"And this one?"
"Twenty-two," Elias read off a flashcard held to him by his grandfather. He then reached for his teddy bear Roger but Mayar pulled the bear away. "Grandpa, I want Roger!"
"We have to finish this," Mayar wagged a finger. "One more for grandpa, hm? And then Elias gets a very tasty treat."
Elias' eyes widened with delight. "Next! Next!" he clapped his hands so that the next flashcard could be given.
Mayar had himself a chuckle as he recalled the same way he used to get Elias' mother to continue the lessons. "Okay, what about this number?" he held now a flashcard with '50' written on it. "Can you tell me this number? It's okay if you don't-"
"Fifty!" Elias read off without so much of a struggle, leaving Mayar to gape for a while.
"Well I'll be damned…"
"Treat! Treat!" Elias began to chant, once again clapping. "Where's my teat, grandpa?"
Mayar shook his head to get rid of the stupor and called for the guard in the room. "Get him the usual," he ordered.
"Hurry!" Elias called as the guard began to leave, missing the amused smile from the guard.
A minute later, Minerva and the Doctor walked into the room. Both had taken a lovely stroll through the Monsoon kingdom as a date.
"How are the lessons going?" Minerva didn't think they would make much progress on Elias' education considering he really was only two years old. But Mayar insisted that starting early was the best way to get Elias ready.
After all, one day...Elias was to take the throne.
Minerva doubted Elias would, honestly. Although he was only two years old, he showed far more desire in travelling than taking up a royal throne. In that, he probably resembled his father who - up to the present day - still refused to be called 'King'. The Doctor would often say that perhaps Elias was not destined to be the next heir but in fact...one of his younger siblings was…
The Doctor still hoped for that little girl.
Minerva laughed and dismissed the idea...though sometimes she did wonder if the next heir was to be another Queen.
Mayar handed Roger back to Elias and then got up from his chair to speak with his parents. "Your son is a genius."
"Well," the Doctor gave a smug tilt of his head.
"He is definitely Minerva's son," Mayar finished with a smirk while the Doctor's smugness fell from his face.
"Grandfather," Minerva playfully scolded, knowing that of course Mayar was only kidding.
"Elias is showing remarkable development in almost all aspects," Mayar went on to explain seriously. "He knows far more than a Moontsay child would at his age and, according to the Doctor-" Mayar gestured to the Time Lord, "-Elias is also showing to be more advanced than a Time Lord child."
"He is," the Doctor confirmed with a small nod.
"He is truly the best of both species," Mayar said, incredibly proud.
"And his powers?" Minerva inquired. "Are there signs that...he's going to develop any of our elements?"
"It's too early for that, I'm afraid," Mayar admitted. "We won't know if Elias will inherit all of your powers till he's a teenager."
Minerva nodded her head, still incredibly proud of her son. He was so innocently playing with his teddy bear without realizing what greatness he was already showing at his young age.
Elias picked himself up and ran for his parents. "I did good!" he cheerfully tried informing his parents of all the lessons he had done with his grandfather.
When his words started turning into long babbles, the Doctor picked up the toddler up and laughed. "You did perfect, Elias. I think maybe we can start working on your algorithms. Hopefully it'll go better than it did with your mother."
An incredulous expression worked its way across Minerva's face. "Excuse me?"
"Uh oh," Elias covered his eyes with his hands, letting Roger drop between him and the Doctor's arms.
"Well, darling, you know I love you but...your math was never good…"
Minerva gaped. Mayar laughed as he returned to his desk.
"Kaeya always pretended to be sick during math lessons. That or she would just find a way to get out of them."
The Doctor took on a smug look and walked out of the room.
"Thanks for the help, grandfather!" Minerva huffed at Mayar before going after her husband.
~0~
Elias ate his tasty, promised treat in the TARDIS and watched his parents go round and round at the console talking...or bickering...or bantering…
He looked down at Roger say next to him and pushed some of his treat to the bear's face.
"Elias, Roger does not eat pastries," Minerva called without even looking at the toddler in question. Her eyes were glued to the Doctor across. "Doctor, I cannot believe you think it's my fault that math was unteachable to me."
"Minerva, I don't think 'unteachable' is a real word…" the Doctor trailed off when he saw the look of fury cross her eyes.
"Do you really want to poke at my language?"
With a sigh, the Doctor shook his head. "Now you know that when I tried to teach you recreational math it never worked out."
"Because of me?" Minerva pointed at herself, growing even more incredulous. It became even more so when the Doctor nodded. "Doctor, Doctor, Doctor…" she started walking up to him, "...are we forgetting that many of the times you taught me...certain things got in the way…" the Doctor watched her fingers crawl up to his lips, "...remember?"
"Uh…"
A wide smirk graced Minerva's lips. "Don't be so quick to blame me for our failed attempts, dear." She withdrew her fingers and backtracked to where she originally stood.
The knock on the doors was like the winning bell. Before Minerva turned, Elias had jumped from his spot.
"I'm coming!" he exclaimed and dropped the remainder of his treat on the floor.
"I'm sorry, are we expecting anyone besides Clara?" Minerva mused and looked at the Doctor who was in the same predicament. It was a bit early for Clara and Liv to be by. Plus, they had a key.
"I'm coming!" Elias hopped with a pastry-covered hand high over his head.
"Probably a girl he has around," the Doctor laughed to himself and went over to help the toddler.
"I don't think so," Minerva crossed her arms. "Don't even joke about that!"
"Okay, c'mon," the Doctor picked up Elias, careful not to get covered in pastry himself, and opened the door.
They found a small dark-haired girl in a Coal Hill uniform standing on the other side. "I'm lost. Please, can you help me?"
"It's that way," the Doctor pointed in some direction without much attention and shut the door on the girl. Just as he turned away from the doors, the scenery outside registered in his mind. He quickly turned back and opened the door again, and thankfully the girl was still there. "Are those trees?"
The girl didn't seemed bothered that the door had been closed on her face. "I need the Doctor. Are you the Doctor?"
"Yes. Do you have an appointment? You need an appointment to see the Doctor."
"No pointment," Elias put his pastry-covered hand over the Doctor's mouth. "Shh, Daddy."
Minerva laughed behind.
"Please, something's chasing me," the girl revealed and ended all jokes inside the box.
The Doctor pushed Elias' hand from his mouth, spitting out the little bits of pastry left over, and pulled the girl inside the TARDIS. Her eyes widened when she saw the actual size of the interior. The Doctor put Elias down, allowing the toddler to run back to his teddy bear and treat on the floor, and began to explain to the young girl...or at least tried to anyways.
"When you drink a glass of Coke, it's only this big, but it's actually got this much sugar in it. It works a bit like that."
The girl hadn't even seen the Doctor use hand gestures to explain. She looked at the console which had dim, flashing lights. "What does?"
"The Tardis. It's bigger on the inside than the outside, or did you not notice?"
"I think she did, dear, but she just didn't care," Minerva walked where Elias had plopped down on and began scooping up his pastry off the floor before he had the idea to eat it.
