Chapter 8

A/N: PROCRASTINATION! That is pretty much a description of what has been going on in my life. I'm working to change it, so bear with me.
This was about 6 pages in Word, though it seems a lot less in here...

Also, if any of you have any tips, please share them with me ^^
Enjoy!

The three have to find a job, a new companion introduces herself and a whole lot of drama!

"How did you want to build a house here, though?" Anan asked as we wandered around the mountain.

"Now that you mention it…" I turned to the Doctor walking behind us. "Is there like a company that comes to your planet to build houses?" He looked up and frowned.

"I suppose there is, but that's going to cost us."

"Then we should go earn some money first. Surely you know of a place we could work." I patted his shoulder.

"I might… But we'll have to stay in this part of the universe and we'll have to stay in this time line, otherwise the money might be different." He muttered to himself as he returned to the TARDIS.

"I had this job as a maid once, it was hilarious." I said as I followed him. "We had to dress up in those maid costumes and always address the customers with 'master' or 'milady'. I'm pretty sure one of the regulars totally had a crush on me." I grinned at the memories. The guy would look at me all the time when he was there, he didn't take his eyes off me even once.

"That sounds slightly degrading." Anan said as he entered after me, closing the door behind him.

"It wasn't that bad. Though I heard rumors of some maids who were assaulted after work hours."

"Then we know what job not to give you." The Doctor chimed in as he stood beside us. "You can choose though, I can get you any job you want."

"I would like a job that involves animals." Anan announced.

"A waitress?"

"Didn't you hear me just now?"

"The 'then we know what job not to give you' part or the 'I can get you any job in the world' part?"

"The first one."

"It's not the same as being a maid, it's the normal version and you don't have to wear anything flashy. At least on Earth… I don't know about the rest of the universe…" The Doctor sighed and shook his head.

"Any job." He stressed.

"I heard, but I don't have any qualifications…"

"Alright, I'll just pick something for you."

"This is practically the busiest planet in the entire universe." The Doctor said while blocking the door. "So, please try not to get lost."

"I never get lost." Anan said proudly.

"I always get lost." It was true though, I probably had the worst sense of direction in all of human, no wait, Time Lord history. He walked up to me and took my hand.

"Not like this." He smiled encouragingly.

"Then it's all good." I returned his smile.

Anan had received a job at the intergalactic pet shop. Some of the animals I knew, others were so strange that I wasn't even sure whether they were actually natural. Genetic manipulation was already something normal in this age. The Doctor worked at a toys shop and I found out my 'surprise job' was basically just being a salesperson in a clothes store. That wasn't so hard, was it?

By the time the bell rang, indicating lunch break, I was pretty much dead. I didn't even have the strength to move from my shop to the toy shop across the aisle. It looked way too busy anyway.

"Hello." I looked up in surprise to find a young woman beside me. It wasn't so much surprise as to finding her there. The surprise part was caused by her blueness. Because that's what she was, very very blue. She was tall and had her dark purple hair in a meter-long pony tail.

"Hello," I forced myself back on my feet. "how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a vest with an inside pocket."

"An inside pocket… I think we have a few. They're not made as much anymore though." I said as I walked over to a pile of vests and started rummaging through it.

"I know, I've looked literally everywhere. I really want that though, it's for my watch." My breath stopped for a moment.

"Your watch?"

"Yeah, pretty weird for me to still have a watch when everything's digitalized, right?"

"No, not at all, I have one too. This has an inside pocket as well." I gestured at the vest I was wearing.

"And where'd you get that one?"

"I honestly have no idea. It was lying around." I wanted to add "in the TARDIS", but then quickly shut my mouth. I pulled a vest from the pile and held it up, it was bright yellow.

"I don't think that's going to work…" She said as she frowned.

"No, probably not. You know what? Just any vest will do, you know."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you don't necessarily need an inside pocket."

"But I want to put the watch there."

"I mean that you don't have to buy one that has that. You can always make it yourself. I've done it plenty times before, so I could do it if you want."

"I only have a little bit of mo-"

"Free of charge, of course." Her eyes lit up.

