The Impossible Astronaut, Part 2
The Oval Office was covered with maps, from the chairs in the middle of the room, the coffee table, the desk, even the floor was littered with different maps. Some of them were coloured with blues and greens marking out rivers or park areas, while a few were black and white, but each one was based on a Florida or an area of Florida. Amy and Rory were sitting across from each other on the sofas in the middle of the room, watching while the Doctor and the Hatter carefully examined maps, the Time Lady chewing on her green apple as she leaned over one of the maps scattered across the coffee table, before shaking her head and tossing the map aside carelessly, moving to lean over the Doctor's shoulder to look at the map he was looking over, having been standing behind her. River was kneeling on the floor on the other side of the room, flipping through another pile of maps.
All around the room, Secret Service agents were moving around, some bringing in more maps for them to look over, while others were still on high alert, clearly not at all comfortable by the fact that five complete strangers, who had just appeared in the middle of the White House in a blue box, were being given such free reign in the President office with Nixon standing back with Canton by his desk and two agents, watching the entire thing unfold.
The Doctor picked up the map he was looking at and held it up, exchanging a quick look with the Hatter beside him, who gave a small nod. The map was slightly more detailed then some of the ones they had been provided, and from what he had explained to her of what he had overheard from a recording, that was exactly what they needed right now. Details, as in clear street details. He began to stroll across the room, heading for Nixon's desk, stepping over maps as he went with the Time Lady choosing to go back to looking over maps scattered across the coffee table instead, tucking her knees beneath her as she knelt on the rug, her apple forgotten as she sat it aside on the table.
"Why Florida?" Canton asked the Doctor as he passed by him, turning to watch him place the map he was holding on the desk, joining several other maps that covered the desk already.
"There's where NASA is," the Doctor replied, not looking back to him, busy trying to spread the map out. The Hatter glanced up, frowning slightly as she noticed the wary expression that crossed River's face as she too looked up at the question. So there was something about NASA that bothered River? Hmm, that was interesting, "She mentioned a spaceman," he continued, talking about the little girl who had been calling Nixon, apparently, "NASA's where the spacemen live. Also…" he paused, glancing up from the map and looking back over his shoulder to the Hatter, meeting her eyes, "There's another lead we're following".
The Hatter looked back down to the map spread out before her, but stopped when she noticed Amy standing and moving to crouch beside River, talking to quietly for even her ears to catch. Whatever it was that they were discussing, it seemed to be causing both women concern and they kept casting quick looks towards herself and the Doctor. She sighed heavily, lowering her eyes back down to the map, really not liking how they were hiding things from her and the Doctor, but what more could she and the Doctor do try and get it out of them? They were clearly not going to tell them, for whatever reason, and all they could do was trust in them. Still, that didn't mean she had to be happy about it.
"Amy?" Rory's voice caught the Hatter's attention a moment later, and she looked up to see that River had moved away and Amy had turned towards the doorway, where Rory now stood before her, looking concerned, "What did you remember?"
Amy blinked, a funny, almost distant expression crossing her face before it was gone. The Hatter climbed onto her feet, frowning deeply, sensing something…off. Amy gave herself a sharp shake, "I don't know," she said, frowning faintly, "I just…" she stopped suddenly, inhaling shakily and quickly pressed a hand to her mouth, as if she was about to be sick, growing very pale. Slowly, her hand fell from her mouth to touch her stomach.
The Hatter moved closer to them, eyeing Amy closely in concerned, "Amy, are you feeling alright?" she asked her, her eyes darting down to the hand still resting on her stomach. If she didn't know better…
"Amy?" River called from one of the sofas, looking up from a map she was examining.
The Doctor moved away from the desk with another map in his hands, casting Amy a quick, small frown, "Are you alright?" he questioned her as he passed by.
"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Amy tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. The Hatter frowned slightly and put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm just…" she swallowed, glancing at Rory, "Feeling a little sick," she shook her head and put a hand on her stomach, moving towards the doorway where one of the agents was standing guard, "Excuse me, is there a toilet or something?" she asked him.
"Sorry, ma'am," the agent said to her, glancing over towards Nixon, "During this procedure, you must remain within the Oval Office".
"Shut up and take her to the rest room," Canton ordered the agent, the Time Lady gave him a small smile, liking him more and more.
