Surprise!
Thought I'd update a surprise chapter today. :) Got it done a little sooner than I thought I would since I wasn't in school today from being sick. I know having colds can be a pain, for a writer it's actually a blessing in disguise. Gives you plenty of time to relax comfy in bed and write away. ;)
I hope all you lovely readers will enjoy the new chapter! Take care!
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Chapter 39: Revealing the Truth
Wanda kept her head down as she walked briskly through the halls, avoiding contact with anyone else. She kept twisting her fingers together, trying to steady her trembling hands. She knew she should not feel this nervous and worried, but . . . he had not said anything in response. All the Doctor had done was stare at her in flabbergasted disbelief. As though he could not believe in his life what she had told him. Was this a bad sign? Was he rejecting the idea of her being pregnant? Did he not like it? Were her fears true and he was revolted by the very idea? She wanted him to say something . . . anything. But all he had uttered was 'what?' and did not give her any more clues on what he had been thinking of the news. What if he did not want her around anymore now that she was carrying a baby around? Would he send her off somewhere else, far, far away from him where he did not have to bother with being a father? No. No, that was silly. He would not do that to her, send her off like that. Would he?
"Wanda, wait!"
Slowly down in her steps, she turned to look over her shoulder, seeing the Doctor jogging up towards her with Donna and Agatha not far behind. Turning around, she kept her eyes averted still as they came up to her.
"What do you mean you're pregnant?" the Doctor asked her as soon as he was in front of her.
"I'm pregnant. What else would I mean?" said Wanda, shrugging slightly.
"B-but . . . I mean . . . Blimey," uttered the Doctor as he ran a hand through his hair, his eyes still as wide as ever. "When you said you had something to tell me you weren't kidding." He dropped his hand from his hair, letting it hang by his side as he shook his head, clearly his muddled mind. "Are you sure?"
"The TARDIS doesn't lie," Wanda said softly, keeping her eyes down. Moving her gaze upwards, she stared at him, seeing the blank look on his face as he remained motionless and silent. She held a weak smile, hoping to lighten the situation and mood. "Found out a few days ago. Tested myself in the medical bay. For something else at first, but then Sexy alerted me to this and, well, saw the results. Heh. Been trying to think of a way of telling you, but . . . situations kept coming up. Had to tell you sooner or later, though. So, here we are. Now you know." Her hands waved up as if presenting a gift. She let them drop to her sides as she continued to receive the blank stare from the Time Lord. Her eyes began to waver from her growing fears. "Doctor . . . please, say something."
Behind the Time Lord, Donna blinked out of her shock, frowning when she realized that the Doctor was still standing there stiffly, and Wanda appeared so fearful of what her lover would say about the pregnancy. Any new mother would be.
"Oi, Spaceman, quick gawking and tell Wanda how happy you are," Donna reprimanded the Doctor, slapping him roughly on the arm, jolting him out of his frozen state.
"Wh-what?" he stuttered, blinking as if unsure on what was happening. Scoffing, Donna rolled her eyes and pushed past him, walking up to the blonde girl and smiling warmly as she gave the Time Lady a happy hug.
"Well, I'm happy for you, sweetheart," Donna congratulated the Time Lady, taking a step back as she held Wanda's arms and beamed in excitement. "Only known for a few days, huh? Well, a little soon to ask what names you've got planned. But I cannot wait to start planning the baby shower! I love baby showers!" Wanda giggled as the companion bounced lightly on her feet, clearly ecstatic in the idea of helping to make plans for such an event.
"Congratulations," Agatha said politely to Wanda, nodding her head as she smiled softly. "I'm sure it's quite a shock in making such a discovery."
"Pretty shocking, yeah," agreed Wanda, nodding absently as she stared at the Doctor, hoping that he would say something. Anything. But still, he stood there in a daze, seeming unsure what to think. Then, suddenly, his eyes snapped into focus and he gazed at her with full resolve.
"Hold on," he said, reaching forward to grab her hand and began steering her off down the hall. "Agatha, stay here. Donna, come on." Looking over her shoulder as she was dragged along, Wanda saw Donna and Agatha sort of glance at each other with brows raised before the companion sped up in pace with the Time Lords.
"Doctor, where are we going?" questioned Wanda.
"I just need to see," he said quickly, not looking back at her as he practically ran down the hall. Evening sunlight hit their eyes as they exited the house, heading straight for the back lawn where the TARDIS was parked. Pushing the doors open, the Doctor pulled Wanda just up to the console, making her stand still as he made her place her arms to her sides. "Just hold still. I need to see."
"Need to see what?" she asked as she watched him bounce around the console, hitting different controls.
"What are you doing?" Donna asked as she stepped into the ship, closing the door behind her.
"I'm running a scan. I need to see," the Doctor mumbled as he spun a few dials on the controls, grabbing the scanner to bring it around so that he could stare carefully at the screen. Narrowing his eyes, he brought out his glasses, placing them on as he gazed steadily at the scans. The TARDIS console beeped, indicating that it had finished and was giving the Time Lord the results he was looking for. He stood there a moment. Just staring at the screen with no emotion written on his face. Then, slowly, an elated grin appeared. He let out a small watery laugh, running a hand through his messy hair as his eyes searched through the results on screen. "You're pregnant."
"Oh, no. Really? That's news to me," Wanda joked sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she walked over to him. "Why did you have to scan me? Did you not believe me?"
"No, no. I just . . . I should have sensed it," he muttered.
"Should have sensed what?" Donna asked as she walked up closer to the two. Both she and Wanda stared at the scanner, seeing the image of the Time Lady, only blacked out completely with a small energy reading indicated at her torso, surrounding her stomach. Then there were flashing words of 'positive' going across the screen. The very same thing the old girl had shown Wanda back in the medical bay. It was similar looking to the scans Eleven had run on Ganger Amy in the future.
"Well, when a Time Lady is pregnant . . . instincts start kicking in," the Doctor explained, taking off his glasses. He flipped the item in his hand as he stared at the ceiling in thought. "Other Time Lords around the carrying mother will heighten in telepathy for observing the child in making certain it's remaining stable in the womb. Helps keep the child alive in case of any complications arrive. It's an instinct that evolved in us as it is extremely difficult at times for a Time Lady to carry the child to full term. That, and we're bonded . . ." He glanced at Wanda, clearing his throat with a red tint forming on his face as he did not like bringing up their more intimate times in front of a companion. "Well, we're closer than normal, so it means I should have realized it immediately. But I didn't. Meaning . . . something's wrong."
He pulled out his sonic screwdriver after placing away his glasses, going up to Wanda to inspect her closer. With quick pulses he waved the sonic up and down, doing a scan in search for answers. Then, as Wanda remembered it doing back in the House's pocket universe, the screwdriver pulsed rapidly in high-pitched squeals. Going wild as if something greatly interfered with it. He frowned heavily as he banged the tool on his hand.
"No, don't do that. What's wrong with you?" he grumbled, placing up to his ear as he gave a few more pulses, trying to hear what might be wrong with the device. He had it tuned recently, so it should be in top order. Unless . . . He blinked as he stared at Wanda, realizing just how thick he truly was. She had appeared like this so many times in the past, and yet he never once bothered to look more properly. Or to see the signs of her pregnancy for that matter. He was Mr. Thick, thicky, thick. "I'm missing it, 'cause I'm not looking properly."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" asked Donna curiously, wondering why the sonic was acting up so strangely. She never remembered it making that kind of noise before.
