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Chapter 48 - Mum

Rose and The Doctor popped back to the island home. They stood in the grand entryway, just on the other side of the large, wooden door in the arched doorway. A long table held a huge vase of flowers in the middle of the room with a tall ceiling. Rose rolled her eyes as she walked away from him. "You are mad. You and Tony, both. I had no idea you were taking me to something like that."

He laughed, "Yeah, I probably should have prepared you more for that. Sorry. Am I in trouble?"

She looked back at him and smiled. "No. It was fun. What are you doing, just standing there behind the door?"

He rubbed his chin, "Can you do without me for a couple of hours? It's 2:14 now. I really need to do something."

Rose looked curious. "Go to the office?"

He shook his head and smiled. "No, something more important." He walked over to the vase of flowers and took out a purple flower and smelled it.

Rose nodded. "Yes. As long as it's just a couple of hours. We are going to have a houseful of people tonight to show off Sam."

He smiled. "The reason this is so important. How do I look?"

"You look very handsome. I love how those custom suits make you look."

He ran his hand through his hair and smartened himself up as he looked at his reflection in the large mirror that hung on the wall. Rose thought she felt nervousness from him.

She put her hands on her hips. "Okay. What is this about?"

"Okay. I'm ready. Would you please go get Genie and tell her someone is here to see her?"

Rose looked confused. "What are you on about?"

"Just do it, woman. Come back with her if you want to know." He told her as he smiled.

Rose shook her head as she walked into the sitting room and called for Genie. Within a few moments, Rose returned with Genie to the grand entry way. The Doctor stood there holding the purple flower, smiling at Genie.

"Doctor Rose Tyler. My name is Doctor Johnathon Smith. I'm here to ask your daughter on a date." The Doctor said.

Rose covered her mouth and smiled as he bowed to her.

Rose said, "Welcome Doctor Smith. This is my daughter."

He knelt down to face Genie. "Miss Sara Genevieve Tyler-Smith. This is for you." He handed her the flower.

Genie giggled. "Daddy, what are you doing?"

"I am here to ask you, my Sara Gene, on a date. Just me and you. Well. And Legate." He told her.

She smiled. "When? Now?"

He smiled, "Yes. What would you like to do? Anything you want. You are so very important to me and I want you to know that hasn't changed because your brother is here. You are the best, older sister I've ever met and I'm so very proud of you."

Genie covered her face and looked back at Rose. "Is he serious, Rose?"

Rose giggled, "I do believe so."

He stood up and smiled. "This is how a gentleman asks a lady on a date. So, what do you say, my Sara Gene? Will you go out with me?"

Genie smiled. "Sure! Can we go get ice cream?"

He nodded his head. "Of course! That sounds perfect! Ice cream date with Sara Gene! Rose, may we bring you back something?"

Rose shook her head and smiled. "No, thank you. You go and have a good time."

The Doctor took Rose's hand and kissed it. "Thank you ma'am. I'll bring your daughter back safely within the next two hours. I'll have my man, Legate with me."

Legate walked into the room, "Ice cream! Brilliant! Let's go!"

Rose laughed, "How is Genie ever going to find a man that treats her like you do? This child will grow up one day."

The Doctor laughed as he picked Genie up in his arms. "That's right, Rose. My job as Daddy is to set that bar really high!"

Legate smiled and nodded his head. "Come friends, let us away!"

They popped out of the room. Rose rolled her eyes and laughed.

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The Doctor, Legate and Genie sat outside of an ice cream parlor in San Francisco, California. It was a beautiful, fall evening there. They sat outside at a small round table, under an umbrella. A cable car went by them. People walked around, but no one seemed to notice who they were.

Genie had a Salted Caramel Brownie Sunday. The Doctor and Legate both had banana splits. Legate had gotten a double.

The Doctor laughed at him. "You are never going to finish that."

Legate smiled as he took a bite and smiled. "Oh, you never know. I skipped lunch."

Genie giggled, "We should tell Poltoius that you are eating ice cream for lunch."

Legate held his hands out, "Really? Telling my father on me? Go ahead. He'll ask me to bring him one."

They both laughed at him.

Genie looked around. "This is strange. Where are we at, Daddy?"

"San Francisco. Home of the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, Alcatraz and the best ice cream!" He told her as he smiled.

Legate nodded his head. "I have to agree. This is wonderful."

The Doctor smiled at him and shook his head. "You're never going to finish all of that. Summus couldn't finish all of that! Geez!"

Legate laughed as he continued to eat it.

"Is your ice cream good, Genie?" The Doctor asked her.

She smiled, "Yes. It's just really sweet."

"Too sweet?" He asked her as he wiped his mouth.

She nodded her head. The Doctor waved a waitress over them and ordered Genie a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Genie smiled and handed her Salted Caramel Brownie Sunday to Legate. "Here Legate. Dessert for your lunch."

The Doctor tossed his head back and laughed. "Now, you really aren't going to eat all of that!"

Legate laughed. "Thank you Miss Genie! Let's see what I can do here."

The Doctor fed Genie a bit of his banana split as the waitress brought her a bowl of chocolate ice cream. Genie took a bite of it and smiled. "Yes, this is much better!"

