"Are you going to make dinner?"
"I swear to god, if you ask me to make you food one more time, I'm moving out."
Penny glared across the room at the Doctor (who should have been working on his machine). She had reached her limit with him over the past five months of being stuck in 1969.
"Please?" Martha asked.
Penny groaned and pushed herself up from the couch. "Fine. But this is for you, Martha."
Penny had somehow become the designated chef. The Doctor had insisted that he was too busy and Martha didn't have the time with her job. Penny pointed out that she had a job herself.
She'd become the Latin teacher at a school near their flat. It was easy enough, none of the students were as advanced as her students in 1913.
She put her head phones and played a cassette from The Who. She was barely a minute into the first song when she was interrupted.
The Doctor stood behind her and reached into her pocket, drawing out her cassette player and stopping her music. "Could I borrow this? I need it for parts." His breath fanned her ear where he stood a bit to close for her to dismiss it.
Fighting a blush she nodded her head. "Sure." She was sure her voice sounded odd, but the Doctor didn't notice and grinned at her, sitting down at the counter and tinkering with the music player, taking it apart quickly and scanning parts of it with his sonic.
Penny let out a breath of relief at the distance and went back to preparing ingredients.
Fifteen minutes later and the Doctor became bored of whatever he was doing. He began to tell Penny (read: complain to Penny) about how difficult it was to find the proper parts for his machine. Penny half listened, having heard this particular rant at least once a week. She made sounds of agreement when necessary and waited for him to finish.
She was used to him by now. She knew that he went to her to rant because Martha had very quickly gotten tired of it, but to be fair, Penny had as well. But the Doctor had listened to her rants, so she humored him.
"What are you making?" He suddenly asked, now standing behind her again and looking over her head at the pot she was stirring, nearly giving Penny a heart attack.
"Alfredo." She answered simply, continuing to stir with a new blush on her face.
He hummed. "Smells good."
"'Course it does, Doc. It's melted cheese." Penny chuckled.
"Reminds me of Astlorax."
"Planet of the cheese?" She teased.
"Their most popular dish is melted cheese."
"Just melted cheese? Nothing else?"
"Well, throw in some spices and they go wild over it." He began another ramble, but Penny was much happier to listen to this one. She had been going crazy just staying in one place, she loved visiting new places and couldn't stand being stranded for five months in a crappy two bedroom flat.
The Doctor didn't seem to realize how close they were as he spoke about the chemical cloud storms that made the rain change colours. It took Penny a moment to realize that she didn't mind him standing so close.
"Please tell me we won't be here much longer." Penny pleaded to the Doctor as she dropped onto the couch after the final day of school.
"Billy's squeezed us in to make that recording."
"Oh, thank god, I don't think I'd survive one more week here." She grinned at him, but it faltered at the wince on his face.
"We have to wait another week to do it." He admitted.
Penny groaned.
"Penny!"
Penny rolled over in bed, turning away from the noise. Without the pills the Doctor gave her, she rarely got any sleep, and she had left them in the Tardis, not knowing she'd be stuck in the past.
"Penny, wake up!" The Doctor called as he barged into their shared room (Martha had refused to share with the Doctor, and Martha's job as a nurse had unpredictable hours and she didn't want to wake Penny).
"No." Penny mumbled into her pillow.
"Look what I caught!" The Doctor sat on the edge of the bed, making the mattress dip.
Penny reluctantly rolled back over to see what he had.
She blinked. "Why are you holding a bird?" She moved closer to look at it.
"A cat was attacking it." The Doctor grinned.
Penny glanced at the alarm clock at the side of the bed. Three in the mother fucking morning. "Do you wanna tell me why you were out and about at this time of day?" She asked dryly.
"You were sleeping and I was bored."
"When's the last time you slept?" Penny asked, still looking at the small bird.
The Doctor mumbled something that Penny couldn't hear.
"Come again?"
"Last week."
"Jesus Christ, put the bird down and get some sleep."
"But I've got work to-"
"Not at three in the morning. I'm giving you five minutes to come to bed before I drag you here myself." She threatened groggily.
When the five minutes passed by, Penny had already fallen back asleep, curled up on her side of the bed.
When the Doctor walked back in (four minutes and seven seconds later) he collapsed on his side of the bed, feeling his sleepless nights catch up to him as he turned on to his side facing Penny.
He drifted off slowly, unaware that he was also slowly closing the distance between them until he was holding her to his chest, a feeling of contentedness washing over him for the first time since they lost the Tardis.
Penny stood behind the Doctor on his chair as they waited for the autocue to tell them when to speak.
"Yep, that's me." The Doctor grinned.
They both read what the other people would be saying, Penny going as far as to mouth the words as they went.
Okay, that was scary.
No, it sounds like he's replying, but he always says that.
"Yes, I do." He agreed.
And that.
The Doctor sighed and Penny rolled her eyes at him. "Yup. And this."
He can hear us. Oh, my God, you can really hear us?
Of course he can't hear us. Look, I've got a transcript. See? Everything he says. Yup, that's me. Yes, I do. Yup, and this. Next the girl says it's-
"Are you going to read out the whole thing?" Penny spoke for the first time, raising her eyebrows at the camera.
Sorry.
"It's fine." Penny shrugged, reading her lines. "The name's Penny, by the way." She winked.
"Oh, don't start." The Doctor whined, looking back at her in annoyance.
Who are you?
"I'm a time traveller." Penny whacked his arm. "We are... Or we were. We're stuck in 1969."
Martha walked into frame. "We're stuck. All of space and time, he promised me. Now Pen and I've had to get jobs. We've got to support him!"
