A/N: Alex's outfits for this chapter can be viewed on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
"So we're safe again!" Nixon cheered once the Doctor finished telling him all about what happened with the Silence.
The Doctor scoffed. "Safe?" From her spot on the sofa, Alex snorted and pressed her lips together to keep from giggling at Nixon's alarmed expression. "No, of course you're not safe! There's about a billion other things out there just waiting to burn your whole world. But, if you want to pretend you're safe, just so you can sleep at night? Okay, you're safe. But you're not really."
"I think that really helped, Doc," Alex quipped, allowing a slight giggle to escape as she took in Nixon's frozen face.
The Doctor turned to her. "Behave," he mouthed, smiling when Alex stuck her tongue out at him. Snickering a little, he turned to address Canton. "Canton. Until the next one, eh?" He shook the man's hand.
"Looking forward to it," Canton grinned.
Alex stared at the carpet, thinking about the next time Canton would encounter them. She shook her head. No, she wouldn't dwell on those dark thoughts. I won't, I can't.
The Doctor turned back to Nixon. "Canton just wants to get married. Hell of a reason to kick him out of the FBI."
"I'm sure something can be arranged," Nixon promised.
"I'm counting on you," the Doctor said as he held out a hand to Alex. Alex leapt up and immediately took it.
As they were heading back to the TARDIS, Nixon called out, "Er, Doctor!" Once the two turned back around, he continued with, "Canton here tells me you're, you're from the future. It hardly seems possible, but I was wondering—"
"I should warn you," the Doctor cautioned, "I don't answer a lot of questions."
"But I'm a President at the beginning of his time. Dare I ask. Will I be remembered?"
Alex bit down on her lip to keep from busting a gut at his question. Oh yes, Ricky, you'll be remembered, she thought, but not in the way you'd like!
Glancing down at Alex and seeing her amusement at this question, the Doctor decided to answer. He sighed a little and fixed Nixon with a little smirk. "Oh, Dicky," he sighed. "Tricky Dicky. They're never going to forget you, right, Ally?"
"Oh, yes," Alex nodded, pushing her laughter down. "You're in all the history books." Right after the word 'Watergate'. Which, really, was rather sad now that she thought about it. Nixon had helped them out a lot. Not a lot of people – especially presidents – would do that but the fact that he did showed just how much he really did care about his country and its people.
The Doctor patted Nixon's shoulder, then turned back to the TARDIS. He wrapped an arm around Alex's waist. "Say hi to David Frost for me," he called over his shoulder, almost as an afterthought.
"David Frost?" Nixon muttered, confused, but before he could ask what that meant, the TARDIS dematerialized.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
"You could come with us," the Doctor half-heartedly offered a little while later. He knew Alex would never go for the idea of River being on the TARDIS full-time, but he felt like he had to at least offer the option, considering they were now at the Stormcage Containment Facility, dropping River back off at her cell.
Much to his relief, River shook her head. "I escape often enough, thank you. And I have a promise to live up to. You'll understand soon enough."
The Doctor nodded. "Okay. Up to you." He began walking to the TARDIS. "See you next time. Call me!"
River laughed at him, making him frown and turn back. "What, that's it? What's the matter with you?"
The Doctor's frown deepened, and he walked back over. "Have I forgotten something?" he wondered.
Neither of them saw the TARDIS door open behind them.
"Oh, shut up," River smirked before grabbing his lapels and pulling him down for a kiss.
Behind them, Alex stared, stunned at the sight in front of her. The Doctor and River were . . . kissing. The Doctor was kissing River Song.
Alex felt like someone had kicked her in the gut. She could feel her heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces as she watched the two. She wanted to scream. She wanted to run over and break them apart. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to run to her bedroom and sob until there wasn't an ounce of water left in her body.
This was a sign. It had to be. This was the universe laughing at her for holding off so long on telling the Doctor her feelings for him. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she thought about how stupid the forces that controlled the universe must think her. Poor little Alex, in love with the almighty Time Lord, but he wasn't really hers, was he?
Though she felt frozen in place, Alex somehow mustered up the ability to wrench herself away from the doorway and rush back into the TARDIS. The door closed behind her, not even making a thump.
This all seemed like it lasted minutes, maybe even hours. In reality, it lasted all of four seconds.
The Doctor was stunned. What the hell?! Why was River kissing him? She wasn't even a good kisser. Her lips felt chapped and like rubber; Alex's were soft and firm and tasted sweet and sour at the same time, a flavor he still remembered from when he had to kiss her during the Pandorica fiasco in the Byzantium oxygen factory.
He put his hands on River's shoulders and firmly pushed her away, backing up a few steps just in case she tried to come after him. He rubbed his lips, feeling the sticky lip-gloss she wore that tasted like expired honey: sweet, but bitter, too bitter for anyone to enjoy for too long. He ached to dig out the tube of Chapstick he had buried in the nether regions of his jacket, but he knew it would be far too rude.
River stared at him, looking surprised for a second that he'd pushed her away, but it then changed to one of sad realization. "Of course," she said softly, her voice just a twinge bitter. "It would never happen between us, would it?"
"What are you talking about?" the Doctor demanded, running a hand through his hair and wiping his lips with the sleeve of his jacket.
