LYLA AND ROSE GAVE a joyful laugh and leaned against the railing. Everything was quiet for a beat then Rose yawned, "I need a bed, Doctor."
"Right!" he clapped, "Follow me, both of you." His smile didn't reach his eyes like earlier in the night. He led them through the hallways, making several turns before he stopped before a light gray door that had a pink rose etched into it. He gestured toward the door with a raised hand and nudged Rose with the other. "Go on," he coaxed.
She slowly reached for the handle and stepped in. Lyla was behind her with wide eyes as she looked around. The room was at least the size of the Tyler flat. The bed was a canopy style with pink gauzy material over it and a darker pink comforter and pillows. There was one door that Lyla guessed led to a bathroom or maybe a closet she wasn't sure which. She looked at Rose, whose jaw dropped in shock and awe at the room.
The Doctor explained to the two stunned girls, "Through that door is a bathroom and a closet. The Tardis personalizes all bedrooms, so you just have to think what you want changed if you find something you don't like," he paused before adding, "Any questions?"
Rose ran and hugged him as she smiled, "Thank you. This is beautiful." She twirled around the room and danced her way toward the bathroom.
Lyla followed her friend to the bathroom door, in a much more subdued pace, and stood in shock as she looked around the pristine bathroom. She didn't see Rose, so she figured she had ventured into the closet that stood to her left. She spoke loudly through the bathroom to be heard in the closet, "Hey Rose, I'll see you in a couple hours, yeah? I'm gonna go find my own room now. You can visit tomorrow and check out my space."
Rose rushed out with a gigantic smile and nodded, "Sounds good. Goodnight." She hugged Lyla and turned back toward the closet.
oOoOo
Lyla walked back out into the bedroom and made her way toward the hallway, where she found the Doctor leaning against the wall. Once he saw her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the hallway without a word. A couple minutes of silence and walking the hallways he pulled her into a now familiar room.
She looked around the med bay and without a word she jumped up on the bed and waited to be examined. Aren't I a good little patient? She watched as he went over and grabbed a scanner off the wall and shuffled back toward her. He scanned her lungs and sat the device down and read the results on a screen that she couldn't see. Even if I could see them, I probably couldn't read them. He kept his eyes down not meeting hers when she finally sighed, "Look, I'm sorry that I told you to go fuck yourself. I was angry but that's really no excuse for me to let my mouth run away from me." His eyes snapped up to hers and held hers as she apologized. She watched as a dejected look flashed across his face but was quickly hidden as he turned away from her. He started fiddling in a cabinet for a couple of minutes, when he finally found what he was looking for he walked back over to her. WOW silent treatment. What are we 7.
He lifted her neck with a couple of fingers under the chin, when he finally opened his mouth to speak, his voice was rough, "Open." She just looked at him before she sighed and did as she was told. Once she complied, he sprayed a mist down her exposed throat and spoke again, "Swallow." She complied with the order, and a cool sensation spread in the back of her throat. Mm… mint. He gave a slight nod and put the spray back where he found it.
He walked back toward her and pulled a rollie chair with his foot and took a seat. He watched her as she fidgeted and played with the wolf bracelet that he had seen her do when she was deep in thought or nervous. He sighed, "You were right. I didn't have the authority to offer the dead as a substitute for a temporary body." Did he just admit that he was wrong and one of his companions was right? He looked down at his hands as he continued, "I did feel guilty about the war and all I could think about was helping a species that lost so much because of it." He cringed as he talked of the war that brought up memories best left buried in the past. "I lost myself and then you came in and, short of hitting me in my big head, told me everything I didn't want to hear." He looked up at this tiny curvy human, who turned everything upside down, and sighed, "I'm sorry that you had to fight me on something that I should've been able to see from the start. That's not why I asked you to be my companion." He had tears pooling in his eyes as he finished, "I could've lost you. And Rose. I did lose Gwyneth. That's my fault. And you don't know how sorry I am that I was too prideful in the knowledge that I know what's best for everyone when sometimes I don't." A lone tear escaped as he came to the end of his apology.
Lyla watched as he looked back down at his hands, not able to watch the inevitable anger he knew would surface on her face. That must have been hard as shit. Forgive but not forget. Like I could forget, really. And like I'm even angry. Gwyneth made up her mind. She knew the consequences.
