Disclaimer: Doctor Who isn't mine. If it was things would be quite different. The BBC owns all and I bow before them.

Pairing: Tentoo x Rose, kid!fic.

D.O.C.T.O.R.W.H.O

The Doctor let himself into the flat quietly, mindful of the late hour. Despite the storm raging outside, it was silent in the flat. He shed his soaked coat, but thanks to setting 27/A he was toasty and dry underneath.

Rose was in the final days of her second pregnancy and while he'd been on leave too, his expertise had been sorely needed this evening and he'd assisted with a crashed spaceship and panicked aliens. Thankfully, everything had been resolved peacefully and he'd been eager to get home.

He paused by the doorway to check on his (hopefully) sleeping toddler. Sarah was standing up in her cry, mumbling to herself. As he walked inside the room, he could make out what she was saying.

"Mummy says it's okay, it's just funder. Mummy says it's okay, it's just funder."

"Oh, darling," he whispered, as he picked her up and cuddled her close to his chest.

Just the week before, she'd spent an upset hour in his and Rose's bed during another thunderstorm. Rose had indeed said almost the same words to their daughter as she rubbed soothing circles over her little back. Once the storm had abated, he'd returned her to her room and thought nothing more of it.

Now Sarah wasn't crying, but was soothing herself instead. It was a necessary skill, but one that also meant she was getting older and growing up. Too fast, his heart ached. It seemed like just yesterday they'd brought her home.

"That's right, love. It's just thunder. Daddy and mummy are here and nothing is going to hurt you," he assured her. He rocked Sarah in his arms, cherishing the moment.

Once upon a time, the thought of a linear life like this had been the stuff of nightmares. With his almost infinite lifespan, he'd itched to run, hardly wanting to be tied down to one time and place. He'd only made it through his exile on Earth knowing it wouldn't last forever, and UNIT keeping him on his toes.

But now the slow path with Rose and their children was his world, and it was the greatest adventure of all the years. Yes, his life was finite now. But that made it all the more precious.