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Chapter 25 - Football at the Mansion

The atmosphere at the mansion was very playful. All of the off duty Quauhtin were there along with Jack, Jake, young Tony, Pete, and The Doctor. Everyone wore shorts, t-shirts and football shoes. Legate surprised them all when he was able to hit the ball straight up off of his head over and over. Tony laughed at him. "Wow! You are totally like your Dad! You're a great footballer!"

Legate laughed at him and within a few minutes instruction, Tony ran over to The Doctor. "Look at this brother!" Tony bounced the ball over and over off of his head.

The Doctor knelt down and spoke to him. "That's going to give you a headache, but man its cool!"

Tony laughed, "I know, right?!"

The Doctor laughed at him. "Tony. Is everything alright? You never call me anymore."

Tony tucked his ball under his arm. "Mum says that you need to take care of Genie. I shouldn't bother you. I try not to."

The Doctor rolled his eyes at him. "Tony Tyler! You are my little brother and very special to me. You always will be. I'm here for you, no matter what. Genie needs me, yes. But, I don't want you to think you are less important now because she's here. You can still call me anytime you need me, or just have one of the bodyguards pop you to me. I'll chat with your mum. Alright?"

Tony smiled at him. "Alright."

He pointed at him, "I mean it, Tony. You're my Comrade against these Tyler women. I need you!"

Tony laughed at him. "Then call me! I'm here for you, Brother!"

The Doctor hugged the small boy. Tony smiled at him as he ran back onto the pitch.

Jack ran up behind the Doctor. "I really like this! I've never really played before. This is more fun than I would have thought!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "I think you like it because you keep tripping people. That's not allowed."

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "It's only illegal if you get caught!"

The Doctor shook his head, "Phhhh…."

Michelle walked up with her sons Logan and Sam. "Thanks for calling, Doctor! Logan and Sam jumped at the opportunity!"

The Doctor turned and shook both of the young men's hands. "Good to see you, men! There's some bodyguards….ugh…players you probably haven't met. Legate! Come here!"

Legate ran over to them. "Yes, sir!"

The Doctor pointed at Logan and Sam. "These are Michelle's sons. Good men, and amazing players. Will you introduce them to the rest of new guys?"

Legate nodded, "Happy to! Come on, I'm Legate!"

The boys ran off with him. Michelle laughed at smiles on her sons' faces. "They love this! I can't thank you enough."

He shook his head. "It's no problem. They are helping me out!"

Michelle smiled, "Not to mention work, but I added a couple of things to your schedule tomorrow. Tony in New York called and wanted you and Rose to go to dinner with a friend of his. He said you knew about it?"

The Doctor's eyes got huge. "Really? Oh wow! I can't wait to tell Rose! Oh, this is going to be …weird." He gritted his teeth, then tossed his hand up. "Well, not really."

Michelle looked curiously at him. "I'm not even going to ask. When you are finished with dinner, the New York City Ballet has a balcony reserved for you, Mrs. Smith and Genie if you would like to go see it."

He rubbed his beard and got excited. "Oh wow! Genie might really love that! Wow. All of this after the UN meeting tomorrow."

"And Rose's speech at Yale is the following day." Michelle informed him.

He rubbed his beard and motioned for her to join him as they both walked away from the pitch so they wouldn't be overheard. "Umm…. Rose doing these speeches. I'm not comfortable with her doing them in person. Is there a way she can do them, remotely?"

Michelle looked curiously at him. "Is something going on?"

He bit his lip and looked at her. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ummm…. Well. She's been feeling sick lately. I worry that she is trying to do too much."

Michelle smiled at him. "Don't say it. I know you can't tell me."

He dramatically dropped his hand. "Damn it! You're like a mutant or something! How the hell do you do that?! I didn't say anything!"

She pointed at him forcefully. "That reaction just said everything I was suspecting! How far along is she?"

He shook his head in disbelief. "I shouldn't have said anything. Geez. She's going to kill me."

