"Where are you two sneaking off to?" Katy questioned, from where she was sitting atop the counter in one of the many kitchens of the TARDIS.
She had been busy buttering her toast when she noticed the couple inching toward the door out of the corner of her eye. She hadn't jumped through the timelines in almost a week now, and for once felt herself slipping into a routine travelling with the Doctor, Amy and Rory. It was beginning to feel comfortable. Safe, even.
"We thought we'd take a few laps in the pool" Amy shrugged, as Rory looped his arm around her waist, attempting to drag her out of the room.
"Great. I'll come to!" The Doctor exclaimed, as Katy reached out to grab his collar before he got too far.
"Actually, we were thinking of swimming...alone. If you know what I mean" Rory stated, winking at the Doctor.
"Right. Yes...No, I don't get it" He replied, as Amy threw her hands up in exasperation.
"They want to be alone, Doc. As in married couple alone" Katy insisted, as the Doctor's face paled before he made a disgusted noise.
"Remind me to disinfect Pool Three tomorrow" The Doctor muttered, as Amy and Rory raced out of the room, barely able to keep their hands off each other.
"Well, looks like we've got the morning to ourselves. What do you wanna' do?" Katy asked, jumping off the counter, and placing her hands on the Doctor's shoulders, a slight smirk growing on her lips.
Just as the Doctor opened his mouth, Katy could see the air shift around them, as the Doctor's face suddenly grew blurry. She realised a moment too late what was happening, as her knees buckled underneath her and the kitchen disintegrated around her. Katy scrunched her eyes shut, expecting to collapse onto the cold floor, but the impact didn't come, as instead she landed on a leather armchair. Her eyes shot open to find herself in a flat, painted garish colours, magazines and CDS strewn across a wooden table in front of her. She glanced toward the TV in the corner of the room, thinking it looked similar to the one she used to have in her own flat. Early 2000's then. But nowhere she recognised—
An ear-piercing scream made Katy jump out of her skin, as her head shot up to find a middle-aged blonde standing in the doorway, her hands clasped over her mouth. Katy was on her feet in seconds, thinking she might have to make a speedy exit if she didn't want to explain to the stranger how she suddenly appeared in her living room. It was then that the blonde let out an exaggerated groan, before placing a hand on her hip.
"Blimey, you almost gave me a heart attack! I wish you wouldn't do that!" The woman complained, as Katy's forehead wrinkled.
"Uh...you know me then?" Katy asked, as the woman raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, don't play silly buggers. You can come help me with the potatoes" The blonde informed her, as she turned and walked into the small kitchen.
Katy ran a hand through her hair, debating making a run for it when she spotted a picture on the mantel beside her. A photograph of the blonde stranger and a very familiar friend of hers.
Rose.
She was a few years younger, wearing a double denim outfit and sunglasses that were about five times too big for her, but it was definitely Rose. Katy glanced around the room to find half a dozen more pictures just the same, one even from when Rose was just a baby. The pieces all fitted into place then.
"Your name's Jackie, right?" Katy called out, racking her mind for what Rose had told her about her mother.
"It was last time I checked" Jackie huffed, from inside the kitchen, spreading a whole packet of frozen roast potatoes onto a baking tray.
"And you've met me before, yeah?" Katy asked, coming to stand in the doorway of the kitchen.
"You and the Doctor do say the daftest things sometimes" Jackie murmured, grabbing her oven gloves and placing the potatoes into the oven.
Katy felt a little relieved by her words, figuring the woman certainly seemed to know about her daughter's travels. But how far into their timeline was she? Katy wondered how well the Doctor and Rose even knew her yet.
"Well, time travel can get pretty complicated. Case and point...I've never met you before" Katy admitted, as Jackie twisted around to face her, her mouth gone slack.
"What, really?" Jackie gaped, as Katy nodded.
"You're sure?" Jackie pushed, making Katy snort.
"I think I'd remember. The Doctor tells me you're...one of a kind" Katy informed her, as Jackie gave her an unimpressed look.
"Oh, I'm sure he does. Where are they then? The roast will be ready soon" Jackie stated, as Katy's brow furrowed.
"You're cooking for us?" Katy inquired.
"Well, Mickey heard the TARDIS land nearby, and...it's been a while since I've had the chance to cook a big meal. Rose always...she liked homemade cooking" Jackie corrected herself, something which Katy took note of.
"They're here then? Have you seen the TARDIS? Where did it land?" Katy questioned, as Jackie gave a slight shrug.
"I dunno'. That box never makes any sense to me. He heard it from the garage so can't be that far" Jackie informed her.
"...You lot did mean to visit me, didn't you?" Jackie asked, unsurely.
