HAPPY HILLBILLY THANKSGIVING!

Chapter Eleven

Lori was in the kitchen by herself, preparing the turkey for baking when Michelle came in with the Doctor and his family.

"Mommy," Michelle said.

"Hey, having fun out in the snow?" Lori said, looking over her shoulder.

"Mm-hmm, we're having lots of fun," Michelle said, nodding.

"Thanks so much for being her friends," Lori said to them while she walked over to the sink and turned it on. "She needs friends badly."

"And we're happy to be her friends," the Doctor said.

"Mommy, Doctor's got something to tell you, a big secret," Michelle said.

"Oh?" Lori said while she washed her hands.

The Doctor glanced at his family before letting go of Michelle's hand.

"Look, before I say this, we're not lunatics and we're not killers or anything like that," the Doctor said.

Lori gave him an odd look while she wiped her hands on a dishtowel.

"Why are you saying this?" she said. "Should I be afraid of you if that's what you're implying?"

"No," the Doctor said. "But there's something different about me, different than the average human."

"Okay," Lori said hesitantly.

"Mommy, he's a space alien," Michelle said as she walked up to her mother. "He has a spaceship and he wants to park it in the laundry room so they can leave from here and nt have to walk back."

Lori gave her daughter a wry grin.

"Oh, really?" she said to her daughter. "So you're pretending to be a space alien because of the Time/Life book?" she said to the Doctor.

"No, it's not pretend," the Doctor said.

Lori stared at him.

"You're an alien and yet, you look human," she said.

"Yes, because there are several species of aliens that look human and I'm one of them," the Doctor said.

Lori raised her eyebrow and the Doctor sensed he was losing her.

"Look, I can prove it," the Doctor said.

"Oh? Okay, prove it then," Lori said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, I have a remote control that can call my ship to me but…perhaps the kitchen isn't the best place to land it. Could we go downstairs then?"

"Please, mommy, just trust him," Michelle pleaded.

Lori looked at her daughter and saw the pleading look on her face.

"Okay, we'll go downstairs but I'm still not convinced," Lori said.

The Doctor glanced at his family while Michelle took his hand. They followed Lori downstairs and Lori led them back to the storage room. She let them go past her and then shut the door.

"Okay, spaceman, prove you're an alien," Lori said, staying by the door.

The Doctor reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a small silver box. He pushed a button on it and Lori waited. For a moment, nothing happened and Lori was about to tell him to stop this foolishness and leave. Then she heard a weird wheezing sound and her mouth dropped open when a blue box materialized behind the Doctor.

"Wow, that's tiny," Michelle said, looking at it after it fully materialized.

The Doctor smiled at Lori, patted Michelle on the head and clicked his fingers. The doors opened and Lori's eyes boggled when she saw the interior.

"Whoa!" Michelle said, looking inside.

The Doctor strolled inside and waved to everyone from the inside of the TARDIS. He smiled when Lori slowly walked towards it and then walked around the outside, rapping on the wood with her knuckles.

"Come in," the Doctor said when she reached the front. "Both of you, there's nothing to be afraid of."

Lori looked at her daughter and Michelle grinned and took her mother's hand. They walked inside and looked around.

"Wow!" Michelle said gleefully.

"Wow is an understatement, honey," Lori said.

"Convinced now?" the Doctor said.

"Yes, I mean unless you're some kind of supermagician," Lori said. "So why are you here then?"

"To share Thanksgiving with you," the Doctor said. "I don't want to kill you, abduct you, do weird things to you. I'm a time traveler. This is my TARDIS and it takes me to any point in time and anywhere in the universe I wish to go. My wife and her parents travel with me. We go to different places and have adventures and occasionally fight evildoers and save people. I came up with the idea of finding someone we could share Thanksgiving with. I don't come to America as often as I'd like and I've never really had a Thanksgiving dinner. That's all we want, promise."

"And are you aliens too?" Lori said to the others as they came inside.

"No, we're human, except our daughter is half alien," Amy said. "He's a Time Lord and she's part Time Lord."

"So…that stuff about Venus being a stupid planet, you meant that?" Lori said to the Doctor.

The Doctor giggled.

"Well, that was a bit of teasing but yes, I've been to Venus numerous times. Care to see it for yourself? I could take you for a quick trip as further proof. This is a time machine so I can bring you back two seconds after we leave."

"Ooo, let's do it, Mommy!" Michelle squealed.

"Um…you give your word that you're not going to hurt us?" Lori said warily.

"I swear on my life and the lives of my family that I will not hurt either of you," the Doctor said, holding up his hand.

Lori looked at her daughter.

"Please, Mommy? They won't hurt us, they're friends," Michelle said, tugging on her hand.

"Okay, if Shelly trusts you, I'll do the same," Lori said. "I suppose you could have done something to me when we were in my car so show us Venus then."

"With pleasure," the Doctor said, bowing to them.

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