Author's Note: I'm proud of this explanation.
And this section, in general, actually.
(Sorry this post is late, but I've been having fun writing the story where Buffy meets the Ninth Doctor.)
Part IV
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Buffy didn't really want to go anywhere in this stupid city except the dungeons. And she knew that if anyone had hurt the Doctor, it'd be serious face-bashing time. As far as she was concerned, the Slayer was the law for any nonhuman activity that happened on Earth. That made the Doctor her responsibility. If he stepped out of line, she was the one who had to stop him. And she wasn't going to let an illegal genetic experiment punch his face in, instead.
But they let her into the cell with no questions asked, locking the door behind her.
The Doctor beamed the moment he saw her. "Oh, brilliant! There you are! You can help me with my latest problem."
And the moment she laid eyes on him, down here, secluded and alone, she could feel that tingliness rushing through her, again, that giddiness washing across her head. She watched the Doctor bouncing around in that way he always did — although slightly restrained by the manacles — his face bright and smiling, his eyes so alive and vibrant, his every word full of warmth and sweetness.
"They're going to kill you," Buffy reminded him, setting the picnic basket down in the corner of the cell. "Unless we sleep together."
"That's just it!" said the Doctor. And the way he looked at her, when he said it — like she was so brilliant, he couldn't get enough of her, like she was the whole world and the whole universe and everything. It made Buffy want to reach out to him, drag him closer to her. But he continued on, as if he didn't even notice her wishes or desires. "See, I've been thinking — why? What could possibly be gained by sleeping together? What would be the point?"
Buffy felt her cheeks growing pink. The point? What was the point? Was he really alien enough that he couldn't see that? She wanted to grab him up and show him, to make him want her in the same way that she had so often wanted him, to make him understand how she felt about him. But… no, this was silly. Buffy tried to calm herself down.
"I guess… I mean, when two people who really, you know, care about each other… it kind of… you know," Buffy tried.
"Well, yes, of course," the Doctor dismissed. "But what would this lot have to gain from it? It makes no sense. You pointed out, yourself — this is an experiment examining the breeding patterns of human beings. Anything that you and I did together would simply void their experimental data. Contaminate the results."
Buffy swallowed. "Doctor…"
"So, really, there's no point in sparing my life for anything," the Doctor continued. "And certainly not for this. It's completely and utterly irrational. Even if they are frightened of your fighting skills, they'd hardly be willing to contaminate their own experiment by letting the two of us copulate. Really, they should be killing me, right now, then finding you a suitable candidate from the human population with whom you could…"
"I'm going to do it," said Buffy.
The Doctor blinked. "Sorry? Do what, exactly?"
And from the look on his face, Buffy knew that he honestly had no idea. He really was completely clueless about what Buffy had just decided to do. That sweet, innocent, beautiful face, studying her with curious eyes, his entire posture a question, for which Buffy was his answer. And there was so much trust in him, that shining, sweet trust that he always showed her, as if he were handing her his own life and asking her to keep it safe for him.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then ran forwards, grabbing him by the lapels of his suit jacket, and kissing him.
For a moment, the Doctor seemed startled. Shocked. She thought he might pull away, might ask her what she was doing, and give her a look as if she were completely and utterly insane. And that just made her pour everything she had into this kiss, because she needed to show him how she felt, she needed to make him realize what this was turning into, and all she wanted — all she ever wanted — was for him to feel this, too. To feel the emotions that poured through Buffy's veins whenever he was around, to feel the way the world lit up when he was nearby, to feel how he was her life, and she wanted him with her, forever.
And then, after what seemed like an eternity, the Doctor seemed to give in. Slowly, at first, then more and more, until Buffy could feel him kissing her back with all the passion that she was kissing him with. And it was the most amazing thing she'd ever felt, as if, in this one moment, everything made sense, the whole world was completely perfect, and this — here — this was where they should be. Together, like this, forever, never letting one another go, never fading from one another's world or sight or memory.
She didn't care, anymore, whether they were being forced or whether they were doing this out of their own free will. She just wanted this to happen — to keep happening — forever. She just didn't want to stop.
Then she ran out of air, and realized she kind of had to.
Buffy pulled away, standing in front of the Doctor, panting, trying to catch her breath, her hands still clutching his suit jacket, her eyes still fixed on his sweet, gorgeous, bright face. He was looking at her with that intensity that just made every single ounce of her gush, and… he was in manacles, too, which really, really shouldn't be so much of a turn on, but it was, and she was about that close to collapsing in a daze of pure lust.
The Doctor gave her a perky grin. "Well, now that that's out of the way, I think we should get back to the matter of figuring out what, exactly, is going on."
