Hally let out a soft groan as she stretched in the uncomfortable single bed. Martha was already moving about their shared room busily.
"Seriously, you have to get up." The human snapped playfully, pulling back the covers that Hally had cocooned herself in.
"Martha, it's freezing!" Hally yelped, pulling the thin duvet back over herself.
Martha gave her a stern look and Hally begrudgingly got out of bed. "Why do humans have to do everything so early." She whined.
Martha placed her hands on her hips. "Would you like to swap?" Martha motioned down to the maid dress and apron she was wearing and Hally grimaced.
"No, thank you." She smiled sweetly at the human and quickly got herself dressed. Martha helped her tie up her long hair into a suitable up-do, Hally having no hope of doing it herself seeing as their little shared room didn't have a mirror.
"There you go." Martha stepped back, admiring her handiwork. Hally patted her hair gently, nodding in approval. She looked down at herself.
"God, I hate looking like a 20th Century librarian." Hally muttered, fiddling irritably with the collar on her blouse, glaring at her long black skirt which she seemed to trip on, on a daily basis.
Martha smirked. "Oh but you are a 20th Century librarian."
Hally shot her a glare.
Martha laughed and Hally's face relaxed into a smile. "Just one more month to go." The human nodded in a determined fashion. "We can do this."
"Once this is over, he'd better take us somewhere nice." Hally pouted. "Midnight… or Limnos 4 or something." Hally closed her eyes, imagining sunbathing under the warmth of a far-off sun. Before she sighed and opened her eyes again. Met with the miserable greyness of their current surroundings.
Martha raised an eyebrow. "I don't know where those places are, but as long as I don't have to clean up after 15-year-old boys, I'd be happy."
Hally grinned. "Oh yes."
"Right, I'm going to go and get 'Mr Smith' his breakfast. I will see you later." Martha smiled and headed out. Hally followed shortly after, finding herself her own breakfast before heading towards the library.
Her official title at Farringham School for Boys was 'Bookkeeper'. She would spend most of her day ordering the books in the library, noting any books for repair, checking books out and in when they were needed and quite often rescuing books from being abandoned in classrooms.
"Good morning, Miss Smith." Hally turned as she came to the door of the library, keys already out to unlock the doors to see Mr John Smith, smiling kindly at her.
"There's no one around, you can call me by my name, father." She quipped back at him, motioning to the otherwise empty hallway.
He nodded slowly. "Yes I know, but I don't want to appear too familiar. Trust me, you cause these boys enough of a distraction, I can't imagine the chaos in my classroom if they found out that you're my daughter." Mr Smith shifted from side to side, giving her an almost stern look.
Hally laughed, unlocking the door to the library. "Perhaps you should be teaching them to be less distracted." She gave him a smile, before heading inside.
Hally allowed herself a soft sigh as she sat behind her desk, resigning herself to the mundane tasks of the day. Her mind wandered back to the human form of her father, she couldn't help but miss The Doctor.
The Doctor, Martha and Hally tumbled into the TARDIS, narrowly missing the blaster shot that whizzed over the top of them.
The Doctor slammed the TARDIS doors shut, turning on the two women. "Did they see you?!" He asked, looking between them both wildly.
"No." Hally answered confidently.
"I don't know." Martha faltered.
"Martha, it's important. Did they see your face?" He grabbed onto his companion.
Martha shook her head quickly. "No, they couldn't have."
The Doctor ran over to the console, setting the TARDIS in motion as swiftly as possible. Hally moved over to check the monitor. "They're following us." She noted darkly, looking up at The Doctor.
Martha joined Hally at the monitor, taking a look at the screen. "How can they do that? We've got a time machine."
"Stolen technology. They've got a Time Agent's vortex manipulator. They can follow us wherever we go, right across the universe. They're never going to stop, unless…" The Doctor paused, an idea obviously forming in his mind. "I'll have to do it. Martha, Hally, you trust me, don't you?"
"Of course I do." Martha answered instantly.
The Doctor turned to his daughter and she nodded. "Yes."
"Because this will all depend on the both of you." He took a Gallifreyan fob watch from the top of the console. "This watch is me." He started to explain. Hally's eyes widened. Cottoning on to his train of thought.
