Chapter 16
Time away/GitF
By: Izzy
"You're the only 21st century woman I know that willingly dresses in those dresses," the Doctor said as Rhee came back from changing, in a emerald green Celtic dress.
"It has a lot to do with my religion," she replied. "Did you tell Rose and Mickey-sama that we're going on a date?"
"Yeah," he replied with a smile. "Rose said have fun, but not too much." She blushed knowing what Rose meant by that.
"So you picked the planet and the time," she said. "I've got the picnic ready."
"I was thinking Darillium," he said. Rhee frowned knowing that was where he took River before she died. "Is that not good?" He looked at her frown with concern.
"Oh," she said smiling at him. "Darillium if just fine. I read in a book that they have Singing Towers."
"They do and they are brilliant!" he said as he landed the TARDIS. "We're here!" He ran over to her and grabbed the picnic basket from her. "Shall we?"
"We shall," she said as they left the TARDIS hand in hand. They walked out to sat on a mountain ledge facing the Singing Towers. She could hear them sing from wear they sat. She found it the sound of the towers to be relaxing.
"You fixed us sandwiches!" he exclaimed happily. "Brilliant!"
"You think everything I cook is brilliant," she smiled.
"Well it is," he smiled back. "You're a brilliant chef!"
"I wanted at one point to open a restaurant," she said.
"Why didn't you?" he asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.
"Not enough money and really bad credit," she replied. "But I do have to thank you."
"What for?" he asked.
"But for most of my life I wanted to be a school teacher," she smiled. "And I was for a short time."
"You wanted it be a teacher?" he asked. "You made a brilliant teacher. But I have to know why'd you pick English? You're brilliant at most subjects."
"Well I wanted math but all the Krillitanes had math taken." she laughed.
"True," he laughed with her. "Do you get homesick?"
"Do you?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. "But I think you knew this."
"I do," she said. "I get homesick once in a while." She smiled lovingly at him. "What do you miss most about home?" He thought carefully before answering her.
"I miss the planet itself," he said. "I miss how he second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song." He sighed in memory. It surprised that even him that he could talk so openly with her about his old planet. "What do you miss most?"
"My Mum," she said. "I also miss my friends. But I don't miss the mundane life though." She sighed hoping that she could get him to understand that this is where she wanted to be now. "I think if my Mum knew what I was doing now, she'd be so proud." She smiled.
"You think?" he asked sounding hopeful.
"Yeah," she replied. They chatted as they ate, once they were done eating she laid down on the picnic blanket. He laid down beside her and held her hand. They laid there awhile, not saying a thing. "We'd better go, Mickey-sama wants an adventure."
"True," he said as he sat up with her. She smiled at him whole-heartedly, she then pulled him by his coat to her. She kissed him full on the lips, the kiss was rough but still loving. She broke the kiss and smiled at him. "I will always love that."
"Me too," she said with a cheeky smile. "Let's go!" She stood up and started to clean up the picnic. He stood up and helped her.
"Where should we take Mr. Mickey?" he asked.
"Random?" she asked.
"Random sounds good," he said with a smile. "You may want to change your outfit first." He gave her a cheek grin. "That suit would be nice."
"Not a chance!" she exclaimed. "I can't run in that damn dress suit!"
"Then I'll carry you," he said simply grin still plastered on his face.
"I think not, Love," she said simply.
"Awe," he whined.
"You're so cute," she kissed his forehead as they finished cleaning up. They went back into the TARDIS and she went about her business, putting the picnic stuff away, then dressing in an adventure friendly outfit. A video game shirt that said 'Video games ruined my life, good thing I have two more,' with three Zelda hearts, one empty and two full. She also put on a pair of jeans and her converse. She walked out of her room, then to the console room to see Rose, and Mickey leaving the TARDIS. The Doctor stood near the door.
"Thought I'd wait on you," he grinned at Rhee. Then looked down at her shirt. "Really?" She gave him a puzzled look. "The shirt."
"Oh, hehe," she said nervously. "I loved video games when I was younger played the hell out of 'em." He nodded in understanding, then they walked out together hand in hand.
"It's a spaceship!" Mickey exclaimed. "Brilliant! I got a spaceship on my first go." As she looked around her heart sank and so did her smile. This was the ship, the Madam de Pompadour. She didn't know how this was going to pan out but she did know that she was going to make sure that Reinette knew the Doctor was off limits. She sighed hoping no one heard her.
"It looks kind of abandoned" Rose said. "Anyone on board?"
"Nah, nothing here," he said. "Well, nothing dangerous. Well, not that dangerous. You know what, I'll just have a quick scan, in case there's anything dangerous." Rhee moved to the computer before he could.
"Let me," she said as she began to flip switches.
"Long nights in the library?" he asked with a smile.
"Read about two thirds of it now," she said simply.
"Two thirds?!" Rose exclaimed. "That would take forever! How long has it been for you two?"
