#ch: rory williams.

[euphoriclusts]

[anki-of-beleriand]

Bad Liar Ch. 9

Summary: Life is about lessons, and Wanda has been learning some harsh facts that had define her life and taken her to a place in which she was given a second chance. Then, all of a sudden, she meets you, and she realizes why it's easier to lie to yourself than to accpet what's right in front of her.

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff/ Female!reader - America/Kate - Mentions of past Vision/Wanda - past Natasha/Reader - Some Female!Reader/Carol Danvers

Warnings: Slow burn - slightly Enemies to friends to lovers - Mentions of abusive relationships - Toxic relationships - angst - drama - mentions of abuse - idiots in love - homophobia - more tags as the story progress.

Author's note: Reader and Wanda are confronted by others in regards to their growing feelings, an accident shakes Reader's world, and America and Kate are just two idiots in love.

As always, English is no my mother tongue, so please forgive the grammar, spelling and funny mistakes!

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18

Chapter 9

The vulnerability of love

The soccer field was completely drenched, the field completely unkempt after the soccer team training session every single one of them getting ready for the final match on Saturday.

Even in the midst of such a cold mid-morning, everyone was still filling out the soccer field with some of the team members practicing with the ball and others simply warming up. It had been a small morning, and America hated to be just a spectator to what had been happening from more than twenty minutes. They were supposed to enjoy lunch time out in the open, Kate had been quite insistent to just go over the field and America didn’t understand why until they met with a very sweaty and drenched Riri Williams waiting for them.

America rolled her eyes clenching the thermos flask Kate had left to her care just so she could go down the stands and joined Rori in her training session. America clenched her jaw watching as her best friend giggled while allowing Williams to put her hands on her waist, Williams leaned in whispering something in Kate’s ear and the young woman flushed shaking her head while wriggling her hands nervously. America didn’t know when Kate had taken interested in soccer, she had always been a sports fan but this particular sport was never something she paid closed attention to. Not until now.

Not until she found out Riri Williams was the Captain of the team and they had started talking almost every day ever since Riri helped them out with Wanda’s file.

“You either are going to throw that to Williams, or you're going to break it.” Loki stated leaning back on his elbows, he tilted his head smirking at America. “Personally, I'm bored so I wouldn't say no to you starting something up with Williams.”

Yelena snorted, slapping Loki on his head, Kamala huffed, pressing her lips together. From that distance they couldn’t hear what Riri and Kate had been talking about, but it was something that had made Kate nervous, she would glance up towards her friend every once in a while before shaking her head and pressing Williams into teaching her some moves.

“I don't think America stands a chance…” Kamala said all of a sudden, America turned sharply towards her glaring at her friend who smiled apologetically. 

“What the hell is that supposed to be, Kamala?” America exclaimed as she pointed a finger to the field, eyes narrowing. “I could take Williams with my eyes closed if I wanted to!”

Kamala winced looking for some support but finding herself alone in her argument, she opened her mouth to speak but Yelena beat her to it. 

“Look at those legs, that abdomen, that skin…” Yelena leaned back patting Kamala on her back. “I'm with Khan on this one, Williams could take you in a fight, and Kate would finish the job if you mess with her girl.”

America was building a counterargument passing around the edges of the stands when Yelena’s words hit her brain. She faltered in her footsteps, and that was all it took for she too lose her footing and slipped down the group of stairs, America could hear the screams from Loki and Yelena, but her world soon became a mixture of colours and blurry images as pain filled her senses. She hit the ground with a heavy thud, the air leaving her lungs as her mouth opened in a silent scream, America clenched her eyes for a moment, her lips parting to let out a whimper filled with pain.

“America!” 

The young woman heard her name being called but her mind was still trapped in the piercing pain she felt on her back, arms and legs. A warm sweaty hand placed itself on her forehead, she fluttered her eyes open to see Kate's worried frown and her lips pulled into a thin line. 

“I didn't spill the chocolate.” America said, offering a pained smile. 

“You're an idiot.” Kate said affectionately, she lifted her face to see Riri coming over with the coach and the assistant. “Stay here, Riri is bringing help.”

America winced, rolling her eyes, “woah, the hero to save the day, fantastic.”

Kate frowned at the sarcasm dripping from America's tone. She was about to say something but soon the coach put her away to see how bad the young woman on the ground had hit herself. 

Kate turned around to see Kamala, Yelena and Loki leaning forward torn between being worried and amused. She placed her hands on her waist glaring at them. 

“What did you guys do?” The question came accompanied by a hiss, Loki and Yelena looked at one another then at Kamala. “Guys…”

“We did nothing, Kate Bishop.” Yelena shrugged. “She was just a little worked up because you were too distracted with your girl over there.”

“And we kind of point out that she could take America in a fight and that you wouldn't take it lightly if America were to mess with your girl, that’s when she fell.”

Kate opened her mouth to retort until she frowned cocking her head to the side. 

“My girl?” She blinked away a couple of times, then her eyes turned into a fierce glare as she finally caught up with her friend's game. “You guys…”

“Hey, Kate, we have to take her to the infirmary.” Riri came from behind her, placing a hand on Kate's shoulder. 

“What? Why? Is she okay?” Kate forgot all about her friends and focused her attention on America who was being put on a stretcher, Riri tried to offer a comforting smile but Kate could see there was something else bothering the other girl.

“She is going to be okay, but she may need some medical attention, an X-ray and perhaps painkillers and a good massage. She bruised her back, and ass, so perhaps you could help her out with that massage.” Riri winked playfully at a now blushing Kate who was torn between being completely worried and slightly embarrassed by the comment.

“You can go with her; they’re taking her to the infirmary.” Riri placed a hand on Kate’s arm, her lips curling in a comforting smile. “Go on, I bet you're dying to do just that, play the nurse and everything…”

“Shut up, Williams.” Kate hesitated for a moment before mumbling. “Thank you.”

Without wasting any more time, she sent her friends one last glare before joining the coach and his assistant that were carrying America on the stretcher.

“Don't you guys think you're taking this too far?” Riri asked, turning to the group. 

“No.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Kamal shrugged sitting down on the bench, she pointed a finger to Loki and Yelena. 

“I think we should stop before this end in a tragedy.” Kamala made a gesture with her hand pointing to the ground and Riri. “It is fun and games at first, but you know this could end in a heartbreak.”

“Oh, Kam, don't be overly dramatic.” Loki exclaimed, his elbows on his knees. “Everything has gone according to plan, and Williams here has had her fun as well.”

“Besides, I think this is the best way to make those idiots finally give in.” Yelena kicked the grass tilting her head. “Though, I have to admit the probability of this ending badly is high.”

Kamala set her eyes on Riri who lifted her arms and shook her head. 

“Don't look at me, I'm here for the ride.” She smirked, putting her hands on her hips. “And it has been fun and all, but I think one of these days Chavez is gonna break my nose or something.”

Kamala rested her chin on the palm of her hand, she couldn't shake the feeling this was a bad idea, but she had to admit the plan was solid. She lifted her dark eyes to Riri who was now engaged in a conversation with Loki and Yelena.

The day was growing older, Kamala huffed thinking about her conversation with Kate and the confusion growing inside Bishop. They all had one year left in school before they would need to part ways and start college. They had all been friends since kindergarten, and while at first everyone thought of going to the same University and be together forever, they each had started taking measures to ensure their future. Kate and America had been so reluctant to grow in that aspect of their life's, and while America had been protected by her sister taking over the family business, Kate was not so lucky. 

“You look thoughtful, is there something you're not telling us?” Loki sat beside Kamala watching as Riri taught Yelena how to kick the ball. 

“Next year we are all gonna be so busy trying to enter into a university and decide what to do…” Kamala broke into a nostalgic smile. “I think America and Kate are thinking about that responsibility, you know?”

“I thought you shipped them together.” Loki stated, Kamala rolled her eyes at the term. 

“I do! They are so good together.”

“Then, why are you so worried? This plan is going to work.”

“Loki, what if they have to end everything after having gotten just a year of relationship?” Now Kamala grabbed Loki by his forearm, glistening eyes showing the deep emotion she was experiencing and Loki could do nothing more than to roll his eyes. 

“You know that's ridiculous, right? They had been in love with one another since America gave her lunch to Kate after she dropped hers by tangling on her feet.”

Kamala giggled remembering the first time they had met America in school. At least, the first time they had talked to one another. Loki hesitated, pressing his lips for an instant before letting out a suffering sigh, his right arm wrapped comfortingly around Kamala's back. 

“Everything is going to be fine, Kam, this is just a push in the right direction, but in reality this is something that will happen sooner than later.”

And Kamala had to believe that. 

She knew Kate was still afraid to tell everyone about her decision, and America had never made it a secret of what she wanted in life. Sooner or later they would need to part ways, so why not let love find a way? 

______________________

Wanda Maximoff strolled down the hallway, her hands busy texting you as she approached the infirmary. She chewed on her lower lip seeing as her messages went through but left unread. 

It had been a couple of days since she had last seen you, and just a couple of hours since she last spoke with you. Wanda found herself once more in a turmoil of emotions with you at the centrefold. It certainly had been too long since she had so much fun and found herself relaxing and enjoying her time with the twins and anybody else for that matter. A small smile played on her lips, her chat with you filled with nonsense and meaningful conversations that made Wanda's heart flutter with longing. 

Not for a single moment had Wanda stopped to think about the consequences of the game she had been playing with you. She had tricked herself into believing that whatever she was experimenting was normal, that it was something she could control but that little by little had sneaked inside her heart whenever she talked to you, whenever you smiled at her, whenever she was closed to you.

“Professor!” Kate Bishop stood up rather quickly, her eyes wide and filled with a spark of concern that translated into a terse smile. Wanda broke from her thoughts seeing Kate coming her way with a frown attached to her features.

“Hey, Kate, are you alright?” Wanda placed a soothing hand on Kate's shoulder, and the young woman nodded curtly. 

“She hurt herself pretty badly, such an idiot!” Kate turned around lifting her hands in the air while pacing around the small waiting room. 

Wanda dropped her shoulders, her thumb caressing the carcass of her phone. She followed Kate while the young woman ranted half exasperated and half concerned. It was not a secret that Kate and America had been best friends since forever, and for Wanda it had been quite evident both girls seemed to be at the edges of something else. 

The woman stopped her trail of thoughts when you came into her mind. The similarities were there as well, but Wanda knew without a hint of a doubt that you and her were friends. Just good friends. Nothing else. It couldn't be, it was not possible. Wanda was no gay and you… Well, you were, but Wanda wasn't. And even if Wanda was, or entertained the idea, you were taken. Not that… 

“Professor?” Wanda jerked awake from her internal rant, she turned to see Kate watching her with curiosity and some exasperation at being ignored. 

“Sorry, Kate I…” Wanda made a gesture with her hand to cover up her lack of attention. 

Kate huffed, pursing her lips to the side. 

“Your phone was ringing, and Doctor Sue wants to see you.”

“Right, let me see what they need.”

Wanda covered her flustered face entertaining herself with the phone. There was a new message and this time around the fluttering in her heart intensified, and her stomach dropped deliciously. 

I know, Tasha just called, I just left my office and I’m making my way over there, Wands. I’ll be there in 30 minutes, thank you for telling me. See you in a few.

“Wanda?” Sue Storm stretched her hand towards the newcomer, she smiled nodding backwards. “She is in there, I have to give her a sedative because she was in pain.”

“Thank you, Sue, is it too bad?” Wanda tried to get a glimpse of the bed in which America was now fast asleep. 

“Well, not too bad.” Sue made a face signalling a chair, Wanda sat down with Sue who fixed her hair while chuckling. “At this time of the year, when they are not careful, these kinds of accidents do happen. And America is…”

“Prone to them?” Wanda contributed; Sue made a face nodding. 

“Yes, I guess it's only normal, Y/N was the same when we were in school.” Sue chuckled, lifting her eyes to the ceiling before turning to Wanda. “She will need some x-rays just to make sure everything is alright, and probably won't be able to come to school for a while, her back and legs are all bruised up.”

Wanda winced chewing on her lower lip, she dropped her eyes to her mobile and her fingers flickered with her unconscious desire to text you. 

“Have you talked to her?” Sue asked softly, Wanda lifted her head frowning. 

“America?”

Sue held back her amusement, “no, Y/N. I know you two are like friends, right?”

Wanda hated the warmth she felt on her cheeks, and the knowing glance the doctor was sending her way was somewhat unnerving. It was the same stare she received from Natasha, or from Hope whenever Wanda decided to talk about you. Or rant against you, depending on her mood. 

“Oh, I…Yeah, we are, I just talked to her…” Wanda hesitated for a moment, bouncing her left leg and she opened her phone but you had not written anything yet. 

“She said she will be here in 30 minutes.”

“Perfect, I guess that covers it.” Sue stood up pointing to the bed in which America was asleep. “I guess we can let Kate come in before she opens a hole in my waiting room.”

Wanda chuckled, nodding in agreement. 

“She is worried.”

“That she is, you want to see her or are going to wait for Y/N?” 

There it was once more, the tone of voice and the glance that told Wanda everyone knew something she didn't. It was slightly unnerving, and Wanda couldn't shake the feeling that it was as if she had been discovered. As if her attraction for you was so evident everyone was amused by it. But it wasn't possible. It couldn't be. Right? 

“America is my student so I will wait for her sister to make sure she can…I mean, so…”

“So she can take America to the doctor?” Sue helped the other woman when Wanda seemed a little lost for words. 

“Yeah, that. Yes.”

Sue shook her head, now she understood why Natasha and Hope had been torn between being amused and concerned about this newfound friendship. Wanda looked a little lost, while you usually were so easily smitten. Sue observed as Wanda allowed Kate inside the room while talking softly to her, America completely asleep for the time being. 

Then Kate went to America and Wanda left. Sue put her phone away dialling a well-known number. 

“Hey, Stephen, how are you?”

The parking lot was almost empty, you sighed getting out of the car with your earphones still on. 

You think you can be here in an hour? 

“Yeah, Stephen, don't worry, I'll be there with America, I just got to school so…” You strolled down the sidewalk towards the main building. 

Good, Sue told me it was probably nothing but wants to make sure so let me know and I send for the both of you. And make sure you take her out on a wheelchair. 

Your heart dropped at those words, your hands were sweaty at the thought of America being hurt. The moment Natasha called you to inform you about the accident your world stood still. She had assured you it was nothing bad, and soon after Wanda had made the same comment trying to ease out your worries. But this was your little sister, and hearing the word accident brought forth unwelcome memories. 

“Hey, you're here.” You faltered in your steps turning to see Wanda coming towards you. 

In a moment of sudden vulnerability you hugged her tightly, your whole body relaxing as soon as she allowed her arms around you. Her warmth and body comforting your aching heart. 

“Y/N, are you alright?” She whispered, her hand caressing your hair. 

“Yeah, I just…thank you.” You stepped back, your body going rigid and whatever flickered of weakness disappeared almost instantly. 

“It's okay, she is fine. It was a simple fall but…”

“It was an accident.” You stated bitterly, Wanda frowned but you waved away her confusion. 

“Come I need to see her and then I'm taking her to see Stephen.”

Before you could resume your walk a single hand wrapped around yours. Your air caught in your throat, and your heart stopped beating as Wanda came closer to you, her free hand cupping your cheek. For a moment you thought she was going to kiss you, and Wanda entertained such an idea by letting her eyes drop to your lips then to your eyes. She leaned in placing a single kiss on your cheek. 

You let out a single gasp, her hand tightening around yours and while she stepped back the distance between the both of you was almost non-existent. 

“America is going to be fine, for what I heard she is as tough as her sister, also prone to such troublesome outcomes.” Wanda offered a comforting smile that you couldn't help but return. 

“Thank you.”

Wanda smiled shyly at you, looking away before she did something that could destroy the friendship she was forging with you. You hesitated and then leaned in placing a kiss on her forehead, your arms sneaking around her waist pulling her closer to you. 

“I mean it, Wands. Thank you.”

Wanda was left in the hall, her heart almost coming out of her chest and her skin imprinting the memory of your lips on her forehead, your body so close to hers. She tried to regulate her heartbeat, and then with a longing she had never felt before followed you into the infirmary. 

_______________________

America couldn’t help the grin adorning her features at the sight of Kate and you fuzzing around her fixing everything in her room to make these days more passable. You brought some more pillows, and Kate went right on to fix them around America smiling at her friend while letting the flicker of concern shadow her stare.

“Are you sure you don't need anything else?” You checked the pillows and the blankets, making sure America had the two bottles of water and the medication for the pain. 

“I can make sure to bring something else, if you need anything at all.” Continued Kate wriggling her hands in front of her.

“Shouldn’t you be home? Today is a school night, Katie Kate.”

“Ugh, you know I hate that nickname.” Kate rolled her eyes pressing her lips together while making her way to the chair near the window. “And I brought my bag, and mom will send for me later on, so I’m going to do my homework with you and keep you company, so suck it up, Chavez, you’re stuck with me until I said so.”

America softened her features; she followed Kate with her eyes missing your expression of amusement. You stood there for a brief moment, the medication and the water on the bedside table, as well as everything America could need if the night became too much for her. The fact that Kate had come over to help you out had been a great plus, and it had given you the chance to take a deep breath and be there for your sister.

Once Kate had started babbling about homework and facetime with Loki, Kamala and Yelena, America could turn her attention to you. You had been standing in complete silence on the side, the young woman knew she had been quite an idiot for falling down the stands at school. The doctors had been optimistic, and while she had not broken anything, it was quite obvious she hurt her back pretty dumbly. A part of her was embarrassed by the accident while another part was sorry for the fact she was making you overreact with the care and attention she was giving you. America tried to calm you down, perhaps providing you with some jokes or easy words. But at the moment she was just tired and in pain, the only thing she wanted was to be sedated. 

“You know there is a new TV show you may like, and I already talked to Tasha and sent her over the medical records for your sick leave notes.” You broke your silence all of a sudden, America nodded pressing her lips together.

“So no chance of missing out on school?” She asked, you snorted and Kate huffed in disbelief.

“Of course not! And you need to be on top form because the festival is two weeks away.” Kate commented, America made a face shrugging.

“I don’t think I wanna go…”

“You have to!” You and Kate stated at the same time, Kate looked almost horrified by the idea and you looked hopefully at your sister.

“I am the one organizing this, and if I’m going to be a chaperone you better be there, kiddo.” Then, as if you were trying to convince yourself nothing was wrong, that you were fine, you started talking about all the things you and Wanda had planned so far.

You were almost babbling by then, after having you completely silent during the afternoon, America was slightly concerned at your sudden talkative persona. You busied yourself by arranging America's clothes, and some books, for a moment everything seemed okay until you just stopped what you were doing and stood watching to her bookshelf where a picture of her and yourself was resting. 

“You know? This is nothing, I just didn't calculate my steps and the bleachers were slippery.” America gauged your expression trying to see your face waiting to know what you were thinking exactly, Kate let her eyes wander from you then back to America trying to understand the sudden change of topic coming from America.

“And you heard uncle Stephen, I'm gonna be fine.”

“I know.” You turned to her making your way to where she was resting comfortably. “That’s why you need to get better, Kiddo, so you can go to the dance with us…so, everything will be fine.”

You leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead, America opened her mouth to say something but she knew at the moment you were just trying to pretend everything was fine. She sighed glancing at Kate out of the corner of her eyes. 

“I love you.” America screamed out before you left the room, your eyebrows shot upwards and your lips finally curved into a tiny smile. 

“Love you too, kiddo. Do your homework and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Both Kate and America blushed as you left chuckling closing the door behind you.

You finally sat down on your sofa with the sound of a random TV show filling up the empty living room. You closed your eyes, resting your head on the back of the sofa letting the sounds washed away your concerns and the fears that had erupted inside you that day. You could smell the sweet aroma of the whisky you had pour for yourself, but you didn’t dare to drink; it wasn’t so much that you need it, but it was a comfort to busy yourself with just about anything you could.

Your life has taken on quite a turn as of late.

Your weekend had been filled with magic and discoveries, the time you spent with Wanda and the kids had filled you out with a longing you were not familiar with. You had laughed, and you had relaxed, you had shared and you had never before had so much fun or felt so safe by being around someone such as Wanda. Your heart fluttered at the memory, and your mind was a whirlpool of possibilities of what would happen if you were just to take a leap of faith with the other woman. Would it be worthy? Would she want it? Would she want you in the same way you wanted her?

Sometimes you thought you saw the signs there, in the way she looked at you with such a warmth glint and that tender smile. In the way she let her touches linger, or how she always seemed to be closer to you, to lean into your touch and just let the tension built up to the point you and her waited for something to give in. For something to happen.

Then, there were times in which you remembered she was married, that her husband was still out there and that she probably was not even interested in women. Perhaps that was Wanda’s way to be a friend, and you coming onto her would be just wrong. Unnecessary. Perhaps, even unwelcome.

As if that wasn’t enough, you had been under a lot of pressure ever since you signed the contract with Jarvis. The man was unbelievable, and he certainly thought highly of himself; not only had he come to the office as if he owned the place, but he had also been trying to get into your good graces by disrupting your meetings and your office whenever he wanted it. It had only been one day, but you were about ready to call Fury and tell him you would no longer keep up the façade. Maria had been the one talking you out of it, reminding you this was for the greater good and that it wouldn’t take too long before they got the man. Still, your had life had complicated just a little bit more when, in one of those rants Jarvis threw your way that day, Monica Rambeau decided to barge in and demand answers about your break-up with Carol.

Carol Danvers would always be your biggest what-if, and your biggest regret. She had always been your friend, and as such, you loved her very much. When you two decided to start a relationship, you had done so ignorant of her feelings for you, and while this didn’t excuse you for using her, you always thought it was a game for her as much as it was for you. You sighed remembering just as Monica said Carol had left that day, no good-bye and no announcements. She just left.

And while you would always be there for Crol, you couldn’t help but thing of what you could not give her, the love that she so deserved and that now seemed to pour out of you in waves towards a single individual you thought impossible.

Wanda Maximoff. 

The woman was a complete mystery to you. Her mannerism, her wit and her contradictory personality were some of the things that had enchanted you from the first moment. Getting to know her had been a plus you never thought would happen, and now that you were seeing a part of her you didn't even suspect you knew you were in deep trouble. Wanda had spent most of her time in your mind, and you were still trying to decipher why and how. 

“God, I'm a mess.” You shook your head glancing at the stairs and wondering how America and Kate were doing. 

You felt the tears prickling your eyes, the suffocating weigh in your chest wanting nothing more than to explode. You clenched your eyes close, the warm sensation of tears rolling down your cheeks brought a grimace to your face. You hated crying. 

The sound of a single bell called your attention, you dropped your eyes stopping the overwhelming emotions you were experimenting at the moment. 

Your heart leaped contentedly when you noticed the name on the screen.

Can you open the door? 

You straightened up, eyes wide opened glancing at the screen then at the door. For a brief moment you just tried to process what was happening until you heard a shy knock on the door. You sprang into action going straight to the door, the sight that greeted you brought a grin to your lips. 

Wanda was standing right there, her hands full and the twins standing before her. They were hesitant at first, glancing from you then to Wanda before Tommy stepped forward hugging you tightly. 

“Hi, Y/N.” Tommy leaned back showing a toothy grin. “Mummy thought you may need us to be happy, and to make America feel better.”

Wanda opened her eyes blushing profusely at Tommy's words. You arched a single brow ruffling the kid's hair. 

“Well, Mommy knows best, right?” You winked at Wanda who was now mortified, Billy frowned stepping closer stretching his hand to you. 

“Is America fine? Can we see her?” 

“Well, I think she is doing her homework with Kate at the moment.” You could see the disappointment in the kid's face, it took you but a minute before you moved from the door. “But you know what? I bet she would love to have you two coming over to say hi, perhaps help her and Kate a little?”

“Can we?” Billy perked up following you inside the house with Tommy closed behind. 

“Sure, but you guys need to make sure Kate and America behaved themselves, deal?”

“Deal!��� They exclaimed at the same time.

America and Kate were completely surprised by the twins entering the room running to America and making sure the young woman knew she was missed. Kate chuckled when they tried to go into bed, until America winced in pain and they jumped out of bed scare of having hurt America even worse.

The room was soon filled with excited chatter, and while you stood by the door with Wanda, Kate made sure to look at you and her Professor with care. Wanda was far too close to you to be normal, Wanda’s hand was twitching by her side almost brushing against your own hand, and while your eyes were on the twins and America, Wanda had hers on you.  

You watched from afar, smiling at the sight. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Wanda smiling as well. The packages she had been carrying were left in the hall downstairs. You stepped back, your hand resting on Wanda's shoulder. The young woman turned to you following you downstairs. 

“This was quite unexpected, Wands.” You commented glancing at the bags with curiosity. 

“I thought you may appreciate this.” Wanda lifted one of the bags, handing it over to you. 

You snorted, lifting your stare to her, inside the first bag she handled you there was a big bowl of poke. You glanced at the other two, finding more food, your heart shivering at the gesture. 

“You didn't have to…” You started but Wanda ignored you grabbing the bags making her way to the kitchen. 

“I'm pretty sure you have not eaten at all, and America must be the same. So I thought we could eat together, I didn’t count on Kate being here but I know I brought enough food for everyone.” The confidence Wanda felt when she made the decision of buying for left her as soon as she found herself standing far too close to you. 

You were looking at her blankly, not a single expression on your face while your eyes pierced her soul. Wanda fidgeted, her eyes flickering around your face, then she parted her lips and you knew all you had to do was close the distance and you would know how sweet those lips were. 

Wanda from her part was completely frozen, her mind blank and deep into an ocean of possibilities. Each one of them was scarier than the previous one. She just had to lean in, to give in and she would cross a line she had never crossed before. If Wanda were to give in, she could end up in a heartbreak. 

The moment was broken by Wanda, she dropped her gaze stepping forward to give you a friendly hug. You closed your eyes, your lips pressed together while your heart sank. It was a mistake, and you almost crossed a line that should never be crossed with a friend. 

“I know today was not ideal, Y/N, I just thought food and some friendly company could help some.” Wanda sealed the hug with words that pierced deep inside your soul. 

It hurt. 

And you hated the fact that it hurt so much. 

“Thank you, I just… She is my little sister, you know?”

You both parted leaving a great distance in between, Wanda nodded in understanding dancing around the kitchen to grab some plates and get the food ready. 

“I know, let me help you with this, perhaps we can work some on the festival while we eat.”

“Yeah, sure that sounds good.”

