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legends-of-time · 8 months

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Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 2: Tooth and Claw

Masterlist

A/N: It's weird how I have had the basic bones of Kathy's timeline written out for years and years and now here I am attempting to actually write it.

——

"Okay, you're telling your real! You're telling me that this..." Kathy swings her arms around gesturing to the console room of the TARDIS that she's standing in with the Doctor and Rose in front of her, "is real! You two are real! This is—"

Ten then quickly cuts her off. "YES!" Kathy shuts her mouth as she tries to stop herself from hyperventilating. "Blimey, I thought I had a gob."

"Oi!"

"You alright?" Rose then asks her worriedly.

"Yeah, yeah fine. Perfectly fine. Nothing wrong." Kathy ramble. Then a thought comes to her. "Wait when did we meet? You two know me. How?"

"Well... wait I can't tell you that! Spoilers! It's your personal timeline." The Doctor cries, seeming a bit tense. Kathy sees Rose looks mildly upset but it quickly goes and is replaced by a smile. What was that all about?

"Right okay, I know you can't tell me everything but you could at least tell me something, like who I am, what I am. Cause I'm pretty sure I have two hearts which isn't exactly human."

"Well, you haven't explained everything really but you did say to explain to you what we know when you first meet us..." Rose murmurs. "Y-you said that um your father was half Time Lord, half Apa-apalu- ugh can't say it! Doctor?"

"Apalapucian. They are dominant over your human side."

"Yeah that. But anyway, you said you didn't know anything else." Wait, what?!

"Hold on, does this mean I regenerate? Do I change faces?" Kathy asks well, more like demands.

"Well... not exactly." The Doctor says. "You explained that you don't heal the way I do, that your face stays the same because of your Apalapucia side."

"Huh..." Well, at least she knows now.

"Also, that bit about being from a different dimension. So, you basically know a load about us anyway." Rose then adds. "God that was a lot of information then, wasn't it?" She smiles cheekily.

The Doctor and Kathy laugh at that.

"Yeah... wait!" Kathy says startling the other two. "How many of you from your point of view have I met?"

"We'll only the current one," he points to his face smiling, "and my last one. No one before then as far as I know."

Kathy nods. That's good considering she hasn't really seen the show before that point.

"Right now, that is out of the way, how about we go somewhere?" The Doctor says cheerfully.

Rose laughs. "Why not? Kathy needs more evidence."

"I'm pregnant." Kathy blurts out as if they couldn't already see that from her stomach.

"It'll be fine. I won't take you anywhere unsafe. I promise." The Doctor reassures her but she doesn't believe him and she thinks her silence says everything. "W-well, uuuuhhhh, I-I'll try my best?" He awkwardly scratches the back of his head.

Kathy purses her lips. "Fine." Rose whoops.

"Well how about the 70s? Eh? You two could get charged." The Doctor proposes.

"Yeah, alright sounds like a laugh," Rose says. She goes to grab her bag to change into while Kathy just stands there watching the Doctor put the TARDIS into flight mode.

"Hello." Kathy hears the word spoken in her head that sounds like the Doctor. Kathy's head jerks up and she stares at him with wide eyes.

"What... I-how?" Kathy stumbles.

He smiles. "Because you are part Time Lord, it is a thing we can do. Did you get a certain feeling once we landed?"

"Uh... yeah I did. What was that? Can we seriously talk to each other in our heads?" Kathy questions trying to understand. It sounded pretty handy. Would her child be able to do this as well?

"Yeah, as well as sensing each other. It's quite faint though considering you're not full Time Lord. Unnoticeable usually unless you're looking, like a perception filter."

"Ah." She says in response. "Can I try?"

"Go for it."

Kathy closes her eyes to concentrate. "Potatoes." She opens her eyes and sees the Doctor scrunching up his face.

"Potatoes?! Is that really all you can think of?" He whines. She shrugs. He huffs and turns away.

It's not long until he starts speaking again. "Here look at this." The Doctor shows her a CD by a band called Ian Dury and the Blockheads that he must have picked up. "What do you think?" He grins.

"No idea who they are but sure," Kathy says.

"Ugh, no taste." He complains.

Rose enters the console room again and finishes zipping her bag up and shoves it out of the way. She stands, showing then what she is wearing, which is a rather short dungaree skirt. The outfit is suddenly very familiar. Is this the Queen Victoria episode cause if it is... oh Rose.

"What do you think of this? Will it do?" She asks. Kathy chews her lip but tries to smile encouragingly at her.

"In the late 1970s? You'd be better off in a bin bag. Hold on, listen to this." The Doctor bungs the CD in the player and some song by Ian Dury and the Blockheads blares out. The Doctor wanders around the controls. "Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Number One in 1979."

"You're a Punk!" Rose accuses as the Doctor continues moving, singing along. "That's what you are. A big old Punk with a bit of Rockabillly thrown in."

"Would you like to see him?"

Rose's mouth hangs open. "How'd you mean? In concert?"

"What else is a TARDIS for?"

Rose pulls Kathy into their funky little dance around the console, probably having noticed that she was just standing there and not getting involved.

The Doctor continues, "I can take you to the Battle of Trafalgar... the first anti-gravity Olympics... Caesar crossing the Rubicon... or... Ian Dury at the Top Rank, Sheffield, England, Earth, 21st November 1979. What do you think?" Yeah, definitely Queen Victoria.

"I think Rose wants Sheffield." Kathy pipes up.

"Right Kathy strap yourself in, you're pregnant," She goes to do just that, "Rose hold on tight." He pulls a lever just as Kathy tightens the straps and they both lurch forward as the TARDIS shudders and spins through the Vortex. The Doctor whacks the console with a hammer to the beat of the music, shouting. Kathy cringes thinking how the TARDIS is probably not enjoying that. The TARDIS makes a noise, probably agreeing with her.

"Stop!" Rose yells.

The movement stops and they both fall onto the floor, laughing their heads off.

