Lucy grinned as the Doctor finished aiming the sonic screwdriver on her phone. To think, she used to stress over losing bars when she went to visit her mum in Bath, and now she had trans-dimensional service!
Lucy had gotten a text message on her phone once they were in range of the Earth again. Her sister was back in London and it was already 31 December. The Doctor promised that they could all go visit. Lucy absentmindedly fiddled with the key to the T.A.R.D.I.S, hung from a chain round her neck. It felt like getting the key to your significant other's flat. She pursed her lips as she thought. She never would have guessed that she could be happy without Pointe shoes on her feet, or a needle in her hand. Blimey, was she ever wrong. Her few adventures with the Doctor, however harrowing, were worth the world. They were worth the whole bloody universe, for that matter.
Lucy looked down at her clothes and wondered briefly how she could have been so obsessed with them. Yes, she still loved designing, but she no longer cared if she looked the height of fashion. Her own personal style was always somewhat ahead of the curve, or maybe behind it. At the moment, she was dressed for the weather. She was wearing black jeans and a tight, light blue Argyle sweater, over which she put on her white pea coat. Her jeans were tucked into her favourite pair of black, supple leather boots. Her long hair was back in a braid, with a tan messenger boy cap to keep her head warm. She had been ready for quite some time, but the Doctor insisted on taking forever. Doing what, she hadn't the faintest idea.
He finally came into the room, however, pulling black gloves onto his long hands. Lucy recalled how steady his hands always seemed, then her attention was immediately caught by something she could not let slide.
"Oh, for Christ's sake, Doctor, wait right there, I'll be half a minute. Less!" she called as she flounced off to her room, no doubt leaving the Doctor to trade stunned looks with Captain Jack who was very interested in meeting Juliet.
Lucy returned, indeed, less than half a minute later with a pocket sewing kit in hand. She pulled out a needle and a tiny pair of scissors. The Doctor looked quite alarmed for a second and even tried to back away from Lucy when she came at him with the scissors.
"Oh, go on then, I'm not gonna hurt you. Honestly." She said, rolling her eyes. She bent down to the hem of the Doctor's blue pin-striped suit jacket. She squinted as she removed the loose thread that was threatening to unravel the whole piece. She removed the needle she had stuck in her teeth and stood upright, facing the Doctor's chest. She held the loose button, the top one, in place and quickly sewed it back into position, making sure it sat tight. She flicked a bit of lint off his shoulder, winked and headed back into her room to put away the sewing kit. When she returned, the Doctor gave her a half-amused, half-exasperated look. Jack was trying not to laugh.
"Well, alright then, I'm done. We can go now." Lucy said, pretending to be upset. She led the way out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. into the alleyway they hand landed in and onto the snow-covered street where her flat was.
The Doctor couldn't help but be amused by Lucy's scrutiny to his careworn jacket. He had almost forgotten that he'd found her at Thoreau Threads. She had, in fact, been painstakingly working on tiny embellishments when they first looked at each other. The Doctor walked, his hands in his pockets, eager to meet Lucy's twin, Juliet. The other half. Genetically the same, and yet, from what Lucy had told him, so different. Where Lucy was patient and calm, Juliet was restless and impulsive. And the Doctor had never heard Lucy speak with more love and kindness than when she spoke of her twin sister. He watched with growing affection as Lucy bounded up the stairs and barged through her front door.
He ducked inside as well and was met with the girls' happy reunion.
Juliet and Lucy were hugging, each half laughing, half crying. Lucy did more laughing than Juliet. He sensed that Juliet was more the feeling twin, despite Lucy's unquenchable compassion, and that Lucy was more the thinking twin. She thought about her emotions, analysed them, analysed everything.
Juliet was facing the Doctor, and as a result, he was the first thing she saw when she and her twin let go of each other. Her eyes widened a little bit and traveled past the Doctor to Jack who was grinning from ear to ear.
"L-Lucy? Who are they?" Lucy turned round, beaming.
"Oh, Juliet, these are some new friends, the Doctor and Jack." She said, pointing to each of them in turn. The Doctor nodded at Juliet and Jack raised a hand and waved ever so slightly.
"Doctor? Doctor who?" Juliet asked.
"Oh, just, just the Doctor." He replied. Lucy laughed at Juliet's puzzled look and then gasped.
"Oh my god, Juliet, I almost forgot. I made you a dress I was going to send you for Christmas. Let me get it for you." And Lucy ran off to her own bedroom, leaving Juliet in the company of Jack and the Doctor. The Doctor studied Juliet like he studied everyone. Although identical twins, he could make out several differences between the two. Juliet's eyes, while wise, did not hold the same depth as Lucy's. Her smile however, was more genuine, more youthful. Lucy had said that Juliet was more impulsive, a little less tried in life, despite shared experiences and her worldly travels, he thought. Was Lucy just more guarded, or was she genuinely wiser he wondered? Perhaps a bit of both.
