Chapter Fourteen

Once they got back to the kitchen, they pulled their family aside and led them out in a corridor away from everyone and the Doctor mentally told them what Rain had said.

Hmmm, a new Gallifrey, that would be something, Alan thought, although I'd hope it'd be a lot less corrupt than the old one.

They glanced over when Jack walked up to them.

"Are you discussing getting more family members now?" he said in disbelief.

"No, just speculating on different theories about Gallifrey and our people," the Doctor said to him. "We might be wrong but at least we know there are possibly six others out there."

"If they haven't died by now," Jack said.

"Well, we'll find that out eventually, I suppose. At any rate, it gives us an excuse to explore since most of the places Dex mentioned I've never been to before."

"Are they all in this universe?"

"Yes, my son didn't have a void crosser."

"And you think there could be more besides these six?"

"I don't know, but the Master was hidden on Malcasairo, then we found the Valeyard, then the Rani turned up out of the blue, then we found Dex so I'm not ruling anything out at this point."

"Do you need me to come with you?" Jack asked.

The Doctor frowned.

"Um, you can if you want but I don't see why you would need to," he said.

"Well, let's see. You found three insane Time Lords all in a row and your own son tried to barbecue our entire family. Who's to say these other six aren't gonna be any different which means that you might need help."

"What about your team?" Alan asked.

Jack shrugged.

"You have a time machine. Take me back around the time you picked us up. I wouldn't be gone from them for long and they can take care of themselves in my absence. Let's face it, with the luck you've had, you might need me. At the very least, I can help you find the first one and make sure he's sane before going back."

They glanced at each other and shrugged.

"You're welcome to come along, Jack," the Doctor said. "But I would tell your team just in case something does happen to us."

"I will and believe me, I know you guys and something is bound to happen. It's never just land, find the missing Time Lords and go, there's always some monster or villain so you better believe I'll be telling the others about my leaving."

"Well, as soon as the party is over and everyone is taken back to their homes we'll start the search," the Doctor said.

Jack smiled at Alan.

"Yup, gotta celebrate your first birthday and might I say, you look very mature for your age, Alan."

"I have Progeria," he replied.

Jack frowned.

"What's that?"

"The disease that causes premature aging. Little kids looking eighty years old, ya know?" Alan said.

"OH! Well I'm sorry I didn't get the full Time Lord brain so you'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge about Progeria."

Alan looked at his brother and rolled his eyes.

"I saw that," Jack said.

Alan gave him a long hard stare.

"I sincerely hope so since you're standing right beside me," he said while the rest of them laughed.

He leaned into Jack's face and did a slow eye roll before leaning back up.

"And I really hope you saw that just then," he replied.

"Does he have to come out of the TARDIS when we start finding the other Time Lords?" Jack said to the Doctor.

"Does he have to come at all?" Alan replied.

"Alright, you two, stop fighting before I make you put your noses in a corner and stand there."

Alan looked at Jack and stuck his tongue out.

"Timelord?" the Doctor said, pointing his finger at him. "Behave."

"I'm sorry, Daddy dearest, don't beat me with a wire coat hanger, please! I promise I'll behave and eat all my gruel at supper and afterwards I'll lick the dishes clean with me tongue."

"Geez," Jack said when all the women bent over laughing. "I'm so glad I didn't travel with you full time. The ninth Doctor was odd enough without him having your personality."

"What'd ya mean, odd?" the Doctor said while the women laughed harder.

"You were brooding and moody and you were constantly insulting me and calling me a stupid ape and crap like that."

"And you're not?" the Doctor said.

"HA HA!" Alan crowed.

"Oh yeah, I know you find that hilarious," Jack muttered to Alan.

"Bang on, I do. Glad you could spot that along with my eye roll. Brava!"

Jack shook his head. He looked at Rose standing behind him.

"You actually were brave enough to get married to this guy?" he said to her.

"I love him," she said, laying her head on his shoulder while Alan glanced back and smiled tenderly at her.

"What's the attraction?"

"I provide amusement for her with my witty bon mots and she in turn provides me with hugs and kisses and love, that's the attraction."

"I've loved him ever since we were left on the beach in Norway," Rose said.

"And you're completely over the Doctor," Jack said, pointing to him.

"Yeah, well Alan quickly won me over," she said while Alan chuckled.

"I'm a lovable Time Lord teddy bear that's full of glee and giggles."

