The Answer to the Big Question

“And that’s how it happens,” he said, confidently.

“Seriously?”

“Yep. What did you expect?”

“I dunno, Dad, I mean…I definitely didn’t expect the space whales.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, those are key. You have to really set the mood, and those will just do it. Also you need to book an orchestra, the London Philharmonic if you can get them, but if you can't (they're big, not everyone can, you know), it is permissible to get the nearest symphony orchestra you can find. In an emergency."

"Huh," she said. "I thought it was more private than that. How does everyone fit?"

“How did everyone fit in the manger back in Bethlehem?” he said rhetorically. “I mean, you had Mary, Joseph, the kid, the animals, plus the shepherds, maybe the sheep I don’t know, and then the wise men, and who knows how many other people dropping by for a look, not to mention all those angels.”

Her eyes went wide. “You mean…”

“Yep,” he said solemnly. “Time Lord tech.”

“And that’s how-”

“Oh, yeah, it’s been a thing ever since. Made it a heck of a lot easier.”

“Huh,” she said again. “Huh. So…that’s really where babies come from?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.”

There was a long pause. “But,” she asked finally, “Why does everyone go to the hospital for it? I mean, Hope from school, she says when her sister Kayla was born, her mom and dad went to the hospital and left her with a sitter and everything. Did you and Mom go there too or-”

“Well, yes,” he said, stalling for time. Then he smiled. “But then again, what do you think they call him the Doctor for?”

She gasped in awe. “Whoa.”

“Exactly,” he said, in no small relief. “Whoa.”

---