A/N: So, yeah, this commences the second part of The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday (well, I guess, not really, considering the previous chapter, but this starts the second-part of the episodes). And I picked a pretty intense one to start off with, so hopefully you all enjoy!
Warnings: Language. Angst. Fluff. Sexual Content (just to be sure).
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 78
The Impossible Astronaut: God Bless America
"I hate you," Rhea muttered to the Doctor, shuffling awkwardly.
They heard the muffled sound of a door slamming open.
"We should have taken our fucking clothes with us," she grumbled, lowly.
"Where's the Doctor?!" a man rumbled, threateningly, somewhat in the distance.
A woman laughed, nervously.
"Doctor who?"
The Doctor sneezed, suddenly, and Rhea cursed under her breath, glowering over at him.
The tip of a sword peeked through the hem of the voluminous dress they managed to hide under, revealing a furious, red-faced man staring at them. Rhea tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, awkwardly, waving, while making sure she was flat enough against the ground that nothing past her the dip in her cleavage was visible, while the Doctor, just as naked as she was, peered out, shamelessly (not that Rhea was shy or anything, but if she were going to flash her tits at someone, she'd rather do it out of choice and not because the Doctor had thrown both of them into hot water).
"You know, this isn't nearly as bad it looks," he said, cheerfully.
Rory braced the plastic grocery bags on the counter, absentmindedly placing things away, while Amy relaxed on the couch, a book clutched between her fingers.
"At the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed doctor and his paramour were incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London."
Rory rolled his eyes. "Okay, but it doesn't have to be them," he said, pointedly.
"Two nights later, a magical sphere some twenty feet across was seen floating away from the tower, bearing the mysterious doctor aloft."
Rory paused, his eyes drifting shut in a moment of resignation. "Okay, it's them."
"There's more."
A British prisoner of war, dressed in his underclothes, laid on his stomach, on a dolly, looking awkward, as a bored Rhea, in the corner, wiped a bead of sweat off the curve of her hairline. She flashed him a smile when she caught him staring at her and guessed the flush in his cheeks to be at his state of undress and her presence.
She found it cute.
The prisoner of war looked up.
"Doctor, what can you see?"
The Doctor popped his head through a hole in the tunnel roof.
"Is the commandant's office painted a sort of green colour with a big flag on the wall?" he asked, innocently.
Rhea muttered something not-so-sweet under her breath.
Alarms blared and beams from the search lights filtered through the tunnel.
The Doctor looked sheepish. "I think the answer's probably yes."
The Doctor pulled back, as Germans shouted in the background and dogs started to bark.
Amy and Rory were lying side-by-side on the couch when she slammed the book shut.
"It's like he's being deliberately ridiculous, trying to attract our attention. And she's just going along with it! Why the bloody hell is she just going along with it?!" Her eyes strayed to where his gaze was directed, and she scowled. "Are you watching this again?" she asked, crossly.
Rory shrugged, his eyes focused on Laurel and Hardy's Sons of the Desert on the television. "I've explained the jokes."
The doorbell chimed and Amy jumped to her feet, going over to the door.
"So, what are you saying? Do you really think they're back there, trying to wave to us out of history books?"
Rory peered down at the book that Amy had left behind, narrowly missing seeing the Doctor and Rhea appear onscreen in the movie, waving at the camera deliberately before joining Laurel Hardy in a small dance.
"It's the sort of thing he'd do. And Rhea'd be forced to go along with because he's her ride." She smiled at the postman. "Thanks." She took the letter from him and closed the door, moving over to where she had been sitting previously.
"Yeah, but why?" Rory asked, confused.
Amy shrugged. "He said they'd be in touch."
Rory stared at her. "Two months ago."
Amy shook her head. "Two months is nothing. They're up to something, I know they are; I know them."
Her nail slid under the seal of the letter and split it open, pulling out a thin piece of blue cardboard, with a white paper stuck on top of it. Rory was silent, watching the television, until he heard a lack of sound from Amy and turned around, curiously.
"What is it? Amy?"
Amy looked up at him. "A date, a time, a map reference. I think it's an invitation."
Rory frowned. "From who?"
Amy shook her head. "It's not signed. Look, TARDIS blue!" She tossed it to him.
A blue envelope landed on a drab bed, propped up against the wall. River reached down to pick it up and she opened it carefully, smiling secretively as she read the contents.
Amy and Rory jumped off a yellow school bus on a long stretch of road, surrounded by nothing but plains, their hands closed around the straps of their backpacks.
"Thanks!" Amy grinned at the driver.
"You're very welcome," the driver replied and promptly shut the doors, driving off.
"Uh!" Amy looked around, sceptically. "This is it, yeah? The right place?"
Rory's eyes squinted. "Nowhere, middle of? Yeah, this is it."
"Howdy!" a familiar voice called out.
