[EDITED NOVEMBER 2018]

Part Five – The Next Doctor

Soundtrack:

"The Mier Siblings" - Everscape by Sycross

"…then Sarah warned him she'd slap him if he tried that again, but of course he seemed to take that as a challenge…"

The Doctor was lying beneath the power console, tinkering with the electronics. The TARDIS needed a few adjustments before their next trip. They were preparing to travel to the blue planet Trh, home of the three-headed Queen Tigress. The Doctor assured Viera that the Queen and her Kin were lovely, welcoming people. Viera, of course, took that with a grain of salt. The more guarantees the Doctor made about a peaceful trip, the more likely it seemed that they'd end up running for their lives.

"…so I told him if he'd just give me back my timey-whimey detector I could get us out of there in three ticks of a fuzcub's tail…"

Viera stood leaning against the rails, watching the Doctor work and listening to him ramble. He was explaining what he was doing in-between random bits of stories and conversation. She listened attentively, answering on the rare occasions he needed input. She picked up a little knowledge about the TARDIS and more than a few anecdotes about the Doctor's adventures from the past.

Mostly Viera just enjoyed the constant ebb and flow of his exuberant voice.

"…They're the oddest little creatures, you know. All fuzz and feet and hardly any head at all-"

The phone rang and the Doctor jerked, thumping his head against the bottom of the console. A slew of words in an alien language poured from his mouth in an irritated burst. It was probably for the best that the TARDIS didn't translate that.

"Alright, down there?" she asked, trying to keep the amusement from her voice.

"Oh fantastic," the Doctor griped sarcastically. He lay back down, rubbing his forehead and waved vaguely towards the phone. "Answer that, would you?"

Viera frowned at the silver phone, a little uncomfortable with the idea of fielding calls from the Doctor's past companions. It wasn't her they wanted to talk to.

Of course, she wasn't sure any of them knew Rose and Donna were gone. If they were going to bring them up during the conversation, perhaps it was best she be the one to answer after all.

"Hello?" Viera answered hesitantly.

The voice of Captain Jack Harkness rang out from the speaker. "Viera! Just the woman I wanted to talk to." She could hear the grin in his words.

"Really?" Viera asked. Me? She glanced down to see the Doctor had gone back to fiddling with the ship, though she'd bet he was paying plenty of attention. "Why? Not that I'm not happy to hear from you." Somehow she doubted it was just a social call.

"Just out of curiosity, do you happen to know a Nadej and a Milost?"

Viera nearly dropped the phone. "What?" she murmured, the breathy word shaking. The background noise of the Doctor's tinkering stopped abruptly. Then he was there, one hand on her arm to steady her as the other snatched away the phone. She didn't protest, too shaken by the question to do anything but stand there. She must have looked pale because the Doctor's voice was low and serious when he spoke to Jack.

"What's going on?" he demanded. His stern expression eased just a little as he realized it was Jack on the other end of the line. A moment went by and understanding entered his eyes.

"He just surprised me," Viera finally managed, holding her hand out of the phone.

Jack's voice was apologetic when she settled the mobile back against her ear. "I'm sorry, Viera. I didn't think… I got a little overexcited. They're celebrities where I come from, you know."

"It's alright," Viera said. "I just haven't heard those names for a while." Really, she tried very hard not to think about them much at all. She watched the Doctor slide back beneath the controls, going back to his tinkering in silence. Viera closed her eyes and leaned against the edge of the console. "Did you meet them? How are they? Are they alright?"

"They're fine," Jack assured. "They are your siblings then?"

"I'm the middle child. Oh, Jack, you didn't tell them about me, did you?"

"Course not. I figured if you and the Doc hadn't gone to find them there was a good reason."

"They can't know I'm alive," Viera said, the quiet words touched with old grief.

"I'm sorry," Jack repeated.

"Yeah…" she sighed. "Where did you meet them, Jack?"

"They found Torchwood. Persistent little twerps, I'll give you that. They found the entrance in the tourist center and somehow hacked their way into the system long enough to get the door open. Then they stormed in, armed to the teeth, and started demanding information about the rift."

Viera's expression twisted in bemusement as she tried to imagine that. She could picture Nadej using such tactics, but sly and clever Milost? "Stormed in? Really?"

Jack's tone turned sheepish beneath the annoyance. "Well, alright, they didn't exactly storm in…"

"They took you by surprise, didn't they?" Viera guessed, pride and amusement coloring her voice. Jack sighed into the phone. She could almost see the chagrin on his face.

"Flooded the place with some sort of knockout gas," he admitted reluctantly. "We came to in our own cells while they were digging through our hard drives. We're still not completely sure how they managed it, but obviously we need to work on our firewalls and security."

"My little sister's completely brilliant with computers," Viera said, still biting back laughter. "And if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure they're neck deep in high-level contacts and alien tech by this point." She couldn't contact them but that didn't keep Viera from researching them on the TARDIS computers. She had a pretty good grasp of how their lives played out despite not being able to be a part of it. "So what happened?"

