The Angels Take Manhattan, Part 1
"Okay, Astra…" the Hatter smiled gently, sitting cross legged in front of Astra on the old, worn blanket that the Doctor had draped over the massive rock they were sitting on top of in the middle of Central Park, New York, just by a gently rippling duck pond, while the sun shone warmly down over them and the New York skyline could be seen above the green tree tops behind them. Astra looked up into her mother's face, her large, green eyes far too intelligent and mischievous for a baby, even a Gallifreyan one as the Time Lady leaned closer to her, "Say mummy, Astra. Come on, darling".
Astra simply smiled toothily up at her, her eyes glimmering in a way that reminded her of the Doctor before he teased her, one hand fisted into the fabric of her bright blue tutto skirt that she had insisted upon wearing that day, while the other hand crunched a dry leaf.
"What about…daddy, Astra?" the baby actually paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully, her eyes practically dancing with amusement before roughly shaking her head with a almost mocking little smirk. The Hatter narrowed her eyes, "Oh, I see how it is, you cheeky little thing…"
"Um, Hatter?" Amy said suddenly, making the Time Lady look up to see Amy eyeing her from over the top of her new, circular framed glasses that were perched on the bridge of her nose, her newspaper held in one hand, sitting with her back leaning against the Doctor's, who happened to be quietly reading to himself…at the moment, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to encourage Astra to talk," she replied as she looked back to Astra, narrowing her eyes suspiciously as Astra gave her another little smirk, the light breeze making the flower hairclip flutter. Yes, this baby was far too much like herself and the Doctor, "It's not going very well, I'm afraid," she sighed, shaking her head.
"Isn't she only ten months old? Isn't that a little young, even for a Time Lord? I thought you said the average age is twelve months."
"A little, perhaps," she agreed, shrugging slightly as she looked back to Amy, "But I began speaking by the time I was nine months old, and Astra is already developing faster than one might expect. She's very close to talking already".
"She's an over achiever, like her mother," the Doctor added proudly from behind his book, absently turning to the next page.
"Right…" Amy nodded slowly, still not looking completely convinced, "Doctor…" she glanced over her shoulder to him, "How old were you when you started talking?"
The Doctor paused and lifted his head from his book, turning his head slightly to look at the side of Amy's face, while even the Hatter looked interested, not knowing herself, "Fourteen months…"
"Blimey," the Hatter blinked, looking quite shocked, while Amy's eyes widened and Rory, who was relaxing on his back on Amy's other side, lifted his head to give the Doctor a startled look. The Time Lady shook her head slowly, eyeing her husband, "Your mother must have been beside herself".
"Oh, she was," he nodded, giving her a cheerful smile, "She took me to every specialist on Gallifrey, but they all said that it wasn't that I couldn't talk, it was simply that I didn't want to".
She laughed, giving him a fond look, "Of course," she said, "And then, I suppose, that once you started, you never really shut up".
"You know me so well, dear".
The Hatter turned back to Astra, watching her as the baby reached for another leaf, smiling widely as she clapped her hands and crushed the leaf into tiny, dry fragments, "Well, let's hope Astra truly does take after me, then," she muttered, really not liking the idea of having to wait another several months to hear her say her first word. The idea that they might miss hearing it because Astra was being taken care of by one of their friends weighed on her, urging her to try to encourage Astra to talk all the more.
The Doctor reached out to cover her hand as it rested on the rock between them, "She'll talk when she's ready, dear," he assured her lightly, not in the slightest bit concerned. He suddenly broke into a large smile, one that the Time Lady couldn't help returning, "Hey, look at this book," he held it up for her to see the yellow cover that depicted a blonde, curly haired woman with a fedora hat perched on top of her head, her red lipstick painted lips blowing a smoking gun and with a great deal of cleavage peeking over the top of her trench coat, the title of the book written in big, gold, 30's style lettering, reading, 'Melody Malone,' "It's actually very good," he said brightly, flipping back to his page.
"Yes, I know, sweetheart," the Hatter smiled fondly again, amused. She reached out and pulled Astra towards her, settling the baby into her lap as she brushed the bits of leaf matter off her hands and skirt. They had decided to simply relax today, packing a picnic lunch for themselves and enjoying the sunshine of the park, and the Doctor seemed to be enjoying himself, not having shown any signs of boredom since cracking the book open, far from it, in fact.
"'New York growled at my window,'" the Doctor began reading aloud, not for the first time, either. The Hatter caught Amy's eye as she looked up from her newspaper, mild annoyance crossing her face, "'But I was ready for it. My stocking seams were straight, my lipstick combat ready, and…'" he broke into a smile as he continued reading, "'…I was packing cleavage that could fell an ox at twenty feet'".
"That's some cleavage," the brunet remarked, giving him an amused look, laughing as she noticed the small, disgusted look on Astra's face, apparently not enjoying the story nearly as much.
Amy sighed loudly, "Doctor, you're doing it again," she complained.
"I'm reading!" he defended himself.
"Aloud. Please could you not?"
The Doctor lowered the book and turned himself slightly to get a better look at Amy, who looked back to him. He eyed her closely for a moment, frowning, "There's something different about you, isn't there?" he turned back around, while Amy pushed her glasses back up her nose, while the Hatter shook her head at how oblivious he could be sometimes.
"What's the book?" Rory asked, lifting his head to look over to the Doctor, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Melody Malone," he told him, crossing his ankles as he leaned back against Amy's back, looking over to Rory, "She's a private detective in old town New York".
"She's got ice in her heart and a kiss on her lips, and a vulnerable side she keeps well hidden," the Hatter and Amy recited together mockingly, exchanging smirks as they finished.
The Doctor blinked and looked between them, seeming almost disappointed, "Oh, you've both read it?"
"Actually, you read it aloud, sweetheart," the Hatter corrected him, playfully nudging his side with her elbow.
"Yeah, and then you went 'yowzah!'" Amy rolled her eyes at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose.
"Only you could fancy someone in a book," Rory commented with a laugh, sitting upright, bracing his elbow beneath him.
