Final story in the Family of Blood/Human Nature arc! I apologize now though. I do not know very much about actual birth, so writing that out was very difficult. Still, I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 11: The Family of Blood
Another week had passed. Another week and Freya hurt all over. She hadn't dared go down the stairs without Martha or Mr. Smith's assistance in two days, and even then she was worried about it. Mr. Smith's nerves seemed to be amped up as well; he was constantly jittery and watching her, as if he were waiting for her to pop at any second.
Martha was no better. She was hovering around Freya much too often to be considered normal. Even Matron was there more frequently. Little pains kept flitting through Freya, pains that terrified her but at the same time she was worried to mention. What if they were nothing? She didn't want to bother anyone with a scare.
Freya was reading with Ezek one evening in the library when Martha burst in, eyes wide.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked, quickly placing a bookmark in the book.
"I think they found us. There were shooting stars in the sky," Martha said.
"They're not really shooting stars. They're actually…" Ezek drifted off at the glare Martha levelled him.
"I know. Mr. Smith already gave me the whole spiel. I went to where it looked like it came down but didn't see anything. Jenny was with me but I told her I had to run ahead and get back," Martha said quickly.
"Ezek, whatever you do, stay on the grounds, okay? If anyone acts suspicious, come to find us," Freya told Ezek immediately. The boy nodded. He looked a bit frightened by her words. In a sense, Freya was glad. If he was frightened, he'd do as she had asked.
Freya stood, wincing as she did.
"Mom?" Ezek asked worriedly. Freya waved it off.
"It was just a quick pain," Freya said. Martha's eyes went wide.
"Have you felt any other sharp pains today?" Martha asked. Freya shook her head.
"If you do, please, let me know. Don't…don't stress out at all, okay? Try to be as relaxed as possible. If you stress, it might send you into labor," Martha said.
"I'll try," Freya whispered.
"Here. I'll help you back to the room," Martha said. Freya gave Ezek a quick kiss on the top of his head before he scampered out of the room.
Martha even helped Freya change into her nightclothes, something Freya had not had her do since they had arrived. And Martha even laid her down.
"I'll go check and make sure everything's good. Just…try not to go into labor. Not that you can prevent it, but...if they're here, maybe we can get rid of them and get back to the right time before you give birth," Martha said hopefully before leaving the room.
Freya was half asleep when Mr. Smith made his way into the room. At the sight of her in the bed and the lights off, he crept quietly and changed into his night clothes before slipping into bed next to her. Right before Freya fell asleep, Bad Wolf kicked her again. Mr. Smith felt the movement and seemed to curl around her more, hands loosely splayed across her stomach.
Freya was woken up by a sharp pain. She gasped at the sensation, sitting up abruptly. She curled herself around her stomach, waiting as the pain faded.
And it did fade. It faded rather quickly. But Freya's fear did not. Mr. Smith shifted in the bed next to her. Freya quickly felt around but it didn't feel like she'd wet the bed. Her water hadn't broke.
She would be fine.
She laid back down just as Mr. Smith's eyes opened.
"Morning," he said quietly.
"Morning," Freya responded.
"How are you feeling?" Mr. Smith asked her.
"I've been better," Freya admitted, pressing her hand against her stomach. She closed her eyes, trying to sense Bad Wolf.
He didn't seem happy, but he hadn't seemed happy the last few times she'd checked. He was bored, mainly.
But if he wasn't alarmed, neither was Freya. After all, she figured he'd be the first to know if he was about to leave her womb.
Still, she moved even slower as she got up. Mr. Smith seemed to notice as well but made no move to voice any concern, merely helped her when she struggled with lacing up her dress.
"Any day now?" Mr. Smith asked. Freya nodded, biting her lip as she did. Any day, and they would be able to leave there. Leave there, and Freya could have her baby in the modern times.
They made it through lunch with no issues. Freya was in the library, straightening up, just as she did whenever she got bored, when she felt another cramp suddenly hit her. This one was sharper than the one from that morning, and seemed to last a bit longer before fading.