"It took me a little over two months," Rhee said as continued to mess with the computer. "I mutitask, you were busy I was watching anime and reading every book i could get my hands on."
"So, what's the date?" Rose asked looking to him. "How far we gone?"
"Ask Rhee," he said. Rhee turned to him and grinned.
"Are you sure you want me to answer that question?" she said.
"If you can," he said. She beckoned him to come closer to her and he did. She drug her fingers down his face like she had before, making him shiver.
"About three thousand years into your future, give or take." she answered after she removed her hand from his face. She turned back to the computer. "Fifty first century."
"Um," Rose said as he moved to the other side of the computer. "What was that?"
"My psychic power has been enhanced," Rhee said with a cheeky smile. "So now I can 'borrow' his time sense to know when we are."
"Oh," Rose said. Right as Rhee got the power back up and opened the sky light.
"Diagmar Cluster, you're a long way from home, Mickey." he said trying to keep his lower half hidden from Rose and Mickey. "Two and a half galaxies."
"Mickey Smith, meet the universe." Rose said as she came from behind Mickey and rubbed his back lightly. "See anything you like?"
"It's so realistic!" Mickey said causing Rhee to laugh.
"Dear me, had some cowboys in here." the Doctor said as he picked up some parts he found. "Got a ton of repair work going on."
"Now that's odd." Rhee said looking at the monitor. "Love look at this." He joined her. "All the warp engines are going, at full capacity."
"There's enough power running through this ship to punch a hole in the universe, but we're not moving." he said. "So where's all that power going?" They worked together to try and find where the power was going.
"Where'd all the crew go?" Rose asked as she moved back to the Doctor and Rhee. Mickey joined them.
"Good question." the Doctor said. "No life readings on board."
"Well, we're in deep space." Rose said. "They didn't just nip out for a quick fag."
"No, I've checked all the smoking pods." Rhee said.
"Can you smell that?" he asked. Rhee didn't want to smell it cause it turned her stomach knowing what was making the smell.
"Yeah, someone's cooking." Rose said.
"Sunday roast, definitely." Mickey said. Rhee pressed a few more buttons and then a door opened right behind them. In the room there was a very nice French fireplace.
"Well, there's something you don't see in your average spaceship." the Doctor said. "Eighteenth century. French." He ran up to it. Rose ran to the window beside and looked out. "Nice mantle. Not a hologram. It's not even a reproduction. This actually is an eighteenth century French fireplace. Double sided. There's another room through there." Rhee solemnly walked up behind him.
"There can't be." Rose said. "That's the outer hull of the ship. Look." Rhee walked up beside him and knelt down.
"Hello." he said as a young girl walked up. The young girl, that Rhee knew as Reinette, was wearing a nightgown.
"Hello." she said.
"What's your name?" he said.
"Reinette." she replied simply
"Reinette, that's a lovely name." he said. "Can you tell me where you are at the moment, Reinette?"
"In my bedroom." she replied.
"Where's your bedroom, sweetie?" Rhee asked softly. "Where do you live?"
"Paris, of course." Reinette answered simply as if they should know.
"Paris, right!" he laughed.
"Monsieur, what are you doing in my fireplace?" Reinette asked.
"Oh, it's just a routine" he paused trying to think of a good excuse. "Fire check. Can you tell me what year it is?"
"Of course I can" she replied with a small laugh. "Seventeen hundred and twenty seven."
"Right, lovely. One of my favorites." he said. "August is rubbish though. Stay indoors. Okay, that's all for now. Thanks for your help. Hope you enjoy the rest of the fire. Night, night."
"Goodnight Monsieur, Mademoiselle," she said.
"You said this was the fifty first century." Mickey said as the Doctor and Rhee stood back up.
"I also said this ship was generating enough power to punch a hole in the universe." he said.
"I think we just found the hole." Rhee teased him.
"Must be a spatio-temporal hyperlink." he said.
"What's that?" Mickey asked.
"He made it up, he just didn't want to say magic door." Rhee said with a small laugh. The Doctor gave her a dirty look.
"And on the other side of the 'magic door' is France in 1727?" Rose asked.
"Well, she was speaking French." he said. "Right period French, too."
"She was speaking English, I heard her." Mickey said.
"That's the TARDIS." Rose said. "Translates for you."
"Even French?" he asked.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Now, Rhee," the Doctor said pointing at Rhee. "Did you take too much?"
"No," Rhee replied. "I only took enough to use you time sense for a minute."
"Then how did you now I made it up?" he asked pointedly, as he searched the fireplace. "Because I warned you about taking too much out of my head. It could kill you, burn you up from the inside."
"I know, that's why I'm careful," she said. "Just like with Jewely." He gave her a puzzled look. "She has denominational senses. She can feel the void."
"She never said anything," he said a shocked look on his face.
"Yeah," she said. "I had to find out the hard way. And to answer your question I just know you." She gave his a teasing smile
"Gotcha!" he said as he found the button and grabbed her wrist. He hit the button and they began to spin. She stepped closer to the mantle making sure she wasn't going to get squashed.
