The Lodger: The New Lodgers
The TARDIS faded into existence in the middle of a rather lovely park one bright and sunny day. Angel opened the door quickly and stepped outside, taking a few deep breaths...well that was new. She'd never wanted to throw up because of a TARDIS journey before, well...not counting that time she was dying. That hadn't been pleasant. But the Doctor had been going mad in there and the ride was extra jolting, which she knew meant the TARDIS and the Doctor were at war in trying to fight for control of the coordinates. The TARDIS hadn't wanted to come here, the Doctor had insisted, and so the journey was...terrible. She'd nearly been ill on the floor again when the box jolted to a stop and she ran out, needing stability and fresh air. Given her lifetime around TARDISes, becoming ill because of one ride was sure to make the Doctor and Amy suspicious.
They were quite fitting as Pilot and companion, now that she thought about it, both got so invested in the adventures that they missed other things. Though, she could understand how Amy hadn't noticed the 'signs' that she was pregnant where Rory could. Rory was a nurse, he'd been around pregnant women often, he knew what to look for. Amy...hadn't. And Amy's first memory of them was eating fish fingers and custard and liking it. To her, everything odd about how she might act or react or eat was just...her being an alien. The Doctor, at times, almost acted pregnant as well. His odd appetite, his mood swings, so for HER to act similar, to Amy, was just them being their normal, natural alien selves. Amy wouldn't notice that she was pregnant like Rory had.
She honestly wasn't sure if the way the Doctor was acting was his real personality or...something of her leaking through to him. She'd seen it in his mind, after things had calmed down when Rory had been lost. The Doctor had felt her flash of fear when she'd been gassed. She knew he got headaches when she pressed on his mind to try and communicate with him. It HAD to mean that the Mating bonds were still there just...buried or guarded or blocked or something. She knew the Dream Lord remembered her, she knew the Doctor was becoming more aware of her, so...perhaps his personality was really just...his subconscious likening him to her. She was pregnant, she was moody and hungry and a mess of other things...and so was the Doctor. Maybe, somewhere in his mind, he remembered they'd Mated, he remembered what could happen, and it was his mind's way of trying to remind him of her, like it was trying to hint at him what was happening with her body by making him act similar. She really had no idea.
All it had really served to do though was make it harder for others who hadn't known them earlier to realize what was happening. To them, this was just how Time Lords were. Though she was fairly certain that heaving in the console room would make Amy more suspicious of her condition. And she didn't want that. The baby...it was so small already, not even a year old, it was still in danger of being lost. And that was what she needed to focus on, keeping the baby safe, keeping it alive and healthy.
She took another breath, feeling her stomach start to settle, and glanced at the Doctor as he just stood in the doorway, looking around, "Wrong place, Amy," she called to the ginger still in the TARDIS, "We're not on the fifth moon of Sinda Callista," she sighed at the Doctor, "I told you to make a left at Saturn."
He frowned, looking out, "I think I can see a Ryman's..." he cut off suddenly when Angel fell to the ground with a jolt and a cry of pain, landing heavily on her knees, a hand pressed to her head, another around her stomach as she hunched over, "Angel!" he shouted, running out to check on her, dropping to his knees before her as his hearts raced, having dropped into his stomach, his mind going numb, at the sight of her suddenly hurt.
He reached out and took her face in his hands, his eyes searching hers for a sign of what was wrong, about to reach for his sonic to scan her, when the TARDIS doors slammed shut and made him spin around.
"Amy!" Angel gasped, trying (and failing) to push herself to her feet to stop the box, "Amy!"
But the TARDIS just disappeared before them.
~8~
The TARDIS flew, out of control, through the Vortex, wires sparking all around the console. Amy pulled herself up from where she'd fallen at the sudden departure and looked at the monitor, "Doctor! It's saying we're on Earth! Essex, Colchester…" the TARDIS stopped shaking but Amy realized neither the Doctor nor Angel were there and the TARDIS was now drifting in space, "Angel?! It's taking off again. Doctor, can you hear me? Angel!"
~8~
"Amy!" the Doctor's eyes widened, staring at where the TARDIS used to be, completely unaware that his arm had moved around Angel's shoulders, holding her close as they were left stranded on Earth, "Amy…"
~8~
One day later…
A young man walked down a street, when he heard an older man's voice over the front intercom of the house beside him, "Hello?" it called, "Hello, please? Hello? I need your help. There's been an accident," the young man turned and hesitantly made his way over to the front door, "Please, help me," with a buzz the door opened and he entered.
"Hello?" he called, looking at a foyer with a set of stairs just ahead, a small hallway to the side with series of doors in them, the lights flickered.
"Please, will you help me?"
He shut the door behind him, frowning, concerned, "Help you? What's wrong?"
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs, a dark silhouette of an old man looking down at him, "Something terrible's happened. Please help me," the young man climbed up the stairs and entered the flat as the man stepped back, the door closing on its own.
