Sorry for the big delays on getting chapters posted. I have been dealing with some health issues and needed to focus my energies on getting better. So now that I am feeling much better I will be doing my best on getting back to the rewriting.
Disclaimer: Don't Own Doctor Who or its characters.
Three months have passed since Rose's kidnapping and rescue from her captors. Yet within these three months, the small family hasn't been sitting idle. There was an adventure in a desert where they met a woman aboard a bus. This incident was one that left the Doctor keeping a closer eye on Jenny since she created a fast friendship with the Lady Christina de Souza. Once the incident was taken care of, the Doctor discovered that Unit had offered both Jenny and Luke future jobs. This left a sour taste in the Doctor's mouth that Unit was trying to recruit them at such a young age, which the Doctor spoke to a certain Brigadier about letting Jenny and Luke to find themselves first.
A month after that incident, the Doctor had returned Luke back to Sarah Jane's side. His former companion was thrilled to be back at home after spending so much time healing in the hospital, and Rose even threw a welcome home party for Sarah Jane. It was at seeing how much Rose missed spending time with another, older female that the Doctor decided that he wanted to do a father and son trip. Upon their return to pick up the girls, Rose noticed immediately that something had gone terribly wrong. For you see, once the Tardis had landed Jack had fled from the ship and his mind was wrought with fear. Rose had felt her son's fear and soon learned about what had transpired on the trip.
The Doctor had stayed in the Tardis once his son had fled, not that he blamed his son for doing so. So for two hours the Doctor stayed seated on the grated floor, leaning up against the console. It was here that Rose found him and asked for his rendition of the trips events. Hearing just how much the Doctor was berating himself, Rose didn't yell, scream, or hit the Doctor. What she did do was pull him into a hug and remind him that everyone makes mistakes. She also reaffirmed her love for him, but warned the Doctor to never show their son this part of him again.
Now, after two months of running and excitement, the Doctor was planning on surprising his family with a trip to a leisure planet geared for families. However, the universe had other plans in mind for his family.
Moving around the console, the Doctor has finally succeeded in landing the Tardis smoothly. Just as he is about to move towards a screen, a waddling Rose Tyler enters the console room with one hand pressed against her lower back. Rose's other hand is resting on her protruding bump that sits beneath her teal, V-neck, short-sleeved maternity top. The top is paired with black knit maternity capris and teal slip-on shoes.
"Did we just land somewhere, Doctor?" she asks as she makes her way over the large yellow jump seat.
Walking over to Rose, the Doctor places a hand on the bump that houses his next child. "Yes we have. I thought that we all might take advantage of a wonderful planet called, Recess, or at least that is what it translates to in English. It is a family friendly place, so we can all enjoy what down time we have before this one makes her appearance."
At the end of the Doctor's words, the little girl inside of the bump decides to give one hard kick against where his hand is resting.
"Oww." Rose says as she flinches from her daughter's kick.
The Doctor, after seeing Rose flinch from the pain, kneels down so that he was eye level with her bump to address his child.
"Oi! Now see here, young lady, that is no way to treat your mother." The Doctor scolds and tries hard not to laugh as his hand receives several more kicks.
"She only seems to move when she hears your voice or when you touch my belly." Rose groans out as she watches a smile grow even bigger on the Doctor's face. "You know, when I was carrying Jack, he never moved as much as she does."
"Really?" The Doctor looks up at Rose with a mixture of awe and pain in his eyes. He wasn't there when she was pregnant with Jack. So for him this is all new to him, or at least new with him being with Rose. His other children, before every meeting Rose, were created in almost the same fashion as Jenny was.
"Mummy?" came a soft, innocent voice from the doorway.
Both parents turn to see their son standing there, watching them with some trepidation in his eyes. Ever since the incident on Mars, he has begun to show signs of distrust towards his father. Yet, Jack has gotten better over the last two months with a lot of help from the Tardis. The ship has given him his own separate room, that is similar to the butterfly room, so that it can be his safe place when his symptoms of mild PTSD begin to affect him.