"I just thought it was supposed to be bigger on the inside, so I didn't say anything," the girl explained for her lack of excitement.
The Doctor had gone over to the gallery to retrieve a map of London. He wasn't sure if the place was the right one since it was apparently covered in trees and bushes. He unrolled the map on a table and examined it for their location. "Well, of course it's supposed to be bigger. Most people are confused by that."
"Or scared," Minerva finished picking up the pastry and promptly threw it in a small bag which she kept near the console for situations like those. Elias was just like his father, he didn't care where his food was - he'd eat it anyways!
"I find everything confusing, nearly," the girl said. "So, I don't say anything."
"But then how would you learn?" Minerva turned to her, curiously studying the girl. She looked no more than nine or ten years old and Minerva was sure this was the time when children asked the most questions. It was natural - they were curious of everything!
The girl didn't understand what Minerva was talking about. And so, just like she had said, she didn't ask for clarification. She just moved on. "I thought Miss Oswald told me to find the Doctor. But it wasn't her. It was just in my head."
"Miss Oswald?" the Doctor looked up from the map. The girl raised her head to the second floor to meet the Doctor's gaze. "Dark hair? Highly unpredictable? Surprisingly round face?"
"It is rather surprisingly round, isn't it…?" Minerva mumbled under her breath, now thinking specifically on the shape of Clara's head.
"Everyone says she's in love with Mister Pink," the girl remarked.
"The PE teacher," the Doctor recalled the man he still wasn't entirely convinced was right for Clara.
The girl nodded her head. "Maths. I really like him. I was in his group."
The Doctor snorted and closed the map as if he just discovered the reason behind the problem. "Mister Pink was looking after you? Well, that explains why you're lost."
"Doctor," Minerva said in a higher voice meant to remind him they were supposed to be nice to Clara's boyfriend.
The Doctor meant what he said and he would stick by it. As he came down to the console, he noticed the girl hadn't even flinched at the mysterious, clearly alien, technology that surrounded her. "It doesn't surprise you that we know all about your school?"
The girl gave a languid shrug of her shoulders. "Everyone seems to know everything about everything, apart from me."
"Now that's why you have to ask questions," Minerva bent down in front of the girl. "Otherwise, how will you learn?"
The girl gave a mere blink of her eyes in return.
Minerva noticed there was something off in the look of the girl. She hadn't forgotten the reason why the girl was in the TARDIS in the first place. "Now when you say 'just inside my head'-" but the terrestrial navigation on the console spoke up to announce they were indeed at their desired destination.
"No, we haven't," the Doctor frowned. "We're supposed to be in the middle of London."
"You have reached your destination."
"Oh, stop saying that!"
The girl moved beside Minerva, still calm despite all she was seeing. "She's only saying it because it's true. We are in the middle of London."
"But...but there's trees," the Doctor glanced back at the doors. "We are in the middle of a forest."
"Come and see," the girl held her hands out for the two.
Seeing the chances to go outside rising, Elias jumped from his spot, teddy bear in hand. "Me! Me! I want to go!" he rushed straight for the doors.
"Oh no," Minerva ran after him. "You need a change first, mister sweet-face! Look at you!" Elias fussed when she picked him up. "Go and take a look," she instructed the Doctor as she headed for the corridors. "I'm gonna go get this one cleaned up."
The Doctor gave a nod and allowed the young girl beside him to lead him for the doors. Once again, he found the entire place filled with trees as if they were in the middle of the Amazon.
"Nelson's Column. Do you like it?" the girl looked up at him.
"Do I...sorry, what?" the Doctor was still trying to get over the new environment.
"Do you like the forest being in Trafalgar Square? I think it's lovely."
The Doctor looked out and spotted a Landseer bronze lion statue followed by a tall Corinthian column not too far away. There was more statues and columns but most were being overrun by leaves and ivy.
Well, he could begin to see bits of actual London peeking up into the sky.
He quickly turned around and pulled the girl back inside the TARDIS, making sure to lock the doors behind them. There was something clearly wrong with the city, or the entire planet for that matter. He needed to conduct some research first in order to understand. And while he did that research, the young girl stood beside him doing nothing but stare.
By the time Minerva returned with a clean and changed Elias, the Doctor had come up with nothing for their problem. Elias pulled his hand from Minerva's to climb down the stairs on his own. Though as he used both his hands to grab onto the rail's vertical bars, his teddy bear was left hanging between them.
"Is it tree time?" he asked, still very excited to go out and see all the trees.
"No, no it is not," called the Doctor without looking up from the console.
Elias huffed just as he reached the last step. "It is tree time."
"So, what do we have?" Minerva walked up to the console till she stood behind the Doctor and the girl.
"Nothing!" the Doctor exclaimed, frustrated.
"Did you at least call Clara to inform her we have one of her students…" Minerva trailed off when she realized they still didn't know the girl's name. "Sweetheart, what was your name?"
"Maebh," the girl responded politely.
"We have to tell Clara we have Maebh with us," Minerva said to the Doctor.
The Doctor rolled his eyes and moved for the phone. He didn't want to waste time calling Clara but he did concede someone should know where the missing student was.
"Elias, get away from the door," Minerva shouted for her son who was busy hopping to reach the door's handle.
"I want to see trees!"
"In time, Elias," Minerva playfully rolled her eyes.
"Clara-" but the Doctor barely got the name in when Clara interrupted him, apparently very excited over something.
"Guess what? You're always showing me amazing things. Well, I, Doctor, have finally got something amazing to show you!"
The Doctor was not in the mood to entertain whatever she thought was exciting. "Yes, well, there are some things I've never seen, but that's usually because I've chosen not to see them...or Minerva doesn't let me."
"Oh, Doctor-" Clara laughed, "-you're going to love this-"
"Well, when you come to collect this child, you can tell us then."
"Huh?" Clara's excitement faltered. "What child?"
"Young female human. Standard defenseless little girl-"
"Doctor," Minerva once again scolded lightly. Maebh didn't seem to take offence judging by the gaze she had on them.
"Your friend Mister Pink was supposed to be looking after her," the Doctor finished explaining to Clara. "Her name's Maebh."
"What? Maebh!? Where are you!?"
"Trafalgar Square. We found her wandering around the brand new forest."
"Brand new forest?"
"Yes. It's like the new Forest, except even newer."
"Is that the forest that's covering London?" there was a hint of disappointment in Clara's voice.
The Doctor, on the other hand, was amused. "Was that the amazing thing you were going to show us?"
"Oh, did she think we hadn't yet seen the forest?" Minerva playfully rolled her eyes. "We're not blind, she does know that right?"
"Tell Minerva I heard that," Clara first said sharply. "And can you bring Maebh over?"
"No, I can't," the Doctor said. "
"Give me that," Minerva dnatched the phone from him before he made it sound like they just didn't want to help Clara.
"Oh c'mon!" Clara was in the middle of her answer. "You've got a spaceship. All we've got are Oyster cards."
