Got distracted with new Sherlock fanfic I started (if you haven't played the Sherlock Holmes games on steam, I highly suggest. Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One is amazing) but here's more Ripley. You can thank my Discord peeps for getting me to finish this chapter and update.
The Doctor bounded back into the Tardis after taking a peek at Martha's family while she helped them get a bit settled. He hummed to himself as he strolled over the grating and grinned at Ripley, who was curled up on her bed. His smile faltered though at the leftover food still in her bowl. She was thin, having lost weight traveling with Martha in the year that never was and was in need of a bath, but he'd expected her to eat at the very least. She has been a bit off though. Was the year really that hard for her? I haven't heard her talk at all since seeing her again, though it seemed like she spoke with the Master for a bit... He wandered over and plopped on the bed near her, running a hand over her back and holding back a grimace at the feeling of her spine and ribs.
"Everything okay, Ripley? You didn't eat," he muttered, getting no answer in return. "Do you want to talk?"
He still heard nothing, though he could feel her presence on the edge of his consciousness. He gave her a mental nudge, feeling her tense up under his hand before lifting her head hesitantly and looking over at him.
"What's wrong?" He asked, concerned as her gaze drifted down towards the floor, but before she could answer, the door opened.
Martha had returned. The Doctor made a mental note to check up on her again, but stood and smiled over at Martha like nothing was wrong.
"Right then, off we go. The open road. There is a burst of starfire right now over the coast of Meta Sigmafolio. Oh, the sky is like oil on water. Fancy a look? Or back in time. We could, I don't know, Charles the Second? Henry the Eighth. I know. What about Agatha Christie? I'd love to meet Agatha Christie. I bet she's brilliant," he rambled before seeing that she was awkwardly standing there waiting for him to finish; waiting to tell him she wouldn't keep traveling with him. "Okay."
"I just can't."
"Yeah," he murmured, wondering if Ripley was thinking the same and his hearts hurt at the thought of losing both companions in one go because of his mistake.
"Spent all these years training to be a doctor. Now I've got people to look after. They saw half the planet slaughtered and they're devastated. I can't leave them," Martha explained, making him smile softly.
"Of course not. Thank you." He pulled her into a hug and pulled back. "Martha Jones, you saved the world."
"Yes, I did. I spent a lot of time with you thinking I was second best, but you know what? I am good," she said with a chuckle before softening at his half-hearted smile. "You going to be all right?"
"Always. Yeah."
"Right then. Bye." She leaned up and kissed his cheek, one last display of how much she cared for him before she went over to Ripley and pat her head. "Bye, Ripley and… I'm sorry for everything. I never meant…" She paused, before shaking her head. "Sorry… bye."
Ripley didn't move and Martha let out a soft sigh before leaving the Tardis. The Doctor watched her go solemnly and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't thought that Ripley and Martha might have had a falling-out in their travels. It was just one more thing he had to consider when speaking to her and as he went to ask about it, Martha burst back into the Tardis again.
"Because the thing is, it's like my friend Vicky. She lived with this bloke, student housing, there were five of them all packed in, and this bloke was called Sean. And she loved him. She did. She completely adored him. Spent all day long talking about him."
Startled by her return and the sudden rant, the Doctor gaped for a moment. "Is this going anywhere?"
"Yes. Because he never looked at her twice," she said, making him bow his head in understanding, seeing the similarities between her friend and them. "I mean, he liked her, but that was it. And she wasted years pining after him. Years of her life. Because while he was around, she never looked at anyone else. And I told her, I always said to her, time and time again, I said, get out. So this is me, getting out." She then tossed him something that he caught and blinked in surprise at the mobile phone. "Keep that, because I'm not having you disappear. If that rings, when that rings, you'd better come running. Got it?"
He cracked a smile, seeing that this wasn't goodbye forever. "Got it."
"I'll see you again, mister."
She stepped out and the Doctor took a moment before sending the Tardis off once more, altering a few things before turning to Ripley. The dog hadn't budged the whole time they'd been talking and even the Tardis seemed to hum in concern for their friend. The Doctor headed over again and settled on the bed.
"Ripley, can we talk?" He pressed. "Help me understand what you're dealing with. I know this last year wasn't exactly… kind but I can't help you if you don't talk to me."
