oOo
Leela and Andred's quarters were comfortable, Ace decided, in a Genghis Khan, "don't-mind-the-weapons" sort of way. A group of low, curvy couches were arranged in a loose circle around a central fire pit whose smoke was wafted away by some mysterious means Ace couldn't quite make out, but certainly appreciated. There were a few low tables between the couches, and other chairs and tables scattered along the far wall. All the furniture looked comfortable, but it was definitely the wall art that captured her attention. That, along with the fire pit and circular nature of the room, gave it an archaic, militaristic flavor that complemented the room's owners. Especially Leela.
She, Ace concluded, was the one most likely to have picked out the array of weapons displayed along the upper arch of the main room, strategically placed out of reach of little hands. And there were many little hands, at least that was Ace's first, confused, impression; it took her a while to sort out the fact that there wasn't really an endless parade of children, but rather a clutch of about four, all moving and talking at once, clambering for their parents' attention and that of the strangers.
"Children." Leela's voice was unraised but firm, and they immediately stilled, settling to the floor and staring up at the adults with wide-open eyes and mercifully closed mouths. "Where is Noni?"
"Studying," the oldest, a girl of about seven, replied. "In her room."
"Fetch her." The girl rose obediently to her feet and dashed out of the room at top speed--but quietly.
Andred was chuckling as he removed his helmet and sat on one of the couches. "Come settle yourselves here, let our guests gather their breath before you bombard them with questions." As one, the three remaining children--a boy of about five, another about three, and quite a small girl who couldn't be more than one or two--glanced at Leela. She nodded, and they piled on the couch, alongside their father.
Ace continued to study the children, who stared unabashedly back at her. There was a marked resemblance to Leela in their eyes and hair color and the shapes of their faces, but Ace thought she saw something of Andred in their noses and chins. "Are all these yours?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, or modify the incredulous tone in which it was voiced.
Leela nodded, moving easily into the room as she, too, shed her ceremonial trappings, stripping down efficiently to an under tunic and the tight trousers tucked into her boots. "I have sent Anji to fetch her older sister, Noni. These are Ari, Borin, and our youngest, Mia."
"Five children?" The Doctor sounded dazed, but he moved down the two steps that brought them to the center of the room and sat down opposite Andred and the youngest children. Ace and Kyris followed, Ace frowning. There was something here she wasn't getting, something about the children that held the Doctor amazed, and she was sure it wasn't just the quantity.
Leela and Andred exchanged glances as she joined her family on their side of the couch. Just then Anji returned, as quietly as she'd left, this time with an older girl in tow. Noni looked even more like her mother than the rest. The sisters crowded onto the couch with their parents and siblings, and all five children stared at the newcomers with varying degrees of interest on their faces.
"My, you've been busy," the Doctor finally said, his voice faint. As if he were overwhelmed at the sight of so many children.
"It's all right, Doctor, you can ask," Andred said, his voice steady. "You won't be the first."
"They allowed Leela's genetic material into the Loom?"
Ace frowned, turning to Kyris, but he seemed to understand his father's question, so she turned back to the Doctor. "Genetic loom? What's that when it's at home?"
"It's the way most Gallifreyans are 'born,' for lack of a better word," the Doctor replied. "I would have said 'all' if it wasn't for--well. You know."
"I do not," Leela cut in. "Fear not, Doctor; anything you wish to speak of will not be overheard here, nor will our children repeat your words." All of the children nodded, even the youngest, although Ace suspected she was merely mimicking the actions of her older siblings. Surely she was too young to understand what was being said? However, after another look at the girl's clear, brown eyes, Ace decided to withhold judgment on that matter, instead waiting to see how much the Doctor planned to tell his former companion and her husband. He'd been a clam about his intentions outside of leaving her here.
The Doctor hesitated, then glanced at Ace and Kyris as if for assistance. "Just tell her," Kyris urged. "If you trust them, then I trust them."
The Doctor searched his son's face as intently as Ace had Mia's, then nodded. "Very well." He turned back to Leela and Andred. "Kyris was born outside the Loom. His mother was my former companion, the Time Lady Romana."
"Our children were also born outside the loom," Andred put in quietly. "All of them. We were granted special permission, after some matters Leela and I assisted in." Ace opened her mouth to ask what matters, but subsided as the Doctor shot her a stern look. "I assume such permission was not a factor in your son's birth? Kyris is your son, correct? Or am I making an unwarranted assumption?"
The Doctor nodded. "He is." His tone was unapologetic. "As I told you already, he and Ace are about to become parents, without permission from the Council."