He was interrupted by Lucy's coming back into the foyer, garment bag in hand. She was grinning from ear to ear, obviously thrilled at the opportunity to give her sister something she'd made by hand. Well, with the help of a sewing machine. Juliet bit her lip in anticipation. So the habit was shared. Lucy made a great show of unzipping the garment bag with a flourish and pulling out her creation.
Her creation was a cocktail dress. It was black and made of damask, the neckline, trimmed in satin. It was totally fitted, the hem, which came just above the knee ballooning out in a series of sequins appliquéd on the ends of ribbons, with a layer of dark blue tulle underneath it. It was the perfect little black dress, complete with the backless v line. Lucy then shifted the dress to her free hand and pulled out another piece with her left. It was a dark blue wrap, made of a material that the Doctor did not have the name for. He could have scanned it with the sonic screwdriver, but that might have looked awkward. Juliet already seemed wary enough of him.
"I was just going to send this to you, but turns out I was away for Christmas. So, I thought you might be able to wear it for the New Year's Eve party tonight." Lucy said. Juliet squealed and threw her arms round her sister, jumping up and down, then snatched the clothes from her hands, presumably to try them on. Sure enough, she dashed into her bedroom and shut the door.
"Sorry. What New Year's Eve party is that?" the Doctor asked, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.
"Oh. That's the party me and Juliet throw every year. Is that, is that alright? I mean, do we have to be off, I dunno, saving another planet?" Lucy looked apprehensive. The Doctor laughed and said, "Course not! I love a good party! And you've gone and mended my suit for me. How perfect is that?" Lucy narrowed her eyes at him and said,
"Oh no, you don't. I am picking something out especially for you."
Jack stepped in, facing Lucy, leaning his hand against the wall so that he blocked her.
"And what about you, Miss Blake? Going to host a New Year's party in jeans and a sweater?"
The Doctor wasn't sure he liked Jack's tone. He was always somewhat exhausted of his blatant flirting with anything that walked on two legs. Lucy, however, seemed able to hold her ground. She shoved Jack playfully on the chest, making him move out of her way and said, "No, Captain. I made myself a dress as well. And no, it's not the same as Juliet's. That would just be tacky."
The Doctor looked at the clock on the wall. It was about half eight, and he assumed the party would be starting soon. Presently, Juliet came out of her bedroom, back in everyday clothes and declared, "It fits like a dream! But no one gets a peek until the party. Anyway, Lucy, I'm off to get refreshments. You think enough for twenty should do it?" Lucy waved a hand in answer, not really caring probably. Jack watched Juliet leave, and then turned back to Lucy. "So, where's this dress of yours?"
Lucy just shook her head and rolled her eyes, knowing an answer of any kind would only encourage him.
"Come on, Doctor." She said, "Let's get a party outfit." And she led the way out the door and into the packed street.
Inside the T.A.R.D.I.S., Lucy had torn apart the Doctor's wardrobe. She would pull something out of a drawer, pair it with something she found hanging on a rack and then toss them both on the floor. At long last, she had settled on his darkest pair of blue jeans, a button down pearly blue shirt with a black sport coat. He insisted on wearing Converse, black, and she said that was absolutely fine. Lucy then a got a text from Juliet, saying that guests would be arriving any minute, where the hell was she, and did she expect her to host the whole bloody shindig herself? Lucy only laughed and said to get going.
Once inside, Lucy told Juliet that she was showing Jack and the Doctor around the street. Juliet took a particular interest in Jack, who was wearing black trousers with a jacket that looked like it could be from World War I. It probably was, for all Lucy knew, the Doctor had told her that Jack couldn't die, and she'd seen it for herself. She had just enough time to slip in to her room and change.
The Doctor glanced up from the pictures all over the twins' flat and looked at Lucy. He couldn't believe she had made this dress. It was red. It too, fell to just above her knee, and had that backless v line. The neckline was plunging, with black lace filling some of the space. It fit like a glove, and only when she turned, did the Doctor see the triangular ribbing she had done, like upside down v's on the sides that went from the hem to her hips. Each v was wide enough to fit a super thin lining of black lace, barely visible. He couldn't help but feel his hearts skip a beat. Look at the grace she moved with! Her confidence, her poise, it lit up the room. His eyes flicked to Juliet, just as confidant, just as poised and graceful, and yet…..no spark like he felt when looking at Lucy. He couldn't afford to get more attached to her; he feared it was already too late. He just couldn't take it again. Couldn't she feel how lonely he was? She could sense everything, so couldn't she feel right now that he was about to shake himself to pieces? She had to be able to smell, to taste his ache, the centuries of loneliness. She could reach out and touch it. She had only to glance his way, to really look into his eyes to see how damaged he was. And then she did. From across the room, she caught his eye, and damn him if he wasn't a traitor to himself, he smiled. He grinned at her as she made her way to him.
"Well, does it live up to Juliet's or not?" she asked, giving a demure little spin. He laughed and said, "You made Juliet that thing, just so you could show her up, didn't you?" she grinned and he held out his hand, pulling her to him, leading her in a dance.
"Thanks, Doctor, but Juliet looks smashing."
