Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Sorry it's been so long! I'm gearing up for training for another half marathon and have been doing a lot of work on my fundraising. Thank you so much for the reviews! Please let me know what you think and happy reading!
Chloe sat at the kitchen table picking at the clothes her mother had put her in. They belonged to Donna and they were so grown-up. Not even any of her Mummy's pretty clothes.
She looked up. "You said for my birthday I could wear a princess dress."
Donna sighed. "It doesn't fit right now."
"I don't like this jumper," said Chloe.
"Sweetheart, please don't," said Donna. "I know it's awful."
The Doctor looked up. "I bought you that jumper."
"I mean, it's lovely, just-"
"You said you liked it!," the Doctor said accusingly.
Donna motioned towards Chloe. "Could we get back to the issue at hand?"
"Right..." said the Doctor as he finished with the sonic screwdriver. "See, she has the body of an adult, but mentally she's still two," said the Doctor,
Chloe huffed. "I'm three!"
"We'll have to cancel the party," said Donna. "I'll just say she's ill or something."
"You can't cancel my party!," Chloe shouted.
"Oi!," said Donna. "I won't have any more of your lip, madame!"
"It's not fair! It's my birthday!" Chloe stomped her feet and pounded the table with her fists.
"Chloe, Chloe-oe-oe," said the Doctor, "why don't you go in Daddy's wardrobe in the TARDIS and see if there are any princess clothes there?"
Chloe took that grudgingly and stomped towards the TARDIS.
"Princess clothes in the TARDIS?," Donna asked tilting her head.
"Well, it ought to distract her. Blimey, she looks like you."
Donna shook her head. "Are you kidding me? She's a bloody swimsuit model!"
The Doctor's jaw dropped. "Donna! I would hope we can set her aspirations a bit higher!"
"With your height, she looks like a swimsuit model, that's all I'm saying."
The Doctor didn't like where this was going. "Could we change the subject?"
"Yes, we can change it back to how you're going to fix her."
"Well, first I would need to understand the mechanics by which that happened."
"Okay, well, do that," said Donna. "Go do something Time Lordy and spout a lot of babble and sort it!"
Zara ran in. "Nobody woke me."
Donna sighed. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's sort of a busy morning."
"I'll go to the clinic, take some samples," said the Doctor. "Maybe by analyzing them I can get to the root of the RNA acceleration."
The doorbell rang.
"I'll get it!," Chloe called.
"Oh, God," said Donna.
Once again, Amy and Rory stood outside the front door of the Doctor and Donna's London house. Amy was holding the oddly quiet Melody in the baby carrier as Rory hesitated at ringing the doorbell.
"We're hours early," said Rory.
"They won't care," said Amy. "I'm not standing on their front step all day!"
"The invitation said eleven-"
Amy groaned and pushed the doorbell. They heard a flurry of footsteps and the door flew open. Amy watched as a leggy ginger in a wedding dress threw her arms around her husband.
"Rory!," Chloe said in excitement. "Amy! Tart!"
"Uh, hi..." said Rory. He exchanged glances with Amy.
Chloe jumped up and down. "Did you bring me a present?"
"Uh, sorry, who are you?," asked Amy.
"I'm Chloe!"
Amy and Rory exchanged looks.
The Doctor rushed to the doorway, pulling Chloe away. "Amy, Rory, you're early."
"Well, you know, Melody woke up at about four so we figured, why wait?," said Amy.
"Can we play?," asked Chloe.
Rory pointed at Chloe. "Okay, who is she?"
"This is Chloe," said the Doctor.
"What? Like she's a relative of Donna's also called Chloe?," asked Rory. "I can see the family resemblance."
"No, more in the sense that this is in fact, Chloe," said the Doctor.
"Your Chloe?," asked Amy. She put her hand down, representing Chloe's height. "Little Chloe?"
"I'm not little, I'm a big girl!," Chloe said emphatically. She looked at Rory. "I'm three!"
"Uh, how did that happen?," Rory asked pointing at her.
"No idea," said the Doctor.
"Can you fix it?," asked Amy.
"Right, how do you think I should fix it?"
"I don't know, shrink ray? Do something Time Lordy."
"That's not actually a suggestion," said the Doctor.
"I don't want to be little!," said Chloe.
"Chloe?"
They turned to see Zara. Chloe jumped up and down and clapped her hands. "Ha, ha! I'm bigger than you! I'm bigger! I'm bigger!"
Zara looked to her father. "What did you do?!"
Amy snickered.
"I didn't do anything!," the Doctor said. "Why does everyone think I've done something?!"
"Past experience?," offered Rory.
"Why does she get to wear Mummy's dress?," asked Zara.
"It's my princess dress!," Chloe said, twirling around.
Donna entered carrying Geoffrey. "Oh, Amy, Rory, you've seen Chloe then?"
"Yes," said Rory. "Yes, we have."
"Why does she get to wear your dress?," asked Zara.
"Chloe, you cannot wear my wedding dress," said Donna.
"Daddy said to look for princess clothes!"
"Chloe..."
"It's my birthday! I'm a princess! Daddy said!," Chloe shouted and stamped her feet.
"Why do you even have that?," the Doctor asked, pointing at the dress.
Donna sighed. "It cost a small fortune, thank you. Not to mention the dry cleaning after it got soaked with the Thames and Zara saw it at Mum's and she- why am I explaining this? Why are you not fixing this?"
