A/N: So here's the dealio… This came to me as a dream… Actually two of the scenes did… I happened to really adore the chemistry between my character Winnie and the Doctor, which is not very prudent in this story but it was in the dream… I started writing the whole dream, of course filling in the blanks, but then I got lazy so you get this oneshot while I come up with a better way to tell my story. Anyway, here's the first publishable piece of DW fanfiction I have.
Enjoy!
She always had a song. He didn't quite understand why she always had a song, but she did.
1. Carry On, Wayward Son (8)
"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked her. He was in his eighth incarnation and this was her fourth time aboard the TARDIS. She had just been walking the back corridor past the console room.
"I was hungry," Winnie mumbled through a bite of a peanut butter and jam sandwich. "She showed where the kitchen was."
"You can't just go wandering off," he said. "You could get lost. She doesn't like new companions."
"Well, it's a good thing I'm not new then innit?"
The Doctor rolls his eyes at her smug look, a tiny smirk tugging at his lips. "Where were you going?"
"To find a room," Winnie replied. "This is my fourth time traveling with you. Most of our adventures last at least a day. You think I'm just going to crash in the jump seat every time I'm tired? I'd like to at least think I'm welcome to stay a bit longer." A little smile forms on her mouth. "I mean, as long as that's okay with you. The TARDIS is the one that suggested it in the first place."
He just shakes his head. "You're conspiring against me, both of you." With a full smile he looks between the console and the young woman. "Carry on, you two."
With a grin, Winnie continues to walk. "Carry on my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done. Lay your weary head to rest, don't you cry no more."
He laughs as the sound of her voice slowly disappears down the hall.
2. Waterfalls (8)
It wasn't going to last, he should've known. It was never going to last. He was the Doctor. Danger followed him. He was the most feared man in the universe. Too many wanted him dead. Sooner or later, he was going to put Winnie in danger. He had just hoped it would be so soon.
Winnie, all things considered, was surprisingly calm for someone whose life was being threatened by creatures she'd never seen before.
"You know," Winnie whispers to the man beside her, "when I said I wanted a life altering adventure, this isn't what I had in mind actually."
"No to worry, dear Winnie," he whispers back. "I can talk us out of here."
She shrugs. "I'm sure they just need a little TLC."
He half chuckles as they continue down the hall surrounded by the strange reddish orange fire creatures.
"But all the praying just ain't helping at all 'cause he can't seem to keep his self out of trouble," Winnie hums beneath her breath. "So he goes out and he makes his money the best way he knows how. Another body laying cold in the gutter. Listen to me."
"I'm not sure now is the best time for that," The Doctor tells her with a hint of mirth to his voice.
"When I say run…" she leads off taking his hand. As soon as he feels the contact he can smell the freshness of rain and feel the cool salty sea breeze on his face.
It briefly crosses his mind, the conversation he had with her years ago. The very first one.
"What's you name?"
"Winterlynn Serenity Mortensen. But everyone calls me Winnie. Except for my momma. She calls me Pooh Bear. That's my momma there," she says pointing to the red-haired woman standing alone and eyeing him curiously. "Well," she says drawing the word out, "she's not my real momma. But I call her my momma because she's the only momma I have. She has a funny accent like you. So does my daddy. Gracie's momma says she's a witch. But I know that's not true. Witches are evil and my momma's good. I told Gracie that she's not, but she said she saw her do magic. But Momma says she's not magic, that the Earth is magic and she just borrows the magic from the Earth."
"Don't go chasing waterfalls," she sings pulling the Doctor from his reverie. He can feel the start of a rain. "Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to. Know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all, but I think you're moving too fast."
She doesn't have to say run as the rain starts to fall heavier (They were indoors! She made it rain indoors!), he just pulls her along swiftly towards the TARDIS. Neither one of them say anything until they're safely inside the doors of the police box, except for Winnie's thank-you to no one in particular.
Winnie laughs as she feels the TARDIS start to take off. "TLC," she repeats. "Best selling all girl group, second only to The Spice Girls."
