Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jamie and Theta walked inside the large chamber and Maia stood near a large stone fireplace. Two dragon heads were carved on the ends of the mantle and a large fire crackled behind the iron fire screen. A large portrait of Frennella hung over the mantel and they notice her flawless beauty and long white hair. Her eyes were scarlet and she wore a long sapphire blue, low cut gown.

"Blimey," Theta whispered when his cell phone vibrated and he removed it from his pocket. I NEED TO TALK TO ALL OF YOU – FRANKIE was on the screen as he looked at Maia and sighed. "Adam, Frazer, Cameron, we need to go."

"No, you cannot leave!" Maia pleaded, grabbing onto Jamie's arm.

"We're just going out into the hallway," he said as she let go of Jamie and they walked out into the hallway while he closed the doors behind him.

"What's going on?" Cameron asked when Theta placed a finger up and flipped open the cell phone. He pushed the buttons and rocked back and forth on his heels. He heard a click when he smiled and leaned against the wall.

"Hello?" Frankie asked and he smiled.

"Hello, Pretty Lady," Theta asked and both Adam and Cameron pretended to choke themselves and he flipped them off.

"Turn your video on," she said when he pushed the button and looked at Ten looking back at him.

"Hi Alan," Theta said and Ten blinked.

"I'm not Alan," he said.

"John?"

"Nope," he said when Frankie appeared next to him and told him what was going on. Theta's hearts hurt wondering if they had told him why he had to regenerate then he smiled and softly laughed. "So, you're Theta, hunh?"

"Yep, is my wife treating you ok?"

"Oh, yeah, she's a peach!"

"I always thought so."

"Who are you talking to?" Cameron asked when he looked at the screen and smiled. "Hi Alan."

"I'm not Alan or John," Ten said then quickly explained and Cameron laughed. "You must be Frankie's genius little brother."

"How did you know?"

"I showed him a picture of you, you git!" Frankie said.

"Adam?" Theta said when he tossed him his cell phone to him and Adam looked at the screen.

"Alan?" Adam asked and Ten shook his head then explained who he was and what was going on. "Whoa."

"So, you're Alan's counterpart, eh?" Ten asked.

"Yep, but I'm the more mature one," Adam said with a smile while Jamie walked closer and looked at the screen.

"Jamie?" Ten asked and tears crept into his eyes.

"Aye," Jamie said while Ten introduced himself and told Jamie what happened. "Och, that's amazing. Did they tell you that your Jamie is working with Jack at Torchwood?"

"No, they didn't. Guess that's another thing I'm going to have to forget."

"Dad, who are you talking to?" Frazer asked as Jamie took the cell phone and showed Frazer who was on the screen. "Hi Uncle Alan or Uncle John."

"I'm neither of them," Ten said as he told Frazer what happened and Frazer smiled. "Why did you call Jamie "Dad"? Are you his son?"

"Yep," Frazer said then told Ten how he helped Jamie adopt Frazer and his brothers and sister and Ten's eyes went wide.

"Just how big is this family of mine?" he asked and Theta took the cell phone.

"It's really big and still growing," he said and Ten laughed.

"Yeah, Rain and Frankie told me about the new babies. What is your new daughter's name?"

"Her name is going to be Faith Clara Ti'min'yi."

"You named her after my mother, too?"

"She adopts me, my brother, Alan, Amato and John."

"Ah, well it's a lovely name even if you named her "Faith" twice."

"So? You gave Rain the nickname "Latara" which means rain in Gallifreyan," Theta said then cupped his mouth.

"I do? Got to remember that when I see her again!" Ten said and Theta rolled his eyes. "Can I ask you why you chose to use Theta as a name? I couldn't stand that nickname."

"I never liked it either but Frankie said it sounds sexy so…."

"Ah, well, Martha is giving me the "get off the bloody phone so we can fiddle with your memories" look so I best let you get back to whatever it is you're doing."

"Right," Theta said as Ten waved at them and they waved back. Theta ended the call then clicked the cell phone shut and placed it in his pocket. Nodding, they headed for the doors when Theta opened the doors and they walked back inside the chamber.

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The sound of humming filled the air when Daisy materialized and the doors opened. Alan, Rose and Marion walked outside while the cool breeze blew through their hair and Alan slid his arm around Marion's shoulders. Frankie had asked Jack to use the manipulator so Marion could come and pick out their new puppy and Alan had taken her to Dublin. Ten was shocked when they met and was angry when she told him about how her Jackie and Pete abandoned them after she, Adam, James and River became Time Lords and Time Ladies. They walked across the dirt road to the gate and CONNOLLY PUPPY FARM was painted on the sign arched over the gate.

