#with amy having the tardis pull up all his companions on computer

[thetimelordbatgirl]

This popped up in my feed, so I watched it and...yeah, its pretty good, would recommend watching it. Only con is that uh, it doesn't mention the spin offs like Sarah Jane Adventures (the only female led spin off) and Torchwood, cause I honestly feel it showed even more how RTD handled female characters versus the era of Steven Moffat (could have even compared what happens when RTD writes for the 11th doctor in his guest appearance in SJA versus....what happens when Steven's writing him).

[variousqueerthings]

Hi!

I’m currently watching Doctor Who (2005) for the first time. Just finished season 4.

And I just read your post from last October (?), where you state that you dislike the character River Song. And even though this might sound a bit mean, I was so happy to read that I’m not alone in my strange aversion against this character from the very moment she appeared in the Library episode. Similar to you I just don’t like the fact, that one of the companions is getting this kind of super special treatment, especially when it is interwoven with a romance and even marriage.

Now I’m a bit apprehensive to start with season 5, because I know River Song will be a huge part of the plot... Is it possible to skip her episodes or would I get problems to follow the overarching story line, when doing so?

Something else I noticed and wanted to ask about is the fact that River Song only appeared in the TV series up to and including season 9 (according to the tardis wiki). I know there are many other kinds of media she appears in after 2015. But I’m curious if they indeed dropped the character in the TV show in some way after a couple of seasons?

So far I enjoyed Doctor Who immensely. It is a fun watch, a great opportunity to get lost in strange worlds and, on a more personal level, a nice way to relax after a busy workday. So I just don’t want to ruin this experience for myself, because I have to follow a character/ or a character construct I really don’t like.

And please don’t worry about giving away future plot points. At this point it is better for my enjoyment of the story to know what will happen, at least in regards to River Song.

SoooOOOoooooeeew hello first of all hello hi! welcome to Doctor Who! (I say, if you've seen s1-4/specials you're firmly In It!)

I want to disclaim to begin with, I know a lot of people do like River Song, and would rec seeing her narrative to understand her whole... Deal. I'm personally not a fan of that narrative, but I'll give you a rundown of it below and if you decide you wanna give it a looksee, or a partial watch, there are suggestions for some episodes including her below as well

to allay your fears that she's overpowering/unavoidable, she's kind of shockingly not, considering what M*ffat seemed to want from her. you can pretty much excise her episodes from the plot and miss almost nothing (and I let you know what you do miss below)

the seasons she's in the most are s5+6. she's only in two episodes in s7 and one more in s9 (with none in s8), which ironically does make it feel even odder to me that she's presented the way she is in s4. I know in the audio dramas she does meet other Doctors but in main canon on the show she meets 10 once, 11 a few times, and 12 once. compared to characters like the Master, Jack, even Rose and Clara according to M*ffat's own canon (these are episodes you will see, so you'll know what I mean at that point) she just doesn't compute for me as this "Most Important" thing that M*ffat tries to pull, in which her "specialness" feels incredibly linked to amatornormative monogamy (and generally M*ffat's penchant for introducing women as mysteries first, and characters second). Also in s5+6 especially she's presented as this uncomfortably "femme fatale" type character with dialogue that makes me want to claw my face off

I do have a watchlist that's for when I next go into this era that does skip the River Song episodes (that being said, I actually quite like her last episode. I have a theory that Peter Capaldi is such a grounding presence that over-the-top narrative and terrible dialogue is made emotionally resonant to me)

SO, first things first, I'll give you a rundown of her arc, and then a watchlist of how I intend to enjoy s5-7 moving forwards that you can totally follow

River Song canon (in brief): River Song is the child of Amy Pond (fifth/sixth season companion) and her husband Rory (also companion in those two seasons). Because she is conceived in the Tardis, she has some regeneration energy innate to her (I wasn't a fan of that personally). Before she is born a space cult that's obsessed with the Doctor for truly overblown reasons that are never fully delved into, but can be summed up as "Gallifrey is un-destroyed and the Doctor has the ability to bring it back into the Universe by using a passcode that's his name, and so this cult has formed in order to stop the Doctor discovering this fact and uttering his name," kidnaps Amy, replaces her with a flesh double who has Amy's memories, erases her knowing she's pregnant and then have her wake up in her real body at the moment of giving birth (if this all feels violating af, yes it is and it's never addressed)

then the Doctor and Rory go to rescue her, but in the moment they succeed, they discover that the baby Amy is holding is also a flesh double and the evil cult took her daughter/River from her and... *sigh please know I am only saying this because it's how they describe it on the show* "raise her to be the perfect psychopath" whose only wish is to kill the Doctor (all this training or whatever happens offscreen), but then the Doctor almost dies while saving her life and she gives up her regenerations to save him and the obsession turns into love, and so in summary her following the Doctor around is still centred around being groomed to be obsessed with the ground the Doctor walks on (okay can you tell I really really don't like this)

there is no examination of River's trauma in all of this, and only one moment related to Amy being angry she couldn't raise her child. There's also this creepy overtone of "The Doctor can't see you ageing because then he'll get bored of you" considering she was raised to have her whole selfhood revolve around him throughout her entire childhood

the final thing about River Song is that she was held in a top-security prison for awhile because she did end up killing the Doctor due to being "programmed" to, but the Doctor knows ahead of time that this will happen and so manages to change things so he doesn't die

SO that is River Song's arc in s5+6. now let's completely avoid it -- it's surprisingly easy:

s5

ep 1. The Eleventh Hour (introduction episode)

ep 2. The Beast Below

[then come episodes Time Of Angels + Flesh & Stone. a double episode in which Amy meets the Angels and also River Song. the important thing here is that the main "mystery" are cracks in space and time that erase you from having ever existed. the other important thing here is that at the end of the episode Amy is about to get married and kisses the Doctor/tries to sleep with him the night before her wedding, and the Doctor Very Much Does Not Want This, which leads into the next story-]

ep 5. The Vampires Of Venice

ep 6. Amy's Choice

[NOW WE ARRIVE AT THE FIRST SNAG -- if you want the rest of this season's mystery, you should simply watch the rest of the season. This will include River Song in the final two episodes being involved in that mystery, but if you'd rather jump to where I personally think things get interesting again, or gauge if you're up for it, here's the short rundown of salient points:

Rory is swallowed by the cracks in time and Amy forgets his existence (but the Doctor doesn't)

Rory is brought back as an auton/living plastic out of Amy's subconscious memory of him and accidentally shoots Amy due to programming while they're in Roman-era Britain

Amy is then put into a stasis chamber for 2000 years until she can be brought back out and revived using modern technology, and auton-Rory guards that stasis chamber for 2000 years

the cracks in time came from the Tardis exploding, which is making the universe implode, but they fix that

the Doctor closes the cracks in space/time and everything is reset, including Amy's parents returning from non-existence, and Amy and Rory get married -- to be clear, we never see Amy's parents again, nor are they mentioned in the future, so this catharsis is kind of irrelevant

There is a very famous episode in this called "Vincent and the Doctor." it's about Vincent van Gogh. the only thing you need to know going in is that during this point in the timeline Amy doesn't know that Rory used to exist, otherwise it's a solid standalone episode]

S6

ep 3. The Curse Of The Black Spot (to note, I always think this episode makes more sense directly after Amy's Choice as a "they're not married yet, but they're solving their relationship issues now," because s5 never has them adequately deal with their relationship issues, but s6 is solid on that front, but that's just me)

ep 4. The Doctor's Wife

ep 9. Night Terrors (to note, this episode takes place right after they discover that River is their daughter who was stolen from them. notice how this just... never comes up)

ep 10. The Girl Who Waited

ep 11. The God Complex (to note, this is the perfect final episode for the Ponds, but I will rec two more that come next season)

Season six can genuinely just be watched as these five episodes and it's quite an enjoyable season. The only thing that hints properly at a connective tissue related to River Song is that Amy in the first two both is-and-isn't-pregnant (because Amy is a flesh-double in the first two episodes) according to the Tardis scanner, and she sometimes sees a mysterious woman with an eye-patch. this is her briefly slightly waking up while captured

neither of these are relevant to the episodes they appear in

s7

QUICK NOTE: in the first episode of this season the Doctor discovers a strange woman who has been turned into a Dalek, called Oswin. He never sees the face of this woman, but we do, and it's someone who returns again in another lifetime, under the name of "Clara Oswald" -- I do not recommend this first episode, it is Very Very bad)

4. The Power Of Three (to note, this could form a good coda for the Pond narrative and it's a fun episode, but it's not necessary to end their story if you're happy with The God Complex finishing things)

[you can watch episode 5 "The Angels Take Manhatten" if you want (I mean, you can watch anything you want). it's the official canon departure of the Ponds. it's not great, but it's not the worst episode. River Song is there, but it's not so egregious in terms of writing. if you don't want to watch it: they go back in time, there are angels, they send Rory and Amy back in time and the Doctor can't follow them there because of squiggly wuiggly logic, and so they are left to "live to death" -- Amy writes the Doctor a goodbye note in which she says she and Rory have had a very happy life together]

we have now gone past the River Song narrative for the most part, although she turns up in a genuinely not bad cameo in the s7 finale that interacts a little bit with the library episode -- do note that at this point she and the Doctor are *sigh* married I guess. I have mixed feelings about the s7 finale episodes, but it's not because of her character, and I think the latter half of s7 is worth watching for you to form your own opinion of all of it

She appears again in the Christmas special of s9, which I quite enjoyed. I think also Alex Kingston has way better chemistry with Capaldi, and I sometimes think the show knew this too, because they literally at one point had her describing Eleven/Matt Smith as looking like a 14 yr old, which is... such an odd way to describe the seeming "love of your life" or whatever

so that's it for River Song. Hope this all made sense, let me know if you have any other questions

I have a separate list I'm developing like this for Clara's era, but she might be more your cup of tea, so I'll let you engage with her for yourself to gauge. Can always reach out if you're not quite vibing with her, or if you really really are, I'd love to know your thoughts!

[thelittlesttimelord]

The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 7

TITLE: The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh Chapter 7 PAIRING: No Pairing RATING: T CHAPTER: 7/? SUMMARY: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.

The Doctor entered the TARDIS with a man, who walked right up to Neffy and Elise.

Elise wasn’t too fond of the Egyptian Queen, but she’d promised the Doctor she would try to be nice.

“And who might this lovely creature be?” the man asked, kissing the back of Elise’s hand. Neffy laughed at the uncomfortable expression on Elise’s face.

“Riddell, this is Queen Nefertiti of Egypt and my daughter, Elise,” the Doctor said.

“Daughter, eh? Where were you the last time I saw the Doctor?” Riddell asked.

Elise yanked her hand out of his. “With my mother.”

“So he was keeping you from me?”

Elise blushed furiously. “I am no man’s property!”

Neffy smiled seeing the fire in Elise. Maybe the younger woman wasn’t too bad after all.

The TARDIS took off again and a few seconds later, Amy, Rory, and an older man on a stepladder were standing in the TARDIS.

“Hello! You weren't busy, were you? Well, even if you were, it wasn't as interesting as this probably is. Didn't want you to miss it. Now, just a quick hop.”

The TARDIS landed.

“Everybody grab a torch.”

The man on the stepladder dropped the light bulb he was holding. Elise grabbed a torch and walked over to the older man. “I’m so sorry,” she told him.

They were the last two out of the TARDIS.

“What the…?” he asked.

“Don't move!” the Doctor yelled. He spun around and walked towards Elise and the man. “Do you really think I'm that stupid I wouldn't notice? How did you get aboard, eh? Transmat? Who sent you?”

“Doctor. That's my dad,” Rory told him.

“Well frankly, that's outrageous.”

“What?”

“You think you can just bring your dad along without asking? I'm not a taxi service, you know.”

“You materialized around us!”

“Oh. Well, that's fine, then. My mistake. Hello, Brian. How are you?” The Doctor shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Welcome, welcome. This is the gang. I've got a gang. Yes. Come on then, everyone.”

Everyone followed after the Doctor, except Rory and Brian.

There was a persistent thudding noise echoing through the spaceship.

“All right, where are we?” Amy asked, “What is that noise and hello, ten months?”

“Well, I sense it's orbiting. More like pre-crashing. On a spaceship, don't know, and hello, Pond.” The two of them hugged. “Ten months. Time flies. Never really understood that phrase. This is Neffy, this is Riddell. They're with me.” The Doctor gestured to his two out-of-time companions.

“Charmed,” Riddell said.

“With you? They're with you? Are they the new us? Is that why we haven't seen you?” Amy asked.

“No. They're just people. They're not Ponds. I thought we might need a new gang. Not really had a gang before. It's new,” the Doctor told her.

At the end of the corridor there was a door with red lights on either side of it.

“It's coming down.”

“What is it?” Riddell asked.

“No idea.”

The doors opened and two large creatures walked out.

Elise’s mouth dropped open.

“Not possible,” Brian said.

“Run!” the Doctor told them.

The group of companions ran and hid, while Elise and the Doctor stood their ground.

“Doctor! Elise!” Amy yelled.

“I know,” the Doctor said. He turned to Elise with a smile. “Dinosaurs! On a spaceship!”

Amy grabbed the Doctor by the arm and pulled him away from the dinosaurs. Elise looked at the dinosaurs before joining the group.

“In here!” Neffy said, leading them to an alcove.

Riddell pulled out a knife. “I could take one of them. Short blow up into the throat.”

“No!” Elise protested.

“Or not. We've just found dinosaurs in space. We need to preserve them,” the Doctor told him.

“Who's going to preserve us?”

Amy shushed them as the dinosaurs walked past them.

“Okay, so, how and whose ship?” Rory asked.

“Well, there's so much to discover. Think how wise we'll be by the end of all this,” the Doctor said.

“Sorry, sorry. Are you saying dinosaurs are flying a spaceship?” Brian asked.

“Brian, please, that would be ridiculous. They're probably just passengers. Did I mention missiles?”

“Missiles?”

“Didn't want to worry you. Anyway, six hours is a lifetime. Not literally a lifetime. That's what we're trying to avoid. And we're all really clever. Ooo, let's see what we can find out. Come on.”

The four of them walked over to a blank monitor and the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver to turn it on. “Oh, well done, whoever you are. Looking for engines. Thank you, computer. Look at that. Different sections have engines, but these look like the primary clusters. Where are we now, computer? We need to get down to these engines.”

The next thing they knew, they were standing on a beach.

“Find out…” the Doctor trailed off, “What?”

“We're outside. We're on a beach,” Brian said.

The Doctor threw a small temper tantrum, stomping his feet and flailing his arms.

“Teleports...Oh, I hate teleports! Must have activated on my voice.”

“Ah, yes, well, thank you, Arthur C Clarke. Teleport, obviously. I mean, we're on a spaceship with dinosaurs. Why wouldn't there be a teleport? In fact, why don't we just teleport now?” Brian stormed away from them.

“Is he all right?” the Doctor asked Rory.

“No, he hates traveling. Makes him really anxious. He only goes to the paper shop and golf.”

“What did you bring him for?”

“I didn't! Why can't you just phone ahead like any normal person?”

Elise rolled her eyes, wishing she was with Amy and Neffy right now. There was too much testosterone for her liking.

“Somebody tell me where we are, now,” Brian demanded.

The Doctor stuck his tongue out, tasting the air. “Well, it's not Earth. Doesn't taste right. Too metallic.”

Brian pointed to a creature in the sky making squawking noises. “Is that a kestrel?”

“I do hope so.”

Rory knelt down. “The beach is humming.”

Elise did the same. “Rory’s right.” She looked at Rory. “You’re getting better at this.”

“Thanks,” he said, sheepishly.

“Right, well, don't just stand there, you two. Dig. Elise and I are going to look at rocks. Love a rock.”

“Wait, what?” Elise asked as the Doctor grabbed her.

“Dig with what?” Rory asked, as they walked away.

“Ah, well,” Brian said. He pulled out a trowel and started digging.

“Did you just have that on you?”

“Of course. What sort of man doesn't carry a trowel? Put it on your Christmas list.”

Rory knelt down next to his father. “Dad, I'm thirty one. I don't have a Christmas list anymore.”

The Doctor spun around with his hands in the air. “I do!”

Rory gave him a thumbs up while Elise rolled her eyes.

Brian dug until he hit metal. “There's a floor under this beach.”

Rory jumped up and ran over to the Doctor and Elise. “Doctor! Doctor!”

The two of them discovered a computer disguised as a rock. “See? Metal floors, screens in rocks. It was just a matter of a short range teleport. We're still on the ship,” the Doctor told them.

“No, we're outside on a beach,” Brian argued.

“It's part of the ship, Dad,” Rory said.

“Don't be ridiculous.”

“Well, it is quite ridiculous. Also brilliant. That's why the system teleported us here. I wanted the engines. This is the engine room!” The Doctor spun around with his hands in the air. “Hydro-generators! Ha!”

The Doctor put his hands on Rory and Brian’s shoulders. “Fabulously impossible. Oh, think of the things we could learn from this ship if we manage to stop it being blown to pieces.”

“Plus not dying,” Rory added.

“Bad news, can't shut the wave system down in time. It takes…” The Doctor and Elise turned around to find the creature in the sky getting closer to them. “It takes way too long.”

“If these are the engines, there must be a control room,” Rory said.

“Exactly. That's what we need to find. Now, what do we do about the things that aren't kestrels?”

“Oh my lord. Are those pterodactyls?” Brian asked.

“Yes. On any other occasion, I'd be thrilled. Exposed on a beach, less thrilled. We should be going.” The Doctor grabbed Brian’s hand and Elise grabbed Rory’s.

“Where?” Brian asked.

“Er, definitely away from them.”

“That's the plan?” Rory snapped.

“That's the plan. Amendments welcome. Move away from the pterodactyls.” “I think they might be noticing.”

“Amendment passed. Run!”

The four of them started running.

“Why don't we just teleport or something?”

“No! Local teleport burnt out on arrival. There's an opening in the cliffs over there!”

“Come on!”

“I'm trying!” Brian yelled.

They finally reached the cave entrance as one of the pterodactyls snapped at Rory’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Elise asked him.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Right, what do we do now? There's no way back out there.”

“Through the cave. Come on,” the Doctor told them.

There were loud thuds coming towards them.

“That suggestion was a work in progress.”

“We're trapped,” Brian said.

“Yes, thanks for spelling it out.”

“Doctor, whatever's down there is coming this way,” Rory noted.

“Spelling it out is hereditary. Wonderful.”

