A/N: Here we have the second part of The Impossible Astronaut and some more 60s fun, I guess, with Rhea and the Doctor. Anyways, I don't want to spoil anything in the chapter so I'll let you guys read it for yourself. Enjoy!
Warnings: Language. Angst. Fluff. Sexual Content (you know me, I'm cautious).
The Dread of Tomorrow and Yesterday
Chapter 80
The Impossible Astronaut: For All Mankind
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.
The Doctor stepped out of the cloaked TARDIS, only to find himself in a slightly crowded Oval Office, although, with his luck, he was unseen, seeing as both men had their backs turned to him, their attention focused on the recording of a phone call the President was playing.
"Hello? Who is this? This is President Nixon. Who's calling? Is this you again?" President Nixon's distorted voice reeled from the recording.
"Mr President?" a shy, scared child's voice answered him.
The FBI agent, who could only be Canton Everett Delaware III, frowned in confusion. "A child?" he queried, bemused.
The Doctor edged towards them.
"This is the President, yes."
"I'm scared, Mr President. I'm scared of the Space Man."
Canton narrowed his eyes. "A little girl?" he said, sceptically.
"Boy," President Nixon replied, promptly.
Canton raised an eyebrow. "How can you be sure?"
"What space man? Where are you phoning from, where are you right now? Who are you?"
The Doctor pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and began to jot things down, furiously.
"Jefferson Adams Hamilton."
"Jefferson, listen to me..."
The phone switched off and only a dial tone was left.
"Surely this is something the Bureau could handle, sir?" Canton said, pointedly.
"These calls happen wherever I am," the President huffed, impatiently. "How do I know the Bureau isn't involved? I can't trust any..."
At that moment, Nixon slowly turned around and finally caught sight of the Doctor, his eyes widening comically. Seeing the aghast expression on the President's face prompted Canton to turn as well. The Doctor, strangely enough, continued to write, even motioning for the two men to go on as if he weren't there. When the Doctor felt the tell-tale sign of their eyes on him, he looked up.
"Oh! Hello! Bad moment?" the Doctor chuckled, half-heartedly, and started to back away slowly. "Oh, look, this is the Oval Office. I was looking for the..." He trailed off, his eyes betraying his desperation for an ending to his sentence. "Oblong Room," he finished, finally. "I'll-I'll-I'll-I'll-I'll just be off then, shall I?" The Doctor turned slowly, and walked straight into the cloaked TARDIS, face first, and fell backwards.
"Fucking moron," Rhea muttered from inside when the TARDIS rocked from him colliding with it.
President Nixon pressed a button on his desk, calling for security.
"Every time!" River shook her head in disbelief.
The Doctor stumbled back to his feet, rubbing his face where the ache was the strongest.
"Don't worry. Always does that when it's cloaked," the Doctor commented, more to reassure himself than the others.
Canton chose that moment to tackle the Doctor, knocking him down to the floor.
"No, stop that!" the Doctor shouted.
Inside the console room, River swung the scanner over.
"He said the scanner wouldn't work," Rory said, pointedly.
River smiled, slyly. "I know. Bless!" she crowed, sharing a look with Rhea.
The scanner wires sparked.
"Ow!" the Doctor yelped with pain.
The Secret Service agents stormed inside, their mouths pressed against their wrists.
"Lock down, lock down!"
Rhea's hand curled around a lever and she pushed, sharply, downwards and the scanner flashed the image of the Doctor, face-down, on the floor, pressed uncomfortably into the carpet, with his hands held behind his back.
"Not that! Ow!"
The Doctor grunted with discomfort. "Rhea, have you got my scanner working yet?"
Rhea rolled her eyes. "Miserable prick," she hissed.
"Language," the Doctor tutted, playfully.
"Get the President out of here!" Canton snapped at the Secret Service agents. He turned to President Nixon. "Sir, you have to go with them now!"
"Rhea, make her blue again!"
Rhea sighed, long-sufferingly, and flicked a few switches, turning off the cloaking device, and the TARDIS was suddenly visible in the middle of the Oval Office. Canton and the other men released the Doctor, staring open-mouthed at the giant blue police box that had appeared out of thin air.
"What the hell is that?" Nixon stammered.
The Doctor shifted in the chair, making himself comfortable, before hiking up his feet and crossing them over the desk in the President's office.