The tension never left, and the casual touches and the brush of hands became a constant during your time serving dinner. You had to remind yourself that for Wanda you were a friend and that the young woman was straight as an arrow, probably in a disagreement with her husband that could end up with the redhead back in his arms. And while you fought yourself with conflicting emotions, Wanda had to remind herself that you were already engaged with someone else, and that she had never even considered dating a woman. The fact that she felt attracted to you was not as bothersome as she might have thought initially. 

Both women kept gravitating around one another, unbeknownst to them the twins, Kate and America were paying close attention to their interaction, their closeness… The unsaid emotions that were quite evident, if seen as innocent, by the most important people in their lives. 

America scowled deeply at your smile, the flush in your cheeks, hearing laughter of pure delight, the flirtatious conversation. She then glanced at Wanda observing how the other woman leaned closer. The tension was palpable from a distance. 

It was right there and then, America knew you needed to know everything about Wanda Maximoff before it was far too late. 

The question was, how should she tell you such news? 

_____________________

Hope shivered lightly on her chair, her eyes following the restless form of Wanda that was ranting about her week so far. The session had started like any other, just small talk about the tasks Hope left Wanda for the week and how the young woman had made progress with them. 

There was a moment in between that conversation that Y/N had popped up in the conversation making Wanda change completely. Hope found it quite interesting, placing questions here and there until Wanda was babbling terrified about you and how wonderful it was to be with you. How her children love you and America, and how Wanda was left in an ocean of confusion every time she was around you. 

Hope never thought whatever relationship the both of you share would become in this. Sure, she considered a friendship, perhaps even a crush but Wanda was certainly affected by you, she was completely shaken by her feelings for you. 

“And we just… We ended up having dinner with her and America again, and she was…” Wanda passed her hand through her hair, her eyes glistening with unshed tears she remembered your smile, the warm of your caressed, your words as the both of you pretend to be working on the festival. 

“Y/N is a sweet soul, you know?” Hope leaned back, interlocking her fingers. “She can be tough and decisive, but deep down she really is a softie and she always loves without measure, she gives herself to family and friends even if that costs her own soul.”

Wanda stopped harshly in front of the windows, she didn't need to hear such a description to know it to be true. She had seen it, how you would do the impossible to make everyone happy. To perhaps, make things easier for them. 

“I…I think…” Wanda turned around with the words at the tip of her tongue, her eyes finding the knowing stare in Hope's eyes. 

“Have you ever felt this way before?” Hope didn't need to add anything else to the question, doing so might lead to Wanda trying to hide her emotions, and besides the revelation must come from her. 

Wanda wrapped her arms around herself looking away. No. Yes. She was never allowed to feel, to experiment, to decide. But, she had felt things when younger, and once she was old she had tried to see the possibilities, but many of them had been beating out of her. 

“I haven't.” She whispered, leaning back against the window.

“And, what do you think about this?” Hope inquired softly, Wanda pressed her lips looking away from Hope. 

“I think it's wrong.” She stated after a while. 

Hope leaned forward furrowing her brows, Wanda carried with her a heavy weight that was putting her down and filling her with guilt and uncertainty. Hope could see the conflicting emotions running through those green eyes, the way she was holding onto her convictions but also how she was letting herself be the person she was supposed to be. 

“Really? Why?”

Wanda opened her mouth then closed it again, she leaned back lifting her head and her eyes stared at the ceiling. 

“I'm not supposed to.” Every word seemed to take a toll on her, it was like a painful reminder of everything she was starting to change in her life. 

“I have two children, and I have a husband.”

“You're divorcing him, though.”

Wanda smiled bitterly, dropping her arms to her sides. 

“I like men.” She said with finality, Hope hummed tilting her head. 

“Do you?”

The question caught Wanda by surprise, she liked men, right?

“How many men did you date before going out with Vision?”

Wanda readied her answer but soon stopped herself when no words came out. She looked away slightly annoyed by this, she didn't understand why she had to give explanations. 

“I don't remember.” She said flatly.

“You don't? That's pretty curious…”

“No, it is not. It was a long time ago, and I really don't remember.” Wanda defended herself, her passing around the room resuming all of a sudden. 

“I just know I like men. She can't… I mean, I can't…”

Hope sighed knowing Wanda's stubborn nature was coming into play and that the younger woman was not ready to admit anything at all. The room fell into a tense silence, and Hope had to wonder how affected were you by the same situation. Were you as confused or you were already hooked up with these newfound emotions? The last time she spoke with you Hope could hear the affection in your voice, she could tell Wanda was becoming someone important to you. 

Wanda sat down once more she rested her face on her hands, her voice carried through the room shaking Hope to the core. 

“You don't understand, Hope.” Wanda was trembling and the other woman was pretty sure that she was crying. “I can't let myself feel anything for her, I am far too damaged, far too lost and she… She has someone else, and I couldn't be…what she wants. I just… I don't know how to stop feeling like this.”

Hope softened her stare, and by the time Wanda locked her eyes with hers Hope could see the rampage emotions going through Wanda. 

“What are you feeling Wanda?”

But Wanda didn't answer, she just sobbed and clenched her eyes closed feeling foolish for being weak. Hope wished the other woman wasn't so hard on herself, she knew whatever Wanda was experimenting would pass but she certainly needed for Y/N to do something to clarify the situation or this would end up in a heartbreak. 

The question in here was, were you ready to give the first step? 

Only time would tell. 

______________________

“Hey, Kiddo, how are you feeling?” You stood up rather quickly making your way towards America who was wincing with each footstep she took. 

“I feel horrible, but better than yesterday.” She gritted her teeth holding onto you. “I think I'm still sore and I hate that I can’t recover faster.”

“You should be resting.”

“Ugh, please I'm tired of being in bed, let me help you around or something.” America leaned forward pouting and making eyes at you.

You snorted pointing towards the counter where there were tomatoes ready to be cut. America smirked in triumph setting to work and help you with dinner, she grabbed the knife until her eyes fell on your mobile and the name of Wanda popped up all of a sudden. The music you usually put on while making dinner filling out the kitchen, and the sweet aroma of pasta filled the air.  America observed as you waltzed around the kitchen, a smile playing on your lips in ways she had not seen in a very long time.

Not even with Carol.

The young woman furrowed her brows, her eyes coming back to the mobile then to the task at hand. She had not read the messages that you and Wanda had exchanged when talking over the phone, but America had seen enough of your interaction with the other woman to know that there was something there. That you had started developing feelings for her; America hesitated almost grabbing your phone but she decided against it.

“You’re awfully quiet, Kid, what is it?” You cleaned your hands on the washcloth on the stove, your eyes gleaming contentedly at America. “Are feeling okay?”

“Are you?” America asked back, she focused on the tomatoes making sure they were cut correctly before passing them over to you.

You felt your shoulders put backwards, your lips forming a thin line before letting out a heavy sigh.

“I was a little out of it when I heard you hurt yourself, America.” You grabbed the tomatoes putting them together in the blender with the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. “I was really worried, but I’m better now.”

America hesitated for a moment before speaking again, “that’s not what I meant, Y/N.”

You raised an eyebrow at her, America huffed tapping the table.

“Lately, you have been different.” She stated as subtle as she could, you nodded tentatively at her but didn’t interrupt her.

America tilted her head, wincing lightly while looking for the closest chair. You observed as the younger woman stall the conversation, as if she was afraid to say or ask what was so obvious bothering her as of late. You waited patiently trying to think of a reason for America to be this restless towards you.

“How are things with Carol?” The question caught you by surprised, you thought by now America knew what had happened but you realised that the time you had spent with your sister as of late was minimal and whenever the both of you were together Wanda and the twins were in the middle of it.

America scowled noticing how shocked you seemed by the question, you opened your mouth and then closed it your cheeks changing colour while your eyes looked away from her.

“What is it?” This time around America’s tone was demanding. “What happened?”

“I broke things up with her, last Monday.” You stated simply, shrugging while returning your attention back to the dinner.

This time around America was the shocked one, not a friend of you having casual sex with a woman that so obviously was in love with you, America had come to like the blond-haired woman and was hopping that she would be the one to put you out of the dark hole you had fallen into after the break-up with Shuri. The fact you decided to break things up even after you had decided to give the other woman a chance was all America needed to know to talk to you about her recent discoveries and concerns.

“Why? I thought you were going to give the relationship a chance?” America could see this was a topic you were not overly excited to talk about.

“I just thought it was not fair to continue something that wouldn’t go anywhere, Carol got the opportunity of her life to move to the other side of the world and I just…I couldn’t.” You let everything stirring on the stove while facing your younger sister.

The younger woman was glancing at you with a knowing stare you hated and loved. It was so easy to forget you were the older of the two, and you were supposed to be the responsible one. You remembered the time in which America had been crying, asking for your forgiveness after Shuri had left you broken-hearted. She blamed herself, perhaps if America hadn’t been there and you didn’t have to take up the responsibility you two would be together still.

Family comes first, America, and you are my family, if she can’t understand that then she doesn’t deserve me.

That was the moment you had decided to move on, for yourself and for America. Now, standing before you were a more mature woman that knew you better than you knew yourself sometimes, and you knew she was always in the lookout for you to be happy.

“Y/N, this has nothing to do with Professor Maximoff, is it?” America asked tentatively, you almost fell down at such suggestion your eyes opening wide as if you had been caught doing something you were not supposed be doing.

America rolled her eyes when you opened and closed your mouth, the babbling started with half-formed explanations and sputtering words that America stopped lifting a single hand.

“I knew it! You ended things with Carol because of Wanda?! Why?!” America was now pointing a finger at you. “Y/N what the hell is going in on?”

You were trying to talk to her, but America kept on pressuring you into talking, and you were trying to get half-witted explanations that had nothing to do with what you knew was happening inside your heart.

“I swear to God, you hate her a few months ago!”

“I may like her a lot!”

The room fell into a heavy silence.

America and you were breathing hard, both of you looking at one another while the sound of boiling sauce echoed through your ears. America lowered her hand on the table, she grabbed your phone shaking her head with conflicting emotions crossing her face. You frowned not really understanding where this sudden change towards Wanda came from.

“You had been talking to her, haven’t you? She is the one that has been putting that stupid smile in your face, and the one that has made you so…annoying as of late.” America locked her eyes with yours waiting for an answer.

“I just…I…” You hesitated and America lowered the phone.

“You really like her.” America mumbled, you walked around the counter placing hand on your sister’s shoulder.

“What is it? I mean, I thought you would be happy or something, you’re always telling me I should settle down, or look for love or something.”  You gauged your sister’s face trying to see where her discomfort came from.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” America shrugged. “And, Professor Maximoff has two children, and she may not be who you think she is.”

You broke into an easy smile, “hey, Kiddo, I like her, yes. But I also know she may not like me back, I know that.”

“It didn’t stop you from being an idiot and liking her.” America retorted knowing you were not ready to hear the deepness of your own emotions.

You offered a bitter smile shrugging, “we cannot help who we like, America. But I’m gonna be okay, I promise you, is that what had you so worried?  That she may hurt me?”

America winced nodding, she flushed turning away from you when you ruffled her hair and wrapped her into a tight hug.

“Oh, lil’ sister, I’m gonna be fine, don’t worry so much.” You chuckled, your heart tugging inside your chest at the small gesture of sisterly love from America.

America went to say something else but your next words stopped her completely.

“I know she is married, and I know that I don’t stand a chance, so…don’t worry. She is a friend, and I will make sure to not cross that line with her.”

“You know she is married?” America blinked her confusion; you nodded a flash of sadness crossing your eyes. “But, Y/N, her husband…”

But whatever America was about to say about the marriage was cut suddenly by the ring of the door. You perked up wiggling your eyebrows, America was slightly confused glancing around the table to see five spots on.

“Are we waiting on someone?” She asked, and you chuckled.

“I invited someone over, I know you would like the surprise.”

You ran over to the door and right there stood Hope with Scott and Caisie. America’s face lit up and she had to stopped herself from running when Hope came right at her engulfing her in a tight embrace.

“HOPE!”

“America!”

You smiled closing the door behind them, Scott grinned goofily wrapping his own arms around you.

“Damn, Y/N, is so good to see you again!”

“You too, Scott, I missed you guys so much.” Scott nodded watching as the rest of the women went right away to the kitchen hearing America babbled about her accident.

“We missed you too, you know? Hope was driving us crazy with her constant worry and indecision to just suck it up and come talk to you.”

You offered a tired smile to the man in front of you.

“She wasn’t the only one, I think we both were fools.”

“That’s right, but now we’re back together so let’s make the most of it. Now, tell me, what has been going on in your life?”

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the friends you hadn’t seen in a while. Everything felt right into place, the old jokes and the new ones, the adventures and the struggles, everything was so familiar that you felt at ease knowing in the midst of separation and internal struggles whenever you had a real friend distance and time didn’t matter at all. They would always be there for you, the same way you would be for them.

Scott, Cassie and America went straight to the basement, Scott carrying America while the older woman blushed unable to struggle for far too long due to the pain on her back. Everyone knew it was that time of the night in which you and Hope would need to have that long await conversation. You served more wine grabbing your glass and Hope’s carrying it with you towards the living room.

“So, how’s work?” You asked settling comfortably on the sofa.

“Same old, same old, it has been good and quite interesting.” Hope offered a cryptic smile, and your heart dropped at what could be hidden there.

“Interesting… How?”

“You know I can’t talk about my patients, right?” Hope asked lightly resting her cheek against the palm of her hand.

“I know.” You hesitated before speaking again. “That’s why I haven’t asked you about her.”

Hope clicked her tongue, her eyes piercing right through yours.

“What’s going on with Wanda, Y/N? As far as I know you were with Carol and now…” hope could certainly not tell you anything at all of the appointment she had that day with Wanda, she could not talk about the other woman’s feelings for you, but she could talk about yours.

You played with the glass in your hand, your eyes watching the red liquid danced around with your heart pounding blood into your ears. You could pretend before America, it was easier to make sur ethe young woman would not be worried about you or your emotions, but Hope had always been there. She had always known. Even if, at some point, she had been gone.

“I think I’m…god, I don’t know.” You mumbled passing your hand through your hair. “Carol was amazing, you know? But I couldn’t feel the way I’m feeling right now for Wanda.”

Hope pressed her lips together, waiting for you to continue.

“I don’t know when it happened, you know? I just though she was beautiful and then, I though she was funny, interesting, smart and I just…” You closed your eyes, opening them again to glance at the screen of your mobile. “I get to meet her even more and all of a sudden I’m just experimenting all these emotions for her, and I know it’s not possible because she…”

“She what, Y/N?” Hope asked when your silence went for far too long, you rolled your eyes taking a long sip from the wine.

“I’m not one of your patients, Hope.”

“No, you are my friend.” Hope stated. “I don’t want you to get hurt, but I also don’t want Wanda to get hurt in the process.”

This last part perked up your curiosity but Hope offered a half smile shaking her head.

“I wouldn’t be able to hurt her, Hope.” You mumbled looking away miserable as ever. “God, why do I always fall for the complicated it ones? What couldn’t I fall for Carol? It would have been perfect!”

Hope raised her brows at the sudden declaration, though she was pretty sure you didn’t even notice your own confession. Two confessions in one single day, that must be a record for Hope who was watching everything developed from afar; she wished things were easier for you and even for Wanda, but she also knew she could not force things to happen, she would need to be patient or else everything could end up in a heart break.

“I think you need to give yourself time, Y/N and you should also be honest with yourself, and her.”

You snorted shaking your head, “look, you must know this already but, she has a husband, she has two kids, it’s a matter of time she may go back to him or perhaps find another man that…I mean, she is straight as an arrow and I’m just always reding the signals incorrectly, I know I have to keep my distance so this is what I’m going to do.”

Hope was really grateful to the fact you were too busy feeling sorry for yourself to notice the hint of panic in her eyes when you mentioned Wanda’s husband. You didn’t know much, for the comment you just made, and Hope was not the right person to provide you with that story. But what stroke Hope the most was the fact you felt miserable at the mere thought that Wanda might found her heart’s love in a man. Which confirmed your assessment of a moment ago: you didn’t know how to read the signs.

“I just don’t know, I should focus on the business and America.” You emptied the glass of wine shaking it in front of Hope’s eyes. “Want some more?”

“No, thank you.” Hope smiled leaning forward and placing a hand on yours, you lifted your stared and waited patiently for Hope to talk.

“Let me give you some advice.”

“Please.” You mumbled, and Hope could see you were just as confused and terrified as Wanda.

“You need to decide what you want, what you really desire. Once you had defined this you should give yourself and others a chance to get there with you.” Hope offered a kind smile as she continued. “I cannot tell you about Wanda, Y/N, but I can tell you really feel so much that you’re still afraid to get hurt. Allow yourself to take a leap of faith and find out what can be possible.”

“What if…” You started trailing off when Hope rolled her eyes.

“Then, you took a risk and whatever the end result you came out of that moment wiser, and with the certainty that you did everything that needed to be done for you to be happy.” Hope then wrapped her arms around you. “You and Wanda deserve that much, at least, and even if it doesn’t end the way you want it, you and her would had gained a friendship that may help you face the hardships of life, so it’s a win-win situation.”

You had a lot to think about by the time you went to bed.

You glanced out of the window to see Wanda’s home had the lights off, she was probably sleeping already with the twins in their room. You grabbed your phone reading the last message she had left in the chat; it had been a simple question about the final arrangements that ended up with her inviting you and America over for lunch the next day.

As the night grew older, you kept your stare to the darkened sky right above your head. The next day would be a new day, and you had made up your mind. Tomorrow would be a new day, and hopefully, it would be the beginning of a new chapter in your life.

************************************************************************Next Chater: The tension between Wanda and Reader grows, the twins play matchmakers, Kate and America shared a kiss, the dance is almost there and someone that shouldn't be there gets a sight of the twins.

[saiilorstars]

Written in the Stars

Ch. 11. The Power of Ponds

• Previous Chapters • Sequel to Falling in Temptation • Avalon’s Masterlist

• 11th doctor x ofc

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​ @stareyedplanet​ @gloryekaterina @lenonizi @foxesandmagic​​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

All was not well on planet Earth when Amy and Rory woke up, or rather woken up by Brian William's incessant pounding on their front door. They found their neighborhood was infested with small black cubes. It turned out it wasn't just their neighborhood - it was the city, the continent, the world! Thankfully, their granddaughter and her husband were there in a snap to start an investigation.

In the TARDIS, several cubes had been taken to be examined. However, no matter how much the Doctor studied them there was nothing to them. "All absolutely identical. Not a single molecule's difference between them. No blemishes, imperfections, individualities."

"What if they're bombs? Billions of tiny bombs," Brian made a motion of explosions in the air. "Or transport capsules, maybe, with a minirobot inside. Or deadly hard drives. Or alien eggs. Or messages needing decoding. Or they're all parts of a bigger whole. Jigsaw puzzles that need fitting together."

"Very thorough, Brian," nodded the Doctor, "Very, very thorough. Well done. Stay here. Watch these," he handed back Brian's cube to him, "Yell if anything happens!" He took Avalon's hand as he went for the doors. On their way, they stopped from needed equipment.

"Doctor, is this an alien invasion?" she had to ask. The sense of calmness in the middle of a cube invasion seemed pointless to her. She would rather just get straight to the point. "Because that's what it feels like - and my sister is thinking of living here again."

"It'll be fine," the Doctor assured but paused on his search for a moment to reconsider, "...okay, maybe tell her not to come out here yet. And why does she want to come back here again?"

"You haven't told him yet?" Amy had a smirk on her face when she and Rory caught up with them.

"Told me what?" the Doctor looked between all three with a serious face.

"Lena was considering moving in with her boyfriend..." Avalon rubbed the side of her neck while looking to the side, preferring not to see his reaction to that. Everyone knew how protective the Doctor was of his "baby sister", sometimes even more than Avalon and that was saying something.

"Why am I always the last one to know about this!?

"Because you react like that," Rory pointed.

"Well..." the Doctor started picking up the equipment and handed some of it to the trio, "...excuse me for caring a little too much about my baby sister. I mean, what if the guy's not even the right one? What if—"

"You've met him," Avalon reminded as he piled on some random objects in her arms, "Like several times already. You even said Tristan was a nice guy."

"Well, yeah, but that was before he wanted to move in with Lena!" the Doctor huffed and turned away, heading in haste to the doors.

"It's not even decided yet," called Avalon as she followed after him. They stepped into the Pond's living room where the TARDIS had been parked in, "She's considering it."

"Tell her we need to have a serious talk," the Doctor poked his head out from the hallway, "And by the way," he looked at Amy and Rory, "I'll be borrowing your kitchen."

Avalon turned to her grandparents with narrowed eyes, "Why is it that you must always put a wedge in my marriage?"

"That was all her," Rory nodded to Amy and made a smart exit.

"What?" Amy frowned, "I only said—"

"We're going to work on secrets," Avalon declared, "Lesson one: a secret is kept hidden until the appropriate time!"

"Sorry," mumbled Amy under her breath while Avalon turned for the kitchen.

Inside the kitchen, the Doctor was already setting up his workplace on the counter and stove, "I'm going to cook up some cubes, see what happens."

"Right, I'm due at work," Rory pointed and went for the threshold when the Doctor called.

"What? You've got a job?"

"Yeah, of course I've got a job!" Rory shook his head, "What do you think we do when we're not with you?"

The Doctor stood straight and answered, "I imagine mostly kissing."

Rory considered the answer and shrugged. Amy rolled her eyes at the two, "I write travel articles for magazines and Rory heals the sick."

"My grandparents," Avalon chuckled and went to the Doctor to set the rest of the equipment down.

"My shift starts in an hour. You don't know where my scrubs are?" Rory asked his wife.

"In the lounge, where you left them."

Avalon dropped her equipment near the sink and noticed the Doctor watching Amy and Rory, probably startled by the domesticity he rarely saw in the TARDIS. Still, it seemed like this time he wasn't as impacted, "Ehh, the Ponds. With their house and their jobs and their everyday lives. The journalist and the nurse. Long way from Leadworth."

Amy sighed as she placed her part of equipment on the table, "We think it's been 10 years," she looked at him and Avalon, "Not for you two, nor Lena," she shrugged, "or Earth, but for us. Ten years older, 10 years of you. On and off."

"And look at you know, all grown up," smiled the Doctor honestly as he thought back to the first day he had met the three little girls in a backyard, and the nurse at a park.

His thoughts were interrupted by the bursting entrance of soldiers from the front door. In no time the trio were surrounded by soldiers from the entrance of the kitchen as well as from the backdoor. And then came poor Rory marched in by soldiers - with no trousers on.

"There are soldiers all over my house and I'm in my pants," he frowned with raised hands.

"My whole life, I've dreamed of saying that, and I miss it by being someone else," Amy mumbled and was promptly nudged by Avalon.

"You're one weird grandma," she declared, making Amy smirk.

"All these muscles, and they still don't know how to knock," a soft voice called in from the hallway, moments later a blonde woman coming into the kitchen in all calmness, "Sorry about the raucous entrance. Spike in artron energy reading at this address. In the light of the last 24 hours, we had to check it out and, uh, the dogs do love a runout. Hello. Kate Stewart, head of scientific research at UNIT. And," her eyes drifted to the Doctor with curiosity, "with dress sense like that..." she pulled out a small scanner and placed it over the Doctor's chest to view two hearts, "You must be the Doctor. I hoped it'd be you."

"You know each other?" Avalon looked up at the Doctor expectantly, assuming the woman had just been in the dark of his new face. Apparently there were plenty of people who didn't even know he had regenerated centuries ago.

The Doctor didn't know who to tend to first, but he figured it would be wiser to go with Avalon first considering they lived together. "No," he pointed at her, "No, not ever," and then he looked at Kate, "Tell me, since when did science run the military, Kate?"

"Since me. UNIT's been adapting," she informed, "Well, I dragged them along, kicking and screaming, which made it sound like more fun than it actually was."

"What do we know about these cubes?"

Kate walked further into the kitchen and inspected the place, "Far less than we need to. We've been freighting them in from around the world for testing. So far, we've subjected them to temperatures of +/-200° Celsius, simulated a water depth of 5 miles, dropped one out of a helicopter at 10,000 feet and rolled our best tank over it. Always intact."

"That's impressive," admitted Avalon and looked at the Doctor for his input.

"Well, yes," he agreed, "but I don't want them to be impressive. I want them vulnerable, with a nice Achilles's heel."

"We don't know how they got here," Kate shrugged, "what they're made of, or why they're here. "

"And all around the world, people are picking them up and taking them home."

"Like iPads have dropped out of the sky. Taking them to work, taking pictures, making films, posting them on Flickr and YouTube. Within 3 hours, the cubes had 1,000 separate Twitter accounts."

The Doctor distastefully said, "Twitter!" to show his disgust with the site.

"I've recommended we treat this as a hostile incursion. Gather them all up and lock them in a secure facility, but that would take massive international agreement and cooperation."

"You'd need massive evidence," Avalon concluded with a sigh, "Which you don't have..." Kate nodded in agreement.

"The cubes arrived in plain sight, in vast quantities, as the sun rose. So what does that tell us?" the Doctor looked around to his wife and companions.

"Maybe they wanted to be seen, noticed?" Amy offered the clearest observation possible.

"Well, more than that. They want to be observed," the Doctor pointed, "So we observe them. Stay with them, round the clock. Watch the cubes," he grabbed a nearby cube and tossed it in the air to catch it. "Day and night. Record absolutely everything about them. Team cube, in it together," he planted a kiss on the cube and grinned.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor was having the worst time possible with his brilliant plan of watching cubes. At the moment he and the rest of the Ponds were sitting on the couch in the living room watching the cubes as planned. The Doctor was laying upside down and, frankly, to the brink of going mad, "Four days," he groaned and grabbed a cube off the table, "Nothing! Not a single change in any cube, anywhere in the world." He set the cube back in its place then shifted himself to sit upright with the others, "Four days! And I'm still in your lounge!" he pointed to Amy and Rory.

"You were the one who wanted to observe them, remember?" Avalon crossed her arms and leaned back on the couch, "So deal with it."

"Yes, well, I thought they'd do something, didn't I?"

"And you thought wrong, didn't you?"

"Avalon!"

"What?" she laughed and put her hands up in surrender, "You said, and I quote, 'we have to be patient'."

"Yes, you, you!" he pointed at her but after she narrowed her eyes at him, he changed the version and pointed at her grandparents, "Them, them!"

"Thanks," Amy rolled her eyes at him.

"I hate being patient! Patience is for wimps!" he threw his head back, "I can't live like this. Don't make me. I need to be busy."

Avalon couldn't take him anymore and threw her hands in the air, "Oh my God, just go do something, then!" she exclaimed, "We'll watch the cubes."

