sunniebelle - Tumblr blog

sunniebelle · 1 year

Text

A First For Everything

Mia , Tentoo x Rose

Mia is determined to prove to herself and to her parents just how grown up she is!

AO3, TSP (to be added), FF.net

YAY!! I finally broke through my writer's block!!!

I am gifting this story to @metacrisisdoctor with many thanks for allowing me to borrow your absolutely brilliant headcanon for a little while! I hope you enjoy it! *waves shyly* (My inspiration for this story: https://www.tumblr.com/metacrisisdoctor/715092017567465472/one-of-my-favorite-headcanons-is-that-when-mia-is?source=share )

Mia Jacqueline Susan Tyler-Noble sneaked through the silent back garden, hidden by the darkness of the midnight hour and lack of moonlight. She had tried to sleep, honestly she had, but her thoughts just wouldn’t quiet enough to let her. What she was planning to do was certainly dangerous and could very well end with her being in severe trouble, but she didn’t know what else to do.

She had been raised on the stories of her parent’s adventures together and the brilliant escapades they had together. Traveling through time and space, righting wrongs and taking down monsters and evil dictators hell-bent on destruction; helping the helpless and saving civilizations on the brink of collapse! That was the kind of life she wanted, adventure and danger and excitement, and occasionally, running for your life!

But what did she get? The safe route.

While she had been on a few adventures with them—and it was always fantastic fun, so thrilling and exciting to see new places, to meet new people and experience different cultures and ways of living—her dad flatly refused to take her into dangerous situations. If there was even a whiff of danger, her dad would pack her off back to the TARDIS. And the one time she had managed to sneak out and follow them, he had been so...she didn’t know exactly how to describe the look of horror and panic that came over his face. He’d managed to convince her mum that he could handle the situation alone and Rose should take her back to the TARDIS and stay with her. Like she was some toddler or something!

They still saw her as a child that needed to be coddled and protected and wrapped up in cotton wool! It was infuriating!

So tonight, she had decided to do something about it. One way or another, she was going to make her overprotective parents trust her and see that she was grownup enough to handle their adventurous lifestyle. She didn’t need their hand to hold, or their permission for seemingly everything she did.

Now that she had reached the shed, she hesitated momentarily. Shaking off her doubts, she unlocked and stepped purposefully through the door, closing it softly behind her.

She smiled as she saw the lovely dark blue hue of the police box that was the TARDIS. She loved the sentient time and space ship, and she knew the opinionated ship loved her, too. Mia felt sure she could talk Her into taking a trip without her parents.

Brushing a hand along the wood of the door, Mia felt the mental brush of warmth as the ship greeted her. She grasped the key she been given several years ago, fiddling nervously with the chain necklace from which it was hanging—the beautiful, braided gold chain had been a gift from her grandparents the week before, at her sixteenth birthday party. That thought steeled her resolve; she was sixteen now. By all accounts, she was a very young Time Lady, but a Time Lady all the same.

Mia slipped the key into the lock and turned it, smiling a little at the satisfying click it made, before the door squeaked on its hinges as she pushed it open to enter. She glanced guiltily at the shed door once more, imagining her dad and mom rushing through it to stop her.

All was silent. Grinning she slipped into the TARDIS, ready to have her first solo adventure.

--------------------------------

“Doctor. Doctor, wake up!”

A hand was shaking his shoulder and drawing him from the depths of sleep. Moaning slightly at the interruption to the few hours of sleep he needed a night, his eyes opened to slits to see Rose’s familiar night shirt, or rather, his shirt.

“What’s’it, love” he mumbled, sleep making his voice deep and a little gruff. Closing his eyes again, his hand found her arm and trailed up till it reached her neck, where he let his fingers glide over her shoulder and rub soothing circles on her back.

“It’s Mia.” Those words made his eyes pop open and his sleep-numbed brain awaken a little more. “S-she’s missing. I can’t find her anywhere.”

