Fic: Family Ties
Title: Family ties
Author: aibhinn
Characters: Ten/Rose, Thalia, Alex, Jack, Mickey, Jake
Beta babes: larielromeniel, joely_jo, and sensiblecat.
Spoilers: The One Adventure He'll Never Have
Summary: Even the most precocious children make mistakes sometimes. The more precocious the child, the more frightening the mistake.
Author's Note: Written for the "Ask a character meme" request made by larielromeniel, asking for a time when Thalia had stood up for Alex. I'm a little sister myself, but I do hope the big sister vibes are accurate! *hugs Gina*
Rose glanced up from her gardening, brushing a stray lock out of her face with the cuff of her glove. Footsteps, accompanied by a berating woman's voice, were coming up the walk, but she couldn't see around the rhododendron bush. She pushed herself to her feet, taking off her gloves, and came round the corner of the house. Mrs Foster, their neighbour from two doors down, walked briskly up the pavement with Thalia and Alex, her face set. Frowning, Rose started toward them, wondering at the dirt on their faces…
Until she realised it wasn't dirt. It was blood, and bruises that were beginning to come up.
Fear shot through her and she broke into a run, meeting them at the edge of the lawn. "Oh, my God, what's happened?" she demanded, going to a knee and examining first Thalia's, then Alex's, faces carefully. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, they're quite all right, Mrs Tyler," Mrs Foster said frostily. She was in her fifties, and the most disagreeable person Rose had ever met-which was saying something. "Though the little boy they were hitting isn't."
"Hitting?" Rose stared at her children. "What on earth have you two been doing?"
Thalia, predictably, was the first to open her mouth, but Mrs Foster interrupted. "I heard shouting from the playground on my way home from the shops, and when I looked over, I saw Thalia sitting on top of Johnny Davis, hitting him. Alex was standing to the side, watching, though it was clear he'd had his go as well."
"Thalia," Rose said quietly, "why were you hitting Johnny Davis?"
"Surely you don't expect her to tell you the truth, do you?" Mrs Foster snorted. "They're what, eight? Nine? Children that age are born liars."
Rose glared up at her. "I expect my children to tell me what they have to say," she said with an edge to her voice.
"It's perfectly clear they were simply ganging up on him," Mrs Foster declared. "They weren't giving him a chance. Two on one! And one of them a girl! In my day, little girls didn't hit little boys. Of course," she added with a sniff, looking Thalia up and down, "in my day, little girls didn't wear trousers, either."
Rose stood, holding onto her temper with great difficulty. "I expect," she said sweetly, "that in your day, it was difficult to make the animal skins into proper trousers. Until they invented stone tools, at least."
Mrs Foster stared, open-mouthed. Thalia and Alex covered their mouths, but couldn't quite stifle their giggles. "Well!" the older lady said at last, affronted. "Well! I never!"
"No, I don't expect you do," Rose said. She held out her hands, and Thalia and Alex each clasped one. "Thank you for walking my children home, Mrs Foster. I'll take it from here." Turning, she started up the drive, bringing the children with her and fuming.
"It wasn't Alex's fault, Mummy," Thalia began as they went. "It was mine."
"Some of it was mine," Alex protested. "I got in a good shot or two."
"Quiet," Rose said sharply. They fell silent as they climbed up the steps to the porch. She opened the door, ushered them inside, and took them into the kitchen, where they all sat down. She took a deep breath, folded her hands on the table, and said, "Now, tell me what happened."
"Is Daddy back yet?" Alex asked hopefully. The Doctor was generally easier on the children than she was, which was why they'd decided long ago that she would do the disciplining.
"No, he and Uncle Jack won't be back till this evening." She gave them her best Mum glare, and they looked down guiltily. "Go on. What happened?"
They glanced sideways at each other, and Rose got the feeling, as she often did, that the stories she'd heard about telepathic twins were more true than usual with this pair. Finally, Alex said, "I was on the swing and Johnny came up to me and said I had to get off, but I said there were other swings and he could play on one of them, so he came up close and when I swinged forward, he grabbed my foot and pulled me out of the swing and I hit the ground and I couldn't breathe, and he laughed at me and said, 'We don't want freaks around here,' and kicked me."
Fierce, protective anger surged through her. "He did what?" Rose growled, pulling Alex gently out of his chair and over to her. "Where?"
Alex lifted his shirt, and she could see a bruise coming up along his ribcage. "There."
