The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 27
Disclaimer: I really don't own Doctor Who, I wish I did, but, it's a pipe dream.
A/N: And here's the last part of The Eleventh Hour. I hope you liked it and the first glimpse we got at Rhea's interactions with Amy and Rory. I haven't really fleshed out their relationship, but I think Rhea and Amy will be close to an extent, but not as close as Rhea is to some of the other companions. Rhea might also feel protective of Rory in later episodes. So, we'll just have to see. I did get a review about smut, how do you all feel about that? Should I put the smut scenes as outtakes or in this story? I'm kind of leaning towards putting it in this story and I do have an idea of which chapter it will be in.
Notes on Reviews:
Virginia I: I rather like Docwani, if only it wasn't with her last name. Sunetor is okay. How about Docehri? Doctri sounds a bit too short. I love Rheta, that's definitely going on my shortlist. I'm glad you love the flirty things, more coming up, I promise. Loads more. About smut, I mentioned it in the A/N about what I should do. I definitely do plan on doing smut for this story because I've built up to it so much through the kisses and the innuendo that I think it would just be cruel to leave you all hanging. Roleplay parody would definitely be funny, especially with the Eleventh Doctor, but if I wanted to do a serious roleplay smut chapter, I'd definitely have Rhea with 10.
TimeLadyHope: I was leaning towards something like Drea, but that's not how you spell her name. It would have to be either Dhrea or Drhea, the latter looks stupid.
YingWhiteyWolf: Yeah, I don't like Rhoctor all that much, it does sound like a disease. I'm so glad you're back and I'm glad you're still liking the story :) I actually quite like Docthea though.
jedimasterstar: Oh, thank you so much. I thought it would be an interesting twist to have Rhea based in the Doctor's universe. It does add a different dimension to the timeline-jumping storyline, because she really doesn't know what's going to happen. I think it's equally interesting when the OC from our universe doesn't watch Doctor Who, or isn't an avid watcher of the show, which will be one of my future stories. I'm so glad you like the story and I hope you stick around.
Warnings: Swearing, sexual innuendos.
The Eleventh Hour: Cracked
"No, come back, he's here! Come back! He's here, Prisoner Zero is here. Come back, he's here! Prisoner Zero is..." The Doctor shouted at the clouds, running his hands through his hair in his frustration.
While the Doctor was shouting at the missing spaceship, Rhea noticed that Prisoner Zero disintegrated into a gold mist and slipped through the holes in the drain.
Rhea tapped the Doctor's shoulder, furiously, drawing his attention towards where Prisoner Zero had just been standing. "Doctor! The drain. It just kind of disappeared into this mist and went down the drain."
"Well, of course it did." The Doctor said, condescendingly.
"Don't patronise me." Rhea said, sharply.
There was a pause. "Sorry." The Doctor whispered, slipping one of his arms around her waist and pulling her into his side.
"Yeah, yeah." Rhea muttered, looking at him, fondly. "So, what do we do now?"
"It's hiding in human form. We need to drive it into the open. No TARDIS, no screwdriver, 17 minutes. Come on, think. Think!" The Doctor growled, resisting the urge to smack his head.
The Doctor, Rhea, Amy and Rory stood above the drain, looking down into the dark and empty space.
"So that thing, that hid in my house for 12 years?" Amy asked.
"Multi-forms can live for millennia. 12 years is a pit-stop." The Doctor explained.
"So how come you two show up again on the same day that lot do? The same minute?" Amy asked both of them, suspiciously.
"They're looking for him, but followed us. They saw us through the crack, got a fix. They're only late 'cause we are."
"What's he on about?" Rory asked Amy, confused.
"Now, sport, give me your phone." The Doctor ordered.
"How can they be real? They were never real." Rory was still saying this to Amy.
Rhea could practically see the vein in the Doctor's forehead practically popping out of his head. "Phone, now, give me!" The Doctor growled at the nurse.
Rory handed the Doctor the phone. "They were just a game. We were kids." He paused and looked slightly embarrassed. "You made me dress up as him. And you dressed up as her."
Rhea smirked and winked at Amy, who flushed in her mortification.
"These are all coma patients?" The Doctor said, his finger sliding across the screen, so he could see all of the photos.
"Yeah."
"No, they're all the multi-form. Eight comas, eight disguises for Prisoner Zero." The Doctor said, looking around.
"He had a dog, though." Amy said, confused. "There's a dog in a coma?"
"The coma patient dreams he's walking a dog, Prisoner Zero gets a dog." The Doctor explained. He looked up. "Laptop!" He exclaimed. "Your friend, what was his name? Not him, the good-looking one."
"Thanks." Rory said, sarcastically.
"Jeff." Amy said, without missing a beat.
"Oh, thanks." Rory said, sarcastically, again, turning away from them.
"Oh, I don't know, he's pretty hot." Rhea said, eyeing Rory, who blushed, up and down. "In a very nice boy-next-door kind of way." He wasn't her type. She usually went for the dark, mysterious man sitting alone in a seedy bar. Or buff Time Lords in leather jackets with big ears. Or skinny, tall Time Lords in suits with really, really great hair. Or boyish, floppy-haired Time Lords who wear tweed or a Victorian frock coat and bow-ties. Okay, I get it!
"Oi!" Amy protested, slightly jealous that Rhea was flirting with Rory.
"Rhea!" The Doctor hissed, feeling just a bit possessive himself. He faltered and shook his head, turning his attention back to the problem at hand. "He had a laptop in his bag, a laptop. Big bag, big laptop, I need Jeff's laptop. You two," He told Amy and Rory. "Get to the hospital, get everyone out, clear the whole floor. Phone us when you're done." The Doctor said, patting Amy and Rory's shoulders, before grabbing Rhea's hand and running off.
