A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR
Chapter Three "Now, before we go out, I have an idea," the Doctor said to everyone. "A way for mother and child to be together while Rose keeps her hands free." "Oh yeah, one of those baby sling things?" Rose said. "Sorta, however my design is more along the lines of what the Native Americans used to use. TARDIS, if you please…" There was a flash and the Doctor pointed to something that appeared on the jump seat. "This is something similar to the Native American cradleboard or papoose," he said, picking it up. "We put Melody in here and wrap her up snug and you can carry her without losing the use of your hands." Rose examined the papoose. It was made of soft leather with two flaps that opened up. The back was made of sturdy wood with a memory foam cushion. The Doctor took Melody and laid her gently down on the foam. They watched while the Doctor put the first flap over her and tied it down with two rawhide straps that went through two metal rings on the side of the board. Then he took the second flap and folded that across the first one and tied it down on the other side. Then he reached behind the board and flipped up a third piece that fit around the head. He tied both sides into the rings so that Melody's head was secure. He made sure everything was secure before he lifted it up. Attached to the back were two heavy straps that resembled the straps on backpacks. He told Rose to turn around and she put her arms through the straps. The Doctor adjusted the straps so the wood was against Rose's back. "There, now you can carry her," the Doctor said. "Will she be comfortable like that?" Rose said. "Um, she's drifting off to sleep if that answers your question," Donna said, gazing at Melody. "The Native Americans used this all the time. It kept their babies near them while they were free to do their chores or work on projects, that sort of thing. Melody is perfectly comfortable and secure and as Donna pointed out, the wee one is now on her way to Slumberland." "Cool," Rose said. "And it'd be hard to snatch her from you since the snatcher would have to tear these heavy straps off the board or spend time trying to untie everything and get her out. Much safer than if she was in your arms. "Okay, but what about Melody being able to speak, shouldn't we turn off the translation so people won't be startled if she calls me Big Milk Thing?" Rose said. "Oh yes, TARDIS, please turn off the translation for baby speak, will you?" The TARDIS grunted an affirmative and the Doctor slapped his hands together. "Right, I think we're ready. To the front door, everyone!" The Doctor led them down the ramp and he opened the front door, peeked out and nodded to the others. "Wow," Rose said when they stepped outside the TARDIS. They were across the street from a huge resort. They saw a hotel that rose about 54 floors into the sky. In front of the resort was a large sign. There were two concrete posts that were supporting a large neon sign of a mother holding a smiling baby. Underneath the mother and baby were the words, PARENT'S PARADISE, in neon blue letters. Beyond the resort was an Olympic sized swimming pool, tennis court, volleyball court and in the distance was a small amusement park. "Dad, can we ride the rides?" Mara said, pointing to the amusement park. "Yes but first we need to book our rooms," the Doctor said. They walked across the street and under the sign down a cobblestone path that led to the front door of the resort. The Doctor stayed near Rose's side, helping her since she was still recovering from the birth. Donna stayed behind her, keeping her eye on Melody while Mara walked in front of all of them, looking at everything. When they got near the front door, A sign suddenly rose up out of the ground. It had the same mother/baby motif as the bigger sign with WELCOME underneath it. Underneath that was a small speaker and they stopped when they heard a pleasant male voice speaking to them. "Welcome, parents to Parent's Paradise, the best resort in the universe for mothers and their children. Come in, weary parents, register and relax while we cater to your every need and help you recover from the stress of childbirth or parenting." "That was nice," the Doctor said when the sign lowered back into a metal slot in the ground. "Yeah, but they couldn't do that when we got inside the door?" Donna said. "The entrance is only five feet away, for Christ's sake." "Maybe they're very busy," Mara said. "Yes, this is a busy resort," the Doctor said while Mara opened the door and held it open for them. "Thank you, my poppet," he added as they went in. "Too bad they don't have something like this on Earth," Rose said while they walked inside. "Can you imagine how wealthy the person would become if he put one of these in a busy city like London or New York?" "Or Tokyo, one of the most populated cities on Earth," the Doctor said. The interior was concrete with wood paneling. The concrete had been painted an eggshell white color with framed photos of mothers and children on them. The mothers and children were different species including a human mother proudly holding her newborn daughter in her arms while she smiled for the camera. Rose sniffed and smelled lavender wafting through the air. The lobby had a few tables and leather chairs with some magazines scattered on them. Several people were behind the front desk. Two looked human, one looked like a green bird and another one had purple skin with long black hair. All of them were wearing white shirts, blue blazers with a gold nametag and blue trousers. "Good afternoon," a human female said, smiling warmly at them. "I am Sharon, how may I help you today?" "We want to book some rooms, Sharon," the Doctor said. "Certainly, sir, how many rooms will you require?" The Doctor looked at Mara. "If I give you a room to yourself, you won't rip it up and destroy it, will you?" he teased. "I wanna room with Aunt Donna though," Mara said. "Oh, um…Donna, is that alright?" "Sure, we can find things to do together," Donna said. "We need two rooms then," the Doctor said to Sharon. "Certainly, sir, and is she the only child?" Sharon said, pointing to Mara. "No, we have a baby as well," the Doctor said while Rose turned around to show them Melody. The entire staff came over for a look and congratulated Rose on her birth. Rose thanked them and turned back around. "Now, what are the children's names and their ages?" Sharon said while the rest of the staff went through a door behind her. "This is Mara and she's 13," the Doctor said, laying a hand on her shoulder and the other one is Melody and she's one week old." "Excellent!" Sharon said, writing down their names in a log book. "Welcome, Mara," she said to her. "Hello," Mara said. The rest of the staff came from the back room with two huge gift baskets. They handed one to Mara and handed the other one to the Doctor. "This is teenage type things for you, Mara, and the other one is filled with essentials for baby. It's our way of welcoming them here." "Why, thank you, much obliged," the Doctor said. "Not a problem, we love babies and children here and we want them to feel like honored guests," Sharon said. "Now, we've booked you two rooms on floor 15. Here are your pass keys," she said, handing one to Rose and one to Donna and also, four complimentary booklets filled with resort passes for different activities," she said, handing one to each of them. "Do you need anything else?" "No, I think that's all," the Doctor said. "Very good, enjoy your stay," Sharon said. The Doctor thanked her and they headed towards the lift. "No fair, where's my welcome to this place gift basket, kids are so spoiled," the Doctor teased Mara while she giggled. "I have makeup and books and things," Mara said, looking through the cellophane wrapping while they walked. "I have baby powder and nappies, somehow I don't think I'll be able to wear those," the Doctor said, looking into the gift basket he was carrying. "This is so not fair, I want a gift basket. What makes you and Melody so special?" "Because we're kids," Mara said when they reached the lift. "Soooo?" the Doctor said while she giggled. "What has being a kid got to do with anything? In some societies, they boil children in a huge cauldron and serve them to the adults with parsnips, huh, whatcha think of that?" "Then why are there adults if they boil all the children?" Rose said. "I didn't say all of them, just the ones drawn by lottery. Hear that? On some planets, children are food, so don't think you're so special with your noddy doddy gift basket." "Don't listen to him, he's just being a child," Rose said to her. "Noddy doddy fuddy duddy bling blang gift basket, what makes you so special?" he muttered while Mara giggled. He smiled tenderly at her and put his hand around her shoulder as the lift door opened and they walked inside.
Back Home Doctor Who Main Page Next