Once they had entered the house, Vincent and Amy right behind them, the Doctor exclaimed, "Right! So he's invisible. What did he look like?"
"Like a giant rhino with the face of a parrot," Alex promptly replied.
The Doctor shook his head and sighed. "That doesn't give me a lot to work with, Ally," he said, not unkindly.
Vincent also sighed at Alex's description. "I'll show you," he said. He grabbed a nearby painting detailing a bunch of irises, placing it on the table in front of him, before proceeding to slather white paint over it.
Alex and the Doctor's jaws dropped and Amy just covered her mouth, too shocked to say anything. "Oh, no, no!" the Doctor cried, rushing up to him. "No, no!"
Vincent frowned at him. "What?"
"It's just . . . er. . ." the Doctor stuttered, not really sure what to say.
"That was a really good painting," Alex finished, her face pained. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of future priceless artwork and back onto the matter at hand. "Go on."
A few minutes later, the sketch was complete. Vincent sat in a chair next to the fire, Amy across from him, while the Doctor hovered over him, Alex by his side, as usual. The Doctor studied the sketch Vincent had just handed him. It showed a wicked-looking beast with a beak, a crest, and sharp claws. It was, like Alex said, a rhino mixed in with a parrot.
"Okay, okay," the Doctor murmured before clearing his throat. "Right, Amy, Ally, make Mr. Van Gogh comfortable. Don't let any invisible monsters in through the front door."
Amy sprang out of her chair and Alex just looked at him incredulously. "But it could be outside, waiting!" Amy protested.
"Well, don't worry. I'll risk it." The Doctor smiled at them in what Alex guessed was supposed to be a reassuring manner. "What's the worst that can happen?"
Alex narrowed her eyes. "You could get torn to pieces by a monster you can't see!"
The Doctor cocked his head, acknowledging her point. "Oh right, yes, that. Don't worry. I'll be back before you can say 'where's he got to now?'" With that thought ringing in their heads, the Doctor rushed out the door.
Alex and Amy turned around, reluctantly heading back towards the fire. "Not that fast!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, poking his head back through the doorway, his abrupt arrival causing everyone to jump and Amy and Alex to shriek in fright. He chuckled. "But pretty fast. See you around." With that, he was gone.
Alex lifted a hand to her rapidly beating heart. "If that monster doesn't kill him, I will," she declared.
Amy snickered a bit before suddenly going serious. "Why aren't you following him?" she asked. "I'd expect you to and I'm sure he's out there waiting to see if you will or not."
"This time, I'm giving him a time limit," Alex decided. "If he's not back in two hours, I'm going after him."
From behind them, Vincent chuckled a little. "I must admit," he said when they turned to look at him, "I've never seen anyone so protective over another person before."
Alex shrugged. "He's our ride home," she replied before crossing the room to study a painting.
Amy rolled her eyes. Alex would never in a million years admit, even to herself, that she was falling for the Doctor. She didn't understand why. As far as Amy thought, Alex and the Doctor were perfect together.
One hour flew by, during which time Alex uncomfortably listened to Amy and Vincent flirt a little. Knowing it wouldn't do much good to try and dissuade Amy, she mentally recited every Maroon 5 and Taylor Swift song she knew, tried to remember how many Barbie movies she had when she was little, and thought about what the Doctor was doing. That last one wasn't very hard since it was the one her thoughts drifted to every few seconds.
Alex glanced at the tiny clock on the wall. Fifty-five minutes left. Please hurry, Doc, she thought. Hearing no conversation behind her, Alex turned around, fleetingly wondering what she might do if she found Vincent and Amy kissing. She shuddered at the thought.
Thankfully, Amy was asleep in her chair, Vincent sketching on a notepad. He glanced over and saw Alex watching him. "Irises," he explained, holding the pad up to show a charcoal sketch of the same irises he had painted over. "Since you seem to like them so much."
Alex smiled. "Actually," she said, sitting down in the chair next to him, "I like red roses the most. They're my favorite. Irises are just a close second."
Vincent nodded. "Red roses," he mused. "A beautiful, hardly complex, flower." He flipped the paper over to a new sheet and began sketching a simple rose.
Alex giggled a little. "It's beautiful," she said honestly.
Vincent watched as she studied the drawing, her eyes switching from chocolate brown to copper. "It's rather intriguing how your eyes change colors like that," he commented.
