The Impossible Astronaut, Part 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who the BBC does. Serena belongs to me and only me anyone who steals her there will be trouble. A\N: Hi, hope your enjoying Unstoppable so far as much as I am. And I would really appreciate some feedback to give me that much needed boost to continue writing. I just want to know that there are people out there enjoying it. So lets get on with the Impossible Astronaut!
-DW- chapter break
'telepathic thought'
"Speaking Gallifreyian"
I had made a promise to one Captain Jack Harkness in my human state what had felt like many moons ago, that I would come back and see him again one day. So I did, Theta offering up my services to Torchwood for a few months.
It had took a good few days for them to get used to me being there, especially Jack; since I still held the face of the woman that he once loved. But now things were going seemingly well since they had a Time Lady on board with alien expertise.
Jack and myself had just got back into the hub from catching a few Weevils that I had predicted coming to maul poor innocent bystanders coming outside of a nightclub. But thankfully I wiped their memory of it to have no recollection of it or us being there.
"Another, successful Weevil hunt if I do say so Captain," I stated happily as we walked in.
"Serena, this letter just came for you," Mickey called excitedly before Jack could even speak, rushing over to me with the TARDIS blue envelope in hand passing it over.
"Judging by the colour, it's from your lover boy The Doctor," Jack teased me.
"Shut up, Harkness," I whacked him on the shoulder playfully.
I turned over the envelope and there is a silver number 1 printed on the lip. It made me question the significance behind it, but shake my head thinking it's something silly Theta's done to get a rise out of me. Opening it displayed a piece of card, printed on it a time, date and map reference. It was an invitation to see him again, my Doctor, my Theta.
-DW-
Monument Valley, Utah, Two weeks later…
Before coming on my trip I did do a little history to check on Theta seeing if he'd been up to any mischief. He'd been to the Restoration Era apparently, having posed naked for a painting getting himself caught in some young woman's chambers. This to say made me a tad jealous. Had got himself thrown in jail, only to be rescued a few days later by an mysterious orb of light.
A description of him had came up of him visiting a WWII campsite rescuing one of the POW's. Mickey then had found a movie clip of him for me; in Laurel and Hardy's "Sons of the Desert." He'd been dancing together with the famous comedy duo, before running up to the camera and waving through it before giving it a cheeky wink that was probably meant for me. Making me shake my head in embarrassment, wishing I was there to stop him.
I arrive at my destination in the form of a helicopter provided by UNIT, seeing four familiar figures come into my view as it landed on the ground a distance from them. Quickly, I jumped out the side of it, moved a safe distance from it as took off and I waved at the pilot as it left.
Now turning on the spot and jogging up to everyone, greeting the Ponds, River and at least the most important of all my Doctor with a smile. "Hello."
Theta was walked towards me with a massive grin on his face, "Hi," he sighed happily before taking my face in his hands startling me with a rather passionate kiss.
Afterwards I moved out of it slightly, to look up at him with a rather questionable gaze. "What in Rassilion's name was that for?"
"I just really missed you," he whispered skimming his thumb across my cheek affectionately, "And seeing your beautiful smile," he pulled me into a comforting hug as my head rested on his shoulder.
I looked over to the Ponds and River with a frown of concern as Theta continued to hug me. But the Ponds didn't have clue about why he was acting so oddly shaking their heads. While I noticed that River's face said something else entirely.
-DW-
We're now currently at a diner, myself and the Ponds are waiting up at the counter for some Cokes we ordered. They eventually arrived, in a tall glass with a red straw and we took them over to the booth. I sat next to River, Amy sat opposite me with Theta and Rory had plonked himself on a stool he'd put on the end of the table.
River now rummaged through a bag she had, pulling out that familiar TARDIS styled journal of hers, clearing her throat. "Right then, where are we? Have we done Easter Island yet?"
Theta confirmed this, pulling out a little black journal from his jacket which I've never seen before, flipping through it to the correct page, "Yes, I've got Easter Island!"
"They worshipped you there! Have you seen the statues?"
"Jim the Fish," my Doctor cuts in checking his journal, seeing if they both had the same. I frown in slight confusion about this, never having been to this place or meeting that certain someone I don't even know.
"Oh, Jim the Fish! How is he?"
"Still building his dam."
"Sorry, what are you two doing?" Rory now asked them both, probably after seeing the expression on my face.
"They're both time travellers,so they never meet in the right order." Amy replied in explanation with a shrug of her shoulders, "They're syncing their diaries."
"But that doesn't make any sense…" I voiced in suspicion, leaning over slightly looking into Theta's green eyes, "My Doctor doesn't have a dairy yet…" As he looked back in my eyes, there was something I instantly noticed about him, "Your older, much older."