"Why do you have oyster cards?" Minerva crinkled her nose.
"That's not the point!"
"Okay, fine. Look, we just want to find out what is going on and the TARDIS is having a little problem getting through. The forest is interfering with her tech. It would just be easier if you came by. You have a compass don't you?"
Clara sighed deeply, clearly annoyed Minerva was once again going off topic. "Yes, we do have a compass."
"Great! Then we'll see you at Tafangular square!" Minerva hung up and turned to the Doctor. "She's got a compass, she'll be fine."
~0~
"It's not good, is it?" Liv asked as soon as Clara was hung up on. With the face Clara gave in return, Liv got the jist.
The two walked back into the museum where the rest of the class was waiting for further instructions. It was quite the sight to wake up to an infestation of a forest.
Danny walked up to Clara the moment he saw her, and Liv who now openly showcased her appearance to him. The class did not see Liv at all. "What did they say?"
"Who?" Clara blinked.
"I think he meant the parents…" Liv read off Danny's face as it slowly grew irritated.
"Don't tell me you didn't call the school," he now looked at Clara hard.
"Um…" Clara's eyes did her fast blinking when she tried coming up with a quick response.
"You called them," Danny concluded and both women saw his annoyance skyrocket.
"No, they called me, actually," Clara clarified first and foremost. "I can't stop them calling me, can I?"
"You shouldn't have to," Liv said sharply. "Because it shouldn't matter," she said that with eyes on Danny. She knew it was hard for humans to accept Clara's way of life but she felt like Danny was taking it farther than needed. It was a macho territorial mind of thing and she honestly didn't understand why Clara didn't put a stop to it already.
"I thought you weren't in contact," Danny accused of Clara's lie.
"London has just been taken over by a gigantic forest. Who do you want to talk to, Monty Don?" Clara nearly had a laugh there. Where we his priorities?
"I want to do my job, which is looking after these kids," Danny gestured to the current class behind.
Clara snorted. "Oh, really? How many kids?"
"What?"
"Where's Maebh Arden?"
Though Danny found the question out of place, he played along and searched for the girl.
"She's with the Doctor and Minerva," Clara decided to put him out of his nervous state after a minute...or two.
"What?" Danny nearly lost it there. "No, no, no, no, no. Maebh is a vulnerable kid! She's on medication. She's had an emotional trauma. Have they even been CRB checked?"
"I will remind you that they do have a son," Liv said slowly, in case Danny truly had forgotten. "They know what they're doing."
But somehow, Danny still found no comfort.
~0~
"I can help!" Elias stomped his small foot on the ground, hopelessly looking up at his father who was standing on the lion's plinth scanning the trees with the sonic screwdriver.
Minerva held his free hand (as the other one held his teddy bear) and simply shook her head. "I will send you back in the TARDIS mister if you throw me a tantrum."
Elias cast a glance back at the TARDIS and shook his head fast. "No thank you!"
Minerva smirked. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Maebh to see how she was holding up and was glad to see the girl more entertained with her phone than wanting to also 'help' the Doctor.
"Why would there be no reading?" the Doctor decided to end his sonicking. "Because they are actually made of wood. No circuits. No mechanism. Wood." He huffed and jumped down to the ground.
"I could have saved you a lot time," Minerva told him as he walked back to them.
"I wanted to see if there was something inside the trees!"
Maebh looked up from her phone and curiously watched him fiddle with his sonic. "What's that for?"
"This is a sonic screwdriver," the Doctor gave it a twirl in his fingers. "It interacts with any form of communication you care to mention. Sadly, trees have no moving parts and don't communicate."
"They communicate a bit, though…" Maebh thoughtfully said, glancing upwards to the tall trees.
"What?"
"Otherwise they wouldn't all grow at the same time, would they?"
"Like a Facebook group message on Tree Facebook?" Minerva tilted her head, on the verge of laughing. "That's a new way to think of how Spring begins."
The Doctor scoffed at the idea. "So, what, do you think that's how spring begins? With a group message on Tree Facebook? Do you think they send texts to each other?"
"You don't need a phone to communicate, do you. I haven't phoned home, and I know my mum is worried about me," Maebh gave a short shrug of her shoulders. Beside her, Minerva smiled. She loved this little girl's attitutde.
"Can we do more vestigating?" Elias was hopefully looking up at both his parents. "I climb trees!"
Minerva's smile had turned into a glare for the Doctor. You see what you teach him? Climbing trees. Way to go Doctor..
"Ah," came a long drawl from the Doctor, clearly offended. "Let me remind you that you were the one to climb trees in this relationship my darling."
Elias giggled. "Mommy, you climb trees?"
If Minerva had been glaring before, now she was throwing daggers at the Doctor. With a cheeky smile, the Doctor went off into the forest.
"Oh I'm gonna get you…" Minerva shut the TARDIS door behind them and grabbed Maebh's hand as well. The three then followed after the Doctor, Minerva ignoring Elias' repeated questions over her climbing of trees.
~ 0 ~
"I can see the TARDIS!" Liv called to Clara as the group of students and two teachers walked through the Trafalgar square. Clara felt a big relief when she saw the blue box.
"Trafalgar Square. Well done, Bradley," Danny complimented the student that had led them to the spot with a compass. "Excellent navigation skills."
"Ah ha! There it is. All sorted now!" Clara hurried for the TARDIS. "Come on!"
"Can we take a picture with the lion, sir? Please?" one of the students, Bradley, asked Danny.
"Er, stay together, but okay," Danny gave a nod.
"I cannot believe Bradley just said please," Clara almost had a laugh.
"Really?"
"Yeah. He usually prefers other means of persuasion."
"Yeah, rude ones," Liv remarked. "And Ruby."
"You bring out the best in them," Clara said to Danny.
There was a loud rumble that shook them all, even making the tallest column dangerously sway. One student, Ruby, who'd been trying to climb a tree slid down from it and broke a branch in the process.
"Ow!" she hissed for a moment but then cast it off like nothing. She came back to her teachers holding the branch up. "Look, sir. No rings," she tapped the clear, not-lined part of the branch. "Trees usually have rings to tell you how old they are. This one's got no rings. Why's that then, sir?"
But Danny didn't answer.
"The rings mark the years of growth. One ring for each year," the Doctor appeared from behind. "This grew up overnight. That whole tree is the result of just one night's growth, and they're still growing."
"Mine!" Elias came running out from the forest holding a pine cone in his hand.
"Elias!" Minerva came soon after, slightly out of breath from chasing him. "Put that down! It's got bugs!"
Elias' eyes widened for a moment as he lifted the pine cone to inspect. But, just like that, he grinned. "Mine too!"
Minerva groaned and put her hands on her hips. Her eyes flickered to the students and let a small "oh" out. "Do we have company?"
Clara rolled her eyes and moved to introduce the class to the foreigners. "Everyone, this is the Doctor and Minerva, and they're going to sort everything out."
Elias threw the pine cone at her feet, huffing. "And me!"
Clara amended. "Right, yes, with the help of Elias of course."
