[TARDIS Pool]
The Alchemist sighs as she sits at the pool's edge, stirring the water with her legs. She elected not to go ice skating with the pair after the Doctor managed to get her out of her practice room. While the idea of somewhere cold sounds nice, she just wants to stay on the ship tonight.
"There you are!"
Frowning, the Time Lady glances over her shoulder and spots Martha in the doorway, a light purple coverup over her swimsuit.
"I didn't know you were looking for me," the Alchemist murmurs.
Martha sits next to her and dips her toes in the shallow water after sliding her flip-flops off.
"We just got back a little while ago. The Doctor said he thought you were going to swim. I hope it's alright if I join you," she smiles softly.
The Alchemist nods absently, "Yeah, that's... uh, that's fine."
Martha turns to her and frowns. One thing about the Time Lady that she's noticed is her disappearing act. Sure, the Alchemist will come and find her to sit in the sauna with her after a rough day, and always has breakfast ready for either just her or the three of them.
Sometimes, though, she'll just emotionally close herself off and retreat into another room or even just go silent while they're all together. Martha will also never forget how anxious and upset the Time Lady looked during their visit to Bedlam.
She knows it's a bit forward, but the Alchemist seems to prefer it when people tell her something or ask questions outright rather than beat around the bush.
"I had this roommate when I first went to Uni. Really smart girl, always on top of things. But, she had horrible anxiety and depression," Martha mutters, looking about the Victorian-styled swimming pool.
The Time Lady pauses in her gentle kicking of the water and turns to her, "...Did it ever get better?"
Martha shrugs, "I like to think so, but knowing the little that I do about brain chemistry now... I think she just got better at hiding it than managing it."
"That's what I'm afraid of," the Alchemist admits, "I get all these ups and downs and I don't... I don't want to hide it from him, but I know it scares the Doctor. We've been trying to figure out ways to manage it lately; I've been doing lots of hobby work and meditating."
Martha turns and meets her gaze, "Then don't. Don't hide it, just manage it like you have been. Those are two great kinds of coping skills. Maybe talk about it; that helps humans at least, you know?"
"There's a lot we've discussed and a lot more we haven't. I'm just..."
"Not ready."
The Alchemist breathes, "Yeah."
"Do you keep talking about what you've discussed already?" Martha asks her.
"Sometimes, but... It's so hard for him to hear it."
"I'll listen if you'd like. I, uh, won't understand it, I'm sure, but I can empathize to an extent, and sometimes that's what you really need in the end. Someone who cares and will listen."
'Tell her,' the Vortex calls out.
'Tell her what? That you used me as your executioner?'
'Told her about you, our Chosen.'
Martha watches as a dark look flashes across the silent woman's face.
"I had a lot of names on Gallifrey," the Alchemist says, looking up at the fish swimming across the ceiling while Martha waits for her to continue.
She sighs, "The Alchemist, First Elite... and the Chosen."
"Chosen?" Martha frowns.
The Time Lady rolls her eyes, "Time's Chosen, really. I don't... we don't know what it means fully beyond my abilities. There's a prophecy attached to me. Two, actually, but that's another story..." she frowns, "And a third I had to deal with a little while back come to think of it," she sighs, "But, this one... It's why I can turn back time and remove things from time. There's more that I'll learn to do, but it comes directly from the Time Vortex."
"That's what the TARDIS goes through to time and space travel," the woman recalls with a nod.
"It is, but they're also sentient... I know that for sure because they can speak to me in my mind, Martha," the Alchemist explains softly, not daring to look at her.
"What's that like?" Martha asks.
The Alchemist blinks rapidly before looking at her in surprise. Martha is calmly listening, and she can tell that the young woman is believing every word she says, no question, no doubt, just trust.
"Loud... it can be loud. They speak in layered voices; the voice of Time. They utilize other's words to speak for themself. It gets louder when the TARDIS starts in on the conversations, too," she admits.
"Ah, so not only does your ship answer you silently... it answers in your mind as well?"
"Yep, pretty much covers it," the Alchemist laughs.
"I bet the Doctor's jealous. I'm sure it's his dream to talk to your time machine over tea or something," Martha smirks.
She giggles, "He is! And that's probably the case, I never asked. I am... working on something though."
"Oh?" Martha asks curiously, "What's that?"
"A gift. A really, really amazing one. No hints to him though!" she glances around before whispering, "I'm going to help him to do it too, but it's going to take a long while."
Martha grins and replies just as quietly, "That is amazing!"
"It is, isn't it? I think it'll be a great gift one day. All of this... power makes me nervous though. What if there's more that we're missing?"
"Missing, like what?"
She shrugs, "I have a theory that I've forgotten something else very important, but I don't know what."
Martha hums, "Maybe you just need to go with it to figure it out. Keep talking about it, keep thinking on it but not too much... just let the answers come."
"Time guides..." the Alchemist replies before frowning, "And it's not always kind."
"No," Martha replies, shaking her head, "Even I know that and I'm not a Time Lady."
"Now, tell me... did you actually want to swim or should we find something else to do?"
"What do you have in mind?" Martha smiles.
"Picnic in space," the Time Lady replies with a firm nod.
