Bits in Between
Chapter Twenty-Two: Her Mother
By Lumendea
AN: This is Athena's POV after her creation in the future and before her appearance in The Tyler Factor. I got requests for more introspections from the Doctor and Rose's kids, so here you are.
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She didn't have to. It was one of the first things that Athena really thought about Rose Tyler. She didn't have to be that like and do that for her. When she'd stepped out of the pod, Athena had felt a rush of energy and excitement as all the knowledge settled. They'd handed her the weapon and given her the first of many orders. It hadn't bothered her; she'd known what she was made for and had been prepared.
Still, she looked at her parent. Her single parent and smirked as she greeted him. She just couldn't resist. There had been a nagging little voice urging her to have some fun and cause a bit of trouble. Her dad had looked at her with a mix of awe and almost horror. The horror only grew, but Rose had been there. A harbor in the storm of messy emotions both she and her dad were feeling. Rose had been a bridge between them as she learned how much she was like her father and how much that had made him uncomfortable.
Athena: born from the head of her father and a goddess of both wisdom and war. The knowledge to fight tempered with the wisdom to know when not to. That had been Rose's wish for her and, teamed with her father's words, had helped her change the course of the life written for her. She'd decided not to kill them, not to embrace war without wisdom. Instead, she listened and joined her father in searching for answers.
They found them, and it had been glorious. Running had been a revelation, and the world suddenly was brighter and bigger. Two hearts pounded in her chest, and she smiled with glee. The world wasn't just war; there were things to learn and discover. She rather liked the learning and loved the running. Rose had just smiled at her, glowing with the same pride that her father had. Almost like a mother. Some part of her programming informed her that humanoids who didn't come from a machine usually had two parents: a mother and a father. And Rose was sort of like her mother. The idea made Athena nervous, happy, and uneasy all at once.
But Rose didn't have to be. Sure she didn't have a mother, but Rose was under no obligations to her. She didn't carry any of Rose's DNA, but she'd stepped forward and defended her to the Doctor. Welcomed her even before he had and helped him consider her as something more than just an echo. There had been conflict on the Doctor's face, but Rose had soothed it away. He'd muttered the name Astra, a name that wouldn't make sense for several years, but Rose had just smiled. Rose had called her daughter first, had introduced her like that first. She didn't have to, but she had.
Athena loves her dad, thinks he's clever and wonderful, and they understand each other. There are quiet moments when they don't even have to talk and the moments where he teaches her something new and glorious. But Rose is different. Rose is nurturing in a way that her dad just isn't; Rose wants her to learn who she is from her actions rather than studying the history of the Time Lords, and Rose never doubts her. Rose is Mum. She's everything that Athena thinks a Mum is from television and literature. And the first time she called her that Rose had smiled.
She didn't have to be her Mum, but she always was. Even when it came time for Astra to be born, Rose's soft glances and hugs had reassured her that she wasn't going to lose her Mum. She was just gaining a little sister. And when her Mum was kidnapped, she was more than happy to let the warrior out a little more. She was Athena, born from her father with the knowledge of war and the power of wisdom, and the Silence were going to regret ever taking her Mum.