The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 25
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who at all, just Rhea and any other characters I created.
A/N: Finally! Here's the episode with the Eleventh Doctor. I decided to do with The Eleventh Hour because I thought it would be interesting way to introduce Amy and Rory to Rhea. How will Amy react now that Rhea is in the picture? Will Rhea be jealous of Amy? Or will Amy be jealous of Rhea? I feel like Rhea, so far, has no jealous companions to deal with. In my Time Lady story, my TL will have Rose as a problem. A future one will have River as a problem. But Rhea has no one. Maybe Rhea doesn't need a rival…
Oh, and thank you so much for the reviews, guys. They're really heartening and they push me to write the next chapter.
Notes on Reviews:
Nights Eternal Dream: She is really a jigsaw puzzle, isn't she? It's actually quite convoluted and hard to explain her past. Bedlam… what can I say about Bedlam? It's actually strange how she's a psychologist and people with mental conditions affect her like that. I'm glad a part of you loves it, though. Alas, I'm really just trying to give you all little bits into her past. I haven't decided when she should tell the whole story.
Grapejuice101: I'm so glad you liked the chapter!
Pepper: Well, I am glad you didn't give up on me and I'm glad you like the chapter. I am incredibly touched that you think my OC is that glad! And if she's one of your favourites, well that's just wonderful.
Unbroken854: Hmm, interesting theory, but I can't give anything away. Spoilers!
Alexandria: Oh, thank you so much. I'm so glad you like it that much.
AxidentlGoddess: Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. I thought it would interesting to have a new spin on the idea. Rhea really doesn't know what's going on and you can see how the Doctor goes to great lengths to make sure she doesn't find out more than she needs to know. She's very self-deprecating. She always does it in an attempt to distance herself from the Doctor, because she really doesn't like how he makes her feel. The medication issue is an interesting one. I totally agree with what you said, I'm a bit wary of medications treating mental illness, especially schizophrenia. I think, nowadays, we have a tendency to depend on medication as a solution to every problem that we don't see the harmful side effects they can have. The medication issue will be explained later, when I go into her past a bit more.
crystal-roses13: I'm glad you love the story and I hope you like this chapter!
Warnings: Swearing, sexual innuendo.
The Eleventh Hour: Raggedy and Golden
The Doctor twisted a lever on the console and looked up at Rhea. "Any place in particular you want to go?"
"Can we go and see Anne Boleyn now?" Rhea asked, sliding up to him and giving him a wide smile. "Before she was beheaded would be nice."
"How about after we drop Martha off?" The Doctor asked, an apologetic look on his face. "I promised her one trip, but, I said, one trip, maybe one to the past and one to the future?"
"You are so transparent." Rhea sighed, shaking her head. "Well, then, where in the-" Before Rhea could even finish her sentence, a familiar sharp pain in her head made her stumble. She held the console for support and she looked down and saw the bright white glow emanating from all over her body. "Um, Doctor?" Rhea asked, through the pain.
The Doctor raised his eyes from the scanner and his eyes widened when he saw the glow coming from her. He rushed over to her and held her up once she let go off the console. "Hey, hey, everything's going to be fine." He said, soothingly.
"Oh, yeah," Rhea moaned out, glaring up at him. "By any chance, do you know where I'm going next?"
"Well…"
"Then, how do you know it's going to be fine?" Rhea snapped and doubled over as another burst of fiery pain assaulted her skull. "Oh, fuck, it hurts." She grumbled.
"I know." The Doctor murmured, pulling her into his arms. He stroked her hair as she whimpered in his arms. These were the few times he saw Rhea vulnerable and willing to let someone comfort her.
When all she saw was white, her eyes closed of their own accord. The next time she opened her eyes, after the pain had settled to a dull ache and she had stopped seeing white spots in the corner of her eyes, she stumbled slightly as she came to her senses and her surroundings. The TARDIS control room was absolutely devoid of anyone.
"Doctor?" She called out just to make sure. But there was only silence.
