13/05/2017
Hello there. So, thanks to work, I'm pretty drained on the daily so I apologise there's been a wait for this chapter. Thanks to everyone who favourited, followed, and reviewed the first chapter. I really appreciate it and welcome all reviews. With that said, I'll leave a longer A/N at the bottom but until then, enjoy this chapter.
When Klary finally landed, she ended up flat on her back. Her head throbbed something fierce and thanks to hitting the floor, her back ached. As she got to her feet, she heard the sound of someone running towards the room she was in... the console room. Finally up, she held onto the beams and looked towards the direction of the footsteps. A moment later, Eleven ran into the room. The moment he saw her and the Doctor instantly scooped her into his arms. Klary almost instantly moved out of his arms, which caused the Doctor to frown, not that she noticed. Either way, he moved her to the stairs and sat her down.
"Where were you?"
"With you. The future." The Doctor nodded and then asked what jump she was on. At her confused expression, he elaborated. "This is my second time seeing you. Is it true though, that I can't go home?"
"Klary..."
"Just tell me. Please."
"I'm sorry. But this universe becomes your home. The TARDIS is home."
"Why me, though?" As the Doctor began to speak, Klary interrupted him. "Don't answer that. Does it get easier?" The young woman clutched her head and grimaced. "I've had the worse headaches." After the Doctor replied that it got better, he searched his pockets and pulled out a vial with a greenish liquid. Before he could go off about what it was, Klary took it from his hand and downed it. Almost immediately she began to feel the pressure in her head leave. "Who are you travelling with?"
"The Ponds. They're asleep right now. How about we do something?"
"What, you and me?" He nodded vigorously. "But why?"
"We're both awake, Klary. It'll be fun. I promise nothing dangerous." Klary couldn't say no, especially when he looked so excited. With a not so reluctant sigh, she agreed to the trip, but made sure to emphasise that they were to go somewhere without danger.
A few minutes later, the pair stood outside the TARDIS atop a grassy hill. The Doctor took Klary's hand and began to lead her down it. The walk wasn't too bad, with Klary slipping twice, but when they reached the bottom, the young woman was awestruck. Before them stood a beautiful pink lake, with flora of all colours littered about. The water wasn't just pink though, it seemed to vary in shades and little orange birds sat atop it, leisurely swimming through. The best part, was that there were no other people around.
Klary and the Doctor sat on the side, with Klary listening as he prattled on about the planet. He had been before, and had wanted to bring her... had been told he'd brought her. She couldn't help but feel some happiness that he had. She loved it there and convinced him that they should stay longer, even though he was sure the Ponds had woken. The Doctor gave a very half-hearted argument before settling back down. He would do anything to make her happy. Especially when Klary had so much pain to see.
Finally, once the sun had set and the rays no longer cast mesmerising shadows, Klary finally let the Doctor lead her back. The trek up the hill had exhausted the young woman and the moment she entered the beloved spaceship, she put her coils into a bun and asked the TARDIS for some water. She wasn't sure if it would appear, but she was pleasantly surprised when a 2L bottle appeared beside her. With an exuberant thanks, she downed nearly half of its contents.
Not much time passed before Amelia Pond and Rory Williams entered the console room. Upon seeing Klary, the red head rushed to her side and pulled her into a hug. Rory immediately followed suit, although he went as far as to lift her off the ground. The Doctor didn't seem very happy with Rory touching her, but he made no move to say anything. He just remained at the console and pouted a bit. Klary couldn't help but find some amusement in it and after a laugh, she moved to the Time Lord's side as the Ponds went back to their coffees. He had the psychic paper in his hand and seemed quite interested in what it said. "What's it say?"
"'Please save me from the monsters.'" He quickly began to move around the console, pulling switches and levers. "Haven't done this in a while."
"Um, done what? What are you doing?"
"He's making a house call," Klary told the red head. She was pretty sure she knew what adventure they were about to go on, but she wasn't exactly sure how she felt about it. When she'd watched the episode, she wasn't that interested in it. It wasn't a bad one, but for the most part, she found it boring. Still, Klary hoped she'd remember something at least. She wanted to be helpful afterall.
When the TARDIS finally materialised, the Doctor grabbed Klary's hand and dragged her outside with the Ponds not far behind. As the five looked around, Rory was the most unimpressed. He started his statement with a no offense, but the Doctor knew it meant the opposite. "But we could get a bus somewhere like this." The Doctor muttered to himself which caused Klary to chuckle. Seeing the alien put out was quite amusing.
"Well, I suppose it can't all be planets and history and stuff, Rory."