The agent looked at him for a long moment, not at all pleased, but he didn't dare to try and argue in front of Nixon. He glance at the agent standing beside him, who nodded and turned to Amy, "This way, ma'am," he held out a hand to her lead her out of the room.
"Thanks," Amy muttered, starting to leave the room.
"Are you sure you don't want someone to come with you?" the Hatter called after her, watching her retreating back, deeply concerned. She had a faint suspicion, but that could just simply be due to her own state.
She glanced back to her over her shoulder, "No, I'll be okay," she tried to smile again, this time it looked a bit more real and disappeared around the doorframe, heading off down the hallway with the second agent leading the way.
Rory moved to follow her, but the first agent blocked his way, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The Hatter gave Rory a reassuring look, knowing how worried he probably was for his wife, and pattered his shoulder as she moved past him to join the Doctor across the room as he carefully examine another map on Nixon's desk.
"Your five minutes are up," Canton told them, watching as the Time Lords leaned over the map.
"Yeah?" the Doctor remarked, not looking at him, "And where's our fezzes?" he finally looked up from the map and over to the Hatter standing beside him, "How's Amy?"
"I'm not sure," the Hatter replied, frowning slightly, feeling concern wash over her again for the young woman, "She said she was feeling sick and she turned a rather impressive shade of green".
He began to frown, too, casting a quick look over towards the doorway, before shaking his head and turning back to the brunet, "And what about you?" he asked, taking her hand.
She smiled at him, "I'm fine," she assured him, trying hard not to roll her eyes at how much he had been fussing over her lately. She hated being fussed over, but considering that he was doing it out of concern for her and their child, she was trying hard to make an effort not to get too annoyed. So far, she thought she was doing quite well.
"You would tell me if there was something wrong, wouldn't you?"
This time she couldn't hold back the eye roll, "Of course, sweetheart," she sighed, shaking her head at him, "Now please, can we get back to work and stop worrying about me?"
He flashed her a broad smile, winking, "I always worry about you, dear," he said, shrugging, "Someone has to if you won't".
"Yes, well, I have a very good reason to right now," she commented, absently brushing a hand down her stomach. Since finding out that she was pregnant, she had become painfully aware of just how reckless she could be, how impulsive some of her actions had been, but she knew that had to change now. She was going to have make an effort to reign herself back from jumping into the middle of something without thinking twice because she would not put her child at risk, not when it already was.
They went back to work examining maps, running their eyes carefully over the tiny streets that was marked out across the paper spread out across the desk before them, while Nixon sat back in his chair, watching them and Canton hovered around them. The phone on the desk suddenly began ringing, catching all of their attention.
Canton's eyes flew to the phone before glancing quickly to the Time Lords backs as they continued to lean over the map, "The kid?" he wondered.
Nixon began to stand from his chair, "Should I answer it?" he questioned, looking to the Time Lords.
"Here!" the Doctor suddenly exclaimed, straightening as he pointed to a spot on the map, "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from!"
"I can't believe it took us so long to find it," the Hatter shook her head, feeling foolish for not having found it straight away.
"Obvious, when you think about it," he agreed, nodding as River and Rory moved closer, just as Amy walked back into the room.
Canton moved closer to the map, looking down at the spot, "You are geniuses".
The Time Lady grinned, almost smugly as the Doctor stretched his back after having spent quite a while bent over, "Just a little bit," she shrugged.
He looked back across the desk to Nixon, the sound of the phone ringing shrilly still going on, "Mr President, answer the phone," he instructed him.
Nixon hesitated for a moment before reaching out and picking up the phone's receiver, clicking a button on the tape recording as he lifted the phone up to his ear, "Hello?" he said into the phone as they all waited, listening intently, "This is President Nixon".
"It's here!" a little girl's voice cried fearfully, making the Hatter wince, "The spaceman's here! It's going to get me! It's going to eat me!"
"We have to go," the Hatter said quickly, not waiting for a response before turning and making a dash for the TARDIS, needing to get to that scared little girl.
The Doctor clicked his finger at her and hurried over to where he had draped his blazer over the back of a chair, "There's no time for a SWAT team!" he agreed, pulling his blazer on, throwing Amy, Rory, and River a quick look, "Let's go!" the three of them nodded and followed after the Time Lady, who had already thrown the time machine's doors open and disappeared inside. He turned back to Nixon and Canton, backing back towards the TARDIS himself, "Mr President, tell her help's on the way!" he called to them, talking fast, "Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you".
