Summary:
"fluuuuff" - spookymorgana
"can we have more with the child, pls" - anonymous
Babies and baby/kid cliches everywhere. Because babies are fluffy.
Vastra looked cautiously at the small sleeping bundle in Jenny's arms. She had read books about this, watched videos, grilled the Doctor, and yet still felt woefully unprepared. Silurians had no maternal instincts, her species never needed it. The first memory she had after hatching from her egg was fight her peers for food.
"Vastra? Want to hold her?"
The Silurian nodded and awkwardly took the tiny bundle. Her arms were stiff as she noted how fragile the human hatchling was. Soft and defenseless, she would have been fodder for hungry raptors. Vastra instantly felt very protective of the newest addition to her unit.
She leaned over to kiss Jenny while their little one slept on.
A whimper echoed through the fancy baby monitor Strax set up. Careful to get out of bed without disturbing her exhausted wife, Vastra slipped into the room and quickly picked up the baby.
"Don't scream, little fuzzy one. I know you prefer your mother, but she's resting now. Where were we in the saga of Tun W'lzz?"
The baby fussed still and Vastra switched to Silurian as she continued the story. The baby stopped and looked at her curiously.
By the time Vastra finished, the baby was sound asleep. The Silurian was always slightly offended the epic saga filled with death, dismemberment, and blood made the hatchling fall asleep without fail but Vastra chalked it up to her horrible storytelling skills. She was a warrior, not a historian. Vastra carefully placed the sleeping bundle back into her crib.
The silurian took one last look before heading back to bed.
"Get back here, you little rascal!"
The little girl giggled as she ran away from Jenny. She climbed up the nearest surface which turned out to be Strax.
"Boy, are you declaring an act of war against your human progenitor? I congratulate you on your bravery!"
"Not helping, Strax!"
When Vastra came home, she decided against asking why the living room was destroyed. Again.
"Again!"
The little girl punched the padding Vastra held. "Even a sauthna has more power than that."
The girl hissed something that made Vastra smile as she punched harder. "Good, back to the ropes, three sets."
As their daughter went off, Jenny stood next to Vastra. They both watch their daughter for a little while. Vastra leaned against her wife. "Are you sure this is this appropriate for a young hatchling like her to learn, Jenny? You humans are so soft and fragile, and you were much older when I trained you."
"She'll be fine."
"I want to put her in a bubble."
"Ma'am - "
"Maybe put several Parthana on guard."
"Oi-"
"And let Strax use his blatha grenades."
"Vastra!"
The Silurian finally looked over to her wife with a grin. "You called, dearest?"
Jenny rolled her eye. "Stop worrying you daft lizard."
"But - "
Jenny pulled Vastra's head down for a kiss to shut her up.
"Ew, Moms!"
"I don't hear those ropes going, another five sets?"
"Ma!"
"I have a half mind to vaporize that ape right now."
"He is just like any of the other boys."
"Yes, but he smells very bad. And the air taste like filth."
"Vastra, nothing is going to happen."
Vastra hissed a threat making Jenny roll her eyes. She is not sure how she got dragged along to spy on their daughter.
"He grabbed her arm! That's it I'm going -"
Jenny quickly yanked the Silurian down. "She can handle herself. She's been trained by you, hasn't she?"
"Yes, but she's a small human."
Vastra stopped abruptly and grinned. Jenny looked over to their daughter and sighed in defeat. "Now will you stop worrying, you crazy reptile?"
The boy was on the ground crying holding his hand while their daughter crossed her arms, looking very angry. Vastra was never prouder.
"So, how did she die?"
"She was suffocated!"
"How do you know that?"
The girl pointed to the faint imprint of the lipstick on the pillow.
"Very good, now what else can you tell me?"
The two continued to discuss the case as they analyzed the small details in the dollhouse that the trio designed and constructed. It was a somewhat sanitized version of an actual case the Paternoster Gang solved. Jenny smiled as she watched the two debate while she carved a figurine for the next one.
It was a compromise since their daughter wanted to come along on their cases but that wasn't going to happen for several more years yet.
Jenny blew off wood shavings and eyed the figurine critically. It was coming along nicely.
The young woman was very excited as she was finally allowed to lead a case. She had shadowed her mothers before but this would be the first they allowed her find and apprehend the criminal. Even though she couldn't see or smell them, she knew her mothers were trailing behind and Strax was manning the carriage. They wouldn't interfere unless something went horribly wrong. One day, they won't be there to follow, but until then she relished having three extra shadows.
Meta: The case dollhouses are based off Nutshell dioramas created by Frances Glessner Lee, essentially the mother of forensic investigation. Check out her stuff, she's awesome.
