I don't own Doctor Who, only the Guardian and the twins (sort of—it's really complicated, and will be explained later). But if I did own Doctor Who, there would be a Time Lady. And Martha wouldn't have spent her whole time on the show begin compared to Rose.
Okay, I'm going to start this with a brief note, since I couldn't figure out a way to work this information into the story in a way that made sense.
The Guardian is currently half-way through an eight-month pregnancy. This this story-verse, Gallifreyan newborns are about half the size of the average human newborn (usually about 4-5 pounds/about 2 kilos), and the way Time Ladies carry their pregnancies mean that they barely look pregnant, even full term. So even though she's half-way through her pregnancy, she doesn't look it.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
"Ian Dury! 1979." The Doctor hit some buttons with a flourish and turned back to the Guardian. "How often do you get to see Ian Dury in concert?"
The Guardian laughed. "Married to you? As often as I wish."
He grinned in response and leaned over to kiss her before resting his forehead against hers. She heard him call out to their twins in his mind, but she did her best to ignore the conversation, giving them what little privacy that she could.
The last two months, since the Doctor learned of her pregnancy, had actually been incredibly quiet. He'd been letting her fly the TARDIS far more often, so they actually ended up where they wanted to go, and when he did drive, it seemed like the TARDIS also wanted them safe, as they usually only found themselves in safe places.
The first anti-gravity Olympics. The original Olympics. The Moon Landing. The first woman—and human—on Mars. The inauguration of the first British-born President of America.
Once a Time Child was psychically bonded to their mother, they were aware of what was going on around them, and would remember events that happened prior to their birth. Right now, while they were still safe from the rest of the Universe, the Doctor wanted to take them on all sorts of fun adventures.
The Guardian smiled sadly as she remembered what would happen after the twins were born. The Doctor had decided—without her—to give up adventures until the twins were old enough to protect themselves.
Oh, they would still travel. But any sign of danger and they would leave. For the next five decades. Because the Guardian refused to force her children to learn how to fight as early as she had. No, in normal circumstances, Gallifreyan children were to be protected by the adults around them until they were 50 years old.
The Doctor kissed her again, telling her that his conversation with their twins had finished. Four more months, and he could form his own bond with them. The Guardian smiled again as she watched the Doctor run around the console, imagining him teaching their son and daughter how to fly the old time machine.
Then she frowned. The pregnancy hormones most have done something to her brain. The Doctor was most certainly not going to be the one teaching the twins how to fly the TARDIS. That was the last thing the Time Vortex needed—three bad pilots in one TARDIS.
"Sheffield, England, Earth. The twenty-first of November, 1979." The Doctor flipped one last switch and the TARDIS landed with a jolt that nearly made the Guardian lose her balance.
The Doctor took her hand and pulled her towards the outer doors. "Now, 1979. That was a hell of a year. China invades Vietnam. The Muppet Movie. Margaret Thatcher." He made a face, his dislike of the woman clear. "Skylab fell to Earth, with a little help from yours truly."
The Guardian nodded, remembering him telling her about that adventure during one of his visits to Gallifrey. "Didn't that one nearly take off your thumb?"
The Doctor nodded and opened the door. Rifles clicked as soon as they stepped out. The Doctor grabbed her arm to stop her from reaching for the gun concealed at the small of her back. She fought him a bit, every instinct she had telling her to take out the soldiers to protect her husband and children.
'British soldiers, Amadahy.'
The Guardian glanced at the soldiers once more, particularly their weapons. She relaxed a little and held up her hands in surrender. 'It's 1879.' The weapons alone attested to that.
'Same difference.'
The Guardian glared at her rather indifferent husband as the soldiers' captain spoke.
"You will explain your presence." He spoke with a Scottish accent. "And the indecency of this woman."
The Guardian glanced down at her clothes. The Doctor had talked her into wearing a pair of very wide-legged denim trousers and a loose, flowing tunic that covered her still-unnoticeable baby bump. Compared to some of the 1970s Earth clothing that she had seen, this outfit was hardly indecent.
"You'll have to excuse my wife, captain." The Doctor had thickened his Northern accent so it sounded more Scottish. "Her mother died when she was a child, and she spent most of her life in India."
The Guardian saw the captain relax a little, seemingly relieved to hear that she wasn't in any trouble. Well, he trusted the Doctor easily.
"Will you identify yourself, sir?"
"Doctor..." The Doctor hesitated.
'James McCrimmon.' The Guardian supplied, remembering the name from the Doctor's memories. One of his former companions, if she wasn't mistaken.
The Doctor smiled gratefully. "Doctor James McCrimmon, from the township of Balamory. My wife, Allegra. My credentials, if I may?"
The captain nodded his assent and the Doctor dug in his jacket pocket for the psychic paper.
The Guardian grinned. "Darling, don't you remember? You gave me your credentials to carry." She retrieved the paper from the pocket of her tunic and handed it to her husband with a smirk.
He shot her a weak glare and gave it to the captain. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."
Just then, a cultured English accent called from a nearby carriage. "Let them approach."
"I don't think that's wise, ma'am."
The Guardian and the Doctor exchanged curious glances.
"Let them approach." The woman insisted.
The captain looked back at them, resignation in his expression. "You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference."
