Here we are everyone.
The end of a chapter, and the end of this book. Thank you to everyone who stuck with me while I was figuring out this story, and everyone who ignored my horrible grammar and stilted sentence structure while I figured how to write in a creative capacity once more. (I still have stilted sentence and horrible grammar but at least re-reading these later chapters doesn't make me cringe.) At some point I'd like to go back and edit the earlier chapters, but that will be a project for another day.
Thank you, everyone of you that left a comment, or a like, or a personal message. To everyone who favorited, and followed. Everyone of these things encouraged me to write more, and to continue even when I hit a road block.
On another note, this isn't the end of the story. I have several different 'books' planned out for the future. So if you enjoyed this story keep your eyes peeled for the first chapter of the next book. (Coming at some point in the future) I'll also post a brief author's note on this story when I finally post the next book so those who followed this story can know to head over to the new one if they are still interested.
To those of you wondering when the next chapter of Tilted is coming out, I can only say sometime soon. I've been putting a little bit into it everyday.
Have a fantastic day!
~RainingCoffee
The Doctor puts up with my smothering fairly well all things considered. It's almost as if it's something he needs as well. I need to feel useful and he needs to know that someone is there.
But eventually it happens. I jump, exactly two weeks after I first appeared with this Doctor. He knows before I do. A sad smile crossing his face as he reaches out to stroke a piece of my hair.
And then I'm gone, I hadn't even felt the heat this time.
Our connection slots into place nicely, the twinge of hurt nothing but a remembered pain. I wonder if the Doctor just leaves himself open like that all the time now. It was unpleasant for the short time that I had to experience it, I couldn't imagine feeling like that for however long it took for another him to pop up.
The Doctor's affection and sense of welcome quickly sours though, worry splitting through the emotions.
A chair scrapes from the other side of the room, quick footsteps follow. I blink up at the familiar sight of our shared wardrobe with pleasant surprise.
"Mabel?" The Doctor asks from the doorway, a furrow of concern creasing his forehead. He pads over once has my attention, kneeling down on the floor next to where I've popped up. "What happened?"
I reach out, pulling him into an awkward hug. The Doctor doesn't protest, even though his body is contorted at a strange angle.
The fact that the oppressive numbness is almost entirely absent in this version of my future husband is a comfort. One that I allow myself to sink into. But not for long. His own pain from the past is not something that he should be comforting me about in the future.
So, by the time I pull back, a smile is on my face and I've clamped down on nearly all the negative emotions swirling around my brain. "So-" I chirp, voice bright in a way that makes me want to wince. To much Mabel, to much. "Where are we now?"
The Doctor narrows his eyes at me. "That was sloppy at best and you know it."
A zing of irritation races through me, along with a hint grudging respect. "Stop being so perceptive."
"Did you seriously think that was going to work?" He raises an eyebrow, while pulling the both of us to our feet.
"No." I admit, actively annoyed now. "But I thought you'd at least let me get away with it."
The Doctor barks out a laugh. "Not a chance." Leaning down, he presses his forehead against mine. "Tell me what's wrong."
His worry hums, sparking from the back of my mind and from the contact of our skin.
It occurs to me that I'm causing him worry over the fact that I was stressed and worried over a past version of him. What a ridiculous turn of events. "It's just been a long week, s'all." He opens his mouth to argue, the intent is obvious, but I shake my head slightly. "It doesn't exactly seem right discussing this with you when it has to do with your past self."
Wait. That came out wrong.
"Finally realized how ridiculous that sounded?" The Doctor asks, entirely unimpressed.
"Shut up." I mumble, ducking my head. Everything seems sort of brighter now. It's a jarring dichotomy from the bleak, dreary world I've been living in for the last couple of weeks.
He cups my cheek, tilting my head so that he can look me in the eye. "I'm guessing leather jacket?"
I nod, biting my cheek.
"When you have a backdoor to someone else's emotions, you have to be careful to not let theirs affect yours." The Doctor murmurs. "But it can be hard sometimes. It was why I was so apologetic when I finally realized what was happening."
My mind arcs, making connections, and about the fact that I was continually feeling more positive the longer I had been in this time with this Doctor. "So, it's some sort of transfer?"
He nods, thumb rubbing a line under one of my eyes. I'm suddenly, starkly, aware of the bags that are under them. "It's unconscious for the most part."
I lean back, away from his hold, abruptly. "Stop feeling worried over me getting a transfer of your past emotions. It's the past you that should be worried over."
The Doctor rolls his eyes. "I'll stop being worried when you look a little healthier."
"Are you saying that I don't look good now?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes.
"I'm saying that you obviously look as though you've not been taking care of yourself." He states, ignoring the look on my face.
A spark of my temper rears it's head. I hadn't wanted to verbally spar with the past Doctor for obvious reasons, but this Doctor was fair game.
The Doctor shoots me an unimpressed look. "Stop that." He tugs me from the closet, into the bathroom, and in the direction of the shower. "Go, shower, and then meet me in the kitchen."
And then he leaves before I have the chance to argue with him.
So there I am, annoyed, with nothing to direct it towards.
The Tardis warbles, flashing her lights at me. The shower turns itself on, steam immediately rising up from the tiles. "Yes, yes, I get the idea."
She raspberry's me, all the lights turning off but the one in front of the mirror. I take the hint, going over and watching as my pale face enters the view.
The Doctor was right, I looked horrible. The bags under my eyes could hold whole countries if they tried hard enough. My cheekbones were also sharper, as if I'd missed a few meals.
The Tardis right's the lights, her hum smug.
I let her have that one, because she's right.
The Doctor's bright emotions turn just the slightest bit relieved. I roll my eyes, even as I strip my clothes off to get into the shower. He's keeping tabs on me I see.
I can't even bring myself to be angry at him. I've been doing the same thing to another version of him for the last two weeks.
The shower does the trick, my negative emotions washing themselves down the drain with the soap. By the time I get out, I'm feeling clean and rejuvenated.
A quick run over of the towel and a change into a casual button down shirt and a pair of leggings then I'm on my way to the kitchen. The Doctor has an omelet ready, of course he does. (It's all he knows how to make in this body.) But it's the thought that counts.
It doesn't take long to devour the food in front of me, and it takes even less time for me to realize that something else is wrong. The Doctor is fidgeting, mind a million miles away.
"What is it?" I ask him, breaking the silence.
He sighs, sending me a tired look. "Something happened, and I need to tell you about it. But..I'm finding it hard to phrase what I want to say."
Concerned now, especially at the way his emotions are settling into something more like solemn determination, I reach over to touch his hand. "What happened?"
"A companion has been taken." The Doctor tells me. "There was this thing with the flesh, and well- you'll live that later. But they were using the flesh as a body double. Beamed her mind into the flesh double and she never knew she wasn't actually here."
I catalog his words automatically, while my mind whirls. There is only one female companion that he travels with frequently with this regeneration -well only one that I've met so far.
He's talking about Amy.
The rush of the outside world is loud in my ears, but all I have time to notice is the way the Doctors sits up abruptly, his full attention focusing on me. I suppose he can feel that way my focus has sharpened. Something inside of me has gone hard and cold, all sharp edges and determination. "How long ago did this happen?"
"Fifteen hours, twenty three minutes and 12.7 seconds ago." The Doctor answers promptly, leaning closer. "Or well, that's when we disabled the signal to the flesh. I was also able to track the signal through the flesh to the general location that they were holding her at before I disrupted the signal to the flesh itself. Unfortunately, it only points us to the proper galaxy."
