The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 43
A/N: Now, this is the chapter where it all goes down. Some more clues into Rhea's past and a falling out. And a tiny bit of smut at the end.
Wow, this is a really long chapter. I didn't even realise that it was this long.
Replies to Reviews:
Jess Mindfreak: I'm so glad you liked the chapter! I didn't want to make the make-up too emotional, because that doesn't really fit Rhea's personality to have heavy emotional conversations.
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! I fixed the link, it should work now. For some reason it was direction to a link on .
Tiara Peterson: I suppose that's the problem with WIP stories :) I know, I love Rhea, but I suppose that's because she's my baby, but she's an interesting character. Um, I have until the first season finale planned, completely. But for different episodes, I know what I want to happen to them in certain episodes, like the other finales. I have an episode schedule planned until the first season finale, but after that I've gone a bit blank. And I've written certain scenes for certain episodes, like now, I'm working on Human Nature even though it's awhile off.
TheGirlWhoLives: More and more, when I watch Doctor Who again, I realise that the Doctor has so many double standards when it comes to Rose, and it's not fair. Yep, Rose is the Doctor's conscience, but Rose doesn't need a conscience, she's so perfect. The same thing happened in Journey's End, he got so worried about Jack's plan and Martha's plan to destroy the Daleks or the Earth and he scolded them for it, but when Rose agreed with Martha and Jack, he didn't say a word against her.
Marmalade1512: Thank you so much! I wanted the chance to write the Ponds. Rhea... well, you just have to read and find out what she does in this chapter. It's quite a heavy one, to be honest, and a really long one, so enjoy!
grapejuice101: Thank you so much and hope you enjoy the chapter!
Warnings: Sexual imagery, sexual innuendo and swearing.
A Town Called Mercy: Frontierland
The Doctor scraped away the sand and rocks to reveal a hose running along the ground, holding it up with both hands and sniffing it, much to Rhea's disgust. He then tugged it loose, suspiciously, following the line up and down with his eyes, one end leading into the desert and the other end going back down to Mercy.
The lights in the Marshall's office flickered and Jex looked at one through his monocle.
The Doctor dropped the line and hurried Rhea back over to Susan.
Jex continued to stare at the lights, now solidified, a look of concern forming on his face.
The Doctor directed Susan to follow where the line ended, where it was sparking, with Rhea sitting behind him with a look of confusion.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." The Doctor yanked on the reins to make the horse stop. He and Rhea dismounted as Susan snorted. "Yes, I wear a Stetson now."
Rhea narrowed her eyes at him. "You look like Clint Eastwood, or at least Dean Winchester in Supernatural. I haven't decided." She blinked and looked down at the long line. "So, is that what Jex is using to connect his ship to the electricity in Mercy?"
"Yes," The Doctor nodded. He went up to the large round mound connected to the line and pulled off a dirty tarp to reveal an ovoid. Rhea pursed her lips and stomped up the rocky ridge to join him.
She ran her eyes over Jex's ship, not being able to spot any faults in the structure. "I thought he said he crashed. He said they pulled him out of the wreckage." Rhea hooked her arm in one of the Doctor's. "I can't see any wreckage."
The Doctor hummed in agreement, kissing her on the top of her head. "Good point, Rhea." He also examined the capsule with wary and suspicious eyes. "Where is the damage?" He murmured.
The Gunslinger walked to the edge of the ridge he was standing on and looked down to search for the two men. Isaac reached out to keep Rory pressed back against the wall, so that the Gunslinger couldn't see them. However, the Gunslinger picked up their heat signatures despite their attempts to stay hidden and raised his gun to fire.
The Doctor climbed on top of the capsule, where he knocked and tapped on the surface, realising that it was hollow inside.
"Is that safe?" Rhea asked, worriedly, taking a step closer to the pod and to the Doctor. "Be careful." She warned.
"Ha, careful, shmareful." The Doctor muttered, jumping on it and even slapping it before taking out his sonic screwdriver and flashing it at the top of the capsule.
Suddenly, alarms blared, loudly, and the Doctor and Rhea covered their ears as a door slid open, allowing them access.
The sound carried throughout the desert. The Gunslinger heard it, paused, and lowered his gun before turning away from Isaac and Rory, who leaned out to make sure he was gone before rushing away in the opposite direction.
Amy opened the main doors of the Marshall's office and stepped outside, followed by Jex, having heard the alarm sound through the town.
Amy and Jex stood on the porch and looked out onto the desert.
"That's the alarm on my ship!" Jex exclaimed.
Amy frowned. "Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again."
"But that wasn't the plan. They're not following the plan." Jex muttered, his eyes shifting from side to side.
"Welcome to my world." Amy murmured, smiling to herself.
Jex went back inside, while Amy stayed on the porch, wondering what the Doctor and Rhea were up to.
With a huff, both the Doctor and Rhea dropped into the capsule, the latter cursing as she accustomed to the tight fit. They both fell into the seat, Rhea's hands braced against the top, her back against one of the walls and her legs thrown across the Doctor's lap.
"Security breach. You have ten seconds to enter the pass-code or this vehicle will self-destruct." The computer intoned.
The Doctor shuffled around in the seat, ignoring Rhea's protests, and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, the light on the top flaring bright green when he used it on the control panel of the ship.
"Thank you for choosing Abaraxas Security Software. Incinerating intruders for three centuries. Nine, eight, seven." The Doctor muttered to himself and flashed the sonic screwdriver again, this time it working. "Self-destruct over-ridden."
"This is an awful lot of security for a titchy spacecraft..." He commented to Rhea.
"Well, you said the Kahler were a part of a war. Maybe that's the reason for the extra security." Rhea offered.
The Doctor looked at her, intensely. "You don't trust him." He told her, already knowing the answer.
Rhea smiled in reply. She patted him on the cheek, affectionately. "I don't trust anyone." She reminded him. "But no," She sighed. "I don't trust him. He seems too good to be true for Mercy, to be honest."
"You trust me." The Doctor said, softly.
The smile fell from her face and she swallowed hard, turning away from the Doctor and looking at the computer, missing his knowing look. "Shut up." She muttered and cleared her throat. "And it's not like you haven't proven yourself to me." She relented, grudgingly.