Rose ran her fingers over the bruised area, probing gently. Alex hissed in a breath, but there didn't seem to be any serious damage. "We'll have Dad look at that when he gets home," she said, jaw set with fury. A bully had hurt her son, for no apparent reason beyond the desire to bully. "And then we'll have a little talk with Johnny and his parents. Go ahead and sit back down, Alex. What happened next?"
Again the twins' eyes met as Alex climbed back into his chair, and Thalia took up the thread of the tale. "I saw Johnny kick Alex, and I dropped the skipping rope and ran over to him and tried to pull him off. He shoved me away and pulled his foot back to kick again, and I jumped at him and knocked him down and hit him."
"And hit him," Alex added enthusiastically. "And hit him and hit him and-"
"That's enough," Rose said. Alex subsided, and she said, "Why did you keep hitting him, Thalia?"
"Because he was being mean to Alex," Thalia said with wide-eyed innocence. "And only I get to do that. It's part of the code."
"What code?"
"The big sisters' code," Thalia explained. "We get to pick on our little brothers, but nobody else does. I suppose it works for big brothers and little sisters, too. Or two sisters or two brothers."
"But you're twins," Rose said. She wasn't sure if she was more angry, upset, or amused. "You were born at the same time. How can you be a big sister?"
"I was born first," Thalia informed her.
"Well, yeah, but it was only two minutes, Thalia."
Thalia looked at her mother carefully, and something in her gaze made Rose suddenly very aware that her children weren't entirely human. "Mum," she said with a gentle note in her voice, "don't you know why I was born first? It's because I had to go first to be sure it was safe for Alex."
Rose blinked. "You-what?" she asked, taken aback. "You-but-you remember?"
"Of course," Alex said, as if she'd asked, 'do you have ten fingers and ten toes?' "Thallie always protects me."
Thalia had slipped out of her chair and came over to stand beside her mother. "Here," she said. "I'll show you." And she placed her fingers on Rose's forehead.
Darkness. Warmth. Weightlessness. A soothing throb from above, encompassing the whole world: thuppathuppathuppathuppathuppathuppa… The familiar touch of another's mind, comforting; Brother's bulk pressed against her.
Pain! Squeezed tightly, forced apart-no! Fear from Brother, his mind reaching for her-I don't want to go!
She's twisting, shifting. Now she'll go first, wherever it is. Brother's fear is subsiding some. She'll be there. He won't be alone.
More pain-more fear. From outside herself as well as inside-the mind-touch she'd known is in distress now. Muscles squeezing her, forcing her downward. Sounds, some of them familiar, some of them not. Cries of pain. Fear cresting, until-
LIGHT! A finger in her mouth, swiping something out, and she's sucking something else in. Air. It hurts. Weight pulling her down, something touching her, lifting her, setting her down on top of something soft. Cold, so cold-she's protesting, wailing her discomfort. Where is Brother? Where is home?
"Rose? Rose? Rose!"
The memory shattered, and Rose shook her head, blinking. A face swam into view: the Doctor, kneeling before her, concerned. A soft sobbing came from behind him; she forced her eyes to focus, saw Thalia clinging to Jack, who knelt beside her. Mickey stood behind them holding Alex, protective and concerned, while Jake hovered at his side. "I'm sorry," Thalia wept, "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to hurt her-"
"Thallie-" Rose said, or tried to, but her voice wasn't working right. It came out more like a squeak. She tried again, desperate to comfort her daughter, but still unsuccessfully.
"It's all right," Jack was saying soothingly, rubbing Thalia's back. "Look, Thallie. She's okay. She's awake."
Thalia raised her head and looked at Rose hopefully. Rose tried to smile. "Mummy!" Thalia sobbed, and tried to throw herself at Rose, but the Doctor caught her.
"No, half-pint, no. Mum's not well. You mustn't touch her yet."
"But I didn't mean to!" Thalia said again, looking at Rose, not her father. Her expression was filled with anguish. "Mummy, please, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I didn't know you couldn't!"
Couldn't? Couldn't what? Rose tried to ask. Thalia's sobs were breaking her heart, and Alex looked as though he were about to start crying as well. The Doctor, with infinite gentleness, passed Thalia to Jack again, and he, Mickey, and Jake took the children out of the kitchen. What was going on?
