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Here's the new chapter, so enjoy!
Chapter 8
Not everyone was happy about Rose's invitation into the TARDIS. Jackie appeared rather cross when Rose let the news out after they got back to the Tyler flat. In fact, the mother let the Doctor have an ear full for almost letting her daughter die from a missile strike. There was even a harsh slap given. Madison winced when it had happened, feeling bad for the Doctor. Really, it was not his fault, and things turned out fine in the end.
"Why don't we . . . go back to the TARDIS. Give them some time to talk it out," she suggested quietly to the Doctor after the mother had moved away to speak rather sternly with her daughter. The Doctor grumbled in agreement, rubbing at his face and wincing from where it stung. The two quietly snuck out the door and back down the stairs to where the TARDIS was parked.
"I can't believe she slapped you," Madison spoke up as they walked silently towards the TARDIS.
"Nine hundred years of time and space and I've never been slapped by someone's mother," the Doctor complained, his expression that of annoyance and disbelief.
"First time for everything, I suppose," Madison teased him, bumping lightly into him. "You should have seen your face." She made a dramatic expression of shock, laughing as the Doctor scoffed and hit her lightly in the arm.
"It hurt!" he countered, almost sounding as though he were whining.
Madison laughed even more. "Oh, you poor baby." She snickered as the Doctor grumbled under his breath. She sighed, smiling softly. "You can't blame Jackie for being upset. We did scare her to death thinking her daughter was going to die. It's a wonder that she only slapped you."
"Everything turned out fine, though. She's just being . . . unreasonable," the Doctor grumbled, hands in his pockets as they now stood by the TARDIS.
"If I was a mother, I'd probably be a little irrational with emotions after something like that . . . and then saying that my daughter has been invited to be a part of even more dangerous things, damn right I'd be cross." Madison crossed her arms, leaning against the TARDIS as she looked back at the complex buildings.
The Doctor stood next to her, almost leaning against the TARDIS. He gave the buildings a thoughtful gaze. "Do you think it was a good idea to invite her, then?"
"Of course. Rose is a big girl, she can be invited to things and make her own decisions to go or not. Her mother is just being a little overprotective. She always has been since Rose's dad died. At least, that's what Rose has told me." Madison listened as the Doctor hummed, most likely thinking her words over. "We should just give Jackie some time to calm down. It might be a good idea if we even have dinner or something together. Get a chance to know one another on a better level."
"No. I don't do families." The Doctor said this in a stern tone, his voice a bit too hard for comfort. He turned, going away from her and made a move to go into the TARDIS. But he halted when seeing the white, spray-painted word of Siren on the other side of the ship. "Oi! Who did that?!" He looked at her with a brow raised. "Did you do that?"
"Of course not." She walked over to him, staring at the word. "It was there last night when I had brought my things onboard. I'm not sure where it came from." She watched as the Doctor scanned the word with his sonic. "What're you scanning for?"
"To see who did it," he muttered as he looked at his screwdriver like he was reading something from it. "Spray paint leaves micro residue figments in the air and on the person who uses it. I can trace back the exact paint type and where from, backtrack the purchase, trace the air for where the painter might have gone . . ."
"Or, we can just clean it up ourselves. I can even do it for you if you prefer." Madison shook her head at him in amusement. He was really going to all that trouble just over a little graffiti?
"No, I'm making whoever did it clean it up. No one graffiti's the TARDIS on my watch." The Doctor grinned as he seemed to pick up whatever it was he was looking for with the sonic. "Ha-ha! I got you now." He went into the ship then, bouncing up to the console. "I also need to send out this dispersal to cancel out the Slitheen advert in case any bargain hunters turn up."
Madison watched as he quickly worked around the console, checking the monitor every so often to look at something. She sighed, not sure what to do now as him avoiding talking to Jackie further bothered her somewhat. It wasn't right to expect the mother to be okay with her daughter going with some stranger. If the Doctor could at least show Jackie he meant well . . .
"You can't avoid domestics forever, you know. Eventually, you'll have to talk to her mum. After all, it's the right thing to do," she said to him. She watched as he kept his eyes on the monitor, mumbling something under his breath and appearing to be solely focused on his work. She wondered if maybe he was too focused to pay attention to anything at the moment, or if he was merely ignoring her completely. She had a feeling it was the latter. She sighed again, shaking her head. "Well, you keep on working, then. I'm going to take a bath."
The Doctor only grunted in response, still not paying attention to her. She shook her head, knowing that maybe she had gotten it wrong. It was possible he really was too focused on his task to pay attention to anything around him. Something that she was starting to suspect was normal for him. So, she went down the TARDIS corridor and towards her room. Though she did change direction briefly when she realised that she was starving. Her stomach growled loudly to let her know that it was angry with her. A quick trip to the kitchens and she had herself a nice sandwich with some crisps before finally going to her room. Once inside her room and behind the locked door, that was when she finally allowed herself to relax. Before long, she was in the tub, her tail stretched out and her whole body relaxing in the warm waters of her bath. A very long sigh left her as she felt herself melting into the water. It felt amazing. She made a mental note not to make it a habit to sleep outside of water. It was just too uncomfortable.
As she sat in the calm water of her room, she allowed her mind to wander. To reflect on the event that had occurred. The Slitheen. The nuclear threat. Being trapped in Downing Street. It had been just one thing after another. She wondered if adrenaline was going to become something normal flowing through her. For she had a feeling with the Doctor there would always be high tense situations to face. Though Platform One and the living dead in 1869 had been very stressful, something about being back during her own time just made it all seem so much more vivid. She was simply glad that everything turned out alright in the end. Even though there had been terrible deaths in the wake of everything. Then there was also the invitation of Rose Tyler to the TARDIS. Frankly, she was rather giddy. Even if she didn't know Rose all that well, simply having someone else to learn and grow and experience these new things with was going to be excellent. Not that the Doctor wasn't amazing to be with. It was just . . . as she had contemplated before, it would be nice to have a girlfriend on her side.
