For the Sake of an Angel:
Chapter Eleven: Care
Review responses:
Miriam Who: Thank you! I hope this one is to your liking, as well :) The Pompeii arc has been one of my favorites to write, so far.
yellowroseofthenw: Ahhhh, sorry! Cliffhangers are so fun to write, though! And they're super effective. Anyways, yeah; Addie knows a lot about everyone else, but nothing about herself, which is ironically comical. Oh well, she'll find out eventually. Thanks for your review!
Hainako: Thank you! I'm glad you like FSA so much! Addie does a lot of thinking in this chapter, as well as makes a stupid decision or two. I hope you like it!
Fakira: Thank you so much for that clarification - I really need to watch Old Who, but I have no idea where I can find the episodes. I'll make sure to go back and edit that in the previous chapter so that it is correct. I love the ship name "Adeta" too much to let it go, truthfully D: Thank you for your review, and I'm so glad you like FSA! I hope you enjoy this chapter, as well :)
ShadowTeir: Hello again! I'm glad you think that there aren't too many Adeta moments, because there will be plenty more where that came from ;) Addie cools down a bit in this chapter and she is more sympathetic towards Donna once she is calmer, but yeah, Donna definitely got on my nerves in this episode. I see where she's coming from, but it was wrong of her to blame the Doctor for not being able to do anything when he was already blaming himself for the inevitable disaster. Sorry about the preview D: Cliffhangers are so fun to write! Here's a spoiler: Addie's going to be just fine, although the Doctor won't be too happy with her for disappearing like that. Hope you like this chapter, and, as always, thank you so much for your continual reviews! I always enjoy replying to them!
WizardingWhovian: I'm glad you like Adeta! I had another reviewer correct me that 'Theta' is the Doctor's academy name, and not his true name (which can't be pronounced by the human tongue). I think I'll still keep the ship name, though, because it took far too long to come up with D: Future knowledge is always tricky. I know when I read Doctor Who fics sometimes, I get a little too confused with the wibbly-wobbliness of it all, so I'm trying to make her past and future ambiguous without making people want to give up on FSA. I hope you like this chapter, and thank you for your reviews!
Alix Winchester: Ahhh, I'm sorry! I update every Sunday morning D: I wish I could do more than once a week, but it's not possible unless I make my chapters much shorter. Hope you like this chapter!
"Heathens defile us! They would desecrate your temple, my lord gods!"
"I don't like that man." Addie hissed balefully as they were forced back onto their feet. They had just squatted down for a quick breather once they had entered the central cavern of Vesuvius when the faux prophet, Lucius, had revealed their hiding spot. "Then again, I doubt that anyone does."
"Not me." Donna agreed, trying to get back in Addie's good graces. She only gave Donna a weak smile in response; she appreciated her efforts, but their argument hadn't even been Donna's fault to begin with. It was Addie's for snapping at Donna, when all she had wanted to do was save lives, which, coincidentally, was Addie's own primary goal. The only difference was that she understood the laws of time a bit better than Donna, and knew that they couldn't be tested.
Nonetheless, Addie was still hurt, and she knew that the only one to blame was herself; however, nothing could be done about it now. No, now it was time to run.
"Come on." The Doctor sprinted towards the pod ahead of them, which happened to have a Pyrovile standing in its path. This one was huge, and would have easily been too big to fit in Caecilius' house, unlike the one from before.
"We can't go in!" Donna protested breathlessly, picking her skirts up regardless. Addie was already a few feet ahead of her, her own skirts clasped firmly in her hands.
"Well, we can't go back." The Doctor called. He skidded to a stop in front of the Pyrovile, who reared up to its full height threateningly. The Doctor fumbled in his coat for a second before pulling out his trusty water pistol, squirting it at the Pyrovile.
Donna's jaw dropped again at the sounds of anguish coming from the fiery alien. She still couldn't believe that a flimsy little water pistol could do that much damage.
Seeing that Donna wasn't moving, Addie hastily grabbed her hand - just in time, too, as a Pyrovile launched a ball of fire that landed exactly where she had been standing. Donna let out a screech of surprise, and the immense heat of it was enough to galvanize her into action. The two girls dashed after the Doctor towards the pod, weaving through the flames in their path.
Finally, they were reunited at the pod, and Addie let go of Donna's hand, gasping. "Pro tip: don't wear a toga while running for your life."
"Noted." The Doctor muttered as he inspected the escape pod. He rolled his eyes as Lucius spoke up again.
