"Hey Lillian, what's up?" I asked after I had scooped up my ringing phone off the TARDIS console and pressed it to my ear. The Doctor made a curious noise from inside the floor, so I gave him a reassuring nudge with my toe.
"It's a bank holiday weekend," she said, and I hummed as I sat down on the jump seat.
"That doesn't quite answer my question," I said, and she laughed.
"I've got three days off. I wanted to know if that travel offer was still open."
"Of course!" I said and nudged the Doctor pointedly with my toe so that he would lift his head out of the floor. "Lillian wants to go on an adventure."
"Does she have any requests?" He asked as he pulled himself fully out of the floor and set the hatch back into place.
"Requests?" I asked into the phone and Lillian hummed gently as the Doctor started the TARDIS to take us to Earth.
"I'd prefer to stay on Earth if it's all the same," she said, and I nodded as I made eye contact with the Doctor.
"Lillian says no space," I said, and the Doctor nodded.
"Time it is then. Forward or backwards?"
"Backwards," Lillian said after I had relayed the Doctor's question to her. I grinned as we landed while hanging up my phone, and the Doctor headed for the door to welcome her in with an arm flourish.
"You just want to go to the past to try and meet Al Capone again," I teased, and she placed her hands on her hips in an overly dramatic fashion.
"There's no again for me if you'll recall. It would be again for you," she said, and I laughed as I dragged her into a lingering hug which she returned just as tightly.
"I offered to let you come along. Not that either of us really knew where we were going," I said. Lillian rolled her eyes gently as she released me and fluffed up my hair slightly. It was something she'd done since we were kids, uselessly trying to even out my curls but it always made my heart warm. "I have missed you."
"I've missed you too." Lillian stepped away from me and turned to face the Doctor, who was fiddling with something on the console like he was trying to be busy so that he didn't feel like he was intruding. "Thanks for letting me see what all the fuss is about."
"Of course, Lillian. Anytime. Pleasure to have you along," he said and took that as his cue to start the TARDIS again.
"Oh, this is fuss now?" I asked as I waved my hand around the air to gesture vaguely at the TARDIS and Lillian laughed as we both grabbed onto the console.
"You've only been talking about it since we were six, so yes. Tiny little bit of fuss," Lillian said.
"Just a bit of fuss," I said with a wide smile. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Doctor duck his head slightly to hide a pleased smile and made a note to ask about it later in case it was something he didn't want to talk about in front of Lillian.
"How do you stand all that shaking?" Lillian asked after we had landed.
"You develop vortex legs eventually believe it or not," I said.
"It's part of the experience," the Doctor said as he gestured us towards the door. "Now Lillian you are about to take your first steps into the past. Are you ready?"
"Very," she said, and I reached past her to pull the door open for her and she stepped out with wide eyes and the Doctor and I followed behind her.
"Looks like you got Paris this time Doctor," I said after I had quickly glanced around the square we were parked in and noticed Notre Dame peeking over the buildings. He made a mildly aggravated noise.
"Someday I'll get it right," he muttered under his breath as he bent slightly to press a kiss to the side of my forehead. I sent him a quizzical look. "You're very brilliant at figuring out where we are."
"Do you know when?" Lillian asked and I shrugged slightly.
"I'd probably guess early 1800's," I said, and Lillian looked down at our modern clothes. "I wouldn't worry about it. People usually just brush it off about eighty five percent of the time."
"And the other fifteen percent of the time?" Lillian asked with an eyebrow raise that really made her look like Mom whenever Mom knew that we were up to something. We'd both been on the receiving end of that look a few times during high school.
"The TARDIS has a very full wardrobe," I said. The Doctor grinned at both of us.
"Shall we go for a stroll along the Siene?" He asked and Lillian nodded as she held her arm out to me which I looped my elbow through without thinking about it.
"Yes let's." We both set off down the street, using the opportunity to get caught up with each other before I realized that I hadn't heard from the Doctor in a while and that usually wasn't a good sign. I looked over my shoulder and realized that he was walking a few paces behind us with his hands shoved in his pockets.
"Sorry are we excluding you?" I asked and Lillian looked back at the Doctor as well just in time to see him shake his head.
"Oh, I am marvellously content," he said with another wide smile that I couldn't quite place. I sent him a look to tell him that I was on to him, but his facial expression didn't change.
"If we're in the 1800's does that mean that we could meet Napoleon?" Lillian asked and I shrugged.
