A desert town was the new place the time travelers had stopped by - even if it was by accident. Still, there were various factors that brought them into the almost desolate town. For starters, there were street lamps in the town! Electric lamps that were at least ten years early before it proper time. Even then, as the Doctor used the sonic on the lamps, he couldn't find anything that yelled 'danger'. Minerva remained a couple steps back studying the people that were watching them almost in hiding. People were inside buildings, nervously watching their every moves, as if they would be hurt by them. That couldn't be good.
"Something is seriously wrong," she declared with a small sigh.
"Anachronistic electricity, keep-out signs, aggressive stares..." the Doctor counted on his fingers with excitement, "Has someone been peeking at my Christmas list?" he took out a toothpick from his jacket's pocket and began for the Saloon nearby.
"Can that end well?" Amy glanced at the alien ginger with nervousness.
"Rhetorical question," Minerva sighed again and followed the Doctor.
The bustling saloon stopped the moment the Doctor entered the place. The Time Lord didn't seem to notice as he made his way to the bartender at the counter, "Tea," he began in an American accent, "But the strong stuff. Leave the bag in," he tried to be cool (not for Minerva, nope, absolutely not) and flick the toothpick in his mouth...only to get it stuck.
"What you doing here, son?" the bartender questioned him, slightly amused but more confused.
"Miserably trying to be cool for me, I'm afraid," Minerva playfully rolled her eyes as she came up beside him, clearly having heard part of his thoughts, "See, cos I'm American, but he's English. Thinks I'll like him even more if he puts on an American giddup," she shot the Doctor a smirk, "but he's just an idiot altogether, but he's my idiot."
"Could've told me that before I put the toothpick in my mouth," he huffed and chucked the toothpick back.
"Didn't exactly give me the opportunity," she pointed out.
"Sir," one of the men at the tables stood up and cut into the conversation, "might I enquire who you is?"
"Of course," the Doctor turned around, mistaking the curiosity for politeness, "I am the Doctor, this is my wife-" but all the men in the saloon stood up, "You see that?" he looked at the others, "Manners," an elderly man walked up to the Doctor and started measuring his shoulders. The Doctor glanced back at the man with a smile, "Oh, thank you, but I don't need a new suit."
"But if you can knit," Minerva poked her head around the Doctor, "then I would really appreciate some lessons."
A younger man within the saloon stepped forwards, "I got a question. Is you an alien?" he directed the question at the Doctor.
Minerva thought it weird the question was being directed at the Doctor and only him. Anyone who was curious would have asked the question to all of them. Then again, an old western town shouldn't even be thinking about aliens...
Oh, something was very wrong indeed.
"Well, um..." the Doctor looked at Minerva, both agreeing the question was strange, "...bit personal. It's all relative, isn't it? I mean, I think you're the aliens. But in this context, yes. Yes, I suppose I am," and then the Doctor found himself being carried off by the men out the saloon.
"Put him down!" Minerva cried as she, Amy and Rory were also taken custody and brought out after the Doctor, "Doctor! Put him down!"
"Don't think we won't kill you," one of the men bringing her threatened.
"Oh, good for you, you'll kill a pregnant woman. Morality gone wrong," Minerva rolled her eyes.
For some reason, the townsfolk had brought the Doctor to the entrance of town and thrown him over.
He stood up and cracked his back from the fall. Just as he turned back to get into town, he was aimed at with all the guns possible to kept him still. Alarmed, he raised his hands in surrender. Behind him, a mysterious figure began teleporting its way to town.
"He's coming," the preacher annpunced, his voice shaky, "Oh, God. He's coming."
The same young man from before called to the preacher, "Preacher... Say something."
"Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."
The Doctor glanced over his shoulder to see want the commotion was all about. Upon seeing the figure coming his way, he quickly tried to get back into town but the guns were once again raised up. However, a gunshot was fired from behind the crowd. When the crowd opened up they saw a new man holding the firing gun, clearly the marshall of town by the deputy badge be wore.
"You. Bow tie," he pointed to the Doctor, "Get back across that line. Now."
Without hesitation, the Doctor got back into town and just like that the figure went away.
"Isaac," the young man moved to Isaac, "he said he was a doctor... an alien doctor."
"That a reason to hand him to his death?"
"But, Isaac, it could be him!"
"You know it ain't," Isaac shook his head and turned to leave, "Ma'ams," he gave nods to Minerva and Amy as he walked by.
The Doctor dusted himself off and straightened his jacket before following after Isaac. The townsfolk were left pretty irritated but none of the travelers cared for their comments.
~ 0 ~
The Doctor held the door open to Isaac's office for his wife and companions. Isaac had taken a seat on the corner of his desk, looking weary which the Doctor assumed was for the mysterious man outside of town.
"What was that outside?" he asked the human.
"The Gunslinger," Isaac sighed.
"Interesting name," Minerva remarked politely though she knew the name must have emerged from the fear within the town.
"Showed up three weeks back. We've been prisoners ever since," Isaac finished the story in a short, basic way, "You see that borderline, stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon, the whole town's going to starve to death."
"But... he let us in," Rory interjected quietly.
"You ain't carrying any food, just four more mouths to feed. We'll all die even sooner now."
"So, what would happen if someone...crosses the line?" Minerva dared to ask the question she knew wouldn't have a very good answer. And sure enough, Isaac chucked a steston to her to give her the answer, "Well..." she studied the bullet-size hole.
