A/N Sorry this took so long, we had computer problems, but here is the Christmas chapter! Yay?
The Little Drummer Girl
Darby and Meaghan found some tinsel and Christmas lights in a bin in a small closet. They grabbed the tinsel and wrapped most of it around themselves. They carried the lights over to the stairs leading to the console, set them down, then creeped over to the Doctor, each with a strand of tinsel in their hands.
Jumping on top of him, they shouted, "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" And wrapped the tinsel around him.
Confused, the Doctor looked at them for a minute, unsure of how to react. "Uh, what? I- I don't understa-" He stuttered.
"It's Christmas! Can we decorate the console room!?" They shouted.
"Um…okay? But we're in the TARDIS, how can you tell what day it is?" He asked.
"We're guessing by the amount of time we've spent going places and in here. Our calculations add up that it's Christmas." The girls explained in unison, running around stringing up lights. "Besides, this is a time machine, it's Christmas anytime we want!"
Darby stepped back, admiring their work, when she remembered something. She looked at Meaghan, who was thinking the same thing. They sprinted off and came back in ten minutes dragging a large metal tree. They put it up where the Doctor usually had a blackboard and a chair. They ran around it, stringing up lights and tinsel, with the Doctor watching silently. The Doctor went to the door, opened a chest next to it, and pulled out a glowing star. Since none of them could reach the top of the huge tree Darby and Meaghan built, the Doctor lifted Meaghan up so that she could place the star on the top. Smiling, they all stepped back and admired their work.
"Can we spend Christmas with Vastra, Jenny, and Strax? They love when we visit." The girls gave their best smiles and tried to look the most innocent they've ever been.
"Alright. I guess we can pay them a visit. I don't think Vastra would mind." He said walking over to the console. He walked around flipping levers and pressing buttons. With a loud wheezing noise and a lot of shaking, the TARDIS landed in Victorian London.
Vastra, Jenny, and Strax must have heard the TARDIS, because when the Doctor opened the door, they were walking out to see him.
"Doctor," Vastra said stopping in front of him, "what brings you by?"
"The girls wanted to spend Christmas with you," He said stepping out, followed by Darby and Meaghan.
"Ah! Young females! How are you?" Strax yelled rather loudly, approaching them.
"Strax, we are way older than you." They both said together.
"Well you look young. Come! Let's go play with grenades!" He said, leading the girls away.
After they left earshot, Vastra turned to the Doctor. "Doctor, I hate to bring this up I really do, but is it really wise to continue traveling with those two?"
"What do you mean?" The Doctor asked.
"Well, considering," She lowered her voice, "what happened. I'm just wondering if it's the right choice for you to continue having them around."
"They're just children. And they were being controlled. I mean, it is a lot like you bringing Amalexia in."
"Amalexia was different, she was simply a product. And they just said that they are way older than Strax. That does not make them children."
"Gallifreyan children."
"If I may add," Jenny cut in, "Ma'am, the Doctor did trust you after you began killing innocent tunnel diggers in the London underground. And Strax wasn't the best before he owed the Doctor a favor. Now look at both of you."
"She has a point Vastra." The Doctor looked around and added, "Shouldn't we get inside, out of this snow?"
"Oh alright. But I'll be keeping my eye on them." Vastra added, leading the way into the parlor.
The girls were already in there with Strax, admiring the decorations. Strax kept complaining about how foolish and boring everything was, and how he just wanted to go downstairs and blow things up. The girls shushed him and continued gazing at the decorations around the room.
"So what do you girls want to do?" Jenny asked. "We can go sledding, or bake cookies, anything you want." She gave a look to Vastra to make sure she wasn't giving rude looks to the girls.
"We really didn't think of that. We just wanted to spend Christmas with you guys. By the way, where's Amalexia?"
Right then, a six foot girl in a black and white dress came running towards them. She scooped them both up and hugged them a little too tightly.
Unable to breath, Meaghan said, "Hug me any harder and I'll regenerate."
"Oh! Sorry, sorry! Hello sisters! Oh! The regeneration! I can't do that. We thought I could, but I can't! I know because I got shot with one of Strax's weapons while downstairs once!" She said this very quickly, while rolling up her sleeve to show where exactly Strax had shot her.