"That's me!" the toddler raised a hand, all happy now that it was set clear he would also help.
"Isn't that the boy who took your Jane Austen book?" one of the students murmured to the next.
Elias' excitement faded and was replaced with a big scowl. "Go 'way!" he ordered them.
"Do not be rude, El," Minerva warned him but the boy huffed and looked away from the students.
"Right, so, is there any good news on this?" Clara turned to the Doctor, hopeful that at least some kind of plan was already brewing in his head.
"Well, having looked at things, I think, probably, the answer to that is no," the Doctor released a big sigh of annoyance.
Clara didn't want the kids to panic thinking nothing would he done to save them from the trees. "He always says that. He's really clever!" she assured them.
"Oh, yes, I am. Very clever," the Doctor agreed, not about to waste a praise on him. "But what use is clever against trees? They don't listen to reason. You can't plead with them. You can't lie to them. They have no moving parts, no circuits. This is a natural event."
Danny made a face. "How can it be natural for a tree to grow in one night?"
"It's what they said about the Ice Age," Minerva turned around, now holding Elias by the hand. "How can whole glaciers just pop up out of nowhere?" she mimicked a voice. "Well, they just did, didn't they?"
"That's how this planet grows - a series of catastrophes. Farewell to the Ice Age," the Doctor waved a hand to the sky. "Welcome to the Tree Age. Possibly. When the Ice Age was here, you lot managed to cook mammoth. Now there's a forest, you'll just have to eat nuts."
"I can't eat nuts. I've got an allergy," Bradley crinkled his nose.
"Don't worry. It's a thing they do," Clara said before they worried. "They pretend they're not interested and then they have an idea. They're playing for time."
"Time," the Doctor pointed at her all of a sudden. "Interesting."
Clara inwardly sighed of relief. "See?" she called to the students again. "Clever kicking in."
"A tree is a time machine. You plant a little acorn in 1795, and in the year 2016, there's an oak tree, there, in the same spot, with a tiny little bit of 1795 still alive inside of it," the Doctor rambled on. "You can't create an overnight forest with extra special fertiliser. You have to mess with the fabric of time. And communicate with trees."
Minerva unlocked the TARDIS in time as the Doctor ran for it. She gently pushed Elias inside and followed in.
"So you're saying it's an act of aggression?" Clara concluded as she went up to the console behind them. Danny and the rest of the students did the same.
"By trees?" even Minerva was a little cold against the idea.
"Er, trees clean the air," Ruby reminded.
"Exactly," Clara pointed. "Well done, Ruby. Someone or something who's trying to scrub the atmosphere before colonising or invading."
"Uh, Clara…" Liv appeared sitting on the rail, apparently highly amused.
Clara turned to see the children beginning to wander about in the room, poking here and there while the Doctor was trying his best not to lose it.
"Ah, yes, Doctor, Minerva. Ahem. This is Coal Hill Year Eight Gifted and Talented Group," Clara introduced the kids to them.
One of the students had made it up the stairs and was leaning closer to the walls. "What are the round bits for?"
The Doctor shook his head and rushed to the small staircase. "Ask your teacher. Come on! Down from there!" He ushered the student down the stairs and then spotted a couple more students pushing controls on the console and turning several of the levers. "Hey! Away from the console. Come on. That's an antique. Get away from there! Don't touch that!"
Elias giggled and tugged on his mother's hand. "My turn?"
"Elias, don't you even dare!" the Doctor turned around with a pointed finger at him. They had Elias very trained to understand the console was only for adults. He would get his turn when he was much, much older.
Minerva was close to laughing beside him. "I'm curious though," she began in an effort to distract herself, "Haven't any of you been struck by the fact that it's bigger on the inside?"
Ruby stopped by on her way down to the lower lever near the front door. "There wasn't a forest. Then there was a forest. Nothing surprises us anymore."
Minerva raised her eyebrows. "Well."
"These trees all appeared at once. That wasn't a coincidence. There's no such thing as an arboreal coincidence," the Doctor began like everyone understood him. "Something, someone has coordinated this. To coordinate, you need to communicate. Every communication channel on the Tardis is open, and nothing." As he walked around the console, he saw Danny looking at a children's exercise books Clara left behind."Except. Let me see that!" he didn't actually wait for Danny to give an 'okay' and just took the book from him. He passed many pages and found the drawings were all the same. It was a sun releasing waves of energy at the tree tops.
"Homework books. Why are these here?" Danny glanced at the rest of the same books sitting nearly on the console chair.
"Maebh Arden. Maebh Arden. Which one is Maebh Arden?" the Doctor looked up from the book once he remembered the little girl from earlier.
Minerva, too, remembered the child and looked around. "Well, she was with us. When Elias ran away, I told her to follow...and she did."
"Oh, my God. Maebh's gone. Maebh's lost in the forest. Maebh's going to die!" Ruby panicked.
"Ruby, that's enough! Doctor?" Clara tried stopping the Time Lord during his pace.
"We've got to find her!"
"Yes, I know that we have to find her!" Clara stopped him by the console. "Doctor, listen to me. Her sister went missing last year. She's on medication. The child is barely functioning. She hears voices. She's very vulnerable."
"What do the voices say?" Minerva asked, vaguely recalling something Maebh had said about voices as well.
Clara shrugged. "I don't know. She takes tablets and they stop."
The expressions on both Minerva and the Doctor were simultaneous and annoyed.
"Do you see why I don't ever want my son to be taught on this planet?" Minerva gestured as she spoke to the Doctor. "They're all hell bent on keeping them the same."
The Doctor agreed. Anything Elias learned would be from them or from the Monsoon. Humans were so inclined to make sure everything was 'normal' with every child that they didn't even think to embrace something unique. "You people. You never learn. If a child is speaking, listen to it!"
"Oh, like you listened to her?" Danny challenged, reminding them where Maebh was not at the moment.
The Doctor ignored the question and focused on the monitor. He saw a large solar prominence flaring off the sun itself.
"He's right. She was trying to tell me something and I ignored her. Maebh Arden is tuned to a different channel. She can lead us to the source, to the heart of the forest. We have to listen to her. We have to find her."
Clara shook her head when he pulled the sonic out. "Not everything can be fixed with a screwdriver. It's not a magic wand."
"Are we doubting the sonic?" Minerva made a face and joined them on the other side of the console. "You know we do not play when it comes to children." She wiggled Elias' hand still in hers.
"Does she have a phone?" the Doctor asked Clara.
"Well, yes, she does."
"Have you got the number?"
"Er, yep," Clara pulled her phone out and let the Doctor sonic it.
"Maebh Arden. Five hundred yards south east of here. I'll go get her."
"I'll go with him!" Danny volunteered since the girl had been originally in his group. Therefore, it was his responsibility to make sure she was back in his custody safe and sound.
"Or perhaps it's better if you and Clara stay to look after your students," Minerva's voice stopped both men from going out.
Clara whirled around with a big frown on her face. "Aw, but I can go help. Maebh is a fragile-"
"Yes, we heard," Minerva nodded but Clara was not finished.