"Well he wasn't a very good shot then," the Doctor remarked as he lifted the hat to see.
"Uh, dear, I think he was aiming for the hat," Minerva whispered to him, making his eyes widen.
"He shoots people's hats?!"
"I think it was a warning shot," Amy corrected him quietly.
"Ah, no, yes, I see, hmm..." the Doctor passed on the hat to Rory beside him.
"What does the gunslinger want, exactly?" Minerva asked Isaac, the thought just now entering her mind, "Has he issued some kind of demand?"
Amy had received the hat and after a couple seconds realized she didn't want it, so the hat made its way back to Rory, back to the Doctor and finally to Minerva.
"He says he wants us to give him 'the alien doctor," Isaac said and made everyone look at the Doctor.
Meanwhile, though, Minerva was looking at the hat again and decided to slowly bring it up and placed it on her head. She liked it. It made her feel cool...like a cool space cowgirl. Yeah, that sounded nice.
Her attention span was dangerously poor nowadays.
"But that's you," Amy pointed at the Doctor, confused, "Why would he want to kill you? Unless he's met you."
"And how could he know we'd be here?" Rory whispered, equally confused as his wife, "We didn't even know we'd be here."
Amy smiled at Isaac, "We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival. Minerva had a craving for tamales or something."
"Hm?" at the sound of her name Minerva had looked at them with big brown eyes. The Doctor studied her a moment with the hat on and pointed at it with slight amusement.
'I liked the hat,' she said in his mind, furthering the amusement for him.
'It looks good on you,' he complimented with a wink, making her blush.
Too engulfed in their mind talks, they missed Isaac responding to Amy's statement, "Mexico's 200 miles due south."
"Oh, well," Amy was disappointed of the lack of piloting skills in the TARDIS. The Doctor's poor skills were no surprise for her but now even Minerva was slacking off! Granted, the woman was eight months pregnant and her mind was probably filled with baby names, baby clothes, nursery rooms and whatnot. Amy then wondered why the hell neither of them had bothered teaching her or Rory how to pilot the TARDIS. Teaching them would've avoided all these types of problems!
Minerva cleared her throat after realizing she and the Doctor had gotten out of the conversation, "So, um," she glanced at Isaac with a polite, apologetic smile, "we should probably meet the poor hunted man."
"Who?" Isaac raised an eyebrow.
"Well clearly you know who this 'alien doctor' is because you defended my husband - by the way thank you for that - with 100% certainty," Minerva shrugged casually, the connections (when wanting to) connecting in her mind, "And judging by that sign outside, it's pretty clear he was loved by this town because of the lovely electricity you have going on here," she gestured to the ongoing flickering light in the room, "But due to fear of the townsfolk he's had to be put away or else he'd be sent out to be killed by the Gunslinger. And where's the safest place in this town?" she opened her arms to gesture to the entire room, "The police station."
"Clever," the Doctor concluded with a breath of awe.
"Thank you," Minerva blushed and flicked her hat up to have better sight.
Unfortunately, Isaac was too pleased with the declarations of the ginger, "I don't know what you..."
"It's all right, Isaac. I think the time for subterfuge has passed," a man's voice called from the holding cell, making everyone look back to see a late middle-aged man getting up from the bunk, "Good afternoon," he greeted the travelers, "My name is Kahler-Jex. I'm the doctor."
"Oh, I know your kind," Minerva pointed and smiled, "Personally, I love your knack for building stuff out of complete trash. Let him out," she told Isaac quickly.
"I agree with my wife," the Doctor shook Jex's hand, showing his excitement through a vigorous handshake, "The Kahler race is one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy, seriously. They could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss."
Amy gently pushed the two excited aliens back onto chairs - for their own good, "All right. How did you get here?" she looked at Jex who'd made himself comfortable sitting behind Isaac's desk.
"My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn't pulled me from the wreckage."
"So you stayed as their doctor?" Minerva seemed completely engulfed in the story.
"On my world, I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical," Jex elaborated, "and it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them."
"Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera," Isaac clapped Jex on the back.
"Now, Isaac, I'm sure our guests aren't..."
Seeing Jex would not do it, Isaac went ahead and told the side story, "Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here not a single person died."
'A minor infection we'd found a treatment for centuries ago," Jex dismissed casually.
"No, no, no. What do you call them? The lectricks?"
"Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town," Jex g es tu red to electric lamps in the room.
The Doctor leaned forwards, curiously asking, "So why does the Gunslinger want you?"
"It don't matter," Isaac tried to push away the topic.
"I'm just saying, if we knew..."
"America's a land of second chances," Isaac declared, "We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others... Some round here don't feel that way."
"They want to throw you out," Minerva realized and looked at Jex with pity.
"People whose lives he's saved are suddenly saying we should hand him over," Isaac sighed, clearly disappointed in the townsfolk.
"They're scared, that's all," Jex shrugges, "You can hardly blame them."
"Them being scared, scares me," Isaac cut in, "War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we're handing the keys of the town over to chaos."
"Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills..." the Doctor would've figured the ship would've been easy to fix for a Kahler.
Jex shook his head, "It really was very badly damaged."
The Doctor rose to his feet as the plan came into view, "We evacuate the town. Our ship's just over the hills. Room for everyone. I'll pop out, bring it back here. Robert's your uncle."
Amy wasn't buying that, "Really? Simple as that? No crazy schemes? No negotiations?" even Minerva was oddly looking at the Doctor for his plan that lacked excitement.
