Chapter 18 - Boe
"It will get better," said a voice in her head, and Gray peeked at Boe."I thought you said it won't be like I think it'll be?" Gray said with a pout but Boe only chuckled, making Gray sigh.
"She shoved me out of the lift. Can you imagine?" She whispered, dumbfounded.
She and Boe stared at each there for a moment until they both started chuckling.
When they calmed down, Boe spoke up again.
"Have you noticed yet? The difference between the Doctor of your show and the real one?"
Gray looked at him curiously. "You mean how they look kinda different?"
She suddenly felt heavy amusement from the link between her and Boe, the one that enabled them to speak telepathically.
Gray flushed in embarrassment. "What?" She asked, suddenly self conscious.
"Yes, I do suppose the Doctor looks a bit different than that David Tennant. I was actually referring to his personality."
She pursed her lips in thought. "Well, he's very, er," she blushed, "affectionate with me, even when Rose is close by."
Boe outright laughed at her flustered state.
"Oh you sweet, innocent child," he tutted.
"Sto~p," she whined like a proper teenager.
"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "It's just been a very long time since I've seen you being this precious. As you get older you develop more sass and it gets harder for me to tease you."
Gray eyed him through squinted lids. "Good to know, I guess," she muttered.
"All I'm trying to say is that everything is not as it seems, Aurie. There are plenty of differences between what you think you know, and what is."
She tilted her head. "It does seem a bit different. Like Rose being so hostile." Her eyes suddenly snapped to Boe in fear. "Oh goodness. There was no blood in the show, ever. But that was a show and now this is real life," she whispered in realization. "If this world is anything like mine, oh jeez. Things are going to get downright terrifying, aren't they?"
Boe nodded his big head once, very solemn. "Indeed. Rose is simply acting like a real person, who is very jealous of you. This world is so much darker than you think."
"But why?" She cried. "She's, she's Rose Tyler! What do I have that she could be jealous of?"
Boe looked at her incredulously. "Your bond with the Doctor, Aurie. You have something with him that no other can even imagine having."
Gray stared at him, a bit perplexed. "I know he said we shared a bond of some kind, I told him not to tell me the details. I didn't want to-" she trailed off awkwardly.
"Get your hopes up?" Boe finished for her sympathetically and she nodded.
"I understand, probably better than most that having any sort of relationship with the Doctor can seem daunting."
She smiled sadly at him in understanding.
"What do I do though?" Gray asked, uneasily. "I'm not even supposed to be in this universe, how can I have a bond with a time traveling space alien?" She asked, her voice becoming more frantic the more she spoke. "I mean he's like, more than 900 years old and he's met so many great people and, and,"-
"Breathe, Aurie," Boe cooed and Gray let out a hiccup.
Gray breathed in deeply as she bit her lip, trying to calm herself.
"There, are you alright now?" Boe asked quietly.
She nodded, not looking at him. Gray swallowed the lump in her throat and softly bonked her head against his tank.
"I'm tired, Jack. And I don't know how to handle all of this," she whimpered.
"I wish I could hug you right now," he said as he enveloped her with a feeling of comfort. "But you are stronger than you know. I have faith in you."
"Oh, Jack," she sobbed into her hands.
"I don't want to make my time in the TARDIS miserable," Gray breathed. "I know I'm already doing it but it's so hard to just let go and enjoy everything. Especially since I know what's going to, or might happen." She sent Boe an emploring look. "You know how he can get. Sometimes he's just so intense."
"I know," he sighed. "You get used to it with time."
"Do I fix every trip like I tried to fix this one? Does he learn to trust me more in the future?" She asked desperately.
"You know I cannot tell you that, Aurie. I don't want to create a paradox. What I can tell you is that your future adventures will get easier for you to handle."
"I'm scared, Jack," she admitted with a sniffle.
Boe looked at her, fondness rushing over her in waves.
"I'll always be there for you when you need me along the way. I'm just a call away. As well as some other friends you'll meet along the way." Boe opened his eyes and looked her straight in the eye. "You are loved."
Gray rested her head against his tank and sobbed openly, mourning the loss of her old life and crying out of fear for her future, all the while Boe hummed soft melodies in her mind.
After Gray had successfully gotten that out of her system and Boe had taken a nap, she inspected his whiskered face.
"How you feeling, Big Boe?"
He chuckled and shot her a playful glare at the nickname.
"I'm okay, little one," he said. "Have you gotten your communicator yet?" He asked, successfully changing the subject.
She lifted her sleeve and showed it to him. "This one?"
"Hmm, yes. Have I given you my number yet?"
Gray shook her head.
"Do you know how to use it yet?" Boe asked patiently and Gray shook her head again, this time with embarrassment.
He chuckled softly. "That's fine sweetheart, that's part of the fun with getting a new toy."
"Learning how to use it?" She asked innocently.
"I was thinking more along the lines of playing with it, but the way you say it works as well, i suppose."
Gray shot him a confused look but shrugged it off as she started tapping on the screen.
"Do I keep it long?" She asked, thinking of Stoh and the prospect of visiting him in the near future.
"Oh yes, I've rarely seen you without it," Boe replied and Gray cheered softly.
A sudden yawn escaped Gray and she only then realized how long ago she slept.
"Oh gosh, I haven't even seen if the TARDIS made me a room," she exclaimed.
"Of course you have a room," Boe supplied with amusement. "Where else would we have our slumber parties when I'm aboard the TARDIS?"
Gray nearly squealed with excitement. "Really? What's it look like?"
"Nuh uh, I'm not going to ruin the surprise," he tsked.
She pouted but the smile she was hiding took over her face and she just stared at him.
"What is it, love?" He asked.
"I just. You're really amazing, you know?"
"You barely even know me," he joked and she grinned.
"I know enough to be able to know that much." She grew thoughtful. "Say, when do I get to know you better."
Boe contemplated in silence, feeling bad not being able to answer more of her questions, then he said, "you will meet me soon after you meet someone else you know of."
Gray tiled her head as she fought a smile. "Mhh, yes. That's very helpful, thank you very much," she said, holding back a snicker.
Boe harrumphed. "You ask too many questions," he said in his own defense.
She giggled and patted his tank in comfort.
"So this will be the first time that you meet me? When I meet you after I meet someone else?" Gray clarified.
"Yes, it is. I remember it quite well, actually. It's one of my fondest memories. My vortex manipulator had been giving me some trouble and I ended up at the wrong place in the wrong time. I realized after, that it was the right time and place, otherwise I wouldn't have met you until much, much later."
Gray's eyes grew wide with curiosity. "Really? Can you tell me more?" She pleaded and he chuckled at her eagerness.
"I'm afraid not, but fear not, you will be living it soon enough."
"Is it before or after you find the Doctor and Martha at the rift?" She asked curiously.
Boe went quiet for some time and Gray started to think she had upset him with all her questions.
"I'm sorry, I'll shut up now," she whispered.
Boe heaved a heavy sigh. "You have done nothing wrong, Aurie," he said gently. "I enjoy every second interacting with you, even when you're so young," he added with mirth but then he sobbed up. "There are things in your future, such horrible things that I wish I could save you from. I'm so very sorry, Aurie."
Gray felt herself going numb with terror as Boe's words echoed in her head.
"Does-" she hesitated, licking her dry lips "- does he hurt me? To get to the Doctor? I mean, him. Does he hurt me?" She asked with a trembling voice.
"The Jack you will meet is the one before I found the Doctor and Martha, yes," Boe said instead and Gray stared down at her lap in horror at his silent confirmation.
A/N: Enjoy your day!