She tilted her head as she came to a consensus in her head. She hopped off the bed and glided over the floor, where she ended up standing in front of his seated self. She reached out her hands and placed one on the back of his head and pulled to where his head was resting on her stomach. Her other hand rubbed across the fine hairs of his military style haircut.
He froze for half a second before he released his pent-up thoughts and accepted the comfort. His hands came up around her middle and hugged her close. She felt him shudder but never commented on it, she just continued rubbing his head. She dug her fingers into the back of his neck to give a gentle massage as he let himself find some comfort in another individual.
After what felt like hours to Lyla, what was only just a couple of minutes later when the Doctor pulled away from her and herded her back to the bed with gentle hands and motions. He turned as soon as she was settled and pulled out a drawer to grab a blue jar. He walked back as he was uncapping it and ended up standing in front of her once again.
To lighten the mood Lyla gave a smile and chuckled, "You know two adventures and at the end of both of them I have ended up here. I think that is my sign that I'm a bit accident-prone and you may have jinxed us."
He frowned at the jar of white cream as he dipped his fingers in. He picked up her wrist and smeared the salve on the forming bruises that he caused when he manhandled her earlier in his rage at her disobedience. "That's not something to boast about. You are the most accident-prone companion that I have ever had. Some type of record that is," he mumbled as he continued working the salve into her flesh.
"You've had other companions?" She asked with interest. Don't lie. Don't make rule one true.
He winced, "A few. Here and there. Traveling through time is a lonely life."
"Can you tell me about them?" She coaxed wondering if he really would tell her about his other companions and adventures. I can't believe that he admitted he had other traveling partners. It took Rose meeting Sarah Jane for him to admit he had others.
He looked up and studied her face looking for jealousy of some sort, but all he found was curiosity and poorly concealed excitement. "Maybe," he thought out loud, "one day."
"I'm gonna hold you to that mister," she smiled.
He shook his head in faint amusement and finished rubbing the salve into her wrist and looked back up to her neck. He sighed as he saw a new dilemma in fully healing her, "I should've let you change before coming in here." At her confused stare, he gave her high-necked dress a playful tug as he pointed out the problem. She grinned mischievously and lowered her eyes to where she was looking at him from below her lashes. She started undoing the buttons that held the top up. He sputtered and took several steps away and turned his back to her with wide eyes as he stammered out, "What are you doing?" Oh, that was too easy.
"Oh, don't be such a prude and turn around I'm done," Lyla chuckled at his response of a little strip tease. Good to know.
The Doctor turned around cautiously and looked at what she had done. She had unbuttoned the top of the dress and it now hung loose around her hips. The black corset that she was wearing under her dress was in full view of his searing gaze. The tip of his ears turned red and he swallowed thickly. She was completely covered but now he had full access to her neck and shoulders.
His eyes dipped down and watched her breast try to escape their lace prison with each breath she took. He heard her clear her throat and his eyes snapped up to hers where he saw a smile and received a saucy wink. "Eyes up here handsome," she drawled in a slow thick southern accent. Who knew I could flirt? Certainly not me. That's for sure.
He gulped but shook himself to get this current torture over with as fast as possible. He hastily dipped his fingers in the salve and when his eyes came back up to her bruises all he could see was miles of long, tan neck.
She had turned her head to the side and up, presenting him with full access. He swallowed hard and felt a heat creep down his neck but pushed onward as he started to rub his fingers down her neck, around the forming bruises. Lyla sighed as she settled into the feel of the pads of his fingers working against her neck.
A couple minutes passed them by, both were too focused on the current task to really document the passage of time but when the Doctor pulled away and capped the jar again, Lyla sighed in disappointment. She straightened up in her seat and softly said in a thick southern voice, that came on instinct with being so comfortable and tired, "We all done here, sweets? Cause I'm about ready to fall over in exhaustion." She laughed a bit, "You may have to carry me out of here, I'm so tired."
"Yeah, let me show you to your room," he replied in a rough voice. If I didn't know better, I would say that he found the accent sexy.
