The Defender of Time

Twenty-One

The foyer in front of the meeting room was busy with movement; as it was prophesied to be on the first day of the Annuals Council Meeting. Spectators had come from around the universe; at least those who were aware it was happening.

Catkind from New Earth surrounded Novice as he collected last minute opinions and corrections on his notes. Decla passed around autographed headshots like welcome brochures, all while waiting for the bell to peal the beginning of what everyone had been anticipating for the past five years.

Alessia, however, had found a quiet corner with Mayzie and Juliette. Yes, it was inevitable for the two sets of parents to emerge eventually and begin to fuss, but for now, they needed time. In the middle of them, sat a piece of parchment paper and the stub of a pencil. And on the paper were all of the things Alessia had thought to write down.

"He's protective, he's a... a good dad?" Alessia bit her lip as she read them aloud, but the looks she got from Mayzie and Juliette only confirmed what she'd been thinking. "This is horrible. I can't present this! I just need to tell Janus the truth."

Mayzie groaned and leaned her head back. "Janus won't take it. He'll just think you procrastinated. Now keep going."

With a pout and a dramatic sigh, Alessia obliged. "Okay. I met him in London, 2013, when I was living with Clara." She swallowed and continued. "And then he took me with him, on his TARDIS. Which was very..."

"Fatherly?" Tried Mayzie.

"Warm?" Juliette followed.

Alessia hummed. "Yes. Fatherly. And then a year later he and Clara officially adopted me, and I've been living with them ever since."

Juliette smiled. "That's good. I like it." She pulled her robe back to look at her arm, watching as her thin watch clicked from 9:48 in the morning to 9:49. "It's getting close to time." She patted her pocket, where the various vials of grass samples clinked against each other.

"I feel bad lying," mumbled Alessia. "Shouldn't I tell the truth?"

Mayzie smiled distantly. "No. Tell them the lie. Meeting Clara in 2013, living with the family, everything we told you. Stick with it. You'll upset Father, otherwise."

One of the questions that had been bubbling at the back of Alessia's throat pushed its way to the service. "Why do some of you call him Father?" She blurted. "Janus and Feble, they called him just a wacko scientist, but you and Decla both called him Father. How come?"

The other two shared a glance, like there was something they were hoping they could get away with keeping to themselves. It was Juliette who gave in first. "The older half, most of them swore off Father right before we left. A whole bunch of stuff about how 'father is an endearing term he didn't deserve'."

"But I thought you told me he died? Why do they care that much if he isn't even alive anymore?"

Mayzie scoffed. "I wish I knew. Mara says it's because Father liked you the best, but I know that's not true. Well, it's true that he liked you best, but it's not true that it's Mara's reason. She doesn't do silly things like that."

Alessia nodded silently, looking nervously at the scraps of paper in front of her. She took a deep breath. "So what do I do?" She began to ask, before Mayzie cut her off with a squeal.

"MUMMY! DADDY!" She yelled. She jumped up to her feet and ran down the hallway, to where a man and woman were swinging their hands between them. That must've been the other Doctor.

"Where are your parents?" Asked Juliette.

Alessia turned to look at Juliette, who was staring longingly at Mayzie, who had been launched up onto her father's shoulders. "I don't know," she said quietly. "They probably got caught up in an argument. They do that a lot. They'll be here." She looked down at her lap, fiddling with the pencil, before turning back to Juliette. "Do you have parents?"