This is for my sister, who wanted to know the real reason Lily was having nightmares.

Taken from a chapter, An Enduring Quest. Doesn't mean that you have to read those two stories to understand this one. But, as author, I say go on and read them. It's not gonna kill ya. ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

The Doctor rushed down the hall towards Lily's room, her screams filled the Tardis for the third night that week.

In his hand was his long, brown coat, its tails flapping behind him like a shadow.

The Doctor threw open the bedroom to reveal his young daughter thrashing about in the sheets. He quickly made his way over to her and sat down on the mattress.

"Lily." He held her by her shoulders and shook her gently. Yet, she did not wake.

The Doctor sighed, again he called out her name his movements forceful this time. He watched as her eyes flew open showing off her dark brow eyes. They were wide and fearful, but relaxed as they connected with her father's.

"Daddy." She whispered and grabbed at him desperately.

The Doctor set aside the jacket and took her up in his arms. "It's okay, Lil. I'm here."

He sadly bit his bottom lip when he heard a soft sniffle from her. She was crying, again. It seemed to happening more and more, but he could not put his finger on it.

"Do you have it?" Lily asked timidly.

Knowing what she meant he nodded, "Yep."

He reached over, without releasing her from him, pulled his coat up, and wrapped it around her with one hand. He was getting better at it, and it frightened him a bit. Lily was half-human and therefore needed more sleep then he did. But, she was getting less and less sleep every night.

She was already sporting dark circles under eyes, and that scared him too.

Francine would think that he was abusing her grandchild, so he hadn't taken Lily to see her in the last couple of days. Even though he did promise. He wanted to figure out what was troubling his daughter.

For being only seven, Lily was a brilliant child. Knowing far more than human children did. The Doctor had taught her very slowly at first and had advanced her with several subjects. But, he could not for the lives of him figure out why Lily had not told him what the matter with her was. Why she insisted on bottling up all her emotions.

This was another bad thing the Doctor wanted to avoid. Knowing to well what happened when you let worry fester. That was one reason that he did not sleep at night, that and it was never the same without Martha.

However, Lily needed rest. It was important for her still developing body. He hated having to listen to her screams, shouting forcefully against the dark.

He had thought of all the possible contributing factors, but she kept quiet. Always resting her head against his chest, listening to his double heartbeat, while secure in his large coat.

"Lily." He whispered, when he heard her breathing become normal once again.

He felt her head nod against him, indicating that she was still awake.

The Doctor sighed, hoping that she would have fallen asleep, "Sweetheart, please, tell me what's troubling you."

He pulled her back to look into her beautiful eyes, another trait that she had inherited from Martha. The tears were still present as he brought his hand up and light brushed to droplets from his soft cheek.

"Is it the traveling?" He had thought it must have been that. They had only recently begun to go into serious adventures. He would try to steer away from any potential danger, but nothing was ever guaranteed. And they had seen horrors too, terrors that no seven year old should see, even a half Galifreian seven year old.

"Is that it, Lily? Is the traveling too much?"

She continued to be silent.

"Darling," The Doctor touched her chin and raised it so their eyes meet once more, "I hate seeing you like this."

Lily's bottom lip trembled and the tears reappeared, trailing down. She opened her mouth and whispered something that, even in the stillness of the room the Doctor missed.

He lowered his head slightly, "What?" He whispered.

She took a deep breath, "I want Mummy." She crushed herself back into her father's chest and wept louder.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her tighter than before. He stared at the yellow wall in front of him, utterly speechless. How could he have not known? Lily suffering from the want of her mother. A mother that she had never met. But, how could he have ruled that out? Of course, it was only a matter of time before this issue would show its head.

Keeping his own tears at bay, he pulled her away from him and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Oh, Lily." He whispered, as he watched her tiny hand rubbed her eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because," She was stopped by a hiccup. Lily took a deep breath and began again, "Because I know you miss Mummy too."

The Doctor nodded, "I do miss Mummy, very much. Is that what your nightmares are about? Mummy?"

Lily nodded, "I can never reach her, she's always fading away." Her voice seemed so very small.

The Doctor ran his hand along the side of her face, "Your Mummy loved you very much, and she will always be a part of you no matter what."

Lily nodded once again, "I know, but I wish I could have known her."

The Doctor nodded this time, "I wish you could have too."

"Can I?" Her question was in no way hidden in meaning.

Slowly the Doctor shook his head, "No."

She opened her mouth and froze for a second before she found her voice, "Why not?"

"You know why, Lil. I'm afraid we can't."

"Why?" She asked again, the hope quickly draining from her voice.

"Because if we did," He played with a bit of hair that was dangling apart from the rest of the strands, "You would beg me to let her come back, and we can do that."

"Why?"

He sighed heavily, "It would create a paradox, I told you what those were, didn't I?"

Lily nodded silently.

"And your Mummy wouldn't want us to do that."

"But, I want my Mum." She told him.

"It would only be harder for the both of us if we went back. Trust me Lily, it would."

The Doctor caught her once more and let her cry. It was a cruel realization for someone so young to face, but he was somewhat relieve now that this situation was dealt with, he knew that it would not be brought up again.

Slowly she began to quiet down, and he felt her slump against him. Cradling her head, he gently lowered her down, watching as her sleeping form sank back down on the bed.

He removed his hands, letting her remain in his coat, it would be wrinkled in the morning, but at least she would get a couple more hours of sleep. He bent down a lightly kissed her forehead, whispering his love for her.

He rose off the bed and exited the room quietly.

He made his way back to the console room, his hands deep in his endless pockets. He sat down on the jump seat, he felt tired suddenly.

His head jerk to the left, thinking that he had heard something, but there was no one there. His imagination loved to play tricks on him, especially when all was quiet. He took his hands out of her pockets and ran them over his face, sighing deeply.

Bringing them down his eyes focused on his wedding band, hardly believing that it had been seven years since Martha's death.

The Doctor cursed himself silently, remembering his last promise to Martha, telling her that he would take care of their daughter. A fine job he was doing, he couldn't even tell that Lily had been suffering in quiet for who knows how long.

He wished that he could set a date and see Martha again, truth of the matter he had been internally arguing with himself about it for months. But, he knew that it would only put more heartache on him; on them. It would take all his willpower to tear himself away, and that was something he did not wish to do.

It was unfair that he would have all the memories of her, when Lily only had an image at the side of her bed. However, he could not control that, for all the power of time he had; he could not do anything that pertained to Martha.

Standing quickly, he shook his head, getting rid of all the sadness in his head. Or at least burying them for the time being.

The Doctor began to pull levers and turn knobs on the console, they needed to go someplace fun for a while. With a final push of a button, the Tardis came to life and whirled quietly as she could.

Sniffing, the Doctor sat down again and reached for his sonic screwdriver. But, he had remembered that it was in his coat.

The Doctor shook his head, and stood up, he made his way down hallway that lead to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.

Okay, that wasn't meant to be as depressing as it is. But, I've been feeling a little homesick, I have recently moved from my family to a completely new state. I miss them terribly, even though I still call, it's not the same. I received a wonderful email from my sis who had just finished reading my stories. I can't believe it but it actually made me cry. She insisted that I'd write this so I did. She also suggested that I'd make yet another story, continuing from An Enduring Quest. So guess what? I am. Yep that's right you heard it here, there will be one more story that takes off from the ending of the last one. A trilogy if you will. I don't know what I'll call the trilogy or the story yet, if you have suggestions please feel free to tell me. Writing will begin soon, so keep your eyes peeled.

A million thank you's to my sister, Ann!!

THANKS ANN!!

As always, Vampmistress