The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 54
A/N: This is where a lot of it goes down. I wonder what River will say to Rhea and the Doctor to make them trust her.
Okay, I'm aware I updated within a day. I won't update until the 31st which will be the last chapter of Forest of the Dead and we will be celebrating the first anniversary of this story!
Please tell me if you guys would like a Tumblr panel with Rhea for New Years Day!
Replies to Reviews:
beulah2013: I like the idea of Rhea telling off a few companions here and there, just to make sure she's quite objective. She doesn't have a favourite companion, although she is partial towards Donna and Clara, but she's not afraid to give them what for if they get on her nerves. By my count, she's told off Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack and now River, so she's only got a few more to go. I feel like Rose and Amy got arrogant because they thought they were the centre of the Doctor's life. Amy really pissed me off in The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People and Rhea's definitely going to have a few things to say. As for Clara, she got a bit arrogant in Season 8, but I quite liked her in Season 7, she was still insecure and a little shy and I loved that about her. Well, whatever River has to confess to Rhea in this chapter, Rhea will not take it well, I promise.
LookAliveSunshine03: Rhea definitely doesn't look at River with rose-coloured glasses. I'm glad you liked the chapter!
NicoleR85: Hope you enjoy this chapter just as much!
Audrie-13: It's fine :) I'm just glad for the review! I'm glad you liked the chapter!
Warnings: Swearing (excessive), flirting.
Forest of the Dead: Stranger Than Fiction
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
"Doctor, Rhea, what are we going to do?" River asked, desperately.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Donna Noble has left The Library. Donna Noble has been saved."
Donna was dressed in pyjamas and was sitting on the bed. There was a knock on the door and a dark-skinned man entered. Donna stood.
"Who are you?" Donna asked, confusedly.
"I'm Dr Moon. I've been treating you since you came here two years ago."
Donna's eyes widened with sudden realisation. "Oh, God… Dr Moon! I'm so sorry. What's wrong with me? I didn't know you for a moment."
"And then you remembered. Shall we go for a walk?" Dr Moon offered.
And, suddenly, they were standing in the hospital grounds.
"No more dreams, then? The Doctor and the blue box, time and space?" Dr Moon asked.
Donna looked around, confused. "How did we get here?"
"We came down the stairs, out the front door; we passed Mrs Ali on the way out." Dr Moon said, soothingly.
They looked back at the building to see another patient walking with a nurse. The sign in the front of the building read 'CAL'.
"Yeah." Donna nodded to herself. "Yeah, we did. I forgot that."
"And then you remembered. Shall we go down to the river?"
And they were standing beside the river, ducks quacking, as Donna tried to remember.
"You said "river"...and suddenly we're feeding ducks."
"Dr Moon!" Someone called out.
Dr Moon and Donna turned around to see a man dressed for fishing.
"Morning!"
"Donna Noble, Lee McAvoy." Dr Moon introduced them.
"Hello, Lee." Donna said, shyly, her eyes running over the man's form, appreciatively.
"Hello, D-D-"
"Ooh, you've got a bit of a stammer there." She turned back to Dr Moon with a grin on her face. "Bless."
"D-D-"
"Oh, skip to a vowel, they're easy." Donna suggested.
And they were walking back towards the hospital.
"How did we leave it, him and me?" Donna asked Dr Moon, slowly.
"I got the impression he was inviting you fishing tomorrow." Dr Moon said, blithely.
Donna arrived at Lee's room, dressed for a date. Lee was wearing gumboots.
"So… fishing?" Donna raised an eyebrow.
Donna and Lee were sitting by the river under an umbrella in the rain.
"D-D-" Lee stammered.
Donna sighed. "Gorgeous, and can't speak a word. What am I gonna do with you?"
Lee carried Donna, clad in a puffy wedding dress, over the threshold.
"Welcome home, M-Mrs McAvoy." Lee stammered, before kissing her.
Dr Moon was looking through a photo album while Donna's two children ran around, playing and screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Stop it. Stop it now. We've got a visitor." Donna told her children, sternly.
"You've done so much in seven years, Donna." Dr Moon said, appreciatively.
Donna sighed. "Sometimes it feels more like 70. Mind you, sometimes it feels like not time at all." She commented.
