The Doctor woke to Kui'la getting out of bed. He watched as she padded sleepily towards the bathroom door closing it behind her. He waited until she returned to him, climbing back up on the bed and snuggling close. He held her tightly, kissing the top of her head as he breathed in her unique scent. Every morning since her birth the two of them had cuddled while she woke up. He cherished the days that she still needed her daddy and he knew that it would break his hearts when the cuddles stopped. He tried not to think about that as held her.
"Morning, daddy," she whispered to him Gallifreyan.
"Morning, my baby. Did you sleep well?" He wondered speaking Gallifreyan as well. It was the first language that he taught her, just wanting to hear the language one more time spoken by someone other than himself. Despite being half human, her larynx was that of a Gallifreyan allowing her to speak the language correctly.
"No. I don't like it here daddy. I want to go back to the TARDIS," she complained sleepily.
"I know, sweetheart. We will go home tonight. I promise but I need to figure out what is happening here first," The Doctor promised his daughter. He didn't like hospitals either. In fact, the last time he had been checked into one they didn't believe him when he told them that he had two hearts. He ended up regenerating in the morgue and didn't know who or where he was. He really didn't want to go through that again or accidentally put his daughter in danger if they figured out he wasn't human.
"Fine," she sighed loudly.
"Kui'la," He tutted and she looked up at him.
"Sorry, daddy," She apologized. He smiled softly at her as she continued. "I'm hungry."
"There is a banana in my coat you can have," he told her. She scrambled out of the bed hurrying over to his coat. She retrieved the banana and then climbed back on the bed with him. He snuck a few bites, making sure no one was watching due to his supposedly upset stomach. When breakfast was brought in, he was given plain toast without butter while they provided Kui'la with porridge and fruit. He stole a couple bites of her meal when the nurses weren't looking and allowed her to eat most of his toast. The plates were removed and Kui'la was asked to get off the bed before he was given another examination. This doctor poked and prodded him listening to his heart with a confused look on his face. He started to move the stethoscope to the right side of his chest but stopped.
"Problem?" The Doctor asked with a fake tone of concern.
"I thought I heard something but I can't be sure. I am going to ask Dr. Stoker for a second opinion," the man told him. The Doctor nodded. He knew what the man had heard but wasn't about to reveal that he had a second heart to the man. The man left and a short time later another doctor came in with a group of interns. It was the same old pleasantries as they sought to figure out what was wrong with him. Only this time one of the interns didn't just seemed confused by what she heard but moved the stethoscope to the right side of his chest. He winked at her as her teacher scolded her for not knowing where his heart was. She confirmed that she did listening to his heart before making a notation on his chart. After they moved to the next patient, he motioned for Kui'la to join him on the bed again.
He entertained her by telling her stories about the rest of the universe. They drew pictures and played simple games. He was just about ready to give up on the plasma coils and sneak out of the hospital when it happened. The rain fell running up the windows and within moments it was dark outside. All around him patients and doctors panicked as suddenly they were on the moon. Not the nice intern, though. She saw logic even through her fear and he thought that she would have made a good companion. He didn't take companions anymore, though. Not since Kui'la's birth. Still, he appreciated her help as they figured out the Judoon were behind their kidnapping. He raced to hide Kui'la as he tried to figure out how to help everyone in the hospital. He was thankful that she was hiding as he let the plasmavour drink his blood so that she would assimilate it proving that she was an alien. His hearts stopped and if it hadn't been for Martha Jones he wouldn't have returned to earth alive with the rest of them.
Tired after the long day and still weak from the loss of blood, he stumbled his way back to the TARDIS as he gripped Kui'la's hand tightly. She was crying and scared and he felt horrible for putting her in danger. He swore that he wouldn't travel again with her to anywhere dangerous as he spoke softly and comfortingly to her. As he stepped aboard the TARDIS, though, he paused. Standing with his back to the door was a man that the Doctor hadn't seen in almost six years. The Captain turned around at the sound of someone entering the room, a smile on his face. The smile quickly faded as he took in the Doctor standing their with his shoulders slumped. He was holding the hand of a little girl who had vivid blue eyes. His eyes.
"You bastard."