"Yes it can. Course it can. Planets and history and stuff. That's what we do." He pulled out his sonic and began to scan the area and the four walked through a gate. "But not today, no. Today, we're answering a cry for help from the scariest place in the universe. A child's bedroom."
The four moved to towards the lift, with the Ponds and the Doctor talking amongst themselves. Klary remained silent, If she were being honest, she was still trying to wrap her mind around what happened to her, how she had ended up in a universe where her favourite television show was real. She couldn't understand it. The more she thought about her situation though, the more Klary wanted to enjoy it, the more she wanted to just take it as it was and live in the moment. She was living through her favourite show and she felt as if she shouldn't be sulking; it could wait until later. The Doctor noticed her silence and asked whether she was all right. When she nodded, he pulled her along, telling Amy and Rory to split up so that they could hit more doors.
Klary and the Doctor went through a few doors before they reached a talkative old lady who didn't seem very happy. She complained that she couldn't be expected to go up and down the stairs to reach the bins as she had bad knees. The woman, Mrs Rossiter, went on to say that she already had a new hip and that she'd be able to manage when she got her knees. The Doctor then asked if they could go in and was met with a very firm no before the door slammed in their faces. With that done, the four met by the lift.
"Hey, any luck?"
"None."
"Three old ladies, a traffic warden from Croatia, and a man with ten cats." Rory rolled his eyes before asking the Doctor exactly what they were supposed to be looking for. "Ten cats!" The Doctor seemed to realise that Rory asked a question and he finally replied. "Scared kid, remember?"
"I found, um, scary kids. Does that count?"
"Nope," Klary answered as she shrugged. "You guys should try the next floor down." Amy nodded and the two entered the lift while she and the Doctor went across the way.
Not long after the pair stood in front of the door the Doctor had clearly seen something. He rapped on the door and flashed the psychic paper when a man answered. The man seemed shocked and relieved that we were there. Klary just raised a brow before letting out a sigh. She kind of remembered why the man seemed happy and she felt as if it what he and his wife were doing wasn't exactly things the right way. She could understand their frustration, but not talking to the kid would do damage, she knew that from experience.
"You've got a problem. We've got a problem. I bet they're connected. I'm the Doctor. Call me the Doctor and this is my beautiful Klary. Um, what can we call you?" The man tentatively gave the Doctor his name, something that led to the Doctor stepping inside the flat. "So, tell me about George."
Klary rolled her eyes at the Doctor's lack of manners and shot Alex an apologetic smile before she entered the flat herself. As the Doctor went through family albums, Klary sat next to him on the sofa and tried to keep herself out of the way. She really didn't remember much from the episode so there wasn't much she could contribute, although she did chastise the Doctor occasionally, whenever he did or said something rude. She listened as Alex told the Doctor about George. The man answered each question and she really paid attention when he brought up the child's fears.
"Pantaphobia," the Doctor interjected. When Alex questioned him, the Time Lord went on to explain it was a fear of everything. When Alex brought up clowns. Klary shuddered and the Doctor said it was understandable. Finally, the father suggested that maybe the Doctor could get through to him. "We'll do our best."
A while later, the three heard something hit the floor in George's room. Alex quickly went to see, and the Doctor and Klary followed. When Alex opened the door, the boy told him it wasn't a nightmare before he asked who the two behind his father were. "I'm the Doctor and this is my magnificent Klary." The young woman waved.
"A doctor? Have you come to take me away?"
Before the Doctor could say a thing, Klary stepped forward and knelt down in front of George. She could understand his apprehension, and his fear. She'd been shipped off more times than she wanted to remember. She didn't want him to go through that, it was horrible. "Not at all. We're just here to talk. We won't take you anywhere. Promise." She gave him a smile, in the hope it would make him feel better.
"What about?"
"About the monsters," the Doctor said before he picked up a Rubik's cube and began to mess with it. As he and Alex spoke, Klary was off to the side speaking to George. Children were never her thing, to be honest, she hated them. But she never wanted to see them hurt. For the most part, they were innocent and didn't deserve pain, especially since then never asked to be born. With George about to be sent away, it resonated with her, although she knew she'd definitely need to spend time alone after, just to recuperate.
The two barely listened to the others as they were in their own world, talking about anything that made George happy. Almost as if she'd anticipated it, Klary moved to the side and caught the Rubik's cube after the Doctor had tossed it. She shot him a glare as she placed it on the end table, to which he swiftly apologised. He was used to the glares, but he knew it was better to apologise than deal with the rant he would get… at least with older Klary.
