HAPPY HILLBILLY THANKSGIVING!

Chapter Fourteen

"Well, that went well," Rory said while Brittany and Michelle rushed upstairs to get some bedding. "At least they aren't calling the FBI in to take us away."

"Nah, if they did, we'd just throw Spot in their faces," the Doctor said, leaning back on the sofabed with River.

They heard the front door open and Jim announce that they were back. They heard it close and two minutes later, Rex was bounding down the stairs, tail wagging joyfully while he headed for the Doctor. He walked over to him and the Doctor smiled while he pet his head.

"Hello, Reggie, done with your winter walk?" he asked him while Rex wagged his tail.

Mandy came halfway down the steps and stared at them when she stopped and stood there. The Doctor got up on his elbows and waved at her. Mandy smiled and came down the rest of the stairs.

"Hi," Mandy said to them while Rex walked over to her.

"Hello, poppet," the Doctor said while Rex licked Mandy's face. "Did you enjoy your walk?"

"Yes," Mandy said, walking towards them.

Just then Brittany and Michelle came downstairs carrying blankets and pillows.

"Oh no, Mandy found them," Brittany said to her sister while they came downstairs.

"The more, the merrier," the Doctor said to them. "She's not hurting anyone."

Mandy walked over to the TV and the Doctor's eyes widened when she made a beeline for the purple DVD case.

"Spoke too soon?" Amy said, noticing the horror on the Doctor's face while Mandy opened the Barney DVD case.

"Mandy, go upstairs and watch that," Brittany said while she and Michelle dropped their bedding near the sofa.

"Tommy's watching Spongebob upstairs," Mandy squeaked at them while she started up the DVD.

"Hold me, River," the Doctor said, feigning horror while he grabbed River from behind.

"He doesn't like Barney," Michelle said to Brittany while Mandy put the DVD in the tray and closed it.

"Horray, at least he's civilized," Brittany said while Mandy pushed play.

The Ponds giggled while Mandy plopped down in front of the TV and began to watch the show.

"I must not crack under the strain of watching Barney," the Doctor said while everyone laughed. "I must resist the temptation to run screaming from the house."

"What about Spongebob?" Michelle said as she sat down by his legs.

"Spongebob isn't quite as annoying as the purple t-rex," the Doctor said. "Oh why, why do you have that? I thought you humans were smarter than this."

"I could go get my E.T. DVD," Brittany said in a singsong voice.

"Rory, poke her with your nose," the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

He smiled when Rex settled down beside Mandy, put his head on his paws and relaxed.

"You could tell us a story," Michelle said to the Doctor.

"Okay. Once upon a time, someone decided to make a dancing purple dinosaur and human civilization fell after that, the end," the Doctor said.

"No," Michelle said, giggling along with the rest of them. "Tell us about something you did when you traveled."

"Once upon a time, A woman named Amelia Pond was born and human civilization fell after that, the end."

Amy discreetly flipped him off while everyone giggled.

"Once upon a time," River said, raising up on her elbows, "there was an evil woman called Madam Kovarian who kidnapped a young pregnant girl called Amy Pond because she wanted to raise the child to be a weapon against a mighty warrior called the Doctor."

She told them the tale of Demon's Run while the children listened in an enraptured silence. Even Mandy eventually turned around and turned her attention to River while the Doctor, Amy and Rory lay down and stared at the ceiling, listening to her while she talked. By the time she was finished, the sun was starting to set.

"That really happened?" Brittany said when she finished.

"That really happened," River said while the Doctor took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"Wow, you fought all those people?" Michelle said to the Doctor.

"Yup, with the help of my friends," the Doctor said.

"Dinner!" Lori called down the stairs.

"Well, thank you, my dear for providing entertainment other than the Purple Menace," the Doctor said while they all got up.

She kissed her hand and held it while they followed everyone upstairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

After dinner, Brittany was first to take her bath so Michelle hurried to her room and took her CD player downstairs so they could have music while they waited. Mandy and Tom followed along behind her and the Doctor watched while she sat the CD player beside the TV and played her Backstreet Boys Greatest Hits CD. Tom looked at Amy for a moment before wandering over to her. He reached out with his finger and tried to touch her breast.

"Hey, you little perv," Amy said, grabbing his wrist. "No, that's not nice, yeah?"

"He does that all the time," Michelle said as she walked back to her place on the sofa near the Doctor's feet. "Mommy keeps telling him to stop and he won't do it."

"Well, considering how territorial Rory is, I wouldn't try that again," the Doctor said while Tom walked over to Michelle's beanbag and sat down in it.

"Do you like Backstreet Boys?" Michelle asked the Doctor.

"They're okay. At least it's not Barney," the Doctor said. "I can sing much better than they can though."

Michelle giggled when River rose up behind the Doctor and shook her head emphatically before lowering herself again.

"River doesn't enjoy my musical skills but I doubt Madam Kovarian had an ear for music. Or an eyepatch for music."

"No, I know good music and I know talented singing and you can't sing," River said behind him. "You think you can sing but you'd be booted off Pop Idol in ten seconds, maybe even less."

"She's in denial," the Doctor said in a loud stage whisper while Michelle giggled.

"Mother, why did I marry this man?" River said, leaning up and looking at Amy.

"Because he said yes?" Amy said with a shrug.

"I must have been suffering from temporary insanity. I didn't know what I was getting myself into," River said, lowering herself back down. "The legend blinded me to how the man really is and now I'm stuck."

"We could put him in the cage with Spot," Michelle said.

River roared with laughter when the Doctor jerked his head up and stared at her in shock.

"Who's side are you on?" he said while everyone laughed. "I've been so kind to you and now you'll let Spot eat me? And I was considering you for my companion as well."

"She just realized how childish and annoying you can be, Sweetie," River said, pinching his cheek.

"I wish I could see Demon's Run," Michelle said wistfully.

"After River got done describing it to you?" the Doctor said.

"Better than Indiana," Michelle said.

"No, actually after battling a bunch of headless monks and military men, Indiana is quite peaceful," the Doctor said.

"Ooo," Mandy said, walking over to the big window. "Snow! It's snow!"

They leaned up and saw snowflakes starting to fall outside."

"Good thing we brought the TARDIS in here then," Rory said to them.

"Maybe it'll snow fifteen feet and my stupid aunts and uncles and cousins won't come," Michelle said.

"You really don't like them, do you?" the Doctor said.

"They're stupid. They get drunk and do dumb things and they make fun of me," Michelle said. "I wish we could go somewhere in your TARDIS for Thanksgiving."

"Well, we could but then your stupid aunts and uncles and cousins would probably ruin the house while we were gone," the Doctor said. "Besides, we said we'd stick up for you and we mean it."

Michelle got up and the Doctor smiled when she hugged him and then hugged his family.

"Shelly, it's your turn to get a bath," Lori yelled down the stairs.

"Ugh. I'll be back, I gotta go get a bath now," Michelle said.

"Get clean so we can have more fun," the Doctor called out as Michelle ran towards the stairs.

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