Stretching, she twisted around in the tub, her tail splashing a bit in the water as she turned to sort of lay herself over the side of the tub, her arms folded together and resting her head against them. She stared off to the far wall, starting to think of the Doctor. That was something else that had been . . . intense for her. Something about the way he acted with her back when he believed they were going to die. The way he stared at her . . . What he had said . . . The kiss on her forehead . . . She wasn't naive. Not as much as she used to be. She knew what indications those things meant. Why he might have acted in such a way. But was there a possibility of the Doctor having emotions for her that stemmed past mere friendship? How was she to know what was considered 'romantic' for his people. She could just be overthinking it and he didn't mean it as anything but friendly comfort. He had two hearts. Having two must make it so he feels emotions on a different level than she. But then . . . there was her accidental brush against his mind. The way he had stared at her . . . It wasn't out of disgust or anger. It was almost like . . . yearning.
It made her wonder . . . did he miss having someone share telepathy with him? Did he want her to join him in his mind? And it didn't have to be intimate. They could simply do it for communication purposes, or make it easier for them to learn things about each other. But if she was truthful with herself . . . it was that desire of her own to heal his wounds. It was a Mer's highest calling, after all. To heal broken minds. Her parents had done so for so many throughout their travels. Always healing those with troubled minds. Those affected so harshly by trauma, grief, hardships, and other such things. She, too, had healed people in the past. All a Mer had to do was hold a person's hand and establish that quick link to begin the healing process. Though humans never truly realised what was happening in the end. All they knew was their minds were mended and that they felt better. It always made her wonder if that was why Mer were born, were created and evolved with humans. To help fix them in some way or another. Sadly, she would never know now, being the last of the Mer. She could never see what full potential Mer-Kind could have become to this world.
Humming to herself, she felt her eyes begin to droop as she grew tired. That was right. She didn't get much rest in her time of being trapped in Downing Street. Yawning, she debated if getting a nap in would be wise. She would hate to make the Doctor and Rose wait on her. But a nap sounded too wonderful to pass on. So, she slowly receded into the water, sinking to the bottom of the tub and laid her head in her curled up arms. Closing her eyes to rest.
XxXxXxXxXx
When she woke up again, she knew she had slept longer than a mere nap. She groaned, upset with herself for sleeping for so long. How long has it been? Were Rose and the Doctor waiting on her? Upset with her? She drained the tub quickly and started drying herself as fast as she could. She wanted to hurry in case they were off on an adventure without her. She couldn't blame them for leaving her behind. She deserved it for falling asleep.
She got dressed in record time, putting on a plain coloured jumper with jeans and boots before rushing off towards the console room. The TARDIS seemed to guide her. Not with anything indicating around her, but through the presence in her mind. She wondered if the ship did something similar for all guests on the ship, or was that merely because she was telepathic. She would have to ask the Doctor.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep," she blurted out the moment she set foot in the console room. She blinked in surprise, seeing the Doctor sitting in the captain's chair. His arms were crossed, head tilted forward, chin resting on his chest as he breathed in and out deeply. His eyes were closed and his face was completely relaxed. She paused in step, staring at him. She couldn't help but take in his sleeping form in detail. He just looked so . . . peaceful. She wondered if he rarely allowed himself a moment's rest.
Moving slowly over to the console, she sat herself down, facing towards the corridor with the Doctor in her sight. She folded her legs together, deciding to meditate. She wanted to let him continue to rest. He always waited for her, so she would wait for him. Besides, he needed the rest. He deserved more than anyone to be able to relax and find calmness in the universe. So, she closed her eyes, relaxed her body slowly and started to meditate. She hadn't done this in ages. She forgot how calming it was. She made a mental note to do so more in the future. It was only a short time, maybe thirty minutes, until the Doctor made a noise. She opened her eyes as he let out a snort and seemed to jerk awake. He blinked slowly before rubbing at his face. Then, when he realised she was there, his eyes went wide and stood up quickly.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her swiftly, backing up from her like he had been caught doing something embarrassing.
"I was just meditating until you woke up," she explained, standing up from the floor.
He made a face, still obviously flustered. "What'cha go and do that for? You could have just woke me up."
"I didn't mind waiting." She smiled kindly at him. "Don't be embarrassed. You obviously needed sleep. You're allowed to take a moment to rest, Doctor. If anyone deserves peace and quiet, it's you."
He stared at her for a moment, seeming at a loss of what to say. Then, he looked away, muttering, "Thanks for letting me sleep." But then he pointed a stern finger at her. "This stays between us. Got it?"
Madison raised a brow. "Why?" Seeing his pout and flustered face, she couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, I see. You don't want to ruin your 'reputation' by letting people know you sleep." She couldn't believe he was silly enough to think sleeping was seen as a 'weakness'.
"Look, if all my enemies knew I slept, then they'd calculate the right moment to try to do me in. Now hush. No more talking about it," he replied as he crossed his arms, still pouting like a child.
Madison snickered for a second more before smiling and giving him a nod. "Okay. I promise not to say anything. Cross my heart." She made the gesture over her chest, glad to see him smile again. She walked over to the console, watching as he started to fiddle with different things on the control panels. "Is Rose already onboard?"
"Nope. I wanted to wait until you were awake again," he said, glancing at her while he spun a dial. "When you didn't come out after a while, I figured you fell asleep."
"Yeah. Sorry. It was supposed to just be a nap," she apologised, still feeling embarrassed that it had lasted so long.
He stared at where his hands rested on the console, shrugging lightly. "It's all right. Besides . . . you deserve rest, too." He glanced up at her, giving her a soft smile.
