Chapter 32 The One with All the Counting
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Three months.
Florence had been running for three months.
She lost track of Amy and Rory after one, it was too dangerous for them to have any contact after a while, they couldn't afford to be so easily caught. River had stopped responding after a day, clearly much more used to a life as an outlaw than them. Although she knew River was still out there, and keeping an eye on her, every new hiding spot she had found she was greeted by Grade-A USA painkillers - Florence supposed she would thank River and her's weird non-linear relationship for that, the post-it note with 'One every four hours, no more x' alongside a small pocket knife 'Just in case x' could only be from one overprotective-despite-having-only-met-recently time-traveller, and this time it definitely wasn't the Doctor.
She knew they all worried about her mostly, none of them could guarantee that being this far from the TARDIS or the Doctor wouldn't simply trigger more jumping, leaving her absolutely useless in helping any of them fulfil their mission. The headaches had been almost debilitating, she was knocked out flat most days of the week, and spent the other days trying to create as much distance between herself and the agents as possible before she collapsed.
At one point, about two weeks on the run, she thought she was going to jump, the pain becoming so overwhelming that she really did pass out, but as her vision blurred rather than being able to seek comfort in the soothing voice of the Doctor, all she heard with the ringing in her ears.
She had woken up curled in a ball on a dingy mattress in an abandoned warehouse, not too dissimilar to the one where all of this had begun, with five more black marks added to her arm. With a groan, she sat up, a faint light coming from the window to her left indicating that it must have been early morning, and she knew she only had a couple minutes to get herself sorted before she had to move on. She had been in this town long enough, Canton only had to track the last place she had been sighted in daylight before he would be hot on her trail once more.
She knew they had to wait it out for three months, that was all they needed. Their time on the run was coming to an end, and she was closer than ever to seeing the Doctor again. She hadn't thought it was going to be as hard as it was, not seeing his stupid face or hearing his irritatingly cocky voice, but after four days she was already looking over her shoulder for him to be swaggering towards her. She was feeling a bit lonely, if she was honest. Stuck in a different timeline with none of her friends to seek comfort in, it was no wonder. She knew it was for the greater good, part of the Doctor's plan, but she hadn't been happy about it, and neither had he. Once they had escaped the tunnels, something - though she couldn't remember what - scaring them so drastically down there that they had to run, the Doctor had pulled them all back to the TARDIS, Amy crying and Canton hurt in some way.
Because they weren't on the run, not really. They were scouting the country, keeping an eye out for the creatures they were fighting, and the only way that they could keep track was with the marks on their arms. Not that the US government could know that, Canton kept them occupied with them but distracted from their true objective. Three months, that was all the Doctor needed to keep them busy until 'the time came'. She would have smacked him for his evasiness if he hadn't dropped them all in various areas around the country before she had a second alone with him to argue. Canton had been left in Florida to turn the FBI against them, Amy had been dropped off in Kansas, Rory in Texas, and River in Ohio. With a kiss to the head and 'shut up and let me explain', Florence had been unceremoniously pushed out of the TARDIS and onto a back road in Seattle with a fake ID and credit card.
Three months later, Florence was tired, blissfully tired, and deeply disturbed by how many tally marks she had gained over the course of those months. The wind whipped through her hair as she stood at the edge of Lake Tahoe, the sound of car tires skidding to a stop around her. She shielded her eyes from the sun with one of her marked hands, smiling warmly at Canton as he approached.
As tired as she was, she still wasn't looking forward to taking a nap in that body bag.
Canton knew he didn't belong in the FBI, long before they fired him for being who he was. Oh no, he belonged on screen with the big leagues like Paul Newman, this was the performance of a lifetime. He had enraptured the President of the United States, convincing him of exactly what the Doctor had directed him to do. Now, he stood in front of the bizarre British guy who had some half baked plan that was actually working, who had voluntarily imprisoned himself in Area 51 of all places, and knew it was only a few more days until he could take his final bow.
