Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who, the Doctor, Donna or any ginger Time Babies. I request that owner of said Time Babies please put them on the show post haste. Anyway. this is part of the Regarding Mrs Smith universe and is intended to just be a fun story with a plot. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think and happy reading!

Chloe Smith-Noble was beyond excited.

Being the second Time Baby was not always so easy because she had to follow Zara. She wanted to be just like her sister, but Zara was always way ahead of her. She had even gone to school this year. Chloe had loved it at first because it meant hours alone with Mummy and Daddy, but as soon as Geoffrey got there, that was over. Geoffrey got all the attention because "New babies need lots of love from their mummies" which she was sick of hearing. Then as soon as Zara came in from school, they wanted to know what she had been up to.

It was all changing, though. Today, they were taking her to Zara's school for a visit because she would be going in the autumn when they weren't travelling. Then on Saturday, she would be three, just one more year and she would catch up to Zara.

"I'm going to school! I'm going to school!," Chloe sang, skipping down the street.

Donna pushed the double pushchair up the road. "Chloe, don't run off. Hold Daddy's hand."

The Doctor held his hand out for Chloe. He looked to Donna. "What is it these children of yours enjoy about school?"

"They like making friends," said Donna. "They need that. Otherwise they'll have to use their time machines to pick up friends."

"Oi!," said the Doctor.

"Big girls go to school!," Chloe added.

"Yes, they do," Donna confirmed.

They walked up to the brick building that housed Zara's school. A woman let them in and they walked past the rooms. Each had colorful doors and windows that showed the inside.

Chloe got on her tiptoes to look over into Zara's classroom. It had everything! Toys, games, paints and crayons. Zara was directing a construction project.

"What's she building?," asked Donna, watching as children puttered around with blocks and Legos.

"I think she's making the skyline of New New York," said the Doctor.

"Oh, yeah," said Donna.

A woman appeared. "Doctor Smith, Mrs. Smith."

"Oh, hello, Mrs. Lawrence," said Donna.

"This must be Geoffrey," said Mrs. Lawrence.

"Yes, it is and this is our Chloe," said Donna, pulling the girl over.

Chloe stood tall and smiled at the lady. She was ready for this.

"Hello, Chloe," said Mrs. Lawrence. "Will she be joining us next year?"

"Yes," said Donna. She looked sideways at the Doctor. "Isn't that what you wanted to discuss?"

"Oh, no. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Of course we would love to have Chloe next year. It's always our policy to accept the siblings of students."

Chloe frowned. She had been thinking up things all morning to prove she was clever. Zara always had lots of them.

"It was Zara's education I wanted to discuss," said Mrs. Lawrence.

"Oh?," asked the Doctor.

"We all love Zara here and she's a pleasure to be around, but..." she motioned at the window.

"Is it the architecture of the senate-house? I told her it wasn't that art deco," said the Doctor.

"No, not at all," said Mrs. Lawrence, never knowing what the Doctor meant. Most of the staff at the nursery school had decided he was a bit touched, a notion Donna had done nothing to dissuade. "I just wonder if Zara is best served by coming next year rather than moving on to Reception at the least."

"Reception?," asked Donna. "Skipping a whole year?"

"Yes," said Mrs. Lawrence. "We could put her with the fours in summer term and she could start at primary school in the autumn."

"Isn't it a bit late to get a place, though?," asked Donna.

"We have to get a place?," asked the Doctor in confusion.

"Yes," said Donna.

"I've spoken to the admissions offices at several schools and explained Zara's situation-"

"My husband's travel schedule makes it difficult," said Donna. "I don't want to split up the family. I need a school that understands that."

"Mrs. Smith, frankly, any of the schools I've spoken with would be happy to have Zara under any terms you dictate."

"It's almost offer day," said Donna.

"Offer day?," asked the Doctor.

"Yes, offer day," said Donna.

"Was there some sort of pamphlet I was supposed to get about these things?," asked the Doctor.

"I have some prospectuses in my office. I'll fetch them for you."

Mrs. Lawrence left. Donna turned to the Doctor.

"What do you think?," she asked.

"I never liked this school idea."

Donna rolled her eyes. "You know we have to keep letting her be around other children, right?"

"How long do we have to do that?! Donna, she's just going to outsmart the children at Reception, then, I don't know what do you have after Reception?"

"The point is that she interacts with them. Maybe if we let her skip a year they'll have a chance. She's just sort of running them right now," said Donna motioning at the scene through the window.

"You run me," the Doctor observed.

"I suppose we could try letting her be with the fours, see what that's like."

"Mummy?," asked Chloe.

"Yes, Chloe?"

"What about me?"