She returned the smile, feeling warmth again upon seeing the gentle gaze of his. She listened as the Doctor started to explain how he had dispelled the signal from the Slitheen completely and found the kid who had spray painted the TARDIS. He even made the kid wash the phone box before giving the boy a good scolding. Madison had to laugh, amused at how the Doctor went on about it. She then watched as the Doctor picked up a phone from the console, something that she surprisingly didn't notice until now, and called Rose, letting the girl know that they were finally ready to go. Then, with a shared grin, both of them went out of the ship. Madison was a bit surprised to see it was night outside and to see Mickey there waiting for them, sitting on a red bin and reading a newspaper. He glanced towards them as they walked over.
"I just went down the shop. And I was thinking, you know, like, the whole world's changed. Aliens and spaceships all in public," he said, pointing to the paper in his hands. He unfolded the paper, letting them see the headline Alien Hoax? on the front cover. "And here it is. How can they do that? They saw it!"
"Sometimes it's easier to believe comforting lies than hard truth," Madison said with a sigh, shaking her head in disappointment. Of course, immediately humans would want to believe against the obvious truth. It was just . . . too typical of them.
"You're just not ready. You're happy to believe in something that's in something that's invisible, but if it's staring you in the face 'nope, can't see it!'," the Doctor agreed with her. His expression was that of disappointment, too. "There's a scientific explanation for that. You're thick." Mickey let out a small chuckle, shaking his head as he folded back up the paper.
"We're just idiots," he said.
"Well, not all of you," said the Doctor, giving the young lad a pointed look.
This made Mickey blink, clearly taken back. But soon he smiled, seeming pleased. "Yeah?"
The Doctor didn't say anything else about that. Most likely wanting to bypass that he gave the lad a compliment. Madison could only smile, simply glad that the Time Lord found it decent enough to admit when he was wrong about someone. Mickey didn't deserve to be made fun of. Not after today, helping them all save the world. She glanced over, no longer listening to the Doctor as he handed something over to Mickey. She saw Rose and Jackie coming out of the complex next to them, heading their way. Something about the mother's expression though told her things were not well. Even though Rose beside her had this bright smile on her face, looking absolutely giddy, eager to get going. The girl had even packed a whole bag of things to go on her journey in the TARDIS. But Jackie . . .
"Excuse me," she said quietly to the Doctor, nodding for Jackie. She didn't wait to see his response. She merely walked over to meet up with Jackie and Rose. She smiled at the girl, giving the blonde the reassurance that things were fine. "You ready?"
"More than ready," Rose breathed, partially bouncing on her feet. "I can't wait to get going."
"Rose, please, I'll get a proper job. I'll work weekends, I'll pass my test," the mother spoke rapidly then, turning to her daughter, pleading to the girl. "And if Jim comes 'round again, I'll say no. I really will."
"Mum, I'm not leaving 'cause of you," Rose sighed in exasperation, clearly already having this discussion with her mother earlier. "I just . . . want to travel for a bit, yeah? See what there is out there, find myself, and then I'll be back. Okay? I promise I will. It's not like this is forever. Just think of it like I'm going off to live across the Atlantic for a temp job or somethin'." Rose gave her mother a kiss of reassurance on the cheek, beaming away as she bounced off to go towards where Mickey and the Doctor were. That was when Jackie turned towards Madison, her eyes swimming with desperation.
"Maddie, please, promise me she'll be alright. This life of yours now with this Doctor, I know it's dangerous. I've seen how dangerous it is and . . . I just want my daughter safe. Can you promise me that?" Jackie said in a rush, her voice emotional.
"Of course, I can," Madison assured her immediately.
"I mean it," Jackie said strictly then. "I don't trust this Doctor, but I do you. I know you have a better head on you than he does, so I need you to be serious about this. I need you to keep your promise."
Madison reached out, holding Jackie's shoulders in a firm grasp, keeping her eyes steady on the mother's. "Jackie Tyler, on my life, I swear to you, that I will always make sure Rose comes back home. No matter what, I'll protect her."
Jackie let out a sigh of relief. Her shoulders relaxed as she nodded before smiling as her inner turmoil was appeased. She then hugged Madison hard. "Promise to keep yourself safe, too? I want you back home as well."
"Of course." Madison returned the hug, her eyes misting over as it touched her in how sincere Jackie sounded. She was a true mother through and through.
Both pulled away from each other and walked on over to where the rest were. It appeared that, at the moment, Rose was trying to convince Mickey to come, too.
"Oh, come on, we'd be dead without you," said Rose.
"Yeah, I know," Mickey replied, briefly having a smug smirk. But then he had on a serious expression again. "But I think you need a break from me. Maybe a break from the lot of us. Especially after Greg."
"Ugh, don't even mention him," Rose grumbled, shaking her head.
"Besides, someone needs to stick around with your mum," Mickey said, jerking his head over to Jackie. The mother gave him a frown but he clearly ignored her. "Go and have fun with them aliens. Maybe the next time you come 'round I'll go."
"You sure? 'Cause you are welcome to come," the Doctor spoke up as he stood near the TARDIS doors.
"Yeah. Next time," Mickey told him, nodding firmly. Rose smiled at him, leaning up to give him a kiss on the cheek. She bounced over to the Doctor then, pausing briefly by him as if hesitant that he would suddenly tell her it were all a joke and she had to stay. But he smiled, opening the door for her to step in with glee.
"You better bring them back soon. I don't want to have to wait another year to see my daughter like I did with Maddie," Jackie said sternly to the Doctor.
"And I keep saying, that was a mistake," the Doctor sighed in exasperation. He forced a grin on his face. "I have a time machine. I'll bring Rose back in ten seconds from now. All right?" He then walked into the TARDIS without a single backward glance. Madison could only sigh and shake her head. There was really a lot more he could do to help ease Jackie's worries. But, she knew that just wasn't how he is. Which was fine with her. Though for others . . .