The Doctor's eyes widened at the implication, looking quite startled by the mere notion, "I don't fancy her!" he exclaimed at once, his eyes flying over to the Time Lady, who merely raised her eyebrows as she absently tried to stop Astra from putting a leaf in her mouth, "I just…" he shifted slightly, glancing back to the brunet, his gaze softening, "She reminds me of you, dear. Clever and…cheeky," he coughed, almost blushing.
The Hatter smiled slowly, eyeing him, "Guns aren't really my style and I'm quite certain I've never publically shown off that much cleavage…" she waved a hand towards the book's cover, this time making the Doctor blush bright red and clear his throat, "But…" she shrugged lightly, "She does seem to have good taste in hats, so I'll give her that".
"Ooh," Amy turned around suddenly, smirking at the Doctor, "I think I'm going to need to see this cover…" she tried snatching the book out of his hand.
The Doctor scooted forward slightly, holding the book away from her, "No, no," he said quickly, really not liking it when Amy and the Hatter ganged up on him like this, "I'm busy. It's your hair!" he suddenly leaned forward, sniffing her before frowning again, pulling back, "Is it your hair?"
"Oh, shut up," she gave him an exasperated look, "It's the glasses," she reached up to adjust her glasses pointedly on the bridge of her nose, "I'm wearing reading glasses now, on my nose, see? There you go".
"I don't like them. They make your eyes look all liney…" he reached up to lift her glasses up to get a better look of her eyes, Amy staring back at him in shock and offense.
The Hatter winced and whacked the back of his head, making him jump and quickly let go of Amy's glasses, his eyes widening as he finally realised what he had just said and that it wasn't the glasses that made Amy's eyes look lined. Even Astra was giving him a look, while Rory looked mildly panicked.
"You're such an idiot, Doctor," the Time Lady muttered, unable to believe that he had seriously just said something like that, though why she was surprised, she didn't know. It was the Doctor, Captain Oblivious, after all.
The Doctor grimaced slightly, leaning back from Amy, as though afraid she might start breathing fire, "No, actually, sorry," he said awkwardly, "They're fine. Carry on," he quickly turned his attention back onto his book.
"Okay…" Rory warily looked between his wife and the Doctor, slowly starting to climb onto his feet, looking very, very eager to escape, "I'm going to go and get us some coffee. Who wants more coffee? Me too!" he answered at once, not giving anyone a chance to reply, "I'll go!" he turned to start quickly walking away, while the Hatter looked highly amused.
"Rory," Amy called after him, making him stop after only a few steps, "Do I have noticeable lines on my eyes now?"
"Yes," the Doctor answered at once, looking up from his page. Amy gave him a dark look.
The Hatter shook her head, not even bothering to hit him again, it wouldn't do any good, "Centuries of marriage, you would have thought he would have learnt better by now," she remarked to Amy, throwing the Doctor a look.
Amy looked back over to Rory's stiff back, raising her eyebrows, "Rory?"
"No," Rory replied hurriedly.
She narrowed her eyes, "You didn't look".
"I noticed them earlier," Rory said, turning around, when his eyes widened, "Didn't notice them!" he quickly corrected himself, a brief look of panic crossing his features, while Astra giggled at the scene, "I specifically remember not noticing them".
"You walk among fire pits, Centurion".
He took a step towards her, raising his eyebrows, the panic fading, "Do I have to come over there?"
She smirked, stretching her legs out in front of her and flicking her long hair back over her shoulder, "You can if you like".
He grinned, moving to crouch beside her, while the Hatter suddenly became very, very interested in admiring the trees surrounding them, "Well, we have company," his eyes flickered over to the Time Lords and back to her.
"I'm sure the Hatter will babysit," Amy said playfully, leaning forward and pressing her lips to his, smiling into the kiss.
The Doctor released a loud sigh and Astra pulled a face, turning her attention back onto crunching leaves, while the Hatter continued to keep her eyes fixed on the trees, trying hard to shut out the noise, just focusing on how very green and tall the tress were, how pretty they looked in this lighting…oh, look! There was even a little bird's nest in one of them, how adorable.
"Oh, do you know," the Doctor complained, lowering his book with a look caught between embarrassment and disgust, "It is so humiliating when you do that," he gave Amy and Rory a look, before flipping his book back open as the humans finally pulled apart, looking amused.
"Yeah, like you two can talk," Amy shot back at him, giving him and the Time Lady a pointed look.
"We're not that bad…" the Hatter paused, reconsidering her words as even the Doctor gave her a look, "…anymore," she slowly corrected herself, smiling embarrassedly, though there had been that one incident in the kitchen this morning, not to mention the other one the night before in the console room, after Astra had gone to bed…Okay, so maybe they were still just as bad.
Rory shook his head, turning back to Amy, "Coffee?" he asked her.
"Coffee," Amy nodded, still smiling, watching as he rose from his crouch and began walking off again.
The Doctor looked up from his page, glancing at Amy, "Can I have a go?" he plucked her glasses off her nose before she could even reply, settling them on the bridge of his nose and looking back to his book, "Oh, actually, that is much better!" he grinned happily, moving the book closer to his face before pulling it away again, "That is exciting, isn't it, my little star?" he turned towards the Hatter and reached out to tickle Astra's stomach, making her squeal in delight.
The Hatter laughed softly as she wrapped her arm more securely around Astra, not wishing for her to squirm herself off her lap with her laughter, "They suit you very nicely, sweetheart," she told him, eyeing his face. Instantly, the Doctor straightened and smugly pushed the glasses up his nose, "Sorry, Amy, I think you might have lost your specs," she gave Amy a wink from over the Doctor's shoulder.
Amy smiled and shook her head, moving to lean her back up against the Doctor's again, grabbing her disregarded newspaper from the ground beside her, "Read to me, Doctor," she ordered him.
"I thought you didn't like my reading aloud," the Doctor commented, adjusting the glasses on his nose.
"Shut up, and read me a story. Just don't go 'yowzah!'"
