Evie's TARDIS Diary: Invisible Cows
Age: 20
Location: Cotter Palluni's World
Date: 1842
River waved them goodbye with a cheerful smile and the TARDIS doors closed with a click of her fingers.
Evie chewed the inside of her cheek, slightly nervously, leaning against the barrier around the console and eyeing the Doctor almost with suspicion. Since learning that he was her father just weeks earlier things between them had become quite uncomfortable. The Doctor, who was jumpy and awkward at the best of times, seemed almost terrified of being left alone with her.
After they'd taken Rory and Amy for a holiday to get over the shock of everything that they'd learnt at Demon's Run, River had insisted that she NEEDED to go to The Maldovarium; alone and straight away. The Doctor had complained and tried to get her to change her mind about the 'alone' part, but to no avail. The woman was determined to leave them solely in each other's company.
"So…" The Doctor muttered, barely tearing his gaze away from the console to glance at me, before his eyes were fixed on the buttons and levers once more. "What should we do? There's a big wide universe out there, just waiting to be discovered. There are –"
I cut him off, smiling slightly. "I'm not some new companion you've just picked up, you know. I practically grew up in the old girl… I know the whole speech."
"Yes… quite… well…" He stuttered, rubbing the back of his head, before starting to fiddle with his bowtie. "Where should we visit then?"
"Take me somewhere new. Somewhere we've never been. Somewhere… incredible." I said at once, moving to stand beside him at the controls. He raised an eyebrow at me, before smiling and whirling away around the console.
"Somewhere… incredible?" He repeated, forgetting all his awkwardness and losing himself in his enthusiasm. "There are so many incredible things and places and people that I can show you… the blue stones of Shaa'maa; the Raging Stars of Cladoon; the invisible cows of Planton –"
"Invisible cows?" I asked, laughing. His face appeared around the pillar of the console and he grinned, not expanding on his words.
"But what I'm going to show you first is The Lightening Sky of Cotter Palluni's World."
"The what?"
"The Lightening Sky of Cotter Palluni's World…" He said excitedly. "Great expanses of sky filled with – no! I'm not going to tell you! I'll let you see for yourself!"
He grabbed hold of my upper arms excitedly, squeezing them with his hands tightly and grinning into my face. I laughed happily, glad that the awkwardness between us was gone – for now at least. He pulled me by my hand towards the TARDIS doors and flung them open.
We were floating in mid-air with the night sky all around us, illuminated by flashes of the most brilliant, awe-inspiring, amazingly unusual lightening I'd ever seen. It should have been wrong; so, so wrong. But it wasn't. It was beautiful and perfect and it took my breath away. I sat down in the doorway of the police box, letting my legs dangle out into space.
Flashes of blue and purple and pink crossed the sky, fading to be replaced with more flashes of orange and red and green. Turquoise and white and yellow and violet and even grey criss-crossed, merging and jostling for position against the pitch black backdrop.
The Doctor slid to sit beside me, his face displaying an expression of pure joy. Watching the lightening show had completely captured his attention and I found that I could only tear my eyes away for a second, before it recaptured my attention once more. I sighed contentedly.
"Look!" He said suddenly, pointing in front of us. "There… can you see the shape?"
For a second I screwed up my face, wondering what he was talking about. Then I saw what he meant. "YES! Look… it's a bear."
"And there… an Ood… and over there… the towers of Derillium." He continued. For some reason the last image seemed to dampen his good mood for a moment or two. He stared ahead of him, his eyes displaying a mixture of emotions.
"Are you alright…?" I asked. The word 'Dad' had rested on my tongue briefly, before I swallowed it back, unsure how he would react.
He jumped slightly, as though he'd been completely lost in his own thoughts. Briefly he glanced at me and smiled, before returning his attention to the flashes of light all around us. After a couple of minutes, he reached out and took hold of my hand, squeezing it tightly between his own. After a couple of minutes more, I leant against him, resting my head on his shoulder. He laid his own on top, twisting slightly to place a kiss on my hair. I smiled, broadly, closing my eyes for a split second, before staring at the lightening show.
"Thank you for showing me this, Dad." I said quietly, holding my breath and wondering whether that would be a step too far.
There was a long pause and I was about to move away when the Doctor spoke. "It's my pleasure, daughter."
A/N: This chapter was written in response to Lealu's prompt, 'something with Just Evie and the Doctor' to show their relationship. I REALLY hope you like this, sweetie and that it isn't completely not what you meant!
If anyone else has any prompts just let me know ;)