Chapter Eighteen
The Doctor and Sokanon sat together as the driver drove the carriage through the swirling snow. The Doctor looked down and smiled when he saw his daughter sitting beside him wearing her little muff.
"Muffy McMuff," he said.
"Daddy, quit. I'm not Muffy McMuff," Sokanon said as the Doctor put his hand over his mouth.
"Okay, I'll lay off the Muffy McMuff stuff. Say…that rhymes. I'm absolutely brilliant, aren't I?"
"Yes."
He patted her on the head.
"I knew there was a good reason for having children and now I see why. You exist to feed my ego," he said to her.
He made the driver stop the carriage in front of a restaurant. He stepped out and helped Sokanon out.
"Cheers, mate," he said to the driver who waved at him and went on. "Now!" he said to Sokanon. "I want you on your best behavior in here. This is a fancy restaurant and I don't want you embarrassing me. Let me embarrass both of us."
"Okay, Daddy."
The Doctor put his hand on her shoulder and they walked to the front door of the restaurant. The walls were made of white granite and the double doors were made of gold with glass in each side. La Traconda was painted in elegant gold lettering on the left glass panel. The Doctor opened the door and bowed to his daughter.
"After you, Madam," he said.
"Thank yoooooou," Sokanon said as she walked inside.
The Doctor chuckled and followed her. Inside, the restaurant had dark blue wallpaper on the walls with gold trim. With the soft lighting from the overhead lamps at each table, the whole restaurant had an intimate feel to it. They waited at the front to be seated and the Doctor groaned when a small metal robot glided up. He was about two feet tall and was wearing a tuxedo. In his metal hands were two menus.
"Table for two?" he asked in a metallic voice tinged with a French accent.
"Yes, me and my daddy are eating here," Sokanon said to him
"Very good, Miss, follow me," the robot said.
The Doctor put his hand on her back as they followed the robot through the semi-crowded restaurant. The tables were round and wooden with tablecloths that had the same blue color as the walls. Gold trim were around the bottom of the tablecloths and on top of them were several crystal dishes and two unlit candles. The Doctor looked down at his daughter and noticed that her hands were still firmly inside the muff.
"Are you ever gonna take your hands outta that muff, Muffy?" he said as the robot led them to a table in the back.
"I like it, Daddy, makes my hands warm," Sokanon said, glancing up at him.
"Yes, but you need to take them out sometime to eat unless you're just gonna stick your face in your plate," the Doctor said.
The robot showed them their table and the Doctor sat down in a wooden chair beside his daughter who still had her hands inside the muff. Once the waiter got their drink order and moved away, the Doctor stared down at the muff as Sokanon giggled.
"Am I gonna have to surgically remove that muff from your hands?" he asked her.
"I like my muff, Daddy. It's warm."
She giggled when the Doctor tried to take her hands out and laughed harder when she stuck them back inside as fast as he pulled them out. After five tries at getting her hands out, the Doctor drummed his fingers on the table while he stared at the muff.
"Hmmm, how to get your hands out of there? I wonder," he mused as Sokanon giggled. "Perhaps a pry bar? I must ask that waiter if they have one available."
Sokanon gave him a cheeky grin, took both hands out and shoved them back in quickly as the Doctor raised his eyebrows.
"Oh, so now you're gonna be a pest, eh?" he asked as Sokanon giggled. "Cheeky, just like your old man."
"I like my muff, Daddy."
"I know, that's the problem. I'll never be able to separate ya from it now," the Doctor said.
The waiter returned with a glass of milk and tea and milk for the Doctor. The Doctor took a sip of tea and watched closely as Sokanon stared at her glass of milk without taking her hands out of the muff.
"Well, Muffy, how ya gonna drink your milk with your hands inside there?" he asked her.
Sokanon slid out of her chair and started to climb up on it.
"Ah! No you don't, you're going to sit like a lady," the Doctor said. "I'm not going to spend the night in the hospital because your chair tipped over and you busted your head open in your attempt to drink your milk without hands. Now, take your hands out of the muff and drink your milk."
Sokanon sat back down and took her hands out of the muff. She sipped her milk while the Doctor sipped his tea.
"So, what do you want to eat, my little daughter?" he asked her as he reached for the menu.
"Food!"
"Okay, miss smart gob," the Doctor said as she giggled.
"I want a burger, Daddy."
"Okay, my daughter wants crème brulee."
"No, I want a burger."
"My daughter wants filet mignon."
"Burger, Daddy."
"What's that? You want vichyssoise?"
