The Water
ch 2
The angel wearing River's face tilted its head to the side, looking genuinely distraught.
"I…am lost."
The Doctor blinked. He hadn't been expecting that answer.
"Lost? What do you mean?" Considering that angels could teleport (at least according to the one in front of him), and that didn't explain why he was possessing River anyway. "Literally or metaphorically?"
"Yes." The angel responded, looking ashamed. The Doctor nodded, smiling. Both then.
"Well, you're in luck! I happen to be an expert at being lost!" The angel looked confused.
"Don't you mean finding your way?"
"No, that's more my companions' job. Ponds," The Doctor suddenly remembered where they were on Amy and Rory's timeline and hastily added, "River, come over and meet our new friend…what's your name?"
"Cas."
"Ah, yes. Our new friend Cas."
"Umm, not to be rude, but-"
"She's River." Amy interrupted her husband, who continued to stare with his mouth open.
"I am possessing the one known as River Song," the angel said after a beat then, seeing the confused faces of the Ponds, elaborated, "I am an Angel of the Lord…I, apologize if I hesitated to respond when you spoke of me but I…believe I am more accustomed to being referred to as male."
"You believe? How would you not know? Doctor, I think this River is just bonkers." Amy said, looking skeptical.
"I apologize…my memory is a little faded. I believe it is due to my becoming lost. Metaphorically." The angel clarified, his eyes becoming distant as if he was trying to remember exactly what has happened.
"But…angel of the Lord? A child could come up with a more believable story than that!"
"I did not come up with a more believable story because it is not a story. You are more skeptical than Dean." Cas said the name, then blinked as though he had never heard it before, and the Doctor made a note to find this Dean. He was obviously close to the angel.
"She….he's telling the truth. At least from a certain point of view. Now, what I want to know is why you're possessing River."
"I needed a vessel to…fix my grace. River was being forced to kill you, Doctor, so she agreed to let me possess her in order to avoid that." The Doctor suddenly realized what was supposed to be happening at that precise moment and began to panic.
"But you can't! My death is a fixed point in time! The universe is probably on the verge of collapsing as we speak!" Cas was unmoved. He stared at the Doctor solemnly, then spoke as if to a small child.
"God created fixed points in time. I have circumvented them before."
"When? Amy looked genuinely curious. Cas closed his eyes for a moment, searching for the answer.
"The Apocalypse." The Doctor's mouth opened, then closed, then opened again.
"I've never heard anything about that."
"Most likely because I helped prevent it." The Doctor had no answer to that, so he did what he always did when he didn't understand the situation. He changed the subject.
"So…do you have anywhere to go?"
"I believe so." The angel said, sounding confused.
"Where."
"I don't remember." The Doctor frowned for a moment at this, then his face broke into a mad grin.
"Well then, it appears we have an adventure ahead of us! Ponds, I will be seeing you again in…" The Doctor grabbed Amy's arm and read her watch, "Two minutes, thirty seconds. Do me a favor and make it seem like I died….but don't admit it too openly. Wouldn't want to create a paradox." With that done, the Doctor dragged a very confused Cas toward the Tardis.
"It is bigger on the inside." Cas remarked calmly. The Doctor hmmed. He knew that the lack of vocal enthusiasm wasn't due to lack of interest, Castiel was just a calm person. It was amazing how much one got to know a person when one has read their mind. Even if that mind was just a little bit jumbled.
"Yes, people do say that." The Doctor yanked at a particularly recalcitrant lever, letting out a laugh when it yielded to him, Castiel nodded and moved toward the control panel, his head cocked to the side and his expression that of a curious child. He looked to the Doctor as if for confirmation and, upon receiving it, ran his hand along the control reverently.
"This machine…it is alive." The Doctor looked up, shocked.
"How did you know?"
"It has an…energy. It feels like an angel." The angel closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed, a sweet, bubbly noise that the Doctor had a feeling he wouldn't hear often. His lips moved silently, and the Doctor stared at him.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm speaking with her. She is very intelligent. But I was right…this is an angel."
"What?"
"An angel. A Timelord angel. Apparently that's what TARDISes are, angels sealed into objects. They are meant to be…" Castiel closed his eyes and focused on the panel again, "guardians. And what better way to guard a traveler than to be his vehicle?" The Doctor furrowed his brow, looking at the control panel. It certainly made sense. After all, the TARDISes had to come from somewhere, and if humans had angels, why couldn't Timelords?
"Do you serve the same God?" The Doctor asked, curious, "And why can you talk to her?"
"I…believe that we do, yes. I can speak with her because I'm an angel."
"That makes about as much sense as anything else."
"Indeed." Castiel removed his hand from the TARDIS, looking almost regretful as he did so.
"So," The Doctor said, smiling at his otherworldly companion, "Is there anywhere you want to go?" Castiel looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I don't remember where I'm supposed to go."
"Well, what do you remember?"
"It was Earth. Earth in 2011."
"2011 it is then! Well, if the TARDIS listens. Which she never does, but that's half the fun!" The Doctor typed in the coordinates and slammed on a button, sending the TARDIS, sending the machine spinning into vortex with a smile on his face.
A/N: I hope that was to your liking. It's a little short, but I couldn't pump out any more words and this seemed like a good place to stop.