The Doctor pulls himself up as Kathy then unbuckles herself and walks over to them. "1979. Hell of a year!" He pulls Rose to her feet. She then grabs Kathy's hand and she gets pulled along as they bound towards the doors. The Doctor grabs his jacket as he rambles, "China invades Vietnam... The Muppet Movie! Love that film. Margaret Thatcher... urgh... Skylab falls to Earth... with a little help from me... nearly took off my thumb."

The Doctor steps out of the doors, Rose and Kathy behind him into a field.

"I like my thumb. I need my thumb. I'm very attached to..." He falters as he notices that they are surrounded by Scottish soldiers on all sides, guns raised. He puts his hands up and Rose and Kathy follow suit. "...my thumb."

The guns click ominously.

"1879. Same difference." Ten mutters to himself.

"How?!" Kathy whisper yells at him but he simply shrugs.

The man on the horse next to them, who seems to be the leader of the soldiers, speaks, "You will explain your presence. And the nakedness of this girl." He gestures to Rose, who is standing between Kathy and the Doctor. Rose looks down at herself probably realising her outfit is inappropriate for this time period. Kathy, on the other hand, is a bit more so as despite it not being good quality, is wearing a dress that covers pretty much all her skin.

"Are we in Scotland?" The Doctor then says putting on a Scottish accent. Kathy always found this funny considering how the actor himself was Scottish.

"How can you be ignorant of that?"

"Oh, I'm... I'm dazed and confused. I've been chasing this... this wee naked child over hill and over dale. In't that right, ya... timorous beastie?" The Doctor 'explains'.

Rose then speaks with an absolutely hilariously terrible attempt at a Scottish accent. "Ooch, aye! I've been oot and aboot."

"No, don't do that." The Doctor tells her.

"Hoots mon!"

"Oh my god Rose please stop," Kathy says. She quietens.

"Will you identify yourself, sir?" Horse pointing gunman orders.

"I'm Doctor James McCrimmon. From the... Township of Balamory. Eh... I have my credentials, if I may..." He gestures towards his pocket and the man nods. They lower their hands whilst the Doctor fumbles in his pocket and produces the psychic paper. He shows it to them, moving it around as he talks. "As you can see, a Doctorate from the University of Edinburgh. I trained under Doctor Bell himself."

A muffled voice comes from the carriage behind the soldiers. "Let them approach."

The Captain, however, is still suspicious. "I don't think that's wise, ma'am."

"Let them approach."

The Doctor gestures towards the carriage and the Captain has no choice but to let them approach. "You will approach the carriage. And show all due deference."

The Doctor does an 'aye aye, Captain' sort of signal, and they approach the carriage. Kathy begins to get quite excited knowing she is going to meet her first historical figure. One of the footmen opens the door to reveal Queen Victoria.

The Doctor continues in his Scottish accent, "Rose, Katherine...," so he knows her full name as well, huh, "might I introduce her Majesty, Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith."

Kathy curtsies as best as she can with her stomach. "Katherine... uh Davis Ma'am." Kathy had made the decision then that despite her new name, she still feels more connected with her old name and would introduce herself as such in the future when not with her life in the 6th century (cause that'll get confusing and messy).

Rose curtsies herself. "Rose Tyler, Ma'am. And my apologies... for being so naked." She laughs nervously.

Queen Victoria looks unshaken. "I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me." Kathy feels slightly upset with the mention of daughters. "But you, Doctor... show me these credentials." The Doctor obligingly hands the psychic paper over, and the Queen studies it for a moment.

"Why didn't you say so immediately? It states clearly here that you have been appointed by the Lord Provost as my Protector."

"Does it?" The Doctor asks surprised before quickly recovering. "Yes, it does! Good! Good! Um... then let me ask... Why is Your Majesty travelling by road when there's a train all the way to Aberdeen?"

"A tree on the line."

"An accident?" Kathy asks knowing the answer already. The Doctor gives her a look as if saying he knows that she already knows.

"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned." The Queen says.

"An assassination attempt?" The Doctor assumes.

"What, seriously? There's people out to kill ya?" Rose wonders.

"I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun." Victoria remarks.

The Captain comes over on his horse, behind them. "Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We'll send word ahead, he'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow."

"This Doctor, Mrs Davis and their... timorous beastie will come with us. Due to her condition, Mrs Davis can join me in the carriage." The Queen declares. Her eyes widen. She's going to be on her own with Queen Victoria?! Rose sends her a grin.

"Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving, it's almost nightfall."

A different footman offers his hand to help Kathy into the carriage and Kathy awkwardly shifts around, trying to get comfortable as the Queen speaks, "Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts. Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Drive on!"

And with that, they are in their way.

"Mrs Davis," the Queen says, drawing Kathy's attention to her after a short while, "I wonder why you are traipsing around with those two in your condition. Wherever is your husband?"

"Uh... away ma'am. On business. The Doctor is my companion, to keep me company while he's away." Kathy says, feeling proud of herself for coming up with that on the spot.

"Hmm. Is it your first? I could not imagine you would be leaving your children on their own."

The thought of her dead daughter makes Kathy's eyes water. "No, my second. B-but she died young, you see."

"Oh. I am sorry." She says apologetically.

"It's alright, you were not to know ma'am," Kathy says.

——

They arrive at Torchwood house with Kathy being the only one that knows the significance of its name.

One of the footmen opens the door of the carriage and helps Queen Victoria down then Kathy down.

Kathy walks over to stand with the Doctor and Rose.

"So, carriage ride with Queen Victoria..." the Doctor trails off invitingly.

"Eh it was alright," Kathy says casually with a grin. The two next to her chuckle.

Sir Robert emerges from a doorway and approaches her with one of the monks, that had taken over the house, behind him.

"Your Majesty." He bows.

"Sir Robert. My apologies for the emergency. And how is Lady Isobel?" She asks.

"She's... indisposed, I'm afraid. She's gone to Edinburgh for the season. And she's taken the cook with her, the kitchens are barely stocked... I wouldn't blame Your Majesty if you wanted to ride on." Sir Robert says. Kathy feels sorry for him as he clearly is being forced to do this.

The Doctor cocks his head to one side, watching him, he has also recognised that Sir Robert would rather the Queen stayed away.

