Day Trip

At last Lucy's big day had arrived, and after a big breakfast of banana pancakes and sausages (Lucy's choice, of course) the clan was gathering on the patio for their getaway. Sylvia, who wasn't going, was watching the Doctor fiddle with Rose's mobile phone and another gizmo he'd removed from the house wall next to the TARDIS, whizzing his sonic against first one and then the other.

"What in the world are you doing?" she asked.

"Making sure these are still synched." He looked up at her and smiled. "This is how I've been keeping us in synch all these years: the 'superphones' I gave Rose and Donna. They're connected to each other. So no matter where or when we go in the TARDIS, when we get back, the same amount of time has passed for you as for us. This gadget," he held up the one from the wall, "is the homing beacon Mike put out for us to land on. I'm making sure it will bring us back to this same day after our day trip."

Sylvia smiled back. "I never thought about that – never even occurred to me that you needed to do it. I guess I'm not much of a time traveler."

"Well, you never went somewhere and then showed up back home twelve months late rather than twelve hours," Rose told her, grinning at her mate. "That wasn't fun, believe me. Mum thought I had been murdered, had all sorts of posters up all over the neighborhood. This works much better."

"So, are we all ready?" the Doctor asked at large, changing the subject. "Who all is going?" He skipped over Rose and Davey, and Mike and his family; obviously they were all itching to be off. "Wilf? You're going?"

Grandad grinned under his fishing hat and nodded. "Wouldn't miss it!"

"Sylvia? No? You're sure? River? Jenny?"

"No, we're staying behind this time. Go on, we're fine," River replied.

Jenny nodded. "We'll keep Hannah and Sylvia company for the day."

Hannah wasn't even there, not that anyone had expected to see her. "All right, then, all aboard!" The Doctor opened the TARDIS door with a flourish and swept the travelers inside.

"Where are we going?" Loren couldn't contain himself any longer. The destination had been kept a mystery from the start; the Doctor's and Rose's birthday present to their niece.

"Ah-ah-ah! You'll find out soon enough! Just find a spot and hang on!" As the kids grinningly complied, draping themselves over railings and coral branches, the five adults ranged around the console.

"We're not traveling in time are we?" Donna asked.

"Of course not. I promised, remember?" When they'd returned from the other world, Donna had extracted a promise from the Time Lord to never take her kids out of time until they were older. (After some debate, they'd compromised on sixteen.) "So, Wilf, you're standing by the time bank. Keep that dial steady, and don't let that pump there start moving by itself. Coordinates already entered and double-checked. Mike, you got that side?" His twin nodded, and then showed Donna what to do on her part, while Rose simply smiled at her husband from her usual station opposite his. A few bumps and sways, and they had arrived.

The Doctor motioned Lucy to the front of the line at the door, and reached beyond her to sweep it open. The kids tumbled out, looking around – and yelled in delight to find themselves inside Disney World in Florida: the TARDIS had tucked itself away against the side of Space Mountain. "Well, that's one way to avoid those ridiculous ticket prices," murmured Donna – but she wasn't complaining too hard.

There followed a day from a Disney movie, full of sunshine and laughter and snowcones – all five adults had as much fun as the kids. Loren stuffed himself too full of cotton candy, and lost it on the Astro Orbiter, but managed to keep up with Lyra as she raced on to the next ride even so. Late that afternoon Mike finally relented and allowed the kids to descend upon one of the myriad of souvenir shops in the park. "Just ONE item per person! ONE! So make absolutely certain it's the one you want. – Except Lucy, the birthday girl gets two!" And he grinned at his youngest daughter.

"Does that limit go for us, too, Dad?" Rose asked impishly.

"It certainly does!" he replied. Then he spied something at the counter, and turned quickly to Donna. "What's your favorite Disney character, love?"

"Hmm. Let me see. Ah, I know: Tinkerbell! Why?" He didn't answer but with a grin, and began meandering "aimlessly" around the store, keeping an eye on Lucy and Davey. Donna shook her head and turned the other way to try to catch up with the twins, who had made it a remarkable distance away through the large shop and the crowds in those few seconds. As she worked her way nearer them, she bumped into the Doctor again, poking through a huge bin of plastic figurines as if trying to find the one live tadpole.

"You know what this place reminds me of?" she asked him, and he shook his head. "Shan Shen. You remember, the place with that open-air market, where we had the 'foamy stuff' to drink? It was our last trip together..."

He smiled down at his old best friend. "It certainly was. Remember how Mike and I tried for months to replicate that 'foamy stuff' in the other world? We never did get the recipe right. I should take Rose back there and get samples and try again."

"Oooh, yummy!" She squeezed past him towards the twins, absent-mindedly reaching up behind herself with one hand and brushing at her back.

"Donna?" he called after her, puzzled concern in his voice.

She turned back. "What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"You're wiping at your back."

"So?" She shook her head, bewildered, and came up with a reason. "I guess I felt something on my back. So what?" Before he could reply, she spied trouble. "Oi! You two, cut it out! ONE item per person!" And she moved off to separate her squabbling youngsters.

The Doctor stared after her for a moment, then shrugged and went back to the bin.

^..^

While Donna was distracted, Mike managed to slip quickly through the register, pocketing his prize with a wink at the cashier for her rapid assistance. Then he did a quick turn through the store, rounding everyone up and herding them back through the register line with their chosen trinkets. Outside in the sun, they paused for a moment to don their silly hats and take the toys out of their packaging, but then Donna caught a glimpse of Wilf sagging slightly.

"Grandad! You OK? You look worn out!"

