House Call
Chapter 7
Joe struggled to break free from the vines, but he couldn't manage to get to his feet. The coils were wrapped around his ankles tight and there was nothing to grab onto in the empty stone halls. Though, it didn't take long before he was brought into a large central room and was hung upside down from the ceiling like the prized catch of the day. Yet, he did see that he wasn't alone. Right beside him was Eleven.
"Um, Hello."
Joe frowned and struggled to wriggle free and said, "Shut up, we've got to figure out a way to get down."
"Well don't blame me. I was just trying to make polite conversation."
"Oh, well sorry for not being more polite, but in case you haven't noticed we're hanging upside down. And all the blood is rushing into my head. It's giving me a headache. No superior Time Lord biology me."
Eleven paused for a moment and said, "Right, so a plan. We need a plan. Well, whoever took us probably wants us for something or why just take us and not the other three? I wonder what that could be?"
The leather-clad man didn't answer; instead he began digging into his pockets and happily pulled out a pocketknife from his jacket. Triumphantly, he held it out "Ha!" and began pulling out a blade to cut the vines.
Impressed, Eleven gleamed. "Oh! A pocketknife! Brilliant!"
Joe began to slice through the vine and ungracefully dropped to the ground with a thud. He landed hard on his backside and slowly got up to brush off his jacket and sleeves. With a dignified sigh, he said, "Ah, much better."
"Well? What about me?"
Joe walked over to the bow-tied Doctor and handed him the knife and then supported his back so he could reach the vines at his feet. Eleven beamed and exclaimed, "Mashing!" and began to set himself free. It didn't take him long to cut the binds and he also dropped to the floor in a heap. He then jumped up casually and hopped to his feet.
"Yes, very handy…pocketknives…pocketknives are cool."
Intrigued, Eleven examined the other settings, but Nine rolled his eyes at his childish behavior and snatched it away.
"Oi! Would you do me a favor and pay attention? Yeah, thanks."
Puzzled, he asked, "Why do you even have a pocketknife when you have a sonic screwdriver?"
Irked, Joe said, "I didn't always have a sonic. The pocketknife is just a stand till I was able to make myself a new one."
The bow-tied man nodded his head. Joe did have a point. He suppected it would be hard to make a new sonic screwdriver without a TARDIS, but also was a bit stumped at being scolded. He had forgotten how short-tempered he used to be. Though, according to Rose this was her ideal man. A man haunted by his own demons, yet manic and unpredictable. A man, who didn't believe in second chances, but danced when everybody lived.
Eleven suddenly grew very serious and watched as Joe began to scan the room with his sonic and tried to open the door where they were dragged in. Pensively, he said, "So, you're the one she wants."
"What?"
"You're the man Rose picked. She chose you over John Noble, why?"
Joe huffed and moved over to examine the vines and replied, "Don't know, but do we really have to discuss this now?"
Eleven continued to speak and said, "I don't understand. You are identical to John. The only difference is the personality. It's like having an older model engine inside a new shell. Why didn't he make her fall in love with him? Why was she unhappy that she convinced some Tellic to make you?"
Annoyed, Joe rose up from crouching down and pocketed his sonic before approaching him. He squared his shoulder defensively and said, "First, nobody convince Rose to make me, it was all Red's doing. The man's a romantic. And second, John didn't love Rose."
The bow-tied man was shocked. "No, he did. He said the words. It saw him, he—"
Joe shook his head. "No, he said the words, but he didn't follow through. You see John wasn't exactly like you. Sure, he loved her, but only as a friend. He couldn't bring himself to cross the line. Nothing went farther than that day on the beach."
"And do you?"
"What about me?"
Uncomfortably, Eleven pressed on and asked, "Do you love her?"
Confidently, Joe stated, "Of course, I love her."
In response, Eleven felt his hearts all at once soar and ache with an age-old pain. He had long since wished he could speak the words as firmly and sure as this man did. To give voice to the feelings that could never be, but Eleven knew that if he spoke them then it would have made things that much worse. He was no longer his tenth self. He was no longer that man. He was a new man—a man that didn't need a hand to hold.
Yet, sympathetically Nine said, "Look, I'm sorry. I can only image how hard this must be for you. I know that losing Rose was heartbreaking, but I want you to know that letting her go…well, I want you to know that she's happy."
Soft and awkward, Eleven stated, "Um, yeah. Thanks. I'm glad she has someone. And really? Who else is better than me?"
Irked, Joe said, "Yeah, well no need to get a swelled head. I'm sure the both of us can figure our way out since after all we're both brilliant."
The bow-tied Doctor beamed. "Yes! Now that's the spirit. Let's try and pin point that power. Now, if we can find a control station then perhaps…"
The leather-clad man decided to ignore Eleven and poke around the room. It was clear to him that Eleven was concerned with Rose Tyler and if she got her happy ending. He understood that up to a point they were the same man and he had already gotten the whole story about what happened between him and her when she was traveling with Ten. However, some of the things he heard, he didn't like.
For example, he didn't like the story about Reinette. He would have never fallen for some imperial mistress and made Rose wait around for him with just poor Ricky Smith for company. He promised to look out for her. He practically died for her. He wouldn't have wasted his time on some tart. Also, he didn't like how domestic Ten had become or how much he came to idolize Rose Tyler. Rose wasn't some goddess of Fortuna. She wasn't the "stuff of legends"—no she was just plain old ordinary wonderful and fantastic Rose. She was the simple human girl who saved him and could do anything and that was what made her the woman he loved and respected. She wasn't prefect. Rose was just Rose.
"You know I can hear you up here," said Eleven as he pointed to his temple. "And look, I know you don't agree with the things I did, but you would have done the same thing."
Joe huffed and said, "Maybe…"—but then smiled cheerfully and added—"but I guess we'll never know. And anyway, you should know this castle is bigger on the inside."
The bow-tied Doctor raised his brows and exclaimed, "Bigger on the inside! Oh, of course. That explains why we were wondering about for so long, but it still doesn't explain the vines or the mystery."
Suddenly, the room was light up like a stage and they saw that the space was a lot bigger than they thought. The chamber was the size of a theatre with a large tube in the middle that went from ceiling to floor. A slow throbbing energy beam pulse inside the tube like a heart and at the base was a console. And bellow the cobblestones spring the source of the vines, which were coiled around both the Doctor's and Joe's TARDIS.
Though, oddly at the console stood a strange beauty with fiery red hair and green eyes. She had on a long black cloak and a large fan collar around her neck.
Stoically, she said, "Welcome, Time Lords. Welcome to my domain."
XXX
TBC
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Cliffhanger! Read next time to find out who the mysterious woman is and how the 11th Doctor and Joe will figure things out.
I appreciate the reviews and comments: Bad-Wolf-Jen, Kabooshka, claire83, Dreamcatcher49 and fantasygirl20. I love the encouragement.
Please review. Thank you.
