Recall

By Lumendea

Chapter Thirteen: Recalled by the First I

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.

….

The Doctor was trying to keep himself busy. It was a challenge. He had the whole of time and space at his fingertips but was stuck in the mid-20th century on a level five planet. Why? All because his granddaughter was curious about the local population. Her interest had led to her attending a public school under a new human name. She liked it, in fact, she liked it so much that she was asking to be called Susan even when she was in their time travel capsule. She'd even taken to calling their ship, the TARDIS and made up a little acronym in the modern English language for it.

It was utterly alien to him. He found humans interesting to be sure. He'd spent a good portion of the day out walking the streets of London and some time touring the British Museum. The amount of information that the humans had wrong about their own history was staggering. Still, Arkytior or now Susan wanted to keep staying.

He didn't understand her insistence, but he couldn't leave her behind. Even with his tasks on Earth finished, she wasn't interested in leaving just yet. He moved around the gleaming console of his time travel capsule, touching the controls with both reverence and longing. Anywhere in time and space. If he could be certain that he'd make it back to the right moment, he'd be inclined to take a quick trip just to get off this planet. But he couldn't risk leaving his grandchild. They had enough trouble as it was without borrowing more.

Still, he'd waited a long time to get his hands on another time travel capsule, or TARDIS. Susan's version was growing on him. Now he had the ship but had to be so careful, so cautious and thanks to his grandchild's interest in this era, he was stuck waiting here until she'd had her fill.

"It's not that interesting," the Doctor huffed to no one.

He had only a moment to linger in his mood before a flash of light caught his attention. It occurred only a few feet away from him and was clearly a transport. The light was gone in a split second, but he knew that someone else was now in the middle of his TARDIS console room.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "How did you transport inside my ship?"

He moved around the console and stopped suddenly when he saw the intruder. The Doctor had fancied when he saw the flash of light from the teleport but hadn't seen a figure that someone was unconscious or kneeling. That was not the case. It was a child. A humanoid child, rather young by the looks of them, female and dressed in early 21st century Earth fashion. She had a round face, sharp blue eyes and light ginger hair in braids. Tilting her head, the girl studied the Doctor carefully.

"I asked you a question," the Doctor said sternly. "How did you get in here?"

"I was teleported in," the girl answered. "Uh… you don't know me?"

"Know you?" the Doctor repeated. "No, child, I do not."

"Oh." The girl inhaled slowly and blinked. She started to look around and the Doctor had the very distinct feeling that she was distracting herself. "I guess… this is your first body then?"

Ah, she knew about regeneration then. The Doctor frowned quizzically and tried to think of anyone he knew of Gallifrey that would have even entertained the notion of transmatting a child into his TARDIS. Lowering his shields, he tried to reach out with his mind, cursing his lack of telepathic talent as he encountered the girl's shields.

But she beamed at him and a moment later, the Doctor was struck by a wave of affection and understanding. It wrapped itself around him and nearly sent him stumbling back. The openness of it was a shock. Such an emotional connection was unknown to him. Since leaving Gallifrey with Susan, they'd been growing closer and building a connection beyond the most basic family link that they had. This was… well, this was something quite different.

"Who are you?" the Doctor demanded.

"I'm your daughter," the girl said. "Your future daughter. My name is Gaia." She shifted a little uneasily under his gaze. "To keep me safe, I wear this recall." Gaia extended her arm and pulled up the sleeve of the blue cardigan she wore to reveal an impressive Ring of Time recall device. "When we're travelling and things get dangerous, it takes me back to the TARDIS, but to a point in time, that is safe. Sometimes that's in your past or your future."

"You're jumping around in my timeline!" The Doctor couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Don't you understand how dangerous that is? The First Law of Time prohibits crossing your own timeline!"

"Yes," the girl agreed. There was a hint of a smile on her face, and her eyes had a rather worrying spark. "But you're not the best at following the rules, are you?" Now she did smile. "When are you? How long ago did you steal the TARDIS and run away from Gallifrey."

