I'm so sorry for the lack of updates here, I had a bad depressive episode of the summer and hadn't been up to very much. Finally I have a new update! It's not much more than a filler and I will try and get updates back on track over the next few weeks. Any feedback is always appreciated.
Alsaz tiptoed into the hospital room, pausing just momentarily to gaze over the infant in the Mistress arms. Any other day and the sight of the Mistress holding a defenseless baby would have been cause for concern. Glancing over to the window, she found the Doctor asleep in the chair. He seemed dead to the world. Still, Alsaz knew time was limited. Taking out a device, she snapped a picture of Missy and Aoife, sending it back to Rassilon's office. Since she'd been unable to contact Me, Alsaz had been sent in instead. The Time Lady was much more used to political affairs on Gallifrey and had never enjoyed working off planet, yet here she was. In the bed, Aoife snuffled and pressed into the Mistress' chest. Alsaz held her breath and counted to ten as she waited for the Time Tot to resettle. "That's it, don't wake mama" she cooed, approaching the bed again and scanning the tot's vital signs. Checking the readings, she nodded in approval and sent it off.
Reaching into her pocket, she retrieved a brand new VM and placed it under a bundle of jackets on the spare chair. It had to be somewhere that the Mistress could reach easily and without disturbing the Doctor or anyone else. Stepping back, she assessed the room, kicking some slippers out of the way and assessing the myriad of wires. Narrowing her eyes over the catheter bag and drip that would cause the biggest obstruction to movement, she made the decision to remove them. Stepping towards the bed, she covered the Mistress' mouth pre-emptively and removed the drip and catheter in two swift movements.
Missy's eyes shot open in pain that turned to panic as she felt the other Time Lady's hand over her mouth. Chest tightening, her eyes trailed down to Aoife who had managed to stay asleep. Her eyes then darted to the Doctor, trying to get his attention. Stop being selfish, Mistress. You've had the Doctor at your beck and call for the last three days. Honestly, trust you to have made the whole process more dramatic than it needed to be. You've always liked the attention. Missy squinted and took a deep breath through her nose as she looked up at Alsaz, trying to recognise the Time Lady. Don't hurt her she pleaded, tightening her hold on Aoife as her nostrils flared. Alsaz's lips curled into a condescending smirk. Oh please, the caring mother act is growing old. You're no martyr and we both know you'll be back to your old self as soon as she's weaned. Missy could feel tears pricking in her eyes. She was tired and emotional and still in pain. Fresh pain had emerged since Alsaz's abrupt removal of the drip and… and… reddening, Missy realised she'd been attached to a catheter. Alsaz's smirk grew as she followed the Mistress' line of thought. It is rather embarrassing, isn't it? She laughed in her mind.
Now, you're going to keep quiet about this little visit or I will hurt the baby. Blink once if you agree. Missy blinks once. You're here to try and take her though, why aren't you just taking her now? Alsaz looked down at Aoife and dared to trail her free hand across her soft skin. Missy's eyes turned to fire. Don't do that. Alsaz dropped her hand and looked back at the Mistress. Now's not the right time. You're too linked to her and she would die if separated for any length of time. You must come to Gallifrey willingly. Missy tried to swallow, feeling her mouth grow dry. I will never go back there willingly. Alsaz shook her head. Even you're not that stubborn. Now I'm going to remove my hand and remember, you make the slightest noise and I will hurt her. She reminded firmly, using her free hand to grip Missy's wrist squeezing tight enough to cause pain and bruising.
In the corner, the Doctor let out a deep sigh and scratched at his nose in his sleep. Missy had never wanted him to wake up more but to her dismay, he simply yawned and remained asleep. Shouldn't have been such a drama queen earlier and he might be more awake now Alsaz taunted, pouting over at the Doctor in a way that Missy might have done were the roles reversed. As Missy went to reply, the other Time Lady disappeared in a flurry of robes and a flash of light. Gasping for air, Missy pulled Aoife up to her chest, as she tried to comfort herself. Scowling down at her wrist, she tried to stay calm. "No, no, no. It's not happening again. It's not happening" she whispered, ensuring she didn't wake the Doctor and accidentally break her promise to Alsaz.
Aoife blinked her eyes open, sensing her mother's distress and looking up at her in curiosity. "Stay asleep, poppet. Please just stay asleep" Missy stated shakily, licking her dry lips as the Doctor started to shift in the chair. Aoife opened her mouth, a sure sign she was growing hungry. "Okay in a minute. Just let mama have some water first" she bargained, hoping to keep Aoife settled for a few more minutes as she struggled up and one handedly tried to pour a glass of water. She nearly managed until Aoife wailed impatiently, causing her to jump and send the water jug tumbling to the floor. Missy swore, Aoife cried louder and the Doctor woke with a shock. "What…what happened?" He asked quickly, jumping up as Missy continued to swear as water dripped over her paperbacks that she was attempting to get through when she wasn't sleeping to pass the last night in the hospital. Aoife cried louder, growing red and starting to thrash as she grew impatient. "I asked you to wait one fucking minute while I got myself a drink but you couldn't, could you?" She hissed, unbuttoning her nightie and raising her up to feed. "Little brat" she winced as Aoife latched on, settling down and staring up at Missy while the Time Lady reclined back against the pillows. At least the demanding infant was enough to distract her from the earlier visit from Alsaz.
