The Rings of Akhaten: Grandfather Wakes
The Time Lords and Clara looked back when they heard a scream, "Merry!" Clara rushed to the door, "Merry, hold on! We'll be there soon!" she spun around, "Doctor?"
"Yes," the Doctor scanned the door again, "Yes, yes, yes. Oh…"
"No time!" Angel rushed over, grabbing his hand, "Clara!" she held out one to her, snatching Clara's arm as Ayla grabbed onto the Doctor, the four of them disappearing in a flash of gold…and reappearing on the other side of the door…Angel stumbling a bit after they appeared.
The Doctor wound an arm around her waist to support her. He knew it was dangerous for her to teleport like that, when she couldn't see where she was going or if she hadn't been there before. It was dangerous both in how much power she needed to use to get there as she wouldn't know how thick the door or walls were but also in that...if she got it wrong, one of them could have ended up literally INSIDE the walls...and that would be very bad indeed. But it was just on the other side of a door so he had all the faith in the world that she'd be able to manage it. And she had.
"Well," he remarked, "That makes the sonic sort of obsolete, doesn't it?" he murmured, tossing the sonic in his hand and slipping it back into his pocket.
Angel just let out a laugh, resting her forehead to his arm for a moment, shaking her head, the sonic wouldn't ever be obsolete...just because she could unlock things and get them through doors that were both wood or deadlocked or both and the sonic couldn't didn't mean that she could do other things a sonic could. Like...scanning things, she couldn't do that.
"Merry!" Ayla called, seeing the girl standing before the glass case.
"Hello there," the Doctor grinned, stepping in a bit with them, "I'm the Doctor, and this is my Mate, the Angel. And you've met our daughter, Ayla, and our…friend Clara," he offered, he supposed he couldn't exactly call Clara his companion just yet, this was her first real trip after all, she might decide to leave after it, "She was supposed to be having a nice day out," he shrugged, "Still, it's early yet," he held out a hand to her, "Are you coming then?"
"Leave," Merry shook her head, "You'll wake him!"
Clara stepped more into the room, past the priest as he sang, to Merry's side, "Merry, we need to leave…"
"No," Merry stepped back, "Go away!"
"Oh we can't do that without you," Angel told her.
"You said I wouldn't get it wrong," Merry turned to Clara, "And then I got it wrong! And now this has happened. Look what's happened!"
"You didn't get it wrong," Clara insisted.
"And this wasn't because of you Merry," Angel added.
"How do you know?" Merry started to cry, "You don't know anything!"
"Mummy knows a lot of things she shouldn't," Ayla shrugged, whispering, "She's psychic."
Merry shook her head, "You have to go! Go now! Or he'll eat us all."
"Well, he's ugly," Clara admitted, staring at the mummified creature, "But, you know, to be honest..." she stepped closer, eyeing it before she turned to them, "I don't think he looks big enough."
The Doctor chuckled at that, Clara was certainly interesting, and brave.
"Not our meat. Our souls," Merry told her.
Clara sighed, and tried to reach out to her, but Merry pressed a hand to her head, a purple burst of energy coming out of her and pushing Clara towards the glass case…or it would have if a golden wall hadn't appeared before it could hit her.
"That's rather rude Merry," Angel tsked, stepping past her to join Clara, standing before the god, eyeing it, "Please refrain from trying to attack Clara in the future."
Merry frowned, feeling guilty for what she'd nearly done, she'd just wanted them to listen, to stop trying to remove her when she could save them all, "He doesn't want you, he wants me. If you don't leave, he'll eat you all up too."
"Yes and you don't want that, do you?" the Doctor asked, walking over with Ayla, realizing the same thing Angel had about why the girl had nearly attacked Clara, about the fact that she had gotten it in her head that she had to sacrifice herself to save them, a child had to give up her life to save others, and that was wrong, "You want us to walk out of that door and never come back."
"Yes."
"To protect us?" Ayla frowned.
"Yes."
Ayla laughed, "Sorry Merry, WE'RE the ones who do the protecting, right daddy?" she smiled at him.
The Doctor felt his hearts warm at that, that was…exactly the legacy he wanted to pass down to his daughter, to any children he and Angel might have. He wanted them to know and to practice the ideal that they didn't walk away, they stayed, they helped, they protected, and they healed. THAT was who they were, that was who he'd always felt the Time Lords were meant to be, not stuffy observers but guardians. They saw all of time happening, they were meant to watch over it, and that should have included the people within time as well. Everyone's time was important, everyone's timeline had meaning, and as Time Lords it was their duty to protect them, not watch from afar. What was there keeping them from playing God to do that, to watch others suffering and not help?
He smiled at that, at how he'd likened the Time Lords to distant gods when really...they should have been angels, just like his Mate. He knew that was one thing, one of many, that had drawn him to Angel, her warmth and her drive to protect people and help them and heal them. He couldn't count how many times he'd called her an actual angel and he knew she HAD to be. She was...the epitome of what he thought the Time Lords should have been, kind, warm, compassionate protectors, who used their knowledge to ensure the safety of all. It was why the war had struck him so terribly, that he could see his hopes of them ever becoming those people dashed.