“That sound's getting nearer,” Brian observed.

Soon, two large robots were standing in front of them.

One of them looked at the group and said, “We're very cross with you.”

[saiilorstars]

Falling in Temptation

Previous chapters || Sequel to Stars Dance

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 11th Doctor x Female OC

~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~

Ch. 10: Reality

Chapter summary: Two Doctors would usually mean things would get solved quicker, but not this time. The gangers and humans are raging war against each other and now it's a race to find the TARDIS and escape with their lives. On the side, Avalon is determined to get the only piece of honesty she can get right now and it can only come from the Doctor.

Fairy Tale Memoirs (Companion story)

As soon as the ganger Doctor said spoken his first words to the group, he erupted into massive shouts of pain. "What's happening?" His words, his shouts, were all mixed up as if he was living through different moments. "I wonder if we'll get back. Yes, one day... Aaagh! I've reversed the polarity of the neutron flow!"

"What is he doing?" the Sapling cocked his head each time the ganger turned.

The Doctor tried helping the ganger but there was really nothing he could do at the moment, "'The Flesh is struggling to cope with our past regenerations. Hold on!"

"Don't you have like a billion of those?" Amy called in, making the Doctor momentarily pause to glare at her.

"No!"

"Would you like a jelly-baby?" the ganger Doctor questioned in his 4th incarnation's voice, "Why? Why!?"

"Why do they keep saying that?" Avalon suddenly asked, getting the glances of everyone, "I mean...that's what ganger Jennifer said too, remember Amy?" the second ginger had to agree with a nod, "What does it mean?"

"'Why' what?" the Doctor finally asked his ganger self, taking in Avalon's words and having to agree as well.

"Hello. I'm the Doctor," the ganger replied instead, using his 10th's self's voice, "No, let it go, we've moved on!"

"Oh!" Avalon snapped her fingers, suddenly beaming. "That's the one that went to New Earth!"

"Ava, not the time!" went the Doctor, but she mimicked his voice instead of agreeing.

"I'm never gonna meet him so I'll take what I can get!"

The Doctor's face might as well have stayed in a glare because it seemed like Avalon and Amy were taking turns making unnecessary comments.

"I've reversed the jelly-baby of the neutron flow. Would you like a..." the ganger grabbed the Doctor by the lapels, "Doctor...Doctor... I'm... I'm the... I can't."

"No, listen, hold on. Hold on!" the Doctor tried reassuring the ganger but was shoved away.

"No-o-o-o! Aaaagh!" the ganger showed his flesh-state face to the others.

"Doctor, we need you. Get over here," Amy called to the Doctor, taking cautious steps towards him with Avalon.

The ganger slowly stopped moving until he came to a complete stop. His hands fell from his head and came to adjust the bowtie around his neck. "Hello," he gave a wave with his hand.

"Hi!" the Sapling returned the gesture with a beam on his face.

"Cybermats," the Doctor crossed his arms and faced his ganger self. They really did look identical - it was really weird.

The ganger seemed to catch on and sighed, "Do we have time for this?"

"We make time. I'd like more proof that you're me. Cybermats?"

"Created by the kill by feeding off brainwaves."

Amy gave up trying to get the Doctor's attention and ran back to the door with the other factory workers. Avalon was a bit more awed by the situation but was nonetheless scared as well, so she hurried to the door.

"Don't you have guns somewhere?" was the first thing she asked the factory workers.

"Yeah, big guns would be good right now," Buzzer sucked some breath and nodded.

Jimmy was leaning against the door, a last resort to keep it shut against the gangers, "Why would we have guns? We're a factory. We mine."

"Get back!" Amy yelled as they heard a hissing sound along and saw smoke coming through the door.

"We are completely done for," Avalon declared as they all stepped back. She rolled her eyes at the conversation she was hearing from behind, "Are you two done yet?" she spun around to where the Doctors were, even Amy doing the same, "There's two of you yet still nothing gets done!"

"First of all," the Doctor headed for them and wagged a finger at Avalon. "Shut up!"

"Second of all," his ganger followed in suit with the same finger pointed at Avalon, "...still, shut up."

Avalon raised her eyebrows. Did they seriously think that because there were two of them they could win against her? Absolutely not. She folded her arms across her chest and smirked. "Two of you and you still can't come up with good comebacks. Truly sad. How many brains you got again?"

"Enough with the games," Amy sighed, "There's a problem that needs solving!"

"Breathe," was the Doctors' reply for her.

"What?"

"We have to get you off this island," the ganger Doctor looked at the not-so-well barricaded door.

"And the gangers too."

"Um, Doctor, I'm all for life, but the gangers are trying to kill us," Avalon pointed to the door where the acid could be clearly seen. She barred the Sapling from getting closer.

"They're scared, Ava, that's all," the Doctor assured.

"We're trapped in here," Amy also reminded.

"I don't think so. The Flesh Bowl is fed by cabling from above."

"But where are the earthing conduits?" the ganger Doctor asked.

"All this piping must go down into a tunnel or a shaft or something, yes? With us?" the Doctor headed for a large panel at the other end of the room, "Yowza!" he cheered as he removed the paneling to find a grate. "An escape rout."

Amy glanced at Avalon, mouthing 'Yowza' questioningly at her. Avalon made a face and shrugged, never understanding the Doctor most of the time.

"You know, I'm starting to get a sense of just how impressive it is to hang out with me," the Doctor smugly looked around the room.

"Do we tend to say "Yowza"?" his ganger genuinely wondered.

"Nope!" the Sapling turned around to answer. "Although you did used to say 'Allons-y' for some reason."

Avalon laughed and shot the two Doctors a look. "You did what!? Who did that?"

"I'd rather not answer," the Doctor turned his head away, intending on taking that secret to the grave. It was unfortunate that the Sapling did not agree.

"His last incarnation!"

"Sapling!" the Doctor frowned, feeling completely betrayed by the child.

"Ah, see, that's the one we need to meet!" Avalon sighed in true content, which did make the Doctor be a little less upset. It was better to have her laughing, even if it was at him, than to have her crying.

Just as the entire group managed to get inside, the gangers broke through the door. As they reached the grate, they saw the group at the grate where the Doctor sonicked the locks.

~ 0 ~

The group hurried down the tunnels after getting out of the grate. There was acid everywhere and it was making it difficult to get across without being touched.

"The army will send a recon team," Buzzer said to them.

"We need to contact the mainland," Cleaves reminded him.

"What about Rory and Jen? They are both out there," Amy stressed as she looked around in case they were somewhere nearby. Unfortunately, they weren't that lucky.

"This is a like a labyrinth," Avalon sighed, already having given up looking around their immediate areas. She held the Sapling's hand in hers, tightly, but she wasn't sure who was more afraid at this point.

"I bet you lot have got a computer map," the Doctor looked at Cleaves questioningly.

"If we can get power running, we can scan for them," the woman agreed but couldn't say more as they all started violently coughing.

"Doctor, you said earlier to breathe," Amy covered her mouth.

"Very important, Pond. Breathe," he stood by his statement.

"Yeah, I'm struggling to."

"Acid interacting with the stone," the Doctor managed to explain.

"Creating an asphyxiant miasma," his ganger finished thankfully.

"In English?" Avalon raised am eyebrow.

"Chokey gas. Extra heavy. If we can get above it..."

"The evac tower," Cleaves resolved and started leading the way, "This way!"

They entered a room full of machinery which was they assumed was the control room. As the Doctors got straight to work, the humans took a moment to end their cough.

"Ohh! I think I coughed so hard, I pulled a muscle or something," Amy remarked as she struggled to stand straight.

A bell chimed in the distance which made Jimmy sober up rather quick, "It's midnight. It's Adam's birthday. My son's five. Happy birthday, bud."

"Best present for him would be getting home," Avalon sighed and put a hand on her back as she stood correctly, "How we doing over there?" she called to the working aliens.

"Trying to get the power back," the original Doctor replied, "There's always some power floating around."

"Sticking to the wires, like bits of lint," the ganger Doctor popped up from behind the console.

Amy frowned, "Can you stop finishing each other's..."

"Sentences?" the Doctor finished, "No probs."

"Yes," the ganger nodded and both ducked down behind the console again.

"Confused as hell," Avalon commented with a resigned sigh, "You - well, one of you - said that the TARDIS was stuck in acid, so won't she be damaged?"

One of the Doctors stood up again, but neither Avalon nor Amy (nor the Sapling for that matter) knew who was who. "Nah. She's a tough old thing. Tough, old, sexy."

"No," the other Doctor stood up, "Tough, dependable, sexy."

"Come on. OK, how can...how can you both be real?" Amy felt like her head would spin if they continued to do that. She glanced at Avalon and saw the latte was more or less feeling the same. Only the Sapling seemed to be enjoying the situation.

"Well, because...we are. I'm the Doctor," went one of the pair.

"So am I," went the other, "We contain the knowledge of over 900 years of experience. We both wear the same bowtie, which is cool."

"Because bowties are..."

"And always will be."

"Stop it!" Avalon cut in with exasperation, "You weren't linked up to the Flesh so how did that work, exactly?"

"It must've been after I examined it," the original Doctor answered, "Thus, a new, genuine Doctor was created."

"Ta-da!" the ganger exclaimed.

"You mean I could've had a ganger too!?" the Sapling gasped at the idea as he recalled how close he'd been to the Flesh as well.

"No," Avalon shot him a look.

"Quite right," the Doctor agreed. "You were behind me, Sapling. I think it's better like that, though. Who knows what kind of ganger you would've gotten."

"It would've been cool," the Sapling mumbled, quite disappointed.

"But one of you was here first," Amy's pointed finger moved from one alien to the other.

"After the Flesh scanned me, I had an accident with a puddle of acid. Now new shoes, a situation which did not confront me learned self here."

"That satisfy you, Pond?" the ganger raised an eyebrow, "Ava?"

"Don't call me Pond, please," Amy said quietly as she moved around. She stepped beside Avalon when both Doctors looked at her. They were examining her as if she were some new experiment. "What?"

"Interesting," the ganger Doctor said, "You definitely feel more affection for him than me."

"No, I..." Amy could see why they would think that and felt uncomfortable having to explain. It should be obvious that she wasn't doing it to be mean. It was just natural. "Look, you're fine and everything, but he is the Doctor. No offence. Being almost the Doctor is pretty damn impressive."

"Being almost the Doctor's like being no Doctor at all," the ganger snapped.

"Don't overreact," Amy frowned.

"Well you are being rude," Avalon mumbled to her and received an elbow jabbed on her side, "Ow!"

"And what about you?" the ganger looked at the pained ginger.

"What about me?" she rubbed her side and glared at Amy.

"Do you think I'm real?"

"Being real is not the problem I have with you," blurted Avalon who then quickly covered her mouth, "Sorry."

"Ava," even the original Doctor was mildly surprised.

"Wha...she's the one who said you weren't real," Avalon pointed at Amy in a quick attempt to distract him.

"Yeah, thanks Avalon," Amy muttered, shooting her a glare.

"Oh shut up, you dug your own hole," Avalon snapped then sighed, dropping her hand from her side. "Look, I didn't mean for it to come out like that..."

"What were you trying to say, then?" the ganger was still snappy, which only made her frown.

"Listen, if you're really the same then you know exactly what my problem is. And just so we're clear, it's with both of you."

"Sounds like Father is in trouble," the Sapling announced. Avalon nodded her head, humming in agreement.

"I'm going to pull the 'I literally just came to life' card right now," the ganger Doctor happily said as it did free him of any problems. And even more, it made Avalon chuckle.

The Doctor watched with a frown as his ganger practically yanked Avalon's hand, bringing her far too close to him. What did he think he was doing? Avalon was smiling like she wasn't angry with them two seconds ago.

"Well, I guess I can't be that mad with you," Avalon bobbed her head while she pretended to think. "But you can't use that line all the time."

"I'll come up with better ones," the ganger promised her then winked. Avalon might have blushed.

The original Doctor wasn't very pleased with the interaction and did the only thing he could do, "Communication a go-go!" he slammed his hand on the console repeatedly to break them up, succeeding easily.

"Can it find Rory?" Avalon quickly forgot the situation as she and Amy ran for the computer screen, though the ganger Doctor shot his original a look for his obvious attempt. The Doctor ducked his head with the controls. He needed to work, after all.

Cleaves was already maneuvering the screen by the time the gingers got to her, "There's no sign of him anywhere."

"Come on, baby, show yourself," Amy insisted.

~ 0 ~

After a while of checking the scans for Rory and Jennifer, Cleaves decided to activate a transmission for the mainland, "St John's calling. Emergency Alpha. St John's calling the mainland. Are you receiving me, Captain? Come in'," but there wasn't an answer back, "We'll never get a signal through this storm. St John's calling the mainland. Come in, this is urgent."

"'We're just about reading you, St John's. How are you doing? We've had all kinds of trouble here'."

"'Request immediate evacuation. We're under attack. The storm's affected our gangers. They're running amok."

"'Your gangers?'"

"Yes, our gangers are attacking us. We need you to take us off the island immediately and wipe them out."

The two Doctors looked at each other with concern, that wasn't part of the plan and Cleaves knew it.

"'Copy that, St John's. Shuttle's dispatched. Hang on'."

"You'll need to airlift us off the roof of the evac tower. And Captain, any further transmission sent by me must come with the following code word. I'm typing it, in case they're listening in.'

'"Got it. We'll swing in, get you out and decommission the Flesh'.

"We've got to get out of here," Buzzer said immediately after the transmission had been cut off.

"But we can't leave without Rory nor Jennifer," Avalon reminded him.

"We're not leaving without them," Amy firmly said.

"I want 'em found too, but it's about casualties, innit?" he raised an eyebrow at the two gingers, "Can't be helped."

"Well you're going to have to cope because we're not going anywhere without them," Avalon declared.

"What are you doing?" Amy had noticed the Doctor sitting in one of the chairs at the console typing away. She moved closer and observed the screen.

"Making a phone call," the Doctor answered distractedly.

"Who to?"

"No-one yet. It's on delay."

"Right, not getting it. Why exactly are you making a phone call?"

"Because, Amy, I am and always will be the optimist, the hoper of far-flung hopes and the dreamer of improbable dreams. The wheels are in motion. Done."

"I dream of getting out of here," Avalon sighed, "And as quick as possible."

"Will be taken care of," the Doctor pointed at her assuredly.

The Sapling had noticed Amy staring at something across the room. He came to stand beside her and tried to catch whatever it was she was looking at, but he couldn't find anything. He then realized that Amy hadn't even noticed he was standing right there. "Aunt Amy?" he tapped her arm and watched her jump in place. "What's wrong? What were you looking at?"

Amy rubbed her eyes and gazed at the wall she'd been staring at. Nope, no eye-patch woman there. Why did she keep seeing that woman? Was it some effect from the TARDIS?

"Amy?" the Doctor called now once he saw how pale she was. "What happened?"

Amy didn't know if she would sound crazy but she had to get it off her chest. She'd been carrying the secret with her for a while now and for some reason, she felt like now it was getting worse. She kept seeing the woman by the hour. "I can't take it anymore!" she exclaimed. "It's her! I keep seeing her!"

"What is she talking about?" Avalon inched behind the Doctor. Like the Sapling, Avalon gazed at the wall but found nothing.

"There's a woman I keep seeing, a woman with an eye-patch, and she has this habit of sliding walls open and staring at me," Amy frantically explained and missed the reactions of both Doctors.

"Is that like a movie?" the Sapling glanced at his Mother for the answer.

"Not one I've seen," the ginger promptly responded. She checked to see what the Doctor thought but noticed how unsurprised he was. "Doctor?"

"It's nothing," the original tried to wave off.

"Yeah, judging by Amy's face it doesn't look like it's 'nothing'," Avalon tilted her head, "What are-"

"It's a time memory. Like a mirage," he cut her off, "It's nothing to worry about."

"Liar," Avalon whispered then looked at the ganger beside her, ready to question him too.

However, he had his eyes closed and looked like he was in some type of pain, "It's in my head..." he hurried out the room.

"Hey, hold on!" Avalon called after him.

"Don't let him go," Cleaves warned.

"Leave it to me," Amy hurried out the room, hoping to fix some the things she'd said to him.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem the case for when she returned to the room, it was in a hurried run and heavy breath, "Keep him away from me!" she ordered and ran over to where the other Doctor was.

"Amy?" Avalon frowned at the attitude of her friend, "What's wrong?"

"Did you sense it?" the ganger Doctor came into the room and questioned his other self.

"Briefly. Not as strong as you."

"Sensed what?" Avalon walked over to Amy and hoped to calm her.

"Is there pictures we're missing?" the Sapling looked between the two Doctors, just as puzzled as everyone else.

"Not quite," went one of the Doctors.

"Amy, I'm sorry," the ganger Doctor apologized honestly.

"No, you keep away!" Amy snapped, pulling Avalon closer. Rory would definitely not want Avalon to be around the ganger who had radical, horrific emotions, "We can't trust you!"

"It would appear I can connect to the Flesh," the Doctor wasn't particularly paying attention to her at the moment.

"Well, you are Flesh," the ginger continued to say.

"I'm beginning to understand what it needs."

"What you want. You are it."

"Amy," Avalon put a hand on Amy's arm, disliking the tone and attitude she was taking with the ganger. If he was connected to the Flesh, then he didn't exactly have a choice in what he saw.

"It's much more powerful than we thought," the Doctor continued on without notice, "The Flesh can grow, correct?"

Cleaves was another that wasn't very interested in the topic, "Its cells can divide."

"Well, now it wants to do that at will. It wants revenge," the Doctor approached her, "It's in pain, angry. It wants revenge."

"Hm, thing got a mind of its own now? Where did I hear that one...?" Avalon sarcastically looked around, "...mm, oh right," she crossed her arms as she finally stepped around Amy, "Me."

"Mother was right," the Sapling agreed with a nod of his head.

"Doctor, I told you that we couldn't trust him," Amy went up to the Doctor herself. "I was right. He can't be the Doctor. He can't ever be, he's just a copy."

"That's not very nice," the Sapling pointed.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to go with the Sapling this time," Avalon folded her arms.

"Be quiet, Avalon," Amy snapped, nearly sounding like a mother and looking like it when she pulled Avalon back with her.

"Hey!"

"Doctor, it might be best if you stayed over there for now, hmm?" Cleaves resolved as she stepped towards the ganger, prompting the other Doctor to move up as well.

