LIFE WITH THE FAMILY
Chapter Three Hundred and One The Doctor was thoroughly bored. The meal was pleasant enough, turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn bread with some cold milk but the conversation was extremely stilted and formal as if everyone was afraid to tread on everyone else's toes. The Doctor found himself wanting to be with Awinita, Rain, Tara and Grace in Samuel's quarters. He wondered if they had managed to get him to open up and say anything to them since Ruth had been very quiet and hesitant to look them in the eye, let alone say anything. He thought back to the shocked look on her face the first time he thanked her for giving him his food. He gathered she was barely glanced at, let alone thanked, and it disheartened him even more. His Dex had been a bit racist as Joseph but nothing like this and he could sense that John was equally uncomfortable and upset at his behavior. As the night wore on, the Doctor grew increasingly bored and found himself glancing out the window beside him at the barn wondering if it would be prudent to excuse himself and go back out to wait for the others. The conversation had now dwindled to a few pleasantries now and again and he felt that dinner was now at an end. On the other side of the table, Amelia and Caroline ate quietly. They caught his eye on occasion and smiled at him but didn't say much to him or to anyone else. The Doctor wondered if this Dex believed in the adage seen and not heard for his kids. Finally, supper came to an end and the Doctor was about to get up and leave when Dex suggested they sing in the parlor before retiring for the night. The Doctor groaned remembering the last time he'd been subjected to this when he was with his Dex and his family. A grin spread over his face when he remembered his brother's impromptu rendition of Waterloo at the piano and he suddenly missed his presence since he figured John would never do something that off the wall. Sighing, he trudged into the parlor with everyone else and Amelia sat down at the piano. She played while the same sorts of songs were played that he'd heard before, the Civil War era confederate songs that he really didn't know and really didn't care about. He fought to keep from laughing when on the second song Alternate Jack leaned in and started singing Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way under his breath. The Doctor grinned and joined in with him, both men delighting in the fact that Alternate Rose was trying not to lose it while she stood in front of them. "What? It's a far better song than The Bonnie Blue Flag," the Doctor whispered in her ear. Rose and John tried to keep straight faces when both of them started singing Funkytown under their breath while Amelia played Dixieland. While he was singing, the Doctor's eyes were drawn to a window beside the piano when he thought he saw some movement outside. He looked again and smiled when he saw a familiar brown skinned youthful face looking at him with amusement. Quit singing, Daddy, you suck, Tara thought to him. Everyone else tried not to laugh at that while the Doctor gave her a look of mock anger. I do not suck at singing, he thought back. Yes, you do, you sound horrible. Why are you singing anyway? Tara thought while she and Rain watched him. This was entertainment before television, the Doctor thought. Tara made a face at that. Come out here, Daddy. That tree was Dex's TARDIS so we need to put it in our TARDIS, she thought. The Doctor held up a finger. He inched back to Peter who was standing near the back. "Um…I've had a wonderful evening but I'm tired. So I'd like to retire for the night." Peter nodded. "Good night then." The Doctor tried not to breathe a sigh of relief as he bid him goodnight and left the room. "I can't believe they make you sing like that," Tara said as she and Rain walked with the Doctor towards their TARDIS. They were headed that way while Awinita and Grace stayed with Dex's TARDIS, ready for a signal to fly it into his ship. The night was clear and slightly cold with the moon and stars out and a light breeze blowing through the grass while they walked. "I told ya, Star. That was their entertainment. They all gathered together in the evening for a singsong in the parlor. They didn't have telly and video games in the 1800's," the Doctor said. "It was either the piano or reading and since illiteracy was common, most of the time the piano was the only source of fun they had." "Glad I didn't live here then. I'd die of boredom," Tara said. "I doubt that. Ask Amelia and Caroline. I bet they have a million things they do to pass the time. You're only saying that because you know of the existence of telly and video games," the Doctor said. "So did you enjoy your supper with Samuel?" "Such as it was. He didn't get fed much and neither