Hmm. "I suppose there's a reason that we aren't already there?" And it better not be that you were waiting for me.
"This needs a proper plan." He tilts his head to the side. "There's a Cyber Legion in that Quadrant that we are going to hit in the morning for more information. They monitor everything there, so they should be able to tell us where Amy is being held."
There's something about the tilt of his mouth that's throwing off warning signs. "There's still something that you aren't telling me."
"Remember the pirates?" The Doctor waits for my nod to continue. "And how the scan I was running on Amy was coming back positive/negative?"
No. Oh please tell me that she isn't-"Doctor are you saying that Amelia's pregnant?"
"Yes. The last time we saw her she was going into labor." He bows his head in response to my stare.
Oh Amy. Pregnant and alone, taken by people that wish to do- something.
"Why did they take her in the first place?" I ask.
The Doctor shakes his head. "I don't know."
I lean back, some of my focus turning inwards. "Besides getting information from the Cyber legion, what's the plan once we know her location?"
"Getting in, getting her and her baby and getting out?" He asks more than states, seemingly confused.
The breath I take is more for him than it is for me. My patience holds, barely. My voice still comes out sharp as nails though. "We can't just rely on that luck you wear like a talisman against reality Doctor. We need an actual plan for this."
The Doctor's lips twitch up in amusement. "Technically dear, that is a plan."
"Doctor, it isn't just us that we need to worry about." Little Amelia and her child need all the protection they can get.
"I know." He murmurs, bowing his head.
"Alright." I exhale, my mind whirling. "When we get the information from the Cyber Legion we should be able to account for numbers. The only problem is, if they have her in some kind of guarded area I'm not comfortable with it just being the three of us-Rory is coming with I assume?" The Doctor nods. "Okay, good. But like I was saying, there is no way that three people can account for all the variables, especially when it comes to human error."
The Doctor hums, something sad in his expression. "So what are you suggesting we do?"
My lips purse in annoyance. I know he knows what I'm getting at here, I can feel it, but I don't see why he's making me say it out loud. "We have allies, people that will help if we ask. I know we do. Jack will come at least."
"Dorian Maldovar." The Doctor murmurs. "A merchant, deals with black market goods. He came with me to destroy the weapon factories of Villengard."
He's not telling me something, but he's being honest about the person I think. This Dorian sounds interesting. "It's worth a try if he'll help."
"Actually. It'll be good to have him now." He states, jumping up from his chair.
"Now?" My chair screeches as I follow his example, and then the two of us are down the hallway.
The Doctor nods. "Yes, It'll be good to have him here to go over the data."
But..The Doctor should be able to go through the data himself with no problem.
"We're too close to the issue." He continues, eyes flicking in my direction even as his hands input coordinates to where ever we are going. "I might miss something."
Okay, yeah. He's right. This is personal. That's part of the reason I didn't want to leave it to just us. "I trust you."
The Doctor pauses before throwing the de-materialization lever, breathing.
"Hey." I murmur, reaching out to touch his arm.
He turns to face me. His hands come up to frame my face and for a second I think he's going to kiss me but he just rests his head against mine.
His mind, that big brilliant mind, hovers just outside my rudimentary barriers. I lower them, I'll always lower them for the Doctor. His determination, fear, and worry beat against my mind, but in that moment of connection all of that falls away. My own worry falls away.
And it's just the two of us.
….I'm not entirely sure how long we stay like that. But by the time we detangle ourselves and become two separate people once more I'm calmer. More focused.
The Doctor is as well. His hands steady on the de-materialization lever when before it had been shaking slightly.
The Tardis lands, and the two of us are out the door, walking haphazardly into what looks to be a bustling market place.
"Merchant huh?" I ask rhetorically. Well at least we didn't show up to whisk him away in the middle of the night like a cartoon.
The Doctor laughs, his head thrown back from the force of it. "I might be dramatic, but I'm not that dramatic."
"Not that dramatic?" This man is nothing but dramatic.
"Oi." He grumbles. "At least let me have that one."
"Yeah, Yeah." I murmur, half distracted.
This is a marketplace. Where thousands of people travel through to get goods. It's not uncommon to catch the attention of someone. So why is the alien who's staring right at us form the back of the crowd pinging my senses like something's wrong?
The Doctor's good humor fades, his feet slowing to match the pace of mine. "Mabel?"
That's it. That's what bugging me. While the alien is looking at us, no one is looking at the alien. People are walking around it like they don't even notice it's there.
"Mabel?" The Doctor breaks my concentration.
I turn to him with a smile. "I swear you are one of the most dramatic people I know of."
He leans back, even as something that feels a lot like dread crawls down his spine. "What were you looking at in the crowd?"
"I wasn't looking at anything in the crowd." I state, concerned now. "I was looking at you the entire time."
The Doctor turns to look to his right, and I look as well.
But-
The whole world shifts, one second I'm standing in a market with the Doctor and the next I'm in a dim room, restrained to a chair with a woman standing in front of me.
The woman has a metal eyepatch on, and her other eye has a cat eye that's sharp enough to cut.
"What the fuck just happened?" I ask her.
"You got in our way." The woman states, clearly annoyed. "We weren't planning on taking any hostages, we just wanted intel on what the Doctor was planning."
Oh, I see. "And what makes you so sure that the Doctor is planning anything?"
The woman gives me a look like I dribbled on myself. "I'm not stupid, there's been sightings of the Tardis showing up and gathering allies."
"Why do I feel as though we've had this conversation before?" The hint of Deja vu is strong, the words invoking a memory of unease and anger.
"Because you have. Now what can you tell us about the Doctor?" The woman idly asks me.
"He's a mad man with a box." I answer dryly. "Also, who are you? I'm calling you 'the woman' in my head and it's starting to get annoying."
She smiles, the gesture more a baring of the teeth than anything else. "You can call me Madame Kovarian. And you know that's not what I was looking for. Tell me what you know of the Doctor, and what you know of his plans. Is he coming here?"
Kovarian then. Nice to have a name attached to the face.
"Question with a Question. Is here where Amy Pond and her child is being kept?" I counter, watching her expression.
Her expression which doesn't change, but the atmosphere of the room does. And I'm willing to bet that I'm right. This is the area where she's being held. That's good. Even if the Doctor isn't able to receive the information he wants from the Cyber Legion, he can just follow the connection to me.
The connection which is closed at the moment. I take a moment to hope that it's because he's shut his side down instead of anything these people have tried to do.
"What an expression on your face." Kovarian smiles, a thinning of her lips more than anything. It's clear that it's not supposed to be a comforting expression. "I think I almost felt afraid for a second."
My face? Ah, my face. Which has locked down and gone cold.
I tilt my head to the side in a paradigm of interest. "Well, I don't really get the warm and fuzzies when one of my friends gets kidnapped."
"It was a necessary evil, everyone does things they aren't proud of when it comes to war." Kovarian states.
I shake my head slowly. "There are no necessary evils in war. There are only people, and the actions they take to win."
They keep me here for what feels like…days? Maybe a week? I keep losing chunks of time. It's disorienting. And whole unsettling.