"I've matured," the Doctor excused, "I'm 1,200 years old now. Plus, I'm going to be a dad - I can't go running around like I used to," he helped Minerva stand and plucked her hat off.
"Hey," she frowned as he put it on his head.
"I've got to be more responsible," the Doctor tapped her nose and smiled.
Amy, however, still wasn't buying it. Her scoff made the couple look at her, "Please. Next thing I see is you & my future God child running straight for trouble. And don't think I won't parent the both of you."
For a moment, Minerva pictured Amy scolding the Doctor and their baby for purposely doing something stupid. Minerva laughed internally as she wondered if her baby would inherit her sweet smile abilities to get out of trouble, leaving the poor Doctor to take the blame on his own.
Her attention had shifted once more without realizing.
The Doctor had moved for the doors while ignoring Amy's previous statement, "It's a mysterious space cowboy assassin, I think I can handle it," he stepped out leaving the room confused.
"Son?" Isaac called and made the Doctor return, "You've still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?"
"With a little sleight of hand," the Doctor smiled and once again left, everyone still remaining confused.
~ 0 ~
Minerva wasn't pleased the Doctor had basically forced her to stay behind with Amy and Jex while he went to retrieve the TARDIS. Isaac had switched to Jex's clothes to distract the Gunslinger and so he and Rory went out to the mountains for the task. Minerva knew, oh she knew, that he would definitely go searching for something else. She wanted to accompany him to get him out of trouble. But the fact he was riding horse (which she was still terrified of) and she was pregnant didn't go.
No other alternatives at hand, she returned to Isaac's office where Amy and Jex waited. Also feeling tired, she decided to take a seat behind the desk.
"Need anything?" Amy asked as she sat at the corner of the desk.
"Yes, actually," Minerva sighed and leaned back on her chair, "Not to be afraid of horses and to finally be done with this," she frantically gestured to her stomach, making Amy laugh, "I just want my baby, so get out already! Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Amy laughed again and stood off the desk, "Two more months. Be patient," she patted Minerva's shoulder then turned for Jex who had taken position in front of the window. She decided to make conversation with him too, seeing Minerva slightly distracted as she munched on minty leaves again, "When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?"
Sensing the question was for him, Jex looked back, "Thank you, but I have already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, my energy... all that was good in me. But here... I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That's all I ever wanted to do. End suffering."
"You and us all, buddy," Minerva commented from her chair.
Amy grabbed Jex's jacket from the desk and draped it around the man's shoulders, "Here."
Jex studied her for a minute, "You're a mother, aren't you?"
"How did you know?" Amy blinked, taken aback by the sudden question - assumption.
"There's kindness in your eyes. And sadness. But a ferocity too."
"It wasn't exactly straightforward."
"It seldom is."
"What about you, Jex?" Minerva questioned curiously, "Are you a father?"
Jex paused a moment and looked to the side, thoughtful, "Yes. In a way, I suppose I am."
Minerva raised an eyebrow, clearly intending to further question him but she felt a baby kick and...well...grew distracted - again. Lately the baby had been more active, especially when they were caught up in adventures like these. It seemed like it would inherit its parents sense of curiosity. She couldn't wait to see what her baby would be like!
Minerva began fiddling with her fingers, precisely her wedding ring finger, since she felt a small pain shoot through it. She pressed on her fingers and made a face of irritation. She tried taking her ring off but she found it wouldn't work. It was stuck! Her ring was stuck? Was her hand swollen!?
The sound of an alarm blared from outside, snapping Minerva out of her thoughts. Like Amy and Jex, Minerva looked at the window and rose to her feet.
"That's an alarm," she frowned, "but we're in the old west?"
Amy rushed for the door and opened it up to go outside. Minerva and Jex hurried after her.
"That's the alarm on my ship!" Jex realized.
"Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again," Amy shrugged and looked at Minerva for a comment.
"Probably," she agreed, "Who was he kidding? He couldn't 'mature' for anything in the world."
"But that wasn't the plan," Jex muttered and returned inside the office.
Minerva glanced back in suspicion at the man. He seemed far too concern for a silly little plan that hadn't gone exactly as said.
"How much trouble do you think he's going to bring to himself?" Amy asked calmly, right now more concerned for Rory since the Gunslinger was probably closer to him than the Doctor.
Minerva glanced at her with a mischievous smile, "Out of ten...eleven."
Amy had to laugh at that, "Nice one," she turned and headed in for the office.
"Thank you," Minerva beamed and went after her.
They were both surprised to find Jex holding a gun at them, nervously, "He really should have stuck to the plan."
Minerva sighed and rubbed her head, "You are going to make it a lot harder to defend you."
"Don't move," Jex warned as he backed into his cell while aiming the gun at them.
"Why are you doing this?" Amy wasn't very scared, she was more confused of the actions being taken.
"That's easy," Minerva frowned at the man, 'He has secrets. Secrets I'm sure the Doctor is finding out right now. Isn't that right?"
Jex looked at her a moment, hard eyes narrowing at her but he continued to take things into his pockets, "Isaac says he doesn't care about my past. But things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive," he returned and went for the doors.
"So you want to escape," Minerva stopped him with her words, "See, couple problems there Einstein. One, the Doctor is in your ship, and the Gunslinger is bound to be close by it meaning your escape isn't happening. Two, since the Gunslinger is going for the Doctor, Isaac and Rory are coming back here. You're kind of screwed," she finished in a sense of amusement.
