Chapter 8
Revelations.
(Thank you AssassinSasha15 for title suggestion)
The doctor is holding my hand as I lead us through halls and down stairs, avoiding the infected. "We have to move faster. Keep up Chip!" We're only just staying ahead of the infected as they swarm through the building. I'm following my gut on which way to go anytime there is a choice. Working so far. But it's been close.
It's like I'm looking ahead, but both more vague and more focused. I just have a feeling about what's coming, and all I see are the infected.
We've reached the basement as I'm starting to lose focus. I pause, trying to clear my head and Cassandra-Rose calls out, "This way!" The Doctor, Cassandra-Rose and I just barely make it through the next intersection before the cross hall is flooded with infected and Chip is cut off.
"No!" I cry, stopping, trying to see a way to get to him. The Doctor starts pulling me away, as Cassandra-Rose continues down the hall, "Leave him! He's just a clone thing. He's only got a half life. Come on!"
How can she… No. I'm struggling against the Doctor. There has got to be a way. I knew this would happen and I didn't manage to stop it. I should have stopped it.
"Mistress!" Chip begs.
"NO!" I shout, but the Doctor throws me over his shoulder and chases after Cassandra-Rose, calling out, "I'm sorry, there's nothing we can do. I can't let her escape."
I can just barely hear Chip cry out one last time, "My Mistress!" before I watch him disappear in the crowd of infected. I lost him. I stop struggling and just lay limply over the Doctor's shoulder crying.
—
We reach some kind of room and the Doctor sets me back on my feet while keeping hold of one of my hands, He crouches down slightly so that we are face to face, saying "I'm sorry. There was nothing you could have done. You couldn't have saved him." before pulling me into a hug.
I pull back, wanting to see where we are, and not wanting to think about Chip. Cassandra's destination seems to have been the room she's been living in. And there's a brain in a tank. A brain, in a tank, hooked up to some kind of frame. Creepy. I try to walk closer, but the Doctor won't let go of my hand.
Annoyed, I try again to pull away but he tightens his grip on my hand and pulls me closer. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but you have to keep holding my hand Ash. I should have explained earlier and we don't have time right now so I need you to trust me and not let go of my hand."
I look up, confused, but I'm too tired to argue.
Meanwhile Cassandra-Rose has realized there are infected outside of every door. "We're trapped! What am I going to do?"
"No we're not." I say, looking at the ladder less than 5 ft from Cassandra-Rose.
"Well, for starters, you're going to leave that body. That psychograft is banned on every civilized planet. You're compressing Rose to death." The Doctor adds.
"But I've got nowhere to go. My original skin's dead."
I look up at the Doctor, "Skin?"
"Not my problem. You can float as atoms in the air. Now, get out. Give her back to me."
That frame. That was to hold her skin! Ewww.
"You asked for it." Cassandra-Rose says just before a sort of vapor thing leaves Rose and enters the Doctor. But the Doctor won't let her in will he? I mean 900 year old Time Lord and all, he should be able to just keep her out. Right?
"Blimey, my head. Where'd she go?" Rose asks, shaking her head and shivering a little.
"Doctor?" I drop his hand and step back. I can feel her in him. He's not the same and I don't, I don't feel good. Everything's all fuzzy. Like before in the staircase. Before the Doctor took my hand. That's important somehow, but … I can't think. Can't think. Head hurts. Got to focus.
"Oh, my. This is different." Cassandra-Doctor says, creepily rubbing her hands over the Doctor's body.
"Cassandra?" Rose asks as I sit down on a box and lean back against the wall, Got to focus on keeping the room in focus. Ha. I'm being funny again.
"Goodness me, I'm a man. Yum. So many parts. And hardly used. Oh, oh, two hearts! Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"
What's he going on about now?
"Get out of him."
Oh, right. Cassandra stole the Doctor.
"Oo, he's slim, and a little bit foxy. You've thought so too. I've been inside your head. You've been looking. You like it."
HA! I knew it!
"And you. Oh Rose doesn't like you much does she?" Cassandra-Doctor says, turning to look at me. "Ruining her chances with the Doctor. They were supposed to be off exploring the universe together and you had to come and make it all domestic. At least you can keep your mouth shut. Kids, I never could stand them."
Guess I knew that too. I've screwed it all up haven't I. Maybe it won't matter. The infected are almost in.
