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They sat in a scarlet field dotted with white flowers. It was quiet and Romana wouldn’t stop squirming as Leela plucked the daisies from the field and depositing them in Romana’s lap. “For one who lives as long as you, you have no patience,” Leela teased as she ran her hand down Romana’s golden hair. She smoothed Romana’s hair once more before combing it through with her fingers. “Now, stay still. They will not stay if you move.”
“Leela,” Romana began.
“Hush.” Leela took a daisy from the pile and held it carefully between her teeth. “You lack patience.” She carefully began separating strands of hair before carefully weaving them together in a small braid.
“I am not impatient,” the Time Lady insisted as she gathered the daisies in her lap into a large bouquet. “You are dragging me away from important duties to… play in a field!” She yelped slightly when Leela tugged on the braid. “I know you think I need time away from the Capitol, but is this really the best way to spend our time?”
Leela carefully slid the daisy stem into Romana’s braid and continued braiding her long hair. “Yes. I like daisies. Andred… he used to bring me daisies. He always knew when I was sad and he would return from work…” she paused briefly as she tied off the braid. “He would bring me daisies.”
“Leela…”
“They are not quite like the ones from Earth,” Leela observed as she picked up another segment of hair. “The ones on Earth have green stems. And the middle is yellow, not gold like these ones.” She deftly wove another flower into the second braid. “I liked the ones on Earth. The Doctor and I stayed on Earth for a few weeks while he fixed his TARDIS. The children taught me how to make daisy chains.” She added a second flower to the braid with a faint smile.
“Daisy chains?”
She chuckled and tied off the second braid. “Daisy chains.” She lifted a few daisies from Romana’s lap as she shifted to sit in front of her. “You link them like… this.” She used her thumbnail to create a slit in the stem of the daisy she held and slipped a second daisy through the hole she had created. “They are very easy.”
Romana watched, fascinated, before gently placing the flowers between them. She picked up her own flowers, echoing Leela’s motions. “And what does one do with a daisy chain?”
“They are pretty.” Leela finished off her small chain of daisies and gently took Romana’s hand and she slid the small chain onto her wrist. “You can use them as crowns or bracelets or necklaces.”
Romana added several more daisies to hers with careful, precise movements. She finished off her chain proudly and leaned forward to place it delicately on Leela’s head. “They are very beautiful, Leela.” She adjusted the crown carefully and rested her hand on Leela’s cheek. “Beautiful.”
Leela turned her head and pressed a kiss to Romana’s palm. “I am not done,” she said and moved behind Romana again, picking up another strand of hair. “You said you are cutting off all your hair so we will have fun with it before it is gone.”
“It does grow back,” Romana pointed out as she joined more daisies together.
“But it will not be this long for a long time.” Leela wove more daisies into Romana’s hair, admiring the way the gold center matched the gold of Romana’s hair.
“No, I suppose it won’t be.” She took the opportunity to snatch Leela’s wrist, sliding a small daisy chain onto it before going back to the pile of daisies in front of her.
“And it is beautiful here. I do not understand why you do not enjoy it. You are surrounded by beauty and yet you build walls so you cannot see it.”
“You are right, Leela.”
Leela tied off another braid. “We are out of daisies,” she pointed out as Romana used the last daisy to finish off the long chain. Romana turned to face her and shifted to kneel, giving her extra height so she could drape the long chain around Leela’s neck. She slid her hands beneath Leela’s hair to free it from beneath the daisy chain.
“They are beautiful flowers.” Her hands rested at the nape of Leela’s neck as she shook her head experimentally. A daisy swung into her line of vision, secured by the braid Leela had made. She grinned and leaned down to press a kiss to Leela’s lips. “I think we need more daisies.”