"Possibly. It would have to be very early since he lost power and was exiled in 1815," I said and carefully studied the dress of a passing woman before shaking my head. "I think we might be too late for that though."
"I continue to miss all the cool people," Lillian moaned over dramatically. I laughed.
"You only like Napoleon because you think it's funny that he's short," I said, and she laughed as well.
"I've met Napoleon," the Doctor interjected like he had only just thought of it and Lillian gasped.
"Really?"
"Yeah it was early days of travelling for me. Ian and Barbara were still with me," he said.
"Very early days," I said, and Lillian waved her hand like she didn't care about the details.
"Will you tell us about it?" She asked. I glanced up at the Doctor pleadingly to show that I wanted to hear the story as well. He smiled at us before he launched into the story. I'd noticed that recently he was a lot more willing to just tell me things, whereas before it usually would have taken a little bit of prodding. Sometimes it still took a little prodding, but that was more so when it involved sad things like the war or companions leaving in very painful ways.
We were all so caught up in the story that none of us noticed the Parisian solider step forward towards us menacingly until he had his rifle pointed at us.
"Show me your Identification!" He ordered and I jerked Lillian and I to a stop as the Doctor smoothly stepped in front of us while digging in his pocket and withdrew the psychic paper.
"How frequently does this happen?" Lillian asked under her breath. I looked between the gun and the psychic paper that the solider had grabbed and was now studying.
"This being held at gun point or being asked for identification?" I asked and Lillian shot me an exasperated look. I grinned despite myself.
"You know damn well which one I mean," she hissed, and I grinned wider as the solider finished reading the psychic paper and loosened his stance and handed it back to the Doctor.
"My deepest apologies Sir Doctor you should have said that you were a guest of Monsieur Dumas and His Majesty," the solider said and waved us through.
"Aren't we technically before your knighthood?" I asked after we had walked a little way away and reached out to pluck the psychic paper from the Doctor's hand to see what it said. Lillian shot us a confused look as the Doctor nodded.
"Knighthood?" She asked.
"Yeah he got knighted by Queen Victoria. Hey, cool the psychic paper made me Lady Emma again," I said.
"Did I make the nobility?" Lillian asked. I skimmed further along and nodded.
"Yep Lady Lillian, right there." I pointed at it helpfully as she read over my shoulder.
"That's a lot of information to pack into that piece of paper," she said, and I nodded considering the psychic paper looked like a short piece of a royal proclamation.
"Alexandre Dumas huh?" The Doctor said after we had handed him the psychic paper back and he was tucking it back into his pocket. "I've never met him before."
"First time for everything," Lillian said as I wracked my brain trying to remember who was ruling France when Alexandre Dumas was alive.
"His Majesty would be Louis-Phillipe wouldn't it? The Citizen King?" I looked at the Doctor for clarification who thought about it for a moment before nodding.
"It would be indeed." He leaned over and kissed my forehead. I bit my lip as a thought occurred to me.
"Doctor do you know what day it is?" I asked and he frowned before wandering off down the street. Lillian looked after him in confusion.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means that he doesn't know off the top of his head and he's gone to look for a newspaper," I said just as he came back with a newspaper and handed it to me. I glanced at the date up at the top and tried to decide if I should laugh or not.
"What does that mean?" Lillian asked as she pointed at my facial expression.
"It means that the Doctor and I have some of the worst luck ever when it comes to dates in the past," I said as I glanced up at him. "Today is July 28, 1835. It's the day of Louis-Phillipe's most famous assassination attempt."
"Oh, you are kidding me," he said as he snatched the paper back from me and groaned loudly as he read the date.
"Maybe you two should stay out of France," Lillian said dryly, and I laughed.
"At least it's not a poisoning this time." The Doctor flashed me a look like he didn't appreciate the fact that I had probably just jinxed us while Lillian hummed thoughtfully.
"Pardon me, but are you three Sir Doctor and company?" A man called to us before jogging up to us and the Doctor nodded. The man skimmed his gaze over all of us before it landed on Lillian and he side stepped the Doctor to sweep into a bow gracefully at her feet.
"Mademoiselle how kind of you to grace us with your beautiful presence," the man declared and picked up Lillian's hand to kiss the back of it. I snorted unattractively as Lillian's eyes went wide with slight terror like they always did whenever a man flirted with her. It never failed to amuse me how Lillian just seemed to stop being able to function whenever she was caught off guard. "My name is Alexandre. May I inquire as to yours?"
