Sarah laughed. "Oh, I promise, I really do. You have my word on it," she said, mocking his old self.
He caught the mocking and gave her a stern look, then strode over and gave her a kiss. "Seriously. Stay put," he said, and went back out into the hallway, heading into the waiting room. Everyone looked at him expectantly, practically leaping to their feet when he hit the doorway. He was grinning so hard that Jack decided that there was no question of trying to pull off a practical joke.
"Well?" they all demanded in unison.
He held a hand up and the cacophony ceased. "It's a Time Lord."
"Are Sarah Jane and the baby alright," asked Martha.
"Does he have all his fingers and toes," asked Jack.
"You look awful, but happy, Doctor," said Alonzo.
"A boy! Congratulations," said Mickey smiling.
"Yes, yes, yes, and thank you," the Doctor said, pointing to each person to whom he was responding. "Everything went fine, she's giving him his first feeding right now. Not sure when you can see him, but he's perfect," he said, grin still plastered on his face. "I don't think I'll ever stop smiling. I held him!" he said excitedly.
"That warrants a hug," Jack said, and gave him one before he could protest. The Doctor decided not to protest. If ever he was going to revel in family, today was the day to do it.
"I want one too," said Martha.
The Doctor let go of Jack and hugged her too.
"Well Doctor," said Alonzo. "If you're passing out hugs, I think we should all get one."
"You're absolutely right," he grinned, and gave everyone a hug.
While he was hugging, Mickey slipped away, around a corner. He was back in a moment and he nodded at Martha.
"Doctor," said Martha. "We all chipped in and bought you a present."
"Really? You know I love prezzies," he said excitedly.
"Here," said Martha, smiling as she handed him two blue and white cigar boxes. Each one contained two dozen foil wrapped chocolate cigars that said 'It's a Boy!' on them. "It's a custom for new Fathers on Earth to pass those out when you have a baby, so we brought a set of each with us."
"Yes, that's right, I hadn't thought about that," the Doctor said. "That's so very thoughtful of all of you, thank you very much."
"Great," said Jack smiling. "Now are you going to pass those out, or what?"
"Of course," he said, giving each of them one of the cigars. "You're all wonderful, thank you so much."
Just then the nurse came out and walked over to the Doctor. "Doctor Smith, your wife and baby are ready to be transferred to their room in the maternity ward. is all finished up and he would like to say goodbye to you too."
"Oh! I've got to get back to them," the Doctor said frantically, handing the nurse a cigar, then, giving the boxes back to Jack, mumbling "hold this" and literally running back into the delivery room, telling himself all the way that his fear that they were gone was completely unfounded.
Sarah and the baby were not only still there, they were comfortably situated in a bed the nurse had helped them into, and waiting to be transferred. "Hello darling. We're all ready to go to a regular room now. We were just waiting for you."
Dr. Tranq walked up to the Doctor. "I'll be going now, congratulations both of you. I'll expect to see you three again in about a month for your post natal checkup, Sarah Jane. Remember, if you have any problems or questions, feel free to call me." He held a tentacle out to the Doctor. "Good luck with your new family."
The Doctor pumped his tentacle enthusiastically. "Dr. Tranq, I can't thank you enough. We'll be there for our checkup, I can assure you."
"Always a pleasure," he said as he slithered out of the room.
The nurse came back in and stood at the foot of the bed. "Ready to go downstairs to your room?"
"Yes please," said Sarah Jane. She held the baby in her arms and the Doctor walked beside her as she was wheeled out of the room.
Everyone in their adopted family was waiting eagerly to see her and the baby. She smiled at them when the doors opened and she saw them all standing there. She was glowing with joy and love.
"Well, isn't that a beautiful sight," Jack said. "And the baby looks good too."
The Doctor was so happy he didn't even bother to scold Jack.
Martha came to her side and gave both Sarah and the baby a kiss on the forehead. "Congratulations, Sarah Jane, you did great."
"Thanks, but, I couldn't have done it without the Doctor there to help. He was wonderful throughout the whole thing." Sarah smiled warmly at the Doctor.
