Disclaimer: I still do not own Doctor Who. I have a model TARDIS though. Does that count?
"Alexandria! Hurry up!" the Doctor bellowed from the TARDIS control room.
Outside, Marigold rolled her eyes. "Listen to him," she muttered. "Don't know how you can stand him all the time."
Amy snickered. "Alex tends to keep him on his leash."
"Amelia Pond, no one, not even Ally, keeps me on a leash!" the Doctor protested, sticking his head out the door.
Rory rolled his eyes. "You know its true Doctor!"
The Doctor, apparently realizing the validity in this, muttered something incomprehensible under his breath and stepped outside to join the group.
It had been a long night for everyone. After blowing up the plant, everyone had questions about who the Doctor really was. The group quickly drove back into Bristol proper and gathered at the diner where Bree had happily turned on the now fully functioning lights. Over large amounts of coffee, tea, and the diner's famed Boston cream pie, Alex had confessed to everyone what she had been doing over the last few weeks and announced to the astonished group that the Doctor was actually an alien.
Surprisingly, everyone was okay with it, even Marigold, who had sat in silence for a record ten minutes processing the whole thing. The Doctor had shown the group the TARDIS and spent ten minutes talking with Ross and Mike about how the engines worked. Alex had been slightly surprised at the male conversation but was pleased to see that parts of her old life and new life were merging together and getting along.
The informal party had lasted way into the night. Everyone wanted to celebrate the end of the Lylon's reign of terror. Amy, Rory, Ross and Lola showed off their dancing skills to multiple tunes on the jukebox, Bree got drunk on a bottle of strawberry champagne she found in the fridge and did complicated jazz squares all over the restaurant, and the Doctor and Alex barely moved from each-other's side all night. More than once you could see them sitting in the same booth, the Doctor's arm around Alex's waist, the two leaning in close to each-other, exchanging private jokes and stories that no one else knew. Nobody had wanted the night to end but ultimately, Marigold and Lacey left at two thirty followed by Ross and Emmy at three fifteen. The party officially broke up after Bree eventually passed out in a booth, still clutching that strawberry champagne bottle.
Now, it was ten o'clock in the morning in Marigold and Lacey's back-yard. The Doctor, while privately liking Bristol and its inhabitants, was anxious to move onto the next adventure. He had woken up Amy and Rory but as everyone predicted, left Alex alone. Amy and Rory had joked about a double standard, something the Doctor pretended not to hear.
Alex hugged Marigold tightly. "Oh, I'm going to miss you so much!" she cried as she pulled back slightly.
"You make sure that man brings you back here every now and then," Marigold told her, casting a look at the Doctor as she said this.
The Doctor smiled slightly at her. "Don't worry, I'll bring her back here whenever she wants." He raised a hand. "Scout's honor."
Marigold reached into jean jacket pocket and removed a tissue. "Okay," she said, dabbing her eyes, "I know I'm not your mother but I'm the closest thing you have to a parent so I need to tell you some things to do and not to do."
Alex rocked back on her heels. "Okay."
Marigold thought for a moment. "Trouble is, I can't think of anything to tell you in regards to traveling in time and space."
"How about…always listen to the Doctor?" the Doctor suggested. Beside him, Amy and Rory snorted.
Marigold shook her head. "No, only listen to him if you think he's actually saying the correct thing." Amy and Rory burst out laughing at the Doctor's expression to that statement but Alex barely heard them, instead concentrating on Marigold. "Um…what else?"
"Jesus, look at you," Lacey cried, stepping up. She put one hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes at Alex. Despite her current attire of a dark blue sundress and ballet flats, she really did look like a force to be reckoned with. "Call often, visit often, don't get into trouble."
Marigold nodded, her long blonde hair swishing around in the faint morning breeze. "Exactly. Thank you Lacey Rose."
"Anytime," Lacey smiled.
"But just because Alex is gallivanting off all over the galaxy, that doesn't excuse you from not applying to college, which I assure you we'll be talking about later."
Lacey's face fell. "Alex, don't go!" she cried, latching onto her friend's arm.
