They were all leaned back, reclined on the sofa and big overstuffed arm chairs in the library on board the TARDIS. Jack had commandeered the largest of the arm chairs, the Doctor sat in the one opposite him. Both chairs were a deep brown soft leather, the arms large and overstuffed.
Jack observed had observed some sort of mental interaction between the Doctor and Scarlett as they entered the room and found their seats. Now, despite there being plenty of room on the matching sofa, next to Jacob and Donna, Scarlett had balanced herself precariously on the right arm of the Doctor's chair. She had somehow managed to cross her legs up under her and remain balanced, despite her knees jutting out quite a bit from the edges—all the while holding a steaming hot cup of tea—proving to Jack that Teni must have good balance.
And while Jack was making observations, he also noted that Jacob and Donna, happened to be sitting just the right distance away from each other. Yes, he was sure neither of them had a clue yet as to what was starting to happen between the two of them, but he could sense it. Could be a slow burn, he thought to himself. Of course, they would be probably be appalled at his analysis, but if there was one thing he was good at, it was love and attraction.
Which led him back to the two sitting directly across from. Why didn't Scarlett sit on the sofa next to Jacob & Donna? There was plenty of room. Something between the two of them, too, I believe. I wonder what that mental conversation was about before she found her seat, he thought to himself.
…Twenty minutes earlier…
Scarlett had brought up the rear of the group as they walked into the library, each carrying their own tea. She balanced a tray with snacks in her left hand and her tea in her right. She set the tray down on the table between them all, then started to move towards the seat next to Donna when the Doctor nudged her mind. Please sit near me. After everything we've been through today—I don't think I want to be too far away from you right now—please. She glanced up at him and there was a faint look in his eyes, he was trying to hide it, but she could see hopefulness. She smiled and settled herself on the arm of his chair. Thankfully, she thought, they were rather large and cushiony, so it wasn't too uncomfortable.
After they had settled in, Donna looked at Scarlett, "When do you have to go back to Teni?"
Donna noticed that with her question, the Queen's jaw tensed momentarily before she let out a breath and spoke, "I've spoken with my brother—the Prime Minister. I'll be headed back after a night's rest tonight. As soon as I return in the morning, we'll be going immediately into a private meeting with the Elders to determine the next course of action."
"You mean, the next course of action after the attack?" Donna questioned.
"Well, that too. But I mean to say, after my—" she paused, coming up with the appropriate word, "—after my change," Scarlett clarified.
Donna was confused, and questioned, "What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has quite a lot to do with many things." Scarlett began to explain, "But the simplest explanation of Teni royalty is: my ability to remain the Queen has rested on the fact that I was the last of what was considered a "pure Teni." The royal family has always been of pure blood line. Our family can be traced all the way back to the beginning of the Teni people. When other families chose to have families with other compatible races, the royal family remained pure to the Teni bloodlines. I'm the last. Prime Minister Balen is my half-brother, considered by the old traditions to be only 'half-pure.' Now that I'm a Time Lady, I am biologically no longer a pure Teni." She glanced at the Doctor, then back to Donna and sighed. "I can no longer be Queen."
Donna felt anger welling up inside and was about to speak, but Jack beat her to it and interjected, "It sounds a bit—racist to me, your Highness," he stated with a grim expression on his face.
Scarlett nodded. "And so it probably should, Jack. I won't argue with you. The rules and traditions of the Teni society are mostly outdated. The clear majority of Teni no longer believe the pure bloodline is a necessity in government leadership. I like to think we remain on the throne not because of ancient outdated rules, but because the people love and want us there. Otherwise, an uprising would have occurred sometime ago."
"Of course! You are a marvelous leader and are respected, not because of your blood, but because of the kind of leader you are." The Doctor nodded her direction. She smiled, then looked back to Jack, Donna, and Jacob (who was listening quietly).
"But yet, they'll take your throne away because of an accident that was out of your control!?" Donna's emotions seethed at the thought.
Scarlett drew out the next word as she thought through her response, "Well…" then she continued, "I haven't spoken at length with my brother. I don't want to say much more, yet. Not till we have met with the Elders. Suffice it to say, we have quietly been considering and planning for changes in the governmental structure for some time. So please, before you go trying to start a revolution on my planet out of kindness for me," she directed towards Donna, Jack, and Jacob. "Please know that things might work out—exactly the way they are supposed to."