She pursed her lips, worry rising in her. She walked over and pushed open the doors, carefully. She looked both ways to make sure that there was no one outside and that they weren't under attack or anything. She felt the freezing cold air greatly, clad in a yellow lacy dress that came to her feet. Her feet sank into the snow as she stepped out into what seemed to be an alley. She looked to her left and saw a familiar pinstripe-suited man in a brown coat, struggling to stand up and to even move forward, his feet dragging in the snow. Rhea ran over to him, as fast as she possibly could, drudging through the snow. She fell to her knees beside her just as he cried out in pain and collapsed, himself.
"Doctor, what's going on?" Rhea asked, terror lacing her voice. She had never seen him like this before. Injured and broken. She never wanted to see it again.
His hand shook as he raised it to her face and stroked her cheekbone, briefly. A pained smile covered his face. "You told me it would be a few seconds." He choked out. "I really need to stop doubting you."
She wrapped an arm around his ribcage and hauled him up. He heaved for breath and winced in pain as he rested his body against hers, relying on her for support. Rhea raised her head and was momentarily stunned when she saw a humanoid alien with tentacles coming out of the lower portion of its face.
"We will sing to you, Doctor. The universe will sing you to your sleep." Rhea heard the alien say but she saw nothing moving on his face. How can he be talking?
Rhea's eyes went wide and the Doctor straightened as he, too, heard the song drifting through the night. Rhea turned to the Doctor, seeing that he had gained strength from the song, which was rising and soaring all around them.
"This song is ending. But the story never ends." The alien said and the Doctor and Rhea walked past him, back to the TARDIS.
Rhea unlocked the door for him, pulling it open and they stepped inside.
"What's happening, Doctor?" Rhea asked, alarmed by the Doctor's state.
"My regeneration's starting." He replied, breathily, his voice hoarse.
Rhea pursed her lips and didn't know how to reply to that. She had never experienced his regeneration before. She guessed there was a first time for anything.
"But you're here." The Doctor murmured, traces of happiness in his voice. "You always said that you would."
"Where else would I be?" Rhea asked, smiling at him.
He looked exhausted. Rhea's eyes searched over his body. His body was rested against the doors and he lifted his hand, a faint golden glow pulsing underneath the skin. Rhea never took her hands off him, though. She helped him walk up the ramp and finally let him go as he reached the console, sensing he needed a bit of alone time with the TARDIS. He leaned on it, heavily, and took off his brown coat, draping it over one of the coral struts. He set the TARDIS into motion, pressing a few switches and just watching the time rotor rise and fall for a few minutes.
Then, he turned to face Rhea, who was leaning against one of the struts, an unreadable look on her face.
"Stay with me." He asked, his voice low and pleading.
Rhea pushed herself off the strut and walked over to him. Rhea cupped his cheek in her hand. "I'll be here as long as you want me to." She ran her hand through his tousled hair, tugging the strands at the end. She leaned up and pressed her mouth against his for a brief moment. It wasn't a platonic kiss, nor was it sexual. Rhea didn't want to have a meaning for that kiss, all she knew was that it was comforting, for him and for her. She pulled back and pulled him down, pressing her forehead against his and closing her eyes.
"I know how this ends, remember?" Rhea said. "That means I'm telling you the truth when I say that everything's going to fine." Rhea tilted her head, so that she was facing slightly away from him, but her forehead was still touching his.
"You and the TARDIS are all I've got. No matter what, I need you to be there. Don't let me forget that." The Doctor said, roughly, as pain tore right through him. He pushed himself away from her. "Get away or I'll hurt you."
Rhea moved so that she was watching him from behind one of the struts. She clutched onto the strut with both hands, which were trembling with the weight of her anxiety and fear. The Doctor stood back. He was ready, but never ready for this.
"I don't want to go." The Doctor said, quietly, staring at her with those stupidly mournful brown eyes of his. Rhea closed her eyes, a single tear falling down her face, which she purposefully rubbed off, harshly.
