The Doctor burst into the Tardis, dashing up toward the console and leaving his companion standing - stunned - in the doorway.
"By all the-" Captain Avery began, gawking at his surroundings, but the Doctor interrupted him.
"Let me stop you there. Bigger on the inside."
The Doctor gestured around the Tardis, while Avery barely listened as the pirate just gazed around in wonder and sheer shock.
"Don't mind, do you, if we just skip to the end of that moment?"
The Doctor turned to go toward the console, but he couldn't resist turning back to Avery and adding cheekily, "Oh, and sorry I lied, by the way, when I said yours was bigger. Kitchen that way."
The Doctor pointed down one of the many corridors that branched out from the console room.
"Choice of bathrooms there, there, there-"
A figure stepped out around the corner of the corridor the Doctor pointed at last, and Avery blinked at the pretty brunette woman who had - in his point of view - just appeared out of nowhere. Lily Tyler blinked back at the pirate captain, before looking at her husband.
"Care to explain where Amy and Rory are, and who this is?" Lily asked.
Moments earlier
Lily groaned as she lifted her head, wiping her sweaty brow as she went, and cursed the Doctor. Again.
'How did this happen?' She wondered. 'We were supposed to be lying on a beach in the Lemnira Orbit and watching the Milky Way. Instead, we follow a distress signal to the 17th century and I don't even make it out of the Tardis. Again.'
Lily sat back as the toilet flushed itself, and she leant against the bathtub.
This had been the fourth time that Lily had been forced to run for the bathrooms just when they'd landed for a new adventure on some exciting planet or different time-period. And while the Doctor, Amy, and Rory went out to explore, Lily was stuck puking her entire stomach contents into the toilet. It was ridiculous in her opinion, although Rory (the ever faithful nurse) said it was fairly normal. He was a source of constant help as he checked her over and encouraged her with the opinion that the sickness should start to abate soon. He was certainly more help than the male who had impregnated her anyway.
The Doctor had been so jittery and clumsy the first time Lily had thrown up that Rory had literally had to lock the Time Lord out while Lily recovered - especially after the Doctor had almost spilled an entire kettle of hot water on his wife in his eagerness to make her some tea. It had resulted in Rory scolding the Doctor's ear off while Lily retired early to calm down from the shock of almost hurting their baby.
Since then, Rory had banned the Doctor from doing anything besides patting Lily on the back. But apparently, the Doctor didn't trust himself with even that after the kettle incident. He had taken to avoiding when Lily suffered her morning sickness and instead almost running out of the Tardis doors as fast as he could whenever she felt a little under the weather. She knew he was worried about being a father again after losing everyone before, but this Doctor in particular just wasn't equipped to deal with responsibility and the stress that came with it. The stress made him hyperactive and clumsier than usual - not a combination they wanted when Lily was puking her guts out.
"But it still wouldn't kill him to be around more often." Lily muttered, pushing herself away from the toilet bowl now that the nausea had passed.
Rinsing her mouth and splashing water on her face, Lily headed out of the bathroom at last. Now that she no longer felt as though the entire world existed inside a toilet, she was eager to get out and about to take her mind off her increasingly uncomfortable pregnancy.
A hum from the Tardis made her smile, and Lily watched as the corridor before her twisted and a corner appeared right in front of her.
"Thank you, Sexy." She said gratefully, and the Tardis hummed again.
Lily turned to corner to walk right into the console room, only to stop and stare as she found herself in the presence of her husband and an unfamiliar pirate captain while Rory and Amy were nowhere in sight.
She blinked as the pirate captain's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged at the sight of her, before Lily turned to where the Doctor stood beside the console.
"Care to explain where Amy and Rory are, and who this is?" Lily asked.
Present
"They are safe." The Doctor insisted as he twirled a knob and Lily sighed.
