A/N: Alex's outfits for this chapter can be found on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
Alex knelt down to examine the intricately designed necklace. It was made of some kind of purple stone and resembled tiny chain links. On the links was tiny golden lettering, so tiny that Alex couldn't make the words out.
"Excuse me," she called to the vendor. The vendor, a plump old woman in a red beret-looking hat, hustled over, a smile on her face as she eagerly anticipated a possible sale. "What are the words on this?"
The vendor looked down at the necklace and smiled. "Oh, that's a Vivuldian marriage necklace, dear, not something you'll be buying for yourself."
Alex's brow furrowed. "A Vivuldian marriage necklace?"
The vendor eyed her curiously. Alex knew she probably looked like she didn't belong here in a simple white t-shirt, jeans, a University of Kentucky Wildcats zip-up hoodie, blue high-tops, and large gold hoop earrings. But the vendor's staring confirmed it.
"Not a native, are you, dearie?" the vendor guessed as she leaned over the counter of her wooden booth to try and make out the charm of Alex's necklace, hidden under the zip-up.
Alex laughed while placing a protective hand over the TARDIS charm. "No, I'm afraid not. So, what is a Vivuldian marriage necklace?"
"It's a special piece of jewelry a groom gifts his bride on the day of their wedding. The bride gifts him with this." The vendor reached under the counter and held up a large cuff bracelet. It was made of the same material as the necklace and had the same teeny tiny gold lettering on it. The vendor held it up high, allowing the piece to shine in the sunlight as she went on with her explanation. "A Vivuldian marriage cuff. Engaged couples give these to each-other on their wedding day during the ceremony. Right after they say, 'I do', they put these pieces on their partners. The necklace and cuff are both bio-coded by the partner's DNA. When your partner puts this on you, only they can take it off."
Alex frowned. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. "What if one partner dies?"
The vendor's smile turned a bit sad. "Then they have to wear that piece for the rest of their lives. We Vivuldian's are strict one-marriage people. No divorce, no annulments, no swapping your wife for another in a game of hacky-sack like on Yadiris for us. Till death do you part."
It took Alex a moment to formulate her next question, for she was still trying to process the Yadiris hacky-sack ritual. Note to self: make sure the Doctor never takes us to Yadiris. "Okay," she said slowly. "Well, back to my first question, what are the little gold words?"
"Vivuldian marriage vows. Very, very, very sacred. They go all the way back to the founding of the planet a thousand years ago, and they're treated like laws. If someone in a marriage breaks them, they can go through horrible torture, sometimes even death."
Alex swallowed heavily. Second note to self: no getting married on Vivuldi.
"The vows go like this," the vendor continued. "'I promise to love my spouse more than I did yesterday, and less than I will tomorrow; I will care for them no matter how hard; I will help keep a tidy home for my spouse; I will never hurt my spouse in any way, shape, or form; I will never let another person tempt me away from my spouse; I will give my spouse my undividing attention on every manner'; and with the females, they always say, 'I will follow the commands of my spouse and obey them perfectly'."
Alex's frown deepened. So Vivuldi was a place where women were expected to be subservient to their husbands. Wonderful. Another reason not to get married here. "I see," she nodded, trying not to let her feelings on the subject taint her voice. The Doctor had told her before that alien cultures had their reasons for believing the things they did, and regardless of whether those beliefs were brilliant or ridiculous, they had to respect them and try not to judge. Of course, the latter part was easier said than done.
She was pulled out of her musings by the vendor sighing wistfully. "I still remember those vows, sixty-five years after my wedding day." She reached under her white smock and pulled out a necklace identical to the one Alex had been studying, only in jade green. "When Tomas put this on me, I knew I'd obey those vows forever."
Alex couldn't help but ask. "Did Tomas obey too?"
The vendor gaped at her, clearly shocked at Alex's assumption that Tomas might not have obeyed the sacred vows. "Why, of course he did! Till the day he died, and I mean till the day he died." On this, the vendor's sweet old lady face hardened. "I told him not to go out bar-hopping. And look what happened! Stumbled out into the street, drunk as a Vivuldian skunk-rat, and got himself hit by a tourist trolley!"