"Wanda, did future me give you anything to wear recently? Like a necklace, or pin, or something else?" the Doctor questioned suddenly, walking up to the Time Lady. He turned his head to the side, sort of gazing at Wanda in the corner of his eye. Gazing at her straight on, he looked her up and down. "Anything at all?"
Frowning somewhat, Wanda's mind jumped to older Eleven making her take her necklace off that held her ring. And then younger Eleven had mumbled something about the ring when the sonic had gone on the fritz. Connecting two and two together, she reached up, pulling off the TARDIS chain that held the key for the ship, River's blue crystal, and the wedding ring. The Doctor grabbed it from her the moment she held it out, examining the silver chain, the blue crystal, and the TARDIS key. The crystal was ordinary. Nothing unusal there. Brows furrowing, all he could wonder was what had been done to the key. Taking the sonic, he began giving the necklace a few pulses, working out if his theory were true.
"Huh. A perception filter. Perception camouflage matrix. Misdirection circuit. Telepathic deluder. Ooh, look at all that was done here. He really didn't want anyone discovering you now did he?" The Doctor kept checking the readings on the screwdriver, seeing as now it seemed to want to work properly in getting some readings. But it still glitched, having a hard time focusing on whatever had been done to the TARDIS key. "No, he went all out on creating this. It was like he wanted to hide you away from the universe, but hidden in plain sight."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" Wanda asked curiously, frowning at the way he stared at the necklace. It was like he was more focused on the key and not on the ring. Did he even notice the ring? Unless it was the perception filter at work. No wonder he never asked her about the ring. He must have never noticed it because of this factor.
"Who did what now?" Donna blinked, trying to make out what the Doctor was rambling on about.
"Future me," explained the Doctor absently as he continued to look over the necklace of Wanda's. "He wanted to make certain no one, especially me, would realize what Wanda was going through. Basically hiding her from the whole universe, but not necessarily hiding her. It seemed he mostly only wanted to hide that you're . . ."
It was there, pressing at his mind in all directions. Making him feel wave after wave of protection, devotion, and love. He had always felt deeply in love with Wanda. And now . . . it increased tenfold. His eyes travelled to Wanda after his words trailed off. Staring at her with such awe as his mouth hung slightly open as he took in what he was feeling. There, like a tiny little heartbeat (hearts beating), was . . . was the child. The tiny life within Wanda had connected with the bond they shared. He could not sense its mind. Not yet. It was too soon for that. But he could feel its life. Could sense the little hearts beating away. He could . . . feel their child. The necklace in his hand slowly slid to the floor, falling in a clatter along with his sonic. All he could do was stare at the blonde in front of him in a stupor as he felt suddenly overwhelmed. Though, in a good way. Oh, yes, so wonderfully good.
"It . . . It's been so long, I'd forgotten what it felt like," he breathed ever so softly with a voice filled with such churning emotions. His eyes wavered as they teared up, slowly growing a smile as his breath hitched slightly. "I'm going to be a dad." Wanda smiled, walking up to him and holding his hands, entwining their fingers together in a loving caress.
"You're going to be a dad," she whispered. Leaning up, she gave him a tender kiss as she held her own watery smile. "We're going to be parents." He gave a light laugh, beaming away as he took it all in. The sensation of the new connecting bond of their child and their own constant bond that they shared. Their undying love and happiness. Laughing loudly in ecstatic joy, he picked up the small blonde and began spinning her around and around. Overjoyed in his happiness. Wanda laughed along with him, hugging him in her own joy as she felt so glad that he was so happy. That was all she ever wanted for him. His happiness.
"Donna, we're going to be parents!" the Doctor exclaimed after sitting Wanda back down on her feet, looping an arm around the Time Lady's waist to keep her close. He kept her close before. Now, he would never let her out of his sight. Not ever.
"Yeah, I heard," Donna chuckled, shaking her head at the two of them. They acted like eloped lovers at times. "Though, how are you going to break the news to Jenny about her becoming a big sister?"
"Ooh. Didn't think of that," the Doctor mumbled, suddenly realizing that he had forgotten about poor old Jenny. She was his daughter, too, after all. Though she was born unconventionally. And there was not exactly all Time Lord within her. But still, he was a father to her. Just as Wanda was a mother in some ways. "Wonder if she'll be okay in suddenly become a big sister."
"I'm sure she'll be just as excited as we are," Wanda assured both companion and Time Lord.
"Yeah, of course she will," the Doctor agreed, grinning as he felt excited about becoming a father not once, but twice in such a close period of time. Also excited about telling Jenny the good news as well. She would probably be happy in gaining a little . . . "Oh! We should look and see what sex the baby is." He started to bounce back over to the scanner on the console but stopped when Wanda spoke.
"It's a girl," she told him, smiling away with her eyes tearing up again. She felt so emotional, but for once, allowed herself to be overcome by them. She was too happy to try fighting against the tears. "The sex was on the results I had taken in the medical bay. We're going to have a daughter."
"A girl," he breathed, walking back over to his love to give her a hug. He pulled back, keeping his arms loosely around her as he beamed. "We have a lot of planning to do."
"Oh yes," Wanda giggled.
"How far along are you?" Donna asked the Time Lady in excitement, coming over closer to the Time Lords.
"A little over two months," Wanda told her. Clapping her hands together in merriment, Donna began chatting away on in delight in how excited she was, all the plans she was going to make, and who all she was going to tell about the happy news. Wanda giggled in amusement at the overly excited Donna while the Doctor chuckled, scooting closer to wrap his arms around his Wanderer and embrace her to him. Smiling as he closed his eyes and continued to let himself indulge in sensing the new life.
"Doctor!"
"Huh?" He blinked out of his stupor, realizing that Donna was trying to get his attention. She gave him a look, with brows raised in expectation as she nodded her head to Wanda.
"Don't you think you should be asking Wanda something now?" the companion prodded at him, trying to get him to move onto something else that was needed to be done on this day. Especially after she knew he was dying to ask the Time Lady his question after being so close and missing the chance to ask Second Wanda on that outing.
"Right. Yes, of course," agreed the Doctor as he stepped back from Wanda. Seeing the puzzled look on the Time Lady's face, he sucked in a breath, absently thumbing the small item within his suit pocket. "Wanda . . . since we're confessing hidden secrets and all, well, I think now's the perfect time—well, not the most perfect of times, but good enough for us—," slowly, he got down onto one knee, keeping ahold of one of Wanda's hands as he pulled out the small velvet box, opening it up to hold out a silver ring to her, "to ask you if—if you, Wanderer, the most magnificent, most brilliant, most caring, most courageous, most everything to me, would marry this silly old Time Lord?" Seeing her warm smile, beginning to open her mouth to speak, the Doctor hurriedly continued on as he still feared what her answer would be.
"'Cause I know things might not be perfect," he rambled on. "We won't ever have that normal life you've always wanted. But—But if you give me the chance, I can give you everything. Anything. In the whole universe, you'd name it and I'll make certain to get it for you. You can even ask to stay on Earth and live in a house and have a job and—and have an old dog or whatever else. And I'll do it! You bet I will, 'cause there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Wanderer, I swear." She opened her mouth again, and once more he talked over her. "I love you more than anything, Wanderer. More than the whole universe. More than every star in the sky. Like a burning supernova of every colour in the whole cosmos. I see you as—as my everything and—and you're laughing. Why are you laughing?" He stared at Wanda in bewilderment as she chortled with a hand covering her mouth.