Katy opened her mouth to reply, but quickly clamped her lips shut again. Because truthfully, she had no idea. It was odd that she hadn't jumped and landed in the TARDIS as usual. It could mean that something had happened with the time machine. Something that she needed to investigate. But the downtrodden expression on Jackie's face kept her rooted to the spot.
"I'm sure they'll be here in a minute. I'll go get them, bring em' back here" Katy suggested, as Jackie nodded, slowly before wordlessly turning back to the kitchen.
A timer went off then, as Jackie crouched down in front of the oven with a sigh, pulling out a large roast chicken. She placed it on the kitchen counter, her shoulders slumped, as they both got the feeling Rose and the Doctor wouldn't be there in time to enjoy the meal.
"You know what? I'm starving. Why don't I help you carve up the chicken? I'm sure they'll be here by then" Katy pointed out, as a big grin grew on Jackie's face.
"I think they're good together, don't you?" Jackie murmured, gesturing toward a couple on the TV which was blaring Eastenders.
"Hmm. I wouldn't get too attached" Katy replied, leaning back on her armchair, her stomach full after eating most of the roast dinner herself.
"Oh, listen to you. You're worse than Rose! She spoiled the finale of Heroes for me...before the first episode even aired!" Jackie complained, making Katy giggle.
"Try living with the Doctor! He told me what happens to the NHS in 2030, and let's just say I will not be associating myself with them anymore" Katy huffed.
"...Have you ever thought about it? Going on a few adventures with them both?" Katy asked, curiously.
"What, with my back?" Jackie scoffed.
"I couldn't. Not because...well, Rose doesn't want her old mum around cramping her style, does she?" Jackie pointed out, as Katy pursed her lips.
"She's nineteen. Give her a few years and she'll realise she wants her mum around more" Katy shrugged.
"What about you? Rose hasn't really told me much about your people. The Krollitanes, right?" Jackie inquired, making Katy laugh, shaking her head, fondly.
"Krillitanes. And uh, not much to tell. It's just me now" Katy replied, in a dismissive tone.
"Oh. I'm sorry. What happened to them?" Jackie asked, watching as Katy tried to force a smile back onto her lips.
"You want a hand cleaning up? It's too early in the 2000's for these flats to have dishwashers, right?" Katy exclaimed, quick to change the subject.
Jackie watched her closely as Katy made her way into the kitchen, grabbing the washing-up bowl and turning the hot water on, keeping her back to Jackie. The older woman knew all too well about what it looked like when someone was avoiding something.
"They're not coming tonight, are they?" Jackie announced, as Katy turned off the water.
"You know what the Doctor's like. He opens his mouth and trouble finds him. I'm sure they'll be here soon" Katy insisted, grabbing the first plate.
"And my Rose ends up in the middle of all that trouble" Jackie sighed, in a troubled tone.
"The Doctor will look out for her, don't worry. He'd never let anything happen to her. I promise" Katy exclaimed, turning around to give Jackie what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"You and him...sometimes it seems like..." Jackie trailed off, raising an eyebrow.
"We're just friends. Rose doesn't have like...I don't know, competition or something. No way I'm gonna' try to get in the middle of that. I mean, I wouldn't...he doesn't even know me yet and...and I'm rambling. You know, maybe I should go look for them" Katy stuttered, her cheeks reddening.
"Oh, you don't have to! Tell you what, why don't you take Rose's room for the night? I've kept it all made up nice for her" Jackie explained.
"I don't know—" Katy started, as Jackie cut her off, grabbing her arm and pulling her through the flat.
"Honestly, it's no bother! And you know what estates are like at this time of night" Jackie insisted, opening the door to what Katy assumed was Rose's bedroom.
Katy's chest tightened as she saw how clean and tidy the bedroom was, figuring Rose hadn't stayed the night in some time. The bed had been made up recently, a photo album laid out on the bed which Jackie was quick to grab, an embarrassed expression on her face.
"I just...I come in here sometimes to...well, doesn't matter. I'll get you some clean clothes, yeah?" Jackie suggested, rushing out of the room before Katy could argue.
Katy knew what loneliness looked like. She felt like for the last twenty years of her life that was perhaps the only emotion she felt. Sitting down on the pink sheets of the bed, she looked around the room, glancing at all the happy pictures of Rose and her mum. Something she never had. She didn't even have a picture to remember her mother by.
"Oh, sorry. Are you alright?" Jackie asked, coming back into the room with a pile of clothes.
It took Katy a moment to realise a tear had rolled down her cheek without her knowing, which she quickly brushed away. She swore she had cried more in the last year than she had in any other period of her life.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's just the dust, you know. Maybe, uh...maybe I will stay. Just for tonight" Katy stated, watching as a broad smile grew on Jackie's face.
