The Doctor was reeling. This was sick! What kind of person makes someone choose one life over another like this? He was able to answer himself immediately. The kind of person who has removed his conscience and traded it for the ability to see only what is not like him, that's who. What could he do? He knew he wouldn't be able to save both of them; A500 would not let that happen. He wouldn't condemn Coryn to die because he'd known Lucy longer because he-ah, yes. There it was. There was no denying it now, he loved Lucy. It was not stronger than his love for Rose, or weaker, just different because Lucy herself was different. He cursed himself mentally for falling for her. He knew with his hearts that he couldn't help it, that no one could. Yet, at the same time his stupid brain was chiding him, you should have known better, you should have been able to resist, you know the consequences that come from this kind of thing. And even armed with the knowledge that he was in love with Lucy, he knew he couldn't deliver Coryn's sentence. He wouldn't.
"No." he said at long last, voice defiant and strong.
A500 raised a single long, thin eyebrow. "No?" he repeated in his deep voice, as though he hadn't heard the Doctor clearly.
"That's right." said the Doctor.
"You won't choose." A500 said it so that it was not a question.
"No, I won't because it doesn't work like that. I have no right to decide who lives and who dies and neither do you, no one does! So I won't choose." He had a plan, only half formulated, but it was all he had. At any rate, he would not be the one who gave the order to kill, no matter what happened. His old self might have done. He thought that if Rose had been strapped to that table, not Lucy; he might have made a real decision. But Lucy had made him realise that that was wrong. She'd made him calmer, made him think just a little bit longer. So he knew he couldn't choose, knew that she wouldn't.
"But surely, Doctor, it is an easy decision to make. Surely you love this one more, this Lucy Blake? You have traveled with her much longer, and have overcome great hardships with her. Is that worth nothing to you?"
"Oh no, it's worth a great deal. But it doesn't make Coryn's life worthless. She's a person; she has a family, a life and as much right to live as Lucy does. All your hierarchies count for nothing, because you're all human in the end. Kings, nobles, janitors, doctors, in the end you are dust, and to dust you shall return."
"You can quote scripture, Doctor, and try to talk your way out of this, but it won't work. Life is filled with decisions, and those who are too weak to make them get left behind. So if you truly won't decide, if you are tired of this game, I will." And now A500 had this fierce look in his eye, and if the Doctor didn't know better, he'd say that he'd gone mad. This man was truly cruel, despite all efforts to equalize; he was going to have his way. All the Doctor could do was watch because he didn't know what A500 planned to do. He watched as A500 beckoned forward his companion. He was pulling out two guns, handing one to A600. While he positioned himself beside Coryn Lu Reaux, A600 moved over to Lucy, both poised and ready to strike. The Doctor saw his ray of hope, like it was actually shining down on him, on Lucy. He knew in that moment that Coryn was going to die and he hated himself for it, despite not having given the order. A500 had the most horrible grin on his face; he was going to get his kill. The Doctor looked over at A600's face and his hope shined on.
"Now!" A500 shouted, and he plugged his gun into Coryn's chest, right into her heart, not fired. The Doctor saw that it was not unlike the gun he had been shot with on New New Earth. Behold evolution, he thought. He looked quickly over at A600 and Lucy. And sure enough, he was right; she had not fired. Her face had betrayed her doubt, the unease she felt at taking innocent lives. He was sure that this was the first time she had shown mercy, her cool voice before had indicated a detachment capable of killing. She looked over at him, and he saw the hint of an apology in her eyes, and that was when A500 made his move. The Doctor knew exactly what was coming, yet again, when he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and spun her round to face him. She looked up at him pleadingly, but the Doctor could have told her that it was no use. She looked up into A500's glaring, hateful eyes, and seemed to draw the same conclusion herself. A500 knocked the gun out of her hand and it spun across the floor, landing not far from the Doctor's feet. A500 pulled his gun out again and plugged it into her neck. She fell to the floor, eyes closing for the last time. A500 looked over at the Doctor, eyes once again filled with manic glee, sociopathic smile plastered onto his dark face. And before he could plug his gun into Lucy's heart, the Doctor was rushing forward, picking up A600's discarded gun and plugging it into A500's heart, just as he had done to Coryn Lu Reaux. A500 was falling, still being half held by the Doctor, who was sinking to the floor with him. And before he could blink out of existence, the Doctor put his hands on either side of A500's head and searched. And there, just before he breathed his last, he caught his name. Andrew Stevens was dead, lying on the floor near the two people he'd killed.