"Yes!" the Doctor cheered and jumped up from the couch, ready to do what ever he could to pass time.

"I blame you guys for this," Avalon said to Amy and Rory minutes later after the Doctor was gone.

'What? What did we do?" Rory looked at her in confusion.

"You guys let me marry him!" she mocked a frown, "I had partial memory loss - what kind of grandparents were you?" She mocked a scoff and stood up from the couch.

"What? Where are you going?" Amy watched her go around the couch for the staircase.

"I feel for a nap," she pretended to yawn then flashed a smirk and ran upstairs.

"Avalon!" both Amy and Rory called after her but received nothing but laughter.

~ 0 ~

One hour later, and a far cleaner house than before, the Doctor leaped over the back of the sofa to take place between Amy and Rory, "That's better," he sighed of relief, "Nothing like a bit of activity to pass the time. How long was I gone?"

Rory checked his watch, "Uh, about an hour."

"I can't do it," the Doctor's face fell, "No," he stood up and jumped over the back of the sofa again but stopped and looked back, "I'm short a wife - where's my ginger?"

"Your lazy wife took a nap," Amy made a face as she stood to her feet, "upstairs in her room."

"Oh, right, she has a room here..." it was then that the Doctor wondered if perhaps he could've done something more fun to pass the time with Avalon.

"You're welcome to visit anytime," Avalon appeared at the stairs wearing a smirk on her lips, clearly thinking the same as the Doctor.

"Oh, look who's up?" Rory turned to greet her sarcastically.

"I set an alarm for about an hour," Avalon went down the remaining steps, "Knew that was about the time this one," she nodded to the Doctor, "would finish up his little distraction jobs in that time."

"Yes," the Doctor reached for her hand and yanked her towards the TARDIS, "And now we're going!"

"What? Where?" she squealed with the force used on the yank.

The Doctor brought them into the TARDIS and came across Brian who remained sitting and watching the cube, "Brian! You're still here."

"You told me to watch the cubes," Brian reminded and stood up.

"Four days ago."

"Oh! Doesn't time fly when you're alone with your thoughts."

"You two can't just leave," Rory cut into the conversation and looked at the pair.

"Yes, course we can. Quick jaunt. Restore sanity," the Doctor snapped his fingers excitedly and pointed at them, "Ooh! Hey! Come, if you like."

Before either Rory or Amy could respond, Brian stepped forwards, "They can't just go off like that."

"Can't they?" frowned the Doctor, "Can't you? That's how it goes, isn't it?"

"I've got my job," Rory reminded him.

"Oh, yes, Rory, the universe is awaiting, but you have a little job to go to."

"It's not little," Rory snapped, slightly indignant, "It's important to me. Look, what you do isn't all there is."

"Look, he didn't mean to be rude," Avalon intervened, raising a hand to stop them from talking, "But it's fine, the Doctor and I can go off for a while, right?" she looked up at the Doctor for confirmation.

"Right," he kissed her temple then snapped his fingers to the others, "We'll be back soon. Monitor the cubes. Call us. I'll have the TARDIS set to every Earth newsfeed."

Agreeing, the three humans left the box. After the Doctor de-materialized the TARDIS from the Pond's, he turned to his wife with a sly smile.

"Where we off to, then?" Avalon innocently asked while gazing at the controls.

"I'll let you know..." He murmured as he pressed a few kisses down her neck, giving her chills on her skin, "...after we do something else..."

She giggled as he wrapped his arm around her waist and brought them into the corridors for that special distraction he had thought of.

~ 0 ~

Nine months would see the return of Avalon and the Doctor to planet Earth - and only to snatch Amy and Rory up for an extravagant anniversary gift. It would have gone far better if the 19th century hotel that served as the gift hadn't been the setting for a Zygon attack.

The next gift was an easier one, a simple wedding in the past of King Henry VII. But...

The travelers ran inside a highly royal wooden room, out of breath.

"Not good, not good!" Avalon declared and gave a hard look to the Doctor who'd found some fun leaping on the bed, "Are you kidding me!?"

"What?" He let himself fall on the bed then sighed, "Fine! Under the bed. Under the bed!"

They all scrambled to fit underneath the bed. Their chasers were hot on their trail and it would be mere seconds before they were inside the room.

"It wasn't my fault," grumbled Amy.

However, Rory quickly retorted to that, "It was totally your fault."

"Somebody was talking and I just said 'yes'!"

"To wedding vows. You just married Henry VIII on our anniversary!"

The door finally burst open again, allowing the chasers to come in. Henry VIII strolled around the room searching for his new wife. And, of course, the Doctor sneezed and gave their location away. Avalon dropped her head to her hands - why was her family this weird?

~ 0 ~

The anniversary celebration continued back on planet Earth, inside Amy and Rory's cozy kitchen with their friends. The Doctor stood by the threshold of the kitchen, overseeing the celebration. Avalon decided to stay up close and celebrate with her grandparents. Brian walked towards him, looking a bit upset, "How long were they away?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Brian."

"Because they're wearing totally different clothes from earlier," Brian pointed to the Ponds.

Seeing no way to hide the truth, the Doctor decided to just answer, "Seven weeks. I got sidetracked. A lot."

"What happened to the other people who traveled with you?"

The Doctor deterred answering a second since he knew the answer would not be a good one. "Uh, some left me, some got left behind, and some - not many, but - some died. Not them. Not them, Brian. Never them."

Avalon picked up two plates of cake from the table with two forks then headed towards the two with a bright smile, "I've got cake!" she beamed and handed a plate to Brian, "Grandpa," she loved to be able to say that to him. She had gained one new family member and he was the absolute sweetest!

Brian kindly smiled and took his plate, he still couldn't fathom the fact the woman was an extension of their family but he was slowly growing more and more fond of her. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"And we can share," Avalon leaned on the Doctor, already digging into her cake, "So, what are we talking about?"

The Doctor exchanged glances with Brian, unsure how to go about that topic. Brian could see the internal struggle within the man so he answered instead, "I'm just making sure he takes good care of you."

Avalon titled her head up to the Doctor and warmly smiled, "Oh, he's incredibly protective, grandfather. I'm always safe with him."

The Doctor placed a kiss on her curly hair and wrapped his arms around her tightly while she ate. He would never let anything happen to Amy or Rory - much less Avalon. She was his wife and he'd rather die himself before any harm came to her.

~ 0 ~

After the party was finished, the travelers remained together to clean up. The Doctor came to sit beside Amy who carelessly tossed a cube in her hands. He had been thinking of how best to approach the subject but in the end, he was still very nervous.

"Can we... stay here? With you. And Rory?" He said, preferring to stare at the cube in Amy's hands rather than her. "For a bit. Keep an eye on the cubes. However long that takes."

Amy poked at him curiously, chuckling. "I thought it would drive you mad."

"No. No no. I mean, I'll be better at it this time," he promised in an almost childish tone, "I...miss you."

Amy smiled and stood up, "It's okay, did you tell Avalon?"

The other ginger came in time to hear the question, "Told me what?" she looked at the Doctor.

"I thought...we could stay here?" He rose to his feet and shifted nervously as he waited for her response.

"Ooh, I like that," Avalon nodded and a sly smile spread across her face, "You can stay in my room," she winked.

Amy groaned and raised her hands while leaving, "Don't you dare!" she warned as she left the room.

Avalon laughed and came for her blushing husband, "You okay?"

"You love embarrassing me don't you?" he shut his eyes and hung his head.

"Maybe a bit," she shrugged and ducked to meet his lips for a kiss, "But I can apologize for that..." she assured and kissed him again.

The days passed and the Doctor kept true to his word in trying his best to live a semi-normal life without the TARDIS. It was difficult at times, but the Doctor thanked he had his wife to keep him from going crazy. She'd lived a long, human life so it was no problem for her to readjust again. For her, it was an opportunity to show him a different life they could live - a peaceful, safe life.

The Doctor admitted to himself it was one he could get used to - especially at times like the one he was currently in.

It was past midnight and he and Avalon were in her room. Nearly all furniture pieces were from Avalon's childhood home in Leadworth, except for the bed the two were laying in. It had been traded in for a bigger one to fit two people, cozy enough to snuggle in. At the moment, the two were closely laying together, with Avalon's head resting on the Doctor's chest. His hand was lazily playing with her ginger locks while listening to her read from her favorite fairytale book. He loved hearing her read, her voice had a knack for literature — she was a natural. Of course, due to the time, her voice was beginning to dwindle in emotion and speed. The Doctor had allowed her to continue reading until she could no more. When her words began slurring, he knew it was time to call it a night.

"Heeey..." Avalon manages to frown but not to lift her head, "...I was reading that..."

"And now you're sleeping," the Doctor shut the book and placed it on the nightstand.

"I'm not tired, you're not tired."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "You're not going to deprive yourself of sleep, love. Get some rest."

"You're not..." she yawned and closed her eyes, "...the boss of me..." she snuggled to him and released a small sigh before falling asleep.

"Of course not," the Doctor agreed in a whisper. He kissed her hair and pulled her blanket over her.

Of course, Avalon being Avalon, she wouldn't let him have it. Three hours later, her eyes opened up and she finally lifted her head up, "What time is it?" she mumbled, half expecting the to be gone.

He had a tendency to leave her during nights she needed sleep. He claimed it was simply for her comfort. Why share a bed with a man who didn't sleep? She should have an entire bed to herself! She understood he was just thinking of her and what was best, but she wanted him to stay with her...but she never admitted it out of embarrassment. So, when she saw the Doctor was still right beside her, she couldn't help set loose a wide grin.

"You're not gone," she quickly snuggled to him before he went anywhere.

"Hope you don't mind," he apologetically smiled at her. He was planning on leaving her to rest comfortably but she had clung to him during her sleep and he didn't have the hearts to leave her alone for the night.

"Not at all," she looked up at him.

"Planning on going back to sleep?"

"Mm, I don't know...let's read another story!" she exclaimed and moved to retrieve her book when the Doctor stopped her.

"Ava, it's 4 A.M.," he reminded and set her back on the bed.

"But I'm not tired," she softly complained, "Why do you want me to sleep so badly? Do you have someone to meet? Like another woman?"

"See? Deprivation of sleep is causing your mind to think of crazy stuff," he tapped her forehead, "I just want my wife to get some full rest."

"I don't want to," she shrugged and smiled at him, knowing how to distract him, "I had a dream about you."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, his attention already captivated.

"Mhm," she nodded, "It was about the first time we kissed, remember?"

"Kinda hard to forget," he breathed in just at the thought of that moment.

"Well, I do make quite an impression on men," she flashed a smirk that made him upset, "I've been told by several of them."

"Shh," he put a finger over her lips and quieted her down, "Let's not talk about..." he flapped hand to motion, "...that!"

Her smirk widened with his discomfort, "You mean my amazing kissing skills I used before you?"

The Doctor shut his eyes, trying to avoid any and all images of his wife kissing other men, "Shhh!"

"Cos you know, just because I only had 3 boyfriends before you doesn't mean I only kissed those three!"

"Ava, for the love of God, shhhhh!"

Avalon chuckled and draped an arm around him, "You know I like teasing you, fairy-tale man."

"No? I hadn't noticed," the Doctor had a hand over his face to avoid looking at her big smirk.

"I have to get back at you," Avalon continued and traded in her smirk for a dim smile, "Cos when I get to thinking of all the women who came before me...well..." she pulled his hand from her face, "...I get a little upset, and highly jealous."

The Doctor saw his opportunity to change topics and went for it, "All meaningless compared to you, love."

"Even your own late wife?"

"That marriage was under formal arrangements," he pointed at her, "completely out of my hands."

"And yet you still had children..." it was easy to tell Avalon wasn't playing anymore like she tended to with his past relationships. She fiddled with her fingers and kept her gaze from him, "...the marriage couldn't have been that bad."

"Let me put it to you in one question: Why do you think I left Gallifrey in the first place?" at that, blue eyes fell upon him, "I love my children, so so much...but I could not stand her. All the time it was bickering and bickering!"

"We bicker," Avalon reminded in a low whisper, her hands still fiddling together.

The Doctor scooted slightly from her to be able to roll on top of her, bringing their faces together, "But when we bicker, it's out of love," he whispered back to her before giving her a kiss.

Avalon seemed unsure of it but the second kiss she received put her doubts to rest. She took a long breath the moment the Doctor pulled away, "I'm glad to know where I stand..." she reached to touch his face, taking a moment to study his features, "You know, I think I was wrong about hope..."

"What exactly?"

"Maybe hope doesn't have to be an intangible force..." she tilted her head slightly and dimly smiled, "...it could simply be someone who's impacted your life so much that they become your hope - you." The Doctor was touched to hear that, his hearts beating wildly at the thought of her believing in him so much. She stared at him with her sparkly blue eyes which had foregone their tiredness. "You've changed my life in so many ways. How could you not be my hope? My future has never looked better."

"Well then, I promise to always keep your hope alive," the Doctor raised a hand as if he were making an oath, which actually he was, "and most importantly keep you happy."

Avalon blushed under his gentle stare and felt like the most important woman to him, "I thank you, fairy-tale man."

"I thank you for your hope, wife," the Doctor responded with that and a kiss that soon turned in dozens and dozens more.

~ 0 ~

"You two are impossible," Amy declared with arms crossed and a look of bewilderment as she watched Avalon and the Doctor competing in a WII tennis match, "How is it that you're married again?"

"You are a bloody cheater!" Avalon shouted at the Doctor, blatantly ignoring her grandmother's question behind them.

"I am not!" declared the Doctor with a huff as he turned to face his wife. He whacked his tennis racket to hit an incoming ball Avalon had sent just before she yelled at him.

"Yes" — Avalon thrust her racket to counter his hit — "you are! A big cheater! That set was mine and you know it!"

"That's not what the computer says," the Doctor flashed a smirk to her before using his racket again.

"Impossible," Amy repeated in the background as she resigned to have shouting in the house, "I'm taking a bath!" she called to whoever listened - probably Rory in the kitchen.

"You know, this is exactly why Fred Perry hates you," Avalon 'accidentally' pushed him in order to counter his attack on the television, "because you're a bloody cheater!" and when she hit the virtual ball she beamed as it went straight past the Doctor's, "HA! My set!" she jumped in excitement and turned to the Doctor.

"Okay, see that was cheating," he pointed at her.

"What?" she continued hopping and even jumped onto the couch, "It was not!"

"Yes, it was," the Doctor repeated and moved to grab her but she kept hopping and made it difficult, "You pushed me to hit the ball!"

"Strategies my dear husband, strategies," she stopped hopping to tap his nose.

"Cheater!" the Doctor managed to yank her off the couch and leave them face to face, a dangerous territory in their love/hate competition, "Why did I ever marry a cheater?" he touched noses with her and purposely flashed his charming smile.

Avalon was able to see over his shoulder the game starting up again and saw an opportunity to win again, "Well," her voice turned huskily while she neared his lips, "I do have some rather nice skills you're fond of...let me remind you of some of them..."

Barely brushing lips, the Doctor pushed her to the couch and spun around to strike the first ball in the game, "Ha! MY set!" he cheered.

Avalon fell with a thud on the cushions, stunned with the results of her seduction attempt. She blew the locks of hair that had fallen over her forehead then looked up at the Doctor with a glare, "How dare you!?"

"Sorry my love," the Doctor looked back at her, "I love you and we'll definitely get back to that," he pointed at her, "but this is my game and you were cheating!"

"I hate you!" Avalon jumped to her feet and got into position to give him one hell of a game, "And you're going to lose so badly," she warned just as the game set up again.

They spent another a two minutes playing while arguing when a cube hovered in front of them, freezing them in their spots.

"Doctor..." Avalon's eyes were wide.

"I know," the Doctor gave a small nod then narrowed his eyes at the cube, "Whatever you are, this planet, these people, are precious to me. And I will defend them to my last breath. Is that all you can do, hover? I had a metal dog could do that," the cube opened up one of its side to show a muzzle of a gun, "Ooh! Ooh, that's clever. What's that?"

"It's a gun!" Avalon smacked his arm, "What do you think it's for!?" she pulled him to the in time as the gun fired. They ran out of the room while dodging a second fire.

Once safely in the hallway, the Doctor peered into the room and saw the cube downloading information on the television. "Ooh, you really have woken up."

"Doctor!" Rory came running in from the kitchen, "Hi. The cube in there, it just opened?"

Amy was next to come running, but from the staircase, "The cube upstairs just spiked me and took my pulse!"

"Your cubes are losers," remarked Avalon with a small smirk, "Ours fired with a gun!"

"And it's surfing the net!" the Doctor added with excitement.

Brian ran into the house with about equal awe as Amy and Rory, "You're never going to believe this. My cube just moved. It rattled."

"Kinda of in the same predicament, Brian," Avalon gestured to the living room so he could peek in. Meanwhile, Rory went to attend to a call on the phone, "Do you think it's the start of the real invasion?" she asked the Doctor.

"Could mean anything, honestly," he shrugged.

"But if three cubes started in here, and another one at Brian's - would that mean that all the cubes have started moving?"

"Those are some very good questions," the Doctor looked at her with concern as he thought of her questions.

Upon hanging the phone, Rory returned to the group, "I have to get to work. They need all the help they can get."

"Let me come help out," Brian offered himself up.

"Take your dad to work night, brilliant!" Rory turned to Amy, "Okay, are you going to be all right here?"

She nodded and kissed him, "Keep away from the cubes."

"Alright," Rory took Brian and went off for the hospital.

"What the hell are you grinning about?" Avalon raised an eyebrow as she studied her grinning husband who'd remerged from the living room.

"Well, one," he raised a finger, "We're wanted at the Tower of London," he showed her and Amy his psychic paper to reveal a message, "And two," he leaned to Avalon with a smirk, "I won the last match."

"No you didn't!" Avalon angrily snapped and even made to move for the living room to check for herself.

The Doctor picked her up over his shoulder and headed for the doors, "Come along, remaining Pond," he called to Amy who laughed and followed him despite Avalon's angry shouts to be let down.

~ 0 ~

Kate Stewart led the trio down a hall inside the tower of London, explaining the reasons for her message, "Every cube across the whole world activated at the same moment."

"Now we're in business," the Doctor drowned the urge to clap his hands in excitement about it. He had loved his normal time with his Ponds but there needed to be some kind of action in the end, "You sent me a message to my psychic paper," he told Kate, "You know, I'm almost impressed. "

As they walked, Avalon and Amy were busy looking around the secretive base they'd been invited to. While Amy looked a bit worried, Avalon was more than impressed, "I must say, the secret base beneath the Tower was something I was not expecting," she flashed a smile at Kate, "I might use that in a book in the future."

"You write?" the blonde asked.

"No, but I plan to one day - this base can serve for a lot of purposes."

"Well make sure to write the part where the group gets invited into the base becuase they know too much,' mumbled Amy but was perfectly heard by Kate.

"Oh yes, and make sure to write that we have officers trained in beheading. Also, ravens of death."

"Ooh," Avalon thought about that while Kate took a lead down the hallway, "I think I just might. You know, I like her."

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded and hurried up after the blonde with them.

~ 0 ~

Kate had brought them into a room where the cubes were being monitored in small sealed rooms. They stopped by several of the casings to observe them, There are 50 being monitored and more coming in all the time. I don't know how useful it is. Every cube is behaving individually. There's no meaningful pattern. Some respond to proximity, some create mood swings."

"What's this one?" Amy pointed at a lone cube simply sat on a table. It seemed like it wasn't doing anything to her.

Kate knew otherwise and so motioned for her to go ahead and open its door, "Try the door."

Amy did as told and opened the door to the chamber, flooding the room with the Chicken dance, "Ooh..."

The Doctor plugged his ears with his fingers as the music blared. Avalon stared at him with genuine awe, "So that's how we can keep you quiet! Hey Kate, can I borrow that cube sometime?"

Next, Kate led the group into the lab room where her scientists/technicians were busy working away on the computers and other equipment. "This is the latest," she gestured to the computer screen in front of them.

The Doctor leaned forwards and used the keyboard to access its information, "Oh, dear. Systems breach at the Pentagon, China, every African nation, the Middle East."

"I've got governments screaming for explanations and no idea what to tell them. I'm lost, Doctor. We all are."

"Don't despair, Kate. Your dad never did," the Doctor glanced at the woman to find her staring at him in surprise, "Kate Stewart. Heading up UNIT, changing the way they work. How could you not be? Why did you drop "Lethbridge"?"

"I didn't want any favors. Though he guided me, even to the end. "Science leads," he always told me, said he'd learnt that from an old friend."

The Doctor smiled, "We don't let him down. We don't let this planet down."

One of the nearby technicians responded to an alerting beep, "They've stopped. The cubes. Across the world. They just shut down."

Kate frowned, "Active for 47 minutes and then they just die?"

"Not dead," the Doctor shook his head, "Dormant, maybe."

"But why go through all that trouble, then?" Avalon asked next.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed, clearly stressing, "I don't know. I need to think. I need some air. Who has an underground base? Terrible ventilation!"

Avalon exchanged looks with Amy then dashed off after the Doctor. Amy apologetically smiled to Kate before going off as well.

~ 0 ~

"The moment they arrived, I should've made sure they were collected and burned. That is what I should've done," the Doctor rubbed his face and deeply sighed to the two gingers sitting on either side of him.

They had moved to a wall sit on which overlooked the Thames - sort of peaceful, despite the looming dangers of the cube.

"Nobody would have listened to you," Avalon interjected and lightly shrugged, "I know I wouldn't have."

"You never listen to anything," shot Amy sarcastically.

"But you know I'm right about the others."

On that, Amy conceded with a shrug of her own, "Yeah, I suppose. There was no reason to back then."

The Doctor had been looking them back and forth, thinking of the future when Amy would no longer wish to be with them, "You're thinking of stopping, aren't you? You and Rory."

Amy looked away at the question, "No, no, I mean, we haven't made a decision."

"But you're considering it."

"Maybe. I don't know. We don't know. Well, our lives have changed so much. There was a time - there were years - when I couldn't live without you. Um, when just the whole everyday thing would drive me crazy. But since you dropped us back here, since you gave us this house, you know, we've built a life. But I don't know if I can have both."

"Why?" It was Avalon who asked the question, curious of the answer. She had been used to Lena's reluctance about traveling - her illness and the simple fact she wasn't made for it was enough. But Amy? Why would she want to stop?"

"Because they pull at each other," Amy answered carefully, "Because they pull at me and because the traveling is starting to feel like running away."

"That's not what it is," the Doctor frowned.

"Oh, come on, look at you. Four days in a lounge and you go crazy."

"I'm not running away," he insisted, "This is one corner of one country, in one continent on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy, that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond and there is so much, so much, to see, Amy. Because it goes so fast. I'm not running away from things. I'm running to them, before they flare and fade forever. It's all right. Our lives won't run the same. They can't. One day, soon, maybe, you'll stop. I've known for a while."

"Then why do you keep coming back for us?"

"Because you were the first," the Doctor put an arm around her shoulders and Avalon, and sighed lightly, "You two and Lena, you were the first faces this face saw. And you were seared onto my hearts. Ponds - and one Reynolds," Avalon silently rolled her eyes but let him have it for his sake, "You always will be. I've lost Lena long ago. Now I'm running to you and Rory before you fade from me too."

"But there's one of us who'll never leave," Amy tried her best not to sniffle, "And she'll keep you company long after we're all gone."

"Quiet," Avalon mumbled the order, never wanting to think of her family dead, "I don't ever want to hear that."

"What ever you want, spoiled granddaughter," Amy did her best sarcasm without crying.

Suddenly, the Doctor stiffened, something both women felt. "They got what they wanted," he whispered.

"What?" Avalon frowned at him, taking his sudden reactions as if he was mocking them.

"The cubes. That's why they stopped," the Doctor was having a moment of his own, even jumping and nearly knocking the women in the process, "Come on!" he ran back for the entrance of the tower.

He went straight back to Kate in a haste stride, "Kate?" he called and made the blonde turn around from a technician, "Before they shut down, they scanned everything, from your medical limits to your military response patterns. They made a complete assessment-" the lights in the tower went down with no warning, "...of planet Earth..." the Doctor pulled out to sonic the light bulbs, "...and its inhabitants. That's what the surge of activity was. Problem with the power?"

Kate was holding a lit torch in her hand and looking quite distressed, "Not possible. We've got backups."

"Then why aren't they working?" Avalon challenged, finding the action suspicious with the cubes.

The Doctor took them back to the chambers of the cube to get a look at what as happening. There, they found all cubes were counting down to zero, something the Doctor was able to give to Kate as a powerful reason for the cubes to be recalled and disposed by all humans. Thankfully, Kate was able to spread the word out and were getting the cubes thrown out of buildings. The Doctor had only one last thing to do: lock himself in a chamber with one cube.

Avalon, Amy and Kate stood outside of the chamber the Doctor was in, staring intently at the cube which was nearing zero. Avalon had her arms crossed and a look of clear disapproval, "Doctor, you don't have to be in there," she repeated for what seemed the tenth time, "I don't understand why you love scaring me like this."

"It's going to be fine," the Doctor gave her a thumbs up which did not make her feel an ounce better. It wasn't long before the countdown reached zero and when the Doctor prepared for the worst...the cube merely slid open one of its side to show nothing inside.

"What's happening?" Avalon asked quickly, sensing something worse would happen if the cube was showing 'nothing'. That nothing would turn into something in a surprise and harm the Doctor when he's off guard.

"There is nothing in here," the Doctor stood up, staring at the cube with a scowl, "Why? Why is there nothing inside? Why? It doesn't make any sense!" he left the chamber and went for thee technician rooms to see what had occurred outside, "Glasses, is it the same? Is it the same all around the world?" he gathered from the various screens in front of him.

"They're empty," Kate remarked, "We're safe. Right?"

"I don't think so," Avalon voiced her opinion, "because what if they're just playing us? This could be a decoy while the real attack happens with some other thing."

"All along, every action has been deliberate," the Doctor relayed, "Why draw attention to the cubes, if they don't contain anything?"

Amy, who had been staring at the videos while the others spoke, was the first to see the 'real action' take place, "Doctor, look," she pointed, alarmed.

The videos were all showing people gripping their chests and collapsing to the ground. The technician overseeing the monitors spoke up, "They're CCTV feeds from across the world, showing the same."

"People are dying," Avalon gasped in horror, "See! I told you!"

"They can't be dying," the Doctor disagreed, "How? How are they dying?"

Kate turned to the technician with an important task in mind, "I want information on how people are being affected."

"The cubes brought people close together. They opened and—" the Doctor couldn't continue when a sharp pain ran through his chest.

