Chapter One
"Love, are you about ready?" Rain said as she walked into the bedroom she shared with the Doctor in their home on New Gallifrey.
"Just a moment, adjusting my tie," the Doctor said.
Rain walked over and helped him adjust his black tie.
"You know, I can do some things myself," he said to her.
"I'm your wife, I'm supposed to make you look good," she said. "Besides, Tara's getting impatient."
The Doctor rolled his eyes.
"When is Tara ever not impatient to go somewhere?" he said to her.
Rain finished smoothing out his rumpled clothes and the Doctor grinned as he mimed doing the same to her lavender T-shirt and blue jean shorts.
"Okay, Mister Smart Ass," she said as he snickered.
"Think my ass is smart, you should see the rest of me!" he said, flouncing out of the room.
He poked his head back in.
"I know, I was channeling my brother just then," he said.
"Yeah, exactly what I was gonna say," Rain said as he snickered.
With a tender look, he took his wife's hand, gave it a kiss and led her out back to the TARDIS where Tara was waiting.
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"Sooooo," the Doctor said as he and his wife and daughter stood around the console. "Where to, brave adventures?"
"How about someplace pretty with lovely birds and flowing springs!" Tara said.
They laughed when the Doctor's head dropped down and he snored loudly for ten seconds before his head reared back up.
"I'm sorry, what? I didn't hear you, I had a sudden and unexpected first time ever narcolepsy attack. Perhaps you better come up with something else," he said.
"Could go visit Aqualania and see our friends again," Tara said.
"Nah, I wanna go someplace nice and dry and toasty warm," the Doctor replied.
"Okay, we'll go to the sun then," Tara said.
She giggled when the Doctor eyed her. He crossed his eyes and said, "Okay, Misses Smart Aaaaaa-sah!" in a snotty voice. He ducked when his wife tried to swat his head.
"You know, I think it'd be more fun just to hit the old random on the randomizer and see what we come up with, yeah?" the Doctor said.
"That figures, you've been itching to try out your randomizer for awhile now," Rain said.
"Well, Rose wouldn't let me do it," the Doctor protested.
"I don't blame her since the last time you used it, we ended up in the middle of the Zulu wars and she nearly got impaled with a Zulu spear," Rain said.
"Eh, she's had worse done to her," the Doctor said dismissively.
"I'm gonna tell her you said that," Tara said.
"Go ahead, I'm not afraid of Miss Fussy Bottoms, go ahead and tell her. See if I care!"
They laughed when he shoved his thumb in his mouth and sucked on it loudly.
"Whaa," he said, taking it out. "Now, where were we? Ah yes, the randomizer."
He activated it and punched in a few commands.
"Come on, Baby!" he said to the TARDIS. "Give us something good!"
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"Oh yeah, this is something good all right," Rain said as she looked at the swamp directly in front of the TARDIS.
The three of them were standing on a muddy bank staring at the murky water of the circular swamp. All around it huge dense trees grew, their bark old and rotting and moss covered. There was a chirping and croaking from somewhere deep in the woods and dragonflies nearly a foot long flew over the water.
"One think I like about the TARDIS is her sense of humor," Rain said.
"Now, now, there might still be something worth seeing around here."
He jumped when Tara let out a shriek. She spun around and a dragonfly flew off her back.
"Is it off me? Is it off me?" she shrieked.
"Yes, Star, the dragonfly is off you now," the Doctor said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Dad, but that thing was huge!" Tara said, giving him a baleful look while he snickered.
He patted his daughter's head.
"There, there, my Kitten, i won't let Draggiefly hurt you now," he said in a condescending voice.
Tara sighed angrily when he embraced her and tried to keep from laughing.
"Oooooh, my poor Star, that big dragonfly would have eaten you if I hadn't intervened."
"Grow up, Dad."
"No, don't wanna, too much fun being a juvenile delinquent," he said.
He kissed her temple and then took hers and her mother's hands.
"So, let's see if we can go find something to do around here," he said to them.
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They walked through a dense forest in search of something to do. But the only thing around them was the forest. They heard a few scattered birds up in the trees and something that lowed like a cow but that was it.
"Dad, I don't think there's really anything here," Tara said. "It's just a big forest with a big swamp. Why don't we go try to find something else, huh?"
"Oh, I s'pose you're right," the Doctor said, sighing. "I don't see any signs of civilization and I've seen enough of the forest. Let's turn back."
They turned around and headed back, unaware that someone was watching and shadowing them while they remained hidden in the trees. The three of them chatted while they walked, trying to come up with ideas for possible places to go. Suddenly without warning, a heavy net was dropped over them. the three of them tried to get free of it but there were heavy weights pinning it down. Then there was a shoosh sound and the Doctor yelled when his wife and daughter's necks were pierced by feathered darts. Both of them fell to the ground unconscious in seconds. The Doctor, angry beyond belief, tried to claw his way out of the net. He let out a growl as a man stepped out of the trees, dressed head to toe in black with a black mask on. The Doctor gasped when the man raised a blowgun and he tried to dodge the dart but two more men in the trees fired at the same time and three darts pierced the Doctor's neck, arm and chest. The Doctor struggled to stay awake for a few seconds before he fell to his knees and with one last gasp, fell over unconscious.