Trigger Warning: This story at least alludes to sexual and physical abuse. So far there are no graphic details, but there may be later on.
~.~.~.~.~
The woken Silurian looked at the hibernation pod. All her sisters were dead. None besides her survived the attack. She would seek her vengeance. The lone lizard woman entered the tunnels on the London underground slaughtering the apes working to expand their tunnels. Her desire to avenge her sisters was not sated. She found herself leaving the tunnels. She gazed at the unfamiliar sites- the streets and buildings of Victorian London. So few plants, so few ferns. "What have the apes done to this planet?" she asked herself in disgust.
It was late. The sun was down. Few people were out. Most were women of ill repute and drunk men. There were a couple of match girls trying to get a few coins before everyone went home.
"Father?" called a voice behind the lizard. The Silurian turned her sword toward the voice. "Have you seen my father?" a little brown haired girl asked. In her wrath she raised her weapon, intent on killing the child.
"Stop!" demanded another voice. A male voice. The Silurian paused. The man stepped in front of the girl. "She is just a child. A hatchling. She did nothing to harm you or your kind. She is innocent".
The Silurian regarded the man. "You know of us!" She hissed at him. "Your men attacked our hibernation chambers. My sisters are dead".
"Not my men," He corrected her. He raised his arms to show he was unarmed. "You are angry," he observed. "Anger is the shortest distance to a mistake".
The furious lizard glared at the man. "What do you mean?" She yelled.
"The humans were not aware. They are trying to expand their underground transportation system. They did not know there was a race of ancient sentient reptiles hibernating underground. Your sisters' regrettable deaths were the result of an accident. Believe me, I am sorry for your loss." The man looked at the bloody sword of the Silurian. "The killings you committed, however, were intentional and cruel. They never had a chance against an armed Silurian Warrior".
"And swift," the green woman added raising the point of her sword again, this time to throat of the man.
"You don't want to do that. You will regret it, as you already regret the murders in the tunnel."
The Silurian took another deep breath, this time through her nose. She smelled the man. She flicked her tongue, and tasted his odor. "You are different. You are not an ape of this world".
"I am the Doctor; a Time Lord, the last of my kind. I too know the suffering that comes as a result of losing one's people". He looked at her with empathy.
"You may not be human," she stated, "But shy should I trust you?" she asked.
"I recall the Silurians have some telepathic abilities." The Doctor responded "It will be less time consuming to make a psychic link".
The lizard woman nodded and placed her figure tips by the Doctor's temples. They closed their eyes and allowed their minds to touch. The Doctor showed the woman Gallifrey; the red grass and silver trees of his home world, the Time Lords, and The Vortex, and regeneration.
The link ended. "Why are you showing me all this".
"Vastra," having learned the Silurian's name through the link, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," the Doctor replied. The lizard eyed him skeptically. "Line from a moving picture that won't come out for another 60 years or so," he grinned. "Humans have their faults, but they do know how to entertain!" The green lady smiled in return.
The child was still there, behind the man. She tugged at the Doctor's jacket. "Where is my father?" She demanded.
The Doctor knelt to become face to face with the small brown haired girl. "Was your father working in the tunnels?"
"Maybe 'e was. I've been lookin' for 'im a long time now. I can't find 'im anywhere".
The Doctor glared at Vastra. The lizard woman knelt to be on level with the girl too. The child gazed at the green scaly face, but did not turn in fear. "I'm sorry, hatchling," she said, "I'm so sorry. Your father is gone… dead".
"Dead?" The child's eyes widened. Tears started to flow. "'Ow can 'e be dead?"
The Doctor and Vastra faced each other. "There was an accident." The Doctor stated simply.
"No!" she denied. "You're lying!" she told them. "'E can't be gone. "E's all I've got in this world. I have to find 'im". She turned away from them and called out again "Father! Father". She started running.
The Doctor and Vastra stood. "You killed her father," he accused.
"I..." the lizard woman started.
"Shush," he demanded. "You are aware that the offspring of mammals are dependent on their parents for a long period of time. Her father is gone and it sounds like she doesn't have a mother either. You are now responsible for that child's wellbeing".
