Chapter 5

Violet Disciple had just placed a pan of cookies in the oven, when she heard the back door slam. A moment later, Rose come rushing into the room, all out of breath.

"Mom," she panted. "David is back, and he is carrying a girl!"

Violet quickly dried her hands and followed Rose through the house. As they went, she questioned her daughter.

"What girl?"

"I don't know. I've never seen her before. But David is carrying her, and she looks asleep."

Violet's heartbeat accelerated slightly. The only conclusion she could come to was that the girl that David was carrying was unconscious and probably hurt since he was bringing her here. Her pace quickened, and a moment later, she burst through the back door and almost ran into David.

"Hi." He said.

Violet looked at him, than at the small woman he was carrying, and back at him. Her eyes conveyed both questions and concern, and David sincerely hoped that the later would over shadow the former for the time being. It did.

"We'll put her in Amy's room. If need be Amy can sleep with the other girls tonight."

Violet then turned, held the door for David, and then hurried down the hallway, clearly expecting him to follow her. After David laid Clare on the bed, Violet covered her with the bedding, and left the room. David barely had time to study Clare's condition before his mother was back. She placed a fresh baggie of ice underneath Clare's head, before motioning David to follow her out of the room.

David took one more fleeting glance before following his mother, and closing the door softly behind him. They went into the kitchen, and David sank into a chair as he watched his mother retrieve a pan of cookies from the oven. She placed them on the stove before whirling to face him.

"All right, David." Her tone was one that mothers often used when they wanted the truth, and wanted it immediately. "Tell me who she is."

David sighed. "Her name is Clare, and she's a human. I met her when I sort of crashed in her back yard, and she fed me. She grabbed my attention, I'm still not sure why, and I felt compelled to help her. She obviously isn't keen on "religion" as she puts it, and I felt a leading to show her Jesus instead of telling her. She agreed to come on a trip with me in the Tardis." He let out a breath

"The problem is that I took her to that quiet place I've told you about, and when we were picking berries, she tripped over a root. Naturally I caught her, and she happened to observe in the second or so she was against my chest that I had only one heartbeat. I had told her I was a time lord, but I didn't tell her of my human origins."

His voice caught, and Violet was surprised to see moisture in his eyes. She sat down in an adjacent chair, and placed a hand on his shoulder. David looked up into her tender expression, and took a shaky breath before continuing.

"

Well, she didn't really give me time to explain, and she ran off into the woods. She was quite upset, at what I'm sure she saw as my deception, and didn't watch where she was going. She was startled by a harmless snake, and tried to flee from it. But she fell over a fallen tree trunk, and hit her head. That is where I found her. So I carried her back to the Tardis, and flew her straight here. I haven't stopped praying since I found her sprawled over that trunk."

Violet watched her son, and the pain that was etched across his face. She could see that he had quickly come to care for this young woman, and she began a silent prayer of her own "God, please watch over my son, and guide his actions. Take care of this young woman you have brought him to, and help David to keep your will always first. Help him to guard his heart until you show him the time for love."

She looked back at David, and found he had dropped his head into his arms on the kitchen table. After a moment of silence, she could hear his steady breathing, and realized he had fallen asleep. Now she became troubled. The last time David had fallen asleep at the table was when he was Rose's age. He had come home from the Time Vortex running, and after crying it out, and then being led back to conclude the ceremony, he had come home to eat with his family and fallen asleep in his bowl of soup. He hadn't eaten ham and bean soup since.

But now he could go with a very small amount of sleep, and had a hard time sleeping anywhere but his own bed or the couch in the Tardis. The fact that he had fallen asleep in merely moments, and on her table no less, caused her no small amount of worry. She quickly stood and grabbed the phone from the wall. Within moments, her husband's voice came to her ear.

"Hello?"

"John. I need you to come home."

"Ok, I can bring these papers home to grade. But what's up. Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure. David came home, and he brought an unconscious young woman with him. Then after telling me everything, he fell asleep."