"We found Florence Jensson." He told him. "Half doped up on some weird dosage of opioids, I gotta tell ya considering how many bottles we found on her, it was almost impressive she evaded us for this long." The Doctor raised his eyebrow, and Canton could see a trace of genuine concern for the girl in his eyes, though he gave nothing away.
"Perhaps she grew tired of hide and seek." Canton smirked, even tucked away in a straitjacket, the Doctor managed to be snarky.
"Well, she won't be tired anymore." He threw the packet of photos at his feet, closeups taken of Florence's arms and neck, thick black tally marks running along them. "Anything you wanna tell me about these markings?"
The Doctor looked at him, simply titling his chin up in defiance.
Rory Williams opened his eyes to nothing but black fabric in front of him, sitting up with a start and reaching up to pry open the zip of the body bag at Canton's words. He felt the Doctor's hands cup his head lightly, a feather light kiss being pressed in greeting before he was gone, clearly heading to the body bag Rory could see sluggishly moving to his right.
"These things could really do with air holes!" He complained, the lack of air and his own stench doing wonders for his unsettled stomach. He headed to his wife, letting the Doctor gently help Florence sit up, her head still lolling left and right in delirium.
"Never had a complaint before." Canton pointed out. Rory gave Amy a relieved hug, grateful to be back with her after three months apart. Despite knowing she would be okay, he couldn't help but worry, it was built in his DNA at this point. Two thousand years guarding her body would do that to a man.
"Isn't it going to look odd that you're staying in here with us?" Amy asked Canton, who waved between them and the tightly sealed prison they had found themselves in, Rory vaguely recalling something about it being impenetrable.
"Odd, but not alarming. They know there's no way out of this place." Rory turned to the Doctor and Florence, who had only just managed to get to her feet.
"Florence?" He asked, heading to her side and helping the Doctor. "Doctor, what's wrong with her?"
"I knew three months was too long." He muttered to himself. "Quickly, into the TARDIS." He clicked his fingers, and there was a slight shimmer as invisible doors to the TARDIS opened, revealing the warm orange interior. Rory helped the Doctor half carry Florence inside, her legs mobile but slow and dragging slightly, moaning slightly with the movement.
"It's probably the opioids." Canton suggested. "She had so many in her bag, she was doped up when we found her, I swear."
"It's fine." Amy reassured him. "She has this thing, she just needs a minute." A 'thing' was how Amy liked to explain Florence's situation, ever since Rory had met the woman it was always a 'thing' according to his wife. Amy didn't like to make a big deal about it, she knew Florence wasn't embarrassed by her headaches, or by the circumstances surrounding her relationship with the Doctor, but she was also very protective over her older friend. By calling it a 'thing', Amy could control how much people knew about Florence, and how much she herself had to worry about her. This 'thing' was just a headache, it was just a small setback, and Florence would be back to her usual self in no time.
The TARDIS hummed as the Doctor stepped a foot over the threshold, a warmth that even Rory felt falling over them compared to the dark cell. It was times like these that Rory was convinced that the ship was sentient, as it definitely seemed to light up when Florence was around. Any iteration of the woman made the glow of the ship a little bit brighter, and whether that was a projection of its owner, Rory could see that with his own eyes. It even worked the other way, clearly, as the moment Florence breathed in the air of the TARDIS her steps became stronger, and her breathing was less ragged.
"Doctor?" She whispered quietly. "My head, it hurts." The Doctor sat her gently on the chair next to the console, pushing her hair away from her face and kissing her gently on the forehead.
"I know. I know. I'm sorry." Rory felt Amy slide her hand into his own, and squeezed it reassuringly. Neither had seen Florence this badly before, but then, they both supposed, this was probably the first in a long time that she had been away from the TARDIS for so long. He gave her a moment before pulling her to her feet again. "Come on, this will help." He led her to the central console, and flicked a switch next to him that sent the weird glowing insides of the glass cylinder up and down, before pressing Florence's hand to it, she cried out slightly as he did but he held her firm.
It took a few moments before he let her go, and she fell back against him, letting him pull her close to him as Rory had seen her do thousands of times.
