Author's Note: I have decided most of the chapters from here on will be a bit longer now, as they always end up that way anyway. Thank you to every one of you so far who have reviewed, favourited, and/or followed this story. I'm glad people are still enjoying it! Note that the delay in upload was because I took some time off the past week or so. Onwards!

~ The Rainbow Running Shoes ~

'Do we have to go through this again?' Donna complained. The Doctor scanned her with the sonic screwdriver, the green light flickering over her face and general direction. 'And I see you got a new one of those.'

'Yeah, fried the other one shortly after regeneration,' he said, eyes scrunched with concentration. 'Not on purpose. Nearly set fire to a workshop.'

Chloe was sitting beside Donna, on the park bench behind the TARDIS, happily swinging her feet while licking her chocolate ice cream. She hadn't said much since they got back from the walk, though the Doctor determined she was just wary of Donna. Chloe had adjusted well to being in 2011 now, after spending four years in Victorian London for half of her life. It gave him the space to properly focus on the impossibility of Donna sitting there, talking about all the things she was never expected to remember.

'Any particular workshop?'

'Eh, Lenardo Da Vinci.' He shrugged, still scanning.

'What? Are you kidding me?'

'Donna, none of this makes any sort of sense!' the Doctor couldn't help being outwardly frustrated.

He was nervous and confused – there was no way she could just suddenly remember him without any form of harmful consequences. If there was, he wouldn't have had to endure that horrible goodbye as the only way to save her life.

'What about your husband? What was his name...Shawn Temple?'

'Husband? What are you on about?' Donna frowned. 'I'm not married! Do I look married? Can you see a ring on this finger, Dumbo?'

'Yes, you were! I was there. You...You...' the Doctor sank onto the bench between the two gingers – one who ignored him in favour of her ice cream, while the other wouldn't stop staring at him. 'Tell me again.'

'I woke up-'

'Where?' he interrupted.

'My flat in London. England, 2011. Planet Earth.' Donna rolled her eyes. 'Anyway, I woke up and-'

'When?'

Donna gave him a sharp glare, inhaled a breath, and looked over at Chloe. Facing him again, she seemed calm enough not to slap him. He wasn't certain, though, and inched back just in case.

'I don't know, sometime after seven? Yeah, after seven,' Donna said. 'My flat, about seven in the morning in London, I woke up and remembered you. It was like the last year and a half was just a dream. There was a note on the bedside table.' She handed it to him.

He scanned the yellow sticky-note, licked it, sniffed it, and brought it so close to his face he went cross-eyed. Nothing - completely Earth 2011 paper. The handwriting was hers, stating the address and "afternoon" on it, with "TARDIS" added in the corner as if that needed clarifying. Someone knew he was going to be there, even when he'd ended up in that place and time by mistake. Well, his mistake; the TARDIS had been rather adamant to get them there.

Whatever was going on, or had already happened, the Doctor didn't accept any of it one tiny bit. Donna remembered him, and found him that same day – she was unharmed and happy to see him.

No, he'd never been that lucky. It could not be trusted.

'How long has it been?' Donna asked. 'You look so young but at the same time so much older, Doctor.'

'Years,' he replied, deliberately unspecific. 'I saw you, a few times before I...Well, changed.' the Doctor swallowed and looked away.

'But you never said hello.' She sighed. 'I'm sorry. I knew something was missing; something I was forgetting, and things didn't make sense but...you knew. All that time, and you could never even say hello.'

'I try not to think about it.'

'Yeah, well I'm back now.' She nodded.

'Donna...'

'What? You don't want me anymore?' Donna stared at him with the sad, worried look she'd had while standing in the TARDIS doorway before he'd welcomed her back after the Adipose.

'I remember you; I'm fine. I was gonna be with you forever – the rest of my life. That hasn't changed. Has it, Doctor?'

'But are you really fine, Donna?' He peered closely at her. 'This is impossible! Actually, properly impossible.'

'Thought you didn't believe in impossible - just very unlikely?'

'It came true,' the young voice to their left said.

Chloe looked up at him with chocolate smeared over her mouth and chin. He dug for a tissue in his pocket, shifting various knick-knacks aside, and offered it to her while waiting for the girl to explain.

'I made a wish for you,' Chloe smiled proudly. 'You didn't believe, so I wished for you. I wished that the stuff you lost will come back, and you don't lose them again.'

'Sweet kid.' Donna smiled.

'Did it work, my wish?' The child's blue eyes shone with incredible amounts of hope and innocence. The Doctor didn't have the hearts to tell her wishing on a star was purely human superstition.

It called for a different sort of lie than he was used to.

'Yes, probably,' he said, averting his eyes. Donna watched him with a smile and it annoyed him further.

The situation was very serious, and she acted as if all was well. She'd just hop back inside the TARDIS and they'd pick up where they left off. He'd regenerated, Donna had gotten married yet somehow wasn't, and there was no way he could think of that she could remember him and be okay.

He couldn't allow himself to hope until he knew exactly what was going on.

'I need to speak with Wilfred.'

Chloe sat in front of the TV for a while. She was comfortable on the sofa with Donna's mum, just watching cartoons like she used to so long ago. Donna's house had a lot of stuff in it that were new to Chloe, but she was getting used to things changing all over the place now. The grandfather was outside on a hill, whatever that meant, and the Doctor had followed Donna there.

The TV was the only thing that convinced Chloe to stay behind. The mum was nice enough to sit with her, even if she frowned and shook her head a lot whenever talking about Donna. Sylvia, her name was, and she'd promised Chloe to make sure the Doctor didn't forget her.

