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Chapter 38 – The Island Home

Five months had passed since the compression bomb had gone off at the ballet. The island home was completed. It was a beautiful, fall day and the water from the ocean had never looked bluer.

Rose woke up from her nap and looked around the bedroom. The windows and door to the large balcony were open. The breeze blew the salty air into the third story room. She lay back and listened to the waves crash on the shore. The house was oddly quiet. She rubbed her face as she rolled over to find a note on her nightstand.

'Took the children on the boat. Rest. I'll make dinner once I return. The word for tea in the machine downstairs is pronounced 'ish-te-la.' Say it slowly, or you'll get something odd. Don't eat anything odd. – John'

She smiled seeing his name written down. She got out of bed and put on her robe. She walked out on the balcony that overlooked the sea and saw that the sailboat was pulling back at the dock. Legate stood on the dock. The Doctor tossed him a rope from the ship. After Lewis and Legate had tied the ship down, Legate pushed the gangplank onto the boat. Rose smiled as she saw Tony, Zeus and Genie run off. Genie had a long braid down her back.

Rose tied her robe together and walked barefoot downstairs on the stone floor.

As she reached the backdoor, Lewis was stepping inside of the house. Arla was with him. "Oh! Rose! How are you?"

Rose smiled, "I'm fine. How was the sailboat?"

Lewis smiled and looked back at Arla. "I think she liked it. Hang on." Lewis asked Arla something in German. Arla smiled and nodded her head. He smiled. "Yes. She's never been before, so she was happy to experience it."

Rose smiled. "We're so happy she is here. Tell her that she is welcome anytime."

Lewis nodded his head. "Thank you, Rose. I'll let her know. I was just seeing the children into the house. If you need me, I'll be in apartments."

Rose smiled. "Come back over for dinner, later."

Lewis smiled as held the door opened for Arla. The Doctor's voice laughed as they bumped into one another. Rose heard him speak to Arla in German and they both laughed. He walked in the house with a small baby in his arms.

Rose smiled as he met her eyes. "Sailing went well, huh?"

He smiled and kissed her quickly. "Yeah, he seemed to like it. Arla held him for me while Lewis and I got her sailing. First of many voyages!"

Rose giggled. "Not even a week old and you have him on a sailboat. I'm not sure that's what is recommended."

He fussed at her. "You walking up and down stairs so soon isn't recommended by your Doctor. Take the elevator. Someone needs to use it besides Genie and Tony. They like playing in it. Rotten children."

He handed the baby to Rose, then leaned down to kiss the infant. The baby fussed.

The Doctor laughed, "I know you hate Daddy's beard. Everyone else likes it though, and I'm not shaving it off."

Rose giggled at him as she followed him into the kitchen. The stone floor blended nicely into the tall ceilings and granite countertops. Stonework could be seen where there was a solid wall. Most of the walls were made of windows with a view of island's mountain behind them. A large kitchen island sat in the middle of the room with seating around one side. A large table sat to the side. He walked over to the built in refrigerator and took out a bottle. He sat it in some water in a pot on the stove and turned on the burner. He rubbed his beard and looked back at Rose.

"He ate on the boat, I don't know why he's still hungry."

Rose smiled, "I had no idea you would be able to talk to him. This is wild."

He laughed, "I told you that I speak everything. Genie finds it very strange."

Rose giggled. "I think I want to try again. Can you talk to him and see if he will try?"

The Doctor rubbed his beard as he looked at the baby. "Sure. Son, would you rather have some milk from mum?" He smiled and leaned down to kiss him, "He said he will try. Go upstairs and get comfortable. He'll probably go right to sleep. He's exhausted."

He pointed at her. "Take the elevator. Don't go up the steps."

Rose sighed. "Alright."

He smiled as he turned off the pot's water and put the bottle back in the refrigerator. "I'll be up in a bit. Let me check on the children."

The Doctor walked down the stone hallway and through an arched doorway. The sitting room was huge with a large stone fireplace sitting in the end of the room. The diamond from the Alfecca Meridaians sat on the mantle. The entire room seemed almost bare with only the bare necessities there. It was clear they had not lived there long.