I still can't feel the Doctor in the back of my head. Which suggests that he's not blocking it like I had assumed, rather he's either too far away for our connection to fully realize itself or he's not in this time frame. The low grade headache that I get in response isn't quite as bad as the last one I'd had, which is one plus.
There's a good chance he's still collecting allies. But I wish he'd hurry up. From what I've been able to hear it seems like they are getting ready to move the child. Amy's child.
Escaping doesn't work. Every time I try I end up back in this room, tied to the chair again, with no idea of how I got here. It was frustrating.
I did have one thing going for me here, though. It seemed like they didn't actually know who I was. I hadn't given my name, and they hadn't asked. An oversight that I was going to take advantage of. And one I used to gather as much information as possible.
It was incredibly useful, the fact that they didn't know who I was you see. I could listen in on their conversations without them realizing I could hear them. Kovarian had a bad habit of stopping right outside the door of wherever they had me locked up at and talking with people.
But then, one day, my connection with the Doctor clicks into place like a supernova. I'm glad I was alone to be honest, the strength of his anger something that I've never felt from him. All black rage and brilliant purpose.
Today was to be the day of escape then. Fantastic.
When Kovarian enters the room at fifteen after noon, like she does every day like clockwork, she pauses as she gets a good look at my face. "Well, that's a different look than normal."
I grin at her, all teeth and manic energy. "It was time for a change."
Kovarian narrows her eyes at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"That's for me to know, and for you to find out." I state, enjoying the twitch of annoyance it causes.
"I see." Kovarian murmur. "Well, it should please you to know that we're moving locations soon."
Please me? "Why..would that please me?"
The hateful woman studies the nails on her right hand, unconcerned. "Well, we've only kept you here to get information out of you. And we haven't really been successful on that front. So your use has waned."
"And let me guess, you're going to leave me behind." I state more than ask, already seeing where this is going.
"Precisely." Kovarian turns her attention from her nail to my face. Satisfaction is etched along the lines of her mouth, and around her eye.
I have a sinking feeling I know exactly where this is going. "But, I now know the faces and voices of your operatives."
Kovarian laughs. "You are quick, aren't you?" She pulls a knife from somewhere out of the back of her clothes. "I do so hate to get my hands dirty, but you've been very annoying."
"And how far the church has fallen." I murmur, uncaring of the way it makes her eyes narrow.
She advances, but it's clear from the way she's holding the knife that this type of warfare is unfamiliar to her. This is probably just another attempt to get information from me. Intimidate me with a knife and maybe I'll talk.
Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the light takes that moment to flicker off.
I seize that moment, springing up from my chair, the ropes holding my hands long since unraveled. We struggle in the dark, the two of us, but I have the upper hand physically.
"What's going on?" Kovarian spits, I can feel some of the splatter hit the side of my face.
I laugh. "The Doctor has found you, Kovarian. Your bogeyman is here."
In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have taunted the woman who had a knife in her hand. She breaks out of the hold I have on her wrists, and her knife find the flesh it's been hungry for.
It slides into my chest from the side, and glances off one of my ribs before driving itself into soft tissue. I shriek, the sound torn from my chest.
The Doctor's shock sings through me, but then his determination quickly rushes forward to replace it. I tuck that determination around me like a shield against the pain. It doesn't really work, but it's better than being in pain alone.
Kovarian laughs, high and harsh. "The Doctor might be here, but that doesn't mean he's going to get what he's come for."
"That's where you're wrong Kovarian." I cough, the pain whiting out my vision for a split second. "You won't be taking Amy and her child away today."
"We will see, won't we?" She asks me, rhetorically. But it seems as if she's tired of the back and forth, I can hear the shifting of fabric, then the click of her heels as she approaches the door.
"Kovarian!" I snarl, but she doesn't pause.
She actually leaves me here, like a dog to be put down.
It's hard work, every time I move the knife slides one way or another, bringing with it more pain, but I eventually make it to the far wall. Like magic, as soon as I lean myself against it, the lights come back on.
At least I'm able to take in the damage now. The knife is far higher than I originally thought it had been, which was concerning, as it looked dangerously close to my heart. In fact, it had managed to cut through enough of my bra that I'd have to pitch the whole thing.
The blood was also all over my shirt. Ugh this whole outfit was ruined now.
Rapid footsteps interrupt my introspection, and they are the only thing that keeps me from flinching when the door bangs open. It's the Doctor, my Doctor. He's here.
"Mabel!" He shouts, and between one moment and the next he travels from the doorway to my side, hands hovering over my chest.
"Doctor." I murmur. "They ruined my outfit."
"Your outfit?" The Doctor frowns at me. "I think they ruined more than your outfit Mabel." His hands come up to cradle my face as he peers into my eyes. "You're in shock."
Oh, is that what that is? Funny.
But the Doctor has moved on it seems, hands going down to my shirt. He's careful, but it still jostles the knife when he rips my shirt open. I groan, a pitiful sound.
"Sorry, Sorry." He murmurs. "I just needed to see the dam-" The Doctor inhales, a sharp sound. "Oh Mabel."
I look down, now able to see the entirely of my chest. The Doctor has ripped my whole shirt in half to see what was going on. It's..not the prettiest of sights. "Doctor."
He pulls back far enough that he can pull something out of his pocket. The whirling sounds lets me know it's a sonic before my mind can cooperate enough to put the image with a word. It hums, but it's clear that the information it's giving the Doctor isn't something he's pleased about. "I don't have anything to heal this here." My partner tells me. "And I'm sorry but you're going to have to be very brave."
"Brave?" I ask, confused. Brave… That word sparks something, a memory. "Doctor, Amy!"
The Doctor shushes me, pressing me back into the wall. "Rory's got her, we'll go to see her after, okay?"
After.."After what?"
His hand settles on the handle of the knife. "Ready?"
Oh. Suddenly, my brain kicks into overdrive, connecting everything that I'd been missing. The Doctor was going to pull the knife out, but he didn't have anything to heal me. I would have to be brave because I was going to... "Docto-"
But he doesn't even let me finish my sentence, pulling the knife out in one solid yank. I scream again, voice cracking from the pain, which then trails off into pained whimpers.
"I know, I know. I'm so sorry Mabel." The Doctor murmurs, and I realize that he's pulled me to his chest in a hug.
I cough, and this time blood travels up my throat with it, spilling over my lip. "..urts.."
He presses a kiss to the side of my head. "Yes, I can feel that it does. But you can fix it."
But I don't know how. "..I.."
"Your body knows what to do, just let it do what it needs to." The Doctor tells me, voice tight with emotion.
Almost as if him saying that was the cue, a tingling starts up in my fingertips. The Doctor kisses my forehead again, then detangles his body from where he'd been cradling me. The only reason I don't panic is that his mind stays tightly intertwined with mine. The tingle spreads, encompassing every part of my body. It turns vicious then, a boiling battering ram that rages its way over everything. Getting stabbed didn't even hurt this much.
Suddenly, it's over. The screaming, my screaming, abruptly cuts off. The silence is deafening, and the only thing I'm able to comprehend is the doublebeats of my hearts.
"Oh that really is wizard." I murmur. Everything is so strange. New hearing, new eyes. The shuffle of a foot in my direction.
"Mabel." The Doctor says, kneeling down next to me. His smile is watery but undeniably fond. "Hello."
"Doc-tor" I overexaggerate. My face falling into a beaming grin. I reach out and grab his bow tie, using it to pull him into a kiss.