"You're full of something but I don't think it's glee and giggles," Jack muttered.

They laughed when his mouth dropped open.

"Big, strong Time Lord Brother, other Brother's picking on me," he whined to the Doctor.

"Hey!" the Doctor said walking over to Jack. "Leave my baby brother alone before I have to…do something…mildly unpleasant to your person."

"Yeah, you tell em, give em hell and make him too scared to mouth off to me again!" Alan said.

Jack shook his head.

"You two need to go on the road as a comedy team, seriously," he said to the Doctor.

Just then, Sarah Jane turned the corner and walked towards them.

"Okay," the Doctor said loudly to Jack. "We'll go on the road and do a magic act and Sarah Jane can be our assistant."

"I can be what?" Sarah Jane said walking up to him while they laughed hysterically. "What are all of you planning?"

"Well, Jack said that Alan and I need to go on the road as a comedy team and I had a better idea. We could be magicians and you could be our assistant. We need someone to saw in half."

Sarah Jane raised her eyebrow when they giggled.

"I think I'll give that a miss, thanks," she said.

"What? You don't want to be a part of the Great Doctrini's magic act?"

"No, I think I'll be fine being a journalist in Ealing. I don't think you wanna see me in a skimpy assistant's costume anyway."

She gave him a peck on the cheek and he blushed.

"Most of the guests are in the living room now. The children are playing in Amelia and Opal's rooms and Wilf is having a nap. I, on the other hand, wondered what all of you were up to so I came to find you since you've been gone for awhile."

The Doctor explained what Rain had said and their plans.

"That would nice for you to have a new Gallifrey but would you really want to live there?" Sarah said to the Doctor.

"Not me, I'm not interested in it. But if we are finding all these new Time Lords and Ladies, it might be nice for them to have a place where they can live and not be scattered all over time and space. Even if no one wants a new Gallifrey, at least we could find somewhere where they could have a home world again. I just don't like the idea of all these Time Lords being human and scattered around the universe. I'm sure there's more to them turning human than just to torment me. These other six probably didn't even know me personally. I have a feeling a part of the reason was in case someone did try to apprehend them and take them back and if that's a part of the reason, there's no danger of that now. I would just like to offer them a choice. If they want to go back to human lives, that's easily fixed with the chameleon arch but I have to try to find them. Besides, I know my son would probably be happy if he had his friends back."

"Well, I really do hope he gets out of that asylum eventually."

"So do I. I think he has a chance though. Most therapy doesn't work unless the person wants it and I think he really does want to be cured. I think he realized that he can't live the rest of his lives angry and bitter. I can feel him and he's not angry at the moment. I think once he saw how nice the facility was that helped to calm him down."

"So you think he'll travel with you once he gets out?" Jack asked him.

He shrugged.

"Not sure. I have his TARDIS in one of my storage closets and he's entitled to it when he gets out. Whether he uses it or goes with us or stays with his family in London is up to him. I'll support him whatever he decides but I have a feeling Patience won't want to travel and I'm not sure if she'd like the idea of him going off into time and space and leaving her alone. She seems to be taking all of this fairly well, being in the TARDIS and all, but I doubt she'd wanna travel full time. So he's gonna have to make a decision about that. A decision neither I nor Alan had to make because Rose and Rain both wanted to come with us, even when they were human. The other thing he's gonna have to come to terms with is he's a Time Lord now and his family is human and short of finding Imiko they're gonna stay that way which means he has to accept them aging and dying now."

"The whole curse of the Time Lords thing," Rose said.

"Well, yes. But when I said that I wasn't willing to be around people who would eventually die because it was too painful for me and you mean a lot to me and it does hurt watching people you care about wither and die. Trust me, Rose, you'll see what I mean in several years when you stay the same and your family starts getting older and older. Jackie and Pete do understand what that means because they know us but it might be hard for Patience to grasp, especially if Dex does stay in London and she grows older and older and he never changes."

"That'll be one of the things I'll tell her about, Doctor," Sarah Jane said. "I'm trying to explain all of this as best I can and use examples she can understand but there will be times she might not understand everything I'm saying to her. She may just have to accept some things."

He nodded.

"Yes, like I said the children I think will adapt more easily to everything. After all, they're already in jeans and t-shirts and they hadn't been in the TARDIS for barely an hour before they did that. Once they get adjusted, they're gonna have to help her adjust but I'd rather they did adjust to twenty first century London than go through the end of the Civil War and the aftermath."

