You Must Give In Order To Receive - a Doctor Who FanFic (Chp 8)

You Must Give In Order To Receive

Chapter 8 (The Final Chapter)
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

By Maggie the Kitten

Art by Heather Rose Brown (thanks cuz!)

 


The cold threatened to blow off her cap, and the blowing snow stung her face. Maggie sensing the cold, instinctively cuddled closer against Rose. Rose’s maternal instinct reacted accordingly, and she did her best to shield the little one. The Doctor was a silent spectator to the moment. The beauty of it warmed both his hearts. He was tempted to comment on how natural motherhood seemed to look on Rose, but decided not to, for fear of spoiling it.

They made their way through the swirling winds and to Jackie’s front door. Rose transferred possession of Maggie to a surprised Doctor’s arms.

“Alright … here’s the plan. You step back from the door so Mum won’t see you or Maggie. She’ll think I’ve come home alone for Christmas, which should put her in a better mood.”

She grinned at the Doctor to let him know she was half teasing him.

He in turn, looked mortally wounded and then smiled to let her know he wasn’t truly wounded.

“Now once I go in, give me half a mo and I’ll get Mum into the kitchen. You bring Maggie in and go to my bedroom. I’ll break the news to Mum gently … err … as gently as I can, and I guess we’ll wing it from there. How’s that sound?”

The Doctor paused for a moment, “Risky, but probably less dangerous than the goose.”

Rose giggled, then motioned the Doctor out of sight as she rang the bell.

Jackie opened the door and then looked from side to side. “Merry Christmas little one … but … where’s the Doctor?”

“He’ll be along later,” Rose tried to stay close to the truth.

Jackie pulled her daughter into a hug and smiled. “I suppose there’s always a chance he might run into those Dalek thingies.”

“Mum!” Rose scolded.

Jackie ushered her daughter in from the cold, “You know I don’t really mean it.”

Rose never saw the fingers crossed behind Jackie’s back, but the Doctor did.

He sighed, “Love you too, Mum.”

Actually he really did care quite a bit for Jackie, and he knew there was a place in her heart for him, but he also understood that when he took her daughter away from her, he placed her in great danger. She couldn’t help but wish her daughter was home where she could keep her safe. But … he also knew that Rose was truly happy being with him and Jackie could see that. No matter how much she might wish her daughter lived a more normal existence, all she ever wanted was for her child to be happy. Of course that didn’t necessarily mean she had to be crazy about the bloke her daughter was being happy with.

The Doctor laughed as he thought, ‘I guess I’m what a Mum would consider a good bad boy.’

The Doctor tried to keep Maggie warm while giving Rose enough time to manoeuvre Jackie into the kitchen. Figuring he’d finally given her enough, he gently pushed the front door open. He could hear voices in the other room. He slipped quietly in, closing the door with his bum.

’So far so good,’ he thought.

He gave Maggie a good shush when she started to stir, then made his way to Rose’s room without being discovered. He left the door ajar behind him, just the way he’d found it.

He smiled as he looked around the darkened room. It was a mixture of a young woman’s bedroom with remnants of the little girl who had once occupied it. He saw precious stuffies and a few dolls up on the shelf and then looked down at Maggie. “I bet you’re going to love all this stuff.”

He eased his bundle down onto Rose’s bed and then pulled the duvet up around her. She cuddled up beneath the soft warmth and a tiny smile turned at her lips.

“Oh, you are going to be a little heartbreaker, you are, Mags,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Curiosity then getting the better part of the Time Lord, he slipped over to the door to see how Rose was faring. He was only able to get bits and pieces, but he had no trouble filling in the missing parts.

“Mum there’s something I’ve got to tell you. It’s kind of a big thing, but really... sort of little too.”

The Doctor chuckled.

“Go on then, girl,” Jackie prodded.

The Doctor couldn’t make out what Rose said next but clearly heard Jackie’s reply.

“Whatcha mean I’m sort of a grandmum? Ohy! You can’t be sort of a grand mum. Either you are, or you not. It’s just like being pregnant. Either you are or … or …”

There was eerie silence for a moment and then Jackie cried, “My little girl is going to have a baby!”

