A/N: I wasn't going to post this until later because my lead on edited chapters is running out. Chapter 9 is being a real pain so hopefully I get it sorted soon. The world needs a little more Whouffle right now though, or at least I do. It's not much, but oh well. Happy reading, please let me know what you think so far wonderful readers! The world is mostly set up; we are off to the races now.
Health and Safety: Chapter 6 – Room with a View
There are well worn wheel ruts carved into the main and only proper road of the little town. Hitching posts have been planted in front of the buildings, which include all of the staples for a western town. There's a general store, what looks like a post office, an official looking place with some barred windows I am guessing is the jail and of course a saloon, which we pass just in time to see someone get tossed out of by a burly bald man. All of the buildings have brightly lit signs though, which I am guessing are powered by the solar panels that seem to cover every available roof top, either that or by the windmills just outside of town.
Ria turns us down a narrow side street, and halts out front of a stable door.
"We can leave your box in here and no one will bother it. This is Mrs. Shun's personal livery, people know better than to snoop." She says.
Although the Doctor hovers anxiously behind me, I manage to slide out of the saddle and land on my feet without any help, but I lean into him a bit anyways, it's comforting... Strax and Jenny help Ria park the wagon and tend to the horses, putting them away into stalls.
"There you are! I've been worried sick; you should have been gotten in hours ago!" A matronly voice with an accent that belongs somewhere in Liverpool suddenly exclaims behind us.
A smartly dressed woman storms into the stable, dark eyes blazing as she points her fingers accusingly at Ria, who blanches.
"We heard about an attack on a small group further up the road so we took a bit of a detour. Someone got kidnapped apparently. I didn't want any trouble if I could avoid it." She explains quickly.
The woman huffs a bit.
"And I had to stop to give these fine people a hand." She says, pointing to us.
The Doctor introduces everyone and shows her the physic paper, explaining our situation, or at least the situation we have made up.
"Well you aren't local are you? Hikaru Shun, please call me Hikaru, even though everyone insists on calling me Mrs. Shun, which is preposterous considering there has never been nor will there be a Mr. Shun. I wouldn't have time to keep one. You can stay with us for a bit of course. I've got some vacant rooms, always do."
She turns to Ria, who was putting feed out for her horse.
"Caravan from Estevan bound for Smallus didn't end up coming in today, apparently there was some ruckus in the city and they didn't want to risk it, it's been postponed indefinitely." She says shaking her hands in the air in disapproval.
"So I'm going to be here for a few days?" Ria asks, looking downcast.
"Yes love, until I can find something else for you. I promise to get you out of here for next week though." She tells her, winking. It seems to me like a promise she doesn't mean to keep.
My eyes start bobbing on me a bit, and the Doctor wraps an arm around me while Hikaru gives me a kind look.
"You don't look so good love, let me take you inside. Ria, show the others to the rooms by Carlos will you? Speaking of which, Carlos! Get down here and help! Take these draft horses back to the company barn!"
A teen's head pops out from the loft.
"Sorry Misses, fell asleep misses!"
Hikaru scoffs at him as she leads the Doctor and I out of the stable and into the side door of a rather grand looking if worn down building. I'd wondered what it was when we came in. It didn't have any sign or marker on it.
"Bought this place cheap when the hotel went out of business. I'm a District Coordinator for Devedas Freight, which means I need to oversee a lot of comings and goings. It only made sense to have a place to put everyone in." Hikaru explains as she leads us up several flights of stairs before stopping in front of a red painted door in the corner of the building's top floor.
"I'll bring you up a proper spot of tea, the kettle just boiled." She calls over her shoulder as she disappears back down the stairs.
The Doctor opens the door to reveal a small but tidy bedroom. One large bed in a corner, a tiny writing desk, a wardrobe and some drawers, there's a pretty water colour on the wall, but the frame is a bit chipped. I walk over to the open window, and am treated to a nice view of the little town right over the main road.
Hikaru bustles in behind us moments later, carrying a tray with beautiful china tea cups.
"They live a bit rough here, and I'm not talking about the leather. If you know what is good for you, do not ask that fool Betman for tea if you have any business with him. He doesn't know earl grey from prairie grass." She says darkly.
"What do you expect from the colonies ey?" Ria's voice asks, trying for a posh British accent of some kind. She is standing shyly in the door, holding a suitcase.
"Jenny said you might want this Clara, not sure where she got it from."
"Trade you." I smile at her, offering her hat back, which she takes happily.
"I'm going to try and get some sleep Mrs. Shun. The ride in wasn't so bad, but Walt and Daniel were at each other's throats, again…" They both shake their heads.
"Night Ria." The Doctor says thoughtfully. She waves and retreats back out the door.