"I am a bit tired, sweetheart. Would you mind if I sat the next few rides out? I'd like to find a nice shady spot and sit down for a spell."

"Only if I can join you. My feet hurt."

Rose spied a patio full of tables under the huge awning of a nearby hot dog stand, and sent the kids through the crowd as an advance guard. Within seconds, they found a table at the back, and Wilf sat down gratefully, Donna beside him.

"Are you sure you're all right?" the Doctor asked him. "You look almost gray."

"I'm fine, I'm fine! You go on! Swing back around and get us in half an hour."

Mike knelt down beside Donna's chair. "Would you like me to stay with you?"

Her mouth quirked at his transparency. "Oh, do try to say that like you mean it next time. Go on with you. You want to hit Space Mountain again as badly as Loren does." She gave him a playful push, and he grinned back, jumping to his feet. He leaned over and pecked her cheek before turning and dashing after the others.

Donna watched him go, but her smile faded as she saw him turn back to Rose with a huge grin, tossing off a comment that made her laughter spill out across the sidewalk before he raced off after the kids ahead. The Doctor, holding Rose's hand as always, looked sideways at her with an inscrutable look – and then they were swallowed up in the crowd.

A heavy sigh escaped Donna's lips, and she dropped her eyes to stare at the table, lost in thought.

^..^

"Mike's a great father," was the Doctor's comment.

"He sure is. Those are three lucky kids," Rose replied.

"You could have had more kids if you'd stayed with him."

She stopped dead, pulling him around too when he took two more steps. She stared levelly at him for a beat, then replied, "I could have, anyway, by any number of methods – you offered several times, remember? But I didn't want any more. Never have. One is enough for me." She kept staring at him to make sure he got the point.

He did. Squeezing her hand, he managed a sheepish note. "Just checking."

Blowing an exasperated snort, she started walking again without another word – but she squeezed his hand back and didn't let go.

^..^

They called a halt as the sun set, whooshing back to the patio before the last streaks faded from the sky. By prearrangement, Sylvia had made a birthday cake during the day, and Donna had made sure nobody had too many snacks through the afternoon to spoil their appetite for it. After dutifully – and successfully – blowing out the candles in one go, Lucy sat grinning as she opened her presents from the rest of the clan.

River and Jenny approached after everyone else, presenting her with a beautifully-wrapped package in blue and silver. "We didn't know it was your birthday until today, but while you were gone, we popped out and got you this," River said proudly. "We do hope you'll like it."

Lucy ripped open the paper and popped the top off a box, pausing when she realized the box was wooden rather than cardboard. Glancing up for permission, she put the lid aside and poked through the fuzzy green packaging material inside, revealing a plain-looking doll. She did her best not to let her disappointment show, but River smirked anyway. "Touch the face," she urged the girl.

Lucy glanced at her, puzzled, then did as instructed – and gasped, as the doll's face and clothes began to morph before her eyes. Suddenly she was looking at a miniature version of herself, complete with her own outfit. "It's me!" she cried.

"It's an Idio-Echo Doll from Tuslavor. Whenever you touch her face, she'll turn into an echo of you that day, including your clothes. You can keep changing her to match you forever, even as you grow up, or you can freeze her whenever you like, by simply not touching her face after that."

"She's wonderful! Thank you, so much! This is the best present ever!" Lucy's eyes were glowing.

A bit later, amid the small talk, Donna asked Mike (by prearranged signal), "Wait a minute! Did you give her the card?"

"Oh, who cares about the card?" he replied, eyes twinkling.

"Men! We got her the card, may as well give it to her!"

"Oh, all right!" He rummaged around amid the discarded wrappings and fished out a red envelope. "Here you go, sweetheart. One birthday card."

Lucy opened it quickly, scanning the cover and opening it up. A small white card fell out of it, and she picked it up. Her face fell. "An appointment reminder? What for, the dentist?" Parents! everyone could tell she was thinking. Always ruining things with stupid shit.

"Turn it over," her father told her.

She did so, starting to read the name – and her voice rose to an astonished squeak. "Silverstone Modeling Agency?"

He cocked an eyebrow at his youngest daughter. "Well, if you're going to be professional, you need an agent, don't you?"

"Really? Really? You're going to let me?"

At last he grinned. "Really."

"Oi!" Donna broke in. "That's right, make me the bad guy."

She started to go on, but Mike laughed and waved her off. "Understand this, little one. School comes first, until the day you graduate. No exceptions. This is a hobby until then. Got it?"

Lucy nodded vigorously. "Yes sir!" Then she launched herself into his arms, joyous, and everyone applauded.

The party began breaking up shortly afterward; it had been a very long day. The following morning saw a return to normal, with the kids dragging Grandad Wilf across the dunes to fly the kites Rose and the Doctor had bought on their earlier day trip north.

The remaining adults were lounging around the patio, enjoying their post-breakfast coffee and conversation, when suddenly an alarm bell began clanging loudly, startling them all. The Doctor was the first to realize it was coming, astonishingly, from the TARDIS, and he sprang to his feet and ran to the blue box. He stopped cold in front of the doors, jaw dropping. The Police Call Box sign had been changed.

The Old One
Is Failing

His mind racing, he realized his ship could have meant only one person: Wilf. He turned and charged towards the bridge across the dunes, just as Lyra, the fastest runner of the four kids, appeared at the top step, crying out in panic, "Help! Grandad collapsed!"

The Doctor, with Mike hard on his heels, flew down the steps to the sand, while the women paused involuntarily at the top, staring out at the scene in horror.

Wilf was flat on his back at the edge of the water, staring sightlessly at the sky.