"I let you out of my sight for ten minutes and Rory's injured and targeted, Amy's protecting him, and you're being chased by an alien siren who appears wherever there is water." Lily grumbled. "And I missed all of it. I really don't think it's fair that women are the only ones who have to suffer pregnancy."
"I know, love, but I promise once the baby is born you won't have to lift a finger." The Doctor promised while typing away at what looked like a computer keyboard but really controlled the destination… most of the time. "I'll take care of it. I'll be a stay-at-home dad. Yeah, I'll be the best pops any child has ever had!"
That succeeded in making Lily smile again, but the pair were interrupted when Captain Avery piped up, "What's this do?"
He pointed to a big red lever, and the Doctor jumped.
"Oh!" He called in alarm, and Captain Avery dropped his hand. "That does very, very complicated."
The Doctor then turned back to the console, continuing as he pressed what looked like a service bell, "That does sophisticated."
He pointed to a control knob that moved in circular movements and was covered in smaller bumps - almost like a model of an atomic structure.
"That does whoa, amazing. And that," he pointed to another lever, "does whizz, bang, far too technical to explain!"
Lily rolled her eyes at the Doctor's dramatics, but she turned in surprise when Captain Avery pointed to the control knob and asked, "Wheel?"
"Atom accelerator." The Doctor corrected, while Lily tilted her head curiously.
"It steers the thing." Captain Avery checked, and the Doctor insisted, "No!"
"Uh hum." Lily coughed pointedly, and the Doctor corrected, "Sort of."
Captain Avery glanced between the couple as Lily raised her brows and the Doctor ceded sulkily, "All right, yes."
Captain Avery also raised his brows, and he pointed to various parts of the Tardis as he rattled off, "Wheel. Telescope. Astrolabe. Compass."
The Doctor stared at the Captain, while Lily asked, "How'd you guess all of that?"
"A ship's a ship." The good Captain replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh." The Doctor muttered, feeling somewhat disconcerted by the other male's easy understanding of how the Tardis worked, and Lily chuckled.
"Guess you finally met your match regarding the Tardis. Other than River, but she doesn't count because she apparently learnt from us." She commented, and the Doctor shook his head.
"No, no. Watch."
He pulled several levers, announcing confidently, "This is how the professionals do it."
The Tardis engines sputtered, stalling before shutting down.
"Oh dear..." Lily muttered, glancing around. For once, the Doctor had done everything correctly - possibly to show off in front of the pirate captain - which meant that the Tardis engines stalling was definitely not a good sign.
"What's wrong?" Captain Avery asked, and the Doctor replied nervously, "Er, it's stuck. Not responding."
He pressed a button as Captain Avery questioned, "Becalmed?"
"Mmm hmm." The Doctor hummed, confused, and he continued to try to get the Tardis to restart. "Yeah, apparently. That's new."
"Here, let me try too." Lily moved in beside her husband, pressing buttons and gently nudging levers in the hopes of getting the Tardis to get back to normal.
The Doctor let Lily try whilst he turned his own attention to the time rotor to see if maybe something was happening. But instead, his eyes caught sight of Captain Avery hiding a smirk on the opposite side of the console.
"You had to gloat, didn't you?" The Doctor accused, and Lily looked up at the same time Captain Avery rebuffed, "I'm not gloating."
"I saw that look just now." The Doctor insisted irritably. "'Ha, ha, his ship is rubbish.'"
"True." Captain Avery answered, and the Doctor folded his lips in annoyance.
"All right, boys, knock it off." Lily interrupted. "This isn't time to be one-upping each other."
"But-" The Doctor protested while Captain Avery scoffed, "Mine is-"
"Your ship is currently stranded, or 'becalmed' if you will, and you're not going anywhere anytime soon." Lily interjected.
Captain Avery's face soured, and the Doctor said triumphantly, "Ha!"
"Your ship is clearly reacting to something she doesn't like around here, and you're too busy comparing size to try figure out what's making her unhappy." Lily scolded him. "You're not much better."
