"Come, come, come," Uncle said impatiently as he ushered the TARDIS crew into his, Auntie, Nephew, and Idris' home. They were now in what looked like a decrepit spaceship that had long ceased to work properly. Piles and piles of random junk were cluttered all around the room.
It's like a Hoarders episode in here, Alex observed.
She watched Uncle guide the Doctor over to a grate on the far side of the room. Alex followed him, eyeing the grate curiously. Underneath it, something was letting out a green glow. "You can see the House and he can look at you," Uncle was explaining as she approached.
"I see," the Doctor nodded. He knelt down to examine the grate. Alex did the same next to him.
"The asteroid's sentient?" Alex guessed.
Auntie nodded in confirmation. "We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food. . ."
"Smell its armpits," Amy quipped under her breath.
At that moment, Auntie and Uncle stiffened, just like Alex had back in Savannah when she was being possessed by victims of the Soulisases. "And do my will," a heavy male voice spoke through their mouths. The Doctor and Alex jumped up, the Doctor immediately pushing Alex behind him in case the asteroid tried to do something harmful through Auntie and Uncle's bodies. "You are most welcome, travelers."
Amy inched back a half-step. "Doctor . . . that voice," she said nervously. "That's the, um, asteroid talking?"
"Yes." He knelt back down by the grate. Alex stood behind him, keeping her eyes fixed on Auntie and Uncle. "So, you're like a . . . sea urchin," the Doctor deduced. "Hard outer surface, that's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside, that's you?"
"That is correct, Time Lord," House confirmed.
"Ah. So you've met Time Lords before?"
"Many travelers have come through the rift, like Auntie, and Uncle, and Nephew. I repair them when they break."
Break? Alex wrinkled her nose in confusion. What does that mean? But before she could try and ask, the Doctor inquired, "So there are Time Lords here, then?"
"Not anymore, but there have been many TARDISes on my back in days gone by."
"Well, there won't be any more after us," the Doctor said as he rose. "Last Time Lord. Last TARDIS."
"A pity. Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest. Feed if you will." Auntie and Uncle shifted a little and looked at each-other. The trance was over.
Rory struggled not to shift nervously. Like Alex, he felt rather uneasy about this place. There was just something . . . not right about it. "We're not actually going to stay here, are we?"
"Well, it seems like a friendly planet," the Doctor remarked. He snaked an arm around Alex's waist, pulling her into his side. "Literally."
Alex sighed, resigned. She knew they wouldn't be going anywhere until the Doctor found the Time Lords . . . or what was left of them. "Mind if we look around a bit?" she asked Auntie.
"You can look all you want," Auntie beamed. "Go. Look." She hobbled her way over to Amy and placed her hands on the redhead's face. "House loves you."
The Doctor eyed her hands. Now that he was looking at them, he noticed that one of them was a bit bigger and meatier than the other. Not wanting to let anything on, he clapped his hands enthusiastically. "Come on then, gang! We're just going to, uh, see the sights." He rewrapped his arm around Alex's waist and together, they led Amy and Rory out of the room.
They had just started walking down a narrow corridor when the Doctor and Alex heard a voice calling out to them. Alex frowned. It was faint, but it sounded a lot like Idris to her. Beside her, the Doctor came to a halt, Alex stumbling a little since his arm was still around her waist.
"Shush, shush, shush!" he ordered Amy and Rory as they came to a stop behind him. But the sound, whatever it was, had stopped. Still frowning a little, the Doctor and Alex resumed walking.
"So . . . as soon as the TARDIS is refueled, we go, yeah?" Rory asked hopefully.
"No," the Doctor corrected, turning to face them. "There are Time Lords here. I heard them and they need me."
Amy frowned a little. "You told me about your people, and you told me what you did," she gently reminded him. Well, he hadn't so much told her as she'd walked in on him and Alex discussing the Time War, but that was a mere technicality.
"Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones and I can save them."
"And then tell them you destroyed all the others?"
"I can explain," the Doctor insisted. "Tell them why I had to." He moved his arm away from Alex and turned to continue down the corridor, but Amy's next words stopped him in his tracks.
"You wanna be forgiven."