"She needs a teacher and I'm that teacher!" Clara pointed at her and the Doctor. "So I'm going!"
"Fine," Minerva rolled her eyes. She pulled Elias into a walk for the doors where the Doctor was now waiting for them.
Before Clara followed, Danny stopped her with a small accusation. "You haven't seen them for months?"
Clara's eyes flickered to the side for a second. "Something like that."
Liv appeared behind the two, only visible for Clara. "Remind me again why we're still in this lie?" Clara acknowledged she was there but didn't reply.
"You didn't even say hello. You just sprung straight into action," Danny continued with Clara. "I would have figured at least the little kid would've been so surprised to see you yet-"
The Doctor ran back inside like he'd just remembered something. "Hey!" he called to the children who were getting busy with selfies. "Do not. Touch. Anything. Anything. H-h-okay?"
"Okay," Ruby gave a shrug.
"See?" Clara started backtracking to the doors. "Someone needs to go. Child protection and all."
~ 0 ~
"Mommy, Roger," Elias realized he'd forgotten his teddy bear back in the TARDIS and was repeatedly trying to turn back for the TARDIS.
"It's too far now, El. I'm sure the kids are taking good care of him," Minerva passified, or at least thought, his concerns.
Elias gasped at the idea of some other kids holding Roger. "No! He's mine!"
"Terrible two's and the awful 'mine' stage," Minerva shook her head, deciding to pull Elias up to her arms instead.
"Are the kids going to be okay?" Clara asked the Doctor. It didn't occur to her until then that maybe leaving them in the TARDIS may not have been the best idea.
"They're in the Tardis, the safest place on the planet," the Doctor said, now casting Minerva and Elias a glance. It would've been far better if the two stayed in the TARDIS to be safe.
Another rumble forced them to stop. However, the violent rumble made the nearest statue fall on its side, nearly crushing them if they hadn't jumped out of the way.
"If this is an invasion…"
'What?" Clara's eyes snapped on the Doctor again.
"It's over," Minerva finished for him, sitting straight up with Elias on her lap. "They're already here and they've won."
"Question is-" the Doctor got up and then helped Minerva and Elias, "what do they want?"
"Million dollar question, innit?" Liv popped in.
The group continued their hunt for Maebh but unfortunately came across with nothing. Clara worried about the kids being left in the TARDIS with Danny, feeling a bit guilty she'd just ran out on Danny like that.
"Doctor? Look behind us," Clara stopped by to glance back. "The path we just walked down. It's overgrown already."
"Mommy! I win!" Elias had cheered when he spotted a pink phone on the ground. He ran forwards, passing his father on the way who'd yet to see the small thing. Elias picked up the phone and tried swiping his little fingers across the screen like he usually saw people do.
"Yes you do win," the Doctor hurried over and picked Elias up.
Clara rushed with Minerva beside. "Why would she put her phone down?" the former inquired, feeling her heartbeat picking up.
"Maybe she doesn't want to be followed," Minerva theorized. "Or maybe she lost a hold of it in a struggle? Or-" she grew excited at her last theory that'd just popped into her head, "-it was left as a clue, so we would know where she was going! Oh I really hope it's that one!"
"Trail of breadcrumbs. Hansel and Gretel," Liv nodded her head but then felt her own heart beating up. "Clara, I can feel you're frightened."
"No, I never get frightened," Clara had her own hand over her chest, trying to decipher her feelings at the moment. "Why am I frightened?"
"You just lost a little girl," the Doctor turned back.
"Yes, that is a worry, but I know you'll find her," Clara waved it off. "No, no, no. This is not a worry, this is a dread. Maebh!"
"You're pursuing a little lost girl through a mysterious forest," the Doctor continued with his frighten theory. "The path has disappeared. You find yourself with a strangely compelling masculine figure-"
"Maebh!" Clara didn't wait for the full explanation. "Any minute now we're going to find a gingerbread cottage with a cannibal witch inside. Maebh!"
"Strangely compelling masculine figure?" Minerva walked up to the Doctor. "Really?"
"Mhm," the Doctor nodded, smiling at himself.
"Picure time?" Elias waved the phone in his hand.
"Let's go!" Clara called to them impatiently.
This time, they followed her through the forest. They came across a small clearing where Clara had found another object of Maebh's: a pencil case.
"That's hers innit?" Liv was right beside Clara when the brunette picked up the case.
"Coal Hill," Clara smiled just a bit.
"Clever girl," Minerva said once they'd caught up with Clara. "I like her style."
Clara agreed it was a good tactic that she was surprised with. She strode past a bus stop and pushed a branch out of the way only to be blocked by a figure in a hazmat suit.
"Get back!" the man startled her. "We're burning here. Stay back!"
"We're looking for a little girl-" Clara tried to explain.
"Stay back. We're about to burn!"
"Best to just follow," Liv reached for Clara's arm. The group watched as the man along with several others set to use a flame thrower on a part of the forest. Despite the fire successfully started, it didn't last long. It was as if the trees were flame proof.
"Magic?" Elias looked at his father who held him.
"No, El, I don't think it's magic," the Doctor smiled lightly. Elias had gotten in the habit of trying to make his own conclusions. He and Minerva tried to gently correct Elias when his conclusions weren't all the way truthful.
Seeing Maebh wasn't in the area anyways, the group left behind the hazmats.
"Trees control the oxygen on this planet so if they withhold it, they smother the fire," Minerva was relaying, a growing smile on her face. "Now that is my sort of forest. It's all...clever."
"What sort of forest has its own in-built fire extinguisher?" Liv gave her a look.
"What do they want?" Clara thought was a better question.
"Why now?" the Doctor corrected.
Elias leaned forwards to see Minerva, Clara and Liv, and decided to join in the questions. "Why?" he proudly asked.
Clara smiled at the boy. "But what do you mean 'why now?'" she asked from the Doctor.
"The whole natural order is turning against this planet. But why? Why now?"
"Well, what else?"
The Doctor handed Elias to Minerva in order to take Maebh's homework book from his jacket's pocket. He opened it up to the picture of the angry sun and trees then showed it to Clara. "How did she know this?"
Clara didn't pay much attention to the picture. "What is it?"
"This is a massive solar flare headed for Earth, like the one that destroyed the Bank of Karabraxos. I've got an entire Tardis and I didn't notice this. But she knew. How?"
Clara took the book from him and closed it to see the name. "This is Maebh's. Where did you get this?"
"You left your grading in the TARDIS," Minerva reminded. "Whole stack of it actually. Elias nearly had himself some new coloring books."
"Yes, mine!" Elias nodded his head. If everyone else got to draw then why couldn't he?
"Oh, great, right, well, that's just brilliant, isn't it," Clara sighed. "You don't think Danny saw this, do you?"
The Doctor exchanged an incredulous look with Minerva, both thinking the same thing.
"I've just informed you that a solar flare is going to wipe out your planet. You're worried about a row with your boyfriend!" the Doctor said to Clara, rather surprised at her. "How did she know this? She even put the date on it!"
