The Doctors Arrival
The Doctor unintentionally appears in the living room of two demons, Jack and Harley.
You know those days where you don't want to even get out of bed in the morning? The ones where you just know that nothing is going to get any better after you do get up and start your day. That was my every day. Waking up was just a hassle, something I had to do to assure people that I wasn't a corpse. But the problem with waking up is that then I'm not asleep. If you've ever had insomnia you'd understand. Sleeping is something of a treat when you're incapable of getting it regularly. But now I was awake. My pleasant dream of safety and comfort gone with the opening of my eyes, and the buzzing of my brain stirring promised I wouldn't be returning. Looking outside showed it was sometime in the afternoon based on the lighting. I'd fallen asleep on the couch again. I don't think I'd actually used my bedroom to sleep in over two months. It had become a dressing room more than a bedroom. My roommate and I used it for clothes, hair, and makeup but I hadn't slept in it in a while. I'd fallen into a bit of a funk. Okay so really I'd just stopped pretending to be what everyone wanted me to be. I now spent my days dreading life and my nights praying to sleep. I only dreaded the day because I hadn't slept.
For once I had actually rested. I woke up feeling better than I had in a while but I knew it wouldn't last. Like my dream, when the time came, the good feeling would be gone and I'd be back on the couch wishing to just pass out. But that was hours away at the least. So I got up, stretched, and headed for the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I know insomniac and coffee seems like a great idea but it was one of the only things that actually made days bearable. Even if I felt better than I had in a while there was no way I was going to try and face humanity without my caffeine. Once I had the blessed liquid brewing I turned on the stereo and turned up the volume so the music filled the apartment louder than was probably polite considering I had neighbors. Today's music selection consisted of musicals, starting with Wicked.
I loved Wicked. The music gave me chills every time and I couldn't help but relate to the green witch. No I wasn't green but there were other things that I related to that I didn't particularly feel like thinking about so I just turned up the volume a little more and headed to the shower. My roommate wasn't home and wouldn't be for another couple of hours so I left the bathroom door open so I could still hear the music while I showered. I would have normally sung in the shower but I hadn't been awake for more than ten minutes and I didn't really like the beginning songs anyhow so I just let the music flow through me while the water washed away my sleep. I had shaved, washed my hair and body and was rinsing out my conditioner when the water started to get cold. That was one of the things I hated about my shower. It didn't stay hot long enough. Also the pressure really sucked. But there wasn't really anything I could do about it so I just finished rinsing and climbed out.
I was redressed in a clean set of pajamas as I had nowhere to go today and my short hair was brushed out. I was still a bit out of it as I had yet to get my coffee but my mind was fully awake. That feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had everyday about things getting worse before I could sleep was stronger than usual but I wrote it off. It was an odd feeling, almost like something was going to happen that would blow all my other days out of the water and I was dreading it. It wasn't a necessarily bad feeling though. I didn't know how to explain it so I just ignored it and headed back down the short hall to the living room and kitchen to get my coffee. As soon as I got close to the living room I knew something was off though. It was only a few steps down the hall in total so it didn't take me long to realize I shouldn't have disregarded my feeling.
There in my living room, which wasn't very big to begin with, was a big blue box that said police public call box on the top. It hadn't been there when I woke up or when I got in the shower and I found myself starring blankly at it. I'd think I was still asleep except that I could still feel the heat of my shower making my skin tingle. I liked really hot showers. I knew I was awake but then what the hell was the box. And if that wasn't weird enough there was a man with the box. He was sitting on my couch starring at the posters on the wall opposite him. He wore a suit and chucks and a brown trench coat and I felt the need to pinch myself just to make sure I wasn't unconscious. He must not have noticed me yet so I turned, went back to the bathroom, splashed water on my face and came back. Yup, still there.
"Ah, okay then. Strange man on my sofa, blue box taking up my living room and I still haven't had any coffee. It's one of those days." I mumbled more to myself than the man on the couch. He jumped at my voice and stood up spinning to look at me but I had other concerns. There was a good possibility I was hallucinating and I needed to sober up. Heading to the kitchen I quickly prepared a cup of coffee and took a generous swig, burning my mouth in the process and then looked out of the kitchen back to the living room. The man was still standing there awkwardly watching me. I quickly turned to the medicine cabinet pulled it open and took a quick inventory of all the medications. Opening a few of the bottles I counted the pills. I don't usually keep track of my medicine that closely but I was pretty sure I'd be able to tell if there was some missing. Finding the usual amounts present I closed back up the cabinet and looked towards the man again. Still there. "Not a drug induced hallucination then and all the liquor is still accounted for. Which pretty much just leaves one explanation. You're real."