"Mr President!" the Doctor ignored the guns that were currently aimed in his direction. "That child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening. Never mind, the answer's yes. I'll take the case!" He eyed the guns. "Fellas, the guns, really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States, parked a big blue box on the rug. You think you can just shoot me?" He raised a cocky eyebrow.
Rhea stormed out of the TARDIS, her hands on her hips. "They're Americans, you moron!" she snapped.
The Doctor slid to his feet, his hands in the air. "Don't shoot, definitely no shooting!"
Amy, Rory and River stepped out of the TARDIS, following Rhea's advance.
Rory eyed the agents, uneasily. "Don't shoot us either. Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up." His hands shook, purposefully.
"Who the hell are you?" President Nixon asked, sharply.
"Sir, you need to stay back," Canton advised, carefully.
"But who-but who are they? What is that box?" President Nixon asked, the slightest tremor hidden under his voice.
"It's a Police Box, can't you read?" the Doctor rolled his eyes, almost offended. "I'm your new undercover agent, on loan from Scotland Yard." Rhea sighed. "Code name, the Doctor. These are my top operatives, the Legs, the Nose, Mrs Robinson and Cersei Lannister."
The room fell silent.
Rhea shot the Doctor a withering look. "Oh, oh, fuck you."
"Language." He smirked in reply.
"I hate you," River muttered under her breath, her eyes like daggers aiming for the Doctor.
The Doctor grinned, smugly. It felt good to get one up on the arrogant-as-hell archaeologist whose eyes strayed in Rhea's direction way too often for him to be comfortable.
"No, you don't!" he said, cheerfully.
"Who are you?" President Nixon stared at them as if they had just stepped out of a black hole.
The Doctor shrugged, nonchalantly. "Boring question. Who's phoning you, that's interesting. 'Cause Canton Three is right, that was definitely a girl's voice. There's only one place in America she can be phoning from," he said, slowly.
Canton raised an eyebrow. "Where?"
"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr Delaware," one of the agents admonished, sharply.
"You heard everything I heard, it's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain." He sat back down at the desk. "On the other hand, lay a finger on me, or my friends, and you'll never, ever know," he said, lazily, a dangerously cutting look in his eyes.
Canton frowned, his eyes darting from the police box to the Doctor. "How'd you get it in here? I mean, you didn't carry it," he asked, curiously.
The Doctor's lips twitched. "Clever, eh?"
Canton smirked. "Love it."
"Do not compliment the intruder," the same agent scolded him again.
Canton ignored him. "Five minutes?"
The Doctor smiled, lowly. "Five."
The agent sputtered. "Mr President, that man is a clear and present danger."
Canton rolled his eyes, taking a confident step forwards. "Mr President, that man walked in here with a big blue box and four of his friends and that's the man he walked past." His thumb jutted towards the agent, who went pale with anger. "One of them's worth listening to. What say we give him five minutes, see if he delivers."
The Doctor beamed and shot Rhea a smug look – see, I can get things done without your help. "Thanks, Canton!"
"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself," Canton said, grimly.
The Doctor pouted. "Not so thanks."
Rhea snorted. "You can try," she muttered under her breath.
"Sir, I cannot recommend..." the agent tried one last time.
"Shut up, Mr Peterson. All right," President Nixon sighed in resignation.
"Five minutes," Canton reminded the Doctor, warningly.
The Doctor pursed his lips. "I'm going to need a SWAT team ready to mobilise, street level maps covering all of Florida, a pot of coffee, 12 jammy dodgers and a fez." He nodded, firmly.
"No," Rhea snapped. "No fez."
The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but Rhea cut him off.
"I said, no fez," she said, sharply.
The Doctor made a face at her when she turned her back to look at the other Secret Service agents.
"I saw that," Rhea said, blithely.
The Doctor muttered something unfavourable but ultimately affectionate about her under his breath and Rhea smiled to herself.
"Get him his maps!" Canton ordered the agents gathered in the Oval.
Moments later, the Oval Office was strewn with large street maps and everyone was huddled around one in particular that was spread out across the President's desk.
Canton's brow was furrowed in confusion. "Why Florida?"
"That's where NASA is. She mentioned a space man. NASA's where the space men live. Also..." the Doctor looked at Rhea, uneasily. "There's another lead I'm following."
Amy rested her head on Rhea's shoulder, ignoring the instinctual flinch that wracked the older woman initially. "Space Man? Like the one we saw at the lake."
Rhea hummed in agreement. "Maybe. Probably," she amended, grimacing.
