Thirty-Seven
A few weeks went by and Christmas loomed ever closer. The Stewart-Tucker Household attempted to get as many of their family members to agree to be together as possible for their first holiday season while married, though it only ended up being Gordon, Fiona, and Lex; Florence was laid up with a cold, Marcia was taking care of her, and both Euan and Kanda independently figured it was best to return to their respective parents' and save the first Christmas together for another time. That was perfectly fine, however, as it meant that it created the perfect opportunity for Kate and Malcolm…
"We're not going to get another chance like this," he said quietly. It was Christmas Eve and the couple was cleaning up after dinner. "I know we've been putting it off for as long as we can in case something goes wrong, but this is important."
"I didn't say it wasn't important, but I don't know if it's the right time," she replied. "Oswald could still lose the baby at this point and then what?"
"She's at a very flat eight and a half months—far as I know, that doesn't sound like she's losing anything but her lunch when the kid begins kicking her fucking stomach." He scraped the last of the dinner remnants from a plate into the garbage disposal before putting it in the dishwasher. "It's them we need to talk to, and who knows when we'll get them all together and not with any other halves milling about? I say we do it now."
"What if they don't agree with what we're doing?"
"Then I guess they're just going to have to grow the fuck up," he replied. Waiting until she closed the dishwasher door, he pulled her in close and buried his face in her neck for a moment, leaving a kiss against her skin. "They'll handle it better than you think. Now come on."
With the dishes now being done, the pair crept out into the corridor, stopping just before the sitting room. Malcolm poked his head around the corner and saw Gordon, Fiona, and Lex calmly debating over what movie to watch by the DVD shelves. He glanced back towards Kate and nodded to confirm they were all present. Holding out his hand, he waited for his wife to take it before leaning in to peck her on the lips.
"Now or never, love," he murmured.
"It's now or when we bring the child home," she corrected. She then walked into the sitting room, guiding him alongside her. "Kids? Can we have a minute?"
"What's the matter, Mum?" Fiona wondered. The other kids' attention was caught as well, all three now looking at them. "You look like something bad happened."
"Oh, nothing bad happened at all," Kate replied. "It's just that Malcolm and I have decided on something rather important that will change things around here, and we want to make sure that you three are well-aware before it happens." She sat down in an oversized armchair while he sat on the armrest, at such an angle that she could reach her hand up the back of his jumper without the kids seeing from their new vantage spots on the couch and other armchair; it was an action normally done to unnerve the younger ones, yet now was merely for the contact.
"Are you selling the house…?" Lex guessed cautiously.
"No," Malcolm chuckled. "We're actually going to be redoing a bit of it, to be honest. Fuck, no, now that I think about it, a shitload has to be done to make sure it's all in order."
"In order for what?" Fiona asked.
"For the baby we're adopting," Kate said frankly, a smile on her lips. She knew that going right in for the kill was precisely what needed to be done, as all three young adults sitting before her were in complete and total shock. They stared at the couple, disbelief slapped across their faces, completely silent until Lex choked out a question.
"Why…? Why are you two going to adopt a baby?" she sputtered. "Uncle Malc, you could barely handle me as a wee thing—if you really want to adopt a kid, wouldn't you two be better off with a tween that you can leave home while you're both working?"
"Yeah," Fiona agreed, "you're not old now, but you could be in shit shape when a baby's my age. Christ, you could be like Gran, too addled to travel more than a block away from a care home without becoming dangerous, before a baby heads off to uni. Are you sure about this?"
"We're absolutely certain," Kate said. "This is why the three of you are very important when it comes to this child—if something happens to us and we cannot take care of it, then it falls on the three of you as its brother, sister, and cousin to take care of it in our absence. Our wills shall reflect this once we gain custody in a few months and I don't want it to take anyone by surprise."
"Why, though?" Fiona asked. "You've said nothing that would have lead up to this the entire time you've been together… why now?"