The Doctor's shoulders slumped. She was right. He wanted to be forgiven desperately for that terrible act. Even though he had Alex's reassurances that what he did was for the greater good, he still felt the need for a member of his own race to forgive him. He didn't think Alex would ever understand his desperate need for that, no matter how hard she tried. "Don't we all?" he sighed.
Alex looked at him sorrowfully. She knew she would never be able to fully get him over the guilt he felt in destroying the Time Lords, no matter how hard she tried. She just hoped after this adventure when things went wrong – because things always went wrong with the Doctor – he wouldn't be even more depressed.
Amy also looked at him pityingly, wondering if there was anything she could do to try and help. Deciding to take the bull by the horns, she asked, "What do you need from me?"
The Doctor turned back around and patted his jacket. "My screwdriver," he answered, causing Alex to narrow her eyes at him in suspicion. "I left it in the TARDIS. It's in my jacket."
"You're wearing your jacket," Rory pointed out.
"My other jacket."
Rory scoffed. "You have two of those?"
"Okay, I'll get it," Amy jumped in, raising a hand as a signal to Rory to shut up. "But Doctor, listen to me. Don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes."
The Doctor smirked at her and saluted. "Yes, boss."
"Call my phone when you reach the TARDIS," Alex directed.
Amy nodded in agreement. "Alex, Rory, look after him," she told them before disappearing around a corner.
"Rory, look after her," the Doctor ordered.
"Yeah," Rory nodded, before scrambling back down the corridor to catch up with Amy.
Alex waited until she was sure he was out of earshot before whirling around on her heel. "Tell me something, Doc," she demanded, fixing him with a withering look. "Why did you send them away? And don't use that stupid sonic screwdriver excuse on me. I felt it earlier when we were making out." She paused and then an impish glint appeared in her eyes. "Unless it was something else."
The Doctor's face reddened enormously at her implication. "Er . . . uh, well, no!" he stuttered nervously. "Not that that's never. . . I mean, no!" His eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from blurting out something that could be potentially embarrassing for him and Alex both.
But instead of getting angry like he expected, Alex merely laughed. "Oh, Doc, you are so adorable when you're flustered." She stood up on tiptoe and removed his hand from his mouth before leaning in to give him a peck on the lips. Once she had done that, she settled back on her feet and wrapped her hands around the back of his neck. "But seriously, Doctor, why did you send them away?"
"For the same reason I would've sent you with them. Keep in mind, Ally, Time Lords looked down on humans. In fact, they were even banned from Gallifrey at one point. I have to make sure that if there are Time Lords here, they're the good kind who like humans." He paused, considering his words. "Or at the very least tolerate them."
Alex nodded slowly. That made sense. She couldn't argue with that. "Okay. But why didn't you send me away, too?"
The Doctor smirked at her. "Because you never listen to me when I send you off. You would've just snuck along behind me which wouldn't really work. I can always sense when you're nearby."
"And me with you," Alex smiled. Right now, a rush of adrenaline was running through her system, keeping her energy level up as she touched him.
Still smiling at her, the Doctor brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Their eyes closed and they leaned in close. Soon they were close enough to where they could feel each-other's breath on their faces. But just as they were about to press their lips together, Alex's phone started belting out the chorus to Rascal Flatts' 'Life is a Highway'.
The Doctor let out a low growl as he pulled away from Alex. "Always with the interruptions," he grumbled as Alex fumbled with her Blackberry. "I really need to invent that companion muzzle."
"Then Amy would be calling to yell at you about it," Alex countered. She pressed the answer button, then the speaker button. "Hi, Amy," she greeted. "You're on speaker."
"Hey, we're here," Amy told them. "Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?"
"Yeah, it's around somewhere," the Doctor lied, pulling out his sonic. "Have a good look." He waited until Alex ended the call before pressing a button on the sonic screwdriver that remotely locked the TARDIS doors.
Alex raised an eyebrow at him as she tucked the phone back in her jacket pocket. "You know Amy's gonna be pissed when she finds out, right?"
"Don't remind me. Come on, Ally." He held out his hand. Alex immediately took it, and they continued down the corridor.
The corridor extended on a little further before leading into a large room cluttered with more junk, though not as much as there'd been in the first room of the spaceship. Alex surveyed the dimly lit room as the Doctor led her around.
