A/N: So, bear with me, I know it's really hard to understand... Things get cleared up later on, so just hang in there! If you notice anything grammar-wise, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know so I can fix it ^^
The Doctor finds a mysterious girl on a desolate moon and takes her back to the TARDIS to try and help her. Once there, he realizes something familiar about her...
"This isn't right," the Doctor muttered. He walked further away from the relative safety of the TARDIS, searching for signs of life. The moon, from what he remembered, had few inhabitants, most of them miners who probed the underlayers of the moon's crust for precious ores. However, the surface was heavily patrolled by security officers to ensure no-one was illegally mining. In the amount of time that had passed since the TARDIS landed, at least two or three patrols should have passed through the area. The Doctor continued to move further and further away from the TARDIS, stopping to examine the crashed light globes as he reached them. "They've exploded from the inside," he observed. "All of them." He looked around. "Should find a colony," he decided, and set off in the direction that promised the most light.
It wasn't long before the Doctor reached the source of the light. A trio of light globes remained floating above the ground, although they hovered so low that they might as well have been resting on the ground itself. In the center of the globes, the Doctor could see a small form, darker than the dark grey ash of the ground, curled into a fetal position and completely still. Alarmed, he shoved one of the light balls aside, sending it careening off into the distance, and dropped to his knees next to the blob. Gently uncurling it, he discovered a young child, a human girl, no more than eight earth years old, with short red-brown curls, a button nose, and a round, pale face, covered in the dark ash. Frantically, he searched for a pulse or signs of breath. After several seconds, he released his held breath—a weak pulse fluttered in her neck under his fingers. He shrugged out of his long tan jacket and wrapped it around the child. "Come along, then," he whispered, gathering her gently into his arms and striding off decisively towards the TARDIS. He knew that the machine's restorative properties could help the child better than anything else that remained on this moon.
They reached the TARDIS in a much shorter amount of time than it had taken the Doctor to find the child. He shouldered open the door and winced as an explosion sounded in the distance. He turned to see vicious orange flames licking the black clouds of the horizon. Without a second glance, he turned and stepped into the TARDIS, carrying the child inside.
He laid the girl gently on the floor before stepping to the console. Quickly flipping switches and pressing buttons, he set new coordinates and the TARDIS whooshed as it dematerialized. Turning back to the child, he picked her up again and set off into the depths of the TARDIS. He followed drippy lipstick dashes on the wall—remnants of his regeneration, search for the zero room, and Tegan and Nyssa's search for him and Adric. "I wish we still had the zero room," he sighed, looking down at the child in his arms. "It would help you a lot more than anything else here right now will, but I'll do my best for you."
He found an empty room nearer the heart of the TARDIS than he usually dared to venture and laid the girl on the floor, still wrapped in his coat. He noted that her breathing had deepened and, when he rested his fingers against her neck, found that her pulse had strengthened even in the short time since he had brought her onto the TARDIS. He pulled off his white and red sweater, folded it, and placed it under her head. With a sigh, he sat down and examined the child in front of him. Although he could see no sign of external injuries, she could have internal damage, in which case she need professional medical care. Her face was covered in dirt, as were her clothes and limbs, and her skin was cold; he guessed that she had been lying there for a very long time. He decided to wait until she woke up to figure out what to do with her, and he stood to go in search of proper blankets and pillows for her.
When the Doctor returned, he found his sweater and coat on the floor of the room, but the child was nowhere to be seen. He groaned and set down the pillow and blankets he had found, turned, and jumped when he saw the dirty little waif huddled in the corner.
"Hello there," he said softly, taking a step towards her. When she cringed further into the crevice, he raised his hands and sat down slowly on the floor. "I'm not going to hurt you," he promised. "I want to help. Are you hurt? Are you in pain?"
After a moment's hesitation, the child shook her head, her red-brown curls bouncing.
"That's good," the Doctor smiled. "What's your name? I'm the Doctor."
