New York, USA, 1969

The Doctor ran through the streets. His ship was prodding him along with an urgency that startled him. He'd never known her to be quite so scared of any one thing. Now she pushed him towards something. So he ran.

He was honestly surprised he was still alive. He'd ended the war and spent eight months curled up in a ball or hiding inside his own head. He couldn't sleep now. He kept hearing the screams…smelling the planet burn…feeling the pain that led up to his regeneration. His TARDIS was all the Doctor had left of his home.

He turned into an alley and slowed to a stop. There was a human child slumped against the wall, pale and slightly blue. And the TARDIS was pushing him towards her. The Doctor walked over, pulling off his jacket, and crouched next to her. He wrapped her up and lifted her.

'What's the interest in you then?' he asked the unconscious child.

Florida

A Presan hybrid walked through the orphanage with a cardboard box. She packed away first photographs and then all the toys. As a child in the orphanage, this particular little girl didn't have many toys. The hybrid lifted her head as an ugly woman with an eyepatch stepped in behind her.

'Where's the girl?' she demanded.

'Why would I tell you that?' the hybrid asked, inspecting the bedside lamp. 'You kidnapped her. I'm hardly going to help you do it again, am I? Especially considering who I am.'

'Who are you?' the hag snapped. 'Another one of the Doctor's strays?'

The hybrid dropped the last of the child's belongings into the box and turned around.

'You could say that.' She threw herself back into the glass window and through.

As she went down she flipped in mid-air. It was a two story drop and she landed on her feet, unharmed. Then she shot off. She knew what was going on in New York and she also knew there were things the Doctor had to know now. Timelines had to be preserved, after all.

New York

Since the TARDIS had sent him out after her, the Doctor took her back there. He took her straight to the infirmary. He looked her over as he grabbed the computer and activated the scan. She was bruised, dirty and her eyelids were flickering, brow furrowed, as if she was having nightmares.

The computer beeped and the Doctor looked at the readings. His jaw dropped slightly and then he looked over his shoulder. A scowl was on his face as he looked at the ship wall,

'This is not funny!'

A roll of annoyance told him it wasn't a joke. The TARDIS was serious. He stared at the readings. This little girl had two hearts, a self-renewing cell structure and respiratory bypass. But, if she was Gallifreyan, why couldn't he sense her? Why was she affected by the cold of Earth? What was she doing on Earth in the first place?

'Run a species analysis,' he said.

He waited for the results of that. The beam ran over her and the figures beeped onto the screen: HUMAN-TIME LORD HYBRID. The Doctor squinted at it. It explained why she was on Earth. She was born here, but how did she get Time Lord DNA? She was – what? – seven?

The Doctor's attention was diverted when a square popped up at the corner of the screen and it showed a dark-haired girl with slightly Asian features walking towards the TARDIS with a box in her hands. And she seemed aware of the fact that it wasn't a normal blue box.

The Doctor picked the small girl up and carried her out of the infirmary. The older girl could just wait outside. He had to take care of this kid first. He took her across the room and smiled when he saw the TARDIS had already set up a room for her. The Doctor laid her on the bed and tucked her in.

Then he walked down and headed out, through the console room. When he opened the door, the girl was waiting there, the box sitting at her feet. Up closer, the Doctor saw that she reminded him of someone. He closed the door behind him and faced her, crossing his arms over his chest.

'Who are you?' he asked.

'Zaphire,' the girl answered. 'Zaphire Singe. I'm half-Presan and I just came from 2027.'

She held up her vortex manipulator. The Doctor nodded as his mind filled in the blanks. If she was from 2027, it was about the right time for her to be Dani's daughter. And that was who she reminded him of.

'So you came about that kid I picked up?' the Doctor asked.

'Yeah,' Zaphire nodded. 'I grew up with her. She's my best friend. Of course, that's still to come for her.'

Guess I'll be taking a trip to see Dani, then. The Doctor looked down at the box again. And then he looked up at Zaphire. She appeared to be deep in thought. She was hopefully working out what she could and couldn't tell him.

'How is she half-human, half-Gallifreyan?' the Doctor asked.

'That's a long story,' Zaphire said.

The Doctor opened the door and let her in.

Zaphire carried the box into the TARDIS console room. It was different from how she knew it to be. Seemed smaller. Zaphire put the box on the floor near the console. Then she went over and sat in the pilot's seat. The Doctor walked around the console, asking,

'So how's this long story go?'

'You'll have to forgive me for leaving chunks out,' Zaphire said. 'Timelines, you understand?'

'Go on, then.'