"Like that will stop him," the Hatter shook her head fondly, closing her eyes and tilting her head back with a peaceful expression on her face, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her cheeks, while the Doctor laughed and reached out to playfully tap the book against her leg, before lifting it back up to his face, ripping the last page of the book out.
Amy frowned at the noise and looked over her shoulder to him, the Time Lady not even bothering to look, "Why did you do that?" she asked him, confused.
"He always rips out the last page of a book," the Time Lady sighed, cracking her eyes open enough to roll them, "It's terribly annoying, I had to ban him from ever reading one of my books from my TARDIS because of it".
"But that way the story doesn't have to end," the Doctor protested, pulling a face, "I hate endings!" he stuck the torn page into the small, open picnic basket that they had brought with them and turned back to his current page, missing the way that the brunet looked disapprovingly at his treatment of the book, very much hoping Astra wouldn't get any ideas, "'As I crossed the street,'" he began reading aloud again, "'I saw this thin guy, but he didn't see me. I guess that's how it began…'"
Amy suddenly shifted, making him pause and glance at her as she climbed onto her feet, stretching slightly, "My legs are getting numb," she told them, breaking into a bright smile, "Let's go see the ducks, Astra would like that, wouldn't she?"
Astra clapped excitedly at the prospect and the Hatter had to quickly tighten her hold on her, preventing her from trying to start crawling out of her lap, though knowing Astra, she would try running first and end up hurting herself, as she so often did. She was just so eager to start running and walking, she wasn't a fan of just crawling, but her muscles and bones just weren't developed enough to be able to carry her yet. It wouldn't stop her from trying, however, and no amount of falling face first was going to stop her.
"I don't think I need to translate that," the Hatter remarked, amused as Amy smiled and moved around to where the Time Lady was still sitting, reaching down to take the baby from her before straightening.
"What about the book?" the Doctor asked with a slight whine to his tone, holding the book up in front of him with a frown.
Amy shrugged, tickling Astra's chin, "I'm listening," she said, and turned to start carefully walking down the sloping surface of the rock.
The Hatter gave him a smile, "Come along, sweetheart," she climbed onto her feet, wincing as her knees arched slightly from having been sitting cross legged for so long, her left foot tingling unpleasantly for a moment as she tried giving it a shake. Beside her, the Doctor sighed and stood, pausing to link his arm with the Time Lady's as they set off after Amy and Astra after a moment, once the Time Lady was able to feel her foot again.
They soon caught up with Amy as she stood along the side of the large bridge that ran across the stream of the duck pond, holding Astra in one arm while she dangled a small stick over the ledge between her fingers. The Doctor pulled himself up onto the ledge, lightly swinging his feet as he opened his book up again, while the Hatter looked out over the railing at the water rippling below them, smiling as she watched a mother duck floating along the water, followed by her seven chicks.
"'I followed the skinny guy for two more blocks before he turned and I could ask exactly what he was doing here,'" the Doctor continued reading, raising his voice slightly over the sound of the chirping ducks. Amy dropped the stick over the edge before jogging over to the other side of the bridge, carefully leaning out over the railing with Astra to eagerly watch for the stick to come floating out on the other side, the baby seeming highly entertained by the game, "'He looked a little scared, so I gave him my best smile and my bluest eyes…'"
"Beware the yowzah!" Amy called, pointing at Astra, who giggled and battered her finger away. She turned back around from the railing, fixing the Doctor with a mock stern look, "Do not, at this point, yowz…"
The Hatter laughed and glanced at the Doctor, waiting for his response, but the moment she caught sight of his face, she tensed, "Doctor?" she frowned, instantly growing concerned, watching as he slipped off the ledge, his eyes fixed intently on the page of the book, "Sweetheart, what's wrong?" she reached out, placing her hand on his arm.
Amy gave him a slightly confused look, "What did the skinny guy say?" she questioned, moving across the bridge to them, looking at the book.
Slowly, the Doctor reached up to take the glasses off, his eyes still glued to the book as he swallowed, "He said, 'I just went to get coffee for the Doctor, the Hatter, and Amy. Hello, River'".
The Hatter's eyes widened and she quickly grabbed the book out of his hands, while Amy blinked in shock. The Time Lady's eyes flew down the page, reading quickly of how Rory and River, or 'Melody Malone,' as she was going by, were forced into the back seat of a car by a couple of armed men that had seemingly appeared from out of the shadows of the dark night, apparently already being familiar with River's alias. She snapped the book shut, looking back up to the Doctor and Amy.
"We need to get back to the TARDIS," she said hurriedly, a note of urgency creeping into her voice, "Now".
….
They quickly left the park, hurrying amongst the crowds of tourists and locals alike as they soon found themselves moving through the streets of New York, heading back to where they had parked the TARDIS on the banks of the Hudson River.
"What's River doing in a book?" Amy asked them as they crossed a very busy street in Times Square, still carrying Astra, "What's Rory doing in a book?"
"He went to get coffee," the Doctor replied as they swiftly began moving down the footpath on the other side of the street, holding the Hatter's hand, not wishing for them to be separated amongst the bustling crowds of the city. He shook his head at Amy, "Pay attention".
"He went to get coffee and turned up in a book. How does that work?"
"Still working on that part," the Hatter sighed, glancing back over her shoulder to Amy, giving her a comforting smile, "But we will figure this out. I promise".
Amy met her eyes and gave her a small nod, well aware that the Hatter didn't just give promises, she took them incredibly seriously. It reassured her to know that the Time Lady was confident enough to make promises about this entire situation; after all, it was practically her catch phrase that she always kept her promises. Soon enough, they had gotten themselves a bright yellow cab and travelled through the streets, stopping a short distance away from where the TARDIS was parked on the rocky shore of the river, the Doctor unlocking the door and dashing inside, hurrying up to the controls, while the Hatter paused and turned to Amy to swap the book still in her hand for Astra.