Queen Victoria, on the other hand, responds cheerfully, "Oh, not at all! I've had quite enough carriage exercise. And this is... charming. If rustic. It's my first visit to this house. My late husband spoke of it often. The Torchwood Estate. Now, shall we go inside?"

Sir Robert is evidently reluctant, but the Queen does not notice.

"And please excuse the naked girl." She adds.

"Sorry." Rose mumbles. Kathy can't help but snicker at the situation and Rose nudges her in the side. Honestly, she's surprised that she hasn't had a meltdown over this whole thing, she must be in shock still or she's just weird. Probably the latter.

"She's a feral child. I bought her for sixpence in old London Town. It was her or the Elephant Man, so..." The Doctor says all Scottish again.

"Thinks he's funny but I'm so not amused." She looks pointedly at Queen Victoria. "What do you think, Ma'am?" Ah the bet, Kathy remembers that. It seems her not totally human brain, which means her memory is better cause she shouldn't remember this much usually.

The Queen looks unfazed by the comment. "It hardly matters. Shall we proceed? Sir Robert nods and they begin to make their way into the house."

"So close," Rose mutters. She then turns to Kathy, "Do I need to explain?"

"Nope," Kathy replies.

She laughs. "Of course."

"Makerson and Ramsey, you will escort the Property. Hurry up." The Captain orders.

"Yes, sir." They both respond. One of the soldiers takes a small wooden box from the carriage and carries it carefully to the house.

The Doctor looks at it interested. "What's in there, then?"

"Property of the Crown. You will dismiss any further thoughts, sir."

The Doctor pulls a face to Rose and Kathy.

The Captain continues, "The rest of you go to the rear of the house. Assume your designated positions."

"You heard the orders. Positions, sir."

The Doctor nods towards the house and he, Kathy and Rose follow the others.

——

Sir Robert guides them to the Observatory. There is what looks like an enormous telescope in the middle of the room.

"This, I take it, is the famous Endeavour." Queen Victoria says.

"All my father's work. Built by hand in his final years. Became something of an obsession... he spent his money on this rather than caring for the house or himself." Sir Robert explains.

The Doctor smiles, "I wish I'd met him, I like him. That thing's beautiful. Can I um...?" He gestures towards it.

"Help yourself."

The Doctor and Rose move forward to examine the telescope and the wheel next to it, Kathy trails after them.

"What did he model it on?" The Doctor asks.

"I know nothing about it. To be honest, most of us thought him a little... shall we say, eccentric." Sir Robert answers. The Doctor gives a dopey laugh. "I wish now I'd spent more time with him. And listened to his stories."

The Doctor, as he peers through the telescope, then forgets how to be polite, "It's a bit rubbish. How many prisms has it got? Way too many. The magnification's gone right over the top, that's stupid kind of a..." he trails off and walks over to Rose and Kathy seeing the looks on their faces and speaks quietly dropping his Scottish accent briefly, "Am I being rude again?"

"Yep," Rose replies.

"Just a little bit," Kathy adds using her fingers to mimic a small gap.

The Doctor quickly tries to recover as he stands, "But it's pretty! It's very... pretty." Rose pats him fondly on the arm.

"And the imagination of it should be applauded." Queen Victoria says.

"Mm! Thought you might disapprove, Your Majesty," Rose remarks. "Stargazing. Isn't that a bit fanciful?" Queen Victoria stares at her. "You could easily... not be amused, or something...? No?"

"This device surveys the infinite work of God." The Queen says instead.

Kathy presses her lips together in an attempt not to laugh while the Doctor shakes his head at Rose with a vague smile on his face.

"What could be finer? Sir Robert's father was an example to us all. A polymath. Steeped in astronomy and sciences, yet equally well versed in folklore and fairy tales." The Queen adds.

"Stars and magic. I like him more and more." The Doctor says. He wanders around the telescope to examine it some more.

"Oh, my late husband enjoyed his company," she walks over to Rose and Kathy, "Prince Albert himself was acquainted with many rural superstitions, coming as he did from Saxe Coburg."

The Doctor comes over to murmur in Rose and Kathy's ears, "That's Bavaria."

Queen Victoria turns to Sir Robert. "When Albert was told about your local wolf, he was transported."

"So, what's this wolf, then?" Kathy asks, trying to push everyone along a little though the Doctor probably would have asked anyway.

"It's just a story."

"Then tell it." The Doctor says possibly catching on to what she's doing.

Sir Robert glances around at the monk men very uncomfortably. He then speaks very haltingly, "It's said that..."

But he is interrupted by one of the monk men, "Excuse me, sir. Perhaps her Majesty's party could repair to their rooms. It's almost dark."

"Of course. Yes, of course."

"And then supper. And... could we find some clothes for Miss Tyler? I'm tired of nakedness." Queen Victoria says.

"It's not amusing, is it?" Rose asks pointedly. Queen Victoria glances around at her and decides to ignore this comment and turns back to Sir Robert. Kathy lets out a snort causing Rose to poke her in the chest.

"And despite her being the opposite, could Mrs Davis have a more proper dress for dinner. Sir Robert, your wife must've left some clothes. See to it. We shall dine at seven. And talk some more of this wolf. After all... there is a full moon tonight."

"So, there is, Ma'am." Sir Robert replies. He bows, and the Queen leaves the room followed by the rest of them.

——

Rose and Kathy go to one of the bedrooms to look for something to wear at dinner.

Rose goes to one of the wardrobes and opens the door, finding a brown dress which she holds up to herself in the mirror.

"Maybe not," Kathy tells her.

"Yeah." She immediately puts it back.

Rose holds a frilly blouse up to her then, they laugh, and she puts it back in the wardrobe. Kathy is soaking in the calm they have before everything kicks off.

Next Kathy pulls out a pretty blue dress and hands it to Rose.

"Yeah, that looks better," Kathy says. Rose holds it up to herself and twirls around a bit.

"Mmm... fancy."

Rose places the dress down on the bed, crosses the room and opens another wardrobe door. She screams as a young maid is crouched inside, breathing heavily with fear.

Rose and Kathy bring the frightened girl to sit on the bed.