"Doctor!" Mickey shouted.
"Rhee!" Rose shouted at the same time as Mickey. Rhee looked around the room on the other side of the fireplace. It was a very pretty room, she looked at the toys as he looked outside. The floor where he stepped creaked and woke the sleeping Reinette.
"It's okay." Rhee shushed. "Don't scream. It's us."
"It's the fireplace man and woman." he said lighting the candle beside Reinette's bed. "Look. We were talking just a moment ago. She and I were in your fireplace."
"Monsieur, that was weeks ago." she said. "That was months."
"Really?" he asked with a bit of a frown. He ran back to the fireplace. "Oh. Must be a loose connection. Need to get a man in."
"Who are you?" she asked. "And what are you doing here?" He then saw the busted clock and looked really scared. Rhee stiffened knowing why he was scared, he was scared for Reinette.
"Okay, that's scary." he said.
"You're scared of a broken clock?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Just a bit scared, yeah." he said. "Just a little tiny bit. Because, you see, if this clock's broken, and it's the only clock in the room, then what's that?" All three of them stayed very quiet and still. There it was the ticking. If Rhee thought it would help she would have made a joke about Harry Potter and the puppet pals but she knew that it would have been met with an angry Doctor. Not good. "Because, you see, that's not a clock. You can tell by the resonance. Too big. Six feet, I'd say. The size of a man."
"What is it?" Reinette asked.
"Now, let's think." he said. "If you were a thing that ticked and you were hiding in someone's bedroom, first thing you do, break the clock. No one notices the sound of one clock ticking, but two? You might start to wonder if you're really alone." He moved to the side of the bed. "Stay on the bed. Right in the middle. Don't put your hands or feet over the edge." He looked under the bed and waved his Sonic around trying to find the source of the ticking. Something grabbed at him making them all jump. He moved back to see if he could get a better look. Rhee tried to get his attention without saying anything but failed. He noticed the shoes and stood back up. "Reinette, don't look round." The clockwork robot stood there looking at him. "You, stay exactly where you are." Then he noticed that the robot wasn't attacking Reinette. "Hold still, let me look." He put a hand on each side of her head and looked in her eyes. "You've been scanning her brain."
"You crossed two galaxies and thousands of years just to scan a child's brain?" Rhee barked. She knew why but couldn't let him know she knew. Plus she had always been angry that they poked their nose into a little girl's brain.
"What could there be in a little girl's mind worth blowing a hole in the universe?" he asked anger and worry thick in his voice.
"I don't understand." Reinette said. "It wants me?" She turned to the robot. "You want me?"
"Not yet." it said. "You are incomplete."
"Incomplete?!" Rhee exclaimed with great anger. "What the hell do you mean by incomplete? You can answer her, you can answer me. What do you mean, incomplete?" She was yelling at this point. And people thought he was scary when mad.
" Mademoiselle, be careful." Reinette said as the robot came after Rhee. Rhee and the Doctor backed away from it towards the mantle.
"Just a nightmare, Reinette, don't worry about it." he said. "Everyone has nightmares." The robot slashed and they dodged easily. "Even monsters from under the bed have nightmares, don't you, monster?" They tricked the robot to hit the mantle and get stuck there.
"What do monsters have nightmares about?" Reinette asked.
"Us!" he laughed as he pressed the button to go back.
"Doctor! Rhee!" Rose shouted as she saw them both. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. He grabbed a gun from the wall and sprayed the robot, it gets frozen to spot.
"Excellent." Mickey said. "Ice gun."
"Fire extinguisher." the Doctor corrected.
"Same diff'" Rhee said quietly staying beside the mantle.
"Where did that thing come from?" Rose asked.
"Here." he responded.
"So why is it dressed like that?" Mickey asked.
"Field trip to France." the Doctor said as he examined the robot. "Some kind of basic camouflage protocol. Nice needlework, shame about the face." He removed the mask and stared in awe at the inner workings of the robot. "Oh, you are beautiful! No, really, you are. You're gorgeous! Look at that. Space age clockwork, I love it. I've got chills! Listen, seriously, I mean this from the heart, and, by the way, count those, it would be a crime, it would be an act of vandalism to disassemble you." He pointed to his hearts. "But that won't stop me." He got ready to use his Sonic on it but before he could it teleported. "Short range teleport. Can't have got far. Could still be on board."
"What is it?" Rose asked.
"I'll go check on Reinette," Rhee said. He gave her a shocked look. "Go on! I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" he asked worry thick in his voice.
"Yes," she said. "You would be more useful here." He wanted to protest more but she had already hit the switch. So he turned to Rose and Mickey.
"Let's go," he said gesturing for them to go. The trio walked down the hall for about ten minutes and no sign of Rhee.. The Doctor couldn't help but worry about her. What if she found another robot? What if the TARDIS translator didn't work for her and she got into it with the guards? Wait she spoke French. He sighed in slight relief.
