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Chapter 9 – In the Tower

Samuel and Arles popped to New York with Pete Tyler. Adriano, Lewis and Rose were also there.

After a quick limo ride over to Pete's offices, they had signed some papers and took some photos. The entire thing took less than ten minutes and Samuel wasn't surprised when Pete insisted they go to Stark Tower for a quick hamburger to celebrate.

Of course, Pete and Rose were recognized by the press as they walked into the Tower.

"Working on a deal with Mr. Stark, Mr. Tyler?"

"What do you think of his marriage, Mr. Tyler?"

"Mr. Tyler? Who are these men you are with?"

"Mrs. Tyler. How is Doctor Smith? Where is he?"

Pete turned and replied, "Listen. I'm here to have a burger with my daughter, and associates. If you want to know why I'm in New York, there will be a press release in the morning."

Samuel took a deep breath as Arles pat his brother's shoulder. "It was bound to happen."

They walked into the Tower and one of the Stark employees quickly joined them. She was a lovely lady who wore a dark red, skirt suit. "Mr. Stark told me of your arrival, Mr. Tyler. Mrs. Tyler."

Pete grinned as they walked along together, Rose on his arm. "Brilliant. Is he here?"

"No, sir. I'm afraid he's not."

"That's alright. We're just here to eat."

"Yes, sir. I've been told to show you, and your associates, to the restaurant."

They were escorted together to the restaurant and were seated at a round table towards the back, away from the many eyes that had noticed they had came in.

Rose took off her jacket. "And I've been here so often with Tony, and I don't even get looked at."

Pete suggested, "Maybe we should have had him come, too."

Arles sat between Samuel and Lewis, and drummed his knuckles on the table top. "I could create a distraction-"

"No!" Samuel quickly told him. "Don't. You. Dare."

Rose laughed at them. "What is that about?"

Samuel looked up at her and grinned. "Trust me. You don't want to know. But, they wouldn't be looking at us any longer."

Lewis asked his son, "Lartius' Escape?"

"Lartius' Pop. Yes, sir."

"Shit." Lewis laughed. "Absolutely not."

Samuel laughed as he looked over the menu.

Pete asked, "Rose, where is John? I'm surprised he isn't here."

Rose smiled as the waitress poured her a glass of wine. "He is at Anne's. He says that Samuel did great getting his hair trimmed and he's playing with Henry."

Lewis rubbed his hands on his trousers. "John has his hands full. He has Arles, Samuel, and Genie."

"It's good for him." Rose told them.

Adriano grinned. "Reminds him of his age."

Rose smiled, "Does he complain to you about that, too?"

Adriano nodded. "Oh yes."

Samuel looked back at Arles and raised his eyebrows as he groaned.

Arles cleared his throat. "So! Press release tomorrow?"

Pete sipped his wine. "Yeah. I think that would be best. What do you think, guys?"

Samuel shrugged his shoulders. "Ah. Doesn't matter to me."

Arles agreed. "Stock market is already closed."

Pete nodded. "Well, that's true." He took out his phone and sent a text. "And that's sorted."

A lady walked over to their table. "I'm sorry. But are you Rose Tyler?"

Rose smiled, "It's actually Rose Smith, now."

She covered her mouth. "Oh, yes. Of course. May I have your autograph?"

Rose smiled and took the lady's paper.

Lewis grinned back at Arles as Rose gave it back to her and she walked away. "This is what it was like before John arrived."

Pete nodded, "All of the time. Couldn't take Rose anywhere."

Rose rolled her eyes. "And see? Some things are the same."

Samuel sipped his water. "It's odd. Back home, she would have asked for Arles' autograph."

Arles sipped his water. "And Sammy's. Oh, and then she would have noticed you."

Rose laughed, "I bet you are both enjoying this."

They both nodded energetically and replied, "Yes!"

Pete smiled at both of them. "Well, hopefully you will be able to continue to enjoy a bit of….ummm…"

"Obscurity." Samuel finished his sentence.

Pete pointed at him. "Yes. That's the word."

The waitress smiled at them. "Mr. Stark sends wine and says to tell you that anything you want, is on the house."

Rose smiled, "Sounds like him."

She nodded, "Anything else?"

Samuel sipped the wine and smiled. "Oh, I like this one. Arles, try this."

Pete spoke to the waitress as Arles tasted the wine. He nodded and poured himself a glass. "That's not, terrible."

"Doesn't make your toenails curl." Samuel grinned.

Arles laughed and drank his glass.

