It's finally here! Thank you everyone for all your patience! I've been super busy with work and life and all that fun stuff. Honestly, this is why I usually just write lots of short chapters... but anyways, I hope you all enjoy!
Much like the Tardis, the inside of Lungbarrow House was far more awe inspiring than the outside. What had looked like a grand but not extravagant family home from the outside revealed what Rose would have considered a palace behind the heavy wood and stained glass front doors that they were led through. The walls were papered in a rich red with a swirling gold pattern that almost seemed to move in the corner of her eye, bordered in rich mahogany panels and stretching up towards the almost impossibly high seeming vaulted ceilings a full three stories up, the matching dark mahogany wood there making the top of the room appear to disappear into darkness, like perhaps it didn't have an end at all. The floors were made from a deep green marble, so polished that it reflected the view above almost as clearly as a mirror, creating the dizzying illusion that the room extended infinitely in both directions and inspired a moment of hesitation before she was willing to follow Patience and The Doctor out onto it, just in case it wasn't a reflection and she found herself suddenly plummeting towards some unseen end or worse, simply falling forever. The room was almost perfectly symmetrical with two identical sets of heavy double doors on either side of the grand foyer leading up to dual curved staircases leading to the upper levels, a single set of double doors nestled between them. It was designed for it's looks rather than function, she noted, the staircase on the left exclusively curved up to the second floor while the one on the right led only to the third floor, so one couldn't move between the second and third floors without revisiting the first.
She was so absorbed in gawking at her surroundings that it took her a moment to realize that The Doctor had asked her a question, cheeks tingeing pink as she stared back dumbly, "Sorry… what?"
"Patience is offering us dry clothes." He informed her, "But I was just saying that we're fine."
"Nonsense!" Patience scowled at him, hands on her hips, "Look at the poor girl! She's shivering!"
"We fell in the river." Rose offered sheepishly.
"You poor thing." She cooed in a way that Rose was sure she would usually find patronizing, but Patience somehow managed to make sound like genuine sympathy, "You must be absolutely freezing."
"It would be nice to put something dry on." She admitted, her cheeks flushing at the attention, despite the chill that had taken hold of her. Part of her felt like she should agree with The Doctor, given the situation, but there was something about Patience that made her want to stay just a little longer. Not to mention the chance to learn a little more about the mysterious past that The Doctor never wanted to talk about was just a little too tempting.
"We really shouldn't stay long." The Doctor insisted, shifting nervously, though Rose couldn't tell if it was because he sensed how she was feeling or if he just genuinely didn't want to be there. "We shouldn't be here at all. The timeline-"
"I understand the risk to the timeline as well as anyone." Patience cut him off, frowning, "But where else are you going to go? You said your ship is damaged."
"It's not that bad…"
"At least stay the night." She insisted, "It's nearly nine bells already. I'm not going to let you drag your friend all the way back through the woods in the dark. And certainly not in wet clothes."
The Doctor shifted his gaze to Rose, clearly looking for support, but seeming to quickly guess that he wasn't going to get it given how tired she already was. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead, like he could massage the obvious stress out of his mind, "Yes, alright, fine, we'll stay the night."
Patience looked rather pleased with herself, "Good."
"Just one night." He clarified.
"Of course." She agreed, smiling in a way that made Rose think that if The Tardis wasn't fixed tomorrow, they'd be having this argument again, though she quickly turned her attention back to Rose instead. "Come, Dear, I'm sure I have something that will fit you. And perhaps something that might stick out a little less around here?"
"Sure." Rose agreed, despite being absolutely sure that there was no way she would fit into the other woman's clothing. Without her heels on, she couldn't have been more than an inch shorter than Rose, but even mostly hidden by her flowing dress, she could tell that she had a very slight frame.
Patience, however, seemed a little more concerned about The Doctor, looking him up and down in a critical manner, "You on the other hand… I may have to let a hem or two down."
The Doctor looked like he was going to protest, but a sharp look quickly shut him up, "Okay fine, but nothing too stuffy."
"Good to see some things never change." Patience hummed in amusement and self-satisfaction, "I trust you remember your way to the bedroom?"
She didn't wait for him to answer, putting a hand on Rose's arm and guiding her towards the stairs to the third floor leaving a flustered Doctor behind them. In Rose's opinion, there were too many stairs leading to the third floor and by the time they reached the top, she was silently cursing the Time Lords and their apparent love of non-functional aesthetics.