Alex shrugged. "They've always been like that. I'm not sure where it comes from." Apparently, Alex hadn't spent much time studying the photo of her parents in her bedroom.
"They're very beautiful, my dear. A special mixture of different earth-inspired hues."
Alex giggled, slightly glad that the Doctor wasn't here. No doubt he'd think Vincent Van Gogh was flirting with her. Alex hadn't missed the way his disposition soured when she giggled at one of Vincent's remarks. Strangely, she liked that he felt so jealous. It made her feel like he really cared for her.
She tucked her legs up underneath her and examined the clock again. Forty-five minutes remaining. If the Doctor really didn't make her two-hour window, she was going to have to find some way to pass the time. What better way than grilling Vincent Van Gogh? She had longed to do this when she had to do a report on him in art history and now she had a really good opportunity.
For the next forty minutes, Alex and Vincent discussed art. He liked that she was a fan of Claude Monet and Rembrandt. Alex discovered Van Gogh was more than the crazed genius the art world of her day thought of him as. He was passionate, caring, and curious about so many things. He reminded her of the Doctor.
Vincent soon went to bed, leaving Alex to watch the clock. Only five minutes before she went out looking for the Doctor. She felt her eyes drooping. It was, after all, almost one o'clock in the morning. She sighed and closed her eyes. There was nothing wrong with a little light dozing, right? A little eye-resting, and then she'd go look for the Doctor.
~Living the Life of Ally~
Alex jolted with a start, her eyes popping open, as an almighty sound came from Vincent's bedroom. She groaned and rubbed her eyes before looking at the clock. She groaned again when she saw it was five thirty in the morning, long past the time she had allotted for the Doctor to figure out what the monster was. Right then, another loud noise came from Vincent's room. Alex grimaced as she listened to his horrible snoring.
"I was wondering when you'd get up!" a voice cried. Alex looked up to see Amy standing in front of her. "Honestly, I'm surprised you slept so long. His snoring kept me up half the night!"
"Is the Doctor back yet?" Alex asked.
Amy shook her head. "No. I was just about to wake you up so we could go look for him."
Alex nodded and stood. She stretched her arms over her head, relieved to feel the tense muscles relax. "Good idea. Let's go."
The two crept out the door, even though they were both pretty confident that nothing could wake Vincent up. They walked down the streets in silence, still in the process of waking up, until they reached the TARDIS. Alex opened the door and stopped in her tracks as she saw a bunch of items littering the control room floor.
"God, what happened in here?" she cried, stepping inside and kicking a box aside. "It looks like a tornado hit!"
"He must've been looking for something," Amy deduced. She crept over to a storage chest that had been yanked out of an alcove out in the hallway.
Alex stepped up onto the central platform and craned her head. "Doctor!" she called out. "Doctor! Doctor, are you here?" Not hearing a reply, she frowned. "I don't think he's here. He must've found whatever he was looking for."
"He can't have gone far," Amy figured, heading back towards the doors. "Come on!"
Alex raced after Amy, pausing only to shut the TARDIS door. The girls continued on, but their pace slowed as they encountered a bunch of debris littering the street. Well, we know the Doctor was here, Alex thought.
The girls continued down the street, stepping over rubbish every few inches, before finally coming upon a pillar at the end of the alley. Just before they stepped in front of the pillar, Alex caught a glimpse of a shirt. Someone was there. But just as the girls were about to turn the corner, the person turned as well, nearly running into them. Alex, Amy, and the Doctor all screamed and jumped back in fright.
"Don't do that!" the Doctor shouted when he saw it was Amy and Alex. "You scared the living daylights out of me!"
"Sorry, we got bored," Amy apologized.
Alex nodded in agreement. "Yeah, as much as you can admire his command of shape and color, it is pretty hard to get fond of Vincent Van Gogh's snoring."
"That bad?" the Doctor asked as he adjusted a knob on the machine he had strapped to him.
"Think of a freight train, but two times as worse," Alex said dryly.
The Doctor chuckled a little. "You don't need any rest, do you, girls? Otherwise, you'll miss all the fun!"
Amy made a face. "No chance in that," she answered for both her and Alex. Her eyes then drifted down to the machine strapped to the Doctor. "By the way, what is that ridiculous thing you have on?"