"They came through the house. The incitements, they took the Steward and the Master. And my Lady." She shakily explains. Kathy squeezes her hand comfortingly.

"Listen... we've got a friend, he's called the Doctor, he'll know what to do. You've gotta come with us." Rose says.

"Oh, but I can't, Miss." The girl replies.

"What's your name?" Kathy asks her.

"Flora."

"Flora, we'll be safe. There are more people who've arrived downstairs; soldiers and everything, and they can help us. I promise. Come on. Okay? Come on." Kathy says comfortingly. She knows it may not be safe straight away, but she knows that Flora will be alright so technically she didn't lie.

Rose peers cautiously out of the door and seeing that the coast is clear, takes Flora's hand and leads her down the corridor while Kathy follows behind. Just around the corner lies an unconscious guard.

"Oh, Miss. I did warn you!" Flora cries.

Rose kneels and feels for a pulse. "He's not dead... I don't think, he must be drugged or something."

Suddenly something grabs Kathy from behind and the same is done to Flora. Hands stifle any noises they would have made and they are dragged away. Before Rose can react, she too is grabbed and dragged away. One of the Monks drags the guard away.

——

Three of them are pushed into the cellar and chained up with the rest of the servants and Sir Robert's wife, Lady Isobel. They leave and Kathy frowns after them. Do they not understand how to treat a pregnant woman?!

"Are you okay?" Rose quietly asks. Kathy nods and that is when she notices the figure who'll turn into a wolf sitting quietly in his cage.

"Don't make a sound. They said if we scream or shout, then he will slaughter us." Lady Isobel says sobbing.

"But... he's in a cage. He's a prisoner. He's the same as us." Rose says.

Lady Isobel's voice is full of fear, "He's nothing like us. That creature is not mortal."

The figure, the host, raises his head slowly and opens his eyes... which are completely black. Lady Isobel and her household staff whimper, and Rose and Kathy stare, scared.

After a short while, Rose stands. She's going to approach the Host. Kathy wants to join her but with her large stomach and all the physical strain she will go through, she thinks it best to rest and let Rose lead this.

"Don't, child." Lady Isobel calls.

Rose ignores her. She edges slowly towards the Host, chains rattling slightly. When she's as close as the chains will allow her, she kneels.

"Who are you?"

"Don't enrage him." One of the male servants calls, the steward Kathy thinks.

Rose continues. "Where are you from? You're not from Earth. What planet are you from?"

"Ohhh... intelligence..." The host whispers. Its tone creeps Kathy out.

"Where were you born?"

"This body... ten miles away... a weakling, heartsick boy. Stolen away at night by the brethren from my cultivation. I carved out his soul and sat in his heart."

"All right... so the body's human... but what about you? The thing inside?" Rose probes.

"So far from home." The host replies.

"If you wanna get back home, we can help."

"Why would I leave this place? A world of industry, of workforce and warfare. I could turn it to such purpose."

"How would you do that?"

"I would migrate to the Holy Monarch." It explains.

"You mean Queen Victoria?" Rose realises.

"With one bite, I would pass into her blood. And then it begins. The Empire of the Wolf! So many questions..." It suddenly lunges forward, making all of them jump and gasp. "Look! Inside your eyes! You've seen it too!"

"Seen what?" Rose asks, afraid.

"The Wolf! There is something of the Wolf about you!" Bad wolf. Kathy wonders if she'll be there for that.

Rose stares at him, breathing heavily. "I don't know what you mean."

"You burnt like the sun, but all I require is the moon." The doors of the cellar are thrown open and the moonlight floods in, over the Host's cage. He presses his face against the bars with a blissful smile. "Moonlight..."

The other prisoners shift around uncomfortably, not knowing what to make of this. The Host sheds his cloak. A wind blows through the cellar. The Host grasps the bars of the cage.

Kathy urgently turns to everyone knowing that she should get on with it. "Everyone! Stop looking at it! Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull! C'mon Rose!"

Rose joins her in pulling on the chain. "Come on! With me! Pull!"

There are growling sounds emitting from the cage, and Lady Isobel is just staring at it in horror.

"I said pull! Stop your whinging and listen to us!" Kathy yells at them. Do they honestly think that being pregnant, she can do this with so little help?

"All of you! And that means you, your Ladyship! Now come on, pull!" Rose adds.

They all stand and help them pull on the chain, trying to free it from the wall. The Host is slowly transforming into a wolf. He screams in pain as his skin bulges horribly. His screams turn into growls as he begins to look more and more like a wolf.

"One... two... three... Pull!" Kathy and Rose yell.

They all tug on the chain, desperately trying to free themselves. The transformation is all but complete.

"One... two... three... pull!"

The werewolf's transformation is complete. It growls and flexes its claws as the prisoners scream.

"One, two, three, pull!"

And finally, the chain comes free. The Doctor kicks down the door to the cellar and enters with Sir Robert.

"Where the hell have you been?" Rose yells at him.

The Doctor turns and stares at the werewolf with wide-eyed awe as it grabs hold of the bars of the cage. "Oh, that's beautiful!"

Sir Robert turns to his wife, "Get out!"

The wolf begins to bend and break the bars, throwing the cage off. The household staff are all clamouring to get out of the room. The Doctor suddenly remembers the urgency of the situation and turns back to them.

The Doctor begins ushering everyone, "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"

"Come on..." Kathy cries. "Doctor c'mon!"

The werewolf stands tall, free of the cage. He throws the top of it across the room, narrowly missing the Doctor who finally stops staring and makes a run for it. He slams the door behind him and locks it with his sonic screwdriver.

——

The Steward hands guns to all the men. "Arms... and your strife... ready everyone?"

Lady Isobel leaves with the maids as the Doctor is using the sonic screwdriver to relieve Rose and Kathy of the handcuffs. All the while he is rattling off what he thinks, "It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths. Did it say what it wanted?"

"The Queen, the Crown, the throne... you name it." Rose answers. Kathy stays quiet as she still feels shaken at what is happening. She feels her child kick and she remembers it is not only her she's got to protect.