Ace could keep silent no longer. "What d'you mean, without permission? You never told me we needed any kind of 'permission' for me to have my baby!" She struggled to her feet, shrugging off Kyris' hand. "That's it, I'm getting back on the TARDIS. I don't care how 'safe' you say it is here, there's no bloody way I'll let your Council get involved in my pregnancy!"
It took a few minutes for Kyris to calm her down; the Doctor had the grace to look chagrined as Ace reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled back to her seat. "I"m sorry, that was a poor choice of words. There is no specific law you're breaking, Ace, and no one will be coming after you."
"Especially since you don't want you son's identity or the fact that Ace's child will be half-Gallifreyan advertised," Andred inserted drily.
"Exactly," the Doctor replied. He fiddled with his hat before shoving it back on his head. "I realize I'm asking a great deal of you--all of you," he added, glancing at the children. Was that a smile hovering about his lips? Ace couldn't quite tell. "But this is important."
"Do you fear punishment?" The question came from Noni. Ace guessed her age at around fourteen or fifteen, not much younger than she had been when she first joined up with the Doctor. She was even built like her mother, slim and athletic, with brown hair and eyes that seemed to thoughtfully consider everything they took in.
"It's quite a bit more complicated than that," the Doctor replied. Before he could say anything else, Ace's stomach gave a loud rumble, and she reddened in embarrassment. "Yes, well, perhaps we can find something for this young lady to eat? And myself and Kyris as well, if you don't mind?"
"Prepare the evening meal," Leela commanded--really, there was no other way to put it--and all but the youngest child rose reluctantly to their feet. She wiggled herself more comfortably on her father's lap and stuck her tongue out at her brothers as they shot resentful glares her way.
"Can't the Doctor tell us some stories?" the oldest boy piped up, returning his attention to his mother. "You told us he might, if we asked nicely."
There were murmurs of agreement from the other children, quickly quelled under their mother's stern gaze. "Later. Now is the time for adults to speak amongst themselves. When the food is prepared you may ask the Doctor and his family your questions. If they agree."
Family. With a jolt, Ace realized she and the baby were included in that word. The Doctor's family. She was part of that now, and it gave her an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach; it wasn't something she'd considered before this.
Kyris squeezed her fingers gently, a quizzical expression on his face as he caught something about her expression, but she shook her head and smiled. Not now.
The Doctor's face had gone serious once the older children were out of the room. Ace half-listened as he explained the situation, her attention riveted by the dark-haired toddler sitting quietly on her father's lap. Mia was adorable, her brown eyes enormous in her face, fingers straying every now and then to her mouth but never quite making it past the lips. This is how Susan might look, a year after she's born, she thought, entranced by the idea. Her hands slid lovingly across her stomach, and she felt Kyris' arm about her shoulder, as if he sensed where her thoughts were.
"So that's where we currently stand," the Doctor finished.
Kyris gave Ace's shoulder a light squeeze, and she looked away from Mia, forcing her attention to the matter at hand. If Leela and Andred agreed, she would be seeing a lot more of all their children over the next however-many months until her baby was born.
There was a short silence while Leela and Andred exchanged glances. Apparently Andred read a question in his wife's eyes; he nodded and she flashed him a grateful smile before looking back at the Doctor. "Ace is welcome to stay with us until your grandchild is born, Doctor. Will you return before her time nears?"
"I intend to take care of this matter as quickly as possible," the Doctor replied, his voice grim. "It is my intention that Kyris and I be here well before the blessed event, with good news for everyone."
Leela's eyes were troubled. "I would accompany you on this mission, Doctor..."
"But you have your own family to take care of," he interrupted firmly. "Ace can take care of herself under normal circumstances, but I would take a great deal of comfort in knowing that you were both here to help out." The impish grin returned. "Besides, I'm sure she'd be very interested in some knife throwing lessons, eh?"
"A girl's gotta know how to protect herself," Ace replied good-naturedly. Yeah, she'd prefer not to be treated like a china doll, but she'd already acknowledged her need for help this one time, and she wasn't about to get an attitude now. Besides, the knife throwing thing didn't sound half bad. And it certainly wouldn't hurt her to spend time with a family, to get a leg up on what she would be facing if she were allowed to raise Susan...
That thought brought her back to reality with a jolt, but she forced it out of her mind. There would be no "if;" Kyris and the Doctor would find the Master and really do the "once and for all" thing. There could be no alternative. If it rewrote history, so be it; they'd run into more than a few paradoxes in their travels, and could take one more in stride. Especially this one.