"What do we do? What would he do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?" Cassandra-Doctor panics as the infected finally get in, flapping her hands around, still completely ignoring the very obvious ladder to the next level.
"Climb the bloody ladder!" I yell.
Cassandra-Doctor shoves Rose out of the way and starts climbing. Rose quickly follows. I look back at the infected entering the room. They're calling out for help.
"Help us."
"Please, help us."
"I'm sorry." The only thing I can do is try to keep the Doctor safe so he can cure them.
—
Hand. Hand. Foot. Foot. Hand. Hand. Foot. Foot. Up and up we go. I'm slow and falling behind. The infected below me is too close, only a few feet away. I have to slow her down. I have to.
I've never tried to do this intentionally before, and the Doctor will kill me when he finds out, but I can't let them catch the Doctor. He has to save them. So I push, concentrate, wish, focus, do something, everything on the infected below me. Hold onto the rung. Don't let go. Stop. Don't move. Don't let go.
It works, but I'm stuck too. Can't separate us. "Just the two of us. We can make it if we try…" I start singing, and then laughing, and crying? I'm losing it.
—
Rose glances down at Ash, wondering why she stopped climbing. Her and Cassandra-Doctor have reached a hatch at the top of the ladder, but they can't get it open.
"If you get out of the Doctor's body, he can think of something." Rose tells Cassandra-Doctor.
"Yap, yap, yap. God, it was tedious inside your head. Hormone city." Cassandra-Doctor replies, unconcerned about the approaching infected.
The tannoy announces, "Maximum quarantine. Divert all shuttles." as Cassandra-Doctor pushes at the hatch a few times, "Now what do we do?" She asks Rose.
"Use the sonic screwdriver."
"You mean this thing?"
"Yes, I mean that thing."
"Well, I don't know how. That Doctor's hidden away all his thoughts."
"Cassandra, go back into me. The Doctor can open it. Do it!" Rose demands.
"Hold on tight." Cassandra-Doctor says before transferring herself from the Doctor back to Rose. "Oh, chavtastic again. Open it!" She commands the Doctor.
"Not till you get out of her." He yells back, glancing down at Ash, concerned.
—
Shaking, I am, we are, someone is still holding on to the ladder. Our nose is bleeding. Head exploding. Hold on. Why? No. Don't move. Hold on, hold, hold…
—
"We need the Doctor." Cassandra-Rose complains, exasperated.
"I order you to leave her." The Doctor reiterates.
Cassandra swaps back to the Doctor again, commenting, "No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout."
"Cassandra, get out of him!" Rose yells, frustrated with this pointless back and forth.
"But I can't go into you, he simply refuses. He's so rude."
"I don't care. Just do something."
"Oh, I am so going to regret this." Cassandra-Doctor grumbles before transferring to Ash.
—
No! Get out! I am Ash. Not Cassandra. Not. Keep holding. Pain. Resist. So much pain. Get out! Something inside me. Don't let go. Suffocating. Fight. Intruder. Get out! Raging. Flashes. Turbulent. Lightning. Contained. Crush it. DIE!
—
The Doctor looks down in horror. Quickly maneuvering around Rose, he reaches down, grabs Ash's hand and is immersed in a battle. The Doctor is astounded Ash has managed to contain Cassandra. But, instead of just throwing Cassandra out of her mind, Ash is killing her.
The Doctor can feel Cassandra's pain, her frantic attempts to escape, and something else. Ash has taken over the mind of the infected below her, has been holding her in place while they argue. Mind split, fighting two battles, the Doctor realizes Ash is killing herself trying to keep them safe.
"Let her go, Ash. Let her go." He pleads. "You're killing her. You don't need to do this." But he's not getting through to her. "ASH!" He yells into her mind. He knows this is dangerous. Her mind is already overwhelmed. She'll fracture if pushed too far and he might not be able to put her back together. But she also might not recover from killing Cassandra. He has to try to stop her.
"ASH! Let her go. Let her go. It'll be alright. Just let her go. Please. I've got you. Let her go." He continues softly, but using as much hypnotism as he dares, then gently exits her mind as he feels her resolve weakening.
The Doctor grips Ash's wrist and pulls her up as he watches a much weaker Cassandra transfer to the infected below.