"Oh… fuck."
"Language." The Doctor pointed at his daughter quickly, before explaining for the human. "Those creatures are hunters. They can sniff out anyone, and me being a Time Lord, well, I'm unique. They can track me down across the whole of time and space. They can smell me, they haven't seen me. And their life span will be running out, so we hide. Wait for them to die…"
Martha looked confused. "But they can track us down."
"That's why I've got to do it. I have to stop being a Time Lord. I'm going to become human."
"What about me…?" Hally frowned, looking nervously at the fob watch still in The Doctor's hand.
The Doctor nodded at his daughter. "I'm not risking the Chameleon Arch on you… you're only part Time Lord and I've no clue how your biology would react. But, that being said, you're already part human. We can hide the other parts of you with this..." The Doctor disappeared under the console for a few seconds, before reappearing with what looked like a black rubber band. "This is a Bio-dampener. Simple technology but I'm hoping that'll mean it's all the more undetectable." He moved closer to her and helped push it onto her wrist. Turning her arm over he pressed and held the dampener, three green lights on the wrist strap flicked on.
"But you'll still have to blend in. Appear completely human. They won't have locked onto your scent because it's totally unique. They won't have a clue what you are so we'll make you appear human. But that means no powers, no telepathy, nothing. Understood?" The Doctor was still gripping her arm, his eyes locked onto hers.
Hally nodded. "Okay, I understand."
He nodded, turned again to the console and lowered the Chameleon Arch from the ceiling of the TARDIS.
"What does it do?" Martha asked nervously.
"It rewrites your biology. So he'll set it to human and then literally every cell in his body will change… He'll become completely human." Hally explained for Martha as The Doctor placed the fob watch inside the headset and began to connect himself.
"Now, the Tardis will take care of everything. Invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. Can't do the same for you. You'll just have to improvise. I should have just enough residual awareness to let you in… although biologically Hally we'll still be related… so I'd suggest sticking to that."
The Chameleon Arch was ready, The Doctor bracing to initiate.
"But, hold on. If you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it going to hurt?" Martha asked, Hally could see the fear on the human's face.
The Doctor nodded. "Oh, yeah. It hurts."
Hally frowned, remembering the pain on The Doctor's face as the device had rewritten his cells. She pulled her left sleeve down, making sure the bio-dampener was properly covered.
As the bell rang to signify lunchtime, Hally decided to take the opportunity to deliver the dozen textbooks she'd promised for Mr Phillips' afternoon classes. She traversed the corridor carefully, trying her best to not drop the small mountain of books.
Baines and Hutchinson, two of the older boys rounded the corner and spotted her. Hally paused, expecting the boys to move aside and let her pass. They did not.
Instead, they stopped directly in front of her. Blocking her path completely. Hally turned slightly, so she could address both boys without the books obstructing her view.
Hutchinson smiled patronisingly. "Now, now, Miss Smith, don't tell me you're carrying those books all on your own."
Hally looked between them, noting that neither boy seemed to be inclined to offer to take any of the books.
Hally didn't smile back. "I can manage, they're really not that heavy." She stepped towards them, but they remained in her way. Before she could stop herself, she accidentally rolled her eyes. "However, there seems to be something large and dense blocking my way."
Baines sniggered. "You'd do well to watch that sharp tongue of yours, Miss Smith. You might cut yourself."
Hutchinson smirked at his friend and stepped slightly to the side, leaving Hally a small gap in which to pass through the middle of them to continue on her way. She started forward but was stopped again when Hutchinson caught her waist. Now stuck between both boys, Hutchinson behind her, his hand firm on her waist, keeping her still.
She heard his voice over the top of her head. "Although, I have to say, Baines, I do love breaking in a stubborn bit of skirt."
Then, he released her waist and Hally stepped out from between them as quickly as she could. Marching her way angrily to Mr Phillips' classroom. She dumped the pile of books on his desk unnecessarily loudly, snapping out an apology to him as she turned on her heel and left.
