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The twins reunion

Eighteenth Century
Manchester
Max Hollerford's residence

Edina opens the front doors to Max's house and Max runs inside, pulling April, who is wrapped up in a thick scratchy blanket, along by his side. Many of the other servants rush to their aid, bringing April hot food and water. Edina quietly closes the door behind her, feeling rather timid from the sudden appearance of Max's twin sister who has been away for so long. The servants fuss over April and it doesn't take her long to start becoming agitated from their attention. April pushes them away and stands on the other side of the hallway looking at Max.

There is silence.

"So it is you," April eventually says in a harsh tone. "You're real and alive."

"Of course I am." Max says calmly.

April stares at him for a long while before shaking her head and pacing on the spot. "I can't believe it," She mutters under her breath. "That's why your name is called out at the Island."

"April, what?"

April looks at Max sharply. "If you're my twin brother, like you were all through our childhood, then where the bloody hell were you for the past seven years?" She shouts. "You were gone and I lost all memory that I even had a brother. And now you've come out of nowhere and now I suddenly remember that you are a part of my life!"

"April, it would do you good if you could just calm down and let me explain this to you." Max's voice is soft and calm.

"Even your voice is weird!" She cries, exasperated.

"I too have aged. Just let me explain."

"Then explain!"

Then it's Max's turn to feel angry. "It's that goddamn Cytracik!" He shouts, ignoring the awkward shuffle from his servants as he blasphemes. "Because dad had the power of opening that box, it split us apart, leaving you with your nightmare and taking me back in time to the Industrial Revolution."

"But why?" April spits. "Why were you taken back here?"

"Even I don't know that, but I think it is a way to kill us," Max knows that he was only taken back in time to die. Since he has realised that he is now suffering from tuberculosis, it makes more sense to him. He is dying from this disease and he can only guess that the nightmare must be killing April in some form or another.

April stares at her brother and feels very lost for words. Max sighs heavily.

"Would you please excuse us?" Max asks quietly and all the servants leave the hallway instantly until it is just Max and April alone together. Edina halts beside Max's side for a short moment before she leaves. Max remains looking down at the tiled floor before looking up at April.

"I had hoped we would have a happier reunion," Max says after a long pause of silence. "Not I saving you from drowning in the river and only to find out that you had forgotten all about me."

"It wasn't my fault I didn't know I had a twin brother. It must've been to do with you being in a completely different time frame to me," April says weakly. "I'm still having childhood memories with you come back to me."

"Why did you try to commit suicide?" Max asks harshly, but his voice is still low.

April pauses for a long moment as his words hits her. "It wasn't suicide," She replies as she not only tries to lie to Max but also to herself that it isn't the fact. "My nightmare has suddenly changed and I wanted to know why."

"So you thought that jumping into the deep end of the freezing cold river was a good idea?"

"It seemed so at the time." April says quietly, almost guiltily. She suddenly feels so vulnerable and she does not like it.

There is another long pause of silence.

"So what was it like back at home? What did you do after…well you know." Max asks, desperate to know more about his sister.

They were thirteen years old when he last saw her and he remembers her as a caring yet stubborn child who was fascinated by what is up in the sky. What did she do in the five years before she met the Doctor? Did she have a boyfriend? Was she training to be an astronomer like she always dreamed of? What were her travels like with the Doctor? What adventures did she get up to?

April purses her lips. "He's dead," She starts. "Bruce Fey was killed during the battle. This uhm…this shape shifter took over his form and lived with me for five years before I met the Doctor."

"Did you finish school? Go to college? Tell me. What did you do?"

"I didn't do any of that."

"Are you an astronomer yet?"

April stares at her brother for a long time. She remembers her childhood ambition to be an astronomer and how in the parallel world, Aaron Brimikawood said that she could work with UNIT as their astronomer.

"No." April replies weakly before she tugs at the blanket that sits around her shoulders.

Max looks at his sister intently understanding that she does not want to talk much. From the fearful glazed look in her eyes, Max can suddenly sense the trauma April has gone through. He has no idea about her battles in the parallel world but he can only see that whatever she went through, it has taken its toll on her. "So it's just you and me now. The last two."

April nods at the response, knowing that Max is correct. She has no one else but her mysterious twin brother. She doesn't even have the Doctor any more.

"What about you?" April says in a forced brighter voice. "What did you get up to?"

"Not much," Max replies. "I managed to settle down in this life living through the Industrial Revolution. I met my friend Master Franklin moments after I got here and he took me on. I'm now a biologist and an occasional doctor."

"And now you're the city hero."