It wasn't until Freya was using the facilities an hour later that she realized her water had broken.
She was on her way to find Martha when she ran into Ezek.
"Martha's looking for you! They're here! They found us!" Ezek cried out. Freya clutched Ezek as another cramp shot through her.
"Mom?" Ezek whispered, eyes wide.
"Where's Martha and Mr. Smith?" Freya asked, feeling slightly breathless. She had time. She knew she had time. Babies always took forever, right? She was sure they did.
She hoped they did, anyway. She was hit by a wave of panic from Bad Wolf.
"Martha's looking for the fob watch. It's missing," Ezek whispered, eyes still wide.
"Run up and tell Martha we're heading for the TARDIS. You and me," Freya said. Ezek's eyes got even wider as he nodded and dashed up the stairs. He was back down in less than two minutes, at Freya's side.
"Is little me coming?" Ezek asked.
"I think so. I can't run, so it'll be safer if I just get to the TARDIS," Freya explained. Ezek nodded and quickly helped Freya in the process of slowly walking out of the school.
They had been walking for ten minutes and were only halfway to the TARDIS when two people and a handful of scarecrows moved into their path.
"This isn't the Time Lord, is it?" the boy said. Freya noticed that Ezek gripped Freya tighter. The boy….it was one of the students. One of the older students, one of the bullies.
"Baines, what are you doing?" Ezek asked.
"Silence, boy!" Baines shouted at him. The little girl standing next to him stared at Freya and then Ezek.
"They smell the same. And it's not like the smell of the Time Lord," the girl stated.
"But they smell so different. I'm sure we could use them all the same," the boy said, pulling out a gun. The little girl pulled out a gun as well. Freya tried to shove Ezek behind her, but he wasn't there.
Freya's eyes went wide as she turned around. He wasn't there. In the time it took her to turn back around, she saw what looked like a blur and the boy's gun dropped to the ground in pieces, then the girl's, then the scarecrows one by one lost their heads in a quick sort of round.
And then Ezek was back at her side, breathing a bit roughly but with a defiant glare on his face.
"No one threatens my mother," Ezek said angrily.
"We need reinforcements, Sister of Mine," Baines said.
"No. You will leave my mother alone," Ezek said, his words stronger this time. Both the girl and boy stared at him, taking in his words. Ezek quickly tried dragging a confused Freya along.
"We have your TARDIS. It's already been moved," Baines called out. Ezek kept dragging Freya along as another cramp hit Freya hard. Freya gasped at the feel of it. Before she could even start moving again, there was a bang.
Like a gunshot.
Ezek disappeared from her sight but wasn't as fast in his vanishing that time. He was back at her side in a few seconds, his grip on her tightening.
"Come on!" he urged.
He led Freya off the path and through the woods to a smaller house.
"Whose house is this?" Freya asked.
"The little girl's house. Lucy Cartwright. It should be empty. I bet they killed her parents whenever her parents tried stopping her from leaving this morning," Ezek said, his words heavy. He knocked on the door before shoving it open. Freya managed to get inside and sank into a chair just as Ezek himself shut the door.
Before slumping against the door.
"Ezek?" Freya asked, her alarm building. She struggled to stand back up, but Ezek had turned around and was shaking his head.
"Stay there. Stay seated. Don't risk hurting little me," Ezek begged.
"What's wrong?" Freya asked, feeling her fear rise.
"I didn't move fast enough. I wasn't able to stop the bullet. It hit me," Ezek said.
"How did you move that fast to begin with?" Freya asked.
"Time Lord trick. I can control time. But it's hard. And it took most of my strength to get rid of their weapons. I hadn't realized Baines had another gun," Ezek said.
"It's just a bullet. We can fix that, right?" Freya asked, her worry rising.
"Yeah. We could. But we don't have the stuff. It's okay, Mom. I'll regenerate," Ezek said.
"But you're too young! You shouldn't regenerate already!" Freya protested, tears dropping from her eyes.
"I won't just yet. I'll…I'll wait as long as I can, yeah? Hopefully Dad and Martha can get here first," Ezek whispered before stumbling over to Freya. He glanced around the room for a minute.
