Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who
The Teaching of River Song – Part One
Romana sat in her 'office' , which really felt more like a cell, staring glumly out at the hot air balloon cars sweeping past and hearing pterodactyls screeching overhead. A TV babbled on in the corner, talking about sunspots and solar flares; Charles Dickens was being interviewed about his latest book. She was dressed in a chiton; everyone believed her to be a scholar, serving the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchill. Everything was just so, so wrong.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in" she sighed. A young soldier opened the door and informed her, "My lady, his liege has requested your presence in his office". Romana got to her feet, giving the madcap world outside one last glance before following the soldier to Churchill's office. Flavia, standing on his left as his 'personal advisor', gave Romana an apologetic glance. I tried to explain, but he threatened to throw us all in the dungeon if I kept talking about it she said telepathically.
Winston offered Romana a drink, but she declined. Ten minutes of awkward silence later, the Corsair walked in, one hand on the shoulder of a shackled, bearded, very bedraggled man in a toga. "Doctor!" Romana cried, ignoring protocol to run over and cup his face in her hands. The Doctor gave her a rueful smile. "Hello, Fred" he said jokingly. Romana just embraced him, as Flavia hurried around the side of the table to them. "Leave us" Winston ordered his servants and nurse, Malohkeh. "Tick tock goes the clock, as the old song says" he said, and the Time Lords all looked at him.
"But they don't, do they?" he continued, "The clocks never tick. Something has happened to time. That's what you all say. What you never stop saying. All of history is happening at once. But what does that mean? What happened? Explain to me in terms that I can understand what happened to time" Winston demanded. The Doctor took a deep breath. "A woman" he replied.
/
The Doctor walked forward slowly, purposefully. "Imagine you were dying" he said to the creature he was approaching, "Imagine you were afraid and a long way from home and in terrible pain. Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, you looked up and saw the face of the devil himself. Hello, Dalek" he smiled mirthlessly. The downed Dalek flicked its eyestalk, croaking "Emergency! Emergency! Weapon system disabled! Emergency!" The Doctor ignored it and sonicked the joint between its dome and 'body', opening it up.
The Dalek continued to scream. "Hush now, I need some information from your data core. Everything the Daleks know about the Silence" said the Doctor. Once he'd removed the information from the data core, he shut the Daleks dome and patted it. "Sorry about this, but considering all you've put me through over the years, I think you owe me one dear" he commented. Then he set to work sonicking the Daleks eye-stalk.
In the TARDIS, Romana paced back and forth nervously, biting her fingernails. "Romana, stop worrying, the Doctor knows what he's doing" said the Corsair, from where he was leaning against the console. "I know, but what if the Dalek isn't dead? What if it can still shoot him?" she worried. When the Doctor returned, she marched straight up to him and demanded "What took you so long?"
"Sorry, Ro. On the bright side, I got everything I needed from that Dalek" he replied, moving past her and up to the console. There he plugged in his sonic screwdriver, eyes flickering over the information streaming onto the monitor, handing the eye-stalk distractedly to a very unnerved and grossed out Flavia.
Their next port of call was a seedy space bar on Calisto B, home of their next informant. Romana and Flavia looked around nervously at the less than friendly looking patrons, whilst the Doctor said to the barkeeper, "Gideon Vandaleur. Get him. Now". Behind him, the Corsair loomed menacingly, even though he was only a head or so taller than the Doctor. Unfazed, the red skinned barman scoffed "Who says he's here?"
Without a word, the Doctor dropped the Dalek eye-stalk on the bar top and smirked. The alien's eyes widened; he nodded and walked away quickly. The four of them sat at a table for five, tucked away in the corner. The Corsair kept one hand loosely on his gun, but the Doctor was completely unbothered by the less than genial surroundings. He pulled a knitting magazine out of his pocket and unrolled it, flicking through the pages with a smile on his face.
Five minutes later, a hooded figure sat down in front of the foursome and removed his hood, revealing a creepy looking man with a black metal eye-patch over his right eye. "Father Gideon Vandaleur" the Doctor greeted, putting one arm casually around Romana's shoulders. "Former envoy of the Silence. My condolences" he whispered. Vandaleur frowned. "Your what?" he asked. "Gideon Vandaleur has been dead for six months" replied the Doctor, before sonicking the man, who stiffened.
