Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
A/N: Okay! I'm rebooting this story, with four 'firsts' in each chapter, except possibly the last two. Whereas before Hope would have been younger than twelve, in this version she will begin as an infant and it will end with her as a young adult. Also, you'll have to decide for yourselves how old she is in each drabble. Just remember that these are chronological.
Hope's First Words
Anna sat on the king size bed she stared with the Doctor, smiling down at her daughter. The Doctor was out there, saving the world as usual, and Anna had stayed home to look after their daughter. They'd talked about getting a babysitter, but never actually done so.
Hope was kicking her little feet in the air and gurgling. She babbled happily at her mother, who cooed and tickled Hope's tummy. Hope squealed and giggled. "Mamamawaba" Hope babbled, instinctively sending feelings of thirstiness and the taste of milk through the mental bond she shared with her mother. Anna picked Hope up and carried her to the kitchen, where she set about filling a bottle with milk. Hope watched her from the high seat.
When the bottle of milk was ready, Anna handed it to Hope, who grabbed it eagerly. "You are thirsty, aren't you?" Anna chuckled, as Hope gulped down the milk. "Slow down darling, you might choke". In answer, Hope aimed the bottle at her mother and squeezed. Anna spluttered, and wiped herself down with a tea towel as Hope laughed uproariously. "Do you think this is funny?" she asked, wagging her finger at Hope, which only made the little girl giggle even more.
"You're lucky you're so hard to stay cross with" sighed Anna, stroking her daughters soft brown curls. Then she turned away to make herself a cup of tea. She was just picking the hot mug up off the counter when she heard Hope say "So-ree". She nearly dropped it.
She stared at Hope in surprise, and asked "Did you say something?" Hope blinked up at her. "Darling, did you say something?" repeated Anna. "So-ree" Hope repeated. Anna beamed, and scooped her daughter out of the chair, cuddling her close. "Oh, you brilliant little girl" she said happily. "It's okay, I forgive you – oh, just wait until your daddy hears you talking! He'll be so proud".
When the Doctor returned, Anna and Hope were waiting for him in the console. He smiled broadly at the sight of his wife and daughter, striding over to Anna. He gave her a kiss and lifted Hope from her arms to give her a cuddle. "So, what have you two been up to whilst I was gone?" he inquired as he cuddled his daughter.
"It's wonderful, Thief; Hope said her first word today!" Anna informed him happily. The Doctor's eyes widened, and he looked down at Hope. "You spoke? Go on, do it again" he encouraged. Hope stuck her thumb in her mouth. "What exactly did she say?" the Doctor asked Anna, who explained, "She squirted me with milk from her bottle, and about a minute later she said 'sorry'".
Despite both her parents encouragement, Hope refused to utter another word. The Doctor decided that the only way to get her to speak would be to 'recreate the circumstances' of her first word. So when it was time for dinner, Anna filled another bottle with orange juice (whilst the Doctor mashed up a banana in a plastic bowl), and warned her daughter not to drink it too quickly, just as she had before.
Instead of squirting the juice all over her mother, Hope messed about with her mashed up banana, and threw a clump of them at her father. Once again, she found this hilarious. "Hope! Now look here young lady, you can squirt milk all over your mum, but you don't ever throw bananas!" the Doctor told her sternly. Hope stopped giggling. "So-ree, da" she said quietly; which of course, made the Doctor forget all about his messy shirt. "Well done, Hope!" he enthused. They celebrated that night with orange juice and, yes, more mashed bananas.
Hope's First Steps
Anna had gone shopping, leaving the Doctor to look after Hope. He was sitting opposite his daughter at the table, holding up cards with pictures on them. "Say, 'banana'" he encouraged. "Ba-ma-na" said Hope. The Doctor shrugged. "Close enough. Okay, now say 'dada'" he said next, pointing at himself. Hope pointed at him and happily announced "Dodo". The Doctor shook his head. "No dear, say 'da-da'. Hope stuck her tongue out. "Dodo" she insisted stubbornly.
"Your daddy is not a dodo…okay, fine. Call me a dodo if you want to. Can you say, err, bowtie? Say, 'bowtie'". Hope squirmed in her high seat, and banged her fists on the tray. "Play!" she demanded.
So the Doctor took her to the nursery, which was painted to look the solar system, and was full of toys. Hope crawled over to a pile of multi-coloured bricks and began to stack them to make a tower. When the Doctor asked if she wanted some help, Hope threw a brick at him. He sat on a stool to the side and watched his little architect at work.
Soon, Hope had stacked nine blocks. She looked around and spotted the brick she'd thrown at her dad. Hope crawled over and picked up the yellow block. She looked from the wooden brick, to her tower, and back again. She got one foot under her, and then the other…and stood up on wobbly legs.
The Doctor watched with bated breath, as Hope took first one, then two staggering steps towards her tower. She made all the way to the tower, placed the last brick on top; and promptly knocked the whole thing over. "Ha, ha!" the Doctor laughed gleefully, picking Hope up and swinging her around. Without a moment's hesitation, he carried Hope out of the TARDIS and across the street to the supermarket. He found Anna by the checkout.
