The Doctor was stood at the console, staring at the monitor and trying to understand why his ship would have brought him to this time and place. She knew it caused him great pain and, as a result, he tended to avoid it if at all possible. He could see no threat of alien invasion, no anomalies in the Space-Time Continuum, no Rift activity.
In other words, no Earthly (if you'll pardon the pun) reason for him to be in London in 2071. No reason he was comfortable thinking about anyway.
"What are you playing at, Old Girl?" he grumbled, as he stalked around the console like a caged big cat. "Why did you bring me here? Is there something I'm missing? Some great celestial event looming that I can't see?"
His musings were interrupted by a sharp knock on the TARDIS door. He whirled around and stared. "Not possible," he muttered. The perception filter was on. He had made sure of that, flipping that switch as soon as he realized when and where he was. No one should even sense the presence of the TARDIS, let alone see her enough to actually touch her. He crossed to the door and pulled it open.
"Trick or Treat!" a girlish voice chimed.
The Doctor looked down and stared again. Standing before him was a young Human child, female, aged at approximately seven years. She was tall for her age and had a smattering of copper freckles across her nose and cheeks. The most startling thing about her was the bright ginger hair that she wore up in a long tail. Her eyes were an unusual shade of blue with green-gold flecks.
He made no response, still confused as to why this little girl was able to see his cloaked ship. There had to be an explanation. Just as he was reaching for his sonic screwdriver, to scan and identify this irregularity, he suddenly realized hers was not the typical costume one would expect a human female to wear on Halloween. She wasn't a Disney princess, or a nurse, or even a glamourous rock star.
No. This little girl was dressed in a long purple toga, with gold gladiator sandals, long gold earrings and a single black pearl drop necklace.
The Doctor's hearts almost stopped, as he realized what this child's costume represented. He stumbled back into the TARDIS, unaware that the girl had followed him. The TARDIS quietly closed the doors. The girl stood, waiting patiently for him to realize she was there.
Gradually, his eyes refocused as he brought himself out of his introspection. He walked slowly toward her and loomed over her. She gazed up at him and smiled. "Trick or treat, Doctor sir," she said again.
He gasped, as he heard the familiar name. He bent down and, nose to nose, he scowled and said, "Who are you?" both wary of and eager for the answer.
"My name is Bella Donna Sarah-Jane Martha Mott Noble Lancaster. Well, that's what I call myself. Bel for short," she answered smartly. "They named me Isobel Sylvia Lancaster." She looked around and asked, "Could we please sit down? I could really murder a cup of tea."
The Doctor was so taken aback at the frankness and familiarity of her speech that he merely nodded and, taking the girl by the hand, led her into the TARDIS's kitchen. Seating her at the simple table, he turned on the kettle and assembled mugs, crème, sugar and a plate of biscuits. The was all done silently, as he wasn't yet sure what questions he needed answering. Bringing everything to the table once the kettle had whistled, he poured two cups of tea and handed one to Bel.
"Thank you, Doctor sir," she said sweetly. Adding a dash of crème and a little sugar, she sipped and smiled. "You know, she looks quite different from the way Great-Gran described her."
"She?" the Doctor asked.
"The TARDIS Lady."
The Doctor almost choked on his tea. "How do you know that name? Why do you call her 'she'?"
Bel looked at him seriously. "Great-Gran always called her that."
"You great-grandmother told you about the TARDIS?" If the Doctor had had any suspicions before, every word out of Bel's mouth was confirming them.
Bel giggled. "Well, not exactly. She told me stories about a great man named John who could travel through time and space in a blue box, which was impossibly big inside. The way she told it, you felt like you were inside a coral reef, not like this." She peered out the kitchen door back into the control room. "You've changed things. But I suppose you would," she sighed.
The Doctor's mind was awhirl with questions, and wasn't exactly sure where to start. "Who exactly was your great-grandmother?" he asked, almost afraid of the answer.
Bel smiled. "You knew her as Donna Noble. The rest of the Universe called her the DoctorDonna." Seeing the colour drain from his face, she reached over and patted his hand. "She's very much alive, you know."
His eyes grew wide. "She can't remember me!" he exclaimed.
"Calm yourself, Doctor sir," Bel crooned. "She didn't exactly remember you. It was more that the Time Lord mind was leeching out in the form of fairy stories. She really thought she was making all of it up." She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. "Frankly, I think it would be a lovely idea if you came to visit. I never knew Gramps Wilf or Great-Great-Gran Sylvia but Great Gran Donna told me loads about them. I'm sure she would love to see you. She lives with Gran Astrea these days," she said matter-of-factly.
The Doctor blanched again. He knew it was impossible but, knowing she was still alive and telling stories about him, he was sorely tempted. "I'm sorry, Bel," he responded kindly. "As lovely as that would be, I'm afraid it is just not possible." He picked up his mug and sipped his tea, hoping to hide the anguish in his eyes.
Bel cocked her head to the side and looked straight at him. "She won't burn, if that's what you're afraid of," she stated calmly.
At this, the Doctor did choke. "How do you know about that?!" he exclaimed, once he stopped coughing.
Bel looked at him coyly, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Haven't you figured it out yet? You always were a bit of a dumbo."
