The room was full of noise. Absorbed by the harsh white walls and white furniture. It reminded her of Canary Warf. Clinical.
Hospital staff rushed around, always busy. Never really stopping.
Unlike THE Doctor. Who was currently sitting upright in a hospital bed next to her. Rifling through a magazine at speed. His feet twitching, restless. She sat on an uncomfortable plastic visitors chair to his right, watching him. A small smile of amusement on her face.
"Swap?" He looked up at her hopefully.
She stifled a laugh. "Can't swap, they've written your name and everything on the chart. They'll notice if we swap." She pointed at the whiteboard above his head, giving him her best sympathetic look.
"Bored." He muttered, more to the magazine than to her.
She chuckled gently at him. "Yes, well being in hospital isn't supposed to be fun."
"But, you just have to lie here." He threw the magazine down.
She nodded. "Yes. That's the idea."
"Are you sure you didn't find anything in the gift shop?" He whined. He'd sent her three times to check for books in the hospital gift shop, in the hope that sooner or later they'd acquire something he could read. The magazine she'd brought him was as text-heavy as she could find.
"I'm sure." She gave him a look. "You're the one who wanted to check out the plasma coils. So, just lie there and get admitted." She gave him a playfully withering look.
He groaned. "How do I get admitted?"
She rolled her eyes. "Just act ill, and human. Perishable and all that…" She added quickly, not really thinking.
The Doctor didn't respond. She looked at him and saw that his face had dropped slightly and his eyes had wandered over towards the window. She frowned, she hadn't meant it like that…
Since Rose had gone, it felt like the pair had barely stopped for breath. No sooner had The Doctor finished saying goodbye, had Donna Noble materialised into their TARDIS. Hally hadn't minded all too much at the time. The distraction had been welcomed by both of them. But after they'd dealt with the Racnoss and made their way back to the TARDIS, The Doctor had instantly started scanning the earth for anomalies. Hence, the hospital.
She wanted to talk to him about Rose. Tell him that she missed her. But she wasn't sure how to bring it up. It was obvious that they were both feeling it. The emptiness. Hally opened her mouth to try but was stopped by a sudden and overwhelming pang of guilt.
I should have saved her.
She paused and closed her mouth. Because that was the truth, that was the truth that she feared The Doctor was also feeling. The truth that Hally hadn't been enough. She wasn't strong enough to save Rose.
Maybe that's why he hadn't said anything. Was he also disappointed in her?
"I miss her." She eventually managed to whisper.
The Doctor turned back to look at her, his eyes were glossy. "Me too."
Hally took in a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
He smiled sadly at her. "You have nothing to be sorry for. We both lost her."
"No, I know. I just… I should have…" Her voice trailed away, too ashamed to say it out loud.
"No." The Doctor cut her off firmly
She sighed softly.
He continued, his stare boring into her soul "She's alive. She's living her life with her family. It's ok."
She shook her head. "But, I should have been able to…"
Again he didn't let her finish. "No Hally, I… that wasn't on you. I don't expect you to have been able to save her. She made the choice. She knew the risk." His voice was hard, not unkind. But immovable.
"Then why did she do it? I could have done it." Hally scrunched up her face.
The Doctor's eyes softened, sadness seeping onto his face. "That was just Rose."
She nodded.
It was then that a consultant pulled back the curtain to Hally's left, revealing a small gaggle of medical students.
"Now then, Mister Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?" The consultant began. They'd seen him earlier when The Doctor had been admitted.
The Doctor grinned. "Oh, not so bad." Then he seemed to remember that he was supposed to be pretending to be ill. "Still a bit, you know, blah."
Hally raised an eyebrow. "He's downplaying it. He's been in agony." She looked pointedly towards her father.
The consultant, Stoker, Hally could now see his name badge, grabbed The Doctors medical notes.
"John Smith, admitted yesterday with severe abdominal pains. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me."
One of the medical students stepped forward. She was a young girl, pretty. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail "That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?" She muttered to The Doctor, grabbing her stethoscope.
Both Hally and The Doctor frowned, sharing a look with one another. "Sorry?" The Doctor asked.
"On Chancellor Street this morning? You came up to me and took your tie off." The medical student continued, convinced.
Hally looked pointedly at The Doctor.
"Really? What did I do that for?" He pulled a face, shooting Hally a look. She shrugged.
"Not me. I was here, in bed. Ask the nurses." The Doctor waved around the room.
Hally smiled brightly. "He was here. Promise."
Dr Stoker chased the young girl and she finally got on with it. She placed her stethoscope on The Doctor's chest. The two Timelords watched in silent amusement as she moved the chest-piece from one side of The Doctor's chest to the other. A small frown appeared on her face.