"What the hell are you doing?" Canton demanded as the Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS after Rory, disappearing. He ran after them and into the box, slamming the door shut, only to stop short as he found himself standing inside a huge room within the tiny box, his eyes widening in shock as he took it all in, hardly noticing the shaking around him and the strange wheezing sound.
The Doctor and the Hatter where already up at the controls, dancing around them as River helped fly the TARDIS, setting the coordinates in for their next destination. Amy was standing back up by the controls, watching them work as she grabbed hold on the console to keep herself from being tossed around, while Rory stood behind Canton by the doors, watching the man's reaction.
"Jefferson isn't a girl's name," the Doctor remarked, shaking his head as he pulled a lever, "It's not her name either".
"However, they are three very important names," the Hatter added, flicking a switch, "Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton…" she moved around to hit a button beside River, raising her eyebrows at the other women.
"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers," River said at once, nodding.
"Lovely fellas," the Doctor commented, moving around to the Hatter's side, giving her a wink, "Two of them fancied me".
"I snogged one of them once," the Time Lady admitted with a shrug, making him blink and look back to her, startled by that information. She smiled at him, "Oh, and Betsy Ross. Blimey, that was a wild night".
He stared at her, opening and closing his mouth for a moment, "You…" he waved a hand at her, shaking his head, "And Betsy Ross?"
"What can I say? Historical figures like to lock lips with me, it's not as if I encouraged them, it just happened," she sniffed slightly haughtily, "I am a Time Lady, after all, I don't just go around snogging people".
He gave himself a sharp shake, making a mental note to get the full story out of her later on, "I don't blame them, dear," he said, and snuck a quick kiss to her lips before moving back around the controls again, making her laugh.
Canton spun around to face Rory, his eyes still wide and his mouth hanging open, "You okay?" Rory asked him, not at all fazed by the man's reaction as he turned back around to stare at the console. He nodded, "Coping?"
"Now, from what I understand Nixon asked the little girl two questions," the Hatter began, the Doctor nodded in confirmation, "'Where are you and who are you?'" she began typing something into the typewriter, "She was replying to his first question, hence those names".
"It's bigger on the inside…" Canton breathed, completely oblivious to the conversation going on across the room.
"Yeah…" Rory nodded, casting his eyes around the room himself, "You get used to it…"
"Now, where would you find three big, historical names in a row like that?" the Doctor asked, looking around at the three girls.
"Where?" Amy questioned.
"Why, here, of course," the Hatter replied, flashing her a bright smile as she grabbed a lever, pulling it down, and landing the TARDIS smoothly.
"Come on!" the Doctor called, grabbing the Time Lady's hand and making a dash for the doors, Amy and River running behind them, but Canton blocked they're way, putting a hand on the Doctor's chest.
Canton waved his hand around, still looking rather stunned, "It's, er…." he trailed off, lost for words.
"Are you taking care of this?" the Doctor looked to Rory, before patting his shoulder and strolling passed him with the Hatter, heading outside with River following.
"Why is it always my turn?" Rory complained loudly, watching them go.
Amy stopped, turning back to him, "Because you're the newest," she smiled at him and kissed his cheek, before happily heading outside. She frowning slightly as she closed the TARDIS door behind her, looking around, "Where are we?"
They had landed in a darkened office-like room that looked as if it hadn't been used in years, covered in a thick layer of dust and with papers scattered around the room, along with several old chairs and other pieces of furniture that had been pushed to the edges of the room. On one side of the room was an old desk where the Doctor was happily sitting, waving around a small American flag while the Hatter was curiously flickering through papers, before sneezing loudly from the dust. She soon abandoned the paper and took a seat on the desk top, not caring about the dust on her clothing.
"I would say that we're about five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Centre," the Time Lady informed Amy, glancing back over her and River, her nose still tingling uncomfortably. She was going to end up falling off the desk if she saw a spider anywhere near her.
"It's 1969, the year of the moon," the Doctor added, smiling over to the Hatter, trying hard not to laugh at the expression she made when she sneezed. He couldn't decide whether it was cute or funny, probably a bit of both. He glanced back behind him to Amy pulled out a torch and lit it, while River began using a small hand-held device to scan the room, moving around the room, "Interesting, don't you think?"
Amy frowned, taking in the filthy room, "But why would a little girl be here?" she asked.