She watched in doses of horror and wonder as a shroud of gold rose around his head like a halo. The Doctor lifted his glowing golden hands, in amazement, and Rhea wondered whether this was what she looked like when she left him every time. His arms were thrown to his side and his head back as the regeneration energy poured from him, covering him entirely. Rhea threw herself behind the strut, turning her back to the Doctor, lest her eyes get burnt right out of their sockets. Her hands dragged across her face when she heard his cries of pain, furious at herself for not being able to help him at all. She shrieked as the force of his regeneration set the TARDIS on fire, glass shattered all around her and she covered her head as beams above her collapsed. She could feel the TARDIS' pained hum underneath her fingertips and was at a loss of how to comfort the worried time machine.
She heard the Doctor yell and she turned around to see a familiar man with floppy, brown hair, grey eyes and a prominent chin take her previous Doctor's place. He was blinking furiously, still dazed from the change. He panted, trying to focus himself, staggering and legs buckling slightly.
"Doctor?" She approached, cautiously, not sure of his state of mind after a regeneration.
The Doctor gave her a reassuring smile before looking down at himself, after he had steadied. "Legs." He exclaimed. "I've still got legs, good." He kissed his knee. "Arms. Hands. Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers." He stared at the digits in question with cross eyes. Then, his hands ran all over his face. "Ears, yes. Eyes, two. Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey." He felt the muscle and shook his head. His fingers went to the back of his head, running through his slightly long hair. "I'm a girl!" The Doctor exclaimed, staring at Rhea, his voice cracking at the end.
Rhea snorted, although she would love to know what he looked like as a girl. She wondered if he would still be this attractive. She could definitely get used to a female Doctor if his regeneration was smoking hot.
He felt his Adam's apple. "No! No... I'm not a girl." He pulled the locks of his hair around his face so that he could see it. "And still not ginger!" The Doctor complained. He turned to her and gave her a massive grin. "Hello, beautiful!" He said, pecking her on the forehead, quickly. "There's something else, something important, I'm, I'm... I'm..." The Doctor's fingers went to his temples, tapping incessantly, willing his brain to remember what it was that was so important.
The TARDIS shuddered, knocking them both off their feet. Rhea rolled her eyes, grabbing him by the collar of a suit that no longer fit him properly, and dragged him over to the console.
"We're crashing, you freaking moron!" Rhea shouted over the explosions, gripping the console with everything she had, as the ship bucked and spun around them. She could hear the same cloister bell, which she had heard when the TARDIS had crashed into the Titanic, ringing ceaselessly and flames roared all around them, not at all stopped by the constant debris falling from the roof.
The Doctor stumbled his way to the scanner, dodging beams and fires, seeing that they were zooming their way down to Earth. The TARDIS bucked and started to tip, sideways, and Rhea walked as quickly as she could to the Doctor's side, the latter clinging to the console, a mad grin plastered across his face.
The Doctor reached over and gripped Rhea's hand tightly, pressing a quick kiss to her hair, letting her know that he and everything was alright.
"Geronimo!" He shouted as they made their final descent.
The console sparked and Rhea recoiled away, dodging the flames. She rushed over to the open doors. Her eyes closed and she furiously muttered a prayer as the TARDIS hurtled, out of control, over London. She looked down and saw the Doctor, her bow-tie wearing mystery man, hanging on to the edge by his hands, his sonic screwdriver in his mouth.
"You know, I'm tempted to leave you here." She said to him, dryly.
But, she sighed and knelt down, grabbing his hands and pulling as hard as she could, bringing him back into the TARDIS. They turned when they heard the sound of a bell and realised that they were about to hit Big Ben. Rhea cursed and pulled harder. He used the sonic screwdriver on the controls.
"You might need to pilot her yourself!" The Doctor shouted from outside.
Rhea rolled her eyes and ran over to the console, herself, and pulled down a lever and spun a wheel underneath the console, squirming when the console sparked. The TARDIS sped up, narrowly missing the top of the landmark and the Doctor slipped out the doors, once again
"You have got to be kidding me." Rhea groaned as she pulled him back in for the second time. They closed the doors and fell against them with sighs of relief. "Can you please not trigger another regeneration after being this body for five minutes?" She asked, leaning her head against his shoulder as she panted.