River's eyes followed the action and she shuddered. "That," she nodded. "You're so disgusted. I should've realized all those years ago. Pining for you was a waste of my time. You only think about her."
"Her who?"
River rolled her eyes. "Don't play dumb, sweetie. It really doesn't suit you. Who do you think I meant?"
The Doctor's eyes widened. "You mean . . . Ally?"
"Ally, yes. Alexandria, Alex, Ally, all the same person. You only think about her. You have ever since you met her. And it's most definitely vice-versa."
"She does not," he argued, while also wondering why he was discussing this with River. "We're not. We can't be."
"Actions speak louder than words, sweetie. And what you just did? That action was received loud and clear."
The Doctor didn't say anything. He didn't know what he could say to that. Deciding that silence was best, he turned his back and marched into the TARDIS. Behind him, River leaned against the bars and watched the time machine fade into the vortex.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
"Alex?"
Alex looked up from her spot on the jumpseat. Standing before her were Amy and Rory. Amy rested a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked, taking in Alex's upset face. Her friend's eyes were ever-so-slightly red-rimmed, she'd nibbled all her lip-gloss off, and her arms were wrapped around her stomach like she was going to be sick.
"Fine!" Alex dismissed, forcing cheer into her voice. She really didn't want to talk about what she'd seen with River. In fact, she wanted to forget that the whole thing had ever happened.
Neither of the Ponds looked convinced, but before they could say anything, the TARDIS door suddenly slammed shut and the thudding of footsteps rang out. A moment later, the Doctor jumped up onto the console. Alex picked at a loose thread on her skirt, not wanting to look at him.
The Ponds, however, did. To their surprise and befuddlement, the Doctor looked a little angry and slightly nauseous. He kept his lips tightly pressed together as he flew around the console, occasionally lifting a sleeve to rub at them furiously.
"Lick something he shouldn't have?" Amy mumbled to Rory.
"Maybe," Rory shrugged. He was just about to ask the Doctor if something was wrong when the Time Lord started speaking.
"Rory, I'm going to need thermocouplings. The green ones and blue ones."
"Okay. Hold on."
"No looking up through the glass again," Alex called out as he went down underneath the platform.
Amy's face reddened, remembering that little incident. "Alex!" she cried while the Doctor snorted a little, only to cover it with a hacking cough when Amy turned and glared at him.
"No danger in that!" Rory called beneath them. "Amy's wearing a pantsuit anyways."
Amy's face turned a thousand shades redder and, taking pity on her, the Doctor went over and leaned on the console next to her. "So," he said.
"So," she echoed.
"You're okay?"
"Fine," Amy nodded as Alex stood up and joined them. She stood beside the Doctor, but not as close as she usually did. "Head's a bit weird. There's loads of stuff I can't quite remember."
"After effect of the Silence. Natural enough."
Alex's brow furrowed. She supposed not remembering things was normal for those lacking advanced minds but could the same be said for her? She didn't want to be vain, but she didn't think so. She recalled that she felt like she couldn't remember something, something important. She was only pulled away from her worries when the Doctor said, "That's not what I was asking though."
Alex could see where his thoughts were going and was reminded of the promise she'd made to herself to ask Amy what her intentions had been once the whole Silence mess was over. "Amy, you told us you were pregnant," she said quietly.
"Yes," Amy nodded.
"Why?" the Doctor and Alex said together.
Amy shifted a little. "Because I was. I mean, I thought I was. It turns out I wasn't."
"No, why did you tell us?" Alex corrected, gesturing to herself and the Doctor.
"Because you're my friends." Amy smiled slightly. "You're my best friends."
"Hmm," the Doctor nodded, though he felt quite happy that Amy considered him that. "Did you tell Rory?"
Amy looked down at the ground. "No."
"Amy, why tell Alex and I, and not Rory?"
"Why do you think? I traveled with you in this TARDIS for so long. All that time. . . If I was pregnant for some of it, wouldn't it have had an effect? I don't want to tell Rory his baby might have three heads or, like . . . a timehead, or something."
The Doctor and Alex chuckled. "What's a timehead?" the Doctor asked, nudging Amy playfully.
She frowned at them. "I don't know, but what if it had one?"
"A timehead," Alex snickered, picturing a baby with a clock for a face.
Amy's frown shook a little. "Shut up," she said, lightly flicking her shoulder. And then, she called out, "Oi! Stupid face!" The group turned to see Rory cautiously poke his head out from under the console.
"Er, yeah?" he said as he walked up the stairs, Amy's nanorecorder in hand. "Hello."
Amy shook her head. "I'm taking that away from you if you're going to listen in all the time."
"Okay, that's a fair point. But you should've told me that you thought you were pregnant. I'm a nurse. I'm good with pregnancy."
"Not, as it turns out, that good," Amy retorted, moving in to hug him. "Will you stop being stupid?"
"Er, no!" Rory exclaimed. He lifted her up and twirled her around, Amy giggling hysterically. The Doctor and Alex observed them with identical smiles on their faces. "I'm never, ever, going to stop being stupid!"
"So!" the Doctor interjected, clapping his hands as Rory set Amy down. "This little girl." He swung the scanner around to his side. "It's all about her. Who was she? Or we could just go off and have some adventures. Anyone in the mood for adventures? Because I am. You only live once!"