She almost went barrelling straight into Martha as the young human skidded out into the corridor. "Hally, it's The Doctor! Wait-…" Martha frowned, taking in Hally's flushed appearance. "Are you alright?"
Hally nodded shortly. "Nothing I can't handle. Did you say something had happened to 'Mr Smith'?" Hally asked Martha pointedly.
Martha grabbed Hally's arm and started to pull her in the opposite direction, up the staircase and towards Mr Smith's office. "Oh yes, sorry! So Jenny overheard Mr Matthews talking with the Headmaster about covering Mr Smith's classes for the rest of the afternoon because he fell down the stairs!" Hally's eyes widened.
"Oh god, is he ok?" Hally asked, still being dragged by the human.
"We're going to find out." Martha concluded and barged straight into the office of John Smith.
Hally followed behind her, happy to let the human take the lead when she saw John Smith sitting on the other side of his office, Nurse Redfern tending to his head.
"Is he all right?" Martha stormed over to him.
Nurse Redfern bristled. "Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."
Hally ignored the two women and went straight over to Mr Smith, touching him gently on the shoulder she took a look at the back of his head. Looked like superficial damage only.
Martha walked back over to the door she'd just barged through, knocking childishly to make a point.
"We heard you fell down the stairs…" Hally asked. Mr Smith tried to brush it off.
"Have you checked for concussion?" Martha asked Nurse Redfern.
"I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you." The older woman sniped back.
Hally and Martha locked eyes for a moment.
Martha let out a slow breath. "Sorry. I'll just… tidy your things." She turned and began to move a few items around the room.
Hally sat next to Mr Smith. He gave her a sympathetic smile and touched her arm gently as if to comfort her. "I'm sorry, I must have given you such a fright."
"It's fine…As long as you're alright." Hally forced herself to smile back at him.
Mr Smith nodded, before turning to look back at Nurse Redfern. "I was just telling Nurse Redfern, Matron, about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales. I keep imagining that I'm someone else and that I'm hiding…"
"Oh…?" Hally tried to keep the wariness from her voice. Hoping that if she feigned disinterest he'd perhaps drop the topic.
But the nurse was intrigued. "Hiding? In what way?"
The Doctor continued, explaining to Nurse Redfern his nightly dreams about being an explorer with two hearts. He picked up a notebook and handed it to the nurse. "I have er, I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction."
Hally stood up, going to take the book from Nurse Redfern. "Oh, I'm sure Nurse Redfern has better things to do…"
The nurse was a little too fast, however, as she swivelled and moved out of Hally's reach. "I'd be very interested."
She opened the notebook and Mr Smith started to explain the impossible drawings and stories he'd dreamt.
"It's become quite a hobby." Mr Smith noted jovially.
Nurse Redfern smiled coyly. "It's wonderful. And quite an eye for the pretty girls." She pointed to a particular page.
Mr Smith blushed. "Oh no, no, she's just an invention." He stumbled out. "This character, Rose. I call her, Rose. Seems to disappear later on."
Nurse Redfern turned the book towards Hally. "Oh look, Miss Smith there you are too." The nurse smiled excitably at Hally as she showed her the small sketch.
"Wonderful." Hally bit out.
To Hally and Martha's dismay, Mr Smith insisted that Nurse Redfern take the book to read. Martha gave Hally a look and a nod towards the door, indicating that they should both follow the nurse and retrieve the book. Hally gave her a subtle nod back and was about the follow her out when Mr Smith called her back in.
"Hally, could I have a moment?"
She motioned for Martha to go ahead without her before turning back to her father. "Of course. What is it?"
Mr Smith leant back against the armrest of his sofa, a worried frown on his face. "I overheard Hutchinson talking earlier about…"
Hally cut him off. "Those boys are disgusting."
He lowered his chin slightly, scolding her. "Now, now… they're young gentlemen. Don't forget your place."
Hally tensed. "And what is that supposed to mean? Where exactly is my place?" There was no chance Mr Smith had missed the heavy insinuation lacing her words.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you're a young woman now. A beautiful young woman and while I know you do like to keep yourself busy. Someday soon you'll really have to find yourself a good man and settle down."
