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Chapter 27 – The Training Mission

It was a cool night at a top secret military base. Two soldiers kept watch against a fence with bobbed-wire at the top.

"Got a light?" One of the soldiers asked as he walked in front of the other man.

The soldier nodded and pulled a lighter out of his pocket and held it out to him. Neither one of the men noticed that the Doctor, Lance and Poltious had just popped to the top of the tall building above them. Poltious walked over and looked over the edge of the building at the two soldiers who were now engaged in a conversation while smoking.

'I've got these two. There are three more around the perimeter.'

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at him, 'So you have….?'

'Five! Yes. I've got them all. They are smoking and have no idea we're here.'

The Doctor chuckled, 'Let's hope it stays that way.'

Stark and Timon popped onto the roof with the other men. The Doctor was surprised to see Tony without his metal suit.

Stark looked around and asked quietly. "No Rose? I thought she was coming?"

"Genie needed her to stay. She was upset."

Tony nodded his head.

He asked him quietly. "I thought you had something to try out?"

Tony waved his hand at him. "I do. Worry about yourself being here at Area 51. Freak."

"Phhh….alright. Guys. We need to retrieve a copy of Banner's research." He handed them all a thumb drive and an ear bud. All of the men put the ear bud inside of their ears.

The Doctor continued, "Alright. We can keep in touch with these. Keep it quiet as possible though."

Lance smiled at Tony. "You should learn to telepathically link to people. It's so much easier."

Tony pointed at himself. "Even I have my limitations. Don't rub it in."

The Doctor smiled. "Simple in and out thing. I can't phase, so I'm going to stay up here to keep the intruder alarms from going off. Tony, you should stay with me."

Tony smiled, "But, I can phase. I'm going with them."

The Doctor looked surprised at Timon. "You showed him the thing in your hand?"

Timon pointed at Tony. "Drinking with this man is not a good idea."

Tony laughed and pressed a few things on his bracelet that he wore. "There. You can still see me, but I'm not here. Just like these fabulous freak brothers. Try it. Hit me."

The Doctor threw a punch and it went right through Tony's face as if he was a hologram.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the Doctor. "Pinned up aggression, John? I hear sex will help that. Tell Rose to give it up. Give the lady some flowers. It might help."

"How are you doing that?"

"I'll explain it later. You won't approve, I'm certain. Worry wart."

"That can't be good for you."

"Worrying about my sperm count, huh? I'm fine. I'll give you sample later." Tony insisted.

Timon covered his face and laughed quietly. He swore in Quauhtin.

The Doctor pointed at the men. "You'll go in two teams. Stay phased to keep the alarms from going off. One will look out, and one will grab the information. Security cameras are on a loop for the next fifteen minutes. You lot can thank Legate for that. He's on the ship."

Poltious smiled proudly at Lance. "My son."

Lance pat him on the back.

The Doctor continued. "First one to retrieve the prize and deliver it to Rose, buys the other teams' drinks. We'll regroup at the prearranged numbers. Ready?"

Tony slapped Timon in the chest. "You're with me. The Varsity team."

Lance looked at Poltious. "Let's show them how it's done."

Poltious grinned, "Hell yeah."

Lance smiled, "Stark, want to bet?"

Tony smiled, "Oh, I love that shit. Hell yeah I do! Loser also has to pay $5K to both of the winners."

Lance smiled. "Deal."

Poltious asked quietly, "Just so all of the questions are asked, John. Why didn't you just ask Howie for this information?"

The Doctor laughed, "Oh, this is way more fun."

Poltious nodded. "And now we know."

Tony smiled. "And go!"

Poltious and Lance faded away and completely disappeared.

Tony held up his finger to Timon. He looked at his phone which displayed a map. "Bruce told me where we should look. This lab here. Four stories down. Pop while your cloaking device is on and we'll get to work."

Timon smiled, "Let's go."

They popped away.

The Doctor smiled and shook his head. "This is great!"

He suddenly heard Rose's voice in his head. 'You feel so excited. Is it going well?'

He looked back over the edge of the building at the guards. 'As long as the cigarettes last, I think it might.'

He felt her laugh. 'I really hope you aren't smoking.'

'I don't smoke, Rose. Well, not anymore.'

'I've never known you to smoke.'

'You've only known me for maybe 0.02% if my entire life. I used to smoke a pipe.'