"This place is huge." She commented, pausing at the top of the stairs to stare down the long corridor that awaited them at the top. The corridor itself reminded her a little of a very posh college dorm, lined on either side with identical doors, each with what Rose assumed was a name in circular Gallifreyan carved into them and inlaid with gold. There were five doors on the left side, six on the right and if their spacing was anything to judge by, the interior of each must have been at least half the size of her flat.
"Mmm, the outside is rather deceptive isn't it?" Patience chuckled, politely giving Rose a moment to recover, "The interior shifts and changes to accommodate the residents. If you can believe it, it's a lot cozier than it used to be."
"You have a big family?" Rose guessed, nodding to what she guessed were likely bedroom doors.
"Too big in some people's opinion." Patience admitted as they started moving down the hall, "We have thirteen children now."
"Thirteen?!" Rose couldn't help the way her eyes must have bulged out of her head at that, "Is that normal here?"
"Definitely not." Patience laughed at her reaction, "One is normal. Two if you really like children. Though some wealthy families have more, usually so they can marry them off to other wealthy families to increase prestige or political power."
"That's an awful reason to have kids." Rose wrinkled up her nose at the idea, "Doesn't sound like something The Doctor would do."
"Oh no," She assured her, "I just always wanted a big family and my husband indulges me. Probably doesn't seem so unusual to him, he had four siblings. He's never mentioned any of this?"
"He doesn't talk about his past much." Rose admitted sheepishly, "Sorry."
"I'm sure there's a good explanation." Patience smiled, though Rose wasn't sure if it was to reassure her or herself. When they finally stopped outside the second to last door on the left, Patience looked Rose over one more time before nodding to herself, "Tordrin's clothes should fit you."
"Tordrin?" She ventured as the other woman opened the door, revealing a grand, but clearly lived in bedroom that immediately struck Rose as belonging to a teenager. The dark wood, four poster bed was unmade, like Tordrin, whoever she was, had just rolled out of it and there was what appeared to be a pair of red, silky pajamas and matching dressing gown tossed over the end. The rest of the room was tidy enough, though it was in that "best not open any cupboards" way that Rose was intimately familiar with.
"My second eldest daughter." Patience informed her, "Pardon the mess."
"Mess?" She laughed, shaking her head, "You should see my room."
"I never would have gotten away with this when I was her age." She admitted, opening the wardrobe and ignoring the crumpled pile of clothing that toppled out as she did, instead focusing on the hanging garments.
"Strict parents?" Rose guessed.
"To put it mildly." Patience pulled out a knee length, robe-like red tunic not dissimilar to a shorter version of her dress, a darker red pair of straight legged trousers and, thankfully, a pair of flats, "Try these."
"Thanks." Rose accepted the clothing with a small half smile.
"I'll be right outside if you need anything."
Rose watched her retreat from the room before turning her attention to the clothing. They were easy enough to figure out, for all she'd heard about the advanced nature of Time Lord society, they still used buttons, ties, and zippers like any Earth garment. She changed quickly, eager to rid herself of the cold, wet clothes that clung to her skin in favor of the soft, well worn tunic that the girl named Tordrin had unknowingly loaned her.
Once she was finished changing, she took a moment to indulge her curiosity about the girl who lived in this room. It was hard to wrap her head around the idea of this girl actually being The Doctor's daughter, but she could definitely see at least superficial similarities in the books in Gallifreyan crowding the shelves, the nicknacks that covered most surfaces, and the star charts tacked to the walls with seemingly random locations circled. Something about the room gave her the feeling that the girl it belonged to had an awful lot of wanderlust and she couldn't help wondering if she would ever get to travel the way The Doctor does.
A knock at the door startled her out of her thoughts and she was still hurrying to put one of the nicknacks back on the desk when Patience poked her head around the door. Fumbling nervously, she dropped the little box she had been holding, face flushing as she scrambled to retrieve it, "Sorry..."
"That's alright." Patience assured her, smiling, "Curiosity is quite natural, I believe."
"It killed the cat, though." Rose laughed, still a little embarrassed. A look of confusion passed over Patience's face. "It's an expression where I'm from. Curiosity killed the cat. It's a reminder that too much curiosity tends to get people into trouble."
"Ah, someone should tell my husband that." Patience joked, leaning down and gathering up Rose's wet clothes from the floor, "He's always landing himself in trouble."