Chloe didn't believe her, as grown-ups broke promises almost as much as they lied, but she really liked their big TV.

'Where are your parents?' Sylvia asked after a while.

'I dunno.' Chloe shrugged.

'Who do you live with?'

'The Doctor,' she decided.

'And before that?' Sylvia didn't sound very happy anymore.

'My aunt and uncle, but they forgot me all the time.' She looked at Sylvia. 'Now I want to forget them.'

'And the Doctor, does he take care of you? Are you safe?'

Chloe looked back to the TV, deciding she'd rather be sitting alone. Grown-ups ask a lot of questions now, and she doesn't always know the right answer.

When did they stop making up an answer for her if she didn't give one?

'Ah, there's the newest member of the family!' The grandfather joined them with a smile and wave of his arms.

His name was Wilfred, the Doctor had told her.

'Chloe, isn't it?'

'Dad, don't confuse the girl.' Sylvia shook her head, while Chloe watched them.

'I'm not,' he said. 'She travels with the Doctor now, so that makes her family too.'

'Where are those two?' Sylvia sighed.

'Yelling to the rooftops. He's so different now, but still nothing's changed with those two.'

'She wants to go back, doesn't she?' The mum had a face that looked both sad and angry.

Chloe decided to focus on the cartoons instead of trying to understand grown-ups. They made even less sense in 2011.

'We always knew, if she ever properly remembered him, that she would. Can't stay away from them aliens, our Donna,' he said. 'That's what they're yelling about. I think Donna's winning though. That's still the same.'

'But is it safe?' Sylvia put a hand on Chloe's shoulder, which made her tense up. 'He has a little girl now, and after what happened with Donna last time...'

'I know, Sweetheart.' Wilfred sat in a nearby chair. 'But he's promised it's different now. He's got all those new safety measures on that ship of his. That wonderful man.'

'Chloe, get your coat!' the Doctor marched through the room looking utterly furious. 'We're leaving.'

'What?' She jumped up, giving the TV one last look, and didn't know what coat he was talking about because she never brought one.

'Donna?' Sylvia stood. 'Must you really leave? After everything that happened...'

Donna came into view, dragging many bags with her. The Doctor came over and took some of them, then hurried off again. Chloe ran after him, right out the door, to leave Donna with her family.

'Donna's coming with us,' the Doctor told her, dropping the TARDIS key into her hands as he was loaded with bags.

She unlocked the door and pulled it open.

'Is that okay?'

Chloe shrugged, looking over her shoulder at Donna hugging her grandfather and mum. She was loud - really loud, but had such a kind smile. She had hair like Chloe did, and was also best friends with the Doctor. That's wasn't so bad. Chloe watched Donna approach them, and decided it was quite alright indeed.

'What the Hell have you done to it?' Donna dropped her bags just inside the doorway.

Chloe ran up the steps and jumped onto her favourite seat, hiding behind it to watch Donna from over the top of the chair.

'What?' the Doctor looked around frantically.

'The TARDIS!' Donna pointed at everything. 'Have you gone and changed everything?'

'Do you like it?' he raised an eyebrow, spreading his arms wide.

'Yeah, actually.' She gathered her bags again, looking carefully at the round things on the walls. 'There's a lot more space, and it's less gloomy. Still not sure about the bow tie though.'

'Bow ties are cool, Donna.' He adjusted his red one. 'What do you think, Chloe?'

'Yeah!' She nodded. 'It's cool.'

'See?'

'You just hyped her up on ice cream for the first time – she'll agree with anything you say.' Donna rolled her eyes. 'Where's my room? I spent months finding my way around this ship - now you've gone and moved everything! If I end up in the swimming pool again, I'm gonna slap you.'

The doctor touched a hand to his face, then pointed to the stairs Chloe used to find her own room. He gathered up bags and looked ready to follow Donna, so she quickly got off the seat to avoid being left behind.

'Can I help?' Chloe asked, keeping a safe distance back.

'Uh, yeah.' Donna handed her a small square-ish bag. 'There you go, Sweetheart.'

'Still got the old hat box, I see.' the Doctor commented behind them as they headed up the stairs and down the corridor.

'You never did take me to the planet of the hats.'

Chloe kept close to the Doctor, wary of how deep into the corridor they went before reaching a door with Donna's name on it. She glanced at the pink one across the corridor from it, and saw a rose engraved in gold on the front. She wondered why the Doctor looked so sad when he noticed it.

'It's still here?' Donna pushed open her own door.

Chloe tried to look inside, but couldn't see with the two bag-carrying grown-ups in the way.

'Yes,' the Doctor sighed, glancing across the hall then back as if the sight of the other door hurt him. 'They always are.'

Chloe heard a hum from the box, and turned back to the rose door. She put Donna's bag down and walked to it, looking up at the golden flower. She touched her palm to the pink wood, and felt how warm it was. Her bedroom door wasn't warm like that. The rose door didn't have a handle though. She turned when the Doctor headed back off to the console room.

Chloe hurried to keep up, and fiddled with the golden braid of hair that hung over her left ear.

~ xx ~

Nothing exciting happened after Donna settled in TARDIS with them.

The Doctor took her off to some room to do tests, with Donna complaining the whole way, and Chloe finally decided it was okay to be on her own inside the spaceship box. There wasn't a lot to do, so she just sat on the seat for a while to swing her boots back and forth. Then she walked around the console, just to have a look at all the funny things there.

