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“Does anyone else think this whole situation is a little weird?” Tim asked and Sarah shrugged.
“The part where Mum’s pregnant again or the part where we’re recording ourselves to connect with said baby?” Tilly asked.
“Yes.”
“I mean we know that our parents are really good at being parents,” Sarah said.
“Why then did we decide to record what our favourite TARDIS memories are?”
“Because she’s our third parent,” Tilly said. “Plus it just… seems odd that our new sibling isn’t going to have those experiences with us.”
“So who’s going first?” Sarah asked after a moment of silence.
“Me obviously because I was the first TARDIS baby,” Tilly said.
“Seems fair to me,” Tim said with a shrug and Tilly beamed.
“Great!”
My favourite memory of the TARDIS is actually my first memory. Dad says that I shouldn’t remember this, Mum says that the TARDIS gave it to me. This usually sets off a round of bickering about how the TARDIS never used to be as sentient before Mum came around (Dad) and that Dad just wasn’t letting her live up to her full potential (Mum). But regardless.
The first bit of this memory is seeing Mum’s face, looking so happy and so tired, with Dad hovering over her shoulder, looking completely and utterly floored with joy, but still with concern flickering in his gaze.
“Emma are you sure you’re up to this?”
“Oh stop fussing. You really think that I am cruel enough to keep the TARDIS from meeting our little girl?” Dad pulled a face as Mum moved the blankets away from my face and shifted me so that I could see the console room. “TARDIS meet Tilly Susan Victoria Smith.”
“Why did Mum and Dad pick Tilly?” Tim asked. Tilly shoved him.
“Is now the time?”
“Well I mean Victoria made sense, they’d bumped into her again shortly before you were born. And Susan is obvious. But where did Tilly come from?”
“Where did Timothy come from?”
“Don’t have this problem with Sarah Jane,” Sarah teased as she watched her siblings bicker. “Now let Tilly finish.”
“Thank you.”
As soon as Mum finished the lighting in the console room changed to a soft orange pink and blue clouds appeared. I giggled and Mum gasped in awe while Dad frowned with a smile on his face.
“TARDIS has never done this before.”
“You have never given her a baby before,” Mum said simply as she gently placed me on a cloud. “She’s probably a little excited.”
“Simple as that?” Dad asked as a small galaxy appeared over my head, spinning slowly like a mobile.
“Simple as that.”
This is my favourite memory, future sibling, because I wanted you to know that there’s always something magical waiting for you around the corner, whether it’s space, time or just Earth.
“That is a good memory,” Sarah said and Tilly nodded.
“Do I have to say ‘My favourite TARDIS memory is’?” Timothy asked.
“Don’t be such a stick in the mud Timothy Jamie Harry Smith!” Tilly gasped and he winced.
“Was the full name necessary?” Sarah and Tilly looked at each other before they nodded in sync.
“Yes.”
“Ugh fine.”
My favourite TARDIS memory is when I graduated from university and Dad lead us to the backyard to show us the TARDIS sitting in the backyard and handed each of us a key.
“You’re giving us the TARDIS?” I asked in confusion and Dad smiled before shaking his head.
“That is my TARDIS,” he said and jerked his head over his shoulder. “This one is yours.”
“Our TARDIS?” Sarah asked while Tilly looked back and forth between the two TARDISes with growing glee on her face.
“She grew it for you. I didn’t think she knew how to do that,” Dad said and Mum came up beside him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
“That’s because you keep underestimating her,” Mum said with a wink before pulling my sisters towards the door.
“Sarah’s the youngest though, shouldn’t she have gotten this when she graduated from school?” I asked and Dad threw his arm over my shoulder.
“Nah,” Dad said casually. “The TARDIS does have a sense of timing. Besides the girls would have been waiting for you anyways.”
“It’s the round things!” Sarah squealed from inside our TARDIS. “Tim come look at the round things!”
“You sure that you and Mum are okay with the three of us setting off on our own?” I asked.
“I can see that the three of you inherited my wanderlust. Part of me wishes you hadn’t.” He looked sad at this. “But a larger part of me wants you to be able to experience the universe; all of its beauty and pain.”
“That’s deep Dad,” I said dryly, and he laughed.
“You sound like your Mum.” He ruffled my hair and gently pulled me forward into the TARDIS.
“This is literally the coolest gift ever!” Tilly yelled as she came racing back to the console room. Mum laughed.
“All her birthday and Christmas gifts wrapped up into one,” Mum said with a smile.
“This explains Dad teaching all of us to fly,” Sarah said as she ran her fingers over the buttons on the console.
“Three way co-captains,” Tilly said. Mum gave Dad an elbow.