Alex smiled a little, but in truth, she was exhausted. They'd defeated a whole massive population of aliens, her organs still felt like they were shifting (nothing some sleep couldn't cure, she was sure) and she had just seen him kiss River Song. That last thought plagued her mind the most, and she really didn't want to go on another adventure until she had processed and accepted that. She doubted she ever would, but she would like a night's sleep.
"Actually, Doc," she began, "I'm rather tired. Think it can wait a few hours?"
He nodded rapidly, just as she had expected him to. "Of course, Ally. Besides, there are some things I need to check up on."
"What kind of things?"
"Nothing you need to worry about," he dismissed with a wave of his hand. "Shoo. All of you. Go rest as you humans are so fond of doing."
Amy, Alex, and Rory did triple eye-rolls but nevertheless headed up the stairs to their rooms. The Doctor watched them, waiting until Alex had disappeared before hurriedly looking at the scanner.
Amelia Pond
Full body scan in progress
Pregnancy. . .
The results came up. The Doctor frowned. That cannot be right.
On an image of a human body, the result was flashing back-and-forth from 'positive' to 'negative'.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
BANG! BANG! BANG! The gunshots were continuous, like the 21-gun salutes used at military funerals. But in this case, the gunshots were not the sound of someone gone being honored; they were the sound of someone who should be honored getting killed.
"DOCTOR!" Alex shouted at the top of her lungs. She forced herself forwards, no one stopping her, because there was no one else there to stop her. She watched the Doctor fall to the ground, sand kicking up as his body fell hard. She stopped for a moment, tensing as the astronaut turned to look at her. She waited for a gunshot to ring out, for a green light to come flying at her. . .
But nothing happened. The astronaut just stood there and stared at her, as if it were wondering why she was there. Then it turned away and headed back into the waters of Lake Silencio.
Once it was about halfway into the water, Alex darted forward again. "DOCTOR!" she called again, the wind sucking up her words and sending them elsewhere. She hurried onwards, ignoring the aching of her feet in her kitten heels and the wind that kept blowing her hair into her eyes. She needed to get to the Doctor. She had to. She couldn't let him die. Not again.
But to Alex's frustration, every step she took just brought her a step further from the Doctor. The distance between them expanded and Alex forced herself to move harder, run faster in order to get to him. After what seemed like an absolute eternity of running, she finally fell onto her knees at the site where his body had fallen.
She wheezed for breath, her lungs aching and pounding. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and glanced down. "Doctor?" she said softly, but then she jerked in alarm.
There was no one there. The Doctor's body was just . . . gone.
Alex frantically looked around. Where did he go? He couldn't have gone anywhere. He had been shot, for Christ's sake! She whipped her head back and forth and stood up so as to better locate him . . . then she saw that her surroundings had changed.
The bright blue sky and cheerful sunshine, the perfect weather conditions for a picnic by the lake, had disappeared. The sky was now a dark, gloomy gray, storm clouds hovering over the cliffs behind her. The air felt electric and charged, like it always did before a thunderstorm, but this air also contained a palpable sadness. The lake's sparkling water was now dull and gray, flat and unmoving. A gust of wind blew around, sending prickles of sand onto Alex's boots and legs, but she didn't notice.
What had happened? What was going on? The weather couldn't change that suddenly. That wasn't logical.
Alex turned in a circle, taking all this in. Once she had done a full 360 degree turn, she found herself looking back at the spot where the Doctor's body had been. Something was there now.
It was a tombstone. It was about seven inches high, round at the top, and a pale, pale gray. Alex bent down to examine it.
Here lies the last Time Lord in existence
The Doctor
? – April 23, 2011
"To die would be an awfully big adventure." – Peter Pan
Alex couldn't help but snort. Figures the Doctor would have such a quote engraved on his tombstone. It was very him.
As she was examining the tombstone, she heard a sudden thudding come from behind her. Alex tensed. She should have known the astronaut would pull something like this! She whirled around, ready to fight to the death against whatever the hell was inside that thing . . . only to stop short and scream.
Standing in front of her was a humanoid creature of absolute nightmares, one that Stephen King would probably praise. Its flesh had rotted off in parts, veins and muscles proudly on display. It stood just a little bit over six feet tall but was hunched over as though it had a hunchback. Its clothes were filthy and dirty, caked with dirt and sand. A sleeve of its tweed jacket was torn, its pant legs were covered in dirt and sand particles, which were slowly crumbling off, the leather on its shoes was cracked. . .
Wait. A tweed jacket?
Alex took in the frightening figure again. Tweed jacket. Black trousers. Leather boots. She slowly looked up. And yes, a bright blue, albeit dirty, bowtie.
The horrifying figure with the rotting flesh . . . it was the Doctor.
"D-Doctor?" Alex whispered, gazing at him in horror. What had happened to him?! Why did he look so terrifying? Then it hit her. She was standing in front of his tombstone, directly above where he was buried six feet under. Or where he was supposed to be buried. His corpse was standing right in front of her.
"Ally. . ." the Doctor hissed, stepping closer towards her.
Alex forced herself to remain still. This was the Doctor, after all. He wouldn't hurt her. "Yes, it's me."
"Ally. . ."
"Doctor, I'm here."
