Night Terrors, Part 1
The Doctor stood by the TARDIS controls, blabbering on about something while Amy and Rory stood on the other side of the console, drinking tea from a pair of plain white mugs. Amy pretended to listen to the Doctor, but her eyes were fixed on the Hatter as the Time Lady leant against the railing, staring off into the distances with a funny look on her face, her hat notably absent from atop her head. It wasn't the first time it had happened either.
For weeks now Amy would catch the Time Lady just staring off into space, the same blank expression on her face, only to jump when someone tried to speak to her. Sometimes she would even catch her wiping away tears when she thought no one was watching. The Doctor seemed to be the complete opposite, however. He had become twice as energetic as he had been before, running and jumping about like he had been wound up on a tight spring, moving his hands around rapidly as he spoke a mile a minutes about completely random things, sometimes things that didn't even make sense. But, at the end of the day, she would always catch the two of them sitting beside each other on the steps or leaning against the controls, holding each other with their faces buried into each other's necks, the sadness and grief for their daughter practically filling the entire console room with a heavy air. Amy knew that pain well, but she also knew that nothing either she or Rory could say would help, it would simply take time.
Suddenly, the Doctor broke off mid sentence and jumped, as if something had burnt him, whirling around to face the Hatter as he reached into his pocket. The Time Lady blinked, startled by the sudden movement and finally seemed to come back to reality, watching him curiously as he pulled the psychic paper from his blazer pocket and flipped it open, checking it.
"'Please save me from the monsters,'" he read aloud, frowning very slightly.
The Hatter pushed off from the railing and moved to his side to see the message for herself, "How curious," she remarked, though Amy did note that she didn't sound nearly as interested as she might have once. Even her expression looked…dimmed.
The Doctor lowered the paper, tucking it back inside his pocket as he eyed her worriedly, "We don't…" he began, lowering his voice.
"Yes, we do," she cut him off, speaking just as softly as she meet his eyes, "Someone out there, likely a child, is so desperate for help that they managed to send you a message right across the stars. How could we possibly not go?"
"I'm just a little concerned that it might be a bit soon, after…"
"It will always be too soon, Doctor," she sighed, swallowing painfully, Astra's tiny face swimming through her mind, "But that doesn't mean that we can simply ignore the pleas for help from a child, that only makes it all the more important. We would never think for a moment about helping before, we are certainly not going to start now".
He smiled faintly and pressed a kiss to her forehead, relieved that she was thinking that way. Of course he wouldn't have been able to just ignore the call, but he had been a little worried that the Hatter might decide that she would stay behind in the TARDIS and let them go. Hopefully, this little trip, getting back to the old days, would help her start to come back to herself a little bit, she might even start wearing her hat again, something she hadn't done since they had left Astra with Sarah Jane. He very dearly hoped so; it broke his hearts to see the Hatter so sad.
The Hatter returned his smile, if a little weakly, and moved closer to the controls, "Well, it certainly has been quite some time since we've done this," she commented lightly, reaching out to pull a lever, the Doctor quickly moving to start working at the controls, too.
"Done what?" Amy asked with a small frown, watching them, just as the brunet carefully brushed past them as she danced around the console, "What are you doing?"
"Making a house call," the Doctor replied brightly, flashing the humans a quick smile as he pulled the last lever, setting them off.
"Mind your tea!" the Time Lady called, just as the TARDIS began shaking and jolting around, Amy and Rory only just managing to quickly drink up the very last mouthfuls of their tea, almost burning their mouths in the process, before they found themselves almost knocked to the ground, Rory dropping his cup and shattering it onto the glass floor.
"Oh, sorry!" Rory said loudly, grabbing a nearby railing to try and steady himself.
"Never mind!" she shook her head as she calmly kicked the shards of porcelain over the edge of the console, just to make sure no one ended up injuring themselves on it, going straight back to helping fly the TARDIS.
Finally, the shaking and the jolting died down as they landed, Rory, being closest to the doors, heading straight down the steps and off outside while the Time Lords finished making sure that the time machine wouldn't go wondering off on them…again. He opened the door and stepped outside, looking around with a rather unimpressed expression as he realised that they had landed in what looked like an old parking lot at night time, dogs barking loudly in the distance as, off to the side of where they had parked, several red, shabby garage doors faced them. Above them, several tall building's loomed, looking like blocks of old flats. Amy stepped out behind him as they looked around, their shoes splashing in the puddles on the concrete ground from an old drain that looked like it was blocked by leaves and plant matter.
"No offence…" he called back to the open TARDIS doors, casting his eyes up at the buildings.
"Meaning the opposite," the Doctor said as he held the TARDIS door open for the Hatter as she stepped out, looking around.
"…but we could have got a bus somewhere like this," he finished, looking back to the Time Lords.