Ripley shifted, grumbling with a huff, but the Doctor frowned, hearing nothing from her mentally.
"Ripley, I don't—I can't hear you," he explained, making her turn with a furrow in her brows before pushing herself up and sitting in front of him.
He lifted a hand and blinked in surprise when a large paw was dropped into it, struggling not to crack a smile and laugh as Ripley grew embarrassed about her natural reaction of giving him a paw. She pulled her paw away as he chuckled and she grumbled again without actually speaking to him. He held up both hands now, showing them to her as he spoke.
"I'm going to poke around a little if that's all right."
She huffed but didn't move as he brought his hands up to hold her head. A bit of prodding made them both wince. The Doctor hadn't really tried to examine Ripley mentally before now, other than when they first made that connection that allowed him to understand her. Said connection was still there, but Ripley's mind was sensitive and tender. The Tardis hummed uneasily and the Doctor understood that it was probably because of her and her connection with Ripley, but it still didn't explain why he suddenly couldn't hear Ripley. He pulled away with a frown, confused alongside Ripley herself who was more downtrodden than usual.
"We'll figure it out, Ripley," he comforted, running a hand over her head that she barely bothered to lean into. "Until then, I'll do my best to try and understand what's wrong, unless… do you want to leave?"
She looked up at him and he winced, sensing the bit of hurt even without her speaking to him.
"Not that I want you to," he pressed. "I'd love it if you stayed. It's just… this last year…" He cleared his throat, looking away awkwardly. "It just seems like you went through a lot. I would understand if you want a break."
Ripley sighed heavily and he closed his eyes, expecting that the heavy sigh was her being apologetic for wanting to leave, but then a weight pressed against his chest and he opened his eyes with a soft smile. Ripley's head pressed up against him and he bowed over her, pressing a fond kiss to the top of her head and tangling his hands in her fur.
"Okay. I'm sorry," he breathed, seeing that she didn't want to go, and even if she did, he wasn't sure where she would go. "You just… It's weird having you so quiet." He let out a broken chuckle. "Though, maybe I'm just a bit lonely."
Y… got me… trying.
The Doctor perked up at that, smiling at Ripley and ruffling her head. "I could hear you a bit that time." He scratched behind her ear, getting her to lean into his touch. "Thanks, Rip." Thanks for sticking around.
Then, suddenly, there was a sort of foghorn noise and the Tardis jolted as the Doctor covered Ripley and they both looked up to see the hull of a ship having rammed through the side of the Tardis.
"What?"
The Doctor had somehow pushed the ship hull out of the Tardis and landed us somewhere—on the ship, no doubt—before asking me to stay put while he took a peek. I didn't mind. I was exhausted mentally and physically. A majority of my food was still sitting in my bowl, but the thought of eating made my stomach churn and I was still rather unsettled by the year and the sudden appearance of a ship crashing into us.
I pinched my eyes closed, taking in a deep but shaky breath. The initial crash had made me panic briefly. While the Doctor was screaming about the ship and working on getting it out of the Tardis, said ship was attempting to help me calm the sudden flood of adrenaline. The echoing boom it'd made was a harsh reminder of what had happened in Japan during the year that never was. I could still smell the smoke and hear the screams of people running uselessly when the Master had begun to bomb the island. Martha and I had only just made it out, and that was because of the vortex manipulator. It had been a risk to use it. We hadn't known if the Master would find us that way, but we escaped and were one of the only ones too. This ship only brought all of this back to mind and I was struggling to deal with it.
Something was wrong, after all. I hadn't noticed it before, but I wasn't speaking properly. I thought I was, but it had been a whole year of no telepathic contact. All I had was Martha and our relationship had only grown worse being together during what happened. She couldn't understand me and my warnings. I was doing my best to help keep her safe as I'd been told, but neither of us were happy. None of us wanted to watch people around us die while we just ran around like cowards and Martha told stories. She at least did something. I just trailed after her like a stray. I'm the one who caused this mess and in the end, I wasn't able to do anything. Now, I can't even apologize to the Doctor. I'm back at square one. Just a damn useless mutt.