"You could've gotten us killed," the Doctor tells her seriously.
She sucks in air through her teeth with a quick turn of her head. "No, I couldn't have actually. I also couldn't have killed them. It goes against my religion. I only made it rain around us, and only long enough to incapacitate them so we could escape. We'd be dead or dying right now if I hadn't. So sorry for saving your life. I won't do it again."
"Winnie, wait," he says as she storms past him. "I'm sorry. I was just angry I put you in harm's way."
She shrugs. "Big ol' universe, not everyone is gonna be nice. It was bound to happen anyway."
"One of these days, I'll take you to the moons of Jupiter. Specifically the market on Callisto, where they sell the greatest chocolates in the universe."
"I do love chocolate. It's like my heal-all, save-all food."
"You'll love it," he says with a smile.
3. With Arms Wide Open (9)
She'd never really been emotional. Not that she was emotionless, it just took a metric fuckton for her to show any sort of emotion other than her usually cheery demeanor. It took a hell of a lot to piss her off but it took even more for her to openly weep.
The moment he saw her his demeanor changed, causing his newest companion to stare at him strangely. Rose had only ever seen the sassy side of him. And for a second he thought maybe she was crying because she thought this was good-bye, that he was going to replace her as his companion. Then he saw her lips tilt up.
"Well I just heard the news today. It seems my life is going to change. I close my eyes, begin to pray, then tears of joy stream down my face. With arms wide open, Under the sunlight."
He smiles at the lyrics briefly before holding his arms open. Winnie stops singing long enough to rush to him and hugs him tightly. He spins her around, causing her to giggle.
"I always wanted to do that," she says when he puts her down. She smiles at him curtly and frowns the next second, punching him squarely in the shoulder. "Five years," she half shouts.
He puts his hand up to stop the pain. "Ow!" he says pointedly.
"Five years, Doctor!" she shouts at him. "Not a single word from you, not a single anything from you. And then, I see Rose's shop, which exploded, on the telly, but she's gone by the time I get the chance to see her. Couldn't exactly race across Scotland to London in time. Mickey told me she ran off with some bloke in a disappearing blue" -She punches his other shoulder- "police box.. You coulda told me you were back."
They stare at each other for a moment before Winnie jumps him again and hugs him tightly.
"I thought something had happened. I thought," she repeats, her voices breaking, "I thought you'd died."
He presses a kiss to her hair. "I have regenerated, a couple of times. See new face."
She laughs. "Bigger ears, no hair. I miss your hair. I liked your hair. Why don't you have hair?"
"Oi!" he shouts as she slips away and pulls Rose into the TARDIS.
4. Be Prepared (10)
The Doctor spares Winnie a glance before laughing. "How did you know we were landing in 1879 Scotland?"
"I know that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthog's backside, but thick as you are, pay attention. My words are a matter of pride."
Rose looks between Winnie and the Doctor confused. They'd just been best of friend not twenty minutes ago.
"It's clear from your vacant expressions the lights are not all on upstairs, but we're talking kings and successions. Even you can't be caught unawares."
The two share a smirk when Rose slows down enough so she's not caught between the two of them.
"So prepare for a chance of a lifetime." Winnie's voice holds the all too common melodic tone it does often enough.. "Be prepared for sensational news. A shining new era, is tiptoeing nearer."
"And where do we feature?" The Doctor says his accent mirroring Winnie's.
"Just listen to teacher. I know it sounds sordid but you'll be rewarded when at last I am given my dues! And injustice deliciously squared. Be prepared!" She breaks off into laughter. "No, but honestly, the TARDIS told me as I was coming to the console room. She actually rerouted me to the giant mess you call a wardrobe… took me longer to get in the dress than it did to find you."
"She told you?" the Doctor inquired.
Winnie shrugs. "She tells me a lot."
"Conspiring against me," he says towards Rose, "Both of them are."
