6.

The Doctor followed Tegan's advice and took some pain medication. He ran more tests on Peace and declared the tracking device disabled. The pirates, although foul beings, had dealt as honestly with The Doctor as they had said they would. The TARDIS rushed on towards Gallifrey, and its inhabitants sat together in Nyssa's room as they waited for the time-and-space machine to land on The Doctor's home planet. Nyssa had set The Doctor's arm in a sling, but when she tried to take Peace from his good arm in order to relieve the Time Lord of some responsibility, the baby had kicked and struggled so ferociously that she had nearly rolled out of Nyssa's grip. "Oh, honestly, Peace," Nyssa said, in exasperation, "The Doctor needs to rest, and he can't do it if you're being so difficult!"

"I appreciate the thought behind the action, Nyssa," The Doctor said, "but it's really no great effort to hold her." He sighed a bit as Nyssa handed the baby back to him. "Honestly, it's more exhausting when I have to hear her telepathic panic for the entire time that she's away from me."

Adric studied The Doctor from his own position on the floor. The Time Lord's youthful appearance had taken on a careworn expression, but he still held Peace with a care that bordered on tenderness. The Doctor's eyes didn't hold their usual crystalline quality; the ordeal on the pirate ship and the pain killer's effects dulled their shine. His hair was ruffled. Adric was acutely aware of the many centuries The Doctor had lived. He wondered how many times The Doctor had witnessed and endured something as gut-clenching as the scene that had transpired on the Iorian ship.

"Look, Doctor," Adric said, hesitantly, "I've been thinking—"

"A dangerous pastime, Adric," The Doctor said, with a half-smile.

Adric was so intent on his thoughts that he didn't even roll his eyes. "Yes, but really, Doctor: what if we found Peace a home on Gallifrey?"

The Doctor sat completely straight against Nyssa's headboard. "On Gallifrey?" he repeated, blankly. In his arms, Peace hiccupped in a reflection of her caretaker's confusion.

"Why not?" Adric said. "Your people are telepathic, they're very advanced, they have more than enough resources to take in one orphan, and they don't send babies into cryosleep if they don't have parents. It seems almost ideal."

"Yes, Doctor," Nyssa said, sitting up, "why haven't we considered Gallifrey, before? Here we were, wondering where in the universe we could take her, and your own planet is a promising option!"

"I…" The Doctor stared down at Peace, who returned his gaze and burbled happily at him. "I don't know," he said, at length.

Adric frowned. "What don't you know?"

"I don't know if Gallifrey is an option," The Doctor said. Because he lacked a second hand, he used his chin to move a clump of hair from Peace's eyes. The baby fluttered her eyelashes at the sensation, then sneezed delicately.

"Why?" Tegan asked. "From what Nyssa and Adric are saying, it sounds perfect!"

"Finding Peace a home isn't just about the resident species' neurological compatibility. It's about which culture would be best suited to her needs, and which society would be more likely to accept an orphan without any relatives."

"You kept talking about how similar Thionic babies were to Gallifreyan babies," Tegan pointed out. "Maybe no one will know she's not a native."

The Doctor's expression turned darker. "They would know."

Adric shook his head. "But, surely, with a race as enlightened as the Time Lords-"

"Is that what you think we are, Adric-enlightened?" The Doctor gave a short, derogative laugh. "Scientifically, we are unparalleled. Mathematically, we're the pinnacle of knowledge. Biologically, we're the brightest jewel in the crown of the universe. But, culturally, in so many ways, Adric, we're even less understanding than Thion."

"I don't understand," Adric said. The Alzarian teenager knew that he was inviting The Doctor to descend into one of his rants about the many faults of the Time Lords, but he felt that this time it was necessary.

The Doctor frowned down at the clump of hair which had once again fallen into Peace's face, then he gently blew air on the baby's forehead to remove it. Peace squealed with delight. "Let's imagine, for a moment, that we have decided to give Peace to a Time Lord House to raise. When we arrive and declare our intention to give a baby to a House, the Lord of House Affairs directs us to a list of possible adoptive Houses. Once we've reviewed the selection, we are then taken to a waiting area and are questioned: Where did this baby come from? Who were her parents? Is she of one genetic pattern? Does she have any genetic flaws? Is she genetically compatible with Gallifreyans, because she must be able to contribute to the gene pool if she belongs to a House. Is she telepathic? Is she fully telepathic? What is her IQ? What is her emotional stability? Is it possible that she is incapable of sensing time? Can she be trained to sense time like a normal Gallifreyan? And, if it happens we don't know the answer to even one of these many questions, Peace will be denied access to any House, and she will most likely be forced to leave the planet and never return."

