Chapter Two
He was waiting for her to say it. That statement that gave him almost as big a thrill as when someone would ask "Doctor Who?"
She hadn't said it yet, but she would. Eventually.
"This is your spaceship?" she asked instead. He tried not to look a little disappointed.
"The TARDIS. Time And Relative Dimensions In Space. Time and spaceship" he corrected with a flourish. "So where do you want to go? Another planet? End of time?"
"She's alive, isn't she?" Cass asked suddenly, putting her hand on a metal wall beside a bookshelf, completely oblivious to the Doctors questions. It had taken her long enough to realise that the psychic presence soothing her itching need to shift forms as well as giving her a welcomed feeling was the ship itself.
"Yes, she's sentient. Why?" he frowned.
"Can feel her." Cass turned to him, putting two fingers to her temples and tapping.
The Doctor frowned. The TARDIS was usually a little less welcoming of what she had once called the 'strays' he kept bringing home. "Okay." He stalked towards her suddenly. "You have to tell me what you are Cassidy. The TARDIS has hardly even made contact with anyone else who's come aboard beside myself. You're apparently immune to poisons, and age doesn't ravage you the same way it does a human. So what, pray tell me, are you?"
Cass leaned over the TARDIS railings, winking at the Doctor she said "Wouldn't you just like to know Doctor."
He gave her the look a parent would give a child who didn't want to tell the truth. Before either could say anything again, he suddenly turned and began to fiddle with the screen on the TARDIS console. "If you won't tell me, let's see If the scanner can pick anything up!" he declared almost triumphant at his idea.
Five minutes later he was giving a cry of frustration, running his hands through his silver grey hair, eyes wild he pointed at her "You, you are an enigma!"
Cass just laughed, keen eyesight being able to read the console from her place on the railings. The word 'FAILED SCAN' kept flashing in white, though the humming of the machine suddenly felt more like laughter – she wondered if the machine was playing with him using her.
A phone started to ring suddenly.
Cass looked at the Doctor who was looking at her. After a few minutes of staring at each other, the Doctor went to the doors, opened them revealing deep space, and answered with a gruff "What?"
Cass leaped from the railings to wedge herself snuggly between the Doctor and the TARDIS doors, staring in wonder at the swirling black, red, orange and purples of deep space. Amazing planets she where floating nearby – not one of them looking like earth, but all equally amazing. She was so busy admiring the view, she didn't notice the Doctor on the phone, not even when he hung up.
"Wow…" she breathed.
"Yes. 2000 years of time and space, but I hardly even get to enjoy the scenery. It is still beautiful every time I look." He said in a soft voice just above her ear.
Cass looked up at him, admiring him. Actually, Cass stared, for a 2000 year old Alien he wasn't a bad looker. His eyes where bright and alive, and eyes where the part of a person Cass loved most. She looked away quickly when he glanced down at her, embarrassed about staring.
"Who was on the phone?" she asked instead, doing the same as the Doctor and reaching out to swipe her hand through the mist left behind by a shooting star.
"Random S.O.S call. Better head there soon – good thing about a time machine however is I don't have to leave immediately."
"You don't know who the call was from though?" Cass frowned.
"No. But look, I'm in a flying police box – who do you call when you need help? The police!"
Cass smiled softly. "That's true. Guess I'm just used to being suspicious and cautious." She elbowed him in the ribs softly. "So are we going to go save some idiots then?"
"Finally someone who can identify idiots with me!" he laughed, shutting the TARDIS doors and springing like an oversized cat for the console. The TARDIS rocked as it changed course suddenly. When they landed, the Doctor smiled and took Cass by the hand leading her out of the doors.
They were in an empty cargo bay.
"I feel like that was really anti-climactic." Cass couldn't help but giggled a bit as she dropped the Doctors hand and wandered over to the crates of cargo, looking over the tops of them. "Er… these crates are loaded with what looks an awful lot like guns?"
"I think this is some kind of fleet ship…" the Doctor went across the window. "I'd say we're just outside the Milky Way in fact…"
Alarms sounded suddenly, the Doctor looked around alarmed and Cass – by instinct – ducked into the corner of the crates she was snooping in. Just in time too, as the doors on either end of the cargo bay slid open and soldiers poured into the room – all of them aiming gun's on the Doctor.
"Erm… Hello?" The Doctor said frowning. "Have to say, this is the least welcome, welcome I've received in a long time."
None of the soldiers said anything, instead sinister footsteps sounded and three more men entered, two were also soldiers, and another was a strange looking man with a curling moustache the kind only ever seen on comic book villains. He wore a suit, and when he entered the room he completely ignored the Doctor, instead he approached the TARDIS.
"Ah, a type 40 TARDIS – not only the last of its types, the last of its kind at all!" the man declared proudly. He tried to open the door, but it did not budge. Not even when he tried to push it with its full weight.
"She won't open." The Doctor sounded bored.
"Ah" the man turned on the Doctor. "I almost forgot the pilot – the last Timelord."
"Who your about to bore to death, so why don't you just skip the whole speech thing and tell me who you bloody well are."
The man looked thoroughly insulted, but after a few minutes he said "Just a humble collector. Now, I've heard about you Doctor. Heard you enjoy travelling with a companion. Should I expect a pretty little thing to come out of this museum piece at some point?"