Dr Moon picked up his briefcase, which bore the letters "CAL" inscribed across it.
"Can I just say what a pleasure it is to see you fully integrated."
Dr Moon's image flickered and the Doctor appeared in that exact same spot.
"No, the signal definitely seems to be coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through." The Doctor's eyes widened when he saw Donna. "Donna!" He exclaimed.
He disappeared and Dr Moon appeared again.
Dr Moon belched, loudly. "Oops. Sorry. Mrs Angelo's rhubarb surprise. When will I ever learn?"
Donna fell into a chair, shock etched all over her face. She gasped. "The Doctor! I saw the Doctor!"
"Yes, you did, Donna…" Dr Moon nodded. "And then...you forgot."
Donna's face relaxed and she stood up, her eyes lighting up as if Dr Moon had just arrived. "Dr Moon, Well, hello! Shall I make you a cup of tea?" She asked, happily.
Over The Library, a large moon appeared in the twilight sky. River used her sonic blaster to cut a square hole in a wall and take all of them into another reading room similar to the first.
"Okay, we've got a clear spot! In, in, in!" River shouted.
They entered the room and the Doctor, immediately, began to check the shadows.
"Right in the centre, in the middle of the light, quickly! Don't let your shadows cross." Rhea ordered. She spun on her feet, her eyes searching and falling onto the Doctor. "Doctor!" She called out.
"I'm doing it." He waved her off.
River smiled at them, fondly. It was heartening and frighteningly reminiscent for her to see them so synchronised, going off each other's movements and words. It reminded her of her Doctor and Rhea. The eccentric alien and the trigger-happy psychologist. Twisted through the whole of eternity.
"There's no lights here. Sunset's coming. We can't stay long. Have you found a live one?" She asked the Doctor.
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe. It's getting harder to tell." He tapped his sonic screwdriver with frustration. "What's wrong with you?" He muttered to himself.
River nodded. "We're gonna need a chicken leg. Who's got a chicken leg?" Other Dave handed her one. "Thanks, Dave." She said, gratefully and threw it into the shadow, where the bone fell to the floor, the flesh entirely stripped off. "Okay, we got a hot one. Watch your feet."
The Doctor shook his head. "They won't attack until there's enough of them. But they've got our scent now. They're coming."
The Doctor was in front of all of them and Rhea walked over to him, helping him check the shadows, while the members of the expedition talked behind them.
"Who are they? You haven't even told us. You just expect us to trust them." Other Dave said, nervously.
River shrugged, nonchalantly, her eyes betraying that she knew more than she was letting on. "He's the Doctor and she's Rhea."
Mr Lux raised an eyebrow. "And who is the 'Doctor and Rhea'?"
River narrowed her eyes. "The only story you'll ever tell… if you survive them." She said, darkly.
"You say they're your friends but they don't even know who you are. I mean, the woman does… but she doesn't seem to trust you anymore than he does." Anita remarked.
River huffed. "Listen. All you need to know is this: I'd trust that man and woman to the end of the universe. And actually, we've been."
"They don't act like they trust you." Anita pointed out.
River scowled, the comment hitting her hard in the gut, feeling the pain practically pasted on her face. "Yeah, there's a tiny problem… they don't know me yet." She snapped. She walked over to the Doctor and Rhea, where the former was holding the sonic screwdriver to his ear, listening intently. "What's wrong with it?" She asked, carefully.
"There's a signal coming from somewhere interfering with it." The Doctor muttered, reluctantly.
"Use the red settings." River suggested.
"It doesn't have a red setting." The Doctor began to look at River, suspiciously.
River rolled her eyes. "Well, use the dampers."
The Doctor's hackles rose. "It doesn't have dampers." He snapped.
River smirked. "It will do one day." She said, knowingly, holding her sonic screwdriver out.
The Doctor snatched it from her and stood. Rhea curled into his side, realising that something was about to go down between the Doctor and River, knowing that it had been a matter of time for them. The Doctor had been wary of River since the moment that she had taken her helmet off and the wariness had finally come to a head. She placed a calming hand on the Doctor's forearm, her own green eyes narrowed at River, more cautious than suspicious, but knowing that there was something off about the woman.
"So, some time in the future, I just give you my screwdriver?" The Doctor asked, incredulously.
