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The Doctor was quiet for a long time after leaving Donna's house. He stood, leaning against the controls, as if for support, staring at them as if they held the answers to his many questions. Lucy looked over at him for the umpteenth time. "Doctor? Doctor, are you all right?" she asked, somewhat timidly. He looked up at her for the briefest second, then answered her, staring at her feet.
"Yeah. I'm always all right." Lucy frowned and seemed to take this as a cue. She ushered Jack and Juliet down the hallway and to her room. Juliet perched herself on the end of Lucy's bed, Jack sat at her studio chair, elbow on the desk completely strewn with material, scissors, sketches and thread. Lucy herself leaned against her closed door and then sank slowly down to the floor, elbows resting on her knees. She'd seen the Doctor quiet. She'd seen him upset. She'd seen him angry. But she had never seen him quite like this. Than man standing back there at the controls was a defeated shell of the magnificent Time Lord she knew. And she'd give anything to have that man back, because a hopeless Doctor scared her. She needed something to snap him back into himself. She needed him to be her Doctor again, the one she loved with all her heart. Perhaps that was selfish, not wanting him to be vulnerable. But then, what did that mean for her? He fixed everything; it just wasn't natural for him to be like this.
Wordlessly, she stood and crossed the room, nudging Jack out of the studio chair. He looked confused for a moment, but went to sit down next to Juliet. He put his arm around her shoulders and she did not shrug him off.
Lucy pulled the unfinished suit out of her closet and laid it out on the desk. Sewing machine purring to life, she finished the last bits of the jacket. She'd had to sneak into his massive wardrobe to find his measurements. He'd worn some pretty outrageous clothes in his long lifetime, she assumed from previous regenerations. At least, she didn't think he'd ever worn a suit with a stalk of celery attached to it round her.
He'd told her all about regeneration. That the last time he'd done it, Rose had absorbed the Heart of the T.A.R.D.I.S. and couldn't control it, just as Juliet had done. That was how she'd made Jack unable to die. The Doctor had absorbed the Heart back out of her, but it still killed him in a matter of speaking. And he changed into the form she knew and loved. He said that Time Lords only got twelve regenerations. And he was on the tenth version of himself. She hoped that he never needed any more. When she thought about his generation, she grew depressed and scared. He would live for so long after she was gone. She couldn't really picture herself traveling with him as a seventy-year-old woman. But then, she'd never been able to imagine herself old at all. She certainly couldn't picture herself being without the Doctor. But one of those things had to happen. As Lucy hemmed the legs of the suit's trousers, she tried once again to imagine herself as an old woman. Nothing. Completely blank. "Jules?" she asked, not looking up from her work.
"What's that, Lucy?"
"What do you see when you imagine life, I dunno, fifty years from now?"
"Well, I suppose I've settled down. I'm in a cozy little house in the country. I've got a good man and three kids just like I've always wanted; two boys and a girl. And they'd all have kids of their own at this point."
"But what about you? What are you like, what have you done? What is your life like?"
"I've traveled, I guess. I dunno, I always thought that maybe I'd be a teacher. I could teach English, don't you think? Or maybe Geography? At this point, I might be able to teach Human-Alien relations. But fifty years from now, I'd guess my life was quiet mostly. I'd be tired of all my adventures, I'd tell stories of all the things I'd done to my grandchildren. Why, Lucy, what's brought all this on?"
Lucy was smiling at her twin's imagined but realistic future. She could see that that was the life people had imagined for Lucy herself. She had, after all, always been the more practical twin. Juliet had been the one for adventure. But the tables were turning now. Lucy was spontaneous and loved danger and Juliet was already thinking of country cottages and knitting. How things had changed since she'd met the Doctor.
"You see, Jules, I've never been able to imagine that far into my future. I thought about what I wanted to do, sure. I've always wanted to dance, and then I found designing and wanted to do that. And I did, I am a designer, even if I don't work as one anymore. But all my life I've tried to think about myself as an old woman and it doesn't work. It turns out to be like some film or something. And now, when I try I don't even get that far. It's blank, like well, like it's not meant to be. Like I'm not ever meant to get old."
