Okay, here's ANOTHER super fast update for you! Don't get used to it, though! There is some violence in this chapter.
Thanks very much to:
OperationBluesky: Here;'s some more :) And you're welcome! I reckon I'm gonna look forward to your reviews :) Hope you like this chapter!
Wildtazz2go: Thank , the Doctor is very conflicted and really interesting. That's why he's such a great character to write and plus there's so much back story :) Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint :)
Templa Otmena: Thanks so much, hope you like this update!
Anyone else out there reading – Thank you. Please drop me a review if you've got the time, I love to know what people think! Also – thanks to my beta CSG1 for the great job she did on this chapter. And at short notice. Thanks hon :)
Okay – carrying on then:
A Christmas to Remember
Part 3
The Doctor and Jackson sprang apart at the sound of the man's voice. They turned to stare at the newcomer, both of them breathing hard, their faces betraying both their fear and guilt. The man stood, arms behind his back, leering at them. Jackson Lake took a nervous step back, though the Doctor remained unmoved.
The Doctor glanced at his companion.
"Jackson, is this gentlemen a friend of yours?" he whispered.
Jackson shook his head. "I don't know who this is."
The man laughed at that. "Well, I'd better introduce myself then. Mr Benjamin Saunders, at your service." He bowed. "Recognise me now, Jackson?"
Lake was at a loss for words and clearly unnerved by the situation. Seeing this, the Doctor moved in front of him, taking control.
"Hello." He smiled warmly. "I'm the Doctor."
Saunders eyed him. "A Doctor? Really?" His eyes met Lake's. "Fallen on hard times, have you?"
The Doctor looked grimly at the sneering man, his smile fading.
Benjamin Saunders looked formidable; he was youngish, with greasy black hair and small piggy eyes. His clothes were smart and he certainly appeared to have learnt some manners despite his aggressive behaviour. As he looked from the Doctor to Jackson, his face seemed to be permanently stuck in a sneer.
Saunders began to pace before them. The Doctor wondered if they could get past him, perhaps at least getting Jackson to safety but his senses warned him against making his move. He resisted the instinct to run, choosing instead to give his friend an encouraging nod. They would be okay.
Benjamin began, finally breaking the silence. "What exactly did I walk in on here?" His tone was low and dangerous. "I took you as a God fearing man, Mr Lake."
Neither the Doctor nor Jackson deemed this remark worthy of a reply.
Saunders chuckled. "I also have to say, Mr Lake, considering all the trouble you went to in order to steal away your wife from us, I'm disappointed that you felt you needed to gain satisfaction elsewhere!"
Lake looked up abruptly at the slur on his wife. He went to shove past the Doctor but the Time Lord interrupted him, swiftly cutting him off.
"Okay. I'm assuming you want something?" the Doctor snapped.
Saunders stopped pacing. He eyed the Doctor. "You could say that." He walked slowly towards Jackson, nudging the Doctor out of the way and not stopping until he was directly in front of his intended quarry. "I've been looking for you and Caroline for a long time, Jackson."
"Who are you?" Lake asked nervously.
Saunders smiled. "Very amusing," he replied; then leant in closer. "Where is my money, Mr Lake?"
Jackson froze. He glanced at the Doctor, shaking his head incredulously.
"What are you talking about?"
The Doctor frowned.
"This man owes you money?" he enquired. Saunders ignored him, now far more concerned with Jackson.
"As you well know, you owe my family a hundred pounds, Mr Lake. It's time for you to pay your debt."
Lake coughed. "One hundred pounds! Sir, are you mad?"
Saunders face broke out into an evil grin, though he did not reply.
Jackson shrugged uselessly. "I don't have that kind of money," he exclaimed, incredulous.
Saunders raises his eyebrows. "No? Oh dear. What shall we do about that then?"
Without warning, Saunders struck Jackson hard across the face, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the floor with the force of the blow. The Doctor, now annoyed, marched forward, planning to restrain the thug but was surprised to find he was the one held back. Glancing over both his shoulders, he found that two men had appeared and were gripping his arms painfully. Next thing he knew, he was being forced to his knees, unable to fight back . His eyes met Jackson's, who was still on he ground. The man's face was red with fury upon seeing the Doctor's rough treatment. He struggled to his feet angrily.