Amy and Rory turned around to find the Doctor and Rhea lying on the hood of a red, 1960s station wagon. Amy and Rory's eyes lit up. The Doctor looked very much the same, with the only difference being a blaring cowboy hat propped on his head (which took them by surprise, because normally Rhea was very vocal when it came to which of the Doctor's fashion choices she disapproved of, and she usually got her way), but they guessed that the Rhea they were seeing now was a much younger version of the Rhea they had last seen, her hair much longer than they were used to, and visibly more lines in her face, betraying a solemnity and grief and pain that their Rhea had taken in hand sometime back (for the most part, as the nature of Rhea's tribulations was not one that would ever fade, even with time).
She hid this very well though, clad in a white shirt, tied off in a knot just under her bust, baring the sleek, honey-gold skin of her midriff, jean shorts and metallic flaxen boots that ended someway up her thigh, and her trademark blaster holstered on her hip. A backpack of hers rested against the tire, on the gravel that littered the road, that she nudged at with her foot absentmindedly. She wore a pair of sunglasses that she dipped down to smile and gaze at the married couple through her eyelashes.
"Doctor! Rhea!" they cried out.
"Ha-ha!" the Doctor crowed, jumping off the hood of the car, and dragging Rhea along with him. "It's the Ponds! Pond One and Pond Two!" He threw his arms around Amy, while Rhea, very politely, but warmly, embraced Rory, kissing him on both of his cheeks, ever the Italian girl. "Hello, Ponds, come here!"
"So someone's been a busy pair then, eh?" Amy's eyes ran over the Doctor and Rhea.
The Doctor beamed. "Did you see us?" he asked, hopefully.
Amy rolled her eyes, but smiled back. "Of course! Stalker!" she teased.
"Flirt!" the Doctor bantered back.
Rory cleared his throat. "Husband," he said, pointedly.
Rhea narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, and girlfriend, you jerk." She elbowed the Doctor in the stomach, to which he heaved.
"And Rory the Roman! Oh, come here!" the Doctor laughed and hugged him.
Amy and Rhea exchanged a deliberate look before dissolving into laughs of their own and they both embraced as well, swaying slightly as their arms tightened around each other. Rhea pressed two quick kisses to Amy's cheeks and finally pulled away, beaming at the redhead.
"Hey, nice hat," Rory joked, patting the Stetson on top of the Doctor's head.
"I wear a Stetson now, Stetsons are cool," the Doctor deadpanned.
Amy looked at Rhea. "Didn't have a gun?" she asked, curiously.
"Oh, I always have a gun. I just didn't think shooting the damn thing off his head would be worth the whining that would follow," Rhea said, dryly.
A gun fired and Stetson was ironically and dramatically blown off the Doctor's head, his eyes wide as if he were a deer caught in headlights. The four of them turned with surprise to see River, her hip cocked and gun blazing, her figure silhouetted against the sun.
She blew, seductively, on the muzzle, before winking at Rhea, deliberately. "Hello, sweetie," she crooned.
In a both, the Doctor and River flipped through identical, TARDIS-patterned diaries, while Rhea, Amy and Rory picked up their drinks at the counter. The three slipped into the booth, Amy and Rory crowding into River's side, while Rhea took her expected seat beside the Doctor, her hand settling on his thigh once she ensconced herself against his side, his arm thrown over the back of the leather chair, fingers twisting in her stray curls that were loose and fierce and dark.
"Right then, where are we?" River looked between the content couple, something undeniably strange in her eyes. "Have we done Easter Island yet?"
The Doctor's eyes roamed over the pages of his diary, before they lit up. "Yes, I've got Easter Island!"
River leaned her chin on her upturned palms. "They worshipped you two there! Have you seen the statues?" she teased.
The Doctor flipped a page. "Jim the Fish."
River beamed. "Oh, Jim the Fish! How is he?"
The Doctor sidelined Rhea, Amy and Rory. "Still building his dam," he hedged, awkwardly.
Rory looked between the Doctor and River, before turning to Rhea for answers. "Sorry, what are they doing?
Rhea waved her hand, absentmindedly. "They never meet in the right order, so they have to sync their diaries, in case they blurt out something about each other's future that would be very, very bad," she explained.
Rory frowned. "But you and the Doctor don't do that."
"Yeah, but we have a different system in place," Rhea said, dryly.
"Like?"
"Like I ask him something and he says 'spoilers' if I haven't done it yet. And he asks me something and I say 'spoilers' if he hasn't done it yet. Or I cut him off mid-sentence if I think he's gonna spill something he really shouldn't." Rory looked bemused, but Rhea shrugged. "Hey, it surprisingly works for us. Plus, I keep a pretty exhaustive record of everything I do on my computer. Synced it up to the cloud and everything," she teased.
"I believe you," Rory said, dryly.
