Sum in a Series

Author's Note: This chapter takes place at some time between Earthshock and Time-Flight.

"Doctor, might I ask you something?"

At first, the Doctor did not appear to hear Nyssa's question. Instead, he continued to stare down at the console in front of him. He would flip switches, press buttons and would frown as if he were working out some complex navigation problem. While that might have been the case, Nyssa was aware that it was equally possible that the Doctor was simply trying to improvise in the face of numerous equipment malfunctions.

"Yes…those coordinates should get us to…." The Doctor lifted his head. "Ah yes. Nyssa. You had wanted to ask me something?"

A trace of a smile appeared on Nyssa's lips. Tegan would probably be annoyed by now and would accuse the Doctor of ignoring her if he had responded like that around her. Nyssa didn't see it that way. She had known more than one eccentric genius on Traken and the Doctor definitely fit the mold that she had gotten used to.

"I was wondering…about something that Tegan said," she replied. "We were talking about that last planet we visited, Delaras Four, and about how all the wars had made things so desolate there."

"Yes," the Doctor murmured. "Wars usually have that affect on a place. Unfortunately, small-minded types like those military ministers we took care of never learn this lesson." He looked over at Nyssa and tried harder to smile. "But I digress. What was your question? Was it about Delaras or some of the people there, or…?"

"It wasn't a question about Delaras specifically," Nyssa answered. "I had been talking about how horrid some of the people there had been to each other and how it had made their situation even worse than it needed to be. And Tegan said that I'd been sheltered and that I couldn't understand how it was for them."

Nyssa paused, her brow creasing slightly in consternation. "I'm not sure I understand what she meant by that, Doctor. Was it meant to be a negative comment on my character? It's true that I was a part of the ruling class on Traken and thus, was spared the hardships that others endure in other places. And my father had been kind to me and I try to follow in his example…."

Thoughts of Tremas put a small sting in Nyssa's eyes, but she managed to push past it. "But I do not see how that would make me unable to appreciate the difficulties on Delaras or perceive the problems some of the people were creating for themselves by being thoughtlessly cruel to each other."

"No, I don't think it does either," the Doctor assured her. "No, I'm pretty sure what Tegan meant was that it's hard to truly empathize with people who you don't have a common experience with. But even though you haven't endured the aftermath of decades of planetary-wide war, you can see how others are coping and can consider how you might handle a similar situation if you had to. So I don't think you have anything to worry about in that regard."

"Perhaps not," Nyssa nodded. "But Doctor, my being 'sheltered'…is that something I will need to overcome to be a better person?"

"It's not an inherently bad thing, if that's what you mean," the Doctor said. Suddenly, a blinking light caught his attention and he stopped to study one of the monitors for a few seconds before dashing over to the other side of the console. He smashed numerous buttons before letting out a sigh of relief and looking up at Nyssa with another smile on his face.

"There. That should get us back to Heathrow…eventually," he said. "Now, about what you were saying…."

Nyssa smiled back a little more. She had learned a while ago that conversations with the Doctor tended to occur in stalls and spurts.

"Being sheltered, being cared for, can be a wonderful thing," he continued. "It's what parents often do for their children to some extent or another. It's only bad when it shapes a person's entire life and future."

He gave Nyssa a wry look. "When I was on Gallifrey, I was quite sheltered as well. How could I not be with how Time Lord society shut itself off from the rest of the universe? That's part of the reason why I left. Because we were sheltered when we didn't need to be. Or when it would have been better that we weren't. And when I started my travels, it took time for me to realize how much I needed to learn because I hadn't had the opportunity to do so up to that point. Still, with time, I was able to learn and was able to let go of the less positive aspects of being sheltered."

The Doctor moved away from the console and put an arm around Nyssa's shoulders. "I'm sure all you need is time too, Nyssa. But even while you learn, don't think that your father did anything wrong in raising you the way he did or that there is something wrong with your character just because you hadn't grown up in difficult situations. None of that makes you any lesser than someone who hasn't been as fortunate."

"Thank you, Doctor," Nyssa said. Hearing the words made her realize that she had known this all along. Still, she was grateful that the Doctor had understood how important hearing the words were anyway.

"Doctor? Are we landing soon?"

Nyssa and the Doctor whirled to see Tegan walking into the console room. The Doctor responded by skittering back over to the console.

"Tegan, yes we are, in fact. And this time, we should be able to land right outside of Heathrow Airport. Just in time for your first day at work."

"Right," Tegan said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I'll believe that when it happens."

Nyssa chuckled. Despite the Doctor's assurances, she was pretty sure he hadn't been as exact as he thought he had been. Then again, she figured he was accurate when it counted anyway.