But instead of being reassuring, like she had intended, this only seemed to provoke some not yet decomposed nerve. "ALEXANDRIA!" he screeched. Alex yelped and stumbled back in horror. He stormed towards her, not having any problem doing so despite his decaying status. "LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!"
"W-what?" she stuttered, continuing to move backwards as he stalked towards her.
"IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU WHO GOT SHOT! BUT INSTEAD IT WAS ME!" At that, he pulled his tweed jacket open, allowing her to see the light blue shirt he'd been wearing that day. Aside from more dirt and sand residue, it seemed otherwise fine.
Until she caught sight of the holes.
There were three, perfectly round holes over his left heart. Three holes for three bullets.
"I DIED, ALEX! IT SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU! YOU SHOULD'VE DIED INSTEAD!" Then, he grinned. It looked so grotesque and unnatural on his disintegrating features, but the mood-change was just like the Doctor. It actually reassured Alex a little. Maybe she'd be okay. Maybe he wouldn't hurt her.
"Luckily, that won't be much of a problem for longer." His vacant eye sockets turned to look at something behind Alex. Ever so hesitantly, she turned around.
It was another tombstone.
Here lies Alexandria Nicole Locke
August 31, 1989 – April 23, 2011
Alex's eyes widened and she immediately scrambled away from the Doctor. "No, no, please!" she begged as he continued forwards at a determined stride. "Doctor, please!" She hurried backwards, only to slam into something. It was the Doctor's tombstone. She was trapped between it and the rapidly advancing Time Lord with no immediate exit in sight.
She moved to try and run around the tombstone, only for the Doctor to suddenly charge towards her. Alex screamed and fell to the ground. She desperately tried to move backwards but the Doctor leapt forward. He landed right on top of her, a feeling that was once pleasant, but was now just frightening.
Tears ran down Alex's cheeks. "Doctor, please let me go!" she sobbed.
"You will die, Alexandria, just as you were meant to." He reached a hand out to grab her throat, only for his skin to suddenly peel away.
The last thing Alex felt was the cold, icy drip of his blood on her throat as she screamed for a life that was being squeezed out of her.
Alex bolted upright, a scream dying in her throat. She gasped for breath and clutched her collarbone, her thumb running over the jewels in her necklace.
You're okay, she drilled to herself. You're okay. It was just a nightmare. It's okay. It wasn't real.
Despite these mental reassurances, she looked around her room hesitantly. This was usually the part in horror movies where the evil figment of the protagonist's dream reappeared, revealing to the audience that the nightmare was not yet over. Luckily for Alex, the Doctor's corpse was nowhere in sight. Still, that didn't stop her from leaning down and looking under the bed. Nothing there, not even a dust bunny. The TARDIS kept things very clean.
Alex sat back up and shuddered. There was no way she was going back to sleep after dreaming that. She sprang out of bed and hurried over to her closet. She wanted to go and see the Doctor. Some in such a situation might be reluctant in going to see someone who they'd just had a nightmare about, but Alex wanted reassurance that he wasn't dead, that he wasn't that horrible decaying corpse that blamed her for his death.
Five minutes later, her white camisole, sleep shorts, and socks exchanged for a black sweater, skinny jeans, black ballet flats, and gold stud earrings, she stepped out of her bedroom and headed down the dimly lit corridor to the console room.
Just as she expected, the Doctor was there, crouching over the console, a rag in hand. He was leaning in close as he wiped a particular spot, murmuring something inaudible under his breath.
"Flirting with the TARDIS again?" Alex teased, the Doctor jerking up and yelping when her voice traveled over to him.
He tossed his rag down and mock-glared at her. "Ha, ha," he said dryly. "I was just . . . talking to the TARDIS . . . very quietly."
Alex nodded, a little smirk gracing her lips. "Of course you were."
The Doctor faltered for a second and struggled to come up with something. "Oh . . . you, well . . . oh, shut up!"
Alex just giggled and settled herself against the console. She regarded the Doctor. He was clad in only his shirt, bowtie, trousers, suspenders, and boots. In other words, completely sexy, at least in her opinion.
She was brought back to the present when he asked, "Can't sleep?"
"Uh, yeah." She decided not to mention the nightmare. It would just bring up too many questions she couldn't answer, no matter how much she wanted to.
"Any particular reason?" he asked as he bent down to retrieve his rag, inadvertently giving Alex a nice view of his rear in the process.
She kept her voice steady as she studied that section of anatomy. "Probably just getting used to the TARDIS humming again. I did find it restful here, but I guess sleeping without it for so long takes some readjusting."
The Doctor nodded and straightened back up, folding the rag and tucking it into his pocket. "Perfectly understandable," he said as he walked over to stand beside her. "Happened to Rose whenever she went and stayed with her mother for a few days. She usually ended up coming down here and talking to me for hours on end."
Alex smiled a little. Rose Tyler, his first companion after the Time War, was someone only she knew about, not Amy and Rory. The Doctor and her had been in love, though neither of them ever mentioned it because they were too scared. It sounded all too similar to Alex's situation now, though she doubted the Doctor had feelings for her. He'd told her so himself, after he reappeared at Amy's wedding following the Pandorica mess. And then there was that kiss she saw just a few hours ago with River. But there was also the kiss he gave her before his demise via astronaut.
This whole thing was just horribly confusing.