"Does it have to do with Clara Oswald?" Gordon asked quietly. Everyone in the room turned towards him, wondering what it was that led him to the conclusion. "Not many know she's living in Mainframe UK right now, but I do, and I'm actually one of the fewer that has seen her thanks to taking rounds for Fajr. She's not far along, and I haven't gotten the chance to really talk with her, but there's no mistaking it—she's pregnant and the only one she would be pregnant by is the Doctor, putting the two of you on the very top of a rather short list of people who could possibly raise it and raise it safely. Is that the baby you're adopting?"
"A regular Lethbridge-Stewart to make your granddad proud," Kate replied, a thin smile on her lips. "Miss Oswald wants the child to grow up in a family that can love and take care of it, but knows that she and the Doctor cannot keep it safe. Malcolm and I are going to adopt it, as we both know about its extraterrestrial heritage and have access to UNIT in case of any unusual happenings during its upbringing."
"The Doctor…?" Lex marveled, her mind clearly boggled. "You mean the tit in the police box from space? The one that hijacked Gordy and Uncle Malc that one day? You're adopting his kid?"
"He is a raging tit, yeah, but he's saved our lives on more than one occasion, sometimes even directly, and it's the least we can do to keep his kid safe from harm and under the radar of the most dangerous fucking beings in the galaxy," Malcolm said. "The ugly cunt's one of said most dangerous fucking beings in the galaxy when push comes to fucking shove, so don't think this is going to be all a bunch 'o quaintness and sunshine when the shoe drops, because it will, and it won't be pretty."
"Wait… he doesn't know…?" Gordon gulped, horrified. His mother and stepfather shook their heads and his jaw dropped. "He doesn't know his own child is about to be born?!"
"Miss Oswald wants it quiet; she knows how easily he would go and cause havoc in order to keep her safe and the baby in their custody… a child of theirs would be a target bigger than anyone can imagine," Kate explained. "This baby shall believe that we were simply miraculously old parents until it is mature enough to process the fact that it was adopted and what that means. After that, we are not telling them anything about their parentage until they are an adult, provided such an action is feasible and it does not learn otherwise earlier through alternative means. It's a risky path, but it is one that we will gladly take."
"Mum, I'm in uni and Lex and Gordy are just starting out themselves; neither of them have been dating a year yet, but they're dating good people who would understand," Fiona stated. "You don't have to do this alone—we're capable of helping out more than just being the backup."
"We don't have to, yes, but we are," Kate said kindly. "You'll understand one day, maybe if you become a mum yourself. I can't leave this up to chance."
"Yeah, don't volunteer Euan until we work on his parents a bit more," Lex said, playfully nudging Fiona. "That is one thing he and Kanda have in common: their parents aren't exactly thrilled by me, or at least Euan's won't be when we finally get together."
"I know that Lawan is just being a homesick shit who didn't want to move to Glasgow to begin with, but what about Euan's family?" Malcolm asked. "Do they think you're too young or something?"
"No; his parents don't like Poles," she pointed at Gordon, "Italians," she pointed at Fiona, "and probably even need some time to convince themselves that a wee bit of German," she pointed at herself, "is alright to have in the family. I love Euan, and he doesn't think like that, but those two are nuts."
"They sound it," Gordon said. "We should almost do a joint Meet-the-Parents, so that any disapproval directed at us gets repurposed into disliking each other."
"That'd be nice, but I actually want Euan to not get immediately disowned," Lex frowned. "Mrs. Keng is enough to drive away anyone and—"
"Can we go visit Miss Oswald?" Fiona wondered, interrupting the verbal sparring. Attention was now directed towards her, at which she shrugged. "What? I thought it'd be nice, since she's trapped in the Mainframe, yeah? Give her some real visitors? No one's really been to see her, have they?"
Malcolm and Kate looked at one another and nodded—what harm could it do?