~8~
The echoes of the young man's scream sounded outside the house, though no one passing seemed to hear it...
~8~
A tall, thin, blonde woman took off her jacket in the parlor of the very same house and draped it over a desk chair, calling to a slightly plump man with stubble as he stood in the kitchen, "Craig, what's that on the ceiling?" she frowned, looking up at a large dark stain in the corner of the ceiling. She hadn't noticed it before, well, she had, but it had been small. It'd gotten much bigger since she'd been there last. She hoped it wasn't black mold or anything dangerous, not for her, but for Craig, the man practically lived in the room.
"What's what on the ceiling?" Craig called.
"That!" she pointed, "It's coming from upstairs. Who lives up there again?"
"Just some bloke," he turned back to fixing tea, not noticing the stain spread as he brought the cups in to the woman and joined her on the sofa, "So what's the plan tonight? Pizza, booze, telly?"
"Yeah, pizza, booze, telly," she smiled...when a loud thump and bang sounded from upstairs, "What is he doing up there?" she wondered as the lights flickered and Craig looked up at the ceiling, eyeing the stain too, "You put the advert up yet?"
"Yeah," he nodded, "Did it today, paper shop window. 'One furnished room, available immediately, shared kitchen, bathroom, with 27-year-old male, non-smoker, 400 pounds PCM, per calendar month, suit young professional.'"
The woman's mobile rang, "Mmm, sounds ideal. That's your mission in life, Craig. Find me a man!" she got up and grabbed her jacket, digging through the pockets for the phone.
"Yeah, otherwise you'll have to settle for me."
"You'll have to settle for me first," she gave him a shy smile before she looked at her phone, "Oh, Melina again," she answered after giving a small huff of annoyance, "What?" she frowned, not even getting to greet the caller before the other had started frantically speaking, "Right. Yeah, but I've kind of got plans," she looked over as Craig stood and climbed on a chair to examine the stain, "No, it's nothing important, it's just Craig."
"Oh, thanks, Soph!" he laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Sorry, you know what I mean!" she whispered to Craig before turning back to the phone, "Ok. I'll talk to Craig, ok," she flipped it closed, sighing, "Now she's having a Dylan crisis on top of the Clare crisis. It could be another all-nighter. I'm sorry, but I really should go. Do you mind if I go?"
"No," He answered quickly, though tense, "Not at all. No, honestly, course not, go."
He really didn't want her to go.
"'Cos I could stay," she offered.
She really didn't want to go.
"No, go on."
"I mean, we've got plans."
"Just pizza."
"Yeah, it's just pizza," they looked at each other awkwardly for a moment, shifting, neither wanting to tell the other how much they really wanted to spend the night just them, but that would mean admitting what they really felt about the other, "Ok!" she took a breath, nodding, "Right, I'm going."
"Alright, then," he gave a nod as well, not seeming pleased with the ultimate decision regardless of what he'd said, watching her pick up her coat, "Well, um, I'll see you soon."
She opened the door, "Yeah."
"Alright, and give me a call, I hope everything's ok."
"Thanks, sorry," she slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it with a sigh, well there went that evening. She shook her head and headed for the front door, only to hear a banging up stairs. She looked up them to see the image of a man through the stained glass window of his door before leaving the house entirely.
That man gave her the creeps.
~8~
Craig nervously snapped his fingers before walking to the kitchen, smiling at a picture of him and Sophie on the refrigerator door, "Just tell her. Just tell her. 'I love you.' 'I love you.' Oh, just…" he sighed, going over it in his head, "'Hey, I don't know if you knew...' Oh!" he banged his head against the fridge when the front doorbell rang. He looked around and spotted her keys on a bright pink koosh ball key chain, "Every time!" he laughed at her absent-mindedness, grabbing them and heading out, "I love you. I love you," he walked to the front door, "I love you. I love you!" and threw the door open, "I love you!"
His eyes widened, stunned...more like horrified...to see not Sophie on the doorstep but the Doctor and Angel, the Doctor wearing an earpiece, "Well, that's good," the Doctor smiled, "'Cos we're your new lodgers. Do you know," he took the keys out of Craig's hand, smiling at Angel, "This is going to be easier than I expected!"
"But..." Craig shook his head, "I only just put the advert up today, I didn't put my address."
"I mentioned it to him," Angel cut in, her and the Doctor having decided that they would 'play human' for the time being, she'd had a bad feeling about the house, about the second floor and whatever was hiding in it, so they'd agreed no talk of sonics or aliens or being psychic, just...blend in as much as they could, "I um…heard it around town that you had a space."
"And aren't you lucky she did?" the Doctor grinned, winking at Angel who had led him straight to the shop where a note had been posted for them by Amy, telling them to go to this house, probably written sometime in the future, and then she'd led him straight there, where another note had been waiting for them, "Course that's expected, best good luck charm in the Universe!"