"Look at this." Mickey said pulling the Doctor out of his worried stricken mind. "That's an eye in there. That's a real eye." He looked over at the eye, it was a human eye! That concerned him. Is this what happened to the crew? Rose opened a maintenance door nearby, and the beat of a heart was heard.
"What is that?" Mickey asked as he and the Doctor approached to get a better look. "What's that in the middle there? Looks like it's wired in."
"It's a heart, Mickey." Rose said in disgusted. "It's a human heart."
"I'm going back to find Rhee," the Doctor said sounding slightly spooked. "You two shout if you need me."
"Will do," Rose said as she and Mickey continued without the Doctor.
He ran back but then he heard. "Oh, Rhiannon, you are too wicked." Reinette said that. He ducked into the nearest time window. To see Rhee and Reinette dressed in 18th centruy dresses, walking outside in a beautiful garden.
"But I tell you it's true!" Rhee said in French. Reinette laughed. "He really did jump out of the bed like it was on fire."
"Oh," Reinette said trying to catch her breath. "The stories you tell are amazing. Though I really like the ones of your Lord."
"I thought by now you would tire of those stories," Rhee said. "By the way did you hear Madame de Chateauroux is ill and close to death?
"Yes and I am devastated." Reinette said with mocked concern.
"Oh, indeed." Rhee joked too. "I myself am frequently inconsolable. The King will therefore be requiring a new mistress. You love the King, of course?" That's when it dawned on him, Reinette was Madam de Pompadour, uncrowned Queen of France.
"He is the King, and I love him with all my heart." Reinette answered. "And I look forward to meeting him." Rhee stopped for a minute and looked back. He ducked down so she wouldn't see him. "Is something wrong, my dear?"
"Not wrong, no." Rhee said then continued the conversation as if nothing happened. "Every woman in Paris knows your ambitions."
"Every woman in Paris, aside from you, shares them." Reinette said.
"I have a Lord why would I, be in need of a King," Rhee said making the Doctor smile. "You know of course that the King is to attend the Yew Tree ball?"
"As am I." Reinette said. "Are you?"
"I am unsure at this time." Rhee said.
"Oh, but you must come," Reinette said. "You are both my best friend and my protector." The Doctor now understood why Rhee stayed. Rhee was protecting Reinette. He slipped back into the ship. A horse followed him as he looked for Rose and Mickey.
"Will you stop following me?" the Doctor asked the horse. "I'm not your mother." It still followed him.
"Maybe it wasn't a real heart." Mickey said. The Doctor followed the voice and found them.
"Course it was a real heart." Rose said.
"It's France again." Mickey said as they came upon a window. "We can see France."
"I think we're looking through a mirror." Rose said. Neither of them noticed the Doctor walk right behind them. The King of France entered the room beyond the window.
"Blimey, look at this guy." Mickey said. "Who does he think he is?"
"The King of France." the Doctor answered.
"Oh, here's trouble." Rose teased. "So, where's Rhee?"
"She stayed over there," he said nodded to the window. "Saw her talking with Reinette in a garden."
"Oh," she said as a neigh was heard.
"And I met a horse." he said pointing to the horse.
"What's a horse doing on a spaceship?" Mickey asked.
"Mickey, what's pre-Revolutionary France doing on a spaceship?" the Doctor said a little harsher than he had intended. "Get a little perspective. See these? They're all over the place. On every deck. Gateways to history. But not just any old history." Reinette entered the room beyond the window. "Hers. Time windows deliberately arranged along the life of one particular woman. A spaceship from the fifty first century stalking a woman from the eighteenth. Why?"
"Who is she?" Rose asked.
"Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, known to her friends as Reinette." he said. "One of the most accomplished women who ever lived."
"So has she got plans of being the Queen, then?" she asked.
"No, he's already got a Queen. She's got plans of being his mistress." he said.
"Oh, I get it. Camilla." she said.
"I think this is the night they met." he said. "The night of the Yew Tree ball. In no time at flat, she'll get herself established as his official mistress, with her own rooms at the palace. Even her own title. Madame de Pompadour." The King leaves Reinette alone in the room.
"The Queen must have loved her." Rose said sarcastically.
"Oh, she did." he said. "They get on very well."
"The King's wife and the King's girlfriend?" Mickey asked.
"France. It's a different planet." the Doctor replied. Suddenly there was a noise.
"Rhee is that you?" Reinette asked. "How long have you been standing there? Show yourself!" A clockwork robot entered the room. The Doctor grabbed the fire extinguisher from Mickey. The Doctor wondered when Mickey had picked it up, but dismissed the thought.
"Hello, Reinette. Hasn't time flown?" the Doctor said as she came into the room with Reinette followed by Rose and Mickey.
"Doctor!" Reinette shouted. The Doctor used the fire extinguisher on the robot, freezing in place. Instantly it started to creak.
"What's it doing?" Mickey asked.
"Switching back on." the Doctor replied. "Melting the ice."
"And then what?" Mickey asked dumbly.