"No, no, no! What are you doing? I was watching that!" Mickey Smith cried, as Katy continued fiddling around with wires at the back of the TV.
"I need that wiring for—" Katy started, but Mickey was quick to interrupt her.
"Your Doctor detector. Yeah, yeah. You've been saying the same thing for two weeks now and I don't see him or Rose, do you?" Mickey huffed, as Katy stood to her feet.
As she went to walk past him, she made sure to brush her makeshift device over his arm, causing him to feel a sharp electric shock. He yelped in a way that was less than manly, as Katy tried to muffle her laughter as she raced out of the room, hearing him call after her.
"You really think this'll work?" Jackie frowned, watching as Katy wrapped the wires around the device.
It was made up of pieces from a radio, car engine, and her own messy biometric sequence which she hoped contained enough Time Lord DNA, and now the TV wiring. Katy's first attempts at making the device ended with her short circuiting the electricity to the entire council flat building, but the brunette insisted she had worked out the kinks now.
"I just need to wire this up to the main power-grid. Should give it the boost it needs and then...as soon as a Time Lord arrives on the planet, it'll alarm" Katy stated.
"Face it, mate. You've been left behind just like the rest of us" Mickey announced, from where he was still slumped against the armchair in the living room.
"Oh, don't listen to him. He's just pissed he's missing his football" Jackie exclaimed, patting Katy's shoulder as she walked past.
Katy hated to admit but Mickey's words had touched on a sore spot for her. Because what if he was right? It had been over a month since she had last jumped and...nothing. She was still stuck in 2006 with no sign of the Doctor anywhere. It's not like she could go back to her old life either seeing as there was a past version of her living their life normally on the other side of the city.
"I wouldn't worry about missing the match anyway, Mickey. They lose the season!" Katy announced, smirking when she heard an exasperated sound in the background.
Jackie's landline began ringing a moment later, drowning out Mickey's curses, as Katy continued attaching the wiring to the device. Her head snapped up as she heard a thudding sound coming from the corridor. She peeked out from the doorway to find Jackie standing still as a statue, the phone having dropped out of her hand.
"Jackie?" Katy frowned.
"It's...it's Rose's friend. Shareen. Her sister's dead" Jackie mumbled, her eyes welling with tears.
"What, the hot one?" Mickey exclaimed, as both women turned to give him a look of disbelief.
"What happened?" Katy asked.
"They don't know. Shareen said she found her, just slumped on her bedroom floor, with something dripping out of her nose and eyes. They think she might have been murdered" Jackie explained.
"Sounds weird" Katy stated.
"Doctor weird?" Mickey questioned, as Katy pursed her lips.
"...Where does this Shareen live?" Katy inquired.
Katy tugged on the white shirt, which was a size too small, before glancing down at the unconscious police officer by her feet. She then pulled off their stab proof vest and placed it over her shoulders, finding it was bulkier than she was expecting. Probably not her best look.
"Ooo. I'll definitely be having that too" Katy smirked, reaching down to unclip their belt, which had a pair of handcuffs attached to it.
She had followed the female police officer into the lift of the council building Shareen lived in, before bringing it to an emergency stop. In the blink of an eye, she had knocked the woman out, careful not to leave her with any lasting damage. She covered the sleeping woman up with her discarded tank top before taking out the bottle of vodka she had been holding. She then poured half the bottle over the officer before dropping it near her hip, making sure the woman stank of alcohol. If she told anyone what had happened, they would assume the woman was drunk. By the time she managed to convince anyone she really was a cop, Katy hoped to be far away from the scene.
Pressing the button in the lift, it began moving again with a creaking sound, causing the police officer to stir. Once they reached the top level, Katy pressed the button to the ground floor and made a speedy exit. Almost a dozen cops were pacing around the upper floor, looking off the balcony walkway and knocking on doors. She walked with ease past the officers, sending a nod toward anyone who looked in her direction.
"Ah, ah. Active crime scene. We're keeping footfall to a minimum" A constable with greying hair instructed, putting a hand up to stop her.
"Of course. But I, uh...clearly didn't think this far..." Katy trailed off, with a grimace, not being able to think of a decent lie.
It was then that the device in her pocket began bleeping, causing her eyes to widen. She hadn't been able to boost the power cell in the device yet, not more than maybe twenty metres. Which meant...
"It's alright, Constable. She's with me" A familiar voice announced, as Katy clenched her jaw and turned to face the man who had spoken.
