A/N:
I've got the next chapter already written, so I should post it tomorrow morning. This story is going very well. I have some super crazy things planned. ^^ As always, let me know what you think! It makes my day when I heard comments!
chapter eleven – night at the lazarus gala
London, 2007
At first, she didn't open her eyes. She was scared about what just happened. Did she move again? Teleport or transport or something? Was she anywhere near the Tardis or even the Doctor? Was she alone?
"Uh, Doctor?"
Rixel opened her eyes to see a strange woman glaring at her. She didn't look too pleased to see the little red-headed child. Rixel looked around. Same Tardis. No Rose though, just this strange woman.
The Doctor popped up from behind the Tardis control panel. "Rixel!" He grinned.
"You know her?" The woman asked.
"Yup." He said, stepping around towards her. "How's the locket?"
Rixel stared up at him. The pain was completely gone. All of it. She didn't want him to think that her mothers locket was the cause. If he did, he might take it away. She didn't think she could bare that.
"Doctor?" The woman asked, breaking his concentration.
"Oh, right." He turned, clapping his hands. "Martha, Rixel. Rixel, Martha."
Rixel nodded towards her.
The Doctor knelt down in front of her. "Really though. You alright?"
Rixel nodded. The locket was still clutched against her chest with both hands.
His eyes darted between hers, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. After a moment, he gave up. "Right." He stood back up.
"Where's Rose?" Rixel asked.
The Doctor froze. She even saw Martha twitch uneasily. Okay...apparently that was not an exceptable question. But that didn't make sense. The only time she hadn't seen Rose with the Doctor was when it was the bow tie Doctor. Why couldn't she ask? Realizing she needed to change the subject, Rixel thought of something else. "What happened to Reinette?"
He looked back at her. His face was dark and serious, but his eyes looked sad and distant. "She died."
"How?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Time. She died back in the 1700's. In France."
"Oh." Rixel said. She guessed that made sense. So maybe that's what happened to Rose? No, this Doctor didn't look like he was any older. Then again, neither did the other Doctors. Did he just change his face instead of growing older? Oh, like the fountain of youth, but with a different face.
"Well, anyway. Off we go."
"Where?" Martha asked.
"You are going home." The Doctor said, pointing to the door.
"Home?" Martha replied. She walked down to the Tardis door and opened it. Rixel turned and looked. Outside the door she saw a bedroom. Not nearly as fancy as the one she'd woken up in.
Ug, that reminded her. Rixel laid her head down on the seat. She was so tired. So very very tired. And hungry. All she did with the Doctor was run around. Her body wasn't used to this. She listened as the Doctor walked down and out of the Tardis. She stayed still. Maybe just a little nap. That was all she needed.
A moment later, the Doctor came walking back in. He was alone. "You tired?"
"And hungry." Rixel replied without opening her eyes.
"Then go sleep."
"Where?" She opened her eyes and lifted up her head. He was talking to her, but he was obviously distracted as he pulled on some levers on the control panel. The Tardis started to hum.
"Ah, just down the hall or so. I'm sure she'll make you a room."
Rixel wasn't sure what he meant. Did he have a house keeper? For his ship? And a room? She didn't think this Tardis was that big. She dragged her feet across the floor and headed down what turned out to be a rather large hallway. She passed room after room until she felt that strange golden glow. She looked over and saw a door, just like the others in the hall. But this she knew was hers. She didn't know how, but she knew.
She opened the door to reveal the exact room she'd woken up in from the other Tardis. But...how? She shuffled into the room and headed towards the bed. Sprawled out on top of the covers was pajama and a banana. Rixel smiled to herself. Yeah, she liked bananas. Bananas were good.
When Rixel woke up, she felt loads better. Her energy was restored and she wasn't even as hungry. Well, maybe a little. She smiled as she saw a fruit bowl with bananas and apples on her desk. The Doctor must have brought them while she was sleeping. Or his house keeper.
She hopped out of bed and quickly got ready. Today there was a very fancy dress laid out for her. It was a silk and satin gold with blue accents. It looked far too nice to be going on adventures with the Doctor in, but who was she to question the Doctor...or whoever was laying out the clothes for her. Besides, the dress looked amazing. Like a princess gown. She even pulled her hair up a bit to finish off the look.
