Chapter 31 The One with the Astronaut
Enjoy this JUICY chapter!
I own nothing recognisable x
Florence groaned as she sat up, one hand pressed firmly against her forehead to alleviate the dull pain that had once again taken up residence there. It felt like an age since one of her jumps had hurt like this, and took a deep breath to regulate herself. She peeled one eye open to get used to the bright light that encompassed the room she found herself in, noticing the distinct lack of coral beams and preparing herself for the onslaught of boyish charm for her bow tie wearing Doctor.
"Flossssssie!" She heard him call, and his footsteps bounding down the stairs in front of her. "There we go, up you get!" He wrapped his hand gently around her bicep and helped her to her feet. Florence opened her eyes fully and looked at his dopey grin with her own mirroring back. "Hello."
"Hello to you too." She wrapped him tightly in a hug, rubbing her hands along the tweedy of his jacket as he swung her slightly from side to side. It had been what felt like an age since she had seen this stupid face of his, since their moment lying with Vincent in the field. She had almost forgotten how silly he looked with his bowtie, which she reached up and straightened. "I'm going to forgive the use of 'Flossie'."
His beaming grin didn't even falter, and he pushed some of her hair back into place, nudging her chin with his knuckle as he pulled back slightly.
"How are you feeling?" Florence made a 'so-so' motion with her hand.
"Eh, I've had worse…"
"And… where have you come from?" He asked, hesitantly but curiously, and she rolled her eyes with a laugh,
"London! 2007! We'd just spent a week with Mickey! God, you really are a nightmare when you're bored!"
"Mickey Smith! Those were the days!" The Doctor laughed, and Florence poked him in the chest with her index finger.
"And you promised me a milkshake to make up for it!" The Doctor spun on the spot with a flourish at that, running around the console and plugging in coordinates as he went.
"Aha! That I can do! How about… the ninety-third century, where milksha-" Florence ran over and grabbed his hand before he could pull his trusted lever.
"No! No fancy alien milkshake that replicates, like, a dream state or anything!" She told him, slapping a hand firmly to his chest. "A good, old fashioned, diner milkshake!" The Doctor laughed, but before he could say anything, they were distracted by the sight of a blue envelope popping out from a slot in the console mainframe. "Hang on, you can get post?" The Doctor looked at it strangely, and made no move to grab it. "Since when do you get letters?" At the Doctor's hesitation, she reached her hand out to pluck it from the opening, but before she could he snapped out of his daze, snatching it from the slot.
"Of course I get post, Florence!" He told her, before pulling his screwdriver from his jacket and running it along the edges of the envelope. "How else would you get your birthday cards?!" Florence rolled her eyes with a laugh.
"Alright then, who's it from?" The rich blue envelope was turned lightly in his hands, and she noticed there was white writing along the front, distinctly recognisable white handwriting. "Hang on! That's my handwriting!"
"Yes, it is." The Doctor confirmed.
"Why am I sending you a letter? When am I sending you a letter?" The Doctor shrugged slightly, and waved the letter at her with a secretive grin.
"Maybe you're finally writing me love letters like I've always asked for…" Florence felt her face heat up slightly, taken aback by his suggestion, she opened and closed her mouth a few times, at a loss for words. Luckily, the Doctor took pity on her sudden awkwardness, ripping open the top of the envelope and pulling out a white card with the same blue border and reading whatever was written on it. He was quiet for a moment before letting out a loud laugh, throwing the card onto the console and plugging in different coordinates quickly.
"Oh Florence, you sneaky sneaky woman!" Florence frowned in confusion.
"What do you mean?" She asked, and the Doctor grabbed her hand, uncurling her fingers and wrapping them around the bar that stuck out of the console to hold onto during flight.
"Not this you, dear! Hold on!" He pulled the lever with an excitable yell and they were off.
Florence threw her head back and laughed, clapping her hands as the Doctor insisted that he knew exactly what he was doing when he had got himself trapped in one of the cupboards on board the TARDIS for a whole week.
"You nightmare!" The Doctor smiled at her cackling, thanking the waiter as he brought over their drinks, including the strawberry milkshake that he owed her, whipped cream included.
"It was your fault!" He insisted, and she shook her head, giggling still.
"No, no, no! How was it my fault! I wasn't even there!"
The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, before unwrapping a straw and handing it to her with a grin. "Not yet, no!"
"Nuh-uh! I don't believe you! Lies, lies, lies!" She stuck the straw into her milkshake and gave it a taste, closing her eyes in bliss. "Oh, perfect." The Doctor smiled softly at her, before taking a swig of his bottle of coke, only to swallow it with a grimace.
"Yuck!"
"What's wrong?"
"There's not enough fizz!" The Doctor moaned, and Florence grabbed the bottle, taking a small sip before shrugging.
"Fizzy to me…" The Doctor shook his head dramatically, shooting up from his chair with a flourish,
"Flossie, wait here!" He told her. "I need my special straw!"
She sighed as he ran towards the back of the diner, through the swinging door that led to where they had parked the TARDIS, stirring her milkshake with a hum. She wiped her hands on the material of the denim skirt the Doctor had allowed her to change into before dragging her out of the TARDIS, and reached out towards the deep blue of the envelope he had left on the table in front of her, spinning it to face her and tracing her finger lightly over the number one that was printed onto the back.
"Florence!" The woman in question was startled out of her musings at the sound of her name, turning to face the entrance to the diner, where a very familiar redhead was running over to her in panic.
"Amy!" She called out cheerily, meeting her halfway and accepting her tight hug with only a small grunt at the force of it. "You okay?"