"Any hints?" The Doctor turns to me.

Kathy blinks at him, surprised for a moment. "Uhhh... well I- mistletoe is important?"

"Right." He nods.

There is a thumping sound from the direction of the cellar and they both look around. The Doctor ventures out into the corridor to investigate with Kathy and Rose behind him. The wolf has managed to knock down the door and is standing at the other end of the corridor. He and the Doctor stare at one another for a few moments before the werewolf growls and the Doctor runs back into the room. He grabs their hands and pulls them behind the line of men with guns poised and ready.

"Fire!" They shoot at the wolf, who stumbles back a few steps. "Fire!" Kathy flinches as they fire again.

The room with the firing squad is full of smoke. There is no sign of the wolf.

"All right, you men, we should retreat upstairs, come with me." Kathy notices then that the Doctor has lost his Scottish accent.

"I'll not retreat. The battle's done. There's no creature on God's Earth that could survive such an assault." The Steward says.

The Doctor angrily responds, "I'm telling you, come upstairs!"

"And I'm telling you, sir, that I will sleep well tonight with that thing's hide upon my wall."

"Please listen to him," Kathy begs.

"I'm sorry madam." He says and strides across the room to look down the corridor, checking for the wolf. The Doctor watches him, looking extremely angry and concerned. Apparently seeing nothing, he strides back looking mildly triumphant. "Must've crawled away to die..."

And he is lifted clean through the ceiling by the wolf and they hear him being devoured.

"There's nothing we can do!" The Doctor cries. He grabs hold of Rose and Kathy and pushes them from the room with him.

——

Kathy rushes into a room along with the Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert. The Doctor slams the door behind them and locks it with his sonic screwdriver.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Sir Robert yells.

Queen Victoria comes down the stairs, "Sir Robert! What's happening?"

The Doctor dashes off somewhere.

"I heard such terrible noises."

"Your Majesty, we've got to get out. But what of Father Angelo? Is he still here?" Sir Robert asks.

"Captain Reynolds disposed of him." Kathy briefly glances at her knowing that isn't true.

The Doctor comes back and speaks in his non-Scottish accent, "The front door's no good, it's been boarded shut. Pardon me, Your Majesty, you'll have to leg it out of a window."

He gestures through a door and Queen Victoria obliges with her head held high. Sir Robert follows and they find themselves in another upstairs room.

"Excuse my manners, Ma'am, but I shall go first, the better to assist Her Majesty's egress." Sir Robert says.

"A noble sentiment, my Sir Walter Raleigh." The Queen says.

The Doctor, however, is impatient, "Yeah, any chance you could hurry up?"

Sir Robert climbs onto the window sill and has to immediately dodge out of the way as he is shot at by the Monks standing outside.

The Doctor stares out of the window, eyes wide. "I reckon the monkey boys want us to stay inside."

"Do they know who I am?" The Queen exclaims.

"Yeah, that's why they want you, it's why they are doing this. The wolf's lined you up for a... a biting." Kathy tells her.

"Now, stop this talk. There can't be an actual wolf." The words are no sooner out of her mouth than howling rings through the house. All of them spin around, alarmed, and leave the room hurriedly. They run into a hallway and the wolf is battering on the door.

"What do we do?" Rose asks.

"We... run!" Kathy knows he was going to say this but that doesn't mean she doesn't grumble a little.

"Is that it?!"

"Again! Pregnant!" Kathy reminds him.

"You got any silver bullets?" The Doctor asks sarcastically.

"Not on me, no!" Rose replies.

"There we are then, we run. Your Majesty, as a Doctor, I recommend a vigorous jog." He jogs on the spot to demonstrate. "Good for the health. Come on!"

He grabs the Queen's hand and leads her from the room. They run as fast as they can up the staircase. Kathy is struggling to keep up with her stomach but the Doctor just pulls on her hand and cries, "Come on! Come on!

Having reached the top of the stairs, they run through the corridors, the wolf closes on their tails. It is nearly upon them, mostly Kathy and the Queen as both of them are at the back as they are finding the most difficult, ready to pounce when Captain Reynolds appears holding a gun. He shoots and the wolf reels backwards down the corridor. The Captain ducks behind the corridor where they are standing, out of breath.

"I'll take this position and hold it. You keep moving, for God's sake! Your Majesty, I went to look for the property, it was taken. The chest was empty." Captain Reynolds says.

"I have it. It's safe." Said woman replies.

"Then remove yourself, Ma'am. Doctor, you stand as Her Majesty's Protector. And you, Sir Robert, you're a traitor to the crown." He cocks his gun.

"Bullets can't stop it!" The Doctor warns him.

"They'll buy you time. Now, run!"

He positions himself at the end of the corridor, gun held ready. Queen Victoria and Sir Robert have already started running in the opposite direction, followed by the Doctor, and finally by Rose and Kathy as they stare at Captain Reynolds in dismay for a few seconds. The Doctor, Sir Robert and Queen Victoria run into the library with Kathy behind them. Rose stops outside the door and watches as Captain Reynolds shoots at the werewolf then pounces upon him and then rips him apart. Kathy grimaces at the sounds of his screams.

"Rose!" The Doctor rushes out into the corridor, grabs her round the waist and pulls her into the room just in time to slam the door shut.

——

Sir Robert and Rose help the Doctor barricade the doors with chairs and bits of wood. Kathy quickly sits down to rest; she can feel the baby moving so she knows it's okay though probably mildly distressed from all the moving.

"Wait a minute, shh, shh, wait a minute..." The Doctor urges. The wolf howls into the silence. "It's stopped." He stands on the chair and presses his ear against the door. There are sounds indicating the wolf has turned and left. "It's gone."

Footsteps can be heard padding around the outside of the room.

"Listen..." Rose murmurs.

The Doctor climbs quietly down from the chair and there is dead silence in the library as they follow the wolf's progress around the room, absolutely terrified. The Queen is shaking violently.

"Is this the only door?" The Doctor whispers to Sir Robert.

"Yes. No!" And he dashes to the other door with the Doctor and they barricade it shut.

"Shh!" Rose silences them.