"We need to get you into a bed. So you don't hurt yourself moving," Ezek said. Freya managed to stand just in time for another cramp.
Only these really weren't cramps, she realized. They were contractions.
She was really going to have a baby in 1913.
She stumbled after Ezek, managing to crawl into the bed. Ezek himself climbed into bed next to her, curling up into her side.
"Where were you hit?" Freya asked. She didn't know much about first aid, but she could at least try to stop the blood. Ezek shook his head.
"It hit me in one of my hearts. No use trying to stop it," Ezek said with a scared smile. Freya wrapped her arms around him and prayed Martha would get there soon, the Doctor and not Mr. Smith in tow.
Martha:
She was in the middle of digging through another drawer when Mr. Smith walked in.
"Martha, this is uncalled for. Get out," Mr. Smith ordered, anger present in his voice.
"I need to find your fob watch. Freya wants it," Martha lied.
"What fob watch?" Mr. Smith asked. Matron made her way into the room quietly behind him. Martha did not like the fact that Matron was following Mr. Smith around like a puppy, even though he was now married…again.
"You had a fob watch up there," Martha said.
"There is no fob watch," Mr. Smith said.
"Actually, sir, you did have a fob watch there," Matron piped up.
"You said Freya wanted it. Where is Freya?" Mr. Smith asked, turning around.
Martha really didn't want to think about that. Ezek had rushed into the room, eyes wide, and announced that him and Freya were making their way to the TARDIS for safety.
"Her and Ezek took a walk. She was feeling off," Martha lied.
"Off? She could have her baby any day!" Matron gasped.
"She was extremely concerned about having the fob watch. That's why I told her I'd find it," Martha said.
"But it was on the mantle. It had been there for weeks," Matron said.
"Really? I don't recall ever seeing it," Mr. Smith said.
"It was in here yesterday. Who's been in here since yesterday?" Martha asked.
"That is not the proper way for you to speak to your master," Matron told her sternly. Martha was exasperated.
"I beg your pardon, but I'm concerned with Freya…Miss MacLeish…Mrs. Smith. She was really upset that she couldn't find it," Martha said.
"I had a few students in here for some papers. Come. They should be on the lawn. If one of them took it, we can get them to admit it and get it back," Mr. Smith said, leading the way out of the room. Martha and Matron followed closely.
When they got to the field, standing there was a student, a little girl, Jenny (her fellow maid), and a man from the village.
All standing in front of the TARDIS. Martha's eyes went wide.
"The girl who smells different was married to him," the boy said, pointing at Mr. Smith. The four of them stared at Mr. Smith. The group of boys were all being secured by a group of scarecrows.
"Baines? What is this madness?" Mr. Smith asked.
"What do you mean, the girl who smells different?" Martha asked. The people turned to look at her.
"The girl we ran into in the woods," the little girl said. Martha's eyes went wide.
"She didn't look so well. I think the boy took a hit from the gun," the boy said with a grin.
"That's Freya. Freya's in the woods somewhere. About to have her baby," Martha said in horror. Mr. Smith looked at her, then at the others.
"I don't understand what's going on," he shouted at them.
"Seize the schoolteacher," the man ordered. The scarecrows released the boys and were heading towards him when they all froze.
"There! Did you smell it?" the boy asked.
"Time Lord," the little girl breathed.
"Run!" Martha shouted, grabbing Mr. Smith's arms and dragging him along.
"I say, Martha, we can't abandon the school! Not when something is happening!" Mr. Smith protested angrily.
"We can because otherwise your wife will have her baby alone in the woods and very well might die in the process," Martha said angrily. Mr. Smith didn't protest her pulling, but after five minutes of crashing through the woods and finding nothing, he was not happy.
At least, until a girl walked in front of them, red hair gleaming in the twilight. She couldn't have been older than twelve, and even that looked to be a stretch.
"This way!" she ordered them.
"Who are you?" Martha asked.
"They call me Lil' Red. Now, you'd bettered get coming! Mom's this way!" the girl said.
