A/N: Alex's outfits for this chapter can be viewed on my Tumblr, under the name 'darksideofparis'.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
He had her in his bed. Finally! After such a long time, where the only actions that kept them sated were kissing and hand-holding and hugging. But now – now – he had her gasping and writhing on his dark blue sheets, and nothing was going to take her off them anytime soon.
"Doctor!" she cried, her hands gripping the sheets. Her head was tossed back against the pillows. He couldn't help but think that her brown-blonde hair looked like a halo around her flushed, aroused face.
He smirked up at her, pleased that he, and only he, could make her this undone. No one else would ever experience this thrill, not if he could help it. He ran his hand up under the flimsy black satin slip she was wearing, the one he had to fight himself to keep from ripping off her. With his teeth. Rassilon, she knew how to work him.
"You like that, Ally?" he murmured, speaking in that low tone he knew she loved. Unable to form a response, Alex nodded frantically.
Still, he wanted to hear how much she liked, no, loved what he was doing to her. "Tell me, Alex," he commanded. "Tell me or I'll stop."
"D-don't!" Alex gasped. She managed to raise her head up enough to look him straight in the eye. "Please don't!"
His eyes darkened at her obvious need for him. He really should have done this a long time ago. It would have saved them both a lot of heartache and longing. "Then tell me, love," he urged, moving down to her skin so he could start kissing upwards towards her lips.
Alex gasped and panted erratically at this new action. Her eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head. "It . . . i-it. . ."
He traced his tongue along the edges of her collarbone. "Cat got your tongue?" he teased.
At any other time, Alex would have made a smart-alec retort, but now she just nodded wildly. The Doctor chuckled and kissed up her neck and throat. He nibbled at the sensitive skin, soothing the bite marks with a sweep of his tongue.
Alex moaned and one of her hands gripped his hair. When she tugged at it, he emitted a low growl. He continued nibbling and licking his way up her throat, pressing kisses to the lower part of her jaw and nipping at her pulse point. He paused at her lips.
"Doctor!" Alex cried in protest.
"Sorry, love, I'm not doing anything else until you tell me."
"Doctor!" she cried out again. Maybe she thought if she said his name enough, he'd just go back to doing what he was doing.
"Ally—" the Doctor began, but he was cut off as Alex emitted a loud shriek. He jumped at the sound. It sounded like she was in pain, but he wasn't doing anything! He looked down at her closed eyes, at the fists still clutching the sheets. Her nails were digging into the cotton, and he could see the threads starting to tear.
What was going on?
Before he could try and ask, Alex screamed, louder than before, "DOCTOR!"
The Doctor bolted upright with a gasp. He breathed heavily, almost to the point where his respiratory bypass system threatened to kick in.
His hearts pounded hysterically as he thought about the turn his erotic dream had taken. That had never happened before. Usually, his dreams of Alex and him . . . having fun . . . were cut off right when things were about to get more heated. They had never taken such a terrifying turn before.
His breathing having returned to normal, the Doctor moved to lie back down again. But then. . . "DOCTOR!"
The Doctor literally fell out of bed at Alex's latest cry of terror. He tumbled onto the floor, taking the sheets and part of the white feather-filled bedspread with him. Still hearing Alex's wails of pain from beyond the closed door, he kicked the bedding out of his way, scrambled to his feet, and dashed out of the room.
It seemed the TARDIS knew Alex was having another pain-attack for she had moved his bedroom from the deep bowels of the time-ship to just a few doors down from Alex's. He threw her door open and rushed inside. Like the night he showed her the forming Milky Way galaxy, Alex was hunched over in the middle of her bed, arms wrapped around her stomach, shaking, writhing, and shrieking.
She looked up when the door opened. Her tearful eyes lit up a bit. "Doctor," she gasped in relief. But then the cutting sensation in her abdomen intensified, like there was more than one knife going into her, and she let out an agonized sob.
The Doctor tried not to let out a growl. What the hell were those kidnappers doing?! Didn't they have anything better to do than cut open a young, able-bodied girl?
Pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind to be thought out later, he rushed over to the bed and gathered Alex up in his arms. While she continued to shake and whimper, he headed back to his room. Once inside, he kicked the door shut behind him.
As he set Alex down on the bed, a voice in his head reminded him that this was the first time Alex had set foot in his room, let alone laid down on his bed. He quickly told that voice to shut up so he could concentrate on the mewling girl before him.
He gathered the fallen sheets and bedspread and haphazardly put them back on the bed over Alex. He then crawled in next to her, gathering her in his arms in the hope that his touch could soothe her. He ran a hand through her hair and winced at how sweaty it was. Clearly, this pain had been going on for quite some time. He leaned back against the pillows, maneuvering Alex's head into the crook of his shoulder. "Shh, love," he murmured. "It's okay, I'm right here."
Tears rolled down Alex's cheeks, which she hastened to wipe away even during her tortured state. "D-dis-distract me, Doctor," she pleaded, her back arching as the cutting continued.
The Doctor hastened to comply. "Okay, um. . . Have I ever told you the full story about the time I met Queen Victoria? Blimey, she had a stick up her arse, that's how snooty she was! I was taking Rose to an Ian Dury concert in 1979, but we ended up in 1879 instead. Poor Rose was horribly underdressed in this overall skirt, and everyone kept going on about her 'nakedness'. . ."
Much to the Doctor's anger, it seemed that Alex's kidnappers were especially eager to experiment on her that day for it took Alex over forty-five minutes to calm down. In that time, he recounted three adventures, going on the fourth. Normally, he was happy to ramble on and on, but now it made him sick that whoever had Alex was giving him the opportunity to do so.
Alex finally collapsed against his chest, feeling her heart (or what qualified as a heart in her Flesh body) beat erratically. "What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?" she panted.
The Doctor ran his hand through her hair. "Nothing," he replied, though he had a feeling Alex hadn't been expecting an answer. "You're perfect. You've never done a wrong thing before."
Alex let out a wry laugh. "I've done wrong things before, Doc. Shoplifting, smoking, underage drinking, speeding. . . Should I go on?"
"No," he smiled. "Better if you rest actually."
"I'm not really sure I can go to sleep," she admitted. "Speaking of which. . ." She sat up and looked around the room curiously. "Where are we? I've never seen this room before."
"Hasn't your brilliant brain figured that one out yet?" the Doctor teased. He laughed when Alex swatted his chest. "Alright, alright. Since you asked so nicely." He pretended not to see Alex's eye-roll. "This is my bedroom." Alex's eyes widened and she quickly proceeded to examine the room more thoroughly.
The Doctor's bedroom was quite large, larger than Alex's and the Ponds' combined. The walls were dark blue, specifically TARDIS blue. The floor was simple gray carpet, parts of it covered with carelessly tossed clothes and boots. On the right side of the room was the bed, a gorgeous oak one that was big enough to allow four people to sleep in it comfortably. Nightstands bordered each side, both containing a white lamp and various paraphernalia such as old leather-bound books, alarm clocks that didn't appear to work, a small, yellow-cased toolkit, an hourglass with elaborate wooden carvings and more. In front of the bed was a glass-fronted cabinet that contained dozens and dozens of records with an old-fashioned gramophone sitting on top. On the wall above was a closed cabinet that presumably housed a TV.
The other side of the room contained a large oak desk with a blue swivel chair tucked underneath it, the Doctor's tweed jacket tossed over it. On the desk was a globe that showed a red and orange planet Alex suspected, based on the few descriptions the Doctor had given her, to be Gallifrey. There were little metal bits and bobs strewn all around the desktop from where the Doctor tinkered at night while his companions were asleep. Alex also spotted a flashlight, a toy model train, a couple of pens, and even what looked like a TARDIS paperweight. Pinned on the wall above were pieces of paper with Circular Gallifreyan written all over them, though what they said, Alex had no idea.