Max shifts on the spot. There is still quite some distance between them in the hallway. "I always spoke about you as I grew up here. I told everyone about my wonderful intelligent twin sister. I always said that you were travelling the world but would someday come back to join me. It wasn't exactly a lie," Max stops and looks at his sister, really noticing the hard features on her face. "I've already sent my butler out to find Rose for you."

There is silence. Max and April look at each other.

"You can stop scowling now." Max says softly.

"I'm not." April insists stubbornly.

"You are."

But without another word, April suddenly runs across the hallway and into her brother's arms. Max wraps his arms tightly around his sister and strokes the back of her long, damp black hair.

Later that afternoon Max orders his servants to bring their bath tub up into the spare bedroom and light the fire. Edina fills the tub with hot water and allows April to take a long relaxing bath. Dropping her clothes in a pile on the floor, April carefully steps into the bath tub. First testing the temperature of the water with dipping her foot in before she slides in completely. The water is still a little too hot but she settles back comfortably. She rests the back of her head on the towel that hangs over the edge of the tub, and closes her eyes.

Holding onto the edges of the bath tub, April sinks lower into the water, the hot temperature relaxing all her tense muscles. However only having her eyes closed for a few minutes, there is a distant cry echoing in her ears and the Black Lighthouse suddenly flashes across her vision.

April gasps as she suddenly sits up right and opens her eyes. Water splashes out of the tub and lands on the dusty floorboards with a splat.

April draws in a few heavy breaths as she rubs her face with her hands before running them over her hair. Silence fills the spare bedroom in which she is bathing in. The fireplace beside her is lit with a crackling fire. April anxiously chews at her finger nails as she looks deeply into the flames. She has a massive thumping headache and it only increases as she tries to come to terms with herself about the events of her day.

April feels guilty for having not remembered that she has a twin brother when Max is stuck in the eighteenth century, knowing everything and not being able to do anything about it. It was like when she was transported to the parallel world, she had no memory of meeting the Daleks until she saw them later on. She also remembers the Doctor mentioning something about Martha and Sarah-Jane, and how the have no memory of their lives in this world but will remember if they see anything relating to the Battle of the Cytracik.

There is definitely a link here and it all links back to the Cytracik and the shape shifters.

Now that April and Max have reunited it feels like they have never been separated. Max seems just like the same brother April knew and loved seven years ago, but at the same time he also seems like a completely different person. His growing up in the eighteenth century has shaped him to who he is now, just in the same way April's growing up shaped her. However it only panics April to think that Max might be suffering from something as terrifying as her nightmare but he has not said anything. The Cytracik has given her the curse of the Island and the Cytracik had pulled Max back in time. But why?

A sharp pain runs through April's head as she thinks about this. There is a knock on the door.

"April," A female voice calls. "Is everything okay?"

"Err yeah sure." April replies as she crosses her arms around her naked body, covering her pale breasts.

The door opens with a little difficulty and in steps one of Max's maids, carrying in some clean towels and a dressing gown. The maid is quite young, perhaps a little younger than April by a year or so. April watches her as she closes the door behind her and makes her way across the room.

"Max said it was about time I should help you. The water's probably cold by now." The maid says as she places the pile of towels on one side. She then picks up the top towel and lays it flat on the floor beside the tub.

April watches the maid who takes a few steps back and holds her hands together in front of her, watching April expectantly. A small smile is upon her face. April stares back at the maid feeling rather self-conscious about sitting naked in the bath with someone else in the room. Someone she doesn't even know the name of.

"Do you mind turning around please?" April asks.

The maid looks at April as if she has just been asked to drink the water from the tub. "Yes of course, miss." The maid turns her back on April.

April sighs before quickly getting out of the tub and stepping onto the towel. She quickly towel dries herself before getting into the dressing gown which is a little too big for her. The maid turns around and offers to towel dry April's hair for her. April accepts the offer, remembering the times when Suzette used to wash and towel dry her hair for her when she was little.

"I'm April by the way," April says as the maid gently rubs the ends of her hair in another towel. "You don't have to call me miss all the time."

"Okay." The maid says timidly.

"And you are?"

"Oh pardon me, miss," the maid pauses a moment before correcting herself. "I mean, April. My name is Edina."

"Edina." April replies before suddenly feeling a little more relaxed in her presence.

When Edina has finished, she turns to pick up the rest of the towels. April quickly rubs her fingers through her hair and lets it fall over her shoulders.

"The cooks have made you a dinner for this evening. Mister Hollerford says that you can stay with us." Edina says as she piles the towels in her arms.

The thought of living in the house with her brother is too much for April to handle right at this moment. She has no idea how long she is going to be here for. The Doctor is gone. She has no clue as to what will happen when she'll next see the Doctor. How will he react to seeing her after everything she said to him?

"Oh, thank you but I'm not that hungry." April replies.