"Are you okay? Is he here? Florence, I'm so sorry!" Florence looked over her shoulder and made a confused face at the two that had accompanied her into the diner, a one Rory Pond and a curly haired woman she had never seen before.
"What are you talking about? It's okay, it's okay, Amy." She pulled back from the hug and rubbed Amy's arms lightly in comfort, noticing her red rimmed eyes. "Have you been crying?"
"Amy, look. Just like I said." The curly haired woman pointed towards the table Florence had just left, the blue envelope still lying there with the number one facing up. "Number one."
"Sorry, what's going on?" Florence asked, concerned by their panic, and confused by the new companion. "And sorry, I don't know your name…"
The woman stopped in her tracks, looking hurt and stepping towards her tentatively.
"Florence, it's me… River." Florence gave the woman, River, an apologetic smile.
"Sorry, I do this thing, I… I jump… I don't always meet people in order…"
"I know!" River reassured her. "I know…" Florence looked between the three of them, confusion etched across her face.
"Would someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?!" She suddenly burst, hating the weirdly sad and sympathetic looks they were all throwing her way.
"Language!" Amy let out a shuddering breath when she saw the floppy haired Time Lord stroll out of the door and head towards them with a straw dangling from his mouth.
"This is cold." River faced him slowly, glaring at him. "Even by your standards, this is cold."
"Or, 'hello', as people used to say." The Doctor responded, sharing a confused look with Florence.
"Doctor?" Amy asked, and the alien in question held up his straw.
"I just popped out to get my special straw, it adds more fizz… I wanted to show Florence."
"You're okay." Amy muttered, stepping closer to him, touching his bowtie as if she couldn't believe he was real. "How can you be okay?"
"Hey…" The Doctor pulled her in for a hug, patting her back lightly. "Of course I'm okay. I'm always okay! I'm the King of Okay!" He frowned suddenly, brain catching up with his mouth. "Oh, that's a rubbish title. Forget that title." He let go of her and spread his arms, smiling at Rory and heading towards him. "Rory the Roman! Now that's a good title!" He hugged him too, hardly noticing Rory's confusion, letting go and pointing to Florence quickly. "Spoilers, Florence, don't ask!" He waggled his eyebrows at the other three with a cheeky grin. "She's been ever so naughty with spoilers today!" Florence rolled her eyes at his stupidity. "And Doctor River Song!" He gave the new woman in Florence's life a sly smile. "What trouble have you got for us this time?"
SLAP!
Florence gasped at the crack that echoed through the diner, and the Doctor looked just as shocked at her greeting.
"Okay…" He murmured, rubbing his cheek slightly. "I presume that's for something I haven't done yet." He looked at Florence quickly. "Flossie, any ideas?"
"Nope."
"Right. Looking forward to finding out."
"I don't understand." Rory raised his hand, poking the Doctor in the chest. "How can you be here?"
The Doctor snatched the blue envelopes from River's hand, pulling out the same cards as they had received. "We were invited. Date, map reference… Same as you lot, I presume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence." Florence noticed he hadn't mentioned that she had been the one to write the addresses, and just as she thought it, he caught her eye and gave her an almost imperceivable shake of his head, right no mentioning of the handwriting.
"River, what's going on?" Amy asked, and Florence once again found herself wondering how long they were meant to have known this River Song woman, as she hadn't been mentioned in her last adventures with the Ponds.
"Amy, ask him what age he is." Now this piqued her curiosity, even she didn't know the answer to that question. Last time he had mentioned it they were stuck in a hospital in the middle of the Blitz.
"That's a bit personal…" The Doctor muttered, but River wouldn't let up.
"Tell her. Tell her what age you are!"
"Nine hundred and nine." He revealed, and Florence let out a surprised laugh.
"Really?" The Doctor straightened his bowtie with a smug grin.
"And looking good!"
Florence shook her head.
"No, I mean it's only been nine years since the Blitz!" She stopped suddenly. "Oh my god, have you known me for nine years?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?" Florence opened her mouth to respond, but River cut across her.
"So where does that leave us, huh?" She demanded. "Jim the Fish? Have we done Jim the Fish yet?" The Doctor smiled at the name,
"Who's Jim the Fish?" Amy shook her head,
"I don't understand…"
"Yeah, you do." Rory told her, giving her a pointed look.
"I don't!" The Doctor told them. "What are we all doing here?"
"We've been recruited." River finally explained. "Something to do with space, 1969, and a man named Canton Everett Delaware the Third."
"Recruited by who?" The Doctor asked, staring them all down intently.
"Someone who trusts you more than anybody else in the universe."
The Doctor turned his attention to Florence, his eyes darkening slightly as he looked her up and down. "Did you send her my love?"
The Doctor flew around the console once more, Florence watching his movements intently to distract herself from the awkward atmosphere of everyone else in the room.
"1969, that's an easy one!" He told them all excitedly. "Me and Flossie have been there a few times now! Funny how some years are easy! Now, 1482, full of glitches!" He was barely looking where he was going, everything coming second nature to him in his ship. "Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the Third. That was his name, yeah?" Florence nodded slightly, before trailing her eyes after Amy who left suddenly. "How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose." River followed after her, and the Doctor noticed. "Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?"
"I'll find out." Rory nodded and followed after the two women.
Once he was out of sight, Florence stepped close to the Doctor and grabbed onto his tweed jacket.
"Doctor, why haven't you told them that you know I wrote the letters…?" He looked suspiciously towards where the others had disappeared,
"Because… they know that you sent them, and they won't tell me outright… I don't like being kept in the dark…" Florence moved her head so that she was back in his eyeline.
