Recall

By Lumendea

Chapter Twelve: Recalled by the Eleventh IV

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any of the spinoff material, and I gain no income off of this story, just the satisfaction of playing with the characters.

AN: And so, we say goodbye to Eleven. This was fun, but it forced me to figure out some actual plot and details. This was supposed to be fluff only! Now that I gave Eleven a set of chapters, the other future Doctors will get their chances in the future. The First Doctor is next up.

….

It wasn't that Gaia had never played with other children. Far from it, when she was young, the Doctor had frequently enjoyed watching Gaia befriend aliens on other worlds and join in their games. Similar to her mother, Gaia had a way with people and drew them to her. But watching her play with Melody had been something special. Amy and Rory had laughed and cooed at the girls until they finally exhausted themselves and collapsed into the blanket fort. Dinner had woken them up only for a short time, and they'd drifted in and out during a family movie night. Thankfully, Rose and Amy had given them their jimjams first. At least he knew that soon Gaia would have a sibling as a friend and playmate.

"Sweethearts," Rose whispered, nudging Gaia gently. "Let me braid your hair."

Gaia blinked up at Rose before glancing at the telly. The credits were rolling across the screen. Then she looked over at Melody. Her new friend was curled up against Rory and muttering no as her mother tried to wake her and Rory fought back his laughter. Then Gaia yawned, squishing her adorable face and the Doctor couldn't help but coo. Rose gave him a knowing look and he fell silent.

Slowly, Gaia shifted in place, giving Rose access to her hair. Reaching over to him, Rose dug into the Doctor's pockets and pulled out a small folding brush. He'd been keeping one in his pockets for years, almost since the start of Rose traveling with him, and smiled as Rose brushed out her daughter's hair.

"We're next," Amy whispered. They were still trying to shift Melody, who had fisted her hands in the side of her father's shirt.

"Sure," Rose replied.

Gaia hummed happily as her mother brushed out her long hair. The Doctor watched with a soft smile. No matter how old she got, Gaia always loved having her hair brushed. Rose did too.

"Melody," Rory chuckled. "Come on, baby girl. It's time to wake up."

"Don't want to."

"Let's brush your hair and your teeth," Amy urged. "Then you can snuggle into the blanket fort."

The Doctor watched Melody open one eye and turn her head just enough to look at her mum. He held back a laugh. The Ponds were brave indeed to be risking having another one just like Melody. Of course, he also had full confidence in her that she'd be a great big sister. Still, right now, Melody appeared to be weighing the pros and cons of the suggestion. Amy shifted so that Melody could see that Rose was braiding Gaia's hair.

"You'll braid my hair?" Melody asked.

"I will," Amy promised. "Or your dad."

"Dad's bad at it," Melody said firmly. "You do it."

Rory huffed, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. The Doctor managed not to laugh at the other man. Instead, he settled into the heavy and warm sense of peace in the room. It was like being tucked into a blanket. Letting his head fall back, the Doctor smiled, crossed his ankles and folded his hands. Rose was humming softly as she finished brushing out Gaia's hair. She handed the brush over to Amy and began the braiding process. The Doctor enjoyed watching Rose's fingers neatly weave Gaia's ginger hair. The little Time Lady sighed happily and swayed in place.

Grinning, the Doctor stood up and waited for Rose to give him the nod that she was done.

Picking up Gaia, the Doctor rubbed his cheek against hers, drawing a giggle from his little girl. Rory gave him a soft, understanding look as he carried Melody over to the blanket fort. The little Pond was pretending to be asleep already, but the Doctor could see the pleased smile on the imp's face. Judging from the expression of Amy and Rory's faces, they knew she was still awake too. He let Rory release his daughter first, lowering Melody to the pillows and laughing when she refused to let go for twenty-two seconds.

Gaia opened her eyes as the Doctor bent down and placed her on the pillows. A small smile stretched over her face and the Doctor's hearts jumped. He brushed a strand of wispy hair out of her big blue eyes and studied her as she studied him.

"Good night, Daddy," she whispered. His daughter pushed a wave of innocent affection towards him that made the Doctor's legs weak.

