Dezi stood off to the side as Chantho greeted Jack and Martha. Yana was showing the 'Doctor' all he built enthusiastically, practically bouncing up and down as he motioned and spoke, yet Dezi was not staring at that. Instead, she was looking, a frown marring her face, at the 'Doctor.' It was not lost on her that he looked exactly how imagined; tall but not too tall, brown hair that stuck up when he a ran his hand through it, and warm brown eyes. If it had been any one else she would have pat herself on the back for guessing how he looked. But this was not anyone else. This was a man who she had thought to be a disembodied voice; she had only recently thought about him being an actual person. But the image she had conjured up predated thinking of him as an actual person.
She bit her lip, watching the man carefully. She had not spoken since had come in, part of her fearful – not that he had heard her voice - but that he hadn't. If he had heard her voice then that would be understandable and could even be explained with a psychic connection. While they were rare, they were something that happened. If he hadn't heard her voice…then what would that mean? The explanation of a psychic connection was already a stretch, people usually had to be close to form one, but a half psychic connection was just not a thing.
The 'Doctor' looked up from what Yana was showing her, an annoyed expression on his face. Dezi felt herself flush, figuring she had been caught staring at him, but instead the man snapped at Jack, "Stop it."
"Can't I say hello to anyone?" He protested.
Curious about the source, Dezi looked over at him. He was standing just a small bit closer to Chantho than absolutely necessary, and Chantho herself was blushing a slight dark green, "Chan—I do not protest—tho," she said in a softer voice than usual.
Shaking his head, the 'Doctor' looked back down. Dezi watched as Jack rolled his eyes, "Maybe later, Blue," he said with a wink to Chantho. Turning his back on her, he walked over to the 'Doctor, unaware of Dezi's glare directed at his back, not just for flirting with Chantho, but for making her the only person on the side of the room. With the way she was pressed against the wall it would look strange for her to be standing by herself; before Jack had moved, he had at least been standing nearby.
She bit her lip, weighing if she could get away with staying by the wall and away from Jack and the 'Doctor.' They both seemed like nice enough men, but she didn't like the itching sensation she felt around Jack nor did she like how the 'Doctor' seemed to have stepped out of her mind; Dezi realized with a hard swallow, that there was no seemed about it. He had stepped out of her mind as a complete picture of the man she thought him to be. It almost came as a relief when Yana called, "Dezi! Can you describe this to the…the Doctor?"
Closing her eyes briefly, Dezi slowly made her way over to the circuit Yana was indicating and looked it over. It was one of the stabilizers that she and Chantho had coded, but, like with everything else in the lab, Yana had been the one to build and bring life to it. He should be the one to say something about it, not her. She frowned at her brother, "Wouldn't you be better at explaining it?" She asked in a light protest that mirrored the one in her thoughts.
Yana shook his head, pulling her to his side with his arm around her shoulder, "Nonsense! You were the one that came up with the design," he finished with a squeeze and a proud smile he only gave her when he was trying to make her show off.
Unable to deny him, Dezi sighed, "It's a stabilizer," she started, her eyes meeting the man's. He didn't make a face or stare at her, which made Dezi pause before she continued, "When we tried to send a practice rocket off, it wouldn't go because it got overloaded. Chantho and I came up with the code infused into it, but my brother was the one who built it. He built everything here."
The man raised an eyebrow, "That's impressive," he said, though it was unclear which of the siblings he was speaking to. He turned to Dezi with a frown, "What's your name?" he asked.
"Dezi."
An odd expression grew on the man's face, but it must have been a shadow from the way he moved his face because it vanished as soon as Dezi noticed it, "Nice to meet you, I'm the Doctor."
He held out his hand and Dezi gingerly took it, shaking it in introduction. It was just a handshake, yet Dezi felt like it was the most important handshake she had ever had. While she had only just met the Doctor, she wanted to squeezed down on the hand and never let go, even as her brother cut in with, "Now Doctor," she felt her heart drop when the Doctor let go of her hand, a clear sign that he had not felt the heady need to continue that Dezi was, "The footprint for the rocket is not stable. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think? Any ideas?"
