought this baby deserved one of their own, too.”

Jackie and Robert went utterly still, and Rose glanced over at James. They shared a grin.

“Are you…?” Robert left the sentence dangling, and when Rose and James nodded, he let out a long breath.

“Oh, my God!” Jackie squealed. She jumped up from her chair, and Rose stood up, too. Jackie threw her arms around Rose and began rubbing long, slow lines up and down her back. “Oh, sweetheart!”

James heard his wife let out a sob, and his heart ached at the sound.

“Congratulations, mate.”

He startled when his dad’s hands rested on his shoulders, but he stood and accepted his father’s hug. When they pulled back, he was tugged into another pair of arms as Jackie held him tightly.

“This is so wonderful!” she breathed into his neck. “I’m so, so happy for you!”

James’s eyes stung, and he tightened his grip around his mother-in-law. After a few moments, he pulled back and saw Rose was wrapped up in his father’s arms. Robert was rocking them gently, and James realized Rose was crying in earnest into his shoulder. The sight made his eyes burn and he pressed his fingers into them.

“I’m so happy for you, darling,” Robert murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of Rose’s head. He pulled back to cradle Rose’s tear-stained cheeks in his palms. His thumbs brushed at her tears, and he dropped a kiss to her forehead. “I’ve been praying for you two, and for a successful, healthy conception. I’m so happy for you and James.”

At the words, Rose’s face crumpled again and she buried her face into Robert’s neck once more.

A small hand rubbed at his arm, and James realized his efforts to swallow back his tears hadn’t worked. His vision blurred, and when he blinked, two tears rolled slowly down his cheeks. He swiped them away and let Jackie wrap him in a sideways hug. It was only then that he realized Jackie’s eyes were brimming with tears, too.

“My heart has been breaking for you two,” she whispered. “It’s gutted me to see you both so unhappy. I’m glad this finally happened for you.”

“Me too,” he rasped.

A few moments later, Rose pulled away from Robert, and James stepped up to her. He brushed his lips to her temple and wrapped her into a tight hug.

“God, I swear I’m happy,” she said with a watery laugh, swiping at her eyes. “I can’t seem to stop crying about it though.”

“Understandable,” Robert said. “My wife and I were the same way when we held James for the first time.”

“When did you find out?” Jackie asked.

“Last week,” Rose said. “It’s still really early, but you’ve both been so supportive of us over the last couple of years and we needed to share this with you straight away.”

“Do the girls know yet?” Robert asked.

“Yeah, we told them right before you arrived,” James answered. “We didn’t want them to be the ones to drop the news to you though, so we’ve sequestered them in their rooms until we were able to talk to you.” He looked at his wife. “I’ll bet they’re dying to be let out now.”

At her nod, James turned down the hall to his girls’ rooms. “Ainsley. Sianin. You can come out now. Bring your suitcases and set them by the door, please.”

Both girls exited their rooms at top speed, and James wondered if they’d been waiting at their doors. He followed them and watched them toss their suitcases in the general vicinity of the front door before they rushed into the kitchen and hollered for their grandparents.

“Mummy’s gonna have a baby!”

“Mum’s pregnant!”

“I’m gonna be a big sister like Ainsley!”

“We’re getting a baby brother or sister!”

James leaned against the doorframe and listened to his daughters talk over each other in their excitement to share the news with Robert and Jackie. A moment later, Rose sidled up to him and slipped an arm around his waist.

“Love you,” she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder but tilting it up so she could look at him.

Her eyes were still a bit red from her earlier tears, but she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He brushed a tendril of hair behind her ear, he pressed his lips to hers softly, sweetly, before he said, “I love you, too.”

oOoOo

When they got home from their family vacation to Brighton, Rose called for an appointment with Elizabeth to check on their growing baby’s health. It took a couple weeks to find an opening, but finally James and Rose strolled into the clinic, excited at the prospect of seeing the first ultrasound image of their new baby.

The clinic was relatively empty, except for a woman who looked like she was due any day and a woman who appeared about halfway through a pregnancy.

A receptionist spotted them and smiled.

“Hi. I’m Rose Tyler-McCrimmon. I’ve got an appointment with Elizabeth,” Rose said when they stepped up to the front desk.

The receptionist frowned. “I’m sorry. Elizabeth got called away for a delivery. You’ll be seen by one of our sonographers instead.”

