Chapter 41 Pulsar

Mary was staying with them for a week so the newlyweds could have a honeymoon. Alice was so excited to have Mary staying with her . All that week they were inseparable, laughing and playing in her room, out in the garden making mud pies, hide and seek in the woods. One day while drawing at Alice's desk, Mary asked about the blue box next to them.

"That's my school room." Alice said. "Do you want to see it?" Mary smiled and shook her head. "Ok, stay with me, I don't want you to get lost or I'll be in trouble." Alice took Mary's hand and went into the Tardis.

It was dark inside because when not in use the Tardis would power down. Alice's voice was soft, but authoritative, "Lights please Tardis." The lights came on and the Tardis chirped a greeting. Alice and Mary continued through the Tardis to her school room. Mary was going to say something about the inside being bigger, but when Alice behaved as if that was the way it was supposed to be, Mary just accepted it.

Down the hall and through a door, the room was very plain with a single school desk in the middle. There were no pictures or flat screen or teachers' desk, anything that Mary could recognize. "Where's the screen?" Mary asked, disappointed with the surroundings.

"Why should there be a screen?" Alice responded. "How does the teacher show you how to do things?" Mary was very puzzled. "What did you learn about last week?"

Alice was confused by Mary's questions. "We learned how to calculate the strength of gravity wells and pulsars. Do you want to see one?" Mary nodded her head, not knowing what she was agreeing to. "Tardis, please display the last lesson."

The whole room from floor to ceiling began to glow and suddenly they were in deep space with a pulsar in the middle of the room. Mary screamed and backed up until she hit a wall she couldn't see.

Panicking she covered her eyes and began to cry. Alice ran to her and put her arms around her. "It's ok Mary, don't be afraid. It's just a picture, we're not really under a pulsar. Please don't cry. I'll turn it off and you'll see. Tardis, please discontinue."

The room became a room again, but Mary was still frightened and trembling. Alice knew this was bad and she wanted her momma to help explain to Mary that she was in no danger. "Come on Mary. Let's go back to the den."

Mary still had her hands over her eyes, and it was difficult to get her to move out of the room. Alice had to take her elbow to lead her away. Rose was sitting on the couch in the den when they came out. Mary was still crying.

"Alice!, what were you two doing in the Tardis? I thought you were upstairs." Alice was near tears herself, "Momma, come help Mary, she's afraid of pulsars." If Mary hadn't been so upset, Rose might have laughed at that sentence. The poor girl was terrified. "Mary, sweetheart, it's ok, you're in the den now. Open your eyes."

Rose picked Mary up and held her tight, sitting on the couch. Mary wrapped her arms around Rose's neck for comfort. "It's ok Mary, you're safe, don't cry honey." Rose was rocking her gently and patting her back. Mary started to calm down. Rose looked at Alice, who was wide eyed and worried about her friend.

"Alice. What did you do?" Alice tried to explain that Mary asked about the Tardis and wanted to see her school room and what she studied. "I'm sorry momma. Will Mary be ok?" Rose smiled at her daughter, "Yes Alice, she'll be fine."

Mary looked around the room as her tears dried. Alice was happy she stopped crying. "Mary, I'm sorry you were scared. Do you want to go draw some more?" Mary rubbed her eyes and nodded getting down from Rose's lap. Rose smiled as they walked off to the desk hand in hand. " Hey girls, how about some ice cream?" Mary turned around and smiled at Rose, tears still staining her cheeks. "With rainbow sprinkles?" "Ok Mary, Lot's of rainbow sprinkles."

Mary made a full recovery with a little help from a large bowl of ice cream. Done with drawing they decided to go outside and play in the garden. The Time Lord met them at the door as he was coming home from a meeting with the hospital administrators. Patting Alice on the head and warning her to stay away from the river, he came inside to Rose.

She was just starting on a cup of tea. "How was your meeting?" The Time Lord sighed, "It was thorough if not productive. They want a copy of my sonic, if you can believe it! I've never given anyone a sonic screwdriver. I told them they'd have to make their own like everyone else. They were not happy."

He had a sly grin on his face. Rose rolled her eyes at him, "It was bound to happen when you show off an instrument that can scan and diagnose in an instant. They'll be wanting their own Tardis if you're not careful. They know you're an alien, but didn't think you had alien tech? she laughed.

Speaking of which, your daughter scared the socks off Mary today." His brows knitted in a frown not believing his sweet little girl could hurt anyone. "What's this you say?" Rose grinned, "Yep, took her into the Tardis to show Mary your lesson plan." She couldn't help the mirth coming out as she told the story.

"Alice came out with Mary in tears and said, Momma, Mary's afraid of pulsars." Rose giggled at Alice not being able to comprehend why Mary was afraid. The Time Lord threw his head back and laughed. Rose continued, "If Mary hadn't been in such a terrified state I would have laughed out loud.

Alice was completely clueless why Mary would be afraid of a hologram." The Time Lord was grinning, seeing a chance at revenge for Rose having him tell Alice where babies came from. "I guess you'll have to sit Alice down and explain why humans react the way they do when they're frightened."

Rose stopped laughing as her jaw dropped. He had a twinkle in his eye, "I teach facts, you teach emotions, that was the bargain." He kissed her quickly on the cheek and headed to the kitchen whistling. Rose realized she was left holding the bag and sat on the couch to finish her tea.

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The colony ship had finally arrived. Groups of several hundred at a time were being put through an orientation about the planet, housing and facilities. The chaos of over 5000 new colonists was overwhelming. Shuttles were constantly being run between the village and the city. Getting everyone to their assigned space and settled in, was like herding cats. He and Rose wanted nothing to do with the masses of humanity coming down from orbit, and stayed at home.

They felt sorry for Quinn who was right in the eye of the storm. He didn't go home to Louise for days, just caught a little sleep between crises in the barracks.

When they left earth, colonists were supposed to have a job with one of the migrating companies and were assigned an apartment nearby with an accompanying school if needed. In the year it took to get there, some of the colonists had changed jobs and wanted to be resettled with them.

This made for a logistical nightmare as every square inch had been created with the exact number of people in mind, leaving space in some buildings and overcrowding in others. It all seemed to work out when the companies asked their members to share on a temporary basis until things could be reorganized.

The new mayor and city council had their hands full, equipping emergency services and utilities, and no time to worry about where everyone was supposed to be sleeping. It took weeks to get everybody processed and settled.

This planet would be the beginning of a grand new colony of humans that would grow to become much more. A peaceful center of learning and trade with half the galaxy. The Time Lord would not be the only alien to live on this perfect world. Sentient species from every nearby world are welcome. Humans are social creatures and create communities wherever they go. They have a heritage of allowing for cultural differences. Adapting and accepting, learning and sharing with everyone they meet. There have been times when an isolationist rejects diversity, but they never last. Learning new things and ideas is just too much fun not to participate.