Okay. . . Now was probably a good time to go. Leaving the vendor to her mutterings about Tomas's final drunken hours, Alex slipped away from the booth and continued down the street.
As she walked, she took in the small marketplace. Despite some of its beliefs, Vivuldi was actually a very lovely place. Her first view outside the TARDIS was of the bright red Vivuldian Mountains, which positively shined in the bright sunlight. The Doctor had told her that each mountain was made of rare Scarlet Vivuldian Quartz, and it was illegal to try and mine them. Anyone who did so was immediately punished by death. Alex was kind of glad about this. The mountains were too pretty and breathtaking to destroy.
The beauty didn't stop there. It had taken them only fifteen minutes to hike down to the large town situated at the base of one of the mountains. The Doctor hadn't told her its name, saying that it was far too difficult to pronounce and that its origins had derived from a mixture of Latin and Mandarin Chinese, but whatever the town's name was, it was breathtaking. All of the buildings were made from very-common Porcelain Vivuldian Quartz, with several parts of them adorned and decorated with other colored quartz: cobalt blue, emerald green, pale pink, midnight black, sunshine yellow, and even a knockoff of Scarlet Quartz called Ruby Vivuldian Quartz. The natives had the quartz displayed in various designs, from common wavy and straight lines to the more sophisticated family crests and elaborate murals that often took up the whole side of a building.
Alex passed one of the murals. It showed a gigantic brown owl, a sacred animal on Vivuldi, holding a sword in its talons as it fought off an equally large beast that looked like a cross between an elephant and a mountain lion. Alex had no idea what it was called or why the owl was fighting it but resolved that she could ask the Doctor later.
Speaking of. . . Alex blushed, ducking her head down to watch her feet walk across the white cobblestone road. She still couldn't believe she was in a relationship with the Doctor, the Doctor! It all felt like some crazy, wonderful dream, and she was worried that she was going to wake up at any second and realize that the Doctor wasn't in love with her, or if he was, he'd never admit it.
Thankfully, that hadn't happened. All of this was real, and it was fantastic. The Doctor wasn't like the boyfriends she'd had in the past, the ones who were only interested in fast cars, drinking, smoking, and sex. No, he was better than that, so much better.
For starters, he listened to her. He never tried to change her beliefs on anything, unlike that one atheist boyfriend who nearly tossed her mother's Bible out her bedroom window, or the one who told her that if she joined cheerleading, he'd dump her because she'd turn stupid just like all the other cheerleaders. The Doctor also looked out for her, always checking that she was right beside him. In the past, this behavior from other boyfriends had made Alex feel suffocated and irritable; now it just made her feel loved and protected, like she was the Doctor's whole universe.
Not to mention, but the Doctor was hot as hell, even with that bowtie.
But their relationship wasn't built on just physical attractiveness. Alex loved the Doctor's brilliant, slightly barmy mind, the way he always tried to do right wherever they went, how he was so stubborn and head-strong (even if those qualities tended to infuriate her at times), and so much more. He never looked at her like she was just a pretty face or another notch to add on his bedpost. He was, to her, in every sense of the word, perfect.
With all of that, it was a little hard to believe they had been together for less than a month and hadn't even gone on a real date yet.
Still blushing, Alex looked around the marketplace. Where was the Doctor anyway? He'd been at her side at first, ushering Amy and Rory off in one direction while he led her the other way, but then he caught sight of something shiny and bounded off into the distance to find it, like a puppy at a park. Still, it was adorable, and Alex had laughed heartily before wandering over to the booth with the marriage jewelry.
Of course, she should probably find the Doctor before he ended up offending some high-ranking official and they all had to high-tail it back to the TARDIS. Turning on her heel, she headed down the other end of the street.