"Really?" I nodded.

"Just get one you like and I'll make an inside pocket. I'm on break anyway." She gasped.

"Really? Oh, I'm so sorry for bothering you during your break."

"That's fine, I'm glad I can be of service."

After guiding her through the masses, we arrived back at the TARDIS. It was parked in such a way that it seemed to be the entrance to any ordinary house, so I didn't need to worry about her freaking out about the 'bigger on the inside' thing.

"Come on in." I said as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. She followed me and I could tell from the noises behind me that she liked the interior.

"Your house looks amazing."

"Thank you very much." I draped the vest over the control panel and quickly got the sowing kit from the wardrobe.

"So, what's your name?" I asked as I walked back down the stairs.

"I'm Ren."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Haylee," I turned to the vest and nodded. "This is really easy." I said as I took a piece of cloth and neatly sowed it to the inside of the vest. "Just like that, an inside pocket. Go on, try it." She nodded and happily put the vest on, taking out a fob watch and putting it into the pocket.

"Wow, it fits perfectly! It's almost like you knew what kind of watch I meant."

"I did." I took out my own and held it up to her. She frowned.

"It's exactly the same as mine." I nodded.

"Would you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Not at all."

"Are you an orphan?" Her eyes widened slightly.

"How do you know?"

"I'll get to that later. Next question. You've had that watch for as long as you can remember?" She nodded.

"And you've never opened it before?" It was like I was unconsciously setting up routine questions. She nodded again. I let out a deep breath and gestured at the chair by the control panel, she slowly sat down and stared intently at me, waiting for an explanation.

"Alright, judging by the watch and the answers you've given me, I think I can safely say that you're not quite what you think you are. There was a planet once, a planet that harbored an ancient race called Time Lords. One day, that planet went to war. A war some knew couldn't be won. Some of the Time Lords rewrote the biologies of loved ones and sent them away to protect them. The Time Lord essence was then stored in a watch, a fob watch just like mine and just like yours."

"So, I'm one of them- one of you?" I nodded.

"And you can become one again if you open that watch." She looked at the thing in her hands and let her finger go over the button a few times.

"You won't be able to turn back afterwards, so please make sure you think it over properly." I warned her.

"You did it too, I assume?" I nodded.

"And does it… does it hurt?" I shook my head.

"Not at all." That was a lie, but I what the Doctor had said before kept playing through my mind. It was important to get as many Time Lords back as we possibly could. We couldn't just let our race die out like that, it was our obligation.

"Well, I didn't really like this life anyway." She said as she pressed the button. The blinding light was less harsh this time and unlike Anan, she stayed fully conscious throughout the whole thing.

As soon as the light started to fade, she hurled herself at me and wrapped her hands around my throat as she pushed me against the control panel.

"It hurst like hell, you liar!" She said as she increased the pressure, making it harder for me to breathe. I squeaked an apology as I clawed at her hands around my throat. She was panting and sweat was trickling down her forehead. Her hair color had remained the same, but her skin tone had gone from a bright blue to a pale white. The room around me started to spin and I started feeling light in my head, my efforts to break free slowly got less powerful until I could barely even try anymore. My vision blurred and then a black haze started advancing from the corners of my eyes until I could see nothing more than darkness. I heard the TARDIS door opening and fell to the ground when she released me, lying perfectly still aside from the movement that was made when taking in huge amounts of air. My body was put on its back and my head was on someone's lap. When the darkness before me disappeared, I instantly recognized the two worried faces hovering over me.

"Are you alright?" Anan asked. I scraped my sore throat and nodded as I sat up.

"Awesome." I saw that the young woman was standing by the door. "Please stop!" I quickly said.

"Why should I?" The Doctor stood and I could see outright fury on his face.

"Because you owe her an apology! At the very least!" He yelled. The woman's eyes widened. I tugged at the Doctor's sleeve and shook my head when he turned to me.

"She doesn't. It was my fault for lying to her."

"What about?" Anan joined.

"The pain…" They both knew what I meant.