"Not sure yet," the Hatter sighed slightly, casting her eyes around, "Perhaps, whomever this 'spaceman' really is lost her," she didn't fail to miss the look that passed between Amy and River as she continued, "When Nixon asked her where she was, she did what every little lost girl would do," she stood and moved around the desk to peer out the window, moving the blinds open a gap, spotting a sign post outside with Jefferson, Adams, and Hamilton labelled on the signs, "She looked outside the window".
"Streets!" Amy realised as the Doctor stood, moving to look out the window himself, "Of course, they're street names".
"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three names on the same junction," the Doctor nodded, and moved to lean against the window frame, focusing on the Time Lady with a smile, "And Hatter, you've got that face on again".
The Hatter raised her eyebrows at him, leaning on the window frame across from him, copy his pose, "Oh?"
"Yeah, that 'he's adorable when he's clever' face".
She began to smile, "I thought this was my normal face, sweetheart," she shrugged innocently, unable to keep the teasing from her voice.
He smirked slyly back at her, taking a step closer until they were only inches apart, "Yes, it is," he agreed.
"You love it".
"Very much so".
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning closer to his face so that her lips lightly brushed his ear, "I imagine it's very similar to your 'she's sexy when she's being bossy' look," she whispered.
He blushed as she pulled back, still looking highly amused, "Stop it," he muttered, not very seriously.
"Make me," she shot back, stepping closer to him again.
"Yeah, well, maybe I will…"
"Guys!" Amy called loudly, making them both jump and turn back to find her and River watching them, caught between amusement and exasperation. She sighed, "Can you do the flirting thing later?"
The Hatter cleared her throat, feeling a blush covering her cheeks, too, "Yes, right, sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed that they had gotten so caught up in their flirting when they should have been focusing on the little girl. She ran a hand down her front, turning away from the Doctor. She noticed a phone sitting on the desk and picked it up, listening to it, and frowned, "Doctor?" she said, catching his attention.
The Doctor moved back to her side and took the phone, lifting it up to his ear, too. River walked away with Amy, looking around the room as the Doctor's expression grew confused, lowering the receiver back onto the desk, exchanging a look with the brunet. The TARDIS door opened and Canton stepped out with Rory.
"We've moved!" Canton exclaimed, turning around on the spot, waving his hands around in disbelief as he looked around the room, "How…how can we…have moved?" he began laughing.
The Doctor took the Hatter's hand and they moved around the desk, stepping closer to the two men, "You haven't even got to space travel yet?" the Doctor remarked, amused as he looked past Canton to Rory.
Rory closed the TARDIS door behind him, "I was going to cover it with time travel".
If possible, Canton's eyes widened even more, "Time travel?" he repeated, turning back to Rory, stunned.
"Brave heart, Canton," the Doctor told him, and spun around, clapping his hands as the Hatter laughed, "Come on," he and the Time Lady headed off after Amy and River, who had disappeared through a doorway.
"So we're in a box that's bigger on the inside, and it travels through time and space…" Canton began as he and Rory followed the Time Lords.
"Yeah, basically," Rory nodded.
"How long have Scotland Yard had this?"
"It's a warehouse of some kind," River said as they joined her and Amy outside the office, making their way further into an even darker warehouse-like space that was filled with even more junk, using their torches to guide them, "Disused".
"This is obviously a trap," the Hatter commented lightly, holding the Doctor's hand tighter, not liking just how dark the place was. Perfect hiding spot for someone to watch them before attacking.
"I noticed the phone, yes," she agreed warily.
"What about it?" Amy asked, frowning.
"It was cut off. So how did the child phone from here?"
"Okay…" she said slowly, still frowning as she looked at River's back, "But why would anyone want to trap us?"
"Again, we don't know quite yet," the Hatter replied, sighing heavily, really not liking how little they actually knew.
"Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards," the Doctor added, almost cheerfully.
They continued making their way through the warehouse, keeping an eye out for anything hiding in the shadows as they did so, "Now, why would a little girl be here?" River wondered aloud, shinning her torch around as they passed by more junk.
"We don't know," the Doctor shook his head, exchanging a frown with the Time Lady beside him, "Let's fine her and ask her".
Finally, they seemed to come across something helpful. Up ahead of them was some sort of laboratory examination table that had been set up, bathed in a bright light with numerous wires hanging around it from above, connected to a large piece of alien machinery. Carefully, they began to move towards the table, the Hatter slowly circling it as she eyed it curiously.
