Author's note: I was rewatching Earthshock and there's an argument at the start that gives off so many father/son vibes about the relationship between the Doctor and Adric. There are so many moments during the series that give that impression that I just had to write this story.

--

The sound of raised voices made their way down the corridors of the TARDIS.

"How long are they going to keep this up?" wondered Nyssa. She was working on some chemical equations in her notes, but the argument kept breaking her concentration.

"It won't be much longer," Tegan said. "The Doctor's about a minute away from calling Adric 'young man.'" She grinned slightly.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Nyssa asked.

Then the words, "Don't you take that tone with me, young man!" drifted into the room. The Doctor's tone clearly indicated that he was in no mood for any nonsense.

"Oh. I see," Nyssa said. Adric's volume rose yet another level as he protested that the Doctor had no right to tell him what he should and shouldn't say.

"How did you know he'd say that?" Nyssa asked.

"Because I've had exactly the same argument with my father," Tegan laughed. "Any moment now, the Doctor's going to say that this is his house and Adric should obey his rules."

"This is my TARDIS and I expect you to listen to what I tell you!"

"Close enough," Tegan said.

"And the door slam," Nyssa said, managing to join in grinning as she recalled some of the arguments she'd had with her father. They hadn't often disagreed, but Nyssa could remember a few occasions and the words had followed a similar pattern.

Right on cue, there came the sound of a door slamming as Adric shut himself in his bedroom.

"Do you think Adric has a diary?" Tegan asked.

"I don't know."

"I could just imagine him sitting in his room sulking, ranting on a piece of paper. 'The Doctor's so unfair. He never listens to me.'"

"'He's always telling me what to do,'" Nyssa continued the imagined diary entry. "'I hate him. I hate him. I hate him.'"

"With three exclamation marks after each sentence."

The two laughed.

"I suppose we'd better do damage control," said Tegan.

"I'll take Adric, you deal with the Doctor."

They set off. Tegan went into the console room, but Nyssa kept walking. She still heard the Doctor exclaim, "That boy has absolutely no respect!"

Nyssa continued on to Adric's room and knocked on the door.

"Go away," came the sulky voice from inside.

"Adric, it's Nyssa. Can I come in?"

There was a pause. "OK then." Adric was lying face-down on his bed. Nyssa was amused to note that he closed a book he'd been writing in that was propped on his pillow.

"So, what were you fighting about this time?" Nyssa asked.

"He says I never listen to him. He says I rush into dangerous situations without thinking them through."

"And what do you think?"

"I think that's what he does! He can't expect me to do whatever I'm told and sit in the TARDIS where it's safe while he goes rushing off into whatever's out there without a thought of the danger. It's just hypocritical!"

"The Doctor's just trying to keep you safe, Adric."

"Well he can stop trying to live my life for me."

"I think that's something all parents do to some extent."

"Parents?" Adric looked up at Nyssa, clearly surprised. "The Doctor isn't my father."

"That's not how it looks from here."

--

In the console room, the Doctor was still ranting.

"I try and give him the simplest piece of advice and he just refuses to listen."

"I think all teenagers go through a phase of not wanting to listen to their parents," Tegan said.

"Parents?" the Doctor was shocked out of his rant by Tegan's choice of words. "Adric isn't my son."

"That's not how it looks from here."