This end of the street was identical to the other end. It was cluttered with carts and booths selling a wide array of items. Alex spotted futuristic cookware, intricately designed rugs and blankets, dozens and dozens of glass owls, clocks with funky-looking designs on them, piles of multi-colored Vesuvian quartz, and so much more. As she walked, she noticed Amy and Rory at one booth, studying a bunch of small metal objects. The sign over the booth advertised the objects as 'Bazoolium's', whatever those were.
She was still studying the sign, wondering what a bazoolium was, when the massive pain hit her.
Alex gasped and stumbled back against a booth selling desserts that looked an awful lot like Earth ice-cream. There was a weird sensation coming from her abdomen. It felt like someone was slicing a knife through her flesh, something she already had experience with thanks to the Silurian's. The feeling was both painful and uncomfortable, causing Alex's eyes to water and her legs to quiver uncontrollably.
"Miss!" A split second later, the ice-cream vendor was kneeling before her. He reached out and gripped her shoulders, attempting to straighten her up. "Are you alright?"
Alex panted as she tried to respond, but she could barely find her voice when the cutting in her torso was still going on. "I . . . I. . ." she choked, but she trailed off, gritting her teeth as the cutting stopped, then came back with a new intensity. Alex let out a loud sob and reached a hand out to grip the booth's counter.
"Alex!" Amy distantly cried. A moment later, the redhead was beside her. Amy shoved the vendor aside and took up his kneeling position while Rory stood behind Alex, his hands under her arms to keep her from falling.
"What's wrong?" Amy asked frantically. She eyed Alex worriedly. Alex was biting her lip to the point where she was drawing blood, her eyes had a thin layer of water in them, and the hand that wasn't gripping the booth for dear life was on her abdomen, like those people on TV and in movies always did when they had just been shot or stabbed or something. "What is it? Tell me!"
"P-pain," Alex whimpered, her knees starting to crumple again. The only thing that kept her from crashing to the ground was Rory's iron-tight grip on her arms. "R-really b-b-bad!" She let out another whimper, followed by a little shriek as the carving feeling moved up to her chest.
Rory looked at his friend, distressed and anxious for her wellbeing. What was going on? An alien virus? he wondered. It wasn't completely outside the realm of possibility. There was only one person who would know for sure though.
"Go get the Doctor," Rory ordered his wife. "I'll get her back to the TARDIS." Without even blinking, Amy straightened up and sprinted off down the street, shoving aside pedestrians while calling "Sorry!" over her shoulder.
Before Amy was even a speck in the distance, Rory gathered Alex up in his arms. He was displeased to note that she was shaking and quivering, actions that only seemed to make the pain she was experiencing worse. Keeping a firm grip on her, Rory rushed through the suddenly crowded street. For once in his life, he didn't pause to apologize to people he hit or nudged out of the way. Instead, he ran until he was right in front of the TARDIS doors.
Fortunately, the TARDIS seemed to realize the urgency of the situation and automatically unlocked and opened the doors. Rory charged up the steps, past the console, and up another flight of steps until he was in one of the TARDIS corridors. He looked around frantically for the infirmary, only to see a door materialize out of nowhere in front of him. It opened a second later, revealing the white walls of the very room he was seeking.
Rory had barely placed Alex on the bed when a sudden skidding rang out in the hallway, followed by a voice shouting, "MOVE, POND!" No sooner had that been said when the Doctor came barreling into the room, the end of his tweed jacket flying behind him like a cape. His eyes were wide and frantic, and he was gasping for breath, something that failed to be important to him when he caught sight of Alex shaking and sniveling on the bed.
"Ally, what's wrong?" he questioned as he hurried over to her side.
Alex felt the cutting go even deeper. "I . . . I don't know!" she yelped. "I-it feels l-like s-s-something's slicing in-into me!"
"What the hell could cause that?" Rory wondered.
The Doctor took a few seconds to wrack his brain for all possible diseases. Shortly after they came aboard the TARDIS the first time, he'd vaccinated Alex and the Ponds against a plethora of alien diseases, giving them so many shots that Alex complained about feeling like a pin-cushion. That eliminated about twenty-five possible diseases. They hadn't been on Janfuke in the 41st century during the Janfuke Body-Quake pandemic, so that was out, too. What the hell could it be then?!