Her stomach still twisted in horror at thought of the clueless idiot alien next to her being dead. With just the slightest inch of hesitation, she reached out to graze his knuckles with her fingertips, and in reply and without the slightest pause on his part, he snatched her hand in his, raising it to his mouth and brushed his lips against her wrist as if the gesture was as natural as breathing.
Amy grimaced and she looked around, stilling when she saw the same creature she saw at the lake hovering in the open doorway.
"I remember!" Amy whispered, roughly.
Rory appeared in her field of sight, disturbing her view of the alien.
"Amy? What do you remember?" he asked, worriedly.
Rory moved, slightly, and the creature vanished and Amy blinked away her confusion.
"I don't know." Amy frowned. "I just..." She pressed her palm against her stomach.
Rory took a step closer to her. "Amy, what's wrong?"
Rhea turned around, curiously, her eyes settling on the hand on Amy's stomach, something flashing in her gaze before smoothing over blank and unfathomable.
River pursed her lips and fell to Amy's side, her hand hovering uncertainly over Amy's shoulder. "Amy?" she called out with concern.
The Doctor frowned, his attention also stolen. "You all right?"
Amy nodded. "Yeah, no, I'm fine, I'm just...feeling a little sick." She headed for the door. "Excuse me, is there a toilet, or something?" she asked the agent guarding the way out.
The agent shook his head. "Sorry, ma'am, during this procedure, you must remain within the Oval Office," he said, firmly.
Rhea gave the agent a look of scorn that had withered stronger men than him. "Dude, if she throws up in your precious Oval Office, you're cleaning it up," she said, bitingly.
Canton rolled his eyes. "Shut up and take her to the rest room," he ordered.
Peterson nodded to another agent, who approached Amy.
"This way, ma'am."
Amy smiled. "Thanks."
Rory made to follow, but Peterson placed a hand on his chest, pushing him back.
"Your five minutes are up," Canton told the Doctor.
The Doctor looked up. "Yeah, and where's my fez?"
"I told you," Rhea snapped. "No fucking fez."
The agent led Amy to the bathroom and attempted to follow her inside before she shut him down, firmly.
"Actually, I can usually manage this alone," she said, dryly, entering the bathroom.
When she stepped inside, her heart caught in her throat when she saw the alien standing there, as if part of the furniture.
"I saw you before. At the lake... and here." She frowned to herself. "But then I forgot. How did I forget? What are you?" she asked, lowly.
The bathroom flushed and a woman stepped out of one of the stalls and headed for the sink.
Amy's eyes widened. "Get back! Stay back from it!" she shouted, warningly.
The woman turned around in the direction Amy was facing and screamed when she saw it, laughter falling out of her moments later.
"Oh, my God, what is that, is that a mask? Is that a Star Trek thing? Ben, is that you?" the woman peered closely.
"Get back from it, now!" Amy snapped.
The woman turned around and looked at Amy, her face suddenly blank with bemusement.
"Back from what, honey?"
"That!" Amy yelped, gesturing at the alien.
The woman turned back around. "Oh, my God, look at that. Is that a Star Trek mask? Ben, that's gotta be you." She looked down, frowning. "Hang on, did I just say all that?"
"No, please, you've got to stay back!" Amy reached out to pull the woman back.
The woman turned back to Amy. "Back, honey? Back from what?" The lights above them began to flicker. The woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, those lights. They never fix them," she sighed.
"Look behind you!" Amy snapped.
The woman looked at her, strangely. "Honey, there is nothing..."
The creature suddenly reached out with its elongated arm, its mouth wide open. The woman looked at the creature and electricity surged from its fingertips, the woman screaming as she disintegrated.
Amy shuddered back up against the wall, her hands shaking. "You didn't have to kill her, she couldn't even remember you!" she shouted, tears coming to her eyes. "How does that work? We can only remember you, while we're seeing you, is that it?" She surreptitiously took a photo of the creature on her phone. "Why did you have to kill her?"
"Joy," the creature intoned. "Her name was Joy. Your name is Amelia. You will tell the Doctor." It advanced.
Amy squared her shoulders. "Tell him what?"
"What he must know. And what he must never know."
Amy tensed. "How do you know about that?"
"Tell him," the creature said, fiercely.
Amy chose this as the moment to rush out of the bathroom and her distress was caught by the agent who had accompanied her.
"Are you okay?"
Amy stared up at him, blankly. "I'm-I'm fine. Much better, thanks."
The agent eyed her phone, sceptically. "What's that?"
