A continuation of the previous chapter where our little troupe of Time Travellers had been on the Planet Falastin (Arabic for Palestine), colonised by Palestinians and various Cosmonauts from around the world, soon becoming Telekinetic from the radioactive rays of a dyimg blue sun.
Once she'd walked back into the TARDIS, Alexia headed straight for the kitchen in order to put the olives and dates into the fridge, deciding to have some later. When she shut the fridge door she felt the TARDIS take off into the Vortex. For awhile, Alexia stood in the kitchen, thinking over what she could do next. Either explore more of the Time Machine, chill out in the Media Room or go to the library.
Though to be honest she was feeling too tightly wound up to just 'chill out'. The Palestinians she had just met may have their own planet and a bright, happy future, but the Palestinians of the 21st Century certainly didn't. They were still struggling to survive, still being persecuted despite having the help of Telekinetic Palestinians of the future on their side. Those poor people needed all the help they could get.
Making a decision, Alexia stormed out of the kitchen and headed towards the Library. She knew there was a computer there that was hooked up to the Internet, or at least an equivalent of it.
Along the way she was met by the Pikachu, Sparky. "Pika-Pika, Pi-ka!" He cried out, happy to see Alexia who he hadn't seen for the last three days.
"Hello!" The woman uttered with a smile. "Did you miss me?"
"Pika-Pi!?" Sparky replied before jumping up onto Alexia's shoulder.
"We've been out and we've met some lovely people," Alexia explained to the Pikachu as she continued on to the Library. "Some Palestinians managed to travel into Space and found a Planet to colonise on and now they're thriving. But that's the Palestinians of the future. It's the Palestinians of the 21st Century I'm more concerned for." Sparky twitched his ears and appeared to frown as he listened to the human. "Despite having several telekinetic Palestinians there to keep an eye on them, they still need all the help they can get."
They entered the Library a short time later and Alexia walked to the far end and then climbed up the winding steps onto the second level. There was the computer next to a pile of books and several very full shelves. As she approached the computer, which looked like the most futuristic Mac she'd ever seen, Sparky jumped from her shoulder onto the books rather stealthily.
"Pi-Ka!" Sparky uttered, making Alexia laugh.
Sitting down on the seat she booted up the computer, expecting it to take awhile. Except much to her surprise it merely took several seconds. And considering she'd never used a Mac before she had trouble figuring out where the web browser was. Frowning, Alexia scratched her head in puzzlement. "Where is it?" The woman mumbled, scanning the desktop.
"Pika-pi." Sparky squeaked and used his tail to point out where the browser was, which looked like a compass.
Alexia narrowed her eyes at the icon on the screen. "Is that the Web Browser?" She asked in confirmation and the Pikachu nodded his head. Alexia laughed again. "Such a clever little Pikachu!" She told Sparky, giving his furry head a rub, making the Pikachu squeak happily.
Once she brought the Web Browser up, along with the search engine, which she noticed was called Search-Wise, which didn't exist in her old universe, she began her search. Alexia typed in organisations that helped aid Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
The number one result was for 'Palestinian Voices', followed by non-profit, non-violent organisations called 'BDS' and 'BCP', then the fourth result was for 'Amnesty International', and that was followed by lots more results. She decided to register on all the popular organisations, but first she needed an email address.
An hour, or possibly more later, Alexia was done and she sat back in her seat with a grin. She had registered on as many organisations as she could in a bid for solidarity with the Palestinians. Now her eyes were tired from staring at the screen too much.
"Job done!" Alexia muttered, noticing Sparky's ears twitch as he napped on top of the books.
It was then she noticed faint voices down below in the lower level, so she stood up and walked across to the railing and looked down at what was going on. She could see The Doctor sitting on a sofa with Rose lounging next to him, her head in his lap. The Doctor was reading to her and doing all the voices, making Alexia grin at such an adorable scene.
As Alexia walked straight through to the inner TARDIS with the gifts from Ramallah, everyone else waited for Jaime to re-enter the TARDIS. She was busy speaking to Janine.