And then he found Angel, a Time Lady who had endured the War, who had kept her spirit and her kindness and her...light. She had suffered worse than him, endured more, and yet...she still retained that gentle quality that made her who she was, that glow that drew him to her. And he knew it was a glow and a light and a warmth that Ayla had inherited from her. He...he sincerely hoped he would NEVER see the darkness he'd seen in Rosalie's eyes in Ayla's, ever. He didn't want his child to have even an ounce of the darkness that resided in him, a darkness that his girls kept at bay naturally.
"Most certainly right," he whispered, before looking at Merry, "Absolutely never going to happen," and with that, they stepped past Merry, further into the temple.
Clara looked down at the priest as he continued to sing throughout all their talking, "Doctor, why is he still singing?"
"...rest your weary, holy head..." the man murmured.
The Doctor knelt before him, listening to the words, "He's trying to sing the Old God back to sleep."
"It won't work," Angel called, turning to look at the man over her shoulder, "I'm sorry, but it's too late, he's going to wake up," she looked at the Doctor, "He should leave."
The priest's voice trailed off, "Holy head and…" and he swallowed hard, stopping his song.
"That's it, then?" the Doctor wondered, "Song's over?"
"The song is over," the man breathed, standing, "My name is Chorister Rezh Baphix, and the Long Song...ended with me," he held up his wrist and pressed a button, teleporting out.
The Doctor grinned and clapped his hands, standing, "That's it, then! Song's over!" before he spun around and flashed the sonic at the mummy, which roared, leaping to its feet, its arms out wide, "Ha ha!" he rushed up to the glass, taking Angel's place as she stepped down and over to Merry and Ayla, taking the hands of the young girls, knowing that the roar must have frightened, or at least alarmed, both of them, "Look at that!" the Doctor pressed his head against the glass, Clara frowning and moving beside him to peer in at the monster as well.
"You've woken him!" Merry gasped, watching as the mummy started to pound against the glass.
"It wasn't us Merry," Angel told her, "And it wasn't you or the priest or anyone that woke him. He's been napping for a very long time, but one cannot sleep forever."
"Yes," the Doctor pointed at them from where he was wandering around the glass case, "He's waking because it's his time to wake. And feed. On you, apparently," he eyed Merry, "On your stories."
"She didn't say stories," Clara whispered, walking over to him as he came around to the front of the glass again, "She said souls."
"Same thing," the Doctor shrugged, "The soul's made of stories, not atoms. Everything that ever happened to us. People we love. People we lost. People we found again, against all the odds," he winked at Ayla who smiled, "He threatens to wake, they offer him a pure soul. The soul of the Queen of Years."
"Doctor," Angel shook her head, feeling Merry squeeze her hand and start to shake, "You're scaring her."
"If she's so intent to sacrifice herself," he argued, "She should know what that means," he gave Angel a meaningful look, knowing that both of them were aware of the things they had almost sacrificed, themselves included, for the sake of others, "Do you know what it means, Merry?"
"A god chose me..." Merry recited.
"He's not really a god Merry," Angel told her.
"Yes," the Doctor agreed, "It'll feed on your soul, but that doesn't make it a god. It is a vampire," he pointed back at the mummy, "And you don't need to give yourself to it," he looked at Angel as she smiled at him and nodded. He grinned and knelt down before the girl, "Hey, do you mind if I tell you a story? One you might not have heard? I'm rather good at stories, right sweetheart?" he looked at Ayla, who nodded, before turning back to Merry, "All the elements in your body were forged many, many millions of years ago, in the heart of a far away star that exploded and died. That explosion scattered those elements across the desolations of deep space. After so, so many millions of years, these elements came together to form new stars and new planets. And on and on it went. The elements came together and burst apart," he slowly stood, "Forming shoes and ships and sealing-wax and cabbages and kings," and moved behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders, "Until eventually, they came together to make you."
"You, Merry," Angel continued, "Are the only one of your kind, there is only ONE Merry, one you. No one else will ever be you," she squeezed the girl's hand till she looked at her, "And if you sacrifice yourself to it…there will never be another Merry, the Universe will have lost you. That's not a sacrifice dear, that's just…a crime."
"So…" Merry frowned, "If I don't, then everyone else..."
"Will be just fine," Angel reassured her.
Merry glanced over at the creature in the glass, it was pounding so fiercely on it that it was starting to crack, "How?"
"Mummy and daddy will find a way," Ayla promised, moving to take Merry's other hand, "They always do. They're brilliant!"
The Doctor smiled when Merry looked up at them, "Can you? Do you promise?"
He nodded, "Cross my hearts," he crossed them.
"He won't hurt us Merry," Angel added, "Believe me we have faced down...quite a few gods, and demi-gods, and pantheons of gods, in our day. On many planets and helped many people. There's no one better to face a god than..."