"I borrowed the TARDIS."

"You borrow something you plan on returning," Gaia pointed out. "I'm from a long way in your future and you've certainly never returned her."

The TARDIS hummed around them and the Doctor sudden had the strangest sense that the TARDIS was laughing at him. It was the strongest emotion he'd ever received from the ship. She'd accepted him as her pilot easily enough, having been worn down by years and years of use. Already a museum piece at the time he took the ship, it had nonetheless formed a connection with him despite his telepathic abilities being on the lower end of the spectrum.

"She knows you," the Doctor said.

"Of course, she does," Gaia replied. "The TARDIS exists outside of time. She knows everything that will ever happen inside her walls. The past, the future, the present are all the same to her." Gaia grinned and reached up to stroke the centre console. "She knew you the moment you stepped inside to steal her. She knew me the moment you did that too."

The lights on the console flashed, and the Doctor frowned. He knew that the TARDIS he'd borrowed was a bit more active than others. Still, the TARDIS was usually quiet and behaved much more as one expected a ship to. That was another connection that he was working on and that would need time.

He studied the girl. She stayed still and allowed his searching gaze. The girl, Gaia, he reminded himself was very calm. A small smile was on her face and she was studying her in turn. He wondered what he was like when she knew him. He assumed, given her question about his body, that he'd regenerated. While that was certainly an aspect of his future, it was one that he didn't like to think about.

Gaia was silent. She was watching him. There was something like disappointment in her eyes and her posture changed to be more guarded. It was almost as if she was frightened by him. The Doctor was deeply uncomfortable with the situation he now found himself in, but that… well, that would never do.

The connection between them was strong and humming with life and affection. As mad as it sounded, this was indeed his child and they would have a close enough relationship for that affection to radiate back to him. And his telepathy was so weak that he knew the emotional link was dulled. What was it like when he could properly feel it, he wondered? Perhaps, he decided quickly, it was for the best that he didn't know. Offering the girl a small smile, the Doctor knelt to be at her level. The change was immediate and the girl relaxed. That was something.

"This is a very unusual circumstance for me," the Doctor explained. "But, it is what it is and certainly is not your fault." He chuckled a little and studied the girl once again. "Now, if you were transported due to danger then I must ask, are you hurt?"

"No," Gaia answered. "I'm not hurt."

"Good. That's good." The Doctor nodded to himself. "How old are you, child?"

"Gaia," she corrected. "I'm five and a half years old." She paused and considered him thoughtfully. "Are you travelling alone?"

"No, I'm with my granddaughter. We're currently on the planet Earth. She attends a local school, something of an experiment for her, I'm afraid. In fact, she should return any moment."

"Susan is here?" Gaia's eyes were wide and the link between them flared with a tumble of emotions that he couldn't keep up with. "Wow… Susan."

The Doctor knew he shouldn't read into the girl's reaction. It was dangerous and, in truth, likely meant that Susan had run out her one life before this girl was born. Even that was too dangerous to know, but the Doctor was well aware of the lifespan difference between himself and his granddaughter. He was a Time Lord with a full set of regenerations ahead of him while Susan was not.

"Be careful what you say, child," the Doctor instructed. He tried to keep his tone calm. While controlling his emotions was a challenge under the circumstances, the Doctor had no interest in dealing with a tantrum. "We need to be mindful of the First Law of Time. Knowing too much about your future is dangerous."

The girl nodded, her eyes sharp and fully aware of the weight of his words. For the first time, the Doctor considered her words about her age. It didn't fit. It didn't fit at all. Children were loomed at roughly the physical age of six. Gaia was younger than that and referred to her age as if she'd lived it. Perhaps in the time between now and her birth, the looming process would be adjusted. That could account for her statement regarding her age.

And he noted with some irritation that the child was using English as she spoke to him. He considered asking her about that. Susan had taken to speaking English with him in the TARDIS, claiming she wanted to practice as if the TARDIS couldn't translate for her and now his future child was doing the same behaviour.