“Oomph,” Rose shouted in pain.

The Doctor didn’t have to see the picture to know Jackie had just bear hugged her daughter.

“Who’s the father, and how far long are ya?”

The Doctor couldn’t make out Rose’s reply.

“What ya mean it’s not exactly like that? Look, I taught you about the birds and the bees, Rose, so don’t tell me … wait a minute … who’s the father?”

Again Rose’s voice was just background noise.

“What ya mean, sort of the Doctor. Good lord girl … can’t he ever do anything the normal way? No wonder ‘es not showed up. I bet he’s hiding out in that little blue box of his. Well … don’t think that’s going to save him. Just wait till he comes out. I’m going to sort him out proper.”

The Doctor was tempted to make appearance and sort Jackie out proper, but stopped when he heard Rose clearly. “Mum, pleeeeze! Will you just shut up and listen to me for once? You’ve got it all wrong.”

“All right love, no need to get hateful with your ol’ Mum. I know the hormones are raging about now and you can’t help it. It all goes with the territory as they say. Ohy, I remember how it was with you; I nearly bit your father’s head off.”

“Mum … you … don’t … understand!” She sighed, “Maybe I should have let the Doctor handle this after all.”

“Maybe you should of at that,” the Doctor said with a smile as he pushed opened the bedroom door.

“So there you are.” Jackie turned and shot daggers. “You’ve got some explaining to do, Doctor.”

“Indeed I do.” The Doctor stepped aside and invited Jackie and Rose into the bedroom, “And as a wise man once said, a picture is worth a thousand words.”

Rose gave him a puzzled stare, which he met with a confident one, and the two women took the Doctor’s invite.

Jackie’s eyes started to mist as soon as she saw the sleeping little girl in her daughter’s bed. “Oh my …what an angel. She looks just like my little Rose.”

The Doctor winked at his Rose who gave him one in return.

Jackie knelt by the sleeping girl and gently pushed a curl from her face. “That’s my granddaughter alright, there’s no mistaking that. She’s got your nose … and your cheeks … and your hair”

Rose slipped down beside her mum. “And there’s some of the Doctor there, too.”

Jackie wrinkled her nose, “Oh well … if we’re lucky, she’ll grow out of that.” Then she turned, giving, the Doctor a wink and a smile, just to let him know it was just another volley in their friendly game of barbs.

“Thanks, Mum,” he returned fire.

Jackie kissed Maggie’s head and then turned to the pair, “There’s no doubt she’s your child but wait a minute … the two of you popped in here about six weeks ago and there wasn’t so much as pooch in Rose’s belly and … and …now you show up with a kid that’s got to be at least four or five years old. Either of you care to explain that one?”

“It’s complicated?” Rose offered timidly.

Jackie stared at the Doctor, “It always is with him.”

“You’ll just have to trust me, Jackie”.

Jackie raised an eyebrow. “That’s probably what you said to Rose, and look where that got her.”

“Mum!” Rose scolded.

“Alright … alright … we can talk about it over Christmas dinner. I think this might be my best goose ever,” she promised.

Rose and the Doctor’s tummies groaned in unison.

“C’mon, Rose, give us a hand with the table,” Jackie called as she headed toward the door.

“And oh, by the by …if the two of you think you’re going to eat and then take off with my granddaughter to lord only knows where, you’ve got another thing coming. Doctor, you took off with my Rose, but she’s a big girl, and if she wants to go messing about with aliens and such, well … I’ve got to let her go, but you’re not taking ummm … ummm … I don’t even know her name?”

“It’s Maggie,” the Doctor and Rose said in unison.

“Maggie … Awww … that’s a lovely name,” Her voice softened. “Now where was I?”

“Something about messing with aliens, I believe,” offered the Doctor, who got a shot in the ribs from Rose for his help.

“Right! I’ll not let you take this child, my granddaughter, out there on some magical mystery tour. She’ll stay right here with me where it’s safe.”

“Safe as long as she doesn’t eat the goose,” whispered the Doctor, which netted a giggle from Rose.