"I'll try my best." The Doctor said, giving her a grin.
The TARDIS lurched and spun out of control. Rhea and the Doctor both shouted as they were thrown down the hallway and into one of the rooms. She saw books all around her as she fell, clutching onto the Doctor, burying her face in his neck as must have fallen fifty feet. She cringed and waited for the inevitable impact for when her body would became a puddle of flesh, bone and blood on the library floor.
She shrieked when her entire body was doused in ice cold water. She spluttered, water spitting out of her mouth and she let out a shocked scream when she came to the top once more. Her hair hung damply around her face, the strands sticking to her face, uncomfortably. She breathed heavily and shuddered as the cold sank into her skin and bones. She spun as effortlessly as she possible could, her hands dragging around her, the water inhibiting her movements.
"Doctor?" She called out, worriedly.
Suddenly, there was a splash of water behind her and she waddled around to see him burst through the water, coming back up for air, as well. His floppy, brown hair was plastered to his forehead, and he had lost the jacket of the suit somewhere. There were holes in the shirt she could see and wondered why she hadn't ended up like that. She didn't notice how the blue shirt clung to his lean, yet deceptively muscular frame. She was not checking him out at all.
"Why is the pool in the library?" She asked him, after a moment, looking around at the shelves upon shelves of books stacked up what looked like seventy feet high.
They threw their arms around each other and she buried her face in his shoulder, both of their bodies shaking with laughter.
A red-headed girl knelt beside her bed, her hands clasped together and her eyes closed. "Dear Santa, thank you for the dolls and pencils and the fish. It's Easter now, so I hope I didn't wake you. But honest, it is an emergency. She turned to the crack in question, an eerie white glow coming out of the space between. "Aunt Sharon says it's just an ordinary crack, but... I know it's not, because, at night, there're voices. So please, please, could you send someone to fix it? Or a policeman. Or..."
There was the sound of wheezing and groaning coming from the background, then a crash and glass breaking. The young girl's head turned towards the window.
"Back in a moment." She got up off the floor, picked up a torch from the nightstand, ran to the window and pulled back the curtain to look outside. There was a blue police box lying on its side in the middle of the backyard, having knocked down part of the shed. She could see smoke rising from it. She looked up at the sky. "Thank you, Santa." She whispered.
The girl stepped outside, wearing a red jacket over her nightgown, clutching a flashlight. Using the light of the torch as a guide, she made her way through to where the police box had crashed. A door swung open at the top and two grappling hooks were thrown out, latching onto a lawn roller. The girl watched as first one tanned hand then the other came over the edge, followed by a pretty, soaking wet, dishevelled woman in a yellow dress, perching herself on top of the police box.
The woman smiled, kindly, at the girl. "Hi, sweetheart." Her smile fell and she turned to the side, looking down. "I hate you." She said to someone who the girl couldn't see. Or maybe she was talking to no one. Maybe she was crazy.
She heard a man laugh. "No, you don't."
"Come on, then, use those muscles I know you've got." Rhea teased, grinning down at the Doctor.
A man's head popped up over the frame of the TARDIS and he smiled down at the girl, her flashlight shining in their faces. He was wet just like the woman. "Can I have an apple? All I can think about, apples, well, and Rhea." He said, winking at the woman in question. "I love apples. Maybe I'm having a craving. That's new, never had cravings before." He straddled the TARDIS and the two of them looked back inside. "Whoa! Look at that!"
"Are you okay?" The girl asked, hesitating.
"We just had a fall." Rhea said, soothingly. The two of them put both of the legs over the side so that they were sitting on the edge.
"All the way down there, right to the library. Hell of a climb back up." The Doctor commented, looking back down.
"At least fifty feet." Rhea commented.
The girl looked confused. "You're soaking wet."
"We were in the swimming pool." The Doctor explained.
"You said you were in the library." The girl said.