"Lil' Red and Bad Wolf? You have got to be kidding me," Martha said.
"Who's Mom? Who is she talking about?" Mr. Smith shouted.
"Quiet! What's your problem?" the girl demanded. Mr. Smith stared at her, words escaping him. She nodded at his silence.
"Good. Stay that way," she said, skipping ahead of them.
"How do you know where she is?" Martha asked.
"I have a Vortex Manipulator. Mine is tracking hers," Lil' Red said.
"And why did you show up?" Martha asked.
"I set it on random and sensed what was happening," Lil' Red said with a shrug. She led them to a house in the woods.
"There. Come on!" she urged. The two of them followed as the little girl knocked on the door.
No answer.
A few seconds later, she opened it and peeked her head inside.
And gasped.
Martha quickly opened the door and hurried inside just as Freya let out a scream. Lying on the bed was both Freya and Ezek.
Ezek's skin was glowing a bit of a gold color, and he looked relieved to see them.
"Good. Mom, everything's going to be okay. I promise, yeah?" he said. Freya winced and nodded, gripping his hand tightly. He crawled out of the bed, stumbling into the wall.
"What's happening?" Martha asked.
"Why is he glowing?" Mr. Smith asked. The little girl closed the door quickly and pushed both of them back before dashing over to Ezek. She grabbed his hand and pulled him farther away from Freya.
"Everyone stand back. Do you know what to do?" Lil' Red asked Ezek. Ezek had tears in his eyes, Martha realized.
"No. I don't know what's going on. I know I'll regenerate. But I don't know how," Ezek whispered.
"Just think about it. You've already started. We're going to stand back. Think about becoming a new person. Duck!" Lil' Red shouted as she jumped back. Ezek's limbs and head exploded in a sort of gold light.
After a few seconds, he crumpled to the ground.
Only it wasn't Ezek anymore.
In fact, it looked just like the Bad Wolf Martha had seen before.
About that time, Freya let out another cry. Lil' Red scampered onto the bed next to her, quickly curling up into her side and holding her hand tightly.
"Just breath!" Lil' Red urged her mother.
Martha stared. And stared. Because there was Freya, about to have a baby. And a little girl claiming to be their next child. And Bad Wolf, a thirteen year old who just turned into an older teen in front of them, different face and everything.
"What just happened?" Mr. Smith asked, eyes wide.
"Regeneration. He was dying, so he changed. His entire body cha – AH!" Freya cried out.
"I think the baby's coming," Lil' Red said, eyes wide and on Martha.
"I don't know what to do!" Martha cried.
"You know more than we do," Lil' Red said. Martha turned to see Bad Wolf/Ezek crash into the table.
"Make sure he's alright. Please. Make sure he's alright first," Freya begged, nodding to Bad Wolf.
"How can I tell if he's alright?" Martha asked.
"Can someone explain to me what's going on?" Mr. Smith shouted.
"We don't have time for this. We have three big issues right now. Right now you're not one of them!" Martha shouted at him.
"Please. Daddy. Can you go get water?" Lil' Red asked, her voice sounding much younger than what she was. Mr. Smith turned and stared at her.
"I don't know who you think I am, but I am no one's father. My name is John Smith. I've never seen you before in my life," Mr. Smith told her. Lil' Red gripped Freya's hand before standing up. She was tall, standing only two heads shorter than Mr. Smith himself. From where Martha was standing, it was apparent that she was related to him in some sense or another. Her eyes were identical to his, and her facial structure was just as his as well. The only difference between the two, really, was the red hair she had.
In fact, she looked like she'd taken nothing from Freya at all.
Lil' Red stared at Mr. Smith for a moment before sighing.
"I wish I could just show you. I was told I couldn't do anything like that. Said it would take away from my time, but my time's almost up, yeah? Everyone keeps acting like I'm about to die," Lil' Red said, staring at Freya. Freya's eyes widened.
"No. Don't do anything that could limit your time," Freya begged.
