PARENTHOOD

Chapter Ninety Eight

While they waited for the show to begin, the seats around them began to fill up. Some people were dressed up like Lady Gaga and one lady wearing an enormous black hat sat down directly in front of Namid. The Doctor was looking through the program with Rain, giggling at the outrageous outfits she was wearing.

"I have to say her fashion sense is unique," he said to Rain. "I s'pose she'll never have a problem standing out in a crowd."

"I think she's doing what Madonna did, dress and act outrageous for shock value," Rain replied.

"I agree," Jack said. "I think she took up where Madonna left off. Actually, I use all those outrageous outfits as a threat. I keep telling Yan I'm gonna dress up like her and go out to eat with him one night."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, mate," the Doctor said. "You might end up eating a knuckle sandwich at the restaurant."

Jack frowned when Namid suddenly came over and sat on his lap.

"Mi-mi, stop that, go and sit back down in your seat. You're too old to be sitting on people's laps," Rain said.

"I can't, Mummy, I can't see over that lady's big hat! I can see the stage now," she said.

Everyone looked over and saw Sokanon pointing to the lady with the big hat. The Doctor sighed and got up. He tapped the lady on the shoulder.

"Excuse me," he said when she looked at him. "My daughter can't see over your hat, can you please remove it?"

"It's part of my outfit," the lady said.

"Yes, hurrah, you look stunning. However, my daughter is ten years old and short of sitting on a heap of phonebooks, she won't be able to see around you. She has just as much right to see the show as you do so will you take your hat off?"

The lady sighed angrily and ripped her hat off her head and slammed it down on her lap. The Doctor, biting back the urge to say something sarcastic about ruining her fashion statement, politely thanked her and nodded at Namid.

"All clear, Rainbow," he said to her.

"Wait a tic, Daddy, I'm telling Uncle Jack about our sightseeing trip to London the other day," Namid said to him.

"Sounds like you had fun," Jack said to the Doctor. "Except Mi-mi is telling me you forced them to go to the Freud house so you could brag about how you spent the night in the house before it became a museum and talked on and on about what a deluded fool Freud was."

"He was a deluded fool," the Doctor said as Rain giggled. "All that obsession he had with phalluses and how most of people's problems stemmed from sex or the lack thereof. I told him perhaps instead of telling other people they fantasized about bedding their mothers, he needed a good boinking to get his mind off of sex and he punched me in the nose. Stupid git. Last time I ever spent the night in his house. House smelled of cigars anyway and he snorted enough cocaine to kill a small horse, no wonder his mind was wonky."

"Anyway..." Jack said as the women laughed. "Did you spend all your time at Freud's house?"

"No," Sokanon said, getting up and walking over, "we also went to the Design Museum just so Daddy could tease us and talk on and on about how wonderful telly's were."

"Gee, glad I didn't go with ya," Jack said, rolling his eyes.

"I did take them to the Childhood Museum so they could see the toys so it wasn't all bad for them," the Doctor replied. "And we went to the zoo as well and the aquarium."

"Alan is sillier though when he takes us to England," Sokanon said.

"How d'ya mean?" the Doctor said.

The girls giggled.

"Sometimes he lands Daisy and acts silly," Namid said. "Like one time we went to Pudsey and he opened the door and stood in front of it and said, ah, Pudsey, there's so much to see and do here. And then he'd block the door for about ten seconds while he looked around and then he'd run back in while he'd say, well, we've seen everything in Pudsey, let's move on. And he'd keep going to little towns and opening the door and talking about how it's his favorite town and there's so much to see while he blocked the door and ten seconds later, he'd run back in saying we'd seen everything and we'd go on and then he got to London and did that and we finally shoved him away from the door so we could get out."

The Doctor snickered.

"I think he got that from me, love. I used to do random things like that for a giggle, especially when I was between companions and traveling alone. I'd get bored and do off the wall things to amuse myself."

"Like what, Daddy?" Namid asked.

The Doctor thought for a moment, a grin spread over his face as he chuckled softly.

"Well, one time I landed right in the middle of the Battle of Bull Run next to a Union cannon. I opened the door, ran out, told the startled soldiers they were low on powder, then ran back in and went away.

"Which life was that?" Rain asked.

"Fourth one, right after I took Sarah Jane back to...well, she ended up in Aberdeen when she meant to go to Croydon but I thought I did take her back to Croydon at the time. Anyway, I did that from time to time, just cheap jokes for laughs on those odd days when I did get bored out of my mind."

"We oughta do that one day, Daddy, just so we can have a laugh," Namid said.

"Perhaps...if you clean the entire TARDIS and get it sparkly clean," the Doctor said.