“No worries,” Rose said, waving away her apologies. “There’s no telling when a baby wants to make an entrance.”

The receptionist smiled in relief, and James wondered how often people got upset that their scheduled nurse or doctor couldn’t see them. He shrugged and walked with Rose to the waiting area, where she began to fill out a bunch of forms.

“I’m so excited,” he said when she came back from turning in the paperwork.

Rose smiled and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Me too,” she said.

A few minutes later, a nurse called Rose’s name, and they followed her back to an exam room. James waited impatiently as they went through all of the routine checks and questions, but finally, the nurse left the room and a sonographer took her place.

After the equipment was set up, the sonographer smeared gel across Rose’s abdomen and held up a wand. “Okay, let’s take a look at your baby!”

James beamed down at his wife, giddy with excitement. He reached for her hand as he sat by her head. Her fingers squeezed his, and he brought them to his lips for a kiss.

He watched the technician roll her probe across Rose’s stomach, then she stared intently at her computer. Her brows furrowed and her gentle smile slipped from her face. “Oh.”

The bottom dropped out of James’s stomach.

“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” he demanded. He couldn’t tell whose grip had tightened, his or Rose’s, but he knew his fingers were aching with how hard they were holding each other’s hand. “Is something the matter with our baby? Is it okay? Please!”

“Yes, yes, sorry, your baby is fine,” the technician quickly assured, seeing James and Rose’s stricken faces. “Actually, your babies are fine. Have a look.”

James’s ears rang and his mouth seemed to be stuffed with cotton as the technician spun the computer monitor around for them to see. Their knuckles were white as they clutched each other’s hands and scoured the screen.

He had always been rubbish at looking at early ultrasound images, and so James clung tighter to Rose’s hand as he waited impatiently for the tech to tell him again that his baby—babies?—were okay.

“Here is Baby A,” the tech said, tracing her finger around an amorphous whitish-gray blob. “And here is Baby B.” She circled her finger around another one. “Congratulations! You’re having twins!”

Twins? Twins. He and Rose were having twins. Two babies. They’d made two babies!

“I’m sorry I worried you. It’s just that you’re my very first case of imaging twins.”

“Twins,” James breathed, leaning closer to the computer monitor. He then looked over at Rose, who had tears streaming silently down her cheeks. “Twins! Oh, Rose! Isn’t this brilliant! We made two babies! Ha! Look at my sperm and your egg now!”

“You nutter,” she sniffled, swiping her hands across her eyes. Before he could retort with his usual comeback, she smiled and said, “But you’re my nutter.”

He giggled high in his throat and leaned over to peck a kiss to her forehead. But his lips missed and landed clumsily against her eye when a rapid whumpa-whumpa-whumpa rhythm sounded from the computer.

“Oh, Rose!”

“Shh,” she whispered. “Oh, God.”

Her face crumpled again, and James felt his own tears prickling behind his eyes. He wrapped his arm around Rose’s shoulders. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, resting his forehead against the top of her head, as he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of their babies’ heartbeats.

“Which one is which?” he asked softly, memorizing the sound of the beats.

“It’s too early to tell,” the technician said. “If you take a look…” James opened his eyes and saw her point to a number on the screen. It read 149, then a second later 153, then a second later 151. “Our instruments can’t quite detect that there are two distinct heartbeats. Don’t worry though. Everything looks completely healthy with both babies.”

“Are they identical?” Rose asked, covering James’s hand where it was curled around her shoulder.

“Again, it’s too early to tell,” the technician said as she ran her probe across Rose’s stomach. “Give me a minute to find the best angle…”

A moment later, she smiled triumphantly and took a snapshot of the ultrasound image. As she made notes in Rose’s file, Rose got herself cleaned up. Several minutes later, she and James walked hand in hand back to their car with a picture of the two newest Tyler-McCrimmons tucked away in Rose’s handbag.

James held Rose’s hand as he drove them home, and he watched her out of the corner of his eye as she stared out the window. She didn’t make a sound for the entire ride, and by the time they arrived to their house, James began to worry something was wrong. Maybe she wasn’t as happy about the news that they were expecting twins as he was. He thought she’d been excited, but then again, maybe he’d been projecting his utter joy onto her.

“Are you all right?” he asked tentatively, slipping his shoes off by the front door.