"Stop," Jackson yelled. "Unhand him at once!"
Saunders only smiled cruelly at Jackson's concern and nodded to his friends. The Doctor, who had been struggling in vain against his captors, hissed in pain as his hair was grabbed and his head forced back. A knife was then placed against his throat, drawing blood. The Time Lord stared up into the eyes of his tormentors and saw no pity. To his annoyance and considerable despair, the Doctor realised he was completely helpless. Jackson, aiming to stop this nightmare any way he could, stormed towards Jackson, his fist raised. With a smirk, Saunders pulled out a pistol and aimed it straight at Lake's head. Jackson skidded to a halt, staring at the gun in horror. How had a peaceful Christmas evening descended into this madness? And somehow he knew, though he could not recollect this man at all, that this was all his own fault.
"Why don't we all calm down?" Saunders snarled.
"Tell them to let him go. He's not a part of this," Jackson retorted, his eyes darting worriedly towards the Doctor.
"First things first, old friend." He dropped his false smile and bared his teeth. "Perhaps you could tell me where my sister is?"
Jackson was stunned. Again, he glanced to the Doctor but there was no help to be had there. He shook his head, trying to find the words. He knew that any wrong move could spell disaster.
Saunder's patience had expired. His finger tightened on the trigger.
"I asked you a question."
"Your sister?" Jackson stammered, sweating.
"Do you think this is a game, Mister Lake?" He rested the gun against Jackson's forehead causing the man to whimper. "Caroline, you bastard. My little sister. The girl you stole away! Any of this coming back to you?"
Jackson gasped. He was in shock. "Caroline was your sister?"
"WHERE IS SHE?"
"Dead!" Jackson sobbed. "She's dead. Please, I really do not remember who you or your men are or what it is you want. Please, just leave us in peace!"
As he had spoken, Saunder's face had drained of blood. He was staring at Lake in utter disbelief. Slowly and carefully, he lowered the gun.
"Is this true? My sister is dead?"
Jackson swallowed. "How could she be your sister?"
Saunders, furious and devastated, turned and punched his fist into a nearby wall, causing Jackson to flinch. "Stop playing these games with me!" he spat.
"Leave him alone," the Doctor ordered, having heard enough. "He's not lying, nor is he pretending. He doesn't remember you. He hardly remembers his own wife."
"You stay out of this," Saunders threw at the Doctor and the knife at his throat cut deeper into his skin. The Doctor flinched, taking the hint.
"This is family business." Saunders grabbed Jackson by his lapels and pulled him in closer. Glaring at the trembling man with hatred, he spat in his eye.
"You split up my family, you son of a whore and then you let my sister die? Why didn't you protect her? Why didn't you give up your own pointless life for hers? TELL ME!"
He released Jackson and shoved him back. He turned away, rubbing angrily at his eyes. The Doctor and Jackson took the chance to exchange frightened glances. Neither of them could see a way out of this. When Saunders spoke again, he once more addressed Jackson, his voice dangerously soft.
"Are you going to drop this pretence that you do not know me, Jackson?"
"It's not pretence. I swear it."
"Then answer me this. How did Caroline die? Or have you forgotten that too?"
"She was murdered." Jackson's eyes were fixated on the floor. He had not even accepted himself entirely what had happened that night, he didn't want to discuss it with this cruel man. The Doctor saw this and his hearts went out to his friend. His cursed his own helplessness, that he could do nothing to help or protect the other man.
Saunders continued the questioning. "Who killed her?"
Jackson hesitated. "They're all dead now."
Saunders nodded. "Then my family has been avenged. That is satisfactory. Our honour is in place."
Jackson was stunned at his words. "Your family's honour? Is that your one and only concern? But Caroline..."
Saunders moved closer. "My family's honour, Mr Lake, is all that I live for. To please my father. Your little trollop almost killed him when she ran away with you, against his wishes. I came here to see you pay your debt and then to have the pleasure of dragging that witch back to her father to beg for his forgiveness. Now, that chance seems to have passed me by, so the money will have to do." A cruel thought seemed to hit him and he grinned evilly. "Or, if the stories that got back to us are true, perhaps I can take her son back in her place. Frederick isn't it?"
Jackson took an unsteady step back, his eyes wide in horror. The Doctor struggled against the vice-like grip holding him but it was pointless.