Edina half smiles. "It's orders from Mister Hollerford."

April watches Edina for a long while. Edina looks pensive and April is only curious as to what is on her mind for it looks as if she wants to say something but debating on whether or not she should.

"Excuse me for speaking out of terms, miss," Edina pauses again before correcting herself. "April, but I'd like to inform you how I and all the servants under this roof are ever so pleased that you are here. Maxwell...well especially for the past couple of years, has not been himself. He never told me much but he said that he got an unwanted visitor just before his eighteenth birthday explaining of your whereabouts. He's missed you greatly and there is a light in his eyes now that you have returned."

April looks silently at Edina. Edina looks a little lost for words as if she is wondering if it is the best thing to have said. But April only nods. Silence continues to fill the room before Edina makes a move.

"I'd better empty the tub." She mutters but as soon as she moves, there is a loud, angry knocking that is heard from downstairs. Both Edina and April look at each other fearfully.

April is the first to move. She pulls open the bedroom doors and makes her way through the upstairs corridors and down the large staircase. A couple of servants are huddled in the hallway and another strides across to the front door. April looks at the scene in confusion and steps bare footed onto the cold tiles of the hallway. Pulling the collar of the dressing gown closer to her neck, April slowly makes her way across the hallway, looking at the front door.

The servant adjusts the bolts to the door before swinging it inwards.

April stops in the middle of the hallway as she sees a horror struck Rose standing on the porch. Max steps into the hallway to see what the loud knocking has been all about but falls silent as he sees Rose.

Without hesitation, Rose comes storming into the house and up to April. At first April thinks Rose is angry but she isn't, she looks panicked.

"April, it's the Doctor," Rose says in a fearful voice as she reaches April. "He thinks you're dead!"

"What?!" April splutters.

Rose sighs heavily. "On the DVD the Doctor said that he saw you jumping into the river and drowning yourself. He tried to get you out but he saw you die. The Doctor thinks you're dead."

"But I'm not." April says dully.

"Yes I can bloody well see that!" Rose is suddenly angry. "April, what were you thinking? It's bad enough trying to prove to the Doctor that I know what I'm doing and now he's freaking out and is full of revenge!"

"Was," April corrects. "We're not in the same time zone any more."

Rose looks dumbfounded. "Do you even care about the Doctor?"

"As a matter of fact, Rose, I do. But it feels like we're in his debt once again. He's got himself into trouble and once more it's up to us to save him. It's not a game of follow the leader! For once can I just not be in his debt?"

"How can you be so selfish after all he's done for you?" Rose shouts.

"How is that selfish after everything I've done for him? And if you haven't noticed, Rose, I believe you haven't actually told me how the Doctor and Terry have been separated from us. There is not much I can do with the little information you've given me."

"My god, April, you are a poor sight for sore eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"Well if that's going to be the case I'll bring the Doctor and Terry back myself because I do care. And despite the amount of times the Doctor had unintentionally screwed up, I still love him."

"Don't you dare for one second think that I don't care for the Doctor because I do!"

"Oh really? That's not what you said the last time you saw him. You told him to clear off because you only care for those who are already dead," Rose steps back almost shocked at her own words but at the same time a little relieved that she has cleared something off her chest. "Bruce would've killed you if it wasn't for the Doctor."

During the argument, the servants and Max awkwardly exchange glances as they do not know what to make of the words April and Rose are throwing at each other. April opens her mouth to say something in response but Max holds her back.

"And arguing isn't going to solve anything," Max says as he grabs onto April's elbow and pulls her back. "If you want to bring the Doctor back then you're only going to have to work together without any lies and deceits. I thought the two of you were supposed to be friends."

"It didn't exactly turn out that way," Rose says, her eyes suddenly filled with tears. "Now if you don't mind I'm setting up camp elsewhere."

"You're not going anywhere, Rose Tyler," Max says sternly. "I have food waiting for us in the kitchens and I'm not letting either of you go until this little war between you is over. Is that understood?"

Both Rose and April look down at the tiled floor like sulking children.

"And I think that is quite enough for one day." A loud, strong male's voice is heard from the top of the stairs.

Everyone suddenly turns around to a man of around fifty years of age standing at the top of the staircase. He wears a black suit and he has one hand griping onto the wooden banister. A white wig sits on top of his head.

"Master Franklin!" Max says in astonishment. "I thought you were not going to come back for another couple of weeks."

"Plans change and old ones are gone to waste," Master Franklin says agitatedly as he starts walking down the stairs. "Now, Maxwell, let us not keep these ladies here like guinea pigs. I am sure that they have a bed elsewhere."

"There is nowhere for them to go." Max replies.

"And I am sure they have their own voices."

