PARENTHOOD
Chapter One Hundred and Eighty Three Jamie was lying on the couch while four year old Frazer was snuggled next to him and his little head rested on his daddy's chest. Three months had passed since Jamie, Jenna, Jack, the Doctor, Adam and Alan had gone into the past to the year seventeen forty-six to find the cause of a time bubble and found six orphans, who parents had been killed several weeks before. It took some doing, but Jamie had convinced the Doctor and Duer to let him and Jenna adopt Frazer, his brothers, Angus, Ian, Robbie and Conner, and his sister, Victoria, and it was even more surprising how quickly the Doctor arranged for Jamie and Jenna to get married so they could adopted them. Jamie gently stroked Frazer's hair as he looked up at the ceiling and his mind drifted off to the family he had long ago. He wasn't sure if he could be a father then because of his missing memories and was terrified the first time he held a baby. "That was because you never held a bairn before," Jamie thought after setting up a privacy block and sighed, making Frazer look up at him. Out of all his siblings, Frazer was the one that was the most sensitive to other people's feelings and he pouted, his lower lip slightly sticking out like Jamie's did when he pouted. "Are you alright, Daddy?" he asked and Jamie smiled down at him. "Aye, I'm fine," he said and stroked the back of Frazer's head. "Tell me a story," Frazer said as he placed his head back on Jamie's chest and Jamie's hearts thumped softly in his ear. "A story?" he asked and Frazer nodded. Jamie half closed his eyes for a few seconds when he smiled and wrapped his arms around his son. "Did I ever tell you the story aboot the time Granddad, Zoe an' I met these really nasty monkeys?" "No," Frazer said and Jamie kissed the top of his head, half closing his eyes. The TARDIS materialized near a large tree when the doors opened and Duer in his second life, Jamie and Zoe walked outside and Duer closed the doors, locking them. Placing the key in his pocket, Duer looked at the tree then walked closer as he placed his hand on the bark and looked up at the leaves. "I say, take a look at this," he said as they walked closer and looked up at what he was looking at. High above in the branches was a large nest and a soft cooing sound came from the leaves. "What do you think is up there, Doctor?" Zoe asked. "I don't know," Duer said when Jamie jumped up and grabbed a strong branch then placed his feet against the bark of the tree, his kilt dangling underneath him. "Jamie, what do you think you're doing?" "I'm going tae take a closer look," Jamie said with a grin and started climbing the tree. "Oh, do be careful! You don't know what's up there!" Zoe said as Jamie nodded and the cooing sound grew louder the higher he climbed. Jamie parted the branches when he saw the large nest and smiled. He had seen many a bird's nest in the highlands as a child and knew he was down wind, making it safe to look into the nest without scaring whatever it was that was in the nest. He carefully leaned forward when he looked into the nest and saw several furry creatures huddle together among the twigs and leaves. The creatures were covered in black and brown fur and had long arms, legs and tails. The faces were monkey-like with small ears and pushed up noses and the creatures were making the cooing sound in their sleep. Smiling, Jamie carefully climbed down when he hopped down the last few feet and landed in front of Duer and Zoe. "Well, don't keep us in suspense, dear boy, what's up there?" Duer asked and Jamie brushed his hands on his kilt. "I think they're monkeys," Jamie said. "Are you sure?" Duer said, giving Jamie a slightly confused look when Zoe tapped his arm and pointed at the tree. One of the furry creatures was sitting on a branch as it tilted its head side to side and Duer walked toward the tree for a closer look. "I say, it does look like a monkey, but no any monkey that I've seen before." "Do you think it's friendly?" "Ah, well, to be on the safe side, let's leave it be," Duer said and they nodded. Before Jamie could move, the furry creature jumped onto his shoulder and Jamie stood stone still. The furry creature gently pulled Jamie's ear forward then used its tiny fingers to pick at his hair and Zoe cupped her mouth, trying not to laugh. "Jamie, whatever you do, don't move." "Wouldnae think of it," Jamie said while the fury creature picked at Jamie's hair then let go of his ear and climbed onto his head. The soft furry tail ticked as the furry creature picked at Jamie's hair then lowered its head until it was looking at Jamie and titled its head side to side. Smiling, Jamie crossed his eyes as the furry creature made a little squeak and scooted back up onto his head. Jamie didn't mind the tiny nails poking into his scalp as the furry creature landed on his shoulder again and pulled on his vest. Zoe was shaking from not laughing while Duer watched the furry creature moving toward Jamie's shirt and the furry creature pulled on the drawstring, opening the shirt "What is it doing?" Zoe asked. "I think it's trying to figure out what Jamie is," Duer said. "Like we were trying to do," she said and Duer nodded. The furry creature slid its head into the shirt as Jamie