After spending almost ten minutes twirling in front of the mirror, Rixel finally headed out of her room. She munched on an apple as she made her way to the control room. Once there, she found it was empty. Strange. She couldn't think of a time where the Doctor wasn't in the control room. Mm, maybe that one time when she snatched her locket back during the Blitz. But he'd been right outside then. Thinking he might have just stepped out, she hurried down the ramp and opened the door.
To her surprise, it opened up into the same bedroom from night before. Except the sunlight that streamed in through the window was faint. It was setting.
"Ah, Rixel. You're awake."
She turned around to see the Doctor standing at the top of the ramp. He was dressed in a full black tuxedo. He even wore a black bow tie! He adjusted his sleeve and smiled at her.
She bounced up the ramp and hugged him around his waist.
"Look at you! Don't you look marvelous! All gorgeous, you are!" He stepped back, twirling her around. "Oh, I love it."
"Did you get it for me?" She asked, smiling big.
"Nope. All the Tardis." He replied.
"But...the Tardis is a ship." It was then that the Doctors earlier words...well, later for him, came back to her. She was so much more than a ship.
"Naw." The Doctor said. "She's more than that. She's alive."
"Alive?" Rixel's eyes widened. "Like, an alien?"
"Something like that." He ruffled her hair.
Her hands instantly flew up and swatted him away. "No! Don't mess it up!"
"Oh, right, right! Sorry." He laughed, then reached out for her hand. "You ready?"
She took it. "Where are we going?"
"A fancy science event." He winked at her. "You'll love it."
The Doctor was wrong. She most certainly did NOT love it. In fact, it was so super boring. At first, it seemed like a cool idea. A science gala with a bunch of scientists and smart people. It turned that that wasn't the case. It was a bunch of stupid rich people who were trying to make themselves sound good. And all the so-called scientists were more interested in flirting with the rich than talk science with a six year old. Rixel found herself quickly bored and sitting off to the side.
After an hour or so, another little girl came over and joined her. The girl had dark red hair too, but it was straight. She sat down next to Rixel. Her accent was slightly British, but not nearly as thick as everyone else in the room. "Are you as bored as I am?"
"Yes." Rixel grumbled. She was leaning forward, her head in her hands as her elbows rested on her knees. "How long do these things go on for?"
"Hours." The girl rolled her eyes. "They're never any fun, either. They draw you in with the promise of science, then turn out to be all for fund-raising."
Rixel sat up and looked over at the girl. "You're funny."
The girl smiled at her. She stuck out her hand. "My name's Megan."
Rixel stared at her. "Megan?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Is that your name, too?"
"And you love science?" Rixel felt her heart speed up. What year was this? Were they back in time? How far back in time? Did the year work out to be...? Megan's hair was a dark red, but it was most definitely red. "What's your last name?"
"Hershey." Megan looked down at her extended hand, which remained empty. "Like the candy bar."
Rixel felt every cell in her body jump all at once. Hershey! Of course! At a science show with other scientists and wanting to see science and the red hair! She leaned forward and grabbed her mother in a giant huge.
"Oh, okay." Megan laughed.
"Sorry." Rixel leaned back. She was still shaking in excitement. "I just never meat kids my age who like science as much as I do."
"Oh, I know what you mean!" Megan laughed. "It's all 'lets go color' or 'science is boring'!"
"Heh, yeah." Rixel couldn't stop smiling. Her whole body felt like lightning.
"So, what was your name?" Megan asked.
"R-Rachel." Rixel said quickly. "Rachel...Smith."
"Nice to meet you, Rachel." Megan smiled. "Want to get out of here?"
Rixel's eyes darted over towards the Doctor. "Erm, I don't know."
Megan followed her eyes. "Ah. Parents. Yeah, I've got them around here too. It's okay." She grinned. "I've been to loads of these things. I can easily tell when it's close to getting over. They'll be so busy mingling they won't even notice we're gone. And we'll be back with loads of time."
Rixel couldn't believe this. Her mother, as a kid, was asking her to ditch out and run off with her! This was too cool! She looked over at her and nodded. "Okay. Let's go!"