Hearing the panicked voice coming from his wife of nineteen years, made him sit up in bed and focus fully on what she had just told him.

“Please tell me you’re joking.” He regretted the sentence the moment the words left his mouth.

“Why would you think I would joke about our daughter going missing!” she shrieked at him, her panic abating and anger taking its place.

He winced and apologized as he slid his hand over her shoulder, down her arm and grasped her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. Looking past her, he noticed the light of early morning seeping through the sheer curtains of the windows on the far wall. His time senses, while significantly reduced in his part-human body, informed him it was half-past eight.

Reaching to turn on the lamp, the Doctor hurriedly dressed, listening intently to Rose recount how she’d been headed to start breakfast but first ducked into Mia’s room to get her up. They had planned to surprise their daughter with a trip to the Gamma Quadrant of Senon Three.

When she shakily told of finding Mia’s bed empty and unable to find her anywhere in the house, he tried to reassure her that she had to be around somewhere. She would have none of it, quickly stating all the places she had checked, her voice strained as she struggled to remain calm and rational. Then a thought came to him and he wanted to smack his head for not thinking of it earlier.

“Rose, did you check the TARDIS yet? You know how fond she is of wandering the halls of the ship.”

Not waiting to hear her answer, he quickly moved toward the rear door of the house, heading toward the shed where they kept the ship parked.

“I looked in the shed but the TARDIS wasn’t there.”

He jolted to a stop, whirling around to face her in the same motion.

“What!?” he gasped in shock and surprise. His brain froze for all of 2.57 seconds before it started again, fear and worry swirling through his mind, making him dizzy. His thoughts sped faster than his feet, racing through scenarios of what could have happened, each one worse than before. His stomach twisting into knots, he scrambled to unlock the door to the shed; he was unnerved to find it already unlocked. He opened it forcefully enough that it bounced off the wall with a dull thud.

Rose was not far behind him, yelling that she assumed he had moved the TARDIS, and had woken him to see if he had indeed moved it.

She found him standing still as a statue, staring wide-eyed at the corner where they kept the ship. It was at times like this that Rose tried not to let panic and fear take over her body, but she was failing now as she watched the Doctor standing so still and breathing hard.

Shaking his head, he seemed to pull himself out of whatever trance he had been in and ran purposefully over to the computers on the far side of the shed. His fingers began flying fast and sure on the keys. She watched in silence as words flashed across the screen. Small boxes that she recognized as security footage windows popped up and disappeared, but too fast for her to make out any solid details. She didn’t bother peppering him with questions because she knew if he had any idea of what had happened, he would have told her already.

After a few moments, he stopped abruptly, having searched through several different security camera angles and stopped on one that showed the interior of the shed.

They watched the video on a loop, staring in shock and disbelief as their daughter entered the TARDIS. Their hearts sank as they saw it disappear moments later.

----------------------

Mia laughed heartily as she slammed the door shut on the six foot tall Ecralarian guards outside. Breathing heavily as she leaned on the doors, she grinned to herself, pride and happiness filling her. She had done what she set out to do. Prove to her parents that she was old enough to take care of herself and have her own—or at the very least join in on their—adventures.

She had even escaped jail and the guards all by herself! She was thankful she’d worn her bracelet, which was conveniently bio-locked to her DNA only, preventing the jewelry from being confiscated by her jailors. When the guards had been distracted, she’d pulled her sonic pen from within the bigger-on-the-inside bracelet and used it to unlock the doors—she didn’t let herself think about what she would have done if they had used deadlock seals.

The night had not been all ‘running for her life’ and escaping from danger. She had enjoyed the attention her blond hair and blue eyes had afforded her. The locals of Ecralar were tall humanoids with pale blue skin and dark green eyes. There must not have been many off worlders to this region of the planet, since people with features such as hers were evidently rare; she had told several people she met, who had been interested in the origins of her fair skin, eyes and hair, that she had inherited her mother’s blond hair and her father’s blue eyes— although she withheld the fact that it was a past incarnation of her father, from whom she inherited the blue color.