"Doctor, what are you doing here with Hope?" she asked, uncomfortably aware of everyone staring at them. He grinned at her, saying "Just watch this, its brilliant". He set Hope down, and crouched about eight steps away from her, holding out his hands. "Come on Hope, come to dada!" he encouraged her. At first, Hope merely stood there looking confused. The Doctor sighed and tried again. "Come to…dodo…" he said, resisting the urge to glare at his sniggering wife.
This time, Hope did totter forwards, a whole six steps before falling down again. Her gleeful parents hugged their daughter, whilst the shoppers and cashiers that had witnessed what had transpired applauded and congratulated them. "Get the shopping, will you dear?" Anna said lightly as she carried Hope back to the TARDIS. "Dodo shop!" crowed Hope, giggling. The Doctor gaped at them, then looked at the shopping, and sighed. Dodo, indeed.
Hope's First Planet
It had taken a while for them to feel comfortable with the idea, but the Doctor and Anna had decided that Hope was old enough to visit a new planet. She was walking and talking much better now; and most of her words nowadays were "Wanna go outside!", and most of her steps took her towards the doors. They made sure to land on the safest planet they could think of. Goodness knew the three of them were magnets for trouble, but Hope would always be with one or both of them.
Thus did they find themselves, wrapped up against the cold, about to step out onto the Ood Sphere. "Look at all the snow!" Hope yelled in delight, trotting out into all the white stuff. The Doctor hurried to keep up and keep an eye on her, even though her TARDIS blue snowsuit stood out like a sore thumb against the whiteness of the planet. Hope scooped up a handful of snow and flung it at her dad, before running off.
It wasn't long before a snowball fight broke out, and Anna took Hope's side. "Why must you attack me?" the Doctor whined as he was pelted with snowballs. Hope rolled about in the snow and made snow angels.
Soon, they came upon a city, with buildings carved out of the ice and rock. Hope stared up at the towers and arches in awe. "That's the City of the Singing Crystals, Hope. Isn't it beautiful?" asked her dad. Hope smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "I love you, daddy" she murmured, hugging his leg. He crouched down and pulled her into a hug. "I love you too, my Hope".
Hope's First Alien
The Doctor and his family were met by Ood Sigma at the outskirts of the city. "Greetings, Doctor. Your wife and child are also welcome" he said pleasantly. Hope ran up to the alien and beamed. "Talking spaghetti!" she announced to her parents, pointing. The Doctor gave the unperturbed Ood an apologetic glance. "No darling, he's not spaghetti. This is Ood Sigma, an old friend of mine" he explained to Hope.
Sigma led the way through the city. "Does this visit have a purpose?" he inquired politely. The Doctor shrugged and answered, "not really, we just wanted to come somewhere…relatively safe for Hope's first new planet", he gestured to his daughter, who was running about with several young Ood children. "The Doctor and I are a little over-protective of Hope; she's unique, and there are people out there who would harm her…not that we'd ever let them" explained Anna.
"I understand. If you would both excuse me" said Sigma, before moving deep into the tunnels of the city. Anna tucked her hand under the Doctor's arm, as they watched Hope playing. He smiled and gave her a kiss, pretending to get his lips stuck on hers. They broke up after an exclamation of disgust from Hope, who was pulling faces and chucking snow at them both.
When Ood Sigma returned, he asked the Doctor and Anna to bring Hope to the council chamber. "I have told the Elders of your daughter, and they agree that she is unique and worthy of protection. Know then, that the Ood will always be in her service, should she need us" Sigma revealed, much to Hope's parents delight. "Thank you, Sigma. And thank you to the Elders, of course, for their generosity" the Doctor replied.
"There is more" Sigma continued, "we would like to give your daughter a song, a lullaby if you will, should she allow it".
"I don't see why she wouldn't" said Anna, looking around for Hope, who was sitting a little ways off, drawing patterns in the dust with her finger. "Hope, darling. Come here please" she called. Hope stood up and walked over. Anna knelt down at her level and smiled. "Hey, listen. The Ood want to sing a song for you, a special song that only you'll be able to hear. Won't that be nice?"
Hope hesitated, and then shook her head. "Ah, come on Hope. You'll like hearing it, I promise" said her father, as he picked up the squirming Time Tot and set her down in the middle of the circle of Ood Elders. Then he reluctantly moved out of the circle, even though he hated to leave his daughter there looking so confused and little scared.
But that distress soon melted from her innocent face as the Ood began to sing. It was peculiar, because normally the Doctor could hear the Ood's telepathic song, but this time he could hear nothing. Hope, of course, could hear every note in her mind. It sounded pretty, like her mummy's lullabies, and the twinkling sound the stars made if she listened really hard. When the final strains faded into her subconscious, Hope felt all fuzzy, the way she did after a bath when she was in her fluffy yellow dressing gown and being cuddled.
"Mmm…pretty music" she yawned, eyes drooping. The Ood moved aside to let the Doctor pass. He lifted Hope into his arms and kissed her on the forehead. "C'mon Anna, let's take her home. I think that's enough for one day" he decided.