"Well, I hardly think I'm going to find any here." She countered back, matching his stance by crossing her arms.
He frowned and shook his head, genuinely disappointed. "Nonsense. You know you really should learn to respect your superiors."
Hally had to physically grit her teeth together to stop herself from screaming at him. After a long moment, she managed to push out stiffly. "Can I go now?"
"You will apologise to Hutchinson, for disrespecting him earlier today."
Hally was sure she was about to explode. She focused on her breathing, she couldn't afford to slip up and accidentally set fire to the school.
'It's not really The Doctor.' She thought to herself.
'It's all just an act to keep us safe… Breathe…'
"Fine. Now can I go?"
He gave her a disapproving look. "Very well."
Hally fled the room as fast as her ridiculously long skirt would allow.
The evening Hally had joined Martha and one of the ladies she worked with for a drink at the nearby pub. Her father had insisted on accompanying her and paying for the drinks, however, he remained inside with the other gentleman as Hally carried their three drinks outside. She placed them on the table, Jenny and Martha were already in deep conversation.
"But don't you just want to scream sometimes, having to bow and scrape and behave? Don't you just want to tell them?" Martha was asking Jenny.
"It's driving me insane." Hally cut in, taking her seat and grabbing her drink for a long sip.
Jenny shrugged, looking between the two women. "I don't know. Things must be different in your country."
"Yeah, well they are. Thank God I'm not staying." Martha and Hally shared a look of knowing.
"I just don't understand how humans can be so terrible to one another all the time…" Hally muttered, her face curling into a scowl as she thought of Hutchinson and Baines cornering her earlier.
Martha nodded. "And I can't even come to our defence and say it gets much better…"
Hally shook her head. "Can you believe, 'Mr Smith' practically demanded that I apologise to Hutchinson after he accosted me in the hallway? Honestly… the only way Hutchinson will get an apology is when I shove it up his a-"
"Alright!" Martha cut across her, Jenny erupted into laughter.
Martha looked up at the sky, letting out a sigh of longing. Hally took another long sip of her drink. The bitter taste helping to burn away some of her irritation.
"Did you see that?" Martha suddenly asked.
Hally frowned, looking in the direction Martha was motioning to. She couldn't see anything.
Nurse Redfern arrived on her bicycle, looking in shock up at the sky. Martha stood up, checking on her. "Matron, are you all right?"
Redfern motioned up at the sky. "Did you see that? There was something in the woods. This light."
Mr Smith exited the pub and came over to join them, noticing the looks of concern on Martha and Redfern's faces. "Anything wrong, ladies? Far too cold to be standing around in the dark, don't you think?"
Nurse Redfern pointed back up to the sky where a visible light was now streaking across the sky. "There, there. Look in the sky."
"Oh, that's beautiful." Jenny muttered in awe.
Mr Smith smiled. "All gone. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all."
"It came down in the woods." Redfern noted.
Mr Smith brushed her off. "No, no, no. No, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder. Now, I should escort you back to the school. Ladies?" He turned to Hally, Martha and Jenny after Nurse Redfern agreed quickly.
"Umm…" Hally looked back at Martha. "Yes, I'll come with you."
Martha nodded slightly at Hally, following her train of thought. "No, we're fine, thanks."
Hally followed Mr Smith and Nurse Redfern as they headed back to the school. The pair were talking familiarly. Hally watched her father. The man John Smith, existing with The Doctor's face.
Once she was back at the school, Hally made sure Mr Smith got back to his room before heading down to meet Martha back in their room. The young human arrived shortly afterwards, informing her that the light had led them to an empty field. Nothing of interest to report.
"But what do you think we should do? That meteorite couldn't have been nothing could it?" Martha asked as she got ready for bed.
Hally lay back in her bed, thinking. "I'm not sure. I think we should remain hidden for now until something else happens. He's most definitely safer as a human."
"Alright…" Martha got into her bed, blowing out the candle on the table in the middle of their beds. "Goodnight."
The next morning, Hally was hunched over a book in the library when someone stepped into her space. Casting a shadow onto the page she was reading. She looked up and narrowed her eyes when she saw that it was Baines. He was staring at her, not blinking.