"That's never going to change." Rose laughed more genuinely this time, "The Doctor is always dragging us into crazy situations."
Patience raised an eyebrow, "Like this one?"
"At least this time it wasn't his fault. I think." Rose frowned, "Honestly we don't really know how we got here."
"Well, if there's one thing I've learned about him over the decades, it's that he is equally good at worming his way out of trouble as he is at getting into them, and there are two of him here now so I'm sure they'll come up with something, even if it's a bit crazy." Patience assured her kindly, "Now, why don't we go to the kitchen and put the kettle on?"
"That sounds great." She smiled gratefully, still chilled by her damp hair.
Leaving the teenager's room behind them, Patience guided Rose back down the ridiculous stairs to the doors nestled between the two staircases, which apparently lead to the kitchen. The room in question was large and bright despite the dark wood and gold trimming of the previous room carrying through. Unlike the foyer, however, the deep green marble gave way to dark wood floors and white marble countertops that drew the eye towards the far wall where the entire room seemed to focus on the big, white marble farmhouse sink and the large semicircle window cut into the back wall. The gold trimmed window dominated two thirds of the wall, overlooking what appeared to be a vegetable garden and orchard beyond, accessed by the French door nestled in the far left hand corner of the kitchen. The center of the room was dominated by a kitchen island that would have had her mother turning green with envy, it's surface strewn with bowls and pans and chopping boards with half cut vegetables, like before they had arrived, Patience had been in the middle of preparing dinner. This theory was supported by the fantastic smell of some sort of meat roasting that hit them as soon as they stepped into the room and Rose suddenly realized she was starving.
The Doctor was already in the kitchen, dressed in loose red trousers tucked into dark leather, knee high boots and a red, robe-like tunic long enough to reach his mid thighs. It was not entirely dissimilar to what Rose herself wore and, considering his previous whinging, he seemed surprisingly comfortable in it.
He had drawn up one of the stools nestled under the edge of the island and was seated with Anliss, the child they'd seen in the garden, perched on his knee as he leaned over the counter, examining the collection of twigs and rocks and little flowers that the girl was showing him. Looking up as they entered the room, The Doctor gave a smile that Rose couldn't help but return.
"How did you get down here so fast?" Rose realised, "You left after us."
"I took the elevator." The Doctor announced.
Rose stared at him for a second, "... The what?"
"The elevator." He repeated, nodding behind her. Sure enough, tucked away in the left hand corner of the kitchen closest to the foyer was what appeared to be a set of elevator doors. Rose gave a little groan thinking about all the stairs she'd just endured.
"Lazy." Patience accused, though there was no actual malice in her tone. Brushing her fingers over the girl's hair, she leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "Are we showing Daddy our collection?"
"Treasures." The Doctor confirmed, picking up one of the small rocks to show them, "Completely worthless, but this one sparkles a little."
"Mmm, our favourite kind." Patience chuckled, moving around the island to retrieve the kettle and fill it in the sink, "You should let me take a look at that cut on your head."
"It's not bad." The Doctor shrugged dismissively, though a stern look from Patience had him thinking better of that claim, "... But yeah, you can take a look."
Opening a drawer, she retrieved what appeared to be a small first aid kit and Rose couldn't help but be struck by just how normal that was. Perhaps mums on every planet stashed boxes of plasters in kitchen drawers, ready to soothe bumps and scrapes at a moment's notice.
Coming back around to their side of the island, she moved Anliss off The Doctor's lap, putting one hand under his chin and tilting his head so she could see the cut better. Momentarily annoyed with being displaced, Anliss toddled over to Rose instead, thrusting her arms up to indicate her desire to be picked up. Hesitantly, Rose scooped the child up by her armpits, moving to sit on one of the unoccupied stools.
"Sorry," Patience frowned slightly at her daughter when she noticed, "She's a little needy. Big family, you know? She's used to being doted on and- will you stop moving!"
"It stings!" The Doctor protested, trying to squirm away from the disinfectant she was applying to his forehead.
"If you hold still for a minute, it will be over!" She scolded, holding his chin more firmly and pressing a large plaster over the cut, "There! Is he always this dramatic?"
"Oh yes." Rose admitted, trying not to laugh at The Doctor's pouting.
"Only when I'm being tortured." The Doctor corrected.