I hung my head, frustrated with my line of thinking but I hadn't been able to think of anything else since I'd separated from the Doctor back on the Valiant. I had a whole year to try and deal with this but all I'd done was throw myself into a deeper pit of depression. I sagged back into my bed, wondering what I was even doing here. Sticking around with the Doctor felt selfish now. I was with him because I had nowhere to go, no one to talk to who could understand me. He was the only one and even now, he apparently couldn't hear me. Even when I tried to talk to him, he only caught bits and pieces. How much of this is just me pushing myself onto him? Is he just catering to me because he knows I'm different and have nowhere else to go?
The Tardis hummed sadly back before the doors opened and the Doctor bounded back in with a grin.
"Ripley! You won't believe this. That ship? It's called the Titanic and it's in space! Why they picked that name of all names, I honestly don't have a clue, but there's a fancy party going on in there, and the best part? It's Christmas! That's definitely worth a poke around, don't you think?"
I don't really feel like celebrating, Doctor, I muttered, though he didn't hear me apparently and rushed around the console towards me before seeing I was just lying on the bed again.
"Rip?" He murmured, voice sad before I felt his fingers in my fur again. "Look. I… I know it's not… not the best, after the year. And not being able to talk to me is probably not fun either, but after everything that happened, wouldn't it be nice to get out and just do something to take your mind off it?" He offered.
I don't even know why you're bothering with me, I questioned, clenching my eyes shut at the pain that raced through my heart. You can go on your own. You don't need me.
It was that thought that brought up an old memory; one of when I was much younger and had just barely recovered from one of my many ill-health episodes. One where it hit me hard that I was someone living a life not worth living. That my parents were paying medical bills for someone who was told they wouldn't live past fifteen. Someone who breathed and lived in a set of white walls with a heart monitor always beeping in their ears.
"Why?" I'd finally asked them. "Why do you even bother with me? What's the point? I can't do anything for you. I can't work to pay off the bills or make friends or go to school. I have nothing to contribute, no purpose other than just sitting here and waiting until my heart gives out. I'm useless. I'm a burden. I-I'm just…"
A whine escaped me, sad and sorrowful. The Doctor shushed me and pet me, unsure of why I was so distraught but understanding that something was wrong even without words. I could feel him mentally prying, trying to figure it out but unsuccessful judging by his questions.
"Ripley. Hey. Hey, it's okay. We don't have to go." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just wish I knew why you were upset. How I could help." He glanced at the doors before giving me a pat on the leg. "It's fine. We can do something else. Have a night in, maybe, eh?"
He stood and guilt hit me hard. Now, I was holding him back, stopping him from doing what he wanted to do. I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to be like all those people who held me back. I had enough guilt as it was. So, I got up with my tail curled and my ears pinned back, coming up to him and leaning against his leg while licking at his hand with a whine. He stopped prepping the Tardis and knelt down, petting my head as I bowed it in shame. I hadn't meant for my feelings on things to get in his way. If I wanted to stay here—with him—I couldn't be a burden to him any more than I already was.
"What do you want to do?" The Doctor asked with a calm hum. "Hm?"
I honestly wanted to stay here. To just wallow a bit while he went off and had fun so I could figure myself out, but he wouldn't do that. He was too kind to leave me behind, alone. So, I glanced at the door and took a few steps towards it before sitting. My ears were still back on my head in uncertainty, but he understood the message and cracked a small smile.
"All right. You willing to take a bath first? It is a bit of a fancy party. We'll probably have to take out the service dog vest too."
The thought of the vest made me grumble, but I willingly got up to follow him to the bath. Let's just try to keep walking forward for now. Just… I have to try.
The Doctor adjusted his bowtie and tucked away the psychic paper he'd used to shoo off a waiter asking about Ripley. She still looked downtrodden and uncertain, and he was sure that the crowd wasn't helping ease her into being more comfortable. I should've thought this out a bit more. We just got back from dealing with everything that happened. This is no place for someone who's struggling with that. Yet, when he'd asked, she was willing to go with him. It was worrisome, but he couldn't be sure what was going through her head when she couldn't speak with him.
He didn't quite understand that either. While there was some damage from her connection to the Tardis, it didn't explain why she was just unable to speak. There were a few other possibilities but he couldn't be sure without more tests. Though, it's most likely mental trauma. The thought of that was what worried him the most. There was only so much you could to do help someone, and when you couldn't talk to them it was even harder. I just need to be there for her. Cheer her up a bit and hopefully, things will work out. He took a deep breath and put on a smile, reaching down only slightly to ruffle Ripley's fur, earning a mildly annoyed look.