"The exact opposite," the Hatter smiled faintly as the Doctor shut the doors and took her hand, the two of them strolling over to Amy and Rory.
"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory," Amy shrugged, looking up at the buildings surrounding them.
"Yes, it can!" the Doctor said at once, shaking his head at her as they strolled passed them, reaching into his pocket, "Course it can! Planets and history and stuff".
"We're very good at that, thank you very much," the Time Lady added brightly as Amy and Rory trailed behind them as they headed off in the direction of one of the blocks of flats, "However…" she glanced back to the humans, "Today is slightly different".
"Yes," he agreed, pulling his sonic screwdriver from his inner blazer pocket, flashing it around in his free hand as they walked through a large metal gate and into the large courtyard of the block, "Today we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the Universe," he glanced back to them as they continued walking, raising his eyebrows, "A child's bedroom".
They made their way through the courtyard, the Doctor jumping over a piece of junk that had been left lying around outside, and strolled into the block of flats, coming to a stop outside the lifts, the Doctor excitedly pressing the button to bring it down. The Hatter shook her head fondly as he moved back to stand beside her, linking his arm through hers. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the psychic paper while they waited, holding it up to look at the message again.
Rory frowned slightly with his arms crossed across his chest, leaning closer to the Time Lady to get a better look, "'Please save me from the monsters?'" he read, glancing back to the Time Lords as the Doctor flipped the paper closed, "Who sent that?"
"That's exactly why we're here," the Hatter told him, looking back to the lift doors as the Doctor tucked the paper back inside his pocket, "Somewhere around here, someone needs our help and we're going to find them".
"Sounds like something a kid would say," Amy remarked, looking back over to them from the other side of the Doctor.
"Exactly," the Doctor nodded, exchanging a quick look with the Hatter. She seemed to be holding up well, but that still didn't stop him from worrying that this little adventure might just be a little too much for her to be able to handle right now. He had to admit, the idea of a terrified child out there, desperate for help, was making him feel a little shaken, thoughts of Astra popping into his mind. He gave himself a hard mental shake, reminding himself to focus "A scared kid," he sighed, frowning, "A very scared kid".
"So afraid, in fact," the Time Lady went on, looking back to the lift, "That they managed to send their cry for help halfway across the Universe, straight into the TARDIS".
"Yeah, but you've traced it here?" Amy frowned slightly, casting her eyes around the small, shabby little hallway. The place was in desperate need of a bit of work.
"This is where the signal is coming from," she confirmed, before pausing and looking up at the ceiling, "Well, more accurately from one of the flats above us, sadly there's too many for us to be able to completely narrow down," Amy pulled a face, thinking that they would have to knock on every door in the place. She smiled slightly, "Not to worry, we did manage to narrow it down to at least three floors".
"Great," she sighed sarcastically, looking thrilled by the prospect of having to look through three whole floors of flats.
The lift dinged as it reached them, the doors sliding open before them.
"Ah!" the Doctor grinned, "Going up," he and the Hatter stepped into the tight space, Amy and Rory following behind them.
….
The Hatter sighed slightly as she looked around, each and every single flat exactly the same, from the two front windows to the front doors, all of it identical from the last one. It was actually a little depressing, how alike it all was, not a single colour different. Depressing and boring. It reminded her far too much like Gallifrey.
The four of them had separated to try and find the frightened child as quickly as they could, though the Doctor had tried to suggest that he and the Hatter should stick together, the Time Lady had pointed out to him that the more doors that they could knock on, the faster it would be for them to track down the child, which was the main point. Reluctantly, he had agreed and headed off on his own, leaving her to contemplate where to begin, while Amy and Rory checked the floor below her.
The first door that she came to, she knocked on, fixing a large, friendly smile onto her face as it swung open and she found herself face to face with a teenage boy, barely appearing to be older then sixteen with spotty skin and looking as if he had undergone a massive growth spurt. He actually reminded her a little bit of the Doctor, all gangly and a little clumsy looking.
"Hello!" she said cheerfully, "I'm from community support…"
"I didn't do it!" the boy blurted out, looking panicked.
She blinked, taken aback, "I'm sorry?"
"Um…" he almost visibly swallowed, shifting nervously, "Nothing".
"Right," she nodded slowly, eyeing him strangely, "And I completely believe you," she struggled not to burst out laughing as she watched a bright blush creep up his neck, avoiding her eyes. She shook her head and smiled, "Anyway, I'm the Hatter…" she didn't even wait for his permission, simply reaching forward and grabbing his sweaty hand, shaking it quickly before letting it go once more. Discreetly, she rubbed her palm against the back of her skirt, trying very hard not to grimace, "I don't suppose your parents are in…?" she asked hopefully, trying to look past him.