"Luckier than you know," Angel murmured, glancing up, thankfully not flinching at the reminder of what the last Doctor used to call her this time.
"Less of a young professional, more of an ancient amateur, but frankly I'm an absolute dream," the Doctor smiled at Craig, "And Angel's not too bad either."
"Thanks," Angel rolled her eyes.
"She's actually rather brilliant," the Doctor continued as though she hadn't spoken, just...looking at her with a soft gaze, smiling at her. Angel blinked and looked back at him, smiling a little when she saw his smile widen at that, "Yes," he nodded, "She really is...just amazing..." his words grew softer, along with his look as he eyed Angel, standing beside him.
He should be worried, upset, angry, that the TARDIS had up and left them stranded on Earth, but...Angel was there. And that made all the difference in the world. He remembered what it felt like, those few trips with just Amy, it had surprised him just how quickly he'd missed Angel, how immediate the reaction in him was to things that reminded him of her, how noticeable the fact that she wasn't there was. It was like everything just served to remind him it was just him and Amy and he'd wanted Angel back with him, he really had. So even now, being trapped on Earth, the TARDIS fleeing somewhere, Amy trapped inside, not knowing what was wrong with the house...it didn't matter, it didn't bother him, because he would face it and work it out, with Angel at his side, as it should be. The last of the Time Lords, together.
Craig looked between them, frowning, slightly confused at the moment. The man was just...gazing at the woman who seemed almost stunned he could even notice her for some reason. Reminded him rather a bit of him and Sophie, but then he shook his head, that wasn't the point, "Hang on, mate, I don't know if I want you staying," he cut in, pulling the Doctor's attention back to him, "And give me back those keys, you can't have those!" he snatched them back.
"Yes, quite right," the Doctor nodded, handing him a small paper bag, "Have some rent," Craig opened it to see it filled with cash notes, and blinked at the Doctor, staring at him and back at the bag in shock, "That's probably quite a lot, isn't it? Looks like a lot. Is it a lot? I can never tell," he stepped past Craig and into the house, Angel shooting him an apologetic smile before following, closing the door behind her as the lights flickered again, making them both look up, "Don't spend it all on sweets. Unless you like sweets. I like sweets. I like Angel too. But she's sweet, so that makes sense. Oh," he spun around and gave Craig two Gallic air kisses, not seeing Angel staring at him with wide eyes for what he'd said, actually...not even seeming to realize what he'd just said either, he was mid-ramble after all, "That's how we greet each other nowadays, isn't it?"
"No," Angel shook her head out of her thoughts, seeing that the Doctor hadn't realized what he said and not wanting to bring it up should he stutter and try to back track over it. She stepped over to Craig, holding out a hand to him, "Hello, I'm Angel, nice to meet you."
"And I'm the Doctor. Well, they call me the Doctor. I don't know why. I call me the Doctor too. Still don't know why."
"Craig Owens," he said slowly, "The Doctor?"
"Yep," he grinned, "And she's the Angel. Like she said. Though everyone knows why she's called that. Everyone would call her that anyway."
Angel shook her head, finding it...oddly amusing, how he was acting. It was...weird, different, but she didn't know why. He was almost jumpy and excited and flustered and there was no reason to be. It was just her...
She paused and blinked, it was just her. This was the first trip that they'd had where it looked like they were going to be on their own, together, for quite a while. Even times in the past where they split up and paired together it was only for a few hours but this...this seemed like it might be a couple days, just the two of them, in each other's company, working it out. And then there was the way he'd acted around Vincent...he'd seemed a bit more...aware of her since that trip, especially when they met other men on their journeys. Well...this would be interesting wouldn't it?
But before she could think more on that and what it might mean, she felt her gaze being pulled to the stairs, to the doorway at the top of it, "Does anyone live up there?" she asked, frowning, the Doctor immediately noticing her look, and not at all because he'd been stealing little glances at her repeatedly, and ran to the base of the stairs, looking up at the door intently, trusting that, if something was making her focus on it, it was important to note.
"Just some bloke," Craig shrugged.
"What does he look like?" the Doctor turned to Craig.
"Normal. He's very quiet," there was a loud bang upstairs, "Usually. Sorry, who are you again? Hello?!" but the Doctor had turned and followed Angel into the sitting room, Craig rushing after them, "Excuse me?"
Angel stopped and looked right at the stain spreading on the ceiling, "Ah!" the Doctor nodded, seeing it as well, "I suppose that's...dry rot?"
"Or damp. Or mildew."
"Or nothing of the sort," Angel murmured with a frown.
"I'll get someone to fix it."