"Oh." The Doctor muttered, and Captain Avery said thoughtfully, "You know, I think I like her."
"Oi!" The Doctor exclaimed, and Lily pulled his ear. "Ow!"
"Behave." Lily insisted. "The Tardis can't get a lock on the plane, that's why she's sulking. We don't have time for this if what you said about Rory being hurt and targeted is true."
"She can't lock on the plane?" The Doctor repeated, his face turning thoughtful and concerned, and Captain Avery looked between the pair again.
"The what?" He asked, puzzled, and the Doctor explained as he walked around the console in agitation, "The space we travel in. The ocean. Sort of ocean but not water. The Tardis can't see. It's sulking because it thinks the space doesn't exist."
"And without a plane to lock onto, we can't go anywhere." Lily finished, and Captain Avery's frown deepened.
"I'm confused." He said slowly, and the Doctor replied petulantly, "Yeah, well, it's a big club. We should get T-shirts."
The Tardis suddenly gave a violent jerk, sending them all stumbling. The Doctor caught Lily, holding onto her to support and balance her as the Tardis began to let out a loud grinding noise.
"What's happening?" The Doctor wondered, and Lily replied, "I think she's having a tantrum."
The Tardis gave another shudder before shaking even more violently than before.
"Okay, yes, she's had her little sulk and now she's heading for the full-on screaming tantrum." The Doctor agreed, and Captain Avery urged, "Can you fix it?"
"I think she's too upset for that!" Lily answered, while the Doctor yelled, "Argh! The parametric engines are jammed. Orthogonal vector's gone. I'm almost out of ideas."
"Almost?" Captain Avery asked hopefully, and the Doctor explained, "Well, we could try stroking her and singing her a song."
"Will that help?" Captain Avery asked, and Lily answered, "It's never helped before."
"Well, now I'm a father, I've gotten better at it!" The Doctor replied, and Lily pointed out, "The baby kicks you every time you try singing and stroking my stomach!"
"Well then, you try!" The Doctor shot back, when the Tardis bucked.
"Too late now." The Doctor muttered, and Captain Avery demanded, "What do you mean?"
"We've lost control of her." The Doctor explained hurriedly as he tried to press more buttons but nothing worked. If anything, the shaking got worse and the familiar sound of the Tardis rotor whooshing as it dematerialized began.
"She's about to dematerialise. We could end up anywhere!"
"That sounds bad!" Captain Avery yelled, and the Doctor shouted back, "Yes, it is! Out!"
He grabbed Captain Avery by the arm and shoved the man toward the doors while Lily hurried after them.
"Out now!"
Lily yelped as there was a loud bang and the console sent up showers of sparks.
"Abandon ship!" The Doctor yelled, grabbing Lily and pulling her with him quickly toward the Tardis doors. "Abandon ship!"
The trio ran out of the Tardis and back into the mess hall of Captain Avery's ship just in time; Lily had barely cleared the doors when they slammed behind her. She and the Doctor whirled around to stare at the Tardis as the blue box shimmered, before a strange green light engulfed it and the Tardis disappeared.
"What was that?" Lily asked, puzzled by the strange dematerialisation. "Doctor?"
"Okay, okay, okay." The Doctor muttered in a low, panicked voice. "Tardis runs off on its own. That's a bit of a new one. Bang goes our only hope of getting them out of here."
Lily squeezed his hand, before they both turned around as Captain Avery commented dryly from behind, "Not much of a Captain without a ship, are you?"
Lily narrowed her eyes at the other man, before she looked at her husband. The Doctor's jaw had set and the determined gleam had reappeared in his eyes.
"Yes, he is." Lily smiled, and the Doctor grinned back at her determinedly.
"Oh?" Captain Avery asked, raising his brows as the couple turned and started to head quickly down within the ship.
