The TARDIS materialised with some difficulty in a small, cluttered room. "Ah." The Doctor said poking his head out the doors. "There's the problem, she barely had any space to land." He walked out and smiled at the various items that had been arranged in piles around the room. "Well that's Anne for you." Kate said as she stepped out of the TARDIS as well and navigated her way through her friend's possessions. "Where is she anyway?" She asked, looking around the tiny room that was quite obviously empty except for themselves. "Didn't you ring and say we were coming?" The Doctor nodded and checked his watch. "I even gave her enough time to pack a few things. Ah, here we go." He pointed to a small suitcase that had been left by the door. "She must be somewhere else in the house then…" Kate said, making for the door. The Doctor followed her out but after checking the entire second floor and nipping quickly downstairs as well, they concluded that she had probably gone out for something and would be back soon. "We'll just wait for her in here then." Kate said. "She can't be too- GAH!" She was cut off as Anne jumped out from behind one of the pillars shouting incoherently, making Kate fall to the floor in surprise. "Why?" Kate shouted up at them, frowning.
Anne leaned on the Doctor's shoulder as they both doubled over in laughter. "I'm sorry, we couldn't resist it!" She managed to choke out. The Doctor recovered a bit more quickly than she did and leaned over to help Kate up. "She snuck in while I distracted you." He smiled, obviously pleased with himself.
Kate pouted and gave them both a disapproving look. "Not funny!" she said, crossing her arms but she couldn't help smiling and starting to laugh with them.
"Come on," Anne teased. "I had to get you back from the time you hid in my closet dressed as a possessed woman right after we watched the Grudge." Kate laughed harder, remembering the look on Anne's face when she had popped out from behind the sweaters wearing a black wig and dark make-up.
Kate released the Doctor and ran over to hug Anne. "I've missed you, dear!"
"Of course you did! I'm amazing!" she said, dodging Kate's playful smack and laughing loudly. "Obviously, what I meant to say is I missed you too!" They spun around a few times before Anne let go and twirled around quickly to face the Doctor. "Oi! And you!" She shook a finger at him in a mock attempt at being threatening. "You almost spoiled the surprise." "I did not!" The Doctor said, looking offended. "I was complete stealth!" Anne rolled her eyes and giggled. "Yeah, sure…"
Kate laughed as she positioned herself on the railing, dangling her legs. "You're gonna regret that once we get going," the Doctor said, peering over his shoulder at her, an all-knowing grin on his face. "Am not," Kate said, crossing her arms defiantly and raising an eyebrow at him.
"Regret what?" Anne asked looking confused. Kate rolled her eyes, she loved Anne but she missed a lot and it was enormously difficult to keep her focused. "What?" Anne shrugged. "I was thinking about whether I need to buy more soap and then I started wondering why the word 'soap' sounds so weird when you say it..."
The Doctor and Kate shared a look at each other, smiling fondly at Anne. "Allons-y!" the Doctor cried as Anne carried on with her spiel. When the TARDIS finally came to a crashing halt, the Doctor looked over at Kate, who was still, to his surprise, sitting in the same position on the railing.
She popped off of it and walked over to him holding out her hand. "Pay up!" she said, grinning. The Doctor stuck his hand deep in his pockets and pulled out a note, shoving it in Kate's hand.
They both looked over at Anne who hadn't been holding onto anything but somehow managed to stay upright as well, though she did look rather windswept with her hair jutting out behind her ears like wings. Her ability to still be standing might have looked impressive to an outsider but Kate knew better, it was just a weird talent Anne had when the rest of the time she was really very clumsy. "Did we move?" Anne asked, showing off her astounding observation skills again.
Kate giggled, whispering to the Doctor, "Can I show her?" He nodded, grinning. Kate walked over to Anne, taking her by the hand and leading her to the doors. "Anne, my lovely, welcome to the Milky Way," she said with a smile on her face. With that, she opened the TARDIS doors with a flourish and they were greeted by stars and swirling colours.
Kate was almost sure she heard Anne jaw crack loudly as it dropped. She stared out, words having failed her completely. Kate threw a smile over her shoulder at the Doctor who returned it cheerily. He walked up behind them and pointed "That would be where we picked you up." He and Kate both looked quite pleased with themselves when Anne turned away from the doors with difficulty. "Okay, you win Kate." she managed to whisper breathlessly.
Kate leaned her head back and looked at the Doctor who was grinning. "Hells yeah I do," she said, smiling. "Come on," she plopped herself down on the edge of the TARDIS dangling her legs over the edge, and the Doctor sat next to her doing the same.
Since there wasn't much room left Anne sat down on his other side with her back to the doors and lay on her back dangling her head upside-down outside. "This is insane...I will never ever get used to this. Ever." She smiled up at the other two.