River smiled, slowly. "Yeah."
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that?" He tensed, minutely, only calming when he felt Rhea's presence at his side, knowing that she alone had the ability to pull him down from a full rage.
River smirked. "I didn't pluck it from your cold, dead hands if that's what you're worried about." She said, playfully.
The Doctor glared at her, annoyed at her smugness. "And I know that because…"
River's shoulders slumped and she sighed. "Listen to me. You've lost your friend, you're angry. I understand. But you need to be less emotional, Doctor, right now." She said, firmly.
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Less emo-I'm not emotional." He snapped, wounded.
River stared at him, furiously. "There are five people in this room still alive. Focus on that. Dear God, you're hard work young." She huffed.
Rhea took a step forward, finally fed up. "Young? Who the hell are you?" She growled.
"For Heaven's sake!" Mr Lux shouted, standing and walking towards them. "Look at the three of you! We're all gonna die right here, and you're just squabbling like old married couples."
The Doctor and Rhea paled and stared at each other for a moment before looking away, uncomfortably.
River chewed on her lower lip. "Doctor… Rhea…" She looked at both of them, earnestly, her eyes warm and pleading. "One day I'm going to be someone you both trust completely. But I can't wait for you to find that out. So I'm going to prove it to you. To both of you. And I'm sorry. I'm really...very sorry." Her voice cracked at the end, especially when she turned to Rhea, knowing exactly what she would have to tell her if she wanted Rhea to trust her. It could have both effects. It could make Rhea trust her or hate her.
River leaned on her toes and whispered something in the Doctor's ear. When she pulled back, Rhea was stunned to see the Doctor's face etched with shock and horror and worry. She had never seen him this emotional. She hadn't been close enough to hear what River had said, but from the Doctor's facial expression, she guessed that it had been something very serious for the Doctor. She reached between their bodies and held onto the Doctor's hand, watching with worry as the Doctor practically clutched onto hers.
River turned her attention to Rhea, hesitating slightly. She leaned in and whispered a sentence in Rhea's ear. She felt Rhea tremble when she heard two specific words, due to their proximity and regretted her need to say this to Rhea. At least, this Rhea. This Rhea was too raw, too hurt. She would never be able to deal with this reminder properly.
Rhea jumped away from River the moment the sentence was finished, her face etched in fury and betrayal.
"What the hell!" She shrieked, surprising everyone.
Her hands shook in her side and she made sure to put some distance in between herself and the Doctor. The Doctor. She thought with another blinding wave of fury. The only one other than herself who knew that secret… as far as she knew. He had to be the one who told River.
She rounded on the Doctor with a surprising amount of fury and betrayal. Of course he was going to screw you over, Rhea. This is what you get when you even start to trust someone. "My life is not a fucking book club for the two of you!" She snarled, dangerously, her voice low and quiet, but seething with anger. She stared at the Doctor, hurt, and spun on her feet, walking away from both River and the Doctor.
"What did you say to her?" The Doctor growled to River, itching to go and comfort Rhea, who was standing, tense and stony, against a pillar, her arms crossed against her chest. He was still reeling with shock and horror with what River had whispered to him. Only Rhea knows that. And not even this Rhea. How could she know that?
"I think you know what I said to her." River said, flatly, staring at the Doctor.
The Doctor pursed his lips. He did know what she had said. By what she had sad to him, she had to have said something to Rhea that would make Rhea trust her. And there weren't many things she could have said to have that consequence. There was one that had the ability to send Rhea into spiralling fury or debilitating depression. And by the fury etched on Rhea's face, he could tell that River had chosen that one.
River shuffled, uncomfortably, and looked up at the Doctor. "Are we good?" She asked. The Doctor didn't answer. "Doctor… are we good?" She asked through gritted teeth.
"Yeah." The Doctor said, softly. He swallowed hard, glancing, briefly, at Rhea, his voice rising. "Yeah, we're good."
River nodded. "Good." She took the sonic screwdriver and walked away.