There was silence between them, a silence that was terribly uncomfortable. It wasn't like them to just stay quiet with each-other when they could be bantering or flirting. After a few more moments of this awkwardness, Alex decided to take the bull by the horns. "So, I saw you kissing River," she blurted.
Had he not had one hand on the console, the Doctor might have fallen over. He tightened his grip so he'd remain standing. His face was purposefully impassive as he said, "Oh?"
Oh? Was that really all he could say? Alex's jaw clenched. "Yes."
"Well. . ."
"Well, indeed," Alex scoffed. She pushed away from the console and started stalking around it, not wanting to be close to him while they talked about this painful subject matter. She leaned in close to the controls, pretending to examine some buttons. "You were certainly getting to know your future lover pretty well."
The Doctor almost threw up. River? His lover? Ew, he grimaced. But then, as his brain processed the tone of Alex's voice, the accusation behind it, he started to grow angry. "Hardly my lover," he sneered, not turning around.
"Oh, yes, that's right," Alex nodded, straightening back up. "River's your wife. She told me and Amy while we were hiking through the Maze of the Dead and then you asked her to marry you at Amy and Rory's wedding—"
The Doctor whirled around. "You and I both know that I was not asking River to marry me!"
"She thought so! She said yes, didn't she?"
"Well, yes, but—"
"But nothing! I saw it with my own two eyes. You and her were kissing. Perfectly fine. Congratulations."
The Doctor's hearts were throbbing at her words. Didn't she get it?! Couldn't she see that he didn't want River? He only had eyes for the girl in front of him! Everyone saw it, even River just a few hours ago. They were always getting confused for a couple in every single place they went. Did she see that happening with River? Other than Amy's initial inference, no, she did not.
But you told her you didn't have feelings for her, a cruel voice in the back of his mind reminded him. He internally winced. That was right. He did. He said he didn't after she asked him why he kissed her in the Byzantium oxygen factory when he was backtracking through his life in the Pandorica. He had lied to her. Rule One, the Doctor lies.
But he'd had good reason to lie! Alex was so young, not even 21 at that point in time. He was 909 now, centuries older than her. There was no way she'd ever live that long. She'd get sixty more years if she was lucky. He couldn't tell her the truth, just to lose her a short time later.
But really, what had he accomplished in doing that? He kept hurting himself every time he looked her in the eye and told her no, he hurt them both when they shrugged off previous kissing encounters and, now that he was thinking about it, he had hurt them both when he'd caused her to leave. After all, why else would she have left? Having feelings for someone who had bluntly told you that they didn't feel that way? Why would you stay with them?
And he just knew she had feelings for him. He'd heard it in her voice when River was flirting with him back at the Silence spaceship. That was the voice of someone who was positively jealous that the person they liked was being hit on by someone they did not care for at all. Especially when the person they liked was responding to said flirting.
He had to correct this. Now.
But what about Ally's age? a voice in his mind whispered.
He froze. Oh yes, that was a concern.
But she thinks you're in love with River, a second voice reminded him.
Yes, but she'll die soon, the first voice argued, whether old and aged, or to a Dalek's blast. Point is, she'll leave you soon.
Don't you want to be able to look her in the eye and prove that you don't want River?
Do you really want to be standing over her dead body one day?
Doesn't risk outweigh the endless possibilities?
Doesn't denying everything outweigh the risk and endless possibilities?
Then, a snort. He jerked himself out of his thoughts to see Alex looking at him spitefully, but there was a glimmer of hurt underneath that mask. He could see that same hurt more strongly in her eyes. "See?" she said, pointing at him. "You can't deny it anymore, can you?" Then, much to his horror, she began walking off.
"Oh, screw it."
Alex turned around and stared at him. To his relief, she wandered back. "What was that?"
The Doctor didn't answer. Instead, he started striding towards her. Alex eyed him, backing into the console as he got closer to her. In just a few steps, he had planted himself right in front of her. He placed his hands on either side of her, trapping her so that she couldn't escape. Not that Alex was really thinking about escaping. Actually, she was rather thrilled, but she refused to show it, not while she was still upset with him.
"How much did you see of me and River kissing?" the Doctor asked lowly. His voice sent shivers down Alex's spine. "Hmm?"
What did he mean by that? What more was there to see?! He didn't. . . Alex quickly dismissed that nauseating thought. Only a minute had passed between the time she left and the time he came back into the TARDIS. There was nowhere near enough time for them to do . . . that.
But he was expecting an answer. "Um . . . about four or five seconds, I guess?"
He hummed lowly, launching Alex into a full-on body shudder. Making a mental note to remember that, the Doctor reached out and began tracing her jawline with the pad of his thumb. She had rather loved that when he did it to her on the Byzantium, and he was betting that she still loved it now.
Alex bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to keep from moaning as his finger moved up to lightly trace her lips before going back to her jawline again. Why's he doing this? she thought, but she wasn't about to make him stop so she could ask.
The Doctor made a tsk-tsk-tsk noise. "Ally, Ally, Ally, if you had bothered to stay just another second, you would've seen me push River away."
That got her attention. Alex's eyes burst open, exposing dark green irises. She gazed up into his own dark green depths, searching them to make sure he was telling the truth. Much to her delight and shock, she saw that he was. "You did?" she breathed.
