The Lodger: Football and Scanners
The middle of the night would find the Doctor walking backwards towards the house, pulling a shopping trolley behind him, one that was filled to the brim with various odds and ends as Angel carried a few items he couldn't fit in the trolley in her arms, "Shh!" he whispered to a cat that meowed, "Don't get comfortable!"
Angel laughed and shifted the items in her arm, reaching out to lightly stroke the cat's head, making it purr in contentment.
The Doctor smiled at her before he pulled out the house keys and unlocked the front door, holding it open for Angel to step in after him.
~8~
"Now, I think that's all sorted," the Doctor was saying as he finally sorted through all the odds and ends, he'd taken more than he needed, probably, half the items were really just junk, but they were shiny and interesting and odd and he loved that! But it had taken him nearly half the night to get through the useful pieces and stop playing with the other pieces, but he'd done it!
...and now that he'd gotten through that he realized Angel had gone rather silent about an hour or two ago.
"Angel?" he looked back and had to smile, because Angel was curled up on the bed, on her side, facing the door, sound asleep, still in her clothes, still with her cowboy boots on. He let out a soft laugh at that, he'd been rambling along as he worked, finding various trinkets and describing what they were used for on Earth and in other star systems and it seemed his voice had lulled her to sleep...
~oOo~
Angel was laying curled up on the seats they had been sitting in before, the lights dimmed as Hobbes gave a presentation with slides of all his research to the passengers, more like a lecture than anything else. He smiled as he watched her finally seem to be able to sleep. Honestly, he should have thought about this earlier, she'd often talked, when they would discuss the Academy, of how dreadfully boring she found it all, save classes about the theories and actualities of time and space, and history. Oh she'd loved those classes far more than the sciences or maths or literatures or any other subject the Academy had to offer, and it made sense now, her innate talent with the TARDISes, her connection to them, she just...understood time and space in a way he doubted he ever would, despite all his travels through it. But still, he should have known that as soon as Hobbes started lecturing she'd fall right to sleep. Perhaps he'd experiment a bit with lecturing her when they got back to the TARDIS see if he couldn't help her fall asleep as well, maybe go on and on about the most boring topic he could think of, watching paint dry or grass grow or...time passing slowly and in the right order. It might work, according to her, even when he gobbed on about tech in a manner she couldn't follow, she just loved the sound of his voice, it soothed her.
~oOo~
He shook his head, getting up to walk over to her, sitting on the edge of the bed beside her, about to reach out a hand and wake her...when he hesitated. She looked so...peaceful, beautiful really, and...tired. He'd noticed she was a bit more tired on their adventures lately, retiring to her room after a few of them and sleeping. Which wasn't odd, they DID require sleep at times, just...not as much as a human and she was sleeping almost the same amount as Amy, though a bit less. He knew from his own experience that falling asleep at times could be difficult and Angel had admitted having trouble falling asleep since losing Rory.
He couldn't bring himself to wake her up and disturb the sleep she was getting, it seemed she really did need it, and he wouldn't begrudge her of that.
He let out a soft laugh as she shifted in her sleep, burying her face a little more in the pillow, her hair starting to fall onto her face and, before he even realized he'd done it, he reached out and gently brushed the hair back, away from her cheek, behind her ear. He tilted his head as he looked at her, just...watching her sleep a moment or two longer, when he realized...his hand was still against her cheek, softly brushing against it, stroking it with the backs of his fingers and knuckles, and pulled away, frowning as he looked at his hand.
Why had he done that?
He shook is head and got up, heading back to the different parts, ready to get to work in building what he needed to build, when his gaze was pulled back to Angel once more. He'd been doing that a lot lately, looking at her, he supposed he had really missed her quite a lot when she'd been with Torchwood, to keep looking at her as much as he did. He straightened though when he noticed she had fallen asleep on top of the covers.
He let out a breath, "Daft girl," he murmured fondly, walking to the bed where a soft throw blanket was lying at the foot and grabbed it, bringing it up to cover her so she wouldn't get cold. It was a bit chilly out and he knew how touchy humans could get about someone tinkering with their thermostats, so he didn't dare touch it to increase the heat in the house. He tucked the blanket a bit when he reached her head, smiling as she snuggled into it.
He reached out one more time, more to put his hand on her head and stroke her hair just once, before he leaned down and placed a goodnight kiss on her hair as well, "Sweet dreams," he whispered, moving back to the items and getting to work as quietly as he could.
~8~
The next morning would find Craig standing outside the bathroom, the water from the shower running inside with the Doctor singing what sounded like opera. He knocked on the door, "Doctor!"
"Hello?!" he called.
"How long are you going to be in there?"
"He likes a good soak," Angel said, walking it through the front door with a brown bag of groceries, "He'll be in there for a while, come on, I'll make breakfast for you," she smiled widely at that, it seemed like she could FINALLY cook! Very basic things though, but she was just thrilled! She could make all the brownies she wanted now and not have to worry about setting fire to the kitchen or ending up a gooey or floury mess like she'd done on a few occasions.
