Author's Note: This story can be read as a standalone and also fits as the third story in my Parallel Lines series. This takes place around five years after Journey's End. I'll pick up the next story in the series after the holidays, starting around a year after this one.

Unbeta'd.

Lines for a Parallel Christmas

Though Rose knew the Doctor thought her a bit silly for wanting to use a human pregnancy test when they already knew she was pregnant, she delighted in seeing those two pink lines that meant a positive test. For some reason, she thought, having your husband tell you that you were pregnant because he could read your hormone levels just wasn't the same.

Not even now that he was occasionally licking her without warning for the same sort of hormonal test.

"But Rose," he told her now in response to her protest, "it's the most efficient way for me to quickly measure your levels! You're not letting me take you to the lab often enough."

"Doctor," she said with a sigh, "I agreed to let you run tests daily for the first month while we make sure I adjust. Even that is more than I'd like, and I'm sure I'd know if something was wrong, yeah?"

It was the Doctor's turn to sigh.

"You're two weeks pregnant with a human-Gallifreyan-Bad Wolf hybrid child who is going to be absolutely brilliant. Can you really blame me for being a bit cautious?" he asked. "And the levels weren't high enough for me to register a week ago without going deeply into your mind, so it's not like I've been trying the whole time, much."

Rose crossed her arms and looked at him, refusing to give entirely into the pleading look he was giving her, a mix between puppy-dog-eyes and you-dribbled-on-your-shirt. She raised one eyebrow before suggesting a compromise.

"Okay then, Doctor," she said. "Tell you what, you can lick me, but you have to make it up to me every time you do. Licking me will help you relax, so then you need to find a way for me to relax. I'll leave the specifics up to you and that impressive mind of yours."

Her husband beamed.

"I think I can abide by those terms," he told her, moving in for the lick he'd tried to give her earlier.

Instead of licking the nearest part of her as had been becoming his habit, though, he stared into her eyes for a moment before running his tongue along the sensitive underside of her jaw, then pressing a kiss to her neck, just below her ear. When the Doctor moved her toward the sofa, Rose let him shift her into a sitting position. He knelt down between her legs, and Rose smiled in anticipation of his exercising his oral fixation in his favorite way.

Instead, she was surprised when he removed her house slippers before sitting on the couch next to her, turning Rose so that her feet were in his lap so he could massage them.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind," said Rose, closing her eyes and lying back in a comfortable position, "but it'll do."

It was Christmas Eve, and the newlyweds had been back home for a little over a week after the early end to their honeymoon thanks to Rose's nausea and exhaustion. Though their at-home lab had allowed the Doctor to counteract her extreme nausea, she was still pretty tired and very glad they'd agreed not to tell anyone they were home early. As far as anyone but Jack Harkness knew, the couple would only be arriving home in time for the Christmas festivities at the Tyler mansion. Jack, having helped them to bring home a certain animate object, already knew they were home.

Puff, the tiny gray and white kitten Rose and the Doctor had acquired while honeymooning in northern Italy, jumped up on the sofa to join them, climbing onto Rose's still-flat stomach before curling up into a purring ball of fur.

"She seems to have adjusted with no trouble," said Rose sleepily. The Doctor made a noise of agreement.

"Well, this is no icy cave," he said, "but she does still have someone who is not entirely human to keep her company."

The Doctor, Rose, and Jack had helped Puff's previous owner return to his home planet after he was stranded on this one.

"So, what do you think about Ronald?" asked the Doctor, supplying another suggestion for their child's name.

"Doctor," said Rose, "I told you, I don't want to talk about this until we know whether the baby is a boy or a girl."

"But Rose," whined the Doctor, pausing his foot rub, "that's over two months from now before we know for sure, even with the best forms of testing I have access to."

"We're gonna have a hard enough time deciding as it is, Doctor. I don't want to argue about more names than we have to."

They'd had this conversation before, but the Doctor hadn't stopped suggesting names at random intervals.

"Well, what about Sammy? Or Nicky? Maybe Jayne?"

"Doctor," said Rose exasperated.

"What?" he said, seeming genuinely perplexed. "Those names would work for a boy or for a girl. Different spellings, possibly, but the same names could be for either a little you or a little me."

