The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday – Chapter 57
A/N: Okay, so I thought I'd do this thing where I'd update all of my stories on Valentine's Day as a treat to celebrate my three favourite relationships at the moment: Docthea (from The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday), Doctess (from Dream Weaver) and Nikliyah (from Stormdancer). Anyway, hope you guys have an awesome Valentine's Day and enjoy all of my updates.
As for this chapter, I decided to go with Fear Her because there are a lot of things that happen in this episode that are detrimental to Rhea finally getting her act together. We'll see some more information about Rhea's backstory come out in these two chapters, I promise. These next two chapters will have Rhea going through a private hell of her own. So, let's all raise our sympathy glasses for her!
Actually, I was just wondering... I've been having a lot of trouble uploading and editing chapters after I upgraded my Mac to Yosemite and I was wondering if any of my readers had an idea of what I could do. Help would be much appreciated. It would take away the delay in my updates ;)
Replies to Reviews:
beulah2013: Well, I'm a bit iffy on the timeline. It's not before Rose, it's just one of those times that the Doctor dropped Rose off at her mother's. I like those one-on-one interactions between the Doctor and Rhea as well. I love writing them, because it lets me get into their characters a bit more without all of the action happening around them. Oh, I am so glad you liked it. As for which Doctor is the first... well, I can assure you it's coming soon.
A: I am, I really want to do a 12 episode, which I may after I get through the first season finale I plan to cover. The problem is that there are no transcripts for those episodes yet, so I'm wondering what's the best way to do it. And, I have no idea which episode to do, maybe Robot of Sherwood or The Caretaker.
NicoleR85: I know! I think the Doctor is the only one who can convince her of her own worth. Me too, I really want to write the Master and we're almost there, I promise.
grapejuice101: I'm so glad you liked it!
lostiesgirl: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like my version of smut. I can be very self-conscious about things like that, mainly because I remember what my first attempts at smut were (when I was like a teenager) and they were very, very bad.
Meep: I know! Um, it was an original chapter, I'm sure the BBC wouldn't let them actually cover something like this. Actually, it is a practice in some Middle Eastern countries, when men accuse their wives of adultery or their brides didn't bleed on their wedding night. It's quite sick and Rhea was definitely one who would object to it. But I am so glad you like the story so far! Um, as for any of the older Doctors, probably not, because I haven't watched much of Classic Who, but if I ever get around to watching it, I may write a few of the episodes with Rhea in it. That being said, any of the New Who episodes that feature the older Doctors, I may write Rhea into those scenes.
Marmalade1512: Thank you so much! Um, I may write the Doctor's first meeting with Rhea, I just don't know when I want to put it. It has to be some time meaningful, so I haven't completely decided, but it is on my list for original chapters.
firedrakegirl: Thank you so much!
LookAliveSunshine03: Oh, wow, that was not intentional at all. Good on you for spotting it. I'm so glad my chapter has symbolism when I didn't even intend it.
PrincessMagic: Thank you so much!
XBloodMageRikaX: Thank you so much! I know, I hated him too. I kinda modelled him on Joffrey from Game of Thrones. I love a jealous Doctor, he's so fun to write. A vulnerable Rhea is interesting because it shows that she's still got some of her humanity there.
Serendipity898: Um, I don't think Rhea will acknowledge the marriage because that would mean she would have to acknowledge the fact that she has feelings for the Doctor, and she's not there yet.
Audrie-13: You're so sweet! I think the best reviews are when people tell me that they ship Docthea because it makes me feel so good about my writing. I'm glad you liked the wedding and thank you so much for your review!
The Clown Princess: Thank you so much!
BloodyAvenger21: Thank you so much! I won't tell you if you're right or not, but I do want Rhea's husband to make an appearance soon. As for the Doctor's intervention, I don't know, you may see it sometime in the future ;) I don't think people are too mad about the sexualisation of the story, because again, it is M and Rhea's kind of like that as well. And sex does form a part of the story as a whole. I think I'll need a long time to get through Classic Who but I may get around to it soon.
ImpactBlue: Oh, my God, I'm so glad you like it that much! I know, it was such a sad episode and I pretty much spent the whole time wanting to smack Amy across the face. But knowing Rhea, how much fun do you think she would have with not one, but two Doctors ;)
Warnings: Swearing, mentions of rape and torture and sick things to do with sex, nothing NSFW in this chapter, but trigger worthy.
