The Fight
Callie's bare feet landed on slick concrete as she materialized somewhere else in the space-time continuum. Her head spun, dizzy from both the jump and the alien alcohol still coursing through her system. She stumbled forward, right into a wall and groaned as her nose slammed into the brick.
Fucking great. Instead of partying in Mexico City and eating street tacos with Rose and the Doctor, she was drunk and alone and her nose hurt. Tears pricked her eyes and she whined, rubbing her nose gingerly. Luckily, it didn't feel like it was bleeding at all.
She turned around, pressing her back to the brick and sliding until she sat on the cold cement below her. Her head spun. She had to hold make some vomit, which was probably grosser than just puking outright.
Slowly, the Time Vortex melted from Callie's eyes and she could actually see where she'd landed. It was dark outside, and she was clearly in a city of some sort. She'd landed in an alley, which was dark and incredibly creepy. Too creepy to just be sitting in the middle of a dark alley, that's for sure.
Vaguely, Callie remembered her mom lecturing her about walking home alone at night. She gave a little scoff— if only Mom could see her now.
She used the brick wall for support as she dragged herself back to her feet. Her legs wobbled uncertainly, and she had to lean on the wall a lot more than she would have liked (the same way she'd just been using Rose's shoulder to keep her balance), and slowly made her way towards the nearest streetlight.
The street gave way in front of her and gave her no clues as to where she was. It was empty, devoid of any cars or people as far as she could see. The sky was clear, the moon shining brightly down on her like a spotlight.
Vaguely, she realized she was barefoot, wearing the smallest dress imaginable, and severely inebriated while standing alone in the middle of a foreign city. Really not a great combo, she had to admit. Crinkling her eyebrows, she tried to remember if she'd ever jumped without the TARDIS nearby. She didn't think so, but to be honest everything outside of the alien club and dancing with Rose seemed fuzzy at best.
A harsh wind blew through, ruffling Callie's curls and making her tug at the hem of her silky red dress. It didn't do much to cover her thighs or provide any warmth at all. A small whine escaped her throat. She was at a loss— what should she even do? Was it safer to stay put, or to go wandering around until she ran into someone? What if the person she ran into saw her inebriated state and decided to take advantage? What if she was in Victorian London and ran into Jack the Ripper? In her dress, she probably looked like a…
Thankfully, her panicked thoughts melted away as a loud groaning overtook the alley. For the very first time, she got to watch as the TARDIS materialized out of thin air, its bright light on top almost floating in midair as it pulsated in and out of this time. Finally, it landed with a dull thud, and Callie went scrambling toward it. As soon as her fingertips brushed the blue wood, the door clicked softly and swung open, leaving her to tumble inside and fall onto the grated flooring, right in front of the three people on their way out.
In front of her, looking only slightly younger than the version she'd just left, was Rose. Her hair was still long (she'd cut it while they were on fifty-first century Earth) and she'd crimped it slightly in a charming early 00s fashion. Callie broke into a huge grin, showing off more of her teeth than she normally would. Anything to show how happy she was.
"Hey!" Callie cried, accidentally extending the 'y' a little too long. She poked Rose in the cheek. "I missed you. We were gonna go to Mexico City— wait, is this Mexico City?" She blinked, looking around a moment, before deciding that this couldn't be Mexico City. That would have been too much of a coincidence.
"What are you doing here?" The Doctor asked harshly, his Northern accent cutting her as he stood inside the TARDIS. Nine was taller than Ten, and he towered over both women (and Mickey). And, quite frankly, he looked pissed.
Callie blinked. "What?"
"Doctor!" Rose chided, turning to glare at him.
"I told you to buzz off, didn't I?" The Doctor asked, stepping around Rose so he could exit the TARDIS. His voice rose with each passing moment. "I need a few days, Cal— but you don't care, do you? You never listen to what I have to say—"
"What?" Callie repeated, stepping back and almost falling on her ass. Her stomach gave an awful lurch, and before she knew it she was scrambling away from the TARDIS so she could puke. God, alien vodka tasted like garbage coming back up.
"Oh, and you've been drinking, as well? Real mature—"
"Doctor," Rose hissed. There was a rustle of fabric, and though Callie couldn't see it, she was pretty sure Rose smacked the Doctor in the side. Someone else— Mickey, Callie realized dimly— held her hair back as she coughed some more. God, her throat burned. "That's not the same Callie."
Silence. Finally, after a few more retches, Callie's system was emptied of the alien alcohol. She sat back on her heels, wiping the corners of her mouth. Mickey carefully set her hair back down and patted her back. Without thinking about it, she leaned against him some.
"Thanks," she muttered. She already felt steadier, but that didn't necessarily mean she felt better.
"You okay?" Mickey asked, mostly just to break the tense silence descending upon the four of them.
"Yeah," Callie replied shortly. "Jumping after a night out isn't very fun. Zero out of ten, would not recommend."