The Doctor silently cleared up the water and tried salvage what he could of Missy's books while watching her cautiously out of the corner of his eyes. "She's a baby" he sighed, bending down and wiping up the water that had made it to the floor. "She doesn't understand when you ask her to wait, she just knows she's hungry" he said softly, standing back up with a groan as his knees clicked. "Don't patronise me" Missy spat, eyes still firmly shut. "I have had a baby before." "Not like this you haven't Kos. It's all different and I know you're tired. I'm not patronising you, I'm trying to help." Missy scoffed, shuffling slightly as Aoife dozed off, having seemingly decided she was full. "Try harder." The Doctor ignored her and walked up to the bed, taking Aoife out of her arms and walking around trying to wind the her.
"She's struggling with winding after feeding, Missy" he commented, ignoring her snipes and trying to sound like he wasn't criticisng her. "I guess I'm just all round failing already. I mean it has been nearly twenty four hours since she sloshed out, it's about time I really started screwing it up. How long did you and the humans bet it would take?" She drawled, now able to successfully pour a glass of water. Taking a generous sip, she sighed in relief. "You know I wouldn't do that, so don't joke" he sighed, relaxing as Aoife let out a small burp but suddenly cringing as he felt some sick dribble down his neck. "Looks like she's winding now" Missy sniggered, unable to hide her amusement.
"Ha ha" the Doctor deadpanned, happy to see her smile. Reaching for a cloth he dabbed at his shoulder and neck. "I'm going to put her in the cot for a bit. She'll be okay without contact for a while and you'll get a bit of a rest" he stated absently as he walked around to the other side of the bed, pausing suddenly as he caught sight of the jumble of medical equipment that was sprawled out on the floor. What had happened? He could only imagine she'd discovered the catheter while he was asleep and panicked, taking that and the drip out.
"Missy" he whispered, placing Aoife in the cot and walking over to check she hadn't done any damage. "What?" The Time Lady grumbled, "I was just starting to fall to sleep." The Doctor let out an exasperated sigh. "Why did you do take the drip and catheter out?" he asked, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice. Just as he thought she was getting better, she proved him wrong. Missy's eyes widened guiltily and he found himself looking at her properly for the first time since he'd woken up. She'd looked pale and tired since the birth but now there was something else. She looked nervous. "What happened?" He asked, concern pooling. "Nothing" Missy lied, worried by Alsaz's threat as she turned away and tried to ignore him. "If you wanted the wires gone we would have got Kate. You could have hurt yourself" he sighed, not convinced with her response. As she turned away, he caught sight of the red hand mark across her jaw. "Just leave it" Missy muttered, scratching at the side of face and giving the Doctor the perfect view of her bruised wrist that was starting to swell. "No I won't. Someone was here while I was sleeping. Who? Was it Gordon? The Time Lords?" Missy pulled her hand down and hid it under the sheets. "No one" she whispered, turning away and curling up as she tried to sleep.
"Kos, I can see the marks. Please let me see your wrist" he softened. "No. I'm fed up of everyone prodding me. It's all I've had for the past nine months." The Doctor sighed, "it looks painful though, I can help." Missy curled up smaller. "No. Please, just leave me alone" she begged. It was pitiful and the Doctor couldn't understand why she was hiding things from him. "You don't need to hide things from me, I'll believe you" he prompted, knowing he hadn't been good at it always believing her in their recent lives. That wasn't entirely without reason though. "I'm not hiding anything" she continued, back tensing as she heard Aoife snuffle in her cot. She didn't want her to wake up yet, she needed even just half an hour to herself. "She's fine, she's gone back to sleep" the Doctor reassured, reaching out stroking her back. "I want to sleep while I can" Missy muttered, hoping the Doctor would drop the subject.
The Doctor backed away and sat down on the chair with a sigh, pulling out his phone and rang Kate. She was only in her office but he didn't want to leave Missy alone. They had had a buzzer that called Kate or Dr. Chang directly but Missy had enjoyed using it just a little too much earlier in the evening and now it had been confiscated. "Kate" he whispered, standing up and walking away from Missy's bed as the Time Lady started to stir. "They've been in the room. The Time Lords, they've been threatening her" he said quickly, looking over his shoulder as Missy began to grumble. "That's impossible," Kate replied tiredly. The Doctor had been nothing but over protective of the Time Lady since she'd given birth; he was half of the reason they'd removed the call button from her room. "Our security is flawless, we would know if the Time Lords had been here." The Doctor scoffed, watching Missy wake up and slowly sit up. She looked more confused than when she'd gone to sleep and he wouldn't be surprised if it was to do with the tracker. "Yes, you have an excellent track record" he drawled in response to Kate while walking over to Missy and trying to smile reassuringly at her.
"I can't be here" Missy said blankly as she looked around her room, eyes lingering over Aoife in the cot. Moving faster than she was really able, she pulled the covers back and made to pick up the sleeping time tot. The Doctor jolted forward, trying to keep up. "Kate, look…just for once would you believe me? I need you down here now."