"Your car, come on." Amy said, urgently, to Rory.
"But how can they be here? How can the Doctor and Rhea be here?" Rory asked, pointing towards the ground in his confusion, as he stood still in his spot. He shook his head and ran after the red-headed girl, following her to his red mini, and drove off in the direction of the hospital.
The Doctor and Rhea ran into Jeff's bedroom, slamming the door behind them, where Jeff was lying on his bed using his laptop.
"Hello. Laptop, give me!" The Doctor ordered, grabbing the item and pulling it towards him.
"No, no, no, no, wait, hang on!" Jeff protested, refusing to let go of the laptop.
"It's fine, give it here." The Doctor said, in a very final tone. He took the laptop, harshly, and sat at the edge of the bed. His eyes widened as he caught sight of what was on the screen. The growing red in his cheeks made Rhea curious and she cocked her head as she stared at the screen, her lips pursing as she tried to fight back a smile. "Blimey! Get a girlfriend, Jeff." The Doctor muttered.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with it. It's an instinctive behaviour in all of us." Rhea told the Doctor.
"Hippie." The Doctor muttered, fondly.
Rhea snorted. "Just because I'm in touch with my sexuality and a total believer in 'free love' does not make a hippie. It makes me modern." Rhea smirked. "I thought you of all people would like how "free" I am." She purred. The Doctor flushed and Rhea laughed, throwing her head back.
The door swung open and Jeff's grandmother walked in.
"Gran!" Jeff shouted, absolutely mortified at this point.
"What are you doing?" The older woman frowned at the three of them sitting on Jeff's bed.
"The sun's gone wibbly, so right now, somewhere out there, there's going to be a big video conference call." The Doctor explained, not taking his eyes off the screen. He kept typing, furiously. "All the experts in the world panicking at once, and do you know what they need? Me." He said, matter-of-factly, smiling, smugly, to himself. "Ah, and here they all are. All the big boys. NASA, Jodrell Bank, Tokyo Space Centre, Patrick Moore." The Doctor murmured, as each of those faces appeared on the screen.
"Ooh, I like Patrick Moore." The old woman exclaimed, her eyes lighting up.
"I'll get you his number," He smiled at her. "But watch him, he's a devil."
"Um, can we quit the dating service and focus on the problem at hand here?" Rhea asked, shaking the Doctor's shoulder.
"You can't just hack in on a call like that." Jeff said, leaning forward, his eyes widening as he thought about the possible consequences for what the strange man was doing in his bedroom! He'd probably get arrested for this.
"Oh, you'll find that the normal privacy laws don't apply to Mr. Incredible over here." Rhea told Jeff.
"Mr. Incredible," The Doctor grinned at her. "I like the sound of that. You should call me that more often."
She leaned in, resting her chin on her shoulder. "I'll call you that whenever and wherever you want me to." She leaned back, smiling, seductively, at him, with her teeth nipping her bottom lip. The Doctor smirked at her and their noses touched briefly.
"Can't I?" The Doctor said, answering Jeff's objection. He held the psychic paper to the webcam, so that the six people in the video conference could see his 'credentials'.
"Who are you? This is a secure call. What are you doing?" One of the experts said, angrily.
"Hello. I know, you should switch me off. But before you do, watch this." The Doctor murmured, typing, furiously.
"It's here too, I'm getting it." Another expert said.
"Fermat's Theorem, the proof, and I mean the real one, never seen before. Poor old Fermat, got killed in a duel before he could write it down." He looked up, sheepish and ashamed. "My fault, I slept in. Oh, and here's an oldie but a goodie, why electrons have mass. And a personal favourite of mine, faster-than-light travel with two diagrams and a joke." Rhea raised an eyebrow. She wasn't a science-y person, in fact, physics really just went straight over her head a lot of the time, but she was guessing by the growing astonishment on the experts' faces that what the Doctor was typing was incredible, indeed. "Look at your screens." He ordered the experts, looking absolutely serious. "Whoever I am, I'm a genius."
"And a show-off." Rhea muttered, under her breath.
"Look at the sun. You need all the help you can get. Fellas, pay attention."
The Doctor took his mobile and started typing on it, in addition to the computer.
"Sir, what are you doing?" One of the experts asked him.
"I'm writing a computer virus. Very clever, super-fast, and a tiny bit alive, but don't let on. Why am I writing it on a phone?" He looked up at the screen. "Never mind, you'll find out. OK, I'm sending this to all your computers. Get everyone who works for you sending this everywhere. Email, text, Facebook, Bebo," Rhea scoffed. "Twitter, radar dish, whatever you've got" The Doctor instructed. "Any questions?" The Doctor asked.
"Who's your lady friend?" Patrick Moore asked, grinning at Rhea, who had a pleased smile on her face.
"Patrick, behave!" The Doctor scolded, slightly sharply, a tiny bit of jealousy colouring his tone, making Rhea laugh.
"What does this virus do?" One of the experts asked.
"It's a reset command, that's all." The Doctor shrugged. "It resets counters, it gets in the wi-fi and resets every counter it can find. Clocks, calendars, anything with a chip will default at zero at exactly the same time." The people on the screen still looked a bit doubtful. The Doctor nodded. "But, yeah, I could be lying, why should you trust me? I'll let my best man explain." There was a long silence. The Doctor turned to Jeff. "Jeff, you're my best man." He whispered.
"Your what?" Jeff asked, confused and slightly afraid.
The Doctor's head hung. Why are humans so slow! He closed the laptop, halfway, so that the experts couldn't see or hear what he was saying to Jeff. "Listen to me. In ten minutes, you're going to be a legend. In ten minutes, everyone on that screen is going to be offering you any job you want. But first, you have to be magnificent. You have to make them trust you and get them working. This is it, Jeff. Right here, right now. This is when you fly. Today's the day you save the world."