"Mum's out," he informed her, still looking quite nervous.
"Oh well," the Hatter shrugged, smiling widely again, "Maybe you'll be able to help me. I don't suppose you've seen anything…odd going on around here?"
"Odd?"
"Yes, just…strange things, things that shouldn't be there? Funny noises?"
"What, like ghosts?"
The Time Lady struggled to keep her smile in place, resisting the urge to groan. Ghosts, humans did like to blame odd noises onto ghosts, didn't they? Ghosts or magic, "Something like that, yeah," she sighed, feeling like she wasn't getting anywhere, "Look, maybe it'll be better if I come back later, when your mum's home…" the boy's eyes widened, looking horrified by the idea, and he suddenly slammed the door shut on her face, before she could even protest or blink. She stood there, staring at the door with her mouth hanging open, "What did I say wrong?" she muttered, baffled.
He had to be quite possibly the most nervous, twitchy teenage boy she had ever come across. She was almost a little worried just what he might have done, he clearly thought that she was going to come back and tell his mother. She shook her head and cast the door one last look, before turning on her heel and heading off for the next door, a little afraid now of what reaction she might get next.
…
After knocking on at least ten more doors, each one containing a new and sometimes even stranger resident then the last, the Hatter headed back down the hallway that she had originally gone down, close to the lifts, just as she caught sight of the Doctor right up ahead of her. He turned at the sound of her footsteps and broke into a large smile, immediately wrapping his arm around her waist as she reached him.
"Any luck, dear?" he asked hopefully.
"Nope," she sighed, shaking her head. She looked away from him and over the railing to see Amy and Rory walking along the hallway of flats on the floor below them, appearing to be talking to each other as they walked, "Not a thing…" she trailed off, catching sight of something, a frown crossing her face, "But that might be about to change, sweetheart".
The Doctor blinked, confused, following her gaze down to the floor below them where, in the window of one of the flats that Amy and Rory had just passed, the frightened face of a little boy was peering out from between his curtains, watching while the couple passed by before quickly ducking back out of sight. He looked back to the Hatter, raising his eyebrows. There really was no one else it could be, not with how frightened the little boy had looked. It had to be him.
"Bingo," he commented happily.
"Come on," the Hatter lightly tugged on his arm, leading him off down the hallway.
They found the stairs and hurried down them, stepping down into the lower floor and rounding a corner by the lifts, managing to catch Amy and Rory just as they arrived, too.
"Hey!" Amy greeted them brightly, stepping closer to them, "Any luck?"
"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia, and a man with ten cats," the Doctor listed off.
"Yes, while I meet quite possibly the most nervous teenage boy I have ever come across," the Hatter added, shaking her head in amusement as she also started listing off some of her top strange encounters of the evening, "One old man who was convinced I was his granddaughter, a woman who answered the door wearing a pink silk robe and little else, and a man who thought I had come to buy drugs," she cast her eyes around the hallway as Amy, Rory, and even the Doctor looked a little startled, "Honestly, this place is amazing. And not in a good way, either".
"Seriously?" Amy stared at her.
"Oh, I know," she nodded, looking completely serous, "Answering your front door in a silk robe? I mean, who does that? What if there had been a draft?" she shook her head, tutting to herself.
Rory and Amy exchanged a look, before Rory sighed and focused back on to the Time Lords, "What are we actually looking for?" he asked, deciding it was probably best to move on.
"Ten cats!" the Doctor grinned, shaking his head.
The Hatter pattered his arm and looked back to Amy and Rory, "A frightened child," she reminded them, "Probably anywhere between the age of four to ten".
"I, um, found scary kids," Amy told them, grimacing slightly, "Does that count?"
"Twin girls?"
"Yes," she nodded, looking surprised, "How did you know?"
She shivered, "Twin girls are always the creepiest…" she replied, very seriously.
"Hmm…" the Doctor hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the Hatter with a slightly pointed look, which she quickly caught onto and nodded. He turned back to Amy and Rory, "Try the next floor down. Catch you later," he pattered Amy's shoulder as he and the Hatter turned, walking off down the hallway. They reached the door of the flat that they had noticed the little boy peering out of the window of and he reached out to knock, when he hesitated, glancing back to the Hatter with a small, concerned frown, "Are you ready?" he asked quietly.
The Hatter sighed heavily, "While I am very grateful for how concerned and thoughtful you are being, sweetheart," she began, fixing him with a look as her voice grew sharper, "If you don't stop treating me like a porcelain doll that's mere inches away from breaking, I will smack you," she leaned closer to his face, making him wince slightly, "Very hard".