'He means apologize for your attire.' The Doctor commented as they slowly walked over to the carriage. As they reached it, a footman open the door to reveal a stately woman in black. The Guardian immediately recognized her from a portrait she had seen when they visited King George VII at Buckingham Palace.
"Allegra, may I introduce Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."
The Guardian curtseyed as George's daughter, another Queen Victoria, had shown her. "Allegra McCrimmon, ma'am. My apologies for my indecency."
Queen Victoria looked more amused than offended. "I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me." She turned her attention to the Doctor. "But you, Doctor McCrimmon, show me these credentials."
The Doctor passed the psychic paper to her. The Guardian briefly hoped that this Victoria wouldn't prove as clever as her descendent, who had been able to see through the psychic paper immediately.
The Queen looked at it in surprise. "Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my protector."
"It does?" The Doctor asked, just as surprised.
The Guardian groaned. That wouldn't help their cover any. "If I may, Your Majesty, why are you traveling by road rather than train?"
'Good question.'
'Good distraction.'
"A tree on the line." Queen Victoria replied, her features hardening slightly.
"And no doubt not an accident." The Guardian replied, seeing that her husband was about to ask an obvious and rather ridiculous question, considering who they were speaking to.
The Queen nodded. "I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned."
"Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence," the captain spoke. "We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."
"Doctor McCrimmon and his wife will come with us."
The Gallifreyan couple both smiled their gratitude at the queen. Turning away slightly, the Guardian's smile turned into a frown. It seemed that the TARDIS had broken her rule of keeping the Guardian and the twins away from dangerous places. So why was that?
"Yes, Ma'am." The captain said. "We'd better get moving—it's almost nightfall."
"Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts." Queen Victoria smiled. "Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"
The footman closed the door and the carriage drove forward. The Gallifreyans found themselves walking behind the carriage, amid the soldiers. The Doctor took her hand.
'So, we just met Queen Victoria.' She said.
'Yep.' The Doctor replied absently. The Guardian frowned, knowing that he was as concerned as she was that the TARDIS had brought them here.
'Toria would be excited.'
'Yep.'
The Guardian sighed. Time to do something rather drastic to keep it light. 'Toria told me that her ancestor was famous for the phrase "we are not amused". I bet you five quid she'll say it.'
The Doctor looked at her now, frowning slightly. 'That's an abuse of our privileges as time travelers and you know it.'
'Ten quid?'
'Done.'
The Guardian grinned. She was going to win this one without even trying.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
By the time that they arrived at the estate of Sir Robert McLeish, the Guardian was cross with the Doctor. As it had grown dark, he had taken to guiding her along the rough road as if walking it had suddenly become worse than his driving.
Finally, the procession finished their journey in the courtyard of a grand old house that somewhat resembled a castle.
The Guardian and the Doctor stood back as a dark-haired man in his thirties came out of the house and approached the Queen, who had just gotten out of her carriage. The Guardian noted with some concern the bald butler who stood behind Sir Robert, and the bald footmen who stood just outside the house.
"Your Majesty." He bowed.
"Sir Robert," the queen replied fondly. "My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?"
He stiffened. "She's… indisposed. I'm afraid she's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her. The kitchens are barely stocked. I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on."
The Guardian frowned. 'He's desperate that she leave.'
'Quite. The butler?'
She took another look at the stern older man. 'No doubt he has threatened Lady Isobel.' Sir Robert hadn't seemed noticeably nervous until his wife was mentioned.
The Doctor looked at her, then his gaze dropped to her stomach. 'We can leave. Let everything that happens here happen.'
The Guardian scowled at him. 'No. We don't walk away. The TARDIS brought us here for a reason, and I want to know what that reason is.'
"I've had quite enough carriage exercise." Queen Victoria replied. "And this is charming—if rustic. It's my first visit to his house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside?"
Sir Robert nodded stiffly, dismay noticeable in his expression for a moment.
The Queen gestured to the Guardian. "And please excuse Mrs. McCrimmon's attire. She was raised in India."
"My apologies, Sir Robert." The Guardian smiled sweetly and curtseyed.
She eyed the butler and footmen once more. They were warriors. The signs were unmistakeable—build, posture, expression. So if these men were warriors, then Mrs. Allegra McCrimmon needed to be a helpless housewife.
"Shall we proceed?" The Queen led the way into the house, followed by Sir Robert and the butler and footmen.
"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the property." Captain Reynolds called. "Hurry up."
The Guardian and the Doctor watched as the two Redcoats took a small locked box out of the carriage and carried it into the house.
"So what's in there, then?" The Doctor mused.
Reynolds overheard him. "Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."
The Gallifreyans exchanged a curious look. As Captain Reynolds ordered his men to their positions, the Guardian linked her arm with the Doctor's like a proper lady of the times and they walked into the house.
They easily found the Queen and Sir Robert, and the master of the house offered them a tour. The Guardian listened, rather bored, as Sir Robert explained the history of the estate, but she made note of the house's layout as they moved from room to room.
Finally, he led them into an observatory. A massive telescope dominated the room, peering out through an opening in the glass roof.
The Doctor grinned at the sight, and the Guardian could feel his excitement.
"This, I take it, is the famous endeavor?" The queen commented.
"All my father's work," Sir Robert explained. "Build by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession. He spent more money on this rather than caring for the house or himself."