"You're really not—" The Doctor started, eyes widening.
"Not what?" Callie snapped, a hangover headache already beginning in her temples. She glowered up at him and his stupid big ears. "Not whichever version of me you're mad at, you mean? No, actually, I've never even met this version of you yet."
"Wait— have you met us before?" Rose asked, stricken at the thought. Callie tried to smile at her, but it felt more like a grimace. This was turning into quite an awful night. And if the Union Jack adorning Rose's shirt was any indication, it was only going to get worse. Great.
"Who do you think I was out clubbing with?" she answered, which made Rose smile a little. "It was an older version of you, though. This is as far back in his timeline as I've ever been," Callie added, nodding towards the Doctor. His lips were turned down into a frown.
"A club, really?" Rose asked, scratching behind her ear. "Doesn't sound like me."
"Alien club," Callie pointed out. "Much better than anything on Earth."
"Did I get to go, or was this a girls' night type of thing?" Mickey asked, nudging her a little. She shook her head, about to respond, when a particularly painful throb of her head made her wince. The Doctor cleared his throat, jaw working as he searched for the words to say.
"Callie, I—"
"Save it," she said, raising a hand to shut him up. She pushed herself up using Mickey's shoulder, shaking her head. "I'm tired, I'm cold, I have a headache— I'm going inside. Have fun doing… whatever you were gonna do."
She stalked past them all, closing the TARDIS door behind her. For a moment, she felt like she might be sick again, but it passed. Luckily, by now she knew the way from the console room to her bedroom and was able to navigate without the TARDIS blinking any lights— that would not have been good for her headache. The TARDIS seemed to realize as much, too, and didn't so much as flicker a single bulb.
Callie's bedroom was the same as it had been when she'd left it, which just felt bizarre. The pile of clothes she hadn't gotten around to washing still sat next to her wardrobe. The painting she'd gotten for Christmas hung above her desk, which was littered with papers and a couple knick knacks she'd picked up over the past few weeks.
It felt like home. In a way her lonely apartment in her universe never had felt like it, this half-empty bedroom felt like she belonged there. The thought was enough to bring tears to her eyes, especially when she thought of how angry the Doctor had been. What could she have done in her future to make him so mad at her? So mad that he demanded she leave him alone for days? She had no idea, but the thought that this was waiting for her in the future left her cold.
She let herself wallow for a moment, but only just. If she didn't get moving, she would curl up in a ball right there in the doorway, and that was not a good look. So, finally, she pushed herself off the doorjamb and got moving. Step one was to step out of the red dress, adding it to the ever-growing pile of clothes on her floor. She grabbed a new outfit from her wardrobe, curtesy of the TARDIS, and headed to the bathroom. She emerged ten minutes later, teeth brushed and mouthwash gargled, feeling quite a bit better. At the very least, she no longer felt like day-old garbage.
Callie sank down on her soft bedspread, ready to fall into sweet oblivion. She had just settled onto her pillow when there was a soft knock on her door. She gave a deep sigh before pushing herself back up. She trudged to the door and opened it.
She frowned. "What do you want?"
"I want to talk," the Doctor said, looking serious. "To apologize."
God, it sucked to not have anywhere to go but the TARDIS. She couldn't avoid him even when she wanted to. (Though apparently, that wasn't the case in the future… but she didn't want to think about that. Not right then.)
She crossed her arms, then second-guessed herself and uncrossed them. Suddenly, she felt so awkward and didn't even know how to stand normally
"You should go with Mickey and Rose," she said finally. She stared at the floor instead of meeting his gaze, feeling like a coward. "Just leave me here."
"I don't want to leave you here," he replied easily. She looked up, eyebrows raised in disbelief. She leaned against the doorframe, crossing her arms again.
"You literally screamed in my face fifteen minutes ago," she reminded him. He had the decency to look sheepish. "I jump to some random alley in the middle of the night and the second you see me, you yell."
She didn't yell, but her hurt was evident in her voice. Perhaps she'd gotten too comfortable with Ten, who was always a much more affectionate incarnation of the Doctor. She'd gotten too used to Ten being soft with her that she wasn't prepared for how harsh he could be.
"I… I didn't realize you weren't the same Callie I saw just an hour ago," he said after a long moment. His shoulders slumped. "You were even wearing a similar outfit— I thought you followed us here to continue the fight we just had. I shouldn't have snapped, though. I'm sorry."
It made her feel a tiny bit better to see how sorry he really was. It was painted all over his face, laced in his voice. Still, something was nagging at her.
"What were we fighting about?"
The Doctor sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "You know I can't tell you that."
Callie scoffed, shaking her head. "You already brought me into the fight. I should at least get to know why I was yelled at."
"It's spoilers," he insisted. "If I could tell you, I would. You know that."
"Right," she said shortly. She bit her lip, then knocked a fist against the doorjamb and said, "Okay, fine, apology accepted. Whatever. You really shouldn't keep Mickey and Rose waiting."
