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A Recognised Gain

Part Six

The Tardis doors slammed shut behind the Doctor and Venetia; she had never been inside the Tardis and despite her pain and despite her grief the ship took her breath away. Her face lit up with excitement as she absorbed the Tardis's interior – the alien technology intrigued her as she watched the time vortex fascinated. The doctor watched his daughter react to her surroundings

'It's all true' she whispered in disbelief, 'Everything you said was true' her blood shot eyes were wide with wonder as she looked at each gadget and found new and exciting things. Her pale face was still streaked with tears as she cautiously touched each piece of equipment

'Would I lie to you?' the Doctor asked, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. She ignored his question as she stared in awe at the central pillar

'Oh, Dad, it's beautiful' she whispered. The Doctor almost smiled – almost. Venetia swirled around the consol room and came to a dead halt. She paused – her smile and excitement evaporating as she stared at the wall in front of her. It was decorated with photographs – long and forgotten memories of the three of them – the Doctor, Venetia, and Rose. In all of these photos Roses' forgotten smile called out to them haunting them with her image, her smile and her laugh. The Doctor followed her gaze and felt his hearts stop as Roses' face called out of the photos and sprung his memories to life. He could see her laughing, dancing, living – so close he could almost touch her. Then he blinked and she returned to what she was – a memory.

Venetia's hands went to her face as she remembered her mother and the pain of the day – she was trying to hard to block it out but it just wasn't working. The Doctor moved to comfort here but was distracted by the monitors of the control panel. They showed outside the Tardis and a woman he recognised as Mrs Grant was heading towards the Powell estate with two large men, a big folder and a very angry determined expression on her face. He knew that this was the moment – it was now or never

'Venetia – this is your last chance to leave' he began slowly as he walked up to her; he knelt down so he was looking at her eye to eye. 'You can still leave if that's what you want' he told her as he wished in his heart that she would never leave. Losing one Tyler woman was bad enough – losing two would kill him. She looked back at him, her face set in a determined expression

'I want to stay with you Daddy' she told him fiercely. He watched her eyes for a moment, behind the pain, the anguish and the fear he could see the fierce determinate that matched Roses'. The Doctor nodded knowing there was no changing her mind – even if there was he didn't want to. He pressed a kiss to her forehead then walked over to the control panels. He yanked his tie off and threw it over a railing.

'Well you'd better come watch kiddo – you've got a lot of learning to do' he told her as she walked over. Her face lit up at the prospect of learning how to fly the Tardis.

'Right first things first – where do you want to go?' he asked whilst nervously glancing at the screen to see when the social services would have noticed they were gone. Her face lit up with excitement – she stood thinking for a moment of all the places she had read of and that she could go to any of them – she just couldn't decide. She tugged on one of her golden curls as her mouth hung open whilst she thought

'I don't know…' she finally mumbled unable to choose one place out of her thousands of fantasies.

'Anywhere in the universe Ven' he told her loving watching her think. She began to chew on her lip – the Doctor felt a sharp pain in his stomach as he remembered Rose chewing on her lips – he pushed past it and forced a smile for her.

'Erm…' she said after a moment 'surprise me!' she declared with a small smile – her eyes excited waiting to see where he would take her. He raised his eyebrows

'Surprise you?' he asked – she nodded back excitedly. 'Okay then – hold on tight' he warned her with a grin. She stared at him for a moment then clutched onto the railing that surrounded the control panel. The Doctor paused thinking for a moment – then it hit him, he knew exactly where he would take her. He began to hit random buttons on the consol as the Tardis began its familiar whines as she began to lift into flight, Venetia's hands clutched on and her eyes widened in delight as she felt the ship moving.

The Tardis came to a thud and Venetia looked up at the Doctor – her eyes wide with excitement.

'Where are we?' she asked, half nervous and half excited. He held his hand out to her

'Let's go look' he offered. She grinned at him and grabbed his hand. The Tardis doors slowly opened and Venetia's mouth fell open – she was at loss for words.

In front of her stood a dusty landscape, sand the colour of gold covered the ground looking so soft and welcoming. In the centre was a simple blue lagoon – the water sparkled with the sunlight from the perfectly cloudless blue sky. Two suns shone down reflecting of the sand making it a beautiful land of gleaming gold. Venetia's face lit up in delight

'Where are we?' she asked in awe, unable to tear her eyes away from the lagoon. He smiled down at his daughter knowing there was nothing like the feeling of stepping outside the Tardis doors for the first time into a new world.

'This is the planet Jerab – fourth in the Adocatus solar system. It's been deserted for years – abandoned by the people. I brought your mother here at least eight years ago when it was still populated. She loved it' he said softly – wistfully. She squeezed his hand

'Thank you' she whispered 'It's so….' she began searching for the right words to describe it

'Beautiful' she finished beaming at him.

'Let's explore' he suggested as they began to walk forwards. They'd only been walking for five minutes when the Doctor and Venetia froze in their tracks. Figures were approaching on the horizon

'Who are they Daddy?' Venetia asked curiously 'I thought you said the planet was abandoned'

'It is' he replied grimly as he stared towards the figures. Trouble was looming – he could feel it.