Doctor Who-Short Trips "Miracle Enough"

Ice Cream Part 2

Sarah Jane stroked the cat balanced precariously on the Doctor's shoulders and then she noticed the slender girl who looked like she'd been crying, it was the kind of day where tarmac could melt and here was this girl, standing there barefoot, though Sarah never considered herself a natural with kids, she suddenly came over all protective.

"Are you alright?"

Emma nodded and smiled. She liked the look of the Doctor's friends, the man looked very smart but over dressed in his navy blazer but he had a shy, friendly smile and the lady with the shiny brown hair, looked very pretty and kind, her flowery patterned dress reminded Emma of something she'd seen her Mum wearing in photos when she was young.

"Ah, allow me to introduce my friends Sarah Jane and Harry. This is Emma." The Doctor grabbed an ice cream impatiently off Harry. "Where have you two been?"

"Well there's gratitude for you!" Sarah half laughed and snorted at the cheek of the Doctor.

"Doctor we've been chasing that blessed ice cream van halfway across this village for the last twenty minutes!" Harry retorted, looking awfully hot under the collar.

"My ninety-nine at long last!" The Doctor exclaimed longingly but then looked down at Emma and smiled awkwardly. "Ah, Harry would you be a gentleman and give young Emma your ice cream? You see she lost hers and it's been years since I've had one of these..."

"Well I can hardly say no can I?" Harry uttered discreetly and rolled his eyes at the Doctor and then smiled at Emma as he handed his ice cream over to the girl.

Emma knew she was breaking every rule in the book today, nearly running out into the road, talking to strangers and now accepting ice creams from them, her Mum would kill her if she knew but something inside her told Emma Meakin this was an exceptional day, a special moment as she smiled back gratefully and said thank you.

"There's a good chap." The Doctor grinned sheepishly.

"Oh Harry...You can share mine." Sarah smiled sympathetically.

"Thanks for the offer but it's alright old girl." Harry whipped an ice lolly out of his blazer pocket and started unwrapping it, pleased with his resourcefulness. "Just in case I dropped one of the ice creams."

For a few minutes there was a sweet, blissful silence while everyone leaned against the TARDIS, shaded under the trees and devoured their melting treats, even Ivy got to have a lick of the Doctor's ice cream as he finished off his cone with a loud crunch.

The Doctor had come here for ice cream, picked this time and place seemingly on a whim, he had the whole of time and space to choose from but as he looked down at Emma Meakin, he was now mightily glad the TARDIS had brought them here because there was the possibility that by simply being here, the Doctor and his TARDIS had just saved this girl's life. The Doctor couldn't be sure but as a time traveller he usually had an instinct for these sort of things but then again maybe he was always meant to have come here, to have been in this time and place and met Emma Meakin.

And now he'd had his ice cream there was nothing to keep him here... Except the Doctor had unfinished business with this girl, he couldn't just walk away, she had now become his responsibility and he had to make sure she would be alright.

"Ah now where was we Emma Meakin? It's okay to be different. No, what am I saying? It's brilliant being different." The Doctor bellowed excitedly. "I've spent all my lives standing out from the crowd. The Universe would be a frightfully dull place if everyone was the same."

"I suppose so." Emma laughed swept along by the Doctor's enthusiasm but then she sighed "Sometimes I just want to fit in..."

Then Harry confessed to something he had never admitted to before.