Chapter Sixty Four

The Doctor lay beside his wife and daughter monitoring their minds, making sure they were both at ease while they slept. Outside his door, he could hear laughter and talking from his other family members and occasionally someone stuck their head in to say hello or say something but they were brief after they noticed Rain and Namid were asleep. While he was resting with them, his phone rang and he carefully got up from the bed before retrieving it from his pocket.

"Yeah?" he said in a hushed voice as he headed for the door.

"Doctor?" Jack said. "Is everything okay, why are you whispering?"

"Everything's fine," the Doctor said in his normal voice. "I was lying in bed in a guest bedroom with Rain and Namid and they were both asleep when you called so I kept my voice down until I got outside in the hall."

"Oh. I'm glad they're okay. I'm glad Mi-mi is safe."

"Yeah, me too."

"Don't know if Nelak told you but he phoned me and told me to talk to Xashon and then phoned again to tell me she may not be needed."

"He told me," the Doctor said.

"Well, I went and spoke to her anyway and she was upset as you might expect and she's going to make a trip to Mackus to speak to the royal family and open up diplomatic and trading ties with our planet and also to make sure that Zod is taken care of like Thelopian promised."

"Good. Because the last thing I want is for him to go free. But I think Thelopian will keep her promise," the Doctor said.

"Are you coming back home after this? Nelak said you're gonna erase all of this from Doc and the children's minds."

"Yeah, I am so be careful and don't bring it up around them ever again."

"I won't."

"As for coming back home, we might briefly but I promised the children I'd take them somewhere to relax after all this and they wanna go to the circus."

"Ooo, can I come?"

"Um, I s'pose so."

"Yan and I were planning a little holiday and the circus sounds nice. I promise we won't cause trouble," Jack said.

"You better not," the Doctor teased.

"Oh, and Rain's father wants her to call."

"I know, Alan told us."

"Well, hell, there's nothing for me to say to you then," Jack said as the Doctor laughed.

He glanced down when he felt a tug on his trouser leg and saw Sokanon.

"Who's that, Daddy?" she said, pointing at the phone.

"Uncle Jack."

Sokanon held out her hand.

"Soki wants to say something to ya," the Doctor said to Jack.

He handed the phone to her as Alan came up behind her.

"Yes, Soki?" Jack said.

"Eat lots of fiber and make lots of poo, it's healthy. Bye now!"

Alan laughed as she thrust the phone back at her father and ran off.

"Who's that?" Alan asked.

"Jack," the Doctor said, putting the phone back to his ear.

"Wow, I'll be sure to take her advice then," Jack said after chuckling. "Actually, I had a good bowel movement this morning so I'm set."

"Okay, I really didn't wanna know that, Harkness," the Doctor said as Jack laughed. "If you want to come with us though, we'll come back home before setting off in search of a circus."

"Rose. I need to get Rose and Chris anyway so they can come too," Alan said softly and the Doctor nodded.

"Well, make sure that the circus has an elephant parade. Yan and I love elephant parades."

"Sure, Jack, I'll ask the TARDIS to find you an elephant parade," the Doctor said dryly as Alan snickered.

He looked over when Alan tapped him on the shoulder.

"Guard just came up to me, the banquet's in an hour," he said to him

"Thanks, Brother. Listen, Jack, I gotta go. We have an hour till we meet with Thelopian and her parents and we need time to get ready."

"Okay, see ya when ya get back. Have a nice meal," Jack said.

The Doctor thanked him and hung up the phone. He looked at the door as he put the mobile back in his pocket.

"Time to wake up my family," he said to Alan.

"Shall I find a trumpet and blow it in Rainy's ear?"

"Not unless you wanna get hit."

"Why not, already been slapped today by certain unmentionable people," Alan said, giving him a pointed look.

The Doctor smirked and lightly slapped him again as Sokanon was walking by. Alan was about to say something when suddenly Sokanon slapped him in the ass as hard as she could and ran off giggling. The Doctor bent over laughing at the shocked look on Alan's face.

"Excuse me; I'll go help Sokanon get ready for supper. I'm sure she needs lots of help!" Alan said before he turned and ran after her.

The Doctor chuckled and went into his room. He walked over to Rain's side and kissed her on the cheek before he put his lips to her ear.

"Love, we have an hour before the banquet," he said softly.

Rain stirred. She turned her head, opened her eyes and accepted her husband's kiss before she looked at Namid and gently shook her.

"Mi-mi, baby, time to get up."