She made to shut the door, but he stuck his foot out to stop it. Stupid Time Lord.
"You're not going to come?"
"You don't want me to come," Callie insisted. "Even if it's a future version of me you're mad at, you still need some space. So, I'll give you that and just stay here."
If she was being honest, she just wanted to sleep. She and Rose had been dancing for hours and her legs were starting to ache. Plus, it just sucked knowing he didn't want her around. She wasn't going to force her company on him if it was unwanted. She didn't want to become a burden.
"Are you even listening?" He asked impatiently, and she remembered him accusing her of never listening to him earlier. "It's not you that I want space from. Not really, anyway."
Callie furrowed her eyebrows. "How can you just not be mad anymore?"
"You haven't done anything yet." He said it like it was just that simple, but it couldn't be. He'd been so angry when he thought she had already been in the fight— that can't just disappear.
"And you can just switch it off like that? Just— stop being mad because I'm younger than the version you were mad at?" She tried to make sense of it in her head, but couldn't. She could almost see how that might work for her— being mad at Eleven and then not being mad at Ten, for instance, since the different faces would help compartmentalize— but it had to be hard.
"I've had a long time to practice," he pointed out.
"I seem to recall you telling me we hardly ever fight," she said mildly. She picked at a loose strand on her tunic. "I haven't known you all that long yet, and yet I'm already finding that really hard to believe."
The Doctor clucked his tongue, a grin creeping over his lips. "You realize now that you've told me, I have to tell you that in my future?" He sounded amused.
Callie's mouth dropped open. "That's it— time travel sucks," she cried, throwing her arms in the air.
"Jumping sucks," he corrected, catching her hands with his and giving them a slight squeeze. He smiled softened into something a little bit more fond, and a little bit more familiar. "Time travel is a gift."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She took her hands back and gave one last look towards her inviting bed. Her backpack was still sitting next to the door and she scooped it up. "Okay, let's go. Where are we, anyway?"
"London, where else?" The Doctor stepped back so she could step into the hall. "You know, there's thousands and thousands of planets out there— and yet somehow we always end up here."
"Huh," Callie said. "You sure you don't just have a thing for early 2000s England?"
He shot her an unamused look. "I didn't choose the destination this time."
"Sure you didn't."
"I didn't!" he insisted, slipping his hand into hers as they walked back towards the console room. She pulled her hand away a moment later, but he kept talking without comment. "We were following a Code Mauve— something was barreling through the Vortex and landed here. If it were up to me, we'd be two galaxies away right now."
"Sure," she said, teasing. "And I'd be all alone in a dark alley."
"Guess everything happens for a reason."
"Guess so."
"They're taking forever," Mickey groaned, leaning against the brick wall. He had his phone in his palm, mindlessly playing snake. "I say we just go off on our own."
"We can't just leave them!" Rose insisted. She was pacing, fretting. "What if they're fighting again?"
"They're adults, they'll work it out," he replied calmly. "Come on, this is boring. When are we, anyway?"
Rose kicked the side of the TARDIS lightly, staring up at the night sky. "Dunno, the Doctor didn't say. God, did you see Callie's face? I could just kill him!"
"They'll make up," Mickey repeated. "They always do. We should just go for a walk— anything."
"They always say not to wander off," she reminded him. The Doctor more than Callie, but Callie had been known to say it once in a while.
"We're in London! It's not like we're on Mars. This is practically our own backyard." Mickey pocketed his phone and grabbed at Rose's hands. She hid them behind her back, giggling and stumbling backwards until she bumped into the TARDIS. Mickey smiled at her, leaning down for a kiss.
"Mummy?" A small voice called out. Rose whipped around, looking down the alley Callie had come out of. It was dark and shadowed, and try as she might, she couldn't see anything.
"Did you hear that?" she asked, turning to see Mickey frowning, pale in the face.
"Yeah. Is there a kid somewhere?"
"But where? The road's completely empty." It was practically a ghost town, which was weird enough for London. The two of them looked around for a moment, to no avail. Then, the sound of a glass bottle being kicked drew their attention upwards.
There was a shadow on the roof of the building next to them. It moved, just enough to keep their attention.
"Mummy? Are you there, Mummy?"
"There can't be a kid on the roof," Mickey said in disbelief, trying to get a better look. If he squinted, he could almost make out eyes, but they were too big. Empty.
"Then where is that coming from?" Rose asked, her voice pitching.
"Mummy," the child's voice sang out hauntingly, "Mummy! Mummy…"
A/N: Soooo, that was a longer break than I intended! Oops :p
Anyway, I ended up scrapping the entire adventure I'd been writing and opted to go with a completely different regeneration and storyline than the one that made me so stuck. I'm SO excited and hopefully I'll have time to write in the coming week and get the next chapter out soon.
Please leave a review and let me know what you think! It's been a second since I've written, so any thoughts/feelings/comments are appreciated.