"Hold on a minute. Hold your horses," he cut in between the woman and the ganger, "I thought I'd explained this. I'm him, he's me."

"Doctor, we have no issue with you. But when it comes to your ganger..." Cleaves looked around to the other people for their opinions, though their faces were more than clear, except for one person of course.

"I think you're all overreacting a bit," Avalon tried to input but no one listened.

"Be quiet!" snapped Amy again, though this time Avalon sent her a deep glare.

"Tell me to shut up one more time, I dare you," she gritted her teeth. It was completely outrageous that they forced the ganger Doctor on a barrel like he was some criminal.

Amy would not take the dare; she'd seen the fights Avalon had in the past and she wasn't interested in getting a black eye in the midst of all the trouble. "I just think it would be safer," she said, though her tone was still strained.

"Safer? They're the same!" Avalon gestured to the ganger and then to Doctor. "Down to the same stupid bow-tie! No two people can make that same mistake!"

The Sapling covered his mouth to giggle when both Doctors gave Avalon the same deadpanning look.

Amy, though, wouldn't listen as she shook her head. "You're too blinded by them."

A new type of anger flourished across Avalon's face when Amy made that accusation. Making that accusation basically told Avalon that Amy believed she couldn't separate reality from her stories, from the all the stories she'd heard about the Doctor. It was an outright offence, honestly. "I am not blinded, Amelia Pond! I'm not seven! I'm not a child!"

"Avalon," the ganger Doctor stepped in when her face began to match the shade of her hair. He grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away from the mini-stare down she was having with Amy. "It's fine, really."

"No, it's not," Avalon continued shooting Amy glares. "I hate when they say that. Like...like I'm too engulfed in my stories to realize that I'm in the real world." She turned to him, expression akin to a beg. "I know I have my stories and I love them but I'm not blinded by them. I know you're real and that you have flaws and...this is the real world. It's not my fairy tale world."

"I know that," he assured her with a soft smile. "You don't have to prove it to me."

"...just like you don't have to prove to anyone that you're real," she said and shot the others another glare. "You're a ganger but you're the Doctor. I know you are."

"And that counts for a lot, trust me," he rubbed her arms comfortingly. "My Ava."

She smiled back but when he moved to sit on the barrel the others ordered him to, she yanked him to his side. "Absolutely not. They can all suck it." She stuck her tongue out at anyone who saw.

From his spot, the original Doctor struggled hard not to laugh right there and then. That's my Ava.

After a couple minutes, the group got word from the mainland they were trying to land when the signal was cut off.

"I can't find Rory. I'm going out there," Amy had had enough of waiting around.

"We could use the sonic to track him," the Doctor offered as he pulled out his screwdriver, "Humans and gangers give off slightly different signals. The sonic can tell the difference."

"Oh, so the sonic knows gangers are different, so the other Doctor is different."

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "He is the Doctor."

"Not to me," Amy assured, "I can tell."

"Sure you're not prejudiced?"

"Nice try, but I know, OK? We've been through too much. You're my Doctor. End of."

"Amy, instead of making things worse come over here," Avalon was with Buzzer in front of the visual screens, "We've got Rory and Jennifer," everyone quickly gathered to see the screen.

"They're heading for the thermostatic room," Cleaves seemed confused and with great reason.

"Let's go get them," Amy declared but saw the screwdriver being tossed over to the Doctor on the barrel, "Hang on!"

"We can't let him go," Cleaves moved over to the Doctor, "Are you crazy?"

"Am I crazy, Doctor?" the Doctor turned to his other self.

"Well, you did once plumb your brain into the core of an entire planet just to halt its orbit and win a bet."

"I remember that!" the Sapling laughed as he watched the images in his head.

Avalon was not amused in the least. "That's not being crazy, that's being utterly stupid. And that's coming from me. Mels used to dare me to do the stupidest things."

"Enough!" Amy snapped. "Now he's not going-" she pointed to the ganger, "-I am!"

"Do you know, I want him to go," the Doctor stepped closer to her, serious, "And I'm rather adamant."

"Well, then, he'll need company, right, boss? It's fine. I'll handle it," Buzzer offered and stepped forwards.

"Thank you, Buzzer. It'll be all right. I'll find him," the ganger waved and left with Buzzer to follow.

"I can't explain it to you now, but I need you to trust him," the Doctor looked at Amy and even Avalon, "Can you do that for me?"

"Course," Avalon nodded but Amy seemed to have more trouble accepting it.

"What if you're wrong?" were her final words.

~ 0 ~

"These temperature gauges are rising," Cleaves read from the screen. They'd been monitoring the visuals for a while and was growing concerned, "Jennifer and Rory must have shut off the underground cooling vents."

"Why do that? They'll kill us," Dickens frowned.

"There's a million gallons of boiling acid under our feet..." Cleaves slowly looked down at the floor.

"And now it's heating up the whole island," the Doctor understood, "How long till it blows?" his answer was the explosion that rocked them entirely.

"Gangers or no gangers, we need to get the hell out of here," Dickens urgently said.

"Shuttle! We need evac," Cleaves started a transmission again, "Where are you? Can you hear me? Can you...?" she stopped when she felt a jab at her forehead.

"Cleaves? Cleaves, sit down," the Doctor helped her away the console and sat her on a chair.

"I'm fine," Cleaves assured as she put a hand on her forehead, I'm waiting for results, so let it go."

The Doctor had used the sonic on her and got results instantaneous, "It's a very deep parietal clot."

"Inoperable?"

"On Earth, yes."

"Well, seeing as Earth is all that's on... offer...hm," Cleaves slumped in her chair, "I'm no healthy spring chicken, and you're no weatherman. Right?"

Another quake struck and shook the room, "Something just cracked. I heard it," Avalon frantically looked around for anything that was breaking.

"Yeah, we can't stay here, let's go," the Doctor agreed and headed for the doors.

Cleaves moved to the console again and did another transmission, "Cleaves to Shuttle. We need to move, and we can't be collected from the evac tower."

'Give us the codeword'.

"The codeword is..." but her voice was cut off with another quake that struck that console and cut off the transmission.

"Cleaves? Cleaves, it's dead, it's dead," the Doctor called to them, "We need to get out of here. We need to get back downstairs and get those vents back on, come on."

They ran into a new room where the Doctor and Cleaves hurried to change the settings on the machine, "It's a chemical chain reaction now. I can't stop it. This place is going to blow sky high," the Doctor sighed.

"Exactly how long have we got?" Cleaves asked.

"An hour? Five seconds? Er, somewhere in between."

The klaxon sounded along with a series of explosions, "Out!" the Doctor ordered and ran out the room with the group.

They ran a couple feet until they found Rory on a turn. Amy was the first to hug him as she was the closest one.

"All right?" Rory pulled back and studied her followed by Avalon.

"Us? What about you?" Avalon hugged him, "Don't you dare do that again!"

"Yeah, aunt Amy and Mother were very worried," the Sapling informed as if Rory hadn't already known that.

"There's a way out. Jennifer found it. A secret tunnel under the crypt," Rory pulled away and looked at the group.

"From the crypt? It's not on the schematics," Cleaves shook her head.

"It runs right out of the monastery. Maybe even under the TARDIS, Doctor. Follow me."

As everyone ran after Rory, the Doctor seemed slightly hesitant to do so.

"We can't leave without Buzzer," Jimmy said as they entered the new room.

"I'll go back for him," Cleaves called.

Rory was with the Doctor and was looking nervous for some reason, "Doctor, look...I'd better tell you, I haven't been quite straight with you..." but ganger Jennifer pulled him out the room before he could finish and locked the group inside.

"Rory!" the Doctor pounded on the door, "Rory Pond, Roranicus Pondicus!"

"Rory! What the hell are you playing at?" Avalon shouted but caught sight of Jennifer on the other side and knew it had to be that woman's fault.

"Rory, there is no time. This factory's about to explode!" Amy called frantically.

"I'm sorry!" Rory was able to say before he was dragged away by the Jennifer.

"Can we hurt her?" the Sapling made a deep scowl appear on his face. They were just trying to get home and that woman was about to kill them off.

With no other alternatives, the Doctor hurried back to the acid with the sonic, "This is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, just as a point of interest."

"Please, stop talking," Avalon sighed, she'd rather not hear about their looming death.

Dicken started lowering the cap over the vat as an effort against it. Jimmy moved closer to the vat and shook his head, "It'll never hold her.'

"If you have a better plan, I'm all ears," the Doctor pointed, "In fact, if you have a better plan, I'll take you to a planet where everyone is all ears."

"I've also seen that one!" the Sapling tapped the side of his head. "Can I go there afterwards?"

Even through the now shut cap, the acid was far stronger. Cleaves observed it from a distance, "The acid's eating through."

"This is it, huh? This is where we're going to die," Avalon shuddered a breath as she stared at the weak vat with soon-to-be overflowing acid. She felt her breathing pick up. That was new. She never really considered that one of their trips might be the last one.

The Doctor came over to her and hugged her. He didn't care if she would push him away; he needed for her know that he wouldn't leave her side. "No, it's not," he quietly said.

"Oh you don't have to lie," Avalon sighed. She allowed him to hug her for a few seconds, letting herself enjoy his hold just for a bit.

Jimmy had moved to keep the vat's lid down but some of the acid managed to splash on his chest, knocking him to the floor. At that moment, ganger Jimmy ran into the room and went straight for his other self. The Doctor had gone to check the original but found bad results, "There's nothing we can do. The acid's reached his heart."

"Hang in there, mate," ganger Jimmy sighed.

"I'm quite handsome from this angle," Jimmy managed to humor.

"I'm...sorry. I'm the fake. Adam deserves his real dad."

"Shut up," Jimmy playfully rolled his eyes.

"What do you want me to do? Anything, just say."

"The way things are, mate... it's up to you now," Jimmy pulled on the cord around his neck and gave it to his ganger, "Be a dad. You remember how."

A stunned ganger Jimmy held up a wedding band in his hand.

"Jimmy Wicks...you're a dad," the Doctor clapped him on the shoulder.

"Right then, everyone, it's time to go!" ganger Cleaves called to the group and ran out the room first.

The Doctor stood by the door as everyone ran out but noticed Avalon staring at the corner of the room. "Ava! Let's go!"

"Amy said that woman appeared there again," she pointed at the wall. "How can that be? There's nothing there."

"Avalon, it doesn't matter!" the Doctor ran back to bring her out of the room. "We have to go!"

"But it does!" Avalon snapped, yanking her arm out of his hold after they'd gotten into the corridor. "Because you know what it means and don't want to tell us! And when you do that, it means something's happening."

"No, it's not," the Doctor tried his best to smile like nothing was going on around them, like neither of them were in danger. "You know me, I've got so many things in my head that I don't even know what's going on half the time."

"Nice try," Avalon rolled her eyes. "You know what's going on, more than you're letting on. But I shouldn't be surprised. It's what you do. Keep everything to yourself."

"This...isn't about Amy anymore, is it?"

Avalon once again rolled her eyes and when she attempted to leave, the Doctor grabbed her arm. "Look if you're not going to tell me anything, then just leave me alone."

"Now a wait minute, 10 minutes ago you were dandy with the other Doctor but now I'm the one you're mad at?"

"Are you seriously telling me that you're jealous?" Avalon didn't know whether to laugh or scream in frustration. "Why are you like this?" she air-strangled him instead.

"Like what?" the Doctor frowned.

Avalon groaned, her hands dangerously close to actually strangling him by the neck. "I hate you, you know that!? Do you enjoy being self-righteous with me? Especially with me?"

"I would never-"

"-then why don't you just tell me the truth already?"

"What truth?"

"I'm going to kill you, after," Avalon muttered and stepped towards him. She grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him close to her so he would definitely listen to her words. "If I'm really going to die here, then I refuse to go without hearing you tell me the truth about us."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "Oh..."

"Yeah, 'oh'," Avalon could be pretty scary when she wanted to, and of course she'd choose to be the scariest when she wanted a confession from him about their feelings. She sure knew how to pick them.

"I don't think this is really the time. I mean, we have got some killer acid and actual killers after us-"

"-I don't bloody care," Avalon snapped. "I deserve for somebody to tell me the truth for once in my life." Her face suddenly softened, as did the grip of her hands on his jacket. She tilted her head slightly, eyes glimmering with tears. "And I would really like for that 'somebody' to be you."

"Ava...I can't..."

"Why not?" she asked through gritted teeth. "And don't tell me it's because there's nothing. Fantasy Fest. That's all the proof I need. You were about to kiss me and don't deny it."

"I stopped for a reason..."

"Because you nearly got caught."

"No, because...it was the right thing to do," the Doctor put his hands over hers and gently pulled them off his jacket. "Because I can't do that to you. You have me falling in temptation, Ava. Being who I am, it's a dangerous thing."

"And I told you plenty of times that I like dangerous. Literally. I love the adrenaline," Avalon said with the most honest smirk on her face. She raised her head as if daring him to challenge her.

He honest to God loved that look on her. He could kiss her to death right now. He brought one of his hands to touch her face, very soon grazing her lips. "My Ava. You have no idea what goes through my head whenever you're around me."

"I would if you just told me," Avalon whispered.

"Thing is, Avalon, I've done this before and it never ended well," the Doctor's gaze lowered a bit.

Avalon could see the pain etching across his face, as if it were still raw because it happened yesterday. She didn't have to hear each individual story to know that the Doctor blamed himself for every ending. "You're 909, I believe you."

"I don't want you to be the next one. Because sometimes it's not the fact that they've left me, it's how they ended up leaving. You won't be the next one, not on my watch."

Avalon's eyes watered up. "Can you just say it, though? Say it once, please."

But the Doctor wasn't brave enough. If he said it out loud, then it would finally become real. And when it became real, the pain that came with it would also be real. He couldn't do it. "I can't...I'm sorry..."

The ground suddenly rumbled underneath them, nearly knocking them both to the wall. The Doctor grabbed ahold of Avalon's arm - even if she wanted to murder him for his inability to speak the truth - and searched the hallway for a good route.

"We have to go!"

"I hate you!" Avalon didn't hesitate to start and he would be smart enough to know that this wasn't the end of their conversation. Just because they were about to die was no excuse! Not for them!

~ 0 ~

The rest of the group had entered a new room after being chased down by ganger Jennifer (who was now the only one bent on war). They'd met up with Rory and the other Doctor again and were now trying to keep Jennifer away from them. As Dicken came to shut the door that would keep Jennifer out, he crashed into a running Avalon and Doctor.

"Where the hell have you two been?" called Rory from the end of the room, frankly offended they'd left them to their luck.

"Yeah, ganger Jennifer is still after us!" the Sapling waved his arms frantically. Of course then he dropped them when he noticed how angry his mother looked. "Why are you upset, Mother?"

"Ask your father," Avalon shoved the Doctor with her to the side.

A scream carried down the hallway and made everyone look out to see Dickens shut the door with himself on the other side. Jennifer had killed him and was making her way towards the group now. Ganger Dickens shut the door in front of them with the help of ganger Cleaves and the Doctor that had come in with Avalon.

There was a creaking sound from the ceiling and the other Doctor looked up to see a familiar blue square coming through. "Here she comes!" The TARDIS fell down and added an extra rumble to the ground. "Oh, she does like to make an entrance! Move!" he ordered as he went up to the doors and opened them up for the group, "Go, go, go, go!"

Ganger Dickens left the door and ran into the TARDIS. Cleaves was going to do the same but looked back at her ganger, "Get on board! Go!" the ganger shooed he off.

"I'm not leaving," Cleaves tried to argue but the loud bang Jennifer gave on the other side of the door cut her off.

"Go!" the ganger yelled at her and so went Cleaves into the TARDIS.

"Sapling!" the Doctor called from the TARDIS. "GO!" The Sapling nodded his head quickly and made a dash for the blue box.

"Now's our chance," Amy hurried to the TARDIS and looked back at the others, specifically the Doctor at the door.

"I have to stay. Hold this door closed. Give you time to dematerialize."

"What are you doing?" Avalon frowned, "What happens if you stay here?"

"Well, this place is just about to explode. But I can stop her."

"Both of you can survive this, OK?" Amy looked between the two aliens.

"Or perhaps you think I should stay instead... Mr Smith?"

"No, of course not. But look, this man, I've flown with him, you know? And you are amazing and yeah, I misjudged you, but you're not him. I'm sorry."

"Amy, we swapped shoes. I'm the Doctor," the Doctor by the TARDIS informed.

"And I'm...the Flesh," the Doctor at the door said rather nervously as he looked at Avalon.

"You're what now?" her eyes widened.

"I, uh, I...probably should've mentioned that before-"

"-right, because telling the truth is so easy for you clearly," she rolled her eyes.

"No, hold on!" Amy shook her head fervently as if that would make things more clear. "How's this even possible!?"

"Well, they switched places, didn't they?" Rory wasn't that surprised the Doctor would pull something like that. In fact, they should've just seen it coming.

"Well I'm not the original, I haven't been all along," the ganger Doctor shrugged, not able to explain much further.

"I don't know which one of you to kill right now," Avalon looked between both aliens, though the reactions from each were different. The one at the door looked heavily frightened while the one at the TARDIS was trying to understand what was going on.

"Ava? What happened?" the Doctor, the real one, asked her.

"Is there a way you both can survive?" Amy's hair kept flinging from side to side as she asked the two Doctors.

"Yeah, so I can kill both of them," mumbled Avalon.

"You okay?" Rory touched Avalon's arm, the only one who wouldn't die at the moment. She shook her head in response. "What happened?"

"Nothing!" she quickly exclaimed, shooting the ganger a sharp look, "Nothing happened," though her face was upset and sad, "Just, um, just tell us, is there a way of survival for you?" she genuinely wondered.

"Get to safety, Ava," was the answer of the ganger, a soft smile on his face.

"Well we can't just let him die!" Amy exclaimed, frantically shaking as no one seemed very worried about that detail.

"It's fine, Pond," the ganger Doctor smiled just like his other version would. "We got what we needed from this place, didn't we?" he shared a knowing look with the other Doctor, both nodding in agreement.

"What?" Avalon caught on and frowned even deeper. "Oh! I am so done with you two!"

"No Avalon, wait!" the ganger grabbed her arm and gently tugged her to his side. "You were right...about everything." She still shook her head, more ready to kill him before ganger Jennifer did. "Hey, I mean it," he tugged her arm again, forcing her to look at him. "You were absolutely right, but then again...when aren't you right?"