Jack was frowning and Juliet's eyes were wide, her mouth falling open. Luc knew of course, that Jack would eventually get old and die, but it would take millions of years and he would be the Face of Boe by then.
"How can you even say that, Lucy! Of course you're going to get old. I don't care what the universe has been telling you, they've all got it wrong! You're not going to change and you're not going to die! Especially not that. I won't let it happen."
Lucy got up from the now finished suit and went over to the bed to hug her sister. "I know you won't, Jules." She said, but after that, she let the conversation die. As Lucy went about finding hangers and a garment bag, Jack steered them in a more welcome direction.
"What exactly is that, Lucy?"
Lucy looked down at the blue suite pinstriped with pale grey. "I haven't been designing anything lately, with all my talk of it. And I wanted to challenge myself. I usually make women's clothes, so this time I decided to make a suit. And then, while I was at it, I decided to give it to the Doctor. You know, with everything he's done for me and all." It was mostly the truth. She'd been intending to give the Doctor something all along. But she wasn't about to admit her feelings for him to Jack. She was sure Juliet knew the whole truth, twin-tuition as they called it.
Just as Lucy had the zipper up the leather garment bag, her door burst open. She quickly stashed suit in her armoire; it was closer than her closet. She sat down on her studio chair, covering up her sketch with her arm.
The Doctor was staring at all of them, fervor in his eyes again, a purpose in his gait and that static energy Lucy felt every time he looked at her. He was back.
"What are all of you sitting round here for? Come on, let's go!"
They dashed out Lucy's door and watched as the Doctor flitted madly about, pushing buttons and pulling levers. Lucy would have tried to help him, but she just liked seeing back to his old self again so much.
"Where are we going then?" Lucy and Juliet asked simultaneously. The Doctor smiled at the twins and said,
"Not too far from home, relatively speaking anyway. I don't think any of you have been to Saturn?"
The twins exchanged incredulous looks and Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "How could any of us have been to Saturn, Doctor? It's made of gas and there's millions of asteroids in the way anyway."
"Not so," said the Doctor. "Well, not about the gas anyway, there are loads of asteroids. But those we can get through. And the planet is not made of gas, its atmosphere is. That's just a cover."
"Atmosphere? It doesn't have an atmosphere!" Juliet declared at the same time as Lucy said,
"Cover? What cover? You're telling me there's intelligent life on Saturn?"
"Yes, Juliet, there is an atmosphere on Saturn. It's mostly comprised of hydrogen. And yes, Lucy, the race there uses the whole "Saturn is less dense than water thing" as a cover to make the rest of the universe think they don't exist. They just want to be left alone, the Saturnians."
"Saturnians? Really?" asked Juliet.
"Yeah. Saturnians. On the planet Saturn. They're farmers and merchants mostly, Saturn is named for the Roman god of agriculture after all."
"Saturn was a Titan, not a god. Shame on you, Doctor." Lucy jibed coyly. The Doctor smirked at her and gave her a wink. "So, Doctor, it's not every day I get to travel to the second largest planet in my solar system. How's about opening the door and giving us a peek?" She had come up beside him and gave him a nudge in the ribs. He shook his head in mock exasperation as he opened the doors. Jack stayed behind while the twins sat on the edge like children, watching as dozens of asteroids came rushing at them. Every time one got really close, they'd flinch and laugh, knowing that they were well out of harm's way.
"All right, you two, we're landing, I've got to close up."
The twins helped each other up from the threshold and retreated into the absolute sanctuary that was the T.A.R.D.I.S. And sure enough, Lucy soon felt the resounding thud that meant they'd hit something solid.
Lucy stepped outside the ship and found that the air was pleasant. She half expected that they would all have to walk about in space suits. But the air was warm and there was even a slight breeze. It was perfect for the thin black leggings, dark grey tweed shorts she'd made herself and graphic black T-shirt she wore. The ground beneath her black leather not-quite-cowboy boots was red and dusty, loosely packed. She made a mental note to clean the boots thoroughly once they got back to the T.A.R.D.I.S.
They had to walk for some time before they saw anything recognizable. Lucy didn't know quite what she was expecting, but it sure wasn't this.