"Its non-terrestrial," River informed them, checking the results from her hand-held scanner, "Definitely alien, probably not even from this time zone".
"Which is odd, because…look at this!" the Doctor called, almost sounding excited as he moved over to where several crates had been placed just out of the ring of light. The lids had already been removed, revealing different pieces of equipment sitting in shredded paper to protect it, even one containing a NASA astronaut suit with the helmet sitting on top of the box.
"Ooh, interesting," the Time Lady said thoughtfully, moving close to peer into the crates herself as River joined them.
"It's Earth tech," River blinked, surprised as she checked the results off her scanner before looking down at the contents of the crates, "Contemporary".
"Very contemporary," she nodded, feeling just a little confused as to why it would be in a warehouse like this one in the first place. She picked up a canister from one of the boxes, turning it over in her hands while the Doctor grabbed the spacesuit's helmet, "This is cutting edge for this era," she frowned.
"This is from the space program!" the Doctor exclaimed, looking at the helmet carefully, exchanging a look with the brunet. This was very interesting, but sadly, it didn't exactly answer their questions, only gave them more.
"Stolen?" River suggested.
"What, by aliens?" Amy looked at her incredulously.
"It would seem so," the Hatter muttered, still frowning deeply as she placed the canister back into the crate. It didn't make sense and it was only frustrating her even more.
"But why?" she questioned, shaking her head as the Doctor put the helmet on, the bronze coloured visor still down, hiding his face from view. The Hatter took one look at him and had to cover her mouth to stop the giggles from escaping, "I mean, if you can make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?" she frowned deeply.
"Maybe 'cos it's cooler!" the Doctor called, his voice muffled through the visor. He lifted it up, grinning broadly at them, looking like an excited child, "Look how cool this stuff is!"
"Very cool," the Hatter laughed, high fiving with him.
Amy eyed them both with her eyebrows raised, "Cool aliens?"
The Time Lady turned to look at her, smiling widely, "Well, what else would you call us?" she asked, completely serious.
"Aliens".
"Oi!" the Doctor shouted at the same time that the Hatter exclaimed, "Hey!"
"Yellow shoes, Hatter," Amy gave the brunet a pointed look, still amazed that she actually thought that walking around with bright yellow shoes on looked good, "That's all I'm saying".
"The cheek," the Hatter huffed, pretending to be annoyed as she looked away, the Doctor struggling to remove the helmet from off his head, "And not in a good way, either!" she glanced at the Doctor, shaking her head, moving to help pull the helmet off him.
"I, uh…" Rory called as he and Canton finally joined them, having lagged behind, "I think he's okay now," he pointed his torch back towards the other man's face, which looked calm and composed now as he was looking curiously at the examination table.
"Ah, back with us, Canton?" the Doctor smiled over to the man.
The Hatter stepped closer to the man, raising her eyebrows at him, "It can be a little overwhelming, I know," she said to Canton, flashing him her own reassuring smile, "But you'll get used to it".
Canton continued to eye the table, "I like your wheels," he remarked, gesturing his torch back over his shoulder.
The Doctor grinned, walking over to him, "That's my boy!" he cheered, clapping him on the shoulder, before walking passed him with the brunet, "So, come on, little girl. Let's find her".
The Time Lords began to make their way around the room, the Doctor flashing his sonic around at different pieces of junk as he passed by, while the Hatter paused, glancing back over her shoulder to see Amy approach River as she leaned over the table, scanning the wires hanging around it. She frowned slightly as she watched them seeming to have a serious discussion. Amy looked upset from what she could see of her face, appearing to be arguing with whatever River was telling her.
"What do you think they're talking about?" the Doctor asked, suddenly moving back to the Hatter's side, his voice low as he carefully eyed the two women across the room.
The Hatter didn't even jump, not at all surprised by his sudden appearance, "I don't know," she murmured back, frustrated, "But whatever it is, they both seem very serious, and that makes me nervous".
"Can't you…" he made a vague and rather unhelpful gesture towards his mouth, giving her a look as if she should know what he was trying to say when she simply looked confused, "Read their lips?" he clarified.
She blinked at him, glancing at him in surprise, "Read their lips? Don't you think that's a talent you would know about by now if I possessed it?"
He smiled softly at her, "You surprise me every day with something new I didn't know about you".
