My apologies for the long wait, but I've been dealing with a major health issue and had to step away for a time. Updates will be sporadic for a time till I can get this major health issue taken care of. So until then may I present to you, another chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who!

Meanwhile the others have wandered into the jewelry and cosmetics area of the shop. The Doctor keeps hold of Rose's hand as they walk next to Craig, who is pushing Alfie's pram. As they begin to walk past one of the jewelry counters, the Doctor decides to greet one of the ladies working behind the counter.

"Good evening, Val." The Doctor says with a smile while still holding on to Rose's hand.

"Hello." Val says with a smile in return.

"I don't believe you've met my wife, Rose Smith." The Doctor says with pride and receives a kiss from Rose for properly introducing her, for once.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Smith." Val says to Rose, with a smile on her face. "You've got a good looking and thoughtful husband. If you don't mind me saying."

Letting go of the Doctor's hand, Rose walks over to the counter to speak with Val. This leaves the Doctor and Craig to talk to each other, while Rose speaks with Val about the latest store gossip.

"So where am I investigating?" Craig asks the Doctor, hoping to make the alien proud by finding some clues.

"Well, look around." The Doctor replies while brushing a few stray locks of his hair out of his eyes. "Ask questions. People like it when you're with a baby. Babies are sweet. People talk to you. That's why I usually take a human with me. Preferably Rose, or one of our tykes."

"So Rose and I are your babies?" Craig ponders out loud to the Doctor, hoping that the Doctor will correct his assumption.

"You're both my babies." The Doctor calmly tells Craig with a big grin on his face before giving Craig a hug.

This hug, and the Doctor's statement, gives Craig the creeps and getting away from the Doctor becomes his main priority. Stepping out of the Doctor's hug, Craig takes hold of his son's pram and begins to walk away.

Turning back around, the Doctor comes face-to-face with his wife, who is giving him one of her quizzical looks from her place at Val's counter. Using their bond, the Doctor tries to explains his little display of affection to Rose, but is having a hard time due in part to her amusement over his stumbling over himself. So, he gives her a sheepish grin before sidling up next to her at the counter.

"Val, have you noticed anything unusual around here lately?" The Doctor asks, leaning in a bit so that Val can reply with a soft voice.

"Well…" Val says looking at the Doctor, then over to Rose, and back again to the Doctor. "Mary Wornock saw Don Petheridge snogging Andrea Groom outside the Conservative Club on his so-called day off golfing."

Rose, who had worked in a shop before, was trying hard not to laugh at the Doctor's expression of boredom on his face. It obviously wasn't the answer he'd been hoping for, and his disappointment was showing in his face and body language.

"Yeah?" The Doctor tells Val, showing no interest in the shop gossip that he had just been told. In his mind, however, he could feel Rose's laughter at his expense about the situation.

"Then there's that silver rat thing." Val says suddenly, looking over at Rose with a sly grin.

She'd already told The Doctor's wife about it. Between the two ladies, they had wanted to have some fun with the Doctor before telling him the important stuff. And neither were disappointed when the Doctor's look of boredom had changed to excited hope. Like a puppy being bored of training till finally seeing that there was a treat involved.

"What?" The Doctor asks, his eyes starting to shine with excitement over the prospect of something interesting and 'unhuman'.

"I'd just been telling Rose about it while you were talking with your brother. Though, neither one of you looks similar. Are you half-siblings?"

Hearing Val's assumptions on Craig and her husband, Rose can't hold back the snort of laughter at the horrified look on the Doctor's face. Nor can she leave her mirth from seeping through their marriage bond. Of all the things Rose has heard over the years, through her travels with the Doctor, this is the first time where someone has verbal asked if one of the Doctor's companions are his siblings.

The Doctor lets out a sigh and decides that he'll punish Rose later, in private, for laughing at him. He's quick to hear exactly where Val had seen the silver rat. Once he has heard where the last sighting of the silver rat was, the Doctor decides that it's time to go in search of it.

So, he and Rose head off to search the area where the children's toys are sold. For this was the last place where Val had seen the thing. Unknown to the pair, the silver rat is currently moving around somewhere out on the sales floor.

As the Doctor checks beneath a train table, he pulls out his sonic to scan the area for anything that would help him find the silver rat. Rose, however, is letting her eyes scan the shelves of the aisle they are in.

"Silver rat." The Doctor says before coming out from underneath the table. Then he proceeds to scan the top of the table.

"You said glowing red eyes, Val?" Rose asks, looking at the older woman, who had followed them to the children's toy area.

"Yes," Val replies to Rose before continuing. "Then it zizzed off. I wanted to get one for my nephew, but the stockroom says there's no such item."