Fear Her: Children of the Corn
The TARDIS materialised right in between two gates, one saying 'DANGER – KEEP OUT' and the other 'NO PARKING IN FRONT OF THESE GATES'. The Doctor opened the door, but the TARDIS had materialised the wrong way around, with the door facing the gate, instead of empty space.
"Ah." The Doctor said, sheepishly, ignoring the laughter coming from the two women behind him.
He stepped back inside and the TARDIS dematerialised. It materialised again, this time the right way around.
"Ah!" The Doctor exclaimed, stepping out into the open space.
Rhea and Rose followed him, the former still cracking up, grasping onto her stomach as the laughs left her throat.
The Doctor looked back and glared at her.
"Oh, come on, even you've got to admit that was classic! It was like Three Stooges all over again." Rhea grinned. "Except, you know, with a time-travelling police box and an eccentric alien with a penchant for pinstripe suits."
They all looked around. Rose noticed a Shayne Ward poster advertising his greatest hits album, tacked onto a fence.
"So, near future, yeah?" Rose clarified.
The Doctor shrugged. "I had a passing fancy. Only it didn't pass, it stopped."
Rhea stared at the post for a moment, before turning to Rose. "What, are you British incapable of listening to Justin Beiber?"
The Doctor frowned. "Who's Justin Beiber?"
Rhea rolled her eyes and walked past him. "A moron."
Rhea, Rose and the Doctor walked down the road, watching the 'London 2010' banner emblazoned across the streetlights with interest.
"30th Olympia." The Doctor said, triumphantly.
"Which I've already seen." Rhea pointed out, absentmindedly. "It's 2012, huh?"
Rose simply looked delighted and linked her arms through the Doctor's and Rhea's. "No way! Why didn't I think of this, that's great! Ah!"
The Doctor beamed, proudly. "Only seems like yesterday a few naked Greek blokes were tossing a discus about... wrestling each other in the sand with crowds stood about, begging... no, wait a minute... that was Club Med." He laughed at his own joke and nudged Rose in the side. "Just in time for the opening doo dah ceremony... tonight, I thought you'd like that. Last one they had in London was dynamite. Wembley, 1948. I loved it so much, I went back and watched it all over again. Fella carrying the torch... lovely chap, what was his...?"
Rhea paused in her walking when she noticed the 'MISSING' posters tacked onto a lamp post, and moved closer to peer at them, closely. The Doctor carried on oblivious, still talking to himself, while Rose frowned and joined Rhea.
"Mark...? John…? Mark...? Legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet."
"Doctor." Rhea waved at him.
"And in those days, everybody had a tea party to go to."
"Doctor." Rhea called out again.
"Did you ever have one of those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on top-"
"Can you stop talking for five freaking minutes?" Rhea snapped, turning around to glare at the Doctor. Her shoulders' relaxed. "You should really come and look at this." She said, urgently.
"Do you know those-those things?" The Doctor asked her, finally sauntering over. "Nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. Genius." He stared at the posters for a moment. "What's taking them, do you think?" He turned around and scanned the street. "Snatching children from a thoroughly ordinary street like this. Why's it so cold...? Is something reducing the temperature...?"
Rose looked at the posters again. "It says they all went missing this week. Why would a person do something like this?"
Rhea snorted. "When is it ever just a person?"
She turned around at the sound of a door opening and watched as a woman dumped a recycling sack on the pavement outside her house and hurried back inside, casting furtive looks all around her all the while.
"Whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death. Doctor, Rhea, what-" Rose turned around, but the Doctor and Rhea were already at the other end of the road.
"You know, you can't just pull me around in these shoes." Rhea grumbled against the Doctor, pressed against his side as he dragged her down the street.
She looked down at herself. If she had known this was going to be another one of their epic adventures, she may have dressed differently than a backless and sleeveless black top and a calf-length black leather skirt, coupled with black high-heeled pumps. But, she should have guessed. She hadn't had an outing with the Doctor without them fighting for their lives in a very long time. That just seemed to be the Doctor's M.O.
The Doctor finally stopped at the front garden of one of the suburban homes. A strange look passed over his face and Rhea watched as he held out his hand in front of him, as though he was able to feel something that was invisible to her. He crouched, falling to his knees, his hand hovering above what appeared to be an ordinary patch of grass.
As Rose hurried along the road, in pursuit of the Doctor and Rhea, a car juddered to a halt as the engine started to smoke, rapidly. She stopped to watch. A council worker on the road propped his broom up against his white van and approached the car.