The little boy slowly makes his way over to Rose and the Doctor, while still wearing his nebula looking pajamas. Reaching his parents, Jack places a kiss to the side of Rose's belly and the little one inside presses against the boy's lips. This causes the little boy to giggle, and both parents let out a relieved breath at seeing their son's anxiety leave his body.
Looking up at his mother, Jack asks, "Mummy, when will she be here? How much longer does she need to cook?"
Rose giggles while the Doctor picks up his son and sits next to Rose with Jack sitting in his lap.
"Cook? Now where did you hear about that euphemism?" the Doctor asks his son.
The little boy picks up his one of his father's hands and begins to play with the fingers while keeping his eyes locked on said hand.
"Uncle Jack said that she needed to cook longer a month ago." Dropping the hand, Jack swallows before turning his head to look up at his father. "So is she done cooking yet?"
Rose chuckles and replies, "No, she isn't done yet. We still have a few months to go before she comes, Jack. Though I wish she would just come out already, but she still needs more time to grow and develop."
"Okay." Jack says softly, now looking at his mother. "Where are we going today?"
"A family friendly leisure planet for all of us to enjoy." The Doctor replies with a grin on his face. "Why don't you go get dressed and wake your sister. You both have an hour till you need to be here in the console."
The Doctor sets Jack down and watches as his son runs out of the room, yelling for Jenny to wake up. Looking over at Rose, the Doctor raises an eyebrow and speaks.
"Are you sure you want another one of those?"
"A bit late to change our minds." Rose retorts while swatting the Doctor playfully on the chest.
An hour later...
The Tardis door opens and the family of four exit with excitement over the idea of enjoying themselves on this planet. However, as they head further into the city they begin to realize that something isn't right. So far, they have come across nothing but hovel homes. Nothing is state-of-the-art technology and is looking more like something out of a documentary about ancient civilizations.
Jack is walking ahead of his parents, with his brown strappy sandals filling with sand. He is thankful that Jenny had suggested that he wear a white, light-weight, button down t-shirt with khaki shorts. It is hot, even with the wind gently blowing his brown locks around on his head.
Jenny, who is walking next to Jack, is wearing a soft pale green colored sundress that ends just below her knees. She too is wearing strappy brown sandals, and has on a straw hat to help keep the bright sun off of her face. Looking down at her younger brother, she can tell that he can sense it too.
"I think dad got the coordinates wrong again, Jack." Jenny says to him before offering him her hand.
"Think so too. Nothing feels right about this place." Jack comments as he watches the few people who are walking in the street quickly hurry to their homes.
Rose and the Doctor walk side by side, hand-in-hand, watching their youngest walking with their oldest. The Doctor, still dressed in his brown and blue pinstriped suit but minus the jacket, comes to the realization that the Tardis has once again landed them somewhere that was not his intended destination.
Glancing over at Rose, he can see that she is sweating more than she should be while pregnant. The back of her white and cherry printed halter-styled maternity sundress is starting to stick to her skin from being damp with her sweat. Even her French-braided hair is looking a bit wet where it lays over her shoulder.
Feeling the Doctor's eyes watching her, Rose places her free hand on her bump after feeling the child within her twirl around in its surroundings. She is already feeling the constrains of walking in the oppressive heat and knows that she may be starting to become dehydrated. Finally Rose can't take it anymore and stops walking.
"You feeling alright, Rose?" The Doctor asks as he looks at Rose's flushed face. Then pulls out the sonic screwdriver to scan the bump.
"Are you in any pain?" His voice starting to panic a little with worry that the heat might be causing Rose to go into premature labor.
"Hmmm. Yeah, we are alright Doctor. She's just restless. Just like her father, she is." Rose looks away from where the Doctor is standing. "Where did our other two disappear to?"
The Doctor puts the sonic screwdriver away and turns to see that their other two kids have disappeared. "Rassilon. Those two are in trouble now. I told them, no wandering off."
"You there!" a voice shouts from down the street. "You two slaves, are supposed to be working."