The room was shaped as an octagon and had a window in each side that showed the ocean. The ceiling went up all three stories of the house. Genie and Tony had three laser nets tiered in the room. Two large dark brown, leather sofas filled the room with four recliners. A telly hung on the stone wall. A baby grand piano sat over to one side.

The Doctor rubbed his beard as he looked around. "Genie! Tony! Where are you?"

He walked through the sitting room to the library. A table sat in the middle of the room, littered with Tony and Genie's schoolbooks they had been working in earlier that day. Mostly empty bookshelves lined the walls with windows that went across the top of the shelves that allowed sunlight in. The room had red carpet.

He put his hands on his hips. "Huh. I thought they came in the house."

He walked back out of the library, through the sitting room and out to the large deck. Then he heard their laughter. He walked down a staircase to the swimming pool. Shakes, Legate and Varro were there with them. Shakes was wearing sunglasses, his swimsuit and was drinking a beer as he sat back in a pool chair.

The Doctor took a look at him and laughed. "Summus. Relax, why don't you?"

Shakes laughed, "It has been a hard few days. That damn alien crash is finally cleaned up and I'm taking tonight off. Starting now. Summus the Quauhtin is off duty! If you have any problems, Lewis is your man. I'm done."

Zeus lay next to Shakes and panted. Shakes pat his side.

The Doctor laughed, "I understand that, mate. You deserve it. The people of Camelopardalis can be…demanding."

Legate laughed, "Oh, that's not what he called it, but yeah….we'll go with that."

They all laughed. Legate jumped into the swimming pool with Genie and Tony.

Shakes lay back in the pool chair and shook his head. "Jake can just come back anytime now. I'm done doing his job and my own. This is exhausting."

The Doctor laughed, "Summus. Relax. I'm making your favorite tonight."

Shakes raised his sunglasses in surprise. "Qut'yhen?"

The Doctor made a face of disgust. "Hell no! You like that?"

Shakes nodded his head. "Oh, for sure! It's the best."

"Ugh. I'd rather eat pears. Oh, gross."

Genie and Tony swam to the edge of the pool. "Hey, brother! Legate says there is a surprise for us, but we have to wait until you say it's alright to go see it. What is it?"

The Doctor knelt down next to the pool. "I don't know if it's finished yet. I'll have to check." He seemed to think for a moment. "No. Swim a bit and it should be ready."

Genie smiled at him. "Daddy, you should come swimming with us!"

He smiled, "Oh, that sounds wonderful. I think you and Tony have turned into fish as much as you lot swim now. I'm going to check you both for gills later."

Genie and Tony laughed.

Legate smiled, "I'll take them to it, if it gets completed today. I'm anxious to try it myself. Go take care of Rose, Doc'. I'll keep an eye on this lot."

The Doctor thanked Legate as he walked back into the house. He went into the kitchen and climbed up the iron spiral staircase to the third story. He got off the staircase, walked down the stone hallway and into the master bedroom. Rose lay in the large bed, propped up on the pillows. She was holding the baby as she breastfed him.

The Doctor lay down on the end of the bed on his side, propping his head up on his hand. He asked her quietly. "So, he is eating?"

Rose smiled and looked up at him. "Yes. He finally is doing it."

The Doctor smiled as he moved so he sat next to her. He laid his head on her shoulder as he looked at the baby. He rubbed the baby's cheek with his thumb. "This might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. "

Rose smiled, "He is beautiful."

"No, I mean you feeding him. That's beautiful. But, yes. He's beautiful, too. He looks like you."

Rose smiled as he kissed her cheek.

"What do you need? Are you feeling alright?" he asked her.

"I'm fine. I really feel very good. How are you? Are you sleeping at all?"

He smiled. "I sometimes close my eyes a bit when I sneeze."

Rose rolled her eyes. "You need to sleep. You can't go forever without sleeping."

He sighed as he sat back. "I don't need to sleep as much as you do."

"Have you slept at all since he was born?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "I've been busy."

Rose narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't have to do everything. It's completely alright to do, nothing. You should try it sometime. You might like it."

The Doctor shook his head. "Phhhh…. Too much to do to do nothing. You know what? I've decided to get a tattoo."

Rose looked shocked, "A tattoo? You?"