"Uh, hello, look who you're talking to!" He gave her a smile and ran his fingers over the hand that still held onto his jacket. "What are you gonna do?" She looked over her shoulder. "And, uh… Who's River?"
"She's… I don't know."
"What do you mean?" She suddenly felt very out of place, usually when she met a new companion the Doctor would introduce them, or they'd introduce themselves, but never with the sad smile that River seemed to have when she looked at her. She couldn't understand his hesitation to simply tell her who the woman was.
"I don't know what I'm going to do… but we're not going to 1969." Right, so he was just going to avoid that question, Florence clenched her jaw and stepped away from him, pulling her hand out of reach of his own and moving back to sit on the yellow leather seat.
"Fine." The Doctor looked torn, looking back and forth from Florence to underneath the console where the other three were still talking. He sighed, flicking a few more switches before he let out a frustrated groan, sliding to his stomach and hanging his head over the side of the platform.
"I'm being extremely clever up here, and I've managed to upset Florence somehow so she refuses to look impressed! What's the point in having you all?"
"'Somehow'." Florence muttered to herself, rolling her eyes at his childishness. She and River shared a similar look of annoyance at the Time Lord's behaviour as the three of them came back up the stairs, which made Florence feel worse. She hated not knowing what was going on around her, but more than that, she especially hated when people purposefully wouldn't tell her what was going on around her. Amy was upset about something, Rory seemed to have a permanent face of confusion, and River Song seemed to know a lot more than anyone else.
"Time isn't a straight line." The Doctor began, monologuing to his companions now that they had finally all rejoined him. "It's all bumpy-wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays, and Thursday afternoons!" He almost growled at the thought, and Florence had to stop a smile breaking out at the memory of his distaste of Thursdays when they stayed at Mickey's only last week. Some things never changed. "But now and then there are Saturdays! Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible! The TARDIS can't resist them, that's why she likes Florence." Florence raised an eyebrow at him and he threw her a wink. "Like a Saturday night is my dear Florence." She couldn't resist a smile at that, and she mentally cursed his charm, hating how easily she could forgive him. "So, I give her 1969 and NASA, cos that's space in the 60s, and Canton Everett Delaware the Third, and this is where she's pointing!" He typed something into the TARDIS and dragged the screen closer towards him, letting the four of them come to stand by his side.
"Washington DC, April 8th, 1969." Amy read out. "So, why haven't we landed?"
"Because, that's not where we're going." The Doctor told them.
"Oh… where are we going?" Rory asked, and the Doctor turned and gave them a fake cheery smile.
"Home! Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies!" He told Amy and Rory, before giving River a friendly tap on the arm. "And you, Doctor Song, back to prison." Florence gave him a startled look at that, prison? Who was this woman? "And us?" He noticed the look Florence gave him, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, giving her a quick kiss to her head and leaning back against the railing, pulling her to his side, flicking one of the switches with his foot casually as he did so. "I promised Florence a milkshake and she only had a sip! So, off we pop, maybe back to the diner, maybe to a diner on a platform on the edge of a black hole!" His three secretive companions looked at him strangely, and Florence felt his arm tighten around her. "What? A mysterious summons. You think I'm just going to go? You throw me hints and suggestions and think just because a future Florence might be involved that I'm just going to pull this Florence headlong into danger?" Florence bit her lip at that, she hadn't realised that was something even on his mind, that he had worried about the implications of her future self sending them no other messages or notes. "Don't play games with me." He warned them. "Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that."
"You're just going to have to trust us this time." River told him, and the Doctor scoffed at that.
"Trust you? Florence doesn't even know you." River almost flinched at his confession. "Who are you, Doctor Song? Tell us. Tell her." Florence felt awkwardly in the middle of something. "Why are you in prison? Who did you kill? Why should I let you anywhere near the people I care about?"
"Trust me." Amy spoke up suddenly, and the Doctor replied almost instantaneously.
"Okay."
"You have to do this." Amy continued. "And you can't ask why."
"Are you being threatened?" The Doctor asked, and Florence couldn't help but be concerned by the redhead's fear, what could possibly have happened before they turned up at the diner to cause this, and why would a future Florence get them all involved? "Is someone making you say that?"
"No." Amy told him, but it was hardly convincing.
"You're lying." The Doctor accused, and Amy shook her head.
"I'm not lying."
"Swear to me." He demanded of her. "Swear to me on something that matters."
She paused, before a small smile spread across her face.
"Fish fingers and custard." Florence frowned in confusion at that, but it seemed to appease the Doctor.
"My life in your hands, Amelia Pond." He told the young woman, before turning back to the console with a flourish. "Sorry, Florence! Milkshakes later! Canton Everett Delaware the Third, who is he?" He ran to the side of the console with a keyboard and began to type.
"Ex-FBI." River read off the screen. "Got kicked out."
"How come?" Florence wondered, trying to speed read the information on the screen before the Doctor moved on.
"Doesn't really say." River murmured, before stopping at one part of the file. "Does say here though, six weeks after he left the Bureau, he was invited by the President to attend a private meeting."
"Woah!" Florence had to say she was intrigued by this Canton guy.
"1969, who's President?" The Doctor wondered, and Florence was quick, maybe too quick, to show off her knowledge.
"Nixon!" She burst, and the other occupants of the TARDIS gave her a look. "I… I've done a lot of pub quizzes."
The Doctor gave her a proud smile, and she blushed lightly.