Lyla hopped down from the bed and grabbed the Doctor's hand as she made her way to the door. He led her out into the hallway and a couple turns later they were standing in front of a black door with a galaxy swirling across it. The blues, purples, pinks and reds all swirling and moving as one and dotted throughout by stars. Lyla stared slack jawed for a couple of seconds before she reached for the doorknob. If the door is this beautiful, what the hell does the room look like? It's like the wardrobe to Narnia.
As she pushed the door open, she was even more speechless as the perfect room came into view. Oh, bless you Tardis. The ceiling was the first thing that caught her attention and looked like the night sky but with nebulas, blackholes, and galaxies adorning it. Her eyes fell on the huge black sleigh bed in the middle of the back wall and fell in love instantly. On either side of the bed were matching nightstands that held a music player and empty picture frames. With a gentle nudge at her back from the Doctor, she walked further in the room. Lyla turned a slow circle to the right and found a black baby grand piano in one corner just waiting to be played. How… never mind. Thank you. Tears filled her eyes as she walked up to the instruments. She slowly ran her fingers over the top of the closed lid of the baby grand while she marveled at the extravagance and surreal quality of the situation that she found herself in for the first time in nine months. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore Toto," she breathed.
Tearing her eyes away from the piano she faced the Doctor, who was still in the door frame and feasted her eyes on the quantity of bookshelves she now had. They were full of books and on closer inspection, they were all her favorites or ones that were on her to read list.
The remaining wall held the bathroom door and small sitting area. A couch adorned the wall with a black coffee table in front of it. The carpet was thick, soft, and white. She laughed full of excitement and ran off toward the bathroom with the Doctor following at a more sedated pace.
When Lyla entered the bathroom, her first thought was that heaven had blessed her. I must have been super good in my previous life. A big jacuzzi tub that could hold six people rested against the far wall with a shower just perpendicular to that. The walls were a soft ocean blue with accents of sand browns on the floor and shower tiles. The room even had a salty ocean breeze smell. She gulped down deep breaths as she tried not to squeal like a possessed fangirl. Like fucking Gundi, Mother Teressa, or the Pope good.
She spun around and lunged at the Doctor to wrap him in a bear hug, "Thank you!" She finally lost the battle on the squeal that had been building in her throat.
He chuckled lowly as he hugged her back. He watched as she spun again and stood in front of the vanity, she tilted her head to the side and took in her appearance. Her eyes were wide and bright and her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink from the excitement. Lyla felt her heart pounding as she took in the surrealness of having her dream place. Her locks were still in their precarious formation but were slightly frazzled around the edges. How the hell am I supposed to get that down. Her eyes continued down and took in her half-dressed state, I look fucking hot and I look like I just had a fantastic orgasm. But seriously, how is the hair coming down? She gave her reflection a smirk and looked at the Doctor in the mirror, "Could you be a gentleman and help a girl out with her hair." She batted her eyes a bit, never losing her pronounced southern accent, "Your ship decided that I didn't need to know how it's all staying in place."
Without a word, he walked up behind her and slowly reached for her chocolate brown locks. The Doctor's hands dived into her hair and started pulling certain sections out with a twist of his fingers. Small tinks were heard as metal pieces fell to the countertop.
Lyla closed her eyes and sighed as sections of hair fell and weight that she did not know was bothering her dropped away. Getting lost in the feeling of skillful fingers at work, she hummed in content as more and more hair fell around her shoulders.
oOoOo
Once the Doctor left after helping her, Lyla changed into some ratty sweatpants and a t- shirt that she practically lived in for the last 9 months since she's been in this universe. She found her gifted backpack hanging in the closet and unpacked. The items had found themselves in all the proper places when she went looking for them. She found the wallet and psychic paper still in the backpack, but the Tardis blue journal was placed on a bedside table.
She climbed onto the beautiful bed and sat crossed legged in the middle. She gave a big sigh then started asking the questions that have been bugging her since she was dumped in this universe. "Alright, Sexy. It's just us now. Please tell me what these are." Lyla lifted her wrist from her lap as she questioned the Time Machine.