She was met with sardonic grin, as she refrained from rolling her eyes. Harold Saxon was not the Time Lord she had been hoping to find. His smug smile only widened as his eyes travelled down her body, noticing the police uniform she wore, lingering for far longer than Katy appreciated.
"With all due respect, Mr Saxon, this is a police matter—" The constable began, as the Time Lord turned to glare at him.
"Step out of the way, Grandpa. My...companion and I will be leading the investigation. Understood?" Saxon exclaimed, as Katy frowned when she noticed the blank look that grew on the constable's face.
His whole face seemed to droop for a moment before he stepped out of the doorway, allowing them to enter. Katy's eyes narrowed as she realised the man seemed to be in some sort of trance. She doubted he'd even remember his own name if she asked.
"What did you do to him?" Katy hissed, as Saxon ushered her to step through the door.
"Just some low-level hypnosis. Apes have such easy minds" Saxon murmured, making Katy scoff, but she stepped through the doorway, nonetheless.
"Cheap trick. And I am not your bloody companion, got it?" She insisted, as Saxon held his hands up in mock defence.
"Pet, then? Should I find a leash?" Saxon smirked, as Katy looked dangerously close to slapping him.
"What are you even doing here?" Katy muttered, in a hushed voice as she pulled up some police tape to walk into the bedroom of Shareen's murdered sister.
It was the smell that hit her first. The stench of something rotting. She glanced down at the floor to find a young woman slumped on the ground, her eyes wide open, her skin grey and waxy in appearance. Katy winced as she noticed blood and brain matter leaking out of the girl's eyes and ears. It was strange though. Apart from that, there were no obvious injuries on her body, and no blood pooling from any other wounds.
"A microwaved human" Saxon mused, as Katy shot him a glare.
"She had a name. A life. Would it kill you to show a little respect?" Katy huffed, as she walked forward to crouch beside the corpse.
"Why should I care for a little earthling? More importantly, why do you?" Saxon questioned, as Katy gave a half-shrug.
"Whatever did this to her wasn't human. No signs of a struggle. It's like it ripped her apart from the inside out...wonder what it would do a Time Lord?" Katy pointed out, as Saxon came to loom over her.
"Or a Krillitane" Saxon retorted.
"...Fine. I'll do it. Team up. Bonnie and Clyde. What'd you say?" Saxon exclaimed, as Katy twisted around to glance up at him in confusion.
"I don't remember asking for your help" Katy scoffed.
"I'm Minister of Defence, remember? I have hundreds of little humans at my disposal. Access to every CCTV camera in the country and I'm smarter than you" Saxon went on.
"Debatable" Katy murmured, looking back to the corpse, picking up the girl's sleeve and taking a closer look at the strange colour of her skin.
She had never seen or heard of a death like it. She was at a complete loss. This was the sister of Rose's friend. Didn't she have some sort of fucked up duty of care toward her? Still, she couldn't understand why Saxon was so eager to work with her.
"And why would you want to help me?" Katy asked, with her back still to him, as she dropped the corpse's arm.
All of a sudden, a warm hand was brushing her hair over her shoulder before she felt Saxon's fingers stroking the skin of her bare neck. The drumbeat exploded in her mind as he clasped her shoulder, his tight grip almost as unrelenting as the sound ripping through her skull. Katy scrunched her eyes shut as the pain grew too much. The drumbeat felt like it was coursing through her veins.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Over and over again. Louder and louder with every beat. Her head burnt with the weight of the noise until she finally found the strength to shove him away from her. The pair were both gasping as Katy jumped to her feet, appearing ready to run out of the room if Saxon moved a muscle.
"It stops" Saxon announced, as Katy gave him a look of disbelief.
"What?" She cried, clutching at her aching head.
"It's the only time it stops" He went on, in an almost bitter tone.
"You can...pass it on to me?" Katy frowned, as Saxon ran a hand down his face.
"Not for long. It always comes back" He admitted, as Katy tried to calm her frantic breathing.
"Stay the fuck away from me" Katy panted, making a beeline for the door, but Saxon stepped in front of her before she could get away.
"This is what he does, you know? He leaves everyone behind in the end" Saxon announced, as their eyes connected for a moment.
Katy couldn't understand the hurt she found in his gaze. The Doctor clearly used to mean something to him...still did. But the Doctor never spoke about him. Hell, he never really spoke about any of his people. Was it just so long ago that he just forgot? In another nine hundred years, would he even remember her?
"Get out of my way" Katy insisted, as Saxon cocked his head to the side, before letting her pass with a reluctant expression.
"You're quiet today" Jackie stated, the next morning, as Katy sat cross-legged on the cream leather couch.