Jex didn't take her tone quite nicely and grew angrier, "Well I wasn't planning on leaving alone. We'll make a hasty retreat."
"We?" Amy blinked, not liking that part, "We're coming with you?"
"It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary."
"Well, color me reassured," Amy raised her hands in a mock defeat.
Jex backed out of the door with the gun aimed at the two gibgers, expecting them to follow.
However, another gun clicked from outside, freezing Jex on his tracks, "Doc, what are you doin'?" Isaac asked as he and Rory forced Jex back into the room.
"Oh didn't you hear?" Minerva crossed her arms, unable to help the smirk on her face, "He was making his hasty retreat. Told you you were screwed."
Jex was cornered to the wall and was trapped between Minerva, Amy, Rory, and Isaac. There was certainly not going to be an escape chance for him.
"Can you just tell us what was so important in that ship that you felt the need to threaten us with a gun?" Minerva raised her eyebrows, her sense of amusement gone and replaced with irritation.
"It was stupid of me, I realize that now," Jex began but Minerva cut him off there.
"You realized that when exactly? In the last 10 seconds since you were actually still threatening us?"
Jex sighed and began again, "I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger, perhaps if I left..."
He was interrupted again but this time by the Doctor, "He's lying. Every word," he strolled through the room and went straight for Jex, "Everything he says, it's... all... lies. This man is a murderer."
"I am a scientist," Jex declared.
"Sit down," the Doctor ordered quietly. Jex remained standing and only angered the Doctor, "SIT DOWN!" he yelled the order, "Tell them what you are."
"What am I? A war hero," Jex nearly scoffed.
"What's going on?" Minerva asked the Doctor quietly, trying to recall the last time she'd seen him so angry.
"The Gunslinger is a cyborg," the Doctor went for the short version. Minerva smelt like mint which meant she'd been munching on the leaves again from nausea. If he told her everything he saw she would never recover from nausea again.
"He's a cyborg?" Minerva blinked, "What?"
"A what?" Isaac also questioned since he didn't understand.
"Half man, half machine," the Doctor explained, all the meanwhile glaring at Jex, "A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd be selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry and programmed them to kill!"
"OK, why? Why would you do that, doc?" Isaac turned to Jex, not as affected by the others from lack of understanding.
"We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week," Jex looked at the Doctor with calmness, almost undignified, "Do you want me to repent? To beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?!"
"And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?!" the Doctor was controlling himself from yelling again but he was dangerously close to losing.
"War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did, to what any of us did."
"But you experimented on people," Minerva reminded softly, "Do you not feel remorse for hurting those people? Innocent people?"
Jex did not answer the question, and Minerva couldn't stick around for the answer either as the Doctor pulled her away from him and the rest of the group.
Once across the room, she looked up at him with a questioning face, 'What did you see?' she asked him.
'It's not going to do you any good,' the Doctor replied to her.
'Well you're not doing too hot either,' she countered, crossing her arms.
'Minerva, please, it's too gruesome, alright? You don't need those types of images in your mind,' and finishing that conversation, he kissed her head and held her close. He didn't want her anywhere near that man.
Meanwhile, the humans were continuing to question Jex, "But what happened then? How come you're here?" Rory was asking now.
"When the war ended, we had the cyborgs decommissioned. But one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it, until just two of us were left. We fled and our ships crashed here."
Rory looked over to the couple for some help. Unfortunately, the Doctor was in some kind of trance and Minerva was trying to get back his attention, thus rendering themselves useless at the moment. Rory shook his head and looked at the others for opinions, "So what do we do with Jex?"
Isaac looked at him like he was crazy, "What do we do with him!?" he repeated in disbelief.
"Yeah, I mean he's a war criminal."
"No," Isaac shook his head, "he's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light."
Before an argument could ensue, Amy intervened, "Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kinda creepy..."
Jex frowned, "And still in the room!"
Amy rolled her eyes, ignoring him for the moment, "But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution."
"Another solution?" it was Rory's turn to be disbelieving, "It's him or us!"
Amy turned on him with hands on hips, not liking what she was hearing, "When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, Minerva, tell him."
Minerva was aware of the attention back on her and the Doctor again, and seeing the Doctor was still quite out of it she decided to take charge of the situation, "Well, I guess..." she looked at Jex, unable to decide on the spot the future of the man, "...I mean...um..."
The Doctor placed a hand on her arm and stopped her from talking, "Don't," she didn't need to break her head over a man who wasn't worth it.
Jex pulled on his monocle to clean it but all the meanwhile he was studying the Doctor, "Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror. Almost. There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the Gods my people weren't relying on you to save them..."
The Doctor didn't let him finish that already bad sentence when he rushed for the man, "No, NO!" he yanked Jex up by the arm, "But these people are!"
"Doctor," Minerva barely had time to say his name when the Doctor had pushed Jex out the office. She rushed after him, or waddled a bit - her running was not as great as it used to be, "Doctor!" she called but only made two steps outside the office when she felt a small jab at the side of her stomach, "Ah!" she fell on her side against the railing outside the office.
"Minerva!?" Amy was the first to notice since she practically pushed her way around a refusing Rory. She went to help the ginger then looked out for the Doctor - but the Time Lord was too far ahead to notice, "What do we do? Minerva? Rory!?"