"There you go. Fifth today. Not natural, is it?" The council worker asked the driver.
The driver looked confused. "I dunno what happened, I had it serviced less than a month ago."
"Nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. All the cars are doing it. And do you know what? It's bonkers. Bonkers." The driver got out of the car. "Come on then, pal. I'll help you shift it. Quicker you're on the way, happier you'll be."
The council worker pushed the car from behind, straining to do so, whilst the driver pushed from the driver's side.
"There we go." The driver said.
Rose stepped forwards. "Do you want a hand?" Rose offered.
The council worker shook his head. "No, we're all right, love." He said with the slightest bit of condescension.
Rose grinned. "No you're not. I'm tougher than I look, honest." She positioned herself behind the car and gestured for him to move over. He did so and she helped him push it. The engine suddenly sprung to life, causing the council worker to promptly fall over. He stood, brushing himself off.
"Does this happen a lot?" Rose asked, curiously.
"Cheers, mate!" The driver said, before driving off.
"Been doing it all week." The council worker said, disgruntled.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "Since those children started going missing?"
The council worker's brow furrowed, not being able to see the connection. "Yeah, I s'pose so."
The Doctor giggled, as he felt whatever sensation he was experiencing over the grass, while Rhea simply stared at him, incredulously.
"Tickles!" He commented.
"You really are like an overgrown child, aren't you?" Rhea deadpanned.
Suddenly, she spun around when she felt a presence behind her and watched as a middle-aged man appeared behind them, looking furious, his hands in his pockets.
"What's your game?" The man asked, sharply.
The Doctor spun around. His eyes widened. "My... um... Snakes and Ladders? Quite good at... Squash. Reasonable." The Doctor stammered, floundering. He noticed the look on the man's face and bit his lip. "I'm... being facetious, aren't I? There's no call for it."
Rose and the council worker, Kel, walked along the street together.
"Every car cuts out. The council are going nuts. I mean, they've given this street the works. Renamed it... I've been tarmacking every pot hole..." He gestured, proudly, at the pieces of the road that looked disjointed from the rest. "Look at that. Beauty, innit? Yep! And all that is because that Olympic Torch comes right by the end of this close. Just down there. Everything's got to be perfect, ain't it? Only it ain't."
They came across an old lady in the street, Maeve.
"It takes 'em when they're playing." Maeve said.
Rose frowned. "What takes them?"
"Danny... Jane... Dale... snatched in the blink of an eye." Maeve said, ominously.
The Doctor and Rhea were backing away, the Doctor pleading, while the middle-aged man pursued them, looking as though he was about to beat the Doctor up.
"We're-we're police officers! We've got badges and-and a police car... you don't have to get… I can-I can prove it! Just hold on-" The Doctor pleaded and dug in his pockets for his psychic paper.
"We've had plenty of coppers poking around here, and you don't look, or sound, like any of them." The man said, roughly.
The Doctor pointed at Rhea and Rose. "See, look! I've got colleagues!"
Rhea rolled her eyes. She fixed the man with a stare. "Hold up! We really are police officers. Look, I'm Agent Bonham, and my partners, Agent Page and Agent Plant. We're from MI5." She dug into the Doctor's coat pocket and with great difficulty, pulled out the psychic paper, flashing it at the man.
"Well, you look less like a copper than he does." The man retorted.
Rhea glared at him. "Sir, are you trying to insinuate that because I am a person of colour, I am unequipped to be an agent?" She raised an eyebrow, her mouth setting into a hard line. I'll have you know I can charge you with hindering a police officer in the course of their duty if I wanted to." She scowled.
"Good job. Keep going." The Doctor hissed in Rhea's ear, pinching her side.
A young woman with dark skin, Trish, joined them. "What are you going to do?"
"The police have knocked on every door, no clues, no leads, nothing." Maeve commented.
The man shrugged. "Look, kids run off sometimes, all right? That's what they do-"
Rhea frowned. "It's not something to take a blasé approach to, sir."
"Dale Hixon in your garden, playing with your Tommy, and then...!" Maeve mimicked the sound of someone disappearing. "Right in front of me, like he was never there! There's no need to look any further than this street. It's right here amongst us."
"Why don't we-" The Doctor tried to interject.
"Why don't we start with him?" A neighbour pointed at Kel. "There's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."
"Fixing things up for the Olympics!" Kel said, indignantly.
"Yeah, and taking an awful long time about it." Tom's dad commented.