"Cripes," Tegan said, "and I thought adoption on Earth was a pain."

Adric's face fell, but he persisted. "That doesn't mean we can't try, at least. If we can find a place for her on Gallifrey, you can keep an eye on her, Doctor. We'll know that she's all right."

Peace babbled something that sounded remarkably like, "Docka," and hiccupped again. The Doctor absentmindedly patted her on the back. "I'm telling you, Adric, it just isn't practical."

"Wait a minute," Tegan said, holding up a hand, "wait a minute, I'm on to something. You've got Peace's DNA readout, Doctor, because you scanned her the first day she came on board the TARDIS. You've got a record of her parents from the Thion Children's Bureau. You know what kind of telepath she is, because you've been stuck to her like glue for a month. You've got the answer to practically every question you just spat out!"

"I just made up those questions," The Doctor said, irritated. "I don't actually know what they'll ask. I just know that if we fail to answer even one inquiry, we'll have wasted hours of time with nothing to show for it."

"But, isn't it worth a try, like Adric said?" Tegan asked.

"No, it's not!" The Doctor's short retort made Peace flinch. The Time Lord looked immediately remorseful, and when Peace began to fuss, he spoke a few quick words to her in the strange, musical tongue that his three older companions recognized as his native language. Peace quieted in seconds. "Now, look what you've done," The Doctor told Adric, "you've got me speaking Gallifreyan to her!"

"Well, she seemed to like it," Tegan said, bemused.

"That's because it's slipped out a few times before, when she was particularly distressed." Inexplicably, this admission seemed to infuriate The Doctor further. "I shouldn't speak Gallifreyan to her," he said, darkly. "I'll permanently rearrange the language synapses in her brain. She'll grow up thinking she should be speaking Gallifreyan."

Tegan threw her hands in the air. "So, why don't we just take her to Gallifrey, for heaven's sake?"

"I already told you why we can't, Tegan!"

Something clicked in Adric's head. Suddenly, The Doctor's attitude made sense, because he himself had experienced a similar feeling not too long ago. He pulled himself off the floor and stared at the Time Lord. "I get it. You're jealous, aren't you?"

The Doctor's expression went flat. "What?"

"You don't want to leave Peace on Gallifrey because you'll be jealous of whoever gets to raise her. You'll be really close to her every time you come back to your home planet, but you won't be the one who gets to watch her grow up." Adric nodded as The Doctor looked away. "You'll be jealous of the House who gets her."

"No," The Doctor said, "that's ridiculous." But, as he said it, the hand supporting Peace stretched and pulled her just a little closer to his chest.

Tegan's eyes filled with compassion. "Oh, Doctor."

"Don't 'Oh, Doctor' me, Tegan."

"We're all going to miss her, Doctor. You don't have to be embarrassed."

"I just want what's best for Peace," The Doctor insisted.

"Then you'd take her to Gallifrey," Adric said. He tried to say it without sounding judgmental, but wasn't sure if he succeeded.

"And how would you know if that would be in her best interest, Adric?" The Doctor snapped. "You've never even been to Gallifrey. I've spent my whole life there."

"Because, it's obvious you're denying the facts that we set out in front of you!" Adric snapped back, exasperated. "Honestly, you're always forcing me to confront my uncharitable feelings, so I don't see why you can't do it too, for once!"

Before the two males could engage in further aggression, Nyssa burst out, "Oh, the solution to this whole dilemma is so obvious, isn't it? I'm astounded that neither of you has seen it, yet!"

"What is it, Nyssa?" The Doctor and Adric both cried, at the same time.

For once, Nyssa had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "Look, Adric, do you remember what happened the first day that Peace arrived on the TARDIS? What mistake did I make?"

"You thought that Peace might be the product of—" Adric blushed, "procreation between The Doctor and Tegan."

