Author's Note: This is set some time after Edge of Destruction. The 1st Doctor, Susan, Ian and Barbara are on board. I noticed that after the Edge of Destruction the Doctor's attitude about his fellow travelers changes quite a bit. Ever wonder why? I did...
Mathematical Identities
Late at night all was quiet on the TARDIS. Ian and Barbara lay sleeping on the chair/beds the Doctor provided for them. Originally he had grumbled about their presence, stating that his TARDIS was not equipped to maintain multiple humans on board. Once Ian suggested that he simply take them home, the Doctor had come up with this, the sofa chairs that doubled as beds. Their rooms were spartan, containing little furniture and personal items. Susan knew they weren't happy.
So there she was, laying back with legs crossed on her own sofa chair that she had moved into the room next to Barbara's. While she knew the humans weren't happy, she could tell that her grandfather was even less pleased at her newfound attachment to them. Susan believed that if they had more contact with the humans, the humans would be happier and therefore healthier. She soon realized that contact was only part of the problem. They needed homes, not guest rooms. They needed to believe that some part of this adventure was theirs.
Sighing, she sat up and put on her slippers, wrapping a robe around herself to cover her pajamas. Then she set out, quietly padding down the corridors towards her grandfather's suite deep in the TARDIS. In her mind she failed to see the necessity of the robe but knew that the Doctor would fuss at her if she showed up at his door without it. He, without fail, warned her about "catching cold" at every turn of their journeys. Barbara and Ian seemed to find it humorous, the fact that he treated her like a child.
In her mind she was not a child.
Susan cared about Ian and Barbara far more than her grandfather could ever understand. They were more than a study, more than primitives. They were beings far hardier and adaptable than her kind. They lived in a time of hope and possibilities where scientific breakthroughs dispelled myth but were revered as magic. Her favorite thing about humans was their dreams. Humans dreamed in color, about impossible things coming true, about saving the world and experiencing the amazing.
She dreamed of stark black and white mathematical equations and science facts.
Her mind subconsciously went over her arguments as her feet took her down the familiar path to the Doctor's door. Passing a light wood door, she acknowledged her old room and realized she might never sleep there again. In front of her stood a dark wood door, grand compared to the rest of the TARDIS. This was the soul of the TARDIS, the original few rooms that came with the vehicle when they had stolen it from Gallifrey.
Pausing at the door, she laid a hand on it, taking a few deep breaths before the plunge. Satisfied she was ready for the inevitable fallout, Susan knocked on the door.
"Come in," a muffled voice said.
Susan pushed open the door and slipped inside quietly, tightening her robe's sash as though entering a chill.
"Ah! Come in, come in my child." The Doctor beckoned her to his side. He sat in the corner of the room, at a small desk reading a book by shallow light. "So, what brings you back to our end of the TARDIS," he asked with a crooked smile.
She blushed and looked at her feet. "The whole TARDIS is ours grandfather, we need not divide it. I came to talk to you about the humans."
His expression turned sour instantly. "Oh? You still want me to take them back to their own place and time?"
Shaking her head she steadied herself for the demands. "No grandfather, I would like you to allow them comforts. Give them beds, and rooms with doors. Give them privacy and a place to call their own."
He returned gruffly "A place to call their own? You just told me that the whole TARDIS is ours."
Susan already knew the conversation would take this tone but she still found his snippiness aggravating. "Yes but... but isn't a measure of a man in his policies towards others? If we are to force them into this situation we must at least soften the blow... Share what resources we have..."
He struck the desk with his hand, cutting off the conversation. "Child, you trust them too much."
"Or perhaps you don't trust them enough!" she shouted, causing him to look away sharply. "Oh grandfather..." Susan pulled up a chair next to him, holding onto his elbow. "Please don't be angry, if I'm short with you it's only because..."
The Doctor turned to look his granddaughter in the eyes. The sadness he found there shocked him and he covered her small hand with his own. "Because..." he said, prompting her.
She looked down, suddenly very interested in the end of her slippers. Taking another long breath she continued shakily. "Because for so long it has been just you and me. I love you, so very very much grandfather but I need something more. Interaction with beings on other planets is satisfactory but... to get to know them, really know them, is amazing."
She smiled wanly, taking his other hand and squeezing gently for support. "I've learned so much from them, as primitive as they are, in the time they've been here. They're my friends, grandfather... I trust them. I respect them enough to want something better for them. Ian and Barbara would never ask you for more; they are truly thankful for what you've given them, even though it is so little. Only I could come here and petition you for mercy, for trust, and for..." she waved her hand around trying to come up with a better word. "Tolerance. For your tolerance."
The Doctor simply stared at her for a moment, causing her to panic internally. The last thing she ever wanted to do was upset her grandfather. He was all she had in this endless universe...
Slowly he placed a bookmark in the novel he was reading, sitting it off to the side. He then shifted his chair to look at his granddaughter more evenly.
"So they want honest bedrooms and proper furniture to go in them... That can be arranged. Perhaps we could take them to a suitable planet to find better clothing as well. There are rooms full of decorations including lamps and wall hangings if they would like to peruse them. They may also borrow books from our library."
She leapt out of her chair, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh thank you, grandfather! Thank you so much!"
The Doctor smiled sedately, patting her back for a few seconds before continuing in a soft voice. "No my child, thank you. If these humans truly mean something to you, enough for you to challenge me on their behalf, then perhaps I have a few things to learn from them as well. If Ian and Barbara are that important to you then, my dear, I'd do anything to keep all three of you by my side. So tomorrow morning, tell them that the changes will be made."
She picked up her head from his shoulder. "Oh no grandfather, tomorrow morning, you will tell them. After all, it's you they need to thank, not me."
He nodded and leaned over to kiss Susan on the forehead tenderly. "Alright Susan, alright. But for now, you need to get back to bed young lady!" he scolded lightheartedly.
Laughing playfully she returned a peck to his cheek and tightened her robe again.
Approaching the door, Susan breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the tension slip away. "Goodnight grandfather!"
Before the door shut behind her she heard him gently reply.
"Goodnight Susan, my child."
THE END