The Doctor squeezed her leg. "Thanks, Dimples." He said, quietly.
"Awaiting command." The computer interrupted their moment.
The Doctor exhaled. "Tell me everything you can about the Gunslinger." He ordered the computer.
"File not found."
The Doctor and Rhea groaned. "Of course not." Rhea muttered.
"Please choose from… Technical Specifications, Flight Recorder, Personal Files, Maps and Charts."
The Doctor pursed his lips, his eyebrows furrowing at the screen. "Personal files of Doctor Kahler-Jex." He answered.
Jex's face appeared onscreen along with scrolling text. "Names of deceased subjects can be found on the drop-down menu." Jex's voice came over the computer.
The Doctor and Rhea paled when they absorbed the files, full of people screaming in pain and agony. Rhea's hands slid into her hair, digging into her scalp, and her head turned away from the screen, not wanting to look any more. The Doctor cupped the back of her head in one of his hands and, sensing that she wasn't able to take it anymore, allowed her to bury her face in his shoulder.
"No, no, no, no, no." The Doctor growled out, shaking his head, his own hands resisting the urge to rip out his hair in rage and grief. He looked down at the woman in his arms and realised exactly how she must have been feeling after watching all of these slides. His hand trailed from the top of her head down her hair, trying to soothe her.
Amy entered the office, closing the doors behind her. When she turned around, she recoiled when she saw Jex cocking and aiming a gun at her face.
"I'm sorry, Amy." Jex said, mournfully. "They really should have followed the plan."
The Doctor and Rhea popped their heads outside of the capsule. Behind them, the Gunslinger aimed his gun at the Doctor's head. Rhea heard the sound of the weapon powering up and yanked on the Doctor's tweed jacket, pulling him back inside the capsule.
"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" The Doctor shouted, both of them coming out again and facing the Gunslinger. "We know who you are! And who Jex is too!"
The Gunslinger lowered the weapon, a calculating look on his face.
"What we don't understand is why you haven't just walked into the town and killed him?" Rhea said, quietly, her eyes searching the Gunslinger and understanding.
"People will get in the way." The Gunslinger said.
"Look, you want justice, you deserve justice, but this isn't the way. We can put him on trial, we can..."
The Gunslinger raised his weapon, incensed, and pointed at the Doctor. "When he starts killing your people, you can use your justice."
The Doctor eyed the gun, nervously.
"Please lower your gun. We're not interested in hurting you and I think you're not interested in hurting us either." Rhea pleaded.
The Gunslinger stared at her for a moment, before nodding and lowering his gun. "No more warning shots. I'll kill the next person to step over that line. Make sure it's Jex." He said, before walking away from them.
While keeping the gun trained on Amy, Jex filled his pockets with the personal items that were sitting in his cell.
"Isaac says he doesn't care about my past. But things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive." Jex moved over to the door, the gun still raised. "So it's best we beat a hasty retreat."
"We?" Amy's eyes widened, fearfully, her eyes darting between Jex and the door, hoping that Rory, Rhea or the Doctor would come back before Jex could leave. "I'm coming with you?"
Jex stared at Amy, intensely. "It's unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I'm with you. As far as I can tell, he's programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary." He explained.
"Well," Amy smiled, sarcastically. "Colour me reassured!" She snarled.
Jex backed out of the door, only to have a gun cocked and aimed at the back of his head. Rory growled, seeing the gun pointed at his wife, and shoved Jex back inside, Isaac right behind him, the gun still trained on Jex.
"Doc, what are you doin'?" Isaac asked, confused.
Rhea kicked at the capsule, furiously, and then turned away from him, snarling, while the Doctor watched her, intently. He watched her turn her back on him and still, her entire body tensing. He walked up to her, slowly, not wanting to frighten or startle her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. He could see her eyes close and she turned to face him, a furious and upset look on her face.
"What a bastard." She hissed. "I hope the Gunslinger shoots the son of a bitch between his eyes."
"We have to throw Jex over the line, that's what the Gunslinger wants." The Doctor muttered to himself, the horror and disgust at what Jex had done coursing through his veins. He had almost lashed out and punched the screen when he had seen the evidence, but Rhea had shut herself down the minute she had seen the footage of Jex's atrocities and he knew he had to bring her out of whatever shell she had concocted for herself. "We need to go back to Mercy. Amy and Rory are with him."
He started towards Susan, when he realised Rhea had not even moved from her place. He turned around, worriedly, and walked back over to her, her posture still tense and her thumb and index finger gripping the bridge of her nose.
"Rhea?" He said, cautiously, again.
She spun around to face him. "He can't be allowed to get away with this." She snarled and started for Susan, herself, when he reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards him.
"You want to tell me what's really going on?" The Doctor asked.
"People like Jex… they take someone's consent and screw them over and they think they get away it." Rhea swore, her eyes wild with something hidden.
"You're not talking about the Gunslinger anymore, are you?" The Doctor asked, carefully.
Rhea pursed her lips and swallowed hard, fighting back the angry tears. "I never agreed to any of it. Not once. No matter what he said." Rhea whispered.
The fury returned to the Doctor all over again as he realised what she was talking about, suddenly silenced by an overwhelming sense of grief. He wondered how long she had been waiting to say this to someone, whether she had wondered if anyone would believe her. Well, he would. He always would. He used the grip on her wrist to tug her into an embrace, his arms locking around her, as she burrowed herself into his shoulder.
"I know, Rhea. I know." He said, soothingly.
"You know," She started to gulp out. "When I saw those videos, I felt like killing myself, Doctor." She hissed out.
The Doctor closed his eyes, his hands stroking through her hair. It was too much. Seeing all of those images and images of what Rhea used to be flashing through his mind, he started to imagine her in Jex's victims' positions, screaming in agony, and it ripped his hearts from the inside out. It made him sick to think that she had felt so helpless once. Rhea… she had almost become like what the Gunslinger was now. Turned into a what someone else wanted for no reason at all. Just because they could. His girl… his beautiful Rhea had suffered, he could feel the tears coming to his eyes at the thought of Rhea being like the Gunslinger. His eyes snapped open and his fists clenched against Rhea's skin.