Jeff frowned. "Why me?"
The Doctor shrugged. "It's your bedroom." He said, patting him on the shoulder. "Now go, go, go." He quickly grabbed Rhea's hand and pulled her after him out the door.
Jeff opened up the laptop. "Okay, guys, let's do this." He said, and started typing.
Suddenly, the Doctor slammed the door open and poked his head back in the room. "Oh, and delete your internet history." And he darted out.
Rhea was waiting outside the fence for him when he ran out of Jeff's house. They were looking around, when Rhea saw something in the distance that could help them out.
"There's a fire truck," Rhea began. She turned to look at the Doctor, beaming at him with a large, mischievous smile. "Shall we steal it?" She asked, cheekily.
The Doctor grinned down at her, pecking her on the forehead, quickly. "Good girl." The Doctor murmured against her skin.
They ran towards the vehicle and the Doctor lifted Rhea by her waist and placed her inside the truck.
"It's like I'm a freaking baby." Rhea muttered under her breath.
"You're just tiny." The Doctor said, looking her up and down. Something low and primal in her stomach clenched as his eyes roved over her body. I guess the 'raggedy' really does it for me. She mused. Or maybe it's the chin. Mmm….
Rory was talking to the other nurses, while Amy was staring at her mobile, waiting for a call. Rory joined her again.
"Something's happened up there, we can't get through." Rory muttered, looking around, worriedly.
Amy redialled Rhea's number in her frustration. "Yes, but what's happened?"
Rory shook his head. "I don't know. No-one knows. Phone them."
"I'm phoning them. Rhea? We're at the hospital, but we can't get through. Oh!" Amy looked around in surprise.
"Look in the mirror, honey." Rhea said, resisting the urge to smack her forehead in her frustration.
"What did she say?" Rory asked, hurriedly.
"Look in the mirror." Amy repeated, slowly. She turned around and saw her reflection, understanding dawning in her eyes. "Ha-ha! Uniform!" Amy said, happily, tying her red locks up in a bun. "Are you on your way? You're going to need a car."
The Doctor turned the wheel, haphazardly.
Rhea lowered the phone, slightly. "You should let me drive." She complained. "You're going to get us into an accident!"
"Ha!" That was the Doctor's only response.
Rhea sighed and raised the phone to her ear. "Don't worry, we're driving there as we speak." The Doctor turned the fire engine siren on as he drove.
Rory and Amy got out of the lift and saw that the corridors were an absolute mess. Gurneys and tables were overturned; scrubs and utensils littered the floor. A woman holding the hands of two young twin girls came around the corner and saw them.
"Officer." The woman said, sighing in relief, when she saw Amy's uniform.
"What happened?" Amy asked, worriedly, deciding not to mention that she wasn't actually a policewoman.
"There was a man. A man with a dog. I think Dr Ramsden's dead. And the nurses." The woman said, worriedly.
Amy phoned Rhea again.
"Are you inside?" Rhea asked.
"Yep." She paused, eyeing the state of the corridor. "But so's Prisoner Zero."
"You need to get out of there." Rhea said, urgently, her hand running and winding through her hair, which had fallen out of the bun she had placed it in. She growled in her frustration and tied it up again.
Rory turned away from Amy towards the woman, as she started speaking again, realising that the older feminine voice was coming from one of the little girls instead of from the woman.
"He was so angry. He kept shouting. And that dog, the size of that dog, I swear it was rabid." Amy and Rory backed away from the three in their terror. "And he just went mad, attacking everyone. Where did he go, did you see? Has he gone? We hid in the ladies." The woman smiled, as if she had realised her mistake. "Oh, I'm getting it wrong again, aren't I? I'm always doing that. So many mouths." She and the two little girls opened their mouths to reveal sharp, elongated teeth.
"Oh, my god!" Rory exclaimed, his face paling.
Rory and Amy ran down the corridor in a hurry into one of the wards, their feet skidding across the floor. They closed the doors behind them and slid a broom through the handles.
"Amy, talk to me!" Rhea shouted into the phone.
Amy and Rory backed away from the door, slowly, to the centre of the room.
"We're in the coma ward. But it's here, it's getting in." Amy whispered, hurriedly, into the phone.
The Doctor snatched the phone away from Rhea, rudely, amidst her annoyed mutters. "Which window are you?" The Doctor asked over the phone.
"What, sorry?" Amy asked.
"Which window?" Rhea asked, after she grabbed the phone back from the Doctor, confused by his question but decided to go with it. It was either going to be an adrenaline rush or incredibly dangerous.
"First floor on the left, fourth from the end." Amy told them, looking around, confused of why that would be relevant at this moment in time.
The doors slammed open, the broom breaking two, and the woman and two girls stepped into the room, calm as ever.
"Oh, dear. Little Amelia Pond." Prisoner Zero said, faux-sympathetically. "I've watched you grow up. 12 years, and you never even knew I was there. Little Amelia Pond, waiting for her magic Doctor to return, but not this time, Amelia." The alien was about to say something, when Amy's phone beeped.
She looked down to see a text message from the Doctor and Rhea. 'DUCK', she read the message. Amy heard the wail of a siren and pushed Rory down, her eyes widening, just as the ladder from the fire engine broke through the window, showering glass everywhere. The Doctor climbed up the ladder and joined Amy and Rory.
"Oh, I can't believe I'm letting you do this to me." Rhea muttered, following him up the ladder, through the window and taking her place next to him. "I hate you."
"No, you don't!" The Doctor called, grinning at her, taking Rhea by the waist and pulling her off the ladder, safely to her feet and into his arms. He smiled at Amy and Rory and turned his attention to Prisoner Zero, who had apparently taken the form of an older, brunette woman with two, little twin girls. "Right!" The Doctor jumped off the ladder. "Hello! Am I late?" He looked up at the clock on the wall behind Prisoner Zero. "No, three minutes to go. So still time."
