Mae and The Doctor

28 - Weeping Time Lord

The Doctor's pacing now as I stare about in confusion; River continues beeping her small tablet thing.

"Well," I begin, crossing my arms, "why are they here?"

"To feed off of the time energy," the Doctor replies, spinning on his heel to continue walking the opposite way.

"Wait, I don't understand,", I say, frowning. The Doctor sighs and walks over to me.

"A weeping angel," he begins, "is an alien. They can move when you aren't looking at them - even when you blink - and they are fast." His eyes bore into mine, and I realize he's had a lot of trouble and heartache at the hands of these creatures. "If they get you, Mae," his voice softens, "I'll lose you forever."

"Does that mean I'd... die?"

"No," he says, putting his forehead on mine, "no. It doesn't matter; it won't happen, okay?"

I nod, placing my hands in his. After a moment, he walks off again, and continues to pace.

"Can't we kill them?" I suggest, staring around at everyone. The refugees glance at me like I'm crazy; River and the Doctor give me a sympathetic smile.

"No, sweetie," she says. A moment passes, and she talks again, "They're desperate for something, Doctor." They look at each other for a moment; then they look to me again.

"What?" I demand. "Why do you two keep looking at me?"

"No re-" the Doctor is interrupted by a voice behind me.

"No," it says, "I can't be here. No, please! Get me out!"

My hands tremble as I walk over to the door, second to last from the right. Something from the other side bangs helplessly on it.

"Mae," River says sternly behind me. "Don't."

I ignore her. "I know this voice," I say. "I've got to save them."

Then, I twist the knob slowly and pull open the door. There's a weeping angel.

I choke on a scream, staring into the fanged mouth of the angel. It looks at me with a look of triumph - if that's even possible for a statue.

"Mae," the Doctor says behind me, "don't look away; don't blink; don't do anything." I sense him walking up behind me.

Suddenly, everything clicks. "It was my voice," I whisper. "It was my voice; they have my voice," I say again, louder this time. "Doctor," my vision blurs with tears, "how do they have my voice?"

The Doctor doesn't speak. Slowly, he pulls me back; my eyes burn.

"Doctor," I repeat again, my voice a whisper again, "should I be dead?"

He stops, and I feel his body tense behind me. "No," he says firmly. "No, you shouldn't. You aren't going to die. Mae, we need to get back to the TARDIS. Please," he begs with me. I can hear the sadness and fear in his voice, and both of our hands shake.

My head moves from side to side, my eyes locked on the angel still; its open mouth taunts me. "I won't be able to. They're here, Doctor," I say, "here for me. I die here; I have to."

"No," the Doctor says again, his voice shaking with emotion. "You won't die here. This isn't a fixed point in time."

"Doctor," I say loudly and firmly, "I won't be able to make it," my voice cracks. "We need to blink, and you need to move on, because I know you can; everyone can."

I turn around bravely, staring into his eyes; they stay glued on the angel. Glancing over, I realize River's are, too. The people in the refugee stare at me with pity.

"I'm so sorry," I whisper into the Doctor's chest, squeezing my eyes shut to attempt to stop the tears. "I'm so sorry," I repeat.

"You need to blink," I say, looking up at him. His jaw is firmly set, and his eyes look a little mad.

"No," he says firmly again. I wipe a tear from his cheek. River steps up from behind him, looking at the angel still.

"Doctor, please," she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. He lets out a loud sob and puts his head in his hands.

"No," he cries angrily, looking over at River. "No, I won't let her die here! She can't die here! I can't lose her so quickly!" His voice is filled with anger; with sadness; with painful nostalgia. My breath shakes as I look at him. I've never seen him like this before.

I take a step back, closing the space between myself and the angel.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" River asks, staring past my head at the angel. Nodding, I take my hat off.

The Doctor, still crying, walks up to me and holds my face in his hands. "No," he says firmly again. He shakes his head, trying to speak. I put my hat on his head.

"Take good care of him for me, River," I say. My wet eyes meet hers, and I watch them close; mine do too.

Immediately, I feel a rush of a wind, and my feet hit the ground. I open my eyes and turn, seeing a run down shop with a rack in the front with papers on it. My hands shake as I pick up one of the newspapers, reading under the cursive writing of the heading.

The heading, Nigeria Times, is placed centered over the date, April 5th of 2107.