Authors Note: So my friend/sister/roommate aka UnderdogAngel has been having a rough night and so I thought I'd make her this to cheer her up. And I'm sorry that it's mostly dialogue but whatever.
Bedtime stories
"D-Doctor?"
The Doctor, the Eleventh to be more exact, cracked an eye open curiously at the sound of the quiet voice. He was lounging on one of the wobbly seats in the control room and a small girl with short brown hair was standing directly in front of him. She hadn't been there a moment ago. Perhaps he'd dozed. Glancing towards the monitor screen that he'd set to face him he found that they were somewhere in the Golton Nebula, somewhere being the operative word.
"Hmn?"
The little girl shifted from foot to foot shyly before twisting her body around slightly and pointed up at the monitor screen.
"Don't those stars look like a bunny?" She asked curiously, glancing shyly back towards him. The Doctor looked at the monitor screen for a moment before shirking his shoulders slightly. He supposed that the cluster of stars sort of looked like a bunny. He however thought that they looked more like another furry little creature from a planet in this general area of space.
Sitting up straighter The Doctor eyed the little girl with a tired serious expression. He leaned forward, clasping his hands together and resting his elbows on his knees.
"Now Alice, it's very, very late and I doubt that your mummy would like it if she knew that you were up wandering around the TARDIS now would she?" He asked in his gentlest tone of voice. The little girl, Alice, shifted her weight again, tugging at her TARDIS blue night shirt a little before taking a step closer.
"Will you tell me a story?" She asked in a quiet, shy voice. The Doctor gave her a playfully cross look and she quickly added, "Then I'll go straight to bed. Promise."
The Doctor sighed and sat up straight.
"Oh alright, c'm'ere!" He said lightly slapping his knees and holding out his hands to her. Little Alice quickly approached and with some help climbered onto The Doctor's knees where she sat in his arms gazing up at him with a small smile.
"What sort of story would you like me to tell you?"
"Tell me a story about a bunny. Please?" She turned her greenish-blue eyes pleading to The Doctor, her smile widening ever so slightly.
"Oooh no, you don't want to hear a story about a bunny!"
"Please, oh please Doctor." Alice pleaded enthusastically.
"Nah. You don't want to hear a story about a boring ol' bunny. But you know what sort of story you do wanna hear? A story about a DuOlfodim!"
Alice's light brown brows furrowed and she frowned up at The Doctor.
"What's a Du-oolf-odum?"
The Doctor let out a bark of laughter, squeezing Alice slightly.
"No, no, not a Du-oolf-odum, DuOlfodim! There's a difference." He stated matter-o-factly before continuing. "A DuOlfodim is a little small furry creature from the planet Glaciaticopholitrium four, or Glaci for short. They're small little creatures with white fur, rabbity ears and long slender tails with little tuffs of fur on the ends. They hop around like bunnies, but they're better!" He said with a beaming smile.
"Why?" Alice asked curiously.
"Why?"
"Why are thye better?"
"Oh! Well you see, when you're sleeping, DuOlfodim's sneak into your bedroom and curl up in your bed!"
Alice's grip on The Doctor's shirt tighted a bit and she curled closer to his chest, her green-blue eyes wide.
"That sounds scary!"
The Doctor gave her a disbelieving look.
"Wah? Nooooo. No, they're not scary. Not at all! They're such nice creatures. They climb into your bedding to keep you warm! You see, Glaci get's very, VERY cold at night and the DuOlfodim's have such control over their own body temperature that they willingly choose to help less fortunate creatures like us. They offer their own warmth to people who can't control their body temperature like me and you." The Doctor explained, lightly poking his chest then Alice's to get his point across.
"Oooh. I see. So what's this story about the DuOlfodim?"
The Doctor settled himself, looping his arms around Alice and holding her comfortably against him before starting in on his bedtime story.
"There once was a little DuOlfodim named Charn, and a naughty little DuOlfodim he was to. You see, one day, he disobeyed his mother's orders, which were to never sneak into the Podish's tunnels where they stored all of their food. And instead of listening to his mother little Charn sneaks into the Podish's tunnel and gobbles up all of the Podish's food. But then Poddie the Podish spotted little Charn and chased him all around the frozen fields for hours. Charn returns home cold, tired and ill. For you see, he'd gotten a tummy ache from eating all of the Podish's food. But even despite his tummy arch, Charn doesn't learn his lesson, Oooh no. He returns to the Podish's tunnel again, in hopes of gobbling up more of the food but is captured and held prisoner by the Podish that'd chased him around the first time. Little Charn has to be rescued by his mother, who once she's gotten her son back home, punishes him most severely. Only then does little Charn learn not to go into the Podish's tunnel." The Doctor smiled as he concluded the story, but Alice frowned and looked at her lap a moment or two before looking up at him.
"That's the tale of Peter Rabbit!" He accused. The Doctor gave her a look and shifted uncomfortably on the seat.
"Yeah well where do you think Beatrix Potter got the idea hmn? I told her this story and that's where she got the idea for Peter Rabbit." The Doctor said matter-o-factly. Alice gave him a skeptical look, a look that looked a bit odd coming from a seven-year-old.
"You didn't know Beatrix Potter."
"Did so!" The Doctor said. "Had tea with her, lovely woman, bit plain, but not bad on the eyes." He said with a shrug before looking back down at the girl on his lap. "But I've told you a story now go to bed. Come on, off you pop." He said shooing her off of his lap. He stood and shooed her towards the stairs. "Go on." The Doctor straightened and ran his thumbs along his suspenders as he watched the little girl go. "And don't you tell your mother about this or we'll both be in trouble." He warned pointing a finger at her. Alice smiled and shook her head.
"I won't. Good night Doctor." She said before disappearing down the hall. The Doctor smiled.
"G'night Alice May."
With a sigh The Doctor spun back around and reclaimed his seat. He crossed his legs and looked around the quiet empty control room.
"Can you believe she didn't believe that I'd met Beatrix Potter? And she had the nerve to say that I stole the story of Peter Rabbit." The Doctor said aloud. A chuckle game from the opposite hallway and a thin small woman with short brown hair dressed in purple pineapple pajamas emerged from the shadows.
"Hmmn well she's just a little girl Doctor. You mustn't be to hard on her. After all, she wasn't there when you met Beatrix Potter."
The Doctor smiled as the woman stepped up the steps and leaned against the control board, arms crossed, tired smile crossing her lips.
"Yeah, but you were."
"Yes. Yes I was. Who'd have thought that you gave Potter the idea for one of the greatest children stories ever told."
"Hey, stranger things have happened."
The woman chuckled.
"Yeah, they have. Like a little-big blue box landing in an outside mall in the middle of no where America." She mused. The Doctor smiled.
"Or a girl with her head in the clouds running into said little-big blue box. Literally."
The two shared a chuckle before the woman pushed off of the control board.
"Thank's for telling her a bedtime story. She'll sleep now."
"Not a problem."
"Good night Doctor, you get some rest."
"You to Kels. You to."
Authors Note: Yeah, I wrote this. I went there. Now it's up to you to decide if Alice is The Doctor's daughter or some other mans.