"Can I help you?" She asked, forcing her voice to sound polite.
Baines tilted his head to the left, breathing in sharply through his nose. He was silent for a moment. "There are traces on you…"
Hally's blood ran cold. She stood up nervously, trying to act as ordinary as possible. "I'm really very busy, is there something you need Baines?"
Baines, or the creature inhabiting Baines shot out his arm and grabbed Hally by the neck. Hally let out a noise of surprise. Baines tightened his hand on her neck, manoeuvring himself around to her side of the desk. He pushed her back against the desk, hand cutting off her breathing. Hally struggled against him but the boy had the advantage of being slightly taller than her. He pressed her back against the desk. She felt an unfamiliar force press forcefully at the walls of her mind. Her eyes widened and did the only thing she could think of. She pushed back.
"What are you?!" Baines screeched, pressing harder against her neck. Hally choked, fighting to get oxygen past his hand. The pressure increased on her mind, slamming into her defences. In a moment of genius, Hally brought up her knee and connected hard with the boys 'sensitive area'. He instantly let go of her, buckling in pain. She scrambled around the desk and legged it for the door.
Hally ran as fast as she could towards Mr Smith's office. They had to get out of there, immediately. She practically fell through the door into the empty office. She pressed against her tender neck as she wheezed, heading straight to the mantelpiece where Mr Smith kept the watch.
It wasn't there.
Hally checked the entire fireplace before rushing around the room, pushing papers off the desk and emptying his drawers in a frantic panic.
The watch was gone.
Perhaps John Smith had taken it with him for some reason? Or maybe Martha had already taken it to him. Hally nodded, deciding to go and find their human companion and hope that she'd already grabbed the watch.
"There you are…"
Hally whirled around to see Baines standing in the doorway, his eyes twitching with anger.
She looked behind her, quickly surveying her options. Baines was blocking the only door.
He took a step towards her and Hally grabbed the wooden chair placed behind Mr Smith's desk. Baines stopped, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
"Are you going to hit me again?" He asked, a small smirk pulling at his mouth.
Hally snuck a look behind her at the large glass window, she turned back to Baines and smiled. "Maybe later."
She swung as hard as she could, throwing the chair through the glass. Then, she threw herself through, falling the short drop down to the floor. She sprung up, ignoring the protest from her body and started to run again. She heard a scream of anger from behind her and she ducked into the woods.
Hally kept running, checking behind her to be sure she wasn't being followed. Until, finally she made her way back to the TARDIS. It seemed like the safest option and perhaps Martha would find her there with the watch.
Hally burst through the doors and was relieved, but also surprised to find Martha already in the console room.
"Have you got it?!" Martha asked, dropping The Doctor's coat back onto the sofa.
Hally let out a desperate yell. "No! You mean you don't have it?!" Martha had run over to her now, both women out of breath.
Martha shook her head, gripping her head as if it would somehow help her come up with an idea. "What do we do?"
"I don't know." Hally croaked.
Martha's eyes widened as she focused on Hally. "Oh my god, you're bleeding! What happened to your neck?!" Martha grabbed Hally by the shoulders and sat her down. Instantly going into full Medical Student mode. Martha checked her over, helping her remove the piece of glass that had gotten stuck inside Hally's hand.
"Really it's fine. Baines grabbed me but I'll be able to heal it as soon as we're out of here." Hally gave her a grim smile and stood up. "They've taken the body of a human, Baines."
Martha nodded. "I know, they've taken Jenny too."
"We need to go and get The Doctor. Whether he has the watch or not, they'll be after him and he's pretty useless at the moment."
Martha nodded. "Of course. I know where he is." Martha grabbed Hally's uninjured hand and pulled her out of the TARDIS. As the women jogged towards the village Martha explained that John Smith had invited Nurse Redfern to the village hall dance.
"Head round the back, you get eyes on The Doctor, and I can deal with Joan." Martha motioned for Hally to head in through the back entrance and Hally nodded, letting the human take the lead. She slipped in through the staff entrance and made her way into the hall. Instantly spotting Mr Smith over by the drinks table.