The Doctor turned his attention to Rose, who was sat next to Jenny on the jumpseat. "Where do you want to go next?" He asked, running his hand through her blonde hair.
Rose smiled and leaned closer to The Doctor. "Can we do something else instead?" She requested. She was feeling a bit worn out after their three day visit to Falastin. And those had been three VERY long days!
"Oh, okay…" The Time Lord muttered but frowned seconds later when he sensed her tiredness. "Are you okay?" He now asked, becoming worried for her and the baby.
"Yeah, just feeling knackered, that's all." Was Rose's reply. "Can we go to the Library instead?" She requested. Rose liked it when he would read a book to her because he'd actually do all the voices. And maybe it would do some good for the baby to hear his or her father's voice.
The Doctor caught on to her thoughts and grinned at the suggestion, nodding his head at the good idea.
The Time Lord took a hold of Rose's hand. "Come with me!" He said and they walked out of the Console room into the inner TARDIS. As they walked along the corridor they felt the Time Machine take off into the Vortex, then Rose's stomach suddenly growled out in hunger. Halting in his steps, The Doctor stared at Rose with wide eyes. "Are you hungry?" He asked, but shook his head seconds later before the blonde could reply to his question. "No, no, no. Can't have that. After all, you're eating for two."
Rose smirked as they took a quick detour to the kitchen, then watched as The Doctor opened the fridge and peered inside. They noticed that Alexia had already been in as the dates and olives were now in there. The Doctor grimaced at the thought of eating a date, while Rose sighed.
"No, I've been eating olives for the past three days. No more." She practically pleaded.
Nodding, The Doctor agreed and pulled out a bunch of bananas with a grin, shutting the fridge door afterwards. "Bananas are good." He stated. They left the kitchen and continued on to the library, which appeared to be just a short walk away.
When the couple reached the Library, The Doctor guided Rose over to a sofa and sat her down, before placing the bananas on the coffee table. "Which book would you like?" The Doctor asked her and the blonde thought over what she wanted.
Her top favourite was Harry Potter and other works written by Rowling, but the boy Wizard had already been recently read and she didn't think the TARDIS would have the other books yet. "How about Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist'." Rose requested.
A great big grin appeared on the Time Lord's face. "Brilliant choice!" The Doctor uttered and rushed off to find the book. Whilst he was perusing the Dickens section of the Library he could hear the faint tapping of keys on a keyboard. Someone was on the upper level using the computer, so The Doctor queried The TARDIS and she told him who was using it.
Alexia was the one using the computer, but a frowning Doctor wondered what she could be using it for. Though he didn't have time to check it out as he needed to get back to Rose, so once he found the book she had requested and returned to where he'd left his bond-mate on the sofa.
Rose was sat waiting, currently eating one of the banana's, while the TARDIS provided a Tea-set for them with piping hot tea.
The Doctor thanked his Old Girl as he sat down. "I got you the book you wanted." He told Rose, holding up Oliver Twist.
"Brilliant!" Rose muttered through a mouthful of banana. She reached over to the coffee table, picked up a cup of tea and gave it to The Doctor.
The Time Lord grinned happily. "Thanks." He said and took great big gulps of the very hot tea.
Rose grimaced. After all this time it still surprised her that The Doctor could do this without burning his mouth. Once she'd eaten her banana and once The Doctor had drunk his tea, Rose shifted in her seat and lay across the sofa with her head on The Doctor's lap.
"Comfy?" He sarcastically asked before placing a cushion under Rose's head.
"Yep!" Rose replied, smiling that smile of hers.
With a chuckle, the Time Lord put his glasses on, then opened the book and began reading out loud.
An hour, nine minutes and forty-eight seconds later The Doctor stopped reading when he sensed that he was being watched. It wasn't Rose because she had her eyes closed, a hint of a smile on her face. "You can come down and join us if you want!" He called out without looking.