"Because I didn't expect to go through something like this twice," she managed to speak through her light laughter. "And because you're so silly." She grabbed his hand, pulling him back up to stand. "You didn't even notice it, did you?"
"Notice what?" the Doctor blinked rapidly, confused what she was talking about. Did he not do his speech right? Was his proposal bad? He thought he had it done well enough, though, then again, he did mess up a few lines there. Maybe they were too cheesy or cliché for her? Was this her rejection?
"Look at the necklace again. Really focus on it." She smiled slyly, nodding her head down to the grated floor.
Blinking for a moment, there was only a blank stare given to the silver necklace from the Doctor as he seemed to try and focus his eyes on the item. Bending down, he picked it up and held it to the light for observation. As his eyes adjusted, he saw it. The silver ring hanging on the chain right next to the TARDIS key. Glancing down hurriedly, looking back and forth between the ring on the necklace and the ring in the box he held, his eyes widened as he realized they were exactly the same.
"Do you really think, after all these years, that we wouldn't already be married?" Wanda said, her voice soft and quiet as he stared at her in awe.
He blinked, trying to wrap his mind around it. "We're . . . we're married?"
"In the future, yes."
Laughing with a start, he shook his head as he continued to look at her in amazement. "You're just full of surprises today, aren't you?"
"Still got one more for you." With a gentle grasp in grabbing his hand, he was steered over to the captain's chair by the blonde and made to sit down. Taking the necklace ring from him, she placed it back around her neck, closed the velvet box with the young ring and pushed it back into his pocket. He continued to stare at her curiously as he watched her get down on one knee in front of him. Wanda gave him a watery smile as she reached around him, going for her jacket that was hung on the back of the chair as she dug around inside the front pocket. She then pulled out a similar, yet slightly larger velvet box for him, opening it up to allow him to see a golden ring attached to its own chain.
"Doctor, I wanted to ask you—," she began to ask him. But yelped when he suddenly pulled her off the floor, yanking her right into his lap as he embraced her in a kiss.
"You don't even have to ask," he whispered against her lips.
"Aww, but I had a speech prepared and everything," Wanda whined in a pout, but giggled as he began giving her kisses all over her face in merriment. "I was going to tell you how you're my everything, too. I live and breathe every day because I know you're here in my life. My hearts beat for they know they have someone to love, and—." She sucked in a breath as he started kissing down her neck. "And we should really not be doing this in front of Donna."
"No, you really shouldn't," Donna agreed, rolling her eyes as she averted her gaze from them. But she smiled all the same as she was truly happy for them.
"Sorry," chirped the Doctor as he pulled back from kissing. Beaming away in bliss as he never felt happier. Finding out he was married to his Wanderer and that they were going to have a baby all on the same day made him the happiest, most cheerful Time Lord ever. "So, do Second Wanda and I ever tie the knot, or . . ."
"No, just my current face and you. Which actually won't happen officially until two hundred years from now, so . . . Sorry in advance for the long wait." She squeezed his shoulders in apology a guilt went through her. "Real sorry."
"Does Second you and I ever get the chance to—."
Wanda shook her head. "No, we never got the chance to do anything official while I was in my Second self. But don't worry, she was content in the end about . . . certain events."
He nodded somewhat as he smiled in understanding. "Ah. So that's what Second you meant about 'another woman.'" He smiled, seeming to come to his own conclusions within his head.
Wanda opened her mouth to clarify, but then closed it quickly. She knew this must have been the moment that he assumed that Second Wanda knew about their marriage. And that this was why she had been so against them doing anything more while having that face. She wanted to correct this. Felt the need to let the Doctor know the truth and realize there was still more potential between him and Second Wanda. But . . . she and Eleven had already promised each other: No changing what happened. Let time be as it was when it came to their lives. Besides, it all worked out in the end. Sort of.
"Here," the Doctor said, picking up his golden ring with Gallifreyan engravings from the box, placing the chain it was attached to around his neck, "I'm wearing this where it belongs. With me, always." Wanda smiled and nodded, giving him a loving kiss on the cheek.
"Make sure to hide it, though," she warned him. "Unlike mine, yours doesn't have a perception filter on it and younger mes will notice and ask questions. Unless they're being oblivious during certain times, then you don't really have to worry." Nodding, the Doctor smiled and gave Wanda another chaste kiss before they both stood up from the chair.
"I don't understand, though," Donna gained their attention. "Why does Wanda's wedding ring hide her pregnancy? How does it do that even? Won't be able to hide it forever once Wanda starts showing." The companion nodded towards Wanda's stomach, indicating what she meant.
"Future me took care of that. Assuming he didn't want anyone to find out about the pregnancy, or to cause any dangerous spoilers to occur," the Doctor answered, pulling up the necklace for Donna to see. Though the companion did have trouble focusing on the silver ring that she only noticed was there moments ago. "He placed the nano-electronics necessary into the engravings on the ring. Electronics that create a perception filter—something that makes you not notice certain aspects in a person, or makes the person unnoticeable entirely to others—that will mask my senses in realizing there's a growing baby. Then the perception camouflage matrix and the misdirection circuit, which will make Wanda appear as normal as ever to the rest of us. And a few other little additions that help keep everything under wraps. Even if I feel her stomach when she's, ah, 'showing,' the necklace will simply make my mind, and anyone else's, 'forget' what I felt. It took a lot of work and effort for him to make this. It's extremely difficult to get this technology that small into an object. Which will probably take me, ooh, a century or two to get right." He chuckled, shaking his head as he let the ring fall back onto Wanda's chest. "Best get started working on it now." He patted the pocket on his jacket that held the newer ring in the velvet box.
"I'm just shocked I never noticed the ring being a perception filter before," Wanda mentioned, staring hard at the ring in examination. "Why didn't I notice?"
"Maybe you just weren't looking hard enough," the Doctor replied with a shrug. Taking Wanda's hand, he tangled their fingers together, keeping a firm hold of her as he smiled. "We'll start discussing more of this later. For now, let's get back to Mrs. Christie. We have a murderer to catch after all."
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Thunder crashed outside as lightning struck somewhere not too far away from the house. A storm was rolling in for the night, making the atmosphere of the house even more ominous than it already had been. Sitting at the dining table in between the Doctor and Donna, Wanda sipped on her soup quietly, half listening to the Doctor chatter away on the day's events to everyone else sitting around the large table. All the while of the Doctor talking, he held Wanda's hand underneath the table, absently stroking her skin with his thumb. Though he held a serious gaze with the others, he could not keep away the bright spark from within his eyes. Clearly still elated from the earlier news in finding out not only was he going to be a father, but he was also married to his love, to his Wanderer. Even though it was a terrible day from all the murders, he still felt so overjoyed from the amazing news he had received.
He noticed that news of Wanda's pregnancy must have spread from the kitchens by the way everyone sent the blonde side glances. So like humans to gossip. Did they really have nothing better to do? It made him wonder what they were thinking. Knowing this time period, it was probably scandalous thoughts of Wanda being a poor woman in letting herself become pregnant outside of marriage. He felt cross in the idea of people looking down upon his . . . his wife. Blimey, he would have to get used to that thought. Wanda was his wife, and he her husband. They were wife and husband who were going to have a child together. Straining to keep a silly grin from forming on his face, he took a long gulp of his soup.