"Ah. Yup." The man popped the p and grinned at me. I nodded waiting for more of an explanation but he didn't give one.
"How'd you get in?" I asked carefully.
"Door was unlocked." He had a British sounding accent but it wasn't quite British. I'd never heard an accent quite like his. I'd heard a lot of accents and had a talent for pinpointing them but something about his just didn't really fit. I glanced at the front door to see it was indeed locked like I thought it would be. My roommate always locked the door when she went to work because I was usually asleep and she was as paranoid as me. Of course, just because that door was locked didn't mean much. We had the pleasure of a ground floor apartment which meant our slider was accessible to the outside world. I had to lean to see around the blue box and realized that door was unlocked. I then remembered going out for a smoke as soon as I got up and not relocking it. I never locked it when I was awake because I wasn't exactly worried about people breaking in. Apparently that was a problem now.
"So, in the twenty minutes I was in the shower you came into my apartment, dragged in a big blue box and made yourself at home?" I asked and he nodded a little manically. "Any particular reason why?"
"I like show tunes." He said simply with a slight shrug. I nodded slowly and then realized that I'd been shouting a bit because I hadn't turned down the stereo yet. At this point I did. Not a lot but enough to be easily heard. Then took another sip of my coffee and went back to staring at the man.
"And you got the blue box in here how?" I asked carefully.
"Door was unlocked." He said again like that would explain everything.
"Uh huh. You know that door is smaller than your box right?" I asked again.
"Well, how else would I get it in here?" He questioned a calculating look in his eyes.
"Hence the question. If I knew, I wouldn't ask." I felt oddly calm given the circumstances. Of course I knew a few things this stranger probably didn't. Like what usually happens when someone gets the bright idea to break into my house. I knew how to take care of myself but so far he hadn't done anything threatening so I'd keep him talking until he either did or I found out exactly what was going on. No reason to freak out just yet.
"I parked it there." He amended his previous answer and that also didn't help me much.
"I see that. I want to know how. That box doesn't fit through the door and I wasn't in the shower long enough for you to assemble it in here so." I paused for a minute waiting and when he still didn't answer I started getting frustrated. "Look, I don't know who you are and according to you you've found my apartment, broke in, parked a box, and got comfy in twenty minutes to listen to show tunes. Maybe this is news to you but that's not exactly something a polite member of society would do and definitely something anyone who's smart would do considering this is my apartment now you can either answer my questions honestly, or get out before I permanently disfigure that pretty face of yours and get away with it since you're the one who broke in here."
"You think my face is pretty? Wait no focus. Why does this being your house get emphasis?" He asked reminding me of an ADHD child. I didn't grace that with a verbal answer but shifted slightly so he could see the three daggers conveniently located behind me. My eyes drifted to the entertainment center where amongst the Halloween graveyard decorations a few more knives were placed. My eyes shifted again to the couch and the knives that were placed on either end table. His eyes followed mine and with each additional weapon he caught sight of his eyes got bigger. When he looked back at me I had an eyebrow raised in question with one arm crossed over my chest the other propped on it with my coffee cup close to my mouth. "Ah, right. Violent human. Got it. What was the question?"
"Blue box, how'd you park it in my living room?" I asked still oddly calm. "And word of advice, don't insult the girl whose house you broke into."
"Right, good advice. Ah, it materialized would be the easiest way to explain it to you." He said shifting uncomfortably. I nodded again and took another look at the blue box.
"On purpose?" I questioned.
"Well, not really no." He answered sheepishly his fingers tugging at his ear.
"And you stayed after accidentally materializing in my living room because you liked the music?" I asked to test my understanding. He nodded. "And you are?"
"I'm the Doctor." He said and my eyes shot back to him looking him up and down carefully before sighing and nodding.
"Well, that explains everything." I said turning back to refill my cup.
