With great difficulty they managed to get the Doctor to his feet and through the crowd, Strax and Aderyn leading the way to clear a path. Strax bellowed a platitude of meaningless threats of death by various weapons. Aderyn rolled her eyes at him and somehow managed to remain calm, despite the amount of times she was elbowed in the ribs. Even when she was faced by a particularly large and disgruntled man. She merely told him, politely, about the levels of pain she would subject him to if he didn't move out of her way.
Between them, Jenny and Vastra were able to man handle the Doctor back to the carriage. Though his bouts of conciousness were infrequent, they were proving very unhelpful. He protested loudly and shouted about wanting to go back to the TARDIS. But he soon fell silent when Aderyn threatened to render him truly unconcious if he didn't do as he was told.
Back at Paternoster Row, the Doctor had remained uncooperative. Aderyn was still uncertain how they managed to wrestle him into a long night shirt and a bed. When he was awake he paced the room, yelling constantly.
Aderyn sat against the wall and listened to the Doctor pacing. She watched Clara pacing the hall in front of her. She resisted the urge to stick her foot out and trip Clara. She kept asking the same questions and Aderyn could tell Jenny was starting to get very frustrated with trying to explain the regeneration process. Of course Aderyn could have spoken up and explained to Clara what happened, the glares Jenny kept throwing at her were a definite indication that it would be a good idea. But before she had a chance, the bedroom door was thrown open and the Doctor frowned at them "Who invented this room? It doesn't make sense."
Clara rushed forward and ushered the Doctor back into the room. "What doesn't make sense?" She asked.
"Look, it's only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?"
"Because it's a bedroom. It's for sleeping in." Clara said impatiently.
"What do you do when you're awake?"
"You leave the room." Jenny said. She stood in the doorway so the Doctor couldn't leave.
But the Doctor showed no signs of trying to make a break for it. He stood in the middle of the room and waved his arms in despair "So you've got a whole room for not being awake in. What's the point?" He turned on his heel, saw his reflection in the mirror and turned away quickly "And don't look in that mirror. It's absolutely furious."
Aderyn sighed. Clara clearly wasn't going to have any control over the Doctor. He was confused and frustrated. And that required a certain amount of cunning. Politely asking the Doctor to lie down becuase he kept passing out was only met with a typical Doctor response.
"Of course I keep passing out, there's all these beds," he shouted. Aderyn peered around the door in time to see the Doctor pointing accusingly at Clara "Why do you keep talking like that? What's wrong with your accent?"
Ah, the Doctor finally realised he had an accent. There was only one person that could calm him down now. When Aderyn began to walk away she heard the Doctor loudly telling Jenny and Clara that they had developed a fault because they'd 'gone all English'. She returned quickly, trailing up the stairs behind Madame Vastra. She sat on the floor again and smiled to herself as she heard Vastra drop easily into a Scottish accent that was, although strong, softer then the Doctor's.
"Doctor, I need you to help me with something."
Relief was evident in the Doctor's voice "Finally, someone who can talk properly."
"I'm having difficulty sleeping." Vastra said.
"I wouldn't bother with that, I never bother with sleep. I just do stand-up catnaps whenever anyone else starts talking. I like to skip ahead to my bits. It saves time." the Doctor said cheerfully.
Aderyn clapped a hand over her mouth, now was not the time to laugh at the Doctor's comments. She heard their voices move and the creak of bed springs "Save me time, Doctor. Project an image of perfect sleep into the centre of my mind."
Aderyn knew she had been right to get Vastra's help. She peered around the door again and saw Vastra and the Doctor sat on the bed. "The size of my brain," the Doctor said "Would be like dropping a piano on you."
Vastra shrugged "Be gentle then."
"I'll try. Brace yourself." The Doctor said, raising his hands to Vastra's temples. Then he fell backwards against the bed, fast asleep. Aderyn stood and walked into the room, leaning against the wall. Jenny and Vastra pulled the bedsheets over the Doctor.
"I love monkeys. They're so funny." Vastra muttered. She realised her mistake when she heard the annoyance in Jenny's response.
"So people are monekys now?"
"No dear, people are apes. Men are monkeys." Vastra said, relieved when Jenny smiled back.
"So what now?" Clara asked.
"He needs rest," Aderyn said. She took a piece of chalk from her pocket and tucked it behind the radiator "That should keep him busy if he wakes up."
"So what do we do? How do we fix him?" Clara said, watching the sleeping form of the Doctor.
Jenny nudged Aderyn's rib as she opened her mouth and spoke before Aderyn could.
"Fix him?"
"How do we change him back?"
The change in the room was instantaneous. Both Vastra and Aderyn tensed visibly. Aderyn's hands shook as she balled them into fists. When Vastra spoke, her voice was suddenly severe "Jenny, I will be in my chamber. Would you be kind enough to fetch my veil?"
Jenny frowned at her "Are we expecting stangers?"
"It would seem there's already one here," Vastra replied curtly "Aderyn, would you make some tea?"
Aderyn's expression was one of pure anger but she replied politely "Of course ma'am." She followed Vastra quickly.
"She meant me didn't she?" Clara asked. But Jenny didn't reply. She crossed to the window and pulled it closed.
"Since when has Aderyn called Vastra ma'am?"
Jenny sighed and replied quietly "When there's strangers visiting," When Jenny turned away form the window, Clara was peering intently at the Doctor's face. "Are you ok?"
Clara shrugged "Where did he get that face? It's brand new so why's it got lines on it? How can his hair be all grey? He's only just got it."
Jenny smiled sadly at her "It's still him, ma'am. You saw him change."
"I know that. I do." Clara said quietly.
"Good," Jenny muttered and headed for the door. She was a few feet away from it when Clara began to stammer out several attempts to start a sentence. Jenny turned kindly to face her "Take a deep breath and try again."
"If Vastra changed, if she was different, if she wasn't the person you liked?" Clara managed to force out.
Jenny couldn't help but smile shyly "I don't like her ma'am, I love her. And as to different?" Jenny shrugged "Well, she's a lizard."
This clearly wasn't the answer Clara was looking for.
"Fine, what if it was Aderyn? What if she suddenly did this?"
Jenny stared in disbelief. Surely Clara would remember what Aderyn had looked like, been like, before they had visited the Doctor's grave at Trenzalore. "She has. I've seen it. She may not look the same, may not even be completely the same, but it's still her. You get used to it. It will be the same with the Doctor." She headed for the door again.
"If you could change her back, would you?"
"No, never," Jenny said immediately "It's part of who she is. It's not her fault." Jenny prayed silently that Clara wouldn't push the matter. It was always a difficult, complicated task to try and explain her bizzare friendship with Aderyn.
"He looks like her." Clara said quietly.
"Well, they are related." Jenny said slowly. Then she looked at him again. Clara was right. The Doctor had the same tall, slim frame and long limbs as Aderyn. Aderyn was easily only an inch or two shorter than the Doctor was now. They both had a thin face and expressive eyes. Jenny had noticed that the steel blue of the Doctor's eyes matched the colour of Aderyn's right eye.
"Yes, but she looked like that before he looked like this." Clara said.
Jenny shrugged "I don't completely understand how it works, miss. There's more to it then just changing a face. But I better go. The wife doesn't like to be kept waiting."
