Chapter 30
[Guess who's finally back. With a chapter I don't particularly like. It's easier in the long run if Mrs. Bradley has some idea what's going on, but not easy to write in the immediate sense. On the plus side, I did get to work on the rough draft in all that time off, by emailing it to myself essentially.]
There was a whirring noise as the TARDIS moved. The two stepped out, though Pride paused for a moment in the entrance. This was definitely home. He could recognize the house. They'd landed in the backyard. Mrs. Bradley's small garden sat along the back wall. The cat sat curled up on the steps. The house was large, probably a bit too large for just the two of them. It was so familiar, it was strange being back after over a week in space. Had anything changed since they left?
The Doctor turned around. "Selim? You alright?"
Pride quickly snapped out of it and nodded. "Coming!"
He ran after her to the back of the house, where the Doctor knocked on the door. It took a while, but eventually the door opened.
"Mother!" Pride exclaimed.
"Hello Mrs. Bradley," the Doctor greeted. She was smiling, but not very enthusiastic, not like when she smiled during their life threatening situations.
"Doctor. This is a surprise. I didn't think you'd be coming back with Selim." Her eyes darted between the two of them. "You're back a little late actually. . ."
She sounded a little concerned, but Pride was pretty sure if they'd come back on a completely different day her reaction would be more extreme, and since the sun was still up it couldn't be that late. Probably a good thing.
"Yeah there's a reason for that," the Doctor muttered, nodding.
Pride wasn't sure she even wanted Mrs. Bradley to hear it. No, it seemed he'd be filling her in.
"We wanted to talk to you," he said. "There's something I should show you first. Come on! This way."
He led Mrs. Bradley back to the TARDIS, though he still needed the Doctor to open the door. Mrs. Bradley stood in the entrance, staring up at the counsel room with wide eyes, hand over her mouth.
"Well, here we are," the Doctor said, standing in the center of the room with her hands in her pockets. "Welcome to my home."
"It's certainly . . . something," Mrs. Bradley said.
"Isn't it great?" Pride asked. "The Doctor lives here, and she travels around. She says she's an alien."
"I am an alien."
"And . . . how far back does this home go?" Mrs. Bradley asked, peering down one of the halls.
"Oh no one knows really," the Doctor said. She started down the hall, and the other two didn't have much choice except to follow. "The rooms we need just tend to be nearby. We have bedrooms here." She pushed open some doors. One of them was Pride's room, but the others seemed to just be unused bedrooms. "Kitchen here." They entered the familiar kitchen and dinning area. "Down that way is a library." She gestured to the door on the right. "We've got a pool and a movie room too. Though I'm not sure where. . ." She paused and waved a hand in the air, clearly losing focus.
"Doctor, is that important right now?" Pride asked, trying to bring her back.
"Right. I suppose not."
"Why are you telling me this?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "It seems to be some sort of secret."
The Doctor shrugged. "Well not really. I kept it a secret because I was fairly certain there were alien invaders around, and I didn't want to tip them off. Normally it's not something I bother hiding."
Well that was good to know, but it hadn't actually answered Mrs. Bradley's question.
"We wanted to let you know, because I've been spending time with the Doctor. You know that invasion she mentioned? We stopped it. And we traveled to another planet."
Technically, they'd traveled to a few other planets, but he was going to keep it simple for now. They hadn't been gone long, and she was already looking overwhelmed without introducing time travel.
"I see." Mrs. Bradley closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"You alright?" the Doctor asked.
"Yes. Sorry, it's just, a lot." She lifted her head again. "If you don't mind Doctor, I'd like to talk with Selim alone now."
The Doctor nodded. "Totally understandable."
"Come on Mother, I'll show you my room."
Pride took her hand and led her back down the hall. They entered his room, where he shut the door. He'd added a chair to his room at some point. Turned out that was probably a good thing.
Pride sat down on the bed, gradually shedding the Selim persona. He could've switched a lot faster, but he made it less abrupt for Mrs. Bradley's sake. She took a seat in his chair. They were quiet for a moment.
"So was that true?" Mrs. Bradley asked. "You saved the planet and have been . . . traveling?"
She sounded far too hopeful about the saving the planet thing. There was never much choice, and he mostly just held things for the Doctor. He nodded anyway, though he thought his expression made it clear, saving planets was not something he was in this for.
"And you've been enjoying it?"
"Yes. It's amazing."
"It sounds dangerous."
"It is," Pride admitted.
"You can see why I might be concerned by that?"
"I've dealt with worse."
That was stretching the truth. It wasn't exactly easy being a homunculus. But he'd been harder to kill, more powerful, and actually knew what was going on.
"And that should stop me from worrying?" Mrs. Bradley asked.
"It should," he muttered.
But it wouldn't. He knew that.
"I wouldn't be a very good mother if it did," she said. "You know, even when you go out alone at home I worry sometimes. I wonder if you'll just leave someday. Or that someone from the military's taken you away. I could live with the former. The latter. . ."
Pride found both ideas preposterous, but he tried not to let it show. Mrs. Bradley had always seemed easy to read, probably why the military never suspected she was keeping secrets, and he could tell she was genuinely worried.
"You don't have to worry about the Amestrian military. They've all but given up, and I can protect myself."
"I'm sure you can," Mrs. Bradley said. "But I wanted you to know, so you know how important the next question is. Why do you enjoy this so much?"
Pride tipped his head back, and tried to think of way to explain that was honest, but also not too insulting. "I've been in Amestris my whole life," he explained quietly. "This is the first time I've seen anything outside it in person, and the first time in years I've seen something new that was genuinely surprising." He was pretty sure Mrs. Bradley didn't know how old he was, so he wasn't going to specify how many years. Being with the Doctor made him actually think, presented challenges, but it was hard to word that in a way that wasn't an insult. "I've seen new planets and species. And I don't have to. . ."
"Go on," Mrs. Bradley gently said.
Pride made a face. "I don't have to act. I mean, I do around the Doctor. But I'm never going to see these other people again." He remembered the worry she'd expressed before. "And you don't have to worry. I'm not running off with her forever. I came back now, didn't I?"
He could easily at least visit Mrs. Bradley during these adventures, especially if less time passed for her. And while he might not have much in the way of long-term planning, he knew he couldn't just travel with the Doctor for the rest of his life, the next sixty or so years.
Mrs. Bradley had been listening intently the whole time. She nodded as it became clear he was done. "I see. Well, I wouldn't want to keep this from you if you're happy." He smiled. He'd had a feeling. "But, I would like you to keep in contact, let me know what's going on. Also, I'd like to go on a trip with you and the Doctor. Just one. I'd like to see what they're like."
Pride really, really hoped they could manage a trip that wasn't death defying for her.
"Okay," he said, trying to hide that little worry. "Let's go talk to the Doctor."
[We won't actually be seeing the trip they take with Mrs. Bradley. If I haven't run out of steam, I may write it when the story is over.]