The Doctor peered into the man's only visible eye. "Can I speak to the captain, please?" he asked politely, seeing a tiny man in the pupil nod and run down the corridor. "Hello again" the Doctor smiled when the captain, Carter, greeted him cursorily. "The Teselecta, time-travelling shape-changing robot powered by miniaturised people. Never get bored of that. Long time since Berlin" he said casually, as if he were discussing the weather. "Doctor, what have you done to our systems?" Carter asked impatiently.
"They'll be fine if you behave. Now, this unit can disguise itself as anyone in the universe, so if you're posing as Vandaleur, you're investigating the Silence. Tell me about them" instructed the Doctor. "Tell you what?"
"One thing. Just one. Their weakest link"
/
Please be careful Romana told the Doctor as he prepared to face another agent of the Silence, Gantok, in a game of live chess. Of course I will! he replied reassuringly, giving her a brief hug. He wasn't afraid; the Time Lords invented chess, and they could do it in three dimensions, never mind just two. Near the end of the game, Gantok hesitated nervously as the only piece he could move was lit up by crackling volts of electricity.
"The crowd are getting restless. They know the Queen is your only legal move, except you've already moved it twelve times, which means there are now over four million volts running through it. That's why they call it Live Chess. Even with the gauntlet you'll never make it to Bishop Four alive" the Doctor pointed out. The Viking like agent said "I am a dead man, unless you concede the game".
"But I'm winning"
"Name your price"
"Information"
"I work for the Silence. They would kill me"
"They're going to kill me too, very soon. I was just going to lie down and take it, but you know what? Before I go, I'd like to know why I have to die"
"Dorium Maldovar is the only one who can help you" said Gantok, much to the Doctor's disbelief. "Dorium's dead. The Monks beheaded him at Demon's Run" he replied, voice tinged with regret. "I know" nodded Gantok, "Concede the game, Doctor, and I'll take you to him". This was enough to pique the Doctor's curiosity, so he forfeited the match, making the crowd roar in frustration and disappointment.
Gantok led the Time Lords to a crypt. "Ugh, these places give me the creeps" Flavia complained. "You could stay up here" commented Gantok, "but then the slavers would get you". He led them down some worn stone steps and through a long corridor, filled with skulls on the shelves or the floor. "The Seventh Transept, where the Headless Monks keep the leftovers. Watch your step. There are traps everywhere" Gantok warned. The Doctor heard a rustling sound and grimaced. "I hate rats" he complained.
"There are no rats in the transept"
"Oh, good"
"The skulls eat them". As if on cue, all the skulls turned to face them. Even though they didn't have anything close to eyes, Romana still felt like she was being stared at, and shuddered. "The headless monks behead you alive, remember" said Gantok. "As opposed to what, beheading you the normal way?" the Corsair muttered, walking behind them all with another torch. They came out into a larger space, with wooden boxes on pillars arranged in a semi-circle. "Why are some of them in boxes?" asked the Doctor.
"Because some people are rich, and some people are left to rot. And Dorium Maldovar was always very rich" explained Gantok. The Doctor picked his way over to one of the boxes, Romana beside him. The Corsair stayed back by the entrance on guard, and Flavia stayed with him. He might be annoying sometimes – well, most times – but he was trustworthy (unlike Gantok) and she felt safer around him.
The Doctor sonicked open Dorium's box and peered at the blue disembodied head, jumping when it sneezed. "Thank you for bringing us, Gantok" he told the Viking, who replied "My pleasure- It saves me the trouble of burying you. Nobody beats me at chess!" he snarled, aiming his weapon at the Doctor. The Corsair aimed his own pistol at Gantok, creating a stalemate. Impulsively, Gantok took a step towards the Doctor and Romana only to trigger a trap. He fell through a hole in the floor, and they all watched in horror as he was dragged down into the skull filled pit.
Suddenly the skulls looked up, and the Doctor pulled Romana from the edge in alarm. He sonicked the trap shut again, but the noise woke up Dorium. "Hello? Is someone there?" he asked. The Doctor came to stand right in front of him. "Ah, Doctor. Thank God it's you. The Monks, they turned on me" said Dorium. "Well, I'm afraid they rather did, a bit" the Doctor agreed awkwardly.