Amy's eyes went from the phone to the agent, confused. "It's my phone."
"Your phone?" the agent repeated, bemused.
"I have to tell the Doctor," Amy said, suddenly.
The agent frowned. "Tell him what, ma'am?"
Amy paused and shook her head. "Sorry. I don't know why I said that."
"This way, ma'am."
And the agent led her back to the Oval Office.
The phone on the President's desk rang, shrilly.
"The kid?" Canton queried.
"Should I answer it?" President Nixon asked, nervously.
The Doctor frowned. "Here!" He pointed at the map. "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from." He looked at Rhea, smugly. "See? Obvious when you think about it." He beamed.
Amy and the agent returned.
Canton peered at the map as well. "You, sir, are a genius."
The Doctor puffed up. "It's a hobby," he said, mock-modestly.
Rhea snorted. "Not really. Most of the time, he just gets lucky."
The Doctor pouted and Rhea felt herself melting, so she kissed him on the cheek to soothe his injured pride.
"Mr President, answer the phone," Canton said, firmly.
Nixon picked up the phone after a moment's hesitation. "Hello. This is President Nixon."
"It's here! The Space Man's here. It's gonna get me. It's gonna eat me!" The child whimpered.
The Doctor needed nothing more and he grabbed his jacket, backing towards the TARDIS, Rhea, River, Amy and Rory managing to enter first.
"There's no time for a SWAT team, let's go!" the Doctor ordered. He looked back at President Nixon. "Mr President, tell her help's on the way. Canton," His lips twitched. "On no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you."
The Doctor entered the TARDIS and Canton followed straight behind.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Canton remained by the door, looking around in stunned amazement.
"Jefferson isn't a girl's name, or her name either. Jefferson Adams Hamilton... Rhea, as the only actual American here?"
Rhea rolled her eyes. "Surnames of three of America's founding fathers," she said, briskly.
"Lovely fellas, two of them fancied me," the Doctor teased, shooting Rhea a deliberate look.
"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Rhea said, flatly.
Canton turned around, his mouth wide open, and Rory approached him, worriedly.
"Are you okay? Coping?"
"The President asked the child two questions. 'Where' and 'who are you'? She was answering where," the Doctor explained.
"It's bigger on the inside," Canton said, dumbly.
Rhea shrugged. "You get used to it."
"Now where would you find three big historical names in a row like that?"
"I'm going out on a limb here and say 'Washington DC'," Rhea said, plainly.
The Doctor frowned. "Actually, that would make more sense," he amended. "But, no."
A smile flickered on Rhea's face. "Well, can't win everything."
"So, where would you find them?" Amy asked.
"Here! Come on!"
The Doctor ran for the door with Rhea, Amy and River following, but Canton halted him before he could actually cross the threshold.
"It's er..." Canton didn't seem to know how to finish that question.
The Doctor turned in Rory's direction. "Are you taking care of this?"
The Doctor, Rhea, River and Amy continued out the door, leaving Rory alone with the ex-FBI agent.
Rory sighed. "Why's it always my turn?"
Amy stopped and winked at him. "'Cause you're the newest."
She kissed him swiftly on the lips before leaving, and Rory placed a reassuring hand on Canton's shoulder.
The warehouse that they appeared in was dirty and cluttered, and the Doctor made his home at a desk, waving around a small American flag.
Amy looked around, curiously. "Where are we?"
"About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Centre. It's 1969, the year of the Moon. Interesting, don't you think?" The Doctor grinned.
"Funny, I've never actually been to Florida," Rhea commented, lightly.
"Why not?" River asked.
"Never saw the need." Rhea shrugged. "I mean, there's Disney World and Universal Studios and maybe Miami, but I just kept putting it off." She paused. "Hey, let's go to Disney World after this," she said, beaming.
"Was it open in the 60s?" Amy frowned.
"It opened in 1971," the Doctor answered, promptly.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "Why do you even know that?"
The Doctor smirked. "I'm full of fun facts like that."
"You're full of something, alright," Rhea said, dryly.
Amy turned on her flashlight and River used her hand-held device to scan the area.
"Why would a girl be here?" Amy asked, bewildered.
The Doctor shrugged. "I don't know. Lost, maybe," he offered.
Rhea hummed in agreement. "She was too desperate to be homeless. My money's on lost, or threatened," she said, lowly.
River picked up the phone, casually.
"The President asked where she was and she did what any lost little girl would do." The Doctor slid to his feet. "She looked out the window," he said, pointedly, peering through the blinds, where he could see the three street signs: Jefferson, Hamilton and Adams.