"Exactly, so I owe no one an apology." She wanted to walk away, but Anan stopped her. My brain hadn't processed exactly how he got from next to me to the door so quickly, but I figured it was because of the lack of oxygen just moments ago.

"Where are you going?" She looked him up and down with a contemptuous look in her eyes.

"That's none of your business, is it now?" He was taken aback slightly by the sharp tone, but closed the door when she opened it to leave.

"Allow us to explain what has happened. After that, you are free to go." She narrowed her eyes in suspicion, then took a step away from the door.

"She's already explained it pretty well, aside from that one thing."

"I'm really sorry, I just thought…" Looking back, I found that my reason for lying wasn't as good as it had seemed before. I shook my head.

"That was selfish of me and I apologize. It was wrong."

"Apology not accepted." She snapped as she wanted to leave, but again Anan blocked her way.

"I'm kind of dangerous at the moment, boy, you don't know what you're doing."

"Look at yourself now, Ren, you look different from before. Anyone who knew you probably won't recognize you." Her facial features had changed slightly as well, such as eye color and her jaw line. She looked around, spotted a mirror and marched over, gasping at her reflection.

"Surely you remember everyone from Gallifrey?" The Doctor asked, trying to sound sympathetic. She looked to the ground and took a deep breath, before turning back to us.

"Alright fine, I'll go with you lot." She said as she dove into the nearest hallway.

"Wait, you might get lost-" Anan said as he wanted to follow her.

"I know how a TARDIS works, doofus." The Doctor and I both burst out into laughter.

"Let's get back to work before we get fired, doofus." I said when the laughter had died down to grins.

"Are you sure you feel up for it?" The Doctor's ability to switch from 'having fun' to 'dead serious' was remarkable.

"No problem. I'm healthy as a horse."

"Look, I got a bonus!" The Doctor said happily when he came back in the evening, he was waving around a whole stack of notes.

"A bonus on your first day?" I asked skeptically.

"I'm a very likable person, apparently."

"Normal people would have to screw their boss to get that." Ren said as she leaned against the wall.

"He's not normal." I said as I yawned.

"Oi!"

"Seriously though, you tricked a machine into giving you that, didn't you?" He pouted.

"No…" I let out a deep breath.

"Well, you got it now, no use in trying to shove it back into the machine."

"Good, because I've already found a company who's willing to build a small village for exactly this amount of money."

"Then we should head home. I'm sure Ren would love to see the planet we picked." She let out a slight growl.

"Nothing can replace Gallifrey."

"It's not a replacement. It's…"

"A whole new start." Anan finished for me.

"Exactly, thank you."

"You are most welcome."

The construction workers had already started by the time we got back and work was progressing nicely. I sat next to Anan on a pile of wood and looked around, seeing Ren retreating into the TARDIS.

I guessed that Ren had been quite a bit older than me when she was 'turned', as we'd started calling it. Anan had also been older than me, but that difference wasn't as big. Ren seemed to be only a little younger than the Doctor.

"Something is bothering you, is it not?" Anan asked.

"What? Oh, no…"

"Really?"

"No."

"Then tell me." I let out a deep breath.

"It's just that I'm slightly worried about Ren's age."

"Her age?" He asked surprised. Then he realized what I meant. "Oh, because the Doctor..?" I nodded uncomfortably.

"I do not think it is something you have to worry about. It seems very clear to me that he likes you." I looked up.

"Really?" He nodded.

"Think about how worried he was about you when you fainted earlier today."

"I guess.., but you were worried too."

"A lot less than him. I think that if you tell him right now how you feel, he will faint from happiness." We both laughed.

"You think I should then?"

"Yes."

"Okay." I stood. "I think I might…"

"Good, let me know what happened."

I marched through the corridors of the TARDIS, brimming with confidence. I stood in front of the door to his room and took a few deep breaths before opening it and putting a step inside. My eyes widened slightly when I saw the Doctor lying on his bed, Ren on top of him, the two locked in a fiery kiss.

