Chapter 5: Introspection and Fireplaces
Disclaimer: I wouldn't have to eat ramen so often if I did own Doctor Who or anything else named here.
A/N: Ok, so this chapter was way fluffier than expected, but it will not always be like this. Nine is still very dark, but we can't put them in danger yet! No Beta yet, so anyone interested, PM me?
The Doctor didn't need any more sleep, but neither did he want to lay there, thinking of the War, which he was bound to do whenever alone, until Violet woke. So he compromised. He thought about Violet.
She really was something else. He knew he couldn't trust her no matter how much she seemed to know about him, but the way she looked at him – like she trusted him unreservedly – totally threw him. However, he was more than willing to peg his reaction to her on her being the one to revive him.
Her face was the first this face ever saw. That alone put up a warning sign a mile long. For the rest of his lives, he would remember her, for good or for bad. Although other than speaking like Yoda, which was usually his job, she hadn't done anything to hurt him. Yet.
But she had made him smile, laugh even! Well, it was more of a chuckle, but still. He was torn, broken, a harbinger of death. He never would come to terms with that, he knew. He deserved cruelty, hatred, disgust, anything but this gentle sympathy Violet offered.
What truly terrified him was that this girl could offer him forever; and in a way, she had. I'll stay as long as you want me. And what of her age? The moment he decided to destroy his own people, he had known he would never again be able to be with anyone forever, never more than a few decades.
There were two constants in his life, and he didn't believe he could handle or believe anything or anyone else who offered as much. His TARDIS was magnificent, of course, but she was very different than any companion he had ever had travel with him. The only other thing he had was his sonic screwdr-
His sonic! The Doctor spun around the room frantically, searching for his most trusty tool. But wait… He kept it in hid jacket pocket, but he woke up without it. Had Violet undressed him? Down boy, think about that later. He needed to find it, maybe make repairs if it had been damaged, or even replace the casing if he had to. While one part of his brain was searching the TARDIS, the other was organizing what to do when he found it. Maybe he'd make it blue? He had enjoyed the purple one, not so much the red one, though. What about green?
He couldn't find it. He had absolutely no clue where it was. Violet, however, should know. He decided that if she was going to start taking his things, she would most certainly not be staying long.
Striding to the door that connected their rooms (he sent a mental thread of displeasure to the TARDIS at that, but she only gave him the equivalent of a cheeky grin) and opened it forcefully. What he was met with soon made him halt.
He had suspected that should be uncommonly smart, if only for her age, but he had underestimated the extent of her studies. Piles of books covered the floor, some collections so high he couldn't see over them. It was like walking in a forest of books. An irrational fear of the mountains of paper coming down on him assaulted him and he distanced himself from the tallest ones. Reading the spines, he saw textbooks on psychology, advanced physics, even obscure subjects like dark matter and purely theoretical claims. Picking up one off the top of this stack, he opened it to the middle. Over the entire page, notes were hastily scribbled in black, blue, red, or green ink. Apparently, each color meant a different thing.
Moving on to the next cluster, he saw only smutty romance novels and young adult fiction. Apparently, his guest had little taste when it came to literary appreciation. That is, until he neared a large onyx table (which was perfect for experimenting with dangerous chemicals on) and saw a large collection of Charles Dickens, multiple volumes of each novel, placed carefully on stands. Briefly, he wondered why she had placed them in almost a reverent setting. Not that he was complaining. If she liked Dickens so much, maybe they would get along after all.
What caught his eye, more than almost anything in the room except the strange humanoid robot in the corner and Violet sprawled on the covers, was a TARDIS blue gift box tied with a golden ribbon. Written in small, messy handwriting next to it was a propped piece of paper that read Doctor.
Was he really so predictable that she could guess he would come into her room? Unfolding the piece of paper, he read the small note she had left.
I am very sorry, but your sonic wasn't quite functional after I found you, and please forgive me the liberty had to take by undressing you. Incidentally, the TARDIS gave me the schematics required to repair it. While you slept, I did the best I could. It is, however the same software, just a different case. In fact there was a program running still, so I transferred that as well. Hope you don't mind.
Love, Violet
The Doctor stared at the note. Who the hell did she think she was? He tried not to grumble enough to wake her up, but he was far from happy. Opening the box, he pulled out the new screwdriver. She said she hadn't messed with it, but he wanted to make sure.
He pulled up a dark wooden chair and sat down of the velvet cushion. Not for the first time, he wondered why his ship had given her such impressive living quarters. He brushed it off as another oddity that seemed to emanate from this girl. He began to examine it thoroughly, adding and removing settings as he went, and ended with a reluctantly impressed huff. It wasn't perfect, but he rarely liked things that were.
He felt a tingle on the back of his neck when Violet slipped out of bed with near silence and approached the table.
"What do you think?" The heat that rose from her breezed along his back and he repressed a shiver.
"It isn't too bad."
"For a human?" turning to her, he eyed her sleepwear with dismay; it was thin and flowy, with loose shorts and sleeves that covered three quarters of her arms. Her eyes were slightly red from sleep and her hair was mussed like she had been turning while she slept.
"No human could even follow those instructions, much less add a setting for toast and another for bubble bath soap," he stood as he said this, towering over her slight frame. "So, I'm guessing you're not human then, correct?"