Amy's eyes widened. "Of course, street names!"
"The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction, and," The Doctor's eyes flickered in Rhea's direction, his mouth curling. "Dr Adwani, you've got that face on again.
Rhea stared at him, bemused by his sudden use of her title. "What face?" she asked, cautiously.
The smirk on his face was nothing less than satisfied. "The 'he's hot when he's clever' face."
Rhea's lips twitched despite herself and she patted him on the cheek, mockingly. "Nice try, but this is my normal face."
The Doctor leaned in, all hot eyes and confident mouth. "I know," he growled.
Rhea found her teeth sinking into her lower lip as heat pooled low in her stomach.
Seriously, how the fuck does he turn from adorably naïve clueless idiot alien to a guy who looks like he'd want nothing more than to shove me up against this wall and grind on me until we were both a puddle on the floor in a second?
"Oh, shut up," Rhea said, lamely.
She found herself squeaking when he wrapped his hand around her ponytail and tugged sharply, his voice low and rough in her ear.
"Not a chance."
Rhea took in a sharp breath. "You-you just wait." She cursed herself for stammering. Hell, she didn't even know she could stammer. "Oh, you are so going to regret this when we drop the kids off at their playdate." She flashed that wicked-red smile at him and the tremor of his hearts quickened.
The Doctor looked down at the phone receiver just as Canton and Rory exited the TARDIS.
"We've moved. How, how can we have moved?" Canton asked, bemused.
The Doctor sighed and looked at Rory, disappointed. "You haven't even got to space travel yet?" He shook his head.
"I was going to cover it with time travel," Rory shot back, shutting the TARDIS door.
"Time travel?" Canton's voice was just a tad higher than normal.
The Doctor smiled in his direction. "Brave heart, Canton. Come on!" He headed off to explore, pulling Rhea along with him.
"So, we're in a box, that's bigger on the inside and it travels through time and space?" Canton said, hesitantly.
Rory shrugged. "Basically."
He looked back at the TARDIS. "How long have Scotland Yard had this?"
"It's a warehouse of some kind. Disused," River commented, as the Doctor and Rhea joined her and Amy.
The Doctor looked down at Rhea. "You realise this is almost certainly a trap, of course," He said, lightly.
Rhea rolled her eyes. "Yes, I noticed the phone."
Amy frowned. "What about it?"
Rhea shrugged. "The line was cut off, which begs the question: how did the child phone from here?"
Amy paused. "Okay. But why would anyone want to trap us?" she asked, confused.
Rhea grimaced. "Well, we're with him," She jutted her thumb in the Doctor's direction, who looked offended by the insinuation. "That's as good a guess as any."
The Doctor sniffed. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," he mocked her earlier comment. "Let's see if anyone tries to kill us, and work backwards."
"But why would a little girl be here?" River asked, sceptically.
"I don't know." The Doctor's smile turned cutting. "Let's find her and ask her."
They approached a tilted operating table that had organic components attached.
River ran her scanner over it. "It's non-terrestrial, definitely alien, probably not even from this time zone."
"Which is odd," the Doctor commented. "Because... look at this!" He motioned to boxes of items that had piqued his interest.
"It's Earth tech, contemporary," River replied.
The Doctor nodded, fiercely. "Very contemporary. Cutting edge. This is from the space programme!"
"So, aliens stole Earth space technology?" Rhea said, slowly. "Aliens, who could get to Earth no problem, stole Earth space technology that barely made it to the moon."
"Apparently." The Doctor put on an astronaut helmet.
"Okay, I'll bite. Why?" Rhea asked, dryly.
"Maybe 'cause it's cooler." the Doctor's response was muffled. He lifted the visor of the helmet. "Look how cool this stuff is!" he gushed.
Rhea raised an eyebrow. "Cool aliens?" she said, sceptically.
The Doctor waggled his eyebrows at her. "Well, what would you call me?"
Rhea snorted. "An alien," she said, dryly.
"Oi!" the Doctor protested.
Rhea rolled her eyes and kissed him fiercely. "A hot alien. A hot clueless idiot alien," she said, roughly, dragging her teeth over her lower lip and licking the taste of him off her mouth.
Rory and Canton joined them just as the Doctor pulled off the helmet.
"I, er, I think he's okay now," Rory said, haltingly.
The Doctor eyed the agent. "Ah, back with us, Canton?"
