a/n: This is inspired by the movie Signs and contains some elements from that film. This could be considered part of my series, Time, Eternals and the Domestic Life although it's years in the future from the Preg Rose fics. So, basically I've written this one out of order. I promise I will get back to finish Rose's pregnancy stories and the birth of Jamie. Thanks to who_in_whoville for the kids' names and the title; and thanks to all of my Dalekian sistahs for listening to me ramble about this story for the past 24 hours. I sort of got obsessed about writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any elements or characters from the movie Signs

The white dusty road seemed to stretch on forever as the old blue 1976 Mustang Cobra slowly ambled its way down through the cornfields. The vibrant verdant stalks stretched upward in a sea of green on both sides of the road. The sweet scent of the fields filled the car and the buzzing of the crickets competed with Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman blaring from the car radio. Rose, her hair in braids stretched and hung her head out the window to breathe in the warm, fresh air.

The Doctor grinned as he watched her lean out the window, her pink t-shirt riding up slightly away from the waist of her worn denim shorts. They both were dressed for relaxing in the country. Of course, this was not a vacation. They were working undercover for Torchwood in the Pennsylvania farm country just outside of Philadelphia. The Doctor checked the rear view mirror to watch his son Jamie and his daughter Zoe oblivious to the bucolic setting around them, instead focused on their ipads. He sighed and shook his head thinking perhaps Rose was right and they did have their nose stuck in a book too much. Well, perhaps not a book per say, but recreation quantum physics was, he supposed, similar in concept.

Rose settled back on the black vinyl seat and grinned at him. "Isn't it beautiful?" she beamed. "Reminds me of that planet Festerooly."

"Festerulian," the Doctor corrected her, tapping his fingers against the black steering wheel as he remembered that trip with fondness. They had picnicked amongst the enormous flowers dipping their toes in a cool stream while enjoying sandwiches. Jamie had been only two then, his mind a little sponge absorbing everything around them and asking nonstop questions. It brought him great joy and made him fell young again to see how his son's eyes lit up and his inquisitive nature burst forth when the visited a new world.

Jamie, a miniature version of his father with brown spikey hair and molten brown eyes, looked up at the mention of the planet's name. "I remember that! There were giant yellow caterpillars who spun cities made of natural protein fibers with a density to withstand the intense mesoscale convective systems prevalent on that world."

Zoe looked over at him. "I don't recall visiting that planet?"

"You weren't born yet. Mum was gestating you," Jamie answered matter of factly. The two children proceeded to discuss the chemical structure of the silk the caterpillars spun as well as the planet's relative location in the galaxy.

The Doctor grinned at his brilliant children. Rose rolled her eyes. "Right, well this is Earth and we're all going to try and fit in here, yeah? So that means we don't discuss aliens around the humans here."

Jamie and Zoe exchanged looks and mischievous grins. They were well aware of how important it was to keep the family secret. Of course, that didn't mean they didn't enjoy showing off or trying to educate their teachers on how they had things all wrong. Their father often supported this and felt that human schooling was a waste for his brilliant offspring. Rose, on the other hand, made them apologize to their teachers, even if they were right. She wanted them to learn social skills and be able to relate to other people. Jamie and Zoe did their best to humor her as they knew that their Mum would take their side if they should happen to accidentally blow up their father's laboratory. They endeavored to always keep in their Mum's good graces. Just in case.

Rose glared at the conspiratorial grins being passed back and forth among her children and continued. "Our job is to figure out what's happenin' with the crops, and how and why these weird designs are appearin. Uncle Jake is already at the farm house gettin' things ready for us." Rose pulled out her mobile and looked at her messages. "There's been more crop circles showin' up all over the world in the past twenty four hours. We still can't detect or prove any alien involvement, but somethins definitely off."

"Crop circles," the Doctor scoffed. "More like mathematically precise designs. These are far more than some primitive circular pattern. The measurements are too precise and the design is far more intricate than humans of this era would create. The designs indicate four dimensional thinking."

"Like Time Lords?" Zoe asked, paying rapt attention to her father.

"No. That's impossible," the Doctor answered a bit sadly. Rose reached over and grasped the hand he had on the gear shift and squeezed. He looked back at her, his sunglasses slipping down his nose slightly and smiled. This right here, Rose and the children, was his world now, his forever and he wouldn't waste one second of it thinking about all that he lost and left behind.