"I don't think you ever do," the Doctor said, smiling. Kate gazed out as something whizzed past them all in a burst of colour. A smile full of awe crept onto her face. She and the Doctor had been there multiple times, it was her favourite place to go, but it still amazed her every single time.
Anne was quiet for a moment. "Can I stay with you guys for a bit?" Kate looked down at her face and saw that Anne's eyes had become very wet. "I know you two like to be on your own and I promise not to get in the way, but I can't-...I can't go back there. Not yet."
Kate quickly got up off of the floor and nudged the Doctor out of the way so that she could lie down next to Anne. She pulled her close and hugged her tightly. She tilted her head up to the Doctor giving him a pleading look. The Doctor nodded, smiling softly at the two of them.
Anne cried heavily into Kate's shoulder for a bit before pulling back and sitting up, wiping at her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm a stupid weeping mess...Let's do something fun instead. Any ideas?" She smiled weakly at them and the Doctor nodded at her, leaning back on one elbow thinking hard.
Kate sat up as well, leaning against the Doctor's shoulder, holding Anne's hand. "Hmmm, what d'you think Doctor?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him.
"Well we could just let the TARDIS decide and see what she has in store for us." Kate shrugged and watched Anne pull a few scraps of tissues out of her pockets. "Sound good to me. I'm ready for anything. Welllll, mostly everything..." Anne said as she squinted and tried to dab at her eyes some more.
Kate reached her hand back, getting a pack of tissues out of the Doctor's front pocket. Anne gave her a strange look and Kate said, "Bigger on the inside," smiling at her, hoping that would cheer her up. She placed the tissues in Anne's hand.
Anne giggled and threw herself into Kate's arms. Of all the messed up things that might happen to her she was glad to have Kate. Anne saw her the same way she saw the Doctor; they were both mysterious, wonderful, and always there when she needed them. "Always." Anne whispered to herself, pulling the Doctor into the hug too.
The Doctor grinned, putting his arms around both of them making a Kate-sandwich. "Hey, I need to breathe here!" Kate said, giggling.
Anne laughed loudly. "No you don't!" She was so happy to be with them again she thought she might burst. She pulled back and kissed them both lightly on the cheeks, wanting them so desperately to know she cared about them; her best friends. She grinned at the pair of them before dancing over to her small bag and started searching through it. Kate followed her smiling and took a seat on the bench while the Doctor closed the doors.
"What're you looking for?" Kate asked, tilting her head at Anne and swinging her legs. The Doctor started to make his way around the console occasionally prodding the odd button.
"I made you each something, if I could just find them..." She dumped out half of the contents and continued searching through the rest. "I need a bigger bag, I carry around too much crap. But I can't stand huge bags..." The Doctor looked up quickly and winked at Kate before returning to the screen he had been studying. "I think Kate can find you one in the closets, if you're interested." Kate smiled and looked at the small pile around her feet. A single picture of a young blonde woman, about the same age as Anne, had slid away from the rest of the stuff. Kate picked it up and stared at it for a bit. "AHA!" Anne shouted, jolting Kate back to reality as she pulled two scarves from her bag. "I made them myself, you know. Take your pick Kate!"
Kate smiled, putting the photo next to her on the seat, making a mental note to herself to ask about her. "Oooh!" she said, looking up at the scarves. "Hmm, well I'll take the green one please." She popped off of the seat, taking the scarves from Anne giving her a quick kiss on the forehead, grinning. "Green's not really your colour is it, dear?" she teased the Doctor, wrapping his scarf around him.
"Oi, green is totally my colour! I can pull off any colour I like! Maybe I want the green." Kate pulled a pouty face and he hit her with one of the ends of the blue one and smiled. "Fine. You can have the green. And go show Anne the bag options." He wrapped the blue scarf around his neck and turned back to the console.
Kate skipped off happily throwing the scarf around her neck, yanking Anne up by the hand. "Right, urm, three lefts, a right, then another left and bingo!" she said as they made their way around the TARDIS, until they reached the wardrobe. Kate grinned at Anne and threw open the doors leading her up the spiral staircase to the bag department. "Pick anyone you like, they're all bigger on the inside!"
"Oh really?" Anne said teasingly throwing a coinpurse at her and then stopping dead. "What? What's wrong?" Kate asked rushing to her side and looking worried. Anne spun around a pointed at one of the bags. "Could I fit a refrigerator in it?" She looked completely serious for a minute before scrunching up her face mischievously. Kate punched her shoulder lightly "You scared me!" "What? You did say they were bigger on the inside, it's a legitimate question!" Anne pulled down the bag she had been pointing at, it was blue with a small silver design of a TARDIS at the top. Spirals shot out behind it and all around the bag. Kate watched her stroke the embroidery and put a hand on her shoulder. "Anne, you know what I meant." She said and Anne nodded, refusing to look up. "Yeah, I know..."