"Time to go." He said, darkly, and dragged her over to Susan, helping her onto the saddle and joining her, galloping back towards Mercy.
Jex was standing in front of the wall, looking guilty, while Isaac, Rory and Amy faced him, the latter with narrowed eyes.
"It was stupid of me, I realise that now. I just thought I'd put you all in enough danger, perhaps if I left..."
The Doctor and Rhea stormed into the Marshall's office, the two walking over to Jex. "He's lying. Every word. Everything he says, it's... all... lies." The Doctor glared at him. "This man is a murderer." He snarled in Jex's face.
"I am a scientist." Jex said, affronted.
"Sit down." The Doctor ordered, his voice quiet but deadly. Jex refused, his chin held up high in defiance. "SIT DOWN!" He shouted and Jex sat in the chair, suitably terrified by the man's sudden change in emotion, changed from a man with a childlike wonder at the world to a man fuelled by anger and disgust. "Tell them what you are." He growled.
"What am I? A war hero." Jex hissed.
"You stupid son of a bitch." Rhea snarled. "Hero. You think you're a fucking hero?!" She shrieked. She made for him and the Doctor gave Rory a look, who grabbed her and held her in between him and Amy to hold her back.
Isaac looked between the Doctor, Rhea and Jex. "Okay, somebody want to tell me what's going on?" He asked, impatiently.
Rhea looked at Isaac, her face etched in fury. "The Gunslinger is a cyborg." She hissed.
"A what?" Isaac frowned.
"Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they'd be selected for special training," The Doctor took a step closer to Jex, barely controlling his anger. "Then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry and programmed them to kill!" He shouted.
Isaac's eyebrows furrowed and he looked at Jex. "Okay, why? Why would you do that, doc?" He asked, the hurt obvious in his voice.
"We'd been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent? To beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?!" Jex growled.
The Doctor clenched his fists, resisting the urge to grab Jex by the scruff of his shirt and shake him until his neck snapped. "And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?!" He snapped.
"He's someone's kid, do you know that, you son of a bitch?" Rhea snarled, having been silent since her last outburst, satisfied to watch the Doctor tear into the sick man in front of them. "There's a man and woman on your planet, mourning the loss of their son. Did you even think about that?" Rhea gave a harsh smile. "Of course you didn't. People like you don't care about others. Just yourselves and what you think is important and what's good for you."
The Doctor walked back over to her, pulling her back into his arms, his arm around her waist, as hers wrapped around his, facing his shoulder, his hand holding onto one of her arms, securely, as they both turned to look at Jex.
"War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did, to what any of us did." Jex hissed.
The Doctor gritted his teeth, feeling them crack and scrape against his ministrations, and pulled Rhea off to the other side of the room, by the cell, just to make sure she wouldn't lunge for Jex. He leaned against the wall, making sure that Rhea was by his side, and they both glowered at him with disgust.
Rory narrowed his eyes at Rhea, noticing the way she was losing control of her temper. He turned back to Jex, wary and angry. "But what happened then? How come you're here?"
"When the war ended, we had the cyborgs decommissioned."
"Decommissioned. Decommissioned." Rhea muttered to herself. "They're fucking people." She snarled at him. "Not machines."
Jex glared at her and started to continue explaining. "But one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it, until just two of us were left. We fled and our ships crashed here." Jex explained.
Rory's shoulders slumped and he looked over at the Doctor and Rhea, reaching a hand out as if he were pleading for them to listen, to help them. The Doctor ignored him and rubbed Rhea's arms, comfortingly, as she stayed silent, her eyes staring at the wall, but thinking about something else entirely. Rory turned back to the others.
"So what do we do with Jex?" Rory asked.
"What do we do with him?!" Isaac growled, his eyes widening as he realised what Rory meant.
"Yeah, I mean he's a war criminal." Rory said, slowly, as if Isaac hadn't grasped that point.
"No," Isaac shook his head. "He's the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light."
"No," Rory protested. "He's the guy that used innocent people for his own benefit to win a war." He growled. "Nothing he did for this town excuses that." He looked over at Rhea. He had never seen her lose control like that. He frowned, worriedly, wondering if she was okay, his worry based on the fact that the Doctor hadn't let her go for a second and even when he did, his eyes searched her out, immediately. Not that that was unusual for them, but what was unusual was the dark, protective gaze his eyes watched her with. He had seen them, angry at each other, flirting up a storm, all sweet and romantic together, but what always surprised him was when the Doctor really showed why he was called 'the Oncoming Storm' whenever someone tried to hurt Rhea, an incredible contrast from the normally mad, slightly naïve man he pretended to be. "You okay?" He mouthed to Rhea, who nodded, wearily.
"Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kinda creepy..." Amy trailed off, completely missing the exchange between Rory and Rhea.
"And still in the room!" Jex protested, offended.
"But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution." Amy said, earnestly.
"Another solution? It's him or us!" Rory growled.
"When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, tell him." Amy looked over at the Doctor, expecting him to side with her.
They all looked at the Doctor, who finally looked up from Rhea at them. "Hmm? Yes. I don't know. Whatever Amy said." He started to look back out the window.
Rory rolled his eyes, knowing that the Doctor would side with Amy with whatever she did and said. "Rhea." He looked at her, pleading. "Please tell me you're on my side."
Rhea swallowed hard and looked at Rory, then at Jex, then back at Rory. "You know what I'm gonna say. I'm on your side, Rory. Jex deserves to pay for what he's done." She growled.
Jex started to polish his monocles. "Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror."
"Don't you dare." Rhea snarled, angrily, her nails digging into his palm. "He is nothing like you." She hissed.
"Almost." Jex continued, as if he hadn't heard Rhea's warning. "There's rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the Gods my people weren't relying on you to save them..."
Suddenly, the Doctor snapped, looking down at the woman in his arms and realising that he hadn't been able to save her from whatever was tormenting her this very second. The guilt of so many lives, including Rhea's, overwhelmed the Doctor and he suddenly rushed at Jex.
