WARNING: Some curse words in this chapter.
She woke up in a rush, the feeling of ice cold water rushing through her blood as she sat up in bed. This was all wrong, she had no idea what had happened. First things first she knew for a fact she had just been wide awake and walking in a hallway not too long ago. Unless that was some weird dream … which was very possible. She always had very detailed dreams after all. But never THAT detailed. And never that boring. And second things second her forehead felt bruised … almost like she had bumped it. She couldn't have bumped it on the bed … lord knew there were wayyyyy too many pillows for that. Unless she was talented enough to somehow hurt herself on pillows … now, she wouldn't put it past herself. But she highly doubted it was the pillows. So, she bumped her head. Where? Had the Doctor found her? Is that why she was magically in her bed again? Oh, who else would it be. It had to be him. So did that mean that the Doctor didn't hate her? Did he accept her? As … this … thing she was? If he hated her he wouldn't have cared enough to make sure she was back safe in her bed, he would have just thrown her out on some planet or something, probably, maybe. Or at least, that's what she thought he would have done. Unless … unless he was just doing this because he pitied her. Because she had become this thing when she didn't want nor deserve to. He probably hated her. He did. But as he was a decent man with good hearts he probably pitied her too. He wanted her gone, but he wanted to give her shot. Well, that's where she drew the line. Pity was dangerous. It led to weakness and regret. Weakness for her and regret for him. It would just end in disaster. They needed to talk. The Doctor and her. She needed an explanation. He must know how she was this fake thing … and maybe, well, maybe he could change her back? Then she could go on being the little girl she was and he wouldn't pity her and it would be in the past, never to be brought up again. Don't get her wrong. She really loved being like this, all brilliant and curvy and older and cool! But she finally knew what she wanted, and what she wanted was to travel with the Doctor. She was going to save the Doctor's companions. She was going to serve her purpose. And she was going to experience the universe along the way. Being a Timelady just didn't fit that. She couldn't have both. It just wasn't possible. The Doctor wouldn't allow it. So, she would have to change back. It was only logical. Because she wouldn't leave him. Not now, not ever. Not until her mission was fulfilled and she managed to save his companions and give him the one thing he has always wanted. Everyone to survive.
She smiled a bittersweet smile, jumping up and leaving her room. Opening the door to reveal glittering coral beams, a silver grunge metal ground that seemed to vibrate beneath her feet and golden walls that radiated wisdom and happiness, as if the TARDIS was trying to calm her fears and reach out to her. It was so vast in real life. So perfect. She felt like she was in a palace, a golden palace. But the TARDIS was so much more than a palace. She was a friend. A best friend. A mother. And she kept everyone safe and comfortable. But this console room … it wasn't the 11th Doctor's console room. It wasn't. And he would never change it. He hated remembering the past. Which meant somehow in someway she was here. She was with a different Doctor. But how? She didn't have a vortex and the TARDIS couldn't travel inside of the TARDIS and she was over that weird traveling thing that had happened a while back because it was just a side effect from time going weird or whatever the Doctor had said when they were with Craig. So what the hell had happened? Did she fall into another TARDIS, cause that would be weird and a tiny bit impossible. Nonetheless, she was here. She was with the 10th Doctor. And not even that, she wasn't with the Doctor that had first met her which means that if she met this Doctor he probably wouldn't know her … which means this Doctor wouldn't pity her or hate her and he wouldn't even know that she once had been human! Ah, epiphany! Where were you when she was wallowing in her fears? Well, nevermind how she got here, whatever had gotten her here had done her a big favor. She could actually have the two things she wanted most. She could travel with the Doctor and be a Timelady … even if she didn't quite deserve it. And not only that. It was with Hot Spaceman. The tenth Doctor was always her first favorite. Well, I mean. The 11th Doctor and the 10th Doctor were always a tie for her, so they were always both her first favorite. But tenny, oh, she had fallen in love with him first. And not for the usual reasons either. She wasn't some Mary Sue that loved the tenth Doctor because of his "sexy sticky uppy hair" or because of his "Brainy specs" or because he was the perfect picture of a male specimen. No, that she could care less about. She loved him because she could feel his emotion. Because she understood him. He was the Doctor that had such raw love. He tried to save everyone, and he held a loneliness in his heart that only urged him to fight. The ninth Doctor hid his feelings behind a mask, and the eleventh Doctor hid what he felt underneath lies. But the tenth Doctor … he shared more emotion than any of the other Doctors she knew about. She felt lonely like he did. She felt his pain and his anger and his his sadness. She saw it all in his eyes. He was the man that tried to be the hero when the world needed it most. And he used his love as his strongest power. He was perfectly imperfect and he knew that too. And she, she was broken just as much as he was. He was a man that allowed one chance for all, and no second chances. He was the judge. He was fire. And his personality only made her fall further in love. His soul was so young, yet so wise all the same. Oh, tenny. She was going to have so much fun!