Rhea leaned her head against the pillar, as the burning fury that churned in her stomach began to cool, softening her. Her fists clenched and unclenched and she closed her eyes, wincing at her headache. She rubbed her head and looked over at the Doctor. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have flipped out at him like that. He may not have been the one to tell her. Who knows, you might have gone off the deep end and told her yourself. The Doctor knew this for a reason. You were the one to tell him. You might also tell River in the future. She straightened and walked over to the Doctor, curling a hand around his bicep, leaning into him. She looked up, watching him stare down at her, warmly.
"Sorry." She mouthed and leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"It's okay." He said, softly. He tucked one of her curls behind her ear. "You okay?" He asked, worriedly, his eyes scanning her.
"Yeah." She smiled, weakly. "I will be." She sighed.
The Doctor nodded, taking her hand in his, gripping onto it, tightly. He took a few moments to collect himself, the memory of River whispered that word in his ear echoing through his brain and chilling his blood in dread. He looked down at the sonic screwdriver in his hand.
"Know what's interesting about my screwdriver? Very hard to interfere with, practically nothing strong enough... Well, maybe some hairdryers, but I'm working on that." The Doctor told Rhea, hastily. "So, there is a very strong signal coming from somewhere, and it wasn't there before, so what's new, what's changed? Come on, what's new?! What's different?!" His voice grew louder.
Other Dave shrugged. "I dunno. Nothing. It's getting dark."
Rhea snorted. "It's a screwdriver. It works in the dark." She snarked.
The Doctor looked up. "Moonrise." He commented. He looked at Mr Lux. "Tell me about the moon. What's there?"
Mr Lux shook his head. "It's not real. It was built as part of The Library. It's just a doctor moon."
The Doctor frowned. "What's a doctor moon?"
"A virus checker. It supports and maintains the main computer at the core of the planet."
The Doctor flicked a switch on his screwdriver. "Well, it's still active… it's signalling, look. Someone somewhere in this library is alive and communicating with the moon. Or possibly alive and drying their hair. No, the signal is definitely coming from the moon. I'm blocking it, but it's trying to break through-"
"Doctor." Rhea tugged on the Doctor's arm, frantically.
The Doctor spun around and saw a faint projection of Donna. "Donna!" He exclaimed.
The projection disappeared.
"That was her." River said, slowly. "That was your friend. Can you get her back? What was that?" She said, hurriedly.
"Hold on, hold on, hold on. I'm trying to find the wavelength." The Doctor glared at the sonic screwdriver. "Argh! I'm being blocked!" He growled.
"Professor…" Anita began.
"Just a moment." River waved off.
"It's important." Anita choked out, her voice teary. "I have two shadows."
Everyone stilled and turned to look at Anita, cautiously.
River swallowed hard. "Helmets on, everyone. Anita, I'll get yours."
"Didn't do Proper Dave any good." Anita commented, grimly.
"Just keep it together, okay?" River said, softly.
"I'm keeping it together. I'm only crying. I'm about to die. It's not an overreaction." Anita snapped.
River placed Anita's helmet on her head as the Doctor and Rhea faced her.
"Hang on." The Doctor said and used the sonic screwdriver to block her visor, turning the entire screen that covered her face black.
Rhea's eyes widened. "Dio Benedetto, they've got inside." She whispered.
"No, no," The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist, reassuringly, pulling her into his side. "I just tinted her visor. Maybe they'll think they're already is there and leave her alone."
Rhea looked up at him, curiously. "You think they could be fooled like that?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. It's a swarm… it's not like we chat."
"Can you still see in there?" Other Dave asked Anita.
"Just about."
"Just-just-just stay back." The Doctor ordered. He turned to River. "Professor, a quick word, please." He said, tersely.
"What?" River frowned.
The Doctor squatted and pulled Rhea along with him. "Here."
River squatted beside them. "What is it?"
"You said there are five people still alive in this room." The Doctor said, quickly.
"Yeah, so?"
Rhea's eyes widened as she caught onto what the Doctor was getting at. "So…" Rhea lowered her voice down to a whisper. "Why are there six?"
They turned to the opening where another suited figure stood. Proper Dave had finally found them.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"Run!" The Doctor shouted.
They all ran from the room, Proper Dave following them.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
Donna brought in some tea into the living room.
"Here you are, Dr Moon." She said, happily.
She stilled when she saw that Dr Moon actually wasn't there. Her daughter, Ella, came running up to her, beaming.
"Mummy, I made you!" Ella exclaimed, holding up a figure made out of clay.