"Come on," he called. "Where are you? Where are you all? Where are you?" Not gleaning anything, he closed his eyes, using his superior brain to better sense the Time Lords. A moment later, he opened his eyes. He had caught a faint voice. It was too faint to make it out, but he was pretty sure it was a Time Lord and that they were somewhere nearby.
Still pulling Alex along, he went over to a curtain made from a patchwork blanket. Pushing it aside, he found himself staring at a small cabinet. Echoing out from inside it were muffled voices, distantly requesting help.
The Doctor's brow furrowed as he frowned at the cabinet. "Well, they can't all be in here," he commented, trying to push back the feeling of dread coming over him. Beside him, Alex worried her bottom lip. She had a good idea what was in that cabinet, and she knew it wouldn't comfort the Doctor at all.
Alex nervously watched the Doctor open the cabinet. She could feel her heart break for him when she saw what was inside. There were at least ten of those glowing emergency distress cubes. Voices spilled out of all of them, the original owners of the cubes all sounding panicked and scared.
"Please, do you read me?"
"Structural integrity failure. Damage to dimensional stabilizer. . ."
"If you can hear, come and help. . ."
Alex stiffened at the sound of footsteps behind them. She looked out of the corner of her eye. It was Auntie and Uncle.
"Just admiring your Time Lord distress signal collection," the Doctor lowly murmured, catching sight of them as well. His voice was dark, his muscles were tensed, and a rage was building within him like magma before it burst out of a volcano. "Nice job. Brilliant job. Really thought I had some friends here, but this is what the Ood translator picked up. Cries for help from the long dead."
He whirled around, fixing Auntie and Uncle with a narrow-eyed glare. Alex backed away a few steps, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to calm him down in this situation. He had just been tricked into thinking a few members of his race were alive. And for a man like the Doctor, that was the cruelest trick of all, one that would never be forgotten or forgiven.
"How many Time Lords have you lured here the way you lured me?" he demanded. "And what happened to them all?"
"House, House is kind," Auntie stuttered. "And he is wise—"
"House repairs you when you break!" the Doctor snapped. He strode forwards, forcing Auntie and Uncle to back up. "Yes, I know! But how does he mend you?" He whipped out his sonic and waved it over Uncle. "You've got the eyes of a twenty-year-old."
"Thank you," Uncle said dumbly.
The Doctor shook his head. "No, oh no, I mean it literally. Your eyes are thirty years younger than the rest of you." He quickly reached up and knocked Uncle's hat off, exposing a small blue ear on one side of his head. "Your ears don't match, your right arm is two inches longer than your left, and how's your dancing?! 'Cause you've got two left feet!"
"Patchwork people," Alex breathed, speaking for the first time since the Doctor began his angry rant.
The Doctor bitterly nodded in agreement. "You've been repaired and patched up so often, I doubt there's anything left of what used to be you." It was then as he was putting his sonic away that he caught sight of Auntie's large arm. "I had an umbrella like you once," he remarked, grabbing hold of it.
"Oh, now, it's been a great arm for me, this," Auntie said, tilting it slightly. As she did, a large tattoo revealed itself. It was of a snake eating its own tail, an Ourobouros.
The Doctor and Alex stared at it in horror. "The Corsair," they breathed.
"He was a strapping big bloke, wasn't he, Uncle?"
"Big fellow," Uncle agreed.
"I got the arm, and then Uncle got the spine and the kidneys."
"Kidneys," Uncle nodded along.
But the Doctor's disposition had darkened even more, if that was possible, at the revelation of what had happened to his friend. The Corsair had been torn apart, parts of his body used as spares for these. . . Well, not even properly people anymore! His skin crackled and popped with anger, and he knew it would be only a few seconds before he exploded. "You gave me hope, and then you took it away," he seethed. "That's enough to make anyone dangerous. God knows what it will do to me. Basically. . . RUN!"
Within an instant, Auntie fled the room in terror. Uncle, however, lingered in the doorway. "Poor old Time Lord," he mocked. "Too late. House is too clever." And then he was gone.
The Doctor merely stared at the spot Uncle had just vacated, like he was trying to incinerate it with his eyes. Alex cautiously stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Doctor?" she murmured.