did we," Rain said. "Grace checked him out. He was very shy at first but Grace finally gained his confidence. He's emaciated and he does have whip scars." The Doctor cursed under his breath. Rain put a hand on his arm. "But…they're old and according to Samuel, he got those when he was a young boy before he was sold to Dex." "Thank God for that," the Doctor said. "I don't think John could have stomached his son being an abusive slave-master. However, just the fact that he barely feeds the poor bloke is bad enough. Did he say where he was from?" "Alabama originally. He said he was sold a few years ago to another plantation owner further south of Dex and then Dex brought him and Ruth from the guy about a year ago. He said compared to his other masters, Dex has been fairly kind but still, the poor guy gets worked to the bone. I suppose fairly kind means he doesn't flog him while he does it." "Did you ask if he knows where this plantation is in Alabama? If he has family there?" the Doctor said. "He does, a mother, brother and three sisters. But he wasn't sure of the location. He thought it was several miles outside of Birmingham but he can't be sure since he was never allowed off the plantation for anything. He was born there and thought he was gonna die there until he got sold. I guess being sold came as a surprise to him since he was a hard worker and his master actually trusted him to oversee a few other slaves. He did say he was quite popular there so perhaps his master feared he was getting popular enough to stage a revolt." The Doctor nodded. "It was a good thing we brought Tara along because she seemed to set him at ease," Rain added. "Well, she does that," the Doctor said, grinning while he tousled her hair. "He was nice, Daddy. I like him. He had big muscles too. He was showing them off." The Doctor chuckled. "Yes, she was quite impressed with his arms," Rain said. "They are quite muscular. If he wasn't so beaten down, I could see him snapping Dex's neck with them." "And he's never tried to escape, never ran away from any of his plantations?" the Doctor said. "No. He said he considered doing it at one time but when he was back on the plantation in Alabama, one of his childhood friends tried it and got caught and was flogged until he died while all of them were forced to watch. That killed that desire then and there." The Doctor shook his head. "Humans," he muttered to himself. "Daddy!" The Doctor looked down at her and she stopped him and Rain and pointed ahead of them. They looked where she was pointing and saw a deer and fawn emerging from the woods near the TARDIS. The Doctor put his arm around her and they stood there watching while the deer tentatively walked past the TARDIS. "Got a shotgun, Love? Suddenly, I feel like having some venison," the Doctor said. "Daddy!" Tara said while he snickered. "Just kidding," he said to her. They stood quietly and watched while the deer walked cautiously across the field. They got a few feet past the TARDIS when they suddenly froze and jerked their heads around towards them, their ears taunt while they listened. Tara groaned when the two of them suddenly ran across the field, across the road and over into the other field. "Bye deer!" Tara said. "Bye! Thanks for not pooping on my TARDIS or damaging it with your hooves!" "Daddy!" Tara said while he giggled. They resumed walking. While they walked, the Doctor's sensitive hearing heard a crunch of grass behind him. He jerked his head around and saw Amelia and Caroline about twenty feet behind them. He stopped his family and waited while they caught up. "What are you doing?" he asked. He looked towards the house and noticed the lights were all out. "We snuck out. We saw ya'll coming out here and wondered what you were doin'," Amelia said. "Well, we're…moving something," the Doctor said while they resumed walking. "Whatcha movin'?" Caroline asked. "Well, we're moving a starship like mine into our starship," the Doctor said. They reached the TARDIS and the Doctor unlocked the door. Amelia and Caroline glanced at the letters above the door. "What's that say?" Amelia said, pointing to it. "It says police public call box," Tara said. "Why? Can't you read?" The Doctor groaned when they shook their heads. Another difference between them and our grandchildren, he thought to Rain. Least our Dex had the sense to educate Amelia and Opal. I'm beginning to think Dex went gung ho with his programming when he became Peter. They went inside and Amelia and Caroline followed them. They stood by Tara and watched while the Doctor turned on the TARDIS and lowered the shields. Once he did that, he thought to the others and let them know he was ready. "I s'pose we should get an electric lantern while we're in here so we'll have some light tonight in the barn," he said to Rain while they