"Where are we off to this time, Doctor?" Clara said, her eyes lighting up as soon as she saw the Time Lord rushing madly around the console of the TARDIS. It was such a familiar sight, his brown flop of hair bopping around as he piloted the time machine wearing a bowtie, but it never failed to put pure excitement into her heart.

"Artang, Clara!" the Doctor said, giving a flourish as he pushed a lever over. "The wonderful planet of Artang. You're going to love it, I can just tell."

"I'm sure I will," Clara agreed. "Well, I would be sure if I actually knew what was on this planet of Artang that is so wonderful."

"Oh, yes, of course!" the Doctor exclaimed. "It's magical. It's sort of like Hogwarts, but instead of a school, it's a planet!"

Clara knit her brows. "So what you're saying is that in essence it's a planet full of people with magical powers? Do they use wands and fly around on broomsticks?"

"Well, no. Yes. Sort of," the Doctor rambled. "It's not actual magic, not the way that you humans think of it. For them, it's just a scientific fact of life. Every last Artangian is born with it. They all look similar as well. But as for broomsticks and wands, I don't believe so."

"Still sounds awfully fun," Clara replied. "So, Doctor, how much longer until we make it there?"

"I'm glad you asked," the Doctor answered. "You see, if I just press this and then spin that..." His voice faded away as he forced himself to focus on piloting the TARDIS. "There we go. We should be landing right about now."

Sure enough, the Doctor had done as he said. The TARDIS began to wheeze in its typical landing fashion. It was a sound that never got old, not in a few days, not in several thousand years. It simply signified adventure and discovery, which was always a new experience.

There was a moment of shakiness in the TARDIS right before it settled on the ground. He had landed the time machine successfully, or so it seemed. The Doctor was just about to lead Clara out the front doors when there was a sudden bang. Both froze right in their tracks, startled by the noise.

There was a brief period of silence before the sound popped up again.

"Do you hear that?" the Doctor asked, crouching down to hopefully hear the sound a bit better.

"How could I not?" Clara replied, letting out a laugh. "It's so loud, as loud as a gun!" As she said those words, she realized she understood what was going on. The Doctor made eye contact with her, his face turning very straight and serious.

"It must be," the Doctor said. "I'm going to turn on the scanner."

Clara hung behind him as he walked over to the screen and turned it on. They stared up into the image, feeling rather underwhelmed. With the gunfire, she had been expected something more than what was truly there.

"It looks like nothing," Clara said. It was the truth. There didn't appear to be much of anything around the TARDIS. The only unusual thing about it was that the sky, above a large expanse of uncut grass and a few flowers, was a few shades darker than the blue from Earth and featured two smaller and dimmer suns. You could make out the faint shapes of stars in the near darkness. It looked to be a rural area back on the human planet, but there were several details that made it feel alien.

"At least there doesn't appear to be a war. Or anyone running around hoping for help from an attack," the Doctor said. "It might be a bit boring to look at but..."

"But what?" Clara questioned. He was just about to give a reply when the gunshot went off again. The Doctor's eyes immediately snapped back up to the scanner to see if he could spot anything new. There was nothing that appeared to have changed, but he did get an idea.

"Huh," the Doctor said. "They don't typically use guns in Artang. This doesn't look very much like Artang either."

"What does Artang look like?" Clara questioned, leaning forwards.

"A big city," the Doctor answered. "The entire planet overall is rather small, so for the most part everything looks like a big city."

"Whereas this just looks like a field," Clara observed.

"Exactly," the Doctor said. "It must have been terraformed." He was just about to say more when his words were interrupted by another sound of a bullet firing. There were a few more shots all fairly close to one another, as if whoever was firing was trying to shoot as much as possible in the least amount of time.

"Oh, now this is getting exciting!" the Doctor yelled. Another check of the scanner revealed absolutely nothing new.

"I'm going out!" the Doctor announced, making the decision to investigate in person. "I have a feeling this is going to be interesting."

"Doctor!" Clara cried out. "There's someone or something shooting out there. I don't think you should be walking right into that."

"There's a lot of things I shouldn't walk into," the Doctor responded. "But where's the risk in standing still?" Before Clara could say another word, he adjusted his bowtie and began walking towards the door.

She rolled her eyes slightly as she realized she had to follow him. It was strange to think that in a way she was trying to protect him. But weirder things had certainly happened around her and the Time Lord. When Clara caught up to the Doctor, he gave a small smile. He had been expecting her to tag along.

As soon as they got to the door, both paused for a moment. "It's stopped," the Doctor observed. "There's no shooting going on."

"Not at the moment," Clara added. "That doesn't mean it won't start again any time soon."

"Then we better do this quickly, shouldn't we?" the Doctor laughed. Clara nodded in agreement, and then they pushed their way out of the TARDIS together. Neither of their feet actually stepped out of the boundaries of the box. Instead, they both peered around to see what was on this strange planet.

"Oh, would you look at that?" the Doctor said. "It looks like a house."

"A very big house," Clara said. "I'm shocked we missed that on the scanner."