"No. NO!" He grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt and hauled him up. "But these people are!" He shoved him in the direction of the door, pushing him out the door. "OUT! OUT! OUT!" He shouted, while Rhea watched him in interest, following him out.
Amy and Rory made to follow the Doctor and Rhea but Isaac pointed at them in warning. Rory put his hands up in a surrender position and they followed Isaac. Rory turned around on the threshold and held a hand out to stop Amy.
"Oh, you're really letting them do this?" Amy scoffed.
"Save us all?" Rory raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I really am." He then left the Marshall's office, hearing Amy rush after him.
The Doctor shoved Jex through the town, despite his protests, so overcome by his anger and guilt that he didn't realise that Rhea was walking, calmly, behind him.
"MOVE!" The Doctor growled, angrily.
"No." Jex protested.
The Doctor gifted him with a terrifyingly furious glare. "MOVE!" He snarled.
The townsfolk followed as the Doctor, Rhea and Jex headed towards the boundary. The Doctor shoved Jex over the line and the man fell over onto the dirt. The Doctor walked back into town, slowly and calmly, but then stopped and grabbed the gun out of a man's holster and aimed it at Jex's head the minute that Jex scrambled back onto his feet and attempted to cross back over the line into the town. Jex raised his hands, truly afraid of what the Doctor might do to him.
"You wouldn't." Jex said, with as much bravado as he could possibly muster.
The Doctor cocked the gun, eyeing Jex with distaste, and his jaw tensed. "I genuinely don't know..."
"Doctor. Doctor." Isaac called out, warningly.
The Doctor swung around, whirling on Isaac with his gun still aimed, and everyone in the crowd ducked. However, it was Amy who managed to fire a gun in the air, gracing the Doctor with a threatening look. She lowered the gun to aim at the Doctor, while he looked at her with a small amount of surprise, lowering his gun, momentarily.
"Let him come back, Doctor!" Amy shouted.
"Or what?" The Doctor scoffed. "You won't shoot me, Amy!"
"How do you know?! Maybe I've changed." Amy replied, snarkily, and cocked the gun.
Rhea, who had been quiet ever since the Doctor had start to push Jex out of the Marshall's office and who had been standing off to the side, next to Rory, watching everything carefully, narrowed her eyes at Amy, a dark look in her eyes.
"Amy, I swear to God, if you don't take the gun off the Doctor right now, I will put you down, no questions asked." Rhea said, dangerously, and her hand was already on her blaster, having pulled it from her jeans, and holding it in her hands, steadily, reading to shoot at a moment's notice.
Amy shook her head. "No, you won't." She scoffed.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? I've known you for like three days. Now compare that with the fifteen times that he's arguably saved my life. Yeah," She snorted. "'Cause I'm gonna pick you over him."
Amy swallowed hard, knowing the logic in what Rhea was saying. And she knew Rhea. She knew how much the Doctor meant to her. Even if Rhea hadn't experienced everything she had experienced with the brunette, there was no way that Rhea wouldn't hesitate in shooting her if she thought she posed a threat to the Doctor.
"Well, he's clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last." Amy shrieked. She waved the gun around, absentmindedly, and it went off by accident, shooting the ground and making everyone jump in fear and surprise. "I didn't mean to do that!" She reassured everyone and the gun fired again.
"Okay," Isaac interrupted. "Everyone who isn't an American, drop your gun." He glared at the Doctor, Rhea and Amy.
"Well," Rhea drawled. "I'm an American, so I'll just keep a hold of mine." She turned to the Doctor. "But, honey, you should really drop yours."
The Doctor growled and lowered his gun, storming over to Rhea. "We could end this right now. We could save everyone right now!" He shouted. He lowered his voice. "I know you don't mind."
Rhea shook her head. "Never mind what I want. But this isn't how you do things. What's happening to you? Since when did killing someone become an option for you?"
"Jex has to answer for his crimes." The Doctor protested.
"Yeah, and then what?" Rhea growled. "Are you going to start killing everyone we meet that's screwed someone over?" She asked, sarcastically. "'Cause I gotta tell you, honey, that's pretty much most people I've seen since I started travelling with you."
"They keep coming back, don't you see?" The Doctor snarled. "Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today! No! Today I honour the victims first! His, the Master's, the Daleks', all the people who died because of MY MERCY!" He shouted. His eyes softened. "And you. I couldn't save you. Let me do this for you, at least. Let me make sure that he can't ever hurt anyone else ever again." He said, earnestly.
Rhea reached out and cupped his jaw in her hand, stroking his skin, feeling a sort of fluttering in her stomach that came along with a teenager's first crush. She trembled in front of him, warmed on the inside by his words at the end. No one had ever been so steadfast in protecting her, except for one, and his idea of protecting her had been to turn her into a soldier or kill anyone who hurt her. But the Doctor wasn't like that. Her Doctor wasn't like that. He protected her with the sort of devotion and righteous fury that she never thought she'd be able to deserve. And a sneaky, annoying part of her asked herself whether she loved him for that. She wouldn't let him falter because she wasn't strong enough.
"Don't be like me." She said, softly. "You're better than me, remember?" The Doctor started to shake his head, but her thumb moved, sliding over his soft lips and silencing him. "You are, you stupid giraffe." She said, earnestly, tapping him on the nose with one of her fingers. "I'm…. broken and twisted inside. I'm violent and morally ambiguous… If it were me in your position, I'd kill Jex without a moment's hesitation or I'd leave him for the Gunslinger." She said, her eyes weary and haunted and defeated. "That's how screwed up I am inside." She shook her head, her fingers curling into his hair. "But you're decent. Decent." She whispered, remembering how she had told him that after her disastrous drunken seduction attempt with so much surprise. Nowadays, it didn't come as a great big shock to her anymore. "You have to be better than him at least." A strangled sound broke out of her throat. "I know you're thinking you're like him, but you're not." Rhea shook her head. "No one has ever made me feel the way I feel when I'm with you. You make me and everyone else around you want to believe in themselves. That makes you nothing like Jex." She swore.