"Other than the bowtie, you mean?" Alex said cheekily, grinning impishly as the Doctor turned to frown at her.
"Alexandria!" he mildly scolded but Alex knew he wasn't really irritated. "Bowties are cool! And, to answer your question, Amy, it's a device I've used to identify our little friend."
Alex snorted. "I'd hardly call that thing little."
Again, the Doctor ignored her. "Come on, girls!" he called, walking off. "Let's go get Mr. Van Gogh!"
"It's 'go'!" Alex protested, but her objections continued to fall on deaf ears.
~Living the Life of Ally~
"Don't you think you've gone a little overboard?" Alex asked a little later as she surveyed the dozens and dozens and dozens of sunflowers Amy had managed to collect and arrange all around Vincent's yard. Everywhere she looked, she could see a bunch of drooping black and yellow flowers.
Amy shrugged and sat down at a table. "Well, he paints sunflowers, doesn't he?" she asked, reaching over to rearrange the flowers she had placed in a vase on the table. "Have you seen any sunflower paintings in that house?"
"No," Alex admitted.
Amy smirked, feeling perfectly vindicated. "Well, then."
The girls' attention was then diverted by the banging of Vincent's upstairs window. The Doctor stood in Vincent's room, squinting in the oncoming sunshine. "What a morning," he marveled. He moved out of sight, only to be replaced by Vincent as he added, "Come on! And Amy's got a little surprise for you."
Hardly little, Alex thought.
"I thought I'd brighten things up to thank you for saving me last night," Amy explained as Vincent took in all the flowers decorating his once barren courtyard. Alex was a little worried that Amy's plan wasn't going to work, but then she saw that Vincent was smiling.
"I thought you might like, you know, possibly to perhaps paint them or something?" Amy added. She shrugged sheepishly. "Might be a thought."
"Yes, well," Vincent started, reaching out to examine a flower placed next to the windowsill, "they're not my favorite flower."
Amy and Alex just gaped at him. How could Vincent Van Gogh, creator of countless sunflower paintings, not like sunflowers? To Alex, this was even more shocking than discovering her own freaky mental abilities. She turned to give the Doctor an incredulous look as he approached with a breakfast tray in his hands. He just arched an eyebrow and shrugged at her, indicating he really didn't know what to make of this latest revelation.
Breaking the silence, Amy cried, "You don't like sunflowers?"
"No, it's not that I don't like them," Vincent corrected her. He continued to finger the flower as he explained. "I find them complex. Always somewhere between living and dying. Half-human as they turn to the sun. A little disgusting. But, you know, they are a challenge."
"And one I'm pretty sure you'll rise to," the Doctor replied, trying not to laugh at the irony of Vincent Van Gogh not liking sunflowers. "But, moving on, there's something I need to show you and Alex."
~Living the Life of Ally~
Just a few moments later, they were back in the house. Alex stood behind Vincent's chair as the Doctor pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and passed it to Vincent. Alex got up on her tiptoes to better see the paper and visibly started at the same time Vincent did.
"That's him!" he and Alex confirmed.
The Doctor frowned at this. Great. Now she was speaking in synch with Vincent? This whole monster thing better be worth him seeing all this flirting.
"And the eyes," Vincent continued, him and Alex not noticing the Doctor's jealousy. "Without mercy."
"What is it?" Alex asked, unconsciously leaning in as the Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He needed to keep her close to him. He knew it was wrong to feel so possessive of her when he really had no reason to, but he couldn't help himself.
"This is a creature called the Krafayis," the Doctor explained. "They travel in space. They travel as a pack, scavenging across the universe. And sometimes, one of them gets left behind. And because they are a brutal race, the others never come back."
Alex shuddered. She'd seen that creature and she was pretty sure she knew what it was capable of. "So, all around the universe are abandoned Krafayis," she summarized. "Isn't that dangerous though?"
The Doctor nodded, glad she could see this. "Yes. And what they do is, well, kill, until they're killed. Which they usually aren't." He felt Alex tense up beneath him and he felt that longing to comfort her and kiss her come back again. He hesitated before revealing the next part. "Because other creatures can't see them."
"But we can," Vincent said, nodding to himself and Alex.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed, moving to sit in a chair across from Vincent and tugging Alex down to sit in his lap. "And that's why we are in a unique position today, my friend, to end this reign of terror. So, feeling like painting the church today?"