"Richard Milhous Nixon." River nodded, reading the file once more. "Vietnam, Watergate… There's some good stuff, too."
"Not enough." The Doctor muttered, and River threw him an amused look.
"Hippie!" The Doctor gave her a grin in response, before clapping his hands together.
"Okay! Since I don't know what I'm getting into this time," he told them, looking very excitedly at the controls, "for once I'm being discreet."
Florence let out a laugh. "Sorry, when has that ever stopped you?" The Doctor tutted and shook his head at her, pointing to his ears.
"Now, now Florence, listening ears please!" He gave his friends an excited look. "I'm putting the engines on silent." He pulled a lever, and there was suddenly a piercing wail through the TARDIS, he spun away and River took the opportunity to flip another lever, the room going silent. The Doctor popped his head around the central column. "Did you do something?"
River gave him an innocent look. "No… just watching." The Doctor nodded, suspiciously.
"Putting the outer shield on invisible." He told them, pressing various buttons. "I haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power."
"You can turn the TARDIS invisible?" Rory asked incredulously, and the Doctor looked smug, pulling one of the handles towards him.
"Ha!" The second he did, once more the opposite happened, and a bright white light lit up the room, Florence put her head in her hands.
"Oh my God." She muttered, and River pulled the lever in front of them.
"Very nearly."
"Erm, did you touch something?" The Doctor asked, and River sidled up to him.
"Just admiring your skills, sweetie." Florence frowned at the endearment, hating the knot that formed in her stomach at its use.
"Good." The Doctor replied, turning away from her completely. "You might learn something!" He went to the scanner and gave it a harsh smack. "Now, can't check the scanner… Doesn't work when we're cloaked." He paused in contemplation. "Just give us a mo!" He fled the console, heading towards the doors, Florence following gladly after him. He stopped suddenly, turning back and grabbing her gently so she didn't barrel into him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You lot!" Florence turned her head and saw River, Amy and Rory had all tried to follow too. "Wait a moment, we're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth…" He spun Florence back around, pressing a kiss to the back of her head and pushing her toward the others. "Let's take it slow, won't be a second!" Florence turned quickly and gave him a playful shove as he got to the door, laughing and giving her a wink before disappearing out of sight.
It took only a moment before Amy sprung into action, heading back to the console.
"Right then! He's gonna mess this up somehow, so how can we help?"
"First we have to stop him getting shot by Americans…" Florence told them. "God knows the moment he starts talking they'll want to."
"Well!" River told them, heading straight to the controls. "Firstly he was lying about the scanner. We can fix that! Florence, would you like to do the honours?"
"I… I don't know how to." There was a moment of awkward silence between the women, and Florence knew River had only been trying to get her involved, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed by the unknown woman's knowledge compared to her. She looked away from River, once again hating the look of sympathy that was being thrown at her. Before River could say or do anything, that would likely have made it worse, the TARDIS jolted suddenly, and the four of them were thrown around at the force.
"What was that?" Rory asked, and Florence nodded in the direction of the door.
"I think… I think he just walked into us…"
"Every time." River muttered, pulling the scanner towards her and connecting one of the hanging wires to it, sparks flying. "One second!" The screen flashed static for a moment before clearing up to show a close up of the Doctor, pinned to the ground by a troupe of FBI agents.
"Ow! Stop that!" He was yelling out. "River! Have you got my scanner working yet?"
"Oh, I hate him." River muttered fondly, and the knot was back in Florence's stomach.
"No, you don't!" The Doctor called out on screen, and the knot grew bigger. "River, make her blue again!" The Doctor demanded, and River ran around pressing buttons and pulling levers, frighteningly similar to the second nature the owner of the ship displayed. The men on the screen looked awestruck, and Florence knew it had worked, the bright blue TARDIS had made itself visible in the middle of the Oval Office.
"Mister President." They heard the Doctor's voice echoing over the scanner, and Florence noticed that he had snuck away and seated himself at the desk of the President of the USA. "That child just told you everything you needed to know, but you weren't really listening. Never mind, though, because the answer's 'yes'. I'll take the case." Guns were on him without hesitation. "Fellas, the guns, really?" Florence sighed, rolling her eyes, already walking towards the doors of the TARDIS.
"I'm going to kill him if he gets himself shot."
"I just walked into the highest security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug." She could hear him brag as she opened the door quietly. "Do you think you can just shoot me?"
"For once, just stop talking!" Florence called out to him, already holding her arms in the air as the Americans turned to point their weapons at her instead.
"Don't shoot!" The Doctor called, suddenly all in a panic. "Definitely no shooting!"
"Nobody shoot us either!" Rory called out, as the three followed after her, their arms also up ready in surrender. "Very much not in need of getting shot! Look, we've got our hands up."
"Who the hell are you?" Nixon asked, and Florence made a mental note to be excited about meeting yet another historical figure later on, when there weren't guns pointed at her head.
"Sir," one of the shorter men in suits called out, "you need to stay back."
"But who are they?" Nixon demanded rather than asked. "And what is that box?"
"It's a police box!" The Doctor explained, putting his own hands down. "Can't you read? I'm your new undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard." He explained. "Code name 'The Doctor'. These are my top operatives, the Legs, the Nose, and the Hair."
"I hate him." Florence heard River mutter from behind her, but Nixon nodded in Florence's direction.
"And her?"
The Doctor was evasive, and the childish part of Florence was almost more annoyed that he didn't give her a codename too. "Boring question. Who's phoning you? That's an interesting question. Because Canton Three is right, that was definitely a girl's voice… which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from."