"Yes I am," he confirmed to me with a gentle laugh, which gave me an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach, "Just fancied a trip into the past that's all."
"Hold, on you're… a future Doctor?" Rory asked him, having heard if I was right or not.
"How far in the future?" Amy asked with a small shake of her head, probably wondering the same thing as Rory, "How old are you?"
"1103," he simply answered.
"1103? You were 908 the last time we saw you."
"Mine is 909," I remarked knowingly.
"Time travel Serena it's always complicated," Theta waved it off with a cheeky smile, about the fact of how old he was shouldn't bother me. But it did, as I felt there was more behind this than he was willing to admit.
"Doctor, something's wrong isn't there?" I reached out my hand, putting it on top of his.
Theta sighed, now giving into me. He lifted my hand to slot our fingers together, his spare tracing patterns on the back of the one he was holding. "You know me Rena, I've been running all my life. I've been running… running faster than I ever have before," he took a deep breath, "And now it's time for me to stop," Theta confessed, looking to all of us now, "And tonight I'm going to need you all with me."
"OK," Amy slowly nodded her head in understanding, "We're here, what's up?"
"A picnic!" My Bonded announced, kissing the tops of my bent fingers giving one final squeeze before letting go, "And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere brand-new."
"Where are we going?" I asked pretending to show genuine interest painting on a smile trying to show that this wasn't bothering me.
"Space...1969."
-DW-
Lake Silencio, Utah…
After an hours drive the group of us are now sat upon a large white and red checked blanket, enjoying the most beautiful view of the lake before us. It reminded me of a similar place on Gallifrey that I used to visit 600 odd years ago when I was young to escape my troubles.
"Salut!" My Doctor toasted, raising the bottle of red wine in the air resting his head on my lap. As the rest of us followed in suit, while I kept on pretending nothing was bothering me and to figure out what exactly he was up to.
"Salut!"
"So when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked Theta in interest, after taking a sip of his wine.
"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy laughed eyeing him with curiosity, as he tried taking a sip from the bottle whilst on my lap.
"I must have drunk it at sometime," he cheekily replied back, as I see him poke out his tongue at her, before taking a large gulp of the wine. I get a quick vision: him spitting it out and voicing his disgust.
I looked to Amy, holding up three fingers to her from behind Theta, with a knowing smirk, "He'll spit it out in, 3… 2 and 1," I muttered it quietly as she and River who now noticed tried not to laugh as I counted down.
"Oh, wine's horrid!" He complained pulling a face after having spat the wine out, "I thought it would taste more like the gums." Before turning to look at me and wagging his finger in my direction, trying to tell me off but fails. "You madam, knew I was going to do that didn't you."
"Yes, but it was more fun to watch," I joked with an menacing smile.
Theta pulled me into his side and kissed the top of my head affectionately, "You're such a cheeky minx sometimes Rena, but I love you for it."
"You've put on a couple of pounds. I wasn't going to mention it," he now told Amy what he had noticed before.
But I see she's rather distracted, glancing at something on the ridge of rocks nearby. "Who's that?"
I turned to look as well seeing something or someone with a large head. "What is that?"
Rory wonders what we're on about and in doing so grabbed our attention."Who's who?"
We both looked back at him in confusion not remembering a thing. Which was so unlike me to forget something I saw. "Sorry, what?"
"What did you see? You said you saw someone," He then looked to me.
"Well, we didn't," I told him that I neither of us saw anything there.
"Ah! The moon, look at it! Of course, you lot did more than look, didn't you? Big silvery thing in the sky, you couldn't resist it. Quite right." Theta now went on to voice his opinion about Earth's obsession with planetary object that could be faintly seen in the blue sky.
My eyes scan him over in curiosity about bringing the odd subject of the moon up. As Rory asked off with interest,"The moon landing was in '69. Is that where we're going?"
"Oh, a lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers," my Bonded softly spoke, looking to me briefly his eyes showing so much sadness along with some regret, bitterness with a dash of sorrow and disappointment. All I wanted to do was take it away, "Human beings... I thought I'd never get done saving you."
We all turned around after hearing a vehicle pull up on the sand nearby which was a pickup truck. An older man stepped out wearing a cap on his head, he looked in our direction. Theta squeezed my knee with some reassurance, before getting to his feet and waving to the stranger in the cap.
"Who's he?" Amy asked trying to make the man out in the distance, as Rory, myself and River got to our feet to stand beside my Doctor.
"Oh, my God!" River gasped in shock, her gaze looking over my shoulder to the lake and I see Amy rising to her feet to look at what's there. And in that instant the rest of us looked as well.