She wanted to roll her eyes again but he had that stupid grin she liked a lot. While she was lost in her thoughts - deciding whether to keep pretending to want to kill him or just leave - she didn't notice that the ganger Doctor had leaned to her side until he whispered something in her ear. When he drew away, she had her wide-eyed stare locked on him and she had a deep blush across her face.

"What he say?" Amy scrunched, wondering if it was some other secret the two aliens had kept from them.

Even the Doctor by the TARDIS was puzzled. "Ava?"

Avalon shared a small smile with his ganger. "You finally said it," she leaned closer to him, letting her nose rest against his cheek. "Thank you. And you know that I feel the same," she told him in a whisper. She pulled away and looked at the door he and Cleaves were desperately trying to keep locked, but ganger Jennifer was using all her monstrous strength to pound against it.

"You need to go," the ganger ordered her. "Please."

"But..."

"I'll be fine," he assured.

"You lie," she said sadly. He didn't say anything except give her another smile. She nodded, indicating she understood, but before she left she surprised him with a kiss on the cheek. She went right into the TARDIS without looking at anyone else, much less the other Doctor who couldn't be more confused in his life! What had that ganger of him said to her and why did she react like that? They were so close too...

Of course he soon turned an accusing look on his ganger, demanding questions with a silent glare.

"Oh shut up," went the ganger in return. "Maybe she's the one who can change things. Because if you don't, and I survive this, I'm coming back for her. You got that?"

"I'm interested," Amy remarked to Rory, both of them looking at each of the Doctors at the same time. "But I'm so confused at the same time."

"I'm not," Rory frowned. It was what he specifically wanted nothing of for the sake of Avalon. "Let's go!" he yanked his wife towards the TARDIS, leaving the two Doctors to work out whatever they needed to.

Avalon was inside with the Sapling but while the tree child was ecstatic to be safe inside the TARDIS, Avalon was lost in thoughts. Rory took a quick stride towards the woman, dreading what was going on through her head.

"Hey Ava," his voice, though gentle, managed to startle her, "Are you okay?"

"Uh...yeah, I think I am," Avalon answered but she still seemed like she was figuring it out. "I just..." she laughed humorlessly, "Why is he so...like that!?"

"Ava," Rory deeply sighed and brought a hand to her curly hair. "I really wish you hadn't..." he couldn't finish it out loud, for her sake, but she just smiled sadly.

"I couldn't help it Rory," she said with the tone of a child. She always did that whenever they had a serious talk. He was like the grown up because God knew she could never be an adult.

"Told you," Amy was smirking, completely the opposite of her husband.

"I don't get it," the Sapling suddenly said, his lips curled into a pout. "What's going on? What are we talking about?"

Avalon just laughed, wholeheartedly for the first time that day. "Oh Sapling, nothing. Nothing except your Mother is a true idiot."

~ 0 ~

After making sure the gangers were stable and dropping ganger Jimmy back to his son, the Doctor brought Cleaves and ganger Dickens back to the headquarters of their factory.

"You really want us to do this?" Cleaves sighed as they approached the conference room.

"Your company's telling the world that the situation is over. You need to get in there and tell them that the situation's only just begun," the Doctor pointed to the door, "Make them understand what they're doing to the Flesh. Make them stop. Dickens, remember, people are good. In their bones, truly good. Don't hate them, will you?"

"How can I hate them? I'm one of them now," he gestured to Cleaves beside her.

"Yeah, and just remember, people died. Don't let that be in vain. Make what you say in that room count."

"Ready? Side by side," Cleaves said as they'd stopped in front of the conference door.

"You got it, boss."

Together, the two co-workers entered the conference room. Amy moved closer to the Doctor and nudged him, "You okay?"

"I said breathe, Pond, remember? Well, breathe," the Doctor sighed as he knew what was coming next. He started making his way back for the TARDIS where Avalon had preferred to stay. Now, on top of a ganger Amy, he had to decipher what secret Avalon was refusing to tell him. And more importantly, what the hell his ganger had whispered in her ear.

"Why?" Amy called but couldn't say more when she doubled over in pain. "Ooh! Woah! Oh!"

"What's wrong with her?" Rory quickly tried checking her for any injury, but he didn't remember seeing anything earlier.

"Get her into the TARDIS," the Doctor ordered and entered the box.

"What's wrong with aunt Amy!?" the Sapling's cry pulled Avalon away from her journal. She looked up to see the Doctor and Rory helping Amy get into the TARDIS.

"Contractions," the Doctor bitterly answered as he went around the console, setting the TARDIS in motion.

"Excuse me?" Avalon hopped off her seat and hurried to help Rory.

"She's going into labor."

The Sapling gasped. "Aunt Amy's having a baby!? I thought it was Mother!"

"Would you stop saying that!?" snapped Avalon. This was no time to remind her that she needed to change diets.

"Doctor, what are you talking about!?" Amy asked in-between groans. She literally felt like she was being stabbed in her stomach. "Rory, I don't like this - OW!"

"You'll have to start explaining this to me, Doctor," Rory practically ordered. He could handle the secrets the Doctor kept from them when it wasn't about Amy. Something was happening to his wife and he wanted answers now.

"What, the birds and the bees? She's having a baby," the Doctor moved away from the console. The Sapling gasped again, in delight until someone would tell him it wasn't all that great when the person in labor didn't even know she was in labor. "I needed to see the Flesh in its early days. That's why I scanned it. That's why we were there in the first place. I was going to drop you off for fish and chips first, but things happened and there was stuff and shenanigans. Beautiful word, shenanigans."

"You're getting off topic," Avalon snapped. "Not to mention the fact I knew you were keeping something from us!"

"It hurts!" cried the second ginger.

"Breathe," the Doctor pointed at Amy, "I needed enough information to block the signal to the Flesh."

"What signal?" Amy didn't understand and quite frankly didn't have the head to decipher it with all the pain she was feeling.

"The signal to you."

"Doctor?"

"Stand away from her," the Doctor sternly looked at Avalon and Rory. He expected the simultaneous refusal from them, but it didn't mean he would be patient about it. Time was literally of the essence now. From here on out, they were at war.

"You need to start explaining now," Avalon's eyes narrowed on the Doctor, and with good reason.

"Given what we've learned, I'll be as humane as I can, but I need to do this and you two-" his voice suddenly rose in volume, "-need to STAND AWAY!"

Avalon flinched when he started yelling. She didn't say anything back, she didn't dare to. Instead, she looked at Rory and the two slowly backed away from Amy. Why were they leaving her!? Why was the Doctor shouting at them!? And why did her stomach hurt so much!?

"No, no, Doctor, I am frightened. I'm properly, properly scared!"

Even the Sapling had the good sense to be afraid now that he was looking at everyone. He slowly inched closer to Avalon who, once she felt him nearby, slowly took him into a hug.

"Don't be. Hold on. We're coming for you, I swear it," the Doctor stepped closer to Amy, putting a hand on her cheek. He felt terrible for taking this long to finally do something about her situation. "Whatever happens, however hard, however far, we will find you."

"I'm right here!" Amy clung to his arm, shaking him to get him to listen to her. But despite her insistence, she could see in his eyes that he'd already made up his decision about her.

"No, you're not. You haven't been here for a long, long time," he stepped back and held his sonic at her. The mere act froze Avalon and Rory in their respective spots. It looked like Amy was suddenly the enemy trespassing.

Amy whimpered in her spot, one hand still wrapped around her stomach. "No..."

With one click of the sonic, she turned into a Flesh puddle.

Rory gasped at the sight of what used to be his wife.

Avalon's eyes wide to the brim. Her grip around the Sapling tightened as if they were next on the list.

The Doctor slowly lowered his sonic but he couldn't look at Rory nor Avalon. What would he tell them? That he'd known for a while Amy wasn't really there with them but he didn't have the tools nor the knowledge to find her?

"Doctor," Rory suddenly spoke up. "Hey?" he had to call twice before the Time Lord would finally glance at him, but only then it was a slight glance. "I don't understand what just happened, nor what is happening but I bet my life that you knew about this."

"Rory-"

"-NO," Rory's voice sharpened quick, shutting the Doctor down in that moment, "You knew about it for God knows how long so right now, you owe me."

"Rory, stop," Avalon's voice was a frail whisper. She was truly afraid of what was coming next, but Rory was already thinking ahead and it included her.

"Avalon, be quiet," Rory snapped. It was so uncharacteristic of him but it was another testament of how furious he was. He walked straight up to the Doctor, and showcased his deepest glare. "You owe me and I'm gonna use that to save the other person I just know is in danger." The Doctor blinked at him, unsure of where Rory was taking this until Rory's eyes flickered to Avalon. "I've felt this for a while and nobody would listen to me, not even Amy."

"Rory, what are you talking about?" Avalon asked, about to walk towards them when the Sapling hugged her tighter. He was mighty afraid and the fact everyone looked so angry and upset didn't help ease his nerves.

"The letter, Avalon," the Doctor said, side-glancing her with sorrow eyes. Now it was Rory's turn to be confused. Neither he nor Amy had heard about the letter. "What did the letter say?"

Avalon's eyes would blink several times before she answered and when she did, she still wasn't sure what it had to do with their conversation. "Dear Avalon, I know this is strange and probably confusing but it is imperious that you listen to me. You must remain with the Doctor for your own safety. Bad things are coming, and they will be coming for you and all your friends." She swallowed hard, attempting to keep calm but her body was visibly shaking. "But it-it's not about me right now. It's about Amy-"

"-but they could be the same people that letter was talking about," the Doctor sighed. "I should have known from the start. I should have been more careful."

"Doctor, they got to Amy but we can still keep Avalon safe," Rory said, now more urgent since they finally figured out what he was trying to say.

"Yes, you're right," the Doctor nodded, turning towards Avalon. The woman took an instinctive step backwards, bringing the Sapling with her in the process. "Avalon, you might be next."

"No, stop it!" she snapped. "We need to focus on Amy and-"

"-you," Rory said. "I'm not losing you too."

"What...what are you going to do?" Avalon asked, her tone laced with a clear fear.

"Whatever it takes," the Doctor promised her.

[raywritesthings]

Death and Taxes

My Writing Fandom: Doctor Who Characters: Eleventh Doctor, River Song, Clara Oswald, Kate Stewart Pairing: Eleventh Doctor/River Song Summary: River wants a house now that she's out of prison, and the Doctor must embark on the dreaded task of personal finance. / Canon Compliant *Can be read on my AO3 or FFN, links are in bio*

He took Professor Song to see the premiere of the Galactic Federation Symphony. The musicians consisted of Draconians, Alpha Centaurians, and humans, with an Ice Warrior serving as conductor. It was a pleasant evening, music and champagne — the latter of which he did not partake in, content to watch his wife sip at her flute with a smile curving her lips. Much better than the first time they’d met after Manhattan. Even so, they carefully danced around the subject of his travels or companions. It hardly mattered; Clara was home with the children again, so he may as well have been alone.

“So then, back to the Luna University? Or perhaps dancing under the Karaveen Nebula? The night is still young,” the Doctor remarked as he led them arm in arm back through the TARDIS doors.

“Actually, Doctor, I’ve got a matter of business to discuss with you,” River countered in a way that surprisingly enough did not at all sound like an innuendo, and he was getting rather good at picking those up from her.

“Oh?”

She slipped her hand into his, and they walked past the console, up into the corridor and through a door which today led into his study. He perched himself on the corner of his desk, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankle.

“Well, Professor Song, what can I do for you?”

She smirked. “I was hoping you'd ask.” Then she pulled out a stack of paper and files far too large to have fit in an ordinary clutch and set them down just to the right of him with a very heavy thud.

The Doctor blinked. “What’s this?”

“It's what I need you to do for me,” she answered. “I’m buying a house near the university, and there's a lot that needs filled out as far as mortgage payments and property taxes are concerned. Not to mention the loan I’ve got to take from the bank. You’ll have to co-sign on that, by the way.”

The Doctor, whose lip had been curling in distaste with every word she spoke, looked at her with wide eyes. “Co-sign?”

River gave a well-worn sigh. “Yes, Sweetie. I get a better deal if someone does, and you being my husband makes you the ideal candidate. Joint filing.”

“Taxes?” He echoed numbly, thumbing through the stack once. There were all sorts of official looking titles and tiny boxes and very fine print he would most certainly need Amy's glasses for. The Doctor shook his head. “No. No, I haven’t done taxes in — well, er, come to think of it I’m not sure I’ve ever done them. I won’t start now.”

“And what am I supposed to do then? Sleep in my office?”

“Well, no,” he acknowledged. “Couldn't you just — I mean it's not like you haven't before — couldn't you, ah, find some money somewhere?”

“Oh yes, that’ll go over lovely. Paying off my mortgage with undisclosed income. Then they can arrest me again for tax evasion — that’ll be twenty life sentences at least.” Her unimpressed look morphed into something a little more earnest, a little more beseeching. “I’m only trying to get a life after prison started, Doctor.”

Oh. Well, that just wasn’t fair. There really was no faulting her, was there? After all she'd done for him in saving his life, River Song was just asking for a little aid in getting the next chapter of hers going. The last chapter, of which he could never tell her even as it drew ever nearer.

The Doctor stared. River stared back, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched imperiously.

“So, you’ll bring it round the next time you stop by? Lovely.” Without another word, much less waiting for his response, she turned and swept from the room.

“River. River!”

When after a moment she did not return, the Doctor was forced to half-run to catch her up in the console room, where she was already working the controls.

“River, I am homeless. Stateless. Planetless, even! My estate consists of a Type 40 Time Capsule, and it's stolen property.”

“You think my credit’s much better, honey? I'm an ex-con.” She glanced back at him, curls falling in a wave down her shoulder. It was quite the look. “Seeing as we both know how that happened I shouldn't think it’d be that unreasonable of a request.”

The Doctor’s mouth fell open, but nothing came immediately to mind.

River smirked. “I didn’t think so.” The time rotor pulsed once more, then quieted, about the only indication they’d landed whenever his wife was the one driving. Then she continued down the ramp to the doors.

“You could always stay.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and yet hopeless as he knew it was he carried on. “Keep a vortex manipulator onboard, pop over to the University whenever you felt like teaching, then back here. You’re welcome here.”

You’re wanted here, was what he wished to say.

River had paused in front of the doors, and when she turned around this time she looked pained. “Thank you, Sweetie. But we both know that isn't what we are.”

How could they know without ever having tried it? That, at least, he managed to reign in. She already thought him enough of a sentimental old fool, after all.

“I’ll have to have a look around the place sometime,” he came up with instead. “Seeing as it’ll be half mine.”

“Oh honey, that's a promise,” River replied with a wink, and he dredged up a smile just for her. Then she was out the doors and out of his life once again. The Doctor bowed his head briefly, then reached for the dematerialization lever to head back into the Vortex.

Returning to his desk, the Doctor eyed up the stack that waited for him. To his view, it appeared to tower over everything else, particularly once he’d taken his seat. His Everest. He blew out a breath and took out her mother’s glasses. “Right then. Taxes.” The Doctor shrugged. “How hard can they be, really?”

—-

Taxes, as it turned out, could be very hard.

The forms were printed as tiny as he’d suspected and were twice as tricky. To fill one out, he needed to know something called a credit score. The Doctor did not know what a credit score was, and when he asked Clara her eyes went the biggest he’d ever seen them.

“Why do you want to know something like that?”

“Idle curiosity.”

Clara snorted and turned away. He never actually got an answer.

There was a helpline number in incredibly small print at the bottom of the phone. The Doctor liked helplines. A helpline had directed his new friend into his life. Or back into it. He still didn’t know exactly how he had met Clara twice before without her remembering it.

Nevertheless, the Doctor called the number. There was a funny automated voice someone had tried to make sound like a human but seemingly gave up halfway through, and it listed off a whole lot of options and numbers to press accordingly. The Doctor waited until the end of the list, where it told him that if he stayed on the line a real person might actually talk to him. That was much better.

He was tapping his toes along with a very mellow xylophone playing a repetitive verse for several minutes before the music abruptly cut off.

“This is Keisha with Lunar Revenue, how may I help you this morning?”

The Doctor jumped and nearly fumbled the phone. “Keisha! Ha! Yes, you can help me. I need to know what a credit score is.”

“What a credit score is or what your credit score is, sir?”

“Both, preferably.”

There was a pause.

“Uh, well, a credit score is a number a person’s given based on their financial history, and depends on factors like bill payments or outstanding loans,” she explained slowly, as though waiting for him to stop and assure her he understood at any moment. “And to get your credit score, I’m going to need some information from you, sir. Can I have your name?”

“The Doctor,” he readily supplied.

“Alright, and first and last name, sir?”

“No, no,” he said, waving a hand cheerily though it presumably made no difference to her. “Just the Doctor.”

“I’m afraid that’s not a name, sir.”

“Well, of course it isn’t just a name. It’s my name. It’d be silly if you had multiple people running around calling themselves the Doctor — there’s already enough of me doing that.”

There was another long pause. “Well, sir, I will try to find your information in our system, but it might take some time.”

“How much?”

“If you could please hold.”

“Er, yes? Hold what?” He pulled the phone back to look at the receiver. “Keisha? Hello?”

Keisha’s voice had been replaced by the xylophone. And maybe some strings.

“Keisha,” the Doctor grumbled under his breath. He sighed and set the phone down on its side, where he could still make out the music. The Doctor paced around a bit on the main platform, then up on the second level. He went down below to do some maintenance, then came back up.

The music was still playing. He hated waiting.

“Right, okay. Time to jump the line.”

The Doctor hung up the phone. A short trip through the Vortex later and he was striding out into a very tiny cubicle in which was sat a very startled woman with very nice, intricate braids woven into her hair.

“Keisha, right?” The Doctor checked. “I was on the phone with you an hour and a half ago. The Doctor, remember?”

“How did you—”

“I was in the neighborhood. Listen, the way I see it, the faster we get this all sorted out is the less time we have to spend on it, right? So let’s sort it out.” He dropped the files on her desk and gestured at them. “That’s everything I’ve got so far, but I can’t get anywhere without the credit score.”

“This is to co-sign for a house?” She asked after briefly skimming the top form. She was either very clever or just very literate. Possibly both.

“Yes, my wife wants one. It seems very tedious, but her 150th is coming up, so.” He shrugged.

“Right…” She rolled her shoulders and opened up a new window on her computer, which was a flat screen embedded into the cubicle wall. “This is your first time filing with us?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’ll need to open an account. Let me see what I can find in terms of identification.”

After some tapping on the screen interspersed with checking some of the things he had written down, she turned back around in her chair.