"Like your wheels," Canton commented.
Rhea grinned. "She's super hot, isn't she?"
The Doctor beamed. "That's my boy! So, come on, little girl, let's find her."
Rhea examined the table along with River, helping the older-looking woman lift a cable that dripped something slimy and something Rhea didn't want to look too closely at when she held it up. Amy bent beside them.
"Rhea…" Amy trailed off.
"I know what you're thinking," Rhea sighed.
"No, you don't," Amy protested.
Rhea dropped the cable and turned to stare at Amy, blankly. "You're thinking that if we can find the space man in 1969 and kill him, then it won't be able to kill the Doctor in 2011," she said, tonelessly.
Amy paused. "Okay, lucky guess," she muttered under her breath.
"Not really. You think I didn't consider it as a potential course of action?" Rhea asked, dryly. "You still underestimate me, Amy."
"So, let's do it." Amy's voice lowered to an almost pleading tenor.
Rhea stared at her, gently. She understood that almost vicious need in her to keep the Doctor alive at any cost, considering that gruesome event they had witnessed just hours ago. It was in her too, deep in her bones, in her flesh, gnawing at her with every breath she took. It could be easy for her too. Finding the astronaut would be simple and disposing of him would be even simpler. There had been a time in her life where the choice and act would have been effortless; she wouldn't have even given it a second thought.
She eyed the Doctor out of the corner of her eye.
Unfortunately, things were different now.
"It doesn't work like that," Rhea said, simply. "We came here because of what we saw in the future. If we try and prevent the future from happening, we create a paradox." She explained.
"Time can be rewritten," Amy said, fiercely.
"Not all of it," Rhea returned, sharply.
"Says who?" Amy said, defiantly.
Rhea's lips twitched. "Who do you think?"
River followed one of the cables to a manhole cover and Rhea's attention was diverted.
"What's this?" River asked, curiously.
Amy tugged on Rhea's wrist. "We can still save him," she protested.
"Doctor! Rhea! Look at this." River knelt down and pushed the cover aside.
"So where does that go?" the Doctor asked, interested, as he approached the women.
River peered down at her scanner. "There's a network of tunnels running under here."
"Life signs?"
River shook her head. "No, nothing that's showing up."
The Doctor's face tightened. "Those are the worst kind. Be careful."
River slid into the manhole. "Careful? Tried that once, ever so dull."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Rhea offered.
River returned her a soft smile that made her look years younger. "I've got this."
Rhea's brow furrowed in concern. "Shout if you get in trouble," she said, pointedly.
River's lips quirked up at the corners and she looked up at Rhea through her eyelids. Her voice lowered as if she were confessing a secret. "Don't worry, I'm quite the screamer," she purred. "Now there's a spoiler for you!" she crowed, climbing down carefully.
Rhea avoided the Doctor's jealous look and wondered if she were going to hell for being totally turned on by the wild-haired archaeologist.
"So what's going on here?" Canton asked, suddenly, advancing towards them.
"Nothing... She's just a friend," Rhea replied, quickly.
Rory leaned over. "I think he's talking about the possible alien incursion," he murmured to her.
Rhea flushed, eyeing the Doctor. "Right. I knew that," she muttered.
The Doctor raised a curious eyebrow and if it weren't for just the slightest amount of green in his eyes at the exchange between her and River, she wouldn't have curled up against his side like some dewy-eyed idiot just so he could wrap an arm around her waist and know that she was with him.
"Okay." The Doctor clapped Rory and Canton on the shoulder.
River reached the bottom of the ladder and using her flashlight, she followed the cable.
Canton and Amy were examining some of the equipment.
"So... I was in a bar having a drink. Tell me honestly, am I still there?" Canton asked, hesitantly.
Amy looked at him, sympathetically. "'Fraid not."
River climbed back up in a hurry, panting obviously. She took a deep breath and straightened, her face clearing as if nothing was wrong.
"All clear. Just tunnels, nothing down there I can see." Her eyes trailed downwards. "Er, give me five minutes, I want to take another look round."
The Doctor clucked his tongue in disapproval. "Stupidly dangerous."
River smiled. "Yep, I like it too." Her voice lowered when her gaze turned in the direction of the redhead. "Amy, look after them." And she went back down.
The Doctor warred between his irritation at River's persistent flirting with Rhea and his unwillingness to see her harmed – at least before he could ascertain who she was exactly.
Finally, he turned to Rory. "Rory, would you mind going with her?"