"Any one of you had a chance to put cyanide in my drink," the Doctor mentioned after he took a gulp of his soup. He had explained to them already about the near death from poisoning, pondering over the other murders out loud as well. He glanced at them all, seeing how wary they all appeared. Still, he could not pinpoint who might be the Unicorn or the wasp. "But it rather gave me an idea."
"And what would that be?" Reverend Golightly questioned the Doctor.
"Well, poison," replied the Doctor lightly with a smile. Everyone sort of froze as all had been in either mid-sip of their soup or were about to take a gulp from their spoons. Donna even spat some of her soup out after drinking it. Only Wanda continued to sip on her soup, unaffected at all by his comment. The Time Lord gave them all a knowing smile as he lifted another spoon full of soup. "Drink up."
Wanda smacked her lips lightly, holding a sly smile as she said, "I do love pepper in my soup. Like to mix things up a bit. Thought you all would enjoy it as well, so I asked the chef to add just a bit." She took another sip of her soup as she and the Doctor watched with guarded eyes to see how everyone's expressions changed when they realized it was only pepper added to dinner.
"Ah, I thought it was jolly spicy," the Colonel commented, smiling in easy as he took another gulp of his meal.
"Oh, yes. Pepper does make great spice," agreed Wanda with a nod. "Though, pepper isn't only just good for extra flavour."
"The active ingredient of pepper is piperine,"explained the Doctor in chirp comment, " traditionally used as an insecticide." Everyone around the table stiffened again as thunder rumbled distantly outside. The Doctor, gazing around carefully, observed each and every one of their faces to judge on who was the most affected by this. "So . . . anyone got the shivers?"
"Someone will get the shivers soon enough," said Wanda in a mumble, keeping her gaze steady on one person in particular, her eyes unmoving from his face. The Reverend across from her seemed to swallow as his own face remained blank, staring right back at her with guarded eyes.
Suddenly, the power cut from the house as a roar of thunder was heard. A bolt of lightning had hit right outside the house as a blast of wind from the arriving storm gusted through and slammed open the windows. The wind caused the candles on the dinner table to snuff out, sending them all into darkness. All the guests sort of made startled gasps and began murmuring on what was going on. But when shushed by the Doctor, they then heard a loud buzzing going off in the room.
"No. It can't be," breathed Lady Eddison at the end of the table, sounding in complete disbelief to what they were hearing.
Thunder roared around as lightning lit up the room, laminating their faces in a white light. It continued to flash wildly as more lightning hit around the place, causing panic for most of the guests as well as the buzzing growing louder and louder by the second. Footmen in the room rushed to the door with the Colonel not far behind them. The Doctor tried calming the situation in keeping all inside the room so he could figure out who exactly was the wasp. But this plan backfired as the giant insect was already up in the air over them, hissing in might with pure anger. The Time Lord decided on retreat as he grabbed the near Agatha, knowing he needed to protect the author as she was still important to history. Thinking Wanda was not far behind him as he followed after Donna who was being ushered out by the butler. Unknownst to him, Wanda remained behind.
Wanda, still in the dark room, practically flung herself over to Roger, who was sitting just down the table from her. She fell on top of him, making both of them crash to the floor. She then rolled over underneath the table, dragging him with her.
"What are you doing?!" Roger exclaimed in panic, uncertain on what the blonde girl was trying to do to him.
"Saving you, of course," Wanda replied casually as they laid under the table. There was a loud thunk on the table overhead, just over their faces and the same place were Roger's soup was. "And that would be the knife that was going to kill you." She patted the stunned Roger brightly in the arm as she climbed over top of him, getting out from under the table as the lights in the house flickered back on. The power coming back as the lightning finally subsided. Everyone lay in a mess as they panted either on the floor, or still sitting at the table.
"Wanda!" came a shout from the Doctor as he flung the dining room door open, brandishing a sword out as if ready to fight the wasp off his lover.
"Calm down. I'm right here," Wanda sighed as she stood up, fixing her dress as she did. Glancing over, she saw the large knife stuck in the table where the murderer would have killed Roger. Good thing she remembered that was going to happen.
Lady Eddison discovered in alarm of her Firestone, the large jeweled necklace she had been wearing, was gone. Stolen in a blink during the time of confusion and darkness. Other than that, everyone was merely shaken but unharmed. No more murders for the night. Wanda let out a sigh in relief, glad to change at least some of the deadly outcome of the day. In the corner of her eye, she saw the Reverend. Turning her gaze onto the man, she stared him down, knowing what he had tried to do. He, in turn, narrowed his eyes at her, seeming to understand that she knew. Shaking her head as if disappointed with him, she turned and followed the Doctor out of the room as he practically dragged her along in making certain not to let her away from his side.
"Stop scaring me like that," the Doctor scolded Wanda the instant they were in the drawing room. Rolling her eyes, she simply nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek in reassurance. Agatha tagged along inside, sitting on a small sofa.
Wanda sat next to her, telling them, "If I didn't stay behind, Roger would have died. Had to save him from the wasp."
"What do you mean?" Agatha quizzed the blonde.
"Did you see the knife sticking in the table? That was the weapon the murderer was trying to kill Roger with," Wanda explained to them. The door opened to the sitting room as Donna walked in.
"Did you inquire after the necklace?" Agatha asked the companion.
"Lady Eddison brought it back from India," Donna told them of what Lady Eddison had explained to the companion after a bit of questioning. "It's worth thousands." Leaning against the mantle of the fireplace in the sitting room, the Doctor hummed as he stared up at the ceiling in thought. Still pondering after Wanda explained about the knife going after Roger.
"This thing can sting. It can fly. It could wipe us all out in seconds," he murmured aloud from his ponderings. "Why is it playing this game?"
"Maybe it believes it's a game," Wanda offered, only giving the Doctor a side glance.
"Every murder is essentially the same," Agatha spoke up thoughtfully. "They are committed because somebody wants something."
"But what does a Vespiform want?" the Doctor continued to wonder aloud. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, Agatha threw the Time Lord a sharp look.
"Doctor, stop it," she rebuked. "The murderer is as human as you or I."
"She's right," agreed Wanda with a nod. "Listen to the expert, sweetie." She sent him a wink as she nodded her head towards Agatha, trying to get him to understand what was needed next. His eyes widened as it dawned on him.
"Ooh, I've been so caught up with giant wasps, I've forgotten—you are the expert," he said quickly, going over to sit across from the author. Agatha, sending the Doctor a look of reproach, shook her head in denial.
"I'm not. I told you," she replied in frustration, tired of everyone trying to get her to solve something that was beyond her control. Beyond who she could possibly be. "I'm just a . . . purveyor of nonsense." They all gave her soft expressions of sympathy, knowing why she was so doubtful of herself.
"No, no, no, no, no, no," the Doctor countered, wanting to assure the author she was nothing of the such. "'Cause plenty of people write detective stories. But yours are the best. And why? Why are you so good, Agatha Christie?" The author merely stared back at him, seeming to wish she had the answer to that. He held a glee in his eye as he already knew the answer. "Because you understand. You're lived. You've fought. You've had your heart broken. You know about people—their passions, their hope and despair and anger, all of those tiny, huge things that can turn the most ordinary person into a killer."