The Doctor watched her for a few moments. This had been the last thing he wanted. She had been so upset when she had first appeared in the TARDIS, he had wanted to cheer her up after their little fight and it had gone so wrong and it had ended up with her being reminded of everything she hated about her life. But he had to admit, hearing that last part did hearten him a great deal. It softened and eased him to know that she believed in him so much. Even if she hadn't known him for very long.
"Thank you." He murmured.
Rhea smiled up at him, one finger stroking a line down the side of his face. "It's what I'm here for, honey. One save at a time."
"Sunehri Adwani." He sighed, cupping the back of her head and pulling her close, resting his forehead against hers, before sighing again and kissing her on the forehead in gratitude. Only she has this effect on me. "Fine. Fine…" He said, wearily. "We think of something else." He handed the gun back to the owner. "But frankly, I'm betting on the Gunslinger." The Doctor commented to Rhea, who cracked a smile in reply. His eyes widened as he saw the Gunslinger approaching and almost swore when he realised that Jex was still behind the line. He held out a hand to Jex and waved his fingers. "Jex, move over the line. Now!" He growled out, reluctantly.
The Gunslinger was moving closer and Rhea moved forwards until she was standing beside the Doctor. The Gunslinger stopped just behind Jex, his gun raised to the back of his creator's head. Jex turned to face him, the fear etched on his face, and the Gunslinger's computer recognised Jex by his tattoo.
"This is like some alien parody of Frankenstein." Rhea muttered to the Doctor.
"Make peace with your gods." The Gunslinger intoned.
Jex swallowed hard. "Kahler-Tek, isn't it? I remember all your names, even now. Please. I'd never hurt anyone again. I'm even helping people here." He pleaded.
But, the Gunslinger was not swayed. "Last chance. Make peace with your gods." His gun prepared to fire.
"No!" Isaac shouted, shoving Jex down and taking his spot as the target.
Isaac fell as he was shot by the Gunslinger. The Doctor and Rhea's eyes widened and they rushed over and knelt beside Isaac, the Doctor cradling his head while Rhea's hands pressed against Isaac's wound.
"We have to keep putting pressure on the wound." Rhea muttered to the Doctor.
"Isaac! Isaac, Isaac, it's OK, it's OK. It's OK, we can get you to Jex's surgery, he can save you." The Doctor said, hurriedly.
Isaac reached out and gripped the Doctor's hand, tightly. "Listen to me, you've got to stay, you've got to look after everyone." He pleaded, his voice earnest and practically begging.
The Doctor gritted his teeth. "It won't come to that, Isaac." He protested.
"Protect Jex. Protect my town." Isaac gasped in pain. "You're both good men... You just forget it sometimes..." His body fell slack and his eyes closed.
The Doctor removed his hand from Isaac's to find the Marshall's badge now in his possession. Rhea watched as he pinned the badge to his lapel and stood. The townsfolk stood around in shock as the Doctor turned to the rest of the townspeople who had gathered.
"Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you'll have us to answer to." The Doctor growled.
Jex was grabbed on both sides and escorted away and the Doctor and Rhea faced the Gunslinger.
"This has gone on long enough." The Doctor snarled.
"You are right." The Gunslinger aimed his gun at the Doctor.
"No!" Rhea shouted, an unexplainable terror striking her in the stomach when she saw the gun pointed at the Doctor. She felt her blood run cold and she stepped to the side, so that she was standing in between the Doctor and the Gunslinger, ignoring the Doctor's attempts to move her from in front of him. "Please, don't!" She didn't know why she didn't just raise her own gun in defence. All she knew was she had to stop the Gunslinger from killing the Doctor.
The Gunslinger lowered his gun. "You've got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me, or I'll kill you all." He warned before turning and teleporting away.
The Doctor sighed before turning to face the rest of the shocked town.
"Oh, my God, you're the Marshall." Amy breathed.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You wanna know what's worse?" He nodded at Rhea. "She's my deputy."
Rhea glared at him. "At least that means you get shot and not me." She sighed. "Well, then, Yippie Ki Yay, motherf-" The Doctor covered her mouth with his hand before she could say anything else to further scandalise the townsfolk.
Jex was standing in the cell inside the Marshall's office, while the Doctor was standing right outside, watching him, carefully. Rhea, Rory and Amy were at the desk, when there was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" The Doctor called out.
The preacher entered and removed his hat in deference. "Marshall..." The preacher greeted. He turned to Rhea. "Deputy." He looked at Amy and Rory. "Ma'am. Fella. You need to come outside."
Rhea frowned. "Why, what's wrong?"
"Just come outside. And you should put that on." The preacher nodded at the gun holster hanging on one of the hooks on the wall.
The Doctor, Rhea, Amy and Rory stood. The Doctor looked at the holstered gun with wariness.
The preacher exited onto the porch first, followed by the Doctor and Rhea. A group of townsfolk were standing in the street, including the young man who had instigated the riot against the Doctor in the first place and the bartender. The Doctor hooked his thumbs over his belt and strode forwards.
"What's going on?" The Doctor asked, carefully.
"He in there?" The young man asked, nervously. "Leave the keys and take a walk. Time you get back, this'll all be done."
The Doctor closed his eyes, briefly. "I promised Isaac I'd protect him." He reminded him.
"Protecting him got Isaac dead." The young man protested. "Tomorrow it's going to get us all dead."
Another man stepped forwards. "We thought Isaac was right to fight. But it's different now. We've got to say, "All right, we lost," and give that thing what it wants."
The Doctor walked towards the edge of the porch, while the man was talking, and Rhea leaned her hip against the railing of the porch, watching the events unfold with interest.
"What it wants is to kill our friend." The bartended protested.
"Look, we don't got ill feelin' toward the doc, we just thinkin' 'bout our families. Hand him over and we all safe again." The young man tried again.
The Doctor frowned. "You know I can't do that."
The young man swallowed. "Then we got us a problem." He pulled back the front of his coat to reveal his own gun holster.
The Doctor lifted the corner of his own jacket to reveal his own gun. "Please don't do this."
"Why?" The young man asked with false bravado. "Reckon you quicker than me?" He asked, cockily.
