PARENTHOOD

Chapter One Hundred Three

"There will come a time when the child will stop growing and the child will no longer need childish things. The child will then no longer see what is and no longer will the child need help." was what M'Yari had told Frazer when he was a child and he still didn't know what the hell she was talking about.

"It makes no sense," he sighed while walking down the path and looked at the people going by. The zoo was crowded for a Saturday afternoon while people looked at the unicorns, winged horses and other mystical, magical and mythological creatures and he leaned on the wall, looking at the winged horses grazing on the grass.

"Pa-pa, look, winged horses!" a tiny voice shouted as Frazer stood up and watched the four year old little girl nearly drag her father toward him. He would laugh but the stick the man carried clattered to the ground and he ran to them, picking the stick off the ground.

"Zoe, dinnae pull your father like that!" he said to his four year old niece and she looked up at her father. It had only been a month since she, her father, mother and two month old sister had come to live on New Gallifrey and Frazer placed the stick in his half-brother's hand.

"I'm sorry, Pa-pa," she said softly as Hamish smiled and carefully knelt down in front of her.

"That's alright, Poppet," he said then hugged her and kissed her cheek. The one thing Frazer knew was Hamish never let being blind stop him from doing things and Hamish stood up, holding the stick in his hand. "So, where are these winged horses?"

"This way," Frazer said when he took Hamish's hand and they walked to the wall. Like he used to do with Namid when she was blind, he showed Hamish what the winged horses looked like and Hamish blinked.

"You ok?" Frazer thought as he set up a privacy block and Hamish nodded. Jamie had taught Hamish how to talk telepathically and he closed his eyes.

"Aye, but I'm still nae sure if what I am looking at is real," Hamish thought and Frazer nodded.

"Hey, no fair talking in your heads, it's rude!" Zoe said as they looked down at her and she pouted, sticking her lower lip out.

"Sorry!" Frazer said with wide eyes and she giggled. "Where is Lucy?"

"She's home with the bairn," Hamish said.

"Moira has an ill tummy. She got sick all over Pa-pa this morning," Zoe said and Hamish's eyes went wide.

"You had tae tell him that, did you?" he asked and Zoe nodded her head.

"Is Martha or Grace going tae come over then?" Frazer asked.

"Aye," Hamish said with a nod of his head then felt Zoe tugged on his hand. "Now where do you want tae go?"

"I want tae go over there," she said as she gently pulled Hamish along the path and Frazer smiled, walking after them.

"Hey, you want tae see the Loch Ness Monster?" he asked when Zoe stopped and her eyes went wide.

"Nessy is real?" she asked.

"No, Nessy is nae real," Hamish said, giving Frazer a look and he smiled.

"How much do you want tae bet?" he asked and Hamish sighed, rolling his eyes.

"There is..." Hamish said when a loud bellowing sound filled the air and he pulled Zoe behind him, holding the stick in his hands. "What was that?"

"That, Brother, was the Loch Ness Monster!" Frazer said and Zoe peeked out from behind Hamish.

"It was?" she asked.

"Come an' find out!" he said, holding his hand out and she took his hand. Shrugging, Hamish took her other hand as they walked down the path and the stick softly ticked on the cobblestones.

"Groo-wah!" Loch bellowed while they walked toward the large tank and Loch sat on the large island at the center of the tank. People walked on the walkway around the tank as they talked, pointed or took pictures of Loch and several children waved at Loch. DO NOT FEED! was on the signs around the tank but several people tossed popcorn at Loch and the popcorn floated on the surface of the water.

"Oi, cannae you read?" Frazer shouted as he pointed at the signs but the people just walked away and he sighed.

"Is that the monster?" Zoe asked as she looked through the slats in the railing and Frazer smiled down at her.

"Aye, but we just call him "Loch"," Frazer said when Loch looked toward the sound of his voice and slid off the island, slipping silently into the water.

"Where did he go?" she asked as Frazer looked at the water and saw the large shadow moving toward them.

"Um, I think we need tae back up," he said then carefully moved Hamish back and Loch's head slowly rose up and over the railing. The water dripped onto the walkway as Zoe's mouth fell open and Frazer was afraid that she was either going to cry or scream.

"Oorgh?" Loch said as it titled its head to one side and Frazer picked Zoe up, holding her in his arms. Loch had a smooth black skin, black eyes, a slit for a mouth and two slits for a nose. The long tail swished the water while four large flippers moved back and forth and its hump rose slightly out of the water.

"Cha...Cha..." Frazer said when Loch slowly lowered its head and blinked. Zoe reached up when she touched the wet nose and Loch raised its head.

"He's really soft," she said softly then looked back at Hamish and moved her lips to Frazer's ear. "Show Pa-pa what he looks like."