Hearing a sound, she turned to see a blue ball roll over and stop at her feet. Smiling, she picked it up, swerving to see where it came from. Hearing a hum nearby, Chloe followed it through the arch and beyond where the kitchen was.

She warily clutched the ball to her chest, and kept walking.

There was a door printed with a yellow smiley face – a simple drawing made of two dots and a line. Pushing it open, she gasped at the floor made entirely of something pillow-like with lots of balls waiting to be played with. Tossing her blue ball in with the others like it, she watched it bounce lightly off a red one that sent a yellow ball into the air. Chloe ran in, diving onto the pillows, and giggled as the balls fell all around her. She crawled, kicked, and jumped without having to worry about getting hurt. Even the walls felt oddly soft somehow.

Her laughter echoed through the room, and carried down the corridors, which was probably how Donna and the Doctor were able to find her so quickly.

'This is new,' the Doctor said, looking around.

'Oh, she's loving it!' Donna grinned.

Chloe turned to smile at them, and tossed a green ball at the Doctor. He caught it, looking surprised. Donna grabbed the ball and threw it back, which Chloe missed but returned with a purple one. These grown-ups were much more fun than the others she'd known, Chloe decided, as the Doctor and Donna came into the room to play with her. The three of them were laughing and falling everywhere, but it was the most fun she'd had in a long time.

'I feel ridiculous!' Donna grinned, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. 'Oh, I've missed this.'

'What, feeling ridiculous?' the Doctor asked, trying to stand only to slip and land on his back. He stared at the balls raining down on him, as if startled by his own complete lack of grace.

'Yeah!' Donna tossed a red ball to Chloe, who missed and fell down beside the Doctor. 'Alright, Sweetheart?'

'Yeah!' Chloe nodded, crawling to grab the Doctor's raised knee as something solid to right herself with.

He just sat there, watching her and Donna with a silly grin on his face.

They stayed in the room until Chloe felt hungry, then headed to the kitchen for dinner. The Doctor made them something with eggs and cheese, which Donna sighed at and Chloe loved. That was when her eyes felt heavy and she couldn't keep her chin up at the table.

'Bedtime, young traveller!' the Doctor announced.

Chloe's only movement was to let her head drop to the table while in mid-yawn. She felt the Doctor's arms scoop her up to carry her like he had at the chip shop, and sleepily looped her arms around his neck. She rested her head to his shoulder, closing her eyes and feeling warm all over.

She felt a kiss to her head, and the gentle fall into the bed.

The Doctor stood over the sleeping girl, and glanced at the jar containing the normal-looking flower stored on the new bedside table. The lights bedroom dimmed, and he left the room – almost bumping into Donna at the doorway.

'Who is she really, Doctor?' she asked, following him back to the console room.

'A companion,' he waved his hand dismissively. 'Found her in Victorian London, thought she'd like an adventure.'

'Yeah, but, really?' Donna watched him carefully, which he tried to ignore. 'She's a little girl and you're looking after her like...'

'Like what?' the Doctor turned.

'You've got that look.'

'What look?' He swerved away, pretending her thoughts on the matter weren't being projected through her expression.

'The look you had with Jenny,' Donna spoke in the quietest voice she'd used all day. 'You've changed your face, Doctor, but it's the same look.'

'No, no look!' he denied. 'That's different. It's not like that – it can never be like that.'

'Doctor-'

'No. She's a companion who happens to be a child. I have a duty of care, that's all.' He turned and walked off, disappearing into the corridors in hope Donna would let him be. He had to check her scans and work out what was going on, and why no one remembered her getting married last year.

He had much more important things to think about than what look Donna could possibly be talking about.

The TARDIS had given Chloe more new clothes to wear, already placed at the end of her bed when she woke. Chloe was happy to see the same jumper she'd quickly come to love, folded with the jeans and shirt.

She made her way to the console room with freshly brushed teeth and hair, to discover the Doctor had something new for her as well.

'You'll need these,' he said, holding out a pair of the brightest rainbow shoes she'd ever seen.

'Wow!' Chloe cuddled the shoes to her chest. 'For me?'

'There's a lot of running to do.' Donna smiled from nearby. 'Are you hungry? We had an early breakfast, but I can make you something...'

'I had a banana,' she answered.

The Doctor smiled and looked at the bit in the middle of the console, placing his palm against it.

He turned his attention to the buttons and dials, and Chloe tried to decide which adults to ask for a bit of help from.

'Donna?' Chloe nervously approached where the woman stood near a railing. 'Can you...?'

Losing the words, she held up a butterfly clip she'd found in the bathroom the day before. She pointed to her hair on the right, opposite the golden braid, and tilted her head to make it fall over her eyes like an annoying curtain.

'Oh, of course!' Donna smiled, taking the clip. 'It's very pretty. Love the hair.'

Chloe grinned, looking at Donna's own fiery hair. She'd never met anyone with the same colour before. She hopped onto the chair while Donna crouched to tuck some hair into the clip, as requested.

'That's is a lovely braid. Did you colour it?'

Chloe touched the golden braid on the other side, and noticed the Doctor halted his actions at the question. It was just hair, why were they so interested in it? She did like how pretty it was, but no one had really noticed it before.

'No, it's always been yellow.' Chloe accepted the mirror the Doctor offered her with a serious face. She smiled at her reflection, showing how lovely the butterfly clip looked in her hair.

'It got tied it up when it was long enough. My grandfather said it's supposed to be that way.'

'Do you know why?' the Doctor asked.

Donna tied the white laces of the new rainbow shoes Chloe had slipped on over purple socks. She shrugged at the question, wriggling her toes inside the rainbow shoes.