"Oh, I bet they do." The Doctor says softly, having stood up and moved closer to where the two women are standing.

"Well, what was it then? Answer me that." Val asks the Doctor.

A sudden crash echoes from the other side of the sales floor captures the Doctor and Rose's attention. The sound seems to have come from the lingerie area of the large sales floor, opposite from where they are currently.

Giving Rose a quick look, the Doctor hurries off to see what caused the ruckus with Rose hot on his heels. The pair reach the lingerie department and notice that Craig is attempting to calm a crying Alfie while trying to pick up a fallen sales rack. Standing near him is a young female and security officer.

"Hello, everyone. I'm here to help." The Doctor says, pulling the attention of the other two away from Craig.

As the young woman and security officer greet the Doctor with smiles on their faces, Rose quickly helps Craig get the rack off the floor. Using some of her former sales girl skills, Rose is quick to pick up the fallen merchandise and place them back on the rack.

"What happened?" Rose whispers harshly to Craig.

"I was investigating."

"Investigating? Investigating what exactly? There isn't enough cloth here to hide anything." Rose growls out at Craig as she places the last item back where it belongs.

Before Craig can say anything to defend himself from Rose's accusations, he hears the security officer tell the Doctor that it's alright if Craig is with the Doctor. Yet it is the next statement, coming from the young woman, that captures the attention of the Rose, Craig, and the Doctor.

"Sorry. I thought he was hassling me 'cause that's the last thing I need. 'Cause Shona hasn't shown up, right. So, I'm doing twice the work for the same money, if you don't mind."

"Shhh." The Doctor says while holding a single finger to his lips. This causes the young woman to go silent.

"Please teach me how to do that." Craig asks the Doctor, flustered that yet again the Doctor was able to get people to go quiet with such a gesture.

"No." The Doctor says to Craig before turning to look at the young woman. "Un-shh. Shona?"

Seeing that she has the okay to speak again, the young woman talks. "My supervisor. She's meant to be in today, but never showed up."

"Where did you last see her?" The Doctor asks.

"The dressing rooms."

Heading off towards the dressing rooms, the Doctor keeps his eyes peeled for any sign of the Cybermen or the silver rat. Even with his focus on finding either one of these things, the Doctor can't help but wonder where Jenny and Jack Harkness have wondered off to. Especially since he hasn't felt Jenny's telepathic signature since they parted ways only an hour ago.

Slowing his stride as he comes up to the entrance of the dressing rooms. Coming to a dead stop, he hears Rose come up to his left side. He can sense that Rose is also worried about Jenny and hasn't been able to communicate with their oldest child as well. Never before has Jenny blocked access to her parents, and this has caused the Doctor and Rose to become very concerned for Jenny's safety.

"Doctor?"

"I don't like this, Rose." The Doctor says, turning his head to look at Rose. "I haven't felt anything from Jenny since we all split up."

"Neither have I, but she is an adult now, Doctor." Rose says, letting her left hand reach up and brush a few strands of his hair off his forehead. "I'm sure it is nothing."

"I hope you're right, Rose." The Doctor says with a sigh before giving her a smile. "I want you to stay back while I check the dressing rooms. I need to know that you're safe."

"Okay, but only if you promise me that you'll be safe. It isn't like before, when it was just the two of us. We've got kids to think about."

"I promise."

After giving Rose a quick kiss, the Doctor steps away from her and heads into the dressing rooms. This leaves Rose and Craig to wait for his return.

"How does he do that? Does he excrete a gas that makes everybody like him?" Craig asks Rose.

"Honestly, people just like him; and no, he doesn't excrete any gas that makes people like him." Rose answers with a worried smile.

"What about telepathy? I heard your son talk about a telepathic bond. Does he use that?"

"Yes, the Doctor is a telepath. No, he doesn't use his telepathy to force people to like him." Rose says carefully, trying hard not to get annoyed at her memory of the Doctor allowing Madame de Pompadour into his mind.

"What about the bond... thing?"

"That is different." Rose explains to Craig. "It only exists between him and members of his family."

"But you're human, aren't you? How can you have a bond with the Doctor if you're not one of his people?"

"I'm a special case."

Inside of the dressing rooms, the Doctor checks each curtained closed changing room. Being as careful as he can, while trying hard not to seem like a peeping tom, he scans each of the small areas. As he scans the third cubicle, a familiar face peeps out from behind the curtain directly across from the one the Doctor is checking.

"Dad?"

Whipping around, with his sonic held out in front of him, the Doctor is surprised by what he sees.