"He went to bed this early?"

"No, he fell asleep on the table."

"What?" He sounded shocked.

"I'm telling you, John. He fell asleep on the table." She was beginning to sound frantic.

"All right honey, I'm on my way. Try to stay calm, and don't try to wake him."

After hanging up, Violet looked at David and sighed. Then she remembered the girls, and realized she didn't know where Rose was, and the other girls would shortly arrive home from school activities. She didn't want them finding David this way, and she certainly didn't want them bothering Clare. She picked back up the phone and called a friend. She asked her to pick up the older girls and keep them for the evening. Then she went to find Rose, and found her in with Clare.

"Rose, what are you doing?"

"I'm just watching her, Mom." Rose whispered. "I thought if she woke I could tell you or keep her company."

Violet thought about it for a moment, before nodding her head. "All right, but stay quiet, and don't touch her."

"All right, Mom."

Violet had just returned to the kitchen when John got home. He took one look at David, before crossing the room and taking Violet into his arms. She clung to him, and the two stood merely holding each other for many moments.

"Are you all right?" John finally asked.

"I'm not sure." She admitted shakily. "I called Grace, and she is picking up the older girls from school and keeping them for the evening. And Rose is in with Clare."

"Clare?"

Violet leaned back enough to look into his eyes, but stayed in his arms. She took a couple of minutes to tell John what David had told her, and then to express a couple of concerns.

"So you think he is coming to care for her?"

"Maybe."

John let go of her, and walked over to the table. He stood staring at the top of David's mussed brown hair for many moments before speaking. "Can you show her to me?"

"Who? Clare?"

"Yeah."

Violet took his hand and led him to Amy's room. She quietly opened the door, and the two of them entered the room. Rose was sitting in a chair reading a book, and Clare lay still asleep on the bed. Her curly brown hair had fallen out of its ribbon, and was splayed across the pillow. Dark lashes lay on cheeks turning pink with what Violet worried was a fever. Her lips lay slightly parted, and the overall effect made John smile. Violet saw the smile and sent Rose from the room in order to talk privately with her husband.

"What was the smile for?"

"She's adorable. It is no wonder that David felt something for her, even if it was nothing more than compassion."

Violet looked back at the bed. "She is quite cute, isn't she?"

She suddenly found herself being hugged fiercely. She looked up into John's face. His eyes held telltale sparks in them. "Not as cute as my beloved wife." He whispered just before his head lowered. Many minutes passed as John soundly kissed her, taking his time about it. Finally, Violet pushed against his chest, and he let her go, both of them breathing heavily.

"I have to take care of Clare." She said a hint of regret in her voice.

"We'll finish this later, then" He whispered before he kissed her again and quietly left the room. Violet placed her hands on her flaming cheeks before turning with a smile towards the bed.

In the hall, John ran his hands through his hair, and tried to get his heart rate back to normal. He hadn't wanted to let Violet go, but had forced himself knowing that Clare and their children were more important right now. He just hoped that all of the kids decided to go to bed early that night.

David looked up groggily from the table when he felt a warm hand on his shoulder. He looked up into his father's face.

"Hey, Dad." He mumbled.

"So there is this really adorable woman lying in my daughter's bedroom." John said with a twinkle in his eye.

David chuckled wearily, his voice still deep from sleep. "Yeah."

John sat down in a chair and studied his son. David noticed his scrutiny and sighed. "I assume Mom told you what I told her?"

"Yes, she also said she was worried about you. You kind of freaked her out when you fell asleep on the table. In fact she called me, and I came home early from the school to calm her down."

David shook his head, and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stand up in places. "I'm sorry. Is she okay now?"

"She seems to be doing better, though she will probably hover over you, and want to know to a greater extent what's bothering you. She is taking care of Clare right now."

"Did she wake up?" David moved to stand.

"No, but she looked feverish. Your Mom naturally went right to work taking care of her."