Donna smiled down at her daughter. "Oh, that's nice, Ella. Where's the face?"
Ella shook her head. "I don't know."
Donna set down the cup of tea. "Did you see Dr Moon? Did he leave?" She asked.
Lee appeared in the doorway.
"Daddy!" Both children shrieked and ran to them.
Lee knelt in front of the children. "Hello, you two! Come here. Big hugs." They threw their arms around him. "Big Daddy hugs."
"Look what I made." Ella said, happily.
"Oh?" Lee raised an eyebrow. "It's Mummy?"
"It hasn't got a face. Did you see Dr Moon?" Donna asked her husband, curiously.
Lee shook his head. "No. Why, was he here?"
"Yeah," Donna frowned. "Just a second ago. You must've passed him."
Donna walked over to the window. She was just in time to see the black train of an old-fashioned woman's gown disappear behind some trees.
"You all right?" Lee asked, worriedly.
"Yeah." Donna nodded, her eyes glinting. "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just..."
"Just…"
"Nothing." Donna shook her head, absentmindedly. She turned to her husband and wrapped her arms around him. "It's been a long day, that's all. I'm just tired."
Suddenly, Donna was in her bedroom, wearing pyjamas, confused as to how she got there.
"You okay?" Lee asked, his brow furrowing.
"I said I was tired." Donna murmured, strangely. "And…" Her eyes widened as she started to slowly remember. "We put the kids to bed and watched television."
Lee nodded along with her. Suddenly, they heard the creaking of a something entering the front door mail slot.
Donna frowned. "Was that a letter?"
Lee narrowed his eyes. "It's midnight." He pointed out.
"Go and see what it is." Donna said, urgently.
Lee went downstairs and Donna looked out the window. She saw a veiled woman, clad in an all-encompassing black dress, walk slowly across the street.
"The world is wrong." Lee said, as he entered the bedroom.
Donna spun on her feet, staring at him, strangely. "What?" She asked, confused.
"For you, weird enough." He looked down at a piece of paper. "'Dear Donna, the world is wrong. Meet me at your usual play park 2:00 tomorrow.'" He read.
Lee handed her the note and she walked back over to the window. Lee came up behind her and they both looked out to see the woman walk away from their house.
"Nutter." Donna muttered to herself.
Donna arrived at the playground the next day with Joshua and Ella. She saw the mysterious woman sitting on a bench, a black, lacy veil covering her face from view.
"All right, you two, off you go. No fighting." She said, sternly, to the children.
The children ran off, laughing, and Donna walked towards the woman, sitting down on the bench beside the woman.
"I got your note last night. "The world is wrong"… what's that mean?" Donna asked.
"No, you didn't." The woman said.
Donna frowned. "I'm sorry. What?"
"You didn't get my note last night. You got it a few seconds ago. Having decided to come, you suddenly found yourself arriving. That is how time progresses here, in the manner of a dream. You've suspected that before, haven't you, Donna Noble?"
Donna narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. "How do you know me?"
"We met before. In The Library. You were kind to me. I hope now to return that kindness."
Donna frowned, her eyes shifting, slightly. "Your voice… I recognise it." She said, slowly.
"Yes, you do. I am what is left of Miss Evangelista."
The group was running along a raised connecting corridor between two buildings.
"Professor, take Rhea and go ahead. Find a safe spot." The Doctor ordered.
Rhea glared at him, furiously. "Okay, first of all, I'm not some ditchable prom date." She snapped. "And it's a carnivorous swarm in a suit! You can't reason with it." She growled. "I'm not going without you."
The Doctor huffed and rolled his eyes, knowing that it would be too easy to get rid of her. "Five minutes!" He told River.
River rolled her eyes and narrowed them at Rhea and the Doctor. "Other Dave, stay with them. Pull them out when they're too stupid to live. Two minutes, Doctor, Rhea!" She said, warningly.
River, Anita and Mr Lux left them, just as Proper Dave arrived around the corridor.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
The Doctor turned to Rhea. "Stay here." He said, quietly. "Check your shadows, constantly. I'll be right back, I promise." He said, earnestly. He kissed her on the forehead, briefly, and ran up to Proper Dave. "You hear that? Those words? That is the very last thought of the man who wore that suit, before you climbed inside and stripped his flesh. That's a man's soul trapped inside a neural relay, going round and round forever. Now if you don't have the decency to let him go, how 'bout this? Use him, talk to me. It's easy, neural relay. Just point and think. Use him, talk to me." He said, urgently, moving back to Rhea's side.
