Chapter Text
“One trip,” the Doctor said, grinning widely. “Your choice: past, future, or planet?”
“Um, I don’t know... past,” Martha decided.
“Past it is!” He pulled some levers and pushed some buttons. “Just one quick stop first.”
The time ship stopped shaking. The Doctor moved to the doors and gestured, bouncing impatiently on his toes. “Come on, come on,” he urged.
Martha followed him out of the box. She blinked. “We moved.”
They had landed in a backyard. A wooden playset with a slide, two swings, and monkey rings sat to one side, surrounded by gravel. A hammock hung between two trees on the other side. A path of ten gray stepping stones led from a small blue gazebo to the sliding glass door of a house.
Before the Doctor could answer her, the door slid open. A young redheaded woman stepped outside, wiping her hands on her dark-washed skinny jeans. A smile lit her face when she saw the intruders.
“I thought I heard that box of yours!” she exclaimed in an American accent. She made her way quickly to them, keeping to the stones.
The Doctor wrapped her in a tight hug. “How many days?” he asked when they separated.
“Only three,” the woman replied. “You’re still within your self-appointed time limit.” Her eyes flicked to Martha. “And who is this?”
“Oh!” the Doctor said. “This is Martha Jones. I promised her a trip. Martha, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Brie Kelly.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Brie said.
This woman sounded genuinely happy, which confused Martha. The medical student didn’t know what the Doctor’s companions were usually like, but she figured they wouldn’t be happy meeting a “replacement”. On the other hand, the Doctor had said his last companion was five years ago, and her name had been Rose; this woman looked too young to have come before that. But then how did she know him...?
While she’d been musing, the Doctor and Brie had continued their conversation.
“So how is school going?” the Time Lord was asking.
Brie sighed. “Oh, you know. It’s a process. Still going to RCCC; one more year til I get my Bachelor’s and then it’s off to UNCC for another one thousand eight hundred and twenty five days.”
“Let me know if you need any help; I am, after all, a genius.”
“In science and space and time, yeah, but in Sociology and Psychology?”
“I’m nine hundred and six years old; my genius knows no bounds.”
Brie laughed. “Okay. I promise to ask if I get stuck.” She ran a hand through her wavy hair. “Now, I just finished making lunch. Would you like some?”
“Your cooking? Of course.”
Martha realized they were waiting for her. “Oh, uh, yes, please. Lunch would be great.”
Brie smiled. “Then come on in.”
The redhead led the way into the cozy two-story house. As they walked, Martha noticed each of the stepping stones had a pair of handprints in it, along with an age engraved beneath. She wondered if Brie had a child.
The sliding door led right into the kitchen. It was clean but cozy, with a cooker, refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, and island. A breakfast bar allowed a view into a small living room.
Brie went to the counter and began scooping something from a pot.
“Do you like macaroni and cheese, Martha?” she asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
The young woman grabbed two of the bowls and carried them to the breakfast bar before going to the staircase in the living room.
“Kids, lunch!” she called.
Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Two small bodies dressed in pajamas tumbled into the room. Before they could go further, Brie stopped them. “There’s a surprise for you in the kitchen, sweetheart,” she said to the shorter one.
The door swung open. The tall child, a boy, went directly for his lunch. The girl, however, stood frozen in the doorway. She stared at the Doctor for a long moment before jolting into motion.
“Daddy!” she yelled, running to the man.
The Time Lord caught her and swung her high before bringing her closer and hugging her. “Hey there, baby girl. Long time, no see, eh?” He kissed her forehead. “Did you have fun with Isaac?”
“Yeah! We played Time Travel and school and....” She proceeded to rattle off a long list of typical kid games, although strange words like “Ood” and “Raxacoricofallapatorius” popped up occasionally.
Martha was staring in shock. She heard Brie chuckle next to her.
“He didn’t tell you he has a daughter, did he?” the redhead asked.
Martha shook her head. “So, is she... are you and the Doctor....”
“What? No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, definitely not. No.” Brie looked sick in that Ew-we’re-related kind of way. “It’s not like that with us. We’re just friends.”
