Chapter Six

"Will you leave me alone?" Rose said.

They were walking back towards the field so they could see the puppet show. On the way, they had all been teasing Rose about being scared of the mouse.

"I'm sorry, Starlight, but you being afraid of an itty bitty mouse is just hilarious," Alan said.

"Yes, especially since it was so small, Rain could cup her hands around it," the Doctor added.

"Give her a werewolf or a Cyberman and she won't bat an eyelid, but a teeny weeny brown mouse. Eeeeek!" Alan yelled as the others laughed.

"Lay off her, Uncle Alan, quit teasing her."

"Thank you, Soki!" Rose said the moment she heard her.

She ran back and embraced her.

"Yes, finally, someone is on my side!" she said.

"Traitor!" Alan yelled as Rose led Sokanon to the front and they walked together.

Rose stopped everyone.

"Okay, wasn't gonna say this but I feel I have to explain why I was scared of that mouse."

Everyone giggled when the Doctor and Alan rushed up and leaned forward until they were inches from her face. Rose rolled her eyes when they froze in an expectant silence. She backed up slightly before she began to speak.

"When I was six, I went to sleep one night and about three in the morning, I felt something walking on my face and when I opened my eyes, this little brown mouse was sitting right on my lips and I about had kittens. Ever since then I've been afraid of mice, okay?"

They laughed when neither brother moved.

"That's all?" the Doctor finally said. "You woke up one night, a mouse was on your face and your whole world shattered at the same time a phobia was created?"

"I was six, Doctor!" he said as everyone bent over laughing. "Come on, weren't you scared of something at six years old?"

"A Garglisnoot."

Rose raised her eyebrow as the others laughed.

"A what?" she said.

"Garglisnoot, they were the bogeymen of Gallifrey. Little weasel-like demons that came along at night and possessed children."

"Oh, they did not, Doctor," Rose said as they laughed harder.

"Yes, they did. They crept along and entered houses and went in through snoring children's mouths. That's why we got a beating whenever we were caught snoring."

"Did you ever see one, Daddy?" Namid said, coming up beside him.

"Yes, I did. He tried to attack my cousin, Frantos," he said, taking her hand as they resumed walking.

"What'd ya do, Daddy?" Chaska asked as he and Christopher came up beside him.

"Well, it was in his cupboard. I went and got a large stick and snuck up on it and beat it to death. He never saw me coming."

"Oooo," Namid, Chaska and Christopher said as Rose glanced at Tara and shook her head.

Sokanon looked back at her father.

"Did one ever possess someone, Daddy?" she asked him.

"Oh, one did long ago, I think. Way before I was born. This old hermit used to tell me stories when I was small and he told me a little boy was possessed by a garglisnoot and murdered everyone in his house."

"And what else did this old hermit tell you, Daddy?" Tara asked.

"Lots of things. Told me all sorts of ghost stories," he replied.

"Tell us one, Daddy," Sokanon said.

"Yeah, tell us something he told you," Chaska added.

"Okay, I'll tell you one tonight when we get back to our camp," the Doctor said.

He grinned when the triplets cheered at that.

Rose suddenly let out a gasp when Alan grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the trees.

"Hmm, hmm, hmm, now I will have my way with you," he said in her ear.

Everyone else stopped and listened.

"Um…we're out here," Tara yelled. "Just in case…you're planning to do something."

Chris ran through the trees.

"ARE YOU AND MUMMY GONNA HAVE SEX, DADDY?" he bellowed.

The adults laughed hysterically as Alan brought his son back over to the path.

"No, we're not having sex. Where did you even hear about that?"

"The telly."

"Oh, well, that figures," Alan muttered, rolling his eyes. "No, I was just joking around with your mum and being silly. We weren't about to have sex. And now that I'm done joking with your mummy, we can continue on to the puppet show."

"Gee, it would have been more entertaining if they'd had sex," Rain muttered in her husband's ear.

The Doctor bit his lip and wrapped his arm around her as they continued toward the field.

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By the time they reached the stage, there was a large crowd gathered around the wooden puppet theater that had been set up near the back. Five rows of twenty chairs were in front of it.

"Stay together, kids," the Doctor said as he took Namid's hand. "Okay, Rainbow, three steps in front of you. Ready? One…two…three! There ya go!"

They walked over to the third row and sat down in it. Namid sat on the end with her sister and brother and Chris while the adults sat beside them.

"Daddy, are you gonna do something in our minds?" Sokanon asked him.

"Yup, just as soon as the show starts, I will," the Doctor replied.

The triplets began to speak to one another in their hidden language. The Doctor listened to them for a moment and then looked at Christopher who was sitting beside him.

"You know what that lot's saying to each other?" he asked him.

"No."

"I see, so they don't tell you what they're saying when they speak their mumbo jumbo language, eh?" he said to him as the triplets giggled.