"And is that where the monsters go? Yeah." He turned and slowly went up to it. There's nothing to be scared of, George. It's just a cupboard." As the Doctor went to unlock it, there was a hammering on the front door that made them all jump. Alex quickly rushed off and went to take the caller. While he did that, the Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver. When George asked if it was a torch, he quickly corrected him. He then jumped onto the bed and sat parallel to the boy. George was enthralled and asked if he could see the other stuff. The Doctor did and made some of the battery-operated toys move. "Ah, pretty cool, eh?" The kid nodded as he watched his cars zip around. "That's better. No tears from George, that's what I've heard. Go on, give us a smile." George did as told and gave him small smile. "There's a brave little soldier. Bit rusty at this. Anyway… Let's open this cupboard, eh? There's nothing to be-" He cut off as he got up and scanned it, only to get an off the scale reading. That was when Alex joined them again and went to open the closet, only for Klary to grab his hand as the Doctor said no and told him that George's monsters were real.
The three adults moved to the kitchenette, although Klary was reluctant to do so. The Doctor rummaged through the cabinets as Klary sat at the table. Alex stood at the door, and chewed them out. "You're supposed to be a professional. I'll never get him to sleep now. You're so… irresponsible."
"No, Alex. Responsible. Very. Cupboard bad. Cupboard not bare. Stay away from cupboard. And there's something else. Something I've missed. Something… staring me in the face."
Klary rolled her eyes at him before she stood, slapped his arm and turned to Alex. "Sorry about him. His mouth goes before his brain has a chance to catch up. He wasn't trying to make things worse, it's just that George's fears are real, to him and the physical world. I know you don't want to hear that, but it's true." The Doctor nodded and went back to doing whatever he had started.
"Look, I'd like you to leave, please. You're just making things worse." Klary moved out of the way as Alex rushed to the Doctor. "Will you please stop making tea? I want you to leave." The Doctor placed a mug in Klary's hand as he told the distraught man no. "What? What do you mean. no?" Klary took a sip of her tea and relished in it being made perfectly. If what the Doctor said was true, he'd probably had a lot of practice making it for her. "Leave. Get out. Now, please. Look, maybe this was a bad idea. We should sort out George ourselves."
"You can't."
"No one's going to tell us how to run our lives. I don't care who you are or what wheels have been set in motion, we'll sort it."
"I'm not just a professional, I'm the Doctor." Alex asked what that meant and the Doctor was quick to tell him. "It means I've come a long way to get here, Alex, a very long way. George sent a message. A distress call, if you like. Whatever's inside that cupboard is so terrible, so powerful, that it amplified the fears of an ordinary little boy across all the barriers of time and space." Alex made a confused sound but the Doctor pressed on. "Through crimson stars and silent stars and tumbling nebulas like oceans set on fire, through empires of glass and civilizations of pure thought, and a whole, terrible, wonderful universe of impossibilities. You see these eyes? They're old eyes. And one thing I can tell you, Alex. Monsters are real."
Alex stared at the Doctor dumbfounded for a moment. "You're not from Social Services, are you?"
"Finally!"
The Doctor chuckled at Klary's outburst before he draped his arm over her shoulders. "First things first. You got any Jammie Dodgers?" The young woman gently nudged him before the three moved to the living room.
"What is it with these photos?" The Doctor asked as he examined the ones that sat on the mantelpiece. A moment later, he gave up. "Anyway. Good. Nice tea. Nothing like a cuppa, but.. decision. Should we open the cupboard?" Alex spat out his tea and made a noise. "Should we?" The question was directed to Klary. She kept eye contact with him and shrugged. Of course she knew they should, but he had to figure it out for himself. "Got to open the cupboard, haven't we? Course we have. Come on, Alex." The man just stared at the Doctor. "Alex, come on. How else will we ever find out what's going on here?"
"Right, but you said-"
"Monsters. Yeah, well, that's what we do. Breakfast, dinner, and tea. Fight the monsters, so this, this is just an average day in the office for us."
"Okay, yeah. You're right-"
"Or maybe we shouldn't open the cupboard."
"For goodness sake, Doctor. Just open the damn cupboard."
"Right. That settles it." He placed his hands on the confused man's face which elicited and chuckle from the young woman.
"Yes. Settles what?"
He removed his hands from Alex's face and grabbed his mug and downed the contents, much to Klary's amusement. He then shoved the mug into Alex's hands. "Going to open the cupboard." With purpose, he ran towards George's room and pulled Klary along with him.
With Klary behind him, and George behind his father, the Doctor approached the cupboard. He was more concerned about Klary, but he wouldn't say it out loud. After a few unnecessary stretches (necessary in his mind, of course), he unlocked it and the four jumped as the lift started up. He pushed through it and opened it with a leap backwards. Inside were clothes on hangers and toys piled on the bottom, including a doll's house. As he tried to make sense of it, he rushed out and grabbed the photo album.