"But if I don't, how will he know? We need him to help. Bad Wolf's going to be caught up. Martha, try checking his hearts," Lil' Red piped up. Martha moved cautiously to Bad Wolf's side, checking his pulse quickly. It was erratic.
Lil' Red reached up and took Mr. Smith's head in her hands, her fingers pressed against her temples. Martha glanced over in time to see Lil' Red slam her head into Mr. Smith's head. Both fell apart clutching their heads.
"What?" Mr. Smith asked in alarm.
"Yeah. I know. Lots of information. Come here. One more time," Lil' Red said, grabbing his head and slamming it into hers once more.
"Direct information transfer," Bad Wolf gasped out. Freya let out another cry, causing Bad Wolf to stumble over to her. He gripped her hand tightly and started mimicking breathing for her. Freya copied his breathing as Martha moved to the side.
"Now please, Daddy, we need to help Mom have her baby. Go get some water," Lil' Red told Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith wasted no time in grabbing a bucket and heading out the door.
"What did you tell him?" Freya gasped out.
"Keep breathing," Martha urged her as she shifted the sheets around on the bed, trying to remember everything she knew about childbirth.
The first thing she knew was that there was no way Freya would be able to continue breathing in her dress, laced up. She slowly propped Freya up and unlaced the dress, loosening it drastically. Freya's breathing deepened at the movement.
"I told him about Time Lords, about him, about us, everything really. And then showed him how important it was to do what you said right now," Lil' Red said. Martha nodded slowly.
"Yeah. Okay. I guess," she mumbled.
"I'll stay up here. Shouldn't you get rid of her, um, underthings," Bad Wolf said, his skin turning slightly red at the words.
It didn't look good against his ashy tone.
"You don't look so good," Martha said to him.
"It's okay. I'll be good. Fine. I think," Bad Wolf said as he leaned back, breathing out a strain of gold that immediately was inhaled by Freya.
"What was that?" Martha asked in alarm.
"Regeneration energy. I don't know why it's going to Mom though," Bad Wolf said.
"To help her give birth to you, stupid," Lil' Red said as she rolled her eyes.
"We need to know how to stop…the enemy," Freya finished in a gasp.
"The Family of Blood. I don't know how," Martha said, frustrated.
"But he would know, right? The Doctor?" Mr. Smith asked from the doorway. He was clutching a pail of water, looking rather pale.
"He ought to, yeah," Martha said.
"Then we should try to find him," Mr. Smith said, looking terrified as he said the words.
"But you know what that would mean," Lil' Red said, staring intently at him. He swallowed and nodded.
"Yeah. But I can't do it. I can't save everyone. I can't protect you from them. And…I don't know if I could help Freya," Mr. Smith said.
"We can't spare anyone leaving right now, Mr. Smith. I have to stay with Freya and try to help her. Bad Wolf, er, Ezek, is recovering from his whatever he just did," Martha explained. Lil' Red released her mom's hand and stood.
"I can go find it. I'll be back soon," Lil' Red promised, planting a quick kiss on her mother's forehead before dashing out of the room.
"Can I…can I have a moment alone with Freya?" Mr. Smith asked.
"She's in the middle of labor," Martha protested, but Freya shook her head.
"It's okay. I'll…I'll scream if I need you," she said. Martha looked apprehensive but steered Bad Wolf out of the room, just outside of the building.
Mr. Smith slowly made his way to the bed, sitting next to her with his eyes still on her.
"You knew. The entire time. You knew," Mr. Smith accused.
"I did. I didn't know what you knew, and I had to stay with you," Freya explained, her words coming out in short sections.
"Were the nightmares just a ploy?" Mr. Smith demanded.
"No. Those are real. I…I haven't had them in a long time," Freya admitted.
"But in her memories…the Doctor and your daughter…it said the two of you get separated sometimes. How do you handle that?" Mr. Smith asked.
"I have friends. More friends than before. It is difficult but I can usually manage," Freya said as another contraction hit her.
"I could have loved you. With time, I really could have," Mr. Smith said.
"I know you could have," Freya told him, barely managing to smile to him as she gripped the bedsheets tightly.