He felt her laugh, 'That's so you. Old Man.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Somehow, I knew that's what you would say.'

Rose continued, 'I need to talk to you about something, if you have a second.'

He stood and watched the soldiers smoking below him, 'Sure. Figured out a way to come with me to my banquet?'

'Ugh. No. Jake came by earlier to talk to me about training agents again.'

He groaned, 'Pete doesn't want you at Torchwood. Neither do I, for that matter.'

'This stuff needs to get done. Summus took over for me after you came, and I was pregnant. But, this still needs to happen.'

He slapped the top of the building's edge. 'Damn. You are just full of good news tonight, aren't you?'

'You know, I still work there. I never did quit. I'm still needed-'

'You are still needed to me and the children. Rose, it's not safe there.'

'We can work something out.' She insisted.

He walked quietly to the other side of the building and looked at the soldiers. He was sure he wasn't shielding how he felt. He ran both of his hands through his hair and whispered, "Damn it."

'I can feel your frustration. Everything alright there?'

He nodded. 'Everything is fine. How did you leave it with Jake?'

'I told him I would talk to you about it.'

He crossed his arms and considered, 'Seems like you have already made up your mind what you are doing.'

'I said, 'talk to you about it,' not 'ask your permission.'

He threw up his hands, 'I didn't say-'

'I shouldn't have mentioned this to you. You are busy with this at the-'

'No! That's alright. But, let's talk about this in a bit. I need to….process.'

'Process. Right.'

He groaned. "Mental note. Don't let Rose tell me anything else tonight. She's on a roll!"

Poltious spoke in the ear buds. "The firewall is encrypted. Some sort of primitive password device system."

Tony spoke. "Got it. Primitive. Ha."

The Doctor smiled and looked back at the men at the fence.

Timon spoke. "There are two headed South on the 3rd floor. Lance?"

"Copy that. Cheers"

The Doctor spoke to Rose, anxious to change the subject. 'Genie seems better.'

'I've never seen her get so upset. She wasn't having me leave at all. She doesn't know you are gone. She's still sleeping here on the sofa on my lap.'

'I know you don't approve of me putting her to sleep-'

'Oh no, Baby. I'm really beginning to agree with you on that. She was really….hysterical.'

'She knows about Arla. What really happened. I need to talk to her.'

'Well, talking to her when she's hysterical is not going to work.'

'I didn't mean to get her so upset. She was already tired from being at Disneyworld all day. Hot. Just. Well, it wasn't the best time.'

'I'm sure we're doing this wrong.'

He continued to look at the men, 'We're not doing it wrong, Rose. There's not a guide book for parenting. You just, do the best you can.'

'I just don't feel like that's true. What was her Mum thinking leaving her to me? I have no idea what I'm doing.'

'Genie knows she is loved. She is safe. Her Mum knew exactly what she was doing. Rose, it will be alright. I should have spoke to her before she overheard the guys talking about Arla. This is my fault.'

He could feel her sigh. 'It's not your fault. It's just….how it is. No one tells you this stuff about being a parent. I had no idea how hard this would be.'

He smiled, 'That's what she said.'

He felt her laugh. 'And you are having a good time. You are very cheeky.'

He smiled, 'I did as you suggested and put them into two teams. They are competing against one another.'

'Who versus whom?'

'Stark and Timon against Lance and Poltious. Who do you think will win?'

'Well, what's the bet?' She teased.

'Our bet? Ummm…. Well. You name the terms.'

'I win, you will leave for your boring work thing without any further badgering that I go with you.'

He moved to the other side of the building and looked down. 'Alright. And if I win?'

'You have to take me out on a date before you leave.'

He rolled his eyes. 'Sweetheart, I'll do that anyway.'

'Then I have Poltious and Lance.'

He shook his head. 'I think Timon and Tony might pull this off.'

'Really?'

He nodded his head. 'Yes, really.'

'That's really funny, because Poltious is currently making me a cup of tea. I have the thumb drive in my hand.'

He looked puzzled. 'I'm sorry. What?'

She laughed, 'Oh yes. They are back. I win.'

The Doctor spoke to Tony and Timon, "Guys. How's it going?"

"And we've got it!" Tony announced proudly. "Didn't even set off-"

The alarm sounded. The guards that were having a smoke, threw them down and ran into the building.

