Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author Note: Set after the Twelfth Doctor episodes 'The Zygon Invasion' & 'The Zygon Inversion.'
THEY ALL WENT INTO THE ARK
There was an Osgood and then there was another. Two by two.
"I'll have the chicken."
"I'll have the vegetarian."
The mess worker slanted a look between them, "Really?"
It was a frequent moment that frequently stung. But the Osgoods waited until he served them both – getting their orders right despite his look – and left, ponytails swishing, to pick up bottles of lemonade and choose a table between them. There was air left around them as they made their way through the mess. They were quite used to that. And if it hurt (it did), they kept moving, very aware and glad of the other, close by.
The boxes were still what they were meant to be – blue and red, both labelled, both empty. They were still a responsibility, from the Doctor himself. The Osgoods stared at them thoughtfully.
"Should we-?"
"He didn't say we should."
"He still wants to know which is which."
A beat. Disappointment. "Yes."
Kate Stewart had lost her memory in that room, fifteen times so far. Surely, it was going to be a problem? If a memory was continually erased, wouldn't the mind be damaged? The Osgoods liked Kate; she never asked which was which.
"Research."
They said it together and nodded, stepping forward to pull books from Black Archive shelves and reports from filing cabinets. The Doctor hadn't been concerned about Kate's memory but he never stayed long on Earth, not after his exile had been lifted. Maybe he'd missed something, maybe UNIT hadn't. Osgood was a fan and they always had questions. They always wanted to know more. Questions were important, when they were the right ones.
Osgood pulled notebooks from a satchel, the other produced pens. They'd type everything up later.
One Osgood never asked the other Do you think about your other body, do you miss it? Do you wish you could change? You must miss that. You can if you want to.
They worked on UNIT files delivered to the Archive; their two synchronised minds could help shed light on difficult alien cases. Alien and Osgood, all rolled into one, times two. They solved some cases and UNIT awarded them commendations and marked their files.
There was some in UNIT, high up and low down, who wanted to ask other questions. But there was the success of the Osgood boxes and Kate Stewart's stance in their favour. The Osgoods were sure that some questions shouldn't ever need to be asked. It felt like it was going to be a long time until enough people understood that.
"Have you tried this?"
"I remember the taste..."
"Here, with ice. I think that's new."
"To both of us?"
"I think-."
"Oh! It is! Lime might work better actually."
"Didn't someone else drink that recently? I remember seeing it."
"Maybe. There's limes in the fridge."
"I think I'll open the pickles too, with the cheese. We haven't eaten since ten."
"Watch out of the aftertaste."
"Mmm, I remember."
Home was the Archive and a house that included two bedrooms and a foldout sofa. There were pictures on the walls – some framed, some experimentally painted directly onto a wall, the pink and yellow was especially good - and a pile of knitting and basket of sewing always being worked on by one or both of them. Was there a way to stop question marks coming out crooked? Neither of them had found a solution yet. Research.
There were safeguards for both homes that only the Osgoods knew about. Knowing so many secrets always seemed to mean loneliness, in fiction and real life. But Osgood wasn't alone, that was part of a secret. Only it wasn't a secret for them. Not even the Doctor had understood that. Disappointment was still a beat for both of them.
Osgood remembered being held captive by Zygons. She remembered the smell, how damp everything had seemed and how they'd hissed at her, hatred in their eyes. She remembered thinking about the incident involving the Doctor and the Loch Ness Monster and wanting to ask about it. She remembered the hospital reports that had been included in that UNIT file, how many soldiers had left UNIT afterwards. She remembered being sure that this was it, that maybe she wasn't meant to live much longer than her sister because their connection had been so absolute. She remembered being glad.
Osgood remembered killing people. She remembered satisfaction in seeing an enemy vanquished and what it could achieve for the Zygons. She remembered being greedy for more kills, to kill them all, to claim Earth for the Zygons and deep rage at being stopped, at everything changing.
They were repulsed by chunks of what they remembered. They were glad they weren't alone.
There was a grave that Osgood still visited. It was still marked simply Sister.
"You understand?"
"Of course I do."
"I mean, I know-."
"I know."
They wore twin smiles and drank their tea slightly differently. They never wore identical outfits. They were both Osgood and they guarded the Osgood box (singular, as far as anyone else knew). They often had different tastes. It made every day so interesting, in a different way than work always did.
"Which one are you?"
No matter what meal they chose or TV show they preferred (one liked Elementary better than Sherlock, another Bletchley Circle rather than Broadchurch), the answer was still Osgood.
There was Osgood and another and then another, with boxes and scarves to match. Two by two by two.
-the end