He watched Alex wrap her arms around her abdomen and arch into them as the pain in her body increased by a hundred and fifty. Her bottom lip was bleeding from where she'd bitten it and tears of agony were streaming down her cheeks. His hearts constricted. He couldn't stand this. He had to do something.
He reached into his jacket pocket and quickly pulled out the sonic screwdriver. "Don't worry," he assured Alex. He ran a hand through her hair in the hopes that it would calm her down, although he doubted it would work at this moment. "The sonic will tell us what's wrong."
He aimed the sonic at Alex's curled-up form and ran a basic body scan over her. A few seconds later, the device beeped. The Doctor held it up to his eyes to examine the psychic reading, only to frown. "Perfectly normal body functions?" he read in disbelief.
"Can it even do body scans?" Rory questioned, remembering how the Doctor once said that the sonic didn't work on wood.
"Yes, and don't diss the sonic," the Doctor muttered. He went over to the foot of the bed and ducked under it to pull out the collapsible med-scanner. He had hoped he wouldn't have to use this again on Alex . . . or any other companion. He quickly turned it on and rolled it into place.
"Stay still, Ally," he directed while he plugged the sonic into a little outlet on the side of the scanner.
"I remember," Alex mumbled. She struggled to calm her shaking limbs and buried her head in the pillow. She really didn't want to see the Doctor's face if the scanner revealed bad news.
Rory went and stood beside the Doctor. "What is this?" he asked, eyeing the scanner with a mixture of marvel and befuddlement.
"Collapsible med-scanner," the Doctor explained quickly, too caught up in trying to figure out what was wrong with Alex to really go into depth. He watched as a green light went over an outline of Alex's figure on the screen with the words SCAN IN PROGRESS beside it. A few seconds later, it changed to show the words SCAN RESULTS AVAILABLE.
"Ha, ha, excellent!" he cheered as the screen changed again to show the results. He and Rory leaned in close, their noses practically touching the glass. Alex's body was infected with. . .
"NOTHING?!" the men shouted. They straightened up rapidly, both nearly falling backwards in the process.
Alex peered over at them. During the scanning, the slicing feeling had abruptly stopped, but her torso still felt uncomfortable, like there really were massive cuts in it. "What do you mean, nothing?" she demanded, her voice slightly unsteady from crying and fear.
"I-it says there's nothing wrong with you," Rory reported. He gawked at the screen. That couldn't be right. There was clearly something wrong with Alex. He had seen it with his own two eyes!
"But I was in pain."
"And we know that's true," the Doctor assured her. He seriously doubted Alex would ever fake something like that, like how Earth teenagers pretended to be sick to get out of going to school for a day or two. After all, what would be her reasoning? If she didn't want to go on an adventure, all she had to do was ask him and he'd gladly let her stay on the TARDIS or park them in a quiet spot in space so they could all relax. "It might be just a fluke, that's all. The scanner probably just needs a software update."
Alex nodded slowly. That made sense. "The slicing stopped while you were doing the scan. Maybe it said nothing was wrong with me because the pain stopped."
"Seems like a good explanation to me," Rory commented.
"Yes, that could be it," the Doctor agreed. He yanked the sonic out of its outlet and switched the scanner off. "Nevertheless Ally, you should go lie down and rest for a while. I'm sure Amy will keep you company while Rory helps me update the scanner."
"Alright." Alex slowly straightened up, still feeling the tenderness in her torso. "Amy's been badgering me to watch the 23rd century remake of Twilight. She'll be happy to have me as a captive audience."
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
And for the next several hours, that seemed to be the end of that. The tenderness in Alex's torso faded a quarter of the way through Twilight (which wasn't half bad; Orlando Bloom's great-great-great grandson was a terrific actor) and she soon forgot about the pain, dismissing it as some weird body reaction to something on Vivuldi. Maybe there was something in the air the Doctor had forgotten to tell her about. Whatever had happened to her, it had stopped, and Alex could fully concentrate on Amy's drooling face as she watched Charlie Bloom's Edward romance Bella Swan, who was thankfully more assertive and independent than she was in the films Alex was familiar with.