"Oh, sweet Lord. I look disgusting." Cassandra says quietly. Unable to move the new body yet, she simply holds on as the Doctor, awkwardly carrying a semi-conscious Ash, heads back to the hatch. But just as the hatch is about to close, leaving her behind, Cassandra finds the strength to jump back into Rose.
The Doctor offers her his hand, helping Cassandra-Rose stand as she says, "Inside her head. They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives and they've never been touched."
She turns to Ash, who is propped against a wall, barely conscious. "You! You Monster!" She cries, stepping towards Ash. The Doctor grabs Cassandra-Rose by the arm, "No, that was your last chance Cassandra." Still glaring at Ash, Cassandra-Rose retreats and opens the doors to Ward 26.
—
I'm moving. Safe. Warm. Ah. The Doctor is carrying me… Stop with the yelling already… Ha. That worked. Didn't think I'd said that out loud though. Whatever, moving again… Wish I could figure out how to open my eyes.
I'm sitting on the floor leaned up against a wall. Someone is whimpering. Wait. I'm whimpering. Don't leave me.
"... care ... right back… save …"
"... old friend…"
"... Ash… Ash." The Doctor is back, his hand against my cheek. "I'll be back soon. The Face of Boe is here with you. I'll be back soon."
I think I nod, or maybe my head just fell back against the tank. "Jack?"
"Yes Ash."
"What's going on?"
"Ash. Wake up Ash. I can't tell you if you don't stay awake."
"Ung" I whine.
"We've kept this ward barricaded. None of the infected have managed to get in."
"Yelling?"
"That was just Clovis making sure none of you were infected."
"By yelling?"
He snorts, telepathically, and I lose it. Shaking with laughter, I let myself fall over so I'm lying against Jack's tank, and I'm pretty sure I'm getting the telepathic equivalent of an eye-roll.
Once I've calmed down, Jack continues, "Something like that. The Doctor seems to have figured out a way to stop the infected. He's collecting IV bags."
"He has to cure them. He has to."
"Don't worry kid. This is the Doctor we're talking about."
"Jack?"
"Yeah."
"I don't feel good."
"I know. It'll get better. I promise. It won't always be like this."
"Ha. You're giving away spoilers!"
"Anything to see you smile, little one."
"Tell me a story."
He pauses, "... Well, there was this one time on Alphatrixur IV, I met the most stunning Diplosian, and I mean stunning!"
"A good story Jack!"
"This is a great story! Just listen…"
—
I'm woken by the tannoy announcing, "All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat, immediate arrest. All new life forms will be cataloged and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD."
What? I must have missed a lot. The Doctor and Rose come running back onto the ward. No wait. That's still Cassandra-Rose. Are we ever going to be rid of her?
"You were supposed to be dying." The Doctor tells Jack as he hauls me up and holds me with my back to his chest. He's got one hand on my head, gently playing with my hair, the other wrapped around my body. The Doctor is back, and he saved the day. I'm feeling better already.
"There are better things to do today. Dying can wait." Yay!
But Cassandra-Rose has got to butt in, "Oh, I hate telepathy. Just what I need, a head full of big face."
The Doctor shushes her. Wait, she was in my head. I remember… The Doctor's hand stops messing with my hair and is just sort of sitting on my head. It feels nice, relaxing. But, something happened... I don't know. I can't remember.
"I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew."
"There are legends, you know, saying that you're millions of years old."
"There are? That would be impossible."
"Wouldn't it just. I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."
"A great secret."
"So the legend says."
"It can wait." What? No!
"Oh, does it have to?", "Please tell us! You have to. Please?" The Doctor and I plead.
Jack laughs, "We shall meet again, Doctor, for the third time, for the last time, and the truth shall be told. Until that day…" and then disappears. So long Jack, I hope it's not too long before I get to see you again.
"That is enigmatic. That, that is, that is textbook enigmatic. And now for you." The Doctor says, turning to Cassandra-Rose.
"But everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?"
"You've lived long enough. Leave that body and end it, Cassandra."
"I don't want to die."
"No one does."
"Help me."
"I can't."
"But you didn't let her kill me." She continues begging, looking down at me. Me? She tried to…It's all so fuzzy. Doesn't matter, not going to think about it now. Wait… but… later. I decide to think about it later, leaning into the Doctor's hand which is rubbing slow circles over my temple.
