Daisy Chain (short story)

Daisy Chain was the sixth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: 2040. It was written by Xanna Eve Chown. It featured the Seventh Doctor and Mel.

Summary
Bella and Saul are walking down the hill. Bella picks a daisy and sings, "He loves me, he loves me not..." Saul chides her for trying to prove that daisies have petal numbers in line with the Fibonnaci sequence, as it has already been proven.

In the TARDIS, the Doctor is cleaning up, hoping to clear his mind so he can find his Vetlox scanner. Mel offers to help, but the Doctor says her computer knowledge isn't sufficient. He decides to take a break and takes Mel to Sussex Downs to show her how much human computer technology advanced from her time to the 21st century.

To their surprise, they find the TARDIS has landed in the middle of a large target made out of red and white daisies. There are several people nearby, taking measurements of the TARDIS and making notations. They pay very little attention to the Doctor and Mel. One of them, Thea, explains that the TARDIS is part of the "Final Proof".

Thea has Bella take the Doctor and Mel to a cottage for tea. Bella tries to explain the purpose of the community. They have rejected any technology that they cannot understand and control. Thea enters and sends Bella away, scolding her for thinking she is in love with Saul. She tells the Doctor and Mel that they don't approve of emotions. Thea then explains to them that they have been tracking sightings of the TARDIS through history and predicted its appearance at this time. The Doctor tries to explain that it's just chance but Thea won't have any of it. The Doctor becomes angry and wants to prove Thea and her fellow community members wrong. Mel is worried that they have lost control of their lives, that they are just part of Thea's pattern.

Back at the TARDIS, the Doctor explains to Mel that Thea's group failed to take one thing into account in their calculations: the TARDIS travels through time, so their calculations are incorrect. He then dematerialises the TARDIS five weeks earlier, when the community are planting the daisy seeds. He only intends to wait until someone sees them, but then he sees that Bella is standing forlornly among the rest of the group. He leaves the TARDIS and shouts a hello to the community, who are shocked and dismayed to see the TARDIS. He then gives Bella a daisy with the proper number of petals, and suggests she invite Saul over for dinner.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Melanie Bush
 * Bella
 * Saul
 * Thea

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor brings a hatstand back into the console room.
 * Saul says that daisies have petal numbers in the Fibonacci sequence.
 * One of the places in which the group tracked the TARDIS was the United States in 1999.

Continuity

 * Thea's group has recorded sightings of the Doctor's TARDIS during the Stone Age, (TV: An Unearthly Child) in 1572 France, (TV: The Massacre) and 1867 England. (TV: The Evil of the Daleks)