The Doctor threw the gun down to the ground and walked slowly over to Coryn Lu Reaux's body. He saw with rising disgust and sorrow, that her eyes were still open. He thought back to when he and Martha had been on the moon. A plasmavore had just drained the Dean of medicine of all his blood, and Martha had paused to close his eyes. The Doctor had marveled at the scope of human kindness in death. So, taking a leaf out of Martha's book, he reached down and gently closed her eyes, hating himself all the more for bringing her here. He looked over at Lucy, who was still unconscious. His hearts started beating faster and he thought that the sedative she was under should wear off soon. He decided to speed up the process, however, and rushed across the room, to the far left corner. There, he found a cupboard filled with vials and syringes. He selected the one he wanted and walked briskly back over to Lucy Blake. He found a vein in her delicate right arm and shot the adrenaline in, just enough to make her wake up without being too fuzzy. He then undid the straps binding her to the table. He couldn't stand this. A girl was dead because of him. Lots of other people had died on his account, far too many in fact. But this was different. She had been reticent, had trusted him, trusted Lucy to keep her safe. And now she was dead because some sick maniac wanted to test him. He turned round, hands in his pockets, head down and crossed to the far wall, facing the tables that still held Lucy and Coryn. He sank against the wall, feet flat on the floor, elbows on his knees, hands on his head.
Lucy would never want to speak to him again when she found out what had happened. She'd demand to be taken back to London, back to her sister so she could live a normal life and never again have to think of the monster that had screwed everything up. And he wouldn't blame her for it one bit. He'd accept whatever she said or did and would just go on loving her all the more for it. He alternated between closing his eyes against the headache that was creeping up on him and looking over at Lucy's still sleeping form.
Lucy Blake came to with a sudden ferocity. Her eyelids flew open and she was at once alarmed and alert. But she didn't bolt upright just yet; her senses told her to take it easy. The last thing she remembered was waltzing out of the T.A.R.D.I.S., ready and waiting for the Doctor and Coryn to come out. She'd looked round the stark surfaces that met her eyes, more than a little disturbed at the sameness of it all. Where was the life? Why was everything so unfeeling? No answer came to mind, so she turned back to the big blue box, hoping to find the Doctor, and therefore, answers. What she found instead, was a hulking man in a grey uniform, all one piece. He had a tag on that said B029. She was about to ask him where exactly she was and what had happened to the place when he stabbed her in the neck with a syringe. She tried to call out, but something like lead was filling her every nerve and pore. She felt herself falling, but was somehow supported and gave in, quite unwillingly, to the blackness that was consuming her.
Lucy absorbed her surroundings now, too bright light shining down on her. She was lying on a cold table, made of what appeared to be stainless steel, or perhaps aluminum. She moved only her eyes, not her head and, looking to her left saw a terrible sight. Coryn Lu Reaux was dead, she was sure of it. Though her eyes were closed and she looked like she was sleeping, there was no breath, and utter stillness. Lucy's mouth opened and she heard herself gasp. She'd said she was only 18! She could only assume that the people who'd gotten her had gotten Coryn and perhaps the Doctor too. As she thought of him, she heard something stir along the far wall, facing her. She raised herself slowly up, tearing her eyes away from the limp girl's form.