Michelle smiled at him. "I can keep a secret. Even from her. Relax. I'll lighten her schedule. As for doing the presentation remotely, let me see what I can work out. Maybe she can record a video to the universities and have it broadcast all at once. That would certainly lighten the travel."

He smiled, "Brilliant! Yes! Thank you."

"How are you with it? A bit soon, isn't it?" she asked.

He laughed. "Completely shocked, honestly. This was unexpected. Like Genie. But, yes. We're excited about it."

Michelle laughed. "No one knows?"

He shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "No one. She's only just found out."

Michelle smiled, "Let me order her some flowers then. From you of course. She will love that."

He laughed under his breath. "Thank you. She will love that. She's dealing with terrible nausea. Did you deal with that with your boys?"

Michelle nodded her head. "Oh, I did! They make these lollipops that really helped. They have ginger in them. There is also this wrist band that they recommend for sea sickness. I never tried that, but it is supposed to be extremely helpful. I'll have both delivered to your flat. I'll be discreet."

He smiled at her. "I'm so thankful. What would I do without you?"

Michelle laughed, "Go hungry, stay in trouble with the misses and we won't even talk about this candy addiction."

He laughed at her as Pete called him over. He excused himself and ran over to him.

Pete patted him on the shoulder, "Where is Rose?"

"She went into the house. It's a bit warm out here. I think she was looking for her mum." The Doctor explained.

Pete pointed at him. "After this interview this afternoon, I have something for you. It should be here by then. I hope so at least."

The Doctor looked surprised, "For me. What is it?"

Pete put his hands in his pockets and smiled. "No way! I'm not telling you. I just wanted to let you know so you don't rush back to your flat."

Genie ran up to the Doctor. She was holding President Harriet Jones' hand. "Daddy! Look! It's Nanna Jones!"

The Doctor turned and smiled. "Harriet. It's lovely to see you!" He kissed her on the cheek. "Thank you for all of your help with Genie's adoption."

"Not at all! Happy to get everything settled for her." Harriet smiled. "Pete, how are you doing?"

Pete smiled, "I've noticed my hair is turning white from everything. But, it was going to go white eventually. The Doctor assures me it is normal."

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. No real reason why, it just will."

Harriet smiled. "A small price to pay."

Pete nodded his head. "A very small price. So, did you hear of our little football gathering? They are just goofing off. Not really a real game."

Harriet shook her head. "No. The Doctor asked me to come by if I had a minute to chat with you about something. What do you know about the UN meeting tomorrow? Are you planning to attend?"

Pete looked confused. "He mentioned a UN meeting, but that's all he has said."

The Doctor knelt down and handed Genie his football. "Here, sweetheart. Go play with Tony a minute."

Genie smiled and ran off. The Doctor stood up and looked around. Seeing no one was around them, he explained his plan for his proposal to the United Nations.

Pete handled the news like The Doctor expected. "Are you nuts?! They will never agree to that!"

Harriet laughed, "That's what you said he would say."

The Doctor laughed, "That's what Howie said! Well, I think. You know how Howie talks."

Pete looked shocked. "The hell! Wow! That's insane. I can't….. I can't….. how the hell are you even going to ask them this?"

Harriet smiled at Pete. "It's a closed door meeting between the worlds' leaders. No press is allowed. Highly classified."

Pete nodded his head with enthusiasm. "I should say so! What in the hell made you think of this?"

The Doctor sighed. "Ah, it will all come out tomorrow. I don't even want to go really deep into it."

Harriet asked. "You're going to be there, Pete?"

Pete's eyes were huge. "Hell yeah I am! I've got to see this! Holy shit! Oh! Excuse me, Harriet."

The Doctor laughed at Pete. "Now, that was her reaction. Excuse me, I'm going to play football while I can."

The Doctor ran back onto the pitch. Logan saw him and passed him the ball. The Doctor passed it to little Tony. Shakes whistled for all of them to huddle up in the middle of the pitch.

