AN/Here is how you pronounce the new name in this chapter:

Acinom: Ah-key-no-mmm. (Aci for short.)

Back on Canad, Acro tried once again to escape. Ignoring the pain of his bruises, he tested each of his bonds in turn, but all of them held. He was stretched out on a table in a large room, his wrists, ankles, arms, legs and chest strapped down. Two massively built Ricans stood guard by the door. A dark haired female Rican was just tightening the final strap across his forehead, securing his head in place. Natural light spilled into the dark room from a stretch of windows high up on a wall. Acro growled and glared at the Rican. She looked at him, her expression blank.

"It's just as well, I suppose," Acro thought. "I wouldn't be able to get past those guards anyways."

There was a sound of a door opening. Footsteps approached. There was a rustling of leather feathers. "Aci," a hard voice said. "Is he ready?"

"Yes, Tyran," the female Rican said.

"And the water?"

"It's here." Acinom walked a few steps and dragged a tray on wheels close to the table. There was a clear container with water in it on the tray, along with a knife, a dropper, and some towels.

"Good." Acro could hear that Tyran was pleased. At last the Rican stepped into Acro's field of vision. He smiled slowly at the Canad. "So, you thought you were going to plan a little escape, huh? Thought you and your sister would just fly on out of here, along with that traitor?" He shook his head, clicking his tongue.

"Where are they?" Acro demanded.

"Your friend will get his punishment, don't worry about him. Your sister on the other hand…" He sighed and flexed his wings. "Well, the ship has been found, but she wasn't on it."

"What?"

"That's what I thought," Tyran said. "But she'll be found soon enough. It doesn't matter to you anyways. You're never going to see her again."

Acro took a deep breath. "If you're going to kill me, just do it. Don't stand there talking about it."

Tyran grinned at the Canad's bravery. "Who ever said I was going to kill you? You'll simply be made a lasting example of, to teach other would-be rebels a lesson." The Rican rolled up his sleeves and picked up the knife. He frowned at his left arm, the blade poised as if he were deciding where to cut. Acro's eyes widened in realisation.

"No," he whispered.

"Yes," Tyran said, distracted. He studied his left hand for a moment, then lowered the blade of the knife onto it. It one smooth motion, he sliced through his palm. The resulting cut wasn't too deep, but deep enough for what he wanted. Rich, dark blood, so deep a red it was nearly black, pooled in his hand. He dunked the injury in the water, which imminently darkened as blood drifted into it. Tyran left it submerged for five seconds, then pulled his hand out and wrapped it in a towel. He lifted the container and swirled it carefully to mix the blood and water together. "What do you think, Aci?" he said. "Three drops each?"

Aci nodded slowly. "That should do it." She didn't sound very enthusiastic, almost as if she was in regret.

Tyran eyed her for a moment and picked up the dropper. "Thank you, sister." Tyran filled the dropper with the diluted blood. "Hold his left eye open for me, please."

Acro's screams were heard by Xaler in his own cell awaiting his punishment. He winced and closed his eyes. He felt sick. He wondered what he was going to say to Rehprom if, and hopefully when he ever saw her again.

---

Rose found Rehprom in the kitchen spreading something brown into a large piece of toast. "Hi," she said. "What are you making?"

"This is a mix or cinnamon, brown sugar and butter," Rehprom replied. "It's an old home remedy if you're feeling low. My mother used to make it all the time when Acro and I were little."

Rose smiled. "I didn't know they had cinnamon, brown sugar and butter on Canad. I just thought they were just on Earth." Rehprom shrugged and bit into the toast. That's when Rose noticed the Canad's large, rounded stomach. "Wow! You sure grew a lot!"

Rehprom smiled, resting a hand on her belly. "This is a better indication of how far I really am along. My body was trying to hide it before because I was stressed."

"Do you mind if I…?"

Rehprom smiled proudly. It felt good to show off her pregnant belly for once instead of hiding it. "No, go ahead."

Rose stepped forward and pressed a hand on Rehprom's stomach. She felt a kick and grinned. "It kicked!" Rehprom smiled.