"Then it kills everyone in the room." the Doctor said. Mickey flinched. "Focuses the mind, doesn't it? Who are you? Identify yourself." The Doctor looked to Reinette. "Order it to answer me."
"Why should it listen to me?" she asked.
"I don't know." he said. "It did when you were a child. Let's see if you've still got it."
"Answer his question." she commanded. "Answer any and all questions put to you."
"I am repair droid seven." it responded.
"What happened to the ship, then?" he asked. "There was a lot of damage."
"Ion storm. Eighty two percent systems failure." it responded.
"That ship hasn't moved in over a year. What's taken you so long?" he asked.
"We did not have the parts." it responed.
"Always comes down to that, doesn't it? The parts." Mickey scoffted.
"What's happened to the crew? Where are they?" Rose asked.
"We did not have the parts." it responded.
"There should have been over fifty people on your ship." he said, thinking he had it figured out but hoped he was wrong he still asked. "Where did they go?"
"We did not have the parts." it repeated.
"You didn't have the parts, so you used the crew." he said solemnly.
"The crew?" Mickey asked.
"We found a camera with an eye in it, and there was a heart wired in to machinery." Rose reminded him.
"It was just doing what it was programmed to." the Doctor said. "Repairing the ship any way it can, with whatever it could find. No one told it the crew weren't on the menu. What did you say the flight deck smelt of?"
"Someone cooking." Rose responded.
"Flesh plus heat. Barbecue." he said. "But what are you doing here? You've opened up time windows. That takes colossal energy. Why come here? You could have gone to your repair yard. Instead you come to eighteenth century France? Why?"
"One more part is required." it said.
"Then why haven't you taken it?" he said.
"She is incomplete." it said.
"What, so, that's the plan, then." he said bitterly. "Just keep opening up more and more time windows, scanning her brain, checking to see if she's done yet."
"Why her?" Rose asked. "You've got all of history to choose from. Why specifically her?"
"We are the same." it said.
"We are not the same." Reinette said sounding hurt. "We are in no sense the same."
"We are the same." it repeated.
"Get out of here." she demanded. "Get out of here this instant!"
"Reinette, no." the Doctor said. The robot teleported away. "It's back on the ship." He moved to the mirror. "Rose, take Mickey and Arthur. Get after it. Follow it. Don't approach it, just watch what it does."
"Arthur?" Rose asked.
"Good name for a horse." he said.
"Rhee'll never let you keep the horse," she teased.
"I let her keep you two." he teased back. "Now go! Go! Go!" He closed the mirror door behind them. "Reinette, you're going to have to trust me." he said. "I need to find out what they're looking for. There's only one way I can do that. It won't hurt a bit." He put his hands on either side of Reinette's head.
"Doctor, you are inside my mind." she said in surprise.
"Oh dear, Reinette." he said. "You've had some cowboys in here."
"You are in my memories." she said in awe. "You walk among them."
"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it." he said. "I won't look. Oh, actually there's a door just there. You might want to cl- Oh, actually, several."
"To walk among the memories of another living soul. Do you ever get used to this?" she asked.
"I don't make a habit of it." he said.
"How can you resist?" she asked him.
"What age are you?" he asked.
"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising." she teased.
"No, not my question, theirs." he said. "You're twenty three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough." She flinched. "Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect."
"Oh, such a lonely childhood." she said with sadness.
"It'll pass. Stay with me." he said.
"Oh, Doctor. So lonely. So very, very alone." she said.
"What do you mean, alone?" he asked. "You've never been alone in your life."
"Such a lonely little boy." she said. "But lonely no more." She grinned. He let go of her. "She shines in your mind so brightly."
"How did you do that?" he asked defensively.
"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction. Oh, Doctor." she said. "Let me show you something." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to a room not to far away. The door was opened but he could tell this was not her room. It was an elegant but simple room. But drawings of the Doctor were everywhere. Both his ninth face and this face.
"Who's room is this?" he asked.
"I think you should know," she replied as she let go. "Go in, look around." He did just that, he picked up one of the drawings. It was of this him, smiling. "She draws those everyday."
"Did she tell you why she stayed here?" he asked sounding slightly hurt.
"I asked her to," she replied. "At first she refused. But I insisted." He nodded sadly. He put the drawing down and noticed on the wall a painting of Rhee. She had a elegant dress and her hair was beautifully done up with flowers in it, but the thing that he noticed the most was the necklace he gave her. She still had it. That made his hearts swell with happiness. "Oh, that necklace. She never takes it off. And I pity the thief that tries to take it from her. She already broke the wrist of three men that tried to touch it. Which is the reason no man goes after her."
"That sounds like my Rhee," he laughed.
"You should come to the ball," she said. "Rhiannon said she might be attending." He thought for a minute but didn't know if Rose and Mickey would be safe by themselves for that long.
"I'd better not," he said. "Rose and Mickey need me." She nodded.
"I will tell her you were here," she said. "Though knowing her she knows."