The Doctor was holding out a glass of water. "Drink this," he said. She tried to raise her hand to take the glass, but couldn't, so he held it for her, helping her drink with a hand behind her head to support her. Why was she so weak? Why couldn't Thalia touch her? What had happened? Panic began to sweep through her, and she rolled her head away from the glass in protest, fighting to move her limbs. Her children needed her. They needed her.
The Doctor set the glass down and cupped her cheek with his free hand, angling her face toward him. "Rose," he said softly. "Rose, look at me. Right at me, right in my eyes."
She struggled to comply. It was as though she'd suddenly become a quadriplegic, unable to control her body. Oh, God, was that what had happened? Had she suffered a stroke or something? Panic surged through her again.
"No, no, none of that. Nothing to be frightened of. Come on, Rose, I'm right here. Right here, love. That's it. Look at me. That's the way."
Her eyes had met his finally. His thumb wiped away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. "Thalia tried to show you a memory," he told her. "But she doesn't have the control to keep you safe when she does it. It's okay when she touches my mind, because I've got my own barriers up, but you don't."
Comprehension began to penetrate, and Rose tried to nod to know that she understood.
"You didn't just 'hear' her memory, the way you would one of mine," the Doctor continued. "You became her. And then you couldn't pull out of it and she didn't know how to fix it. She broke the link, but that wasn't enough. Your cerebellum is still stuck in the memory-it thinks you're a newborn baby. I have to remind it of who and what you are." His other hand came round from behind her head to cup the other side of her face. "I can sort it out, if that's okay?"
She nodded, more a forward wobble of her head than anything else, and felt a rush of combined impatience and love. He knew it was more than "okay", it was necessary, but he'd never go into her mind without her permission unless there was no choice.
"Good," he said. "Then shut your eyes."
She obeyed, and felt his familiar presence sliding into her mind, delicate, loving. She welcomed it with an overwhelming rush of relief. It soothed her, quieted her, waited until she was calm again, then gently delved deeper.
She showed me her memories of being born, Rose said silently. Now that he had told her what had happened, her fear was melting away. She remembered it!
I know, the Doctor said in reply. Hold on, this will feel a little strange.
Suddenly all her muscles were awake with pins and needles, and she gave an enormous, violent shiver. She felt his satisfaction. There, he said. Can you raise your right hand? Your left? Your feet?
She lifted each of them in turn, feeling yet more relief course through her. The Doctor gave her a loving, mental caress, and then withdrew his mind from hers. "You can open your eyes now," he said aloud.
She was grateful to see that everything looked as it should, and that she seemed able to move normally. She took a deep breath and leant forward, wrapping her arms around him. He held her, rubbing a hand up and down her back in comfort. "It's all right," he said. "It'll be all right now."
"I know," she said, and pulled away to sit back in her chair. He smiled at her and pulled out the chair beside her, sitting down in it and taking her hand. "Boy, am I pleased you came home early so you could sort me out."
"I didn't come home early." He nodded toward the window beside her, and she looked out. It was dark-well-dark. Startled, she looked at the clock. It read 6:03.
"Six o'clock?" she said in disbelief. "It's been three hours?" How long had she been helpless, caught up in the memories?
"Thalia was in near hysterics when you wouldn't wake," the Doctor told her somberly. "Alex rang Mickey, and he came over with Jake. Mickey tried to get you to respond while Jake tried to get the kids out, but they refused to go-Thalia said it was her fault and she had to stay here. When we came in, she dragged me over to you." He grinned conspiratorially. "Just imagine if Pete hadn't taken Jackie to Majorca for their anniversary; you'd have had her hysterics as well as Thalia's."
"Perish the thought," Rose said, pushing herself to her feet without thinking. Her knees buckled, and the Doctor had to catch her before she fell. "I thought I was all right," she said as he lowered her back into the chair.
"You are. You're just weak. Some food and a good night's rest will set you to rights. I'll take you to bed and bring you something to eat."
"Not in front of Thalia," Rose cautioned. "She's traumatised enough. Let me give her a cuddle so she knows I'm all right, and then see if Jake and Mickey can take them out for dinner or something so she doesn't know how weak I really am. Once they're gone, you can carry me in."
The Doctor looked uneasy for a moment, but nodded. "All right, but remember, you can't lie to her."
"I know."
He disappeared, reappearing a few moments later hand-in-hand with Thalia. She seemed nervous, clutching her father's hand tightly, until she saw Rose sitting upright and apparently back to normal. Thalia blinked, staring at Rose, hope growing in her eyes.