They all nodded. The Doctor glanced around.

"Now that everyone's settled in, there's not much else to do. Do you lot wanna go somewhere just for a quick walk or something?" he said to them.

"Such as?" Jack said.

"Well, just a pleasant planet where we can get out and get some fresh air. I'm not sure where the dogs went but we do take them out on walks after they went through obedience training. Just find a planet with a pleasant landscape and take a walk and talk. Beats standing in the corridor in a bunch."

He took Rain's hand and led them up to the console room. Once they were there, he stood by his monitor thinking while they gathered around him. He suddenly thought of a destination and set the coordinates. The rotor came to life and he stepped back.

"There's a planet called Nightshade. Now despite its sinister sounding name it's actually a pleasant place. Lots of lush lavender grass, flowing streams and purple birds called Mallocks that resemble swans. I think it'll do for an afternoon walk."

"Papaw?"

They looked over when Amelia entered the room.

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"What are ya'll doin'?"

"Well, we were going to go to another planet. A planet called Nightshade and take a little walk. Would you like to come and see what another world looks like?"

She nodded and he held out his hand to her. She walked up and took it. The Doctor pointed to the rotor and explained it while everyone smiled at her childlike wonder. There was a sudden thud and the TARDIS powered down.

"Be right back, everyone," he said, running out of the room.

He checked the children's room and saw the teens talking to Opal while she played with Tony. The dogs were lying on the bed but they perked up when they saw their master and ran to him.

"You lot don't mind if we borrow the dogs for awhile, do ya?"

The teens shook their heads.

"Awan?" Tony said, toddling over.

"No, wrong person!"

He picked him up and held him over his head while he giggled.

"You're a cutie, you know that! Too bad you're too tiny to travel with me. We could always use more men in the TARDIS."

He gave him a big kiss on the cheek while he giggled.

"I love you, Awan," he said.

"Aaaaah, well, he's too young to understand the concept of cloning. I love you too, Pollywog," he said, imitating his brother's gruff voice.

He gave him a tight hug and smiled when Opal walked over.

"Oh, you want one too, eh?" he said.

He knelt down and took her in his other arm, giving her a hug and a kiss. He looked at the teens.

"We landed on a planet called Nightshade and we're all about to take a walk. You wanna go?"

The teens nodded. He looked at Opal.

"You wanna take a walk with us, Honey?"

"Yes, Papaw,"

"Okay, let's get the dog's leashes and hand Tony here over to his mum and we'll get going.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Wow, this is Ace," Clyde said while they walked through a field on Nightshade.

When the Doctor took Tony back to Jackie, Ianto had opted to join them and he and Jack were walking hand in hand behind the group. Donna and Rose were walking the dogs while the Doctor held his granddaughters' hands in case they became fearful of their surroundings. But so far both of them were spellbound and looking around them in delight.

They walked over to a lake where several purple Mallocks were floating along. They paused and watched them.

"Pretty birds!" Opal said, pointing at them.

"Yes, they are, aren't they?" the Doctor said, smiling.

They settled down beside the banks. Opal and Amelia played with the dogs while the Doctor put his arm around Rain. They watched the Mallocks floating around in the water while they ducked under it to get food. They sat and talked to one another quietly. Suddenly Amelia tugged on the Doctor's sleeve.

"Papaw," she said fearfully.

He jerked his head around and saw her staring past him. Everyone turned their head and saw two humanoid ducks staring at them.

"It's alright, Sweetheart," he soothed when she scooted closer to him.

Rain put her arms around them while the Doctor stood up and smiled at the creatures. One of them resembled a Mallard duck with green feathers covering his head and a wide yellow bill. He had brown feathery hands and was wearing a long white gown. His companion had brown feathers all over her body and was wearing an identical gown.

"Hello there," the Doctor said.

"Greetings, I am Androsus and this is my mate, Pellar. You're not native to this planet, I take it?"

"No, we're not. We're just taking a walk and stopped to rest by the river. I'm the Doctor and behind me is…"

"Wait, you say you are the Doctor?"

"Yes."

"The Doctor? The legendary time traveler that saves worlds from annihilation?"

He sighed and nodded.

The ducks looked at each other.

"Doctor, you are a legend," Androsus gushed, coming up to him.

"Yeah," the Doctor muttered. "Anyway, behind me is…"

"It is so wonderful to finally meet the legend at last," Androsus said. "We have heard many tales of you since the time we were small ducklings."