"The Lonely God and his Angel?" the Doctor supplied with a smile.
"Than us," Angel corrected, though she smiled, it had been quite a while since she'd heard that phrase, the Lonely God and his Angel, he wasn't quite so lonely now though was he?
'And I have you to thank for that,' the Doctor winked at her.
'I rather think it's the opposite,' she murmured, meaning HE had made her less lonely as well.
She...really had had quite the lonely existence before him. To think of her life on Gallifrey, where she'd been so content to just...repair and care for the TARDISes, that she hadn't given a thought to flying about the Universe and meeting people...it felt like a dream. She DID love her life on Gallifrey, very much, she wouldn't have traded it for the world. But...the Doctor had shown her how truly magnificent the Universe was, how incredible the peoples of it were, especially the humans. It pained her to think that, if things had been different, she never would have met the people who had become her family. She never would have gotten a Mate and a true home and a daughter either. She would have never become the woman she was if not for him and his encouragement.
He...made her a better woman.
'Oh that's impossible,' he smiled, 'Perfection can't be bettered.'
She blushed lightly at that.
"Um, not to interrupt that lovely moment," Clara called, "But…ugly over here is getting antsy."
Angel laughed, "Come on then," she nodded back to the doors. They all headed over to them, about to ask Merry how to open it as the Doctor didn't want Angel to have to teleport all five of them…when Angel stopped, stiffening, feeling...something.
"Something's coming," Angel breathed, and the ground started to shake.
"What's coming?" Clara stiffened.
"The Vigil!" Merry gasped, it was the only thing she could think of that would be appearing at that moment, there was nothing else it could be.
The Doctor looked at her, stepping closer to the girls, "And what's the Vigil?"
"If the Queen of Years is unwilling to be feasted upon..."
"Yes?"
"...it's their job to feed her to Grandfather."
They looked over just as a crackle of energy struck and three pale creatures all in black appeared before them, the Doctor whipped out his sonic, ready, as Angel and Clara pushed the girls behind them.
"I'm sorry!" Merry cried, "I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry Merry," Ayla squeezed her hand even as the Vigil advanced, "Mummy and daddy will protect us."
"And me," Clara agreed, standing beside the Time Lords, "Don't you dare!" she yelled at the incoming aliens.
"Yeah, stay back," the Doctor nodded, "I'm armed...with a screwdriver."
One of the Vigil opened its mouth, sending out a shockwave of energy in its shout. But Angel pushed in front of the Doctor, her hand out, a golden wall arising before them, deflecting the bellow.
"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, not sure if this was her in control or not. But Angel frowned, and closed her hand in a fist, the golden wall moving away from them and surrounding the Vigil, trapping them, "Oh brilliant!" he cheered, kissing her quickly, "Come on!" he called at the others, leading the way around the Vigil into the room so they weren't trapped by the one door any longer.
"Merry," Clara turned to her, "You know all the stories. You must know if there's another way out."
"There's the tale," Merry nodded, "A secret song. 'The Thief of the Temple and the Nimmer's Door.'"
"Does the secret song open the secret door?" Ayla asked as Merry nodded, "Well sing it then silly!"
Merry turned to a side door, singing a soft little tune that had the door sliding open, all of them rushing through it to the other side, the Doctor sonicing the door to close behind them…only for them to hear a roar coming from the inside. They flinched down as a light shot out of the pyramid and struck the sun.
They ran around the outer edge, back to the moped, able to see that all the doors of the temple had opened, the Vigil standing inside…only to disappear moments later.
"Where did they go?" Clara frowned.
The Doctor squinted, able to see the mummy slumped over on his throne within, the glass shattered, "Grandfather's awake. They're of no function anymore."
"Well, you could sound happier about it," Clara muttered… before an explosion sounded behind them.
"My love?" Angel called, pointing at the sun.
The Doctor turned, wincing at the sight, "Actually, I think I may have made a tactical boo-boo. More of a semantics mix-up, really."
"What boo-boo?" Clara shot him a look.
"Daddy got the translation wrong," Ayla told her.
"What!?"
"I thought the Old God was Grandfather but he wasn't," the Doctor sighed, rubbing his head, "It was just the Grandfather's alarm clock."
Clara shook her head, "Sorry, a bit lost. Who's the Old God? Is there an Old God?"
"He's right there," Angel nodded, pointing at the sun that was now burning brightly, growing in size.
"Oh my stars…" Clara breathed, staring at it, "What do we do?"
"Against that?!" the Doctor scoffed, "I don't know. Do you know? I don't know. Any ideas?" he looked at them all, Angel tilting her head to eye the sun in thought.
"But you promised!" Merry cried, "You promised!"
"And daddy doesn't break his promises," Ayla reassured her, "He and mummy won't start now, will you?" she looked at them.
"No…" Angel breathed, agreeing.
"He'll eat us all!" Merry argued, "He'll spread across the system, consuming the Seven Worlds. And when there's no more to eat, he'll embark on a new odyssey among the stars."