Rory's eyes widened. "Yeah, a bit," he replied, pointedly.
"Then I appreciate it all the more," the Doctor said, cheerfully, patting him on the back.
Rory sighed in resignation. "Hang on, River, I'm coming too," he said, unenthusiastically.
Rory climbed down and his face softened when he saw River leaning over, breathing heavily. He didn't know what it was, but something made him move to her side so that he could see if she was doing alright for himself.
"You okay?" Rory asked, worriedly.
River looked up at him and swallowed hard, visibly pale. "Ah yes, yes. I just felt a bit sick. It's the prison food probably," she joked, hoarsely, taking a few deep breaths. "This way, what do you think?"
"I keep thinking I hear things," Rory confessed, suddenly.
"Interesting! These tunnels are old. Really old. How can they be really old and nobody notice them?" River asked, bemused, looking around.
The light from her torch caught a door and Rory peered at it.
"It's a maintenance hatch," Rory guessed.
River fiddled with the latch. "It's locked," she admitted, kneeling down. "Why do people always lock things?" she sighed, shaking her head.
Rory frowned. "What's through there?"
River shrugged. "No idea."
"Something bad?" Rory guessed, grimacing.
River's smile flickered. "Almost definitely."
"You're going to open it, aren't you?" Rory closed his eyes.
River pouted. "It's locked. How's a girl supposed to resist?"
"Wow, now I see why you and Rhea get along so well," Rory said, dryly.
River fluttered her eyes and looked pleased.
"Is this sensible?" Rory narrowed his eyes.
"God, I hope not." River sighed. "Keep a look out."
"What did you mean? What you said to Amy. There's a worse day coming for you." Rory approached, hesitantly.
River's eyes slid shut but she kept her face turned away from him. If she were going to talk about this, it didn't mean she would have to give anymore of herself away than she had to.
"When I first met the Doctor and Rhea, a long, long time ago... they knew all about me." the smile on her face was brief. "Think about that. Impressionable young girl, and suddenly this man just drops out of the sky, he's clever and wonderful and mad and in the words of an amazing woman, all the best people are mad. He knows every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl," she murmured.
"I don't really have to," Rory said, gently, thinking of Amy and her Raggedy Man and how she had held onto a phantom for fourteen years without faltering once.
"But it wasn't him that got to me," River admitted, suddenly. "I mean, it should have been. But it wasn't." She sighed. "It was Rhea. She was… unforgiving and kind – even if she didn't want to be – and fierce and a little broken inside and hell if I didn't find myself looking at her like she was…" River swallowed. "Well, everything."
Rory flinched at the raw pain that scraped against River's throat as she spoke.
River looked down, quickly. "Trouble is, it's all back to front. My past is their future. At least, in his case. Hers… it's not even worth figuring out. But we're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know them more, he knows me less, she knows me somewhat. I live for the days when I see her. But I take the chance that every time I do, she'll be one step further away. And the day's coming, when I'll look into that woman's eyes – I can't even call her mine because she isn't, she's his and she won't ever let herself be anything else – and she won't have the faintest idea who I am." The lock whirred its acceptance. "And I think it's going to kill me."
River slid to her feet and opened the door, as if she hadn't said a word since they had climbed down, no remnant of pain wracking her movements. The room they found themselves in was a cavernous control room.
Rory looked around, sceptically. "What is this place?"
As River stepped closer to the centre, the alarm went off, shrilly.
River cursed under her breath. "That's an alarm. Check if anything's coming," she ordered.
Rory nodded and looked outside the room, his blood running cold when large alien creatures walked menacingly towards him. He pulled his head back in to warn River.
"There's nothing out there," he said instead.
River used her scanner on one of the control panels.
"These tunnels, they're not just here, they're everywhere. They're running under the surface of the entire planet! They've been here for centuries!" River breathed.
There was a crackle of energy from the tunnel behind Rory. He slowly turned and a bright flash was all he knew.
"Rory!" River screamed before everything went black.
Canton and Amy were examining some of the equipment.
"So, you were kicked out of the FBI because you had attitude problems." Amy said, slowly.
Canton shook his head. "No. I just wanted to get married."
Amy frowned. "Is that a crime?" she asked, confused.
"Yes," Canton said, shortly. He gestured in the Doctor's direction. "Doctor who, exactly?"
Amy looked over at the Doctor, who had his head in a large crate, while Rhea inspected what he had already pulled out.
"That's classified," Amy replied, swiftly, covering up her irritation of not knowing the answer herself.