"That's fantastic," a new voice said. Rehprom and Rose turned and saw the Doctor in the doorway. They both smiled again. "Rehprom," the Doctor said. "I hope you won't mind if I were to give you a quick medical exam? Just to make sure everything is healthy."

Rehprom looked a bit uncertain, but she nodded, trusting him. "Okay."

"Great. Follow me." The Doctor turned and exited the kitchen. Rehprom looked to Rose and lifted her partly finished toast.

"Oh, don't worry. You can finish it after," Rose said.

"Coming?" the Doctor's voice called.

"Yes." Rehprom placed her toast on a plate and she and Rose left the kitchen.

Once in the infirmary, the Doctor told Rehprom to sit on the bed. She did so. Rose asked if it was okay if she could stay and watch.

"If it's okay with Rehprom," the Doctor said, getting out his sonic screwdriver and changing the settings on it. Rehprom nodded as Jack walked into the room carrying a cup of coffee.

"Good afternoon," he said cheerily. "Ready for your check-up?"

"Yes." Rehprom said, flexing her tail.

"Okay," the Doctor said, lifting the sonic screwdriver. "Rehprom, if you'll just slowly breathe in for me as I scan your lungs with this."

The Canad inhaled slowly. Again, it was noticed that this action seemed to take a very long time. "Why does that take so long?" Rose asked.

"Because her lungs are larger then yours," the Doctor said, his focus on the screwdriver's beam. "You can hold your breath for an hour, right?"

"Yes," Rehprom said. Rose noticed that she wasn't breathing now. She was holding her breath, and was in no discomfort. The sonic screwdriver's beam quickly passed over Rehprom's throat. The Doctor frowned.

"What's that?"

"What?"

"Inside your throat."

"Oh, that's the filter," Rehprom said. "It filters the air as I breathe so I only inhale oxygen and only exhale carbon dioxide."

"Good bit of evolution," the Doctor remarked.

Rehprom gave a small smile. "Yes, it is."

"So's your hearts."

Rose's eyes widened. "She has two like you?"

"Nope," the Doctor said. "She has three."

"Three," Jack said, sounding amazed. He shook his head, bemused. "And I thought two was too many."

The Doctor glared at him. "There's nothing wrong with two hearts, or three for that matter. In fact, I'm amazed how you can live so long with only one."

The Doctor moved the sonic screwdriver over Rehprom's womb. "Yes, there's two in there," he said. "And they seem healthy…except…"

"What? Except what?" Rehprom demanded.

The Doctor grinned. "Except we'll have to do another test. Please lie down on the bed."

Rehprom shifted herself flat onto the bed. Her tail began to flip nervously. Her right bicep began to twitch again and she stilled it. The Doctor placed the sonic screwdriver in his pocket and opened a cupboard. He pulled out another device similar to the screwdriver and ran its beam over Rehprom's ballooned belly. The Canad bit her lip, her tail making a tight curly-que.

"It tingles," she said.

The Doctor smiled. He turned to his right and pressed some buttons on a computer, plugging the scanner into it. "And now," he announced. "We'll have a picture of your babies."

Rehprom sat up can leaned over to see the screen. Jack and Rose also moved to see. A blurry image appeared with two masses visible. "Those are the foetuses," the Doctor explained. Rehprom smiled and rubbed her belly. Her fail relaxed and flopped. The image became clearer, more detail visible. "You can see the umbilical cords," the Doctor said.

"What's that?" Jack asked, pointing at something on the screen.

"A tail," the Doctor said. He grinned. "There's the other one's"

"What's that?" Rose asked, pointing to a dark mass on the back of one of the babies. It's twin had a similar mass on its back.

"If I'm not mistaken," the Doctor said, looking at Rehprom. This time it was her who felt x-rayed by his eyes. "Those are wings."

Rehprom's face didn't change, but she blinked and swallowed.

"Canads don't have wings," Jack said.

The Doctor's voice was calm, not angry. "No, they don't. But Ricans do." Rehprom adverted her eyes, placing both hands on her stomach. "Xaler is a Rican, isn't he?" the Doctor asked gently. Rehprom nodded.