"Where did you get this book?" Amy questioned, eyeing the book in her hands as she moved to follow the Time Lords up the stairs and over to the controls, the Hatter already strapping Astra into her babysit.
"It was in my jacket," the Doctor told her, moving around the controls, pulling levers and pressing buttons.
She flicked through the pages, skimming them, "How did it get there?"
"How does anything get there? I've given up asking".
The Hatter straightened from putting Astra into her seat and joined him at the controls, moving around to the typewriter, "We're going to need a date," she said, looking around the Time Rotor to Amy, "Please tell me that River wrote a very convenient placed mention of a date in there",
Amy moved the book closer to her face, quickly flickering through the pages, skimming them before turning, "Yes, hang on…" she turned the page, while the Doctor looked very impatient, "Oh, April 3rd, 1938," she announced.
"Ah, thank you," the Time Lady grinned at her, typing the date into the keyboard, "What's happening on Rory and River's end? We need to get some more clues, narrow down the location…"
She nodded, moving to take a seat on the jump seat beside Astra's babysit, "'You didn't come here in the TARDIS,' I remark as I glanced over to my father in the back of the car, moving swiftly through the streets of New York, 'Obviously,'" she read aloud to them, while the Time Lords danced around the controls, listening, "'Why?' he asked, confused. I couldn't help smirking at that, glancing back over to him, 'They couldn't have'".
"Couldn't have?" the Doctor exclaimed, making Amy jump with a small gasp. He narrowed his eyes on the book, as though it had just insulted him, "What does she mean? Couldn't have?"
"Stop fussing, Doctor," the Hatter sighed, moving around to where he was standing by the controls and giving his arm a light whack. She ignored the little yelp of pain that he gave, knowing perfectly well that it hadn't hurt him at all, "Keep reading, Amy," she called over her shoulder, reaching out to pull a lever.
Amy turned her attention back onto the page, finding her spot again, "'The lights of the Grand Central Station played across our faces as we passed by the building, peering out through the darkened windows as the engine of the car hummed. I sighed grimly, 'This city's full of time distortions,' I explained to Rory, 'It'd be impossible to land the TARDIS here. Like trying to land a plane in a blizzard'. I couldn't help smirking again to myself, imagining my Godfather's expression, 'Even the Hatter couldn't do it…'"
The Doctor's head snapped up again, "Even who couldn't do it?" he demanded in annoyance, quite proud of how cleaver and talented his wife was, and not at all liking having someone say otherwise, not even River. It was possibly a little petty on his part, he would admit, but he knew better than anyone else that you shouldn't doubt what the Hatter was capable of when pushed, and right now Rory and River were possibly in a highly dangerous, unknown situation. If anyone was possibly able to do the impossible, it would be her.
"Don't you two fall out," Amy lowered the book, fixing him with a stern look, "She's only in a book".
The Hatter rolled her eyes at him, "She's not wrong, Doctor," she sighed, frowning as she looked back at the controls, "Trying to land the TARDIS with time distortions…ouch," she winced, reaching to sympathetically pat the console, which hummed beneath her hand, "Even if I could do it, which is a massive, massive stretch, it wouldn't be pretty".
The Doctor flashed her a bright smile, "We can do it, dear," he said confidently, lightly bopping her nose, making her wrinkle her nose in annoyance and lightly bat his hand away, much to his amusement, since he always did love seeing that face she made when he did that. He turned back to the controls, rubbing his hands together, "1938. Easy one".
"Ordinarily, I would agree with you," the Time Lady remarked, frowning deeply again as she eyed him, "But if River's right about these time distortions, which I'm inclined to think she is, I doubt very much if it will be 'easy'".
"Relax, dear. I know what I'm doing".
She raised her eyebrows at him and scoffed, as if to say 'Sure you do, sure…,' "You'd better hold onto something, Amy," she warned her as she reached out to grab the edge of the console, giving the Doctor a sarcastic smile, already knowing well enough that this wouldn't work, but she did so enjoy using it as a moment to take down the Doctor's ego.
The Doctor wasn't the slightest bit concerned, River might have some Gallifreyan genetics, but that didn't mean that she knew how to recognise a time distortion and besides, he was well practiced at piloting the TARDIS, he didn't doubt that everything would be fine. So, he merely shook his head and reached out to grasp the dematerialisation lever, pulling it down…suddenly, there was a very bright flash and the control panel sparked violently as the entire room began shaking. Amy gave a startled cry, but Astra actually cheered and clapped her hands, not in the slightest bit affected by all the shaking in her seat.
The Hatter winced, still hanging onto the console as the Doctor grasped the railing, "I told you!" she shouted over all the noise, "I tried to warn you, but did you listen? No!" she went on before he even had a chance to defend himself, "Of course not, because I'm only the one who passed their TARDIS exam the first go!"
"Okay, I got it a bit wrong!" the Doctor winced, giving her a sheepish smile when she glared at him, quickly adding, "Maybe I got it a lot wrong…"
On the monitor screen hanging above the controls, the words 'Temporal Distortions Detected,' appeared before the single cut out and the entire screen turned black. Slowly, all the shaking began to die down, the console beeping and smoke swirling into the air, while Astra almost seemed disappointed that all the excitement was over.
Amy straightened in her seat; slowly relaxing her hold on the railing behind her as she looked between the Time Lords with wide eyes, "What was that?" she asked them.
"That would be us bouncing off 1938," the Hatter informed her, throwing the Doctor a quick look before shaking her head, eyeing the slightly burnt control panel with a sigh, "Poor old girl, I did try to warn the idiot…" she patted the Time Rotor apologetically.
The Doctor suddenly jumped and snatched his hand back from the railing he had been holding, looking quite startled, "She zapped me!" he almost gaped, turning back to the Hatter.
The Hatter wasn't in any way sympathetic, however, "And I don't blame her, after that stunt," she huffed, turning away from him and moving around the console to Astra's seat, crouching down to undo the straps and pick her up, before heading towards the door without a glance behind her.
