Earth Grazer || Doctor Who

XVI. Crash Landing

Unedited.

Bold = French

Italics = Thoughts

| |

The Doctor, after many failed attempts, poked his head out of the Tardis. “See? Told you I’d get us back. I think we’ve been gone for a week.” He moved out of the doorway, took a quick look around and gathered that they had landed about a block away from the Powell Estate. Rose should have heard the Tardis engines if she was around so she should be along in a few minutes.

“Yay and it only took ten detours.” Ella followed him and gave him a deadpan look.

“Not my fault things escalated. You’re the one who wanted to check out the floating mountains of Zenus 43.” The Doctor was referring to their third wrong turn after escaping Kitai.

“How was I supposed to know there was a thirty-year storm of flesh-eating insects? And besides you’re the one who was showing off and flew right into that storm, we almost got devoured because of that.” Ella turned away from him and began making her way to Rose’s apartment just as the blonde came running around the corner of a building. A huge smile spread across Ella’s face as she ran for her best friend, the two crashed in a hug, “the Doctor said we were only gone for a week.”

“It’s been a year, El. I missed you,” Rose let Ella out of the hug, “Your dad almost reported you missing but he found your note.” The group of three wandered around the shops for a bit before they went back to the Tyler’s residence. Before Ella could enter the apartment, Rose stopped her, “I should warn you. While you were away your dad started to come around a lot and he and my mum kind of became friends? You know, after she slapped him and gave him a lecture.” Ella and Rose laughed at that because it was exactly something that Jackie Tyler would do.

“Why did you say it like a question?” The brunette sputtered out in between laughter, the Doctor shifted his weight and readjusted Ella’s shopping bags that he was currently carrying for some reason.

“Because I’m not sure if they are ‘just friends’ and it’s honestly a little weird.” Ella laughed at Rose’s words, dismissing them as false, she entered the apartment and stopped short when she saw her father in the Tyler’s living room.

“I told you,” Rose and the Doctor followed Ella into the front hallway.

“What are you doing here?” Ella hesitantly approached her father and like every other time she spoke to him, she wasn’t expecting him to reply. It was always silence with him.

“Me? What about you? I thought you were dead; all you did was leave a vague note about how Liam found you and you were leaving to travel? What the hell does that mean?” Ella was astounded that she managed to get that much words out of her dad, the brunette couldn’t help the slow smile that spread across her face. “Why are you smiling? Don’t smile when I’m angry with you.” Ella threw her arms around her dad in a hug that she thought they both needed. The sudden movement startled the people standing in the small apartment, especially Leon.

“You’re talking to me again? And all I had to do was leave? I should have left ages ago.”

“Why did you think running away was a good idea?” Those words brought Ella back to reality and she remembered why she was so angry with her dad to begin with as she shoved him away from her.

“It’s all I know, that’s what we do when we encounter a problem. We leave. So, I left. Besides you don’t get to be a parent right now, not after all that shit.” The amount of venom in her voice was almost convincing but the Doctor knew Ella well by now, she was very close to tears.