"There is nowhere to run, Doctor, daughter of London, and daughter of the author."
Addie scooted further towards the pod. "That's a mouthful, isn't it? I'm getting the feeling he just likes to hear himself talk."
Not having enough time to reply to her, the Doctor brandished his water pistol again as he addressed their company. "Now then, Lucius. My lords Pyrovillian, don't get yourselves in a lather. In a lava?" He looked at Addie and then Donna, and both shook their heads. Addie certainly appreciated a good pun, but that had been terrible. "No? No. But if I might beg the wisdom of the gods before we perish. Once this new race of creatures is complete, then what?"
Addie held her breath to see if the Pyroviles would explain their plan, but she shouldn't have bothered; without fail, every enemy they encountered spilled the beans on their 'marvelous' strategy.
"My masters will follow the example of Rome itself. An almighty empire, bestriding the whole of civilisation." Lucius elucidated proudly. Beside him, a Pyrovile stomped down the hill and made its way towards the three time travelers.
"But if you've crashed, and you've got all this technology," Donna supposed, eyeing the approaching Pyrovile warily, "why don't you just go home?"
"The Heaven of Pyrovillia is gone!"
The Doctor's face scrunched up in confusion. "What do you mean, gone?" He glanced at Addie, and could tell from the way her body stiffened that she knew. "Where's it gone?"
"It was taken. Pyrovillia is lost, but there is heat enough in this world for a new species to rise!"
The Doctor slowly backed away. "Yeah, I should warn you, it's seventy percent water out there."
Addie copied his movements and inched her way into the escape pod as Lucius answered, "Water can boil. And everything will burn, Doctor."
"Then, the whole planet is at stake." The Doctor scanned behind him to make sure that Addie had entered the pod. Sure enough, she was peering expectantly at him from the inside. "Thank you. That's all I needed to know. Donna."
Donna nodded and hustled into the pod. Addie squeezed herself into the far corner as the Doctor came inside, sealing the door as he did so. Skin touched skin as the three of them were squished together inside the tight quarters. "Could we be any more trapped?" Donna huffed, a bead of sweat on her brow.
Addie, herself, was sweating like a pig. "Is it just me, or did it get ten times hotter in here?"
"It's not just you, trust me." Donna leaned closer to inspect the schematics in front of them. "So, what's that?"
"It's an energy converter." The Doctor explained rapidly. "It takes the lava, uses the power to create a fusion matrix, which welds Pyrovile to human. Now it's complete, they can convert millions."
"But can't you change it with these controls?" Donna panicked at the connotations of his words.
"Of course I can, but don't you see? That's why the soothsayers can't see the volcano. There is no volcano. Vesuvius is never going to erupt. The Pyrovile are stealing all its power." The Doctor deduced, looking at Addie for affirmation. "They're going to use it to take over the world."
"But you can change it back?" Donna prompted hesitantly.
"I can invert the system, set off the volcano, and blow them up, yes." The Doctor groaned. "But, that's the choice, Donna."
"It's Pompeii or the world." Addie finished reluctantly. "And it's up to us to decide."
Donna's eyes widened. "Oh, my God."
The Doctor ruffled his hair anxiously. "If Pompeii is destroyed, than it's not just history, it's me. I make it happen."
"Correction: it's us." Addie emphasized. "We make it happen. This is a team decision."
The Doctor paused, and then nodded. Donna, however, still had her doubts. "Doctor, the Pyrovile are made of rocks. Maybe they can't be blown up."
He instantly shook his head. "Vesuvius explodes with the force of twenty four nuclear bombs. Nothing can survive it." He admitted, locking eyes with Addie. "Certainly not us."
Despite knowing that they would be fine, Addie wavered at that. At this moment in time, they had the power to wipe out an entire city, to kill every last human being in Pompeii. Sure, they would survive, but they would carry that weight for the rest of their lives, knowing that they had been the ones who pushed the lever. All those children, dead, families encased in ash for centuries to come, because of them.
Addie tried to remind herself that Pompeii was only a small minority of the Earth's population at this point in time, and that the vast majority of humankind would pull through, but found that it didn't comfort her as much as she thought it would. However, after recalling the merchant who had booked it out of town, and Caecilius' family, who would soon be saved, she felt more prepared to make the decision. She reached forward and placed her hand on the Doctor's over the lever, meeting his tortured eyes steadily. "Together."
"Push this lever and it's over." The Doctor reminded them, and Addie could feel his hand trembling under hers. "Twenty thousand people."