The Doctor closed his eyes and leaned back into her touch. "Oh, Ally," he sighed. He felt a wave of sadness and despair wash over him.
Sensing this like it was normal, Alex immediately spun him around and engulfed him in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Doctor," she whispered in his ear, standing on tiptoe to reach.
The Doctor placed his own arms around her, cradling her to him. He lifted her slightly so she didn't have to strain herself in reaching his nearly six-foot height. He didn't say anything. Her compassion and sympathy were enough. He felt so alone, even in the most crowded of rooms . . . but with her, he never felt like that. He felt like he had someone on his side, someone who would do anything for him, someone he would do the same for.
Needing her even closer to him, he lifted Alex up more, maneuvering her legs around his waist. He kept his arms at the base of her back so she wouldn't lose her balance. "Ally," he said again, pulling back slightly so he could look her straight in the eye. Her eyes were currently copper but were slowly turning chocolate brown. "Why didn't you try and calm me down a few moments ago?"
Alex smiled bashfully at him, a look she was not used to giving anyone. Then again, this wouldn't be the first time the Doctor brought out new desires and feelings in her. "I didn't think I'd really be able to stop you," she admitted. "And. . . I don't think I really wanted to." Her eyes narrowed in anger, the chocolate brown irises menacing as they tightened into little slits. "They tricked you, Doctor. Honestly! Of all the nerve to use your own hopes against you. . . I'm surprised I didn't go after them myself."
The Doctor stared at her in shock for a moment, but then he suddenly pulled her back towards him and captured her lips. Alex let out a startled squeak of surprise but hastened to comply with her love's sudden turn in mood. The kiss was hard and fast, the Doctor forcibly prying Alex's mouth open as she clutched his shirt collar in delight. His fingers dug into her waist, pulling her even tighter against him as he ran his tongue inside her mouth. Alex's legs gripped him tighter, as though she were trying to keep him in one place forever.
Suddenly, they broke apart. Alex breathed heavily as the Doctor watched her. For once, he had managed to activate his respiratory bypass system in time. A few seconds later, Alex regained her breath. "Wow," she marveled, panting a little. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
He smiled at her and reached up to tuck a stray piece of brown-blonde hair behind her ear. "Just . . . being you. The one person who will constantly defend me, stick up for me, no matter what happens. The one person I'd do just about anything for. The most precious thing in the universe."
Alex smiled and blushed at his description, but a small part of her mind couldn't help but think of very similar words spoken at a certain lakeside. You are the most precious thing in the universe to me, love, and I do not want to see you hurt.
But before she could dwell on that for too long, her phone suddenly started belting out "Life is a highway and I wanna drive it all night looooonnnnggg!" Very reluctantly, she hopped down and dug the phone out of her pocket. She glanced at the Caller ID. "Uh-oh," she cringed before answering it and putting it to her ear. "Hello?"
"Put your boyfriend on the phone," Amy growled.
"Somebody's in trouble," Alex sang to the Doctor. He shifted slightly, knowing he was about to talk to a very pissed-off Scot. Alex lowered the phone and pressed the speaker button. "'Kay, go ahead, Ames."
"No sonic screwdriver," Amy announced without preamble. "Also, the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us!"
"Time Lord stuff," the Doctor weakly defended. "Needed you out of the way."
"What, we're not good enough for your smart new friends?"
"Not like that, Amy, I swear," Alex jumped in.
"Hey, you're in on this too!"
"No, I'm not!"
"The boxes will make you angry," the Doctor mused, effectively cutting off the girls' squabble.
Alex paused, her mouth hanging open as she was about to retort something to Amy. She cocked her head, thinking over these words. Wasn't that what Idris said? She flashed back to that strange conversation outside. The little boxes will make you angry. Alex's eyes widened and she whirled around to look at the Doctor. "How could she have known that?"
"What are you two talking about?" Amy questioned.
"Stay put!" the Doctor ordered her. "Stay exactly where you are!"
"We don't have much—" But Amy was cut off as the Doctor snatched the Blackberry and ended the call.
"Come on!" the Doctor cried. He tossed the phone to Alex, who just barely managed to catch it as it hit her chest, before grabbing her hand and leading her off down a corridor.