"I wish I'd met him—I like him. That thing's beautiful." He looked over at Sir Robert. "May I?"
"Help yourself."
The Doctor pulled the Guardian over to the telescope. "What did he model it after?"
"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little… shall we say, eccentric." He smiled regretfully. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him and listened to his stories."
'Eccentric is right,' the Doctor commented. 'Way too many prisms. The magnification's gone over the top. It's rubbish.'
The Guardian looked around the room, frowning. There was something about this room… something wasn't quite right.
"Your father's imagination should be applauded." The queen said. "Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath, steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well-versed in folklore and fairytales."
"Stars and magic. I like him more and more." The Doctor commented, crossing his arms as the Guardian slipped her arm back through his. His other hand covered hers, and she leaned slightly against him, her head resting against his shoulder.
Queen Victoria smiled nostalgically at them. "Yes, my late husband enjoyed his company. Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe-Coburg. When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."
'I thought there weren't any more wolves in Great Britain.'
'That's a matter of debate.' The Doctor replied, then spoke to Sir Robert. "So, what's this wolf, then?"
"It's just a story." Sir Robert dismissed nervously.
"Then tell it, Sir Robert." The Guardian encouraged, noting the butler's shifting.
Sir Robert hesitated, just slightly glancing behind him. At the butler. "It's said that—"
"Excuse me, sir." The butler interrupted, his words polite but his tone hard. "Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."
Sir Robert stiffened, then forced a smile. "Of course. Yes, of course."
"And then supper." The queen added, clearly not noticing anything wrong. "And could we find some clothes for Mrs. McCrimmon? You may have worn such clothing in India, Mrs. McCrimmon, but this is Great Britain."
The Guardian hid her annoyance behind a sweet smile. "I don't suppose it is very amusing, is it?"
The Doctor's hand tightened on hers. 'That's cheating.'
The queen shot her a glare. "Sir Robert, your wife must have left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven, and talk some more of this wolf. After all, there is a full moon tonight."
"So there is, Ma'am." Sir Robert bowed, but it seemed more like a convulsion.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The Doctor insisted on joining the Guardian as she was led by yet another bald footman to Lady Isobel's chambers. There, she chose a pretty purple dress, before they were taken to the guest room where they were to stay the night.
The suspicious lack of maidservants in the house meant that the Doctor had to help her into the dress, which he did as they discussed what they had noticed.
'The butler is definitely in charge here.' The Guardian said. 'Did you notice how Sir Robert kept glancing at him?'
'Yes, and before you bring it up, no, you are not going to let yourself get captured so you can see what's going on.'
The Guardian frowned. That had been exactly what she was going to suggest. She winced as the Doctor laced the dress a little too tight. 'I will need to breathe, darling.'
'Sorry.' The laces were loosened. 'Sir Robert seemed the most uncomfortable when the queen wanted to talk about the wolf.'
'And the full moon…' The Guardian mused. 'Is there such a thing as werewolves?' She straightened her dress and moved over to her old clothing, which she had tossed on the bed.
'Lupine wavelength haemovariform.'
She turned to look at the Doctor, confused.
'Most people would call it a werewolf.'
'Great.' The Guardian retrieved her gun from her clothes and strapped it to her thigh. 'So we may have a werewolf on out hands.'
She looked over to see the Doctor staring. 'Darling, focus. We have a werewolf to deal with.'
'Are you sure that you don't want to leave?'
'I am.' She lifted one hand to press it against her stomach. 'What sort of example would we be setting if we abandoned these people now? I may be pregnant, but I'm not helpless.' She smirked. 'No matter what the butler and his men may be led to think.'
'Still… you wouldn't happen to have any silver bullets, would you?'
'In my pocket.'
The Doctor grinned.
'In my jacket, which you made me leave in the TARDIS. Ten miles away.'
The Doctor's grin disappeared. 'Ah.'
The Guardian smirked. "Come, Mr. McCrimmon. I believe we are late for supper."
Arms linked, they made their way to the dinning room, noting the lack of Redcoats along the way. They arrived just in time to hear Captain Reynolds laughing too enthusiastically at something the queen said.
"Very wise, Ma'am," he said. "Very witty."
"Slightly witty, perhaps." They heard the queen reply. "I know you rarely get the chance to dine with me, Captain, but don't get too excited. I shall contain my wit in case I do you further injury."
As the captain apologized, the butler announced them.
"Doctor and Mrs. McCrimmon," the queen said. "You have arrived. Now Sir Robert may tell us a tale of nightmares. Since my husband's death, I find myself with more of a taste for supernatural fiction."
"You must miss him." The Guardian said, sitting in the chair beside Sir Robert's, which the Doctor held for her. He sat in the seat on her other side and took her hand.
Once again, the Guardian saw the queen watch them sadly. "Very much," she replied quietly, looking down. "Oh, completely."
She looked up again, a fake smile on her face. "And that's the charm of a ghost story, isn't it? Not the scares and chills, that's just for children, but the hope of some contact with the great beyond. We all want some message from that place. It's the Creator's greatest mystery that we're allowed no such consolation. The dead stay silent, and we must wait."
By the end of her speech, the queen looked as though she might cry. The Guardian watched her sadly, thinking of all the people she wished she knew were at peace. And those that she knew were frozen in a moment of fear and fire.