"Almost certainly not." The Doctor said, lightly.
"But I definitely am." Rhea interjected, walking so that she was standing right next to the Doctor. "And I've had it up to here…" She lifted her hand so that it right next to her temple. "…with people pointing guns at the Doctor today. So, seriously, don't even try it." She growled at the young man, who looked nervously at her, remembering the way she had taken down the men who had grabbed her earlier that day. "I swear to God, I will shoot you down with no hesitation."
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and rubbed her back, soothingly, pulling her into his side. "Lynch mobs, the town turning against itself, this is everything Isaac didn't want." The young man, despite Rhea's warnings, drew his gun. "How old are you?"
"Nearly 19."
"That's 18 then." The Doctor slowly went down the steps, pulling Rhea along with him. "Too young to have fought in the war, so I'm guessing you've never shot anyone before, have you?"
The young man cocked his hammer. "First time for everything."
Rhea cursed and pulled the trigger of her blaster, aiming it at his feet. The shot landed with sparks and made the young man drop his gun and jump back in surprise. "Next time, I shoot you in the head." She warned, her voice dark.
"That's how all this started." The Doctor explained. "Jex turned someone into a weapon. Now that same story is going to make you a killer too. Don't you see? Violence doesn't end violence, it extends it. I don't think you want to do this. I don't think you want to become that man."
"There's kids here." The young man protested.
"I know," The Doctor nodded. "Who I can save, if you'll let me."
The young man nodded at the Marshall's office, where Jex was kept safe from the townspeople and the Gunslinger. "He really worth the risk?" He asked the Doctor.
"I don't know. But you are." The Doctor shrugged.
The young man slowly walked away, followed by most of the men. The rest of the population dispersed in different directions. The Doctor shuddered before looking at Rhea.
"Frightened people. Give me a Dalek any day." He grinned.
Rhea huffed. "You still haven't told me what a Dalek is."
He pulled her past Amy and Rory, back into the Marshall's office.
The Doctor and Rhea entered the Marshall's office, looking at Jex in his cell with unreadable eyes. He then put his right leg up on the rail to untie the holster. The undertaker entered the office with two steaming cups of coffee.
"Fresh coffee, Marshall, Deputy. For what it's worth, I know you're going to save us. Isaac made you Marshall for a reason, and if you're good enough for him, you're good enough for me. Reckon you should know that." The undertaker told them, earnestly.
The Doctor and Rhea toasted him and each other with their cups. "Thank you." The Doctor started to sip at his coffee before setting it down and leaning on the railing.
However, the undertaker brought out his tape measure and started to hold it up against the width of the Doctor's shoulders. The Doctor turned his head, slightly.
"Oi! Get out of it!" The Doctor growled, making Rhea snicker.
The Doctor removed the Stetson and rubbed his forehead.
"Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No-one would blame you. You'd be a hero." Jex said, slyly, wondering if the Doctor would take him up on his offer.
"But I can't, can I?!" The Doctor snarled, his anger at Jex still not draining away, no matter how much he tried. He started to walk towards the cell. "Because then Isaac's death would mean nothing! Just another casualty in your endless, bloody war!" Jex lied down on the bunk. "Do you want me to hand you over?! Is that what you want?! Do you even know?!" He shouted, turning away from Jex in frustration.
"You think I'm unaffected by what I did?" Jex sat up, fixing the Doctor with a glare. "That I don't hear them screaming every time I close my eyes?" Jex propped himself up on one arm to look at the Doctor. "It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn't it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who has dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I'm both bewilders the two of you."
Rhea narrowed her eyes at the man and walked over herself. "Oh, I know exactly what you are." She said, slowly. "And I know what this whole 'Dr. Frankenstein' shtick is all about. You did something horrible and you decided this was going to be your penance."
The Doctor nodded at what she was trying to say and started to pace. "Don't get us wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather. But, but, justice doesn't work like that. You don't get to decide when and how your debt is paid!" He snapped. He sighed and leaned against the wall, his back to Jex's cell.
Jex sat up on his bed, after a moment. "In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain, carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift." The Doctor turned around. "The monsters I created, the people they killed." The Doctor walked over to the cell. "Isaac. He was my friend." Jex walked towards the bars, holding onto them. "Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There's no shame in that. But you won't. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past, yours is your morality." He lied down again on the bunk.
"'We all carry our prisons with us.' Ha..." The Doctor snorted. His head dropped onto Rhea's shoulder and her hand came around his shoulders, stroking through his hair, soothingly, as he tried to fruitlessly get over his anger.
His head raised and he looked down at Rhea, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against his chest, resting his chin on her head and playing with the ends of her ponytail. He knew exactly why this whole situation with Jex was getting to him. The idea of not being able to save her from whatever was tearing her apart from the inside struck him in both of his hearts and he was taking it out on Jex.
The Doctor and Rhea stood alone in the centre of the town, right in front of the bank. The Doctor cracked his neck as the clock moved closer to noon.
Amy looked at the clock as Jex sitting on the bunk in his cell, both waiting for the inevitable hour to come. They could hear the loud displacement of air that signalled the arrival of the Gunslinger. Jex stood and gripped the bars of his cell door with anticipation and Amy turned to the door, equal parts exhilarated and terrified.
The Gunslinger arrived and stepped over the boundary the moment that the bell tolled noon. The Doctor and Gunslinger took up the usual Western standoff positions, with Rhea standing off to the side, and the Doctor's hand twitched next to his gun. The bell finished tolling the hour and the Gunslinger raised his gun with a grunt. The Doctor, suddenly, raised his sonic screwdriver high above his head. The Gunslinger groaned in pain as his gun arm sparked and spitted electricity and the windows were blown out. The Gunslinger started to shoot, blindly, and Rhea pulled the Doctor out of the line of fire, the two of them heading for cover. The Gunslinger looked around for his target, seething.
Amy walked towards the cell, determinedly, the key clasped in her hand.
"Ready?" She asked, carefully.
Amy turned the key in the lock and let Jex out.
Rory and the young man who had led the protest the night before were standing by one of the buildings, hiding from the Gunslinger. They each had a copy of Jex's tattoo painted on the left side of their faces.
