A GOOD MAN GOES TO WAR
Chapter Five Rose walked over to the communicating door. She opened hers and knocked on the one that led into the room Mara and Donna were sharing. Mara opened the door and before Rose could say anything, she yelled, "We don't want any!" and slammed it. "Oi!" Rose said, banging on the door while the Doctor and Donna laughed. "You open the door this instant, you cheeky thing." Mara opened the door and giggled when Rose gave her a playful punch on the arm. "You alright?" she asked Mara. "Yeah, just hanging out. Have you looked at the coupon books yet?" "No, we just put Melody down in the cot," Rose said. "Cot?" Mara said, peeking into the room. "Hey, you got an extra room we don't have." "That's the nursery," Rose said. "We don't have that," Mara said. "Well, I'm sure some rooms are for adults and older children and then you have rooms with nurseries attached for the babies." "Cool, let me see," Mara said. "Where's Dad?" "In here, doodling with the etch-a-sketch," the Doctor called from the room. Mara, coupon book in hand, walked into the room while Rose went into Donna's room to chat with her. "Wow," Mara said, coming inside the nursery and looking around. "This is ace." "Yes, it's quite cozy," the Doctor said as he sat in the rocking chair, "they certainly think of everything for baby." Mara walked to the crib and looked at Melody who was sound asleep. She looked back at the Doctor who was slowly turning the knobs on the etch-a-sketch. She walked to his side to see what he was doing. "Wow, you're making the TARDIS," she said, looking at the half finished drawing. "Yes, this is a brilliant little toy. Unfortunately, you can only draw straight lines so I'm limited to what I can do, which is why I'm drawing the TARDIS. Are you and Donna settled in?" "Yeah, we've been trying to decide what to do on our own so you and Mum can have some alone time and we've been looking at the coupon book, have you seen it?" "Uh…no, we came in here to deal with Melody and I found the etch-a-sketch and that's the extent of my time here. Why? What's in the coupon book?" "All sorts of things," Mara said, opening the book to a coupon she marked by folding down the top edge. "It says, this coupon entitles the user to one complementary meal at Paradise Cove. Drink, entrée and dessert included, limit one per person." "Probably some manky place with dirt floors and bugs on the walls and cold food," the Doctor teased. "But free meal is good." "There's this place called Braum's that is giving out free ice cream," Mara said, turning to another coupon "And a place called Hobby Lobby that gives out free embroidery or cross stitch kits. I think I might get one and learn how to do it so I can make something nice for Mummy." "What about me? Don't I get something nice?" "Go to Hobby Lobby, use your coupon and get me something and I'll make it for you." "Okay, I'll find the Bayeux Tapestry and you can make me that," the Doctor said. "Um…what's that?" "This ginormous tapestry someone made that depicts the Battle of Hastings. It's about 224 feet long, interested?" "Um, no," Mara said while the Doctor giggled. "And they have this coupon for a free massage." "Ooo, wouldn't mind that," the Doctor said. "My, my, my, this coupon book has some nice stuff. Usually those things are rubbish. Your mum will like the massage too; she needs one after giving birth to your sister. I hope she rests and recovers. Our life is stressful enough without her straining her body. She needs to lie down and relax now." "Do you think she'll wanna eat at this Paradise Cove place?" "Perhaps, we'll ask her when she comes in here. Where is she anyway?" "In our room with Aunt Donna." "Oh blast, I dread to think what those two are concocting." Mara giggled, gave him a kiss on the cheek and walked over to the pile of toys in the corner while the Doctor continued his drawing and lazily rocked in the chair. She picked up a honey colored Teddy bear and examined it before tucking it under her arm and walking into the other room. She returned ten minutes later and walked over to the Doctor's chair. "I have a gran?" she asked him. "Hmm?" the Doctor said, jerking his head up. "Mummy's speaking on the mobile to gran in our room, I have a gran?" "Um…yes, you do. Oh blimey, is she speaking to her? I can just imagine what Jackie will say about her giving birth to my child. I'm sure she'll want to see her now and I hope that means I won't be getting a slap from her." "Can we go see her?" Mara said. "I want to see my gran." "Oh, I suppose we can after we get done here," the Doctor said. "Hopefully, Jackie won't freak out when she sees your blue skin but after all she's seen since I've known your mum, I think she'll be okay with it." "She doesn't like blue people?" "Well…at her point in time, humans are still wary of aliens but she's used to me so that's why I think she'll accept you. If she doesn't, I'll bop her in the nose and tell her to accept you. Actually…maybe I'll just bop in the nose anyway because she's a cheeky woman and she's got it coming to her." He looked over when Rose entered the room. "Talked to mum and told her what was going on," she said to him. "And are you now partially deaf from the scream of horror she let out when she found out I fathered your child?" the Doctor said. "No, she's happy that she has a grandchild," Rose said. "She is? From me? Wow, she really has loosened up over the years," the Doctor said. "She's not against you like you think she is," Rose said. "You didn't make Mummy's baby, the other Doctor did," Mara said. The Doctor sighed. "I know that, love, but since he is me, I'm claiming ownership of Melody. It's not inaccurate to say it's my baby since he is me. Besides, I'd rather not think about that twit being the father of a wonderful girl like Melody." "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Mara said. "Nah, love, you didn't. I know it's confusing when I say it's my child but I want Melody to grow up knowing only me as her father and not that thing that looks like me. You didn't mean any harm by voicing your confusion," the Doctor said, rubbing her arm. "I also want to ring Jack. I want him to know since he knows I was pregnant." "Yeah, I want to see Uncle Jack too," Mara said. "Let's go see him too after we leave here." "Jack'll wanna know about what happened to the other Doctor," Rose said. "He might want to come with us, you know, as added protection." The Doctor nodded. "I know Jack and I know he would want to come along and make sure you lot were safe. Personally, I wouldn't mind given what's happened in the past between me and him. We need all the help we can get against him." "He won't hurt me, will he?" Mara said. The Doctor put down his etch-a-sketch and stood up. "Like I said to Rose earlier, not while I have breath in my body. He tries anything with you and I'll make him regenerate over and over until he dies. No one is touching my family members and getting away with it, so don't worry about it. You're safe here." "So, should I ring Jack and tell him we're here? I'm sure he'll want to come, especially if he's loose." "Yeah, tell him to bring his unlimited credit stick and I'll go down and see if they'll reserve a room beside us or near us," the Doctor said. "Want to come with me, Mara?" Mara nodded and the Doctor gave Rose a quick peck on the cheek. Rose walked over to the crib to check on Melody while she pulled her mobile out of her pocket.
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