Rose held out her arms. "C'mon, then, Thallie. Come here."
Tears welled up, and Thalia let go the Doctor's hand and sprinted to Rose, wrapping her arms around her mum and holding on tightly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mummy, I didn't know, I'm sorry…."
"Hush. See, no harm done," Rose said gently. She couldn't lift Thalia, not quite, but she was able to tug her upward so that Thalia clambered into Rose's lap on her own. Rose wrapped her arms around her daughter and rocked her softly. "Hush, Thallie. Everything's all right. I'm fine. Dad fixed everything." She looked up and met the Doctor's eyes, and they both smiled. "He always does," she added.
"But I hurt you," Thalia wailed.
"I'm all right now, though, sweetheart. Just remember that you can't give memories to humans. Dad and Alex are the only ones you can share with."
"For now," the Doctor put in, stepping forward. "I can put up barriers for you, Rose, so this doesn't happen again. I probably should've done that a long time ago."
"There you are," Rose said to Thalia, stroking her hair. "We'll get Dad to set me up, and then you can share your memories with me all you want."
Thalia burrowed deeper into Rose, still sniffling. "I don't want to hurt you, Mummy," she said tearfully. "Not ever again."
"I know, sweetheart. We'll make sure that Daddy's here the next time we try, and that way if something goes wrong, he can fix it straightaway, all right?"
Thalia didn't reply, just held onto Rose as if she was afraid to let go. The Doctor disappeared for a moment, but came back in with Alex. "There, Alex," the Doctor said. "See? Mum's just fine."
Alex nodded, his face somber. "I'm sorry we hurt you, Mummy," he said. Rose noticed a small plaster on his forehead, where a cut had been. Someone must've patched them up.
"You didn't do anything, Alex," Rose protested.
"Yes, I did," he said earnestly. "I told Thalia she should show you, because you didn't believe us when we said we remembered being born."
The Doctor picked up the chair where he'd been sitting before and moved it so it was next to Rose, then sat down and lifted Alex onto his knee. Alex leaned against her, resting against Rose's side, and she put her arm around him. "It's all right, Alex," she said. "You didn't know."
They sat there in silence, the four of them, for another few minutes, until at last the Doctor said, "Mum needs to rest, you two. Jake and Mickey are going to take you to dinner so she can get some sleep, all right?"
The kids nodded and clambered down from their perches. Both of them hugged Rose tightly, and then left, somewhat reluctantly but without another word. The Doctor sat with Rose until Jake and Mickey got them out of the house and the car pulled away;s then he stood, leaning down beside her. "Put your arms around my neck," he said. She complied, and he lifted her up as if she weighed no more than Thalia, carrying her back to their bedroom.
"Did they tell you about the fight they were in?" she asked, fighting a yawn as he nudged the bedroom door open and carried her in. She was knackered. Having one's mind played around in was exhausting.
"No, but I'll ask," he promised. Setting her down on the bed, he helped her out of her shoes and clothes, then pulled the covers back and tucked her in. "You rest. You'll be fine tomorrow. Good as new."
"Doctor's orders?" she asked cheekily, with a grin to match.
"Absolutely." He kissed her forehead and smiled, then left, closing the door quietly behind him. Sighing comfortably, she rolled onto her side and tucked her arm under her pillow, already feeling herself drifting off.
***
Rose sat at the park a few days later, watching the kids playing while she talked with other mothers who had also accompanied their children. The topic of bullying had come up, and Johnny Davis's name had followed shortly thereafter-something Rose had discovered was a common occurrence. But she was startled when Laura Dansby added to her latest complaint about Johnny, "Thank God they've moved."
"They've what?" Rose asked, shocked.
"Moved," Laura said, shrugging. "Sign in front of their house and all, and estate agents in and out. There one day, gone the next. I saw a couple of blokes come to visit them a few days ago, and they were gone two days later. Strange."
"What did these blokes look like?" Rose asked. Suspicion was stirring at the back of her brain.
"Oh, just blokes. One was black, and one was blond. They came over and were asked in, then left a few minutes later. And boom! The Davises were packed and gone in forty-eight hours."
"Strange," Rose agreed, trying to hide the smile she wore. Perhaps she shouldn't be so pleased over this, but there was something to be said for extended family. Even-or maybe especially-when the family wasn't blood-related. "Any chance Mrs Foster might move?" she asked hopefully.