But later that night, as the Doctor was walking towards Alex's room to check on her, he heard a loud shriek coming from that very room.
His hearts pounding rapidly at the thought of Alex in danger or hurt, the Doctor broke into a run, sprinting down the hall until he was at Alex's door. He threw it open to find Alex sitting up in bed, dressed in a black, long-sleeved shirt and black and gray plaid pajama pants. She was hunched over with her arms wrapped around her waist, quivering and sobbing as a massive amount of pain wracked her body.
"Ally!" the Doctor cried, running over to her side. He crawled up onto the bed and enveloped Alex in his arms, holding her tight, but not to where it would aggravate her already sensitive body. "Shh, love. It's okay, it's okay."
"Doctor," Alex choked. She leaned back a little into his arms. Thank God he was here. "It . . . i-it hurts!"
"I know," he said, even though he truly didn't understand the agony Alex was going through. He wished he did though. He wished he could somehow transfer her illness to him so that she wouldn't have to endure her current torment. "I'm taking you to get scanned, okay?" Without waiting for her to respond, the Doctor gathered her up in his arms and headed out the door.
Alex bit down on her lip as they went down the corridor. She had been fine for so long. She'd thought that the pain from earlier was gone, that it would never happen again! But less than an hour after going to bed, she had woken up with a start when a dream she was having about dancing with the Doctor in Rio ended with the Doctor plunging a knife into her stomach. She'd been frightened at first, wondering what the heck that dream had been about, and was about to go find the Doctor so that he could comfort her, when that same stabbing feeling she'd had in her dream and several hours before hit her.
She'd barely been able to move, only able to let out little shrieks and sobs to convey that she was hurting. She'd felt so helpless, something she was greatly unused to feeling. She'd been like that for about two minutes (though it felt like two hours) when the Doctor finally came running in.
What's wrong with me? Alex thought as the Doctor carried her into the control room. She let out a gasp and a small scream as the slicing died down for a second, then came back with stronger force. It felt like she was being cut into with a sharper, less dull, knife. She whimpered, "Doc-Doctor. . ."
"Shh," he soothed, setting her down onto the jumpseat. "Love, it's okay, it'll pass." He leaned down to kiss her forehead before swiftly moving off to the console. As he walked, he tried to hide the inner panic he was experiencing. He had to remain calm, for Alex's sake if not his own. But it was easier said than done. His hearts were pounding, his blood jumping and thrashing nervously, and he felt like his brain was going to explode from trying to figure out what was making Alex act like this.
With more steadiness than seemed capable of him, the Doctor pulled the scanner around and started typing commands into it. "Come on, old girl," he murmured, fiddling with a knob. "Tell me what's wrong with her."
He glanced at Alex. She seemed to have subdued somewhat, but she was still shaking. Whether that was from the pain or because she was cold, he didn't know. Either way, he shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. Seeing his Ally grip onto the lapels tightly as the mysterious pain wracked her body, he leaned down and kissed the top of her forehead again. It was a poor act of comfort for the turmoil she was experiencing but it was all he could offer her at the moment.
A beep rang out from the console. The Doctor fairly flew over to the scanner. "Nothing wrong," he murmured. He blinked incoherently. Then the implication of those words hit him. "Nothing wrong?!" he shouted. He glared up at the ceiling. "NOTHING WRONG?!"
"Doctor."
"What the blasted hell do you mean, there's nothing wrong with her?!" the Doctor continued. He began pacing rapidly, still scowling upwards. "Did you not see how much pain she was in, huh?" He whirled around and gave the console a fierce Oncoming Storm glare. "Don't you care about her at all?!" With that, he swiftly kicked the underside of the console, letting out a pained shout right after.
"Doctor!" Alex cried.
The Doctor felt all the anger and frustration seep out of his system at Alex's shout. She was the only one who could ever calm him down, talk him out of a full-on rage, or keep him from doing something he would later regret. It was one of the many things he lov— . . . really, really liked about her.