“We have on file here that you’re dead.”

“Ah. Yes. Well, that would be spoilers for me. See, I clearly haven’t died yet.” The Doctor splayed his arms wide in demonstration. It wasn’t as though he could tell her that what they had on record was his fake death. That just wouldn’t do.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” said Keisha.

“Neither am I, most days. But since I am not dead, could I have the information I need to fill out the paperwork for my wife?”

“I’m afraid not, sir. Even if I ignore the claim that you’re dead, you don’t seem to have a record of any credit.”

He rocked back on his heels, hands planted at his waist. “Well, how exactly do you go about getting one?”

“Making purchases and paying them back,” She answered blandly. “Loans. That sort of thing.”

“That’s what people do?”

“Yes. Usually with money they make at their jobs, sir.”

Well, there was a thought. “I’ve had one of those! Maybe they can get me a credit score.”

“Maybe, sir.”

“Alright, then, I’ll be back in a mo’,” he told her, seizing the stack of papers River had given him once more, though he staggered under the additional weight as Keisha through another heavy-looking file. “What’s this, then?”

“Life insurance policy. You may want to take one out before you are dead, sir.”

The Doctor considered, then shook his head. “I’ll be dead before I’d have sorted it out, I expect.” At least he hoped.

Just a quick trip, and then he might soon have all this bureaucratic nonsense out of his life. If the Time Lords could see him now.

The things one did for love.

—-

Kate Stewart had been enjoying a cuppa at her desk until the peace and quiet was shattered by the sound of a wheezing engine, and the papers in front of her were scattered in a sudden strong wind.

She looked up to find the TARDIS materializing right in her office doorway.

“Kate!” The Doctor came bounding out the doors in a purple coat and vest this time, though the bowtie, it seemed, was a constant. She mentally made a note to add that to the file.

“Doctor, this is a surprise. Are we under attack?”

“Not at all, just looking for a bit of assistance.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “With?”

“Taxes,” he answered plainly. Kate nearly fell out of her chair. “River’s eyeing up a house near the Luna University, and there’s a whole thing about payments and whatnot that she’s asked me to sign on for with her, but I haven’t got much in the way of financial history.”

Kate scrambled for a pen and a notepad to start writing this down. At the top of the page, she labeled River? with a large circle surrounding the name.

“See, as of now I have absolutely horrible credit because there’s very little way for me to establish a record of buying and paying for things,” he continued on. “But then I thought, you know who has records? UNIT has records! Loads of records. Records by the bucketful! Surely if anyone has a record of me holding a steady position where I incurred expenses and compensated them, it’ll be UNIT.” The Doctor paused and looked at her. “So would you happen to have something like that?”

“Er, yes, I imagine.” Kate placed a call down to their records keeper, then asked for a pot of tea to be put on while they waited. Her own cup, she requested to be made particularly strong.

“So, you’re buying a house?” She asked to make conversation.

“River’s buying the house,” he corrected her.

“Still, not very like you.” He had lived on Earth for years while working full-time with UNIT and had, by all accounts, slept in the TARDIS parked in his lab.

“Yes, well, River has a habit of making me do things not very like me,” he said, in a tone that was as exasperated as it was fond. He perked up as their records keeper entered with a very old cardboard box. “There we go. Excellent! Give the man a raise.”

“You won’t be getting a raise, Jeremy,” she informed the records keeper matter-of-factly. He nodded and left the room.

The Doctor had popped the lid of the box and was thumbing through the papers. “Credit, credit… not actually sure where I’m meant to find it. Ah well, Keisha will know.” He replaced the lid and hauled the whole box into his arms. “Thanks very much, Kate.”

“Actually, Doctor, since we’re on the subject and if my recollection serves me, we don’t seem to have an accurate date on when you held the lab position with us. Would you be able to—”

The Time Lord was already walking back into his box, and he waved a hand over his shoulder. “Oh, just pick one.”

Kate’s sigh was covered by the departing TARDIS engines.

—-

Clara entered the TARDIS Wednesday morning with a skip in her step. “Mine turn to pick, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Chin Boy agreed, stepping away from the controls as though ceding them to her. She wasn’t actually going to fly this thing, mind. No matter what he’d said about the old cow starting to warm up to her. “Where to?”

“I’m glad you asked.” Clara lifted her old book out of her satchel and hugged it to her chest for a moment. Then, just as she’d opened the cover, the phone rang outside.

“That’s odd.” She knew she’d called him on it, before, but just how many people knew that number anyway? Apart from that woman in the shop, she supposed.

“Ah, hold the thought, Clara,” he said, hurrying around her with a slide of the heels and leaving the ship. “Hello? It has? Approved? Keisha, I could kiss you!”

“Not a snog box, my arse,” Clara muttered under her breath. She hurried to the doorway and leaned out. “Oi, mind not shouting for the whole street to hear?” Artie and Angie were getting curious enough about where she always went on her days off, especially since the latter claimed Clara never used to go anywhere at all.

The Doctor put his hand over the bottom of the phone. “Sorry,” he said, not sounding sorry in the least. “Just got some very good news for one Professor Song.”

Clara raised her eyebrows. “Friend of yours?”

He nodded distractedly, then half-turned away as he continued to speak into the phone. “Yes. Yes, I can stop by. I’ll take the papers over myself to have them signed. You’ve been a saint, Keisha, you’ll do great things. I’m sure of it. Keep working wonders. Yes, bye-bye.”

He hung up the phone and dropped back against the doors with relief as though he’d just completed a marathon.

“You okay?” She asked wryly.

He popped right back up. “Okay? I’m more than okay on this day of days.”

“Right, this day where we’re apparently going to fill paperwork with professors?”

The Doctor paused. “Er, no. I’ll take care of that. Alone.” He tugged at his ear, looking uncomfortable with twitching limbs.

“Something the matter?”

“What? No, nothing. Just, best for me to pay a private visit.” He nodded to himself. “Yeah.”

Perhaps Professor Song didn’t like unfamiliar visitors. Clara pictured a stuffy, studious bloke surrounded by bookshelves and nodded to herself.

“Well then, I suppose I will pick after all. Any further expected interruptions?” She asked, fixing him with a mock arch look.

“None whatsoever.” He gestured back inside of the box. “Lead on, Clara.”

The leader, was she? She quite liked the sound of that.

—-

River did not like being led places. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” was all he said, his breath tickling her ear while his hands rested over her eyes. Oh, he was infuriating sometimes.

“You know I can get out of this any time I like.”

“Yes. And you can get out… now!” He pulled his hands back, and River stood blinking at a front door.

Not just any front door. Her front door. The one she wanted.

“You just fancied a look, then?” He hadn’t brought up the favor she’d asked of him, though she knew by their diaries that he had been asked, and River hadn’t brought it up either. She didn’t want to be too pushy, or else he’d get his back up. It was his way. 

“Nope,” he told her, then withdrew a pen and a form from his vest pocket. “Sign here, please.”

His signature was already affixed under where she was meant to. “Is this…?”

“It’s yours. Already is, actually, I’ve jumped us ahead a few days after I’ve filed the papers, which I’ll do after you sign them. You are the proud owner of four walls, a door and the dimensionally-proportional space contained therein.”

River numbly took the pen and paper and signed her name. It hardly seemed real. It felt like a dream.

She’d never had a home of her own. There was the TARDIS, of course, but no one owned her. Her mother’s childhood home had been Amy’s house and same as her dad’s. Her parent’s place — well, there had been a guest room she’d used now and then. So had other people. They all knew she didn’t live there with them.

But this… this was a space for her to be and to do with as she pleased. She could put things up on the walls or in a drawer without worrying about them being monitored by the Silence or taken during a cell inspection or missing the next time she met up with a younger version of her husband.

“Why anyone would want to be is beyond me, of course,” he was saying now with an exaggerated sniff. He was putting on a show to hide how secretly pleased he was as she gazed on him in wonder.

A part of her had thought he’d never do it.

“You have the keys?” A second later, they were dangling in front of her face, and River snatched them out of the air. She hurried to throw open the door and entered. A sitting room, kitchen, table with chairs. A hallway leading back towards a bed and bath. Tiny and utterly mundane and beautiful.

“You don’t have to go and file those right away, do you?” She asked, reaching back blindly for his hand. He grasped hers loosely in his, twining their fingers.

“No, not right away. Why, have a celebration in mind? We could watch telly, pick out new paint colors…”

River looked back at him with a smirk. “I was thinking we could break in the rooms, honey.”

It was her husband who smirked right back at her. “Now you’re talking.” He kicked the door shut with a ridiculous flail of one leg and was in her arms the next breath.

“Home, Sweetie, Home,” River whispered against his lips.

—-

The Doctor waved goodbye to Clara as she exited the TARDIS once more. They’d had an interesting time of things in the Sombrero Galaxy which, disappointingly, had not included sombreros. But they’d made it back in one piece; frankly, he counted it a mark of success each time Clara came back in one piece. He wasn’t sure whether the third time really was the charm in her case or not, but he was very sure he couldn’t lose her the same way he had lost the other two Claras. Not when he’d already lost so much.

Before he could take off again, there was a flash of light that caused him to duck down under the console for a moment before realizing it wasn’t coming at him. Instead, it hovered across the room, slowly taking shape.

Ah, a delivery. He occasionally received deliveries — perhaps that fez he’d ordered was finally here — but when the light faded, it was not a mechanized courier who stood there, but a letter that dropped to the floor.

The Doctor hurried round to that side of the console and picked it up. It was labeled with the logo of Lunar Revenue. He pinched the bridge of his nose and opened the envelope, bracing himself for what new form or inquiry he needed to fill.

Inside was a single sheet of paper. It read:

Dear The Doctor,

Lunar Services was notified June 7th of the passing of Professor R. Song, the borrower of an outstanding loan on a residence. While we are deeply saddened for your loss, as co-signer you have inherited the remaining balance of that loan. If you wish to have the property taken as collateral to settle the debt, no further action need be taken. Please be advised that this may harm your credit score.

If you would like to continue paying the remaining balance and retain the property, please contact one of our Customer Care Reps at the following number.

He didn’t read the number, for the letter slipped from his fingertips and fluttered to the floor. His hand went to his lips. He had known, yes, that this day was coming, but he hadn’t thought- he’d never expected—

He’d never realized he would be notified of his own wife’s death with such an afterthought.

Anger flaring up within him, he kicked at the letter. It skidded across the floor and stopped, the outline of the tread of his boots printed over one corner. The envelope went next in the opposite direction. It looked rather pitiful and useless, which matched his mood.

He sunk down on the steps and didn’t hear the door opening again. But he heard Clara’s voice. “Everything alright? You haven’t gone yet.”

The Doctor leapt up as if scalded, spinning on his toes as his face contorted in an effort to force the water welling up in his eyes back down. Clara was bending down towards the letter from Lunar Services.

“Don’t touch that!”

She jumped back as he tore it from her grasp, pressing it to his chest. “No need to get tetchy,” she snapped, though she seemed taken aback when their eyes met. “Chin Boy?”

Clara reached towards him, but he stepped back, turning to brace a hand on the control panel as he tucked the letter away.

“Sorry. Just some… private correspondence,” he muttered to the buttons and levers.

“Was it from Professor Song?”

His head bowed, bracing himself.

“I only saw the name, I didn’t read anything else,” Clara hurried to say.

A breath released. She hadn’t seen. He didn’t have to talk about this, this thing he had never talked about ever. “yes, it was from Professor Song,” he lied, and the lie came easy.

“Okay. Well… I guess I’ll leave you to answer it.” She said, and he could hear her drift one foot back towards the door.

“Thank you, Clara,” he said, and he looked once at her over his shoulder. “See ya Wednesday.”

“See ya,” she echoed, the barest of smiles gracing her lips, a mark that he’d at least done a little to reassure her. When the door closed a second time, he immediately pulled the lever to dematerialize. He couldn’t afford to stick around again by mistake.

Once safely alone, the Doctor took out the letter again, eyes scanning over the words. If you would like to continue paying the remaining balance and retain the property… Retain the property?

It had been River’s house, not his. River would be in every room. Her things and the scent of her perfume and the sound of her laugh — just thinking of it was enough to fill his lungs and head so much that he could hardly breathe, could hardly think.

If you wish to have the property taken as collateral to settle the debt, no further action need be taken. Please be advised that this may harm your credit score, the letter said, and that felt better. No action could be taken. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could change.

The Doctor marched back to his study and opened a drawer. He placed the letter inside as far back as it would fit, then shut it. He knew already that he would never open it again nor speak to anyone from Lunar Services, tax evasion and bad credit be damned.

He’d never wanted the score or the house. He just wanted her. Now he would have none.

[forabeatofadrum]

A rip in time (15/18)

AO3

--

2012, again

“You know, I never expected there to be dinosaurs on a space ship,” Rory says, mostly to himself, “And you’d think that I have gotten used to strange things by now. Hell, I was a Roman mannequin for 2,000 years.”

“Rory, let it go, we need to keep on moving!”

Amy waves to Brian from inside of the TARDIS. Brian is standing in their garden. Rory quickly joins his wife to say his goodbyes to his father.

The Doctor stays behind, but he nods to Brian, who salutes. What is it with humans and saluting? The Ponds close the doors and join him at the control panel.

“So, where off to now?” Amy asks, “We’d like to have another adventure before I go back to being a model.”

Rory puts his hand on Amy’s shoulder. “Actually, I think we want to travel more.”

The Doctor looks surprised at that. He was certain that the Ponds were happy living their ordinary human lives.

Amy look at Rory and she smiles. Rory’s right, though. It’s been on their minds lately and they’ve never really discussed it, but one glance says enough. They’re both thinking the same thing. Amy doesn’t know what prompted Rory to say it out loud, but she gives him a quick kiss.

“Really?” the Doctor asks in amazement. Not only that, but he sounds hopeful.

“Really,” Amy affirms.

“Yes, let’s do this!” Rory puts his hand forward. The Doctor and Amy give him a deadpan glare, but then they crack a smile and they put their hands on his. They’re in this together.

--

2008, again

Gwen has learned one thing by now: always arm yourself. Back in the Hub, she picks up every possible weapon that can help her defend herself.

Does she love Torchwood?

She thinks about the things she’s seen and the people she’s met, but then her mind shifts to her relationship with Rhys and the sight of Jonah. Torchwood’s dark side is darker than expected.

“Are you leaving?” she hears.

“Do you want me to leave?” Gwen answers Jack. They both know they’re not only talking about the Hub.

Jack shakes his head and Gwen knows he means it. She’s about to continue her conversation with Jack when the others arrive. Ianto has even brought coffee for her and Jack.

They all stare at a very armed Gwen and Jack.

“Are we interrupting something?” Owen asks. Gwen gives Jack a challenging look.

“No,” Jack eventually looks away and he accepts his coffee.

“So, is there a plan for today?” Toshiko moves to her computer.

“I got some calls about a building,” Ianto answers, “I’m not sure if it’s alien, but we should check it out. If you look at it, it does seem very sketchy.” Toshiko and Ianto review the sources and Gwen excuses herself. She needs time to think.

Toshiko and Owen share a look. Owen nods towards Gwen’s direction and he raises an eyebrow. Toshiko shrugs. Gwen hasn’t said much since the investigation of the disappearances. Owen also shrugs.

He looks back to his screen and Toshiko smiles sadly. At least they’re friends. That’s the most important part.

Ianto shows Jack the report. Jack leans against him and he looks over Ianto’s shoulder.

“That does look sketchy. We should take the SUV.”

“It doesn’t look very dangerous, though,” Ianto points out.

But Jack’s already getting his coat. “Just the two of us. Let’s go. We can handle it.”

Ianto looks around. Gwen is fuming in a corner and Toshiko and Owen are working. Well then. Ianto follows Jack outside. He’d follow him everywhere.

--

2005, again

The Doctor watches his companion. Rose dries her tears, but it’s no use. The Doctor doesn’t blame her, since she just saw her father die in front of her.

The Doctor has lost family as well, so he knows a simple trip to a paradise planet might not fix the hurt, but the Doctor can’t stand watching Rose in pain, so it’s worth a try.

“Rose, we’re off,” he simply says. Rose dries her new formed tears and nods. Not knowing what else to say, he pulls a lever and they go off. The Doctor knows that everyone deals with their grief in a different way, so maybe Rose doesn’t need words of comfort. She might need distraction.

The TARDIS flies throughout the galaxies. Rose watches the Doctor steer his ship. There’s still so much she doesn’t know about him. Yet, there’s something new that has awakened in her. Today, the Doctor was there for her, even when she broke his rules.

He will always be there for her.

“Doctor, I- my dad- I can’t… uh, how-”

“It’s okay, Rose,” the Doctor says when he sees that she has trouble speaking. He knows what it’s like to lose people. He thinks about Gallifrey and the usual sadness washes over him.

He will have to carry that pain for the rest of his long life. Maybe one day, he’ll be at peace. He steers the TARDIS and he thinks about the vast universe and all the time that’s ahead of him.

One day, he’ll be fine.

--

2016, again

“Tanya, Tanya, wait up!”

Tanya keeps on walking. By now, she knows Charlie enough to understand that Charlie is coming after her out of concern, but honestly, Tanya might need some time alone.

Charlie doesn’t back down, even though Tanya visibly ignores him.

“Charlie, can you please leave me alone?”

Everyone’s a mess. They’re all trying to process what happened during Quill’s detention, and both Charlie and Matteusz also have new Quill situation to focus on.

“No, we need our friendship now more than ever,” Charlie says back and Tanya stops walking and turns around.

“What kind of friendship is this even, Charlie?”

“Our beautiful, earnest friendship,” and Charlie smiles. Not even Tanya can argue when she sees the happy look on Charlie’s face. Sure, Tanya may feel left out, since she’s younger than the others, but if there’s one that might even share that sentiment, it’s Charlie.

“We are having a meeting in an empty classroom. No worries, Ram promised me they won’t lock the door,” Charlie tries to joke, but Tanya saw his claustrophobia.

Tanya knows she has a free period and the others know it as well. That is probably why they planned it on that time. Knowing that she can’t flee, she sighs and follows Charlie.

The others are already waiting and April has also opened all the windows to show Charlie he can get out if he wants to. After all, it’s the first floor.

“So, we’re going to talk?” Ram asks, pretending that April isn’t watching him.

Matteusz moves to Charlie and April nods. “We need to talk.”

Ram still looks torn. On one hand, he wants to dive out of the window, but on the other hand, a part of him tells him to stay and at least listen to April. April looks at him with such fondness, even though she doesn’t love him.

