"You still haven't explained exactly what I am going to help you with," the Doctor said once we were escorted into a room and he dropped into a chair and slung his legs up on the table in front of him and crossed his hands behind his head. I slid up onto the table so that I could sit next to his feet.
"You will help us win the war," the Sontaran announced as he came to a stop on the opposite side of the table from us. The Doctor immediately lifted his feet off the table and leaned towards the Sontaran intently. I spun so that I was facing the Sontaran and sat cross legged.
"You want to win the war?" The Doctor repeated like he couldn't believe what he had heard. I frowned in confusion and tilted my head so that I was looking at him.
"Isn't that kind of the point of a war? That eventually either one side wins or there's a peace treaty?" I asked.
"Usually except the Sontaran's live for war. It's all they know, it's their purpose. They were angry when they were excluded from the Time War." The Doctor said, flicking his gaze to me briefly to see that the explanation made sense before we turned our full attention back to the Sontaran after he saw me nod. "And you want to win the war? As in end it?"
"What better way to prove that we are the superior soldiers of the galaxy? Both the Daleks and the Time Lords perished in their war but Sontar will remain strong! Sontar HA!" I jumped slightly at the loud exclamation at the end and felt the Doctor's hand come up to rest at the small of my back. He must have thought that I was a bit closer to the edge of the table than he would prefer, even though I wasn't sure how he had noticed considering that he hadn't taken his eyes off the Sontaran for longer than two seconds since we walked in.
"Still doesn't explain why you need me," the Doctor said with a faint line of steel running through his tone. Even though he had brought it up first mentioning the Time War was always a sure-fire way to get the Doctor on the offensive. His fingers pressed gently into my back like he was trying to ground himself and I leaned back as far as I dared to make sure he knew I was here.
"You are the great warrior of the Time War. The Oncoming Storm who dealt the decisive final blow!" I sucked in a sharp breath at that as I remembered the look on the War Doctor's face when I had placed my hand over his and told him I wouldn't let him do it alone. The pressure of the Doctor's fingers increased slightly.
"I have ended enough wars," the Doctor said, his voice now fully cold and sharp steel. The Sontaran continued as if he hadn't spoken.
"You will make us a weapon to be rid of the Rutans in one fell swoop." There was a moment of poignant, shocked silence before I burst into laughter even though I probably shouldn't have.
"I'm sorry but you are going to get the Doctor to make you a weapon?" I clarified between spurts of laughter and pointed at the Doctor over my shoulder with my thumb. "You are going to get the man you hate because he's a pacifist to build you a weapon?"
"Emma," the Doctor said with creeping amusement. I peeked at him over my shoulder, and felt him in my head for a few moments, just long enough for him to project the words Distract him. I tilted my head to the side and hummed slightly so that he would know I had gotten the message before I slid forward off the table and approached the Sontaran.
"Putting aside the fact that that tops the list of dumb ideas that I've heard there is something that you haven't thought about," I said and the Sontaran squinted at me as he hefted his gun slightly.
"Sontarans are superior strategists."
"Did your strategy include me?" I asked with a twisted grin. "Have you ever faced a human before? Because we have this stubborn tendency to protect the things we love. And I love the Doctor and I will keep him from pain. I also make a very handy distraction."
The Sontaran went down with a shout of shock as the Doctor hit him in the back of the neck with a mallet and I beamed at him when he made eye contact with me. He waved the mallet towards me slightly.
"Do you remember why I had this in my pocket?" He asked as he held out his free hand to me. I pursed my lips as I thought about it before I shook my head and took his hand.
"I have no idea." He helped me skirt the Sontaran and tugged on my hand to get my attention. When I looked up at him in question, he kissed me quickly.
"You make a very brilliant distraction," he said before he gave me another kiss. I gave him a wicked smile.
"Speaking from experience?" I asked teasingly and fiddled with the collar of his shirt with my free hand in the way I had discovered made him blush every time. My smile grew as he did just that when the tips of my fingers brushed his neck.
"I certainly am," he said though his voice was rougher than before. I winked at him before I arched up on my toes to kiss him. He kissed me back before he pulled away with a reluctant groan. "Emma, I love you, but there is currently a knocked out Sontaran laying at our feet."
"Just working on my distraction technique," I said with a wink as I released his collar and smoothed it out, helpfully deepening his blush as I stepped away.
"I don't think you need practice," he said before he gestured to the door with his mallet. I nodded and reached into his pocket to pull out the sonic so that I could open the door while standing slightly behind him.