Legate nodded, "You know, Genie. There are people who have more taste buds than other people. In fact, there is a world where the people there have double the taste buds to anyone in universe. They have the best food. It's brilliant!"

The Doctor looked surprised. "That's true! Why haven't I thought of that? Gosh, I'm thick."

Genie ate her ice cream and looked at them, "What world is that?"

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "Ummm….. Jalikapo. The people there are called Rixalarians."

"Why aren't they called Jalikapoians?" Genie asked.

The Doctor nodded, "Well, they wasn't originally from there. They moved there after their planet was damaged in a war. It's pretty interesting. After they moved there, the atmosphere changed their body chemistry. After a few generations, they could do a lot of things that their grandparents hadn't been able to do."

Genie looked up at him, "Like what?"

"Well, they had always been able to tell when people were lying, but it got stronger once they moved there. They were telepathic, but the atmosphere there amplified that. It also changed their bodies to become better able to fight off infections and germs, better taste, and a lot of other things."

Genie nodded as she ate her ice cream. "That sounds neat. Like Superman! He got his power from the sun when he moved here."

He smiled at her. "That's very true. That's exactly them!"

Genie looked around. "Nobody knows who you are here, Daddy."

The Doctor smiled, "Yes. It's because Rose isn't with me. Plus, no one expects I would ever come and sit in an ice cream parlor. We're safe. Legate is with us."

Legate pointed at The Doctor. "Your Daddy is pretty tough as well. No one will bother you, Genie."

The Doctor could feel her apprehension ease, but still sensed there was something wrong. She had stopped eating her ice cream and was pushing it around the bowl with her spoon.

The Doctor looked up at Legate. "Could you give us a minute?"

Legate nodded. "Of course. I'm just over there if you need me."

Legate moved to sit a few tables away.

The Doctor took Genie's hand. "Alright. What's on your mind my Sara Gene?"

"Mummy. She would have loved Sam. He's so tiny and cute." She smiled.

He smiled at her. "Yeah, he is. You are an amazing older sister. I can tell you already love him very much."

Genie nodded her head as she continued to push her ice cream in the bowl. The Doctor sat his spoon down and propped his head on his fist, looking at her. "Alright. What's really on your mind?"

Genie looked up at him. "I don't want to make you sad."

He shook his head. "You're not going to make me sad. If you need to talk about something, talk to me. Don't worry about my feelings. Yours are more important than mine. Now, what's on your mind?"

Genie sat her spoon down and looked in his face. "When your mum died, did you get a new one?"

He shook his head. "No, I didn't."

Genie looked confused. "You told me that your family died."

He nodded his head, "Yes. They did. But I didn't get a new mum. I see your point and where you are going with this, though."

"Did you get a new anything?" Genie asked.

He nodded his head. "Yes. I got a new lot of things. It didn't make the people I had lost less important. In fact, I think I probably think of them more now that I have someone to compare them to. Does that make sense?"

Genie nodded her head. "Yes. Like my mummy would never let me drink juice boxes. Especially in my own room. Rose always asks me what sort of juice boxes I like."

He smiled at her. "I think it's because Rose likes juice boxes, too."

She giggled.

"You and Rose are the same in a lot of ways. Both of you are clever. Beautiful. Like chocolate ice cream. Like to dance."

Genie sighed, "Do you think of your old family?"

He took a deep breath. "I do. A lot. Especially recently. Do you think of your mum?"

Genie nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm worried I'll forget her."

He smiled and shook his head. "I can promise you that you will never forget her. She sleeps in your mind and you can probably even still hear her voice sometimes."

Genie smiled, "I can. I hear her laugh. I can hear her tell me she's proud of me. That she loves me."

He smiled at her. "That's wonderful. You'll always have that. She's always there. Even when you are all grown up and have children of your own. She'll be there telling you that."

"I don't think I ever want to have children. Rose had to lay in the bed for so long for Sam."

"Well, that happens sometimes. Rose told me that she's never read so many books in her entire life. She's so happy you were there to listen to all of them. She told me that she didn't know what she would done if you hadn't been there for her to talk to. You were so helpful. You are such a great person and I'm proud your brother will have someone so thoughtful to learn from."

Genie took a bite of her ice cream. "Sam is going to call Rose, 'Mummy', right?"

The Doctor returned to eating his banana split. He nodded his head. "Yes. Most likely, why?"

"Maybe I should call Rose that, too. Sam will think it's strange if he calls her 'Mummy', but I call her 'Rose'." Genie reasoned.

He smiled as he continued to eat. "Rose would like that. But, don't think you have to do that just for him. If you do that, let it be because it's something you are comfortable doing."

Genie ate her ice cream. "My Mum is still here. In my head. She loved Rose. She told me stories of her all of the time. Mum gave me to Rose when she died. I think she would be alright with me calling Rose, 'Mum'. She isn't Mum, but she is my second Mum. The one I have now."

He smiled as he nodded his head. "That's very true. Lots of children have two mums."

Genie smiled. "Yeah."

He sat back and crossed his arms. "You're sure about this Little One? I trust your judgment. This is completely up to you."

Genie smiled and nodded her head. "I'm sure. Rose is Mum!"

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