He became aware that he was leaning over and clutching at his foot. So blinded by his rage that his brilliant ship hadn't figured out what was wrong with his Ally, he hadn't noticed the movements he was making. He looked up, his dark green eyes meeting Alex's honey-colored ones. They were so light and innocent, filled with none of the darkness and sorrow that were on the backburner in his. The honey-colored irises looked at him anxiously and worriedly, probably not even thinking about their own problems.
"Doc?" Alex tried again.
The Doctor sighed and limped over to her. "Sorry, Ally." He sank down next to her and carefully maneuvered her to where she was in his lap. He liked holding her in his lap. It made him feel so close to her and that by her being that close to him, she would be protected from all the dangers in the universe. This couldn't be further from the truth, but the Doctor chose to overlook that.
"You okay now?" Alex checked.
He let out a mirthless laugh. "I should be asking you that."
"Well, you're the more likely of us to have temper tantrums."
"Temper tantrums? I'm not a toddler!"
"Could've fooled me with the way you act sometimes."
"Oi!" But the Doctor couldn't help but smile and chuckle. "I see you're feeling better," he remarked. Truly she had to be since she was engaging him in banter.
"Yeah, the pain's stopped."
"Do you wanna go back to bed?"
Alex shook her head. While she was tired, she would rather not leave the comfortable, warm embrace of the Doctor's arms, or give up his equally warm and comfortable jacket. "Nah, I'm fine," she dismissed. She rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I doubt I'd be able to fall asleep easily anyways."
The two were quiet for a few moments, both content to just sit there in silence, their arms wrapped around the person who mattered the most to them. Eventually though, Alex's curiosity prevailed. "Doctor, what's happening to me?" she whispered.
The Doctor let out a longwinded sigh. "I don't know, love. I have no idea. There's . . . I've never seen anything like it."
"Am I going to die?"
"Not on my watch," the Doctor vowed, his tone dark and unflinching, like he was making a non-negotiable agreement with the universe. He tugged her arms down from his neck so that he could place a finger under her chin and tilt it up, her eyes meeting his. "No, Alexandria Locke, you're going to live a very long, very happy, very wonderful life whether you like it or not."
Not long enough, Alex couldn't help but think, but she knew better than to say this out loud. The Doctor was doing a remarkable job at not moaning about her short lifespan and she wasn't about to make him start now. Instead, she said, "Well, as long as you're my doctor, I think I have a pretty good chance of that happening."
"Glad to hear that vote of confidence," the Doctor wryly remarked. Though I wish I didn't have to deal with this atop of Amy.
"What?!" Alex sat up straight, startling the Doctor to where he nearly caused her to fall off his lap. Alex looked at him frantically. "What do you mean Amy? What's wrong with Amy?"
The Doctor mentally swore as he realized he'd expressed his thoughts out loud. "Nothing, love," he attempted to dismiss. "Just general worry about my companions, is all."
Alex's eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms and stared him down. "Oh no, you are not getting out of this. Amy is one of my best friends and you are going to tell me what the problem is with her. Now."
The Doctor was silent for a few seconds, a small part of him coming up and then rejecting possible lies he could tell her to keep her from worrying. But the rest of him knew that Alex wouldn't believe anything he told her except the truth. He sighed, resigned. "Get up," he said, gently nudging her off his lap. "There's something I have to show you."
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
Alex stared at the scanner. No way, this couldn't possibly be true . . . right?
"H-how?" she managed to question through her shock and bewilderment.
"I have no idea," the Doctor said honestly. He stared at Amy's pregnancy scan, which continued to alternate between POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.
"Hysterical pregnancy, maybe?" Alex suggested, remembering a plot line from a soap opera she had seen.
"The TARDIS factors into that possibility."
"Miscarriage?"
"It would tell me if there had been a miscarriage."
". . .broken?"
The Doctor shot her a look. "It's not broken!"
Alex sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Then I have no idea." She stepped closer to him, allowing him to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his side. She bit her lip worriedly. "Are you going to tell Amy and Rory about this?"