Kate gave her shoulder a squeeze then sat down on a swivelly chair and spun around whilst she waited for Anne to pick out a bag. The TARDIS suddenly jerked to the side and Kate had to grab a railing to stay on the chair. Over a speaker in the corner of the room she could hear a familiar guffaw coming down it. She ran up to the little camera in the side of the wall pointing directly at it. "You did that on purpose!" she said, frowning. "I know!" the reply came and she and Anne could tell that he was grinning
Anne giggled at the pair of them and turned back to the bag in her hands, smiling at it before showing it to Kate "Okay, this is going to sound weird but I feel like this one wants me to pick it." She stared at it, lost in thought. "It's like its part of me now..." She smiled up at Kate, hugging the bag to her chest. "I've forgotten that I don't sound so strange here." She sighed. "I've missed you, Kate."
Kate cocked her head listening to Anne, then she went and walked up to her, hugging her tightly. She buried her face in her shoulder and whispered, "I've missed you too."
Kate pulled the picture out of her pocket and handed it to Anne, watching her expression crumple as she recognized it. "Oh." Anne whispered.
Kate pulled her gently onto a sofa and put her arm around her. "Who is she?"
Anne played with her bracelets, not looking Kate in the eye. "That's Lily, she is...my, um...we're together. Or we were, I dunno...We met a while back at this mental health clinic, she's one of the volunteers there. You know how I go in for checkups to make sure I haven't cracked yet. Everything was perfect, she'd bring me lilies on the days I went in for tests and she'd hold my hand when we went for walks. She was the one who taught me to knit." Anne pointed at one of the bracelets. "She made this for me for our third anniversary, she made one every year. And I was happy and we decided to really tell our parents how serious it was getting. But it turns out that her dad wasn't as happy about it. He, uh, decided to 'teach her a lesson' about how life really was and when I defended her he..." Anne pulled up her sleeve showing multiple dark bruises and nodded grimly at Kate's horrified expression. "There more where those came from too but that's not the worst bit." She closed her eyes, tears falling into her lap. "He sent her away Kate, he sent her away and I don't know where she is or if she's okay or if she misses me at all. I don't know what to do!"
Kate gently put her hand on Anne's knee, hugging her tightly. She gulped, stroking Anne's back comfortingly. She could sympathise with her, from her dealings with her step-mother, which she had failed to tell Anne or the Doctor about. The bruises would heal eventually, but the permanent hurt will be imprinted on Anne's heart just as it did with Kate's for a very long time. She sighed, looking at the photo of the girl. She sniffed, wiping a few stray tears that she didn't even know were falling from her eyes and pulled back to look Anne in the eye. "We'll find her, Anne. What use would we be if we couldn't do that?" she said, smiling gently at her and squeezing her hand.
"But what if she doesn't want me to find her? What if she blames me for it all? I don't think I could look her in the eye and have her tell me so. I won't survive it and I don't think I would want to..." Anne looked up at her absolutely helpless. "I need her..."
"Oh, Anne," Kate whispered, pulling her in for another hug. "Well, obviously, it's up to you. But I think it would be best to find her. She'll miss you too, y'know."
Anne took a few breaths to steady herself before she spoke again. "I want to find her, just find her. I don't know what I'll do then but I needto make sure she's safe." She struggled to her feet clutching the picture in her hand and smiled at it sadly. "I'm coming baby." She whispered before taking Kate's hand and following her back to the console room.
Kate gave Anne's hand a final squeeze and then ran up to the Doctor who had obviously heard everything. He opened up his arms and pulled Anne into a big hug, then started making his way around the console, pulling levers and pushing buttons. "We'll find her, don't worry," he said, gently.
Anne nodded sadly, kneeling next to the pile from her bag and began moving it into the new one. Kate bent over to help her and had just passed her the last bag of mints when the console room lurched violently and became very quiet. "Where are we?" Kate asked standing up and walking to the Doctor's side. "He looked confused for a moment and checked the screen and his watch a few times. "We haven't moved..." "What do you mean?" said Anne as she walked over as well and stared at the symbols she didn't understand. "Well we let the TARDIS pick randomly and we landed while you two were in the closet...And apparently we haven't moved just now because we don't need to, we are where we need to be already."
The Doctor pulled up a view of outside on the screen as Kate pulled herself up and walked over. They were in a normal street; nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Kate looked over at Anne, trying to judge the look on her face. "She must be here," she said, squeezing Anne's hand.
Anne began shaking violently, she backed up slowly to the bench and fell into it. Afraid she was having a mental breakdown they ran to her and the Doctor started checking her while Kate held her hand. "Okay, um, yeah. Yeah, it's- it's okay. I'm fine, I'm okay." She looked up at Kate, her eyes wild and terrified. "It's okay. She'll be okay. Are you okay?" she asked Kate suddenly, suddenly snapping out of her mini panic attack.