"Where?" The man, Florence assumed from his lack of black suit that he was the recently dismissed Canton Everett Delaware the Third.
"Do not engage with the intruder, Mr Delaware." She gave herself a mental pat on the back when one of the FBI agents spoke.
"You heard everything I heard. It's simple enough. Give me five minutes, I'll explain." The Doctor told them quickly, before taking a seat once more behind the desk. "On the other hand, lay a finger on me or my friends, and you'll never, ever know." He placed his feet on the desk in victory.
"How did you get it in here?" Canton asked, suddenly. "I mean, you didn't carry it in."
"Clever, isn't it?" The Doctor smirked.
"Love it."
"Do not compliment the intruder." The same FBI agent warned, but Canton ignored him, holding up an open palm to the Doctor.
"Five minutes?" The Doctor nodded slowly.
"Five."
"Mr President, that man is a clear and present danger to-" The FBI agent spoke up, but Canton cut him off quickly.
"Mr President, that man walked in here with a big blue box and four of his friends, and that's the man he walked past." Florence raised her eyebrows at his sass. "One of them's worth listening to. I say we give him five minutes. See if he delivers."
"Thanks Canton." The Doctor smiled happily, but Canton wasn't finished.
"If he doesn't, I'll shoot him myself." Well, Florence had to admire the honesty.
"Not so thanks." The Doctor pulled a face.
"Sir! I cannot recommend-" This time the agent was cut off by Nixon himself,
"Shut up, Peterson! Alright." He nodded to Canton, who in turn nodded to the Doctor,
"Five minutes."
The Doctor sat up with a smug grin and laid out his demands. "I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilise. Street level maps covering all of Florida. Twelve Jammie Dodgers, a fez and a strawberry milkshake with cream and crumbled Oreos sprinkled on top." He threw Florence a wink and once more she found herself smiling at him despite her annoyance only moments before.
"Get him his maps." He was decidedly put out, but Florence appreciated the thought.
Maps littered the Oval Office, and the Doctor was walking all over them, holding two in his hands while his mind raced at a hundred miles an hour, jacket thrown to the side as he worked.
"Why Florida?" Canton asked, as the Doctor lay out his final chosen map of the state on the desk.
"That's where NASA is." He explained. "She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen like. Plus, there's another lead I'm following."
"Right, so…" Florence sidled up to him, leaning against the desk while he studied the map. "We find where she's calling from, then what?"
"Florence, would you please…" The Doctor looked down at her, waving his hands at her outfit. "You're being very distracting again." Florence rolled her eyes at him.
"Give me a break! I've worn a skirt before!"
"I know, but please… the President is here." He whispered to her conspiratorially, and she huffed a laugh at him before moving away to let him continue.
"I'll go check another map then!" She headed to the sofas but stopped when she saw Rory move towards Amy, who suddenly looked very pale.
"Amy, what's wrong?" He asked, and Florence reached a hand out to help in case she fainted.
"You okay?" She asked, while River looked up in concern.
"You alright?" The Doctor asked as he scurried past them, but Amy waved them all off.
"Yeah, no, I'm fine! I'm just… feeling a little sick." She told them, before heading towards the agents guarding the door. "Excuse me, is there a toilet or something?"
"Sorry, ma'am." The agent who had tried to get them arrested in the first place apologised. "While this procedure is ongoing, you must remain within the Oval Office."
"Shut up and take her to the restroom." Canton immediately countered, and the agent hesitated before allowing it. What he didn't let up on was Rory's attempt to follow after his wife, to no avail. "Your five minutes are up." Canton told the Doctor, who was back to leaning over his map on the President's desk.
"Yeah, and where's my fez?" The Doctor retorted.
Florence sighed and sat down on the sofa behind him, holding up a map of her own and turning it this way and that as if it was going to magically tell her everything.
"Doctor, what exactly is it we're looking for?" She asked, he merely kept his nose almost pressed to the map.
"You'll know it when you see it, Flossie!" She rolled her eyes at his response, abandoning the map and leaning back into the sofa with a sigh.
"Oh, brilliant, super helpful, thanks." She felt the cushions next to her dip with the weight of Rory as he too sat next to her with a sigh. "Does he continue to be this annoying?"
Rory huffed out a laugh. "You tell me when you find out, so far it's a resounding 'yep'."
"God help us."
"Oh, I think we're well past that." The two shared a small laugh before they were interrupted by the shrill ringing of a telephone.
"The kid?" Canton asked, and Nixon hovered his hand over the receiver.
"Should I answer it?"
The Doctor smacked the map in front of him. "Here!" He exclaimed, and River, Florence and Rory headed over to see what he was pointing at. "The only place in the United States that call could be coming from. See?" He looked around, very pleased with himself. "Obvious, when you think about it." Canton leaned in and scoffed appreciatively,
"You, sir, are a genius." Florence gave Amy a sympathetic smile when she returned to the group and squeezed her hand gently.
"What'd I miss?" She whispered, and Florence smirked.
"The Doctor proving his know-it-all-ness."
"Ah, so nothing much." Came the redhead's reply, and the two shared a smile, just as the President picked up the phone, pressing two buttons on his recorder.
"Hello. This is President Nixon."
"It's here!" The rest of the room could hear the panic in the little girl's voice. "The spaceman's here! It's gonna get me! It's gonna eat me!" The Doctor clicked his fingers, jumping into action.