"What about the monster?" Vincent wondered.
"Take my word for it. If you paint it, he will come."
Vincent considered his words for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll get my things," he said as he stood and headed towards his room.
"In your own time," the Doctor called after him. "And I promise you, we'll be out of your hair by this time tomorrow."
Alex's eyes followed Vincent, who she now noticed had paused in the doorway. She frowned a little as he glanced between the three but before she could do anything, he was hurrying out of the room. Is it because the Doctor said we'd be leaving soon? She wondered. Up until this point, Vincent hadn't really had any friends and Alex could only imagine the heartache he might be experiencing right now.
Alex turned around, hoping to pose her worries to the Doctor, but it quickly became apparent that she didn't have to. His face was grim and Alex knew he had noticed Vincent's actions as well. "This is risky," the Doctor abruptly said.
"Riskier than normal?" Amy asked.
"Well, think about it," the Doctor whispered so that Vincent wouldn't hear, but his voice was very harsh. "This is the middle of Vincent Van Gogh's greatest year of painting. If we're not careful, the net result of our pleasant little trip will be the brutal murder of the greatest artist who ever lived. Half the pictures on the wall of the Musée d'Orsay will disappear."
Alex bit her lip, leaving back into the Doctor's chest as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "And it will be our fault," she murmured nearly inaudibly, but the words still carried their weight amongst the small group.
~Living the Life of Ally~
Half an hour later, Alex and the Doctor were starting to get worried. "How long does it take to gather up a bunch of paints, a brush, and an easel?" Alex questioned after twenty-nine minutes had passed, prompting the Doctor to go up and see what was going on. Alex followed along behind him. She knew she had a calming effect on people. Maybe it would work on Vincent as well.
They came upon Vincent's closed bedroom door, the sound of crying vaguely audible beyond. Alex and the Doctor exchanged a look before the Doctor began rapping on the door. No reply. Exchanging another look with Alex, the Doctor reached out, grasped the knob, and opened the door.
"Vincent? Vincent!" the Doctor gently called as he entered the dark room. Alex stayed a little ways behind him. She knew that Vincent could go into one of his rages at any moment and she knew that the Doctor would rather take the brunt of it than her. But that didn't stop her from peeking around him to see Vincent lying face-down in his bed, weeping. "Vincent, can I help?"
"It's so clear you cannot help," Vincent bitterly replied. "And when you leave, and everyone always leaves, I will be left once more with an empty heart and no hope."
"My experience," the Doctor gently replied, "is that there is, you know, surprisingly, always hope." And there was. Rose was a good example of a light in the darkness, but then there was Alex, who effortlessly penetrated his barriers and left him feeling reinvigorated and desperate to impress her.
"Then your experience is incomplete!" Vincent shot back. He clenched his pillow tightly as if it were a stress ball. "I know how it will end. And it will not end well."
Alex stood there, feeling helpless. He wasn't wrong. It wouldn't end well. In just a short while, he'd slice off one of his ears, thus beginning a decline into the dark madness that was destined to take him. She stepped forward a little so she was next to the Doctor. The Doctor reached down and squeezed her hand.
Not knowing what else to say, the Doctor decided to try a different tactic. "Come on," he urged. "Come out. Come on, let's go outside—"
But Vincent cut him off. "Get out!" he screamed, lifting his face to expose the redness under his eyes. "You get out! What are you doing here? What are you doing here?!"
"Very well," the Doctor complied, quickly pushing Alex behind him and backing up. "We'll leave. We'll leave you." The last thing Alex saw before the Doctor shut the door was Vincent's shaking, quivering body, racked with the mental disease that would soon prove too powerful to fight.
Amy, having heard all the shouting, was waiting at the foot of the stairs. "What's happening?" she demanded.
The Doctor leaned against the railing of sunflowers in thought, pulling Alex to nestle in his side. "We're leaving," he announced, his voice low, but Alex couldn't find it in her to consider it sexy. It was now melancholy and resigned. "Everyone knows he's a delicate man. Just months from now he'll. . ." He trailed off, not able or willing to say the words.
"He'll take his own life," Alex finished, feeling tears bubble up in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly before anyone could see.
