When they landed, it took the eagerness of the little girl who'd yet to let go of his hand to pull the Doctor from his ship. He gave one final glare to River for good measure, before following his future daughter out onto the planet.
"Bella," said the Doctor, deciding the whole day would go by much easier if he focused more attention on the girl than her mother, "I give you the Phosphorus Carousel." He spread his arm out in a sweeping gesture, presenting the large attraction to the little birthday girl.
He watched as her eyes lit up with excitement, studying the twirling ride as it made its random rotations throughout the planet.
"How big is it?" the little girl asked as she tried to follow it with her eyes.
"It goes around most of the planet," the Doctor replied, "depending on which level you're on, they go through different caves or mountains, a few even go through the sea. There's one rotation that makes it seem like you're falling off a cliff, and another where you go through fields of different types of really fragrant plants. Then there's the bubble rotation, the falls of strawberry water, and the colour blast."
"Which one are we going on, Daddy?" the little girl looked up at him eagerly.
He smiled down at her, his mind going through the hundreds of possibilities he could share with this young child for her birthday. His grin grew bigger before he leaned down and whispered conspiratorially in her ear, "Who said we're only going on one?"
The little girl's eyes grew huge, and she shrieked in delight and enveloped his neck in a tight hug. He was surprised for a few moments, before he returned it and looked up at River, who was eyeing him with pride and gratitude. He looked down at the girl in his arms and made an impulse decision, picking her up and swinging her onto his shoulders. They walked into the crowd and he found himself reaching for River's hand, squeezing it in gratitude for this moment.