"Shit! Grab it and pop back. Now!" He told them. He quickly typed something on his arm and popped away.

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Tony and Timon arrived back in the kitchen inside of the island home. It was late at night. Rose sat on the sofa and looked back at them. As soon as they popped back, Lance handed them both a cup of tea. "And welcome back boys. Well played."

Tony looked back at Timon in disgust. "How long have you guys been back?"

Rose giggled, "Just long enough to make tea."

Tony grumbled and took the cup. "You both suck. You know this, right?"

Lance pat him on the shoulder. "Don't be a sore loser. I'm planning getting trashed on your dime, Stark. I'm on a roll. Haven't lost a bet in weeks!"

Poltious laughed.

The Doctor popped into the kitchen. "And….that was interesting."

Lance handed him a cup of tea. "And, for you."

"Cheers." He told him.

Tony asked, "What kept you?"

"Nothing. I popped to the other side of the base and set off some more alarms to cover our tracks."

Poltious nodded as he sipped his tea. "That's a good idea."

Lance smiled. "Come celebrate with us, John. You could use a drink."

Tony laughed, "Yes. These shits can tell us both how they got past the primitive fire wall."

Poltious smiled, "Primitive doesn't even cover it. Remember that computer system we had to break into that time, on…. Where was that, Lance?"

Lance shook his head. "That was probably Lewis. He's the best at that sort of thing. But, I'm not too bad. We used to do that for fun back at the Academy."

Tony sipped his tea and smiled, "Explains how all four of you guys graduated."

Lance smiled, "You aren't too far off."

Pete, unseen this entire time, spoke up from the sofa. "I really probably shouldn't ask, but what the hell have you lot been up to?"

He sat up and looked back at the men.

Tony was speechless. "Ummmm. Right. And, we're headed out for a drink. See you, Pete." Tony quickly typed something on his wrist and disappeared.

Timon smiled and disappeared.

Poltious nodded and pointed at Lance. "Ummm. We're the winners. Sorry, Pete. We've got a prior engagement."

Poltious and Lance disappeared.

The Doctor stood on his own looking back at Pete's curious face. He put his hands on his hips and groaned. "Those guys."

Rose giggled. "Just like a bunch of rats on a sinking ship. I've never seen them scatter that fast."

Pete laughed with her. "Like roaches."

The Doctor laughed as he walked over to the sofa and looked down. Pete was sitting down with Sam on his lap. Rose still sat with Genie lying in her lap, sound asleep. The Doctor leaned on the back of the sofa and smiled. "Now, this is wonderful thing to see when I first come home. These children feel ….happy."

Pete smiled and tickled Sam's cheek. "I just got here. Rose said you guys were doing something for a training mission?"

The Doctor nervously ran his hand through his hair. "Well, yeah. I'm the Primus in charge now that Lewis is recovering. I don't want the guys to get soft while they are in my charge."

Pete nodded his head. "I see."

Rose sipped her tea and looked back at the Doctor.

He bit his lip and looked back at her. "Yeah."

Pete smiled, "Well. I need to get to bed. Jacks said Tony went right to sleep tonight. Thank the guys for taking them to Disneyworld. I think it wore him out. They are back in London. She wanted me to stop by and check on Rose."

Rose smiled up at him. "Thank you. I'm really alright."

He smiled at her. "That's what you would say even if you wasn't. We just worry, Rose." He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

She smiled. "Good night then."

Pete handed Sam to the Doctor and nodded his head. "See you tomorrow. Try not to break into any military bases while most of us are asleep."

The Doctor smiled, "I make no promises."

He chuckled as he typed in something on his arm. "And don't worry. I won't tell Howie."

He popped away.

The Doctor sat down next to Rose and sighed. "Wow. That was like…."

Rose finished for him. "Getting busted by the parents. That was brilliant! The looks on your faces!"

He looked back at her and they laughed. He held Sam up to his face, "Sam, you could have warned me your Grandfather was here. You rat."

Sam laughed at him and grabbed his nose. His Daddy kissed his face playfully causing him to laugh.

Rose smiled back at him. "Oh, that was such fun. I'm sorry. He just had gotten here."

"Working late?" He asked as he laid Sam back on his lap and held his hands in his.

She shook her head. "He was strange. Something happened that he was dancing around."

He looked down at Sam who stretched, grabbed his Daddy's finger and put it in his mouth. "What did he say?"