"Don't say that," Amy begged. She looked distraught. "Please."
The Doctor said nothing, instead turning to head back into the house, pulling Alex along behind him. Inside, they each studied the paintings with a new intensity, knowing they'd never see them in this way again. The Doctor took a moment to examine Prisoner's Exercising before sighing deeply.
"Come on," he urged the girls, gently prodding Alex ahead of him. "We have to do this on our own. Go to the church at the right time and hope the monster still turns up."
They were just about to head out the door when a shadow fell over them. They all turned, pleasantly surprised to see Vincent standing before them, dressed and wearing a straw hat. "I'm ready," he announced calmly, fetching a brush from a pot on the table next to him. "Let's go."
~Living the Life of Ally~
A little while later, they were all walking along a dirt road to the church.
"I'm sorry you're so sad," Amy said to Vincent. The Doctor and Alex were walking behind them, bickering over what sounded like the correct pronunciation of Vincent's last name. Amy caught a bunch of 'Van Goff's' and 'Van Go's', at least.
"But I'm not," Vincent argued. "Sometimes these moods torture me for weeks, for months. But I'm good now." He lifted and squeezed Amy's hand. "If Amy Pond can soldier on, then so can Vincent Van Gogh."
The Doctor looked over and gave an I told you so look to Alex, whose expression had soured significantly upon hearing Vincent pronounce his name the same way the Doctor had been pronouncing it. Then, a thought occurred to her. "Three words, Doc," she murmured in his ear. "TARDIS. Translation. Matrix." It wasn't outside the realm of possibility that the TARDIS was translating Vincent's words to come out in the British vernacular.
"I'm not soldiering on," Amy laughed, attracting the Doctor's attention before he could make a retort. "I'm fine!"
Vincent sighed. "Oh, Amy," he breathed. "I hear the song of your sadness. You've lost someone, I think."
The Doctor and Alex tensed up automatically, their thoughts instantly going to Rory.
"I'm not sad," Amy continued to protest.
"Then why are you crying?"
Amy touched her cheek and frowned as she pulled her hand back to examine the water now gracing her fingertips. She looked up and stared at Vincent in confusion while he just looked at her with utter sympathy and possible empathy. "It's all right," he said gently. "I understand."
"I'm not sure I do," Amy muttered.
"Doctor," Alex murmured. "What's going on? I thought you said she couldn't remember him."
"Nothing is ever truly forgotten, Ally," the Doctor whispered. "I'm working something out right now. I don't quite have it but I promise when I do, I'll tell you. Alright?" Alex nodded, accepting this.
"Okay! Okay!" the Doctor suddenly called before Amy could really start wondering on why she was so sad. "So, now, we must have a plan. When the creature returns—"
"Then we shall fight him again!" Vincent enthusiastically interrupted.
"Well, yes, tick. But last night we were lucky. Amy and Alex could have been killed. So this time, for a start, we have to make sure I can see him too."
Amy frowned. "And how are we meant to do that, suddenly?"
"The answer's in this box," the Doctor answered, lifting the box containing his weird gizmo and patting it. "I had an excellent, if smelly, godmother."
Amy and Alex frowned and Alex was about to ask what exactly he meant, but the Doctor suddenly held out a hand to stop her. He was standing still and looking straight ahead. Looking ahead, her curious mood quickly sobered as she saw the funeral procession heading towards them.
"Oh no," Vincent murmured as the procession came closer. "It's that poor girl from the village."
The group shifted to the side of the road, standing aside respectfully as the funeral procession began to pass them by. Alex stood next to the Doctor and somberly watched as the light wooden coffin was carried by the pallbearers, bright sunflowers decorating the top, contrasting sharply with the solemn event.
Alex shuddered slightly. She hated funerals. She could still remember her parents' funeral so clearly. The dark cherry caskets, the bundles of violets and Irish ferns on top of each, the countless people around her that she didn't know, all crying and talking softly, the black velvet dress someone – she could never recall who – forced her into, and then, the gathering in the tiny office at the back of the funeral home where the will was read. Alex vaguely remembered shares of G-Locke being given out to men and women in dark clothes, and then, the lawyer looking straight at her and saying that she inherited everything else, but she wouldn't receive it until she was twenty-five years old.
Funny. When he read the trustee's name, Alex could have sworn he looked almost disgusted.
