The Doctor's Daughter (Doctor Who Fanfiction)

Chapter Three - Lornidaria

"Ready? One, two, three, NOW!" the Doctor yells. We throw the two pieces of the star into space. I watch as Algol's atmosphere sucks them back into place with a burst of white light.

I close the TARDIS doors and sigh, leaning against them. "That was close," I state.

"Yes, very extremely close," the Doctor agrees, walking to the TARDIS console.

"So, how did you manage to get the second piece?" I ask, going to join him. We flip a few levers, push a few buttons, and make the TARDIS take off.

"Oh, easy. Once everyone left to see what the noise was, I just unlocked the case with my sonic. Easy peezy." He spins on his heels to face me after flicking one last switch on the console. "Now, more importantly, let's see where we've landed!"

"You mean you don't know?" I ask, eyebrows raised.

"I know where in space we are, but no, I don't know what we'll find out there." He gestures toward the doors with a big dopey smile on his face.

"Well then, let's go find out!" I grin back at him and bound to the door.

"Be careful Jenny!" he calls after me, following me over.

"Ready?" I ask, hand on doorknob, stomach jumping with excitement.

"You know I am!" He straightens his bowtie, still smiling in anticipation.

"Alright then, let's go!" We've landed on a ridge overlooking a picturesque forest. It looks like a rainforest, but not one I have yet seen in my own travels. Everything, the rocks, bark on trees, leaves, streams, sun, sky, seems to be covered with a dew made out of pure crystal. I was still getting used to how the TARDIS worked, how we would close the doors on, say, a Earth meadow and reopen them again to reveal the stars of deep space. I had heard all about the Doctor's magic blue box, so I knew what to expect, but hearing and experiencing are very different things.

"The planet Lornidaria!" the Doctor exclaims., breaking me out of my thoughts 

"Wow," I breathe. "It's beautiful!"

"It is, isn't it?" We stand for a second more before he says, "How about we go look for some sign of civilization, eh? Well, they don't have to be civilized, it is a bit more fun that way..."

"Lead the way, dad," I say with a wave of my hand.

We scale down the ridge and walk along the side of the stream. "So, what ever happened to Donna and Martha?" I ask.

"Oh, Martha got married! To another of my companions. Well, he wasn't really a companion, but he travelled with me occasionally. Mickey, his name was, Mickey..."

"And Donna?" I had really, really liked Donna the one occasion I'd met her.

His face clouds with sadness for a moment. "She's...gone."

"Gone?" I repeat. "Is she...is she d---?"

"No, no. But there was an incident. Have you heard anything about the Daleks? And Davros?" I nod. I had learned a lot about the history of Gallifrey, and about the Time War. He continues, "Well, Donna touched my severed hand after I'd transferred some excess regeneration energy to it, and that made a second me, a part human me. But it also made Donna part Time Lord. I had to wipe her memory, all memory of me, and all we did, and all we saw."

I feel a burning in the corner of my eyes as I hear what he's saying. "I'm so sorry. Damn," I sigh.

"Ah, well," he says quietly. "It was a long time ago."

There's a pause in the conversation, broken only by the sound of our muffled footsteps on the spongey ground and of the stream rushing. The water was travelling uphill, I notice.

"Well, um, what else have you been up to?" I ask.

He brightens considerably and we exchange tales of our adventures. He tells me of Prisoner Zero and the Atraxi, starwhales on UK spaceships, daleks in World War II, Weeping Angels, vampire fish people, the Pandorica, cursed black spots, the TARDIS woman, wars fought against Headless Monks, Cybermen in British malls, and more.

He tells me a long, complicated story that is not yet over: about a girl who waited for him, who waited decades in three different time streams of her life, who is still waiting for him now as she thinks he's dead; and of her husband, the last centurion and the bravest man the Doctor's met in a while. And about their daughter, River, the baby who was raised to be the perfect psychopath but is now the Doctor's wife. My...stepmother.

He tells me of an Apollo astronaut in Lake Silencio, Utah, and how he died but then he didn't, although everyone but River and a few tiny, robot-worker-people think he is. How it has to be that way or the Silence would kill him, although he wasn't exactly sure who the Silence were.

And I tell him about what I've been up to: running, saving worlds and civilizations, settling problems, etc. Basically, doing what he does but on a much smaller scale. We both share a love for Earth, I realize.

Suddenly, I see something that makes me stop dead: two flowers, tall as the Doctor, waving in the middle of a field. "Doctor, look at that!" I say, pointing.

"Wait a second...," he warns, but too late. I'm already running toward them.

As I near, they...turn. And I see they aren't just flowers, but flower PEOPLE. Faces sit in the middle of the petals, and the leaves and stem are actually green legs, arms, and torso.

One of them looks like a sunflower, with a large brown face beneath the bright yellow petals. The other had light lavender petals and a yellow face. The Doctor appears at my elbow, and they speak at the same time, "Who are you?"  Their voices are soft, high, and squeaky, like a child's.

"I'm the Doctor, and this is Jenny," he introduces us, peering into their faces. "And who are you, you beautiful things?"

"We are the Flosentia," they chorus, faces void of any emotion. "You will come with us now." They turn gracefully again and glide away, into the trees.

"Well, since you asked so nicely...," I mutter under my breath. The Doctor chuckles, and we follow the Flosentia to the unknown.