They arrived at the house which was a typical old two story farm house built of slat and board painted white. It had a wrap around porch and old fashioned paned windows with black shutters. Jake was sitting on a rocking chair on the old front porch dressed in jeans and black t-shirt, his boot clad feet propped up on a rickety old table. He was swigging a bottle of beer as they drove up. As they pulled to a stop, he jumped up to greet them. The kids were dashing out of the car as soon as the Doctor turned off the ignition and tackled him. Jake grinned and swung Zoe up in his arms and ruffled Jamie's hair.

"Oi, whadda we have here? Looks like some wild brilliant part aliens runnin' amok in the cornfields!"

"Uncle Jake, we certainly are not running amok," Jamie informed him.

"Quite right. We run with purpose. Don't we Daddy," Zoe said and looked at her father who was carrying their luggage into the house.

"That we do. All settled in Jakey?" the Doctor asked, a grin lighting his face.

Jake shook his head when he looked at the rucksack and single suit case he carried. "That all you brought for the whole family?"

Rose walked up and planted a kiss on Jake's cheek. "Dimensionally transcendental, Jake. You know us. So, find anything out yet?" she asked, as she looked around and peeked into the house.

Jake raised an eyebrow, but was not phased by Rose's comment. He'd known them long enough that comments like that didn't surprise him anymore. He walked into the house, setting Zoe down and smiled as the kids ran up the stairs to go explore. The Doctor had dropped their luggage in the living room and went into the kitchen. When they found him, he was standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open peering at the contents. It was a little amusing to see the Doctor dressed in jeans and a t-shirt with an oxford partially buttoned up over it. He still had on his trainers though.

Rose saw Jake checking out the Doctor's arse in the jeans which fit him like a glove and which she had, after much cajoling, convinced him to wear. She bumped her shoulder with Jake and grinned. "And it only took me six years to get 'im into the denim," she said to him with a cheeky grin. Jake grinned back at her.

"You don't look so bad yourself. Sort of like Daisy May from that old American television show," Jake shot back teasingly.

Rose giggled and played with one of her braids. The Doctor turned around, bottle of citrus Vitex in hand and leaned against the counter watching Rose. He kept thinking how adorable she looked with the braids, tight t-shirt and almost obscenely low cut, ripped denim shorts she wore showing her long tan legs. Although not willing to confess to having such thoughts, he couldn't help but think about playing a bit of the farmer and his naughty farm girl that night.

Jake jumped up on the counter, dangling his denim clad legs and took another swig of beer. "I ran more scans and haven't found anything. I mean in the crop symbol itself, there are energy readings, like in all the others, but it's so faint. It's like whatever is doin' it is erasin' any trace of itself."

"Nothing can erase all of it's energy residue. Everything leaves some trace. Whoever is doing this is just being very clever, masking what they are doing," the Doctor said, beginning to pace. "Rose, let me see the latest data."

Rose handed over her phone and grabbed the Doctor's Vitex and took a sip. The Doctor put on his brainy specs and began tapping away on her phone. Suddenly he yelled, "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Wot?" Rose asked, leaning against the counter near Jake. "You find something?"

"Of course, I found something. Time Lord, me! Not like very many species even come close to my mind," he announced, pleased with himself.

Jake and Rose just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. They were used to the Doctor's ego by now. "So, what is it?" Jake asked.

"Oh, don't know what the species is, but I do know how they're doing it and what it means. They're using a controlled burst of electromagnetic energy. The patterns in the fields are signals and more worrisome, it's a countdown."

"A countdown," Jake asked, concerned now.

"What kind of countdown? Are they here already?" Rose asked.

"I know they're here. They probably sent scouts to observe and report back to the main fleet. They're the ones making the symbols. It's a visual aid meant to be seen from the atmosphere. Probably, to direct their ships."

"Oh my God, it's an invasion," Jake whispered in horror. "We've got to do something. We need to contact Torchwood now."

Rose looked worriedly up the stairs thinking about her kids and how she wished they were home where they could shove them in the Tardis. Why oh why did they travel here without the Tardis. The Doctor sensed her concern and walked over and embraced her.

"I've already sent word to Torchwood. They'll pass along the information and put the planet on alert," he told Jake. He looked down at Rose. "Don't worry. We'll be all right. I'll never let anything happen to you or the children. You know that, right?" he whispered to her.

She looked up into his ancient brown eyes, smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I do. Just don't want you to have to is all."

"What's next?" Jake asked.

"We need to identify the species so we know what measures to take. It is possible we can negotiate with them," the Doctor explained, still holding Rose.

"Negotiate? They've been sneakin' around planning' something for ages!" Jake shouted. "If they wanted to be friendly, I think they'd 'ave talked to us first."

