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Chapter 21 - A Walk on the Beach

The Doctor, holding little Samuel in his arms, tapped on the door of Karen and Samuel's flat on the island. Anne answered the door.

"Oh! John! Please come in."

The Doctor stepped into the flat. Samuel clapped his hands. "Dog!"

Anne smiled at him. "Henry isn't here, Samuel. I'm sorry."

Samuel crossed his arms and poked his lip out to pout. "Daddy. Dog!"

The Doctor put his forehead to Samuel's. "I told you the dog wasn't going to be here."

"Sam play dog!"

The Doctor shook his head. "We talked about this, son. There is a baby here, and the dog is loud."

Anne smiled and held out her hands. "Come here, Samuel. There are cookies in the kitchen."

Samuel went to Anne and held her neck. "Cookie!"

The Doctor, still wearing his suit, followed them into the kitchen and took off his jacket. He hung it on the back of the chair.

"Anne, where are Karen and Samuel?"

Anne picked up a cookie and blew it before handing it to the toddler. "Samuel went up to the ship. Karen is just outside. She said she was going to walk on the beach, but I asked her not to go too far. I worry she's not recovered as much as she thinks she has."

The Doctor pointed towards the door, "Oh. Want me to go and…."

"You take care of mine, and I'll take care of yours. Right Samuel?"

The toddler bit the cookie and smiled. "Num!"

The Doctor grinned. "Thanks, Anne. I'll be back shortly." He pointed at the toddler. "Behave yourself."

Samuel held the cookie out. "Cookie Daddy!"

The Doctor grinned. "It's a biscuit, son. You're not an American."

Anne laughed and whispered to Samuel, "It's a cookie. It was made by an American."

The Doctor stepped out on the back deck of the flat. The sun was bright and made him cover his eyes quickly as he reached in his pockets to pull out his sunglasses. He slipped them on and looked around. He spotted Karen standing, with her back to him, 500 feet away at the edge of the ocean. He slipped out of his loafers and pulled off his socks. He then walked over to join her.

As he got beside of her, he noticed that her arms were crossed and her eyes were closed. She wore a lovely, light blue sun dress that blew in the breeze. Her hair had been braided on the sides and been pulled into a small bun on the back of her head.

He stood next to her and put his hands in his pockets. "It's bright out here."

She smiled and looked back at him. "I thought you were Samuel."

He grinned at her. "Sorry to disappoint you."

She giggled. "He said he wouldn't be long."

"What is he doing?"

"He took Halley to the ship to check….something. I can't remember what."

The Doctor nodded, "Want to walk?"

She smiled, "I'd love that."

He offered her his arm. She took it and they walked along the beach together.

The Doctor told her, "Oh. I brought a cot."

Karen smiled. "Thank you, John. Lance, Lewis, and Tony all brought one today, too. We have one for every room now."

The Doctor laughed, "And she'll probably end up sleeping in the bed with you both."

She giggled. "It's so much easier."

"My Samuel is still sleeping between me and his Mum. I expect to wake up with a toe up my nose at some point."

Karen laughed. "Maybe you should take your cot back and put it in your room for Samuel."

The Doctor smiled at her. "Perhaps, I should."

"Save your nose." She teased.

He laughed politely.

She looked back at the sea and her hair blew in the breeze.

"So, Karen. How are you?"

"I'm good. Feeling more rested today. Samuel has insisted I sleep a lot. It's helped."

"So, you've….recovered?"

"Samuel says there are still things that need to heal, but he said he was very pleased with everything. John, I think I know what this is about."

"What's that?"

"You want to know how Halley is already here. I'm not sure I understand it."

The Doctor sighed. "Samuel said it was his fault."

"So, he did talk to you about it? I told him he should."

The Doctor shook his head. "He didn't tell me everything, but that's only fair. I haven't explained everything I know about it."

"Well, I suppose. But, John. I really wish you two could speak about this."

"Why can't we? What has he said?"

Karen stopped walking and pointed at him. "And I see what you are doing here."

The Doctor rose his eyebrow, "What's that-"

"You, John, need to have this conversation yourself with him."

The Doctor put his hands on his hips, "He won't talk to me-"

"You're not a very approachable person."

"Oh, that's rubbish. Of course I am-"

"Samuel told me that you were too old to have children-"

"Well, hell. I've never told him that-"

"I've heard you say it, John. And it's something I believe that has hurt your relationship with him. All of this, 'I'm too old for this.' John, that would be extremely hurtful."

The Doctor crossed his arms and considered. "Umm. Interesting."

"And I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have even told you that-"

"Nope! You should. It's something….when have I said that to him?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea. He's mentioned it to me several times."

The Doctor sighed and dropped his hand. "Damn it. Me and my big mouth."

They began to walk together again.

The Doctor asked, "Tell me about Tony Tyler and Samuel."

"You know about the fight, then."

"I do. I know that they just really don't get on together."

"From what I've heard from Samuel, Tony lives to wind him up. He wouldn't tell me what he said that caused him to punch him, but Samuel told me that he thought he had broken his nose."

"And now he's done a runner with Stark's ship again."

"Again?"

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah."

Karen sighed. "Just as he did before. He is gone for several days, and then he returns. Where is he going?"

"I don't know. I guess, just to go have a think. From my understanding, he's been through a lot. First with his parents, just before they arrived here."

"Really? What happened?"

The Doctor bit his lip and shook his head. "I'd rather Samuel tell you about that."

Karen rolled her eyes. "So, you get the information you want, but I don't."

The Doctor stopped walking and put his hands on his hips. "I'm not getting the information I want-"

"Oh, bull. Don't think I don't know what you're doing. And I'm just hormonal enough to tell you, 'no'."

The Doctor grinned, "Don't ever change. I need more people to tell me no."

Karen began to walk again. The Doctor threw his hands up behind her in frustration. She never saw him.

"You and Samuel really need to talk. I think it would help in more ways that you even see."

The Doctor groaned, and jogged to catch back up with Karen. After they had walked a bit together, he asked, "Has Samuel spoken to you about anything that happened when they were gone?"

"No. He hasn't. I've told him several times that I'm there for him when he wants to talk. But, he hasn't said anything. He always changes the subject. But, Tony has told me not to push on it."

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and nodded, "Any trouble sleeping?"

"I wouldn't know. He doesn't seem to sleep much at all since Halley was born. He gets up with her, rocks her at night. Only brings her to me to be fed. She won't take a bottle."

The Doctor smiled. "Won't do it, huh?"

"She was absolutely insulted when Samuel told her that she needed to drink from a bottle. Oh, the screaming."

The Doctor laughed.