Charlie and Matteusz also look at each other. Matteusz didn’t come home yesterday. They don’t know what will happen now, but strangely enough, Charlie feels the urge to stop running from his problems. Matteusz is worth it. Matteusz has already lost so many people and he can’t see Marcelina often. Charlie takes his hand.

Tanya watches her friends almost instinctively move closer. They’re ready to resolve this. Maybe it won’t happen now, but there’s change on its way. Tanya lets out a sigh. It’s going to be a long road before they can all be friends again, but it’s worth a try.

--

2017, again

Bill is typing her essay on Free Will when a gush of wind appears. Since she’s inside, she knows that can only be one thing: the TARDIS.

Just like that, the TARDIS materialises in front of her.

“Ready?” the Doctor asks from inside.

“I’m working on your essay!”

“Can do that another time, right?” the Doctor says and the doors open. Bill can see a smiling Doctor. He must’ve gotten back from guarding the vault and Bill is surprised that Nardole isn’t with him.

Bill closes her laptop and she runs inside. The Doctor snaps his fingers and the doors close.

“What’s the occasion?” Bill asks, but the Doctor shakes his head.

“I just want to have fun? Isn’t that how it goes these days? Girls just wanna have fun!” the Doctor pulls some levers and pushes some buttons and Bill holds on to the TARDIS.

“Girls just wanna have fun with each other,” Bill laughs, “But honestly, you’re right. After living in a fake dystopia for months controlled by alien monks, fun is exactly the thing I need.”

“Then fun is what we’re looking for,” the Doctor says, “Maybe I should get my guitar before we go out. You help me remember that, right?”

“Of course,” Bill says and the TARDIS takes off, “Where are we going? I hope somewhere nice.”

“There’s a beach planet. I was thinking about going there.”

“Oh, I like that,” Bill says, “It’s different from your usual flair. This is a bit more light hearted.”

The Doctor smiles. “Bill, you’re on board. It’s always light hearted and fun with you.”

Bill returns the smile.

It’s true. Bill Potts is a great friend. The Doctor is so happy to have her.

--

2011, again

Luke hugs his mother.

“Oh, do you have to leave already?” Sarah Jane asks. She will never accept that her son is an adult now in his own way.

“Come back any time soon, Lukey boy,” Clyde says when it’s his turn to hug Luke. Rani gives him a kiss on the cheek and Sky waves shyly.

“Oi, don’t be like that. We’re siblings now,” Luke pulls her into his arms, “No need for shyness and formality, Sky. I am glad I got to meet you in person.”

Sky giggles and is immediately at ease.

“Anyway, I better get going,” Luke unlocks his car and the others step back, “Sanjay promised he’d throw a big party and he wants me to be there. Also, I need to prevent K-9 from hacking the school systems again.”

“Oh, that dog,” Sarah Jane laughs.

Luke gets in his car and the others wave when he drives away. When he’s out of sight, Sarah Jane tells everyone to go inside to enjoy a cup of tea.

“Honestly, I can’t wait to meet Sanjay,” Clyde says when everyone’s helping Sarah Jane in the kitchen, “I need to check out my competition.”

Rani playfully rolls her eyes. “Oh, Clyde, you’re still his best mate.”

Sarah Jane nods and she grabs some teacups out of the cupboard. Clyde has no idea that there’s no competition. Sarah Jane can’t know for sure, but the way that Luke talks about his new friend makes her think that there’s more going on than he thinks.

“Whatever. You never know!” Clyde says, but he also laughs.

“Come on, then. Tea,” Rani says to him and the two of them walk to the garden. Sarah Jane also has a feeling there’s something going on there.

But who is she to say that?

“I like Luke,” Sky’s words pull her out of her thoughts, “I think it’s all going to be great.”

Yes. Sarah Jane has to agree with that.

--

2008, again

After bringing Martha back home, it’s back to the Doctor and Donna in the TARDIS. The atmosphere is a bit grim. Martha left on a sad note, since her friend Peck died in front of her, and the Doctor just lost another family member.

Sure, Jenny wasn’t his in the way the others were his.

And yet, she was his.

But the Doctor doesn’t want to let it show. “Alright, next stop: Midnight!” The TARDIS takes off. “It’s a leisure planet. It looks like it is made out of diamonds!”

“Doctor?”

“It is beautiful, you should see it!”

“Doctor.”

“There’s even an anti-gravity restaurant. It is amazing.”

“Doctor!”

The Doctor looks up. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” Donna asks and she sighs when the Doctor nods.

“Of course I am,” the Doctor smiles and he knows he isn’t fooling Donna bloody Noble, but maybe it’s time to take some time off. “So, Midnight?”

“Midnight,” Donna affirms and the Doctor smiles again.

“Diamond planet, here we come,” the Doctor says cheerfully and he programs the destination. The TARDIS takes off.

Donna watches the Doctor. What an absolute privilege it is to be able to travel around the universe like that. A part of her tugs at her heart. There’s a weird sense of dread. It suddenly feels very important to revel in the moment.

Donna shakes her head. That is weird. After all, she’s sure that the Doctor and Donna will travel forever.

[ineffably-good]

After Idris, Chapter 3

Set shortly after The Doctor’s Wife, featuring 11/Rory/Amy, examining the Doctor’s reaction to finding and then losing the ability to talk to his ship.

Thanks for reading!

Part 1  -  Part 2

Chapter 3

The next day, the Doctor made an effort. He landed them somewhere he said was a surprise, strode to the front door and flung it open theatrically.

"Behold, Ahmelo Beach, pride of the Beta system!" He tried not to show his surprise when that turned out to be, for once, exactly where they were. No unexpected slobbering beast was there to devour them, no interplanetary war had broken out, no unexpected typhoon was raging just off shore – instead, soft, white sand littered with shells sloped gently down to the edge of purple-tinted surf. The beach was deserted. The air was warm. It appeared to be late afternoon.

"You look startled," Amy noted.

"Not at all," he replied, and clapped his hands briskly. "Now! Everyone go find something appropriately beachy to wear and meet back here in ten minutes. We're taking a day off."

Shortly thereafter, they were buried toe deep in sand with baskets of books and snacks, wearing tropical shirts and swimsuits and the most ridiculous straw hats they could find. The afternoon passed quietly, all of them reading and swimming and snoozing. As dusk approached, they decided to build a bonfire and enjoy the night sky. Rory massed a large pile of driftwood and salvaged some newsprint from the ship for kindling, and the Doctor used the sonic screwdriver to spark it alight.

"Better, Ponds?" the Doctor asked quietly. The Doctor lay back on a blanket, propped up on his elbows with his feet near the fire. He closed his eyes, but his face was golden in the light, his expression gentle.

"It's a lovely fire, Doctor," Amy replied. "Great job."

The Doctor smiled a little. "You know that's not what I meant."

They all stared into the fire, transfixed by the tiny sparks flying up out of it. It had been good to have a day when no one was afraid or running for their life, when they could just be still. Honestly, such things hardly ever happened around the Doctor, even when everything was fine. The silence that fell was companionable. Amy flopped down beside the Doctor, her head tucked into his shoulder as she gazed up into the sky, while Rory amused himself tossing small bits of paper into the fire to watch them dance and glow.

"Watch this," the Doctor said, suddenly inspired. He pulled out the sonic and pointed it at the fire, and suddenly the streams of sparks rising were dancing in a spiral pattern. He adjusted a setting on the screwdriver and applied it again and they started to raise and form swirling, pulsing stars, a whole tiny galaxy. They all watched it intently, even the Doctor spellbound by the spectacle's ephemeral beauty. The soft shush of the surf in the background and the crackle of the flames were hypnotic.

"Doctor, we know how much you miss her," Rory said. "You haven't been right since we left House."

The fact that The Doctor didn't immediately tense up or pull away felt like progress. He sat up and picked up the stick Rory had been poking the fire with and rooted around a bit at the kindling, causing more sparks to flicker and rise.

"You're right, you're right," he sighed. "I know I haven't. I thought some good old fashioned running would get me back to rights. It hasn't." He poked, and a shower of sparks flew, coalesced into something that looked like an angelfish, or perhaps a star whale. "Perhaps I need an army to fight."

Amy laid a hand on his shoulder. "She's still here with us, you know."

"Yes, yes, but I can't talk with her anymore. You have no idea what that was like. Nine hundred years she's been with me and I never really got to meet her until then." He poked the fire again. "And I got to speak with her for what, an hour? Slightly less?"

A cloud of bright, amber sparks swirled up and became a shape that looked something like a woman. It whorled around madly, tracing a circle around the perimeter of the fire. All three of them watched it, enraptured. With its crooked skirts and its odd hair, it was hauntingly familiar. The Doctor's hearts caught in his throat and his hands clutched at the blanket. The figure danced to music that no one else could hear, pirouetting crazily, and then dispersed into the night sky.

Rory realized that none of them had been breathing.

"A madman and his box," the Doctor mused. "You have no idea what it's like to constantly have everyone and everything slipping away from you."

"I know something about that," Rory said quietly, causing Amy and the Doctor to turn to look at him, startled. It was true. Two thousand years Rory waited outside the Pandorica, during which he had inevitably become entangled in the lives of the people he encountered, despite his intentions of holding himself away from the world. He had made and lost friends and lovers, fought and bonded with fellow soldiers and seen them cut down, treated the sick and bemoaned the lack of modern medicine as he failed more often than not to save them, and watched the rise and fall of numerous cultures. He had wept when Rome burned, shut away the horror of the whole villages he knew and loved lost to the plague, seen the bombs fall on London and watched children burn and starve. Rory knew a few things about loss.

The Doctor turned to him with new eyes, considering. "Rory the Roman. Roranicus. I hadn't thought about that. Yes, I suppose you do."

"I had Amy, though," Rory said, "through it all. I had her to come back to."

"And you have us," Amy added. "So stop torturing the computers of the world and come back to the living. Enough laptops have died for you this month. And we miss you."

The Doctor genuinely laughed, a sound they had not heard in quite some time, and then he reached out and took both of their hands. He leapt wildly to his feet. "Come on, Ponds," he said, "it's time to dance."

"There's no music," Rory pointed out, stumbling up to standing.

"Rubbish," the Doctor said. "We are alive, we have warm sand beneath our toes, and we have a fire. What else do we need?" And they leapt and spun beneath the stars in the sky, like sparks themselves, feeling the fierce and fragile joy of being alive.

2

Later that night, after the Ponds were tucked into bed, the Doctor revisited his workroom. It really was quite a large pile of dead laptops, he had to admit. He picked up the goggles, but idly this time, fingered his soldering iron. For some reason he just didn't feel like trying it again tonight. Was that progress? He supposed it was. He sat down on his stool, his brain feeling calmer than usual. In the background, the ship hummed along as it always did inside his mind - not words exactly, but a presence nonetheless. He could feel her. That wasn't nothing.

He closed his eyes and pictured Idris as he'd last seen her. That crazy gray dress, with its bustle and uneven skirts, hair wild and spilling out of every effort to contain it, eyes wide with interest at every sensation. My beautiful idiot, she had called him. You have what you have always had. You have me.

"I do," he mused quietly. "I do still have you. It's different, but you're still with me." The ship hummed a little in response, and the lights gave a friendly little flicker.

"You hear me, don't you?" he asked. Again a little flicker. And whether it was the TARDIS and it's song or some way the ship was touching his mind, the Doctor was suddenly infused with a feeling of warmth and comfort. He would almost call it ... companionship.

He realized, suddenly, that he was, after all, a Time Lord. He was prone to the oddest of relationships and held things in his head that would burn through the brain of an ordinary human. He could sense multiple flows of time at once, the whirling chaos of space. He had looked into the untempered schism and survived it relatively intact. Who was to say that his relationship with the TARDIS was less intense simply because they would never again be face to face? They were bound on a quantum and telepathic level, would never truly be apart. Who else in the universe could say such a thing?

He squared his shoulders, picked up a box, and started sweeping pieces of equipment into it. Enough. He was going to have to give up this new hobby, stop driving himself to the edge of despair every night chasing after an illusion. The reality was here in front of him, in every molecule of his body and of the ship around him, in the hum in the air and the soft song the TARDIS played in his mind.

The Doctor was the last of his kind, she was the last of hers, and they were the lasts together.

He was not, and would never be, alone.

Missed the earlier sections? Go read: Part one  |  Part two

[audreyii-fic]

Eleven x Amy fic that apparently I wiped from my memory

Going through old files and holy shit, I wrote this like five years ago, I forgot about it entirely, did I never post it? I don’t remember posting it. I don’t even remember writing it. Obviously I cannibalized some for Lokane, but why didn’t I post it? Holy fuck it’s been five years I am so old.

Random long lost Eleven x Amy S5 fic ahoy.

You are sweet, Doctor, but I wasn't thinking anything quite so… long term.

It's a delicate process.

She isn't the first companion he's manipulated -- no, no, certainly not. In one way or another he's used and changed them all for his own purposes, but usually it's of necessity (though survival can be categorized in many different ways) or by accident (though accidents aren't quite so accidental when one knows all that is, was, and could ever be). Only rarely does he make a deliberate choice to dismantle.

And this new him -- this one that can't do without Amelia Pond, not once, not ever -- is by far the most methodical about it.

***

They don't talk about what happened in her bedroom. He just takes Amy to the next planet, the next timeline, the next adventure, and ignores her pout as best he can. But he also doesn't even allude to the bridal gown hanging in her cabinet. He pretends as though it never happened, he never saw it, she never pressed her lips to his and slid her hands down his chest and told him that she was getting married in the morning.

Amy Pond is not the sort of girl to be put off, but a few trips, loud explode-y ones, at least keep her busy until she seems willing to table the issue.

But he doesn't forget.

***

The encounter with River -- blast that woman, whoever she is -- has made Amy curious about regeneration. She peppers him with questions as he's trying to fix whatever part of the TARDIS has decided to make the hot water tap pour liquid nitrogen (an event which wound up inconvenient on a number of levels).

Does it hurt?

How often does it happen?

Can you choose what you look like?

Are you really the same person every time?

"It's a bit like getting a new computer," he finally says, grappling for a metaphor that fits her era. "It's… okay, you transfer all your old files, very old files, some of which you can't even open because you've forgotten your password, but the operating system doesn't work the same way at all, and sometimes it's full of bugs and viruses, literally on occasion, and lots of the software isn't compatible, so even though you've got everything you had before it's been reorganized and mixed up and the keystroke shortcuts are all strange and you have to choose a new desktop theme and--"

"So you're saying you get a bigger hard drive every time you regenerate."

That shuts him up.

***

He's always been possessive. But it doesn't follow that he always made the decision to possess.

It's been worse, recently. The last few times in particular. He craves now in ways that he didn't when he was just one of many; but he's the last, the very very last, they're all dead and it's made him clingy.

Rose was certainly not just a companion, and his first alone-self made the decision to possess her, too, to pull her from her home and make himself the center of her universe, threatening to leave her behind if she so much as stayed for tea with her mother. It worked, too well, it burned them both alive. The pain of her loss is different, now; the memories still there in his head but it is though he watches them on a vid-screen. He is sympathetically sad for the tragedy, but he did not experience it first hand.

(The guilt never weakens, though.)

Yes, the last hims needed Rose Tyler, and they were brutal with it. The new him is not so blunt or rude. The new him needs Amy Pond, and he knows how to be careful.

***

He slowly, oh so slowly, turns dull Leadworth into the stuff of nightmares.

He takes Amy to New New Earth (New Glasgow specifically) where there is no such thing as 'shut'. Every business is open day and night without end.

After that they drop in on the Atraxi, might as well say hello, being as they're in the neighborhood and all. They receive a polite, decidedly fearful welcome, and soak in the great saline springs until his fingers have turned pruny and Amy's magnificent hair has drifted along the surface of the water to tickle his shoulder.

"At least you took off the bowtie," she says with a theatrical sigh.

"And the shirt," he reminds her.

"I think that made it worse. Who swims with braces on and no shirt?"

"I do." She snorts at this, eyes closed, and he adds, "They're not so bad, the Atraxi. Very forceful though." Beat. "Best thing for it, really, that they won't be coming back to your neighborhood. Aliens are a bit much for Leadworth, aren't they?"

Amy is uncharacteristically quiet after that. He allows himself to study the pattern of freckles along the curve of her shoulder, just visible above the water, as a reward for his delicacy.

***

The psychic pollen nearly ruins everything.

The Dream Lord is him and he is the Dream Lord, of course, but the mess of neurological and psychological entanglements that happen in the TARDIS make it easy for the nightmare to produce a living, breathing Rory Williams, an accurate enough simulacrum that Amy doesn't question his reality. She stands there in her nursery: grown up Amy, married Amy, pregnant Amy, feet which floated in space nailed to the floor.

"Gone daddy gone," the Dream Lord croons in his head as Amy insists that this, this horrible, horrible, offensive to all things Amelia Pond existence is her reality. "Just look at her: a plain little housewife in a plain little town. Not quite so mad and impossible anymore."

"Stop it," he says quietly.

Amy (not real not real Amy) gives him a strange look. "Stop what?"

The voice starts to laugh. "Come on, Doctor, is this real? Is it true? She certainly thinks it is -- and how very happy it makes her! Haven't quite ripped all the Leadworth out of her yet, have you, Time Lord? But keep trying, dismantle her, take her down to her foundations and rebuild and see if she's still Amelia Pond when you're done!"

He figures it out and gets them free before Amy chooses. It's not time yet.

***

She should be a Time Lord. He'd keep her safe so she'd never regenerate, because he can't imagine changing even one cell of Amelia Jessica Pond, but she would glow with the light of the vortex and it would be the three of them -- he, Amy, and the TARDIS -- running forever, forever.

(He thinks she'd be The Kissogram.)

Well, he can't make her like him, but there are other possibilities. Body clocks, gene manipulators, serum treatments legal and illegal. Risky choices; human brains are so delicate, they're not made to comprehend more than the (single breath) century they're given. If Liz Ten hadn't had her memory wiped every ten years she would have gone mad. But maybe she could do that, she could like that, she could press her own reset button decade on decade and he could tell her all the fairy tales they'd lived and they would--

These fantasies aren't good. He keeps dreaming anyway.

(He'd take her if she went mad, too. The Madman and Madwoman with the Box.)

***

Amy is contemplative in a bad way after the psychic pollen, and, clawed raw inside from the false memory of her married pregnant long-term life, he overplays his hand.