The Doctor caught her eye and winked.
Hally watched their interaction, reaching out to The Doctor mentally.
"This was a terrible idea…"
The Doctor just grinned.
Stoker interrupted them "I weep for future generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?" He asked the medical student, Jones, patronisingly.
Stoker was getting increasingly more frustrated with Miss Jones. Hally felt a little bit sorry for her considering she was probably confused as to why the patient had two hearts. Then, when Stoker had reached forward for the chart he received a nasty electric shock. This got The Doctor's attention, even more so when some of the other students chimed in saying they'd experienced similar shocks throughout the hospital.
The Doctor started rambling on about Benjamin Franklin. "My mate, Ben. That was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked…"
The Consultant looked alarmed. Hally laughed awkwardly. "Dad, I don't quite think the Doctor understands your sense of humour." She turned to the group of medical students, pulling a face. A few of them had to stifle their laughs.
"Quite." Stoker looked between Hally and The Doctor. Then he turned and led the medical students away continuing their rounds. Once they'd finished and cleared the room, The Doctor sprang up out of the bed. "Let's go!"
Hally laughed, grabbing the dressing gown that had been left on the end of the bed, forcing him to put it on. They agreed to split up, The Doctor would take the floors above and she'd take the floors below. They'd meet back in 2 hours.
Right.
She could do this.
Plasma coils, easy.
Hally sighed.
What the hell is a plasma coil?
Hally was walking along the southern corridor of the hospital, popping her head in each ward. Scanning around quickly. She could feel a kind of prickly energy surrounding the hospital, but no matter where she went, the energy levels all felt the same. No clue what could be causing the plasma coils.
Suddenly, there was a loud crash of thunder and light flashed from outside. Hally moved over to the window, she had just entered a canteen-like café on the second floor. A few nurses were ogling through the glass, food forgotten. Again, there was a roll of thunder. The building shook, forcing Hally to grab hold of the nearest table to stop herself from falling.
There were a few shrieks of surprise. Lightening flashed brightly in front of their eyes and everyone was thrown to one side. Hally grabbed hold of the window pane. Food now splattered all over the floors as everyone tried their best to stay upright. A few people were screaming now and as the hospital gave another lurch the lights blinked out.
Then, it stopped. Everyone in the canteen was quiet. Hally stared outside the window. A few of the staff had noticed it too and someone let out a helpless wail. The lights flickered back on.
Hally reached out again to The Doctor, apprehension filling her mind.
"We're on the moon."
He replied quickly. "Yes, I'd noticed."
"Must have something to do with the signal." She mused, looking to her right she could see one of the canteen staff was trying to comfort a mother and daughter.
"Yes." He replied quickly. He was most likely in the middle of something.
Hally was thinking more to herself than to The Doctor. "Someone has isolated the hospital. What for?"
"Let's find out." His excitement was palpable through the connection.
Hally smiled slightly, moving away from the window. She stepped over a canteen tray, the remains of what looked like shepherd's pie scattered on the floor. "Where are you?"
An image of a balcony pushed through into her mind. "Fifth floor."
Hally found herself a stairwell and started climbing to the fifth floor. The Doctor's direction hadn't been all that specific, so she got lost a few times along the way but finally, she found The Doctor standing outside on the balcony he had shown her. He had been joined by the medical student from earlier. Jones.
"Nice suit." Hally announced from behind them both. The Doctor had changed into a royal blue suit, he turned and gave her a smile.
The student, Jones, was staring off the edge of the balcony. When Hally moved closer to join them she could see what she'd been looking at. In the distance, three spaceships had landed. They were tall ships, like three black columns sprouting from the surface of the moon. From the ships, lines of marching, black blobs were making their way towards the hospital.
"Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens." Jones muttered astonished.
The Doctor and Hally shared a look. "Judoon." The Doctor informed the human.
The pair turned and quickly made their way back inside. They needed to work out what the Judoon were here for. Hally felt the presence of the human, jogging to catch up behind them. She looked towards The Doctor, asking him silently.
"Who's the human?"
"Martha Jones."
"And she's coming with us because?"
"She's clever."
"I'm clever." Hally shot him a sideways glance.
"She wanted to." He returned the look to her.
Hally shrugged, deciding it would be easier to accept his vague answer. The, now trio made their way down to the upper mezzanine level. This level looked down onto the main entrance of the hospital. From up there, they were able to keep out of sight while watching what was happening down below.
They watched as a squadron of Judoon entered, assimilated the English language and began to scan and catalogue the humans. Martha was whispering questions to The Doctor and he quietly explained to her that the Judoon were basically intergalactic police.