"MARTHA!" Freya called as another contraction hit her hard.
"What's wrong?" Mr. Smith asked anxiously.
"Pain," Freya gasped as Martha and Bad Wolf made their way back into the room. Bad Wolf halted.
"If it's all the same, I think I'll stand guard. Don't think I wanna watch myself be born," Bad Wolf said, turning and quickly leaving the room.
A few more pushes and an excruciating amount of pain later, and Martha let out a cry of joy.
"It's a boy! Not that you didn't know that already!" Martha said as she wrapped the screaming baby in some cloth from the bed.
"Scissors. Bad Wolf, we need you! Can you find us some scissors?" Martha called.
"On it," Bad Wolf responded. Freya's head fell back and she felt exhaustion creeping up on her.
"Stay awake, if you can," Martha told her.
"Why?" Mr. Smith asked in alarm.
"We want to make sure she's okay. Stay awake, okay? That way we know immediately if something is wrong," Martha said, biting her lip as she did.
Bad Wolf entered the room and handed Martha a pair of scissors, which Martha used to cut the umbilical cord. While keeping an eye on Freya, she cleaned the baby as quickly as she could before wrapping him once more in a clean cloth Bad Wolf had dropped on the bed next to the scissors.
"Do you want to hold your baby?" Martha asked Freya. Freya nodded, her eyes glued to the bundle despite her seeming exhaustion. Martha carefully sat the baby bundle in her arms as she tried to clean up the mess to the best of her abilities.
Mr. Smith stared at the child, eyes as transfixed as Freya's were. Freya held the baby tightly for a moment before glancing up at Mr. Smith.
"Do you want to hold him?" she asked him. Mr. Smith hesitated before holding his arms out. Freya settled the baby in his arms, leaning on him as she did. Mr. Smith melted into her, a smile breaking out over his face as he gazed down at the baby.
"He's beautiful," Mr. Smith said. He handed the baby carefully back to Freya before wrapping his arms around her as well, staring down at the baby just as she was.
The door banged open, shocking both of them.
In ran Lil' Red, Timothy Latimer's arm locked with hers.
"He had it. Said it told him to hide it. But we have a problem. They're bombing the down," Lil' Red said grimly. Mr. Smith stared at Freya for a moment before kissing her on the lips. After a moment, he pulled back and kissed the babyon the head as well.
He climbed off the bed and took the watch from Lil' Red. He stared at it for a moment before glancing up at Freya.
"We could have been happy," he said sadly.
"We could have," Freya agreed.
"He…he'll take care of you? You and the baby? He'll protect you both?" Mr. Smith asked. Freya nodded, gripping Baby Ezekiel, Baby Bad Wolf, tighter.
Mr. Smith flipped the watch open and the light flowed into him. He stumbled backwards, blinking a few times.
His eyes surveyed the room. Bad Wolf, newly regenerated and slipping into a fitful sleep; Freya holding his newborn son and looking exhausted. And his daughter who he hadn't really met before properly. His daughter, who was human, utterly human, yet could do things only a Time Lord or Lady ought to do.
"I'll go take care of them. Stay here. Martha, keep her awake until I can examine her," the Doctor said.
"Don't you want to hold your baby before you go?" Martha asked him in disbelief. The Doctor stared at her and then at his son before shaking his head.
"No. I need to get rid of the threat first. I'll get rid of the threat to them then I'll be back and it'll be awhile before you'll be able to pry him from my arms," the Doctor warned as he stalked out of the house.
The door slammed firmly behind him.
Martha was at Freya's side instantly, examining her and trying to make sure she was fine to the best of her abilities. Lil' Red and Latimer stood side by side, watching curiously. And then there was Bad Wolf, who had yet to wake up from the slump he'd slinked into.
Lil' Red skipped over to Freya's side as soon as Martha seemed to step back. The little girl crawled onto the bed next to Freya, huddled up at her side. She frowned at the baby.
"He looks squishy," Lil' Red said in disdain. Baby Bad Wolf opened his eyes and let out a wail at her words.