The Doctor blinked his eyes flicking at the footprint and the rest of the models everywhere. His hand reached up and scratched the back of his neck, "Well, um, basically…sort of…not a clue," he admitted slowly.
Dezi watched as her brother's face dropped, "Nothing?" He asked in a hollow voice.
"I'm not from around these parts. I've never seen a system like it. Sorry."
Reaching a hand out, Dezi placed it carefully on her brother's arm, very aware of what had happened the last time she had touched her brother in a similar manner. This time, though, Yana was grateful for the gesture. His had covered Dezi's as he spoke to the Doctor, "No, no. I'm sorry. It's my fault. There's been so little help besides Dezi."
He slumped down into a chair and gently moved Dezi's hand off. After years and years of living with her brother, Dezi knew when he did not want to be around others, so she moved away from him. She glanced over at the Doctor to see him looking at the models, his brow furrowing. She thought about placing a hand on his arm to lead him away, but she quickly dispelled the idea.
Instead, she walked back to the small sitting area and sat down at the table, waiting for Yana to call her over. She looked over at Martha, who was fiddling with a large drawstring pack, trying to get it open. While it was interesting, or at least amusing, to watch Martha's attempts at opening the pack, Dezi couldn't help but stare at the pack itself – whatever was inside was a large cylinder that bubbled and pulled at her gut the same way as when she had shaken the Doctor's hand.
She almost got up to get whatever was inside out herself, but her own strong voice ordered her to not do it. The Doctor had shown no signs of seeing her as anything other than Yana's sister and something was telling her to make sure she kept it that way. Still, her curiosity was growing by the minute. She felt her foot tap against the table she was sitting in front of, waiting for Martha to open the drawstring sack. Dezi nearly whooped for joy when Martha succeeded, but instead her mouth dropped open as the sack pulled away to reveal a human hand sitting in some sort of bubbling liquid.
"Oh my God," Martha gasped loudly, drawing the others' attention and their physical presence. Martha did not seem to care for anyone except Jack, who she turned to with her finger pointing at him, "You've got a hand. A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag."
"That's—that's my hand!" The Doctor cried out, leaning forwards on the table to study the hand. He too looked at Jack, who defensively held up his hands.
"I said I had a Doctor detector," Jack said in a way that was clearly a reminder from some earlier conversation.
Dezi frowned, looking at the Doctor's two hands on the table, "You have both hands," she pointed out, earning herself a nod from the Doctor.
"Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a swordfight," the Doctor explained, but that just made Dezi frown grow.
"What's Christmas?" She asked, crossing her arms.
The Doctor looked over at Jack for help, but he just shrugged. Struggling for words, the Doctor started to scratch at the back of his neck, "Christmas is a day of celebration," he said slowly and firmly.
Dezi nodded and looked back at the hand in the jar, "Are there usually swordfights at Christmas?"
"No…this was something unusual," the Doctor informed her. Next to him Jack snorted and shook his head, but didn't comment any further.
Martha, however, was still focused on the third hand. She picked up the Doctor's wrist and studied both hands, turning them over, "What? And you grew another hand?"
The Doctor moved his hands out of her grip to wave his fingers at her, "Um yeah. Yeah I did. Yeah. Hello."
Finally, Yana decided to comment. Once Dezi had gotten her questions answered, she had turned her gaze to watch his face, seeing how his mind was racing at the sight of the hand and the knowledge that the Doctor had regrown a limb, "Might I ask what species are you?"
The Doctor turned to Yana, an odd half-smile spreading across his face, "Time Lord. Last of. Heard of them?" He only got a blank face in return, making the Doctor turn to Dezi, "Legend or anything?" When Dezi slowly shook her head, he turned his gaze to Chantho, "Not even a myth?" Having gotten no recognition, the Doctor shook his own head, "Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling."