Kate breathed a sigh of relief when she said she was okay. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I was just worried about you," she said, holding onto her hand tighter. The Doctor looked at the both of them, leaning back on his haunches. "You have all the time you need, Anne. Just make sure you're ready," he said.
She thought about it for a moment, biting hard on her bottom lip before speaking. "I am...not ready yet. Not yet. I think I should lie down for a bit actually..." Kate helped her up and walked her down the hall to one of the bedrooms while the Doctor's attention was caught by a figure passing on the screen. It was her. He stood there for a moment torn with what he should do before grabbing his jacket and running to the doors.
Kate tucked Anne in and then walked back up to the console room. "Doctor?" she called when she couldn't see him. She looked up at the screen and could see him talking to a girl. "Oh my gosh," she whispered and followed him out, walking up to them and standing next to him.
"Ah, yes Kate! This is Lily. I just ran into her and was asking for directions. Lily this is Kate, an excellent, erm, friend of mine..." He trailed off awkwardly. Describing who Kate was to him was always complicated. Lily shook Kate's hand looking positively confused. These were the weirdest people she's ever met, they were both wearing scarves in this massive heat and they just had an aura of something she could only call 'otherworldlyness'. She hadn't seen anything like it, well besides...She shook her head to clear the thoughts, she couldn't think about her. Not now, when it was still so painful. "Are you alright?" Kate asked, noticing her distracted expression. Lily jumped a little and smiled. "No- I mean, yes. I'm fine. I was just admiring your scarves." She looked closer and sighed wistfully. "They remind me of someone..."
The Doctor smiled a little to himself, knowing who she was talking about. "Tell me, Lily, would you fancy getting a drink with us? Seeing as you've been so kind and everything!" the Doctor asked, hoping to buy enough time for Anne to be ready.
Lily looked over her shoulder nervously. "I suppose so. I can't be gone long though; my aunt and uncle are expecting me..." She shuddered lightly. As they walked the Doctor turned and pointed the screwdriver at the TARDIS. It clanged lightly and he smiled. "The alarm clock should wake Anne in about twenty minutes and explain everything to her." He whispered to Kate as he checked his watch. "Should be enough time..." She nodded and turned to Lily. "So how long have you been here?" Kate asked. "Oh, um, only about a week. Hopefully I won't be here much longer though. I've been trying to get enough money to live on my own and get out, I mean, not be a bother to my family anymore." Lily smiled sadly and Kate noticed that she rubbed her arm absentmindedly as she spoke.
Kate sighed, frowning to herself, keeping silent as the Doctor made small talk with Lily. The Doctor rushed ahead, holding open the doors for the girls and smiling as they walked in. Kate and Lily sat down in a booth while the Doctor sat opposite. They ordered drinks and then waited in an almost awkward silence.
Lily stared down at her napkin silently. As awkward as this might get, it was better than what she was receiving back at her family's house. Kate leaned back and decided to just watch Lily for a moment, to try to take in everything she could about her. Observation was one of Kate's talents, she could notice the littlest details and understand them in way most people couldn't. Right now she could see that this girl was heartbroken, Anne needn't have worried because Lily clearly missed her too. And there was something else, something about the way she traced designs down her wrist and arm that sent chills down Kate's spine...
The Doctor looked back and forth between them and saw that Lily was feeling a little uncomfortable at how long Kate was looking at her for. He kicked her under the table, a little harder than he should've and she came back to reality, giving him a quick glare.
"So, Lily. How're things?" the Doctor asked, for want of a better conversation starter.
She looked between the two of them as Kate rubbed her leg scowling and raised one eyebrow. "Fine. I'm fine. Just working and stuff... What are you guys doing here? Visiting the town?" They looked at each other and the Doctor coughed nervously. "We're helping a friend find someone she's lost. Very important that we succeed because she misses them very much." Lily sighed heavily. "I know how she feels..."
Anne stared at the wall unmoving as the TARDIS played soothing music for her. She didn't feel like sleeping and she couldn't believe she was wasting time. What if something horrible was happening to Lily right now and she wasn't looking for her? But she didn't know if she could get up either. Suddenly a bell chimed and a hologram of the Doctor popped up next to her bed scaring her half to death. "Hello Anne, hope you've enjoyed your nap but actually I think we've found her. Completely by accident too, but we won't let her out of our sight until you're ready. We're at the teshop down the street so just pop in when you're feeling up to it. We'll be there for you, don't worry."The hologram smiled and then faded leaving silence in its wake. Anne had frozen, terrified, but why? At least she was alive. She was alive and with her best friends so she was safe too. This was good. She looked around instinctively and was surprised to find that she could move again. "Ooookay." She muttered to herself. "I guess that means I should get up then..." She stood slowly and walked down to the console room, stopping for minute to get her new bag. She could do this, she had to.