He smiled like a loon. "Right here, on my arm. I'm going to get words that say, 'I'm alright. Stop worrying about me, Rose'. That way, I don't have to say it all of the time."

Rose rolled her eyes at him and whispered. "Smart ass."

He chuckled at her as he looked back at the baby. "Yep. And he's asleep. I knew he had to be tired. He's been awake for hours."

Rose covered herself back up and kissed the baby on the forehead. She lay back in the pillows. "We're going to have to name this child at some point."

The Doctor rubbed his beard. "We're going to have to tell Jackie he's been born at some point. Which problem would you like to tackle first?"

Rose closed her eyes and shook her head. "Oh, I don't even want to deal with her at the moment. I can't believe you talked Dad into taking her to get your ship."

He laughed, "Oh, yes! I can't believe she went, either. Some of things Gobbo has been telling me! Oh, that is hilarious. Exton is flying her now. Bringing it back. Jackie is giving it a complete check out. She thinks there are too many rooms. She keeps getting lost."

"You said it wasn't as big as Shake's ship."

"It's not! Jackie is a mad woman. Wow."

"Imagine what Genie and Tony are going to be like. Neither one of them have ever been on a ship."

The Doctor sighed. "That's very true. I don't know how we've managed that. Wow."

Rose turned to him. "Answer me honestly. Are you still having nightmares when you sleep? Is that why you are not sleeping?"

He rubbed his face and shook his head. "I'm fine. I can sleep without having nightmares, Rose."

"It's been nearly five months! Is something wrong?" Rose asked him.

He pointed at her. "You're going to wake up the baby."

"Please answer me. What is going on with you? You have me shielded, even when you do sleep. I can't wake you up from these nightmares. They are strange. I try to go in them and I can't get in. What is going on in that head of yours?"

He sighed as he rolled over and took a pen out of his nightstand drawer. He wrote something on his arm and lay back down next to her.

"What are you on about?" Rose asked him.

He smiled and pointed at his arm. It said, "I'm alright, Rose. Stop worrying about me."

"Smart ass." Rose complained.

He smiled as he rubbed his face. "I have to admit, lying here with you is making me realize I am tired."

Rose laid her head on his shoulder, "Then, take a quick nap then. We're here. Everyone is safe."

He sighed, "We need to tell Jackie and Pete. This child is four days old, Rose. They will be pissed."

"Deflecting?"

"An attempt to be reasonable. Maybe it's the sleep deprivation speaking. Read into it what you like."

Rose laughed, "How long has it been since you slept?"

"Six days. I think. It was before I had to go to Walter Reed and do Tony's surgery. I need to call and check on him."

Rose ran her hand through his hair. "He's at home now, isn't he?"

"Yeah. They didn't keep him very long. He did great through the entire thing. I couldn't believe how smoothly it went."

"I can't believe he had never seen a doctor and walked around with pieces of that bomb in his heart for that long. What was he thinking?"

"He had his reasons. I don't really want to go into it. He asked me not to. One day, I'll tell you."

"When will that be?"

"When the statue of limitations have ran out." He laughed.

Rose giggled. "You and Tony together is not a good thing at all."

He rubbed his face as he pulled another pillow behind his head. "That's what Pepper says."

Rose smiled, "Okay, let talk about a name. We talked about your friend months ago."

"The Brigadier? Ahh… maybe. What else are you thinking?"

"What are you thinking? You have a choice in this, too." Rose told him.

"Let me hear your ideas, first. They help me organize mine."

"Well, there is Brigadier's name. We could name him that. Or we could name him after someone else."

The Doctor rubbed his beard. "Like Sam. If it hadn't been for Sam, he wouldn't be here. Neither of you would. I keep going back to that."

Rose smiled, "Me, too. Was Sam short for something?"

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face. "Uhhhh….. let me see… I'm asking Lewis and Lance." Rose waited as he had a conversation in his head with them. "Lewis says it was short for Samson. Lance thinks it was Samuel. Well, they are no help!"

Rose sighed, "Is he okay?"

The Doctor looked surprised at Rose. "Yes! Gosh, I'm sorry, yes. I told you I would tell you as soon as I knew. Yes. He is fine. He seems to be growing at a normal rate. I measured everything this morning. I'm sure he's fine. He's a normal, four day old boy."