"Yes," she said softly. "He saved me…protected me. He said he was sorry. He never wanted to come to Canad. But he loved me. He tried to help Acro and I escape."

The room went quiet. The Doctor scooted a bit closer to Rehprom, getting down to her level, eye to eye. "You didn't do anything wrong," he told her. "If anything, you've proven that not all Ricans are bad. You obviously love each other very much, or else you wouldn't have done this." He gently placed his fingertips on Rehprom's stomach. "You also are making history by being to first to give birth to this new species. A cross between Canad and Rican, and apparently with a good mix of physical qualities from both species. I don't know how this will impact through time, but it could possibly result in peace between Canadmanipegwinntoba and Rica once again."

"But Xaler got caught!" Rehprom protested, still not looking at him. "And if the Rican government ever found out about this they'd kill them!" She was fighting back tears now. Rose felt very emotional, and suddenly spurred to help Rehprom out even more. Even Captain Jack was moved.

"That won't happen," the Doctor assured her. "We'll go back right now and we'll get them. Then we'll find a place where you can be safe and have your babies and everything will be fine." Rehprom made eye contact with him, her eyes red and brimming with moisture.

"Okay."

"All right? No more tears now." The Doctor smiled and moved out of the room. Rose smiled at Rehprom and followed the Doctor to the control room.

As they walked, Rose suddenly had a thought. "Doctor, what would you do if I ever…got pregnant?"

The Time Lord frowned. "Why? You planning to?"

"No," Rose said quickly. "But what if I were, I dunno, raped or something?"

"First of all, I would never allow you to get raped," the Doctor said as they turned a corner. "But if, in the highly unlikely case that you did get pregnant, I'd take care of you. And if you wanted to go home, you of course, could do so."

Rose smiled. "Good to know." Her smile widened into a grin. "Mum would kill you if I ever came home pregnant."

The Doctor shared her grin. "I know. So here's hopin' that doesn't happen."

---

Back in the infirmary, Rehprom sniffled and tried to wipe her face with her hands. Jack handed her a tissue with a small smile. Rehprom looked at it blankly.

"You use it to wipe your eyes," Jack explained gently.

"Oh. Thanks," she said, taking the tissue and dabbing her face with it.

"No problem." Jack looked at the screen displaying the foetuses. "They're big," he remarked. "Know when you're due?"

Rehprom shook her head. "Could be in a few weeks, could be in a few days, could be today."

"Then we'd better find your brother and boyfriend soon. Come on." He headed for the door, pausing to wait for Rehprom to slide awkwardly off the bed and follow him.

The control room was buzzing with activity. The TARDIS whirred loudly as she flew through space, guided by the co-ordinates the Doctor put in. Rose, the Doctor and Jack all stood around the console. Rehprom stood a little distance away. She let out the breath she had been holding and prepared herself. She told herself to be brave and strong should anything go wrong.

At last the TARDIS shuddered and landed. The Doctor looked at Rehprom. "You sure you want to come with us?"

"Yes." Rehprom said without hesitation.

"You do realise that you could get hurt. You could hurt the babies."

"I know, but," Rehprom sighed quietly. "This is something I have to do."

The Doctor was reluctant, but gave in. "Okay, but be careful."

"I will," Rehprom said. She whipped her tail experimentally, relishing in the whip crack sound it made. The Doctor smiled, and opened the TARDIS' doors.

AN/ Reference guide for this chapter:

Acinom is the name Monica spelled backwards. Monica was the name of my character in my Year 12 play.

I love cinnamon toast. That's why it's in the fic.

Canads being able to hold their breath for an hour, having a filter in their throats and three hearts comes from me trying to make them alien. The hearts is actually inspired by the Doctor having two. I just simply one upped him. (If anyone cares, Ricans only have one heart, but it's huge, about three time bigger than a human heart.)

And Xaler is a Rican. As I've already said, Rehprom doesn't mind black leather so much. ;)

The conversation between the Doctor and Rose about pregnancy is a shout out to all the "Rose is pregnant" fics out there.