"No, I'll fix it," the Doctor replied, "I'm good at fixing rot. Call me the Rotmeister. No," he shook his head, seeing Angel grimace at that, seeing that she didn't like the name, "I'm the Doctor, don't call me the Rotmeister," he pointed at Craig and spun back to Angel, "I'm the Doctor," he promised her, before whirling around the room with his arms open, making Angel laugh and him beam at having managed that, "This is the most beautiful parlor I have ever seen, you're obviously a man of impeccable taste," he turned and sat on the countertop as Angel walked to stand beside him, feeling like this particular Doctor might need more looking after, "We can stay, Craig, can't we? Say we can."
"You haven't even seen the room."
"The room?"
"Your room."
"My room?"
"Our room," Angel corrected, even though they likely wouldn't be sleeping, they needed to be together to work out what was going on.
"Oh, yes, our room, our room," he agreed, rather quickly if she had to describe it, "Take us to our room!"
Craig just eyed them curiously, they didn't seem like a couple. There was no hand-holding or touching or kisses, well, they did compliment each other, or the Doctor did, but still...he didn't get the 'couple' vibe off them yet they were sharing a room? He sighed and shook his head, it wasn't his place to say anything, and led them down the hall to the bedroom in the back, "Yeah, this is Mark's old room, he owns the place, moved out about a month ago. An uncle he'd never even heard of died and left a load of money."
"Really?" Angel blinked, something about that sounding suspiciously like the Doctor's favored 'won the lottery' excuse.
The Doctor walked over and pressed on the bed, testing it, "How very convenient. This'll do just right. In fact..." there was a noise from upstairs, "No time to lose. We'll take it. Ah...you'll want to see our credentials," he held up the psychic paper, "There...National Insurance numbers..." and switched it behind his back to show him again, "NHS numbers..." and again, "References..."
"Is that a reference from the Archbishop of Canterbury?"
"I'm his special favorite," the Doctor put a finger to his lips.
"No, I am," Angel cut in, walking forward to sit on the edge of the bed, looking up at the men, they'd been walking all day and she was rather tired now, "He wanted you excommunicated…and then beheaded remember?"
"Right…" he winced at the memory, if it hadn't been for whatever Angel had said to the man he'd probably be on his next body by now.
"Are you hungry?" Angel turned to smile at Craig, "I'm starving," they hadn't really eaten since the TARDIS had disappeared as well.
"I haven't got anything in," he frowned.
The Doctor just grinned, "Leave that to me!" and dashed back to the kitchen to raid the fridge and cabinets, Angel was hungry so it made sense to make something for them all to eat didn't it? Angel and Craig followed slower, waching as he made his way through the kitchen, "You've got everything I need for an omelette fines herbes! Pour tre!" and he grabbed a few of the ingredients, starting to cook.
Angel stood back a bit, leaning on the counter to watch him and Craig, thankful that today she actually seemed to be craving eggs which was a relief, for some reason the smell of them tended to always make her nauseous. She looked over at the fridge, smiling at the small Van Gogh portrait magnet on it...when she spotted a picture of Craig and Sophie, "She's lovely," Angel nodded at the picture, "Who is she?"
"My friend, Sophie," Craig replied.
Angel smiled teasingly, "Girlfriend?"
"A friend who is a girl. There's nothing going on."
"Ah, that's completely normal," the Doctor nodded, though he and Angel could both sense Craig was unhappy with the status, "Works for me," he sighed, "Haven't quite seemed to find the right girl again."
Angel blinked, on the verge of feeling hurt at what he'd said when his words had caught up to her, "Again?" she asked. She knew, from what he'd told her of his wife, that there was no love there. So...when had he found the right girl then? She knew...well, she hoped, that it was her, but if HE didn't remember their relationship...where had the again come from?
The Doctor looked over at her, "Sorry, what?"
"You said 'again,'" she pointed out.
He laughed, "No I didn't," and turned back to the food.
"So you two aren't?" Craig looked between them.
"No, no. Just friends."
"Friends sharing a room?"
The Doctor paused and looked up, "Don't friends do that?"
Craig just looked at Angel, who shook her head at him with a sigh and turned to Craig, "So how did you and Sophie meet?"
"At work, about a year ago at the call center," he shrugged.
"Oh, really, a communications exchange?" the Doctor nodded, "That could be handy."
"Firm's going down though. The bosses are using a totally rubbish business model. I know what they should do, I got a plan all worked out, but I'm just a phone drone, I can't go running in saying I know best," he straightened, realizing what he was saying, "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."
"I've got one of those faces. People never stop blurting out their plans while I'm around. And Angel's just got that trustworthy feeling about her," he smiled back at Angel, "Trust her with my life I do."
Angel smiled at that, at least he still trusted her as much as he had. That was all she had to do, find...just one good thing in whatever the Doctor said or how he acted around her. Meeting Vincent had reminded her of that, to just...try to find the light in the dark, the good in the bad, and...she found that, by doing that, she saw...little things, that the Doctor did, that gave her...hope. She noticed more of what he said, how he acted around her, that were more than just her being the last of their kind or being a good friend. Even just now, that slip about 'again' made her think that, maybe, it meant he somehow remembered how he felt about her (even if he didn't remember it was HER) and was searching for that again, and maybe he'd find it in her once more.