Amy handed the baby to Rory. "Chloe, I have some clothes left in the TARDIS, you can wear those, then your dad can fix you."
"I don't need fixed!," Chloe complained.
"Come on, you can wear my cowgirl boots," said Amy.
Chloe considered that. "Do you have anything sparkly?"
An hour later after tearing up the every available TARDIS wardrobe, Chloe was finally in the clinic. She had put on Amy's boots, tights, skirt and top, none of which sparkled and none of them pleased the Doctor, particularly the skirt. Chloe did manage to find a silk brocade coat in the Doctor's wardrobe and did seemed pleased by that.
The Doctor passed the rest of the time doing scans and taking samples.
"You are in so much trouble," Amy said with a smile.
"I'm going to sort this," said the Doctor.
"Yes, but when you do, you still have a big problem when Chloe and Zara grow up."
"What's that?"
"The boys beating down your door," Amy teased.
"Don't be ridiculous."
"Oh, give it fifteen years or so. Maybe less."
"They're not allowed to date that soon."
Amy tilted her head. "Is that what Donna says?"
The Doctor paused. This was a point of disagreement. "We're still negotiating that."
"You are in trouble."
"Daddy, can we go to the park?," asked Chloe.
"Not right now, Chloe."
"But it's my birthday!"
"Not right now, Chloe," the Doctor repeated.
She stomped her feet. "I don't get my party! I don't get to go to the park! It's not fair!"
She stormed off.
Amy looked at the Doctor. "Should we follow her?"
"These results are interesting..." said the Doctor. "It's the biomolecular advancement device from the park. I lost its trail, someone must have used it on her."
"Well, how did they do that without you noticing?," asked Amy.
"I don't know..." said the Doctor.
Amy looked back at the doorway. "Where did she go?"
"What?"
"Chloe."
The Doctor shook his head. "I'm sure she just went to pout to Donna."
Chloe stomped out of the TARDIS and into the sitting room. Zara was playing with Esther, while Geoffrey and Melody played together in the play cot.
"Where's Mummy?," Chloe shouted. "I want cake!"
Zara looked at her. "We can't have your party."
"Why not?!"
"Because you look like that," said Zara.
"You're just mad you're not big," Chloe said sticking her tongue out.
"I don't want to be big," said Zara. "I don't want to be a grown up."
Chloe paused. "So, I'm like a grown up?"
"Yeah," said Zara.
Chloe grinned. "That means I can do whatever I want! Just like Mummy and Daddy!"
"Daddy's not a grown up," said Zara.
"Yes, he is! He's the biggest!"
Zara looked at her. "And what are you going to do?"
"I'm getting ice cream!"
Chloe hurried out the door.
Donna had been on the phone calling everyone for hours.
"No, no, nothing serious, just don't want anyone else to get ill."
Zara entered. "Mummy, Melody slapped Geoffrey and he smiled."
Rory groaned and covered his face. "It's the Leadworth Playgroup all over again. We got banned."
Donna covered the phone with her hand. "What do you mean she slapped him? How does a baby slap people?"
Zara shrugged.
Donna went back to the phone. "Yes, Veena, I know. Yes, Chloe is very upset. We'll just have to fix another date."
The Doctor and Amy walked in. Zara turned.
"Daddy, Melody slapped Geoffrey and he smiled."
The Doctor looked at Amy. "Your baby slaps people?"
"You think I have her figured out?"
"Hold on, Veena." Donna turned her attention back to the Doctor and Amy. "Where's Chloe?"
"She's not here?," asked the Doctor.
"You see this?," asked Donna. "This is middle child syndrome!"
"What is?"
"You don't know where she is!"
"She went for ice cream," said Zara.
"She what?," asked Donna. "She went outside?"
"You let her?," the Doctor asked Zara.
Zara shrugged. "She's big."
Donna went back to the phone. "Veena, I'll have to ring you back." She hung up the phone. "We have to find her. Now."
"Yes, Donna, I had thought of that," said the Doctor.
"She's out there looking like that!"
"Yeah," said Amy. "We really need to find her."
"With the mind of a two- three year old!," Donna exclaimed. "Come on!"
They made their way out with the babies in the pram, Zara and headed out just as Jack and Ianto were arriving.
"Hey, guys, where's the fire?," asked Jack.
The Doctor pointed his finger at Jack. "Do not flirt with any redheads! Or worse!"
"Chloe's missing," said Donna. "We have to go find her."
"I'm not following," said Ianto.
"How far could the little Time Baby have gone?," asked Jack.
Amy put her mobile in front of Jack and Ianto.
Jack let out a wolf whistle. "Who is gorgeous?"
"That's Chloe," Rory said with an eye roll.
"What? You could have warned me!," Jack shouted.
"You are a horrible godfather," said Amy.
"I've barely started!"
"It's not exactly been auspicious," said Ianto. "You've already slept with Geoffrey's future girlfriend."
"Did they just go off with Melody?." asked Rory.
Amy looked to see the Doctor and Donna's backs as they could be heard going back and forth as they walked down the road.
"Yeah, I think they did," said Amy. She patted Rory on the arm. "Don't worry. They'll bring her back. Come on, boys. We have to check every ice cream shop in ten miles."
Jack was still looking at the mobile. "Wow, she really looks like the two of them."
"Would you stop?!," Rory shouted.