They could see the wheels turning in the author's mind as it seemed to spark into life in thinking over the day's events. All the murder. All the facts and clues. The brilliant mind she had, going into solving a very similar murder that she would pour her heart into writing.
"Just think, Agatha. If anyone can solve this, it's you," the Doctor pressed on, hoping to get the author to see what they needed to do to solve the mystery.
After a few more moments to digest this, Agatha nodded and said she was ready to begin their conclusion to the murders. Agreeing they needed to wrap this up, the Doctor stood up from his chair and asked Donna to call everyone into the room with them. Agatha stood up from the sofa, beginning to pace as she went over everything in her mind as Donna left to fetch everyone. Wanda remained on the sofa, though smiled warmly at the Doctor as he stood facing the fireplace.
I love it when you inspire people like that. she said into his mind. You always give the best speeches that can make a person feel like a superhero.
Eh, I try. shrugged the Doctor, grinning cheekily. He glanced over to the door as everyone came shuffling in, sitting themselves down to get comfortable for what the Time Lord had to say to them. Once they were all seated and quiet, the Doctor addressed them, "I've called you here on this endless night because we have a murderer in our midst." He slowly turned to face them, keeping his expression leveled. "And when it comes to detection, there's none finer. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Agatha Christie." Waving a hand for Agatha to stand at the fireplace, he walked over and sat by Wanda on the sofa across from Lady Eddison. Donna came over and joined them on the seat as they watched Agatha face them all squarely.
"This is a crooked house, a house of secrets," Agatha started. "To understand the solution, we must examine them all. Starting with you, Miss Redmond." The woman sitting behind the rest in a corner seemed startled by this as everyone shifted their gaze onto her.
"But I'm innocent, surely," Redmond countered in defense, trying to keep her voice light and calm.
"You've never met these people, and these people have never met you," Agatha spoke carefully, thoughtfully as her eyes pierced at Redmond. "I think the real Robina Redmond never left London—you're impersonating her." One could tell that the woman had been caught by the strained smile on her face. But 'Redmond' kept her cool, trying to deny this and demanding for proof. Agatha nodded, explaining, "You said you'd been to the 'toilet.'"
The caught woman's eyes flashed as she realized her mistake. She should have said 'loo' instead. Agatha then pulled out the small black case of thief tools, explaining to everyone and to the woman on where it had been found. Right underneath the bathroom window. Where it had been disposed of when the woman had panicked in worrying the Doctor or Donna would find it. For they were the tools of the woman's trade. The tools used by the infamous Unicorn. Everyone gasped upon this reveal as Agatha smirked at the fuming 'Redmond,' claiming her to be the thief of the Firestone.
"Oh, all right, then," spat out the Unicorn as she glared at Agatha and her once proper voice changed in accent. "It's a fair cop. Yes, I'm the bleedin' Unicorn. Ever so nice to meet you, I don't think." She stood up from her seat, going over to stand closer to the group, closest to the Colonel. She jerked the large Firestone out of the front of her dress, showing it to everyone. "I took my chance in the dark and nabbed it. Well, go on, then, you nobs. Arrest me. Sling me in jail." She tossed the jewel in the air, allowing the Doctor (who now stood by Agatha, getting up when the Unicorn did) to catch it.
"So is she the murderer?" Donna asked curiously, surprised by this turn of events. Though, the night of shocking surprises had only just begun. The Doctor sat back down next to Wanda as he began to examine the Firestone very closely.
"Don't be so thick," retorted the Unicorn (also known as Ada Mullins) crossly at Donna. "I might be a thief, but, well, I ain't no killer."
"Quite. There are darker motives at work," agreed Agatha as she placed down the Unicorn's black case. The author then directed her sharp eyes onto the Colonel. "And in examining this household, we come to you . . . Colonel." The man sat in his wheelchair, appearing very nervous now. Then, his expression turned sour as he knew he had been caught.
"Damn it, woman," he grumbled as he rambled on in retort, standing up from his chair, revealing to everyone that he could always stand. The only reason he had pretended to be crippled so that Lady Eddison would stay with him as an act of pity. To take care of him. He had been desperate, a foolish man, as every day he feared any moment she would leave him for another, whether crippled or not.
"Confound it, Mrs. Christie," the Colonel ranted on after he revealed all of this, "how did you discover the truth?"
"Um," Agatha replied with a light smile, "actually, I had no idea. I was just going to say you're completely innocent." The Colonel's face went red as he slowly sat back down on his chair, embarrassed to have jumped the gun in revealing his long lie himself. Agatha pressed onwards after this. "To find the truth, let's return," she held out her hand to the Doctor, who then handed her over the Firestone, "to this." She let them all see it. The golden chain holding the deep purple jewel in the centre of the golden heart-shaped charm. "Far more than the Unicorn's object of desire. The Firestone has quite a history. Lady Eddison." Agatha turned her gaze upon the woman sitting on the sofa next to her, seeing the wary demeanour of the lady.
"I've done nothing," Lady Eddison said in defense.
"You brought it back from India, did you not?" inquired Agatha. "Before you met the Colonel. You came home with Malaria. And confined yourself to this house for six months, in a room that has been kept locked ever since. Which I rather think means—."
"Stop. Please," Lady Eddison began to sob, holding her hands to her mouth as she knew her darkest secret was about to be revealed.
Agatha stared at the woman in sympathy. "I'm so sorry. But you had fallen pregnant in India." The Colonel stared wide-eyed at Lady Eddison as the woman's shoulders shook in quiet sobs. And still, Agatha explained in her insight of the hidden truth. "Unmarried and ashamed. You hurried back to England with your confidante, a young maid, later to become housekeeper—Miss Chandrakala."
"Clemency, is this true?" the Colonel questioned his wife, his love. All he could think was how he never knew or realized of such a deep secret?
"Mother?" Roger spoke up in question, just as confused as his father.
"My poor baby," whimpered Lady Eddison as she tried holding back her sobs the best she could. "I had to give him away. The shame of it."
"But you never said a word," the Colonel said, shaking his head in pure disbelief.
"I had no choice," Lady Eddison replied solemnly. Then, her voice changed to that of a drone as though she had to repeat these words many times. "Imagine the scandal. The family name. I'm British. I carry on."
Wanda began zoning out after this as the Doctor questioned more specifically on the pregnancy being very unordinary. She instead kept her emerald eyes steady on the woman across from her. The explanation of why the woman gave up her child had always seemed off to her. Even within the show. She could sense the woman was lying about it. About her shame and the need to 'protect the family name.' The Time Lady knew she could look into a possibility from the past to see what exactly had happened to Lady Eddison during that time, specifically during her pregnancy. But . . . she had promised the Doctor not to push herself too far with her abilities. Perhaps she could wait until the right opportunity to search into the truth, and maybe even use the knowledge to her advantage some way.
It was strange thinking on hidden pregnancy and such, though. A bizarre coincidence in the turn of events. What were the odds of her arriving here, with the mystery of a lost child and secret pregnancy, while being pregnant herself? And better yet—no wait, something was happening. Wanda blinked out of her stupor as she started to listen again as the conversation had moved on past Lady Eddison's confession of falling in love with a Vespiform in India, and becoming pregnant just before her lover had died. Now, the Doctor was revealing who the long lost child was: Reverend Golightly.