“And you’ll probably do a better job than your Dad since there’s more than one of you.”
“We’ve been together over a hundred years and you still think I can’t fly her?” Dad said with a drole look and Mum grinned.
“I still think you can’t fly her fifty percent of the time,” Mum said. Dad made the face he always did when he was trying not to laugh at Mum before reaching out and pulling her into a kiss.
“Could you not kiss in our console room?” Tilly asked as we all shared a look at how disgustingly in love our parents were. Mum laughed as she pulled away, though they were still holding each other and Mum had her hands resting over Dad’s hearts.
“She’s got a point. We can go kiss in our console room,” Mum said with a teasing glimmer in her eyes. Dad laughed.
“I’ll meet you there.” Mum stepped away from Dad and moved to hug each of us and make sure that we would phone if we needed help, or information, or anything and that we knew she loved us.
“We know Mum.” We chorused.
“I just want you to know that I’m still going to be your Mum even if we’re all travelling,” she said and Dad reached over and rubbed Mum’s shoulders.
“Emma, you aren’t abandoning them.”
“Right yes sorry.” Mum was looking suspiciously watery eyed which is probably why she made a quick escape after that.
“Start at the Medusa Cascade. It’s beautiful this time of year,” Dad said with a wink as he stepped out.
“Come on,” Sarah said. “Let’s do this.”
This is my favourite memory, future sibling, because then the three of us took off in our very own TARDIS for our very own set of adventures. And provided you want to, you can come with once your old enough. After all TARDIS consoles are designed for seven.
“That’s a good memory Tim,” Tilly said and Sarah nodded.
“Which is annoying because it was going to be mine,” Sarah said and Tim laughed.
“Sorry.” Tim rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
“It’s okay I have a back up.”
My second favourite TARDIS memory, because Tim stole mine, is when I was fourteen. Aunt Martha had just been by for a visit to give us our yearly check ups and that was the year I discovered that I had more human DNA than Time Lord DNA.
“Hey kiddo,” Mum said as she crawled through the little hole in front of me and brushed her hair out of her face.
"Did the TARDIS tell you where to find me?" I asked as I pressed my eyes into my knees.
“No, but she did send me on a wild goose chase through her rooms until I clued into the playroom,” Mum said as she settled in next to me. “Is this about Aunt Martha?”
“How come I’m more human than Tilly and Tim?” I asked. “Shouldn’t I be fifty/fifty like them?”
“I wish I could give you a better explanation, but sometimes genetics are weird,” she said and rubbed my back gently.
“Is Dad disappointed that I’m not more Time Lord?”
“Dad could never be anything less than absolutely delighted that you exist,” Mum said and I shifted so that I could give her a look. “It’s true. Do the math.”
“What math?”
“How many Time Lords were there before you were born?” I shrugged. “One. Just your dad.”
“So now there’s like one and a quarter more. Mathematically speaking.” Mum laughed at that.
“I know where you got your cheekiness from,” Mum teased. “Plus there’s your name.”
“My name?” I asked and shifted so that my chin was resting on my knees. Mum nodded with a comforting smile as she leaned forward and gently rubbed my cheek.
“Your dad and I made a deal before Tilly was born, that we wouldn’t give any of our kids the same first name as a companion.” I nodded. “And then you were born and he was holding you for the first time and he looked up at me and begged. Begged me to let him break the deal.”
“So he probably knew even then,” I said glumly and Mum shrugged.
“Maybe, but maybe that’s why he named you Sarah Jane Charlotte Barbara Smith.” Mum reached out and cupped my cheek. “All his female companions that made the most significant impact on him.”
“Really?” I asked and Mum nodded.
“And despite your ‘lacking genetics’ you’re the only one of my babies who could have convinced the TARDIS to give me the run around that she just did.”
“I didn’t say I had lacking genetics,” I protested. Mum laughed.
“So I filled in the blanks. You.” She tapped the tip of my nose. “Are always going to be perfect. No matter what.”
“Thanks Mum.”
I picked this story, future sibling, to show that no matter what you are genetically we’re always going to love you.
“Screw genetics,” Tilly said as she hugged Sarah. “You’re just as Time Lord as the rest of us.”
“I agree. And future sibling will be too,” Tim said while joining the hug. “You know what we should do?”
“What’s that?”
“Go crash Mum and Dad’s wedding.”
“Tim! You’re a genius!” Tilly cried and flew to the console to start doing just that before she angled herself towards the microphone. “See you soon future sibling!”
“Can’t wait to see the universe with you!” Sarah called.
“It’s going to be amazing,” Tim added before he turned the microphone and recording off.