Transcendent | 11th Doctor

Chapter Three

Late arrivals

"Right, you have some explaining to do!" Nora yelled as the front door slammed behind them. She yanked her hand from his hold as they stumbled to a stop in an unloved and overgrown garden, checking behind her that Amy had made it out safe.

"Right yes! Im The Doctor, and you're Nora Wallace! Im surprised you don't know that." Her stranger, The Doctor, flapped his arms in announcement. There's the arrogance, Nora thought bitterly as she glared towards him.

"Obviously I know my own name! What I don't know is how you know it!" She argued back, kissing her teeth with pursed lips as he simply winked in response. She was going to wipe that arrogant smile off of his...

"people, there is still a very angry alien stuck in my house!" Amy interrupted with a shriek. In unison, the pair snapped towards her in sudden realisation, guilt ridden at their momentary selfishness.

"Why did you pretend to be a policewoman?" The Doctor asked in genuine curiosity, glancing over the now disheveled costume Amy had put herself in.

"You broke into my home! It was either this or a French maid." She responded matter-of-factly, shrugging at his furrowed brows.

"Makes sense." Nora nodded. She definitely would've chosen the police outfit over a maid.

"No it does not!" The Doctor gasped at their team up, kicking into the ground before he whirled around to his favourite blue box.

"A TARDIS!" Nora exclaimed as she followed his retreating figure. Oh how she had always wanted to see one up close. A machine that could take you anywhere in time, and on time too! Two things Nora could never quite get the hang of.

"Tell me what's going on!" Amy chased the pair down her garden until they all huddled around a familiar blue box. Either she was having a mental break or her raggedy doctor was really here. Her raggedy doctor and her big blue box! They had finally come and they were going to leave ledworth! Finally!

"An alien convict is hiding in your spare room..."

"...disguised as a man and a dog..."

"...and some other aliens are about to..."

"...incinerate your house."

So her raggedy doctor had come back for her, just in time for him to find a new companion to take instead.

"Cute little act you've got there." Amy huffed, invisible smoke curling around her head in a small angry halo. Nora grinned at the thought.

"Any questions?" She asked, leaning up against the box as the doctor fiddled with the door.

"So many!"

"Me too."

The doctors gaze flickered between the two girls in annoyed jealousy. Nora had no problem becoming pally with this fake policewoman. God forbid she look at him with anything other than contempt.

In a fit of frustration he pulled at the Tardis doors, ready to fix this problem and get out of this weird little town. But the door didn't budge. Just another problem to add to the pile.

"Don't do this now! It's still rebuilding, not letting us in!" He whined, hitting the door in one last attempt to convince them to open.

Finally Nora's attention swerved back to him, "then we need to give her time! Let's go!" She snipped out, pulling both Amy and the doctor with her to the small gap in a fence.

How had she woken up in a random house only to become a mum to two very disoriented adults. Was it going to be her job to find the doctor clothes that actually fit him?

Mid run, the two girls were pulled back as the doctor whirled towards a dilapidated shed.

"Now is not the time to fix this garden!" Nora bickered, earning a light slap from Amy and a dismissive wave from that raggedy old doctor.

"Hold on, that shed?" He mumbled, almost incoherently, and ran up to investigate. "I destroyed that shed last time I was here. Smashed it all to pieces."

"Shitty driver then." A sharp glare silenced Nora quickly.

She hadn't missed Amy's hesitant prompts for them to run, nor her persistent whining for them to stop talking about the shed. Although curious as to why, Nora was inclined to agree with her. Surely an old shed wasn't worth risking their lives for.

"There's a new one, let's go!" Amy cried out, tugging at Nora's sleeve incessantly.

"But the new ones got old? It's ten years old at least!" The doctor continued, fingertips grazing at the wood as he began to circle the rickety old shed. Was he a doctor at carpentry? He certainly had an exaggerated interest towards buildings made of wood...

Just as Nora was about to protest along with Amy, the doctor began to lick and sniff at the wood. There had been one too many times someone had acted liked a dog that day, Nora thought as she scrunched her face up in disgust.

"12 years! I'm not six months late I'm 12 years late." Realisation hit the group like a tonne of bricks, slamming into them until a harsh silence shrouded the air. Even Nora, who had no context as to what he had been so late for, could see Amy fumble at his words. Whatever he had done, it was bad.

"You said 6 months? Why did you say 6 months?" Suddenly Nora felt like the alien wasn't the only intruder among them. As the pair faced off, the doctor towering over Amy with a sense of urgency and importance, Nora couldn't fight the urge to slip away.

"Stop that." The doctor shot out, hand wrapping around her wrist as Nora attempted to disappear unnoticed. Goddamn observant even when his attention was somewhere else.

"Why did you say 6 months?! This matters. This is important. Why did you say 6 months!" The doctor cut Amy's frantic pleas for them to leave with his sharp tone. Anger was slowly bubbling around them but Nora couldn't figure out who was angrier.

"Why did you say 5 minutes?!" Amy finally screamed back, eyes wide with pain and panic as tears burned at the corners. As Amy's anger festered, the doctors seemed to dissipate into sadness. His once sharp and straight features had melted into soft lines and turned down lips.

"What?" He mumbled out, voice cracked under what Nora assumed to be self appointed pressure.

"Come on!" She gently tugged at his hand as Amy begged them to keep moving. It was clear neither girl wanted to sit and natter about past mistakes, however the doctor appeared insistent.

"What?" He repeated, forcing Nora to stop nagging him by enclosing his hand around hers. The action made her freeze, eyes almost bulging from her sockets as she wriggled under his grip.

Part of her wanted to yell at him to get off, but a bigger part knew he needed the comfort. It was so clear on his face, the disappointment in himself. Nora couldn't help but let him pull her in that little bit closer. The voice in the sky continued to hound for their attention. It had flooded into the background as their attention was diverted, but now it was louder than ever.

The alien became more alert, snarling down the window at the trio as if in warning. Nora didn't want to know what the warning was for. Ignorance was bliss. And bliss was peaceful. Finally, as the alien came barrelling out of the house, the group decided to run. They let Amy lead the way down past the broken fence in the shubbery and up into the town centre.

Nora aimlessly followed, feeling the doctors grip tighten ever so slightly at each corner or bend. She suddenly felt guilty for wanting to escape. These two strangers needed help, she guessed it wouldn't hurt to stay with them until they were safe.

•••