"It was on the wrong side of the TARDIS," the Doctor replied. Right behind the blue box was a large building. But it didn't have the cold, boxy look of a mall or a school. With its roof and windows, it looked like a place where someone would live. They stared at it for a moment, just about to go and investigate. Their plans were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.

"Hold your fire!" the Doctor roared. "Wherever and whoever you are, please!"

There was a slight chuckle that came from the side of the house. Out walked a female shape, carrying a gun in her hand. Perched on top of her hair was a hat, covering up everything inside. With a laugh, she went ahead and fired another shot, narrowly missing the TARDIS and its inhabitants. Either she was aiming for them and had a poor shot, or she was actually quite the sharpshooter and trying to intimidate them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" the Doctor cried as he stumbled out of the TARDIS. He was going to protect his time machine one way or another. "Don't you see that you might be causing some damage to a man and his police box?"

"And me!" Clara added in, keeping her feet inside of the TARDIS. "Don't forget about me."

"How I could ever forget about either of you?" the girl said, a sly smile coming across her face. Even with her eyes shadowed by the hat that also contained all of her hair, there was something distinctly familiar about her. She had put down her gun, so the Doctor deemed it safe enough to move forwards. He was curious, after all.

"Doctor!" Clara hissed. "What are you doing?" She stayed close to the TARDIS, ready to make a quick getaway if it was necessary. She wasn't afraid of this girl, per say, she just didn't like the overall atmosphere and the fact she didn't seem to be bothered about almost shooting their heads off.

"It'll be just a minute, Clara," the Doctor replied, waving off his companion's words. "I just want to see what's going on here. Then I'll take you to Artang. It'll only take a couple of minutes, I swear."

"Oh, Artang?" the girl squealed. "You're taking her to Artang? It's amazing there. I've been a few times, though never in the TARDIS before."

At this the Doctor stopped his trek over to the girl in surprise. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pointed back to his beloved time machine, saying, "Did you say TARDIS? You know that's a TARDIS?"

"I know that's the TARDIS," the girl replied. She put a hand on her hip and heaved a sigh. "I don't see what's so important about that knowledge."

"But how do you know that it's the TARDIS? I mean, for all you know-"

"It could just be one of many magical police boxes materializing in the far reaches of the universe? Nah, I don't think so," she snickered.

"That still doesn't explain how you know its name."

"Fine, fine, I'll go ahead and tell you...or at least, I'll give you a hint. It's the same way that I know your companion over there is named Clara, Doctor."

Clara blinked a few times, now hanging on to every word of the conversation. This certainly was beginning to concern her. She was halfway tempted to take a few steps forwards in order to hear it better. But at the same time she felt as if she'd be better off hanging out by the TARDIS. Even if the sentient machine wasn't her biggest fan, it wasn't wielding a gun.

"So you know both of our names," the Doctor said. Now he began to circle around the girl. He was going to get answers, one way or another. "But we don't know your name."

"My name?" the girl questioned. "Why, of course, how rude of me! The name is Brook. Brook Song."

The Doctor froze, standing right in front of her. "Brooke...Song? Wait, do you spell Brook-"

"B-R-O-O-K," the girl interrupted.

"But that would mean..." the Doctor began. "But no, that's not possible..."

"Hello, Daddy," Brook said, holding up her non-gun-wielding hand in welcome. As the Doctor (and Clara, for that matter) continued to stare at her in shock, she decided to push it forwards a bit further. She took off her hat, revealing a mound of blond-brown curls underneath. She shook them out, an effortless smile arching across her face.

"Brook Song," the Doctor finally murmured.

"The daughter of River Song and the Doctor," Brook replied, crossing her arms.

At this point, Clara was far too curious to stay back and just listen to the conversation. She wanted to know exactly what was going on up front and personal. "I didn't know you had a daughter," she said, coming up next to the Doctor.

"Neither did I," the Doctor admitted. "It's not possible."

"Oh, Daddy, I think you'll find that it's very possible," Brook replied.

The Doctor stood there staring at the girl for a moment. She was fairly young, but still far too old for him to be meeting her for the first time. "How old are you?" he asked.

"Twenty six," Brook responded. "Twenty six years old. A blink of the eye for a Time Lord like you."

"Yes, yes, whatever," the Doctor said, waving the words away. Reaching into his coat pocket, he produced his sonic screwdriver.

"Um, Doctor," Clara said, "I don't think using sonics is going to help you figure out anything about Brook. You can't exactly unlock the door to her secrets or anything with it."

"How metaphorical of you, Clara!" Brook chirped. There was a sincere smile on her face, but Clara still felt as if she had been slightly insulted. Clearing her throat, she let the Doctor take charge of the situation again.

"It was worth a try," the Doctor said, scanning over the readings on the sonic screwdriver. He hadn't found out any usual information. "I just want to know more," he said, walking in closer to Brook. Her eyes met his and shifted upwards as the space between them got shorter and shorter.