"Not necessarily. They may not want to involve themselves in the indigenous species. Might just want to borrow some resources. Or, they could be a bit skittish of being blown out of the sky. Earth does have a bit of a reputation for being violent."

Rose nodded thinking about the Sycorax in her home universe. "The Doctor's right. They could be tryin' to avoid dealin' with us directly. Still…I dunno. I just have a bad feelin' It's not like we haven't sent out probes and messages. If they're watchin, they know we're suspicious of what's happenin."

"I'll tell you why, it's 'cos they're hostile that's why!" Jake insisted.

"We don't know that!" the Doctor snapped. "I won't support a shoot first, ask questions later policy. I won't, Jake," the Doctor insisted.

"No one's suggetsin' that," Rose said, trying to mediate between the two opinionated men.

"Mum." Zoe said from the doorway. Rose looked over at her daughter dressed in trainers, jeans and sparkly pink t-shirt. Her hazel eyes were filled with worry. Rose walked over and embraced her.

"What is it Zo Zo?" Rose asked, using her nickname and straightening the bows holding her brown braids in place.

"Jamie found something. Daddy, it sounds like a derivation of an insectoid species verbal communication," she said in her soft four year old voice.

The adults raced up the stairs to the bedroom that was set up for the children. Rose held Zoe in her arms as the Doctor knelt before Jamie who stood stiffly, holding a baby monitor in his hands and staring out the window at the corn field. The sounds coming from the baby monitor consisted of clicks, chirps and some eerie moaning. The Doctor pried the baby monitor from Jamie's hand. He pulled out his sonic and pressed it to the device. The sounds became clearer and louder.

Jake felt his skin prickle and pulled aside one of the wispy white cotton curtains to stare outside. It was a sunny, cloudless day. It looked like something out of a painting with the blue sky set off by the tall green cornfield blowing in the gentle breeze. Jake felt the adrenaline begin to pump as he thought about all the things that could be hiding in that cornfield. He turned to the Doctor.

"What is it?" he asked tersely.

The Doctor stared at the baby monitor. "Primitive signals. They're using primitive signals. We were looking for something more advanced," he whispered. "They're here now."

"Why can't we detect them?" Rose asked hugging Zoe to her.

"They're clever and hiding. Some type of perception filter technology maybe." He looked over at Jamie and then out the window. He breathed in and out and stretched out his Time Lord senses. There. He could just barely discern something was there. The noise on the baby monitor stopped abruptly. Everyone in the room was silent.

"Are they gone?" Zoe asked, calmly and was probably the calmest person in the room.

"No," the Doctor and Jamie said simultaneously. The Doctor smiled at his son who walked over and wrapped himself around one of his father's legs.

"They're here but they've moved away from the house. Perhaps to lay low for a while. They know we're aware of them."

"How the bloody 'ell do they know that?" Jake demanded, itching for a weapon in his hand.

"Well, they stopped when they felt my presence," the Doctor answered. He looked over at Rose and the children. "I don't want anyone in the cornfields. Understood?"

Rose nodded her head. Jamie looked from his father to the cornfield. "Jamie," the Doctor said in a serious voice.

Jamie turned to him and nodded his head. "Yes Dad, understood."

"Right, well let's get settled in shall we?" the Doctor announced with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes.

Rose took his cue and corralled the children downstairs to get their things unpacked. The Doctor pulled Jake aside and they made plans to secure the house and set up some more monitoring equipment. While Jake made a call to Torchwood, the Doctor walked out the cornfield. He looked around the area and was unhappy that the house was literally surrounded by tall thick cornfields with only the bumpy single lane dirt road the only access or exit from the area. He walked up to the line of corn and ran his hand over the stalks. "I know you're there," he whispered as he took a step into the corn.

Rose watched from the window as the Doctor disappeared into the corn and swore under her breath. She noticed the room was silent and turned around to see Zoe standing behind her staring at her with wide soulful eyes the same color as her mother's.

"I dreamed this," she said quietly. She cocked her head to the side and blinked. "The corn isn't singing and the scarecrow ran away."

Rose stared at Zoe. Her daughter may be a little girl but she was far more in tune with the universe than almost anyone she knew, even the Doctor. Sometimes, she was afraid for her, that it was too much for a child to bear, but then she remembered, she was part Time Lord. Time Lord genes tended to be dominant and her brain was nothing like a humans. She may look like a little girl but she was far more advanced intellectually. Rose knelt down before her. "Zo Zo, is Daddy in danger?"