“And she’ll stay here with me until the two of you are ready to settle down and provide a proper home for her.” She rolled her eyes at the Doctor, “Or as least as proper as it can be.”

Rose put her arm around Jackie, “C’mon Mum, let’s get the dinner on the table and we’ll talk about it. Did you make gravy for the roasted potatoes?”

“Of course I did … just the way your father always loved it. You know with all those lovely little lumps in it.”

The Doctor heard his stomach make an encore growl as he watched the pair leave the room. In the course of nine hundred years he’d survived nine regenerations and countless alien attacks, but on the eve of his Christmas dinner with Jackie, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d finally met his Waterloo.

He went to Maggie’s side and watched her sleeping peacefully. It could be some time before she awoke, but whenever it was, he would be there and he knew Rose would be there too. As far as Jackie’s “offer” to take care of Maggie, it was going to be discussed over dinner tonight, and probably for the next few days, but aside from Sara Jane’s, he felt this would probably be the best place for Maggie to be, at least until she was older. He and Rose could spend as much time as they wanted here with Maggie and even take her on holidays when they’d rather brave Daleks than Jackie’s cooking. They could explain to their little girl that her Mum and Dad had to go off to work while her Gran took care of her. As she got older, they could explain to her what that work entailed.

The Doctor smiled as he thought about Maggie taking him to school for one of those "Parents Days" where he had to explain what he did for a living. That would be interesting to say the least.

Yes, it wasn't going to be easy, but was parenthood ever easy for anyone? The important thing would be that Maggie would know her parents and they would be a part of her life. Rose was right. They were responsible for “bringing her in to this world”. They owed her everything they could give in making her life as happy and as normal as it could be.

He still had some concerns over her showing signs of his Time Lord DNA, but aside from the regeneration, she appeared a perfectly normal human child. All her vitals fell within Earth normal range, and he had only detected one heartbeat. For her sake, he hoped she was 100% human.

However, as he watched her, he couldn’t help but selfishly cling to a tiny wish that some part of him was a part of her, that perhaps he didn’t have to be the last of the Time Lords. Either way, she was his daughter and he loved her, which meant he was compelled to protect her.

Reaching inside his coat he pulled out a small box. He sat the box on the bed and removed the lid. He gently lifted out a tiny metallic kitten not much bigger than a good sized grape.

Placing the kitten centre of the bed he took out his trusty sonic screwdriver. ”Let’s see now … I haven’t tried this since K-9”. Adjusting the settings on the screwdriver, he shot a beam, engulfing the kitten, which grew to life size.

A computer voice very much reminiscent of K-9’s, only female in nature, spoke, “Feline unit activated … Good evening Master.”

The Doctor scratched her behind the ears, “Purrrrrrrrr …”

“Good Kitty!” he praised.

“This is Maggie, he pointed toward the sleeping child. “You will protect her from harm.”

“Affirmative, Master. I will protect the young Mistress from harm.”

You will recognize Rose, I and …” he hesitated for a moment, “Jackie as friends, understood?”

“Understood, Master.”

“Feline … amend programming … you are to protect her from any alien or life form threatening harm, only. Minor squabbles with other children are not to be considered as threats, understood?”

“Program amended.”

The Doctor chuckled, “Can’t have Maggie missing all the childhood joys of a scraped knee or sore bum when she falls out of a tree. And we can’t have you going about killing the first little boy who tries to steal a kiss from her. I think that’s supposed to be my job.”

The Doctor looked at the shiny metallic kitten and frowned. “This just won’t do. We need to make you more … more …Earth friendly I think. Engage chameleon circuit.”

The kitten’s ears wiggled and her green eyes glowed. “Chameleon circuit engaged, please input desired shape or form.”

The Doctor scratched his head. “Let’s see. Siamese … no, Burmese … no. Yes, of course … Calico! Assume form of a Calico kitten. Age progression … Earth normal.”

“Input received, Master.” Immediately, the silver kitten shape shifted into the form a Calico kitten approximately 8 weeks old.

The Doctor smiled approvingly, “Perfect … I only wish K-9’s model would have came out with one of these.”