"Oh, sorry!" the Doctor shouted through the door as she walked past and into the kitchen, "I like a good soak!"
Craig looked between the bathroom and the kitchen, odd those two were, they appeared so much like a couple but, at the same time, not one. Angel seemed to know all these intimate details about the Doctor and the Doctor hardly ever took his eyes off Angel or stopped speaking about her, yet they weren't close like a couple might be, or at least not to him anyway. He shook his head and turned to walk into the kitchen, when a loud banging sounded from above, "What the hell was that?"
"What did you say?"
"I'm just going to go upstairs, see if he's ok," Craig called as he walked towards the flat door.
"Sorry?"
Craig opened the door to the hall and headed up the stairs.
~8~
The Doctor peeked around the shower curtain, full of soap, "What did you say?"
~8~
Craig knocked on the door upstairs which was opened only a crack by an older gentleman, "Yes? Hello?"
~8~
"Craig?" the Doctor grabbed a towel, trying to get out at the same time, which only served to make him slip to the floor, falling down and taking the curtain with him.
~8~
"It's me from downstairs," Craig said, "I heard a big bang."
~8~
The Doctor sat up quickly, soap in his eyes that he tried, but failed, to wipe away, "No choice...it's sonicing time," he blindly reached out and grabbed for the sonic in a cup by the mirror that also held quite a few toothbrushes...
~8~
"Thank you, Craig, but I don't need your help," the door closed.
~8~
The Doctor ran out of the bathroom, when the towel wrapped around his waist slipped to the floor, "Oops!" he grabbed it and ran out...not even noticing Angel blush and turn back into the kitchen from where she'd peeked out to check on him, having heard a thump from in the bathroom and the water turn off.
~8~
The Doctor ran into the hall and aimed the device in his hands up the stairs, "What happened?" he demanded of Craig, "What's going on?"
"Is that my toothbrush?" Craig asked as he walked down the steps.
The Doctor looked at what was in his hands, which was indeed an electric toothbrush and not the sonic as he'd thought, "Correct. You spoke to the man upstairs?"
"Yeah."
"What did he look like?"
"More normal than you do at the moment, mate," he eyed the Doctor, with his hair wet and stuck up, soap all over him, holding the electric toothbrush as though it were a weapon, and wearing nothing but a towel, "What are you doing?"
"I thought you might be in trouble."
"Thanks," he chuckled, "Well, if I ever am, you can come and save me with my toothbrush."
"Craig, phone!" Angel called from the kitchen a moment before the phone rang. Craig hurried off to answer it as the Doctor cautiously climbed up the stairs.
"Oh!" Sophie gasped as she entered the flat to see him halfway up the stairs...and in a towel, "Hello?"
"Ah! Hello! The Doctor," he came down, "Right. You must be Sophie."
"Mhmm," she nodded, when he gave her two Gallic air kisses, "Oh...oh!"
"What's that smell?" the Doctor inhaled deeply, grinning, "It smells amazing!" before turning to enter the flat quickly. He walked into the kitchen to see Craig on the phone and Angel standing at the stove, making something on a pan, "Ooh, what's that?" he moved beside her, Sophie watching as she entered, as he seemed to nearly slip his arm around Angel's waist as he moved next to her, only to rest his hand on the small of her back instead, still...standing a bit too close for people who were 'not a couple' as Craig had told her on the phone last night.
Angel looked up, "Raspberry and chives pancakes," she replied before noticing Sophie, "Oh hello!" she turned around, walking over to the woman, leaving the Doctor at the stove, "You must be Sophie," she reached out a hand to her, "I'm Angel, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Sophie smiled.
"Would you like some breakfast?" she asked, heading back to the stove and shutting it off, putting a few of the pancakes on a dish, the Doctor reaching out to take one of the already made and cooling ones, eating it folded over.
"No thanks," Sophie eyed the concoction oddly, "I already ate."
"This is delicious!" the Doctor cheered, beaming as he munched on it, taking another bite.
"Really?" Angel smiled at him.
He nodded, swallowing his mouthful, "Looks like you can cook now eh?"
Angel looked at him, seeing in his mind that he remembered that she was a terrible cook, really remembered just HOW bad she was, but didn't seem to remember that he'd tried to teach her how or any of the little moments they'd shared in the process, but still, it was a compliment she was willing to take, "Looks like it," she nodded.
He just reached out and took another pancake, which made her smile that he seemed to like it. She walked over to the fridge, pouring herself a cup of orange juice before heading back to the counter, taking one of the pancakes and rolling it up...only to dip it in the orange juice and eat it, which made Sophie grimace a bit...but then the Doctor tried it too and soon enough they were both eating raspberry-chive pancakes soaked in orange juice.
Weird they were.