"What about the name?" Rose wonders stepping back into place. "Those papers back there were real. Not even psychic paper."
"The name is actually mine," Winnie said with a shrug. "I was born Winifred Alice Macdonald as it says on the paper. I happen to share the name with a prominent Lady of this time. Though there's a slightly different spelling change in the surname. Happen to look like her too. I was born in the opposite end of Kintyre than she." Her pace hastens putting an end to the conversation.
5. Hit Me With Your Best Shot (10)
"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't agreed to marry that madman."
"We spend our free time flying around in a blue police box with a man more insane than he," Winnie snaps. "Besides, if I hadn't you both would have been decapitated in that very square."
"Yes," the Doctor says though the small opening of the wooden door. "You saved our lives, now get us out."
"And how do you suppose I do that? We're not on Earth, haven't been for some time, the only element I could call strong enough is water and that's not of much help. I could Sonic the lock out here, but then there is the fact of this heavy crossbar and I am just a "weak and feeble woman with no chance of surviving on her own out there'." She glares at the Doctor pointedly.. "Sorry Rose, but frankly I think the Doctor deserves to sit in there a bit longer."
Rose shrugs and gives a little nod. The Doctor opens his mouth to refute it but Winnie beats him to the punch.
"Come on, hit me with your best shot."
A little smirk plays at her lips with the words and the Doctor finds himself groaning.
"Now is not the time Winnie," he says, "for karaoke. We have to get out of here before someone comes."
"Put up your dukes, let's get down to it," she says holding her hand up to the little window beckoning for the screwdriver. He sighs as he passes it over. "Hit me with you best shot. Why don't you hit me with your best shot?" She aims the screwdriver at the lock and presses the button, jumping back slightly when the lock sparks. "Hit me with you best shot." she removes the lock and lifts the crossbar easily. "Fire away," she sings as she pulls the door open. "Voila!" she shouts.
The Doctor steps forward to grab his screwdriver back but Winnie pulls it away before he can.
"There's something you need to do first."
"Winnie," he whines, trying to grab it againg. He sighs. "Thank you for rescuing us."
"You're welcome but not what I meant."
He tries to grab at it again. "Give it back."
"I will stick it down my bodice.
"I will go after it."
"No you won't. You respect me too much."
He sighs. "I'm sorry."
"For..?"
"For calling you weak and feeble."
"Promise you will never say it again?"
"Promise," he says crossing both his hearts.
She smirks. "Swear on my Goddess and you can have it."
He rolls his eyes. "I swear."
"Children. You're both overgrown children," rose tells them.
"Good," she says handing him the instrument.
"Thank-you. Now let's go before someone finds us."
Winnie's turn to roll her eyes. "I drugged the guards. No one's going to be checking up on you for a while."
The Doctor stares after her as she sashay's away. "You little dalek."
+1 You'll Be In My Heart (9)
"You should've stayed with Rose."
"I can't leave you." She sounds closer than she should be. "Ever. I'll never leave. You're stuck with me." There's a hint of mirth in her voice.
The Doctor looks up, blue meeting blue. "We're not getting out of here, not alive."
"Then we die together," Winnie says. "I'm not leaving you." She leans close, her eyes dipping low to glimpse at his lips.
Just outside they can hear Jack's shout as a dalek attacks him. Winnie's eyes close as they back apart. The Doctor finishes what he was doing before Winnie caught him off guard. "It's ready," he says shocked.
"I knew it would be," Winnie told him. She opens her eyes expecting to see him with a brilliant smile, but instead finds them surrounded by daleks.
"You really want to think about this 'cause if I activate this signal, every living creature dies."
Winnie steps close enough for the Doctor to pull her into a one-armed hug. She wraps her arms around his waist when the emperor of the daleks replies with "I am immortal."
"Do you want to put that to the test?" The Doctor questions.
"I want to see you become like me," the emperor replies. "Hail the Doctor: The Great Exterminator!"
The Doctor and Winnie both raise a hand and place it on the switch.
"I"ll do it!" The Doctor threatens.
