~~A.N.~~ Did you guys enjoy the last chapter? I hope you did :) also I don't own the lyrics to The Scientist by Coldplay.
It was so strange to be back in Chiswick, to be with my Gramps again, to see Grandma Sylvia, I wonder if she was still against Gramps going out to watch the stars again like she was when I was a kid. Her and Gramps used to argue about how I should spend my time, Grandma thought I should be dressing up and little ribbons in my hair, but, even though Gramps would have liked to see me acting like a little girl he knew that's not who I was. He fought for me to be the kid I really was, I like jeans not skirts, I always loved being out running in the grass barefoot not sitting in hard chairs sipping tea. Gramps always defended me, there were very few times when he took the side of Sylvia, like when it came to me having to go to school. He said that young ladies had to get an good education and that my mom would want me to get a good schooling.
Seeing the house that I spent so many years of my childhood in made memories flood back to me but I waited for the Doctor to walk out to join me. Slowly, but surely he came out and looked down at me, I offered him my hand, I wanted to feel his realness. He hesitated for a moment before he slipped his hard calloused hand in my small soft one. Pulling him towards the door of their house, knocking firmly on the door I held the Doctor close as he relaxed, acting as though he liked me. Sylvia answered the door, she seemed a bit shocked to see me, her blonde hair now speckled with silver, new wrinkles had formed by her eyes.
" Grandma Sylvia? It's me... Alexandra." I said bringing her out of her shock.
" Alexandra? Oh my gosh! Wilfred! Come here it's Alexandra! And she has a young man with her," my grandma went off sort of skipping into the main part of the house beckoning us to follow her.
We entered the house and I smiled humming a bit, it was strange being here, almost nothing had changed, it was the same old house, same furniture, the same pictures of my mom. The Doctor looked around with an almost reverent manner, not wanting to disturb the careful peace of the house, though the presence of myself and him had already shattered the peace. In the kitchen I could here Sylvia talking to Gramps, the excited voices, then the steps back towards where we were.
" Alexandra? Is that you?" It was my Gramps, his hair a bit whiter, but he looked the same, that same red beanie that I had made him on his head.
" Gramps!" I rushed to him wrapping my arms around him firmly.
" Alexandra! It's so good to see you. You've grown so much!" Gramps seemed to tear up a little his voice choked.
" Are you crying Dad?" Sylvia laughed then she looked at the Doctor standing off by himself to the side, " Ok it's official you and your boyfriend are both staying for dinner tonight. Young man come help me cook while they chit chat."
Gramps and I held each other as Sylvia lead the Doctor away and he threw me a pleading look that just cried 'help me!' which just made me giggle. Gramps put me at arm length as he took a long look at me, he was smiling and he gently stroked my cheek.
" You're so much like your mother..." he said softly, " Another girl traveling with the Doctor. You're like him aren't you? Whatever he is your like that now."
I looked at him with a surprise look and one of gratefulness, he was still the same, always accepting me, " Yea Gramps I am... but... we probably shouldn't tell Sylvia right?"
We went into the living room the old baby grand piano sat in the corner, I was pulled towards it, it had been a long time since I had played anything on that piano. Gramps saw the involuntary pull that I could feel towards the piano and he smiled.
" Remember when you used to play for us? I've gotten it tuned every year incase you came and wanted to play it," Gramps sat on the couch closest to the Piano, " Will you play something for me?"
I sat on the polished wood bench and lifted the cover off the ivory keys, I had always loved this piano because of those ivory keys. My fingers ran over the grain of each key feeling the texture, I tested the major scale to see if the piano was truly in tune and smiled. The noise in the kitchen stopped, Sylvia hadn't heard me play either, I thought of songs that I could play. Then the perfect song came to mind, The Scientist by Coldplay, one of my favorite songs by them. The notes seemed to flow from my fingers, the emotion poured out in waves from the heart of the piano.
" Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you, tell you I need you
Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets and ask me your questions
Oh, let's go back to the start
Running in circles, coming up tails
Heads on a science apart
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard
Oh, take me back to the start
I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart
But tell me you love me, come back and haunt me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, chasing our tails
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy
Oh, it's such a shame for us to part
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be so hard
I'm going back to the start
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh
Ah ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh
Oh ooh, ooh ooh ooh ooh"
The worlds rang out in a beautiful harmony of the piano and my personal vocals, though I was playing for Gramps the song was really for the Doctor, I was calling out to him with my heart and soul, crying my love for him. I felt so... in love, it was a strange feeling, not bad just strange to me, love something that I had never understood was what I was feeling. My fingers danced across the keys in a gentle rhythm, my feet gently pushing on the pedals as they were needed. I could feel Gramps eyes staring at me, Sylvia's breath held as she listened with a sacred reverence, I was in my own world, the notes flowed like a river and I could see the end coming, the death of a song. The last sad, solitary not rang out and I was shaken from my music induced daze and back into the real world.
Gramps began to clap feverishly, I could hear the noise in the kitchen to start up again, I spun on the polished bench to face away from the piano keys. I smiled at Gramps and he put a thin papery hand on top of mine with a warm smile.
" That was beautiful Alexandra," he said his hand curling around mine, " No doubt for that young man correct?"
I blushed but smiled, I enjoyed these quiet moments where it was just some playful teasing together, " Thanks Gramps... it's been awhile since I was able to play anything on a real piano. The electric ones just don't feel the same as playing on a real piano, feeling the tension of each key getting pressed down, the sound resounding through a room. You just don't hear that with a keyboard."
" Your dad had one of those keyboard things right? I remember you complaining about how you couldn't feel the music when you used it," Gramps said tilting his head to the side a flashback of me from years ago coming to him.
" Yea... I got used to playing on it since that's all we had but at every opportunity I would try to convince him to buy a real piano but I was never really able to push the idea through to him," I shrugged sighing remembering all the schemes I had tried to get a real piano, " I guess that I'm just a bit picky about my music."
" When you can play as well as you can Alexandra I think that you deserve the right to get a bit picky," Gramps chuckled, " You and the Doc... I mean that young man should spend the night here so you and I can go stargazing tonight like old times..."
I winked at Gramps playfully, " I think that we could, only if you're up for it."
" Are you calling me old?" he asked in mock shock.
" What if i am?" I said tauntingly to him.
" Just remember Alexandra no matter how old I get I can always kick your behind into next week!" he said to me poking my shoulder playfully making me giggle.
We pretended to argue with each other before long though Sylvia was brought into the room by all the racket that we were making, her arms folded across her chest and her foot tapping tersely on the floor. She never thought that Gramps was a good influence on me, but no matter how hard that she tried she would never be able to separate Gramps and I. Best friends to the end we were thick as thieves, Doctor came in after her watching Gramps and I play around, I laughed freely. There was nothing to worry about, I could be who I really was and never had to worry about what tomorrow would bring because I was here for now and that was all that mattered.
" Really Dad! Stop! It's time to eat!" Sylvia said trying to remain firm and parental but even at this point she was laughing herself.
" Alright... Alright I'm coming," Gramps pushed himself off the couch with a little bit of my help and we walked into the dinner room where a lavish dinner was set out.
" Wow... this is amazing..." I sat between Gramps and Doctor at the table.
" Your friend... John right? Well he helped me cook all of this, he's a good little chief," Sylvia reached across the table to squeeze the Doctors hand.
Dinner was amazing and I smiled as I ate proud of the Doctor, he had made friends with my family, I put my free hand on his leg patting him a little. All he could do was blush a little then smile at me gently. I felt on top of the world.