"It's Christmas," he chirped. "We haven't had a Christmas since… Ah! Donna! You remember Donna? Loud, ginger?"
Ripley rolled her eyes, but the Doctor was glad to see her pinned back ears relax a bit as she grumbled.
"You think they have any nibbles? I'm a bit peckish."
Ripley scoffed, knowing he could smell the food just as well as she could and he nodded for them to head off towards wherever the smell was coming from.
"Merry Christmas, sir," an employee greeted, earning a smile.
"Merry Christmas," the Doctor easily returned and they started walking through a dance floor area.
Ripley bumped against his thigh, making him pat her shoulder in comfort as they strolled past people chatting and swinging to the music. He paused near a man on a phone talking business and eyed him for a second as Ripley's ears flicked back.
"Even on Christmas, someone's always busy," the Doctor muttered before turning to one of the strange, robotic angels scattered around. "Evening. Passenger 57. Terrible memory. Remind me. You would be?"
"Information. Heavenly Host supplying tourist information," the robot replied as Ripley edged cautiously closer for a sniff.
"Good. So, tell me—because I'm an idiot—where are we from?"
"Information. The Titanic is en route from the planet Sto in the Cassavalian Belt. The purpose of the cruise is to experience primitive cultures."
Ripley sneezed, drawing a raised brow from him, but she huffed and sat to wait for him to finish talking.
"Titanic, um… who thought of the name?"
"Information. It was chosen as the most famous vessel of the planet Earth."
Ripley shot him a questioning look and the Doctor shrugged, looking back to the Host.
"Did they tell you why it was famous?"
"Information. All designations are chosen by Mister Max Capricorn, president of Max, Max, Max—" The Host began to twitch and Ripley was back on her feet with her hackles starting to rise as the Doctor pulled out his sonic.
"Ooh, bit of a glitch."
A steward hurried forward before he could try to fix it, apologizing and having two more officers grab the Host to remove it.
"Software problem, that's all. Leave it with us, sir. Merry Christmas." He smiled, walking off, but he and Ripley could hear him complaining. "That's another one down. What's going on with these things?"
The Doctor looked to Ripley as she eyed them with her ears back. "Trouble?"
She glanced at him with a frown, as though it were his fault and he held up his hands.
"Hey. I'm not the one who plowed my ship into them. I don't go looking for trouble."
Ripley cocked a brow and he grinned sheepishly.
"Not always, anyway." He reached over and scratched her ears. "Glad to see you cheering up though. Bit of adventure always does the trick, eh?"
Her expression faltered and he winced, regretting that he'd mentioned her cheering up. But there was a hint of the old Ripley. Just need to keep it up and see if we get anywhere. He gave her another pat and they kept walking only for glass to shatter and draw their attention to see the same businessman from before shouting at a waitress.
"For Tov's sake, look where you're going. This jacket's a genuine Earth antique."
Ripley started to growl and bare her teeth, taking a step forward, but the Doctor grabbed her by her service vest with a muttered warning.
"Don't. We can't draw attention to ourselves and you're supposed to be a service dog, remember? No growling at idiots."
Ripley licked her lips, obviously not thrilled, but settled down as the man stormed off and the waitress went to pick up the mess. Ripley was first over there, nudging the women's elbow with her head and startling her before the Doctor caught up and picked up a piece of glass she'd dropped.
"Careful. There we go."
"Thank you, sir. I can manage," she said, a bit sharp but the Doctor smiled as Ripley bumped her again.
"I never said you couldn't. I'm the Doctor, by the way. That's Ripley. Sorry if she's being a bit nosey."
"Astrid, sir. Astrid Peth," she replied, easing into a smile as she gave Ripley a pet and the dog eagerly leaned into it.
There we go. Just needed a friendly face, eh, Rip? "Nice to meet you, Astrid Peth. Merry Christmas."
"Merry Christmas, sir." She chuckled when Ripley licked her jaw. "And you, Ripley."
"Just Doctor, not sir," the Doctor corrected with a wrinkle of his nose, hating formalities.