Canton raised an eyebrow. "Classified by who?"
Amy snorted. "God knows. But if anyone does, it's her." She jutted her thumb in the direction of Rhea, who was watching, quiet and fond, as the Doctor rambled on excitedly about some piece of tech he had pulled out of the box.
"But you work for him," Canton guessed.
"They're my friends," Amy corrected. "If 'friend' is the right word." She amended. "I haven't seen them in a while. I had something I wanted to tell them, but stuff always gets in the way." She sighed.
"Stuff does that," Canton offered.
"Help me!" a childish voice cried out.
The four straightened in unison, Canton thumbing the trigger of his gun, the barrel pointed in the direction the voice had come from. Rhea knew better than to open fire in close quarters, but her hand had strayed to the hilt in any case.
"Help! Help me!"
"It's her!" Canton said, roughly, advancing.
Amy ran to follow after Canton, but doubled over, gasping in pain. Rhea and the Doctor made their way over to her, Rhea's hand falling onto her shoulder and pulling her up so that Amy could rest her weight on her.
"Amy? What's wrong?" the Doctor asked, worriedly.
Amy breathed out through the pain. "I need to tell you something!" she said, desperately, her eyes flickering between the two of them.
"Doctor!" Canton called out.
"It's important. It's really, really important," Amy murmured.
"Doctor! Quickly!"
The Doctor looked uneasily in Canton's direction and exchanged a look with Rhea that read what do I do now?
"What, now?" the Doctor asked, hurriedly.
He and Rhea managed to pull Amy along to another section of the warehouse, where they found Canton on the floor. Rhea knelt by his side, checking his pulse, finding a slow, but steady thump in his wrist that told her that he was just unconscious.
"Is he all right?" Amy asked, worriedly.
"Just unconscious," Rhea said, swiftly, straightening to her feet.
This time, her gun was in her hand.
"He got a proper whack though," the Doctor commented.
"Guys, I need to tell you something. I have to tell you it now!" Amy said, firmly.
Rhea sighed, not taking her eyes off the darkness ahead of her. "You have shit timing, Legs. Can we do the whole D&M thing later?"
"No, it's important, it has to be now!" Amy snapped.
"Help! Help me! Help me!" the girl sobbed.
"Guys... I'm pregnant," Amy confessed.
Rhea's eyes slid shut. Fuck.
They heard thudding footsteps and the Doctor stood.
Rhea went hot with fury and her hands trembled.
It was the astronaut from the lake.
The same astronaut that had killed the Doctor.
Oh, how easy it would be to pull the trigger.
"That's it. The astronaut!" Amy shrieked.
The astronaut raised its hand and Amy reached over and grabbed Canton's gun. With her back to the astronaut, she was not able to see as it raised its visor to reveal the little girl who had been phoning the President.
"Help me!" the girl whimpered.
Time slowed.
"Get down!" Amy ordered the Doctor.
"What are you doing!" the Doctor snapped, eyes flickering with panic between Amy, the gun and the little girl.
"Saving your life!" Amy said, fiercely.
"Amy, don't you dare," Rhea growled.
"No!" the Doctor shouted.
Amy swung around and fired the gun with not even a second's hesitation, not realising, not allowing herself to see that it was the girl, who screamed as the bullet struck.
A/N: Well, hell, thank God that finished. It was kind of a hard chapter to write, especially since I'm coming off kind of like a month of writer's block, so hopefully you guys could read it. I tried to get in some flirting here and there, just so things aren't as bleak as they have been in earlier chapters, but also trying to make Rhea's development realistic. She's still a little on edge with it all but she's getting better, I think. Plus, I hope you guys like how I characterised River's relationship with Rhea. I feel like in Doctor/OC stories, River is either a best friend or a rival, and I don't want her to be either with Rhea. I wanted Rhea to be wary, but curious, like the Doctor, and considering River's bisexual, I thought I'd go with her as Rhea's love interest, rather than the Doctor's. And it opens a hell of a lot in the threesome territory, because the Doctor's still curious, even if he is jealous. I imagine it's a secret fantasy of his to see the two of them getting it on.
Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed it and don't forget to leave a review!
Reviews:
djmegamouth: Thank you so much!
NicoleR85: Thank you so much! Honestly, I haven't written yet it, so unfortunately, I don't think it's going to come out before I end this fic.
Purplestan: Thank you so much!
RandomFandoming: Thank you!
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deathb4beauty: Thank you!