Standing there in the lake, was an astronaut in a actual astronaut suit staring right back at us. This to me frankly was rather terrifying and confusing.
I suddenly get the most terrifying vision:
Theta has just been shot in the abdomen with a laser blast from the astronaut. Everything goes crazy as Amy and I shouted for him in fear, running to his aid, but Rory and River stop us.
He looked to us all, falling to his knees regeneration energy floating off him in wisps of golden light. Looking over to us he mouthed 'Sorry' regret in his eyes, before he started to regenerate.
But he never got the chance to as the astronaut shot him in the middle of his cycle killing him instantly as he dropped on the ground.
Gasping, Theta took my hands bringing me back to reality, making me look into his eyes, "Rena whatever you've just foreseen of what's about to happen," Theta spoke with sadness in our native tongue trying to be steady and strong for us both, his hands letting go of mine to now cup my face, "Promise me, that you'll stay right here."
"What,? No," I questioned,wanting to understand him yet at the same time putting my foot down.
"Rena…" he caressed my cheek lovingly, speaking seriously, "Serena, if you really care for me you'll let me do this."
"Then, I can't really stop you then can I?" I cave, knowing there was nothing I could really do, covering his hand with mine where it rested on my face.
"I love Rena."
"I know," I replied sadly, before he pulled me in for a sensual yet breathtaking kiss that I've never had from him before. It was like he was never going to see me again.
Now pulling away, he turned to look at the Ponds and River taking a deep breath, before telling them what to do, "You all need to stay back. Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?" Theta leaves us walking towards the astronaut.
"That's an astronaut. That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake. Look," Rory pointed out to us all, obviously not believing what's in front of him.
"Yes, we all can see it you don't need to state the obvious," I bit back moodily, as we now silently watched my Doctor now talking to the astronaut.
"What's he doing?" I heard Amy whisper, as see him now bow his head slightly while the astronaut raised it's arm to him as if to take aim and that sent fear through me.
It happened so quickly, the astronaut fired a blast straight into Theta's stomach, he staggered back at the hit. As Amy and I shouted out in sheer panic, trying to make a run towards him, but Rory and River hold us back.
"Doctor!"
The rest goes into a blur after that second shot. I had gone numb after that, having fallen to my knees in stricken with grief. Time around me seemed to speed up, as the last thing I remembered was watching his body burning in the middle of the lake.
-DW-
I'm still on shaky ground after what's just happened, my hearts and my head aren't even in the right place anymore. As River and the Ponds lead me into the very diner all five of us had been many hours before. River escorted me to sit down, as she gave her jacket and a comforting squeeze on my shoulder. The rest of them are talking, about it and had been since the lake. It was just one blurred echo, but now and again would catch little snippets of their conversation.
They mention the envelopes, which I recalled each had numbers printed on the back. Mine was 1, River 3, the Ponds 4 and the old man 5. I pull it out of my skirt pocket looking at it while tracing the number realising that it probably meant something after all. That we're the 5 people that he trusted the most of all to be there. But where was 2?
It's now that I catch a glimpse of blue in Rory's hand going past me from the booth that had been behind ours earlier. He passes it to River, who sees me looking at it passing it to me. Turning it I see a 2 on the back of it as I stood to my feet.
Out the corner of my eye I see the back door come open I turned to see who it was and in that moment I thought I was seeing a ghost. As the envelope in my hands dropped to the ground. There he was, standing before us straw hanging out of his mouth all bowtie and with a silly grin on his face, pointing to us joyously with a small laugh.
"This is cold," River sneered at him, as her arm came around my shoulders and glared at Theta, "Even by your standards, this is cold. Do you not care at all!"
"Or, 'Hello,' as people used to say," he is rather put aback by River's words, taking offence, "I just popped out to get my special straw. It adds more fizz," he explained his absence to us. But at this moment I don't know if I'm angry or relieved.
Amy went up to him,"You're OK," and then raised her hand to his face, "How can you be OK?"
"Of course I'm OK, I'm always OK," Theta brought her into a hug, cradling Amy against him looking to me for an explanation, but I just avoid contact completely, "I'm the king of OK. Oh, that's a rubbish title, forget that title," he named himself something ridiculous, probably to get a rise out of me as he let go of Amy.
"Rory the Roman, that's a good title. Hello, Rory!" Who I think is my Bonded approached him giving him an awkward hug, "Dr River Song... Oh, you bad, bad girl, what trouble have you got for me this time?" He teased her slightly, before she slapped him hard across the face.
I stared at him for a few more seconds, not fazed by the slap River had just given him in the slightest. He turned to me about to speak, but I end up slapping him hard across the other cheek.