"Oh… Wonderful…." The girls said trying to sound interested.
"Amalexia, why don't you take the girls outside. You can play in the snow. There is a hill back there too. You know where the sleds are." Jenny said.
Amalexia's face lit up. She turned to the girls, "Do you want to build a snowman?" She asked excitedly.
"Yeah!" They both shouted.
Jenny stopped all three of them. "You three need coats. In the closet. Go."
"I don't need one!" Darby said happily, pulling one side of her trenchcoat up to show how thick it was. She skipped merrily outside before anyone could stop her.
Meaghan tried to protest but Jenny made her get a coat anyway. They walked outside and were closely pursued by Strax.
"I want to come! I can throw grenades at these 'snowmen'!" He ran after them with a bag full of what Meaghan assumed were grenades. Moments later there was a loud boom outside and all the girls were yelling at Strax.
"Vastra, you need to stop with the looks of disapproval. Give them a chance." The Doctor said.
"I want to be sure that nothing will happen." Vastra replied.
"Just be glad Sketch isn't here."
At that moment there was a knock on the door. Jenny walked to the door and returned with a surprised but happy look on her face. Behind her, Sketch sauntered in. He stood in front of the Doctor and Vastra and bowed deeply. Vastra looked at the Doctor then looked back at the bowing Sketch.
"You know, the polite thing to do would be to bow and curtsy back." He said straightening. "I saw the TARDIS and decided to see my sisters for Christmas. That alright Doctor?" He asked, though he already knew the answer.
"No. You know I don't want you around." The Doctor replied.
"Oh come now, surely I can see my own sisters. I'm sure they want to see me too. I'll only be a moment."
The Doctor looked hesitant but then turned to Jenny, "Jenny, can you go get Meaghan and Darby?"
"Of course." She said, hurrying to the door. A moment later she appeared, followed by the two girls.
Not noticing Sketch, the girls walked over to the Doctor, waiting for the explanation he had for calling them inside. The Doctor gave them a nod indicating that they should turn around. When they did, they saw a smiling Sketch standing in front of them.
"Hello sisters of mine. How have you been? I hope he's been treating you well." He
gave a nod towards the Doctor.
"Sketch!" They shouted together. They both ran up and hugged him. This earned them a disapproving sigh from Vastra.
The siblings stood there hugging for a few minutes. The Doctor had not been expecting this reaction and was slightly surprised by it. Jenny seemed happy with the family reunion. The girls suddenly turned to the Doctor.
"Can Sketch spend Christmas with us? Please? Pretty please?" They pleaded. They gave their sweetest smiles and looked as innocent as they possibly could.
"I don't -" The Doctor began before he was interrupted by the girls.
"No one should be alone on Christmas." They said together, now looking as sad as they possibly could.
Sketch was standing in the back quietly, simply observing, when he spoke up, "You know, I've made some money. I could even go out and buy dinner." He persuaded.
"I mean… it's Vastra's house. It's up to her." The Doctor said.
The girls immediately turned to Vastra and gave their best puppy dog eyes. Sketch smiled at her.
"Those looks won't work on me girls. You can stop the act." She said to Meaghan and Darby.
They then turned to Jenny, who was standing behind them. Sketch tried to give his best smile while the girls flashed their puppy eyes. Jenny immediately gave Vastra a look that basically said for her to allow Sketch to stay.
Vastra sighed, "Fine. But you cause one problem and you're leaving."
"Yes! Come on let's go outside!" Meaghan and Darby shouted, grabbing Sketch's hands and dragging him out. Seconds later they heard a grenade go off along with Sketch and Strax laughing and the girls yelling at them.
"Guys! I have an idea!" Darby yelled.
"Uh-oh." Sketch joked.
"Come on, get a handful of snow, be really quiet, and follow me." Darby made a snowball and hid by the door.
"I need someone to call someone outside." Darby whispered.
Meaghan walked to the center of the yard, faced the door, and yelled, "Doctor! Come see the snowman!"
Seconds later the Doctor appeared at the door. Looking around, he called out, "Where is it?"
"Attack!" Darby yelled, throwing her snowball. Meaghan, Sketch, Amalexia, and Strax, who had about 10, all fired at once. Everyone but Strax had run out of snowballs. He was still making more and firing them.