Florence pulled herself away from the Doctor, her head feeling lighter than it had done in months, her hands still tingled with the light burning she had felt from the TARDIS' central column, but it was more warming than painful. She looked up at the man who held her, her smile falling.
"What the fuck is on your face?" He looked taken aback, and Florence heard Amy smother a laugh from behind them.
"It's a beard!"
"It's ridiculous!" She raised a hand and tugged at it slightly, and he slapped her hand away in pain.
"Hey!"
"I don't like it."
"I can tell, thanks!" He rubbed the facial hair lightly, and Florence pulled his hand away, grabbing his shoulders and bringing him down for a hug, tugging the slightly longer ends of his hair at the base of his neck.
"Miss me?" She whispered, feeling his arms tightened around her.
"Always." She pulled back and gave him a shy smile, letting go and turning away from him, running to Amy and Rory and wrapping them in their own hug.
"Oh, it was a long three months!" She looked around them suddenly, only seeing Canton behind them. "Hang on, where's River?" Canton raised his hands in defence.
"She jumped off a rooftop!" The Doctor laughed and began to whizz around the console.
"Oh yes! She does that." He clicked his fingers. "Amy, Rory, open all the doors to the swimming pool! Florence, sit down and relax!" Florence rolled her eyes but obeyed, she was still pretty beat by the whole 'faking her death with a crippling headache' ordeal.
The Doctor piloted the TARDIS with surprising ease, with only a few bumps and jolts as he ran, clearly being away from his precious ship for three months had done the Time Lord some good. "Canton, get those doors open!" The man did as he was told, opening the doors to reveal what looked to be the skywards view of a skyscraper, with a projectile coming closer to them at an alarming speed. A rather River Song looking projectile. The woman careened past them, narrowly avoiding the console and straight down the open hallways of the TARDIS until Florence heard a faint splash coming from her general direction.
"So!" The Doctor continued once River had returned, towel drying her damp hair and back in dry clothes once more. Rory handed Florence a wet cloth to finally wipe the marks from her body. "We know they're everywhere!"
"Exhibit A." Florence gestured to herself, and he pointed at her in agreement.
"Exhibit A!" He ran around the console once more, flicking switches and pulling levers. "And not just a landing party, and occupying force. They have been here a very, very long time. But nobody knows that, because nobody can remember them."
"So what are they up to?" Canton asked, and the Doctor shrugged,
"No idea!" He always seemed incredibly happy saying those words. "But the good news is… we've got a secret weapon." He stopped the TARDIS dramatically, spinning around and running to the doors, grabbing Florence's hand and pulling her with him as he went.
He hadn't taken them far, in fact he had taken them to the state where this had all started: Florida. Florence found herself staring up at the sight in front of them, lost for words.
"Is that…?" She murmured, and she felt River arrive at her side, her still slightly damp arm brushing against her.
"Apollo 11's your secret weapon?" The Doctor laughed slightly,
"No! No, it's not Apollo 11. That would be silly… It's Neil Armstrong's foot." He clapped his hands together and next thing Florence knew, they were running back to the TARDIS once more.
A newly shaved Doctor ran around the console brandishing a needle gun like a weapon, and Florence felt a sudden urge to scold him like a child running with scissors.
"Ow!" She drew her hand back sharply when he injected her with whatever was in the gun, he rubbed the spot lightly before moving on to do the same to Canton.
"So, three months. What have we found out?"
"Well…" Rory began. "They're everywhere. Every state in America. Ah!" He hissed when the Doctor injected his palm.
"Not just America." The Doctor confirmed. "The entire world."
River tapped the screen of the monitor she was standing in front of. "There's a greater concentration here, though." Florence nodded.
"Even up in the Northwest, the smallest of towns near Tacoma, they were still there." She looked at River. "Those tunnels really extended that far?"
River spun the screen so Florence could see a map of the USA with tunnels stretching out all over, like tree branches. "Seems that way."
"So, you've seen them, but you don't remember them." Canton guessed, and Florence nodded.
"Yep, and so have you. That night, when we took you to the warehouse… they were there."
"While you were pretending to hunt us," River continued, "we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like."