Next to the desk were two large bookshelves. Both were cluttered with so many books and papers that it looked like the shelves could collapse at any second. Beside them was a partially open door that Alex presumed led to either a bathroom or closet. On the wall opposite was a mirrored oak dresser. Bowties in varying shades of blue and red littered the top along with two more hourglasses, a pair of socks, some picture frames, and a small Bakelite radio. A trash-can was discretely tucked in the space between the dresser and the wall.
"Wow."
The Doctor smiled proudly. "You like it?"
"It's a pig-sty," Alex said flatly.
"Oi!" The Doctor shot her a look. "It is not!"
"It's horribly messy," Alex persisted. She nodded down to the floor. "You've got clothes strewn about on the floor instead of in a hamper, every surface is cluttered with stuff, and I shudder to think about your bathroom!" Suddenly, she crawled over the Doctor and hopped off the bed, heading in the direction of the partially open door.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm curious." She pushed open the door and headed inside. She came out less than five seconds later, a cross look on her face. "Yours is bigger than mine!" she pouted. She poked her head back into the bathroom, hoping she had been mistaken about the size. She wasn't. Alex's TARDIS bathroom was slightly bigger than your average Earth bathroom, but she could have fit her bathroom twice in the Doctor's.
The walls were white, the floor a white tile. Next to the door was a marble-topped vanity with a large mirror above it. The vanity was, thankfully, clean with only a few items on it; a toothbrush holder and toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a TARDIS-blue hand-towel, a bottle of Listerine, and a bottle of cologne. Next to this was a small room with a door where the toilet was housed. On the left-hand side was a glassed-in shower and a towel-rack with two fluffy towels stacked on it. Finally, directly across the room, was a large rectangular-shaped Jacuzzi-tub.
Alex eyed it. If I ever get over my fear of water, that would be the perfect place to get romantic with him.
She pulled her head out and frowned at the Doctor. He simply smirked in amusement. "Don't be jealous, Ally. It doesn't suit that lovely face of yours."
Alex stuck her tongue out at him before walking back over and crawling into bed. "Well, at least you've got your priorities straight with the bathroom," she remarked. She glanced at the Doctor's sleepwear. "I caught you on the night you decided to sleep a bit, huh?"
"Yep, got my five hours for the week."
Alex looked at him doubtfully. "Really?"
"Well. . ." The Doctor shrugged, knowing he'd been caught. "More like three and a half hours, but don't worry. That's plenty for a Time Lord."
Alex continued to eye him skeptically, but soon dismissed the matter. She returned her gaze to his sleeping attire. "This is not what I pictured you sleeping in," she murmured. A beat later, her eyes widened, realizing what she'd said.
The Doctor merely laughed. "Really?" He looked down at this incarnation's pajama preference: a gray t-shirt and green and navy-blue plaid boxers. He studied Alex's own apparel. Unlike his steamy dream incarnate of her, she wore a simple black tank-top, black sleep-shorts, and socks. As always, her sonic necklace was wrapped around her neck. He reached out and fingered the TARDIS charm, feeling the carefully cut jewels run over the pad of his thumb. "And what, out of curiosity, did you picture me in?" He smirked suggestively. "Nothing?"
Alex's cheeks turned bright red at this image. "Uh . . . n-no," she stuttered, her cheeks crimsoning even further at the Doctor's infuriatingly sexy smirk. "I-it was actually a pair of PJs that had a bunch of bowties on it. Amy and Rory are dead-set on that theory."
"Hmm, don't have those," the Doctor mused, "but they aren't a bad idea."
"Don't you dare!" Alex cackled. She swatted his chest again before falling down next to him and curling up against his side.
They were silent for a while, just enjoying lying there next to each-other. It was a nice, ordinary moment. No aliens or monsters to run from or chase, no paradoxes to worry about, just themselves. The Doctor absently ran his hand through Alex's hair, ignoring the chiding voice in his head that told him the hair he was stroking wasn't real. Which reminded him. . .
He looked down at Alex. He had expected her to be asleep or close to it, but her dark green eyes were wide open. Feeling his eyes on her, Alex tilted her head up. "Doc? What's up?"
The Doctor placed his fingertips on her forehead and looked at her significantly. "Trust me?"
Alex immediately knew what he wanted. "Always."
The Doctor carefully entered her mind. As he did so, he couldn't help but preen slightly at how her mind so easily accepted him now, unlike the first few times he'd gone into her head. 'Ally?' he called.
'Right here, Doc,' Alex's mental voice chirped. 'What do you need to talk to me about?'
'I wanted to tell you that the TARDIS tracked down a place where I can investigate the Flesh.'
'That's great!' Alex cheered. Finally, they could figure out more about the Flesh and how to end the signal to her and Amy, and be a step closer to tracking their real selves down.
It had been two weeks since their visit to Cardiff. In that time, the Doctor was equal parts frustrated and paranoid. He was reluctant to go out of the TARDIS but worried something would happen to her and Amy if he didn't. Their potentially eavesdropping kidnappers might start to suspect he knew something if he refused to go out of the TARDIS. Alex had been forced to listen to a lot of mental rants on the subject as he went back and forth, debating the pros and cons and possible outcomes of each scenario.
After a good two days of this, the Doctor decided to go back to business as usual. In the past two weeks, Alex had hidden in a prefabricated town populated with killer robots that was scheduled for destruction via nuclear bomb, encountered a powerful alien artifact known as 'the Glamour' in 1936, and nearly strangled an inspector that had the gall to arrest the Doctor for the disappearances of two young women in modern-day England. It was only through Amy dragging her away that Alex escaped arrest herself and managed to clear the Doctor's name (turned out it was a crashed ship in a creepy wood luring people to it).
All in all, business as usual. The Doctor appeared to be back to normal (or what passed for normal with him) but Alex knew he was jittery and anxious to track her and Amy down. He would pace all around the console most nights, no longer willing to go out on his own adventures, and when he thought no one was looking, he would stare at her and Amy as though they could tell him where they were being held.
Now, Alex asked, 'What is it?'
'It's an acid factory. Makes sense, as according to the file Tosh found, the Flesh is used on dangerous job sites. I'll be able to investigate the Flesh in its natural form and figure out a way to safely end the signal to you and Amy.' His physical body frowned, remembering the suffering Martha's clone had gone through during the ATMOS adventure.
'I had a feeling you were involved with that ATMOS thing,' Alex commented, seeing a brief vision of the Martha clone's painful death pass from his brain to hers. 'That poison gas was in Leadworth, too.'
The Doctor stiffened. Sometimes he forgot that Alex had been affected by his past incarnation's adventures. 'Were you okay?' he asked worriedly.
'Perfectly fine,' Alex assured him, her physical body smiling at his concern. 'You've seen Leadworth. It's small enough that there's not really any need for cars. I was planning on getting ATMOS, but I didn't have enough money.'
The Doctor shook his head. Involuntarily, an image of Alex suffocating to death in her car popped up. He shook his head to clear it. 'Thank God you didn't,' he said in relief.
Alex, seeing the thought he'd conjured up of her dying in her car, rubbed his back in comfort. 'Yeah, it was the one time I was glad that Carla kept me cut off from my inheritance,' she quipped. 'Anyway, there was only one car in Leadworth that had ATMOS, and that was easily contained. But we're getting off track. What are you planning to do with the Ponds? You can't let them see the Flesh, especially after they learn Amy and I aren't real.'