“Yeah,” she murmured, walking into the kitchen to start the kettle. It was the first thing she’d said since they left the clinic, and the distance in her voice contradicted her affirmation that she was okay.

“Are you sure?” he asked, leaning against the counter as he watched her move around the kitchen.

“Yeah,” she said again.

“You don’t look okay,” he said carefully. “Are you… are you happy?”

“Yeah,” she said, flicking the kettle on.

“Why don’t I believe that?” he asked, moving to stand beside her.

She finally turned to look at him, and she reached out to take his hand.

“James, I promise,” she said firmly, “I promise that I’m happy. I’m overjoyed. Honestly.”

James furrowed his brows. She was still far too subdued for his liking. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops that they were having twins. He wanted to call up his dad and Jackie and share the good news. He wanted to swing Rose around in his arms and laugh because his joy couldn’t possibly be contained.

“Okay,” he finally said, conceding that if she said she was okay, then she really was okay.

Rose gave him a small smile and turned to grab a tea bag.

“You want one?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.

He nodded and watched her make their tea to their liking, then he accepted the steaming cup from her with a thanks and a brush of his fingers over her hand.

“Sit with me?” she asked, nodding to the kitchen table.

They sat and sipped at their tea, neither speaking.

“You still don’t think I’m okay,” Rose said, smirking wryly at him.

James shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry. It’s just… you’re being quiet, is all.”

“I’m processing,” Rose said. “I am absolutely ecstatic that we’re pregnant, and I’m so excited that there are two babies inside of me. But it’s a shock. There are two babies inside of me. We couldn’t even make one with four years of trying, now suddenly our children are doubling in number.

“I’m worried about how we’re going to handle two newborns at once, and about how I’m going to push out two babies when my last birth experience was so traumatic. I’m worried about falling into depression again and leaving you to look after our four kids as I sort myself out, and about putting all that pressure on you. I’m worried about how Ainsley and Sianin will take the news and what they’ll think of getting two little siblings. I’m thinking about the house, and how it might be a little small for six people.

“Despite all of that, my heart is so full of joy and excitement and more love than it’s ever felt. It’s just a lot to process right now. But please believe me James, I don’t regret anything, and I am unbelievably happy about this news.”

James let out a long breath. He hadn’t even considered half of what Rose had said. He’d been too preoccupied with the love he already felt for the two babies he’d helped make. Now that she’d opened up about some of her concerns, his mind began to whir in an attempt to assuage her fears as best as he could.

He started with the easiest.

“Do you think we should look into buying a new home?” he asked. “Or talk with my dad to get the Scotland house transferred to us?”

“I dunno,” Rose sighed. “I do think we’ll need a bigger house. But do we want to upend Ainsley and Sianin’s lives so completely? Having a new baby is already a huge change. Having two new babies is an even bigger change. Combine that with making them leave the only home they’ve ever known, leaving their friends behind, and starting at a brand-new school… I don’t want to overwhelm them.”

“What are you thinking instead?”

“I say we stay here in our house for the time being,” Rose answered. “At least ‘til the babies are born and we’re in a firm routine. Then maybe once things have settled, we can revisit this conversation.”

“Sounds good.” He reached over and rested his hand on her forearm. She took her hand away from her mug, flipping it palm up. James took the hint and threaded their fingers together. “I wish I could tell you that this birth and recovery will be easier than Sianin’s. But I can’t guarantee that. You don’t know how badly I wish I could, Rose. But I can guarantee that I will be here for you no matter what, and I will help you in any way I can.”

Rose gave him a small smile, then scooted her chair closer to his and rested her head on his shoulder. “I know you will. And I appreciate that very much.”

When the girls got home later that evening, the first thing out of Ainsley’s mouth was, “Did you get a picture of the baby?”

“We sure did,” James said. “With an added bonus…”

Rose handed the ultrasound photo to Ainsley, who angled it so Sianin could see, too.

“I don’t even see an alien,” Sianin muttered, frowning. “Are you sure there’s a baby in you?”

“Very sure,” Rose confirmed.

“These circles…” Ainsley traced her fingers around the two red circles surrounding two white blobs.

“Mhm. What do you think that means?” James asked.

“It can’t be two babies… can it?” Ainsley peered up at James, then at Rose. Upon seeing their wide smiles and nodding heads, she beamed at them. “You’re having twins?!”

