A/N: This takes place when the twins are four.

The Doctor wasn't entirely sure how the tiny, blue-haired feline got inside the TARDIS, but he was not pleased when he discovered its presence. While he was not particularly against the creatures' existence as a whole or by principle, he was concerned about the shedding and shredding problems that usually followed a cat, which was, of course, something that his two children seemed to completely ignore.

"…but Daddy!" Alison scowled. She held the kitten closer, keeping it away from her father's grasp. "Idris Jr. found us! We keep things that find us!"

"Not things that ruin the upholstery," the Doctor replied firmly. He tried to grab at the kitten, but his daughter refused. Even James got in on the action, stepping between them.

"Daddy! We want to keep Idris Jr.!" he demanded.

"Now what did I say? Give it here."

"…but you ruin the upholstery too!" Alison pointed out. Well, she had him there.

"Yes, but Auntie Idris can't be cleaning up after us and a cat all the time—it's not fair."

"Idris Jr. is a little kitty! Little kitties only make little messes!"

"James, I can personally attest to the fact that just because you have the tinier version of something doesn't mean it won't make a full-sized mess," the Doctor said. "In fact, you two are proof that sometimes the littler something is, the bigger the mess becomes."

James, thinking quick on his feet, allowed his eyes to go wide as he made the face Mummy always did in order to get something out of Daddy. When it didn't seem like it was working, he looked to the space just behind his father, squealing, "Mummy!"

"Clara…?!" the Doctor breathed. He spun around only to find that there was no one there, turning back to his children to find that they had taken off as well. "JAMES CLARK AND ALISON JOAN OSWALD-SMITH, YOU GET BACK HERE WITH THAT CAT!"

Dashing down the corridors, the twins took their newfound pet and scurried into a room in order to hide from their father. They stayed quiet as he stormed past them, only bothering to breathe until after the Glasgow-inspired growling was gone. Standing up, they investigated the room, which wasn't one that they'd been in before. It was small, with some food and cat toys laid out on a faux-grass surface, along with a litter box and a fuzzy-looking tower with little holes in it and bits jutting out. Alison put Idris Jr. down and watched the kitten stumble along towards the food bowl to experimentally nibble.

"I guess we need to ask for Mummy's help on this one," she said. "What day is it?"

"Tuesday," her brother replied.

"Then we have," she counted on her fingers to be safe, "three more days until we see Mummy again. We need to keep Idris Jr. safe until then."

"It won't be easy," James said. He squatted next to the kitten to pet its short blue fur and sighed heavily. "Daddy knows all the rooms, doesn't he?"

The TARDIS dimmed its lights slightly in reply.

"Really?!" Alison marveled. "Daddy's been with you for ages! How does he not know all the rooms?!"

A further quick dim of the lights and the two children laughed—at least they knew their aunt was on their side…

…or so they thought.

All things considered, Clara found that the day hadn't exactly been a difficult one to bear in the overall scope of things. She still returned home to an empty flat—no husband or kids to greet her, let alone their blue box—and that was the thing that made her the most upset. Everything at work was absolute child's play when compared to missing her children, and that pained her greatly.

Dinner for one was eaten and cleaned up, and she was just about to start on a load of evening laundry, when a distinct ring came from her mobile. Clara picked it up and saw that it was, yes, indeed, the Doctor.

"Well, that was quick," she deadpanned. "Are the kids in bed? I'm not saying dirty things over the phone unless they're in bed."

"They're not in bed; plugged into the docks for their evening lesson, then bed," the Doctor replied.

"No bath?"

"Bath's tomorrow—wait, hold on, dirty talk isn't why I called though."

"It's not?" she wondered, truly impressed. "When was the last time it wasn't?"

"Can't recall at the moment, but this time is about a cat."

Clara's face fell as she continued sorting the clothes that were in need of washing into their own loads. "A cat? You're joking."

"I wish I was. Somehow a cat got on the TARDIS and the children found it before I did. They want to keep it."

"We can't—it's bad enough we're raising them in the time vortex, but adding a cat to the mix..."