Prisoner Zero smirked. "Time for what, Time Lord?"
The Doctor tensed. "Take the disguise off. They'll find you in a heartbeat. Nobody dies." He warned.
"The Atraxi will kill me this time. If I am to die, let there be fire." The prisoner said, a sick smile plastered across the woman's face.
"Okay." The Doctor shrugged. "You came to this world by opening a crack in space and time. Do it again, just leave."
Prisoner Zero shook her head. "I did not open the crack."
"Well, obviously, someone did." Rhea pointed out, her hand, instinctively, reached out for the Doctor's.
Prisoner Zero smiled, smugly, at the Doctor and Rhea. "The cracks in the skin of the universe, don't you know where they came from?" The alien raised her eyebrow. "You don't, do you?" Her smiled widened. Her voice changed into the daughter's. "The Doctor and his Time Goddess in their TARDIS don't know," The mother cackled in the childish voice. "Don't know, don't know," Prisoner Zero sang.
"Time Goddess?" Rhea heard Amy mutter.
Rhea turned to the girl. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."
Prisoner Zero voice changed back into the woman's. "The universe is cracked. The Pandorica will open. Silence will fall." She said, her eyes bright with wickedness.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good at all." Rhea murmured to the Doctor, who simply clutched onto her hand, tightly.
There was a clicking sound and Rhea and the Doctor looked up to see the clock on the wall.
"And we're off! Look at that." The Doctor told Rhea, pointing at the clock. "Look at that!" The clock now read '0:00'. "Yeah, I know, just a clock, whatever. But do you know what's happening right now?" The Doctor asked Prisoner Zero, smugly. "In one little bedroom, my team are working. Jeff and the world. And do you know what they're doing?" His eyes lit up. "They're spreading the word all over the world, quantum fast. The word is out. And do you know what the word is? The word is zero." The Doctor smirked.
"Now, see," Rhea started smiling, devilishly, herself. "If I were up in the sky in a battleship, monitoring all Earth communications, I'd take that as a hint." She said, mockingly. "And if I had a whole battle fleet surrounding the planet, I'd be able track a simple old computer virus to its source in, what," She looked at the Doctor. "Under a minute?" She guessed. The Doctor nodded and Rhea grinned. She took her phone from the Doctor's pocket. "The source, by the way, is right here." Suddenly, a bright white light shone through the windows, bathing all of them in it. "Oh! And I think they just found us!" She told the Doctor.
"The Atraxi are limited. While I'm in this form, they'll still be unable to detect me. They've tracked a phone, not me." Prisoner Zero said, through gritted teeth.
"Yeah, but this is the good bit. I mean, this is my favourite bit." The Doctor corrected. "Do you know what this phone is full of? Pictures of you." He said, with a smirk. "Every form you've learned to take, right here. Oh, and being uploaded about now. And the final score is, no TARDIS, no screwdriver…two minutes to spare." He held is arms out, brimming with confidence. "Who da man?"
"Oh, dear lord." Rhea muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "Oh, honey," She began, patronisingly. "No one's said that since the nineties."
"Oh, I'm never saying that again!" The Doctor agreed. "Fine."
"Then I shall take a new form." Prisoner Zero told them.
"Oh, stop it, you know you can't. Takes months to form that kind of psychic link." The Doctor said.
Prisoner Zero smiled. "And I've had years." And she started glowing.
There was a thump and Rhea and the Doctor spun on their feet to see Amy fall to the floor in a dead faint. They rushed over to her.
"No!" Rhea swore, sinking to her knees beside the red-headed girl. "Amy?"
The Doctor placed his hands on Amy's face. "You've got to hold on. Amy! Don't sleep! You've got to stay awake, please."
"Doctor?" Rory said, tentatively, looking at Prisoner Zero.
The Doctor turned to see that Prisoner Zero had taken Rhea's form, she always looks so beautiful, who was currently holding the hand of a man with floppy brown hair and a torn shirt and suit. "Well, that's rubbish. Who's that supposed to be?"
"It's you." Rhea told him.
"Me?" The Doctor asked, frowning, critically.
"You don't know?" Rory asked, wondering if the man in front of him was insane.
"Busy day." He stood and turned to Rhea. "Well, what do you think?" He asked, gesturing to himself.
Rhea shrugged. "I think you look cute." Rhea smirked, checking him out, unashamedly. "And by cute, I mean really, really sexy." She purred, biting her lower lip and giving him those smoldering green eyes that made his mouth dry and tangled his tongue, quite effortlessly, turning him speechless. All he could do at this point was grin and run the back of knuckles up and down her spine, which, in turn, made her squirm.
"Why me, though?" The Doctor asked, turning his attention back to Prisoner Zero. "You're linked with her. Why are you copying me?"
"I'm not." A familiar, young, feminine, Scottish voice said, as little Amelia Pond appeared from behind the Doctor and Rhea. "Poor Amy Pond. Still such a child inside. Dreaming of the magic Doctor and Golden Girl she knows will return to save her." The form of the little girl eyed the two with contempt. "What a disappointment you've been."
Rhea tensed, but the Doctor's face was simply blank. "No, she's dreaming about us 'cause she can hear us." The Doctor ran back to Amy. "Amy, don't just hear me, listen. Remember the room, the room in your house you couldn't see? Remember you and Rhea went inside. I tried to stop you both, but you did. You went in the room. You went inside. Dream about what you saw." The Doctor ordered, gently.
"No... no... No!" Prisoner Zero shouted as he started glowing and transforming into the same eel-like creature Amy and Rhea had seen in the sixth room in Amy's house.
