"Ex Memoria"

15. Truth in Sight

Chicago, Illinois – in the year 2021

They had carried themselves from the bank to the house of Mrs. Ana Lenkov as fast as they could. They knew she was frightened, didn't understand what was happening. It had taken the rest of them the length of the ride to put it together, and as soon as they did, they came to the conclusion that Mrs. Lenkov might not be in any danger at all: She might be on the verge of having a very good day, compared to the rest of them.

They reached the house to find a man sitting dejectedly on the front steps, weeping. By the looks of him, he might have been a bodyguard or a bouncer, which made the entire image that much more surprising.

Rory was still slightly out of it, after the journey to the bank, chasing the food truck man's memory, so he wouldn't step forward. Amy hesitated for a moment before starting a cautious advance, one slow step at a time.

"Hello? I'm sorry, I…" The man looked up, and Amy froze. "You alright?"

"She won't let me in," he sniffled, wiping his face in his sleeve.

"Mrs. Lenkov?" Amy asked.

"Ana…" the man spoke; he didn't know the name. Amy looked to Mike and Tina, who nodded.

"Who is Ana to you?" Amy tried.

"My sister. She's my twin sister, or… I think…" he frowned, as though he could sort of see that this wasn't right, but not entirely. "We were born in that house… I think… But I… I think I left and…"

"He's a nurse," Rory pointed then. Amy looked where he pointed and she saw an ID clipped to his clothes. This was the last piece they'd been missing.

"Sir?" Amy asked as she crouched, hoping that the word would reach within him, beyond the memory that had a hold of him. She squinted to read his ID. "Ted?" He looked at her; he was listening. "I understand what's happening to you, we all do. And I think we can help you. You just need to let us go inside and speak with Ana on our own. Is that okay?" Ted nodded gladly.

He stepped down on to the curb; he would wait. Tina and Mike went ahead, Amy and Rory behind them. Mrs. Lenkov had to have been right there at the door watching. As soon as they'd reached the top step, she had opened the door to let them in, closing and locking the door once they were all in.

"Can you make him leave?" she asked. On the ride over, Mike explained that Mrs. Lenkov was constantly worried that someone would come and force her to move into a retirement home, force her to leave the home she'd lived in her whole life. It came as no surprise then that she wouldn't want to call the cops.

"Mrs. Lenkov, it's alright," Tina promised her. "Come, let's sit, we can explain."

So they went and sat, and there the four of them did their best to explain what was happening out there so she would know they were telling the truth.

What it came down to was this: Ted the nurse had received a memory from someone, possibly one of the patients at the hospital where he worked, and this person was possibly Mrs. Lenkov's long lost twin sister.

It might have been the most preposterous thing she'd ever heard, but she looked out her window at the man standing on the curb, and she stayed there in silence, watching him, for a long time. Finally, she spoke.

"Let him in."

It was a brief conversation before the six of them made for the hospital. The nearer they came, it seemed Ted remembered more and more, not from the memory he had received but from his own mind. He had been looking after a woman called Lena ever since she had been brought in, and she had been kind to him, and he had listened to her stories. He remembered how she'd told him that she'd run from home when she was young, that she'd tried going back many times but she'd always failed, always too ashamed.

"Ted, are you okay?" a young Japanese nurse accosted them as they walked through the hall. "You just ran off. Carter's looking for you, and…"

"Sorry, Lilah, not now," Ted apologized before ushering Mrs. Lenkov along.

In the room, they found the woman staring up at the television screen, clicking as best as her aching hands would allow, to change the channel. Growing up, they had never thought that they ever looked nearly as identical as people claimed that they did, but now, as she looked at the woman in her bed, Ana Lenkov couldn't help but think she might have been staring into a mirror.

"Lena…" she spoke, and then the bedridden woman turned, a moment of shock turned into tears of joy. She had long accepted that she would spend what little life she had left still missing her sister, but now here she was.

Standing back, Ted the nurse looked proud, while the others looked on, some of them in tears as well. Somewhere in all the destruction it had the potential to bring forth, the painting and its infection had gone and made a good thing happen. They wouldn't have thought it possible, but here they were, watching Ana and Lena, reunited, talking animatedly about their lives.

"Will they be alright?" Amy turned to the others. "Can we leave them, because we should…" she motioned, and they knew: the Doctor would be waiting for them.

"I'll make sure she gets home okay," Ted promised, so after saying goodbye to the sisters, the four had left the hospital and started on their way to the park where the TARDIS – and potentially a very annoyed Doctor – would be waiting.

As they were walking out though, they caught a glimpse of a television in a corner. Trinity Wells was on, reporting a gas leak at the museum. The ER was starting to get crowded, though they didn't understand why right away. First, to the TARDIS.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)