The girl stared at him, wide-eyed. Her lips moved slightly, but no sound seemed to come out.
"I'm afraid you'll have to speak up," the Doctor said, smiling gently. "My hearing isn't quite good enough for that.
"Jaxlynn," the girl repeated in a slightly louder whisper. Her voice startled the Doctor: she spoke with a Terran American accent.
"Jaxlynn, where are you from?" he asked. "Are you from the moon?"
She shook her head but made no move to speak.
"Don't want to tell me? I see." The Doctor smiled reassuringly. "That's alright." He sighed deeply and stood up. "Are you hungry? I'm starving. Shall we go find some food?"
Hesitantly, Jaxlynn nodded. The Doctor held out his hand towards her, and she stepped forward to place one of her tiny hands in it. He smiled down at her. "Let's go," he prompted, and led her out into the hallway. "Hm," he said, looking down at the child trotting by his side. "Would you like to find some clean clothes? The ones you're wearing are pretty dirty."
Jaxlynn looked down at her ash-covered clothing, then back up at the Doctor and nodded. He smiled at her again and turned down a corridor on their right. He opened a door to reveal a room full of clothing. "You can poke around here for something to wear. Most of my companions are a bit older than you, but there should be something that will fit you. While you're looking, I'll go get us some food and some water for you to clean up with, alright?"
Jaxlynn nodded without looking at the Doctor and stepped into the wardrobe. He smiled slightly and closed the door behind her before setting off for the food storage and bathroom. When he returned, bearing a basket full of food, a bowl full of water, and a towel, he found Jaxlynn sitting in the doorway of the wardrobe still wearing her dirty clothes. "Couldn't find anything?" he asked.
She shook her head, sending the russet curls flying again, and pointed at the bowl of water and towel. "Ah, so you want to get cleaned up before changing?" he asked. She nodded again, and smiled as the Doctor handed her the bowl and towel. She slipped back into the wardrobe, pushing the door closed with her foot, carrying the bowl and towel.
The Doctor settled on the floor across from the door, setting the basket beside him. He rolled up his sleeves and looked down at his own clothes with a frown. His shirt was mostly clean, having been protected by his sweater and jacket, but his tan pants had turned almost completely dark grey from the heavy ash. He had washed his hands in the bathroom, but he doubted his face or pale hair were clean. While he waited for Jaxlynn to reemerge, he nibbled on one of the sandwiches he had put in the basked and wondered how she had ended up on the moon. He doubted she was the child of one of the miners; her clothing, from what was visible under the ash, was too elaborate and her hair too finely cut. But that raised the question of why she was on the moon in the first place; it wasn't exactly a tourist destination, and certainly not for anyone who would wear clothes in the style she wore. Additionally, what had caused the light globes to explode, and what did she have to do with it? Her presence and the planet-wide devastation was too great of a coincidence for his liking.
The Doctor looked up in surprise when the door of the wardrobe reopened. Jaxlynn stood in the doorway, her skin scrubbed clean to reveal a pale, freckled face with a big nose and angled, dark eyebrows. She had found a flowing pink dress that gradated from white at the top to a dark rose hue at the hem. It swirled around her little bare feet, and the ruffled sleeves brushed against her thin arms. The dress was the perfect size for her, the Doctor realized with surprise, and a small smile spread across his face as he realized why. "Very nice," he smiled widely. "Now, are you hungry?"
The girl nodded eagerly, her eyes lighting up at the mention of food. She padded across the hall and sat down next to the Doctor's leg, looking up at him as though waiting for permission. "Go ahead," he prompted, and she smiled again before reaching into the basket and pulling out a sandwich.
The two ate in silence, the Doctor no longer wondering about Jaxlynn. He had all the answers he needed.
A/N: So there. Part 1. What do you think? In case it's unclear, this is the Fifth Doctor at this point... More about Jaxlynn will be explained laterrr... Love you all for reading!