"I'm going to change." the Doctor declared as his boots squelched the whole way down the hall to what Tish supposed was his room.
"I'm cold." Amelia stated again, a hint of a whine in her voice.
"C'mon and show me where your bedroom is. I can't find anything here."
Amelia led her down several corridors to her room.
It was still a very neat and sparse room, but the drawers and closet now had lots of clothing.
"Here." Tish dug through a closet and produced a towel, "Dry off first. I'll get Yumo."
Yumo disliked the towel it seemed and spent his time howling in protest. Once dry he looked a bit like a sheep put through a perm.
"New clothes…" Tish pulled Amelia's drawers out and selected a warm pair of trousers, a normal shirt and a thick purple jumper.
"Put these on with CLEAN socks and find a pair of shoes. Dirty and wet stuff goes in your hamper, okay?"
"Okay." Amelia nodded. "Thank you."
"Come find me once you're done, I'll re-do your hair and get you some medicine. I've got to change clothes too though."
Tish left Amelia's room and had to laugh when a door appeared not 10 feet down the hall with her name on it.
"Are you helping me or leading me to a death trap?" Tish laughed.
Warm air swirled around her.
"Hey, do that again. I might dry off faster."
She got the distinct feeling the ship was laughing at her but the warm air did surround her again.
"Oh lord, I'm teasing a spaceship." Tish shook her head and located a towel in her room. "Thank you." She placed the now snoozing furball that was Yumo on her bed.
As she was drying off her phone rang again. "Oh for the love of…"
Wait…that ringtone…She cringed, "Mum…"
She hesitantly opened it; "Hello?"
"Where are you?"
"Currently? I'm getting dressed after an incident involving a fire, a pond and prison with the Doctor. Sorry got to put you on speaker phone while I pull a shirt on."
"You're in your knickers in front of him!"
"No, I'm in my room alone...Well bar Yumo, but he's just a puppy and he's snoring on the bed."
"I don't believe that! How could you share a bed with him?"
"Well, either you've taken to the drink or someone's listening on your end. Mum, say something loudly if it's yes and just laugh if no one's there."
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"
Tish snickered, "Leo or Martha!"
"Your sister never gave me this much trouble even when she was travelling with that man!"
"Oooh, Martha." Tish pulled on her jeans and buttoned them up. "I've been messing with her, sorry. I should have told you first. Don't worry; I'm not in trouble or anything."
"Yes, I have heard you were sharing a bed with THREE people!" Tish could hear the question in Francine's tone.
"Yeah, well we were in a tent that's WAY bigger on the inside but there was only one mattress so the Doctor, Amelia, Yumo and I ended up in a big pile. There are no pyjamas in the tent so I stole his shirt, he slept in trousers and an undershirt and Amelia had someone's nightshirt."
"I have no words! What would possess you to do this? Honestly, Leticia!"
Oooh, full name...But was that laughter?
"Hey, she was running around in too big of clothes, hand me down sneakers and they were out of food. Honestly, mum," Tish mimicked her, "the last proper meal before I got there was fish fingers, custard and an apple; they were living off of marmalade and toast."
"I don't want to hear about the marmalade!"
Tish snickered as she heard Martha yell in the background. Pulling on her trousers she looked for a pair of shoes.
"Really? The Doctor dumped some on Yumo."
"Please! I don't want to know where he put it."
Tish was really laughing now. "Mum! You make me sound like a scarlet woman! Though he DID teach Amelia the word 'harlot' so..."
"Tish! Not that word, please, spare your mum."
Tish caught her breath as she tied her shoes. "Don't worry, I'm just babysitting. I'm not anywhere near romantically interested in him in anyway shape or form nor do I plan – or think he's planning – to fall in lust with him and think his bed is a nice place to be. I'm safe; I'll call in and check. I couldn't leave the two of them to flounder on their own. Plus, he bribed me into his car with sweets."
"I can't believe you." There was definitely amusement in Francine's tone now.
"Oh, and get this. The girl he has? She isn't his daughter, he accidentally kidnapped her."
"What!"
"Yeah. Her birth name? Amelia Jessica Pond."
"…I think I need to sit down. How could you tell me that?"
"I thought you'd find it interesting. Don't tell anyone else though." Tish pulled on her jumper and was feeling a lot warmer now.
"I have no words."
"That's a first." Tish laughed, "We're getting ready to go see a 'Stellar Shower' which is apparently Diamonds trapped in an elliptical gravitational orbit around this planet. The falls that most people watch them from are sapphire. I'll send you a video!"
"You've got WHAT on video?"
"Man, if I were Martha I'd be a bit worried." Tish was interrupted when the door was opened slightly and Amelia stuck her head in. "Alright, I've got to fix Amelia's hair so we can go. Bye mum; Love you."