Craig walked in from the sitting room, on the phone, "No, Dom's in Malta, there's nobody around. Hang on a sec," he looked over at the Doctor, "We've got a match today, pub league, we're one down if you fancy it?"
"Pub league?" he asked, his mouth a bit full of pancake, "A drinking competition? Or is that a pub quiz?"
~oOo~
"A hermit with friends?"
"And a Mate," he added, squeezing Angel once more for good measure, "Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It's good fun…for a hermit."
Jack smirked, "What, did you pick her up over your shoulder like a caveman and whisk her off to your cave Doc?" he grinned widely, "I'd imagine there'd be quite a bit of grunting going on then so it really would work."
"Cavemen don't grunt," Angel told Jack matter-of-factly, not noticing his face growing redder behind her, "Not with the translation circuits working, even that would be turned to english."
"Angie you are even more adorable now than you were before," Jack smiled, nudging her chin with his fist, "I like this new you. Especially loving the ginge thing."
Angel smiled at that, pleased he was ok with the new her, she knew how jarring it had been for Rose to see him change, and she was especially happy to hear he liked her red hair. Which reminded her...
"I think it's high time Hermits United and Gingers United went head-to-head in something," Angel remarked, turning back to him, "Maybe a...pub quiz? That's a thing right?"
He smiled and nodded, "We'll set up a match when we get back."
~oOo~
"No...football...play football?" Craig nearly laughed.
"Football. Football! Yes, blokes play football! I'm good at football, I think," he looked at Angel, who could only shrug.
"You've saved my life!" Craig patted him on the cheek before turning into the phone, "I've got somebody. Alright, see you down there," he clicked it off and smiled at Sophie, "Hey, Soph."
The Doctor swallowed his last bite of pancake and moved to the fridge, taking out a carton of milk.
"Hey, I thought I'd come early and meet your new flat mates," Sophie smiled.
"Do you play, Sophie?" the Doctor looked at her, taking a drink right from the carton.
"No, Soph just stands on the sidelines, she's my mascot," Craig replied.
"I'm your mascot?" Sophie eyed him, "Mascot?!"
Angel stood by the counter, eating bits of her pancakes, watching the interaction, as fascinated as she always was by humans.
"Well, not my mascot, it's a football match, I can't take a date."
"I didn't say I was your date."
"Neither did I," they stood there, awkward, silent.
"You'd better get dressed," Angel called to the Doctor, who nodded and handed Craig his toothbrush back, walking off to the rented room.
"Oh, the spare kit's just in the bottom drawer," Craig told him.
"Bit of a mess," the Doctor shut the door to get changed, Angel standing out in the kitchen not only to finish eating but to give the Doctor some privacy to dress.
"What d'you think?" Craig asked Sophie, not seeming to have noticed Angel still there behind them.
"You didn't say he was gorgeous!" Sophie remarked as Angel smiled softly at that.
The Doctor opened the door and peeked out, "You unlocked the door. How did you do that? Those are your keys," he pointed to the pink keys she was now holding again, "You must have left them last time you came here."
"Yeah, but I...how do you know these are my keys?"
"I've been holding them!" Craig defended.
"I have got another set," Sophie held up another key ring.
"You've got two sets of keys to someone else's house?" the Doctor eyed her.
"Yeah."
"I see! You must like it here too," he closed the door.
Angel sighed and went to throw out the last crispy bits of her pancake and froze, the sick feeling returning to her stomach. She swallowed hard, praying it wasn't what she thought it was, before she looked down behind the rubbish bin...to see a crack in the wall. It was a small one, a very, very small one, thankfully. But...it still made her feel just as ill to be near. She backed up, making it seem like she was going back to the counter and leaned on it, crossing her arms over her stomach, her gaze on the bin. She'd been hoping, when they hadn't seen any cracks the last few trips, that maybe whatever had happened to create them had been sorted and that was the last of the cracks.
Silly her.
~8~
Angel sat on the edge of the bed while the Doctor pulled the football shirt on over his head, talking to Amy on the comm., "So we're going out, if we hang about the house all the time, him upstairs might get suspicious, notice us," he then realized that his shirt was on backwards and switched it around.
"Football, ok, well done, that is normal," Amy replied.
"Yeah, football, all outdoorsy. Now, football's the one with the sticks, isn't it?"
Angel shook her head at him, while she wasn't familiar with many human sports, she was pretty sure that football involved feet and not sticks.
This would undoubtedly be interesting.
~8~
The four of them were walking through the park towards the field, Angel glancing over to a tree, the same tree the TARDIS had parked beside before the old box had taken off, biting her lip, hoping the box might appear again. It would be easier and safer to scan for what was going on in the house from the TARDIS. It was too complicated a process to be able to talk Amy through it, the girl barely knew how to operate the data banks and only because the Doctor had shown her on the way to visit Vincent.
"What are you actually called, what's your proper name?" Craig glanced at the Doctor as they neared the field.
