The Doctor's curious smirk faded into a fond smile. It had been lifetimes since he had last seen his granddaughter, literally. "Susan Foreman, or should I say Campbell now? My, hasn't time flown."

The Doctor looked over his granddaughter's form, noting that she still had the same body, but was now older. Instead of looking seventeen or eighteen, she looked to be in her early thirties. He understood what that meant: it hadn't nearly as long for her since she saw him. "How long has it been for you, grandfather? You look rather different." Susan scrutinized her grandfather's new form.

"Nearly three thousand years. I've gone through quite a few faces since I last saw you." The Doctor replied offhandedly. His attention turned from his granddaughter to the young lad who was her son. "How are you Alex? Still defending the Earth with your mother, I hope."

Alex looked to his great-grandfather of which he had heard so much about as a young boy. Those times were nearly a century ago; since then, his father and siblings have died. Alex also noted the mischievous glint that made a permanent residence in the man's eyes; one very similar to his own.

Not wanting to seem rude, but also not sure how to communicate with his family member, he simply nodded. "Of course, sir." The Doctor's smile faded into a slightly disapproving scowl. Alex tensed slightly at the look. In all honesty it terrified him. "No, no. Now that I will not have. Call me anything, but sir. I don't like it." He exchanged the scowl for a playful smile. Alex's tense form lightened up considerably. "Alright, granddad." Alex thought great-grandfather was too long, and by the time he said that he might have been dead, so granddad would suffice.

"Alright, Alex. Can you go make Grandfather and I some tea?" Susan smiled at her son, as he moved to the kitchen with a nod. Once Alex had begun his work, Susan looked to her grandfather and nearly ran over him in a hug. She sobbed tearless into his jacket.

"I missed you." Her words were barely audible in between her sobs. "Ever since David died, I have been missing you more and more." The Doctor knew very well that this version of himself wasn't much of a hugger, but his instinct as her grandfather kicked in and he hugged her back; he decided to let her work through her turmoil.

As awkward as the hug was- thanks to the Doctor's inability to hug in this form- Susan was still comforted by it. This was the feeling that only David had come close to when he hugged her; after he died, she had realized how much she enjoyed the feeling of her grandfather's caring arms. His embrace still felt the same to her, even now. He still smelled the same in most ways; although, there was another scent that was now blended with the scent he had nearly three thousand years ago: the faint remnant scent of war.

David had a similar smell after being there during the Dalek's invasion, but it had eventually faded away. It was a mixture of ash and tears, sweat and blood. Even after him being away from the Time War for many years, that scent plagued his ever so calming smell. Even in that small fraction of what it once must have been.

The Doctor, still awkwardly holding her, noticed she had calmed down and pulled back lightly with a comforting smile. "It's alright. I'm here." The moment the words left his mouth, he pulled her back into a hug, hiding his now slightly uncomfortable expression.

He had failed her. He failed his granddaughter; it's all because he was too caught up in other things to even pay her a visit. He hated himself for it. Now was no time to add to the grief of things he wished he could have prevented. Now was a time to make amends.

He pulled her away from himself and gave her his best smile. "Alright, then. How about we go on a little trip. Just the three of us. You and I, back in the TARDIS. Just like old times. Alex with us. We'll be one big family. What do you say?" He hoped with everything he had left that she would agree to come back with him.

She thought about his offer. She missed him more than anything else right now. Her adopted children died of old age and her husband is gone along with them. All she had left was Alex and now she had the chance to come back with him: her grandfather. She smiled, but shook her head. Every last ounce of hope left in the Doctor vanished. "I'm sorry. This is too big of a decision to make on my own. Alex needs to have a word in on this. If he says yes, then we will come. But if he says no, then I can't. I'm sorry. I can't do that to him."

The Doctor knew what this answer meant. He barely knew Alex: only from what he heard of him and his mother saving the planet. He didn't have known him very well, which meant Alex didn't know him and if he was as much like his mother as he thought he would be, he was going to lose them again. He wasn't sure if he could handle that sort of thing.

It was then that Alex walked back in. A painfully ignorant smile on his face as he served both the Doctor and his mother. He sat in the chair opposite to the sofa in which his elders were sitting. He couldn't help notice the slight pain in the eyes of both of them. He cocked his head to one side. "Are you two alright?" The Doctor plastered a fake smile to his face as he turned to look at his cup of tea.

His mother, on the other hand, looked much better off and gazed her son in the eye. "Alex, we need to talk. How about you meet me in the kitchen." Alex nodded and followed his mother, but not before glancing at the Doctor's worried face.

Susan walked in and held the door open, closing it lightly the moment Alex stepped foot inside.