"I didn't want her to have to live with that." I hear the Doctor say. But I can't understand what he means. Dismissing it, I turn to watch Chip come running over. He lived!
"Mistress!" Chip cries.
"Oh, you're alive." Cassandra-Rose actually looks happy to see him.
"How did you survive?" I ask.
"I hid down a garbage chute. I kept myself safe for you, mistress." He answers, gazing up at Cassandra-Rose like she's some kind of Goddess.
Cassandra-Rose looks him over, considering, "A body. And not just that, a volunteer."
"Don't you dare. He's got a life of his own." The Doctor argues.
"But I worship the mistress. I welcome her."
"You can't, Cassandra, you…" The Doctor doesn't get to finish the sentence as Cassandra leaves Rose and goes to Chip. Rose stumbles and takes a knee, trying to get her bearings. The Doctor reaches down with the hand not on my head and helps her up, "You all right? Whoa! Okay?"
"Yeah. Hello!"
"Welcome back."
"Oh, sweet Lord. I'm a walking doodle."
"You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done."
"Well, that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour, and certainly my finest hat, but I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's been through so much. His heart is racing so. He's failing. I don't think he's going to last." Cassandra-Chip says, falling over.
"Are you all right?" The Doctor asks.
"I'm fine. I'm dying, but that's fine." Huh. That can't actually be Cassandra can it?
"I can take you to the city." The Doctor offers.
"No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me any more. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die, and that's good."
"Come on. There's one last thing I can do."
We leave the hospital, Rose helping Cassandra-Chip, and the Doctor carrying me. At least it's bridal style this time and not over his shoulder. He's so comfy, I'm not putting much effort into staying awake.
—
Upon entering the Tardis, the Doctor lays Ash on the captain's chair and takes Cassandra-Chip to the last party Cassandra remembers enjoying. When he and Rose are back on the Tardis, Rose tries to get the Doctor's attention, "Doctor, I need…"
But he walks by her without saying anything, picks up Ash and leaves the Console room.
—
The Doctor has finished looking over Ash in the med bay and has tucked her into bed back in her room. Worried, but knowing she'll be fine for now, he flops back onto the chair near Ash's bed and wonders what to do about Rose. Reviewing what Cassandra said,
"And you. Oh Rose doesn't like you much does she? Ruining her chances with the Doctor. They were supposed to be off exploring the universe together and you had to come and make it all domestic. At least you can keep your mouth shut. Kids, I never could stand them."
And what Rose and Jackie said after the Sycorax left,
"Umm, I don't know. She might be. She just sort of ran off."
"I don't know. She was outside when I was trying to open the panel and then I don't remember."
"Don't look at me. I've no idea where she's gotten off to. I tried to get her to come with me when Rose left to go save you, but she ran off. I kept looking for her, everyday. But I never saw her. It's not right, a child her age being on the street alone."
Questions are running through the Doctor's mind. Does Rose think their relationship would be different without Ash? different how? What is Ash not telling him about? What happened when they left the Game Station? Why wasn't Ash in the Tardis? Why did she run from Jackie?
He rubs a hand through his hair and leans forward, elbows on his knees. He can look at the Tardis records, at least find out when Ash left. And then he's going to have to talk to Rose.
—
The Doctor heads to his study, to see what he can find out about why Ash left the Tardis. Sitting at his desk he asks the Tardis to show him the last time Ash left the Tardis before she returned to the Game station.
An image appears of Jackie dragging a stunned looking Ash out of the Tardis.
"What?"
He replays the last two minutes.
Ash is apologizing to the Tardis, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do. She's going to tear you open. And it's all my fault!" a pause, "No!"
Ash leaves the Tardis.
Rose enters the Tardis holding a heavy duty chain.
Ash runs in and tries to take the chain off but Rose grabs her. Ash spins around and punches Rose.
Jackie enters the Tardis.
Ash and Rose stare at each other.
Jackie grabs Ash. Pinning her arms.
"Rose! Please just stop." Ash begs.
Rose steps towards Ash, "This is all your fault. You saw this in Cardiff didn't you? You knew about Bad Wolf. You knew the Doctor was sending us away."
"I don't understand. There was nothing I could do."
"You could have warned us. You saw it, the message, Bad Wolf, the same words written down here and two hundred thousand years in the future. You knew this was coming back in Cardiff. You saw it. He's dying, but you never said anything."