“How’d that happen?” Sianin asked. She eyed her parents up and down in turn. “Did you have even more private alone time?”

James choked on a laugh. He glanced up at Rose and saw her eyes dancing with amusement.

“No, darling,” he said, “twins just happen sometimes. Mummy can’t get pregnant again no matter how much private alone time we have.”

He waggled his eyebrows at his wife, earning him a groan from Ainsley and a raspberry blown at him from Rose. Giggling, James stepped up to Rose and pressed a loud, enthusiastic kiss to her cheek.

oOoOo

After having two babies, Rose figured she was as prepared as she could be for her third pregnancy. However, she forgot to take into account the differences that came with carrying twins.

For instance, it seemed as though she began showing a baby bump as soon as they broke the news that they were expecting twins. James was ecstatic about that, and used every excuse he could to touch her growing belly. The girls, too, enjoyed touching it and speaking to it. Rose’s heart melted a little more each time they talked to their new siblings.

And during her previous pregnancies, Rose hadn’t had many food cravings, but this time around, she felt constantly hungry. James made sure to keep the house stocked with all of her favorite foods, and they’d had to hide chocolate in their bedroom to keep the girls from eating too much of it.

Time seemed to paradoxically fly and drag. They were more than impatient to meet their two newest children, but the weeks flew by in hindsight. After Rose passed into the second trimester, she and James breathed a sigh of relief that they were in the clear.

Rose’s twenty-week appointment was met with the added excitement of finding out the gender of their babies.

“I hear we’ve got double the joy this time,” Elizabeth said as she strode into the examination room. “My congratulations to you both. Are you ready to see the sexes?”

After receiving eager nods from the parents-to-be, Elizabeth rolled her ultrasound probe across Rose’s gel-smeared stomach. A few seconds later, a cacophony of overlapping heartbeats resounded through the room.

“God, I love that sound,” Rose said, looking at Elizabeth’s computer screen.

“It’s one of my favorite parts of being a midwife,” Elizabeth admitted. Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she zoomed in on one of the babies and adjusted the angle of the shot. With a smile, she said, “Baby One is a little girl, and…” She rolled her probe to the other side of Rose’s stomach. “And so is Baby Two.”

“Twin girls,” James breathed in awe. “Rose, we’ve got little baby girls!”

“Still outnumbered,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at him. “My poor baby, living with five females.”

“My testosterone levels are utterly depleted,” he’d said with a melodramatic sigh that morphed into a grinning giggle. Nuzzling his nose into her hair, he pressed a kiss to the skin of her temple and murmured, “I will happily be outnumbered a hundred to one. I adore you and our daughters so much.”

“Well, I doubt you’d be as content having a hundred kids to try and keep track of,” Rose drawled.

He blew a raspberry at her in lieu of a response as Elizabeth stifled her grin and moved to print the ultrasound images of each baby.

“The technician wasn’t able to say before… can you tell if they’re identical or fraternal?” Rose asked.

“I can give you my best guess.” Elizabeth turned away from the printer to stand by her computer monitor again. She brushed her fingertip along the top of the screen at a dark grey mass. “This is the placenta. And there’s just one of them. This makes me think that they’re identical. Fraternal twins usually have two. But sometimes that isn’t entirely the case. We can do a DNA test once the babies are born to give you a concrete answer. It’s a simple cheek swab. Completely painless for your little ones.”

“That’s incredible,” James breathed. “Incredible!”

“And I was wondering… have you decided whether you’re doing a home birth again? The reason I ask is that twins inherently come with more complications,” Elizabeth said. “My suggestion would be to stay here in our facilities, but obviously the choice is entirely yours. There are ways to make a home birth as safe as a hospital birth.”

“Yeah, we were talking a little bit,” Rose said, “and we think we’d like to be at your birth center this time ‘round.”

Elizabeth nodded and smiled. “Excellent. I can get you started on the application process. Don’t worry, it’s only a formality by now. Oh, and before I forget…” She strode over to the printer and collected two shiny photos. “Your babies. They’re growing nicely and appear to be in great health. They’re right on track for a March 20th due date… which, if I remember, is your other little one’s birthday?”

James and Rose both nodded.

