It was just before the sun began to rise when The Winter family finally laid down to sleep. Remembering what The Doctor had told her about relapses, she decided to simply lie awake and stare at the ceiling. It was a rough night explaining all that had happened to her, every little bit they wanted to know. It was an entire discussion all on it's own about Naomi's "recklessness" for traveling with a man who wouldn't tell her his real name. It was damn near impossible for Naomi to describe the kinds of things she has seen, the Sontaran spaceship, Princess Lua, Rusty and all of his internal functions, even the TARDIS' psychic interface was incredibly difficult to explain. As she did her best to tell her family everything there was to know about her adventures, they constantly interrupted her with questions, a disappointing sigh, or a harsh remark; she finally understood what The Doctor meant about humans and their never ending need to inquire. Through painful elaboration, Naomi had revealed everything to them. Donnie wasn't pleased about her choices, but he knew better than to try and stop her; considering The Doctor was a time traveling alien. The overall mood Naomi had received from her brothers was that they didn't like the idea of her flying across over time and space with "a strange man with a Scottish accent."
Naomi stared up at the ceiling and allowed her mind to wander around. She couldn't help but think about what Clara and The Doctor were fighting about; what had he lied to her about? What is he hiding from her? She sighed in frustration, she trusted this man. Given, she didn't truly know his name, where he came from, or anything fundamental about him, but The Doctor had already saved her life multiple times. However, she knew he was capable of letting people die; Ross, for example. The Doctor was definitely alien and a close friend, but he could also be dark and down right heartless at times. Naomi knew there was more to The Doctor than what he shows, she just wasn't sure if she could handle her overprotective brothers and her Doctor in her spare time. She knew she was living a double life; the strange thing was that she didn't mind.
Hours later, Naomi went to work with no sleep behind her. She left her family passed out on her couch and living room floor to drive to work in a haze. Her body was weak from being in a coma in the TARDIS for two months, so she was careful to avoid any heavy lifting at work or much running around for the day. Her initial plan was to sit at her desk all day and quietly catch up on her paperwork for the newest security system for a hospital. But, like all the plans she has ever made while being associated with The Doctor, nothing ever really goes as hoped.
Walking into the back entrance to the warehouse, Naomi was immediately flagged down by one of the new technicians. "Hey Naomi, what am I supposed to do with these circuits?"
"What you do with everything else, categorize them and put them away."
"But they're supposed to be with The Quad project; they're extra, but the coordinator wanted at least fourteen and we can't put the remaining five on unless we get another switchboard."
Naomi sighed, rubbing her tired eyes and hiding her newly colored eye from Richard, "I'll send an email to the coordinator. For now, go fiddle with the cameras for project."
"Fiddle? Is that a technical term?" Richard joked while walking away.
She wasn't in the mood to be teased by her co-workers. Honestly, all she wanted to do was sleep, but she feared the relapse. Maybe she should have eaten something on the way to the warehouse; too late now, she would have to wait until lunch now. For the majority of the morning, she was left alone to file paperwork and finalize preparations for the bid of their next project.
Nearing eleven o'clock, right as Naomi poured her fourth cup of coffee, a different co-worker approached her. His name was Edward and about three years older than her, but that didn't stop him from flirting with her in the break room. She saw him coming from the corner of her right eye; this was not the day.
"Hello my dear," he said while leaning on the counter. Naomi looked at him with an unamused expression; it didn't occur to her that he would stare into her eyes. "Woah, what's with your eyes?"
"Oh!" she came up with the most obvious lie, "Colored contacts; I wanted to know what I would look like with green eyes."
"But you only have one in?"
"Yeah, well, I wanted to scare some of the techies, but they didn't notice so," she kept adding into her lie.
"It's barely October and you want to scare those idiots?"
"Tis the season."
"Your hair, it's a lot longer than it was the other day," Edward diverted his eyes from her's and began to examine her roots and the added length to it.
"Uh, no. Not really. No," she shook her head.
"No, no, it's definitely longer," Edward fished inside his cell phone from his jean pocket. Quickly, he found a picture of Naomi from the prior week. "See? That was from last Friday, for Amanda's birthday lunch." He showed her the picture of the usual staff at a restaurant; her hair was like it was before she went into the coma.