"Will he be more human, or … from your town?" Rose asked.

He shook his head. "I have no idea. Only time will tell."

"You are exhausted." Rose told him.

He rolled his eyes and pointed to the writing on his arm again. He stood up and rubbed his face. "If I lay there much longer, I'm going to go to sleep. I've got to go make something for dinner."

"Have someone else do that. Lewis offered earlier today. Arla wanted to cook us something."

"She did? I thought you wanted spaghetti? Summus loves that, too."

Rose laughed, "No, he doesn't! Legate does. Let Arla cook, so you can sleep."

He nodded and climbed back into bed and sighed. He laid his head next to hers and closed his eyes. "We need to tell Jackie. She's going to be proper pissed with each moment that passes. She can get messages on the ship. They might be able to get calls by now. Send her a picture of him."

Rose sighed.

"I mean it, woman! I'm not dealing with 'The Oncoming Slap'."

Rose laughed as he slipped her hand in his pocket.

He didn't open his eyes, "No, dear. Not for a few weeks. Give yourself time to heal."

Rose rolled her eyes at him, "That is not all I think about." He chuckled at her without opening his eyes.

Rose held his phone out and took a picture of the three of them and sent it to Jackie. "How long do you give her?"

He didn't open his eyes. "28 seconds."

The phone immediately rang.

He smiled, "Damn. 14 seconds. I'm really off today."

Rose answered, "Hi, mum. I imagine you got my picture."

"Yes, everything is fine. He's perfect. I'm feeling alright."

"Oh, The Doctor. No, he's exhausted. He's ….. well….. I think he's finally asleep."

The Doctor mumbled. "Tell her that he's perfect."

"He's trying to do too much. No, we've not decided on a name. Genie and Tony like him. Genie keeps giving him lots of kisses whenever she can. Tony's not sure about the entire thing."

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The Doctor woke up two hours and twenty-two minutes later. Tony was shaking him. "Brother! You need to get up!"

The Doctor took a pillow and covered up his head. "Awe, Comrade. I'm sleeping, man."

Tony wasn't taking no for an answer. He climbed on The Doctor's chest and took the pillow away from him and tossed it in the floor. The Doctor groaned.

Tony pointed at him. "Rose told me not to bother you, but I'm your brother and this is my job. You are going to miss the game if you don't wake up!"

He laughed as he opened his eyes and rubbed his face. "Quite right, Tony. Thanks for that. Did I miss dinner?"

Tony nodded at him. "We saved you something, but I'll warn you. It was strange. Something that Arla woman made."

"Hey….. her name is Arla, not 'that Arla woman'. Be nice."

"Phhhh….. it was weird. Like, bits of round bread and meat or something." Tony told him.

"Oh! I know what that is! I like that!"

"Rose liked it. She even told Arla that she liked it in German. Is Rose going to learn German now, too? When did she learn French?"

The Doctor rubbed his head, "Our Rose is extremely clever. Once she decides to do something, there's no stopping her."

Rose stood in the doorway, "Like trying to get you to sleep! Geez. Tony. I asked you not to bother him."

Tony bit his lip and quietly said, "Uh-oh."

The Doctor quickly sat up, "No, no. I asked him to come wake me. We have a game to watch."

Rose sighed as she crossed her arms.

Tony turned back to look at the Doctor. He whispered, "Thank you."

The Doctor laughed, "Rose. This is a brother's responsibility to wake his brother when the guys are going to watch the football game. It's tradition."

Tony nodded his head. "That's right!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "I worry what you are teaching him."

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Tony sat on the sofa in the corner of The Doctor's workshop on a black, leather sofa. The telly in front of him showed the football game that Tony was so determined for them to watch. The Doctor walked over and sat next to his younger brother as he opened a root beer for him. The Doctor opened his own beer and drank it as he laid his arm on the back of the sofa.

The room was large and had the yellow, Edwardian Roadster sitting in the middle of the nearly empty room. Behind them, sat four monitors on a large desk that was littered with various projects that were being worked on. On the wall, there were three different screens with maps of the world. Each screen had little blimps that marked the maps in different colors.