"Neutral territory." He whispered, indicating outside. "According to galactic law, they've got no jurisdiction over the Earth, and they isolated it. That rain, lightning? That was them, using an H2O scoop."
Hally nodded in understanding but could see the disbelief on the human's face. "What are you on about, galactic law? Where'd you get that from? If they're police, are we under arrest? Are we trespassing on the moon or something?"
The Doctor looked amused. "No, but I like that. Good thinking. No, I wish it were that simple. They're making a catalogue. That means they're after something non-human."
Hally let out a soft sigh and looked at The Doctor meaningfully. "Not ideal…"
He nodded gravely.
"Why?" Martha piped up between them. The Doctor silently sent her a meaningful look. "Oh, you're kidding me. Don't be ridiculous. Stop looking at me like that."
"Come on then." The Doctor shot Martha a smirk before sneaking away. Hally followed him quickly and again felt the human take after them. The Doctor led them into an administration office. It was a tight space and with The Doctor sitting down at the desk and Martha hovering by the door, Hally had to perch, cross-legged on the desk to allow them all into the room.
The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver, grabbed the computer and waved it around it madly.
Martha popped her head outside the door. "They've reached the third floor." She closed it again, motioning to the screwdriver. "What's that thing?"
"Sonic screwdriver." The Doctor answered quickly, trying again to scan the computer.
The young woman sighed. "Well, if you're not going to answer me properly."
The Doctor looked slightly offended, holding the device up for her to see. "No, really, it is. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic. Look."
"What else have you got, a laser spanner?" Martha joked, sending Hally a look to which she just smiled.
"I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst, cheeky woman. Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon." He tried whacking the computer to see if that would help. "Because I was just travelling past. I swear, I was just wandering. I wasn't looking for trouble…" Hally raised an eyebrow, which he spotted. "…honestly, I wasn't, but I noticed these plasma coils around the hospital, and that lightning, that's a plasma coil. Been building up for two days now, so I checked in. Thought something was going on inside. It turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon up above." He shrugged.
"You did all that lying down for nothing." Hally smirked. He let out a disgruntled huff.
"But what were they looking for?" Martha insisted.
"Something that looks human, but isn't." He turned back to the computer, typing furiously.
Martha looked between them both. "Like you, apparently."
The Doctor grinned. "Like me. But not me."
"Haven't they got a photo?"
By this point, The Doctor had put the sonic screwdriver into his mouth and was scanning through the computer files as quickly as he could.
Hally answered for him. "The thing they're looking for might be a shape-shifter." She smiled at Martha.
"Whatever it is, can't we just leave the Judoon to find it?" Martha continued.
Hally shook her head. "Judoon are just a little bit ridiculous, if they find a fugitive here they might declare the entire hospital guilty of harbouring one. They'll execute everyone."
Martha's mouth dropped open.
The Doctor grabbed the screwdriver from his mouth. "But… if we can find this thing first..." The computer screen suddenly went blank. "Oh! You see, they're thick! Judoon are thick! They are completely thick! They wiped the records. Oh, that's clever." He groaned, running his hands through his hair.
"What are we looking for?" Martha asked, keen to help.
The Doctor sighed, turning the computer over in his hands. "I don't know. Say, any patient admitted in the past week with unusual symptoms. Maybe there's a back-up…"
Hally watched him and frowned. "That doesn't really make sense. Why would a non-human come to a hospital? It's not like they'd be after treatment, so what are they after? Why here?"
"Good question." The Doctor pointed the screwdriver at her, before pressing it into the back of the computer.
"Perhaps they were trying to hide?" Martha suggested. She popped her head outside the door again. "Just keep working. I'll go ask Mister Stoker. He might know." With that she disappeared through the door.
"Dangerous place to hide…" Hally muttered.
The Doctor nodded. "Oh! Yes! I've got it!" He grinned, propping the computer screen back the right way up. Records now appearing on the screen again. He stood up quickly.
"Right. Go through those and let me know if you find anything that could suggest who or what we're looking for." He pointed to the seat that he'd just vacated.
"Alright…" Hally said slowly, sinking down into the chair. "Where are you going?" She turned to look at him, he was already halfway out the door.
"I'll be back!" He just called back to her and with that, the door swung shut.
She rolled her eyes, turning back to the records on the screen. This was going to take a while.
She instantly filtered through all the patients who hadn't been discharged, but who had been admitted within the last week. Then, quickly scanning over their notes she removed any children who had been admitted. As they'd all been accompanied by their parents or guardians.
