Lady A: Hey everyone and welcome back to Warrior Saga: Ember! I apologize for the long wait but I have been working on the Legacy Saga. It's a little time consuming. Anyways, let's get on with things, shall we?
Brief Recap: We learned that Artimes has terrible nightmares about the Time War and that for some unknown reason, only the Doctor can make them go away. Speaking of said Timelord, the Tyler sisters had their first encounter with the Ninth Doctor and he blew up their job!
Looking Forward: Artimes and Rose are reunited with the Doctor the next day and all hell breaks loose. Why is the Doctor staring at Artimes? What is so damn interesting about her?
On with the show!
Chapter Three: Not So Armless
Artimes barely paid attention to the TV as the reporters rambled on and on about the explosion at Henrick's. The red head was sitting on the far left of the couch with her sister sitting in the middle. The ginger's right hand was entwined with the blonde's left hand. Rose seemed honestly shaken by what had occurred with the Timelord, but Artimes knew that this was mild in comparison to the Doctor's usual adventures. His adventures were usually fraught with peril, near death experiences, terrible creatures, amazing sights, awe inspiring events, and a whole lot of running.
Artimes was brought out of her thoughts when their mother walked in, gabbing on the phone like the socialite she was. She handed them each a mug of hot tea. The ginger sipped hers a little, relishing how the hot liquid flowed down to her stomach and warming her from the inside out. She still remembered the warmth of the Doctor's hand in hers and she honestly missed him already.
"I know, it's on the telly! It's everywhere! They're lucky to be alive! Honestly, it's aged them. Skin like an old bible. Walking in now you'd think I was their daughter!" Jackie rambled into the phone, the ginger shaking her head slightly at her mother's antics before Mickey appeared in the doorway, "Oh and here's himself…"
"I've been phoning your mobiles, you two could've been dead! It's on the news and everything! I can't believe that your shop went up!" He ranted hugging them both before plopping down next to Rose.
"Believe it, Micks." The red head answered setting her mug down on the glass coffee table.
The action reminded her of what was going to happen and she would have to remember to move the coffee table to the other side of the room. She really didn't want Rose and the Doctor to shatter it when they fell and possibly hurt themselves. Thinking of the Doctor brought a small smile to her face.
"We're alright, honestly, we're fine! Don't make a fuss." Rose placated not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
"Well, what happened?" Mickey asked curious.
'Nothing in particular, Micks. Just a time traveling alien with two hearts blowing up our job to stop creatures made up of living plastic from killing us and conquering the world.' Artimes thought wryly, trying to keep the smirk off her face.
"I don't know." The blonde answered.
Mickey looked over at the red head, expecting a different answer.
"What? Why are you looking at me like I know?" The ginger asked her eyes flashing in irritation.
"You usually do." He answered like it was obvious.
She had to begrudgingly admit that her dark skinned friend had a point. Since she woke up in this world, the red head always seemed to know what was going on or about to happen. This time was no different except for the fact that she had already seen this in the reality she was born in, but she was going to conveniently forget to mention it at that moment.
"Well I don't, Micks." The ginger replied letting slip her annoyance about his constant pestering.
Early Mickey was always such a nuisance, not to mention a hassle. Rose stroked the back of her hand with her thumb in a calming manner. Artimes bit back the urge to verbally rip her sister's boyfriend a new one and sighed quietly, letting her head fall back and rest on the couch.
"What was it though, what caused it?" Mickey continued unaware of the red head's growing anger.
Artimes involuntarily squeezed her sister's hand in a show of increasing irritation, making her younger sibling glance at her briefly.
"We weren't in the shop, we were outside, we didn't see anything." Rose answered recognizing the early signs of her elder sister's temper.
Rose knew that if Artimes lost control of her temper for even a moment, the fury and hatred from her nightmares would surge to the surface and make her do something she would regret. It had happened several times while they had been growing up when bullies would hurt the blonde and her sister would lose it. Rose was scared of the sapphire eyes that burned with a cold rage but she was never afraid of her sister because the moment her elder sibling looked at her that anger would vanish and be replaced with the warm and kind sapphires she loved so much.