"Give it to me straight, Doctor. How bad are my injuries?" asked Dorium. The Doctor glanced at Romana, and back to Dorium. "Well…" he started. The blue head burst out laughing. "Ha, ha! Oh, your face!"
/
Winston took his cigar from his mouth and shook his head in disbelief, his chin wobbling. "This is absurd" he protested, getting out of his chair, "Other worlds, carnivorous skulls, talking heads. I don't know why I'm listening to you" he told the Doctor, who'd been reciting the story. He was sitting between Flavia and Romana, holding the latter's hand, whilst the Corsair stood behind them, arms folded. "Because, in another reality, you and I are friends. And you sense that. Just as you sense there is something wrong with time" the Doctor replied.
"You mentioned a woman" Winston reminded them. "She comes in a bit later" explained Romana. "What's she like? Attractive, I assume. Ah, no offence, Lady Romana" Winston added courteously. She acknowledged it with a small, shy nod. "You're asking the wrong man, Winston" the Doctor said irreverently, "I've only got eyes for Romana here. But I suppose she is, in a…lionish sort of way" he added vaguely. Still, Winston was intrigued. "Tell me more" he prompted.
/
"Oh, it's not so bad really, as long as they get your box the right way up" Dorium told them unconcernedly. "I got a media-chip fitted in my head years ago, and the Wi-Fi down here is excellent, so I keep myself entertained" he added. "I need to know about the Silence" the Doctor stated firmly. Dorium's face fell in disappointment. "Oh. They're a religious order of great power and discretion. The sentinels of history, as they like to call themselves" he explained.
"And they want me dead"
"No, not really. They just don't want you to remain alive" replied Dorium. None of them could really see how that was any better. "That's okay, then. I was a bit worried for a minute there" the Doctor said sarcastically. Don't joke about it begged Romana, please. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "You're a man with a long and dangerous past, but your future is infinitely more terrifying. The Silence believe it must be averted" explained Dorium. The Doctor pointed out that "You know, you could've told me all this the last time we met".
"It was a busy day and I got beheaded!" Dorium protested. "Why is his future so dangerous to them?" asked Romana. Dorium eyed her with interest. "I must say, Doctor, I didn't think I'd ever see you with such a pretty girl on your arm" he commented teasingly, but the Doctor simply glared at him and threatened to poke his eyes out if he didn't stop ogling Romana. Dorium rolled his eyes and explained, "On the Fields of Trenzalore, at the fall of the Eleventh, when no living creature can speak falsely, or fail to answer, a question will be asked. A question that must never, ever be answered".
The Doctor pulled out a small brown notebook from his pocket. "Silence will fall when the question is asked" he read. "Silence must fall would be a better translation" Dorium corrected, "The Silence are determined the question will never be answered. That the Doctor will never reach Trenzalore" he informed them. Romana's brow furrowed. "And their only solution is to have him be killed? Why not just warn you never to go there?" she wondered.
The Doctor shrugged and replied "Well, you know what I'm like, 'warnings' are more like suggestions than actual orders in my view. But what is this question?" he inquired. "The first question. The oldest question in the universe, hidden in plain sight. Would you like to know what it is?" inquired Dorium. "Yes" the Doctor answered; he'd just asked that!
"Are you sure? Very, very sure?" The Doctor put his arm around Romana as the skulls all shuffled to face them. Flavia shuddered, and the Corsair glared at the skulls, his hand hovering near his pistol. Not that it would do much good… "Of course" the Doctor answered nervously. Dorium smiled. "Then I shall tell you, but on your own head be it" he replied, chuckling darkly.
/
The Doctor marched into the TARDIS, closely followed by the other three Time Lords, carrying Dorium's box. "It's not my fault, put me back. Ow! I've fallen on my nose" he complained as the Doctor dumped him unceremoniously onto the nearest seat and began to dematerialise. He moved to the scanner and brought up the information he'd gathered from the Teselecta on his death, staring at it in distaste. "Have you got Wi-Fi here? I'm bored already and my nose is hurting" grumbled Dorium. The Time Lords ignored him.
"We all have to die, Doctor, but you more than most. You do see that, don't you? You know what the question is now. You do see that you have to die" said Dorium. The Doctor didn't reply, he just stared into space with a faintly worried expression. Romana had been his girlfriend long enough, nearly 200 years, to recognise when he was unnerved but unwilling to admit it, so she simply wrapped her arms around him.