"Right, sorry," he nodded quickly, knowing that she was being serious right now. He was trying very hard not to try and keep fussing over her, knowing how much she hated when people did that, but he just couldn't help it. He knew how upset she was, how much sending Astra away to be raised by someone else while they tried to act like nothing was wrong was weighing on her mind, it was weighing on him. He couldn't stop thinking about their baby, all the things that they would miss, how easy it would just be to go back and take Astra back home with them. But they couldn't be selfish, not with her, not when they already knew that as long as Astra was with them, she would never have a somewhat normal life, forever trapped inside the TARDIS for fear of being snatched away from them. That wasn't any way to live and that was certainly not the childhood that either of them had ever wished their daughter to have. Astra would be better off with Sarah Jane, that was what mattered, they simply had to sacrifice being able to parent her in order to insure her safety.
She gave him a small, sad smile and lightly kissed him, having a pretty good idea about what he was thinking about. That was the Doctor, always thinking about her needs before his own. She had to admit, they were as bad as each other in that respect. He squeezed her hand as she pulled back and they both turned back to the door, the Doctor raising his fist again and knocking a little more cheerfully on the door then he really felt.
A moment later, the door was whipped open and a man appeared with short, dark hair and a bit of stubble on his cheeks. The Doctor held up the psychic paper for him to see, "Oh," he blinked, squinting at it, "Right. That was quick".
"Was it?" the Doctor said a little surprised, glancing at the Time Lady. He flipped the paper around to see exactly what it had said.
"Claire said she'd phone someone," he continued, "Social Services".
"That's right," the Hatter agreed quickly, glancing back at the paper to see that it had, 'Dr. John and Hattie Smith of Child Psychology, Social Services,' written across the paper. She turned back to the man and smiled at him, feeling that her bright yellow shoes would probably actually help her seem more like a child psychologist this time, "Yes, that's us," she nodded, trying to sound cheerful.
"It's not easy, you know…" the man told them, sighing, "Admitting that your kid's got a problem".
"You've got a problem," the Doctor pointed the psychic paper at him, "We've got a problem. I bet they're connected…"
"Without a doubt," the Time Lady added.
"I'm the Doctor," he introduced himself, smiling broadly at the man, "And this is my wife, Hattie, she prefers Hatter…" he gestured to the brunet, who gave the man a little wave, "Call us the Doctor and the Hatter. Ah…what can we call you?" he questioned, slipping the psychic paper back inside his pocket.
"Oh, Alex," he replied, reaching out to shake the Doctor's hand, then the Hatter's.
"Hello, Alex," the Doctor said brightly, neither Time Lord waiting for permission before strolling right through the doorway and into the entrance hallway of the flat, looking around curiously for any clues.
"Lovely place you have here," the Hatter remarked, casting her eyes quickly around before turning back to Alex, who looked a little startled, "But we're not here to admire your décor, are we?" she smiled, raising her eyebrows, "Please tell us about George," she looked pointedly across to the door coming off the hallway with a hand drawn sigh stuck to it, saying 'George's Room' and little cartoon stickers of giraffe's.
Alex blinked and shut the door behind them, "Come on through," he said, and led them past George's bedroom door and down the hallway to the living room.
The Doctor and the Hatter took a seat on the sofa, the Time Lady looking around the room while the Doctor noticed a photo album sitting on the edge of the coffee table, picking it up and settling it in his lap as he started flipping through the pages. The Time Lady redirected her attention down the book, eyeing the pictures closely on each page.
"Ever since he was born he's been a funny kid," Alex started explaining to them, sighing.
"Funny's good!" the Doctor's head snapped back up, smiling as he looked across to the Hatter beside him, "We like funny, don't we?"
"Very much so," the Hatter agreed, returning his smile and nudging his side pointedly.
"He never cries," he went on, shaking his head, "Bottles it all up, I suppose. Tell him off, he just looks at you".
The Time Lady smiled faintly as the Doctor flipped a page to reveal several baby pictures of George as a newborn, being held by his mother and even one of his foot, "How old is he?" she asked, pulling her eyes off the pictures to look across to Alex, trying very hard to ignore the small stab of pain that shot through her.
"He was eight in January. I mean, he should be growing out of stuff like this, shouldn't he?"
"Every child's different," she shrugged. Her own children had gone through phases, believing that something was hiding under their beds or in their wardrobes, wanting to sleep with a lamp on. They all grew out of it, of course, but at different ages.
The Doctor flipped the album shut and leaned over to place it back on the coffee table, frowning thoughtfully as he settled back into the sofa, looking back across to Alex, "It's got worse, though, lately?" he questioned.
"Yeah," Alex nodded, "We talked about getting help. You know, maybe sending him somewhere…" the Doctor and the Hatter both winced, exchanging a quick look as the Doctor reached out to place his hand over her knee, "…he started getting these nervous tics. You know, funny little cough, blinking all the time. But now it's got completely out of hand," he stood from his armchair and looked back down to them, shaking his head, "I mean, he's scared to death of everything".