"Nope, I don't know what they're saying," Chris said.

The Doctor looked around and then leaned in to his ear.

"I think they're planning to rub me out," he whispered.

"Really?"

"Yeah, not a word to Bessie," the Doctor said with a wink

He tapped the side of his nose while the other children giggled. He smiled when Chris gave him an odd look.

"Who's Bessie?" he asked.

"Never mind, it was an old radio program in Britain during the forties and fifties," he said, waving a hand dismissively. "Point is, I think those three are planning to do me in at some point. So will you protect me from the little murderers?"

Chris giggled.

"Okay, Uncle Doctor," he said to him.

"Brill. Now…just keep those eyes peeled and at the first sign of an attack, jump in front of me and be my human shield!"

He feigned terror when Alan cleared his throat loudly and looked across Rain at him.

"What was that? Sounded like you wanted my son to sacrifice his life for you," Alan said as Rose and Tara laughed.

"Wait a tick, is this your son?" the Doctor said, pointing to Chris. "I'm so sorry, old chap; I thought he was some strange kid that just sat down beside me. Thousand pardons."

Alan looked at Rose who was sitting beside him.

"He was gonna use our son as a human shield. I say we throw his son in a meat mincer and see how he likes it."

"Don't, dear, it'll disrupt family unity," Rose replied, patting him on the knee.

"What?" Alan said as she and Tara bent over laughing. "You're willing to have our son die to preserve family unity, is that what I'm led to understand?"

"Yeah, that's what she said," Tara said.

"Shush it, Tara Firma, before I throw you in a cannon and fertilize the woods with ye."

"Yeah, I'm shaking with terror," Tara said, holding up her hand and showing him how steady it was. "I'm just quaking in my boots!"

Alan looked at Rain who was sitting on the other side of him.

"Hey," he said, poking her arm repeatedly. "Your kid's being mouthy to me, what are you gonna do about it?"

Rain rose from her seat, she fumbled around in her trouser pocket while Alan watched. She took out her magic wallet, fiddled with it and produced twenty dollars.

"Here you go, Honey," she said, handing it to Tara. "I'm proud of you for irritating Uncle Alan. Spend it any way you want."

"Thanks, Mom!" Tara said as everyone except Alan laughed.

She put her wallet back in her pocket, sat back down and with a contented sigh, rested her head on her husband's shoulder while Alan gave her a dirty look.

"Vengeance will be mine," Alan said to her.

Rain let out an exaggerated yawn, raised her head up, poked and prodded the Doctor's shoulder as if she were fluffing it and then put her head back. She hummed loudly and the Doctor sniggered as Alan continued to stare at her.

"Love, there's a weird, beady-eyed man staring at me. Will you poke his eyes out so I don't have to pretend not to notice him," she said in a sleepy voice.

Alan jerked his head back when the Doctor jabbed his finger towards his face.

"Blast, missed. Ah well, I'll try again later," he said, putting his hand back in his lap.

Alan stared at Rain for a moment and then flopped his head down onto her shoulder in imitation of her.

"Love, the beady-eyed man's head is on my shoulder. Would you be a lamb and rip his head off and stuff it down his pants so I won't be bothered?" Rain said sleepily as the children giggled.

"Love," Alan said, imitating her. "I'm a bossy old hag who likes to order you about. Could you get some needle and thread and sew up my gob so the prattling will cease?"

The Doctor clamped his hand over his mouth when Rain jerked her body up and glared at Alan.

"Excuse me? What was that, Weirdo?" she said to Alan.

"I said, quit whinging and irritating the crap outta ya husband, ya daft prune!" Alan said to her.

"Children! Defend me!" Rain said.

The Doctor laughed when all four of her children jumped up and gathered around her and Alan.

"Um…hi?" Alan said hesitantly as the other adults laughed. "Nice children, good, sweet children. I love you all?"

"You leave mummy alone!" Chaska said with his hands on his hips.

"I'd stop if I were you, mate, that's the one with the temper," the Doctor said to him.

"Okay, I'll back off then," Alan said.

"Good, children, take your seats," Rain said.

Alan feigned shock when all of them sat back down.

"Blimey, you got em trained, dontcha?" he said.

He looked at Chris who had been sitting beside the Doctor the entire time.

"And you, you didn't defend me?" he asked him.

"I'm comfortable sitting here, Daddy," he said.

The adults laughed when his mouth dropped open.

"Well, I see I won't be taking you along in the TARDIS then when you get older," he said. "First time a Dalek menaces me…I'm too tired to save you, Daddy, I'll just let him shoot ya."

He looked at Rose.

"Is it too late to put him back in the oven?" he said, gesturing to her stomach, "I don't think he's quite done yet. He's a bit soft in the head."

"No, I don't want back inside me. Too crowded," Rose said. "You'll just have to accept him as is."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Alan muttered as Rose kissed his cheek.