Chapter Thirteen
The Doctor and the others were chuckling warmly as they walked back to the TARDIS. Namid was looking all around her in amazement, wanting to see everything with her new eyes. It took some time to get back to their ship since they stopped frequently to let her look at things. The Doctor was in seventh Heaven, enjoying the fact that his daughter had her eyesight at last. Once again, he was in debt to Imiko and when they paused to let Namid look at some flowers, he suddenly had an idea.
The Doctor was holding Namid's folded up cane in his hand, the cane she would never need again, and he suddenly had an idea about what to do with it.
"If you lot don't mind, I'm gonna make a small diversion before we go back home," he said to everyone.
"I don't think Namid will complain," Alan said as Namid nodded her head rapidly.
"Okey-doke, follow me and allons-y," he said.
He tousled Namid's hair as they continued toward the TARDIS.
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"Ah, here we are," the Doctor said when they stepped outside the TARDIS.
"And here would be…" Frankie said.
"Kyoto, Japan," the Doctor said with a grin.
"And why are we here?" Tara asked.
"We are going to drop this cane off at an Inari shrine and say hello and thanks to Imiko," the Doctor said to them. "Follow me, there's one near here."
He led the way to the Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine that was nestled at the bottom of a mountain that was also named Inari. The mountain had several trails going up it that led to smaller shrines. But the Doctor and his family walked up to the main entrance which had a large kitsune statue beside it. The fox was sitting on a large stone base. It was holding a key to the rice granaries in its mouth and had a red bib tied around its neck. They admired it for a moment before the Doctor handed the cane to Namid.
"Leave it here as an offering," he said to her.
"Where?" Namid said, looking around.
"Just at the base of the statue. If someone wants it, they can take it, but the point is you're saying goodbye to it," the Doctor said, patting her shoulder.
Namid nodded. She took the cane over and laid it at the base of the statue. She looked up at the large fox statue.
"Thank you, Imiko, for doing this for me," she said to it. "I'm glad you came and let me see again. I want you to have this because I won't need it anymore."
She stood back and looked up at the statue.
"That's pretty," she said, pointing up to it. "Let's steal it, Daddy."
"No, we're not gonna steal the statue," the Doctor said while everyone laughed. "I came here to thank Imiko, not to pinch her statue."
He glanced over at Alan when he passed him and walked to Namid's side. He reached into his pocket, took out his TARDIS key and laid it beside the cane.
"Imiko, I'm going to do the same and leave you this TARDIS key. I realize you've been welcome in the TARDIS for some time now but you were never formally welcomed since you left before we got the TARDIS back so this is a symbolic way of saying you'll always be welcome in our TARDIS and in our family and thank you for what you've done for us and for my niece."
Suddenly, there were two flashes of light and the cane was transformed into a silver necklace with a jade fox pendant and Alan's key transformed into a jade key with a fox's head. Beside both objects was a tiny note. Alan picked it up and read it.
My friends,
I accept your gifts and your thanks. In return, I am giving Namid-chan a necklace that will protect her from the things that lay ahead for her and for you, my dear Alan-san; I leave a similar key to my world because you and your family are as welcome here as I am in your TARDIS. Whenever you want to visit me, insert it into any lock, open the door and you'll be in my world. Know that I am always watching over all of you and you will always be my very dear friends.
Imiko.
"Cool!" Namid said as the Doctor came forward and took the necklace.
He placed it around Namid's neck while Alan picked up the key and let everyone examine it. While they were doing that, Alan suddenly had a thought and he approached the statue again.
"Um…obviously, you're listening in somewhere," he said aloud as everyone paused to listen. "Thank you so much for the gifts for me and Namid but for me, it's not enough. I know you're some cosmic fox spirit but you're also our friend and it hasn't felt the same since you left us. So what I'm asking is can you skip the whole watching from afar bit for this evening and come with us to the cinema and help us celebrate what you've done for Namid?"
Namid gasped and looked up at the statue.
"Yes, please, I wanna meet you properly. I want you to come with us, please?" she begged.
They waited and Alan sighed when nothing happened.
"Obviously, she has more important fox spirit things to do," he said bitterly.
"Alan-san, I was changing my clothes. You have to give me some time to get ready."
They looked behind them and yelled with delight when they saw Imiko standing behind them, dressed in jeans and a lavender t-shirt. Alan ran to her and embraced her.
"Aw, you do care!" he said to her as he let go.
She giggled.
"You know, you are a very unique person, Alan Timelord. Anyone else would have commanded me to give them wealth or power or kill their enemies. You wanna take me to the cinema. That's why you're my favorites out of all the people I've ever helped."
She smiled at Namid when she came up to her.
"And there was no need to thank me. I was happy to lift your blindness and I would love to spend time with you tonight," she said to her.
"Thank you. We have fun when we go out so I'm betting you'll have fun too," she said.
"Oh, I know all about how much fun they have," Imiko said as Alan and Rose laughed. "That's one of the reasons why I'm so fond of them and why I've kept watch over them all these years."
"Thank you for the necklace, it's pretty," Namid said.