"It might not be ten seconds, but it won't be a year. I can promise you that," Madison said as she went towards the ship, smiling at the two kindly. "Goodbye. Take care of yourselves." She gave one last wave before stepping into the ship and closing the door. She bounced up the steps and towards where the Doctor and Rose currently stood by the console.
"So, now that's taken care of, where to, Rose Tyler?" the Doctor asked the girl, grinning away like a madman. "Forwards or backwards in time? Which do you want?"
"I don't know . . . Forwards?" the girl said hesitantly. Grinning, the Doctor danced around the console then, moving fluidly around to guide the ship off. Madison and Rose both had to grip the side of the console as the ship rocked and shook greatly. Each of them smiled eagerly when glancing at one another.
Once the TARDIS stopped moving, settling down wherever it was that the Doctor had them land, Rose asked where they were. Like Madison remembered the Doctor doing to her, he merely smiled and waved a hand to the door. The girl hastily ran to the door, going out to see where the ship had landed. Madison was close behind her, also eager to see where they were. She was shocked to see a massive amount of people all around them. All were very busy moving about, going to and from places surrounding them. It looked like they were in some sort of marketplace as there were colourful tents and stands with all sorts of things on them. From bizarre fruits to cages with exotic animals who had multiple legs. A lot of the merchandise with things that she did not recognize. And the people were most definitely not human, either. There were humanoid trees, like what Jabe was (she made a mental note to ask the Doctor more details on what species this was), cat and dog people with fur that covered their entire bodies, large, grey men with bald heads and wrinkled skin, some sort of creature that looked like a floating jellyfish, and even some robotic beings walking around. She couldn't keep away the smile from her face as she took it all in. She glanced at Rose, laughing at the look of awe and utter amazement on the girl's face.
"That-that man is blue," the girl said weakly, pointing to a passing man with deep blue skin.
"You get used to it," Madison told her.
"And it's rude to point, so stop it," spoke the Doctor as he came up behind them. He made the two of them move out of the way, closing and locking the TARDIS behind them. He grinned as he jumped ahead of them, turning around to face them. "So? What do you think?"
"It's amazing," breathed Madison, still trying to take everything in.
"What year is it?" Rose asked curiously. "Are we still on Earth?"
"Nope!" The Doctor grinned, turning and beginning to walk off. Madison hurried along with Rose to stay up with him. "This is the year 43,617 and, currently, we're on Living City of Utumno. It's mostly a peaceful planet, with a lot of locals happy with all the tourists."
"Tourists? Are we in a place people go on holiday?" Rose questioned curiously, still staring with wide eyes at all the aliens around them. Madison could see the girl looked a bit queasy by all of it. She didn't blame the girl for being somewhat anxious about seeing so many aliens all at once. It was a lot to take in for a first trip.
"Yep! This place is a known tourist trap. But that's what makes it fun. 'Cause, see, you can bargain for almost everything and get things you wouldn't believe. The locals love to haggle. It's an old tradition. And the food is delicious, so there's plenty to eat," the Doctor explained rapidly, grinning as he continued to look back at them for their reactions.
"I'm surprised you like tourist traps," Madison commented lightly, meeting his gaze.
"I like the fun kind. And this one is fun," he said, still grinning away. "Come on. Let's see what's on the menu. There's a shop I come to visit sometimes when I'm craving a good meal."
He bounced in step, going over towards a large stand that had an extended canopy out past the entrance. He brushed back the curtain that hung in front of the doorway, allowing them to see a small café of sorts. It was dim inside with most of the lighting coming from the sunlight outside, though there were a few candles on the small tables in the café. The tables were low to the floor, with the customers sitting on the ground and having their legs crossed. Most of the café colours were browns and oranges, with the floor and tables a rich brown wood, and the cushions for some of the guests to sit on and the decorations were a burnt orange colour.
The Doctor walked right past all of the tables towards a counter in the back. There was a robot humanoid behind the counter, standing at attention when seeing them coming over to the counter. The robot was not exactly 'human looking' as she would call it. It was more that it had a structure like a human, with a head, arms, and legs. But the arms and legs were very skinny, only thin tube-like metal limbs, with a thick centre chest with a central glowing white light where she assumed the heart of the robot was. The head also had eyes, though they were grilled mesh with no irises or pupils, just dark sockets with the mesh over to cover them. The mouth looked like a keyboard, which lit up as it spoke in a raspy voice to the Doctor. The Time Lord seemed to be haggling with the robot for a meal for the three of them. It seemed to work as the robot was soon nodding and accepting some coins that the Doctor handed over. The Doctor then ushered her and Rose over to a nearby table that was open. Rose got a cushion to sit on while the Doctor and Madison merely sat on the wooden floor with their legs crossed.
"So what're we eating?" Madison asked him curiously.
"Tycho Brahe. You two will love it. It's the best stew I've ever found in my travels," the Doctor said. He gave a nod when seeing Madison's nervous expression. "Don't worry, I ordered you a vegetarian one. Be warned, it might spoil you from any other vegetarian stew from now on."
"I'll take your word for it," she said, smiling as she was grateful that he bought them a meal. "Glad you actually had money this time. I doubt the few pounds I have would be any good here."
"Ha! You'd be surprised. Besides, I did owe you one." He gave her a wink, making her smile. His attention turned to Rose then, gazing at the girl carefully as he watched her continue to simply stare at all the people around them. "What d'you think, then?"
"Great, yeah. Fine," Rose answered quickly, averting her gaze from the rest around them to give a strained smile at the Doctor. Then her smile fell. "They're just so alien!" The Doctor gave her a look and the girl seemed to rethink her words a bit. "The aliens are so alien. You look at 'em, and they're alien."
"You just fought off a horde of Slitheen and you're suddenly bothered by aliens looking 'alien'," the Doctor said, raising a sharp brow at her.
"I don't know. It was different," Rose muttered, beginning to look embarrassed now. Madison reached over, taking the girl's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"It was different because it was in small numbers and back home. Now it's on an alien planet with a lot of them," Madison said for the girl.