"So, are we going to mention the creepy, Dear John letter we all got in the mail?" Rhea looked, expectantly. "Which, by the way, is exceedingly creepy for me, because, technically, I don't have a mailbox that I can access."
Amy frowned and looked at the Doctor, who had been remarkably quiet up until this point, content to trail his knuckles up and down the bared skin of Rhea's arm and sip, slowly, at her Coke that he had appropriated for himself.
"Yeah, cause I can tell you've been up to something."
The Doctor sighed and leaned back, never letting his hold on Rhea end. "I've been running..." He looked down at a confused Rhea, eyes wide and waiting for an answer. His fortitude faltered and his head dipped down to brush his mouth across the curve of her bare shoulder. "Faster than I've ever run, and I've been running my whole life. Now it's time for me to stop. And tonight, I'm going to need you all with me," he said, solemnly.
Rhea grimaced. "Now I know this is going to end badly," she muttered.
Amy bit her lip. "Okay, we're here, what's up?" she asked, curiously.
The Doctor's face shifted from gravity to humour. "A picnic!" he said, cheerfully. "And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere brand-new."
"As opposed to our usual, bi-monthly family vacations to Colonial Williamsburg?" Rhea teased.
There was a hint of wanderlust in Amy's eyes. "Where?" she asked, excitedly.
"Space..." the Doctor drawled. "1969."
The Doctor was stretched out on a large picnic blanket, his head propped up in Rhea's lap, her fingers threading through his hair, while Rhea, Amy, Rory and River were seated around the edges, their legs tucked underneath them.
The Doctor tipped the wine bottle forwards, after snatching it from a mollifying Rhea. "Salut!" he said, cheerfully.
"Salut!" they all repeated and their glasses clinked.
"So, when are we going to 1969?" Rory asked, curiously.
"And since when do you drink wine?" Amy eyed the glass, suspiciously.
"I'm 1103, I must have drunk it some time," the Doctor said, dryly. He took a swig from the bottle and promptly turned to the side and spat it out over the sand. "Oh, wine's horrid!" He shuffled downwards, so that he could properly rest his head in Rhea's lap, his lips twisted in an adorable pout as he looked up at her. "I thought it would taste more like the gums." He whined.
Rhea couldn't help but laugh, the rings on her fingers clinking as she tapped him on the nose. "Maybe you're just not cut out to be wino, baby," she quipped. "Leave it to the experts."
Amy narrowed her eyes. "1,103? You were 908 the last time we saw you," she said, pointedly.
The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You've put on a couple of pounds. I wasn't going to mention it," he shot back.
"You can't make cracks about a woman's weight," Rhea chided, tugging at his hair. "Or she's not liable when she beats the crap out of you."
Amy laughed and looked up, eyes squinting in the sunlight, and spotted a figure silhouetted against the dunes in the distance.
"Who's that?" she asked, confused.
Rory looked at her and then in the direction her eyes were. "Who's who?"
Amy blinked, suddenly, breaking out of a haze, and turned back to Rory. "Sorry, what?"
"What did you see?" Rory asked. "You said you saw someone."
"No, I didn't," Amy said, slowly.
"Ah!" the Doctor exclaimed, stealing the attention of the group. "The moon, look at it! Of course, you lot did more than look, didn't you? Big silvery thing in the sky, you couldn't resist it. Quite right," he murmured, approvingly.
"The moon landing was in '69. Is that where we're going?" Rory asked, curiously.
The Doctor smiled, lowly. "Oh, a lot more happens in '69 than anyone remembers. Human beings... I thought I'd never get done saving you," he joked, wistfully.
Rhea heard something strange in his voice and placed her palm on his forehead, staring down at him questioningly. He simply reached up and brushed the line of her cheekbone with his knuckles. A pickup truck pulled up onto the sand behind them and an older man, hair streaked with grey, stepped out, not moving, just leaning up against the door. The Doctor jumped to his feet and held his hand up in a wave, which the man returned.
Rhea frowned. "Who's he?" She turned around and found herself recoiling with shock. "What the hell," she breathed, sliding to her feet, her hand slipping into the Doctor's, which he held with an alarming firmness.
Rory and River obviously caught sight of what she had seen and echoed her disbelief. Amy stood and looked with the others as an astronaut ominously walked out of the water, large feet sinking into the sand of the shore.
"You all need to stay back. Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?" He looked at Rhea. "That means you. Don't interfere," he said, shortly.
Rhea stared at him, unblinkingly, dread sinking into her stomach.
His eyes softened and reached up with his fingers, thumbing her collarbone purposefully, before raising her hand that was still in his to his mouth, pressing a firm, yet swift kiss to the inside of her wrist. He made to pull away, but she held on, something in her, some instinct screaming at her to not let him ago. She watched in dismay and reluctance as he broke her hold on his hand and walked over to the astronaut.