The Doctor didn't reply while soldier's cuffed him. He was staring at the dark spot where Cass hid, watching everything and waiting for a moment. Finally he looked down then back to mysterious moustache man. "No. I am alone."
"Well, I'm not in the habbit of taking live pieces. Take him, chain him, kill him later." The man clicked his fingers and his soldiers jumped up like eager dogs to do his bidding. They dragged the Doctor out of the room – the man laid a soft hand on the TARDIS again before he left. "Find something to get these doors open, laser saw or something." Cass heard him saying as he walked out of the doors.
When she was sure they were gone, Cass took a deep breath. Her sensitive ears couldn't hear anything anymore, nothing but the hum of the TARDIS and the gentle groan of the bigger ships engine. Cass came out of her hiding place and put a hand of the TARDIS herself, swearing she could feel a hum of life in the wood. "Alright big Blue, I guess I'll go get the Doctor and we'll get out of here eh?" she whispered.
Protect him.
Cass gasped, pulling away from the wood a fraction. She looked around, knowing there was no one around but her and the TARDIS anyway.
Protect him.
The physic message between her and the ship sounded in her mind again, a gentle but commanding voice. Cass nodded. "Okay."
Cass returned to her hiding place, and pulled off her clothes. Naked and more than a little self-conscious, she began to breathe deeply and calmly. Within a couple of minutes Cass felt the change over come her – muscles budging, her spine and teeth lengthened, nails hardening into claws. Within a few minutes Cass was shaking her black furred body standing in the form of a giant black wolf.
Cass had to sit for a moment and use her hind leg to scratch behind her ears, getting rid of the last tingle from the shift, before she set her nose to the ground, following the scent of the Doctor.
OoO
The Doctor was chained by his hands to a pipe. Not his most dignified moment. And yet he couldn't help but be dryly amused by how short this regeneration would have lasted If he was indeed to die right here right now.
He thought about Cass who'd had enough sense to keep her mouth shut when she hid behind those crates. He hoped her sense continued and she got back into the TARDIS. The TARDIS would take her back to Jack, keeping her and the ship away from this idiot collecting maniac.
The door of the room slid open, three soldiers arrived, lining up and aiming their guns at him.
"Oh come now this is hardly sporting." The Doctor frowned. "At least un-cuff me."
The door of the room slid open again, causing them all to turn in question, but no one entered. The Doctor thought he saw a shadow slink to the back of the room, but it may have been a trick of the light.
The soldiers took their positions again, fingers on the triggers, the Doctor shut his eyes, when a snarl rumbled around the room.
Cass leaped from her hiding place, she caught the first gun in her jaws, crushing the barrel under her teeth as she skidded across the floor. She landed in front of the Doctor, standing with her tail up and head down, protecting him. The soilders where a lot more trigger happy to shoot a giant wolf – they always are actually – so Cass moved quickly, she tripped up the last two soldiers simply by running at them. She found that soldier's where a lot less accustom to shooting charging wolves than hunters where. These soldier's soon ran without their guns to protect them.
Cass approached the Doctor, thought he did back up for a second. Cass stopped approaching him until he looked at her and asked "Cass?"
She yipped, wagged her tail, and leaning against the wall tried her best to reach his cuffs and break them, but it was no use.
"Cass, can you see if you can reach my sonic screwdriver in my jacket pocket?" the Doctor asked, his voice smoothing calm as though he was worried starling her would make her rip his throat out.
Cass moved slighting, one huge paw against the Doctors chest – she tried not to lean on him too much, she'd broken rib cages with her paws before – it took some manoeuvring be she managed to use her nose to push the screwdriver from his pocket, letting it fall to the floor she picked it up with her teeth and after stretching up the wall again, placed it into his reaching hand. A few seconds of a little 'wurring' noise and the cuffs on his wrists sprang open.
"Well come on then, no doubt those executioners you scared away are going to come back with reinforcements – and I'd rather get to the TARDIS before they try to laser cut her. She won't like that."
Cass snorted in agreement, leading the way back through the shit the cargo bay, ears alert for footsteps other than their own and nose twitching. Luck was on their side this time however at they reached the TARDIS with no other troubles. Cass had to retrieve her clothes from behind the crates, much to the Doctors confusion.
When the TARDIS doors closed behind them he said "Safe in here, nothing can get through those doors – not even a Dalek and believe me they've tried." He paused at his controls to take a look at the monstrosity of a wolf sitting by the armchair with a bunch of clothes hanging in its mouth. If he paused to think about her as just a wolf rather than also a woman he could admit that she was quite beautiful – when she moved, despite her huge size, she was graceful and her fur was completely liquid black, expect for two white spots over the bright green eyes that watched him – eyes that still belonged to the human Cass.
"You might change back now Cass?" the Doctor said after minutes passed, confused as to why she hadn't.
Cass made a coughing sound a few times, pawing at the clothing she had dropped to the floor of her feet. Unfortunately the Doctor didn't seem to understand what she meant, and despite the fact she suspected he would be uncomfortable with the nudity of a woman he hardly knew, she shifted back. The shift back to human was always easier, more of a bubbling sensation than the painful pull.
When she regained human form she was sitting with her back to the Doctor, though she looked over her shoulder and was amused to see his face blushing bright red as he turned away from her.
"Honestly Doctor, anyone would think you'd never seen a naked woman before." Cass teased, turning back around to pull in her clothes.
She didn't see the Doctor look back over his own shoulder at her, smirking.