“So you’re not interested, he’s not interested....”
Brie grew thoughtful. “I don’t know. It’s not that I don’t find him... attractive, but... we just don’t have that sort of connection. It’s always been just friends for us.”
“Is it because he’s... you know, alien?”
“Oh, no!” Brie shook her head quickly. “That doesn’t bother me. Sometimes I feel like he’s more human than most of humanity. God knows he’s been around long enough to know how to pass as one. No, that’s not it. I think.... It’s kind of like when you meet someone and you just feel something, a connection, or the spark of a connection. And then you find out a huge secret about them, and even though it scares you to death, you still can’t shake that feeling.”
She looked at Martha. “The same day I met the Doctor, I found out he was an alien. He asked me to go with him but I said no because of Isaac. We keep in contact; I don’t think he would’ve survived a week with that kid if he didn’t have me to keep him sane. Five years later and there’s not one day I regret my choice to be his friend.”
Their conversation was interrupted by the alien in question.
“Martha, I’d like you to meet someone very important to me. This is my daughter, Andromeda Cassiopeia Freya Kasterborous. Andi, can you say hello to Martha?”
The little girl looked at her shyly. “Hello, Martha.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Andi,” the medical student replied.
The Doctor put his daughter down. “Alright, go eat your lunch. And mouth closed when you chew!” he added as she ran off to her seat.
Brie passed out the remaining bowls and the adults leaned against the counter.
“So where are you off to after this?” the mother asked, scooping mac ‘n’ cheese out of her bowl.
“Not sure,” the Doctor replied cheerily. “Somewhere in the past. Figured I’d set the randomizer and see what happens.” He glanced at her sideways. “Do you want to come?”
She shook her head. “Not this time. I’m still recovering from Antares.”
“I told you, the Crystal Possessors just wanted to make you their queen.”
“I’m twenty-four, I don’t want to be a queen!”
“Well they didn’t know that!”
Martha listened to them go back and forth and found herself feeling a bit jealous. Maybe Brie didn’t have those feelings for the Time Lord, but she’d known him for years. And he’d told her one trip.
“What are the Crystal Possessors?” she broke in, wanting to be included.
The Doctor looked at her. “They’re a fairly humanoid race, besides the pointed ears and pink eyes. Antares is a crystalline planet. In the Crystallite language, possess means harbor, or protect. The crystals on Antares are sacred to the Crystallites; they renew the planet every year, and they generate the energy that creates their young. Crystal Possessors are considered the Chosen Ones, those fortunate enough to have the job of protecting the crystals.”
“And they wanted Brie as their queen?”
“Yep, although I guess she’d be more of a regent. The Crystallites are a peaceful race who govern themselves, but the Possessors follow a strict code of conduct that is enforced by a female ruler, typically the most beautiful and unique Crystallite. Brie stood out with her red hair and freckles, so they wanted her. They were incredibly fond of Isaac, too.”
“How’d you two meet, anyway?” Brie asked, changing the subject. “I thought you were going off to find the killer of Princess something or another.”
“I was!” the Doctor protested.
“I’m a medical student at Royal Hope Hospital,” Martha explained. “He tracked the alien there and was posing as a patient. The hospital was transported to the moon so the Judoon could search it and I helped him expose the killer.”
“Saved my life, too,” the Time Lord added. “So I offered her a trip.”
“And are you going to be taking Andi on this trip?” Brie said pointedly.
The Doctor looked offended. “Of course I am!” he exclaimed. “That’s why we stopped here first. I missed my little mystery.”
“Daddy, can we go to Alitar?” the child in question asked, looking at her father with big amber eyes.
He walked over to her. “Not this time,” he said. “It’s Martha’s choice, and she wants the past.”
Martha expected an argument, but Andi just said, “Okay!” and went back to eating.
“She’s not going to be upset, is she?” she asked the Doctor when he came back over.
He shook his head. “Nah, she knows better. Used to be she could get me to do anything just by flashing those big eyes. Brie put a stop to that when I bought her an iPad a couple years back. It took some time, but eventually Andi learned that she won’t get everywhere by being cute.”