Things had gone pear-shaped when she said something that offended one of the local vendors; though, for the life of her she couldn’t understand why. Bananas were the best fruit in the universe, it was a simple fact. She knew her dad would agree wholeheartedly. She had been making her case for bananas and their versatility in cuisine and various other uses, when the vendor she had been talking to suddenly stalked away and rang an alarm bell.

Before she knew it she had been escorted to the local prison, where she was to be held for trial the following day, charged with disturbing the peace. She had tried to explain the situation, but apparently it was falling on deaf ears, since her pleas of innocence were promptly ignored. She had taken to using one of her dad’s tricks—annoy the guard enough that they want to go away, or make you shut up. Luckily, this one had walked away to get a bit of hush and she had taken advantage of the opportunity to sonic the lock and slip out unnoticed.

She wasn’t sure if she had tripped an alarm or had been seen by someone, but she was suddenly making a mad dash back to the TARDIS, half a dozen armed guards on her heels.

Skipping up the ramp, she grinned widely as she danced around the console, setting dials and turning knobs, just as her parents taught her. Giggling in prideful joy at her accomplishments, she left the angry pounding of the guards behind. She watched the viewscreen in amusement when they backed off in fear and wonder as the box disappeared. Moments later she felt the ship settle in the vortex.

Her happiness was tempered a little when the TARDIS would not allow her to set the controls to any place other than Earth. No matter what she did, the controls reset themselves to Earth the day she left, seven minutes after she left. With a frustrated huff, she gave in to the temperamental ship, turning to pull the dematerialization lever; she was unaware that, as she turned away, the date and time had changed.

Knowing that her adventure was over, but unwilling to let the joy and happiness of her successful solo adventure be ruined, she laughed as the ship jolted to a stop, setting down with a hard thump, causing her to fall back onto the metal grating. Laughing, she pulled herself up and ran over to the doors, not bothering to check the viewscreen. Her parents should still be asleep and would be none the wiser about her actions. She’d just have to choose her timing carefully before telling them about her trip.

Therefore, she was unprepared to see her dad standing only a few feet away when she exited the TARDIS.

Unable to help it, she gulped, knowing she was in trouble. She couldn’t remember her dad ever looking at her like he was now; angry, for sure, but his messy clothes and drooping, unwashed hair was a surprise, as was his taut and pale face. The worst part, making her flinch slightly, was the severe look of disappointment in his eyes.

They stood there for several moments, neither talking nor moving. She could almost feel the tension in the air. Her dad was standing rigidly across from her, his breathing exaggeratedly slow, as though he was trying to hold some great emotion inside.

He broke the silence first, asking in an unnervingly calm voice, “Where were you?”

Mia swallowed nervously, then wondered why she was behaving like a scared little girl. She was an adult now, a Time Lady. She traveled in a TARDIS by herself, gotten into and out of a bad situation all without help and traveled back safely. He should be applauding her!

Standing tall and raising her chin proudly, she declared, “I went on an adventure.”

Swept up in her excitement, she missed the slight twitch under the Doctor’s eye that told of his struggle to hold in his anger and fear, and countless other emotions.

“It was brilliant, Dad! There were these guards that—”

“Do you have any idea the ramifications of what you have done?” His still calm voice disconcerting her, Mia barely held back her retort at his interrupting her.

She started to answer, but she didn’t get the chance.

“Your mother and I have been frantic, looking for you. We didn’t have any idea where or when you went. You left no note, nothing to tell us where you were going or when, not to mention if, you were coming back.”

Her jaw dropped and eyes widened as she heard her dad’s assumption that she may not come back, shocking her into silence. Then her brain kicked in and she stated her only defense.

“But I was only gone for seven minutes! I set the TARDIS to come back to seven minutes after I left!” she argued, her anger with her dad rising.