Her breath stuttered in her ribcage and she felt something cold, like ice, twist around her heart.
"That's an astronaut. That's an Apollo astronaut in the lake. Look," Rory hissed.
The Doctor stood in front of the astronaut on the beach.
"Hello," he murmured, gently. "It's okay, I know it's you."
The astronaut opened its visor, but from their vantage point high on the beach, the others couldn't see who was inside the suit.
"Well, then..."
Rhea, Amy, Rory and River watched silently, confused, as the Doctor spoke with the astronaut, with a strange civility. He then bowed his head just as the astronaut raised its arm.
"What's he doing?" Amy whispered, furiously.
A shot rang in the air as the astronaut fired, and the Doctor staggered backwards.
The breath left Rhea's lungs and she lurched forwards of her own accord, throwing herself down the beach, as the Doctor staggered backwards. She heard Amy's scream through the blood roaring in her ears, but she didn't pay it any mind, her hand slipping to the holster of gun, out of instinct, drawing it out, her finger on the trigger.
At some point, she didn't make it further down the beach because River had her arms thrown around her waist, yanking her back against a warm, soft body. Rhea, her eyes fixed on the Doctor's shuddering form, clawed at the arms that held her back, with a certain insane brutality that was mirrored in her deranged green eyes.
Amy rushed towards the Doctor as well, but Rory pulled her back, just as River did Rhea. Despite Rhea's strength and skill and blind violence, River remained steadfast, preventing Rhea from taking another step down towards the shore. Rhea's legs kicked in the air, desperately, and River's skin split and spilled blood where Rhea's nails had attacked her, but River would never let Rhea go.
Not here.
"Rhea, please," River murmured, desperately. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Rory with a similar struggle. "Amy! Stay back! The Doctor said stay back!" she shouted.
The astronaut fired again, and the Doctor crumpled to his knees.
An outraged scream was wrung from Rhea's throat and she felt as if someone had reached inside her chest and ripped out her heart. She could even feel the withering, searing hole where her heart should be, and it fucking hurt. Logically, she knew that the Doctor would regenerate at this point and it would be like none of this had mattered at all, but for some reason, that thought just wasn't reaching where it was supposed to be, as if it tried, but it waned and fizzled out somewhere along the way.
"No!" Amy cried out, struggling against Rory's grip.
"You have to stay back!" River shouted.
"No!"
The Doctor managed to get to his feet, a gold mist flitting around his body, spilling from his hands.
"Doctor!"
The Doctor looked over to his friends, his eyes finally settling on an incredulous, vicious Rhea, stripped right to her bones.
"I'm so sorry," he said, roughly, his eyes not leaving hers for a moment.
The Doctor tilted his head back, just as the regeneration started in earnest. The astronaut fired once more, and the Doctor collapsed to the ground.
River's grip loosened momentarily in surprise and that was all Rhea needed to shove the woman away and rush down the length of the beach.
A thousand bolts of electricity raced up her body, and white-hot sparks of pain sank into her nerves. Her heart felt like it had been pulverised by a meat tenderiser. Iron bands tightened around her ribs and her larynx contracted. A thousand different sensations, a thousand different emotions, and it all meant nothing.
No. No. No. He can't be dead. He can't be fucking dead.
She could hear the footfalls in the sand behind her, as River, Amy and Rory followed her.
"No! Doctor!" River screamed.
Rhea knew nothing until she fell beside the Doctor's fallen body, just as the astronaut turned and slowly walked back into the lake.
"Doctor, please!" Amy sobbed, landing beside Rhea.
Rhea ignored the lot of them and pulled the Doctor's head into her lap, just as he had been a few moments ago, or perhaps it had been hours, time had seemed somewhat less certain from the moment the Doctor had left her hand and gone down the beach to the shore. She vaguely heard the mechanical sounds of River's device, as it scanned the Doctor's vital signs.
Please come back to me. Doctor, please. Please, Doctor.
"River... River!" Amy shouted, desperately.
But Rhea didn't need River to tell her the truth. She had stared at enough dead bodies to know one now; the one in her lap was dead. That was the truth.
A furious breath left between her teeth and she slid to her feet, just as Amy's face crumpled when she looked at River, reading the truth Rhea had already discerned.
"Fuck this," she said, roughly.
Her gun was in her hand and she pulled the trigger again and again until the damned blaster was dead, but it didn't seem to do anything and that was what destroyed her. The astronaut faded away into the water, and it didn't seem to do anything. Violence was what she was good at. Death was what she dealt in. And today, when it had mattered her the most, violence and death had failed her. Or maybe she had failed it.
If she couldn't at least avenge him (God, acknowledging that he was actually dead hurt like a bitch), what was the point of her?
Finally, her hand faltered and she slipped the blaster back in its holster, slumping back down to the ground again, and once again taking the Doctor's cooling corpse back into her arms, as if the weight of him would bring her peace.