"She means that in a good way, darling," Freya reassured the crying baby.
"Wait – he understands us?" Martha asked. Freya nodded.
"He has a higher developed cognitive sense. At least, that's what the Doctor would say I'm sure," Freya said.
"I'm also just really smart," Bad Wolf muttered from across the room.
"Come over here," Freya ordered him, sitting up in the bed.
"Don't wanna touch the baby. Paradox," Bad Wolf mumbled.
"You won't touch the baby. There's room for you to lay here on the other side of me," Freya pointed out. Bad Wolf let out a sigh but stood, shuffling over slowly. He managed to crawl onto the bed and Freya handed baby Bad Wolf over to Lil' Red as he shifted onto the bed. Freya wrapped an arm around him before tucking Lil Red under her other arm.
"I'm your sister, silly!" Lil' Red giggled at the baby.
"Don't patronize me!" Bad Wolf snapped.
"Children," Freya said, glancing between the two. Bad Wolf pouted.
"But Mom….she started it," Bad Wolf complained.
"I'm younger. I should be complaining, not you," Lil' Red said as she stuck her tongue out at her brother. Baby Bad Wolf gurgled at Lil' Red.
"No. He's not your brother. He's you! Future you! That's what you have to look forward to," Lil' Red informed the child. Baby Bad Wolf gurgled once more and Bad Wolf glared at, well, himself.
"Oi! That's not very nice!" Bad Wolf said angrily.
"Children. The three of you need to calm down. I'm tired. Don't fight," Freya told them.
"Yes Mum," the two older children said, and even the baby looked apologetic.
"Martha, wanna come over here?" Freya asked. Martha moved to her side cautiously.
"How do they know what the baby is saying?" Martha asked.
"We speak baby," Lil' Red said, eyes wide with honesty.
"Darling, Bad Wolf, Ezekiel, this is Martha. Martha's a good friend of ours. She helped you," Freya introduced. Baby Bad Wolf stared up at her and managed to smile.
"That's adorable," Martha said. Lil' Red held out Bad Wolf to Martha and Martha did not hesitate to wrap the child in her arms.
"Oh! Bad Wolf. I have something for you. Your father gave it to me to give to you," Freya said, taking what looked like a thick wrist bracelet off.
"Is that a Vortex Manipulator?" Bad Wolf asked, eyes wide.
"Yes it is," Freya said, putting the bracelet on his arm.
"What's a Vortex Manipulator?" Martha asked.
"Like cheap time travel, as Daddy says. Time travel with less style," Lil' Red said with a laugh.
"It's like getting a first car, I guess. You don't get a great fancy car first," Freya tried relating it, although she herself wasn't sure she understood all the concepts. Bad Wolf pulled the leather cover open and frowned at it.
"The numbers are moving all wrong," he said, pushing a few buttons.
Before he disappeared.
"What just happened?" Martha asked, gripping the baby tighter.
"He accidentally set it off. I told him I'd bring him home," Freya said with a frown.
"He'll find his way there. He always does," Lil' Red said.
"And what about you? Do you always find your way home?" Martha asked her.
"I will until I die," Lil' Red said honestly. Freya winced at her words.
"Do you know when you'll die?" Martha asked. Lil' Red nodded solemnly.
"This year. Really soon. I can feel it coming. There's no stopping it. This body isn't able to last all that long," Lil' Red said.
"Why can't you do what your brother just did?" Martha asked.
"Because I only have one heart. My body is human. I have a human body with the majority of a Time Lord's mind. It's burning out my mind," Lil' Red explained.
"But surely we could do something to fix that?" Freya asked quietly.
"You have. I shouldn't have lived long past birth. You'll see, when it happens. Twelve years is better than the none I should have received," Lil' Red pointed out. She then crawled out of the bed.
"I really ought to be going. I wish I could stay and say hi to Daddy, but my time's so limited. I think I have to go on a goodbye tour soon. That's what Daddy calls them. He's very dramatic," Lil' Red said with a giggle, but both Freya and Martha could see the sadness in her eyes.