"Mmmm?" Namid muttered in her sleep.

The Doctor projected an image of himself as a rooster with his head stuck on the cock's body. The DoctorRooster flapped over to a fencepost, perched on it and crowed. Namid giggled at that and slowly opened her eyes.

"Gotta get up, baby. It's almost time to eat," Rain said, stroking her hair.

"Okay," she said as both parents helped her sit up.

Just then, Sokanon raced into the room giggling with Alan following right behind her.

"What's wrong?" Alan said, cornering her in the corner," smack bottom don't feel good? Well, tough noogies, you're gonna get more of them so I can avenge my red and blistered bum."

They laughed as he grabbed her. Sokanon tried to wriggled out of his grasp as he smacked her bottom.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" he said as Sokanon laughed. "Feels uncomfortable? Bet it does!"

Namid laughed. She crawled off the bed and ran over to the commotion. Sokanon laughed when she smacked Alan hard on the bum.

"Oho, you too?" he said, letting go of Sokanon as Namid ran back to the bed. "I'll take you all on…and don't you think about it, mister," he said when Chaska ran into the room and made a beeline for him. "I figured you'd be in here sooner or later and I have my eye on you and…OI!" he yelled when Sokanon smacked his butt, ran for the bed and dived into it.

"Problems, Brother," the Doctor said sweetly while Rain sniggered.

"Yes, these miscreants are…"

The girls laughed when their brother ran up and smacked him hard on the butt before running out the door.

"Brother, can I sell your children to a lab for medical experiements?"

"Nah," the Doctor said.

"Blast. I could have made me some cheddar doin' that."

"Could you be a dear and get my son in here though, Mister Makin' Cheddar?" the Doctor said. "I want to speak to all of them at once.

"If I can move, seeing as how my bum is blistered and raw now."

"Boo hoo," Sokanon said as Namid giggled.

"You're gonna think boo hoo when I stuff you in a pillowcase and chuck you in the dryer for a spin," Alan said as he walked out the door.

"Yeah, yeah," Sokanon said. "I'm reeeeeally scared."

She looked up at her father who was leaning over her.

"Howdy, Daddy."

"Howdy, Bum Slapper," he said as his daughters giggled. "Busy today?"

"Very. I think I hurt my hand because Uncle Alan's bum is hard."

She squealed when the Doctor tickled her armpits. While he was doing that, Chaska came in with Alan.

"I didn't hit him," Chaska protested, pointing at Alan.

Rain laughed when the Doctor gave him a shocked look.

"That's not why I called you in here. Blimey, don't jump to conclusions, son. You're not in trouble," he said. "Come and sit on the bed."

Chaska came in and sat down on the end of the bed.

"Now, I need to fill you in on a few things because this is a formal dinner and there are things you have to do to show respect for a King or Queen when they enter a room. So, I'm going to tell you what I expect of you, yeah?"

They nodded and the Doctor spoke to them while Rain went to use the bathroom and get ready. Alan walked out into the hallway and went down to his room where Namor, Nelak, Awinita and Dex were chatting.

"Guess what?" he said to them.

"You got a lobotomy and you're not a sane person."

They laughed when Alan eyed Awinita.

"Will ignore that remark," he said as Awinita grinned and shrugged. "Nope. The Doctor spoke to Jack and apparently he's coming with us when we take the children out on holiday."

"Here we go, another caravan on our holiday," Nelak said.

"Yeah but be fair, I think everyone was shaken by what happened to Mi-mi and they want to spend time with her," Alan said with a shrug. "I know I would. Are you coming with us, Namor? I mean, you're welcome to seeing as how you were a part of this."

"I'd like to. It sounds fun," he said. "Never went traveling with the Doctor before."

Doc patted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, you were a simple botanist and landscaper and the next thing you know you've been kidnapping and getting the crap beat outta ya. Welcome to the world of the Doctor," he said as everyone laughed.

"Our esteemed Doctor is currently in with the wee ones lecturing them on how to behave so they don't embarrass us and start an intergalactic incident between our two planets. And Namid and Sokanon smacked my bum and now it hurts."

"I would ask if you want us to kiss it but you'll take that literally," Awinita said dryly.

"Yes, I would," Alan said with a wink as Awinita gave him a playful swat on the arm.

