The Doctor waited impatiently outside, annoyed and angry. Reinette had looked into his mind without his permission, and had found out about Terry, something no-one should be privy to. And as he'd suspected, the woman had wanted to do something immediately, no matter how much he'd stressed she couldn't.
He was broken from his thoughts as the doors opened, and he opened his mouth to snap at Reinette. His words and all thought faded quickly, his mouth dropping open instead as Teresa was pushed out, looking very reluctant as she stepped out the doors. The Doctor stared, stunned, as she twisted her hands nervously.
His eyes roamed her, despite his best efforts not to, taking in her appearance. Her blonde hair was piled in a bun behind her head, held in place with a silver comb and she was dressed in a golden dress with white lace and ruffles, as was customary of French fashion in this time period. The colour really brought out her sparkling grey eyes, and Reinette had highlighted the brilliant features with some light touches of makeup.
The look was finished off with some light silvery jewelry, suitable for Teresa's younger age. Unfortunately, while the earrings highlighted her young, curved cheeks, her necklace highlighted her pale collarbones. The Doctor swallowed hard as her corset and the low-cut of the dress revealed more of her chest than she was clearly willing to show judging from the way she tugged at it uncomfortably.
"What do you think, Doctor?" Reinette almost purred, enjoying the look on his face as she walked out from behind Teresa, and he glowered at her in a mix of irritation and appreciation. Teresa was clearly out of her element as she kept tugging at various parts of the dress fretfully, and he was still annoyed with Reinette, but at the same time Teresa was so beautiful, so stunning and the Doctor wouldn't have missed seeing her like this for the world.
"Doctor?" Reinette prompted again, and he finally opened his mouth when Teresa begged a little anxiously: "Don't answer that, please."
Both the Doctor and Reinette frowned, the latter demanding: "Why ever not?" "I wasn't even supposed to be here." Teresa replied vaguely to her, tugging on her dress uneasily.
She was terrified what consequences her presence would have, and Teresa was determined that things would go right despite what had happened so far. Unfortunately, this part had been cut from the show so she honestly didn't know what was supposed to happen- she just knew Reinette was supposed to dance with the Doctor and then she had to dance with the King of France.
The Doctor, meanwhile, caught the familiar anxious look in Teresa's eyes- one he knew was associated with when she saw something going differently from what she'd expected- and he glowered at Reinette once more. The French woman glared back defiantly, before prompting slyly: "But she looks lovely, doesn't she, Doctor?"
Teresa was looking borderline alarmed at this point, but the Doctor just raised a brow and answered easily: "Oh, yes, she does." Teresa smiled, looking pacified while Reinette frowned, annoyed by his slightly dismissive tone. The Doctro secretly cheered as he looked at Reinette smugly, before he offered an arm to both women.
Teresa balked visibly, but the Doctor just said cheerily: "Come on, we have a ball to go to, and it wouldn't do to have such beautiful ladies arrive on their own, would it?" He winked at Teresa and she relaxed while Reinette frowned. But at a look from the Doctor, she took his arm and Teresa took the other as they walked to the ballroom.
Teresa walked back to the spaceship with the Doctor, feeling distinctly disgruntled. She wasn't sure if what had happened at the ball was a good thing or a bad thing- she supposed that technically the show had never explicitly said Reinette and the Doctor danced. It was always more implied. But everyone assumed they had because… well, because the Doctor loved Reinette. Maybe not as much as he loved Rose, but definitely enough to mourn her death.
But today, he'd barely given the French woman two glances as he partied along with the drunken French aristocrats and monarchs. It hadn't been for want of trying on Teresa's part either- she'd spent the better half of the night trying to get the Doctor and Reinette to dance, but the former flat out refused while the latter soon went off to dance with the King.
Teresa still wasn't sure if she should be happy or not that Reinette had. It didn't help that the Doctor had magically popped up to interfere every time someone had tried to ask Teresa for a dance. She wasn't used to attention, and while a part of her was glad the Doctor had whisked her away each time, it hadn't helped settle the uneasiness inside.