He nodded, keeping his eyes tightly fixed on hers so she could see that he was telling her the truth. "I did. I couldn't stand the thought of her lips on mine. They tasted awful. After you and the Ponds went up to bed, I spent ten minutes washing my mouth out. The TARDIS can vouch for me." There was a little hum at this. The Doctor grinned. "See?"
Alex nodded, but she was still confused on why he had pushed River away. That didn't necessarily mean anything. He didn't necessarily have feelings for her. River could have just been a bad kisser. "Why'd you push her away?" she demanded, her voice no louder than a whisper.
He leaned in closer to her, to where his Listerine-scented breath hit her in the face. Both breathed heavily at this close contact, their hearts pounding in anticipation for what he was about to say. "Because," he murmured, "the only one I ever think about kissing is you."
Alex shivered and pressed her forehead against his. "But . . . after the Pandorica," she muttered in confusion, "you said—"
"I lied. Rule One. The Doctor lies."
And then he pressed his lips to hers.
Their kissing was fast and passionate, both releasing all their pent-up emotions from the last year. Moving his arms around Alex, the Doctor pressed himself even closer, nearly bending her back over the console. Alex wrapped her arms around his neck and, using the leverage this provided, pushed herself up onto the console.
The Doctor pulled back for just a second to check that she was sitting comfortably and not on some lever, but Alex immediately pulled him back. She didn't want to let him get out of arm's length for anything. Pushing her lips on his, she cautiously slipped her tongue out and lightly ran it over his bottom lip. He shuddered and quickly parted, his grip on her growing tighter as she traced patterns on the roof of his mouth, still having it memorized from when he kissed her on the Byzantium.
Knees buckling from the intensity and power she wielded over him in such a simple action, the Doctor hastened to regain some control. Using his own tongue to push hers out, he swept it over her lips before nibbling at her bottom lip. Alex let out a sound resembling a purr and opened up to him. She would have fallen backwards when he scraped his tongue over the roof of her mouth, but his arms were wrapped tightly around her and she was practically pressed up against him now, like he didn't want to let her go. Not that she ever wanted him to.
She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, giggling a little into the kiss when he let out a moan. She did it again. When he moaned even louder than he had the first time, she released another giggle.
He pulled back and frowned at her playfully. "Stop that, Ally," he scolded, his eyes twinkling in amusement.
Alex's reddened lips curved into a smirk. She leaned closer, purposefully biting her lower lip. As his eyes went wide at the action, she whispered, "Make me."
His eyes darkening, the Doctor immediately moved back on her, only instead of aiming for her lips, he went to her throat. He planted a series of hot kisses down her neck and along her collarbone, pausing at this site to nip and nibble at a few places. Alex whimpered and ran her hands through his hair, trying to pull him back up, but he refused to oblige. "Doctor, please!" she begged, her plea cut off by a groan as the Doctor swept his tongue in the hollow of her throat.
"You said make you stop, Ally," he reminded her, his voice a low murmur that made her arms feel weak. He chuckled when she dropped her hands from his head, vibrations echoing onto her skin as he laughed. "This is my way of doing it."
Alex moaned but didn't try to stop him again. He moved up and away from her collarbone, kissing the other side of her neck until he got to her pulse point. Here, he paused for a second, examining it, watching the spot throb rapidly. Alex was about to ask him what he was doing when he did something she did not expect. He began sucking at her pulse point.
Alex let out a cry and felt her legs weaken as he did his exquisite torture. Her eyes involuntarily closed as he continued sucking. She felt like she'd gone to heaven or achieved nirvana or something. This was total and utter bliss. This was something she had been searching for her whole life but hadn't known.
The Doctor continued up her neck and to her jawline. Pausing to take a nip at this, emitting her into another full body shudder, he went back to her lips. He forcibly pried them open with his tongue and moved a hand up to her hair, running it through the silky tresses. Alex eagerly responded to this by quickly pushing her tongue against his. A battle for dominance ensued. The Doctor's hand tightened in Alex's hair as she took control of their kiss, her hand trailing down the back of his neck to push him closer to her. Once she had done that, she began playing with the ends of his hair. He trembled at the action.
"Ally," he groaned, her name sounding like both a swear and a praise on his lips.
"Doctor," she matched in an identical voice.
They continued their fevered kissing for a few more moments, but a lack of air was starting to become a concern for Alex. Also, this kissing, as stellar as it was, was starting to be just a bit repetitive. It was time to up the ante.
She quickly pulled back from the kiss and placed her hands on his shoulders. Before the Doctor could even register what was happening, he found himself stumbling backwards, his legs hitting the back of the jumpseat. He fell back into it and stared at the marvelous sight in front of him.
Alex sat on the edge of the console, gasping for breath. Her hair was messy and wild, just the way he liked it, and her eyes were dark, incredibly dark, the dark green depths almost black as she looked back at him. Her sweater had bunched up at some point and now exposed part of her bare side. He watched, entranced, as she hopped off the console and straightened her top. Then she charged at him, crossing the room in three steps.
She pounced on top of him and quickly straddled him. Her arms went around his neck and her lips promptly found his. Their lips pressed against each other harshly. A small voice in the back of the Doctor's head remarked that they would be bruised later. Not that he cared.