"I'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is just-" The Doctor tried again.
"You don't… what you just said, that's slander!" Kel shouted, not even bothering to listen.
"I don't care what it is!"
"I think we just need to-"
"I want an apology off her!" Kel said.
"Stop picking on him." Maeve warned.
"Yeah, stop picking on me!"
"And stop pretending to be blind! It's evil!" Maeve shouted.
The neighbour glared at Kel. "I don't believe in evil."
"Oh no, you just believe in tarmackers with sack loads of kidnapped kiddies in their van-" Kel said, angrily.
"Ay, ay, ay, that's not what she's saying." The neighbour said.
"Would you stop ganging up on me!?"
"Feeling guilty, are we?" The neighbour asked, shrilly.
"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Rhea shouted, silencing everyone. She turned to the Doctor. "Floor's all yours, honey."
"Fingers on lips." The Doctor warned, putting his finger on his lips and glaring at all of them, as if daring them not to do the same.
The council worker behind Kel had already obeyed, and after a moment of complete bewilderment, Kel and Tom's dad put their fingers on their lips too. The Doctor looked pointedly at Rose, who followed suit, and then at Rhea, who rolled her eyes and simply refused. Now all of them, with the exception of Rhea, had their fingers on their lips, and silence had fallen.
"In the last six days, three of your children have been stolen. Snatched out of thin air, right?" The Doctor asked through gritted teeth, at the end of his patience.
Maeve gestured to her hand, asking permission to take her finger off her lips. "Er... can I...?" The Doctor motioned for her to go ahead. "Look around you... this was a safe street 'til it came. It's not a person. I'll say it if no one else will. Maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not. I don't care who you are. Can you please help us?"
Rhea looked around and caught sight of a young girl, staring at all of them gathered in the middle of the street with a strange look on her face. Trish noticed Rhea looking somewhere else and followed her gaze to see her staring at the young girl in the windowsill. She hurried back inside her house and shut the door behind her.
Rose and Rhea were standing on one of the lawns, while the Doctor went around, sniffing the grass as if he were a sniffer-dog.
"Want a hanky?" Rose offered.
"Can you smell it?" The Doctor asked.
Rhea sniffed and was assaulted by a tangy scent. "Metal."
The Doctor nodded. "Mm-hm!"
Rose grinned. "Ooh!"
The Doctor waved to Tom's dad before the three of them left the front garden. They walked down a narrow alleyway behind a row of houses.
"Danny Edwards cycled in one end but never came out the other." The Doctor paused, feeling something again. "Whoa, there it goes again!" He showed Rhea the back of his hand. "Look at the hairs on the back of my manly hairy hand."
"Okay, please never say that again." Rhea rolled her eyes. She inhaled again, her nose crinkling as she did so. "And there's that smell... it's like a um... a burnt fuse plug or something."
The Doctor nodded. "There's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. Whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this."
Rose was walking a few paces behind the Doctor and Rhea, back in the close.
"Aren't you a beautiful boy?!" Rose exclaimed, suddenly.
Rhea frowned and turned to look at the young blonde girl with confusion. Now that's something you don't hear every day.
The Doctor beamed, thinking Rose was addressing him. "Thanks! I'm experimenting with back-combing." His face fell when he noticed Rose was talking to cat instead of him. "Oh."
Rhea laughed and leaned up, kissing him on the corner of the mouth. "Don't worry, sweetie, I think you look very beautiful."
Rose stroked the orange fur of the cut. "I used to have one like you."
The cat meowed and the Doctor watched it, uncomfortably, looking as though he had a bad taste in his mouth.
"What?" Rhea raised an eyebrow. She wasn't a cat person by any means. She had never really had the patience for a pet. She had wanted a kitten when she was younger, but her parents had vetoed the idea, saying that there was no way she would end up taking care of it herself.
The Doctor shrugged. "I'm not really a cat person. Once you've been threatened by one in a nun's wimple, it kind of takes the joy out of it."
Rhea's brow furrowed. "You've been threatened by a cat in a nun costume?" The sentence didn't make quite a lot of sense to her.
"Um, well, never mind that." The Doctor said, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Actually, I've been kidnapped by a cat in a nun costume," Rhea shook her head. "I almost forgot about that."
"When were you kidnapped by a cat in a nun costume?" The Doctor frowned.
"Never mind." She waved off.
The cat wandered over to a cardboard box.
"Come here, puss!" Rose called out after it, following.