It gave her hope for the future.
She still wouldn't focus on that though, no, the baby came first and foremost, it had to, maybe...maybe after the baby was born (if it was born, no, it HAD to be born) she could try and work out what had happened to the Doctor again, try to help him remember. But for now, she was just...going to live with it, worry about herself for once, just a bit.
"Right," Craig eyed him oddly before shaking his head, "Where's your stuff?"
"Don't worry, it'll materialize, if all goes to plan."
~8~
The TARDIS tried to materialize, ending up with only a frustrated Amy within as she tried to work the controls, "Oh, which one, which one?! No! Why won't you land?!"
The TARDIS gave an angry, almost irritated, hum.
Amy rolled her eyes, "I can't understand you, you know! I'm not Angel!"
~8~
The Doctor looked over, watching as Angel finished eating a second helping of the omelets he'd made, actually having enough for about 5 servings of it in the end, as he and Craig dropped onto the sofa, having finished their own. He was actually...happy that she seemed to like it. He was worried about her, he didn't see her eat much, she was hardly ever in the kitchen when he was and he knew her last selves hadn't been the best cooks, but...he worried. What if she wasn't eating properly? Whenever they were all together and eating, she ate, but he didn't see her in the kitchen often enough to assuage his mind that she was ok. She looked so thin and small in that dress of hers.
Angel shook her head lightly, smiling as she heard his thoughts about her, his concern, if only he knew that she ate like a pig when he wasn't there. It was just...she was eating more, yes, eating weirder foods, and she didn't want him to comment about how she was eating more than normal...or to see how much of a mess she could be when eating some particular foods. He was oblivious yes, but she couldn't be sure just how oblivious he was. And it wasn't her fault he never saw her eat. She just...preferred to eat alone and the TARDIS seemed to take that into consideration, shifting the hallways so that, when he came looking for her, it took him longer to reach the kitchen, giving her time to finish eating and slip out to the console room.
"Oh, that was incredible!" Craig smiled, drawing the Doctor's attention to him, "That was absolutely brilliant. Where did you learn to cook?"
"Paris, in the 18th century," he said, "No, hang on, that's not recent, is it? 17th? No, no, no, 20th. Sorry, I'm not used to doing them in the right order."
"Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit weird?"
"Almost every single person who's ever met him," Angel commented as she walked over with her third helping, the last serving of the omelet, already with a big bite in it, to sit on the floor by a small coffee table, not really comfortable with sitting next to Craig and not sure how the Doctor would react to her sitting on the armrest of his chair. And the floor was fine, she could rest her elbow on the coffee table to lean on it, it was just the right height.
"Ever been to Paris, Craig?" the Doctor looked at him.
"Nah, I can't see the point of Paris. I'm not much of a traveler."
"I can tell from your sofa."
"My sofa?"
"You're starting to look like it."
Craig chuckled, "Thanks, mate, that's lovely! No, I like it here," he started playing with the pink key chain, which Angel and the Doctor eyed, "I'd miss it, I'd miss..."
"Those keys?"
"What?"
"You're sort of...fondling them."
"I'm holding them," he corrected, putting them down on the sofa's arm.
"Of course," Angel smiled, having a feeling of who those keys belonged to.
"Anyway..." Craig got up after a few minutes of silence and walked to a table by the door, scooping out a set of keys from a bowl on it, "These...these are your keys."
"We can stay?" the Doctor got up and walked into the kitchen to stand by him.
"Yeah, you're right, she's sweet," he smiled at Angel, not seeming to notice the Doctor pout at that, "And you're weird and you can cook," he added, turning to the Doctor, "It's good enough for me," he held up the keys as Angel stood up and walked over, finishing the last of her omelet, "Right, outdoor, front door, your door."
"My...our door. Our place. Our gaff," he took the keys, looking at Angel, amused, "Ha ha! Yes! Me with a key."
"And listen, Mark and I, we had an arrangement where, if you ever need me out of your hair, just give me a shout, ok?" Craig winked.
The Doctor returned the wink, before asking, "Why would I want that?"
"In case you want to bring someone round. A girlfriend or...a boyfriend?"
Angel walked over to the sink, rinsing off her dish so the boys wouldn't notice the expression on her face at Craig's implication of the Doctor being with another person.
"Oh, I will. I'll shout if that happens. Yes. Something like...I WAS NOT EXPECTING THIS!"
"Craig?" Angel called, turning around, the sinking feeling that had hit her stomach the moment she stepped into that room earlier twisting inside her, "That...rot," she glanced at it, "Please, don't touch it."
Craig eyed her a moment before nodding.
She smiled at him, placing the dish in a drying rack and walking out, the Doctor following.