“It’s a very slim chance they’ll be sharing birthdays, though,” Elizabeth said. “I trust you were told that twins tend to come early? The average is usually around 38 weeks, but I’ve seen as early as 35. So I recommend you get everything prepared under the assumption you’ll have babies by mid-February.

“Also, I do want to make you aware of one tiny little thing: the second baby is in the breech position, which means that she’s facing bum-down rather than head-down.” Elizabeth pointed to her screen to show that indeed one twin was head-down while the other was head-up.

“Is that a problem?” Rose asked, her brows furrowing.

“No, no,” Elizabeth assured. “Not if she remains the second baby. As they’re positioned now, you’ll deliver Baby One first, who will have opened you up wide enough that Baby Two will have plenty of room to follow her sister. Breech babies are slightly more difficult to deliver if they’re the first ones out.”

“And if they swap positions?” James asked. “What happens then?”

“There’s just a larger chance of complications during the delivery,” Elizabeth said, keeping her voice gentle upon seeing James’s tight jaw. “I have delivered my share of breech babies, and I promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure you get to hold two healthy baby girls in twenty or so weeks.”

With the gender of their babies revealed, James and Rose began working on the nursery. Wanting the babies to be closer to their bedroom, they moved Sianin’s room into the home office and the home office into the basement. They painted the nursery walls in soft hues of pink and yellow, and slowly began accumulating duplicate supplies.

By the time winter break arrived, they’d put the finishing touches on the nursery. Rose traced two baby elephants on the walls above each crib, and painted hearts floating between each of the little trunks. Amidst the hearts, she painted the names of their newest daughters: Hannah Brianne and Madeline Emily.

“You are amazing,” James murmured when she showed him the finished product. “So amazing and so talented. I love it. I love you.”

As winter dredged on and Rose was well into her third trimester, the anticipation and excitement was nearly unbearable. James couldn’t wait to hold his newest daughters and finally feel like he was doing his part to care for them. Rose couldn’t wait to get them out of her body, which was twinging with new aches and pains every day.

After the typical excitement of the holidays was over, boredom crept over the house. The weather was cold and wet, making everyone miserable. Ainsley and Sianin wanted to get out and do things, but it was difficult when Rose had very low energy. She tried, but often came home with an aching back and sore, swollen feet.

“I’m useless,” she muttered as she sank into a bubble bath James had made for her.

“You’re growing our two little girls,” he replied patiently, sitting on the floor beside her. “That’s not useless. It’s very energetically taxing. You’re being much more patient and good-tempered than I would be.”

Rose finally cracked a smile, one that James mirrored.

When the water turned cool, James helped her stand and get out of the tub. He moisturized her legs for her, since she could no longer reach past her huge stomach. Her heart pulsed with warmth and love at having such an amazing husband.

“I love you,” she said when he put her lotion away.

“I love you, too. Go on, lay down. Get comfy. You get a complimentary foot massage.”

Rose giggled and tugged the sheets down. She crawled into bed and rearranged the many pillows around her until she was as comfortable as possible. James then knelt beside her and began working his fingers into her swollen ankles.

Relief radiated through her feet, making her hum in pleasure. He rubbed and kneaded not only her feet, but the entire length of her legs until she felt like jelly from the waist down.

His touch made heat pool in her core until she groaned and arched her hips. He paused in his caress of her thigh.

“Do you… do you want me to touch you?” His voice was tentative, but his eyes had darkened.

“Please,” she breathed.

He grinned and continued his massage up her thigh until his fingers landed where she was throbbing for him.

It hardly took any time at all for his clever fingers to send her over the edge. He followed along a few seconds later.

Rose breathed deeply as her body sank into the mattress. James curled up beside her a few moments later after he changed into clean pants. He tugged the sheets up to their chests and nuzzled into her neck.

“I didn’t intend for that to get sexy,” he mumbled. “But that was lovely.”

“Mhm. Sorry we haven’t made love in a while.”

“We made love last week,” he said.

“You know what I mean. Like actual intercourse, with you inside me.”

“I don’t care about that,” James said. “Wait, no, I do care because I love being inside you. What I meant was it doesn’t bother me that we can’t make love like we usually do. We’re doing what works best for us in our situation, and we’re still finding ways to make each other feel good while sharing intimate moments together.”

“You’re such a smooth talker,” Rose teased, even as her heart swelled with happiness. “When you’re not being an utter dork, that is.”

