The Reproductive Cycle (short story)

The Reproductive Cycle was the tenth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Life Science. It was written by Matthew Griffiths. It featured the Sixth Doctor and Peri.

Summary
Peri wanders the TARDIS, thinking about leaving the Doctor. The Doctor is in the console room, trying to figure out what is wrong with the TARDIS.

Peri hears a strange sound and investigates. She finds herself in a room that looks familiar. She sees a box near a window. When she sees what's in the box, she screams.

The Doctor, hearing the scream, runs to the rescue. He finds Peri holding a cooing baby. Peri and the Doctor realise they both see the child and the room differently. Peri sees a brown-haired girl in a room similar to her old room at home. The Doctor sees a blond, curly-haired boy in a room like his kindergarten room.

The Doctor, realising the baby is changing its appearance according to the influence of those around him, and tells Peri that Kamelion is responsible.

Over the next few days, the child grows rapidly. One night it makes its way to the TARDIS console and connects itself to the circuitry. The Doctor catches the child and scolds it for siphoning off the artron energy. This is why the TARDIS has been acting strangely lately.

The Doctor tells Peri that the child, now a teenager, cannot stay on the TARDIS. The teenager wants to leave, and the Doctor realises that these thoughts are reflections of Peri's thoughts, and that she wants to leave.

They drop the "child", now Peri's age, off with Peri's roommate Janine. Peri decides to stay with the Doctor for a few more adventures.

Characters

 * Sixth Doctor
 * Peri

Worldbuilding

 * The TARDIS is saving mementos for the child, including a baseball cap, a champagne cork, some flowers, and a postcard from Seville.
 * The Doctor mentions the Pied Piper.
 * Peri sees the room decorated with Sesame Street items.
 * The Doctor tells the child a fairy tale about the Gastropods.
 * Peri's teddy bear, Rhodes, is in her dorm room.

Continuity

 * It was discovered that Kamelion had a child with the Doctor's TARDIS, after his second "death". (PROSE: The Ultimate Treasure)
 * The child is left to take Peri's place in her life on Earth. One contradictory account states that Peri was a missing person for several months following her trip to Lanzarote, after which she returned home to Baltimore for the funeral of a family friend. (AUDIO: The Reaping) Another stated the Time Lords sent a permutation of her back to Earth with her memories of travelling with the Doctor beyond their first adventure removed, after which she got together with a childhood sweetheart in an ill-fated relationship. (AUDIO: Peri and the Piscon Paradox)