"But—" Donna started to argue.
"Donna." Scarlett's expression changed, her whole body went rigid and she sat up straight, seeming even taller than she already was. Her face grew stern and her jaw clenched. Donna was sure the look must be how she appeared as she dished out important royal orders. It reminded her of the Doctor's 'Oncoming Storm' look that she had seen given to various naughty alien cultures. "That is the end of the conversation for now." Then her look softened, "Please. I promise I will share more with you once my meetings are over. That is—if you all will stay on Teni, at least until a decision is made?" She looked down at the Doctor hopefully.
The Doctor looked up at her kindly, and in what was one of a few rare public displays of affection towards her since she had come onboard, he took her hand and squeezed it. "Of course. No getting rid of me till you insist."
He then paused, realizing something. "Though I suppose I should ask the rest of my companions. What do you say?" His eyes went from Jack, to Jacob, then Donna. "I shouldn't assume any of you lot are prepared to hang about with me after all this. If you like, I can drop you off anywhere you desire."
Jack spoke up, with a grin. "You know, I hear Teni is beautiful this time of year." He winked at Scarlett. "Besides, time machine, right?" He nodded up towards the ceiling of the TARDIS. "You can get me back to Earth when I need to be there." The Doctor smiled and nodded an affirmation.
Donna gave her own answer, "Hey, nothing has changed, Spaceman. You're stuck with me for a long time. I've got to learn how to be an alien." She snickered, "And it really is going to be a long time now, it seems. Regenerations and all, right?"
"Yes, we'll have to sort through all that and see how many regenerations you have. I think I have a gadget for that." The Doctor nodded contemplatively.
"Of course, you have," snickered Donna. Spaceman has a gadget for everything, she thought. "What about you, Jacob? Ready to get away from your brother already?"
"Well," Jacob drew out the word much the way his brother did when he was making a big faff about something. "He does grate on the nerves a bit—"
"Oi! I'm right here you know!" the Doctor snapped.
"But no. I'm not going anywhere." He grinned. "Stuck with me, too, the lot of you. I may have your memories," he nodded towards the Doctor as he tapped his temple and continued to speak, "But I'm too new at all this living stuff to make a go of it by myself yet."
The Doctor smiled and squeezed Scarlett's hand, which he hadn't realized he was still holding until just then. "It's decided then, we're all going, and you're stuck with us till you decide otherwise."
Scarlett smiled wide and looked at the people around her warmly.
"So, Scarlett…" Jacob decided to breach a topic he'd been wanting to discuss for some time. "Now that is settled—will you tell us—what exactly happened when Donna touched my hand in the jar?"
"I believe you mean my hand," the Doctor corrected, his left eyebrow raised at his new twin brother.
"Think what you want, Doctor." Jacob grinned and wiggled the hand in front of him. "But it's my hand now."
The Doctor tried to pretend to be annoyed, putting his nose up in the air with a "Hmph" but they all could see the corners of his lips giving way to a smile.
Scarlett began to explain, "We had been dropped into the heart of the Crucible. The whole TARDIS seemed to be burning and exploding before us. I saw Donna fall, and then I felt an excruciating burning in my leg. I collapsed and began to block the pain."
"How do you block the pain?" Jack interrupted.
"Mental exercises, just like blocking certain thoughts out of a mind, you block certain pain receptors," she explained rather matter-of-factly.
Jacob leaned over, elbows on knees, to listen intently. "I have questions about the whole blocking thoughts thing, but I think you might get there eventually, so please go on."
"I saw her going towards the hand. I had seen the Doctor funnel his regeneration energy into it, so I knew there was power in that jar that was not safe on its own. I didn't know exactly what would happen, but even though I had no Time Lord DNA present at the time, it was as if I saw the timelines. I knew if she touched that jar on her own, if that two-way meta crisis were left to go its own way, it was going to end badly. For one, or both, of you. Without knowing exactly why, I knew I had to intervene. Just as Donna was compelled to touch the jar. I was compelled to touch her—and the hand." She nodded towards Jacob. "Your hand."