“Oh yes … one thing further. Amend list of friends to include Sara Jane Smith.”

“Affirmative, Doctor”.

“A name, I’ve forgotten to give you a name. We can’t very well go around calling you Feline can we?”

“Hmmm … let’s see,” The Doctor rubbed his chin, “What would Maggie name her kitten.”

The Doctor suddenly smiled as the penny dropped, “Of course, what else could it be?”

“Feline,” the Doctor ordered, “Recognize Muffin as your primary name.

“Affirmative, Master.” The kitten assumed a protective posture by curling up on Maggie’s pillow.

The Doctor knelt down by Maggie’s side and lightly touched her nose. “We’ll need to pop over to see Sara Jane … even if she isn’t going to be your primary caregiver; I think you two will get on famously. I’m sure you’re going to adore your Auntie Sara.”

“And,” he added, as he played with a loose curl, “Just in case you should show a little of my Gallafrey blood in your veins, she can keep a careful watch to be sure things don’t get too far out of hand before your Mummy and Daddy can come round to fix it.”

The Doctor raised up and his eyes went wide as he could hardly believe what he’d just said, “Daddy?”

He mulled it around a moment and found it fit as surely as this body fit Maggie. “Alright then I suppose were stuck with each other.”

The Doctor watched Maggie sleep and found the more he watched the more he enjoyed it. He was half tempted to curl up with her when a thought came to him. Suddenly the White Guardian’s cryptic remark returned to him, “You must give in order to receive.” Now it all made sense. Maggie had given her life for both Rose and himself, and in turn received a second one. He and Rose had opened their hearts and given their blood and they had received a daughter. ‘Nine hundred and three years old and still learning every day.’

“Doctor! Dinner’s ready!” came Rose’s voice from the other room.

“Lucky you, Maggie,” he whined. You get to sleep through this one.”

The Doctor got to his feet and leaned over to kiss his daughter on the forehead. “Merry Christmas, Maggie. Your Daddy loves you.”

The Doctor braced himself for the gastrointestinal Nuremburg that awaited him and then headed out the door.

He never heard his daughter’s faint whisper that said, “I love you too, Daddy,” nor did he hear the faint beat of her second heart.

Epilogue

After dinner, antacid, and several days of serious conversation it was agreed by all parties that Maggie would stay with Jackie; however, Maggie would know who her parents were and would get plenty of quality time with them. Once the Doctor discovered Maggie’s second heart, verifying that she had at least part of his Time Lord physiology, Sara Jane was contacted and informed that she’d become an auntie. Maggie took to her straight away and Sara Jane had no problem helping Jackie keep a watchful eye on the young lady Time Lord.

Six months seemed to fly by and the Doctor had been true to his word. Both he and Rose had spent more time on Earth than he had since his third regeneration, and unlike that forced holiday, he truly had enjoyed the time he spent being a family with Rose and Maggie.

The Doctor’s prediction that Maggie would be able to access very little memory of her life before was pretty much spot on. Save for a few times when there had been situations of extreme danger, her behavior was indistinguishable from any other little five year old crumb snatcher. During those brief instances of peril, the adult seemed to come to the surface just along to get her out of harm’s way before retreating deep into her subconscious once again.

The Doctor likened it to his ability to draw from his past regenerations when the need arose. Fortunately, the need rarely ever arose, and anyone seeing the foursome (Muffin included of course) in the park, saw a very normal looking young couple with a daughter and her kitten.

It was summer now and the Doctor and Rose decided to take Maggie on her first real time traveling holiday. They chose London which didn’t seem like much of a leap, but they decided to make this a learning holiday by opting to take Maggie back to London of 1898.

The learning however was not necessarily for Maggie’s benefit but instead for her parents. They wanted to see if returning her to familiar surrounds might trigger the adult who normally lay dormant in her subconscious.

The holiday got off to a bit of a bad start as the Doctor overshot 1898 and wound up in London 1878. Deciding that twenty years would not make that much of a difference in landmarks they took her for a walk about.