"Oh, my god," Lady Eddison gasped in a tremor of astonishment.
"This is poppycock," the Reverend laughed in spite, unnerved by the truth of his identity.
"What's so poppycock about it?" Wanda finally spoke up. She stood up from the sofa, facing the Reverend who sat behind everyone else in the corner. "You're a Vespiform who's part human, born from Lady Eddison and raised by Fathers from the church. A Vespiform who finally broke through his genetic lock for the first time and is now angry with his mother abandoning him."
"Acting out upon the stories of Agatha Christie that transferred from the Vespiform telepathic recorder," the Doctor explained along with Wanda, standing next to her as he indicated at the Firestone being what he was talking about. "It beamed your full identity, your brain, your very essence, right to you when you activated. Along with absorbing the stories Lady Eddison loved to read. It all became a part of you. The mechanics of those novels formed a template in your brain. You killed in this pattern because that's what you think the world is. Turns out we are in the middle of a murder mystery—one of yours, Dame Agatha." Upon Agatha's clearly bewildered expression, Wanda poked the Doctor in the side lightly.
"Too soon," she whispered to the Time Lord.
"So he killed them. Yes? Definitely?" Donna asked, trying to clarify on who truly was the murderer in all of this.
"Yes," the Doctor concluded. The Reverend shifted in his chair, narrowing his eyes at them all.
"Well . . . this has certainly been a most entertaining evening. Really, you can't believe any of this, surely, Lady Eddison" said the man as everyone began staring at him, eyes piercing at him in observation as they heard the buzzing in his voice. The more he tried to speak, the more his anger grew, the more the buzzing in his voice increased. He finally stood, raging at them all. He shook as a cloud of purple smoke surrounded him as he transformed into his Vespiform body.
The massive wasp, with yellow and black hard body, large wings that beat rapidly in the air with their deafening buzz, and an enormous stinger at the end, pointed and ready to kill them all. Everyone began panicking as the wasp crawled on the empty sofa across from the others, snapping its sharp mouth at them. Lady Eddison cried as she tried reaching for her long-lost son, to comfort him and beg him for forgiveness. But the Colonel and Roger held her back for her own safety. Alarmed, Agatha grabbed the Firestone and rushed off after antagonizing the Vespiform to chase after her. She was convinced that her stories were the cause of all of this. Of all the murders tonight. And she was fully determined to put an end to it all.
The Doctor, Donna, and Wanda ended up running after the Vespiform and Agatha, giving chasing after the retreating two. The Doctor managed to find them a vehicle in the driveway of the house. Allowing Donna and Wanda to hop into the car with him and take off in pursuit just behind the flying Vespiform, and Agatha who had taken her own car from the house. The drive went on for a while as they tried keeping up through the dark night and winding roads. Soon, they drove by a sign along the road that pointed towards Silent Pool. The lake were Agatha's vehicle would be discovered in the morning. If time were to run as it should that is. They pulled to a stop beside Agatha's car as she had halted just at the edge of the lake, standing with her back to the waters and holding up the Firestone high for the Vespiform to see.
"Here I am—the honey in the trap," Agatha bellowed in a strong voice, full of resolve to end the awful deeds of the Reverend. "Come to me, Vespiform." She began backing up as the Firestone started to glow bright purple. The eyes of the Vespiform appeared hypnotized as it hovered closer and closer to her.
"She's controlling it," Donna gasped in shock as they jumped out of their vehicle. Hopping over the door, Wanda leaned down and took off her shoes, knowing she needed to be barefoot from what was to happen next.
"Its mind is based on her thought processes. They're linked!" the Doctor stated, fearful of what would become of the author now.
"Quite so, Doctor," Agatha replied calmly as they all rushed to her. Still, she kept her eyes fully on the hovering Vespiform in front, unwilling to let it go for even a second to harm another. "If I die, then this creature might die with me." The wasp began whizzing towards her, but the Doctor halted it as he ran forward and threw up his hands to calm it.
"Don't hurt her!" the Doctor shouted, trying to reason with the angered Vespiform. "You're not meant to be like this. You've got the wrong template in your mind." Still, the wasp buzzed and screeched in rage, retorting in a way of not caring for the Doctor's reasoning.
"It's not listening," Donna breathed warning. Wanda reached over to the Firestone in Agatha's hand before the companion could, acting upon a last resort and instinct to save another's life, to possibly change what would occur on this night. She just had to try. She had to do it. For the child. For the mother. For the lost love they never had. She just had to.
"Oi! Bug brain!" she yelled, swinging the Firestone by the chain as she moved away from the group, edging towards the woods not too far away from the lake and road. The Vespiform turned its sole attention onto her now, focusing on the jewel in her hand more than anything. Wanda smirked, catching the jewel in hand and holding it up high to make the glow shine on her. "You want to play one last game of cat and mouse?" The creature buzzed even greater so as it snapped its jaws in her direction. The Doctor's eyes widened in panicked terror as he realized what Wanda was trying to do.
"Wanda, don't!" he shouted in alarmed protest. But Wanda did not listen as she took off towards the woods, running at full speed as the Vespiform gave chase after her.
Wanda panted as she ran straight into the darkness of the trees around the lake, ducking and weaving amongst the large branches and thick trunks all around her. She jumped over roots and fallen logs as she heard the Vespiform close by her. Ready to strike her. Holding onto the Firestone tight in her grasp, she knew she had to try. To change the link from Agatha onto herself. It was telepathic in nature. Transferring from those who held it last to share information within the family. To never lose precious thoughts or feelings. So, in theory, with her now possessing it, she should be able to send a telepathic link to the wasp in some sort of fashion. And, in focusing on this, trying to send as much of her racing emotions through her into the stone, she felt the connection. The tug mentally as the Firestone linked with her mind. Now, all she had to do was use it to her advantage.
She turned sharply, coming to a stop in the middle of a clearing. Clasping the glowing jewel with both hands, holding them close to her hearts, she watched as the Vespiform hovered in front of her, glaring down at her with its large, dark purple eyes. The buzz from its wings echoed like a heartbeat around them, causing the woods to almost feel alive from the way the sound bounced around the trees.
"I know you're angry," Wanda said to the creature, shaking her head sadly. "You have every right to be livid. With everything you have gone through. With how lonely you've been all your life, of course you're enraged." It screeched at her, seeming to agree and retort in just how furious it truly was. Her eyes shifted, holding her mythical stare at the creature, peering into its very soul. "But this is not the way. You want to jump to fury when you don't even know the full story. Don't you realize what you were born from? Such love. Such devotion and kindness. You were the child of that love they shared." It screeched again, unbelieving to her words. "If you don't believe me, then I'll show you."
Sucking in a breath, she closed her eyes as she allowed the link of the Firestone to connect with her abilities. The possibilities flowed, more slow than usual, as the picture of the past began to form. Images showed the smiling, laughing young Lady Eddison sitting beside her lost love. The man smiled in return, holding her hand as they sat upon a blanket by the river, basking in each other's time together. Then, the night came of the man's proposal, giving Lady Eddison the Firestone as a sign of his pure love and devotion to her. The young woman beamed as tears of joy ran down her face, giving the man she loved more than anything a kiss in return for her own pure love and joy for having the chance to be with him.
