Chapter 13

The Doctor woke with a start as the TARDIS swayed back and forth violently. Immediately he sat up, alarm bells ringing in his head as he tuned into the TARDIS and felt her fighting. Fighting what? He searched further, dropping the shields he so meticulously kept in place and felt a tiny thread that he recognized as Viola.

"Oh, Viola," he groaned, leaping out of bed to pull on his trousers and a blue shirt. "What have you done?"

Rose, who had awoken at the first jerky movements, was sitting up now too, her big brown eyes round and moist as she watched him dress. "What's wrong? Where's Viola?"

"She's flying the TARDIS," he told her as he pulled on his trainers.

"What? On her own?" Rose sprung from the bed and frantically pulled on her own clothing. "She's only five. What's she doing flying the TARDIS alone in the dead of night?"

The Doctor grabbed his sonic off the bedside table and shoved it into one of his infinite pockets. "I don't know, but I'm going to find out." He gave her a quick peck on the forehead before racing from the room with Rose hot on his heels.

He stopped dead as they reached the console room and Rose collided with him gracelessly in her desperation to make sure her daughter was safe. He righted her, promptly gripping her hand, his eyes fixed on the open door at the bottom of the ramp. He heard a cry coming from his daughter and his heart nearly tore in two. His beautiful, golden haired daughter, who hadn't cried a minute since her birth, was sobbing. The Doctor raced forward, pulling Rose after him in his haste to locate Viola, to comfort her. The sound ripped at him and it propelled him to move with an even greater sense of urgency. The TARDIS suddenly emitted a massive burst of energy, rippling through the air and radiating out into the blackness beyond.

"Viola!" Rose's desperate scream echoed through the TARDIS, mingling with an agonizing cry from their daughter.

They finally reached the doors and scrambled through them, each searching frantically for the little girl they loved so dearly.

The Doctor saw her first, lying on the ground writhing in pain, her delicate golden hair sticking to her face where fresh tear stains still lingered.

"Viola." Rose's bottom lip quavered as she dropped to her knees beside her daughter, pulling the small, broken body into her arms as the sobs burst forth in a strangled wail. "Nooo." She buried her face in that golden sea of hair even as the Doctor tried to pull her back to the TARDIS.

"Rose," he said urgently, his own anguish causing his voice to crack. He cleared his throat, trying to force the emotion away. He couldn't afford to fall apart. Not right now. His wife and his daughter needed him and if he allowed himself to feel his heart would break and he'd be useless. "We have to get inside, there's no Oxygen out here, not beyond the TARDIS' force field. We don't know what's out here, or even where we are. It's dangerous. Rose? Rose, do you hear me? We need to get inside now."

*****

The moment Rose saw Viola lying still and silent on the ground, her entire body went numb. No,she thought forcefully, no, no, no. Not Viola, not my precious little baby girl."Viola," she whispered, letting herself fall to the ground beside her. "Nooo."

As Rose breathed in the familiar scent of strawberries and satsuma that emanated from Viola's coif, her heart shattered and the vacant space in her chest filled with an ache that physically hurt. She was vaguely aware of her husband's efforts to get them inside, but she didn't move. She couldn't. Not when her baby was so motionless and quiet - an unmoving shell of the vibrant person she had become in her five very short years.

She felt the Doctor's arms encircle her waist. Her grip on Viola tightened as he pulled them both back into the TARDIS, slammed the door and swiftly shifted them off the planet and into the vortex.

Rose sank onto the jump seat, tears flowing openly as she studied the lifeless form in her arms.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic and scanned Viola, checking her vitals, looking for any lasting signs of damage. "Oh, God, Rose." He choked, blinking furiously. "There's no heartbeat, no brain activity, she's not breathing."

"No, it can't be true. She's not dead, Doctor. She can't be dead."

The Doctor looked down at his daughter sadly, his eyes full of woe.

"She'll regenerate!" Rose looked at him hopefully.

He shrugged helplessly. "We don't know if she's a Time Lord, she could be. But then again, maybe not."

"She has to, she can't be dead, oh Viola, please, please, please, be alive, be all right, be a Time Lord." Rose began to shake violently when her plea went unanswered. "No, no, no. Baby, you're so loved, so wanted, come back to us, please come back to us. We... we... we love you."

Viola's arm moved and for a moment Rose's heart leapt with relief. She was alive! But then her arm slipped, hanging limply in the air as though controlled by an invisible string. Something within her snapped and Rose finally tore her gaze away from her daughter to glare at the Doctor.