"It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away." Rory told him. "The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything."
Amy joined in. "Sometimes, you feel a bit sick, though, but not always."
"So that's why you marked your skin." Canton realised, and Florence nodded.
"We created our own tally charts. It was the only way we'd know for sure."
"How long have they been here?" Canton asked, and Florence sighed.
"That… we don't know."
"Well, how long do you think?"
The Doctor finally spoke up. "As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall." Florence hated when he got creepy and off putting. "They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head. We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins."
"How?" Canton asked, looking unnerved.
"Like this." He turned sharply and stabbed River with the needle, causing her to yell out and shake her hand in pain. "Ha ha! Nano recorder." He held up a tiny piece of equipment in between his index finger and thumb. "Fuses with the cartilage in your hand." He inserted it into the gun and Florence held out her hand expectantly to him, raising her eyebrows. He rolled his eyes with a sigh and handed it to her, holding out his hand so she could exact her revenge. "Ouch!" He shook it out and Florence placed the gun on the console. "Then it tunes itself directly to the speech centres in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So, the moment you see one of these creatures…" He pressed his fourth finger to his palm, and a red light emitted from it. "You activate it, and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing." He released and pressed his other finger to his palm, his own voice echoing through the console room.
"You activate it, and describe aloud exactly what you're seeing."
"Wow." Florence constantly found herself impressed with the tech she was exposed to in the Doctor's presence, every now and then she felt as though she was living in a science fiction film.
"Because, the moment you break contact," the Doctor continued, "you're going to forget it happened. The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand!" He instructed them all. "If you've had an encounter that's the first you'll know about it."
"Why didn't you tell me about this before we started?" Canton asked.
"I did." The Doctor assured him. "But even information about these creatures erases itself over time." The Doctor pressed a few keys on the console. "I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you." Canton turned away from the Doctor for a moment, before turning back and adjusting his bowtie. Florence looked down, noticing the red flashing light on his palm. The rest of them looked at him expectantly.
"What? What are you staring at?" He asked, and Florence nodded downwards.
"Your hand." He looked.
"Why is it doing that?"
"What does it mean if the light's flashing?" The Doctor reminded him. "What did I just tell you?"
Canton shook his head, realising what he meant. "I haven't…"
"Play it." The Doctor told him.
"My God, how did it get in here?" Canton's voice sounded from the TARDIS speakers.
"Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back." Florence frowned when she heard the Doctor issue commands to Canton. "And when you do, straighten my bowtie."
"What? What are you staring at?"
"Your hand." Florence let out a huff of laughter,
"Oh my god. That's brilliant." The Doctor turned back to them all,
"You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting." Florence groaned, sick of the memory wipes. "Describe it to me."
"I can't."
"Neither can I." The Doctor admitted. "You straightened my bowtie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature."
"Oh God, imagine what they can do with that power." Florence bit her lip, thinking about all the wars and deaths these creatures could have simply planted in human brains.
"So they really could do that to people?" Amy asked. "You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it."
"Like posthypnotic suggestion." Rory suggested.
"Ruling the world with posthypnotic suggestion." Amy added, and the Doctor nodded, already beginning to type various codes and words into the keyboard in front of the scanner.
"Now then, little girl in a space suit! They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?" Florence nodded,
"They wouldn't wanna be obvious about it, too much hassle. Missing child, there'd be posters everywhere." The Doctor clicked his fingers,
"Exactly, the least amount of attention possible!"
"But that could be anywhere in the world? If they're all over the place?" Canton pointed out, but the Doctor shook his head.
"Nah, they'd probably stay close to the warehouse, because why bother doing anything else? But, you'll have to find her!" Florence sidled up to the Doctor as the screen zoomed in on a map of Florida with three red dots. "We're off to NASA."
"Find her?" Canton asked. "Where?" Florence sighed when she saw what the Doctor had picked up on, her heart breaking slightly.
"Children's homes. Inconspicuous as you can get."
"Was getting caught part of the plan?" Florence muttered to the Doctor as she sat next to him in a lecture hall of NASA command centre.