Rose nodded, "Yeah, that's it."
"Just know that they're still people. Even if they look different on the outside, they're still just people on the inside." Madison gave the girl a kind smile, glad as her words seemed to ease the blonde.
Rose smiled and nodded. "Yeah, 'course." She stared at one of the tree humanoids briefly once more before shaking her head. "I'll just have to try and get used to it." She laughed awkwardly then, seeming to still be reeling.
"So why is this place called Living City of Utumno?" Madison asked the Doctor, wanting to help take the girl's mind off of everything else that overwhelmed her.
"Interesting story on that one," the Doctor started up immediately, grinning as he was eager to explain. "The locals are called the Trilloo. Little, tiny fellows. They used to live on a little tiny planet with a little tiny sun. But when they used up all the resources on their planet, they had to expand and leave. They have really great minds, so they created their own world, artificially, with the core centre being one gigantic centroid memalognation. Sort of like the old big computers you lot used to have back on Earth. And the core is an AI, so it's considered 'living' per say."
"Where are the . . . 'Trilloo' though?" Rose asked then, growing curious by everything the Doctor said.
"You've already seen them," said the Doctor, grinning widely as he pointed towards the robotic figure over the counter. "That's them there. They interact with the universe using robotic suits. While they stay nice and safe inside in their cosy little compartments."
"That's so fascinating," Madison breathed, in awe of everything. She turned to the Doctor after gazing at the Trilloo, beaming widely at him. "I'd love to know all about their culture. What are they like? How did they learn to interact with the world? What are their belief systems since they're so far advanced compared to humans? How did they come to build a whole new planet and learn about creating an ecosystem so others can come to visit?"
The Doctor ended up answering all of her questions and any from Rose as well. There was just so much she and Rose wanted to know. All of which the Doctor seemed very pleased to answer. She realised, at one point, he was showing off just how knowledgeable he was. He was rather cheeky about it. She couldn't help but feel amused, happy that he did know so much. She loved to learn more from him. Eventually, their meal came by floating plates that came straight from the kitchen and to their table. The meal was absolutely delicious. Just as the Doctor said it would be. Rose groaned as she took her first bite and the Doctor grinned eagerly as he devoured his. After they finished, their empty plates floated back to the kitchen, leaving their table nice and clean.
"What else do you want to do?" Rose asked as they left the restaurant.
"Don't know. We could just leave now," said the Doctor.
"You just wanted to come here to eat, didn't you?" Madison teased him, snickering as he rolled his eyes and shrugged.
"Maybe I did, is that a crime now?" he said, crossing his arms in defiance. "It's my ship. I can go places just to eat if I want to."
"Of course, you can. I'm just teasing you, silly," Madison laughed, poking him in the side.
"Seriously, though! What else can we go do?" Rose asked, laughing at the two of them as Madison and the Doctor started poking each other. "This is a whole new planet! I wanna see all I can." She bounced on her feet, giddy to get going.
"Agreed. I want to see it all," Madison said, nodding her head as she felt just as eager as Rose did. The Doctor grinned, holding up his arms for both of them. Madison took his one arm while Rose took the other.
"Come on then. I'll give you the whole tour," the Doctor said, giving a wink to Madison. "Consider this the proper date I promised you." She giggled as they all started off onto their adventure into a brave new world.
XxXxXxXxXx
Madison had to say, the planet of Utumno was amazing. One really could haggle for just about anything. The Trillooians seemed pleased with the competition to see who can get the price to each person's liking. Apparently, by how the Doctor had explained it, it was an old tradition of the planet. It was considered rude not to haggle. So, Rose was able to get a set of robes, some sort of crystal orb that glowed a variety of colours to match her mood, a new pair of earrings, an old vintage hand mirror, and some beanie hats to wear. Madison only got one thing for herself. A camera that could take all sorts of pictures, able to store the pictures on some sort of tiny memory card of some kind, and even print out the pictures like a polaroid film. She started taking all sorts of pictures while they went about. Mostly of the surroundings around them so she could always remember this place. Though there was one picture she was able to get of Rose and the Doctor when the girl had tried to put a very large, squishy hat of some kind that drooped around his head. She laughed at how silly he looked, the way he scoffed and whined about it sticking to his hair, and how much Rose laughed, holding her belly in a fit of giggles.
Later, the Doctor took them to a park of some kind where a festival seemed to be taking place. There were fire breathers, jugglers, acrobatics, and magicians performing on a small stage that had been erected in the centre of the park. The three of them sat on a fountain, watching the distant performers quietly as they relaxed from the day of shopping. Evening seemed to be coming soon judging by the lighting in the sky. Though it was hard to tell for Madison as the sky, though looking very similar to Earth's, had different suns and moons.
"My feet are killing me. We've been walking for hours," Rose sighed as she rearranged her bags by her feet, looking through her things.
"Same here," Madison agreed, feeling her feet throbbing and her skin felt itchy already. She was fidgety, feeling on edge. She tried pondering why she was feeling exceptionally restless for water but was interrupted as the Doctor spoke.
"You had fun though, right?" the Doctor asked them.
"Of course!" Madison assured him, giving him a grin.
"Duh," Rose laughed, shaking her head at him.
"Anything else you want to do?" he questioned them.
"I don't know," Rose mumbled, staring off and taking in the park around them. She watched as a pair of large-headed, pointed ear creatures walked past, going about their day merrily. Then the girl seemed to get an idea as she looked at the Doctor. "I just realised somethin'. They're all speaking English."
"No, you just hear English. It's a gift of the TARDIS. It's the telepathic field, gets inside your brain, translates," the Doctor said, grinning as he was happy to explain how his wonderful ship worked. Madison felt a bit of deja vu as she recalled the similar conversation she and the Doctor had not so long ago. Though, instead of seeming in pleasant awe of this information, Rose seemed to take this news the wrong way. There was an expression of outrage from the girl as she stared at the Doctor in disbelief.