'Ready to get back out there, Donna?' he offered her a smile. 'All of time and space. Well, with a few adjustments.' He glanced at Chloe.

'Oh, I was born ready!' Donna grinned.

Chloe quickly buckled up her seatbelt like before, which Donna noticed with quite a startled reaction.

'You have seatbelts?' she gasped. 'You have seatbelts! All that throwing around and holding on for our lives and you have seatbelts?!'

The Doctor chose not to answer, and quickly lowered a lever that shook the TARDIS into movement. Donna grabbed the railing and laughed, which the Doctor joined in. Chloe thought there was something different about these grown-ups - they didn't act anything like the ones she'd been around all her life.

They were happier and much more confusing, but Chloe liked them a lot.

Hearing the landing thump, Chloe unbuckled and hurried to the door. She heard the Doctor call her name, but she'd intended to stop there anyway. He reached her, exhaling with relief, and waited for Donna to straighten her jacket.

'Alien planet, yeah?' Donna looked worried and kept staring at Chloe.

'It's fine. No monsters here,' he said, curling his fingers around Chloe's raised hand. 'Probably not monsters. Got to remember the "probably not" there.'

'So it's safe?'

'Yes, Donna, it's safe,' he huffed, rolling his eyes. 'I checked everything, and the new child protection thingamabobs. The atmospheric filters, oxygen quantities, radiation meters, terrain stability, temperature ratios – and there's no wars, revolutions, hostile bargain sales, or etcetera.'

'Okay. So, brand new planet?' Donna nodded. 'You excited, Chloe?'

'No.' She squirmed, tugging the Doctor's hand. 'Are aliens like monsters?'

'No, no! Absolutely not.' the Doctor shook his head. 'Alien just means they're from another planet. You're human, so you're from planet Earth. To them, you're an alien too. It's all very complicated, but you'll get the hang of it. Now, aliens might look very different and speak funny but that's okay. You're safe, as long as you don't let go of my hand.'

Chloe nodded, and fidgeted. She counted to five, and stepped outside with the grown-ups into the green sunlight. There was a lot of blue sand everywhere, and a hill up ahead where the Doctor pointed to.

'The city is just over there.'

'How could I forget this?' Donna stared around. 'A new planet. A completely new world miles from Earth!

'A whole three hundred galaxies away, to be exact.'

'Yeah. And it's beautiful!' Donna said, smiling down at Chloe – who nodded back. 'Where are we?'

'Well, judging by the sand and sun - I'd say planet...'

They'd reached the top of the hill, with the Doctor helping keep Chloe from falling over in the sand. They overlooked a vast land of blue rocks, and big round things filled with black eggs. Chloe's eyes were wide at the sight of the giant birds, huddled next to every nest, who all turned to stare at them with angry beaked faces.

'Uh...' the Doctor took a step back, clutching tighter to Chloe's hand. 'Wrong spot. This is the nesting ground. Okay, run!'

Chloe yelped when she was roughly pulled away from the hill. The alien birds gave scary screeches, and stood to stretch their massive black wings. Chloe ran with the grown-ups, struggling with aching feet to keep up with them. Her heart was jumping in her chest, and her breaths gasping, as they burst inside the TARDIS.

The Doctor let go of her hand to shut the doors, and backed against it with a whoop of relief.

'Running shoes!' the Doctor said. 'Very useful!'

'You said it was safe!' Donna scolded. 'What were those things?'

'Perrik birds. Very territorial.' He winced at a distant screech outside. 'Okay!'

Chloe watched him run back to the console, madly pushing buttons and turning things. Donna's hand fell on her shoulder, prompting Chloe to look up at her.

'You alright?'

'Yeah. I'm okay,' Chloe gulped, and hurried to buckle herself in the chair again. The big angry birds were scary, but she'd only had a moment to notice that before the Doctor had dragged her back to the ship.

Now she knew why she needed shoes specially made for running.

'Okay, let's try again!'

Upon landing, Donna and Chloe remained back while the Doctor peered out the doors warily. He stepped outside while they waited quietly by the console for his return. He burst back in with a wide smile and offered a hand for Chloe.

She ran over to hold it, and counted to five before approaching the doors again.

'Same planet,' the Doctor said, standing between them as they admired the busy activity all around. 'Less territorial.'

Chloe's eyes were wide - time travel was nothing compared to visiting a different planet. The buildings were all sparkly silver with cones on the top, and had lots of triangle windows everywhere. She jumped back when an alien walked by her, alarmed by how blue it was. All the aliens were blue, like the sand at their feet, and had more of things than they did – like three eyes, and six fingers without any thumbs. They walked on duck-like feet, and spoke in words that sounded almost musical. It didn't make any sense to Chloe, until another alien walked by and suddenly she could understand it.

'Planet Peryle,' the Doctor said happily. 'Home of the karigers and perrik birds, separately.'

Donna was asking a lot of questions, but Chloe could only stare at the sight of the blue aliens. They were much bigger than her, though the grown-ups could meet them in the eyes. The Doctor waved at one, and it waved back with a funny sort of smile that revealed fangs instead of normal teeth.

She gave the Doctor's hand a squeeze, and inched closer to his side.

'The karigers are friendly,' he assured her.

'They're blue.'

Chloe's words made him look at her in a strange way. She saw a sad smile cross over his face, before the Doctor turned away. Donna was watching him too, but kept moving around to admire the cone-topped silver buildings.

'Yeah,' he nodded.