It wasn't until River settled beside her, taking her numb hand in hers, that Rhea realised that River had made an attempt to, her gun smouldering in the sand beside her. When her head drifted to the side for a bare moment, she could see tears pooling in her blue-grey-green eyes and she wondered why River Song was so upset when she couldn't feel anything.
River's fingers grazed the gun and she shook her head, wistfully.
"Of course not," she whispered to herself.
Amy's sob broke them out of their thoughts. "Rhea, he can't be dead. This is impossible."
"Well, he is." Rhea's voice was sharp and unforgiving. "We all saw him die. So, he's dead."
River reached out with her hand but stopped it short of the Doctor's shoulder, unsure of what Rhea might do in this moment if she made to touch him.
She cleared her throat. "Whatever that was, it killed him in the middle of his regeneration cycle. His body was already dead. He didn't make it to the next one," she explained, gently.
"Maybe he's a clone or a duplicate or something." Amy rasped.
They heard footsteps and River, Amy and Rory turned to find the greying man from the truck standing deliberately behind them.
"I believe I can save you some time. That most certainly is the Doctor, and he is most certainly dead." Something in Rhea convulsed. "He said you'd need this." He set a gas tank at the Doctor's feet.
Rory frowned. "Gasoline?" he asked, confused.
River nodded, squaring her shoulders. "A Time Lord's body is a miracle. Even a dead one. There are whole empires out there who'd rip this world apart for just one cell. We can't leave him here. Or anywhere."
Rhea simply stared.
"Wake up!" Amy shouted, fiercely. "Go on, wake up, you stupid bloody idiot!" She trembled and fell into Rory's arms. "What do we do, Rory?"
"We're his friends," River said, gently. "We do what the Doctor's friends always do." She picked up the tank of gas. "As we're told." She said, solemnly.
Rory looked around. "There's a boat. If we're going to do this... let's do it properly," he said, firmly.
"Rhea, do you want to-" Rory began, hesitantly.
All Rhea could do was walk forwards until she was standing in front of the boat that the Doctor's body laid upon. Her palm touched his forehead, smoothing back his hair, and she whispered something against his skin. She stared at the lit match in her hand, before dropping it onto the pyre, which instantly caught on fire. Her hands braced across the edge of the beat and she pushed, Rory assisting her immediately, and the boat floated onto the lake. Rory took Rhea's arm in his and led her, compliantly, to where River and Amy were standing on the shore, to watch.
"You okay?" Rory asked, quietly. He winced at the folly of his question. "I mean, I know you're not, but… can I do anything?"
"He's dead," Rhea said, simply, everything hollow inside her. "He's just… dead. I never told him. And now I'm alone. I'm always alone." She mused, bitterly.
What could Rory say to that? How could he make that better?
He held onto her hand, tightly.
River turned to the man who had given them the gas tank. "Who are you? Why did you come?"
The man was solemn. "Same reason as you."
He pulled out a familiar blue envelope from his pocket and, after a moment's hesitation, River pulled out hers and looked at him, curiously.
"Doctor Adwani, Doctor Song... Amy... Rory," the man began, heavily. "I'm Canton Everett Delaware III." His lips pursed. "I won't be seeing you again. But... you'll be seeing me." He said, vaguely, picking up his gas can and heading back to his truck.
River watched him go before turning to Amy and Rory, the three of watching Rhea's still form, worriedly.
"Five," River said, suddenly.
Rory frowned. "Sorry, what?"
"The Doctor numbered the envelopes."
River, Amy and Rory entered the diner they had visited earlier, followed by a soundless Rhea.
"You got four, I was three, Rhea was one, Mr Delaware was five," River explained.
Rory's brow furrowed. "So?"
"So…" River drawled, purposefully. "Where's two?"
Rory's eyes dawned with realisation. "You think he invited someone else?"
"Well, he must have." River shrugged. "He planned all of this to the last detail."
"Will you shut up? It doesn't matter," Amy muttered.
"He was up to something," River continued.
"He's dead," Amy snapped.
River ran her tongue over her lower lip. "Space 1969, what did he mean?"
"You're still talking, but it doesn't matter," Amy spoke slowly, as if she thought the others stupid for simply opening their mouths at such a time.
"Hey, it mattered to him," Rory said, fiercely.
"So it matters to us," River finished, darkly.
"He's dead," Amy hissed.
"But he still needs us," River murmured, grimly. "I know. Amy... I know." She said, fiercely. "But right now, we have to focus." She looked at Rhea, who was staring at the table they had all (including the Doctor) sat at, just hours ago.
Rhea felt like a wraith as she swept over to the table, her fingers grazing a leftover blue envelope. Something fierce lit up in her face and her eyes snapped to the waiter behind the counter with a startling intensity.