"How could she have known that?" Alex wondered as they hurried down the hall. "Do you think she's a psychic like Madame Marie?"
The Doctor shrugged. "Won't know until we talk to her." He looked around for a moment before pulling Alex down a left-hand corridor. It led straight into a large room that was, like everywhere else, packed with junk and knick-knacks. But the one difference from the others was that there was a nice big cage on one side of the room. A certain Victorian-dress wearing, biting woman was currently sitting inside.
"How did you know about the boxes?" the Doctor demanded as he and Alex strode in. He planted himself in front of the cage, pausing only to make sure that Alex was safely behind him. Even though Idris was currently in a cage, that still didn't make him any less wary of her.
Alex got up on tiptoe to peek over his shoulder. "You said they would make him angry, and they did. How did you know that?"
But if Idris was startled by their sudden entrance, she did a good job at hiding it. She was seated on a bench, eyes closed. It looked to Alex like she was meditating. "Ah, it's my thief," she sighed in what sounded like worship. She opened her eyes and smirked at the suspicious couple. "And his Ally," she beamed upon catching sight of Alex.
Alex tensed at the name but didn't snap at her. The Doctor narrowed his eyes and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Just like when she did it to him, his touch relaxed her muscles almost in an instant. "Who are you?!" he barked.
"Hmmm. . . It's about time."
"I don't understand. Who are you?"
"Do you not know me?" Idris blinked. She looked over at Alex and frowned in what appeared to be confusion. "Either of you? Just because they put me in here?"
"They said you were dangerous," the Doctor reminded her.
"Not the cage, stupid!" Idris rose and walked over to the hexagon-styled door. "In here!" She placed her hands on either side of her face. "They put me in here. I'm the—" She paused. The Doctor and Alex raised their eyebrows at her. "Oh, what do you call me? We travel. I go. . ." And then out of her mouth came the sound of the TARDIS materialization noise.
The Doctor and Alex's eyes widened at the familiar grinding, groaning sound. "The TARDIS?" they gawked.
"Time And Relative Dimension in Space," Idris recited. "Yes, that's it. Names are funny. It's me!" She smiled broadly at them. "I'm the TARDIS."
"No, you're not!" the Doctor shouted. He started to pace across the room, barely able to believe what he'd just heard. There was no way this woman could be the TARDIS! It was impossible! "You're a bitey, mad lady. The TARDIS is up and downy stuff in a big blue box!"
"Yes, that's me," Idris declared, causing the Doctor to abruptly stop his pacing. Alex simply stood still, her gaze going back and forth from the Doctor to Idris like she was watching a tennis match. "A Type 40 TARDIS. I was already a museum piece when you were young, and the first time you touched my console, you said—"
"I said you were the most beautiful thing I had ever known," the Doctor finished. He stared into space, completely and totally dumbstruck. This wasn't possible. It shouldn't be possible. Was it really possible?
Alex pursed her lips slightly, feeling her jealousy automatically rev up, even though that was the last thing she wanted. Honestly! She really had to work on this jealousy trait of hers. This was way past ridiculous. She couldn't, shouldn't, be jealous of the TARDIS, for Christ's sake! The TARDIS had more of a claim on the Doctor, having traveled with him and suffered his piloting for 900 odd years.
Idris smiled a little, noticing that Alex had stiffened at the Doctor's words. "Of course, that sentence is completely invalid now," she remarked. The Doctor and Alex whirled around and stared at her in confusion. "Now that you know Ally, I mean. She's the most beautiful thing you've ever known, right?" She gave the Doctor a pointed look.
The Doctor smiled almost shyly, confirming without any words that she was right. "Yeah," he murmured, casting an admiring look at Alex. "Definitely the most beautiful thing I've ever known." Alex blushed and bit her lip, turning away in embarrassment as her heartbeat sped up in excitement.
Idris smiled, feeling rather pleased with herself. "Now that we've established that, let's get back to the story." She looked at the Doctor. "And then you stole me. And I stole you."
"I borrowed you," he protested.
Idris rolled her eyes and snorted. "Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing that was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?"
Alex stared at her in amazement. "You're really the TARDIS?" she breathed.
"Yes."