waited. "Do you think we need more blankets?" He noticed the odd look on Rain's face. "What is it?" he said. "Love, can you feel Dex or Amelia or Opal? Or Julie or Mingxia or River…I can't feel them." The Doctor paused. He'd been so busy he hadn't noticed the other minds in his head. He took a quick check and his eyes widened when the six minds were missing from his own. "Oh God, how long has this gone on? I didn't realize they were missing until you said something," he said. "I just now checked myself because I suddenly realized it seemed like a few were missing. Oh God, I hope they're alright." The Doctor sighed. "And I don't know where they went so if they are in trouble we'll have to wait till their minds come back before we can ask. Rain, we have to stop this spur of the moment travel. Everyone needs to know where everyone else is going just in case something like this happens. Now I can't rescue them if they need it." "What are you talkin''bout?" Amelia said. The Doctor quickly explained it to them. When he was finishing up with his explanation, Awinita and Grace came through the back door. "Got it, Dex's TARDIS is safe and secure onboard," Awinita said. She noticed the distressed looks on Rain and Tara's faces. "What is it?" Awinita said. She and Grace were shocked when they told them. They checked their minds and cursed softly when they couldn't feel them. "Damn, there's so many people now it's hard to keep track of everyone's minds," Awinita said. "I hope they're alright," Grace added. "Me too. At the moment all we can do is monitor our minds and get in touch with them when they come back. We'll call Alan and tell him as well so they can watch for them. I told Rain we need to stop this spur of the moment travel now so if someone does get in trouble we'll know where to go. For the moment, all we can do is just keep calm and wait and see what happens. Now that we have Dex's TARDIS safely in here, let's get a few more blankets and some electric lanterns and head back. After getting their supplies and locking up the TARDIS for the night, all of them headed back. While they did, they continually monitored their minds while the Doctor put in a call to Alan and told him the situation. As they walked, Tara kept looking around behind her. "What is it, Honey?" Rain asked. "Mommy, there's not gonna be any battles, are there? I mean, are we gonna have to hide from the war?" "Oh! Um…no, Sweetie, at the moment, all that's up north. It's around the time of Gettysburg so you don't need to worry. We're safe here," she said. "You know where the fightin's at?" Amelia said. Rain nodded. "Yeah, being time travelers and all, we know that right now the fighting's up in Pennsylvania for the most part. At a little town called Gettysburg." "Never heard of it," Amelia said. "Trust me, pretty soon everyone will have heard of it," Awinita told her. "If the fightin's up north, that means we're winnin', right?" Amelia said. "Nope," Awinita said. "Gettysburg is the beginning of the end." "We lose?" Amelia said in disbelief. "Yup," Awinita and Grace said in unison. Amelia and Caroline fell silent. They watched while the Doctor finished his conversation with Alan and put the mobile back in his pocket. Up ahead they could see the rest of the family standing outside the barn waiting for them. They waved and the Doctor's group except for Amelia and Caroline waved back. They reached the house and the group angled to the left heading towards the barn but instead of going back to the house, Amelia and Caroline followed them. The Doctor glanced at them. "Shouldn't you be getting back to bed before your father finds you missing?" he asked them. "We wanna talk to you some more before we go," Amelia said. The Doctor nodded. He reached his family and they took the blankets and lanterns from them. "We have some news about Samuel and also Dex's group," he said to them while they started up the ladder. "Our Dex, I mean." "Are they alright?" John asked. "They're missing." Everyone froze at that. The Doctor held up his hands. "I'll explain up top. Let's just haul this stuff up there before Dex wakes up and sees it," he said. Once they up in the loft, the Doctor and Rain related what happened with Dex and with Samuel. "So, we can't ring them?" Alternate Donna said. "I tried that before ringing Alan. No one answered," the Doctor said. "And since I have no idea where he went all we can do is wait and contact them telepathically when they wake up." Amelia and Caroline were sitting beside the Doctor, Rain and Tara on a separate blanket. They let them have a couple of bottles of Coke and they were drinking them along with Tara. Amelia was still deep in thought about the South losing the Civil War while she listened to the discussion going on around her. Finally, Amelia couldn't stand it anymore and she