"Pantaphobia," the Doctor commented lightly.
"What?"
"That's the correct team," the Hatter clarified, looking back up to him, "Pantaphobia".
"Not a fear of pants though, if that's what you're thinking," the Doctor continued, pointing at him, "It's a fear of everything…" he frowned slightly, a thought occurring to him, "Including pants, I suppose, in that case…"
The Time Lady cleared her throat, nudging his side, "But that's getting off track," she said with a pointed look at him, before looking back up to Alex, "Please, go on".
Alex held up his hand, starting to list them off, "He hates clowns".
"Understandable," the Doctor muttered, and the Hatter nodded quickly in agreement, pulling a face.
"Creepy things," she agreed, suppressing a shiver. She was very grateful that clowns weren't a thing on Gallifrey, they probably would have scarred her for life as a child.
"Old toys. He thinks the old lady across the way is a witch," he pointed back towards the front door as the Doctor and the Hatter smiled slightly, amused. All kids went through something like that, "He hates having a bath in case there's something under the water. The lift sounds like someone breathing! It's…" he trailed off, sighing in frustration as he shook his head, "Look, I don't know," he moved to sit back down in his armchair, clasping his hands together as he looked back across to them, "I'm not an expert. Maybe you can get through to him".
The Doctor glanced at the Hatter and back to the man, giving him a small smile, "We'll do our best".
Suddenly, a loud crash sounded from down the hallway and Alex leaped onto his feet.
"George?" he called worriedly, dashing off down the hallway. The Time Lords exchanged a quick look and moved to follow at a slower pace as Alex threw George's bedroom door open and disappeared inside, "You okay?" he asked, his voice drifting to them as they neared the door, "What's the matter? Oh…" he breathed, sounding relieved as they heard him pick something up that rattled slightly, "Never mind. Were you having a nightmare, son?"
"Wasn't a nightmare," a young boy's voice came, "I wasn't asleep," the Doctor and the Hatter stepped into the doorway of the small bedroom, the Doctor crossing his arms across his chest and leaning against the doorframe, while the Hatter took a small step into the room, looking back to the coppery haired boy sitting in the bed, staring back at them, "Who are you?" he asked, frowning back at them.
"I'm the Doctor," he told him.
"And I'm the Hatter," the Time Lady added, giving him a small, comforting smile.
"A doctor?" George's eyes winded fearfully, jumping back into his pillows, "Have you come to take me away?"
"Not at all," the Hatter shook her head, keeping her voice light and soothing, seeing how frightened he was getting. She slowly moved closer to him and knelt down in front of him, "We're just here to have a little talk with you, okay?"
"What about?"
The Doctor walked further into the room, "About the monsters," he replied, giving him a small, gentle smile as George blinked rapidly. He noticed a Rubik's cube on the ground and grinned, grabbing it and moving to sit on the foot of George's bed, immediately setting to work trying to solve it. The Hatter shook her head fondly and rose, taking a seat on the edge of the bed beside him, watching him fiddle with the cube in amusement. George eyed them both carefully, though he seemed less afraid now, more curious then anything.
Alex started pacing again, looking back over to them, "Maybe it was things on the telly, you know?" he suggested.
"Right," he muttered distractedly, frowning in concentration as he struggled to solve the cube.
"Scary stuff, getting under his skin, frightening him".
"Mmm-hmm".
"So we stopped letting him watch".
"Oh," the Doctor's head popped up, "You don't want to do that," he looked back across to George, giving him a little smile and a wink, before turning his attention back on the cube. The Hatter smiled fondly, she always did love to watch him interact with children, he was always so soft and gentle with them.
"Then Claire thought it might have been something he was reading…"
"Ooh, reading's excellent," the Hatter remarked, breaking into a bright smile as she glanced back over to George, who was clutching onto his blankets, still watching them closely, "What do you think, Georgie?" she raised her eyebrows at him, softening her tone as she spoke to him, "Do you like stories?"
George nodded slowly.
"Yeah?" the Doctor looked over to him, "Us, too," he gestured to himself and the Hatter, "When we were your age, about, ooh…" he looked questioningly back to the Time Lady.
"About a thousand years ago," she supplied for him, before pausing, "Give or take a century or two".
"Thank you, dear," he flashed her a bright smile, turning back to George, "We both loved a good bedtime story," he continued brightly, "We used to sneak into each other's rooms and read stories to each other…well, usually I did the sneaking," he corrected himself, glancing back to the Hatter, shaking his head, "This one was too scared about getting caught".
"Girl's had more to lose getting caught out of bed," the Hatter defended quickly, though she was bushing faintly, "And getting caught near the boy's dormitories? What a scandal! Regardless of how innocent it might have been, my parents would have probably shipped me off to live with distant relatives on the other side of the planet and forbidden me from ever stepping foot in the family estate again".