Chloe watched a small shadow cross over the blue sand beneath her rainbow shoes, and shifted from its path. She held to the Doctor's hand, not even considering letting go as he'd told her not to, and followed the grown-ups through the street. There were aliens and silver shops everywhere, but Chloe was more interested in the green sky and blue ground. It made her think of a beach so far away – the last place she'd been hugged by her mother.

'Here we are.'

The Doctor used their held hands to direct Chloe into a silver chair that felt a bit rubbery. He slowly let her go, and sank into the seat across from her to Donna's left.

'Is there a menu?' Donna asked. The Doctor handed her a little book, as a blue alien dressed in a silver apron stood to the side. 'What's all this?'

'Uh...'

Chloe let the grown-ups decide what to order, and kept twisting in her seat to look at everything. There was a stall nearby with lots of jewellery outside, and went inwards to a door of a shop. The blue alien with a cone hat standing just inside the stall was watching her, as a shadow passed over the stall roof.

Smelling something weird, Chloe startled when a plate of coloured things was placed in front of her. The blue alien with the silver apron offered a smile while another delivered bigger plates to the grown-ups.

Chloe frowned at the things on her plate, and poked a bright pink cube with her fork.

'Jah jubes,' the Doctor told her. 'The pink is from their Jahra fruit. Very popular in these parts. It should be sweet.'

Chloe poked the pink cube again, not trusting it. There was a long purple thing, a spotty red triangle, some brown shredded cheese-like stuff, and a lump of green goo she didn't dare touch. She watched Donna spooning orange clumps into her mouth, stating how nice it was. The Doctor sipped from a large glass of blue-ish milk-like stuff, his eyes wide with delight.

Chloe looked back at her food and wanted to shove it away.

'It's alien food,' she grumbled. 'For aliens.'

'We are aliens,' the Doctor reminded her. 'It's okay – I checked. This is all suitable for human consumption – nothing poisonous or hallucinogenic. Very tasty. Trying new things is all part of the adventure.'

If the alien food was part of having an adventure, Chloe decided she should at least taste some of it. Not the green goo, but maybe the pink cubes or red spotty triangles. The last adventure was very scary, so trying new food couldn't be too bad. She poked her fork deeper into a pink cube, and lifted it to her nose. It smelled sweet, but not like anything she'd smelled before.

Slowly, with the grown-ups watching her encouragingly, Chloe nibbled on a corner of the cube.

'See?' the Doctor grinned when she gasped. 'Yum!'

Chloe ate the whole pink cube - it tasted a bit like soda candy and apples. She had three more, then moved on to the red spotty triangles.

'Kapp berries,' was the name the Doctor provided her with.

Chloe managed to fit a whole one in her mouth, which remained there for no more than three seconds before it was spat out onto the ground to her right - with such a sound of disgust the nearby aliens turned to stare.

'Yuck!' Chloe cringed.

'Ah, okay.' The Doctor frowned. 'Here, wash it down with shaka.'

He passed his large glass of blue milk to her. Chloe pushed it back in refusal. She shoved her plate away as well, and glared at the other kapp berry sitting on it.

The Doctor and Donna made many attempts to get her to taste some of the other food on her plate, but the kapp berry was so gross Chloe didn't dare touch anything else. She only unfolded her arms on the table when a blue alien brought over a bowl of jah jubes for her with a kind smile. Relieved to see more pink cubes, Chloe happily ate them without bothering to use a fork. Donna made a mention or two about manners, while the Doctor simply drank the last of his blue milk.

'Chloe,' Donna pushed her own plate aside to lean closer. 'I bet your mum and dad would've liked to see this place, yeah? Did they like to travel too?'

'Yes,' Chloe answered.

'What were they like?'

Chloe looked from Donna's curious face to the Doctor's sad one, and lowered her gaze to the bowl of pink cubes she continued to eat. She closed her eyes for a moment, and pictured her parents in her mind.

Her mum and dad – what were they like?

'Dad's tall, and wears those.' Chloe pointed to the bow around the Doctor's neck.

'Bow ties?' he delighted. 'See? They really are cool, Donna.'

'Yeah, yeah.' She rolled her eyes at him, then smiled at Chloe. 'What else?'

Chloe shrugged, popping another cube into her mouth. She didn't know that much about her dad, and was always reminded by her uncle how her mum cared about her more. Her aunt agreed – it was one of the few things left in the world that both her aunt and uncle could agree with.

'Mum has light hair,' Chloe shared, picturing the sunny day on the beach years ago. 'She's always smiling.'

There were tears in her eyes, which Chloe quickly brushed away with the sleeve of her jumper. She didn't know why she felt like crying – her parents had forgotten her, and left to never come back. It was a long time ago, but it reminded her how easy it must be for others to forget her if her own parents had.

The grown-ups didn't ask more questions, and Chloe returned to her pink cubes. They were so yummy, but she was getting full pretty quick. She looked around, eyes searching for something other than blue aliens and weird buildings.

'What's that?' Chloe pointed to the stall where the cone-hat alien had watched her from, though was gone now.

'Oh!' the Doctor grinned at it, turning to see. 'Brilliant. A traveller's stall – lots of nice, shiny things for visitors to buy.' His head moved to follow the small shadow crossing over the blue sand.

'And that?' Donna pointed to the shadow.

'Uh...Trouble.'

'Though so. Come on, Chloe.' Donna rose from her seat and held out a hand. 'Let's go check out the stall.'

Chloe knew trouble was a bad thing, but they looked so calm. She hopped off her seat and walked around the table, accepting to hold Donna's hand while the Doctor ran out of the sheltered seating area to stare up at the sky. Stepping into the green sunlight with Donna, Chloe tilted her head back as well and saw a bird flying high overhead.