"I don't want to alarm them," the Doctor admitted. "Not until I know what's going on, at any rate." He sent Alex a significant look as he added, "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell them, either."
"I won't," she promised. The Doctor was right. Amy and Rory would just freak out if they saw the scan, and then who knows what would happen.
The Doctor smiled at her. "Thank you." He leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
The two were silent for a moment, both mulling over the latest problems that had presented themselves. Finally, Alex let out a little snort. "What was that?" the Doctor frowned, giving her a puzzled expression.
"Nothing, it's just. . ." Alex trailed off and paused, trying to figure out how to word her thoughts correctly. "Well, it's just that I bet you never expected both of your companions to be such trouble magnets."
"I have yet to find a companion that isn't a trouble magnet. Seriously, I think it's a universal law that 'all of the Doctor's companions must be trouble magnets'." He smiled while Alex giggled a little, her worried expression from a few moments ago disappearing completely. She was truly back to herself now. He waited until she had quieted before reaching down to tilt her chin up. Her light green eyes gazed into his dark ones. "Ally, I promise you, I'll find out what's going on with the both of you. I swear, even if it takes the rest of my life, I will."
Alex smiled. He was so dedicated to her. It still came as a pleasant shock to realize that. "I know," she murmured as she stood up on her tiptoes to reach his lips.
The Doctor leaned down so she wouldn't have to strain herself to reach him. He placed his hands on her hips, pulling her to where their chests were nearly touching. Slowly, as they didn't want to rush the moment, their lips came together. Like the kiss they had shared back at Abigail's family's house, this was a slow, gentle kiss, one that could be savored and enjoyed more thoroughly. Their eyes closed and they moved closer together, the Doctor's arms going around Alex's lower back and Alex's wrapping around his neck. They paused a few times for Alex to catch her breath, but it was a while before they parted completely.
"Feeling better?" the Doctor asked.
Alex quirked an eyebrow at him. "What makes you think I was feeling bad?"
"Ally, you always worry about Amy and Rory. You always put others before yourself." He tapped her lightly on the nose. "Something I disagree with when it comes to you, but I don't want to argue, so I'll drop it."
Alex chuckled. "Good, 'cause I don't want to fight. And yeah, in all seriousness, I am still a bit anxious and worried."
The Doctor ran a hand through her hair and placed his other hand on her shoulder. The tense muscles relaxed immediately at his touch. Now he just had to work on her brain. "Well, it's a good thing I have something that can cheer you up."
He carefully maneuvered Alex back over to the jumpseat before rushing back to the console. He flung levers, flicked switches, and pressed a few buttons, piloting the TARDIS through the vortex. Alex gripped onto the railing, but there wasn't any need. The TARDIS was flying steadily now, not something that occurred very often.
A few moments later, the time machine stilled. Alex's body tensed in anticipation. "Where are we?" she asked eagerly.
The Doctor beamed and pulled her off the jumpseat. "Somewhere amazing," he said cryptically while he tugged her over to the doors. He paused for a moment so he could watch her face grow a little more impatient.
"Don't stand there gawking at me!" Alex cried after less than five seconds had passed. "Show me!" She bounced up and down a little. What did he have to show her? Whatever it was, she already knew she would like it.
Silently, the Doctor pushed open the doors. Alex turned and gasped. It was amazing and gorgeous and so many other things!
The TARDIS was floating in outer space, though it didn't look like the typical black sky, white stars outer space Alex was familiar with. The sky outside was a mixture of pink, gold, and dark blue. Similarly colored dust was floating by. Out in the distance was a swirling mass of blue and yellow gas. A bunch of different sized rocks slowly floated towards it, while even further out in the distance was a bright yellow speck that Alex presumed to be a sun.
"Where are we?" she whispered, as to speak any louder seemed inappropriate.
The Doctor smirked to himself. He knew she would like this. "Well, the Big Bang occurred oh . . . a couple centuries ago?" He moved closer to her, placing a hand on the doorframe above her head. "The solar system's just starting to form."
