LOVE
TWENTYTWO
Despite the "first out of the gate" gibberish, Wil materialized only a few yards away from The Doctor's TARDIS.
She walked another hundred feet or so and then plopped herself down in some dappled shade under what appeared to stand for a tree thereabouts, and meditated on the old blue police box.
She began by remembering the first time she'd ever seen it. Back as a freshly minted employee of Torchwood Three, being taken out on her first assignment by her new boss, the dashing and sinister Captain Jack Harkness. Wil smiled to herself. Although it felt like ages ago, she could still remember being excited and scared, both at the same time. Jack had done his best to impress and intimidate her, and in that he had succeeded magnificently. Just as he seemed to succeed magnificently in everything he did.
"What do you want with me?" she had asked him as they'd walked from the Hub.
"I want you to meet two people," had been his inscrutable response.
And what an amazing "two people" they were – Rose Tyler and The Doctor – the both of them standing nonchalantly outside of an odd-looking blue box. All browns and pinks and blues and yellows. Sparkling eyes and big smiles. What a pair they made. Wil chuckled softly and then shook her head. The things you have seen, she said silently to The Doctor's ship. The people you have met. The places you have been.
"Be careful," she breathed to the ship's current occupants.
It didn't take long – not long at all before The Doctor's police box noisily melted away, leaving only a vague reminder: a squarish impression in the dry, brown grass.
"Right," she said, pulling out Jack's leather wristband from a pocket and buckling it around her right arm. Unlike John's, it didn't have a slot that actually allowed it to fit her properly – it hung loosely on her wrist, falling over the heel of her thumb. Jack had always claimed his was bigger than John's, and now she supposed she could confirm it in the metaphorical sense.
John… she already missed him. And could do nothing but admit she had doubts about splitting up from him. What did he always say to her? As long as they were together everything was going to be all right. In fact recent experience had shown that he was pretty much right on the mark there.
Then why had she felt so sure this was the correct thing to do?
"Teacher?"
"Yes, Grasshopper?"
"Would you like me to transport you to the Captain's last known location?"
"No, Grasshopper."
"But Teacher…?"
"Do not worry my wonderful student. I am indeed going after Jack. It's just that if it's okay with you I feel like going under my own power." She stood and stretched, and then proceeded to do some warm-up exercises. "How far is the town, Grasshopper?"
"It is about seven kilometers from your present position, Teacher. Due west-south-west from here."
"Excellent. I'm feeling like I need a little exercise. Neither John nor Jack think of running as anything but an activity to do when you're in a hurry to get away from something, or in a hurry to catch up with something."
"This is true, Teacher. Along with The Doctor they seem to get their exercise entirely during their day jobs."
Wil laughed out loud. "That's funny and nothing but the truth. Well… I'm feeling like going for a run simply for running's sake, Grasshopper. Not only will it be good to get in a workout, but maybe it will help me to clear out my head a little as well. Did you say west-south-west?"
"Affirmative, Teacher. If you begin running in the direction in which you are currently facing I have no doubt that you'll run, um pun intended, right into Ascolan, which is the name of the city that is your ultimate destination. Incidentally I would categorize it as larger than a town, smaller than a metropolitan…"
"That's quite enough Grasshopper. Let's not spoil the surprise, hmm?" Wil began to slowly jog and promptly found her rhythm.
"Teacher?"
"Yes Grasshopper?"
"May I ask, are you all right?"
"Yes, you may ask, Grasshopper. And yes, I'm quite all right. It feels good to be alone with you again, my student. Lately life has been… oh, I don't know… difficult."
"I'm sorry, Teacher."
"Oh! Don't be. I'm not!"
"But John, Teacher…"
"We are being tested, Grasshopper. I think as humans we are almost always being tested in some way or another. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why we are alive, to be tested and to prove our worthiness."
"Worthiness for what?"