~8~
The Doctor flopped down on the bed, the comm. blinking in his ear as he tapped it, Angel sitting at the foot of the bed, "Earth to Pond, Earth to Pond. Come in, Pond."
"Doctor!" Amy suddenly yelled, making the Doctor wince at the feedback while Angel giggled a bit, "Oh. Sorry!"
"Could you not wreck my new earpiece, Pond?"
~8~
Craig was lying in his bed, in his room on the other side of the wall to the Doctor's and Angel's, looking over the money the Doctor gave him as he talked on the phone with Sophie, "No, I mean, he seems a laugh and his girl isn't half bad. He's a bit weird, good weird, you know?"
"And he just happens to have three grand on him in a paper bag?" Sophie asked.
"Yeah."
"Wait, wait. 'The Doctor?!'" she gasped, "Craig, what if he's a dealer?!"
~8~
A woman walked down the street, in tears obviously after a very bad evening at the clubs, when a voice called out from the intercom, "Hello. Stop, please. Can you hear me? I need your help."
~8~
"Amy how's the TARDIS doing?" Angel cut in.
"See for yourself," Amy replied and then they heard a stained wheezing noise.
"Oh, nasty," the Doctor sat up.
"It sounds like she's locked in a materialization loop," Angel explained to Amy.
"You can tell that just from a grinding noise?" Amy spoke.
"Yes."
Amy was silent a moment, "Right well, what's a materialization loop?"
"She's trying to land again but she can't seem to do it."
"And whatever's stopping it is upstairs in that flat," Amy stated, "So go upstairs and sort it!"
~8~
"Please. My little girl's hurt," the woman turned and entered the house.
~8~
"I don't know what it is yet!" the Doctor stood up on the bed, "Anything that can stop the TARDIS from landing is big, scary big!"
"Wait...are you scared?" Amy asked.
The Doctor paused, was he? He shook his head, no, no of course he wasn't. What was there to be scared of? So there was something in the flat. Ok. He'd dealt with worse...probably. And he had Angel there! What better way to face the unknown than with a psychic? He frowned though, something...striking him about that. Angel was there. He put a hand to his chest, feeling it constrict painfully at that thought, Angel was there. Angel was there and about to help him face a big, scary thing upstairs that he didn't know what it was. What if something happened? What if Angel missed something? What if...what if she got hurt?
He swallowed hard, ok...so a bit scared then.
~8~
A young man was standing at the top of the stairs, "I'm so sorry, but will you help me? Please."
"Help you?" the woman climbed up them.
~8~
"A bowtie, are you serious?!" Sophie laughed.
Craig paused, hearing the Doctor through the wall, "Hang on a sec."
"What? Craig, Craig?"
He got up and walked to the wall, pressing his ear against it, listening as the Doctor randomly spoke, "...orange juice, eocenes Arbuckle, rare tarantula on the table, oh!"
~8~
"We can't go up there until I know what it is and how to deal with it," the Doctor determined, yes, Angel was psychic, but she was also a person, he would not risk her safety, "It is vital that this 'man' upstairs doesn't realize who and what we are," he bounced on the bed and smiled.
"No sonicing then," Angel smiled at him.
He nodded, "No advanced technology. We can only use this," he tapped the earpiece, "'Cos we're on scramble," he jumped to the floor, "To anyone else hearing this conversation, we're talking absolute gibberish."
~8~
"Practical eruption in chicken," Craig frowned at the words coming from the Doctor, "Descartes Lombardy spiral."
~8~
"All we've got to do is pass as an ordinary human being," the Doctor continued, "Simple. What could possibly go wrong?" he put on a pair of sunglasses he'd picked up.
"Must you say that?" Angel mumbled, rubbing her face.
"Have you seen you?" Amy laughed.
"So you're just going to be snide?" the Doctor remarked, "No helpful hints?"
"Hmm, well, here's one...bowtie, get rid!"
The Doctor checked himself in the mirror, "Bowties are cool," and put the sunglasses in his pocket, "Come on, Amy, I'm a normal bloke, tell me what normal blokes do."
"They watch telly, they play football, they go down the pub..."
The Doctor flipped though a book, "I could do those things! I don't, but I could!"
"And for a good reason," Angel reminded him, "Do you remember what happened last time you drank with Henry XII? You nearly started an intergalactic war and then…" she suddenly fell off the bed with a jolt and a cry of pain, falling to her already tender knees, grabbing her head in her hands tightly.
"Hang on!" the Doctor shouted to Amy, rushing to kneel at Angel's side, frantic and alarmed at the sudden and violent reaction, "What is it?"
"Feel like I'm...being pulled apart," she groaned. She'd only felt this way a few times, like when they'd been sucked back to Satellite 5 and the TARDIS had protected her from being transmatted out , or when the TARDIS had pulled her in on Kroptor. She gasped, "It's the TARDIS!"