"I love you too, Leticia. We'll talk about this more next time."
Tish laughed, "Bye!"
"Who was that?"
"My mum. She wanted to check on me." Tish tucked her phone into the pocket on her jumper and patted the bed. "Let's get that hair fixed.
"What's it like?" Amelia asked after a little while.
"What's what like?" Tish replied combing out her hair.
"Having a mum."
Tish paused. Out of all the questions she hadn't expected that one. "Well..." She said slowly, setting the brush aside. "It's...Wow, you have to pick the hard questions."
"Sorry." Amelia said quietly.
"It's fine." Tish assured her as she started braiding her hair, weaving several strands back and forth to incorporate all her hair. "Having a mum is like sunshine."
"Sunshine?"
"Don't laugh at my analogies." Tish tapped her. She was trying to phrase it in a way that Amelia wouldn't feel upset or jealous. "A mum makes you feel warm like sunshine, but as protected as a baby with a blanket. Sometimes they can make you feel so cross you can't stand it and sometimes you just want to hug them and never let go. A mum can make a skinned knee feel better with just a kiss. When it's raining and the thunder is scaring you then your mum makes it to where you're no longer afraid."
Amelia was quiet and Tish began to fear she'd upset the girl. She tied her hair back with a hair band and waited.
"So...Like Aunt Sharon or you?"
Tish paused trying to not feel sad or flustered. "I suppose."
"The Doctor is like that too."
Tish laughed, "Yeah, he is. Alright, turn around."
As Amelia swung her feet to sit on the side of the bed Tish dug through her purse producing a small bag from within she pulled out a bottle and a small tube.
"What's that?
"This would be hydrocortisone cream and an allergy tablet." Tish held both up to show her. She opened the bottle producing a small pill and looked around for a glass. Spotting an older glass of water she held out both the pill and the cup. "Open."
Amelia held out her hand and obediently swallowed the pill.
"Right, next up." Tish rolled up her sleeves and opened the tube.
The Doctor paced around the console room alternately rubbing his hands through his drying hair and pressing buttons on the main console without any real intent. One thing he hated –well, maybe not hate...disliked - about female companions – and Jack - was the fact that if they had to change they took HOURS.
Okay, so it'd been 45 minutes but still! He'd changed in that time hadn't he? Changed, tinkered, found a dust pocket under the console AND changed again.
It's not like it took that long to change, there weren't that many details...wait...girls...Earth girls...
He looked up at the ceiling contemplating trying to figure out why changing would take that long.
The more he thought about it the more he was confounded.
"I might have to do a study on this." He said.
"On what?" Tish asked coming down the stairs to where he sat.
He jolted and his feet fell off the console as he sat up quickly. He spun to face Tish, "A study on why females take so long to get dressed. I'd say it was human females but Nyssa took ages as well. What've you done?" he poked Amelia's face, which was covered in parts by a thin pale white cream.
She moved out of reach and frowned, "Tish put stuff on my face to stop it itching."
"Well, I suppose it will do until the shower is over and we can use the Blue Goo. Let's go!"
Amelia and Yumo were first out the TARDIS, Tish and the Doctor not far behind.
"What conclusion did your scientific mind come to about why females take so long to get dressed?" Tish queried as they left.
The Doctor tried to look innocent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Tish laughed, "Purely scientific without any consequences of me hitting you, for now."
"Ah." He thought it over then nodded, "Currently I believe it has to do with corsets."
"Hmm." Tish nodded, "I'd say I agree, but that theory's wrong for 21st females, sorry."
"What?" His face fell.
"Mhm, a majority of Earth Females don't wear corsets anymore. Form a new hypothesis, study some more and try again." Tish patted his back consolingly.
They ended up drinking giant mugs of hot chocolate sitting just outside the TARDIS on a Cliffside. The PC's it appeared weren't going to let a burned down jail deter them from arresting the sacrilegious menaces.
So here, safely ensconced on a Cliffside a few hundred feet in the air they relaxed in the evening breeze as the sun set.
"How long until it starts?" Amelia asked, sitting cross-legged on a blanket, Yumo sleeping on her feet.
"About half a hour." the Doctor said, "Give or take."
"I should have brought a magazine." Tish mused. She pulled out her new phone – purchased at the tech booth—and began figuring out how it worked.
"Doctor," Amelia said a few minutes later, "What causes the Stellar showers?"
He grinned brightly, "Yes! I knew there was a reason I liked you, Pond. The Stellar showers are caused by a giant explosion – an asteroid and the space station built into it – a few thousand years ago. The resulting debris burned at such a high heat that the glass and steal that made up the station crystallized when combined with a local storm surge. Those particles were sent whirling out into space and were caught up in an elliptical orbit around this planet and a blank stretch of empty space."
"Oh." Amelia took a drink of her hot chocolate and filed the information away, "Why does this one last so long?"