Amy looked between the Time Lords and quickly decided that she really wasn't going to be getting in the way of that right now, so instead she quickly jumped up and moved to follow the brunet, leaving the Doctor to sigh loudly and reach beneath the console, grabbing a black fire extinguisher out before moving to follow after the girls, stepping outside to find that they had landed in the middle of a very large, old graveyard that had a nice view of New York in the distance. Amy had perched herself on a small grave a short distance away with the book open, while the Time Lady stood just outside the TARDIS doors, lightly bouncing Astra.
"'So how did you get here?' Rory asked me,'" Amy was reading aloud as smoke wafted out of the TARDIS doors from a few fires that had sprung up during their failed attempt at landing, "'I held up my left wrist, showing him the leather device strapped to my wrist, 'Vortex manipulator,' I smiled, 'Less bulky than a TARDIS. A motorbike through traffic, though I doubt the Hatter would approve…'"
"I certainly don't," the Hatter agreed, nodding, "Cheap time travel".
"It's a book, Hatter," Amy reminded her, shaking her head, "She can't hear you," the Hatter shrugged, not the slightest bit bothered as Amy went back to reading, "'You?' I asked him, raising my eyebrows curiously. He looked away from me, frowning, 'I'm not sure…' he replied after a moment, appearing quite tense'".
The Hatter looked thoughtful, glancing over to the Doctor, who was waving his hand in front of his face to try and clear the smoke still billowing out through the TARDIS doors, "It must have been the Weeping Angles," she said, considering all of the options, "It has to be".
She looked up from the book, "The Weeping Angles?" she repeated, frowning.
"It makes sense," the Doctor nodded, pushing the door open again and lifting the fire extinguisher up, setting it off inside the console room before lowering it and letting the door slip closed.
"It makes what?"
"Just think about it, Amy," the Hatter told her, shaking her head as she looked back over to her, "The Angle's preferred method of attack is, in most cases, to send a person back in time and allow you to live to death out of time from your own," she winkled her nose slightly as some of the smoke drifted out of the doors as the Doctor opened them again, "And now, Rory's been mysteriously sent back to 1938. It fits perfectly with the Angles style".
"Well, we've got a time machine. We can just go and get him".
"Well, tried that, if you noticed," the Doctor grumbled, letting the TARDIS doors swing shut again, waving a hand around them, "And we are back where we started in 2012".
"We didn't start in a graveyard," Amy reminded them, frowning at them, "What are we doing here?"
"I imagine we'll probably find out one day," the Hatter shook her head dismissively, not overly concerned by it, casting her eyes around the rather gloomy, misty graveyard, "If the TARDIS brought us here, there must be a reason. We're probably causally linked, but don't ask me to explain why at this point".
"It doesn't matter," the Doctor said, apparently not anymore concerned by it then the Time Lady was, pushing the time machines doors open again, "Extractor fans on!" he shouted into the console room and instantly the loud hum of the fans starting up sounded, just before he let the doors fall shut again.
Amy turned back to the book, running her eyes down the page, "Well, we're going to get there somehow," she commented lightly, "We're in the rest of the book".
The Hatter frowned slightly, casting her a quick, slightly wary look. She wasn't sure if letting Amy read the book was such a good idea now, given the fact that it contained so much information about their future, but they did desperately need information about what was going on on Rory and River's end…even still, it didn't sit completely right with the strict Time Lady side of her who believed that the book should be safely put away until after the adventure was over, thus ensuring that time ran its course properly without interference from them.
"Doing what?" the Doctor asked absently, sticking his head back inside the console room.
"Page forty three, you're going to break something, Doctor, and the Hatter's not happy about it…"
"I'm what?"
"Amy, I really don't think…" the Hatter began sharply, instantly tensing at the mention of something she and the Doctor were apparently going to do in the future, but before she had a chance to even take a step towards where Amy was perched on the headstone with the book in her hands, Amy did exactly what she had been about to stop her from doing.
"'Why do you have to break mine?' I asked the Doctor,'" Amy read aloud, making the Time Lady's eyes widen, horrified, "'He frowned and exchanged a grim look with the Hatter, the Time Lady looking quite upset as he turned back to me, 'Because Amy read it in a book and now I have no choice…'"
"Stop!" the Time Lady cried frantically, dashing over to her, making Amy blink, "Stop reading!" she reached her, snatching the book out of her hand as the urgently threw the Doctor a look over her shoulder, finding him looking just as horrified as she felt. This was exactly what she had been worried about; she was such an idiot for not having done anything to prevent it before it was already too late. She snapped the book shut, keeping it out of reach from Astra as she looked back to Amy's startled face, "Amy, you can't read ahead!"
"You mustn't," the Doctor shook his head hurriedly, stepping up beside the Time Lady, staring at Amy with wide eyes, "And…and you can't do that!" he waved a finger at the book, almost shaking with how very bad this was, even Astra looked quite startled and worried.
Amy frowned at them, confused, "But we've already been reading it," she pointed out, totally clueless as to what she had done and the impact that it now had on the timeline, though why would she? For all the years that she had spent travelling with them, she was still human and still incredibly ignorant about the rules of time.
"Just the stuff that's happening now, in parallel with us," he told her quickly, shaking his head firmly as he exchanged a look with the Hatter, "That's as far as we go".
"But it could help us find Rory!"
"And if you read ahead and find that Rory dies?"
Instantly, Amy paled and blinked rapidly, dawning realisation slowly starting to cross her face.
The Hatter sighed and closed her eyes tightly, "Amy, this book…" she opened her eyes again, holding the book up to show her the cover, "This isn't just a book about the future, it's about our futures," she meet her eyes grimly, "The moment we begin reading it, it becomes a fixed point and after everything that has happened, you ought to know how serious that is".
The Doctor lowered his head, "I'm going to break something, because you told us that I'm going to do it," he looked back up to her, "No choice now".
Amy shifted slightly, "Time can be rewritten," she tried quietly.
"Not once you've read it," he shook his head, "Once we know what's coming, it's written in stone".