Fortunately, their mother walked back in, babbling on about some interview they sisters could do for five hundred quid. The younger Tyler grabbed the phone, hung up on the caller making her sister snort in amusement, and placed the phone on the table. Artimes closed her eyes and tried to drown out the chaos for a moment.
"What are you drinking? Tea? No, no, that's no good, that's no good. You're in shock, the both of you. You two need something stronger." Mickey commented placing Rose's mug on the table as the ginger opened her eyes.
"Why?" Both girls asked in unison.
"You deserve a proper drink, the three of us, we're going down the pub, my treat. How about it?" He answered quickly, hope flashing in his eyes.
"Is there a match on?" Artimes asked a smirk on her lips and a knowing look in her eyes.
"I'm just thinking about you two, honest!" He answered hastily, trying to cover up the real reason he wanted to go to the pub.
Both girls smiled at him, seeing through his excuse easily.
"There's a match, ain't there?" Rose asked smiling more.
"Well, that's not the point, but we could catch the last five minutes." Mickey answered giving up the ruse and looking at them with hope filled eyes.
"Go on then, don't mind us." Artimes replied chuckling.
"We're fine, really. Go. Get rid of that." The blonde concurred before gesturing to the plastic arm in the sitting chair.
Mickey pointed to his lips and Rose gave him a kiss. He pushed her back onto the couch playfully. He then looked at Artimes and pointed to his cheek. The ginger rolled her eyes as she leaned forward and placed a light kiss to his cheek. The trio laughed as he got up to go. Both the red head and the blonde stuck out a leg to try and trip him up a bit. He stumbled, but laughed at their antics all the same. He picked up the arm and waved with it.
"Buh Bye!" He said a high pitched tone.
"Bye!" Rose replied smiling.
"See ya, Micks." Artimes responded shaking her head at him.
The red head's jovial mood quickly evaporated when Mickey pretended to strangle himself with the arm before leaving. Rose shook her head fondly before glancing at her sister. Her sister's sapphire blue eyes held that distant look that Rose hated. It made her heart ache seeing her sister so tormented. Artimes was always so kind and so loving. It wasn't fair for her to have such horrible dreams. Why her?
Suddenly, the look in the ginger's eyes vanished and she stood up. Rose watched her sister in confusion as she moved the glass coffee table to the other side of the room, leaving the middle of the floor empty. Artimes offered no explanation for her actions as she left the room, presumably to fix the tiles in the shower.
At 7:30 am, Rose's alarm went off like it usually did every day. The blonde whacked it to make it stop beeping. She sat up and immediately noticed that her sister was still in bed and still very much asleep.
"There's no point in getting up, sweethearts. You've got no jobs to go to." Their mother's voice said faintly from somewhere in the flat.
Why was Artimes still asleep? Rose was not unhappy about this fact. It was just really odd and really rare for her sister to sleep through the night. It had only happened maybe three or four times in the last few months…since New Year's in fact. The blonde could tell from the soft smile on the ginger's face that she was not plagued by her usual nightmares.
The only thing that had changed about their day had been the Doctor. Could it have something to do with that strange leather wearing bloke that blew up their jobs? That didn't make sense because they had only just met him and didn't account for the other three or four times. Rose sighed and just laid back down, letting her elder sibling get some much deserved sleep.
Artimes walked into the living room a few hours later as her mother rattled on about something to do with some Greek woman named Arianna. She was very pleased that the glass coffee table was exactly where she had left it the night before. Her eyes lit up with happiness, a smile appearing on her face as she heard the faint but familiar buzzing sound of the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. He was here…he was actually here. Her body hummed with excitement and anticipation, her heart beating faster at her soon-to-be reunion with the Timelord.
"Mum, you're such a liar, Artz and I told you to nail that cat flap down. We're going to get strays!" Rose scolded as she stood up in the kitchen.