Lewis rubbed his hands together. "This is nice. Too bad John isn't here."

Rose smiled as Samuel poured her another glass of wine. "He says that Karen is playing with the children."

Samuel smiled at her. "That sounds like her. Would you please ask him to tell her that I'm with you lot, and I'll be back later?"

Pete asked his grandson, "Need to get back, son?"

"No, sir." Samuel grinned. "I was gone all day yesterday with Dad, and I told Karen we'd go out on a date tonight."

Pete nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see."

Rose smiled, "She says to tell you that she's thinking about taking a nap."

Samuel laughed under his breath. "Please tell her to go ahead and sleep."

"She says to wake her when you return."

He shook his head and laughed. "I'm not going to do that. She needs to sleep."

Rose smiled and drank the rest of her wine.

Lewis spoke. "So, Tony Tyler? Has he been back?"

Arles nodded, "He has. He was there…what, was it last night?"

Samuel shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I didn't see him."

Arles tapped his brother's arm and pointed at Rose's empty glass. Samuel quickly refilled it.

Rose thanked Samuel, "And how is Genie? Your Dad explained all of that to me."

"All of what?" Samuel asked.

Rose narrowed her eyes at her son. "I can feel that. What is going on?"

"Phhhh." Samuel insisted. "I think I need some more wine. Arles?"

Arles was already pouring more into Samuel's glass. "I'm here for you brother."

Lewis smiled proudly.

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Lance had taken Jane to breakfast in Paris, and they had walked along the river, with her stopping to take photos until lunch. They had returned, and she promptly had gotten to work editing the photos that she had taken until her alarm on her phone had alerted her of the time.

"Oh, shoot." She complained. She wasn't through half of the photos, but had promised Pepper that she would take some photos for them.

She saved what she was working on, and walked down the steps of their island home. "Lance?"

She heard his voice call from the lower floor. "Yeah?"

She walked through the sitting room, and down the steps to the basement workshop. She arrived at the bottom step and her mouth dropped open. "Wow."

The large room was dark and the windows that made up one side of the room, had been dimmed. It appeared that Lance was using them as computer screens and read-outs ran across them. A large blueprint of something was drawn in the middle of the room using red lights.

Lance looked up at her and smiled. "Already finished? I thought you took more than that?"

She shook her head as she looked around the room. "This is amazing. Is this entire room a computer?"

Lance smiled as he walked over and took her hand in his own. "Sortof. How about this? I'm still downloading stuff from the ship, but..."

She pointed at the blueprint in the center of the room. "What is that?"

"Ah. Some…Zeppelin idea Stark has. I think it will work. Brilliant idea he has of using the lift of a ship, and the exterior of a Zeppelin. He's right, ice is going to be a problem. But, I'm working on that."

Jane laughed. "Gosh. I don't think I've ever seen you happier."

He brought her over to the desk where four monitors were set up. "And look. I've tied it into the ship's sensors. I can see more than even the base on the moon can."

"There's a base on the moon?"

He nodded. "Yeah. The ship had a sensor upgrade just a few months ago. State of the art stuff. Stark will want to look at this. It's brilliant!"

She giggled at his excitement.

He pointed at the windows. She saw tiny lights floating by. "I'm running a program there on that first one, but I'm also tied into the moon's traffic. I can see everyone in the lane. It's rather a slow day."

She shook her head, "Lance, this is amazing."

He looked back at her and smiled. "What did you need me for?"

She remembered and hugged his arm. "Oh! Right. Tony wants me to come take photos of them."

"Oh. When?"

She grit her teeth. "They rang a bit ago, so we actually need to leave."

He kissed her lips quickly. "Got caught up doing something, huh?"

She giggled, "Yes. I'm sorry. I should have told you before-"

He pointed a remote to the wall. "It's okay. I need to get out. Are you ready to go?"

She smiled, "Yes. I just need to get my gear."

He nodded. "Alright."

She became serious and ran her fingertips up his arm. "Lance. I feel that you're not telling me something."

He laughed, "Like what?"

"Is there something?"

He held out his hand, "I don't think so."

She nodded. "Okay. But, if there was something-"

"There's not. There's no reason to worry." He smiled at her. "So, tonight. Where are we eating dinner?"

She giggled. "I think….here."

"Here?" He asked in surprise.

She smiled. "I'm sure Tony and Pepper will want their photos very quickly-"

"Oh, yeah. Right." He nodded.

She smiled and looked around the room. "And you can….continue doing this."