Author: aibhinn
Characters: Ten/Rose, Thalia, Alex, Jack, Mickey, Jake
Beta babes: larielromeniel, joely_jo, and sensiblecat.
Spoilers: The One Adventure He'll Never Have
Summary: Even the most precocious children make mistakes sometimes. The more precocious the child, the more frightening the mistake.
Author's Note: Written for the "Ask a character meme" request made by larielromeniel, asking for a time when Thalia had stood up for Alex. I'm a little sister myself, but I do hope the big sister vibes are accurate! *hugs Gina*
Rose glanced up from her gardening, brushing a stray lock out of her face with the cuff of her glove. Footsteps, accompanied by a berating woman's voice, were coming up the walk, but she couldn't see around the rhododendron bush. She pushed herself to her feet, taking off her gloves, and came round the corner of the house. Mrs Foster, their neighbour from two doors down, walked briskly up the pavement with Thalia and Alex, her face set. Frowning, Rose started toward them, wondering at the dirt on their faces…
Until she realised it wasn't dirt. It was blood, and bruises that were beginning to come up.
Fear shot through her and she broke into a run, meeting them at the edge of the lawn. "Oh, my God, what's happened?" she demanded, going to a knee and examining first Thalia's, then Alex's, faces carefully. "Are you all right?"
"Oh, they're quite all right, Mrs Tyler," Mrs Foster said frostily. She was in her fifties, and the most disagreeable person Rose had ever met-which was saying something. "Though the little boy they were hitting isn't."
"Hitting?" Rose stared at her children. "What on earth have you two been doing?"
Thalia, predictably, was the first to open her mouth, but Mrs Foster interrupted. "I heard shouting from the playground on my way home from the shops, and when I looked over, I saw Thalia sitting on top of Johnny Davis, hitting him. Alex was standing to the side, watching, though it was clear he'd had his go as well."
"Thalia," Rose said quietly, "why were you hitting Johnny Davis?"
"Surely you don't expect her to tell you the truth, do you?" Mrs Foster snorted. "They're what, eight? Nine? Children that age are born liars."
Rose glared up at her. "I expect my children to tell me what they have to say," she said with an edge to her voice.
"It's perfectly clear they were simply ganging up on him," Mrs Foster declared. "They weren't giving him a chance. Two on one! And one of them a girl! In my day, little girls didn't hit little boys. Of course," she added with a sniff, looking Thalia up and down, "in my day, little girls didn't wear trousers, either."
Rose stood, holding onto her temper with great difficulty. "I expect," she said sweetly, "that in your day, it was difficult to make the animal skins into proper trousers. Until they invented stone tools, at least."
Mrs Foster stared, open-mouthed. Thalia and Alex covered their mouths, but couldn't quite stifle their giggles. "Well!" the older lady said at last, affronted. "Well! I never!"
"No, I don't expect you do," Rose said. She held out her hands, and Thalia and Alex each clasped one. "Thank you for walking my children home, Mrs Foster. I'll take it from here." Turning, she started up the drive, bringing the children with her and fuming.
"It wasn't Alex's fault, Mummy," Thalia began as they went. "It was mine."
"Some of it was mine," Alex protested. "I got in a good shot or two."
"Quiet," Rose said sharply. They fell silent as they climbed up the steps to the porch. She opened the door, ushered them inside, and took them into the kitchen, where they all sat down. She took a deep breath, folded her hands on the table, and said, "Now, tell me what happened."
"Is Daddy back yet?" Alex asked hopefully. The Doctor was generally easier on the children than she was, which was why they'd decided long ago that she would do the disciplining.
"No, he and Uncle Jack won't be back till this evening." She gave them her best Mum glare, and they looked down guiltily. "Go on. What happened?"
They glanced sideways at each other, and Rose got the feeling, as she often did, that the stories she'd heard about telepathic twins were more true than usual with this pair. Finally, Alex said, "I was on the swing and Johnny came up to me and said I had to get off, but I said there were other swings and he could play on one of them, so he came up close and when I swinged forward, he grabbed my foot and pulled me out of the swing and I hit the ground and I couldn't breathe, and he laughed at me and said, 'We don't want freaks around here,' and kicked me."
Fierce, protective anger surged through her. "He did what?" Rose growled, pulling Alex gently out of his chair and over to her. "Where?"
Alex lifted his shirt, and she could see a bruise coming up along his ribcage. "There."