He smiled faintly, "Just teasing, dear," he planted a kiss on her cheek, turning back to George, "We used to read all our favourites to each other. 'The Three Little Sontarans…'"
"'The Emperor Dalek's New Clothes,'" she nodded, sounding nostalgic. She had been very sure to include all of those fairytales in the book that she had left with Astra. If neither she nor the Doctor could be there to tell those stories to her, then the least they could do was insure that Astra still heard them. They were a part of her legacy, after all, as a Gallifreyan, "Oh, and my personal favourite…" she brightened slightly, recalling the story, "'Snow White and the Seven Keys to Doomsday'".
"All the classics," he grinned, pointing at her in agreement, neither of them seeming to notice the confused expressions on Alex and George's faces, "Rubbish," he tossed the cube over his shoulder, almost hitting Alex, "Must be broken. I hate those things," he shook his head.
The Hatter cleared her throat, casting Alex an apologetic look as he gave the Doctor a frown, bending down to pick the cube up, "Ah, Doctor?" she said pointedly, making him look back to her, "You're being rude again, sweetheart".
He blinked and followed her gaze over to Alex, "Oh, right," he said sheepishly, "Better tidy it away".
"Good idea, sweetheart," she smiled faintly. She even felt the urge to laugh, she couldn't even remember the last time she had a good, proper laugh. She was positive it was before they sent Astra away.
He stood and stepped closer to Alex as he straightened, handing the cube back to him with a slightly exasperated expression. He stepped over to a large wooden wardrobe with the cube in his hand, before pausing, looking back to George, "How about in here?" he pointed at the wardrobe, when George gasped and flinched fearfully, "No?" he glanced at the Hatter, who was frowning sightly, struggling against the urge to try and comfort the boy, "Not in the cupboard? Why not in there, George?" he looked back to the boy.
"It's a…thing," Alex tried to explain, "A thing we got him doing ages back. Anything that frightens him, we put it in the cupboard. Creepy toys, scary pictures, that sort of thing".
The Hatter looked back to George, eyeing him closely, "And is that were all the monster's hide, George?" she asked him, and the boy looked back to her, blinking rapidly again. She looked back to the Doctor, raising her eyebrows.
The Doctor nodded slowly, turning back to the wardrobe and walking closer to it, "There's nothing to be scared of, George," he assured him, "It's just a cupboard," he reached out to turn the latch on the doors, when there was a sudden knocking on the front door that made them all jump and gasp, startled.
"It's okay," the Hatter reached out to gentle touch George's hand, feeling the boy trembling in fear, her own hearts feeling like there were about to jump out of her chest from the fright. Someone had perfect timing.
"Front door," Alex said, exhaling loudly. He turned and left the room to answer it.
The Doctor moved back to sit on the bed beside the Hatter, bouncing both her and George as he settled comfortably with his back pressed against the wall. Through the gape of the half-closed door, they could hear snippets of conversation going on between Alex and another; middle aged man with a bulldog attached to chained lead. George craned his neck slightly, eyeing the man intently with a frightened expression on his face. The Hatter frowned slightly and glanced at the Doctor, who flashed her little smile and reached into his pocket, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and activating it.
George blinked at the odd noise and looked back to them, eyeing the device curiously, "Is that a torch?" he asked.
"Screwdriver," the Doctor corrected, giving him a smile before he looked back to the device, making the light flash on and off again, "A sonic one. And other stuff".
"Please may I see the other stuff?"
"Why, what wonderful manners you have, George," the Hatter smiled broadly at him, glancing at the Doctor, "What do you say, sweetheart?"
The Doctor returned her smile and looked over to George, "You may," he nodded to him, and flashed his sonic over to the battery powered toys sitting on the floor on the other side of the room, making them turn on and start moving all on their own, "Pretty cool, eh?" he called over the noise of the toys.
George watched the toys moving around in wounder, his eyes widening in delight, not any trace of fear on his face now.
"Now that's what we like to see," the Hatter said happily, watching George's expression closely, greatly relieved and pleased to see that their little distraction had worked, rather then made him even more frightened, "No tears, no fear, isn't that right, Georgie?" she playfully ruffled his hair, making him blink and look back to her, "How about a smile?" she said hopefully, raising her eyebrows at him, "Come on, you can do it. High five you for one?" she held up her hand and George smiled very slightly, making her grin as he high fived her, before he turned his attention back on the toys.