"Ready?" Rory whispered.
The young man nodded and the two ran in opposite directions.
The Gunslinger strode through the town and saw a figure running through the shadows. He zoomed in on their face and saw the tattoo. He raised his gun.
In another section of the town, Jex snuck down the street, looking on all sides for the Gunslinger.
The Gunslinger zoomed in on a figure as it dodged behind a building.
Jex used the distraction that the others had built around the Gunslinger to make his way out of the town.
The Gunslinger saw a figure on a balcony and went to fire, but his computer gave him an 'Error: Invalid Visual Match' in regards to the tattoo.
"Disengage. It's a trick." The Gunslinger growled.
The Doctor and Rhea were in the saloon as the Doctor had the tattoo painted on his face. They and the bartender turned when they heard an explosion.
Jex stopped and turned around. He started to hesitate, wondering if he was doing the right thing by running away.
The Doctor and Rhea ran out of the saloon, the Doctor glancing at Jex as they rushed past.
"Go! Just GO! I can't save them while you're here." The Doctor shouted and he and Rhea headed for the church, as Jex made for the desert.
Jex ran through the desert, towards his capsule, stumbling on some of the rocks. He pulled off the dirty tarp and slipped inside his ship. He started to, hurriedly, press some keys.
"Nine, eight, seven…" The computer paused. "Self-destruct overridden."
"Deactivate automatic targeting. Switch to manual." The Gunslinger ordered.
He zoomed in on the Doctor's and Rhea's heat signatures and slowly walked over to their hiding place behind one of the buildings. He levelled his gun at the Doctor's head, just as they peered around the corner. The Doctor and Rhea stood, the Doctor's hands raised in surrender.
"Where is he?" The Gunslinger growled.
"He's gone." Rhea said, gently.
"WHERE?! ANSWER ME!"
The Doctor and Rhea backed up into the street.
"Away from here. Look up. Any second now you'll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge! Look up. Go after him, take this battle away from..." The Doctor was interrupted by loud radio feedback as Jex's voice came over the speakers of his ship.
"Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek."
"Jex...? Coward! Where are you?!" The Gunslinger roared.
"I'm in my ship."
The Doctor let out a frustrated growl, annoyed that Jex was deviating from the plan. He had risked his life, Rhea's life, Amy's and Rory's lives and the rest of Mercy's lives just so Jex could go free. "Jex, what are you doing? Just GO!" He shouted.
"Where are you from? Where on Kahler?" Jex ignored the Doctor and asked the Gunslinger.
Rhea cursed. "Now? You're asking him this NOW?!" She shrieked.
"Gabrean." The Gunslinger replied.
"I know it. It's beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?" Jex asked.
"How can I? I am a monster now."
Jex swallowed. "So am I."
"Just go! Finish this!" The Doctor pleaded.
"I will find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you." The Gunslinger swore.
"I don't doubt that. You'll chase me to another planet...And another race will be caught in the crossfire."
"THEN FACE ME!" The Gunslinger roared.
"Countdown to self-destruct resumed." The computer's voice could be heard over the speakers.
"FACE ME!"
Jex shook his head. "No. You've killed enough. I'm ending the war for you, too."
"Countdown to self-destruct resumed."
The Doctor's eyes widened and his hand tightened around Rhea's, guessing what Jex was intending to do. "What's going on? That countdown! What's going ON! JEX!"
"Thank you, Doctor. But I have to face the souls of those I wronged. Perhaps they will be kind." Jex said with a halting breath.
"Three, two, one. Zero." The computer finished.
The Doctor, Rhea and the Gunslinger turned their heads when they heard the explosion and saw the smoke rising high above the buildings, seeping into the clouds above. They looked at the Gunslinger, who sighed and hung his head in defeat.
"He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me." The Gunslinger said, grudgingly.
"We could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction." The Doctor tried.
The Gunslinger started to walk away with the Doctor and Rhea hot on his heels.
"I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I am a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace." The Gunslinger explained.
Amy and Rory walked out into the open and joined the Doctor and Rhea and the rest of the townsfolk came out into the street, wondering what would happen with the Gunslinger.
"What about to protect it?" Rhea called out.
The Gunslinger stopped in his tracks.
The Doctor burst from the saloon followed by Rhea, Amy and Rory. The TARDIS was now parked in the middle of the sandy street.
"Okay, so, our next trip. You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the '50s and '60s? You'll never guess what really happened to them!" The Doctor crowed, excitedly.
"Um…" Amy hesitated, looking at Rory, before looking at the Doctor and Rhea. "Could we leave it a while? Our friends will start noticing that we're ageing faster than them." She chuckled.
The Doctor shrugged. "Another time! No worries!" He clapped his hands and Rhea jumped into his arms, his hands sliding around her small frame as if they had always been there.
Amy and Rory waved goodbye to the townspeople and stepped inside the TARDIS. The young man smiled at the Doctor and they shared a small laugh. They then pretended to draw guns on each other and the Doctor shot the young man, the young pretending to be hit. Rhea rolled her eyes.
"You dork." She said, fondly.
The young man tipped the brim of his hat at her, making her smile, and the Doctor saluted him. They then entered the TARDIS and it dematerialised.
Rhea hummed as the water rained down on her. Her hands jammed in the foamy water and her fingers danced in the waves. She sighed, contented, and leaned back against the marble surrounding the bath, as water sprinkled on her from the top. Now, this is what I call a bath. She took a deep breath and sank under the water for a few moments, before coming up, her entire head and hair soaking wet. She brushed the wet strands out of her eyes and exhaled.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on the bathroom door and she looked up, confused. They had just dropped off Amy and Rory back at Leadworth, and the Doctor had been doing maintenance, while she had decided to have a nice long soak in the tub. Not even hotel room bathrooms could compete with the ensuite that the TARDIS had given her. It was filled with all sorts of bath salts from all over the universe and warm water gushed from the taps lining the tub without ending.
"Come in." Rhea called out, expecting the Doctor to walk in.
