Father Figure (short story)

Father Figure was the second short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Farewells. It was written by Steve Lyons. It featured the Second Doctor and Victoria Waterfield.

Summary
Victoria wakes from a dream of her father. She goes to the console room, where the Doctor is working. He says they haven't left London yet. Victoria needs some fresh air, and the Doctor tells her not to wander too far.

Meanwhile, in a cemetery, a robot waits to fulfil its programming. Three children approach, and it kills to preserve itself.

Victoria takes a bus to the cemetery where her mother is buried. She stumbles across a dead child, and sees the robot. Although it has been damaged from years of exposure to weather, she recognises its face as that of her father's.

The robot recognises Victoria's face and starts to fulfil its basic program: to kill her. It corners her, but before it can kill her, the Doctor has appeared and jabs the sonic screwdriver into its eye socket.

The Doctor apologises to Victoria for not seeing that she needed to say goodbye to her father. Back in the TARDIS, Victoria realises that, for now, this is her home.

Characters

 * Second Doctor
 * Victoria Waterfield

Worldbuilding

 * The Daleks programmed the robot to wait for Victoria.
 * During this adventure, Jamie is asleep in the TARDIS.

Continuity

 * Victoria has a dream of her father. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)
 * Victoria finds London at this time almost as alien as Telos. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen)
 * London is recovering from the Yeti invasion. (TV: The Web of Fear)