"They're not going to jump out at me are they?" Clara asked suspiciously as they approached the house and she saw the boy rushing back towards the front door excitedly, his mouth working to shout words she couldn't quite make out through the smoke bellowing from his lips.
John laughed, hand reaching over to take hers as he shook his head and allowed, "No, I warned them it might not be the best time for those kinds of surprises," then he glanced at her, "Are you feeling alright?"
With a nod and a glance back at the car seat secured tightly just behind John's seat, she smiled and sighed, "I can't wait to be home."
It's wasn't that it had been long, she'd just missed them all being together. Clara relaxed into the seat as they pulled up the driveway as she considered it – she missed her bed, her husband lying by her side, and her kids bouncing at their feet making silly faces at them. She missed her couch, her babies cuddled under her arms, and John making popcorn in the kitchen so they could watch a movie. Clara missed her family, telling stories and laughing around the dining room table. And it had barely been two days.
He watched her as she looked over the front of her house, roof sparkling with fresh snow, smoke slowly trailing up from the chimney into the twilight sky, and she laughed when the Christmas lights blinked on and the Santa illuminated. "We're home," he offered quietly.
She turned, lips pressed together tightly as she nodded, "We definitely are."
They moved out of the vehicle, Clara slowly slipping out of her seat to stand just outside of the SUV as John climbed into the back to undo the car seat from its base, carefully bringing Liam out into the cold. He smiled down at his son, eyes squeezing shut against the temperature, and then looked up to Clara as she turned and made her way towards the front door, keys in her hand, satisfied grin on her face. John felt his heart beat quicken as he realized that somehow, this had been a test. For the both of them.
He'd been back eight months and for eight months while she'd carried his child, she'd also carried the quiet fear that he'd change his mind. Clara had been harboring that secret apprehension that he'd decide her life wouldn't be enough for him and she'd done it worrying about the three precious lives he'd leave in her charge. And in that moment, arriving home with their newborn son, she'd finally accepted that his decision hadn't been made with haste – the Doctor wanted to be John Oswald.
Reaching up quickly, he touched her elbow just as she reached the door and she turned, eyebrows rising slightly with the unspoken question he answered, "We're home, Clara. All of us."
Looking down at Liam, she laughed before John bent and caught her lips with his and she released an unexpected sigh before slipping back and nodding, "I know."
He grinned and shook his head slightly, "They might scream."
Clara chuckled, "I'll head in first then."
Pushing open the door, she looked into the living room automatically, seeing the two children standing in front of her father with a large taped together sign between them that read 'Welcome Home Mummy and Liam' in multiple colors with a drawing of the five of them holding hands underneath it. They both jumped slightly, screaming the words at her as she laughed and Dave caught the sign in mid-air before they launched themselves at her, both colliding with her hips, arms reaching around her and meeting each other's shoulders as they crushed her in a hug.
Behind her she heard John close the door and he held Liam in his car seat, waiting for the children to release Clara so she could bend slightly to hug them properly before they turned their attention to John and she could see by the small jumps they were giving, they longed to hug the man, but were fearful of harming the baby he held. She raised a hand and he gave her a small grin as she took Liam before he dropped to his knees and Henry and Olive rushed forward to clutch at him.
Clara set the car seat down atop the coffee table and she looked in on the sleeping boy, turning up the handle so she could remove him and coo at him as his eyes opened and he blinked up at her. Smiling back at John, pressing kisses into each child's neck, she released a long sigh and waited until he looked up at her, his eyes shining with happy tears and she nodded while he chuckled, listening to both children asking him if they'd done alright with their sign.
"We worked on it all day," Henry told him proudly.
"Grandpa helped us pick the colors," Olive added, looking up at the man who reached to take Liam from Clara, holding him gently against his chest and laughing as the boy yawned up at him.
Dave sat on the couch and Olive went to him as Henry wrestled John to the ground and Clara laughed as they tried to out-tickle one another… John was the easy winner. Dave sighed at Liam and told him, "Look at your beautiful little face." Then he looked to John, "Sorry John, definitely Clara's boy."
John only smiled, rolling onto his stomach as Henry stumbled away looking happily dazed. He nodded to the man and admitted, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Sitting next to her father, Clara pulled Olive into her lap and shook her head, "He'll have daddy's eyes."
Meeting John's, Clara smiled as he grinned deviously and they were both thinking the same thing – he'll get away with a lot with those eyes. John looked to Henry and then to Olive and asked, "Shall we start on food?"
Not taking his sight off his new grandson, Dave told them quickly, "Ordered pizza a few minutes ago, when you said you were almost home."