"Jenny. What are you doing in here?" The Doctor asks, lowering his sonic towards the floor followed by placing the item into his coat pocket. He also takes a quick once over of his daughter and doesn't find any of her clothes out of place.

Jenny slinks out from behind the curtain while trying to keep the curtain closed. "Investigating, like you told me to."

"Really? And just where is Captain Harkness?" The Doctor asks as he moves closer to where his daughter is standing. "Is he in there?"

Not getting an answer, the Doctor reaches past Jenny's body and yanks open the curtain.

"Hello, Doc." Jack Harkness says with a happy smile on his face and his clothes in perfect condition.

The Doctor gives Harkness a hard look before turning his eyes back to his daughter. Taking a deep breath, the Doctor slowly growls out a few words to Jenny, which causes the hair on her arms to rise.

"Jenny. Leave. Now."

Knowing better than to argue, or say anything at all, Jenny slinks past her father to leave the dressing rooms.

Once Jenny has left the dressing rooms, the Doctor takes two steps towards his former male companion. Doing his best not to lose his temper with the former Time Agent, the Doctor tries to keep his face as neutral as possible, which it doesn't.

"Doc, nothing serious happened." Harkness says in a nonchalant voice while crossing his arms across his chest.

"Nothing serious." The Doctor growls out while nearly pushing his own face into Jack's. "I caught you two in a dressing room, together."

"We were investigating."

"Investigating? Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Investigating each other's kissing talents? Scars? Moves?" The Doctor asks with disgust apparent in his voice.

"Well if you must know…" Jack Harkness says with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Don't finish that sentence if you want to walk out of here alive with me. I don't like this, Captain. She is still a child, and you are old enough to know better. I suggest you never find yourself alone with Jenny again. Do I make myself clear?" The Doctor warns, letting a small snippet of his Oncoming Storm persona to bleed through.

"She's a grown woman, Doc. Jenny can make her own decisions on who she wants to around her." Jack Harkness says with a hard voice, rising to challenge the Doctor's decree.

"You will keep your distance from her, Captain. You're no good for her."

"I believe Jenny is old enough to speak for herself, Doctor."

"I'm her father, and…" The Doctor begins to say before someone else interrupts him.

"Doctor!" Rose's voice calls out from the dressing room entrance.

Hearing the panic and fear in Rose's voice causes the two men to hurry out of the dressing room. Neither one wants to see Rose in harm's way, nor have they forgotten what happened the last time to Rose when the three of them were together on a certain Satellite. The pair come to a stop at seeing a flustered Rose, who is just standing up from sitting on the floor, and a missing Craig and Alfie.

"Rose?" The Doctor asks as he approaches his wife with hurrying feet.

"I... I…I saw it. That silver rat thing that Val was talking about." Rose says, trying hard not to hyperventilate while trying to speak.

The Doctor begins to quickly check his wife over for any possible injury; while Jack Harkness does a quick look around to see if he can see this silver rat.

"Where's Craig?" The Doctor asks Rose as he finishes running his hands over her shoulders and up to her neck to check Rose's pulse.

"He took Alfie for a nappy change. Then I noticed Amy and Rory, so I was going to go and say hi to them. But Jenny came out of the dressing room in a snit and I started to go after her when that silver rat thing came charging out at me. Then I woke up on the floor. That's when I called out for you."

"But that wasn't what has your pulse racing, so what did it?" The Doctor asks, worried about what could have caused Rose's pulse to be so fast.

"I was standing up when it charged out at me, and in the next moment I was on the ground. What happened, Doctor? Was it the rat thing or Bad Wolf?" Rose asks while trying to hold back the building tears in her eyes.

The Doctor gives Rose a sad smile as he reaches into his coat to pull out his sonic. He begins to scan Rose as Jack Harkness arrives back to where the pair are standing.

"I couldn't find this silver rat thing that attacked Rose." Harkness says as he watches the Doctor scan Rose.

"Doesn't surprise me. It's probably headed back to where it came from." The Doctor says, finishing his scan of Rose.

Checking the results of the scan, the Doctor doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary that would cause Rose to have a black out moment. Without having any kind of reason, the Doctor wants to send Rose back to the Tardis, but knows that she'll never go without him.

"So, what now, Doc?" Harkness asks just as Craig returns with Alfie.

"We wait." The Doctor says, placing his sonic back into his coat pocket.

"Did I miss something? Again?" Craig asks, looking at each of the other three people in confusion.

Three hours later…

"It's a papoose." The Doctor says to Craig as he hands the item over.

"Why do I need a papoose?"

"Alfie wants you attached to him. Besides, better you than Rose. I don't trust your son with my wife." The Doctor says to Craig, turning his sonic back on again.