"Well, as romantic as that might be, I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you. I can't read lips".
He opened his mouth to respond, when River's voice sounded, "Doctor!" she called loudly, "Hatter! Look at this!"
They looked over to see that she had moved away from the table, seeming to be following something on the ground. The Hatter patted the Doctor's arm as he sighed before taking it, leading him over to where Amy and River were standing, lighting up a long cable that run from the table, across and down into a half covered manhole in the floor a short distance from the table. River knelt down beside the hole and shifted the cover aside, showing the darkened, narrow space within with a ladder leading down it, along with the cable.
"Oh, now we're getting somewhere," the Hatter commented, eyeing the hole with interest. It was small enough for someone to climb down or up it, so a child could have easily escaped via it, but she was also curious as to where the cable run to. A secondary power hub, perhaps? Or perhaps a secret control room for whoever had organised this entire thing? That also seemed likely, after all, baddies always seemed to like to have their secret little hideouts…or was that just in the movies? "I wonder what could be down there," she said thoughtfully, glancing at the Doctor, who nodded in agreement.
River held her scanner device over the hole, "There's a network of tunnels running under here," she informed them, checking the results.
"Life signs?" the Doctor asked warily as Rory and Canton joined them.
"No, nothing that's showing up".
"I've heard that before," the Time Lady muttered grimly, recalling the first time that they had met River. That had really turned out well, she still didn't like to go into the TARDIS library without the lights on completely. River began to lower herself into the hole, making the brunet sigh slightly, watching her, "Just be careful down there, River," she told her sternly, knowing how mothering she probably sounded.
"Careful?" River repeated, glancing back up to them with a grin and a spark in her eyes that was very similar to the same one the Hatter always got whenever she did something risky, "I tried that once. Ever so dull".
Despite herself, the Hatter couldn't help smiling slightly at that, not at all surprised that she and River seemed to be close in the future. She could certainly see quite a bit of herself in River in many ways, her cheekiness being a big part of it.
The Doctor sighed slightly, "Shout if you get in trouble," he ordered her lightly.
"Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer," she laughed, giving them a wink as she disappearing down the hole, "Now there's a spoiler for you".
"So what's going on here?" Canton questioned, stepping up behind the Time Lords as River disappeared completely.
"Er…nothing!" the Doctor said a little too quickly, spinning around to face him, Rory, and Amy, suddenly embarrassed by what River had just said, "She's just a friend," he turned back around to face the Hatter, who had just straightened from kneeling beside the hole, raising her eyebrows at him, "Really, she's just a friend," he insisted, almost frantically, his eyes wide, "That's all, nothing more…".
"Doctor," the Hatter cut across him, placing a hand on his cheek, quietening him instantly. She smiled at him, highly amused by the panic written across his face, "For a man who has been best friends with me since he was only twenty years old, I would have thought you would know what teasing looks like by now".
He blinked at her, relaxing slightly, "Teasing?" he repeated, "Are you sure?"
She laughed fondly, nodding, "Very," she assured him, "River is just like me, she loves to get a reaction out of you and see you get all flustered".
Rory cleared his throat, stepping closer to the Doctor, "I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion…" he whispered helpfully to him, glancing back to Canton, who was now eyeing the Doctor oddly.
The Doctor smiled embarrassedly, turning back to face Amy and Canton as Rory moved back, "Okay!" he said a little overly brightly, clapping Rory's shoulder and walking past him, lightly patting Canton's on his way past, too.
"Did I mention that he's really very clever?" the Hatter remarked to Canton, shaking her head in amusement, moving to follow the Doctor as they began to move around the space again, the Doctor flashing his sonic around.
Canton and Amy soon wondered across to look at a table that had been set up close to the examination table, covered with little glass jars, some empty while others had funny, clear liquid inside them. Canton picked up one of the jars, squinting at the small label stuck across the glass before shaking his head, sitting it back down on the table.
"So," he said, looking across the table to where Amy was doing the same thing, looking at medical equipment, shining her torch light over the table top. She looked up when he spoke, "I was in a bar having a drink. Tell me honestly…am I still there?" he asked, frowning slightly.
Amy smiled at him, shaking her head, "Afraid not".