Gaia was watching him, waiting for him to say something or ask her something. The Doctor wasn't sure what to do next. He'd made sure that the child wasn't injured, but perhaps he should run some tests on her to make sure she hadn't been exposed to anything. Then again, that could give him dangerous information. This whole situation was a disaster waiting to happen. He was inclined to wonder what he'd been thinking in the future, both regarding having more children and fitting them with such a recall device. It was clearly an adjusted Ring of Time.

Except that, apparently, his future self would merely be upholding the timelines. That meant that he had to father another child, regardless of his feelings on the matter. Though… he hesitated to assume that it was that sort of situation simply based on the warm affection radiating through his mind from the child. She adored him. Even if he wanted to be detached from her, he couldn't fathom he'd manage it in the future with those sorts of feelings filling their link.

So, in the future, it was apparent that he would become a father again and it would be a very different situation than that he'd had with his children on Gallifrey. It hadn't been a disaster; it had simply fallen in line with the expectations of his people. Expectations that Gaia was already clearly flaunting. He wasn't sure how to feel about that. He wasn't sure how to feel about any of this. In theory, it was always possible for a time traveller to meet their future children, but it wasn't the sort of thing that happened often.

"Am I to remember this?" the Doctor asked. "You said that it is a casual loop, so I assume I am not expected to hide the memories?"

"Nope," Gaia answered with a sweet smile. She was… well, she was a rather cute child, the Doctor supposed. There was mischief in her eyes, and that worried him a bit. He knew the same gleam was often in his eyes. "When you gave me the recall, you told me I'd meet other versions of you. Taught me about the Laws of Time so I caused as few problems as possible. I was scared still the first time, but… we had a new time."

"Ah, so this doesn't happen in order for me? You've been transported before."

"Yes. To both your past and your future, relative to me that is." She beamed at him as if basking in her knowledge of his future. Given he was on his first body, the Doctor expected that she had a large amount of future knowledge. "But I know the rules. I won't say anything I'm not supposed to." Her eyes had taken on a serious shine, and she nodded imperiously.

Again, the Doctor was lost as to how to reply to her. The child certainly knew her own mind. He had been a difficult child according to his family, but the Doctor was very certain that he'd never been so… so… interesting. But before he could explore that line of thought, the door of the TARDIS opened and Susan walked inside. She was dressed in her school clothes, carrying her bag, and barely paying attention. But she noticed Gaia.

The Doctor watched Susan's reaction carefully. His granddaughter was more mentally talented than he was. She stopped in her tracks and blinked in surprise at their guest. He was certain that she was getting some sort of feedback from the girl judging from the curious and excited way that Susan looked at her. His granddaughter's dark eyes brightened, and she smiled a little even as she moved to join him.

"Who is she, Grandfather?"

"Hello, Susan!" Gaia said happily. She waved eagerly. "My name is Gaia. I'm your… wow, I suppose that I'm your aunt. I'd never thought about that before."

"My… aunt?"

Susan looked his way and the Doctor nodded uneasily. "She seems to be from my personal future." He exhaled, clutching his lapels as unfamiliar emotions flooded him, both from the girl and from his own mind. "Claims to be my daughter."

"I am your daughter," Gaia insisted. "And I know you can feel that."

"I can feel it too," Susan said softly. Now her smile widened. "How far in the future are you from?"

"I can't tell you that!"

"Oh." Susan blushed and nodded. "Of course, you're right. How did you get here?"

"My teleport is linked to the TARDIS." Gaia once again showed off her large transmat bracelet. "I was telling Daddy that it activates when I'm in danger and takes me to a safe point in time in the TARDIS."

"Daddy?" Susan repeated with a smile.

The Doctor huffed softly. The childish word was unwelcome. It wasn't the proper term for a family member, much more human and… well open with affection. Then again, he was being almost bombarded with warm affection from the girl. It was rather difficult to ignore. He glanced at Gaia and found her smirking at him with a hint of smugness. His lips twitted towards a smile that he barely contained. This girl was going to be trouble, he could tell.