Martha slips her toes out of the pool and offers her hand to the Alchemist, who laughs, "Well, what are we waiting for? We have a basket to pack!"
[TARDIS Console Room]
Martha giddily awaits while the Alchemist makes adjustments to the airshell, expanding it and turning on partial gravity. Finished with her work, she strides over, pulls open the doors to her ship's displeasure, and gestures for Martha to look.
"Where are we?" she asks.
"Eagle Nebula. One of my personal favorites is all," the Time Lady replies as she tosses out the blanket, letting it float in the air.
"Oh my God, this is amazing," Martha gasps, covering her mouth in excitement, "How do we get up there? How do we get the food up there?"
"We jump!" the Time Lady replies and picks up the vegetarian charcuterie board they put together.
"Jump!?"
"Jump," she nods and leaps out into the aerated space, landing gently on the blanket.
Martha gapes, "I can't do that!"
"Yes, you can, trust me, I've done this with one other before, you can do it!"
"Okay, fine... but if I fall out into space you're coming with me," she threatens.
The Alchemist snorts and steps back, waiting for Martha to leap up.
[TARDIS Airshell]
"Woah!" the woman shouts as she bounces into the half-gravity air and lands on the blanket on her bum, laughing.
"See, you did it!" the Alchemist smiles and places the gravity platter down on the blanket; none of the food will float off of it; another small invention of hers just for this purpose.
The Time Lady and her companion adjust themselves; the Alchemist lying on her side and Martha sitting happily on the blanket looking out into the glory of space with a spread of vegetarian snacks before them.
"This is so wild!" Martha exclaims as she pats the blanket, watching it flutter slightly.
"It's good fun, I used to bring our friend Romana out here with me," the Alchemist smiles in recollection.
"What was she like?"
"Oh, brilliant! She used to make fun of the Doctor with me all the time. Before the war, she was actually Lady President of Gallifrey."
"Wait, you traveled with other Time Lords?"
"Just two," the Alchemist shrugs, "Romana was sent as a sort of... nanny for the Doctor. I had a lot on my plate as the First Elite then, and they didn't think I could handle managing my husband along with it all for a short while."
"Hah! What did you do? As First Elite, I mean. What is that exactly?"
"It's sort of... an academic hierarchy, I suppose. I went to a separate section of the Academy, had to apply to get in, and graduated with high enough marks to even become an Elite."
"And... you're the first..?" Martha raises her brows, "As in... top of the list?"
"I was, yeah," she winces, "It's not all it was cracked up to be. I had a lot of work on Gallifrey and even after we left to manage because of it."
"So what you're saying is that you're smarter than the Doctor."
"No," she laughs, "I learned quite a bit more than he did as a student and had access to more information afterward, but we're about the same level in intellect. He just didn't apply to become an Elite."
Martha nods slowly at that, tossing a falafel into the air and watching it float slightly before grabbing it with her teeth.
"We have lots of old workshops and labs all inside the TARDIS from when Gallifrey was still, well, around, and he'd help me work on some of my projects from time to time. We still do it occasionally."
"That's really sweet, actually," Martha comments, and the Time Lady nods.
"It is, although there's much more he couldn't get involved in. I had a very long list of responsibilities in those days."
They go on chatting back and forth, discussing what she worked on then and now as a freelance researcher, snacking, and laughing.
"Okay, so you do realize that this is the best falafel I've ever had, right?" Martha laughs as she steals another from the platter.
"I'd certainly hope so, I get it from this one halal cart in New Palestine... I buy in bulk and instantly freeze it for later," she replies as she nibbles on a cube of spiced goat cheese.
"I'm a little worried," Martha says out of the blue, and the Time Lady looks at her, concerned.
"What about?"
"My studies while I'm an intern. What if when I get back, I fall behind? I haven't been keeping up. I don't even have my books with me," she sighs in frustration.
The Alchemist sits up and nods, "We'll get your texts downloaded to the tablet in your room. I'll quiz you if that helps. The Doctor can too, if you want. He actually is a medical doctor, you know."
"Really? You'd do that for me?" Martha gapes, "I... I mean, the texts alone are enough."
"Of course I would and I'm sure he'll be happy to help as well... " she replies before calling over her shoulder, "Right, Doctor?"
Martha jumps when he speaks, "Yes, of course! But remember our rule..."
"You're not the Professor, you're the Doctor and she's the Alchemist," Martha laughs.
"Excellent. Now, why didn't you ladies invite me to your space picnic? I never get to go to your space picnics, Ally, and I find that very unfair."
"Are you a lady?" the Alchemist asks him pointedly.
"I... No, I have manly..."
Martha groans, cutting him off, "Ugh, don't finish that sentence, please!"
They laugh, and the Alchemist sighs before adjusting her position, "There's room for one more, I suppose."
The Doctor bounces on his toes before leaping up onto the blanket, landing behind his wife, and instantly reaching to grab a handful of cashews. Just as he pulls back, his foot slips forward, and he kicks the platter off the picnic blanket, sending the food flying and spinning out into space.
The Time Lady watches with a frown as her falafel floats away from them, dried pineapple and apricots dancing within the vacuum spectacularly. Every carefully cut vegetable is left to become space litter along with the dips and cheese.
"...And this is why you're not invited to my space picnics," she dryly states.