PARENTHOOD

Chapter Forty Four

Alan opened Daisy's door and everyone stepped out and looked at the Quasi Reservoir. The planet was much like Mars with red earth and sky but large sections had been terraformed and made habitable. The reservoir was man-made and the fish had originally come from other planets until some geneticists spliced some of the creature's genes together and made some unique species. The Zarbon was one of them. It could grow up to two meters long and had a white body with blue streaks running along the sides. The lake was constantly stocked and the owners guaranteed that anyone who fished it would be able to bring home at least one fish. The reservoir was two miles in circumference with several shops and businesses around it, including a grocery store, boat and bait rental shop and the restaurant that grilled any catch you brought in. While Alan, Doc and Rose went to rent boats and equipment, the others stood on a wooden dock and looked out at the crystal clear lake. When they looked down they saw fish of different sizes and species swimming in the water. Rain put his arm around her husband.

"This'll be fun. Look at the size of some of them," she said to him.

"Yeah, nice and big, my stomach's rumblin' already," the Doctor replied.

"Where?" Namid said.

The Doctor showed her and she oohed and aahed at the sight.

"I wanna catch a big fish," she said.

"I bet I can catch a bigger one than you," Sokanon said.

"Nuh-uh," Namid said as the Doctor put his hands on their heads.

"Alright, you two, save it for when we actually get out on the water," he teased.

They looked over when Alan, Doc and Rose came out carrying tackle boxes, fishing rods and nets. They distributed them to everyone and then Alan led them to another dock several feet from where they were standing. Tied to the dock were two large rowboats made of an alien material that was similar to fiberglass. They climbed down ladders to the boats and Doc helped Namid go down once the Doctor was in the boat and able to get ahold of her back. They split up with Alan, Rose, Chaska and Christopher going in one boat and the rest taking the other. The Doctor and Alan untied the boats and sat down to row.

"Happy fishing, mate," Alan said as they rowed away.

The Doctor waited till they were far enough away before he rowed. While he rowed, the others got their fishing rods ready, using space slugs for bait. Rain took care of the Doctor's fishing rod while he rowed while Doc took care of Namid's.

"Now, Ya'nala, you need help in casting, yeah?" he said to her as she sat between him and her father.

"Yup. I don't know what to do," Namid said.

"Well, we'll let you dad finish rowing and then I'll explain," he said.

The Doctor rowed out to the middle of the lake and sat the oars inside the boat. Rain passed him his rod and he explained to Sokanon what to do while Rain cast hers off the left side of the boat.

"Okay, Mi-mi," Doc said to her. "You have to cast your line out and what you do is you hold on to the end like this and you slowly raise your arm until its back over your head and then with a flick of the wrist you bring your arm down and the fishing line flies out away from us and with the help of the bobber it'll land in the water. You wanna try?"

"Yes, Dada."

Doc showed her where to grip the rod while the Doctor smiled tenderly and cast his line out. Namid raised her arm and then did what Doc said and flicked her wrist as she cast. The Doctor suddenly let out a grunt and his hand went up to the back of his neck.

"Did I do it, Dada?" Namid asked Doc.

"Um..." Doc said, trying not to laugh, "no, Ya'nala, the hook landed in the back of your daddy's neck."

Namid gasped as the Doctor pulled the hook out of his flesh.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm sorry," she said in a panicky voice as everyone laughed.

The Doctor kissed her cheek.

"S'alright, I've had worse," he said. "At least you caught something. Unfortunately, it wasn't the fish."

"You do it, Daddy. I don't wanna hurt you again," Namid said, trying to hand him the rod.

"No, Rainbow, you can do this," the Doctor said, reeling the line back in. "Just try it again."

He could see the hesitation on Namid's face as she raised her arm. She paused a moment and then brought her arm down and flicked her wrist. This time the line flew out over the lake and landed about thirty feet away.

"There, you did it," Doc said as Namid breathed a sigh of relief. "Now you have to reel in some of the slack."

