PARENTHOOD
Chapter Twenty Five The Doctor placed a small metal cart onto the back of his back that had four canvas sides that zipped up to provide a space to haul items. They put the picnic basket, a red blanket, some flashlights and a first aid kit on the cart and zipped it up. Once they were done with that, the Doctor took Chaska up to the console room and mentally requested the TARDIS to move the other room away for the moment so he could talk to his son in private. He pulled out his tissue rejuvenator and repaired the bruise on his cheek. "Did this to your mum last night but I wanted you to rest first before I fixed your cheek," he said to him as the bruise started to go away, leaving behind only pink skin. "I also wanted to tell you how proud I am that you tried to protect your mum." "I didn't want that guy hurting her." "I know. I saw your mum's memories and I'm glad you managed to get your licks in before he slapped you. At first I thought he just randomly hit you which made me angry, I had no idea you got him first. Normally I don't condone violence but bravo for the leg slap." He smiled when Chaska giggled at that. "So...all ready to have fun?" "Yes." "Good. So am I." "Daddy?" "Hmm?" "Did...anyone ever hurt you like that man hurt me?" The Doctor sighed. "My daddy did when I was growing up," he said. "That's why I never spank you or raise a hand to you and that's why I'm so angry that Ceres did that to you. Getting hit by someone is the last thing I want for you." He smiled when Chaska hugged him tightly. "I love you, Daddy." "Aw, I love you too, little man." He tousled his hair before he mentally asked the TARDIS to allow them to go back to the other room to retrieve the bikes. The TARDIS landed at the trailhead just outside a small town named Huntsdale, Missouri. It landed back in the woods so no one would disturb it and after looking around to make sure no one saw them, the Doctor and his family walked their bikes out and over to a rest area along the dirt trail. The Doctor closed the door and finished walking his black mountain bike over. He grunted as the tiny cart caught on the undergrowth and grumbling he forced the little wheels to cooperate until he caught up with everyone else. The rest area consisted of a small yellow cinderblock building that had two restrooms, one on each side of the building. Outside it on a concrete slab were two water fountains. A little metal dog dish was beside it for people who were walking their dogs along the trail. There were three picnic tables nearby and a large wooden billboard that had benches running the length of it on both sides. The billboard had the trail map on it and also maps of the next section of the trail starting from where they were. It also contained information about Huntsdale and points of interest for the eastern and western parts of the trail. The Doctor came up alongside everyone as they studied the maps. "Rocheport is the next stop if we go west," Rain said to him. "If we go that way, we go alongside the Missouri River for most of the way, plus we'll get to see huge rock cliffs and there's a Lewis and Clark cave with petroglyphs above it." "Sounds good to me," the Doctor said as he took his black bicycle helmet off his handlebars and put it on. He heard giggling and looked down at Sokanon. "What's so funny?" he said. "You look silly with that on," she said, pointing to the helmet. "Yeah?" the Doctor said as everyone laughed. "Well, you're about to look just as silly because everyone is wearing this so I wouldn't laugh if I were you." Everyone grabbed their helmets off their handlebars and put them on while Doc helped Namid with hers. His bike was a black tandem bike with the back end lower than the front so Namid would be able to reach the ground with her feet. Once her helmet was on, Doc helped her onto the back seat and got on the front seat while she gripped her handlebars. Once everyone was ready, they headed off towards Rocheport which was about ten miles away. The day was hot with a little bit of humidity but there was a slight breeze both from the wind and the movement of the bikes so it was tolerable. Chaska and Christopher rode BMX bikes and they quickly moved ahead of everyone else while they talked to each other. While they rode, the Doctor looked at Namid who was helping Doc to peddle as they rode their bike a few feet in front of them. He grinned and isolated her mind and projected an image of himself into it. Namid giggled when she saw her father coming up alongside her on the left, glaring at her as he beeped his little horn. "Out of my way, road hog!" he said to her. "No!" Namid called out. "Yes!" the Doctor called back. "Oh Jesus, are you bothering that poor child