"You enjoying the cruise?" Astrid asked as she picked up some more bits of glass.
"Um… yeah, I suppose. I don't know. It don't quite work, a cruise on your own. Well, not completely alone, me. I got Ripley."
Ripley glanced at him and he mentally winced, seeing that she understood that he basically was alone given they weren't able to really talk. That's… That's not what I meant. Oh, Rip. We've really got to fix this or we're going to end up in all sorts of awkward situations. He rubbed the back of his neck as Astrid looked at him in surprise.
"You're not with anyone?"
"No, no, just us. Just, uh... used to be but, uh… no. What about you? Long way from home, Planet Sto," he said, carefully drifting away from the topic both he and Ripley were keen to avoid as they stood and Ripley returned to his side—cautious of any glass they may have missed.
"Doesn't feel that different," Astrid answered him. "I spent three years working at the spaceport diner, traveled all the way here and I'm still waiting on tables."
"No shore leave?" He wondered as they followed her to where she was picking up left-behind glasses.
"We're not allowed. They can't afford the insurance. I just wanted to try it, just once. I used to watch the ships heading out to the stars and I always dreamt of. It sounds daft."
Ripley barked with a grumble, nudging her and sitting between them as Astrid pet her again and looked out at Earth through the window they faced.
"You dreamt of another sky," the Doctor understood. "New sun, new air, new life. A whole universe teeming with life. Why stand still when there's all that life out there?"
Astrid seemed a little flustered at how easily he read her, catching herself before she could slip away into that fantasy of hers. "S-So you travel a lot?"
"All the time. Just for fun. Well, that's the plan. Never quite works. Ripley's always scolding me for getting into trouble."
Ripley rolled her eyes, bringing up a back foot and scratching at her shoulder only to scowl when her nails hit the service vest that was in the way. The Doctor's lip twitched up in amusement, knowing she hated the thing, but unable to laugh about it as Astrid stayed curious.
"Must be rich, though."
"Haven't got a penny. Stowaway."
"Kidding."
"Seriously."
"No."
"Oh, yeah."
Ripley barked, having her say in the discussion and making them smile.
"How did you get on board?"
"Accident. I've got this, sort of, ship thing. I was just rebuilding her. Left the defenses down. Bumped into the Titanic. Here I am. Bit of a party. I thought, why not?"
Ripley stared at him with her mouth open for a minute before giving some whines and barks and grumbles. The Doctor didn't need a translation to know what she was scolding him for.
"It was only for a minute! I didn't expect a ship to come bursting through."
Ripley scoffed as Astrid watched them in amusement.
"I should report you."
"Go on then."
Instead, though, she smiled. "I'll get you a drink on the house." She then winked at Ripley. "Something for you too."
"Cheeky one isn't she?" The Doctor grinned, nudging Ripley a bit. "You liked her."
Ripley huffed before he spotted her ears flicking towards something. A group of people were laughing, pointing, and gesturing rudely to a couple in purple at another table enjoying their food. He nudged her again, drawing her gaze towards him as he nodded towards the couple and headed their way with her on his heels.
"Something's tickled them," he commented as he joined them at the table, Ripley propping her head on it beside him and sniffing at the chicken they were going through.
"They told us it was fancy dress," the woman replied. "Very funny, I'm sure."
"They're just picking on us because we haven't paid," her husband scoffed. "We won our tickets in a competition."
His wife preened when he pointed at her. "I had to name the five husbands of Joofie Crystalle in By the Light of the Asteroid. Did you ever watch By the Light of the Asteroid?"
"Is that the one with the twins?" The Doctor questioned, trying to remember.
"That's it. Oh, it's marvelous."
"But we're not good enough for that lot. They think we should be in steerage," her husband scoffed.
Ripley huffed, blowing a napkin as the Doctor smirked and pulled out his sonic.
"Well, can't have that, can we?"
A quick blip of the sonic and the laughing group was doused in the champagne, though the Doctor raised a brow when Ripley jumped at the sound of the popping cork and leaned heavily into him. He gave her a reassuring pet, getting an annoyed look in response as the stunned couple before them stared in amazement.
"Did you do that?"
"Maybe." The Doctor smiled.
"We like you."
"We do. I'm Morvin Van Hoff. This is my good woman, Foon."