Angel had to smile at the fact that her chosen name actually sounded like an Earth name so she didn't get asked that often, but it was always amusing. She wondered just how many times he'd been asked that in his long life. It actually tended to be the first question people asked him now that she thought about it.
"Just call me the Doctor," he said.
"Yeah," Sophie smiled.
"I can't say to these guys, 'Hey, this is one of my new flat mates, he's called the Doctor,'" Craig replied.
"Why not?" the Doctor shook his head.
"'Cos it's weird."
"Alright, Craig!" a young black man in a blue football shirt that matched the Doctor's and Craig's walked up to them, "Soph. Alright, mate."
The Doctor shook his hand, "Hello, I'm Craig's new flat mate," he gave him a Gallic kiss to which Angel tried her very best no to laugh at the look on the man's face, "I'm called the Doctor. And this is Angel."
"Nice to meet you," she gave the man a little wave.
"You too," the man smiled, "I'm Sean," he turned back to the Doctor, "Where are you strongest?"
"Arms," he answered promptly.
"No, he means, what position?" Craig cut in, before adding, "On the field?" when he saw the Doctor stare at him blankly.
"Not sure. The front? The side? Below?"
"Are you any good though?" Sean eyed him.
The Doctor spun the ball on his fingertips, "Let's find out!" he kicked the ball and headed out onto the field.
Angel laughed as the team headed out after him, leaving her and Sophie at the side lines, "So…" Sophie began, "Are you and the Doctor…you know?"
Angel looked at her, "Are you and Craig?" they both shared a knowing look before laughing.
Angel smiled, that was...nice, just...talking, even for a bit, with another woman. She used to do it all the time with the Doctor's companions, but...she just...hadn't quite...felt that comfortable with Amy just yet. It was rude, she knew, it was probably very very rude to not even make the effort to form some sort of relationship with the girl. All the Doctor's companions since the War, even a few from before, had become very close to her, either as siblings or best friends or even favored aunts, like Sarah Jane. But it was like there was just...something holding her back from making that connection to Amy.
She knew what it was too, a few things really. Amy's disrespect for Rory (though she had admittedly gotten SO much better), for one. She couldn't quite get over the fact that the girl, on the night before her wedding to a wonderful man who loved her more than anything in the Universe, would be willing to throw all that away for, well, sex with the Doctor. Not that it wasn't amazing in its own right, it was. It really, really was, to the point where she found herself blushing just remembering it. But still...no one deserved for that to happen to them, no one deserved for the person they loved to try and seduce another person like that. It...hurt her...badly for Rory that Amy had been willing to do that. She knew Amy had made up for it, had realized how much she really did love Rory and had treated him so sweetly that she often smiled seeing the couple together. But it still lingered.
And then there was Amy's slight crush/obsession with the Doctor. Yes, Amy had gotten over that as well, and she hadn't known the Doctor was Mated, not even the Doctor seemed to know he was Mated, so she supposed she couldn't fault the woman for wanting to go after him when she perceived him to be available. But it still stung, and...she noticed Amy seemed inclined to believe that River Song was truly the Doctor's wife, that SHE had no relation or closeness to him in the future. And that...bothered her. She knew Amy had no idea what had happened, she didn't even know what would happen in the future, for all she knew...
River might be his wife.
And she might still be his forgotten Mate.
She swallowed hard, shaking her head, not willing to think about that and get more upset.
And there was also the fact that Amy had forgotten Rory so easily. Granted, he'd never been born, Amy's own past had been rewritten, and the girl DID seem to remember Rory even a little, in ways. She often saw Amy with this look in her eyes, like she was just an inch away from remembering something and it would disappear. Amy was sadder, quieter, since Rory had been lost and she knew it had to be Amy's heart's way of telling the ginger that she'd lost something she loved terribly. She supposed it was just her relating that instance with the Doctor's amnesia as well. It terrified her more than she could say to know that it was a very real possibility that she would be erased from time at some point in the future, and THAT was why the Doctor had forgotten he was Mated to her now. How could he remember if she had never been born for it to happen?
She sighed, all in all, thinking on it, nothing was really Amy's fault and everything Amy'd done she'd more than made up for. She didn't hold grudges, she didn't like them, to her it took more effort to be angry with someone and to keep them at a distance than to just forgive them and move on. And...Amy was her companion's fiancé, Amy was someone he loved and cherished, Amy should be someone she was close to as well. She nodded, taking a breath, when all this was sorted, she would see to it that she and Amy had more time to bond, had more moments that would help them grow closer. She'd try more, try to talk to the woman, try to help her remember Rory because...Amy did remember him, she could tell, deep down in the girl's soul, she remembered Rory.
And Rory deserved to be remembered.
She looked up suddenly when a whistle blew to see the game had started.