There were still at least 377 results to go through…
Hally sighed and tried a different approach. She filtered out the patients who hadn't had any blood tests done yet. Hoping that if there was anything strange it would have been flagged. Any results that were way out of range for an unknown reason. There were still over 100 results, but she started scanning over them swiftly. Again, discounting anyone who had been admitted accompanied by family or friends.
Her eyes scanned over a report, the blood tests flagged as abnormal.
Red blood cell count was pretty elevated. Blood glucose very high. Blood sodium…
Hally raised her eyebrows. 1433mEq/L. The result had been marked as an error. But perhaps not.
She pulled open the patient file, scanning the details.
Florence Finnegan, admitted two days ago with dizziness. Described in the notes as being 77, was driven to the hospital alone in an ambulance, hospital had been unable to contact next of kin.
That could work?
She looked behind herself at the door that both Martha and The Doctor had left through. There was no sign that either of them would be returning soon. So, she might as well start searching for Ms Finnegan. She checked the record again and made a mental note of the ward before opening the office door slowly. She looked left and right, no sign of any Judoon at the moment.
She slipped out and made her way quickly to the stairwell, intent on checking out the ward where Florence had been admitted.
"Doctor?" She tried.
There was no response. She bit her lip and broke into a jog, entering the ward. Some of the patients were still in their beds, others milling around the corridors. The hospital was in utter chaos so no one questioned why Hally walked straight up to the nurses' desk, sorting through the notes to find Ms Finnegan's. She looked up, the bed where she was supposed to be was empty.
Damn.
"Doctor?" She tried again, adding a little more urgency.
"Running!" Was all she got back.
She rolled her eyes at no one in particular.
"Where?!"
Again, there was no response.
She turned to exit the ward when a commotion started at the end of the corridor she'd come from. Hally peaked round the door to see at least 10 Judoon forcing their way along the corridor. Fanning out into the wards. A porter screamed as a Judoon pushed him up against the wall, scanning him quickly.
"Human." The Judoon confirmed, marking his hand with a black X.
"Shit…" Hally muttered, making a swift exit. She walked as quickly as she could without drawing attention away from the oncoming Judoon. She had almost reached the northern stairwell when that door also crashed open. More Judoon.
She yelped and threw herself through the nearest door. Locking the door behind her, hoping it'd give her a moment to think. It didn't, the door was immediately knocked off its hinges and two hulking Judoon entered the room. One had its helmet on, the other was without. Its beady eyes glared at her, lip curled into a growl.
"Hi, boys…" She smiled awkwardly, raising her hands up.
The one without the helmet took two steps forward, very much invading her personal space and held the small black scanner to her face. There was an awkward moment of silence as the scanner did its thing.
The Judoon pulled the scanner back, reading the results on the small screen.
"Non-human." It announced. Its partner instantly raised its blaster to her head.
The un-helmeted Judoon suddenly raised its arm, its gloved hand clenched into a fist. "Cease execution." It commanded.
Hally looked between the two. The blaster was still aimed at her head but she wasn't dead yet. That was good.
The Judoon checked the scanner once more. It reached forward and grabbed Hally's wrist, pulling her forearm towards it. It then made quick work of noting on her forearm before releasing her.
Then, they retreated from the room to continue their search. Hally let out a slow breath, which turned into a loud laugh.
She looked at her arm. P0777 – ERY. Then she looked back up towards the door the Judoon had just left through.
"What the hell does this mean!?" She shouted. Her heart was still racing and while she was immediately very grateful for her lack of execution, she couldn't help but be extremely confused.
Slowly she turned around, having a quick scan around the room she'd thrown herself into. It was just a security office, numerous screens showing grainy black and white security images of the building.
She sighed and was about the head to the stairwell to find The Doctor when she realised.
Cameras.
Turning back to the security desk, she got to work. Flicking through the feed to try and find Ms Finnegan, The Doctor or even Martha. This had seemed like a solid plan, however, Hally did forget to consider just how many security cameras there would be in the building.
A flash of light caught her eye and she locked onto the MRI scanning room.
"Aha! Gotcha!" She grinned, seeing The Doctor and Ms Finnegan stood next to the MRI machine. It looked like they were talking.
"Oh…" Hally's eyes widened as she watched The Doctor get pushed to his knees by a humanoid in an all-leather suit with a biker helmet on.
Then, the little old lady, who was evidently the fugitive the Judoon were looking forward, advanced on The Doctor with… was that a straw?
"Oh my god…" Hally muttered, the dots connecting in her mind. "No, no, no!" She yelled, sprinting from the room and down the stairs.
"Idiot!" Hally screamed as she sprinted along hospital corridors, running as fast as she could towards the MRI room. As she ran Hally noticed that the air in the hospital was decidedly thinner than it had been a few minutes ago.
