PARENTHOOD

Chapter Forty Six

At the end of the day, everyone caught at least one fish but Namid still had two including the fifteen pound whopper. They walked over to the restaurant carrying the metal boxes. The Doctor and Doc carried their box while Alan and Rose carried theirs. While they walked, the Doctor looked down at Namid who was holding Rain's hand as she walked.

"So, Fisherwoman, you gonna let me have some of your fish?" he asked.

"Nope, I'm gonna eat it aaaall by myself," Namid said.

"Oh? You're gonna eat all fifteen pounds of Zarbon by yourself, I'd like to see you cram all that into your little tummy," he said while everyone laughed.

"You got a fish, you eat yours," Namid said with an impish grin.

"My fish was only two pounds," the Doctor said.

"So. I caught my fish, I eat it aaaall by myself and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"You know, the older you get the more like me you become and it's getting scary," the Doctor said as everyone laughed. "You're just a great big meany, Mi-mi."

"Oh well, that's life, get used to it!"

Everyone bent over laughing when the Doctor's mouth dropped open at her smug remark.

"I have half a mind to throw you on the grill along with your Zarbon," he said as he gave her hair an affectionate tousle.

The restaurant was large with wooden floors and walls. Along the sky blue walls were fishing gear, nets and stuffed fish along with paintings of ships and fishing scenes. The smell of cooked fish hung in the air as Alan led them to the back of the restaurant where a plump lizard man with lemon colored skin and a frill down the back of his head cooked the fish. Assisting him was a small woman who resembled a humanoid hairless sheep with black face, hands and feet and a snow white body. The woman came over to them while the lizard man continued to cook.

"Can I help you?" she asked Alan.

"Yes, we want some of our catch grilled and some of it put on dry ice and packed up for our trip home."

"Of course, lay the fish out on this counter," she said as she pulled out a long sheet of wax paper and put it on a wooden counter near the grill.

"Can your mum and I share your fish?" the Doctor asked as he opened their box.

He smiled and kissed her forehead when she nodded. He pulled out Namid's huge fish along with a couple of others and put them on the counter beside Alan's fish. The woman did a double take at the fifteen pound Zarbon.

"My, my, who caught this?" she said.

They pointed to Namid.

"Well, before we cook this up, we need to get a photo of her standing by it," she said. "Come here, dear. Let's take a photo of you and your fish."

The Doctor walked with her as the lady took the fish and led them to the right side of the restaurant. There was a small hook hanging down from the wall on a long black chain and beside it was a narrow white sign that said CATCH OF THE DAY in black block letters. There were a few props like a fishing rod, net and tackle box. The lady told Namid to stand near the hook as she put the hook in the fish's mouth. Then she handed Namid the fishing pole to hold and put the tackle box near her. Once that was done, she took a holocamera out of a nearby wooden box and the Doctor backed up while she stood in front of her and prepared to take the picture.

"Look proud, Mi-mi," the Doctor said.

Namid gave the lady a proud smile as everyone watched with pride. The lady took a couple of pictures and then told the Doctor to wait while she went through a pair of metal double doors into the back of the restaurant. Namid put the pole down and went to stand by her father while they waited. She came out a moment later with a white certificate and a pen.

"Okay, what's your daughter's full name?" she asked the Doctor.

"Namidotorrannapelosara."

The woman's eyes bugged out.

"Um, how do you spell that?" she said to the Doctor while his family giggled.

The Doctor slowly spelled it for her and she wrote it down in one of the spaces on the certificate. Then she took the fish off the hook and went back into the back of the restaurant. She quickly measured the weight and length and came back out with the fish. She laid it down on the counter and wrote down the measurements in another space. Then she called the cook over and both of them signed it and handed it to Namid.

"There you go, a little certificate commemorating your catch," the lady said as the cook smiled and took the fish to the grill.

"Thank you," Namid said.

