PARENTHOOD
Chapter Thirty Four By the time the bulk of the group reached New Franklin, Alan, Chaska and Christopher were waiting for them, sitting leisurely on the bench beside the billboard. "Ha! I won!" Alan said to them. "We weren't racing you," Rain said as they rode up beside them. "I gotta go pee," Sokanon said, getting off her bike and heading for the bathroom. "Me too," Namid said. Doc helped her off and led her to the empty bathroom as everyone else got off their bikes and stretched. "Well, that was a productive day. A little over twenty miles. Should we go on or stay here?" "I wanna stay here. I'm tired," Chaska said. "Yeah, we already found a place where we can camp tonight," Christopher said. "Oh?" the Doctor said, "where?" "Just up the road here. They allow campfires and you pay ten dollars for a spot at a house next door," Alan said. "Would have done but I didn't know what you were thinking because sadly I'm not joined at your wrist anymore." "Okay, if we're going to spend the night here, I need to get more food because I only packed enough for lunch," the Doctor said. "Already found the solution, Fearless Leader," Alan said with a salute. "There is also a small store nearby with a woman who is grilling burgers for everyone." "Well, show me where it is and we'll go get food for tonight and secure a camping spot." "Can I come, Daddy?" Chaska asked as Christopher and he came up beside the Doctor. "Me too, I wanna come too," Christopher said. "Aren't you tired?" the Doctor said as Sokanon and Namid came out of the bathrooms. "No, I wanna help, Daddy," Chaska said, shrugging. "Okay, if you lot are able to keep awake you can come. What about you?" he asked Sokanon and Namid. "You wanna walk down with us and get food and a campsite or are you too tired?" "I'm tired, Daddy, I wanna rest," Namid said. "Yeah, me too." "Okey-dokey, anyone else wanna come?" the Doctor said. "I will," Jack said. "Not me, I'm tired too," Rain said. "Yeah, same here," Rose added. "Ditto," Doc said. The Doctor nodded. His group walked off while Rain got the blanket from the carrier, walked over to a nearby tree and spread it out. She sat down beside it with Rose and Doc while Sokanon led Namid to it and they lay down on the blanket and stretched out. Rain smiled when Namid lay her hand on her leg before she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. While she lay there listening to her mother chatting with Rose and Doc, she reached out her mind to her father and smiled when she felt him. She'd only been able to do this for a couple of years, ever since the Doctor taught her and her siblings how to connect minds and communicate telepathically as well as share images and feelings. Despite being blind, her father and mother never showed any impatience and always encouraged her to do things, even if it seemed like a blind person couldn't do them. Her father was always coming up with ways to participate by modifying and building things and it made her love him and her mother all the more. She always tried to show her love to him because she could sense a sadness deep inside him that had never left him even though she knew he loved his family and was content with them. Smiling, Namid concentrated on the Doctor's mind and sent an image into it. The Doctor and his group finished paying for a spot in the campsite and bought a couple of handfuls of cut wood for their campfire. Next to the little white wooden house where they purchased the wood and campsite was a blue wooden building that housed a shop and outdoor grill where a woman was cooking burgers and hot dogs and making French fries. While they were waiting for their order to be grilled, the Doctor felt a privacy block going up around his mind and heard a giggle from Namid as he suddenly saw an image of her walking through a building with an older man. Namid had little angel wings on her back and was wearing a long white gown while the older man wore a toga and had larger angel wings. "Well, young lady, you're all set to go down and be born," the man said to angel Namid. "It's time for you to pick your parents." They went through a door and walked by men and woman of different ages, ethnicities and species who sat in Perspex boxes mounted on wooden bases. Each base had a golden plaque that listed the person or person's name. The couples waved to Namid as she walked past them. She waved back but didn't stop until she came to one case where the Doctor and Rain sat. She paused and studied them and then turned to the eldery angel with a smile and pointed to them. "Them! I want them. They'll be the perfect mummy and daddy for me!" she said. "Good choice. However, these parents are popular and you'll have to share them with another boy and girl." "Okay," angel Namid said. The elderly angel unlocked the case to let them out while Namid looked at something further down. She walked past a few more cases till she came to someone sitting by themselves looking lonely. His plaque read Doc. Namid studied him and then walked back to the elderly angel. "Hey, can I have him too?" she said, pointing to Doc. "He's lonely and he needs me." "Well, normally we don't allow children to have three parents but he is lonely and needs you. So you can have him too." "Yay! I'll have the bestest parents ever!" angel Namid said. Alan sniffed the aroma of sizzling meat as they sat near the grill. "Ooo, I can't wait to eat one of these burgers. They look de-licious," he said to Jack who was sitting beside him. "How about you, Brother?" He looked across the table and frowned when he noticed the Doctor was staring past him with tears in his eyes. "Brother?" Alan said as everyone stared at him. "What's wrong?" "I'm being loved past the point of all reason, that's what's wrong," the Doctor said as a goofy grin spread over his face. "Really?" Jack said, "by who?" The Doctor held up his finger. He scrunched up his face and concentrated on sending a tsunami of love right into Namid's brain. Rain jerked her head around and smiled when she heard Namid giggle hysterically. "What's so funny, baby?" she asked as she laid her hand on her hair. "Daddy's giving me lots of love cause I showed him how much I love him," Namid said, glancing up in her direction. "You did? That was sweet of you," Rose said. "Yes, I showed Daddy this," she said. She replayed what she showed the Doctor and both Rain and Doc got tears in their eyes as Rose gave her sister a sideways hug. Doc got up and walked over as Rain knelt over and kissed her cheek. "I'm glad you think we're the perfect parents, baby, cause I think you're a perfect child," she said. Namid smiled when Doc scooped her up into her arms and held her tight while he rocked her and nuzzled her cheek. While he did that, Namid saw the Doctor in her mind's eye standing at a wooden counter speaking to someone out of sight. "Hi, I'd like a forty foot burger with all the trimmings for my daughter who thinks I'm the perfect parent," he said. He walked behind the counter and Namid giggled when ten seconds later he was driving a forklift that was carrying the monster burger. Suddenly, Mental Doctor stopped the forklift and gave her a suspicious look. "Wait, did you say all that just so I would buy you a mega burger?" he asked. No, Daddy, I love you, Namid thought to him. The Mental Doctor smiled as cartoon hearts came out of his head. Whistling, he drove the forklift on until he came to a mental version of his daughter. He sat it down in front of her and backed away. Namid giggled when her mental version tore into the burger, eating it rapidly while the Mental Doctor watched. When Namid explained why she was laughing, the adults chuckled and Rain patted her head while Doc kissed her. After that, Namid lay back down and filled with her father's love, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
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