"You what?!" The Doctor yelped. "Why would—when did—but that's—"

"My thoughts exactly," Tegan said dryly, and the two adults gave each other indignant looks.

"I think it was a valid if erroneous assumption," Nyssa said, primly. "And, if we play our cards correctly, the Time Lords will think so, too."

There was a beat of calculating silence which was broken only by Peace and her content cooing. Then, Adric said, "Are you saying…"

"It's a tidy solution to all of our problems," Nyssa said, "don't you think?" She couldn't help but look a tad smug.

Tegan grimaced, but she said, "If it'll help Peace, I'm up for it. I can make up a song and dance, Doctor, for her sake."

"You're all being very creative," The Doctor said, "but it's still not going to work. DNA scans will happen at some point. Peace is obviously not human or Time Lord or any mix of the two."

"Why do we have to tell them Tegan's human?" Nyssa asked, deceptively mild. She gave her companions an arched eyebrow. "They won't have to scan Tegan."

Everyone stared at her in blank astonishment. Then, Adric's lips curled up. He walked on his knees to where Nyssa sat and slung an arm around her. "Nyssa, you are the most brilliant woman I've ever met!"

"I'll try to ignore the gender qualifier and accept your compliment." The Trakenite woman grinned. "But, it is a pretty good idea, isn't it?"

Tegan was not so celebratory. She noticed The Doctor's notable silence and went to sit next to him on Nyssa's bed. "Will it work?" she asked him, quietly.

The Doctor shook his head. "I don't know."

"You're really upset about this, Doctor, and I don't know why."

"I don't either." The Doctor put his head on the wall and watched the ceiling as though it was genuinely interesting. Peace hummed deep in her throat and stretched pleasantly. "It's just—" The Doctor stopped his sentence before it started, then, seemingly against his will, he spoke, "It's just that I've given Gallifrey my children, already, and they've given their own children. I contributed to the Time Lord expectations of furthering the species."

"Well, that's certainly a romantic way of putting it," Tegan said, dryly.

"That was more of a profession of love for my family than you'd get from most Time Lords if you asked them to talk about their own children," The Doctor said. "Do you understand why I wouldn't want to send Peace there, Tegan? We're not emotional. We're not sentimental. We're not a forgiving society: children who are not full-blooded Time Lords are pariahs. They're accepted, grudgingly, if their House has enough influence to send them to Academy regardless of their questionable lineage, but don't ever expect anyone to respect them. Their professors will find some way to give them failing marks, and within a decade, they're expelled. There is very little future for someone like Peace on Gallifrey." This last bit of speech was delivered softly, as The Doctor returned his gaze to the tiny person resting so trustingly against him. "Just look at her," the Time Lord murmured. "If you could feel her mind the way I feel it, Tegan, you would know that a spirit like this child has would be crushed on Gallifrey."

Sometime during The Doctor's words, Nyssa and Adric had paid attention to the conversation between their older counterparts and had moved to sit with them on the bed. Now, they looked at Peace and saw the innocence in her tiny, wiggling body and the happiness in her deep, blue eyes. They could see what The Doctor saw every time he looked at her. "She's just so helpless," Adric said, almost reverently, "and she's—she's just so sweet, isn't she?"

"She reminds me of home," Nyssa said, to her companions' surprise. Nyssa rarely talked about Traken in such a casual setting. "Before the evil of The Master, everything was so clean. The air itself was pure. When I look at Peace, I know that she's never had evil in her heart." The Trakenite girl's mouth firmed up. "I've been silly, Doctor. This past month, I've made one mistake after another. I'm not going to make another one. If you think we should find another planet for Peace, then that's what we'll do."

Nyssa prodded Adric, and he whined, "What?" Nyssa widened her eyes significantly. "Oh, all right," he sighed, "I agree with Nyssa, Doctor: you do what you think is best. We'll just have to save the plan for later, on the next potential planet."

Tegan smiled at the two teenagers. "How very sensible of you both."

"Well," The Doctor said, haughtily, "finally, you listen to reason! I thought I was—wait a minute, what do you mean, save the plan for later? I am not claiming that Tegan is the mother of my child on any world, do you hear me?"