"I can't say it's ever something that's caught my eye," said Lilly, sat cross-legged on a small dune next to him.
"There's just something about it. It's mysterious. The sea I mean."
"It's just water," said Lilly. "Just another big vast area of nothingness."
Caleb turned to her and smiled. "It's not nothing," he said, shaking his head. "There's life underneath those waves."
"There's death as well," said Lilly, ominously. "It's dangerous out there."
Caleb was going to speak again to defend one of his favourite parts of the landscape when they heard a child cry in the distance. The two of them turned. There was a small, dark-haired girl, maybe around five years old, playing with a kite, the northern wind wipping it up higher and higher into the sky. She was followed a few feet away by a couple – presumably her parents – who were laughing at their daughter playing with the kite.
"Why are we here again?" asked Lilly as her eyes followed the kite as it arced and curved through the sky.
"Because the Doctor said there was something suspicious in the caravan park."
"Then why aren't we there with him?"
"Sometimes he likes to do things alone." He turned back to her again. "He said he wouldn't be long. Do you fancy going to get an ice cream or something? I mean I know it's not exactly the warmest day of the year, but-"
"No," said Lilly. "I just want to sit here."
He sighed and looked away from her. She had only been with them a few weeks since the accident and she was struggling to adjust to this new life. A few weeks ago she had been a healthy, human girl – now she was a Gallifreyan and had been shot through her heart. The surgery had reconstructed it, but Caleb suspected that her injuries were more mental than physical.
"Look, sis-"
"Will you shut up calling me that," she said, still refusing to meet his gaze.
"But you are my sister."
"Half sister," she snapped quickly. "I'm your half sister."
"We're still blood. I still care."
She turned to face him, angry that she had to take her eyes off the beautiful, red kite. "I didn't want this. You survived without me for long enough."
"If I'd have known you existed-"
"But you didn't. None of you did. Only my father knew that and he turned out to be a psychopath." She returned her eyes to the kite. "Now just let me sit here."
Caleb shook his head. He didn't know what to expect from her really. He didn't think it was going to be easy, but at the same time he hadn't expected it to be so hard. He thought she would have enjoyed the fact that she had a real family and that she was away from the fear and the loneliness. Instead she just seemed to have sunken further and further into herself.
"I still think you should have an ice cream," he said quietly. "It's just an ice cream."
Lilly looked at him, her green eyes looked dark as the wind blew her hair back. Caleb suddenly felt very afraid. "I don't want an ice cream. I don't want anything from you or the Doctor." She got to her feet and started to march away across the sand. "Just leave me alone. Please."
"Lilly, come back," said Caleb.
He got up to follow her. She was already walking at quite a pace over the dunes, her flip flops flicking up the soft sand. Caleb had to nearly jog to keep up with her.
She turned back to face him. "I told you to leave me alone!" She pushed at his chest and he stumbled backwards.
"I'm just trying to help," said Caleb, his arms outstretched. He felt helpless.
"I don't want your help. There's no one out there that can help me," she shouted, her voice carried on the wind. Back towards the sea the storm clouds were gathering.
"Listen," said Caleb, stepping forward one pace, "I know you don't want it, but you have to know that I am here. The Doctor is here as well. We're family and we will help you with anything you want, even if you don't see it now."
"I will never see it, Caleb," said Lilly. She looked past him towards the clouds on the horizon. "Everything that I knew about myself, no matter how bad it was, was a lie. It was a fabrication. And now I discover I'm some sort of alien from another planet with a murderous dad."
"I know how bad that sounds now, but-"
"It's almost like I've lost one bad life and replaced it with a whole different kind of bad." She closed her eyes as the first droplets of rain began to fall. "I don’t know who I am. I don't know what I am. I feel completely lost."
Her eyes opened again and she saw the red kite bobbing up over the dunes followed by the string and the little girl. Her parents were not far behind. The little girl stopped and looked between Caleb and Lilly and smiled.
"Come here you," said the man, taking the little girls hand.
The little girl had something in her other hand and opened it up to Lilly. It was a small, white rose. It was a fake, but it looked real. She held out her hand to Lilly and offered it to her.
"I'm sorry, she does like to make new friends," laughed the girls mum. "She pulled it off a shop display back at the camp site."
Lilly looked down at the little girls hand and the knelt down in front of her, taking the fake rose flower from her. "Thank you," she said, managing a gentle smile.
The girl smiled back and then ran off again in the direction of the campsite, pulling her parents away.
Lilly looked down at the fake rose. "My life is like this rose. It was all fake. Not real."
"But it still made you the person you are today. Whatever physical changes you've had have not altered the person you are inside. It all helped to make you who you are."
"Which is an ugly, screwed up mess," said Lilly.
Caleb smiled and shook his head. "That rose is fake, but it meant something to that little girl. And that little girl gave it to you to make you happy. It doesn't matter if it's real or not. It means something."
Lilly looked at Caleb and then shook her head. "I'm off back to the TARDIS. Are you coming?"
"Depends," said Caleb, walking behind her as she clambered over the dunes.
"Depends on what?" asked Lilly.
"On whether we get an ice cream on the way back."
Lilly tried to laugh, but she couldn't. No matter how much Caleb tried to help her she still felt lost. She still felt damaged, and laughing would mean that it was all okay again. She looked at the rose and then put it in her jeans pocket.
"Maybe ice cream would be nice."
The little girl was still running and almost collided with the strange, bearded man as he unlocked the odd, blue box that was standing on the edge of the campsite.
"Steady, young lady," said the man.
"What have we told you," said the man, chasing after his daughter.
"Sorry," said the little girl as she grinned up at him.
"I'm sorry about that," said the woman. "She can be a bit of a handful. Always out on an adventure."
"Not to worry," said the man as he opened the doors and stepped inside. "Nothing wrong with a bit of adventure."
The little girl laughed at the man and then bolted away from her parents again.
The father rolled his eyes. "Will you come back here," laughed the parents as the little girl scooted off towards the caravans. "Come back here now, Holly."
The End
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