"Take care. And be a good girl," Freya told her as Lil' Red wrapped her arms around Freya.
"I'm always a good girl," Lil' Red said before giving her baby brother a kiss on the forehead and a quick hug to Martha before flashing out with her own Vortex Manipulator.
As soon as she was gone, the TARDIS materialized in the room. The Doctor walked out and scooped up Freya, making his way directly into the TARDIS without another word. A few minutes later, he came out, offering the fob watch to Timothy.
"Thank you for keeping it safe," the Doctor said. Timothy nodded.
"Is Miss Freya alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. She's fine. I checked her out real quick and laid her down to sleep," the Doctor told him.
"Tell her I said bye," Timothy said.
"I will," the Doctor told him before nodding to Martha.
"You coming?" he asked her. Martha nodded, still cradling the baby, as she followed him into the TARDIS.
He immediately set her off, only jerking slightly at the movements. As soon as he was done, he turned to Martha, eyes glued on the baby. Martha held the baby out to him and he tentatively lifted him up.
"Bad Wolf. Ezekiel O'Leary, if the name he went by in the school was anything to go by. My son," the Doctor said, staring down at the child.
"Did you take care of the Family of Blood?" Martha asked.
"Yeah. They won't be bothering anyone ever again," the Doctor said.
"And Freya's fine?" Martha asked for clarification.
"Freya is just fine. Where's my other children?" the Doctor asked, glancing around as if noticing their disappearance for the first time.
"Bad Wolf used the Vortex Manipulator older you gave Freya to give to him and accidentally disappeared. Lil' Red had to leave," Martha said.
"Doctor?" Martha and the Doctor turned to see Freya standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall.
"Freya? What are you doing up? I said you could sleep," the
Doctor said.
"I couldn't. I wanted to be near my baby," Freya said, stumbling across the room. The Doctor was at her side in an instant.
"Come on. Let's both go to bed. Martha, you can too. We need a bit of relaxing. Thank you. For the help," the Doctor added.
"No problem," Martha said.
"No. Thank you. You were really helpful to me," Freya added.
Freya, the Doctor, and baby Bad Wolf stumbled into the bedroom, the Doctor helping Freya to lay down before tucking baby Bad Wolf in the bed next to her. He then climbed into the bed as well.
"If I'd known you were coming, I would have found a way to incorporate you into the story the TARDIS made for me," the Doctor told her as soon as the lights went out.
"You couldn't have known," Freya said.
"But you always manage to come back," the Doctor said.
"Why did you go on adventures without me?" Freya asked, the question that had been nagging at her popping out of her mouth before she could stop it.
"I took Martha home, and we found out about her sister's boss changing what it meant to be human. So we stopped him. We were on our way to pick you up when the TARDIS landed in the wrong time. It landed on a spaceship instead of in your place. We saved the ship, then tried for you. When we got there, you were gone. I tried finding you, but we couldn't. And then we ran into the Family of Blood. I was going to run a tracker on you as soon as they died," the Doctor said.
"What are we going to do?" Freya asked.
"I'm sorry?" the Doctor asked.
"Bad Wolf was in the past and had been there for five years. We find him later in 1994 where he'd been waiting for years as well. Why do we keep losing our children?" Freya wanted to know.
"Well, now we have to since we know we do. It's a paradox, unfortunately. I don't know," the Doctor said.
"But I don't get to see my children grow up. And my little girl dies before she has a chance to live," Freya said, feeling the tears building up. The Doctor's arms wrapped themselves around her tightly.
"Hey. Don't think about it. Think about now. We're alive, and we're together," the Doctor pointed out.
Freya fell asleep in his arms, tears drying on her face.
There you go! Blink is next! Review with your thoughts. I'm aware it may not be as good as some other chapters, but I hope it answers some questions. Like why Freya would not recognize Bad Wolf as Ezekiel immediately (she should have if he looked the same as he did before). And a bit more about Lil' Red. Since he didn't have as strong a relationship with Matron, I didn't see him having the urge to go back and explain himself to her. So they just sort of up and left.
Leave a review and let me know what you thought!