His dear Gaia, his precious little light who had given him so much hope and joy over his lifetimes. He stayed close to her, lingering even as he tenderly brushed a hand over her head. Already he had the urge to grab her and cuddle her again. Then Rose was behind him and she touched his shoulder. With a sigh, he pulled his hand back and stood up. It wouldn't do any good for him to stay and keep Gaia awake.

All that running around the TARDIS with Melody had certainly tired her out. It reminded him of her exhaustion after their day out with Ace in his seventh body. Still, he turned and caught Rose's hand, heading for the library door. The Ponds were already there, both looking at the blanket fort with soft expressions.

"Doctor," Rose said softly, drawing his attention.

"Yes, my hearts?" he asked, smiling at the soft blush that coloured her cheeks. Centuries together and an affectionate nickname could still make her turn red.

"When do you plan to set up the signal for your past self?" Rose asked. "He won't remember where to go."

"I'll take care of it in the morning," the Doctor promised. "We'll keep Gaia for the night. He'll understand someday. As will you, I'm sure."

Rose rolled her eyes a bit at his words. He appreciated her caution with time travel and avoiding paradoxes, he really did, but just this once it would be alright to wait a little. Well, not exactly this once. His last self and Rose then had held onto Gaia for a day back then too. Course, she'd been a bit older then and less cuddly with them. Still, stealing a bit more time with his daughter as a child was worth a bit of risk.

"It'll be fine," the Doctor promised. "And Gaia mentioned some things in passing to me that make me certain she'd met the Ponds. As usual, this is all one big circular paradox with Gaia." He couldn't help but smile at that. "Our daughter is so brilliant, Rose."

"She is," Rose agreed softly.

"It's so weird to see her as a kid. I mean, really, really weird," Amy chuckled. She shook her head.

"It's brilliant," the Doctor said. Amy gave him a look, and he offered her a wistful smile. "Just wait, Pond. Someday, Melody will be grown up and you'll wish you could steal an extra day."

Amy's eyes widened and he felt a little guilty for putting that thought in her head. But her expression softened and she looked over her shoulder at the blanket fort. The girls were barely visible amongst the nest of pillows. In fact, their ginger hair was the most obvious thing against the pastels of the pillows and the rich blue blankets.

"You alright?" Amy asked him.

"Yes," he answered honestly. "I am."

Amy studied him for a moment before nodding. She took Rory's hand and the pair, without discussion, headed down the corridor to the room they used when traveling with them. The Doctor tried not to be satisfied that they'd chosen to sleep on the ship rather than go back out into their house. The TARDIS was the superior option in every way. Glancing over his shoulder, he debated only for a moment before grinning at Rose.

"You know, they're only taking up a third of the fort."

"So, we should change and join them."

"Excellent plan, Tyler." The Doctor stole a quick kiss and tugged her towards their room.

"Geronimo."

…..

The Doctor didn't sleep as much as Rose. He didn't mind that. Humans needed sleep, and it gave him time to tinker on the TARDIS, read or anything else that caught and held his attention for a few hours. But he stayed in the blanket fort that night, just watching Gaia sleep and thinking about everything ahead of her and remembering all of her other jumps.

Yet morning still came too quickly. Or at least as close to morning as there was on the TARDIS. Gaia woke up first, poking her head up from under the blankets like a tiny meerkat. He grinned and turned his head to meet Gaia's blue eyes as they brightened in excitement at seeing him in the fort with her. Then she looked at her mum, who was still sleeping. Gaia crawled towards him and cuddled into his side.

"Hi, Daddy," she whispered.

"Hello, my dear one."

"Love you."

"Oh, I love you so very much." He curled his body around hers, drawing a small giggle from Gaia. Kissing the crown of her head, the Doctor listened to Gaia's breathing soften as she fell back to sleep. "Still growing, I see."

She'd sleep less as she got older. There were many, many happy memories of him teaching her subjects from Gallifrey or tinkering together while Rose slept. His younger self had a lot to look forward to. Closing his eyes, the Doctor focused on the sounds of his wife and daughter breathing. To his surprise, he fell asleep.

Three hours, ten minutes, and twenty-seven seconds later, the Doctor was woken by Rose with news that breakfast was ready. He stumbled into the kitchen, ignoring Rory's chuckle and a bit of teasing from Amy. Melody and Gaia were still in their jimjams and working on spreading butter and jam on their toast.

"Morning, Ponds and Tylers!" he greeted as he dropped into his seat. He eyed the English breakfast that had been put together. "Did Amy cook?"