Donna smiled. "Well, you'll be going here next year! I bet we could even get you in with Zara's teacher, Miss Reddy! She is very nice. Isn't she, Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded. "Of course she is, even if she does have conventional views on gravity."

"But Zara won't be here," said Chloe.

"Well, no, she might have moved on to a school for older children," said Donna.

"Why can't I go there?"

"You won't be old enough."

"When will I be old enough?"

"Well, that all depends, sweetheart."

"But I want to be like Zara!"

"But you're Chloe," said the Doctor. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"No!," Chloe shouted.

"No?," asked the Doctor.

"I'm almost three! I want to be a big girl!"

"Well, of course you will be," said Donna. "All in good time."

Chloe looked at the Doctor. "Wibbly wobbly time?"

"Uh, in this case, since it's your own personal time, actually, no. Your time is running for you in a straight linear progression."

"Stupid linear progression," said Chloe.

They had collected Zara and were off to lunch now. Zara had ordered in Japanese, once again showing how clever she was to Chloe's consternation. Daddy was talking to her and Mummy was feeding the baby.

"Miss Reddy said they were going to put my painting in the hallway," said Zara.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart," said Donna.

"Can we put it up in the TARDIS when it's done?," asked Zara.

"Of course," said the Doctor. "The Old Girl will love it. Bet she puts it up in the art gallery, right next to the Vermeer."

Chloe picked at her food. She hated art. She could never get it quite the way she wanted it and Zara always did. She had to find a way to steer the conversation back towards her. Subtly.

"I'm going to be three!," she shouted. People at the next table turned.

The Doctor looked over at her. "Yes?"

Donna shot him a look and turned back to Chloe. "Yes, it's very exciting, isn't it?"

"What about my party?," she asked.

"Well, most of the family will be there. Uncle Ianto, Uncle Jack..."

"Auntie Martha?"

Donna nodded. "Of course, she'd never miss her god-daughter's birthday."

"Rory?"

"He's your godfather, isn't he?"

Zara frowned. "Does that mean Melody is coming?"

"Don't start with that, Zara. We already discussed it." Donna put up a finger. "No name calling."

"What about my cake?," asked Chloe.

Donna turned back. "Well, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I will tell you it's pink."

"Has it got bananas?," asked the Doctor.

"I'm going to be three!," said Chloe. She looked at Zara. "I've almost caught up to you!"

Zara frowned. "No, you haven't."

"Yes, I have!"

"No, you haven't."

"You're four. I'll be three. Four minus three is one, I just need one more birthday!"

"I'll be five before you're four."

"What?," asked Chloe. She looked at the Doctor.

"Well, see time is a funny thing-" the Doctor started.

"Chloe, Zara's older than you," said Donna. "That's why she's your big sister. She'll always be older than you and you'll always be older than Geoffrey. Understand?"

Chloe understood. Chloe understood she was playing in a rigged game.

Donna was in the sitting room. Esther laid in the sun by the window as she played with Geoffrey.

"You're such a good boy!," Donna said as Geoffrey handed her a ball. "Ever so clever, that's what you are! Yes!"

Donna glanced over as Geoffrey giggled. Chloe was sitting by the wall.

"Chloe, sweetheart, do you want to play with us?"

"I'm not a baby!," she protested. "I don't want to play baby games!"

"Of course you're not," said Donna. "Did you want to watch some telly? What about a film?"

"No," she grumbled.

"You just want to sit and look at the wall?"

"I'm thinking!"

The Doctor entered.

"Does Chloe seem alright to you?," Donna asked the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to see her at the wall.

"Seems fine," said the Doctor.

"She's not fine! She's staring at the wall!," Donna hissed. "I don't get it, she was so excited this morning."

"I suppose she's just pondering the mysteries of the universe," said the Doctor.

"Pondering the mysteries of the universe? Tell me, did you do that a lot growing up?"

"Not that I can remember..."

Donna looked back. "You don't suppose it's the middle child thing, do you?"

"What middle child thing?"

"You know, being a middle child."

"What about it?"

Donna looked back. "Being in the middle."

"It's in the center?," the Doctor asked.

"You don't know what I'm talking about?"

The Doctor ran his right hand through his hair. "You keep tossing out all these terms at me, Donna! Place, offer day, middle child, Elmo! I've never raised a child with all these customs, I haven't got a clue and frankly if there is no official literature as you claim, I don't know how I'm meant to keep up!"

Donna pulled the Doctor farther away, leaving Geoffrey on the rug. She was going to have to explain this whole thing. "Basically, there's Zara, right? And Zara's always been there, she had all sorts of time alone with us and she gets to do everything first. Not to mention..."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Not to mention what?"