He frowned when he saw her. "What are you doing here? Were you invited?"
"It's an open event, I don't need an invite." Hally countered, checking around for any sight of Baines or Jenny.
"Yes, but it's impolite to attend unsupervised…and in such a state…" Mr Smith continued, eyeing her up and down disapprovingly.
Hally sighed, turning back to him. "Look, I just need you to listen to me. We're in danger…"
Mr Smith groaned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Oh not this, have you been speaking to Martha? Look, that girl is not well… I would stay away from her if I were you. I won't have her spouting nonsense into your impressionable mind."
"Please, just listen to me…" Hally begged, taking a hold of his arm.
Mr Smith tutted and pulled his arm out of hers. "No. I do not take orders from you." He moved himself away from her, squeezing through the other people to get back to Joan.
Hally let out an undignified groan, which caught the attention of a young man from the village. He smiled at her. "If you're after a dance, I'd be happy to oblige."
Hally winced. "I really can't right now…"
He chuckled softly, raising his eyebrow to show her that he didn't believe her at all.
Suddenly there was shouting and a scream.
"There will be silence! All of you!"
Hally strained to see over the crowd of people. She could see Martha standing next to Mr Smith and Joan.
"Mister Clarke, what's going on?" A man asked, stepping forward.
There was another set of screams as Mr Clarke turned and blasted the man, vaporising him instantly.
Hally ducked down and edged into the corner of the room. Just far enough away that the imposters wouldn't be able to see her but close enough that she could step in when needed.
"We asked for silence! Now then, we have a few questions for Mister Smith." Baines turned on Mr Smith who was looking at all of them in utter confusion.
A small girl with a red balloon stepped forward to join the mismatched trio. "No, better than that. The teacher. He's the Doctor. I heard them talking."
Baines cocked his head. "You took human form."
Mr Smith spluttered. "Of course I'm human. I was born human, as were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mister Clark. What is going on? This is madness."
Baines laughed mockingly. "Ooo, and a human brain, too. Simple, thick and dull."
Jenny looked at Mr Smith in disgust. "But he's no good like this."
"We need a Time Lord." Clarke added.
Baines smirked. "Easily done." He stepped forward, raising his weapon to Mr Smith. "Change back."
Hally tensed, getting ready to rush forward.
Mr Smith whimpered. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Change back!" Baines screeched.
Mr Smith looked towards Martha and Joan. "I literally do not know…" Hally heard his voice break.
There was a scuffle as Jenny grabbed Martha, putting another gun to her head.
"Get off me!" Martha shouted, struggling against her.
The creature possessing Jenny grinned at Mr Smith. "She's your friend, isn't she? Doesn't this scare you enough to change back?"
"I don't know what you mean!" Mr Smith pleaded.
Jenny gasped, excited by her own thought. "Wait a minute. The maid told me about Smith and the Matron." She pointed at Joan. "That woman, there."
The man that had been Mr Clark grabbed Joan, placing his gun against her head. "Then let's have you." Joan allowed herself to be manhandled, lifting her chin up.
Baines watched Mr Smith with intrigue. "Have you enjoyed it, Doctor, being human? Has it taught you wonderful things? Are you better, richer, wiser? Then let's see you answer this. Which one of them do you want us to kill? Maid or matron? Your friend or your lover?"
Hally inched forwards, time to act.
"Your choice." Baines smirked darkly.
Hally took a deep breath and held out her hand.
The floor underneath Baines exploded.
Maybe March 2008?
Hally stared at the door that had just been slammed in her face. Saxon's sudden change in demeanour was odd. Her head throbbed and Hally rubbed a hand over her forehead to try and ease the ache. She turned and surveyed the room she now found herself in.
It was familiar.
There was a single bed in the far left corner, with a desk and chest of drawers along the right-hand wall next to the window and a full-length mirror. To her left was a small ensuite and at the foot of the bed a wardrobe.
It was most likely a coincidence but the room was almost exactly the same size and layout at her room on the TARDIS. It was both unnerving and comforting at the same time. The furnishings were obviously different and her room on the TARDIS didn't have a window but…
Hally decided to ignore the similarities. It was after all, surely a coincidence.
