Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
Hope's First Bike
"I'm gonna get you!" crowed a young boys voice, as the sound of thudding little feet echoed through the house. He cornered his quarry in the corner of his parents' bedroom. "You're an alien, I'm gonna lock you up" announced Anthony. "You'll have to catch me first. Maybe I'll lock you up instead, Anty!" replied Hope, dodging past her friend and sprinting down the hall. She scampered down the stairs two at a time and fled to the living room.
Herself and Anthony's mothers were sitting on the settee, chatting, when Hope rushed in with her face flushed from running. "You didn't see me!" she warned them, before diving behind an armchair. Anna and Amy looked at one another and shrugged. Kids. "Anthony, how many times do I have to tell you, no running in the house" Amy scolded lightly as her sandy haired son hurried in, hot on Hope's tail.
Anthony ignored his mum and called out to Hope. "I know you're in here, Hope, I saw you. Where did she go?" he asked the adults, but they just made zipped lip motions. Just then the Doctor poked his head in the door. "Hey, Anthony, your dad and I have something to show you and Hope outside" he told the little boy.
"I don't know where Hope is. We're playing Torchwood and she's the alien, so I gotta catch her" Anthony told the Doctor. It was at this moment that a sneeze emanated from behind the armchair. Anthony marched over to investigate. "Found you! Your dad wants to show us something, come on" said Anthony, taking Hope's hand and leading her to the Doctor.
He grinned and took them outside to the lawn, where Rory was waiting, and holding two small bikes upright. "Ta-da! We just bought them, me and Rory; we figured you're both old enough to ride two wheels now. No more silly trikes!" the Doctor said enthusiastically. Hope's eyes lit up, and she ran forwards to investigate the nearest bike. It was bright sky blue, with a white saddle and rubber handles. The other bike was red and yellow.
Rory and the Doctor placed the bikes at opposite sides of the small lawn and set their children on the saddles. Anna and Amy came out to watch. "Okay, now the most important thing is learning to balance" explained Rory. "All you've gotta do is push yourself along with your feet as fast as you can, and then lift them up and roll. Oh, and remember to squeeze the brakes – gently! - before you hit the fence" added the Doctor.
Hope rolled her eyes. "Come on daddy, it's not like its rocket science" she told him, placing her feet on the pedals and pushing off. She made it to the fence without falling, braked, and looked over her shoulder. "C'mon, Anty, it's easy" she smiled. With a determined look on his face, Anthony pushed the pedals and rolled forwards. "I'm doing it! I'm doing…woah!" he yelped in alarm as he toppled sideways.
He clambered back up to his feet and brushed himself down. "That's not easy at all! How'd you do it so well?" he asked Hope suspiciously. "I'm a Time Tot, remember? I've got better balance and reactions than humans" she explained airily, before begging her parents to take her to the park. One small backyard was not a challenge, after all.
Hope's First Swim
The scent of chlorine and the sound of splashing, screaming kids emanated through Aqua World, a planet sized water park in the Nigellan Cluster. There were flume rides that were basically vertical, giant walk through aquariums, swimming pools the length and breadth of a hundred Olympic pools arranged side by side, other pools of every shape and sizes and bouncy castles with slides that floated on the water.
Hope was there with her parents and her friends; Anthony Pond, Lorna Miller, Sam Daley and Tanya Woods. They'd all been collected in the TARDIS and taken for a day out at Aqua World to celebrate Sam's birthday. "Last one in is an Adipose!" Sam hollered.
Cheering and laughing, the children rushed up to the edge of the pool. Sam jumped in. Anthony jumped in. Lorna and Tanya slid in. Hope looked down into the water and gulped. "It looks deep" she said warily. "It's just the light refraction, love" said the Doctor, sitting on the edge of the pool besides her. "This is the shallow end, it's only ten feet deep" he added, pointing at a sign on the side of the pool.
"So I'll just sink ten feet, that's comforting" she grumbled, and her dad laughed. "Oh, Hope. You won't sink, I promise. I'll look after you" he smiled, patting her thick chocolate curls. He slid into the water and beckoned to her. "That's it, in you come" he smiled, holding her around the waist. She was wearing blue bathing suit covered in little yellow fishes, and TARDIS blue armbands. She looked adorable, in his opinion.
He placed his hands under her stomach and chest, supporting her from underneath. "Okay, now kick your legs- not that hard!" he said in alarm as she splashed him. Hope giggled and he pulled a funny face at her, making her laugh more. "You know how a frog swims? Try doing that, with your arms and legs" he suggested. Hope tucked her legs in and spread them out, pulled them back in again. She moved her arms in circles. Her eyes were screwed shut and her chin was pointed high in the air, away from the water.
Her dad showed her how to scoop the water with her cupped hands, and how to kick her legs and save energy rather than waste it. He walked from one side of the pool to the other, holding Hope up. First he dropped one hand, and then he dropped the other. Hope continued on, doing an uneven breaststroke, her eyes still shut. "Hope? You're swimming" he told her.
She gasped and opened her eyes. "I…I'm swimming! I'm really swimming!" she grinned, paddling determinedly towards her friends. "Hey guys, look, I'm swimming! I did it! I swam!"
The Doctor smiled as he watched his daughter play with her friends, treading water and throwing beach balls about. "That's my brave girl" he said softly, smiling.