"You... you stay away from my son. He's my son. He's all I have left." Tears flowed down Jackson's face. "Do you hear me, you villain?"
Saunders held the gun up again and waved it warningly at Jackson. "Steady, brother in law, steady. I want what belongs to my family by blood!" And with that, he struck Jackson with the pistol across the head, causing Lake to cry out in pain and fall once more to the ground. Blood oozed from his wound as he lay there, dazed and barely conscious.
"Surely this violence isn't necessary!" the Doctor snapped. He couldn't sit and do nothing any longer. "I'm sure that if we all sat down and discussed this problem like civilised adults, we could all bring this nasty business to a satisfactory conclusion. No one needs to get hurt again."
Saunders turned around, leaving Jackson crumpled at his feet. He walked slowly towards the Time Lord, watching him intently. He was surprised by how calm the Doctor looked and sounded, even with a knife at his throat. He nodded to his men and the Doctor was released. He fell forward, landing on the ground face first with a grunt. Saunders smiled back over at Lake.
"A good replacement for our poor Caroline, was he Jackson?"
Jackson stared up, still weak from the blow that could have killed him. His eyes narrowed when he saw Saunders standing over the Doctor. "Leave him alone. Don't you dare touch him."
Saunders laughed. "So, why is he so special?" He tugged at the Doctor's hair, forcing him to look at him. He studied his face, leant in close and sniffed him. The Doctor stayed perfectly still. He knew this was a battle of wills and he didn't intend to lose. "Nice," Saunders purred. "Very nice." He looked back over at Jackson. "You are right. There is something fascinating about him."
Releasing the Doctor and stepping back, Saunders let out a low chuckle before once again gesturing to his helpers. With shouts of glee, they both set about the Doctor, hitting him, cutting him, kicking him.
Jackson yelled in outrage and threw himself towards Saunders, despite his own injuries.
"Stop this, please! I'll get you your damned money. Just stop hurting him!"
"And the boy?"
Tears streamed down Jackson's face. He looked on in despair as the frenzied attack continued.
He had to agree. "Yes, Frederick too. Now, stop them!"
"That's enough boys!" The men halted abruptly, panting happily. The Doctor lay at their feet, his breathing laboured. He was bloodied and bruised and was staring at Jackson with dismay. Before they could try and stop him, Jackson scrambled over to the Doctor and reached out to him, touching his face, hoping to comfort him.
"I'm so sorry," Jackson mouthed. The Doctor shook his head. "Not your fault," he whimpered. His whole body ached from the beating.
Not caring that he was being watched by three cold hearted, murderous brutes, Jackson surged forward and kissed the Doctor's bruised lips gently. The Doctor smiled when Jackson pulled back. As he felt himself being forced away from Jackson once more, the Doctor hissed in his ear, "I've changed my mind, Jackson Lake. I want to stay here with you."
Jackson stared. "Really? In 1851?"
"Really. Right here. With you."
Jackson couldn't help it. He returned the Doctor's grin.
As the pain became too much, the Doctor's smile was wiped from his face and he moaned in anguish as he was once again forced into a kneeling position. However, this time his arms were pulled behind him even more tightly and tied by thick ropes.
So, now he was a prisoner.
"What are you doing?" Jackson demanded. "This is between you and me, Saunders. Set him free!"
Saunders leered. "Think of him as a guarantee on our agreement, Mr Lake. You have an hour. Bring me my money and the boy, and I will then set him free. Fail me or go and find a policeman and I'll blow his brains out. Do you understand?"
"Your argument is clearly with me!" Jackson tried again desperately. He couldn't think straight.
"This makes a change, actually," the Doctor muttered. "I'm the damsel in distress." He smiled at Jackson. "I guess I really am your companion, Doctor."
Their eyes met. Lake understood. It was up to him to save the day now.
Jackson glared at Saunders.
"You promise not to harm him again?"
"Well, that is difficult to answer. My boys here, they may get somewhat bored. Best you hurry along, Mister Lake. You are wasting time."
Jackson had no choice. With one last regretful look at the Doctor, he rushed out of the doorway and into the night.
Saunders let out a long sigh. He sauntered over to the Doctor, leaning against a table.
"Well, we have an hour to wait then, Doctor. How do you suggest you and I pass the time?"
TBC