Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Dr. Who.
I'll Do Anything For Love But…
A cold, wet, rainy afternoon in the 22nd century finds a very pregnant Susan in her kitchen washing dishes while her children are playing in the living room. The pain that suddenly hits her is so sharp and intense that she not only drops the plate that she's washing, but she inadvertently sends out a telepathic call of distress. It is a call that all eleven versions of her grandfather will soon answer.
Somewhere far away, throughout time and space, each telepathic cry is received and spurring eleven men into instantaneous action. One by one, each man makes a run for his console room and enters the coordinates that will send him directly to Susan. Soon the wheezing, groaning sound of eleven TARDIS engines materializing fills Susan's living room as her children stare on in wide-eyed astonishment.
One after another, each Doctor pops out of his TARDIS and discovers himself to be surrounded by his great-grandchildren. The Timelords all run over to various children, each man demanding to know the whereabouts of their mother.
Susan stumbles from the kitchen, grasping the doorjamb in an attempt to remain upright, while gritting out between clenched teeth, "I'm right here, Grandfather."
"Susan!" they all exclaim but it is the First and Eleventh Doctors who are the first to reach her side and direct her towards the sofa to lie down.
The First Doctor kneels down next to her and inquires worriedly, "Susan, my dear child, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Grandfather," replies Susan before another contraction sweeps through her and her slight smile becomes a grimace of pain. "For what's considered to be a natural occurrence on Earth, everything is progressing exactly as it should be." She smiles back bravely at him. "You know, Grandfather, I have done this before."
He pats her hand lovingly in affection and support and murmurs, "Quite right, child. Quite right, and a splendid job you've done too."
The Eleventh Doctor kneels down along next to the First and takes Susan's other hand, brushing her bangs out of her eyes while questioning softly, "Susan, where's David?"
"I've already called him, he's on his way home now." Another wave of pain hits and she squeezes their hands tightly as she pants through the contraction. She gazes forlornly at the Eleventh Doctor and cries, "Oh, I am so sorry to bother all of you, Grandfather. Honestly, I didn't mean to call you. It's just that the pain was so awful that I must have sent out a call accidentally. Oh, I'm so sorry, I…" she trails off as she bites her lip in an effort to keep from crying out.
"My dear child," soothes Eleven as he cradles her cheek with his free hand and strokes it with his thumb, "I don't want you to worry about anything right now except for you and that precious child. You're bringing a new life into this world, Susan, into this universe! That's far more important than anything that I was doing at the moment! Besides, there is no place else that I'd rather be than right here with you."
He leans down to kiss her temple and Susan quietly sniffs, "Thank you, Grandfather." When she looks up at him again, she carries a fretful expression as she asks, "Grandfather, I hate to ask this of you, but there is something that I need your help with."
It is the Fourth Doctor who answers so grandly, "Well, of course, my dear, anything for you, anything at all. Just name it."
"I need you all to stay and watch the children for me," replies Susan in a rush of words, knowing that her grandfather will bolt once he's heard them.
"Anything but that," begs the Fifth Doctor as he crumples his hat in his hands.
"Couldn't we merely stay and deliver the child ourselves?" suggests the Sixth Doctor. "That way you could stay here with the little ones."
Rounds of nods of agreement and murmurs of congratulations at such an excellent idea quickly make their way to Susan's disbelieving eyes and ears. "What?" gasps Susan. "Grandfather, please," she implores with tears in her eyes, "I need your help."
The Doctors all turn to look at one another while expressing sighs of resignation. No telepathic conference is needed to arrive at a unilateral decision. Their granddaughter, their Susan, is in need of their help. Nothing else really needs saying.
Susan cries out as another contraction overtakes her and she almost rolls off of the couch, if not for the support of the two Doctors kneeling at her side. The First Doctor shifts around to turn to the others and pleads, "Could one of you young men please come over here and take my place? I don't think that I can take much more of this."