She didn't respond, but sighed and took his hand. She led him out of the maze of clutter and into the hallway. He began to protest but Violet cut him a no-nonsense look as they continued down the hallway, took two rights, ascended a small flight of stairs, past the pool, through the bar (which was completely new, although the counter had Jack was here carved into it) and into the library.
The Doctor felt relieved to find that it was the very same one he had left, with only minor adjustments, like one large couch and two very large armchairs instead of his usual singular tall, regal armchair and footrest.
The vaulted ceiling, balconies, and monumental fireplace made the room look larger than it was, and yet it still felt like a safe, sheltered place. Even if an outsider was here. He rarely let his companions in the library, but Violet dropped his hand and flopped onto the chair on the right, looking for all the world like she belonged there, if a little teary eyed.
"Something wrong?" He tried to keep his tone light and detached, but he was truly curious.
"Just missed this a lot, I guess," she said while gazing at the fire.
"Does this mean you're going to explain yourself now?" he asked, anxious to get this over with.
"Nope" He tried not to roll his eyes. He really did, but these ones apparently did it far too easily.
"And why is that?" He also felt no need to shout, even though he felt steam nearly coming out his ears.
"Weeell," Where had she picked up all the ridiculous mannerisms? Sometimes he imagined she only did certain things to annoy him. Either way, it was working. "Remember I said we would travel somewhere first, and then I would talk?" He harrumphed in acknowledgement. "And secondly, I can't tell you too much, just like I can't dress or say things too similar to my younger self. I'm going to have to lock these memories away once I leave to find the older you, but I can't risk you seeing young me and suddenly knowing everything about my future." His eyebrows raised, and he didn't like her talking about leaving, but he was intrigued and curious as to who her young self was. Will be. Whatever. She continued. "Especially since, knowing you, you'd try to change it."
"I wouldn't risk a paradox that big for one stupid ape, not even an immortal one." Again, he tried to offend her, get her to back off a little. Instead, just like the last time, she only smiled up at him.
Instead of responding to the insult or pushing her point, which he fully expected her to do, she only gestured for him to sit on the couch across from her. He remained standing.
"I think I enjoyed you more when you were recovering from regeneration sickness. You were a lot funnier," she winked, accompanying it with a sly grin. He almost groaned the things he did… but worse were the things he had thought.
"What do you think my older self could want with you?" He wanted some reaction out of her, but when the tiniest flash of hurt appeared in her beautiful eyes, he felt a stab of remorse at causing pain to the only person who stood by him. Cursing himself, he waited hesitantly for her reply.
"No idea. Maybe you'll want nothing to do with me. Hell, maybe he's forgotten me, moved on, anything." Right then and there, he decided to slap his older self for apparently turning into such a weak-minded arse if he left someone like this behind. "I'm sure he's already found someone new to travel with, maybe several, but I need to get a message to him."
She looked up at him, eyes sad, and he felt himself melt a little. He wanted to be sympathetic, but simply couldn't bring himself to reassure her. "There's something coming. I call it the Darkness, but it's actually a reality bomb made by… an enemy." She looked up at him and he wondered who she had been about to name. Someone important to his timeline, apparently. He couldn't wait.
"How long will it have been for me since you left?" She looked up at him, eyes glinting sharply.
"I didn't leave. We were separated. I got stuck in a parallel universe, coincidentally causing my-" she gestured to her twenty-something year old body "condition." He raised his eyebrows and made a note to query her further on that subject, but he let her finish answering his previous question. "But while for me it's been over a century and a half – that universe had only a weak connection to this one, causing a few disjointed timelines – I expect it's only been about two years for him."
"What will you tell him? Will you return these memories or-" She put up a hand.
"I'm not sure. I hope I can figure it out while staying here with you."
"And how long will that be?" He tried not to sound anxious, and he might've succeeded.
"Frankly? As long as I can. You told me how old you were when I met you, so I should get out before then to avoid any problems, but we have a while yet." She looked so young just then, he thought. She was terrified he wouldn't want her. "That is, if you'll have me. I have a friend, Jack, who I should be able to find eventually, but he might be really mad at me too, so I'd have to make it up to him, I mean, he is Jack, and he'll probably live as long as I will, and that could make things easier, but I have to face you're older self eventually-" When she finally stopped for breath, he broke though her nervous ramblings.
"I think I would certainly like to have you with me, Violet." He wasn't sure, but he thought he could see tears gathering in her eyes. "But only if you promise not to mess with my sonic again." He fixed her with a stern gaze.
"Yes sir!" Again, he met with the tongue that poked through her teeth as she grinned happily at him. He started to back away, heading to the shelves on the far side of the room, but she called his name.
Turning to her, he raised his eyebrows expectantly. "Yes, Violet?"
"Would you like to go somewhere?" He thought for a moment, covering his excitement at traveling again after so long.
"Where do you propose?"
"How about Hyperion 3? You mentioned it once, but we never got there." Without his consent, his eye lit up in anticipation of the golden spires and red Vlaeroch. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.
"Well what are we waiting for?" She jumped to her feet and they rushed to the console room.
A/N: I'm sorry about kinda-mean Nine, but give the poor guy some space, will ya? Next stop, Hyperion 3! This story will be made up of a few original adventures, some that were briefly mentioned in cannon, and a few rewrites of episodes. Review for me?