She left the TARDIS full of excitement and fire, not bother to change after she found out that they were in the 1953. She was not one for dresses … or at least, not dresses from the 1950's. They were all too poofy and took the fun out of having curves. Besides, she liked her ruffley shirt. She wasn't changing after she had just changed.
She approached one of the doors hoping she picked the right one, and she knocked. Bouncing on her feet as she impatiently waited for someone to answer the door. She remembered the Doctor and Rose visited one of the houses here to find out what was going on. But she certainly didn't know which house it was … and hell, she didn't even know if they would still be there. But like a good person once said, 'You don't know anything unless you try.' And she was all about trying new things now.
The door unlocked, a big burly man stood in front of her, her smile widening even further as she recognized his face. She had picked the right house alright, now how interesting is that! Oh, her luck!
"Who the blazes are you?" The man questioned, clearly annoyed by the intrusion. He was just so done with these strangers popping into his house. He had privileges! He was a honored man of his time and he should be allowed his peace and quiet. This was ridiculous! Completely ridiculous!
"I'm Astrid. May I please come in?" She questioned, hoping that even if the Doctor had already left the house that perhaps she could find out where he had gone and maybe even see how the wife and the son were doing after everything that was going on. She knew this guy was not the nicest. But perhaps if she were kind he may see she had no ill intent. She hated guys like him. Sexist, most likely racist, and most definitly homophobic. They were always the worst of humanity. So close minded. So rude, so self obsessed and entitled. Oh she hated them … she hated them all. They thought they were in charge of everyone, that they could dictate how people lived their lives and who they could love and how they thought. They thought they were the stars that shone through the sky when really all they were were rocks hidden deep down in the ground unwilling to feel the heat of the sun, protected by the familiar earth around them.
"In my house? What for?" He questioned her, his temper rising as yet another guest asked to enter his home. HIS home. After all he had done for queen and country, after all he had done for God, why would they send these … people to his home to disturb his peace?
"She's with me." Another man stated from inside the house, causing the two to look over to see a very happy 10th Doctor rushing over to the door like he hadn't seen her in a million years. He didn't expect her to wake up so soon, especially not after the fall she had taken. But her she was as brilliant and amazing as ever! Not only had she woken up after the not so graceful landing she had had when she transported there, but she had already knew where they would be … well … he knew it was probably pure luck that she had realized they'd be there at that exact moment. But it didn't make it any less impressive. She was brilliant!
The man grumbled, quickly letting her in as she looked at the Doctor up and down, love and glee coursing through her blood like a drug. She felt so high just looking at him. It was like meeting her hero … to be fair, she knew that he wasn't the perfect hero that everyone thought he was. But to her … to her she was a hero. Her role model.