The Doctor had danced with a banana though and set a completely new rage, so she supposed not everything had gone wrong. But… Teresa couldn't shake the feeling that that wasn't how the show was supposed to have gone. But as they left the ball, the Doctor grabbing a goblet of wine as they did, she gave up. It was too late now anyway, and she couldn't afford to risk Rose's life by detaining the Doctor.
As they walked through the mirror-door, Teresa told the Doctor at last: "By the way, Rose and Mickey will be in trouble when we find them. The clockworks got them." He glanced at her, surprised and yet unsurprised and nodded. He chucked out the wine in his goblet as he asked lightly: "Oh, you're talking to me again?"
Teresa frowned as he dug in his pockets, presumably for the multigrain anti-oil. "Sorry, what?" She asked and he clarified: "You haven't spoken a word to me this whole evening besides shooing me towards Reinette, and then sulking when she went to dance with the King."
Teresa sighed, feeling a little guilty at his hurt tone. "Sorry, but I was a tad worried. I'm pretty sure you were supposed to dance with her tonight… although that might've been a spoiler. I don't know." Teresa admitted and he grinned at her as he pulled out the oil.
"Well," he began as he poured the red liquid into his goblet, "I did say some things were different in real life than in your fore-knowledge didn't I?" "I suppose." Teresa admitted, a little grudgingly. The Doctor heard her tone and laughed at her as he teased: "Are you sure it bothered you that much that she didn't dance with me?"
"It bothered me more that neither of you seemed interested in dancing with each other." Teresa admitted to him quietly and he seemed to freeze a little at that. She didn't really notice as she mused aloud: "Although, I suppose, I should feel happier since I'm on team Rose, but I can't shake the feeling that things might've gone a little wrong today."
"'Team Rose'?" The Doctor repeated blankly and Teresa chuckled. "Mm, just something from… my universe. And maybe spoilers." She mused when the Doctor paused, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a stop beside him.
She glanced at him, concerned as she said: "Doctor, we have to save Rose-" "Your universe?" He asked, interrupting her. She nodded, puzzled as he lit up and he asked hopefully: "So you don't think this is a dream anymore?"
Teresa paused, realizing what had made him so happy, before nodding slowly. "I wouldn't say I believe it 100% yet… but I don't think it could be anything else." She admitted. "I've never really had realistic dreams before, ones where I can't tell I'm dreaming, and this feels too real. Besides which, it somehow feels… right, this not being a dream."
He grinned and she shifted, glancing down the corridors as she said anxiously: "Now can we go? I'm worried about Rose." He nodded, positively beaming as he walked with her again, tossing a casual arm around her shoulder.
She tensed a little, uncomfortable with his casual intimacy, but he seemed not to notice or at least pretended not to as he commented lightly: "And don't worry about Reinette. She saw inside my mind and knew what she was doing."
Teresa frowned, nodding reluctantly. As they headed deeper inside, heading for the console room, the Doctor added nonchalantly: "Oh, by the way, I think I forgot to mention." She glanced at him questioningly and he told her sincerely: "You look beautiful."
She started almost violently, jerking back to look him properly in the face. "You're joking." She said flatly, having been taken aback by his serious tone, but he just stared into her grey eyes as he said quietly: "No, I'm not."
They stood for a moment, the Doctor watching her reaction carefully as Teresa stood frozen. She would've dismissed some flirty comments- this Doctor was rather notorious for them and for accidentally giving women the wrong idea- but this seriousness wasn't something she'd expected. Especially with Rose around.
The Doctor broke her thoughts as he said cheerfully: "Well, come on. Got to save Rose and good old Mickey." She nodded, relieved he was back to his normal cheery self and missing the way he'd included Mickey, always a bad sign because it meant he was acting and trying to get on her good side. Not that she knew that yet.
They could hear Rose's voice, sounding like she was trying not to panic. Teresa became anxious again while the Doctor quickly whipped off his tie. She wrapped it around his head for him as he dug through his pockets before proudly pulling out a pair of sunglasses.