"I almost hate to ask, but do you have a plan?" I asked after he had smacked his mallet onto the vent of the Sontaran guarding the door and we had poked our heads out into the hallway to see if there was anyone else.
"I have about sixty percent of a plan," he said as we stepped over the Sontaran and started to creep down the hallway. I bit down on the laughter that was bubbling up.
"I think that's the best I've ever heard from you," I teased, and he shot me an insulted look.
"I'm certain I have gotten up to at least seventy-five before," he replied, and I shrugged.
"If you have you certainly haven't shared," I said. He grumbled lightly under his breath before he leaned over and skimmed his lips over my temples. "I'm taking that as a yes."
"Sometimes your memory drives me insane," he said, and I laughed, squeezing his hand tighter.
"Walk me through the plan," I said.
"Find a computer, wipe the hard drive, escape this building, get to the TARDIS, disarm the bomb and leave." I turned towards him with an eyebrow raised.
"That sounds a whole lot like a whole plan not sixty percent of one," I said.
"I just came up with the first bit while we were talking," he said with a cheeky grin.
"Of course, how silly of me to think otherwise," I said with an eyeroll.
"Alright Emma would you like to handle the doors on our way our or the mallet?" He asked and I squinted at him as I thought about it. Usually I would have handed him the sonic, but in this instance, I didn't think that I had the best angle for the Sontaran's vents.
"I'll keep on the doors until we find the computer. Then the sonic is all yours," I said, and he smiled like he was very pleased with my answer and there was a slight skip to his step as we continued. I made a mental note to ask about it later. "I have a follow up question. Do you actually know where a computer is?"
"No idea. I'm hoping our luck kicks in," he said, and I winced.
"Stop saying things like that," I said as I bonked him gently on the side of the head with the sonic. He laughed and sent me a look.
"You know I've never asked how you ended up being so superstitious," he said, and I shrugged.
"How does anyone end up being superstitious? Also, I would point you to remember the number of times we've both jinxed ourselves during our travels," I said. He tilted his head towards me like he could see my point.
"Look at that a computer!" He said brightly and pointed towards it with his mallet. I held out the sonic.
"Trade you." We swapped and then I swung our joined hands. "You might have to let go of my hand if you want to hack the computer."
"Holding hands is kind of a mutual thing so you'll have to let go as well," he said, and I wiggled my fingers to show that I had already let go and was only waiting on him. He released his hold with an amused look. "Cheeky."
"Absolutely. Now do your erasing thing," I said as I smoothly stepped to the side.
"Rule Two Emma," he said as he bent over the keyboard intently. I rolled my eyes fondly.
"I can't really get in the way when you're hacking something unless you'd like me to wave a hand in front of your face or distract you some more. I'll get wonderfully in the way the next time we're dealing with chemicals or the like," I said, and he shot me a grin.
"Perfect," he said. We fell silent as I listened to him clack away at the keys and wondered if there was a reason why so many different species designed their keyboards in such a way that they made such a universal noise.
"My parents and I went to a fortune teller when I was nine. Madame Zostra was her name, I think. I thought she was a fake at first since My Mom and Dad went before me and they just got vague nonsense like 'A rose will change your fate' and stuff like that. But when she looked at me, she clasped my hands in hers and told me that I would travel the stars, that one day my kindness would save people." I knew it was a little late, but that was the real reason why I was superstitious. Mum was a little superstitious herself and we had rubbed off on one another.
"Really?" The Doctor asked and I nodded.
"After that I believed in that stuff, well I mean most psychics and mediums are lying through their teeth, but she had this truthfulness to her and it kind of spilled over into other things. Plus, well I knew that you had promised to let me travel with you and how could she have possibly known that?"
"Did she say anything else?" I raised an eyebrow up at his question.
"I wasn't expecting you to believe me so easily." He reached up and tapped his temple gently.
"Telepathic remember? That's just as unbelievable to some people as psychics are," he said. I nodded before I frowned as I racked my memory.
"She said that my lifeline was so long it was unreadable. At the time I thought that was nonsense, but now." I started laughing. "Hindsight is twenty-twenty."
"Well there's no way she could have guessed that for sure," the Doctor said as he started laughing too. He reached out and caught my hand in his again and smoothed his thumb over the back of my hand. "Thank you for telling me."
"I'm trying to be better," I said with an apologetic smile. I really was trying to tell him even though I couldn't remember what I had already told him most of the times.
"You're doing great."