He grinned and nodded, "Yeah. And there are some things on the ship I would like to do. I may do that tonight while you are sleeping."

"Just….wait, until I actually go to sleep. Okay?"

He smiled. "Of course. Or….?"

"Or what, Lance?"

"Maybe, we can sleep on the ship. We haven't done that."

Jane's face spread into a huge smile. "Oh, that does sound lovely."

"Brilliant! We'll get our suite sorted tonight. I'll even get a computer in there so you can edit your photos and link it to this one here. Well, that one there….umm. Don't worry, I'll work it out."

She giggled and held both of his hands in her own.

He smiled, "You have such small hands."

"Matches the rest of me. And you, with these huge "Tough Guy" hands."

He brought her hands up to his mouth to kiss.

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The crowd around the table in New York had finished their hamburgers and had drunk too much wine from the sound of laughter coming from the table.

Rose told them of the time that the Doctor and her had been on the strange ship that they had found in space with Pre-revolutionary France onboard. She laughed as she told them, "And I was standing there, as he walked around the corner with a white horse following him."

"A horse?" Samuel repeated, sure he had misunderstood.

"Like, a proper horse?" Arles asked.

Lewis laughed and began to drink his beer that the waitress had brought him.

Rose jumped as the Doctor pulled a chair between her and Samuel. "Oh! You're here!"

He smiled she sat down beside of her, leaned over and kissed her lips. They looked at one another for a moment, and smiled causing Samuel and Arles to groan.

"So, gross." Arles complained.

"Nasty." Samuel insisted and refilled his wine glass.

The Doctor looked back at them in surprise. "Just me kissing your Mum-"

Both of the boys waved their hands in determination for them to start talking about something else.

Pete grinned. "Rose was telling us about you having a horse on a spaceship."

The Doctor smiled back at Rose. "Arthur. Yes."

They all laughed again.

Rose rubbed his thigh. "What happened to him?"

The Doctor rubbed his hands together and looked back at her. "Oh, I imagine he's still traveling through time and space with….someone."

Rose sipped her wine and smiled just as the waitress appeared. "And Doctor Smith! I'm sorry, I didn't know you had arrived."

"Just got here. Not to worry!" He smiled.

"May I get you something?" She asked.

"Ah. Perhaps, a…ummm.." He looked back at Rose. "What are you drinking?"

She handed him her glass. "Wine."

Pete decided, "Bring us two more bottles, and my son in law a glass."

She smiled and walked away.

The Doctor drank the rest of Rose's wine. "We should get some horses. Genie would love that."

"Speaking of Genie," Rose looked back at him

He shook his head and held up his hand. "I went to see her and Legate, and they were not at home."

"Not at home?" Rose asked.

The Doctor shook his head. "Not there. Legate says he's taking her for a quick trip around Jupiter, or something."

Rose smiled, "And where are our children?"

He refilled her glass, "With Grand. Except for Samuel. He's with Karen."

Samuel looked back at his Dad. "Karen has Samuel?"

"Yes. They are asleep. Hang on, I have a photo."

He reached in his pocket and brought out his phone. After a bit, he showed Samuel a photo he had taken. Karen was lying on a white sofa, with baby Samuel sleeping on her chest. Henry was sleeping at her side, with Samuel's hand lying on his back. A blanket covered all three of them.

Samuel took the phone and smiled. Rose could feel his happiness.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders. "It didn't make any sense for me to keep Genie and Arles' there. They wanted to play and be rather loud. Tony Tyler was thrilled to see them. Anne told me she'll let me know when Samuel wakes up. I know you want Karen to sleep as much as she can."

Samuel grinned and handed the phone back to his Dad, "Yes. Thank you."

The waitress brought more wine and the Doctor a glass.

Lewis drank the last of his beer. "Karen needs to sleep? Is she alright?"

Samuel nodded, "She's fine, Papa."

Rose laughed, "I know I slept a lot when I was pregnant. Geez."

Samuel grit his teeth and closed his eyes.

Pete looked surprised back at Rose. "Pregnant?"

Rose quickly covered her mouth. "Oh no."

Lewis looked surprised, "Who's pregnant?"

Arles pat Samuel on the back proudly, "And the secret is fully out! You can thank Mum for that."

Samuel hadn't opened his eyes and grunted, "Yeah, thanks for that."

Rose shook her head. "Samuel, I'm so sorry. I thought everyone knew."

Samuel rubbed his hands on his trousers and smiled. "It's alright."