She glanced over at the Doctor. Pictures of his family flashed through her mind from his stray thoughts. She squeezed his hand.
"Come." The queen had recovered. "Begin your tale, Sir Robert. There's a chill in the air. The wind is howling through the eaves. Tell us of monsters."
Sir Robert shifted, glancing at the butler once again, and then he began. "The story goes back three hundred years. Every full moon, the howling rings through the valley. The next morning, livestock is found ripped apart and d—devoured." He looked down at the final word.
"Tales like this just disguise the work of thieves. Steal a sheep and blame a wolf, simple as that."
Queen Victoria glared at Captain Reynolds, annoyed.
"But sometimes a child goes missing," Sir Robert continued, drawing everyone's attention back to him. He focused on the Guardian and the Doctor, his eyes pleading for help. "Once in a generation, a boy will vanish from his homestead."
Now, that was too perfect. Something like that could only be the result of deliberate action.
"Are there descriptions of the creature?" The Guardian asked.
"Oh, yes, Mrs. McCrimmon. Drawings and woodcarvings. And it's not merely a wolf. It's more than that. This is a man who becomes an animal."
"A werewolf?" The Doctor shifted so he could lean closer while still holding the Guardian's hand.
'So you were right, Amadahy.'
'Wishing you hadn't made me leave my jacket and weapons in the TARDIS?' She quipped, but didn't look away from Sir Robert.
"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose." He shook his head. "I should have listened."
The butler walked behind Sir Robert, making everyone look at him, but the man was focused on looking out the window. At the full moon.
Sir Robert began speaking quickly, as though he didn't know how much time he had. "His work was hindered. He made enemies. There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."
Monks. That explained the bald heads.
The Guardian felt sick when she heard the butler begin chanting. "Lupus deus est."
The Wolf is god.
"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly." Queen Victoria said.
"That's what I thought. But now I wonder." Sir Robert glanced at the chanting butler. The Doctor and the Guardian both followed his gaze, and this time didn't look away.
"What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet? What if they turned from God and worshipped the Wolf?"
"And what if they were with us right now?" The Doctor said quietly, still looking at the butler.
The Guardian glanced at Sir Robert and saw relief in his eyes. She rose slowly. "What if this has all been a trap for the queen?"
At her words, everyone stood.
"What is the meaning of this? What's happening?" The queen shouted, at the same time that Captain Reynolds pulled out his gun and demanded Sir Robert explain himself.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. They've got my wife."
"Then where is she, Sir Robert? Show us!" The Guardian led the way to the door, cursing her dress.
"The cellar, Mrs. McCrimmon." As soon as the corridor became wide enough, Sir Robert passed her and showed the Gallifreyans the way to the cellar.
The locked cellar. With the sounds of growling coming from behind the door.
"Allow me, gentlemen." The Guardian held her skirts up and out of the way and kicked the door open.
The trio burst into the room to see the proper household staff staring in horror as a young man in a cage morphed into a wolf.
The Doctor glanced at it for a moment, then flashed the sonic screwdriver at the chains restraining the servants and lady of the manor. The shackles fell to the floor with a clatter.
"Come on, go!" Sir Robert shouted, hurrying over to his wife. "Get out."
The wolf began to break out of his cage.
With plenty of screams, the staff and lord and lady ran out of the room. Finally, the Doctor and the Guardian ran, slamming the door shut just as the Wolf threw a piece of its cage at them. The Doctor locked the door with the sonic.
Behind them, they heard the Wolf howl.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
They found everyone in the gun room, the steward handing out every gun in the large cabinet on the wall. The Guardian winced. She doubted even her gun was powerful enough to kill it.
This thing had had three hundred years to mature and grow stronger.
"Well, any ideas?" She asked as a tearful Lady Isobel ran out of the room, the maidservants following her.
"It could be any form of light-modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. They really didn't teach you about werewolves in your training?"
"Nope, because werewolves are supposed to be just a legend!"
There was a crash.
"There goes the cellar door," the Guardian remarked drily.
She moved over to the arch that led into the corridor. The Wolf was at the other end, walking towards her on two legs.
She pulled up her skirt, grabbed her gun, and shot the creature three times in close succession.
The creature fell back for a moment, then lunged forward.
The Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the gun room. They ran behind the line of armed men.
A moment later, the Wolf charged in.
"Fire! Fire!" The steward cried.
The Wolf fled back into the corridor.
"Alright, men." The Guardian said, discarding the image of the meek wife. She was a soldier. She would act like one. "We should retreat upstairs."
"I'll not retreat like a frightened woman!" The steward replied, glaring at her through the haze of gun smoke. "The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault."
"It's not from Earth, you idiot!"
"Nonsense. I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall." He walked over and stepped into the corridor. He smirked and turned back. "It must have crawled away to die."
"I'm telling you, get back here. You didn't kill it!"
The steward chuckled, not believing them. Suddenly, he was grabbed by something above him and hoisted up to the ceiling amid the sound of growls. They watched as the Wolf tore the steward apart.
"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor shouted. He grabbed the Guardian's hand and pulled her towards the staircase. The sounds of gunshots and growls and men's screams followed them up the stairs.
"Your Majesty?" Sir Robert shouted ahead of them. "Your Majesty!"
The queen hurried down the staircase towards the trio. "Sir Robert? What's happening? I heard such terrible noises."