Rose smiled despite herself, at both the Doctor's logic and at the image of a toddler-sized Doctor running around in Converse. She yawned.

"I'm too tired to talk about it right now, Doctor," she told him. "Do you think we can move to the bedroom?"

"Of course," he said, leaping up to help her off the couch.

She rolled her eyes at his over-protectiveness but let him help her up. When they got upstairs to their room, they took their customary positions for the start of the night; he was on the side closest to the window, and she was on the side closer to the loo, her head resting on his chest and his arm wrapped around her. Though the Doctor's body temperature was closer to a human's now, he was still just a bit cool, and Rose rarely got too hot to cuddle. The Doctor did typically wake much earlier than Rose, not needing quite as much sleep, but he was usually good at being able to tell when she was deeply enough asleep not to wake when he moved her.

Rose was almost asleep when the Doctor spoke.

"Rose," he said, his voice pleading, "can I suggest just one more name? Please?"

Rose, too tired to argue, made a noncommittal sound that her husband took as agreement.

"Well," he started, "I was trying to think of a name that would have meaning, but many of our special places would be quite awkward for a child's name. Darlig, Woman Wept, Krop Tor: none of these make great names. 'Kroppy,' though, might be fun to say. Anyway, what about 'Henry,' as a variation on 'Henrick's,' where we met?"

"S'great, Doctor," said Rose with a smile, neither fully awake nor aware that she might be agreeing to a name. As the Doctor pulled her closer, Rose drifted off to sleep, images of a little boy with wild brown hair and a pinstriped suit entertaining her through the night.

O~O~O~O~O~O

"And we're going to have so much fun, we are." Rose heard the Doctor's voice as she became aware enough of her surroundings to realize it was morning. "Yes, we are. And you're going to grow bigger every day until you're old enough to travel with us, and we're going to see new places and learn new things."

Rose smiled as she continued to listen to the Doctor's voice, softened just that bit into baby talk without losing any proper phrasing. She opened her eyes, expecting to see the Doctor talking to her stomach.

Instead, he was watching out the window as he spoke.

"Doctor," said Rose, sitting up in bed, "who are you talking to?"

"Merry Christmas!" said the Doctor, smiling as he turned to face his wife. "I'm talking to the TARDIS! She finally bonded with me, Rose. It must be because she got so much exercise translating for you and she hasn't had to this week. It's a weak bond for now, of course, but it's there, Rose!"

His excitement was contagious and Rose returned the Doctor's grin.

"That's great, Doctor," she told him, moving to give him a hug. She knew he'd been a bit jealous that their TARDIS bonded with her first, even though it was for practical reasons. "Merry Christmas."

They wrapped their arms around each other, and Rose marveled at how right it still felt to be in his arms after all these years.

"We get to tell your parents about the baby today," said the Doctor, still very excited.

"And you're sure you still want to be the one to tell them?" she asked, pulling back to look him in the eye.

"Yup!" he replied.

"And you won't do anything inappropriate?" she inquired further.

"Always appropriate, me," he said with a sniff.

"Except when you're rude," Rose added with a smile.

"Oi!" he said, protesting. "I've been nicer, haven't I? Didn't even tell your mother her food was inedible last time she cooked."

"True," said Rose, "but I don't think that counts since you DID compare it to, how did you put it, 'the excrement of a Larlipotian emscrat.'"

"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I suppose that may not have been entirely polite. However," he concluded, "I assure you that my announcement will be perfect."

Rose grinned at the Doctor again.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she said, kissing him before climbing out of bed and starting toward the bathroom. "Care to join me?" she asked, looking over her shoulder as she pulled off her pajama top.

"Oh, yes!" replied the Doctor, still enthusiastic, as he leapt out of bed and followed after his wife.

O~O~O~O~O~O

After their shower, during which the Doctor repeatedly exercised his right to lick Rose as long as she was relaxed afterward, the two got dressed and headed to the Tyler mansion.

The large house was decorated extravagantly, lights everywhere, timed to depict moving scenes and tell stories.

Rose and the Doctor were greeted at the door by an energetic Tony, still young enough to be very excited by Christmas. He took a look at the presents his sister and brother-in-law were carrying and started hopping up and down.