"Because it's the last one. The diamonds have been swirling for so long they've gotten spread just a bit adding other debris and they'll swirl for days above the planet this time and will – thanks to time and decay – completely disappear at the end."
"Won't they see that as a bad sign?" Tish asked, looking up from programming her phone.
"On the contrary, many will break down weeping with joy, scholars will rejoice, their priests will celebrate!" he had so much enthusiasm in his voice the girls couldn't help but laugh with his glee.
"Okay, you've told the scientific reason, so now tell us local legend, including why they rejoice." Tish prodded him.
"What makes you think there's another legend?"
"Because there always is. Volcano's erupt due to lava build up under the crust, yet locals use to believe it was divine intervention by Gods to punish them."
"I rescind my wish to leave you behind." the Doctor stated.
"Thanks?"
"Okay," the Doctor settled back on the blanket getting comfortable, "Gather round friends – and Yumo – and I'll tell you of the Diamonds in the sky of Junbar."
Tish moved from her spot so she was closer to the others now, sitting with Amelia leaning against her.
"Once, very long ago a family lived. There was the Father – a brave soldier; the mother, a beloved teacher; the Child, a confused warrior; and the Good Wizard, the family's protector. Now, they travelled for a long time taking care of worlds, saving planets, toppling dictatorships and fixing wrongs. But the evil Empress of the asteroid decided she didn't like them because they could stop their evil plans. She hatched a, well, evil plan to not only protect herself, but to defeat all the family once and for all.
"She kidnapped the Mother, envious of the child that grew inside her and imprisoned her inside the asteroid. The Father, who once had laid down his sword, picked up the sword and donned his armour once again in defence. The Good Wizard formed an army to go save his friend – some reports say she's his sister, some say his best friend, others still say mother."
"Why would she steal a baby?" Amelia worried.
"Listen." the Doctor chided her lightly.
"Sorry."
"Anyway...The Child, such a confused little warrior – some reports say she was a literal child not yet in her teens, others say it was metaphorical and she like the others was hundreds of years old – took up the sword and brought a second army to war. They arrived at the asteroid only to find the infant was already born. The Good Wizard in anger realized he could kill everyone there, but instead he tricked all the soldiers into giving up their lives to his warriors.
"But, there were more than soldiers there that day. The legend is a bit fuzzy on the next bit with dozens of accounts, but what's generally agreed upon is that the Mother was rescued, a great battle was fought against the Empress's most evil monsters and the Infant was taken."
"Oh no." said Tish, "You didn't say it was a sad story!"
"Keep listening!" the Doctor rolled his eyes, "Now, where was I..."
"The Infant got taken." Amelia prompted him.
"Right! The Infant was taken away by the evil Empress and she called it 'Hope', no I don't know if it was male or female, no one does. The Mother wept mothers' tears of sorrow. The Father wept soldiers' tears, unable to protect his family. The Child cried for the Infant, for the Mother, for the Father and for the army who fought.
"The Good Wizard with his magic fastened all their tears into diamonds and the Father used his sword to send them into space so that they may search amongst the stars and plants for their lost baby. They hold a father's strength and hope and the a mothers prayers so that they bless everyone they pass over. Any child born during the shower is considered blessed.
"For thousands of years those diamonds have searched for the Infant throughout the universe and this week is the last shower ever. This week the diamonds stop searching," the Doctor lowered his voice trying to sound mysterious, "This week, under the Diamond Stellar Showers on the Sapphire cliffs of Junbar the Mother, the Father, the Child, the Good Wizard and the Infant are all reunited, together for the first time in 4000 years in the glow of the Diamonds."
Tish sniffled back tears, "That's beautiful!"
"It's a fairy tale." the Doctor said, arms wrapped around the sniffling Amelia.
"We all are." Amelia told him, "River said so."
"Don't take her side." the Doctor warned her putting on a serious face.
"Well, every fairytale has a grain of truth." Tish said as she wiped her eyes.
"True." the Doctor admitted. "Look, it's starting."
Tish grabbed her phone and pressed record, pointing it towards the sky for her mother.
"Oh, wow." Amelia said breathlessly.
In the sky lights swirled. The indigo sky had before been cloudless with just a few stars showing but now it was a dazzling array of colours.
Bright yellow streaks mingled with purple clouds of mist; Blinding white lights whizzed by, leaving bright pink lights sparkling in their wake. Bursts of colour seemingly exploded in the sky in blues and whites so brilliant it was like watching a firework display.
They were so entranced by the lights overhead that none of them noticed the crack that pulsed menacingly in the cliff below them.
[AN: We forgot to update, oops. Well, I was ambushed by monkeys last night - she means nieces and nephews - yeah... So I got distracted. Anywho, new story! I love fairy tales. They're just brilliant."