They look around uneasily as they hear the sounds the werewolf is making, and then it stops. Footsteps pad away into the distance.

"I don't understand. What's stopping it?" Rose wonders.

"Something inside this room?" The Doctor says turning to Kathy.

"Not exactly," Kathy says, still feeling exhausted. Sir Robert sits on one of the chairs barricading his door and puts his head in his hands.

The Doctor's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What is it? Why can't it get in?"

"I'll tell you what, though..." Rose says.

"What?"

"Werewolf...!"

"I know!" The Doctor exclaims.

Rose half laughs and they throw their arms around each other. Kathy glares at them feeling slightly annoyed. She now understands the fear that Queen Victoria felt... or is feeling... or will. God tenses are confusing.

"You all right?" The Doctor asks her.

"I'm okay, yeah!"

Queen Victoria stares at them, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's all my fault." Sir Robert says from behind them, drawing their attention. "I should've sent you away. I tried to suggest something was wrong, I... thought you might notice. Did you think there was nothing strange about my household staff?"

"Well, they were bald, athletic... your wife's away, I just thought you were happy." The Doctor quips.

"Not the time Doctor," Kathy tells him. He pouts at that.

"I'll tell you what though, Ma'am, I bet you're not amused now." For god's sake Rose, not now!

"Rose!" Kathy exclaims at the same time the Queen says angrily, "Do you think this is funny?"

"No, Ma'am, I'm sorry," Rose answers meekly.

"What, exactly, I pray someone please, what exactly is that creature?" Queen Victoria demands.

The Doctor scratches his head. "You'd call it a werewolf, but technically it's a more of a lupine wavelength haemovariform."

"And should I trust you, sir? You who change your voice so easily? What happened to your accent?"

The Doctor then realises he has lost his Scottish accent, "Oh... right, sorry..."

The Queen has clearly reached the end of her tether. "I'll not have it. No, sir, not you... not that thing... none of it. This is not my world."

——

The Doctor touches the woodwork. Noticing the carving of mistletoe on the door.

"Mistletoe..." He murmurs. "Kathy, you said mistletoe! Sir Robert, did your father put that there?"

"I don't know, I suppose..." The man replies.

The Doctor begins thinking out loud, "On the other door, too... a carving wouldn't be enough... I wonder..." He licks the woodwork. Kathy pulls a face. "Viscum album, the oil of the mistletoe, it's been worked into the wood like a varnish! How clever was your dad? I love him! Powerful stuff, mistletoe. Bursting with lectins and viscotoxins."

"And the wolf's allergic to it?" Rose asks.

"Well, it thinks it is. The monkey monk monks need a way of controlling the wolf, maybe they trained it to react against certain things."

"Also stops them from being eaten," Kathy adds.

"Nevertheless, that creature won't give up, Doctor, and we still don't possess an actual weapon." Sir Robert moans.

"Oh, your father got all the brains, didn't he?" The Doctor says.

"Being rude again." Rose points out.

"Good. I meant that one." He strides towards the bookshelves.

"Well, you shouldn't." Kathy reproaches.

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "You want weapons? Kathy, what's the best weapon we have?" Points at her.

"Books?" Kathy answers though it sounds more like a question.

"Brilliant! We're in a library. Books! Best weapons in the world." He puts his glasses on. "This room's the greatest arsenal we could have." He pulls some books off the shelf and chucks some to Rose. "Arm yourself."

——

Kathy, Rose, the Doctor and Sir Robert are frantically flicking through the books, talking over one another.

Suddenly the Doctor jumps down from the ladder, holding a book which he puts down on the table. Kathy knew he had found it then.

"Look what your old dad found. Something fell to Earth. On the open page, there is an illustration of a rock falling to Earth from the sky." They gather around.

"A spaceship?" Rose questions.

"A shooting star." Sir Robert says reading the page. ""In the year of our Lord, 1540, under the reign of King James the Fifth, an almighty fire did burn in the pit." That's the Glen of Saint Catherine just by the Monastery."

"But that's over three hundred years ago. What's it been waiting for?" Rose asks.

"Could've been developing." Kathy hints to the Doctor and Rose hoping not to give it away to the other two in the room.

"Yes!" The Doctor exclaims. "Only a single cell survives. Adapting slowly down the generations. It survived through the humans. Host after host after host."

"But why does it want the throne?" Sir Robert asks.

"That's what it wants. It said so, the... the Empire of the Wolf." Rose says, glancing at Kathy to see if she's right. She nods back.

The Doctor speaks with foreboding, "Imagine it... the Victorian Age accelerated... starships and missiles fuelled by coal and driven by steam... leaving history devastated in its wake..."

Queen Victoria stands, "Sir Robert!" Sir Robert goes to her. "If I am to die here..."

"Don't say that, Your Majesty."

"I would destroy myself rather than let that creature infect me. But that's no matter. I ask only that you find some place of safekeeping for something far older and more precious than myself." She opens her bag; Kathy remembers what's inside.

"Hardly the time to worry about your valuables." The Doctor calls over to her.

"Sssh Doctor." Kathy hisses at him as she walks over to Queen Victoria.

The Queen doesn't look too pleased either. "Thank you for your opinion. But there is nothing more valuable than this." And she takes the Koh-I-Noor from her bag and holds it in the palm of her hand.

Rose looks at it amazed. "Is that the Koh-I-Noor?"

"Oh, yes... the greatest diamond in the world." The Doctor says. The Doctor and Rose shuffle forward for a closer look.

"Given to me as the spoils of war. Perhaps its legend is now coming true. It is said that whoever owns it must surely die." The Queen utters.

"Well, that's true of anything if you own it long enough. Can I...?" The Doctor holds out his hand for the diamond. Queen Victoria gives it to him. He pushes his glasses down his nose to look at it closely. Rose prods it, eyes wide while Kathy just stares afraid that if she'll even breathe on it, it would shatter. "That is so beautiful."

"How much is that worth?" Rose wonders.

"They say... the wages of the entire planet for a whole week."

Rose peers at it. "Good job my mum's not here. She'd be fighting the wolf off with her bare hands for that thing."