“What’s on Alitar?”
“Oh, just the Sea Dancers. They’re a society based primarily on entertainment. They communicate solely through body movements. It’s actually pretty fascinating.”
“Mom, can I go help Andi pack her things?” the little boy -- Isaac, Martha figured -- asked.
Brie nodded. “Put your bowls in the sink before you go. And get dressed!” she added sternly as they pounded up the stairs.
The redhead looked guiltily at the Doctor. “Sorry she’s still in her nightgown,” she apologized. “They convinced me they wanted to play Peter Pan and that they had to be wearing their PJs to do it.”
“It’s fine, Brie. You already do so much for us; I don’t think I could ever repay you in a hundred years.”
She smiled. “Thank you. You know kissing up isn’t going to get you anywhere, right?”
He mock-gasped. “I am offended you would think of me that way!”
She stuck her tongue out at him before turning to wash the lunch dishes.
“Let me do that,” the Doctor protested, batting her hands out of the way. “You go sit down and congratulate yourself on looking after a ten-year-old and a six-year-old for three days with no help.”
Brie gave him a relieved look before going into the living room.
“You too, Martha,” he added when the medical student stayed put. “I’ll be done in a bit, and as soon as Andi gets her stuff we can go.”
Reluctantly, Martha went to sit with Brie. She decided to take the opportunity to ask more about the mysterious little girl. “So if Andi isn’t yours, whose is she?”
Brie took out her phone and tapped at the screen before holding it out to Martha. There was a picture of the Doctor -- looking exactly the same as he did now -- holding a little baby girl with blue-streaked hair.
“This was taken the day I met the Doctor, which was the day after he found Andi,” she began.
“Wait -- found?” Martha interrupted.
The young mother nodded. “Andi was in the wardrobe of the TARDIS, buried in a pile of clothes. To this day the Doctor has no clue how she got on board, where she came from, or what she is. But he’s taken care of her better than anyone ever could.”
“Just like that? He just... kept a baby?”
“He used to be a father, you know.” At Martha’s look of disbelief, Brie continued, “It’s true. Time Lords live for a long time, and they don’t always look their age. When he first left his home, he was with his granddaughter, Susan. He had two children, a girl and a boy.”
“So he kept Andi out of... what? A sense of responsibility? Obligation?”
“Not really. Personally, I think it was a desire to not be alone. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the Doctor, it’s that he hates being lonely. That’s what makes him so human, even if he is an alien: he feels the same need we do to fit in, to belong -- and to have someone, anyone, who can make him feel that way is one of his priorities. He told you about Rose?”
Martha nodded. “He told me that was five years ago. That would be right around the time he found Andi, wouldn’t it?”
Brie looked solemn. “Andi showed up in the wardrobe the day he said goodbye,” she replied. “Rose is trapped on a parallel world; trying to go back could cause both our world and hers to collapse. There’s no way to see her again.
“The Doctor told me he’d decided, the moment he lost contact with her, that he wouldn’t have another companion; it was too painful. But then he found Andi, and I think seeing her sparked something in him, some instinct buried away.”
“The paternal instinct?”
Brie nodded. “Exactly. The Doctor doesn’t have any family left. To him, Andi must have been a second chance.”
Andi and Isaac came trotting back down the stairs; this time, the little girl carried a duffle bag the same blue as her streaks over her shoulder. They’d both gotten dressed in shorts and a t-shirt.
“All ready to go, then?” the Doctor asked, leaning against the kitchen doorway.
***
Martha watched from the side as goodbyes were said. Brie hugged the Doctor and reminded him to keep up with Andi’s reading. The Doctor hugged Isaac and promised to take him to another planet soon. Brie hugged Andi and made her promise to be good for her daddy. Andi hugged Isaac and told him he made a perfect Peter Pan.
The medical student was surprised when Brie pulled her into a warm embrace. “Look after him,” the young mother whispered.
“I will,” Martha promised when they parted.
Andi led the way into the TARDIS, and they were off.