"Unfortunately, so was the swimming pool." Rhea said, glaring a bit at the Doctor.
"Are you from the police?" The girl asked, slowly.
"Why?" The Doctor frowned, leaning forwards. "Did you call a policeman?"
"Did you come about the crack in my wall?" The girl asked.
"What cra…? Agh!" The Doctor's body spasmed. He fell to the ground, breathing heavily, clutching his chest as his hearts twinged painfully.
"Doctor!" Rhea's eyes widened and she jumped off the TARDIS, landing on her feet beside the Doctor and kneeling down, quickly.
The Doctor got back onto his knees. "No, I'm fine, it's OK. This is all perfectly norm..." His mouth parted and speckles of golden energy blew out of his mouth.
"Well, you don't see that every day." Rhea said, dryly, helping the Doctor back onto his feet.
"Who are you?" The girl asked, looking between the two.
Rhea and the Doctor both looked down at his hands, a faint golden glow still there. "I don't know yet. I'm still cooking." The Doctor looked at the girl. "Does it scare you?"
"No, it just looks a bit weird."
"No, no, no, the crack in your wall." The Doctor corrected.
"Does it scare you?" Rhea asked.
"Yes."
The Doctor jumped on the spot. "Well, then, no time to lose. I'm the Doctor and this is Rhea. Do everything we tell you, don't ask stupid questions and don't wander off." He turned around and strode off, purposefully.
"And… he hits the tree." Rhea said, smirking at the little girl.
And the Doctor walked into the tree, knocking him to the ground.
The little girl hid a smile at Rhea's words and looked over at the Doctor's prone form. "You all right?"
"Early days. Steering's a bit off." The Doctor said, sheepishly. Rhea walked over so that she was standing right above him. He looked up at her. "You're very beautiful, you know that."
Rhea rolled her eyes. "You hit your head. You're delusional." She smiled down at him. "But, I'll take the compliment."
They, eventually, made it to the little girl's house, despite the few accidents the Doctor had on their way there. They stood in the kitchen and the Doctor looked around.
"If you're a doctor, why does your box say "Police"?" The girl asked him.
The Doctor took the offered apple from the girl, sniffing it, took a bite, chewed and promptly spat it out, coughing. "That's disgusting. What is that?"
"An apple." Rhea told him.
"Apples are rubbish. I hate apples." The Doctor said, matter-of-factly.
"You said you loved them." The little girl said.
"No, no," He paused. "I love yoghurt. Yoghurt's my favourite. Give me yoghurt."
Rhea groaned. Oh no, this is going to be bad.
The girl ran to the fridge and got out a yoghurt cup. The Doctor ripped off the top and poured it into his mouth. He spat that out as well. Rhea glared at him.
"I hate yoghurt; it's just stuff with bits in."
"You told her it was your favourite." Rhea said, throwing her hands up in the air.
"New mouth, new rules." The Doctor told her, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth. "It's like eating after cleaning your teeth, everything tastes wro-agh!" His body twisted, as if he were in the middle of a seizure. He ended up smacking his own forehead.
"What is it?" Rhea asked, leaning closer and holding the Doctor. "What's happening?" She whispered, urgently, into the Doctor's ear.
"Just a little regeneration sickness, I'll be fine." The Doctor whispered back and turned to the little girl. "Wrong with me? It's not my fault. Why can't you give me decent food?" He ducked as Rhea hand came towards him, definitely intending to slap him across the face or maybe punch him, he was never sure what her move was going to be when she got violent.
"Don't be rude to a little girl!" Rhea growled.
"You're Scottish, fry something." The Doctor said, ignoring her.
"She's a little girl." Rhea hissed. "She shouldn't be near a stove." She grinned at the girl. "You can sit down, honey, I'll make us something to eat, okay."
She started to cook some baked beans as the Doctor towel-dried his hair and proceeded to dry hers, rubbing the locks furiously with the cloth, despite her many squirms.
"Better?" He whispered in her ear, running his fingers lightly up her side, making her laugh and fidget.