Suddenly, River ran back up the ladder in the manhole, panting heavily, her eyes wide, when she came to a sudden stop, the fear that had been written across her face disappearing almost at once. They all turned to look at her, the Hatter frowning deeply as she took a step closer to her, sensing something very off. No one could go from being so panicked one second to calm the next, and it rang alarm bells at the back of her mind. Big, very loud, alarm bells.
"All clear!" River announced, her breathing steady again, "Just tunnels," she glanced back down the manhole she was still half standing in, "Nothing down there I can see. Er, give me five minutes, I want to take another look around".
The Doctor frowned over to her, turning around from where he, the Hatter, and Rory had been examining the examination table, "Stupidly dangerous!" he called to her, saying exactly what the brunet was thinking.
"Yep, I like it too!" she grinned, completely unconcerned. She moved to climb back down the ladder before pausing, glancing over to Amy, "Amy, look after them," and with that, she headed back down the ladder and out of sight once more.
The Hatter sighed heavily, moving back to the Doctor's side, "I really, really don't like this, sweetheart," she murmured to him, casting the manhole worried looks over her shoulder, "There's something strange going. One moment she looks frightened and the next…" she shook her head, shrugging, "She's acting completely fine and calm. At the very least, she shouldn't be down there alone".
He nodded in agreement, already knowing well enough that the Time Lady would be better at noticing the smaller emotional details then he probably would have, just as long as they weren't her own emotions. She did have a good point, though, "Rory," he looked over to the young man, "Would you mind going with her?"
Rory looked back to him, frowning, "Yeah, a bit".
"That wasn't really what I was suggesting, but I suppose it will do just as well," the Time Lady muttered, nudging the Doctor's side with a pointed look. She had been thinking that he go down with River, but she ought to have known that he would find an excuse to stay behind with her. She shook her head and gave Rory a small smile, "Please, Rory," she said to him, "We really would appreciate it".
He looked between them both as the Doctor clapped him encouragingly on the shoulder, and sighed heavily, resigned, "Hang on, River!" he called, his voice flat as he began to walk towards the manhole, "I'm coming too!"
The Hatter watched him go, not entirely comfortable with the idea of sending Rory off like that after River, but she could hardly go. The Doctor would lock her inside the TARDIS for even suggesting it and she supposed that if River couldn't handle whatever it was that they might come across down there with her blaster, even if she might not agree with her far more violent approach, then the Doctor was hardly going to be much better waving his sonic screwdriver around. She sighed, waiting until Rory's head had disappeared out of sight down the hole before continuing with her own search of the room, the Doctor having already moved on to look at something else.
Canton moved away from the jars to look at the examination table, picking up one of the wires, shining his torch over it as Amy joined him a moment later, "So, you were kicked out of the FBI because you had attitude problems?" she said to him, curious.
He looked back up to her, "No, I just wanted to get married," he told her, putting the wire down.
The Time Lady glanced back over to them, listening closely with interest. It was 1969, so she could imagine just why that might be an issue.
"Is that a crime?" Amy asked, frowning slightly in confusion.
He moved around the table and ducked down to look at her from beneath a clump of wires, "Yes," he replied simply. He didn't elaborate further as he held up a finger, pointing it over towards the Time Lords, "Doctor and Hatter who, exactly?"
She sighed slightly, glancing over to see the Doctor poking his head into a crate, while the Hatter was kneeling by a box, riffling through the contents, but she had the funniest feeling that they were both listening, "Ah, that's classified," she informed him.
"Classified by whom?"
"God knows".
"Do you work for them?"
"They're my friends, if friends are the right word…" she paused, somehow finding the word not entirely right to describe what they were to her. They were more like family, a bit like a strange, eccentric aunt and uncle that you just wanted to hang around because they were fun. She began to smile faintly, thinking about them, "I haven't seen them for a while," her smile faded, replaced with a frown, "I had something I wanted to tell them…but stuff always gets in the way".
"Stuff does that," Canton commented, picking up a piece of medical equipment.
"Help me!" the little girl's voice suddenly sounded from somewhere, her voice echoing from out of the dark, making them all look up to turn in the direction. Canton moved around Amy to stand in front of her, his eyes wide as he grabbed his gun, flicking the safety off, "Help! Help me!"
"That's here!" Canton shouted, and took off running in the direction of the voice. Amy began to follow, but she had hardly taken three steps before she gasped out in pain and hunched over, wrapping her arms around her stomach.
"Amy!" the Hatter called worriedly, hurrying past Canton as he took off in the opposite direction, and over to the girl's side with the Doctor.
