PARENTHOOD

Chapter One Hundred and Eighty

"I am what I am..." Jack sang the song "I Am What I Am" from La Cage Aux Folles as they walked back into the meeting room and Adam nudged Alan. Jack kept singing as he strolled around the room and Koschei sighed, sitting down on the chair. "I don't want praise...I don't want pity!"

"It's a pity that you don't sing professionally, Jack. You got a great voice," Amato said as he sat down and Jack blushed then hopped onto the table and threw his head back with his arms out wide.

"Life's not worth a damn 'til you can say hey world I am...what...I am!" Jack sang out and they clapped their hands. Jack did a few bows when he climbed off the table and sat down next to Amato, who nudged Koschei and Koschei rolled his eyes.

"Is that from a musical, too?" he asked and Jack nodded.

"Encore!" Adam and Alan shouted as the Doctor laughed and sat down then noticed that Duer had his feet on the table and was tossing his sonic screwdriver into the air. Duer's sonic screwdriver was slightly longer than the other sonic screwdrivers and extended at the middle after Duer pushed a button. There were also four prongs at one end and the sonic screwdriver had a green light instead of a blue light. Duer's mother, Delmari, had made the sonic screwdriver for him while he was in exile and Duer tossed the sonic screwdriver into the air, watching it spinning around in circles.

"Bored, are we?" Adam said while scooting his chair over next to Duer's chair and grabbed the sonic screwdriver out of the air.

"Give that back," Duer said and Adam shook his head, grinning at him.

"Nope, it's mine now!" he said as he got up and headed for the door.

"Give it back!" Duer growled as he stood up and Adam stood in the doorway, tossing the sonic screwdriver in the air then caught it.

"Come and get it!" Adam shouted as he ran out of the room and Duer chased after him. Adam laughed as he jumped into the air then ran faster and Duer growled, running faster down the hallway. Running backwards, Adam stuck his tongue at him when Duer skid to a halt and blink his wide eyes. "What are you looking at?"

"What is going on here?" Clara asked as Adam skid to a halt and turned slowly around, seeing her behind him. Rose had called her after they had gone back into the TARDIS and Adam swallowed hard, holding the sonic screwdriver to his chest. Clara had adopted Duer, Adam, John and Amato as her sons after she had come to live with them and she folded her arms over her chest, glaring at him. "Is that yours?"

"Uh," Adam said as he looked down at the sonic screwdriver while Duer walked closer and stood next to him.

"No, it's mine!" Duer said as he grabbed the sonic screwdriver out of Adam's hand and Adam looked down at his feet.

"Why did you take Duer's sonic screwdriver?" Clara asked, giving Adam a stern look.

"I took it because he's always bragging that it's better than mine," Adam said and Duer slightly smiled.

"Well, it is better than yours! Can yours do this?" he asked as he pushed the button and the sonic screwdriver extended at the middle.

"No, it can't do that."

"Does it have these cool prongs on the end?" Duer said as he waved the four prongs under Adam's nose and Adam pouted, sticking out his lower lip.

"No," Adam sighed and Duer shined the green light into Adam's eyes.

"Does it have a cool green light on the end?" Duer asked and Adam gently smacked the sonic screwdriver out of his face.

"No, it doesn't, and that's why I took it! We're trying to figure out how to improve ours and yours is...."

"Brilliant?" Duer asked while wiggling his eyebrows up and down then coughed as Clara glared at him and Duer sighed, looking at his feet.

"Tell him you're sorry," Clara said as Adam looked from her to Duer then back again and sighed.

"Do I have to?" Adam asked.

"Yes, you do," she said and Adam sighed.

"I'm sorry," Adam whispered and Duer moved closer, placing his ear closer to Adam's face.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that," Duer said with a grin and Adam rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry that I took your stupid screwdriver," he said and Clara coughed, arching her eyebrow.

"Want to try that again?" she asked and Adam sighed, rolling his eyes again.

"I'm sorry that I took your screwdriver," Adam said then sank to his knees and grabbed onto Duer's hips, placing his forehead against Duer's stomach. "Please forgive me! I am a lowly worm, who isn't worthy of even looking at your wonderful sonic screwdriver! I shouldn't even be in the same hemisphere as such a wonderful tool! Oh, Great One, please don't hate me!"

"Are you sure this isn't Alan?" Clara asked as Duer laughed and patted Adam on the head.

"No, this is Adam. He's just been hanging out with Alan too long," he said then looked down at Adam and ruffled Adam's hair. "You can get up now."

"Oh, a million thanks, My Master," Adam said as he crawled down the hallway then got up and ran down the hallway. Shaking his head, Duer laughed as he placed the sonic screwdriver in his pocket and Clara smiled at him. "He is right. I do think it's better than his."

"Why do you think that?" she asked and Duer sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair.

"I think it's because my mother made it for me. See, on my Gallifrey, it was the mother who made a cadet his or her first sonic screwdriver. She made one for my brother but my...Rassilon told her not to make one for me." Duer said then sighed and Clara nodded. Delmari had told her about Duer's childhood and that Rassilon wasn't Duer's father and Clara gently stroked Duer's hair, making him smile.

"I bet that hurt," she said and he nodded.

"I thought for the longest time that she hated me just as much as he did. It wasn't until I was reunited with her that she told me that he told her not to make one for me and I was thrilled when she gave me this one," Duer said, taking the sonic screwdriver out of his pocket again. "It's modeled after her sonic screwdriver."

"I wish I could do something like that for Merzet," she said and Duer soft giggled.

"Sorry."

"Oh, that's alright...Muppy," she said and his eyes went wide. The only person that called him "Muppy" was his mother and Clara smiled at him.

"Do you want to come help us figure out how to improve our sonic screwdrivers?"

"No, but I will tell you this. Behave or I will bring YOUR mother with me the next time!" she said and Duer's mouth fell open.

"You wouldn't!" he said and she grinned at him. "You would."

"Yep," she said as she popped the "p" and patted his cheek. He watched her turn then walk away as he placed the sonic screwdriver in his pocket and smiled. Shaking his head, he headed down the hallway while whistling "Momma Mia" and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Is everything alright? Adam told me that my mother was here," the Doctor said as Duer walked back into the meeting room then sat down and placed his feet on top of the table.

"Yeah, everything's fine. She just told me to tell you that she'll bring MY mother with her the next time that we goof off. So, I suggest that we get busy and figure out what to do because the last thing I want is to face my mother when she's mad," Duer said as they nodded and Duer looked over at Adam, seting up a privacy block.

"If you behave, I'll have Mom make you a sonic screwdriver just like mine," Duer thought as Adam appeared inside his head and was marching around with a cardboard sign that read I HAVE THE BEST BROTHER IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. Scooting his chair closer, Adam placed his head on Duer's shoulder as Duer rolled his eyes then smiled and gently patted the top of Adam's head.

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