There was a gasp before Alexia's voice was heard from above. "How did you know?" She asked, but sighed in disgust seconds later and, still without looking, The Doctor could tell she was rolling her eyes. "No, don't bother answering that. What are you reading?" She asked instead.
"Oliver Twist." The Doctor answered her question.
"Oh!" Alexia laughed. "Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah! That's how it goes. Oom-pah-pah! Oom-pah-pah! Everyone knows…" She sang.
Having been disturbed by the interruption, Rose sat up and she and The Doctor looked up at Alexia on the upper level.
"'Oliver!'" The woman said with a grin. "My favourite version. If you're reading the book I wouldn't mind listening. I'm coming down." She turned away from the railing. "Sparky!" She called and hurried off towards the stairs.
Rose and The Doctor looked at each other, then fell into a fit of giggles. They were joined first by Sparky, who jumped up onto the sofa and sat next to Rose.
"I thought I could smell static electricity earlier," the Time Lord scowled at the mouse-like Pokemon. "You better behave!" He warned, not wanting to get electrocuted by the Pikachu again.
Rose sighed. "Leave him alone, Doctor." She said, laying her head back down on his lap.
Still glaring at the Pikachu, The Doctor watched as it placed its two front paws on Rose's stomach and started squeaking.
"What's he saying?" Rose wondered, watching Sparky with a frown.
"He's talking to the baby," Alexia replied, joining the couple and sitting on the comfy seat next to the sofa. "Says he can't wait to meet him or her." She spotted a piping hot cup of tea on the table. "Oohh, thanks!" Alexia uttered, picked up the cup and took a sip of the tea.
Rose smiled at Sparky and stroked his furry head as he settled next to her. "What a smart little Pikachu you are!" She cooed.
"Pi-ka!" Sparky squeaked in reply.
The Doctor just grunted distrustfully before continuing to read 'Oliver Twist' out loud.
Grinning away, Jenny watched her father and Rose exit the Console Room, hand in hand. There was so much love between them it was ridiculous. Then she heard whispering from Amy and looked over at the married couple. Ever since their adventure in America, involving the President, a little girl in a Space Suit and weird creatures she couldn't quite remember, Amy had been different. And she knew the reason why, having watched the episodes.
She'd even spoken to her father about it, telling him only minor details for safety reasons. So now The Doctor was looking for places and planets that cloned people without odd tells or smells. As a frowning Jenny kept watch, Amy continued to whisper to Rory, who grinned and chuckled. Poor Rory who was yet to know his wife was a duplicate. They couldn't tell him this or else he'd start acting differently around her. And then that would cause Amy to become suspicious as well.
Then suddenly Amy took a hold of Rory's hand and led him out of the Console Room. Standing up, Jenny decided to follow the couple to see where they would go. She didn't trust the duplicate one bit, especially when that nasty bitch with the eye patch could easily spy on them. And that really wasn't good. Unfortunately just a couple of minutes later, Amy and Rory walked into a room, and when Jenny passed by saw it was their room before the door could close.
Grimacing, the young Time Lady knew she couldn't follow them in there, so she continued on walking. She decided on going to her room instead. Maybe continue building and updating her Sonic Screwdriver, or maybe create something else. After all, her Mind was full of ideas and creativity.
As she was about to head to her room, a door appeared next to her, causing Jenny to halt in her steps. Furrowing her brows, she wondered why that happened? Curiosity getting the better of her, she turned towards the door, opened it and walked into the room. What she saw made her gasp out loud, eyes widening.
Jenny had only ever seen it shared to her as memories by her father, but it was here as well. It was Gallifrey as some sort of garden room. Walking further into the garden room, Jenny wondered why her dad had never mentioned this was in the TARDIS? Everything about this little piece of Gallifrey was just as her father had described in 'Gridlock'. She passed by tall Redwood-type trees that had silver leaves shining in the sunshines, and underneath her feet was deep red grass that it really quite fascinated her.