"No thanks," Namid said as the adults laughed.

They turned their attention to the stage when the lights dimmed. The Doctor put his arm around Rain's shoulders and settled back in his seat as his daughters leapt to their feet. Throughout the concert, they danced and sang while the Doctor smiled tenderly at them and enjoyed their excitement. He had to admit the songs were catchy and he could see why his brother liked her. The costumes were a bit strange though but he had met enough rock stars to know they were an eccentric bunch who did outrageous things as a gimmick. While he watched her, he had to admit a few of her outfits looked familiar, like he had seen them worn by people on other planets. He mulled over that and then figured it was just a coincidence. While he watched, he felt his wife lay her head on his shoulder and he smiled at her.

"Hey, wanna be in a Bad Romance?" she said in his ear while they listened to the song.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow and gave her an impish grin.

"You mean you wanna be a free bitch?" he said in her ear.

Rain giggled.

"Only if you want me to be," she purred in his ear.

She laughed when the Doctor leered at her and wagged his eyebrows. He looked over when Namid tapped him on the shoulder and leaned over so she could talk in his ear.

"Hey, she just said the dirty lyric," she said.

"Well, don't you sing it or I'll hang you up there," he said, pointing up to the lighting.

"Are you having fun, Daddy?"

"Yes, but that's because I'm having fun watching you have fun," the Doctor said into her ear.

"Can we find a way to meet her after the show?" Namid said into his ear.

"Um...I'll have to see, Rainbow," he said into her ear. "But don't be upset if I can't get us back there. Okay?"

Namid nodded. She kissed his cheek and went back to dancing and singing while the Doctor gave her back a rub and cuddled with Rain. She put her lips to her ear.

"You know," she said. "Since we were kind enough to take them to this, they have to come along with us to a concert of our choosing."

"What did you have in mind?" the Doctor said.

She gave him an evil grin.

"Um...Tiny Tim, Slim Whitman, Perry Como?"

She grinned when the Doctor sniggered at that and whistled innocently while he glanced at his daughters. The two of them were now dancing and singing to Telephone and didn't see the evil grin on his face as thoughts of being an arse and taking them to see Yoko Ono flashed through his mind.

Meanwhile the children were rocking out. In the middle of the song though, Namid decided to think to Alan. She found his mind and brought it forward, singing telephone to him while she danced. She felt Alan's surprise and then heard him chuckle.

Is that what you're listening to now? He thought to her.

Yup. We're having fun, she thought back.

So are we. We're watching part one of the Deathly Hallows and afterwards, we're gonna jump ahead and go see part two.

Namid's mouth fell open.

I wanna see Harry Potter. Take us next, she thought to him.

Sorry, Meemster, you wanted to see Gaga more than Potter but I'll see what I can do about taking you and Soki sometime, Alan thought back.

Namid heard him chuckling in her head again and then he began to sing to her.

Hello, hello, baby, you called, I can't hear a thing. I have got no service in the cinema, you see, see. What did you say; you're breakin' up on me. Sorry, I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy. Kinda busy, kinda busy, sorry I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy.

Namid giggled at that as Alan continued to croon inside her head.

Stop callin', stop callin', I don't wanna think any more. I'm busy watching Hermione being a slutty whore, stop callin', stop callin, I don't wanna talk any more. Your mental thoughts are tiresome and a right bore.

Fine, I won't call you anymore, Namid thought to him. I won't tell you that Daddy got you a souvenir.

Oh? What is it?

Can't say, it's a surprise.

Well, in that case...stop callin', stop callin', I don't wanna think any more. I'm gonna go getcha and ram your head into a door.

She's not singing that song anymore, Namid thought.

Oh? What is she singing now?

Alejandro.

What about Bad Romance?

She already did that one.

Poker Face?

Yup.

Just Dance?

Yup.

Damn, I'm missing all the good songs. Ah well, Deathly Hallows is better.

You have to take us to see that, Uncle Alan.

She didn't hear a reply.

Uncle Alan.

Beeep, this is Uncle Alan, he's just been struck deaf and can't hear you anymore, write a letter and drop it in the post and you'll get a reply in two weeks time, beeeeeeeep.

Uncle Alan, quit that, I wanna go see Harry Potter.

You have a spousal unit with a TARDIS, take it up with him.

Fine, I will, Namid thought.

She was about to say something else when she heard people gasping around her and she and her family members looked up. Her eyes widened when she saw a huge spaceship slowly flying over their heads.

"Whoa!" Sokanon said.

She looked at her father who was getting to his feet with Rain and Jack.

"Somehow, I don't think this is part of the concert," he said grimly.

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