Seeing him fall onto a chair with a cry of pain, Avalon and Amy were at his side, "Doctor, what's the matter!?" Avalon wanted to help him but with his frizzy movements she couldn't lay a finger on him.

"Uh! Ah! I don't know!"

"Posters are logging a global surge in heart failure, cardiac arrest," the technician Kate had ordered finally gave an explanation.

"That's it. Ah!" the Doctor yelled, "Ah! Oh. Only one heart. Other one's not working!" he pounded on his chest.

"Okay! We need to get you to the hospital!" Amy declared and went to get him up with Avalon when the Doctor pushed them away.

"No no no no no! Just a second," he pushed his chair back to the desk, "Come, show me 10 seconds after the cubes opened. Show me the patterns in their electrical current. See?"

"No," Kate shook her head.

"Yes, the power cut. They sucked the power and then - aah! They're signal boxes! People - wham! Pure electrical surge out of the cube, targeted at the nearest human heart. The heart! An organ powered by electrical current, short-circuited. How to destroy a human? Go for the heart. Ow! Crikey Moses!"

"We need to get you out of here!" Avalon exclaimed.

Kate looked up from the monitor she was at, "Doctor, the scan you set running. The transmitter locations. It's found them."

"Oh, look at them all, pulsing, bold as brass. Seven of them, all across the world. (pounds chest) Ow! Seven stations, seven minutes. Why is that important? Ah-aaah! Ha ha ha ow! Ow!" the Doctor looked at Avalon and Amy, "How do you people manage one heart? It is pitiful!"

"I'm sorry, did you just really call me 'pitiful'?" Avalon raised an eyebrow, desisting in all movements to help him, "Are you really going down that road?"

"No, ma'am," the Doctor cleared his throat and shifted his attention to the monitor, still fighting the unbearable pain within his chest, "The wormhole. Bridging two dimensions. Seven of them, hitched on to this planet. But - but – but where's the closest one? Glasses, zoom in."

The technician zoomed in to the location and revealed a very familiar London building to the two gingers in the room.

"That's the hospital where Rory works," Avalon blinked, "We've got to get there now!"

~ 0 ~

In no time had they arrived at Rory's hospital. The Doctor tried leading the group with a hand over his chest, "How many deaths have been recorded?" he glanced at Kate beside him.

"We don't know. We think it could be a third of the population."

"Kate, I have to find the wormhole. But the attacks could still happen. Tell the world. Tell them how to deal this. The world needs your leadership right now."

"I'll do my best," the blonde promised and walked back.

Not a second later after she'd left did the Doctor fall against a wall with a cry of agony, "Agh!"

"Okay we need to fix you," Avalon declared and started looking around for something to help them.

"How long are you going to last with only one heart?" Amy sighed as she helped him stand with an arm around his shoulders.

"Not much longer," he started scanning the place with the sonic, "I need to locate the wormhole portal. Hello. Hello!" he found a young girl holding one of the cubes, "Oh, hello," he went up to her, "You are giving off some very strange signals."

The girl made no oral response and instead glowed a brilliant blue, startling the trio, "Oh my God," Amy blinked.

"Outlier droid monitoring everything. If I shut her down, I can," with the sonic's help the girl started swaying back and forth as she lost power, "Ah. It's all right. It's all right..." but his own strength was flailing, "Ava, Amy, I can't!" he slid to the floor, "I can't do it. I need both hearts. Ah! Aah!"

"Oh that is it!" Avalon huffed and stomped down the hallway, clearly searching for something.

"What's she doing!?" Amy narrowed her eyes as she studied the other ginger's movements.

Avalon returned to them with a defibrillator in hands, something the Doctor was immediately shooting down, "No! No, no, no, no, that won't work! I'm a Time Lord!"

"Yes," Avalon got on her knees, "you're a Time Lord with one working heart!"

"No, Ava!" He refused when she opened his shirt.

"Oh relax, it's nothing I haven't done before!"

"Hey!" Amy frowned at the implication, "Ew, grandmother, remember?" she pointed at herself.

"Shush, I'm saving my husband," Avalon snapped, "Clear!" and she applied the charge which instantly got results.

"Ooh!" the Doctor sat upright, feeling the blast of energy, "Welcome back, Lefty. Whoa-hoa! Two hearts!" he jumped to his feet and pulled Avalon with him, "Whoo! Back in the game. And Never do that to me again," he firmly pointed at Avalon who barely caught up with his radical movements.

"Okay, but then don't come whining to me tonight when I say no and go to sleep!"

"No, wait, not that," the Doctor immediately frowned, "Not that! I meant that!" He pointed at the defibrillator behind them.

"Sorry," Avalon raised a hand and walked off, "C'mon, then, portal awaits!"

"I hate when she does that," the Doctor huffed then noticed the distasteful face Amy had for him, "What?"

"Grandmother!" she pointed at herself again, "Ew?" would they ever understand neither she nor Rory ever wanted to hear what went on between him and Avalon in their bedroom.

~ 0 ~

They arrived at the lift where the Doctor's sonic had led them to. When the doors slid open, the trio peered inside to find a regulator lift.

"Oh, portal to another dimension in a goods lift?" Amy frowned at the sight.

The Doctor checked his sonic's examination results, "The energy signals converge here. Does seem a bit cramped, though," he stepped in followed by the two gingers. The back wall seemed to ripple attracting the Doctor's attention. He poked it and glanced at the two women, all sharing bright smiles, "Through the looking-glass, Ava."

"I loved that story," Avalon beamed as he took her hand.

"I loved hearing you read it to me."

Amy rolled her eyes, "Eugh!" she pushed past them and went through the wall first. She came to a spaceship which consisted of old hospital gurneys that held her husband and her father-in-law, "Rory!"

"Where the hell are we?" asked Avalon when she and the Doctor came through.

"We're in orbit. One dimension to the left," the Doctor shrugged.

Amy turned to them and pointed to Rory across the room, "Rory's unconscious!"

The Doctor reached inside his jacket's pocket and pulled out a small jar he handed to Amy, "Seborean smelling salts. Outlawed in seven galaxies."

Amy was hesitant to use such jar but took the chance and ran over to Rory. Upon getting a whiff, Rory sat upright with wide eyes.

"Rory, you're back!" Avalon excitedly hugged him.

"Amy, get them out of here," tasked the Doctor, "And you too, now."

At that, Avalon pulled away from her hug and turned to the Doctor, "No, what are you going to do on your own?"

The Doctor moved on to Brian's gurney and pushed it towards them, "Absolutely no idea. Get him through the portal," and he started helping them when someone fired at them. The Doctor looked back and saw a lone, bald man in a dark cloak and chapped, wrinkled skin.

"So many of them, crawling the planet, seeping into every corner," he was saying.

"What the hell is that?" Avalon stopped but was forced to continue out of the room by her grandparents. They returned to the lift and into the hallway while Brian was stirring awake, "Did we just really leave my husband behind?" she faced Amy and Rory.

"Of course not," Amy huffed at the accusation, "Don't you realize? We'd never leave him, nor you."

"Well..." Avalon crossed her arms, her eyes flickering between one grandparent to another, "...it's just, lately, I feel like you leaving the Doctor and the TARDIS means you'll be leaving me too."

"What?" Rory frowned, "How can you say that, Ava?"

"Because I barely see you anymore," Avalon dropped her arms to her sides in frustration, "and I try to act like it's all alright but deep down I don't want you to go. I like having my family/friends with me in that blue box."

"We need you to understand something for us," Rory came up and put his hands on her shoulder, keeping her still and looking directly at him and Amy, "Even if we do decide to leave the travelling it does not mean we are leaving you."

"Yeah, you're our granddaughter for god's sake," Amy shook her head, "How can you think we'd ever leave you?"

"I dunno..." Avalon played with her foot, "Cos when the Doctor talks about his previous companions he always says how much he misses them cos he doesn't visit them. He leaves them or they leave him. I don't want that to happen to you two."

"It's not," Rory declared with a sigh, "Because we are never going to let that happen. We stay and you'll come and visit us. And sometimes we'll come visit you."

"But we will always be a family," Amy finished.

"Promise?" Avalon whispered, believing herself to sound like a child.

"Promise," went both grandparents before hugging their granddaughter. When the moment was finished, they rejoined the Doctor and discovered the alien was still conversing with the mysterious man - one who apparently believed humans to be an 'epidemic' that needed to be stopped.

"What does he mean by 'Tally'?" asked Amy, still trailing the man with slight distaste, "What is that?"

The Doctor wasn't too happy to have his wife and friends back in direct danger. He knew he couldn't force them to leave and for the sake of time he didn't press, "Some people call it "Judgment Day" or "the Reckoning.""

Avalon glanced at him with surprise, "What? You don't know?"

"I've never wanted to find out."

"Before the Closure, there is the Tally," the Shakri declared, "The Shakri serves the Tally!"

"The pest controllers of the universe. That's how the tales went, isn't it?" the Doctor frowned.

"Wait, so you'r'e afraid of an exterminator?" Avalon snorted, crossing her arms and putting a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, "What kind of bedtime stories are those?"

"Well you can talk," the Doctor turned to her, crossed she was making fun of him, "Your stories are no better. A wolf in your grandmother's nightdress?"

Avalon raised an eyebrow and stepped closer, "Are you making fun of your wife's favorite classic fairy-tales?"

"N-no," the Doctor quickly faced the Shakri again, "So!" he clapped his hands, desperate for a change of topics, "Here you are, depositing slug pellets all over the Earth, made attractive so humans will collect them, hoping to find something beautiful inside. Because that's what they are. Not pests or plague - creatures of hope, forever building and reaching. Making mistakes, of course, every life form does, but - but - they learn. And they strive for greater and they achieve it. You want a tally? Put their achievements against their failings, through the whole of time. I will back humanity against the Shakri every time."

"The Tally must be met. The second wave will be released," the Shakri moved to the keyboard and began typing.

Amy watched the actions in alarm, "What does that mean?"

"It's going to release more cubes to kill more people," the Doctor's eyes widened.

"The human plague, breeding and fighting. And, when cornered, their rage to destroy. You're too late, Doctor. The Tally shall be met."

Amy panicked when the man disappeared, "He's gone!"

"He was never really here," the Doctor dismissed as he moved to the computer, "Just the ship's automated interface. Like a talking propaganda poster. I can stop the second wave," he pulled out the sonic to use, "I can disconnect all the Shakri craft from their portals, leave them drifting in the dark space. Ah, but all those people who were near the cubes, so many of them will have died."

"I restarted one of your hearts," Avalon blinked, 'Could that work?"

"You'd need mass defibrillation," Rory said.

"Of course. Ah, beautiful. But, Ponds, Ponds, we're going to go one better than that," the Doctor pointed at them, "The Shakri used the cubes to turn people's hearts off. Bingo! We're going to use them to turn them back on again."

"Will that work?" Amy raised an eyebrow, sensing it too easy.

"Well, creatures of hope. Has to," the Doctor shrugged and worked for a couple more minutes, "30 seconds. Don't let me down, cubes. You're working for me, now," the ship lurched them to the side a bit, "Oh, dear," the Doctor got a glimpse of the computer and stepped back, tugging on Avalon's arm to join him as well, "All those cubes. There's going to be a terrible wave of energy ricocheting around here, any second. Run!"

The Ponds had no choice to follow, just barely missing the explosion behind them.

~ 0 ~

The only way to finish a day filled with explosions and an almost-invasion was to cook a nice dinner for the family in the evening. Amy showed Avalon a classic recipe that she had apparently picked up in the months of their absence and it turned out that the two actually made a good cooking team. It was a pleasant evening until the time came to leave.

"We'd better get going," the Doctor glanced at Ava to see if she would agree or not. If it was hard for him to leave the Ponds, it was ten times harder for her - they were literally family.

Thankfully, she seemed to agree as she nodded and stood up, "Right, lots and lots of things to do, um." She hugged Amy then Rory and went around the table to hug Brian last.

"Look," the Doctor settled his hands on the shoulders of Amy and Rory, "I know, you both have lives here, beautiful, messy lives. That is what makes you so fabulously human. You don't want to give them up. I understand."

"Actually, it's you they can't give up, Doctor," Brian said with 100% assurance, "And I don't think they should. Go with him. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here."

"Why don't you come, Brian?" Avalon suggested, "It'd be really cool to have my grandparents and my great grandfather in the TARDIS."

"Nah," Brian patted her hand, "Somebody's got to water the plants." He then looked at the Doctor. "Just bring them all back safe."

"I will," the Doctor nodded, simultaneously reaching for Avalon's hand to squeeze.

Avalon couldn't help beam all the way to the blue box as she held her husband's hand and ushered her grandparents inside her home. She waved goodbye at Brian with the brightest smile and then disappeared inside.

A/N:

Ugh, there's only a couple chapters left before it's time to say bye, bye to the Ponds *cries*. It'll be the end of an era!

[darsynia]

Trust Fall | Ch 25a

Story Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Tony/OC, ‘terrorists made us fall in love;’ IM1 timeline. In this chapter, Emory leaves for her mission (complete with a wheelchair and fake oxygen tank), and Tony helps Darsy not scream when Tumblr fucks with this chapter four times before it gets properly posted. look. LOOK.

Length: 2,901

Taglist: @starryeyes2000 @raith-way @arrthurpendragon @themaradaniels @starksbf @chickensarentcheap @tiny-anne @thorfics @chibijusstuff

Note: The word 'caustic' has a second, lesser-known meaning best described as 'the patterns light makes when refracted through a reflective surface like water or glass.' Think swimming pools or water glasses hit by sunlight!

I used 'caustic echo' (chapter title) as a reflection of something or someone familiar seen in a different light, a new way of seeing Obediah, Sharon (aka. Agent Harris), Rory, or even the scientist Emory's mission is about contacting...

Excerpt:

It’s still dark when they take the stairs down to the parking garage to find Natasha’s car in a darkened corner. Nat gets out and hands over a phone that’s the same make and model as the one left behind in the apartment.

“This has a full contact list including messages. You’ll want to go over them, especially the ones between you and Agent Harris.” 

It hadn’t occurred to Emory that not having a phone might be suspicious. “I will, thank you,” she tells Natasha, holding her phone up for Clint, who is piling his gear into the trunk. “You could have warned me, ‘William Never-Tells!’”

“It’s official. That is the worst archery joke I’ve ever heard. Stark’s gonna dump you.”

“If you want good jokes, don’t wake me up before 7 AM!” she snipes back. In response, Clint adjusts the arrows in his quiver to look like a held-up middle finger before hopping into the front passenger seat.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Caustic Echoes

Emory’s shaken awake to a dark room.

“Hey, Em. Really hoping you’re not hung over,” Clint says.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t blow you out the window,” she groans, pulling the pillow over onto her head. He chuckles.

“You’d never do it, we’re friends now,” he teases. “I got the call. Time to move out.”

“Can I play my ‘get out of mission free’ card?”

“Nope. Get dressed, okay? Should be out the door in ten.”

With that, Clint pulls the door shut behind him but leaves the overhead light on, the bastard. Emory pushes the pillow off of her head onto the floor and winces at the brightness.

“Fuck,” she says. Forcing herself to her feet, she gets dressed in the simple black suit and blue blouse that Nat had given her. The jacket has a lot of hidden pockets, and when Natasha first handed it over, Emory had joked about whether the pockets numbered more than Agent Harris’s secrets. Black Widow’s enigmatic smile and shrug hadn’t been very comforting then, and the memory isn’t very comforting now.

“You almost ready?” Barton calls out from the hallway. Emory grabs her phone, slips on her sturdy black boots, and rushes out to follow him. “Oh. Stick that back on to charge,” Clint says, nodding to her phone. “Communications dark.”

“Even if I promise to leave it off?” Tony had given her the phone, it’s somewhat of a mental lifeline.

“Yeah. Even if that wasn’t part of the plan, I’d feel better if you did. Who knows what Stark installed on that thing?” As if that was the end of the argument, he goes over to the basket on the counter and grabs an apple. “Want one?”

“That better not be a Stark vs. Apple joke,” she warns. “Be right back.”

His laughter chases her down the hall. Right before she plugs her phone in, Emory pops the device out of its protective case and tucks that into one of the hidden pockets of her jacket. Tony had given her that, too, and it’s better than nothing.

It’s still dark when they take the stairs down to the parking garage to find Natasha’s car in a darkened corner. Nat gets out and hands over a phone that’s the same make and model as the one left behind in the apartment.

“This has a full contact list including messages. You’ll want to go over them, especially the ones between you and Agent Harris.” 

It hadn’t occurred to Emory that not having a phone might be suspicious. “I will, thank you,” she tells Natasha, holding her phone up for Clint, who is piling his gear into the trunk. “You could have warned me, ‘William Never-Tells!’”

“It’s official. That is the worst archery joke I’ve ever heard. Stark’s gonna dump you.”

“If you want good jokes, don’t wake me up before 7 AM!” she snipes back. In response, Clint adjusts the arrows in his quiver to look like a held-up middle finger before hopping into the front passenger seat. “Why can’t he be the mission leader?” she groans, leaning her head onto Natasha’s upper arm.

“You’ll do great. Remember, every insecurity just makes you more credible. We’ll build you back up when it’s all over, ok?” Nat says, petting her head before stepping back.

These two agents feel like her friends, not her coworkers. Emory’s touched, but she also remembers what Tony had said about something being ‘off’ at SHIELD. Impulsively, she steps close to Natasha and lowers her voice to a whisper, even though it’s 5:20 in the morning in a deathly quiet residential parking garage.

“Tony told me the mission data for SHIELD is strange, like something’s not right,” she says. It sounds childish when spoken aloud, but Emory presses on. “Whatever it is, he’s doing more investigating, but it sounded serious. The kind of thing that a long-time employee can recognize, even if you brush it off as unrealistic unless it’s not just you that’s noticing.”

“But he didn’t try to stop you from doing this mission?”

That's a valid question, but Emory has a counter to it: “I need the serum, and maybe SHIELD’s a safer bet than some of the bad guys that are out there?”

Natasha’s face twists into a self-deprecating smile. “That’s the damned truth.” Her watch chimes some kind of an alarm. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Okay,” Emory says. She watches the two agents drive away with mixed feelings, but smiles at Clint’s wink. “Chaotic dad energy,” she whispers to herself.

Without them, Emory feels terribly exposed. She looks down at the phone in her hand-- and realizes that it would probably fit in the case she’s got hidden in her jacket.

She’s barely finished messing with it when a cherry red SUV pulls into the parking garage and drives right over to the darkened area where Emory is lurking. Before it’s fully stopped, the passenger door on her side slides open and a red haired woman wearing Emory’s exact same outfit steps out. She’s a little taller, but everything else is spot on.

“Thanks, Amanda,” Agent Harris says as she gets out on the driver’s side, handing over a shopping bag and a set of car keys.

“Good luck,” the woman says. “It’ll be nice having my own hair back, anyway.” From the bag, she pulls out a baseball cap. A minute later, she’s got most of the hair twisted up underneath it, and she’s swapped her black blazer with a jean jacket from the bag. Her appearance has gone from ‘finance professional’ to ‘exhausted grad student’ in ninety seconds.

“Lay low for a few days. Stick the wig in your hope chest for Roleplay Night,” Harris says with a crooked grin. She seems like a completely different person than the cool, standoffish agent Emory knows her as.

“Sure.” Amanda rolls her eyes. “The day Richard proposes is the day I stop going undercover, so, probably never? See ya. Stay safe.”

“We’ll try.” 

Emory watches the other woman walk confidently off into the depths of the parking garage before turning to look at Agent Harris. “I didn’t realize we needed a decoy,” she whispers. Behind them, a car door closes, followed by the sound of an engine starting up.

“Your boyfriend's the one who almost tossed a million-dollar wrench into my op!” Harris says. “Amanda helped us get the necessary optics in case you were otherwise occupied. Get in, we need to get moving. I have some fast talking to do with the charter company about that tank.”

Emory does as she’s told, but she wonders what happened in the last day or so to change so much of the plan-- unless this was always going to happen, and she's just out of the loop. As soon as she’s settled in, Harris shifts into drive, literally and figuratively.

“The tank has two valves. One controls the oxygen that leads to your mask. The other will release an aerosol agent that had been shown to incapacitate anyone with the DNA changes prompted by the serum we’re after,” she says, expertly navigating the city streets on the way to the airport. She looks back at Emory in the rear view and adds, “That’s why you were still unconscious when you arrived at the Triskelion.”

All Emory can do is stare at her. She wants to ask if Tony was around when they puffed experimental incapacitation dust in her face to see what it would do-- but she’s consumed by something more pressing.

“None of this was in the briefing. You left out everything important! Is this how SHIELD treats everyone, or just me?” The accusation is over the line, but if she can’t challenge this bullshit after Harris has admitted to testing untried chemicals on her, then she’ll never get the chance.

The initial silence from the driver’s seat bolsters her courage, which is good, because they’ve arrived at the airport. Every cell in her body longs to get the heck out of there, but while Emory doesn’t need the wheelchair yet, her joints hurt like hell. It’s only a matter of time.

“Thinking over the sequence of events, I’ll admit it’s not--” Agent Harris’s voice falters a little. 

Emory wonders if this sudden display of conscience is studied, intended to elide responsibility. It’s a cynical view, but she feels used. At least the conversation is dampening her power generation.

“I knew I’d end up having to fight some of the clients I was assigned,” Harris starts again. Emory can see that her grip on the steering wheel is white-knuckled. “Maybe I spent a little too much energy pulling back from them, and you got caught up in that. I’m sorry.”

Emory had steeled herself for cold indifference, and this vulnerability throws her. The reflex to say ‘it’s okay’ is strong, but she pushes that aside with great effort and asks the other question that has her anxious. “Speaking of fights, how are we going to get on an airplane with a weaponized oxygen cylinder?”

“Don’t worry about it, I’ve got that covered.” Harris says, facing forward again. She slows the car to a stop and reaches over to pull something out of her purse to hold up for the security guard. “Flight plan’s already in place,” she says to him, her tone far more friendly than the one she’d just used with Emory.

“All right,” the guard says, stepping back into the booth and hitting a button. “Safe travels.”

“Travel will be the safest part,” Harris mutters once they’re moving again. 

Their ride to Sokovia is a chartered jet. The story Harris tells the crew is the one they’d prepped for, that Emory is suffering from a rare condition and needs to see a specialist based in Novi Grad. Preflight and takeoff are completely uneventful, and as she looks out the window at the clouds below them, Emory realizes that if SHIELD hadn’t used experimental gas to knock her out for the flight from Afghanistan, they would have used drugs. They had followed standard operating procedure for the agency: compartmentalize the ‘Need to Know’ and isolate team members from key information on the off chance it could ruin the mission.

She drifts off to sleep in her airplane seat wondering how often not knowing key information caused the strange results that Tony noticed. 

Flying back to NYC in the late evening makes it a bit too late to talk to Emory, so Tony sleeps on the plane, dreaming of various innovations he could use on her armor. Both Happy and Pepper had chosen to stay back in California. They’ll fly back with Stane in a few days. Tony’s happy to see that Pepper had called ahead for a hired car to take him home. There’s even a cup of coffee waiting for him in the cupholder, which wakes him up enough to carry his luggage into the basement lab.

Since the stairs are too much effort at 4 AM, Tony sits down at the computer and starts to sketch out what he’d seen in those dreams.

Without anyone around to hound him to take better care of himself, Tony throws himself into the design work, subsisting on smoothies and freeze-dried fruit pouches. Ten hours later he’s too caught up to worry about trivial things like a change of clothes as he drives back over to Stark Industries to use the fabricator. He sneaks in via a side door and tells the scientist working in the room he needs that he’ll fund the man’s side project for a full year if he keeps Tony’s presence in the building a secret.

As he works, Tony picks up his phone to text Emory multiple times, but she’d asked him to wait for her to send a message first on weekdays. There was always a chance that she’d be practicing power control, and as she'd put it, thinking about him is a ‘delightful distraction.’ It’s a compliment, but he misses her, damnit. He’s dozing at the desk waiting for the Bridgeport to finish up, his phone held loosely in his hand just in case, when he’s woken by someone clearing their throat behind him.

A quick glance at his watch confirms what Tony’s stomach is already telling him: it’s just past and/or almost Burger O’Clock, aka 3 PM. Tony summons his best ‘what the actual fuck are you doing’ face for reputation’s sake and swivels his chair around.

“Excuse me, sir,” the man says, undaunted. “I wanted to tell you we do have some palladium in storage.”

Tony doesn’t remember mentioning palladium, but he recognizes the guy, and most of the day is fuzzy in retrospect. “All right, let’s take a look.”

The scientist seems surprised at this response, but he recovers and takes Tony to the secure storage area. It’s enough for an insert. Tony decides to take it, signing the material out before setting up a pickup time for the piece he’s machining. He heads home to eat something and make the tab, so he can swap his current one out. The SI development lab uses a higher purity level than they bother with for weaponry, and JARVIS has warned there could be some issues with long-term palladium exposure, depending on refinement. That’s why he’d been in such a hurry to redesign the arc.

If it works out, that’ll just confirm that he needs a new supplier. Tony wants the best he can get if he’s going to have to cross an ocean to support Emory’s mission. He’ll stick the partially depleted tab into one of his armored suit’s storage caches, as a backup.

Even though they’d taken off in the early morning, the plane lands in Novi Grad after midnight. With how tired she is, Emory is grateful for the wheelchair, but her face aches from wearing the oxygen mask for so long. It’s hard not to be frustrated with Agent Harris for not warning her so she could be more used to the experience. It’s particularly galling to think that for all she knows, this discomfort and mistrust is part of the plan-- a way to keep Emory off balance and her powers at bay until they’re needed.

At the front desk of their hotel, Harris gives her name for their reservation, then pulls out a wad of cash and asks if there’s a chance they can upgrade. The clerk’s eyes gleam in excitement, and soon they’re ushered to a suite. The sweep Harris does for bugs yields nothing; if the previous room had been prepped for them, that’s just too bad. Both Emory and Harris change for bed in their respective rooms without any chit-chat. Their meeting is scheduled for the next morning, eight hours away. There’s no time to miss Tony, no time to worry about how things will work out, because every second of sleep counts.

It feels like as soon as Emory rests her head on her pillow and closes her eyes, she’s woken up by a knock at the door.

“It’s seven-thirty,” Harris tells her through the closed door. “I have some last-minute details to go over.”

“You can come in while I get dressed,” Emory offers, stretching. Harris comes in and walks over to face the window to give her some privacy.

“Do you remember the keywords?”