"Strax…." Meaghan said, "We're done."
"We are not done until the enemy surrenders!" Strax shouted, throwing more snowballs.
"Strax, stop." Darby said, fearing the Doctor would get angry with the extra snowballs.
"Fine, but this is not over!" He said, dropping the snowballs.
The Doctor frowned and said, "Why did you call me?"
"Well, I had to call someone out, and it would not be a good idea to throw snowballs at Vastra, and Vastra might kill us for throwing snow at Jenny. So really, it had to be you." Meaghan explained.
The Doctor gave a small smile at this and turned to walk inside when suddenly he turned around and fired a snowball at Darby. Without saying another word, he walked inside.
"You're covered in snow." Vastra said as the snow covered Doctor appeared in the doorway.
"There is a snowball war going on outside and I was ambushed." He said with a small laugh.
"Doctor can you go back out there and tell them I've made hot chocolate?" Jenny called from the kitchen.
"If I get attacked again its on you." He called back, walking outside.
He appeared again with more snow on him this time followed by the five children, equally coated with snow. Meaghan led the way, running into the dining room with the rest following her.
"See, children." The Doctor remarked, standing next to Vastra again.
"If you say so." She answered, though not seeming convinced. They walked into the dining room and sat down with the rest.
"Do you want to build igloos next?" Amalexia asked.
"Are those more targets?" Strax asked, getting excited.
"No, Strax. They're houses made out of snow." Meaghan and Darby said together.
"How are you guys still able to do that?" Sketch asked.
"Talk at the same time? No idea." They both said in unison.
Vastra looked at the Doctor, questioning this, but he didn't catch her gaze. He had not thought of this before. They shouldn't have been able to do it anymore.
Maybe they've just been spending too much time together, he thought.
"So, what is this 'holiday'?" Strax asked.
"You don't know what Christmas is!?" Meaghan and Darby asked, astonished.
"I guess we never explained the concept to him." Jenny said.
"You've never explained it to me either." Amalexia remarked.
"We'll explain it to you!" Darby and Meaghan both shouted.
"It's my favorite holiday!" Darby exclaimed.
"I prefer Halloween." Meaghan told them.
"So basically," They began, "from what we know, every year on December 24th, you put a tree up with ornaments and tinsel. Then, everyone goes to bed and their parents or guardians or whatever," they looked at the Doctor when they said this, "put presents under the tree and say that a mythical being called Chris Kringle broke into the house and put them there. There is also a religious side but we won't explain that."
"How do you two know this stuff?" The Doctor asked.
"We lived, on earth, in an orphanage, for twelve years." They explained.
"Oh, right." The Doctor said.
"This 'Chris Kringle' - " Amalexia began.
"He's more commonly known as Santa," Darby and Meaghan said.
"Oh, okay. So this 'Santa' breaks into your house - "
"Through the chimney."
" - and leaves gifts under a tree? Why?" Amalexia asked.
"We think that its because the parents need a reason to spoil their kids without the kids expecting it all the time. Do you get it Strax?"
"So the humans worship this 'Santa'?" He asked.
"Sort of," They said.
"Santa. Ha!" Amalexia laughed "What a funny name."
"Santa...ha, Santa-Ha! Santa-Ha! Santa-Ha!" Strax started shouting
"Great. Now you've gotten him riled up." Vastra said, sighing.
"I think he had too much hot chocolate!" Sketch laughed.
"Dinner is going to be ready in about an hour, why don't you go outside and get your energy out." Jenny said, cleaning up the mugs.
Strax ran out first, grenade in hand. The girls ran after him to get him to stop. Sketch calmly walked outside behind them. Seconds later there was a loud bang and multiple screams from the girls, while Sketch was laughing hysterically.
The Doctor got up from the table and started to walk towards the door.
"Doctor, where are you going?" Vastra asked.
"To get the girls' presents." He replied, heading out the door.
By the time dinner was ready, the girls had built seven igloos. Three of which, Strax had blown up. They were finishing their eighth and biggest igloo when they realized that they had forgotten to place a snow brick on the very top. None of them could reach it and Amalexia had gone inside to help Jenny with dinner.
"Maybe I can pick Darby up and she can put it on?" Sketch suggested.