“Oi!” James stuck his tongue out at her, but they both dissolved into laughter.

“I was thinking about something earlier,” Rose said after a few minutes of silence. “Before you sidetracked me.” James preened beside her. “And I think you should take the girls out, just the three of you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.

“The last daddy-daughter day you had with them was when you went and got the Christmas tree. We’ve been trying to do things as a family, but it’s getting to be too exhausting for me,” Rose said. “And it’s only gonna get worse. I constantly need to sit down and rest, and I hate needing to find a loo every hour. I feel guilty that we have to come home after a couple of hours out.”

“It’s fine,” he assured.

But Rose shook her head. “The kids have been restless. So are you. I know you say you’re fine, but I can tell you’re itching to get out of the house more often. Don’t feel bad, James. Honestly, it’s okay. But I think it’ll be good for the three of you to spend an entire day out. Maybe take ‘em to a museum or a theater show or something.”

James sighed. “What if you need me when I’m out with them?”

“If it would make you feel better, I’ll have Mum or Dad come and stay with me,” Rose said. “Think about it, love. This might be your last chance to spend some quality time with them before two newborns take over our lives.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” he admitted.

“I’m always right,” she teased.

“Only ‘cos you’re pregnant,” he said sweetly.

“Oi!”

James took smack with a chuckle, then he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a squeeze as he pressed an over-the-top kiss to her cheek.

“I’ll see if they want to spend the day out with their old dad next weekend,” he promised.

Ainsley and Sianin did indeed want to spend a day with their father. Their huge, excited smiles made him feel guilty that he hadn’t tried to coordinate something with them sooner.

The night before James’s day out with the girls, however, Rose awoke in the middle of the night with back pain. Her hips and back had been aching for weeks, but the pain she currently felt was different, yet familiar, and she knew she was starting labor.

She wriggled around until she was able to get enough leverage to sit up, and she bit her lip as her back spasmed again and a slow, rolling cramp rippled through her uterus. She began counting, and made it to twenty-eight before the cramp finally subsided.

“You just had to pick today to want to begin your debut, eh girls?” she whispered, rubbing her hand across her tight belly. “Well. Daddy has plans with your sisters. Do you think you two can hang out with Mummy ‘til they get back this afternoon?”

Rose pushed herself out of bed and waddled to the loo, speaking quietly to the babies inside of her as she did so.

Her back felt too sore to get back into bed, but Rose was still exhausted and she knew she should try to get some more sleep. So she walked down the hall and into the living room to lower herself into the cushy recliner that relieved some of the pressure at the base of her spine.

“Okay, girls, d’you think you can let Mummy get more sleep?” she murmured, resting her head back and closing her eyes. “I’m gonna need it.”

Unbidden, her last labor experience popped into her memory, and her heart quickened in response. She’d been trying really hard to ignore how painful and traumatic Sianin’s labor and delivery had been, but now that she was faced with the imminent arrival of her twins, she couldn’t ignore it any longer.

It’ll be worth it, though, she told herself firmly. Just to see our babies will make it all worth it. I’ll be able to hold them and cuddle them. And James will, too.

She smiled to herself at the mental picture of her husband cradling two little bundles to his chest. She wasn’t sure how he managed it, but he grew infinitely more attractive whenever he held one of their kids. Her heart did a funny somersault as her mind’s eye showed her a picture of James with Ainsley and Sianin in his lap as well as their newborns.

James is so excited to be a daddy again. I can do this for him. I have to. We wanted another child for so long… I knew this was the tradeoff.

She continued her mental pep talk until her uterus tightened in another contraction.

Eventually, she was able to fall back to sleep. She slept in fits, awaking every time a new contraction hit. However, they were fairly moderate for the time being, so she was able to fall asleep relatively quickly when they subsided.

She awoke completely when the girls got up.

“Why are you sleeping out here?”

Rose opened her eyes and saw Sianin standing beside the recliner. Her hair was mussed and her eyes were bleary and crusty with sleep. Rose’s heart throbbed with love for her child.

“My back was a little sore,” she answered, reaching out to carefully untangle Sianin’s hair. “Laying down in bed wasn’t comfy. I came out here so I wouldn’t disturb Daddy.”

“Okay,” Sianin said through a yawn. “I’m hungry.”

“I’ll make breakfast in a few minutes,” Rose said. “I need the loo, first.”