The Hatter swallowed, hard, and slipped the book inside her jacket pocket before reaching out to take Amy's hand in her free one, squeezing it gently, "The extractor fans should have cleared the air by now," she said, trying to move forward, glancing at the Doctor, "Come on".
She turned and began to lead the way back over to the TARDIS, mentally kicking herself for allowing Amy anywhere near the book when she should have known that Amy wouldn't understand the risk of reading ahead. She blamed herself for not thinking it through, she just hoped that whatever it was that the Doctor was supposed to break in the future would only be something very minor, the alternative made her feel slightly ill. The console room was clear as they entered, Amy still very quiet and pale as she moved to stand by the console, the Time Lady letting go of her hand to put Astra back into her baby seat, while the Doctor instantly hurried up to the controls, letting the doors close behind him.
"Okay, we need to find out what's happening on Rory and River's end," he said as he moved around the controls.
The Hatter straightened from the baby seat, lightly touching Astra's cheek as she did so, "On it, sweetheart," she called, fishing the book easily out of her pocket and carefully locating the correct page, trying very, very hard not to allow her eyes to wander to much in the process, but after flipping a few times, she managed to find the right one, "'The car pulled to a stop outside a large stone house and the suited goons that had been sent by Mr Grayle to collect us ordered us out of the car, escorting us inside the large, ornate entrance hallway,'" she read aloud, moving to stand beside Amy, "'Ah,' I said as I noticed a Chinese vase sitting on a table, smiling to myself, 'Early Qin dynasty, I'd say…'" the brunet grinned, snapping the book shut now that she had all the information that they needed, "Bingo!"
She slipped the book back into her jacket pocket and moved to help the Doctor at the controls, quickly moving around the panels, hitting buttons and flicking switches, preparing the time machine, taking great care with everything that she did. One mistake, one tiny miscalculation could be deadly.
"Okay," the Doctor said after a long moment, actually standing up on top of one of the control panels to reach one of the instruments that ran around the Time Rotor above the main controls, adjusting the settings on it, "Landing a plane in a timey wimey blizzard," he sighed slightly, twisting the dial, "We could push through, but if we're out by a nanosecond, the engines will phase and we'll shatter the planet," he looked around the Time Rotor to the Hatter as Amy blinked, startled, "We need landing lights".
"Landing lights?" Amy questioned curiously.
"A signal that we can lock onto," the Hatter clarified for her, smiling as she moved around to the typewriter, "And thanks to future River, we've got one. Next stop, the early Qin dynasty".
…
The Time Lords and Amy, carrying Astra in her arms, stepped outside the TARDIS and into a decorating workshop in China, 221BC, finding several men very carefully working at tables that had been set up around the cramped room, carefully working on painting designs onto large bowls and vases.
"Ah, hello, yes," the Doctor smiled as they all stopped, turning to look at them in surprise and puzzlement, the Time Lady giving them a little awkward wave. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the psychic paper, flashing it at one of the men, who seemed to be in charge, "Special commission from the Emperor".
…
The Hatter's foot tapped impatiently against the glass flooring of the console room, looking up at the monitor screen over the controls, waiting for River to do her end of the work so that they could finally reach her and Rory. Astra, sensing her parent's emotions, huffed slightly from her baby seat and kicked her bright yellow shoes in the air. Thankfully, they didn't need to wait much longer before the console beeped and the word 'Yowzah' flashed across the screen in large letters, followed by a series of blinking red lights on the consol.
"Landing lights," the Doctor announced happily, catching sight of the screen, "We have a signal".
"Locking on!" the Time Lady called, feeling her hearts racing, practically imagining just how cross the Time Lords would have once upon a time been with them had they still been around, but she pushed the thought away as she grabbed the lever and the whole time machine jolted violently, the wheezing of the engines stuttering slightly as she reached over the controls to flick the blue stabiliser switches, but it only helped very slightly.
Astra giggled and clapped, enjoying all the jolting far more then what she really ought to be. The Hatter noticed, however, and gave the Doctor a pointed look, as if to say 'I blame you entirely for this,' earning a slightly sheepish smile in return from him as they held onto the console. After a tense few moments of almost being thrown around, the TARDIS landed with a hard thud that made the three adults fall onto the floor from the impact. Astra only giggled harder at that.
"She is so your daughter," the Hatter muttered as she pulled herself back onto her feet, rubbing her lower back as she threw the Doctor another look.
"You say that like it's a bad thing, Hatter," the Doctor remarked, climbing onto his own feet, giving her a slight pout.
"Somehow, the idea that my daughter finds most dangerous situation amusing does not ease my motherly concerns," she sighed heavily, practically dreading what Astra would end up growing up to be like if she kept this going, a little bit of healthy fear wasn't a bad thing, after all. Still, one part of her was happy that Astra was able to find amusement even in serious moments; it was a trait she herself always strived to encourage in others, after all, better to laugh then cower.
Amy shook her head and jumped onto her feet, "Come on!" she called back to them, already dashing down the stairs towards the doors.
"Just a moment," the Doctor told her, making her pause midway down the steps, looking back to them impatiently.
The Hatter quickly rounded the controls and bent down to unbuckle Astra from her seat, lifting the baby up into her arms before turning to quickly move to follow after Amy, the Doctor right on her heels with his hand lightly resting on her lower back as they hurried down the steps and over to the doors. Amy threw them open, practically running out into the large entrance hall that had several tables lining the walls around the room, most displaying a large Chinse bowl or vase, the TARDIS parked right beside the bottom of the dramatic, sweeping staircase that branched off, left and right, partway up.
"Rory?" Amy shouted, dashing up the staircase in search of her husband, while the Time Lords stepped out, "Rory?" her feet pounded on the wooden stairs, "Rory?"
The Hatter watched her disappear upstairs, but neither she nor the Doctor moved to follow her, instead walking straight past the stairs and over to where a large, middle aged man in a black, 30's style pinstripe suit was lying on his back, unconscious, papers littering the floor around him and even some broken China. The Time Lady frowned as she eyed the man, mildly concerned.