"Foon," the Doctor said, toying with the name. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Ripley."
Ripley had dropped her head on the table again and was eyeing the chicken as Foon chuckled.
"Oh, I'm going to need a Doctor, time I've finished with that buffet. Have a buffalo wing. They must be enormous, these buffalo. So many wings."
Ripley blinked at that before the Doctor grabbed a few wings himself. Given she'd been eyeing them, he tore the meat off one and handed it to her. She greedily ate it up, tail giving a light thump on the floor as she stared up at him eagerly for more. Getting her appetite back, which is good. I'd give her more human food but I'm not quite sure how that would work. She might be human mentally, but physically, she's a dog and too much human food isn't good for her… Hm, maybe trying a more raw-based diet? There's some human stuff she can have.
There was a ding from the tannoy then, drawing their attention as an announcement was made.
"Attention, please. Shore leave tickets Red Six Seven now activated. Red Six Seven."
"Red Six Seven. That's us," Foon hummed, cleaning the grease of the chicken off her fingers. "Are you Red Six Seven?"
"Might as well be," the Doctor shrugged, figuring why not enjoy some shore leave.
"Come on, then. We're going to Earth."
That made him pause and even Ripley let out a soft whine of concern. While Foon and Morvin looked human enough, there were quite a few non-humans aboard that would stick out like sore thumbs if they were just dropped off in the middle of Earth on Christmas Day. There was one thing he wanted to do though, kneeling down and ruffling Ripley's face.
"You think you can find Astrid for me? Bring her over?"
Ripley perked up and barked once, startling a few people who spotted him grinning as he ruffled her fur and turned back to their own thing.
"Good girl. Get on it. I'll meet you over there."
Ripley nodded and scampered off, letting the Doctor relax a bit. Keep her distracted and give her things to do. Let's hope this gets her back to her normal self.
I found Astrid easily enough, startling her without meaning to and tugging lightly on her dress before she caught the hint and started to follow me. We found the Doctor as a group started to gather near a man in a tweed coat who was leading them.
"I got you that drink," Astrid said with a smile at the Doctor, who swooped the tray she had away with a smirk of his own.
"And I got you a treat. Come on."
"Red Six Seven departing shortly!" The leader called out as the Doctor rushed them over.
"Red Six Seven plus one," the Doctor said, holding up his psychic paper.
"Ah, quickly sir, please. Take two teleport bracelets, if you would." He spotted me then and glanced back to the Doctor. "Ah, but I'm afraid we don't have one that will work for your, um…"
The Doctor looked at me and back to him as my ears flicked back. "What do you mean? Can't we hook it onto her collar or something?"
"I-I'm sorry, sir. It needs to be on your person and we don't have one in a size that would fit around her neck or leg, as it were."
The Doctor was conflicted, looking between him and I and Astrid as well. Once again, I was in a position where he would give up something for me. It hurt that I wasn't allowed to go with him, to see what was about to happen, but I wouldn't let him miss out because of me. I barked, feigning happiness as I forced my tail to wag and nudged him. He hesitated, but I sat down near the podium. Just go, you moron. I'm not going anywhere and I doubt it will be long… I… I can't keep holding you back. The Doctor knelt down and grabbed my face in his hands.
"I'll be right back, Ripley. I swear. Stay out of trouble."
I should be saying that to you, I mentally chided, losing a bit of my happy facade and licking his cheek in farewell as he let me go. His attention was immediately turned to the small red pincushion of a man who ran up, seeing now that this was a very bad idea to just drop them on Earth in the middle of Christmas. There was no arguing though. The tour must have been running late, and the group vanished from the ship. I let out a small whine and begrudgingly settled down on the ground, keeping close to the podium to wait for them to return.
I let out a soft sigh, starting to feel uneasy again. Not able to do anything like this. Daft body of a daft dog. I huffed, tucking my tail closer to me and wondering if returning to the Tardis might be a better option. Of course, it was in that moment that the group reappeared with a frustrated Doctor.
"I was in mid-sentence!"
"Yes, I'm sorry about that," the tweed man replied, coming down from the podium as I scrambled back to my feet and hurried to the Doctor. "A bit of a problem. If I could have your bracelets."
A couple of stewards hurried forward as well as everyone started to remove their teleporting bracelets.