"We escaped," Jack said, the 'of course' implied in his tone. "Arrested them and tried to confiscate the information they'd downloaded. Unfortunately they'd already sent it to someone on the outside," Jack groused. Viera was willing to bet that someone would be one of her cousins. "We couldn't get them to tell us more than their names."

"You questioned them?" Viera asked, the implications of that wiping out her amusement in an instant.

"Of course we questioned them."

"Jack," Viera drew out the word, warning seeping into her tone.

"We didn't hurt them," Jack said, playing hurt. "What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"The sort who does what's necessary," Viera replied without having to think about it. There was nothing judgmental in the words, just truth and a grim sort of respect.

"Yes. Well. I recognized their names," Jack said. "…And they may have mentioned the loss of certain sister. I didn't think there could be too many Viera Miers from America running around in the galaxy. I wouldn't have decided they were a real threat without giving you a call."

A rush of affection drew Viera's lips into a smile. "Thanks for that. Do you still have them, then?"

"Yes."

"You're going to let them go now, right?" she pressed, frowning when he didn't answer. "Right?"

"They broke into the Hub," Jack reminded her, his annoyance returning. "I'm supposed to just let them go?"

"I'm sorry they were trouble, Jack," Viera said. "But you know they don't mean any harm. They're just trying to find out what happened to me." Again he didn't reply immediately. She could imagine the stubborn look on his face quite clearly. "You know they have to be out in the world, making contacts, building up their organization."

Jack grunted irritably but stopped arguing. "Yeah, I know." He sounded resigned. "Suppose that's also why they don't know you're alive, huh?"

Viera grimaced. "Yes. I fell through the Rift," she said. "That's the only reason they go looking for answers. That's why I can't go back."

Jack was silent a moment; when he spoke the words were careful. "Would you go back? If you could?"

That was a staggering question, but the answer came easily. "I'd like to be able to keep in touch. But if you're asking if I'd give this up to go back…" Viera heard the sounds of the Doctor's jiggery-pokery cease for a moment and knew he'd been paying attention to the entire conversation. She couldn't see his face, but she was glad that it mattered to him. "No. I wouldn't."

The Doctor went back to work as though he'd never stopped, and Viera could hear the smile in Jack's voice when he spoke. "Yeah, I didn't think so.

He sounded like he was ready to say goodbye, but Viera had one more request to make. "Jack… would you do me a favor?"

"Sure thing, Buttercup," he said.

"Keep an eye out for them? It's… been a rough few years." If history remained unchanged, the next few years were going to get even harder for her siblings. Their search for answers took them into their share of dangers. While her siblings would survive, not all of their friends would.

"Can do," Jack said. Then more jovially, "Give the Doctor a kiss for me."
"Jack…" Viera hissed, feeling her face heat up immediately. It didn't matter if the Doctor couldn't hear the other end of the conversation; she couldn't even consider the concept without blushing uncontrollably. She turned around, not wanting to risk facing the Doctor's curious amusement. Jack just laughed at her. "Goodbye, Jack," she said firmly.

"Catch you later, Viera."

He was still chuckling when she hung up.

"Everything alright?" the Doctor asked casually from behind her. Viera took a deep breath and prayed that her cheeks had cooled down before turning back around. He was still sprawled out on the floor, the sonic screwdriver in one hand, some spherical tool she didn't recognize in the other. A smudge of something black was smeared along one cheek and his hair was its usual mess.

"Everything's fine. Jack ran into my siblings," she explained. "Or rather, my siblings invaded Jack's base. But everything's all right." And it was fine, really. Her siblings were safe, if a bit mad to take on Torchwood. She was happy to have heard from Jack. And the fierce wave of homesickness eating away at her composure? She really ought to be used to that.

Viera didn't realize she'd begun to sink into her own melancholy thoughts until the Doctor quite suddenly leaped to his feet, startling her out of it.

"Well! The TARDIS is all fixed," the Doctor declared with the loud sort of giddiness he often used when he was the one trying to dismiss old hurts or bury them deep. It was nearly indistinguishable from his normal, honestly happy glee, but she'd seen him use the same not long after losing Rose and Donna. "How about a driving lesson?"

That was enough to distract her from her thoughts. "Me? Drive the TARDIS?"

The Doctor grinned manically, amused by her stunned expression. "You never know when it might come in handy, being able to make a quick escape if I'm incapacitated."

Like I'd ever leave you behind, Viera thought as she stepped closer to the controls, eying them warily. "This is going to be insanely complicated, isn't it."

"Oh, yes," he said, far too pleased by the prospect. "Not to worry, though. We'll take things slow."

"Slow for you and slow for me might not mean the same thing," she said. Soon the entirety of her concentration was wrapped up in trying to keep up with his explanations and memorizing which switches did what. Viera didn't have time to consider the family she'd lost for the rest of the day.