The new hybrid Dalek stepped forwards toward the group of prisoners. "These humans will become like me. Prepare them for hybridisation."
Hally felt The Doctor move away from the group, any chance to follow him was swiftly removed when the pig creatures grabbed Hally and the others, restraining their arms.
Martha was shouting again, but the sound promptly cut off when music started playing. The Daleks swivelled comically left and right, confused.
"What is that sound?" Sec asked, looking at the ceiling as if the answer was up there.
The Doctor revealed himself, grinning stupidly. The Daleks recognised him instantly of course and the usual course of action ensued.
"Exterminate!" One of the Daleks shrieked, raising its blaster towards The Doctor.
Hally struggled harder against the creature holding her and she was about to blast it away from her when The Doctor's calm voice filtered into her mind.
"No."
Hally let out an audible cry of irritation.
However, the Daleks seemed to be ignoring the prisoners now. All too engrossed by The Doctor.
Sec raised his hand. "Wait!" He called. Halting his fellow Daleks.
The Doctor smiled, approaching Sec. "Well, then. A new form of Dalek. Fascinating and very clever."
"What are you doing?" Hally pushed into The Doctor's mind.
This was ridiculous. Why was he conversing with them? The Daleks would exterminate him at the earliest opportunity.
"Don't make yourself known." The Doctor was speaking to Sec as his thought floated into her mind.
"Why not? Why do you always have to do these things on your own?" She sent back. She wasn't sure if The Doctor had caught the betrayal she was feeling.
He replied back quickly, shooting her a stern look as he continued to distract the Daleks. "I know you love to come into every situation with all guns blazing but just think for a second. These Daleks have just created a human/Dalek Hybrid… do you really want to throw you and your powers into the mix?"
Hally's eyes widened.
"Oh…"
The Doctor was putting on a show for the Daleks now, pacing back and forth excitably. He raised his radio up to show them. The device still playing music quietly. "All right, so what have you achieved then, with this Final Experiment, eh? Nothing! Because I can show you what you're missing with this thing. A simple little radio."
"What is the purpose of that device?" One of the Daleks asked.
"Well, exactly. It plays music. What's the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it. Unless you're a Dalek of course. Then it's all just noise!" The Doctor aimed his Sonic Screwdriver at the radio which instantly caused the Dalek's and pig creatures to convulse in pain.
The Doctor waved his hands wildly at the prisoners, pushing at Martha and Frank. "Run!"
They ran.
Following The Doctor, they ran back up through the tunnels. Hally wondered if and how her father knew where they were going. They stopped at a junction of four tunnels, The Doctor doing a quick 360-degree turn as if trying to confirm which way to go.
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
Hally looked toward the tunnel the knocks had come from.
The Doctor grabbed her arm, pulling her lightly in the other direction. "This way."
"Wait!" She wriggled out of his grip, stepping towards the entrance of the tunnel. The knocks came again, louder this time.
"It's nothing…" The Doctor waved his hands wildly. "Water pipes or air passage. Exit is this way, come on!" He tried to pull at her again.
She frowned and turned to him. "It doesn't feel like nothing. I can't explain it but…" She looked back toward the tunnel.
"You're not running off on your own." He said, putting on his best parenting voice.
"Oh, because you never do that?" She bit back childishly.
"Hally, it's dangerous. There are Daleks on the loose down here and who knows what they'll do if they find you." His eyes were wide and slightly panicked.
She nodded and gently squeezed his arm. "I know. I'll be careful. I promise. Please Dad, please trust me."
The four knocks echoed again down the tunnel.
Hally tapped her head. "Just give me 1 hour, then contact me and I'll find you." She smiled encouragingly. She could tell The Doctor wanted to continue fighting her. But Martha was shouting at him to hurry up and it sounded like the pig creatures were starting to gain on them.
He grit his teeth. "Fine." He pointed a finger at her. "But if you get hurt I'm grounding you for a month."