Thankfully, Rory had stayed behind instead of Isaac. Quickly, he went to help as well, "Breath, Minerva, breathe. Now, I'm hesitant to say it's Braxton Hicks-"
"It's not," Minerva cut him off as she followed his instructions for deep breaths, "Emotions are rising...and...not good," she shook her head, "But forget me, get that Martian!" she pointed and rushed off however she could.
"Minerva!" Amy exclaimed and pulled Rory into a chase after the alien ginger.
The Doctor had already pushed Jex out the town, a crow of townsfolk watching the every move. He returned but only for a gun which he used to aim at Jex, warning the Kahler not to dare step back into town.
With hands raised, Jex dared to say, "You wouldn't."
"I genuinely don't know..." the Doctor warned.
"Put it down!" he heard Minerva yell from a distance, "Martian, put it down!"
"Stay back, Clever Girl," he swallowed hard, really wishing he wouldn't have to face her sooner or later.
Minerva felt like a child in a tantrum state but she was not going to let him do something he would regret. She looked around and snatched a gun from a nearby townsfolk and shot it to the sky, "Enough," she declared and made him turn around to give him the surprise, "Let him come back, Doctor!"
"Minerva..." the Doctor felt terrified to see her holding a gun, but then again...could he really tell her to put it down? He was doing the same exact thing.
Thankfully, Minerva got rid of the gun as she handed it back to the person she'd taken it from, "Thank you," she whispered then faced the Doctor, "You're going to let him come back in," she pointed to the frozen Jex, "Because that is not who you are - that is not who we are."
The Doctor lowered his gun and rushed to her, "But we could end this right now. We could save everyone right now!"
"Yeah. We could," she agreed, "but then what happens later, hm? When we're ready to go to sleep and you remember what you did? Tell me how are you going to get past that? Can you get past that?"
"Jex has to answer for his crimes-"
"Yes, and I am all for that, but in the right way."
"But Minerva," he dropped the gun and took her head into his hands, desperate for her to understand him, "They keep coming back, don't you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today! No! Today I honor the victims first! His, the Master's, the Daleks', all the people who died because of my mercy!"
"I married a good man, I'd like him to come to his senses," Minerva tapped the side of his head and smiled, trying to ignore the fact the Gunslinger was teleporting closer and closer to the town, "The quicker you do that the quicker we get back to business."
"But Minerva-"
"AH!" she yelped and lurched forwards, startling the Doctor and pretty much everyone else around them.
"What is it!?" alarmed, the Doctor tried to help her stand straight, "Minerva!"
"It hurts," she clutched her stomach, "Emotions..."
"They're high," he realized he'd been putting too much on her and instantly regretted it, "Minerva, I am so sorry! I didn't...I didn't think...I'm sorry!"
"Just say you'll let Jex come back, please," Minerva made faces of pain and desperately tried not to fidget as much.
"Okay! Okay! Done!" he quickly agreed and looked back at Jex, "Move over the line, NOW!" he hurried to Jex while motioning for him to get across.
What he missed was Minerva sending a wink to Amy and Rory, revealing she was faking her pains to get the Doctor to snap back to his senses. Quietly, the humans snickered to themselves.
Unfortunately, the fun ended when the Gunslinger arrived behind Jex, preventing such movement. Jex turned to face the Cyborg tremulously, "Make peace with your gods," the Gunslinger said.
"Kahler-Tek, isn't it?" Jex asked, "I remember all your names, even now. Please. I'd never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here."
"Last chance. Make peace with your gods."
"No!" Issac pushed Jex out of the way just as the Gunslinger had fired. Issac fell to the ground, nearly dead. The Doctor rushed to help and knelt beside Issac, "Isaac! Isaac, Isaac, it's OK, it's OK. It's OK, we can get you to Jex's surgery, he can save you."
Issac gripped his hand, already knowing his fate, "Listen to me, you've got to stay, you've got to look after everyone."
"It won't come to that, Isaac."
"Protect Jex. Protect my town. You're both good men... You just forget it sometimes..."
Upon Issac dying, the Doctor took his hand back and found the Marshall's badge in his palm. Slowly, he pinned it to his lapel then stood on his feet, turning around, "Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you'll have me to answer to," he warned the townsfolk. As Jex was taken away, he faced the Gunslinger who remained, "This has gone on long enough."
"You are right," the Gunslinger aimed his gun at the Doctor, "You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me, or I'll kill you all," with that, he turned and disappeared.
Sighing, the Doctor turned to face the remaining townspeople, though his concern was for Minerva. However, he was surprised to see her calm as ever, inspecting a strand of her hair - her attention span disabling her from following the events.
When she felt his stare, she looked up and blinked, reading his confused expression, 'I faked the pains,' she informed.
He narrowed his eyes with irritation, 'Cheater.'
His response was a wide smile, 'No, I just used my circumstance to get you thinking straight. Now then, do I get to be deputy or what?'
~ 0 ~
The night fell and with no where else to stay, the group remained in Isaac's office. Jex had been returned to his cell where he remained currently, in silence. Minerva fidgeted in her spot on the desk chair. She didn't want to admit she as actually rather sleep, after the little show she'd put in for the Doctor she was under supervision and was warned not to play that foul trick on him again.
Everything was going semi-good until the preacher came for them, "Marshall... Ma'am's, Fella. You need to come outside."
"Why, what's wrong?" the Doctor stood up from his spot outside the cell.
"Just come outside," the preacher insisted them look over to the holster hanging on a hook, "And you should put that on."