It's awkward at first, new teeth, new tongue, but as I re-learn how to use everything the kiss gentles into something familiar. But, as quick as I pulled him into a kiss, I use the same hands to push him away.
He falls back onto the ground, gaping at me.
"Oi!" I yell at him. "What the hell was that!"
The Doctor stares at me for a second, his surprised expression falling away in exchange for something soft. And sappy. His words, on the other hand, are anything but. "Well, I was thinking that you could die now, or you could die in 30 minutes. But we are kind of on a timeline, so I thought I'd speed things up."
I blink at him, unimpressed. "Oh, the romance."
He laughs, hand brushing a piece of my hair out of my eyes. "Braveheart Mabel, I'm always a romantic."
For some reason, the action causes me to blush. The heat travels across my cheeks, and on down the bridge of my collar bones. "Stop it."
"Never." The Doctor murmurs, fingers tugging on a piece of my hair. "Though talking about unfairness. You actually got ginger before me!"
"I'm ginger now?" I ask, pulling my significantly longer hair into my face to check for myself. It's very ginger, very much so.
Scrambling to my feet, I examine the rest of me as best as I can. I seem to be taller now, as made clear by the gap between my shirt's bottom and the strip of belly I have showing. Also, once the Doctor stands up it's easy to see that I won't have to lean up as far to kiss this him either.
Ginger, ginger. Why is that throwing off important warnings in my brain. I gasp, whirling around to face the Doctor. "Amy!"
"Yes, we should probably go check on that part of the plan." He admits. "I wanted to give you a minute to get used to your new body first."
"Anything could have happened!" I scold. "There's no time to waste. Let's go!" Aiming for the door, I start walking with a purpose.
The Doctor darts after me. "Mabel, you're not even dressed properly. I've been keeping in touch with the others anyways. The hostiles have been neutralized and Rory stopped Kovarian before she took off with the baby."
I frown down at my clothing. The Doctor had tore my shirt open, and my bra was only hanging on by a thread. But the Doctor would look silly if I asked for his shirt. Stopping abruptly, I strip out of my shirt and bra, ignoring the Doctors squeaks as he tries to cover me up from the attention of the guards in the halls.
I'm not worried about them, let them look. The only thing that would concern me is if they were attacking, and it seems like the Silurians who are stripping them of their weapons have it under control. Throwing my bra over my shoulder, I shrug my ruined shirt back on, tying it under my boobs like a swimsuit. Or a fake cowgirl. Whatever, at least it makes me descent and stops the Doctor from his fussing.
"Mabel!" He scolds me, exasperated.
"Doctor!" I reply, with the same intensity.
The Doctor blows a sharp burst of air out of his nose. Placing a hand on my lower back, he starts leading me back down the hallway. "I know you've just regenerated and things are all wibbly now, but you're going to have to stay focused now dear."
"I am focused." I remind him. "It was you who was fussing about me not being properly clothed."
There's something bugging me. I feel as though I'm missing something big. With a sharp mental smack, I finally realize what it is.
"Why do I have a Scottish accent now?" I exclaim. "This is ridiculous. Oh, Amy is never going to let me live this down."
The Doctor hides his smile in my hair. It's no use, I can feel how much this amuses him.
"It's not funny Doctor. She's going to take one look at me and laugh her ass off." I grouch. I feel as though this will be my grouching body. I'm ginger and Scottish. I can argue with the best of them now.
"We'll get to that when we get to it." He tells me. Some of the banked rage I can still feel in him is rising to the surface the farther we walk.
I brush my shoulder against his, a show of support. The familiar urge to keep the peace is notably missing. Understandably, as this organization has stolen one of our companions and they are intending to do something with said companions newborn daughter.
Not on our watch.
"You called in the Silurians, who else?" I ask him, half formed plans rattling around in my mind. "Did you get to Dorian?"
The Doctor's hand clenches against my back. "Yeah, and a couple of our old friends."
Humming in response, I turn my head to look at him. "I'm assuming that means Jack." The one spot of offness radiating from the base is unmistakable now that I'm looking for it.
"Yes, Vastra and Jenny too. And a couple of others you haven't met quite yet." He fills in, a hint of approval in his returning look. Even that fades though, as we turn the corner and come within sight of an open door.
The room we enter is full of people. A Silurian is there, standing next to a woman. Both of them are wearing Victorian style clothing, so I'm going to assume that they are Vastra and Jenny that the Doctor told me about so very long ago. A person who resembles a very tall potato is pointing a gun at Kovarian and the General who was in charge of the base.
There is a blue man in the back corner, Dorian I assume. And then there is Jack.
It takes less than a second to process this information, and in that time frame I can see the look of realization that flits across Kovarian's face.
Ignoring Vastra's startled exclamation, and Jack's concern, I bare my teeth at the women who tried to murder me. "Bet you didn't see that coming."
"Mabel." Kovarian closes her eyes briefly. "The wife of the Doctor."
"Not quite yet. That's yet to come for me, and yes, your information was very wrong." I tell her, enjoying her anger. That's new, I've never been this vindictive before.
It takes her a second to respond, but she does so with her normal composure. "A miscalculation, not that it matters now." Kovarian scoffs. "Should have just went straight for the shuttle."
She's hiding something. I can practically taste it in the air. Narrowing my eyes, I study her expression. "Doctor, how did she grab Amy in the first place?"
He glances at me, mouth a harsh line across his face. "A flesh avatar. The body aboard the Tardis was a decoy. They synced her mind to the flesh avatar but her real body was with them the whole time."
"And you've retrieved Amy's child?" I ask him.
"Yes, Rory stopped them." The Doctor turns to me, confused now. "What is all this about?"
I ignore him and take a step closer to Kovarian. "You're good, but not good enough." Tilting my head to the side, I enjoy the look of confusion that comes over her face. "Where's the real child?"
"They took the child back." Kovarian sneers. The tightening at the corner of her lips gives her away though.
"They retrieved a child, a flesh avatar just like Amy." A muscle in her jaw jumps, likely in result to her clenching her teeth. I turn to the others, waving a hand to silence their questions. "This is very important, don't let anyone leave this base until the real child is found."
Jack nods, straightening up into attention before taking off from the room.
The Doctor places a hand on my shoulder, gaining my attention. "Mabel, what makes you think that the child is a flesh avatar?"
"They never realized that I was anything other than human." I explain. "I overheard them talking on multiple occasions. They never came out and said it directly, but I can understand subtext."
"What are you going to do now?" The Colonel asks, back straightening as our attention swings to him.
"Now?" The Doctor tilts his head. "You're asking me what's going to happen after you've kidnapped, and attempted to kill my wife?" While his voice started off low and dangerous, it's risen to a dangerous snarl. "After you've taken our companion and her child? You're really asking what happens next?"
The Colonel swallows, scared but continuing on in spite of it. I'd almost feel bad for him if he hadn't had a hand in all of this. "Yes."
Lips curling away from his teeth, the Doctor takes a step closer to the two people who have manufactured this whole situation.
I don't stop him.
This is normally where I would say something to get him to back down, but I can't even find the urge to try. My death, and subsequent regeneration, is something that I'm not all that mad about. But little Amelia Pond. Who they stole, and terrified, and tried to steal her baby. Now that isn't something that I can forgive.
The Doctor takes one more step, then pauses, throwing a brief glance in my direction. He closes his eyes against whatever expression I'm making. "Colonel, today seems to be a lucky day for you."