Hally grinned and the pair darted in opposite directions.
Hally ran down the tunnels for a little while, until she could no longer hear anything following her. She let the gentle four taps guide her along the tunnels.
The Doctor was probably right. It probably was nothing. But there was a feeling she couldn't shake. A feeling that something was watching her, something was trying to get her attention.
Hally winced slightly at her own stupidity. If anything that feeling should have made her run in the opposite direction. It screamed danger and if The Doctor were doing what she was doing she would have told him that it was most certainly a trap.
However, Hally kept walking.
Finally, the tunnel opened out into a small cavern. She held out her hand, letting a pool of light flow into her palm to illuminate the room. It appeared empty and for a moment Hally concluded that she must have just been following meaningless noises. As she stepped further into the cavern, she noticed the words carved into the wall of the tunnel.
She looked closer, sending her light further forward so that the entire message was bathed in light.
Hally frowned at the markings. It wasn't a language she'd ever seen. Plus if it were the TARDIS would surely translate it for her. She cocked her head to one side as she read.
A XRDL A'E H KAPPKS PDD SHZKV.
QUP A WHJS H KDP DC PAES PD LHNPS.
ND A PWDUBWP A'F NSRF VDU H ESNNHBS.
WSZS VDU GHR CARF AP TSZCSGPKV TKHGSF.
D EANNSN VDU
"Is this supposed to mean something?" Hally muttered, scrunching her face up in the hopes that if she concentrated harder the letters would somehow unfold into words she understood.
She decided that she'd file away the message in her memory, write it down later and perhaps the TARDIS would be able to translate it.
The knocking had suspiciously stopped now and as she had no clue how to get herself out of the tunnels she reached out to contact The Doctor.
"Hello?" She only had to wait a few moments before he sent a reply.
"Hi! Brilliant! Right on time!"
Hally raised her eyebrows at his loud projection.
"I need you to make your way to the theatre. I'll be there shortly. Not much time but just follow my link!" He rushed out. As he spoke, Hally felt their connection tighten and she became physically aware of the direction her father was moving in.
"Okay…" She thought along their bridge. "I'm on my way."
"Run!" He called through, before going quiet.
Hally sighed loudly as if anyone could hear her, before breaking into a jog. She followed where The Doctor was heading and eventually found herself at the bottom of a ladder. She climbed and was relieved when warm air touched her skin. After all, she had ended up being in those tunnels practically all day.
Looking around, Hally assumed she'd popped up backstage at the theatre and began her quick search for the stage, where she was sure she'd find her father.
He spotted her as soon as she stepped onto the stage. Calling her over to where the others all stood in the stalls. "Did you find anything?" He asked her quickly, obviously in the middle of an important plan.
She shook her head. "Not really."
He frowned. "Ok… I'm sorry." His tone swiftly changed. "In other news, we've got a population of human Daleks who are about to come and attack. But don't worry I've got a plan." He grinned as if his explanation of their situation had been sufficient.
Hally smirked slightly, seeing the look of fear on Martha and Franks's faces. "Of course you do. Does the plan involve putting your life in mortal danger and hoping to save the day on a tiny technicality?"
The Doctor paused and looked at his daughter. "Well…" He nodded his head to one side, in reluctant agreement.
Martha spoke up then. "What exactly is the plan?"
"If the Daleks are going to war, they'll want to find their number one enemy. I'm just telling them where I am." He grinned and held up his Sonic Screwdriver, the device giving off a long beep.
"Great." Hally flapped her arms at her sides. "Well, this is going to end badly."
The Doctor then spent the next ten minutes trying to convince everyone to leave the theatre and abandon him to face the Daleks alone. Of course, no one took his advice and before long the theatre was under attack.
The doors to the stalls were battered down as human/Dalek hybrids marched into the theatre and took up offensive positions. Weapons trained on the group.
The Doctor looked at Hally. "Hally, don't kill anything."
She raised an eyebrow. Tallulah, Laszlo and Martha all looked on at the hybrids in fear.