Artimes followed her sister as she entered the living room and headed towards the front door, the smile never leaving her face.
"I did it weeks back!" Jackie informed from her bedroom.
"No, you thought about it!" The younger Tyler replied going to investigate.
Rose soon discovered that the screws had fallen out of the door and onto the floor. The cat flap moved violently and the blonde leaped back. She glanced at her sister who motioned for her to go on. She knelt down and poked the cat flap open gingerly, much to the red head's amusement. She opened it completely and revealed the Doctor's face outside. Rose gasped as she scurried up from the floor and hastily opened the door.
"What're you two doing here?" The Doctor asked honestly confused.
"We live here, obviously." Artimes answered crossing her arms and smirking at him.
"Well, what do you do that for?" He asked a smile forming on his lips as he looked over at the ginger.
His eyes seemed so much happier when she showed up, but at the same time there was so much sadness. It was like he was caught between joy and sorrow.
"Because we do! And we're only at home because someone blew up our jobs." Rose accused highly annoyed at the Timelord's lingering gaze on her sister.
"I told him not to, but he didn't listen." The red head stated smiling, seeing a brief flash of amusement flit across his eyes.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and glanced at it, no doubt reading the results of the signal he had been tracking.
"Must've got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" He rambled knocking Rose's forehead with his knuckles but only tapping the ginger's forehead lightly, like he was almost afraid to hurt her, "No, boneheads. Bye then!"
He made to leave but Rose was not having any of that.
"You, inside." She ordered dragging him in, "Right now."
Artimes shut the door with a smirk.
"There are so many things I could say about that sentence." The ginger whispered softly to the Timelord, her eyes communicating just how far into the gutter her mind had gone for a moment.
The Doctor blushed slightly at her implied meaning and swallowed hard. He stared at her a moment longer before clearing his throat quietly and looking away.
"Who is it?" Jackie inquired.
Rose poked her head into their mother's bedroom.
"It's about last night, he's part of the inquiry. Give us ten minutes." The younger Tyler answered moving towards the kitchen.
"They deserve compensation." The elder blonde commented sternly.
"Huh, we're talking millions." The Doctor responded with his usual charm.
Artimes spared him the highly awkward and potentially embarrassing moment by pushing him down the hallway. She smiled briefly at her mother before closing the bedroom door to muffle the sounds that would be occurring later from the struggle with the plastic arm.
"What did you do that for?" The Timelord questioned as she joined him in the living room.
"Did you want my mother flirting with you?" The red head asked a knowing smile on her lips.
"No." The Doctor answered in the same tone he had used from the show.
"See? I did you a service." The ginger replied earning a chuckle from him.
Rose was chattering away but neither the Timelord nor her elder sister were paying her any mind. The Doctor let his eyes roam over the auburn haired woman, a mixture of happiness and sadness swirling in his eyes. Their eyes met and the Doctor unknowingly took a step towards her, his right hand reaching up and cupping her face. She leaned into his touch, completely unafraid of him, her own eyes warm and kind. He opened his mouth to say something but then realized what he was doing. He stepped away, letting his hand drop to his side. His eyes were a storm of emotions and her heart broke a little at how off balance he was. Something about her was hurting him and she didn't know why.
He moved away from her further and started examining the room. His eyes flickered about like he was trying to find something to focus on besides the red haired woman. He finally picked up a gossip magazine and perused the cover.
"That won't last, he's gay and she's an alien." He commented quietly.
Artimes moved closer to him, determined to help him somehow.
"How can you tell?" She asked glancing at the magazine herself.
She missed the intrigued and curious look she received from the Timelord. She also missed how he leaned down slightly and inhaled deeply, a peaceful expression on his face. He shook his head slightly, pain and sadness flashing across his eyes. He set down the magazine and picked up a book, flipping through it rapidly.
"Sad ending." He stated trying to keep his focus away from her.
"Have you read it before?" The red head asked not really expecting an answer from him.