"We should pick up your fiancé," he says lightly. "Take him with us. The Shang Dynasty threw stag parties that would be banned on most civilized worlds, and a few uncivilized ones; could be a laugh, as long as no one comes home diseased, but there are booster shots for that sort of thing, or so I've been told. What do you say?"

She's supposed to refuse with a half-laugh and a slight sheen of panic in her eyes. She's not supposed to rub absently at the naked spot on her fourth finger and murmur: "Yeah. Maybe we should."

He has the TARDIS 'accidentally' drop them right in the middle of the Second War of the Interstellar Empire of the Unnamed Shrew. A week later they stumble off planet banged-up but alive (which is more than can be said for the Interstellar Empire), and he just happens to forget about his suggestion. If Amy (high on adrenaline and giggling uncontrollably) remembers it, she doesn't say anything.

***

Amelia Pond can run. Of course she can literally run -- everyone who's ever been around him for any length of time and remained alive can -- but she's also fast, so fast, and good, so good at the away part of running. Most creatures, they run to. They run for. But Amy runs forward because what's behind her is scary and what's in front of her… well, maybe it's scary too, but it doesn't matter. She prefers the devil she doesn't know, and so does he. She runs and she loves it, and as long as he can keep her eyes focused forward, keep her from looking back and deciding that what's behind her isn't as terrifying as she thought it was, soon she'll forget she ever wanted anything else. She'll run for the sheer pleasure of it. She'll run just because she can.

It's not a bad life, it really isn't.

***

"How much do you think about going back to your home?"

"I don't," he lies remorselessly.

Amy rests her chin on her forearm and looks down at him to where he works on the TARDIS machinery. She's been lying facedown on the glass floor for the longest time, and he's pretended to be annoyed just enough to convince her it will be fun to keep doing it. He likes her there. "You're not as good a fibber as you think you are," she says.

His lips quirk at the gorgeous naiveté of that statement. But she's just right enough -- he's not as good a fibber to her as he ought to be -- that he softens the lie to something less true and more believable, and better suited to what he wants. "When I think about it, I wish I were still able to go home," he says, ignoring the pain in his chest that threatens to crush him for using Gallifrey this way. "But if I could, I wouldn't. If I knew that my planet was there, just in case… that would be enough. That would always be enough." He turns his head up and looks Amelia straight in the eye. "I wouldn't need go back."

Amy keeps his gaze (green green green eyes) for long moments, then nods thoughtfully and lays her cheek back on her arms.

After that she stops rubbing the place on her finger where her engagement ring should (never) be, and he knows he's winning.

***

He wants her, of course. However old he really is, however old he feels in his hearts, this new him is young and has all the desires that accompany youth. He sees her legs, her mouth, her hair that flames under each and every sun. His hands ache to clutch and stroke.

But, ironically, it's her sultry smiles and flirtatious words that keep him away. No more attacks, but she doesn't make it a secret that she wants him too, no secrets at all with Amelia. He ignores it with effort invisible and wrenching. Satisfying her might lead to her satisfaction. He cannot risk Amy Pond being satisfied.

Patience is a virtue, and he must wait out those smiles, wait until she wants so much more than a quick laughing tumble and a childish fantasy fulfilled. Wait until she wants long-term.

His version of long-term.

***

He crumbles after they meet Vincent. Sick with jealousy, sicker with hope (I'm not the marrying kind, and such surprise on her face after, she can't believe those beautiful words tumbled out of her mouth), he takes her back to the TARDIS and brushes away her tears.

"Good things and bad things," he says, fingers inching up the back of her neck to card her hair, fire in his grasp. "But isn't it better, Amy, to have good things and bad things, instead of nothing?"

She gulps back a sob and looks at him, gaze flicking from eye to eye. "What's nothing?" she whispers, fearful, as he wants her to be.

He says simply: "Leadworth."

Then he kisses her, undresses her, takes her there on the console while the TARDIS hums with something like disapproval. Afterwards he spends almost an hour untangling her hair from the typewriter strand by strand.

Amelia Pond grins at him, eyes bright. "And here I thought you said Time Lords came first."

He smirks.

***

Not after a beautiful trip, not after a happy trip, no no no. He takes her home after a hair-raising near death experience, when she's full of adrenaline and life and her feet still tap with their instinct to run.

Amy pulls up short, throwing out an arm to stop herself from stepping from fairy tale to reality.

"Why did you bring me back?" she asks him, staring at her room.

"You're getting married in the morning," he says by way of explanation. (And there it is, hanging in the closet, that bridal gown of his nightmares, glimmering white. They haven't been gone five minutes since she kissed him.) "You'll need a good night's sleep."

A shiver runs through her body. "Does it have to be morning yet?"

He shakes his head.

"Does it have to be morning ever?"

"No. It doesn't." He touches her shoulder, plays with a stray lock of her hair, oh so gently with his Girl Who Waited. "Time can be rewritten," he tells her.

She looks at him.

"It's your choice," he lies.

Amelia Pond steps back into the TARDIS, and the Doctor closes the bluer-than-blue doors firmly behind her.

[script101]

Are we and Twelve still in an alternate reality?

O.K. I’m apologizing in advance if this is a VERY stupid question. Please let me know if I’m wrong and there’s evidence to the contrary.

HYPOTHESIS: Are we still in an alternate Monk reality? How could Twelve have been TEACHING AT A UNIVERSITY FOR 70 YEARS IN 2017????

Did he even have 70 weeks to spare?? Twelve and Nardole were guarding Missy’s cell after River’s death (in her terms of River’s timeline). This is AFTER Twelve lost Clara. Amy and Rory and Eleven lived in the same time as when the when show aired. We KNOW that because of the “base code of the universe”. We heard Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” playing in the background in the retro diner before the events at Lake Silencio in NuWho episode 6x01 “The Impossible Astronaut”. So those events took place AFTER that song was written.

Clara was Eleven’s companion after Amy and Rory. Clara lived in the same years her eps aired. Danny was in Dubya’s war. Clara had a current iPhone and a flatscreen TV. After the attempt to pull her into the Wifi failed, she made jokes about Twitter and she was able to hack into the computers at the Great Intelligence’s office using Facebook. The Doctor then spent at least 24 years with River. It wasn’t on Earth, so we don’t have to count it.

Bill referenced Harry Potter. She noted that people thought The Doctor had been there forever and mentioned 70 years. She made a joke about the vile orange abomination that is currently defiling The White House. Bill Potts is living in 2017. Series/Season 10 is happening in 2017. .

So… When and how did The Doctor have 70 years to stay in his university office and live in the TARDIS AND NOT BE RECOGNIZED BY ANYONE? How did he and the TARDIS avoid themselves?

The TARDIS is always there. Think about this. Is this teaching and Missy patrol all concurrent with the events of the ENTIRE series? Remember, it’s not that roughly 70 years elapsed, it’s that The Doctor was SEEN and KNOWN to be TEACHING at Noxford or Schambridge for 6+ decades. He’s watching MISSY specifically. MISSY is a regeneration.

Plot hole or big flashing neon sign pointing at a clue? Where did the time go? Why not a single joke about “psychic paper” convincing people he was tenured faculty. Did he put the whammy on everyone who works on campus? Or…. Is this reality false? WHAT IS GOING ON IN SEASON TEN??????

[I’m still trying to forget The Doctor’s sin of driving an innocent loving girl who he betrayed and terrorized into murdering him (and it legally WAS premeditated murder). I don’t understand how Bill isn’t traumatized by shooting Twelve. Out. Of. Character. For BOTH of them. If Bill gave Twelve a “the reason you suck” speech in the Gatiss episode please let me know.]

So far, I LOVE season 10.

(“Extremis” is now officially pulling a close second to Homicide: Life on the Street’s “Three Men and Adena” as the best hour of television I’ve ever seen) …but things are seemingly intentionally not adding up or making sense in Season 10….)

[mayalr96]

The Two Doctors Story 5: Revelations Part 2

As promised, part 2/10 of this story today. Let’s see if we can keep up to the daily updates here :)

For those of you who don’t like reading from here, you can also find this on FF.net or AO3.

“So, what do we do now?” Amy asked, looking around at the corn field the Doctor landed the TARDIS in. “Is this where Spencer is? Do we just… rush in and save him?”

“He’s not here,” the Doctor said. “It’s like… it’s like he’s not anywhere.”

“What do you mean?”

“I should have felt him the moment we landed,” the Doctor said, tapping his temple. “I should have felt his presence in here, even if I couldn’t lock onto his location. But there’s nothing! There’s just… silence.”

“He’s not…” the Doctor started carefully. “He’s not dead, is he?”

“No,” the Doctor replied. “All of the times you met him are still in his future. If he’d have died, he would have been rewritten out of your memories. He’s alive, he’s just… hidden.”

“And that’s bad, right?” Amy clarified.

“It’s very, very bad,” the Doctor muttered. “There are very few things that can make this happen, and no Human in 21st century Earth should have access to any of them.”

“Okay, so I ask again,” Amy said. “What do we do now? What is this place, anyway?”

“Tobias Hankel’s house,” a new voice replied and the trio turned to see a black haired woman looking at them. “We set up base inside – this is where Spence was taken from.” She smiled tightly. “I’d say it’s good to see you again, Doctor, but considering the circumstances…”

“Emily Prentiss,” the Doctor greeted. “You shouldn’t be able to recognize me. You haven’t seen this body yet – it’s far too early for you. In fact,” he added, stepping closer to her, “You haven’t seen me since you were a kid.”

“I saw you last week,” Emily explained. “You told me to wait at a corn field at this time of the day. When I asked you for a date you said I’d know when it’s time.”

“Good to know,” the Doctor sighed. “I’ll have to remember to do that later. Amy, Rory, meet Emily,” he introduced. “She works with Spencer. “Emily, these are the Ponds. I travel with them.”

“Nice to meet you,” Emily said. “Everyone’s here – even Garcia. Like I said, the team set base inside, you should probably come in. Hankel documented pretty much every moment of his life and we could use your brain in reading through it all.”

“Wait,” Amy said. “We’re just… joining the case? Doctor,” she added, turning to the Time Lord, “We’re going to work with them?”

“Do any of you know where Spencer is?” Prentiss asked, completely ignoring the fact that the question was not directed to her as she looked between the three time travelers. “Didn’t think so. Spencer may be alien but Hankel’s human, and if there’s one thing our team knows best it’s how to catch humans.”

“Wouldn’t your boss mind?” Rory asked.

“Oh, definitely,” Emily smirked. “But that’s not my problem. It’s yours.”

With that, she turned around and started walking towards the house. The Doctor, Amy and Rory exchanged a short glance with each other before following close behind.

“Hotch!” Emily called out as she walked in. “Found these three outside when I went to look at the point Reid was taken from. They say they were sent in to assist us in the case.”

“Sent?” Morgan asked. “By whom?”

“Head of the FBI,” the Doctor said, pulling out his psychic paper. “I’m the Doctor, these are Special Agents Pond and Pond.”

“I told Strauss we didn’t need any help,” Hotch said.

“Well, apparently the people up above disagree,” the Doctor replied, making Amy step forward in an attempt to stop an argument from ensuing.

“Look, we’re not here to supervise over you, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said, looking between the six agents in the room. “We’re here to help.”

“All of us want to find Spencer as soon as possible,” Rory added. “Fighting each other won’t do any good.”

“We can handle ourselves alone,” JJ said, her voice shaking.

“Nobody said you can’t,” the Doctor told her. “But you have to admit… you’re all too emotionally invested.”

“So are you,” Gideon stated simply, turning all heads in the room to his direction. He looked straight at the Doctor. “It’s clear your friends know negotiation and peacemaking, but they keep looking around nervously. Probably their first time at an active crime scene, which brings the question of how did they end up as Special Agents.”

“Jason,” Hotch said in a warning tone, but the other man ignored him.

“But neither of them are even considering walking away,” he went on. “They’re here because they’re loyal to you – loyal enough to do something they’re uncomfortable with. Your documents are too good to be forged, so I’d say even though you aren’t actual agents you were sent here by a higher authority, though why would the Head of the FBI send three unarmed British civilians to help six qualified Agents on a case is beyond me.”

“Wow,” Rory muttered, causing Gideon to turn to look at him. “Got to admit… you’re good.”

“And these are only the things I noticed since you called him ‘Spencer’.”

-Rory cringed slightly and Amy sighed as Hotch took a step forwards.

“Who are you really?” he asked. “Don’t try to lie because I think we proved by now that we’d know.”

“These are Amy and Rory Pond,” the Doctor replied. “I’m the Doctor.”

“But who are you?” Hotch pressed.

A dark look crossed the Doctor’s eyes. “I’m the man who can get the Heads of the FBI, CIA, MI5, MI6, Interpol, the American President, the British Prime Minister and her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth to call your personal phone and tell you we’re a part of the investigating team, in less than five minutes.”

“You’re bluffing,” Morgan said, and the Doctor turned to look at him angrily.

“Try me.”

For a moment, the BAU team leader and the Time Lord did nothing but stare at each other, the tension in the room so thick you could almost feel it vibrate through the air. Amy reached out to grab Rory’s hand, a move that didn’t go unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room.

After what felt like an eternity, Hotch gave a small nod.

“What do you need?” he asked.

“One of you need to give Amy and Rory a full brief of the case,” he said. “I know you were in town for a couple of days before Spencer was kidnapped, and we need to understand what made the Unsub break out of his pattern and not kill on the spot.”

“Not too much of the bloody details, though,” Amy added. “Like you said, we’re not exactly used to this sort of things.”

“If it’s really important in order to understand, you can tell me,” Rory told them. “I may not have more field experience than Amy, but I’m a nurse. I can handle a bit of gore.”

“What about a lot of gore?” Morgan questioned.

“To save Spencer?” Rory asked, not flinching at the man’s hard tone. “Tell me whatever you need.”

“I’m going to need access to Hankel’s computer,” the Doctor said, turning to look at Garcia. “Spencer talked very highly of you, and I know you’re one of the best in what you do, but a new set of eyes could never hurt.”

“What about the journals?” Prentiss questioned, speaking for the first time since she walked into the room.

The Doctor grimaced. “I was never much of a reader,” he said. “That was always Spencer. And, even if I was, you need the information in those journals to profile Hankel, right? I’m not a profiler.”

“Come with me,” Garcia said, going back into the computer room. “I’ll show you what I got. It’s not a lot,” she added. “Honestly, it looks more like it belongs to a teenager, not a psychopathic murderer.”

The Doctor nodded thoughtfully, taking out his sonic screwdriver and fiddling with it, uncertain whether or not it would be a good idea to use it to scan the computer system. Garcia looked at him for a moment before glancing back towards the door and making sure none of the other team members was listening.

“You’re the Doctor,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” the Doctor muttered absently. “I said it.”

“No,” Garcia shook her head. “You’re the Doctor. Spencer mentioned you during the whole Christmas mess. It was very briefly, but added to the fact that Spencer has a friend in UNIT – and that he gave me the Buffalo password – it wasn’t too hard to look you up and find more information.”

“What sort of information?” the Doctor asked.

“That you’re alien,” Garcia replied. “That you’re working for UNIT since the 70’s. That there’s a bunch of pictures all titled ‘Doctor’, and that while most people would assume it was a title that was passed with time, or that there were several people with this title… it’s not, is it? It’s all you.”

The Doctor smiled softly. If they weren’t in the middle of trying to save Spencer’s life, and she wasn’t working with him, he might have seriously considered taking her as a companion.

“You’re very clever,” he commented.

“Thanks,” Garcia replied. “Worked very hard to get there. How do you know Spencer?” she added after a small pause. “And… how well do you know him?”

The Doctor thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to answer Garcia’s question without lying to her – but also without revealing information Spencer would rather stayed hidden, at least for now.

“I’ve known him for a long time,” he said. “Every single one of my regenerations – that’s the different faces – knew him very well. He helped me, quite often. Saved my life, more than once.”

“The UNIT file said you’re a time traveler,” Garcia said. “Did you… did you meet Spencer in the future?”

“I did,” the Doctor said. “But it doesn’t mean anything. Time can be rewritten, and just because I met older versions of him doesn’t mean he couldn’t die here.”

Garcia nodded, swallowing hard. “I guess we better save him, then,” she said, and the Doctor smiled again as he started scanning the computer with his sonic screwdriver.

“Working on it.”

[timeagainreviews]

Doctor Who and Video Games

We live in the era of the franchise. Everything it seems is getting the franchise treatment. After the success of the MCU, everyone wants that sweet sweet money. We’ve got the failed Universal Monsters reboot, the Harry Potter extended universe, and endless Star Wars movies. However, some franchises, it would seem, struggle to grow further than their core narrative. Star Wars never strays very far from the battle with the Empire. Which is one thing you can’t really say about Doctor Who. Doctor Who has done fantasy, sci-fi, period drama, schlocky horror, whimsy, and utter rubbish. I’ve always admired Doctor Who’s flexibility as a property. It lends itself beautifully to a wide range of mediums, such as audios and comic books. But what about video games? Are there any good Doctor Who video games? Could there be?

Over the past week, in preparation for this article, I've completely immersed myself in the world of Doctor Who video games. I feel uniquely qualified to have an opinion on the subject. But before we continue, I give a word of caution. I'm talking directly to you, now. Never in your life, should you ever play "Doctor Who: Return to Earth," for the Nintendo Wii. It's not worth the £1.80 that I spent on eBay. You don't ever deserve to do that to yourself. I don't care what you've done, nobody deserves that. If like myself, you have played this game, you have my deepest sympathies, especially if you paid for it new.

It doesn't interest me to make a list of the worst Doctor Who video games, as many people have done this already. It's nothing new to say that Doctor Who has a video game problem. When I wrote that Doctor Who should be run by Disney, I don't actually mean it should happen. I was merely illustrating that Disney knows how to take care of its properties. I would venture that Doctor Who has always had a bit of a management problem. Merchandise from Doctor Who has always reminded me of Krusty the Clown merchandise. So much of it is some bullshit they slapped a Dalek on said: "10 quid please!" Barring the occasional home run or third-party licensing, a lot of the merchandise is pretty uninspired. Which is bananas, because the world of Doctor Who has so much colour and potential.

Video games based off of movies and television are almost always as bad as movies and television based off of video games. They're rarely breaking the mould in their new medium. Most of the time, tie-ins such as these are quick soulless cash grabs. You can see this a lot in the Matt Smith era. There are at least seven games featuring his Doctor, and then a sudden decline. Matt Smith was the Doctor during one of the show's biggest points in popularity. Never before had the show been embraced on such an international level. Of course, the Beeb wanted to push as many video games out as possible.