The guard came back to get them and he escorted them down to the lower level into a cavernous banquet hall. There were more tapestries on the walls of mythological figures and creatures and a couple of paintings of people similar to the one in the Doctor's room. The table was twenty foot long and five foot across and made of a dark cherry wood with matching high back chairs. At the end of the table were two high backed chairs made of solid gold that had carved ivy running along the back along with the crest they saw on Thelopian's robe. Both chairs had red velvet cushions in them while the wooden ones had bare seats. The dishes were made of bone china, white with purple around the rims and golden goblets that had the ivy and crest running around them. Behind each of the plates was a small card indicating where everyone sat. They noticed that Sokanon and Namid's places each had a small porcelain figure of a dancing girl clad in sheer purple pants, bra and cape with gold trim. She carried a tambourine and was dancing with an ecstatic look on her face. Chaska had a porcelain soldier that was clad in black trousers, red military jacket with a blue sash running across it and a black helmet similar to the ones the Germans wore in World War One. The soldier held a laser rifle in his hands and he had a fierce look on his face.

"Wow, you're raking in the gifts today," Awinita said as she helped Namid sit at her place.

The others sat down around them with one place reserved next to the throne for Thelopian. The guard who escorted them walked over and took his place beside the door. The Doctor showed Namid what her figurine looked like and she touched it as she stared at the image in her mind's eye. She was sitting between the Doctor and Doc while Rain sat on the Doctor's left side and Sokanon and Chaska sat across from them. Nelak and Awinita sat on Sokanon's left while Dex sat on Chaska's right. Alan and Namor sat across from each other on the end of the group. While they waited, two servants came in with a decanter of wine and a pitcher of milk. They gave milk to the children and wine to the adults and left the decanter and pitcher on the table before they left. Ten minutes later, another servant came in and blew a fanfare on a trumpet.

"Up, children," the Doctor said as everyone rose to their feet.

The three children pushed back their chairs and bowed deeply along with the others as Thelopian entered along with her father, King Tyno and mother, Queen Euplasia. Both sovereigns had white gold hair like their daughter but Thelopian was slightly taller than both of them. The king was plump with a full beard and the same piercing blue eyes as his daughter. He wore a purple tunic with matching trousers, black boots and a golden robe trimmed with white fur. The Queen wore a matching purple floor length gown with a matching gown and a tiara on her head similar to the one Thelopian gave Sokanon. Thelopian was also dressed the same as her mother and all three of them approached the table with a regal air about them. Everyone kept bowing until they sat down and then everyone else sat. Tyno looked at the three identical men.

"Okay, which one was the Doctor that rescued my kingdom three years ago?" he asked.

"That would be me, Your Majesty," the Doctor said. "I'm the one wearing the brown suit. These are my brothers, Alan and Doc."

"Our daughter filled us in on who you are and your relation to each other," Tyno said. "She also informed us of the situation and we must offer our apologies for what our advisor has done. Zod has always been an ambitious man and we fear that he was using you and your family as a way to advance himself. We can assure you that he will be punished once the full account of his deeds has been brought to light."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the Doctor said.

"Now, on the matter of the engagement. We are sorry that you are not interested in our daughter but she has already informed us that she isn't interested in you. She has…another suitor in mind."

They notice Thelopian blush deeply at that.

"Now…which one of you is Namid?"

"Me," Namid said, raising her hand.

"Little one, we also must apologize to you for what happened. We are deeply saddened and troubled that Zod would go to such lengths and we are glad you're safe."

"Thank you," Namid said as the Doctor patted her shoulder.

"Our daughter told us she gave you some gifts so we have done the same and we hope you and your brother and sister like them."

"I do, they're cool," Namid said.

"Yes, thank you," Sokanon said.

Tyno and Euplasia smiled when Chaska also offered his thanks. Euplasia looked at the Doctor.

"As a mother, we are also disgusted at what our advisor tried to do to you and your family," she said.

Daddy, why are they talking like that? Who's we? Namid thought to the Doctor.

He chuckled inside her mind.

There are a lot of rulers who do this, Mi-mi, they refer to themselves in the plural and call themselves We instead of I, it's just a formality they use. I doubt they talk this way to each other in private, he thought back.

"We also offer our apologies for this and hope this does not sour relations between our two planets," Euplasia went on.

"Not at all, Your Majesty," the Doctor said. "In fact, I believe a good friend on our High Council is coming here to open up diplomatic and trading ties."

"We will look forward to that," Tyno said. "But for now, let us eat; we are starving as I'm sure you are."

He clapped his hands loudly and everyone watched as the servants began to bring the food into the banquet hall.