"There's no time for a SWAT team! Let's go!" He swung his jacket from the back of the chair and on to him once more with a flourish. "Mister President, tell her help's on the way. Canton!" The ex-FBI agent looked at him with confusion. "On no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you." With that he grabbed Florence's hand and pulled her with him, following Amy, Rory and River into his blue box with a laugh.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Florence didn't even have to look behind her to know that Canton had done exactly the opposite of the Doctor's words and had followed them straight through the doors and into the fantastical spaceship.
"Jefferson isn't a girl's name, or her name either!" The Doctor explained, while Florence peaked around the column at his concentration face. "Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. Florence!" He pointed his finger at her.
"Surnames of three of America's founding fathers!" He tapped the same finger to his own nose.
"Lovely fellas! Two of them fancied me." Florence rolled her eyes, letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Shocker! Anyone else?" The Doctor sidled up next to her and leaned an arm against the central column.
"Well, I wouldn't want to spoil the fun…" Florence pulled a mocking face at him and shoved his arm away, hardly knocking his stride as she did so, he bounded back to plug coordinates in with a silly grin still plastered across his face. "You see, the President asked the child two questions: where are you, and who are you?" He continued. "She was answering where." He pointed to a lever next to Florence's hand. "Flossie, if you would!" She flicked it down with a grin, she loved that part. "So! Where would you find three big, historical names in a row like that?"
"Where?" Amy asked, her previous bout of dizziness long forgotten, excitement and adrenaline taking its place.
"Here!" He told her, landing the TARDIS with a light thump. "Come on!" He sprinted down the runway once more, grabbing Florence's hand as he went, but stopped in front of the shocked Canton who was only a few feet from the doors.
"It's er…" He was at a loss for words, which the Doctor didn't have time for. He looked to Rory,
"Are you taking care of this?"
"Why's it always my turn?" Amy stopped before she left, Florence waiting for her, holding the door open as she kissed her husband on the cheek.
"Because you're the newest."
"Uhh, technically that's Florence!" He argued, but the woman in question merely smirked, sniffing nonchalantly.
"Yeah well, he fancies me." She threw him a wink before leaving the two of them to it, swinging the door closed behind her and following the Doctor into what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. The blinds were half drawn and hanging at an angle, and many of the office chairs had been shoved to the side as if something, or someone, had disturbed them.
"Where are we?" Amy asked the Doctor, who had taken up residence on one of the chairs.
"About five miles from Cape Kennedy." The Doctor told them, waving a small American flag around aimlessly. "It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't ya think?" Amy pulled a torch from her pocket, shining it around the office.
"But why would a little girl be here?"
The Doctor shrugged, and Florence couldn't quite work out whether he was genuinely clueless or simply trying to make them all work for it.
"I dunno." He said, simply. "Lost me a bit. The President asked the girl where she was and she did what any lost little girl would do." Florence looked out at the blinds that were lopsided in front of her, seeing the three key names printed onto road signs.
"She looked out the window." Amy popped up next to Florence, letting out a breathy laugh at the sight.
"Streets. Of course, street names!"
The Doctor leaned back in his chair. "The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction… And," he propped his head up with his arms folded behind his head, "Florence, you've got that face on again."
"What face?" Florence asked, and the Time Lord smirked.
"The 'he's so hot when he's clever' face." Florence rolled her eyes.
"Oh, you wish." The Doctor winked at her again, Florence was almost convinced he had a twitch.
"Everyday."
"Oh, shut up."
At that moment, Rory and Canton exited the TARDIS, Canton looking around in surprise at his new surroundings.
"We've moved," He said, simply. "How? How can we have moved?"
"You haven't even got to space travel yet?" The Doctor asked Rory, standing from his seat and sighing in exasperation.
"Oh, you can talk!" Florence scolded him. "Mister 'Wibbly-Wobbly'!"
"I was going to cover it with time travel." Rory explained, lamely.
"Time travel…" Canton murmured, as if he was still in a bit of a daze.
"Braveheart Canton, come on!" The Doctor said, moving already onto the next room.
Florence followed with a smile and a pat on Canton's shoulder. "You'll get used to it, I promise."
"It's a warehouse of some kind." River observed, lighting the way in front of them with a torch. "Disused."
"We've all realised this is definitely a trap, yeah?" Florence pointed out, looking over her shoulder in worry about what was waiting for them in the shadows. "We're all thinking 'this is a big fat trap'?"
"I noticed the phone, yes." River told her, which made her stop.
"What about the phone?" Amy asked.
"It was cut off."
Florence sighed. "Oh, brilliant!"
"So…" River continued. "How did the child phone from here?"
"Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?" Amy asked, and Florence gave her a deadpan look.
"Amy, let's be serious, and look at who we're with." The Doctor's head popped up from behind a shelf he had been examining.
"I resent that!" They wandered further into the warehouse, past various disused equipment and ducking under loose hanging wires.
"Now, why would a little girl be here?" River asked.
"I don't know. Let's find her and ask her." The Doctor responded, and reached out in the darkness for Florence's hand, without missing a step he entangled their fingers together and led her through the minefield of gadgetry. Florence frowned when River's torchlight bounced off of what looked like an operation table, pulling the Doctor towards it.
"Hang on, what's that?"
River circled the table, poking at the wires so they swung ominously. "It's non-terrestrial, definitely alien, probably not even from this time zone." The Doctor let go of Florence's hand, running over to the crates that had been left open nearby, sticking out from them some very familiar white suits.
"Which is odd, because look at this!"
"Wait a minute! They're from Earth!" The Doctor laughed, throwing the helmet at her, which she caught with a grunt, it was heavier than she had imagined, they shared an amused look.
"Cutting edge too!" The Doctor praised. "This is from the space program."