~8~
Surprisingly, the Doctor was really very good, dominating the field, intercepting passes to other players, scoring goals. Sophie and Angel cheered from the sidelines, though Angel noticed Craig seemed to be a bit upset at that so she'd started cheering for him as well, and other members of the team too since that's what they were, a team. She'd been very pleased when her chant for Craig had picked up a bit...but then the Doctor had stolen the show, seeming just a bit smug when the crowd began to chant his name instead. She shook his head, she'd heard a bit of what had been going on in his head, apparently he was quite pouty about the fact that she'd cheered for Craig.
She didn't understand it.
At times he acted like they were just the friends he kept claiming they were, but then at other times he'd tug her closer or away from people (men) or try to pull her attention to him...and he didn't even seem to realize it. She hoped, vaguely (as she didn't want to get her hopes up), that perhaps he was falling in love with her again...the way his 9th self had. It really was quite a bit like his 9th self except that she could hear his thoughts this time. His 9th self hadn't ever expected to find love, hadn't thought about it, hadn't even realized he was falling into it with her.
This Doctor...well...he reminded her quite a bit of that, like...he firmly believed that they were JUST friends, to the point where he couldn't reconcile the fact that he might feel more for her than that.
She didn't understand why though, why was it so hard for him to believe he might love her?
She wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer either.
~8~
A blonde woman was walking down the street when a little girl's voice came over the intercom of a house, "Please can you help me? Can you help me, please? Can you help me?"
She stopped and approached the door to Craig's home, "Hello?" she slowly stepped inside to see the figure of a little girl standing at the top of the stairs.
"I've lost my mum, I don't know where she is. Please can you help me?"
"Help you? You poor thing, what's happened?" she headed up the stairs.
The girl just headed into the flat, "Can you help me find her?"
The woman followed her in...only to scream moments later...
~8~
The game was over, with Craig's team winning the match with much thanks to the Doctor. He, the team, and a few friends were gathered around a bench, having some beers, "You are so on the team!" Sean cheered to the Doctor, "Next week we've got the Crown and Anchor, we'll annihilate them!"
"No violence," the Doctor stepped up to him, serious, "Not while I'm around, especially not when Angel's here, not today, not ever. I'm the Doctor, the Oncoming Storm...and you meant beat them in a football match, didn't you?"
"Yeah…" Sean leaned away from him.
The Doctor grinned, "Lovely, what sort of time?"
"Doctor," Angel called, pressing a hand to her head and stumbling back as Craig opened a can and it spilled over him. Everyone laughed but then it happened again, over and over, involving everyone save the Doctor and Angel. He took her arm and led her away a bit, seeing that the affect of the time distortion was much less with them away from the house but still seemed quite painful.
He tapped the comm., "Amy? Amy!"
"It's happening again!" Amy yelled as the TARDIS groaned and grated, "Worse!"
"The scanner..." Angel winced, rubbing her head, trying to keep her mind focused, "Does it say anything?"
"A lot of nines. Is it good that they're nines? Tell me it's good that they're all nines!"
"Yes…" the Doctor looked at Angel tensely, that was not good at all, "Yes, it's...it's good! Zigzag plot...I mean the lever beside the zigzag plotter, Amy," there was a grunt and a thud as Amy was quite possibly thrown somewhere before she screamed, "Amy? Are you there?"
"Help!"
"Amy," Angel walked closer, resting her hand on the Doctor's shoulder to get close enough for Amy to hear her, "Amy listen to me, stroke the TARDIS."
"What?!"
"Just do it!"
A moment later Amy came back, "What now?"
"Just keep doing it," Angel told her, before taking a breath and stepping even closer, resting both her hands on the Doctor's shoulders, moving onto her tip toes to speak into the comm., not wanting to shout but needing her words to be calm and soft so she needed to make sure the TARDIS would hear her. She didn't even notice the Doctor stiffen beneath her hands when she began to speak softly in his ear, more to the TARDIS than him or Amy, "It's alright girl, calm down, we'll fix it, I promise. Cross my hearts. But you need to calm down or you'll make yourself sick…we'll sort it all out…"
She started to smile as the groaning and grating started to fade, the TARDIS listening to her and calming down...
And then she stiffened herself...feeling the Doctor start to move a hand around her waist, holding her there, and felt him rest his temple to hers, tilting his head ever so slightly so that the tip of his nose brushed on her cheek. She felt her breath hitch at the sensation, a rather...intimate gesture if she had to describe it. She managed to tilt her head a bit, seeing that his eyes were closed and swallowed, "Doctor?" she whispered, to him this time.
He opened his eyes and she immediately regretted saying anything as he practically leapt away from her, his eyes wide, his face turning a bright red, "Sorry!" he half-shouted, starting to stutter, "Sorry, I just...wanted to steady you?"
She frowned at how that sounded more like a question than anything.
The Doctor just shook his head fiercely, what was WRONG with him? Where had THAT come from? He honestly and truly had no idea why he'd done that, it was just...she was so close...and touching him...and whispering in his ear...he winced, she had been whispering to the TARDIS, which reminded him, "Amy?" he called, desperate for something to get his mind off the fool he'd just made of himself.