"Amy?!" the Doctor yelled to Amy a moment before Amy started screaming, he could hear the TARDIS shaking even from there.
"Doctor the clocks..."
He looked over to see the hands on the clocks in the room spinning back and forth before looking at his watch to see it doing the same, "Interesting. Localized time loop."
"Ow!" Amy grunted, "What's all that?"
"A time distortion," Angel told her. She knew it. The TARDIS was trying to pull her back, wanting her help to land or wanting to protect her or whatever the reason, but whatever was upstairs was interfering and keeping her there. It was not a pleasant experience by any stretch of the imagination.
"Whatever's happening upstairs, is still affecting you," the Doctor agreed.
Amy screamed again, groaning for a moment before things quieted down, "It's stopped...ish! How about your end?"
The Doctor looked at Angel who rubbed her head a moment, slightly panting, before nodding and shakily getting up. He rushed to her side as she stumbled, his arms winding around her as she looked up at him, "Thanks," she murmured as he steadied her.
He nodded, "No problem," but didn't let go of her, just...stared at her. It was night, the lights were off in the room, the only light coming from the moonlight out the window...moonlight which made her look just...breathtaking and, oddly enough...wrong. Like...the moonlight shouldn't be associated with her but...just light, daylight, starlight, just...light...
~oOo~
His world had been so dark after the War, so empty, so...cold. He'd met Rose and she was a good distraction, he could pretend for a moment or two that he was just flying away from Gallifrey, from the Time Lords and all their stuffy rules, and just showing the Universe to his next companion. But that was all she was, a distraction from the truth. Angel though...he couldn't describe what she was to him. If Rose was like a meteor, streaking across his darkened sky, lighting it up for a moment before fading and leaving him in darkness once more...Angel was like the sun, the ever-rising, never-setting sun. She was always there, she was always shining, and happy, and smiling, and laughing, and warm, and...meeting her had become the most important moment in his long life. Meeting her...he didn't feel dark, not with her faith in him and her trust and belief he was a good man, he didn't feel empty with her love shining at him through her eyes and her presence always at his side, he didn't feel cold when she gave such magnificent hugs that literally warmed his hearts and her hand fitting perfectly in his when she held it sending the best feeling up his arm and into his body.
It actually scared him at times how perfect she was for him, how much she balanced him. Whenever he felt himself tipping towards the dark and the rage and the hate...there she was, his guardian angel, lighting the way back.
He couldn't imagine his life without her...
~oOo~
"Doctor!" Amy shouted, snapping him out of the moment, making him leap away from Angel, "You ok?"
He nodded, "Our end's good."
"So, doesn't sound great, but nothing to worry about?"
"No, no, no, not really! Just keep the zigzag plotter on full, that'll protect you."
Angel rolled her eyes, that was not the right name for it. But he seemed to like inventing ridiculous names for the switches and controls of the TARDIS, like the Wibbly Lever among others, just like her sister had.
"Ah!" Amy gasped as the sounds of the TARDIS straining could still be heard.
"Amy, I said the zigzag plotter!"
"I pulled the zigzag plotter!"
"Amy, is the door behind you?" Angel asked, knowing which lever the Doctor meant despite the ridiculous name.
"Yes!"
"Right, just take two steps to your right and pull the lever next to it," she added, knowing that it was likely the case that Amy had gotten the levers confused, or the Doctor had called one lever that but it was a different one. She really should teach Amy how to pilot the TARDIS, or at least the basics of it...
A moment later the grating noise eased.
"Brilliant," the Doctor smiled, "Now, I must not use the sonic. We've got work to do," he looked at Angel, "Need to pick up a few items," he tapped the earpiece and walked out.
Angel just sighed and followed after him, this was going to be a long night.
A/N: Awww :) I wonder what the Doctor will be like when it really is just him and Angel together on an adventure ^-^ I can say that the next chapter will have a very sweet scene with the Doctor :) Did you like all the little slips of tongue that he had in this chapter lol :) He's definitely noticing Angel more -squeals- which is wonderful :) This was one of my favorite episodes to write out :)
Some notes on reviews...