"Well done, Prisoner Zero. A perfect impersonation of yourself." The Doctor said, smugly, facing it.
Prisoner Zero was caught in the Atraxi's white light, writhing in its struggle.
"Prisoner Zero is located. Prisoner Zero is restrained." The disembodied voice echoed.
"Silence, Doctor. Silence will fall." Prisoner Zero said, stilling for a second before disappearing.
There was a whoosh of air as the spaceship left. The Doctor ran to the window, taking Rhea's mobile from her hand as he did so, dialling quickly.
"The sun, it's back to normal, right?" Rory asked them. "That's... That's good, yeah? That means it's over." Amy started to wake, slowly. Rhea rushed over, kneeling beside the dazed girl. "Amy? Are you OK? Are you with us?" Rory asked, worriedly.
"What happened?" Amy asked Rhea.
"They did it. The Doctor and Rhea did it." Rory told her.
"No, we didn't." The Doctor said, still dialling.
"What are you doing?" Rhea asked, walking over to him.
"Tracking the signal back." The Doctor explained. He turned to Rory, briefly. "Sorry, in advance."
"About what?"
"The bill." The Doctor murmured.
"I'll pay you." Rhea told him, helpfully. You know, if we ever end up going to 2013 so it's not like I'm stealing from myself.
He held the phone to his ear. "Oi, I didn't say you could go!" The Doctor shouted. "Article 57 of the Shadow Proclamation. This is a fully established, level 5 planet, and you were going to burn it?" His voice went dangerously low. "What...? Did you think no-one was watching?" He asked, quietly. "You lot, back here. Now!" He growled. He tossed the phone back to Rory. "Okay," He nodded. "Now I've done it." He left the ward and Rhea followed him.
"Did he just bring them back? Did he just save the world from aliens and then bring all the aliens back again?" They heard Rory ask, sceptically and confused.
The Doctor and Rhea strode down the corridor, the former determined, the latter simply playing along. Amy and Rory followed them.
"Where are you going?" Amy asked them.
"The room. No, wait, hang on." The Doctor said, catching sight of something and dragging Rhea in that direction.
Rhea found herself in a changing room, looking around, as the Doctor sifted through the piles of clothes, tossing away what didn't appeal. She looked down at herself and grimaced. She had jumped twice into a swimming pool, wearing the same thing she was now, not to mention, running around the entirety of Leadworth in the span of a hour. Rhea noticed a grey dress and pink wrap sitting on of the piles the Doctor had sifted through and reached over to pick it up. Now that doesn't look bad.
"What's in here?" Amy asked, once she and Rory joined them.
"I'm saving the world, I need a decent shirt. To hell with the raggedy. Time to put on a show!" The Doctor said, with flair, his hands whipping around to illustrate his point.
"Well?" Rhea asked the Doctor, holding the dress up against her body.
The Doctor stared at her, thoughtfully, looking it over. Suddenly, he reached over and tugged her hair out of the bun she had placed it in, letting the curls fall around her face. He smiled at the picture she made.
"Now change." The Doctor ordered. He tensed. "But over there." The Doctor pointed to a curtain in the corner of the room, eyeing Rory with suspicion.
Rhea rolled her eyes and stormed over to the curtain, wrapping it around her, so no one would see. Although you wouldn't mind if a certain Time Lord took a peek…oh, shut up. She quickly stripped herself of the yellow dress she had been wearing and slipped on the grey dress, draping the pink shawl across one shoulder and wrapping it around her waist. She stepped out from the curtain to see the Doctor still debating which one to wear. She rolled her eyes again and pulled out a pale shirt and black pants, tossing the items at the Doctor, who caught them with wide eyes. She eyed some red suspenders with a fond smile and held them up against the Doctor's torso, nodding when she agreed they suited him. She grabbed a tweed jacket and threw it at him with a laugh.
"Tweed," The Doctor grimaced. "Seriously?" He raised an eyebrow.
Her hands went to her hips and she raised an eyebrow as well. "Are you questioning my fashion sense?"
"No, dear." The Doctor sighed, giving in and kissing her quickly on the cheek.
"You just summoned aliens back to Earth." Rory clarified.
The Doctor started to strip off what was left of the pinstripe suit ensemble that the previous Doctor, matchstick man, had favoured. Rhea forcibly squashed whatever was stuck in her throat, which had made it hard for her to breathe. Everything was fleeting in her world. She had no right to get attached. Where did this guy get off making her feel things she hadn't felt or hadn't let herself feel in years? Bastard. She wouldn't cry though. Not even for the remnants of some grief that was unfounded in the first place. It's not like I've never see matchstick man ever again. Even if I couldn't, that's no reason to get emotional. No one's there forever. I know that better than anyone.
"Actual aliens," Rory continued. "Deadly aliens, aliens of death, and now you're taking your clothes off..." He paused. "Amy, he's taking his clothes off."
"Turn your back if it embarrasses you." The Doctor said, smugly, his back to Rory, as Rhea faced him head on.
"Are you stealing clothes now? Those clothes belong to people, you know." Rory said, attempting to get himself on higher moral ground than the Doctor, obviously overwhelmed by the events that had occurred in such a short time.
Poor guy, he's obviously trying to get Amy's attention. Rhea mused.
Rory turned around, but peeked back, briefly, to see Amy staring the Doctor's form, appreciatively. "Are you not you going to turn your back?" Rory hissed.
Amy smirked. "No." She said, eyeing the Doctor appreciatively.
Rhea rolled her eyes, as a tiny sliver of jealousy stabbed straight through her, not that she would ever admit it, and walked over to the couple, forcibly turning Amy around by the shoulders, and winking at Rory after he shot her a 'thank you' look from the side. She turned to face the Doctor, gazing at his lean, yet deceptively muscular back with a great degree of lust. The Doctor chuckled, turning around and winking at her, when he felt her eyes on his back, knowing that she was checking him out. Oh, Rhea, you are so transparent sometimes.