He broke eye contact with her only a few seconds, sending a glare to the ship that would rival a glacial iceberg for coldness, then trapping her in his gaze once again. The pain in his eyes made her anger cool slightly, and confused her.

“Seven days.”

Mia stilled, her breath catching as those words and their meaning sunk in.

“You were gone seven days. You had your mother and I worried out of our minds for seven whole days. Anything could have happened to you, or the TARDIS, and we would have never known.”

Mia stayed silent, thinking it wise to hold off telling him what happened on Ecralar for now.

Looking more tired and weary than she had ever seen her dad, he spoke and brought her whole world to a standstill.

“Give me your key.”

When she hesitated, he firmly repeated himself. Her heart sank as she slowly removed the precious item from her necklace and set the key in his hand. She thought that would be the end of it.

She was wrong.

“You are not allowed to go forward or backward in time, or off planet, for any reason, without my express permission until further notice.” Her dad said in a flat tone, his voice still eerily calm.

Her jaw dropped as she heard the conditions of her punishment go on, in detail and severity, for nearly a solid minute. She was now restricted to the house, school, her grandparents and home, and her key to the TARDIS was confiscated until who knew when.

She was so shocked and angry that he could not see how utterly unfair this was, that the words escaped without thinking. She shrieked at her dad, “That’s not fair!”

Her dad’s calm facade suddenly melted away.

“Don’t tell me what is or is not fair, young lady,” he all but growled at her.

“Do you think it was fair that your mother and I spent a solid week, twisted up in fear and worry that something had happened to you? Was it fair that we had no way of reaching you or knowing when or where you were?”

His voice had steadily risen in a shout of anger. He had never spoken to her that way before.

“Was it fair that your mother spent every night crying herself to sleep in my arms, both of us worried sick, wondering if we would ever see you again?” With those last words, her dad’s voice broke, the words no longer shouted, but whispered.

He hid his face in his hands, still as a statue except for the slightest of movements of his shoulders.

Mia was in shock, frozen and unable to move or speak even if she wanted to. She had seen her dad angry before, even heard him yell. She had heard countless stories of enemies cringing in fear as the Doctor released the fury of the Oncoming Storm on them; but never before had he shouted at her. Ever.

So shocked was she that it took several moments for her to understand what he had said, and to grasp the severity of what she had done. Hitting her like a punch to the gut, Mia was suddenly filled with shame and remorse, seeing how much she had scared and hurt her parents with her actions.

Tears she had been struggling to hold back were now burning behind her eyes and making her throat tight and uncomfortable. She watched, through her blurry vision, as her dad dragged his hands down his face, exhaling slowly and staring at the ceiling.

“I’m sorry, Dad” she whimpered, swallowing harshly against the tightness in her throat. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think of any of that. I just wanted to show you and Mum that I could handle the dangerous stuff right along side you.”

She was still trying to hold back the tears, her breathing erratic as she pushed back the sobs that were trying to break free; that is, until their eyes met and she saw the redness and glistening in his eyes that betrayed his own tears. Her shoulders hunched and her face crumpled as the tears poured unchecked down her reddening cheeks.

With a deep breath and long, slow exhale, the Doctor’s shoulders slumped as he saw his daughter try to explain her actions, while fighting a losing battle with her tears in the face of his righteous fury.

Unable to hold himself back from her any longer, two quick strides brought him close enough to fold her within the safety of his arms. As soon as he had her wrapped in his embrace the dam burst and her sobs came in great heaving gasps as she buried her face in his chest and clung to him.

Her voice was muffled and indistinct, but he could make out the repeated apologies coming from her. He rocked his little girl and shushed her, one hand soothing her hair while the other held her to him with fierce protectiveness.

Words of comfort and forgiveness were whispered in her ear as he calmed her, while also calming himself with her presence.

