PARENTHOOD

Chapter Seventy Eight

Koschei was surprised to see how many people were in the Doctor's backyard as he smiled and felt his hearts swelling in his chest. He had forgotten how they worked to together to free him when he got kidnapped and the Doctor gently placed his hand on Koschei's shoulder, squeezing it.

"Forget that you're family, Brother?" the Doctor thought and Koschei glanced over at him.

"Sometimes, yeah, I forget," he thought then sighed.

"Trust me, Brother, I remember feeling like an outsider when I first joined this family," Amato thought.

"So did I," Duer thought and Koschei smiled.

"Right, what we need to do is figure out who's coming with us to..." the Doctor said when Alan and Adam waved their hands in the air and jumped up and down. "Do you two need to use the loo?"

"No, we are volunteering ourselves for the rescue mission, Sir!" Alan said, saluting him.

"What he said, Sir!" Adam said, saluting him.

"We will lay down our lives for the safe return of our wayward little kiddies and..." Alan said and Adam gave him a stunned look.

"Uh, we will do what?"

"We will risk life and limb to secure the safe return of our wee ones. Though our blood will flow across the grass and..."

"That's it. You are not watching any more war films!" Rose said as she sat Alan down on the lounge and he scowled at her.

"As I was saying, who wants to come with us?" the Doctor said and Alan, Adam, Amato and Julie raised their hands.

"Do you want me to come along?" Grace asked.

"If you want to," the Doctor said and she nodded as he looked at Jack.

"Jack, I want you to contact Councilor Xashion and tell her what's going on."

"On it, Doc," Jack said as he ran toward the house and the Doctor walked to Rain, sliding his arms around her.

"I'll bring her back, Latara," he said and she kissed his lips.

"I know you will bring both of them back, Thete," she whispered and he smiled.

"Now the rest of you are to stay put because I don't want anyone getting ideas about sneaking aboard the TARDIS and coming with us," he said as he let go of her then looked at Chaska, Christopher, Cam, David and Sokanon and they nodded their heads. "Let's go."

The Doctor led them toward the garage as they went inside and the familiar sound of the TARDIS dematerializing filled the air. Holding onto Jenna, Jamie looked around when he frowned and his lower lip stuck out.

"What's wrong, Highland?" she asked, brushing the hair from his eyes.

"Where's Hamish?" he asked.

"I don't know."

"He did look really upset while Koschei was telling us what happened."

"Maybe he went inside," Jenna said, taking his hand and they started walking toward the house.

"Frazer, have you seen Hamish?" Jamie asked as Frazer walked toward them and he shook his head.

"Sorry, Dad, havenae seen him."

"Where is he?" Jamie asked while Jenna thought for a few seconds then touched his arm.

"What if he went for a walk to calm down and the Amos took him?" she asked and Jamie shook his head.

"We would have seen them or he would have cried out."

"Then where is he?" she asked and Jamie sighed, wondering the same thing.

The stick softly thumped on the carpeting as the TARDIS softly hummed in his ears and Hamish ran his hand along the wall. He was surprised that the TARDIS would let him in after he snuck off while the Doctor was talking and his fingers bent around the corner, causing him to pause for a few seconds. He gently swung the stick side to side then went around the corner and headed down the hallway.

"Hamish?" a soft voice asked as he stood still and held the stick to his chest.

"Who is there?" he asked, feeling a gentle warm burst of air in his mind.

"Do not be afraid. It's just me," the TARDIS said and he smiled.

"I didnae ken that you could talk," he said and felt a soft rumbling in his mind. "My father's TARDIS just grumbled an' growls at me."

"That means she is talking to you. You're just not listening."

Hamish gently smiled then patted the wall and the TARDIS hummed around him.

"Why did you let me in while the Doctor was talking?"

"I let you in because you seemed like you needed someone to talk to. What is that matter?" she asked as he leaned against the wall, slide down to the floor and placed the stick across his thighs.

"I failed," he sighed and placed his head against the wall, feeling the vibrations of the TARDIS against the back of his head.

"I do not understand."

"I failed to protect Namid an' Aderyn."

"From what the Doctor said, the Amos would have killed you if you tried to save them."

"Aye, but I still should have done something. Namid is my student as well as kin an' wee Aderyn..." he said then closed his eyes and tears trickled down from the corners of his eyes.

"Hamish, what are you doing here?" Amato said as he walked closer and knelt down in front of him.

"I'm sorry, Doctor, but I had tae come help rescue Namid an' Aderyn," he said and Amato smiled.

"Got the wrong one, Mate," he said as he helped Hamish stand up and Hamish wiped his eyes. Even though he could tell Alan's voice from John and Adam's, trying to figure out the Doctor's voice from Amato and Duer was proving to be rather difficult.

"Then who are you?"

"I'm Amato. Now, let's go to the control room and tell the Doctor we have a stowaway," he said with a grin and Hamish sighed, nodding.

Julie sat on Koschei's lap while they sat on the jump seat and he held her against him. Her head rested on his shoulder while the Doctor watched them and felt his hearts hurting. He knew that Namid was going to be fine but he also knew what it was like to have someone take his daughter. Over the years Namid and her brothers and sisters have been taken by a number of beings and came out of it more or less unscathed but Aderyn was only a baby. Noticing the concern on the Doctor's face, Julie got off of Koschei's lap and walked to the Doctor, giving him a hug. Letting go, he saw Amato walking into the control room with Hamish walking next to him and the Doctor blinked.