He raked his hands through her hair, grazing his fingertips against her scalp. Feeling her shake, he continued doing this. Alex's own hands went up to cradle his face, just wanting to touch him as she kissed him. She alternately sucked and licked his bottom lip, tasting their flame-like flavor. Why in the world did she wait so long to do this? This was fantastic!
She moved her lips down his jaw and to his neck, nosing his collar aside so she could kiss his collarbone. The Doctor groaned, his head falling back and his hands flopping down on the jumpseat as his Ally bit down on his neck. He cried out at the mixture of pain and pleasure, then groaned when the skilled girl on top of him ran her tongue over the bite, soothing it.
Then the console began beeping.
The two glanced up and over at the console, struggling to determine what was happening with their lust-addled brains. After a moment of blank staring, they finally located a pair of red flashing lights.
Alex frowned. "Leave it," she whispered, turning back to the Doctor and forcing her lips back on his. The Doctor, who had started to get up at the beeping, relented and sank back into the leather seat. Alex smiled and started to push her tongue into his mouth . . . when another series of beeping rang out.
"Sorry," the Doctor apologized, nudging her off his lap and onto the jumpseat. "I have to." Alex sighed and lay out on her side on the seat.
The Doctor headed over to the console and pulled the scanner over to his side. He squinted at the readings. "Distress signal," he explained. "Coming from. . ." He blinked. "Well, that's not right."
Alex sighed again. She knew where this was going. And while she understood the need in investigating a distress signal, she was a bit more concerned about what might happen now. She and the Doctor had just had a mind blowing makeout session. This was a whole new level in their relationship. Were they just going to dismiss it like all the other times they kissed? She really hoped not. She was tired of hiding her feelings for him. She wanted him.
"We're going to investigate, aren't we?" she guessed.
The Doctor nodded eagerly, already in the process of running around the console with his usual maniac speed. "Yes, we are!" He pulled down a lever and a microphone popped up out of a hidden panel on the console. While Alex stared at it curiously, the Doctor picked it up and began shouting into it.
"PONDS!" he bellowed, his voice echoing out of speakers around the console room. Alex clapped her hands over her ears and winced. "WAKE UP! BIG ADVENTURE AND MYSTERIOUS DISTRESS SIGNAL!"
"DOCTOR!" Amy screeched. Alex snickered a little. There was going to be hell for the Doctor to pay for waking Amy Pond up.
"Can't this wait?!" Rory cried, though not nearly as loudly as Amy.
"Afraid not!" the Doctor said cheerfully, thankfully no longer shouting. "Get dressed and be down here in ten!" Amy started to swear, but the Doctor cut the microphone off before she could get really colorful.
And then there was silence. Alex lay sprawled out on the jumpseat while the Doctor stood at the console. Knowing how awkward silence was between them and not wanting to delay the inevitable any longer, Alex ran a hand through her tousled hair and turned to look at the Doctor. To her pleasant surprise, she found that his gaze was tightly fixed on her.
"Well, that was . . . nice," she murmured, her cheeks burning a bit.
"Nice?" he repeated. He sounded almost offended. "Just . . . nice?"
"No! Well, yes, it was nice, but also. . ."
He raised an eyebrow. "Also?" he prodded.
Alex's cheeks were a bright red now. "Mind blowing. Spectacular. The best kiss I've ever had."
The Doctor smiled broadly, and a little bit cheekily too. "Really?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
There were a few moments of silence before Alex finally forced herself to say what was on her mind. "Look, I know you probably think this was and should be a one-time thing, but I can't do that. I won't do that. I'm pretty sure you know that I have feelings for you, and I'm also pretty sure you feel the same for me. . ." She shook her head when she trailed off and forced herself to continue. "Okay, bottom line, I had to get that out, even if you think this should just be a one-off."
The Doctor stared at her. "What?" he whispered. His voice abruptly became louder and full of offense and incredulousness. "A one-off? Alexandria, do you really think I would constitute what just happened as a one-off?"
Alex eyed him, her dark green irises switching to a hopeful-looking light green. "It wasn't?" she murmured.
The Doctor shook his head so quickly and adamantly, Alex half expected it to fall right off. "Of course not," he said gently with such tenderness and compassion that Alex knew he was telling the truth.
Her face lit into a grin and she swung her legs over the jumpseat. She ran across the room and into his already open arms. She wrapped her own arms around him, squeezing his waist so she could guarantee that this was actually happening. "You have no idea how long I've hoped for this," she whispered, not feeling any embarrassment crop up. Their relationship was different now. She could say things to him now that she couldn't before.
"Me too," the Doctor confessed, running a hand through her hair. He leaned back to look her in the eye. "I won't lie to you, Ally. I'm still not entirely sure this is a good idea, but I'll be damned if I push you away again."
Alex smiled softly and moved her hands to cup his face. "Me too. But don't think about that. Just concentrate on the now." She raised up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his chin. "Will you try, for me?"
"For you?" One of his hands ran through her hair. "Of course."
Alex smiled brightly at him, pleased that he would try, even though she knew it wouldn't be easy for him. Things with him never were, but that was okay. They would just have to deal with any roadblocks together.