"Wait, you know who I am? Who are you? UNIT, Torchwood?" He asked getting anxious and by the tone a little angry.
"Never heard of either of those so I'm gonna go with no. That's not me. Wait, aren't they some kind of British secret police or something? Yeah, I do remember them. Nope, definitely not me. For starters, this is America, in case the accent didn't give it away. Second, I wouldn't be caught dead with them. Literally." I was rambling a bit but only because I was finally waking up and registering what was going on.
"Then who are you?" He asked his voice filled with suspicion.
"Jacqueline Kyros Blake. You gonna be staying long Doctor?" I asked leaving the kitchen and heading back to the couch. I sat down and pulled my laptop over to me opening it up casually.
"Uh, no. I don't think so." He said confusion filling his tone.
"Well, you gonna park your box right there until you leave?" I asked glancing at the box blocking the majority of the room.
"Uh." He kept starring at me like he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say.
"It's just I doubt you want that box out in the open while you do whatever you're here for. Although, it's a bit inconvenient right there. I mean a foot to the right would be fine but I can't get out the door with it there." I said sipping my coffee and blankly messing with my computer. I wasn't really doing anything but it looked like I was so I was okay with that. I couldn't really focus to be doing anything but I had to do something with my hands. I opened up a game of solitaire to make myself feel better. I didn't have to focus for that and it kept my hands busy and looked like I was doing something.
"Right. Uh. I can move it." He said but didn't move.
"Well? Foot to the right if you'd please." I said without looking up from my screen.
"You know who I am and you're not with Torchwood or UNIT and you just want me to shift to the right?" He asked his confusion getting the best of him.
"Yeah. About a foot." I said finally glancing up at him. "Problem?"
"No." He said quickly still watching me.
"Right then. I'm gonna go check the mail real quick. Move your box." I said setting down the computer and standing. I wasn't sure what to do with this particular situation. As the door closed behind me and I headed down the hall to the mailboxes my mind was spinning. Oh, I knew exactly who the doctor was but I'd always assumed he was a myth. Of course, a lot of people said that about me too so I guess I shouldn't be that shocked. But still. The Doctor was sitting in my living room listening to show tunes. I was pretty sure I hadn't hit my head recently or anything so there really was no good excuse for what was happening. I grabbed my mail and headed back to the apartment. I couldn't decide if I wanted him to still be there or not when I opened the door and went back inside. I didn't look towards the slider to see if he was either, my eyes firmly planted on the mail in my hand and my back turned to the room as I relocked the door.
"Great, more bills. Just once I'd like to get mail that gives me money and not takes it." I mumbled dropping the envelopes on the table and turning back to the room. There was the box, shifted slightly and the Doctor watching me curiously. "Kay, still here then. Well, I honestly have no idea what happens now so."
"Now you tell me who you are." The way he said it meant it wasn't a suggestion.
"I already did. Jacqueline Kyros Blake. Not my fault you don't know the name." I said moving back to the couch.
"Should I?" He asked.
"Not if I've done my job right." I mumbled under my breath.
"And what is your job?" He asked again and I tensed a bit looking over at him carefully.
"At the moment? Nothing. I don't have a job right now. Makes paying rent a bit tricky." I said flippantly. "But that's not what you wanted to know. I don't like being known. It's easier for me if I'm not. And before you read further into that there are billions of reasons why and I'm not going into them any further."
"So how do you know me?" He asked still watching me with that suspicious calculating look.
"I don't. Not really. I mean, I've heard stories, rumors of the Doctor and his TARDIS but that's it. Not like I've met you before." I said honestly. "Actually, I'm kind of stumped right now and that doesn't happen often. I really didn't think you were real."
"Well, here I am. Real and all." He said still slightly cautious but seeming to relax.
"You gonna stand there all day or what? I mean if you're staying in here you could at least sit down or something. Or you know go do whatever it is you're here for. I'll watch your box." I said looking back at my computer again and going back to my game.
"I need parts for the TARDIS." He said without moving.
"Ah well, you're in luck. Bryon Ohio just so happens to have the only blue box parts store in the country." I said my tone sounding completely serious.
"Really?" He asked pleasantly surprised.