"Do Time Lords do anything special?" Dezi asked, "Besides growing extra limbs, I mean. Humans have advanced quite a bit over the years, but...can Time Lords make psychic connections over long distances? It's one the few things humans have continued to try and achieve through research."
The Doctor blinked at the question. "Time Lords are very special," he said in a rather haughty tone, "I don't know about the psychic connections over long distances though…" he voice trailed off and he started to look thoughtful, as if he was about to ask a question of his own - a question Dezi was sure would be for her, and she knew that she did not want to answer it, or even have it asked.
What had possessed her to ask about psychic connections? It wasn't like it was a common, everyday topic for her. She knew her brother was looking over at her with a frown; all she could do was cross her fingers that he didn't mention her headaches in front of the Doctor. Clearly the man had not heard her voice in his head for years and years, and Dezi was not anxious to find out why she had.
Not for the first time, Dezi was immensely thankful that Chantho sometimes had a hard time tracking conversations, "Chan—It is said that I am the last of my species too—tho," she informed the Doctor. She was clearly unaware that she had stopped the Doctor from asking a question to Dezi, no, she was far too gullible to be trusted to keep a secret, which meant she had distracted Yana from Dezi's question as well. She let out a long breath she hadn't been aware of holding and relaxed into her seat, more than pleased to allow the rest of the conversation to flow around her.
"Sorry, what was your name?" The Doctor asked, eyeing Chantho with a furrowed brown.
Blinking rapidly, Yana took a step next to Chantho, "Our assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge."
The Doctor nodded slowly, "The city outside, that was yours?" he asked, his question clearly directed to Chantho.
"Chan—the conglomeration died—tho."
Despite this sad news, the Doctor turned to Martha and Jack with a victorious look on his face, "Conglomeration! That's what I said!" He said far too cheerfully to be polite.
"You're supposed to say sorry," Jack corrected with a shake of his head.
The Doctor blinked and then turned back to Chantho, "Oh, yes. Sorry," he said, though he did not sound sorry at all.
But Chantho did not pick up on the insincerity. Inside she smiled at the kindness the Doctor's words meant, "Chan—most grateful—tho."
"You grew another hand?" Martha asked suddenly.
The Doctor turned to face her and wiggled his fingers once more, "Hello again. It's fine. Look. Really, it's me," holding out his hand, he shook Martha's, making the girl giggle nervously.
"All this time and you're still full of surprises," she said lightly and with a shake of her head.
Clicking his tongue, the Doctor gave her a wink, "Chan-you are most unusual—tho," Chantho commented, making Dezi raise an eyebrow. Perhaps she was getting better at following long conversations than she had originally thought.
"Well…" the Doctor trailed off meaningfully and then shook his head, leaving his thought hanging in the air.
Jack crossed his arms, the motion making Dezi look over at him. Feeling her gaze, he turned to her and asked, "So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?"
"They're the Futurekind," Dezi answered promptly and without looking over at her brother, who would be making a face at her answer.
"Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared they are what we will become. Unless we reach Utopia," Yana cut in, shaking his head at Dezi's words. Ever since they had first heard the myth of the Futurekind Yana had always hated it. He claimed it was because it implied humans would live as some sort of savage animals until they died. Dezi, however, had always figured he hated the myth because he feared it was right. The idea of becoming savage animals, of losing all his work…Dezi knew that was his true fear. Not that he would become a Futurekind, but that his life's work would be for nothing.
"And Utopia is…" the Doctor asked.
Yana's mouth dropped and he turned to the Doctor, staring at him in shock, "Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?"
"Bit of a hermit," the Doctor excused with a shrug.
Dezi shook his head, disliking the lie she could hear from the Doctor, "You're a hermit with friends?" She asked in a tone of voice a hair not accusatory.
The Doctor bristled at her question, "Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit," he said in a slightly snide voice. When Dezi had nodded at his words, he turned dismissively away from her to face Yana, "So, um, Utopia?"
Giving Dezi, not the Doctor, a slight frown, Yana led the Doctor to the computer with the navigation chart pulled up. Despite not being able to see it from her seat position, Dezi knew her brother was pointing at the red blinking dot on the screen, "The call came from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point," Yana recited.