"It's so nice to see you again Astrid Selene!" He stated excitedly, looping his arm through hers as they all entered the lounge area. A sulking Mr. Connolly stomping in behind them after closing the door. He must be upset that not a minute or two after he had showed back up at the house with Rose that Astrid had knocked on the door asking to come in. He certainly hadn't expected his Astrid to come on this adventure. But it was most definitely a welcome surprise! She was a perfect companion. She knew him too well, and although that would normally scare him, he knew her just as well. They were on equal ground. The same footing, and they knew what the other was thinking. She was the Sherlock to his very random Watson … though, in some cases he liked to think of her as the Woman. His Woman. The only woman that mattered in all of space and time.
"Nice to be here!" Astrid replied, excitement clear in her voice, as unbeknownst to her, her eyes began to glow a mix of pink and yellow. He knew who she was. Oh, my, Gallifrey! The tenth Doctor knew who she was! But how? She probably traveled back in his timeline to get him to trust her now. Yeah, that makes sense. Because then he would trust her now, right? Yeah. Nothing big. But still, he knew her! Oh, she was so going to die of happiness, that was sure.
"I like the house, Mrs. Very organized and beautiful!" Astrid said to the woman sitting stick straight and frightened on the couch. She looked so scared. Like if she moved an inch something would happen to her. She didn't like it. It wasn't right. Especially in knowing that it was all down to her bloody husband. No one should have to be scared of their husband. No one. And she was determined to make her feel the tiniest bit better. She deserved it. She was a good woman. And good women deserved a happy ending.
"Yeah, it is a rather beautiful house! I agree!" The Doctor spoke up, seeing the also extremely scared figure of the woman. He knew Astrid was trying to help her, to coax her out of her frighted state and make her happier. She always did that when someone was scared. And with Astrid, it always started with compliments. She liked to raise people's self esteem. To make them feel like they were greater so they would possibly forget their fear just for the littlest bit. She was just so wonderful!
"T-thanks." The woman whispered, her eyes flinching as her husband walked closer to her and sent her a stern glare, cutting her off.
"Now then, Rita. I can handle this. This gentleman's a proper representative. Don't mind the wife, she rattles on a bit." Mr. Connolly explained, rolling his eyes as if exasperated. His wife always had to speak up like she owned the place. Well she didn't. She used his hard earned money to buy this or that, and she cleaned like a good wife. But this was not her house. It was his. She didn't need to be talking to this man like she was the one that made the money. That was blasphemy, and he had a reputation to uphold.
"Well, maybe she should rattle on a bit more. I'm not convinced you're doing your patriotic duty. Nice flags. Why are they not flying?" The Doctor asked the man, trying to play the part of someone inspecting the houses for the queen. He never had been an inspector for the queen … Well … there was that one time for that one king. But that was mostly him and Astrid pretending to be a spy couple for the king so he wouldn't try and take Astrid for his queen. But that wasn't an inspector in the 1950's on earth. He supposed telling them about the flags wasn't too bad.
"There we are Rita, I told you, Get them up. Queen and country." Mr. Connolly admonished, a bit of pride seeping into his voice. He knew this gentleman would feel the same way he would. He seemed like a proper representative of the Queen. Someone that didn't take any silly business. He had told Rita to put them up ages ago, damn woman. It didn't seem like she could get anything right. Well, at least now the flags would be flying that was for certain.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, standing up in an almost robotic way as she rushed to grab the flags and string them up before Eddie got mad. He hated it when he got mad. He always got so very harsh when he got angry and then she ended up hurt by it. She didn't blame him, not one bit. She just didn't live up to his expectations of a wife, and that was her fault. But it frightened her ever so much to tell him that it hurt her when he yelled at her.
"Get it done. Do it now." Eddie demanded, giving her a look that promised some very strong words from him later when they were alone. He couldn't believe this woman that he had ended up with, she always aimed to push his buttons and do as much as she could incorrectly just to spite him. She was infuriating and stupid if she thought she could ever possibly better him and beat him at this ridiculous game of hers.
"You S-" Astrid began, her eyes closed in rage as the Doctor covered her mouth quickly.