again with your insane mental delusions?" Jack said as he rode behind him. In response, the Doctor projected an image of Jack riding into Namid's head. She laughed hysterically when she saw her father ram him hard from the side and send him sailing off the trail into the Missiouri River beside them. "That's what I think of your comment about my mental delusions!" Mental Doctor said to Mental Jack as he landed in the Missouri with a huge splash. Namid continued to laugh as he went on with entertaining her. She laughed as she watched him speed up and hit bears, deers, squirrels and birds. "Die wildlife!" Mental Doctor screamed as he hit his prey and sent them flying skyhigh. "Daddy, quit killing the animals!" Namid called out. Rain gave her husband an amused look. "I'm ramming my bike into the forest creatures for her amusement," he said as the adults laughed. "She can't see with her normal eyes so I have to make up things for her mental eyes to see. Having said that...DIE RACCOON!" Namid laughed harder as the Doctor flashed his wife a triumphant grin. Doc glanced behind at his daughter and gave her a tender look as she continued to laugh. "Good job she's not actually in charge of pedaling, mate, she'd have run off the trail into the water by now," Doc said to the Doctor. "Which is why I'm doing this. I wouldn't be showing her things if she had to concentrate on the road," the Doctor said to him. They noticed up ahead that Chaska and Christopher had stopped and were talking to one another as they pointed up into the trees on their right sides. The others rode up to them and stopped. "What's all this then?" Alan asked them. Chaska pointed when they heard a knocking sound in the trees above them. "What's that?" Christopher said. "That is a woodpecker," the Doctor said. "It's making a hole in one of the trees." "How?" Chaska asked. The Doctor grinned and projected an image of himself with a huge woodpecker beak. He flapped his arms, landed on a limb of a tree and began to peck at the wood with his bill as everyone laughed. "That's how," the Doctor said. "Doesn't that hurt him?" Sokanon asked. "Nah, its skull is very strong and its beak is designed for that. Doesn't bother him a bit," the Doctor said as the knocking continued. They laughed when Alan projected an image of himself with the same bill as the Doctor, only this time when he pecked he drilled a huge hole in the tree and pulled Rose out of it with his beak. "Hey, lookie what I found, a nice juicy worm," Alan said aloud as Rose swatted his arm playfully. "Speaking of..." the Doctor said as he spied something on a nearby tree. He got off his bike while everyone watched. He walked off the trail and over to an old tree with a thick, gnarled bark. On the bark was a large green caterpillar that was crawling up the trunk. He put his hand flat in front of it and let the caterpillar climb on before he brought his hand over to the children and showed them. Doc showed Namid what was going on while the others got off their bikes and came over to examine it. They watched while the caterpillar crawled to the side of his hand and went around to the back. The Doctor turned his hand over and they watched it as it started going up his arm. Sokanon reached out to pet it and she frowned when it curled into a ball and lay still. "Hey, what happened?" Sokanon said as Doc continued to show his daughter what was going on while they stood nearby. "That...is his defense mechanism. It's what he does when he thinks there's danger. He thinks you're a predator so he curled up and is playing dead in the hope that you'll lose interest and go away," the Doctor said to her. He grinned and projected an image into Namid's head of him raising his other hand and slamming it down on his arm, smashing the caterpillar while he screamed, "YOU CAN'T FOOL ME THOUGH, DIE CATERPILLAR!" "Will you quit doing that. She's gonna pee all over the trail before we reach Rocheport," Rain said to him while Namid bent over laughing. "Sorry, dear, couldn't resist," the Doctor said. They waited a moment and then watched as the caterpillar uncurled itself and continued up the Doctor's arm. "See, now since nothing's happened for a few minutes, he thinks you've gone away and it's safe," the Doctor explained. "Or...is it?" The children laughed when he raised his hand and pretended to squash the caterpillar. "You have a bloodlust today, dontcha?" Rose said. "Nah, just making the children laugh," he said to her. He touched the caterpillar and when it curled up; he gently picked it up and placed it at the base of the tree. Then he beckoned to the children and everyone got back on their bikes and continued on.
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