Pete was thrilled, "This is brilliant!"

Lewis was still confused, "So, we're having a baby? Is that what we're saying here?"

Arles looked back at his Papa and pointed with his thumb. "Samuel and Karen are having a baby." He looked back at Samuel, "A boy!"

Samuel rolled his eyes. "It's a girl, Arles."

"I still maintain that it's a boy." He insisted.

Rose shook her head. "Gosh, I'm so sorry. Really, Sam-"

Samuel smiled and shook his head. "It's really alright. I was trying to figure out a way to tell everyone, and now I don't have to."

Arles poured him and Samuel another glass of wine. "And we should have a toast! To my nephew-"

"It's a girl!" Samuel insisted.

Arles shook his head. "It's a boy, and you should name him Arthur after Dad's mad horse!"

They all laughed and Pete Tyler cleared his throat to get their attention. They looked up as he held up his glass. "And a toast."

They all grabbed their glasses.

Pete continued, "To new beginnings. All around this table."

The Doctor nodded, "Here, here."

Pete smiled at them proudly just as his phone dinged in his pocket. He groaned, put on his glasses and looked at the message. "And Torchwood. Ummm. Hey, son. Look at this for-"

The Doctor tossed some chips in his mouth from Rose's plate. "I'm drinking. That's what you told me to tell you."

Rose took the phone from her Dad and read the message. "Another attack. Chandra? Did I say that right?"

The Doctor took the phone from her. "Chandra? There's nothing there."

Pete looked confused, "Chandra? Is that what you said?"

The Doctor nodded.

Pete sipped his drink. "Sounds Buddhist."

Lewis rubbed his hands together. "Chandra? That's a storage yard."

"Yeah. Why attack that?" The Doctor asked.

Pete groaned. "Why attack anything? They want us back in London to look over this."

The Doctor pointed at his glass of wine. "I'm drinking, Pete."

Pete stood up and looked around. "Where is Adriano?"

Adriano had faded into the shadows while they had been eating. He reappeared and put his hand on Pete's shoulder. Pete nodded. "Right then. Son, when you're done drinking-"

The Doctor shook his head. "It will be….several days."

Pete rolled his eyes and walked away with Adriano to a place where they could pop.

The Doctor sat back. "Chandra?"

Lewis shook his head. "It has to be a mistake."

Arles sipped his wine. "Well, Chandra may not be it now, but it's a rather large storage yard for ships from….where, Sammy?"

Samuel sat back and crossed his arms. "Iota Zealae and ummm…"

"It sounds like your back-" Arles helped.

Samuel snapped his fingers. "Luminar! Yes. That's right."

Lewis ran his hand through his hair. "Luminar? Why does that sound familiar?"

Arles drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "Lartius and the mayor there had a bet that the mayor didn't honor."

Lewis nodded, "That's right! That's been just recently."

Arles shrugged his shoulders. "It's something he complains about a lot."

The Doctor groaned. "I'd feel better about this if I knew my Genie was safely on the ground, someplace."

Lewis nodded, "Legate says he's taking her to Photoria. They are within two hours of it now."

The Doctor nodded in approval. "Perfect."

Rose took his arm. "Let's go to Torchwood-"

He groaned, "Rose-"

"And see if we can help. Come on."

The Doctor took her hand and they walked away to find a place to pop away without being seen.

Lewis was left with Samuel and Arles together at the table. He smiled back at them. "And our Samuel is going to be a father."

Samuel smiled, "Yes, Papa."

Arles pointed at his Dad. "That makes you a grandfather!"

Lewis laughed. "It does."

Arles pointed back at Samuel. "And tell this mad man he's having a boy."

Lewis held up his hands. "That's not up to me. But, I imagine this will move your wedding date."

Samuel rubbed his face. "It did, Papa."

"Did?" Lewis asked. "Something you want to tell your Papa there, son?"

Samuel sipped his wine. "This is turning into one of those days."

Arles laughed. "Oh, I'm glad it's you and not me, brother."

Lewis rose his eyebrows at Arles. "And what do I need to chat with you about?"

Arles sat up and rubbed his hands on his trousers. He cleared his throat. "I….just wouldn't know, Papa."

"Phhhh." Lewis insisted. "I'll find out-"

"You always do." Samuel added.

"And when I do!" Arles declared and looked back at his Papa. He suddenly stopped being silly and became serious at the look on Lewis' face. "Right, then."

Lewis grinned and shook his head. He swore in Quauhtin.