Rose pushed herself to her feet, then she reached out and invited Sianin in for a hug.

“Love you,” she whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her daughter’s hair.

“A baby kicked me,” Sianin grumbled, leaning her head away from Rose’s belly.

Rose laughed. “Well, we won’t have to worry about that soon enough.” Very soon. “Right, Mummy has to wee. I’ll be back.”

She released Sianin, then made her way down the hallway and to their bedroom. James was dead asleep. He was sprawled across the middle of the mattress, as though he’d tried to roll up against her in his sleep and only found empty sheets.

After using the loo, she stepped up to the bed and sat down on the edge. James grunted as the mattress dipped, and he moved towards the disturbance. He opened his eyes, and Rose smiled as she watched him blink a few times to clear his vision.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” she murmured, stroking her fingers through his hair.

He smiled at her and hummed at her touch. “Mornin’.” He then leaned in and pressed a kiss to either side of her huge belly. “Mornin’ girls. I hope you let Mummy sleep well last night.”

“Not exactly,” Rose answered. She waited until James looked up at her before she said, “I’ve started labor. Been having contractions all night.”

He stared unblinkingly at her for a few seconds, then he sat bolt upright.

“How do you feel? Have the contractions been awful? Why didn’t you wake me?” He placed his hands on her belly and palpated gently. What he was looking for, she had no idea, but it was endearing nevertheless, so she just smiled indulgently at him.

“I’m not gonna wake you just so you can watch me have a thirty-second contraction every thirty minutes,” she said dryly. “I feel fine for now. They haven’t been too bad yet. I think…” She paused her sentence to get James’s attention back on her instead of her stomach. She covered his hand and squeezed. “James, you’ve got a fun day planned with Ainsley and Sianin today.”

“Oh, bugger,” he muttered.

“I think you should still go out with them,” Rose said quickly.

“Absolutely not,” he said, shaking his head. “I need to be here with you.”

“James, love, please.” She brought his hand to her lips for a kiss. “The girls have been looking forward to this day with you all week. Besides, my mum is coming to spend the day with me, remember? Oh, that reminds me. I should tell Mum to pack suitcases so she can stay here with Robert and the girls…”

“I’ll take the kids out later,” he said. “I should stay here with you.”

“This is going to disappoint them,” Rose argued. “Labor takes hours, James. I started feeling contractions at three o’clock this morning. They’re still thirty minutes apart. We have plenty of time, love. I promise you, you’ll be able to spend the day with Ainsley and Sianin and not miss a thing.”

“I’d miss a few contractions,” he grumbled.

Rose snorted. “How exciting. But the science museum is even more exciting.”

James sighed. “What if you’re wrong? What if your labor progresses quickly and I miss out on the birth of our daughters? I want to be there to welcome them into the world, and I need to be here for you, love.”

Rose’s eyes prickled with the devotion and sincerity in his voice. She swallowed around the lump in her throat and leaned forward to press her lips to his. When she pulled back, she kept her forehead pressed to his and said, “I know you want that. I want that too. But please believe me, James. You have time. You won’t miss their birth. Trust me.”

He was silent for half a minute, then he exhaled softly. “Okay. Yeah, okay. I trust you. But please call—”

“I’ll call you if anything changes,” she assured, pressing another kiss to his lips.

He cradled the back of her head in his palm as he deepened the kiss. She hummed against his lips as gentle pleasure buzzed through her the longer the kiss went on.

“You should get up,” Rose whispered, breaking the kiss. “And I promised Sianin I’d start breakfast after I wee’d.”

“Hmm, but kissing you is so nice,” he said, catching her lips between his again.

She giggled against his mouth, then pushed at his shoulders.

“Go on, get a shower,” she said, standing up from the bed. “I’ll have breakfast and coffee for you when you’re done.”

When she made it to the bedroom door, James called out to her. She turned and saw him walking up to her with a giddy grin on his face.

“Our babies are coming,” he giggled.

“Yeah they are. I can’t wait.”

With a parting smile, Rose turned to get the kids ready for the day.

<-- Ch 14 | Ch 16 -->

#doctorroseprompts #ficandchips #dwfic #doctor who #ten x rose #ten x rose au #soulmates #soulmatea au #james x rose #kid fic #pregnancy #my fic #and babies make five and six #perfectly matched verse

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