"After you," Alan said with a bow after he opened the gate and they laughed. Walking down the dirt path, they came to a one story brick ranch house when the door opened and a handsome young man with wavy, bleached blonde hair came out of the house and looked at them. Standing five feet seven inches in height, he wore a brown leather jacket, a red tee shirt, a brown belt, tight jeans and work boots and a brown leather cord with tiny beads hung around his neck.

"Can I help you?" Rory Connolly asked while the sunlight danced his blue eyes and Rose looked at Marion.

"Cor, he's gorgeous!" Rose thought after placing up a privacy block and Marion nodded.

"Yep, my sister-in-law would like to see your puppies," Alan said and Rory smiled.

"Oh, I'm melting." Marion thought and Rose nodded.

"Sure, come on in," Rory said as he looked at Marion and Rose then smiled wider. "Twins, eh?"

"Yeah, they are," Alan said with a slight growl and Rory laughed.

"Take it easy, Mate, I was just looking," Rory said when they walked inside the house and looked around. The walls were done in a light oak paneling and framed photographs of Rory and some Irish Wolfhounds hung on the walls. "I'm Rory, by the way."

"I'm Marion, this is Rose and that's Alan. So, you show dogs as well as sell them?" Marion asked.

"Yep, I won the last five shows this year with my dogs," Rory said with pride and she smiled at him.

Shelves of dog and puppy food, vitamins, toys, books and supplies stood against the wall on the other side of the room and a counter with a computer sat at the center of the room. A ceiling fan hung from the ceiling and a door leading into the kitchen was at the back of the room. The sounds of barking filled the air as Rory led them to the counter and walked around to the other side, looking down at the teddy bear lying on the floor.

"Steven?!" Rory called as he looked at the doorway to the kitchen and placed the teddy bear on the counter. They watched as a three year old boy ran out of the kitchen and he had wavy brown hair and blue eyes. He looked like a mini version of Rory and was wearing a blue tee shirt with Mickey Mouse on the front, a black belt, jeans and blue converse and some of his hair stuck up on the top of his head.

"Yes, Daddy?" he asked and Rory picked him up, handing him the teddy bear. "Who are they?"

"These nice people want to adopt one of the puppies."

"No, they're mine!" Steven said and Rory rolled his eyes.

"He thinks all of the puppies are his," he said and Steven placed his head on Rory's shoulder.

"How old are you?" Marion asked as Steven held up three fingers and she gave him a shocked look that made him giggle.

"Why don't you go to Room Three and pick out a puppy for them?" Rory asked when he placed Steven down and Steven nodded, running down the hallway. Rory nodded as they went down the hallway and the barking grew louder.

"Um, not to be nosy but where's his mum?" Rose asked and Rory sighed.

"She ran off with my best mate when Steven was two months old. She left a note telling me that she couldn't handle being a mum or a wife."

"That's terrible," Marion said.

"Eh, easy come, easy go as my old man would say. Now, this is the nursery where we keep the newborns," Rory said, pointing to the room on the left. "This is the room where we keep the mothers so they can nurse and this is Room Three!"

Walking inside a room sectioned off with several plastic gates, they heard the sound of the puppies yipping and barking and Marion and Rose smiled. The walls were a light blue color and posters of puppies of different breeds hung on the walls. Marion walked to the gates as the puppies played with the toys, playfully fought with each other, slept, ate or jumped against the gates and she tried to figure out which one Adam would like. She felt someone tug her sleeve when she looked down and Steven looked up at her.

"Want to see Clover?" he asked and took her hand, leading her to the gate to the left. Looking at the puppy lying on the blue blanket, Marion saw that the puppy's ears were lopsided and Steven pulled on her sleeve. "Daddy says that no one wants her 'cause of her ears."

"That doesn't seem fair," Marion said while Rory walked closer and reached over the gate and picked Clover up.

"Most of my customers want perfections. When I get a misfit, I usually sell them to pet stores or to friends but no one wants her," Rory said and Marion patted Clover's head.

"That's shameful. We had two pure bred Huskies that were misfits. One of them was blind in one eye and the other was missing a leg," Rose said.

"And I like her lopsided ears," Marion said while Rory handed her the puppy and she held it close to her chest.

"And I think Adam will like her, too," Alan said and Rory looked at them.

"You'll be taking her then?" he asked and Marion nodded. "Ok, let's go do the paper work."