Rhea rolled her eyes and gave him a nod. He smiled at her and pressed a kiss to her hair before taking a seat at the table.
"Ah, you see, beans!" The Doctor exclaimed and took a forkful of the beans, promptly spitting them out into the sink, making Rhea groan and the girl make a face.
"Beans are evil. Bad, bad beans." He spat and then turned to Rhea, a sad look on his face. "Are you trying to poison me?"
Next, after she cleaned up the beans and the apples and the yoghurt, Rhea pulled out two slices of toast and spread butter over the bread.
"Bread and butter, now you're talking." The Doctor said, excitedly.
Rhea just smiled apologetically at the little girl, when the Doctor threw the plate outside. She winced when she heard the plate crash and break.
"I'll pay for that." Rhea told the girl. She frowned. Somehow.
"And stay out!" She heard the Doctor shout and the door slam behind him.
The girl and Rhea looked in the fridge, while the Doctor paced.
"They've got some carrots." Rhea tried, looking back at the Doctor.
The Doctor made a face. "Carrots? Are you insane? No, wait, hang on." He said, walking up to them and sliding in between the two. "I know what I need. I need... I need... I need..." He opened the doors of the fridge and the freezer. "Fish fingers and custard." He said, taking out a box of frozen fish fingers and a bottle of custard.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Rhea groaned, shutting both doors behind her.
Later, the three of them sitting at the table, the Doctor dipped a fish finger into the bowl of custard, then taking a bit and ignoring the disgusted look Rhea was giving him. Across from him, the girl and Rhea ate ice cream from a tub. The Doctor then picked up the bowl of custard and drained it completely, leaving a moustache, which he then wiped away with the back of his hand.
"Funny." The girl remarked.
"Is he really?" Rhea asked, unsure.
The Doctor glared at her. "Am I? Good. Funny's good. What's your name?"
"Amelia Pond."
"Ah, that's a brilliant name." The Doctor said, grinning at Rhea, who smiled back. "Amelia Pond."
"It's like a princess in a fairytale." Rhea agreed, nudging Amelia lightly, who smiled shyly at her.
"Are we in Scotland, Amelia?" The Doctor asked.
"No. We had to move to England. It's rubbish." Amelia said, with all the unhappiness of a seven-year-old girl.
"You're got that right, honey." Rhea said, sighing. "It's always England." She pouted at the Doctor. "Why can't you crash into America for once?" She complained and turned to Amelia. "What about your mom and dad?"
The Doctor took on her line of questioning. "Yeah, are they upstairs? Thought we'd have woken them by now."
Amelia paused. "I don't have a mum and dad. Just an aunt."
"I don't even have an aunt." The Doctor said, smiling.
"You're lucky." Rhea and Amelia said, in unison, and turned to each other, giving each other secret smiles.
"I know." The Doctor said, grinning, looking between the two. "So, your aunt. Where is she?"
"She's out."
Rhea frowned, stunned. The girl couldn't be over seven-years-old and her aunt had left her all alone in the house. "And she left you all alone?"
Amelia shook her head. "I'm not scared." She retorted, her need for independence as a little girl and to not be seen as a baby clearly showing in her voice.
"'Course you're not. You're not scared of anything! Box falls out of the sky, man and woman fall out of box, man eats fish custard, woman eats ice cream with you, and look at you, just sitting there. So you know what I think?" The Doctor said, leaning in, looking very conspiratorial indeed.
"What?"
The Doctor and Rhea leaned forward. "Must be one hell of a scary crack in your wall." They said at the same time, their voices low.
The Doctor fingered the crack on the wall in Amelia's wall, while Rhea stood off to the side, watching him, intently.
"You've had some cowboys in here. Not actual cowboys," He paused. "Though that can happen." The Doctor said, examining the crack.
Amelia stood in the doorway, an apple in her hand. "I used to hate apples, so my mum put faces on them." She handed the Doctor an apple with a smiley face carved into it.
Rhea smiled. "She sounds good, your mother."
