Watch Us Run |1| The Ascension | A Doctor Who/MCU Fanfiction

Chapter Ten: Father's Day

A few weeks later, the Doctor and Alex coincided in the kitchen, both going for a cup of tea. The Doctor frowned. "You drink more tea than anyone I've ever met before," he commented, pouring her one anyway.

She smiled. "Yeah, I know. Mad for the caffeine, me."

"Up to anything fun?" he asked, handing her the mug.

"I was about to call Mum, actually," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "So, no."

Her eyes widened, but she couldn't hide a smile. "Oi! Anyway, I was just wondering, 'cause she was asking the other day... How long has it been? Since the Nestene Consciousness, I mean. How long have we been travelling with you?"

They sat at the dining table, both of them blowing on their teas impatiently. "Time works differently here," the Doctor explained. "You're relying on your internal body clock to keep track of the days, and that doesn't work. You feel like it's been ages, don't you?"

Alex shrugged. "It kind of feels like I've known you for years."

"Same here," he agreed. "But it's only really been about seven months."

"Seven?" she echoed. "Huh. I guess I'm eighteen." She shook her head. "But that means if I'd stayed at home, it'd be November." Her brow furrowed.

The Doctor blinked at her sudden change of mood. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said quickly, then hesitated. "My dad died in November. November the seventh, 1987. It's just... We left Mum for a year, and I didn't even think. The first time she was there for the anniversary of his death without us." She sighed.

"What was he like?" the Doctor asked. He wasn't good with upset people, but he'd done alright with Alex before. Maybe he could help this time, too.

She huffed a dry laugh. "I don't know. 1987 was the year I was born. I was two months old. I suppose I must have known him, but... I don't remember. There's just this one picture of him, back home, from the day he married Mum. That's all I've got of him." She tilted her head. "Well, sort of. Mum says I'm like him. Always fixing things... going on all these strange adventures. She said he would have changed the world." She shook herself. "Yeah, anyway. It's no big deal. Can't miss someone you don't remember, right?"

The Doctor frowned. "How did it happen?"

"Car crash," Alex answered. "Just ran out into the road, apparently. The driver didn't stick around and he was dead by the time the ambulance got there." She bit her lip. "He died alone." She trailed off, staring at the table.

"It's alright," the Doctor told her. "You don't have to talk about it."

Alex met his eyes, smiling. "I like chatting with you," she admitted shyly. "Can we talk some more?"

"What about your mother?" he reminded her.

"I'll call her later," she decided. "Let's go stargazing."

***

Five minutes later, they were sat in the TARDIS doorway, dangling their legs out into space as they orbited the Earth.

"I don't know," Alex was saying, cradling her mug with both hands. "It's different, with you. Mum and Rose and Mickey, they all mean well. They want me to get better, they really do. It's just... I think when they say better they mean back to how I was before. Like they're waiting for that version of me to come back, and I don't know how to tell them she's gone. They think it's damage, but maybe it's just change."

"And what about me?" the Doctor asked, raising an eyebrow.

She glanced across at him, smiling. "You... you look at me, and you smile. When you look at me, I can tell, you're looking at me. Not the ghost of who I used to be, or could've been. Just me." She shrugged, blushing slightly. "I didn't know how much I missed being seen like that."

He smiled. "Well, you're welcome."

"What about you, though?" she asked. "You said those UNIT people wouldn't recognise you. Have you really changed that much?"

"More than you'd expect," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "It's complicated."

Her eyes widened. "Oh, was that a rude question? I didn't even think!"

He laughed. "No, don't be daft. It's just a bit difficult to explain. Time Lords, when they die, they do this thing. It's called regeneration. Every cell in our bodies changes. New face, new body, new everything. You get thirteen shots before you're done."

"Seriously?" Alex stared. "That's so cool. So like, if I shot you right now, you could walk away with a totally different face?"

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied. "I'd rather you didn't. I'm getting attached to this face."

She grinned. "Me too."

"Sticking around then?" he said. "Even after I got you shot?"

"'Course I am," she said, rolling her eyes. "And you didn't get me shot, I got me shot, and I did it very successfully too." She nudged him gently, smiling into her mug. "I'm staying forever. I'll never stop loving this. Never."

The stars twinkled above them, and as they watched night fall over the UK, the Doctor and Alex grew just a little bit closer.

~~~

This is really short, but I didn't think the actual episode "Father's Day" fit into Alex's story very well, so I went for an interlude instead. Enjoy :))