Extreme Time Twist
by Lumendea
Chapter Ten: Babysitting Nightmare V
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who and gain nothing from the creation of this story
….
A loud echoing crash woke Rose right up the next morning, and she jolted out of bed and fell to the floor. Landing on her arms, she groaned in pain until her eyes fell on her new ring. It glinted merrily in the low light of the TARDIS, a small exotic stone set into a golden band. Rose loved it, pretty, but not something that would catch on anything given the instant life they lived. Grinning at it, Rose was distracted for a moment until a pained shout caught her attention.
It took Rose a moment to remember about her and Doctor's visitors, but then she gasped in alarm. Jumping up, she pulled on a dressing gown and looked over at the Doctor's side of the bed to confirm that he was gone, he was and Rose relaxed a little bit. Still she headed out of the bedroom and straight for the noise.
As she approached the kitchen, she heard James say, "Dad you used to be better at this."
"Correction Jamescartyerlev, I will be better at this," the Doctor replied sounding more than a bit put out.
Entering the kitchen, Rose flinched back at the mess of plates, bowls and silverware all over the table. Her jaw dropped as she looked at the counter which was covered in what appeared to be eggs, some kind of marmalade and an unknown liquid that she really hoped was juice of some kind. It was dripping onto the floor and Rose had a feeling that even the TARDIS was going to be a little annoyed with this. Turning her eyes to the Doctor, she silently demanded an explanation. He shrugged and looked around with wide eyes, Rose briefly considered that it was possible he was in shock.
"They tried to make their own breakfast," he told Rose as if it explained everything.
"I was doing fine until Alex showed up. Boys make a mess of everything," Alex announced with a roll of her eyes.
"Do not," Alex hissed, "And don't be such a child about it Abby. You're nine not nine hundred."
"Abigailexiratha Tyler," the Doctor said in a warning voice as his eldest future daughter opened her mouth. Alex smirked, but the Doctor added, "You too, Alexandershanete."
The kids quieted and Rose joined the Doctor in containing the mess and saving the toast and eggs they could. It was a strange thing cooking with a gaggle of children around them. For a moment it made Rose really consider running back to their bedroom and locking the door. Thankfully the panic passed fairly quickly and she cracked a few more eggs in the pan. The Doctor got the kids to call sit down at the table and began cleaning up the counters around Rose. They worked in an easy silence for a few minutes as the toasted worked on the toast and the eggs cooked. She caught the Doctor's eye and smiled what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
Sitting down at the table, Rose set down the plates in front of the children and watched in dismay as Sammy managed to get marmalade all over his hands while eating his toast. Jumping up, she wet a cloth and turned back to find the boy just licking off his hands and the Doctor holding back a laugh.
Grabbing her son's hands, Rose washed them the best she could and hissed, "He gets that from you."
The Doctor looked up from the jar of marmalade he currently had his fingers in and grinned.
"Nothing wrong with that," the Doctor offered with a grin.
Reaching over, Rose grabbed the jar from him and handed him a spoon.
"At least pretend to have manners," she paused and smirked, "after all someday they are bound to eat in front of my Mum. You don't want to be held responsible for their bad manners."
The Doctor pouted a bit, but used the spoon to finish drenching his own breakfast in the sweet jam. Turning away from him, Rose noted with relief that all the children had settled down and were eating in relative calm. She held back a sigh of relief and sent a mental congratulations to her future self's ability to manage this chaos. Rose had every confidence in herself that she'd learn, but wow she not there yet. Standing up, she went to the cupboard and pulled out a banana. Rose peeled it quickly and cut it into tiny pieces in a small plastic dish before returning to the table. Holding it away from the Doctor she put the bowl in front of Diana.
The infant blinked at her before giggling and grinning. Rose sighed as the tiny girl mushed the banana bits into her mouth and all over her face. Clapping her hand together, Diana picked up another piece and ate it after waving it in her father's face.
"She's got a mean streak," the Doctor said as Diana ate another piece, "We need to work on sharing with this one."
Rolling her eyes, Rose pointed over her shoulder at the cupboard before she fed Diana another piece.
"There are more bananas, Doctor."
"Really?"
She nodded as he grinned and jumped up. The children giggled, but didn't seem at all surprised by their father's excitement over the bananas. He returned to the table and set the bunch of bananas down on the table. Four smaller hands reached out and grabbed at them. Blinking in surprise, the Doctor grinned as Alex, Abby, James and Sam all peeled their bananas and tucked into them.
Grinning at his father, James shrugged and explained, "Bananas are good."
Turning to Rose, the Doctor crossed his arms with a smile and said, "They get that from me too."