"Stolen?" River wondered, and Amy looked confused.
"What, by aliens?"
"Apparently." The Doctor muttered, before making 'gimme' motions towards Florence, who laughed slightly and helped him fit it onto his head. She gave the gold visor and sharp knock and he batted her hands away.
"But, why?" Amy asked, snapping the two of them out of their playtime. "I mean, if you can make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?"
"Maybe because it's cooler?!" The Doctor argued, doing a spin in his new outfit. "Look how cool this stuff is!" He pulled up the visor and Florence couldn't help but smile at his stupid face.
"Cool aliens?" Amy asked, and the Doctor posed slightly.
"Well, what would you call me?"
"An alien." Amy replied casually, and Florence laughed, knocking the visor down over the Doctor's affronted face.
"Oi!"
They were distracted by the arrival of Rory and a slightly less shocked looking Canton, who was instead focusing on looking around at the alien equipment they had found.
"Er, I think he's okay now."
"Ah!" The Doctor exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "Back with us, Canton?"
"Like your wheels." Canton said casually, motioning back towards the TARDIS.
"That's my boy!" The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past. "So, come on! Little girl. Let's find her." Florence nodded, hurrying after him and barely hesitating when he held his hand out for her without looking once again.
"You're doing that thing again." He swung her hand lightly.
"Doing what?" Florence squeezed said hand to get him to focus.
"That walking away and expecting us to follow thing."
"And did you?" He asked, his pace slowing ever so slightly that let her know he was listening.
"Did I what?"
"Follow me." She pulled him to a stop not too far from where the rest of them were looking around.
"Doctor." He looked at her, frowning slightly at her sudden sobriety. "They're all hiding something from us. And we're going along with it. Why?"
"I don't like it as much as you do, but what Amy, Rory and River-"
"Doctor, you said she was in prison! Who is this woman!" She pulled her hand away from his. "I'm sorry! But, you don't even seem to trust her and yet here we are!"
"Florence…" He reached out to grab her, but she pulled away again.
"No! Doctor, how does she know how to fly the TARDIS? Where has she come from?" She shook her head slightly. "If she's a future companion, just tell me! I don't understand why you're being so secretive about it?"
"I'm not!" The Doctor maintained, forcibly grabbing her hands and holding them close to his chest. "She is a woman from my future, our future! I'm not trying to confuse you, or keep anything hidden from you! But this, this is someone that we both only know so much about."
"Doctor!" The woman in question's voice called out, snapping them from their moment, and back into the room. Florence slowly retracted her hands, and walked away from him, and back towards the group.
"Look at this!" River told them, crouching over what looked like a manhole cover, grunting slightly as she pushed it to the side.
"So where does that go?" River ran a scanner over the opening.
"There's a network of tunnels running under here."
"Life signs?" The Doctor asked, and she shook her head.
"No, nothing that's showing up." Florence nodded, sharing a look with River.
"Right then, shall we?" She had made up her mind, if the two of them knew the woman standing in front of her, and the woman knew them, she was going to roll with it. And keep her in her sights. Both at once, ideally.
The Doctor pulled the back of her cardigan gently. She turned her head towards him.
"Be careful."
"Careful?" River asked from her spot on the second rung of the ladder. "We tried that once, ever so dull."
"Shout if you get into trouble." He told her, and she smiled softly as she began to follow River down.
"Keep your hair on, won't be hard." She threw him a wink and climbed down.
River was pointing her torch at the walls around them, following the lines of old tangled wires that ran along them.
"So, a secret tunnel hidden in plain sight?" She asked the curly haired woman, in a hushed whisper.
"Either genius, or ridiculously stupid." River agreed, before casting her light on the corner of the tunnel, illuminating a huddle of figures. Florence gasped as she saw them, they were lanky, even curled up, with bulbous bald heads, greyish skin stretched over the hollow sockets of their eyes and no mouths. She grappled for River's hand in the dark, trying to pull the woman away from the creatures as one stood and stepped towards them, holding a three fingered hand out to them.
"River! Come on!" They both kept their eyes on the creatures, and once Florence's back touched the wall she ushered River ahead of her and up the ladder. She turned away and quickly climbed after her.
And then, she forgot.
River paused at the entrance to the manhole, pulling herself up and sitting on the edge so that Florence could poke her head up with a smile at the group who were waiting for them.
"All clear!" River told the others, and Florence stuck one of her thumbs up at the Doctor when he spun around to check on the two of them.
"Just tunnels, and some wires but nothing else really." Her heart was still beating wildly, and she couldn't quite work out why.
"Erm, give us five more minutes. I think we should take another look around." Florence nodded, and the Doctor groaned in frustration.
"Stupidly dangerous!" He scolded, and Florence rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, imagine how I feel!" She headed down, River following not two moments after her.
"Amy, look after him." She heard her tell the ginger, and as her feet hit the ground Florence called up the ladder,
"Rory? You coming?" River laughed at the dejected 'coming' that echoed down the ladder. The Doctor always thought he was so subtle, but Florence knew he would send Rory down to keep an eye on them, and she tried not to be offended by his overprotective chauvinism. She suddenly felt a wave of sickness fall over her, and noticed that River had the same reaction, as she bent over slightly holding a hand to her stomach.
"You two okay?" Rory asked as he jumped from the last rung.
"Yeah, fine." Florence reassured him, shaking off the nausea, and River nodded.
"I just felt a bit sick." She told him. "It's the prison food, probably."
"Or this rank tunnel air." Florence laughed slightly, while River reached into her pocket and pulled out her scanner.