Hally burst into the room, which was now a lot more crowded than just Ms Finnegan, The Doctor and the biker type. The Judoon were here now too and Martha, who was crouched over a body…
Having no thought for anyone else Hally pushed the medical student out of the way. The Doctor's eyes were closed, face deathly pale. Her breath caught in her throat. She touched his neck.
No pulse.
"Confirm analysis." The Judoon behind her boomed.
"Oh, but it's a mistake, surely. I'm human. I'm as human as they come…" Ms Finnegan mewed.
"He gave his life so they'd find you…" Martha spoke softly.
Hally closed her eyes, shutting them all out. She placed both her hands on The Doctor's chest. Her mind was whirring, she had to try and do something.
Idiot. Idiot.
She felt the tendrils of her energy reach out into The Doctor. Neither of his hearts were beating.
Why would you do this!?
Overhead, it sounded like there was some kind of commotion. Blaster sounds, crackling. She wasn't sure. She could hear Martha wittering away in her ear.
"But what did she mean, burn with me? The scanner shouldn't be doing that. She's done something!"
The Judoon's booming voice sounded from further away. "Scans detect lethal acceleration of monomagnetic pulse."
"You can't go! That thing's going to explode and it's your fault!"
Hally still wasn't breathing. Her energy pulsed into The Doctor, surrounding his hearts. With a push, she felt them both start to beat again.
She opened her eyes, finally letting out a breath. Her head swimming at the lack of oxygen available to pull back in.
But nothing happened. He didn't wake up. Panic prickled up Hally's neck. She felt the human pull on her arm.
"The MRI machine, she's done something to it!"
Hally pushed her away. The Doctor was dying. Why hadn't that fixed it? She didn't understand.
She felt Martha move away from her, clambering onto the other side of The Doctor. By now the lack of air was causing her to see black spots in front of her eyes and judging by Martha's face, the human was fairing even worse.
Martha reached out and touched The Doctor's wrist. He had a pulse. Then, she lowered her head, ear to his mouth, eyes on his chest.
He wasn't breathing.
Without wasting a second, Martha took in a deep breath. Pressing her mouth to The Doctor's she forced air into his lungs.
The effect was immediate. The Doctor sprang awake, confusion slapped onto his face before he took in the scene before him.
Martha looked at them both desperately. "The scanner. You have to fix it…" She looked back at the MRI machine briefly before her eyes fluttered closed and she collapsed onto the floor.
Hally was almost too happy that The Doctor wasn't dead, that for a moment she forgot to be furious at him. He hauled himself up and over to the machine. Hally checked on Martha. It wouldn't matter about the magnetic pulse as they'd all be dead in minutes if the oxygen ran out…
The Doctor crawled over to the scanner, reaching into his pocket. He groaned and slumped against the machine.
"Soddit." He murmured, grabbing two ends of the cables and pulling them apart. The MRI machine sparked and then powered down.
Even with their own increased lung capacity, the two Time Lords were struggling. However, The Doctor insisted on carrying Martha with them, to the nearest window. Watching as the Judoon retreated back onto their ships.
"Come on, come on, come on, come on, please. Come on, Judoon, reverse it." The Doctor whispered. Hally coughed, leaning against the window. Lungs screaming for oxygen.
There was a pattering on the window. She heard The Doctor let out a breath of relief. "It's raining, Martha. It's raining on the moon."
With another crash of thunder, the hospital jolted back down to earth.
Hally took in a sudden and deep breath, her muscles aching with need.
For a few minutes, Hally and The Doctor had sat, backs against the wall. Just taking in long, deep gulps of air. The Doctor let out a small, happy laugh. Hally shot him a look, still angry at him.
Once triple checking that Martha was ok, the pair exited the hospital and made their way back to the TARDIS. The walk back was quick and quiet. Perhaps The Doctor could sense the rage brewing like a storm inside his daughter.
The instant the TARDIS door swung shut, she exploded.
"What on earth did you think you were you doing?!" She screamed at him.
He turned to look at her. His voice was soft, a complete juxtaposition to hers. "I'm sorry."
Hally was breathing hard, the adrenaline that had flooded her system earlier beginning to drop, leaving her shaking and light-headed.
"You just… you went to die?!" She shouted, pushing him hard in the chest. Betrayal was fixed all over her face.
He grabbed her hands, gently but firmly holding her still.
He still spoke to her in that calm, understanding voice, despite her violence. "No. That's not what I did."
Hally's eyes filled with tears. This wasn't going how she'd expected. She'd thought he might shout back. It deflated her slightly. "But you knew she'd drink your blood." She stated coldly, staring him down.