The Guardian hurried to the front hall, only to see that their escape had been cut off. She returned to everyone else. "The front door has been boarded shut. Your Majesty, it seems your only escape will be out a window."
The queen raised her chin primly, and she led the group into a nearby drawing room. Sir Robert pushed himself in front of Queen Victoria.
"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first. The better to assist Her Majesty's egress."
"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh," the queen replied angrily.
The Guardian rolled her eyes. "Perhaps you could try being a little more gracious, Your Majesty. Need I remind you that you were the one who insisted on staying here?"
Sir Robert send the Guardian a grateful look and climbed up to open the window.
Shots were fired outside, forcing everyone to duck. The Guardian moved over to another window to see three monks dressed in scarlet robes, all three holding rifles that looked quite a bit like the ones the Redcoats carried.
"Seems the monks want us to stay inside." She said.
"Do they know who I am?" The queen was outraged.
"I reckon that's why they want you, Your Majesty." The Doctor replied. "Imagine it, if the Wolf was able to bite you..."
"Stop this talk!" Queen Victoria snapped. "There can't be an actual wolf."
As if the creature had heard her, there was a terrible howl that made everyone jump from how close it was. They ran out into the corridor to see that the wolf was trying to break through the door.
"Time to run." The Guardian said. "Since my supply of silver bullets happens to not be here at the moment."
She saw the Doctor redden as he turned to the queen. "Your Majesty, as a doctor, I recommend a vigorous job. Good for the health."
The Guardian grabbed the queen's hand. "Come on!"
The group ran up the stairs. They had made it up several flights when the Wolf broke through the door and followed after them. At the second highest floor, the Guardian pulled the queen down a corridor, glancing back to see the Doctor had taken the position at the end of the line.
The position closest to the Wolf.
'Eltanin, if that thing gets you, I will kill you.'
She blinked at the absolutely illogical statement. Oh, for the love of Clom, was pregnancy stealing her intelligence?
She saw the Doctor grin, just as the Wolf appeared at the end of the corridor. It raced after them. The Guardian turned back just in time to see it lunge at her husband, who dove to the floor.
"No!" She leveled her gun and fired at the same time another gun went off.
The Wolf fell back and retreated.
The Guardian hurried over and helped the Doctor up. Hand-in-hand, they darted around the corner, where they found Captain Reynolds, Sir Robert, and Queen Victoria.
"I'll take this position and hold it." Captain Reynolds began reloading his gun. "You keep moving, for god's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property and it was taken. The chest was empty."
"I have it. It's safe." The queen assured him.
Captain Reynolds smiled. "Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor McCrimmon, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the Crown."
The Guardian saw Sir Robert flinch. "Bullets can't stop it!"
"They'll buy you time. Now run!" Captain Reynolds stepped back into the corridor, gun ready.
The group ran into the library and barricaded the door with nearby furniture, amid the sounds of gunfire and the Wolf's growls. The Guardian could hear it getting closer and closer to Captain Reynolds' position, the bullets evidently having no effect.
Then they heard Captain Reynolds scream as the Wolf ripped him apart.
A moment later, they heard it creature howl.
The Guardian looked around and saw another door. "Barricade that door too." She and the two men quickly grabbed what furniture they could and covered the door.
She made her way back over to the first door, noting that the Wolf wasn't trying to claw its way in. "It's stopped." She climbed on the pile of furniture to listen.
"Guardian, careful."
"Shush!" She snapped. Everyone fell silent. On the other side of the door, she could hear the wolf sniff, then walk away. "Listen."
They could hear the creature growling as it walked along the walls of the room to the other door. It scratched at the door for a moment, then with a growl it stalked away.
"Okay, Doctor. So what stopped it?"
"Something inside this room. What is it? Why can't it get in?" The Doctor walked over and pulled her into his arms, resting his forehead against hers. 'You alright, Amadahy?'
'I should ask you that.' Her embrace tightened as she remembered the moment before her and Captain Reynolds fired. 'I nearly lost you.' She whispered.
'But you didn't. It will take a whole lot more than a werewolf to take me away from you.' His arms shifted to be around her waist. 'Are the twins okay?'
The Guardian closed her eyes to focus on sensing the babies. She smiled as she sensed their thrill and excitement. 'They're fine. Seth and Elizabeth going to be a couple of danger magnets, just like you.'
The Doctor grinned at the little game they had been playing for the last two months. Since Gallifreyan tradition insisted that children not actually be named until their birth, the couple had been amusing themselves by referring to the twins by whatever name came to mind while they were speaking. Hopefully, they could find a couple of good Earth names for them, although the Guardian had already decided what she wanted to name her son, if she could convince the Doctor to agree.
She felt the Doctor telepathically connect to them himself. After seeing his only child die right in front of him, she realized that he needed the assurance that only checking for himself could give.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am."
The Guardian glanced over to see Sir Robert had collapsed in a chair, rubbing his forehead.
"It's all my fault," he continued, looking up. "I should have sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong; I thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"
"Of course we did," the Guardian replied, noting the fury in the queen's expression. She pulled away from the Doctor, noting that he was now satisfied that the twins were fine. "Your Majesty, Sir Robert is not a traitor."
"And how is he not? You said yourself that this was a trap for me. He was the one who lured me into the trap!"