The Doctor nodded.

"Yes, that's fantastic. The people behind me are…"

"Wait, who is this then?" Androsus said, pointing to Alan. "By the great Cygnus, he looks exactly like you."

"He's my brother, Alan," the Doctor replied.

Alan's eyes widened when he suddenly leaned forward into his face.

"The brother of the legendary Doctor. It must be an honor being related to him!"

Everyone giggled when the Doctor turned several shades of red.

"Um, yes it is, I'm proud to be his brother," Alan said.

"Indeed. He has done so many great things. You have every right to be proud of him," Androsus said.

"Yeah well I've done some great things as well."

"Of course you have," he said, patting his head.

Rose glared at them when she saw the shocked look on her husband's face. Alan gave them an incensed look while they turned their attentions back to the Doctor who looked like he was about to jump into the lake.

"So, tell us some of your exploits, great Doctor," Pellar said.

"Um, I'm sorry but if you don't mind we're just enjoying a quiet moment. I'm happy to have met you both but I'm really not in the mood for telling stories."

"But you must tell us, please. We are eager to hear of your adventures, Doctor," Pellar said.

Jack glanced at Ianto.

"'Scuse me, Yan, I'm gonna go save the Doctor's bacon," he said.

He got up and walked around the group.

"Hi there!" he said cheerfully. "Captain Jack Harkness, nice to meet ya!"

"Yes, delighted," Androsus said tersely.

Everyone glared at them when he immediately turned his attention back to the Doctor.

"Anyway, getting back to you and your exploits, Doctor…" Androsus said.

"I traveled with him!" Jack said, holding his hand up.

Their attention was finally diverted from the embarrassed Doctor.

"Really?" Pellar said.

"Yeah, I can tell you a few of our exploits. I had many adventures with him."

Both ducks were now focused on him.

"Like what, Mister Harkness?" Pellar said.

"Captain, call me Captain Harkness," he said, winking at her. "Anyway, I'll be happy to walk with you and tell you about some of the things we did."

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when they walked off with him.

There, Doctor, don't say I never did anything for you, Jack thought to him.

I owe ya one, Jack, he thought back. Just keep your stories brief. I don't wanna be here forever.

No problem, I'll just whet their appetites and come back to you.

The Doctor sat back down and watched while he led them away.

"I guess they've never heard of mind your own business before," Donna said to them.

"Bro's a celebrity, they can't help but be enchanted by him," Awinita said.

"Yeah, well they can keep their enchantment to themselves," the Doctor said.

He put his arm around Amelia. She and her sister were watching the duck people with fascination. He looked back at Alan.

"Sorry about that, Brother. I hate that they were so rude to you."

"Eh, wouldn't be the first time someone was rude to me, think nothing of it."

"Does that happen to you all the time?" Rani asked.

"No, thankfully," the Doctor said to her. "I don't think I'd wanna travel through time and space if I were constantly mobbed like that by my "fans"."

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked back to see Awinita grinning at him.

"It's you! Oh my God, you're a god! Can I have your autograph?"

"Oi!" he said while everyone laughed hysterically. "You watch that or I'll leave you behind!"

"Darn, I don't have my camera here so I can take Dad's picture!"

The Doctor's mouth dropped open when everyone laughed harder.

"Oh no, I knew it was a bad idea letting you lot stay around my daughter. Now she's getting to be just like you!" he said, pointing to Awinita.

"Sorry, great Doctor, we can't help but be overawed by your brilliant, blinding radiant self," Mingxia said.

"Yes, it's a privilege to be able to be in your presence," Rose added.

"And I hope sincerely, Brother, that one day we might be permitted to lick the mud and dirt off your trainers."

The Doctor rolled his eyes when they laughed.

"Well, you know," Sarah Jane said with a wicked gleam in her eye. "That's why I had to stop traveling with him. I got tired of being pushed into mud puddles and having him tread on me so he could keep his opera cape and scarf dry."

"Sarah!" the Doctor said while they roared with laughter. "Oh God, not you as well."

Luke patted her on the shoulder.

"Good one, mum," he said.

"Thank you, Luke. I figured I might as well get in on the teasing too."

"Opera cape and scarf, when did he wear that stuff?" Ianto asked.

"In his third and fourth lives. He wore the cape in his third life and this really long scarf in his fourth. That's when I traveled with him."

Ianto stared at him.