Behind the large desk that held the state of the art computer system, was a room completely encased in glass. Inside sat a large arc reactor that illuminated the entire side of the room.

"John. Why did Rose have a baby? Seems like a lot of trouble." Tony asked.

The Doctor laughed, "Oh, I've been waiting for you to ask me about that."

"He's cute. But all he does is poop and sleep."

"Be thankful he doesn't cry a lot. Some babies do."

"Well, I think it's because you are talking to him. Is that normal? I have never heard of that." Tony asked.

"Well, I can speak his language. It helps. And normal is just a setting for the dishwasher. I've never met anyone you could call, 'normal'."

Tony looked at him and shook his head. "That's just strange. I'm not sure if I believe it or not."

The Doctor pointed to himself. "Comrade, have I ever lied to you? Think about that."

The Doctor's phone received a text. He took it out of his pocket and looked down at it.

Tony watched him. "Does this mean you have to leave?"

The Doctor shook his head and smiled. "Nope! Someone wants to come over. Is that alright?"

Tony nodded his head. "Sure!"

The Doctor returned the message and put the phone back in his pocket. He grabbed another beer as he walked over to the outside door and opened it. He walked outside to meet Jack and Jake as they popped on the beach.

"Well, welcome back! Nice trip?" The Doctor teased them.

Jack put his hands on his hips. "Oh, don't start with me. You know what happened. Shit. I can't believe it. And we missed the damn game!"

Jake rolled his eyes. "This is nuts. I can't believe it. How long have we been gone?"

"Five months and a few days." The Doctor smiled.

Jack sighed. "Damn. Well. Is everything alright? Is everyone okay?"

The Doctor nodded and smiled. "Everyone is fine. Summus will be thrilled you are back, Jake. He's been the Head of Security for you. He's sick of the job."

Jake laughed. "Damn. I am, too! I was going to ask for a holiday! I guess that shit is out, now."

The Doctor smiled and motioned for them to come into the workshop that stood apart from the house. After they walked in a few steps, he held up his finger to get them to stop. "Friday. This is Jack and Jake. They have general access."

A male computer voice replied. "Welcome Jack and Jake."

Jack looked surprised. "You're playing around with A.I.? Really?"

Jake shook his head. "This is still not making any sense. When did you move to this island, Doc'?"

The Doctor motioned for them to come in. "We've been living here full time for about three weeks. Tony! Someone to see you!"

Tony turned around and spotted Jake and Jack. He jumped off the sofa and ran to meet them both. Jack picked him up and kissed his cheek. Jake rubbed his back and smiled.

"Jack! Jake! Where have you been? Where did my brother send you?" Tony asked.

Jake rubbed his head, "Ummm…. Can't talk about it, mate."

Tony nodded his head. "Oh, I get it. It's classified. Yeah, I get that."

They all laughed at him.

Jack pointed at his mouth. "I want to know what happened to your teeth, man? Where are they?"

Tony got down and pointed at The Doctor, "John pulled my teeth for me. Both of the top, and both of the bottom. Genie is missing her bottom two teeth now, too. Daddy hasn't seen us without our teeth."

They all sat down on the sofa. Jake and Jack grabbed a beer. Jake asked, "Where's Pete?"

The Doctor took a deep breath, "Small holiday with Jackie."

Tony turned to The Doctor. "What is the word for chips?"

The Doctor pointed at Tony's nose. "No". Then his chin. "Cha". Then pulled his ear gently. "Eee."

Tony laughed. "No Cha Eeee. Do you want some?"

The Doctor nodded his head and smiled. "Yes! That sounds great! Say it slowly."

Tony ran off to the back of the workshop.

Jack nodded his head. "Food dispenser, huh? Can't get it to speak English?"

"No. I've really not given it any time. I want to tie Friday into it."

Jake held out his hand. "Friday. What the hell? A.I. here?"

The Doctor laughed. "I only have him in my workshop here. Genie named him. I've only had him installed for about two weeks now. I've not had a chance to really see what he can do yet. I'm going to turn it on in the main house tonight. Rose was not up to dealing with something like that this week."

Jack was sitting back and rubbing his chin. "How's Rose?"