She moved over to the window and noted the lack of handle or hinges. This window wasn't designed to open. Outside she could see the grey London sky and a small garden which backed onto other gardens. Townhouses backed onto townhouses, their matching white walls and slate rooves. Her eyes were drawn to the windowsill outside the window. She cocked her head to one side, noticing that on either side of the window were two thin black boxes with a small red light which flashed every few seconds.
The window was alarmed.
She frowned. Wouldn't that take time?
Her head protested the thoughts with an ebb of pain. She frowned and moved to sit on the bed, resting her head in her hands. Her skin was slightly clammy to touch and Hally was suddenly very aware of how gross she felt. She checked the time on the clock on the desk. 17:04.
She considered having a nap but knew that what she really wanted was a shower and that was going to be difficult with the dressings on. Hally let out a soft sigh and shuffled her way into the bathroom.
Getting to a point where she felt clean had indeed taken more effort than she'd anticipated. She didn't want to get the dressing wet, having not seen any replacements and she didn't fancy asking either Saxon or Armitage for help.
Once she was done, Hally wrapped herself in the fluffy grey dressing gown she'd found on the back of the door to the bathroom, towel-drying her hair as she headed back into the bedroom. She pottered around the room, opening the drawers and wardrobe to see if she had anything she could change into. There were a few items of clothing hung up in the wardrobe. Business type dresses, blouses and skirts. Hally ran her hand over the items, she could tell they were expensive. But none of them were anything like what she'd usually wear. Running around with The Doctor definitely wouldn't lend itself to dressing like this.
She left the clothes for now and instead sat herself down at the desk. She found a hairdryer and brush to dry her hair. Brushing out the knots took at least 15 minutes. With a small hum of delight, Hally had plucked her eyebrows using the small tweezers she'd found in the make-up drawer. It had indeed been a painful task but Hally found comfort in making herself look less like a prisoner.
Her eyes flicked over to the window, the visible sensors reminding her that she was definitely still a prisoner.
The make-up drawer contained far too much make-up for Hally to know what to do with, but again, it was strangely comforting to be able to cover the dark circles under her eyes and faded bruises in order to get her face back to one that she recognised. She checked the time. 18:50. She really needed to find something to wear before she was dragged to dinner. Looking again in the wardrobe she finally settled on a black and grey pinafore-style dress with a loose white blouse underneath. It was probably the most comfortable thing on offer. Everything else looked like it would hurt her wound to wear.
"Not half bad…" Hally muttered to herself as she checked herself out in the mirror. "Considering."
Hally heard the key on the other side of the door turn and there was a definitive knock on the wood.
She approached the door and opened it, seeing Armitage waiting on the other side.
"You knock now?" Hally questioned, smirking slightly.
He ignored her, moving out of the frame and motioning for her to follow. She did, letting him lead her downstairs and into the dining room. A rectangular table sat proudly in the centre of the room. It could seat eight but just three places were set. Armitage led her around to the other side of the table, pulling out her seat. The other two places were laid on the other side of the table.
Hally sat, shooting Armitage an odd look. He ignored her and went to stand back by the door, waiting.
Saxon entered a few moments later, arm in arm with a woman. She was a little shorter than him, stunning and blonde. Her hair was wrapped up into a stylish bun. Saxon led her into the room and the pair shared a soft kiss before taking their seats opposite Hally.
A strange ache pulled at Hally's stomach and she looked down at herself awkwardly, realising she was blushing. She looked down at her own choice of outfit, suddenly feeling very underdressed compared to the blonde woman who'd just sat down across from her. She was wearing a deep red pencil dress, highlighted by the red lipstick she also wore. It should have been too much, but somehow she pulled it off. Hally figured she probably looked like an awkward schoolgirl compared to the blonde who was smiling sweetly at her from across the table.
With everyone now sat, the blonde spoke. "Harry's told me so much about you." Her smile was kind, interested.
Hally's eyes flicked towards Saxon. "Oh?"
Saxon smiled. "Hally, this is Lucy. My wife."
His eyes remained trained on her as Hally nodded and looked between the two. Finally, he looked towards his wife and the pair shared a knowing look, leaving Hally feeling slightly lost.