"Oh damn," she muttered, grabbing the phone and zooming in on her face, "You can see my roots there too!" She quickly handed the phone back and walked away from the stunned Edward; damn him and his constant need to take selfies. Naomi left the break room and returned to her desk, silently signaling Edward to leave her to her paperwork.
Thankfully, he didn't push the issue, he returned to his wall cubicle in the main office and kept his distance from Naomi for the remainder of the day. Nearing the end of the workday, her desk phone began to ring; it barely ever rang unless it was a technician calling or there was an unhappy project coordinator checking in; both were equally unappealing to her. Reluctantly, she answered the phone on the standard second ring, and greeted whomever it was with the proper greeted.
"Hello, North American Video, Naomi speaking," she said with a slightly eased tone.
"Jesus, don't you ever check your cell?" a female voice sighed into the speaker.
"Ash?!" Naomi gasped into the phone. She didn't even remember that she was at Ash's house when The Bacter attacked her body; of course, now she remembered how Ash slapped her across the face and then left her to the torturous pain of the two sets of alien DNA fight inside her body. Naomi didn't know she could get so upset at someone so immensely fast. "I'm at work, what?"
"I know, but I was wondering if you had plans after work?"
"I don't know," Naomi had a feeling that Ash was going to ask if she could come over and continue to pamper her distrot friend from her horrible break up, and she was not in the mood to deal with Ash's mood swings, "Why?"
"Can I come over? I think we need to talk," Ash was a bit more quiet and hushed than before.
"Really not in the mood-" There was a knock at the back of the warehouse door. Naomi leaned out of her desk area and looked near where the sound came from. She knew her technicians for the day had went home; only the supervisors and assistant managers were left to finish up. Who was knocking? "Hold on," before Ash could say anything, Naomi put the call on Hold and went to investigate. "Hello?" she called out as she rounded the shelves of installation parts. There was another knock at the door. Naomi stood next to the back door and thought who was on the other side; they weren't expecting a delivery until next week, so it wasn't them. What if it was The Doctor? Would he really visit her at work? Well, his visits are more "let's run away for a while and do something incredibly dangerous because we can," instead of "let's grab coffee." Hoping for the best, Naomi pushed the door outward as a wave of sun washed into the dark warehouse. She used one hand to shield her eyes from direct sunlight as she looked to see who it was.
"Don't put me on hold. That's hella rude!" Ash stood just in front of the door, one hand on her hip and the other by her ear holding a phone.
Naomi didn't dilute her obvious disappointment that it was her and not her Doctor. "What?" she asked again.
"I wanted to make sure we talk," she hung up on her cell phone.
"What if I'm busy?"
"You just said that you weren't sure if you-"
"What if I become busy?" Naomi rolled her eyes at her blonde friend.
"Can we just talk at the park when you're done?" Ash used her thumb to indicate to the large open space behind their warehouse and office building.
"Okay, fine, yeah," Naomi was tired of fighting. She wanted to crawl into her bed and sleep. Bickering with Ash would have to stop eventually, might as well get it over with so she would leave her alone later.
Naomi went back inside and finished her preparations for the meeting next morning, and clocked out. She slung her purse over her shoulder and said her final goodbyes to Edward and the other assistant managers. She locked up her warehouse and used the backdoor to get to the park faster than going through the front. Sitting on a bench under the pavillion, Ash was scrolling through her phone when Naomi walked up, hands in pockets and attitude on her face; the pose reminded her of The Doctor's constant demeanor.
"Gonna sit?" Ash patted the stone next to her for Naomi.
"I'll stand," she insisted.
Ash looked at the concrete under her, trying to figure out how to start off. Naomi decided to let her talk because this was what she wanted. It took her a minute to find the right words and begin.
"I'm sorry about last night."
"Which part? Where you accused me of ditching you, when you called me a liar, or was it when you slapped me because I was telling you the truth?"
"You're still sticking with that story-"
"Or maybe it was when you left me, in agonizing pain, for dead?" Naomi carefully watch Ash twindle with her fingers, popping a few and cupping them back together.
"How about all of it?"