"I was just thinking about Shareen. One of her sisters is dead and the other one is missing. She lost all her family in one night" Katy sighed.
She had found out from Jackie that Shareen had been brought up by her older sister after their parents died in a car crash five years back. It had just been the three sisters ever since. And after finding her older sister dead, Shareen discovered her sixteen-year-old sister, Bethany, was missing without a trace. It seemed like whatever had killed Shareen's older sister had taken Bethany with them. But why?
"I've tried calling Rose. Think I must have left her thirty voicemails but...nothing. Do you think they're out of range?" Jackie suggested.
"Maybe" Katy replied, leaning back against the back of the couch.
"You really think it might have been aliens?" Jackie asked.
"Considering you've got one in your living room and another off travelling with your daughter, I don't think it's much of a reach that another alien would be on the block" Katy explained, as Jackie came to sit next to her.
"Good thing you're here to help then. Didn't see the Doctor and Rose for a whole twelve months back in 2005" Jackie informed her, as Katy's eyes almost popped out of her skull.
"A year? They...they were gone for a whole year?" Katy gaped.
"For a Time Lord or whatever, the Doctor's not very good at keeping time, is he?" Jackie huffed, as Katy pushed herself to her feet.
"This isn't me, Jackie. I don't...I'm not the one who saves people. That's the Doctor! I don't even know what I'm doing half the time. I just...I just follow him" Katy exclaimed, as Jackie gave her a look of sympathy.
"Oh, sweetheart. It's alright. They'll be back soon. They will" Jackie insisted, standing up and placing her hand on Katy's shoulder.
Despite her reassuring tone, Katy could tell from the fear in her eyes that Jackie didn't really believe what she was saying. How long would the Doctor and Rose be gone this time? Another year? Two? Five? And why had Katy still not jumped through his timeline yet?
"And what the hell do we do if they don't?" Katy retorted.
A knocking on the front door gave Jackie an excuse to not answer, as Katy announced she would answer it. She needed some air anyway. Maybe it was time for her to leave London altogether. She did a double take when she opened the door and found the last person she wanted to see standing in front of her.
"What do you want?" Katy muttered, as Saxon pursed his lips as if he was debating her question.
"World domination? The Doctor's head on a spike?" Saxon mused.
"Well, you'll have to find him first" Katy scoffed, going to slam the door shut when Saxon's hand shot out to slam against the door.
"CCTV. Shows a man running away from the crime scene ten minutes before the girl found her sister. My people have already tracked him down" Saxon informed her, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a printout of the man in question.
He was more of a boy, she thought to herself. He could be no older than seventeen at the most. Even from the grainy CCTV footage, she could see the look of pure terror on his face, his arms outstretched as he ran away from the block of flats.
"Best lead you've got" Saxon continued, as Katy groaned inwardly.
"Fine, fine. On one condition! No touching. You even breathe near me, and I'll hit you so hard you'll regenerate" Katy told him, raising her finger toward him.
"You promise?" Saxon exclaimed, with a gleeful expression, making her roll her eyes.
"Who is it?" Jackie's voice called out to her from the living room.
"...Just some lost idiot trying to find his boyfriend's flat. I'll show him the way, be back soon!" Katy announced, stepping out of the flat, and gesturing for Saxon to start walking.
"Boyfriend?" Saxon frowned, as Katy closed the door to the flat.
"Well, you're certainly obsessed enough with the Doctor for it to be true. Condition number two. I want some answers. Some real answers, Saxon" Katy insisted.
"You were the Doctor's first friend? Glad to see his standards have gone up since then" Katy mocked, listening to the Time Lord's stories.
They were staking out their sole suspect, Greg Jameson, a seventeen-year-old kid who had been dating Bethany for the past year. It had been two hours of them waiting in one of Saxon's many sleek black cars, waiting for Greg to return to his home. Supposedly no one had seen him since Bethany's disappearance, but Katy figured it was only a matter of time until he returned to his home. He was only a teenage boy after all, where else did he have to go?
"I was his first man crush too. Well, I think he was a man back then" Saxon murmured, as Katy quirked an eyebrow.
"What happened then? I mean, how do you go from being BFF's to...this?" Katy asked, watching as a muscle clenched in Saxon's jaw.
"We grew up" He retorted.
"Uh-huh. And what really happened?" Katy pushed, as Saxon gave her a brief glance.
"Aren't you going to ask the question that you really want the answer to?" Saxon suggested.
"How'd you know so much about me?" Katy exclaimed.
"We meet in your future, my past. Poor, little Katy. Still following the Doctor around, trying so hard to be good. It would be sad if it wasn't so pathetic" Saxon explained, causing Katy to scowl.