The Doctor's watch beeped and he looked at it. Then, looking up at Kate they communicated with each other just by looking at the other for a while, something they had picked up after their time together. "Excuse me a sec, Lily," Kate said, smiling and scooting out of the booth.
The Doctor watched her leave and then took the drinks from the waitress. "Thanks," he said, sipping on his banana milkshake.
Kate walked back to the TARDIS. She knew how difficult this would be for Anne, and she didn't want her to do it alone. She put her key in the lock and waited in the console room for Anne to appear.
Kate heard some sniffling and looked around. Anne was sitting behind one of the pillars staring at her bracelet fighting back the urge to cry. Kate kissed the top of her head, offering her hand and Anne smiled as she took it. She stood up quickly and hugged Kate tightly before whispering. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Kate said softly, smiling. "You can tell she misses you though. A lot."
Anne started crying even harder in relief. "Thank god she's okay." She took a few breaths and dried her eyes on her sleeve quickly. "I can do this. I can do this." She and Kate walked outside together back to the teashop and Anne paused at the door. She was going to see Lily again. She took a deep breath, opened it, and walked inside.
Kate smiled, walking behind her. The Doctor noticed them both come in and smiled to himself, nodding forwards so that Lily would turn around.
Lily launched herself out of her seat so quickly that she knocked over her drink in the process. But she couldn't care less about the mess right now, because there was Anne running towards her. She wrapped Lily in a hug and buried her head into her shoulder. They were both crying heavily and somehow they managed to pull back for a moment, just to look at one another. Lily laughed joyfully and pulled Anne in again, their lips meeting at last. Neither of them had any idea how to fix their situation but it didn't matter, they had each other again.
Kate put her hand over her mouth, her eyes brimming with happy tears at how happy her best friend looked. The Doctor got up and walked around the two and put his arm around Kate, pulling her close, smiling as they watched the reunion.
Anne pulled back again and took Lily's hand turning to face Kate and the Doctor. "You've already met I suppose, but I want to introduce you anyway. Lily these are my best friends in the entire world; Kate and the Doctor. And guys, this is Lily. She's...well, pretty much my everything." She blushed heavily and looked back at Lily, her eyes shining. Lily smiled back and squeezed her hand. "Very nice to meet you but how on earth did you find me?" She asked.
"Weeeell, it's very difficult and long to explain. But basically, the TARDIS locked onto both your and Anne's telepathic inclination towards each other and lead us straight to you, through," he paused, "genetic…disposition. Yeah," he sniffed at the end.
Kate stared up at him, raising her eyebrow and looked at Lily's confused face. "Basically, the TARDIS realised that you were both missing each other and pulled us straight to you." The Doctor looked down at Kate and raised his eyebrows, subconsciously squeezing her shoulder. "What she said."
Lily continued to stare at them blankly. "And this TARDIS is a...person?" She asked. Anne smiled gleefully at Kate and kissed Lily's cheek. "More of a big blue box really." Kate said. She looked up at the Doctor. "Maybe we should, uh..." He caught on quickly. "Right!" He shouted happily. "Let's go!"
The Doctor took off with a sprint, quickly popping back and chucking a few coins at the waitress. "Thank you!" he called, running off again, Kate shortly following him, taking his arm and slowing him down. They stopped and looked back round at Anne and Lily who were walking slowly with each other, obviously making the most of every second they had together. "We'd better give them some time," Kate said quietly, walking along with him, holding his hand.
Anne did her best to explain everything that had happened since Lily's departure but a lot of it was rather timey whimey and would be explained just but being in the TARDIS so she decided to ask about what had been happening at her end instead. "I've found work easily enough, and I spend most of my time there. Mostly trying to save up enough money to get back but also because…my uncle agrees with my father and promised him that he would snap me out of it." "What do you mean?" Anne asked her stomach turning to ice. Lily sighed and pulled the collar of her shirt down to reveal several bruises, cuts, and what looked horribly like cigarette burns on her back. Not knowing what else to do Anne kissed them and hugged Lily tightly. "We should have something in the TARDIS that should help..." Anne whispered. "I'm so sorry baby. This is entirely my fault. I'll take you away from here, I promise." They started walking again and soon caught up with Kate and the Doctor outside of the TARDIS doors.
The Doctor grinned, pushing open the doors, which received a grumble from the TARDIS. "Every time!" Kate said, following behind him. "Oi, I don't need you girls ganging up on me," the Doctor said, his voice getting increasingly quieter as they walked deeper into the TARDIS. Lily looked at Anne, not sure whether to follow or not - it only looked big enough to fit two, even that being at a squeeze.