The air around the pair had shifted: where they had been somewhat bickering but not too serious earlier, now they were focused and moving in tune to one another. It was rather interesting to watch, the Captain observed, as the pair matched each other's movements. If the Doctor turned, Lily turned with him and when she shifted, he moved with her as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Like two cogs moving together, they now seemed like two seamless parts of one whole.
"How long have you two been married?" The Captain asked curiously.
The Doctor and Lily paused, glancing back at the Captain.
"We're in a live-or-die, perilous situation, and you want to know how long we've been married?" The Doctor asked, and Captain Avery lifted his shoulders.
"Yes?" He answered, and the Doctor shrugged.
"11 months." He answered, and Captain Avery frowned.
"So little time?" He asked, and Lily chuckled.
"We knew each other for years prior." She explained. "Most of my adult life has been with the Doctor."
"Ah, I see." Captain Avery nodded, understanding.
"And how about yourself?" The Doctor questioned. "How long had you and Toby's mother known each other?"
"We were ol' childhood sweethearts." Captain Avery answered, looking away with what Lily suspected was guilt. "And I loved her, I did - but the call of the sea was stronger. Then I turned pirate, and… well..."
He trailed off with another shrug.
"It's all done, anyhow."
With that, the pirate captain led the way back through the hall, keeping low in case they alerted the siren to their whereabouts. The Doctor and Lily exchanged looks before following the Captain - only for all three of them to be brought up short when a figure appeared before them, pointing two pistols right at Avery.
"Mulligan?" Avery asked warily, eyeing the pistols and the jewelled gold crown that was hanging around the other man's wrist. Lily was more focused on the man's bulging pockets which seemed to be filled with food as well as coins. "What are you doing? This is mutiny."
The Doctor shifted, placing himself carefully before Lily, while the pirate crewman - Mulligan - said in a shaking voice, "She doesn't want me."
He darted forward, and the Doctor raised his hands while backing Lily away from the armed man as Mulligan hurried around them while keeping his pistols pointed at Avery and the Doctor. The Doctor kept Lily behind him as they pivoted to keep facing Mulligan, who continued with a crazed look in his eye, "She only wants Toby and the scrawny looking fellow."
Having reached the other side of the room now, Mulligan quickly turned and ran away. The Doctor lowered his hands while Avery stared after Mulligan in apparent incredulity.
"Was he talking about Rory?" Lily asked slowly. "And why would the Siren want Toby?"
"He's got the fever." The Doctor explained in a low voice, before turning to Avery.
"He's got the last of the supplies. We should go after him." The Doctor urged, and Avery scoffed back, "Never mind the damned supplies. What about my treasure?"
Avery hurried after the disappearing figure of Mulligan. Lily stared at the man and then looked at the Doctor, who just shrugged.
"He's not serious?" She asked, and the Doctor answered, "Not everyone can get the best pops award. We should go after him though."
"Agreed."
The couple hurried after Avery, who had by this point somehow scrounged up a rifle, only to duck quickly when Mulligan realized they were there and began to shoot at them.
"Don't get injured." The Doctor gasped, looking at Lily.
"Same back at you." Lily answered, and the Doctor turned to Avery as he reminded, "Don't get injured."
Avery just nodded, and - as Mulligan disappeared around the far corner of the hold - the trio began to chase after the pirate once more.
*A/N I know, I'm a terrible person - I'm really sorry. It's been far too long since I updated this, but I've had a bit of a writer's block in all my stories and just generally feeling overwhelmed. This story in particular I wrestled with and I think it's particularly because I don't really like this episode (sorry to everyone who does). I just didn't really know how to best incorporate Lily (especially pregnant Lily) into it. Thank you to all of you who waited so patiently. I can't respond to all the reviews as I normally do because you have just all been so continuously supportive while I had disappeared, but please know that I read each and every one of your reviews and it really helped me be motivated to continue. Thanks to each and every person who read and/or reviewed, and again, hope you can forgive me for going off the radar as I did. I can't promise I won't ever do it again, but again thank you for all the support you guys have been giving!