The problem is, they didn't throw a lot of money at it, and not one project seemed to get the focus it deserved. I won't pretend to know the motivation behind the BBC's forays into video games, but it seems to be a trend with them to overdo something, and then be scared of it in the future. They changed the 5.5" figurine set to a 3.75" scale and nobody wanted them. Because of this, we haven't seen nearly as many 5.5" figures since. They once put out a figure of Lady Casandra's frame after she exploded into gore. We used to get figures like Pig Lazlo and the Gran from "The Idiot's Lantern." Now we'll be lucky if we get everyone's favourite- Graham O'Brien. They also did it with the Doctor Who Experience. They make this brilliant Doctor Who museum with the OK'est walkthrough story, and then put it right in the middle of Cardiff. They wondered why it never made any money. I've been twice, and I gotta say- they should have put it in London. It would still be open.

This isn't to say all of Matt Smith's video games are bad. In fact, the Eleventh Doctor adventure games referred to simply as "The Doctor Who Adventure Games," are some of my favourite in the entire lot. And as much as I would like to blame the BBC for their lack of caring, the fact is Doctor Who is not easy to translate into video games. Even if they do care, they still need the right team on the job. Oddly, it's one of the Doctor's greatest charms that makes Doctor Who hard to translate into a video game, and that's the Doctor's stance on violence. If the Doctor could pick up a laser pistol and just frag some Daleks, we'd probably have an entire series on our hands. Unfortunately, most developers go one of two ways. They either ignore the pacifism or we get countless mind-numbing puzzles.

Puzzles are by far the worst element of any Doctor Who game. In the browser-based "Worlds in Time," there were a plethora of Bejewelled type mini-games and pipe matching puzzles. The puzzles got increasingly harder even if the player wasn't also getting increasingly better. Even the platformer "The Eternity Clock," was mired in constantly stopping to do puzzles. They pop up in the Adventure Games, but other than the infuriating "don't touch the sides," puzzles, they don't detract much from the gameplay. There were moments where I felt a bit like a companion because I was decoding a Dalek computer for the Doctor, which is really the money spot for a Doctor Who video game. Any time a Doctor Who game can make you feel like you're in Doctor Who is time well spent.

When asking my friends what kind of Doctor Who video game they would like to see, many of them mentioned they would like a survival horror type game. We sort of get this in many of the Smith era games. In "Return to Earth," the mechanic is sloppy and infuriating at best. In "The Eternity Clock," and the Adventure Games, it's a little more manageable. It's a nice way to add a challenge to a non-violent gameplay style. It would be interesting to see what a game team from something like "Thief," or "Resident Evil," might do with the sneaking aspect.

Another way the games have completely side-stepped the non-violence and puzzles is by having the Doctor act as a secondary character. The player is put in the position of the companion or perhaps a UNIT soldier as in the case of "Destiny of the Doctors." If you've not played DotD, I wouldn't blame you. I was hitting my head against the wall just trying to figure out what to do. The only real reason to play that game is for one last chance to see the fabulous Anthony Ainley reprise the role of the Master. He's in totally smarmy ham mode, even if it's a bunch of gibberish they shot in a day. You can find the entirety of the footage on YouTube and it's surreal.

The problem with having the Doctor be violent is that it doesn't feel true to the character. Sure, Three did some Venusian aikido, Four broke that dude's neck in "Seeds of Doom," and even Twelve socked a racist in the face, but these are isolated incidents. The spirit of the Doctor is lost in 1992's "Dalek Attack," when the Doctor is forced to go full on bullet hell on a Dalek hover cart. It's funny then that one of my favourite Doctor Who games incorporates a violent Doctor. In the Doctor Who level of "Lego Dimensions," the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to make villains fall apart in a very safe Lego style violence. I can excuse this mostly because the game is not primarily a Doctor Who game at heart.

Funnily enough, the Lego game does something I've always wanted in a Doctor Who video game. I've always wanted to have a Doctor Who game where you could regenerate into different Doctors, and also go into their respective TARDISes. Sure, some of the games on the Commodore 64 allowed you to regenerate, but it was pretty naff in its execution. I tell no lies when I say I spent a lot of time regenerating and reentering the TARDIS to explore the Lego versions of their respective console rooms. Really, the biggest problem with the Lego Doctor Who game is that it wasn't it's own game. Lego Dimensions was its own failure. If TT Games would come out with an entire Doctor Who game, I would buy it yesterday.

The overarching problem with every Doctor Who game is the same problem Torchwood had- if it wasn't attached to Doctor Who, we wouldn't be interested. While I did have a lot of fun with the Adventure Games and Lego Dimensions, not one Doctor Who game has every element right. One has a good story, but poor mechanics, another has great mechanics but doesn't feel right. It's a bit of a tight rope to find the perfect balance, but I don't feel it's impossible

One of the reasons I would love to see a proper Lego Doctor Who game is that they have a history of good adaptations. They're not exactly beloved games, but I myself play a lot of them. One of the most impressive things I've seen them do was in Lego Batman 3, where they made each of the planets in the Green Lantern mythos a visitable world. Could you imagine the same treatment for Doctor Who? Visiting Telos and Skaro, and then popping off to medieval earth or Gallifrey? You could get different missions depending on which Doctor you were, or what time you arrive in. And the collectable characters! So many companions, and Doctors, and baddies, and costume variations to unlock! Doesn't that sound nice? You can buddy Jamie and Amy with Seven and Twelve and have an all Scottish TARDIS! A Zygon could ride K9!

The fact is, we probably won't see a very expansive Doctor Who game. I would be very enthusiastic for an open world Doctor Who game, but even as I type it, it sounds difficult to pull off. I may be able to say what doesn't work about the games, but saying what would work is admittedly, not as simple, but this doesn't mean I can't think of at least one good game. Piecing together some of the things I mentioned earlier, I think the best genre for Doctor Who is point-and-click adventures. I know I keep singing the praises of the Doctor Who Adventure Games, but it's because I think they were actually onto something. It's sad then that they scrapped any further developments to work on the inferior "Eternity Clock."

Could you imagine a point and click Doctor Who in the same vein as "Day of the Tentacle," or "Thimbleweed Park"? You walk around as the Doctor, pick up bits, talk to funny characters and solve complex problems. If you throw in a bit of horror survival, you've basically got the Adventure Games, which is my point- Do more with what they've already done. Grow the concepts. Improve the mechanics. A Doctor Who game should be jammed packed with Easter eggs, unlockables, and mystery. The point is, do more. Even their phone apps are abysmal. You know how much I would play a “Pokémon Go,” style Doctor Who game? You go around trapping baddies in cages you set off with your sonic screwdriver or something. I. Would. Catch. Them. All.

We still have “The Edge of Time,” coming to PC and consoles in October, and I'm pensively excited. While the graphics seem really top notch, in no way does it feel like anything more than a fun little VR experience. The game is going to remain exclusive to that small subsection of gamers that own a VR headset. Before it has even been released, it's closed itself off to yet another section of its very wide audience. Let's just hope that it doesn't scare the BBC away from making a proper Doctor Who game in the near future. And in the meantime, I'm going to have to borrow my friends' VR set, because of course, I'm going to play it. It's Doctor Who.

Well friends, thanks for reading! I had a lot of fun “researching,” this article. Playing Doctor Who games all week? Oh no, twist my arm! Sadly, a lot of these games are no longer available from their original sources. I was able to find a lot of them on the Internet Archive. If you want to give them a go, I would definitely suggest it. A couple of them are even capable of being emulated on your browser from the Internet Archive. The game I had the hardest time locating was “The Gunpowder Plot,” but I was eventually able to find it after some digging. I didn’t play any of the text-based games because I’m not very good with spatial awareness, and so text-based games are usually a nightmare for me. Sadly, Worlds in Time is lost forever, but I remember my character fondly. I also discovered I’m pretty good at Top Trumps: Doctor Who. Go figure.

[forabeatofadrum]

A rip in time (1/?)

Four versions of the Doctors and his friends are taken from their current timelines. Stuck in a deserted street in London, they must work together to figure out where they are, who has taken them, and most importantly: how to get back to their own times. 

Notes: Okay, wow, I am just going to publish this. The idea of April and Luke working together just got stuck in my head, and I realised how epic it was to see all the (at that time current) Whoniverse shows come together in series 4. 

I guess this is an updated version. I picked one episode from Sarah Jane Adventures, Torchwood and Class and I picked four of them from New Who and I put it together. Now, let’s see how this goes, eh?

Maybe a small disclaimer beforehand: I never watched Torchwood and I only watched half of Class because of triggers, which sucked, but I read recaps of all the episodes. I hope I did the characters justice.

I might change the title later on, but it was either this or “doctor who clusterfuck”.

Enjoy.

AO3

2012

“You know, I never expected there to be dinosaurs on a space ship,” Rory says, mostly to himself, “And you’d think that I have gotten used to strange things by now. Hell, I was a Roman mannequin for 2,000 years.”

“Rory, let it go, we need to keep on moving!”

Amy waves to Brian from inside of the TARDIS. Brian is standing in their garden. Rory quickly joins his wife to say his goodbyes to his father.

The Doctor stays behind, but he nods to Brian, who salutes. What is it with humans and saluting? The Ponds close the doors and join him at the control panel.

“So, where off to now?” Amy asks, “We’d like to have another adventure before I go back to being a model.”

“Oh, I have a plan,” the Doctor winks and he pulls some levers. The TARDIS takes off, but after a while, the three of them realise something is wrong. The TARDIS shakes and they all have to hold on to a banister or a part of the control panel.

“Doctor, what is going on?” Rory yells when he hears some static noises.

The Doctor tries to walk around, but the trip is too shake-y. The Doctor strokes his TARDIS. “Easy girl, easy!” But the TARDIS does not stop.

There’s even more shaking, and Amy’s afraid the TARDIS will fall apart. “Doctor!”

“Hold on, Ponds!” the Doctor yells as they fly.

2008

Gwen has learned one thing by now: always arm yourself. Back in the Hub, she picks up every possible weapon that can help her defend herself.

Does she love Torchwood?

She thinks about the things she’s seen and the people she’s met, but then her mind shifts to her relationship with Rhys and the sight of Jonah. Torchwood’s dark side is darker than expected.

“Are you leaving?” she hears.

“Do you want me to leave?” Gwen answers Jack. They both know they’re not only talking about the Hub.

Jack shakes his head and Gwen knows he means it. She’s about to continue her conversation with Jack when the others arrive. Ianto has even brought coffee for her and Jack.

They all stare at a very armed Gwen and Jack.

“Are we interrupting something?” Owen asks. Gwen gives Jack a challenging look.

“No,” Jack eventually looks away and he accepts his coffee.

“So, is there a plan for today?” Toshiko moves to her computer.

“I got some calls about a building,” Ianto answers, “I’m not sure if it’s alien, but we should check it out. If you look at it, it does seem very sketchy.” Toshiaki and Ianto review the sources and Gwen excuses herself. She needs time to think.

She’s about to leave the Hub when Jack yells her name. She turns around and she’s shocked to see Jack pointing a gun at her. Or at least it looks like that. Something is behind Gwen, but before she has the time to look, she notices that she can’t feel her feet. She looks down and she watches herself disappear.

The last thing she sees is that the others start to disappear as well. Then it’s black.

2005

The Doctor watches his companion. Rose dries her tears, but it’s no use. The Doctor doesn’t blame her, since she just saw her father die in front of her.

The Doctor has lost family as well, so he knows a simple trip to a paradise planet might not fix the hurt, but the Doctor can’t stand watching Rose in pain, so it’s worth a try.

“Rose, we’re off,” he simply says. Rose dries her new formed tears and nods. Not knowing what else to say, he pulls a lever and they go off. The Doctor knows that everyone deals with their grief in a different way, so maybe Rose doesn’t need words of comfort. She might need distraction.

And distraction is what she gets.

When the TARDIS starts to shake, Rose jumps out of the seat.

“Doctor?” she asks worriedly.

“Just fine, just fine,” the Doctor lies, “A little bit of turbulence. Turbulence isn’t for planes only, you knooooooo-” The TARDIS shakes violently.

It’s so violent that Rose is forced back in her seat. The Doctor tries to calm the TARDIS down, but he doesn’t succeed.

“Doctor?” Rose asks again, louder this time.

“Rose, we’re going down!” the Doctor screams.

2016

“Tanya, Tanya, wait up!”

Tanya keeps on walking. By now, she knows Charlie enough to understand that Charlie is coming after her out of concern, but honestly, Tanya might need some time alone.

Charlie doesn’t back down, even though Tanya visibly ignores him.

“Charlie, can you please leave me alone?”

Everyone’s a mess. They’re all trying to process what happened during Quill’s detention, and both Charlie and Matteusz also have new Quill situation to focus on.

“No, we need our friendship now more than ever,” Charlie says back and Tanya stops walking and turns around.

“What kind of friendship is this even, Charlie?”

“Our beautiful, earnest friendship,” and Charlie smiles. Not even Tanya can argue when she sees the happy look on Charlie’s face. Sure, Tanya may feel left out, since she’s younger than the others, but if there’s one that might even share that sentiment, it’s Charlie.

“We are having a meeting in an empty classroom. No worries, Ram promised me they won’t lock the door,” Charlie tries to joke, but Tanya saw his claustrophobia.

Tanya knows she has a free period and the others know it as well. That is probably why they planned it on that time. Knowing that she can’t flee, she sighs and follows Charlie.

The others are already waiting and April has also opened all the windows to show Charlie he can get out if he wants to. After all, it’s the first floor.

“So, we’re going to talk?” Ram asks, pretending that April isn’t watching him.

Matteusz moves to Charlie and April nods. “We need to talk.”

But then, the door slams shut and Charlie jumps in shock.

“It’s okay,” April reassures him and she moves to the door to open it, “We can just open-” she stops talking when she realises it’s locked.

“To the windows!” Matteusz basically pushes Charlie to the windows, but it’s too late. The room starts to spin, and the teenagers can only hold on to each other.

2017

Bill is typing her essay on Free Will when a gush of wind appears. Since she’s inside, she knows that can only be one thing: the TARDIS.

Just like that, the TARDIS materialises in front of her.

“Ready?” the Doctor asks from inside.

“I’m working on your essay!”

“Can do that another time, right?” the Doctor says and the doors open. Bill can see a smiling Doctor. He must’ve gotten back from guarding the vault and Bill is surprised that Nardole isn’t with him.

Bill closes her laptop and she runs inside. The Doctor snaps his fingers and the doors close.

“What’s the occasion?” Bill asks, but the Doctor shakes his head.

“I just want to have fun? Isn’t that how it goes these days? Girls just wanna have fun!” the Doctor pulls some levers and pushes some buttons and Bill holds on to the TARDIS.

“Girls just wanna have fun with each other,” Bill laughs, “But honestly, you’re right. After living in a fake dystopia controlled by alien monks for months, fun is exactly the thing I need.”

“Then fun is what we’re looking for,” the Doctor says, “Maybe I should get my guitar before we go out. You help me remember that, right?”

“Of course,” Bill says and the TARDIS shakes. Good thing Bill is holding on to the control panel.

“Uh oh,” the Doctor suddenly says.

“’Uh oh’? I don’t like the sound of that,” Bill says.

“Well, this isn’t going as planned, but that won’t stop us from having fun!” the Doctor says before the TARDIS flies off.

2011

Luke hugs his mother.

“Oh, do you have to leave already?” Sarah Jane asks. She will never accept that her son is an adult now in his own way.

“Come back any time soon, Lukey boy,” Clyde says when it’s his turn to hug Luke. Rani gives him a kiss on the cheek and Sky waves shyly.

“Oi, don’t be like that. We’re siblings now,” Luke pulls her into his arms, “No need for shyness and formality, Sky. I am glad I got to meet you in person.”

Sky giggles and is immediately at ease.

“Anyway, I better get going,” Luke unlocks his car and the others step back, “Sanjay promised he’d throw a big party and he wants me to be there. Also, I need to prevent K-9 from hacking the school systems again.”

“Oh, that dog,” Sarah Jane laughs.

Luke gets in his car and the others wave when he drives away. When he’s out of sight, Sarah Jane tells everyone to go inside to enjoy a cup of tea. That’s when the alarm starts.

“It’s in the attic!” Rani yells and the four of them climb the stairs. Clyde basically kicks in the door and he’s surprised to see it’s Mr. Smith who’s causing all the commotion.

“Mr. Smith, I need you, or it looks like you need me,” Sarah Jane calls out and Mr. Smith immediately starts his fanfare.

“Sarah Jane, Luke is in danger,” Mr. Smith says and the others listen, “A time stream is following his car as we speak.” Mr. Smith displays the data. A red dot indicated Luke’s location and a yellow line is following him.

“Goddamn, I wanted one day off,” Clyde mutters and Sarah Jane is already on her way down.

“Hey, wait!”

The kids follow Sarah Jane to the garage and Sarah Jane ushers them into her car. “We need to follow him.”

When everyone’s in the car, Sarah Jane accelerates. She’s so focused on following Luke that she doesn’t know she’s being chased herself. Only when everything around them goes dark, she knows.

2008

The Doctor and Donna fly away in their TARDIS. The atmosphere is a bit grim. Donna doesn’t know how to feel about grieving the perfect man, especially since he never actually existed, and the Doctor just saw another loved one die in front of him.

Sure, the Doctor has no idea who River Song is supposed to be to him, so he also doesn’t really know how to grieve her.

And yet, she was important to him.

But the Doctor doesn’t want to let it show. “Alright, next stop: Midnight!” The TARDIS takes off. “It’s a leisure planet. It looks like it is made out of diamonds!”

“Doctor?”

“It is beautiful, you should see it!”

“Doctor.”

“There’s even an anti-gravity restaurant. It is amazing.”

“Doctor!”

The Doctor looks up. “Yes?”

“Are you okay?” Donna asks and she sighs when the Doctor nods.

“Of course I am,” the Doctor smiles and he knows he isn’t fooling Donna bloody Noble, but maybe it’s time to take some time off. “So, Midnight?”

“Midnight,” Donna affirms and the Doctor smiles again.

“Diamond planet, here we come,” the Doctor says cheerfully and he programs the destination. The TARDIS takes off.

Only when it feels like they’re in the middle of an earthquake, they know something is horribly wrong. They are not going to Midnight today.

TBC