The Doctor stared at this precocious child sitting calmly across from him and nibbling a chocolate biscuit. She sounded so much like his Donna that it was unnerving. A sudden thought struck him and he almost dropped his mug. Setting it down carefully, reached in his coat pocket and produced the sonic screwdriver, noticing, as he did, the knowing smile that spread across Bel's face.
She put her mug down on the table and stood, walking over to the Doctor and standing calmly next to him. At once, the tip of the implement began to glow. Scanning her for a few moments, he then checked the information it was giving him. What he read astounded and confused him.
"Who ARE you?" he asked once again.
Bel reached up and cupped the stunned Doctor's cheek. "Never been another like me," she said. "It took a while. Three generations. But the Meta-Crisis finally stabilized, merged completely into the true DoctorDonna." She looked at him with a veryfamiliar grin. "Well, DoctorBellaDonna, in this case."
Seeing his gobsmacked expression, she continued. "It's only been in the past year that we suspected. Great Gran has been getting physically weaker. She's almost 100, after all. But her memories were getting stronger. We always knew there was a unique connection between the two of us, we just didn't know what it was. Then one night, as she was telling me another story about John and his magic box, she came over all funny, and her eyes began to glow. I reached up and put my hands on her face, trying to see what was happening, what I could do to help.
"It was amazing. I could see right into her mind. It was beautiful, swirling colours of green and blue and purple. And gradually, another golden light appeared and it was like it was dancing with the other colours. I didn't realize it but Great Gran had her fingers on my face too, and before either of us could say anything, the colours combined into one big rainbow of light that surrounded us.
"I think we both must have fainted. When we woke up, it was almost daylight and we were still sitting on the bed. She gathered me into her arms and hugged me tightly. I could tell that I had changed but wasn't exactly sure how. We spend the next few days secretly exploring our new possibilities."
The Doctor had yet to say a word, and Bel knew her great-grandmother would have laughed at his expression, and the fact that he was at a complete loss for words. She had always said that John had a gob on him that would never stop.
"What we discovered, Doctor sir, was that the Time Lord mind had finally and completely merged with the Donna mind. But, knowing that Great-Gran was approaching her final years, it sought out a more suitable place to rest. My mind. You see, some of the Time Lord mind had been passed on from mother to daughter. Gran Astrea is a renowned astrophysicist. My mother Sylvia held a position as an ambassador for international and inter-species relations.
"Most of the Time Lord mind remained dormant in them, until it got to me. As soon as I was able to crawl into her lap and listen to her stories, something stirred inside me. Although neither of us had a notion at the time, her stories were reinforcing the Time Lord mind, strengthening the bond between us, so when the time came for the transfer, I was already prepared for the memories. The best part is, without the Time Lord minds interfering, her own memories of you and the TARDIS Lady came back. She's the one who sent me. We could feel the TARDIS Lady when she landed."
When Bel began her story, the Doctor was filled with trepidation. He was sure that something terrible had happened to his best friend and closest companion. But this child before him was so much like her, in manner and speech, that he was hard-pressed to disbelieve her. The scan he had taken showed brain synapses that were both Human and Time Lord. He hadn't understood what they meant, until Bel explained.
Bel could tell that things were finally starting to gel in the Doctor's head, so she decided to reveal her pièce de résistance. Quietly, she took a small silver disk from her pocket and handed it to him. Then she took his hand, and placed it on her chest.
What he felt brought tears to his eyes. Under his fingers was the gently dub-dub, dub-dub of a pair of synchronised hearts. He stared at Bel, still afraid to believe what his Time Lord senses had been screaming at him since she handed him the disk. A perception filter, he realized. He raised his hand and gestured to her face, still not trusting his voice. When she nodded, he gently touched her temples with his fingertips.
The merged Time Lord-Human mind was a miraculous thing. He could now see that Bel had both his and her great-grandmother's memories and thoughts. It was almost overpowering in its beauty and complexity. She truly was a brand new entity, even more so than the original Meta-Crisis. He pushed a tentative thought toward the combined minds.
'THERE you are, Doctor sir,' he heard in his mind. 'Great Gran knew we'd be able to do this. She and I have been talking together for some time now, even before the transfer.' Feeling his emotions through their link, she reached up and wiped the tears that had escaped. 'Why are you sad? We thought you'd be happy.' She stepped back and broke the link.
The Doctor, bereft of the contact, picked Bel up and pulled her into a tight hug. "I am not sad, little one. I am just overwhelmed. Well, perhaps I am a little sad, that I never had the opportunity to connect like this with your Great Gran," he replied wistfully.
Bel looked up at him with twinkling eyes and the biggest grin. "But don't you see, Doctor sir. You can. Now you can!" She scrambled out is his arms and grabbed his hand. "The TARDIS Lady is just down the street from Gran Astrea's. We can visit Great Gran and then you can take me out trick-or-treating. There's chocolate to be had. Allons y!" she said with a cheeky grin.
The Doctor laughed at hearing a phrase he hadn't used in a very long time. Gazing down at the child beside him, his mind was filled with possibilities for the future. As the two departed to TARDIS, , he declared, "I've already gotten my treat. But," he stated firmly, "as your Great-Gran will attest, I could never resist the lure of chocolate!"
And the centuries-old Time Lord skipped hand-in-hand with the newest of his kind, on their way to a reunion that the Doctor had never imagined possible.
Oidhche Shamhna Shona, my friends! (That's Scots Gàidhlig for Happy Halloween)