"It's obviously ruined. Let's just blow it up!" Strax demanded.
"No we can get it." Darby and Meaghan insisted. They both stared at the final brick on the ground. Suddenly, it began to float. Gradually it got higher and higher until it was the height of the hole. The girls moved it over slightly so that it glided straight into the empty space.
"Ah so you can do that still. I was wondering if you could." Sketch said.
Vastra had been watching through the window and saw it. She would be sure to tell the Doctor what she saw.
"Dinner is ready!" Amalexia called out the door.
They all ran in and were about to sit down when Jenny stopped them.
"Go wash your hands." She said, pointing to the bathroom.
After dinner the children sat near the tree. As it turns out, Vastra and Jenny had bought Amalexia two gifts. She unwrapped the red and green paper to reveal two brand new katanas one wooden one real. She picked them up and swung them around a few times then sat down. The Doctor walked in through the front door with four wrapped presents. He handed Darby and Meaghan two each. They both had a long box and a small box. Deciding to unwrap the long boxes first, they began tearing into the colorful paper. They both contained wooden bo-staffs, Darby's blue and Meaghan's red. Next, they picked up the smaller boxes. Darby opened hers to find a silver bracelet with a large, hollow circle shape in it.
"Oh!" Darby said after staring at it for a minute. Jamming her hand deep into her pocket, she found her sonic coin. Pulling it out, she placed it neatly in the hole with the TARDIS button facing up. The bracelet suddenly tightened around the coin to ensure it didn't fall out. Darby put it on her right wrist and it tightened so that it wouldn't slip off. "Thanks!"
"I figured It would be easier than carrying it around," The Doctor said.
Meaghan opened hers and a robotic kitten the size of a baseball pounced at her face, "Awwwww! Its adorable!"
" I thought you'd like it. Just make sure you watch her." The Doctor said.
"What are you naming her?" Darby asked, stroking the kitten.
"How about… Schmetterling?" Meaghan asked.
"Butterfly?" Darby asked.
"In German," Meaghan pointed out.
"Its your cat." Darby replied.
"It may change."
"Won't you confuse her if you do that?"
"She's a robot, she's way smarter that you."
"Thanks," Darby said with a laugh.
"What? Oh sorry, no insult intended."
"It's fine. Want to go spar in the training room?"
"Yeah! Amalexia, do you want to come?"
"Of course!" Amalexia replied, leading the way downstairs.
The girls followed her with Schmetterling prancing close behind. Strax came running after them with grenades in hand, but he was quickly told to put them away or not to come at all. Sketch followed, sauntering out of the room.
"Doctor, I need to speak with you about what I saw the girls do in the yard," Vastra said.
"Vastra, you need to trust them a little. I'm sure what you saw was nothing," The Doctor replied.
"They can still levitate things," Vastra said.
This took the Doctor off guard, "What?" He said.
"They were building an igloo and they levitated a block into a hole on the top." She replied.
"They shouldn't be able to do that anymore…"
"That's why I'm concerned. Do you think they aren't telling you something?"
"No. I'm sure they would tell me if they felt anything."
"Are you sure? Because they should not be able to do it anymore if the signal was enabling them to levitate things."
"No. The shock that Darby shot Meaghan and Sketch with got rid of the connection."
"Wait, you just said that Meaghan and Sketch were disconnected. Darby was never shot with the stun gun while being controlled. That means she could still have the connection. Maybe only one of them needs it to be able to levitate and talk at the same time." Vastra said, realising how obvious this was. "Doctor, you need to do something about this soon."
"I'm not going to shoot her, Vastra. And they aren't doing anything that would show signs of the Master still being alive, so why do I need to do anything?"
"What if they don't show signs until its too late? What will you do then?" She looked him in the eyes. "All I'm saying, is you'd better be careful around them. Especially since we've discovered this." Vastra walked off to the kitchen to talk to Jenny.
The Doctor decided to go down into the training room. When he got there, he saw Darby and Meaghan standing next to each other with their staffs ready, facing Amalexia and Strax who each had wooden katanas. Suddenly, Amalexia ran forward at Meaghan. She swung it down above Meaghan's head, but was blocked with Darby's staff. Meaghan ran over to Strax and started trying to knock the katana out of his hand. The Doctor saw Sketch in the corner watching the fight, yelling out instructions to Darby. The Doctor stood in the doorway to watch.