"My TARDIS?" the Doctor checked, still unable to believe this insane claim.
"My Doctor and his Ally. Oh! We have now reached the point in the conversation where one of you opens the lock."
The Doctor contemplated her. Even though Idris had spouted off very specific and personal information, he still didn't feel completely comfortable around her. Those kiss-attacks of hers had made sure of that. Not to mention, but the most precious thing in the universe was standing just a few steps away from him, and he'd be damned if he let the TARDIS hurt his Ally in one of her wildfire mood-swings.
After a few more seconds of consideration, he nodded to himself. He stepped forward, putting a hand in his jacket pocket to pull the sonic screwdriver out. But before he could even grasp it, Alex let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes. "Honestly," she muttered as she pulled her necklace charm out from the collar of her jacket. She aimed it at the lock. A second later, the topaz in the charm lit up, a familiar buzzing rang out, and the cage door was unlocked.
Idris made her way out while the Doctor grabbed Alex's wrist and pulled her behind him. Alex rolled her eyes at the movement but complied. Standing up on tiptoe, she watched over the Doctor's shoulder as Idris came to a halt in front of him.
For a moment, she simply stared at him. "Are all people like this?" she wondered.
The Doctor and Alex frowned. "Like what?" they asked together.
Idris smiled at their simultaneous speaking, but answered, "So much bigger on the inside. I'm. . ." She huffed and turned away, clearly frustrated. "Oh, what is that word?! It's so big, so complicated. It's so sad."
"But why?" the Doctor questioned, trying to get back to the problem at hand. "Why pull the living soul from a TARDIS and pop it in a tiny human head? What does it want you for?"
"Oh, it doesn't want me," Idris dismissed, walking back towards them. She proceeded to sniff the Doctor's collar before moving on behind him and fingering strands of Alex's hair.
Alex gently batted Idris' hands away. "How do you know?"
"House eats TARDISes."
The Doctor looked up from where he had been self-consciously sniffing his collar. "House what? What do you mean?"
"I don't know. It's something I heard you say."
"When?"
"In the future."
"House eats TARDISes?"
"There you go," Idris nodded. She put a finger over his mouth. "What are fish fingers?"
"What does that have to do with anything?" Alex questioned right as the Doctor asked, through his covered mouth, "When do I say that?"
"Any second."
"Of course!" he cried in realization. He pushed Idris' hand away and began to pace. "House feeds on rift energy and TARDISes are bursting with it and not raw . . . lovely and cooked, processed food. Mmm, fish fingers."
Alex rolled her eyes again. Trust the Doctor to get off topic by thinking about the disgusting food combination he loved.
"Do fish have fingers?" Idris wondered.
"But you can't eat a TARDIS," Alex interjected. Her brow furrowed. "At least, I don't think so. . ."
"She's right," the Doctor confirmed, pulling himself back to the topic at hand. "It would destroy you, unless . . . unless. . ."
"Unless," Idris jumped in, "you deleted the TARDIS matrix first."
The Doctor snorted in disbelief. "So it deleted you?"
"But House can't just delete a TARDIS consciousness. That would blow a hole in the universe. So, he pulls out the matrix, sticks it in a living receptacle, and then it feeds off the remaining Artron energy. . ." Idris broke off into a gasp. "You were about to say all that," she realized, pointing to the now horrified Doctor. "I don't suppose you have to now."
Alex whirled around on the Doctor. "You sent Amy and Rory there!" she shrieked.
"They'll be eaten!" the Doctor exclaimed. Alex quickly handed him her phone, the number to the TARDIS already dialed. He lifted it to his ear and used the other hand to snatch Alex's hand and pull her off. "Amy! Amy! Rory!"
The duo raced through the halls, the whole spaceship seeming like a complex maze now that their friends' lives were on the line. But finally, they made their way out into the junkyard. Just as they did so, Amy answered. "Get the hell out of there!" the Doctor ordered the moment she picked up.
"Doctor, something's wrong!" Amy called.
"It's House, he's after the TARDIS! Just get out, both of you!"
"We can't! You locked the door, remember?"
"But I've unlocked it!"
"You stupid well haven't!"
By this point, the Doctor and Alex had reached the TARDIS. Much to their horror, the light in the windows was going out.