Now, Alex shuddered again as she pulled herself out of those memories. Remembering her Catholic heritage, she crossed herself and muttered a little of her rosary. The Doctor, noticing this, listened closely as he kept his eyes on the casket. It sounded like Alex was speaking Spanish. Apparently, the TARDIS had decided not to translate this.
Alex stopped when the procession passed them. Still, she and the others continued to watch. "You do have a plan, don't you?" Amy asked hurriedly, as if she was being rushed to say these words in order to prevent another death, which she actually was.
"No. It's a thing," the Doctor admitted. He grasped Alex's hand and pulled her along down the road. "It's like a plan, but with more greatness."
Alex mentally groaned. This should go well.
~Living the Life of Ally~
"And you'll be sure to tell me if you see any, you know, monsters."
Vincent sighed, making Alex giggle a little. The Doctor sure was hyped up about this Krafayis. He had been pestering Vincent for a good ten minutes now. "Yes," Vincent answered. "While I may be mad, I'm not stupid."
"You're not mad," Alex jumped in.
Vincent smiled at her in thanks while the Doctor added, "No. Quite. And to be honest, I'm not sure about mad either. It seems to me depression is a very complex—"
"Shush!" Vincent interrupted, beginning to sketch out the church. "I'm working."
"Well, yes. Paint. Do painting! I remember watching Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. Wow! What a whiner! I kept saying to him, look, if you're scared of heights, you shouldn't have taken the job then."
"Shush." Amy this time.
The Doctor did shush and, to his credit, it lasted for almost half an hour.
"And Picasso," he started up again. "What a ghastly old goat. I kept telling him, concentrate, Pablo. It's one eye, either side of the face."
"Quiet," Amy and Alex both scolded.
Amy suddenly had a hilarious thought, guaranteed to shut the Doctor up for a good long while. "Hey, Alex," she said so the Doctor could hear, "maybe you should snog him. That'd shut him right up!"
Alex's jaw dropped and the Doctor's face reddened. Vincent pressed his lips together tightly to keep from laughing as the Doctor hurried off to a tree on the other side of the lawn, far away from Alex. After a moment, Alex closed her mouth and whirled around, crossing her arms as she intently focused on the church.
An hour or so passed. Alex wasn't really sure. The Doctor hadn't piped up in all that time, which was pretty impressive. Her face reddened as she thought of Amy's snogging comment. That actually would be a good way to keep him quiet, Alex mused, before quickly snapping out of it. She couldn't be thinking things like that!
Little did she know that the only reason the Doctor had been so quiet was because he was also thinking over Amy's comment. Keep me quiet, ha! I don't need Alex's help for that! Although . . . it would be fun to swirl my tongue around her mouth and make her gasp. . . NO! STOP THAT! But even these self-scolding's couldn't stop him from considering the possibility for very long.
He groaned. He had to think of something else. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't be thinking of Alex that way. "Is this how time normally passes?" he asked. "Really slowly. In the right order." He stood and crossed back over to the group. "If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an unpunctual alien attack!"
"Are you okay?" Amy asked, noticing Alex and Vincent were still consumed by the church. "You seem a bit, if I didn't know you better, I'd say nervous."
"Yes, there's something not right and I can't quite put my finger on it," the Doctor continued, ignoring Amy's inquiry.
"There!" Vincent suddenly cried, pointing his paintbrush to the window facing them.
"He's right!" Alex called, rushing over to stand next to the Doctor, his arm automatically wrapping around her waist and pulling her close. "He's at the window!"
"Where?" the Doctor demanded.
"There!" Alex cried, pointing. "On the right!"
The Doctor nodded. "As I thought. I'm going in."
"Well, I'm coming too," Vincent declared.
"No!" the Doctor shouted, looking at the artist with wide eyes. "You're Vincent Van Gogh! No."
"But you're not armed," Vincent argued.
"I am," the Doctor countered.
"With what?"
"Overconfidence, this, and a small screwdriver," he replied, patting the case. "I'm absolutely sorted. Just have to find the right crosactic setting and stun him with it. Sonic never fails. Anyway, Amy, Alex, only one thought, one simple instruction: Don't follow me under any circumstances."
"I won't," Amy vowed.
