An enchanting trip on the Orient Express, a shrinking TARDIS, an arboreal take over and Aderyn trying to be nice...what can go wrong?
Part 11 of the Broken Girl series.
Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this series so far.
I don't own Doctor Who or its characters...just Aderyn.
With considerably less enthusiasm than normal, the Doctor pulled open the TARDIS door.
"Your train awaits, my lady." He said. He held open the door and Clara slipped passed him.
"Wonderful." She said, looking around at the luggage racks and suitcases that lined the walls.
"The luggage car. But thanks for lying." The Doctor said quietly. He closed the TARDIS door and walked down the carriage, putting his hand on the door ahead of them "The real world is through here though." He opened the door and, once again, held the door for Clara to go through first. She was instantly awestruck by the sight that greeted her. The carriage they emerged into was clearly the dining car. The decor was very 1920s and she had been right to take the Doctor's advice in wearing a bead and sequin covered flapper's dress.
"There were many trains to take the name Orient Express." The Doctor said "But only one in space."
Clara was still awestruck by the inside of the train that she hadn't even noticed the stars and nebulas drifting gently passed the windows. "Completely faithful recreation of the original Orient Express. Except slightly bigger. And in space. Oh, and the rails are actually hyperspace ribbons. But in every other respect, identical. Painstaking attention to detail." The Doctor continued. He smiled at Clara when she turned to look at him. His smile faded "You're doing it again."
"Doing what?" Clara asked.
"That smile."
"Yes, I'm smiling."
The Doctor sighed " It's the sad smile. It's a smile but you're sad. It's confusing. It's like two emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning."
"Sorry." Clara said quietly.
"I just though this one be a good one to..." The Doctor started.
"End it." Clara finished "Yeah. It is. It's a good choice. A good one to end on."
The Doctor held out his arm, offering it to Clara "Shall we?"
She took the Doctor's arm and allowed him to lead her further into the carriage. He led her to a small table by the window and she was soon lost in gazing at space around her. She had often stood by the open TARDIS doors with the Doctor, the previous Doctor, and watched space go passed below them. But she had never watched the calmness of space drift passed with this Doctor. And it broke her heart that the one time she had looked into space, no running for their lives, no panicked rushing around, just standing and watching, with this Doctor, would be the last time she was with the Doctor is space, last time travelling. This was her last chance to stand next to the Doctor somewhere other than her living room.
"Oh, I remember when this was all planets as far as the eye could see. All gone now. Gobbled up by that beast." The Doctor said, looking out of the train window. He looked down at Clara, who was also looking out of the window. "There's that smile again. I don't even know how you do that."
"I really thought I hated you, you know?" She said quietly.
"So glad you kept that to yourself." The Doctor sighed. "There was this planet, Obsidian. The planet of perpetual darkness."
But Clara wasn't done "I did. I did hate you. In fact, I hated you for weeks."
"Good, fine. Well, I'm glad that we cleared that up. There was also a planet that was made completely of shrubs." The Doctor said.
"I went to a concert once. Can't remember who it was. But do you know what the singer said?"
The Doctor sighed and gave up on trying to teach her about the planets that had once been there. "Frankly, that would be an absolutely astonishing guess if I did know."
"She said, "hatred is too strong an emotion to waste on someone that you don't like.""
The Doctor frowned "Were people really confused? Cos I'm confused. Did everybody leave?"
Clara chuckled lightly "Shush. Shut up. Look, what I'm trying to say is, I don't hate you. I could never hate you. But I can't do this any more. Not the way you do it."
The Doctor had always been a bit odd when it came to expressing any emotion. It was easier with some regenerations than others. And it would seem that this regeneration couldn't form the words to say everything that needed to be said, to find the right response to everything that was said. This was one of those times when he just didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her that he didn't want her to go, he liked having her around. As much as he knew Aderyn wasn't a fan of Clara, she had said it herself, Clara was good for him.
"Can I talk about the planets now?" He said eventually.
Clara smiled sadly at him, but he wasn't looking. "Yeah, go on."
The Doctor pointed out of the window "Thedion Four. Constant acid rain. Had a lovely picnic there once, wearing a gas mask."
"That's a lie."
The Doctor and Clara looked round. A young woman was staring at them, her expression somewhat angry.
"I'm sorry?" Clara said.
"That's a lie, what you said. Thedion Four was destroyed thousands of years ago, so you couldn't have been there."
A high ranking guardsman approached the woman. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Miss Pitt, are you sure you wouldn't rather rest in your room?"
The woman turned to the guard and pointed a threatening finger at the Doctor "That man is a liar."
The guard waved his hand at a man, another guard, who stepped forward.
"Perhaps you'd allow Mister Carlyle here to escort you back." The second guard steered her down the carriage, away from the Doctor and Clara.
"Sorry about that. I suppose it's understandable in the circumstances. I don't believe we've been introduced. Captain Quell." The Captain smiled at Clara and the Doctor.
"I'm Clara." Clara said "This is the..."
"Doctor!"
Clara groaned as Aderyn stepped around Captain Quell.
"Ah, Miss Tyler," Quell said "Am I to assume these two are with you?"
Aderyn wiped the surprised smile from her face "Yes, sorry, yes they are. I requested that The Doctor and Miss Oswald come along as my guests. I apologise for not informing you. Slipped my mind."
"Another doctor? We've got doctors and professors coming out of our ears on this trip." Quell smiled at Aderyn "That's not a problem, Miss Tyler. We still have some rooms free."
When Quell walked away, the Doctor and Clara regretted looking at Aderyn. She looked fearsomely angry.
"What are you two doing here? I finally get something big to investigate by myself and then you two rock up." She hissed.
"Investigating what?" The Doctor asked keenly.
"Doctor!" Clara hissed "We had no idea you were here."
"Then what are you doing here? This isn't exactly the kind of place the Doctor normally goes."
Clara smiled sadly at Aderyn "This is our last hurrah."
"Last hurrah? What do you mean?"
"It's a long story." The Doctor said.
Aderyn awkwardly grabbed three flutes of Champaign from a passing waitress, giving one to Clara and the Doctor "Then start talking."