"Miss Oswald's father and remaining grandmother unfortunately died earlier in the year during the Insurgency, and her mother and other grandparents have been deceased for a long while," she said. "Malcolm and I pop in from time to time, as does the Head of Data Management, since he is an old friend of hers, but you're right in that she doesn't get many visitors."
"Then I want to go and meet her," the teen said. "If her baby is going to be my little brother or sister, then it's only right."
"Are you sure?" Kate asked.
"Positive."
"Then what about you other two?" Malcolm asked. Gordon and Lex both shrugged noncommittally—they were fine no matter what. "Alright, then I think we should call up Fajr and see if the girls' credentials are still in the system."
"Shit; let me change into another jumper!" Fiona cursed, bolting from her seat and out of the room. Her mother chuckled slightly and took out her mobile.
"I'll go check in on those credentials," Kate said. She left the room much more calmly than her daughter, headed towards another room where she could talk without interruption.
"You two are still fucking bonkers," Lex said soon as her aunt was out of earshot. "Didn't you move out of Mam's because you couldn't handle how loud I was as a bab?"
"There are two differences between now and when you were small," Malcolm frowned. "One: I was in a different place in my life back then. Don't necessarily judge an old married man's family plans based on when he was single and just starting out. Second: one of the reasons why I moved out was because I was sick and tired of watching your father being pathetic and boring as fuck, with my sister wasting her time on him. I'm glad you came out of it, and nearly as glad that your da isn't a bad man, but I'd much rather you have been born a Tucker after a one-night stand like your mam and I was than watch that tit flounder about as the most boring cluster-cunt I've ever seen."
"You're really fucking bonkers," Lex deadpanned. "Lex Tucker? Where's the alliteration?"
"Of all the things, your biggest hang-up is about allite-fucking-ration?"
"Not the biggest, but it's one of the more obvious…"
"You know," Gordon chimed in, purposefully changing subject, "what Fiona said earlier was correct. I can take care of Miss Oswald's child if push comes to shove. I know she volunteered because of ties the Lethbridge-Stewart family has to the Doctor and… well… I'm still a Lethbridge-Stewart."
"Wait, just like that?" Lex said. "Not going to ask Kanda—your very serious girlfriend—what she thinks?"
"Knowing Mum, she didn't ask Malcolm what he thought before promising to adopt the baby." He glanced at the man in-question, who nodded through a shrug. "See? It's not just me."
"If you do end up with Kanda though, you know… for good, then what if the two of you had kids?" Lex wondered. "They wouldn't look anything like their 'older sibling' and that might cause problems."
"You forget: I might be my mum and dad's only kid they had together, but I'm technically the second of five. I know what being part of a blended family's like and it's not that difficult if you just act like everyone belongs together."
"Simple as that?"
"Yeah—simple as that." Gordon paused as his mother came back into the room. "Did Fajr clear it?"
"Both sets of non-emergency visitor credentials are still active," Kate confirmed. "A bit buried since it was Frank who put them in, but they're there. We can come down whenever we find the time."
"Non-emergency?" Lex blinked. "You mean, if there was something that went down at the mainframe, we'd be able to get in no matter what?"
"Yes and no," Gordon said. He moved his hands around as he talked, following his cousin as they all went towards the foyer. "You see, we have a variety of different security protocols that encompass a great number of potential scenarios that the Mainframe might encounter, Tripartite, terrestrial, and extraterrestrial in nature. Fajr, Frank, and their varying predecessors have long been building the foundational levels, which we add to every so often, and…"
"Stop boring her!" Fiona shouted from the top of the stairs. She quickly descended to the main floor, now wearing a different, nicer jumper. "Your job is so boring!"
"Says the one studying business," Gordon scoffed. "I don't know how you can stay awake in those classes…"
"Kids, behave," Kate warned. "We don't have to go, you know."
"Mum…! Gordy's the one being a tit!"
"I mean it." She waited until Fiona began to pout in defeat before opening the door. "Alright, now let's go."