"Martha." The Doctor reprimanded.
"Sorry."
I've seen this bit before.
"Quite possibly." The Doctor smiled and shrugged.
1969, that's where you're talking from?
"Afraid so. Penny thinks it's right dreadful here."
She scoffed. "It is dreadful here, Doc."
But you're replying to me. You can't know exactly what I'm going to say, forty years before I say it.
"Thirty eight." He corrected.
"Shut it, smartass." Penny said without bite.
I'm getting this down. I'm writing in your bits.
How? How is this possible? Tell me.
Not so fast.
"People don't understand time. It's not what you think it is."
Then what is it?
"Complicated."
Tell me.
"Very complicated." He insisted.
I'm clever and I'm listening. And don't patronise me because people have died, and I'm not happy. Tell me.
"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey stuff."
Yeah, I've seen this bit before. You said that sentence got away from you.
"It got away from me, yeah."
"I can't believe you really said that." Penny held back a snicker.
Next thing you're going to say is, well I can hear you.
"Well, I can hear you." The Doctor said, ignoring Penny for the time being.
This isn't possible.
No. It's brilliant!
"Well, not hear you, exactly, but I know everything you're going to say."
Always gives me the shivers, that bit.
How can you know what I'm going to say?
"Look to your left."
What does he mean by look to your left? I've written tons about that on the forums. I think it's a political statement.
He means you. What are you doing?
I'm writing in your bits. That way I've got a complete transcript of the whole conversation. Wait until this hits the net. This will explode the egg forums.
"We've got a copy of the finished transcript. It's on our autocue."
How can you have a copy of the finished transcript? It's still being written.
"I told you. I'm a time traveller. I got it in the future."
Okay, let me get my head round this. You're reading aloud from a transcript of a conversation you're still having.
"Yeah. Wibbly wobbly, timey-wimey."
"You're going to keep saying that, aren't you?" Penny questioned, cringing at the word.
The Doctor winked at her by means of answering.
Never mind that. You can do shorthand?
So?
"What matters is, we can communicate. We have got big problems now. They have taken the blue box, haven't they? The angels have the phone box." He asked, knowing full well what the answer was.
The angels have the phone box. That's my favourite, I've got it on a t-shirt.
"Why the hell would you put that on a shirt?" Penny said, becoming increasingly exasperated.
What do you mean, angels? You mean those statue things?
"Creatures from another world."
But they're just statues.
"Only when you see them."
What does that mean?
The Doctor took a deep breath, not enjoying the information he was about to relay. "The lonely assassins, they used to be called. No one quite knows where they came from, but they're as old as the universe, or very nearly, and they have survived this long because they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved." Penny squeezed his shoulder, he clearly seemed to have history with those creatures. She could tell they upset him in a way that she hadn't seen since the Daleks. "They are quantum-locked. They don't exist when they're being observed. The moment they are seen by any other living creature, they freeze into rock. No choice. It's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. Of course, a stone can't kill you either. But then you turn your head away, then you blink, and oh yes it can."
Don't take your eyes off that.
"That's why they cover their eyes. They're not weeping. They can't risk looking at each other. Their greatest asset is their greatest curse. They can never be seen. The loneliest creatures in the universe." He paused, looking truly apologetic. "And I'm sorry. I am very, very sorry. It's up to you now."
What am I supposed to do?
"The blue box, it's my time machine. There is a world of time energy in there they could feast on forever, but the damage they could do could switch off the sun. You have got to send it back to us."
How? How?
"And that's it, I'm afraid." He winced. "There's no more from you on the transcript, that's the last I've got. I don't know what stopped you talking, but I can guess. They're coming. The angels are coming for you. But listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink. Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck."
"You've got this." Penny chimed in, trying to take away the ominous ending the Doctor had given the tape. The camera switched off and Penny relaxed, she hated standing in front of a camera.
The Doctor stood from his chair and walked off, lost in thought. Penny waved her arms to get Martha's attention and walked over to her. "He's so gaddamn dramatic all the time."
Martha smirked. "But you love it."
Penny shrugged noncommittally. "Didn't say otherwise."
Martha's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Does this mean you're finally acknowledging your feelings for him?"
"For me to do that, I would require feelings for him."
"You are absolutely impossible." Martha groaned.
"I know." Penny winked, looping her arm through her friends and tugging her towards the exit, nodding at Billy as she passed him. "Let's go get some ice cream or something. The Doc's gone somewhere to sulk, so we have the rare chance to do whatever we want." She grinned.
"I left my purse at the flat." Martha denied, looking sorry that she couldn't spend alone time with her friend.
"Who said you were paying? I got a job here too, remember?"
Both were unaware of the danger they would soon be in.
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A/N
HannahHPandDWfanJones: The Tardis does love to have her fun with those two XD it definitely won't be the last time she pulls something like that :D
denise3: I'm really glad you think I wrote the emotions well, and I totally get it with your OC. I always seem to write characters who hate showing emotions, so it's hard to make it seem realistic when they do XD I'd love to read your story if it's posted! What's the title?
As for how she knew he was eves dropping... between you and me, it's because she subconsciously keeps track of where he is, she likes knowing that he's close by and his footsteps stopped right outside the door so she knew he was listening in lol
Hello lovelies!
I know it's a shorter chapter than normal, but I hope you like it anyways.
Unfortunately, Martha's time is almost up... but that means that Penny gets to meet Jack! I guarantee that you will love his and Penny's friendship. I doubt the Doctor will be as happy about it as I am though
Utopia is up next... that will be interesting to write lol
I hope you've all been having a fabulous day/morning/night!
See you next chapter!
-Jamie