Three hours earlier, the Doctor had spoken of his plan to wait till the store closed before continuing their investigation. He even suggested that Rose head back to the Tardis, but she refused to go. So in the end it was Rose and Jack Harkness investigating elsewhere in the store, while the Doctor got stuck with Craig.

"My son's a baby, why should you be worried about Rose holding my son?" Craig asks as he tries to figure out how to work the papoose.

"Rose is very good at taking care of babies, and your son says that you are too slow when he summons you." The Doctor replies as he begins to walk away with Craig following while pushing Alfie's pram.

"When's he going to stop giving me marks?"

"Never. It's parenthood." The Doctor says while using the sonic screwdriver to search the area.

"Well does it get easier when they get older?"

"Sometimes. However, I've discovered that I prefer them small. They're so much easier to keep in check than when they're older. Currently have a wayward daughter myself. Seriously, what does my daughter see in the 'Captain who has slept with nearly three-quarters of the universe?" The Doctor rambles out, not realizing that Craig has no idea what had happened in the dressing room earlier.

Suddenly Alfie begins to cry which sends Craig into a small panic. The Doctor, however, begins to make a shushing noise to calm the baby. Not even a minute after Alfie begins to cry, the Doctor notices the Cybermat coming right at them. Having been prepared for it, the Doctor pulls out a net and traps the creature in it.

"Ahh hah!" The Doctor shouts out in excitement.

"You got it?" Craig asks, holding his son against his chest.

"I did. It's hot. Must be low on power." The Doctor says after reaching out and touching the captured creature. "I'm better at that then I remember."

Picking up the Cybermat, the Doctor stands up so he can get a better look at the Cybermat.

"Oh, is that it?" Craig asks, amazed to see such an alien thing.

"Yes, it is."

"Oh, that's quite cute. Look at that."

Suddenly the creature turns from being docile to snapping its jaws at the Doctor and Craig. This causes the Doctor to use the sonic screwdriver on the Cybermat to shut it down. Just as Craig begins to panic about what had just happened, they hear the scream of a man echo throughout the store.

"Come on!" The Doctor shouts out as he takes off in a dead run. He knows that Rose and Jack Harkness are in the store, somewhere, and could be in trouble.

The Doctor makes his way through the store and sees that the doors to the basement is wide open. Flashbacks to his ninth regeneration start to pop up in his mind, and a cold river of fear runs through his body.

"Rose." The Doctor whispers as he charges through the open doors and into the basement.

With his sonic screwdriver held out in front of him, the Doctor makes his way through the labyrinth of the basement till he comes across a flashlight on the floor. Kneeling to get a better look at the flashlight, the buzz of electricity fills the air and the Doctor looks further ahead. There, on the floor, is security officer George.

Leaving the flashlight on the floor, the Doctor hurries over to check on the George. However, what the Doctor wasn't expecting was for a Cyberman to step out of a room. Nor was he expecting the Cyberman to use its arm to knock him unconscious.

"Doc! Doc!" a familiar voice calls out from the darkness.

"Doctor!" another familiar voice joins in.

Coming out from the darkness, the Doctor opens his eyes and blinks several times. His mind is fighting against the groggy fog that has settles in now that the dark abyss is gone.

"You alright, Doc?" Jack Harkness says as his face looms over the Doctor.

"I've been chipped, chapped, chopped." The Doctor replies as he accepts Harkness's offered hand. "The Cyberman. It killed George. Took him back to the ship."

"The Cybermen are here?" Craig asks from just behind Jack Harkness. "But you said…"

"Yeah, I know what I said." The Doctor replies as he stumbles away from Jack Harkness. "Where's Rose?'

"She's safe. Watching after Alfie since we didn't want the baby to be in danger." Jack Harkness answers as he and Craig follow the stumbling Time Lord. "So why are the Cybermen here. I thought you took take of them?"

"I knocked out their teleport. It should have taken them weeks to fix." The Doctor says as he stumbles further towards the exit of the basement.

"You sure you're okay?" Craig asks the Doctor.

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"If the Cybermen are here, then we need to leave. We need to go back to our base." Craig suggests to the other two.

"We have a base?" The Doctor asks at the same time as Jack Harkness asks his own question.

"You have a base?"

Craig's House….

The Doctor is seated at Craig's kitchen table, working on a concoction that will hopefully open the Cybermat's casing. Using a wooden spoon, the Doctor attempts to crush one of the alien ingredients using a lot of strength. The scene from inside the Tardis, after leaving the store but before arriving at Craig's home, has caused the Doctor to stew in his ill-humor. Not only had Jenny refuse to tell the Doctor what all happened between her and Jack Harkness, but Rose also told the Doctor to leave it all alone. Hearing his wife side with Jenny and Harkness left a sour taste in the Doctor's mouth and their bond blocked by Rose.

