The TARDIS was put into flight. The central rotor pulsated almost angrily as the ship started to de-materialise. Susan started to take off her coat, and she was quickly hanging up the others coats too as they all were hot from the sudden rise in temperature from the cold of Edwardian England, to the heat of the TARDIS console room. Ian didn't like to think what the heating bill would be like if the Doctor actually had to deal with regular human matters. But of course he didn't, thought Ian- the Doctor had no idea about human fundamentals and regular life tasks.
There was a sudden scream as Susan dropped the final coat and bent down to examine something.
"What on Earth's the matter child?" the Doctor barked furiously.
Ian and Barbara went to help Susan in her situation. As they walked over, she was bent over and carefully picking something up.
"What is it Susan?" Ian said with worry. "It's not a bomb is it?"
For a moment Barbara thought she was holding a cat, but as Susan lifted what it was into the view of her friends, and into the bright lights of the ship, it was obvious she was holding a baby girl, dressed in Edwardian style baby dress. The baby was gently crying and Susan was trying to hush her.
"Doctor..." Ian stammered. "Have you seen this?"
The Doctor marched over and looked the baby up and down in curiosity. "Well that's a baby, dear boy, what's that doing on my ship?"
"It's a she, Doctor," Barbara said. "She's an Earth girl; someone must have left her here thinking this was a police box."
"But surely the mother would have noticed the size of the ship and known otherwise," Ian reasoned.
"Well we don't know what state she might have been in, what trouble. Maybe she had no choice Ian."
"And more to the point," the Doctor added. "How did she open the doors?"
"Well that's not important now grandfather," Susan said as she made cooing noises at the baby. "What's more of a worry is that we're in the vortex now and the mother isn't."
Barbara reached down into the baby basket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Well there's a note," she said as her eyes skimmed the words. "Oh how awful."
"What is it Barbara?" Ian asked as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
"I'm afraid this baby has been left in our care, it seems her mother has fallen on very hard times and simply has had no choice. Oh dear, we'll never be able to reunite them or help her, Doctor."
The Doctor shook his head in sadness. "No, I'm afraid it's unlikely the fast return would get us back to the same point, it hasn't for you, but I shall do whatever in my power to make sure we keep the child safe until we can figure out a way out of this mess."
...
Susan showed Ian and Barbara to the supply room in the ship and they had spent half an hour using the Doctor's replicator machine to gather all the baby items they would need. They collected nappies, and bottles, bibs, and clothes. The ladies had piled them into Ian's arms and he struggled to carry them as they laughed as they walked arm in arm beside him.
"Don't work yourselves too hard ladies," Ian said with a smirk.
Barbara smiled and finally unburdened Ian's load. As they entered the console room, the three of them all stood back in shock. Sitting on the console was the baby. She was leaning against the now still column and her legs were thrashing about against all the buttons.
"Doctor!" Barbara shouted as she rushed over and immediately scooped the baby into her arms and cradled her.
Ian approached the Doctor who was crouched down on the floor with his head under the console. The noise startled him, and as he arose he banged his head on the panel above him. Ian helped him to his feet.
"Oh for goodness sakes, I'm going to have a lump the size of Jupiter now!" he said as he watched the others unimpressed expressions. "What's the matter with you?"
"Doctor, you can't leave her on the console with all that live electricity and what have you," Ian lectured him. "Not to mention she could have fallen off."
"Nonsense, nonsense, little Mary was perfectly alright. I slotted her on the console right where she would come to no harm. I needed to get something from under the console and you had all left me alone with the child."
"Mary?" Ian asked.
"Perfect name for her don't you think?" he said as he stretched his finger out into the baby's face. "Don't you think so? Ah ha! Yes, you do!"
Barbara checked her over to make sure she was not injured and then accepted that the Doctor was not intending any harm. "Well... Mary, if that's what we're calling her, well she really ought to be changed."
Everyone looked at one another and instinctively took two steps away from Barbara.
"Oh no you don't!" she said, tapping her foot on the ground. "I'm not doing it."
"But Barbara-"Ian began.
"If you dare say I'm the woman, I'll..."
Ian laughed. "No, I wasn't going to say that, it's just you're the only one I'd really trust with her. I've no experience with babies, Susan's very young...and well...the Doctor would probably put the nappy on her head by mistake."
Susan giggled. "I think what Ian means is that you're the most efficient at getting things done."
"Well be that as it may," Barbara said. "You've all got to learn at some stage." She took one hand away from the baby and grabbed Ian's arm. "Now, this time I'll show Ian. Next time it's you Susan. No one is getting away with this."
Ian sighed as he was led away from the room.
...
"There," Barbara said. "It wasn't that bad was it?"
Ian sat on the floor, wiping himself off with a towel. His hair was now wet. "Not so bad if she could be so courteous to hold off the toilet until after I changed her."
Barbara laughed. "Well you'll have to get used to all this if you're ever to have one of your own."
"Oh but then It'll be my..."