"Come on, this way." She headed off down one of the passageways. Rory and Florence followed, the two torches illuminating the way, revealing more wires and some kind of substance dripping from the walls.
"I keep thinking I hear things." Rory mentioned from behind the women, and Florence turned to give him a smile,
"Please don't make these tunnels any creepier than they have to be, Rory."
"Sorry."
"These tunnels are old." River told them, reading something off her scanner. "Really old. How can they be really old and nobody notice them?" She turned a corner and her torch lit up a very familiar shape in the walls.
"Is that a door?" Florence asked, and Rive stepped closer, pulling on its handle.
"It's a maintenance hatch…" Rory commented, and Florence looked around suspiciously.
"It's locked." River sighed in annoyance. "Why do people always lock things?" She knelt in front of the door and started to pull what lockpicking kit out of her pocket.
"What's through there?" Rory asked.
"No idea."
"Something bad?" Florence suddenly had a very uneasy feeling about the tunnels, and what they could be hiding in the darkness.
"Almost definitely." Rory noticed the tools in her hand.
"You're going to open it, aren't you?"
"Well, it is locked, Rory." Florence told him. "We've come all this way."
"Besides…" River shot them both a wink. "How's a girl supposed to resist?" As she got to work, Florence looked around at the various branches of tunnels that fed away from them.
"If this is a maintenance hatch…" She wondered. "Then where are the maintenance guys?" The other two paused momentarily. "I mean, someone's gotta be looking after this place…"
"Florence." Rory began. "Please don't make these tunnels any creepier than they have to be." She laughed slightly.
"Yeah, fair."
"Keep a look out." River suggested, and Rory and Florence both nodded, turning their backs to her.
"What happened to you guys?" Florence asked suddenly, and she heard River stop fiddling momentarily. "Before you met us at the diner… what happened?"
"Nothing." River immediately replied, and Florence nodded in understanding.
"Okay. You know, the Doctor isn't the only one who can tell when people are lying." Florence looked up at Rory, who was trying not to catch her eye. "Just tell me one thing… keep your secrets about the Doctor, but was I involved in whatever happened? Was I there?"
"Yes." River told her simply, and Florence let out a sigh.
"I honestly don't know whether that makes things better or worse." She admitted.
Rory stopped waving his torch around the tunnels suddenly.
"What did you mean?" He asked River, casting a quick glance in Florence's direction. "What you said to Amy. That there's a worse day coming for you." Florence frowned, wondering when she had said that, and why.
"When I first met the Doctor, and you, Florence." River began, and Florence seemed almost surprised by her mention. "A long, long time ago… He knew all about me. Think about that." She smiled, sadly. "An impressionable young girl, and suddenly this man just drops out of the sky and he's clever and mad and wonderful." She looked at Florence. "And he had this woman with him, this beautiful, kind woman who would take my hand and tell me it was okay, that I could trust them… Imagine what that does to a girl."
"I don't really have to." Rory murmured, and Florence was drawn back to the hotel room, where she watched as the Doctor dismantled every inch of childhood faith his companion had in him.
"The trouble is," River continued, "it's all back to front. My past is his future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know him more, he knows me less. I've known for years that time isn't linear with Florence," Florence looked away slightly at that, but River's next words made her turn back in shock, "and I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that you feel like you're constantly kept in the dark, but please, understand that it's hard for me… I've known you my whole life, but for you we're just brief spells compared to him. You've met and lost so many of us. The day is coming when I'll look into that man's eyes and he won't have the faintest idea who I am. And I think it's going to kill me… I only hope you're there to hold my hand again." Florence looked down at her confession, feeling quite awful for how she had reacted to the woman, a woman who clearly was such a big part of her life.
There was a mechanical whir and a clunk of machinery falling into place as the hatch finally unlocked. The three were torn from their emotional discussion, and looked at the door in suspense.
"Shall we?" Florence asked, and River did the honours. swinging the door open, smoke slowly spilling out around their ankles as they entered. There was a low humming sound emitting from the central column that stood in the room, an uncanny comparison to the TARDIS' console room briefly flickered through Florence's mind. Red lights pulsating against the walls of the room, and while the tunnels had felt ancient and abandoned, there was no doubting that this was a routinely utilised area.
"What is this place?" Rory asked, and River shrugged slightly, her and Florence separating as they approached the centre. The moment their feet cross some invisible boundary the lights flickered and an alarm sounded around them.
"Check if anything's coming." River ordered, and the man did so with no hesitation.
"How far down are we now?" Florence wondered, looking around at the cavernous room. "We must be miles, otherwise surely someone would have noticed this?" River hummed, approaching one of the control panels and syncing it to her scanner.
"Unless… there's someone making absolutely sure that doesn't happen." Florence sighed, that was usually the case for them.
"There's nothing out there." Rory informed them, coming back into the room quickly.
"Hang on… these tunnels, they're not just here." River realised, and Florence sidled up to her, looking at the scanner that was showing a digital map of the tunnels. "They're running under the surface of the entire planet. They've been here for centuries."
"Which means, so has whoever's been down here…" Florence muttered, before being blinded by a flashing light.
And then, there was nothing.
That was a biggun! I hope you enjoyed Florence's introduction to River Song! I loved the idea of her not meeting River when the Doctor first did, or meeting her when River first met the Doctor! She's slap bang in the middle and as confused as ever!
I'm still weighing up what to do about that whooooole storyline, I'm not ruling anything out EXCEPT any romantic feelings on the Doctor's part - that much I promise you! There is no conflict in that case from him!
See you for chapter 32!