"Who was sitting over there?" she asked, sharply.
The man shrugged. "Some guy."
Rhea thumbed the envelope and turned to River, Amy and Rory, her face resolute, alarming them with its emotion, considering she had been practically catatonic just a few minutes ago. But it was Rhea and she was, if anything, undivinable.
"He knew he was going to his death, so he sent out messages," Rhea said, lowly. "When you know you're going to die, who do you tell?"
"Your friends, people you trust," Rory replied, slowly.
Rhea held up the envelope in her hands. "Number two."
River frowned at her. "Who did the Doctor trust the most, after you?"
At that very moment, the back door opened, and the Doctor strolled inside, a plastic straw between his teeth. The four stared at him, thrown by his sudden presence, and Rhea hissed out an incredulous breath, clutching onto the table for support. The Doctor simply grinned and gestured at them with satisfaction.
"This is cold," River said, grimly. "Even by your standards, this is cold."
The Doctor pouted. "Or, 'hello', as people used to say," he said, dryly.
"Doctor?" Amy said, hoarsely, her voice sticking in her throat.
"I just popped out to get my special straw. It adds more fizz," the Doctor deadpanned.
Amy walked up to him, slowly, staring, and proceeded to circle him, her head twisted to the side as she gazed at him from all angles.
"You're okay." She touched his shoulder. "How can you be OK?"
The Doctor softened, sensing the panic in her voice. "Of course I'm okay," he said, soothingly. "I'm always okay," He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm the king of okay." His face scrunched up. "Oh, that's a rubbish title, forget that title." His arms slipped away from her and he bounded over to Rory. "Rory the Roman, that's a good title. Hello, Rory!" He beamed, throwing his arms around the man in question. He turned to River, his face devoid of emotion but for a half-hearted teasing glint in his eyes. "And Doctor River Song... oh, you bad, bad girl, what trouble have you got for me this time?" He purred.
River took a deep breath and her hand lashed out, smacking him right across the face, and sending his head hurtling to the side.
The Doctor winced and cracked his neck. "Okay. I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet," he muttered.
"Yes, it is," River growled.
"Good, looking forward to it," the Doctor said, sarcastically.
Then, he frowned and looked around before his eyes settled on a silent Rhea, still leaning against the table, her eyes wide and unblinking at nothing in particular. His hearts twisted in concern and moved over to her, an arm sliding around her waist and fingers threading through her hair.
"Rhea, sweet, is something wrong?" he asked, lowly, worriedly.
Rhea stared up at him, her lips slightly parted as she made to say something, her face white and miserable.
Suddenly, she had the urge to punch him in the face.
"I think I'm going to be sick," Rhea said, roughly, before pushing herself away from him and hurtling towards the counter. Her hands hit the counter, impatiently. "You got any booze?" she growled.
"I don't understand. How can you be here?" Rory poked the Doctor, fiercely.
"I was invited," the Doctor said, slowly, as if he were dim. "Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence."
Amy swallowed hard and looked at River, hoping for some sort of answer, considering Rhea was going to be of no use, as of yet.
"River, what's going on?" Amy asked, worriedly.
River pursed her lips, her face pale and tight with tension. "Amy, ask him what age he is," she ordered, briskly.
"That's a bit personal," the Doctor huffed.
"Tell her," River said, sharply, her voice brooking no argument. "Tell her what age you are."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Nine-hundred and nine," he replied, curtly.
Amy's eyes widened. "Yeah, but you said..."
River cut her off. "So where does that leave us? Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?" she asked, vehemently.
The Doctor looked sceptical. "Who's Jim the Fish?" he asked, confused.
"I don't understand," Amy murmured.
"Yes, you do," Rhea said, grimly, walking back over to them, a Heineken beer bottle clutched in her hand. At their questioning look, she took a swig of the beer and her lips twisted. "They didn't have anything stronger in this miserable fucking dive." She explained, bitterly.
"Well, I don't!" the Doctor snapped. "What are we all doing here?"
Rhea shrugged. "Apparently, we've been fucking recruited," she growled. "Something to do with space, 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware III."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and moved over to her, taking her by the arm, which she stared at for a long moment, before her eyes drifted to his.
"Recruited by who?" he asked, grimly.
"Someone who considers you 'number two' on the list of people to trust in this universe," Rhea shot back.
The Doctor didn't like this edgy Rhea. His thumb stroked down the bone in her wrist, but she stared at it like it was an out-of-body experience.
"And who's that?" he asked, lowly.
She looked up at him and he was taken aback by the dissonance in her eyes.
"Spoilers," she finished, darkly.
The Doctor was storming around the console, chatting absentmindedly, while the other four just stood around, lost in their respective thoughts.
"1969, that's an easy one. Funny how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches. Now, then, Canton Everett Delaware III, that was his name, yeah?"
Amy slipped away and went to the platform underneath the console.