Rhea sighed in relief and she slid her hand into the Doctor's, feeling him like a comforting presence at her side.
Proper Dave advanced on them and she pressed herself against the Doctor's side, feeling his strong arm come around her waist like reassurance and a safe haven.
"The Vashta Nerada live on all the worlds in this system but you hunt in forests. What are you doing in a library?" The Doctor growled.
"We should go. Doctor! Rhea!" Other Dave said, urgently, looking at Proper Dave, nervously.
The Doctor turned around to look at Other Dave. "In a minute!" He shouted. He turned back to Proper Dave. "You came to The Library to hunt. Why? Just tell me why?"
Proper Dave stopped in his tracks. "We… did not…" He stuttered.
"Oh, you are really good." Rhea muttered to the Doctor, feeling his hand tighten around her waist, her hand falling onto his, which was splayed across her hip. "Like really good. Teach me to be good like you." She whispered.
The Doctor smirked down at her and she gave into her urges one more time, leaning on her toes and pressing her lips against his, hard, for a moment, before breaking away. She felt his lips move against hers, sending pleasurable tingles up and down her spine and twinges of lust into the pit of her stomach.
He turned to the Vashta Nerada hiding in Proper Dave's suit. "Oh, hello." He said, lightly. His eyes were dark, betraying his anger and his tone.
"We did not-"
"Take it easy. You'll get the hand of it." The Doctor said, reassuringly.
"We… did not.. come here."
"How else could you be here?" Rhea raised an eyebrow.
"We come from here."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "From here?"
"We hatched here."
The Doctor frowned. "But you hatched from trees… from spores in trees." He said, slowly.
"These are our forests."
"You're nowhere near a forest. Look around you." The Doctor pointed out.
"These are our forests!" The Vashta Nerada exclaimed, hoarsely.
"But you're not in a forest." Rhea said, pointedly. "You're in a library. There are no trees in a…" Her eyes widened. "Library." She finished. Fuck.
"We should go. Doctor! Rhea!" Other Dave shouted.
The Doctor nodded to himself, realising what Rhea had realised. His hand tightened around hers. "Books. You came in the books. Microspores in a million million books."
"We should go. Doctor! Rhea!"
Rhea paled and resisted the urge to look at Other Dave, knowing that what had happened to Proper Dave and Miss Evangelista had also happened to Other Dave. She shook her head, absentmindedly, mourning the loss of yet another person to the Vashta Nerada.
"Oh, look at that." The Doctor looked out onto the Library. "The forests of the Vashta Nerada, pulped and printed and bound...a million million books, hatching shadows."
"That's… really bad, isn't it, honey." Rhea said, slowly. "This is going to end, badly."
"We should go. Doctor! Rhea!"
The Doctor spun around to look at Other Dave. "Oh… Dave." They walked over to him. "Oh, Dave, we're so sorry."
The lights in the neural relay started to blink green and only a skeleton remained inside the spacesuit. Both Proper Dave and Other Dave advanced on the Doctor and Rhea, cornering them against a wall.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?"
"We should go. Doctor! Rhea!"
The Doctor smirked. "Thing about me, I'm stupid. I talk too much. Always babbling on. This gob doesn't stop for anything. Well, actually…" He drawled and looked down at Rhea. "Don't suppose we could have one last shag?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rhea snorted, although the question sent her into minute trembles, a slow ache settling between her thighs. "Are you giving me the 'Last Night on Earth' speech? 'Cause it's not in good taste. There's no good place to screw and I don't think I'd get off with you fucking up me up against wall, while two flesh-eating swarms of shadows advance on us." She smirked, playfully. "At least, not now." She purred. "But…" She trailed off. "I could do this." She bit her lower lip.
She grabbed him by the tie and tugged him down to her level, slanting her mouth against his, her hand curling around the back of his neck. His hand on her hip tightened and she pressed herself against him urgently, feeling every single plane of his body pressed up against hers, sending her into a lightheaded stupor.
