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Chapter 4 – Mr. Tyler and Mr. Stark

Legate had surprised Genie by taking her to the indoor, heated pool inside of the castle. Lance and Licis joined them as well as the other children. They had a great time swimming. It snowed heavily outside of the windows.

Rose was asked by Ashena to join her, and her mother, for a fitting of gowns and dresses. Rose was thrilled and after the Doctor reassured her that there wasn't anything she could really do for Tony while he slept, she was lead away by a handmaiden. The Doctor could feel how much she was enjoying herself with her royal friends.

It was mid-day. The Doctor sat on the floor of his suite in front of the windows. He laid Sam on a blanket and howled at him. Sam laughed and coo'ed back at him, trying to copy his sound.

"That's it. It almost sounds like it. Try again." He encouraged him and howled again.

Sam kicked and coo'ed again. The Doctor leaned down and kissed his face. "That's right. That sounds like it."

Sam kicked his legs excitedly. Tony Tyler walked out of the bedroom and stood in the doorway. The Doctor felt his footsteps and looked up, "Well, good afternoon there!"

He scratched his ginger hair. "Are you howling, John?"

He smiled, "I'm teaching Sam how to howl. Do you know how to?"

Tony walked over and sat down on the floor next to him. The Doctor encouraged him. "Show him how to do it."

The Doctor howled loudly, causing Sam to laugh and kick his legs. Tony shook his head at him. "I don't think babies howl, John."

"Maybe they do. How many babies have you been around?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Just him."

"Well, do you howl?"

Tony shook his head.

"Huh. Well, one day you might find that you enjoy it."

Tony shook his head at him. "You're strange."

The Doctor picked up Sam and kissed his face. He sat in front of Tony in the floor. "Well, I was about to give Sam his lunch. Are you hungry?"

Tony shook his head. "No."

"Rose isn't here. I'm planning on having a banana split. Want one?"

Tony looked at him seriously, "Are we on the planet?"

"Yes. We are."

"Why? When are we going home?"

The Doctor held Sam to his shoulder and pat his back. "We can't go home for a few days. I've sent for your Dad. He'll be here as soon as he can."

He could feel Tony's fear rise. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

He smiled at him and shook his head, "No, Tony. You are not in trouble."

Tony rubbed his head looked out of the large window. He was uncharacteristically quiet. The Doctor looked behind him out of the window. He moved to sit beside of Tony and leaned against the back of the sofa. He pointed. "The ship. It's right there. You can't see it right now. When it's night, the dock where it's parked looks like a star. Well. Three stars. Just dot, dot, dot."

Tony looked down at his hands and took a deep breath. "Rose told me stories about you. Before you came here. She said you had a small ship that could appear inside of a room."

He nodded, "Yeah. I did. If I still had that ship, she would be parked right there." He pointed to a corner in the room. "It's odd not having her. I had her a long time."

"How long?"

He shook his head. "Millions of years. I can't even measure how long."

"Do you like your new ship?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "You are my brother. I can admit things to you that I would never admit to anyone else. I really don't like it at all. I'm used to my old ship. My TARDIS…. I could take anywhere. I never had to search for someone. She knew where they were and took me right where I needed to go. I wouldn't have been able to save Clagl, but I would have been able to land on that ship last night and save you before you were hurt. This waiting to get somewhere is intolerable. Depending on technology, which is really very lacking at this time, is annoying."

Tony didn't say anything for a while. He continued to look out of the window. "Did they kill the aliens?"

"No. Summus is in charge of the Quauhtin here, and the army now. He has arrested them. The Queen will decide, with Pete, what to do."

Tony started to cry. "I don't want to see them."

The Doctor wrapped his one free arm around Tony and pulled him closer to him. "Shhh…. You don't have to see them. You never have to see them again."

"I don't want to see any aliens ever again." He cried.

He sighed, "All of them are not bad."

Tony let go of him and sat back. "Oh no! I'm going to have to tell Dad what happened. He doesn't know!"

He shook his head. "He knows everything already. I've told him. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Tony wiped his eyes. "You don't know everything."