Then, that joy turned to pure misery. The flood. The death. The discovery of the pregnancy. The images changed to a sobbing Lady Eddison as she clutched her stomach, feeling the small bump beginning to form. Mourning the loss of her love and unable to ever give her child a father. When returning to England, she was met with disdain from her parents. They were outraged that she dare become pregnant out of wedlock. So, they gave her only two choices. Either she hide her pregnancy from the world, pretend to be sick with malaria, and give up the child once it was born. Or to be left there on the port side. A single mother, unable to provide for her child. Unable to give the babe a well-suited life even by the smallest of means as her family would disown her in an instant.
Seeing as the only way to give her unborn child a decent life by any means, and being well groomed to feel ashamed of herself and to protect the family's honour, she agreed with her parents' terms. Though, not before finding out in horror later just what else her parents had in mind. Not only would she have to give her child up, she would also never allowed to ever see the babe again. Never allowed even the smallest glimpse of her and her lover's child as she had hoped to do. She wanted to be there. If not up front, then at least in the shadows. To give the child love and warmth when needed. Though remain unseen as she knew it would be best for them both. She was not even allowed to hold the child when he was born as the images shifted to show Lady Eddison wailing in misery, holding out her arms weakly for her child from the bed after giving birth as her son was taken away from her. Crying as any newborn would for his mother was the last thing Lady Eddison had ever seen or heard from her child ever again as her parents slammed the door as soon as Miss Chandrakala stepped out with baby in arms.
Lady Eddison was never the same after that. She ritually drank to hide her sorrows. Married another in a numb state. A man her parents chose for her. A man who loved her more than anything, but still . . . she could not return the love. At least not fully. All she could think of, every day, was her heavy guilt in what she had done to her first child. Never to forgive herself for what she had done.
Wanda swayed where she stood as she opened her eyes. Her body ached tremendously, and her mind throbbed in agony as everything screamed at her to rest. Even her vision wavered as she stared at the Reverend in front of her. Now back in his human form with streaks of tears running down his face. Smiling tiredly, she walked up to him, placing the Firestone in his hands and closing them together over the jewel.
"You lost so much time you could have had with your family," she whispered solemnly. "Time ripped not just from you, but from her as well. Life is cruel at times. So very, very cruel. But we cannot let ourselves fall into those merciless times. We have to push onwards. To remain to our true selves and to never give into our own cruel, dark nature." Her vision blurred, barely able to see him now. "You have to . . . to find it in yourself . . . to forgive. Forgive . . . Forgive her. She loves you . . . so very, very much. A mother always . . . always loves . . . her child . . . no . . . matter . . . what." Words slurring and becoming sluggish, she felt the world tilt around her as everything went dark.
XxXxXxXx
There was light humming in the room as she laid on a soft bed. Covers were fluffed around her and she felt her head resting on a comfy pillow. Slowly and tiredly, she opened her eyes, blinking away her haze as she stared at the ceiling above. She saw that she had been placed into her and the Doctor's room on the TARDIS. Sighing, she sunk more into the bed when seeing that she was alone, realizing that she ended up pushing herself too far with her abilities. She hoped that she did not end up having a seizure after passing out. Lifting her head when she heard the door creak, she watched as the Doctor came in holding a tray that carried an omelet, some toast, and a glass of apple juice.
"Good morning," he chirped lightly to her.
"Morning," she replied quietly, pushing herself up to sit in the bed while he placed the tray on her lap.
"Made you breakfast. Thought you might be hungry," he stated calmly. Not having a cheerful note in his tone. Though, not sounding angry or strict, either.
"Um . . . Thank you," Wanda replied, uneasy in how calm the Doctor was acting. She was excepting him to begin yelling at her or even scolding her after the stunt she pulled. But instead, he merely did not meet her gaze as he sat down on a chair next to the bed, munching on toast. "How long was I out?"
"Just about eight hours. A full night's rest."
"Oh." Wanda trailed off, unsure on what to say next. Glancing down at her food for a moment, she looked back at him, seeing the tension in his shoulders and the hard stare in those brown eyes of his. Sighing, "You're angry with me, aren't you?"
"Oh, you think?" The Doctor tossed his half-eaten toast onto the tray, holding a hard gaze at her. "You run off, almost get yourself killed without even the slightest thought of your, or our child's, safety. Yeah, I'm right damn cross with you."
Wanda winced, realizing she had done it again. Throwing herself into danger without thinking over the consequences. "I didn't mean to—."
"I know you didn't mean to, Wanderer. But—damn it, you just can't anymore! You're pregnant, and do you have any idea of how easily you could have a miscarriage? Too much stress or overextension can cause so much damage. We could lose our child like that," he snapped his fingers sharply, "and we couldn't do anything about it! It's difficult for Time Ladies to carry to full term without incident, and for your case . . ." He trailed off as he saw Wanda's expression drop along with tears down her face, guilt clearly washing over her.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, placing a hand on her stomach as if not only begging for his forgiveness but from the unborn child as well. "I didn't want to hurt our child. I just . . . I just wanted to bring a mother and son together. I just kept thinking, if that was my child . . . I would do anything to bring them back and show them how much I truly loved them. I wanted to give Lady Eddison and Reverend Golightly a second chance."
The Doctor gave a long, frustrated sigh as he ran a hand over his face, trying to calm down his aggravation. "Wanderer, I know you had good intentions. You always do. It's just . . ." He stared at her for a moment before grabbing her suddenly and pulling her into a powerful hug. He buried his face into her shoulder and hair, wanting to hide his own unushered tears. "I was scared. So scared that you had . . . and that the baby . . . then I saw Golightly standing over your unconscious body . . ."
"I've been an idiot. I know," she sighed, shaking her head in anger and disproval at herself.
"You've been more than idiotic. You've been downright thick and unbelievably foolish." He pulled back from their embrace, placing a hand over hers on her stomach. "Wanderer, you have to promise me. Promise me that you won't do this anymore. That you'll keep both yourself and our child safe. No matter what. Please?"
Wanda nodded immediately in agreement, not even hesitating to counter the promise. "I had already promised myself that not too long ago. I just . . . slipped in my promise this time. But I swear, it won't happen again. I promise, no matter what, I will keep our daughter safe through all of time and space."
The Doctor smiled, knowing from the spark of pure determination and resolve in her emerald eyes that Wanda would indeed keep this promise. He ended up sealing the deal by giving her a quick loving kiss. "Good. Now that we've got that settled, go ahead and eat up. Remember, you're eating for two now. You have to make sure to get about three meals a day. Regularly. Might need to set up a schedule for that. And for sleeping, too. We don't get enough sleep as it is, and with a baby on the way, you need as much rest as you can get. Especially during the third trimester of pregnancy. Ooh, and I might need to set up checkups in the medical bay and . . ."
Wanda giggled as she let the Doctor ramble on with everything he had planned in taking care of her and the baby. Eating her food and drinking the juice quickly, she moved the tray onto the end table next to the bed. Leaning forward, she kissed him on the cheek, making him halt in his words about what toys they should buy soon. "We can start planning all of that in a bit. For now, can you tell me what happened to Agatha, and to Reverend Golightly? Are they both all right?"