"It's inside my brain?" she questioned him carefully.
"Well, in a good way," the Doctor said with a shrug, seeming unfazed by the girl's sudden change in demeanour.
"Your machine gets inside my head?" Rose asked again, seeming to want to wrap her mind around this information. Then, her disbelief became anger as she glared sharply at the Doctor. "It gets inside and it changes my mind and you didn't even ask."
The Doctor blinked, taken back by her response. He frowned as he looked away in thought. "I didn't think of it like that."
"No, you were too busy thinking about impressing Maddie all day!"
Madison blinked, taken back by this statement. "What?" she blurted out, confused. The Doctor hadn't been trying to impress her. He'd been showing off to them both all day . . . right? But neither Rose nor the Doctor paid her much attention now.
"Who are you, then, Doctor?" Rose demanded from the Time Lord, glaring hard at him. "What're you called? What sort of alien are you?" Tensing slightly, Madison glanced towards the Doctor, seeing how uncomfortable the Time Lord suddenly appeared to be. She knew just how uneasy the Doctor felt with such questions. He probably didn't want to share such information with Rose. Not yet, anyway. Maybe after he got to know the girl a little better . . .
"Hey you two, maybe we should-," she tried suggesting, wanting to distract them both from this growing uncomfortable situation unfolding.
"I'm just a Doctor," the Doctor answered tensely, starting to frown heavily as he stared ahead towards the rest of the park, refusing to meet Rose's gaze now.
"From what planet?" Rose questioned him again, pushing for an answer.
The Doctor sniggered, throwing the girl a glance of disdain. "Well, it's not as if you'd know where it is."
Rose continued to push him. "Where are you from?"
"What does it matter?" Now the Doctor was glaring at her, his expression darkening.
"Tell us who you are!"
"Rose, it doesn't matter-," Madison tried to intervene.
The Doctor turned his full rage at Rose now, glaring so hard that even Madison had to flinch from the heat of it. "This is who I am. Right here, right now. All right? All that counts is here and now, and this is me!" the Doctor all but yelled at Rose.
"Yeah, and we're here too 'cause you brought us here! So just tell us!" Rose yelled as well.
It was then that the Doctor stood up and stomped away aggressively. His body was rigid as he refused to look back, disappearing into the crowd of the park and leaving them at the fountain. Madison sighed, shaking her head.
"Rose-," she started to say, going to scold the girl for pushing the Doctor for answers. Didn't the girl realise it was rude to push someone on questions they obviously didn't want to answer?
"Can you believe him? Does he never even bother to tell you anything about him? How can you just travel around with a complete stranger?" Rose said angrily, sounding as if she were scolding Madison now. Before she could answer, Rose stood up and stomped away as well, going in the opposite direction.
Oh, dear. Now, this was a pickle. How did their happy day come to this? Why did Rose have to push the Doctor like that? Why couldn't the Doctor just give the girl at least some answers? It might have made the situation a little better at least. But she knew why he didn't want to talk about it, and, honestly, she understood the reasons behind it. She didn't blame him for not wanting to answer. She did blame Rose for being so pushy. That was just . . . wrong. She sighed, resigning to go to the Doctor first. She wanted to check up on him and make certain he wasn't too upset. If he was, he might rethink having brought Rose along and she didn't want that. The girl was naive, too young to know better. She would have to have a serious talk with Rose later about proper ways to handle such questions.
Madison got up and went in the direction that the Doctor left. It didn't take long to find him. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed tightly and glaring at the ground. His jaw was tight and his body rigid. She could see the storm brewing behind his eyes, ready to burst. She went over, merely standing beside him and waiting patiently for him to calm down.
Once she heard him sigh and relax his shoulders a bit, she started to speak. "She shouldn't have pushed you like that," she said gently, reaching over to touch his arm. He glanced at her briefly, giving a small grunt in agreement. "I don't blame her for wanting to know, though. She's right. You are a complete stranger to her."
"She said I was a stranger to both of you," he muttered.
"She doesn't realise of what we share," Madison breathed softly, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. "You don't have to tell her. Not yet. Not if you don't want to. But at least just tell her that you're not ready to talk to her. That way, maybe, she can understand a bit?"
"Oh, I doubt she'll ever understand," he said angrily, brushing off her touch with a shrug of the shoulder. "She's a stupid little ape. Why did I think she was different from the rest?"
"Because she is. But she's just a child, Doctor. She makes silly mistakes, such as arguing over little things like personal backgrounds."
"Everyone's a child to us. Doesn't give her an excuse or make it right."
Madison sighed, realising that her words weren't helping him. He was set on being angry about it no matter what. Not that she blamed him, but . . . "You're right. It doesn't give her an excuse to be rude. But I don't think she realises that she was being rude about her questions. You're the first alien she's ever known and the first one willing to actually talk to her without trying to rip off her head."
The Doctor let out a slow exhale, leaning back his head against the tree. He then looked at her thoughtfully. "Why did you tell Rose you were Mer?"
Blinking, Madison felt unsure of how to answer. Thinking carefully, she responded, "Keeping myself hidden away from the universe . . . just doesn't feel right anymore. I'm tired of all the lies. And . . . I think it's healthier for me to be able to find people to share myself with. To talk about my past."
A small thoughtful hum was given as the Doctor stared off again. There was a moment of silence as both he and Madison watched the parkgoers enjoying the festivities around them. Then, the Doctor sighed and moved away from the tree. ". . . Come on. We better get back to Rose."
"We might actually have to go find her. She sort of ran off after you left," Madison told him.
He frowned, brow furrowed in annoyance. "Great. We better go find her before she gets herself into trouble."