The Doctor shook his head. "Still my hand," he argued.
"Come and get it then, Spaceman!" Jacob quickly replied with a snicker. The Doctor's jaw dropped at the sound of Donna's nickname for him coming from his twin. Jack couldn't help but chuckle at their banter.
Donna cracked up laughing. "Oh, I love this one, I do!" She patted Jacob on the back and he turned briefly, blushing and smiling.
"So," Scarlett spoke, trying to get everyone back on track. "Once I touched the hand and Donna, it was as if the work was being done through me. Some outside entity was sorting out the energy so that the right bits got where it needed to go, even rearranging my own it seems. "
"I have a theory about that," the Doctor interjected. "I'm wondering if the Old Girl," he said tilting his head up to the ceiling in recognition, "might have had something to do with that."
Jack chuckled again. "You mean she got tired of you being the only Time Lord running about and decided she needed new friends?" The lighting quickly dimmed and came back, and Jack raised an eyebrow. "Ah, might have got it right on the nose there, did I?"
The Doctor frowned. "I refuse to acknowledge any of what was just said or done. That is until I can sit down and have a little talk with the her."
"The next thing I knew," Scarlett continued, "I blacked out. When I came to, I saw Jacob and Donna sitting there on either side of me and realized—"
"That there were a few things it would be best that we didn't know," Jacob interrupted. "I knew it! You blocked some of our memories."
"I'm sorry Jacob, but I had to do it. For the Doctor's sake. 900 years of knowledge is a lot to receive at once. I had to quickly sort out and give you some things, but not others. The Doctor has a private life, he deserves for that to remain his."
"But," Jacob questioned, "I get the feeling you chose to specifically block the memories we would have received from the Doctor about the Teni. We had no idea about your biological makeup after the metacrisis."
"Frankly, that was because I preferred to tell you myself about my own people. Because there are stories that are mine, and the Doctor's, to tell when we want and to who we want. The Doctor knows top-secret information about Teni. And please, don't misunderstand me to be rude, but the Doctor knows things about me that are frankly none of your business."
Jack was curious about the Doctor and Scarlett's previous relationship to each other, but what she said made sense. "And rightfully so, I'd say." He nodded in agreement. "The knowledge gained in friendship is to be gained by trust and time, not by a memory dump."
Scarlett bowed her head slightly towards Jack, out of gratitude for his understanding and agreement.
Jacob nodded, "Well, that's sorted out for now, I suppose. I think I'll be off to find my own room. Should be interesting to see what the TARDIS has for me." The others nodded, and as he was about to leave, Jacob stopped next to Scarlett, who had stood to stretch her legs. "Listen, I want to be sure you know I wasn't trying to—It was just troubling to learn someone had muddled about in my head. I wanted to say—thank you—for what you did. I'm alive, and here, because of it." He pulled her into a hug before she could protest and after a moment of shock, she hugged him back.
When he pulled back away she responded, "You are welcome, Jacob. Thank you."
Donna and Jack also got up, Donna grabbed the tray and piled the empty dishes on it. As they and Jacob headed towards the door, the Doctor spoke up. "See you all in the morning. I need to chat with Scarlett a bit about tomorrow's trip. We'll leave after breakfast in the morning."
After watching them leave, Scarlett dropped onto the sofa, stretching herself out all the way from one end to the other.
The Doctor sat back down in the chair closest to her feet, chuckling at her. "You do remember you have a room on board? No need to sleep on the sofa. It was sparse because you weren't here long before, but it's yours to claim. And who knows what the Old Girl has done to it after the impact you've had on her today—metacrisis and all." He gave a dramatic sigh. "Probably given you a walk-in wardrobe or some nonsense like that."
"Yeah, I know. I just remember how much I loved this chair. I think I took a nap here last time." She grinned and intertwined her hands, using them to pillow her head.
"Yes, indeed you did. I found you laying here with a book." His look turned wistful. "That was the day I had to take you back home."