"It's that bad?" Minerva frowned as she stood up.
The preacher motioned to be followed as he stepped out first. Disliking the circumstances, the Doctor had to put on the holster belt before going out. Outside awaited a group of townsfolk, including the young man from earlier and the bartender.
"What's going on?" the Doctor slowly approached them, after warning Minerva to stay back.
The young man stepped forwards, clearly nervous, "He in there?" he nodded to the office, "Leave the keys and take a walk. Time you get back, this'll all be done."
"You can't be serious," Minerva started for them when Amy and Rory grabbed her arm and kept her back. They both agreed with the Doctor that this time it was just too dangerous.
Once the Doctor was sure Minerva was held onto tight, he focused on the townsfolk, "I promised Isaac I'd protect him."
"Protecting him got Isaac dead," the man reminded and looked around his friends, "Tomorrow it's going to get us all dead."
Another man, slightly older, moved up, "We thought Isaac was right to fight. But it's different now. We've got to say, "All right, we lost," and give that thing what it wants."
The bartender seemed to be one of the few who still remained sane as she still disagreed, "What it wants is to kill our friend."
"Look," the young man took control again, "we don't got ill feelin' toward the doc, we just thinkin''bout our families. Hand him over and we all safe again."
"You know I can't do that," the Doctor shook his head.
The man pushed back his coat to show his holster, "Then we got us a problem..."
With a small sigh, the Doctor also pushed his jacket to show he had a gun as well, "Please don't do this."
"Why? Reckon you quicker than me?"
"Almost certainly not," the Doctor stepped off the porch, "But this - lynch mobs, the town turning against itself - this is everything Isaac didn't want," the words didn't seem to make an impact since the man aimed his gun, "How old are you?"
"Nearly 19."
"That's 18 then," the Doctor nodded, "Too young to have fought in the war, so I'm guessing you've never shot anyone before, have you?"
The man cocked the hammer of the gun and shrugged, "First time for everything."
"But that's how all this started. Jex turned someone into a weapon. Now that same story is going to make you a killer too. Don't you see? Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it. I don't think you want to do this. I don't think you want to become that man."
"There's kids here," the man lowered the gun and gestured to the town.
"You think I don't know children are in danger?" the Doctor nodded back to his very pregnant wife behind, "Believe me when I say I will not allow for more deaths. I can save you all if you let me."
"He really worth the risk?" the man seemed to be only slightly less nervous.
"I don't know, but you are," the Doctor shrugged.
The man looked at him a moment before giving up and walking away. The rest of the townsfolk started dispersing seconds later, leaving the Doctor to take a breath and turn back for his wife and friends, "Frightened people. Give me a Dalek any day."
"Don't you ever keep me away again," Minerva angrily marched up to him, "I have earned my way to stand at your side and I will not be pushed back down again. Do you understand?"
The Doctor dimly smiled at her, "I was just trying to prevent any dangers for you, love. You saw that back there...?" he gestured back to where the townsfolk had been in.
"Oh, I saw," she crossed her arms, "and for that same reason," she smacked his arm, "you cannot make me stand back and watch some man hold a gun at you. That's even worse than..." she trailed off at the feeling of a jab again, a real one, "...oh..."
"Minerva..." the Doctor began to frown.
"Not joking this time, swear..." she took a deep breath and turned around, "...maybe sitting down and staying away won't be that bad..."
And then the Doctor knew she wasn't lying.
"Minerva I'm getting worried," he carefully and slowly brought her towards the others, "Rory said you felt another pain before you tricked me."
"That was real too," she assured while taking multiple deep breaths.
"Do you think she should see a doctor?" Amy asked them while returning into the office, "Like her Moontsay doctor?"
"After this," the Doctor promised Minerva and gently sat her down on a chair by the desk, "We are going to get you help."
"It's going away," Minerva tried to smile through the pain she clearly still felt. She leaned back on her chair and closed her eyes.
The Doctor hurriedly took off his holster and placed it back on the hook, sparing Jex only a sideways glance. Jex remained silent on his bunk.
"Maybe these really are Braxton Hicks," Amy whispered to Rory while Rory was overseeing Minerva's breaths.
"No, no," the Doctor cut them off as he returned to them, "it's too early for any of that stuff. There's still 2 months left!"
"Hate to break it to you, but babies can be born 2 months early," Amy gave him a look.
"It's okay, it's okay," Minerva cut in, "It's just, the hard day...and...and the people," she gestured to the window, "It's all just getting to me. I don't withstand as much as I used to."
"Don't lie to me, Clever Girl," the Doctor put his hands on either side of her head, "How's the pain? Do you think it's finally, um..." he swallowed hard, "...time?"
Minerva closed her eyes for a second and relaxed, the pains she was feeling slowly dissipating. They were still nuisance but not as before, "No..." she whispered, "...it's just the emotions, Martian," she opened her eyes and took a final deep breaths.
"Are you sure? Because I don't care if I have to force my way past the Gunslinger, I will get you to the TARDIS at all costs."
"Everything's fine," Minerva assured and looked up at Amy and Rory on either side of her seat, "Really guys, I'm just a fussy ole pregnant woman," and as if on cue, Minerva felt her baby kicking, alerting her he/she was just fine, "Oh, and look, baby's agreeing with me," she chuckled.
The Doctor dropped his hands to her stomach and even pressed an ear to feel, "Hey," he started smiling, "hey baby. Oh, I'm so sorry for putting mummy into distress. I promise it won't happen again."