Pete put his hands on his hips and shook his head. He asked Harriet. "Is he serious? Is that really his plan?"

Harriet laughed, "Think about it. It makes complete sense."

Pete was still in shock. "What sort of man did my Rose marry? A barking mad one!"

Harriet laughed at him. "After you have thought it through, you will agree with him."

Pete tossed his hands in the air. "That's the crazy thing about it! I know I will! He's weird like that!"

As the players gathered together, Shakes spoke. "Okay. I think everyone has the rules of the game down. Let's play a game. Who's up for that?"

All of the men cheered. They quickly divided into two teams. Jack, Jake, The Doctor, Logan, Sam, Legate, Poltoius, Lewis, Sam the Quauhtin and Shakes all ended up on the same team together. They faced off against the rest of the guard.

Jake looked around. "How will we remember who's on what team?"

Jack took off his shirt and tossed it off the pitch. All of the men nodded and tossed their shirts over to the side, too. Jack laughed and ran over to The Doctor and told him quietly. "Call Rose down here to see this eye candy."

The Doctor rose up and pointed, "She's just over there. She's worse than you are if you can believe that."

Genie ran off of the pitch. "I'm out of here with this lot!"

The Doctor laughed, "Not a bad idea there, Genie. Cheer for Daddy."

Rose spoke to him in his head, 'See, I couldn't play this. I wouldn't be able to keep my eyes off of you long enough to watch the ball.'

The Doctor rubbed his face, 'Stop it.'

Rose laughed, 'You all sweaty…..'

'I know what you are doing, Rose!'

'And randy…'

'Woman!'

'Go get sweaty so I can help you get clean later.'

The Doctor ran both of his hands through his hair.

'It's been hours. Almost a full day. You can probably imagine running your hands down my body.'

He bit his lip. "Oh, that woman is mean!"

'I've got some of those mints you love.' Rose teased him in his head.

He turned to her and pointed. 'Mean. MEAN woman!'

Jack stood up and looked at them. He put his hands on his hips. "Oh, that's just nasty. Stop it!"

Rose laughed at his reaction as she sat in some chairs under a tree with Genie and Harriet.

Tony blew his whistle and started the game. Logan passed the ball to Shakes, and the ball was stolen by Varro. He moved it down the field passing it to Timon and then Exton. Legate slid between Exton and Gobbo as he was passing the ball. The ball headed skyward. As it came down, four men jumped up to bounce it off of their heads.

They played for a long while. All of them were covered in sweat and dirt. Legate proved to be a great footballer, just like his father. Tony took off his shirt and twirled it around his head to cheer for him.

The Doctor ran off of the pitch to get some water. He walked over to where Harriet sat with Pete. "Where did Rose and Genie go?"

Pete told him, "Jacks came out here and got Genie just a bit ago. Rose went inside to get something to drink. She said she was hot."

The Doctor reached out, 'Rose. Are you alright?'

'No. I'm sick again. Don't leave your game.' Rose told him.

He thanked Harriet and Pete and excused himself. He walked into the house as calmly as he could. Jackie was in the kitchen making Genie a bowl of ice cream and talking to her. He walked through the kitchen, "Is Rose upstairs?"

Jackie nodded, "I believe so. Oy! Take off those muddy shoes in my house!"

He quickly flipped his shoes off and walked out of the kitchen. As soon as he was out of eyesight, he ran to Rose's old bedroom. He slid down the hall in his socks once he got to the door. He opened it and called to her. "Rose? Are you in here?"

He heard her in his head. 'You shouldn't have left your game.'

He rushed into the bathroom where he found her sitting in the floor, her head in her hands. He quickly grabbed a towel, ran it under the tap and wrung it out. He sat down in front of her and put the towel on the back of her neck. "Have you been sick?"

She shook her head. "No, but I feel like I might be."

He patted the towel on her face and neck. He unbuttoned her blouse and held it to her chest near her throat. "Is that helping?"