The red haired woman stood, nearly motionless, studying her friend. She held her tongue while she tried to think of which path to take; continue to belittle her and make her feel like hell, or forgive her for only acting human? Normally, Naomi would let loose and criticize Ash's unrealistic friendship standards, however since she started her adventures with The Doctor, she has become more understanding and knew that Ash was closed-minded, just like she once was.
"You were only following your Fight or Flight response," Naomi sighed, forgiving Ash for her inability to aid her. "Just, stop calling me a liar."
"Naomi," Ash smiled in disbelief and got on her feet, standing in front of her, "That man from last night wasn't an alien. There's no such thing."
"If you won't believe me, fine," Naomi used one hand to rub her forehead; a headache was starting to form from Ash constantly calling her a liar. "I'll just lie to you-"
"You're lying right now!" Ash crossed her arms and began to get defensive. So much for just talking.
"No, Ash, I really am not."
"Aliens don't exist!"
"Then maybe someone should tell him," Naomi shrugged her slender shoulders, keeping her hands in her pockets.
"This is getting ridiculous," Ash rolled her eyes and threw up her arms in defeat, "How am I supposed to trust you if you lie to me?"
"What happened to just talking?"
"Why are you avoiding my question?"
"Why can't you just accept that The Doctor is an alien?"
"Because he isn't!"
Naomi rubbed her eyes with her hands and sighed, expressing her frustration with this argument that seemed to be running around in circles. "Okay," she said, calming her voice and hiding her face in her hands, "He isn't an alien. He's my rich, older boyfriend. I texted him before I got to your house last night so we could make out behind your neighbor's shed. Satisfied?" Naomi replied with an exaggerated sarcastic tone. The two girls stared at each other, Ash was giving a warning glare as Naomi simply returned with another shrug. A moment passed as the friends held their stares at one another before Naomi's cell phone began to ring. While holding her colored eyes at Ash, she dug her phone out of her small purse and glanced at the caller ID. Who else would it be? "Speak of the devil," she muttered. Answering the phone and keeping it close to her ear, Naomi spoke into the speaker. "Hello?"
"I need you to turn about 32 degrees to your left."
"What?"
"Turn. Move your body approximately 32 degrees to the left."
"Why?" Naomi was careful to take small steps to slightly change direction. Near the middle of the park, behind a tree, she saw The Doctor leaning against it. What a surprise. "You have got to be kidding me," she said, looking directly at him.
"Good. Now, you see me."
"Of course I can see you; your camouflage isn't as accurate as you think it is."
"I am very aware of what I am wearing. What ever possessed you to wear those shoes?"
"What's wrong with my shoes?" Naomi checked her feet, she was wearing her work boots for the warehouse. Ash followed her friend's previous line of sight and easily found The Doctor. "I have to wear these for work-"
"Naomi."
"What?"
"Your friend doesn't look happy to see me."
Naomi glanced at Ash, who was staring right at The Doctor. She could tell that Ash was about to blow up in anger; and Naomi was the only outlet for miles. This was going to be bad. "Oh damn," Naomi quickly ended the conversation with her Doctor and began to brace herself for Ash's rage. "Ashley," Naomi safely put her phone away and attempted to unruffle her friend.
"What the hell is this?!" Ash spun around and stepped into Naomi's face, breaking her comfort zone. "Why the hell is your boyfriend here?!"
"No need to raise your voice," Naomi backed away, praying that Ash's voice didn't carry over to her Doctor. "We're adults. And we will act like them."
"You don't tell me what to do!" Ash thrusted her open palms into Naomi's shoulders, pushing her further back.
Instead of Naomi resorting to violence, she heaved a deep breath and cocked her head at Ash. "Fine, I will act like the adult."
"What makes you so high and mighty? What makes you so better than me?"
"Well, I'm not the one who accuses someone of lying after she has done nothing but provide assistance." Ash's face was becoming red in the face; Naomi noticed her breathing patterns changed and her arm muscles were vaguely tensing, she was going to hit Naomi if she continued. Normally, she would stop, but Naomi knew it was time for Ash to hear how childish she was acting. "And, I'm not the one insinuating a petty argument."