"But what of the Dalek masters? Where are they?" Laszlo asked.
Behind them, the back of the stage exploded and through the dust emerged two Daleks, leading their previous leader, Dalek Sec crawling along after them on a chain.
Hally's face morphed into one of confusion as she quipped back to The Doctor. "Are you sure about that?"
He smiled slightly at her. "Please, just trust me."
She sighed softly, giving him a short nod.
The Daleks on the stage confronted The Doctor, announcing their plan to turn earth into the new Skaro.
"Oh, and what a world. With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That's Dalek Sec. Don't you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you've done to him. Is that your new Empire, hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?" The Doctor mocked, motioning to their hybrid in chains.
Sec tried to reason with them too. "My Daleks, just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you."
"Incorrect. We will always survive."
"The Doctor must die."
Sec struggled to his feet. "No, I beg you, don't."
It happened quickly and Hally could hardly believe what she'd seen. The Dalek had taken aim at The Doctor and had fired. However, the hybrid, Dalek Sec had placed himself in between The Doctor and the oncoming blast.
Hally risked a look at her father again, but he was in full hero mode. She did have to admit, perhaps his plan wasn't as hopeless as she'd originally thought.
"If I'm going to die, let's give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptise them." The Doctor brought the Dalek's attention back to the army of hybrids stood behind him, their weapons at the ready.
The Dalek considered it for a moment. "Dalek humans, take aim."
The hybrids moved in unison, aiming at The Doctor.
The Doctor called out to the Daleks, egging them on. "What are you waiting for? Give the command!"
"Exterminate!" The Dalek screeched.
The Doctor closed his eyes and flinched as if he'd expected something could happen. However, nothing did. The Dalek cried its command again.
"They're not firing. What have you done?" Martha whispered, loud enough for The Doctor to hear.
The group watched as the human Daleks began to question their orders, eventually, The Doctor chimed in. "Sorry, I got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom." He winked.
"If they will not obey, then they must die." One of the Daleks on the stage aimed its blaster at one of the hybrids, shooting him dead. But the hybrids instantly turned their weapons on the two Daleks and swiftly blasts were firing over the human's heads. The Doctor jumped down off the seats and ordered everyone to duck, letting the hybrids finish off the two remaining Daleks.
As the blaster fire died down, The Doctor rose to his feet. Hally looked up at the stage, the two Dalek shells still smoking.
"It's all right, it's all right, it's all right. You did it. You're free." The Doctor was addressing the hybrids.
A high-pitched siren cut through the air. It was loud, however, it seemed to do much more damage to the human Daleks. Who began convulsing violently.
The Doctor rushed forward to help. "No! They can't! They can't! They can't! They can't!"
Hally and Martha jumped over the seats to join him.
"What happened? What was that?" Martha asked as the noise ceased, as did the convulsing of the hybrids.
Hally frowned, staring at their now still bodies. "They killed them."
Laszlo spoke up from behind them. "Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Dalek masters must still be alive."
The Doctor's face darkened. "Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one."
The Doctor insisted on facing the final Dalek alone. Leaving Hally, Martha, Laszlo and Tallulah outside the laboratory.
Hally had crossed her arms over her chest. "Why?" She asked simply, not understanding his need to go in alone with no protection.
He smiled at her. "Like I said trust me."
"But I can help." Hally countered.
He nodded, resting his hand on her shoulder. "I know… but this is mine to finish. Let me finish this."
There was a sadness swimming behind his eyes that gave Hally pause. She didn't want to let him go in alone. "Fine, but if I hear one 'Exterminate' I'm coming in." She pointed her finger at him as he'd done in the tunnels.
He gave her a small smile, squeezing her shoulder. "Thank you."