He laid Sam back down on the blanket in front of them, and then he embraced Tony. He explained as he held him. "When you were sleeping, I looked in your mind. I saw you ask the woman in the playroom to bring you to me. I saw her keep refusing. You decided to find me yourself and got lost. You wandered around the castle for a long time, and even heard people looking for you. You hid because you were sure you would get into trouble, and decided to try to get back to the playroom. You found yourself outside and the door wouldn't allow you back in. It was colder than you have ever felt. Then, you started to cry. You beat on the doors of the castle, but no one came. Then, you felt all tingly as you were transported someplace warm. You wasn't there long when you heard my voice talking to the aliens that had taken you. Right?"

Tony looked surprised at him. "How did you know?"

He kissed his forehead. "I saw it all in your mind. The only question I have that I want an answer to is this. Why aren't you wearing your bracelet I gave you?"

Tony groaned. "The silver one?"

He rolled his eyes at him. "I've given you more than one? Yes, the silver one. The one like mine." He pointed to the bracelet Tony Stark had made him.

Tony shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"I'm your brother. That, you can tell me. I won't be angry."

He sighed. "It's in the ocean. At your house. You left when Tony got hurt and wouldn't let me come to the ship. I got angry and threw it in the ocean."

The Doctor's mouth dropped open. "You tossed that in the ocean?"

Tony nodded his head. "Yeah."

He looked back out of the window. "Huh. You were that angry with me?"

Tony slapped the floor and shouted, "I never see you anymore! It's all about Genie! Or Sam! Or Tony! Or the ship! Or an alien! Or Dad! Or some shit! You completely forgot about me. You aren't supposed to do that!"

He embraced him quickly and held him as Tony began to cry again.

"I've not forgotten about you, Comrade. I could never do that." He felt Tony wrap his arms around his neck. "I'm here, always for you. I know it probably seems like it, but it's just not true."

Tony cried, "Daddy is making me start school."

"There are worse things-"

"I'll never see you!"

"So, you don't want to go? Jacob will be-"

"No! What if the aliens get me again? There?" He blinked away his frightened tears.

The Doctor felt his fear. He wiped the tears from his face. "Tony. They are not going to get you, again. Not ever."

"You don't know that! You told me yesterday that I would be safe and I would never have to see them!" He insisted.

He sighed, "I did. I was wrong."

Tony wiped his tears.

The Doctor sighed. "You're right. I don't know. But, I do know that I'm going to do everything I can not to ever let it happen again. Tony is going to make you another bracelet and you aren't going to toss it in the ocean because you get angry with me. You are going to talk to me. You are my brother. You talk to me, even when you feel like you can't talk to anyone else. I love you, do you remember what I told you that meant?"

Tony nodded and watched him lay his finger on his bracelet. It lit up, "Remove."

A voice in the bracelet spoke, "State your name."

"Doctor Johnathon Smith."

The bracelet glowed and opened. He took it off of his wrist and put it on Tony's tiny wrist. He used some odd words that Tony didn't recognize and then said his name again. The bracelet adjusted to Tony's wrist.

He pointed at him. "There. No one can transport you anywhere without my permission. Plus, everything else."

Tony looked at him in surprise. "But, you aren't safe."

He shook his head. "I have lived for millions of years without a bracelet. I can manage a few days without it. Especially, if it keeps you safe."

Tony looked down at the bracelet. Sam rolled over and started to cry.

The Doctor picked Sam back up, "And this one needs a feed." He stood up and walked over to the food replicator.

Tony leaned on the back of the sofa and looked at him. "This is exactly what I'm talking about!" He shouted.

Sam cried as the Doctor went to the food replicator and asked for a bottle. It didn't work from the noise.

Someone beat on the door and before the Doctor could tell them to come in, Tony and Logan came in.

Stark held his hand out, "Everything alright in here, John? I got a notification your bracelet had been removed."

Logan added, "We heard shouting."

The Doctor put his finger over his lips and told Sam, "Shhh." Sam stopped crying long enough for the Doctor to quickly say, "Sam's bottle!" Then he started screaming again.

Logan walked over and took Sam from his Dad. He bounced on his feet as he walked away with him. "Come with me and stop shouting at your Dad."

The Doctor handed Logan a bottle. Sam stopped screaming immediately when Logan put the bottle in his mouth. The Doctor looked back at little Tony. "Tony. I'm sorry, but I needed to help Sam at the moment."

