Meeting Mozart (10/9)
The TARDIS had touched down on a mystery tour, the Doctor and Professor stepping out, looking around at the late 18th century, at the people around them. The Professor had purposefully put in a mystery tour for them, knowing that it was the Doctor's favorite sort and she'd hoped to cheer him up. They'd just lost Rose you see, to a parallel world, then, before he'd even had a moment to mourn properly, a ginger woman named Donna Noble had appeared in the TARDIS in her wedding dress. They had to help her, ending up facing a should-have-been extinct alien in the process, the Empress of the Racnoss. In the end they'd saved Donna, stopped the Racnoss, and drained the Thames. An average day in the office so to speak.
But the Professor knew just what the Doctor needed to get his mind off the loss of Rose, an adventure, a mystery, and, if the fact that he'd initiated a Bonding between them was anything to go on, her. It made sense though, she could always read him like a book, knowing exactly what he needed before he even did. She knew whatever adventure they would go on next would have to be somewhere different than modern Earth, where he'd be less likely to find remnants of Rose hanging around. So she'd set the TARDIS to random, the box landing them on what appeared to be Earth, but in the late 1700s and most certainly not London. No, it appeared to be somewhere else in Europe, but she refused to pinpoint exactly where, she wanted this to be a surprise as well, she hadn't even looked up the layout of the city on the console!
The Doctor smiled and took her hand, the two of them heading off into the crowd, quite a few people turning to look at the oddly dressed couple, the tall, thin man in the brown suit and jacket, walking with the pale, brown-haired girl in the gray cardigan. But they gave these people no mind, just wandering aimlessly to see where they might end up, what would be around the corner when…they approached an actual corner and heard a faint melody playing. The Doctor laughed a bit and hurried off, knowing that, as much as this was a trip to help him, this could also be one for the Professor as well. She was still a bit hesitant on trips, not completely over her fears and anxieties, but music…that was her most favorite thing in the world.
'Not exactly,' he heard her in his mind.
He paused and looked at her, frowning a bit, 'You LOVE music!'
She smiled lightly, leaning in to kiss him quickly, 'I love YOU more.'
He beamed, kissing her again, before pulling her on. They drew near a crowd that had gathered, actually unable to push their way through it was packed so closely together. They looked around when the Professor tugged the Doctor over to a small fountain with a ledge around it. He grinned and they climbed onto the ledge, able to see just over the crowd. There was a man in a powdered wig playing the violin. From what she could see of his body language, it was mostly for the crowds' amusement, while also to show off a little.
The man finished his song with a flourish, grinning as the crowd cheered loudly, bowing extravagantly, his modesty seeming to be nowhere in sight.
The Doctor scoffed, earning a questioning look from the Professor, "You could show him up any day," he remarked.
She paused, considering his words, she was rarely ever arrogant, usually claiming she could 'think faster than him' in a joking manner, never proud of her newfound militaristic abilities, but…music…that was one area where she was actually confident, where she felt confident. It was, quite probably, the only area where she enjoyed being the best.
"I could," she admitted, before laughing, "But I don't have a human vio…" he pulled something out of his pocket, "…lin. Do I want to know why you have a violin in your pocket?"
He laughed, "I wouldn't be able to tell you how it got there anyway."
She shook her head at him, taking the violin when he offered it to her and glanced back at the man, still egging the crowd on for more cheers. She lifted the violin and rested it on her shoulder and chin, beginning to play a tune that sounded something like 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' by Mozart, though with quite a few differences. It was an original creation of hers back on Gallifrey, when the Doctor had heard it he'd told her that it sounded a lot like Mozart's music and given her the man's entire collection for Christmas once. Listening to it, she could hear similarities between his music and hers…a surprising amount actually. It had made her curious because many of her songs had been written before she'd ever heard a note of his.
The crowd turned suddenly at this new song being played, one they hadn't heard before, and began to swarm around the girl by the fountain, playing expertly. The man in the powdered wig's eyes widened as he listened to the music as well, it was beautiful! He'd never heard anything like it before, he'd found himself moving with the crowd to get closer, unable to muster even annoyance at his thunder being stolen due to the beautiful melody wafting over.
As the song drew to a close, the Professor beamed, hearing the crowd applaud her. She smile modestly and nodded her head, laughing when the Doctor pulled her into a tight hug, praising her music as well.
"That was astounding!" the man in the wig called as he pushed his way through the crowd, "Truly Madame, you have a gift for the violin."
"Violin, flute, harp, clarinet, piano…" the Doctor began to list the human instruments she could play till the Professor elbowed him in the ribs.
"Piano you say?" the man smiled, "I am quite the expert myself I'm told. Perhaps we can play together one day?"
The Professor blinked at the offer and nodded, "Thank you sir."
His eyes widened as he shook his head, "How rude of me," he stepped forward as they hopped off the fountain, bowing his head, "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart," he straightened.
"Mozart?" the Professor's eyes widened, what were the odds they'd run into him? She had always wanted to meet him! It had been one of the plans she and the Doctor had made as children, when they'd imagined where they'd go and who they'd meet after they graduated and went to explore the Universe. She'd picked Mozart, he'd picked Beethoven, "THE Mozart?"