"I'm going down to the shop. We've run out of milk." Craig shouts to the Doctor from the doorway to the kitchen before tossing the baby monitor at the Doctor. "You know what to do when he cries."

Not realizing till it is too late, the Doctor begins to panic a bit after understanding what it is that Craig has just told him.

"No."

Once the front door closes, signaling Craig's departure, Alfie begins to cry from his room upstairs.

"Oh." The Doctor says, leaving his concoction alone and looking up at the ceiling. All of his previous feelings of frustration and anger disappear as he knows that little Alfie needs something.

Getting up from his place at the kitchen table, the Doctor slowly makes his way into the hallway and up the stairs till he reaches Alfie's room.

Alfie, lying in the middle of his crib, is crying out at being left alone in his room. Then finally, someone enters his room.

"Hello, Stormageddon." The Doctor says as he stands near the open door of the room.

As Alfie continues to fuss, the Doctor walks even closer to crib.

"It's the Doctor, here to help."

Looking towards a nightstand with a small lamp on it, the Doctor picks up a small white bunny and brings it towards the crib.

"Shhhh. Shhh… Hey! There, there." The Doctor says softly to the fussing baby. "Be quiet. Go to sleep."

Alfie fusses some more, and the Doctor replies to it.

"Oh, really." The Doctor says before causing the mobile to spin slightly by using his finger. "Stop crying. You've got a lot to look forward to, you know. A normal human life on Earth. Mortgage repayments, the nine-to-five, a persistent nagging sense of spiritual emptiness. Save the tears for later, boy-o."

Then the Doctor lets out a groan before rubbing one of his eyes with the back of his right hand.

"That was crabby. No, that was old. But I am old, Stormy. I am so old. So near the end."

Slowly bending over the crib, the Doctor reaches in and carefully picks up Alfie. Being gentle, the Doctor cradles the baby to his chest.

"You, Alfie Owens, you are so young. Aren't you? And you know, right now, everything's ahead of you. You could be anything." The Doctor says to Alfie without noticing that someone is watching the two of them from just inside of Alfie's bedroom door.

"Oh yes. I know." The Doctor continues. "You could walk among the stars. They don't actually look like that you know. They are rather more impressive."

The Doctor pulls his sonic screwdriver out of his coat pocket and aims it at the small lamp on the nightstand. This causes the childish looking stars to change into what the universe actually looks like in space.

"Impressive." Rose's voice says from directly behind the Doctor before coming up to his side.

"Yeah, it is." The Doctor says with a grin at Rose, getting a smile from her in return.

Alfie, not happy about losing his place as the center of attention, lets out a loud fussing sound which forces the two adults to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Alfie. Were you enjoying the Doctor's rambling?" Rose asks Alfie in a soft, comforting voice.

Alfie gives a little coo which causes the two adults to giggle at him.

"As I was saying before I was interrupted." The Doctor says to Alfie. "You know, when I was little like you, I dreamt of the stars. I think it's fair to say, in the language of your age, that I lived my dream. I owned the stage. Gave it 110%. I hope you have as much fun as I did, Alfie."

"I'm sure he will, Doctor." Rose says to the Doctor, before pulling his head down for a quick kiss.

This kiss causes Alfie to fuss, but the Doctor is quick to set him straight.

"Excuse you, but she is my wife and you will show her respect." The Doctor corrects Alfie before look at Rose. "Are you sure you want another one of these? And no, Oliver doesn't count."

"Well. You do look good with a baby in your arms." Rose says in a flirty voice and a quick wink.

Again, Alfie makes another cooing sound to capture the two adults' attention.

"Your dad's doing his best. It's not his fault that he doesn't have mammary glands. I don't either, and you can't borrow Rose's." The Doctor says, a little harshly to stem a possible option that Alfie might suggest.

A metallic beeping starts to echo into the room, which causes both adults to give each other a confused look. Turning to look towards the bedroom door, they see the Cybermat preparing to attack.

"Oh, no you don't." The Doctor practically growls out before shifting Alfie slowly into Rose's arms. Then, moving as quick as he can, he aims the sonic at the Cybermat to temporarily disarm it.

As sparks shoot out of the Cybermat's prone form, the Doctor takes hold of Rose's upper arm.

"Come on, Rose, run. It's only stunned." The Doctor says as he pulls Rose along with him, trying hard not to jostle Alfie too much, as they flee the room.

I hope that this chapter will keep you all satisfied for a time.

Reviews are welcome, loved, and cherished.

Selene