And that was when Donna finally understood what Addie and the Doctor had known all along; wherever they went, sacrifices would always have to be made, and people would have to suffer. There was no getting around it, and as she gazed at the Doctor and saw the regret in his face, she realized that Addie's words had been true; the Doctor was the most compassionate man in the universe, but with the kind of life he led, he couldn't afford to care. It hurt too much, far too much, to always lose the ones you loved, and with 900 years under his belt, Donna wondered just how many people he had been forced to let go.
With that, she put her hand on top of theirs. At least, now, he had Addie and Donna to support him, and for that moment in time, he was no longer the Lonely God. In unison, they pushed on the lever and everything stopped.
Then, everything went tonto.
Addie let out a surprised scream as a force suddenly tossed her around the room. She collided repeatedly with the stone walls of the pod and even fell into the Doctor a couple of times. Donna's wails echoed in her ears, and Addie wondered dazedly if she, too, was screaming, or if Donna's voice was really that loud.
Finally, the three of them were thrown to the ground of the pod and Addie stumbled to her feet upon discovering that they had landed. Automatically, the door slid open, and Addie was the first one out, fighting the urge to vomit. She breathed in deeply, trying to center her stomach, but instantly regretted it as she got a lungful of ash. She coughed uncontrollably, and the Doctor thumped her on the back.
"It was an escape pod." He observed, feeling rather nauseous, himself. He quickly looked behind them and his eyes nearly burst out of his head at the sight of an avalanche of ash rolling towards them. He fumbled for Addie's hand, seeing as Donna seemed to be more steady on her feet, and took off in a sprint. Still wheezing, Addie did her best to keep up with him but was grateful for the Doctor propelling her forwards.
The sky darkened, and Donna spared a glance upwards to see that the ash had blocked out all the sunlight. She threw herself forward, not wanting to be one of the twenty thousand dead from Vesuvius.
Nothing could be heard from the three of them besides loud panting, but as they entered the city and saw the widespread panic coming from its citizens, all three were struck dumb. They really couldn't afford to stop, seeing as thick clumps of ash were now descending upon the city, but as a swarm of people rushed towards the ocean, Donna paused. "Don't. Don't go to the beach. Don't go to the beach, go to the hills. Listen to me. Don't go to the beach, it's not safe!" But no one listened, and she stood there helplessly. "Listen to me." She begged, tears pouring down her cheeks. Her arms fell, and she spotted a little boy in the middle of the street. She remembered how Addie had made a difference and saved just one person from Vesuvius, and ran over to him desperately with that in mind.
"Come here." Donna pleaded, not even having enough energy to put a smile on her face. The boy tentatively reached a hand out to her, but then a woman ran by and scooped him up, shooting Donna a dirty look as she passed. Her face crumpled and sobs began to wrack her body after she realized that she couldn't even save one person from the disaster.
Addie watched her and felt her heart shatter, but there wasn't enough time to comfort her. She grabbed Donna's hand and took off after the Doctor, keeping her vision solely focused on his pinstriped back. If she looked away, she feared that she would break down as Donna had.
After what felt like an eternity later, they skidded into Caecilius' house. The family was huddled in the corner, cowering from their imminent deaths. If they were surprised to see them, they didn't show it.
"Gods save us, Doctor." Caecilius prayed fervently, shutting his eyes.
The Doctor observed them for a moment, and then turned away. Donna felt like she had been stabbed. "No! Doctor, you can't. Doctor!"
Getting no response from him, and hearing the engines start up, Donna chased after him into the TARDIS. However, Addie stayed behind, refusing to leave the terrified family alone. She watched with mixed emotions as the TARDIS disappeared, and tore her gaze away from the empty spot where the blue box had been. Caecilius looked up at her in disbelief, wondering why she was still there.
"Mind if I join you?" Addie asked, wincing as a window exploded nearby. They all nodded shakily and Addie sat down beside them, trusting that the Doctor would return.
"You can't just leave them!" Donna slammed the door shut behind her, too caught up in emotion to notice that Addie hadn't followed them in.
"Don't you think I've done enough?" The Doctor glared at the console, furiously flicking switches. "History's back in place and everyone dies."
Donna stared at him blankly. "You've got to go back." He set his jaw and she ran up to him. "Doctor, I am telling you, take this thing back. It's not fair."
"No," He agreed, "it's not."
Donna searched for something to convince him. "But your own planet. It burned."
"That's just it." The Doctor finally broke. "Don't you see, Donna? Can't you understand? If I could go back and save them, then I would. But I can't. I can never go back. I can't. I just can't, I can't."