That didn't seem weird or bad - until she remembered this planet had very scary birds.

'But why?' the Doctor asked, looking straight up with hands cupped around his eyes to counter the sunlight. 'This isn't their territory. They never come here! The only thing the perrik birds care about are their eggs and young.'

Chloe was tugged away by Donna, who distracted her with all the glittery chains with shiny gems hanging from little hooks and rods under the tent-like roof of the stall.

The Doctor swirled around a lot behind them, and talked to anyone who passed by in the street.

'See anything you like?' Donna asked somewhere beside her.

'I don't have any money.'

'Hold on. Stay here; don't move.' She let go of Chloe's hand, and grabbed the Doctor's arm to turn him to face her.

'Don't let go of her hand!' he shrieked at Donna.

'Hello.'

Chloe turned away from the bickering grown-ups to see a blue alien standing in front of her. He (she thinks it's a boy) was the one who watched her before, and was a lot taller than she'd thought. Actually, he was a lot taller than a lot of the aliens, Chloe noticed. His skin wasn't the same blue either, and his smile a bit crooked.

'Hi,' she mumbled, knowing it was rude not to say anything if someone greeted her nicely.

Chloe, not wanting to look at him, admired the things deeper into the stall. Most were covered in the darkness of the enclosed shadowy area, but one spot in the corner was completely invisible. Surrounded by various technology pieces and chunks of weird metal squares, was something round and very big - that was all she could make sense of it and she felt a shiver without coldness.

'Chloe!' the Doctor called to her.

'Coming!' she replied, and looked up at the alien again.

The smile was gone, and the angry red of its eyes made her take a step back. The other blue aliens only had blue eyes, not red. Scared, she turned and ran back to the Doctor. Chloe pressed her face to his side and clung to him without caring about the questions the grown-ups fired at her.

A lizard woman who was the Doctor's friend wasn't a monster, but other lizard people might be. So surely blue aliens that weren't monsters also meant not all of them were okay either.

Maybe that one in the shop was not a nice alien at all.

A screech erupted from above, as a bigger shadow crossed over the street. The blue aliens were startled and ran about looking confused, while the Doctor and Donna just stood there watching the perrik bird fly lower. The Doctor talked fast, and only about things that didn't make sense. The birds weren't supposed to be there – they never come to the city as that's where the blue aliens live. That's what was always agreed.

'You said the only thing they care about is their eggs and young,' Donna mentioned.

Chloe slowly unburied her face from the Doctor's side. His hands rested protectively on her shoulders, giving her the strength to look back at the stall.

'Yes, but there's no way there would be one here. The karigers wouldn't-'

'Doctor?' Chloe tugged his sleeve.

'Hang on, Chloe,' he said. 'We're trying to stop a potential perrik flock from attacking an entire city of innocent people. Whatever frightened you in that shop will be taken care of right after, I promise.'

'It was black,' she tried again.

'What was black, Sweetheart?' Donna crouched in front of her.

'The round thing. The bad alien in the shop had a black round thing,' she explained, shifting her feet anxiously. She didn't like explaining things, but Chloe knew what it might be now. 'Like those eggs from the hill.'

'Bad alien?' the Doctor appeared in her view. 'Why bad? What was bad about it?'

Chloe shrugged, not liking all the urgent attention she was under. She used hand gestures instead – trying to show it was really tall and had an angry face. The Doctor responded by scanning the air with his sonic screwdriver, and giving her a very odd look.

'Perception filters,' he said. 'How'd you...? Never mind that!' He ran to the shop and vanished within.

Donna held Chloe's hand and waited in the street with her, both keeping an eye on the bird above getting closer and louder.

Chloe quickly learned that adventures always meant things would get very loud and fast. The bad alien was a trick, and trying to sell things he wasn't allowed to. He wasn't really blue – the Doctor zapped him or whatever with the sonic screwdriver, and the bad alien turned purple with little horns on his head. He had scary red eyes and used words too big for Chloe to understand.

Things got very messy after that, as the scary bird got too close to the buildings. Chloe wasn't sure what happened exactly, but stalls were thrown around and aliens screamed in high-pitched scratchy voice. A perrik bird up close was absolutely massive – like a dinosaur! It barely fit in the street, and the screech made Chloe shake so much she couldn't move to run when Donna tried to pull her away. The bird looked right at her with black eyes. Chloe didn't think she'd ever been so scared in her life – tears blurred in her eyes, but she couldn't scream or move.

It was going to eat her!

Strong arms curled around her middle and scooped her out of the bird's attacking beak. She yelped and felt the warmth of the Doctor. She looked over her shoulder to see he was holding her against his chest and not letting go. Donna came into sight, and the Doctor had her bossily direct some of the blue aliens nearby. Chloe put her hands over the Doctor's arm, which remained around her middle, as he held her close. She felt safe from being hurt, but not enough from the chance of being eaten.

Chloe watched the aliens carefully roll a big, black egg from the ruins of the stall, and realised what was going on.

'There!' the Doctor pointed to the egg, which was almost bigger than Donna and the blue aliens. 'It was stolen by a trickster, but it's okay. It's unharmed. Please, have mercy - these people have nothing to do with it being taken or kept hidden!'

The bird screeched again, and Chloe turned in the Doctor's grip to hide her face against his shirt. She whimpered, picturing the beast swooping down to eat her in one big gulp, and tried to trust the Doctor to save her.