Minerva smiled as the baby slowly stopped kicking, like it was soothing itself. She felt everything returning to normal, thankfully, "Okay, okay, let's all stop paying attention to fussy me and focus on the problem we have."
"Hey, let us take care of you," the Doctor raised his head to look at her, "This isn't the first time this has happened, remember."
"Yeah, from now on you really have to take things slow, Minerva," Rory put a hand on her shoulder, "Like Amy said, babies can be born earlier and just because it's not that uncommon doesn't mean it's that safe either. Let's try to be calmer, alright?"
"Gotcha," Minerva did a small salute and took a breath, "Calm Minerva, calm baby. Oh," she exclaimed and startled them all, "I think I have a plan..."
"Attention span is so poor," Amy declared with the disapproving shake of her head.
"No, hush," she raised a finger to Amy and motioned for the Doctor to stand, "Look, Martian, I think the best thing we can is let the Gunslinger and Jex fix their problems elsewhere. That means," she shifted on her chair to get a view of Jex in his cell, "you, Jex," she called, "need to leave this town. Because you and us both know that if you continue here, more people will die - if not the entire town will die."
"Are you sure...?" even Jex was confused by the plan Minerva had yet to fully explain.
"I don't like the idea of a criminal escaping," she narrowed her eyes at him, "but there is one thing the Gunslinger was right about, is that we cannot apply our own rules to this criminal act," she and the Doctor had spoken about his encounter with the Gunslinger at the desert and she did admit to him the Cyborg had been right about several things, "But we can and will help this town survive. Therefore, you will leave this place. Run somewhere else because you have over-extended your stay here."
"Minerva..." the Doctor blinked, impressed. While her attention span wasn't in good condition, she still had her queen attitude and skills. When she wanted to, she applied herself and gave herself a new image of authority that dared anyone to defy her.
"Does anybody want to hear my plan?" Minerva looked around the place, drumming her fingers along her stomach, "It's actually really good..." she smirked to herself.
The Doctor looked around for anyone else wanting to speak, "No?" he asked them, "Alright, Clever Girl, the floor is yours," he gestured for her to begin explaining to them.
~ 0 ~
All around the town the next morning, not a sound could be heard - save for the light wind that occasionally blew. People had gathered together in several parts of the town, mostly, though, preferred to be inside the small chapel to pray.
The Doctor, in a rather forceful way, had Minerva and Amy stay inside the office with Isaac while he faced/distracted the Gunslinger outside. Rory was one of the men in the town who would help distract the Gunslinger with the Doctor. Minerva was quite irritated that she had came up with the plan and yet she was being forced to stay on the sidelines, something she had avoided for years now.
And so, when the clock struck twelve in the office, Minerva felt her nervousness grow even more. They heard the clear sound of the Gunslinger arriving and without a word, she and Minerva hurried to the door to look out.
It wasn't long before they heard the shattering of windows from outside, signaling it was time to act. Amy went back to the desk and picked up the cell keys, "Ready?" she asked Jex.
"Remember," Minerva turned just as Jex was coming out, "you will go straight to your ship and fly away," she gave him a warning look, daring him to defy the orders.
"I remember," Jex assured and nodded.
"Good," Minerva reached back for the door and opened it up for him, "Go," she nodded.
Without a word, Jex ran out the office. Minerva sighed and turned around to watch him go. Amy came up beside her, equally weary of the situation, "You think it'll work?"
"It's my plan," Minerva shrugged, "should work," she flashed a smirk, making Amy lightly chuckle.
"I really hope my god child doesn't inherit its parents' cockiness," Amy rubbed her forehead while Minerva let out a small laugh.
Unfortunately, their laughter ended when they heard the blast of a door followed by screams of townspeople. Without even thinking, Minerva dashed outside - slightly more waddling - and saw scanned the damaged area.
"Minerva, you've got to come back," Amy hissed and went for the ginger, "The Doctor said-"
"The Doctor says a lot of things I never listen to," Minerva shook her head and went for the steps of the torch. She knew it was dangerous but people were in trouble and she wanted to help in any way possible.
~ 0 ~
The Doctor, now boring a painted Kahler symbol across one of his cheeks, found himself cornered by the Gunslinger. He had his hands raised in defeat as the Gunslinger aimed his weapon at him.
"Where is he?" the Gunslinger demanded.
"He's gone," the Doctor breathed.
"WHERE?! ANSWER ME!"
"He's long gone," answered a different voice from behind the two.
The Doctor shut his eyes instantly, "No, no, no, no," he mumbled to himself in frustration.
She had done it again.
"Look up," Minerva instructed and even pointed up with a finger as the Gunslinger turned around, "Any second now you'll see the vapor trail of his ship. This town is not the zone for your battle," she angrily declared, "This is a home. You take your battle elsewhere and fight it there. Go after Jex, take this battle away from..."
Through the speakers around them, they heard Jex's voice coming through, "Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek."
"Jex...?" the Gunslinger asked, "Coward! Where are you?!"
"I'm in my ship."
"Jex, what are you doing?" the Doctor called, irritated even more with people just not following orders, "Just GO!"
Jex ignored the orders once more and traded it in for a question, "Where are you from? Where on Kahler?"
"Now?" Minerva was equally irritated, "Jex, you're asking him this now?"
"Gabrean," the gunslinger answered.
"I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?"
"How can I? I am a monster now."
"...so am I."