"I'm sure he was," Alonzo said. "Good job, Doctor."
"Thank you," he smiled proudly.
"I think you're both simply wonderful," Martha smiled affectionately at them. "And this fine young man is just amazing. One of the most beautiful and most perfect babies I've ever seen. Of course, I think Cecily is the most beautiful, and most perfect baby in the universe, but as a new mum, I'm sure you understand that," smiled Martha.
"Of course I do, Martha," smiled Sarah back at her. 'We've both been blessed."
"Oh, he's gorgeous Sarah Jane," said Jack. "He's a real little heart breaker. Hello handsome," he said as he kissed him on the cheek. "Happy Birthday, uh-mm, what did you name him?"
"Well," the Doctor said, "we went back and forth. Sarah wanted to name him after me, but nobody we meet could actually pronounce my Gallifreyan name even if they knew what it was, so we decided on initials."
Martha looked at him suspiciously. "Initials?"
"Yes. We decided on DR. You know, like calling a human JR for 'Junior.'"
"Right," smiled Sarah. "He'll be named after the Doctor's Gallifreyan name, but we'll call him DR for short."
"Well Happy Birthday then, DR, you adorable little guy," Jack smiled at him.
Soon they were in front of the huge twin doors that led to the Maternity wing. Alonzo and Jack ran ahead, each opening one of the doors. When they got inside of Sarah's room, it had a huge banner hanging up that read "Welcome to the Universe Little Time Lord". The room had flowers, cake, sparkling fruit juice and gifts everywhere. Sarah's mouth dropped open with surprise. "Oh my, this is all so beautiful." She turned to the Doctor. "Did you know about this?"
The Doctor looked around him, as surprised as Sarah Jane was. "I'm as stunned as you are."
"DR is the first baby Time Lord ever," Martha said. "We couldn't let that pass."
"And with you two for parents," a voice said, "he's going to have some personality." Wilf stepped out from behind the door.
"Wilfred!" the Doctor cried, pulling him into a huge hug. "How did you -?"
"I went and got him," Jack said. "We all decided months ago to give the baby this party," Jack said. "We just didn't figure he'd have so much excitement before he was even born."
"Have to say," Wilf added, "I'd much rather go gallivanting around the universe in that box of yours than do that again." He shuddered. "I think," he said conspiratorially, "we know why he's a little off."
The assemblage laughed, Jack harder than anybody.
"Oh Wilf, it's so very nice to see you again," said Sarah smilingly warmly at him. "Wouldn't you like to come see your honorary grandson?"
"Not so honorary," the Doctor said.
Wilf waved him off. "I certainly would, this is a long trip not to see him." He slowly approached, and smiled as he stared at the baby, reaching out for his tiny hand. "You know, I'll be eighty-two years old on my next birthday, and I still haven't seen anything as miraculous as a new baby." He leaned down to give the baby a kiss.
DR gazed up at him with his huge dark blue eyes and gurgled at him. Then he waved his arms at Wilf.
"Would you like to hold him, grandpa," asked Sarah Jane, still smiling.
"Absolutely," he said, gently taking the baby into his arms. Two small tears slid down his cheeks. "And to think this moment almost didn't happen." He looked up quickly and smiled, changing the subject. "Well, at least I have one grandchild while I'm still young enough to remember his name. Donna's so independent, who knows when she and Sean will come through on that score," he laughed.
Sarah was so happy at that moment. The Doctor stood by her side and held her hand. She gave it a gentle squeeze as everyone watched Wilf with DR.
"So, Doctor," said Martha, eyeing him with an amused gleam. "What exactly happened to cause the two of you to arrive looking the way you did?"
"Ah, that," the Doctor said. "Well, we -" He suddenly realized something. "The Gonofin! They're still in the TARDIS!" He turned to Sarah. "I'll be right back, I promise!" And he took off down the hall, sprinting for the TARDIS.
Everyone in the room turned and looked at Sarah, waiting for an explanation.
Sarah shrugged and smiled. "Well, it's like this you see, the TARDIS, as she's sometimes known to do, landed us in the wrong place..."