She couldn't help but snort in amusement as he placed them on his nose with a flourish, before he wrapped an arm around Teresa's shoulders and stumbled towards the control room, singing like a drunk as he purposefully knocked into a few things along the way and made a ruckus.
He stumbled into the room as he dragged Teresa along, making her wince as he sang off-key: "And still have begged for more. I could've spread my wings," he twirled Teresa in his arms as he waltzed 'drunkenly' into the centre of the room and the circle of clockworks, "and done a thou."
He turned to Rose as he asked, ignoring the clockworks: "Have you met the French? My god, they know how to party." Teresa watched anxiously, not liking how close the clockwork's knife was to her new friend's neck. Rose snapped irritably: "Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm." She spat sarcastically.
"Oh, you sound just like your mother." The Doctor pouted as he leaned against Teresa heavily, and Rose demanded: "What've you been doing? Where've you been?" Teresa tried to signal to Rose that it was okay without giving them all away, but the blonde companion was too busy focusing her furious gaze on the Doctor to notice her.
"Well," the Doctor said mock-thoughtfully, "among other things, I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early." Rose dropped her head back in exasperation while the Doctor continued: "Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before."
He leaned towards Rose as he said seriously: "Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good." He then turned his head and looked at the clockwork pointing the knife at Rose, and said happily: "Oh ho, ho, ho, ho, brilliant. It's you. You're my favourite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why?"
He pretended to stumble a little as he mocked the clockwork: "Because you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania. And so's your dad." He added on for good measure, while Rose glanced down at the knife tensely. The only reason she wasn't panicking yet was because Teresa wasn't stopping the Doctor, meaning he had a plan. Or, he'd better have a plan.
The Doctor let Teresa go as he wandered about the room, asking: "Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for? Her milometer. They want to know how old she is. Know why? Because this ship," he indicated the spaceship they were in, "is thirty seven years old, and they think that when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's complete, then her brain will be compatible."
Teresa moved slowly to one side of the room as the Doctor began to taunt the clockworks as he wandered about the edges of the room, sounding less and less drunk: "So, that's what you're missing, isn't it, hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."
Teresa wrinkled her nose- she knew why, and it was completely stupid in her opinion. In a way, the Doctor was right- these clockworks were thick. The droid holding the knife over Rose replied: "The brain is compatible."
"Compatible?" The Doctor repeated with a scoff as he walked over to the droid. He mused: "If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine."
Before any of them could register what he'd said, the Doctor pulled off the droid's mask and wig and poured the contents of his wine glass onto the droids head. It immediately froze, before it drooped, bending over and completely unable to move.
The Doctor explained cheerily: "Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't." He nodded and Teresa pushed the droid control switch on the console, shutting all the others down as well. Rose and Mickey let their heads drop back in relief as the Doctor pulled out his sonic.
"Right, you two, that's enough lying about." The Doctor commented as he soniced their cuffed wrists and freed them. "Time we got the rest of the ship turned off." He ran to join Teresa at the console as Mickey asked fearfully: "Are those things safe?"
"Yeah." The Doctor replied nonchalantly as he pulled down his tie and removed his sunglasses. Rose came up, and Teresa hugged her briefly as the Doctor began to work the console, continuing: "Safe. Safe and thick, way I like them. Okay. All the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down."
He began to search his pockets as he muttered: "Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs?" He wondered aloud as he walked to the other side of the console hastily: "I had them a minute ago. I was using them as castanets."
Teresa let Rose go, turning to him and holding out her hand with a sigh. "Here, I took them before you could lose them." She told him as she handed him his Zeus plugs. He beamed at her, taking the plugs quickly and beginning to work them into the console.
Rose interrupted, confused: "Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty seven?" The Doctor snorted as he replied: "With the amount of damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century. Trial and error after that."
He tugged at the switches and muttered: "The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?" Teresa pursed her lips, knowing why but unable to say. There was a dinging sound, followed by some ticking.
"What's that?" Rose asked, looking around confusedly and the Doctor replied slowly: "I don't know. Incoming message?" He addressed the question mostly to Teresa, who nodded. Mickey asked in alarm: "From who?"