Closing his eyes, Frazer showed Hamish what Loch looked like and Hamish slowly walked toward the railing, reaching out with his hand. Loch looked at him when it moved its head closer and Hamish patted the soft skin.

"What is it?" Hamish asked.

"We thought it might be a kelpie but he's too big. He might be a water horse," Frazer said when Loch dipped under the water and Zoe looked at him. "He'll be right back. He has to breath water as well as air."

"Oh," she said as Loch came back up and looked at them.

"Where did you find him?" Hamish asked and Frazer told him about their trip to Loch Ness. "Your godmother is a fey?"

Frazer could hear the angry in Hamish's voice as he nodded and sighed. Hamish's youngest sister, Mary, was taking by the fey in his universe and Frazer knew that Jamie didn't trust M'Yari.

"It wasnae my idea," Frazer said with a grin but Hamish balled his hand into a fist and Frazer puffed some air out of his cheeks. "Look, she isnae that bad, really."

"Why dinnae I believe you?"

"It doesnae matter if you do or you dinnae. She is an' there is little I can do aboot it," Frazer said and Hamish nodded. "Anyway, want tae go for a swim?"

"Eh?" Hamish asked, looking confused.

"Do you want tae go for a swim with Loch?"

"Can we?" Zoe asked, looking at Hamish.

"I cannae swim," Hamish said.

"Well, it's more like going for a ride," Frazer said and Zoe gave Hamish a sad puppy look. Frazer showed Hamish what she was doing and Hamish sighed, looking at Loch.

"Please, Pa-pa?" she asked and Hamish thought for a few minutes then rolled his eyes.

"Well, as long as he doesnae go under water," Hamish said and Zoe cheered.

"Right, this way," Frazer said while leading them along the walkway and they headed for the platform.

"That is the last time I listen tae you!" Hamish's voice said as the door opened and he, Zoe and Frazer came inside the house and were soaking wet.

"What happened to you three?" Jenna said as she came out of the kitchen and Zoe giggled, running to her.

"Pa-pa fell off Loch!" she said and Jenna looked at Frazer.

"What was he doing on Loch?"

"I took them for a swim with Loch an' he fell off," Frazer said with a shrug and Jenna glared at him.

"The beastie was going tae go under the water!" Hamish shouted.

"I told you tae activate your respiratory bypass system."

"I dinnae ken how tae do that yet," Hamish said as he tightened his grip on the stick and Jenna walked closer, standing between them.

"Right, before you two come to blows, tell me what happened," she said and Frazer sighed.

"Fine, I took Hamish an' Zoe tae the platform an' we got onto Loch's back. He started moving around the tank an' Hamish seemed tae be having fun," Frazer said and Hamish sighed.

"I was having fun," Hamish said.

"Then Loch started tae go under the water. I told him nae tae do that but he has a one track mind. So, I told Hamish tae use his respiratory bypass system but he panicked an' fell off of him."

"I CANNAE SWIM!" Hamish shouted.

"I ken that but you didnae have tae pull me into the water with you!"

"I panicked!" Hamish shouted and Jenna sighed, rolling her eyes.

"And how did you get wet?" Jenna asked, looking at Zoe.

"They splashed me when they fell into the water. Loch made this grumble noise an' scooped them back onto his back with his tail," Zoe said with a smile.

"Ah, well why don't you three go get dried off? I just put some of your dad's clothes in the wardrobe and you can put one of my t-shirts on Zoe until I can get your clothes dry," Jenna said as they nodded and headed for the stairs. Watching them go up the stairs, Jenna shook her head then walked to the door and went into the garage to tell Jamie what was going on.

"I still can't believe you did that," Angel said after Frazer told her what happened and he smiled, rolling onto his back. The dim light from the window made it a little hard to see her as he moved closer and kissed her lips.

"Hey, he pulled me in, I didnae push him," Frazer said, wagging a finger at her.

"Still, he could have gotten hurt. Or Zoe might have," she said and Frazer sighed, nodding his head.

"That's what my dad said. Anyway, everyone's ok an' I promised tae never do that again."

"Good," she said when a blue light fluttered under the bathroom door and Frazer sat up, looking at it. "What's going on?"

"I dinnae ken," he said, tossing the duvet back and got out of bed. "Stay there."

"Frazer?" she asked as he hushed her then took the sonic screwdriver off the dresser and headed for the door. She sat up as he looked at the door and pointed the sonic screwdriver at it. The blue light moved back and forth under the door when he placed his hand on the door, gently pushing it open. Suddenly a bright blue light filled the room as they screamed and something grabbed hold of Frazer, pulling him to the bathroom and the door closed behind him.

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