An Unexpected Adventure-A Doctor Who Fanfiction

The hooded woman stood outside the TARDIS, holding some sort of bundle to her chest.  Did she think that he couldn't see her?  No, she knew.  She knew he was watching her.

The Doctor watched her through a screen connected to the TARDIS's console.  She hugged the bundle and laid on the step, glancing once more at it before running off into the night, the rain soaking her instantly as water poured from the sky.

He waited until the strange woman was gone from sight before he went to see what she left for him.  He opened the doors and stepped  out, crouching over the bundle.  He mumbled.  "This better be worth it.  I'm already soaked to the bone."  He loosened the cloth and gasped.  Inside the bundle laid a small child, not even a month old.  It began to shiver and cry.  

The Doctor's shoulders slouched, exausperated.  "I can't care for a child!"  The baby began to sob.  The Doctor stood.  "OY!  Come back!"  He shouted, hoping the woman would return, even though he knew she wouldn't.  He looked down at the writhering baby.  Although he didn't want to take it inside, he knew it would get sick from the rain.  He was already drenched himself.  With a sigh, he picked it up and carried it inside, shutting the door behind him.  

He walked up the railing to the console and laid the baby on the nearest chair, then ran off to the other room.  When he came back, he held in his arms a large stack of towels.  

He stripped the child of it's wet clothes and wrapped it in a towel, drying it.  It cried harder.  "Sorry, haven't done this is a while!  Oh, now hush!"  He picked up the wet cloth and threw it in a hamper, a note falling onto the floor.

With a sigh, he picked it up.  It was coated in a plastic covering to keep it from getting soaked and smudging.  He began to read it.  

"My Love,

I'm sorry I cannot hand the child to you directly; it would hurt me too much.  I promise to care for her upon your return, but for now it is not safe for her to be with me.  I can't risk my life, and I can't risk hers.  I fear that if she stays with me, bad things will happen.  Take care.  I shall see you soon.    With Love, X."

The Doctor gaped at the note.  Why him?  Why was he to care for such a young and fragile child?  Life on the TARDIS isn't exactly safe.  The woman must of been in real danger is she believed the baby would be safer with him.

And why was the note signed with a kiss?  Did he know this woman?  Did he-

"Oh no."  He leaped over the railing of the TARDIS to get to the console, his hearts beating hard.  "This can't be..."  The TARDIS ran a few tests, confirming what he already knew; he was the father.  He leaned against the wall, letting out a sigh.  "How?  I haven't... I haven't done that kind of thing in a while..."

He stood up straight again.  "I don't even know who the mother is."  He wrinkled his nose, glancing at the note.  "Could've said who she is, at the very least."  He sighed.

From the other side of the TARDIS, the baby began to cry again.  He rolled his eyes.  "Aw, come on!"  He walked over to her and picked her up.  "Oy!  Hush now!"  He held her ot his chest, patting her back.  She sobbed harder.  "Right.  Shouting isn't going to work.  Shouldn't have done that.  Sorry."  She continued to cry.  "Shh..."  She quieted down.  "There now.  Everything's okay, see?"

 He rocked her back and forth.  "What you need is a cot.  Ooh!  And a mobile!  Those are great!"  He laid her down on the chair and ran off, down the hall of the TARDIS.

He re-entered the room a few minutes later.  "Probably shouldn't have left you alone.  Bad idea.  Sorry."  He picked her up again and carried her to a door.  "And here's your room..."  He opening the door and entered it.  A cradle sat in in the center, along with a mobile above it, stars hanging down on strings.

He laid her down in it and looked down at her.  She'd need diapers and clothes.  He reminded himself to get them tomorrow. 

"What's this?"  He reached down and examined the wristband on her wrist.  "Oh!  It's your name!"  He squinted at it.  It had smudged slightly, but he could tell that the name written down was Lily.  

He smiled.  "Lily.  That's a nice name."  She looked up at him sleepily, and he chuckled, switching on the mobile.  Classical music began to play, and the stars reflected lights onto the ceiling.  "Eh?  Impressive, isn't it?"  He smiled and looked at her once more, then left the room, turning the light off and shutting the door.

The TARDIS moved his room across from her's, but he didn't mind.  The closer to Lily, the better.  Rather than entering his own room, he kept going down the hall until he reached the library.  He entered and searched the shelves until he found a large book on child care.  He grabbed it and carried it back to his room, flopping down on the bed and beginning to read.

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 The Doctor heard a cry from the other room.  WIth a yawn, he laid the book down and left his room, crossing the hall and opening Lily's door.  She sobbed heavily.  "What's wrong?"  She continued to cry.  "You miss your mum, is that it?'  He picked her up.  "Sorry, can't help you there, I don't even know her name."  He held her to his chest and patted her back.  "You should really go to sleep.  What's wrong?"  She cried harder.  "Ohhhh!"  His eyes widened now that he understood.  "You're hungry, of course your hungry!  Why didn't you say so?"  

He stood and carried her to the kitchen, then began to search through the pantry.  He found some powdered milk formula.  "It's probably a little old, but it'll do for now."  He searched the cupboard and found a bottle, then started to heat everything up.  

In minutes the formula was ready and he filled a bottle.  Picking up Lily again, he began to feed her as he walked back to her room.  She quieted down immediately.  "Ah, see!  Nothing a little food can't fix!"  She drank half the bottle before her eyes started to drift closed.

In seconds she was asleep.  Carefully he laid her down in the cot, the ancient cot.  A cot that hadn't held a child in years.  

 He looked down at her and felt a strange sensation, one he hadn't felt in a long time.

 "How is it possible to love something you've only just found so much?"