"He was…. Odd. He asked if I knew what had happened to all of my research. He had gone to clean out my office for me, and it was missing."

He nodded. "I have it. It's on the ship. I thought I had told him I had taken it there."

"He knew you have Malcolm's, but he brought more of his. Why do you have mine?"

"Same reason I have Malcolm's. It's dangerous and needs to be someplace safe."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "That's really it?"

He nodded. "It's really it. Yes."

"Not planning on making a Trans-dimensional Cannon-"

"Well, no. Not anytime soon. I'd like to be able to travel between dimensions, but….well-"

"Baby. It's not worth it. It's really not. It's so dangerous. I don't want to put you, Genie or Sam through anything we might find doing that. Surely, you see that."

He continued to look at Sam and smile. "I do. But, you understand it had to be put someplace, outside of Torchwood."

She nodded, "I do. How is the TARDIS? You've not mentioned her in a while."

He smiled proudly, lay Sam in the bend of his arm and held up his palm. "She's nearly as big as my palm at the moment. Genie was eating a banana down there when I was spraying her with the solution I have. She saw the banana and now well…."

Rose laughed, "The TARDIS is a banana. That's so you."

He tossed his hand up. "Life is mad. This TARDIS is already proving she's going to be a cheeky as the other one."

She laughed at him. "Banana-TARDIS. I'll have to work on that. I'm sure we can come up with another name."

Jack walked into the room, "TARDIS! Now there's something we don't talk about anymore. Wouldn't that be nice to have that?"

The Doctor leaned his head on the back of the sofa. "Don't you knock?"

Jack smiled and leaned on the back of the sofa. "This is always more fun."

Rose smiled at him, "You need to be careful about that. You might see something you don't want."

Jack looked at her, then at the Doctor. Then stood up and shook his entire body. "Oh, that's nasty. I apologue. I'll knock from now on. Promise. So. TARDIS. What were we saying?"

"None of your business." The Doctor told him flatly.

Jack wasn't having it. "You haven't changed a bit. You and this….gruff attitude. What do you see in this guy, Rose?"

The Doctor and Jack looked back at Rose. She smiled, "There's too much to list."

The Doctor smiled at Jack. "One main thing being, I don't have to wear pants that light up-"

Jack pointed at him. "Listen there, Jackass. I don't need to hear about that shit. If I'm not involved, it doesn't happen. That's my new stance on this entire subject."

The Doctor chuckled.

Rose rolled her eyes. "What are you up, too? Jake said you were busy at Torchwood."

Jack nodded his head. "I was. But, I was coming by to see if you two needed a night out."

The Doctor looked back at Rose, "I bet the Queens are fussing yet again."

Jack nodded his head. "Is it that oblivious? Jake is work, man. A lot of work."

She smiled at Jack. "All relationships are work."

"Yeah, that's what I hear. Anyway. Go, do something and I'll stay here with these two. It's bad for my image to come ask to sleep on the couch."

Rose smiled back at the Doctor. "We could catch the guys. Want to go?"

He smiled. "Lance says there is a bet. They've found something we might enjoy."

Jack sat down between them, put a blanket in his lap, took Sam from the Doctor and wrapped him into a tight cocoon. Rose watched him in surprise.

"Jack. How do you know how to do that?" the Doctor asked.

Jack held Sam in his arms. "Basic First Aid training. Now, beat it. I'll call if there's any reason to return. Genie knows me. And Sam likes me."

Sam laughed at Jack. Jack brought his face up to his lips and kissed him. "Tell me all about it, Sam."

Rose stood up and tucked Genie in on the couch next to Jack. She leaned down and kissed her forehead. The Doctor took her hand. "Now, Jack. Genie should stay asleep all night."

"Pushed her into a deep sleep, huh? I bet that's useful as a parent." He looked at Sam, "Your Daddy doesn't do that to you, does he?"

Sam babbled at Jack. Jack listened and nodded his head. "Really?"

Rose looked back at the Doctor. "Can Jack understand Sam?"

The Doctor shook his head. "No. He's just playing with him."

Rose leaned down and kissed the back of Sam's head. "He'll need a feed in a little bit-"

Jack rolled his eyes. "I can handle it. Go. Don't worry about them. If you see Jake, tell him I'm being responsible and babysitting."

She smiled, "We will. Thanks, Jack."

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