He showed her how to do it and when her line was taut, he cast his own out over the bow of the boat while Sokanon cast hers out over the stern. About fifty feet from them, Alan's group was fishing quietly. Namid sat beside her fathers with a frown on her face.

"Now what happens?" she asked the Doctor.

"Now you have to be patient and wait for the fish to take your bait. When you hear your bobber beeping you need to jerk your rod back so the hook'll get him. And...hello, I got something!"

He jerked back on his rod and quickly reeled in his catch while Namid paused and listened. He grabbed his net and lifted the rod up and sighed when he pulled out a tiny fish.

"Blast, not big enough," he said, lowering the net and grabbing the line so he could unhook it.

"What you mean, Daddy?" Sokanon asked.

"I mean, that if you get a very small fish like this, unhook it and throw it back because it's not worth it. It's too small to eat and if you let it grow up, people can catch it later."

He unhooked the fish, tossed it back in the water and reached into a metal container for another slug. While he was doing that, Namid's bobber began to beep loudly.

"Jerk the rod, Ya'nala," Doc said.

Namid did as she was told and Doc felt the rod.

"Yup, you got him, now reel him in," he said proudly.

Namid used the spinner and reeled in her catch as the Doctor prepared his net. To their delight, she pulled out a fifteen pound Zarbon. He held it up by the line as everyone in both boats cheered.

"Do I throw it back, Daddy?" Namid asked.

"Blimey, no, this one's a keeper," he said.

He gave her a sideways hug when she cheered and sat the wriggling fish on the floor of the boat. Keeping his foot on it, he took the hook out and put it in a metal box that was between him and Rain that had come with the boat.

"That one will be yours tonight, Rainbow," he said. "You caught it, you get to eat it."

His hearts warmed at the ecstatic smile on his daughter's face and he hugged and kissed her cheek. Doc did the same from the other side while the Doctor put another slug on her hook. Once that was done, Namid cast out again, took up the slack and sat quietly, confident that she was able to fish. After several minutes, Sokanon sighed and looked back at her mother.

"Can we do something? Have a sing-a-long or storytime or something while we wait for the fish to eat the slug?" she asked.

The Doctor smiled and projected an image into everyone's heads. They watched as he walked along the reservoir and then he went into it. He walked and walked until his head was under the water, then he came back up with a fishy looking face, fins for ears and gills.

"Hey look, I regenerated into Fish Man," he said, waving while the children giggled. "I'm completely at one with the sea now and it's absolutely brilliant. I'm able to swim the deepest depths of the sea and see all the wonders that nature has to offer..."

"While he rambled on about his newfound ability and how marvelous it was, far in the background a little tugboat came into view. Cartoon puffs of smoke came out of its black smokestack and it made a chug, chug, chug sound while Alan stood in the cabin on the top portion of the boat and sailed her. While the Doctor continued to ramble on about his newfound fishiness, Alan stopped the tugboat, turned towards him and observed him with a spyglass. While the Doctor continued his spiel, Alan went out the door of the cabin, climbed down a metal ladder to the main deck and picked up a fishing rod. He cast it towards the Doctor...

"And you know what's also brilliant?" Fish Doctor said to everyone. "I can breathe underwater for long periods of time without having to rely on my respiratory bypass system and..."

KER-PLONK!

The Doctor stopped talking when he heard something land beside him. He looked over and noticed a red bobber floating in the water beside him.

"Hey, what's this?" he said, grabbing it.

He lifted it up and saw a worm wriggling on the hook. He gasped.

"Look!" he said to everyone as he pointed to it. "Food! Someone has brought me food. How sweet!"

He put the hook in his mouth and his eyes bugged out of his head when Alan jerked on the rod and the hook stuck in the side of his mouth. The children giggled when he let out a pained yell as Alan reeled him in and he went backwards towards the boat. They laughed harder when Alan finished reeling him in, lifted him up and conked him on the head with a large club. He then hung the Doctor up by his trenchcoat on a hook on the side of a boat, took a photo of him with his camera and then went back up the ladder, went inside the cabin and they heard the chug, chug, chug as Alan's boat went on with Fish Doctor hanging on the hook.