Ash looks scared, then confused, then guilty.
"You never said!" Rose repeats before slapping Ash.
"Rose Marion Tyler! What do you think you are doing?" Jackie yells pulling an unresisting Ash away.
Jackie and Ash leave the Tardis.
"Mom. I have to save him. I have to." Rose calls out before continuing to secure the chain.
The Doctor closes his eyes. He hadn't wanted to have to look at this. Hadn't wanted to invade their privacy. But he had to know.
He goes back through his memories and hears himself yelling at Ash, "Ash!? What are you doing here? You're not supposed to be here! Go!" He can only imagine how she must have interpreted that after being abandoned and alone for months. He only meant for her to go back to the Tardis because it wasn't safe.
Afraid he may not have seen everything yet, he looks further back in the Tardis database, back to the last time Ash entered the Console room.
There is a taught chain attached to the console. And Rose is standing nearby. Then Ash runs in carrying Stan.
The Doctor briefly wonders what happened to Stan. He's seen her with a Stan-like doll, but he hasn't seen Stan since he came back.
"Faster!" Rose calls out. "It's not moving!"
The chain breaks and Rose kicks the console.
Rose turns to Ash and yells, "You! This is all your fault."
"What?"
"You knew he was sending us home and did nothing."
"There was nothing I could have done." Ash answers quietly, looking at the floor.
Rose is pacing, "Whatever."
"Rose, I can figure this out. I just need time."
"Yeah, but you don't have time do you"
"What do you mean?"
"I know the Doctor's been working in the med bay, trying to find a way to keep you stable more permanently. And you've been getting sicker, having more headaches and nosebleeds. How much longer do you think you can go on? Besides, I have to go save him now. He's dying now!"
"But he isn't! We have as long as we need. We can figure out how to hotwire the Tardis and go back and save him even if it takes years. We can!"
"You don't understand Ash. You're just a kid. I've got to do this." She counters dismissively.
"Just don't hurt her anymore. Please."
Rose leaves the Tardis.
The Doctor leaves his study and starts striding down random corridors, needing to move to process what he just learned.
—
Several hours later, the Doctor asks the Tardis to tell Rose to come to the Console Room.
Rose enters hesitantly and sits on the captain's chair. "We heading somewhere?" she asks.
The Doctor ignores her question, "What happened after I sent you and Ash back to the Estate?" He asks, leaning against the console, hands in his pockets.
"I told you, I don't remember."
The Doctor takes a deep breath then turns the console display so that Rose can see it. Rose nervously shifts in her seat as the Doctor begins playing the clips he had just watched. He is watching her intently, gauging her reaction and can quickly tell she's been lying.
"Why Rose? I needed to know. I needed to know that Ash ran off and hid for three months because she thought that it was all her fault, that she had killed me! I needed to know that you told her she was dying." He states, advancing on Rose, trying to hold back his anger.
"Everything worked out in the end. I just thought, we could forget about it all you know?"
"You slapped her."
"She punched me!"
"Because you were hurting the Tardis. What you were doing was causing the Tardis pain and Ash could sense it."
"I didn't know. I just, I had to get back to save you."
"Ash was right when she told you she could have eventually figured it out and that you had all the time you could possibly need."
"I had to save you. I did."
"Ah, it had to be YOU. YOU had to save me. How did I not see this before? You're jealous of her."
"You changed. As soon as she came on board, it's like you were just… different."
"Of course I changed, Rose. I had a child to take care of. A child I have come to love as a daughter."
"But you don't even know what she is. The Daleks called her The Weapon. She's dangerous."
"Do you think that matters to me?" He takes a step closer to her, "I am dangerous Rose." He says, showing her, for the first time, his full self, the last of the Time Lords, The Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds, the Lonely God. "Compared to me, compared to the things I've done, she is nothing."
Rose runs from the room and the Doctor deflates, once again just a wanderer, a lonely man in a box.
—
I wake up in my bed, the Doctor sitting in a chair nearby, reading. He stands and walks over, sitting next to me on the bed.
"Hello." He says. "How do you feel?"
I just look at him, everything that happened at the hospital all rushing back, overwhelming me.
"Hey, hey, it's alright." He gathers me into his arms and heads back to the chair. "Shh, it's okay. You're safe. It's going to be okay." He whispers as I breakdown.
