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When The Doctor woke he winced. The bright lights of UNIT's infirmary and the bleeping machines were causing his pounding head to cave in on itself. It was almost as though some small microscopic nuisance had crawled inside his head and was hitting his brain with a hammer…a very big…very painful hammer.
His groaning attracted attention and a moment later the Doctor was pushing aside irritating hands that seemed to flap at him, he couldn't abide the human propensity to just touch people without so much as a by your leave. Didn't they realise how noisy they were? No matter how well meaning The Doctor didn't want their undisciplined thoughts barging their way into his mind; especially not now when his mental shields seemed to be particularly weak and head felt like it had been run over.
"No touching!" The Doctor barked in the face of the flustered young doctor…well youngish…it really was hard to tell with humans these days.
"Doctor."
At least that was a voice he recognised even if he also had to endure the sudden presence of Clara's arms around his neck and the distinctive press of his impossible girl's mind uncomfortably close to his own. Yet he was genuinely touched by her relief and concern and so he endured her embrace with the best grace he could manage. For a moment even lingering in the obvious affection she still held for him even after everything….everything…
Frowning those impressive eyebrows of his The Doctor tried to pull together his scrambled memories. He remembered being in the Tardis…he remembered going to try and find Gallifrey…yet after that things were garbled, there was pain…lots of pain…
"What happened?" The Doctor demanded and he was surprised how hoarse he sounded…as though he had been screaming and screaming until his voice had given way.
"You were hurt." Clara replied gently pulling away, her large brown eyes dropping to his chest.
Tugging the neck of his hospital gown away The Doctor caught sight of his bandaged chest. "How?"
"I don't know." Clara confessed. "I came back to my flat and found you like this…"
Yet there was clearly something that Clara wasn't saying, she wasn't lying per say but The Doctor knew his impossible girl, he knew the way her gaze shifted slightly to the right when she was trying to avoid confronting something.
"Clara what aren't you telling me?"
"That you weren't alone."
A familiar voice interjected and The Doctor scowled reflexively as P.E. swung himself off of another hospital bed, wearing a matching hospital gown to The Doctor's own.
"You were hurt too?" The Doctor questioned, straining his garbled memories for Danny's presence, yet there was nothing, not after the cemetery.
"No not hurt…not any more than the next dead man returned from beyond the grave." Danny deadpanned and Clara winced.
"You worked out the bracelet then?" The Doctor hypothesised a hint of a smile playing about his lips. "Perhaps you'll make a math teacher yet P.E."
"I didn't return via the bracelet Doctor." Danny replied and The Doctor could only stare at him, eyebrows drawn deep as if waiting for the human to start making sense.
"I worked it out but sent a boy back with the bracelet." Danny added whilst sheepishly glancing across at Clara who tensed and for a moment her eyes looked suspiciously glassy.
"I don't understand then how did you return?" The Doctor demanded, his blue grey eyes scanning closely over this creature that looked like Danny Pink and yet he had been fooled before…if only he could get his hands on his sonic.
"I made a deal with the devil." Danny confessed. "I am not proud of it but when she offered a way out of there I took it..."
"She?" The Doctor asked and yet he already had an inkling of the answer. The garbled memories floating about his mind were now starting to slowly unscramble and there was one disturbing theme…too blue eyes…
"No." The words were torn from his throat and yet there was a part of him that found it almost comforting, like returning to an old worn pair of slippers and finding they fit you…So she had survived after all…he wasn't alone…he wasn't the last.
"Missy." The name slipped from between The Doctors lips, a curse and a benediction all in one.
"She brought a few of us back from the Nethersphere." Danny clarified his cheeks flushing at the mere memory.
It was not one of his finest moments appearing suddenly inside a national monument in his birthday suit accompanied by two equally naked companions. The police officers who had arrested them for public indecency had certainly not found Dr Chang's explanation of being resurrected from the dead by some insane alien to be believable; it had fallen to Danny to make up a story about a stag night gone wrong. Yet it had all been worth it when they had called Clara to come and bail him out, the look of disbelief and then joy that had broken over her face had all been worth it.
"Others you mean that UNIT scientist…the one with the bow tie…Umm Osgood?" The Doctor finally blurted out the young UNIT scientist's name as her image emerged from the jumble of memories. She had some part to play in this The Doctor was certain and yet what still remained blurred. Even as he palmed his hands through his hair, horrified when it felt matted and his hands came away with flecks of dried blood on them.
"Yeah Missy brought her back too." Danny replied yet there was something off in his tone that caused The Doctor to scowl. "Only she took Osgood with her to rescue you."
"Rescue me?" The Doctor snorted unable to believe what he was hearing. "The Mistress is no Good Samaritan P.E."
"Look I am only telling you what I know." Danny retorted hotly unable to stop himself reacting to that mocking nickname. After everything he had done to save the world, him and not Clara's Doctor, yet they still treated him like a wet behind the ears fool. They hadn't been there; they hadn't seen the way Missy seemed to be almost break, almost seem human, and then fight back with a savagery of a lioness protecting her pack.