"How can you just stand there? She's not moving. She's not breathing. She's our baby. Our precious little golden light in the darkness and you're just standing there staring at her. DO something." Hysteria filtered through her despair and immediately the Doctor was there by her side, holding her in a comforting hug.

"I don't know what to do," he confessed softly. "She's our daughter, Rose, and she's hurt and it's my fault and I can't fix it. All I can do is hope beyond hope that you're right and she'll regenerate."

"Doesn't it happen right away?" Even as she asked it, Rose knew she wouldn't want to hear the answer.

"Usually yes, but I've never seen a regeneration happen with a child so..." his voice broke. "...young. Things are less predictable with youth. Anything could happen."

Rose hugged Viola more tightly. "Please," she whispered. "Regenerate. I can't lose you. I waited so long to get you, to be able to love you, you can't leave me now. Don't die..."

"May I?" The Doctor reached for Viola and Rose reluctantly let him take her from her. He gathered her into his arms as though she were the most precious and fragile piece of crystal in the world. Rose watched, her already tattered heart splintering as he hugged Viola to his chest, and began to sing the Gallifreyan lullaby. Fresh tears spilled upon her cheeks as his voice took on a hint of agony. His voice shook and silent tears trickled down his face but still he sang the familiar words, over and over again in silent vigil and prayer for the child they both held so dear.

After nearly thirty minutes, Rose finally gave in to her darkest thoughts: her daughter was gone. The thought slashed through her body causing her to tremble with grief. She leaned across her husband to kiss Viola's cheek, "I love you, sweetheart," she breathed.

As her lips touched Viola's soft cheek, she was suddenly blinded by a white light so bright it made her retinas burn. The Doctor moved quickly, gently setting Viola on the floor and pulling Rose with him to a coral pillar a few feet away. "Move back!" he shouted. "She's regenerating!"

Light continued to burst from the small child until nothing else was visible. Energy tore through the room, centered around Viola, and then, just as abruptly as it began, the light was extinguished and Rose and the Doctor were left blinking at a figure standing in front of them. She was slightly taller, with rich chocolate brown hair that curled and swirled around her face until it stopped just past her shoulders. Her nose was smooth and round and her eyes were a remarkable shade of blue that glimmered through the darkened TARDIS. She smiled and her eyes smiled with her as a dimple appeared on her right cheek.

She studied her parents carefully. "Daddy? Mummy?" Her deep red lip quivered slightly. "You're not mad, are you?"

Without a word, Rose and the Doctor ran to her, pulling her into a frantic hug. They stood there, safe in each other's embrace as Viola's second heart began to beat for the first time.

*****

The Doctor sat next to Viola's bed, keeping vigil over her as she slept. As he watched the gentle rise and swell of her chest, he surrendered to the thoughts and emotions threatening to claw their way out of his skull. A deep overwhelming guilt shook him to the core. It was all his fault really. He'd taught her how to fly the TARDIS. He'd been asleep when he knew that she was often awake in the wee hours of the night. She'd always stayed in her room though, so it hadn't occurred to him that she might venture out. He still hadn't figured out why she'd done it, and that was driving him crazy most of all. After their tearful reunion following the regeneration there hadn't been time to ask. Viola had collapsed from regeneration sickness and he had promptly brought her to bed to recuperate, before turning to comfort a panicked and grief stricken Rose.

Rose. He was worried about her too. She'd been pale and eerily quiet since the regeneration, hardly leaving Viola's side for more than a moment. She hadn't slept in days and her eyes were haunted, sad. He'd finally convinced her to get some rest with the promise that he wouldn't leave Viola and he would come get her if Viola woke. They were both anxious to have their daughter back, to hear her excited chatter, to hold her in their arms, but he knew from his own experience that Viola needed time. Her regeneration had been particularly violent and the violent ones were always hardest on the body.

He stroked the new mop of curly hair, suddenly nostalgic for the golden blond she'd had since infancy. He was glad she was still alive, relieved that she'd regenerated, and yet he knew that a part of him would miss seeing that wild frizzy blond hair so like her mothers. He knew better than anyone that she hadn't changed, not really, but she was his daughter and the fact that she had changed meant that she had been hurt, and that pained him most of all.