Buffy felt her heart drop out from under her. She just stared at him. "But… I thought… I mean, you seemed to…"
"You're forgetting something, Elizabeth," the Doctor told her, maneuvering so he could get one manacled hand into his pocket and retrieving his sonic screwdriver. "Something very important." He unlocked the manacles, and stepped aside, out of Buffy's grasp. "You're forgetting about the children."
Buffy had no words left. Had she really just been rejected? Had she really just had one of the most romantic, beautiful, wonderful kisses of her whole life, and then been slapped with a great big NO sign?
She shoved her disappointment under a mask of indifference. She'd always known that this was a possibility. Just like she'd always known that there was the possibility that he'd just spin around and run away, if she ever did this sort of thing. It wasn't important, she told herself. It didn't matter. It really, really, really didn't. What did she care? It wasn't like she was crushed or upset or near tears or anything. And she was definitely not planning to go home and cry into her pillow for a few hours, like a stupid wussy little… not-Slayer.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, her voice way more wobbly than she intended.
"If everyone in this city is required to sleep together on a regular basis," said the Doctor, "then where are all the children?"
Buffy said nothing. She was still trying to get her mind past the fact that he'd just rejected her, outright, and… wait a second. The children. Sleeping together. Tribute…
Buffy's jaw dropped. "The children are the tribute?"
"My guess exactly," the Doctor replied, twirling his sonic in the air. "And if they don't care whether the offspring are human or not, I'm guessing there's a reason the children disappear and never return."
That made every single ounce of lust leave her body at once. Replaced by the cold, hard shock of complete and utter horror, along with the surge of anger and determination that always accompanied that horror.
"But… but this is supposed to be a genetic experiment or something!" said Buffy. "They can't just take the children away and…. I mean, why?"
"I believe," said the Doctor, "that this used to be a genetic experiment. Human beings from the past placed in an accelerated time field, in a town where, once they procreate, their minds are altered so that they no longer desire to leave. Only, thing is, the experiment got hijacked. Whoever these 'gods' are, they took one look at this, decided it was a ticket to an all-you-could-eat baby buffet, and started taking over."
Buffy had to hand it to the Doctor, he didn't just kill the mood. He massacred it.
"These gods of theirs are eating their babies?" Buffy cried.
"Well, it's just a theory," said the Doctor. "But… yes, I'd say so."
"But what kind of creature would…" Buffy trailed off, her eyes suddenly widening, as she realized that she knew exactly what kind of creature would eat human babies. "Lucronis."
The Doctor seemed intrigued. "Lucronis?"
"I mean, not Lucronis itself, but something Lucronis-ish," Buffy amended. "Three years ago, there was this… band candy. It made all the adults act like teenagers, which made Sunnydale completely chaotic, and let these vampire guys steal all the babies and offer them as tribute to this evil hell monster called Lucronis."
"And when you killed Lucronis off," the Doctor concluded, "any others of its kind would have run away and buried themselves deep underground, whereupon they discovered… this little city." The Doctor beamed, and then swept her into a great big hug. "Oh, you're brilliant, Elizabeth! Truly brilliant!"
And Buffy thought the admiration, pride, and — okay, not love, but serious liking — that poured through his every word almost made up for the fact that he'd been completely uninterested in taking that kiss any further. He may not love her the way that she loved him, but he thought that she was one of the bravest, most wonderful, brilliant, and amazing people he'd ever met, and…
He had kissed her back.
(Not like that'd stop her from crying — no, wait, not crying, just being totally stoic and normal — into her pillow when she got back home.)
Maybe this was as far as they'd ever take things. Maybe this was all they could ever be — just two people who cared for one another so profoundly that they would run through one another's pasts just to be together for a few seconds longer. Two people who clung to one another to try to find some meaning in their own lives. Two people who could cause one another so much pain, and heartache, and turmoil, simply because they both wanted, so very much, to believe in one another.
Perhaps even — two people blundering their way through life without really knowing what they were doing.
(Too scared to take things further, too scared to take that final risk when so much was at stake, so desperate to trust one another but too scared to ever tell each other the truth.)
"Well," said the Doctor, unlocking the cell with his sonic screwdriver, "as in all cases, it seems there's only one thing to be done when confronted with the option to either copulate or die."
"Kill evil monsters?" Buffy guessed.
"And overthrow society!" the Doctor added. "Don't forget the important bit."
As the Doctor darted out of the cell, Buffy lingered a moment, confused. All cases? Had he been in this particular situation before?
But the Doctor was darting off to meet Lucronis' friends and relatives, and Buffy crouched down to pick up the picnic basket and tuck it back beneath her arm, as she realized that she needed to let this matter drop.