Anne smiled mischievously and kissed her before dragging her inside by the hand and standing in the middle of the room. "Lily, meet the TARDIS! She's the one who found you for me." Lily stood there with her mouth open not sure what to say. Anne had been right, simply being here answered a lot of questions. She smiled at Anne and whispered "This is amazing!" as she looked around in wonder Kate beamed at the Doctor proudly and skipped forward. "If you want we can get you some other clothes. Yours are kinda covered in banana milkshake..."
The Doctor nudged Kate in the ribs with his elbow, whispering to her, "She hasn't said it's bigger on the inside yet," with a bit of a pout on his face. Kate shushed him, gazing at him fondly and patting his cheek. "Come on, I'll show you the wardrobe," she said, smiling at Lily and leading her off deeper in the TARDIS, leaving Anne and the Doctor in the console room.
Anne hugged the Doctor tightly in thanks as Kate and Lily walked away, but as soon they were out of earshot she pulled back and 'lightly' punched him in the side. "Oi! What was that for?" He grumbled, rubbing his stomach. "You haven't done anything yet! What are you waiting for? A fancy invitation in perfect Old High Gallifreyan?" He arranged his features in the most innocent expression he could manage and turned to face her. "What are you on about? Haven't done what?" He asked. She rolled her eyes and pointed down the corridor. "Kate!" She said stamping her foot impatiently.
Kate smiled at Lily as they walked down the different corridors, occasionally pointing out certain rooms. When they got to the wardrobe, she lead her to the time that would most suit her, sitting on the bench as she waiting for Lily to pick out clothes.
"I think you're really brave, y'know," Kate said to Lily, smiling a small smile at her. "Why?" Lily asked, looking up from the clothes. "To go through so much for something you believe in. It's really admirable," she said, looking down shyly.
Lily turned and looked at Kate properly, still kneeling next to a box of shoes. "Do you know what I see when I look at her, that amazing and brilliant woman? I see it all. I see our future and our home. I see us snuggling up under blankets on cold rainy days to watch movies. I see the person who gave my life meaning for the first time I can remember and there's no way anyone is going to make me give that up. Not ever. No matter what they try to do to stop us. If you ever find someone like that, promise me you'll do whatever it takes to keep them. Never give up on that person..." She placed a hand on Kate's and smiled encouragingly. Then she turned back to the clothes in her hands and picked up the jeans she had picked out. She pulled them on under her dress before taking it off and revealing the extensive damage on her back and arms.
Kate smiled to herself, knowing exactly who that person was, even if it did scare her. Then she came back to reality with a crashing thump as she saw the cuts and bruises. "Oh, Lily..." she whispered so quietly she wasn't sure if she had even said it. Lily tried to smile at her. "It's nothing really," she lied, pulling a t-shirt on over herself. Kate moved so that she was sat next to Lily. "I know what it's like. Not at such a high degree as you but," then she started to explain what had happened between her and her stepmother all those years ago. It ended up with Lily and Kate hugging each other as tightly as was comfortable. When they pulled away, Kate felt an intense sense of relief. She'd finally told someone. "Don't tell the Doctor," she whispered to Lily, who nodded.
Back in the console room the Doctor was staring at Anne, trying to act cool. "What about Kate?" He asked, looking at her blankly
"Please please tell me you are joking right now." She said rolling her eyes. "You promised me you'd tell her how you felt, have you changed your mind since then? I doubt it, it was probably longer ago for you than for me but I've seen the way you two act around each other and I can tell that you still feel the same way as you did. So what can you possibly be waiting for?" He leaned against the railing, carefully picking his next words. "It's complicated…" "Yeah, I'm sure." Anne said, interrupting him. "But is keeping it 'simple' worth the pain you're not only putting yourself through but her as well?"
The Doctor looked down at his hands. "I know it hurts but not as much as if," then he paused, running a hand through his hair before continuing, "Like I said, it's complicated," he said, scratching his chin.
She walked over and leaned on the railing next to him, putting her head on his shoulder and rubbing his back. "I think you should tell her. She very clearly feels the same way and you guys are wasting so much time." She bit her lip as she thought about how she had almost not gone looking for Lily and how they still needed to find a safe place to be together. "Never waste a moment Doctor, you'll regret it later if you do..."
Before the Doctor could reply, Kate and Lily came bounding into the console room. "Doctor, you'll never guess what I found!" Kate said in a chirpy voice, running up to him and producing a hand-knit jumper with a reindeer on it that looked itchy to wear. The Doctor laughed, taking it from her. "That was not a good Christmas for me!" he said, shuddering and throwing it back at her. "Oi, Mum spent ages knitting that for you!" Kate said, trying to pull a serious face but giggling as she remembered how ridiculous he looked in it.