"The Christmas tree is in here," said the eight-year-old, taking his sister's hand and leading them to a room off the main hallway.

"Wow," said Rose, looking around the room. "I don't think there's any space to walk for all the presents."

"I know!" said Tony. "Isn't it great?"

"Jackie may have gone a little overboard," said Pete tolerantly as he joined them at the doorway.

"Overboard?" came Jackie's voice from the hall as she came from the kitchen. "You own one company and run another, so I ought to be able to buy all the prezzies I want. Besides, it's like charity, isn't it, since I'm giving them away."

She finished speaking and greeted her daughter, pulling her into a hug. "Welcome home! How was your trip? Did you get good seats on the way back? Because there was this one time I got the most horrible seat next to this woman who just wouldn't stop talking. Some people just don't know when to quit, you know? So anyway, I says to her, I says, 'If I wanted to hear talking the whole flight, I'd listen to the telly!' Of course, I didn't really say that, not out loud, at any rate…" Jackie continued talking as she hugged the Doctor and then lead the way to the dining room.

"Did you make us dinner, Jackie?" asked the Doctor cautiously as they sat around the food-covered table.

"Of course not, you plum," she replied. "I didn't want to be in the kitchen for that long, now did I? Marta cooked everything this morning before heading home for the day. Whole staff is off today. Turns out I got used to them after so many years, so don't you go making any messes you don't want to clean up yourself," she told the Doctor sternly.

"Of course not," replied the Doctor, realizing after he said it that he'd mimicked Jackie's pronunciation exactly. Rose took his hand and squeezed under the table. Her mum and the Doctor had come to a sort of unspoken agreement that they liked each other but weren't about to show it, at least not intentionally. Instead, the two bickered almost as much as ever, though there was typically affection present in their tones rather than animosity.

The Tyler family's lunch was uneventful, Rose and the Doctor filling in what they could of their honeymoon, Jackie attributing Rose's tiredness to the fact they'd just arrived. Rose felt a little guilty for deceiving her parents, but she also looked forward to the Doctor's telling them almost as much as she feared he was going to do something completely outside of acceptable customs. When everyone had finished eating, the group moved to the sitting room with the Christmas tree and innumerable presents, carefully navigating the gift-covered floor to reach the sofas.

The opening of presents was chaotic. Pete and the Doctor handed out gifts, and the other Tylers ripped through them with little ceremony. Tony was delighted at his growing pile of toys and clothes, and Rose was surrounded by new-home gifts, including small appliances and wall decor. When all the presents were opened, wrapping in a large pile by itself, Pete relaxed on the sofa next to his wife as Tony started carrying his presents to his room. The Doctor, still standing, raised an eyebrow at Rose, who nodded, agreeing that this might be a good time to share their news. The Doctor grinned.

"I have one more present," he announced to the room, ducking behind the sofa Rose was on to grab something he'd stashed there. He returned to stand next to the coffee table that rested between the two couches and proudly displayed what he held.

It was a miniature, blue police box, about six inches tall. However, there was something a bit off about it, and Rose frowned.

Jackie was less subtle in her reaction as she gasped.

"You made the TARDIS with holes all over it?" she nearly screeched. "What's that mean? Did you wreck your TARDIS before it can even fly and so you're stuck here with us? What's this about?"

"Of course not," said the Doctor, looking a bit confused as the reactions weren't quite what he was hoping for. "Ah, Tony!" he said as his brother-in-law re-entered the room. "Turn the lights off for me, would you?" he asked as he set the hole-ridden TARDIS on the table. Tony complied before stumbling in the dark to join his parents on their sofa.

There was a flash of blue and whirring as the Doctor briefly pointed the sonic screwdriver toward the object. Suddenly, the TARDIS lit up. Through the holes, constellations were projected on the ceiling and walls, and the police box spun slowly as it played Sleeping at Last's slow-paced cover of "I'm Gonna Be." The rotating lights revealed awed looks on the Tyler family's faces, and the Doctor beamed at the reaction that was more like the one he'd pictured.

"It's lovely, Doctor," said Jackie, quieter than usual, "but who's it for? You didn't really say."