"And she'd win."

"Now that's an image," Kathy says despite not having even met the woman.

Rose laughs.

"Where is the wolf?" Sir Robert asks as he walks away. "I don't trust this silence." Kathy shifts nervously glancing up but she can't see anything yet.

"Why do you travel with it?" The Doctor asks.

"My annual pilgrimage. I'm taking it to Helier and Carew. The Royal Jewellers at Hazelhead. The stone needs recutting." The Queen answers.

"Oh, but it's perfect." Rose murmurs.

"My late husband never thought so."

The Doctor removes his glasses. "Now, there's a fact, Prince Albert kept on having the Koh-I-Noor cut down. It used to be forty percent bigger than this. But he was never happy. Kept on cutting and cutting."

"He always said... the shine was not quite right. But he died with it still unfinished." Queen Victoria adds.

"Unfinished... oh, yes!" The Doctor tosses the Koh-I-Noor back to Queen Victoria, who catches it. Kathy flinches. He begins to speak very fast, working it out, "There's a lot of unfinished business in this house. His father's research, your husband, Ma'am, he came here and he sought the perfect diamond, hold on, hold on..." He ruffles his hair violently in his eagerness to work it out. "All these separate things, they're not separate at all, they're connected! Oh, my head, my head! What if, this house, it's a trap for you, is that right, Ma'am?"

"Obviously."

"At least, that's what the wolf intended. But! What if there's a trap inside the trap?"

"Explain yourself, Doctor." The Queen demands.

"What if his father and your husband weren't just telling each other stories. They dared to imagine all this was true. And they planned against it. Laying the real trap not for you... but for the wolf."

A fine sprinkling of plaster falls from the ceiling. They all look up, and the werewolf is walking over the glass dome above their heads, looking down at them and growling.

"That wolf there..."

The glass of the dome starts to crack, the Doctor and Rose throw down their books and they all run to the door.

"Out! Out! Out!" The Doctor cries. Kathy cringes thinking about all the running she still has to do.

As the Werewolf crashes through, smashing the desk, the Doctor, Rose and Sir Robert destroy their barricade and run out into the corridor. The Doctor slams the doors closed.

——

The five of them run down the corridor.

"Gotta get to the observatory!" The Doctor says.

They careen around a corner, the werewolf close behind. Kathy is huffing and puffing as she goes, trying to keep up. The wolf is almost on Rose then and she screams but Lady Isobel and the maids appear and throw the pan of mistletoe water onto the wolf. The werewolf bounds back down the corridor away from us.

"Good shot!" The Doctor exclaims.

"It was mistletoe!" Lady Isobel explains.

The Doctor follows the wolf a way down the corridor with Rose behind him. Kathy takes this moment to rest.

"Isobel!" Sir Robert and Lady Isobel kiss as the Doctor and Rose make sure the wolf has gone. "Get back downstairs."

"Keep yourself safe."

He nods and they kiss again.

"You go." He tells her.

Lady Isobel and the maids go past Sir Robert and make their way back to the kitchen. "Girls, come with me. Down the Back stairs, back to the kitchen. Quickly!"

As they run off, Sir Robert stares after his wife. Kathy knows if everything goes as it was in the episode, he'll die but maybe she could change that?

The Doctor runs back. "Come on!" They set off running again down the corridor.

"The observatory's this way!" Sir Robert tells them.

They reach the central staircase and hurry up it as fast as they can but the werewolf is recovering and soon returns to the chase.

——

They finally arrive at the observatory, the Doctor in the lead. Rose and Queen Victoria step inside with the Doctor while Kathy lingers next to Sir Robert.

"No mistletoe on these doors, your father wanted the wolf to get inside! Get inside I just need time! Is there any way of barricading this?!" The Doctor exclaims.

"Just do your work and I'll defend it." Kathy looks at him in worry.

The Doctor seemingly ignores Sir Robert. "If we could bind them shut with rope or something!"

"I said I'd find you time, sir." Sir Robert says more assertively. Rose and Queen Victoria stare at him, aghast.

"No!" Kathy exclaims. "Maybe there's another way?!"

"Now get inside." And with that Sir Robert pushes Kathy inside.

"No no wait! Please no!" Kathy cries.

"Please Kathy think of your baby." The Doctor tells her as he tugs her inside.

Sir Robert closes the door and the Doctor runs to the Queen. Kathy stares at the door sobbing.

"Your Majesty, the diamond." The Doctor says, quickly turning to the Queen.

"For what purpose?" She asks.

"The purpose it was designed for."

Queen Victoria hands over the diamond from her bag. The Doctor runs over to the mechanism for the telescope.

"Rose!" Rose runs to the Doctor. "Lift it! Come on!"

The Rose and Doctor struggle to turn the wheel, but the cogs start to shift and the telescope to rise.

"Is this the right time for stargazing?" Rose says sarcastically despite straining against the wheel.

"Yes, it is." The Doctor declares.

Kathy cringes and covers her ears then as she hears Sir Robert's final screams from outside. Queen Victoria holds up her crucifix. The werewolf can be heard battering the door. The gears continue to grind while Queen Victoria murmurs a prayer under her breath.

"You said this thing doesn't work!" Rose says.

"It's a light chamber, Rose!" Kathy yells to her trying to distract herself from the panic and fear inside of her.

"She's right! It doesn't work as a telescope because that's not what it is! It magnifies the light rays like a weapon. We've just got to power it up!" The Doctor explains.

"With what? There's no electricity!"

The Doctor grunts and turns to the light chamber.

Rose then works it out. "Moonlight! But it needs moonlight! It's made by moonlight!"

"You're seventy per cent water but you can still drown. Come on!" The Doctor cries. "Come on!"

At last, it is properly aligned. Rose and the Doctor step away from the gears as the moonlight bounces off the prisms. Just as the Werewolf breaks through the door, the light spews forth from the end of the light chamber onto the floor far short of the werewolf. Kathy runs back as the werewolf advances on the Queen but the doctor dives across the floor and throws the Koh-I-Noor into the beam of light. A fantastic, prismatic beam of light hits the werewolf. He is lifted off the floor and hangs there, caught in the wash of moonlight. As they look on, the werewolf retakes human form.