Both the Doctor and Rose turn around to see a group of six men approaching them. All of the men are wearing what looks like ancient Egyptian military garbs and their short swords are drawn. This worries the Doctor, especially since Rose is pregnant. So he tries to place himself between her and the men.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, Hebrew." The leader of the group says as the rest of the group surround the Doctor and Rose.
"Look, I think there has been a mistake here. You see, my family aren't from around here. So if you would let my wife and I find our children we would happily leave." The Doctor says as he keeps his eyes on one of the guards who was looking at Rose with a look of lust in his eyes.
"Leave? You and your family are slaves here, Hebrew." the leader growls out in frustration at the gall of the supposed slave.
"I can make sure your wife gets to the water well safely." the one who is eyeing Rose up gleefully says before licking his lips.
"I don't think so." the Doctor growls out in reply with a hint of the Oncoming Storm adding an edge to his words.
Before the Doctor or Rose could react, one of the other men from the group, tackles the Doctor to the ground. This causes the Doctor and the man to wrestle with one another before two more join in. The man who had been eyeing up Rose is quick to yank her away from the scuffle. However, as the man begins to pull her away from where the Doctor is, she begins to fight back.
"Doctor!" Rose screams out as she can feel herself being pulled away. Even with her kicking and smacking the man, she still can't break free from his grasp.
The Doctor wrestles with three of the men on the ground, but hearing Rose scream for him causes the Doctor to fight even harder against the man. Using his superior Time Lord strength, the Doctor is able to knock one of the men out with a punch out. With that opponent taken care of, the Doctor focuses on the other two while tapping into the Oncoming Storm for an extra boost. However, as the Doctor prepares to body slam the man who know has him in a choke hold, he hears Rose call out to him in a panicked state. Just as he tries to twist his body to look for Rose, something hits the back of his head. This blow causes the Doctor to lose consciousness with the echoes of Rose's screams ringing in his ears.
Elsewhere in the community...
Walking down an alleyway, Jack is searching for his sister or his parents. Jenny had mentioned checking out the markets, while Jack had been studying a beautifully made chariot. It was after he was finished with his inspection of the carvings on the face of the chariot that he realized that Jenny was gone. That was over an hour ago, and Jack is beginning to feel nervous.
Upon reaching another intersection with three possible routes back to his parents, or Jenny, Jack decides to reach out with his mind, to find his parents. There is no response from his father, and Jack can feel his mother's emotions are blocking his ability to connect properly with her.
Feeling completely lost, Jack continues to walk till he notices that a boy around his age has been following him. Jack decides that he will confront his young stalker, and just as he turns around the boy speaks to him.
"Are you lost?" The little boy asks.
"Don't know if I call it lost. Displaced maybe." Jack replies while taking a good once over of the boy.
"You're not from here, are you?" The boy giggles as he notices Jack's eyebrows furrow like how his own father's does when deep in thought.
"No, just visiting. I think my dad brought us to the wrong place again." Jack replies once he comes to the conclusion that this boy is not a threat.
"Me too. My father used to live here before he met my mother. Now he is back to trying to get Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. Come. My mother is at home and maybe she can help find your parents."
"My older sister is missing too. By the way, my name's Jack." Offering his hand to the boy in greeting, Jack let himself smile in encouragement.
The boy takes Jack's hand and replies, "My name is Gershom. Come, I will show you my home."
Keeping hold of Gershom's hand, Jack follows the boy through the never-ending maze that is this place.
In another part of the city...
Jenny had been walking in circles for the past 3 hours looking for her little brother. She made a mental note to ask Rose if her father did anything like this. Then again, Rose always says, "Like father, Like son" when it comes to anything that Jack does.
Jenny stops walking and looks around at the nearby buildings. With her genetic engineering recon skills kicking in, she makes a decision to go up to get a better view. A better lay of the land would help Jenny get her bearings on just where she is. Maybe even help her find where the Tardis is.
'These building look easy enough to climb.' she thinks to herself as she begins to attempt to climb one of the said buildings.