"...Oh I see," Barbara began, interrupting him. "I know you were going to say that your wife will do it."
"No, I mean, she might want to do it and who am I to argue with that?"
Ian looked down at Mary as she wriggled around on the towel. He smiled. "She is rather cute, I must admit."
She nodded and placed the baby into her arms. "Oh it's so sad that she hasn't got a mother, Ian."
He stood up to join Barbara as she paced back and forth. "Yes, it is rather. We must find her a good home. The TARDIS certainly isn't a place for a child."
"I wonder if Susan was a baby here?" Barbara said.
"I'm not sure," Ian began. "Where's her parents? Susan has never said has she? All I know is, a ship like this, seems a lonely place to grow up."
"Well, this little one will be given to a family who can give her all she needs, we'll make that our mission."
...
Whilst Ian went to shower and Susan started calculating food machine codes for baby food and for their own meals, Barbara rested on the Eames chair whilst the Doctor sat with the baby beside him asleep in her basket as he looked over some plans of the TARDIS.
"What are you doing over there Doctor?" Barbara queried.
"Hmmm? Oh, Mary and I are looking over ways in which I can get the TARDIS back to Earth, perhaps I can be more accurate, get you all back to the 1960's. This proves I must work harder now there are three of you to consider."
Barbara smiled and felt relieved. She also felt slightly put out that the Doctor had clearly not been trying hard enough to get them home- he'd never got out plans before! As scary and unpredictable as the man was though, he always was gentle and kind around children. She saw him look at the sleeping girl a few times and gently tickle her chin.
"Reminds me of Susan when she was..." He cut himself off quickly. Barbara wondered why he always did that.
"What is it Doctor?" Barbara asked. "Did you look after Susan a lot when she was a baby?"
"Oh it was a long time ago, my dear, a long time ago," the Doctor said ignoring her question, and he started looking through his notes again. "We'll have some quiet now my dear, I need absolute concentration. And that goes for you too Mary, no crying now, hmmmm?"
...
After a satisfying meal, the team retired to their bedrooms to get some well deserved sleep. The baby was put in the room next to Barbara's, and the baby had been placed in a crib that the Doctor had said belonged to his family. It was wooden and had rather ancient looking symbols carved into it. Ian couldn't help but wonder if the symbols were a language of the Doctor's. The Doctor had provided each of them with a hand held baby monitor receiver. Barbara and Ian were astonished with the technology but were told not to mention them if they ever got back to their own time. Besides, he had said, if they ever had children of their own, he did not want Ian going out and inventing them just to stop the baby crying. No, the Doctor said they'd have to get used to the fact they couldn't have them, and maybe when their grandchildren were born, they might get the luxury at last.
Barbara found herself unable to fall asleep and when she heard Mary crying she got up ready to go and cuddle the little one and see what was wrong. When she entered the room, she found the light was already on and Ian was sitting on the bed with Mary in his arms. He was only wearing a vest and a pair of shorts and the baby was bouncing on his knee and giggling. Barbara watched the sight for a moment and then walked in.
"Well now she's all excited, you'll never get her back down."
Ian seemed embarrassed. "Barbara, I'm not decent."
"I've seen worse," she said as she sat down on the bed beside him. "Doctor says he's going to attempt to get us home tomorrow. Do you think she might be our little luck charm?"
Ian kissed the baby on the forehead. "She certainly feels lucky to me."
"Well don't hog her Ian; she wants Auntie Barbara to have cuddles with."
...
When Ian and Barbara entered the main console room in the morning, they found the Doctor and Susan playing with Mary. The Doctor was holding a fluffy pink bunny rabbit toy and was doing silly voices.
"Quite the performer, Doctor," Ian said.
The Doctor jumped to his feet. "How long have you been there Chesterfield?"
"Long enough to hear 'Mr. Wobbles' gruff voice."
Barbara laughed. "You sound like Punch, Doctor, you know from the Punch and Judy shows at the seaside. I used to love those."
The Doctor spluttered. "Ludicrous! A puppet man hitting poor wife Judy with a bat? Sausages everywhere, it's a display of anarchy."
"Well, all that aside, do you think we're any closer to home?" Ian asked.
Susan looked down, tears filled her eyes, and she started to sob and ran from the room. Ian looked stunned. "What did I say?"
"I'm afraid, dear boy, this talk of your leaving us has quite upset the girl."
Barbara frowned but put aside her feelings to rush after the girl and comfort her. She'd have to deal with Susan later. Right now the baby was the most important thing. She approached the Doctor, feeling guilty about ignoring her duty to her pupil.
"Well, are we home?"
The Doctor nodded. "I believe it's a great possibility my dear," he said. "The ship has materialised. And look, on the scanner that looks very much like England does it not?"
Ian and Barbara smiled. "It does look about right Doctor," Ian replied, but he tried not to get his hopes up, after all they'd assumed it was England before and had been wrong.
Susan came into the room moments later, her eyes were red and puffy, but when she hugged Barbara she felt a lot happier and relaxed.