"Yeah," he said softly. Rhee does always know. He saw a wine glass on her dresser and picked it up, engraved in the base was the word 'Doctor' in Japanese. He knew Rhee left this for him so he took it with him. He bowed to Reinette and left to go back to the ship. He worried about Rhee but he trusted her, so he would let her do as she thought best. She was as good as him. He walked down the hall and heard Rose:
"Ever heard of the Daleks? Remember them?" she said. He couldn't see them but he figured that they were trapped. He sighed. "They had a name for our friend. They had myths about him, and a name." He tied his tie to his head and found some Multigrain anti-oil in his coat. He pored the anti-oil into the wine glass and started to pretend to be drunk. "They called him the-" He knocked into things and sang off key.
"I could've danced all night," he said. "I could've danced all night"
"They called him the-" she started to say again. "They called him the, the-" His drunk staggering stopped her every time.
"And still have begged for more." he said. "I could've spread my wings and done a thou. Have you met the French? My god, they know how to party."
"Oh, look at what the cat dragged in. The Oncoming Storm." she said bitterly.
"Oh, you sound just like your mother." he countered.
"What've you been doing?" she yelled at him. "Where've you been?"
"Well, among other things," he said making this up as he went. "I think just invented the banana daiquiri a few centuries early. Do you know, they've never even seen a banana before." He leaned over and breathed a bit in her face to let her know he wasn't drunk. "Always take a banana to a party, Rose. Bananas are good. Oh ho, ho, ho, ho, brilliant." He turned around and looked at the robot that was going to cut up Rose. "It's you. You're my favorite, you are. You are the best! Do you know why? Because you're so thick. You're Mister Thick Thick Thickity Thick Face from Thicktown, Thickania. And so's your dad. Do you know what they were scanning Reinette's brain for? Her milometer. They want to know how old she is. Know why? Because this ship is thirty seven years old, and they think that when Reinette is thirty seven, when she's complete, then her brain will be compatible. So, that's what you're missing, isn't it, hmm? Command circuit. Your computer. Your ship needs a brain. And for some reason, God knows what, only the brain of Madame de Pompadour will do."
"The brain is compatible." it said.
"Compatible? If you believe that, you probably believe this is a glass of wine." he said dropping the act. He removed the mask and pored the anti-oil on the robot. "Multigrain anti-oil. If it moves, it doesn't." He turned the robot off. "Right, you two, that's enough lying about. Time we got the rest of the ship turned off." He freed Mickey then Rose.
"Are those things safe?" Mickey asked as he stared at the robot.
"Yeah." the Doctor said. "Safe. Safe and thick, way I like them." He ran back to the room where the TARDIS was. "Okay. All the time windows are controlled from here. I need to close them all down." He franticly looked for something. "Zeus plugs. Where are my Zeus plugs? I had them a minute ago. I was using them as castanets."
"Why didn't they just open a time window to when she was thirty seven?" Rose asked.
"With the amount of damage to these circuits, they did well to hit the right century." he replied as he worked. "Trial and error after that. The windows aren't closing. Why won't they close?"
"What's that?" Rose asked as a bell was heard through out the ship.
"I don't know. Incoming message?" he replied.
"From who?" Mickey asked.
"Report from the field." the Doctor said as he looked to the monitor. "One of them must still be out there with Reinette. That's why I can't close the windows. There's an override." The robot clicked back on and expelled the anti-oil. "Well, that was a bit clever." It activated the rest of his fellow robots. "Right. Many things about this are not good. Message from one of your little friends? Anything interesting?"
"She is complete. It begins." it said right before it teleported.
"What's happening?" Rose asked.
"One of them must have found the right time window." he said. "Now it's time to send in the troops. And this time they're bringing back her head. Rose go warn her." Rose ran off to another earlier window.
"I don't get it." she said as she ran back. "How come they got in there?"
"They teleported." he said. "You saw them. As long as the ship and the ballroom are linked, their short range teleports will do the trick."
"Well, we'll go in the TARDIS!" she suggested.
"We can't use the TARDIS. We're part of events now." he said sadly.
"Well, can't we just smash through?" Mickey suggested.
"Hyperplex this side, plate glass the other. We need a truck." the Doctor said starting to panic.
"We don't have a truck." Mickey said. Wrong thing to say.
"I know we don't have a truck!" the Doctor shouted at Mickey.
"Well, we've got to try something." Rose said.
"No. Smash the glass, smash the time window." the Doctor said. "There'd be no way back."
"Even for Rhee?" Rose asked sadly. He only nodded.
"Could everyone just calm down? Please. Such a commotion." Reinette shouted. They looked up to see a window with Reinette in a ball room. "Such distressing noise. Kindly remember that this is Versailles. This is the Royal Court, and we are French. I have made a decision. And my decision is no, I shall not be going with you today. I have seen your world, and I have no desire to set foot there again." Rhee snuck in right behind the robots.