Stark looked confused, "What's this about?"

Tony crossed his arms as he leaned on the back of the sofa, "That John is a rotten brother." He had stopped crying, but still looked very cross.

Logan sat down on the sofa feeding Sam and chuckled, "Oh, I know a thing or two about rotten brothers. I assure you, he's a great brother."

Stark pointed at the Doctor. "This guy? He's a rotten brother? Is that what you said?"

Tony nodded his head. "Yes."

Stark looked back at him, "Well, huh. I wouldn't have guessed that about you, John."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Tony, there are things I have to do that you simplify can't be there with me. Tony got hurt and I had to go put him back together."

Stark shook his head. "And he did a shitty job, too. My shoulder is still stiff."

He looked back at him, "I told you that would be the case. This isn't helping-"

"Fuck, I'm helping more than you think." Stark sat down sideways on the sofa in front of where Tony stood. "Okay. So, you think this entire thing with the aliens taking you was John's fault?"

Tony shook his head, "No."

"You think John called up these aliens and said, 'Hey. I have this smartass kid brother who is pissing me off. Come pick him up and scare him to death'."

Tony shook his head, "John would never do that."

"Then, why are you so angry with him? John came to save your skinny ass last night."

"He brought me back here! They can get me again-"

Stark caught his arms in his hands. He pointed at the bracelet. "You aren't going anywhere with that bracelet on, Mr. Tyler. As your Dad says, 'You can trust me on this.' There's only one ship in the galaxy coded to that."

The Doctor sat down next to Logan and watched Stark with Tony. Tony snatched his arm away. "You don't know-"

"I do know. I've had to learn all about that sort of thing since I started hanging out with your rotten brother."

Tony sighed and stared at Stark.

Stark pointed at him. "No, it's clear what the problem here is. You are mad. American mad. Pissed off. Completely angry. But, you're not sure who you should be mad at."

Tony leaned on the back of sofa next to him. "Go on."

"Man, I know what you are going through because I've been taken before like that."

"Did they hurt you?" Tony asked him quietly.

"They did. I was told I would be safe. I had soldiers all around me. They still managed to get me. They had me for weeks."

Tony looked at him with more interest than he ever had. "Was it aliens?"

Stark shook his head, "No. Worse than that. Humans. From Earth."

Tony climbed across the back of the sofa and sat next to Stark. "Did John come save you?"

He shook his head. "No. That was before John arrived here. I know he would have come to save me though. I ended up having to save myself. Pepper made me go to a doctor to talk about it a few times. It was annoying, but now I see how it helped. He said there were stages I would go through. I would be angry before I would ever accept that it happened. And it was alright to be angry for no reason."

"Are you still angry?" Tony asked him quietly.

Stark thought and then nodded his head. "Yes. I really am. I've never accepted it. It shouldn't have ever happened. But, I'm not shouting about it anymore. Well, not that often. I think about it sometimes when I watch the news. I'll lose my temper and break something. If you feel you have to be angry and shout, go ahead. But, this isn't John's fault. It's not your fault. It's those demons' fault."

The Doctor corrected him, "There aren't demons. They are called Jeclaonides."

Stark rolled his eyes and looked at Tony. "I'm calling them demons. That's what they looked like to me. Scariest damn things I've ever seen in my life."

Tony looked up at him. "They frightened you, too?"

"Of course they did! Did you see them?"

Tony nodded his head. "John said they are here-"

The Doctor shook his head. "They aren't here. They are on a prison ship with the Andromedaen Army. Summus won't allow them here on the surface."

Stark looked back at Tony. "See! Already safer."

Tony looked at Stark. "Can I ask you something?"

"Ask me anything."

Tony stood up on his knees and whispered a question in Stark's ear. When he sat back, Stark looked at him. "That's normal. Yes. I did that. Several times, and I'm a grown up. Man, this is scary stuff you are dealing with."

Tony nodded his head and seemed satisfied with the answer.

Stark pat him on the shoulder. "What you need, is something you can break. Or kick. Ah! Logan! Let's take the young man up to the ship and you two can kick the soccer ball around. How does that sound?"

Logan held Sam in his arms and smiled, "I could go for some football. John?"

The Doctor smiled, "Sounds like just what we might need."

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