"Lucky day." The Colonel's voice is flat, unamused.
"Things are happening, things that I'm not going to explain to you. But it means that instead of going with my first instinct, I'm going to have to think of something else to do with you." The Doctor opens his eyes, turning his attention back to the Colonel.
The Colonel's chest pushes out, anger manifesting in a physical way.
The Doctor makes a sharp motion with his hand, cutting the Colonel off before he can even get started. "Yes, I think that would be best. Colonel Manton, I want you to tell your men to run away."
"You what." The General states.
"Those words." The Doctor reiterates. He is all cold rage and protective determination. "Run away. I want you to be famous for those exact words. I want people to call you Colonel Run Away." He paces, one lap down the room and one lap back, his voice steadily rising. "I want children laughing outside your door, because they've found the house of Colonel Run Away. And, when people come to you, and ask if trying to get to me through the people I love-"
The Doctor pauses, taking a deep breath. When he speaks next his voice is tight with control, and his smile is anything but pleasant. "-is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name."
"The anger of a good man is not a problem." Kovarian states. "Good men have too many rules."
I turn to look at her, and so does the Doctor. He's careful, controlled. But his words still come out with a bite. "Good men don't need rules. Today is not the day to find out why I have so many."
Kovarian swallows, the motion almost unnoticeable as her eyes going to the General. "Give the order." She then turns her face to look at me. "Give the order, Colonel Run Away."
And he does. The General is pale, and shaking, but he gives the order.
And then there is silence.
But then there is Jack. He claps his hands, ignoring the dirty looks he gets for startling people. "We'll finish up here if you want to go check on the lovebirds."
I look at the Doctor, and he looks at me. It's a good idea, we are too close to this issue to handle it in any way other than personally. Plus, I really want to see Amy.
The Doctor nods, jerking his head towards the door.
It doesn't take us long to get to the room, if the door he stops in front of is any indication. The sonic whirls, and I notice that it's actually my sonic, but before I get a chance to say anything the door pops open and the Doctor darts forward. He doesn't get very far before he abruptly stops, doing an about face "Urgh. Kissing and crying. I'll, I'll be back in a bit."
Rolling my eyes, I pull him back into the room with me. Amy and Rory are there, their baby cradled between the two of them.
Reversing the grip I have on his arm, the Doctor leads us down to the group, big gaping smile on his face as he takes in the family.
Amy looks at me, teary eyed. "My daughter, Mabel, it's my daughter."
I hug her tight, making sure not to smother the baby. "Oh Amelia Pond, you miracle." I pull back to look at the both of them, mother and child, and feel my face wibble as it tries to cry as well.
Amy hands her daughter over, and I panic for a second, nervous that I'm going to drop her. That doesn't happen of course, and then I'm staring down at the child of the little girl I've watched grow up form a child herself.
Something shifts inside of me, a piece clicking into place. The lingering remnants of my dark mood from earlier evaporate like smoke. This child is important.
With a bolt of shook, I realize that this child is also very familiar.
Melody's face scrunches up as if she's going to start crying, and I start rocking her. "Hello, little Melody." My voice comes out soft, almost breathless.
The Doctor reaches out a finger and lets Melody grab onto it. "Hello Melody Pond."
"Melody Williams." Rory corrects.
"Is a geography teacher." Amy responds instantly, irritated. The irritation disappears as soon as she looks back down at the baby. "Melody Pond is a superhero."
I hand Melody back over to Amy, hands gentle. Amy smiles down at the bundle in her arms, before shooting me a look of confusion. "Wait, how'd you know her name was Melody?"
"Oh Amelia, what else would you name your daughter?" I ask her in an attempt to divert the attention from my mess up. Now is not the time for me to tell her that we fail at some point. In fact, I tuck that knowledge, and the resulting feelings that causes as far back into my mind that I can.
She laughs, eyes watery once again. Rory clears his throat, looking happy and awkward and proud. "We've discussed this before, what we'd do if-when we had children." He looks at Amy with a tender expression. "We want you to be her god parents."
God parents. I look over at the Doctor who looks just as shocked as I am. God parents, to Amy and Rory's daughter.
The Doctor recovers first, clasping my hand tight in his. "Of course we will."
"Oh god." I say, wiping my other hand across my eyes. "Sorry, I don't mean to cry. It's just-"
"We're so happy." The Doctor finishes. He pauses, sobering a little, before looking back up at Amy. "I'm sorry we took so long."
"It's okay." Amy smiles, a brave little thing. "I knew you guys were coming."
The Doctor scoops her up in a hug, inhaling, before releasing her with a pleased look on his face. Melody coos, the sound carrying with it a sense of scorn and a flash of big hair. He reaches up and touches the crown of his head. "No, no it's my real hair."
Melody spits out a bubble at him. Teasing. The Doctor straightens his bow tie. "Not it's not. It's cool."
I squeeze his hand, almost overwhelmed by the whole situation. My emotions are all over the place, bogged down and swirling.
Amy gives the Doctor an irritated look. "Okay, what are you doing?"
"I speak baby." He explains. Well that explains it, I'm fairly certain I'm getting that as well.
"No, you don't." Amy insists.
"I speak everything." The Doctor tells her, voice soft. He reaches out and lets Melody grab onto his finger once again. "Don't I Melody Pond?"
"Doctor, Mabel!" Vastra rushes into the room. "They're leaving. And not a drop of blood spilled."
The Doctor walks over to the window, a neutral look on his face as he watches what's gong on below.
I clap my hands, just as Jack had done earlier, getting everyone to look at me. "As much as I'd love to stay here, I think it's time to go somewhere else."
"Fantastic idea." The Doctor rushes back over to us, urging Amy and Rory out of the room. "The Tardis is close, let's go there."
The Tardis is close, only a five minute walk, and everyone but Vastra piles in. She declines, saying she needs to get back to the control room to further go through the data.
"I'll come get you if I find anything." Vastra promises.
The Doctor nods, throwing the dematerialization lever as soon as she closes the door. "Just a short hop to the hanger room, we shouldn't leave until we find out just what was going on here. And why they wanted Melody in the first place."
"Agreed." I purse my lips, glancing in the direction of the Ponds. "I don't like this. Kovarian's plan of swapping the child with a flesh avatar and escaping didn't work. So why does it feel as though we are still missing something?"
"Vastra and Dorian are working with the computers as we speak." The Doctor tells me. "The only thing we can do right now is wait for them to go through the information."
Frowning at the doors, I concede. "I suppose."
The Doctor places a hand on my shoulder, using it to spin me to face him. "Everything is going to be fine."
"Don't say that." I grumble even as I lean further into the comfort of his body. "Every time someone says that things immediately go wrong."
"Looks like you got that Scottish grumpiness in addition to the red hair and accent." He teases me, eyes fond. "Though it is odd to hear it with the American words you are used to saying."
I huff out a laugh, amused despite myself. "So how is it then?"
The Doctor tilts his head. "How's what?"
"This body." I gesture down at myself. "What's it like?" Despite the bravado I'm trying to push to the surface, nerves rise up. It was one thing to ignore it while there was still work to be done but-well. This was an entirely different body. My body now, I suppose. I hadn't even seen myself in the mirror yet.
What if the Doctor didn't like this me?