'Already thought that out. I'm dropping you and the Ponds off for fish and chips. Half hour later, I'll return, end the signals, and Rory and I will start looking for you.'
'Hold on. I'm going for fish and chips as well? No, forget it.'
'Alex—'
'No! Don't try to talk me out of it. I'm coming with you and that's final.'
'It is not final!' he snapped.
'You would say that,' she sniffed.
The Doctor mentally sighed. If they continued snapping at each-other like this, they'd be here for days. 'Ally,' he said gently, 'your body, right now, is made up of Flesh. It looks real to you, but Flesh in its natural form will look completely different. I don't want you to see that.'
'I'm a big girl, Doctor,' Alex retorted. 'I can handle it.'
'You say that now, but you may not be thinking that when you actually see the Flesh.'
'So what if that happens? I want to find out about this Flesh and what happened to me. I know you're angry about what happened to me, Doc, and newsflash! So am I! No, wait, I take that back. I'm not angry. I'm pissed.'
The Doctor didn't know what to say. He knew Alex had to be upset over finding out that she wasn't physically real, but he hadn't known she was mad. After a few moments of processing this, he finally said, 'You haven't let on that you're mad.'
'Unlike you, I'm a bit better at hiding it.'
He chuckled, both physically and mentally. 'Except when it involves me, though,' he pointed out.
'Very true, and don't you go forgetting it,' Alex teased. She waited until the Doctor's mental laughter died down before continuing. 'Look, Doc, I understand your reasoning for not wanting me to come with you, but I want to. I want to find out what's going on and how to stop the Flesh signal and figure out where I actually am and get back to you, Amy, and Rory.' She reached up to cradle his face. 'Sometimes you forget, Doc, but we're in this together. It's not just you on your own anymore. It's us.'
The Doctor smiled at her words. For over several centuries, no matter who he had traveling with him, he'd been the one who dictated everything, who put himself on the line to try and keep others from getting hurt. But now, here was Alex, changing his policies and rules. She was determined to be his equal.
He sighed. Once again, she'd gotten through to him. 'Alright, you win. You can come with me.'
Alex beamed and threw her arms around him. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!'
'You're very welcome,' he chortled. 'But keep in mind, it's going to be much harder for me to convince the Ponds to let me drop them off somewhere if you're still with me.'
Alex physically winced. That was a problem. 'Good point.' She wracked her brain for a moment, ideas coming and going so fast that the Doctor was unable to get a good look at them. Then, a really good idea came to her, one that she knew would make the Doctor blush bright red. Alex smirked as the Doctor tried to look at it but clever, infuriating girl she was, she used a mental shield to hide it from him.
'We could always say we're going on a romantic holiday,' she suggested, her mental voice going down to a low, almost sinful tone. 'Just us, alone, a bed with unmade sheets. . .'
Sure enough, the Doctor's cheeks reddened. He gulped as he viewed the mental picture Alex was painting, a picture that looked a lot like his passionate dream from earlier. He tried to come up with a response, but the image (and Alex's mischievous giggling) made it impossible.
'Oh, I was just teasing you, Doc!' Alex laughed. 'But you've gotta admit, it would be the perfect excuse. Privacy, a pretty location, and the chance to try out the stuff I've seen in my dreams. . .'
The Doctor opened his eyes, exposing shocked green orbs. He was so stunned by the divulgement that he dropped his hands from Alex's temple, breaking the psychic bond.
Alex opened her eyes, which she had unknowingly closed at some point, and frowned at him. "What did you do that for?" she demanded, feeling somewhat hurt.
"S-sorry," the Doctor stuttered, still reeling from her startling – and very tempting – idea. "Just. . ."
Alex smirked. "Cat got your tongue?"
He nearly moaned at the words, words he'd said in a very alluring dream not even an hour ago. "Just . . . surprised is all," he admitted. "We haven't done anything like that . . . ever." He was sure his whole face was burning red now.
Alex bit her lip and nodded. She didn't notice how the Doctor's eyes zeroed in on the action. "Or anything less than that," she murmured inaudibly. Or, inaudible to most and the potentially listening kidnappers, but not the Doctor.
"I know," he whispered. A crop of shame rose in him. For the past two weeks, as he and the TARDIS researched the Flesh and for a place to examine it, he had pulled away from Alex. It was why he was sleeping in his own room and not hers. Now that he knew the Alex he had been kissing and holding and fantasizing about wasn't the actual one, he couldn't bear to do any of the things he used to do with her, since it wasn't her actual body reacting to his touch. It was kind of a turn-off.
He hadn't meant to hurt Alex. Actually, he thought she'd immediately figure out what he was doing and why and go along with it. But it seemed that whether or not she'd figured it out, she was hurt by his actions and maybe even a bit upset at why he had to do them.
Alex looked down at her nails. The lilac polish Amy had lovingly painted on was now chipped and partially picked off. It was so strange, knowing that her body was really a copy of her real one. She felt real. She could feel her heart beating when she checked her pulse-points, she still got hungry, did normal bodily functions, got tired, but it wasn't real.
It was all an elaborate illusion, a sleight-of-hand, and it made Alex furious.
Furious because she hadn't been kissing the Doctor all this time, not really. Her lips were fake, her real ones locked up somewhere. She hadn't really shivered at his touch or felt the warmth of his arms wrapped around her. She hadn't felt his hands snaking through her hair or his fingertips dancing across her skin. And in hindsight, she hadn't been experiencing a lot of adrenaline rushes around him. That should have been a warning sign from the very start. When she did get adrenaline rushes, it was simply reality bleeding through.
Everything else was completely fake.
And before she knew she was Flesh, she could feel her want and need for his touch accelerating. She could still feel it right now. If he hadn't discovered she wasn't real when he did, she probably would have decided to shag him by now. Maybe, no, definitely, she would have done it. Could we even do that? she wondered. Maybe. But it didn't matter, because she wouldn't have actually shagged him. Her Flesh copy would have.
Because she wasn't real. And the slight possibility – because she had to recognize it – that she would never be able to was something she hated with a burning passion. She loved him and wanted all of him, but now, thanks to God-knows-who, she couldn't have both.
God, this sucked.
"You know," she said as these thoughts tumbled about in her head, "you being in my mind just now was the most intimate contact we've had yet."
The Doctor nodded in agreement. "Remember after Base Diana when I was teaching you mental barriers?" he asked. Alex nodded. "I lied when I said it felt like something was missing from my mind."
"There's a surprise," Alex snorted, but she wasn't really mad. At the time, they had been denying and hiding their feelings for each-other.
"Yeah, I know." The Doctor reached out and tugged Alex back down onto him, her head landing on his chest. He suddenly had the urge to have her right next to him, to have her as close as possible. He was sure this had something to do with the fact that her physical body was hidden away somewhere, but at the moment, he only had her Flesh duplicate and for now that was as good as it was going to get.
Alex curled up against him, breathing in the faint scent of his musky cologne and the scent of some alien laundry detergent that smelled like a cross between sunshine and lavender. She loved being this close to him, especially after days of him distancing himself from her. She had never craved a man's touch before, but like several things with the Doctor, it was different with him.
She thought again about possibly becoming intimate with him. Did Time Lords do that? She wasn't sure. The Doctor may not even have the right parts. The only way to know for sure was to ask him. Alex blushed at the thought, though not as hard as she was sure the Doctor would when and if she asked him such a question.
Still, she kind of had to know. She was in a relationship with the man, and she wanted to know what she could expect from him. If Time Lords didn't do . . . that . . . well, she'd be a bit unhappy, but she could deal. She'd love him no matter what. Not very many people could say that, but she could.