"I say leg it," Clara whispered, staring at the sun as it grew brighter, a face appearing on it.
"Leg it where, exactly?" the Doctor looked at her.
"Don't know. Lake District?"
"Oh," he smiled, "The Lake District's lovely. Let's definitely go there. We can eat scones. They do great scones in 1927."
"I prefer the Eye of Orion," Angel murmured, "A nice picnic would be good."
"Brilliant," he laughed, "We'll do that then."
"Daddy?" Ayla asked him, reaching out to take his hand, "Are we going to fight the sun now?"
He sighed, "Regrettably, yes. I think we may be about to do that."
Angel frowned as she took a step closer to the sun, eyeing it. There was something...off about it, and not just the fact that it was growing in size and getting redder in hue and the face that had formed within it was starting to glare at them. No, that was all perfectly normal as far as trips with the Doctor went. What was worrying her was...she could just tell there was something odd about it. Like there was more to it than just the glaring face. It felt like...like the sun from that ship once, the one that had infected her and the Doctor, it was like...it was in pain. She could swear she could feel it too, like it was...addicted almost, like it craved something but whatever it was, when it was given to it, just...hurt it.
She let out a breath, glancing at the Doctor, he didn't see it did he?
"It's really big," Clara warned.
"I've seen bigger," the Doctor shrugged.
"Really?"
"Are you joking? It's massive!"
"I'm staying with you," Clara nodded, determined.
"No," Angel turned to her, "You can't."
"Yes, I can. And I am. I can...assist."
"Clara, you don't understand…"
"What about that stuff the Doctor said? We don't walk away?"
Angel smiled, "We don't," she agreed, "But I've learned that, when something I cherish is in danger…I run. Fast and far, till it's safe again…" she glanced at the sun, "Till I've made it safe…"
The Doctor's eyes widened, hearing something else in her voice, hearing her saying 'I' instead of 'we' and that...worried him enormously, "Angel…" he began, "No."
Angel just looked at him with a soft smile, reaching out to touch his face, "Ayla, you take care of your father."
And that was all she said…before a flash of gold struck…and the quartet found themselves standing back in the amphitheater…without Angel.
~8~
Angel stood, alone, before the red sun, just staring it down, looking at the face that had formed in it, the face that was glaring at her. It was like the yellow sun was swirling with the angry red light, the yellow of it just barely visible in the eyes that stared at her, in the nose and the mouth, but...it was like the red was consuming it.
"I'm sorry," she whispered to it.
And she knew...the red parts were what was infecting it.
~8~
"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, seeing the moped had appeared with them, he ran over for it, but a golden wall appeared around it, keeping him from reaching it, "No!" he rushed to the back doors, but they were closed, the golden wall was there as well, keeping him from getting to the TARDIS. He rushed back to the ledge, 'Angel what are you doing!?' he called to her.
~8~
Angel closed her eyes, 'I'm sorry my love,' she whispered, more to herself than him.
~8~
"Daddy?" Ayla's voice called, cutting through the Doctor's frantic thoughts, "What's mummy doing?!"
He swallowed, "I don't know sweetheart," he had to admit.
Ayla frowned, biting her lip, before she moved to his side, taking his hand as they stared at the pyramid, waiting for any sign of what Angel was going to do.
"Isn't she frightened?" Merry whispered to Clara.
She nodded, "I think she is. I think she's very frightened."
"You don't know mummy," Ayla murmured, "Mummy's the strongest person ever."
The Doctor managed a small smile at that, strength and bravery didn't always mean the same thing was certainly both, strong and brave, but...sometimes she was more brave than strong, she'd face down something but not have the strength to save it. Or she'd attempt saving it, and manage it, but weaken herself inordinately in the process. Or she'd be strong enough to stop it...but not brave enough to do it, not that it was always a bad thing. At first, she'd had all the power in the world to stop the Daleks, to destroy them, but hadn't been able to. It wasn't a weakness, it didn't mean she wasn't brave (she was facing DALEKS!) but she didn't have the stomach to go further and truly destroy them. Something he loved about her, that she didn't destroy or kill, that she wasn't him...
And that was why her loss of control with the Vortex worried him so much. It was NOT like Angel to do that, to attack, to destroy, and...to see her do that, to learn she was doing that...it alarmed him. At first she didn't know she'd done it, she'd had no control. But...with the Weeping Angel, a large part of him was relieved she'd made it safe for Amy and Rory by destroying it, a tiny part of him though was...concerned...because she'd KNOWINGLY destroyed something. She had knowingly used the Vortex to destroy a Weeping Angel.
And he didn't know what that meant. He tried to be reassuring, to believe in Idris and her reason for giving Angel the Vortex. He tried to believe in Angel's own strength of will and hearts and soul...that she'd not be corrupt by the power. And he didn't think she was. But there WAS something wrong, for her to keep losing control the way she was. He...really didn't know what it meant, and that...scared him.
"I want to help," Merry moved over to the Doctor.