The Doctor averted his eyes and Rhea watched in amusement as Rose crawled on her hands and knees on the grass. The cat climbed inside the box.
"What do you wanna go in there for?"
There was a whooshing sound, and the cat's meow echoed slightly, as if it was fading into the distance. Rose peered inside the now empty box and reared back in shock, her eyes widening.
"Doctor! Rhea!" She shouted, urgently.
The Doctor and Rhea rushed over to her, Rose hurriedly standing up when the familiar tang of metal assaulted her olfactory senses.
"Whoa!" The Doctor exclaimed, backing off. "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo!" He waved the smell away, as if he were warding something evil off, and picked up the empty cardboard box. "Iron residue. Blimey! That takes some doing!" He turned the box around, looking impressed. "Just to snatch a living organism out of space/time. This baby is just like," He put on a rough accent, his voice lowering in pitch. "'I'm 'avin' some of that', I'm impressed."
Rhea moved into him. "So, does that mean the cat's been transported somewhere else?"
The Doctor nodded. "It can harness huge reserves of ionic power." He pointed at the box. "We need to find the source of that power." He looked around. "Find the source and you will find... whatever has taken to stealing children and fluffy animals. See what you can see." He whacked Rhea on the shoulder and gestured at his eyes. "Keep 'em peeled, Bonham, Plant."
Rhea and Rose nodded as the Doctor walked off.
"Where'd you come up with those names anyway?" Rose asked, curiously.
"John Bonham's the drummer for Led Zeppelin. Jimmy Page's a guitarist and Robert Plant, a singer." Rhea shrugged. "It's my favourite band. I used to listen to Stairway to Heaven on repeat when I was a little girl."
Rhea and Rose were walking down a road that ended in a cul-de-sac. The neighbourhood was eerily quiet and empty except for a dog barking. Something crashed from inside one of the garages, forcing Rhea and Rose to turn. The initial crash was followed by several smaller ones as they approached the garage door.
"Is that you, puss-cat? Are you trapped?" Rose called out.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "How exactly is it supposed to answer you?"
There was the sound of something made of metal rolling along the floor from within. Rhea and Rose put their ears against the door, but they jumped back almost immediately at the sound of another crash. Rhea considered the door, carefully.
"I really shouldn't be doing this." Rhea muttered to herself. "Every time someone in a movie opens a door in these situations, they get killed by an axe murderer."
She reached out and opened the door. Slowly and tentatively, she looked inside, making sure that Rose was behind her, and was immediately ambushed by what resembled a very violent tangle of wires, making a strange buzzing sound. Rhea fell backwards, Rose jumping out of the way.
"Son of a bitch!" Rhea shrieked in dismay.
The Doctor appeared from around the corner just in the nick of time and started running as soon as he could see that Rhea was in trouble.
"Stay still!" He shouted.
"That's easier said than done!" She shouted.
He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the giant scribble, and it convulsed, collapsing into a small ball, which fell into Rhea's outstretched hands. The Doctor rushed to Rhea and stood over her, somewhat protectively.
"Okey-dokey?" The Doctor held out his hands and pulled Rhea to her feet.
Rhea exhaled. "Fuck, that was not pleasant." She looked up at the Doctor. "Thanks for that." She cleared her throat.
"No probs." The Doctor smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, hauling her up against him.
"Um, not to break up this sweet moment, but…" Rose gestured at the object in Rhea's hands.
"I'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what the hell it is." The Doctor poked at it with his sonic screwdriver. "'Cos I haven't got the foggiest."
"Well, I think you just killed it." Rhea said, cocking her head and peering at it.
The Doctor swiped it from her hands and shook his head. "It was never living. It's animated by energy. Same energy that's snatching people." He threw it up and down, his face delighted. "That is so dinky! The Go-Anywhere creature. Fits in your pocket... makes friends, impresses the boss... breaks the ice at parties..."
He pocketed it, while Rose laughed and Rhea rolled her eyes, the three moving off.
The Doctor placed the object on the TARDIS console for analysing.
"Oh, hi, ho, here we go. Let's have a look."
The Doctor, Rhea and Rose were watching the computer screen, which was displaying a myriad of Gallifreyan symbols.
"Get out of here…" The Doctor muttered, surprised.
Rhea shifted. "What is it saying?"
As if to confirm what he had seen on the screen, the Doctor took a pencil from his pocket and held the object out in front of him. He used the rubber at the end of the pencil to rub out part of the object.