Sometime later I become aware of the Doctor singing. "How long was I asleep for?" I ask.
"Three days."
"What?!"
"You pushed yourself way too hard. Your mind was a wreck. Lucky you've got me here to put you back together." He says, squeezing me. "Don't ever do that again!"
"I did things…that infected, and Cassandra"
"I know. I know. You never… I should never have let you get into that kind of position."
"You're not angry?"
"No." He pauses before continuing, "Sometimes there are no good choices. And I… you should never have had to make that kind of decision. You kept us all safe, including the woman whose mind you controlled, and because of that we were able to cure them. A brand new form of life. New humans!"
"But…"
"Doing something wrong, for the right reasons, doesn't make it any less wrong. But sometimes there are no other choices. And that is a lesson I had hoped you would never have to learn." He finishes, tousling my hair before sniffing the air.
"You stink, go shower, put some fresh clothes on and meet me in the kitchen."
I stick my tongue out and then try to discreetly smell myself as I walk to the bathroom. He could be right.
—
"Back in the hospital, why did I feel better when you're touching me? Why did I have to keep holding your hand?" I ask, mouth half full of toast.
The Doctor shakes his head, "Chew, or talk, not both."
I finish chewing, "Stop putting me off, you said you'd tell me." I tell him, elbows on the table, chin resting on my hands, giving him my best evil eye.
He leans back against the counter and explains, "As we were running from the infected, you were scanning timelines, looking for the safest path for us. But you couldn't anchor yourself. That's why you got disoriented and nauseous. I can keep you anchored, but only if we're touching."
"There's more than that though."
"Yes." He admits, "I can help you control your emotions. Stop you from being too afraid, calm down your flight or fight response. Help you stay balanced. In this case, you had been pushing yourself too hard, your mind was barely able to handle the strain. I was doing what I could to help."
"And 'help' me forget things."
"Well, not really forget so much as postpone thinking about things until we have time to talk about it." He finishes quickly, giving me a please forgive me sort of grin.
Pushing my omlet around on my plate I hesitate to ask about Cassandra. I can remember now that I tried to kill her.
"What is it?"
"Nothing." I reply, shoving a bite of omelet into my mouth.
He sighs, "You're thinking about Cassandra."
I shrug. "Trying not to."
I focus on my plate, deliberately eating, hoping he'll drop it.
"Ash, you didn't kill her." He says softly, reaching out to touch my hand. "That's all you need to remember. You chose not to."
I look up and with a small smile agree, "Yeah. I guess."
I don't say that I really really wanted to.
—
"Where's Rose?"
"She's visiting with her mother for a while."
"Oh."
I watch from my seat on my favorite stool as the Doctor walks over to a different workbench and starts fiddling with something.
"Why didn't you tell me about what happened when I sent you and Rose back from the Game Station?"
I shrug.
"Ash… It's okay, I'm not going to be mad, I just need to know why you lied."
"I didn't really lie. I said I was scared and ran and I was."
"She was wrong." He says, turning around to look at me. "None of it was your fault. I blocked your memories of what you saw in Cardiff. But even if I hadn't, it still wouldn't have been your fault."
I shrug and start fiddling with this little spinny thing I made.
The Doctor goes back to tinkering for a while before asking, "What happened to Stan?"
"I lost him." I'm going to get a crick in my neck if I keep up all this shrugging.
"Oh, Ash, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"Did the Tardis make you…?" He asks, looking over at my new Grover stuffy.
"Yeah. He's just Grover though. Not a Stan replacement."
"Right. Of course."
Tired of spinning my spinny thing, I wander over to see what he's working on. It looks a bit like a sonic screwdriver.
"One second." He says, before clicking a few pieces together and handing it to me.
"It's a sonic screwdriver?"
"Yep. Figured it's time you learned how to use one."
"REALLY!"
"Yep. It doesn't have any functions yet. You'll have to program them yourself. And I may have put in a few safeguards. But it's all yours."
"That's so cool!"
"You can use this terminal to test things out, run simulations. I've already input all the parameters for your sonic. When you think you have something ready, let me know and I'll help you program it. Oh and all those books are on sonic theory, should help you understand what can be done, and how to go about it."
I'm grinning so hard my cheek muscles are getting sore as I grab a book with the word basics in the title and sit down at the terminal.
—