Lily walked over to Anne and leaned against her chest, wrapping Anne's arms around her stomach as they watched the Doctor and Kate bicker back and forth. Anne winked and smiled at her affectionately but suddenly was lost in the realization that Lily was actually here, in her arms. She cleared her throat quickly, looking away but hugging Lily tighter as she did. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna try and find a room for us so we'll be back in a few minutes." She nodded encouragingly at the Doctor as they walked out together hand in hand.
Kate nodded, following them with her eyes as they walked out. She smiled down at the floor, popping up on the jumpseat. "I'm glad Anne's happy. And Lily seems really nice," she said, hugging her knees.
"Yeah, she does. Hopefully they can work something out, they'll probably have to stay with us for a while though...I, uh, I heard you two talking in the closet. It was obviously a private conversation because the TARDIS muffled the sound..." He looked at her worriedly. "Is everything okay?"
Kate looked up at him, trying to summon the most honest smile she could to her face. "Everything's fine. We were just talking," she said, nodding to make it seem more believable.
He raised an eyebrow at her clearly not buying it, but he let it drop. She'd tell him when she was ready...Whenever that was. "Where do you think they really went?" Kate asked looking over her shoulder at the doorway.
The Doctor smirked. "Goodness knows. They probably just wanted to be alone together," he said, playing with a few of the buttons on the console. Kate nodded, smiling and slapping her knees rhythmically.
"Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that." Kate giggled and then tilted her head, watching the Doctor closely. He was clearly hiding something and she'd put money on it that it was related to whatever he had been talking about with Anne. "Sooo..." Kate started, trying to look disinterested. "What were you guys talking about in here?"
"Oh, uh, nothing important," the Doctor said, scratching the back of his neck. Then he started to panic, getting lost in his thoughts, because now if he was going to tell Kate how he felt he had said that what they were talking about wasn't important, and that's not a good starting point to...Whatever it was they were possibly gonna start together.
Kate giggled again. "Are you sure, Doctor? You're sweating." He panicked a bit more, "Don't be ridiculous, Time Lords don't sweat." He pulled a cloth form his pocket and furiously began wiping his face with it. "Stop avoiding the question and tell me, I want to know." She smiled at him kindly, knocking his breath away for a moment.
The Doctor stood there for a while, looking at Kate. He took several deep breaths, started multiple sentences and then finally, and quickly said, "I like you."
He closed his eyes, too scared to see her reaction. "Well, of course you do, silly. I like you too. We're best friends," she said smiling to herself, knowing exactly what he was trying to say, but wanting him to say it properly. Selfish? Maybe. Hilarious? Oh, yes.
For a minute his hearts stopped but when he opened his eyes and saw her try to hide her teasing expression, he knew she was being difficult on purpose. Well, at least she wasn't on the floor laughing at him. "You know what I mean, Kate..." She crossed her arms and smiled at him stubbornly. "No I haven't the foggiest, tell me what you mean."
The Doctor took a deep breath then walked closer to her, taking her by the hands and pulling her off of the seat. "I love that you get cold when it's 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend the day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night."
Kate smiled, kind of forgetting to breathe but then started to laugh uncontrollably. "Isn't that from when Harry met Sally?"
"No..." He looked around sheepishly and scratched the back of his head with one hand. "I, um,..well I-" She watched him struggle to explain himself and smiled. He was just so adorable when he was flustered. "Shut up and come here." She said pulling him down to her height by his lapel and kissing him.
The Doctor was shocked that she reacted like that, but smiled and closed his eyes, kissing her back gently and wrapping his arms around her.
He wasn't sure how long they had been standing there but he hoped it was days, it definitely sort of felt like days but he could be exaggerating. All he knew for sure was that they had been there for a longtime. When they finally broke apart for air they still didn't let go of one another, holding each other close and smiling happily. Kate giggled. "I wonder if Anne and Lily are enjoying themselves as much." She said laughing and she hugged his chest tightly.
The Doctor was in a euphoric mood and wasn't thinking clearly when he whispered, "Not likely." Kate looked up at him and could see his cheeks flush red straight away. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Took ya long enough," she teased.
"What can I say, I'm a coward. I needed a little encouragement." He smiled and nuzzled into the side of her neck. He was very much a fan of this whole kissing thing, and he was ecstatic that she seemed to feel the same way he did. He thanked Anne quietly in his head as he tilted Kate's face up towards his again. After a few more minutes he picked her up quickly whisked her down the hall.
Anne had found a bottle of burn cream in the first bedroom they had opened and had been very careful as she applied it to Lily's back and arms. It was some kind of special fast acting solution that healed up the cuts and burns and left them as months-old scars in minutes. She had kissed them each in turn and apologized over and over again. Of course it wasn't long before this evolved into something a bit more intimate and afterwards they lay there together holding each other happily. "The Doctor will let us stay as long as we need to." Anne said into her shoulder. "And we'll take care of each other. We'll keep going until we're safe." Lily whispered.