"Hold on a minute. You've got hands, Mister Connolly. Two big hands. So why is that your wife's job?" The Doctor stated, staring down the man, holding Astrid back and keeping his hand firm on her mouth so she wouldn't say anything to infuriate the man further. He knew how much Astrid hated men like this … he hated them too. But he could solve this easily. Very easily and without any angry outbursts.
"Well, it's housework, innit?" Eddie questioned, confused at what the Doctor was asking. Was he trying to catch him up? See if he was true to this country and their values? Because that was certainly an interesting question if so. Everyone knew that women did the housework, it was all they were good for other then sex and bearing children. That was their job. That's why God made them. To serve the great men of this world and do the things men could and would not. It wasn't a law, but it was a rule most men lived by in this day in age.
"And that's a woman's job?" The Doctor questioned, hoping that the man would fall into his trap and he could solve this as calmly as possible. Astrid was getting antsy, she was ready to kill this man and then bring him back to life to kill him again. He knew that look. She thought that this man deserved something worse than death. And he couldn't let her. It could make things worse. They were trying to get answers about what had happened around here. Not get kicked out, or worse, arrested because Astrid hadn't taken the moral high ground and turned the other cheek. She wasn't perfect. Not in the least. But he couldn't let her strike. Not right now.
"Of course it is. It's all they're good for, ain't it. Cleaning and bein' a mother." Eddie replied, not even a bit of doubt in his mind. He didn't know what the man wanted to hear, but he hoped that was better than anything.
The Doctor looked at him, his mouth open, ready to reply before Astrid licked his hand, forcing him to recoil in surprise and a tiny bit of disgust. Then she used all her force, and the surprise on her side to pull the Doctor's arm away from her waist where he had been restrained. Her eyes were glowing the deepest darkest red as she stormed up to the man, rage dictating her every move as she stood toe to toe with the horrid man that made her lose all her control.
"Listen here you sexist bastard, I know you think you are some high and powerful god that thinks women are below them, but you are so wrong. I know it's difficult for you to get this through your tiny mind but women are so much better than you give them credit for. Rita here is a beautiful woman with intelligence beyond you and she can do so much better than being your slave you asshole! You are just a piece of dust and nothing you say matters in the least bit. Now. I'm going to say this and I'm going to say this once. Stop treating your wife like shit and go put those flags up. I am a whole new person now, Mr. Connolly, and I know I don't give people second chances, and especially not men like you. So do what I say, or so help me god, I will not hesitate to murder you where you stand." Astrid growled, ready to rip the man's face in two. He was a complete asshat! No one deserved to stay alive after they emotionally abuse their wives. People that abused their wives … they deserved a special place in hell. And she was very much ready to send this dick straight to hell. Fucking idiot. Thought that women were only good for cleaning and mothering. That's just disgusting. Women were so much stronger and they amounted to so much more then men ever could. That pig.
"Excuse me?! No woman is going to tell me what to do! This is my house and I'll do as I please! And I'll especially not have any woman disrespecting me in front of my family. Now, get out of here you harpy!" He screeched, his rage overpowering any fear he had had for the woman while she had spoken. Now he was just downright angry. No stupid woman that walked into his house was gonna tell him what to do, and they were especially not gonna tell him how to run his life! He was a respected man, and some harpy was not going to take that away from him and shout her useless opinions at him. Didn't anyone teach her to bite her tongue and mind her manners? She deserved a good thrashing for being so disrespectful. Damn girl, she thought she was in charge, that she was above him and privileged because she was some representative of the crown. Well, she was still a woman. She was still below him. The bitch.
The Doctor growled at him ready to lash out himself for calling her such a name, but before he could defend his love's honor, she pounced, causing everyone to widen their eyes as she elbowed him directly in the nose and swiped his legs out from under him as he fell right to the floor with a loud crash. He went to get up, grumbling, but before he could move an inch Astrid already had kicked him right in the face, knocking him unconscious.