He strode in, unconcerned, but stopped still when he saw her smiling at him from inside the tub. He blinked a few times and the blush rose in his cheeks, spreading down his neck, something which she found adorable. His hands fidgeted at his sides and one of his hands swung up and covered his eyes and he turned around, his back to her.
Suddenly, music blared inside the bathroom.
"Mere dil ka tumse hai kehna, bas mere hi rehnaa, nahin to, samjhe."
Rhea gritted her teeth and glared up at the ceiling. "She thinks she's being funny, but she's really, really not!" She growled out. And if a blush rose in her cheeks at the idea of seducing the Doctor from the bathtub, like the scene in the movie where the music the TARDIS was playing was from, she wouldn't dare bring it up.
"Rhea, you're naked!" The Doctor's voice was a horrified gasp and was so full of shock and mortification that Rhea had to laugh at his embarrassment.
"Yes, honey, I am." She couldn't help but tease him.
"You're not wearing any clothes!"
Rhea rolled her eyes. "Honey, I believe that's what the definition of 'naked' is." She said, slyly. She wiped away a few drops of water that were trailing down the side of her face and stood up in the water, shivering, slightly, by the chill of the air on her warm, damp skin. She rung out her hair, quickly, drops of water falling quickly back into the bath. She threw her wet hair over her shoulder and stepped out of the bath, still completely naked. She ran her fingers through her hair, easing out the tangles. "Okay, I'm decent now." She said, wickedly, her tongue poking out of between her teeth, as she smiled wide.
She watched as the Doctor sighed to himself and turned around to face her, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets as they ran over her wet, naked body.
"Like what you see?" She asked, slyly, and just a bit insecurely. She knew he could see all of the scars and marks that criss-crossed across her body, not covered by clothes or concealer as she tried to do daily.
The Doctor's hand raised and smoothed back his hair against his head and he swallowed hard, his eyes leaving a searing trail up and down her body. He cleared his throat. "Well, isn't that a sight worth tearing apart time and space for." He said, hoarsely, his hand twitched at his side, as if he wanted to reach up and actually touch her and she cocked her head, her eyes searching him.
Her smile grew at that comment. "You're sweet." She murmured. She looked over at the towel hanging on the rack next to the Doctor. "Do you mind handing me that towel?" She asked.
The Doctor reached out, blindly, one of his hands covering his eyes and the other grappling for the towel. He finally caught onto it and grabbed it, handing it behind him to Rhea, who took it off his hands. She wrapped the towel around her, tucking it in between her breasts and under her arms, and turned around, her back to the Doctor's back, reaching for the moisturizer on the counter.
"It's okay, I'm actually decent now." Rhea joked and started to apply the cream to her arms.
The Doctor turned around to face her, his fingers spreading apart over his eyes to check if she were telling the truth. He sighed in relief when he saw the towel wrapped around her and removed his hand from his eyes. His eyes were immediately drawn to the patch of red skin peeking out above the towel. His eyes travelled down the length of her back to where the jagged scar on the back of Rhea's right leg jutted out from underneath the towel. He took a step forward, his hand swerving up and touching the red patch of skin on her back, startling Rhea.
"Do they still hurt?" The Doctor asked, watching the burnt skin blotch under his touch.
Rhea swallowed hard. "Not physically." But they still hurt. The unsaid words felt like needles slicing into both of their skins at strategic points.
And the Doctor felt her pain as if he were experiencing it himself. His hand slid from her back up to grasp her shoulder. Rhea's hand reached around and covered his, squeezing gratefully. She turned around and smiled up at him, reaching up and cupping his prominent jaw in one of her small hands, stroking the skin, affectionately.
"Just wanted to invite you for a movie." The Doctor explained, gazing down at her with an unreadable look in his eyes.
"I'll just go and change and then I'll join you in the Media Room." She said, hoarsely, blinking away tears that she would swear to the grave were not present. She brushed past him and into her room, slipping into the quite large closet. She undid the towel and let it fall to her feet, slipping on something black and silky and short and something that she definitely didn't own but would like to. She covered it with an equally short, thin robe and ducked out of the closet, joining the Doctor at the door, who was doing everything in his power not to look at her while she changed. She had to respect his self-control. Many other men wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to peek. Or to go further with a girl who's willing to take their clothes off in front of them. She thought, a sick feeling entering her stomach as her memories flooded her thoughts. A small part of herself suggested to her that was because he had already seen anything he wanted to see and she was quick to shove it down far inside her soul.
She laced her fingers in his and allowed him to lead her down the corridor and into the Media Room, the two of them crawling onto the sizeable plush sofa in front of the large television hung on the wall. She hesitated, keeping a few inches of space in between the Doctor and herself, and thought better of it, shuffling closer and tucking her legs onto one side of her, her thighs leaning against his.
One of her hands wrapped around his bicep and the other fell onto his closest thigh. She alternated looks between the screen and his face, watching his eyes brighten and jaw tense with interest. She rested her chin on his shoulder and the Doctor turned his head to look at her, questioningly.
She shook her head and smiled at him, turning away and looking at the screen, her head falling onto his shoulder. A few moments later, she felt him kiss the top of her head, sweetly, and resting his head against hers, his hands falling onto hers and stroking.
A/N: Well, that was a long chapter. Hope you all liked it! I hope you liked my rendition of A Town Called Mercy. It was really interesting to write Rhea into some of these scenes, especially the ones between the Doctor and Jex. Rhea does somewhat understand the Gunslinger. What she is in the present is what someone else made her into, at least that's what she sees herself as. And it is nice to know that Rhea has such a great opinion of the Doctor, isn't it? She's getting very protective of the Doctor, isn't she? I hope you all liked the ending, by the way. It was very sweet and flirty and sad, at least, in my opinion. I think the flirting was nice at the beginning. So, now we know that Rhea has a burn mark on her back and a scar running up the back of her leg. I wonder where she got them from.
Oh, and the question for this chapter (because I love talking DW with all of you): Assuming that Seasons 5-7 didn't happen in regards to River, what would you have like to see happen between her and the Doctor after Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead?
Anyway, hope you all liked the extra long chapter and don't forget to leave a review!