Forged in Ice (Doctor Who AU Novel)

Chapter 34 A Homecoming to Remember

He'd felt her tug stronger than ever, making it difficult to resist visiting her, but settling everyone in, putting babies to bed all took precedence over his coral baby. By the time Daniel made it into his office, it was ten. He traced a finger across her surface, disappointed she still wasn't ready. Even with all the amazing changes in her, it was too soon. Standing here now, his hand splayed against her, he could feel her joy, her sadness and her growing strength. Turning his back to her, he slid down her wall to the floor, leaning against the place that one day would be a door and opened his mind. He smiled when he felt her reaching out to his mind. 

"Well, old girl, you're growing up inside aren't you? I brought home a couple of future pilots for you. Of course, they have a bit of growing to do, but as soon as they're big enough, you'll have six proper pilots. I'm the captain though, eh? It will just be Rose and me at first until we can teach Nora a thing or two. Starting tomorrow, we'll have story time with all three boys. Share all the adventures your mum had. As much as I hate repeats, telling child-friendly tales will be fun. Where should I start, eh?"

The twists and turns of the golden thread grew brighter the more controlled his breathing became. Everything faded blending one into the other; the house, Scotland, even the planet itself, until the universe swallowed him. The thread uncurled, pulling his memories, worries and fears into order then tucking them safely behind carefully constructed walls to join the millennia of thoughts and memories tucked away. It had been a while since he ran through them, rearranging their importance keeping control of his mind. This was how he stayed sane, with the TARDIS feeding him at least a bit of her energy. He plucked at the thread, letting lines for the planet straighten, watching in fascination as flashes revealed new moments fixed forever. He looked for individuals, trying to peek at their moments. The whole effort quickly collapsed into a confusing mess, so twisted that they were unreadable. Second nature for a Time Lord, reading the lines shouldn't be such a headache. He exhaled slowly, let them go and allowed the stars to envelop him, to float in peace.

Nora chuckled when she found her husband sitting cross-legged in front of his concrete cylinder that she still had trouble believing was alive. His head drooped on his chest and his hands lay limp in his lap. "I'm just going to make sure she's okay," he'd said. "She's missed me; I think she worries I've forgotten her," he'd said. Now here he was, deeply asleep with his real first love. Sometimes, in moments of self-doubt, she still wondered just where she came on his list. Then he would turn and flash that smile reserved just for her and she knew. She was at least second -- or maybe even a co-equal with a block of cement.

 For as much as it held a bizarre connection for him, it left her afraid. She'd touched it, just once -- on the day they'd come home after the accident. She still winced at the memory of his collapsed body in front of a concrete block. Her hand had brushed against it to support herself as she moved to get his head in her lap. A cold thing, leaving her with a feeling of dread, she'd never touched it again. Now, she drew a breath and laid her hand on the structure's surface, expecting the same cold feeling, instead it was warm, almost welcoming. She could have sworn it hummed that same melodic tune  she shared with Daniel when they made love. When she pulled away, she couldn't help but wince at the sudden loss. 

"What are you?" she asked. "A rock, a machine, a pet? I don't understand what you are, but I won't let you steal him away," she said, dropping to her knees, feeling a bit foolish for talking to a thing. 

She brushed away the fringe of hair hanging across his face. His eyelashes made the freckles scattered across his cheeks stand out a bit more than usual. He needed a haircut. "He needs to sleep in a proper bed," she said with a sigh, casting a glance once more at the thing. "Daniel," she called. "Daniel. Love, you cannae sleep on the floor. Not even with another woman -- machine -- whatever the TARDIS is, you need to get to bed. C'mon now," she pleaded, cupping his chin.