"I warned you. And now you get hell." She growled to the man that was now completely out of it. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. She wanted to get a knife and carve weak onto his forehead. He deserved pain and humiliation just like poor Rita had gone through. It was a punishment worse than death. It was a living death for a man like him.
"Does anyone know where a knife is?" She asked innocently, her eyes dimming down as she looked towards everyone else. They stared at her in surprise, Rose staring at her in horror as her mind immediately went to the worse case scenario. The poor girl thought she was gonna kill the man. Well, she wasn't that violent. Or, at least, she didn't think she was. Plus, that wasn't the point of this. Death was too nice for this man. He needed humiliation. That would put him in his place.
"Okay, I think knocking him out was enough. No knives for you." The Doctor replied, a small smirk hidden on his face knowing full well that Astrid was hell bent to ruin this man in some way or another. She was impressive. Her skills. He didn't even now where he had learnt them, but they shocked him every single time. Although he did not condone violence, and although he had tried to give her rant after rant to help her change her ways and show her more peaceful means of getting through adventures she always tended to ignore him and do what she liked to get her point across until he stopped her. She was a firecracker … but he was the water. The thing that put out her anger and stopped her from going too far.
"I wasn't going to kill him if that's what you think." She protested, trying to get him to see eye to eye. She knew he didn't like violence in the least bit but she wasn't killing, plus the guy was unconscious and he wouldn't feel a thing. Not to mention, she wouldn't even press hard enough to do any damage as much as she wanted to rip his face to shreds. She was doing minor harm. It wasn't even that bad was it?
"I know you wouldn't, but you've done enough. We gotta move on and figure out what's going on around here." He explained, changing the subject and pulling her over to the others, hiding the smile that was bursting to rest on his lips. He was so proud of her. Standing up for herself. She was so strong and he loved that about her. She didn't need him to stand up for her … not all the time. He admired that she saved herself, that she proved that she wasn't just some damsel in distress.
"Alright, fine. If you say so. Let's get upstairs before the unconscious pig wakes up and tries to kick me out again." She begrudgingly replied, pulling everyone towards the stairs as Rita and her son looked on at the woman as if she were magic. They must think she was magic that was for sure. She knocks out their 'head of the house', asks for a knife, and then pulls them all upstairs as if she knew what was up there. Oh, baby, did they have a surprise coming. She knew everything.
"Gran? It's Tommy. It's all right, Gran. I've brought help." Tommy explained to the dark, leading them into the room that Astrid had stopped them in front of. He didn't know how she could possibly know that his gran was in here, but at least they were willing to help. Or at least … that's what he was assuming. They didn't seem like cops trying to take his gran away. And they certainly didn't seem to want to hurt them … in fact the woman seemed to be trying to protect them from even his father. He knew his father wasn't a good man, he always frightened his mother. But no one had ever had the guts to stand up to him. And especially not a woman. It was a shock to see this woman that hadn't even looked the least bit frightened not only stand up to him, but also injure him. She was definitely not someone to mess with. And if her beating his dad was anything to go by, well, certainly they could be trusted with his gran. Right?
Tommy turned the light on, walking over to his gran as the Doctor approached the old woman in awe.
"Her face is completely gone." The Doctor said, taking in the lack of eyes and a nose, and a mouth. It was all gone. Well … not gone. It was probably just missing. If the human figure was still here the face wasn't too far away. Otherwise the body would die, there would be no need for it. It would just be an empty case. So, it was still on earth in 1953 somewhere around here. He would just need to find it. That didn't seem too hard.
"It's much more than that." Astrid stated, approaching the Doctor as Rose followed behind her, still shocked at the faceless gran. From what Astrid remembered it wasn't just her face gone. She knew the Wire took the face but it also used electricity so it probably took brain signals too. They ran on a type of electricity … didn't they? Yeah, they did. So the brain was gone too. The gran was just a puppet now. A doll that had no meaning. Everything that had made her, well, her, was missing. She had no thoughts, no memories, no opinions, no personality, no emotions. Everything was gone. And the Doctor didn't even realize just how much was missing. It was so much than just losing a few facial features.
