The Littlest Timelord: Cracks in Time

Chapter 30

"Oh, thank heavens. I thought for a moment the TARDIS had been flung off into the vortex with you inside it, lost forever. How are the numbers?"

The scene behind them stopped repeating.

"Fives? Even better. Still, it means the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry. Hang on, okay? I've got some rewiring to do."

They made their way back over to the group.

"Sorry about that. Important phone call", the Doctor said.

"No worries, mate", Craig said, "Well I'm going to head back".

"I think me and Elise are going to stay for a little while". The Doctor took the football from Craig.

"Okay, see you at home then", Craig said and the team left.

The Doctor took off his jacket and led Elise onto the pitch. He placed the football in front of her and then walked a few feet away.

Elise stared down at the ball.

"C'mon, Ellie. Just kick it over to me", he told her.

Elise tried her hardest to kick the ball but it barely moved. Tears filled her eyes as she sat down with her arms crossed.

The Doctor laughed quietly to himself and walked over to her. "Aww, Elise. It's okay", he said, rubbing her back. He picked her up and set her on her feet. "C'mon, try it again", he told her.

She kicked the ball again and it moved a little further.

"It's too big, isn't it? Tell you what, when we get Amy back we'll get a child sized ball and we can practice with that, okay? Why don't we go play on the playground instead?" he suggested.

They stayed at the playground until Elise tired herself out.

The Doctor carried her home and put her to bed while he worked on his device.

When Elise woke up, the Doctor was nowhere to be seen. She panicked and was about to start screaming for him when she heard voices coming from the living room. Elise got out of bed and padded into the living room.

"Oh, hey there", the Doctor said, smiling at her.

Elise walked to him and he picked her up, placing her in his lap as he worked on the mess of wires around his neck.

"We didn't wake her, did we?" Sophie asked.

Elise shook her head.

"She fell asleep after we went to the park."

"How will she sleep tonight?"

"Probably won't".

"She's not on a schedule or anything?"

The Doctor shrugged. "I let her do what she wants. Bolsters creativity".

Elise hated it when adults talked about her like she wasn't in the room at all.

"Like I was saying, life can seem pointless, you know, Doctor. Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same," Sophie said.

"Six billion people. Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from," the Doctor commented.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"