"She's fine. She's at the house with Genie. Tony and I were down here to watch the game so we could shout at the telly."

Jack continued to rub his chin and considered him. "Is that all that's going on? Why aren't you at the house, shouting?"

The Doctor bit his lip. "You guys aren't tired after your trip?"

Jake doubled over laughing. "Trip? We just popped there and popped here! This is madness! I'm exhausted from playing football all day. I haven't even showered!"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Yeah, me neither. I suppose we'll go back home and take a rest. Our flat is still our flat, right?"

The Doctor laughed, "Yes. I took care of everything while you were gone. As far as anyone knows, you were both on assignment to aid national security."

Jake sat up straighter and smiled. "Hey! That means we got paid the entire time we were gone! Brilliant!"

The Doctor smiled. "Go home and rest. Come back tomorrow morning and Summus will brief you on everything you missed. Plan to stay the day. Pete should be back by then."

Jack rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Alright, a shower. Five months of funk to wash off."

The Doctor smiled, "Yeah. Hey! Give me that Vortex Manipulator. I'll have a look at it."

Jack took it off his arm and handed it to him. "Alright. Well, until tomorrow then."

Jake and Jack popped away as Tony walked back into the room carrying two containers of chips. The Doctor quickly met him as and took one from him. "Ah! Good man! Cheers!"

They both sat back down on the sofa and started to watch the game again as they ate their chips. The Doctor looked back at Tony. "Comrade. What do you think you might like to be when you get older?"

"Like, as a job?" Tony asked.

"Yes. That. You've never told me."

"I don't know. I think maybe a football coach. Or maybe have a business like Daddy does. Daddy tells me not to worry about it too much. I'll find something I love."

"Your Daddy is a very clever man. One of the smartest I've ever met. Listen to him. He is completely right. But, a business. What sort of business?"

"Well, I really liked it when we made the paper spaceships with Summus. Aerodynamics is just fascinating. I like how you can easily make something fly. I bet you could get something big enough to fly with people inside. Not like a Zeppelin, something a lot faster."

The Doctor beamed, "Really? Explain to me what you think."

"Well, if you could get enough air across the wings of the glider, it could go really fast! Fast as the Bullet. But, if it was really big… you would have to have a bigger engine. Well, probably more than one, to get it off the ground."

The Doctor couldn't hide how proud he was of the young boy. "Wow! I think that could work. Draw up some plans and we'll go over it together. You might be onto something, Comrade!"

"Jacob wants to be an astronaut." Tony told him.

"An astronaut. Have you ever thought about that? Going into space?" The Doctor asked him.

"Nah. I don't think you can play football there."

The Doctor laughed at Tony. "Can't play football there. Wow. That's the only thing that is keeping you on the ground, huh?"

"Well, that and I think it's probably just really dangerous."

"Why do you think that, Comrade?"

"Well, the space shuttle they have. They sit it on an explosion to get it into space. That's a long way up. I don't like heights. I'm sure I wouldn't like that. Everytime, I've rode in a Zeppelin, I have to stay away from the windows."

"Now, I didn't know you had a fear of heights. You play with those laser nets all of the time. That's high up."

"No, it's not. It's like three stories or something in your house. Space is way up there!"

"You want to make a glider, but you're scared of heights. Am I hearing that right?"

"No. A glider wouldn't go very high. Going that far up, into space, is scary. Why would anyone want to go?"

The Doctor rubbed his beard. "What if there was another ship? One that had been built by someone from another planet that you didn't have to launch into space. You just told someone up there on it to press a few buttons, and it took you up there?"

"Like it sucks you up? Through the sky?"

"No. Like my watch. You would disappear here and reappear there."

Tony thought for a few minutes as he ate his chips. "That would be okay. That would be really cool, actually. I could be an astronaut if they did it that way. Wouldn't that be a lot safer? Why don't they do it that way?"

The Doctor opened another beer and sat back. "They haven't figured out how to yet. That won't happen here for a while, yet."

Tony looked back at him. "You say some of the strangest things. How do you know when they will do that?"

"One day, we will talk about that. But, not today. Aerodynamics? My 5 year old, ginger brother is interested in aerodynamics." he smiled proudly.

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