"How did you know she was up here Ms?" Tommy questioned, voicing his curiosity. He trusted this strange woman, he did. She had earned his trust the minute she had stood up for his mother. But he was just too curious. How did she know? Did she have a family member that was faceless like his gran?
"Um …" Astrid began, unsure of how to explain it all. It wasn't like she could just outright say she had seen this happen on her tv. That would be- not good. She didn't even know if the Doctor knew that she knew his adventures like that. And she didn't want this Doctor to look down on her like the 11th Doctor probably did. Not to mention, saying something as strange as that … anyone would probably think she was looney toons crazy. So what could she possibly tell this kid? She didn't want to lie to him- but did she have a choice?
"Astrid here is incredibly clever." The Doctor explained, giving her a smile and saving her from the discomfort she saw in her face. She probably had no idea how to explain her situation to the boy. He knew he didn't believe her when she had first told him. And for a while there he really had thought she was insane. But she wasn't. She was intelligent. So intelligent. And yeah, it was foreknowledge. About … well, everything. But she never gave away too much and she always saved lives with what she knew. And that was the most intelligent way to use any foreknowledge to your advantage. She was clever alright. His amazing Astrid Selene!
"Says Mr. Intelligent himself." She mumbled, a huge smile on her face as the tenth Doctor smirked and sent her a cheeky wink. It just made her feel so free. She didn't need to hide from this Doctor. He seemed to already know everything about her! Somehow she had gone back and not only got him to trust her and know her, but she had told him everything! Her whole story! She could see it in his eyes. He definitely did know. And he accepted it. Now anyways … which means the first meeting she was going to have to carry out was probably gonna be hell and she was probably going to have to face the untrusting oncoming storm. But at least it would make it possible for her to travel with this version of the Doctor!
"Now then, Astrid's right. It isn't just her face. There's scarcely an electrical impulse left. Almost complete neural shutdown. She's ticking over. It's like her brain has been wiped clean." The Doctor explained, looking at a reading from his sonic. All the electricity in her brain was gone. She practically wasn't human anymore. She was lifeless. All she had was a body. For all intents and purposes she was basically like a statue. Well … more like a statue made of flesh. A flesh statue? No … he'd seen a flesh statue. And it was much more … different than a human without a brain and a face.
"What're we going to do, Doctor? We can't even feed her." Tommy said, concerned for his gran. At least these people knew what was happening to her. That was more than they even knew, so there was that. But whatever the Doctor meant … could he fix it? Reverse it in a way so they could feed her? His gran had gone without food and water for longer than she should have and he didn't want to lose his gran. His gran meant everything to him. His gran was the one person that helped him through his dad's anger. She always knew what to say to him. And if she left him- he didn't know how he'd cope with all the yelling his father did.
Before the Doctor could say anything to calm the boy, a door smashed open from downstairs alerting the five people that the front door had been broken into.
"We've got company." Rose exclaimed, urging the Doctor to hurry with his questioning. They wouldn't have long, that was sure. Someone was here, and at a guess, it was someone bad. Nothing good ever came out of people smashing doors in.
"It's them. They've come for her!" Rita whispered in fright. She couldn't have them take her mum. She didn't know how they had found her. It had to be the police, it had to be. But she had tried so hard to hide her mother. All the days she had spent with the lights off to make sure no one knew she was up there, the stories she had told her friends, telling them that her mum had gone to visit a friend of hers out in the country. She aimed to keep her mum safe. But now they knew. It was all for nothing. And now her kind, weak mother was going to be taken- somewhere, just because of what had happened. She would never see her mother ever again! And she couldn't live like that, she couldn't! Her mother was everything to her!