"She's basically us, you know, loud..." The Doctor shrugged in agreement, "...and Chloe is much quieter than that. Then there's Geoffrey and he's the baby and the first boy, so we always have to give him our attention. Then there's Chloe."

"What about her?"

Donna was about to scream. "Call yourself a genius, do you? She feels left out because it's always about Zara or Geoffrey."

"Donna, that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. It is not always about Zara or Geoffrey."

"Yes, sometimes it's about you saving the Earth or me saving the universe. Do you not see how that might make her crave a little attention?"

"We're not giving her enough attention?"

"Yes, seeing as how it's her birthday tomorrow, don't you think we ought to give her a little extra?"

"And how do I do that?"

"I don't know. Take her to the park."

"To the park?"

"Yes, get an ice cream or something, it doesn't matter so long as she's the only one going."

The Doctor approached carefully. "Chloe, want to go to the park with me?"

She looked up skeptically.

"Just us," said the Doctor.

The Doctor walked hand in hand with Chloe down to the park. She was beaming from being all alone with the Doctor.

"So, Chloe-oe-oe-, what did you want to do first? The swings or the seesaw or the merry go round or..." The Doctor sniffed. "What is that?"

"What is what, Daddy?"

"I thought I could smell someone operating a biomolecular progression matrix, but that technology isn't even legal in this galaxy." He took out the sonic screwdriver and it beeped insistently. "Oh, that's not good at all."

"What, Daddy?"

"Here, Chloe, I need you to stay right here," he said placing her in the sandbox.

"But I don't like the sandbox!"

"Chloe, no arguing. I can't have you getting too close to it. Your mother would kill me." He placed her inside. "Don't move!"

Chloe watched as the Doctor went following the trail. She sat down sadly. It had seemed so good when he had offered to take her out, like she was finally getting to do something.

"Is that your daddy?"

Chloe looked up to see a woman with bright green eyes and long black hair.

"Yes," said Chloe.

"What's he looking for?"

"I don't know."

"You seem sad."

Chloe sighed. "I'm going to be three and I need to be four."

"Well, that's not right, is it?" The woman sat down and took out a purple stone. She held it in her hand. "Here."

"Well, this is magic. All you do is blow on it and make your wish. Then you can be as big as you want."

"I can be bigger than Zara?"

"Just blow and make your wish."

Chloe summoned together her resolve. She would be bigger than Zara. She closed her eyes and blew.

"Funny, the trail went cold," said the Doctor, standing back in front of the sandbox. Chloe opened her eyes to realize the woman was gone. "Sort of device the Pantheon of Discord would use."

"The what?"

"Oh, you know, the Trickster and his Brigade. Auntie Sarah Jane's had some problems with them, not to mention Mummy and Zara." The Doctor sat down. "I don't understand, though. They're usually into time energy and I don't see any disruptions, not even a tiny one."

Chloe shrugged.

"Oh, well, it ought to show itself later. It usually does," said the Doctor. He looked back at Chloe. "You know you're special, don't you?"

"Why?"

"Why? Because you're my only Chloe."

"I want to be older."

"Oh, that will all come. I know it all seems so far away back where you are, back at the very beginning, but it all comes someday. You should enjoy your very last day of being two because you are never going to be two again."

Donna was feeling pretty good by the morning of Chloe's party. By both accounts, the outing had gone very well and Chloe was in a good mood the rest of the evening. After she went to bed, Donna and the Doctor set about preparing the party bags and decorating for the next day. Everything was coming together.

Donna walked into Chloe's room. "Alright, sweetheart, time to wake up! It's a very special day-"

Donna looked in the bed to see a leggy redhead under Chloe's duvet.

"Who the hell are you?!," she shouted.

The redhead stirred. "What, Mummy?"

"Doctor!," Donna shouted. She turned. "Where is my daughter?"

"What?"

"Look, I've dealt with Time Baby kidnappers before and you, missy, you are going to pay for this!"

"But, Mummy-"

The Doctor rushed in. He looked from the leggy redhead to Donna.

"Someone's taken Chloe!"

"Well..."

"Doctor!"

"It's just... I don't think anybody has."

"How can you say that? There's some woman in her bed and I don't even see her!"

"Daddy..." said the leggy redhead, sounding scared.

"Donna, that is Chloe."

"What?" She looked back at her. Donna realized that the woman was freakishly tall like the Doctor, did have Chloe's eyes and hair as well as some of Donna's other... assets. She turned back to the Doctor. "What did you do?! Did you take her out in the TARDIS or something? What? Was it those stupid statues? What happened?"

"Of course I didn't and I don't know!"

"Then how is that Chloe?!"

The Doctor looked back at the bed, trying to take in the fact that his two-year old had turned twenty in the night. "That is a really good question."