"What happened to 'keep watch'?" He muttered back sassily, and she kicked him. "OW!"
"Now, one more time, sir." One of the men in front of them spoke up. "How the hell did you get into the command module?"
"I told you. I'm on a top secret mission for the President!" The Doctor moaned, before lifting his cuffs up and attempting to gnaw through them. Florence batted his wrists away from his mouth like a naughty schoolboy.
"Stop that."
"Well," the man continued, "maybe if you just get President Nixon to assure us of that, sir, that would be swell." He and his colleague smirked slightly, causing Florence to turn to the Doctor with one of her own.
"I think he's mocking you, dear." The Doctor nodded, throwing his head back with a light laugh.
"I did send him a message."
Not a moment later did the doors to the hall swing open, Florence catching sight of the familiar blue box peeking out from around the corner, and President Nixon appeared, flanked by Rory and River.
"Hello." The President greeted, reaching for the hand of the man who was interrogating them. "I believe it's Mr Gardner, is that correct? Head of security?" Gardner was at a loss for words for a split second, before shaking the President's hand gladly.
"Uh, yes, yes sir! Yes Mr President!"
"Mr Grant, is it?" Nixon shook the other man's hand, who nodded.
"Yes, Mr President."
"The hopes and dreams of millions of Americans stand here today at Cape Kennedy, and you're the men who guard those dreams." Nixon told them, and Florence found herself more and more confused by American patriotism, because these men were falling for whatever their President was saying, hook, line, and sinker. "On behalf of the American people, I thank you."
Gardner nodded, still in shock. "You're welcome, Mr President."
"I understand you have a baby on the way, Mr Grant!" Nixon turned his focus to schmoozing the next security officer.
"Yes, Mr President."
"What are you hoping for, a boy or a girl?"
"Just a healthy American, sir!" Grant told him proudly, and Nixon nodded.
"A healthy American will do just nicely." He punched Grant jovially on the shoulder as he spoke, before turning serious. "Now, fellas, listen. This man here, and his associate." The two turned to face the Doctor and Florence, who waved one of their handcuffed hands in greeting. "Are doing some work here for me, personally. Could you, uh, cut them a little slack?"
"Er, Mr President…" Gardner began. "They did break into Apollo 11… And she knocked a toolbox off the top of the walkway." Florence cringed when he reminded her of that, both her and the Doctor mouthing 'sorry' to the President.
"Well, uh, I'm sure he had a very good reason for that! And as long as no one was hurt… But I need you to release them both now so he can get on with some very important work for the American people. Could you do that for me?" Grant hesitated.
"Well…"
Nixon decided to pull rank. "Son, I am your Commander in Chief."
Grant nodded quickly. Florence was surprised it took them that long to obey the President.
"Then I guess that would be fine, Mr President."
"Glad to hear it." Their handcuffs were unlocked and the two of them stood with a grin.
"Thanks!" Florence told the men chirpily, while the Doctor shook their hands.
"Thank you! Buh-bye!" He clicked his fingers and shot the President of the United States finger guns, causing Florence to roll her eyes, as he headed back to the TARDIS. Nixon smiled at the two men.
"Carry on, Gentlemen." He followed after the Doctor, along with River and Florence not far behind. Though she stopped when she heard a small snap, turning to see Rory holding a piece of the model shuttle in his hand.
"Uh, America salutes you." He said awkwardly, raising a hand to his head loosely. Florence grabbed his arm and directed him back to the others.
"See, this is why we're not allowed to touch things." She muttered fondly as she did.
Florence was swinging her legs from where she sat on the yellow leather seats, looking at River Song as she messed with the console and her own scanner. She smiled when she realised something.
"Hey, it's the A Team!" She gestured to herself, Rory and River. "Tunnel Team!"
Rory shook his head. "That's a terrible name."
"Alright, I'll work on it…" She muttered.
"How are you feeling?" Rory suddenly asked, sitting down next to her on the pilot's chair. Florence nodded, leaning back in the chair slightly.