Surging forward, the Doctor immediately cups the side of my face and pulls me in for a kiss. It's different from the one we shared earlier, more urgent. All it takes is the flick of his tongue, a clever trick with his fingers along the side of my neck and I'm putty in his hands.
"I will never not like any body you have." He tells me, pulling back form the kiss to rest his forehead against mine. The sincerity coming off of him is so strong that I'm almost swimming in it.
Overwhelmed by this show of support, the only thing I can do is place my hand over his, smiling with this new strange mouth of mine.
And, well. It's me, so I pull him down into another kiss. His mouth opens with my gentle urging. The fact that he's so receptive is…really very attractive.
The Doctor makes a low noise of approval, before abruptly pulling away. He closes his eyes, pressing a hard kiss to the side of my head. "Now's probably not the best time for that dear."
Taking note of the strained quality to his voice, and at just how keyed up I am from two kisses, I'd have to agree with him on that one. Pressing one last kiss to his jaw line, I pull back from the comfort of his body. "Yes, yes. Of course."
He opens his eyes, hyper focused on me.
Amy clears her throat, gaining our attention. "I'm not entirely sure what that was, but we have more important things to worry about." And she's right. Melody is crying.
I reach out for her, waiting for Amy's nod before I finish picking her up. "Hey there Melody, what's the matter?"
"She doesn't like the Tardis noise." Amy explains, looking over at the Doctor. "Any chance of turning something off?"
The Doctor frowns at her. "You know I can't do that." Pulling the lever once again, the Tardis shakes a bit as we materialize.
Melody keeps crying. I get a sense of multiple faces, and darkness. Silence.
Ah, I get it now. At least I think I do. Some newly awakened instinct I didn't even know I had rears its head and I start to pace back and forth while rocking her. "I know all the people are exciting, so many new faces to see. But they'll be there when you wake up I promise."
She seems unimpressed with my words, pausing her crying just long enough to look up at me before continuing.
"I know, I know. I'm just a stranger too." I continue the rocking motion. "But I'm your God mom, you can trust me on that."
"What are you doing?" Amy asks me, wry look on her face. "Are you going to tell me that you speak baby now too?"
I laugh softly, lowering my voice in response to the quiet that's now echoing around the room. "You know what? I really think I can."
Melody blinks up at me, yawning, her little mouth opening as wide as it can go.
My hearts go sort of wibblly wobbly in response. I gesture for Rory to get the door, keeping my voice down. "Might as well go out, we still need answers."
As soon as we leave the Tardis doors, Jenny approaches us. "Rory!"
I shush her, nodding down to the sleepy baby in my arms.
"Sorry." She whispers in response, before turning back to Rory. "The Judoon have escorted the Clerics out of the quadrant. Spitfires have returned to their own time. Captain Avery and his men are going as well."
Rory nods at her. "Good, they did a good job today."
The Doctor comes out of the Tardis doors holding an old wooden cot. I hadn't even noticed he had left in the first place. He places the cot on one of the military cargo boxes, fiddling with the little mobile of stars hanging from the top.
"What's this?" Amy asks, running her thumb over one of the metal stars.
"It's a, it's a cot." Rory says, surprise in his voice.
The Doctor looks very close to rolling his eyes. "No flies on the Roman." He reaches for Melody and I transfer her as gently as I can into his arms.
"Melody Pond." The Doctor breathes, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. He then lowers her into the cot. "There we go, how's that?"
Melody smacks her lips together, breathing evening out into something more uniform. The trust in the action is staggering.
"But where would you get a cot?" Rory asks, still stuck on the fact.
"It's old. Really old." Amy's eyes flicker between the two of us. "Do the two of you have children?"
The Doctor ignores the question, reaching down to adjust the blankets around Melody's body. And so do I. I don't want any sneak peaks right this moment. It's enough knowing what I already know.
"Doctor. Who slept in here?" Amy pushes.
"Doctor, Mabel, we need you in the main control room." Vastra's voice crackles over the intercom. Perfect timing.
"Be right there!" The Doctor calls back, before turning back to Amy and Rory. "Things to do. We've still got to work out what this base is for. We can't leave till we know." Grabbing my hand, he pulls me in the direction of the door.
"But this is where I was?" Amy asks, voice uncharacteristically hesitant. "The whole time I thought I was on the Tardis, I was really here?"
Oh Amelia. I don't really have to even think about it, one moment I'm with the Doctor and the next I'm with Amy, throwing my arms around her. She ducks her head into my shoulder, hands tight with strain from their grip in my clothes. The Doctor comes up behind her and places a hand on her shoulder.
"At all times. You were on the Tardis, too. Your heart, your mind, your soul." He tells her. "But physically, yes, you were still in this place."
"And when I saw that face looking through the hatch, that woman looking at me." Amy pulls back from the hug with me just in time to get swept up with a hug from the Doctor.
"Reality bleeding through. They must have taken you quite a while back. Just before America." The Doctor explains.
"So her Flesh avatar was with us all that time." Rory chimes in. "But that means they were projecting a control signal right into the Tardis wherever we were in time and space."
The Doctor pulls back from the hug as well. "Yeah, they're very clever."
Amy's eyes flicker between the two of them. "Who are?"
"Whoever wants our baby." Rory tells her.
"But why do they want her?" Amy asks, sounding lost.
"That's why we're still here. We need to figure that out." And speaking of finding things out, it's about time we went and saw what Vastra was calling us for.
"Is there anything you're not telling us?" Rory, stops us from leaving once more. "You knew Amy wasn't real. You never said."
The Doctor pauses, looking over at Rory with tired eyes. "Well, I couldn't be sure they weren't listening."
"But you always hold out on us. Please, not this time. Doctor, it's our baby. Tell us something." Amy practically begs. "One little thing."
I squeeze his hand, encouraging.
"It's my cot." The Doctor offers. "I slept in there." Then using our linked hands, he pulls me away before they can ask anymore questions.
It doesn't stop me from hearing Amy's quiet joy. "Oh my god Rory, it's the Doctor's first stars."
Bumping our shoulders together, I smile up at him when he looks over. "The Doctor's first stars."
"Shut up." He grumbles, turning just the tiniest bit pink around the ears.
As soon as we enter the room, the Doctor lights up. "Alya!" He darts across the room and pulls the woman that's standing beside Jack into an enthusiastic hug. Alya hugs back, a look of joy on her face. "It's been a while since we've seen you."
"You know how it is." Alya teases, pulling back. "I've been busy."
"To busy to even visit?" The Doctor raises an eyebrow in disapproval.
Alya rolls her eyes, not reacting to that. She turns her head to look at me, a smile still lingering around the corners of her mouth. "Can you believe this? He's lecturing me on not visiting. We all know you're the one who reminds him of where to go and who's next on the list."
I send her an uncertain smile. "Sounds like something I'd do."
She sends a sharp look at the Doctor. He shakes his head once, the motion subtle. "Oh." Alya breathes out, looking hurt for a brief second. But, by the time she turns back to me, the expression is gone from her face entirely, replaced by a cocky smirk. "The names Alya, nice to meet you."
"Hello Alya." I send her a proper smile this time. She's more than likely someone very important in my future and I have no desire to cause her anymore pain. "It's nice to meet you as well."
"What? No greeting for me?" Jack asks, breaking the tense atmosphere.
I roll my eyes, going over to give him a hug nonetheless. "Of course, can't leave you out, even though we saw each other earlier."