"Oh. Yes, it was." She sat up and scooted down by him. "So, it was three years for you, Doctor?" she asked sadly. He just nodded, and she recognized the sad look in his eyes. She moved a bit closer, and their legs barely touched. She reached out and grabbed his hand. "I'm so sorry Doctor. Three years you had to wonder—you thought—"
"It's okay now." He squeezed her hand. "You're here and there's nothing we can do about that time lost. It wasn't your fault." He looked down and considered the time they had lost. "I should have tried to contact you. I should have known something was wrong. Instead, I was an idiot—I thought for sure you had—"
"No, no Doctor. Do not beat yourself up about it. It's only been 3 months for me." She chuckled, remembering something. "With all that's happened today, I almost forgot—I was going to contact you—tomorrow actually."
"Really?" He smiled a wide toothy grin, his cheeks warming. "You were?"
"Yes. I was." She then gently squeezed his hand again. "So, how are you doing, it's been a long day, you've gone through a lot today."
He sighed and thought about his answer. "I am—" he chose his words carefully, "Well- I found you, then I thought I had lost you, my best friend, and my TARDIS. Then to find not only did I have you all back, but also gained a brother. I closed a door on the past, with Rose, and locked it, permanently. I'm very much at peace about that. And now, we're going back to Teni and we're going to get you sorted out with your brother." He paused a moment. "I meant it when I said you were going to have to kick me out this time. I'm not leaving until you explicitly tell me I have to. I shan't have you and your planet getting whisked away again."
She chuckled, "Well I certainly hope that doesn't happen again."
He turned the conversation to a more serious question. "How do you feel about your meetings tomorrow?"
"I have very mixed feelings about the whole thing. You know, I love my people, I love leading them. But I am tired. I guess this is the time. It's been decided for me that my time has come. I just don't know what that will look like…the end."
"Perhaps it will look like a new beginning?" the Doctor questioned, hopefully.
"Perhaps it will." She smiled at him. "But—it will be up to the Elders to decide."
After a few moments of silence, the Doctor decided it was time for them both to get some rest. "Well, my lady, may I escort you back to your room?" He stood and extended his hand to her, slightly bowing his body in front of her.
She grinned and took his hand, allowing him to help pull her up off the couch. "Why yes, kind sir, I would very much appreciate that."
The Doctor noticed that it seemed to take a bit longer that it should have to get to Scarlett's room. Normally, the TARDIS sorted the rooms so that any companions staying on board had their rooms close to the control room, near his own room. Hers seemed to be a bit further away, allowing them a bit more time of companionship before he left her at her door. They walked along, her arm hooked around his, chatting about things he remembered about Teni. As they stepped up to her door, which had a Purple "S" engraved on a dark-stained wood door, he grinned. "Oh look, already showing signs of preferential treatment." He ran his hand along the engraving in the door. He turned to her and caught one of her hands in his, one last time, raising it up and kissing the back tenderly. "Good night, my lady. I wish you sweet dreams."
She smiled and played along, curtseying slightly before him, although she felt it looked silly in her current non-dress garments. "Thank you, kind sir, for escorting me back to my room. Good night and lovely dreams to you as well." She grinned and turned to enter her room. She closed the door behind her and waited a moment till she heard him walking away before turning to see her room.
"Oh, Old Girl, you shouldn't have." She felt a warm puff of air blow across her face and she smiled. The room was a standard template room the last time she had been on the TARDIS, and it was just for a few nights. But in the one day she had returned the TARDIS had decided it was time to customize her room, apparently. The floors were a dark hardwood, and the TARDIS had obviously caught on that her colors were dark purple and turquoise as the colors were displayed throughout the room in tasteful, elegant ways.
She opened the first set of doors she found in the room and revealed a large bathroom with a huge jetted tub. Next were a set of double doors, she opened them and laughed out loud when she saw before her a huge walk-in closet. Oh the Doctor was going to flip over this. She found pajamas and began changing. She noticed as she changed that also in the closet, taking up one whole side, were many outfits that seemed to be of Teni origin. The whole other side was filled with various outfits she would call "costumes" that must be for the purpose of visiting other cultures and time periods with the Doctor.
As she laid in bed a while later, she wondered if, and hoped for, the chance to go on adventures that required the clothing in the closet. In the meantime, she closed her eyes and dreamed of those opportunities.