"I also said that you were the one who chose to say here." The Guardian snapped back. "Sir Robert, you know as well as I that if you had tried to send the queen away, the monks would have attacked. They are highly trained warriors; they could have easily overpowered your guards, Ma'am, especially with the element of surprise."
"And what do you know of this?"
"Far more than I would wish to," the Guardian replied, her voice hard. The Doctor squeezed her hand, and she took a deep breath. "Sir Robert, right now your wife is alive, which wouldn't have happened if the queen had left. No doubt the monks would have murdered everyone here as soon as the queen was out of sight."
"Thank you, Mrs. McCrimmon." Sir Robert nodded. His shoulders relaxed as though he were no longer carrying a heavy burden.
"What, exactly—I pray, tell me—someone, please." The queen stammered. "What exactly is that creature?"
"You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's more of a—" The Guardian put one hand on the Doctor's mouth.
"They don't need the complicated details." She looked at the queen. "It's a werewolf."
"And should I trust you? A woman hides behind illusion? Were you not the picture of a proper wife just an hour ago—your attire not withstanding?"
The Guardian winced. "Considering the suspicious staff, it seemed a better idea to—"
"I'll not have it." Queen Victoria interrupted. "Not you, not that thing, none of it. This is not my world."
GD~GD~GD~GD~
Sometime later, everyone was still silent after the queen's declaration. The Doctor paced the library floor, his arm around the Guardian's waist.
He was proud of the way she had stood up to Queen Victoria for Sir Robert. He couldn't imagine being in Sir Robert's position, mostly because the Guardian wouldn't have gone down without a fight.
But still… even though he had never directly assisted in a plot against the Lord President, he had chosen the Guardian over Gallifrey before, and he knew he would do it again. There were some people that demanded more loyalty than one's monarch. Or planet.
Something on the door caught his eye, so he pulled the Guardian over to it. There was a carving of mistletoe on the door.
'What is it?' The Guardian asked.
'Mistletoe.' At her confused look, he asked, 'I haven't told you about mistletoe?'
She shook her head, and he immediately kissed her. After a moment, she pulled back. 'And the point of that was?'
He blushed a little. 'Old Earth tradition. They hang a sprig of mistletoe in the doorway at Christmas, and whenever a couple passes under it, they are expected to kiss.'
'Right.' She looked less than impressed as she turned to Sir Robert. "This carving, Sir Robert, did your father put it here?"
"I don't know. I suppose."
The Doctor glanced at the door behind Sir Robert. It also had a carving of mistletoe. "But a carving wouldn't be enough." He considered the door beside him. "I wonder..."
He released to Guardian to get closer. He sniffed the wood, and then, on impulse, licked it.
"Darling, I sincerely hope that our children don't inherit that particular tendency of yours." She added telepathically, 'And I also hope it doesn't carry over into any future regenerations.'
He grinned at her. "Oil of mistletoe. It's been worked into the wood as a varnish. Just how clever was your dad?" He slipped his arm back around her waist. "Mistletoe isn't just useful to steal a kiss. It's powerful stuff—bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."
"Well, I doubt the Wolf is conveniently allergic to it, so..." Her eyes widened and she pulled away from him so she could pace. "Of course! The monks would need a way of controlling it. A creature that powerful..." Something flickered in her eyes, making the Doctor wonder just what her instructors had used to control her.
She lifted her chin a little and turned to the queen and Sir Robert. "They would get into serious trouble if they couldn't control the Wolf. I wondered what that was!"
"What?" The Doctor frowned.
She looked back at him. "When I looked out the window in the drawing room, I saw these green garlands around the monks' necks. Those must have been mistletoe, to keep the Wolf from attacking them!"
"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, and we still don't possess an actual weapon."
The Doctor shook his head, frustrated with man. "Your father got all the brains, didn't he?" How could he not see? "You want weapons? We're in a library." He walked over to the nearest bookshelf. "Books! This room's the greatest arsenal we could have."
The Guardian winked at him. "Other than my collection of silver bullets."
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The Guardian found it. "Look at this."
The Doctor and Sir Robert fell silent.
"Sir Robert, look what your father found. Something fell to Earth." She carried the book over to a desk, open to a drawing depicting the scene.
Her husband and Sir Robert joined her at the desk.
"'In the Year of our Lord 1540, under the reign of King James V, an almighty fire did burn in the pit.'" Sir Robert read. "That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the monastery."
"Three hundred years ago..." The Doctor mused. "Maybe just a single cell survived. Adapting slowly down the generations."
"That's why a boy would go missing once a generation." The Guardian added, understanding where his mind had gone. "It survived through the human hosts."
"And now it wants the Throne." Sir Robert finished, proving that, once again, the Doctor had been wrong. The man had inherited some of his father's intelligence.
The trio looked over at the terrified queen as she stood.
"Sir Robert, if I am to die here—"
He hurried over to his monarch. "Don't say that, Your Majesty."
"I would destroy myself, rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself."
"This is hardly the time to worry about your valuables." The Doctor commented.
"Thank you for your opinion, but there is nothing more valuable than this." The queen reached inside her bag and pulled out a beautiful white diamond the size of her hand.
The Koh-I-Noor.
"This was given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die."
"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough." The Guardian commented.
"Why do you travel with it?" The Doctor asked.