Alex frowned and Amy and Vincent could see that she was itching to follow the Doctor. However, she only got one step when the Doctor called over his shoulder, "Don't even think about it, Alexandria!" Reluctantly, Alex stepped back.
Vincent looked over at Amy. "Will you follow him?"
"Of course!" Amy smirked.
"I love you," Vincent smiled at her, prompting Amy to smile back in response. He then turned to Alex, who was still watching the church with a wistful eye. "And you?"
Alex nodded and pulled an arm out from behind her back. "You're damn right," she replied, revealing her crossed fingers.
Vincent smiled at her. Though the Doctor and Alex might have been blind to it, he could easily see the love they had for each-other radiating off them. They felt so strongly about each-other and they fit together perfectly, like they had been designed by God himself. "You really love him, don't you?" As expected, Alex didn't respond.
Amy paced up and down across the grass. "Has he moved?" she called.
Alex shook her head. "No, just shifted to the next window." She turned to begin pacing herself. I'm going to kill him, she decided. Why wouldn't he take me in there with him? I can see the Krafayis! He can't!
"But wait!" Vincent cried, interrupting Alex's pacing. "He's turning now!"
"DOCTOR!" Alex screamed, taking off in a run. Behind her, she was vaguely aware of Amy rushing after her and Vincent calling Amy's name, but she didn't focus on that. All she could focus on was the fact that her Doctor was in trouble and she needed to help him. Wait, HER Doctor? Focus, Alexandria!
Amy caught up with her just as Alex made it to the doors. Though the doors were thick and heavy, Alex somehow mustered up enough strength to force them open. The second there was a wide enough crack, Alex threw herself through it, Amy just behind her. However, Alex didn't anticipate nearly running into the Doctor as he also headed for the doors.
"Doctor!" Alex cried.
"Argh!" the Doctor shouted, startled. "I thought I told you. . . Never mind. We'll talk about it later." Of course, he knew now that nothing he said was going to get through to Alex. Alex was, like she said, her own person who made decisions for herself. Didn't mean he couldn't try though. He looked behind her and spotted Amy. "And you brought Amy!" he groaned. "Quick, in here!"
He grabbed Alex's hand and pulled her towards a confessional box. He and Alex got in on one side, Amy on the other. As soon as they shut the doors, they were plunged into total darkness. The Doctor sat on the narrow bench and maneuvered Alex so that she was in his lap.
"Absolutely quiet," the Doctor told both of them. Alex nodded, even though she could only just make him out. She then realized something. She was alone in the dark with the Doctor. That thought sent warm tingles running throughout her body.
The Doctor also thought this. If they weren't being chased by a murderous monster, he'd have happily pulled Alex closer to him and grazed his lips against hers. Just imagining the moan she'd let out when he did this was enough motivation to make him consider doing it right now, Krafayis be damned.
Of course, there was also Amy to consider and her loud breathing. The Doctor scooted over to the small window on the divider separating his compartment from Amy's and nudged the curtain aside. "Can you breathe a little quieter, please?" he asked.
"No!" Amy hissed back. There was total silence as they heard the Krafayis growling and walking past the confessional. "He's gone past."
The Doctor shushed her again and dropped the curtain. His attention then turned towards Alex, currently cowering in his arms, completely terrified. "Don't worry," he whispered lowly, his voice only audible to Alex. "Nothing's going to hurt you. Not while I'm here."
Alex grinned up at him. "I know," she replied in an identical voice. She shifted slightly so that she was perched right up close to him.
The Doctor felt her cool breath against his suddenly hot skin. Oh God, he wanted her. He wanted her like he couldn't breathe and she was oxygen. But he couldn't have her. She wasn't his to have or own. Still, that didn't stop him from leaning in closer to her, his lips just centimeters from hers.
"Doctor," Alex mumbled, seeing where this was going and not wanting it to stop.
"Shh," he whispered. "Don't want the Krafayis hearing us, now do we?"
Alex giggled a little and leaned in closer as well. She still vividly remembered their kiss on the Byzantium and how he had known exactly what he was doing, not a surprise considering he was 907 years old. She opened her mouth, ready to accept him, wanting to explore his mouth again. She still had it memorized like a map and she was ready to chart it again.
But then, there came a loud roar and the distinct sound of the smashing and splintering of wood. Amy screamed as the Krafayis hit her side of the confessional with his tail.