They were walking through a town. It was sort of primitive, but it was definitely a town. The houses had thatched roofs, and all the walls were made of earth. But strangest of all were the people. There was no reason for them to be strange, except that they were in this setting.
They were human. They had to be. Looked like them, talked like them, dressed like them, except that they lived on Saturn and were called Saturnians. Lucy couldn't help but let her mouth fall slightly open and knew that Juliet's was doing the same thing. The breeze pick up a little, making chimes sound somewhere off to Lucy's right and sending goose pimples up her arms. She took out her mobile and was surprised to find that she had service. She didn't know why she was surprised; she'd gotten it everywhere else, including in different time periods. But this was Saturn!
The Doctor was striding down the street as if he owned the whole bloody planet. Jack was flanking him, looking for all the world like a body guard hanging close to his charge's shoulder. Lucy and Juliet felt twin flutters of nerve in their hearts and exchanged worried glances. As if affirming their sense of foreboding, they reached for each other's hands simultaneously.
No sooner had they done this than the Saturnians seemed to take notice of them. People paused in their destinations to stare and whisper behind their hands. It was only now that Lucy could see the markings on the back of each of their hands. They were the same colour as the loose earth they kicked up as they walked. The images appeared to be tattooed on, but she hardly presumed to know the mechanics of it. The images themselves were all star maps. Lucy counted seven orbs surrounding the largest in the centre. Saturn and its seven major satellites, perhaps? She'd be damned if she could recall the names of any of them though. One of the tattooed hands pointed directly at the four of them. Lucy looked up at the owner of the hand. He was a stern, middle-aged looking man. His eyes were wide with fear, however and his hand trembled as he beheld them. Great, Lucy thought. This could not end well.
The woman standing at his side snapped her more firm fingers and the town's apparent brute force was on them. Six hulking men came forward, with purpose in their gait. Two each to Jack and the Doctor and one for Lucy and Juliet apiece. Lucy could think only of kicking and screaming as the next logical thing to do. Juliet seemed to have shared this thought. Jack didn't look happy. But otherwise was as compliant as the Doctor, who walked s though there weren't two huge men threatening to crush his bones in their steadfast grip.
"Well, they sure know how to roll out the welcome wagon here." Said Jack loudly. "I guess they really don't take kindly to strangers." One of Jack's guards gave him a shove on the back that looked like it could have dislocated his spine. It wouldn't have done much good, even if it did.
They were led to a scaffold in the centre of what looked to be Town Square. One long flight of steps took them to a raised platform bearing a long bench. They were all made to sit on the bench, their guards behind them, tying their hands behind their backs. The guards stood at attention when they were finished and waited for the town to assemble.
"Doctor, the markings on their hands, am I right in thinking they're star maps? Saturn's moons?"
The Doctor nodded, his eyes never leaving the gathering crowd before him. "The major ones anyway. Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan and Iapetus. I have no idea why they have them, before you ask. I told you, they're a secretive bunch."
The buzzing of the excited crowd died down as the man and woman who had begun this whole thing stepped to the front, directly before the scaffold.
Lucy felt herself sit up a little straighter. The woman looked harshly from one to the next. She had deep rust red hair and her dark eyes might have had flecks of gold in them. Her skin was dark russet, like most of the people here. She would have been beautiful if Lucy wasn't sure she was about to deliver her death sentence.
"Strangers!" she called out in a ringing voice. The Saturnians behind her threw up their fists and yelled, the militaristic unity giving Lucy the chills. "Before we decide what to do with you, tell us how you got here in the first place."
The three of them all looked towards the Doctor. When he spoke, his voice was even and calm. "By ship. My T.A.R.D.I.S. brought us here, 'cause I told it to."
"And how did you know where to find us, or that we could even be found?"
"Saturn is a very well known planet in these three's solar system. They didn't know you lot were here, I told them that. I'm enormously clever, you see."
The woman bristled and her lip curled. The Doctor was dancing circles round her intimidation tactics and she didn't like it one bit.
"What is your intent here?" she asked through gritted teeth.
"Sightseeing mostly. We've had a lot of troubles lately and I thought we'd nip over to Saturn for some R and R. That's where I was wrong, I suppose." The Doctor finished with a grin and the woman clenched her fists. Her slow breathing indicated her conscious resistance of climbing the stairs and smacking the Doctor across the face. She stepped back and the man took her place.