Okay, I'll do it. Before she lost her nerve, she blurted out, "Doctor, do Time Lords shag?"
If the Doctor hadn't known it wasn't possible, he might have spontaneously regenerated at Alex's question. He gawked down at her for several seconds before ultimately stuttering, "W-what?"
"You heard me." Alex rolled over so she could look up at him. She tried not to laugh at how his practically nonexistent eyebrows were nearly arched back up into his hair, or at how his mouth was hanging open, nearly touching the bedspread. "Do Time Lords have sex?"
The Doctor continued to gawp at her. Finally, after several moments of doing this, he managed to close his mouth. He tried to think up an answer. "Well," he began, purposefully drawing the word out as he continued to contemplate, "it wasn't common among my species. Actually, it was viewed as a disgusting ape habit."
Of course it was, Alex thought. She thought about all the things the Time Lords had disapproved of. It was a long list. No sense of fun, that lot. "But . . . you can do it, if you want, right?"
"Yes." His voice switched into lecture mode. "Time Lords and humans are about 45% compatible. It is something I could do, of course. . . Why are you asking?"
"Um, just curious," Alex mumbled. She started to roll back over but the Doctor stopped her.
He peered down at her closely. "Are you wanting to . . . to do . . . that with me?" He didn't sound either disgusted or eager; merely curious.
"Only if you wanted to," she said quickly. "I mean, I'm fine either way. Well, I mean, maybe ideally, I'd want that sort of thing, but if not that's okay, I swear! I'm good with what we have now. . ."
"Ally."
". . .but if you did want to shag me and just aren't ready for it, I can wait. Really, I can! As long as it takes. Well, don't get me wrong, I'll be rather impatient. . ."
"Ally."
". . .but it would be fine and possibly a learning experience, because God knows I can be a bit irritable when waiting for something to happen, but yeah, learning experience and—"
"Ally!" the Doctor shouted, finally cutting her off. Alex's anxious gaze darted to him, and she bit her lip. His eyes narrowed in on the action for a moment before he forced himself to focus on her eyes. He smiled at her. "You're rambling."
Alex let out a partially-nervous giggle. "Yeah, I noticed. You're rubbing off on me." She gave an elaborate shudder. "The horror!"
"Oi," he chuckled.
Alex shifted onto her knees and carefully arranged herself in the Doctor's lap, another intimate bit of contact that they hadn't had over the last few days. Much to her relief, he wrapped his own arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. She continued biting her lip as she stared at him. "So," she began, drawing out the word, "um, do you think you could give me an answer to my question?"
The Doctor was silent for a moment as he considered what to say. Finally, he spoke. "Yes, Ally, I certainly wouldn't mind . . . well, actually, I'd love to do . . . that with you. But there's something else you should know first."
Alex titled her head to the side. "What, are the parts different or something?"
"No," he snorted, rolling his eyes. "This is something else. I said that Time Lords and humans are about 45% compatible, remember?"
"Yeah."
"Well . . . Time Lords and humans are compatible with a lot of things, but not everything, like regeneration and mental telepathy. And another one of those things is . . . procreation."
Alex blinked. "What?"
The Doctor looked down at her sadly. "Ally, because Time Lords considered sex to be a disgusting ape habit, they didn't really procreate like that. They mostly used technology called looms to have children. I could have children with a Time Lady, if there were any around, but—"
"You can't with me," Alex finished, the words coming out in a whisper.
"The probability that we could is pretty slim," he corrected.
"How much of a chance?"
He worked out the numbers. "About a 5% chance," he said quietly.
Alex struggled to process this. Theoretically, she and the Doctor could have a child but the likelihood of conceiving and carrying that child to term was extremely slim. She honestly wasn't sure how to feel about that. As a little girl, she had always assumed that one day she'd find the man of her dreams, get married, and start a family. She had one out of three, but now it seemed that her childhood assumptions had mostly been dashed.
Well, that's what you get when you assume, she thought bitterly. Making an ass out of you and me.
The Doctor looked at Alex morosely. She seemed to just be thinking, probably trying to wrap her mind around the news that she likely couldn't have any kids with him.
Guilt settled in his hearts. He hated that fact of his biology. After the Time War, with the exception of Jenny, he never wanted any more kids. But he was finding now that he desperately wanted one with Alex. But thanks to that 5% chance, it more than likely wasn't to be. It was such a shame. He had seen how good Alex was with kids like Mandy and young Kazran. She'd be a great mom . . . only with someone else as the father.
"Well, that's fine," Alex's voice suddenly rang out, pulling him out of his thoughts. A small reassuring smile spread across her lips. "Really, Doctor, it's fine."
"It's not," he insisted. "Alex, you'd make a great mum, but it won't be with me." He sighed wearily. "If. . ." He trailed off and swallowed hard before forcing himself to continue. "If you wanted to leave so you could have that option, I'd be—"
"Stop," Alex commanded. She glared at him darkly. How could he ever think such a thought? How could he think she'd do something like that?! "Doctor, I l— . . . care more for you than I do the possibility of kids one day. If you think giving you up and trying to find someone else who can give me what you think I want is more important to me than you, then you don't know me at all." She reached up to cradle his face, pulling it down to where their foreheads were touching. "Doc, as long as you're in my life, I'm good. I don't need kids or grandchildren or anything like that. Just you."
The Doctor beamed at her. Rassilon, how had he gotten so lucky? He didn't deserve her, he was sure he didn't, but he had her, his 'reward from the universe' as Alex liked to tease. "Good to hear," he murmured, causing her to giggle. "And I'm sorry for suggesting such a thing. I know you wouldn't do that. And I'm sorry for distancing myself from you."
"It's fine. I get why you did it." Truthfully, knowing her body wasn't real made it a bit of a turn-off on trying to get romantic with the Doctor.
For a while, the two laid in each-other's arms, relishing in the comfort the other provided. The Doctor absently stroked Alex's hair and Alex curled further into his chest. Her fingers clutched the fabric of his shirt, like someone was trying to pull her away but she was resisting.
About half an hour or so passed before the Doctor glanced at Alex's face. He expected her to be asleep, but she was wide-awake. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked up. "Can't sleep," she answered his unspoken question. "I just . . . don't feel like I can."
He nodded sympathetically. "Do you want to do something? Library? Movie room? Maybe a quick trip? There's a meteor shower in the 29th century that's supposed to be marvelous. . ."
Alex chuckled. She rolled off his chest and down next to his side. "Maybe another time, Doc," she smiled. "I'd rather just stay here, if that's okay?"
The grin that erupted on the Doctor's face could have lit up a pitch-black room. "Fine with me!"
"You're just happy that there's a girl in your bed," she teased. The Doctor gave her a wide-eyed look, but he didn't deny her statement. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her and tugged her closer.
Alex hummed in contentment and leaned further back into his arm. Her eyes absently roved around the room until they settled on the picture frames on the dresser. Tilting her head in thought, she hesitated for a moment, then pulled away from the Doctor and climbed out of the bed. The Doctor opened his mouth to protest, but then saw where she was headed.
Alex leaned in close to study the photos. Some of them were rather old, in black-and-white, the rest in color. The photographs themselves were rather different; there were ones that had been taken with a Polaroid, others with a digital camera, and even one that appeared to have been taken with a camera from the 1800s.
She glanced back at the Doctor. He was sitting up in bed, watching her with a slightly guarded expression. Despite it, Alex had the feeling that if he really didn't want her looking at these photos, he would have told her so by now.
She turned back to the photos and, before she could change her mind, gathered a few of them. She climbed back up on the bed and carefully spread the photographs out in front of her. "Can I ask who all these people are?" she said quietly, somewhat afraid to speak any louder.