"Where is that?" The Doctor asked, leaning in to get a good look at the chart. He pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and put them on, his brow furrowing as he looked at the dot.
"Oh, it's far beyond the Condensate Wilderness. Out towards the wildlands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in. The last of the humans. Scattered across the night."
Putting his glasses away, the Doctor turned to Yana, "What do you think's out there?" He asked.
"I don't know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven?" He speculated and then he shook his head, "The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind—to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it's worth a look, don't you think?"
"Oh yes," the Doctor agreed, "And the signal keeps modulating, so it's not automatic. There's a good sign. Someone's out there. And that's…ooh, that's a navigation matrix, isn't it? So you can fly without stars to guide you."
Though the Doctor paused, neither Dezi or Yana noticed; Dezi because she watching her brother's face with growing concern, and Yana because he had clearly started to space out the way they were both prone to doing. She got to her feet and walked over to his brother, ignoring the Doctor trying to speak to him, "Yan?" She asked softly.
At her voice, Yana's eyes met her. She could see the same wildness in them from before when he had grabbed her wrist and hurt her. Involuntarily, she stepped back from him, her hand going to the wrist he had injured before in a phantom memory of the pain. When Yana took a step towards her, however, it seemed to bring him back to the present. For he quickly shook his head and placed a hand on his temple, rubbing it in circles, "I—Right, that's enough talk. There's work to do. Now if you could leave. Thank you," he turned briskly and walked away, leaving a stunned Doctor to look at Dezi with a clear concern.
"Does he do that often?" He hissed. When Dezi did not reply, the Doctor huffed and walked after Yana, "Professor, there's something we both know," he said in a stern but soft voice. Yana stiffened but did not respond, spurring the man on, "That rocket's not going to fly, is it? This footprint mechanism thing, it's not working."
Yana turned on his feet to stare at the Doctor, his eyes widening at what the man was saying, "We'll find a way!" He promised, though it did not sound like he actually believed what he was saying.
"You're stuck on this planet. And you haven't told them, have you? That lot out there, they still think they're gonna fly," the Doctor continued, motioning to the door where all the refugees were.
"Isn't it better to let them hope?" Dezi asked softly, her sudden addition to the conversation making the Doctor turn his head to glance at her.
She was surprised to see the Doctor smile at her words, "Quite right, too," he agreed. He turned back to the Professor, and while Dezi could not see his face she knew he was smiling, "And I must say, Professor…" as he spoke he removed his coat and handed it off to Jack, who frowned down at it but didn't protest, "Um, what was it?"
"Yana."
"Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?" Picking up the circuit casually, he used something Dezi could not see but could hear – it was a high-pitched noise whirling, as if it was a motorized machine.
Whatever the machine was, and whatever the Doctor had done to the circuit – worked! Dezi watched in utter amazement as the circuit powered up without sparks or fires.
"Chan—it's working—tho!" Chantho gasped, her eyes glittering.
Yana shook his head, looking at the circuit and then at the man who had fixed it in utter amazement, "But how did you do that?"
The Doctor grinned widely, "Oh, we've been chatting away. I forgot to tell you, I'm brilliant."
So I know the Doctor seems a bit colder towards everyone, but after watching David Tennant's Casanova, I really feel like their characters are pretty similar, especially in later series, so I wanted to set that characterization up now.
For the rest of this chapter, I think the main thing I wanted to focus on was what Dezi thought of everyone else. This chapter ended up being pretty short, but I promise the next one will be a lot longer to make up for it.
And now...review time:
NicoleR85: Thank you so much!
time-twilight: Don't worry, all your questions will be revealed in later chapters! I hope you enjoyed this one, though.
skye-speedy: Let's just say the Doctor is about as baffled as he was in the original episode. I feel like he gets so caught up in showing off that he doesn't even notice really large clues in front of him.
PrincessMagic: Thank you!
I'll see everyone next week!
I'll see you all next week!