"There's a brave little solider," the Doctor remarked, lightly nudging George's shoulder. It always delighted him to see the Hatter around children, she always seemed to know how to handle them and speak to them on their own level. Plus, the look of happiness on her face whenever she was around them was unlike anything else. He forced himself to pull his eyes away from the Time Lady, "Anyway, let's open this cupboard, eh?" he said calmly, standing from the bed and stepping closer to the wardrobe, aiming the sonic at the doors and scanning it, "There's nothing to be…" the sonic's pitch increased, making the Hatter's eyes widen and her head snap back over to him, alarmed, "Off the scale…" he breathed, stunned as he checked the readings to be sure, "Off the scale," he stepped back until his legs hit the bed, sitting back down beside the Time Lady, staring back at the wardrobe, "Off the scale…" he blinked, shaking his head as he looked back to the Hatter, "How…?"
The Hatter swallowed, wrapping her arm comforting around George's shoulders, "I don't know, Doctor," she murmured, her eyes fixed steadily on the wardrobe doors, very, very worried now.
The sound of the front door closing drifted through the room, when Alex pushed the bedroom door open, "Right," he sighed, stepping into the room, looking a little frazzled, "Sorry about that. So, have you got this thing open yet?" he walked over to the wardrobe, reaching for the latch.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, jumping up and hurrying over to him, making the man blink back at him in confusion, "No, no, no, no!"
"You really don't want to do that," the Hatter said urgently, shaking her head quickly.
"What?" Alex stared back at them.
"Because George's monsters are real," the Doctor answered, very seriously.
…
The Doctor opened and closed the cupboards in Alex's kitchen, while the Hatter leant against one of the benches, trying to avoid meeting Alex's angry glare as he stood beside his fridge.
"You two are supposed to be professionals!" he huffed, shaking his head angrily as the Doctor reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out three mugs, holding them up happily to the Hatter, apparently oblivious to Alex's rant, "I'll never get him to sleep now," he carried on, "It's so…irresponsible!"
The Hatter sighed heavily, reaching up to rub her forehead, "We apologise for any upset we might have caused to you and your son, Alex," she said calmly, lowering her hand to look back up to him, "However, you have no idea what danger you are both in, so stay away from the cupboard," she pointed a stern finger at him, her expression deadly serious, "Don't even think about touching it," Alex blinked at her, looking quite shocked, but she ignored him and looked back across to the Doctor, who had sat the cups down on the kitchen bench and turned around to face them, "Is it just me or do you have a nagging feeling in the back of your head?" she asked him tiredly, frowning deeply, "We're missing something, I'm sure of it".
"Hmm, yes," the Doctor nodded to her, casting his eyes quickly around the room, "Something staring us in the face".
"Look, I'd like you to leave, please," Alex cut in, pointing back towards the front door as the Doctor turned back to the cups, starting to make tea, "You're just making things worse. Will you stop making tea!" he suddenly marched over to him and grabbed the cups, moving them off to the side, "I want you to leave!"
He grabbed the cups back, "No," he said simply, and walked across to the fridge. The Hatter sighed again, shaking her head.
"What?" he blinked, startled at his actual refusal to get out of his own home, "What do you mean 'no?'" he moved to shut the fridge door on him, glaring at him, "Leave. Get out!" the Doctor tried to open the door again, only for it to be pushed closed on him once more, "Now, please!"
"Well, this is going well," the Hatter muttered to herself, watching the scene unfold before her.
Alex took a deep breath, seeming to be trying to stop himself from shouting, "Look, maybe this was a bad idea," he said, "We should sort out George ourselves".
"You can't," the Doctor told him, pulling the fridge door open and grabbing the milk out, heading back over to the cups, but Alex followed him.
"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion. We'll sort it!"
"You don't understand, Alex," the Hatter shook her head, making him look over to her as the Doctor poured milk into the cups, "We're not just anyone, we don't work for some agency. We're the Doctor and the Hatter," she shrugged, giving him a small smile.
He stared back at her, "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.
The Doctor sat the milk down and turned back to face him, "It means we've come a long way to get here, Alex," he told him, "A very long way. George sent us a message. A distress call, if you like," he frowned deeply, "Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space".
"Eh?" Alex blinked, completely bewildered.
"Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire. Through empires of glass and civilisations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful Universe of impossibilities. You see our eyes?" he gestured between himself and the Hatter, not taking his eyes off Alex's, "They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex…monsters are real".
Alex stared back at him, his mouth hanging open, stunned, "You're not from Social Services, are you?" he finally managed to get out.
The Hatter smiled slightly, walking over to him and patting his arm comfortingly, "Not exactly, no," she admitted, shrugging, "But never mind that!" she looked brightly back across to the Doctor, "Let's have a nice cup of tea, huh? Tea makes everything better".
The Doctor grinned, pointing at her before looking back to Alex, "You got any Jammie Dodgers?"
