REFUGEES
Chapter Fifteen (July 4th, 2014…) It had been nearly a month since Rose and John came to stay with the Stevens family and in that time, both of them had healed and were trying to live normal lives. After the Doctor was satisfied that they were both out of the danger zone, he went back to helping Lori and Jim finalize the paperwork on the house as well as taking a few trips with Donna, knowing that his friends were being left in loving and capable hands. Jack decided to take a break off from Torchwood to help out the family and make sure his friends were healing. Finally everything was ready to go and the children had been enrolled in London schools with the exception of Mandy who still had another year to go. But before they moved, Lori decided that since July 4th was near, they would spend one last holiday in Indiana before beginning their new lives in England. They invited the Doctor and all of their new friends along with Dan and Ruth and Alicia and Tom to come and join them in Memorial Park in New Castle. By now, both Rose and John were up and about and using canes to help support themselves. The Doctor brought Rose a wig that the TARDIS had made, both realistic looking and the color and style of her old hairdo. When she wore it, the Doctor couldn't tell that she had been shaved bald. He offered one to John who now had hair about the same length as the Ninth Doctor but he politely refused. "A wig would feel funny on my head," he said to the Doctor. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX "Kids, hurry up! The Doctor said he's coming any minute," Lori called out as she stuck her head out of the kitchen doorway. The house was now sparsely furnished since the Doctor had used the TARDIS to help move their things into their new house, only the basics remained in each room. Inside the kitchen, John and Jack were helping Lori assemble everything they'd need for the barbecue once they got there while Rose sat at the counter and watched. Beside Rose were two huge packages of personal fireworks that they were going to set off after they got back home. "I'm here, Mommy," Mandy said, coming inside the room. "Here for what?" Lori said as she, Jack and John put packages of hot dogs and hamburgers into a canvas tote bag. "I don't know. I'm just here," Mandy said with a shrug. "Are you ready to go?" Lori said while John and Jack chucked. "I guess," Mandy said with another shrug. "Well, do you want to go down and wait for the Doctor? He should be here any minute," Lori said. "Okay," Mandy said before skipping out of the room. She headed downstairs and looked around. Most of the furniture, books and other things had been taken to the other house and the rooms looked empty and bare. Only the sofa bed and John and Rose's bed remained. "Goodbye, house," Mandy said as she jumped down from the top step to the floor. She headed towards the sofa bed to wait but veered at the last minute and went to the window and looked out at the backyard of the house she had lived in since she was born. She continued gazing out the window even when she heard the wheezing sound coming form the now empty storage room. "Lori, we're here!" the Doctor yelled out as the storage door opened and he stepped into the unfinished room followed by Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani, Wilf and Sylvia. The Doctor froze when he came out of the unfinished room, looked around and saw Mandy standing by the window, her back to him while she still gazed out at the backyard. "Well…if it isn't Ps and Qs herself," the Doctor said while he walked over to her. He frowned when she glanced at him before looking out the window again. "Hey, is something wrong?" the Doctor said as he and everyone else gathered around her. "Just saying goodbye to the house," Mandy said, glancing up at him. "Ah, yes, it's time, isn't it?" the Doctor said, patting her shoulder. "Time to leave this wonderful house and go on to a new adventure, eh?" "Yup," Mandy said, glancing up at him. "Eh, you'll be fine. A couple of months from now, you'll be saying, "Indiana, what's that?" and you'll know London like the back of your hand. Is your family ready to go?" "I think so. They're upstairs in the kitchen." "Well!" the Doctor said, scooping her up while she squealed with delight. "Let's go and see them, eh? And quit being so sad. You'll have loads of fun in London, promise! And mind your Ps and Qs there cause I don't wanna have to save London from you." "You mind your Ps and Qs!" Mandy said while everyone laughed. "Ah, there she is, the old cheeky monkey has returned," the Doctor said, holding her close to him while they headed upstairs. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO After getting everything and everyone inside the TARDIS, the Doctor asked his ship to find Dan, Ruth, Tom and Alicia inside the park and land near them. The TARDIS scanned for a moment before taking them to the park. A few minutes later, she stopped and the Doctor went to the front door. He opened it and peeked out while everyone waited. "So, are they there?" Donna said as she and everyone else stood by the console. "Well…I'm looking Dan directly in the face so apparently they're here," they heard the Doctor say while they heard Dan, Alicia, Tom and Ruth's laughter outside. "That thing is handy," they heard Alicia say while they all came down the steps and followed the Doctor outside. When they stepped outside, Dan, Alicia, Tom and Ruth were there to welcome them. The TARDIS had landed beside a large oak tree and on the other side of the tree were several folding canvas chairs. Beyond that was a small concrete patio with a wooden picnic table and a cast iron barbecue grill. Dan and Tom were already frying some burgers on the grill and they waved to everyone as they came out. They pointed to the picnic table which already had some food and plastic plates, cups and cutlery on top of it and Jack, Clyde and Luke added to it with the stuff they brought. "Go ahead and sit," Ruth said to John and Rose when they came outside, gesturing to the canvas chairs. "Do you want something to drink? We have soft drinks, iced tea and lemonade." "Lemonade sounds good," John said. "I'll have one as well," Rose said as she and her husband walked over to the chairs and eased into them. The Doctor asked the TARDIS to put up a force field barrier five feet outside her doors for Rex so he could come outside but not wander off and he left one door open for him if he wanted to go back inside. He arranged it so people could go in and out of the force field but Rex couldn't get out of it. The TARDIS also produced a few chew toys and dog toys for him and Rex wagged his tail happily when the Doctor set them down just outside the door and he instantly lay down and went to work gnawing on a large rawhide bone. The last thing the Doctor did before joining everyone was increase the perception filter on his ship so nearby people wouldn't notice it. He then brought out a tote bag containing some summer toys for the children and teens and gave the bag to Brittany before asking if he could be of any assistance to anyone. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO After helping serve drinks and some crisps and snack food to some of the people present, the Doctor finally sat down in one of the canvas chairs and relaxed along with Wilf and Sylvia. The children and teens played catch with a Frisbee while the men cooked the meat. Sarah Jane, Donna, Alicia, Ruth and Martha sat the picnic table, chatting while Jack helped Dan, Jim and Great Uncle Tom fix the food. While Jack was using some metal tongs to put some of the finished burgers onto a plate, the Frisbee landed near his feet. He glanced down at it and quickly set the plate and tongs down, snatching the Frisbee up when he saw Mandy coming to get it. "What do you say?" Jack said, holding the Frisbee against his chest when Mandy reached up for it. "I don't know," Mandy said with a shrug. "I want that," she added, pointing to the Frisbee. "Give me five dollars and I'll give you the Frisbee," Jack said. "No." "Okay then, Frisbee stays with me then," Jack said. He gasped and everyone laughed when Mandy tried to stomp on his foot. "GIVE IT TO ME!" she shrieked. "Okay, here! Take it!" Jack said, throwing it to the ground while everyone laughed harder. "Yay," Mandy said, picking it up and running back to the other children. "Sheesh, that child is dangerous," Jack said, picking up the plate and tongs while the adults sniggered at him.
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