Samuel's watch blinked and suddenly sent some information to his bracelet.

Arles and Lewis both noticed.

"What's up with your watch, Sammy?" Arles asked.

Sam rose his eyebrows. "Something is upstairs, in Tony's penthouse."

"Yeah, Tony probably." Lewis excused.

"Something….has triggered a complete lock-out." Samuel told them.

Lewis and Arles looked at one another and a grin spread across their faces.

Arles sat back and pulled out some cash from his wallet to toss on the table. "Fancy a look, then?"

Lewis rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Hell yeah, I would."

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Samuel, Arles, and Lewis popped together to Tony's Penthouse inside of the Tower. The lights were red inside of the rooms, and Lewis held his finger over his lips. Whatever had triggered the sensors was probably still there.

The three men split up. They walked quietly around the flat, looking for what could have triggered it. Just as Samuel walked in front of the office door, Tony Stark grabbed him from behind.

Samuel didn't know who it was, and flipped Tony over his head. Slamming him hard onto the floor.

Tony lay on the floor and groaned quietly. "Fucker!"

Samuel held his hands out and whispered, "You started it!"

Tony allowed Samuel to help him up off of the floor. He looked down at the read-out on his arm and pointed upstairs to the bedrooms.

Samuel and Tony walked up the stairs and just as they got to the top, Arles stood to the side of the doorway of Tony and Pepper's bedroom. He pointed in the bedroom and disappeared.

Tony rolled his shoulder and looked back at Samuel. He pointed at Samuel's bracelet and made the motion to turn up something.

Samuel rolled his eyes and counted on his fingers. Just as he got to two, the sounds of a fight started from the bedroom.

Tony and Samuel rushed in to see Arles on the back of a Vesuos. It was huge and was trying everything it could to throw Arles off of him. Arles had managed to get a good grip and was punching the Vesuos in the face as he tried to get Arles in his fists to throw him off.

Tony shook his head. "Now, that's just going to piss him off, man!"

Arles disappeared off of the Vesous' back and it glared back at Tony and Samuel.

Tony held his hand out, "See. Now, it's pissed!"

Samuel spoke, "Jarvis, lights at 300%"

The lights came up, blinding everyone temporarily. Tony and Samuel had closed their eyes and had taken position on either side of the Vesous. Tony dove on the ground and kicked the Vesous' back, which made him lose his footing and fall to the ground. Samuel dove on top of him, but it had already recovered enough that it caught Samuel, and threw him out of the room.

Tony jumped up and quickly tapped something on his watch. Just as the Vesuos had drew back his fist to hit Tony, Lewis appeared out of nowhere and wrapped his legs around the Vesuos' neck. Caught off balance, he fell to the floor. Lewis kicked under the Vesuos' chin and the back of his head, pushing his skull apart from his spine. The Vesous' neck popped loudly and it lay silent.

Tony looked impressed. "Damn. Welcome back, Lewis."

Lewis looked around. "Where are the boys?"

Tony and Lewis rushed out of the room and found Arles kneeling next to Samuel, who was lying on the floor downstairs in the sitting room.

"Oh, shit." Tony insisted and both he and Lewis ran down the steps to them.

Samuel was unconscious and lay on his back. A bit of blood could be seen coming from his back.

Arles held Samuel's hand, "Give him a minute. I've already told Dad."

Tony checked Samuel's pulse on his neck. As soon as he touched him, Samuel's eyes flew open and he gasp.

Lewis jumped, "Damn it, kid!"

Samuel groaned. "Oh, that hurt."

Arles smiled. "And I think you gave Papa a heart attack."

Tony sat down on the floor, "He's not the only one. Shit, kid."

Samuel closed his eyes. "So, we got him."

Arles held his hand on Samuel's chest and smiled. "Sure, we did. Stay still. Don't get sparkly, Sammy. Dad's on his-"

The Doctor popped into the room. One look at Samuel lying on the floor and he rushed to his son. He pulled out his screwdriver and scanned him. "Oh wow. What happened here?"

Samuel smiled dreamily. "I was kicking ass."

Arles continued to hold his brother's hand. "And got his ass kicked in the process."

The Doctor put his screwdriver back in his pocket. Tony already had the remote teleport trigger in his hand.

The Doctor glanced up at Lewis. "You have this here?"

Lewis nodded in shock. "Yes. Get him to the ship."

The Doctor, Tony, and Samuel transported away as Arles held his brother's hand.

Lewis, left alone, sat back and sighed. "This used to be more fun."

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