The Doctor arrived back just at the part where Sarah Jane, now once again holding their child, was explaining that the 'Lobstermen' were using the Gonofin for food.
"Right," said Mickey, laughing hard. "I get it, a people bib."
"Sorry," the Doctor said, "just had to rectify a little problem. At any rate, since Sarah was in labor, we didn't have time to hang around and really solve the problem, so after a few ... er ... missteps -"
"Missteps," Sarah exclaimed laughing. "My water broke, I had strong labor pains, we were almost eaten by Lobstermen, the baby was almost delivered by an old woman in a mud pit, and he calls it a few missteps."
"Good heavens," said Wilf in shock. "How did you manage to get away from them and back into the TARDIS safely?"
"Very simple," the Doctor said. "We persuaded the Gonofin to come with us temporarily, and my warrior queen here cleared the way." He kissed Sarah on the forehead.
"Warrior Queen!" the five of them said in unison.
"What do you mean, warrior queen?" asked Wilf first, though the question was on everyone's lips.
"Well, you know Sarah Jane under normal circumstances," the Doctor added, "can you imagine what she'd be like if a giant lobster were trying to eat our baby? She got a hold of a big stick and before I even knew what was happening, there were crustaceans scattered everywhere."
Now everyone was staring at Sarah in amazement.
Sarah Jane blushed as she shrugged again. "Well, I wasn't thinking actually, just reacting. I didn't want to have the baby right there in the mud, let alone have it be eaten. Besides, one of those things almost took the Doctor's head off."
They were still staring at her.
"Look," said Sarah defensively. "I was having serious labor pains. Screaming as loud as I could and swinging that stick helped me deal with the pain."
"If I ever have another baby," smiled Martha. "I'll try to remember that little trick when the hard labor starts." She looked over at Mickey.
Mickey put his arms around her, holding her hands closely. "As long as that stick's not aimed at me, you're welcome to try it, luv."
"Sure, that explains everything, but why you were on the floor strangling the Doctor with his own tie when I opened the door and rushed in," smiled Jack, trying hard not to laugh and barely succeeding.
"Uhm," said Sarah very quietly. "I was in a lot of pain at that point, and just a little miffed that the TARDIS wasn't getting us to the hospital fast enough."
"A little miffed?" the Doctor exclaimed. "You were 'a little miffed' the same way the TARDIS had 'a little misstep'. You were strangling me with my own neckwear. And anyway, in her defense," the Doctor said like a wounded little boy, "the TARDIS was trying to be careful so she wouldn't miss again."
"Sorry darling, I guess we were both caught up in the drama of the moment," she smiled lovingly at him and put her head down contritely. "Can you ever forgive me?"
The Doctor stifled a yawn "Of course, darling, I can forgive you anything. And anyway, it's all over now. DR is here, and beautiful," he said, tentatively touching the baby's tiny fingers, "and I've put the Gonofin back on the planet in their future, after the Lobstermen have abandoned it for lack of food. Bad resource managers, they were. So all is right with the universe."
"Good for you, sweetheart," Sarah Jane smiled. "That was brilliant thinking on your part. I'm so proud of you."
"The feeling is mutual, darling." The Doctor settled into the chair next to Sarah's bed. He let out a mighty yawn, adrenaline finally beginning to give way. "I can't wait to see what happens next Thanksgiving."
"I can," Sarah Jane laughed. She looked around the room at all of their friends and then at the Doctor and their son sleeping in her arms. She smiled contentedly. Everything was as it should be.
Author's note:
And speaking of things being as they should be, the two of us will be taking a break for a few weeks while we move to a new house. We're extremely grateful for your support, and we've got some great things in the pipeline, including a story that shows the Doctor and Sarah's progeny in action, the return of Little Sarah Jane, and a Doctor Who mystery. (And we're looking for beta readers, hint, hint! :)) If you want to be alerted when we start up again, please set us as an Author Alert, or let us know and we'll ping you when the next pieces go up.
Thanks so much for your support and reviews! We'll be back some time in the summer.