"Oh- uh- sorry for interrupting- good luck with- yeah." With that I stepped back and closed the door, not hesitating before sprinting through the corridor and back outside. I located Anan and clasped onto him. He awkwardly hugged me back and frowned.

"What happened?"

"You were wrong."

"Are you positive? I do not think-"

"I saw Ren on top of him. You were wrong." He blinked in surprise and patted my back.

"Alright, I am truly sorry for lying to you then. It was not my intention."

"You didn't on purpose, I thought so too..." My body shocked heavily as the tears came spilling out. I'd always thought it would be stupid to cry over guys, but now that I experienced it first hand, it was the only thing I could do and it made perfect sense.

"One house is already finished. Want to go take a look?" He obviously tried to cheer me up. I straightened my back and nodded at him, sniffing once and wiping my tears.

"Yeah, I'm kind of curious."

The house was spacious, even big enough for all of us, I'd say. Not that I had any intention to live with anyone anymore. All I longed for now was solitude.

"What about furniture?" I wondered out loud.

"We can just buy some. Perhaps the TARDIS has some spare furniture in it as well. Shall we get it and decorate this place?" I wanted to protest, but then figured that avoiding things would change nothing.

"Yeah, I'll ask her."

The TARDIS led us to a room with all sorts of stuff that wasn't used anymore. Old control rooms, old living rooms, old bedrooms.

"There's even a trolley." I said as I took out the little cart and looked at it.

"We can use that to transport the couches and chairs."

"My thoughts exactly, let's load them on there." We carefully loaded a couch, two chairs and a small table onto the cart.

"I can not see where to go. You could sit on one of the chairs and tell me which way to go." Anan said, gesturing at the chair at the front of the cart.

"You sure? I'm kind of heavy."

"Do not fret, I am sure I can handle it." I carefully sat down and nodded.

"Onwards!"

Accompanied by laughter, we made our way back to the house to set up the furniture in the living room.

"Whew, I think we did a good job on the living room." I said as I fell down onto the couch, panting from the lifting work.

"Indeed, it looks good." Anan agreed. I yawned and looked out through the window. The wind played a lovely melody.

"I'm actually surprised that there wasn't any life on this planet. It looks perfect."

"I do not know either, but I do not plan to worry about that. Let us just enjoy the peacefulness while we can."

"While we can?"

"I have a feeling things will go downhill sooner or later." I stood up and stretched out.

"I'm going over to the stream, look around a bit. Be right back."

"No, no, no. I named this place 'joy' for a reason. Things can't go downhill." I worried out loud as I crouched down by the stream, watching the water cabble ever so peacefully.

"Well, still, it's so peaceful now… How could it possibly go downhill?" An image of the Doctor and Ren shot before my eyes and I quickly shook my head.

"That's not it. Definitely not."

"What's not?" I shot up upon hearing Ren's voice behind me. She was standing atop of the hill and slowly descended, her hands shoved in her pockets and her long hair tied back in a pony tail.

"Nothing, just blabbering to myself." I quickly said, suddenly feeling slightly intimidated.

"Whatever. Anyway. You saw, didn't you?" I knew what she meant and nodded.

"Face it, kid, he's too old for you. He's much better off with me. You just run along back to that other guy, he's more your age." I stared at my feet, unsure of what to say. I knew that the age difference was incredibly large and I knew she was right, he probably was better off with her. She knew what it meant to be a full-fledged Time Lord, like him. I was still so young when I was sent away.

"Yeah, you're right. I-I won't interfere if that's what you're thinking." I laughed nervously. "I only want what's best for him… and you."

"Good." She took one of her hands out of her pocket, revealing a device I recognized as a recorder. "Now I even got proof. Thanks kiddo, see you around." With that, she turned and marched back up the hill.

"Proof?" I murmured as I kicked at the water. "As if he won't see that himself…" I suddenly felt the urge to just fell forward into the water and splash about like a little kid.

Pretending not to have any worries, pretending everything was normal.

Pretending that the grass was a deep red and the skies a blazing orange, pretending that the Citadel was still in the background.

Just to feel as if, even for a second, I was back on Gallifrey.

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