The Tardis made the wolf-etched bracelet glow then projected images in Lyla's mind. She saw flashes of the steward on platform one and Gwyneth from Cardiff. As the images was shown to Lyla, the bracelet would heat to a noticeable heat. After those images passed, she showed an image of Ruffalo, the plumber on Platform one, and Mr. Sneed the undertaker from Cardiff. With each of these new images the bracelet stayed cool around her wrist. Lyla shook her head in astonishment and thought back on each of the times that her wrist burned and it always correlated to the people she couldn't save. "Right fixed points," she whispered as she stroked the wolf bracelet. Well, that helps clear things up. No more wondering if I am going to cause reapers and make the universe go boom.
Lyla slowly nodded her head, accepting the new information then turned her attention to the second bracelet. She ran her fingers over the circular gallifreyan and asked, "And this one. And how he hasn't noticed that it is Gallifreyan."
The Tardis made the bracelet vibrate softly as she showed Lyla images of the Doctor. As he walked away the intensity of the vibrations increased and as he walked back the calmer the bracelet got. You've got to be kidding me! "You gave me a Doctor Tracker," Lyla laughed. "I hope this isn't an omen that I am going to lose him often."
Lyla chuckled as she finally laid back on the bed and stared at her raised wrists in front of her. She slowly lowered her arms and asked fearfully the question that she wanted to know for 9 months, "Why me." Her voice barely audible as she continued, "I am nothing and nobody. Especially in this universe. I don't belong here." She turned on her side and hugged a pillow to her chest as she cried, "Why me?"
The Tardis hummed a soft song in her head and just kept supplying her pictures of the Doctor and herself as they interacted. "Stop," Lyla finally uttered on the tail end of a sob.
Lyla finally calmed enough to fall asleep to the Tardis singing in her head.
oOoOo
The next morning found Lyla shuffling into the kitchen as she rubbed her eyes. Her hair a tornado of tangled curls, one pant leg halfway up her calf, barefooted, and her oversized t-shirt hanging off one shoulder. Her nose helped her find her way to the smell of coffee. She failed to notice the other two occupants. Rose laughed behind her hand at her friend as she made a remarkable zombie after waking up. The Doctor's face stretched into a soft small as he looked upon one of his newest and most jeopardy friendly companions.
After Lyla got her first sip of her sweet coffee; hmm, sweet wake up juice, she finally opened her eyes to look around her. She gave a startled jump when she saw the other two sitting at the little table in the corner. Rose finally lost control of her laughter and the Doctor gave a soft chuckle at the slowly pinking Lyla.
Lyla, finally having enough at her expense, rolled her eyes and huffed out a dismissive noise, "Whatever. It's too early to be a pleasant human being."
The Doctor remarked lightly, "Well, technically the Tardis doesn't have mornings or evenings."
Lyla spun and pointed her finger in his direction and grumbled, "Looky here Timelord, when a human wakes from an 8 hour sleep, it is morning. Weather that be at 6 in the evening, midnight or 4 in the morning. When they wake up it's morning."
Rose laughed, "Sorry Doctor, I should've mentioned that she is a bear before her first two cups of coffee. Ignore her," Rose advised. "If she says anything truly mean she will apologize when she properly wakes."
Lyla fell into the chair next to Rose and huffed out as she put her head down on the table, "Shush it Tyler." Why does she have to be so loud?
Rose just patted Lyla's head and turned her attention to the Doctor and asked with an air of nervousness, "So, I was thinking that we could go home. I need to stop in and check in on mum. I did leave without saying goodbye."
The Doctor slowly nodded his head and replied, "Sure that's fine. Go and get ready. I'll wake up grumpy here."
"Watch it, Timelord. I know your weakness," Lyla warned as she turned her head to give the stink eye at said Timelord.
Rose smiled a tongue and teeth smile as she hopped up and started toward the door to do as she was told. Lyla, who was still glaring at the Doctor, slowly drained her first cup of coffee. The Doctor turned his head from the door back to his curly haired companion. Noticing her look he sighed with a small smile and sat his large hand on her head and slowly massaged his fingers into her thick hair. Lyla froze for a couple of seconds and with a borderline pornographic moan she relaxed into a puddle of goo on the table. I think I know his weakness, but I would be damned if he didn't find mine out.
He massaged her head for a couple of minutes before he reminded her, "You need to get up and get ready. I doubt you want to show up like you are," he teased with a playful pat to her head before he dragged his hand away. Well at least he didn't tug my hair.
He stood up and made his way to the door and teased over his shoulder, "Get up Lyla."
oOoOo