A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
Chapter Five Jim went off the interstate and drove through downtown Indianapolis. It was late afternoon so the lights weren't on yet but the Doctor could see lights wrapped around the black iron lampposts with a wreath hanging off a bar below the light. People were walking along the sidewalks, which were mostly clear except for a few patches of slushy snow here and there. There was a lot of traffic so Jim drove slowly while he looked for a place to park. They finally decided on a parking garage and after taking a ticket from the machine at the entrance, he drove up one level and parked near the elevator. "Where we at, Daddy?" Mandy asked. "We're in a parking garage near the restaurant, hon," Jim said. "Just hold on to your boyfriend and we'll take you to go eat." Everyone snickered when Rory rolled his eyes but he smiled when Mandy squeezed his hand and he squeezed back. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO Bocca di Beppo was a couple of blocks away from the parking garage. The restaurant was large with Italian themed objects lining the walls and Italian music playing overhead. The kitchen was in the front and there were a few small tables nearby so patrons could eat and watch the meals being cooked but the waitress led them to a large dining room at the back and a table big enough to seat ten people. Across from the table was a gigantic menu mounted on the wall that listed everything the restaurant had to offer. The Doctor and River sat near the wall and Michelle and Brittany sat across from them. Mandy sat beside the Doctor, Rory sat beside her and Amy sat beside him. Lori, Tom and Jim sat across from them. "Pick whatever you want, guys," Lori said. "Although, the children usually want sausage ravioli and we get spaghetti." "I want what my boyfriend wants," Mandy said. Rory turned beet red while everyone giggled. "Admit it, Rory, you think it's cute," the Doctor teased. "Now, what do you want to eat, love?" he said to River while Amy giggled at Rory's red face. "Well…" River said, turning her head to read the menu. "Lasagna sounds good. I think we should get that." "Oh and Lori, I'm paying for this again," the Doctor said to her. "Consider it a Christmas present." "Thank you," Lori said. A young black girl came up to take their drink order. "Hello, welcome to Bocca di Beppos, what can I get you to drink?" she said, pulling a small pad and pencil out of the pocket of her black trousers. "This is my boyfriend!" Mandy said to her while she pointed to Rory. Everyone laughed as Rory put his head in his hands and turned even redder. XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO The Doctor smiled at River while they shared a plate of ravioli, spaghetti, lasagna and breadsticks. He whispered something in her ear and River chuckled. She speared a small ravioli on her fork and fed it to him. His eyes sparkled while River took a sip of her Sprite and gave him a loving look. While she stared at him, her eyes shifted and she leaned her head slightly to look past him. She giggled and the Doctor frowned. She pointed to something past him and he turned to see Mandy was watching him intently. "Hello, enjoying your meal then?" the Doctor said to her. "I'm watching you and Aunt River cause I wanna know what to do with my boyfriend now," Mandy said. Everyone laughed when Rory put his head in his hands and shook his head slowly. He looked at his wife and she chuckled and winked while she ate a bit of spaghetti. "Feed her a bit, that's what they were doing," Amy said to her husband. Rory looked at Mandy who was looking up at him adoringly and his heart melted. He grinned and cut off a tiny bit of ravioli. He put it on his fork and Jim and Lori watched with smiles while their daughter opened her mouth and ate it. "Now see, that wasn't bad, was it?" the Doctor said to him. "Just think of it as innocent puppy love for her." Rory smiled and fed Mandy another bite of ravioli. Mandy chewed it while she picked up her fork and tried to get a bit of spaghetti onto her fork for Rory. She finally had to hold it on the fork with her finger and Rory smiled and leaned in to eat it when she held it up. "Awww, this is darling," the Doctor said to River. "We're going to have to plan their wedding straight away now." "Oh, shut it," Rory said while they laughed. XOXOXOXOXOXOXO After the Doctor paid for the meal, they walked outside and decided to walk around a bit since the sun was starting to go down. The air was a bit chillier and there were more people on the sidewalks now. Rory held Mandy and Amy's hand while the Doctor had his arm around River and Jim and Lori held hands. The other children walked ahead of everyone, looking around at all the sights around them. Christmas music was blaring out of speakers attached to some of the lampposts and now a light snow was beginning to fall. The Doctor snickered when they heard Jingle Bells coming out of the speakers. "Oh look, Rory, it's you and Mandy's song," he teased while everyone laughed. "That's the song we'll play at your wedding for your first dance, Dad," River said. "How would you dance to it?" Lori said. "Like boogie to it?" "Trust me, the Doctor would created a dance for it if you let him," Amy said to them. "So, how did you two meet?" the Doctor asked Jim and Lori. "Well, we grew up in New Castle and went to the same high school. Basically, we're high school sweethearts, "Lori said, squeezing her husband's hand. "He got a job at Chrysler after high school and I went to Ball State and majored in English. I got my bachelors and taught English at Tri State High School and eventually we got married when we felt we were stable enough. Jim and his dad built the house we're living in and a few years after that, Brit was born. I took time off to be a mom to her and just decided to be a full time mom. Our parents help out when they can but Jim makes good money at Chrysler and we created a family together. How about you? How did you and River meet?" River burst out laughing at the wide eyed look on the Doctor's face. "Um…where to begin?" he said while Amy, Rory and River giggled. "Well…see, I met her twice, to be honest. It's very complicated but I can't tell you the first time I met her because there's this odd thing going on where River is going backwards in my timeline and I met her the first time when it was the last moments of her life." "Why doesn't it surprise me that this story is complicated?" Lori said to her husband while everyone laughed. Amy let go of Rory's hand and walked up to her. "I was kidnapped when I was pregnant with River and these people took her from me and raised her to be his assassin. We traveled back to Nazi Germany and she regenerated into her current form and nearly killed him with poison lipstick." The Doctor, River and Rory laughed at the stunned looks on Lori and her family's faces. "She tried to kill you and you married her?" Lori said to the Doctor. "Well…we came to an understanding," the Doctor said. "I'm glad she's not trying to poison you anymore then," Lori said. "Wow, Jim, they make our live sound positively dull by comparison." "So when you went to Nazi Germany, did you kill Hitler?" Brittany asked them. "Uh…she wanted to do that but the only thing that happened was Rory punched him and locked him in a…closet." Amy laughed when Lori's family stopped and looked at Rory. "You punched out Hitler? Seriously?" Brittany said. "Uh…yeah, I did," Rory said. "Wow, Mandy, your boyfriend is tough," Lori said. "You'll have to bring him in for show and tell when you get to kindergarten and let him talk about the time he hit Hitler and locked him in the closet." They laughed when Rory blushed again at that. Amy patted him on the shoulder and they resumed their leisurely stroll through downtown Indy.
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