"I'm sorry I ran out, it's just I was worried about us all being split up. I hate goodbyes."
"It's not much fun for any of us to think of parting ways," Barbara said.
"Things must come to an end eventually," Ian said. "But we didn't mean to upset you, Susan."
"It's alright, I know you have good reasons." Susan sniffed and took a deep breath.
"Well," Barbara said, giving Susan a quick hug before she resumed their discussion, "what's the plan then? If that is the 1960's out there, what are we going to do with Mary?"
"I don't quite follow, my dear."
"Well where do you think is best to take her, to give her the best life?"
The Doctor frowned. "I don't understand. I assumed she would go with the both of you if I took you home."
Ian and Barbara were shocked with the Doctor's suggestion. "Doctor," Ian said with anger. "You can't thrust that responsibility on us without telling us about it!"
"I just came to the conclusion that for her best interests that the two of you would make sufficient parents."
"But Doctor, Ian and I aren't..."
"Married?" the Doctor said as Susan giggled beside him at the idea. "I know that. But once Chesterton gets on with a proposal you'll be half way there."
"Proposal?" Ian spluttered. The Doctor pushed Ian onto one knee so he was kneeling before Barbara in the manner of a traditional proposal. Ian blushed and stood up immediately.
"Doctor, even if it were as simple as that," he said trying to avoid eye contact with Barbara. "How, if we are back in 1963 would we explain how Barbara had managed to conceive, carry, and have a six month old baby in one day?"
The Doctor rubbed his chin, he was baffled. That thought clearly hadn't occurred to him.
"Maybe you could say that Barbara was pregnant all along but just wasn't the type to get fat," Susan added unhelpfully.
Barbara faced the Doctor. "I'm not going to pretend that I had a baby, it's too much to ask of me. Everyone will think Ian and I had been...well...you know..."
"There are greater scandals in your time Barbara, much greater ones. Things like this go unnoticed."
Ian snorted. "Doctor, this is the 1960's, you didn't live there very long. Two schoolteachers do not just get away with having a torrid affair resulting in a baby that appeared in one day, and then just bring the baby up as if nothing happened. My mother would be mad I tell you."
"You haven't considered the emotional repercussions of this at all have you?" Barbara said as tears filled her eyes. "You never think beyond your own selfishness Doctor," she said as she stormed out of the room. The slamming door awoke the baby and Susan helped the situation by trying to stop the infant's sobs.
"Doctor, you don't know Earth like we do, you don't know our time, or the way we live. What you're asking of Barbara is unthinkable."
The Doctor frowned and sat down in his chair. "I am sorry young man; I thought perhaps you wanted the baby. I see now that the two of you are not quite ready yet."
"It's not that we don't want her," Ian said as he looked over at the face of the little girl. "It's a lot more complicated than that."
The Doctor patted Ian on the arm. "I know Chesterton, I know. I apologise."
...
Susan and the Doctor ventured into the TARDIS, the doors were still open as they re-joined Ian and Barbara inside. Barbara was still quiet and held the baby on her lap; she was holding a toy to the girl and smiling at her.
"So Doctor, is it 1963?" Ian asked.
The Doctor frowned. "I'm afraid my calculations were a little off. Not by much, but its 1985, not 1963."
"What now?" Susan asked breaking the silence.
"We must find her a home here," Barbara said. "She must stay in 1985- it's the only chance she has."
"But..." Susan said.
"We have no choice Susan, we may never get to another time on Earth that can care for her. What if we arrive at the time of the Tudors, or the Roman Invasion? No, from what you've told us, this year will be fine," Barbara said.
"But we could keep trying," the Doctor said. "We may get it right next time."
"Barbara's right, Doctor." Ian said. "This ship is not the place for that little girl. She's not like you, or Susan, or even us, she's an innocent baby and she needs a proper life."
The Doctor nodded and picked up the baby from Barbara's lap. "Well...come along Mary, it appears our time together is at its end. These two teachers are quite right on this occasion."
Barbara couldn't hold back the tears and fell into Ian's arms crying. He stroked her on the back gently. "There was nothing more we could do was there, Barbara? She has to stay here in 1985."
They watched the Doctor leave the ship with the baby in the basket. Barbara rushed over quickly but as she reached the doors, she couldn't bear to go any further. She simply stood and watched as Mary was carried away to a new life, a life in a future, not far from their own.
...
In 1986, Ian and Barbara Chesterton entered the adoption agency centre and were filling out the final forms in their adoption process.
"Are you excited to see her?" the man said as he took the forms from them. "She's a lovely baby. Abandoned by her mother and brought here by an elderly man who found her. He named her Mary."
...
Ian and Barbara walked hand in hand from the centre the next day. Barbara pushed the pram along the road. Now around their late forties and early fifties, it had been many years since they had said goodbye to the girl. They had aged twenty years, but she had only aged one.
"So we found her the right home after all," Barbara said.
"Yes," Ian grinned. "And I did finally propose."