"No," Sokanon said giggling. "Burger and chips."
"Oh very well, I was going to expose you to gourmet food tonight but if you want a burger and chips as usual…"
Sokanon sipped her milk while she watched her father study the menu.
"I, on the other hand might have the filet mignon with baked potato, extra butter, sour cream and parsley of course. Because you see, I like more than burger and chips."
Sokanon giggled as he stuck out his tongue and did the same in return. She laughed when he tried to grab it.
"Keep that tongue in your mouth unless you want it ripped from its roots," the Doctor said airly as he pretended to study the menu.
Sokanon grinned and put her hand over the part of the menu she guessed he was looking at. She laughed when the Doctor feigned exasperation.
"Young lady, do you know who I am?" he asked her.
"Poopy Face?"
Sokanon giggled and hunkered down in her chair as the Doctor eyed her.
"I," he said with feigned pomposity, "am the Doctor."
"Uh-huh," Sokanon said.
"I…am not to be addressed as Poopy Face or suffer the indignity of your little pink tongue."
"Uh-huh."
"I am your king."
"Yeah," Sokanon said flippantly as she grabbed her glass of milk.
She giggled into it as the Doctor leaned over and stared at her intently.
"I will be addressed in this manner. Yes, your majesty, not "Yeah," he said to her.
"Yeah."
She giggled again when he let out a sigh.
"Fine, say goodbye to this," he said, trying to take the muff.
"No, Daddy, I like it."
"Then you say, yes, your majesty to me."
"No."
She laughed when the Doctor gave her a wry look and tickled her armpits. He smiled when she let out a contented sigh and leaned her head against his. He put his arm around her and rubbed her arm as he gently kissed the top of her head.
After supper, they left the building and headed back towards the TARDIS.
"Did you have fun?" the Doctor asked her as they walked.
"Yes, I liked my burger and chips, Daddy."
"Well, I liked my filet mignon and it's your majesty, remember that," he chided as she giggled.
As they went past the building, Sokanon noticed something in the alleyway. She stopped and looked at a homeless man who was lying in an old battered box with a few tattered blankets over him, desperately trying to keep warm in the snow. Sokanon walked over to him.
"Hello," she said to the man as the Doctor did an about-face a few feet past her and walked back. "What you doing in there?"
The homeless man raised his head and stared at her. He was in his mid-forties with a full beard and matted hair. His eyes were watery and red from sickness and lack of sleep. He cleared his throat when he saw it was a young child addressing him.
"I'm trying to sleep, Sweetie," he said as the Doctor came up beside his daughter and stared at him sadly.
"Where's your bedroom?" Sokanon asked.
"This is it, Sweetie. I sleep here," the man said.
Sokanon came closer and peeked inside the box.
"Where's your bed?" she asked the man.
"This is it. This is my bed."
Sokanon frowned in confusion as the Doctor watched the scene play out before him.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked him.
"Yes, but this is all I have," the man said.
The Doctor's eyes shifted to his daughter and a smile spread over his face when he saw Sokanon take her hands out of the muff, take it off and hold it out to him.
"Here, this is warm, use this," she said.
The man was startled as he stared at the gift. He glanced up at the Doctor who was staring at him with kindness on his face.
"I…I can't take this, Sweetie, it's yours, isn't it?" the man said hesitantly.
"Yes, but you need it if you're cold," Sokanon said, laying it down beside his head. "It's warm. Try it."
The Doctor knelt down beside Sokanon as tears came to the man's eyes.
"My daughter loves that muff more than anything but she's giving it to you without a second thought," the Doctor said to him.
"I can't accept it, sir. I can't take things from a child."
"No. But I believe I can help you," the Doctor said as he stood up and reached into his pocket.
He pulled out his magic wallet and produced ten thousand quandros, the currency of the planet. The man's eyes bulged when he handed it to him.
"But, I can't…" he said.
"Please. My daughter and I both want you to be warm and safe," the Doctor said. "Trust me, I have more where this came from."
"Please take it," Sokanon urged. "Be warm and happy."
The man's eyes misted over as he took the money and blessed them both. He handed Sokanon the muff and smiled when Sokanon walked over and kissed his cheek. They both waved at the man and the Doctor smiled at his daughter as they walked away.
"I am proud of you, my treasure," he said to her. "Very proud. You did a good thing tonight."
"Yup," Sokanon said, putting the muff back around her neck.
The Doctor patted her on the head and walked beside her as she and him headed back for home to reunite with the others and tell them about their night.