"No," Rory said quickly. "Rose and I."

"Oh, good." He sighed in relief. "It's safe then."

"I'd throw this bacon at you, Doctor," Amy huffed. "But that would be a waste."

He didn't bother to hide his grin and snatched up some of the toast when Gaia pushed the plate towards him. It wasn't quite as good as fish fingers and custard, but there was something warm about eating toast his daughter had helped prepare for him. Even if this body didn't like jam as much as his last one. No body had ever liked jam as much as his last one.

Rose glanced his way, and he knew she was worrying about the signal. He had promised last night, but the Doctor was happy to steal every extra moment with Gaia. Giving Rose a smile, he nodded slightly in a silent promise to take care of it. As tempting as it was to keep Gaia, the Time Lord in him knew they had to be cautious.

After they finished eating, Rose and Rory told the girls it was time to clean up. Melody grabbed Gaia's hand and pulled her towards the current location of the wardrobe room. A younger him never would have had so much clothing for children in the room, but, well, things had changed. He smiled after them as Amy headed after them, making them a trio of gingers.

"Doctor," Rose whispered. "I know, believe me, I know. But Gaia has a life to get back to with us. She'll be a big sister soon and have so many adventures. We can't keep her."

"Don't you want to?"

"More than a little," Rose agreed. Her smile was sad. "But if we keep her, then we deny our younger selves raising their baby."

He sighed. He hated it when Rose was the reasonable one who pointed out paradoxes. Reaching for the controls, he made a few adjustments and sent a very deliberate ping. The Old Girl would make sure that it got where it needed to go. Big Ears would chase them down soon enough.

"You should be on my side."

"Doctor, I'm always on your side," Rose chuckled. She kissed his cheek. "I'll miss her too, but… well, this trip was more than most people ever get."

"We're not most people." He pouted at Rose. "Why are you being the responsible one?"

"Because one of us has to be and I can tell that you don't want to be." She gave him a tongue touched smile. "Have to be a good example for our little Time Lady."

He sighed. As usual, Rose was right. She might not have been educated to be a Time Lord, but her experiences on the TARDIS had created a deep respect for the fragility of time into his wife. He kissed her quickly and slumped off get dressed himself and then headed to the console room to fulfill a duty he didn't want to do. He started things off by moving the TARDIS out of the Ponds' home and to a nearby park. By the time the others were all cleaned up and dressed, the task was done. Gaia bounced into the room and rushed over to his side, hugging him tightly and toying with the pocket watch chain he wore in this body.

"I've sent out a signal for your parents," the Doctor told Gaia. "They'll be here soon."

"Right." Gaia frowned a little before a wide grin took over her face. "Well, it's been a fun trip, Daddy! Thank you!" She turned to look at the Ponds, including an unhappy-looking Melody. "It was great to meet you! I hope I'll see you again."

"You will," Rory promised with a laugh. "Don't worry, you and Melody will play together again."

Melody gave her father a look, and the Doctor held back a laugh. While he had no doubt that Melody understood her new playmate was also her babysitter, he doubted she saw it as the same sort of playtime. Gaia might be his daughter, complete with a bit of wildness, but he was confident she'd be responsible with Melody. He'd have to get some stories out of her when they met up at the proper point in the timeline. It wasn't fair that he'd been unaware of her visits to the Ponds.

Kneeling down, the Doctor pulled Gaia into one more hug while she was in her tiny state. She hummed happily and nuzzled him, sending waves of affection over their bond. He kissed her head and drew back.

"I need to dull your memories of this visit," he said softly. When she frowned, he hurried to explain. "What I and the Ponds look like. None of the fun," he assured her. "Just to be safe."

Gaia sighed in the put-out way that only five-year-olds could manage, but nodded. Amy was frowning and he caught Rose saying something softly to her before he brought his hands to Gaia's temples. As promised, he left the emotions of their visit and the memories of the fun alone, but tucked away some of the details of his future that she'd learned. When he was done, he hugged Gaia again and gently nudged her towards her mother.

"Rose, it's best that he not come in here. I've moved the TARDIS to a neutral location that won't give anything away."

"Right," Rose agreed. She held her hand out to Gaia and smiled when her daughter took it and beamed up at her. "Time to get you back to your mummy and daddy. I suspect they'll be here soon."