Her eyes met the Doctor's, sitting across the room. He looked older than he ever had before. His eyes were tragic, filled with wisdom, understanding, life and also so much death. His eyes said more than his words ever could. They said that he was sorry, that he blamed himself. Lucy knew the blame was misplaced; no one could be blamed, really. The Doctor had set the T.A.R.D.I.S. to go to a random location, and it had picked this. There was no fault. But Lucy knew, like she knew how to breathe, that he would never forgive himself, and that there were many other crimes he took blame for that weren't really his. She breathed in slowly and flexed various muscles, trying to erase all of the lead that had been in her veins. She looked back over at Coryn and felt her heart break. No matter what the Doctor planned, Lucy would see to it that she personally delivered Coryn's body back to her family. And she felt this stab of loss. This girl had only been her in her life for so short a time, and now she would never get the opportunity to know her, to befriend her, to set something right in her life. She let a single tear escape her eye as she mourned the loss of Coryn's life and her love.
She felt a warm hand on her shoulder and looking up saw that it was the Doctor. He sighed as he moved his hand up, wiping away the tear and absently stroking her thin scar once. This simple act of kindness was apparently too much for her and she gave a great shuddering sob. In a flash, the Doctor had picked her up off the table, allowing her to stand, but knowing that she needed support and held her close to him.
The Doctor was surprised to find that Lucy no was no longer crying. But he held her anyway, knowing full well what she was feeling, as he was feeling it himself. He placed his chin on top of her head and felt her arms squeeze tighter around his back. He was grateful when Lucy broke the silence. "Doctor, Doctor we have to take Coryn back to her mum. We can't leave her here, we can't stay here, and we've got to get out now." The Doctor knew she hated this place and quite agreed with her.
"Right you are, Lucy dear. Are you alright?" he then asked, pulling her away from him slightly, but still holding on to her forearms. She only nodded and pulled away from him, walking back over to Coryn's body. He followed her and picked up Coryn.
It didn't take long to make their way out of the building. They both ignored the indignant chaos the waiting room brought them when they carried out a dead girl, neither of them "assimilated." The receptionist had sent off more guards to go check on the room where they had been, and by the time she turned back to order still more guards to hold them back, they were gone.
Inside the T.A.R.D.I.S., Lucy was sitting beside Coryn, on the floor. She felt drawn to her somehow and didn't want to leave her, for what reason, she didn't know. The Doctor didn't question this either, and perhaps he knew better than she did, for that was often the case. A short while later they were in Alberta, Canada. They had landed in a quiet, sleepy village on a sunny day. They were right behind Coryn's house and were discussing how best to go about the situation.
"Doctor, I'm not leaving her, we owe her mother an explanation, closure."
"The front door then? Are we just going to bring a body in broad daylight to her front door?"
"Do you have a better idea?"
The Doctor was silent, having been beaten. Wordlessly, he got up and once again hoisted Coryn into his arms.
Patrice Lu Reaux opened the door and nearly fainted. On the landing were a man and woman she had never seen before, holding the body of her dead daughter, her only child. As she reeled, the woman dashed forward and held her upright. Without being told, she made her way into the parlour, still holding Patrice up. The man carrying Coryn stepped in as well and put her down on a couch. The woman was setting Patrice down. Was pouring the tea she had made and was handing the cup to her. Patrice took the cup in her shaking hands and sobbed, not knowing what else to do. These two let her for quite a while, not wanting to disturb her. At long last, curiosity overcame her sadness. She thought now that she must be in shock. In a shaking and stammering voice she said, "W-what happened to m-my b-baby?" As said the word baby, she fell to sobbing again and the woman put her arms around her. Patrice didn't want to shove her off. But she still didn't know who she was. The two glanced at each other and the woman spoke in a very quiet, British voice. "Ms. Lu Reaux, we met your daughter in the south of France. She came with us, very far away. Oh, I'm Lucy Blake and this is the Doctor."
"Doctor! Well, why didn't you help Coryn? Couldn't you have saved her?"