"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew, the Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting."
"Why?" The Guardian frowned at the nearly perfect gem.
"My late husband had it cut down many times. He always said that the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished."
"Shine..." The Guardian breathed. "Oh!" That was brilliant!
The Doctor, Sir Robert, and Queen Victoria turned to her.
"Oh! The shine! Doctor, you said that the magnification on the telescope was way over the top?"
He nodded.
"What if it's not a telescope? Prisms reflect light!" It all became clear. The observatory—everything in the room was placed deliberately. Planned. Untouched except for cleaning since Sir Robert's father died.
"Oh!" The Doctor grinned, beginning to understand. "Fantastic!"
"Your Majesty, this house is a trap for you. Closest manor house to the monastery—easiest place to transport the Wolf to. Sir Robert's father was a close friend of your late husband, so you'd never suspect that your weren't safe here. But Sir Robert's father had spoken with the Wolf." She pointed at the man. "You said he learned it's purpose?"
Sir Robert nodded. "That's what he told me."
"Then he knew. And, as a loyal subject of the Crown as well as a friend of the Prince Consort, he told Prince Albert. And they planned."
"Planned what, Mrs. McCrimmon?"
"To set a trap in the trap. One for the Wolf."
A shower of plaster dust made them all look up. The Wolf had climbed up onto the glass dome.
The glass cracked.
"Well, Your Majesty, I do hope you are well rested, as it seems it's time to run again."
"Run!" The Doctor grabbed her hand and the group ran for the door and began pulling the furniture out of the way.
The Wolf broke through the glass, landing on the desk where they had all been standing moments before.
As soon as the door was opened, the Guardian shoved Queen Victoria into the hall first. "Get to the observatory, Ma'am!"
The Guardian turned and rapidly fired four shots before slamming the doors shut and fleeing down the hall after everyone else.
Behind her, she heard the Wolf pull open the doors and advance quickly behind her. She ran as fast as she could, knowing that if she turned the Wolf would have her in a moment.
In front of her, she could see the Doctor look back, panic written in his expression.
'Run, Amadahy!'
His voice distracted her for just a moment, but it was enough. She tripped on a carpet. With a quick crouch, she was able to turn the fall into a roll and jump up to her feet, not that it mattered. She closed her eyes and waited for the Wolf's claws.
There was a splash of water.
Pained growls followed.
The Guardian opened her eyes to see the Wolf stumbling away. She looked to the side. Lady Isobel and the maids stood there.
"Good shot." She remarked, just before familiar, possessive hands grabbed her waist and spun her around. Her husband's lips fiercely claimed hers.
'Now I nearly lost you.'
'But we're all alright. Which is more than I can say for the queen if we don't stop that Wolf.' The Guardian pulled away from the Doctor. She looked over at one of the maids, since Lady Isobel and Sir Robert were talking. "Mistletoe?"
The girl nodded.
"Right." The Doctor nodded. "To the observatory."
Sir Robert kissed his wife once more, his hands briefly falling to her stomach. The Guardian felt a slight jolt when she saw Lady Isobel touch her stomach also.
It wasn't just Lady Isobel that Sir Robert was protecting, it was his child also.
Lady Isobel hurried past the Guardian with tears in her eyes.
"Lady Isobel," she called softly.
The woman glanced back at her.
"I'll make sure he remains safe."
The younger woman smiled slightly and nodded. Then she turned to the maids. "Girls, come with me. Down the back stairs, back the kitchens. Quickly!"
Sir Robert watched his wife go sadly, like he thought he'd never see her again. "The observatory's this way." He said to the Doctor and the Guardian after a moment.
The group hurried down the hall and up one more flight of stairs.
The Doctor stopped just outside the door. "No mistletoe in these doors. Your father wanted the Wolf to get inside. I need time, though. Is there any way of barricading this?"
The Guardian pushed the queen through the doors.
"Just do your work, and I'll defend it." Sir Robert replied.
That would mean he would be out here when the Wolf came. "No," the Guardian broke in firmly. "Doctor, get started. Sir Robert, I promised your wife that I would ensure you remained safe, and I intend to do so. I will defend the door."
"No!" the Doctor shouted, at the same time that Sir Robert spoke, "Mrs. McCrimmon, I am not a coward who will let a woman do my task. I betrayed my Queen, now I will defend her with my life, so that my wife and child will remember me with honor."
The Guardian sighed, frustrated. "Doctor, you're wasting precious time. Sir Robert, your child won't remember you at all. Now get inside and defend the queen. I've got a lot more combat experience than you."
Sir Robert looked doubtful, so she just shoved him through the doors and pulled them shut. She faced away from them and took a deep breath, one by one tuning her senses to focus on what was in front of her, and blocking out any thoughts of what was going on in the room at her back, including the Doctor's telepathic protests.
She heard the Wolf bounding up the stairs. A moment later, it appeared. The Guardian raised her gun and began firing. The animal fell back at the first few shots, then it seemed to learn how to ignore them as it advanced.
The Guardian didn't dare stop her firing to power the gun up higher.
The Wolf batted the gun out of her hands, throwing it against the wall. The Guardian fell back against the doors, waiting to die for the second time that night.
She suddenly found herself pulled backwards. She stumbled a little, backing further into the room as she regained her balance.
Sir Robert slammed the doors shut and pushed against them, trying to keep them closed.