After a good part of the day and half the evening the only thing of note was that Rose’s feet hurt and Maggie was tired and cranky because she’d missed her nap. The lone positive had been for the Doctor as he’d finally gotten those scones from Shakespeare’s he’d been hungry for.

He was happily enjoying one as the threesome found themselves at the north end of London Bridge. Maggie who had been alternating between walking and riding hip suddenly came out of her sleep walking and began pulling on the Doctor’s hand.

The Doctor lifted her up, “Here … here now what’s this all about Kitten (the pet name her Gran had christened her with)?”

Her eyes were wide now and the baby blues had turned dark. The Doctor could see the adult was awake and making contact. “White Guardian … he knows … I have to save her … only me … only me!”

The Doctor put the wiggling bundle down and she was off toward the bridge as fast as her little legs could carry her.

Rose, like any good mum, seeing her small child running off, started after her, but the Doctor held her fast.

“We have to let her go Rose. I’m not sure why, but I don’t think we are supposed to interfere.”

“Fair enough,” Rose agreed but then pulled the Doctor along, “I won’t interfere, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to stand her while my little girl runs across London Bridge.

The Doctor realizing hell hath no fury like a mum who can’t see what her five year old is up to, did not object and gave chase.

Evening was on the verge of becoming night and the fog was rolling in. Several times they lost sight of Maggie in the pea soup. Once they finally found her she was about thirty yards ahead and apparently running toward a solitary figure on the bridge.

Through the fog and dark it was hard to make out the individual clearly, but it was without a doubt a young woman. She had long reddish blonde hair and was dressed in a beautiful ball gown. She seemed almost familiar to the Doctor and then he remembered where he’d seen similarly dressed women that evening. There was a ball at one of the academies they had passed on their walk and he remebered Rose commenting on the beautiful gowns the young ladies were wearing. Maggie had nearly ran into a pair of the ladies who were stepping out of a coach.

Both parents watched as Maggie closed the distance between her and the woman. The woman’s attention seemed else where as Maggie’s appearance startled her. Maggie seemed to be calling to the woman, but the winds on the bridge made it impossible for either the Doctor or Rose to hear her clearly.

Finally Maggie reached the woman and was greeted with open arms. She hugged their little girl tightly and rocked her back and forth. It was then it all fell into place for Rose.

She’d been here before, but not in actuality. She’d been taken here by Maggie, only the first time it was by the woman her and the Doctor had first met. In 1878, Maggie fresh from the horrible disaster at the ball had found herself at London Bridge. She was working up the nerve to jump when from out of no where, a little girl who knew her name came running up to her out of the fog.

That little girl was Maggie’s future self also known as her and the Doctor’s daughter, and in essence she was saving her own life. The couple who stayed in the fog and waited for the girl to return to them had to be Rose and the Doctor. Somehow, they’d all become part of history. Rose didn’t know how it was possible for this to happen, but she was sure the Doctor could explain it.

Explanations were something the Doctor was wanting, as his patience was starting to be taxed and his paternal instinct was kicking in. “I wonder if the lady might be hungry. What say I go offer her a scone?”

Rose restrained the Doctor with a firm hold and a stern look, “You were right before. We have to stay back. If we don’t, we might muck up the whole works … possibly even lose Maggie.”

“How … how could you possibly know that?”

Rose smiled, glad for once she was the one with the answers and not the questions. “I’ll explain it to you the way back and then maybe you can explain it to me.”

The Doctor started to follow his question with a few more when Rose pointed straight ahead, “Here she comes!”

The Doctor knelt down and collected his flying bundle. He pulled her in close as she exchanged knowing glances with her Mum. Rose gave her a wink and got one from her in return. And then the adult was gone.

As the pair turned to head back the way they came, Maggie waved at the young woman who waved back.

Unbeknown to all parties in the drama was that the Muffin Man had been a silent spectator to it all. He smiled approvingly as he watched the Doctor, Rose and both Maggie's walk away.

Merry Christmas to all.

Hugs and love Maggie the Kitten


by IC


Editing by Holly Logan
Encouragement by all my friends
Inspiration from David Tennant, Billie Piper, and this little girl who loves them.

 




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