When they broke away, the Doctor shook his head to free himself off the dizziness. He turned to look at Proper Dave and Other Dave, a faint mark of lipstick smearing across the corner of his mouth. "Want to know the only reason I'm still alive? Always stay near the door." He smirked.
The Doctor used the sonic screwdriver on a trapdoor beneath him and Rhea, trapping Rhea into his side as he did so, and they both fell through. Both Daves looked down and all they could see was the long drop to the ground. However, the Doctor and Rhea were clinging to girders beneath the corridor, the Doctor gripping the sonic screwdriver between his teeth.
Donna and Miss Evangelista were walking along the edge of the playground.
"I suggested we meet here because a playground's the easiest place to see it… to see the lie." Miss Evangelista explained.
"What lie?" Donna asked, confused.
"The children. Look at the children." She said, urgently.
Donna frowned at Miss Evangelista. "Why do you wear that veil? If I had a face like yours, I wouldn't hide it."
"You remember my face, then. The memories are all still there… The Library, the Doctor, Miss Rhea, me. You've just been programmed not to look."
"Sorry," Donna chewed on her lip. "But… you're dead." She whispered, remembering the image of Miss Evangelista's skeleton.
"In a way, we're all dead here, Donna. We are the dead of The Library."
Donna's hackles rose and she turned to the playground. "Well, what about the children? The children aren't dead. My children aren't dead." She gestured, violently.
"Your children were never alive." Miss Evangelista said, slowly.
Donna's eyes widened and burned with fury. "Don't you say that." She snapped. "Don't you dare say that about my children!" She shrieked.
"Look at your children. Look at all of them… really look. They're not real. Do you see it now? They're all the same." Miss Evangelista pressed. Donna turned and her eyes widened and saw that all of the children on the playground were the same boy and girl, even down to the clothes. "All the children of this world… the same boy and the same girl over and over again."
"Stop it!" Donna screamed and screwed up her eyes. "Why are you doing this? Why are you wearing that veil?"
Donna pulled off the veil to reveal the once lovely face of Miss Evangelista now distorted and warped.
Donna screamed.
It looked as if it were night in the yellow domed reading room. River was kneeling on the floor, using her sonic screwdriver to test the shadows.
"You know…" River started to smile. "It's funny, I keep wishing the Doctor and Rhea were here."
Anita frowned at her. "The Doctor and Rhea are here, aren't they? I mean, they're coming back, right?"
River swallowed hard. "You know when you see a photograph of someone you know but it's from years before you met them, and it's like they're not quite...finished, they're-they're not quite done yet? Well... yes, the Doctor and Rhea are here. They came when I called just like they always do. But not my Rhea and my Doctor. Now, my Doctor and Rhea... I've seen whole armies turn and run away, and he'd just swagger off back to his TARDIS, his arms around Rhea, and they'd open the doors with a snap of their fingers. The Doctor and Rhea... in the TARDIS… next stop: everywhere." She smiled to herself.
"Spoilers!" The Doctor called out, harshly, he and Rhea joining the crowd from the other side of the room. "Nobody can open a TARDIS by snapping their fingers. Doesn't work like that."
River lifted her chin. "It does for the Doctor and Rhea." She said, stubbornly.
"I am the Doctor and she is Rhea." The Doctor snapped, his hackles rising, his eyes darkening.
Those words heartened Rhea, actually doing something to assuage her fears that the Doctor was simply waiting around for his Rhea, using her as his consolation prize. Here he was defending her to a stranger who had the same idea that Rhea had about the Doctor. Hopefully, she could trust him at his word.
"Yeah." River snorted. "Some day."
Rhea tensed. "Ok-ay." She drawled. "Professor Song, may I have a word?" She asked, quietly but dangerously, her eyes flashing as she moved to a corner of the room. She didn't stop until River caught up to her, before rounding on the curly-haired woman. "Okay, what the hell is your problem with us?" She growled.