'Ready yet, Eltanin?'
'Almost!'
The Guardian joined Sir Robert at the doors, bracing them against the Wolf's beatings. "Your Majesty, get to the other side of the room!"
"Now!" The Doctor shouted as the light chamber powered up, glowing with moonlight.
The Guardian grabbed Sir Robert's arm and pulled him out of the way.
The Doctor slid the diamond across the floor. It caught in the spot where the magnified light hit the floor, refracting the light back upwards and magnifying it even more.
The Wolf broke though and was almost immediately caught up in the powerful light beam. It was lifted several feet in the air, arms spread as though it was being crucified.
The Guardian watched in horror as it turned back into the form of a very young man. He looked down, directly at her.
"Make it brighter. Let me go."
The Guardian stared at him sadly, her hand absently drifting to her stomach. One of her own children was a boy. This young man was someone's son once, before the werewolf carved out everything he was and everything he could have been in order to make room for itself.
"Please, my sister. Free me from my master."
Something snapped in the Guardian's mind and she nodded once, stiffly. She walked over to the light chamber and adjusted the magnification. The young man morphed back into the shape of a wolf. With a howl, he vanished. The light beam disappeared with him.
The Guardian released a breath, nearly collapsing into the Doctor's arms. He wrapped his arms around her as she buried her face in his jumper. 'He was just a boy, Eltanin. And that thing destroyed him.'
'I know.'
GD~GD~GD~GD~
The next morning, the Doctor and the Guardian knelt before the queen with the remaining Torchwood estate household watching. The Doctor held the Guardian's hand gently, as though he feared disturbing the bandage covering a cut that she had received when the Wolf disarmed her.
The Guardian bowed her head to hide her slight smile as she remembered the Doctor's panic when he noticed the wound, thinking that she had been bitten. It took reminding him that Gallifreyan DNA and the werewolf's DNA were incompatible for him to calm down.
Queen Victoria held up her sword. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee, Sir Doctor of TARDIS." The tip of the sword touched the Doctor's right shoulder, then his left. "By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub thee, Dame Guardian of TARDIS."
The Guardian flinched when the sword tip touched her own shoulders, not liking having a sword so close to her neck.
"You may stand." The Queen finished.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Gallifreyans stood.
"Your Majesty," the Doctor said. "About last night—I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now, from beyond the grave."
The Guardian saw a tiny bit of softening around the woman's mouth before she spoke. "Indeed. Then you may think on this also: that I am not amused."
The Doctor groaned, mentally swearing in Gallifreyan.
'Seems like I win. And don't use that sort of language around Jacob and Astrid.' The Guardian teased, but she only allowed a small smirk to show.
"Not remotely amused," the queen continued. "And henceforth, I banish you both."
The Guardian raised one eyebrow, not entirely surprised, but it took the Doctor a moment. "I'm sorry?"
"I rewarded you, Sir Doctor, and now you are exiled from this empire, never to return."
'When's our next visit?' The Guardian teased again. This Victoria severely underestimated them if she thought words were enough to keep them away.
The Doctor merely stared at Queen Victoria in shock.
The Queen stepped forward, glaring at them each in turn. "I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars and magic and think it fun. You, Dame Guardian, claim knowledge that no woman should possess. Your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death, and I will not allow it.
"You will leave this shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you came to stray so far from all that is good, and how much longer you will survive this terrible life."
She stepped back again. "Now leave my world, and never return."
GD~GD~GD~GD~
"Thanks, Dougal!" The Doctor called to the man who had given them a ride to the TARDIS on the back of his hay wagon.
They got off and walked the rest of the distance to the TARDIS. Once inside the TARDIS, the Doctor began flipping switches to make it dematerialize.
"Was it worth it?" The Guardian asked quietly. "Worth that boy's death?"
"He was dead a long time ago, Amadahy."
The Guardian shook her head. "I know that. It's just… we're having a boy. And it makes me afraid—what if someone steals them away from us? We're the last Gallifreyans left in the Universe. There are races out there who would tear worlds apart for just one of our cells."
A tear slipped down her cheek and she wiped it away. "I have a family for the first time since I was eight years old and I couldn't bear to lose them or you."
The Doctor hurried over and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his chest, and she felt him rest his chin on the top of her head. "I would die before I let anyone hurt you or the twins. I promise you, we will keep them safe."
The Guardian nodded, even as she couldn't stop the feeling of dread rising up inside of her. Nightmares had plagued her the last few nights. Dreams filled with golden light and fear and despair.
Dreams where her children were torn from her arms.
A storm was coming, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
GD~GD~GD~GD~
Oooo! The Wolf called the Guardian "my sister"! Whatever does this mean?
And what is with the Guardian's dreams?
Yes, I did add Lady Isobel's pregnancy. I have always felt rather bad for Sir Robert. He's stuck between a rock and a hard place, with really no choice but to commit treason, and then he sacrifices his life in some twisted attempt to regain his honor. I knew that I wanted the Guardian to save him, but I also knew that she would need a very good reason to put herself and her children at risk to protect a human.
Next time—well, as you've probably figured out due to Rose's absence, I didn't plan on doing a version of Father's Day. Well, I had a brainstorm about how to work the idea in. So next chapter will be "Father's Day"—or will it be?