"You're welcome, Sweetie. Your photo will be ready shortly and we'll bring it to you."

Namid gave the certificate to the Doctor as the lady went back into the kitchen with the camera and pen.

"What's it say, Daddy?" she asked as her family gathered around her.

"This certificate commemorates the skill of Namidotorrannapelosara and her great catch. A fifteen pound, twenty two inch Zarbon. She has proven herself to be a great fisherman and we hope she has even more success in future. And they both signed it."

"Cool."

"You're lucky; we've never gotten a certificate when we've gone fishing here. You have to catch a really big whopper in order to get that," Alan said. "Congratulations!"

Namid smiled as everyone offered their congratulations and her brother and sister gave her a hug. The Doctor glanced over and noticed the cook was filleting her fish first and putting it off to one side on the grill so she'd be sure to get it. They went and sat at a black teakwood table with matching chairs. The table was large enough that all of them sat at it and they picked up large menus and looked through the selections. Namid sat between the Doctor and Doc and Doc read her some of the things on the menu while Rain called her father.

"Hey, Dad," Rain said into the mobile. "You won't believe this. We went fishing today on this planet called Quasi. Everyone managed to get a fish but Namid got this huge fifteen pound Zarbon. They're cooking it for her now and she got her picture taken with it and a certificate."

"She's talking about you," the Doctor whispered to Namid who giggled and nodded.

"Oh?"

Rain smiled and lowered the phone.

"Mi-mi, Grandpa says that since you're so good at fishing, you'll have to come with him and Tim and Wilf to their fishing hole for the rest of your life."

"No," Namid said as everyone laughed.

"That's a no, Dad," Rain said, talking into the mobile. "I think she might like to go fishing with you guys but not every moment of every day of her life. But we had fun and I just wanted to let you know that your granddaughter will probably be appearing on Bass Master in the future."

"Mummy's being silly," Namid said to the Doctor.

"That's a good idea though. Our next trip will be to the studio of Bass Master so you can show off your fishing skills and talk about how good you are," he replied.

"No, I wanna go to Disneyworld."

"No, I'm Disneyed out for awhile so you need to think of something else."

"I, on the other hand, am not Disneyed out so I'll be taking you on Expedition Everest forty billion times until you puke your guts out," Alan said.

"No, I don't wanna ride that. It's stupid."

Alan's mouth dropped open as the Doctor and Rose let out an "Ooooo."

"Fine, I won't take you to Disney, ever, ever."

The Doctor chuckled when Namid shrugged and leaned against his side.

"I don't need you to, got him," she said.

"You're right, she is getting more cheeky with each passing day," Alan said to the Doctor while the children giggled.

After ordering some baked potatoes, milk and salad to go with their fish, the lady brought their meals to them. Everyone was shocked when she sat a little cake down beside Namid's plate. It was chocolate with brown frosting and CONGRATULATIONS written on the top with white icing. When the Doctor told her about it, Namid's eyes widened.

"Wow, you're getting wined and dined today, baby," Rain said.

"Here you are," Rain said, handing the Doctor the photograph which had been blown up to an 8 by 12 and put in a wooden frame.

The Doctor showed it to Namid and she held it in her hands, staring at it silently and keeping the image the Doctor showed her in her mind while everyone else dug into their meal. After a few minutes, Namid gave it back to the Doctor and began to eat her meal.

After they returned home, the Doctor put the certificate in a frame and hung it and the photo directly above Namid's bed.

"Did you have fun?" he asked her as she stood beside him.

"Yes. I wanna do that again!"

"Why? So you can catch bigger fish and make me look like an even bigger fool?"

"No, you're not a fool, Daddy. You're just stinky."

She giggled when the Doctor tickled her. He picked up his hammer.

"Get some sleep, little fisherwoman. Tomorrow, we take the TARDIS to the set of Bass Masters."

"NO!" Namid said, laughing, as the Doctor picked her up, gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked with her out of the room.

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