"Oh ha ha," the real Doctor yelled to Alan as everyone laughed.

Alan then projected an image into their heads of him dressed as a Captain in the Royal British Navy in the 1800's. He was standing on a wooden schooner in the middle of the ocean.

"Ahoy," Alan said with a wave, "I'm Captain Alan and I'm welcoming you to me party ship. Where we party all night long..."

He continued to talk about his party ship and in the background a pirate ship appeared in the background. The Doctor, dressed as a pirate, appeared on the deck with a parrot on his shoulder. He put a cannonball in a cannon and readied it while Alan danced a jaunty hornpipe on his deck. Then suddenly, the Doctor pulled a cord and the cannonball rammed into the front half of his boat, shearing it off completely and leaving Alan only two feet of space on his right side. Alan stopped dancing and looked back at the Doctor.

"Hey, that's not very nice," he said.

The Doctor fired another cannon and it tore into the back end of his boat, shearing it off completely so Alan only had a six foot deck to stand on.

"Now really, this is really bad form," Alan called out to him as he stood on his now very short deck.

He gasped when the Doctor shot another cannon and his six foot deck became three foot. The children giggled when Captain Alan shook his fist at Pirate Doctor.

"This is not fair!" he yelled at him.

He gasped when another cannon reduced his three foot deck to a foot. He looked on helplessly as the Doctor raised his sails and sailed away.

"Now wait a moment," real Alan said to his brother as everyone laughed.

"What? You ruined my little fantasy so I ruined yours," the Doctor called back. "Fair's fair, I say and..."

He stopped talking when Rain suddenly jerked on her rod and began reeling in the line. The Doctor's mouth dropped open when she reeled in a three pound fish.

"What's going on here? I get an itty bitty baby while my family reels in these massive monsters?" the Doctor said as everyone in his boat laughed.

"Let's face it, the fish don't like you," Rain said, feigning smugness as she put her fish in the metal box and reached for another slug. "Don't worry, dear, if you don't catch anything I'll share mine with you."

Everyone in the boat giggled as the Doctor shot her a look and she patted her head.

"Whooo-hooooo!"

They looked over at Alan as he was reeling in a two pound Zarbon.

"Argh!" the Doctor said.

"Don't feel bad, mate, I haven't gotten a bite yet," Doc said to him.

"Me neither, this is boring now and my bum hurts," Sokanon said.

"Want a little cheese to go with that whine then?" the Doctor said, leaning across his wife to poke her side. "How 'bout if I hang you from my pole, then you bum won't be touch..."

He trailed off when Namid suddenly got a bite and at Doc's urging, began to reel it in. His mouth dropped open when she pulled a four pound fish out of the water.

"What's wrong with this picture?" he said as everyone in the boat laughed. "How come I got a baby fish and Namid's got two big ones? Where's my prize fish? Why won't the fish take my bait. I have just as good a bait as everyone else in this boat!"

"Maybe they think you're stinky and that's why they don't like you," Namid said as Rain took her fish off and put it in the box.

"I'll show you stinky," he said as he tickled her sides.

She giggled and took her rod when Rain handed it back to her. The Doctor watched with wide eyes as she cast the line without any prompting and took up the slack.

"Look at her, she started out the day by getting a hook in my neck and now she's an expert fisherwoman. No wonder she's getting all the fish," he said as Namid giggled. "Hey, fisherwoman, you gonna let me have a bite of your catch tonight?"

"Oh, I'll think about it," Namid said airily.

Doc laughed as the Doctor's mouth dropped open and Namid laughed when he tickled her again and gave her a huge kiss on the cheek. Rain ruffled his hair affectionately when he grabbed his rod and resumed his wait for the fish to bite.

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