Angel probably thought he was mad by now, if she didn't already. Why had he done that? It hadn't been his intention at all to do that, to make that sort of...gesture of closeness. He really had been trying to steady her, knowing she was on her toes and that she wasn't quite coordinated and things just...got away from him...he'd closed his eyes to try and listen for the TARDIS noises like Angel could and...the next thing he knew...well, he was leaping away from her because of what he'd done.
"Yes, hello," Amy replied, completely unaware of the moment that had just happened.
"Ah, thank heavens," he sighed, turning slightly so as not to look directly at Angel, knowing his face was probably the same shade as a tomato at the moment, and trying his very best to NOT think aboug what had just happened, "I thought the TARDIS had been flung off into the Vortex with you inside it, lost forever."
"You mean that could actually happen!? You have got to get me out of here."
Angel shook her head, there were more important things to worry about right now than what was happening with the Doctor, though he would always be one of the most important things in her life Amy was truly in danger at that point, the nines were NOT good at all, "Did the numbers change at all?" Angel asked, getting back on task as she felt her headache fade as well.
"All fives."
"Fives?" the Doctor looked back to see the loop had ended, Sophie trying to help wipe Craig off, "Even better. Still, it means the effect's almost unbelievably powerful and dangerous, but don't worry," he grinned at Angel, "Now we know that can work at a distance. So Amy, just hang on, ok? I've got some rewiring to do."
"Hey! You...'hang on!?'"
But he just cut the comm. and headed back to the team, Angel following with a cautious and confused look, really very confused by what had just happened.
~8~
Craig walked down the hall from his bedroom to the Doctor and Angel's, knocking on the door. The Doctor opened it, an orange traffic cone under his arm, "Hello, flat mate," he grinned.
"Hey, man," Craig said quietly, "Listen, Sophie's coming round tonight and I was wondering if you could give us some space?"
"Oh, don't mind us. You won't even know we're here," there was another loud bang upstairs and the Doctor looked up, "That's the idea," he closed the door and Craig stood there, listening, confused, "Yes, perfect! What a beauty!"
"Doctor," Angel sighed, "I don't think that's what Craig meant."
"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked.
Craig had to laugh, he could almost imagine Angel shaking her head at him.
~8~
Sophie and Craig were sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, looking at the stain, "That's got bigger," Sophie remarked.
"Oh, yeah."
"Are we going out?" she turned back to him.
"I've had a bit of a weird day, can we do pizza-booze-telly?"
"Great, love it! Wait," she shut off her mobile, "No Melina, no crises, no interruptions."
"Great. Excellent. Um, Soph...I've...I think..."
"Where's this going?"
"I think that we...should..."
Sophie nodded, waiting for him to finish when…
"Hello!" the Doctor popped up from behind the sofa.
"Doctor!" Angel grumbled, walking into the room, just a bit huffy, irritated that he'd gotten away from her. She'd been fine for the last few hours but the last two, well the mood swings were definitely catching on, she was an irritable mess right now, "Do I need to put a leash on you! I told you to stay in the room!"
"What?" Craig looked at them, startled.
"Whoops, sorry, don't worry, I wasn't listening, in a world of my own down there," the Doctor smiled.
"I thought you were going out?" Craig frowned.
"Just reconnecting all the electrics, it's a real mess. Where's the on switch for this?" he held up an ordinary screwdriver.
"We really are on our way out," Angel cut in, with an apologetic smile, she'd managed to convince him to leave Sophie and Craig alone for the night but it didn't look like it was going to happen now.
"No, I don't mind, if you don't mind," Sophie looked at Craig.
"I don't mind, why would I mind?" Craig asked, clearly upset and trying to cover it.
"Then stay, have a drink with us," Sophie smiled at the duo, not seeming to notice Craig's thoughts.
"What, do we have to stay now?" the Doctor asked.
"Do you want to stay?" Craig sighed.
"I don't mind," he looked over his shoulder, "Angel?"
She sighed, "Might as well," she wasn't about to leave him in the house alone or alone with that 'man' upstairs.
"Ok!" Sophie smiled.
"Great!" Craig grumbled.
~8~
The Doctor was sitting on an armchair, working, with the eclectic wires around his neck, while Sophie and Craig sat on the sofa, Angel cross-legged on the floor once more, finding the position comfortable, eating a bit of pizza with some mustard on it, just listening to the conversation going on around her.
"'Cos life can seem pointless," Sophie remarked as she sipped her wine, "Work, weekend, work, weekend. And there's six billion people on the planet doing pretty much the same."
"Six billion people?" the Doctor mumbled, looking at her and Craig, "Watching you two at work, I'm starting to wonder where they all come from."
Angel gave a small smile, her hand dropping down beneath the table to rest on her stomach.
"What? What do you mean by that?"
"So, the call center. That's no good?"
"What would you rather be doing Sophie?" Angel asked, sensing that there was something more to Sophie's depression over work.