Rose ran her fingers over the bruised area, probing gently. Alex hissed in a breath, but there didn't seem to be any serious damage. "We'll have Dad look at that when he gets home," she said, jaw set with fury. A bully had hurt her son, for no apparent reason beyond the desire to bully. "And then we'll have a little talk with Johnny and his parents. Go ahead and sit back down, Alex. What happened next?"
Again the twins' eyes met as Alex climbed back into his chair, and Thalia took up the thread of the tale. "I saw Johnny kick Alex, and I dropped the skipping rope and ran over to him and tried to pull him off. He shoved me away and pulled his foot back to kick again, and I jumped at him and knocked him down and hit him."
"And hit him," Alex added enthusiastically. "And hit him and hit him and-"
"That's enough," Rose said. Alex subsided, and she said, "Why did you keep hitting him, Thalia?"
"Because he was being mean to Alex," Thalia said with wide-eyed innocence. "And only I get to do that. It's part of the code."
"What code?"
"The big sisters' code," Thalia explained. "We get to pick on our little brothers, but nobody else does. I suppose it works for big brothers and little sisters, too. Or two sisters or two brothers."
"But you're twins," Rose said. She wasn't sure if she was more angry, upset, or amused. "You were born at the same time. How can you be a big sister?"
"I was born first," Thalia informed her.
"Well, yeah, but it was only two minutes, Thalia."
Thalia looked at her mother carefully, and something in her gaze made Rose suddenly very aware that her children weren't entirely human. "Mum," she said with a gentle note in her voice, "don't you know why I was born first? It's because I had to go first to be sure it was safe for Alex."
Rose blinked. "You-what?" she asked, taken aback. "You-but-you remember?"
"Of course," Alex said, as if she'd asked, 'do you have ten fingers and ten toes?' "Thallie always protects me."
Thalia had slipped out of her chair and came over to stand beside her mother. "Here," she said. "I'll show you." And she placed her fingers on Rose's forehead.
Darkness. Warmth. Weightlessness. A soothing throb from above, encompassing the whole world: thuppathuppathuppathuppathuppathuppa… The familiar touch of another's mind, comforting; Brother's bulk pressed against her.
Pain! Squeezed tightly, forced apart-no! Fear from Brother, his mind reaching for her-I don't want to go!
She's twisting, shifting. Now she'll go first, wherever it is. Brother's fear is subsiding some. She'll be there. He won't be alone.
More pain-more fear. From outside herself as well as inside-the mind-touch she'd known is in distress now. Muscles squeezing her, forcing her downward. Sounds, some of them familiar, some of them not. Cries of pain. Fear cresting, until-
LIGHT! A finger in her mouth, swiping something out, and she's sucking something else in. Air. It hurts. Weight pulling her down, something touching her, lifting her, setting her down on top of something soft. Cold, so cold-she's protesting, wailing her discomfort. Where is Brother? Where is home?
"Rose? Rose? Rose!"
The memory shattered, and Rose shook her head, blinking. A face swam into view: the Doctor, kneeling before her, concerned. A soft sobbing came from behind him; she forced her eyes to focus, saw Thalia clinging to Jack, who knelt beside her. Mickey stood behind them holding Alex, protective and concerned, while Jake hovered at his side. "I'm sorry," Thalia wept, "I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to hurt her-"
"Thallie-" Rose said, or tried to, but her voice wasn't working right. It came out more like a squeak. She tried again, desperate to comfort her daughter, but still unsuccessfully.
"It's all right," Jack was saying soothingly, rubbing Thalia's back. "Look, Thallie. She's okay. She's awake."
Thalia raised her head and looked at Rose hopefully. Rose tried to smile. "Mummy!" Thalia sobbed, and tried to throw herself at Rose, but the Doctor caught her.
"No, half-pint, no. Mum's not well. You mustn't touch her yet."
"But I didn't mean to!" Thalia said again, looking at Rose, not her father. Her expression was filled with anguish. "Mummy, please, I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I didn't know you couldn't!"
Couldn't? Couldn't what? Rose tried to ask. Thalia's sobs were breaking her heart, and Alex looked as though he were about to start crying as well. The Doctor, with infinite gentleness, passed Thalia to Jack again, and he, Mickey, and Jake took the children out of the kitchen. What was going on?