"Yes…but-" He began, but she cut him off.
"So you know there was a chance you'd die!" She exclaimed, trying to pull her hands from his. He didn't let her.
He looked at her sadly. "Sometimes there isn't another option."
She growled. "There's always another option! I'm not completely useless!" Her throat closed up as emotion overcame her. "You just left me… sat in an office while you ran off with the human to save the day." Tears ran down her cheeks.
"I can't lose you too!" The Doctor yelled.
Taken aback, Hally's tears stopped. She stared at him for a moment.
"You won't." She said, firmly.
He sighed heavily, hands never leaving hers. "But I could have done."
She shook her head. "I can't be passive Doctor. This life we lead is dangerous and sometimes bad things happen, yes, but we're in this together." She grabbed his hands too, holding onto him tightly. "You and me. Because you're ALL I've got."
He smiled slightly. "I know… I just. I'm sorry. I am. I can't lose you." His eyes bored into hers, pleading.
"You won't! I'm stronger than you think… I can be… I just. Look, just don't leave me behind out of fear. I can handle it. I'm with you, whatever that means. I don't want to lose you either. So let me help." She smiled weakly at him.
He nodded slowly. "I can't promise…"
She laughed softly. "No, but just try."
He gave her a weak smile back. "Okay, I'll try."
Hally pulled him into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her, holding on for dear life.
"You mean so much to me." She heard him say, voice muffled.
She squeezed him tight. "I love you, Dad."
It felt nice to be in his arms, it felt right. She smiled and pulled away gently. The Doctor's eyes flicked down to her arm and he cocked his head. "What's this?"
She looked down to see the scrawl the Judoon had left on her earlier. She laughed. "Oh, ran into a Judoon. I have no idea what it means."
The Doctor tilted his head until he could read it. "P0777, Early."
Hally raised an eyebrow and shrugged at him. He was quiet for a moment before shrugging goofily back.
"So… where to now?" Hally started circling the TARDIS, awaiting their next destination.
The Doctor looked towards the door, his mouth open but no words left.
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him.
"I was thinking…" He began. "…we should probably say thank you to Martha."
Hally frowned and paused before she asked suspiciously. "What did you have in mind?"
He grinned guiltily. "Just one trip? She can pick."
Hally let out an irritated sigh, not able to control the frown that pulled at her face.
The Doctor gave her a look. "It's just a thank you."
Hally wanted to tell him no. She wanted to tell him that it felt too soon. That it was too soon. But he was probably right and she was probably being a little bit childish.
"Fine. Just one." She said, her tone informing The Doctor just how not 'fine' she was with the idea.
The Doctor piloted them, and Hally plonked herself down onto the seat. In silent protest. After some convincing, Martha Jones boarded the TARDIS.
"But it's just a box. But it's huge!" Hally forced herself to give the young woman a friendly smile as she marvelled at the ship. "How does it do that? It's wood. It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside."
The Doctor followed her inside. "Is it? I hadn't noticed." He mocked playfully. Shutting the door behind him.
He clapped his hands and bounded over to the console once more. "Right then, let's get going."
Hally stood up, heading round to the other side of the console. She wasn't going to show Martha that she was still having a mild tantrum.
Martha frowned at the two of them. "But is there a crew, like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?"
The Doctor shrugged, smiling. "Just us."
"Just the two of you?"
"Well, sometimes we have guests." The Doctor tried to brush it off.
Hally raised an eyebrow dangerously, he noticed.
"I mean some friends, travelling alongside. I had. There was recently, a friend of mine. Rose, her name was. Rose. And we were all together. Anyway." He coughed awkwardly.
"Where is she now?" Martha asked, suddenly concerned.
Hally chipped in, quickly. "She's fine. With her family. Happy. Fine. She's fine." Hally had definitely said 'fine' too many times.
"Not that you're replacing her." The Doctor warned, looking at Hally meaningfully.
"Never said I was." Martha smirked slightly, obviously picking up on the tension.
The Doctor pointed his finger at her. "It's just one trip. To say thanks. You get one trip, then back home."
Martha held up her hands. "You're the one that kissed me."
Hally's head snapped towards The Doctor.
His voice elevated an octave. "That was a genetic transfer." He looked between the two women. Giving his daughter a pleading look. She just rolled her eyes.
Martha tried to diffuse the tension. "For the record? I'm not remotely interested. I only go for humans." She smiled.
Hally snapped back. "For the record? He's not interested."
"Hally! Be nice." The Doctor hissed, shooting her a stern look.