"Just someone." Donna begged, eyes red. "Please. Not the whole town. Just save someone; like Addie did with the merchant."
It was then that the both of them realized that said girl had been strangely quiet throughout the duration of their conversation. They froze, looking at each other, and then at the TARDIS doors.
She wasn't there.
The Doctor felt a surge of panic and fear overtake him, and it was without a second thought that he piloted the TARDIS back to where they had come from. "Stupid, stupid, girl." He muttered, hearts racing in his chest. What if he was too late? He had seen how badly she had reacted to the ash before. "If she's dead…" He trailed off, whacking the console and letting out an snarl. Someone would pay if she was dead, even if it ended up being him.
The TARDIS landed, more like crashed, back into Caecilius' house, and the Doctor burst through the doors. His eyes darted across the room before landing on Addie, who was sitting beside Caecilius and his family, still very much alive. The Doctor trembled in relief but tried to hide it as he ordered, "Addie, get in the TARDIS."
She got to her feet, squinting at the bright light the TARDIS was exuding. "All of us?"
The Doctor sighed as he felt Donna's presence behind him. "Yes, all of us."
After they had dropped Caecilius and his family off in the hills outside Pompeii, the Doctor had immediately declared that he and Addie needed to have a talk. Donna had quickly excused herself after the Doctor had signaled for her to leave, and now Addie was bracing herself for the inevitable lecture.
"You can't just do things like that!" The Doctor paced as she sat in the chair in the console room. "What did I say about being reckless?"
"Not to be." Addie mumbled, shrinking into the cushions. She hadn't expected that the Doctor would be this furious with her. "But I knew you were coming back!" She piped up defensively.
He stopped in front of her. "And yet you still stayed behind? Why would you do that?"
Addie glared up at him challengingly for a moment, then cast her gaze aside. "I just couldn't leave them. Doctor, they were terrified."
He deflated slightly. "And did you being there make them any less terrified?"
"... Probably not." Addie admitted.
"Of course not!" The Doctor threw his hands up in the air. "In all actuality, you only worsened the fear by making me and Donna be frightened for you!"
"I thought you said you trusted me!"
"I do!" The Doctor exploded. "But trust isn't a substitute for caring!"
Addie's eyes widened. "You care for me?"
The Doctor massaged his temples. "Yes! I do! Is that a problem?"
Addie swallowed. "No. No, it's not."
The Doctor saw the way she shifted uncomfortably in her seat and did his best to calm down. He squatted in front of her and grew frustrated with how she was determinedly avoiding his eyes. "Addie, look at me." She reluctantly did as he asked. "You are my companion, one special person out of billions of trillions of life forms in all of time and space who I've chosen to be by my side, and you think I don't care for you?"
"Well, when you put it that way…"
"I care for you far more than I should." The Doctor said softly. "And, truthfully, it's starting to scare me."
They stared at each other for a while, silenced by his confession. Right when Addie had finally formulated a response, the Doctor jumped to his feet.
"As punishment, you're sentenced to the TARDIS for three days."
"What?" Addie's jaw dropped. "Why?"
"You need to learn that your actions have an impact on others." The Doctor turned his back to her. "And that your life is just as valuable, if not more so, than any other person's in the universe, so don't go around risking it."
Addie took in his words slowly and nodded. "What if you need a preview?"
The Doctor smiled a bit at the new term. "I've gotten on fine without them before. Besides, it's only three days." He looked at her. "Don't know if I could go any longer than that without you by my side, hey?"
Feeling forgiven, Addie got to her feet and stretched. "Oh, I know you can't."
"Cheeky!" The Doctor called out to her as she left the console room to go sleep. He gazed up at the rotor and watched it bob up and down, lost in thought. "Stupid, stupid Doctor. What have you gotten yourself into?"
In all truthfulness, Addie hadn't really minded the punishment. Since their adventure in Pompeii, she had been wanting to organize her thoughts. There were far too many unknowns running around in her life, and so it was with a steaming cup of green tea and her laptop that she sat on her bed the next morning, ready to type up a list.
She made a document entitled, 'Timeline,' and started writing about what had happened to her since she had received the t-shirt. She began with the mysterious Chinese food package, then the angel on the shirt, and then the mansion she had landed at.
After seeing that typing all of that had taken about an hour in total, Addie was suddenly grateful that the Doctor and Donna had left her alone for a trip. She hadn't even reached the Utopia segment yet, and with the level of detail she was logging, who knew how long it would take to finish her version of events?
