Doctor Who: The Hound Of The Stoneweld

           The Doctor sat on the rickety couch in the console room of the TARDIS reading a book, enjoying the peace and quiet. But that came to end when he heard the sound of footsteps heading his way, "Dad! Dad! Lookit! I fixed it!" It was a young woman in her early twenties, a strange gadget in her hands. She had a round face, dark brown eyes, red hair cut in a choppy bob, broad shoulders and she was grinning from ear to ear as she plopped down next to her father, "I replaced the antenna and replaced all of the missing buttons and I made sure it would go "ding" when it's supposed to. I know how much you like it when they go ding!"

The Doctor smiled as he pulled his glasses out of his pocket and examined the good as new gizmo, "Well done my clever girl! You've really outdone yourself this time." The girl smiled as her father beamed at her handiwork.

Her name was Larn.

She was the Doctor's daughter and she was the best thing that had ever happened to him.

"Are you hungry Larn?" The Doctor asked as he handed her the gadget.

"Always. Feed me." Larn said in her most serious voice. The Doctor chuckled, "Yeah, I'm getting a bit peckish myself, let's go see what we can whip up."

"Last one there is a gassy slitheen!" Larn exclaimed as she darted to the nearest corridor.

"Oi! I wasn't ready!" The Doctor shouted as he raced to catch up to his daughter, the TARDIS hallway echoing with laughter.

The monitor on the console lit up and gave off a low hum.

The Doctor watched as Larn enjoyed her meal. They we're having spaghetti tonight one of Larn's favorites, and he chuckled when Larn took a drink with spaghetti sauce on her face. Even after all of these years, she was still a messy eater.

Larn heard her father laughing and quickly grabbed her napkin and wiped her face, a little embarrassed and brushed it off so she could enjoy her third piece of garlic bread.

As they ate their desert, Neapolitan sundaes, Larn asked, "Hey Dad..."

"Yes love?"

"Have you ever thought about helping people again?" Larn watched her father's expression; she saw his eyes fill with sadness as he said, "Not for a long time."

"Do you ever think you will again? Or at least, travel the way you used too?" She had grown up with all of his stories, the stories of all of the places he seen, the people he traveled with, all the people he helped. She wanted to be a part of that, all she had know was the TARDIS and its seemingly unending corridors and hallways. Her father's stories we're her only clarification that there was more out there beyond the safety of the TARDIS walls.

"My traveling days are far behind me. The universe was in good hands the last time I saw it." Larn let out a frustrated sigh, her father always said that whenever he wanted to change this particular subject.

Before Larn could press him further, the TARDIS gave a sudden lurch. Larn saw her father's face pale with surprise and quite surprisingly, fear.

"Larn, go to your room and stay there until I come to get you."

"But Dad..."

"Larn please, do as I say." The Doctor didn't mean to sound so stern but it did the trick. Larn left the dining room without looking back.

"No no no! You stupid blasted ship! I turned all of the sensors off for a reason! And you had the nerve to take us out of the time lock! Damn you!" The Doctor kicked the console as he cursed.

He hung his head as he clutched the edges of the console. "I don't want this. Not anymore...."

"Dad, is everything okay?" Larn said as she approached her father. She heard him yelling and got worried, she had never seen him this upset before.