She just crossed her arms in response. The Doctor ran around the console as he piloted them away. Hally stood, her finger unnecessarily on the engine coolant button the entire time, refusing to help do anything else.
Martha looked between the two, an amused smile pulling at her mouth.
29th January 2008
"Someone's been feeling chatty." His eyes twinkled in that mysterious way that they always did.
Hally let out a long sigh, leaning back into the ugly orange couch, biscuit in hand. She had expected this.
"Not really." She muttered, taking a bite. Bourbons, her favourite.
Dr Saxon smiled, also leaning back into his chair. "That's not what Armitage tells me."
Hally rolled her eyes, the sound of the biscuit crunching seeming very loud. "I just figured that I should know the name of the man who spends 16 hours a day staring at me. It's only polite." She gave him a fake smile. Hoping he'd move on.
He didn't. "It's taken you almost three months to ask."
She sucked on her teeth. "So?"
He let out a small chuckle. "So…" He began patronisingly. "What initiated this change in attitude?"
She shook her head. Probably a little too quickly. "There is no change in attitude. I just asked a guy his name. There's nothing to look into there."
"You've never initiated an elongated conversation with anyone here before, apart from me."
Hally let out an audible groan this time. "Look. I chatted with my guard for 10 minutes. Well done me. Round of applause. Can we move on now?"
Saxon smiled, giving her a small nod of understanding. "Shall I tell you what I think?"
"Why even bother asking?" She sighed dramatically.
"I think, your new attitude has something to do with you coming to terms with your current situation. It's a positive thing." His hands were pressed together diplomatically. As if explaining something very simple to a child.
She bit into her tongue. Staying silent.
He seemed to take her silence as some kind of admission because his face split into a wide grin. His dark eyes glittered.
"You've been busy?" Hally tried. Intent on changing the subject swiftly.
His grin only widened. "Oh, did you miss me?" He stuck out his bottom lip slightly, mimicking a pout.
She almost growled at him. He was being insufferable today. "No." She ground out, her jaw clamped shut.
He moved his hands, placing one under his chin as he leant his elbow on the armrest of his chair. Considering her. She watched him, trying to keep the upper hand, as if she ever had it in the first place.
He had nice hands.
She frowned slightly at the thought.
Something shiny caught the light and her eyes were drawn to a gold band around his ring finger. She racked her brain for a moment, cursing her poor attention span.
"Did you get married?" She finally asked. Having convinced herself that the ring definitely hadn't been there before.
An echo of surprise passed over his face, quickly replaced with the mocking smile he usually wore when speaking to her. "Yes." He replied simply. Watching her intently.
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh."
She wasn't sure why she'd asked him. But his answer had bothered her. An uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. Her hand went absent-mindedly to her own neck where her wedding ring lay. Only her hand just connected with the gold band that was pressed against her skin. The chain wasn't there. Suddenly, she was extremely aware of it not being there. It hadn't been there since she'd woken up. How had she not noticed?
"My ring…" She said suddenly, her voice panicked. "Where is it?"
He barely reacted. "With all of your personal belongings."
"Can I have it back please?" She asked, her voice coming out strained.
"You'll get all your belongings back upon release."
She inhaled sharply. "No. I need it back."
He raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"It's a ring. It's not FOR anything. I just want it back. Please." Her hand was still pressed against her neck, the space between her collarbones now feeling unbearably empty. "Please."
He cocked his head to one side. Waiting.
Her face twitched into a wince. "I… whatever you want…" She paused. "I just need it back. I promise I'll be…" She let out a small whine of frustration.
Both his eyebrows raised and he cut in. "I'll see what I can do."
She let out a breath that she hadn't realised she'd been holding.
"What did your father think?" He added.
She frowned. Mind not catching up with his new tangent. "About what?"
"You marrying his best friend. Isn't that what you said?" He continued, eyes never leaving her face.
She looked down, her face heating up. She didn't want to answer. But, if she wanted the ring back. She was going to have to give him whatever he wanted. "I never told him." She mumbled.
There was a pregnant pause. "Why?" Saxon finally asked, his tone seemed to be that of genuine interest rather than professional curiosity.
She shrugged, shaking her head. "It just never came up in conversation?" She looked back at him defensively. "Why would it, everyone we both knew was dead."
"You never spoke to your father about it? About anyone?" He pressed.
She shook her head again. "No, I think we silently agreed not to. Neither of us ever really brought it up."
"Why not?" There was a hard edge to his voice.
"I don't know." She let out a sharp breath of exasperation. "I guess we were trying to move forward. Our past hadn't been particularly… I don't know - we didn't get along in the past, so we wanted to put it behind us. Start afresh." She settled on.