"So do I," Clara agreed, joining her, "There must be something we can do," she told the Time Lord, "What if we sang that song the priest was singing, to put it to sleep? Would that help?"
"No, no, it's too late for that…" the Doctor muttered…before his eyes widened, "Oh but that is brilliant!" he spun around, "Merry!" he snapped his finger and pointed at her, "Can you wake him up completely?"
Merry stared at him, "What?!"
"Wake him up, keep him up," the Doctor explained quickly.
"Why would you want him to STAY awake?" Clara shook her head.
"Because he has to sleep to gain strength," the Doctor explained, "The longer he's awake, the weaker he gets, the more Angel can get through to him."
Merry frowned but trusted him, if it meant it would give Angel an advantage and help save everyone...she could try. She moved onto the small pedestal, staring at the pyramid, afraid that…that she'd muck it up again. Even though the Doctor and Angel had told her it wasn't her fault, she felt like it was.
"It'll be ok Merry," Ayla walked over to her, taking her hand instead now, "Just…sing."
Merry took a deep breath and did just that, "Rest now…"
"My warrior..." Ayla joined in with her, smiling up at the young girl as the Doctor turned a frantic look at the pyramid.
~8~
Angel smiled as she heard Merry and Ayla singing from the city as she stared at the monstrous face forming in the sun before her, "I think I'll do that," she told it, "Tell you a bedtime story, would you like that? I'll bet you've not heard one in the longest time..."
~8~
"Oh..." Merry continued, Ayla following along, "Wake up…"
Clara looked back as the audience joined in, "Wake up…"
"And let the cloak of life cling to your bones..."
Clara looked at the Doctor, the man intently focused on the sun and the pyramid, his hands clutched together around the sonic so tightly his knuckles were turning white…
~8~
Angel looked at the sun softly before kneeling down, getting comfortable, "But first…do you hear that?" she shook her head, "All these people who lived in terror of you and your judgment? All these people whose ancestors worshipped you, sacrificed for you…continuing on the cycle of fear…poisoning you without even realizing…do you hear them?" she closed her eyes, listening, "They're singing."
~8~
"Wake up…" Merry sang.
Clara walked over to the Doctor, putting a hand on his shoulder, offering him comfort as they waited to see what would happen next.
~8~
Angel opened her eyes a moment later, "You think yourself a god, but I think we both know it isn't true. You're a parasite, albeit one that sustains these seven worlds, but you eat denial and..and jealousy and envy and you want for the lives of others. You feed on them, on the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow and…you only need one, you know. Love. Just love. That is all anyone truly needs to sustain them. You've become corrupted by the negative emotions you've fed on through the years, I can tell," she put a hand to her chest, "It's like I can feel it."
She looked up at it, "You thrive on stories, but stories…they've already happened. The future though, infinite stories to come, enough to sustain you long through your passing, billions of millennia to go. And luckily for you, I happen to be a psychic angel," she laughed, "I've got more than enough of the future, of love, to spare so…come on…take mine," she held out her hand, watching as a reddish/gold light drifted at her from the sun.
~8~
"Wake up," Merry sang, "And let the cloak of life cling to your bones..."
"Doctor…what's wrong?" Clara frowned, seeing tears coming to the Doctor's eyes as he heard what Angel was saying, realized what she was doing.
~8~
"I have had a long life," Angel told the sun, watching as the light filtered around her hand, swarming up her arm, "I have seen more things than I care to admit," she took a breath as it reached her chest, starting to swarm around her, "I lived beyond the Last Great Time War, healed from it," she closed her eyes, thinking of the Doctor just then, "I mark the rebirth of the Time Lords," and then her daughter, the first Time Lord to be born after the War, "I have seen the birth of the Universe. I watched time flowing around me, moving into the future..."
Her eyes opened, the gold of the Vortex shining in them as it began to swarm around her as well, feeding the star.
"I have seen beautiful worlds, incredible people, marvelous feats, civilizations rise, hope survive against all odds…" the gold began to pulse around her, growing stronger as the red encased her, "I have seen worlds so incredible you couldn't imagine them. I have felt losses that you could never understand and felt such incredible hope and joy from them that it would make the heart swell."
The gold flared around her, shining out, making its way past her, out to the sun.
"I know things, secrets of the future that must never be shared, I hold the answer to a question that must never be asked, and in my hearts, I hold such love for everyone…that it would fill even your endless appetite," she stood up and held her arms out, "And I offer it to you," she called, letting the gold blaze out of her, shining through the darkness of space, right to the star, seeping into it, "Take it, please. Have it. Let it heal you too..."
~8~
From the edge of the city, the Doctor fell to his knees, everyone standing as they watched the brilliant gold light that had drifted to the sun begin to shine from within the star itself, the face shifting, till all the red that had encompassed it turned golden and warm…before the light flickered out as did Merry's song.
"Wake up. Wake up."