She glanced over her shoulder at the doorway. Still no sign of the Ponds, though she was sure they were hurrying. Knowing Amy, she would want to get down here as fast as possible so she could scream at him sooner. "So . . . after we figure out what the distress signal is and stop it, will we do more. . .?" She trailed off suggestively and looked up at him, a lustful glimmer appearing in her dark eyes.
The Doctor narrowed his eyes and gripped a piece of her hair. Alex yelped as he tugged on it, pulling her head upwards. "Of course, Ally," he promised, bending down so he could reach her lips. "It's just a good thing the Ponds will be coming in here at any moment and interrupting us, because I could probably snog you to death right about now."
Alex's breath hitched. She bit her lip on purpose, causing the Doctor to groan at the sight. Quick as a wink, he swooped down and captured her lips with his. This kiss started out fast and furious, but soon dwindled down into a slow, steady one that Alex swore made her insides turn to mush. The Doctor was just backing her up onto the console again when a flurry of footsteps sounded out from behind them.
Alex immediately pushed the Doctor away and scrambled away from him. She rushed over to sit on the jumpseat and put a finger over her lips. The Doctor smiled and nodded. It would be nice to keep their new relationship just to themselves for a little while. It was a major development for them both and they needed some time to sort through it and process it without any outside influence. Namely, Amy and Rory.
He reached over and grabbed his jacket from where he had tossed it on the railing. He was just tugging it on when Amy came down, her expression positively furious. He swallowed nervously. Maybe waking her up via TARDIS speaker system wasn't such a good idea.
"This better be a bloody good distress signal!" Amy snapped as she jumped off the last step. She stormed over to him and put a finger against his chest. "Because if this turns out to be nothing, the universe is going to have one less Time Lord in it!"
"Don't be so violent, Pond," the Doctor retorted as Rory came in.
Rory yawned and crossed over to Amy, knowing that she was likely to kill the Doctor for waking her up in such a loud and enthusiastic manner. "What's up?" he asked sleepily.
The Doctor began bouncing around the console. "Distress signal!" he cheered. "Coming from the 1600s, which is a bit odd. Aliens usually tend to stay away from that time period."
"Says the guy who met alien vampires in sixteenth-century Venice," Amy retorted.
"Yes, but that was the 1500s and different circumstances. This is the 1600s."
Amy rolled her eyes and went over to Alex. "Hey," she greeted, leaning a hip against the jumpseat. "He wake you up too?"
Alex shook her head. "No, I was already down here."
"What for?"
Alex glanced over at the Doctor. He was too busy directing Rory on how to hold a certain lever on the console down to pay them any attention. Still, she didn't want to risk him overhearing the reason she'd come down here. She leaned in close to Amy. "Nightmare. About. . ." She trailed off, not really needing to explain.
Amy nodded understandingly, a mournful expression falling across her features. "Yeah, I know what you mean. How bad?"
Alex winced, thinking about the Doctor's corpse blaming her for his death. "Bad. Let's just stick with that." She didn't want Amy to start getting such horrific nightmares too.
Amy looked at her questioningly, but ultimately nodded. "Okay." She started to turn back to watch the Doctor and Rory, who were now in the middle of what sounded like an argument about using the stabilizers, when her eyes caught something. They widened and she leaned in closer to Alex. "Alex, what did you do to your neck?"
Alex jumped, looked down at her neck, and inwardly groaned. Thanks to the V-neck on her sweater, all of the Doctor's nips and nibbles were on display. Several reddish-purple marks decorated the sides of her neck and collarbone. She mentally swore. Had she known the Doctor and her would be making out and exploring each-other's necks when she came down, she would have put on a turtleneck.
"Oh, burned myself with the curling iron." She hoped that Amy wouldn't be able to tell the difference between burns and bruises.
Amy eyed Alex's perfectly straight hair and then the hickeys. "So many times?" she said doubtfully.
Alex bristled. "You know how stubborn I am. And after I kept burning myself, I finally just used the straightener like I always do."
Amy just gave her a suspicious look, expressing in no uncertain times that she wasn't buying what Alex was selling. Thankfully, before she could question Alex on just where those bruises – because even she knew those were not burns – had really come from, the TARDIS suddenly shook to the side, forcing everyone to grab hold of something. Alex clutched the sides of the jumpseat while Amy clung to the railing. Ahead of them, Rory was holding onto the console for dear life.
The Doctor, however, just laughed and ran around the controls. "And we're off!" he cried, yanking down a lever and sending them further into the time vortex.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: So. . . I think that final section speaks for itself. :) *chorus of angels singing 'Hallelujah' begins to play* I do hope that the way the Doctor and Alex finally got together is believable. I worked really hard on this chapter trying to make sure it lived up to everyone's expectations. At the end of the day though, I'm satisfied with it and I think that's all that really matters.
I am excited for the rest of the story. The Doctor and Alex are a couple now! Which only makes the events to come and how they deal with them together as a couple that much more exciting. Plus, makeouts. Lots and lots of makeouts. :)
Review Replies:
NicoleR85 - Thank you! I'm so excited to get into Alex's past too, especially in regards to the Silence. :} Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
bored411 - Haha, glad to hear you can't wait to find out what happened! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Percabeth Jackson - Aw, I'm so happy to hear how excited you were! I hope the reread of Living is going good and that you like this story so far (this chapter especially, lol)! :)
Thanks to those that reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please review and see you tomorrow! :)