Two staff members entered, carrying plates. Plates were deposited in front of each of them, Saxon and Lucy didn't wait before starting to eat. Hally watched them for a moment, finding the situation extremely awkward. She thought back to when Rose had introduced Hally to the human notion of 'small talk'.
"You can a lovely home..." She added pathetically. It seemed like a conversation starter and the silence was starting to feel heavier and heavier.
Saxon chuckled softly. "Indeed. Now eat. You must be starving."
Hally picked up her fork and started to move the food around her plate, trying little bits here and there. It was difficult to eat when she felt like the pair in front of her were waiting for something. She looked over to Armitage, who strangely, wasn't looking at her. She frowned slightly, not remembering a time when the guard had remained with her when she'd been accompanied by Saxon.
Lucy's voice drew her attention back to the pair. "So, Harry tells me you're a traveller?"
Hally looked suspiciously at Saxon, wondering how much he'd told his wife. She assumed he wouldn't have told her everything they'd discussed in their 'confidential' sessions. "Sometimes, yes."
Saxon smiled, clearly amused.
Irritation pricked at Hally as she placed another forkful into her mouth. Her head throbbed again painfully and she couldn't hide the wince that blinked onto her face.
"Everything alright?" Saxon asked innocently as if he wasn't aware of the multiple injuries she'd sustained under his 'care'.
Hally raised her eyebrow at him. "Yes. Just a headache."
He pouted sadly, resulting in her rolling her eyes.
"I'm sure it'll get better soon." He added unhelpfully. Lucy giggled softly to his left.
Hally looked between the two. "How reassuring."
Saxon laughed softly at her quip. "If it makes you feel any better, I've got one too. Keeping you like this is a lot more effort than I originally thought."
"I hope you like your room." Lucy changed the subject swiftly.
Hally nodded slowly, feeling like the pair were sharing some kind of private joke. "It's fine. Thanks."
Lucy smiled, it was almost convincing. "It's a good thing we had a spare room."
"Mmmhmm…" Hally responded, taking another bite.
Lucy continued, shooting Saxon an amused look. "It's a little small, I know. But, don't worry. We'll be upsizing soon."
Saxon smirked back at his wife.
Hally was wholeheartedly lost. She wasn't sure if Lucy was also engaging in this boring 'small talk' or if there was another meaning behind her words. "Right…"
"Somewhere a little more central." Lucy added.
Hally looked between them, her confusion probably evident on her face. "Okay…"
Saxon took pity on her and smirked. "It won't be long. So do your best to stay out of trouble for the next week would you?"
See, Saxon would always say something to make her feel stupid, but at least he was obvious about it. Hally shrugged, feigning nonchalance. "So long as no one tries to stab me again. I'll be good as gold." There was a sharp edge to her voice, she finished it off by sending him a sweetly sarcastic smile.
There was a hum from the door and Hally realised that she'd almost made Armitage laugh. She smirked slightly, looking back at the two in front of her. Lucy looked at Saxon, a hint of worry. He sent a reassuring look back at his wife before turning his attention back on Hally.
"Wonderful." The smile he gave her didn't meet his eyes, a dark warning glinting behind them.
Hally's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Harry…" Lucy whispered. "Are you sure about…" Her eyes flickered over towards Hally.
Hally put down her fork, raising an eyebrow.
"She doesn't seem like…. As you said she'd be….with…" Lucy's eye's flicked down to Hally's neck, where the gold band lay.
"You do know I'm sat right here?" Hally interrupted.
This seemed to alarm Lucy even more.
Saxon just smiled knowingly at his wife. "She's perfectly safe." He turned to look back at Hally. "Aren't you? Just no amount of tampering can fix that authority complex of yours."
Hally made a face of disgust. "Well, so far I've not met an authority figure who wasn't an arsehole."
Saxon let out a bark of laughter, while his wife still frowned. Less than convinced.
"But you will behave." The dangerous glint was twinkling in his eyes again. Hally's head thumped. "Won't you?"
Hally bit the inside of her mouth. "As I said. Good as gold."