"I know".
"No," he looked at her "You don't. You don't know what a precious a thing I am giving to you. But you will know". He said cryptically.
The Silurian gave him one last glance before running off in the direction of the child.
~.~.~.~.~
The small six year old girl was alone walking the street of London during the night. She was cold and hungry. Very hungry. She couldn't remember when her last meal was. She gazed into the distance as she slowly moved forward. She looked longingly at a closed bakery.
"Oi!" a bobby called to her, "Are you lost?"
She nodded. "I'm looking for my father".
"Where is your home?" he asked.
"I… I don't know." She stammered. "Don' suppose I have one".
Another orphan- a little street urchin, the bobby thought. He looked at her with sympathy. "What is your name?"
Even with this simple question the cold and confused girl had to think. Eventually she answered "Jenny".
A pedestrian ran up to the pair. "Young Jennifer! I've been looking all over for you!" The heaving large man feigned relief at seeing the girl. "Don't ever run off like that again!"
The girl peered at the man. She didn't recognize him.
The man turned to the bobby. "I hope my niece hasn't been causing any trouble now," he stated.
"She just seemed lost".
"Yes, poor confused little brat. Keeps runnin' off tryin' ta find her parents. I keep tellin' 'er they're gone now. She's staying with me".
"Well, just try to make sure she doesn't run off again. There are enough kids on the streets," the bobby responded, dismissing the man and the child.
"Come along," he whispered forcefully to the girl.
"I don't know you," she murmured back.
"'Course you know me," he responded, "I'm your uncle, William Flint."
The girl looked at him perplexed. She supposed it was possible. She couldn't remember a lot of things.
"You don't want to live on the streets, little one." He told warned her. "You need to stay at the house with me and your aunt."
He lead her to a small row home. A woman greeted them inside. "This is your aunt, Elizabeth," he informed her.
The woman acknowledged the child with little interest, then handed her some stale bread and a small bowl of soup.
The girls was starving. She eagerly took the tasteless old food. "Thank you," she said gratefully as she scarfed it down.
"Oi! You're goin' ta eat us out of house and home," the woman complained. "Tomorrow you're goin' ta have ta star' earnin' your way around here," she stated, "You'll get a job as a match girl".
Outside the row home the Silurian monitored the situation with the girl. She was relieved that the girl still had some family who appeared to be willing to take care of her. Still, she felt guilt for killing the girl's father and vowed to check in on the girl to ensure her safety and wellbeing.
~.~.~.~.~
The nine year old match girl was cold and hungry. She had been forced to give all her earnings to her aunt and uncle who had been "kind" enough to give her shelter and their stale left overs. They were both rather cruel to her. If she complained they beat her. If she sold too few matches they beat her. They taught her that life with them would still be better than trying to make her own way in the world. She observed the way poor women and girls were treated on the street and for the most part believed them.
She never had much food, and in the winters there was even less. She would be lucky to be given one "meal" per day- usually a small piece of stale bread and some broth that was no longer even warm. Today was particularly chilly. The girl shivered by the side of a building, trying to avoid the harsh wind. She felt weakened by the lack of food she sat on the ground to give herself some rest. A hooded figure wearing a long cape silently dropped in her lap a large loaf of bread, still warm from the oven, and handed her a freshly brewed hot cup of tea. "Thank you, Ma'am!" The child called out to the person, who left before the girl could even see her face. The provided bread and tea were the best she had ever tasted. That she remembered. She was able to savor the bread for a few days.
~.~.~.~.~
Three years later Jenny was still a match girl, but now she was living on the streets having left her aunt and uncle. The nights were terrifying for her. She had to hide to avoid the creepy drunkards and the recruiters for the pleasure houses. She had found an often ignored alley that she had stayed at for the last couple of nights. But she then found herself surrounded by four men. Members of a gang called the Tongs that she had been trying to dodge. She had heard rumors that they like to use girls up, then, when finished with them sell them to the pleasure houses. She attempted to run, but one of them caught her. There was no way to escape. She tried to scream for help, but then one of the men put their hands over her mouth and another threatened her with a knife against her throat.