"It is!" The Doctor exclaimed. He blew on the object. "It's graphite! Basically the same material as an HB pencil."
Rhea swallowed and bit her lip. "So, what you're trying to say is that… I was attacked… by a pencil scribble?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Scribble creature." The Doctor nodded. He sniffed it and held it out for Rose and Rhea to do so as well. "Brought into being with ionic energy. Whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. But... why make a scribble creature?!"
Rhea narrowed her eyes at the object. "Well, maybe it was a mistake… I mean, you scribble over something when you want to get rid of it. Like, well… like a drawing. Like a… a…" Her eyes widened. "A child's drawing." She whispered. The Doctor and Rose glanced at her with confusion. "You said it was in the street, yeah?"
The Doctor nodded. "Probably."
"The girl." Rhea muttered.
"Of course!" The Doctor exclaimed. He quietened, his brow furrowing. "What girl?" He asked, confusedly.
"There was this girl in the windowsill on the street… she just kept staring…" Rhea bit her lip, remembering the woman who had rushed back into her house, as though she was afraid some secret would be let out. "Her mother looked as if she were trying to… to keep her hidden. She looked scared of her own daughter."
A smile began to form on the Doctor's lips and he leaned in, pressing his hip against the console. "Are you deducting?" He asked, playfully.
Rhea grinned, her eyes twinkling. She pressed a hand against his chest. "I think I am." She purred.
"Detective's hunch?" The Doctor smirked.
Rhea ran her tongue over her teeth. "Come on, detective, let's go and check it out."
The Doctor, Rhea and Rose stepped out on the porch of Trish's house. Rhea reached to the side wall and rang the doorbell once. They could see through the frosty glass on the side that Trish hesitated for a moment, looking suspicious. Rhea rapped her knuckles on the letter box and waited, patiently. Trish opened the door, slowly, and three gave her wide smiles.
"Hello!" The Doctor beamed. "I'm the Doctor, this is Rhea and Rose. Can we see your daughter?" He asked.
"No!" Trish snarled. "You can't."
"Okay!" The Doctor said, cheerfully. "Bye!"
They walked away in silence, slowly and waiting.
"Why?" Trish asked after a moment.
The three turned in unison.
"Why do you want to see Chloe?" Trish asked, hesitantly.
"Well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street, and I just thought," Rhea cleared her throat. "Well, we thought… that she might like to give us a hand."
Rhea shrugged. "We didn't mean anything by it. We'll just go, then."
"Yeah, sorry. We'll let you get on with things. On your own. Bye again!"
They turned and walked away again, however, Trish didn't retreat back into her house. After a few moments, she called out after them again.
"Wait!" She exclaimed.
The Doctor, Rhea and Rose turned again. Rhea's eyes softened when she gazed upon the helpless, vulnerable expression that adorned Trish's face.
"Can you help her?" She asked, quietly.
The Doctor smiled, softly. "Yes, I can."
Rhea and Rose sat themselves down on the sofa, while the Doctor flung his coat down next to them.
"She stays in her room, most of the time. I try talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. She gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone." Trish said, desperately.
Rhea pursed her lips as her mind whirred with all the possibilities. It was easy to slip into her psychologist persona, as if it were an old glove, the leather stretched to the limits of her, which would make it comfortable for her. "What about her father?"
Trish shook her head. "Chloe's dad died a year ago."
Rose's eyes were soft. "I'm sorry." She murmured.
Trish pursed her lips, her eyes hard. She looked away from Rhea's piercing gaze. "You wouldn't be if you'd known him."
"Not the kind of guy you mourn, huh?" Rhea asked, knowingly, remembering sharp blue eyes, which set her teeth on edge.
Trish swallowed hard, being able to read the slightest kinship in the woman's eyes. "No, he wasn't."
The Doctor's hand fell hard on Rhea's shoulder, tightening in comfort.
"Well!" The Doctor exclaimed suddenly, brightly. "Let's go and say hi!"
Trish shifted in her position. "I should check on her first... she might be asleep." She said, hesitantly.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "Why are you afraid of her, Trish?" She asked, softly.
"I want you to know before you see her that's she's really a great kid." Trish said, urgently.
The Doctor smiled. "I'm sure she is."
"She's never been in trouble at school... you should see her report from last year. As and Bs." She smiled at Rhea, proudly, who smiled back.
"Do you mind if I used your bathroom?" Rhea asked, suddenly.
Trish nodded.