She was a Time Lord. It made sense, and he'd known it was a possibility all along but still a part of him was shaken by the revelation. It certainly explained the resistance to sleep she'd developed as well as her quick wit and sharp mind. He'd suspected for a while now, but he hadn't allowed himself to think beyond that. But, now he knew, without a doubt, and it worried him. Rose was human and he was half human. He knew his time was numbered and it was only now sinking in just what it would mean for Viola to outlive them both to such an extreme. She would have no one to guide her in life, to teach her the laws of time and the universe. His death, when it came, would be a proper death, and it would leave Viola with so much to learn. How would she learn it without him around to help her? Viola, at five, was already an incredible force. She could do things that were impossible for most children her age. But being a Time Lord came with a great responsibility and it was a burden he really wished he didn't have to place upon her young shoulders.

And what about her mother? Viola needed Rose as much as Rose needed Viola. The thought of them not having each other made his soul ache. They had a bond that he could never touch and he feared what it would do to Viola to lose that. She had the power of the Time Lords within her but she still had a choice in how she used that power - and grief could potentially tip her over an edge that shouldn't be approached. He shuddered and berated himself for even contemplating such dark thoughts. Viola would be fine, he'd see to it - somehow.

*****

Rose hesitated outside the door to the nursery before taking a deep breath and opening it hopefully. Her initial disappointment that Viola was still sleeping dissipated into concern as she took in the haunted expression on her husband's face. She knew he was blaming himself for what had happened and though she'd told him multiple times that it wasn't his fault, he still didn't seem to believe her. There were new worry lines on his face, flecks of grey dotted his temples and for the first time, Rose realized with a start that her husband was aging. She'd known it would happen, yet after all their years of marriage it was the first time she'd ever seen him looking old. Her chest tightened as the reality of his mortality slammed into her. He usually acted so much like his Time Lord self that it was easy for her to forget that he wouldn't be travelling the universe forever; that he wouldn't one day regenerate as their daughter just had.

She took another calming breath before walking further into the room, the mug of tea in her hand sloshing slightly. Pausing as she walked past the mirror on Viola's vanity, Rose peered at herself closely, looking for signs of her own deterioration. She was surprised when she didn't notice anything new. She frowned and looked more carefully. If anything, some of the lines she used to have had actually disappeared, and the hint of grey that had once been there, was nowhere to be found. The laugh lines near her eyes were still there, and one or two were on her forehead, but nothing like she remembered from the last time she'd looked closely. She blinked and sighed. She must be more tired than she'd thought. Of course she looked younger than the Doctor, his current body was older than hers. It made sense that he would age faster. With one last glance in the mirror, Rose made her way to the bed, placing her hand lightly on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Doctor? I brought you some tea."

The Doctor startled and jostled her arm causing the tea to slosh everywhere. Rose watched in horror as most of the piping hot liquid landed on her sleeping daughter. She turned to go get a towel but the Doctor's firm grasp on her arm stopped her.

"Rose, look." He pointed to the bed.

Eyes wide, Rose stared as the outer edges of the tea glowed with the golden energy of regeneration and seemed to seep through the blankets and clothing until it was absorbed by Viola's body. As soon as all the tea was gone, Viola stirred, her bright blue eyes fluttering open gracefully as he parents watched, mesmerized.

Viola stretched, sat up and grinned at her parents. "Mum, guess what?"

Bewildered, Rose said the only thing she could think of. "What?"

"This body has molars, see?" Viola opened her mouth wide so they could see the small row of molars along her jaw.

"So you do," the Doctor said, standing up to peer at them. "A nice straight row of them too. Look at that, Rose."

Rose was suddenly reminded of another regeneration and another Time Lord who had frightened her with his exclamation of 'New teeth!' and she let out a laugh as she realized just how like her father Viola really was. "Teeth are very important," she finally managed to say with a straight face.

"Yes," the Doctor agreed. "They're good for..." He paused thoughtfully. "Chewing."

Viola giggled and Rose was happy to see she'd maintained her sense of humour. "Speaking of chewing, I'm hungry, can I have ice cream?"

Unable to wait any longer to hold her daughter in her arms, Rose scooped Viola up and twirled her as she said, "Of course you can sweetheart. You can have anything you like."

The dimple in her cheek grew bigger as Viola's smile broadened. "Even a pony?"

The Doctor ruffled her hair fondly as he chuckled. "Don't press your luck, kid. She wouldn't let me keep the horse."

"You had a horse Daddy?" Viola snorted, somehow finding this to be the funniest thing in the world.

"It wasn't his horse to keep," Rose explained, glaring playfully at her husband as they headed down the corridor together.

"Did you get to ride it?" Viola asked when she'd calmed down.

"Of course I did," the Doctor said proudly. "Right through a big mirror."

"Wow." Viola stared at him with deep admiration. "You're the coolest Daddy, ever."

To Be Continued…