sorry this is taking so long. I promise I havent forgotten you guys. But I have a new puppy. (Named her Ryder lol) Not that you guys care about that but I felt you deserved an explanation.
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
is playing by the time we sneak into the reception. Any's laughter catches my attention. "You're terrible. That is embarrassing!"
My nephew the Doctor is dancing like a drunk giraffe and teaching the kids to do it too. "That's it. That's good. Keep it loose."
I reach for Metas hand as we watch for a moment. The Doctor turns and the smile on his face drops when he catches sight on me. His eyes move to Meta and practically bulge out of his head. His mouth gapes open like a fish. He's frozen, unable to move and unable to believe. So I move first. I drop the hand holding mine and head to him. Doctor Junior, all grown up.
"Not possible. It's not possible."
I smile softly, "What did I tell you about impossible things? You reset the universe and that should be impossible. What am I saying? You exist in the first place. That shouldn't be possible either."
"Well our family seems to defy it all the time huh?" A small smile begins to form. "Is it really you Auntie?"
A giggle escapes my lips. "Come here." I wrap my arms around him and he buries his face in my neck.
"Why is dad here? He's so young with that face," he asks as he pulls away.
I remember that he saw Meta. "Oh no. That's not...that's Meta."
"Meta? As in the uncle who died before I was born?"
I nod. "Yes."
"How?"
"Spoilers."
He groans. "Always with the spoilers."
We motion Meta over and he introduces himself. "Hello. I'm Meta but as far as anyone else is concerned, I'm the Professor."
"Why Professor?"
"Because it's higher than Doctor." They begin to argue good naturely about titles and rank and I just smile at the surreal feeling to the whole thing.
The mood breaks as Amy and Rory cut in. "So, who are these people then?" I raise my eyebrows at Amy's almost rude question.
"Oh! Sorry. This is my Aunt and Uncle." He gestures to us and we wave.
"I'm the Drifter but you can call me Drift for short. Most people do."
"You can call me the Professor."
Rory shakes his head. "Is that just a thing in your family then? You all have weird names with 'the' in front of it? The Doctor, the Drifter, and the Professor?"
We all look at each other and answer in tandem. "Sort of, yeah."
"We have real names too, but it's better not to let others know that. Names have power. If an enemy was to know our real names, they could use them against us. We don't speak them, even to our friends, in order to protect them," I explain.
"What about family," Amy asks. "Since you're related do you know each other's names?"
The Professor picks up this one. "Yes and no. A parent will know their child's name and vice versa. And a husband and wife will know true names as well, but extended family do not. So no. We don't know each other's names." He looks at me and winks. I did tell him my name once, when he was dying. Not Jane Ryder, but the name my parents gave me. It was so long ago now. I had the name Jane Ryder longer than any other.
We sit down and talk a little longer. I tell a few stories about when Junior was young and he hides his face in his hands while Amy eagerly listens to every word. Rory and the Professor find a commanderie. Rory listens attentively and gives his two cents when asked which the Professor appreciates.
Eventually, the Doctor insists that they had better enjoy the rest of their wedding. So they head to the dance floor as "You Give Me Something" begins to play. We watch them sway the music and I can't help but smile. The Doctor says quietly, "Two thousand years. The boy who waited. Good on you, mate."
"Quite right too," I agree. And the night goes on.
DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW DW
We exit not long after and make our ways to our TARDIS' which aren't that far apart. We exchange numbers and he agrees to call periodically, especially if he ever needs anything. He agrees. It's like pulling teeth but he does.
He's about to enter his TARDIS when Amy comes stomping over. "Oi! Where are you off to? We haven't even had a snog in the shrubbery yet."
"Amy!" Rory exclaims.
"Shut up. It's my wedding."
"Our wedding."
"Sorry, you two. Shouldn't have slipped away. Bit busy, you know? Family reunion, worlds to save."
"You just saved the whole of space and time? Take the evening off. Maybe a bit of tomorrow." Rory smiles at him.
"Space and time isn't safe yet. The Tardis exploded for a reason. Something drew the Tardis to this particular date, and blew it up. Why? And why now?" The Doctor looks at me and I shake my head. He knows I'm saying nothing.
The phone starts ringing. "The Silence, whatever it is, is still out there, and I have to... Excuse me a moment." He answers the telephone. "Hello? Oh, hello. I'm sorry, this is a very bad line. No, no, no, but that's not possible. She was sealed into the seventh Obelisk. I was at the prayer meeting. Well, no, I get that it's important. An Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express, in space. Give us a mo."
He looks at the rest of us. "Sorry, something's come up. This will have to be goodbye."
"Yeah, I think it's goodbye. Do you think it's goodbye?" Amy turns to her husband.
"Definitely goodbye," he agrees.
Amy goes to the door and shouts to Leadworth. "Goodbye! Goodbye."
"Don't worry bout a thing, your Majesty. We're on our way." He hangs up and turns to his family. Me and his new found uncle. "Want the coordinates? You could join in the fun."
Meta looks at me and I shrug. "Maybe next time Junior. We've been out of the loop for a while. We need to go catch up."
He smiles widely. "Okay. I'll call you later." With that, he goes into the TARDIS and flies away. The Professor and I head to our own.
We're in the vortex for barely a minute before the phone rings. I answer. "Hello."
"Hi auntie! I need your help."
"Already? Can't you deal with the orient express yourself?"
"I did. That was last week. No, I need your help with flying fish and grumpy old men who don't like Christmas."
I smile. "Ah. Say no more. On our way, just pop the coordinates over here and we'll be there in a sec."
"Thanks!" We hang up and my companion smiles at me.
"Where we off to?"
"Somewhere brilliant."
