first_in_time | New Lives and Mourned Pasts

The trip was long but at least they had jobs to go to and somewhere to live even if it was small. They each had one suitcase half filled with clothes and a life they were leaving behind. Once they were left in the by the side of a dusty road on the outskirts of a small country town Barbara walked with Ian to their new home, unconsciously holding onto his hand as she had done so many times before. Their real estate agent waited at the door of their new home to hand them a set of keys. He wished the newly weds ever lasting happiness then left them to it.

"It seems I've missed my own wedding," Barbara said with a sigh as she put the suitcase down in the middle of the almost empty lounge room and chuckled a little. She was tired and felt dirty from all their traveling.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

first_in_time

"Or we could lie on the grass in our back garden. We have one of those now," Barbara added and squeezed Ian's hand. The old fence sprung up before them and she had to let go of Ian's hand to climb over it.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian turned his attention to where he was going and climbed over after her, taking her hand again afterwards. "Of course we do." He'd got used to living in a flat - before they were travellers in space and time. "We'll buy a picnic blanket and lie out on it."

From:

first_in_time

"It's different, seeing the stars from Earth instead of the TARDIS scanner," she said after a moment of comfortable silence, "makes me feel more like I'm at home, I suppose. We should take time to look at them most days."

From:

splendid_roman

"The TARDIS scanner was like looking at a television, it's different looking at them in person. And we can't see the same constellations from anywhere except here." It was good to be see the familiar constellations again.

From:

first_in_time

"How many constellations can you see now?" Barbara asked and looked back up at the sky.

From:

splendid_roman

This time he stopped when he looked up. "There's the plough." He traced it with one finger. "And cassiopeia's a sort of W shape." He traced that one too.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara stood a bit closer to see where his finger was tracing.

"Oh! I see it. It's over there," she told him and traced it with her own finger.

From:

splendid_roman

"Yes!" He smiled and moved closer to her so he could see what she was seeing. "When we go to the library let's see if we can find a book with constellations in, then we can see if we can find them. I am a bit rusty with recognising them."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara loved how excited Ian was about start constellations, and she found herself taking on a little of his excitement.

"Alright, we can do that. I'm keen to see what else is in the stars," she said and took up his hand to gently tug him toward home. "Aside from the Doctor of course."

From:

splendid_roman

"There are planets too." He looked back down and let himself be tugged. "I can't remember which of them can be seen when, but we can look that up too. And there'll be meteorites, at the right time of year."

From:

first_in_time

"I told you that you'd fall back into being a science teacher quickly," Barbara told him with a grin, "you're almost back to your old self."

From:

splendid_roman

Ian smiled back. "I was thinking that the school needs a science club, to keep the children off the streets and persuade them that science can be fun, even when the curriculum bores them."

From:

first_in_time

"That does sound like a good idea," Barbara said and passed the basket to Ian so hath at she could get the keys from her pocket, "would you just look at stars or would you do other things, too?"

From:

splendid_roman

"Oh, other things too. If you try and look at the stars on a particular night you'll guarantee it'll be cloudy." He chuckled. "We can make fireworks and other exploding things, and make things fizz. All the best bits of chemistry," he said with a grin. "And I'm sure we'd fit some physics and biology in there too."

From:

first_in_time

Barbara unlocked the door and held it open for Ian while he talked, then closed it once they we're both inside. "I'm sure that you will have plenty of interest from a range of ages," she said and locked the door before taking the basket back to start putting things away.

From:

splendid_roman

"I hope so." He took his coat off. "The younger children might not understand the explanations, but they'll enjoy the experiments."

From:

first_in_time

"Well, if they can enjoy the experiments, they might be able to pick up some things they'll be able to use later on, surely." Barbara put away the cups they'd taken and the remaining sandwich went into the fridge. Then it was simply a matter of putting her arms around Ian and smiling up at him.

"I love that teaching children makes you so excited," she told him.

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled back, putting his arms around her in return. "I didn't realise how much I'd missed it until I got to do it again today."

From:

first_in_time

"It is a lot easier to remember the not so good parts over the great parts," she said and leaned in to kiss him gently on the cheek. "Your students are lucky to have you. I'm lucky to have you."

From:

splendid_roman

"Yes, you are." He grinned, then more seriously he said, "I was remembering the marking and the late nights trying to get it done and forgetting the times when a student understood something they'd been struggling with or discover the wonder of science."

From:

first_in_time

"They were good moments, weren't they?" she agreed with a smile, "remember when Timothy - I can't remember his surname - came running into the lab so excited because he'd built a volcano that spurted vinegar and bicarbonate soda?"

From:

splendid_roman

"I remember," Ian said, chuckling. "He then spent half an hour talking about how he'd made it and how it worked. He was thinking of going to university, I wonder how he got on," he said thoughtfully.