"Don't laugh," Sophie began, "I only ever told Craig about it. I want to work looking after animals. Maybe abroad? I saw this orangutan sanctuary on telly."
"So why don't you?" Angel smiled, looking over at her.
"She can't," Craig said, "You need loads of qualifications."
"Yeah, true," Sophie agreed, "Plus it's scary, everyone I know lives round here. Craig got offered a job in London, better money, didn't take it."
"What's wrong with staying here? I can't see the point of London."
"Well, perhaps that's you, then," the Doctor suggested, "Perhaps you'll just have to stay here, secure and a little bit miserable, until the day you drop. Better than trying and failing, eh?"
"You think I'd fail?" Sophie gaped.
"Everybody's got dreams, Sophie, very few are going to achieve them, so why pretend?" he sipped his own glass of wine, making a face and spitting it back into the glass, Angel chuckling a bit at that, she hadn't even tried the wine. It seemed set in every species she'd ever heard of that alcohol and pregnancy were NOT paired together and she was not taking any risks, "Perhaps, in the whole Universe, a call center is where you should be?"
"Why are you saying that? That's horrible."
"Is it true?" Angel smiled at her.
"Of course it's not true. I'm not staying in a call center all my life, I can do anything I want!" the Doctor smiled along with Angel as Sophie's eyes widened, realizing what they'd done, "Oh! Yeah! Right!" she fist bumped him and turned to Craig, "Oh, my God! Did you see what they just did?"
"No, what's happening?" Craig looked over, "Are you going to live with monkeys now?"
"It's a big old world, Sophie," the Doctor said, "Work out what's really keeping you here, eh?"
"I don't know," she shook her head, "Dunno."
~8~
Craig escorted Sophie to the door, "So, are you going to be taking off then, seeing the world?"
"What? Do you think I should?"
"Yeah...like the Doctor says, what's keeping you here?"
"Yeah, exactly! What? Bye."
"See you," he hugged her, sad that HE wasn't the 'what' that would keep her there, "See you in a bit."
"Yeah," she gave him a smile before leaving.
~8~
The Doctor stood at the edge of the bedroom with Angel, looking at the large, ungainly device he'd created from bits and pieces of random items. She had to feel thankful that she'd slept the other night, she wasn't tired at the moment and that was good...because the bed had been torn apart to make a base for the device.
The Doctor ducked out of the way as it began to spin, stepping back, "Right," he tapped the comm., "Shield's up. Let's scan!"
"What are you getting?" Amy called.
"Upstairs," the Doctor read off a digital clock, "No traces of high technology. Totally normal. No, no, no, no, it can't be! It's too normal."
"Only for you could too normal be a problem. You said I could be lost forever. Just go upstairs."
"But we don't know what's up there Amy," Angel sighed, "I'm not even sure what's up there," she hadn't gotten a vision or anything. It was like with all the time distortions, time itself was difficult to see, "We can't risk getting hurt otherwise we won't be able to stop it."
"Then you really are lost," he added, "If I could just get a look in there...hold on," he stopped the device spinning, "Use the data bank, get me the plans of this building, its history, the layout, everything. Meanwhile, I shall recruit a spy," he grinned.
~8~
Craig was clearing up after Sophie left and looked up at the ceiling of the sitting room. Curious he stepped onto a chair and reached out for the stain but stopped, "The Rotmeister..." he scoffed before touching it and receiving a shock, "Ah! Ow!" he pulled his hand away and quickly stepped down shaking his hand and walking away.
A/N: Awww, did you love the little 'sweet dreams' scene ^-^ Or how about that moment in the park ;) We're probably going to see more memory-flashes in this episode than the others mostly because the Doctor is spending so much time with just him and Angel, it's going to affect him :)
And yay! I think we might just make it to the next sneak peek by the last chapter of the Lodger :)
Just a note for readers of TAOSAT, had some trouble with the latest chapter...namely that I wrote it out and then had an epiphany moment of something else I'd really rather use that chapter for and realized it was 11 at night and too late to write up a whole new chapter but knowing I didn't want to post the already written chapter (I'm going to use that for a different chapter) :( I'm going to try and post it sometime today, but at the very latest it'll be up tomorrow :)
Some notes on reviews...