"No." I said laughing like he was stupid. "What kind of shop around here is going to have parts for your box? Well, I guess that really depends on what you need though. If you could rig your part from things found on earth you might be able to find something. But I have no idea what you need so I couldn't tell you where to look."
"I need a." He started saying words that I knew were English but to me sounded like gibberish. I thought I caught something about a time rotor but it was in relation to something else that just made my head hurt in trying to figure out what it could be. I finally held up a hand to stop him.
"I have no idea what you just said. The extent of my technobabble is whosits go with thingamajigs. I'd suggest trying one of the auto shops since I think I recognized a few words that sounded like car parts." I said trying to be helpful.
"Oh, where's that then?" He asked a little crestfallen but bouncing back quickly.
"In town. Where the shops live. You'll have to wait for my roommate to get home if you want to drive though. You can drive can't you? You know what, one of us will take you when she gets back." I said focusing on my game again.
"And what am I supposed to do until then?" He asked petulantly.
"Sit, listen to show tunes. It's why you're still here isn't it?" I asked half way ignoring him. He sighed and plopped down on the other end of the couch. The silence lasted all of five seconds.
"How long until she gets here?" He asked impatiently.
"She should be here soon." I said glancing at the clock on my laptop. Again there was silence for all of fifteen seconds this time.
"Tell me about yourself." He said and I looked up and over at him. "I mean I know you're name and you know about me but I don't know anything else about you. How old are you? Where are you from? What do you like?"
"God she better get here soon." I mumbled going back to my game. "I'm from a little town called Sunbury. It's about three hours from here. My family lives there still. I came up here for school."
"What are you studying?" He asked shifting to look at me fully actually interested.
"I was going for Forensic Science." He made a noise like he was impressed. "I got bored though. Haven't been in a while."
"That's a shame. You should go back. It's a really interesting field." He commented and I glared at him.
"I'm aware." I practically growled. He gave me a confused look and held up his hands as if to ward me off. I sighed and turned away again. "Sorry. It's just everyone tells me that. I'm fully aware of what I should do and I wouldn't have started if it wasn't interesting. But it's my life and if I want to fuck it up all on my own I will. People telling me to do differently just makes me want to do the opposite. You're not the first to make that comment and I'm just so sick of hearing it I took it out on you." He nodded like he understood.
"So why did you stop going?" He asked carefully. I shrugged.
"I liked it well enough I guess but it started to feel like something I had to do and not something I wanted to do. It felt like an order and I don't do well with orders. I wanted to do it for me but then everyone I know starts telling me how proud they are and they can't wait for me to finish and it's really the best thing for me. They were supportive I guess but there was a tone to their comments that said don't fuck this up and you're a failure if you don't succeed. It wasn't for me anymore. It was something that was expected of me. And if it wasn't for me than I wasn't going to be happy doing it so why bother?" I explained as well as possible and he really seemed to understand that.
"You should do what makes you happy." He encouraged and I scoffed.
"Sorry, it's just, not a whole lot makes me happy these days and the things that do are kind of looked down on." I said a little bitterly. He opened his mouth to say something else but at that moment I heard the key in the lock and the door unlocking. He stopped and looked to the door. My roommate stepped in and went about her routine of dropping her keys on the table, taking off her coat and relocking the door before finally turning to look at me. I knew the moment she turned even though I was playing my game again. She froze and a small squeak escaped her throat as she took in the living room.
"Hey. How was work?" I asked casually.
"Shit. Who's this?" She asked just as simply though her body was still frozen. If I'd looked at her I would see her eyes were wide and darting between the box and the Doctor.
"The Doctor." I answered and she tensed even more.
"Oh. That's nice?" She asked carefully. There was so much more to that question and everyone in the room knew it.
"So far." I answered finally looking up. We shared a look that held an entire conversation and then she nodded and turned back to the table.
"I got us some more suckers. What flavor you want?" She asked sliding into the casual behavior I'd adopted.
"Got cherry?" I asked standing up and going to her. She handed me a sucker and I grinned and went back to the couch.
"I'm gonna change my pants and then I was thinking we could watch a movie." She said her eyes now avoiding the living room.
"Can't. There's a box blocking the T.V." I answered and she nodded. "He needs parts. I was thinking we could take him to one of the auto places in town."