The Doctor was holding out a glass of water. "Drink this," he said. She tried to raise her hand to take the glass, but couldn't, so he held it for her, helping her drink with a hand behind her head to support her. Why was she so weak? Why couldn't Thalia touch her? What had happened? Panic began to sweep through her, and she rolled her head away from the glass in protest, fighting to move her limbs. Her children needed her. They needed her.
The Doctor set the glass down and cupped her cheek with his free hand, angling her face toward him. "Rose," he said softly. "Rose, look at me. Right at me, right in my eyes."
She struggled to comply. It was as though she'd suddenly become a quadriplegic, unable to control her body. Oh, God, was that what had happened? Had she suffered a stroke or something? Panic surged through her again.
"No, no, none of that. Nothing to be frightened of. Come on, Rose, I'm right here. Right here, love. That's it. Look at me. That's the way."
Her eyes had met his finally. His thumb wiped away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. "Thalia tried to show you a memory," he told her. "But she doesn't have the control to keep you safe when she does it. It's okay when she touches my mind, because I've got my own barriers up, but you don't."
Comprehension began to penetrate, and Rose tried to nod to know that she understood.
"You didn't just 'hear' her memory, the way you would one of mine," the Doctor continued. "You became her. And then you couldn't pull out of it and she didn't know how to fix it. She broke the link, but that wasn't enough. Your cerebellum is still stuck in the memory-it thinks you're a newborn baby. I have to remind it of who and what you are." His other hand came round from behind her head to cup the other side of her face. "I can sort it out, if that's okay?"
She nodded, more a forward wobble of her head than anything else, and felt a rush of combined impatience and love. He knew it was more than "okay", it was necessary, but he'd never go into her mind without her permission unless there was no choice.
"Good," he said. "Then shut your eyes."
She obeyed, and felt his familiar presence sliding into her mind, delicate, loving. She welcomed it with an overwhelming rush of relief. It soothed her, quieted her, waited until she was calm again, then gently delved deeper.
She showed me her memories of being born, Rose said silently. Now that he had told her what had happened, her fear was melting away. She remembered it!
I know, the Doctor said in reply. Hold on, this will feel a little strange.
Suddenly all her muscles were awake with pins and needles, and she gave an enormous, violent shiver. She felt his satisfaction. There, he said. Can you raise your right hand? Your left? Your feet?
She lifted each of them in turn, feeling yet more relief course through her. The Doctor gave her a loving, mental caress, and then withdrew his mind from hers. "You can open your eyes now," he said aloud.
She was grateful to see that everything looked as it should, and that she seemed able to move normally. She took a deep breath and leant forward, wrapping her arms around him. He held her, rubbing a hand up and down her back in comfort. "It's all right," he said. "It'll be all right now."
"I know," she said, and pulled away to sit back in her chair. He smiled at her and pulled out the chair beside her, sitting down in it and taking her hand. "Boy, am I pleased you came home early so you could sort me out."
"I didn't come home early." He nodded toward the window beside her, and she looked out. It was dark-well-dark. Startled, she looked at the clock. It read 6:03.
"Six o'clock?" she said in disbelief. "It's been three hours?" How long had she been helpless, caught up in the memories?
"Thalia was in near hysterics when you wouldn't wake," the Doctor told her somberly. "Alex rang Mickey, and he came over with Jake. Mickey tried to get you to respond while Jake tried to get the kids out, but they refused to go-Thalia said it was her fault and she had to stay here. When we came in, she dragged me over to you." He grinned conspiratorially. "Just imagine if Pete hadn't taken Jackie to Majorca for their anniversary; you'd have had her hysterics as well as Thalia's."
"Perish the thought," Rose said, pushing herself to her feet without thinking. Her knees buckled, and the Doctor had to catch her before she fell. "I thought I was all right," she said as he lowered her back into the chair.
"You are. You're just weak. Some food and a good night's rest will set you to rights. I'll take you to bed and bring you something to eat."
"Not in front of Thalia," Rose cautioned. "She's traumatised enough. Let me give her a cuddle so she knows I'm all right, and then see if Jake and Mickey can take them out for dinner or something so she doesn't know how weak I really am. Once they're gone, you can carry me in."
The Doctor looked uneasy for a moment, but nodded. "All right, but remember, you can't lie to her."
"I know."
He disappeared, reappearing a few moments later hand-in-hand with Thalia. She seemed nervous, clutching her father's hand tightly, until she saw Rose sitting upright and apparently back to normal. Thalia blinked, staring at Rose, hope growing in her eyes.