She nodded.

He moved closer to her. He put the towel on his shoulder and encouraged her to lay her head on it. He held her and rubbed her back. "Is this better?" he whispered to her.

She nodded it was. 'Please don't let me go.'

He kissed her head, "I won't. You're going to be alright." He laid his hand on her head and closed his eyes. She felt herself get better almost immediately.

She rose up and looked at him. "What is it that you do? It really helps."

He kissed her forehead. "Does it? Your color is better."

She laid her head back on his shoulder where the wet towel was. "Yes, it really does. What are you doing?"

He kissed her head, "Blocking that part in your brain that tells you that you need to be sick."

She took a deep breath. "This is awful. I don't know what triggers it."

He ran his hand through her hair and told her quietly. "Nothing triggers it. And then anything will trigger it. It's not forever. You're going to be alright."

She rose her head up and took the towel from his shoulder. She looked down at him and laughed. "You are so funny. In here, half naked."

He looked down at himself. "If you remember, Rose Tyler. I have been here naked before."

She laughed, "Oh, I remember that. That was great. You moaning and I had to make you stop."

"Afraid we were going to get caught by your mum." He smiled.

"Like a couple of teenagers." Rose laughed.

He laid his hand on her face. "Lie down and get some rest. It will help. I'll come wake you up before that designer gets here. You have time. Or, do you want me to reschedule that?"

She pressed the towel to her face. "No, I'll be alright. If we cancel, I'll have to give an explanation."

He looked surprised, "To whom?"

She looked at him seriously, "My mum!"

He looked up, "Oh the gods! No! Well, unless you want to tell her now."

Rose shook her head and closed her eyes. "Oh, no! Not for a while! She will drive me mad."

"We might not have a long as you think, Rose. She's going to have to be told."

"Not now. Please. We can always blame a short pregnancy on your genes. She has no idea about that sort of thing with you."

He nodded his head. "Yeah. That's probably how we'll have to play it. Blame it all on me. I'm good with that." He chuckled at her.

He stood up and helped her off of the floor. "Where's your purse at?"

"On the bed in there." Rose told him.

He helped her into the bedroom and she sat down on the bed. He looked in her bigger on the inside purse and took out his favorite red shirt and some of her pajama bottoms. "I packed you some jim jams. In case you needed a rest."

She smiled at him as she undressed. He helped her put on the clothes and tucked her into her bed. He sat next to her and stroked her cheek. "Get some rest. It will make you feel better. Are you hungry?"

Rose closed her eyes. "No. Just tired."

He smiled at her and laid his hand on her head. "Rest then. You're safe. Do you want me to stay with you?"

Rose didn't open her eyes. "Just for a bit. Then go play football. You love that so much."

"I love you so much. I'll stay if you want me to."

She smiled, "I'll be alright. I'm just going to sleep. Go play. If I need you, I'll call you."

"Promise? Don't make me come find you again, Rose." He fussed at her.

She whispered as she drifted off to sleep. "I promise."

He took his hand off of her head and rubbed her back. He reached into her purse and took out his phone. He sent Michelle a message. "Those lollipops you were telling me about. Could you bring some to the house when you come back to get the boys this afternoon?"

He sat down the phone and laid his hand back on Rose's head. He could feel she was in a very deep sleep. He smiled as his phone alerted him to message being received. Michelle answered. "I'd be happy to. Reassure her that this part doesn't last forever. And have her get some rest."

He smiled and texted her back. "Thank you, Doctor Michelle. She's resting now. Please remember to be discrete. She doesn't want Pete or Jackie to know for a while. She doesn't even know that you know. Don't get me into trouble."

Michelle text back. "Relax. Go play football and let her rest. Don't hover over her while she sleeps."

He tossed his hand up and shook his head. "Damn! She's a mutant. Has to be!" He leaned down and kissed Rose on her head as he whispered to her, "Rest, darling. Call me if you need me. I'll be right here. I'm just outside."

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