"How old is George, Alex?"
"What? How old?"
"Yes. How old is George?"
"Well, I told you. Just turned eight."
"So, you remember when he was born, then?"
"Doctor," Klary warned as she moved towards the child. This was not a conversation for him to hear and it would only make things worse. Before the Doctor could question her, Alex said he did.
Having decided to deal with Klary's disdain later, the Doctor continued on. "Course you do. How could you not? You and Claire. Christmas Eve, 2002, right?" Alex confirmed what he asked. "Couple of weeks before George was born. Tell me about the day he arrived. Must have been wonderful."
"Well, it was the best day of my… life."
"Sure?"
"Yes."
"You don't sound sure."
"Doctor, that's enough."
"What are you trying to say? Look, I don't like this. I've told you before, I want you to go."
"What's the matter Alex?" The man said that he couldn't that it was scary. "No, Alex, this is scary. Claire with baby George. Newborn, yes?" Alex nodded. "Less than a month after Christmas." Alex nodded again. "So look." The Doctor pointed to the photograph. Look. Claire's not pregnant."
"What?"
"Not pregnant."
"Well, of course not. Claire can't have kids!" As he said that, Alex's face dropped. At the Doctor's prodding, he continued. "We tried everything. She was desperate. As much IVF as we could afford, but… Claire can't have kids. How… How can I have forgotten that?"
The Doctor and Alex turned their heads to face the scared little boy who had witnessed the realisation. "Who are you, George?"
"It's not possible. It isn't…"
"George?"
Klary made to stand in front of him and glared daggers at the Doctor. It did nothing to help the situation, especially when the lift started up again. The toys suddenly began to shake and the lamp began to glow brightly. Unexpectedly, the cupboard door flew open and a white light flooded out and grabbed onto the four. Since Klary was closest to the boy, she hopped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around him. It was meant to be an added comfort to him, and a way to keep herself from being sucked into the cupboard.
"George! George, what's going on? Are you doing it?" They boy didn't reply. He just kept begging to be saved from the monsters. "George, no!" As George continued on, Alex asked for help as the two were dragged into the cupboard, the Doctor followed by Alex. When they were both gone, the door slammed shut and all was quiet.
Klary looked between the closet and the boy for a moment before she heaved a tired sigh. It seemed as if she'd have a lifetime of the Doctor ignoring her warnings, and to be honest, she blamed him for what had just happened. When her eyes returned to the boy, she saw he was still a trembling mess in her arms. She pulled him closer to her and rested her head atop his. "It's all right, George. I'm not upset and neither are your dad and the Doctor."
"What about my dad?"
"We'll find them. Now, what we have to do is listen very carefully. The floppy haired idiot will help us."
"How do you know?"
"I just do." Moments later, the lift started up again and the toys began to shake. It took everything in Klary's power not to freak out. She wasn't entirely sure what to do anymore. She hoped things would get better before they got worse. She knew things would be okay in the end, but she couldn't exactly remember how it got to that point. A moment later, the pair heard the Doctor's voice from inside the cupboard. As he told George to believe and overcome his fears, the child just placed his hands on his ears and shook his head. "You can do it, George. I'll be with you the entire time."
"Promise?"
"I promise." With that, George slowly slid from his bed and moved to the closet. He reached for the key and when he hesitated, Klary took his hand in her own. She hoped it would give him some form of comfort and it seemed as if she had when he opened it and the two appeared at the bottom of the staircase.
"Klary! George! George, you did it. You did it. Hey, it's okay, it's all okay now. Everything's going to be fine." As the words left his mouth, the dolls began to move down the stairs, singing a song that sent shivers down Klary's spine. "No" No! George, you created this whole world. This whole thing. You can smash it. You can destroy it." The boy shook his head. His fear was greater than any words the Doctor could give him.
As the Time Lord tried to figure out what was holding George back, Klary took matters into her own hands and knelt down in front of him. "George, what did I tell you when you asked if we were here to take you away?" He stared at her and then back to the dolls. She gently took his chin and made him look at her. "What did I tell you?"
"You promised you wouldn't take me anywhere."
"I meant it."
"That's what did it!" the Doctor shouted. "That's what the trigger was. He thought you were rejecting him. He thought he wasn't wanted, that someone was going to come and take him away."
"Well, we… we talked about it."
"Yeah, and he heard you. Alex, a Tenza's sole function is to fit in, to be wanted, and you were rejecting him."