"I always make them date their homework," Clara shrugged.
"It's today's date!"
"Ah," Clara re-opened the book just to double check. "Okay, well...there must be a way?"
"They want something, clearly," Minerva said from behind. "And they're trying to to say something but only Maebh Arden can hear them."
"Okay, you know they're not really gifted and talented, don't you? I just tell them that to make them feel good."
"What a mean thing to say," Minerva shook her head.
"She's lost someone. People who've lost someone, they're always listening, always looking, always hoping!" the Doctor explained better. "So, they notice more. They hear more."
A wolf howl cut the conversation short.
"Was that a howl?" Liv nearly laughed at herself for such a ridiculous question.
But then a second howl was heard, one in response to the first.
"Was that a wolf?" asked Clara. "No...that's...that's impossible. We're in London."
"London with a zoo?" Minerva's sharp voice made her turn. "The zoo with the pack of wolves? The zoo whose barriers and gates have probably been mangled by the trees? No, wolves are not impossible. Stick to the path, Red Riding Hood."
"There is no path!" Clara waved her hands, exasperated.
"Wooooo…" Elias tried to imitate the wolf howls.
"Shhhh!" Minerva lightly put her hand on his. "This is not the time to mimic animals, El."
The Doctor slowly backtracked to where Minerva stood. He didn't want to say 'they were lunch' but...they were lunch.
Suddenly, they heard Maebh's scream from a distance. They bolted in that direction and hoped to God it wasn't what they thought it was. They made it to a wrought iron fence where Maebh was trying to escape from wolves.
Clara jumped onto the fence. "Doctor, give me a boost so I can pull her over. Maebh? Maebh!"
Maebh looked around and ran to the side, pushing open the gate and closed it behind her. The Doctor hurried up to the little girl.
"Maebh. You came looking for me. You didn't-" but Maebh started waving her hands over her head, like she was trying to swat away little bugs. "Maebh, Maebh, you didn't just stumble into the Tardis. Tell me what you know."
"Doctor," Clara was looking at the wolves getting closer to the other side of the fence.
"This is important!"
"Yes! Can we please deal with the wolves first?"
"Those are zoo wolves, probably not even used to hunting…" Minerva eyed said wolves cautiously.
But the wolves blared their very sharp teeth at them, coming closer.
The Doctor straightened and pulled Maebh back. "All right, okay. We've just got to look as if we're too much bother to eat, right? So, stay still. Stay together." He pulled them all together. "Look big. Look big like a big three-headed, six-legged scary thing!"
"Dis!" Elias imitated his father and raised his hands over his head.
But suddenly, the wolves jumped over the fence and ran away with high pitched whinning.
"Ha ha!" the Doctor cheered. "Told you they were rubbish. Those wolves are terrified."
Minerva was not as happy. "So then makes you wonder what wolves are terrified of."
Because then a deep growl filled the area. It was, of course, a much more fierce animal: a tiger.
"There are very good solid scientific reasons for being really quite frightened just now," the Doctor muttered and pulled Minerva and Elias closer to him.
But before the tiger could move closer, a flashlight shined on its face. It retreated and went the opposite way. Danny turned off the torch he'd used and walked into view, revealing to be with the kids.
"Mister Pink!" Clara exclaimed happily. "Why, thank you very much."
"Ah, no problem. Just decided it was best not to leave you alone with them," Danny made a discreet nod to Minerva and the Doctor.
Minerva's eyes narrowed at him in response. What was so wrong with them?
"Er, has she had her medication yet?" Danny spotted Maebh behind them, beside the Doctor, as she was once again waving her hands at invisible particles.
"Oh!" Clara swung her bag forwards to get said medication. "No, I-"
"No, no!" the Doctor rejected the idea. "Not her medication. We don't want to shut her up. We want to know what she knows!" he bent down in front of the girl. "Maebh, what's the-" but she continued to wave her hands, "-Maebh, what is this? What is this?" the Doctor imitated her movements but she didn't respond.
"Apart from being almost savaged by a tiger and abducted by a Scotsman, she's allowed any nervous tics she likes, okay?" Danny called from the other side of the fence.
"Hey!" Minerva sharply called back. "It's always so human-like to shut down anything remotely different! Ever thought perhaps there's a reason why she does it? If not, then please do me the favor to be quiet-"
"Please! Just give her her tablets. She's been in a state since her sister went missing!" Ruby cut her off frantically.
Maebh turned and ran off.
"Maebh!" the Doctor went after her.
Everyone soon did the same.
They followed Maebh into a clearing that was glowing a bright orange. Maebh stopped in front of a cobweb festooned area that was surrounded by smallish trees.
"Miss? What is it, miss?" Ruby stopped just behind Clara.
"It's beautiful," Liv appeared to appreciate the scenery.
"It's coming. It's coming for everyone, and I can't unthink it," Maebh said, sounding so tired.
The Doctor cautiously approached the girl. "Maebh. Maebh, this forest is communicating. With you. Nobody else. No technology can hear what it's saying, but you can. Tell us what it wants. Where it came from. Just tell me who did this."
She turned around with a guilt-ridden face. "It was me," she said sadly. "I did this. I did these trees."
"No, Maebh. You didn't make a global forest appear overnight," the Doctor softly said, seeing the girl truly believing she was at fault for it all. "How could you do that?"
"Thoughts come to me. Ever since Annabel went missing, I look for her everywhere. I don't find her, but I find thoughts. The big forest was one. I thought everyone would love it…" Maebh's eyes suddenly flicked up. "The thoughts! The thoughts! They go so fast!" she started waving her hands above again.
For the first time, Clara did what the Doctor and Minerva had said to do from the very beginning. She listened. "Maebh, can you see something that we can't see?" Because she knew exactly what that felt like; to see something that no one else can see was truly undescribable.
"Nearly. Too fast," Maebh said incoherently, waving her hands harder. "Everywhere."
"Let's help," Elias said in Minerva's arms. The little girl looked scared and he didn't like it when other kids were scared.
"Of course we will," Minerva shifted him on her hip. "Doctor?"
"On it," the Doctor straightened, pulling out his sonic and pushing several of its buttons. "Everything's subject to gravity. If I can create a little local increase-"
Just as he aimed the sonic at Maebh, Danny exclaimed. "No. You're not experimenting on-" but the sonic made golden dancing particles of light appear around Maebh's head.
Maebh gasped, a small smile appearing on her face. "They're lovely!" she looked at them for another moment then made a face. "They don't like it when you're holding them. They want you to let them go."
"Who are they, Maebh?" asked Minerva.
"We are Here," the girl responded with a deeper voice, indicating she was not the one answering. "Here, always, since the beginning and until the end. We are the green shoots that grow between the cracks, the grass that grows over the mass graves. After your wars are over, we will still be Here. We are the life that prevails."
"Why now? Why are you here now?" the Doctor finally got to ask his question.