“I mention the cave or Afghanistan to confirm I’m feeling safe, and I speak about D.C. or ‘home’ if I’m not,” Emory confirms, gathering up the suit jacket and pants she’ll put back on for today.

“Right. Any mention of Rory Fall by either one of us is a signal to be ready to fight. Try to avoid using her name if it comes up for some reason.”

“I can’t imagine that being a problem.”

She doesn’t tell Harris that her former friend and boss would have long-since collapsed into hysterics or given away the entire game by now, probably on national television. For the first time in her life, Emory takes this as a compliment on her own behalf instead of an indication that she'd failed her friend. The words Nick Fury had thrown in her face all those weeks ago have served their purpose, though she couldn’t have known that at the time. Emory has responded to a medical and moral imperative, but as much as possible, she’s done so on her own terms.

If that looks like obedience to SHIELD, well. That’s their own fault, is it not?

In her rush, Emory drops her small travel bag when she pulls out the blue blouse she’ll wear today. She sees the other agent turn to see if she’s okay, and hurriedly pulls the shirt on.

“Red bra, huh? Wouldn’t have expected that,” Harris remarks.

“Tony likes it,” Emory says, lifting her chin even as she feels her face flush as red as the bra. She likes the color too, but after a few months in the strange culture that is the apprenticeship program at SHIELD, she’d picked up a few things. Who you know is important, more so than who you are, and Tony Stark is rich, smart, and unpredictable.

She settles into the wheelchair after putting her shoes on, dons the mask, and pops a thumbs up for Harris. Whatever’s about to happen, she’s as ready for it as she’ll ever be.

Next chapter, Tony figures out why he can't get in touch with Emory, and Emory finally meets the scientist whose serum has given and taken away so much from her.

[susanpxvensie-wp]

Jemma Fitzgerald + Her The Doctor’s Companions

I remember it all too well.

Read here: Wattpad, AO3

[wcterwithin]

AMY // @inkfated​ sent: “not too big to jump into my arms, are you?”

little bear prompts

“Let’s pretend that didn’t happen.” Like he hadn’t just jumped on the arms of his wife because he had mistaken a vine for a snake. ( He just really hates snakes )

[faerietaled]

so many universe, things that are, that could be, that won't be, and simply aren't. and some of them are locked away in her head, all those possibilities, and the worst ones are always the ones without rory. they plaque her at night, taunt her in the form of nightmares. when the ache in her chest becomes too much, and she wakes up with cheeks wet from tears and her heartbreaking, amy isn't surprised.

she turns, seeks the comfort of her husband, and everything still in the pre-dawn darkness when his side is empty. they weren't dream, panic drowns out heartbreak and she can only curl up on the pillow that's meant for him before it vanishes. it smells like him, and the sheets are still warm, and it's only than that her muscles relax, that the undeniable feeling of lose gets chased away. rory is still here, he's still alive.

amy's quick to use manicured fingers to dry her cheeks before burying herself in rory's side of the bed. the sheets are still perfectly warm, and she wraps herself in the smell of him, before glancing at the alarm clock on his side of the bed. she could have sworn they had the day of together.

when he finally returns into their bed room, amy props herself up, and shoves dark red hair out of her face. "i thought you didn't have to work today." // soft angst for @phoenixspirits ; rory williams.

[likeacharacterinamusical]

@doctordollface // from x 

Rory walked in then, smiling nervously at the two women, and said, “If I’m allowed, I think that’s a lovely name! Amber...” He sat on the edge of the bed and waved one hand at their daughter. 

“Yes, so do I,” Pandora stated with a nod. “We still don’t know if she’s a vampire---it was so easy to tell with Lucy...”

[lizziesxltzmxn-archive]

Someone write a fic about Rory being in the episode Smith & Jones.

[purpleyearning]

It’s Me, Hi! I’m The Problem!

Also known as Ali, she/her, and I am in my 20s. Don’t really mind who follows as long as you are aware this is my blog where I post what I want, if you don’t like something then either don’t interact with said post or unfollow me. This is a personal multifandom random blog where I post anything and everything I feel like it.

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[wcterwithin]

"You know you're always welcome," he answers genuinely, because sometimes it feels like she forgets this is her home as much as it's theirs. "If anything, we'll ask you to stay longer."

wcrldswithin​:

“Amy’s watching telly. Should only take her five minutes. I hope you’re staying that long because the tea will need longer to brew.” An attempt at comforting through humour.

   That got a tiny chuckle out of her.  “ I don’t have any other plans for the night. That is if it’s alright with you two? ”  As much as she had missed them, she didn’t want to intrude on their time but River certainly didn’t want to be alone either. She needed a bit of quiet, peace, and some company.

[hyacinths-bridgerton]

                              favorite character + hogwarts houses  →  rory williams

[music-is-love-90]

Chapters: 2/? Fandom: Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: The Doctor (Doctor Who)/Original Female Character(s), The Doctor/Rose Tyler | Bad Wolf, Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones, Martha Jones/Mickey Smith Characters: The Doctor (Doctor Who), Rose Tyler, Ninth Doctor (Doctor Who), Tenth Doctor (Doctor Who), Eleventh Doctor, Original Female Character(s), Jack Harkness, Ianto Jones, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, Amy Pond (Doctor Who), Rory Williams, River Song Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, This is a rewrite of an old story, condensed into one story instead of like 5 Summary:

The tale of the Doctor and the Phoenix, last survivors of Gallifrey.

Previously published on Fanfiction.net as Never Gonna Be Alone, Savin' Me, Someday, I'd Come For You, and If Today Was Your Last Day. Edited and reworked.

Ch. 2:

Everything was set.

The flowers were perfect, the band was ready, everyone was dressed in their very best, she looked fantastic, and, best of all, at the end of the aisle waited the most perfect man in the world, ready to marry her, Donna Noble. 

Life was just about as perfect as it could get.

The organ began its famous call and Donna gave her father a nervous smile as the butterflies in her stomach doubled, tripled.  She began her march down the aisle towards her perfect future and they grew even more.  Kind of painfully.  Really painful.  Donna came to a stop as the pain grew ten times, a hundred times more painful.  The only thing she could do was scream as the world went black.

The next thing she knew, she was in an odd, dome shaped room.  She heard something behind her and spun on her heel to find a very skinny man in a pinstriped suit, next to the oddest contraption she had ever seen.

“Who are you?” she demanded.  He started sputtering, but she cut him off.  “Where am I?”

“What?”

“What the hell is this place?” Her voice started to rise. 

“What?”

She was fairly certain the man was an idiot, given how he was just staring at her.

“You can’t do that, I wasn’t even – But we’re in flight!” he exclaimed, tripping over his words.  “That is – that is physically impossible.  How did you – “

“Tell me where I am!” she demanded, cutting him off again.  “I demanded you tell me right now: where am I?”

“You’re inside the TARDIS,” he told her, looking more and more confused.

“The what?”

“The TARDIS.” He began moving around the console, taking readings.

“The what?”

“It’s called the TARDIS.”

“That’s not even a proper word!” she spat.  “You’re just saying things!”

“How did you get in here?” he demanded.

“Well, obviously when you kidnapped me!  Who was it that put you up to this, huh?  Was it Nyeris?  Is this her?  She finally getting me back?”

“Who the hell is Nyeris?” he demanded, completely mystified.

“Your best friend,” she replied, sneering at him.

He looked her up and down.

“Hold on, wait a minute.  Why are you dressed like that?”

“I’m going ten pin bowling,” she said snarkily, motioning to her white gown and veil.  “What do you think, dumbo?!  I’m getting married!  I was half-way up the aisle!  I’m gonna have the police on you!  Me and my husband, as soon as he is my husband, are going to sue the pants off you!”

As she was ranting, she spotted doors to the side of the room and took off, ignoring his shout to wait.  She flung them open, only to be brought short by the sight of a nebula in deep space. 

The Doctor calmly walked up behind her, silently asking the TARDIS if she would get Lily to the control room somehow.

“You’re in space,” he told the other woman calmly.  “Outer space.   This is my…spaceship.  It’s called the TARDIS.”

“How am I breathing?” she asked.

“The TARDIS is protecting us.”

“Who are you?” she asked finally.

“I’m the Doctor,” he replied simply.

“Donna.”

“Human?” he asked, looking at her.

“Yeah.  Is that optional?”

“Well, it is for me.” He turned back to the open doors.

“You’re an alien.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered anyway.

“Yeah.”

They stood in silence, observing the turn of the universe.

“It’s freezing with these doors open,” Donna said finally, rubbing her arms.

The Doctor gave her a look and quickly closed them before running back to the console.

“I don’t understand this,” he said, quickly moving around the console, “and I understand everything.  This, this can’t be happening.  There is no way a human being can lock itself on and beam itself into the TARDIS.”  He grabbed an ophthalmoscope and started looking at her.  “Impossible.  Some sort of subatomic connection?  Something in the temporal field?  Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell.  Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix.  Maybe a genetic – “

Donna slapped him.

“What was that for?” he demanded, recoiling in shock.

“GET ME TO THE CHURCH!”

“Right!” he yelled back, dropping the device and moving back the console.  “Fine!  I don’t want you here anyway.  Where is this church?”

“Saint Mary’s, Paytor Road, Cheswick, London, England, Earth, The Solar System!”

Donna spotted a woman’s jacket hanging over one of the corrals and grabbed it, brandishing it at him.

“I knew it!” she sneered.  “Acting all innocent.  I’m not the first!  How many women have you abducted?”

It took a moment for the Doctor to figure out what she was waving in his face, but his eyes grew cold when he realized it was Rose’s jacket.  It had been an unspoken agreement between him and Lily.  She didn’t mention the jacket that still lay where Rose had thrown it that last day and he didn’t mention the leather jacket that had gone missing from the wardrobe. 

After all, they were both grieving in their own way.

“That’s my friend’s.” he told the newcomer, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

“Well, where is she?” Donna demanded mockingly.  “Popped out for a spacewalk?”

“She’s gone.”

“Gone where?”

The Doctor tried to look away from the jacket, but he couldn’t seem to make himself actually do it.

“I lost her.”

Donna opened her mouth to respond, but they were both distracted by the sound of breaking china.  The Doctor turned to see Lily in the doorway, growing paler by the second as she stared at the other woman.

“Donna?”

The three of them stared at each other. 

“What?” the Doctor demanded, looking between them.

~.~

Ten minutes earlier

Lily had wandered away from the music room in search of a cup of coffee.  She was fairly certain the Doctor had snuck back to Earth while she was sleeping one night to get her some, given he only drank tea.  He never mentioned it, it just appeared one morning, and she couldn’t help but think it was very sweet of him.  She was almost done when she felt the TARDIS nudge her.  She was used to her TARDIS in her Universe doing the same thing when the Doctor needed her, so she sighed.

“So, what did he do this time?” she asked the ship, leaning against the counter as she stirred her coffee.  “Cross two wires and set himself on fire again?”

The time ship nudged harder and Lily sighed again.

“Alright, I’m coming.” she said, heading out the door.  “But he better be dying.”

She made her way towards the control room, noting that the TARDIS had rearranged to make it a straight shot.

“Must actually be serious,” she muttered.

She entered the room and froze, the cup slipping from her hand.  What she was seeing couldn’t be true.

“Donna?” she whispered.

She vaguely heard the Doctor say something before she felt her legs give out, but she never felt herself hit the ground as the memories overtook her.  Flashes of one of the worst days of her life, flowing through her mind, unrelenting.  She couldn’t make it stop, even as she felt her power slipping through her grasp.

She was losing control.

~.~

Now the Doctor was even more confused.  Lily had been slowly telling him of her life before she joined him, and Donna Noble had featured heavily in many of those stories.  Lily Carter’s best friend, a firebrand and braver than anyone she knew.  He knew she had died and that it had been awful for Lily, but he didn’t know much beyond that.  But it wasn’t the fact that she was alive in this universe that confused him.  No, it was trying to reconcile the kind, funny, empathetic woman Lily had told him about with the woman who had just slapped him!

None of that mattered, though, when he saw Lily fall.  He managed to get to her fast enough to keep her from hitting her head and he saw that, while her eyes were open, she was not seeing him.

“Lily?” he called, shaking her slightly, but she didn’t respond.

“See, I was right!” Donna crowed.  “Where did you pick her up?  Disney World?  Probably doing all sorts of freaky alien things to her!  She definitely looks like she’s on – “

“Donna shut up!” the Doctor yelled, surprising the woman into silence.  Content that she would stay quiet, the Doctor turned his attention back to the woman in his arms.  “Lily, can you hear me?”

There was no response.  She didn’t seem aware of anything that was happening around her, too deep in her own mind to notice him.  What was even more troubling was the gold flooding her eyes. 

He knew she had power, that the Vortex still lived inside her, and it looked like she was losing control.  Who knew what a release of that kind of power would do to the TARDIS, much less him and Donna?  There was no other option.

The Doctor laid Lily on the grating, taking her face between his hands as he entered her mind.

Every where he looked, there was chaos.  Lily’s memories were a jumbled mess, trapping her inside her mind.  As he moved through them, it became easier to distinguish what was from before she had met his counterpart and what came after.  He saw familiar places and familiar faces that he tried to not look too hard at, trying to find the path to the memory that she was trapped inside.  As he moved deeper, he saw more and more death as her memories turned darker and darker, giving him an idea of exactly why his counterpart had been willing to risk everything to send her to him.

No one should have had to endure this much darkness, much less someone as bright and kind as Lily Carter.

Finally, he located the memory Lily couldn’t escape and he entered it.

The room was clearly of Dalek design, sparce and unfeeling, and in the center was a table with a young woman strapped to it.  Her red hair was matted, and she had clearly been tortured, as blood still flowed from many of her wounds.  Some of the wounds seem half healed, while others were very fresh.

She had obviously been here for a while.

The door opened and Lily ran in.  She took a moment to assess her situation before running to the table and starting to undo the straps.

“Lily.”

The younger woman paused what she was doing at the whisper, grabbing her friend’s hand and holding it tightly.

“Hey, girlie,” she said gently.  “How you doing?”

Donna chuckled weakly and blood dribbled from the side of her mouth.

“I…I’ve been better.”

Lily laughed softly.

“Well, don’t you worry.  We’re gonna get you out of here and get you back to the Doctor.  He’s gonna fix you up, good as new.”

The forced cheerfulness sounded so brittle in the air.

“You shouldn’t have come,” Donna protested.  “The baby – “

“Would never forgive me if I didn’t come after their Aunt Donna,” Lily interrupted.  “So, stop distracting me so I can save your sorry ass.”

She squeezed her friend’s hand and let go, returning to the straps. Finally, they were done, and Lily wrapped her arm around Donna’s waist to help her up.  They only made it about halfway to the door before Donna collapsed to her knees, vomiting blood all over the floor.  Lily tried to get her up, but they just slipped in the blood.  Lily pulled her into her arms as more of her wounds reopened and the blood surrounding them grew even more.

“Lily…”

“Shh.  You’re gonna be fine,” Lily comforted her, stroking her hair.  “You’ll see.  Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Lily, I’m sorry.”

Lily started to cry as Donna weakly took her hand and pulled it up to her chest.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” she told her friend fiercely.

“I didn’t tell them anything,” Donna whispered.  “I kept you safe.  I kept the baby safe.”

“I know you did.” Lily was sobbing now.  “I never doubted it for a moment.”

“Don’t…don’t blame yourself,” Donna said, growing weaker by the moment.  “I wouldn’t…have traded it for the world.  Tell…the Doctor…tell him…he better keep you two safe…”

“I will,” Lily assured her.  “And I will make sure my little girl knows she had the best aunt in the universe.”

Donna smiled softly.

“You’re…you’re my best friend, Lils,” she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.  “Love…yo…”

And she was gone.

Lily stared at her, her face slack in shock.  She pulled Donna’s body to her, rocking her slowly as the body slowly began to cool.  A little while after that, the air began to change.  Where there had been stillness, electricity now crackled.

And Lily’s eyes turned pure gold.

The scene faded for a moment before resetting and the Doctor realized Lily was stuck in a loop, reliving the death of her best friend.  A woman who now stood in their ship with no idea of who Lily was.

He pulled back slightly and saw that Lily’s eyes in the real world will also gold.

She was losing control, reacting to the memory of one of the worst days of her life.  He could tell she was fighting, trying to push the memory back, but she couldn’t do that and keep control of her power.  So, he dove back in, fighting through her trauma to help her lock the memory away.  It wasn’t perfect, and she would need to deal with it eventually, but it was the best option for the moment.  As his mind joined with hers, he felt something he hadn’t felt in centuries: the comfort of another mind.  He had been so alone for so long that he couldn’t help but bask in the comfort of someone else to reach out to, settling into the hole the Time Lords had left.

He helped her push the memory back and reluctantly pulled away to find her eyes finally seeing him.

Thank you.

He could have wept at the sound of another voice in his head.

I know I should have asked, he told her sheepishly, but there didn’t seem to be any time.

He felt her smile more than he saw it.

I prefer to be alive, rather than all of us dead, so it’s probably best you didn’t wait for permission.

Still.

He started to pull away, but she grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her.

For the future, you have permission to enter my mind any time you think it necessary, she told him.  I trust you.

He felt a feeling rush through him that he hadn’t felt in so long.

Belonging.

She might be in a human body, but Lily Carter was a Time Lord at heart, which meant he wasn’t alone anymore.

He smiled softly and nodded.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

Lily stifled a sob and the Doctor pulled her into his arms, ignoring the other woman completely.

“Will you be alright?” he asked softly, and Lily hesitated for a moment before nodding.  “She isn’t your Donna,” he warned.

“I know,” she whispered.  “I’ll manage.”

He nodded, getting to his feet and holding his hand out to help her up.  When she was on her feet, he squeezed her hand before letting go and heading to the console.

“Did he kidnap you too?” Donna demanded, walking towards Lily.

The other woman swallowed thickly, looking anywhere other than the red head.

“No,” she told her softly, resisting the urge to either run away or throw her arms around the other woman.  “He’s…protecting me.  He’s my friend.” She glanced at him and saw him smile warmly, giving her strength.  “I had something happen to me and he gave me a soft place to land.  He’s one of the good guys.”

“Well, I don’t need protection,” Donna said with a sniff.  “Get me to the church!”

“Right,” the Doctor said grumpily.  “Chiswick.”

He threw the TARDIS into flight and Lily grabbed the railing, hanging on for dear life.

“Doctor, I take it back!” she yelled.  “I’m pretty sure you’re trying to kill me!”

“It’s not me!” he yelled back.

“You always say that!” she shouted without thinking and winced.  “I imagine, I mean.  I think she’s starting to take offense!”

“What do you want from me?!”

“I want to make it to London without throwing up!”

“Well, talk to her!”

“She’s your ship!” Lily shot back.  “You talk to her!”

“WILL YOU TWO STOP TALKING LIKE THE SHIP’S ALIVE!” Donna screamed at them from where she was holding on for dear life.

They both turned to stare at her.

“But – but she is!” the Doctor sputtered, looking a bit like a child who had just been told that Santa wasn’t real.

“It’s a ship.” She told him slowly, as if speaking to a simpleton.

“Yes, but she’s grown, not made.” The Doctor explained excitedly.  “TARDISs are sentient.”

The TARDIS chose that moment to touch down, throwing them all to the ground.  Faster than anyone could have thought possible in a floor length gown, Donna was up and through the doors.  As she looked around, she realized they were nowhere near a church. 

The Doctor and Lily followed her out and she rounded on them.

“I said St. Mary’s!” she shouted at them.  “What sort of Martian are you?”

The Doctor had already turned his attention away from her and towards the TARDIS.

“It’s like something’s wrong with her,” he said to no one in particular as he stroked the side of the shell.  “It’s almost like she’s…RECALIBRATING!”  He ran back inside and straight to the console.  “She’s digesting!”

Lily knew he was talking to her, but she was more interested in watching Donna’s reaction to the outside of the TARDIS.  It was almost physically painful to watch this woman have the same reaction as dead woman she had loved more than almost anyone while having her face and not being her.  Lily was caught between wanting to rage at her for the sin of not being her Donna, while wanting to gather her in her arms and never let go.

“Who’s this man you’re marrying?” the Doctor called as Donna took off down the alley.  “Are you sure he’s human?  Hasn’t got a zipper on his forehead, does he?”  He poked his head out and saw only Lily.  “Where is she?”

She just pointed at Donna’s retreating figure.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lily met his eyes and he saw the pure grief there and he nodded.

“Come on,” he said, exiting the TARDIS and holding out his hand.  “We can’t let her get too far before we figure out what’s going on.”

Lily nodded and took his hand, letting him pull her after Donna.

“Donna…” he called as they caught up.

“Leave me alone!  I just want to get married!”

“Donna, just come back to the TARDIS,” he insisted.

“No way,” she said, shaking her head.  “That box is too weird.”

Lily smiled at that and the Doctor squeezed her hand.

“It’s bigger on the inside, that’s all,” he told the other woman, as if this explained everything.

“Oh!” she rounded on him, staring at him.  “That’s all?”  She glanced at her watch and groaned.  “Ten past three!  I’m gonna miss it!”

“Can’t you phone them?” Lily asked.  “Tell them where you are?”

“How do I do that?” Donna sneered at her, motioning to her dress.

“Oh, right.” Lily agreed sheepishly.  “Mobile phone’s probably not a big consideration with a wedding dress.”

“Why not?” the Doctor asked, confused.

“I don’t have pockets!” Donna screeched at him.  “Have you ever seen a bride with pockets?  You know what the one thing I forgot at my fitting at Chez Allison?  You know what I forgot to say?  I forgot to say GIVE ME POCKETS!”

“This man you’re marrying, what’s his name?” the Doctor asked.

Donna’s whole personality changed.

“Lance,” she told him dreamily.

“Good luck, Lance.”

Lily elbowed him in the side.

“Oi! No stupid Martian is going to stop me from getting married,” she yelled at him, walking away again.  “The hell with you!”

“I’m – I’m not from Mars,” he called after her.

“Well,” Lily said, linking her arm with the Doctor’s, “she may not be my Donna, but I can tell you that you might as well give up now.  She’s never going to care.”

The Doctor just shook his head, leading her down the road after the other woman.

They caught up with Donna as she tried to hail a cab and had no luck.  Lily stood back and watched as the Doctor tried to help and had no better luck.

“Why aren’t they stopping?” he demanded, confused.

“They think I’m in fancy dress,” Donna replied, annoyed.  Another driver drove by, yelling for her to lay off the sauce.  “They think I’m drunk!” And yet another told her she wasn’t fooling anyone.  “They think I’m in drag!”

For a moment, Lily thought Donna might give chase to that one.

“Both of you, stop,” she ordered, stepping out to the curb. 

She put her fingers to her lips and let out an ear-piercing whistle.  A moment later, three cabs had stopped.

“Et voila,” she said as they approached the nearest.  “Perks of growing up in New York.”

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” the Doctor groused as they got in.

“I was enjoying watching you try.” She shot back with a cheeky grin.

He shook his head, a slight smile passing over his face.  Donna was giving the driver the directions when he informed them that it would be double, due to it being Christmas and all.

“Oh my god.  Have you got any money?”

“Um, no.  Haven’t you?”

“Pockets, Doctor,” Lily said, rubbing her temples.

They quickly found themselves back on the street.  The Doctor got Donna situated with a nearby payphone before taking Lily’s hand and leading her over to stand in line for a cash point.  Lily smiled as the Doctor shifted his weight, clearly impatient.

“Would you like me to distract him?” she asked with a smirk.

The Doctor took in her loose sweatshirt and jeans with an arched eyebrow and she smacked his arm playfully.

“Rude.”

The Doctor’s expression fell, and he swallowed, turning away from her.  A moment later, he felt her hand slip into his, squeezing it tightly.  He squeezed back, taking comfort from the fact that he wasn’t alone.

Finally, the man left, and Lily angled her body to block The Doctor as he used the sonic screwdriver to get some cash out of the machine.

“You know, stealing is a crime.” She teased as they walked away.

“What are you going to do, turn me in?” he shot back, swinging her arm.  “Oh, officer!  My Time Lord friend here just stole money from the cash machine using his amazing sonic screwdriver.  Yeah, that’s going to work.”

Lily wrinkled at his attempt at mimicking her accent.

“I do not sound like that.”  The Doctor just smirked at her.  “I do not!”

They arrived back at the road to see Donna getting in a taxi.

“Thanks for nothing!” she shouted, slamming the door shut.

Lily sighed, shaking her head, but the Doctor was distracted by a band of Santas playing nearby.  He looked back at Donna and Lily caught his look.

“What is it?” she asked.

“The band…”

The taxi carrying Donna drove past them and they saw one of the Santas driving.

“DONNA!”

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her back.

“What’s happening?”

“I’ve seen those Santas before,” he told her, looking for an escape.  “Last Christmas, when I regenerated.”

“I think I remember that story,” she said, backing away.  “Pilot fist to the Sicorax’s shark, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Just to confirm, this isn’t the same Christmas, right?”

“Just how bad a driver was your Doctor?”

Lily just smirked as the band started to head their way.  The Doctor quickly began looking for an escape route and spotted the cash machine they had just used.  He pointed his screwdriver at it and cash spewed out of it, driving the crowd into a frenzy, and allowing them to slip away in the confusion.

They ran back to the TARDIS and the Doctor quickly put them into flight.

“So, why do they want Donna?” Lily asked, holding on for dear life.

“No idea,” the Doctor replied, flipping a switch.  “This didn’t happen in your universe?”

Lily shook her head.

“We met her when her temp job was attacked by Cybermen.”

Spark flew as the TARDIS tried to shake herself apart.

“Behave!” the Doctor shouted, hitting the console.

“She doesn’t seem to like it when you do that!” Lily called.

“Yes, well, she can complain later.  Right now, she can do as I say!”

They flew down the motorway, tracking Donna and only hitting a few cars as they went.  The Doctor motioned for Lily to take over and she quickly took his place at the console.

“When I say, pull the lever!”

She nodded and he ran to the doors, flinging them open to find them next to the cap carrying Donna.

“Open the door!” he screamed at her.

“Do what?” she screamed back.

“Open the DOOR!”

Donna tried the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

“I can’t!  It’s locked!”

The Doctor pointed the sonic screwdriver and the window opened.

“Santa’s a robot,” she told him dryly.

“Donna, opened the door!” The Doctor ordered.

“What for?”

“You’re going to have to jump!”

“I’m not jumping, I’m supposed to be getting married!”

The RoboSanta sped up at that moment, leaving the TARDIS behind.

“Now!” the Doctor shouted.