"We just couldn't cope! We needed help!"
"You could have talked to him," Klary said. "That's what most children want, to be talked to."
"George didn't know that. He thought you were rejecting him. He still thinks it."
"But how can we keep him? How can we? He's not…"
"Not what?"
Klary stood and put herself in front of the boy as the dolls began to surround them. She knew exactly what Alex was going to say and it bothered her to think that that was all it took for someone to not want a person, not want a child he'd had for eight year. He'd watched George grow and now that he knew his true being, it changed his views. It disgusted her, to be honest.
"Human."
Klary and George yelled for their respective person at the same time but Alex jumped into action before the Doctor even had a chance. The man pushed away the dolls and grabbed hold of the boy, holding him in a vice grip. Klary quickly rushed over to the Doctor, who wrapped her in his arms and kissed her temple with a relieved breath. When he'd let her go a bit, they watched the moment between father and son before they were flung out of the cupboard.
Although Klary had wanted to leave immediately, George had wanted her to stay around and meet his mum. She easily relented and after George had cleaned up, the four worked on making breakfast. Everyone had a specific task but everytime she tried to make something, the Doctor would interrupt her and take over, at least until she pouted. Then he'd leave her to the task.
When Claire came in, she found her husband and son playing around in the kitchen, the Doctor playing with a bag of something, and Klary sitting at the table watching the three with a mug in hand. She gave the woman a wave as the Doctor walked up to her. "Hello. You're Claire, I expect." He gave her a few air kisses. "Claire, how'd you feel about kippers?"
"Uh, who?"
"They sent someone about George," Alex said as he saw her. "It's all sorted."
"Yeah, we had a great time, didn't we?" The boy voiced his affirmative and took a bite out of his toast. "See? He's fine."
"What, just like that?"
"Yes. Trust me." The Doctor gave the disbelieving woman a small smile which she returned tenfold, obviously happy that her child was helped. Klary couldn't help her smile either. This was a major reason as to why she loved the show. The Doctor always helped people, even when he was in the wrong, or had moments of horrible judgement. He wanted to save people and it made wonderful stories. Granted, she was living it, but it made her love the Doctor and his companions more. He made good people amazing.
Once the five had finished their meal and the dishes were washed, the Doctor and Klary left without a word to the family, well the Doctor did. Klary had slipped off to say good-bye to George, letting him know that he could always reach her if he needed to. As they walked off, Alex came up behind them. The Doctor thought he wanted to see him off but it wasn't the case.
"No, no, you can't just… I mean…"
"It's sorted. You sorted it. Good man, Alex. Proud of you." He slapped the man's arm in a friendly manner.
"What, that's it?"
"Well, apart from making sure he eats his green and getting him into a good school, yes."
"But is he going to, I don't know, sprout another head or three eyes or something?"
Klary rolled her eyes at him. "No, he won't. His species adapts perfectly for their environment. He'll be as human as they come."
"We might pop back during puberty, mind you. Always a funny time." Alex nodded and went back inside once Claire had called him. Taking Klary's hand, the two went down to the garage block to meet up with the Ponds who were waiting. They were unusually quiet but Klary didn't think much of it. "Come on, you two. Things to do, people to see, whole civilisations to save." He sat down and pulled Klary onto his lap, an action the caused the curly haired woman to tense up, not that he noticed, before turned to Amy, and patted Rory on the knee. "You feeling okay?"
"Er, I think so."
"Well, it's good to be back together again. In the flesh. Come on." He jumped up and dragged Klary along before she could fall flat on her face. Amy let out a quick laugh before she and her husband followed.
Before they could make it back to the TARDIS however, Klary disappeared in a sea of golden light. She managed to say her farewells until next time, but she wished she'd had more time with the ponds. Either way, she was surprised to have landed in a large room that had a window showing the Earth. Immediately she knew where she was and a giddy smile played on her lips. As horrible as the events were, she was excited to see a Doctor other than Eleven.
Yay, so I've finally updated this story. Sorry it's taken so long. I've been working on my new novel and am almost done moving it from paper to computer. It's been a very long few months and I'm so excited to get it out, hence the lack of updates. I do appreciate everyone who has reviewed the first chapter, and if there are any mistakes on this one, please let me know. I honestly don't mind and I really didn't go back and edit much... I know, the horror. I just wanted to get something out before the end of the month so yeah... my apologies if it sucks. I have the next two chapters planned out, but if you have any episodes you want, let me know. The next one is obvious... kind of thanks to how I ended this chapter, but everything else is up in the air. So drop a line. I'll also address reviews in the next chapter. Hopefully I can get it up soon.
-MW