"So...you know about my future with the Doctor too then?" Katy pushed, as Saxon let out a bitter laugh.
"The Doctor will likely kill me for just speaking to you, but revealing your sordid little future? I'd be signing my own death warrant" Saxon huffed, as Katy's eyes narrowed.
"You're scared of him" She realised, as Saxon gave her a warning look.
"I'm not scared of anything" Saxon muttered.
He almost sounded like the little boy she imagined he once was in the Academy on Gallifrey. The Doctor's first friend. What happened to them to make Saxon hate his former friend so much?
"I take it your name isn't Harold Saxon then?" Katy stated.
"You can call me...the Master" He told her, with a slight smirk.
"...Yeah. I'm definitely not gonna' do that" Katy scoffed, in disbelief, watching as he rolled his eyes.
"I'm gonna' keep calling you Saxon. And round face when you piss me off...hold on. So, you two named yourselves the Doctor and the Master? What, was the Bachelor already taken?" Katy teased, as the Time Lord let out a low groan.
"How has the Doctor not killed you yet?" The Master muttered, as Katy noticed movement in the corner of her eye.
"Well, well. Would you look who it is" Katy smirked, watching as none other than Gregory Jameson sneaked around the back of the building, clearly going back to his flat.
"Let's get this over with" The Master announced, as the pair exited the car.
It was dark in Greg's flat, and deathly quiet too. The sun outside was beginning to fade, only adding to the eery feeling in the building. Katy cautiously crept through the dimly lit corridor, peeking in the nearest bedroom, but all she was met with was more silence. Goosebumps grew over her arms as she stepped further into the flat, unnerved by the feeling of someone watching her from the shadows.
"I don't get it. He should be here" Katy frowned.
"It's a shame. Really. Are we going then?" The Master exclaimed, in a bored tone.
"You can if you want" Katy mumbled, opening the next door which appeared to be Greg's bedroom.
"Why are you so bothered about saving these apes?" The Master questioned.
"...Honestly? I've got nothing else to do" Katy admitted, as he regarded her closely for a moment before stepping into the bedroom behind her.
"There's no way a seventeen-year-old boy killed Shareen's sister. But he must have seen something. Why else would he—" Katy's words were cut off as a hand suddenly clamped around her mouth.
She let out a startled sound before the Master's other arm wrapped around her waist and dragged her toward the nearby wardrobe. He had thrown her inside before she could protest, jumping in beside her and slamming the wooden doors shut.
"What the fu—" Katy cried, as the Master pressed his palm against her mouth once more, before placing a finger against his own lips to shush her.
It was only then that Katy heard the muffled sound of footsteps. Her heart beat hard in her chest as she heard the door to the bedroom creak open, and the footsteps grew louder. The wardrobe doors had stayed open a crack, the wood rotted enough that they no longer closed properly, allowing a small amount of light into the wardrobe. Katy could make out a figure had entered the room, as she sucked in a panicked breath, hoping they wouldn't find them. The Master dropped his hand from her mouth to lay across the crook of her neck, able to feel her carotid artery pulsing quickly under his fingers. Whilst Katy's attention was kept firmly on the figure edging toward the bed on the other side of the room, the Master's eyes had dropped to his hand against her neck. He could still hear the drums, but they were quiet now, drowned out by the pleasant sound of her singular heartbeat.
A sudden scream had them both flinching, followed by the sound of something dragging across the floor. Katy reached out with a shaky hand to push the wardrobe doors open a little wider, her mouth going slack when she saw the scene in front of her.
It was Bethany.
Shareen's little sister had her hand wrapped around Greg's neck, hauling him high off the ground, as his feet dangling above the floorboards. It took her eyes a moment to adjust in the dim light, as she took a closer look at Bethany's emotionless face. She had seen many dead bodies in her life. And there was no question in her mind that the sixteen-year-old standing a few feet away was just that.
Dead.
Her skin was waxy, her eyes sunken and grey, lips clamped together. She was a walking corpse. Who was somehow strangling her still-living boyfriend. She could feel the Master pressed close beside her, trying to get a good look through the thin gap in the wardrobe doors. They both leant closer as something seemed to seep out of Bethany's hand, it almost looked like...
Suddenly, the wardrobe doors were swinging open as the pair fell forward, collapsing on a heap on the floorboards. Katy glanced up to see Bethany had grown a nearly unconscious Greg onto the bed, her hand outstretched as something dark oozed from her hand. The Master was then gripping her shoulder and hauling her to her feet, a fascinated look on his face.
"An Elemental Shade" The Master exclaimed, as Katy's eyes doubled in size.