"Report from the field." Teresa explained, and the Doctor muttered: "One of them must still be out there with Reinette. That's why I can't close the windows. There's an override."
He tried the switch again, but it didn't work… again. He jumped, startled, as the clockwork droid behind him jerked upright again. Rose gasped, grabbing Teresa's hand in alarm, as Mickey also jumped and Teresa tensed in apprehension. They watched as the droid's finger unhooked itself, letting the anti-oil spill out onto the ground, some of it falling on the Doctor's converse.
"Well, that was a bit clever." The Doctor admitted, and then the deactivation switch Teresa had pulled earlier flipped back on and all the other clockworks also stood upright once more. The Doctor muttered anxiously: "Right. Many things about this are not good."
The dinging sound came once more and the Doctor asked quickly: "Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?" The droid replied: "She is complete. It begins." With those words, all the clockworks disappeared, teleporting away.
"What's happening?" Rose demanded, and the Doctor said darkly: "One of them must have found the right time window. Now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head." He glanced at Teresa for confirmation, and found it in the girl's tight lips and white but determined face.
He knew that face- it meant that she would do whatever she could to ensure no-one died or had to suffer. It was the face he both trusted and feared- trusted because it promised they would do all that they could to stop something terrible from happening, but feared because it could, and often did, make her unbelievably brash.
Rose had gone to warn Reinette after lots of pushing from Teresa. The girl had been anxious that Rose be the one to go, despite Rose's protests that Reinette knew her better and might listen to her better. But Teresa knew Reinette would listen to Rose, and she was quite determined that at least something go the way it was supposed to.
But when the Doctor found their time window and Mickey was nowhere to be found, having run off in a different direction during their search for the right window, Teresa groaned. Of course. She thought bitterly as she ran down to the corridor Rose had disappeared into, calling urgently: "Rose?"
She peeped out of the tapestry into a random corridor in Versailles, calling again: "Rose?" Rose appeared around the corner and Teresa told her urgently: "We found it, the right window. It was right there, under our nose."
She glanced back to see Reinette and her face fell, knowing what Reinette wanted. Sure enough, Reinette sped past them, heading under the tapestry and into the spaceship as Rose protested: "No, you can't go in there, the Doctor will go mad."
Teresa made no attempt to stop the woman, simply slipping back into the spaceship with the now older Reinette as the woman gazed around in awe and fear. Rose also stepped back in as Reinette said shakily: "So, this is his world."
Rose and Teresa exchanged glances, neither knowing what to say, when screams began to sound faintly in the distance. "What was that?" Reinette asked just as Mickey ran down towards them.
He paused when he saw Reinette, giving her an uncertain look before he told Teresa quickly: "The time window. The Doctor fixed an audio link." Reinette asked slowly, her eyes wide with terror: "Those screams. Is that my future?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry." Rose whispered, and Teresa took a step towards the woman as Reinette took a shaky breath. Reinette gazed at Teresa, taking in her young, unaltered appearance. The girl looked exactly as she had before the ball, back in her regular jeans, shirt and jacket. Reinette's eyes saddened and she murmured: "Then I must take the slower path."
Teresa nodded sadly, when they suddenly heard Reinette's voice: "Are you there? Can you hear me? I need you now. You promised. The clock on the mantel is broken. It is time." "That's my voice." Reinette said, suppressing tears.
Mickey urged quickly: "Rose, Terry, come on. We've got to go. There's, there's a problem." He admitted.
Rose nodded and after one last pitying look at Reinette, the pair took off. Teresa stared after them in dismay. Rose was supposed to be here, to comfort Reinette. And she'd gone. Teresa turned back to the shaking French woman, and her heart sank for the poor woman.
"Are you okay?" Teresa asked softly, and Reinette whispered back: "No, I'm very afraid." Teresa took the woman's hand, squeezing it gently and Reinette took a deep, calming breath. She examined Teresa, before she murmured softly: "But you know, Terry. It is worth the monsters to meet the Doctor and his angel."