Rose held out her arms. "C'mon, then, Thallie. Come here."
Tears welled up, and Thalia let go the Doctor's hand and sprinted to Rose, wrapping her arms around her mum and holding on tightly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mummy, I didn't know, I'm sorry…."
"Hush. See, no harm done," Rose said gently. She couldn't lift Thalia, not quite, but she was able to tug her upward so that Thalia clambered into Rose's lap on her own. Rose wrapped her arms around her daughter and rocked her softly. "Hush, Thallie. Everything's all right. I'm fine. Dad fixed everything." She looked up and met the Doctor's eyes, and they both smiled. "He always does," she added.
"But I hurt you," Thalia wailed.
"I'm all right now, though, sweetheart. Just remember that you can't give memories to humans. Dad and Alex are the only ones you can share with."
"For now," the Doctor put in, stepping forward. "I can put up barriers for you, Rose, so this doesn't happen again. I probably should've done that a long time ago."
"There you are," Rose said to Thalia, stroking her hair. "We'll get Dad to set me up, and then you can share your memories with me all you want."
Thalia burrowed deeper into Rose, still sniffling. "I don't want to hurt you, Mummy," she said tearfully. "Not ever again."
"I know, sweetheart. We'll make sure that Daddy's here the next time we try, and that way if something goes wrong, he can fix it straightaway, all right?"
Thalia didn't reply, just held onto Rose as if she was afraid to let go. The Doctor disappeared for a moment, but came back in with Alex. "There, Alex," the Doctor said. "See? Mum's just fine."
Alex nodded, his face somber. "I'm sorry we hurt you, Mummy," he said. Rose noticed a small plaster on his forehead, where a cut had been. Someone must've patched them up.
"You didn't do anything, Alex," Rose protested.
"Yes, I did," he said earnestly. "I told Thalia she should show you, because you didn't believe us when we said we remembered being born."
The Doctor picked up the chair where he'd been sitting before and moved it so it was next to Rose, then sat down and lifted Alex onto his knee. Alex leaned against her, resting against Rose's side, and she put her arm around him. "It's all right, Alex," she said. "You didn't know."
They sat there in silence, the four of them, for another few minutes, until at last the Doctor said, "Mum needs to rest, you two. Jake and Mickey are going to take you to dinner so she can get some sleep, all right?"
The kids nodded and clambered down from their perches. Both of them hugged Rose tightly, and then left, somewhat reluctantly but without another word. The Doctor sat with Rose until Jake and Mickey got them out of the house and the car pulled away;s then he stood, leaning down beside her. "Put your arms around my neck," he said. She complied, and he lifted her up as if she weighed no more than Thalia, carrying her back to their bedroom.
"Did they tell you about the fight they were in?" she asked, fighting a yawn as he nudged the bedroom door open and carried her in. She was knackered. Having one's mind played around in was exhausting.
"No, but I'll ask," he promised. Setting her down on the bed, he helped her out of her shoes and clothes, then pulled the covers back and tucked her in. "You rest. You'll be fine tomorrow. Good as new."
"Doctor's orders?" she asked cheekily, with a grin to match.
"Absolutely." He kissed her forehead and smiled, then left, closing the door quietly behind him. Sighing comfortably, she rolled onto her side and tucked her arm under her pillow, already feeling herself drifting off.
***
Rose sat at the park a few days later, watching the kids playing while she talked with other mothers who had also accompanied their children. The topic of bullying had come up, and Johnny Davis's name had followed shortly thereafter-something Rose had discovered was a common occurrence. But she was startled when Laura Dansby added to her latest complaint about Johnny, "Thank God they've moved."
"They've what?" Rose asked, shocked.
"Moved," Laura said, shrugging. "Sign in front of their house and all, and estate agents in and out. There one day, gone the next. I saw a couple of blokes come to visit them a few days ago, and they were gone two days later. Strange."
"What did these blokes look like?" Rose asked. Suspicion was stirring at the back of her brain.
"Oh, just blokes. One was black, and one was blond. They came over and were asked in, then left a few minutes later. And boom! The Davises were packed and gone in forty-eight hours."
"Strange," Rose agreed, trying to hide the smile she wore. Perhaps she shouldn't be so pleased over this, but there was something to be said for extended family. Even-or maybe especially-when the family wasn't blood-related. "Any chance Mrs Foster might move?" she asked hopefully.