Alex laughed and stepped back. She looked resplendent that morning in a dark green tank dress with a white rope belt wrapped around it, matching green ballet flats, and faux stud pearl earrings. "I have to. But don't worry. I'll be back."
"You better be," Lacey said, pulling her friend in for a hug.
Marigold wandered over to the Doctor, leaving the two otherwise alone. Once she was out of earshot, Lacey pulled back slightly and said lowly "You better not waste any time."
Alex was puzzled. It wasn't like Lacey to speak in rhymes and clues. "What are you talking about?"
Lacey gave her a shocked expression, blue eyes widening. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "I'm talking about you and the Doctor, of course!"
Alex stared at her. "What are you getting at Lacey? And no riddles! Give it to me straight."
Lacey rolled her eyes. "I am being straight! You're just not seeing it! You need to tell the Doctor how you feel about him before it's too late!"
"How I feel?"
"That you love him, of course!"
Alex groaned. "Have you been talking to Amy?"
Lacey nodded. "She's convinced and I have to say, she makes a pretty damn convincing argument. Plus, I've seen it with my own two eyes. You need to tell him before it's too late."
"What do you mean by 'too late'?"
"Amy told me a little about your encounter with those freaky statue things-,"
"Weeping Angels," Alex corrected her.
Lacey waved her hand as if to say whatever. "-and she told me about that woman, River Song."
Alex's stomach crawled at the mention of River's name. "What'd she say about her?"
"Just that she was very flirty towards the Doctor and very condescending at times towards you," Lacey revealed.
Alex sighed. "I hate River. Well, maybe not hate, exactly. I mean, I don't think she's all that bad, she does have some good qualities and she knows when to put aside her jealousy for me, but something about her rubs me the wrong way."
"It's probably because she's from the future and already knows everything about you," Lacey said dryly. She hadn't been very keen on the idea of meeting a person who knew all about you while you knew next to nothing about them.
"Maybe," Alex admitted but she knew it was something else. River's words about killing that man and almost killing his girlfriend still rang in her ears. Alex had the feeling she was involved in that but she didn't want to ponder it too much.
"She sounds like a slut if that helps," Lacey said, trying to cheer her up.
Alex smiled slightly. "Well, I really don't need to worry about River because there's no reason to. I'm not in love with the Doctor."
"So you say," Lacey sang.
"I'm not!" Alex said adamantly.
As the two went back and forth over this issue, Marigold approached the Doctor. She stopped a few footsteps away from him. She had seen the inside of the TARDIS last night and was thus a little hesitant to get too close to it. "So where are you off to?" she asked. Amy and Rory, sensing that this was a private conversation, hastened over to and began admiring a large hydrangea bush.
"Oh, here and there," the Doctor answered vaguely.
Marigold turned to look back at Alex. From the looks of things, she and Lacey were having a spirited conversation. Alex, at least, was shaking her head adamantly. "Will she be alright?" she asked quietly, eyes still on Alex.
"Marigold, I assure you, I will protect Alex until my dying breath," the Doctor swore. He stopped, surprised at himself. He had never been that protective of a companion before. Oh, he had been willing to die for all of them, but never so strongly before.
"I know." Marigold turned back, a slight smile on her lips. "You're good for Alex. I can see that now." Her smile grew wider. "Congratulations Doctor, you've just gotten my seal of approval."
"It's very hard to get!" Lacey called out.
The Doctor laughed. "Thank you Marigold. I'll try to live up to that approval."
"You better." Marigold then surprised the Doctor by pulling him into a hug. The Doctor was a little startled but began to relax. Just as he did though, Marigold hissed in his ear "Because I swear, if you hurt Alex in any way, shape, or form, I do have a gun collection and won't hesitate to use this scrawny frame as a practice target."
The Doctor stiffened. "Alex?" he called out weakly. "You ready?"
Alex glanced over at him and stifled a bubble of laughs at his slightly terrified expression as Marigold released him from a hug. Either Marigold had told him about her very large gun collection or he was just shocked about being hugged by her. Either one was a likely option. "Coming!" she called.
She turned back to Lacey. "Okay, real quick, for the fifteenth time, I'm not in love with the Doctor and he sure as hell isn't in love with me."