The Doctor was silent for several moments, pondering whether he should give an affirmative or not. On the one hand, he didn't like remembering the companions who had left him, whether voluntarily or not. But on the other, he had a burning need to tell Alex about his past, even the dark, painful aspects he tried to keep hidden from others, especially himself. Alex was the one person he knew who met his darkness head-on and never flinched at it. If anything, she forced that part of him to kneel and obey her, pushing light into it until you couldn't tell that darkness had been there to begin with.
Finally, he sighed. "Yes, if you want, Ally."
Alex smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "If it gets too painful, just tell me and I won't ask anymore," she murmured in his ear. He nodded in understanding.
Still smiling, Alex picked up the first photograph. It was the one that looked like it had been taken in the 1800s. Black and white, it showed two people, a man and a woman, both of whom seemed to be around Alex's age.
The man was rather handsome with slicked-back hair and friendly eyes that made up for his lack of smiling, as was common for photographs in that era. The young woman had short black hair, a broad nose, and wide eyes that gave her a very innocent, naïve look. Both figures were dressed in Western clothing. The man wore a white cowboy hat, a fancy Western-style shirt, dark trousers, and cowboy boots, while the woman was dressed in a white blouse, a matching animal-hide vest and skirt, and cowboy boots. The two were standing in front of what looked like an old-fashioned saloon with the man's arm slung around the woman's shoulders. Clearly, they knew each-other.
"Who are they?" Alex asked.
The Doctor peered at the photo, even though he already knew who the figures were. "Those are two of my former companions. Steven Taylor and Dodo Chaplet – short for Dorothea," he added after seeing Alex's raised eyebrow.
"Ah, okay. So you went to the Wild West, huh?" She gave him a little grin. As a little girl, she'd adored John Wayne films.
"Not as fun as you would think. That photo was taken in Tombstone, Arizona, just a few hours before the gunfight at the O.K. Corral."
Alex's eyes widened. She'd seen the movie with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, but she had never considered the Doctor might have been at the real event. "How the hell did you get mixed up in that?"
"Believe it or not, I was only in Tombstone because I had a toothache."
"A toothache?" She stared at him, incredulous. "Let me get this straight. Instead of going to a nice, germ and disease-free dentistry in the 21st century or so, you went to a nasty 1800s one?"
"Time Lords aren't really affected by the same bacteria that humans are," the Doctor dismissed. "And I initially didn't plan on going or staying in Tombstone. But Steven and Dodo wanted to stay, and the toothache was agony, so I sought out a dentist. Doc Holliday, actually."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot he was also a dentist. So, let me guess. Doc Holliday fixed your toothache and quite by accident, you found yourself mixed up in the gunfight?"
"Yes. Some people involved in the gunfight, the Clanton brothers, overheard Steven and Dodo talking about me and mistook me for Holliday. Holliday initially didn't bother trying to clear it up. He was quite happy not getting shot at."
Alex's eyes narrowed. Damn that man for getting her Doctor involved in a gunfight! He hated guns! "I'm not sure I like Doc Holliday," she remarked.
The Doctor chuckled. "Nor am I, but I have to give him props for getting rid of my toothache."
Alex laughed heartily and leaned against his side. The Doctor wrapped his arm back around her shoulders and tugged her close again. "Why aren't you in this picture?" Alex asked after a few moments of them silently studying the photo. "Were you the photographer?"
The Doctor shook his head. "No, I can't take credit for that. I didn't even know Steven and Dodo had it taken until after they left. The TARDIS presented it to me and. . ." He trailed off, swallowing a bit at the memory of his companions' departures.
Alex reached under the covers and placed her hand on his knee, rubbing it soothingly. "And you just decided to keep it?" she finished. He nodded wordlessly.
Still keeping her hand on his knee, Alex placed the photograph down and picked up another one. The Doctor smiled when he saw it. "Ah, now that one I did take," he revealed.
The photo was another black-and-white one, taken with a Polaroid. Once again, there were two figures in it, a young man and woman. The man appeared to be around Alex's age, but the woman looked younger, likely in her mid to late-teens. The man had dark hair and was wearing the incongruous outfit of a gray turtleneck and kilt, something Alex raised her eyebrows at. The young woman, who also had dark hair, was dressed rather modestly in a sweater and a skirt that went down past her knees.
The photo had been taken in what Alex presumed to be the TARDIS control room. The walls were gray with big white roundels and the console was a lot smaller and less complicated-looking than the current version. The young man was leaning against the console, seemingly examining the controls, while the woman was sitting in a jumpseat. Her posture was perfectly straight with only her head bent to read the book in her lap.
Alex titled her head at the figures. Based on their attire and the woman's posture, she was willing to bet that they hadn't called the 21st century or beyond home. "Did these two happen to come from the past?" she asked.
The Doctor gave her an approving grin. "Good on you for figuring that out," he praised, making Alex blush. "Yes, Jamie, the man, was from the 1700s, 1746 to be specific, and Victoria was from 1866, the middle of the Victorian Era."
"Victoria from the Victorian Era?" Alex grinned.
The Doctor chuckled. "Yes, I also thought it to be quite humorous. Victoria never thought it very funny though."
"So how'd you meet these two?"
"Well, I met Jamie at the end of the Battle of Culloden. He was Scottish, you see."
"He and Amy would've gotten along then."
"That I have no doubt of," the Doctor laughed. Although truthfully, Jamie would have probably been greatly intimidated by Amy, who wasn't fragile and in need of protection like Victoria had been. "Anyway, my companions at the time, Ben and Polly and I, got captured by the British Army and Jamie helped us out. At the end of all the excitement, Polly suggested that Jamie come with us and he accepted. Ben and Polly left a while later and shortly after that, Jamie and I met Victoria. Her father was a scientist, and he was conducting experiments involving time travel."
Alex frowned. Just from that sentence alone, she knew trouble had followed Victoria's father.
"Those experiments caught the attention of the Daleks." Alex tensed at the mention of the terrifying aliens but stayed silent. "The Daleks wanted his cooperation to capture me so I would assist with their experiments with the Human and Dalek Factors."
"The what?"
"The Human and Dalek Factors. That's what the Daleks called them anyway. The Human Factor was what they called the unique abilities of humans that allow them to continuously fight and resist the Daleks. They wanted me to isolate that factor and implant it into three Daleks, in the theory that they would become the precursors of a race of super Daleks, with the best qualities of human and Dalek." The Doctor frowned. "However, it was a trick. By doing that, I also isolated the Dalek Factor, which the Daleks wanted to use to reconvert the human-factor infused Daleks. The Dalek Emperor also wanted me to use the TARDIS to spread the Dalek Factor throughout history, turning all of humankind into Daleks."
Alex shuddered. The human race as Daleks. . . It was too horrible to fathom. "Well, we both know you stopped it, otherwise I'd be spouting 'exterminate' right now."
"Exactly."
"Where does Victoria come into all this?"
"The Daleks sent Victoria's father, Edward, into the future to lure me into a trap. So he would cooperate, they held Victoria hostage." Alex grimaced, her heart automatically going out to the companion she'd never met.
"Anyway, to make a long story short, Jamie rescued Victoria and we all defeated the Daleks, but Edward was killed in the process." He tightened his arm around Alex when he felt her shudder in empathy. "Edward asked me to take care of Victoria and I promised to do so."
Alex smiled broadly, her honey-colored eyes shining. That was just what she expected from the Doctor she knew and loved. "Bet Victoria was a bit overwhelmed, though," she mused. If she was from the Victorian Era, she would likely have been a bit startled and overcome with everything that traveling with the Doctor caused.
