The girl with two hearts

Chapter 4

The movie night was originally Donna's idea. She said that it might be a great time for some father-daughter-bonding. Honestly, the Doctor's still trying to process Ashie's existence.

It's like his brain hasn't fully grasped it yet: the fact that Rose gave her only chance to see him to someone else. Someone who's more or less a stranger to him.

The movie nights in the TARDIS used to be one of Rose's favorite activities. She would pick a movie for the two of them to watch and she would probably end up falling asleep before the end credits started rolling. She was a human and she needed a lot of sleep.

The Doctor would her up and carry her to their shared bedroom. Sometimes he would let her sleep while he prepared a snack for her or went to fix something in the TARDIS, and sometimes he would just lay there and hold her as she slept.

Ashie isn't showing any signs of being able to fall asleep in the next few hours, though. If anything she's filled with energy. She's currently bouncing over to the stack of DVDs to pick out a movie. Both the Doctor and Donna decided it would be best to let her pick the movie, since she's the youngest and everything.

She soon returns to the couch, proudly showing them both the movie she's selected. The Doctor can't help but smile.
"The Lion King, brilliant!" he exclaims.

Donna stands up from the couch, taking the DVD from Ashie to put it in the DVD player. The little girl climbs up the couch, sitting down next to the Doctor.
"Great movie choice", he tells her softly.
She smiles.
"I used to watch it with Mummy all the time", she says.
He nods, suddenly feeling sad. Again. There are so many things he loved doing with Rose, and this little has been doing many of those things for the last for years. Not that he could ever be jealous of his lover's child, but still...

The movie starts. Donna returns to the couch and Ashie cuddles closer to the Doctor. He puts an arm around her, his eyes never leaving the TV screen. Ashie has obviously watched the movie several times, based on how she is singing along to all the songs. He would've done the same - he does love this movie - but there's some sort of heavy lump in his stomach.

He watches Ashie, her brown eyes filled with excitement as she watches the movie. Something inside of him really hurts. Sitting like this, he's able to see how much she actually reminds him of Rose: her brown eyes, her blonde locks, her smile. Even her way of being, in some way. She is a little miniature-Rose, just like Donna said. And just like Donna said, that makes absolute sense.

What doesn't make sense, though, is how sad he gets every time he looks at Ashie. It's like her existence alone is a constant reminder that Rose is gone. Forever.

Still, the Doctor can't just sit there and feel sorry for himself. There's a little kid here who just lost her mother, and he needs to take care of her. That's what Rose wanted, and it's the least he can do. Actually, it's about the only thing he can do for her from this universe.

The movie goes on, and he watches Ashie in fascination. She seems to know the movie by heart - hearts -, but some scenes still seem to suprise her. Maybe this version of The Lion King isn't the same as the one in the universe she was born in. That makes sense. There can be many differences between two parallell worlds.

He looks over at Donna. She's looking at the screen as well, all her attention on the movie. The Doctor can't seem to concentrate on anything, though. He's far too restless, far too distracted. His thoughts are racing through his head, without any way for him to stop them.

His thoughts are mostly about Rose. Rose and Ashie. He just keeps thinking about how much Rose loved watching The Lion King with him. They would spend their movie nights cuddled close on the very couch he's sitting on right now. He has his arm wrapped loosely around someone, but that someone isn't Rose. It's someone who reminds him very much of her, but it still isn't his Rose.

The Doctor glances at the TV screen. They've almost reached the scene where Mufasa dies, and right now the gnus are chasing Simba. Ashie is leaning forward, watching the lions cub with a hint of horror in her eyes.

When Simba finds his dad's lifeless body and begs him to wake up, Ashie suddenly jumps up from the couch.
"There's something wrong with the movie! It's not supposed to be like this!" she cries, tears shining in her eyes.
"How is it supposed to be?" Donna asks, concerned.
The Doctor isn't saying anything. He can accept Rose telling their daughter a different version of a fairytale to make the princess the hero, but The Lion King-!? That story is brilliant as it is, why would you ever chance anything about it?

His brain suddenly short-circuits, realizing he just thought of Ashie as their daughter. He's never really seen her that way, in the short time he's known her she's always been Rose's. Probably cause he wasn't even aware of her existence for the first years of her life.

Talking about Ashie... The parent instinct he thought was long gone kicks in and he finds himself rising from the couch, walking over to Ashie and wrapping her in his arms. She's properly crying now, sniffling softly.

And it makes him happy that he's able to be there and hold her.

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