"Darby you have to find her pressure points!" Sketch yelled. "Don't stay in one spot! Keep moving! You're small and agile so you can jump in and out!"
Darby seemed to have enough of this and yelled back, "Sketch, I am a strategist! I clearly know how to take someone down! Now PLEASE, if you want to help, yell out attack moves rather than where to go and what to hit! Otherwise, SHUT UP!"
Sketch seemed to hear this, but ignored it. He continued yelling out things to do until she finally grabbed something out of her pocket and threw it at him. She regretted doing that because in the instant it took for her to do that, Amalexia had knocked her on her back. She brought her katana down and Darby rolled out of the way, sweeping Amalexia down as she went.
As Meaghan swung her staff at Strax's side, he swung his katana at her arm. Meaghan ducked and headbutted Strax, knocking him to the ground. Rolling over him and to her feet, Meaghan spun around and swung her bo-staff at Strax's midsection. Strax barely blocked in time, and Meaghan stabbed down with the staff, hitting Strax's side.
Sketch ran over to them and said, "Meaghan wins. It's my turn."
Meaghan turned to face Sketch and yelled, "Schmetterling, no!" when she saw the kitten jump at Sketch with all its razor sharp claws out.
Sketch turned to look and immediately took his top hat off and dropped it on Schmetterling, and put his foot on the top to keep it in place. "Meaghan, you owe me a new top hat."
"Sorry."
As they were distracted, Strax got up and swung his katana at Meaghan, but it was blocked by Sketch, who had grabbed a wooden sword from the rack.
"I said it was my turn, she has won your fight. Sister, take your cat and get me a new hat please."
Through all of the commotion, Darby had managed to hit all of Amalexia's weak spots, knocking her to the floor. Darby slid her katana away and pinned her to the ground with the bo-staff.
"Alright, you got me." Amalexia admitted.
Darby held her hand out to help her up, when Amalexia grabbed it and pulled. Darby went down, tucked her staff close to her side and rolled, landing back on her feet. She pointed it at Amalexia again signifying that she wasn't giving up.
Amalexia laughed, "Ok, now we are really done. Good job little one."
"Hey! I'm older than you!" She protested. She loved being little, but hated when people called her that.
"True, but you are small." Amalexia said, getting up.
Darby smiled and looked over at the doorway. She had known the Doctor was there, but had only just now acknowledged it. She looked at his face, and noticed his expression.
"Doctor? What's wrong?" She asked, concerned.
"You just took on Amalexia single handedly…" He said.
"Yeah? What about it?" She said, concern growing.
"You… You just beat someone way taller and stronger than you." He said.
"So? Meaghan took on Strax. Sure, she's got the height in that one, but he is definitely stronger." She said. "And why is that shocking? You know I'm a strategist, and I thought it was obvious that I was trained by these two," She gestured towards Meaghan and Sketch, "And… him…." She finished.
The Doctor nodded, "Right… Okay… Have fun." He said. Then he left.
After his fight with Strax, Sketch walked over to where Meaghan was repairing the damage done by Schmetterling to his hat.
"Darby come here!" Sketch yelled.
After Darby joined her siblings, Sketch said, "I didn't know what to get you, but I think this will do."
He held out two vials of faintly glowing liquid on necklaces.
"What is it?" Meaghan asked after she and Darby each took one.
Instead of an answer Sketch just smiled, threw a black cube at Darby, and walked over to Amalexia.
As Sketch and Amalexia started their fight, Darby and Meaghan examined the cube. It was solid and had strange runes carved into all six sides, and it felt like metal. Darby shrugged and put it in her pocket.
Darby looked at Meaghan who had begun fixing Sketches hat again. She sighed, "Follow me." She walked upstairs with Meaghan and Schmetterling following.
"Doctor! We are running to the TARDIS really quick to get Sketch a new hat while he's sparing! Be back in a minute!" They called. They walked out the front door and Darby unlocked the TARDIS door with her bracelet.