"Help me!" the girl cried out, "Please!"
"What's wrong?" the Doctor asked her, very concerned as he eyed Amy's pained grimace, still clutching at her stomach.
She grabbed at both Time Lords, practically leaning on them for support as she urgently look between them, "I need to tell you something," she gasped out, looking close to tears, "It's important!" the Time Lords cast a quick look over their shoulder, needing to get the little girl, but Amy's grip on them tightened, drawing their attention back to her, "It's really, really important!"
"Doctor!" Canton yelled back to them from in the distance, "Hatter! Quickly!"
The Doctor looked back to Amy, "What, now?" he exclaimed, unable to believe that she would pick a worse possible moment to decide to tell them something important. Even the Time Lady seemed to agree with him as he shook his head, grabbing Amy's hand, and began pulling her along after them as they ran after Canton, half supporting her between them as she continued to clutch her stomach.
They ran through the warehouse and found a doorway that had been half hidden by a large box, and hurried through it and down a dark, wet corridor. They paused at a corner, the Doctor pausing just at the edge of it and holding up his finger to his lips to the girls while he held his sonic screwdriver in the other hand. The Hatter gave him a nod, struggling to support Amy on her own without actually holding her up too much. She could already feel the strain it was causing to her back.
After a moment, he ran around the corner, his sonic at the ready, "Canton!" he called, catching sight of the man lying on his stomach, his eyes closed. He ran over to the man as the two women followed, the Time Lady rushing to kneel beside the man, "Canton, are you alright?" he asked, moving to kneel on the other side of him.
"Is he alright?" Amy questioned worriedly as she stood back, still holding a hand to her stomach, but she seemed slightly better than before.
The Hatter checked his pulse, sighing relief, "Yes, he is," she nodded, looking back up, "He's just unconscious".
The Doctor leaned closer to the back of Canton's head, "Got a proper whack," he remarked, noticing a rather painful looking lump at the back of his head.
"Doctor, Hatter, I need to tell you something," Amy tried again, growing urgent once more, "I have to tell you it now".
"I'm sorry, Amy, but this really isn't the best time," the Time Lady sighed, feeling a stab of guilt. She could tell that whatever it was, it was very serious to Amy to be so insisted upon telling them, but right now they already had so many things that they needed to focus on. The little girl, Canton…
"No, it's important. It has to be now".
"Help!" the little girl cried out, and they looked around, trying to work out exactly where her voice was coming from. It seemed closer to them now, but it was hard to tell with the echo, "Help me!" Amy knelt before them, catching both their attention, "Help me!"
"Doctor, Hatter…" she began, taking a deep breathe, "I'm pregnant".
The Doctor and the Hatter's eyes widened, staring at her, stunned. The Time Lady suspected the possibility, but to have it actually confirmed was something else, something she really hadn't put too much thought into what that might mean. Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps sounded and they looked past Amy to see someone walk into the room in a spacesuit, the visor shielding the persons face. The Time Lords stood, the Doctor taking the Hatter's hand as they watched the spacesuit.
"That's it…" Amy breathed, still kneeling on the floor, but she was focused on the spacesuit, "The astronaut".
The astronaut began to raise its arm, almost as if it was pointing to them. The Time Lords watched on as the person lifted the visor to reveal a little girl, looking terrified within the suit. The Hatter gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock.
"Help me!" the girl cried out.
"Get down!" Amy shouted.
They looked down to see Amy fumbling on the ground for Canton's gun, "What are you doing?" the Doctor demanded, his eyes widening as he saw what his companion was reaching for.
"Saving your lives!" she stood and spun, raising the gun at the suit, before realising that the little girl was trapped inside it.
"No!" the Time Lords yelled, horrified.
Amy screamed as the gun went off…
I apologise for the wait, I really needed to work on my Sherlock story and finish a big project for school that was a huge part of my grade, hence why I also didn't manage to get back to those of you who reviewed. Thank you, you seriously have no idea how much it means to me and also to all of those who have since favorited/alerted this story. I will very soon be going on a two week break from school, so hopefully I should get more time to get more chapters written up in advance.
Next chapter, why is the Hatter so eager to get the Doctor to shave? The Hatter's rambling returns, and three months is quite a long time. Tell me what you thought, please review :)
Guest review:
Guest: I hope this was soon enough. Thanks for the review :)