"Well, guess Mr. Pig brain is conscious again." Astrid mumbled, touching Rita's shoulder in some form of comfort. That disgusting pig had woken up and called the police all because he wanted to prove that he was some well deserving privileged citizen. Well he wasn't. He was an idiot. He didn't even deserve the right to be anyone's husband. A husband was not like this. They didn't tell on their family and yell and scream and treat people like slaves. They protected family. Husbands were a support system. A best friend. Someone that would do anything to make sure their family was safe. They were someone that kept you safe even from yourself. They twisted your emotions and used their love for you to take away all of the deepest of demons. They were love. That man … he was none of those things. And she had a feeling that it would be a while before he became anything close to those things.
"Quickly. What was she doing before this happened? Where was she? Tell me. Quickly, think!" The Doctor urged, trying to figure out the rest of the puzzle before the police arrived to take the faceless woman away. Whatever had taken her brain and her face must have been involved with whatever she had been doing. It could be a number of things at this point, if she had interacted with an alien on her way to the shop or if someone had visited her that had been infected. It could be anything. He needed to know down to the T what this woman had done before her face and her brain had gone missing.
"I can't think! She doesn't leave the house! She was just-" Tommy began, only to be cut off by burly men bursting into the room they were standing in. He wanted to tell them. He wanted to tell them that all his gran ever did since they got the thing was watch the tele. She used to knit and read, but now she watched the tele. He didn't know if that mattered, but it's what she was doing before whatever happened to his gran happened.
The Doctor turned towards the police, being sure to block Astrid behind him. He knew, oh, he knew she didn't need protecting. Like he had said, she was definitely capable of protecting herself. But he wanted to be there for her. To protect her even when she didn't need protecting. It was almost second nature to him.
"Hold on a minute. There are three important, brilliant, and complicated reasons why you should listen to me. One-" He started, only to be punched in the face, landing directly in Astrid's arms. She let out a small laugh, dragging the Timelord quickly out of the way of the police. And sitting on the floor, laying the Doctor's head against her lap. He was damn heavy for a skinny little twig. Then again, she never picked up a grown man before. And she did not expect the Doctor to fall into her arms either. In the show he fell in the other direction, away from her. But eh, she was used to things being different. This was real life after all. Things are bound to be different.
"Nice catch." Rose exclaimed, laughing as she kneeled down to where they were sitting. She knew Astrid saved the Doctor. After all the Doctor did downright stupid things sometimes. But she never thought she would see the day where Astrid would catch him after he got punched by a police man in the 1950's for talking. That was setting new records for trouble. If a normal human punched him for talking, who knew what else Astrid would have to save him from.
"Leave her alone! No!" Rita screamed, following the police down as they carried her mother down the stairs. She needed to stop them. She would stop them. No one would take her mother. Her mother needed care not to be locked up somewhere for doing absolutely nothing! Didn't these men realize that these people without faces were the victims, they weren't some danger to the society, they needed help! She had to make them see, she had to!
"Ah, hell of a right hook. Have to watch out for that." The Doctor stated, still laying in Astrid's lap as his brain started back up again. He had a killer headache but he knew it would go away in a minute. He just needed to take it a bit easy for a minute. Just one minute, and then he could run after those police and finally find out what is going on around here. Because they knew, they must know what was going on. Otherwise, why else would they be hiding these people. He had a feeling these police knew exactly what was going on. They were the key. The key to all of this.
"You are such an idiot." Astrid stated, laughing at the Doctor. It was just so endearing. Anytime he got hit or punched or locked up, it didn't bother him in the slightest. To be fair, it was usually his fault for being hurt. Especially when he was rude. But he was totally ignoring the fact that he had been hurt. He was making a joke out of it. The loveable, stupid man.
"Let's get going, we're going to lose them again." The Doctor said, jumping up with a big smile on his face as they all ran down the stairs. He always loved making Astrid laugh. When she was happy, so was he. Because just her laugh made his heart beat faster and a smile appear on his face. And not to mention … he was an idiot. Her lovable idiot though. That was for certain.