~8~
Angel smiled softly, seeing the red dissipate and fade, the sun now yellow once more, "Good…"
And collapsed to her knees, falling to her side…
~8~
The gold wall surrounding the moped flickered out.
"Angel!" the Doctor shouted, fearing what that meant. If it had been Angel consciously doing it, the gold would have faded, but this…this was a flicker! And a flicker meant that it wasn't Angel choosing to let it go but that she didn't have the energy to sustain it.
He ran back to the moped, hopping on, seeing Clara and Ayla rushing after him as he took off, back to the temple as soon as they were on, the sun shining in a golden light, warm, unlike the darkness they'd felt in it earlier. He half ran off the moped before it had even touched down once more, racing through the halls of the temple to another ledge that faced the sun.
"Angel!" he cried, seeing her collapsed on the ground, and ran to her side, dropping to his knees beside her, gently picking her up in his arms.
"Mummy!" Ayla gasped, rushing over as Clara slowly approached.
"Is she alright?" Clara whispered as Ayla took the woman's hand.
The Doctor's eyes frantically searched over Angel, before he breathed sigh of relief, feeling it, "She's…she'll be fine," he whispered, bowing his head in relief, "You stupid, stupid girl," he murmured, no bite at all in his voice but merely fear.
"I thought I was…rather brilliant," Angel murmured, blearily blinking her eyes opened to look at him.
"Mummy!" Ayla cheered, leaping forward to hug her mother.
"Hello beautiful," Angel whispered, hugging her daughter weakly.
"Are you alright?" Clara moved to kneel beside Ayla as the girl pulled back.
"Tired," Angel murmured, turning to curl more against the Doctor as he held her closer.
"Why did you DO that?" the Doctor lightly started to sway, holding her.
"Couldn't let it eat the leaf," was all Angel said before she drifted off.
Clara blinked, "Was I the only one who didn't get that?"
Ayla shrugged, knowing that sometimes her mummy didn't make a lick of sense, but the Doctor frowned, thinking of that, of what it meant…before he smacked himself in the forehead, "Of course…"
"Care to share with the rest of the class Doctor?" Clara lifted an eyebrow at him.
"Your leaf Clara," he whispered, nodding at her bag where her book '101 Places to See' was nestled, "The leaf that brought your parents together," he kept going, ignoring Clara's confused frown at how he'd known that was the story behind it, "It's full of stories, full of history and…a future that your mother never got to live."
"I get it now," Ayla nodded.
"I don't," Clara frowned.
"Your leaf isn't your mummy's past Clara, it's also her future," Ayla explained, "An infinity of possibilities."
"There's quite a difference between what was and what should have been," the Doctor sighed, "There's an awful lot of one, but there's an infinity of the other. And the future…all that infinity would have been too much for the sun and its appetite."
"And Angel…" Clara looked at the worn woman.
"She really IS psychic Clara," the Doctor told her, "She offered it her insight to the future. On our planet, there were women and men called Visionaries, who saw the future. It was a natural gift they had, tended to drive them a bit barmy actually. Angel has it, Ayla has it as well," Ayla smiled proudly at that, "She just…offered it a look into that part of her mind, used some other skills of hers to heal it while it was distracted and feeding. The future…can be an incredible burden," he added softly, "One that Angel bears rather brilliantly."
"Because she has you daddy," Ayla told him, "And me! And Aunt Idris. Oh! And our family too!"
The Doctor smiled and merely stood, Angel in his arms, as Clara took Ayla's hand, following the man off.
~8~
"You knew that my mum's leaf would be destroyed," Clara began as she leaned on the controls beside the side-chair where Angel was sitting, the two of them watching the Doctor race around the console with Ayla, piloting th old box.
"I had a feeling," Angel shrugged, but nodded, "I knew how important it was to you Clara," she reached out to take the girl's hand, "It was your parents' and I couldn't let it be taken like that, like Ayla couldn't let you give up your mum's ring," she added, "Memories of family...are the most important sort, family in itself is..." she shook her head, unable to really say anything else, there wasn't a word to describe how important family was.
Though she DID blink, "Which reminds me, I really do need to ask Sissy to help get pictures of the Doctor's past companions for Ayla," for the locket she knew the Doctor had managed to get back. She glanced at Clara, "They're family to me, and I think Ayla deserves a photo of Susan as well."
Clara frowned, "Susan?"
Angel smiled, "The Doctor's granddaughter, her..." she blinked, "Ayla's niece. Oh," she laughed a bit, "That's weird, his granddaughter is Ayla's niece."
Clara glanced at the little girl, "Have you um, have you told her, about his other family?"
She nodded, "We have. The Doctor's taken to telling her bedtime stories about his past adventures sometimes. He's been going mostly in order and quite a few of them feature Susan. She travelled with him for a while," she explained, "Oh she loves hearing about Susan, says that 'niceness' has to be hereditary on both sides of the family."
Clara laughed, shaking her head at that, "What?"
"A few people have mentioned that I'm nice," Angel sighed, "Sometime too nice..."