I think it took me to about the Beast Below episode when he shouted at Amy or the Weeping Angel episodes to get used to Matt :) So hopefully it won't take long to get used to 12 too :) 10 was my first Doctor too, but I think 11 might be my favorite :)
Lol, yeah, 11 does seem to have the most twist :) I think it might be because 11 is where (for the first two series) the relationship really gets going so there's more to play with :) I tried to do little twists for Angel though, like with her dying :( I can say there's definitely a reason behind him pushing thoughts aside and acting as though he'd never felt love before :) Part of it (gonna keep the other part secret lol) is that Angel's the only one he truly loved and before her he hadn't ever felt it, so he might not have known what it was as he fell in love with her as 9. Forgetting Mating to her and the love he felt for her, means that he (in his mind at least) has never felt true love before and might not recognize the signs again, which is sad :( He may or may not find out, I think it would depend on if the baby survives or not :)I think that he'd deny it, if he learned about the Mating and the baby but didn't remember it, because he wouldn't remember it. And nothing short of her dying and him dying as a result would convince him that he's Mated to her :( And I can't see Angel putting herself (and the baby) in that position just to make a point :( Memory is powerful, I've seen people argue and swear and firmly believe that one thing didn't happen, when it really did (and there's even proof of it lol). But they'll fight tooth and nail that it didn't happen because they dont' remember it :( I think he'd want to be there and help the baby (if it survived) but because it's a baby and needs help :( And...there's also River Song that's a niggling suspicion in his mind now of who she could be O.O I suppose we'll just have to hope that if he learns the truth, he remembers it or that he remembers before that :) Lol, you read my mind about the kissing forehead thing, we got a bit of it at the start of this chapter. But I can say there's a reason behind that too, sort of like why doesn't he hold her hand either when he does others at times ;)
Thanks! I'm glad you like the series so far :) I agree, I can't see the Doctor being with any other species but a Time Lady :)
Oh there is an EPIC Oncoming Storm moment against River coming up in the saga, won't say when or what sparks it, but it'll be...big. We'll see a side of the Doctor reserved for his enemies O.O In a way...I almost want to say poor River, lol :) I would be completely fearful for River if she's a cause of the Doctor's amnesia, not saying if she is or not though :) I agree, the Family of Blood...I think the only thing that stopped him outright murdering them was Angel, and if something happened to the baby because of River and the Doctor remembered...I'm honestly not sure if Angel would be able to (or bring herself to) stop him :( There are big things to come for River though, definitely :)
I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter :) Lol, he's definitely more than a little thick here isn't he? :)
There's loads of hope in this episode, I can say that, the squashing though well...River Song. I think those two words along squash quite a few things }:) I'm curious as to how 12 would act with the OCs too, I wish they could tell us a bit more about the 12th Doctor's personality :)
Rory will back in only 3 short chapters :)
I'm glad you're liking it even with the angst :) Lol, I can say if we make it to 1000, I will definitely say whether he remembers or not yup :) I try to write a little bit every day and nothing but writing on the weekends :) I usually manage 2 chapters a day on the weekends and at least 1 (maybe 2) during the week :) I've found that, if I have a bad day or hit a road block, I rewatch the episode to pump myself up about it again or I just leave it for a few hours and do something else to distract myself and my mind just wanders to what I could do next with that story :)
Lol, that's awesome about the mining thing ;) Every time I go grocery shopping with my mother, whenever we pass the bananas, I go 'I like bananas, bananas are good' :)
I would probably say I am SO sorry for everything I've put you through, for all of them lol :) I'm so evil to them I think, if they had the chance they'd kill me :) I think the Professor might hug me though and thank me for giving her a baby, Evy might smack me on the back of the head and threaten me that if I make LJ's life even a fraction as difficult as hers she'll come after me, and Angel would just ask me why I'm doing this to her, and I'd have no answer for her if she hadn't seen it already :( That would be awesome if they were real though :)
I can say that I do know the gender I'd like the baby to be if it survives. But I won't say if it's a girl. I can say that there will be a line somewhere in the future of the saga about what gender is is/was/might be (if it survives) ;) Boys seem to pop up a lot don't they lol, at least the Professor gets a girl along with her boy lol :) We'll have to see :) I think he'd feel guilty if he gets his memory back, whether it's his fault or not, he always seems to feel so badly when others are hurt because of him, even if it's not directly him consciously hurting them :(
Lol, I can say I will definitely be writing the Criminal Minds story (and LOTR and possibly NCIS), but it'll take me a while for Criminal Minds. I have to write my own transcripts for them first and, where I want the story to start, that's already over 100 episodes :) But I will definitely do them eventually :)
Oh the Doctor will have an amazing Oncoming Storm moment against River at some point, I won't say when or why but it's already written out ;)
I've seen the trailer yup :) Unfortunately that one is fake :( I seriously think the BBC should hire whoever did that trailer though, it was amazing! :) And I love the two Doctors, they look like they'll be a lot of fun to watch together :)
Thanks! I'm glad you like the AU 10, I was a little nervous doing that but he seems liked enough :) I'm thinking I might break up the AU series a little with my other Time Lady stories. Sort of do a...Time Lady 4, then Series 2 of the AU, then Time Lady 7, then Series 3 of the AU, and so on. Just a thought, but I'm definitely considering continuing that series :)
Oh the shadowy figure freaked me out too! It reminded me of the new Sherlock Series 3 trailer, there's a moment where Molly is at her locker and goes to shut the door and you catch one single glimpse of Sherlock right behind her and I jumped lol :) Which is weird, because I laugh at horror movies but that freaked me out :)