Bending down, Jenny plucked up a couple of red blades and put them in her mouth. She didn't know what she was expecting when she tasted it. She just didn't expect it to taste like a mix of lemongrass and Thyme. Chuckling, Jenny continued her walk past the trees and flowers until she walked out onto a grassy hillside with flowers that smelled very nice.
But the view had her immediate attention. The sky was blue like the Earth's, however with one of the two Suns lowering behind the snow capped mountains there was already a hint of orange appearing. Down below in the valley there was a large lake surrounded by colourful flowers and connected to a river.
Jenny sighed. "Oh, dad, it's beautiful." She commented about her adopted home world.
It made her want to visit the real Gallifrey, but she knew it was stuck in the Time Lock. She wanted to stay here longer, maybe walk down to the lake, but the smell of the flowers behind her was becoming distracting. Turning around, Jenny walked over to the nice smelling flowers, bent over and picked one up. When she put it to her nose the flowers scent was even stranger.
"Woah!' She muttered and shook her head. That was powerful!
The flower had a washed out pinkness about it with little blue spots on the pettles. The middle part of the flower was deep purply-red, and that was where most of the scent was coming from. Jenny took another sniff of the flower, sighed and then placed it in her hair.
Feeling the need to speak to her dad about the Gallifrey garden, Jenny rushed out if the room and queried to the TARDIS for the Time Lord's whereabouts. The Old Girl told the blonde Time Lady he was in the Library, so she walked off in search for it.
When she managed to find the Library, and her dad, she saw he was reading a book out loud to Rose, Alexia and Sparky the Pikachu. The book he was reading appeared to be a Charles Dickens. When Jenny got closer, The Doctor stumbled over what he was reading before halting altogether and looking up at his daughter and sniffing the air. Even Alexia and Rose were looking at her and it only made her nervous.
"You found the Gallifrey room?" The Doctor questioned and Jenny nodded, wondering how he knew that. "You've got a Schlenk Blossom in your hair." The Doctor answered her thoughts, smirking at her.
"Oh, is that what they're called?" Jenny replied. "They have a very distinctive smell."
"You can say that again!" Alexia commented. She had only been in the Gallifrey Room just the once but the smell of the blossoms were a unique scent.
"They're one of my favourite smells from childhood," The Doctor muttered thoughtfully. "Would you like to know more?" He then asked.
Looking around, Jenny could feel that Rose, Alexia and Sparky were waiting for her dad to continue reading the book. So she shook her head instead. "No, not right now. What are you reading?" She asked.
"It's Oliver Twist." Rose answered her.
"Right, okay. Can I join you?" She requested and her dad nodded his head.
"The more the merrier!" The Doctor replied.
With a mad looking smile on her face, a happy Jenny sat on the chair close to the Doctor, and when he was ready he continued reading Oliver Twist to those who were listening.
While Amy was chatting to her husband, Rory, she had the oddest feeling she was being watched by somebody. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Jenny looking at her with a less than friendly expression. It was odd because she had noticed a lot of weird tension centred around herself lately and she had no idea why. Maybe it was something she had done or said that had upset them in some way. But with Jenny continuing to stare at her it was beginning to make her feel awkwardly nervous.
Amy smiled coyly at Rory. "Can we go somewhere else." She requested to her husband.
Rory smiled back at his wife. "Okay." He replied and Amy took a hold of his hand.
The couple walked out of the Console Room and walked up the corridor. As they chatted to each other, Amy once again noticed that Jenny was following them out of the corner of her eye. She didn't know why and it really quite confused her. Just what had gotten into Jenny?
"So what did you think of where we've just been?" Rory queried as they walked into their room. "People with telekinesis flying all over the place. Weird, huh!"
Amy chuckled at Rory, seeing Jenny pass by before shutting the door. "No more weird than what we've seen with Jaime, Rose or even Jenny." She replied. "By now it's probably normal. THIS is our normal." She reiterated.
Rory had to nod in agreement because his wife had a point. A colony full of humans with an ability to fly, different planets, aliens and Time Travel. Amy was used to it but Rory was still adjusting to his new weird life.