"Oh, yes, she was," the Doctor confirmed. "Quite the screamer, too. But she was rather brave, although I don't think she ever really adjusted to life on the TARDIS. She left to live with a family in the 20th century about a year after she started traveling with us."
Alex breathed an internal sigh of relief that Victoria's departure hadn't been an involuntary one. Even though her leaving had been painful for the Doctor, he at least had some comfort that it could have been a lot worse. "What about Jamie?"
It immediately became clear that she had asked the wrong question. The Doctor's features darkened, his expression a blend of anger, self-loath, and extreme sadness. "Jamie's wasn't so voluntary," he said after a minute of stormy silence. "The Time Lords put me on trial for interfering with the universe. Aside from forcibly regenerating me and exiling me to Earth, Jamie and another companion of mine, Zoe Heriot, had their memories of their time with me wiped and were sent back to their own times."
A surge of anger rushed through Alex. Yet another reason to dislike the Time Lords, she thought. What a bunch of pompous asses! Didn't they care that the Doctor saved the universe from mayhem and destruction countless times? Did they really have to punish poor Jamie and this Zoe person for the Doctor's supposed offences? The companions were innocent in all this!
Hearing stuff like this makes me glad the Doctor destroyed the Time Lords, she thought but didn't dare say out loud. That wouldn't go over well at all.
She instead shifted her body up so she was closer to his face. She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I'm sorry," she whispered, not daring to speak any louder less she set him off. The hand not holding the photograph stroked his chest soothingly, like she was calming a wild beast. Which, in a sense, she was.
Even though the hand stroking him wasn't technically hers, the Doctor found himself relaxing at her touch. He sighed and leaned further back against the pillows. His anger at the Time Lords and himself floated away until it was as though the emotions had never been there.
"It's okay," he murmured once he calmed down. He looked at the photograph. "You know, after I took that photo," he said, a smile creeping up his lips, "I spent half an hour explaining what a photograph was to Jamie and reassuring him that a photo did not capture part of your soul."
Alex giggled. "Yeah, I can see that happening." She carefully set the photo atop the Steven and Dodo one and began studying the others. She really didn't want to choose one that would cause the Doctor more pain.
There was a photo of a young woman with short blonde hair at some kind of party; several people surrounded her, but Alex couldn't get a clear impression of their faces as most of them were blurred. She focused back on the woman. She was beaming away at the camera, clutching a champagne glass. Alex's brow furrowed. The woman looked familiar. Had she met her before?
Noticing her studying a certain photo, the Doctor looked down. A smile lit up his face. "Jo Grant," he clarified to Alex's confused expression.
Her jaw dropped. "Really?!" She snatched the frame and held it close to her face. "Oh my God, I didn't recognize her! She's so young here!" The Doctor couldn't help but chuckle. "Where was this taken?"
"That was at a celebration UNIT threw after we defeated a bunch of disturbingly large maggots – long story, I'll tell you later. Someone fetched the champagne after Jo announced her engagement to a professor we worked with during the crisis, Professor Clifford Jones."
"Well, we know that turned out to be a success," Alex smirked. "Seven kids and thirteen grandchildren, after all."
"Good on her," the Doctor agreed.
Pleased that she had picked something that made the Doctor happy, Alex started examining the remaining photographs for something that could produce a similar effect.
But then. . . "Ah!" she squeaked.
The Doctor felt her body tense beneath his hand. A Gallifreyan swear flew past his lips as Alex slunk down the pillows until she was lying flat on the mattress. Really?! This had to happen again?! "What is it now?" he asked, his irritation at whoever was causing his Ally to feel pain bleeding into his voice.
"Not slicing," Alex revealed. Her body became tighter and tighter until she was sure that when she tried to move out of this position, she'd spring apart like a can of worms. "M-more like. . ." She trailed off, searching for the right word to describe the weird sensation. ". . .probing?"
The Doctor shifted onto his side and pulled Alex into a spooning position. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Probing?" he repeated.
"Y-yeah, like . . . like they're using something to feel around in-inside m-me." Alex's eyes closed as she felt tears of pain well up. She gripped the sheets. "Oh G-god, it's getting worse. . ."
The Doctor's face hardened, and he wrapped an arm around Alex's hips, keeping away from the area of strain at her torso. His other hand robotically ran through her hair as he murmured soft words in her ear, urging her to hang in there, that it would be over soon. He planted kisses on the top of her head while tears ran down her cheeks and gathered into a stain on the pillow beneath her.
Finally, after what felt like forever, the pain stopped, and an exhausted Alex fell asleep. The Doctor continued spooning her, something else he never thought about or felt the need to do with anyone other than Alex. "Always different with you, eh, love?" he whispered.
He continued running his fingers through her hair as he looked down at her, studying her features in the dim light of the room. Rassilon, she was incredible. She was determined, caring, incredibly stubborn, amazingly smart, loyal, and drop-dead gorgeous. She never failed to argue against him, to remind him that they were a team and that she was his equal, like it or not. She was so dazzled by everything he showed her and so sympathetic and kind with every painful thing he told her about his past. Others would run away from him at such truths, but Alex made him think differently, that he had to do those things for the better good of the universe. She was always by his side, making quips in even the tensest of moments that made him momentarily forget the danger surrounding them. She supported him, never judged him, and never hesitated to try and rescue him if something happened to him. Rassilon, he loved this human girl and—
Wait. Did he just think . . . he loved this girl?
The Doctor's eyes went wide. He gaped at Alex, the girl blissfully unaware of the dramatic turn his thoughts had taken. He waited for his mind to come up with arguments as to why this could not be, that his feelings of love were nothing but the result of pointless chemical reactions in his brain. But to his surprise, none came. It was true.
He loved Alex. He loved her with a burning passion he had never felt before and was sure he would never feel with anyone else ever again. He trusted her with his life, he wanted to protect her constantly, and he thought she was the most beautiful, precious person in the universe. . . He could go on and on, but he knew that at the core of his rambling, he loved Alex with both his hearts and his soul, so strongly that it felt like nothing could come between them. And nothing and nobody would. He would do his best to make sure of that.
His anxious expression relaxed into one of love and devotion. Did she love him? He thought he heard her almost say it a few times, but slips of the tongue were tiny, miniscule things compared to actual feelings. He hoped she did. If she didn't, he wasn't sure how he would take it.
He moved his arm away from Alex's hips and up across her stomach. He tugged her closer to him, reveling in the way their bodies fitted together perfectly. He was convinced she had been made for him. She was everything he wanted and needed, along with some stuff he didn't, but maybe which the universe thought necessary. He knew that no matter how long Alex stayed with him, no matter how many more years he had left with her, after she was gone, he would never love someone like he loved Alex ever again.
He leaned down and brushed some brown-blonde hair off to the side before kissing her neck. He couldn't tell her now, not when she wasn't really here and couldn't properly react to his declaration. He also couldn't tell her because even though he was convinced the universe had given her to him, he was terrified that as soon as he admitted those three words to her, the Powers-That-Be would take her away, leaving him a bitter and lonely wreck.
He sighed and kissed Alex's neck again. Perhaps, when all of this was over and he had the real her in his arms again, he would tell her, and hopefully, nothing would try to challenge them and tear them apart.
These thoughts continuing to drift about in his head, the Doctor closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. Like that old human proverb, he hoped things would be better tomorrow.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
Muse's 'Supermassive Black Hole' echoed out the TARDIS speakers the following morning. The Doctor stood at the console in front of the monitor, flicking a glance at Amy and Rory every few moments as the couple occupied themselves with a game of darts.