"We hear the call and we come, as we came before to the great North Forest, where we lie still in a great circle. As we came to the vast Southern Forest."
"Who is calling you now?"
"The sun that creates. The sun that destroys. You are hurting us. Let us go."
"You sent for me. The girl came looking for me. Why? Why me?"
"We did not send. Pain. Did not send for you. We don't know you. We were here before you and will be here after you."
Thinking that was all they would get, unfortunately, the Doctor turned off the sonic. Maebh fell to her knees at the same time. Danny moved forwards to help her just as the Doctor did.
"Maebh, you came looking for the Doctor," the Doctor tried one more time. "Think. Who sent you for the Doctor?"
"It was just a thought," Maebh explained lightly. "It was just a thought that came. I think it came from Miss." She looked over to Clara, and soon Danny did the same. "They've gone. Why does everything have to go?"
"No help?" Elias quietly asked his mother.
Minerva ran a hand through her short hair and crossed eyes with the Doctor. He came back to them, but Clara went after.
"This really is going to happen, isn't it?" her voice was as quiet as possible.
"Stars implode. Planets grow cold. Catastrophe is the metabolism of the universe. I can fight monsters. I can't fight physics," the Doctor gritted his teeth.
"But why would the trees want to kill the humans?" Liv could not finish understanding. "I thought they love trees."
"Um," Minerva had something to say about that. "You've been chopping them down for furniture for centuries. If that's love, no wonder they're calling down fire from the heavens."
"But we saw the future. Lots of futures. Earth's futures," Clara said as a last resort.
"They're about to be erased," the Doctor rubbed his face.
Clara glanced back at the students and Danny, deciding something silently. "If you can't save them all, save who you can. The Tardis. It's a lifeboat, isn't it? Not everybody has to die."
Minerva nodded at the Doctor. The entire group started back for the TARDIS with Danny at the lead giving the children a song to pass by the fear. By the time they returned, they found the TARDIS was covered underneath with vines.
"Right, come on, team," Danny had all the kids help pull the vines off.
Clara waited till they were safely away to begin talking with the truth. "When they're done, you need to get in your box and go."
"We're all going. We're taking the kids," the Doctor said, believing this had already been accepted. It was her idea, after all.
"Taking them where? What are you going do with them?" Clara sighed, briefly glancing at the children. "Leave them on an asteroid? Find a space academy for the gifted and talented? They just want their mums and dads, and they're never going to stop wanting them."
Minerva had weighed the options of where to bring the kids. She was already forced to rule out the Monsoon on grounds of it being far too cold for them, and even Nix Terra.
"So then what do you expect us to do?" the Doctor suspiciously asked Clara.
"I expect you…" Clara blinked, a tinge of sadness making through her mask, "...to get in your TARDIS and go."
"Clara," Minerva frowned, frankly offended she would ever think they could follow with this plan.
"I get what she's trying to do," Liv appeared right beside Clara. "And I think she might be right."
"Liv…" Minerva blinked. "I'm not...we're not…"
"On behalf of this world, thank you for always being there," Clara said. "But now go. Save the next one."
The Doctor didn't think he should have to argue with this ludicrous plan, but apparently he was going to have to. "We're not going. The impossible has never stayed impossible for me."
"Helping time," even Elias was determined to make a contribution to this saving.
"They would have to literally lock me up before I let go of you and my sister," Minerva declared, glancing at Liv for a second.
"There's no other choice-" Clara was in the middle of rebutting when Maebh came by.
"Are you going to get rid of the forest?" her curious, innocent question made the adults stop and look at each other.
Clara, still on board with her idea, put her hand on Maebh's arm and began to lead her away. "Hard to get rid of a flame-proof forest, Maebh, eh? Come on."
Minerva turned to the Doctor, no words needed to know what they decided on.
"Wait a minute…" Minerva suddenly snapped her fingers at Clara and Maebh. "Clara!"
Thinking she would need to outright tell them to leave, Clara sighed and looked back. "Just go-"
"Oh," the Doctor had found the realization as well. "Oh that...that is…flame-proof forest. A thousand atom bombs and no one hurt. I am Doctor Idiot!"
"Glad we finally established that!" Liv said first and foremost with a laugh. "But could someone explain?"
"Hey!" Minerva shouted to the rest. "All of you are required back in the TARDIS! Fresh minty-brownies are in it, let's go!"
At the mention of treats, the children came rushing for the TARDIS. Clara wasn't too pleased but she followed as well. Eventually, all the children were sat on the steps to the gallery with Clara and Danny at the lowest step. Wanting to be part of the group, Elias came along with his teddy bear and plopped himself down on the floor just between Clara's and Danny's legs.
Minerva had pulled the solar flare onto the monitor for the Doctor to explain. "It's there on the screen, look," the Doctor pushed the monitor for the others to see. "Big solar flare headed this way. A thousand kilometres a second. Coronal mass ejection. Geomagnetic storm. It's huge. It's brewing up a solar wind big enough to blow this whole planet away."
The students looked amongst them, getting nervous.
Minerva looked up from the console and turned to the students. "Haven't your teachers mentioned this before?"
"You would assume wrong," Liv sat on the rails, legs swinging forwards.
"I thought it would spoil an otherwise enjoyable walk," Clara mumbled under her breath.
"Uh, okay," the Doctor took a moment to get back on track. "Well, this is the bad news. The good news is, it's happened before. And you're still here. The Tunguska Blast, 1908. That should have blown the whole planet off its axis, but it didn't. It knocked a few trees over. Well, a few tens of thousands of trees over. In Brazil. Same story. Earth should have been smashed, but it wasn't. What do these things have in common?"
"They're really, really scaring us?" Ruby answered for the rest.
"Well don't be," Minerva walked around the console till she was in front of them like the Doctor. "Because you've got trees."
"Whenever there's a planet-threatening, extra-terrestrial impact, there's trees!" the Doctor excitedly said. "Massive forest, filling the atmosphere with oxygen. Pumping it up like a massive, highly inflammable airbag, so that when trouble hits-"
"Everyone dies!" another student said.
"No," Minerva made a face. "C'mon kids, we're trying to give you some good news."
The Doctor nodded. "The impact burns off the excess oxygen. You have some fairly hectic weather for a few days and some fairly trippy looking sunsets, but apart from that, you will be all right. I was wrong. The trees are not your enemy. They're your shield. They've been saving you since for ever. Protecting you from everything that space can throw at you."
"The wide ring," Clara whispered, recalling the strange tree stump Ruby had shown her earlier in the day. She got up from her spot. "The red ring! In the museum, Ruby saw a cross-section of a tree. One of the rings was wider than the others, and red."
"Atmospheric dust, captured by the trees," the Doctor grew giddier the more right he was being proven. "The fingerprint of an asteroid. Happy Red Ring Day!"
"I don't get it. If they're good, then why are we chopping them down?" Ruby suddenly asked and had both aliens staring at her.
"They're doing what now?" Minerva stepped forwards.
"The Government are sending out defoliating teams. They're dropping chemicals on them right now," Danny further explained for them.