Jack picks me up off the floor and swings me around. "Of course not!" He sets me down, frowning down at my shirt. "It wasn't the time to ask about it before, but what's with the cowgirl outfit?"
"You know, I kind of forgot about that." I muse, looking down at my torn and repurposed shirt. "My shirt and bra got cut open and he was freaking out about it." I don't even have to look over at the Doctor to know he's making a face at my back. "So I fixed the problem."
I'm sure Jack had a witty remark lined up, but it seems like he's finally noticed the blood stain along the side of my shirt. It only takes him a second to make the connection. "This." Jack hesitates. "This is a lot of blood."
The Doctor places a hand on my back, turning me away from the conversation and towards Dorian who's at the computer console. I'm rather grateful for it, I don't know what I would have said in response.
"You've hacked into their software, then?" The Doctor asks.
"I believe I sold it to them." Dorian responds.
The Doctor hums. "So what have we learned?"
Vastra takes a step closer to us. "That anger is always the shortest distance to a mistake."
"I'm sorry?" The Doctor turns towards her, his form very still.
I place a hand on his back and he instantly relaxes.
"The words of an old friend who once found me in the London Underground, attempting to avenge my sisters on perfectly innocent tunnel diggers." Vastra continues, sending me an approving look.
"Well, you were very cross at the time." The Doctor retorts.
"As you were today, old friend. Point taken, I hope." The Doctor nods, looking at me for a brief second. Vastra straightens. "Now, I have a question. A simple one. Is Melody human?"
"Melody is Amy and Rory's daughter." I answer, not ready to voice my suspicions.
The Doctor laughs. "What kind of question is that? Of course she's human."
"They've been scanning her since she was born, and I think they found what they were looking for." Dorian states, clicking a button and bringing up a strand of Melody's DNA.
"Human DNA." The Doctor insists.
"Look closer. Human plus." Vastra looks at the two of us. "Specifically, human plus Time Lord."
The DNA strand turns and an invisible forth strand appears. One that denotes a link to the time vortex, that only a Gallifreyan should be able to have.
"That's impossible." The Doctor breathes. "She's human. She's Amy and Rory's daughter!"
I look over at Jack, nodding to the door. He takes the hint, pulling Alya with him.
Vastra purses her lips at the Doctor's stubbornness. "You've told me about your people. They became what they did through prolonged exposure to the time vortex. The Untempered Schism."
"Over billions of years." He stresses. "It didn't just happen."
"So how close is she? Could she even regenerate?" Vastra asks.
"No." The Doctor answers immediately, then hesitates. "No, I don't think so."
I close my eyes. "Yes."
"What?" The Doctor states more than asks.
"Melody will be able to regenerate." I reiterate, opening my eyes to see their expressions. Vastra looks unsurprised, but the Doctor is gaping at me.
He shakes his head in disbelief. "And just how can you know that?"
"Because I've met her before. Melody, I mean. And she looked nothing like she looks now." I look the Doctor dead in the face. "Same girl, different face."
"I don't understand how this is possible." The Doctor runs a hand through his hair roughly.
"Which leads me to ask when it happened." Vastra chimes in.
He pauses. "When?"
"I am trying to be delicate." Vastra rolls her eyes. "When did this baby begin?"
"If Melody was conceived in the Tardis, could that have-"
The Doctor cuts me off. "No! No! Impossible! It's all running about, sexy fish vampires and blowing up stuff. And Rory wasn't even there at the beginning. Then he was dead, then he didn't exist, then he was plastic. Then I had to reboot the whole universe. Long story. So, technically the first time they were on the Tardis together in this version of reality, was on their wed-" He cuts himself off, eyes flickering in thought.
"On their wedding night." I finish, the word he was about to say a clear indicator.
"It doesn't just work that way." The Doctor insists. "You can't just cook yourself a Time Lord."
"Of course not." Vastra agrees. "But you gave them one hell of a start, and they've been working very hard ever since."
"And yet they gave in so easily. Does this not that bother anyone else?" Dorian asks.
"Yes." I look at Dorian. "This was way to easy. We stopped Kovarian from taking off with the real Melody but it still feels as though we are missing something."
"Amy. She worried the baby would have a time head. She said that-" The Doctor trails off, looking introspective.
"Only you would ignore the instincts of a mother." Vastra scolds.
"Or the instincts of a coward." Dorian continues. "This is too easy. There's something wrong."
"Why even do it?" The Doctor asks. "Even if you could get your hands on a brand new Time Lord, what for?"
"A weapon?" Vastra offers immediately.
"Why would a Time Lord be a weapon?" He looks at her, confused.
Vastra flicks her eyes between the two of us, hesitating. "Well, they've seen the two of you."
The two of us.
The Doctor sits down abruptly.
"The both of you are right." Vastra acknowledges. "This was too easy. We should get back to the others."
Dorian and Vastra leave, and I go with them. The Doctor looks preoccupied with his own thoughts right now.
He might be able to afford the luxury of time to process things, but I can't. When Mels was in Leadworth, she was an orphan who lived with the church. She had definitely regenerated, so there was no telling when she was taken.
The rules dictated that Melody would be taken, but I'd do my best to make sure that it didn't happen on this day.
I make it to the hanger just in time for a force field to surround the Tardis.
"What's that?" Amy asks, holding Melody to her chest.
"A force field." I say, before Vastra can reach out and touch it. "We need to get you out of here."
A loud clicking noise resonates across the hangar. "And those are the doors locking." A woman, a cleric, says to us.
Vastra hisses. "Apparently we're not leaving."
A soft chanting starts.
Rory looks around in alarm. "Is that the Monks?"
"Oh, dear God." Dorian states. "That's the attack prayer."
"Alright then." I put an arm around Amy. "Let's get you as far away this as we can."
"Wait." Jack hands me a gun. "You're going to need that."
I nod my thanks. Rory takes over, leading us to a section of cargo crates.
Amy kneels down slowly, rocking Melody who's started crying once again. Seems like she's picking up the tension in the air. "Rory, no offence to the others, but you let them all die first, okay?"
Rory laughs. "You're so Scottish."
They kiss, and I respectfully avert my eyes.
"Centurion, you're needed!" Vastra calls.
Nodding one last time at Amy, Rory leaves, straight backed and full of confidence.
What ever happened to that shy little boy I watched grow up? I guess he came into his own at some point when I wasn't paying attention.
"Mabel." Amy hisses. "Get down."
I drop down in a crouch, thumbing the safety off of the gun Jack gave me to use.
And then it's a waiting game. The sound of laser blasts fills the air, a counterpoint to the oppressive chanting that's still there.
Then everything goes silent, except for the sound of Melody crying. A sound which is going to bring everyone right to us. Rapid footsteps approach our location and I bring the gun up immediately, firing off a round as soon as a head peaks around the corner.
"Hey!" Jack exclaims, ducking back behind the cargo container.
"Idiot!" I scold at him, thumbing the safety back on. "I could have shot you in the head! You don't just run up on someone with a gun like that!"
Jack pokes his head out hesitantly, reaching up to touch the thin trail of blood along his temple. "I think you did shoot me."
"I'm guessing we won?" Amy interrupts, frustrated.
"The monks are down." Jack tells her, dropping the comedy act. "But the forcefield is still up."
"Not for much longer." I assure them. The Doctor is close now, I can him.