"Anyway, where do you think we'll end up next?" Amy asked, going into the bathroom while Rory sat on the bed.
The nurse shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, who knows," Rory replied nonchalantly. "Maybe we'll land on a planet full of cats. Or maybe a planet made entirely out of cheese." Amy didn't reply to his silliness. "Amy?" Rory called out. "Are you okay?" She still didn't reply and it worried him.
In the bathroom, Amy leaned on the sink with her head down and eyes closed, grimacing. She'd felt a sudden flash of pain in her stomach that she couldn't quite comprehend. It almost felt like a bout of cramp. Seconds after, a scraping sound caught Amy's attention making her look up…and gasped, taking a quick step back. In the middle of the mirror there was a rectangle peephole and a woman with severe looking brown hair, permanent scowl, along with an eye patch.
The woman was staring at her as if she was studying her. "No, nothing appears to be wrong," the woman said. "Must be a twinge." She sneered before closing the little door where it disappeared, leaving the mirror behind.
Blinking, Amy stepped forward and put her hand on the mirror. It was ridiculous because she'd been seeing that creepy woman for awhile now and it was really scaring her now. Nobody else could see the woman but her.
Rory bursting into the bathroom gave her a shock. "Amy! Are you okay? I was calling for you but you weren't answering." Rory spoke, his eyes were wide.
A nervous sounding laugh escaped Amy's mouth. "I'm perfectly fine, Stupid Head," she replied as she walked back into their bedroom, Rory following her. "Just because I didn't answer you doesn't mean there is something wrong." Her Mind was a whirl of thoughts as Rory spoke to her.
Though he saw she wasn't listening. "Amy?" He put a hand on her arm. "Are you sure you're okay? You seem distracted."
The ginger shook her head slightly. "I need to speak to The Doctor." She muttered.
"About what?" Rory asked. But he never got a reply because Amy left their room, so he followed her.
Amy was heading for the Console Room, thinking the Doctor might be there. But the TARDIS diverted her and Rory so that they ended up in the Library instead. "Oh! Amy said in surprise, spotting The Doctor. He was reading a book while Rose, Sparky, Alexia and Jenny were listening.
As she approached she was about to call to The Doctor until an unusual scent distracted her, halting her in her steps. "What's that smell?" Amy wondered out loud.
"That's my Schlenk Blossom." Jenny answered, pointing to the flower in her hair.
"What's going on here? Rory questioned. He too was distracted by the flower's scent.
"The Doctor is reading Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist." Alexia answered Rory's question. "Feel feel to stay if you want."
They did want to stay, so the married couple sat beside Jenny on bean bags that had appeared. When The Doctor continued reading, Amy could feel her worries wash away.
J.D was stood by the door, waiting for Jaime to return to the TARDIS. He hadn't noticed that everyone else had left the Console Room one by one. It seemed whatever she was telling Janine, the girl was taking it very well. Once Jaime had spoken to the girl, she closed the door and walked up the ramp, John following her.
Only seconds later the Half-Time Lord halted in his steps. "Where did everybody go?" He wondered.
"They'll all be in the Library at some point." Jaime answered him, flicking several switches on the Console before pulling the lever. The TARDIS dematerialised into the Vortex while Jaime stared thoughtfully at the moving Time Rotor.
"Alright, I suppose that makes sense," J.D replied as he joined the Scots-girl at the Console. He'd long stopped questioning how she knew things without even thinking about it. He could sense that Jaime had something on her Mind and when he looked at his bond-mate, saw she was distracted as well. "What's on your Mind?" John asked, putting his arm around her shoulders.
Jaime sighed and leaned into J.D's embrace. "It's mum!" She replied. "Goin' tae tha' planet has inspired her and it worries me so much tha' she'll get in too much trouble."
J.D frowned. "How do you mean?" He inquired.
For the moment Jaime was silent, continuing to stare at the Time Rotor. "She's goin' tae become an activist for Palestinian Rights," she finally replied. "She'll still be writin' those books, but most of her attention will be done on protestin'."