/
"But what was the question? Why did it mean your death?" Winston demanded as they made their way through the halls of the Senate, the Time Lords having neglected to divulge that bit of information. The Doctor hesitated, and then explained, "Suppose there was a man who knew a secret. A terrible, dangerous secret that must never be told. How would you erase that secret from the world? Destroy it forever, before it can be spoken?" he asked Winston. The prime minister turned Emperor sighed and admitted "If I had to, I'd destroy the man".
The Doctor smiled sadly. "And silence would fall. All the times I've heard those words, I never realised it was my silence, my death. The Doctor will fall. Why are we here?" he asked out of the blue. "This, this is the Senate Room" explained Winston. "We know what it is, but why did we come here? Why did we leave your office?" asked Flavia, speaking for the first time in a while. "Well, we wanted a stroll, didn't we?" said Winston.
Romana, who was holding the Doctor's hand, felt his wrist and said "Doctor, your pulse- it's fast". He felt his pulse, and hers, and said "I think we've been running. Why do you have your revolver?" he asked Winston, who was looking at his gun with a puzzled expression. "Well…you're dangerous company, Soothsayer" he reasoned. The Doctor looked down at his and Romana's joined hands, seeing a single tally mark on his arm. Their eyes met briefly, before the Doctor looked back to Winston. "Yes. I think I am" he agreed.
"Resume your story" Winston prompted. So the Doctor went on where he'd left off, with Dorium complaining again.
/
"Doctor, please, open my hatch. I've got an awful headache. Which to be honest means more than it used to" moaned Dorium. The Doctor made a frustrated strangling motion in the direction of the box, but Romana simply stepped forward and opened the hatch – only to find that Dorium was upside down. "It's like some terrible weight pressing down on my…Oh, I see" he deadpanned as he opened his eyes. Romana carefully turned his box the right way up. "Oof! Oh, that's much better, thank you".
"Why Lake Silencio? Why Utah?" asked the Doctor. He could think of a lot of much nicer places on Earth one could die in; of course he would prefer to be alive in them, and take Romana to some of them as well. "It's a still point in time. Makes it easier to create a fixed point. And your death is a fixed point, Doctor. You can't run away from this" Dorium insisted. "Been running all my life. Why should I stop?" the Doctor asked flippantly. "Because now you know what's at stake. Why your life must end" answered Dorium.
"No" Romana said firmly, crossing her arms, "because we will find a way. We're just not thinking hard enough" she asserted. "What's the point in delaying? How long have you delayed already?" demanded Dorium, and Romana had to resist the urge to slam his box shut again. Of course, that would do nothing to muffle his voice…why couldn't the Monks have made the boxes soundproof? The Doctor made a phone call, holding the phone against his ear as he spoke to the disembodied head.
"Been knocking about, a bit of a farewell tour. Things to do, people to see. There's always more. I could invent a new colour, save the Dodo, join the Beatles. Hello, it's me. Get him. Tell him, we're going out and it's all on me, except for the money and driving" he said to the person on the other end of the call. "We have got a time machine, Dorium. It's all still going on. For us, it never stops; the prime minister still wants Flavia to be his advisor, there's a bunch of fighter pilots waiting in bar in Essex for the Corsair, and I haven't even taken Romana to meet Winston Churchill yet!"
"Time catches up with us all, Doctor" Dorium snapped. "Well, it has never laid a glove on me!" the Doctor cried in frustration, before saying in a more polite voice "Hello?"
"Doctor, I'm so sorry" the nurse on the other end apologised, "We didn't know how to contact you. I'm afraid Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart passed away a few months ago. Doctor?" she prompted. "Yes, yes I, uh…"
"It was very peaceful. He talked a lot about you, if that's any comfort. Always made us pour an extra brandy in case you came round one of these days" the nurse told the Doctor, who smiled a soft, sad smile. "Doctor? Are you alright?" Romana asked in concern. The Brigadier died he thought, not meaning to project it to all of them but too shaken up to arrange his mental barriers properly. "I'm okay" he lied, "it's just…" he sighed and took the blue envelopes out of his pocket, before raising his head and meeting Romana's eyes. "It's time" he admitted quietly. "It's time".