THE DOCTOR'S DAUGHTER
Chapter Four The Doctor opened the door and peeked out before he opened the door wider and let everyone else come outside. "This is Flechia," he said to everyone. "It's a peaceful planet with a beautiful view, as shown here." He held his arm out and indicated the scenery before them. They were on top of a ridge that looked out over a wide valley. The valley was ringed by hills and in the distance was a waterfall. The water fell from a ridge one hundred feet up to a wide stream below that ran through the valley. What shocked Hannah was the fact that all the vegetation was snow white. The grass, trees and vegetation had no color to them which brought out the blue green of the water and the pink sky and made them look more stunning. In the pinkish sky there was one sun that shone down on them. The Doctor closed the door of the TARDIS while Hannah lay a blue blanket down on the ground beside a tree. Once she was done, Amy put a wicker basket down on top of it and Rory put another basket down that was filled with thermoses of tea and mugs. "So, what do you think?" the Doctor said to Hannah when they sat down. "You who have never been on a planet before?" "It's awesome! But…why is the grass and leaves white?" "Do you know anything about science?" the Doctor asked her. "Yes. I'm in a school for gifted children back home and I get excellent marks," Hannah said. "Good. But I wouldn't expect less of someone like you. Do you know what photosynthesis is?" Hannah nodded. "The vegetation here doesn't rely on the sun for their nutrients like plants on Earth. And because the plants don't use photosynthesis they don't produce the green color that Earth plants have so they're pure white here." "It's pretty," Hannah said. "This whole place is pretty." "I agree. So…shall we eat and chat?" the Doctor said. They unpacked their lunch which the TARDIS prepared for them. It was fish and chips and tea and milk from the thermoses. Hannah told them about herself and what happened to her father the night he died and how it affected everyone since. Amy's heart went out to the little girl when she spoke of all the turmoil in her life and she was amazed how calmly she told her story. She figured she inherited the Doctor's ability to hide her true feelings. When she finished, the Doctor paused in thought while he chewed on a cold chip. "Is there a way to get back to Hannah's universe?" Rory said after several moments of silence and thinking. "There are ways but it requires a little jiggery pokery to do it. One thing we need to do is find a gap in the fabric of reality, cross the void and get her back. My TARDIS really isn't equipped for travel outside this universe. We found the universe by accident first time when my TARDIS did cross over and then we nearly didn't get back. This dimension cannon thing sounds a lot more reliable than my time machine but I don't have one." "I have the diagrams and reports mum did for it. They're in my backpack," Hannah said. "Can I see them?" the Doctor said. Hannah took her backpack off and unzipped it. She pulled out the papers she'd put in there before going on her journey and handed them to the Doctor. She was about to close up the backpack when she saw the picture frame lying against her book. She pulled out the photo of her and her parents. "This is my mum and dad and me," she said to Amy and Rory. "This is when I was seven and we got this done for Christmas." Amy took it and Rory peered over her shoulder while the Doctor looked through Rose's paperwork. Amy smiled at the photo. Hannah was wearing a blue velvet dress with a matching bow in her hair. She was sitting in between her mother and father and all of them had big smiles. "This previous life of yours was well fit," Amy said to the Doctor. "And it's nice to know you had eyebrows at some point." "I have eyebrows," the Doctor said, looking up from the paperwork. "No, you have four hairs above each eye, this is eyebrows," she said, turning the frame around and showing him the photo. The Doctor stared at his clone and Rose and got an ache in his hearts when he saw how happy they looked. The photo represented the life he could never have with Rose. The husband, wife and child and their Earthly life together. He tried to keep his expression neutral but Amy could see the pain in his eyes and she quickly turned the photo around. The Doctor hurriedly turned his face back to the reports to hide any emotion and he scanned Rose's handwriting and diagrams. While he looked at the diagrams, an idea began to form in his mind. "I think I can build this in the TARDIS," the Doctor said. "And you can travel back and forth then?" Amy said. "I think so. I think with these diagrams and the TARDIS's help, I can construct a dimension cannon that can be used safely. When my people were alive, there were ways to cross the void safely but when Gallifrey was destroyed that knowledge was lost but perhaps we can use this as a way to construct an alternative. That way we can leave the TARDIS here where she can stay powered up and go to their Torchwood and visit and then come back safely. We'd have to have a chat with their Torchwood but I'm betting Pete can convince them to let us use their cannon, and Rose as well once she recovers. It's not for sure but it's an idea." "But what about Rose? Are you going to leave her wherever she is?" Rory asked. "No, I want to try to bring her onboard the TARDIS and see to her recovery myself. My ship could heal her better than any psychiatrist could. Of course, that means confronting Jackie…" "Grandma wants to get custody of me," Hannah said. "Rose would fight that," the Doctor said. "She may be depressed but I know her and she would fight your gran for custody." "I don't know where mum is though; she just went somewhere and hasn't been back." "Which means you'll have to ask," Amy said. "Yes. Which means I'll probably have to fight with Jackie but I know better than any human what Rose needs to recover." "What about our daughter?" Amy said. "What about her?" the Doctor said. Amy pointed to Rose in the photo. "She's married to your clone so you must love her since the clone would think the same as you," Amy said. "And you know how River feels about you as well," Rory added. "River need not know. Rose will probably live in the other universe and visit. River shouldn't have any trouble with that and if she does, well…I knew Rose long before I knew River." "Who's River?" Hannah said. The Doctor explained who River was, telling them the story of meeting her with Amy rather than his first meeting. That story led to more stories from the Doctor, Amy and Rory. Hannah told them what her mother and father had told them, some of the stories about her travels with the Doctor and the Doctor filled her in on other things they had done together with Amy and Rory adding in stories about their own adventures. By the time they finished, the sun was setting and they realized they'd spent several hours swapping stories. They gathered up everything and walked back into the TARDIS. After the Doctor took the TARDIS back into the vortex, he thought for a moment. "Why don't you spend the night with us since we stayed out there longer than I anticipated. I want to enter this information about the dimension cannon into the TARDIS's computers and see if she can refine the design and come up with a better, safer version. Dear, could you make a bedroom for our guest and give her some clothes. If this dimension cannon idea works, we need a room for you here." "Can I ask you something?" Hannah said. "Sure," the Doctor said. "Some of the people we talked about that my mom knew. Can I meet them?" "You mean like Jack?" "Or Sarah Jane or Donna." "Well, I don't know about Donna…although…perhaps you can meet Wilf, her granddad. I wouldn't mind seeing him again. Jack…I'd have to find him again…but I could take you to see Sarah. She'd love to meet you. I'll tell you what…why don't you have a lie down for a bit while I enter this information into the TARDIS computer and when you wake up, I'll take you to see some of my friends. Sound good?" "Yes," Hannah said. She paused a moment. "Um…can I ask you something else?" she said. "Yes?" "Well, I don't know what to call you now that I'm here. I called you Other Dad but do you wanna be called Doctor, because I can do that as well." "Well…I s'pose in a technical sense you are my child and if you've always known me as Other Dad, I don't mind you calling me that." Hannah beckoned to him and the Doctor leaned over with a frown. Amy and Rory grinned when Hannah kissed his cheek firmly and the Doctor beamed and returned the gesture. "Amy, Rory, can you take her to her room. The TARDIS will guide you." "Yup. Come with us, Hannah," Amy said. "See ya later, Other Dad," Hannah said as she followed Amy and Rory. "Good night, Hannah, I'll see you in a few hours," the Doctor said. Hannah smiled and the Doctor watched lovingly as she followed his friends up the steps to the back door.
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