Rory comes around the corner, and the new parents share a moment of relief. Feeling as if I'm intruding a bit by staying, I leave them to it, Jack coming with me.
I hand his gun back. Jack nods his thanks, walking over to Alya and leaving me by myself.
Vastra comes over to me. "There's a woman here who wants to speak with you. Her name is Lorna, she came to warn us."
The woman in the cleric uniform. As I approach it becomes clear to me that she's not going to make it. I put on my best smile for her anyways. "Hello Lorna." I kneel by her side, grabbing a hold onto her hand.
"Mabel." Lorna breathes.
"That's me." I squeeze her hand. "You did a very brave thing, helping us. Thank you."
"I met you once, in the Gamma Forests. The Doctor and Mabel." She laughs once. "You don't remember me."
"Of course I remember you." I lie instantly. "You were younger then, and so brave."
Lorna smiles, just a small one, and then her chest stops moving.
"Who was she?" The Doctor asks, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"I don't know, but she was very brave." Vastra states.
"They're always brave." He responds, the words bitter. "They're always brave."
They are aren't they? I try my best to ignore Dorians head on the ground next to me, or Strax lying heavily against a cargo box a few feet away. It doesn't work.
I stand up abruptly, knocking the Doctor's hand off of my shoulder. "Did we get all the information we needed from the computers here?"
"Yes. And I've destroyed the database, no one will be able to pull the information from it again." The Doctor tells me.
"Then lets go." I lean against his shoulder, so very tired now. "Let's gather up our wounded and dead, and just leave this place."
Jack claps his hands together. "Sounds like a plan to me."
The hangar becomes a flurry of movement, everyone gathering themselves and their things. Once the Doctor lowers the forcefield, we all bustle onto the Tardis. I busy myself with showing the different guests to rooms, thought many of them already seem to have their own rooms, while the Doctor flies us away from this horrible place.
Once finished with that, I make my way to the kitchen where I fix two cups of tea. One sip is all it takes for it to really hit home just how different things are going to be now. My once favorite type of tea is now incredibly nasty.
That's how the Doctor finds me, making a face at the cup in my hands.
He sighs, plopping himself down into the chair next to me. "What has that tea ever done to you?"
"It's nasty." I complain, a pout pulling at the edges of my face.
"Different mouth, different rules." The Doctor comments, taking a long sip from his own cup of tea.
Different mouth, and different hands, and different hair. It hadn't really sunk in yet. Everything was different now.
The Doctor breaks me out of my thoughts by tapping me on the hand. "Your emotions are swirling dear. Penny for your thoughts?"
I frown, shaking my head. "I honestly don't know. Just a lot to process."
He nods, like he understands. And of course he does. The Doctor has changed his body countless times before. "All it takes is time."
Time huh? I suppose I really do have all the time now don't I. It had never truly sunk in before, the fact that I would properly regenerate. It's like something that you see on the television over and over again. It becomes fact, but then it happens to you and suddenly it's a while lot different than you thought it would be.
In another life, this would have been enough to terrify me. But now? I was just annoyed with my previous self for having those thoughts in the first place.
All of this raises another question though, if my own feelings about my own self image have changed so much with regeneration, what else have my feelings changed about? I turn the remnants of my attention to the Doctor.
To his credit, he doesn't even ask me what I'm doing, just sits there. Sipping his tea and looking so very handsome.
….
Well I guess that answers that question.
The butterflies have long since faded when it comes to this Doctor, time will temper every crush I guess, but the warmth and stirrings of devotion which have become common remain the same.
It occurs to me suddenly that love for people who live as long as the two of us do must be very different from everything that I've ever seen in movies or the like. Something that I've heard the Doctor say to Clara far in the future from this moment comes to mind.
I place a kiss to his palm, smiling at the sappy look it produces. That's exactly it. 'Love is not an emotion, it's a promise.' And I finally understand exactly what that means.
Every relationship has it's up and downs, every relationship has hardship. But you make a promise to someone when you love them, or you should. My bones themselves ache under the pressure of my promise, I love the Doctor.
It's like this regeneration has written that promise on every cell.
The Doctor sways forward, his eyes dark. "I can tell you know?" He reaches out with the other hand, finger brushing across my cheek. "Your whole body is tuned to me now."
The blush is involuntary, spreading across my cheeks and heating its way down my chest.
"But you know something else?" The Doctor continues, eyes following the color, even as he pulls back to gesture at himself. "This body has been tuned to you too. Just like the body before that."
Like in the console room. How the both of us were so easily able to rile the other up with only a couple of kisses.
There isn't much I can say in response to that, so I fall back on something that's grown into a habit. "You are such a sap."
The Doctor smiles, expression kind, and ever so mischievous. Like he knows something that I don't. "Of course I am."
Before I can call him out on it, he uses the grip he has on my hand to tug me into a standing position. "Come on now, you're about to crash. It's best to get you to a bed first."
"What do you mean I'm about to crash?" I ask him, frowning over my shoulder at the cups of tea sitting on the table. I had wanted to find something to drink that I liked at least.
"We'll have a taste test later." The Doctor states, still tugging me along the hallway. "And I mean you're going to crash. The only thing that had been keeping you on your feet was the adrenaline from earlier. It's best to rest a bit after regeneration, to let it settle. But-"
I raise an eyebrow at his sheepish expression. "But what?"
The Doctor's free hand comes up to scratch at the back of his head. "Well, neither of us seem to get that downtime after our regenerations, that's all."
Spoilers Doctor. Jeeze. "And I still don't think I'll be crashing, I don't feel tired at all."
Though my legs are getting a bit wobbily, come to think of it. And I'd repressed that yawn a couple of times. The Doctor sends me a knowing look. I willfully ignore it.
In the end though, my protests don't do anything to change his mind about the matter. He has me showered, pajama'd and in bed faster than I can process.
And then it's time for sleep.
He was right, damn him. Between the time it takes to close my eyes and set my head on the pillow I'm out.
And If I have any dreams at all, the only impression that is left behind is swirling stars and brilliant supernovas as the Tardis drifts in space. Because that's how the story goes. A box and the stars. Next stop everywhere.
Sketchtheunicorn: You missed the new chapter hahaha, hope you enjoy that the last two as much as you enjoyed chapter 17.
Catlorde: Thank you Catlorde! I don't often see people address the Doctor's mental state either, and I think it's incredibly important to bring up. Because the Doctor's actions are heavily guided by his mental state after the war. Especially with Eccleston.
Deathb4beauty: You are such a kind person! Thank you for every review, and all the feedback you've given me throughout this story!
Almadynis Rayne: Ahhhh, you always make me blush! (The last bit of the chapter was my favorite part of this chapter to write tbh)
Apocalypsebutterfly: Hmm, what was the other fic? (I'm always looking around for good oc fics. The lack of which is why I started this one in the first place.)
Silentdove93: Thank you for noticing the dynamic changes! I tried to make it natural, though it can be easy to fall into the trap of 'they are going to be together anyways so I don't need to add them becoming a couple before just jumping into it'. I hoped it had come across well, I'm glad it seemed to do so for you! 3
Twizziee: Thank you for the kind words Twizziee! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!
Grace-adalyn: Aww, thanks! I tried to give each Doctor their own little personally quirks or verbal ticks to show that though they may be the same person each regeneration is its own entity. Because there isn't quite as much material to work with when it comes to the 8th Doctor I tried to portray him how I saw him in the brief amount of time.