The humans had given The Doctor some privacy as he confronted the Dalek. Hally had done no such thing, listening to the conversation from as close as she could possibly get without either of them noticing. It had confused her. The Doctor's offering of mercy. That Dalek had just killed an entire species to protect itself and there would be nothing stopping it from doing it again. As Caan teleported away, Martha and Tallulah entered the laboratory, both struggling to keep Laszlo upright.
Hally moved over to them to help take his weight as Martha ran up to The Doctor. "It's his heart. It's racing like mad. I've never seen anything like it."
Tallulah turned to The Doctor too. "What is it, Doctor? What's the matter with him? He says he can't breathe? What is it?"
Laszlo tried to calm Tallulah, reaching out and touching her hand. "None of the slaves survive for long. Most of them only live for a few weeks. I was lucky. I held on because I had you. But now, I'm dying, Tallulah."
Hally and Tallulah gently lowered Laszlo to the floor, Tallulah cradling him in her arms as she shook him gently. "No, you're not. Not now, after all this. Doctor, can't you do something?"
The Doctor watched, a look of determination on his face. "Oh, Tallulah with three Ls and an H, just you watch me. What do I need? Oh, I don't know. How about a great big genetic laboratory and just a little bit of magic? Oh look, I've got both!" The Doctor grinned. "Laszlo, just you hold on. There's been too many deaths today."
The Doctor grabbed Hally's hand and pulled her towards the lab. "Hally come on. Ready to work some magic?"
She laughed, letting him drag her to a workstation. "It's not magic, Dad."
He grinned back goofily, getting to work immediately as he called back over to the humans. "Way too many people have died. Brand new creatures and wise old men and age-old enemies. And I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, I am not having one more death! You got that? Not one. Tallulah, out of the way. The Doctor is in."
With the mixture of science and 'magic', they managed to save Laszlo, dropping him and Tallulah off with Frank back in Hooverville.
"Do you reckon it's going to work, those two?" Martha asked The Doctor.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Anywhere else in the universe, I might worry about them, but New York? That's what this city's good at. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses, and maybe the odd pig slave Dalek mutant hybrid too." He grinned.
Martha laughed. "The pig and the showgirl."
"It just proves it, I suppose. There's someone for everyone." Martha nodded, sending The Doctor a shy smile.
He gave her a small nod. "Maybe."
The trio entered the console room. "Meant to say, I'm sorry." Martha added.
The Doctor threw his coat over the sofa, went over to the console and meddled with some settings. "What for?"
"Just because that Dalek got away. I know what that means to you. Think you'll ever see it again?" Martha asked.
Hally looked over to The Doctor as he answered. "Oh, yes. One day."
Hally frowned, considering The Doctor. If he believed the Dalek would come back to cause more destruction, why let it live?
She wanted to ask him but as usual, the human was loitering. Hally shifted from one foot to the other and turned to the human.
"Martha…" Hally began, the human looked up at her brightly. "Could you give us a minute?" She added a kind smile.
Martha looked between the two of them. "Oh!" She nodded quickly, understanding passing over her face. "Oh yes! Of course! Sorry! My mum always says I never know when to leave a room!" Martha laughed.
Hally gave her a small chuckle back and watched as Martha left them to it. She turned to The Doctor, he was leaning against the console watching his daughter with interest.
"Why didn't you just kill it?" Hally was surprised at her own bluntness but she needed to know.
The Doctor looked down at himself a small smile ghosting his face.
"Or… before, when the four of them were in the laboratory. I could have taken them all out. Job done, everyone goes home happy." Hally laughed, shrugging her shoulders.
He considered her for a moment, running a hand down his face and to his chin.
"Hally…" He crossed his arms. "Sometimes a battle can't be won with destruction. Would we be any different from them if we did simply destroy every problem in our path?"
"But wouldn't it save more lives to eliminate them sooner?" Hally asked. "Do one bad thing for the greater good?"
"And who decides the greater good? Us?"
Hally frowned.
"We're not Gods Hal… the Time Lords, we were never meant to intervene." He explained gently.
"But we do…"
He smiled. "I know we do. But… do you think killing is right?"