The Doctor had run out the door, Astrid pausing in the living room as she watched Rose stop and watch the red energy from the Wire static from the Tv. This was a temporal tipping point. This was a point in time where she could save Rose. She could send her away. Far away. And have her go with the Doctor. She could save Rose Tyler. No, she would save Rose Tyler. She made her decision. She was saving Rose Tyler. She dragged Rose to the kitchen, grabbing a pen and a piece of paper before dragging her to the door, knowing full well that the Doctor was already gone. She overheard Tommy questioning his father, asking how anyone could have possibly known about his gran. He was smart, really smart. Tommy would make a brilliant man in this society, he was so much better than that disease of a father.
"You! Get the hell out of my house!" Eddie bursted out, pointing at the two women standing in the entrance of his house as if they owned the place. Damn harpies. He almost had the need to take the one girl and beat her for daring to humiliate him and hurt him in front of his own family. Clearly no one had shown her who was in charge around here. But since there were still police around he knew it wouldn't be the best idea to do that in public so he might as well let her go far far away from his house and never let them come back.
"Don't worry bastard, we'll be going now. You're damn well lucky that my friend stopped me, otherwise there would be nothing stopping me from ruining your life right here right now. I really advise you take my advice. Stop hurting her, or trust me, you won't like where you end up." Astrid said sickly sweet, pulling a pair of black sunglasses she had stolen from the TARDIS before she had left out of her pocket and placing them on her face as she walked out of the house, pulling Rose along with her, a devious smile resting on her lips.
She walked them down to the corner of the street where she knew the Doctor had gone down, stopping a few several feet away from the Connolly house. Then she began to write. She had a plan. A dangerous plan for her but a plan that would get Rose far away from the danger and safe with the Doctor. She just needed to let the Doctor know what was going on. And the only way to do that would be a note.
"What are we doing now? I have a good lead, the Tele in the Connolly's lounge was shooting this weird red energy stuff, so maybe we should check out the place where they sell the teles?" Rose explained, watching Astrid in interest. She didn't know what she was doing, but it must be something important. She did seem really into whatever she was writing after all. Did she know what was going to happen? Rose never really completely understood how Astrid knew the adventures that her and the Doctor went on, but that was the thing, Astrid didn't always know everything. So, was she trying to figure something out?
"Good thinking, Rose. But that is not where we are going. You are going to do something really important for me." She stated folding the note before handing it quickly to Rose.
"This is an important message for the Doctor. You need to get it to him. He's at the police station. The first time the Doctor followed the police you guys ran into a dead end. Go there and start screaming for the Doctor. They'll take you to him. And you have to give this to him. And please, Rose, you have to promise you won't read it." Astrid replied, hoping beyond all hope that her yelling would be enough to get them to let her in. That was the important bit. Because honestly, Astrid had no idea if it would work. It just had to.
"And what are you going to do?" Rose questioned, confused. Clearly, she did know what was going to happen, but why was Astrid sending her away with a note to deliver? Was something dangerous going to happen? The only time Astrid ever sent Rose away it was because something bad was going to happen. But what would constitute a note? Was Astrid going to die?! No, she couldn't. She wouldn't. Astrid wouldn't do that to the Doctor. But why was Astrid doing this?
"I'm going to go do what I do best. Don't worry, I'll be fine in the end. Trust me." Astrid replied, eyeing up a black bicycle. Leaning against a house. She grabbed it, presenting it to Rose.
"It'll get you there faster." She stated, giving Rose a small smile as the companion pulled her dress up to sit atop the bike. Astrid went to walk away, but she turned.
"Oh and Rose, tell him I'll be fine will you. He's a huge drama queen about this kind of stuff." She said smirking, watching as the companion gave her a small smile and started to pedal towards the police station. She sighed, running her hand through her mass of universe curls. Well, Rose was safe. That was plus. Now all she would have to do is get her face and brain sucked out by a television alien. Grand.