"That's part of the reason I brought her home. Who better to take care of Clare, than the Healer?"

"Part of the reason?"

"Yeah." David sighed again before looking right at his Dad. "She is so amazing, Dad." He began fervently. "But at the same time she is missing Christ. Her Mom is catholic, and to hear Clare talk about religion pulls at the heartstrings. Her Mom isn't exactly the greatest person to be around. Clare is smart, pretty, can cook amazingly well, and has a delightful sense of humor. But inside she is crying out for something more. For a way to communicate with her Mom, and to enjoy life, and to fill the hole that neither her great job, great gifts, great personality, nor great friends can fulfill."

David paused and looked into his father's eyes. John was listening intently, and his eyes held compassion. David let out a frustrated breath.

"Than I had to screw it up by neglecting to tell her about you, and how that makes me half human, and now I don't know if she'll ever trust me again. I thought I was getting somewhere when she trusted me enough to go traveling with a man she barely knows. But I don't know what to do now."

John placed a hand on his son's shoulders, and bowed his head. "Dear Heavenly Father, You led David to Clare, and only You know why. Please give David the chance to explain to Clare, and in time to earn back her trust. Lead them both in the way You would have them go. It is in Your name that we pray, Amen."

David looked up at his father, and his eyes held something that had been missing only moments before. They held hope.

"Dad, I think I know what to do!" He exclaimed.

John leaned back in his chair and watched David jump to his feet in excitement. "You do, do you?" His tone held amusement at the sudden enthusiasm of his son.

"Your journal, Dad!"

John looked puzzled for a moment, and then his eyes lit in understanding. "You know, you may actually have something there."

David looked hesitant for a moment. "But dad, that's personal. Are you sure she can read it?"

John didn't even hesitate. He nodded warmly, and quickly told him the journal's whereabouts, and then sat back as his son ran out of the room. The journal really was a great idea. Many years ago, long before David was even born, John had written on genuine animal skins rolled thin. These were then turned into a book when John came to live on Gallifrey. He had continued over the years to write in the book, and right now he couldn't think of any better way for Clare to learn the truth of David's story and ancestry.

Clare woke slowly and looked around, confused as to her whereabouts. She wasn't in her room, or any other bedroom she had been in before. She was lying in a twin bed nestled in the corner of a room decorated in soft shades of cream and a light green. At the same time, it was the most immaculate room Clare had ever seen with everything neat and in place. The nearby shelves revealed books sorted alphabetically, and small trinkets in neat rows. The floor was a cream carpet without a speck, and the extra blankets at the end of the bed were bare of wrinkles.

Clare had just finished studying the room, when the events of earlier that day raced through her mind: the farewell with her brother, the rest by the stream, the betrayal of her trust in David, and the snake that had scared her into falling. The snake! Clare sat up quickly, and then sank back into the pillow because of the pain in her head. The last thing she remembered was running away from David, his calling after her, and a snake scaring the living daylights out of her. Literally.

She was still trying to figure out where she was when her eyes fell on a volume bound by a leather cord, and a small note that lay on top. Turning curious, she reached for the note. When she saw her name on the front in a neat male hand, she drew a quick breath and opened it skeptically.

"Clare," the note began. "I am deeply sorry for what to you surely seems like deception. I realize you barely know me, and have no reason to take my word as truth, but when I asked you in the Tardis if you trusted me, I could see the answer in your eyes. If even the smallest bit of that trust remains, then please, please, do me the favor of reading this book. It will answer many of your questions. I won't say more than that, but I will only ask you once more to trust me only long enough to read it. After that, you can make the decision for yourself. With my sincerest apology, David."

Clare sighed and leaned back further into the pillow. She wasn't sure if she trusted David even the smallest amount any more, if David was even his real name. But she did know that the book clearly intrigued her, and her curiosity got the best of her. She took a deep breath, and opened the book. What she didn't know is that only because she was not far from the Tardis was she able to read the words like they were English. Because in reality, the words were written in ancient Greek.