The Doctor tossed it in the air and caught it. "I'll keep it for later." He turned his attention back to the crack. "This wall is solid and the crack doesn't go all the way through it. So here's a thing… where's the draught coming from?" He ran his sonic screwdriver along the crack and checked the readings. "Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey." He turned to Rhea and Amelia. "You know what the crack is?"
"What?" Rhea asked.
"It's a crack."
"Really," Rhea made her eyes go wide, mockingly. "I never would have guessed."
"Shut up," The Doctor grumbled. "I'll tell you something funny. If you knocked this wall down, the crack would stay put, 'cause the crack isn't in the wall."
"Where is it, then?" Amelia asked.
"Everywhere."
"You want to explain that a bit more." Rhea said, waving her hand at him.
"The crack is in everything. It's a split in the skin of the world."
"Oh, no, that really doesn't sound good." Rhea moaned.
"Two parts of space and time that should never have touched, pressed together...right here in the wall of your bedroom." He pressed his ear against the wall, right over the crack.
Rhea stepped closer, joining the Doctor. "Is that safe?" She whispered.
"Can you hear…" The Doctor trailed off, looking at Rhea.
Rhea frowned and pressed her ear against the wall. She could hear a faint, low rumble coming from the other side of the wall, or crack.
"A voice? Yes." Amelia piped in.
The Doctor also heard an echoing voice. He walked over to the nightstand and took the glass of water sitting on it. He threw the water out and pressed the glass against the crack, resting his ear on the bottom of the glass.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped." A loud, echoing voice called out.
The Doctor's eyebrows furrowed and gave the glass to Rhea, who repeated the action, hearing the same words that the Doctor had heard. "Prisoner Zero…" She murmured.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped." Amelia said, suddenly. "That's what I heard. What does it mean?"
"Prisoner Zero has escaped." The disembodied voice called out again.
The Doctor and Rhea stepped away from the crack. "It means that, on the other side of this wall, there's a prison and they've lost a prisoner. Do you know what that means?" The Doctor said, looking at Amelia.
"What?"
"You need a better wall." He moved her desk out of the way. "The only way to close the breach is to open it all the way. The forces will invert and it'll snap itself shut. Or..."
"What?" Rhea asked, frowning.
The Doctor looked at Amelia, hesitancy on his face. "You know when grown-ups tell you everything's going to be fine and you think they're probably lying to make you feel better?"
"Yes." Amelia said, with all the knowledge of someone who had heard those words spoken to her a number of times.
The Doctor gave her a little smile. "Everything's going to be fine."
The Doctor and Rhea each held out a hand, and Amelia too both of them, standing in the middle, between the strange man and woman. The Doctor raised his other hand, the sonic screwdriver gripped tightly in it, and flicked it on, using it on the crack. Rhea took a step forward and to the side, so that she was partially covering Amelia. Amelia peered around her arm, as blackness shone through the crack as it widened and opened out.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped."
The Doctor took a step closer to the crack.
"Prisoner Zero has escaped."
"Hello? Hello?" The Doctor called out.
Suddenly, a massive, blue eyeball peered at them through the crack.
"Jesus Christ!" Rhea swore and took a step back, pushing the girl behind her.
"What's that?" Amelia asked, fearfully.
A small ball of light or electricity shot out from the eyeball, through the crack, and struck the Doctor, forcing him to fall against the bed. Rhea rushed over to him and the crack sealed once more.
The Doctor shook his head as he stood up with Rhea's help. "There. You see, told you it would close. Good as new."
"What was that thing?" Amelia asked.
"Was that Prisoner Zero?" Rhea whispered.
"No. I think that was Prisoner Zero's guard." The Doctor explained. "Whatever it was, it sent me a message." He held up a familiar black wallet. "Psychic paper, takes a lovely little message. 'Prisoner Zero has escaped.' But why tell us? Unless..." He straightened.
"Unless what?" Amelia asked, confused.
Rhea's eyes dawned with realisation. "Unless Prisoner Zero escaped through that crack." She said, looking around.