"Lillian," she managed to squeak out and I pressed my fingers to my lips so that I wouldn't offend anyone by bursting into laughter. The Doctor quirked an eyebrow up at me.
"Lillian is too polite to explain that she's gay, so every time a guy flirts with her her brain sort of just short circuits," I murmured under my breath and he made a noise of understanding. "I should probably rescue her, but I always hope that exposure will get her over it."
"Another thing you picked up in therapy?" The Doctor asked with a teasing glint in his eyes. I shot him a conspiratorial grin.
"Maybe." Lillian shot me a wild look that clearly demonstrated she was getting well over her head over Alexandre's shoulder, so I stepped forward to rescue her.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. How are you this morning?" I asked as I inserted myself sort of halfway between them and Alexandre flashed me a brilliant smile.
"Monsieur Dumas please invite our guests to walk with us," another male called to our group before Alexandre could answer and Lillian's mouth dropped open as she realized that the man who had been flirting with her was Alexandre Dumas himself.
"But of course, Your Majesty," Alexandre called back with a brief wave of his hand and I looped my arm in Lillian's so I could drag her along because she was still gaping at Alexandre's back.
"Mom's going to lose her mind," I said which must have been enough to shake her shock off because she looked at me with a quizzical look.
"That means we'll have to tell her and Dad about the time travel," Lillian said, and I bit my lip guiltily.
"I do want to tell them. I just-" I paused and took a deep breath to make sure I phrased my next words properly. "I just worry about how they'll react."
"I know Emma," Lillian said as she leaned into me comfortingly. The Doctor gave me a soft smile as well and I reached out to hook my pinky around his.
"Wait are we really going to just ignore the fact that Louis-Phillipe is supposed to be getting assassinated today?" Lillian asked under her breath after we had walked up to the Citizen King and been introduced, and the Doctor was doing his best to not make him suspicious about the fact that we had sort of just shown up out of nowhere with a royal invitation.
"Well he doesn't get assassinated today. If I remember correctly, he dies in exile in England," I answered, and Lillian shot me a look.
"Are you really going to tell me that history is set in stone?" Lillian asked. I sighed before I shook my head.
"No because I've already told you it's not," I said. One of her eyebrows quirked up and it took a lot of strength to not wiggle guiltily on the spot.
"Have we thought walking with the guy who might be assassinated today through?" I winced at her words despite my promise to myself that I wouldn't.
"Lillian the Doctor and I aren't exactly the best at thinking things through." I looked over him at my words to see if he would be able to offer me some assistance in this and I saw a weird look flash across his face. "Oh, that's not good."
"What's not good?" Lillian asked.
"The Doctor's facial expression. He only gets that look on his face when something's gone weird with the timeline," I answered and plastered the politest smile I could manage on my face and took a few steps forward to hook my hand in his elbow. "Pardon me could I borrow him for just a few seconds?"
"Explain your face this instant," I said after I had dragged him next to Lillian. He blinked at me before he laughed.
"You want me to explain my face?" He repeated with a teasing smirk breaking across his face. I gave him an exasperated look.
"You knew what I meant," I said, and he laughed again before he went serious again.
"Do you remember what the assassination method was?" He asked and I nodded.
"A hand made gun thing with like twenty barrels. They called it the Machine Infernal," I said, and he reached to scratch at the back of his head. "Why what do your Time Lord capabilities tell you?"
"Time appears to be in flux," he said. I groaned and tipped my head back while Lillian looked between the two of us in confusion.
"What does that mean?" She asked.
"It means that today's history is written on wet paper," I said, and the Doctor laughed at my analogy.
"Well no not exactly. The Machine Infernal is fixed, but it appears there are multiple things that could break it," he said. I glanced at Lillian to see if she was following him any better than I was, but she didn't appear to be, so I turned back to the Doctor.
"I don't fully follow."
"Well if time is fixed for Louis-Phillipe to nearly die at the hands of the Machine Infernal, but he dies several blocks away due to a cross bow bolt fired by a different assassin that might break the time line slightly," he expanded and I blinked at him for a few moments before I groaned again.
"You mean to tell me that we have to keep him alive so that he can make it to that assassination attempt?" I clarified.
"Yep." He popped the p just slightly on the end of the word as he rocked up on the balls of his feet.
"Time travel is complicated," Lillian said.
"Preaching to the choir Lillian."