"And I won't stop him," Winnie breathes. "Not this time."
"Then prove yourselves. What are you; coward or killer?"
The Doctor's eyes widen and his hand slips from the crossbar. Winnie's hand catches it just as he mumbles the word "coward." She brings his hand to her lips.
"Any day," the Doctor continues.
"Mankind will be harvested because of your weakness."
"Do not make the mistake," Winnie speaks up, "of thinking cowardice a weakness. Weakness is a flaw. Cowardice when given the choice between genocide of two species or your own death and the enslavement of a species is not. That is a bravery not known many. Especially considering that species has a history of revo-"
"You will be exterminated!" the emperor interrupts.
Winnie lets a sigh go and lays her head on the Doctor's shoulder.
"Maybe it's time," the Doctor says, tightening his grip on Winnie's waist and slipping his eyes close.
Tears begin to fall from Winnie's shut eyes once more.
It seemed to take forever, how long did it take to kill two people? There a sound that cut through the unusual silence, a grinding sound all too familiar.
"TARDIS materializing," one of the daleks announces.
It's all she has to keep the smile from her face as the duo turn to stare back where the TARDIS was appearing. It's gone though as soon as it appears.
"Damn it, Rose. I said not to come back."
The Doctor spares a glance to the girl that stood beside him. "You said?"
She just shakes her head as the doors open revealing a blinding light and the silhouette of her blonde friend.
"Oh, Rose what did you do?" she breaths as Rose materializes before her.
"I looked into the TARDIS," she says, "And the TARDIS looked into me."
"You looked into the time vortex!" The Doctors calls up. Winnie turns to find him fallen on the ground. "Rose, no one's meant to see that!"
"This is the abomination," the Emperor says.
"Exterminate!"
Before Winnie could think to move, the Doctor pulled her down in turn removing her from the line of fire.
Rose only raised her hand to stop the beam.
"I am the Bad Wolf," Rose says. "I create myself. I take the words, I scatter them across time and space. A message to lead myself here."
"Rose, you've got to stop this. You've go to stop this now," Winnie half shouts.
"You've got the entire vortex runnin' through your head. You're gonna burn."
"I want you safe," Rose says looking down at the two friends. "Both of you. My Doctor and my Winnie. Protected from the forces."
"You cannot hurt me," the emperor dalek states. "I am immortal."
"You are tiny! I can see the whole of space, every single atom of your existence, and I divid them. Everything must come to dust. Everything dies."
The Doctor and winnie share a look before glancing around to watch as Rose disintegrates the daleks.
"The Time War ends."
"I will not die. I cannot die." It sounds like he is trying to convince himself.
The screen disappears and the Doctor turns back to Rose.
"You've done it, now stop."
"Just let go," Winnie ways with a small voice. "Just stop it Rose. You're gonna kill yourself. What am I suppose to tell Miss Jackie and Mickey if ya do?"
Tears stream down the blonde's face. "How can I let go of this? I bring life."
"But this is wrong!" the Doctor shouts.. "You can't control life and death."
"But I can," Rose argues, her head snapping to look down at him and Winnie. "The sun and the moon. The day and night. But why do they hurt?"
"The power's going to kill you," the Doctor says looking away for the second time since her appearance. "And it's my fault."
"I can see everything. All that is. All that was. All that ever could be."
The Doctor looks up at her stunned, his pale blue eyes wide with wonder. "That's what I see," he tells Rose as he jumps up. "All the time."
Winnie stands a little slower, weary as to what's going to happen.
"And doesn't it drive you mad?" the Doctor wonders.
"My head," Rose cries.
"Come here," he says.
"It's killing me."
"I think you need a doctor."
Winnie has to close her eyes tightly, partly because she doesn't know what is going to happen, partly because she can't watch as her Doctor kisses Rose, even if she knows what he's doing. The Doctor is gently placing Rose, who's fallen faint, on the ground when she opens her eyes again. She's quick to kneel beside the girl calling spirit to her and willing it to heal what's already been harmed. The light fades shortly after she feels the element return to her. Beside her the Doctor kneels and Winnie moves out of his way.