Waves of curious puzzlement washed off the Half-Time Lord. "Did you look at her Timeline?" He asked.
Jaime turned her attention to J.D, looking at him. "I didnae need tae look at her Timeline. I know so!" She replied. "She's goin' tae get into a shitload of trouble."
A hint of a smile appeared on John's face. "You can always get the Black Bullet to look out for her."
Jaime sighed and shook her head. "Not in Israel and Palestine she cannae," she replied. "I cannae even get close tae either Country. I would always get repelled away whenever I tried, and there would always be this horrible feelin' of impendin' doom. Almost like I was forbidden in some way."
John gawped, surprise washing off him. "Really?" He asked.
"Yes, bloody really!" Jaime snapped and stepped away from the Console. "And now I bloody know why!" She started pacing back and forth, very agitated. "'Cause tha' lot are bloody flittin' 'round the place tryin' tae stop daily massacres from happenin'. I commend them, I really do, but it feels so bloody wrong!"
The Half-Time Lord narrowed his eyes at Jaime. He could sense she was panicking but she was disguising it as anger. "What's really on your Mind?" He asked.
A growl emitted from the Scots-girl as she glared at J.D. "She's goin' tae be signin' books in Gaza City and I cannae be there tae protect her," she practically shouted. "Shot at by some stupid Israeli soldier pushin' his weight 'round the place!"
She was getting even more upset and angry and it was making her J.D twitchy through their TARDIS-like connection, so he gathered her into a hug to calm her down. She was shaking, which made him wonder what exactly she had seen. "I'm sure she'll be fine," he told Jaime. "Isn't that Watch you gave her supposed to keep her from harm?" He then inquired. "And maybe the telekinetic Palestinians can protect her if she does somehow manage to get into Gaza." That bit confused him. He knew that Israel blocked anyone from going in or out of the Gaza Strip. He felt Jaime faintly nod her head and decided to give her a distraction. "Come on, let's see where everyone has got too." J.D suggested to her.
Sighing, the Scots-girl pulled away from him. She understood what he was doing and appreciated it. "Okay." Jaime muttered quietly in reply.
Putting his arm around her shoulders they walked out of the Console Room into the corridor. The Half-Time Lord let her lead the way but they only got so far before Blaize the Growlithe came running down the corridor towards them, barking happily.
Jaime grinned. "Hello girl!" She called out. Blaize reached them and John watched his bond-mate fuss over the dog with a grin. Already he could sense her worries ebbing away. "C'mon, Blaize," Jaime spoke after awhile. "Let's see what everyone else is up to." She suggested.
All three walked off down the corridor until they reached the Library a couple of minutes later. And somewhere within the Library, J.D could hear his brother reading out loud, and the book he was reading was familiar.
"Sounds like Oliver." Jaime murmured, remembering the few times she watched the musical film with her mother. She had never liked the way Oliver was treated. And as for Poor Nancy, she risked her life to save Oliver from the very dangerous Bill Sikes.
John chuckled when he caught her thoughts.
Blaize ran on ahead towards The Doctor's voice, barking and announcing their presence. Holding hands, Jaime and John silently followed to where the Growlithe had gone. The seating area was particularly busy with Alexia, Amy, Rory, Jenny and Rose, alongside The Doctor who was, or had been, reading Oliver. Blaize was being a distraction by constantly barking at Amy.
"Hush, girl, stop doin' tha'!" Jaime admonished the Growlithe, pulling her away from a nervous Amy. She sat down on a rather large beanbag placed next to the chair her mother sat in. They exchanged greetings and chatted quietly.
"Thought we'd join you," J.D explained as he made two cups of tea for himself and Jaime. "Sounds like you've gotten to the best part." The Half-Time Lord sat down on the beanbag next to Jaime after giving her a cup of tea. With Blaize lying down at their feet, Jaime and John snuggled close to each other as The Doctor continued reading Oliver Twist.