"OK. I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet," Theta looked between us both rather confused.
"Yes, it is," I told him for the both of us, rather angrily putting my hands on my hips.
He gulped slightly at my hateful stare, rubbing either side of his red slapped cheeks, "Good, looking forward to it."
I see Rory shake his head, "I don't understand," he now gives him a poke with his finger to check, "How can you be here?"
"I was invited," Theta picked the envelope off the floor, "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence."
"River, Serena, what's going on?" Amy looked to us for some guidance on this confusing matter.
Wanting to be truly sure if this was my Doctor of now, I get her to check something for me, "Amy, ask him what age he is."
He looked to me rather hurt yet confused that I didn't trust him right now, "That's a bit personal."
"Tell her. Tell her what age you are," River, commanded firmly to do as he's asked.
"909, why is this so important?" He replied looking at us all questionably. I now realised, this was my Doctor soon as he spoke his age.
"Yeah, but you said..." Amy started to voice her concerns, but I give her a look that makes her stop instantly.
"So where does that leave us? Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?" It left River to question him of how much Theta knew her. I couldn't have felt more sorry for her soon as he answered.
"Who's Jim the Fish?" I could see him starting to get frustrated about this whole situation, "Now can someone explain to me what we are we all doing here?"
"We've been recruited," I took a breath, looking my Bonded in the eye showing how sorry I was for taking my anger out on him, "Something to do with space program in 1969."
"And a man called Canton Everett Delaware III," River put in, recalling the name of the old man that I saw in the cap many hours ago.
"Recruited by who?" He walked away from us.
"Spoilers," River and I replied lightly together making him flinch slightly even though I hated the word myself.
-DW-
As I sat in the sling underneath the console alone with my thoughts, questioning some things, for example; Was I willing enough to lie to Theta? Why didn't he let me do the right thing and act on my vision? The fall of three pairs of feet, make themselves known coming down the steps, bringing me back to reality.
"Rena?" I look up hearing Amy's voice, now seeing the Ponds and River approach me, Amy taking my hand squeezing it. Having asked them to come down and meet me soon as my Bonded wasn't paying the slightest attention to them.
"What we witnessed and what I foresaw before it even happened was a death of a future Doctor," I rubbed my forehead explaining this to them, having only told them of my vision.
"But sometimes your visions aren't always correct?" River asked, if what I'd seen was true.
"And how would you know about that River?" I bit back taking offence of her judgment on my gift, glaring at her.
"Spoilers, sorry Serena," she apologised in advance.
"He's going to die?" Amy asked looking to us both with a slight frown on her face, getting us back on topic. "Can't we do something?"
"We all die at some point Amy," I explained remorsefully, "It's a natural process for us all, even Time Lords."
"We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves," Rory counters, now sitting himself on the steps Amy joining him, "So the Doctor in the future, knowing he's going to die, recruits his younger self and all of us to...to what exactly? Avenge him?"
"Avenging himself is something the Doctor I know wouldn't do," I shook my head disagreeing.
"Save him?" Amy makes a suggestion for us to stop this happening.
"He would give himself up to save the ones he cares about," I put in knowing what he would do.
"We need to tell him and Rena you have to tell him about your vision," Amy voices honestly that we couldn't hid the truth from him, as she stood up staring to leave.
But I quickly hop out of my the sling, grabbed her and pulled back down, "We can't tell him a single thing even what I foresaw."
"Serena's right, we've told him all we can," River agrees with me.
"We can't alright, spilling the beans that we've seen his future self is a no, no. He's interacted with his own past. It could rip a hole in the universe." I explain to Amy, the about the consequences.
"Except he's done it before," Amy points out, reminding me about when he rebooted the universe.
Rory recalls it as well, "And, in fairness, the universe did blow up."
"But he'd want to know," Amy voices her opinion.
"He can't," I shook my head, "Something he can't stand is goodbye's or endings and…" I gulped harshly, "We need to let him go on without him having the weight of his impending death on his shoulders."
"You know," Theta called sounding annoyed, grabbing our attention dangling his head over the edge of the glass floor looking at us. "I'm being extremely clever up here, and would rather like Serena up here looking impressed while I drive if you don't mind."
I smile back at him before he removed himself and I moved towards the steps, knowing I couldn't ignore him any longer. "Hey, you going to be ok?" Amy asked how I'm feeling about.
"No, but I'm going to have to be. For his sake," I answered her truthfully that it hurt, before I left to go up. I was going to do whatever it took to keep him safe and find a way around this mess to set everything right again. Even if it meant lying to him for the rest of my life.