"We have nowhere else to go," Rose reiterates as she takes a step forward. "Myself and April Hollerford here, upon our travels thought that we should stop by for a short while. If that is okay with you by all means."

Master Franklin stands on the bottom step with his hands behind his back as he observes his two guests. "So it is true. The wondering of his twin sister is all true," he quickly raises his hand to quieten Max who goes to speak in protest. "But you are more than welcome to stay here if that is what you please," He then sighs heavily. "When is dinner served Madam Rosalind?"

There is a brief silence before one of the servants realises that Master Franklin is talking to her.

"Oh, it will be with you in the next few minutes if you would care to take your seat." Rosalind replies before curtseying and leaving the hallway with the other servants.

The dinner could not have been more awkward for Max, Rose and April. Max and Master Franklin sit the heads of the table either side whereas April and Rose sit opposite each other in the centre of the table. Master Franklin is happy to sit in silence as he begins eating his soup, but Max, Rose and April can feel the high tension in the room. April has no appetite and only picks at her food. Rose eats away but keeps her eyes focused low. She slurps on her soup not feeling entirely hungry either. April glances over to Master Franklin who keeps his eyes on the food he eats.

However it is the golden clock on the mantelpiece behind him that catches her attention. The face is so cracked she cannot distinguish the numbers or the arms, yet it still ticks away.

"Any news from London?" Max asks.

"They are a little ahead of us in business," Master Franklin replies as he places his spoon in his empty soup bowel before wiping his mouth delicately with his napkin. "And Heat Miles have been tormenting everyone in the south."

"Heat Miles?" Rose queries as she lifts her head.

Master Franklin raises one of his bushy eyebrows. "Yes, it is a hidden disease to our land."

"They sound more like a company."

"They have no former right to call their clique a company. They are only the scoundrels of England that care to scare our people. They keep themselves to themselves and often there have been missing cases for those who pass their lair. Now if you would excuse me I am feeling rather tired after today's journeying so I shall retire to my bed chamber. Goodnight." Master Franklin stands up, adjusting his waistcoat as he does so before leaving the room.

It is nearing on to ten in the evening and Max suggests that they should all retire for the day. He orders Edina and another servant to take April and Rose to the spare bedroom so they can rest for the night. They obey his orders, curtseying before walking up the main staircase.

"I'll see you in the morning," Max says looking at April. "I'm only down the corridor if you need anything."

Without another word, April and Rose follows the servants who take them into the spare bedroom in which April bathed in. However there is only one large double bed. The other servant pokes at the wood in the fireplace as a small fire burns away and Edina lays out the bed clothes for them.

"We hope the accommodations are okay, madams." The other servant says.

Rose looks at the double bed but sighs heavily. "Well it's better than nothing. Thank you."

The two servants curtseys before they leave.

Rose and April dress into their nighties in silence with their backs to each other before slipping into the large double bed. They both lay on their sides facing away from one another. The fire continues to crackle in the fireplace and both lay there with their eyes wide open, unwilling to sleep. Rose plays with the edge of her soft pillow as she thinks about the Doctor. April glares at the wall opposite her as she rests her head on her hand between the pillows. There is no way April is going to sleep for all she knows, she might not wake up from her nightmare again.

There is a ghostly silence in the room.

"I don't want to sleep," April says after a long hour of lying in silence. "I'm scared to fall asleep and never get out of my nightmare again." Her voice is low as she speaks and from the silence that follows, April is sure that Rose has fallen asleep.

But Rose is still awake. She turns over onto her back and looks at the back of April's head. She suddenly feels very sympathetic towards this girl who has been terrified to fall asleep since she was thirteen – a necessity to everyday life. April's strength will only weaken if she stops sleeping, but at the same time her nightmare will only try to make her mental state worse. Rose wishes that there could be a cure for the twins. She wishes that they could get a cure to take the tuberculosis out of Max and to remove April's nightmare from her mind. The twins need the peace they had before the Battle of the Cytracik. They are meant to lead normal lives, but because their father had the power of opening the Cytracik, it makes everything worse for his children. Apart from the Doctor, they have become the most heard of humans in the whole universe just from their titles the Cytracik left them: the Ice Girl and the Lost Brother.

These titles are something unknown to both Max and April. Max has no idea that he even has a title and April never fully understands how every alien she comes across her calls her the Ice Girl. Although April does understand the meaning on the title, the twins still have no idea that they are known across the universe. Everyone and everything in all lands knows about the Battle of the Cytracik and the comeuppance of the Lost Brother and the Ice Girl.

"You have nothing to fear," Rose says softly. "You need your rest. I'm here for you if anything happens and I'm not going to lose you."

April chews on her bottom lip as she listens to Rose.

"Are you happy?" Rose asks.

April hesitates for a little too long. "No."