He happened to glance over as Rory threw a dart. It went just barely under the wire, the only spot Rory seemed capable of hitting.
"46," Amy cheered. Thanks to her husband's bad luck at darts, she was winning by a landslide. "Rubbishy, rubbishy, rubbish."
"Hello? It's a double top!" Rory argued.
Amy shook her head. "Wrong side of the wire, mister."
"You're on the oche, red."
While Amy and Rory continued to playfully bicker, Alex came in. She was dressed in a white tank-top, a beige sweater, skinny jeans, beige kitten-heeled boots, a pink, gray, and white scarf, a brown belt, and gold hoop earrings, with her hair tied into two braids. There were ear buds in her ears and, after following the wire, the Doctor spotted an iPod shuffle clipped to her jeans.
Alex was also holding a laundry basket to her hip. The Doctor watched her shake her head at the strewn clothes he, Amy, and Rory had tossed over the stair railing at various points. Neither of the TARDIS inhabitants were very good at keeping up with the laundry. There wasn't much need since the wardrobe had thousands of clothes for any preference, time period, and weather pattern. But for some reason, Alex had apparently decided to tackle the dirty clothes.
Alex stuck several tossed shirts and jackets into the hamper, humming under her breath to the song currently playing on her iPod. "I've got boots and she's got wings; I'm hell on heels and she's heavenly; I'd die for her and she lives for me. . . Cowboys and Angels." It was one of her favorites, mostly because she thought it described her and the Doctor rather well. It was corny, but Alex couldn't bring herself to care.
She stuck one of Rory's plaid shirts into the hamper. While she tried to focus on Dustin Lynch's gravelly voice, her brain couldn't help but remind her of the things currently plaguing her.
Today was the day she saw the Flesh in its natural form. By tonight, she would more than likely wake up wherever the hell she and Amy were being held and be fully at the mercy of her unknown captors.
She glanced at the Doctor. He was staring at the monitor, probably running another scan on her or Amy. She looked down at the Ponds. They were still playing darts, both blissfully unaware of the chaos that would occur in mere hours.
She added one of Amy's shirts to the laundry basket. In addition to being anxious about seeing the Flesh and what would happen after the signal was cut, she was also impatient. She wanted to go to the factory now, but the Doctor was taking his time in getting Amy and Rory out of the way. Needing a distraction, as she knew she wouldn't be able to sit still without thinking about the Flesh and where she and Amy could really be, she had decided to tackle the huge pile of laundry that the TARDIS, for some reason, refused to do.
Alex walked around the console to check and make sure she hadn't missed any clothing. As she started to walk past the Doctor, the Time Lord reached out and tugged on one of her ear-buds. Alex looked up and gave him a questioning look. The Doctor nodded towards the monitor.
Alex turned and placed the laundry basket on one of the control room's staircases before switching her iPod off and tucking it next to the basket. "What's up, Doc?" she murmured.
The monitor currently showed an image of Amy's pregnancy scan. Just like when the Doctor had shown it to Alex before, it was going back and forth between POSITIVE and NEGATIVE. "Still won't confirm anything?" she whispered.
"No, but you know what I think," the Doctor reminded her.
Alex nodded. She turned to watch Amy. Her friend was smiling and joking with her husband, completely oblivious to the fact that she was incredibly close to giving birth. "How much longer?" she asked, trying to keep her words vague so her possibly-listening kidnappers couldn't tell what they were talking about.
The Doctor shrugged. "A matter of hours, days if we're lucky." He had been scanning Amy for quite a while now and, based on his calculations, it was nearly nine months. She could pop at any moment.
Alex pursed her lips. "Romantic holiday, then?"
"Starting now." He switched off the monitor before leaning over and turning the music off as well. "Who wants fish 'n' chips?" he called as the Ponds turned to look at him. Rory raised his hand like an elementary school kid. "I'll drop you both off." He ran around to the other side of the console. "Take your time. Don't rush."
Amy and Rory frowned. Neither of them had missed how the Doctor hadn't included Alex in the lunch outing. "Uh, and you two?" Rory asked, pointing at the Doctor and Alex.
Alex tried to make her voice sound casual. "We have plans. Vacation plans."
Amy arched an eyebrow. "Really?" she said doubtfully. She had noticed over the past two weeks that the Doctor and Alex, while still close, hadn't been kissing or touching each-other very much. They weren't even sleeping in the same bedroom. And now they were going on a romantic holiday? That was just odd. "Where?"
The Doctor and Alex faltered. They hadn't really expected the Ponds to question their plans. "Uh . . . alien place," the Doctor babbled. "Small, far-off place, nothing no one really wants to see!"
"So why are you going there then?" Rory questioned, eyeing them skeptically.
"Change of scenery!" Alex blurted, her laid-back attitude abandoned. "You know, different . . . place to see?"
Amy smirked. Definitely not going on a romantic vacation, she thought. "Well, we'll stay with you. I'd like a change of scenery, too, wouldn't you, Rory?"
Rory nodded resolutely. "Definitely."
Before the Doctor and Alex could try and argue that getting fish and chips was a change of scenery, the TARDIS suddenly jerked to the side, sending everyone sideways. A klaxon rang out overhead as the time machine continued to tumble around, one jerk flinging Alex's laundry basket off the platform and down to the lower levels of the control room.
"Solar tsunami!" the Doctor shouted as the companions scrambled to find stable things to hold onto. He peered at the now-alive monitor. It was showing an alert. "Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation! Big, big, big!"
"Ohh, Doctor," Rory groaned as he gripped onto the railing. "My tummy's gone funny. . ."
"Well, the gyrator disconnected. Target-tracking is out."
Alex clung to the console. A forward jerk sent her sprawling across the controls. "Doctor, do something!" she shouted.
The Doctor obliged by reaching out and throwing down a lever. But nothing happened. Plan B then. "Assume the position!" he shouted.
Amy immediately threw herself into the jumpseat and put her hands over her head while the Doctor grabbed Alex and pulled her to him. He yanked her down to the floor in a move that reminded Alex of a position she'd practiced in tornado drills at school years ago. Rory stared at them for a second, baffled, before finally deciding to just go with it. He crouched on the ground and put his hands over his head.
The shaking continued for a few moments before slowly coming to a stop. The Doctor helped Alex up and bounced over to the console. He yanked a lever and the TARDIS landed with a small thump. "Textbook landing," he grinned.
Alex rolled her eyes. "In what? The Complete Idiot's Guide to Incorrectly Flying a TARDIS?"
The Doctor shot her a glare. "Don't be a smart-alec, Ally. It doesn't suit you." He took her hand and dragged her over to the doors.
"Behold, a cockerel!" he cheered upon stepping outside. "Love a cockerel. And, underneath, a monastery. 13th century."
Alex regarded her surroundings curiously. The TARDIS had landed on what appeared to be a small island. Even without looking, she could hear waves gently lapping at the shore behind her. In front of her was a massive stone structure that looked a lot like a castle. At the top of a spire on one of the towers was a modern weather-vane.
"Sure about 13th century?" she asked, nodding to the weather-vane.
The Doctor opened his mouth to answer, but Amy came out and beat him to it. "Oh, we've gone all medieval," she observed, staring at the castle.
Rory joined them. "I'm not sure about that."
"Really? Medieval expert, are you?"
"I think he's right," Alex agreed. "There's a weather-vane. Pretty recent too, by the looks of it."
"And it's not just that," Rory admitted, taking a quick look up at the weather-vane. "I can also hear Dusty Springfield."
The others paused. Sure enough, there was the faint sound of 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me.'
