PARENTHOOD

Chapter Sixty

Doc escorted Rain back to the living room.

"I'm glad you're alright. This whole day's been a dog's dinner, that's for sure. I could use a holiday right along with everyone else."

"I'm glad you're alright. I know how much anguish you must have suffered listening to our daughter scream and beg for us to help her."

Doc sighed and stopped her.

"I'm sorry, I should be strong but I was serious about nearly snapping and becoming the Valeyard again. I can't take the memory of..."

"Shh, it's okay, I understand. I'm thinking about having this day removed myself. I don't like thinking how close Namid came to death."

"Any other trauma I can compartmentalize and deal with but not this, not when Ya'nala was almost incinerated. Just the thought of not being able to see her and her smile and hear her laugh...Oh, I don't want these memories. I've given myself mental enemas in the past but a lot of times I wasn't 100 percent thorough, that's why I want the Doctor to do it so I can be certain all traces of it are gone."

Rain smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. He squeezed back and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I understand why he chose you as his lives mate. I only hope I can find someone just as wonderful someday...when I'm healed," he said as they walked.

"You shouldn't have to wait that long. The Doctor still had some issues when he fell in love with me," Rain said. "You can't let your healing get in the way of love."

"Just the same, I'd rather get to a point where I know I won't revert back to the Valeyard again," Doc replied.

Rain squeezed his hand.

"You won't, alright? We won't let you."

Doc smiled when she kissed his cheek.

"Ew!"

They looked over and saw Chaska peeking out of the living room.

"Get back in there, you little monkey," Rain said as Doc chuckled.

They entered the room and saw Sokanon and Namid curled up on the sofa watching The Emperor's New Groove on the big screen TV. The DVD they were watching was specially designed for the blind. In addition to the dialogue it also described what was happening so Namid could follow along. On the coffee table in front of them was one half eaten pizza and one full one along with several big bottles of soda, paper plates, plastic cutlery and plastic cups.

"The TARDIS knew you were coming back here so she made a new pizza for ya," Chaska said.

"Mummy?" Namid said, turning her eyes away from the TV to look in her direction.

"I'm here, Sweetie," she said as they walked towards her. "Me and Dada are here."

She smiled at her daughter who was lying at the end of the leather sofa. Since she saw her last, Namid had put on her powder blue Little Mermaid nightdress that she loved. She also was wearing her purple jellie sandals and was holding a tiny stuffed ET, two gifts from her father that he got her when he made a recent trip to the 1980's. All three items were among Namid's favorite items and Rain knew she had them with her for comforting purposes. She sat down between her daughters as Chaska climbed up beside Sokanon. Doc walked over, kissed Namid's temple and then sat down in the chair.

"Is Daddy okay?" Namid asked her mother. "He's angry."

"Yes, he is but I think he's alright. He had a huge scare after what happened to you and I want you to know this, all three of you. After he gets done taking care of this mess, Daddy is gonna go in and take away the memory of what happened so you won't remember it anymore."

Namid perked up. She rose up on her elbow.

"Daddy can fix it so I don't remember them trying to burn me?" she said hopefully.

"Yes, baby. Daddy can take those memories away from your mind forever."

"Good cause I don't wanna think about it anymore," Namid said as Rain rubbed her leg.

"He's going to do the same to Dada since Dada was upset by what happened," Rain added.

Namid looked around for him and Doc stood up, bent over and kissed her cheek.

"You wanna forget too, Dada?" she asked him.

"In the worst way," he replied.

Namid opened her arms and Doc accepted her hug. Rain smiled when her other children got up off the sofa and ran to hug him. He sat back down when Sokanon and Chaska returned to their places but he scooted his chair closer to the sofa and laid her hand on Namid's head while Rain fixed another plate of pizza for her and fixed one for herself.

Zod swallowed hard as they approached Mackus. He was standing behind his pilot and co-pilot but behind him was the Doctor and the Doctor was still fuming. Zod kept very quiet; terrified the Time Lord might take his anger out on him at any moment. It was mostly his idea to go track down the princess's fiancé but he wasn't about to tell the Doctor that lest he get a bloody nose. He'd heard tales of the Doctor's rages and the destruction he had wrought on other civilizations and he didn't want to see Mackus leveled to the ground.

The Doctor on the other hand was trying to keep calm. He was still seething from what they did to Namid but he had been alive long enough to know that often royal advisors would work on their own to fulfill what they thought they sovereign wanted or just to further their own ends. For all he knew, Thelopian could be innocent, not knowing what her advisor was up to. She seemed like a nice woman and she had even helped him which made him wonder if Zod was acting on his own. That was why he wanted to speak with her and learn the real truth before he began blaming people for what happened.

But just because he was reserving judgment for the moment didn't mean he couldn't pretend to be out for Zod's blood in order to keep him and his men from doing anything to further harm him or his family which is why he was currently behind the short, pudgy advisor giving him the look of death.

While he stood there, he felt a privacy block being put up around his mind.

Daddy, Namid thought to him.

For the first time in awhile, a smile broke across his face.

Yes, Rainbow? He thought back.

Are you going to see the princess?

Yes, I am. I want to talk to her, he thought.

Can I come with you?

The Doctor frowned.

Why? He thought.

I want to talk to her too and find out why she wanted to kill me.

Well, Rainbow, I'm not sure if it's her. See, sometimes bad people work for good people and they get their own ideas about hurting people and act on them. Zod might have decided to do this on his own.

Then can I come and ask? I just wanna know why someone would do this to me. They said that they burn people who are different. Why do they do that?

The Doctor had been wondering the same thing. His stomach turned wondering how many people had been incinerated on Mackus because they weren't born completely whole. That was another thing he had been meaning to ask the princess and if possible, he was putting a stop to that as well. He considered Namid's request and then brought Doc's mind into the privacy block.

Doc? He thought.

Yeah? Doc thought back.

He relayed Namid's request and asked him if he would come along to provide protection.

I would like to do that. I also want to hear what the princess has to say, Doc thought.

After that, the Doctor opened up the privacy block and thought to everyone and told them what was going on.

Let me come too, Brother, Alan thought. Just in case.

And I wanna come too, Rain thought. I wanna meet this princess myself.

Can I come, Daddy? Sokanon asked.

Better not, Soki, the Doctor thought. It's risky bringing Namid out and if trouble starts, I wanna worry about her and her alone.

We'll do something fun while they're gone, Awinita thought.

Yeah, you'll have lots of fun with me and Nita and Namor while the grownups are gone, Nelak thought.

Oh blimey, maybe we better take the children with us then, the Doctor thought.

He smiled when he heard laughter in his mind and he thought it was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard after everything that had happened. He noticed out the front window that as they passed a planet, Mackus was coming into view.

Better get Mi-mi ready, he thought to them. We're almost there now.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next