In the dim light, the Doctor made his way over to Rose, where he reached down and took her hand. He gently pulled her up to stand next to him, wrapping an arm around her as he explained, "It's a nightlight for the result of the successful combination of mine and Rose's genetic material."

Tony was too busy watching the lights to pay much attention to what was being said, and the small-but-genuine smile on Pete's face told Rose that her father had understood. Her mother, though, looked baffled again. Rose wasn't able to resist any longer.

"You're going to be grandparents, Mum!" she said excitedly, leaning into the Doctor as he pulled her even closer to him.

Jackie screamed and all but jumped over the table to give first Rose, then the Doctor a hug, talking non-stop as she did about buying things for the baby and what plans needed to be made and shopping done and rooms painted (because of course the baby would have a room at the Tyler mansion, too, for the nights Rose and the Doctor stayed late). Pete, always more reserved in his excitement than his wife, quietly congratulated the couple, murmuring a "that was quick" as he patted his son-in-law on the back during their brief hug. Rose was sure she saw the Doctor blush.

When everyone had calmed down and the lights had been turned back on, the adults sat back down to talk while Tony ran to play with his new toys, his, "I'm gonna be an uncle? Cool!" sufficing for his reaction to the news.

"You can't tell anyone yet, Mum," said Rose. "And you can't do shopping yet, at least not where you might be spotted."

"Well, why not?" protested Jackie, confused. "I don't get to be excited about my very own grandbaby?"

"You can in another two months, Jackie," said the Doctor. "The baby is only approximately 57% human, and the other contributing DNA means that Rose's gestational period will be closer to eleven months than to nine."

Jackie blinked as she absorbed the information. "Eleven months?" she started. "Your alien sperm means I have to keep quiet about my first grandbaby for MONTHS?"

"Well, it's not entirely my fault," protested the Doctor, "since Rose's DNA has shifted, too, thanks to her interaction with the time vortex."

"Which was also your fault!" returned Jackie without hesitation, causing the Doctor to pull on his ear, uncomfortable.

Rose squeezed the Doctor's hand and turned to her mother.

"Mum, this is a good thing, alright? We're happy, and I'm the one who's pregnant for longer, so you don't need to be the one complaining. Besides," Rose added, "you can at least shop online."

Jackie sniffed. "Suppose that's true. Oh, and I can start looking at designs for the nursery! You know, my friend Jan, she said…"

The rest of the afternoon passed without incident, and Rose and the Doctor left before supper, Rose pleading exhaustion.

When they got home, Rose collapsed on the couch.

"I'm knackered, Doctor," she said, her eyes closed as she heard him moving around.

"You can't fall asleep yet," he said from the next room. "You still need to eat, for one thing, and for another, I've got one more present for you."

Rose kept her eyes shut as she listened to the Doctor moving in and out of the room.

"Okay, you can look now," said the Doctor, and Rose opened her eyes, turning to look toward where the Doctor had spoken. Next to him was an exquisite, handmade cradle.

Rose was speechless.

"Do you like it?" he asked, nervous. "I thought you would like it, but I wasn't sure. Never know whether you're more in the mood for a gift or for choosing something you like, but this is designed to be like my own cradle, and I thought since we couldn't actually have mine, this would be the next best thing. I know it's a bit rough, and I've still got a few things to polish, and I'm going to add some Gallifreyan but I didn't want to make you sick with the translation circuit not yet at full function, and…"

He stopped as Rose got up from the sofa and embraced him. He held her tight, making a pleased sound as he did.

"So, you like it?" he asked.

"I love it," she said pulling back to give him a kiss.

The Doctor returned the kiss briefly before moving to show her various aspects of the crib, including shock absorbers for rough landings, "not that our TARDIS will make any rough landings, of course, but I thought it was a good idea for a safety precaution."

"It's perfect, Doctor," said Rose, taking his hand.

"Mew!" agreed Puff from where she was walking underneath the cradle. The Doctor picked up the kitten, placing her on his shoulder, and wrapped his arms around Rose, one hand resting lightly on her abdomen.

"Just think," said the Doctor, "Next year, the TARDIS will be fully functional, and we can spend Christmas wherever we want!"

"Together," said Rose.

"Together," he agreed.