Alex's brow furrowed at the unfamiliar music. It didn't sound all that good to her.
The Doctor tilted his head in thought, then started walking towards a stairway that led into a courtyard, still pulling Alex along. They came to a stop though upon seeing a nicely-sized hole in the ground. Inside was an exposed white pipe, the words 'DANGER – Corrosive' written across it.
"These fissures are new," the Doctor reported as Alex knelt down to get a better look at the pipe. "Solar tsunami sent out a huge wave of gamma particles. This is caused by a magnetic quake that occurs just before the wave hits."
"The monastery's still standing, though," Alex pointed out, straightening back to her full height.
The Doctor reached into his jacket pocket and took out a small snowglobe. Alex frowned in confusion as he shook it. "Yeah, for now," he responded vaguely. He examined the snowglobe for a moment, apparently seeing something Alex didn't, then put it away.
"Doctor, look," Rory spoke. He nodded to the 'DANGER – Corrosive' pipe.
Alex reached underneath the collar of her sweater and pulled out her sonic necklace. She quickly scanned the pipe. "It's a supply pipe," she reported.
The Doctor leaned over her shoulder to examine the read-out. "Ceramic inner lining," he read. "Something corrosive. They're pumping something nasty off this island to the mainland."
"Acid?" Alex suggested. The Doctor shrugged noncommittally.
Rory stiffened a little at that information. He didn't really like being around something so dangerous, especially since Amy and Alex were also here. Trying to play off his nerves, he said, "My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield."
"Who isn't?" the Doctor smiled.
Alex opened her mouth to reply in the negative. "Shut up, Alex," the other three retorted before she could get a word out.
Alex rolled her eyes. "Come on. Let's go satisfy the Doctor's rabid curiosity about these music-loving monks." With that, she led the Doctor off towards the stairs.
The Doctor chuckled. He moved a hand up to run through her hair . . . only to stop and realize he couldn't. And it wasn't because she was Flesh. "What did you do to your hair?"
Alex gave him a puzzled look as she fingered one of her braids. "What about my hair?"
"It's tied up," the Doctor stated.
Alex raised an eyebrow. Why was he commenting on her hair being tied up? Then the answer came to her. Her eyebrow lowered and she smirked. "Doc, are you trying to tell me that you like my hair down instead of tied up?"
The Doctor shifted uncomfortably. "Well, yes, but if you like it up, that's perfectly fine," he babbled. "I mean, you don't tell me how to dress, why should I tell you—"
Alex cut off his rambling with a laugh. "Calm down, Doc." She pulled them to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. The Doctor watched her calmly remove her hair ties. Her now loose hair continued to lie in lax braids. She started to untangle them, but the Doctor grabbed her hand.
"Let me." He ran his fingers through Alex's hair, carefully rearranging it until it was loose, tousled, and messy, just the way he liked it.
Alex smiled up at him, her eyes turning from topaz to honey. If the Doctor had been anyone else, she never would have considered changing her hair for them. She would have left her hair in braids, maybe even wear them more than once if she was feeling diabolical. But as was typical with the Doctor, things were different. She knew that she could still wear her hair up whenever she wanted, and that even if the Doctor didn't like that look on her, he'd let her and say nothing else about it. It was like him wearing just his shirtsleeves. She liked it when he did it, but she didn't mind when he wore the tweed jacket either.
"You really didn't have to," the Doctor said. He was still playing with some strands of her hair.
"I know." Truthfully, she only started braiding her hair this morning as a distraction from her thoughts, so she really didn't mind undoing them.
And another thing that was typical with the Doctor. . . "Oi, Romeo! Juliet!" Amy shouted, deliberately breaking up the moment. She marched up to them, ignoring the couple's put-out expressions. "Where are these Dusty Springfield loving monks?"
The Doctor and Alex looked around the courtyard. Several parts of the castle were in ruins, though the largest portion in front of them looked like it could be habitable. The Doctor withdrew his sonic and scanned the area. When he was done, he showed Alex the results. "I think we're here. This is it."
Alex examined the readout. Now that the sonic knew what she and Amy were made of, it could scan her easier and detect a faint Flesh reading. There was a Flesh reading here as well, though it was stronger than the one on her and Amy.
"Doctor, what are you talking about?" Rory demanded, coming up just in time to hear the Doctor's purposefully cryptic words. "We've never been here before."
"Hmm?" the Doctor hummed as he and Alex headed up another series of wooden steps.
"We came here by accident," Amy agreed.
"Accident?" the Doctor repeated. He almost scoffed at the word until he caught Alex's warning look. "Yes, I know. Accident."
As he was speaking, Rory reached out to touch another pipe running along the wall outside the stairs. But the second he laid his finger on it, he immediately jerked it back. "Ow!"
Alex scanned the pipe with her necklace. "Acid," she confirmed. "They're pumping acid off the island."
The Doctor grasped her necklace charm and carefully held it up for his own examination. "That's old stuff," he said, nodding to the pipe Rory had touched. "Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger." He turned and started to lead Alex through the archway overhead, only for a small klaxon to start ringing, forcing them to dart back to the Ponds.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"
"There are people coming," the Doctor warned. "Well, almost."
Amy frowned. "Almost coming?"
But instead of clearing the matter up, the Doctor just grinned madly. "Almost people," he corrected before leading Alex off again.
"I think we should really be going," Rory said nervously as Amy started following the couple.
Amy didn't even break her stride. "Come on!" she urged.
"I'm telling you! When something runs towards you, it is never for a nice reason!"
But Amy simply turned around, grabbed him by the arm, and pulled him along after her.
~The Pros and Cons of Silence~
A/N: SO MUCH going on in this chapter! I hope you enjoyed the Dalex fluff and conversations in the first half of the chapter. We got the sex talk (they can do it!) as well as their potential for kids. It's pretty low, but then again, there is Daffy, so they must have succeeded, right? And the Doctor realizes that he LOVES ALEX! But when, exactly, will he tell her? :}
Also, the incidents Alex's thoughts referenced as to what happened during the two weeks between the last chapter and this one come from a series of BBC New Series Adventures books. They are Nuclear Time by Oli Smith (the "prefabricated town populated with killer robots"), The Glamour Chase by Gary Russell ("a powerful alien artifact known as 'the Glamour'"), and The Way Through the Woods by Una McCormack (the "crashed ship in a creepy wood luring people to it"). If there's any interest, I might do a series of mini stories showing those events. Let me know in the reviews! :)
Review replies. . .
NicoleR85 - Thank you! I absolutely loved including Jack and the Torchwood team. They're so much fun to write and I promise that we're going to see a lot more of them in this story. :) Ooh. . . I can't wait until we find out what the Silence were doing to Alex and why. One answer will be immediately answered, the other we'll have to wait a bit to find out. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! ;)
lautaro94 - Those are some interesting theories. Won't say if any are right, though. :) I am definitely trying to respect the power of the Time Lords in this story, don't worry. Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
TheBlueRiver - Haha, glad you loved the chapter! Oh, I definitely don't blame you on wanting to harm Madame Kovarian. I have a lot of people will be wanting to do just that by the end of this story. }:} On a brighter note, hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
ShadowTeir - OOH, you went to an Ed Sheeran concern?! How was it? I've only ever been to one concert before so I'm kinda jealous! :) The sedative scene is pretty scary when I think about it, yeah. Alex in pain from feeling what's being done to her real body AND getting constantly jabbed in the arm. Good thing we had Ianto. :) I'll definitely be going into detail about what was done to Alex, yep. The answers, I hope, will surprise you. :) Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)
Thank you to everyone that reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story! Please, please review and see you tomorrow! :)