She moved closer to him again and took the book from his hands and setting it down in its proper place. The Doctor glanced at her, his confused and sad eyes meeting her curious and amused ones. He seemed to notice how little space there was between them and quickly shifted his attention elsewhere. He picked up a couple of envelopes and she saw the grief filled look in his eyes again, but it lasted only a moment.
"Artimes and Rose Tyler." He read setting them back down.
He glanced around a bit more and his eyes landed on the mirror hanging on the wall.
"Ahh, could've been worse!" He commented before flicking at his ears a bit, "Look at me' ears."
Artimes moved over to him, her arm brushing against his.
"I like them. Gives you character." She commented smiling at him.
He looked down at her, his eyes shifting between confused, pleased, and pained. He finally settled on pleased and beamed at her. The ginger blushed slightly and he gave her a cheeky grin, making her giggle at his antics. The spark his eyes were lacking returned and he picked up a deck of cards. He made certain the red head was watching him before he shuffled the deck dramatically, making her smile widely.
"Luck be a lady." He sang trying to shuffle them again.
It ended in disaster as the cards went flying everywhere. Artimes laughed a little, earning a playful scowl from the Timelord.
"Maybe not." He started then heard the scuffling noise from behind the sofa, "What's that then? You got a cat?"
Artimes saw the arm go behind the couch and she silently cursed.
"Doctor, don't…" She warned as he knelt down on the couch to look behind it.
The plastic arm leaped up and grabbed his neck, strangling him. Artimes ignored Rose as she tried to help the Timelord, her fear sky rocketing. The blonde walked in and set the cups down on the side table since Artimes had originally moved the coffee table.
"I told Mickey to chuck that out." Rose commented completely oblivious to the fact that the Doctor was actually being choked to death by a plastic arm.
The younger Tyler turned back to the struggling pair.
"Honestly, you two and your plastic hand. Anyway, we don't even know your name, Doctor…what was it?" Rose continued.
The Doctor finally threw the arm off and it stopped mid air. The arm then decided to attack the person closest to it which happened to be Artimes instead of Rose. It collided with her face, covering her nose and mouth, and forced her against a wall. It was impossible for her to breath and her eyes were beginning to water from the lack of oxygen. Both the Doctor and her sister tried to remove the arm but it wouldn't budge.
Her lungs felt like they were on fire and her mind flashed to her dream with Clara, the horrible burning that scorched through her very soul. She was yanked from her thoughts as the pair jerked her forward and onto the floor. If she hadn't moved the coffee table, it would have been shattered. Her vision was starting to darken and she was not quite sure how she got on to the couch. The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and with on final tug, he pulled the arm away from her face. She gasped for breath, coughing and sputtering at the sudden intake of oxygen.
Rose quickly sat next to her and rubbed her back soothingly until she was in control of her breathing again. The sisters watched the Timelord as he pointed the sonic device in the middle of the palm and the arm stopped moving.
"It's alright, I've stopped it. There you go, you see?" He started tossing the arm to Rose, "'Armless."
"Do you think?" The blonde asked thoroughly annoyed by his casual behavior.
She used the plastic hand and whacked him on the shoulder hard.
"Ow!" He complained rubbing his arm and pouting like a child.
Artimes slid off the couch and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him closely.
"Thank you for saving me." She whispered softly.
The Doctor stiffened under the initial contact, but after a few moments, he hugged her back, his face and hands buried in her hair. She knew he rarely got thanked, if ever, for the amazing and wonderful things he did and she wanted to at least give him that much. Now she just had to find a way to stay with him and not get left behind. How do you get in between a boy and his box?
Lady A: Voila! Chapter 3: Not So Armless is complete! I had fun doing this chapter, mainly because we get to see some of the little nuances between Artimes and the Doctor. We'll eventually get some from the Doctor's perspective which will help clear up why he is reacting to her the way he is. Anyways, leave tons and tons of reviews and be on the lookout for Chapter Four: Swanning Off! Stay tuned!