The Gallifreyan Bloodline

XXIX

Foreman wished he could carry around a dictionary the same way Brook did. With a dictionary in his hands, he wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of running out of words to say. Instead, he would find something to allow him to speak the way he wished to. But, of course, he had no dictionary nor any way to describe his thoughts through proper words.

He wished he could allow himself to get lost within the TARDIS hallways, but she would most likely end up bringing him right back to the control room now matter where he headed off to. It would be absolutely useless to think about getting lost. If the TARDIS wanted you to find your way, then you would most certainly end up at your destination.

And, of course, Foreman assumed that the TARDIS didn't care much for him to begin with. Perhaps he had married the Child of the TARDIS squared and fathered her child, but that didn't change the fact that he'd nearly ended up destroying the TARDIS during his fits in the past. With the idea he was pursuing, however, he wouldn't have to worry about what the TARDIS might think of him.

But as he stepped into the control room, he found all of these thoughts disappating. In a split second all had become too quiet for him - all that he could hear properly was the sound of his own breathing. Both the Doctor and Susan stared at him, wondering what he was up to.

He'd planned his words time and time again, as he kept throwing them out when he realised they wouldn't display what he wished to say. He stood for a moment, trying to throw together words until he finally decided to just speak.

"I...I'm leaving," Foreman said. "I can't stay here any longer. The TARDIS has been good to me, yes, but I can't stay here for much longer. It isn't going to work out well...well, let's be honest. It hasn't worked out well."

The only response from the rest of the TARDIS was the light hum of near silence. No one knew quite what to say, as if they were unsure if they'd actually heard Foreman correctly or not. Sensing this reaction, Foreman decided that he needed to say it out loud again despite how difficult it been for him to speak in the first place.

"I have to leave the TARDIS behind. It seems absurd to say such a thing out loud, but I've determined that it will be best for me if I do such a thing. It will best for all of us."

"Father, no," Susan said, reaching out to take his arm within her hands. "Father. I need you to stay with me. We were seperated for so many years, why can't we be together now?"

"The TARDIS is not my home. Gallifrey is not my home. What I've realised is that I've been looking for home for so long...and home is Brook's planet."

Foreman took a deep breath in, attempting to determine what else he could say. How else was he supposed to explain that going to Gallifrey simply felt wrong to him at this point in time? It wasn't even the "home" part that bothered him so deeply any longer...he couldn't stand the thought of returning.

But he needed to go back to the place which had nurtured him, the place where he had built a new life and gained a family. Perhaps that place would be empty when he returned, but empty was far better than going to Gallifrey.

"I need to go back to that home. I lost that place so long ago, and I can no longer bear to stay away from it. This thought never crossed my mind for the greatest time, and now that it's lodged myself within my mind I know I can't get it out. I have to leave, and I have to leave soon."

Neither the Doctor nor Susan made any sort of reply at first. The two just continued staring at him, both with surprise written across their features. But then Susan couldn't wait to speak any longer.

"Aren't you going to miss me, Father?"

"That is a silly question to ask, Susan," Foreman said, shaking his head. "Of course I'm going to miss you. There was never a time when I wasn't going to miss you. But that doesn't mean that I can stay here any longer."