Becoming a wife (A Dr. Who fanfiction)

Chapter 3

"Rose? Rose?"

Rose found herself back on the terrace, the Doctor gently shaking her arm. When her eyes refocused he grinned.

"You were far away, pleasant memory?"

She showed him a quick peek of where her mind had been and his grin widened.

"Ah, very pleasant."

Rose giggled.

"But you were about to ask me a question, before you embarked on this... joyous... memory-path."

"Yes." Rose cleared her throat and tried to find the words that seemed to have eluded her at present.

"Yes. I wanted to know... to ask... When you explained the bond we formed in front of the console, the one that physically bound me to you, you mentioned something about us, becoming... compatible."

She swallowed, averted her eyes for a moment and then forced them back to his.

"I presume you meant... you meant that we would be able to have... children, together?"

The Doctor took her hand in his and he squeezed it reassuring.

"In your society this was not an item often discussed, was it? You simply married, had sexual intercourse and there would come a child or more out of the union."

He put it blunt, which he usually did when he described a certain habit of cultural custom without making it personal.

Rose nodded, portraying the need for him to continue.

"In time, there came a better understanding of the biology of certain aspects of instigating life and with the knowledge there also came more choice. Women had better control over when they could conceive and with that they learned how to plan a family enlargement."

He saw her gaze around to insure their privacy and asked: "Would you rather have this discussion back home?"

She loved him for his understanding, he always seemed to be able to read her thoughts by simply observing her and he was always making sure she was comfortable.

"No, this is fine. As long as there's no one around, this will do nicely."

"The cycle of a woman's fertility is very interpretable, by men like me I mean: Time Lords and such."

He scratched the back of his neck, thinking how that was a very awkward sentence, him being the only one left. He decided not to elaborate on the existence of other alien beings that also had the ability to smell hormones and 'read' the state of one's constitution.

"I will not bore you with a biological explanation, it is enough to mention that I can tell when your body is ready to form new life. Up till now I have not slept with you on those days. I hope you were not offended."

He smiled shyly.

"I have thrown so much information at you these past weeks. I felt that informing you of such intimate knowledge about yourself; that you did not yet seem to have, would cause more harm than good. I thought, and you have proven me correct, that when you were ready; you would ask me."

Rose could not be offended. He was right when he mentioned her being overwhelmed by information. Her increased brain capacity had helped her process it all and she was beyond relieved that his reserve a few days back had nothing to do with his feelings for her.

"There are various ways," he continued, after he saw that she understood and accepted, "of making sure that you can not conceive, even on those days. I am sure the library has books on those subjects, should you not wish to hear it from me."