~10~
Manchester-2008
Once the decision to tell the children the truth had been reached, the Doctor and Master wanted to know everything about them. Livinia was only too happy to oblige. She told them stories of their childhood, how Nathan and Owen would spend most of their time reading and then discussing what the other read, while John, Shawn and Caeli would try to get them to have fun. She elaborated on the story of Caeli and her cooking experiments, adding that Shawn was also banned from cooking because he always tried to add pineapple to everything, and how the two of them in the kitchen together often turned into the messiest monstrosities known to man.
"Why do only two of them have doctorates?" asked the Master when they paused for lunch.
"Owen is a medical doctor, a brilliant doctor if I say so myself. John and Shawn have the potential, but John joined the military and is doing pretty well for himself while Shawn has never had the patience for school. Don't get me wrong, they're both as smart as the others, John is a member of MENSA, but Shawn is a free spirit, would rather be exploring the world and having fun than reading dusty books," was Livinia's response.
After lunch, Livinia told more stories, though not the lighthearted stories like before. She told them how Nathan's marriage fell apart when he became too focused on work. How John almost ruined his career to go back for two of his men trapped behind enemy lines. How Shawn left without a word after his high school graduation because of his troubles with his father. How Owen lost his fiancé, Katie, to what seemed like the earliest known case of Alzheimer's. Finally, she told them how shortly before Caeli finished her bachelor's degree, she suffered from a mental breakdown which resulted in Patrick sending her to a psychiatric institution for three months.
This last story shocked them both, "You could never tell by looking at her," the Doctor commented.
"I know, I think that's when her babbling became worse. She always babbled as a child, but normally only when she was nervous or excited. Now, it seems like almost every conversation she has she babbles, and its getting worse." Livinia said with a small frown on her face.
The Master thought aloud, "You don't think she took off her necklace do you?" Seeing their confused gazes, he continued, "I mean it makes sense, she took off the necklace for a second and everything that we take for granted as Timelords enters her mind along with whatever she inherited from her grandfather's people. It would be enough for anyone to suffer a mental breakdown." As the Master spoke, his fingers beat out the ever present four beat tune that plagued his mind.
Livinia and the Doctor sat and contemplated the meaning of the Master's words. Not even a minute later, the three of them felt it: the emergence of two Timelord minds, one right after another, each in varying stages of pain.