Hally considered his question seriously. "No… I don't… but, when it's kill or be killed?"
He nodded slowly. "I'm not trying to catch you out, but from where I'm standing. If I had gone into that room today with the primary goal of destroying that Dalek… I'd be no different from it. That's why we must always offer a choice. Everything and everyone deserves a second chance. A chance to evolve, to change."
Hally looked down at The Doctor's feet, considering his words. "I know… I do understand that. I guess it's just hard… when it's something that's taken so much from you." She looked back up at him. His eyes flashed with empathy.
"I know. I feel it too. The rage. The pain"
She nodded slowly, tears starting to sting her eyes.
"We just have to be better than them. Doing the right thing, it's not always going to be easy, it won't always align with what you want. But it's all we can do. Day to day, try and be good. Try and be kind."
"Yeah…" Hally muttered softly.
The Doctor moved across the console room, pulling his daughter into a hug. "Thank you for trusting me today." He spoke as he held her.
Hally nodded. "Back at you."
They pulled away and Hally smiled. "You've really earnt your parenting sticker today haven't you…" She gave him a wry smile and he laughed.
She took a deep breath. "No, but… really… thanks for not shouting at me or anything. I understand most parents would be less happy about their child wanting to explode everything in their way." The Doctor chuckled. "Sometimes, I just feel so much. Like everything inside me is just building and building until I'm going to explode. Everything with… home and Rose and… then something happens and I just want to burn everything to the ground." Hally looked up at her father desperately.
The Doctor leant forward and kissed her forehead gently. "I know. I've felt it too. But you can't let that rage consume you. I know we're pretty terrible at expressing our feelings…" He gave her an amused look. "But I'm always here for you. Always."
Hally nodded, giving him a small smile. "Thanks, Dad."
After she'd left the console room, Hally went about to find Martha to let her know that it was safe to return to The Doctor. She found her making toast in the kitchen.
"Thanks for that…" Hally sat at the table as the human also sat with her snack.
"It's alright." The human smiled knowingly. "Did you have a good talk?"
Hally laughed. "Yes." She nodded.
"Did you tell him what you found in the tunnels?" Martha continued, taking a large bite.
Hally raised her eyebrows. "Oh… no actually. That kind of slipped my mind. I'm not actually sure if I found anything in the tunnels. Just nonsense." Hally shrugged but found herself a notebook and a pen and began to jot down the letterings she'd seen in the tunnels.
Martha watched her from the other side of the table, craning her neck to see.
"See, it's just a load of letters. I thought maybe it could be a language or maybe it's in code but I'm not nearly patient enough to crack a code." Hally smirked.
Martha nodded and pointed to the message with the remains of her crust. "It's just a Cryptogram."
Hally raised an eyebrow.
Martha chuckled. "Oh come on? Surely Time Lords have secret codes?"
Hally shrugged. "I mean, yeah… but usually there's no need as we can just communicate telepathically."
Martha stared at her for a moment. "Really?"
Hally nodded slowly. "Yeah… me and The Doctor do it all the time."
Martha's mouth dropped open slightly before she shook her head and let out a laugh. "Ok, well for us humans, Cryptograms are a way for us to send secret messages. Each letter corresponds to an actual letter of the alphabet. So you just have to work out which letters are paired with which. Make sense?"
Hally nodded slowly. "Do all humans know this?"
Martha shook her head. "No… I ended up learning all about patterns and codes when I was prepping for my medicine entrance test." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, the hoops they want you to jump through. Anyway, let me take a look."
Martha took the pen from Hally and started scribbling away at the message. She cocked her head to one side.
"What is it?" Hally asked.
Martha shrugged. "Do you know an 'O'?"
Hally shook her head. "Nope… what do they say?"
Martha motioned to the message. "Well, this bit is all just cryptic subtext… and then this just says, 'O misses you'. Any ideas?"
Hally looked just as confused as the human. "I haven't the faintest idea."