"Missy and Osgood left to go rescue you from somewhere and they did bring you back." Danny added sarcastically. "So yeah I guess I must be an idiot but I believed them when they said that's what they were doing."
"But barely in one piece." Clara tutted shooting her boyfriend a look that Danny knew meant he would probably be paying for his tone later.
"Doctor what happened to you? Was this her work? Was that why you….you weren't yourself…" Clara paused swallowing uncomfortably as she recalled the scene she and Danny had walked in on.
Of her Doctor his handsome face warped into something unrecognisable, a monster out of nightmares, and she had stood there frozen in shock and horror as those long artistic fingers she so admired had squeezed. Missy by contrast had simply seemed unconcerned at being choked and shaken about like a rag doll. Her fingers had stroked The Doctors face in an almost loving gesture, and even after Danny had knocked him out she had continued to fuss and touch The Doctor until UNIT arrived to take them away.
So many questions and right now The Doctor was unsure of the answers, his head hurt too much and it was almost like his mind was refusing to cooperate. He had disjointed images that made no sense…orange skies and red grass…the ghostly brush of lips against his own and a terrible tightness in his chest like his hearts were breaking.
Part of him wanted nothing more than to lie back down and let sleep claim him, still he needed to know even if the truth hurt and there was only one person who could give him that. If he could trust her not to lie…
Steeling his courage The Doctor looked around for his clothes, relieved when it seemed his trousers and jacket had at least survived whatever these neophyte human doctors had put him through. Even his sonic was still in the pocket and The Doctor gripped it tightly before sliding it back into his pocket and tugging his clothes on the best he could.
The Doctor was prepared to stare and scowl down anyone who dared to get in his way.
"Where is she?"
-/-
"One million five hundred thousand and ten bottles of beer on the wall….one millions five hundred thousand and ten bottles of beer…take one down and pass it around…one million five hundred thousand and nine bottles of beer on the wall…"
"Please stop." Osgood could only plead, blinking her tired brown eyes as she huddled on the uncomfortable bench that lined one wall of the cell she had been locked up in.
The Mistress was locked up in the cell opposite hers and by contrast to Osgood seemed to be completely unconcerned for their future if her loud repetitive singing was anything to go by. What made it worse was it almost seemed like the damn song was reverberating inside her brain so even if the Mistress stopped singing anytime soon Osgood had a sneaking suspicion she would continue to hear the annoying verses repeating down inside her own head.
"One million five hundred thousand and five…"
"MISSY!" Osgood couldn't help her scream of frustration tugging on her limp brown locks as if tearing out her own hair would help any.
"What's the matter Skip you're looking a little stressed?" Missy teased, tilting her dark head as she looped her arms through the iron bars and pressed her cheek against the cool metal.
"What's the matter?" Osgood hissed in disbelief. "In the last seventy two hours I've been murdered, resurrected, had my first trip into space, tricked a timelord, almost died a second time by freezing to death…oh and let's not forget I also got to witness you and The Doctor shoving your tongues down each other's throats."
"Hmmm no need to thank me." Missy replied a smile playing about her lips as the memory replayed in her mind before her eyes turned reproachful. "Besides I am not sure I can forgive you for interrupting when you did Skip, that was my first proper make out session in this body, couldn't you have waited?"
"So instead of having to scrub my eyes clean I would have to scrub my brain instead." Osgood huffed, her noise crinkling in disgust at just the mental image. "I am no voyeur."
"Shame I am sure you would have found it educational Skip…I can be quite creative…"
Gagging Osgood could only ignore Missy's suggestive little wink. "Please spare me the details."
Pouting Missy stroked the bars suggestively, fingertips sliding up and down the length. "Your loss my dear. Still we have plenty of time and you can always change your mind…Do you think UNIT might be persuaded to let us share cells hmm?"
"I am not going to even justify that with an answer." Osgood muttered before she began to nervously chew her bottom lip.
When she had offered to be Missy's companion to save Dr Chang's life she should have realised that travelling with the Mistress around time and space would probably involve more than anyone's fair share of jails and angry aliens. After all The Doctor got into more than enough scrapes and he was trying to help people, by contrast Missy seemed to go out of her way to piss everyone off.
"Please tell me you at least have a plan to get us out of here?" Osgood sighed hoping against hope The Mistress could pull a rabbit out of a hat the way The Doctor seemed to.
She had committed treason after all, assisting an enemy combatant, even if it was the right thing to do was still a court-martial offense. If she was lucky she would just lose her job and have to back to the mind numbing boredom that was grunt lab work, as with that conviction hanging over her she would never get a job at any government contracted firm. Dear god she could only imagine her sister's face now, Stacie would love rubbing in her fall from grace, would revel in it.
"Missy?" Osgood prompted, lifting her gaze to stare at the timelady who had suddenly tensed like a whippet.
Her blue eyes almost comically large in her face The Mistress took in a deep breath through her nose, a broad smile spreading across her lips as she seemed to thrum with excitement. "Shush Pet someone is coming."
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