ROSE AND ALAN'S CHRISTMAS

Chapter Two

The Doctor sighed inwardly. It was nearing two and a half hours now and there was no sign of the interview ending. Rain and his daughters were with him which helped make the day tolerable but he still felt that familiar itch to run off and go somewhere and do something. Even a trip to Skaro would be preferable to this. The historians were young, much younger than he and all of them had an aura of arrogance about them. He guessed they weren't much older than 150, barely out of adolescence but with the cockiness of teenagers. Most people treated him with respect and deference because of who he was and his legendary past but these historians were openly condescending to him and it rankled him. He hated being a part of this but he hated what might happen if these teenagers were left to build the museum on their own without his input.

Finally, he asked for a break and hurried to the tea trolley in the waiting room when they granted it. His wife and children were waiting for him and he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw them. There were a couple of overstuffed black leather sofas with matching recliners in the room along with a few black cherry-wood tables. Rain was sitting on the end of one and Hope was curled up beside her fast asleep while the other daughters sat and read magazines or played with their Iphones. Rain smiled at her husband when he walked over to her.

"Finished?" she said to him.

The Doctor let out a sarcastic laugh in response and Rain rolled her eyes and grinned before accepting a kiss from him.

"Far from finished. In fact, I'm thinking about sending in Jenny and Emi to destroy them so we can get outta here," he said as Tara got up and made room for him beside Hope.

"Seriously, Father?" Emi said.

The girls snickered while the Doctor pretended to consider that.

"So at my command, you would go in there and kill then?" the Doctor said to Emi.

"If that is your wish, Father," Emi said while Jenny giggled.

"Hmm," the Doctor said while his children laughed harder. "Normally, I would forbid it but these idiots have been rude and condescending towards me. So for the first time in my life, I might allow my children to kill for me."

"You wouldn't do that, you're too nice," Hope said, opening one eye.

The girls giggled while the Doctor stared at her long and hard.

"Do we know each other?" he finally said while Hope snickered. "I seem to recall bringing you up but you don't seem to know the real me. Have you been asleep your entire life?"

Hope shook her head and grinned when her father winked at her. The Doctor frowned when Tara got up and headed towards the door.

"And where might you be going then?" he asked her.

"I'm going to tell those historians to piss off and go to Hell because…"

Everyone laughed when the Doctor leapt up and ran in front of her.

"My life is already complicated enough without making these berks mad. Sit down this instant and…"

WHERE ARE YOOOOOOOU?

The Doctor jerked his head back when Alan's voice screamed through his mind. The intensity of the scream was so powerful that the Doctor staggered back and put his hand to the side of his head.

"Doctor, what's wrong?" Rain said.

"My brother screamed into my mind, that's what's wrong," the Doctor said.

"I would say which brother but I think I know already," Rain said dryly.

"Well, Rose said he's wanting me to come home for coffee and merriment or something like that," the Doctor said, walking back to her with Tara at his side.

"I wouldn't mind it," Rain said while her daughters nodded in agreement. "You need a break, hon. I have a feeling no matter what you say, these idiots are going to ignore you and do what they want anyway, even if that means making you look bad."

The Doctor nodded and slid down into a sofa opposite her.

"I'm on the council, surely I could go through legal channels and get it stopped since I don't want it in the first place," he said to her.

Rain shrugged.

"I dunno but I have a feeling if you don't answer the Loon in the next few minutes, he's going to scream into your mind again," she said.

"Yeah, better do that before his next mental scream blows my brains out of my ears," he said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He's not answering me," Alan said sullenly as he sat on the sofa inside his lounge.

"He's busy, Alan," Rose said as she sat in her chair. "Do you like people bothering you when you're busy."

"Depends on what I'm doing at the moment," Alan said.

"Look. Why don't you get the Christmas tree out and put it up," Rose said.

"Because I want to wait till Brother gets here. Besides, I'm not in the mood for putting it up…unless I can make it go splody," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Rose giggled while Alan gazed at her lovingly.

"There is the tree in the central plaza, the big tree they put up every year. You could make that go splody," she teased.

She giggled when Alan raised his eyebrows and shot her a bemused look.

"You mean you're sanctioning my need for splody?" he said with a lopsided grin.

"Well…I never liked that tree; they put too many decorations on it. It looks gaudy," Rose said innocently as she picked up her magazine and opened it. "I'd rather see it on fire and in pieces."

Alan chuckled. He shifted so he was lying straight out with his hands folded on his chest while he gazed up at the ceiling. Rose watched him for a moment.

"Oh my God, he's actually calm for a change," she said, turning her attention to her magazine. "After hundreds of years, he finally mellowed out."

"I was just remembering our first Christmas together," Alan said while he stared up at the ceiling. "You and me and Awinita, our little family."

Rose smiled and nodded.

"The family that grew," she said, turning a page.

"Too right. But for that moment, it was just the three of us on a quest for fun and adventure. Then we found Rainy and things went downhill after that."

"You love her and you know it," Rose said. "You just like to pretend she's a pain in the arse."

"Are you sure it's pretending, sometimes it feels real," Alan mused while Rose rolled her eyes and grinned. "But then again, I must love her since I've tolerated her this long without going splody on her arse. Then again, if I make her go splody, Brother will give me another time out, probably on a beach in another universe so I better not."

Okay, I'm here which is a good thing since you nearly killed me the last time with your scream, what do you need?

"Brother answered me back," Alan said to Rose.

"Tell him not to listen to you," Rose said, turning the page of her magazine.

Rose says not to listen to me, Alan thought to him.

Rose is very wise, the Doctor thought to him. What do you need?

Come here.

I can't.

Why not?

Because I'm busy. Go milk some cows and I'll be home soon.

Milked them. Come here.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Let me guess, Dumbass is pestering you again," Rain said when she noticed the exasperated look on her husband's face.

"He wants me to come to his place immediately," the Doctor said.

"Good," Hope said, hopping up from the sofa.

"Ah-ah-ah," the Doctor said, leaping up and jumping in front of her when he saw her heading for the door. "Where are you going, Little Miss?"

"Uncle Alan. This is boring. I want some fun," Hope said when the Doctor put his hand on her chest and stopped her.

The Doctor was about to explain why they couldn't go yet when he suddenly got an idea. Rain raised her eyebrow when the Doctor suddenly sniggered and reached into his trouser pocket.

"Uh-oh, what are you doing?" Rain said to him.

The Doctor pulled out his spare vortex manipulator and winked at her while he put it on his daughter's wrist.

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