Alaya parks her bicycle in her usual spot and works her way to the drawing-room to find it empty. She enters the kitchen to find, hidden under a white cloth, a sandwich which she grabs and takes a big bite. She hears a thud above and smiles.
She comes into the gymnasium to see Alaya, Mother Vastra and Mother Jenny all aggressively sparing.
Alaya finishes her sandwich, tightens her cricket bat on her back and unsheathe her Claymore.
She faces her wife with a smile.
"No, your stance is all wrong." Alaya points to her wife's feet, "I can easily defeat you."
Fiona shifts her feet and offers another smile to her wife.
"Better."
Alaya comes to attack, Fiona counters and avoids contact. She smiles.
"The fight it is not over by avoiding one move." Alaya scolds her wife as a child.
Alaya attacks again, Fiona stands and defends herself.
Alaya's blade comes down harder and Fiona drops the Claymore out of her hands.
Alaya waits for Fiona to pick up the blade and attacks again with the same strength, the Claymore does not fall.
She attacks again, harder. Fiona stands firm and counters pushing the blades away from her body.
She attacks again, Fiona stops the blade from reaching her right shoulder and pushes the blades down.
She attacks again. Fiona stops the blade from hitting low and pushes with all her strength the blades away.
Again and again Alaya attacks.
Each one harder and faster.
Fiona defends herself, never attacking.
"Why don't you fight back?" Alaya asks her wife.
"I am a doctor, I must not do harm." Fiona responds with sadness in her eyes. "You know this."
"Your enemies do not. Are you going to hope someone is out of steam? Walk away from exhaustion?" Alaya speaks with harshness.
"If I am not attacked why would I raise my blade."
Alaya looks over her wife with villainous eyes and reminds herself, 'I must make you stronger.' She attacks again and again.
Fiona's instincts are not to attack.
Alaya is frustrated, "You are weak, you should not fight."
"I am not weak." She stands taller and prepares for another onslaught of attacks by Alaya.
Fiona's adrenaline kicks in, with every approach she monitors and protects herself. Never allowing any flaw to be disclosed. Not sign of weakness. No tears.
Alaya eyes burn and her blade swings harder.
Fiona stands steadfast and maintains her position.
Alaya feels her blood pulsating, takes in a deep breath and does not withhold anything.
Fiona shields herself and even pulls the cricket bat off her back with her other hand to fend off Alaya's onslaught blade.
Alaya slams the blade down again, again, again and again until Fiona is down on one knee. Alaya pulls back her blade and begins to bring down her full wrath like a hammer.
Jenny screams, "Vastra!"
Vastra instantly pulls a staff off the wall and smacks both women back. Alaya goes down against the mat and Fiona slams against the wall.
Both women are huffing and puffing.
Alaya sits up on her knees and looks down at her wife.
Fiona puts down her Claymore and cricket. She crawls quickly to her wife and holds her tight. She knows her wife is making her stronger or to grow courage to not fight, "Please don't break me."
Alaya grabs her wife like a precious lost stuff toy, "I am so sorry. I should make you stronger gradually, not in one night."
"I held my own," Fiona whispers.
Alaya yields, "Yes, you did."
Mother Vastra interrupts, "Alaya you have much pent up energy. Do you want to spar with me?"
Fiona holds her wife's face in her hands while she responds to Mother Vastra, "No, she is coming with me." Fiona stands, assists her wife to rise and leads down into the kitchen.
Alaya heart pounds as she sits at the table watching her wife attempts to make tea with shaking hands.
"You scared me." Fiona stops and looks into her wife's brown eyes. "Who were you fighting?"
Alaya is speechless and attempts to talk, but nothing comes out.
"Who were you fighting?" Fiona asks a little firmer.
"You."
"Me? You want me humbled to the floor?"
"Yes."
Fiona is shocked and begins to focus on making herself a sandwich. "You were angry. Your eyes were ... like fire. The rage." She faces her wife again, "There was no softness, no kindness ... Your eyes." Fiona gets quiet, "I saw no love."
Alaya stands up and pulls her full height to look down at her wife small frame over the kitchen counter, "How dare you interpret what I am doing as lack of love."
Fiona looks up, touches her wife's cheek, "Then who were you fighting?"
Alaya shrinks back into her seat and calms her body.
Fiona patiently waits for her wife to find her words. She goes about the kitchen, brings tea service and the sandwich. She hands her wife tea and takes a bite of her sandwich.
Alaya contemplates her response. 'Do I tell lies? Do I tell her the truth? It scares me to know we have enemies. I need to be strong for us.' "I was fighting the Vatican's men, the weeping angels, the Physician in Bethlem Hospital and John."
Fiona looks to her wife and a tear falls from her cheek as she forces herself to chew.
"We have enemies just because we exist, nothing more." Alaya wipes the tear from her wife's cheeks with a soft flick of her tongue, there is love and compassion. "I want us stronger so that they will leave us alone. To be scared to deal with my family."
Fiona smiles and nods.
"They underestimate because of our gender. We are strong, we can do anything."
Fiona nods.
Alaya melts and replays her attacks moments ago, "You defended yourself well. I am proud of you." Alaya finally offers her wife the smile she was wanting.
Fiona puts her hands on her wife's, "Have you not noticed my eating?"
"You have eaten many sandwiches, we have to make a new loaf of bread every two days."
"I am eating to be stronger. I aim to be by my wife's side..."
Alaya goes to interrupt as Fiona touches her lips with her finger.
"I aim to be by my wife's side defending her."
Alaya sits back and contemplates what she has just heard. She replays all those times they spared, the way she swings her cricket bat, the way she handles the Claymore ... she is defending me ... defending us. When she stood by my side when the Vatican attacked, it was not to fight ... it was to defend me, defend herself, defend the family. Alaya's eyes grew wide.
Fiona watched the process of her wife's epiphany, grinned at the brown eyes understanding and took another bite of the sandwich.
