On To The Next
You see them happy and you remember how sad they'll be and it breaks your hearts.
"And who are you?", she asks, gripping her dad's hand a bit tighter.
The man smiles, "I'm the Doctor."
"Doctor who?", her father asks and the man chuckles.
"Just 'The Doctor'."
"It's impossible!", her father exclaims upon entering the blue box.
"It's bigger on the inside.", she replies to her dad as she looks around in wonder, "It's not impossible; it's your architectual dream."
Her father shrugs, "Pretty much, yeah.", he turns to the Doctor, "So, what can this do?", he asks.
"Travel.", the Doctor answers, "Anywhere you want, anytime you want."
"You're full of it."
"Naya!"
She turns to her dad, "Sorry, but he is.", she says, "Time and space my ass."
The Doctor fixes his bowtie, "How about I show you, then?"
Naya turns to him, "I want to have tea with the Queen."
"Person or the band?"
"Person."
"I'm not really on her good side."
She laughs, "Then just take me home, take us back to England. I'm sick and tired of New York."
He does.
"Where to next?", the Doctor asks, as they're walking through the city of Carthage.
Naya looks up, "Summer break's over on Monday. I have school on Monday.", she says nonchalantly and a part of her realises the stupidity of the statement. They're not even in the same year and she'd give both her arms that it's not even Sunday.
"Is that a 'no'?", he asks, putting his hands in his pockets.
She looks at her dad and he gives her a small nod, a smile on his face. The excitement in his eyes is visible and she smiles back before turning back to the Doctor, "No,", she says, "Just have me back on Monday."
He smiles.
Her screams fill the air.
"Dad! Dad!", she yells out and sobs escape her mouth. She can feel her heart breaking as her voice does, too, and she just wants to die, "Let me go!", she yells at the Doctor whose grip doesn't loosen as he drags her into the TARDIS, away from the fire and the aliens and the death.
Away from her father's dying form.
"Open the door!", she yells as the TARDIS door slam shut, "Open them!", she yells again, hitting his chest with her small fists. He doesn't mind. She gives up soon enough and she falls down on the floor. Tears run down her cheeks and all the strength is gone from her body. She can't move, can't breathe, can't live. She feels empty and weak.
"Bring him back?", it's a question. Not a demand. More like a plead. Her voice is hoarse and he can still hear the screams.
"I can't."
It brings back memories.
She sits in the corner of the TARDIS, a brown tweed coat around her. She hasn't said a word and her cheeks are now dry. He doesn't let that fool him, though, because he knows the pain she feels. He knows it oh-so well.
"I want to stay.", she says, more like asks, but the questioning tone in her voice is barely there.
He takes a seat next to her, "Why?", he asks, "Why do you want to stay? I killed your dad."
"Those things killed him."
"But it was my fault."
Her voice is just above a whisper, "It's not. It is not.", she says, her brown eyes piercing into his. Her eyes that look too old for a fifteen year old.
A silence falls.
"I.. I want to stay because I don't have anyone else, Doctor. I'm alone. You're alone.", she says, and leans her head on his shoulder. He sighs, "How.. How about we be alone together for a while?"
The thought of losing that girl, too, is now his second biggest fear.
(His first one is falling asleep. That's when the nightmares set in.)
Naya launches herself in front of the Lagoons, their guns almost touching her chest.
"No.", she says and they turn to her, their faces blank. Emotionlessness is the 'it' thing right now among aliens, apperently. No one pulls it off quite like the Daleks, though, as the Doctor commented with a sad note.
"Go ahead.", she says, straightening up, "Kill me. You know you want to. But think about it, though. What will you get if I'm dead? I've got nothing to lose. You've got nothing to win. I'm just an idiotic human being without a family.", she takes in a deep breath, "I dare you to kill me.", she challanges them with a smirk.
The aliens fall down, unconscious, and the only face she sees is the Doctor's.
She kind of wishes he came a bit later.
"Do you have a death wish?", he asks.
She pauses for a moment, "No."
"Then don't you ever do that again."
"You think you're God!", she yells out and her voice breaks again. It irritates her, the weakness she's expressing, because she just got herself back together, "You want to save everyone but you can't. You just can't. You can try, but you can fail, too. Just.. Just don't die, okay?", she says, tears forming in her eyes as she pulls him into a hug, "You're the only thing I have left."
The Doctor hugs her back but doesn't say anything.
(He doesn't come back.)
"Where is he? Where is he?", she yells out as she walks to a bunch of policemen standing in front of the building. A black woman stops her by grabbing her shoulders.
"Who are you looking for, dear?", she asks and Naya turns to her. Two more men are by her side and she checks out all three of them.
"You were with the Doctor, weren't you?", the dark skinned man asks her, "I can see it in your eyes."
Naya cleares her throat, "Where is he?"
"He left.", the other man says, his American accent thick on his words, "He told me to give you this. I'm guessing you're Naya."
He hands her a small piece of paper.
Try ordinary.
She calls the phone number Mickey Smith left her a week ago.
"Martha Jones?", she asks as a woman answers the other line, "I thought about what Jack said. About the note and all."
"Yeah?"
"I can handle ordinary.", she says and she can almost hear Martha smile, "I just don't want to."
Martha Jones chuckles and Naya Clemens smiles.
"So, Naya, you think you're up for some freelancing?"