Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its preexisting characters. I'm just playing with them.^^

xxx

Never Alone, Chapter 05: Tea and Chips

"Can we have chips for dinner?" Athena inquired from her father's arms as everyone made their way back to the TARDIS, which she had parked in a nearby hallway. "I like mine with ketchup."

"Ketchup!" the Doctor exclaimed in surprise. "What about vinegar?"

"I don't like vinegar," the little girl informed him.

"Don't like vinegar! And you're sure Rose is your mum?" he teased, winking at the beloved blonde human walking beside him.

"Why didn't we hear the TARDIS earlier?" Jack wanted to know, while the Doctor fished the key out of his bigger-on-the-inside pockets.

"I turned off the hand-brakes," the little Time Lady replied, as if it should have been obvious. Seven humans immediately shot the Doctor a variety of teasing and questioning looks.

"Are you sure the Doctor's your father?" Jack asked her with a wide, teasing grin.

"Hey!" the Time Lord objected.

"I didn't even know it was possible to materialize without that grinding noise," Sarah Jane commented, and the rest of the Doctor's companions nodded in agreement.

"Well, I think it's a brilliant noise," the Doctor informed them, pouting – and thereby earning himself a giggle and a kiss on the nose from his daughter. His daughter – now those were two words he could definitely get used to.

"I love it," Rose agreed, eternally sticking up for him and his marvellous time-ship.

"Thank you, Rose. Now then..." Pushing the doors open with a flourish, the Doctor took a step inside and looked down at his daughter expectantly. "Welcome to the TARDIS, Athena; welcome home."

But rather than his usual favorite response, the little girl instead wanted to know, "Do you have any strawberry tea?"

The Time Lord's face fell a little. "What, no 'it's bigger on the inside'?"

"We'll have to pick some up then," she informed him with an impish little grin. "I like mine with five sugars and no milk, thanks."

Jack and Mickey couldn't seem to stop laughing at the look of disappointment on the Doctor's face.

"Alright then," the Doctor agreed, deciding to ignore them as he set Athena down on the jump seat. "Our first stop will have to be for strawberry tea, then. And chips, of course."

"Chips with ketchup," she reminded him.

"Chips with ketchup," he agreed. "Although I suppose I should take care of the Daleks first, hmm?"

"I suppose," the little girl conceded.

"What are we going to do with them?" Rose wanted to know, her fingers absently beginning to play with her daughter's glossy brown hair.

"I was thinking they could join their friends in the Void – what do you think?" the Time Lord suggested.

"I think that sounds perfect," she agreed.

"What's the Void?" Athena wanted to know.

"The dead space, between dimensions," the Doctor was quick to explain to her – it was one of the many, many things he needed to teach her, after all. "Some people call it Hell."

"Oi, watch your language!" Jackie suddenly objected, more than a little loudly.

"I meant the place!" the Doctor quickly attempted to defend himself. "Isn't it alright when referring to the place? Not that Hell actually exists, mind you, but some people think it does. Honestly, the concept has been around since the dawn of time, and will probably survive until the end of it. I'll never understand the obsession, myself, but it can be a rather apt description for the Void, though it's a Hell of nothingness rather than fire and eternal suffering and all that, and-"

"I do love it when we send them to Hell," Mickey interrupted, well aware of the fact that the Doctor could prattle on all day if someone didn't stop him.

"You mean you've done it before?" Martha wanted to know.

"Of course!" Mickey assured her, before setting about filling her in on that particular adventure.

"Right, so... we'll take care of the Daleks, get everyone home, then go out for some strawberry tea and chips with ketchup – sound good?" the Doctor announced.

"What about the planets?" his daughter asked, with another impish grin; this time the tip of her tongue could be seen poking out of the corner of her mouth - she had her mother's smile.

"Oh, yes, right," he quickly agreed, looking a little flustered at having forgotten that little detail. "So, Daleks, planets, home, tea, and chips, right?"

"Right!" the little girl agreed enthusiastically.

xxx

The goodbyes were difficult, though Athena wasn't yet old enough to understand why her Grandmum Jackie was crying. The time had come to let Rose (and by extension, Athena) go, and the older woman was going back to Pete's World without them. Uncle Mickey, too, returned to the other universe with a few tears in his eyes – though not without first extracting a promise to make as much mischief as possible from his adopted niece. Sarah Jane, Martha, Donna, and Jack were all dropped off at their respective homes with promises that they would hear from the Doctor (and Rose) tomorrow.

And then the little family was off, not into time and space, but to buy Athena her strawberry tea, followed by chips (with ketchup) at a quaint little seaside chippy for dinner. Utterly exhausted after a night of saving reality (and never quite making it to bed), the little Time Lady fell asleep at the table.