"We do not require your feet." it said as it pushed her down. He suddenly got an idea. He had to save Reinette, and Arther was the key to that. He got the horse and rode it towards the window.
"You think I fear you, but I do not fear you even now." she said. "You are merely the nightmare of my childhood. The monster from under my bed. And if my nightmare can return to plague me, then rest assured, so will yours." The horse smashed through the window, with the Doctor riding it.
"Madame de Pompadour." he said with a smile. "Rhee, you look younger every day." He winked at Rhee.
"What the hell is going on?" the King shouted.
"Oh. This is my lover, the King of France." she said gesturing to the King.
"Yeah? Well, I'm Rhee's Lord of Time, and I'm here to fix the clock." the Doctor said smuggly. He unmasked the robot everyone gasped. It tried to hit him but he caught its arm. "Forget it. It's over. For all three of us." He gave a sad look to Rhee, then to the mirror. "Talk about seven years bad luck. Try three thousand. The link with the ship is broken. No way back. You don't have the parts. How many ticks left in that clockwork heart, huh? A day? An hour? It's over. Accept that. I'm not winding you up." It powered down for the last time and he moved to Reinette. "You all right?"
"What's happened to them?" she asked.
"They've stopped. They have no purpose now." he responded. He walked over to Rhee and hugged her with all his longing and love. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," she whispered into his neck. "I'm sorry." He moved back and looked her in the eyes.
"Why?" he asked.
"She asked-" she started to explain but was stopped by a finger on her lips.
"Why are you sorry?" he asked. "I know you and this is something I kind of expected of you."
"Well I thought you'd be mad 'cause I cut some of our time off," she said quietly.
"I am sad about that but," he sighed. "If you hadn't than you would have been miserable with me. And I'd never want that." He kissed her lovingly.
"So this is your Lord." the King said from behind the Doctor. They broke the kiss and looked at him.
"Yes," she said firmly.
"Know this sir," the King said. "This amazing woman loves you."
"I know, your majesty," the Doctor said looking down at Rhee. "I know." He pulled her into a hug and breathed in her scent. He was taken back by the perfume, it was hers, not a French perfume. "You're wearing your perfume."
"Yeah," she said. "I went back for it. I wasn't about to wear some fancy French crap. Because of that I missed 8 years of Reinette's life."
"So you're 36 now?" he asked sadly.
"Yup," she said popping her 'p'. They walked to a hall with a large window where they looked out at the nights sky. "Gonna miss it?"
"Are you?" he asked.
"Only the TARDIS," she said. "I haven't been able to hear her since I came here."
"Me too to be honest," he said with a smile. "'Cause being stuck here with you it's not so bad."
"I couldn't agree more," she said. She gave him a brief kiss.
"You know all their names, don't you?" Reinette asked him. "I saw that in your mind. The name of every star."
"What's in a name? Names are just titles. Titles don't tell you anything." he said.
"Like the Doctor." she said.
"Like Madame de Pompadour." Rhee added.
"I have often wished to see those stars a little closer. Just as you both have, I think." Reinette said.
"From time to time." he said smiling.
"In saving me, you trapped yourselves." she said. "Did you know that would happen?"
"Mmm. Pretty much." he said.
"Yeah," Rhee said which got a puzzled look from the Doctor. "I knew if you broke the connection that I'd be stuck."
"Yet, still you stayed with me," Reinette said as she looked at Rhee, then to the Doctor. "And you came."
"Yeah, I did," he and Rhee said at the same time.
"Catch me doing that again." he added.
"There were many doors between my world and yours." Reinette said. "Can you not use one of the others?"
"When the mirror broke, the shock would have severed all the links with the ship." he explained sadly. He pulled Rhee closer for support. "There'll be a few more broken mirrors and torn tapestries around here, I'm afraid, wherever there was a time window. I'll, I'll pay for any damage. Er, that's a thought, I'm going to need money. I was always a bit vague about money. Where do you get money?"
"I've done this before," Rhee said. "But I don't know anything about French money."
"But you've lived here with Reinette," he said with a bit of shock.
"Yeah," she said. "And she paid for it all." Reinette smiled and nodded.
"So, here you are, my Rhiannon and her Lord, stuck on the slow path with me." Reinette said as a waiter came by and offered them all wine. Rhee took one and the Doctor gave her a questioning look, then took a glass himself. Reinette also took a glass.
"Yep, the slow path." he said sadly.
"Here's to the slow path." Rhee held up her glass to make a toast. They drank.
"It's a pity." Reinette said. "I think I would've enjoyed the slow path."
"Well, we're not going anywhere." he said.
"Oh, aren't you? Take my hand." she said as she grabbed Rhee's hand. He followed them. "It's not a copy, it's the original. I had it moved here and was exact in every detail." When they got to her room. His eyes lit up, and Rhee smiled softly because she knew they could get back but quietly in the back of her mind she hoped they could be stuck for a bit longer.
"The fireplace." he smiled as he examined the fireplace. "The fireplace from your bedroom. When did you do this?"