Rose and Gaia headed out the door of the TARDIS. Gaia twisted around and waved happily to the Doctor, Melody, Rory, and Amy who were standing by the controls. Melody was pouting a little and huffed when the door closed. The Doctor smiled at his departing little girl and turned on the scanner screen, watching as Rose led Gaia down the pavement to a bench. They were still clearly in view and the Doctor allowed himself to exhale.

"But I want to play more," Melody whined to her mum.

"You'll see her again," Amy laughed. She ruffled Melody's hair. "Now go and get your things." Melody sighed dramatically and headed for the hallway while Amy turned back to the Doctor. "What happens now?"

"Well, a former me will be here soon," the Doctor said. He wanted to grumble, but Rose was right. They shouldn't delay this too long. The longer they had Gaia as a little girl, the harder it would be to give her back. And a paradox in the making. "Bit protective, that me."

"Right," Amy said slowly. "That you only." She chuckled and nudged his shoulder. "Nice try, Doctor, but we've known you too long for that."

"Hey, I have a lot of enemies," the Doctor protested. "Always needed to be careful with Gaia! Hence the recall."

"We get, Doctor," Rory assured him. "But so, this other you, that's a previous regeneration, right?"

"Exactly, wait who told you about that?"

"Rose," they answered together. The Doctor tried to remember when that conversation happened, but was at a loss.

"She gives companions a run down," Rory added. "The things you need to know."

"Unlike someone," Amy huffed.

"Hey, I'm more a learn by doing sort of man," the Doctor protested. "Rose is better at the human stuff! She is after all, mostly human."

"What is this you like?" Rory asked.

The Doctor's smile turned nostalgic. "Gruff," he answered. "Struggling to keep going, at first at least. That was me right after the war. Then I met Rose. She was so human, a bright spot in what seemed like a very dark world to me. Helped me and stood up to me. She was so clever and saw more than I wanted her to see about me."

"And you fell," Amy breathed. She smiled widely at him. "You never talk about it with us."

"We've been together for centuries, Pond. A whole run down of our history would take a very long time and there are planets to see and save."

The conversation was cut short by the sound of a TARDIS materializing through the screen. Amy leaned forward and peered curiously at the younger TARDIS as it came into being in front of Rose and Gaia, eager to see what the Doctor had looked like in the past.

…..

Rose knew the face that was going to greet her, but gasped softly anyway when her first Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS. A rush of emotions crashed into her chest as she took in his tall and thin form, armored up in his leather coat. The Doctor's blue eyes widened for a moment and then he grinned. She was helpless against that smile and returned it as tears pricked at her eyes.

"You're still with me, then?"

"Always," Rose answered honestly. Then she cleared her throat and blinked back the tears. "We had fun with Gaia. It was wonderful to have her at that age again."

"I wasn't expecting the recall to take her into my future."

"So, you've told me. Sorry to tell you that this won't be the last time that happens, but I promise to make sure that you always return our daughter."

He laughed, his blue eyes sparkling with glee. His gaze lingered on her for a moment before he knelt down and held his arms about for Gaia. She giggled and lunged at her father, throwing herself into a hug. He laughed and Rose swallowed at the sound of that happy rumble.

"It was a lot of fun, Daddy!" Gaia said cheerfully. "We made a big blanket fort! And I made a friend with a companion's daughter!"

"Careful with the details, my little dear," the Doctor said. He scooped her up, holding her with one arm. Then he looked back at Rose. "Thank you."

Rose smiled, not needing to ask what he was thanking her for. She nodded and stepped back slowly, exhaling a wistful sigh. Then the Doctor stepped closer and leaned down, pressing a quick and soft kiss to her lips. Small hands pushed at them both.

"No," Gaia groaned. "Stop being gross."

Laughing, Rose kissed her daughter's crown. "You'll change your mind someday, sweethearts." A frown crossed the Doctor's face. "You don't need to worry about that for a while," Rose assured him. She backed away again. "Best get going, Doctor. I'll see you in time."

He snorted and nodded. Gaia waved frantically at the future TARDIS with a beaming smile. Rose laughed and watched the past Doctor and their past daughter vanish into their own TARDIS. She stayed where she was until the younger, but more battered-looking blue box faded from view.