Would your eight year old self be proud of you now?

I saw a picture with this question on it and it inspired this story...

Annie pushed open the door a crack as the strange British man had instructed her to. The little girl glanced up over her shoulder to the man, who was wearing a weird red hat that he had called a "fez", and a bow tie. He put a finger to his lips, pointing with the other hand to the illuminated room. Annie obediently looked inside.

Within sat a pretty lady that the eight year old thought looked like her mommy, only younger. The woman was a mommy, too, and she was holding a small newborn baby. The baby started crying and the woman immediately began to hum a little tune, one that sounded familiar to both outside parties.

The Doctor's face split into a wistful grin, and Annie began to sway slightly as the sound of her mother's lullaby hit her ears. The woman smiled, too, and rocked the baby, looking sadly at the picture of a man with a buzz cut that was hanging on the wall.

"I wish your daddy were here," she whispered to the little girl. "You're so beautiful."

The Doctor crouched down and whispered to the girl as the humming started again.

"What do you think, Annie?" he asked. The girl grinned.

"I think she looks like Mommy!"

And you, the Doctor added in his head.

"Now, that pretty lady is named Annie, too," he said, causing the little girl's eyes to widen.

"I like my name! Lucy says it's dumb, but wait 'til I tell her I saw somebody else named Annie!" she exclaimed excitedly. The Doctor shushed her with an internal smile.

"That's right," he stated, looking into the room and back at the younger version of the woman inside. "Would you be proud of Annie if I told you she's going to be a great Mommy, too?"

"Yes!" the girl replied.

"Good. Remember that," he said, tweaking her nose and standing up. "Let's take you back to your Mommy now." The little girl glanced at the woman once more, and giggled when the Doctor put his hat on her head, taking her hand to go back to the Tardis.

Twenty Years Later

Annie paused in her humming as something filtered through her mind. She smiled slightly.

"He called me pretty," she mumbled. The woman's smile stretched fully when she saw the red fabric poking out from a box of old baby stuff in the corner. She grabbed it from under her tattered baby blanket and tried to put it on Sarah's head, smiling when it was too big.

Looking up again at the picture of the Marine, she gained a wistful look. Taking the fez, she placed it on the shelf underneath the picture and smiled down at her baby.

"You would have loved him, Sarah," she whispered. Another thought hit her mind and she paused. "Somebody to be proud of."

She glanced in the direction of the door and could have sworn she'd seen a glimpse of her past flash by in the open doorway.

This is the first fan fiction that I've published to this site, so be kind! I would love a review on it, though I'm sure y'all hear that all the time. Is it an interesting story? Boring? Let me know! This is meant to be a one-shot, though if anybody wants to take my idea and make it a full-fledged story, message me or something. Thank you!

~sbclover