The Doctor growled and pulled back from Alex. Why did things have to keep interrupting them just as they got close?! If he really wanted to, he'd lock Amy in her room on the TARDIS and lock Alex in his with him until he was finished giving her his exquisite torture.
Alex was bitter as well. Amy, the Krafayis, what else could interrupt them?! "I think he heard us," she grumbled.
Right then, the beast smashed a hole into the Doctor and Alex's door.
A/N: Stupid Krafayis, interrupting them! Lol, I'm SUCH a tease dragging all this out! Cruel, I know, but it will make THE moment that much greater when it happens. :)
Notes on reviews. . .
SopherGopher'sAwesomeSister - I know, the way they pronounce it is so weird! All my life, I've heard 'Van Go', even from my art teachers. And as we see, the argument over his name continued in this chapter. Lol, Alex doesn't concede to the Doctor that much, does she? :)
rycbar15 - Glad you liked the beginning! I figured that if the Doctor accidentally got himself engaged, why couldn't he accidentally do the same to a companion? It also stemmed from wondering what the Trojan Gardens were and from a personal liking of the Babylonian Hanging Gardens. :)
SopherGopherroxursox - Yeah, he doesn't visit America much, does he? I wish they would do more episodes set in America, although considering production costs, I doubt that's going to happen. But at least we Americans can defend ourselves! :) And yes, I agree with you about the whole Van Gogh pronunciation thing. Some accents are hard to understand. Today, I was watching a special that recapped the first two seasons of Torchwood and at one point, I couldn't understand what Gwen or Rhys were saying because of their accents. It actually sounded like they were speaking Welsh. Glad you love this story! :)
TimeyWimey12 - Ugh, I hate grammar errors and ESPECIALLY spelling errors! I've actually stopped reading stories because I finally had enough of the errors. I try not to do the same in my stories. Glad you love this story! :)
TNTDynamite1999 - Aw, I'm sorry you're so unhappy with you AP US History class. :( My teacher last year was fantastic and he really made you learn in that class. European History is pretty fascinating. In my class now, we're almost finished with the Renaissance, one of my favorite time periods. :) I think if you really are interested in the subject and are dedicated to doing all the work, you should take it. Glad you love the story and fast updates! :)
ChessieKittie - Glad you like jealous Doctor! He gets jealous of pretty much any man within spitting distance of Alex. :) Alex and Vincent do make good friends. They like similar things and are very curious about the world around them. :) Yeah, it is sad they didn't make a huge difference, but at the same time, they did bring him some joy, giving him some comfort in those dark days. :) Thank you! That means a lot! :)
Gwilwillith - Thanks! And yes, he really should do that! :)
ShadowTeir - Four times huh? I'm flattered you like the story so much! :) Glad you love jealous Doctor! There's more of him to come! Lol, glad you liked the beginning! Seems like something that would happen at some point! :)
ElysiumPhoenix - Lol, yes, I am quite the tease with these two! If they were real, they'd probably sick a Cyberman or Dalek on me. Glad you liked the holiday though and the part where the Doc almost got her married! Yes, you'd think he'd say they were a couple THEN! :) Yep, Alex can see the Krafayis. Glad you liked the chapters! :)
newbeth - Thank you! That really means a lot! :)
mayfire21 - Lol, yeah, I love her, but Hillary does have a high voice. :)
jesterlover - Lol, glad you liked the marriage part! And yes, she can see the parrot rhino! I have to admit, I burst out laughing when I read that. I was wondering if it would catch on... :)
Timey-Wimey Somn-Like Lass - Glad you like those parts! And yes, the Doc is jealous of Vincent. He IS always like that, isn't he? Let's hope that when Jack appears, he doesn't flirt too heavily with Alex, or the Doctor might throw him into the sun. :) Yeah, they are starting to see them as that. We know that's what they're known as in the future, so the fact that the pairing name is starting now is pretty big. I can say that them being paired like that will be a big part of Season 6. :) Hmm, I like Van Gogh alright, but my favorite Impressionist painters are Claude Monet and Auguste Renoir. I like Dali too. His paintings are so strange and interesting, like snapshots of a dream. :) OMG, my jaw dropped when Amy told him Angel was his Mate! Yay, yay, yay! Only question is, will he ponder it some more, or dismiss it? :{