Teresa blinked, surprised and a little afraid of what Reinette had said. But Reinette simply gave her one more sad smile, before she disappeared back into her own time. Teresa watched her go sadly, before her grey eyes hardened in determination. She would ensure Reinette was saved, and if she could, she would change their timeline so that Reinette may see the stars she'd dreamed about at least once.
She turned back, heading towards the sounds of screaming and Reinette's voice calling urgently: "Doctor! Terry! Doctor!" Teresa rushed into the room to see the Doctor, Rose, and Mickey working frantically at the wall with the time window.
"Well?" She demanded anxiously, and the Doctor bit out just as worriedly: "They knew I was coming. They blocked it off." He rushed back to the console, Teresa desperately wishing she could help. But this was something she couldn't help with- she didn't know anything technical, so she could only watch the window with wide, frightened eyes as the people in the ballroom screamed and desperately tried to get away from the clockworks.
"I don't get it. How come they got in there?" Rose asked desperately and the Doctor explained hurriedly: "They teleported. You saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short range teleports will do the trick."
"Well, we'll go in the Tardis!" Rose suggested and Teresa shook her head, while the Doctor replied tightly: "We can't use the Tardis. We're part of events now." "Well, can't we just smash through?" Mickey asked anxiously, and Teresa closed her eyes. He'd said it, and she knew what would happen in only a few more minutes.
The Doctor was explaining: "Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck." "We don't have a truck." Mickey protested and the Doctor exploded: "I know we don't have a truck!"
Mickey winced, while Rose snapped: "Well, we've got to try something." "Oh, and you know everything, do you?" He snapped at her and she shouted back: "No, I don't! If I did, we wouldn't be stuck here!"
Teresa turned to watch them in surprise and worry. This never happened- the Doctor didn't yell at Rose, not really, and Rose certainly never shouted at the Doctor furiously. Not unless he deserved it. And not like this- like she didn't care. The Doctor shouted back at her angrily: "If you can't contribute something useful, don't say anything at all!"
"Doctor!" Teresa gasped, offended for her friend and more than a little taken aback by what he'd said. He glanced at her and deflated a little as he told the other two more calmly: "No. Smash the glass, smash the time window. There'd be no way back."
Rose was still glaring at him as Teresa placed a hand on his shoulder, when they heard Reinette say firmly: "Could everyone just calm down? Please." Teresa turned to stare at the time window as Reinette stood in the middle of the ballroom, her head held up proudly and trying so hard to be brave as she faced her childhood fear.
"I'm out of time." The Doctor murmured, and Teresa squeezed his shoulder. "You can do it." She told him quietly and he glanced at her uncertainly, but Teresa met his gaze squarely as she told him firmly: "Take Arthur and go."
"I'd never be able to come back. I'd never see you again." He whispered, sounding agonized. Teresa shook her head and said with a small smile: "You will. I promise. I can't tell you how… but you will make it back."
He smiled a little at that as he asked: "Spoilers?" She nodded, and he whistled loudly, trusting her immediately. As they heard the clomping footsteps that told them Arthur was on his way, Teresa suddenly gasped as she was surrounded by a Tardis-blue light.
"Doctor?" She asked in alarm, but he shook his head, smiling at her softly. "It just means you're transporting to another time." He explained, and she stared at him.
"Another time?" She repeated, a little frightened and he shrugged as he added: "And possibly another me."
"See you next time, Terry!" Rose called, and Teresa glanced back distractedly, before turning back to the Doctor. She wanted to warn him about Reinette, she had to warn him.
"Doctor-!" Teresa began but he disappeared as the light completely blinded her and she felt that tugging sensation again.
She stumbled once more as the light disappeared, and groaned as she clutched her head. "I hate time travel." She muttered, when she heard the Doctor ask almost incredulously: "Terry?"
Glancing up, she saw it was still the Tenth Doctor, and he was staring at her in a mix of shock and wonder from where he stood inside a window cleaning cradle.
Teresa glanced to the side to see Donna was staring at her in amazement as they stood on the roof of a tall building, and she realized exactly where, or rather when, she was.