The Doctor watched Rhea carefully as she left the room, an unreadable look on his face. From what he could tell earlier, this woman and her child were bringing all sorts of memories back to the surface for Rhea. He could see it in the slightest tremble of her fingers that more and more memories were bombarding her. He knew that she was going to investigate further, having used the bathroom as an excuse, but he also knew that she needed a moment to collect herself. To be able to put the mask back on and show everyone her game face, that nothing bothered her, that she was a fortress and there was nothing in the universe that could penetrate her. It would have worked, if only he didn't know her as well as he did. If only he didn't know every slight change in her eyes like the back of his hand.
Rhea went up the stairs in the Webbers' house, listening to Trish's voice carry.
"She's singing in an old folks home. Any mum would be proud. You know... I want you to know these things before you see her, Doctor. Because right now, she's not herself."
Rhea emerged onto the landing. A shadow blocked out the light from the crack beneath Chloe's bedroom door, and there was the sound of someone moving from within. Rhea slid herself into a nearby airing cupboard, forcing her body to keep still and closing the ventilated doors on herself. She watched Chloe leave her room through the gaps and heard her small footsteps on the stairs. She cautiously came out of the airing cupboard, closing the doors as quietly as she possibly could behind her, years of training working for her in this moment. She now fixed her eyes on Chloe's bedroom door. She pushed it open, quietly, and looked inside, observing the hundreds of drawings covering the walls.
Rhea crept further in, looking around with interest. The wardrobe doors rattled and Rhea swore under her breath and spun on her feet, her hackles rising, causing her to knock a pencil holder onto the floor. She quickly picked them up and replaced them. Her gaze was drawn to a drawing of boy, baring his teeth at her, who had been merely frowning a few moments ago.
The Doctor popped his head around the corner, peering through the dining room into the kitchen.
"All right, there?" He asked the young girl with a smile.
Chloe was drinking from a glass of milk from the fridge. The Doctor and Rose walked into the kitchen, Trish bringing up the rear. He settled himself against a table, as Chloe put back the milk bottle in the fridge and shut the door behind her.
"I'm the Doctor." The Doctor said. "And this is Rose."
Rose waved.
Chloe faced him, her eyes a little blank. "I'm Chloe Webber."
The Doctor smiled, reassuringly. "How're you doing, Chloe Webber?"
Chloe shrugged. "I'm busy. I'm making something." She looked over at Trish. "Aren't I, mum?"
Trish pursed her lips. "And like I said, she's not been sleeping."
"But you've been drawing, though. I'm rubbish. Stick men are about my limit. Can do this, though..." He made the 'live long and prosper' sign from Star Trek with his fingers, although Chloe's face remained expressionless. "Can you do that?"
Trish nodded at Chloe, as if encouraging her to answer.
"They don't stop moaning." Chloe said, blankly.
"Chloe…" Trish bit her lip.
"I try to help them, but they don't stop moaning."
The Doctor lowered his hand. "Who don't?" He asked, quietly, his face turning thoughtful.
"We can be together."
Trish moved towards her, slowly. "Sweetheart-"
"Don't touch me, mum." Chloe said, darkly.
Trish stopped in her tracks, hurt and confused, letting her hand fall back down to her side. She and the Doctor and Rose glanced at each, their thoughts surrounded on what was causing the young girl to act so emotionless.
Rhea narrowed her eyes when she heard the sound of the wardrobe doors rattling again. After a shrewd glance around the room, she approached the wardrobe slowly, steeling herself, then she opened them slowly, peering inside. A wind was rustling the clothes, seemingly coming out of nowhere. She parted them to see the back of the wardrobe, and a red light flooded the wardrobe and reflected off Rhea's face. On the back of the wardrobe, there was a huge picture of a bearded man whose face is contorted with fury, taped to the wall, the red light coming from his glowing red eyes.
She had a sneaking suspicion that this was Chloe's father.
"I'm coming…"
"I'm busy… Doctor…" Chloe said, before leaving the kitchen.
The Doctor's face fell in disappointment. "Oh, come on, Chloe! Don't be a spoil sport!" He called out after her. He followed her back into the hallway. "What's the big project? I'm dying to know! What're you making up there?"
"Doctor!" He heard Rhea's call out from upstairs. "You might want to come and see this." He could barely discern the slight shaking in her voice. Whatever it was she wanted him to see, it had obviously affected her to that point.
He lurched forwards, terror chilling his bones, and sprinted up the stairs, Rose, Trish and Chloe following, the former hot on his heels.