He had not meant to scare her, and he knew that later, when they were both calm, he would apologize for his anger and for yelling at her. But no matter what, the conditions would stay in place for a while. He would also be having a very stern talk with his ship soon; then he’d be putting safety measures and controls into place, to prevent something like this from happening in the future.

For days he had been frantically cobbling together a device to try and communicate with and, hopefully, locate the time and space coordinates of the TARDIS; but 21st century technology had hindered him greatly, and frustrated him to no end.

He had even considered trying to send a message through to the Doctor in the other universe, to get help in finding Mia; but Rose had asked him to save that as a very last resort. No need to rub his happy life with Rose and Mia in the other Doctor’s face. He was just so glad he had decided to work at home today, rather than go to his office at Torchwood.

He recalled the long talk he had yesterday with Jackie, both consoling her and being consoled by her. He’d finally given her a true apology for the mess he’d created so long ago, when he brought Rose back a year late. He had been given a glimpse of the heartache and suffering he had unnecessarily put the woman through. It was the first real smile he had seen on Jackie’s face in days, as she hugged him and told him she had forgiven him a long time ago.

It took several minutes for Mia to calm down enough to stop crying, the occasional sniffle and shuddering breath being the only noises from her.

As she stepped back from him, her face red and puffy from crying, he produced a handkerchief from his pockets and handed it to her, smiling slightly when she released a wet and shaky laugh.

Just then, he heard the sound of a car door slamming shut and Rose’s voice call out for him from across the yard. By the sounds of it, she was headed their way. He hadn’t had an opportunity to contact her yet, and rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness as he considered that he probably should have done that when he heard the TARDIS materializing.

“Doctor! I felt the TARDIS—” Rose began, her words faltering as she entered the shed, stopping at the entrance only long enough to see her daughter standing there, before rushing forward to crush her in a hug.

Both mother and daughter were sobbing as Rose ran her hands over her daughter, checking for injuries and affirming that she was really here.

Several minutes later, the Doctor had guided his family into the house and started heating water for tea, while Mia sat tucked into her mother’s side in the lounge. It took several cups of tea, and a lot of patience, but they heard their daughter’s tale of her independent adventure in the TARDIS. He saw the excitement and joy on his daughter’s face as she recounted how she had outsmarted the jailor and guards, and made a run for the ship.

It was then that he realized, his little girl was no longer a little girl. His breath caught and he could’ve sworn his heart stopped momentarily.

He knew there were still going to be growing pains and learning curves as they traveled the road of Mia gaining more independence—once her restrictions were lifted, at least—but he knew he had to let go, to give her more freedom and trust her to know when to ask for help or guidance.

He figured it was time he tell Mia about her sister, Jenny, and her sacrifice for him; no matter how hard it was for him to think or talk about. Even now, he could still see his amazing daughter stepping in front of him, taking the bullet that was meant for him. Mia was old enough to understand the pain that shattered his scarred and wounded hearts, as he both gained and lost a daughter in the same day. And perhaps, he reluctantly admitted to himself, it was time she knew more about the Time War. Maybe not the full details, not yet; but enough to understand his fears of losing her and his reasons for going to such extremes to keep her safe.

He sighed as he felt Mia cuddle closer into his side, Rose already asleep on the other side of her.

For tonight, she was still his little girl, and in his heart she always would be. Kissing her forehead, he let his head rest against his daughter’s. Finally feeling calm and at peace, he joined his family in the first peaceful sleep he’d had in days.

This is the first time I've written Mia, or really any kid!fic, and since I have no children of my own, I floundered a little with how to keep Mia and the Doctor in character. I can only hope I succeeded! I welcome comments with open arms, but would ask that you be gentle too, please 😊 *runs and hides*

@doctorroseprompts

#gift fic #metacrisisdoctor #mia #tentoo #rose tyler #tentoo x rose #kid!fic #teenager angst #light angst #happy ending #family bonding #doctor who #doctorroseprompts #i think queue need a doctor

9 notes · View notes