DOWN ON THE FARM

Chapter Two

The Doctor finished his conversation with his brother downstairs while Rose brought the dogs in from the back garden and played with them. The corgis wagged their tails furiously and jumped up.

"You smell my dog on me, dontcha?" she said to them as they jumped up and down.

The Doctor glanced upstairs. Hope was changing clothes and Tara was using the guestroom to change into something more appropriate. He decided to go up and check on his youngest daughter and make sure she wasn't goofing off. He went upstairs. On his way to Hope's room, he heard his name being called and saw Rain sticking her head out the door of their bedroom.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she said.

The Doctor nodded. He frowned when Rain shut the door behind him the moment he entered the room.

"Something wrong?" he said to her.

"Thete, was I a bit too harsh with Alan just now?" she said.

"Um…you were doing your usual bratty brother/sister banter as far as I can tell," the Doctor said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah but I realized I was a bit harsh with him and I started thinking that it sounded like I was trying to kill his dream of owning a farm."

The Doctor frowned but kept on listening.

"It scared me a bit because I realized I sounded just like Amber just then," Rain said. "I sounded like her the night I wanted to go with Alan and Rose. All that you need to be practical and keep your feet on the ground. I was doing that to him."

The Doctor smiled lovingly and sat down on the bed. He reached out for her hand and took it when she extended it.

"Latara, I think you're overthinking this," he said to her. "And I think you're not giving Alan enough credit for knowing the difference between teasing and malicious talk about giving up his dreams. And since Alan is partly me, I can tell you that he wouldn't be fazed if you told him in a serious way to give up his dream because Alan is stubborn, just like me. Besides, you lot have been doing this for centuries now. It's the whole sibling rivalry thing that Alan enjoys and I know that because he told me so. Everyone knew what was going on, that's why no one said anything. I'd be more concerned if you didn't say something sarcastic to him about it. That's why I used the mobile instead of just thinking to him. Because I wanted to see your reaction to it. As for Amber…no, I don't think you're turning into your sister. The only time you act this way is with Alan. Like I said, you're overthinking something that's become habit between the two of you. Alan enjoys the whole give and take so don't worry about it. We all know you love each other."

"I'm sorry, Thete, I just realized what it sounded like and it frightened me for a moment."

"I know, Latara. Because you were expected to be the practical one once," the Doctor said, patting her hand. "But bless your father for shutting Amber up and allowing you to go on a crazy journey with Rose and Alan, because it led you here. Here…"

The Doctor stood up, pulled out his mobile and rang Alan. When he answered, the Doctor explained the situation to him while Rain listened. She heard silence on his end while the Doctor spoke and there was silence for a few moments after he finished speaking.

"Is she there?" she finally heard him say.

"Yeah, she's right beside me," the Doctor said, glancing at his wife.

"Let me talk to her."

The Doctor held the mobile out to Rain. She took it and cleared her throat.

"Hey, bro," she said.

"Okay, first off, I never, ever thought you were being malicious," Alan said. "I figured you would object since it's the sort of harebrained scheme you would tell me not to pursue. You didn't upset me, you didn't insult me and I gave your words no thought off I put the mobile back in my pocket. Brother is right; you are putting way too much thought into what you just said and overanalyzing it. And no, you're not turning into Amber. I would slap you silly if you were. I love you, you love me, this is a part of our bond, this whole teasing and insulting thing. I enjoy it and I thought you did as well."

"I do but I don't want you to think I don't want you to have dreams," Rain said.

Alan chuckled.

"Rainy, I have heaps of dreams and your friendly insults aren't going to deter me from any of them," he said fondly. "Now stop worrying about if you're hurting my feelings or not and come with us to the farm. Just think of it as an adventure with cows."

Rain chuckled while the Doctor smiled at that.

"Okay, bro. I'll go along with you just this once," she said.

"Eh, you always say that but you can't resist me and my manly charms," Alan said.

"P'eh, you have no manly charms," Rain said while the Doctor's smile grew.

"You say that but…"

Rain rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"See…just a bit of friendly sibling banter, nothing more," he said. "Now hang up the phone and get ready. I'm growing impatient here."

"Okay, bro. See you in a moment."

"Unfortunately."

"Piss off," Rain said.

"I will. I'll piss off the roof onto your pointed head."

He chuckled with Rain. She told him goodbye and handed the phone back to the Doctor.

"I think the problem is solved now, Brother," he said to Alan. "So I'll ring off here and finish getting ready. See you soon."

He ended the call and smiled at his wife as he put the mobile back in his pocket.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think my head is on straight again," she said.

"Good. I like it that way," he said before kissing her forehead. "So…I was going to check on Trouble and make sure she was getting dressed and not playing."

"Go ahead, I have to finish here," Rain said.

The Doctor kissed her forehead again before opening the door and heading on to Hope's room.

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