"I wanted to tell them that, but they wouldn't listen. They even named the thing and are trying to hide it from me thinking that I'll just forget, Clara… I don't know what to do."

"Tell them the truth: no pets until we're living on Earth, no exceptions."

"That will only make them want to live on Earth more."

"Well, find a way to let… um… what's its name?"

"Idris Jr."

"…find a way to let Idris Jr. out in some space-Istanbul or Greece or something similar and let things go from there. I trust your judgement." She paused for a moment, silently repeating what she had just said. "They named a cat 'Idris Jr.'?"

"I'm only reporting back what I'm hearing."

She chuckled slightly at that, knowing that it was simply her children showing how much they adored their home. "Thank you for consulting me before making a decision. Are you sure you don't want any dirty talk? Responsible co-parenting across time and space is incredibly attractive." There was a silence on the other end of the call, one Clara knew was her husband contemplating her offer.

"Give me two hours and I'll call you back, bye," he said quickly, ending the call. Clara put the mobile down and chuckled, setting the washing machine; hour and a half, max.

The following day, the Doctor peeked in on Alison and James as they were sitting down in the learning docks, information being churned into their minds at a rate that truly boggled their mother's understanding off learning and teaching. They were lucky to have his mental capacity, for it allowed for the more Gallifreyan method of education instead of the Human way. Clara was, of course, by no means an idiot, nor were some of her students, but the information processes in a Gallifreyan mind were far more multilayered and to get the mental exercise… it was good for them, to say the least. After making sure that the twins did not hear him, he closed the door and went on his search.

It did not take long to find the cat, as the TARDIS was unable to figure out a Ship's Veto to the Parental Pet Ban. Idris Jr. bounded up to the Doctor and squeaked happily, rubbing itself against his boot. He picked the cat up and scowled.

"You know I don't want to do this," he told the kitten, who simply stared at him. "Maybe one day, but that day is not today."

He could have sworn the cat was mocking him.

It was after the main lessons were done for the afternoon when James and Alison went searching for their kitten. The siblings searched high and low, only to discover that Idris Jr. was nowhere to be found. They approached their father as he sat in the study, tears in their eyes.

"Daddy!" Alison sniffled. "Where'd you put Idris Jr.?!"

"We just want our kitty," James whimpered.

"Now kids, don't be like that," the Doctor said gently. He put down his book and gingerly put a hand atop either child's head, stroking their hair affectionately. "I told you that you couldn't keep Idris Jr., but you were the ones who didn't listen."

"It's not fair! Why can't we have a kitty?!"

"Because, Alison, Mam and I discussed having pets of any sort and it's best to leave them until later on when you're older."

"Why, Daddy?" James wiped his nose on his sleeve, which caused his father's eye to twitch. "Idris Jr. was a good, smart kitty."

"I know, but even if you found the best and smartest cat in the entire galaxy, I'd still have to turn them out, at least for a little while."

"…why…?" James asked.

"What did we do wrong?" Alison wondered.

"You two did nothing wrong; c'mere." The Doctor opened his arms wide and his children climbed into his lap, hugging him tightly. "Lots of people have pets their entire lives, that's true, but sometimes parents don't want their children to have pets until they're older due to a number of reasons, like wanting to make sure allergies don't exist or waiting until the child is old enough to care for another being on their own. It's even so that the children don't necessarily feel like they need a pet as they get older, so that having one is more out of desire than of anything else."

"Why can't we have a kitty?" Alison asked.

"A variety of things, but nothing that should make you angry or upset," her father explained. "Don't worry—I let Idris Jr. out into a very nice colony that takes good care of animals. I may not want a cat aboard the ship right now, but that doesn't mean I'm cruel. We may be able to visit one day, even."

"Can we…?"

"Possibly, but only if you dry your eyes and get a move on—I thought there was some playtime yet before dinner."

"Okay."

The twins slid from their father's lap and shuffled away, feeling rather dejected. Watching them, the Doctor felt his hearts break as they left the room, demonstrating the most difficult part of parenting: making one's children sad. He made a mental note to look into a cat or dog when they were with Clara on Earth full-time, but for now, he was simply going to have to live with the decision.