"Oh, yeah, they're fine." The Doctor helped her out of the bed before walking over to the door. "Already dropped Agatha off at the hotel she is going to be found at. Made her swear not to tell anyone about what happened and everything. Though, she had a good point in that who would believe her anyway. But she did promise to make a story of our adventures sometime later when she got the chance. And the Reverend, well, he's on the TARDIS with us. Had to calm him down once I found you both in the woods. He's still a bit rattled in the head, but he'll pull through. I think it's the guilt eating at him more than anything else now. He really wasn't in his right mind throughout any of that. I don't think he even remembers most of it."
Wanda nodded as she walked over to a dresser, ready to change out of the flapper dress she still wore. She noticed how her hair had fallen out of its bun and headband. Now flowing against her back in waves. She wondered if the Doctor had let her hair down after bringing her back into the TARDIS. "That's good to hear about the Reverend. Though I wish I could have said goodbye to Agatha before she left. At least she kept her memories this time around." After placing on a lilac blouse, a pair of trousers, and her mary janes, she walked over to him. "What are we going to do with Golightly, then? And where's Donna? You didn't leave her with him, did you?"
"Nah, Donna's back in her room sleeping. As for the Reverend . . .," he ran a hair through his messy hair, letting out a puff of air, "we can't let him stay on Earth. It's too dangerous for both him and the others. He'll have to go back to the Vespiform homeworld. They'll be able to help him through adjusting in his new form and teach him all there is to know about that part of him."
Wanda felt her hearts sink. The Reverend had to go back to his father's planet? No reuniting with his mother? Had Wanda's plans and brash actions been all for nothing? "What? No . . . No, he can't just leave. What about Lady Eddison? And his brother Roger? Heck, even the Colonel. His family is here, he finally found them, and now he has to leave?"
The Doctor held an equally somber face. "I'm afraid so." Seeing the Time Lady's face drop even more, he moved a gentle hand onto her shoulder for comfort. "It's for the best. He can't stay here. You know that. He'll have a much happier and full life back in his home world."
Letting out a long sigh, she nodded her head in agreement, knowing that the Doctor was right. "Can we at least let him say goodbye to his mum?"
Smiling warmly, the Doctor took Wanda's hand, threading their fingers together. "I'm sure he'd like that."
Smiling as well, Wanda walked with him out of the room as they headed to control room, ready to help the Reverend reunite with his mother one last time.
XxXxXxXx
Such a cute chapter. Also, I think Wanda learned a good lesson there. Baby comes first. Always. So, what did everyone think of the new chapter! Please let me know in a review! I always love hearing from you all. :D
Reviewers:
singingKatelyn: Aww, glad you think so! Oh yes, very perfect timing. ;) That reaction was so Ten. haha. I hope you enjoyed the conversation between them all! Can't wait to see what you think of the new chapter!
Justus80: Well, she had to wait for the right moment. lol ;) But yes, it was aggravating for the wait in him finding out. Agreed. Finally! Glad you still enjoyed the last chapter though. Even if Wanda did get a bit annoying. Cancer is long gone. :) Now it's just fighting the flu. haha. Hope to see you again in the future, and good health wishes sent your way. :)
SakuraRcoa: Perhaps both? Then again, I think confetti is much better than this silly old story. ;) *dances with* Take care!
WorldJumper0123: Woot! About time, am I right? ;) Best shocking moment yet, I think. haha. Aww, thank you. You're much more brilliant than me! I hope the story continues to bring you joy! Take care!
arianaestela: Oh, no worries in not leaving reviews. I know how crazy life can be at times. But I'm so happy to hear how much you're enjoying the story. :) I hope the enjoyment continues throughout the rest to come! I know I could always do better. Though it helped tremendously in keeping a timeline together through the story to remind me of things. If I miss anything, just let me know and I'll be sure to fix it. :) Hope to see you again for the future! Take care for now, and have a fantastic day/night!
FictionalBoysAreBetter: Never care what others think of you. As long as you're happy, that's all that matters. :) I just so glad that enjoyed it so much! Aww, I love you, too. :D Just as I love all readers! I hope I can keep bringing chapters that make you so happy. Just as eager to see what you think of the new chapter. Until next time!
All The Stories Are True 24601: Yay! So happy that you liked it. :) I still miss First Wanda. She went away far too soon, I think. Oh well. At least she had a good time with the Doctor before regenerating. It always helps with keeping a timeline when writing. It's the number one rule I tell anyone who wishes to be a writer. That, and character sheets. That helps keep track of things just as much. I know that probably seems silly, though. My life is going great! Just been busy with work and school. It's hard balancing the two sometimes. How is your life going? :D I'd love to know. I hope all is good. Until next time! Take care!
NerdWithAPencil: Yep! Definitely one interesting way. haha. Glad you liked it so much. I thought it was a bit funny, too. ;) Thank you! I hope the story stays good. Can't wait to see you in the next chapter! :D
X-Lisa-Anne-X: Can't wait to see what you think of the chapter! :D Hope it was good!
heroherondaletotherescue: Glad you liked it so much! I think it just had to be this moment in particular. What better way to shock him? lol ;) Agree, time is weird. Hope the new chapter was just as good! Can't wait until next time!
Nanski33: And now we continue. ;) So glad you enjoyed it!
Momochan77: She most certainly did. lol ;) One of my favorites, too! I just love the moment in the kitchen between the Doctor and Donna. Makes me laugh every time. haha. Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter! Until next time!
Authora97: lol I think he might have felt close to regenerating there. ;) Haha! Funny you mention bubble wrap. I can imagine Eleven doing something like that. ;) Oh yes, the Doctor will definitely become super protective. As I've mostly seen in later moments. Keeping my fingers crossed that you enjoyed the new chapter just as much as the last. :) Take care!
swimmjacket: Yep! Yay! So glad he finally knows, too. I think Alpha might have had some part to play in the delay there. Or it might have just been constant bad timing. ;) Eleven does know, but you're right he's always uncertain in which Wanda is currently pregnant who runs into him. Hope you enjoyed their reactions. Talk to you again soon! :D
Whovianeverlark17: Yep! About time, too, I think. lol ;) Hope you enjoyed all the reactions in this chapter. Until next time!
deadflowerseverymorning: So glad you liked it! I think it was adorable, too. :) I think, seeing how Ten was the face which 'bonded' with Wanda the first time, then he should know the happy babe coming from him in the future. Thank you for the lovely reviews. They always mean so much to me. :) Can't wait to see you again in the future! Take care until the next time!
Spooky Misty: Hello! It's so nice to meet you. :) Thank you so much for taking the time to give the story a review. That means so much to me. I'm so sorry to hear that you've dealt with so much for so long. I'm so happy that you're getting help for it now. I truly hope and wish for things to get better for you. If you ever need someone to talk to, never hesitate to contact me. I'm always here for all readers. :) I discovered Doctor Who in the same way, during troubled times. I feel it's a show that can bring so much wonderful joy to people. So that was my goal when I started this trilogy. I'm just so happy that it brings you such happiness. I really hope that the story will always bring you joy. :) I know I could always do better when it comes to the story and Wanda. So if there's ever something you want me to add just let me know. Truly, you're much more of an inspiration. You've gone through so much for so long and are pushing through everything. You are truly fantastic! :D I really hope to see you again in the future, and that you have the most wonderful life!
Thank you, thank you! Everyone, just thank you for all the wonderful words sent to the story! If anyone has been having trouble, though, in sending reviews, please let me know. Things have been strange for the site lately. I think if you use the app it messes up the reviews and chapters sometimes. Just a warning for you all. Hope that helps. :)
~Tinker~