snorted a laugh and the furry creature looked up at him and Jamie smiled. The furry creature turned its head side to side then stuck its head back into the shirt and gently sniffed Jamie's skin. The furry creature then slipped under the shirt as Jamie felt the tiny nails on his skin and placed his arms over his stomach in hopes in preventing the furry creature from going any lower. "That's all I need," he thought and felt the furry creature moving around under his shirt. The fur tickled as Jamie tried not to laugh and the furry creature popped its head out of the shirt and looked at him. Jamie could feel the tiny legs kicking at his hands as it growled but Jamie only shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I cannae let you go any lower," he said as the furry creature titled its head side to side and climbed back onto his shoulder. It stood on its hind legs when it made a loud cooing sound and Duer saw some more of the furry creatures coming down the tree. The cooing sound grew louder as the furry creature jumped onto the tree and screeched at the others, waving its fist at them. "Oh dear, I don't like the look of that," Duer said and they nodded. Slowly they inched back toward the TARDIS when Duer took the key out of his pocket and unlocked the doors. The screeching grew louder when Zoe saw the furry creature running down the tree and headed toward them. "Doctor!" she said as the doors opened and they ran inside. The furry creatures slammed against the wooden doors as the screeching filled the air and Jamie looked at Duer, who was walking to the console and looked at some of the buttons. "What are you doing?" Jamie asked while he and Zoe walked to the console. "I hate to do this, but we do have to get out of here," Duer said while pushing the button and a loud screeching sound came from behind the doors. "Tell me that you didn't shock them," Zoe said and Duer gave her a slightly stunned look. "No, I just put up the force field. I am shocked that you would think otherwise!" he said and she looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Doctor," she said softly and he patted her hand. "Oh, don't fret about it," he said when he looked at the screen and his eyes went wide. "Oh my giddy aunt, what is that?" "What?" Jamie asked when he looked over Duer's shoulder and his eyes went wide. On the screen were the furry creatures but they were running into a large, shimmering mass and the large, shimmering mass looked like a larger form of the furry creatures. "What are they doing?" Zoe asked. "I do believe they are morphing into a much stronger creature," Duer said then started pushing buttons, flicking switches and pulled on the main lever. The TARDIS dematerialized as the large, shimmering creature screeched and pounded the ground. Duer looked at the screen when he smiled and leaned against the console. "Well, what have we learned from all this?" "That the next time we find a nest, we leave it alone," Zoe said. "Exactly," he said then looked at Jamie and Jamie was scratching the side of his head. "Oh dear, don't tell me that you have fleas?" "I'm nae sure. All I ken is that I'm very itchy," Jamie said as Duer sighed and shook his head. "Come with me," he said as they left the control room and the doors closed behind them. "Did you have fleas, Daddy?" Frazer asked and Jamie softly laughed. "No, but I did learn that you have tae be careful when traveling with Granddad," Jamie said and Frazer smiled. "Mummy said that you traveled with Granddad for a very long time," Frazer said and Jamie sighed, rubbing his eyes with his fingers. "Aye, I did, an' would have traveled with him forever if I was allowed tae," he said and Frazer frowned. "Why were you nae allowed tae travel with him forever?" "Well, the first Time Lords made Granddad send me home one day because they thought he had been naughty." "Had he been naughty?" "No, he was just doing what he always did, helping people, but they didnae like it an' sent me home." "That's nae fair." "No, it wasnae fair, but they're gone now so it doesnae matter," Jamie said and Frazer nodded. Sighing, Jamie looked at the ceiling while Frazer closed his eyes and Jamie softly rubbed Frazer's back. Jamie felt someone tugging at his mind when he moved the mind closer and Duer appeared, smiling at him. "Ah, there you are," Duer thought. "Do you need me for something?" Jamie thought. "Well, I was wondering if you would like to go exploring those caves that Adam and Alan found the other day." "You mean those caves they said were haunted?" "Yep, the Doctor and I want to go give them a look and I thought you'd like to come along." "Well, Frazer just feel asleep on me an'..." "Uh, do not say another word! Private time with the little ones is fleeting and I would be a terrible father-in-law if I denied you one moment with your son!" Duer thought then his mind moved away and Jamie reached for the duvet on the back of the couch, gently wrapping it around him and Frazer. Frazer softly sighed as Jamie tucked the duvet around them and kissed the top of Frazer's head, sending love into his mind. Smiling, Jamie closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around his son and gently drifted off to sleep.
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