"Okay, okay," Lacey said, defeated, "but promise me you'll think about it okay?"
"I promise," Alex swore. And it was true. She thought about that thing almost every second. "Behave yourself. I'm going to miss you so much."
"Whenever you get back to the wedding, give me a call," Lacey said, pulling her into another tight hug.
"I will!"
"Alex!" the Doctor called again. "For God's sakes, we're not going off to war! There's a lovely plant in the Vilan Cluster I've been wanting to check out. They say the mountains are made of spun sugar and the sky changes colors every five minutes!"
Alex broke away from Lacey and headed down the path over to him. "Okay, I'm ready."
The Doctor cocked an eyebrow at her. "Promise?"
"Promise," Alex confirmed. "You are not getting rid of me any time soon."
"Wouldn't dream of it," the Doctor said. "If I even dreamt that much anyways." He snapped his fingers and the doors opened. Everyone in the TARDIS gang immediately began filing in.
"It was nice meeting you!" Amy called over her shoulder.
"Even if this place is hotter than a desert," Rory muttered good-naturedly.
"And even if the conditions weren't as ideal," Amy added.
Alex stepped in behind them and waved a good-bye. "You'll love this next part," she promised before disappearing inside.
Marigold and Lacey gave identical questioning looks towards the Doctor. No one at the diner had actually seen the Doctor land the TARDIS; it had appeared in the parking lot, its familiar materialization noise hidden under an Elvis Presley hit on the jukebox.
The Doctor only grinned at them. "She's right," he said, jumping into the doorway. "Just watch." With that, the door shut.
Marigold and Lacey watched the TARDIS expectantly, unsure of exactly what it would do. But a second later, the light on top of the police box began flashing and a grinding, groaning noise filled the air. As this occurred, the TARDIS exterior began flashing in and out, until with a final vworp-vworp, it was gone.
Marigold and Lacey laughed, unable to believe what they had just seen. "Auntie, did that really just happen?" Lacey gasped.
Marigold wrapped an arm around her niece's shoulder. "Yes, yes it did," she said. "And I don't think that's the last strange thing we'll ever see now."
A/N: And that's the end of 'Bristol, KY Stop'! Thank you all SO much for your encouraging reviews! I hope you liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I can say there will be one more original adventure in this story titled 'Alex's Birthday'. I'll leave you to ponder that...
Tomorrow, we start 'Amy's Choice'. I don't want to give too much away, but I can say that Alex will be tortured a bit more than the others. :( But there IS fluff, so it kinda evens out. :)
Some notes on reviews...
ElysiumPhoenix - Lol, I didn't even realize it was 'action-movie running' while I was writing it! Glad you liked it though. :) And yeah, Alex is kick-ass in that moment. I love her for that. :)
jesterlover - Lol, that's probably how they would do it on the show! But I felt Rory needed a hero moment since he doesn't really get those until 'The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang' episodes and then in Season 6.
Gwilwillith - Thanks! :D
rycbar15 - I'm so glad you like it and that you like Alex! I try hard to keep her from being a Mary-Sue. She's beautiful and smart, but she has flaws too. Lol, don't feel bad about stalking this story. I've been guilty of it in the past. :) Hmm... I wouldn't say this chapter has very many Doctor/Alex moments, but I can promise there's a BUNCH of moments in 'Amy's Choice' and the episodes beyond that, including a few that I think some readers will be tearing their hair out over. :)
TheGirlWhoWaited - Glad you loved it! I love that part too. :)
TheUltimateGuest - Nah, there would be no fun in killing Alex off. I think the Doctor would object to that, lol. But, even though I'm not killing her off, that doesn't mean I'm going to be easy on her either. }:) And I'm glad you loved the Rory-the-hero part! I love Rory and he deserves one, don't you think? :)
Cigar Fancy Pants - Oops! Sorry! I don't want people to go through fluff withdrawal! I know, they are so darn cute together! I can't say when they're going to get together, but I can say there will be plenty of fluffy bits in this story. Hopefully, that will keep people entertained until we get to THE moment! :)
Thank you to all those that reviewed and to those that favored/followed this story. Please review and see you tomorrow!
