The White Horse Pub

Broad Street

10:30 a.m.

The Doctor and Emily found a table near the window. The pub offered an excellent view of the Bodleian Library and for the Doctor, the scene provided a welcome respite from the angry face of his daughter. He remembered convincing Thomas Bodley to create a library at Oxford and standing there when the first books were brought in.

Ah, thought the Doctor, that was a fine day.

The waitress brought over their drinks and the Doctor sipped on his ale. Normally, he avoided alcoholic drinks, but this situation seemed to call for it. Emily was sticking to tea and like her father, she was staring out the window. She let out a sigh and turned to face him. Both father and daughter gave each other half smiles, but neither one was willing to start the conversation. Finally, Emily sighed and looked over at her father.

"You're my father" she said quietly.

"Yes" said the Doctor equally quiet. "I had a DNA test completed to confirm it."

Emily looked confused. "A DNA test?"

"Yeah" said the Doctor suddenly felt uncomfortable and began stammering. "The night at the Harris Manchester dining hall . . . Remember you became ill when I touched you. . .Well, I also took a snippet of your hair."

Emily stood up, knocking over their drinks. She placed both hands on the table and bent down to stare the Doctor squarely in the face. "You stole my hair?" she hissed.

The Doctor backed away from his daughter's angry face. He spread his hands in an effort to be civil. "I had to be sure."

For a moment, there appeared to be a stand-off between father and daughter. Emily's entire body seemed to bristle with anger while the Doctor attempted to keep her calm. He leaned forward and looked quietly into his daughter's eyes.

"I know that you are angry" he said. "But you need to sit down so we can talk rationally."

Looking at him, Emily felt her anger defusing. She was angry at him for abandoning her and her mother, but in his eyes, she saw his pain at having done so. Sitting down, Emily felt tears slip from her eyes She had come to Oxford with the hopes of finding her father and now that she had she wanted to be far away from him. Reaching into her pocket, Emily felt the letters that her mother had given to her before she died. One letter was addressed to Emily and another was addressed to a person called the Doctor. In Emily's letter, her mother explained that the Doctor could be found at Oxford. After accepting her new post, Emily spent months looking into the records of every professor on staff at the University's different colleges, but none of them matched her mother's description of the man. Emily became convinced that she would never find him. Sighing, she pulled the letters out of her pocket and placed them on the table. She looked at the Doctor and quietly spoke.

"She described you differently" said Emily pushing the letters across to the Doctor.

"That's because I look differently from when she knew me" said the Doctor touching the letters with his fingertips. "I have the power to regenerate."

Emily looked thoughtful for a moment and the Doctor could see her mulling over numerous calculations in her head. He smiled at this and for a moment, the Doctor felt a true connection to another being. Emily looked up somewhat disconcerted.

"What ARE you looking at?" asked Emily with a slow smile spreading across her face.

"You" said the Doctor with a grin. "I'm looking at you."

"And?" asked Emily. "What do you see?"

"My daughter" replied the Doctor. "Someone quite wonderful."

Emily felt a slow blush cross her face. Biting her lip, Emily studied the Doctor for a moment. She tapped the letters with her finger.

"You need to read these" she said quietly. "They are from my mother."

The Doctor nodded and looked grim. He had been devastated by the destruction of his planet and the loss of his family, but in his grief, he had destroyed other lives. Picking up the letter, the Doctor felt the weight of his destructive path. He took the letter and held it to his letters. Inhaling, he could still smell the traces of Asha's perfume on them. He could remember the last time he saw her. How tightly her arms were wrapped around him and the tears that fell on the lapel of his brown coat. The day was so warm as it always was in Uffington during the spring. He remembered promising her that he would return, then getting in the Tardis and leaving. He could hear her voice as the Tardis vanished into time and space. He always thought he would return, but war left him a bruised and battered man and he felt that she deserved a better stronger man. Looking at his daughter, the Doctor realized that he had left behind a bruised and battered woman and child. Nodding at Emily, the Doctor opened the letter addressed to him. As he did so, Emily stood up. The Doctor looked at her in surprise.

"You're not staying?" he asked.

Emily shook her head. "I'm taking a walk." She put on her coat. "You need to read these on your own." With a careful nod, she turned and walked out the door. The Doctor watched her walk down Broad Street in the crisp morning air. She caught a rather dashing figure, thought the Doctor, like her father. Turning his attention back to the letter, the Doctor opened it and began reading.