Keeping up with the Doctor, Madison began to worry about his comment. Was it safe for the girl to be on her own in a place like this? She didn't even think about that. Now that she did, she realized it was rather stupid for her to think a young girl going off on her own would be a good thing. Madison dug through her pocket, trying to remember if she brought her mobile with her. She was surprised to find the pocket on her trousers was much deeper than normal. She could only wonder why that was as she felt her phone and pulled it out.
"I don't know if I can reach her," she said.
"Here." The Doctor took it from her, doing something to it before handing it over. "I did the same thing to Rose's phone. You two can make calls anywhere in time and space now." Quickly, she dialled Rose's number, pressing her phone to her ear.
"She's not answering," Madison told the Doctor and he sped up his pace. They passed the fountain, seeing the bags of Rose's things still there. They went in the direction that Madison remembered Rose heading, searching through the crowd for where the girl could possibly be. She didn't know exactly how they could find the girl as the crowd was massive. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver at one point, using the tool to track down 21st-century tech. They were going down a small space between two stands, down a narrow alleyway of sorts when they heard shouting.
"Let me go! I didn't do anything!" they heard a yelling voice of Rose Tyler coming down the way.
"Of course, she'd get into trouble," Madison heard the Doctor mutter as they sped up their pace. They raced down the alleyway, in a space on the backside of different tents and tarps. Someplace that obviously was only used for keeping things out of the way of where everyone else was busy walking about. They rounded a corner to see Rose struggling in the grip of three burly men. These men had deep grey skin, extremely well built, their arms bulging with muscle. They didn't wear any shirts, only having on black trousers and boots. Just by the sight of them alone, one could tell they were not something to mess with. When one turned to face where the Doctor and she were coming from, she could see the yellow eyes of the man. His face, like the other two, was very wrinkled, from the top of his head to his large chin. When he sneered at them, she could see that his teeth were the same colour as his eyes. It was with a start that Madison realised she had seen these men earlier when they had first arrived. She just didn't pay them much attention.
"Doctor," barked the first man, grabbing Rose from his partner and holding the girl in a vice grip. He yanked some sort of gun from his side holder, pressing it right into the girl's temple. Rose froze in place, eyes going wide with terror as the metal bit her skin. Madison's eyes went wide briefly before narrowing as she felt her anger immediately boiling forth. Her eyes whipped around the area, searching for anything she might be able to use against these men. Nothing came forth that seemed useful. She was trapped between a rock and a hard place to be able to save Rose. How could she keep her promise to Jackie if she couldn't even figure a way out of this situation?
"Who are you? What do you want?" the Doctor asked immediately, glaring hard at the men before them. The two of the men stood on either side of the fellow holding onto Rose, arms crossed and glaring back. Their leader continued to speak for them.
"Where is he? Where is your other companion?" demanded the leader.
"Who?" the Doctor questioned, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Don't play dumb. I know he's been travelling with you three. Bring him out. Our business is with him."
"Really, I don't know who you're talking about." The Doctor frowned thoughtfully.
"Keep playing dumb and you're little girlfriend here will get what's coming." The man pressed his gun harsher into Rose's temple, making the girl whimper.
"There's no one else travelling with us. Now let her go!" Madison ordered the man, hands gripping into shaking fists as she saw a stray tear leak out down Rose's face. The girl was obviously terrified. It was now that she wished she and the Doctor had established a telepathic link. It would have come in handy to be able to communicate secretly to deal with these men.
"Not until your friend gives us what he owes," said the leader, gritting his yellow teeth together.
"Whatever this 'guy' owes you, it's not worth taking the life of an innocent girl," the Doctor replied calmly, keeping a steady gaze on the man. "We're really not travelling with anyone else. Not yet, anyway."
"Don't think you can outsmart us like the last time. I know all your little tricks, Doctor. I also know what you are now, Time Lord. So don't play games with me," spoke the leader, rather confident in his words as he smirked. There was a pregnant pause. Madison glanced towards the Doctor, seeing a dark storm in his eyes now. He grinned coldly.
"Well, since you know I'm a Time Lord and everything, then you must already realise that I travel through time," the Doctor began saying casually like he was having a conversation with an acquaintance. "You must know that, on my travels, I meet people out of order sometimes. Then, you also have to know about how, since I meet people out of order, they also meet me during the wrong time. Since you know this, big boy, then you've had to already rub your two brain cells together to know that, maybe, just maybe, you're meeting me at a time before I've met you and that I also haven't travelled with this 'other companion' yet, either."
The leader of the group was dead silent. There was a glance shared between the other two. Apparently, this news shocked them completely. Madison didn't care about that. All she cared about was whether or not the three idiots realised this was all a waste of time and that they needed to let Rose go now. She swore that if that stupid leader still had his gun pressed against the girl's head . . . She watched as one of the other men leaned over and whispered something into their leader's ear. The leader frowned heavily.
"If your little minds can wrap around all that, then you should probably know, since I'm a Time Lord, that I know what consequences there will be if you mess around with the timelines of individuals," the Doctor went on, not allowing the men the chance to say anything. "You harm any of us before we even get a chance to meet you in our future, then you're altering the timeline to the point that it becomes a paradox. You can't kill us here yet still meet us in the past. And you lot must be intelligent enough to realise that a paradox creates a gap in the fabric of reality, allowing in all sorts of things that can destroy you in an instant. Things like . . . the Reapers."
Madison saw how the Doctor raised a sharp brow, staring the men down as, collectively, they all seemed to stiffen in fear upon the mention of that name. She had no idea what 'the Reapers' were, but she had a feeling it was something dreadful given how fearful each man looked now. The leader seemed to contemplate what to do next but soon grumbled as he removed the gun from Rose's head and pushed her roughly forward. Madison reacted instantly, going over to pull the girl back to stand next to her and the Doctor.
"You okay?" whispered Madison, checking over the blonde.
"Yeah," breathed Rose, shaken still but okay overall.
"I've had enough of this," the leader said then, waving his gun around angrily. "All we want is our money. You," he pointed at the Doctor, "when you're travelling with that bastard, you tell him to pay us or else."