Lily pulled the lever and they pulled level with the car again.  The Doctor stumbled at the TARDIS jerked forward but he managed to use the sonic screwdriver to disable RoboSanta.

“You’ve got to jump!” he told the red head.

“I’m not jumping on a motor way!”

The Doctor sighed.

“Look, whatever that thing is, it needs you.  And whatever it needs you for, it’s not good.  Now, come on!”

“I’m in my wedding dress!”

“Yes, you look lovely.  Come on!”

Donna opened the door with a groan.  Looking down at the road flying by beneath them and back up to the Doctor, she shook her head.

“I can’t do it!”

The Doctor went still.

“Trust me,” he said, just loud enough for her to hear.

“Is that what you said to her?” she demanded.  “Your friend, the one you lost.  Did she trust you?”

“Yes, she did,” the Doctor replied, his face hard.  “And she is not dead, she is so alive, now, JUMP!”

Donna hesitated for a moment longer and then threw herself out of the car.  She landed in the TARDIS on top of the Doctor as the doors slammed shut.

“Time to go!” Lily called, pressing the necessary buttons to take them away from there.

[saiilorstars]

Ch. 12:  The Return of the Marchioness

Current Masterlist // Previous Story

Fandom: Doctor Who // Pairing: 11th Doctor x OFC

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon​​​​​​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​​​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​​​​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​​​​​ @antonybridgertons​​​​​​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​​​

[If you would like to be added to this specific OC’s taglist, let me know!]

Rory Williams could think of a thousand ways his stag night could've gone better but he was more focused on the first one because it involved his fiancee trying to seduce another man on the eve of their wedding! He would even overlook the fact the Doctor told him the terrible news after jumping out of his stag cake...in front of everyone else. He just couldn't believe his ears…

Well, that wasn't entirely true.

He could semi-believe that. He wasn't blind. Ever since Amy told him the story of how the Raggedy Doctor landed in her backyard he could see how enchanted Amy had been. She talked about both the Doctor and the Mother of Butterflies, but there was always a much more deep focus on the Doctor. He just always assumed that because the Doctor and Renata had returned, delivered an adventure, and left again that Amy would hopefully...let them go? He had been so wrong. Amy had just gone off with the Doctor and Renata at the first call and she hadn't even left him a text or given him a call just to let him know. It hurt on a whole other level.

Now there he was, inside the TARDIS - the box that Amy also spent years talking about - with Amy, who hadn't even given him a proper explanation. He just stood there, awkwardly looking around yet totally amazed because, well, it was the TARDIS.

Somebody cleared their throat but instead of seeing the Doctor again - because he'd dumped Rory and Amy into the console room then disappeared - Rory spotted a young woman coming down the staircase. Rory didn't remember her being around the two aliens in Leadworth. She looked around their age, presumably human. She had light skin, dark brown hair cascading over her shoulders and matching dark eyes.

"Hi, I'm Gabby," the girl came straight to Rory with a kind smile. She held a hand out for him to take.

"Uh...Rory…?" He glanced at Amy with a questioning look. Had she just ignored mentioning the girl to him?

"I traveled with Renata and the Doctor before they met Amy," Gabby explained for his sake. "I just...wasn't really there when they crashed into her backyard. Now I'm wishing I was so I could've set the record straight." She sent a deep glare to the woman in question. She couldn't believe what Amy had tried to do! All this time she'd been focused on keeping River Song away from the Doctor when she should've been focused on the girl already living inside the TARDIS.

"Well, um...nice to meet you," Rory said to be polite.

"I wish it was under better circumstances," Gabby shot another glare at Amy. "And I'm so sorry for what happened. I really don't know what would possess Amy to do something like that, especially when the Doctor was already with Renata."

"I didn't know that—" Amy tried to remind Gabby but was off sharply.

"That's not the point!" Gabby wouldn't yell only because poor Rory was standing right there. He had to be just as crushed as she knew Renata would be. The Doctor was trying to explain the whole thing to her right now. "God Amy, you have no idea what you did. Do you know how long it took me and Don…" She swallowed hard and momentarily looked away. She'd been about to say Donna. Donna would've had an entire cow with what happened. She sure would know how to fix things too. "It took a lot for me and a very good friend to help Renata and the Doctor finally get together, and it actually happened after we lost that friend...and now you've ruined them."

Amy swallowed hard now that she was feeling the guilt. She kept claiming that she didn't know the Doctor and Renata were together but...maybe that wasn't entirely all true. She did notice there were these extra lingering looks between them, the special smiles, maybe a bit of a flirt here and there...

Maybe she hadn't wanted to see it. It made it easier to go ahead with her plan.

"Rory," Gabby put her hands together and smiled at the man, "If you're willing, the Doctor did mention he would like to take you and Amy somewhere nice. But of course it's all up to you."

Rory thanked her with a small smile. It was his choice if he wanted to allow Amy to explain herself and it was his choice if he wanted to try and fix their relationship. "Where exactly is the Doctor? And Renata?"

"Ah, well," Gabby sighed but found another chance to glare at Amy, "If I know them, and I do, right now the Doctor is explaining what happened to Renata and she is going to be passive-aggressive about it but still be deeply affected by it to the point of putting their relationship status up in the air. Thanks Amy."

Amy swore she saw purple flash across Gabby's eyes. That scared her.

~ 0 ~

The Doctor really hated this moment, like he despised it with all his hearts. No matter how he re-arranged his words, it didn't make his story sound any better and that couldn't be. It simply couldn't.

There were tears in Renata's eyes and they kept building up the further the Doctor got through the story. Even if she tried to hold them back, and she really did, they kept coming. She didn't want to picture it but it kept coming to her. It was on a loop, really. "You kissed…"

"She kissed me," the Doctor quickly reminded Renata. It was the main point of his story but he suspected that it wouldn't really matter in her eyes.

Already Renata had changed out of her beautiful red dress she'd put on for their date. She went back to a pair of jeans and green-blue checkered shirt. Gabby had helped her get changed and even tried to do one of those hair buns Renata seemed to love so much. Renata had then pulled it all off, yanking some strands in the process, then proceeded to pin it all up in a messy hair bun, leaving several pieces dangling on the sides.

"It was just too good to be true," Renata was now walking down the corridors towards the console room. She learned that the Doctor had brought along Rory Williams to try and help the humans fix their relationship. She liked the idea and for now, that would be her focus. Of course she didn't exactly want to be around Amy at the moment, but Rory had no fault in it. He still deserved a chance to talk to her.

"No, no, don't do that!" the Doctor grabbed her by the arm and turned her around. The moment she could, she pried his hand off her. "You're mad at me and frankly, it's a little offensive! It's as if you think I wanted to kiss Amy!"

"So I'm not allowed to be upset?" she snapped.

"Well, it's not—"

"I should've known better! Us...it's not..." she swallowed down a lump in her throat. She wanted to cry so bad but what would be the point? Somewhere, she was sure River Song was laughing so hard right now.

"What?" the Doctor tried understanding but she'd cut off all telepathic connection between them the moment he told her what happened. "Ren…?" He tried touching her but she flinched away from him. He sighed and drew his hand back. "Renata, we were going to go on a date, you and I...why would you ever think that I would actually want to kiss Amy?"

"I don't doubt you," Renata said slowly, wanting to put all of her jumbled thoughts into at least one coherent sentence for him. She wanted to do so many things: scream, cry, lament, maybe cry again. "I just think that this might be a sign from the universe that we, us...it just doesn't work."

The Doctor froze at that. He looked at her, waiting for her to take such an awful statement back, but the only thing that happened was Renata shifting and looking away with fresh tears in her eyes. "Renata, why would you ever think that?"

"How did we start in the beginning?" she asked in a quiet whisper. It was all the Doctor needed to understand (the first reason anyways).

How they started their relationship the very first time on Gallifrey would always be bittersweet, one would say immoral…

"You cheated on your betrothed with me and I did the same to Elek," Renata took in a shaky breath as she finally gathered courage to look at him again. "Maybe this is our punishment. Doesn't it just fit?"

"Ren, don't do that," the Doctor's voice was as quiet as hers but it was begging for her to listen to him. He couldn't let this amazing thing between them just die because some human decided to get creative. "Please. I know that it's hard getting over this...unfortunate event, but I love you and you still love me."

"But what if it's just destined for heartbreak?" Renata stifled a sob. "I don't...I can't handle it a second time. Not again."

"Renata—"

She turned away from him and cleared off her tears. "We need to see if we can still salvage Amy's and Rory's relationship." Theirs was pretty much over…

...but the Doctor disagreed.

~ 0 ~

By the time Renata made it to the console, she was wearing her smile again. Gabby inwardly groaned. She was back to the 'hiding her emotions' thing again. Gabby confirmed it when she saw the look on the Doctor's face as he came into the room. Things hadn't gone well.

"Rory, hi," the Time Lady went straight to the young man. She offered him a hand to shake, much like Gabby had, but Rory could see that her smile was sad. He knew that one. He had it on too.

"Hello," he awkwardly said.

"So, I was thinking humans are always so fond of this little city in, um Europe," Renata started backtracking towards the console. "If you would like, uh...to visit for this date."

"You're actually taking us on a date?" Amy had to ask, still staring at Renata like she was waiting for the woman to burst into screams.

"Mhm," Renata barely looked at her once and it wasn't even out of anger. She just couldn't look at Amy. She had focused more on the controls instead.

The Doctor came up beside her, putting a hand over hers as she touched the lever. She craned her head away from him. "I was telling Renata that we should give you the choice to go out," he spoke to the couple while gripping Renata's hand. He wanted her to pay extra attention to his next words. "Because I get what happened. I really do. The life out there, it dazzles. I mean, it blinds you to the things that are important. I've seen it devour relationships and plans and I will not let that happen to you two…" He then leaned his head closer to Renata, even when she tried to move away, and whispered, "...nor us."

Gabby cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Um, can I make a suggestion?"

"Please," the Doctor almost begged. As of right now, Gabby Gonzalez was his absolute favorite and only ally in the world.

"Well, Ren was right. There is a city that's known to be romantic…"

~ 0 ~

The TARDIS materialized in the city of Venice, much to Amy's shock when they emerged from the box. Well, she and the Doctor came out first and then Gabby...Rory lingered inside with some serious reservations about the outside.

Renata ultimately came by him and chuckled, it was a genuine one too. "Don't worry, I've done the environmental checks. Nothing dangerous out here." She motioned Rory to go on out and he did...but slowly.

They were in a busy marketplace but it was Venice. They could see the water gently rolling behind them.

The Doctor flapped his arms open for the group. "Venice! Venezia! La Serenissima! Impossible city. Preposterous city!" He announced as if the group even needed it to be impressed. All three humans were so amazed by the sights. "Founded by refugees running from Attila the Hun. It was just a collection of little wooden huts in the marsh, but became one of the most powerful cities in the world. Constantly being invaded, constantly flooding... constantly... Just beautiful! Oh, you gotta love Venice. And so many people did. Byron, Napoleon, Casanova. Oooh, that reminds me…" He quickly checked his watch. "1580. That's all right. Casanova doesn't get born for 145 years. Don't want to run into him. I owe him a chicken."

"You owe Casanova a chicken?" Rory scrunched his face. That's not what he wanted to ask. The funniest things always came out of his mouth when he was stupefied.

"Long story. We had a bet," the Doctor said dismissively as he turned to face them. "Now think this as a wedding present, because, frankly, it's either this or tokens."

"Um, not tokens. There's no more tokens," Gabby suddenly said with a far too innocent look on her face for Renata to ignore. She stared at the girl like a hawk until she gave the explanation. "Donna and I sort of...used them. But the good news is, you're now in the lottery for some free tickets to an amusement park on the moon!"

The Doctor made a face but...that did sound kind of cool. He might check up on that later...with Renata...actually, he'd gladly give those tickets up if it meant Renata would look at him for a full minute right now.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Papers, if you please," an older man dressed finely came up to the group with a hand out for said papers. "Proof of residency, current bill of medical inspection."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. How inconvenient and imprudent. He was on a strict plan here! Still, he pulled out his psychic paper for the man to have a go. "There you go, fella. All to your satisfaction, I think you'll find."

It did the trick because suddenly the official was bowing at them. "I am so sorry, Your Holiness. I didn't realise."

"No worries. You were just doing your job. Sorry, what exactly is your job?"

"Checking for aliens, visitors from foreign lands what might bring the plague with them."

"Oh, that's nice See where you bring me?" Amy whacked the doctor's arm. "The plague! The plague!"

"Don't worry, Viscountess," the official said, giving a peek at what her cover up for the trip was. She approved. "No, we're under quarantine here, no-one comes in, no-one goes out, and all because of the grace and wisdom of our patron, Signora Rosanna Calvierri." He pointed to the crest on the box he was carrying.

"Sorry, that plague died out years ago," Renata said thoughtfully.

"Not out there, your honorable Marchioness."

Hearing her old period disguise brought an automatic blush to Renata's face. The Marchioness of Gallifrey, after all, had been the tip of the iceberg for her and the Doctor in their pre-relationship days. That was the moment they let themselves accept the fact that they were still so in love with each other. Not to mention it had also been a pretty fun adventurous night between them, sneaking into private rooms and going through King Henry's collections.

Renata looked at the Doctor to see her already doing the same, waiting for her to make that connection. It was still the same story between them no matter who tried getting in the way. He loved her as much as he did that night and their moments on Gallifrey.

"Signora Calvierri has seen it with her own eyes," the official went on to say. "Streets are piled high with bodies, she said."

"Did anyone ever think to check?" Gabby muttered. It couldn't be that hard to take a peek, would it?

Rory reached over to see the psychic paper. How was Amy a Viscountess and Renata a Marchioness? He grabbed it, not that the Doctor even seemed to realize as he walked over to Renata. "According to this, I am your eunuch!"

Renata scowled at the Doctor. "That was really rude!"

"I didn't do it!" the Doctor raised his hands. Stupid psychic paper was about to get him into further trouble. "It does what it wants sometimes."

"Oh, so now you think I'm stupid?" Renata rolled her eyes at him and moved away.

Gabby took the psychic paper from Rory to check for her disguise. She had a laugh when she saw she was Lady Gabby again. "Memories!" She looked up, gently letting the psychic paper hit her other hand. "Right Renata? I'm sorry, Marchioness."

The Doctor smiled. Gabby was getting it.

Renata could only afford a light smile but it was mostly directed towards Rory and Amy. "Well you two can go ahead and explore. Try not to get into trouble." She didn't necessarily wait for them to agree or disagree. She shooed them off and watched them go with a sigh.

"Doctor, you and Ren should go too," Gabby suggested and instead of answering, Renata turned back for the TARDIS. "No!" Gabby bolted towards the box, reaching it first, and barred the doors.

"Gabriella!" Renata frowned. "Get out of the way!"

"No! I'm not letting you go in there so you can wallow in self pity!"

"Gab—"

"You need to go take a walk and talk! Go!"

Renata could not believe Gabby was doing this and much more that the Doctor was just letting it happen. She looked back at him and saw his bemused smile. With a roll of her eyes, she backtracked. "I can't believe this!" She turned to leave with another huff and stormed away.

"Thanks Gabbs," the Doctor nodded at the girl, truly grateful for her help.

"Go get her," Gabby shooed him off. He didn't need to be told twice and raced after Renata. Once it was all clear, she pulled herself off the TARDIS and looked around. She was in Venice! Such a beautiful city!

"...I gotta get myself a boyfriend,"she concluded after realizing she was going to be exploring on her own. She remembered she still held onto the psychic paper and lifted it with a slow grin spreading across her face. She could have fun with it…

~0~

Renata made her way around a few stalls without particularly looking at what they were selling. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment and she doubted she would be able to focus on anything anytime soon.

The Doctor was right behind her, not letting her get away from him. He made it very clear to her that he wouldn't leave her alone until she agreed to talk. He was swallowing his own pride to make this possible. He knew that it was his fault and yet the way Renata acted made it seem like it was. It was frankly offensive but he wouldn't get into that right now. If he kept pushing on that, he would drive her away even more.

"Renée, you have to stop at some point," he said in a near sing-song manner. She had just stopped to try and focus on a few trinkets when he had said that so she dropped it and kept moving. With a roll of his eyes, the Doctor followed. "Nice one. So what's the plan, then? You're just going to ignore me for the rest of Time?"

Renata knew that would be impossible, but she wouldn't admit to that.

"Renata? What do you want to do? What do you need me to do? Whatever it is, I'll make it happen."

"I don't know," Renata muttered. She left the stalls to head into a less crowded passageway. It was more residents than sellers.

"Well that's helpful!"

Renata shook her head and came to a slow stop. She looked back at him with a grim face. "It's not easy, alright? There are so many things coming to fruit here and I'm...I'm scared."

How could she not be? River had made it seem like she really knew the Doctor. Amy had even assumed that she was his wife in the future. And now she even had Amy trying to wiggle her way into their relationship. What if this is how they start to drift apart? It paves the way for River to make her move and ultimately win. Thinking about the process, that she would have to see it happen…

Renata shut her eyes and turned her head away. She couldn't take that. It already hurt too much to think about it.

"Renée, tell me what you're thinking please," the Doctor took the few steps necessary to cut Renata off. He brought her gaze back to him with a finger under her chin. "Because whatever it is, I'm gonna correct it. I let you go once and I'm never letting it happen again."

"You can't do anything about it," Renata said quietly. "You can't do anything about the future."

"Future? What's that got to do with this?"

"Everything," she stepped away from him. "Amy trying to…" she crinkled her nose, she couldn't even bring herself to say it out loud, "What she did might be the start of us...ending things."

The Doctor frowned at the insinuation. "No! Absolutely not! Why would I ever want to be away from you?"

"Because you realize who I am...the type of person I am. A...fraud."

"What? Why would...Renata, I love you, but what kind of nonsense are you talking about?" Renata made a noise and turned to leave. The Doctor acted fast and rushed after her. "N-n-n-n-no! We were talking!"

"Doctor, what's the point?" Renata sighed, so close to tears again. She kept walking fast again. "Time is already acting and before you know it, we'll be right back where we started: heartbroken and alone."

She was talking nonsense. That's what she was doing. She was too hurt and scared so she was making things up to keep them apart before something else happened. But nothing would happen. The Doctor would make sure of that. He wanted to love her and make her happy…

He couldn't let her go.

"That's not happening!" The Doctor grabbed her arm and walked her up against a stone wall. Renata warily looked up at him, her hands on his arm trying to push him away. "You're acting just like your first incarnation, you know. You're scared of it because this is something new that's never happened to you. There's no plans for this! You're out of your comfort zone." He gently rubbed a few tears off her cheeks and wished he could take the ones in her eyes away too. She was looking at him so...desolate and heartbroken.

Funny, one of the things she claimed she wanted to avoid was already here.

"I always pull you into a no-plan zone, huh?" The Doctor smiled with guilt tracing his features. "I do more harm than good."

"It's not your fault," Renata stopped fighting him off and left her hands on his arms. "I know you didn't want anything with Amy but it could all be a warning, a glimpse into the future where you and I just don't end up together. There might be someone else waiting for you."

The Doctor couldn't think of where Renata picked up such a ridiculous idea. It was recent. She certainly hadn't mentioned this before, nor gave any indication that it was something she worried about. It was brand new. "Renata, the only one I want to be with is you. I can't believe I have to say that again but...if you need to hear it then so be it."

"But that's the thing, you can talk all you want but the future can say something else."

"No," the Doctor shook his head.

"You can't say 'no' to the future—"

"Do you know who I am? I'm saying no! And you know what else I say to the future?"

"What?"

"Here we—" he pressed his forehead against hers, letting their lips brush over each others, "—come. It's ours for the taking. Do you want to take it?"

Renata had trouble thinking of the answer when he was one movement away from a proper kiss. The Doctor smirked watching her follow his movements. She was answering without even saying it. She didn't need to.

"Oh my Renée, what shall we do now?"

She was aware he was tilting his head towards her, making it so that their lips would brush over each other's for a longer moment. "Don't…" she weakly protested but it barely sounded like one.

"Don't what?" the Doctor innocently asked and pressed his lips to the corner of Renata's mouth.

"There are people around!"

"So?"

Renata's words failed her as he continued to move his lips over hers. He wasn't kissing her but he was making her want him to. She felt her legs close to giving out, the feeling intensifying when he put a hand over her hip and gave it a light squeeze. She had to bite down her gasp but it wasn't done very well.

"We can't do this here," her voice had a pleasurable strain in it.

The Doctor loved it; he loved teasing her. "Ah, so you want to do something…" He was happy to point out to her. She would've frowned at him if she had all her senses together. "I'm happy to relocate if that's the issue." He pressed his lips over hers very gently, teasing her by keeping them still. "This is what I want to do and only with you." Renata only hummed as each of his words made his lips rub against hers. She couldn't take it, she really couldn't. So when the Doctor finally stopped teasing her and kissed her, she held onto him tightly before anyone else came to take him away.

They kissed each other for a few minutes like they weren't even arguing, like they weren't on thin ice, and like they weren't outside. Of course Renata was the one to remember where they were after a particular moan slipped out from her.

"We are…outside!" she had a much better grasp of her voice but it still could've been slightly louder...and firmer.

"Ah, we could go back to the TARDIS…?" the Doctor had definitely found his confidence in that moment.

Renata lightly shook her head, her entire face flushed. She needed to get rid of the fire underneath her skin. "Doctor, don't. This...this doesn't solve everything—"

"No, but it proves you still love me."

"I never said I stopped."

The pair shared a look in silence. Renata bit her lower lip (that was half swollen) and lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I never said I stopped loving you, of course I still love you," she whispered. "It's why I'm so afraid."

"But afraid of what?" the Doctor was tired of asking the same thing and never getting a proper answer.

Before Renata would answer, they heard a commotion from a distance. Without even thinking of it, she rushed to go see what it was, leaving the Doctor to follow. They almost returned to where they had first arrived and saw two lines of young women coming down the path with an older woman at the front. Each of the women wore veils over their head, no chance of seeing their faces, and yet they had everyone in the street frozen and staring.

One dark-skinned man didn't seem as awed by the others. He came shouting for someone named 'Isabella', going as far as lifting each girl's veil.

"Well," Renata said, finding it rude but the man seemed desperate to find 'Isabella'.

"What are you doing? Get away from there!" the older woman yelled at him in vain.

"Isabella!" He found the girl he was searching for but instead of looking happy, she backed away. "It's me!"

Another of the girls came forwards, hissing at him that he fell to the ground.

"Girls, come along!" the woman ordered and continued on their way like nothing happened.

The only man in the group, a young man, pressed his boot over the first man's chest. "She's gone," he said then called for their guards to take him away.

Renata frowned at the sight but blinked when the young man left with a flare of his cloak...like one of those movies Gabby often made her watch.

"You've got that face on," the Doctor suddenly hummed, making her snap her head in his direction.

"What?"

"You've got that face on!"

"What face?"

"The face you make when you're interested, and offended on behalf of someone. It's funny, it's a new face but it's still the same as the last one."

Renata frowned and turned away. "I do not make that face!" And yet she was still walking for the man that'd been taken away.

The Doctor smirked as he followed. Funny how his Renata was beginning to change and she didn't even realize.

They eventually found the same man not too far from where they'd saw him. He still looked as upset as earlier which only made Renata even more curious. She recognized that anger and frustration.

"Scuse me?" she called, making the man stop for the moment. He turned sideways and saw her and the Doctor standing a few feet from him. "Who, um, who were those girls back there? The ones with the veils?"

The man stared at the two with a puzzled face. They seemed...serious. That was confusing enough. "I thought everyone knew about the Calvierri school."

"Our first day here," the Doctor said, which was technically true. "Parents do all sorts of things to get their children into good schools. They move house, they change religion."

"So that leaves us kind of interested in why you're trying to get your daughter out," Renata watched the man's face fall grim and yet...fearful. He was afraid of something.

"Something happens in there. Something magical, something evil. My own daughter didn't recognize me. And the girl who pushed me away, her face... like an animal."

"Is that why you fell to the ground?"

He nodded. Even now he was still terrified. But who wouldn't be when they faced off a girl with fangs?

"You know what, I think it's time we met this Signora Calvierri," the Doctor concluded and looked down at Renata for her reaction.

She nodded.

~ 0 ~

"And what have you been doing?" Rory asked the question rather piercingly that Amy actually winced. Yeah, she deserved that.

She still kept walking down the passageway, barely looking at him for the moment. "Well...running. And fighting. I've been scared. More scared than I thought was.." She truly hadn't realized how scary things could get in the TARDIS and even now, when things were over, she could still feel the echo of the terror she'd felt.

"Well...did you miss me?" Rory studied her nonchalant attitude, at least she was trying to be. He could see her fidgeting with her crossing and uncrossing her arms.

"I...I knew I'd be coming back.."

"But that's not what I asked," he frowned. How hard was it for her to answer the question? If she missed him, she wouldn't have to think about it. Amy was so difficult sometimes and it pained him because they were supposed to get married...tomorrow...and it still looked like a challenge for her to answer questions like this. "The Doctor was right. It blots out everything else. You've always been half blind when it came to him and now that you've been travelling with him...it's a lot worse."

Amy finally looked at him and it was to show offence at his last statement. She wasn't blind...was she? She was aware that she focused a lot on the Doctor, the TARDIS and even Renata. But that was normal. They had come to her as a child with the promise that they would return in 5 minutes...and they didn't. It left her upset, naturally. She resented them on some level but it faded away when she realized that at some point in her life, they WOULD would return. She would get to see stars and space. How could she not be at least a little bit blinded by it?

"Rory," she stopped them from walking altogether, "This is our date. Let's not do this, not now." She didn't want to argue with him. There was already so much going on and she honestly didn't even know what she would tell Rory. She was...confused. "We're in Venice," she continued. That should be a good distraction.

Rory looked up just as he heard a fluttering of wings in the sky. Amy did make a point there. They were in Venice and not just that but...in the past. "We are, aren't we?" Amy nodded. "And it's 1580!"

"I know!" Amy linked her arm with his and quickly took off before he started asking more questions. She just needed a bit more time to sort things out. That was it, yes.

~ 0 ~

Gabby swayed down another passageway with the psychic paper in hand. Already she'd gotten several samples in different stalls because she was 'Lady Gabby'. She spotted a young flower seller and thought that maybe one of them might be nice to stick in her hair. That's what the girls always did on T.V.

Oh, how she wished Donna could be right there with her. She would've probably come up with more exciting things to do with the psychic paper. But it was just her now. Amy was on thin ice, bordering the line of being considered dead.