"Baby." Patience accused, tucking the first aid kit away, then heading towards a door on the right wall that seemed to lead further into the house, "Speaking of which…"
As she disappeared through the door, Rose caught The Doctor's eye, "So… thirteen kids?"
"Yeah, well…" The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "You know me, I've never been one to conform to social norms."
Rose snorted, "I mean, I know, but I never figured you for…"
"Super Dad?" The Doctor jokes, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Then a more serious, almost regretful look crossed his face as he regarded the child in her lap, "Well, I did my best anyways."
Rose opened her mouth to comment further, but the door Patience had disappeared through swung open, announcing her return with a bundle of blankets in her arms. No, Rose realized, not blankets, a blanket containing an infant who was maybe only a couple of months old if she had to guess. Unlike Patience and Anliss, the infant possessed a wispy crown of blonde curls combined with big blue eyes and chubby, round cheeks that resembled a renaissance painting of a cherub and The Doctor looked at him like he was exactly that kind of masterpiece.
"I thought I heard someone waking up." Patience cooed at the baby, bouncing him gently.
"You must have super hearing." Rose joked, "I didn't hear anything."
"Oh, I didn't hear him with my ears." Patience brushed off casually.
"Gallifreyan parents are telepathically linked to their children to a certain extent. Especially when they're very young." The Doctor explained when Rose frowned in confusion, "It weakens as they get older, but at this age it allows us to understand their needs better and, in the event of an untimely regeneration, recognise each other."
"That's why Anliss knows who you are." Rose guessed, "Even though your face has changed."
"Exactly!" The Doctor smiled proudly at her, then glanced at Patience, who had retrieved a baby bottle from the fridge and seemed to be trying to balance the baby on one arm and go about heating up the bottle with the other, "Do you want me to, uh… can I hold him for you?"
"Of course you can." Patience smiled softly, passing the baby over to The Doctor so she was free to use both her hands.
The sight of The Doctor cradling a baby, a soft, wistful smile on his face, had a feeling stirring in Rose that she couldn't quite name, somewhere between longing, and sorrow, and jealousy. Trying to ignore it, she offered a slight smile of her own, "What's his name?"
"Pavan," The Doctor replied in a quiet voice, "Our youngest."
"He's beautiful." She whispered.
"He's going to be a bit spoiled." The Doctor laughed, "We were definitely more lax with the younger kids, not to mention they have all those older siblings to dote on them."
"Why am I not surprised to hear that?" Patience chuckled, coming up behind The Doctor and placing the warmed bottle on the counter beside him, before heading back around the counter to continue cooking what Rose assumed was dinner.
"Well, who could say no to this face?" The Doctor pointed out in a baby talk voice as if he was actually asking the infant. Taking the bottle from the counter, he offered the nipple to his son, looking every inch the proud father as the infant suckled.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Rose asked Patience, feeling a little bad just sitting and watching.
"Other than restraining the toddler?" Patience joked, pausing to think, "You could finish chopping these for me?"
"Sure." Letting the toddler down off her lap, Rose made her way to the sink, washing her hands with a distinctly floral soap, though it wasn't any flower she could identify. Drying her hands, she took Patience's place at the counter, doing her best to chop the carrot and celery-like vegetables the same way Patience had been while the Gallifreyan woman busied herself with checking and basting the meat.
"That's a big honor in this house, you know?" The Doctor flashed Rose an amused smile, "Helping Mum cook. The kids fight over who gets to do it… for some reason she's never keen on me helping too much."
"Yeah, well, I've seen you try to cook." Rose smirked at him.
The Doctor feigned offence, "It's not that bad!"
"And I always find something for you to do!" Patience reminded him, exchanging a knowing look with Rose, "Usually boiling water."
"I've improved!" He insisted, pouting a little, "I made breakfast the other day! That turned out okay!"
"Alright, I'll give you that," Rose conceded, tossing the chopped veggies in some sort of oil and spices that Patience provided for her, before pouring them into a roasting pan and passing them off to Patience to be put in the oven, "Breakfast turned out okay the other morning."
"I'm impressed." Patience teased, her tone warm and amused. She looked like perhaps she was going to add another light jab at The Doctor, but the conversation was quickly interrupted by Anliss. Giving a little squeal of excitement, the toddler barrelled towards the door leading back into the foyer, her little feet pattering wildly on the floor as she disappeared through it.
"What was that all about?" Rose asked, frowning slightly, glancing between Patience and The Doctor.
Patience just smiled softly in return, "Daddy's home."