"And what of these two? The copies?" he said, indicating Lucy and Juliet. The twins looked at each other, stunned. Copies?
"You mean there's no such thing as twins here? Shame really." Said Jack. The man threw Jack a dark look but continued.
"We have children here who are born to one mother simultaneously. They are called 'copies.' But these two are different. They look the same but inside…"
Great. Yet another alien race telling Lucy about her mysterious quirk. How did they know? How could they tell? "Save it!" she yelled from the platform. All eyes turned to her, including the three pairs she sat with.
"You're about to tell me there's something different about me, that something about me leads you to believe I'm designed to survive. How do you know, hoe does everyone but me know?" she was quite tired of it, this ability. The man looked stunned, but at least willing to address her.
"I could ask the same thing of you, girl. How could you know what I was about to tell you? Is prophecy common where you come from?"
"That's not it. Almost everywhere I go, people who've never met me tell me that I can survive, that me and my sister are different from each other. Well I'm tired of it. There's nothing special about me, and if there is, I want to know how everyone else can tell."
The Saturnian continued to look with surprise at Lucy, as though dumbfounded by her very existence. She hated him all the more for it. "Child, it is in your very presence. Everything about you suggests it. It is how one knows to teach his children, how one knows to avoid things deemed dangerous to his health. Intuition, some call it."
"Well no one told me about it until recently. No one…never mind. I'm tired to the whole thing. You don't have my answers." Lucy shook her head slightly and sulked. For the first time, a very small part of her felt the urge to go home and stay there. In London, no one had looked at her as thought she shouldn't exist. On Earth, no one had commented on her strange physiology. In fact, no one had even known it was there.
If presented the opportunity, however, Lucy knew she would never choose to go home. She would always travel with the Doctor. Even for times like these.
The man and woman, the town leaders, apparently, were talking in low voices. Lucy couldn't help but hear them anyway.
"She unnerves me, Saoul. She and the tall one. He is more powerful than he lets on, and she…well I don't know just what it is about her. Let's just let them go, and make them promise to never come back."
"I know, Rinna, they unsettle me as well. But think of everything we could learn from them."
"I won't! Just have them released now." Rinna was fierce, even in fear. Lucy would opt for anything that would get them out of here though. Saoul turned to them and announced to everyone,
"Strangers, you will be let go this one time. If you return, however, rest assured you will not make it out of here alive. Consider yourselves banished." He jutted his jaw forward and the guards untied their hands, not happy about letting them get off practically scott-free. Lucy rubbed her sore wrists and threw her arms round her sister once she was facing her.
"I mean it, you know. You and me are no different, if I'm meant to survive, so are you. The rest of the universe just doesn't know you as well, that's all." She finished off with a weak smile. Juliet gave her a squeeze but then released her.
"No, twin. We are different. I don't know exactly what everyone else means about you, and I can't pretend I like it, but I think they're right. It's okay though. You and me will always be okay." Lucy frowned as her sister followed Jack and the Doctor down the stairs. With a bone rattling shove forward from a guard, Lucy stumbled none too gracefully from the scaffold. When she regained her footing, the Doctor's arm found her and circled her shoulders. They walked like this with their guard escort all the way back to the T.A.R.D.I.S. Lucy was sure that their escort was to prevent them from wandering about the rest of Saturn unchecked. As if she wanted to stay a second longer on this planet. She'd be happy to leave the ringed giant and its many moons in her dust.
Back inside, and once Jack and Juliet had gone off to put the kettle on, the Doctor completely enfolded Lucy in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and she rested her weary head on his shoulders as her own hands came up around him.
"What do they all mean, Doctor? I'm really nothing special!" she breathed into his shoulder.
"Of course you are, you're brilliant." He said, pulling slightly away from her. "But I know what you're saying, and I'd tell you in a heartbeat if I knew what they meant."
It wasn't a lie, not really. Because the Doctor did have some idea what the universe meant about Lucy Blake and he was in no way about to tell her. He didn't know how it would happen, or what would start it, or when, but he wasn't going to have it weigh on her mind. He loved her too much to let that happen.