That broke Ash's temper. She flung her open hand at Naomi's face, just like the night before. With narrowed eyes, Naomi immediately caught her wrist. For a split second, Ash was dumbfounded and unable to process the strength of Naomi's left hand. However, the short pause of confusion caused Ash to transform her controlled anger to stupid rage. With her free hand, Ash balled it into a fist and tried to force it across Naomi's other cheek. With hidden strength, Naomi pushed two fingers into the small of her wrist and twisted, leading to a crippling pain shooting up her arm. She continued to twist until Ash fell to her knees, whining in distress.
"You were always a horrible friend," Naomi whispered in Ashley's ear. With one last small twist, Naomi released her once best friend and sighed with disappointment. Keeping her eyes on the browning grass, she walked away from the pavillion and towards The Doctor. She looked up to see him carefully watching her, the lining of his inner coat showing as he kept his hands in his pockets. She gave a weak smile, only for The Doctor to reply with widening his eyes and rushing to her.
"Naomi!" He pointed behind her.
She turned to see Ash running up to her; hunched over like she was about to tackle her. Instinctively, Naomi bent her knees and wedged her feet outward. When Ash was close enough, Naomi dropped to the ground and slipped her shin under her legs. Ash tumbled over her head and rolled onto the dying grass. The Doctor walked around the blonde girl in the dirt and stood next to Naomi.
"I-I didn't know I could do that," she admitted, utterly surprised.
"It wasn't you," The Doctor grabbed her face and gently pulled her eyelids down to look into the white of her eyes. "Princess Lua's defensive genes are protecting you; inside and out."
"But how? That didn't happen the first time Ash slapped me."
"The Rutan's are a mental species, always worrying about the inside of the brain and body. The first time she hit you triggered the DNA to mutant and expand beyond their normal parameters."
"And because they had two months to mutant-"
"They perfected their new defense system." The Doctor concluded while releasing her bottom eyelids. "Wouldn't rely on it too much; probably just got lucky."
"A little luck never hurt anyone."
"Unless it's bad luck."
"I like to be optimistic." Naomi smiled up to her dark eyed friend, whom returned it with a small grin.
"You damn-" Ash muttered swear words under her breath to get Naomi and The Doctor's attention.
"This isn't like her," she explained to her Doctor. "She's a bit on the crazy side, but she's never been so violent."
The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket and clicked the button towards Ash. The buzzing hummed as The Doctor flicked the tip around Ash. "Oh," he simply said, while looking at the results in his screwdriver.
"Oh?"
"She's beaming with chemicals. A hot mess. But," he brought the device closer to his face so he could get a better look, "These aren't normal. Not organic based. Manufactured."
"Why would Ash have created chemicals?"
"Mhmm," The Doctor switched off the sonic screwdriver and placed it back in his coat pocket. "I need her back at the TARDIS. Run some tests, take some blood," he explained while walking away towards the iconic blue box at the other side of the park.
"What are you talking about?" Ash pushed off of the ground and dusted her jeans off.
"Uh, he needs to give you a check-up," Naomi gave a vague description of what The Doctor needed to do.
"I'm not going anywhere with any of you!" Ash bared her teeth and grounded her feet.
Naomi's only idea to get Ash to come with her wasn't the best, but it was definitely the most efficient way. She shrugged her shoulders and held onto her purse. "That's why Anthony broke up with you; you can't compromise." Unfortunately, it worked. Ash lunged at Naomi, luckily she missed by a few inches. Naomi quickly backed away and used small steps to turn completely around and run in the direction of The Doctor and the TARDIS. Ash was right behind her.
"Doctor! Doctor!" she shouted to get his attention. He turned around, muttering to himself and saw the two girls running. "Key! Gimme the key!" As fast as he could, he fished out a small silver key and tossed it to Naomi as she ran past. Cupping the key with both hands, Naomi caught it and used her legs to take long strides to the TARDIS. She quickly got there and used the key to unlock the time machine. Just as she crossed the threshold, Naomi slid to the side and allowed Ash to charge into the TARDIS.
((Greetings! Hope you are enjoying the story so far. It was difficult getting to this point, but be prepared; some romance is coming in the next chapter :D And thanks for all the fantastic reviews and praise. You guys are brilliant!))