Cracked timeline (The Church on Ruby Road)

Cracked timeline
Type:	Alternate timeline
Appearance:	The Church on Ruby Road

As stated by the Fifteenth Doctor, the goblins cracked the timeline when they travelled back in time to the night of Ruby Sunday's birth and ate her, erasing her presence from history and adversely affecting the lives of her adoptive mother and grandmother, Carla and Cherry Sunday.

This timeline was soon negated by the Doctor when he followed the goblins and prevented them from harming Ruby, allowing Ruby's life to be restored.

History

Original timeline

In the original timeline, Ruby Sunday was found outside the church on Ruby Road by Carla Sunday on Christmas Eve 2004, who then adopted her. Carla raised Ruby in Manchester for part of her life, before moving to Notting Hill and into the flat belonging to Cherry Sunday, Carla's mother.

On Christmas Eve 2023, Carla took in a newborn named Lulubelle, whose mother couldn't cope with raising a child. The goblins, who fed on coincidence, spotted a chance of coincidence with the similarities between Ruby and Lulubelle, so set about abducting the child so they could feast upon her.

Lulubelle was rescued from the goblins by Ruby and the Fifteenth Doctor before it was too late, and so the goblins, not wanting to waste the coincidence, travelled back in time to the night of Ruby's birth. This also appeared to create a large physical crack in the Sundays' home. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Cracked timeline

Subsequently, the erasure of Ruby Sunday from history resulted in the timeline being cracked, and, in her absence, the lives of Carla and Cherry Sunday were adversely altered. However, the Fifteenth Doctor was able to retain his memories of Ruby.

Carla only fostered five children, rather than the thirty-three in the original timeline. She was much more bitter and cold, only taking in the few children she did foster for the money and dismissing them as "brats", resenting Lulubelle for ruining her Christmas which she intended to spend alone. However, she appeared to be subconsciously aware she was missing something, as she teared up when speaking to the Doctor about Ruby.

Cherry also believed they weren't "blessed" with having a child in their lives, when the Doctor asked her about Ruby.

After talking with the two remaining Sundays, the Doctor resolved to repair the timeline and save Ruby. He travelled back in time to Christmas Eve 2004, spotting the goblins during their abduction. Donning his Intelligent Gloves, reversing their effects so instead of being lightweight he became extremely heavy, he began pulling on the Goblins' ship, bringing it down to the ground. The ship's hull was pierced by the church's spire, which impaled the Goblin King and distracted the other goblins. After they fled, baby Ruby fell from the sky and into the Doctor's arms, who safely returned the child to the doorstep of the church, allowing Carla to find her and negate the altered timeline. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])

Aftermath

While the timeline was seemingly restored to the state it was in prior to the goblins' interference, with Ruby Sunday being vaguely aware of being "a bit lost" during her non-existence, Mrs Flood was seemingly affected by something which shifted her knowledge of the Doctor's TARDIS; while before the goblins' interference, she only recognised the TARDIS as being a police box, afterwards Mrs Flood appeared to be familiar with the Doctor and the TARDIS, understanding what a TARDIS was. (TV: The Church on Ruby Road ^[+]Loading...["The Church on Ruby Road (TV story)"])