The Last Seer

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

The Doctor sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Claire Ann.

The voice in his head said her name before he had even opened his eyes, and a wave of sadness hit him. He had been getting better, forcing himself to be better, for Rose, for their children, but today he couldn't.

For a few minutes he sat there with his hands pressed against his eyes. Angry, sorrowful thoughts were swirling in his head.

You could have stopped her.

She would still be alive if you had noticed.

How could you be so stupid?

She was your daughter, and you let her fall to her death.

"Rose!" he shouted. She had been sleeping in his room, but she was usually up before him.

She came running in as quick as she could with her huge stomach. "Doctor? Doctor, what's wrong?" She sat beside him and took his hand.

"She's in my head again. I can't get her out."

Rose sighed. "Maybe we need to look for her. Just to be sure. Neither of us saw her die-maybe she's still alive."

He shook his head. "No. No, she couldn't be. I just can't believe I forgot. How could I do that to her? I let her die and then I couldn't even remember her last few moments!"

Rose sighed and turned his head so he would look at her. She had never seen so much pain in anyone's eyes-before now she wouldn't have thought it possible. But both his hearts were broken for Claire Ann.

"Doctor," she said quietly, "let's at least look. We can go see her foster parents. If she survived, then she would go to see their child."

He nodded, rubbed his eyes, and stood up, sweeping her into his arms. "To London it is."

She smiled at him and pulled her feet out of the way as he brushed through door frames. When he sat her on the jump seat, she said, "Doctor, she contacted you before on your psychic paper. Why do you think she hasn't done that now-if she's alive?"

He frowned. "She probably assumed we were better off without her. One less person to look after, what with you being pregnant."

"But she knows we love her; she couldn't just think that another kid being here would change that."

"I don't think she did. I think she thought that she would be in the way, put her sibling in danger."

Rose sat there in silence. They were saying all this on the assumption that she was alive. They needed to see Amy and Rory Williams before they could assume anything more.

~

"Breanne? Yeah, she was here seven months ago with some bloke."

The Doctor leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. Rose leaned over when his shoulders started to shake, but realized that he was laughing. "She's alive," he muttered, and when he lifted his head they saw tears on his cheeks. "She's alive."

"Who was with her?" Rose asked.

Amy shrugged, bouncing her baby boy. "Calls himself Yana. Time Lord, I think. They had a TARDIS."

Yana. You Are Not Alone. The Doctor remembered how that acronym had applied to the Master, and now to the one taking care of his daughter. He needed to find them.

But if he hadn't even caught wind of any Yana or another TARDIS in a thousand years, how would he now find them?

The answer was quite simple. He would find them because he had to. He would find his daughter again if it was the last thing he did, and he would thank the man who had saved her life.

Later that day Rose and the Doctor were sitting in the TARDIS, talking. "We need to find her."

"Of course we will," the Doctor responded.

"I meant in the next three months. I want her to help me pick out names for the twins."

The Doctor smiled-a real, genuine smile. Rose smiled back, glad to see him starting to cheer up. "Don't I get a say?"

"Sure, but I want her help too."

Those were the kinds of things they talked about well into the night as the Doctor ran around the controls, trying to figure out a way to contact her, or Yana.

He would find her. He would hug her so tight she popped. And then he would ground her for the rest of her life.