Addie ultimately spent about eight hours and five cups of tea on her summary, but was pleased with the results. It seemed that there were four unknown objects in her life thus far that had appeared out of the blue: the shirt, the Chinese takeout box, the Gallifreyan key, and, most recently, the emerald ring. She had noted when and where she had received each item, just in case it would come in handy. The only object she was still unsure about was the takeout box, which she had not encountered yet. Unfortunately, she had left it behind in her home universe,
She had also copied down some theories about her past, crazy as they seemed, including the prophecies from Evelina and Lucius. Her brows furrowed as she reread their words; those theories she knew had to be true. For that short period of time, they had gained the ability to see through the rift in time and space, and the rift never lied. From that, she was certain of five things: she was the daughter of an author, she had forgotten her past, she would continue to forget events in her future, one of her necklaces would kill her in some way, and she had to be wary of the eleventh (whatever that meant).
Other theories suggested that she was a Time Lady whose fob watch was mysteriously absent, and was also the cousin of the Master. However, there were still no answers about anything as far as she could see; both the mysterious objects and her lineage remained unknown.
Addie let out a groan as she let her head fall back onto her pillows. When had her life gotten to be so complicated? She shut the laptop closed and placed it on her desk, feeling a wave of exhaustion overtake her. "I only just woke up…" She mumbled sleepily, resisting the urge to burrow into the cushions. "I suppose I could take another nap. Sweetie, would you mind?"
The TARDIS, knowing that Addie was addressing her, shut off the lights.
"Thank you."
Her last thought before she fell into unconsciousness was, 'Who am I, really?'
Addie's new philosophy was rather akin to an ostrich sticking its head beneath the ground; she had decided not to linger on any thoughts about the things she had written down unless it was absolutely necessary because she found that it only caused her anxiety. There was no point in stressing herself out, nor in trying to avoid a future that was most likely set in stone. Besides, she was far too attached to both her emerald pendant and necklace of keys to let either of them go. The prophets were known for playing word games, after all, and for all she knew, what they said had been metaphorical.
"Two days left." She mused, rubbing her fingers over her pendant. The Doctor and Donna were still out on some trip, and Addie had a sneaking suspicion that they were currently on the Planet of the Ood after the screen in the console room had shown a snowy landscape. She temporarily deliberated on exploring outside, but ultimately decided that there was a whole world inside that she hadn't even dipped her feet into.
Her first stop was the kitchen, where she grabbed a banana to munch on as she walked; unsurprisingly, the Doctor had a rather large supply of them in the fridge. She continued down the hallway, passing her room on the righthand side, and peeked into the first room she saw after it. Ah, she had forgotten - that was Donna's room, which she had only been in once before. She shut the door, feeling uncomfortable invading the other companion's room when she wasn't there, and proceeded on to the next room.
"There's the famous swimming pool." Addie grinned. This one wasn't in the library, as she knew it would be during Ten's regeneration, but it was still pretty fantastic. She walked in and gaped in awe at the gorgeous starry sky above the pool. Everything glowed, and for a second, she pondered the existence of magic in the universe. She would definitely be back later.
Regretfully backing away, Addie found another room at the end of the hallway, before it split into a T intersection. She cautiously opened the door, and then realized it was a master bathroom that looked strangely like the prefect's bathroom from Harry Potter. The TARDIS had clearly taken some inspiration from the film, judging by the hundreds of spouts surrounding the enormous bathtub. A thought struck her, then, and she went further inside. "I wonder…"
The master bathroom was usually connected to the master bedroom, wasn't it? Addie doubted that the TARDIS would make it that easy to find the Doctor's room, however, and she was correct. Finding no doors inside, she shrugged and exited. Now, she faced the dilemma of which direction to go. Her mind was made up for her as a light turned on over a doorway to her right, and it was with a sense of curiosity that she entered.
Oh, yes. This was her favorite room, by far. Before her was both a library and a garden. The bookcases were intricately grown to form shelves and had hundreds of thousands of books neatly stacked on them. She looked up and squinted at the faux sunlight that streamed through the leaves, dappling the ground beneath her in a way that wasn't too bright or too shady. Finding an armchair, Addie sank into it and was stunned as an oaken table grew up from the ground in front of her. Leaning forward, she gingerly picked up the book that was on top and then curled back up in the chair, trusting that the TARDIS had chosen an exceptional read for her.
