Escaping the ordinary (a Doctor Who daughter-story)

Sacrifice For Love

The Doctors pov

Donna and I where outside the TARDIS - it was quite obvious that she wanted to tag along. Never saying no to company - al I could do was say yes. I carried her luggage in to the TARDIS and said "Donna, there's someone I want you to meet. Cadence! We have guests!". No response. I looked at Donna questionably as I placed the luggage on the floor. "Doctor who's Cadence?" I ignored her question and started searching for her. She wasn't in the library, nor her room or the swimming pool. She was gone. I came back in to the console room and saw it - the screwdriver I gave her when she turned five - a couple of days before I had to leave her on earth. On the silver and yellow sonic there was a note saying "Press the button and watch /C." I lifted the sonic and pressed one of the many buttons that covered it's handle. A hologram popped up in the middle of the room - looking me right in the eye.

"Hello. This is Cadence speaking. Dad, always remember that you are precious and that I do this because I want to. While you are watching this I am heading towards Scarro. The daleks have been holding track of me for a long time and I know that the only way to stop them from hurting you and the ones I care for is by giving myself up. Therefore I am letting them take me." I looked at the hologram in disbelief. "NO! NO, Cadence! NO!" She continued anyways. "If my speculations are right, you are protesting at the moment - but that's okay. Pain is meant to be felt. I will miss you but you can't come looking for me. I will do everything in my power to make sure that they don't destroy any planet or population from inside the base - but I will not always succeed. Be happy and travel alongside with Donna. You two will make a great difference in the world. Just remember this Doctor - the heart is always greater than the brain." She then looked me right through and said "Oh and dad - thank you for everything. I love you." Then the hologram closed down. I was devestated. Utterly devestated. She gave herself up to protect me. Why oh why.

"Who was that?" said Donna - she sounded shocked as well. I didn't even look her in the eyes. I placed the sonic in my pocket along with the note and started flipping switches. Then I looked up at a picture shown on my scanner. Answering Donna in a mono tone I said. "That was my daughter."

Cadence's pov

I had been here for about a year now. I rarely got anything to eat and when there was even a little bit of food on my plate - it was most likely poisoned. The Daleks had been holding me in a cell for the entire year. They took tests on me and tried to manipulate me by inserting a poison in me that made me believe that other things where happening when they really wheren't - but at most times I believed that it was real.

I was only skin and bone - I was slowly fading away. The reason that the Daleks treid to make me weaker mentally and physically was so that they could get in to my head. I guess that it was harder than they thought.

I sat in the corner that I usually slept in with my knees curled up to my chest. I was still wearing the same clothes as when I left. The cell was totally isolating. No window, no light. I felt as If I was dead already. Then suddenly the door opened. I quickly curled up in to a ball. I clutched my legs so tight that I thought they would snap at any given moment. Then I heard footsteps - no machinery, just normal footsteps. Was it another hallucination? Where I dreaming? Then I heard it - his voice. "Oh Cadence - what have they done to you?! My sweet little princess." I felt arms wrap around my small fragile body. I flinched in response as I tried to raise my voice but it only came out croaked and weakend. I sounded weak. "Get off me, I know you aren't real." I felt the arms around me get placed on my shoulders. "Is she alive, how is she?" I looked up and saw her. "Mum?" She stood a couple of meters behind the Doctor - looking concerned. She looked at me with hope in her eyes as she knelt down in front of me "C, it's me. It's Rose." I looked at her and Dad - for one split second I though that they where real - then I remembered. "No, get out! GET OUT! THIS ISN'T FUNNY! I WON'T PUT UP WITH THIS! GET OUT! THIS IS CRUEL EVEN FOR YOU! GET OUT! GET OUT!" I started sobbing and trying to get the Doctors hands of me by whirling my arms around me hysterically. "Cadence, we are real! Look at me, look at me!" I looked up at what I assumed was the hologram of my father. I stared at his featured for about a minute before I placed my hand on his cheek - he put his hand on mine as my thumb began to stroke his cheek. "It feels so real" "Cadence that is because it is real - but we need to get out of here now. You left me that message for a reason - I was always going to come her. We need to go C. Please listen to me." I couldn't even answer before my breathing started to hitch again - stupid, stupid cancer. I started seeing black dots before my eyes. "Doctor what's happening?!" it was Rose. I answered her "stupid, stupid cancer." Then everything went black.