tapped the Doctor on the arm. "If the South loses, what happens to us?" she asked. "Well, a period of hardship comes that will be called Reconstruction and everyone will struggle for several years," he said. "The slaves will also be freed." Amelia considered that. "What about us?" Amelia finally asked. "You know a bunch of things. What happens to us?" "Not sure. With a few exceptions, I don't know about individual people's lives unless they're famous," he said to her. "However, I s'pose we can let you in on another bit of information. You see, the reason we want the watch is because the man you know as your father is pretending to be who he is. He's really an alien like we are." Amelia and Caroline's eyes bulged. "He comes from outer space?" Amelia said. "Yes. See, I told you that some of us come from another universe and that there's an Amelia and Opal there…that Amelia and Opal are my grandchildren because their father was my son and your father is John's son so you are John's grandchildren." Both of them looked at John who smiled warmly at them. "You're our Papaw?" Amelia asked John. "Yes, I am." Amelia looked at the Doctor. "Then who are you?" she said. "Well…" he said while everyone giggled. "Um…I'm kinda the alternate version of your Papaw, I s'pose. This isn't really my universe so I can't really claim you as my grandchildren but in a technical sense I am. But I know that's confusing so just think of John as your Papaw and Rose will be your step-mamaw once they get married." "Okay so if that's not really our pa, who is he?" Amelia said. "He is your pa," John said. "You're his children. We're not denying that. We're saying that he's used a device to take out his true self and put it in a watch and he made up this pretend self that you know as your pa." They sighed when they saw the blank looks on their faces. "I know, it's confusing, I realize that," the Doctor said. "But it's the truth." "Then who is he really?" Amelia asked. "His name is Dex," John said. "He's my son." "How can he be your son? Ya'll are the same age," Amelia said. "Well, that's another complicated explanation and I think we better hold off on that since you're currently trying to get your head wrapped around what we're telling you now," John said. "Just understand that he is my son and he's hid his true self in a watch which we think is up in your attic since that's where it was in the other universe." "Why did he hide himself in a watch?" Caroline asked. "Because he's hiding from me," John said. "He's angry at me and I need to talk to him as himself and work things out but to do that I need the watch to release his true self and bring him back to the man I know. But as for what will become of you, I'd like to take you away from here the way my brother took Dex and his family away so they could be with him." "Ya mean, go time traveling with ya?" Amelia said. "Yeah," Tara said. "You get to travel through time and space and have all kind of adventures. It's fun." "If you want. You don't have to but I'd like for all of you to be safe," John said. "It's going to get very dangerous in the next year or so and that's why the Doctor took his Dex away from here." "Will we die?" Caroline asked. "I don't know but that's why we wanna take you from here," the Doctor said. "You don't need to be in the middle of what's coming and the aftermath, not when we can help you. But…I will say this because my Amelia and Opal were like you and also thought less of non-whites. If you travel with us, you'll have to change that point of view because you're gonna meet all sorts of alien creatures and all sorts of people and you can't go around thinking you're superior to all of them because that kind of thinking could get you killed. No one is better than anyone else in this universe even though some people do think otherwise but if you're gonna be time travelers you have to stop thinking that way, alright?" They nodded. "I know you've been taught to think that way and it's not your fault but you can change that outlook on life here and now and be better people for it. If you can do that, then I'll let you travel with me and I'll show you worlds you've never even dreamed possible," John said. "There's an entire universe full of wonder and discovery out there but you have to approach it with open hearts and minds. So will you do that?" They nodded. John thought for a moment. "I know this might seem awkward but…could you give your Papaw a hug?" They nodded. The Doctor smiled when they walked over and gave him and Rose hugs. After that, they sat in between them and listened to them for another couple of hours before the others urged them to go off to bed. They bid them goodnight and watched while both of them climbed down the ladder and disappeared from view.
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