"I think you know plenty about me," Brook said, flipping curls away from her face. "I feel like digging much further might end up messing up the time space continuum. You know what I mean. Spoilers!" Her eyes flashed with the idea of having knowledge that was so delicate and important.

Every action that Brook did seem to point the Doctor further down the path that she was indeed River's daughter. Just looking at her hair was enough to give that impression. Then he would listen to the way she talked and the expressions that came across her face. It seemed obvious who her mother was.

But none of this guaranteed that he was her father. Running his gaze over her again, he couldn't find any physical attributes that seemed to come directly from him. She didn't act the way he would have expected a child of his to act-wielding guns had only been the beginning of that.

River was her mother, but as likely as that made it that he was the father it didn't confirm it. It made him uncomfortable to think it, but it was possible that River might have run off with someone else for a while.

Brook was adamant on pressing forwards her case, no matter what the Doctor might be thinking. While she knew she could gain Clara's side, the companion wouldn't be able to comprehend what was going on. As clever as the girl was, she didn't know about River Song and her connection to the Doctor. At least, not yet.

"Wait, I have an idea," Clara said. "Do you have two hearts? That would make it pretty clear if you're his daughter or not."

"I dropped my stethoscope in a black hole. Long story. There was a flying poodle and a broken pair of bifocals involved..." the Doctor said. He quickly regained his train of thought when he realized he was going way off the rails. "I'm afraid we can't prove anything heart related."

"In a black hole?" Brook said, raising her eyebrows. "That sounds a bit clumsy, even for you, Daddy. Well, even though my word apparently means nothing, I do indeed have two hearts." She took the hat that was still hanging in her hand and flipped it around in the air, giving out a laugh as it hit the peak.

A thought came into her mind as she caught it again. "You came on the perfect day," Brook explained, bringing her gaze back over to the Doctor and Clara. "Today is a very important day for me."

"Oh?" Clara exclaimed. She was preparing to say happy birthday or something of that sort, but she didn't get to.

"Today is my wedding day," Brook announced, biting her lip slightly. It was the first time she seemed to be letting down her tough sort of façade. "I'm getting married."

"You're getting married?" the Doctor said, creasing his eyebrows. Even without knowing for sure if she was his daughter or not, he was starting to get protective. It was just his natural instinct. "Married to who?"

"You'll meet him soon," Brook said, her smile curling up again. "You'll be coming to the ceremony at the very least. I mean, you're here."

"But we still don't know if you're telling the truth," the Doctor said, crossing his arms.

"No, no, no," Brook said. "You see, I have proof that I'm your daughter."

"A paternity test?" Clara said with a slight laugh. This entire situation had been rather strange for her, but she was attempting to make the best of it.

"No," Brook replied, "but what I do have is better. You'll see."

"Better than a paternity test?" the Doctor said. "I don't know, I'm not sure you can really compete with genetic science."

"I can fly the TARDIS," Brook said, putting her hands on her hips and putting on a victorious smile. If she hadn't grabbed their attention before, this was sure to do this.

"You can do what?" Clara and the Doctor burst out simultaneously, both shocked by this new development.

"I also can't get lost in the TARDIS," Brook continued. "I can't really show you that one, sorry. You're just going to have to take my word for it."

"What do you mean, you can't get lost in the TARDIS?" the Doctor asked. "I mean, even I get lost in the TARDIS!"

"It's called being a Child of the TARDIS. And a child of a Child of the TARDIS." Brook looked to the side as she thought through these connections. "A Child of the TARDIS squared, do you think?"

"A Child of the TARDIS squared," the Doctor repeated, a slight laugh escaping him. He was both amused and skeptical at the same time. It was almost impossible to figure out which one was more dominant. This strange balance of emotions stayed within him.

Brook turned her gaze back towards the blue box. "I haven't been in there in what feels like forever," she sighed. But her wistful look soon rose up to happiness as she continued. "I guess proving my identity will be a good way to get back in there."

"Hm," the Doctor grunted. He wasn't too keen on having this girl who wasn't much more than a stranger starting to pilot his precious TARDIS. So far she hadn't been able to produce any real proof that she was telling the truth. Of course, this flight was meant to be her proof.

"You two can go have fun with that," Clara said, her lips turning up.

"Oh, yes, that's perfect," Brook gushed. "You can stay here and time my flight. I'm aiming for ten minutes exactly. Got it?"

Clara gave a thumbs up, and then decided to turn her gaze back to the Doctor. When he gave her an irritated look, she just shrugged and shot a grin over towards him. He was in Brook's hands now, and she had chosen to trust her.

"Come on, Daddy!" Brook said, jumping into action and sending her curls flying. "I've got a TARDIS to pilot!"

A/N What a blast from the past that was to write! Oh wow, it's like starting a new story but not all at the same time. I've gotten so used to writing the more mellow Brook we see in The Child's Mistakes, so it was great going back to the more peppy and sassy one we have here. I made a few changes to this chapter, as you can probably tell. I like it a lot better now. Now, from now on you can tell if I've revised something by if the title has a name or not. Easy peasy.