Hours passed as Addie got lost in the contents of the book. She barely noticed that the Doctor had returned and was calling her name until the man, himself came in front of her and plucked the novel out of her grasp. "Hey!" Addie spluttered, blinking a few times. "I was reading that!"
The Doctor rolled his eyes, shutting the book with his hand. "It couldn't have been that interesting. Don't you want to hear about where Donna and I went?"
Honestly, he was like a child, jealous that Addie wasn't paying him enough attention. She got to her feet and stretched. "Planet of the Ood?" She guessed, and he sighed petulantly.
"How do you always know?"
She took the book back from his hands and made for the door. "I don't. I've just been lucky so far that the adventures from the episodes have been so close together."
The Doctor glanced around the room in intrigue, deciding to let go of the fact that she had stolen the book back. "Well, I have to say, I haven't seen this version of the library before."
"Neither have I." Addie subconsciously led the way to the console room, wishing that the Doctor would let her return to her novel. "How much longer must I be confined again?"
"Eh, twenty four hours, give or take a few." Addie nodded absentmindedly as they reached the console room, and the Doctor eyed her speculatively. "You seem to be taking that news rather well."
"Time flies when you have a good book to read." Addie waved said novel in the air, and the Doctor finally noticed what she was reading. His eyes widened in alarm and he snatched it back.
"Where did you get this?"
Addie tried to take it back, but he was holding it above her head. Why was she so short? "The library." She replied smartly, getting on her tip toes.
"Yeah, well, you shouldn't have it." The Doctor said stonily. "I hid it long ago."
Addie stopped. "Is it because it's about the Time War?"
His face was unreadable. "Amongst other things."
What he didn't tell her was that his true name was mentioned inside, and he didn't want anyone to know that information. Not even Addie. He had no idea why the TARDIS had let her find it. Pocketing the book, he watched as Addie's face fell, and then he made an impulsive decision.
"Right, tomorrow I'm giving you TARDIS flying lessons."
Just like that, Addie was happy again. "Wait, really? How soon is tomorrow?"
He checked his watch. "Five hours from now."
She deflated again. "What am I supposed to do until then?"
"I don't know," The Doctor blustered, "human things. Go find Donna."
She eyed him warily. "Alright. I'll see you later."
Addie hadn't told him, but she had seen right through his ploy. She knew that he had only offered her TARDIS flying lessons to distract her from reading the book, but she decided not to push the issue. Some battles weren't worth being fought.
"I can't believe I'm doing this!"
Somehow, Donna had gotten herself involved with the TARDIS flying lessons, having refused to be left out after she and Addie had properly reconciled. The Doctor flinched uneasily as she incorrectly handled a lever. "No, neither can I. Oh, careful."
He took out a mallet and whacked something on the console. Addie, who was across from him, winced at his abuse of the TARDIS. "Why do you always hit her?"
"Because I can!" The Doctor declared. "Donna, left hand down. Left hand down! Getting a bit too close to the 1980s. Addie, keep doing what you're doing."
The TARDIS tilted to the side and she struggled to keep her hands steady on the buttons. "Was that me or Donna?" Addie asked as the TARDIS leveled out.
"Donna." The Doctor said hastily, to Addie's triumph. Then, there was a sound of a phone ringing, and everyone stared at each other in disbelief.
"Hold on. That's a phone." Donna realized slowly.
"Bet I know who that is." Addie teased, earning a sharp glance from Donna.
"Who is it?" She paused, then shook her head. "No, better question; since when have you got a mobile?"
The Doctor gazed at the phone in the mobile with mixed emotions. "It's not mine."
Addie waited impatiently for him to pick it up. "Go on, then! Put it on speaker."
He reached for it and answered the call. "Hello?"
At Addie's raised eyebrows, he rolled his eyes and put it on speaker. Sure enough, Martha's voice rang out. "Doctor? Addie? It's Martha, and I'm bringing you back to Earth."
Addie cheered excitedly. "Can't wait to see you, Martha! Be there in a few."
Martha let out a resounding laugh and then proceeded to give them the coordinates to land at. The Doctor hung up on her and Addie trained her best puppy dog eyes on him. "Doctor…"
"You've still got eighteen hours." He reminded her unnecessarily.
"Please?" Addie pleaded. "It's Martha and I haven't seen her in, well, about as long as you have. Are you seriously going to stop me from seeing her?"
The Doctor deliberated for a minute, and then let out a groan. Addie beamed, knowing that he had given in, and threw her arms around him in a hug. He froze at the unexpected gesture, but before he could wrap his arms around her in return, she was already throwing the TARDIS doors open. Seeing that they were still in the galaxy, Addie whirled around again. "Come on, hurry up, then!"