"How many of those can there be?" the Doctor paused. "Well, three, I suppose." He admitted.
River and Rory followed Amy, leaving Rhea alone with the Doctor.
The Doctor frowned at her, something unpleasant slackening in his stomach at the way she blatantly avoided his gaze.
Perhaps he had done something to anger her, but for the life of him, he couldn't think what it could be.
"Dimples, is everybody cross with me for some reason?"
"I don't know. Why don't I go and find out?" Rhea said, easily, edging away.
The Doctor looked over his shoulder at the back of her and the sight of her leaving disturbed him.
Amy was sitting cross-legged on the floor when Rhea joined her and Rory, deciding to stand beside River.
"Explain it again," Amy said, sharply.
Rhea pursed her lips. "The Doctor we saw on the beach came from the future, two-hundred years older than the one up there." She waved at the grill that parted them from the Doctor.
Amy raised a sceptical eyebrow. "And you figured all of that… when? While you were catatonic?" she asked, scathingly.
Rhea levelled a grim look at her. "Did you really think I wasn't paying attention?" she asked, an almost mocking edge to her words.
Amy shook her head. "But all that'll still happen? He'll still die?"
"We're all going to do that, Amy," River said, pointedly.
"We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves," Rory retorted. "So, the Doctor, in the future, knowing he's going to die, recruits his younger self and all of us to... to what exactly? Avenge him?" he asked, sceptically.
Rhea hummed in disagreement. "Avenging's not his style."
It was hers, though.
"Save him," Amy said, firmly.
Rory snorted. "That's not his style either."
"We have to tell him," Amy said, fiercely, jumping to her feet.
River halted her, swiftly. "We've told him all we can," she said, slowly, reassuringly. "We can't even tell him we've seen his future self. He's interacted with his own past. It could rip a hole in the universe."
"Except he's done it before."
"I'm gonna stop you both right here, because whatever you're talking about, I obviously haven't done it yet," Rhea said, dryly.
"But he'd want to know," Amy snapped.
"Would he?" Rhea asked, artfully. "Would anyone?"
Just then, the Doctor stuck his head down over the edge and his sudden arrival made Rhea jolt, her heart jumping into her throat (which she immediately denied, because she was better than that and no one should ever be able to get the jump on her, but sue her, she'd had a pretty rough couple of hours) and seethe.
"I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no-one to stand around, looking impressed. What's the point in having you all?" the Doctor griped, petulantly, glowering at the lot of them before he pitched back up.
Rhea gritted her teeth. "Don't you just want to slap him sometimes?" she hissed.
She, River and Rory headed for the stairs, but were halted by Amy's voice.
"Rhea, we can't just let him die. We have to stop it," Amy said, viciously. "How can you be okay with this?" she asked, incredulously.
"I'm not," Rhea said, fiercely. "I'm fucking furious. I am so uninterested in life without the Doctor." She flung, before bolting up the stairs.
Rhea rolled her eyes in fond amusement, as the Doctor showed off again, striding around the console.
"Time isn't a straight line, it's all bumpy-wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff, like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons. But now and then, there are Saturdays, big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The TARDIS can't resist them, she loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, 'cause that's space in the '60s, and Canton Everett Delaware III, and this is where she's pointing." He pulled the scanner along its reel to show them the date.
"Washington DC, April 8th, 1969," Amy quoted. "So why haven't we landed?" She asked, confused.
The Doctor stared at her, unfathomably. "Because that's not where we're going."
"Where are we going?" Rory asked, curiously.
"Home! Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies," the Doctor waved off. "Doctor Song, back to prison. Me, I'm late for a biplane lesson in 1911, or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes, one or the other. And Rhea… I could always drop you off wherever you want to go." He said, tonelessly.
The Doctor flopped onto a chair, rubbing his forehead. The four approached and his head tipped up, his face a picture of annoyance.
"What?" he snapped. "A mysterious summons? You think I'm just going to go?" Rhea's face twisted as if her answer were a 'yes'. "Who sent those messages? I know you know." He looked at Rhea, almost with betrayal. "I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't think you're capable of that. Only she is. Don't think you can play games with me just because you have her on your side."
His gaze sliced into Rhea and she looked away, fearing what he would see if he looked hard enough.
"You're going to have to trust us this time," River answered where Rhea was wordless.
"Trust you?" the Doctor asked, incredulously. "Sure." He slipped to his feet and strode over to River, halting when he was standing barely centimetres away. "But first of all, Doctor Song, just one thing... Who are you?" he asked, coldly. "You're someone from my-our future, getting that, but who?" River remained silent, her face white. "Okay..." He drawled. "Why are you in prison? Who did you kill?" River didn't say a word. "Hm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Seriously?" he scoffed.
"Trust me," Rhea said, suddenly.