They ran to the wardrobe room, and began picking out things to give Sketch for Christmas besides a new hat. Meaghan found a top hat sitting on a shelf of strange hats and picked it up. Darby walked over to the scarf rack, deciding that Sketch needed a scarf, and looked for a black one. She saw purple, orange, and a few other colors. One that particularly caught her eye, however, was a really long multi-colored, striped scarf. She wrapped it around her own scarf and turned to Meaghan, modeling.
"You think Sketch would like this?" She asked sarcastically.
"In a million years, probably." Meaghan looked around for her kitten. "Schmetterling, kommen here!"
"Please don't talk in German. Its weird." Darby said, smiling. "Ah, perfect." She said, picking out an almost new black scarf. "Lets go."
They ran back in, shouting to the Doctor that they were back, then ran downstairs. Sketch had been knocked down when they entered, and his weapon was knocked away from him, which means he lost.
Well, he won't be happy now, will he? Darby asked Meaghan in her head.
Nope. She replied.
Sketch got up and both girls walked over to him. Meaghan held out his new hat and Darby held out the scarf. Sketch smiled and put them both on.
"Let's go see what the adults are doing upstairs," Amalexia suggested.
They all sat down at the dining room table when Jenny announced dessert. Pumpkin pie, chocolate pudding, and vanilla cake was laid out on the table for everyone to get what they want. Everyone was quiet while they were eating when Darby suddenly laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" The Doctor asked.
"Meaghan told me a joke," She said.
"No she didn't. She didn't say anything." Vastra said.
"She told me telepathically. We almost always talk like this." Darby said, turning to look at Meaghan.
Everyone except Sketch put down their spoons and forks. They stared at the girls in something like terror mixed with curiosity. The Doctor, however, looked at them with an unreadable expression.
"Why is that weird? You guys can do it too…." Darby and Meaghan said together, growing slightly scared.
"Because you girls shouldn't be able to do it anymore, considering your creator is dead and the connection was broken in the two older ones! The only one who could still have it would be you!" Strax shouted, pointing at Darby.
"What are you saying? I'm not… I didn't…" Darby's eyes began to fill with tears.
Meaghan grabbed Darby's hand and they both ran out the door together, grabbing their staffs on the way.
"Girls! Come back! Please!" The Doctor desperately called out after them.
They both continued running. Darby pulled Meaghan into an alley and pulled two staff holsters out. They put them on and slid the staffs into the sleeve in the back, then continued running. They stopped again when they reached the river's barrier. Darby had tears streaming down her face by this point. Meaghan took a piece of cloth out of her shirt pocket and wiped Darby's tears. She gave her a hug.
"Hey, its ok. Sketch and I think you're awesome." Meaghan said, trying to comfort her.
Darby looked at Meaghan and sniffed. They began walking around london, exploring. After about ten minutes they heard Strax yelling at a horse to hurry up. Seeing Vastra and Jenny's carriage approaching, they scaled a wall and climbed onto the roof. They sat down attempting to hide.
"Hello sisters." Sketch said, as he threw Schmetterling at Meaghan "Your cat is annoying."
Meaghan put Schmetterling in her vest pocket. Both girls stared at Sketch. Sketch looked at Darby, who had tears in her eyes again.
"Come here sister dear." He said, pulling her into a hug. "I've always watched out for you two, but I don't know how I can protect you from this. The Doctor isn't mad. He's terrified for your safety. And trust me, hiding on a roof won't be enough. They are searching everywhere for you. If you really don't want to be found, I would hide somewhere no one would think of." He glanced over at the river. "But I don't recommend it."
"They think Darby still has the connection… Who knows what they'll do if they find us…" Meaghan said.
"It always comes down to protecting the youngest, doesn't it?" He turned to Darby, "You need to be completely honest, do you hear the Drums. Have you heard them since he died?"
Darby shook her head, "No. I can still talk to Meaghan and things but I can't hear the Drums."
"Good. Well, something tells me we've been found." Sketch said.
"What do you mean?" Darby and Meaghan asked together.
They both felt a tap on their shoulder. Jumping, they turned around to see Amalexia sitting behind them. A second later, Jenny appeared over the slanted edge of the house. Immediately standing up, Meaghan grabbed Darby's hand and they both began backing away, ready to run whenever they needed.
"Don't run. Its ok." Jenny said, climbing onto the roof and sitting beside Amalexia.
