The Orphan in the TARDIS

Chapter Four

*In the TARDIS*

    Rose and Sophie go back to the lever room and begin to press buttons, and pull levers.

    "Miss Rose, is the Doctor gonna be mad at me for hitting him?" Sophie asks, sounding genuinely worried.

    "Oh sweetie," Rose says, crouching down in front of her, "no, he would never be mad at you, you were upset, he won't hold that against you."

    "You're sure?" Rose nods

    Sophie smiles and grabs a lever and as she pulls it shouts, "Geronimo!"

    A few moments later the Doctor storms into the room, looking rather angry. The five-year-old cowers behind Rose, thinking the Time Lord is mad at her.

    When the Oncoming Storm sees that she is scared, he paints his smile back on his face, and rushes toward the child. Once he reaches her he begins to tickle her mercilessly. She giggles and laughs, finally feeling marginally more happy.

    "So, Sophia McCoy, one trip, anywhere, in all of time and space, where do you want to go?" The Doctor asks her, grabbing her hand and heading for the console room.

    "Let's go somewhere fun," she declares. She's doing her best to be happy, but with her dad and mum dead it's quite difficult.

    "Fun, Sophie, is something I do marvelously." As the Time Lord declares this the trio arrive in the console room. He picks Sophie up and carries her around the console. "Alrighty, Soph. Want to help me fly the TARDIS?"

     A smile spreads across the girls face, the first real one since the news. Her head bobs up and down vigorously as Rose watches the duo, and smiles. The Doctor and kids, what a combination, who would have thought? As she watches them she realizes that the girl can't remain on board the time/space machine. The lives they lead are far to dangerous for a five-year-old.

    "Alrighty, Soph, just pull that lever and off we'll go!"

    She grabs the lever and tugs it vigorously down all the while shouting, "GERONIMO!"

    "Where are we?" Rose inquires as the Time Lord makes a mad dash for the door, Sophie held securely in his arms.

    "The late Cretaceous period."

    "So that means dinosaurs?"

    "Oh, yes!" He says, while smiling that crazy, toothy grin, which, of course, makes Rose laugh.

    Sophie begins to squirm in his arms, and he takes the hint, and gently lowers her to the ground.

    "We get to see dinosaurs? I like dinosaurs."

    "Well then, you are most definitely in luck, because," at this point a diplodicus has moved into view from the open TARDIS doors, eating leaves from the trees that grace the field, "Look!" The Time Lord says, gesturing towards the dinosaur whilts pirouetting on the spot.
 
     The child looks up at the giant reptile and excitedly claps her hands; jumping up in down in anticipation of seeing it up close. She runs to the Bringer of Darkness, wrapping her arms tightly around his legs, beaming at him. He smiles at her, before glancing to Rose, who is smiling, while staring at the girl.

    "Can we go see it, Doctor? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we? Please?" Sophie squeals, while tugging on his trouser leg.

    "Alright, but we can't stay long, we wouldn't want to run into a T-Rex. Or a Silurian village, that would be quite a shock for them. C'mon." He grabs Rose and Sophie's hand, and off the trio dash to see the diplodicus.

    As they reach the dinosaur, Sophie rushes up to it. But just before she can reach the humongous creature the Doctor grabs her round the waist, he proceeds to hold her up in the air towards the large reptile, getting her close enough to touch the dinosaurs leg.

    All of the sudden, they hear a roar in the distance, coming closer to them. The Oncoming Storm turns the child around, securing her to his chest. She's already starting to fall asleep, as the Doctor grabs tightly onto Rose's hand and the make a mad dash for the box. Just as they reach the door the Time Lord spots a dronaeosaurus claw sitting in the dirt. He grabs it as a gift for Sophie, before running inside his beloved ship.

    He carries the sleeping girl to his bedroom, letting her sleep in there, before making his way to the kitchen. He finds Rose making tea.

    "Hey," she says, smiling at him.

    "Hey," he replies, smiling back at her, "I forgot how hard kids can be."

    "You forgot? Doctor, are ya tellin' me you've had kids before?"

    "Long time ago."

    The two sit in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Rose asks, "I was wonderin' if you realized that with how dangerous our lives are we can't have Sophie here. She could die, or get seriously injured, and I don't want that sweet girl exposed to everything that we see. She just lost her parents, what if one of us were to die, which is highly probable with how our lives our, it would wreck the poor girl."

    "I know, Rose, I know, we'll take her back to her time, maybe I'll drop her off at UNIT, I've got some good friends there, they should take good care of her," the Time Lord scrubs a hand down his face before continuing, "I've known her all my lives. And she has always told me that she known me all of hers. I just never expected our first meeting to be so late in my life."

     "So, her futures your past?"

    The Doctor smiles at his companion, "Sort of, my future, I'm sure, intertwines with her timeline as well. She's my best friend."

    Before Rose can say anything else, the Oncoming Storm vacates the kitchen, heading straight for the console room. Once he arrives he sets in coordinates for UNIT headquarters in the year 1990.

    He swings open the doors to find at least ten guns aimed at him, and his box. He searches through the mass of men, when he spots a familiar face, and immediately he smiles.

    "Oi, Brigadier, is this," he gestures to the guns and soldiers stationed about his ship, "really any way to treat the arrival of an old friend?"

    "Ah, Doctor, it is you, isn't it," the Doctor nods, confirming what the Brigadier is saying, "So you've gone and done it again, eh? At ease men," he says signalling for them to lower thier weapons.

    The Last Time Lord smiles at his friend, walking towards him. "How are you, old friend?"

    "I'm quite well, Doctor, and you?"

    "You know me, I'm always alright." The two embrace, "I need to ask a favour."
  
    "Of course you do, you never just pop in for a visit, do you? How can I be of assistance?"

     "Sure I'm here for a friendly visit, we're friends I'm visiting. I also have a five-year-old orphan in my TARDIS. Her parents died in the Cyberman attack. Can you find a home for her to stay at?"

     The Brigadier turns to the people behind him, signalling for a woman to approach, she carries a clipboard, "I'm sure we can find a place for her. But I will need a name, Doctor, or am I supposed to guess?"

    The Time Lord rolls his eyes at the Brig's bluntness. "Yes, Alastair, her name is Sophia McCoy, her father's name was Jeremy McCoy, and her mother, Meredith McCoy."

    The Brig turns toward the woman, "Alright, Sophia McCoy, age five, both parents deceased. Keep a close eye on her, she's a friend of the Doctor." The woman nods and rushes off to call the people this will need.