"Sorry we're late, honey," the Doctor said suddenly, making the brunet look up and break into a smile, catching sight of River standing in the next room, grinning widely back at them through the open doorway. He shrugged and opened his arms wider, "Traffic was hell".
River laughed, looking delighted to see them as the Hatter shook her head fondly and turned her gaze back onto the man lying on the floor. She knelt down carefully, balancing Astra with one arm as she reached out to press her fingers against the man's neck, the baby frowning in concern.
"He's just fainted from shock," she said, "He'll be perfectly fine".
"Not if I can get loose," River said firmly, shaking her head, any humour or happiness from before completely gone now.
The Hatter frowned over to her at her words, taking the Doctor's offered hand to help her straighten from the floor. Together, they walked over towards River, only to falter slightly in alarm at the sight of River's wrist trapped in the grip of a Weeping Angle that had been chained and manacled in an alcove, large curtains that had been pulled back from around it. It looked as though it had been practically tortured, something the Time Lady never thought she would actually see before, with large gashes running over the stony, snarling face of the Angle. She swallowed hard at the sight, clutching Astra tighter in her arms, practically feeling the Angle's silent pain and fury radiating off it, and that would be nothing to what the other Angle's would be feeling. They would be coming for it.
"Blimey…" she murmured, quickly looking back to River, "This is really not the 'hello' we were expecting".
River gave her a knowing look before breaking into a large smile, reaching out with her free hand to take Astra's hand, the baby smiling toothily and excitedly shaking River's finger, making River laugh.
"It's good to see you too, Astra," she said, catching the Time Lords eyes as they exchanged a fond look.
The Doctor shook his head, leaning closer to the Time Lady place a kiss on top of Astra's head before looking back up to River, "So where are we now, Doctor Song?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows, "How's prison?"
"Oh, I was pardoned ages ago," she informed them casually, smirking back at them, "And it's Professor Song to you".
"Oh?" the Hatter smiled slowly, her tone mock surprised, exchanging a knowing look with the Doctor, "How very interesting," she turned back to River, "I imagine there must be one hell of a story behind that…"
"Mmm," she hummed, eyeing them knowingly, still smirking, "Turns out the people I killed never existed in the first place…" the Time Lords smiled at each other as she continued, "Apparently, there's no record of either of them or their daughter. It's almost as if someone's gone around deleting themselves from every database in the Universe…"
The Doctor shrugged lightly, "You said we got too big," he said, which was very, very true. They had gotten too big, made it too easy for their enemies to track them down and figure out their next move. It had taken them quite some time, but eventually they had managed to completely erase any record of themselves from around the Universe, slipping back into the shadows of myths and legends again, just like before. They had even been careful to do the same with Astra, the fact that she was their daughter would always place her in danger, but if no one knew that Astra even existed, they could provide her with some protection. It wouldn't always work, they would be fools to believe that they would be able to hide forever, but if they could try to do it for as long as possible, they would.
"And now no one's ever heard of you. Didn't you used to be somebody?"
The Hatter raised her eyebrows, "Oh, and here I thought we were talking to the woman who killed the Doctor and the Hatter?" she said mockingly.
"Doctor who?" River asked, feigning ignorance, "Hatter who?"
She laughed, "You're cute," she told her, leaning forward to press a light kiss to her cheek, making her smile widely, before she suddenly grew serious, frowning as she looked at her wrist still grasped tightly in the Angle's stone hand, "How's your hand?"
River instantly lost her smile and glanced back at the Angle, "At least she didn't send me back in time," she commented grimly.
"I doubt she's strong enough," the Doctor shook his head, eyeing the Angle closely.
"Well, I need a hand back, so which is it going to be?" River looked back to the Time Lords, raising her eyebrows, "Are you going to break my wrist or hers?" the Time Lords froze and exchanged a quick look, before the Hatter shook her head and looked down. River blinked, closing her eyes, groaning slightly, "Oh, no. Really?" she looked back to them, frowning, "Why do you have to break mine?"
The Doctor looked at the Hatter, who shook her head again and looked back to River, her expression grave, "Because Amy read it in a book," he told River, speaking softly, "And now I have no choice," he looked back over his shoulder to where Amy was standing in the doorway, looking horribly guilty, "You see?"
Amy kept her eyes fixed on the floor, nodding.
"What book?" River questioned, confused.
"The book you will eventually write," the Hatter replied, reaching into her jacket pocket, shifting Astra slightly so that she could do so, and pulling the book out, holding it up for her to see the front cover, "Of course, because it hasn't even been written yet, we can't read it".
"I see," she eyed the cover; "I don't like the cover much".
She turned it back around and glanced at the cover, "Yes, I can't say I overly approve of it, as you godmother," she agreed, passing the book over to the Doctor, since she was finding it hard to juggle both Astra and the book.
"But if River's going to write that book," Amy began, stepping further into the office, looking eagerly to the Time Lords as she tried to make up for her mistake, "She'd make it useful, yeah?"
"I'll certainly try," River nodded, glancing back over to the Doctor and the book in his hands, frowning slightly, "But we can't read ahead, it's too dangerous".
"I know," she said quickly, frowning, "But there must be something we can look at".
The Doctor looked back over to her, "What, a page of handy hints?" he suggested, almost rolling his eyes at the idea, while the Hatter looked thoughtful, "Previews, spoiler free".
"Oh!" the Hatter gasped, her eyes widening as she looked quickly at Amy, "Oh, well done, Amy," she grinned at her, realising exactly what she was referring to, though the Doctor and River still looked quite confused, and Astra was eyeing her curiously.
Amy smirked and lifted her chin higher, looking directly at the Doctor, "Chapter titles".
The Doctor clicked his fingers at her, flipping the book open and quickly looking down the first page, before smiling, "He's in the cellar," he announced.
Amy grinned excitedly, "Gimme!" she held out her hand, impatiently wiggling her fingers towards him, and the Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, throwing it over to her. She caught it and turned to dash out of the room, eager to see her husband.
