The Gallifreyan Bloodline

XXII

Foreman understood that Susan was deeply connected to the TARDIS, practically a Child of the TARDIS even though she didn't fit under the normal parameters. He'd been one of the people who have her this information in the first place, after all. It was an inherent part of her as much as her name was.

But just because he understood the connection didn't mean that he enjoyed it. If anything, he found himself quietly loathing it as he watched from a distance. Why was the TARDIS allowed to gain ownership over her? The TARDIS, though a sentient being, was just a time machine. Foreman was her father.

Yes, she hadn't known that he was her father for very long. There was no denying that - but it wasn't as if she hadn't been given enough time for such news to set in to her skin. She certainly understood by this point in time that they were related incredibly deeply, otherwise he must've failed to get through everything he was intending.

What did it matter? All Foreman cared about was whether or not Susan actually understood what he was trying to get across to begin with. He cared about whether she understood that she was his father and that being a child of a child of the TARDIS squared wouldn't change any of it for a moment.

Susan surely had to sense just how much her father adored her. It would be impossible not to adore her so dearly after so many years of seperation. How could he possibly drop his love for his long lost daughter when she'd finally been flung back into his arms?

Foreman didn't have the answer to that, just as he didn't have the answer to why she consistently chose the TARDIS over him.

What had the TARDIS given Susan? Well, she'd given her a companion when she was more or less alone. She'd given her a home to go in any place she might wish to go. She'd given her support and given her ideas and brought her just about anything she desired.

And what had Foreman given Susan? Perhaps his list wasn't as plentiful, but he believed it was just as important. After all, he'd been half of the couple who granted her life. He'd also managed to give her love, something which he was certain that the TARDIS didn't have the capacity to express often.

But it didn't matter at the end of everything - Foreman had already managed to lose touch with Susan while the TARDIS began to nestle the girl under her wings. Foreman felt desperate as he wished to know why he was being rejected, what he had done wrong that ended up pushing Susan away...but he came up with nothing. Perhaps it was because there was nothing to come up with in the first place.

Foreman knew that there were other matters that he was meant to focus on at the moment, matters that the Doctor prioritised far above anything else. He wasn't sure that his beliefs fell into this same system as that of the eldest Time Lord in the TARDIS, but that was not what he was meant to focus on at the moment.

"What is it that we must do today, Doctor?" Foreman asked, unsure if he truly wanted to know the answer that the Doctor was guaranteed to give out. "You must have some sort of plan, I'm sure."

"We've delayed our search for Gallifrey for long enough," the Doctor said, flipping a lever on the TARDIS console. "We've been speaking about irrelevant topics for far too long, I believe. What we truly need to do is get to something more important."

"I didn't realise that my daughter and my wife weren't important," Foreman breathed out, making sure that no one else could hear what he said. He knew the Doctor would immediately call him out for such a comment. There were enough problems floating around - Foreman wouldn't wish to cause another one to come up if he could avoid it in the end.

"I hear grumbling coming from you, Foreman," the Doctor said.

"Well, as long as I end up following you in the end, then my grumbling won't mean anything," Foreman replied, right as Susan walked into the room. She was either completely unaware of the tension already stacking up in the room, or she was pretending as if she didn't notice it.