He laughed, "That I am Madame…"
"Stewart," the Doctor called, seeing the Professor was actually too stunned to speak, "Katherine Stewart, my fiancé," he grinned, nudging the Professor out of her shock.
"You are a lucky man," Mozart told him, "To have someone so skilled in music."
"More than you know," the Doctor said softly, both about the music and his luck.
"Now," Mozart turned to the Professor, "When would you be free to compose?"
She blinked, "I…um…I…"
The Doctor laughed quietly to himself, oh he'd never let her forget this, "Right now if you'd like," he offered, "We were just taking in the sights, but I'm sure Katherine here would love the chance to compose some songs with you."
"Truly?" Mozart looked at her, hopeful. It wasn't often he met someone as skilled as he was.
"It would be an honor," she nodded.
He grinned, "If you shall come with me, my home is just this way," he gestured back. They nodded and followed him off.
~8~
"Welcome to my humble abode!" Mozart opened his arms wide as they stepped into his home, a rather lavish room, filled with fine furniture, china, and instruments of all kinds, "It's not much…"
The Professor smiled when the Doctor scoffed at that, they'd learned on the way over that Mozart tried to be humble…just never quite managed it. There was always a hint of pride in his words, like he knew he was saying what he did only to try and appear modest. She couldn't help but let her eyes drift over to a beautiful grand piano set up by the windows.
"Now," Mozart called, seeing where her gaze had gone, "Your fiancé mentioned you were quite the pianist?"
The Doctor beamed, "She'll blow you away," he nudged her forward, "Show him what you've got," he whispered in her ear.
She turned to kiss his cheek and stepped over to the piano, getting herself situated and comfortable before resting her hands over the keys. She smiled, beginning to play a tune the Doctor recognized as the one he'd heard when he was only 100, when he'd first heard her playing, a tune something like the 'Turkish March' Mozart was so famous for, 'Rondo Alla Turca.'
The Doctor couldn't help but smile softly at the emotions this song evoked, what hearing her play the first time had made him realize about his feelings for her.
Mozart, on the other hand, clapped loudly as she finished, "That was superb!" he beamed, "I cannot wait to begin!"
The Doctor laughed as Mozart plopped down beside the Professor, scores of blank sheet music in his hands, startling the girl, "I'll leave you two geniuses to play," he called, heading for the door, he wanted to see the rest of the city, but he couldn't bear to pull the Professor away from Mozart, it had been one of the adventures she'd dreamed of going on as a child. She had given him so much by planning this mystery tour, he could give her this.
He turned at the door, winking back at her, before shutting it. He promised himself he'd be fine, he was ONLY going to walk around the city, no sonicing, no dangerous situations, no alien attacks. He really didn't want to disrupt the Professor's session with Mozart by having an alien invasion on the horizon that he'd stumbled upon by accident.
And he knew, she'd be safe here if he did.
~8~
The Doctor was frowning as he made his way back to Mozart's home. No, he wasn't frowning because, for once, he actually hadn't stumbled upon something dangerous, but because, as the day wore on, the feelings he was getting from the Professor had gotten increasingly negative. He knew she was ok, that Mozart hadn't tried anything on her that made her uncomfortable, but she was slowly becoming more annoyed, frustrated, and short-tempered…not a good combination in his Bonded at all.
He jogged up the steps to the music room that Mozart had led them to and raised a hand to knock on the door, when it opened and a VERY tense Professor stepped out, her mouth in a line, her jaw tense, her hands clenched into fists, glaring at nothing in particular.
"Um…everything alright?" he asked hesitantly.
"Do you remember when we were helping Tommy's Gran," she replied, confusing him as he nodded, "And Bishop's men attacked you, and my training came out?" he nodded again, "If you don't get me away from him," she jerked her head at the door where he could see Mozart scribbling on his music sheets with a large grin on his face, "I will LET my training out and KILL him."
His eyes widened and he quickly pulled her back down the stairs, out the house, and towards the TARDIS, hugging her tightly once they were safely inside, "What happened Kata?" he asked her, whispering in her ear as he rubbed circles on her back, trying to soothe her.
She sighed, resting her head on his chest, hugging him back, "He's SO irritating!" she complained, making him laugh, he'd thought something terrible had happened, "It's not funny Theta!" she whacked him softly on the chest, "He kept asking me to play different songs of mine…"
"And that's bad?" he asked carefully.
"He wouldn't play with me," she sighed, "We didn't compose anything together. He kept asking these terribly personal questions about my inspiration and creative process. And he kept LAUGHING! His laugh was driving me insane! It's like a cross between a cackle and a hyena giggling! And near the end, he kept swatting at my hands, telling me I was playing it wrong. He told ME I was playing MY songs wrong!" he started laughing but quickly made a serious face as she looked up at him, "Every time he asked a question or wanted to point something out to me he literally pointed the end of his quill in my face! He kept poking my hands with the tip of the quill, I've got ink all over me! And that was after he'd pick at his teeth with the quill while thinking of questions he wanted to ask me. When I tried to ask him a question he'd just laugh that mad giggle and shove me in the shoulder. He even took his wig off once and asked me if I'd mind holding it for him a moment because his lice was acting up! I have NEVER been more disgusted and irritated in my life! My God Theta, my training did not prepare me for that!"