He countered quickly. "So, it was convenient?"
"What?" She frowned.
"Losing your home. Was convenient, in that sense." The twinkle had gone from his eyes.
She let out a sharp laugh. "No. I wouldn't call it convenient." She spat back.
How dare he?
"But it allowed you to get closer to your father..." He added as if his train of thought was obvious. "Was that always the goal?"
"No!" Hally cried out. "Look. Our home was destroyed so we moved on. We made do. That was it!" Her face was fully flushed now, hands clenched.
"I see." He muttered, eyes narrowed slightly. He pretended to make a note in his notebook.
She was annoyed now. "How did you meet your wife?" She spat.
"A fundraiser dinner." He replied coldly, not looking up from his notes.
"Armitage says you've been busy." She tried a different angle. She wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was hoping to illicit but she'd keep trying.
He just smirked down at the pages. "Calling him Armitage now, are we?"
"Yes, that's his name." She growled. Why did he always manage to get the upper hand?
He chuckled. "Aren't you going to ask me my name?" He tilted his head up towards her, eyes meeting hers once again.
An unexpected blush crept up her neck. "I mean, Saxon is fine." She brushed him off.
He laughed. Going back to writing notes again. "It's Harold. My friends call me Harry."
She pulled a face, slightly disappointed that he didn't get to see her disgust. "It doesn't suit you."
"Thank you." He smirked. Finally, he stopped writing and closed his notebook. "Yes, I have been busy. You see, a man of my 'expertise', I'm in high demand." As he spoke he rose from his chair behind the desk. Making his way around to the front, leaning back against it. Just the coffee table in between them now.
She supposed she would bite on the obvious carrot he had dangled. "What are your 'expertise'?"
He just smiled. How was it possible that this human could make her feel so stupid? So, slow.
She thought for a moment. As much as she could considering her inability to sustain long trains of thought.
He had been here the whole time she had.
He seemingly only spoke to her.
She had her own personal guard.
No one else had a gold band around their neck.
Even through the fog, she could manage to come to the simple conclusion that he was aware that she wasn't 'like the other humans'.
She narrowed her eyes at him questioningly. "Are you with Torchwood?"
"Sometimes." His eyes were twinkling again. The smug smile back.
She rolled her eyes. "I'm not playing twenty questions with you."
He just laughed.
Pressing her tongue into the side of her mouth, she caved. "So, you know I'm a Time Lord?"
His small smile answered her question. "Well then, you must be with Torchwood, or UNIT or some other kind of Government faction." She carried on. This was progress, surely? She'd worked something out. Now that she'd said it, it seemed glaringly obvious.
He nodded slowly.
She feigned disinterest. "I guess that does explain a lot."
"I'm surprised you didn't think of it sooner." His voice lilted upwards.
She glared at him. He was teasing her. That meant he knew. He was somehow aware that her mind was being blocked.
She narrowed her eyes. "No, you're not…" She hissed. "I might not be able to think straight but I'm not stupid." She traced the edge of the band around her neck. "I'm … this was you? Or who, - you 'work' for." She struggled to keep the words in order.
He just watched her. Face set in amusement.
She pushed on, gritting her teeth. The physical effort it took gave her a headache.
"Whatever it does… It blocks certain parts of me… muddling my mind, stopping my power and blocking my mental reach." She frowned. "It's like I'm just human…"
His silence was so infuriating. Just sitting there, watching her like she was a child who was discovering how to play in the sandpit.
She tried to school her expression. Tried to make it look like she wasn't burning up with rage on the inside. "So, what's the end goal here?"
He didn't answer. But this time she wasn't going to give in. They both sat in silence, staring intensely at the other. Finally, he replied.
"Why do you think I'd tell you?" Amusement clear in his voice.
She shrugged. "Might help you reach it faster?"
"Getting you out of here is the end goal." He said simply, leaning towards her.
She let out a loud sigh. "So why haven't you?"
He shrugged, crossing one ankle over the other. "Well you know, British Government. Lots of red tape. Have to have someone sign off that you're not a threat." He smiled at her, mischief behind his eyes.
She frowned. "But we both just basically agreed that you've completely neutralised any part of me that was a threat with this..." She motioned to her neck again.
He cocked his head to one side. "And yet…?"
"Uuuurgh! Smacking some playground bully in the face with a dinner tray doesn't constitute this level of security." She exclaimed, waving her arms around wildly. "If the Government wanted my help with something, why not just ask?" She pushed, determined.
He had obviously decided to go back to the silent treatment. Because he said nothing, simply smiling as usual.
She shook her head, exhausted. Her headache only getting worse.
"Fine. Keep your secrets."