Traffic into London was surprisingly light, easily linked to the holiday having finally settled itself in and no one wanting to do anything but stay put on the rainy evening. Since the above-ground front was already "closed" for the end of the year, Gordon went and disabled the lock on one of the side doors, allowing them access to the building anyhow. His mobile rang immediately after they were all in, which he answered.
"Yes, it's just us," he said, not even bothering with a greeting. They got into a lift and the young man grinned. "Yes ma'am." A pause. "No ma'am." A smirk. "I'll check in later, ma'am." He ended the call and put the mobile back in his pocket. "Looks like I'm taking the Oswald-part of the round she's on."
"Is your boss cross or something?" Lex asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No—just panicking a little. Don't blame her, really; not with the way things are right now."
The lift opened to reveal that the Mainframe was packed, all hands on-deck. It was easy for the family to slip around everyone else unnoticed, with most of the attention—if there was any to spare—concentrated on saluting Kate. By the time they reached the lift to go into the medbay, Fiona and Lex were completely baffled.
"Why all the commotion?" Fiona asked. Her stepfather simply shrugged.
"We're overdue for an invasion attempt," Malcolm explained as they stepped into the new lift. "Christmas, like clockwork, every year for a couple years, UNIT had to be on the defensive; the fact people barely remember anything is all because of my office coupled with UNIT's efforts and old fashioned Human resilience, because we didn't want to look like we were the softest fucking target on the entire planet. It's been a while since a proper attempt, hence the precautions. Your mam and I don't feel like there's anything to worry about though, hence why we decided to mostly just stay the fuck at home."
"Yes; the closest thing we have had to an invasion on Christmas in a long while was two years ago when a scout pod of Kantrofarri broke up in the atmosphere and held several people hostage, killing one before being eliminated themselves," Kate said. The young women glanced over at Malcolm and Gordon for a translation, which they gave by the latter miming grabbing onto the former's face—the Dream Crabs.
The lift opened up onto the eerily silent medbay floor, letting the family off near their destination. Kate knocked on the door to Clara's room and poked her head in, seeing that the unfortunate test subject was sitting on the couch with a book and cuppa. Wearing joggers and a sweatshirt that was clearly borrowed from the Doctor, she was just starting to appear as though she was pregnant, with a rounding stomach barely visible under her clothes.
"May Malcolm and I come in?" Kate asked. "We brought a few more visitors with us as well." She watched as the other woman put down her book and looked at her quizzically.
"Yeah, come on in," she replied. She raised an eyebrow as she watched the family enter the room, curious about the occasion. "What's all this?"
"Miss Oswald, I'm sure you've met my son, Gordon, but this is my daughter Fiona and my niece Lex—Malcolm and I informed the three of them of our plans today and they in turn wanted to visit with you."
Understanding swept across her face, leading Clara to smile. "Thank you," she said. "I'll go make—"
"I've got tea, you handle introductions," Malcolm insisted, gently putting a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from standing up and heading towards the kitchenette.
"Alright, Glenn," she joked.
"Much more of that and the only tea you'll have available is that fucking South African stuff I hear you love so much," he threatened with a laugh. He went in the direction of the kettle, only to be hit by a pillow off the couch that was rather conveniently flying in his direction.
"You don't like rooibos?" Lex asked. "I hear it's getting popular."
"It makes my stomach flip these days," Clara explained. She watched as most of her guests sat down, amazed at how many people were in there and not in order to prod her experimentally. At least she knew the UNIT employees, which left her to sort out the other two via previously told stories and inference. She turned towards the eldest of the younger women and reached back into her memory. "Then you're… Lex…?"
"Alexandra Lewiston, yeah; I'm Malcolm's niece and work as a poli-sci lecturer and assistant at the university level."
"…and I'm Fiona Ferrero, Kate's daughter and a first-year business major," Fiona cut in.
"That sounds about right, from what Kate and Malcolm have told me," Clara nodded. She then turned towards Gordon and attempted to recall a conversation from the other day. "You are Corporal Lethbridge-Stewart, correct? I hear you are Bismuth's protégé?"