2008?
The first thing Hally was aware of was that something was beeping nearby. Two high-pitched mechanical beeps every few seconds.
Then, slowly she became aware of her body. It started with the ache in her side, slightly dull but chronic. Something felt tight on the back of her right hand. She swallowed, her dry throat scratching at the movement. She could hear her breathing and the beeping. Slowly she opened her eyes, blinking against the cold white lights above her.
She slowly raised her left hand to shield her eyes from the overwhelming light, turning her head to the side. Everything was varying shades of white, from the bed she was lying in, the beeping machine and the curtains pulled closed around her bed.
She let out a soft sigh, the movement sending a sharp pain deep into her left abdomen.
Not dead then.
The realisation was certainly a relief. Although, Hally wasn't too sure she was any better off in her current predicament.
The machine to her right beeped slightly faster as Hally gently tried to sit up. The pain worsened significantly, it felt like tiny needles were stabbing her every time she moved. Once she was in a vaguely upright position, Hally could take in her surroundings. It looked like she was in a hospital ward of some kind. Although it differed from the ward she'd visited with The Doctor. This ward was quiet, apart from the beeping of the machine tracking her heartbeats. Everything was white. It was quite unnerving to be in an environment so devoid of colour.
The only colour in the room came from him. Sat in the left-hand corner of the room on a white armchair. He was watching her silently, face impassive as ever. Perhaps a hint of uncertainty.
Seeing him sat there caused two things to happen to Hally at once. First, her hand flew up to her neck where she felt the cold restrictive band still sitting on top of her skin, underneath it, she felt her ring still sitting against her chest on its chain. Second, was the pure, unfiltered rage that seemed to stem from her hearts and bloom outward until it had burned through her entire body.
"What have you done?!" Hally wasn't aware she'd spoken until the burning at the back of her throat jolted her into awareness.
He didn't move, one eyebrow just raised slightly as he continued to watch her. The beeping to her right had increased, as they both sat there staring at each other it started to slow again. As it did, Hally felt the familiar fog start to cloud her mind once more. She could have screamed with frustration, realising only for a moment that her mind had just been the clearest it had in months. But the heavy clouds descended into her mind and any thoughts she might have had seemed to retreat into the mist.
Her eyes left his and instead travelled downwards to her own body. She gently pushed back the bedsheets, wanting to get a better look at where the pain was coming from. She realised then that she was wearing clothes. Which she definitely hadn't been before. Again, a small relief.
She leaned back slightly, gently pulling up the white, lightweight long-sleeved jumper she was now wearing to reveal her abdomen. Of course, she couldn't actually see where Courtney had stabbed her because the whole area was covered with dressings. She pressed gently on top of the dressing in the place she could remember the most pain.
Wincing from the throbbing that proceeded, she lowered her top, looking back at Saxon.
"How long have I been out?" She croaked.
Saxon's eyes left hers to look at something to her left. She followed his gaze and saw that he was looking at the bedside cabinet, on top of which sat a glass of water. She picked it up gingerly and took a sip, the liquid helping to soothe her burning throat.
Once her eyes had returned to his, he replied. "Not long."
How unhelpfully vague.
"What happened?" She pressed.
Irritation passed over his face. "Some moron stabbed you in the spleen."
Hally raised her eyebrows at the rage that had accidentally leaked into his tone.
He seemed to have noticed too because he continued, tone changing to that of nonchalance. "Few more minutes and you would have bled out."
Hally watched him for a moment. "And I guess that was never part of the plan, huh?"
"Definitely not." He clicked his tongue against his teeth.
She looked back down at herself. Noticing now that the tightness in her right hand was due to there being a tube stuck into the back of her hand. She followed the tube to two clear bags of liquid hanging next to her bed. Again, she gently pressed on the wounded area through her jumper.
Pain.
Although it didn't seem to run as deep as it should. Had she been out for longer than he was letting on? Or perhaps she'd healed somehow?