I'm glad you liked Vincent's description of their colors :) I think it's more that Angel's just being very cautious not to give away her pregnancy that's affecting the Doctor's perception of it :) Like if there's something you don't want others to know, they won't know. I think she's terrified of telling people about it and then losing the baby like...if it's just her that knows then, in a way, the baby isn't a real thing till it's born, once more and more people know and talk about it and bring it up it becomes more solid and, if she loses it, it would devastate her even more. Like, she's sort of prepared for the possible inevitability of losing the baby, given her family history, but once others know about it, once they start to hope, it would make her hope it would make it and if she lost it it would be worse :( I think she'll try her best to keep it safe and alive, but she's very aware that losing it is a real possibility too :( As for Amy though, I think it's because she doesn't have much experience with pregnant women and that, when she first met them, even the Doctor ate the fish fingers and custard so, not knowing much about Time Lords, she might just assume their personalities/habits and things are normal for their people :)
That's cool :) That's one reason I'm considering continuing my AU Academic Series, because I put an AU/OC 10th Doctor in and, by the time I might get to 12, we'd have seen a few episodes with him and I could decide if I like him :) I think it'll take everyone a few episodes to get used to 12 :)
I haven't given much thought to a Doctor/OC that wasn't a Time Lady, mostly because I can't picture a human or even an alien species being 'special' enough for him or able to truly relate/connect to him in the way a Time Lady could. A Time Lady, to me, could relate more with the loss of their planet and people and the devastation of the war more than any other alien species, even if that species happened to fight in the Time War or something like that :) It made perfect sense to me :)
I agree, to me, the bad things make us appreciate the good things :) I love the stars and astronomy too :) I took an astronomy course once, memorized all the moons in our solar system just for fun, and when our final came around, finished the entire thing in 15 minutes, including listing all the moons, and handed it in. The professor thought I needed help and when I said I was handing it in actually made me stand there to grade it in front of the class :/ Needless to say, I shocked him by acing it AND getting the extra credit questions too ^-^ Best exam/class ever! :) The Garden was something Angel started in Fading, when she realized she was dying she'd wanted to start a garden that the Doctor would be able to care for once she was gone, something she started and gave life to that he could look after, like keeping her there with him in a way. Even though she survived, I could see her still maintaining it :) Jack caught a glimpse of it in Children of Earth :) I think the punching thing is mostly because, it IS a very real possibility that the Doctor might somehow be responsible for his own amnesia :( Which is sad, but possible. And if he was, I could see people being that angry and a punch being justified. I think, no matter what, Jack would be very angry at the Doctor, whether it was his fault or not, because Angel's his baby sister and all he would see is that she was hurt because of the Doctor. I think Angel would disapprove of him being hurt, but I think it'll also depend on whether it was the Doctor's fault somehow or not :) I'm sorry about your parents fighting :( In my family, the fighting can literally last all day of no one physically gets in between the fighters and tries to get through to them, sadly it always ends up being me since my sister's stopped caring at this point, my brother would only keep going 'no, listen to ME' and not hear any other side, my dad would 'uh huh, yes' people to death which irritates everyone, and my mother doesn't know when to stop and keeps bringing up things that have nothing to do with the fight...so it always ends up being me :( My mom can be really scary/angry too, lol, I think it's a natural trait all mothers develop...though I hope not :) I can say the next story will be hard, but I always try to put good things mixed in, like Rory! ^-^
Lol, then I have to say welcome! ^-^ I'm glad you liked the Evy stories and gave the Professor and now Angel a chance too :) I hope I can continue to deliver some good stories in the future too :) Lol, I do that all the time, watch the show and go 'no, wait a minute, that didn't happen because Evy...oh, wait...right...that was in the story' :) And thanks! I've actually sent a few novels out to some literary agents so I'm just waiting to see how that goes :)
I think Angel's about...10 months? Maybe 11, by now so almost at the end of her first trimester :)
Aww thanks! I definitely try to find the good in the bad and remind myself of the good. I suppose I'm a little like Vincent in that, sometimes, I need other to remind me of the good when things look hopeless (like with the plagiarism). But thanks! ^-^
I'm not sure if I'd add the infinity quest, lol, I'm ashamed to admit I haven't watched it so I can't say for sure though. You never know, it might appear :)
Ooh, the Girl Who Waited, I can't say what'll happen }:) But I think the Doctor would be devastated if Angel did that, went with Rory willingly without protection with the intent to become ill with Chen-7 :( Let's hope that doesn't happen :)
I'm not sure how I'll portray 12 and Angel. I suppose I'll have to wait and see how 12 acts and go from there :) I do know I have a few things I need to rework for all the series now that 12 was announced, but nothing too devastating at the moment :)
All the time, usually it happens if I dream that I did something, a week later I'll be like 'no, where is it? I KNOW I did it...' and then it's nowhere at all lol :)
Lol, I'm not sure I'd do the 1,000 reviews thing about saying whether or not the Doctor would remember. I'll say that if we made it to 1,000 I'd definitely say if he remembers or not for sure, but I'm not going to pressure it or readers to review just for that lol. The 500 was more a little treat if we made it to that since there were about 50 chapters per story, it was slightly realistic to maybe sort of hope for that (and I've been blown away literally every single time! lol :)). If we don't make it we'll just have to wait with the suspense :) Lol, it's actually a dream of mine to have even 1 story with 1,000 reviews, but I think I might have a better chance at that with Series 7, that's (so far) about 70 chapters instead of 50ish :)
And a very Happy Birthday to children-ofthe-tardis (on tumblr)/KissWithAFistx (on FF)! I hope you have the best day ever! ^-^