Just as Jenny gets a fourth of the way up, a man about the age of her father comes around one of the corners. What causes the man to look, he doesn't know. But for some reason he can't help showing the surprise on his face at seeing a young woman climbing the side of a building. Deciding to give in to his curiosity, the man walks towards the building.
"Well you certainly are a talented young woman." he said. "Though I must ask, why?"
Jenny stops her climbing and looks down to see a man with brown hair and blue eyes looking up at her. Noticing that he has no weapon, she decides to leap down and lands on the ground. "Why what?"
"Why does a young woman like yourself climb buildings? Have you no child, baby, or job to take care of?" He looks her up and down wondering what this woman does in her spare time.
"Actually I am looking for my little brother and our parents."
"I see. And where are your parents?"
"Somewhere in this labyrinth of buildings."
"Well, I know a man who might know where your family is. Come." The man starts to walk and when he notices that Jenny isn't following, he turns to her. "You have nothing to fear from me. My heart belongs to another. My name is Joshua."
"I'm Jenny." she replies as she walks up beside him.
After being separated from the Doctor, Rose had been dragged through the city. Two of the men took her towards what appeared to be a well. A well that was surrounded by other women who were dressed in long simple gowns and headdresses. One of the women approached her and assigned Rose with helping water jugs.
"You're new around here." says a woman, who was wearing a soft tan dress with a red veil.
"Actually, I was visiting with my husband and our kids when we all got separated. They took my husband somewhere else and I have no idea where my kids are." Rose places a hand on her belly as the child within gives several hard jabs that causes Rose to wince.
The woman moves quickly to Rose's side. "How far along are you? No matter. Come, I'll take you to my home. No pregnant woman your size should be carrying anything but her child. Besides with your exotic looks the overseer might take you for his own. Pregnant or not. My name is Miriam."
"I'm Rose." Rose takes a quick breath as the baby yet again kicks her.
"Come." Miriam says as she takes Rose's hand in hers. "You shall have some food and milk when we arrive to my home."
The two women make their way away from the water well and head into the many paths of the city.
In the Dungeons…
The Doctor feels like someone has smashed his head in as he begins to wake. Feeling as though nothing is broken or sprained, the Doctor slowly opens his eyes. Taking in his surroundings, he discovers that he is chained to a wall in a dungeon. Rising slowly from the ground, the Doctor can feel his age catching up on him.
"You are finally up."
CRACK!
The Doctor lets out a hissed groan as he feels the whip hit his back. Again and again the whip comes across his back in rapid succession. It goes on for a time and all the Doctor can do is take the hits the best he can. He bites back several screams as the whip breaks through his skin, and he can feel the blood start to soak into the remains of his shirt.
After what feels like an eternity, the whipping ends and the Doctor is breathing very heavily curled up over his knees. As he tries to keep his lungs working, the Doctor hears his abuser leave the dungeon. With the slamming of the door, the Doctor allows himself to fall to his side and let the tears of pain flow from his eyes. He knows that the tears are just a reaction to the pain from the beating, but it doesn't mean that he is weak.
Once the tears are done, the Doctor takes stock off how long it will take for his wounds to heal to the point where he can move. In the corner of the dungeon cell there is a bowl made of pottery that hold several days old. It may not be the best water to use to clean his wounds, but the Doctor feels confident that he won't get an infection if he uses it. Crawling slowly towards the bowl, the Doctor comes to a stop as the chain that holds his right ankle to the floor becomes taunt. Stretching out an arm, his fingertips barely touch the edge and the Doctor tries move the bowl. This movement causes the bowl to toddle about from the movement which leads it to the water spilling out onto the stone floor.
Left feeling frustrated, the Doctor lets out a shout of frustration before he allows himself to fall into the unconscious oblivion.
So there it is folks, the update. So I have a question for you all. Would you all like to see Rose have a short adventure without the Doctor or kids? I have had this little plot idea running in my mind for several weeks now, and I really would like to incorporate it within this story. If I place it within this story, it will take place before the End of Time chapters and help possibly tie in with the third story of this series. Let me know if this might intrigue you to read.
Reviews are welcomed, cherished, and loved.
Selene