The Tenth Doctor strides over to offer his assistance and questions kindly, "Too much for your hearts?"
"No," replies the First Doctor with a grunt as he rises to a standing position. "It's too much for my knees."
The Tenth Doctor kneels down by Susan and laces his fingers through her own, giving her a hand a quick squeeze. His excitement begins to pour through more than just his eyes when he begins rambling, "You're doing a wonderful job, Susan, just brilliant! Molto bene, in fact! Giver of life, that's what you are! Simply a marvelous job! My dear Susan, we're so proud of you!"
Susan struggles to smile back at her grandfather but the contractions are becoming stronger and faster causing both Eleven and Ten great concern as she moans, "Oh, Grandfather! It hurts so much! I need…"
"What?" demands the Tenth Doctor. "What do you need?"
Susan tries to catch her breath and she groans, "I need…"
"What, Susan?" babbles Ten. "Do you need a cool washcloth, a back rub, a Paracetamol?"
Susan pants softly and grunts, "I need…"
"We'll get you anything at all," swears Ten. "What is it, Susan? What do you need?"
Susan's eyes suddenly light up as if they were on fire as she glowers at her grandfather and she shouts, "I need you to shut up!"
The Tenth Doctor jerks his head back, completely taken aback by her outburst while the other Doctors are too shocked to do anything other than raise their eyebrows in surprise. None of them have witnessed a temper like this since…well…any of their own incarnations really, or at least that flight person from Heathrow.
Rapidly composing himself, the Tenth Doctor chastises, "Well honestly, Susan, that was just rude! Rude and not ginger!" He points his finger at her and lectures, "Now, I know that you're going through a difficult time at present but that's no excuse for poor manners and…OW!"
He howls in pain as Susan grabs his finger and nearly twists it around in a complete circle. She manages to growl out, "In case you haven't noticed, Grandfather, I'm in a great deal of pain! I can't take pain relievers for the sake of the baby so I'm not in the mood to hear you babble on incessantly as you are so prone to do! So kindly do me a favor, Grandfather, and shut up!"
The room falls into a silence until Susan begins to have another contraction and the Second Doctor pokes the First Doctor in his side and whispers, "Well, go on, man!"
The First Doctor stares back at him in confusion as the Second Doctor whispers vehemently, "What are you waiting for? She needs you!"
He gazes at his successor in disbelief and asks in a hushed tone, "Why me?"
The Second Doctor rolls his eyes before looking at him as if he'd just dribbled on his shirt. "Isn't it obvious? You have a cane. You can defend yourself!"
Seeing that the First Doctor wasn't going anywhere near Susan anytime soon, the Ninth prods the Eighth Doctor a few steps in front of him and urges quietly, "Well, go on then! You're the sensitive one, go and comfort her!"
Watching Ten pout at Susan while he rubs his finger, the Eighth Doctor fearfully whispers back, "Why should I have to do it? I'm fighting in a war right now. Isn't that enough?"
The Ninth Doctor smiles encouragingly as he insists, "That's exactly my point! Out of everyone here, you're the only one who's primed for the situation!"
The Eighth Doctor manages to look appalled and disgusted all at the same time before declaring in an unrelenting tone, "I've never come across anything that scary before and you know it!"
The Doctors seem to receive a reprieve as the front door unexpectedly flies open and David enters the house and hurries to Susan's side. Taking in the Doctors' presence, he swiftly bundles up Susan in her coat and grabs the suitcase for the hospital on his way out, leaving without a word as he rushes her out the door.
The Fourth Doctor walks over to close the front door and calls out, "Good luck!"
Susan yells back, "Thank you, Grandfather!" before David settles her inside their car and he drives away at top speed.
The Fourth Doctor softly shuts the door as he gives his other selves a very pointed look and states, "Actually, I was speaking to David."
He sighs dramatically as he surveys the panicked and bewildered faces around him. Then he looks at the children. "Now, Time Tots," he wonders aloud, "What to do with all of you, hmmm?"
To be continued…