"You're welcome, Namid-chan. I thought that would be a better use for your cane."
The Doctor came up beside his daughter and Imiko embraced him.
"And I'm proud of you, Doctor. You've come so far," she said.
"Yeah, well, I had a little help from you," he said. "If you hadn't forced me to travel with this thing beside me, I wouldn't know where I'd be today."
They laughed when Alan gave him a playful punch in the arm. The Doctor squeezed Namid's shoulder.
"Are you ready for your special night?" he asked her.
"Yup."
"Okay, everyone, let's get back to the TARDIS and go back home so we can have our night of fun," he said.
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By the time they got back to the Doctor's house, everyone was there to see Namid. Everyone gave her hugs and kissed her, happy that she could see them at last.
"Man, you lot are all ugly," Namid said.
"Don't mind her, she's been running that joke into the ground since she first saw the three of us," the Doctor replied. "So, who wants to come with us to the drive-in movies tonight? I figure we'll get some people carriers, get some White Castles and have a night of just let down our hair fun. And thankfully, Namid has hair to let down. You shoulda seen her before, the little billiard ball."
"Be quiet, Daddy," Namid said as he chuckled.
Doc yawned and stretched.
"Well, you lot have fun. Gotta get up early tomorrow and go back to my original universe for a bit. Gotta keep my peepers peeled for trouble there. Night night," he said, heading for the front door.
"NO!"
Everyone bent over laughing when Namid howled at Doc and he stopped in his tracks and feigned surprise.
"But…I have to go check on the other universe. Things may be happening there and why are you jerking my arm out of my socket in your haste to pull me away from the front door?" he said with a grin as she tried to pull him back towards the others.
"No, you don't go anywhere except with me," Namid said.
"But…but…but…" Doc stammered.
"You are gonna have fun. You leave that stupid universe alone!" Namid said as she tugged his arm.
"But…but…but…I'm needed…over there…'cross the void. And now my arm's been wrenched from my socket. How am I gonna use it to fight evil?"
He chuckled when the other brothers glanced at each other and headed towards him.
"Come on, Doc, we gotta keep the Seven Dwarves together," Jack said as they surrounded him and pushed him towards the others.
"BUT…BUT…BUT…" he said as they laughed.
They pushed him over towards the Roses and breathed a sigh of relief as they started to walk away. An impish grin spread over Doc's face and he saddled up to Rosie.
"Hi there, long time no see, how's about you and me…"
"WAIT, TURN AROUND AND GO BACK TO OUR BROTHER, YOU LOT! WE NEED TO MOVE HIM SOMEWHERE ELSE BECAUSE HE'S CHATTING UP MY WIFE NOW!" John hollered.
"But…but…but…" Doc said as they moved him away from the Roses.
Everyone howled with laughter as the six brothers walked him around the room, trying to find someone they could stick him next to that he wouldn't chat up. They paused at several women before they finally shoved him beside Donna and ran away to the other side of the room. Everyone laughed when Doc stared at Donna while she folded her arms over her chest and gave him a look of warning.
"So…How about that football game this afternoon?" Doc said to her. "Manchester United just got their arses whooped, huh?"
Donna tried not to crack a smile as she glared at him. Everyone else giggled as Doc pretended to be nervous as he put a finger in his shirt collar and tugged at it.
"Is it warm in here all of a sudden?" Doc said. "It's gotten very uncomfortable. Anyway, about those Tories…they're just mucking up things, aren't they? Those MPs need to get off their lazy arses and pass some laws, huh?"
Donna bit her lip while Doc stared at her intently, waiting for her to reply.
"I was in the loo the other day sitting on the bog and I heard this gaseous sound emanating from between my butt cheeks and suddenly there was this huge splash and this mountain of poo was under me," Doc said casually. "I thought to myself, how did that happen when I only ate one bean for supper?"
"Oh, go away, ya git!" Donna said, playfully shoving him while everyone laughed.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to see Theta behind her.
"I was in my bedroom the other day searching under the bed for a teabag that fell out of my pocket when I was shocked to see a wurflesnoozle sitting under my bed and I said to myself, I said, that shouldn't be and I reached out to grab it and that wurflesnooze bit me and I said ow and then I saw my own blood and I passed out and then I died but somehow I regenerated into the exact same body, odd, really…"
They laughed when Donna suddenly walked off.
"Oi, I was in the middle of my sob story about wurflesnoozles and dying, get back here and listen to me, Donna!" he yelled at her.
Donna stopped when Namid got in front of her with Sokanon and Chaska.
"Hi, come tonight and watch the film with us," Namid said, taking her hand.
"Yeah, we don't see you that much," Sokanon added.
"Yes and I haven't finished my sob story about the wurflesnoozle," Theta said, coming up behind her.
"And I need to tell you about the mountain of shite I crapped into the bog."
"Goodbye everyone, have fun at the cinema!" Donna called out as everyone laughed hysterically.
She sighed when the triplets gathered around her, hampering her movement, and begged loudly for her to stay. She feigned exasperation.
"Oh, if I must," she said as the triplets cheered.