"Many years ago, in the hope that a door once opened, may someday open again." Reinette said. "I knew my Rhiannon would need her Lord. It appears undamaged. Do you think it will still work?"
"You broke the bond with the ship when you moved it, which means it was off-line when the mirror broke." he said excitedly. Rhee tried to share in his enthusiasm but she found it hard. She wanted to have a simple life with him for just a minute. But she knew that was selfish of her. The universe needed the Doctor just as much if not more than she needs him. "That's what saved it. But the link is basically physical, and it's still physically here. Which might just mean, if we're lucky. If we're very, very, very, very, very, very lucky." He tapped around on the fireplace. "Ah ha!"
"What?" Reinette asked.
"Loose connection." he said as he used his Sonic to fix it. "Need to get a man in." There was a clunk and a click. "Wish us luck!" He grabbed Rhee's hand and pulled her with him.
"No." Reinette said softly. The fireplace turned taking Rhee and the Doctor away from Reinette. Rhee smiled at him.
"Let's invite her," he said with a large smile. Rhee nodded, she turned back to the fireplace while he went to check on Rose and Mickey.
"Madame de Pompadour!" Rhee said with great enthusiasm. "Still want to see those stars?"
"More than anything." Reinette said.
"Give us two minutes." Rhee said with a smile. "Pack a bag."
"Am I going somewhere?" Reinette asked.
"Go to the window. Pick a star, any star." Rhee replied. Then the Doctor came back.
"Rose and Mickey are fine let's get Reinette." he said and she nodded. They went back for Reinette.
"Reinette? You there, Reinette?" Rhee asked and then it hit her. Reinette died. Rhee's heart sank.
"Reinette? Oh, hello." he called as they came upon the King.
"You just missed her. She'll be in Paris by six." the King said.
"Ah." the Doctor said quietly and Rhee was already in silent tears.
"Good Lord." the King said as he got a good look at both Rhee and the Doctor. "She was right. She said you both never looked a day older. So many years since I saw you last, but not a day of it on your faces." He moved to a drawer and pulled out two letters. "She spoke of you both many times. Often wished you'd visit again. You know how women are." He gave one letter to the Doctor and the other to Rhee. "There she goes." They watched a hearse drive off in the rain. "Leaving Versailles for the last time. Only forty three when she died. Too young. Too young. Illness took her in the end. She always did work too hard. What does she say?" The Doctor put his letter in his coat pocket and she moved so he couldn't get it from her. "Of course. Quite right."
"Farewell," she said as she and the Doctor went back to the TARDIS. Rose and Mickey were waiting inside the TARDIS. Rose hugged Rhee and rubbed circles on Rhee's back trying to give comfort. "Too much." It was a whisper that only Rose heard. She hugged Rhee tighter.
"Why her?" Rose asked as she let go of Rhee. "Why did they think they could repair the ship with the head of Madame de Pompadour?"
"We'll probably never know." the Doctor replied softly. "There was massive damage in the computer memory banks. It probably got confused. The TARDIS can close down the time windows now the droids are gone. Should stop it causing any more trouble."
"It was the name," Rhee said not carrying at the moment if they asked her how she knew.
"What?" Rose asked.
"The name of the ship was the SS Madame de Pompadour," Rhee said. "Saw it on one of the screens." As she spoke her voice cracked for the need to start crying again.
"Are you all right?" Rose asked the Doctor, because she knew Rhee wasn't OK.
"I'm always all right." he replied.
"Come on, Rose. It's time you showed me around the rest of this place." Mickey said pulling Rose away. Rhee sat down in the jump seat while the Doctor read his letter.
"My Rhiannon's Lord." it said. "The path has never seemed more slow, and yet I fear I am nearing its end. Hold on to my Rhiannon keep her save. This time without her has taught me one thing. I care for her like a sister. I have seen the world inside your head, and know that she is your life. Hurry and bring her back to me, I'd like to see her one last time. My days grow shorter now, and I am so very weak. God speed, Doctor." Rhee read hers.
"My dearest friend," it said. "There are so many things I have left unsaid to you. But even though we had six years to be best friends, I wished for more. Though I'm aware that you love your Lord and rightly so. He is an amazing man. Keep him close. I wish I had your strength. I grow so weak, I pray we meet again. God speed, my Rhiannon." Tears spilled anew from Rhee's eyes, but this time in full force.
The Doctor was unsure he could help her this time, but that didn't stop him from trying. He held her and she grabbed onto him as if he was her life line. She cried herself to sleep still clinching his coat, so he carried her to her room. He laid her on the bed gently. He carefully slipped of his coat and used it as a blanket for her since he knew she needed the comfort. He kissed her on the head before retreating to his favorite sulking spot. Fixing the TARDIS.
Notes: Well I hope to get Chapter 17 up for you all tomorrow. I hope you all like this I pushed out these chapters out quickly but i did go over them three times before post them. Thanks as always to my readers and reviewers!