"Nothing." River said, defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Okay." Rhea nodded to herself, absentmindedly. "I am, by experience, a sceptic. And if you know me as well as you claim to know me, you should know I don't trust easily." She stepped closer to her. "I'm not an idiot. I was angry at the Doctor the last time we met but I was telling the truth. I have nothing against the principle of killing, to be honest, I don't really give a damn, but it's who you killed that bothers me. Octavian spilled enough to clue me into who you might have killed. So, I don't know why you're acting so fucking entitled. He is the Doctor and I am Rhea. Maybe we're not the Doctor and Rhea you want, but suck it up."
"You don't understand-" River began, nervously.
"No, but I don't want to." Rhea said, flatly, making River flinch. But Rhea was far too lost in her anger to soften at this point. "If you know me as well as you think you know me, you know I'm gonna defend the Doctor no matter what. So, I'm only going to say this once." She growled. "If I get the slightest inkling, just one doubt, one slip up, that you're going to hurt him… you should run, run as fast as you can and don't stop running, because I will find you, and when I find you…" She smiled, dangerously. "Well, I really don't need to finish that sentence, now do I?" She purred and flounced away back to the Doctor's side.
The Doctor and Rhea walked up to Anita. "How are you doing?" The Doctor asked, quietly, noticing the way that River's face seemed to be pale and Rhea's eyes were cold.
"Where's Other Dave?" River asked, after a moment.
"Not coming." The Doctor said, sharply, before softening. "Sorry."
"Well, if they've taken him, why haven't they gotten me yet?" Anita asked, frantically.
"I don't know." The Doctor shook his head, seeing that she still had two shadows. "Maybe tinting the visor's making a difference."
"It's making a difference all right. No one's ever gonna see my face again." Anita grumbled.
"Can we get you anything?" Rhea asked, softly.
"An old age would be nice. Anything you can do." Anita said, lightly.
The Doctor smiled, sadly. "We're all over it."
"Doctor, Rhea, when we first met you, you both didn't trust Professor Song. And then she whispered something in your ears and you did. My life so far, I could do with a word like that. What did she say?" Anita asked after a moment. She chuckled when the Doctor and Rhea remained silent, their eyes unfathomable. "Give a dead girl a break. Your secrets are safe with me."
The Doctor's eyes widened. "Safe. Safe. You don't say, "saved". Nobody says, "saved", you say, "safe". The data fragment… what did it say?" The Doctor rounded on Mr Lux.
"'4022 people saved. No survivors.'" Mr Lux quoted.
Rhea's eyes widened, her mind catching up to what the Doctor had figured out. 4022 people safe… not 'saved'.
"It shouldn't be 'saved'. It should be 'safe'." Rhea stammered.
"And the biggest hard drive at the core of the planet."
"Doctor? Rhea?" River called out, uncertainly, seeing their absolutely still forms. She was still a little winded and taken aback by Rhea's threat, the words striking deep in her heart. It wasn't every day that someone, who meant as much as Rhea did to her, threatened her with death if she posed a threat to someone who also meant as much as Rhea did to her. She swallowed hard and blinked back the tears.
The Doctor's eyes met Rhea's, a spark of electricity passing between the two. "Nobody says 'saved', nutters say 'saved', you say 'safe'. It didn't mean 'safe'. It literally meant... 'saved'!"
A/N: Dio benedetto: Good God (at least, I think).
Hope you all liked the first chapter of Forest of the Dead. We had a lot of secrets exposed in this chapter. Rhea started to get pissed off at River in this chapter. Tensions were running on high and Rhea's got a bit of a temper. It's not like she hates River or anything, she just doesn't trust her. So, I had Rhea threaten her. Don't worry, their relationship will get better after this episode, I promise. No more threatening.
And we got a chance to see some flirting between the Doctor and Rhea in this chapter. Two kisses and a lot of flirting. I thought it was cute how the Doctor wanted "one last shag" before they died and how Rhea wanted the Doctor to "teach her how to be good like him". And there was some fighting as well. I wonder what River told Rhea to make her trust her. It really set Rhea off. And apparently Rhea knows the Doctor's name. I wonder when that happens. I wanted Rhea to blame the Doctor for telling River her 'secret' because in Rhea's eyes, no one else knows about that particular 'secret'. Only the Doctor and herself know and she finds it hard to believe that she was the one to tell River. Ergo, it had to be the Doctor. Oh, and if you didn't guess, what River told Rhea was the same thing that the Doctor told Rhea in the first chapter.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and don't forget to leave a review!