The Doctor now wore the long-sleeved shirt, trousers with braces and a number of ties wrapped around his neck, having been unable to choose the right one. He strode, determinedly, to where the Atraxi ship was waiting, Rhea by his side and Amy and Rory standing back a bit.
"How is this a good idea?" Rhea muttered to the Doctor. "They were leaving."
"Leaving is good." The Doctor agreed, his mouth set in a firm line. "Never coming back is better." He smirked up at the spaceship. "Come on, then!" He shouted. "The Doctor will see you now." He said, with a dry smile.
"Oh, sweetie, that was lame, even for you." Rhea whispered, making him glare, playfully, at her.
The "eye" disconnected from the ship and swooped down to their level, scanning the Doctor as he pulled the suspenders over his shoulders.
"You are not of this world." The Atraxi said.
"No, but I've put a lot of work into it." The Doctor explained, examining one of the ties. He turned to Rhea, holding the tie up next to his face. "I don't know. What do you think?"
Rhea wrinkled her nose and simply reached out and tossed that particular tie away.
"Is this world important?" The Atraxi asked.
"Important? What does that even mean, important? 6 billion people live here, of course it's fucking important!" Rhea snapped.
The Doctor threw away another tie and Rory caught it. "Here's a better question. Is this world a threat to the Atraxi?" He asked, dangerously. He threw another tie, which landed on Amy's shoulder, who gave it to Rory with annoyed eyes. "Well, come on. You're monitoring the whole planet. Is this world a threat?"
The Atraxi projected a hologram of the Earth's history in front of them. There were images of war and of peace.
"No." The Atraxi replied.
"Are the peoples of this world guilty of any crime by the laws of the Atraxi?" The Doctor asked, holding up another tie and tossing it away.
"No."
"Okay. One more. Just one. Is this world protected?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Because you're not the first lot to come here." As the Doctor was talking, images of various aliens flashed in the projection. Rhea recognised the Cybermen, the Racnoss, the weird tentacle alien from when the Doctor had regenerated and the Sontarans. She was curious to find out who the pepper-shakers were, and the dragon-like creatures and the disembodied spacesuits as well. "Oh, there have been so many! And what you've got to ask is... what happened to them?"
The hologram flickered and started to show images of every one of the Doctor's past selves. That actually wasn't the interesting bit; the interesting bit was Rhea's own face alongside each incarnation, looking exactly the same, never changing. Okay, now I'm freaking out a bit.
The Doctor, meanwhile, was struggling with the bow-tie around his collar. Rhea rolled her eyes and reached over, helping him slip on the tweed jacket. She smacked his hands away from his neck and tying the bow-tie, herself, around his neck, tightening it at the end. She smoothed down the collar over the bow-tie once she was done and her hands slid down his chest, resting on his stomach, as she looked him over appreciatively.
The images reached the Doctor's last body, the Tenth Doctor and Rhea, and the Doctor, the current one, stepped through the hologram, pulling Rhea along with him, a familiar red bow-tie nestled above his collarbone, a smug smirk plastered across his face, brimming with confidence and pride. "Hello. I'm the Doctor and this is my Rhea." He said, holding Rhea's hand; he raised their joined hands to his lips, kissing her upturned palm with a soft smile. "Basically…" The Doctor turned his attention back to the Atraxi. "Run."
The 'eye' zoomed away just as quick as it had sped down, the ship disappearing along with it. Amy laughed in disbelief. The Doctor winced as something hot singed his skin from inside his tweed jacket's pocket. He reached in and pulled out the TARDIS key, the warm metal glowing in his palm.
"Well, I think that's a sign." Rhea said, dryly, and they both took off, back to Amy's house.
"Is that it? Is that them gone for good? Who were they?" Amy looked down from the sky and looked around, seeing that the Doctor and Rhea were gone.
The Doctor and Rhea ran out the front door of the hospital and across the green grass. They ran as quick as they could down the same village road they come and returned to Amy's back garden, slowing down as they reached the archway in front of where the TARDIS stood. The outside of the TARDIS looked a little less grotty than it had before and Rhea and the Doctor stopped in front of it.
"Okay!" The Doctor said, his eyes lighting up. "What have you got for us this time?"
Rhea reached out, swallowing hard, and opened the door, shakily, stepping inside, expecting to be greeted with a familiar, dimly lit console room with coral struts. But her eyes blinked a few times as they got used to the surprise that awaited them.
"Look at you!" The Doctor hummed, his hand falling to the small of Rhea's back, as he came up behind her. She could practically hear him smiling.
"Oh, you sexy thing!" They both breathed at the same time, then looked at each other and smiled, fondly, drawn together in their similar affection for the gorgeous time machine.
"Look at you." Rhea whispered, taking a few more steps forward, as the doors shut behind them. They didn't even see Amy and Rory run up the pebbled walkway. The TARDIS dematerialised, leaving a hurt and confused Amelia Pond behind.
The TARDIS looked so much more modern now, with bright yellow lights, instead of the dim lighting Rhea was used to, or the techno feel she had gotten in the future Doctor's TARDIS. It still felt like coral, but there were no more struts, instead there were wide round things on the walls. The floor was glass now, instead of grilling, and you could see straight to the bottom of the TARDIS, where all the wires were and, surprisingly, a swing. There was a staircase in the corner that led downstairs to the wires, and many other staircases that led, hopefully, into the rest of the TARDIS. Even the console looked different. There was a typewriter attached to the edge of the console, which made Rhea frown and shake her head. It was all whimsical and fairy-tale, something that reminded her of this Doctor well.