"Just go!" the Doctor exclaimed, "Finish this!"
"I will find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you," promised the Gunslinger.
"I don't doubt that," Jex agreed with him, "You'll chase me to another planet...And another race will be caught in the crossfire."
"THEN FACE ME!"
'Countdown to self-destruct resumed.' went the ship's computer.
"FACE ME!"
"No. You've killed enough," declared Jex, "I'm ending the war for you, too."
Minerva stiffened once she caught the computer voice the second time, "What's going on? That countdown! What's going on Jex!?"
"Thank you, Doctor, Minerva. But I have to face the souls of those I wronged. Perhaps they will be kind."
Three, two, one. Zero.
The explosion was heard but not felt. The three in town turned to find the trail of smoke rising into the sky.
The Gunslinger bowed his head and sighed, "He behaved with honor at the end. Maybe more than me."
Minerva saw it prudent (and safer) to come closer to the two, ignoring the Doctor's scolding look for her defiance, "If you want, we could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction."
But the Gunslinger started walking away from the couple, "I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I am a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace."
The Doctor looked around as everyone started coming out of their hiding places. Suddenly, a snap went in his mind and a grin appeared on his face, "Except maybe to protect it?"
~ 0 ~
"And the next time, for God's sake, Minerva, just stay put!," the Doctor had a wincing ginger in front of him who'd remained oddly quiet throughout his sermon about her defiance and issues.
The TARDIS was now beside them, having been brought back into town after everything had been resolved. They were on their way to the Monsoon to have Minerva get a check up. After the double incident with the 'Braxton hicks' they wanted to know what was going on. However, since Amy and Rory were taking their sweet time at the bar, the Doctor decided to discuss Minerva's little hero moment.
"Yes, it was your plan, and yes it was marvelous and could've worked," the Doctor was now making circles around the poor ginger, "But it was completely unnecessary for you to leave the office. It was uncalled for, actually! Completely stupid! Dangerous!"
Minerva wanted to argue back, give her point of view...but he was right. She had been careless, period. Without noticing, she raised her head and revealed watery hazel eyes to the Doctor, "I'm sorry..."
The Doctor sighed and moved to stand in front of her, "I'm not angry with you, but I am upset. I know you don't mean to put yourself in danger...but try to understand me, okay? How do you think I feel when I see my very pregnant wife standing in front of a cyborg bent on revenge?"
Minerva looked to the side as she genuinely considered his side, "...well, um...not very, um..." she sighed then whispered, "...not very good."
"Not very good indeed," he crossed his arms.
She threw her head back and shut her eyes before she turned into a whole waterwork right there and then, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so, sorry! I just heard the screams and it was sort of an impulse. You know me, very impulsive."
"Oh, I know," the Doctor put his hands on her head and forced her to look at him again, "But how's about for rest of the 2 months you try not to do that again? Just until our baby is safe and sound in our arms and you are in condition to fight."
"I guess that sounds fair," she shrugged, "Are you still upset with me, then?"
The Doctor smiled at her curious eyes, "I can't stay mad at you, Clever Girl, and you know it," he placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"Thank you," she sheepishly smiled back.
"Now let's get you to the Monsoon, eh?" the Doctor opened up the TARDIS doors for her, "Amy! Rory!" he called to the pair, "Let's go!"
Minerva chuckled, "I bet they're having fun discovering all the good ole American drinks."
Seconds later, Amy and Rory emerged from the bar, both looking pretty sober despite the amount of time they spent in there.
"Okay," the Doctor clapped his hands, "so first stop is the Monsoon for Minerva's check up."
"But you two can go into the kingdom if you'd like," Minerva pointed at the humans, "Take a nice stroll or something in the meantime."
"Erm... could we actually get a ride home?" Amy awkwardly asked, "Our friends will start noticing that we're ageing faster than them."
"Sure," Minerva raised her eyebrows, startled by the question. She glanced at the Doctor for his comments, knowing it would run along the lines of him saying it was 'alright' and 'don't worry' because he wasn't saddened by that one bit, nope.
"Another time! No worries!" the Doctor clapped his hands again, showing the fake indifference he had been each time the Ponds decided to leave for home again.
Amy and Rory gave their thanks and went inside the TARDIS. The Doctor let out a small sigh afterwards, showing his real face to his wife. Minerva placed a hand on his arm, 'I'm here, and I'll always be here,' she reminded and placed his hand on her stomach, 'We'll both be here until the end of time.'
The Doctor smiled honestly and kissed her forehead in thanks. That did make everything much better.
Author's Note:
This was such a hard episode for me to watch because it showed such a darker and gultier side of the Doctor. Not as easy to write either! But anyways, here we go with another chapter! I gotta be honest I love writing a distracted Minerva!
For the Review:
Well, now it's 2 more chapters till the Ponds are gone :o. Lmao I think he was probably fearing for his life xD. Let's just say he gets the surprise of his life when we he sees Minerva lmao. Oh boy I can't relate with scary movies at all. I've literally watched like 4 in all my life: Jessabelle, Glasshouse, Oculus & Ouija. I'm pretty sure those aren't scary movies in other people's books haha xD. I don't its weird, it's just everyone's different when it comes to the media. And I suppose it would also help if you did watch all those before lmao.
Aaah that's coming up lmao, the baby's almost here! Hope you liked the newest chapter!
Soo, the next chapter's all about the mysterious cube invasion! As always, thank you for reading and leave a comment if you'd like!