The Doctor's face sharpened, and he walked over to face Rhea. "Okay," he said, lowly.
"You have to do this, and you can't ask why," Rhea said, firmly.
The Doctor's mouth tinned as a fearsome look entered his eyes. "Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?" he asked, grimly, his hands on her arms turning ruthless in their concern.
Rhea rolled her eyes. "No."
The glint in her eyes was reminiscent of the Rhea he knew better than he knew himself and it softened something inside him, but not completely.
"You're lying," the Doctor said, sternly.
Rhea's eyes narrowed. "I'm not lying," she snapped.
"Swear to me," the Doctor said, fiercely. "Swear to me on something that matters."
Rhea's shoulders loosened. She took his hands in hers and pressed them against her ribs, against the sliver of skin under her breasts, his fingers grazing the names he knew were inked onto her skin, and he found himself caving under the weight of her vulnerability. For she would never have invoked those names, brought them back into reality, had her words not been true.
"My life in your hands, Sunehri Adwani," He conceded, lowly.
"Thank you," Rhea murmured, pulling his hands away, but threading their fingers together just to see the smile on the Doctor's face.
The Doctor squeezed her fingers and pulled her along the length of the console.
"So! Canton Everett Delaware III!" the Doctor exclaimed. "Who's he?"
Rhea peered up at the scanner. "Ex-FBI, got kicked out," she commented. "My kind of guy." She said, approvingly.
The Doctor frowned, sliding to her side. "Why?"
Rhea pursed her lips. "Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting."
The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, 1969, who's President?"
Rhea's face scrunched up in distaste. "Richard Milhous Nixon." She grimaced. "Vietnam, Watergate…"
"There's some good stuff too," River commented.
Rhea sniffed. "Not enough."
"Bohemian," River muttered.
Rhea smirked. "Socialist," she shot back.
"Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into," The Doctor shot Rhea a blameworthy look. "I'm being discreet, putting the engines on silent."
The Doctor flipped a switch and walked away, a loud metallic screeching filling the console room. Rhea cringed and walked past in the direction the Doctor had just left, flipping a switch, purposefully, and the screeching stopped. The Doctor rounded on her.
"Did you do something?" he asked, accusingly.
"Nope." Rhea smiled, sweetly, at him.
The Doctor's eyes narrowed at her. "Putting the outer shell on invisible. Haven't done this in a while, big drain on the power." He went over to another panel.
Rory's eyes widened. "You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" he asked in disbelief.
With a smug grin, the Doctor switched on a lever and blinding spotlights switched on. Amy, Rory and River cringed as their eyes burned from the fierceness of the light. Rhea rolled her eyes and pushed a lever, just as the Doctor went around the other side, hidden by the time rotor.
"Almost," Rhea muttered, causing the others to smile.
The Doctor's head peeked around the curve of the time rotor, the lines of his face deep with irritation. "Did you touch something?" he asked, suspiciously.
"Just admiring your skills, baby," Rhea crooned.
The Doctor glowered at her. "Woman, you are toying with forces beyond your ken," he said, grimly.
"Well, your Ken can kiss my Barbie," Rhea shot back, mockingly.
The other three snickered under their breaths.
The Doctor gritted his teeth and grumbled something under his breath. "You might learn something," he retorted. "Okay." He banged on the rim of the scanner. "Now, I can't check the scanner, it doesn't work when we're cloaked." He licked his lips. "Um, just give us a mo." He rushed over to the door, but stopped in his tracks when the other tried to follow. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, you lot," He said, slowly. "Wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow."
With that, he opened the door to the TARDIS and slipped outside, leaving the rest of them dumbfounded, leaning against the console.
A/N: So, yeah, that happened. Honestly, I was pretty worried how the whole Doctor's death scene would go out, but hopefully I managed to do justice to the scene and Rhea's grief. As you can see, she really didn't take it well, but there is a little bit of character development because she's not letting his possible future death as a reason to distance herself.
By the way, points if you can spot The Big Bang Theory reference in this chapter!
See you next time!
Reviews:
Purplestan: I'm so glad you liked it! Oh, well, back in the past, Rhea and the Master probably would've been close on Gallifrey, but that would've soured as the Master became an antagonist/enemy for the Doctor. Plus, everything that just happened now between Rhea and the Master didn't help things. As for Missy, I think Rhea might've gotten over everything at some point. I don't think Missy would've apologised per se, but they would've reached a place where they could work with each other and Rhea wouldn't try and stab her with a screwdriver or something every chance he got. But when Simm's Master came back in that special, I had planned that Rhea was going to be the one to kill him then, considering the promise she made to him in the last few chapters.
djmegamouth: Thank you!
NicoleR85: Thank you so much!
deathb4beauty: That is so sweet of you to say! Thank you!
RandomFandoming: Thank you!
Lipstick Survivors: I'm so glad you liked it!