"Oh, you're absolutely lovely, you gorgeous girl." Rhea murmured, stroking the console, affectionately. The TARDIS hummed under her fingers, as if thanking her for the compliment.
A hand wrapped around Rhea's waist, making a warm glow spread in her chest, which she cursed happily, and dragged her to the console. Rhea looked up at him, inquisitively.
"Where to?" The Doctor asked her, excitedly, eager to try out all the buttons and swirly bells and thing-a-ma-jigs. "Anywhere in time and space, where do you want to go?" The Doctor's face fell. "I better go the moon and back first, run her in."
"And we have to pick up Amy." Rhea pointed out. She felt guilty as hell for leaving the leggy red-head behind.
The Doctor snapped his fingers, agreeing with her. "Got it, moon first, then Leadworth." He said the last word with a grimace.
The Doctor and Rhea stepped out of the TARDIS, leaning against the blue doors as Amy rushed up the pathway to then, clad in a white nightie and robe and matching slippers.
"Sorry about running off earlier. Brand-new TARDIS, bit exciting." The Doctor apologised.
"Very exciting." Rhea corrected.
"Just had a quick hop to the moon and back to run her in. She's ready for the big stuff now." The Doctor said, patting the double doors affectionately.
"It's you." Amy looked at Rhea and the Doctor with wonder. "You came back."
"Course we came back." The Doctor said. "We always come back. Something wrong with that?"
"And you kept the clothes?" Amy asked, raising an eyebrow at the two of them.
"Well, we just saved the world, the whole planet, for about the millionth time, no charge. Yeah, shoot us!" The Doctor said, sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "We kept the clothes."
"And the bow-tie." Rhea clarified, guessing what Amy was about to ask, with a knowing smile.
The Doctor frowned at her, looking insulted. "Yeah, it's cool." He defended. "Bow ties are cool."
"Are you from another planet?" Amy asked, incredulously.
"Well, he is, I'm from Earth." Rhea told her.
"Okay…" Amy trailed off, not sure what to say after that revelation.
"So what do you think?" The Doctor asked, after a pause, hesitating just a bit.
"Of what?" Amy asked, frowning in confusion.
"Other planets." Rhea said. "Wanna check some out?" Rhea asked.
Amy's shoulders dropped in defeat and she took a step forward. "What does that mean?" Amy asked, wearily.
"It means... Well, it means..." The Doctor stammered. "Come with us."
"Where?" Amy asked, her voice rising.
Rhea smiled, gently, at her. "Wherever you like."
Amy took a breath in. "All that stuff, the hospital, the spaceships, Prisoner Zero..."
"Oh, don't worry." The Doctor shook his head. "That's just the beginning. There's loads more."
"Yeah, but those things, amazing things, all that stuff..." Amy took another step forward, her features transforming in anger. "That was two years ago!" She spat.
Rhea groaned.
The Doctor looked like a deer caught in headlights.
Rhea shook her head and turned around, smacking the Doctor hard on the arm, making him wince. "I knew this was going to happen." Rhea hissed. "You know how you're always saying that you're a good driver, well, you can never say that again!"
"Oops." The Doctor muttered, his eyes closing in guilt.
"Yeah." Amy said, nodding.
"So that's…"
"14 years!" Amy hissed.
"14 years since fish custard." The Doctor said, making Rhea grimace as she thought about that particular memory. "Amy Pond, the girl who waited, you've waited long enough."
Amy looked at the TARDIS and back again at Rhea and the Doctor, thinking her decision over. "When I was a kid, you said there was a swimming pool and a library, and the swimming pool was in the library."
"Yeah. Not sure where it's got to now. It'll turn up. So... coming?" The Doctor asked.
"No." Amy said, unsure.
"You wanted to come 14 years ago." Rhea pointed out.
"I grew up." Amy whispered.
The Doctor smirked. "Don't worry. I'll soon fix that." He snapped his fingers and one of the doors to the TARDIS opened, bathing Amy in a warm, orange glow. Overwhelmed and definitely curious, she entered slowly.
The Doctor and Rhea followed her inside, holding their breath until the Doctor couldn't take the suspense any longer.
"Well...? Anything you want to say? Any passing remarks? I've heard them all." The Doctor said, smugly.
"I'm in my nightie." Amy whispered, her eyes wide as she looked around.
"I doubt you've heard that one." Rhea muttered to the Doctor, who smirked at her.
"You've said that to me once. Of course, different time and place." The Doctor murmured in her ear, his hand trailing across her back, smoothly.
She smiled, brazenly, up at him. "Spoilers, honey." She purred, pressing her lips to the curve of his jaw quickly.
The Doctor cleared his throat, turning his attention back to Amy. "Oh, don't worry. Plenty of clothes in the wardrobe. Rhea can show you the way, she definitely knows how to get there."
"Hey!" Rhea protested. "I don't go to the wardrobe often. The TARDIS puts the clothes she thinks I'd like to wear in my closet. There's a difference."
"There might even be a swimming pool." The Doctor said, ignoring Rhea. "So... all of time and space, everything that ever happened or ever will... Where do you want to start?" The Doctor asked Amy, walking around the console and peering at her around the time rotor.
"You are so sure that I'm coming." Amy said.
"Of course we are." Rhea snorted.
"Why?"
"'Cause you're the Scottish girl in the English village, and I know how that feels." The Doctor said.
Rhea raised an eyebrow, looking at him. "Oh, you do, do you?"
"All these years living here most of your life... and you've still got that accent. Yeah, you're coming." The Doctor said, with a smug smile.
Amy hesitated and looked at the Doctor. "Can you get me back for tomorrow morning?"
"It's a time machine. I can get you back five minutes ago." The Doctor pointed out. He patted the console and withdrew his hand quickly as it sparked, as if the TARDIS were disagreeing with him. "Or Rhea can." He muttered, unwillingly.