The Hatter smiled, watching Amy disappear out the door and off down the hallway. The Doctor moved to follow her, but he paused to press a kiss to the Time Lady's cheek and one on top of Astra's head, silently agreeing that one of them ought to go after Amy while the other remained behind with River, especially if there was possibly more Weeping Angle's lurking around. But he had barely taken two steps towards the door when he froze, his entire body tensing.
"Sweetheart?" the Time Lady asked worriedly, eyeing his back. He didn't even look back to her, only making her feel even more nervous, "Doctor, what's wrong? Doctor, talk to me…"
He slowly lifted the book back up to his face and opened it, staring at the front page as he slowly reached out to steady himself on the back of an armchair beside him, turning partly towards them. His face had completely drained of all colour, making him look as though he was about to faint right there on the spot.
"Doctor?" River looked at him with wide eyes, before quickly throwing a frightened look towards the Time Lady.
The Hatter took a step towards him, reaching out to touch his back, "Doctor, what is it?" she tried again, her voice gentle, "Please, you're starting to scare me. Tell me what's wrong?"
The Doctor looked back up to her, staring at her with wide, heartbroken eyes that did nothing to ease her concerns, if anything it only made her feel even more terrified. Slowly, his hand shaking very slightly, he held the book out to her and she carefully took it, looking down at the list of chapter titles listed on the page…and that's when her eyes fell on it, the very final chapter, the words written in bold, black ink. A painful arch instantly spread through her chest and a lump formed in her throat:
Chapter twelve-Amelia's Last Farwell.
Oh no, we're so close to saying goodbye to the Ponds. I'm half dreading it right now, I've been writing Amy and Rory for so long now and they've become such an important part of the Doctor and the Hatter's lives, I just feel so sad already for what's to come. Get the tissues, ladies and gentlemen; the next chapter is going to be a sad one...though, a sad chapter means some sweetness to make up for it. Tell me what you thought, please review :)
Guest reviews:
Sam Fraser: I am so sorry; I can't believe I missed your first review on this. I must have gotten completely side tracked and completely forgot to go back, so thank you for reminding me. I must say, I'm personally not a big fan of Clara's whole story arc, either, I mean, it was already established that the Doctor picked the TARDIS himself, or rather the TARDIS picked him, why change that a season later with Clara? You also point out that Clara's whole life becomes about saving the Doctor, which is another thing that I don't like about her story, why does Clara's life have to revolve around the Doctor, which is how it feels to me, when I stop and think about it. I think Clara's story, her 'special' something that apparently all the modern companions have to possess in order to travel with the Doctor these days, was really quite wasted and it did feel a little bit like a mockery towards the Doctor's past companions, though I must confess to not quite seeing it as you do.
I feel like Clara's first season was so conflicting, the Doctor was constantly suspicious of her or suddenly flirting and basically saying that he found her attractive, while Clara's personality was also changing to suit. The first modern episode of her she didn't have a clue about computers, then she suddenly does, which, yes, I know they explained, but yet nothing more is ever mentioned of it ever again, which I personally found annoying. I feel like there was a lack of continuance during the Clara half of season seven, which I hope to, try, try, to find a way to resolve as much as a I can. Hopefully. Thanks for the review and I apologise again.
Guest 5: The Hatter did reassure the Doctor that he could go on after the Time War without her, though I know you haven't actually seen that yet, but I do intend to write that scene very, very soon. But that's the thing, it was at the very, very end of the Time War just mere hours before he would activate the Moment, he didn't have time to try to resurrect the Hatter like they did with Clara, his mission to protect the rest of the Universe and stop the Time War was simply to important, he understood that, even if it might have destroyed him, and so he had to keep to the mission. Oh, I imagine he would, however, given the fact that Gallifrey was gone, he really was out of options when it came to trying to get her back and I think, in the end, the Doctor respects the Hatter far too much to destroy the Universe just to get her back. The Hatter would never forgive him for that, after all, and it would never be her wish for him to go such lengths for her.
Guest: Well, I think that if the First or Second Hatter somehow ended up getting lost and wasn't found until the Doctor's later regenerations, that she would probably regenerate straight after being found. I imagine it would be a rather difficult regeneration, but the Doctor would be there and, even in his stunned state, he would do whatever he could to help her through it. I don't think he would tell her about exactly what happened to Gallifrey, I feel like he would probably try to keep the details from her for as long as possible out of shame, but eventually the Hatter would demand to know what he wasn't telling her, what happened to Gallifrey and why he refused to speak of it to her. As for their relationship, I think it would place a strain between them, but slowly they would grow closer in friendship and get to know one another again. I could kind of see Eleven or Ten possibly developing a bit of a crush on her, old feelings creeping back, while I think Nine and Twelve would feel incredibly protective over her, and Thirteen…well, we haven't really seen much of her yet, so I couldn't say. Who knows? Maybe she'd develop a bit of a crush, I don't know.
Sam Fraser (2): That's a rather sweet idea, I could certainly see One doing something like that, but we'll have to see. I don't like to make promises when it comes to my writing, not unless it's something that will have a great impact upon the story, but thank you for the suggestion :)
Guest (2): Ooh, that is a very good question. I think that if the Doctor, trying to cope with his grief for the Hatter, completely erased all memory of the Hatter and he ended up finding her again, I think he would probably find it hard to believe that he would have erased his memories in the first place, since the Hatter would have all of her memories, and would probably be a little dubious about what the Hatter was actually telling him about their past together. I think the Hatter would try to find a way to get his memories back for him and over the course of their adventures together, that the Doctor would become very invested in getting his memories back, too. I feel like he would start falling for her, even without his memories or previous history with her, because his feelings for her aren't just based on their past adventures, childhood, or shared memories, his feelings for her come from being attracted to her as a person. At the same time, I feel like the Hatter would try to almost distance herself from him to give him the chance to get to know her for her, not through stories that he has no memory of her being included in. That's a pretty basic summary of what I think would have happened if the Doctor had no memory of the Hatter, I hope it makes sense :)