"We just want to talk to you." Amalexia said.
The girls calmed down. Meaghan still held tight to Darby's hand, but they stood next to Sketch.
"I won't let you hurt her." Meaghan said, pushing Darby behind her.
"I know you won't. I am positive Sketch won't either. I'm not here to hurt her. We just want to talk." Jenny said softly, "Preferably out of the snow."
The girls realised how much snow they were standing in on the roof when Jenny said that. They suddenly acknowledged that they were cold and wet. They both nodded. They all climbed down from the roof. Meaghan and Sketch stood on either side of Darby and held her hands. Jenny asked if they wanted to enter the carriage and be driven home, but they decided to walk. On their way, Darby kicked her foot really hard against a wall.
"Why did you do that?" Sketch asked.
"The Doctor can figure out where we are through our sonics if either of us get hurt. I figured he should know where we are too." Darby replied.
Sure enough, the Doctor came sprinting towards them through an alleyway. He walked next to Meaghan and began walking with them. Meaghan held his hand.
When they arrived back at the house, Vastra and Jenny were sitting in Vastra's conservatory. They assumed that Strax had been sent away. They walked in, and Darby sat down in the chair across from Vastra's.
"Tea?" Amalexia offered, entering the room.
"No thanks." Darby said.
Sketch and Meaghan stood at Darby's elbows, ready to defend their sister. The Doctor stood behind Vastra's chair, and Amalexia left the room, closing the door behind her.
"Schmetterling, no!" Meaghan yelled, as the kitten pounced out of her vest pocket and toward Jenny.
Vastra caught Schmetterling inches from Jenny's face, and tossed her back to Meaghan.
"Sorry…" Meaghan said quietly.
"Darby, have you heard the Drums lately?" Vastra asked
"No." Darby said simply.
"I have seen the Master return, no matter how impossible the odds of survival are." The Doctor told them, "It would not be impossible for him to come back, as I have learnt the hard way."
"If you ever hear the drums again, Darby, tell someone immediately." Vastra said.
"I know. And I would have if I've heard them, which I haven't." Darby responded.
Vastra and Jenny considered her for a moment. The three children stared at them, waiting for a reaction. For about three minutes, they sat in silence. Finally, Vastra spoke.
"Can Darby and I speak alone for a moment?" She said. It was more of a statement than a question.
"But-" Meaghan started.
"Come on, just let them talk." The Doctor interrupted, leading Sketch and Meaghan out of the room, with Jenny close behind.
"We'll be right outside if you need us," Sketch called through the door as Jenny shut it.
Ten minutes later, Darby walked out of the room with Vastra close behind her. She walked over to Meaghan, Sketch and the Doctor.
"I have to go. Goodbye sisters." Sketch said, hugging them both. "Doctor," He said with a nod. "Vastra, Jenny," He said, bowing.
"Bye Sketch." Darby said.
"Bye Sketch." Meaghan said. Though they said the same thing, they decided to say it separately, considering the circumstances.
Sketch walked out the door and climbed a wall. In a few moments, he was out of sight.
"We should probably be going too." The Doctor said.
"Bye," Meaghan said.
"Bye," Darby said.
They walked outside into the TARDIS, where Meaghan put Schmetterling down. She immediately pounced on Darby's sneakers and began tearing them to shreds.
"Don't destroy anything else, okay?" Meaghan said. The cat gave a purring noise in response and laid under the console to recharge.
"I should probably get new shoes…." Darby said, breaking the awkward silence in the TARDIS. She walked off to the wardrobe room.
Meaghan decided to stay behind to watch Schmetterling.
"Meaghan, you need to promise to tell me if you notice anything off about her. Alright?" The Doctor asked.
"I promise." Meaghan replied.
"Okay. Good." He said, flipping levers and pushing buttons.
Darby came back into the room with black lace-up boots on. They came up to about the middle of her shin.
"They're nice." Meaghan said.
"I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed." Darby replied, walking off.
Want me to come? Meaghan asked Darby telepathically.
No. I want to be alone for a bit. And maybe we should stop talking like this for a while. She replied, walking off.
Meaghan sat down in the chair near the console. No one talked. For once, the TARDIS was silent.