"Doctor, I don't like this," Amy fretted.
Neither do we, Alex thought as she frantically buzzed her sonic necklace over the door. The Doctor had mentioned during one of their sonic lessons that he had programmed her sonic to open the TARDIS doors whenever needed, a skill that didn't seem to be working now. Alex growled and stepped back. She watched the Doctor try snapping his fingers, same as he did the night she and Amy left with him, but that wasn't working either.
"Open!" the Doctor shouted at the doors.
"Doctor?"
"Open this door!"
Alex sprinted over and started banging on the doors. "Amy! Rory!" she yelled.
But it was no use. A familiar green glow gleamed out from behind the windows and a moment later, the TARDIS vanished.
Alex stumbled back into the Doctor's arms. He held her tight against his chest with one arm while he used the other one to work the phone. "Amy? Amy, can you hear me?" he called, but there was no answer, only static.
"They're gone," Alex whimpered. "House took them." She shuddered and stared at the spot the TARDIS had just vacated. There was no telling what a sentient being like House would do to Amy and Rory when it realized they were on board. She bit her lip worriedly as her mind went crazy, thinking up all sorts of horrible and disastrous scenarios that could be going on right now.
The Doctor disconnected the call and handed the Blackberry back to Alex. "Okay, right," he babbled. "I don't . . . I really don't know what to do. . ." He abruptly smiled. "That's a new feeling."
Alex promptly whacked him across the back of the head. "FOCUS!" she screamed at him. "Our friends have been taken by a malevolent asteroid and our only means of transportation was hijacked!" She grabbed him by his jacket lapels and shook him. "You're the Doctor! THINK of something!"
The Doctor grabbed her hands and gently lowered them. He winced, feeling them shake and tremble in anger and fear. Alex was incredibly loyal to those she deemed worthy of it, and after him, Amy and Rory were at the top of the list. And now they had been taken. Of course she was angry and wanted to go after them. "I will, Ally," he promised, his voice both gentle and firm. "I promise. But you need to help me and you're no use to me when you're angry. So calm down."
Alex nodded, knowing she was getting really pissed off. She got like that whenever someone was hitting on the Doctor or when her loved ones were in danger. But the Doctor was right. She wasn't any help being all angry and seething. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. She even started counting down from twenty. Right at 'eleven', she felt her heart rate calm. "Okay," she whispered. "I'm good."
The Doctor smiled at her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Good girl," he murmured. "Now, come on." He grabbed her hand and led her back to the spaceship.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
"It's gone," the Doctor announced without preamble as he and Alex marched back into the spaceship.
Idris looked up from the makeshift seat she'd settled herself on. "Eaten?"
"Hijacked," Alex corrected. She sat next to her while the Doctor paced in front of them.
"But why?" he lamented.
At that moment, Auntie and Uncle came walking in. They were both wrapped up in blankets. "It's time for us both to go, Uncy," Auntie remarked as she toddled towards a chair. "Together."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, go?" the Doctor bellowed. "What do you mean 'go'? Where are you going?"
"Well, we're dying my love." Auntie said this like it was completely normal. "It's time for Auntie and Uncle to pop off."
"I'm against it," Uncle confided, seating himself on a crate.
"It's your fault, isn't it, sweets? 'Cause you told House it was the last TARDIS. House can't feed on them if there's none coming, can he?"
"So now he's off to your universe to find more TARDISes."
"It won't," the Doctor said flatly, his arms crossed.
"Oh, it'll think of something," Auntie smiled. A split second later, she abruptly stiffened and fell to the side.
Alex gasped while the Doctor ran over to Auntie and began running the sonic screwdriver over her. Next to him, Uncle stood. "Actually, I feel fine," he remarked, only to fall over as well.
"Not dead!" the Doctor shouted as he hopped over to Uncle. "You can't just die!"
Alex was about to go over and examine Auntie and Uncle as well, but Idris suddenly grabbed her hand and jerked her up. "We need to go where I landed, Doctor, quickly."
"Why?" the Doctor and Alex questioned.
"'Cause we are there in three minutes. We need to go . . . now!" Idris started for the doors, pulling Alex along behind her in an identical manner to how the Doctor did it. But they only got a few feet before Idris suddenly stopped and bent over. "Ow!" she cried, clutching her side in pain.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked in alarm.