"Like nothing ever happened." She told him, honestly. "It's weird, it's like the second he got me in the TARDIS, everything was fine again. Makes no sense."
"Or it makes perfect sense." Rory suggested, and Florence gave him a funny look.
"What?"
"Well… I don't know if this is a spoiler, but you've always said, you have a special connection to the TARDIS, always chatting to it and stuff." Florence groaned.
"For god sake, I'm becoming him." Rory put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah… sorry." They were interrupted by the shrill ringing of the TARDIS phone, which River answered quickly.
"Canton?" She paused to listen to what he had to say, before rushing towards the doors of the TARDIS, the wire of the phone trailing behind her. "Doctor!" They heard her call to the alien outside. "It's Canton. Quick, he needs us!"
Florence ran through the eerie, run down children's home after the Doctor, trying her best to ignore the smashed glass, the torn curtains and, more importantly, the chilling graffiti that covered the walls. They could hear thumping from the top floor, and Canton shouting out to Amy.
"Amy!" Rory yelled as they reached Canton, who was banging his fist against a locked door.
"Okay, gun down. I've got it." The Doctor told the American, attempting to use his sonic on the lock.
"Amy, we're here!" Rory tried to comfort his wife through the door. "Are you okay?"
"I can't see!" Her voice called back, just as the Doctor managed to unlock the door and they all barrelled in quickly.
It was empty, except for a motionless spacesuit lying on the floor.
"Amy!" Florence called out, confused.
"Where is she, Doctor?" Rory asked, as the Doctor ran his sonic over the suit, River lifting to visor to show a hollow inside.
"It's empty."
"It's dark, it's so dark." Amy's voice echoed throughout the room, sounding slightly muffled. "I don't know where I am!" Florence cast the torch she had been holding onto with a vice grip to the rug in front of her. "Please, can anybody hear me?!" Florence gasped as she took notice of the familiar red flashing object.
"Oh my God!"
Rory picked up the nano recorder, holding it gently in his hands as if he was holding Amy close. "They took this out of her? How did they do that, Doctor?" The Doctor looked uncomfortable, and Florence knew something was wrong. "Why can I still hear her?"
"Is it a recording?" River asked, and the Doctor flashed his sonic quickly at it.
"Um, it defaults to live." The Doctor told them, quietly. "This is current. Wherever she is right now, this is what she's saying."
"Amy, can you hear me?" Rory spoke into the recorder. "We're coming for you. Wherever you are, we're coming, I swear."
The Doctor shook his head at the man. "She can't hear you. I'm so sorry. It's one way."
Rory turned and shot the Doctor a glare. "She can always hear me, Doctor. Always. Wherever she is, and she always knows that I am coming for her. Do you understand me? Always." Florence reached out and wrapped her hands around Rory's own that held the recorder, giving them a squeeze.
Amy's voice drew them from the emotional moment. "Doctor, are you out there?" She called out, and the Doctor closed his eyes in sadness, while Rory pulled his hands away from Florence. "Can you hear me? Doctor? Oh, God." Florence turned away from Rory, the redhead was oblivious to the hurt she was causing her husband. "Please, please, Doctor, just get me out of this."
Florence wiped her face with her hands, the night's events draining her, and Rory's heartbroken face not helping.
"He's coming." He spoke again to the recorder. "I'll bring him, I swear."
They were interrupted by an American accent floating down the hallway towards them. "Hello, is somebody there?" Canton swung himself around to aim his gun at the intruder, only to recognise him and lower his weapon as the nervous man entered. "I think someone's been shot. I think we should help. We…" He stopped suddenly. "I can't… I can't remember…" The Doctor took one look at the man before running over to him, turning him and leading him out of the room.
"Show me, quickly."
The man led them to an office one floor below them, a black suited creature cowering in the corner covering a bullet wound in its chest.
"Who and what are you?" The Doctor asked.
"Silence, Doctor." The creature almost hissed. "And silence will fall."
Hope you enjoyed, a little shorter than the previous one and so is the next but THEN its another juicy one!
All the follows and faves are very very wonderful! Thanks for the love!
See you for chapter 33!