'I understand you're angry. You're a parent, it's only natural. You have every right to be, but-' the Doctor seemed to understand the terribly loud screeching, though he sounded really confused when the bird replied.

'What – no, she's not my...'

Chloe muffled the talking by covering her ears with her hands, wanting the screeching giant bird to go away. It didn't work very well, and her hands were soon removed by the Doctor when he crouched in front of her.

'Chloe, are you alright?' he looked straight at her, with that mum and dad look.

She shook her head, feeling tears on her cheeks, and accepted the hug he pulled her into. It felt nice, to be hugged like that – so warm and safe. When he let go, Chloe could see the bird grab the egg in its claws and lift off to fly away. The street was a mess, but no one looked too hurt. She wasn't sure where the bad alien had gone, and didn't care as long as the scary bird stayed away.

'Back to the TARDIS,' the Doctor sounded angry. 'Now.' He took hold of her hand, and gave Donna a stern look, then led them back down the street to the blue box sitting untouched by the chaos around it.

The Doctor had visited Planet Peryle many times across various regenerations, and it had never been more than a mostly simple trip. Then he brought along a child companion and there was nothing simple about that visit at all. An alien fraud stealing a perrik bird egg, with the intent to sell to off-worldly black market dealers, had quickly escalated into a diplomatic disaster that could have wiped out most non-perrik life on the whole planet.

The perrik birds, as a species, were highly telepathic towards their own kind – communicating with their sleeping young for three years before the infant hatches. Hundreds of millions of years ago the species used to help any alien young find their parents, if lost, during the times before the birds had to relocate back to their home world Planet Peryle. The Doctor supposed that's why the parent perrik bird raiding the street was quicker to notice Chloe out of the frenzied crowd.

That didn't excuse the fact it had tried to eat her.

He didn't know much about the history, but he knew taking an egg off the planet would have been a grave move. The whole flock would have torn the world apart looking for it, mentally searching for the young one who would die before hatching as a result of being cut off from its parent's telepathic nurturing. To the intergalactic black market, the only valuable aspect to the situation was the egg shell – a rarity that fetched an enormous payout.

All those facts had helped rectify the situation, sure, but even when safely back inside the console room the Doctor felt unsatisfied with the resolve.

Chloe was sitting on her favourite chair, looking down at the rainbow shoes she swung back and forth in the air – she wasn't tall enough for her feet to touch the floor yet. Donna leaned against the nearby railing, watching him with a look that made him fidget. She seemed smug and he didn't like it.

He'd tried to suggest taking them back home only moments after they'd returned to the TARDIS. It hadn't gone well; Donna started yelling and Chloe was on the verge of tears, but still he ranted.

The Doctor really tried to remind them how dangerous it all was – a simple planet like Peryle had led Chloe to almost be eaten by a perrik bird, which had never ever ventured into the streets before. He'd checked with a very old and wise kariger, who confirmed such a chaotic incident hadn't happened before since the two territories were negotiated so long ago.

He'd exhausted his breath - with Chloe's pleading to stay wearing down his determination, and Donna's rationalising objections deafening his ears. He'd been quiet since, and looking over at Donna now the Doctor wasn't about to give up. Growling angrily, he stormed off to the arch and bypassed the kitchen in a blur. Why won't they listen to him?

He must have a face that no one listens to – again.

Reaching his private study, the Doctor rummaged through drawers in search of the list. That all-important list detailing exactly why a child could never ever be his companion on board the TARDIS.

'Where is it?' he grumbled, tossing various objects aside. Touching a velvet box small enough to fit on his palm, the Doctor halted and swallowed the pain of the memories that relentlessly refused to be forgotten.

No, he'd regenerated – he'd moved on. He had to.

With a huff, he turned and headed further into the TARDIS, ignoring Donna calling him from somewhere behind him.

The next room was lit with flaming torches along the walls and had steamy vents at the floor. He never had a name for this room, and it moved around all over the place between every trip he took. It wasn't even very warm in there, and looked more like a stone cave than an actual room. Spotting the drawers across the room, passing a few armchairs and an empty fish bowl, the Doctor resumed his search for the list.

It wasn't there either!

He tried all his pockets next, until he finally located a crumbled piece of paper he hadn't seen in quite some time. And there they were; the rules for why a child companion was a bad idea – one reason he'd learned and noted for every regeneration as the Doctor.

1. A child requires education and guidance. This must be a constant and monitored factor, handled with great care and accuracy. Earth school is the preferable option, but greatly hinders the lifestyle of travelling – especially with the knackered TARDIS navigation system.

2. There are many adaptations necessary when a child is on board. Internal changes may reach beyond the child's choice, in inability to fully comprehend these alterations to their own self. This robs them of consent and awareness of the impact Time and Space has on them.

3. A child is much more vulnerable – lessened physical self-protection, and incompletely matured in emotional management. The risks of harm are significantly outrageous.

4. It is easy to forget.

5. The background radiation from exposure to the Time Vortex will likely have substantial consequences on a young child's development.

6. They may come to fear you. The things you do, and choices you must make, cannot be so easily undone. A child should not have to endure the consequences of your burden.

7. They always wander off!

8. Will you be enough? Can you truly undertake the tasks confronted with, in duty of care and companionship, that the ongoing presence of a child demands?

9. The innocence of a child's perspective will become lost. The way a child views everything is unique and natural – life on board the TARDIS will tarnish the constant hope for it all to be okay. Children have an insatiable belief in fairytales.

