Chapter Sixteen: Life

There was so much that needed to be said. Yet Jenny and the Doctor made their way back to Sarah Jane's in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, though. They both needed a little time to process what had just happened.

The Doctor had barely touched the doorbell before the door was flung wide open. "You're back!"

"Jenny!" Rani was the first to throw her arms around the surprised Time Lady; within two seconds it had become a six-way hug, with everyone feeling slightly crushed.

"What happened?" Luke asked, pulling Clyde out of the way so the Doctor and Jenny could move off the doorstep. "Where's the Master?"

"Trapped forever."

"Dad tricked him," Jenny explained.

"I can't take all the credit, it was Sarah Jane's idea," the Doctor admitted. "She wondered if there was some way I could neutralise him once he had the TARDIS …"

Jenny hugged Sarah Jane tightly in thanks, which set off another group hug.

With no TARDIS, the Doctor and Jenny were to be staying with the Smiths for the time being. Sarah Jane wouldn't take no for an answer. What their future held after that was anyone's guess. Jenny couldn't feel too down, though.

She was still acclimatising to being Time Lady again. The fake memories were starting to fade, although she vividly remembered the six months she had been human. Now she had her older memories to compare with, she realised just what a strange experience it had been. She had never really had friends before.

It was late, and she couldn't sleep. She couldn't find this surprising; after all she'd been sleeping quite a bit the last couple of days, and she didn't need to sleep as much as humans. After lying awake pondering the difference between their species for ages, she decided to go and find her father.

The Doctor was in the attic, still looking dishevelled and staring blankly at the space where the TARDIS had been. It took him a moment to realise she was there.

"Oh, hi sweetheart." He smiled genuinely, breaking up the sadness previously on his face. "Everything all right?"

Jenny nodded. "You miss her, don't you."

"Yeah," the Doctor said quietly.

Jenny stood next to him to join him in staring at the space too. "Can I ask something?"

"Of course." He tore his eyes away to look at her. "You can ask me anything, Jenny."

"You're nine hundred years old," Jenny said slowly. "You're pretty much immortal. The TARDIS has been with you all this time … but you gave her up for me?"

"You're my daughter," he replied simply, sounding surprised.

"You barely know me."

"You're my daughter," the Doctor repeated, in a firmer tone. "And I'd do the same again. Believe me if I had chosen the other way, I would not be standing here capable of holding a conversation, I would be …" he hesitated, whatever he was thinking died on his lips. "I don't know, but it wouldn't be pretty."

He turned his back on the attic and stood before her, and gently touched her face. "You're my daughter and you're worth more to me than anything else in the universe."

Jenny choked up, and he went to hug her, but hesitated. "Hang on. There's something else I need to say."

"What?"

He took a deep breath. "I love you."

Jenny's hearts skipped two beats. She didn't ask why he was saying it again, just clutched him close. "I love you too, Dad."

She could tell that meant more to him than when she had previously said it. "Does that mean … you forgive me?" he said, barely above a whisper, and still not letting go of her.

"Forgive you for what?"

"You know. Everything. For the frosty welcome, for leaving you, for all the things I said …"

"Dad—"

"Jenny, I am so sorry."

"I forgive you, Dad," she assured him, and felt his tears running down her neck.

"Did you ask Sarah Jane if you could borrow the car?" Jenny asked a while later from the passenger seat.

"Not in so many words," the Doctor said. "But she had said we were free to amuse ourselves any way we wanted within reason, I believe her exact words were, during the night. Anyway, we'll have it back by the time she wakes up."

"You're a great role model," Jenny teased. "So where are we going?"

"To see the stars."

London was disappearing and the roads were starting to go past fields and woods. The Doctor pulled up by a gate leading into a field, and turned off the ignition. "Everyone out."

They climbed over and walked up the track to the middle, where the Doctor laid out a picnic blanket from the boot. They lay down on it, ignoring the cold and the damp and the wind, and looked up at the stars.

"Wow," Jenny whispered. "I've never seen so many from Earth before."

"That's because you've spent your time in the city."

"They're beautiful. Thank you, Dad."

They lay in silence for a while, staring up at the constellations. Jenny knew very little about them; her human memories allowed her to pinpoint Orion, but that was about it. When she voiced this, the Doctor pointed out some of the others visible, giving her a whistle-stop tour of the night sky.

It was peaceful, and Jenny was enjoying the time spent just between the two of them.

"What are we going to do now, then?" she eventually asked, feeling that if she didn't breach the subject, it would never be talked about.

"Don't know," her father replied.

Jenny looked back up at the stars. "I wish I'd got to see more out there. Not that I'm complaining," she said quickly. "It would just have been nice."

"I'm sure you'll see more one day. We're not destined to spend the rest of eternity on Earth. Although if we were, if I could have picked the planet, I would have picked Earth."

"Really?" Jenny turned to look at him again. "There must be millions of beautiful planets out there. With species more peaceful than humans."

"Oh, there are. But I've always felt an affinity for this lot. Earth is the closest I have to a second home. Anyway, Earth is beautiful; what about the Sahara, the coral reef, the Aurora, New Zealand?"

"They're all a bit far away from London."

He scoffed. "I promise you we will see all of it."

"All of it?"

"Yep, if we're gonna be here a while then we'll work our way round the world. See everything. Then either move on, or start round again."

"When you say move on …"

"Sooner or later we'll find the technology to travel; aliens are coming here all the time, plus I have a friend or two with future technology at their disposal. The TARDIS isn't the only ticket off Earth. Still, in the meantime …"

"I want to go to school."

The Doctor sat up and stared at her. "Sorry?"

"I want to see the coral reef and Mars and the rest of it, but … being here, being human, making friends … that's been a new experience for me. Rani, and Luke and Clyde; I don't want to just up and leave now I've got friends who really understand me. I want to spend some time with them, do stuff that normal kids do. Not that I'm a kid."

"Course not," the Doctor said with a small smile.

"But I enjoyed that life, and I know I'm not human but … what's the harm in pretending, for a while? I know after all we've done it's probably not what you want, but—"

"Hey, if you want to be a normal kid for a while, that's fine with me," he said firmly. "Absolutely fine. Give me chance to figure out where to head and how to get there. And you have good friends there."

"I realise it's not going to be a normal normal life, cause they're involved in alien things, but that's OK. We can all be a team, the six of us, don't you think?" Jenny said hopefully.

"As long as Sarah Jane doesn't get sick of us," the Doctor chuckled. "I wouldn't want to tread on anyone's toes."

"I think I still think like a human," Jenny said quietly. "I'm not sure. I've lived eight months and six of those I was human; it feels strange being back. I'm starting to forget the fake memories."

"You will. I did. All I really remember is what I actually experienced. As you'll get older, your perspective will change, you'll have spent a greater proportion of your life a Time Lady."

"I can't wait," she muttered.

"One thing to remember," the Doctor said, wagging a finger. "One very important thing. Don't be in a hurry to grow up." He grinned. "I never did."

TBC …