Nodding, they left the room while Marion held onto Clover and smiled while the puppy licked her fingers. After doing the paper work and getting the puppy supplies, they said good-bye to Rory and Steven and headed back to where they had left Daisy.

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Adam stood near the fireplace while Maia poured the tea into the china teacups when his cell phone vibrated and he removed it from his pocket. He looked at the screen when he saw a puppy with lopsided ears looking at him and he smiled.

HER NAME IS CLOVER. SHE'S AN IRISH WOLFHOUND. DO YOU LIKE HER?

YEP, BUT WHAT'S WITH THE EARS?

SHE WAS BORN THAT WAY. IS THAT A PROBLEM?

HELL NO!

ARE YOU GUYS DONE YET?

I THINK WE'RE JUST GETTING STARTED.

DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA FOR THE REST OF THE FAMILY TO COME HOME?

YEP, IS JACK GOING TO USE THE MANIPULATOR TO TAKE THEM HOME?

NO, JOHN'S GOING TO PICK THEM UP WITH HIS TARDIS.

OK, I'LL TELL THETA.

LOVE YOU.

LOVE YOU BACK!

Adam ended the call then placed the cell phone back in his pocket and smiled with a nod as Maia handed him one of the china cups. The cell phone vibrated again as he sighed and placed the china tea cup on the table, taking the cell phone out. He flicked it open when he saw a picture of a very angry Alan and smiled.

YOURS IS BIGGER THAN MINE!

ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT MY PUPPY OR MY TACKLE? FACE IT, OLD PUPPY POOP, YOU BOUGHT A RAT!

MY CHEWIE WOOIE IS NOT A RAT!

OK, WHATEVER, THANKS FOR TAKING THEM TO GET OUR PUPPIES.

NO PROBLEM. JUST TAKE CARE, OK?

WILL DO!

Ending the call, he snapped the cell phone shut and placed the cell phone in his pocket. He walked over to Theta when he told him that John was going to take the others home and he nodded then looked at Maia.

"So, are you going to tell us what's going on?" Theta asked when Maia sat down on one of the high back chairs and sighed, brushing some hair from her eyes.

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The grass blew in the breeze while Daisy materialized and the doors opened. Alan, Frankie and Jenna walked outside as Marion followed them and had Clover on a red leash. Clover sniffed the grass when she peed and Marion smiled at her.

"Good girl," she said, patting Clover's head and Alan rolled his eyes.

Taking Frankie's hand, they walked down the trail when Marion led Clover back into Daisy and the doors closed behind her. After walking for a few minutes, they came to the gate and LILY'S WESTIES and two little West White Highland dogs wearing kilts were painted on the sign over the gate. Opening the gate, Alan led the way as Frankie and Jenna looked around and headed for the two story house. Walking up the steps to the porch, Alan rang the bell when the inner door opened and a woman with pure white hair looked at them.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm Alan and these are my sister-in-law, Francine, and my niece, Jenna. Jenna would like to buy one of your puppies as a present for her husband," Alan said and Jenna nodded.

"I'm Lily. Lily MacShane. Come on in," Lily said as she opened the door and they walked inside the house. The living room was small with dark wood furniture and antiques as they looked around and a small cabinet had trophies, pictures and ribbon and Jenna smiled.

"That's quiet the collection," she said.

"Aye, my Dottie won her first trophy this year," Lily said as she pointed to the small trophy on the top shelf and Jenna nodded. She led them to the back of the house when she opened the door and they heard the yipping and barking coming from behind the fences. Jenna walked closer when she knelt down and several white faces looked at her and the tails wagged back and forth.

"Oh, this is going to be hard. They're all so cute," Jenna said and Lily smiled.

"Aye, this is a good batch. Well, almost," she said when Jenna looked at the puppy who was chewing on an old sock and he growled when one of the other puppies walked closer. "He's got a temper, that one."

The puppy looked at them when it walked closer and sat down, tilting his head to one side. Jenna smiled when she reached over to pat his head and he growled at her. She looked into his eyes when she smiled and saw a look she only saw in Jamie's eyes when he was mad.

"You are a true Highlander, eh?" she whispered as the puppy looked at her and she patted his head. He moved closer when she picked the puppy up then looked at Lily. "He's prefect."

"Are you sure, Lass? That one's a devil, he is."

"Nah, he's just a stubborn Highlander. Aren't you?" she asked and the puppy barked.

"Well, if that's the one you want…" Lily said as Jenna nodded and stood up. Leading them out of the room, they headed for the desk as Lily started the paper work and Jenna held the puppy in her arms with a smile on her face.