"There's nothing wrong with that though," Clara defended, "The world would be better if people were nice to each other."
"I agree," she nodded, "But from what the Doctor's said of Susan, she was very kind and very brave and very nice as well. Ayla loves that about her, and...I do too," she nodded, "Of all his children and all his grandchildren, Susan was the only one who wanted to spend time with him and see the Universe, to explore with him. And I'm grateful for that," she smiled in thought, "She's rather like I hope Ayla will grow up to be, a strong, brave, kind woman."
She really did love Susan. Unlike Ayla, she had a direct link to the Doctor's mind he could share memories of Susan with her and she loved that girl. She was quite certain that, if she and the Doctor had met on Gallifrey, if they'd Mated, somehow even with his wife still being alive, that she would have come to love that girl as though she were really HER granddaughter too. She actually already did. She loved how much Susan cared for her grandfather and how much she just wanted to see him safe and happy. She could tell that Susan would have been one of Ayla's favorite 'aunties' if she'd still been alive. The War...it had been felt through all of time and space, like a beacon to all the Time Lord everywhere to return, to fight. Susan had been there, she'd fought, and she'd fallen in battle as well.
Ayla had never gotten to meet her or her other nieces and nephews, her half-siblings, not even her 'step mother' as was the only fitting word she could think of for the Doctor's wife. She would have loved to meet Susan too, both her and Ayla felt a love for the girl for being the only one to want to stay with the Doctor and see her grandfather's adventures play out. They both rather liked what they knew of her, the girl being much like them they felt.
The Doctor pulled a lever and the TARDIS set down before the Maitland home pulling their attention back over. Angel stood and moved to check his coordinates, feeling a bit more rested than when they'd left Akhaten. They really HAD stopped for a little in the Eye of Orion on the way back, got that peaceful picnic just to help her recover more. She was still tired but refused to sleep till she'd seen Clara safely back home.
"Home again," the Doctor cheered, "Home again, jiggity-jig!"
Clara walked over to the doors, peeking out them, "It looks different."
"Nope. Same house. Same city. Same planet. Same day, actually."
"Well done my love," Angel smiled, seeing he was right on the monitor, before giving him a kiss on the cheek.
He laughed, "Hole in one!" and pretended to swing a club.
"Can we go mini-golfing daddy?" Ayla rushed over to him, taking his hand.
"Of course," he nodded, kissing her head, "Whatever you want sweetheart."
"Only if you try not to hit your father in the head with the golf ball again," Angel added with a small laugh, it had seemed that Ayla had inherited her last self's lack of any sort of coordination, except balance, the girl hardly tripped but failed to hit targets and other things.
Clara paused at that, frowning as she thought on Angel's words, about someone getting hit in the head with a ball...and blinked. She closed the doors and stepped back into the TARDIS, walking to them, "You were in the park, when I was a kid," she frowned, pointing at them, "I remember you! I nearly hit you with my kick-ball. And..." her eyes widened, looking at Ayla, "YOU were the little girl I talked to on the swing set when I was older and...you were...younger," she shook her head, time travel, "And at mum's grave too! You were watching. What were you doing there? All those times, why were you always there?!"
The Doctor turned and fidgeted with a control, not quite sure how to explain all those instances that probably came across quite a bit like stalking, "Don't know. We were just...making sure."
"Of what?" she crossed her arms.
"That you were alright," Angel told her, "That you were safe."
"Why wouldn't I be safe?" she frowned.
"You...remind us of someone we knew," Angel sighed.
"Who?"
"Someone we lost."
"Well, whoever she was, I'm not her, ok?" she insisted, "If you want me to travel with you, that's fine. But as me. Not a bargain basement stand-in for someone else. I not going to compete with a ghost."
"You won't be," Ayla told her, "Mummy and daddy have had lots of companions who looked like people that were lost," before she started to tick off her fingers, "Aunt Martha looked like her cousin Addy, Aunt Amy looked like that soothsayer lady, you look like…"
The Doctor quickly put his hand over Ayla's mouth, "I think she gets it sweetheart."
"We promise Clara," Angel crossed her hearts, "We see Clara. Just Clara."
Clara smiled at that and nodded, half-skipping back to the doors and opening them, stepping out as they watched her go.
"Oh!" the Doctor cheered, "That reminds me," he turned to Ayla, kneeling down and holding up...her locket!
"My locket!" Ayla cheered, before frowning, "Daddy did you steal it back?" she looked at him suspiciously.
He laughed, "Why does everyone assume I steal things?"
"Et hem?" Angel called, nodding at the TARDIS.
"Well…besides that," he rolled his eyes, motioning for Ayla to turn around so he could put the locket back on, "Now," he turned her around again, his hands on her shoulders, "Why don't you go pick out a story to read for bed eh?"
Ayla nodded and rushed out to do just that. Even though she was over 100 years old, she did love a good story. It had been one reason to go to Akhaten in the first place, the place thrived on stories and there were always SO many being told. It made them wonder if she might be 'the Bard' one day and tell tales of her own.