"They're closed already. It's Sunday remember." She answered.
"Right. Well. I'm gonna go smoke. Find me when you're changed. We need to talk about how we're gonna get rent." I said standing again and heading outside. I barely heard a grunted response as she disappeared down the hall and I stepped outside. I wasn't there long when she came outside and closed the door. I usually kept it cracked but we both knew this was a closed door conversation.
"What did you do?" She asked immediately.
"Why do you automatically assume I did something?" I asked offended.
"The Doctor is in our living room." She said angrily.
"And that means I must have done something?" I asked just as angrily.
"Usually, yes." She said crossing her arms.
"Well I didn't. I just got out of the shower and he was there. It's been a very weird day and I haven't even been awake for more than two hours." I said taking a hit off my cigarette.
"Does he know." She started.
"No." I interrupted exhaling the smoke. "I told him my name but he didn't recognize it."
"What about me?" She asked nervously.
"My roommate. I haven't even said your name." I reassured her. It didn't really help though and we both knew it.
"What do we do?" She asked.
"How should I know? I'm just making this up as I go. He said he needs parts so I told him we could take him to get them. I'm thinking if we just get him the parts then he can go away and we don't have to do anything." I said my eyes watching the trees instead of her as I made up plans on the spot.
"And when he finds out, because we both know he will." I gave her a pleading look and she sighed. "We know your luck and add mine to it and he's going to find out. We need to have some kind of plan."
"No we don't." I insisted. "Plans mean failure when I'm involved, you know that. If I plan than it goes horribly wrong and we end up dead. I'll make a plan when I need it. Until then I suggest we just go with it."
"This is the part where one of us makes a statement that's undoubtedly going to jinx us." She said and I grinned leading to her own smile.
"Let's not then. I'm almost done. Go on in and I'll be there in a sec." I said and she nodded before opening the door and heading back in. My mind was whirling again as I finished my cigarette. Worse case scenarios flying through my brain faster than I could keep up with. With a final pull on my smoke, I put it out and stepped back inside. It took me a couple seconds to realize that my roommate was frozen again and another couple seconds to realize why. Standing on the other side of the living room was the Doctor with a hard face, his arms crossed, and a look in his eyes that was nothing short of dangerous.
"You know Time Lords have senses that humans can't even compare to. Meaning I have incredible hearing. Would you like to explain now?" He asked his voice just as dark as his eyes. I felt my hand reach next to me to grip my friends arm. She raised her hand to grip mine and my other hand drifted for a weapon on the bookcase next to me without me really giving it permission to. "I wouldn't if I were you."
"So about that plan?" My friends voice drifted to me quiet scared and squeaky.
"Working on it." I mumbled my eyes wide.
"I so told you so." She said her voice a little louder.
"Is this really the time for that?" I asked my eyes never leaving the Doctor.
"Since we'll probably be dead in the very near future, yeah, I think this is the perfect time for that." She growled out her eyes glancing over at me.
"We'll probably be dead in the very near future. Get a little perspective, Hope." I snapped back.
"Oh I've got perspective. Why do I ever leave you alone? You just can't help yourself. I told you not to do anything and you did it anyway. And now look what's happened." She tugged her arm away from me to turn and glare at me.
"I didn't do anything. I told you I didn't do anything. I haven't done anything in years. You can't blame this on me. The guy just showed up all on his own. Nothing done by me." I ranted back at her.
"Yeah, sure. You always do something." She glared at me and I glared right back.
"Not this time. I was in the shower. I hadn't even had my coffee yet when he popped up." I told her.
"What did you dream about?" She asked crossing her arms like that would prove her point.
"I don't know. I haven't remembered my dreams in a long time. You know that." She waited with an eyebrow raised. "I don't remember." Still nothing and I looked away. "Okay so I did wake up feeling kind of good."
"I told you." She threw up her hands and turned away frustrated.
"Someone going to explain to me what's going on?" The Doctor asked from the other side of the room. Some of the danger had left his countenance to be replaced by interest and confusion. Neither of us were in a place to realize that though.
"No." We both snapped before turning back to the other and then seemingly realizing what we'd done and turning back to look at him horror in our eyes. He had an eyebrow raised in question.