"Oh my God," Minerva put a hand on her forehead. "What is it with you people? You hear voices, you want to shut them up. The trees come to save you, you want to chop them down. I love you but...c'mon!"
"Hm," Liv hopped off the rails. "Or you think you need to save the world when it's already saving itself."
The Doctor mock glared her way but for the sake of her secret presence he didn't retaliate.
"Mobile networks are still operative," Minerva's voice drew him back to the problem.
"Right. We are going to call everyone on Earth and tell them to leave the trees alone," the Doctor resoluted.
"Can I do it?" Maebh's volunteerment made them both stop. "I started it. I should finish it."
"Now there's a teaching job I can get behind on," Minerva laughed. "Class project: save the Earth!"
~ 0 ~
Maebh had been given a pencil and a notebook to create a speech she would say once she had everyone on the line. All the children were gathered around on her on the floor to help her create the speech. Elias tried pushing himself through the crowd of kids, running to different spots, and saying "move!" rather rudely to get a view.
Finally, he gave up with a big huff and turned away, holding his teddy bear tightly. "No thank you," he came dejectedly back to his parents.
Minerva held back her laugh and picked him right up. "I think it's time we get you some friends, El. Some that are your age." Elias let his head drop onto her shoulders, using his teddy bear to hide his face.
'Perhaps we could set aside some time just for him to have some interaction with other children.' the Doctor's voice rang in Minerva's mind.
They had talked about it before but never actually followed through. Even Mayar had suggested to them that it would be a good idea to start allowing Elias to spend time with other children his age, preferably of the Monsoon, for his social skills to develop. It was crucial for them to truly start recording down all of Elias' developmental milestones in order to make sure they could help him in areas that weren't doing so well.
You realize of course that would mean less travelling, Minerva warned.
For Arlo, I will do anything, the Doctor promised.
"Okay, and I think that's it," Maebh finally stood up from the floor with her notebook in hand.
The Doctor reached for a switch and pushed it upwards, making everyone's cellphones ring. Maebh held her notebook and began to speak.
"Essential services have been disrupted due to an unexpected forest. We'd like to reassure you that the situation will be rectified very soon. Please don't be scared. And please don't chop, spray or harm the trees. They're here to help. Be less scared. Be more trusting. Oh, and Annabel Arden, please come home."
The Doctor then flicked the switch down to end the transmission. "Okay, who would like to witness a once in a billion years solar event at close quarters?"
Maebh happened to see the monitor that was showing her mother was arriving at the area. "Mum! There's my mum!" she ran for the doors without a care in the world.
Indeed her mother was outside and was joyous to see her daughter safe and sound. Clara smiled and glanced at the rest of the children.
"So, trip to space, anyone?"
But the children weren't as happy as one would think.
"I want my mum," Ruby admitted.
"I slightly want my mum, too," Bradley agreed, put out much like she was.
"Tell them, Mister Pink, what an educational opportunity it would be," Clara looked to Danny for some backup.
"You, you go. This. This is enough for me," Danny took one look at the console room and shook his head.
"What? Coronal ejections, geomagnetic storms. How often do you get a playlist like that?"
"I was a soldier. I put myself at risk. I didn't try too hard to survive, but somehow, here I am. And now I can see what I nearly lost. And it's enough. I don't want to see more things. I want to see the things in front of me more clearly. There are wonders here, Clara Oswald. Bradley saying please, that's a wonder. One person is more amazing, harder to understand, but more amazing than universes."
"I almost teared up," Liv pretended to wipe some tears off her face.
Clara wished she could smack Liv for interrupting. She just kissed Danny and hoped Liv would disappear to somewhere else.
~ 0 ~
From outerspace, the Doctor, Minerva, Clara and Liv - with Elias in the Doctor's arms - watched the Earth take on the sun's solar flare.
"I hope I'm right. It would be slightly awkward if the world was destroyed at this point," the Doctor admitted.
"What?" Liv leaned forwards to get a look at him.
The solar flare finally reached the Earth's atmosphere and engulfed the entire planet.
"There goes the planet-sized airbag. That's the trees, harvesting the solar fire," the Doctor explained, feeling monumentally relieved to see no harsh effects on the planet.
~ 0 ~
After a long day, Clara was finally left back in her apartment along with Liv. Before she left, however, she provided one more homework book for Elias so that he would be able to draw as well. Clara teased he was going to be a student in her english class now. Minerva watched Elias from the console as the toddler babbled to himself and his teddy bear while he scribbled on the homework book. The Doctor came by from the gallery with a curious face.
"What are you thinking?" he asked quietly.
"Do you ever think that maybe the reason why Elias holds onto that bear is because...he doesn't have any friends?"
"All children latch onto something in order to feel safe," the Doctor casually explained.
"Yes, but, sometimes I feel like...like he wants to talk...but...he doesn't have anyone to."
"He's a toddler, Minerva," the Doctor gave her a sideways glance. "He doesn't talk. He babbles."
"Well, then he deserves to have someone to babble with. And-" Minerva pointed at him before he got any ideas, "-I'm not talking about giving him a sibling."
"Well, it's not a bad idea," the Doctor murmured.
"Yes, sometime in the future, we've discussed," Minerva nudged him playfully. "I mean, every child needs a friend. Elias already has difficulties considering he's the only one of his species."
"There's Elizabeth Smith-Jones," the Doctor reminded.
"Yes, there is," Minerva acknowledged. "But Elizabeth is not up to Elias' development yet. She's human, she develops slower. At best we would need to have him with Moontsay children."
"What do you recommend then?" the Doctor turned to her, genuinely wondering where she was going with this. "Because I don't need to remind you that Elias is known as 'the prince' of the Monsoon and 'the next heir' do I?"
"No, you don't," Minerva shook her head, accepting that it would be just as difficult to integrate Elias into Moontsay society when he was known as 'royalty'. She should know, she went through the same thing. "When I was a kid, my parents rarely let me have contact with children my age that wasn't family. I don't want the same thing for Elias. I want him to grow up having friends from any place he wants. It's our job to make sure he has the environment to make those friends. The early years are important. Humans send their kids to preschool in order to begin the social skills they'll need for their elementary schools."
"Yes, but there is no alien preschool we can send him to," the Doctor shrugged. "Besides, anything he would learn I could teach him. Mayar would teach him. You could teach him."
"But that's not the point," Minerva made a gesture with her hands for him to just hear her out. "Lessons right now are just to see what Elias knows and what he doesn't. What's important right now is how he makes contact with other kids. You've seen him, he's...he's not always nice."
"To be fair, I'm not nice either," the Doctor tilted his head.
"I'm very serious," Minerva stepped closer to him.
The Doctor nodded, he could just feel her in his mind that she was concerned. "Okay, what do you propose we do?"
"I'm not sure exactly," Minerva admitted. "But I'm sure we can both come up with the best plan for our son. Anything it takes?"
"Anything it takes," the Doctor agreed.
Author's Note:
Next chapter is the last one...with you know whooo ;)