The Doctor shook his head. "But he couldn't have. We'd know." He turned and ran out of the room, pulling Rhea along with him.
They stood in the hall outside Amelia's room, looking around, confused.
"It's difficult. Brand-new me, nothing works yet. But there's something I'm missing..." The Doctor froze. "In the corner..." He turned to face one of the doors at the end of the hallway, a suspicious look forming on his face. "…of my eye."
Rhea followed his stare to the room. "What? What is it?"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of the cloister bell ringing and the Doctor's eyes widened.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" The Doctor shouted, running down the stairs and into the backyard.
Rhea and Amelia followed him as fast as they could.
"I've got to get back in there! The engines are phasing, it's going to burn!" The Doctor said, running on the grass and towards the TARDIS.
"But... it's just a box! How can a box have engines?" Amelia asked, confused.
Rhea helped the Doctor free the grappling hooks and gather the rope. She turned to Amelia. "It's not a box. It's a time machine."
Amelia stared at her, with disbelief. "What, a real one? You've got a real time machine?"
"Not for much longer if I can't get her stabilised." The Doctor muttered. "Five-minute hop into the future should do it." He looped the rope through the door handles.
Amelia hesitated. "Can I come?" She asked, hopefully.
"Not safe in here, not yet. Five minutes. Give me five minutes, we'll be right back." The Doctor lifted Rhea by the waist and hoisted her onto the frame of the TARDIS, and then climbed up himself, both of them preparing to jump back into the TARDIS.
Amelia paused. "People always say that." She said, mournfully.
The Doctor jumped back to the ground and Rhea turned around so that she could see Amelia. He knelt in front of the little girl, looking into her face. "Are we people? Do we even look like people?"
"I am people, by the way." Rhea cut in. "But, don't worry, we'll come back for you."
"Trust me, I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said.
Amelia smiled at them both. The Doctor climbed back onto the TARDIS, joining Rhea. Holding onto the lengths of rope, tightly, they gave the girl a smile, before looking at each other, their hands reaching for each other's and gripping tightly.
"Geronimo!" The Doctor shouted as they jumped back straight into the pool.
The TARDIS doors slammed shut and Amelia watched, grinning, as the blue police box disappeared into thin air. When it was completely gone, she ran back inside. She ran up the stairs and to her room, pulling a small suitcase from under her bed, and began to pack some clothes. As she ran across the hall, one of the doors that were closed on her way up was now open. With her packing done, Amelia headed back downstairs, not noticing the open door.
Now wearing a black coat over her nightgown and a red beanie, Amelia ran back to the same spot where the TARDIS had disappeared and shoved the suitcase to the ground, taking a seat on it, and waited. She didn't even notice the shadowy figure dart past the kitchen window and disappear.
A/N: I thought that might be a good place to finish the chapter. The significance of the title will be shown in the next chapter with Amy. I actually can't wait for that, I wonder what will happen. There wasn't a bit of fluff in this chapter, maybe there'll be more in the next one. There was some sweet moments between the Doctor and Rhea, the "beautiful" comments, the towel-drying… This chapter had some nice scenes between the Tenth Doctor and Rhea, especially before his regeneration. She did seem very affectionate and she kissed him for the first time, but she's not going to think anything of it. To her, it wasn't really a romantic kiss, just a kiss to comfort someone. I wanted her to come right before he regenerated but before his farewell tour, I want a future Rhea to be there for that, because this Rhea wouldn't understand, she hasn't met Sarah Jane, Jack, Joan Redfern or Mickey yet. She's only met Wilfred in Voyage of the Damned/The Sontaran Stratagem/The Poison Sky, she won't feel very affectionate towards him. I thought a future Rhea would be better and the future Rhea did tell the Doctor she'd be there for a few seconds. The Doctor is very comforting when Rhea jumps, I hope you like that. I know we haven't seen the Ninth Doctor in awhile as well, but I'll be doing The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances very soon.
Now, with this chapter, specifically, it begs the question…what do you think should happen to Rhea in The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang?
Anyway, Read and Review!