"Not without my team." The Doctor joked. "Your lesson isn't over yet."
Addie reluctantly shut the doors and trotted back to the console. "So, what's next?"
"Martha Jones." The Doctor stated as he stood just outside the TARDIS.
Martha, who was a few feet away, addressed him just as calmly. "Doctor."
Addie peeked her head out of the TARDIS and rolled her eyes at how slowly they were taking the reunion. Deciding to hurry things up a bit, she rushed out of the TARDIS and crashed into a surprised Martha. "I've missed you so much!"
The other woman smiled and squeezed her back. "You've certainly gotten bolder." The last time she had seen Addie, she had still been learning how to speak up for herself. She released her and looked her up and down. "Glad to see you're doing okay."
"You too." Addie grinned as the Doctor came beside her. She stepped back, suddenly feeling abashed at the fact that she had interrupted their reunion, and watched as the Doctor picked Martha up and spun her around.
"You haven't changed a bit." He commented warmly.
"Neither have you." Martha beamed. This felt right; Addie and Martha and the Doctor, reunited at last. She knew that it couldn't last forever, but for now, things were as they should be.
"How's the family?" The Doctor suddenly remembered where they had left off.
"You know. Not so bad. Recovering." Martha admitted. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she saw an auburn haired woman step out of the TARDIS. "Right. Should have known. Didn't take you long to replace me, then."
Addie snorted and nudged her affectionately. "Don't be silly, no one could replace you."
"Now, don't start fighting. Martha, Donna. Donna, Martha." The Doctor backed away warily towards Addie, whom he knew was another neutral party. "Please don't fight. Can't bear fighting."
"You wish." Donna snorted, earning a relieved sigh from the Doctor as she reached out to shake Martha's hand. "I've heard all about you. They talk about you all the time."
Martha raised her eyebrows. "I dread to think."
Donna quickly backtracked. "No, no, no. No, they say nice things. Good things. Nice things. Really good things."
"Donna." Addie warned. She worried about what her tone insinuated to Martha. Addie had said nothing but positive things about Martha, and she didn't want her to think otherwise.
"Oh, my God. He's told you everything." Martha swept her bangs from her face embarrassedly. Addie noted that she only referred to the Doctor, and relaxed slightly.
"Didn't take long to get over it, though." Donna's gaze shifted downwards to Martha's left hand. "Who's the lucky man?"
Addie followed her eyes. "Can't believe I missed that."
On Martha's ring finger was a sparkling diamond ring. However, the Doctor was oblivious, as always. "What man? Missed what?"
"She's engaged, you prawn." Donna scoffed, and Addie mentally made a note of the insult. She really had to write all of them down; they were ingenious.
The Doctor felt a pang of something in his chest, but couldn't identify what it was. "Really? Who to?"
"Tom. That Tom Milligan. He's in pediatrics. Working out in Africa right now." Martha's eyes sparkled and Addie felt a split second of envy. Someday, she wanted to experience a love like that. "And yes, I know, I've got a doctor who disappears off to distant places. Tell me about it."
"Is he skinny?"
"No," Martha admitted shyly, "he's sort of strong."
"Oooh, go Martha." Addie winked at her. "Sounds like you got yourself a catch."
The Doctor straightened up almost imperceptibly, an indignant look on his face, and only Donna noticed. "He is too skinny for words. You give him a hug, you get a paper cut." She said slyly, wanting to see how Addie would react.
Sure enough, she delivered. "Slim and a little bit foxy, right, Doctor?"
He instantly brightened up, and Donna and Martha exchanged a knowing glance as he eagerly replied, "Ah, yes, Cassandra. New Earth. I remember that. There you go again, stealing other people's words."
"Hey!" Addie pointed at him as he chuckled at her. "I defended you, and this is the thanks I get?"
The Doctor pulled her to his side affectionately, and try as she might, she couldn't keep up the irritated facade. Neither of them noticed that it hadn't been painful for him to bring up one of his adventures with Rose - a huge change from the last time Martha had seen him.
Meanwhile, as they continued to quabble, Martha whispered in Donna's ear. "Are they always like this now?"
"Yeah." Donna answered easily. "Aren't they just adorable?"
Martha swallowed, doing her best to let go of any feelings of envy. "Yeah. Yeah, they are." Donna gave her a weird look, and she quickly raised her voice to address the other two. "If you two are quite finished..." She trailed off.