The next morning, the Doctor and Kate were in the kitchen. "What d'you think Lily likes for breakfast?" Kate asked, looking in the fridge which was of course bigger on the inside. "I don't know, actually," the Doctor said, leaning back against the counter, smiling to himself. "Useful," Kate said sarcastically, turning round to look at him. "I'll just make everything," she said and set to work cooking virtually everything breakfast-like they had.
Anne woke up long before Lily did but she was content just to watch her sleep, savoring the look of relaxation and peace on her face. As awful as everything had been, it had gotten them to this point and Anne was grateful for it. Lily rolled opened her eyes a bit and smiled. "Hello." Anne ducked down and kissed her forehead gently. "Hello, are you hungry?" Lily closed her eyes again and curled into a tighter ball. "Not yet. I'm thinking sleep." Anne laughed softly and then pulled on some shorts and a top. She leaned down and gave Lily a quick kiss before walking out the door, smiling so much it would probably ache later.
Kate turned around quickly shoving the wooden spoon in the Doctor's hand. "You're in charge of pancakes!" she said, running and hugging Anne tightly. "Good morning!" she said cheerily. She was in a very good mood that morning, for obvious reasons, and having her best friend there was even better.
"Whoa, Kate, you're crushing me!" Anne laughed as she hugged her back. She winked at the Doctor over Kate's shoulder and he just smiled turning to the pancakes to see them smoking slightly. "Um, I'm guess these aren't supposed to do this..." He said prodding them a bit with the spoon. Laughing even harder Anne shoved Kate toward him and pulled the orange juice out of the fridge.
"Give it here you numpty," Kate said, taking the spoon off of the Doctor and saving the pancakes. The Doctor pouted jokingly and poured himself a glass of orange juice.
Anne giggled and sat down, watching Kate and the Doctor closely. She was humming to herself as she cooked and he paused to smile up at her every few seconds as he tore up a piece of toast with his long fingers. "So...I'm guessing you guys had fun last night?" Anne asked grinning at the pair of them. "Shut up, like you can talk!" Kate said as she spun around, threatening her with a spoon. The Doctor laughed sarcastically as he threw his remaining toast at her. Anne caught it easily and ate it, leaning her chair back on two legs and balancing there. "Show off." Lily muttered as she walked into the kitchen.
"Morning Lily!" the Doctor and Kate both said in unison. The volume and amount of cheer in their voices startled Lily and she waved, sitting next to Anne, giving her a kiss. "What would you like to eat?" Kate asked, quickly turning back to the breakfast, realising that it was burning again, much to the Doctor's liking.
"Oh, whatever you're already making will be fine. I don't want to inconvenience you when we're already in your way." Kate smiled warmly "That's ridiculous, you're not in the way at all. The TARDIS is big enough for all of us." She looked over her shoulder and chucked the burnt pancakes in the bin while the Doctor wasn't looking. "Well at least let me help you with those." Lily said standing up again. "Anne's hopeless at cooking but luckily for her, I'm not."
"Oh, thanks, that's lovely," Kate said, starting to get more ingredients out of the cupboards and the fridge. They started to cook together, chatting quietly as the Doctor went down and sat next to Anne. He hugged Anne tightly and whispered in her ear, "Thank you."
"Would now be an appropriate time to say 'I told you so'?" She whispered back. He tapped her nose and smiled. "I believe, in polite society anyway, it is never an appropriate time to gloat." "Well then polite society can suck it." Anne said, poking him hard in the chest. They shut up quickly as Lily and Kate finally brought over the food. In an attempt to be helpful the Doctor walked to the fridge and started throwing syrup, fruit, and other toppings over his shoulder which Anne caught and placed on the table safely.
Kate stared at Anne for a bit. "Bloody hell you are skilled," she said, sitting down next to the Doctor.
Anne shrugged. "Well I have to be helpful somehow." "Shut up, you know that's not true." Lily said kissing her temple as she sat down. The Doctor walked up behind Kate, spinning her quickly towards her seat and gave her a kiss as well. "What shall we do today?" He asked as he sat down next to her.
"I don't know," she said, thinking. Then she looked over at Anne and Lily. "What d'you guys want to do?"
"Well letting the TARDIS pick ended up working rather well for us." said Anne smiling at Lily. "Maybe we should let her pick again. Just see where she takes us." The Doctor shrugged and jumped up excitedly running out of the room at top speed.
"Oi! You haven't had any breakfast!" Kate said, running off after him with a plate of pancakes. Anne and Lily followed behind hand in hand. When they all reached the console room, the Doctor was tucking into his pancakes and he nodded towards the lever. "Care to do the honours?" he asked with a cheeky grin and Kate nodded, pulling it.