"Make it brighter. Let me go." The host says quietly.

The Doctor slowly walks across to the light chamber and flicks a switch. With a final howl from the wolf form, the creature vanishes and the light shuts off. Kathy breathes a huge sigh of relief. No more deaths than what originally happened so at least she didn't make things worse.

The Queen, however, is staring intently at some wound on her wrist.

The Doctor notices her. "Your Majesty? Did it bite you?"

"No, it's... it's a cut." The Queen replies.

"If that thing bit you..."

"It was a splinter of wood when the door came apart."

"Let me see." The Doctor reaches toward her arm.

Queen Victoria pulls her hand away sharply. "It is nothing."

The Doctor stares at her, obviously not believing her.

——

The next day in the hall, Kathy, The Doctor and Rose step forward and kneel before Queen Victoria. Everyone is present including Lady Isobel, in black, and the maids.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Sir Doctor of TARDIS." Quiet Victoria taps him on each shoulder with a sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Rose of the Powell Estate." She taps her on each shoulder with the sword.

"By the power invested in me by the Church and the State, I dub the: Dame Katherine of the Amore-burh." She taps Kathy on each shoulder with the sword.

"You may stand." They rise.

"Many thanks, Ma'am." The Doctor says.

"Yes, thank you," Kathy adds though she knows she is not happy with them.

Rose grins. "Thanks! They're never going to believe this back home."

"Your Majesty, you said last night about receiving a message from the great beyond; I think your husband cut that diamond to save your life. He's protecting you even now Ma'am, even from beyond the grave." The Doctor says.

"Indeed. Then you may think on this, also: that I am not amused." The Doctor groans whilst Rose looks jubilant and Kathy tries to hold in a snort as this bit is actually quite funny.

"Yes!" Rose cries.

"Not remotely amused." The Queen makes an effort to wipe the smirk off her face. "And henceforth... I banish you, Sir Doctor and Dame Rose."

The Doctor and Rose look stunned. Kathy is surprised. Why not her?

"I'm sorry...?" The Doctor eventually says.

Queen Victoria is very angry as she speaks, "I rewarded you, Sir Doctor. And now you are exiled from this empire, never to return. I don't know what you are, the two of you, or where you're from, but I know that you consort with stars, and magic, and think it fun. But your world is steeped in terror and blasphemy and death and I will not allow it! You will leave these shores and you will reflect, I hope, on how you managed to stray so far from all that is good. And how much longer you will survive this... terrible life." Queen Victoria steps away from them angrily. "Now leave my world. And never return."

She then turns to Kathy, "I hope you, Dame Katherine, will not fall too far into this life and bring your child into it. There is hope for you."

——

Kathy, Rose and the Doctor have hitched a lift on the back of Dougal's cart to get back to the TARDIS from the house. It comes to a halt in a field.

"Woah!" Dougal cries.

They jump off the back of the cart back in the highlands near the TARDIS.

"Cheers, Dougal!" The Doctor waves as they walk away and Dougal drives off.

"You know, the funny thing is, Queen Victoria did actually suffer a mutation of the blood!" The Doctor muses. "It's historical record haemophiliac. It used to be called the Royal Disease! But it's always been a mystery because she didn't inherit it. Her mum didn't have it her dad didn't have it, it came from nowhere!"

"Well, history says maybe her father was someone else." Kathy points out. "Some Irish guy in her mother's household. But maybe not in this world."

"What, and you two are saying that's a wolf bite?" Rose wonders.

"Well, maybe Haemophilia is just a Victorian euphemism." The Doctor says.

"For werewolf?" Rose asks in disbelief.

"Maybe!" Kathy replies. She is happier with this lighter conversation, it put her mind off Queen Victoria's words.

"Queen Victoria's a werewolf?" Rose is still in disbelief.

"Could be! And, her children had the Royal Disease. Maybe she gave them a quick nip." The Doctor adds.

"So, the Royal Family are werewolves?" Rose wonders. She clearly can't take it in still.

"Well... maybe not yet. I mean, a single wolf cell could take... a hundred years to mature... might be ready by... oooh... early 21st century...?" The Doctor hints.

"Nah! That's just ridiculous! Mind you... Princess Anne...!" Rose muses.

"I'll say no more." The Doctor says.

"That's mean!" Kathy laughs.

"And if you think about it... they're very private. They plan everything in advance. They, they could schedule themselves around the moon, we'd never know!"

The Doctor and Kathy snigger as they reach the TARDIS and he opens the door.

They bundle in as Rose keeps talking, "They like hunting! They love blood sports!" They laugh as the TARDIS starts to dematerialise. "Oh my God, they're werewolves!"

The two of them howl and cackle. Kathy creases over laughing as the two of them howl and cackle as the TARDIS flies away.

——

The Doctor opens the doors and Kathy follows him out to see that they had landed in the exact same area of the forest that she was last in before stepping inside the TARDIS.

"Now you better have gotten the year and date right," Kathy tells him.

He scoffs. "I promise! It's only been half hour since you left."

"Good cause it be difficult to explain otherwise." She replies with a smirk.

"Well, I suppose this is it then. Till the next time!" He speaks.

"Whenever that is. I suppose you don't know?" Kathy asks.

"Nah. How would I know? So far you've been all over the place!" He exclaims.

Kathy laughs. "Great to know thanks."

A thought then comes to her. "Wait, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"You say I don't regenerate that same way you do but to be able to, wouldn't I need to look into that schism?"

He frowns. "You once told me that you had looked but you wouldn't say how... or showed you..."

"Oh... well that's confusing."

The Doctor then snaps out of his thoughts, "Well! Goodbye then."

"Bye Doctor."

——

A/N: Kathy may seem like she isn't doing too much right now but I feel like she'll be too afraid to change anything in case it turns out worse than it already will/did also she is adapting to the fact that yes the Doctor Who is real and it is confirmed she is not human. Also pregnant.

Please leave comments on how you're enjoying this story and what you think.

#doctor who

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