"We should either run or talk about now right?" I asked Hope without taking my eyes away again.
"Yeah. But I don't think either will help." She said back.
"Good point." I sighed and reached for the bookshelf. There was motion around me but I ignored it and grabbed my cigarettes, turning and opening the slider again. "Well, if we're gonna sign our death warrants, might as well kill myself a little more in the process."
"Jesus, Jack. You're trying to get us killed aren't you?" Hope asked reaching through the door to hit me upside the head. I glared at her and swatted her hand away, closing the slider most of the way so I could still hear and talk but keep most of the smoke out.
"You're the one who said we're most likely not going to survive anyhow, what are you so worried about?" I asked her incredulously.
"I'd like to keep breathing as long as possible thank you. You're the one who can talk white into black so talk our way out." She argued facing me, both of us seemingly forgetting the Doctor again.
"Oh yeah, that's brilliant. I'll just tell the Doctor that we're not human but we are and that every catastrophe to befall his favorite planet is my fault and you help me. That's genius. Do you have any idea how hard it is to explain to someone that we're demons to get out of trouble? It's not that simple."
"What?" The Doctor's voice rang out behind us and we both closed our eyes in an oh shit moment.
"Apparently it's that easy after all." Hope mumbled.
"We're not out of trouble moron." I mumbled back.
"Back up and explain." He said coming over to us as well. I sighed and took a long drag on my cigarette.
"Might as well get comfy, Time Lord, this could take a bit." Hope snarked moving to the couch and plopping down.
"What do you mean demons? There's no such thing." He said looking between us but still standing.
"Not that you know of. Everything that you've come across that people call demons are just lost aliens. We're not. Aliens I mean." I tried to explain. "We're older than that. We've, well I've, been around longer than time itself so you'd have trouble comprehending since your existence is based on time."
"That's not possible." He said like it was fact.
"See. You can't comprehend. Let's try a different method. Say we call the universe Earth. There were civilizations and beings before the earth was formed. We're those beings. We're from beyond your universe and we've been here since your universe was created." I tried to explain and he seemed to get that idea.
"Not willingly." Hope mumbled.
"Just because we got sent here doesn't mean it wasn't by choice. We both chose to be sent to a new universe. We just didn't pick this one in particular. And no amount of complaining is going to change that. You've been trying for eons. Give it up." I told her.
"But you seem human." The Doctor said like he could accept that there were being beyond the universe but not that we were them.
"So do you." Hope said still pouting.
"Two hearts." He shot back and she lowered her head.
"For all intents and purposes we are human. We live, we age, we die as humans and then we're reborn as a new human. Like you're regeneration process only we have to live the whole life. Before humans we were whatever life form was dominate on whatever planet we landed on." I cut in to try and diffuse an argument. "But we do have certain abilities that are decidedly not human. However the majority of it can't be contained in a humans body so there kind of locked away where we can't use them. Accept for some cheap tricks there's not a lot we can do in these forms."
"And you're job? You mentioned you couldn't be known for your job." He said looking at the floor like he was trying to piece together a puzzle down there.
"I said it was easier if I wasn't known and that's true. We have different jobs but they're all the same at the same time. The job is to maintain balance. The universe can't exist without balance. But there are different classes so to speak, different departments within the company. I'm a Bringer of Havoc. Where I go chaos follows. Nothing I can do about it really, especially not like this. Hope is damage control for the most part. She helps keep me in control, keeps me company, and cleans up the mess when I lose it." I lit another cigarette and studied the Doctor to see if he was getting it.
"So the Earths catastrophes." He asked glancing at me again.
"The reason this planet seems so jeopardy friendly is because it's where I'm currently stuck. Yes." I answered tensing as I watched him for a reaction. He just looked over at Hope.
"And you control her?" He asked and Hope and I both laughed.
"You don't control Havoc and the Bringer of can't be controlled either. I'm her friend. You have a tendency to listen to your friends but still have the ability to tell them no." Hope explained.
"But you were in school." The Doctor turned back to me confusion clear on his face.
"I told you, I live a human life. I can't just travel around doing whatever I want without money. I have limitations any other human would have. I'm supposed to get a degree, a job, a house, a family and live happily ever after the human way." My tone was bitter and disgusted at this point. "But it's not what I want. Like I said earlier."
