Chapter 4
A.N.: not much to say from here on out. Enjoy anyway!
You hold in tears as you stand over a fresh grave in the gathering dusk. The grave of your beloved other half. You want so badly to cry, but you have to be strong for your children, three of them now. But there won't be any more of them. Your oldest son stands ramrod straight, not yet old enough to realize what the loss of a parent meant, but old enough to know what grief is. The middle child, another boy, squirms in the suit you'd half-heartedly forced him to wear. Your youngest daughter, holding your hand while the youngest son holds your other, oscillates in place, swinging her free arm back and forth, far too young to realize what's happened.
After a short while, Mary grows bored with her swinging and turns to you. "Are they ever coming back?" she asks with pleading eyes. You meet those very same eyes for a moment before moving your own to the ground.
"No, honey," you say. "They aren't."
"Why not?" Samuel asks, looking up from your other side and squeezing your hand.
"They're dead," Dean snapped bitterly. "They're never gonna come back, not ever."
You wished that just once, they'd behave, but Dean's behavior says otherwise. Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, the wind changes to blow against your back, accompanied by an ugly wheezing and followed by a creak.
"Bad time isn't it?" The Doctor's voice says behind you. You turn around, switching hands with Mary and Samuel. You look so much older now since the last time you saw the alien, but he hasn't even changed his clothes. He never does.
"(Mommy/Daddy), who's that?" Mary asks, pointing to The Doctor as she hides behind your leg. He begins to introduce himself. "I'm-"
"Mary, Samuel, Dean, this is The Doctor. He's a very old friend of (mommy's/daddy's)." The Doctor smiles as he bends down to shake hands with each of them, getting their names as he goes. He then stands and addresses you.
"I am deeply, deeply sorry," he says, sounding as if he were holding back tears himself. His eyes, as ever, are still mourning his own losses. This time, you're the one to smile sadly.
"Aren't you going to say it?" you whisper. Mary looks up at you as Samuel furrows his eyebrows. Dean looks suspiciously between you and The Doctor, wondering what you meant. The Doctor returns your smile.
"Come with me. All of you," he says, glancing at the four of you.
"Where?!" Mary demands excitedly, bouncing in place.
"I want to go to Mars," Samuel chimes in, only to have that dream immediately shot down by Dean. You smirk at The Doctor, both thanking him for the distraction and telling him who to answer. He smiles back, for once without sadness in his emerald eyes.
"Well, kiddies," he says, kneeling down to their level. "Take your pick." After several minutes of excited deliberation, everyone agrees to go to the moon under the guidance of The Doctor. Grinning, you herd your children into the box, their awed noises turning grief into a vague feeling at the back of your mind.
A.N.: As always, please leave me a review and tell me what you thought. Also, bonus points if you can guess the show I referenced with the kids' names. I'm guessing a lot of people will get bonus points. Thank you for your time and GOD BLESS!