"Can you walk?" She looked back up at him, frowning at the question.
"What?"
He rolled his eyes impatiently. "Has the blood loss left you brain damaged?"
"Excuse me?" She countered, his change in attitude leaving her utterly confused. "No, I'm not 'brain damaged'." She scrunched up her face.
He pushed himself out of the armchair, moving over to the right-hand side of her bed. He gave her a stern look. "So, can you walk?"
She shot him a withering glare as she pushed herself more upright. Trying not to give him the satisfaction of showing how much of a struggle it was, she slowly turned her body to the right. Letting her legs hang off the edge of the bed.
Saxon watched her for a moment before turning to the beeping machine. He pressed a few buttons in quick succession, the machine gave one final beep before going silent.
Without asking, he took her right hand in his. Peeling away the tape that was holding the needle of the tube down against her skin. He then grabbed a small dressing from behind her bed.
She was about to mutter something clever, along the lines of 'I thought Doctor's had to ask permission before they touched their patients?' but before she could Saxon had pulled the needle out from the back of her hand without warning and was now pressing the dressing against her skin to stop the blood.
She looked up at him, sending him an unfiltered look of anger. He sent back a mock innocent expression that clearly said 'What?'
After a few moments, he pulled the dressing away, checking her hand. It was then that Hally noticed a small bundle of wires peeking out the sleeve of her jumper, following the wires she could see that there were attached to the previously beeping machine.
"There are five patches stuck to your chest. Remove them."
Hally looked back up to Saxon, his instruction taking a moment to sink in. She pulled at the neck of her jumper and looked down at her bare chest, seeing that there were indeed five patches connected to wires stuck over where her hearts lay.
Snaking her hand underneath her jumper she began pulling the sticky patches away from her skin. Once they were all loose, Saxon pulled the bundle out through her jumper sleeve.
He looked her up and down, checking she was free from all wires and tubes.
"Rate the pain from 1-10." He looked back up to her face, cocking his head to one side.
"Umm, like 6… 6.5?" Hally guessed.
He shot her a wide, fake, charming grin and pressed his hands together. "Great. Get up."
Hally pressed her lips together. She could argue with him. She really did want to argue with him but there was something about the way his eyes were glued to hers that kept her from it. Instead, she let out a weak irritated huff and eased herself off the bed.
As she lowered some weight onto her feet and stood from the bed a sharp pain sliced at her side. She grimaced, letting out a gasp at the sudden discomfort. Hands were instantly on her upper arms, steadying her.
Saxon was watching her face intently, as the pain turned into a steady throb she relaxed slightly and his hands dropped back to his sides.
He raised an eyebrow, the question written all over his face.
She nodded. "Yeah. I can walk."
He smiled again, less fake this time. Still charming. "Good. Come."
With that, he turned on his heel, pulled back the curtain and began to exit the room. Hally winced at the pace he appeared to be moving at. Knowing that her own pace would certainly be much slower. She followed as quickly as she could manage. Each step caused a new wave of pain to tug at her abdomen. He led her along a short white corridor, a small reception area at the end next to the exit. The person at reception passed Saxon a long, oversized, black coat. It was a stark contrast against the brightness of everything else in the space.
For a moment, it looked like he was about turn and just throw the coat at her, before his expression shifted slightly, he let out a small huff and circled around behind her. He helped her into the coat and Hally wrapped her arms around herself, as if somehow the coat would make her feel less vulnerable.
Perhaps he noticed this because a small frown appeared on his forehead and after a moment of deliberation, he reluctantly offered her his arm. She reluctantly took it.
He guided her out of the door and towards the waiting black car. As they walked, Hally was very conscious of where her arm and his were pressed together. There hadn't been many occasions when he'd physically touched her. She couldn't think of any moments when she'd voluntarily touched him. He opened the door to the back seat of the car, letting her leverage her weight against him in order to get inside in a way that would cause the least pain. She sat back against the seat, slightly out of breath.