10. Time travel has a greater price for children. If the family does not consent to the child travelling on the TARDIS, in full awareness of what that means, that child will continue to age beyond what is safe to return said child without causing an anomaly. The child would unfairly be giving up a home and life completely. Unless only a few trips are made, the choice to leave won't enable the child to slip back into their rightful time.

'There you are!' Donna's voice startled him.

The Doctor turned to see her approach, while Chloe wandered inside and dropped into an armchair. She looked a bit tired, but the Doctor made an effort to avoid looking at her. He didn't want them to leave, but it was safer. He'd lost too many others – and the list reminded the Doctor why a child companion was not okay. It was too damaging in all aspects. Though the ache in his own hearts alerted him of the eleventh reason he was yet to add to the list.

'Don't you understand, Donna?' he was frustrated in her arguing of the matter. 'I've lost too much! I can't...I just, can't.'

'I know,' her voice was softer as she came closer, stepping aside a steaming vent. She gave it a weird look, taking in the sight of the room for a moment, then met his eyes.

'Doctor, I know. Rose was trapped in another universe, twice. Martha left, and I forgot. I know we're not the only ones, but that's how life is. You could drop us home and we might get hit by a bus the next day. Life isn't meant to be painless, and it passes us by without warning, but the pain in here...'

She pressed her hands to his chest, where his hearts were, mirroring a time she'd done that in his previous regeneration.

'You have two hearts, Doctor. Twice the love, and twice the pain.' She said with a sympathetic smile. 'But being on your own, does it really hurt less? I don't think so.'

'I don't lose anyone when I travel alone.' He frowned.

'Yeah, you do,' Donna sighed. 'You lose yourself. You need someone, Doctor. I've always said that, and you know it's true.'

'How do you remember me, Donna?' he looked her face over carefully. 'It was killing you – that doesn't just disappear. And Chloe, she's a child. There's so many more things that are dangerous and wrong for a child. I've lost so much! I don't want to lose you two – I can't bear it.'

'We're staying.' Donna smiled at him, speaking with such simplicity he couldn't help smiling.

There was enormous trust and understanding in her eyes, with gentle certainty in her voice. He understood what she was trying to tell him. The dread of pain and fear of loss was not a reason for them to leave, but rather exactly why he needed them to stay. They reminded him of all the things about their fleeting lives that made him love humans. Such short and fragile lifespans, yet with a constantly unending promise of hope and love.

He realised he'd never have been able to make them leave forever - even if Donna hadn't talked him out of it until he felt too emotionally exhausted to fight back.

Chloe turned around to look at him, and the Doctor averted away.

He walked to the opposite wall where the desk was, and took a pen from one of his many bigger-on-the-inside pockets. He scribbled down the eleventh reason child companions were a bad idea, then tucked the list away in the drawer where he intended to leave it. He wrapped Donna into a hug, then moved to crouch in front of the armchair to assure Chloe she was absolutely welcome to stay.

Except the child was gone.

'Chloe?' a brief panic swelled within his chest.

They always wandered off!

'She saw the closet through an open door on the way here,' Donna said, following him out of the room. 'She probably just wanted a closer look. She kept asking where all the clothes come from.'

Donna was right – they found Chloe two doors away, staring up at the never-ending spiral of stairs surrounded by immeasurable amounts of clothes.

The girl had always stuck close to them, but this time she ventured away to explore a box on the floor to her right. Chloe crouched in front of it, fiddling with someone inside, then hurried to a mirror. The Doctor and Donna smiled, as the little girl wrapped a purple cloth around her neck and tried to tie it with uncertain movements of her small hands.

'I wanna look like my dad,' Chloe said, as the Doctor turned her around by her shoulders so he could crouch in front of her.

He moved the cloth around his fingers with practised motions, and stepped back to let her admire the purple bow tie in the mirror. She beamed with so much pride it was impossible to think he'd even considered letting her go back to Victorian London. In all his secret honesty, the Doctor was certain he'd have sent Chloe to live with Donna instead.

No child deserved to be forgotten and alone.

They could have a fantastic life there, but even after Rose disputed all his attempts to do the same for her – the Doctor still couldn't believe he could personally be a part of what makes someone's life amazing. They travelled for Time and Space, merely accompanied by the madman and his box.

'Do you like it?' Chloe looked up at him with shining blue eyes seeking approval. Her wide smile was impossibly happy, and the Doctor could hear the TARDIS hum in appreciation of his decision leave the list buried in the drawer of the flaming vent-y room.

'Oh yes.' He grinned back. 'Very cool!'

'Bow ties are cool,' Chloe told Donna cheekily, who laughed.

The Doctor took a few steps back, watching his new and returned companions laughing together and examining racks upon racks of clothes. He saw some newer, shorter racks to his far right loaded with children clothes that would fit Chloe nicely, and sighed. He supposed, from the moment Chloe had gained access to his TARDIS and presented him with the mystery entwining her entire existence, that there'd been no real choice on his behalf for her to stay.

Like all his more recent companions - how could he have had any hope of resisting such a temptation?

11. You will become too attached, and be forced to accept a role in the child's life that will make the eventual goodbye too painful to bear.

Important: If you would like to see more of Wilfred, let me know and I will gladly oblige. The reunion between the Doctor and Wilfred isn't included in this chapter for plot reasons, but will be shown in entirety later on. A video is being made for this story, which I will give links and such to in my profile once it's released. Kudos to anyone who knows why Chloe saying the aliens were blue was significant to the Doctor - it means you didn't skip Nine.

Feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated + always helpful to a writer's motivation and progress. It's like giving the Doctor a fez filled with bananas!