Zoe looked at her and bit her lip. "He's Daddy," was all she said solemnly and then snapped out of whatever had taken hold of her. "Can I get a drink of water?"

Rose smiled. "Yeah, sure. We'll go downstairs and take a look in the kitchen and see what we can make for dinner." As Rose walked out, she saw Jamie staring out the window "Jamie?"

He turned and looked at her. "Dad said we shouldn't go in the corn."

"Yeah, he did. He meant you, Zoe and me."

"But, it's not right. What if they hurt him?" Jamie asked, clearly unhappy.

"Your Dad's too smart for that and besides, if he gets in any trouble, we're here to rescue him now aren't we?" Jamie nodded and reluctantly followed her downstairs.

In the kitchen, she put the kids to work looking up recipes, or finding cooking utensils while she stared out the window at the cornfield worrying about the Doctor. She closed her eyes and thought to him. "Please be safe. Remember, you promised forever." Zoe tugged at t-shirt and produced her ipad to show her a recipe for spaghetti and meat sauce. Rose smiled. "Thanks, Zo Zo."

When the Doctor stepped into the cornfield, he was completely enveloped by the tall stalks of corn. It was like stepping into another world so completely surrounded by the tall stalks of green, the only sound the rustle of the leaves and the chirping of the crickets with the occasional tinkling of the wind chimes from the house. He could understand how humans would become a bit claustrophobic and panic at being lost in the corn stalks.

He reached up and pulled a stalk back to reveal an ear of corn enveloped in silky creamy colored fibers. He peeled it as he walked through the field, all his senses attuned to the area around him. He mused that a cornfield could be a spooky place for someone without his sensory perception. It would be all too easy to get lost amongst the rows. The green leafy stalks were at least a foot taller than him and you couldn't see very far in front or behind you. Eventually he reached a cut through between fields. He took a bite of the raw golden corn fresh off the stalk and munched on it while he walked down the break between fields. He stopped when he sensed something moving in the field to the left of him.

It was stealthy and he was sure it was bipedal. The wind picked up and the stalks rustled and whispered. A crow cawed behind him. He walked forward and heard a dog barking. He walked into the corn again quickly making his way toward the barking dog. Suddenly, he heard the dog cry and whimper. He threw the corn he was holding down and ran, winding his way through the corn, bending the stalks out of his way as they whipped at his body. He burst out suddenly into an area where all the corn was bent in a round pattern. It was one of the so called "crop circles" There was a prone body of a german shepherd, laying amongst the damaged stalks. He looked around but saw no evidence as to what harmed the dog. He slowly approached the collapsed animal and noticed it was having difficulty breathing and was trembling.

He knelt down by it's side and it growled at him before whining again. "Easy now," he whispered as he pulled out his sonic and scanned the dog. He stiffened when he heard something running through the corn toward him. It sounded good sized and in a hurry. He whipped around sonic held ready, tensed and prepared to take action. When Jake burst out hand gun at the ready, the Doctor first breathed a sigh of relief and then tensed up in righteous indignation that Jake had a gun at all.

"Jake!" he shouted.

"Doctor, what the 'ell are you doin' out here? I thought we agreed no one goes wanderin' out in the fields alone," Jake chastised, scanning the area for anything that looked hostile.

"And I thought I made clear no guns," the Doctor snipped, before turning back to the dog.

Jake ignored him, holstered his weapon and walked over to where the Doctor knelt. "What happened to 'im?"

The Doctor scratched at the side of his head. "He's been poisoned and tossed around a bit. I think I can help him if we get him back to the house."

A gust of wind blew through the corn and several crows flew over head away from the field. Jake looked around nervously. "This crop circle is fresh."

The Doctor nodded his head and scanned the corn, which as the sun set, was taking on a more ominous feel. "Yeah, it is. I think we should get Fred here back to the house."

"Fred?" Jake asked.

The Doctor grinned and inclined his head toward the dog. Jake looked questioningly at the dog. "How do ya know it's name is Fred?"

The Doctor grinned broadly as he picked Fred up. "Well, Jakey, I'm just that good. Come along, now. Let's leave our alien friends alone. Plenty of time to figure them out tomorrow."

Jake stared into the corn field, obviously uncomfortable and then followed the Doctor. "Just that good," Jake muttered. "Next thing, he'll be tellin' me he speaks dog."

"Oi, it's not like dog is hard!" the Doctor called out over his shoulder.

Jake just stared at his back and muttered, "Nutter."