"Uh...aren't they supposed to just be a myth?" Katy gaped.
"Tell her that" The Master huffed, as Bethany's body suddenly flopped to the floor.
Dread crept through her body as she found a shadow standing in front of them, eight feet tall and in the vague outline of a man. She couldn't remember much about the stories she had heard about the Elemental Shades apart from one thing. They were virtually unkillable. After all, how can you kill a shadow?
"What's it doing?" Katy murmured, when she found the shadow still hadn't moved.
"It's debating," The Master told her.
"Debating what?" She insisted.
"Which one of us to use" The Master exclaimed, as a chill went down Katy's spine.
A second later, he was grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room before she could say a word. They were running down the corridor as Katy glanced behind her to find the shadow was following quickly on their heels, hovering above the floor.
"What about Greg?" She complained, feeling guilty for leaving the teenager.
"Forget about that bloody ape!" The Master retorted, reaching for the door when a shadowy hand suddenly shot out, clasping around the doorknob.
The pair stumbled back a step, as Katy twisted around to find the Elemental Shade was now right behind them. The Master shoved her into the living room as the shadowy figure crept closer to them. Reaching into his jacket pocket, the Master pulled out his laser screwdriver, sending a beam of light into the Elemental Shade, which went right through the creature, scorching the wall behind it.
"Great, now you've just pissed it off" Katy muttered.
"Got any better ideas?" The Master hissed, as Katy raised her hands up in surrender.
"We, uh...don't mean you any harm. Let's just talk about this, yeah? We're...we're nice" Katy announced, as the Master gave her an incredulous look.
"Nice?" He scoffed, as she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, I don't know! I was trying to copy what the Doctor would say" Katy grumbled, backing all the way up to the wall as the shadow grew closer.
"Alright, new plan..." The Master trailed off, before grabbing her shoulders and pushing her in front of him.
"Take her! She'd be a much better vessel. She's easy!" The Master called out, his grip on her shoulders tight as he side-stepped toward the other side of the room.
"No, I'm not! I'd be terrible! I'm way too annoying, ask anyone!" Katy cried, as the Master continued moving them slowly.
"She's right about that, why don't you put her out of her misery? It's not like anyone would miss her" The Master continued, twisting them to the side and taking a step back.
"Low blow, you asshole" Katy complained, as one of his hands dropped away from her shoulders.
"Remind me not to save your life again" The Master huffed, as Katy heard a creaking sound from behind her.
By the time she whipped around, she found the Master was already crawling out of an open window, having been manoeuvring them toward it for the last minute. Suddenly, he was jumping out into the open air, as if he hadn't given it a second thought. The hair on the back of her neck stood up on end as she could tell the Elemental Shade was right behind her. Jumping up onto the windowsill, she saw the Master had landed on the roof of a cycle shelter below. She leapt forward just as she felt something brush against her shoulder.
Pain shot through her body as her eyes fluttered open, finding herself lying on her back on hard concrete, having rolled off the cycle shelter. The Master was already on his feet, brushing off the dirt covering his suit as he glanced up. The sun was setting but its dim light was enough to keep the Elemental Shade in the building. For now.
"You couldn't have tried to catch me?" Katy complained.
"And get crushed in the process? No thanks" The Master replied.
"Why didn't it follow us?" Katy frowned, pushing herself up onto her knees.
"An Elemental Shade is a living shadow. A shadow is an absence of light. They can't exist in the sunlight" The Master informed her.
"But the sun's setting" Katy stated.
"Then we should probably get a move on, shouldn't we?" The Master announced.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Jackie asked, on the other end of the phone, as Katy rubbed at her aching temple.
"I'm just staying the night at a friend, Jacks. I'm all good" Katy insisted.
"You don't have any friends apart from me and Mickey" Jackie pointed out, making Katy snort.
Somehow, she doubted Jackie would be alright if she knew the truth. Having to stay in the townhouse of an Evil Time Lord on the other side of London whilst hiding from a being made of shadows wasn't exactly on her list of things to do that week. But what choice did she have? Go back to Jackie's flat and put her in danger?
"I'll call you in the morning, alright? Keep trying to get through to Rose" Katy insisted.
"Fine, fine. Keep lying. Just...be careful wherever you are, yeah?" Jackie exclaimed, as Katy's lips twitched into a smile.
"Always am" She replied, before hanging up to the call.
She got up from the couch she had been sitting on and walked over to the window, wincing at how bright it was outside. Saxon...the Master, she reminded herself, had set up dozens of floodlights to shine out from the gardens around his flat, in the hope it would keep the Shade away. Even he admitted he wasn't sure if it would work. Artificial light was different to sunlight. For all she knew, the shadowy figure could have been creeping up behind her that very second.