Henry and Olive screamed with delight and Liam jumped, arms flailing slightly as his face puckered and Olive immediately shifted off Clara, whispering, "Sorry, Liam." Then she glared at Henry, who stared back in shock, as if to say, 'You shouted too!'
Taking Liam back, Clara stood and rocked him slightly, telling the children, "It's alright, he's going to have to get used to the two of you." Grinning, she touched the top of Olive's head and then went to caress Henry's chin. "No worries, sweet pea," she whispered at Liam, now quieting, lip quivering slightly as he pouted up at her, "You'll be startling them soon enough."
Once she was down the hall, Olive and Henry looked to John, both clearly unsure, and he shook his head, kneeling in front of them to assure them, "You've done nothing wrong."
Henry's mouth twisted slightly as he asked, "Are you sure mummy's not mad at us for scaring Liam?"
Looking to Olive, John gestured and the girl smiled, shaking her head. "Babies get scared," John started in a whisper, adding, "They're new to the world and everything around them is a surprise. The cold outside, the sound of your voice… the feel of a bath is going to come as quite of a shock," he smiled as they laughed, "And sometimes he's going to cry because he doesn't know what's happening and it's alright because it's how he'll learn."
They nodded and then suddenly Olive gasped and she exclaimed, "Daddy, he's not going to know the sound of your Tardis!"
The words stung him unexpectedly, because deep down he had a memory of a moment he'd been told it was the sound of hope and he smiled at the girl sadly. "Olive, he won't need it – he'll have your laughter and Henry's silliness and mummy's lullabies and…"
"You," they both told him with a quick nod and a chuckle.
"Me?" He asked incredulously, glancing at Dave a moment to see the man watching him with a grin.
"Your stories," Henry offered, eyebrows rising.
"And your hugs," Olive told him, falling into his arms as Clara re-emerged from the bedroom.
She slowly crouched to her knees next to him and handed Liam over, watching as John carefully cradled the boy to his chest and smiled down at him. "He'll have you," she whispered, kissing his temple before raising her arms to Henry, who gently sat against her and settled his head on her shoulder.
John nodded slowly, staring into the eyes that looked up into his, small brow rising in contemplation before he began chewing on his lip. With a chuckle, he looked to Olive and then Henry and asked quietly, "Would you two watch your brother while mummy and I settle her things back in our room?"
Henry straightened and his eyes widened, "What do we have to do?"
Nodding John began, "There's a blanket on his crib, the one Marge made for Liam, we'll need it."
As Henry jumped off and ran to the room, he looked to Olive, "All you have to do is talk to him." Henry threw the thick knitted blanket on the floor and arranged it evenly as John laid Liam down, explaining, "Make sure to tell him all about yourselves, tell him stories about what you like and warn him about what he shouldn't do and if he falls asleep, you stay quiet and keep watch."
Helping Clara off the ground, John stood back and they watched both children lie down on their stomachs on either side of the baby and, in hushed whispers, they both began to take turns speaking, smiling as the baby turned from one voice to the other. He touched Clara's elbow and when she turned, he wiped her tears and nodded with understanding, seeing Dave crouch to join the children.
"I'll get your bag from the car," he offered, giving her arm a squeeze before going back to the front door, lifting the keys from the small table just inside.
He chuckled, turning back when he heard her laugh softly at something Henry had said – be careful about robots, especially giant ones – and then he pushed out through the door, exhaling a long sigh into the frigid night sky and stopping when he found the odd bassinet sitting a few feet away. John frowned, but then he smiled, reaching out to drop his hand atop the wooden object before lifting a finger to touch the hanging planets and stars and he glanced up to see the old man across the street, standing just beside the Tardis.
The Doctor smiled, his chin rising slightly before his head dropped away on a laugh and he moved into the blue box with a small wave. Turning back, John lifted his old bassinet and carried it to the door, carefully bringing it just inside as Clara turned, giving it an odd look. And she understood, corners of her mouth lifting just before the familiar woops and wheezes began.
"We did need a bassinet," she told him simply.
They looked to the baby whose eyes widened slightly as the children turned to look at him, eyes drifting to the front door as the Tardis completed its departure before relief washed over them as they realized their father stood calmly just beside their mother and John could see it on their faces – they'd been unknowingly holding onto the same fears as their mother. And he saw that small flicker of doubt fade as they smiled up at him contentedly.
Liam let out a small, unexpected screech, and the two jumped before they dissolved into giggles on either side of their brother and John dropped his arm around Clara as she shook her head. "Oh he's going to give them hell," Clara whispered.
With a nod, John replied with a smirk, "That's because he's definitely my son."