"Now, before you say anything, Te'lesau, there is a perfectly good reason for why he's here," Amato said while Julie walked to Hamish and took his hand.

"I am so sorry, Julie, I couldnae save wee Aderyn," Hamish sighed and she cupped his cheek in her hand.

"I don't blame you," she said softly but he shook his head and the Doctor could feel the pain and guilt in Hamish's mind.

"Jamie?" the Doctor thought, setting up a privacy block and pulled Jamie's mind forward.

"Doctor, we cannae find Hamish. Do you think the Amos came back for him?" Jamie thought.

"Nope, he's with me and is looking really gloomy."

"He must have snuck onboard while you were talking aboot Namid an' Aderyn."

"Looks like."

"What are you going tae do?"

"Well, I could turn around and take him home but that means the Amos will get away."

"I could have Jack come an' get him," Jamie thought while the Doctor looked at Hamish then thought for a few seconds. He knew that he didn't want to take Hamish with him then he thought about all the times Namid traveled with him when she was blind and a tiny voice inside his head called him a hypocrite.

"That's not very nice," the Doctor thought.

"What isnae very nice?"

"There was this tiny voice in my head that called me a hypocrite because I let Namid travel with me when she was blind but I won't let Hamish."

"Aye, that is odd."

"Then I guess I'll have to let him stay then."

"Just promise me that he'll come home in one piece."

"I promise," the Doctor thought then let Jamie's mind go and looked at Hamish, who was looking down at the grating.

"Right, do you promise to do as I say, no matter what it is?" he asked as Hamish lifted his head and blinked his sightless eyes.

"You're nae sending me home?" Hamish asked.

"Don't have time. So, if you're going to be a part of the team, get that bum of yours over here and help me steer," the Doctor said as Hamish slowly walked toward the console and the Doctor placed Hamish's right hand on the lever in front of him then took his left hand, placing it on the switch. "When I tell you, pull the lever down then move the switch twice to your left."

The Doctor looked at the screens when he tapped Hamish's right hand and Hamish pulled the lever down, causing the TARDIS hum contently. Moving around the console, the Doctor checked the screens again then tapped Hamish's left hand and Hamish moved the switch twice to the left. The TARDIS lurched forward as they held onto the console and the Doctor looked at the screen.

"Ah, that should have been one click. We're going too fast," the Doctor said and Hamish moved the switch once to the right. "Brillant, that's much better."

"Oi, Speedy, will you slow down? We fell onto the floor when you sped up like that!" Alan said as he and Adam came into the room then stopped when they saw Hamish standing near the console. "Blimey, is he the one who's driving?"

"Aye, you got a problem with that?" Hamish asked, arching one eyebrow at them and the Doctor softly laughed.

"No, just surprised that he let you."

"Why?" Hamish said as the stick clicked on the grating and he tapped the stick against the toe of Alan's converse sneaker. "You think I'm a louse driver?"

"Ah, no, that thought never crossed my mind," Alan said then hid behind Adam and Adam turned, looking back at him.

"Why are you hiding me behind me for? You're bigger than he is," Adam said.

"Yeah, but he's got that REALLY big stick!" Alan said, pointing to the stick.

"Aye, and this time I'll show those bloody birds that you cannae mess with me an' get away with it!" Hamish said as he swung the stick in a circle then held it against the back of his neck.

"Down, Boy, save it for the Amos," Koschei said and Hamish nodded. The Doctor was looking at the screens when he sighed and placed his hands on the console.

"Well, look at...uh..." he said and Hamish laughed.

"Doctor, you can say look," he said and the Doctor nodded.

"What did you find?" Julie asked when she walked to the Doctor and looked at the screen.

"It appears that I found the Amos' ship," he said and Alan looked over his shoulder, looking at the screen.

"Someone's in trouble!" Alan said in a sing song tone and the Doctor's eyes went into tight slits.

"Yep," he said, popping the "p" and balled his hands into fists.

"Will you be quiet?" Tarmez shouted while Aderyn screeched and Namid held her in her arms.

"Can you blame her? She's scared!" Namid shouted then held Aderyn against her shoulder, patted her back and hushed her.

"Babba!" Aderyn cried as the tears rolled down her cheeks and Namid stroked the back of her head.

"Just shut her up or I will!" Tarmez shouted then drew his laser blaster and pointed it at them.

"Yeah, you do that and my daddy will pluck your feathers off and serve you up with rice and stuffing!" Namid shouted and Tarmez snorted a laugh.

"I am not afraid of your father," he said and she gave him a shocked look.

"My daddy is the Doctor!"

"Yes, he told me that but that doesn't matter. He is never going to find us," Tarmez said when the navigator, a tall Amos with grey, black and white feathers and yellow eyes, looked at the screen and blinked.

"Commander, there's something in front of us," he said and Tarmez walked to the console, looking at the screen.

"It can't be!" he said as he looked at the TARDIS and Namid looked over his shoulder, smiling.

"Someone's in trouble," she said in a sing song tone as he glared at her and she gently rocked Aderyn back and forth.

Back                         Home                              Doctor Who Main Page                          Next