The Doctor smiled watching her go before he stood and walked right up to Angel, hugging her tightly, "Don't ever do that to me again," he whispered.
"I'll try not to my love," she murmured, kissing him gently before she took his hand and led him off towards the halls after their daughter.
~8~
"I am knackered," Angel remarked, only to end up yawning in the middle of it as she plopped down on their bed, the Doctor laughing as she cuddled up next to him, her eyes already falling closed as she rested her head on his chest.
"I'd expect so," he countered, "You did it again, faced down a killer star," though he was VERY pleased she wasn't in as much pain as she had been helping that time.
"And a 'god,'" she joked, smiling as she felt his arms wrap around her, "But I've plenty experience with facing down gods don't I?"
He hummed, "God of the Daleks, God of the wolves, the Pyroviles, the Minotaur, and now this. Quite the record."
"I wasn't talking about them," she murmured, sounding already half asleep.
He frowned and looked at her, "Then who..." she just opened her eyes and gave him a look, "Oh, me," he smiled, "But I'm not a god, dear."
She let out a tiny scoff, setting her head back down, "If you're not a god then I'm not an angel."
He paused, thinking on that, before reaching out to touch her cheek, gently coaxing her awake from the brink of sleep to look at him once more, "Angel, I really am not a god."
She gave him a small smile, "Let's see...a man who watches over all humanity, all life in the Universe, heeds the prayers of others, travels with not one, but two angels, who others belief in, by now thanks to erasing himself from history, is left only to faith...that sounds like a god to me," she leaned in and kissed him gently, "A kind, benevolent, merciful, and compassionate god who uses everything he has to save all he can and feels guilt when he cannot.
She gave him one more lingering kiss, before lying her head back down, "And anyone who looks like you," she added, starting to drift off again, "HAS to be a god."
The Doctor blinked, the touching feeling he'd gotten from her first words fading into bemusement at her last ones, "Oh, you think I'm handsome then?"
"I believe I implied you were god-like in looks my love," she corrected, not opening her eyes but the smile on her face told him she was enjoying this little moment.
"Which god then?" he wondered, "Baldor? Apollo? Mars?"
"You are a god all to your own," she snuggled into him more, "But I'd say with quite a few qualities of Adonis."
He smiled, Adonis, while not really a true god, he knew was symbolic of the perfect man. He was...he felt warm to know she thought of him like that. Him, with his scrawny frame and floppy hair and bowtie...she thought he was perfect.
"Because you are," she murmured once more, and he could tell she was only seconds away from sleep, she really was quite tired, "To me, you are perfect Theta."
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her hair, gently stroking his hand down her hair in the process, "And you are just divine Nella," he whispered.
"I better be," she mumbled, nearly gone, "Have to...live up to my title."
He laughed lightly, watching her expression as she gently drifted off and he smiled, closing his eyes, feeling...so content that he actually thought, perhaps, for once in a long while, he wouldn't have a nightmare this time.
A/N: Oh Doctor, you should know better than that, the nightmares are FAR from over. But the next one...will have a shocking revelation for the Doctor }:)
But I hope you liked this chapter, the change in having Angel alone confront the star. I sort of did one story where it was the Doctor, then one of him and a TL, so I wanted to see if Angel could handle it this time ;) I think she did a pretty good job of it though :)
Oh! And, in case anyone's interested, the Loki/OC story will be up in a few minutes after posting this chapter ;)
Some notes on reviews...
I'm glad you're enjoying the stories so far, Proffy's definitely my special baby being my first OC and first TL :) I am going to do the 50th as a separate one shot for Proffy (and Evy), that one will be the Revelations story mentioned at the end of Series 7 for her, the date it'll be posted is up on my profile ;) After that I'll be continuing Reproduction with the Christmas special to end that series till Series 8 :) I'm from America, good old New Jersey :) I tend to update (my time) around 6:45am EST :)
I think the Doctor would want to keep Ayla safe, but she's very much like him in wanting to see the Universe. And with the enemies all thinking him dead or forgetting who he is, he's pretty much safe. He doesn't know the Great Intelligence is after him again so, in terms of enemies, he's being pretty careful. In Asylum he purposefully went out there and left Ayla and Angel on Earth to try and avoid them being in danger, but they both wouldn't have that lol :) Angel probably would have wanted a normalish life if she hadn't regenerated. This new her is very eager to see the wonders of the Universe and appreciate them, to show her daughter all the good out there :)
Lol, I think Proffy and the Doctor might be a bit role reversed, with Proffy threatening them and the Doctor embarrassing them but definitely enjoying 'tormenting' their kids :)
We won't find out who Clara reminded the Doctor of for a few episodes. There'll be hints about it but we'll find out within the last three episodes who Clara reminds him of ;) And thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the stories so far :)
One more day! As of posting this at least lol :) I'm so excited for tomorrow! ^-^
And a very Happy Birthday to Mira SeverusSirius Black-Snape! I hope you have an utterly fantastic day :)