Gabby ultimately stopped the girl selling the flowers and asked for just one. Lady Gabby could surely get that and it wouldn't hurt the girl's profits. She tucked the posey behind her ear and kept moving. Only a few minutes away did she hear a scream belonging to the flower girl she'd just left.

She spun around and headed back, screaming herself when she saw a young man with blood on his fangs. He had actually hissed!

"What's going on!?" Amy came running up to Gabby and gasped when she saw the same thing.

The young man covered his face with his long cape and rushed off. Rory arrived to see the girl on the ground and immediately went to check up on her. He didn't quite understand what he was seeing - blood on her neck - but he felt a pulse.

"She'll be okay," he looked over to Amy and Gabby. Gabby nodded but Amy dashed after the culprit.

"Amy!" Both Gabby and Rory called after her.

~ 0 ~

With some help from their new friend, now known as Guido, the Doctor and Renata were able to sneak into the school of mystery.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Renata broke into a place," the Doctor had himself a good (quiet) laugh when Renata used her sonic to open the backgate of the school.

She rolled her eyes at him but there was just a smidge of thrill she felt knowing he was right. Time was she would yell at him for using the sonic to break locks and get into places they shouldn't be. The Adipose building was a primary example. Oh, what was happening to her?

The pair made their way down a few stone steps into a chamber. The school seemed old and very well kept. She noted the lone mirror against a wall.

"Well that's a weird place to put a mirror," she remarked in front of it.

"And look at what beauty stands in front of it right now," the Doctor came up behind her with a smirk on his face as he looked her over through the reflection. Renata tried rolling her eyes but she ended up blushing instead. The Doctor leaned a bit closer to the mirror. "And I don't look half bad either. Hello, handsome."

Now Renata could roll her eyes. "You are so vain," she said as he fixed his bowtie and checked his teeth.

"Who are you?" a couple girls' voices startled them into turning around.

Then the Doctor realized something interesting...they had no reflection. "Oh! How are you doing that!?"

Renata jabbed her elbow into his side. "Well don't be excited! It just proves they're not human!"

"But they're like Houdini, only five scary girls, only he was shorter. WILL BE shorter. I'm rambling!"

"Yes, you are!"

"I'll ask you again, who are you?" the girls asked again.

"Curious, do you have individual voices or is that gone too?" Renata studied their faces and concluded they were the exact same. What one did, the other did too.

"Why don't you check this out?" the Doctor thought he would be holding out his psychic paper but instead saw an old ID with his first incarnation. "What!? Library card!?"

"Gabriella has it," Renata sighed, not impressed with his antics.

"I need the spare!"

"The spare?" Renata shot him a look fast. "You mean there's two lying booklets around the TARDIS? Oh no, that's way too much power for you."

The Doctor's response was to clap a hand over her mouth. "Shush! Pale, creepy girls who don't like sunlight and can't be seen in the mirror? Am I thinking what I think I'm thinking?" Though silent, Renata still looked at him like he was crazy. Was he being extra ridiculous today or was that just her? "But the city. Why shut down the city? Unless…"

"Leave now!" the girls ordered. "Or we shall call for the steward... if you are lucky."

Renata pushed the Doctor's hand off her and stepped closer towards the girls. "You know what, call them because I would love to have a talk with your headmistress. This is supposed to be a school for young girls to educate themselves and someone's turned it into some...creepy cult."

The girls hissed with their fangs clear as day. Renata gasped and jumped back, bumping into the Doctor behind. Guido warned them that the girls had fangs but it was way different seeing it up close.

The Doctor pulled them into a quick run, stopping them just in front of the doorway. "Tell us the whole plan!"

Renata did a double take at him. "Nine hundred years and you think that's going to suddenly work!?"

"One day it will work!" He argued. That day just wasn't today. He looked at the girls advancing on them. "Listen, I would love to stay here. This whole thing... I'm thrilled. Oh, this is Christmas!" He yanked Renata with him as the Time Lady was seriously asking herself how this man could attract so many people...including herself.

~0~

To their luck, all three of the humans had seen the same 'vampires' in the city, on theirs was a young man. It helped the Doctor and Renata skip over the part of explaining and led them to a quicker gathering in Guido's home. Gudo brought out a map of Venice for the travelers to see. He had long ago tried sneaking into the school which explained the map's notes.

"As you saw, there's no clear way in. The House of Calvierri is like a fortress. But there's a tunnel underneath it, with a ladder and shaft that leads up into the house," Guido gestured to the point he was talking about. "I tried to get in once myself, but I hit a trapdoor."

"You need someone on the inside," Amy's lips curved into a wide smile and fast too.

"No," Renata said with a sigh. It wasn't surprising what Amy was trying to do. She was still dangerously eager.

Amy frowned. "You don't even know what I was going to say!"

"She always knows what you're going to say," Gabby said as she came to lean against the barrels Rory was. She noticed he kept his distance from the group so she wanted to keep him company, show him that he wasn't an outsider to them.

"I'm not a psychic I just know what you thought of," Renata said with a weary face. "We pretend you're an applicant for the school to get you inside and tonight you come down and open the trapdoor to let us in."

"Alright...maybe you did know," Amy raised her hands to admit defeat.

"No Amy," the Doctor also agreed with Renata, making the girl frown again.

"We don't have another option!"

"Amy!" Rory couldn't believe she was actually fighting to get into some vampire school. "You should listen to them!"

"There is another option," Guido cut in just as the argument would get heated. He made a gesture towards the barrels. "I work at the Arsenale. We build the warships for the navy."

Gabby and Rory shared a quick glance before their eyes settled on the barrels they were using as seats. They jumped out of the way while the Doctor moved to give them a quick study.

"Gunpowder," he sniffed. "Most people just nick stationery from where they work."

"Yeah, I would steal leftover plates from my parent's restaurant," Gabby added. She took several more steps away from the barrel for extra caution.

"Yeah, I would rather we didn't use explosives," Renata said as she straightened away from the table. "You blow up that school and innocents might get hurt."

"What do you suggest then?" Guido turned on the woman with a growing scowl on his face. "Wait until they turn her into an animal?"

The Doctor returned to Renata's side, his expression darkening as it settled on Guido. It wasn't like Renata was shooting down the idea of entering the school altogether. She wanted to keep innocent bystanders safe. "We'll figure another way in," he told Guido, leaving no room for further discussions on the explosives.

"I'll be there three, four hours tops," Amy said ever-so-innocently.

"It's too dangerous Amy," Renata insisted. Amy was truly persistent, she would give her that.

"What else you got then?" the ginger challenged, smirking when Renata came up blank. "Doctor?"

The Doctor would also commend her persistence. He hated that there wasn't another way. If someone didn't get into the school then more girls would be turned into...vampires. He couldn't let that happen.

"I have to know," he shamefully admitted and heard Renata sigh. Amy, meanwhile, beamed. "We go together. Say you're my daughter."

"What?! Don't listen to him!" Rory was nearly outraged at how quickly this turned into the opposite of what Renata had said. "Didn't you hear what she said!?" he made a gesture towards the quiet Renata.

"I always listen to what she has to say," the Doctor said earnestly, glancin at Renata apologetically. "We have to know," he said quieter to her. He didn't want her to think he was ignoring her opinion on the matter and much less that he was choosing Amy over her.

Luckily, Renata smiled a very small smile. "I know," she whispered. She just wasn't fond of the idea of Amy putting herself into direct danger where none of them were.

"Okay, no one's going to buy that I'm your daughter," Amy came up to the opposite side of the table and laughed at the Doctor. "You look about nine."

Gabby would give her that point. "Yeah, you kinda went a little overboard with that face, Doctor." The man in question mockingly glared at her in return.

"Fine, brother, then," he told Amy. That one would sure be bought...if one of them gave into the other's accent.

"Too weird. Fiancé," Amy might have smirked when she said that. Renata shook her head and moved away from her and the Doctor, much to the latter's disappointment.

"I'm not having him run around telling people he's your fiancé!" Rory snapped and Gabby jumped beside him with a similar expression.

"Yeah, that's just plain offensive!" she added on his behalf.

At least Amy seemed to be dissuaded. "No. No, you're right."

Rory sighed with relief. "Thank you."

"I mean, they've already seen the Doctor. You should do it."

"Me?"

"Yeah! You can be my brother!" Amy walked over and rubbed his head playfully, chuckling.

Rory didn't share the same sentiment. "Why is him being your brother weird, but with me, it's OK?"

The Doctor had just found his way to Renata's side, the Time Lady having moved herself towards a window. He touched her arm and when she actually looked at him, he gently tugged her towards him.

"Actually, I thought he was her fiancé," Guido had pointed a thumb at the Doctor. Gabby slapped her forehead while the Doctor groaned. Renata silently pulled her arm out of the Doctor's grasp and moved away again.

"This whole thing is mental!" Rory switched the most important matter right now since it was dragging Amy with it. "She can't just go in there! Renata?"

At the call of her name, Renata walked up to the young man. "I understand your worries, but unless someone has a better idea…"

"Actually," Gabby suddenly said, raising a finger, "I might have something."

"What? No, we already decided," Amy frowned at the girl. Why was she making something else up when a perfectly logical idea had already been set?

"Right but you'll only have eyes on the girls when in reality we need eyes on this Rosana woman too," Gabby said, now rocking on her feet. The Doctor almost laughed when she grinned.

"What are you getting at?" Renata eyed her with dread. The last thing she wanted was for Gabby to put herself in danger as well.

"I think it's time for the Marchioness of Gallifrey to make a comeback," Gabby giggled.

~ 0 ~

Amy frowned like a genuine child who hadn't gotten her way...and maybe she was pouting for that reason. She hadn't gotten her way. Instead of coming to the school on her own to investigate, Renata would be bringing her and staying along until they could find Isabella and get out together. She made a perfectly reasonable plan and then Gabby went and ruined it with her stupid suggestion. And the worst part was that both the Doctor and Rory had agreed to it, Rory a lot quicker than the Doctor. Amy felt like she was being babysat. What the hell was even a 'Marchioness' anyways?

Renata wasn't very fond of the idea either but she preferred it this way than to send Amy on her own. She had no idea where Gabby even thought of this one but at least this way she could keep an eye on Amy and keep her safe while she dealt with the Signora herself. Whatever happened between her and the Doctor, Renata didn't want to see Amy hurt. She was still human, making her just a bit easier to target. She just didn't necessarily like that she would be using her old guise as Marchioness to do it. That meant conjuring up an entire story to tell and Renata wasn't sure if she could do that just yet. She never had to do the 'breaking in with a disguise' thing all by herself. Usually the Doctor was the one to lead and she followed. That's how it always worked.

Not to mention the fact that being a Marchioness again brought back too many memories of the last time she used it.

Renata tried her best not to make any noises, especially because she felt like her hearts were about to implode under her chest. She threw a look at the Doctor at the end of the bookshelf, asking him what were they going to do. But of course he had a plan. He always made up plans to get them out just before they would get caught. If they evaded the Time Lords, they could surely evade 16th century human guards.

'On my signal,' he mouthed to her. She nodded fervently. He aimed his sonic at the window and with one flick, the entire window shattered.

"Over there!" the second guard ran straight for it, prompting the first guard to leave the table forgotten.

The Doctor made a nod at Renata to go now. The two ran straight for the open doors as fast as they could. They joined hands as soon as they got into the hallway and continued to run.

Suddenly, Renata saw them running down the hallway of the academy after nearly getting caught wandering through the classes and prohibited rooms for students. And it made her hearts sore. She felt as carefree as she used to be with the Doctor as Zuriah. They were young, they were full of adrenaline and...they were in love.

Even the Doctor got the faint sense that this was all familiar, a bit too familiar, but the running made him push the thought to the side for now. He yanked Renata down the hallway of her bedroom and finally slowed down.

"That was incredible!" Renata was laughing melodically beside him. She brought a hand up to her hair bun that was on the verge of falling apart from all their running. She yelped in surprise when the Doctor gently brought her from her side to his front. Her free hand had come to rest over his chest and her other hand seemed locked under the Doctor's free hand.

"You had fun?" the Doctor asked quietly though with his ragged breathing it came out a little louder than intended. They were both still trying to catch their breaths, they could feel it. Renata felt the Doctor's chest heaving up and down under her hand and since Renata's chest was pressed to his, the Doctor could feel her own heavy breathing.

"Of course..." Renata swallowed down and laughed, hoping the air would fill her lungs soon. "I always have fun with you!" She had no idea what her words meant to the Doctor, especially right now. All she saw was his grin making its mark on his face. "Maybe tomorrow we can, uh, I can show you the, uh...the..." She was beginning to lose her train of thought the more she stared at the Doctor.

Renata tried to focus on the present. She and Amy would soon be allowed into the school...

Renata's breath hitched the moment the Doctor let his lips brush over hers and whether she would've gasped or not she didn't know because she just let him kiss her right there. She let his hand go and brought it to his chest while he lowered his hand to her waist. He kissed her gently, keeping it slow and sweet, unknowingly the same as the very first time they had kissed centuries ago. Later on, Renata would find it ironic that even that was the same. As seconds ticked by, they found their (old) sync and moved their lips with one another like it was a slow dance. Renata felt her body tingle when the Doctor's hand reached up to the nape of her neck where her loose bun was about to be undone. He pulled lightly on the strands to then run his fingers through them, eventually making the whole bun come down. It didn't matter; it just gave the Doctor an easier access to her curls.

Renata exhaled rather shakily with chills on her skin. She vividly remembered that night, she always would, but right now it was causing pain rather than the usual warmth it gave her. But she couldn't occupy her head with those memories right now. Amy was with her and she needed to look out for her safety. As soon as the gates of the school opened, she left behind 'Renata' and brought in the Marchioness of Gallifrey instead.

"Just keep quiet Amy, alright?" Renata whispered as the steward brought them down a stony passageway. "Let me do the talking."

"I know," Amy said, still plenty irritated to keep her quiet.

Renata sensed the woman's unhappiness but merely sighed at it. They were both unhappy it seemed.

"Signora, the visitors," the steward said as he led the two into an ornate room with one - Renata barely contained her scoff when she saw it - throne chair in the center of it over a raised dais.

A dark-haired woman in an elegant gown sat on the precarious throne, her beedy eyes already scrutinizing Renata and Amy from head to toe.

"Her most honorable Marchioness of Gallifrey," the steward introduced, prompting Renata to do a graceful curtsy bow.

Amy blinked at the woman. She did it so finely like...like she'd done it before. Gabby did say this was a disguise Renata used to visit Henry VIII, she remembered.

"And her sister, Lady Amy," the steward gestured to Amy and since the girl just stood there, Renata elbowed her on the side.

"Ow!" Amy rubbed her side and threw the woman a glare. Renata's gaze was sharp and it only took Amy a few seconds to get what she wanted. "Oh, right, um…" She did a quick curtsy, not quite as smooth as Renata but the Time Lady would take it.

"Really?" the Signora arched a thin eyebrow at the pair. "I had no idea there even was a...Marchioness of Gallifrey?"

"I suppose that happens when you seal off a city," Renata said with the same edgy tone the Signora had used.

"Ah, precautions," the Signora said, smiling strainly.

"Mhm…"

"My steward showed me your, uh, credentials," the Signora drummed her fingers over her throne's armrests. "Interesting they are."

"All in order I suppose," Renata took a few steps towards the throne when a young man strode into the room. She heard Amy's quiet gasp and looked back to see the girl's eyes widened. Obviously she recognized him. Renata wondered where from. "Signora—"

"Rosana, please," the woman waved her off. "It is an honor to have a Marchioness in my school."

"Well, yes, I...I have heard in great detail about your school and I cannot think of a better place for my young sister to be educated," Renata nodded at Amy to come forwards. Amy scurried up beside her and put on her best smile for Rosana. "I am, unfortunately, widowed, and I have not been able to find her a suitable husband."

The young man in the room, Francesco, flapped his cloak as he walked up to the two, specifically to Amy. The ginger swallowed hard when he got just a bit too close to her.

"Excuse you," snapped Renata, startling the man back. She had glared at him, something that no one in the city would do because of who he was.

Amy barely hid her smile.

"She looks familiar," Francesco excused himself.

"Impossible, we have only arrived today," Renata shot him down and shooed him off back to his mother, something that Amy almost laughed at now. Renata settled her attention back on Rosana who couldn't look more interested. "Do you think we could talk about a possible arrangement?"

Rosana's lips curved into a knowing smile. "I think so."

Renata smiled quite proudly of herself. So far, things were going good. "Maybe my sister can take a tour of the school so she...isn't such a strange to it when we reach an agreement."

"Of course," Rosana rose from her throne and called for the steward. "Carlo, take her to see the girls. I'm sure she'll make some new friends there."

Renata glance at Amy with an encouraging glint in her eyes. "I know you can do it," she whispered with genuine faith that for a moment, Amy stood there dumbfounded.

There was a ping in her heart followed by a churn of her stomach. Guilt. She was feeling guilt for what she tried to do with the Doctor. Renata showed no resentment towards her even when it was clearly an upsetting thing to find out that happened. Amy knew from the start that Renata was utterly kind, now she wished Renata wasn't because then...then the guilt would go away.

~ 0 ~

Amy was soon brought up to the girls' dormitory and found it to be domed shaped, like a church. Carlo didn't even bother introducing her, he only brought her in and left. Rude.

"Um, hi…?" Amy tried to greet the nearest of the girl but she flatout ignored her. "Okay…" Amy continued to move further down the room until suddenly the entire group of girls started heading out. "Did I say something?" Amy called out to them but none responded back.

"They don't talk," a dark-skinned girl said, revealing herself to be the only one remaining. She stared after the girls as the last one disappeared. "They don't...ever talk."

Amy curiously stared at the girl. "And yet you do."

The girl's eyes flickered to Amy, meeting the ginger's gaze. Amy was dressed like finely, deeply contrasting their recent enlisted students. "Who are you?"

"Amy, and you?"

"Isabella."

Amy beamed. "Ha!" She hadn't needed Renata in the end. Stop being mean to her! Great, now the voice in her head was feeling guilty too. She shook her head and those thoughts she would get back to eventually. "Listen, we're going to get you out of here, but I need you to tell me what's going on. What is this place? What are they doing?"

Isabella searched the room for anyone who might be lingering around. After she was sure it was just them, she answered, "They, um... they come at night. They gather around my bed and they take me to a room... with this green light and a chair with... with straps, as if for a surgeon."

"What happens in there?"

"I wake up here. And the sunlight burns my skin like candle wax."

That...that sounded bad. Amy swallowed hard and looked up at the ceiling as a bell tolled. Maybe having Renata around wasn't a bad idea after all…

~ 0 ~

The Doctor couldn't see the gondola getting to the school. Every part of him was screaming at him for letting Renata leave. He had promised himself that he wouldn't ever let himself be separated from her and yet here they were not even a day later. Gabby's idea did make sense in that it would be a safe plan if Amy wasn't alone but the Doctor hated sending Renata into a place he didn't know about. He had no idea what lurked through that school and if it was highly dangerous.

The only part he liked, and he wouldn't keep it a secret, was that this plan involved Renata dressing up as the Marchioness again. Even in a new incarnation, she looked just as stunning as she had the first time she wore a gown fit for the role. Last time's gown was golden and orange, more suitable for her slightly older body. This body, however, was a younger one. She had chosen the perfect baby blue gown with white trimmed sleeves. He had nearly fallen over when he saw her come out of the TARDIS.

Just like last time, he was deeply in love with the Marchioness of Gallifrey.

"She'll be fine," Gabby pulled the man out of his thoughts. She was sitting in-between him and Rory on the gondola while Guido guided them along the canal. "Ren knows how to take care of herself."

"What about Amy?" Rory soon asked, throwing both a sharp look. He was still upset at the turn of events. "Can you promise me that she'll be fine?"

"If she's with Renata then of course," Gabby smiled at him. She could tell that the man deeply cared for Amy. She was just too blinded like the Doctor said to see Rory was perfect. "Ren's taken care of me, the Doctor...and Donna so many times. She always takes care of us, even if it would hurt her."

The Doctor sucked in a deep breath at those words. Renata always took care of them and what did she get in return? Pain. So far, that's all she had gotten.

"We're here," Guido announced a few seconds before the gondola came to a stop.

"Gabbs, you should stay," the Doctor said as he started climbing out first. "Renata would kill me if I let you come."

"Don't worry, I'll put myself between you if that happens," Gabby said as she climbed out next.

The Doctor mocked a glare at her. "Gabby!"

"Oh shut up!" the girl waved him off and turned around to see Rory coming out last. She grabbed the torch they'd brought along and, to Rory's amazement, she sparked it lit with a purple flame. He saw tiny little butterflies amongst the flames.

"You have the same powers as Renata?" he asked, his mouth half open in shock.

"Sort of," Gabby shrugged. "I just learned how to do this a few days ago. Ren's powers are golden and I think they're stronger. But 'nough about that! Let's go!" She marched forwards, leaving behind a disgruntled Doctor to follow.

They reached the gate and just as Gabby was about to reach for it, the Doctor pulled her behind him. "I do the breaking into creepy places, alright? Don't know what's in there." Gabby shrugged and motioned him to go for it. He opened the gate with the sonic and slowly led them in. "Right. OK, I'll go first. If anything happens to me, go back…"

"What happened?" Rory suddenly blurted. Gabby looked over at him and could almost hear his heavy breathing. He must have been gathering the courage to ask that. "Between you and Amy? You said she kissed you."

The Doctor's face turned incredulous, naturally. His eyes flickered to Gabby, asking her if he was really meant to answer that right now.

"Oh no, this one's between you two," she raised her free hand and stepped aside to give the two a better moment. "Just keep leading us in."

The Doctor frowned at her unhelpfulness. She always talked! It's literally what she did and she chose NOW now to keep quiet? He shook his head and went towards the next door. "Rory, seriously?"

"I have a right to know!" Rory said, surprising himself that he was actually going through with this. He was fairly non-confrontational but Amy made him do all sorts of things he never would. "I'm getting married in 430 years."

~ 0 ~

Renata had followed Rosana into the school's canal-side. It was frankly a beautiful setting with marbleized white floor and crystal water, but Renata knew better than to believe what she saw.

"So Marchioness," Rosana came to a slow stop and turned sideways, shooting Renata smirk, "I am honored to have you visiting my school."

Renata hated the look on the woman's face but even then she kept her own face blank of any expressions. She was a master at that. "My sister needed a school."

"Yes and you have travelled so far just to get her into this one?"

"Enlgand was no longer suitable for us."

"England? Or Gallifrey?"

Renata's face still didn't falter. Only her eyebrow raised. "Excuse me?"

Rosana chuckled. "I know psychic paper when I see one. I commend you for your act, though. I've never met a Time Lord before...or Time Lady," she did a mock curtsy. "You should be in a mausoleum last time I heard."

"And you should bite your tongue before you say anything else about my home," Renata's contempt was lacing her calm tone. "How do you know who I am? Who are you?"

"Well everyone knows what Gallifrey is…"

"Except humans which means you are not. So, I ask again, who are you?"

"Are all Time Lords so intense?" Rosana sighed dramatically before laughing. "Well, I suppose given what happened to your world."

Renata's jaw tightened. "You're trespassing on this planet. You are aware of the Shadow Proclamation, aren't you?"

Rosana's playfulness died in a second. "We have not trespassed. We fell here. You think Earth was my first choice for a new home?"

"New home? What happened to yours?"

Rosana let silence pass before she answered. "There were cracks. Some were tiny... some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw silence... and the end of all things. We fled to an ocean like ours and the crack snapped shut behind us... and Saturnyne was lost."

"Saturnyne?" Renata once again glanced at the water beside them. "Of course. Venice for a Saturnyne would serve as a good second home."

Rosana nodded her head, once again smiling lightly. "We did not trespass but we want to make a new home here. What are you doing here?"

Now it was Renata's turn to stay quiet.

Rosana raised her head the longer silence passed. "Oh, are you too pretentious to answer?"

"Never."

"Then? I only ask what you have asked me. Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"My name is Renata, I am a Time Lady and...I'm here for a wedding present."

"Oh, congratulations," Rosana said, actually sounding like she meant it. "I take it the other girl is your partner?"

"No," Renata said dismissively.

Rosanna didn't spend time asking more questions about that. "Well, you certainly seem like a woman who handles power like an everyday utensil. You and I could make a partnership. You're as much of a refugee as we are. What do you say?"

"I need to know what you're doing first," Renata subtly pointed out a flawed detail in her plan. "That tour I asked about...may I have the full one?"

Rosana's lips curled into a smile, almost a chuckle. "Well of course. Follow me, Marchioness." She led the way out of the mooring. Renata's face was grim as she followed the woman down to the underground passageways.

"Is my friend safe in here?" Renata asked after a good while of silent walking. She would keep the putrid smell of the passageways to herself but it was terrible.

"Of course, so long as she doesn't go poking her nose where it doesn't belong," Rosana truly meant it as a joke but it struck Renata.

Amy was still trying to have fun without measured precaution. She would inevitably get herself into trouble if they didn't meet up soon.

"What are you up to?" Renata moved onto the next order of business. She was getting tired of mindless walking. "You are taking families' daughters under lies and turning them into...what are you turning them into? A Saturnyne?"

Rosana stopped walking a few feet away from a stone room. Renata tried peeking around the woman to see what the room was about but all she saw was a chest against the wall.

"I did not lie," Rosana said calmly, soon earning Renata's flat face. "Alright, I may have overstretched the truth here—"

"Really? Because there've been reports that some of these girls have really sharp teeth," Renata made a show of baring her own teeth to make a point. "There was also one father who claimed that his daughter no longer recognized him. What are you doing to these girls?"

"One would say you're already against this alliance," Rosana said, narrowing her eyes on the Time Lady.

"You haven't told me anything so I'm dealing with what I have. What's in that room?" Rosana looked back to the room Renata pointed to. "You want me to work with you, start talking. That's the last time I'm going to say it." Renata nodded towards the room, expecting to be shown this time.

"Our world is gone," Rosana began, albeit a little edgy since her hand was forced. "I am a Mother and my children need me. Do you have children?"

Renata stiffened but thanked the darkness around them hiding her posture shift. "Almost…" she said quietly, eliciting an almost...sympathetic look from Rosana.

And she had. Rosana lowered her head as she began to speak again, "I lost children as well but I will not lose anymore. The girls are not in danger. I am merely making them...compatible for my sons."

"Sons?" Renata asked just before she remembered the mooring. "Are they...are they in the water? With the rest of Venice?"

"Of course not, they are secluded," Rosana snapped indignantly. As if she would endanger what was left of her children by placing them in the same water as the savages humans were. "Only one of my sons has taken human form." Renata's mind flashed back to the young man they met earlier and now she assumed he was the same vampire the others had seen. "The others await for their mother to find them new brides."