"I'm sorry." said the man, also British. "I'm so sorry, but I couldn't. Your daughter was…electrocuted so to speak." Patrice winced and whimpered, and Lucy Blake held her tighter.
"But where were you? Why did she go with you?"
"We were just…very far away." began the man, the Doctor, but Lucy cut him off.
"Ms. Lu Reaux, we were in the future. I know it sound crazy, but we were. And the people there were confused and a little angered by us. Now, I don't remember, because I was unconscious, but they killed your daughter. She came with us because we asked her to. Because we both saw something special and unique in her. We were fascinated by her, and I wish that she hadn't come with us, because then she could be safe with you." Patrice didn't know what to make of this. Were they lying? Her first instincts said yes, but then she looked into the Doctor's eyes and knew that he wasn't, and that neither was Lucy. "Doctor, would you be so kind as to put Coryn upstairs in her bedroom? It's the only door on the left." The Doctor nodded and picked her up and walked silently up the staircase. The two women looked at each other for some time and then Patrice said, out of nowhere seemingly, "You look like him, you know. You two seem almost exactly the same."
"Me and the Doctor?" Patrice nodded and they were silent again, Lucy thinking about what that meant. Her sister had said something like that, she couldn't remember when. Everything in her normal life seemed so long ago, because she no longer had a normal life. She was anything but normal.
"Sorry, but where's the rest of your family?" Lucy asked, unable to keep from noticing that there were no other pictures on the walls besides those of Coryn and Patrice.
"Gone, or non-existent. Coryn was my only child, my parents died long ago. There's her aunt, my sister in France, that's who she was visiting. But her dad skipped out on us before she was born. She used to tell people he was dead, because it hurt her to think that he didn't love us."
"I know exactly what that's like. It's just me and my sister, by way of my family. She's my twin, and we're all each other has." And then Lucy felt this stab of guilt, this time for her sister, because she also had the Doctor, and that was something. By now, the man himself and come back down the stairs and was leaning against the door frame. Patrice beckoned him forward, but he shook his head.
"Will you be alright?" he said to Patrice, "Is there anything either of us can do for you?" Patrice shook her own head gratefully and turned back to Lucy.
'No, I'm just glad, um…just glad to have her home. I can tell everyone that she, that she had a heart attack. She never liked flying; they'll think it was stress." And then she was sobbing again and Lucy had her arms round her and was rocking back and forth with her, crooning comforting remarks.
"Thank you." Said Patrice, in between sobs, "Thank you both for everything you've done. You brought her back to me when you didn't have to, you traveled all this way." Lucy only nodded and looked up at the Doctor. She knew without his saying that he wanted to leave, to move on.
"You're welcome, Ms. Lu Reaux. If there's anything you need, don't hesitate to call." And she wrote down her mobile number on a napkin, giving it Patrice, who accepted and smiled weakly by means of thanks.
Back inside the T.A.R.D.I.S. Lucy was telling the Doctor what Ms. Lu Reaux had said to her. "She thinks we're the same?" he said, another idea, another dream, not even half formed in his brain. If he were human, the thought would be sub-conscious, but for him, it was just out of reach, straddling the line between the two. "Well, at any rate, I'm incredibly sorry for what happened, Lucy." He didn't let her butt in, because he knew she would tell him that it wasn't his fault, and even that would hurt too much. "Where to?" he said next. He was still half-expecting her to leave him, to never want to see him again.
"I need to go home, Doctor." He looked up quickly, dreading whatever speech she was about to give him. He knew that he couldn't afford to stay with her, but also that he couldn't bear to be without her. "I need to see Juliet, just real quick, before we set off again." And the Doctor felt his hearts warmer than they had been in so long a time. And before he went to set the controls, he walked over and caught her in a fierce hug, reveling in her, needing only her and his T.A.R.D.I.S.
Lucy was surprised, but hugged the Doctor back, all too willingly as she accepted what she secretly had known for a while now. She'd fallen for him. No doubt about it, she loved him more than the sun.