Rhea was staring into the wardrobe as though transfixed when the Doctor rushed into the room.
"I'm coming to hurt you…" Chloe's dad's voice rumbled.
"Love, you can't run from me. You can't even hide from me."
The Doctor slammed the wardrobe doors shut without so much as a glance at the inside of the closet.
"Look at it." Rhea said through gritted teeth, her hands shaking.
"No." The Doctor growled and pulled her away from the wardrobe to examine the drawings on the wall, putting his glasses on as he did so.
"But, Doctor-"
"I know exactly what's going on in your head, beautiful. Stop thinking about him." He said, sharply.
"I can't." She growled.
"Well, you just have to right now."
"What the hell was that?" Trish asked, stunned.
"A drawing." Rhea said, darkly. "The face of a man."
"What face?"
Trish tried to open the door, but Rose rammed herself up against him, preventing her from doing so.
"Best not." Rose commented, her eyes straying to Rhea's tense form and wondering why the sight of the picture had terrified her so much.
It was strange for Rose to see Rhea in this way. All tense and jumpy and ready to kill someone at a moment's notice. She was so used to seeing the woman all light-hearted and making fun of the Doctor that she sometimes forgot the innate darkness inside of her. She saw it sometimes, the way Rhea's eyes would go dark or she'd suddenly go all quiet. Sometimes her face would look drawn, as if she hadn't slept for months. There was something going on. This whole disappearance thing was affecting Rhea in a way that was most unusual and from the way the Doctor kept glancing at Rhea every other second, he realised it too. Maybe he even knew what exactly was wrong with her.
Trish turned to Chloe. "What've you been drawing?" She asked, sharply.
"I drew him yesterday."
Trish frowned. "Who?"
"Dad."
Trish swallowed hard, unpleasantly surprised and just the slightest bit terrified. "Your dad? But he's long gone. Chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?"
"I dream about him, staring at me."
Trish looked as if she were staring at her daughter for the first time. "I thought we were putting him behind us. What's the matter with you?"
"We need to stay together."
"Yes, we do." Trish said, earnestly.
Chloe shook her head. "No. Not you. Us." The Doctor and Rhea spun around to face the young girl at this. "We need to stay together. And then it'll be all right."
Trish went over to her and placed her hands on her daughter's child, something in her stomach dropping down to her feet when Chloe flinched.
Rhea took a step forward. "Trish, the drawings, have you seen what actually happens to her drawings?"
Trish suddenly hardened, only being able to perceive a threat from the three strangers. "Who gave you permission to come into her room? Get out of my house." She said, coldly.
The Doctor joined Rhea. "Tell us about the drawings, Chloe." He said, reassuringly.
Trish scowled. "I don't wanna here any more of this."
"The drawing she made of her father… I heard a man's voice. He was speaking." Rhea's eyes were dark and her fists clenched.
"He's dead." Trish said, sharply. "And these… they're kids pictures. Now get out!" She shouted.
"Chloe is doing something with these drawings. I have no idea how she's doing it, but she used it to take Danny Edwards. Dale Hicks, she's using it to take the kids." Rhea finished.
"Get out." Trish snarled.
"Have you seen the drawings move before?" Rhea raised an eyebrow. She wasn't intimidated in the slightest by Trisha.
"I haven't seen anything." Trisha commented, derisively.
The Doctor chose this moment to speak. "Yes you have. Out of the corner of your eye."
Trish turned to him. "No." She said, finally.
"And you dismissed it, because what choice do you have when you see something you can't possibly explain?" He moved over to her. "You dismiss it, right? And if anyone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever ag-"
"She's a child-" Trish protested.
"And you're terrified of her. But there's no one to turn to, because who's gonna believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? No one. Except us."
Trish paused. She sighed. "Who are you?" She pleaded.
"We're help." The Doctor said, softly.
A/N: Okay, not much to say about this chapter. We got a little mini-flashback in this chapter, with the 'love', and the tension is rising, for both Rhea and the Doctor. I think you can all guess who exactly Rhea was remembering in this chapter and I think it'll tie in nicely with what happens next. The more trigger-worthy stuff will happen next chapter, I promise and Rhea will come clean about some of the things in her past. Not all of them, because, as you know, I like to keep them close to my chest, but some things will be revealed in the next chapter.
Anyway, hope you all liked the chapter and don't forget to drop me a line! I'm always waiting!