Hope's First Trip To The Future
Hope skipped into the console room, a wide smile wreathed about her face. Her parents followed her, beaming at their daughter. "Right then, Hopey-Wopey, pick a time, pick a place!" the Doctor said enthusiastically. She grinned and stood on tiptoes, clinging to the edge of the console. "I wanna go to the future!" she laughed, "I wanna see flying cars and rocket ships!"
The Doctor bowed and pulled the dematerialisation lever. "First trip to the future coming up, mademoiselle; setting the co-ordinates to New Earth, the year five billion and twenty six. That far enough into the future for you?" he asked Hope, who giggled and nodded. They materialised, and Hope scampered over to the door. "Hold on, young lady" Anna said warningly, "environment checks".
"Oh yeah, right", Hope stuck her head out of the door and said bluntly, "it's sunny". She walked out onto the grass, sniffing at the air. She could smell apples everywhere. "It's the grass" explained her dad when he saw her sniffing curiously, "apple grass". He plucked a few stems and held them to her nose. She licked the stems, and pulled a face. It might smell like apples, but it tasted like, well, grass. "Daddy, why is grass green?" she inquired.
The Doctor led her through the park, Anna following close behind. "Grass is a plant, and plants are full of chlorophyll. That's the substance that allows them to photosynthesise" he explained. "But why is chlorophyll green? Why not orange or yellow?" asked Hope. "Simple, chlorophyll reflects the green part of the spectrum and absorbs the other colours".
They walked through the city of New, New York. Hope rode on her dad's shoulders and asked questions nineteen the dozen. "Daddy, the mural in my bedroom has red grass. That's you and mummy's home planet, isn't it?" she asked. The Doctor's breath hitched. "Y-yes, that's Gallifrey" he replied, and cast around for a distraction, anything to take Hope's mind off the subject. Anna was doing the same.
"How come we never go there?" Hope asked innocently. The Doctor spotted an ice cream parlour, much to his relief. "Hey, Hope. There's an ice cream shop just there, d'you wanna get some?" he asked, and luckily she was very eager, naturally. The three of them went inside and pored over the multitude of choices of ice cream and toppings. Hope had a raspberry ripple sundae with chocolate sauce and a wafer, the Doctor had a rocky road banana split and Anna had a blueberry scoop.
For a while, as Hope tackled her ice cream, she didn't mention Gallifrey. The Doctor prayed it would stay that way, but of course fate didn't smile on him. "Daddy? Why don't we ever go to Gallifrey?" Hope asked quietly. The Doctor tensed and Anna gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. He had no idea what to say to Hope…all he knew is that Rule One had never been more important.
"The…the thing is, darling, Gallifrey isn't there anymore" he said sadly. "You remember when I told you about those nasty Daleks?" he asked her and she nodded. "Well, the Time Lords and the Daleks went to war, and it became so dangerous that Gallifrey had to be put inside a sort of bubble, that no-one could get in or out of" he explained. "To protect it?" asked Hope. The Doctor's hearts constricted. "Yes, to protect it" he lied.
Satisfied, Hope returned to her sundae, and the Doctor poked at his split half-heartedly. His beloved daughter, so innocent and curious; he never wanted her to suffer, never wanted her to doubt him or feel afraid. She could never know what he did.
Hope's First Trip To The Past
It was Hope's turn once again to choose the destination for that day. "I want to go to the past, this time" she informed her dad. "Right-o! Whereabouts in the past d'you want to go? We can go see the dinosaurs, the Vikings – Shakespeare!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Hope and spinning around on one foot. "How about paying old William a visit?" he suggested eagerly.
Hope thought about it and then nodded. "Okay, daddy, let's go!" she said eagerly. The Doctor grinned as he and Anna flew the TARDIS to Jacobean England (he wasn't foolish enough to land during Queen Bess' reign). They landed in an alley in a busy street; people were singing and dancing, playing drums and flutes. "Oh, a carnival!" the Doctor said in delight; he loved a party.
Then he realised Hope was no longer standing beside him and quickly scanned the crowd, spotting her weaving through peoples legs and down the street. "Excuse me…oops, sorry…excuse me..."; he caught up with Hope outside a butchers and scooped her up off the ground. "I'm disappointed, Hope, I've told you a million times not to wander off" he scolded.
"Actually, it's only been six hundred and fifty four times" she replied, before pointing down the street; "besides, I was going to the theatre. Where else would we find Shakespeare" she explained. The Doctor craned his neck and spotted the Globe Theatre in the near distance. "Yes, well, you still shouldn't have wandered off. What would your mum and I do if something happened to you?"
Hope shrugged. "We'd be very sad, that's what. Now, I've no idea where your mother is, but I'm sure she- what?" he asked, noticing his daughter's raised eyebrow. "So, it's bad if you don't know where I am, but not if you don't know where mum is?" she questioned. "Yes, because you are a child and need to be looked after, whereas your mum is an adult and can look after herself. C'mon, we're in the way – let's go see a play!"
They made their way to the Globe Theatre, and between all the shoving and being shoved by the crowds, found them right next to Anna. "Hello, mummy!" Hope said cheerfully. "Hello, darling" Anna smiled at her daughter and her husband. "It's okay, it's The Tempest" she murmured in answer to the Doctor's unspoken question, is the play suitable for Hope?
Hope scrambled up onto his shoulder to get a better view of the stage. The Doctor supported her with one arm and twined the fingers of his other one with Anna's. He smiled softly. Just a lovely day out with the family…oops, he'd probably jinxed it now. Oh well.