"Yeah—though mostly I'm the son of Kate, grandson of Alistair, and brother to this thing," he said. He ruffled Fiona's hair and she flailed in an attempt to brush him off, though the damage was already done and her hair was completely out of sorts. "It was my sister's idea to come over."
"I appreciate the company, thank you," Clara chuckled. Malcolm brought over everyone's tea and passed it out, though the accidental hostess noticed her youngest visitor was still staring at her. "Yes…?"
"How far along are you?" Fiona wondered. "You don't look very pregnant."
"Thirty-seven weeks, from our best guess," she replied. "I just felt the baby move for the first time a few days ago."
"Wait, that's…" Fiona quickly did the math in her head and looked to her mother. "That's not right, is it?"
"Not if it was a Human child, no," Kate said. She sipped her tea and glanced over at Clara. "Are things still the same since the last time we talked?"
"Still miserable, if that's what you mean—all these tests and ultrasounds and experiments are going to drive me completely bonkers."
"Welcome to life with Alessandra Sullivan as your Head of Biomedical," Kate quipped.
"Do you know if you're having a boy or a girl?" Fiona asked. Clara shrugged at that.
"So far? Just a baby—it keeps on changing, which is freaking me out a whole lot more than it is Sullivan."
"…your baby keeps changing gender…?" Lex wondered, completely baffled.
"Ha! I wish it was just that!" Clara took a large gulp of tea and groaned. "It only had one arm the other day and now it has two as though nothing was off. Shit, even today it had extra fingers and toes at the start of the exam and by the end those had vanished."
"You mean, that face-changing stuff… it's happening now…? To the unborn nip?!" Malcolm asked, trying to not cringe. "Fucking hell, this must mean that Alessandra's wetting herself in excitement."
"Well-put," Clara grimaced. Her hand unconsciously found her stomach and rested atop it. "I just wish there was a universe where this wasn't a thing, where the Doctor and I could have this baby and not have to worry about anything else than what color the TARDIS will paint the nursery." She noticed Gordon sitting quietly, nearly sizing her up. "Yes…? What's that face for?"
The young man removed himself from his thoughts and shrugged. "Sorry; it seems a bit odd, not because I think it's this thing or that, but because you're a couple years older than me and I guess I'm more used to the idea of giving a kid up for adoption being what people my sister's age do."
"You're not alone in that—actually, there are times when I seem to forget what's going on, and then I remember." She began gently rubbing her stomach—as though she was soothing the child inside—and she smiled before shaking her head. "If there was any way to properly care for this child myself, I would take it, run, and not look back… but it won't be safe growing up with me or the Doctor, and what sort of parents would we be if we couldn't keep our own child safe?"
"Well, considering I think they made child leashes as a response to kids like me, probably a normal one," Fiona shrugged. Kate gently backhanded her daughter's shoulder, which only made the teen chuckle. "It's true! You were always looking for me until I was what, seven?"
"This doesn't sound like this is the sort of conversation that will make Miss Oswald feel better about things."
"At least she's honest," Clara laughed. "The fact you're all here makes me feel better than anyone can possibly fathom. To know that this is the family that my child will grow up knowing… it's comforting. You seem much more like a family than I'm certain a lot of others are here in the Mainframe."
"It's not like we have a lot of fucking choice falling out of our arses," Malcolm scoffed. "One hint of something definitely not Tripartite in origin and I can almost guarantee you that the babe's pants won't be the only soiled ones that day."
"Such a way with words," Clara said rather flatly. She glanced over at Kate and pointed at Malcolm. "You married this? Willingly? No ulterior motives?"
"Hey, what can I say? Best sex I've had in thirty years."
The older three watched in amusement as the younger three nearly choked on their tea and went red in the face, groaning in mortification. Regret over making the visit was beginning to set in, the younger ones hoping it was merely a ploy to get a rise out of them. Unluckily for them… it worked. Well.