This time he did laugh. It was because she was trying not to tap into her training at all in this body of hers. If she had, she would have had no problems ignoring Mozart's quirks.
"Calm down Kata," he whispered to her, pulling her closer and starting to sway, humming a slow version of the 'Turkish March-like' song she'd been playing, knowing it would bring her back to the memory of when he'd learned she could play even if she didn't know what else he'd learned in that moment. He smiled, feeling her start to relax and dance with him, calming down.
~8~
They had decided to remain in that same time period, till the next day. The Doctor hadn't wanted to leave before the Professor had had a chance to calm down and speak with Mozart once more, actually find out the answers to questions she had about him instead of answering his. They'd stepped out of the TARDIS the next morning to see the town abuzz with excitement, apparently Mozart was giving a concert in just a few short hours, showing off some new pieces that had come to him. The townspeople couldn't wait.
The Professor frowned and walked over to one of the postings about the event, looking at the list of new songs that had been scheduled to play. Her eyes narrowed when she saw that he was calling two of his pieces 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' and 'Rondo Alla Turca' because she knew those two pieces, how they were played, and exactly what other songs they sounded like. Hers.
"I'm going to kill him," she muttered before turning to storm down the street.
The Doctor frowned, confused, before he too caught sight of the songs, all of which were ones similar to the ones the Professor had told him she'd played just the other day.
"Professor!" he ran after her, "Professor!"
~8~
The Professor was FUMING as the Doctor followed her into the TARDIS later that day, laughing silently behind her. Oh what a day that had been. They'd gone to the concert, heard Mozart's 'new' pieces, only for them all to have been 'inspired' by the Professor's own songs. She'd been beyond angry at the man claiming the songs as his own and confronted him about it. He'd just laughed her off, saying the songs were nothing alike. She'd pointed out that they were exactly the same, the only difference being he'd sped up some slow parts, slowed some faster parts, and put one or two movements in a different key. But they were the exact same songs. He'd just told her to lighten up and explained that at least now something of her songs would be recognized, as his work, and then gone on to offer her some brandy.
She'd kicked him in the shin, dumped the offered alcohol on his head, and stormed off shouting that she preferred the work of Salieri over that of a drunkard! She hadn't stopped grumbling the entire way, much to the Doctor's amusement. It wasn't often that the Professor got angry. She always tried to keep calm, claiming 'anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake.' But tampering with her music…that was something she refused to stand for.
"Let's go to Kalmix IV," she spun to him suddenly.
He stopped short, startled at the sudden move, "Why do you want to go there?" it was a museum dedicated to classical music.
She glared, turning to the console and flicking some knobs, "I want to see just how many of his compositions are mine!"
He sighed, but was unable to come up with an argument against it. Her actually wanting to go on an adventure again was amazing, he wouldn't deny her this. Even if he knew she would just be angrier when the proof was in front of her. Oh well, at least he'd be able to keep her away from Mozart if they left now. Perhaps he should take her to Venice afterwards?
A/N: Wow, I can't believe it took so long to get this chapter posted. I'm really sorry about that. I recently got a job and I'm still trying to adapt to my work responsibilities, and balancing that with my night classes/homework/projects hasn't left me with much time. Usually just the weekends, but by then I've got homework to do. Stupid school. I actually had this ready yesterday and was going to post it, but the internet went out at my house (we just got it back now). Stupid hurricane. You can knock out anything you want, but leave my internet alone! Lol.
I will definitely try to get at least two chapters up per month of this story though. IDK if this means anything to anyone, but my job (revolving around Accounting…joy…) has been scrambling to finish the Third Quarter tax returns (due Oct. 31) and the Income tax returns (due about two weeks ago) for people who took out extensions back in April. Hopefully, starting in November, things will calm down enough where I'll have a better routine set up so I can write more :)
A quick note, to anyone who is worried that I might abandon the Academic Series or the Lunar Cycle, WORRY NO LONGER! I absolutely REFUSE to abandon any story I start. I really hate it when that happens. If it comes down to it I would forgo sleep and food to continue writing my stories rather than let them fall to the wayside (but hopefully that won't happen lol). There may be gaps in the stories from when I post per series, but that's only because I need an episode to put the Professor (or Evy) into, and I can't do that if the episode hasn't come out yet and I don't want to write myself into a hole by posting before the series ends. For each and every series to come I will post the next story immediately after the current series is done. I WILL be posting (and continue to post) the Academic Series and the Lunar Cycle in 2013 when the show's seventh series is over.
And…to make up for this chapter taking so long…WE'VE GOT LJ&RIVER! Woo! Check out my new collection The Adventures of Spaceman and Timegirl for their very first interaction ever! Well…River's first :)
Next chapter: The Uncommon Cold