"Apologies, ladies and gentlemen, and Bannakaffalatta. We seem to have suffered a slight power fluctuation. If you'd like to return to the festivities, and on behalf of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, free drinks will be provided."
The Doctor frowned but I whined, pawing lightly at his leg and making him relax as he reached down and pet me. Can we go back yet? Astrid moved back around him though, grinning from ear to ear.
"That was the best. The best!"
The Doctor smiled at her, but I could tell he was still on edge and he pat me once more before leading us over to the two stewards. "What sort of power fluctuation?"
"Nothing to worry about, sir," the stewards replied with a tight smile, shooing us off and leaving.
"Yeah, they always say that."
I sighed softly, knowing that this meant trouble and it was undoubtedly something the Doctor was going to try and investigate. His hand landed on my head again, ruffling my ears as I wearily glanced up at him.
"Come on. Bit of relaxing first, eh?"
I trailed after him as he led us back to the main area where dancing and gambling were happening. I was getting tired though. The noise was grating on my ears now, adding to the light headache I'd had since the Doctor's mental probing, and this was no place for a dog. I'd already been bumped into repeatedly and had my foot stepped on at least once. I wanted to go back to the Tardis but was restraining myself from voicing my complaints. The Doctor was enjoying himself, looking for the mystery of whatever was going on on this ship and eyeing Astrid from across the hall. I had a feeling she would be the next companion for him and silently wondered what that would mean for me.
She's nice… but once he's got her, then what? I couldn't do anything when Martha was around. Now, this is someone he might even fancy. I resisted the urge to fuss and struggled to keep my ears from pinning back on my head or slumping my shoulders. The Doctor was catching on already and was eyeing me in concern every so often. He was getting better at reading dog body language and it was really making it hard not to give myself away when my instincts demanded I react accordingly.
The Doctor was on the move then and I kept as close as I could, cringing when a man danced right into me without apology. The Doctor had slipped on his glasses and pulled out his sonic, scanning a framed image of a man rattling on about the Capricorn company. There were controls behind it that he messed around with—I hope he knows what he's doing—and the screen changed to show images of the ship and the blaring message of the shields being off-line. He peered out the window then and I whined in uncertainty, not knowing what had him suddenly on edge. What's going on? Doctor, what's happening? He couldn't hear me though, ignoring me and speaking to someone through the screen's comm system.
"Is that the bridge? I need to talk to the Captain. You've got a meteoroid storm coming in West zero by North two."
"Who is this?" The captain demanded.
"Never mind that, your shields are down. Check your scanners, Captain. You've got meteoroids coming in and now shielding," the Doctor snapped.
"You have no authorization. You will clear the comms at once."
"Yeah? Just look starboard!"
Two stewards approached and I hesitated, not sure what to do as they cut the Doctor off and took him by the arm.
"I'll need you to come with me, sir."
I tried to keep pace with them, uncertain if I should be interfering or not. You told me not to. You said don't cause trouble, don't growl, don't bark! W-What do I do? Do I stop them? Doctor! I called after him, struggling to stay by his side between the two stewards and the crowd of people they were taking him through.
"You've got a rock storm heading for this ship and the shields are down," the Doctor bit out at the steward, who was pointedly ignoring him.
The Doctor suddenly broke free of them though, taking off through the crowd as I fought to keep up, realizing that I should be doing something as he managed to get on stage and steal the mic from the entertaining singer.
"Everyone, listen to me! This is an emergency! Get to the lifebo—" He was cut off as one of the robot angels grabbed him, but I snarled, throwing myself at it and biting into its arm.
It wasn't the softest of things, being mostly metal, but I had the leverage to get it off the Doctor as the stewards rushed in as well.
"Look out the window!" The Doctor shouted, and I whipped around to see the stewards had a hold of him again.
I growled, barking loudly and rushing for them as I saw red. I won't be useless! I won't be! Not again! I can't let him get hurt again! I lunged, teeth tearing into flesh as someone cried out and I hauled one of the stewards to the floor. You won't hurt him! I won't allow it! Someone was calling me but I ignored them, dropping the arm of the quivering man I had pinned down and turning to face the second steward who still held the Doctor. I snarled, teeth bared and going for the man when I was suddenly grabbed in a choke-hold. I squirmed and struggled against the third steward who'd appeared, trying to get my head around to bite him as well when my vision suddenly grew foggy.