The Doctor takes a few more sips of tea before turning to Hikaru.
"So what's her story?" He asks, sounding a little worried but also genuinely curious.
"It's not mine to tell." Hikaru replies, sounding protective.
"A young girl with a mind like hers working as an Outrider in the middle of nowhere? That is a story I would very much like to hear." The Doctor continues, unfazed by the defensiveness.
Hikaru sighs, before downing her tea in a gulp.
"It isn't a happy one, not yet at least." She says before hastily bidding us goodnight and taking the tray downstairs. That was an abrupt end to the impromptu tea party. I wasn't even half done my cup yet…
The Doctor stands up and walks over to the window, staring blankly outside.
"When you said 'a mind like that' you were meaning that she somehow couldn't see the psychic paper right?"
"No, it's not that she couldn't see it, it's that she could see past it, totally blank it out. That isn't completely unheard of, just really rare." He tells me as he turns back to look at me.
"She said she saw swirls on it, did she see Gallifreyan?"
"Must have, my thoughts were probably arranging themselves on the paper."
"It's a beautiful language. I can remember a bit of it, some words here and there, the sound of it, it's almost like music." I say softly.
He opens his mouth a few times to say something, but can't seem to find the right words and so he smiles warmly instead.
A yawn tries to escape my mouth, and I fight with it for a few seconds before losing.
"Clara… You really need to get some rest. You… you should be dead really after what you just went through, not just from the time winds but from the sheer effort of coming out of them, of finding yourself again."
"I had a lot of help." I tell him quietly, almost timidly.
We exchange a look, and I have a feeling that this is where he is going to try to start our inevitable talk about everything that has happened.
"So what is it, that snapping sound that keeps coming up?" I beat him to it, if we have to do this it's going to be on my terms, I hope.
He frowns at me before answering.
"That is you, throwing me out of your mind rather… forcefully. It's not a very pleasant feeling."
"Maybe you should take that as a sign to stay out then."
"You keep getting lost in your own head Clara; I just want to help you find your way out again."
He is still standing across the room. After how attached we had been it feels strange. But it somehow fits. I keep pushing his mind away and his body has followed for now.
"Once you are in my head though, you can do a lot more in there than just pull me out."
"Why would I do that?" He seems hurt.
I don't have a good answer for that, it's more me I am worried about than him. If I am lost I won't be able to stop him from seeing things once he is in my head. And I have one very important thing to keep from him right now, and it's the answer to a question he probably wants to ask me as well. Why did I jump into his time stream? Oh yeah, because I love him…
"I don't want to forget your name again." I lie. Well it isn't actually a lie; it's just not the whole truth. I really don't want to forget that. Knowing that about him, it's so… intimate…
"Clara-"
"You were so angry when I said I had found it the first time. But I wouldn't have 'gone looking for it' again like you sounded worried about. It's not some secret I feel chuffed about knowing Doctor. I don't want to forget it because the name you chose is important, but you need to remember that you are more than just the Doctor. You're you; a person who made the choice to be the Doctor. You are unique in the universe, utterly irreplaceable."
He looks shocked by what I just said, and touched.
"My Clara." He says tenderly, walking back over to me again and sitting on the bed.
"There will be no forgetting, I promise." He says, crossing his hearts before pulling me into a side hug.
Suddenly feeling scared and wanting to end this conversation, I look for a way out.
"You know, we seem to have a thing for dusty places today. I must look like a mess, brought in half of the Canadian prairies on my dress." I babble quickly before getting up and opening the suitcase Jenny had sent in. She must have gotten it out of my room in the TARDIS, which is kind of amazing. But then maybe the snog box doesn't give her quite as hard a time about getting around.
"Canadian prairie dust isn't the worst kind by a long shot. Rifthrol dust, that is nasty and a tiny bit alive…" He informs me as he lounges back against the bed's headboard.
I am so focused on what I am doing I forget for a minute that I am changing right in front of him, but remember about three seconds after pulling off my tights and having started to tug my unzipped dress over my head.
I spin around to see him staring at me, his face a brilliant red. I think I match right now.
His eyes stay low, on my legs. I'm not really showing anything indecent yet… just a lot more thigh than usual. Despite the fact that the Doctor is blushing madly, he isn't looking away, why isn't he looking away? And why is the blush fading? Did he just kind of bite his lip? Why am I looking at his lips? Okay I know the answer to that one but someone tell me what is actually happening here?
I finally manage to clear my throat, and his eyes snap up to my face as he practically leaps off of the bed, with a lot more grace than he usually manages.
"I'm going to see if I can find us something to eat and check how the others are doing." He says with a bit of a low tone of voice, looking at me one last time before straightening his bowtie as he flees the room.