To the Start Again [8] (The Parallel Series)

Prologue

The edits and revisions are slow but they're here... and I'm slowly getting the urge to write again so there's also that. The changes aren't huge but hopefully the quality of writing is.

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The loss of Amy and Rory taking a massive toll on the Time Lords was a little bit of an understatement. It was painful and heartbreaking. The pair went from helping the Universe to suddenly ignoring it at every turn. No one could convince them otherwise, not even Jenny when she came to stay for a week with them after making sure UNIT would be fine in 2012 without them.

Neither of the Time Lords seemed interested in hearing what Jenny or Vastra and the rest of the Paternoster gang had got up to after it became a permanent resident atop a cloud in the Victorian era. The only thing that seemed to keep them interested in the Universe was the soon arrival of their young Time Tot.

The Doctor and the Stone still didn't have a name picked for their child. Ten months quickly passed by since the passing of the Ponds and their newfound home in Victorian London, it all seemed to go by too quickly for the Time Lady with far too much still to be done before the arrival of their new child.

They still didn't know what they were getting, they didn't care so long as they were healthy and loved.

The Stone was quickly pulled out of her nostalgic thoughts when the baby for the one-hundredth time that morning decided to give another painfully hard kick. It was starting to cause deep frustration for the Time Lady as she groaned, cradling her stomach while tilting her head over her shoulder to look at the Doctor, lying behind her, his arms wrapped around her body as they lay in bed. "Sweetheart, they're kicking again."

"I know dear." He murmured hugging tightly for a moment. He tried to rub soothing circles over her stomach. "Any day now our beautiful baby will be born." He smiled.

"And we still need to decide on names." She groaned. "The list of ideas inside my head is still massive."

"That's what you get for not wanting to find out their gender." He muttered under his breath, tickling the small hairs on her neck.

"What was that?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Nothing dear!" He replied far too quickly. She knew he was only joking and could very much hear what was muttered as she chuckled at him.

"That's what I thought." She hummed before rolling over to face him. "Now come on we please decide on names. It isn't long at all now."

"Of course." He smiled bringing out a small book.

"What's that?" The Time Lady blinked, eyeing the brown-covered, slightly worn book as the Doctor started to flick through the pages.

"A book I was writing names in." He shrugged casually.

"You-" she stared at him for a moment before chuckling again, wiping her eye as a tear escaped. "All this time I thought you were wrapped up in your own emotions and yet you came up with a list full." She raised a brow. "A list in a book that looks extremely old."

"Surprise." He whispered.

"You adorable idiot." She murmured kissing him.

The Time Lord licked his finger and turned the page. "Alice?"

"I don't think it would suit the baby."

"Samantha." He suggested.

"I don't like it that much and what if they want to be a boy?"

"Sam then?"

"No." She sighed shaking her head. "How about something different perhaps?" She suggested.