"Alright. You win, okay? Whatever lesson I'm supposed to be learning or...whatever this is, you win! Just help me out here" Katy called out.
She wasn't sure who she was trying to talk to. God? The Doctor? What was the difference really?
"Please. Please, Doctor. I need you here" She sighed, closing her eyes, as she leaned forward to press her forehead against the cold glass.
She wondered for maybe the hundredth time that month what the hell she was doing. In London. On Earth. Now she knew what was out there, who she was...why didn't she just leave? She could find the technology or steal it and be in another universe by the end of the week. The Doctor wasn't...
Her head shot up as she heard a familiar warping sound, as she rushed toward the door, finding a gust of wind hit her. There was only one thing in the world that made that sound.
The TARDIS.
And where the time machine was, the Time Lord wouldn't be far behind. Taking off in a sprint, Katy raced down the long corridor, her eyes darting around to look for the blue of the TARDIS. She came to a grinding halt as she rounded a corner and all but collided with the man she had just been praying for. The Doctor stood there in his pinstripe suit and long flowing coat, a broad grin over his face.
"Did you miss me?" The Doctor exclaimed.
Katy's face creased into a smile as she began to laugh. She jumped into his arms without a second thought, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders, her toes barely remaining on the ground. Something warm and pleasant blossomed in her chest as she felt his hands circling around the small of her back, his chin lowering to rest on her shoulder.
"Just what I needed" He murmured, holding onto her a little tighter.
Eventually, Katy pulled away, her hands still on his shoulders, as she tried to hide the beaming smile on her face. She should have been pissed at him. A whole month. She had almost died.
"Where the hell have you been?" She exclaimed, angrily, despite the smile she still couldn't force away.
"Oh, here and there. I just dropped Rose off at her mother's, she said there's been trouble" The Doctor stated.
"Yeah, and you've been missing it, idiot" Katy muttered, poking him in the chest.
"And you've been missing me?" The Doctor suggested, with a cheeky grin, as Katy shook her head, fondly.
"Don't think you're off the hook that easily. I'm still—" Katy began, as the Doctor's lips suddenly crashed into hers.
She almost fell backwards from the force of the kiss, but the Doctor's hands on her waist kept her in place as he leaned closer. Katy's hands instinctively reached up to the nape of his neck, unsure whether to push him away or pull him closer. The latter won out, as her hand tangled into his messy hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss between them. The Doctor's hand trailed up her side until it came to rest on her cheek, as he continued kissing her at a feverish pace. It was nothing like their previous kisses, this was full of desperation and hunger. All of a sudden, he was pushing them against the wall, pressing his body flush against hers. It allowed Katy to get a grip on reality for a split second, as she pulled away from the kiss.
"Wait, wait. What about Rose?" She frowned, knowing how much the Doctor cared about the blonde.
"Forget about her. I have" The Doctor responded, before capturing her lips once more.
His words made no sense, as did his actions, but she badly wanted to look past it. The Doctor's hand dragged down her neck, coming to rest on her chest, just above where her heart was, beating wildly under her skin. She pushed herself up onto her tiptoes to press her lips harder against his, as his other hand slipped underneath the hem of her shirt to press against the bare skin of her waist.
"Doctor..." She hummed against his lips, as her stomach fluttered pleasantly.
He groaned against her lips, pulling away a fraction, as Katy attempted to catch her breath. She glanced up at him, as his hand tightened against her waist. His warm, brown eyes met hers, as she caught a glint of something...different in them. In the dim lighting of the corridor, they almost seemed a hazel colour. And then just for a moment, his whole appearance seemed to glitch, as all the warmth left Katy's body.
The sound of a sharp slap echoed through the corridor, as the Doctor stumbled back a pace, clutching at his red cheek. Katy glared at him furiously, wiping at her swollen lips with the back of her hand.
"You sick, son of a bitch. Change back!" She snapped, as an uncharacteristic smirk graced the Doctor's lips.
"A simple perception filter. I learned that trick on my first day at the Academy. Let's people see what they want to see..." He exclaimed, reaching into his pocket to pull out the laser screwdriver, twisting the head of the device as his appearance changed.
"I guess we both know what you want now" The Master grinned at her.
A/N: This is my version of the Love & Monsters episode…which basically means the only thing it will include is the Elemental Shade, because that was by far the best part of that episode. And never got used again! And just to clarify that definitely wasn't the Doctor at the end of the chapter…although it's pretty obvious Katy wanted it to be. Uh oh! Thank you to everyone for all the amazing support this story has been receiving lately, it really helps motivate me to keep writing this fic!