Alex stared at him, wide-eyed. "You mean. . .?" She trailed off and pointed outside. "That's. . ."
"The Milky Way galaxy," the Doctor confirmed, nodding sagely. "Or it will be anyway."
"Wow." Alex shook her head, still unable to believe it. She had seen many marvelous things traveling with the Doctor, but this took the cake. "It's beautiful."
"I've always thought so. But I believe it even more beautiful now."
"Why's that?"
The Doctor looked her right in the eye and Alex knew that what he was about to say was serious and the total truth. "Because, my dear Ally, somewhere out in that forming mass of gas, are teeny tiny atoms that will, one day, a billion, billion years from now, come together to form . . . you."
Alex couldn't help but blush heavily. "You really think that?" she murmured, a bit of surprised giggling bleeding through her words.
"I know," he swore. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm a doctor, aren't I?"
Alex laughed. "No one's ever felt so strongly for me before," she admitted quietly.
"Then they didn't know what they were missing out on, did they?" the Doctor commented. He bent down and pressed a kiss to her lips. "You are unique in the universe, love," he whispered, like he was divulging a great secret. "There is only one Alexandria Locke. And there will never be another."
Alex said nothing. Instead, she smiled and leaned forward. She wrapped her arms around him, feeling him do the same to her, and rested her head against his chest. She felt so safe and protected in his arms, even from the mysterious pain that could strike her body at any moment. In his arms, Alex forgot about the worries, anxiety, and wondering from the past few minutes. Instead, she stared out at the forming galaxy before her which, somewhere, contained bits and pieces of not only her, but the man before her, the man she loved with all her heart.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: So we finally get into the 'mysterious pain attacks' from the summery! What is going on?! Well, it's gonna be a while before we find out. And for those of you wondering, Alex will discuss the shifting organs thing she was experiencing with the Doctor soon. :)
Up next is one of the books from the New Adventures Series, Touched by an Angel by Jonathan Morris. :)
Review Replies:
whitedwarf - I never thought of it before, but it CAN feel a little intrusive reading the make-out scenes. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
NicoleR85 - Thank you! I'm excited to get to 'The Doctor's Wife' too. I just love the relationship between the TARDIS and Alex. :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
mrs. morgan 35 - I would love that too. Alex will get her inheritance eventually and though I don't have any definitive plans, I think something bad will happen to Carla. :}
Jojo - Yes, I loved that moment too! I tried to make it as awkward to admit as possible so I'm glad to know it came across that way. The Doctor will find it easier not to instinctively respond to River's flirting. That kiss she gave him was very enlightening in regards to her feelings towards him so he'll be careful not to respond to her flirting. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
bored411 - Glad you liked the chapter! Yep, they got the jealousy out of the way and in time to address a bigger problem, as seen in this chapter. :}
ShadowTeir - I don't have any definitive plans, but I think something will be done about her grandmother and Alex will eventually get control of her inheritance. Lol, they're definitely in the 'can't keep their hands off each-other' phase! Yeah, I wanted to address the issue of sex because, as far as Alex knows, he is an alien so it's possible that he can't give her what she's used to sexually. They will have a discussion about the possibility of intimacy in a future chapter. :) I was going to end it where Alex got comfortable on the jumpseat but it didn't sound right to me not to show the ultimate discussion, so I went back in and added it. I think it was a good move. :) Yes, graduation is on track! I'm so relieved about that. :) Lol, no, Alex had no idea about the turns. In regards to Ross, it does kind of hurt thinking that his aunt and cousin are dead (especially considering the circumstances they are believed to have died in) but, since Rose is his step-cousin, it's not really a huge hurt as they didn't really know each-other very well. I have it in my notes that they only met a handful of times. Still, they're members of his family, ones he's lost like his brother, so it does hurt. Ross will be relieved to know they are alive and in a parallel universe, though I'm not sure yet about him going overprotective on Alex. Yep, my dog is okay, which I'm happy about, never mind all the mud he tracked in. :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please review and see you tomorrow! :)