"Blimey, Lucy, you shouldn't compliment yourself so much, it's unflattering."
Lucy laughed again and the Doctor reveled in the sound. "I suppose that's one way of looking at it." Just then, the song changed to a spicy, salsa mix of a modern hip hop song. The Doctor spun Lucy and led her further into the living room, more space, and the two led the way. Soon, couples all over the flat were dancing. Some attempted the salsa, some barely passed swaying in place, but Lucy and the Doctor lit the floor on fire. Lucy couldn't help but be surprised.
This man had saved planets, civilizations and now he was whirling her about her flat like he was the most average bloke in the world. Average salsa dancing bloke that is. When the song ended, they looked round and found that they were the last ones dancing. Lucy blushed a little, she did remember ranging all over, and had almost knocked something over when he flipped her round over his arm. Applause burst out, and Lucy looked down, embarrassed.
The Doctor wondered at Lucy's sudden shyness. She was a dancer. Surely she was used to people clapping and praising her like this. The Doctor nodded his head modestly and led Lucy off toward the front door. He could see snow outside. He loved real snow. Leading her by the hand, the Doctor pushed open the door and sat on her front stoop. She shivered as she sat down beside him, rubbing her hands along the length of her bare arms. He had forgotten again. Humans were so fragile. He took of his sport coat and put it round her shoulders. She put her arms through it and hugged it to her. "It suits you." He said. She just gave a small chuckle. He knew he didn't have to tell her he meant it. He didn't need to say anything. He just looked up at the black sky, with all the little white flakes floating down like so many feathers. He sighed, looking up at the barely visible stars. They just sat there for a moment. Lucy was the first to break the silence.
"So, Doctor. You never really told me. I mean, I know you're not, well, human, but. I mean to say, you never told me what you are really." The Doctor looked at her, puzzled.
"Surely I did." He said. She shook her head and widened her eyes.
"Really? I forgot? I can't have done. Well, suppose I did, then. Sorry about that. I'm um. I'm a Time Lord. That's my species. We are very ancient. I say we, Lucy, but there isn't a "we". I'm the last one. There was a war. A very terrible war a long time ago. But in order to preserve other things, I had to kill all the rest of the Time Lords and these, these, things called Daleks. I had to do it, Lucy, I didn't want to. And anyway, I paid the price for it, or nearly. I'm alone. I'm an endangered species. I destroyed my home planet, too, so I can't even go back to that. Gallifrey, it was called. It was beautiful, Lucy, I wish I could take you. But, um…that's about it. I'm, er, over nine hundred years old. I have two hearts." Lucy looked at him, quite soberly. Clearly, she believed him. She was clenching her jaw and when she spoke her voice was tight. She frowned a bit and finally put both her hands on either side of his head. She looked straight into his eyes, her stormy ones boring into his, and said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Doctor." He just sighed and gave a tiny, tiny smile. Lucy removed her hands, hugging herself again.
They were interrupted by the door opening. Juliet poked just her head out, short cocktail dress no match for the biting winter outside. "Jesus, Lucy, it's freezing out here! Anyway, it's nearly midnight, you two should come back inside." And with that she was gone. The Doctor got up first, offering his hand to Lucy. Once he pulled her up, he opened the door and held it for her.
Back inside, Lucy was met with her sister's face, her own face in many ways. "So I've got it!" she squealed.
"Got what then?" Lucy asked, not really in the mood for her sister's ramblings.
"My kiss, you twit, my midnight kiss. God, it's like you've been on another planet or something." And with that, Juliet walked off, ready to serve another tray of drinks.
"You hear that, Doctor? It's like I've been on another planet." They both laughed and then the Doctor was at her elbow.
"So who do you think is her victim?"
"Hey, be nice! That's my twin you're taking the mickey out of. At any rate, I bet it's Jack. Looks like he's been following her round all evening."
"It's 'cause you won't even humour him." Lucy batted the Doctor playfully on the chest.
"This is it!" came Juliet's trilling voice. Almost midnight! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five-"
Lucy was cut off from her chimed-in countdown by the Doctor whirling her around and kissing her. He was intense, yet soothingly calm. He set his fingers gently on her jaw line, tilting her face up to his. His fingers lingered on her face and her hand rested on his arm.
All too soon, the kiss was over. It was past midnight. This was just a friendly human custom. Nothing real.
"Happy New Year, Lucy Blake." The Doctor said in a somewhat hushed voice.
"Happy New Year, Doctor. New year, new life. I quite like the sound of that." Lucy tried to make sure her voice sounded casual, blasé even. She looked round, and found that her assumptions were correct. Juliet still had a hand on Jack's chest and he had an arm wrapped around her waist.
Lucy then watched in utter horror as Juliet fell to the floor, motionless. All around her people were dropping to the ground, of their own accord it seemed. In moments, everyone except for Lucy, the Doctor and Jack had dropped and gave no signs of life. Lucy and the Doctor looked at each other, both with eyes wide, once again, not knowing what to expect.