Idris turned so that she was facing both Alex and the Doctor. "Roughly how long do these bodies last?"
In response, the Doctor and Alex scanned her with their sonics. Alex examined the results. She blinked and stared at her necklace. She knew she should have seen it coming, but it was still a shock.
"You're dying," the Doctor breathed once he looked at the results of his scan.
"Yes, of course I'm dying," Idris huffed. She snatched the sonic screwdriver. "I don't belong in a flesh body! Could blow the casing in no time." She shot him a mild glare when he frowned sadly at her. "No, stop!" she snapped. "Don't get emotional. Hmm," she mused, tilting her head. "That's what the orangey girl says. You're the Doctor. Focus."
"On what?" he shouted. "How? I'm a madman with a box without a box!" He seized the sonic and tucked it back in his jacket pocket. "I'm stuck down the plughole at the end of the universe on a stupid old junkyard—" He cut himself off. Alex studied him. His eyes were wide in realization. "Ooh. . ."
"What?" Alex asked. What did he realize that she didn't? "What is it?"
"I'm not."
"Not what?" Idris questioned.
"Because it's not a junkyard." The Doctor beamed at them. "Don't you see? It's not a junkyard!"
It's not? Alex thought. "Well then, what is it?" she demanded.
"It's a TARDIS junkyard! Come on!" The Doctor clapped his hands, still grinning away, and bounded up to Alex. He grabbed her hand and started to lead her off, only to stop and spin back around. "Oh, uh, sorry," he said to Idris. "Do you have a name?"
"700 years, finally he asks," Idris remarked dryly.
"But what do I call you?"
"Don't you call me . . . 'sexy'?"
The Doctor blinked and cast a nervous look at Alex. Her only reaction to the name had been an eyebrow raising, though he had no doubt that jealousy trait of hers was flaring up inside her. "Only when we're alone," he whispered, even though Alex was standing right next to him.
Idris glanced at Alex. "Oh, yes, well, didn't you once call me—"
"It's fine," Alex sighed. Her jealousy had reared up a little bit at the name, but it was mostly tempered by the knowledge that the TARDIS seemed to really support her relationship with the Doctor. "He's known you longer anyway." Then, a lightbulb flashed in her head. "And I have a name for you as well!" She grinned and grabbed the Doctor's hand, dashing off with him as she called over her shoulder, "Let's go, Gorgeous!"
The Doctor grinned while Idris laughed and hastened to catch up with them. "Gorgeous?" he repeated, arching a playful eyebrow at Alex.
Alex smirked. "What, you can call your time machine a name and I can't?"
"Point taken," he chuckled as he lifted their entwined hands to plant a kiss on her knuckles.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A few minutes later, they reached the top of a small hill. It was a perfect spot, for it allowed the trio to look out upon the dreary wasteland before them.
"A valley of half-eaten TARDISes," the Doctor murmured, staring out at the landscape. The whole valley was completely cluttered with rusting and broken-down structures made out of anything from metal to wood. Some were huge, the size of a New York City skyscraper, and others were about the size of the police telephone box exterior of the TARDIS. All in all, the scene oozed feelings of overwhelming sadness and death. He turned to Idris and Alex. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I'm thinking that all of my sisters are dead," Idris replied, her voice vacant and sad. She stared at the valley, her eyes full of pain. "That they were devoured and that we are looking at their corpses."
"Ah, sorry, no, I wasn't thinking that. . ."
"No. You were thinking you could build a working TARDIS console out of broken remnants of a hundred different models."
Alex looked up at him and grinned. "And you don't care that it's impossible."
"Nothing is impossible, love," the Doctor smiled down at her. "Just very unlikely. And Rory and Amy need me."
"They need us," Alex corrected, linking her arm through his.
"Right." He felt a little thrum run through him at the thought of him and Alex being a team. They always had been, he knew, since the day they met, but it was nice to get confirmation of it. Together, they were truly unstoppable. "So yeah, we're going to build a TARDIS."
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: Aw, the TARDIS ships Dalex! There'll be better bonding moments for Idris and Alex in the next chapter, along with some Dalex fluff. :D
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