"Excuse me?" Renata blinked, her mouth falling just a bit open. "Brides? Is that...is that what these girls are? They're not students, they're brides!? How...how are you even meant to do that?" Rosana chuckled and condescendingly too, something that brought out Renata's scowls. "Start talking!"

"I am making them compatible, remember? I can't have human girls joining my family. I turn them into Saturnynes so they can join my sons in the water. It's a process but it's been working pretty well."

"Pretty well? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You have to understand that such a process doesn't always go as planned," Rosana finally turned towards the room Renata was waiting to see.

"Exactly what process are you running on these girls?" Renata followed her into the room, coming to realize that there were several chests around. There was one grate in the center of the room, one that she was sure the Doctor would have to use to get inside. Guido's map of the school did show one tunnel leading to the one precise room of the school.

"It's a two week process," Rosana was saying, none the wiser of Renata's calculating thoughts. As Rosana moved around the room, Renata inched closer to the grate until she could release the bar keeping it locked. "We drain the girls each night until and fill them with our blood. It changes them over time until one morning they wake up with their humanity gone, faded away."

"What? Leaving them like empty shells?" Renata thought it was ironic how much of these forced marriages sounded like the ones back on Gallifrey. They all effectively went out like empty shells getting married because their families made it so.

"If they're like us, they're more than they were ever going to be as humans," Rosana said, stopping by one of the chests.

Renata noticed something dusty peeking out from it. She felt sick when she realized it wasn't 'dusty', it was a hand that'd been sucked dry. "Oh my God...are those…?" she raised a shaky finger towards the chest, "...are those...girls?" Her voice cracked towards the end of her question.

Rosana was amused with the sudden teary-eyed woman. "All processes have their failed subjects."

"But...but…" Renata hurried to the nearest chest and pried it open with her hands. She felt her breath leave her when she saw the sucked-dry corpses inside, all squished together like they weren't even important. "These were children! They were children, daughters!" She threw a hard-eyed look at Rosana, eyes flashing a fierce gold that startled Rosana.

"What are you really?" she demanded, taking a few steps towards her until Renata stood up with glowing golden form around her. "You're not a Time Lady…"

"And you're no mother!" Renata growled. "No mother would take another's child away! You're a cold-hearted murderer!"

"I am a mother!" Rosana shouted but Renata shot fire. Her hand had thrust forwards, her golden swarm of butterflies hitting the wall beside Rosana. "What the hell are you!?"

Renata couldn't hear her. Things were too heightened for her to separate each feeling. All she saw were chests after chests with crammed children inside, children who were murdered. What must their families be thinking? Did they think their daughters were still learning at the prestigious school? No, the mothers would know. They would know that something happened to their daughters.

Amy's still here with Isabella. GET OUT! Renata breathed in and suddenly the golden glow was gone. Without saying a word to the astounded Rosana, she hurried out of the chamber, screaming for Amy.

Rosana was left to ponder for a few seconds, her head turning to the spot on the wall now bearing a deep hole. For a moment, she thought she saw one tiny golden butterfly fluttering inside. She blinked and looked again but this time there was nothing.

~ 0 ~

It seemed like wandering through an underground passage wouldn't be enough to dissuade Rory from getting his explanation. The Doctor had no choice but to answer his questions as they moved along. Gabby kept to her promise of staying completely out of it...until the situation called for the opposite of course.

"She was frightened, we were all frightened, but we survived, and the relief of it... and so she kissed me," the Doctor thought that just about covered it. There was nothing else to it.

"And you kissed her back?" Rory's tone implied there was perhaps a little more from the Doctor's side.

"No, I kissed her mouth! By force!" the Doctor sighed and stopped walking, prompting the other two to do the same. "Rory, she kissed me because I was there. It would have been you, it should have been you."

"Yeah," Rory nodded all too sadly. It should have been but it wasn't. He wasn't there. Amy was running about with aliens while he was back on Earth.

"I meant what I said, Rory. Things sometimes get blurred when you first travel in the TARDIS," the Doctor said when he watched Rory's face slowly fall. "Everything is just so chaotic that sometimes...sometimes you do stupid stuff."

Rory seemed unconvinced. He glanced over at Gabby who was busy staring at the dark walls. "Were you?"

"Hmm?" the girl blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Were you blinded by it when you first started traveling with them?"

"Um…" Gabby's eyes flickered to the Doctor, asking him what she should say. She did NOT not want to get into this conversation, never this one. The Doctor merely nodded at her to say what she wanted. "W-well...I wasn't...I wasn't really 'blinded' but—"

"I knew it," Rory muttered and kept walking, taking the torch from the Doctor in the process.

"Wait, wait!" Gabby hurried after him, pulling the Doctor with her. "I didn't go kissing anyone like Amy but I did make my own mistakes! Ask Ren! She hated my guts in the beginning!"

Rory stopped walking suddenly and suspiciously looked at her. "Really?"

"Yeah!" Gabby nodded and whacked the Doctor's arm.

"She did!" he agreed.

"I was brand new to the TARDIS and I went touching things that I shouldn't have. If I hadn't done it, I wouldn't be able to do that," Gabby nodded to the purple flames over the torch. "We make stupid mistakes, we really do."

"But we all know who Amy loves," the Doctor said, "It's you, Rory."

And yet for some reason, Rory wasn't truly convinced. He couldn't think about it that much because a strong gust of wind blew out the torch, leaving them in total darkness.

"Can we go and see the vampires now, please?" Gabby's frail whisper brokered through the silence. If they were lucky, maybe they would sparkle.

[mot-hesbian]

I posted 1,921 times in 2021

33 posts created (2%)

1888 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 57.2 posts.

I added 113 tags in 2021

#gossip girl - 22 posts

#jenny humphrey - 15 posts

#harlot speaks - 12 posts

#lily van der woodsen - 10 posts

#rufly - 10 posts

#riverdale - 9 posts

#harlot writes - 9 posts

#dan humphrey - 9 posts

#rufus humphrey - 9 posts

#tua - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 55 characters

#i'm sure there are other fandoms i'm not thinking about

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Which is better?

Or

I have decided not to choose. I vibe with all the gays things I probably shouldn't ship.

11 notes • Posted 2021-07-19 16:56:19 GMT

#4

I'm opening shop for fic requests!

Send me a sentence prompt (e.g. "Why are you like this?"), a short (1 or 2 sentence) story idea, or a trope for a certain character, duo, or ship and I'll write a fic for it!

Fandoms include:

Gossip Girl (my specialties are (in order) Jenny, Lily, Blair, Dan, and Eric (although I will write for other characters if asked to). Ships I specialize in are Jenny x Agnes, rufly, Lily x William (I don't ship them, but I am fascinated by the toxicity), dair, blairena, blenny, etc.)

Gilmore Girls (Luke, Lorelai, Jess, Rory, Paris, Emily, and Richard probably, ships include Rory x Paris, Luke x Lorelai, Richard x Emily, and maybe some background Dean x Rory or Rory x Jess. I would like to explore possible Jess x Dean tho ngl.)

Riverdale (Alice, Fp, Hermione, Betty (my Betty is either a rep of how toxic she is on the show or an ooc version of her cuz I'm salty about bad mental illness rep), Jughead (no whump or woobifying him, he is a regular character who deals with less bs bc I don't feel like writing over the top bs in my stories...at least not to the extent of the show), VERONICA, Archie, JOSIE, TONI, and Cheryl. Ships I'm good at are Beronica, Falice, Barchie, Veggie, Jarchie, Jeronica, I'd be willing to watch season 5 to learn about Jabitha so I could write that, Choni, etc.)

I'll add more when I'm in a better headspace for other fandoms rn I'm hyperfixating.

Send in an ask if you're interested!

12 notes • Posted 2021-09-20 20:57:40 GMT

#3

It took a day and a half but I got the prom queen Vera ending!!! First non-rejection ending cuz my ass started simping the moment I saw her.

14 notes • Posted 2021-04-26 22:29:43 GMT

#2

Hey y'all! I just made a Gossip Girl Discord server!

It's mainly for Rufly, Dair, and Serenate fans but almost anyone is welcome!

If you don't like Dair, Rufly, or Serenate this server probably won't be for you. It is a place for Dair, Rufly, and Serenate fans to vibe and headcanon.

This server is also not Ch*ck B*ss friendly, Chip Whiskers and Ch*ir fans stay away

This is also a pro Jenny Humphrey and Vanessa Abrams server, if you don't like them dni. It really is that simple. They didn't do anything worse than any other character, you might just be classist.

DM if you are interested in joining

23 notes • Posted 2021-08-04 22:38:50 GMT

#1

Y'all, The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh really is just Twilight with more horror based vampires, murder mystery, and lots of queer coding.

It is quite literally the gayest thing I've ever read.

Also, poc and proper representation galore!!!

32 notes • Posted 2021-09-05 15:18:44 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

I have many feelings about this fucking mess

Also

Wtf???

[tardisgirlepic]

Ch. 3: “The Eaters of Light” Analysis Doctor Who S10.10: Growing Up, Love & Separation, the Doctor’s Fall

<- Read previous chapter

Growing Up as a Theme

One of the themes of “The Eaters of Light” was about growing up, which can be tied to the cowardice theme from last week’s episode, “The Empress of Mars.”  Growing up can be metaphorical or literal.

Coming of age, facing fears, taking responsibility have all been part of the growing up theme.  In “The Eaters of Light,” we have Roman soldiers who are no older than 18 years.  The Picts were children, too.  Where were all the adults?  While 2nd century Roman Britain had different standards of age and fighting in wars, I’ll apply the coming of age, facing fears, and taking responsibility to them.

Last week, we had Colonel Godsacre stepping up and facing his fear of leadership to take responsibility.

“Amy’s Choice”

Amy and Rory had an interesting conversation in “Amy’s Choice.”  Rory, Amy, and the Doctor are dealing with the Dream Lord and the dream in the TARDIS.  However, Rory wants the life where they are settled and have a baby.  He was happy in the dream where he was a doctor and Amy was pregnant, but she wasn’t.  Rory’s feeling insecure that Amy wants to stay with the Doctor in the TARDIS.

RORY: You ran off with another man. AMY: Not in that way. RORY: It was the night before our wedding. AMY: We're in a time machine. It can be the night before our wedding for as long as we want. RORY: We have to grow up eventually. AMY: Says who?

I did not expect Amy’s answer about growing up.

“Human Nature” & “The Family of Blood”

The 10th Doctor, playing the 24th turned himself human to hide, and now he doesn’t want to go back to being a Time Lord.  At the end of “The Family of Blood,” the Doctor wants to give the beings who are after him the watch with his Time Lord consciousness, so he can remain human:

DOCTOR: I should have thought of it before. I can give them this. Just the watch. Then they can leave and I can stay as I am. MARTHA: You can't do that!

DOCTOR: If they want the Doctor, they can have him.

MARTHA: He'll never let you do it.

DOCTOR: If they get what they want, then, then

JOAN: Then it all ends in destruction. I never read to the end, but those creatures would live forever to breed and conquer, for war across the stars for every child. Martha, Timothy, would you leave us alone, please?

(Martha and Latimer leave. Joan hugs a sobbing Doctor. The bombardment on the village continues as Martha and Latimer sit outside, then she hugs him.)

JOAN: If I could do this instead of you, then I would. I'd hoped. But my hopes aren't important.

DOCTOR: He won't love you.

The Doctor wants to stay human, so he can love Joan, marry, and have a family.  This suggests the 12th Doctor is having this problem.  In fact, in the Doctor’s living quarters, there is a bowl of apples (yellow arrow) and a snake (white arrow) in the background, showing the temptations of the Doctor as a human in the Garden of End metaphor. The Roman crosses represent the 12th Doctor or multiple, thereof.  The human is the imposter and must fall.  And that foreshadows what is coming.

The 12th Doctor

Missy and the Master are examples of what the Doctor can become, and with the mirrors, that’s a scary thought.  The Doctor needs to face his fear of himself, which resulted in his memory wipe. 

The 1st Doctor & Susan

Susan represents a coming of age.  She was becoming a young woman and developed a relationship with David Campbell. Wanting to see her have a normal life, the 1st Doctor left her with David in the 22nd century with a promise. 

DOCTOR: Believe me, my dear, your future lies with David, and not with a silly old buffer like me. One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine. Goodbye, Susan, goodbye, my dear.

Love & Separation as a Theme

Love and separation come up in “The Eaters of Light” with Kar leaving her brother behind to guard the gateway to another dimension and fight the Eaters of Light.  However, love and separation has been a theme for a long time.  There’s Rose with the 9th Doctor and then the 10th.  Sarah Jane, too, complained to the 10th Doctor, how he as the 4th Doctor just dropped her off in Aberdeen and never came back.

Regarding River, we first heard about her feeling of separation back in “The Name of the Doctor.”   Of course, there is THORS, TRODM, and the 12th Doctor losing both Clara and River.  Season 10 is no exception.  Not only is Clara’s absence still a problem, but Bill, too, lost Heather, and then there’s Penny.

There’s also the open question of Bill’s mother.

And there are other examples.

We saw above how love and separation goes all the way back to the 1st Doctor and Susan. I’m betting with the theme coming up so much that we will see her, either in the finale or the Christmas Special. This seems like such a great family-oriented reunion, which would be fantastic for Christmas.

I especially believe this theme will come up in the finale and maybe Christmas special because Kar and Ban aren’t the only references in the episode to love and separation. There are several important external allusions, which lead to the expulsion from paradise.

The Opening: Visions of Outlander with Its Doctor Who Connection

The opening of “The Eaters of Light” seems so similar to the series Outlander, where Claire goes to Scotland and encounters ancient Celtic, stone monuments, called standing stones that broadcast sound, reminiscent of the Celtic music we hear in “The Eaters of Light.”

If you are not familiar with Outlander, it’s a series of novels that has been turned into a British-American TV series.  While I watch the TV series, I’ve only read the 1st novel.  Wikipedia says of the novels:

Outlander (published in the United Kingdom as Cross Stitch) is the first in a series of eight historical multi-genre novels by Diana Gabaldon. Published in 1991, it focuses on the Second World War-era nurse Claire Randall, who travels through time to 18th century Scotland and finds adventure and romance with the dashing Jamie Fraser.

From the beginning of the plot summary:

In 1946, after working apart during the Second World War, British Army nurse Claire Randall and her husband Frank, a history professor, go on a second honeymoon to Inverness, Scotland. Frank conducts research into his family history and Claire goes plant-gathering near standing stones on the hill of Craigh na Dun. She faints when investigating a buzzing noise near the stones; upon waking, she encounters Frank's ancestor, Captain Jack Randall.

When Claire, an Englishwoman, investigates the buzzing noise, she touches one of the ancient Celtic stones and gets transported back to Scotland in 1743. She finds herself in the middle of a skirmish between rebel Scottish Highlanders and Redcoats. 

After various events and several hardships, she marries Jamie.  While she still wears Frank’s ring on one hand, maintaining hopes of getting back to him, she wears Jamie’s on the other.  Because Frank’s ancestor the captain was a rapist and sadist, who treated the Scots as sub-humans, it does color Claire’s situation. Encountering the captain on several occasions, she witnessed his behavior first hand.  Jamie has had several encounters, too, some showing the captain in a most sadistic light.

Claire embraces most of the Scottish culture and comes to see the British as occupiers, another form of usurpation.  At one point, we did see her back in the present with a daughter by Jamie.  So Claire is living in 2 worlds.  She loves both men, but love has split them apart.

Gabaldon really liked DW’s 2nd Doctor companion Jamie Frasier, so she named her romantic lead character after him.  Doing extensive historical research for the series, she has become a noted expert on 18th century Scotland.  Her novels center on the time period of British occupation of Scottish lands, along with the skirmishes and events leading up to the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion.  Outlander gives us another usurpation reference, too.

According to HistoryExtra.com:

The 1745 Jacobite Rebellion was a turning point in British history. Believing the British throne to be his birthright, Charles Edward Stuart, aka ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, planned to invade Great Britain along with his Jacobite followers and remove the Hanoverian ‘usurper’ George II. Yet, argues Dr Jacqueline Riding, the reality of the ’45 continues to be obscured by fiction and fables.  

…

In June 1745, Charles Edward Stuart (b1720) had one key aim: regaining the thrones his grandfather, the Roman Catholic convert James VII of Scotland and II of England and Ireland, had lost in 1688–90 to his nephew and son-in-law William of Orange (who reigned as William III). This ‘glorious’ revolution had confirmed a Protestant succession, in a predominantly Protestant Great Britain, which, from 1714, was embodied in the Hanoverian dynasty.

The term “usurper” depends on which side of the rebellion one is on.  The English called Charles “The Young Pretender.”  The problem comes back to religion, the English Reformation, and Henry VIII’s break with the Catholic Church. 

Clearly, there is a theme of love and separation, as well as occupation, in both “The Eaters of Light” and in Outlander. 

In fact, Kar pours out her heart out about the usurpation by the Romans, which in some sense reminds me of River in THORS:

KAR: Let me tell you about the Romans. They are the robbers of this world. When they've thieved everything on land, they'll rob the sea. If their enemies are rich, they'll take all they have. If their enemies are poor, they'll make slaves of them. Their work is robbery, slaughter, plunder. They do this work and they call it empire. They make deserts and they call it peace.

The Doctor, having both Roman and Scottish connections, gets another ear full.  Clearly, the usurpation applies but most likely the 2 worlds for the Doctor are represented by the 10th Doctor’s dilemma of human vs. being a Time Lord.

We saw the dilemma with Bill and Heather no longer being human.

The Subtle Knife

When I watched “The Eaters of Light” with my daughter, she mentioned that it seemed similar to The Subtle Knife, a young-adult fantasy novel, written by British author Philip Pullman and published in 1997.  I’ve never read the book, or any of the 3 books in Pullman’s series His Dark Materials.  However, from what my daughter said, “The Eaters of Light” referenced it, so I checked it out.

It’s much like the Outlander series in that someone jumps into a portal and enters a different world, so to speak.  According to Wikipedia, in the second novel in the series:

Twelve-year-old Will Parry cares for his mentally ill mother in Oxford. When he accidentally kills an intruder, he runs away and discovers a portal to a parallel universe. In the seemingly deserted city of Cittàgazze, he encounters 12-year-old Lyra Silvertongue and her dæmon Pantalaimon, who arrived via a bridge in the sky created by her father, Lord Asriel.

The editorial review on Amazon says

As the novel opens, Will's enemies will do anything for information about his missing father, a soldier and Arctic explorer who has been very much airbrushed from the official picture. Now Will must get his mother into safe seclusion and make his way toward Oxford, which may hold the key to John Parry's disappearance. But en route and on the lam from both the police and his family's tormentors, he comes upon a cat with more than a mouse on her mind: "She reached out a paw to pat something in the air in front of her, something quite invisible to Will." What seems to him a patch of everyday Oxford conceals far more: "The cat stepped forward and vanished." Will, too, scrambles through and into another oddly deserted landscape--one in which children rule and adults (and felines) are very much at risk. Here in this deathly silent city by the sea, he will soon have a dustup with a fierce, flinty little girl: "Her expression was a mixture of the very young--when she first tasted the cola--and a kind of deep, sad wariness." Soon Will and Lyra (and, of course, her dæmon, Pantalaimon) uneasily embark on a great adventure and head into greater tragedy.

Will and Lyra are forced to retrieve a special knife that has the ability to cut into other worlds and through any material.  So here’s another reference to a doorway and a world ruled by children, like we saw in “The Eaters of Light.”  Will and Lyra fall in love, but staying in a parallel universe that isn’t their own threatens the destruction of that universe.  So Will can’t stay in the end.

This sounds similar to what happened with Bill and Heather at the end of “The Pilot.”  And the song from the episode “Love Will Tear Us Apart” seems highly appropriate.

Will’s father being a soldier and explorer may give us some information about the Doctor, but not having read the series, I’m going to leave it at this.  If you’ve read the book and have some ideas, let me know.

The Doctor’s Fall: Paradise Lost & His Dark Materials

Pullman took the title of the series, His Dark Materials, from English poet John Milton’s epic poem, Paradise Lost, first published in 1667.  According to Wikipedia:

The poem concerns the biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton's purpose, stated in Book I, is to "justify the ways of God to men."

Pullman’s series, from what I gather, is a reimagining of Paradise Lost for teenagers.  In fact, His Dark Materials comes from Paradise Lost, along with the title of his first book of the series, The Golden Compass.

The continuing theme of expulsion from paradise, which we’ve seen multiple times in Season 10 regarding the Doctor, is foreshadowing the Doctor’s fall. 

Anyway, His Dark Materials is a really interesting phrase, especially since we saw the record label in “The Pilot” that the Doctor had is a famous trademark: His Master’s Voice, shown below.

Tip: When 2 pieces of subtext sound similar, especially with odd spellings or phrasing, they may very well be related.  This is an exception to our rule requiring 3 occurrences to make a pattern.

I didn’t have time in “The Pilot” analysis to explain more about the label because it’s part of a complicated set of metaphors.  The metaphors were very relevant to the “Smile” analysis, so I explained more about the label there.  Long story short, it leads to the parody of the painting The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise.

Since this all lines up in various ways, I have no doubt my daughter is right about The Subtle Knife connection to “The Eaters of Light.” There’s much more that connects that we’ll examine below.

The Fallen Angel Theme & the Legend of the Blue Box

I’ve wanted to talk about the fallen angel theme for a long time, but I haven’t because of time. However, I need to now, especially because this comes up in multiple ways in “The Eaters of Light.”  And it ties back into several other things we’ve examined.  The Vestal Virgin 2nd Class and the angel reference, as well as the demon and sainted physician from the Legend of the Blue Box.

The big reference to Satan in DW is in the 10th Doctor Ood story “The Satan Pit.” However, it’s Satan’s name “Lucifer” that is of interest here.  I want to draw a distinction between Satan and Lucifer, which I’ll explain in a few minutes. 

The Name Lucifer & DW Characters with Derivative Names

Lucifer literally is "the morning star, bearer of light," derived from luc-, lux "light" and -fer "bearing."

According to Merriam Webster’s Word Central,

What we sometimes call "the morning star" is really the planet Venus. The Romans called it Lucifer, meaning "bearer of light," because it appeared in the sky just before sunrise. So when, in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah says, in describing the downfall of the king of Babylon, "How are you fallen from heaven, O Morning Star, son of dawn," the "Morning Star" became Lucifer in the Latin translation. Early Christians thought that Isaiah was also referring to the devil, who had likewise "fallen from heaven." Thus the word Lucifer came to be applied to the devil.

Lucifer was not always seen as the devil.  In fact, according to Wikipedia, 2 bishops of the early Christian Church bore the name Lucifer.  It goes on to say

In Latin, the word is applied to John the Baptist and is used as a title of Jesus himself in several early Christian hymns. The morning hymn Lucis largitor splendide of Hilary contains the line: "Tu verus mundi lucifer" (you are the true light bringer of the world).

In fact, it’s only later that Lucifer came to be used as a proper name:

Later Christian tradition came to use the Latin word for "morning star," lucifer, as a proper name ("Lucifer") for the devil; as he was before his fall. As a result, "'Lucifer' has become a by-word for Satan / the Devil in the church and in popular literature", as in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Joost van den Vondel's Lucifer and John Milton's Paradise Lost. However, the Latin word never came to be used almost exclusively, as in English, in this way, and was applied to others also, including Jesus. The image of a morning star fallen from the sky is generally believed among scholars to have a parallel in Canaanite mythology.

I’m making a distinction, and I can best show you why with an example.  The Doctor going hell bent through the universe and causing its destruction could easily be seen as Satan.  However, what if the Doctor is in a universe, like alternate-Donna in “Turn Left,” that needs to die to restore the real universe?  He could be seen as Satan in one and a savior in another.

Because DW uses derivative names with the Latin roots luc- and lux, they relate to the name Lucifer.  For now, I don’t want to apply judgment of good or evil to these characters. I can’t think of any instance where people with the Latin roots luc- and lux in their names are not also mirrors or dark mirrors of the Doctor.

Here are just a few examples of characters related to Lucifer.

Lucius in “The Eaters of Light” Lucius, for example in “The Eaters of Light,” comes from the Latin root lux and the Latin verb lucere "to shine." So he has a connection to Lucifer. In fact Lucius was also called “Granddad,” which Bill questioned

THRACIUS: Why are you even listening to her, Grandad? LUCIUS: Because no one else is saying anything. We need a plan. A real commander would have a plan. BILL: Why did he call you Grandad? LUCIUS: They always call me Grandad. I'm in command. I'm the oldest one left. BILL: How old are you? LUCIUS: Eighteen.

“Granddad” is a metaphor for the Doctor, so Lucius is a mirror of the Doctor.  He is foreshadowing what is going to happen.

He integrates in a way with Kar to stand together to fight the bigger monster, although it’s a losing battle.  It’s the Doctor joining his duality together.

“The Fires of Pompeii” & Lucius Petrus Dextrus Lucius Petrus Dextrus was the Chief Augur of Pompeii in 79 AD, shown below, along with Peter Capaldi’s character Lobus Caecilius and his wife Metella.  He supported the Cult of Vulcan, who wanted to convert the population of the world into more Pyroviles.

Lucius has the gift of prophecy, so he is a dark mirror of the Doctor.

BTW, I’m not sure if I mentioned a wolf connection regarding Caecilius.  Lobus, while meaning lobe, pod, or husk in Latin, is very close to the Spanish word for wolf: lobo.

CAL: Charlotte Abigail Lux, “Silence in the Library” & “Forest of the Dead” We know CAL is a mirror of the Doctor, and her last name tells us this, too.  Not only that, but Charlotte Abigail Lux’s father, Felman Lux, built the Library for her.  Felman is an interesting name, especially when we are talking about the Fall of Man and the fall of the Doctor.

Strackman Lux was the grandson of Felman Lux, and the person who led River’s expedition into the Library. He said it took 3 generations to figure out how to get into the sealed Library.  He represents the 3rd, which corresponds to a triad of Doctors. Strackman, shown below from a TARDIS Wikia image, reminds me of Strax with that suit, and the name is really close.

“The Rebel Flesh” & “The Almost People”

Jennifer Lucas in “The Rebel Flesh” and “The Almost People” has luc- in her name.  In fact, Lucas is a cognate of Lucius.

In Conclusion

There is a lot of overlap of themes in this chapter of growing up; taking responsibility, which means getting kicked out of paradise; and falling.  I’m hanging onto my hat for the wild ride of how all of this foreshadows the finale.