"You used to wear an opera cape?" he said.

Alan sniggered when he saw the incensed look on his face.

"Yes, I did."

"Why?" Ianto asked.

"Because I thought it made me look dashing, alright? That was my third life, not me. I wouldn't be caught dead in it now."

"Well, Jack and Mickey and Martha have told us a few things about traveling with you but not that. But then again, I guess that's because they weren't around then."

"I know some things that happened back then. I saw my husband's memories," Rain said.

"Wife of mine, shut your trap if you want to continue calling me husband!" he said while they laughed.

"I know a lot more than her. I have all his memories!"

"Alan Timelord! Shut your gob…now!"

"I know some things as well. Alan told me," Rose chimed in.

"Yeah but you've only heard them secondhand. Rain and me's actually seen em," Alan said.

"I'm warning you all. You want to see me become The Oncoming Storm, just keep on with your plans to tell everyone everything about me."

"You wouldn't hurt a fly, Sprinkles."

"Rain!" he said while everyone laughed.

"Sprinkles?" Sarah Jane said with an amused grin.

"Yeah, I…"

The Doctor slammed his hand over her mouth causing his granddaughters to giggle.

"Shut it, now, wife of mine," he hissed in her ear.

"I know what Sprinkles means," Rose said. "Sis told me once."

The Doctor lunged for her, taking his hand off Rain's mouth.

"So anyway," Rain said. "What I was gonna say was…"

The Doctor slammed his hand back over her mouth.

"You're just bound and determined to embarrass me, aren't ya?" he said to her.

Rose took a deep breath.

"Sis gave him the name Sprinkles because she didn't think he was a big bad Oncoming Storm, he was a tiny harmless sprinkle," she said quickly.

She quickly got to her feet. Alan laughed when the Doctor leapt up and gave chase. Everyone watched while he chased her through the field.

"You can't keep your gob shut, Timelord, so I'm gonna have to shut it for ya!" the Doctor yelled at her while they ran.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they got Jack away from the Pellar and Androsus, they headed back into the TARDIS and the Doctor took them into the vortex. Everyone left the room except for Jack who sat down behind him.

"How did you fare with Donald and Daisy?" the Doctor asked him.

"Nice enough, but they really wanted to talk with you. But I told them about the Slitheen and a little bit about the Gamestation and that seemed to satisfy them."

"Well, thank you for doing that," he said to him. "I'm sorry but I hate when people do that to me. I'm not a celebrity, despite what the universe thinks."

Jack shrugged.

"You're a hero who's saved countless lives, Doc. You're bound to meet admirers somewhere along the way. I mean, this is what Earth celebrities go through. Fans running up at private moments wanting an autograph and a little face time. Doesn't matter to them that you were out with family and friends. They just cared about you which is why they gave Alan the cold shoulder."

"Yes and I nearly said something that wouldn't have been fit for my granddaughters' ears. You lot are just as important and have done just as many beneficial things as I have. And Alan was trying to point that out before they dismissed him."

"Yeah but the bulk of Alan's memories come from you."

"I know but he has done other things apart from me. He's been heroic in his own right and he has just as much right to share the spotlight as I do. Same with Rose and Awinita and everyone else."

"Yeah, but you're the one who gets the spotlight, not them."

"Well, I really wish the spotlight would shine somewhere else for a change. I'm not interested in fame."

Jack smiled.

"And that's what I admire about you, Doc. You have every right to spout off your achievements every chance you get to anyone who'll listen but you choose not to."

"I don't do what I do for bragging rights, Jack. I do it because it's the right thing to do."

"Which is why I try to keep out of the spotlight too. You know, you helped me in so many ways and I owe a lot to you."

He smiled.

"I'm glad, Jack."

"So now what? I realized you were bothered just then but are you planning on going anywhere else now? Unless you want to have Alan's birthday party early?"

"I don't know where else to go. I only went there because I figured it was a nice spot to take a walk."

"Well, you could go visit your son for a bit."

He frowned.

"I just dropped him off earlier today."

"Yeah, but you have a time machine. Can't you go forward in time a bit and check on his progress?"

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I s'pose I could. Perhaps a month. He did ask about why Rose's family was in the other universe. I'll go there for a quick chat with him if you and Alan don't mind looking after the others."

"I don't mind, Doc. I'm sure we can find ways to keep everyone occupied while you're out."

He nodded and set a course for the Crystal Waters Healing Facility.