"What's tomorrow?" Rhea asked, suspiciously, wondering what the reason was for Amy's skittishness. She had to smile when she heard the Doctor's mumbled comment though. It was nice to know he trusted her ability to fly the TARDIS.
"Nothing." Amy shook her head. "Nothing." "Just... you know, stuff."
The Doctor frowned, but didn't say anything else. "All right, then. Back in time for stuff." Just then, Rhea marveled as a new screwdriver slid out of a hatch in the console. "Oh! A new one!" He tested it, a familiar green light and loud hum filling the air. "Lovely." He whispered. He stroked the time rotor, reverently. He threw it in the air and caught it again, putting it into the pocket of his jacket. "Thanks dear." He set the controls for their next destination.
Amy twisted a few controls on her side of the console, her hands shaking. She turned around, pressing her back against the edge and looked up in wonder and absolute disbelief. In all her years, she never thought this would be happening. Rhea smiled when she noticed Amy's overwhelmed state, sliding over to her and wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders, squeezing lightly.
"Okay?" She whispered, nudging her softly with her elbow.
Amy nodded stiffly and smiled at her.
"Why me?" Amy asked, suddenly.
"Why not?" The Doctor asked.
"No, seriously. You are asking me to run away with you in the middle of the night. It's a fair question. Why me?" Amy asked, with a teasing smile on her face.
"Oh, well, way to make it sound like the plot to a cheesy romance novel." Rhea said, sarcastically, pulling one of the levers underneath the console and twisting something that looked like a cross between a button and a miniaturised version of the Death Star.
"I don't know." The Doctor shrugged, and now, Rhea was curious herself. "Fun. Do I have to have a reason?"
"People always have a reason." Rhea said.
"Do I look like people?" The Doctor asked.
"Yes." Amy said, slightly sharp. The Doctor's smile fell and he winced, remembering the answer that little Amelia had given him for that same question.
"Rhea and I've been knocking around on our own for a while," He looked at Rhea with a fond smile. "Our choice, but Rhea gets annoyed after a while, having only me to talk to. She says I give her a headache." He said, bumping her hip with his. He picked up a phone, an honest-to-God landline, off the console and held it to his ear, putting it back down after a few seconds.
Rhea let out a sign. She couldn't imagine a time where she could get sick of the Doctor and his incessant chatter. It actually endeared him to her…most of the time. She was realising quickly with horror that she was actually quite indulgent with him nowadays. Any other person, she wouldn't have had the patience to deal with them, but him… he did things to her mind and to her heart that she didn't really want to admit.
"You're lonely." Amy said, looking at the two of them. "That's it? Just that?"
"Just that." The Doctor nodded. "Promise."
Rhea frowned when she saw what was on the scanner. A reading with a line that looked remarkably similar to the crack in Amy's bedroom wall. Rhea raised an eyebrow at the Doctor's back, guessing that there were other reasons for the Doctor taking Amy along with them, reasons she was sure the Doctor would confess to her soon. She'd make him. She reached out and switched off the monitor, joining the Doctor and Amy at the banister.
"So, are you okay, then?" The Doctor asked, worriedly. "Cos this place, sometimes it can make people feel a bit... you know."
"I'm fine. It's just... There's a whole world in here, just like you said." Amy said, hurriedly, staring at the ceiling. "It's all true. I thought...well, I started to think that maybe you were just like a madman and woman with a box." She whispered, her hand touching her hair as she did so.
"Amy Pond, there's something you'd better understand. It's important, and one day your life may depend on it." The Doctor said, seriously.
"We are definitely a madman and woman in a box." Rhea finished, winking at the girl, who started to smile, slowly. Then, Rhea paused, grimacing. "Oh, I can't believe I actually admitted to that." She moaned, burying her face in her hands.
The Doctor laughed and ran back to the console, Rhea and Amy joining him, their hands clutching the edge.
"Goodbye, Leadworth. Hello, everything!" The Doctor said, his eyes bright. He pressed a button and they were knocked back, still holding onto the console. The time rotor began to rise and fall and the Doctor, Rhea and Amy started laughing.
A/N: And that's the end of The Eleventh Hour. Hope you liked Rhea's interaction with the (soon-to-be) Ponds. And with the early Eleventh Doctor as well. They had a lot of flirting in the last two chapters, but Rhea is still ultimately keeping her walls up. I know, I know, it's really frustrating, but sorry guys, that's the sort of girl Rhea is. Incredibly protective of herself. She is making some progress, not a lot, but some, and someone did ask me something similar on Tumblr, I know their relationship is going very slow, but, realistically, Rhea just can't jump into bed with the Doctor straight away (though she really does want to sometimes). There was a little jealousy in this chapter, on Rhea and the Doctor's parts.
I feel like Rhea and Amy will have the best-friend-but-don't-always-get-each-other kind of relationship, because Amy and Rory play such a huge part in the Eleventh Doctor's life. And Rory, I have no idea how Rhea and Rory's relationship is going to go. I feel like Rhea needs some male relationships in her life that aren't with the Doctor. I thought about Mickey, but he wasn't in that many episodes to begin with. What do you think about Rhea and Mickey's relationship? Rhea and Jack… that's going to be fun. I'm actually going to be writing The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances very soon, do you think Rhea and Jack should have a romantic moment? Rhea and Rory, maybe like siblings? Rory is certainly a very caring person, I think he and Rhea will get along well in future episodes, depending on the order in which Rhea meets him, and I think Rhea would be very protective over Rory, especially against some of the things Amy does in the series. What are your thoughts?
And I would like your thoughts on another matter as well... this story's already at almost 30 chapters and there's still a hell of lot of chapters to go. Should I keep going, posting the chapters to this story, or should I split the stories up?
Anyway, Read and Review!