Wil was increasing her speed, her long strides coming smoothly, effortlessly. "Now that is a very good question and one I'm not exactly sure how to answer. If I figure it out, you'll certainly be one of the first to know."
"Yes, Teacher. Thank you. Teacher?"
"Yes, Grasshopper?"
"I hope you are not angry with me but I was able to discuss your condition with The Doctor's ship."
"Oh?"
"There seem to be a few similar incidents reported in the Time Lord Database. They are very rare and…"
"Grasshopper?"
"Yes Teacher?"
"Is this good news or bad news?"
"I'm not entirely certain, Teacher."
"Well then," Wil's respiration rate was now increasing along with her pace, "let's leave that particular discussion for later, hmm?"
"I don't understand."
"I have other things on my mind. I really don't want to get all self-obsessed right now. Does that make sense?"
"Of course Teacher."
"Really?"
"No, Teacher."
"Good. I don't want you thinking you can always figure me out."
Wil heard the city long before she saw it. Well… she heard the thoughts of its people. She stumbled and nearly fell when she realized what the tumultuous cacophony crashing over her was; her strides became uneven as the incessant noise grew louder and louder. Finally as she drew near to the outskirts of Ascolan she stopped, "Grasshopper?"
"Yes, Teacher?"
"Is there anything you can do to help me filter out this pandemonium?"
"I fear not, Teacher. I would be afraid of causing you damage on top of the concussion you previously sustained. It would not be wise.
"But may I make a suggestion?"
"Of course, Grasshopper."
"Perhaps you should think of music. I know you have the ability to play entire symphonies, every note for every instrument, from start to finish, in your mind. I suggest you do so now. Let the music take you, Teacher. Focus on it instead of the voices."
"Right," Wil resumed walking and at the same time began performing the opening theme of the first movement of Beethoven's thundering Ninth Symphony in her head. "Where are we going?" she asked a minute or so later, thanks to the music already feeling a bit more centered and once again ramping up her speed to a brisk jog.
"The clinic is not far away, but you must head directly into the city's center. It will be packed with people."
"That's all right. Let's get on with it."
She'd not even made it through the symphony's third movement when she saw the crescent-shaped green and white medical facility sign ahead of her. Ironic, she thought, such an emblem would normally bring great comfort and instill decided relief, but there is no comfort here. No relief.
As she approached the building she called an end to the music, put down her imaginary baton, and fully opened her mind to a chaotic world of soundless voices. There was a large crowd milling about the storefront. As Wil looked at their faces she tried to concentrate on several of the louder, more pronounced threads of thought. A few individuals were anxiously waiting to see the physician, but they were unhappy – the clinic did not appear to be open as it ought to have been. But many more of them – the vast majority – were angry, scared, upset. They were desperately searching for loved ones who'd gone missing, who'd last been seen at or near the facility. Or who had spoken of visiting it.
She stopped and attempted to speak to a few of the people. At first they were curious about her, and intrigued by her unusual height, apparel, and hair color – but then when they realized she was looking for information they became agitated, even hostile – and adamantly refused to answer any further questions. The more she tried to explain herself, the more antagonistic they became. The acute violence simmering just below the surface of the crowd disturbed her.
But their abrupt reticence came too late. She'd already heard what some had thought when she initially inquired into the whereabouts of the clinic's physician. They'd inadvertently let the cat out of the bag – the knowledge slip before rancor had taken hold of their feelings and silenced their words. There was another, much older clinic in a different, even uglier, more congested part of the city. The tottering building was thought to be no longer used – it was empty, derelict, and abandoned. She saw it in their minds' eyes, and thus in her own mind's eye, and suddenly, unequivocally, she knew exactly where Jack was. And exactly where she needed to go… and needed to go quickly.
Wil took a couple of steps backward, away from the increasingly vitriolic crowd and if there were a few individuals not yet suspicious of her that was instantly remedied when she shimmered for a few seconds, then vanished into thin air in front of their very eyes.
-00-
"In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities."
Janos Arnay