Saxon walked around the car, getting into the back from the other side. Something felt different. It felt strange. Having him so close was off putting. Not that he hadn't been close before, because he had. The feeling wasn't a bad feeling. She realised with a blush that she liked having him near.
'Perhaps this is what Stockholm Syndrome is?' Hally mused to herself. Nothing about any of what had happened to her over the last few months made any sense at all and yet through all of it, he made sense. His presence made perfect, harmonious sense.
The car started to move away and Hally's eyes flickered finally to the driver's seat. She let out a weak laugh as she recognised who was driving the car.
"Have you been demoted to 'driver' after nearly letting me die?" She snapped at him.
Armitage didn't react.
Saxon shifted in his seat next to her. "Actually, he's probably the reason you're alive." He grumbled.
Hally rolled her eyes, looking away from the two men and instead deciding to stare out of the window. "Still, he let me get stabbed in the first place." She muttered to herself, earning a low chuckle from the man sat next to her.
They drove for over an hour. Eventually, Hally recognised their surroundings as London. The car drove further and further into the city, finally stopping outside a large townhouse.
"Where are we?" Hally turned to Saxon.
"Home." He said simply, getting out of the car.
Hally frowned, Armitage opened her door and she managed to clamber out of the car. She followed Saxon, who was already a few steps towards the front door.
She raised her voice slightly, trying to get his attention back on her. "What does that mean?"
He reached the door and rolled his eyes dramatically. "God, you're slow like this."
"Hey!" Hally called back at him, affronted.
He raised a finger to his lips mockingly. "Don't make a scene."
Hally growled. "I'm not 'making a scene', I'm just asking where we are." She stepped towards him joining him at the front door, poking him in the chest. "You're the one who's made me mentally incapacitated, so you'll deal with all the stupid questions!"
A smirk melted onto his face. "Fine. We're at my home. Where I live. It's now where you live." He cocked his head to one side as if patiently waiting for her to catch up.
She blinked a few times. "That… makes no sense…"
Her mind was whirring, the headache that had plagued her for the last few weeks reminding her of its incessant presence.
He stuck his bottom lip out at her. "It doesn't, does it?" He remarked playfully, although Hally could hear there was an element of bite behind his words. He lowered his voice, stepping in close enough for Hally to feel his breath on her face. "Had to improvise." He smiled dangerously. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about it." He tilted her chin up, bringing her face closer to his.
She felt her face burn as her insides somersaulted. Hally didn't notice that she did indeed stop worrying about the nonsensical nature of the situation. She was much too focused on the feeling of his hand on her chin. His dark eyes had her caught, unable to look away.
She barely noticed as his expression darkened, mask slipping. Fog rolled into her mind until she was only just aware of the door opening next to them. Saxon didn't move. His eyes still held hers. Held her exactly where he wanted her. The pressure on her chin moved slightly and something pulled gently at her bottom lip. Gentle pressure, in her mouth. On her tongue.
The feeling was ripped away in an instant, the fog clearing. Hally realised that Saxon had turned and entered the townhouse, not looking back at her. She shook her head slightly, confused by the momentary loss of full awareness. She looked to her right, Armitage was still standing patiently waiting for her to enter the house. He turned his head back to look at her.
Why hadn't he been looking at her?
He nodded towards the door and Hally finally moved to follow Saxon.
He led her silently up the stairs, waiting patiently for her at the top as she struggled to ascend without causing too much pain. His face had changed into a blank mask. A stark contrast to the man who had been stood outside. Hally frowned and traced her bottom lip with her tongue, both tingling strangely.
Saxon stopped abruptly outside a door, he turned a key in the lock and pushed the door open, stepping aside to allow her to enter.
She did so. He'd led her to a small bedroom. A familiar bedroom.
Hally turned back to Saxon, a question forming on her lips.
However, he cut her off. "Dinner at 7." He commanded before the door slammed in her face and she heard the key turning back in the lock.