Next chapter should be on the 10th of March.
The Mistress eats woodenly, mechanically, mind stuck on those numbers, repeating them over and over as she chews.
They're already committed to memory and the paper has already been torn into the smallest pieces like grains of rice. They're on the table, put to the side as if she could forget them if they weren't.
She can't help but hope though this timeline's memories plead caution.
Her eyes keep flickering to the door as if drawn by some kind of magnetic force as she eats with her fingers, scooping up handfuls of rice and chicken and gravy and feeling a little more herself for it.
She can't try the code.
The input box is only on the other side.
She needs to wait for Bill.
Missy licks her fingers clean and wipes them on the corner of one of the blankets and almost laughs at the ridiculousness of, well, everything. She only doesn't because she's stuck in it.
The Mistress doesn't sleep that night, gaze fixed on the doors as she waits for them to open.
It's okay. Time Lords don't need as much sleep as humans.
The Doctor arrives before Bill.
She should have predicted it really given her new memories but she hasn't really been focused since those numbers.
Missy scrambles to her feet to curtsey as he closes the door behind him.
"Morning." He greets somewhat tersely and she mumbles the same greeting back as he unlocks her cage and starts clearing up the remnants of her dinner. He spares no glance for the tiny bits of paper as he sweeps them into the container that had held the rice.
The Time Lord ties the bag shut and places another on the table. Paper this time. The Mistress can smell the pastries inside it behind the strong smell of coffee.
This is unusual.
Even from the old timeline he would only do this when he wanted something from her- information or advice on something that seemed important to him. Sometimes if he was in a good mood.
She looks at him, tries to find something in his face, some indicator of how he's feeling, what this is for.
They are very still for a moment, both staring at each other.
"Can I sit?" He asks as she stands in front of the piano stool, fingers twisted together in front of herself.
The Doctor is opposite her, on the other side of the table.
The Mistress can't read him like this.
He just seems possibly tired; blanked out and hollow.
She nods belatedly as he waits then pulls the piano stool a little closer to the table and nods twice in rapid succession, one hand going to her face as she struggles with her own confusion.
"Y-yes." Missy says, voice stuttering as she hastens to reply in a way that she hates.
"Sorry- I couldn't sleep." She mumbles, attempting a smile which never meets her eyes before she looks down again, away.
The Doctor sits in the wooden chair opposite her.
The stool screeches a little as it drags along the floor. She sits on it anyway, hears the soft creak as it takes her weight.
There's more silence.
The Doctor slowly opens the bag and the paper makes soft noises as it crumples. He places a cardboard cup in front of her and another smaller paper bag with slight grease stains underneath.
She looks at him in confusion and he nods, bringing out a cup for himself.
"Breakfast." He says simply and the Mistress hesitates for only a second before reaching over and taking the pastry, trying not to look too eager.
It's blueberry- some French thing she thinks. Nicer than cereal in any case.
It flakes apart in her hands and she leaves slight greasy marks on the sleeve of her coffee cup as she sips at it.
While she eats the Doctor waits, periodically drinking his own drink. She thinks it might be tea- it's hard to smell much else over coffee. His eyes don't move from her until she puts her cup down, finally unable to resist asking;
"What is this for?" Her voice is small and she hates the quiet that rings in it.
The Time Lord frowns a little, eyebrows dropping for just a moment before resuming a more neutral position.
"I'm… Proud." He says, tasting the words before he uses them.
"I was worried about Bill coming to see you even with you in here." The Doctor says though the words don't fit right in his mouth.
"Oh." Missy says and takes another sip of her coffee.
He doesn't offer anything more and she doesn't ask for anything more.
The Doctor guides her to the loo and she shakes the whole time. He lets her cling to him to keep herself upright despite the nerves that shoot through her when she does.
Even with her new memories it's easier with him who she has known for thousands of years than Bill to leave her space.
It's okay in there- she's enclosed in a box and no one else is there and it's okay.
Washing her hands feels very good and she washes her face too, welcoming the warmth of the water and soap as it takes away the greasy residue on her skin. She dries them carefully and doesn't look at herself in the mirror.
When she's done she knocks on the door and he pulls it open immediately. The Time Lady flinches back from it a little.
She would have run back to her cage if she hadn't needed his support.
When he leaves he takes the rubbish with him and locks both doors.
The Mistress is still trembling as he leaves, hands clenched in her lap and silent tears squeezing from her shut eyes as she curls into the nest of blankets.
The small haze of victory at being able to manage even that small trip to the bathroom is completely overshadowed by the knowledge that he can't read her anymore either.
The newer half of her memories is trying to fight it with overwhelming happiness at the fact he'd approved of her and helped her.
Missy doesn't know which makes her feel sicker.
When the Time Lady wakes up there is another bag of food on the table.
She doesn't feel like eating yet so she stays where she is, in the warmth on the floor, just listening to her own breathing as she lets her eyes scan her surroundings.
Somehow she feels more at peace after her rest and her tears.
A chair creaks outside her enclosure and she flinches at the sound, shocked.
"Ah- you're awake! I didn't want to wake you. I don't know how much you sleep." Comes Bill's voice from outside. She sounds somewhat sheepish.
Missy sits up quickly, gasping a little.
"Yes- yes. I'm up. Been up the whole time. I'm a Time Lady- we don't need sleep like you silly humans do." She says, getting to her feet and then laughing a little, wild-eyed, feeling so much like her old self she can't help the grin as she faces Bill.
Bill who shifts backwards a little, clearly attempting a smile.
Bill whose hands come up slightly between them.
Bill who has paled a little and whose mind is rattling through 'mistake', 'Doctor said', 'bad idea' even though she's actively fighting against it.
"Are you alright? You seem a little…" The human trails off, looking the Time Lady up and down cautiously.
Quickly Missy steps forwards towards the glass, frowning.
"Ah- I'm. I feel more like myself now- from the old timeline." She explains, feeling like she has to prove something, unsure what to say to stop the uncertainty in Bill's gaze.
"I can- I could. I can tame it if you like?" The Mistress asks before she can think the words through.
As soon as they are out she regrets them- knows that it's the new her that said that- the one who is eager to please.
She stares at Bill in horror which only relaxes at the expression of guilt on the human's face.
"No. No. Don't do that. You just surprised me is all. I'm glad you're feeling better." Bill insists, taking a few steps forwards. She looks at the door and her face twists again into a grimace.
"Even if you are locked up again." The human mutters, sighing in exasperation at both herself and the Doctor. She presses a hand against the glass.
Missy feels herself smile, unable to squash the hope that flows through her.
"Four, seven, six, three, two, zero, five." She recites, lips twitching upwards as she looks at Bill.
The human looks at her in confusion.
"What?" She asks, even more puzzled than before.
"Four, seven, six, three, two, zero, five." The Mistress repeats, "I think it might be the door's code." The Time Lady says, feeling a flutter of nerves run through her chest.