I feel so horrible for having the Doctor and the Hatter going off on adventure's that involves a child so soon after sending Astra away. Still, at least their handling it all well and in their own ways, I can imagine the Doctor being the type of person who would try and ignore their grief by trying to distract themselves while the Hatter tends to dwell more and get lost in her own thoughts when she's grieving.
Next chapter, a bit of flirting, scary dolls, and just what impact will this little adventure have on the Hatter in the end? I hope you liked it, tell me what you thought.
Guest reviews (Thank you guys so much for all the reviews, it made my day):
Guest 16 (1): Yes, a pre-Time War version of the Hatter would have worked, too. I might even write a one-shot with the Ninth Doctor running into a younger version of her by accident. It's a good excuse to be able to include him more into the story, anyway, since it's sadly a little hard to do that with the Hatter not being around during his era. Thank you for the suggestion, I'll have to try and think of something.
Guest (2): I think that if the Hatter had gone evil at the end of the Time War, it would have been out of grief for her children and she would have completely destroyed Rassilon's plans and insured that he lost all of his power, though if she had gone to the dark side, I don't think she would have kicked him off Gallifrey like Twelve did. She would have found a much more permanent solution. But at the end of that, I don't think she would have been able to live with herself and I fear that not even the Doctor would have been able to bring her back from that edge.
Guest (3): If the Hatter had been captured and held by Torchwood One, I think that the Hatter would have been furious to learn that she had been kept from him by Torchwood, that they had been holding her like a prisoner, because I think that's probably exactly what Torchwood One would have done. The Doctor would have been a lot less inclined to help Torchwood after that and the Hatter would have been very wary of Jack after learning where he worked. I mean, the Doctor would probably have almost hit Jack, he was angry enough as it was in the show to learn who Jack worked for.
Guest (4): I've watched the unfinished TV version of the episode Shada, but I haven't read or looked into the Eighth Doctor's version of it, so I'm afraid that my knowledge on the episode it quite limited and it's unlikely that I'll probably end up writing anything for it. I did do a tiny bit about the TV version for it during 'the Five Doctors and Hatters'.
Guest (5): Well, if in some impossible Universe Rose somehow managed to turn the Doctor against the Hatter, I really don't know what would happen. I just…yeah, I can't imagine the Doctor ever falling for something like that. Ever. Rose couldn't even try and convince the Doctor that the Hatter should go travelling off on her own, I don't know how she would even start to get the Doctor to turn on the Hatter and the Hatter would easily talk the Doctor around again. I just can't see how it would work, logically speaking.
Guest (6): I think that if the Water's of Mar's had gone differently and the Hatter hadn't been able to stop the Doctor, I think that the Hatter would have been so furious with him over what he had done that she would have probably left the TARDIS, needing the space to think and a break from the Doctor so that she didn't end up killing him. she probably would have gone to stay with Sarah Jane or Martha.
Guest (7): Lots or sarcasm from the Hatter. She tends to use a lot of sarcasm on people that she doesn't like, like with the Master, so if she and the Doctor didn't get along, then she would probably act much the same way as she does with the Master. The Doctor would probably do things to purposely annoy her, like calling her Hat instead and insulting her hats. For some reason I can see them being very childish towards each other if they hated one another.
Guest (8): I think that if the Hatter ever did go over to the dark side, I think that the Doctor would try to get through to her through her sense of compassion and, if that failed, which would probably be quite likely, he would try and get through to her through the special moments they've shared together over their friendship and he probably wouldn't be afraid to pull out the big guns and talk about her children. The Hatter would probably pretend that the Doctor was getting through to her, only for her to complete trick him and lure him into a trap, locking him up to make sure that he stopped interfering. The poor Doctor really wouldn't stand much of a chance.
Guest (9): I really have no idea how he'll regenerate, but I'm excited and terrified to see. Maybe he'll die saving Bill, it's already very clear that he's willing to risk his own health and safety for her, even going blind in order to save her, so maybe that was a bit of foreshadowing? I'm kind of learning towards something like that, but I really have no idea. I'm going to miss Twelve, he's seemed to have softened a little bit this past season.
Guest 8 (10): Well, I've actually considered writing a story like that where, in another Universe, the Hatter became friends with the Master first and ends up falling in love with him instead of the Doctor, and thus goes down that dark path of controlling the Universe. The only difference is that it was the Hatter who went into that other Universe and talked her dark self around, not the Doctor, but it could definitely work either way. I've had the story in my head for the past three years and even started writing a little bit of it, but things have just become so busy that finding the chance to write with school can be a bit tricky, but it's one of those stories that I would love to try and write when I have the time to do so.
Guest (11): We will see a moment like that coming up, if my originally idea for the episode goes according to how I see it at this moment. I really hope it does end up happening because I really like the moment and how it gives a real insight into the Hatter's emotional state, so fingers crossed that when I start writing the episode it will fit in smoothly.