Addie froze and instantly stepped away from the Doctor. "Right, sorry."
Then, a voice came from Martha's pocket. "Doctor Jones, report to base, please. Over."
Martha grabbed the walkie-talkie and affirmed, "This is Doctor Jones. Operation Blue Sky is go, go, go." She jerked her head at the other three and turned around. "I repeat, this is a go."
She sped out of the little alleyway they had parked in and Addie's jaw dropped at what they emerged to. There were platoons of UNIT soldiers, military jeeps, and trucks that were on full display. Red caps were seen in mass amounts, as were rifles. She chanced a look over at the Doctor, and saw that there was an unreadable expression on his face. Addie knew very well what his position on guns was, but also knew that he had a past with UNIT. Of course, since she had never gotten around to watching Classic Who, that past was unknown to her.
"Unified Intelligence Taskforce. Raise that barrier, now!"
Addie scanned the crowd to see where that voice had come from, and her eyes landed on the huge ATMOS logo on the side of the building. "Here come the Sontarans…" Addie muttered quietly to herself, watching as the UNIT soldiers stormed inside the building.
"Leave those safeties on, lads. They're non-hostiles." A soldier announced. "All workers, lay down your tools and surrender."
Martha held her walkie-talkie again. "Greyhound Six to Trap One. B Section, go, go, go. Search the ground floor. Grid pattern delta."
Addie did her best not to judge Martha, but the transformation from innocent companion to militant doctor was extraordinarily difficult to swallow. She knew that Martha was still the same person, but, wow, had she changed.
"What are you searching for?" The Doctor inquired.
"Illegal aliens." Martha replied distractedly, waving her arm. "B section mobilised. E section, F section, on my command." She ran off without another word, leaving the Doctor and Addie to stare after her, slightly disturbed.
Donna was on the same wavelength as them. "Is that what you did to her? Turned her into a soldier?"
Addie really couldn't defend the Doctor on that one; she had found that her experiences with him had definitely made her more hardened to suffering and danger, and, dare she say it, even desire that adrenaline rush that came from running for her life. She blinked, feeling a sense of revulsion rise up in her gut. No, she didn't like everything about who she was becoming, that was for sure.
She cleared her throat. "Look, she's coming back."
And then, she was with them once again, but this time, it felt far more awkward than before. The Doctor searched for something to say. "You're qualified now. You're a proper doctor."
Martha spared him a smile, then gestured for them to follow her. "UNIT rushed it through, given my experience in the field. Here we go. We're establishing a field base on site. They're dying to meet you."
As they strode to try to keep up with her, the Doctor mumbled a sentiment that Addie shared, "Wish I could say the same."
Hello!
Yes, I skipped Planet of the Ood. It was a great episode, don't get me wrong, but I didn't really feel like fleshing it out, and after the stunt Addie pulled by staying behind in Pompeii, I assumed that the Doctor would be furious with her, anyways. What better way to punish her than confining her to the TARDIS, right? Of course, Addie didn't really see it that way, did she?
I'm sort of sad that the Pompeii arc is over :( It was so fun to write, and the Sontaran arc was, regrettably, not nearly as fun. I feel like there was a lot of character development for Donna in this chapter, though, as well as some for Addie. It's funny to reflect on how much Addie has changed from Utopia (where she was really shy around the Doctor and still thought of him as being a hero from a show) and now. Martha clearly notices how much bolder Addie has become since she left the TARDIS team, and Addie notices how much Martha appears to have changed since joining UNIT, as well.
So, how did you like this chapter? Some Adeta moments were thrown in there :) Addie also got to explore the TARDIS, which is probably every Whovian's dream. Let me know what you think! Thank you all so much, and I hope you have a marvelous week!
- Entitea
Preview of the next chapter:
"So, what's up?"
Martha let out a chuckle, shaking her head. "Months have passed, and you still haven't changed."
Now, Addie was the confused one. "I thought you said - "
"I mean your tells." Martha clarified. "You've got that look on your face, like you're about to try and change the future. Your eyebrows get all creased and your eyes get distant, like you're miles away. I'm surprised that the Doctor hasn't caught on yet, but he's always been oblivious to some things, hasn't he?"
Addie looked her in the eyes steadily. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Martha exhaled. "I can see I'm not going to make any progress with you. Just… be careful."
"No promises." Addie teased, trying to make the mood lighter. Her efforts earned a smile from Martha, and a snarky comment.
"Now I can see why he doesn't like to let you leave his side. You two are more alike than you think."