"What makes you happy is frowned on." He remembered nodding. Hope laughed again.
"What makes her happy is illegal." She said still chuckling and I glared at her. "Give her a natural disaster, a ten car pile up, or the genocide of an entire city and she'll be happy. Other than that she's just kind of content and even then only if something else is shitty."
"Thanks, Hope." I ground out glaring at her. "You're really trying to get me killed aren't you?"
"Not that it'll do any good. You'll just come back in a new body, remember." She said smugly.
"You know as well as I that they'll stick me in limbo for a good two hundred years after last time and that I hate limbo. It's so boring." I complained.
"It's Limbo. Not a vacation resort." She shot back still chuckling.
"Who's them?" The Doctor asked.
"We don't know." We both shrugged. "They think they're in charge so when I do something they don't agree with they have a tendency to have me killed but I'm too important to keep dead so they just stick me in time out and then ship me back to start over."
"Oh you don't sound at all full of yourself." Hope said rolling her eyes.
"Hey, it's not my fault there's only two bringers in this universe. Or that the other one doesn't know how to do his job." I grumbled.
"Okay, this is weird. And coming from me that's saying something." The Doctor said looking between us again.
"Yeah well, you get used to it." I said shrugging and putting out my cigarette. "So you gonna kill us or what?"
"Why am I killing you again?" He asked.
"We're the reason bad things happen." Hope said like it was obvious.
"But we're also integral to the continued life of the universe." I said shooting Hope a warning look.
"Right, I don't make a habit of killing things until they prove to me that they deserve it. Neither of you have." He said looking between us still.
"Great then." I said stepping back inside. "Who wants popcorn?"
"What?" the Doctor asked confused again.
"Popcorn. Corn that is popped. I haven't eaten yet today." I said moving to the kitchen. Hope joined me and we moved about the kitchen getting popcorn and chips and dip.
"That went well." She whispered while we both stood in front of the microwave.
"Talking black into white, like you said." I whispered back and grinned at her. "I think the beginning confusion helped a bit."
"Usually does." She grinned back.
"I can still hear you." The Doctor said at a normal volume and we both had the decency to look down and blush a bit.
"This is gonna be fun." Hope murmured crankily.
"I think so. It's like that time at that monastery." I said dumping the popcorn into the bowl.
"The one with the candlestick?" She asked smiling fondly.
"No that was a fort remember. I'm talking about the one with the monks." I answered to clarify and she rolled her eyes.
"That's like twenty." She said bringing the chips back to the living room.
"With the party." I said following.
"Fifteen." She shot back plopping onto the couch.
"In the mountains." I said plopping on my end of the couch. She gave me a look. "Right twelve. Uh. The one with the..no that's still six. What about never mind."
"I thought you said you couldn't just travel around. That conversation alone had twenty one different locations." The Doctor asked standing before us.
"Different lives." Hope mumbled around a chip that was in her mouth.
"We can remember bits from most of our lives. Not all of it but certain things stand out." I looked over at Hope with a huge smile. "Like the candlestick."
"Come on, that was hilarious." She said like she was defending herself. "At least I didn't light it."
"No you just put them in there and I told you if you're gonna do it you might as well go all the way." I said back and we both broke into giggles.
"Oh and remember that one with the coat?" Hope asked excitedly.
"The blue one or the red one?" I asked to clarify.
"The purple one." She said and I burst into laughter at the memory.
"I'm going to go tinker." The Doctor said turning and stepping into the TARDIS. As soon as the door closed Hope and I sobered up, moved closer to each other and started whispering.
"So now what?" She asked frantically.
"Again, how should I know? I'm sticking with plan A. Just go with it." I said a little calmer than her.
"Fine, but if we die, it's so your fault." She said simply and I nodded.
"I will totally take the credit for death by Doctor." I said and she smiled and then stood up.
"I gotta work again tomorrow so I'm gonna go chill for a bit and then sleep." She said taking her chips and dip and heading to her room. I knew it would be hours before she fell asleep but she liked to wind down on her own before going to sleep in the evenings. Since I'd just gotten up I wasn't anywhere close to tired but I was used to spending my time alone and I didn't mind. I just moved back to my corner of the couch and picked up my laptop again.