He cups her face before he scoops her into his arms bringing her into the TARDIS.
Winnie is quick to frit about the console remembering what the eighth incarnation taught her as she urges the time and space ship to take off and bring them to their next destination.
Rose wakes up a moment later, after the Doctor has joined Winnie.
"What happened?"
Winnie smiles at the girl. "Don't you remember?"
"It's like there was a singing," Rose says confused.
"That's right," The Doctor tells her. "I sang a song and the daleks ran away."
Winnie snorts at his smug-ish face. "Yeah, a horrible rendition of Pat Benatar's 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot'."
The Doctor shoves at her playfully.
"I was at home," Rose continues, "No I wasn't, I was in the TARDIS and-and," she sighs trying to arrange her thoughts, "there was this light. I can't remember anything else."
Winnie smiles solemnly and kneels by her friend once more. "It's alright, Rosie. Everything's alright."
"Rose Tyler." The Doctor breathes a half laugh half sigh. "Winterlynn Serenity Mortensen. I was gonna take you to so many places. Barcelona! Not the city Barcelona, the planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses." He laughs along with the girls. "Imagine how many times a day you'd end up telling that joke and it's still funny. And the chocolate Winnie. You'd love it."
"Better than the market on Callisto?" Winnie wonders.
"Way better," The Doctor tells her.
"Then why can't we go?" Rose asks.
"Maybe you will," he replies. "And maybe I will. but not like this." He shakes his head.
Winnie's eyes open. "What? No! You can't! I've only just met this one!"
"You're not making sense," Rose says glancing between the two as she stands up..
"I might not make any sense again. I might have two heads. Or no head." He laughs again. "Imagine me with no head."
Winnie doesn't say anything. She just shakes her head with tears glistening in her eyes.
"And don't say that's an improvement. Though it's a bit dodgy this process. You never know what you're gonna end up with."
"Like a box of chocolates," Winnie whispers.
The Doctor flinches and doubles over.
"Doctor!" Rose shouts as she races to him.
"Stay away!" he calls to her.
"Doctor, t-tell me what's going on."
"I absorbed all the energy of the time vortex and no one's meant to do that." He's gritting his teeth, his face a betrayer of the pain he felt. "Every cell in my body's dying."
"Can't you do something?"
"Yeah," he says. "I'm doing it now. Time Lords have this little trick. It's, uh, a way of cheating death. Except it means I'm gonna chance. And I'm not gonna see ya again. Not like this. Not with this daft old face. And before I go-"
"Don't say that!" snaps Rose.
"Rose-"
"Doctor," Winnie says, "I liked this daft old face. "I've only just gotten to know this you. It's not fair."
He smiles. "Before I go, I just wanna tell you, you were fantastic. Both of you. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what?" He gives a little cheeky grin. "So was I."
The gold regenerative light both fascinated and frightened winnie. It blinded her too, which was fine because she dropped her head into her hands allowing the gravity of the situation to fall on her, breaking her. She doesn't hear the change in his voice, or maybe she doesn't want to.
"Hell- oh. New teeth. that's weird."
She didn't notice the difference in the touch when a hand is placed on her shoulder.
"What's the matter Winnie?"
"I can't-"
"Oh come on, Winnie. I can't be that bad."
"No," she chuckled. "It's- I can't think of a song for this. I can't think-"
"I can.," the Doctor tells her. "Come stop your crying it'll be alright. Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here don't you cry."
"Phil Collins," Winnie says looking up at the Doctor's new face and taking his hand. "'You'll Be In My heart,' my favorite."
"I know," he says. "Now, seriously, where was I? Oh that's right Barcelona."
"Well," Winnie says drawing it out, "bit of a pit stop first. London, England. December 24, 2005. Just because I missed my holiday doesn't mean you have to miss yours," she says to Rose.