I'd been drugged with something, I think. It was hard to tell. I felt someone scruff me and pin me to the ground underneath them as orders were barked out and I saw the fuzzy view of the Doctor getting hauled away. D-Doctor… I need to… I tried to move, but couldn't between whatever tranquilizer I'd been given and the person on top of me. My muzzle was grabbed and I couldn't fight back as they did their best to tie it shut. A steward on a cruise ship wasn't exactly prepared to deal with a rabid dog, so they worked with what they had.
Another steward helped the first pick me up, to haul me away to whatever cell they were going to put the Doctor in, no doubt. I could hear people arguing for him though. Astrid, Foon, and Morvin, even the red alien from before. We were down in an engineering room at this point. My daze cleared up slightly as steam from the pipes and the consistent arguing from the Doctor started to break through to me.
"The shields are down. We are going to get hit!"
"Oi, steward!" Another man shouted, making the group pause. "I'm telling you the shields are down!"
"Listen to him. Listen to him!" The Doctor repeated frantically as I tried once more to struggle.
I could move a bit again, making the two men holding me attempt to grip me tighter, but this only made me fight against the drug harder. Then, the ship jerked to the side, struck by the asteroids the Doctor had been warning everyone about. The group fell and I was haphazardly dropped to the ground. The Doctor grabbed onto Astrid as I fought to try and get my legs steady underneath me.
H-Have to help…A blast from something behind us sent me across the floor once more, then everything went quiet. Someone was whimpering nearby and in my dazed state I couldn't tell if it was me or one of the others. My body throbbed and my head ached terribly. I was having trouble thinking straight, much less listening to whatever was being argued about now. Then, a pulling sensation.
I was being dragged again, I thought, unable to really fight the invisible hands that seemed to pull me across the floor. Then, something stopped me, an arm wrapping around my middle as the familiar buzz of the sonic rang in my ears. I sagged lightly into the Doctor, breathing in what comfort I could at his scent. I'm just… so tired.
"—ey. Hey, Ripley? Ripley, focus on me for a minute."
No. No, just let me sleep.
Hands lifted my heavy head that felt weighted down as he pulled the rope off my muzzle with a sad, worried look. Guilt ate away at me the longer he stared and I tried to turn my head away, managing little more than a small shift. I can still taste blood on my lips. Even with the Doctor's help, I'm still… I'm still losing control. I'm a liability now. I'm worse than useless. I just hurt people, make things worse. Even with Martha—
"Ripley. Ripley, hey. It's okay."
No. No, it's not okay. It won't ever be okay! This is my fault! Everything is my fault and I keep hurting people and making things worse! You don't understand! You can't even hear me, so what could you understand! My eyes clenched shut as I tried again to turn away, but he held firm and drew my head back towards him, forcing me to face him.
"Stop it. You stop that right now, Ripley," he scolded. "I might not be able to hear you right now, but I can understand that you're upset and you're blaming yourself. You need to understand that this isn't your fault."
I-I bit someone! How is that not—How could that possibly—
"It's not your fault," he pressed. "We've gone over this, Rip. Something is wrong and causing a chemical imbalance. Not to mention whatever your human mind might be altering." He reached out and ran a hand over my face. "I'm sorry it happened again, but you weren't in control and that's not your fault."
A whine escaped me and he sighed softly, pulling me close and holding me for a moment as he ran his hands up and down my back. I heard the buzz of the sonic and turned my head slightly to peer out tiredly.
"Is she okay?" Astrid asked, having come over in concern.
"It's a sedative," the Doctor muttered with a slight furrow to his brows. "A strong one too. Should've knocked her out, really." He pet me again. "How are you feeling, Rip? Can you stand?"
It took a lot of effort to move away from him but I managed to stay on my feet, though weak and shaky. I sat after a moment, head sagging low with my ears pinned back. My whole body was tired and I laid down as well, as the Doctor brushed a hand along my back.
"It should wear off in a bit, Ripley. I'll carry you for now, but I need to get a look at the situation, okay?"
I let out a small whine as his hand slipped away and he moved to check out a nearby window. What am I supposed to do now?