"Can do," the Doctor replied easily, grinning largely and bouncing a little on his feet. "I would ask more questions, but, since we're meeting in the wrong order, that would go against the rules and wouldn't be good anyway. So . . . see ya." The Doctor gave a wave before promptly grabbing both Madison and Rose and steering them all out of the alleyway. He marched away fast, making it hard for the other two to keep up with them. Once they were all a good distance away, he let go of them and turned to look Rose over. "You all right?"
"Yeah. I'm fine," Rose let out in a small breath. She shook her head, seeming to finally ease away her earlier fears. "What was that all about anyway?"
"Apparently, they're someone from our future who really messed up. Not something I'm looking forward to, personally," Madison muttered, frowning heavily as she thought over everything those men had said and how they'd acted. At least they had the decency, in the end, to let them go when they realized their mistake.
"Don't know who we'll be travelling with, but I'll have to remember to keep an eye on him," she heard the Doctor mutter under his breath. He shook his head, glancing at Rose again. "You sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. That just . . . really scared me," Rose admitted, looking embarrassed.
"Good. Things like that should scare you. Being scared keeps you on your toes and alive," the Doctor commented, patting the girl on the shoulder and smiling kindly. "I'm glad you're okay."
Rose gave a small smile. "Yeah? Even after . . . I was being stupid yelling at you earlier?"
"All you apes are stupid in my book." The Doctor laughed as Rose scoffed and hit him in the arm. He jerked his head lightly to point back towards where they had parked the TARDIS. "Let's head back to the TARDIS. I'm done with this tourist trap, what d'you say?"
"Yeah, I'm done," Rose sighed, shoulders slumping in exhaustion.
"Absolutely," Madison agreed, ready to get going.
XxXxXxXxXx
Eventually, after collecting Rose's things back at the fountain, they made it back to the TARDIS. The Doctor sent them off into a drift. Something that Madison was starting to be able to tell just by the way the ship rocked and then settled. The Doctor had been contemplating the encounter they had with those men. He listed off many possibilities of what this could mean for the three of them, but nothing which he had a solid idea on.
"I'll tell you what, if they didn't have a gun to my head again, I'd give them a piece of my mind," Rose said crossly as she sat down in the captain's chair and huffed with her arms crossed.
"I'm still debating on going back just for that," Madison muttered, still rather angry with those three men. How dare they put a gun to an innocent girl's head and not expect repercussions.
"I'd love to see that one," the Doctor sniggered, smiling in amusement.
"About earlier," Rose spoke up then, nervously shifting on the seat as she glanced between the floor and the Doctor, "I'm sorry. Really, I am. It wasn't right for me to push ya for answers if you didn't want to say them. As my mate Shireen says, 'Don't argue with the designated driver.'" She fiddled with the jacket she was wearing, still obviously anxious as she appeared to be waiting for the Doctor's response.
Madison glanced at the Doctor, seeing him swallow heavily. Again, the storm of emotions brewed away in turmoil within him. She could see it all within the beautiful blue of his eyes. He looked at her then, seeming to want an answer from her. A suggestion perhaps. Madison could only give a soft smile, trying her best to convey that she is there for him. Whatever, and however, he wished to tell the girl, or anyone else for that matter, that she would be there for the outcome. She would support his decision on whether or not to tell, no matter what. And so, taking in a deep breath, the Doctor seemed resigned on what to say.
"You already heard what I am . . . I'm a Time Lord," he began, his voice calm, yet there was something wavering as he spoke. Though Madison felt it was so subtle that only she could tell. "I'm the last of the Time Lords. There's no one left. They've all gone, along with my planet. Burnt away into dust."
Rose stared at him for a moment. The girl looked conflicted to question anything more, but soon she asked, "What happened?"
"There was a war. A Time War. The last Time War. Everyone lost. Countless of planets, like mine, were wiped away. Like they were nothing," the Doctor explained, his voice subtle, soft.
"A war with who?" Rose asked him. There was no answer. The Doctor remained silent as he stared at the console. Madison watched as sorrow swept over him. His eyes wavering as he gazed away from Rose. Scooting over to him, Madison reached over and took his hand, simply wanting to comfort him. He accepted her hand gratefully, holding it tightly and even giving a small squeeze in a 'thank you' of sorts.
"I'm sorry," Rose said, seeming at a loss of really how to comfort the Doctor. The girl was seen swallowing heavily, tugging on her jacket. "But . . . you have me and Maddie now . . . we're here for ya. If you'll still have me, that is." The girl gave him an anxious gaze, nervous about what he would say.
Looking at her again, the Doctor gave the girl a genuine smile. "Of course," he assured her. Rose beamed while Madison felt relief go through her.
"Okay, good, I'm glad you two finally got it worked out," she said with a sigh of exasperation. "Again, you're both so much like children it's scary." She pointed a stern finger at them both. "No more fighting or else I'll put you both into a timeout." The two of them laughed, nodding their heads in agreement. It was then that a loud beep came from the console. The Doctor, looking thoughtful, walked over to the scanner and checked it over.
"What is it?" Madison and Rose asked at the same time.
"Don't know," he said, looking at them with a wide grin. "Wanna go check it out?" Madison looked at Rose, seeing the girl raise a brow before shrugging. Madison then gave the Doctor a matching grin.
"Let's get going, then," she said, eager to see where they'd head to next.
Someone recently asked how Madison looks like when transformed, so I thought I'd answer here. Besides the tail, Madison also gets small patches of scales along her arms, torso, and hands. Her hands also become webbed. Other than these features, she has a similar appearance of a typical mermaid. In fact, I based a lot of Madison's character from the 1984 movie Splash. You guys should check it out, it's a great mermaid movie.
Anyway, sorry for the long note. As always, if you enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review. I'd love to see any ideas you guys have for the story.