Doctor Who: The Girl Who Said No

Chapter 17 - Parenthood

THE DOCTOR

Cal'sship wasn't protected very well from intruders. It was easy for me to crack down the firewalls and find my way throughto the self destruct programme. Tappingaway on the old keyboard, I set the countdown to five minutes.

"Quite the little monster, isn't she, Doctor?" the voice wascoming from an invisible source but I knew it was the Trickster.

"Where are you?"

"Nowhere and everywhere."

"Enough with the riddles. Show yourself."

He materialised beside the conveyer belt Olivia was boundto.

"What do you want with Olivia?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you so keen to get your hands on her."

"My problem lies not with her but with you, Doctor." Hespat. "Her death will be your undoing."

"Well, she's tucked away inside the TARDIS, safe andsound. You can't reach her there."

"Try to keep her locked inside, we both know she has a freespirit. Freer than yours possibly, shewon't like being locked away. Eventually, she will leave and I will be waiting." He disappeared beforeI could reach for him and reappeared behind the jettison tubes. "I have many plans for her, Doctor."

"You will fail."

"But I have other plans. Plans for you. Plans that willlead you down a very dark path indeed. We will see each other again... soon."

"When? WHERE?!"

He began to dematerialize but whispered, "Trenzalore."

The TARDIS flew us to a safe distance from Cal's ship which would soon join the Infernobelow. Clara was in her room when Iheard it blowing up in the distance. Shewas reading her book when I entered.

"How is she?" she asked, closing the book and putting it toone side.

"I don't know but we'll find out. Did you give Olivia her clothes back?"

Clara frowned, "No they're right here." She offered theneatly folded pile of clothes to me.

"She didn't come for them?"

"No, I thought she was with you."

"Well, then where is she?"

"I don't know." She said, looking alarmed.

Together we ran from her room to a few doors down whereOlivia should be sound asleep but she wasn't there. She wasn't under the covers or in herbathroom. She wasn't in the kitcheneither. After making it back to thecontrol room I scanned the entirety of the ship but the only life signs theTARDIS could detect were me and my friend.

"Doctor!" Clara called, pointing to something on the TARDISdoor.

A knife I knew that had belonged to Olivia was stuck intothe wood, holding an envelope with 'Doctor' written on it in her loopingscrawl. Inside the envelope was a discwith a label on it saying 'play me'. Popping the disc into the TARDIS control unit the screens came to life.

Olivia was sitting in front of a camera but she wasn'tfacing it yet, she was writing something so her attention was off screen. I recognised the surroundings rightaway. She was on one of the ships Riveroften used to escape Stormcage prison. After a minute or two she seemed to realise the camera was alreadyfilming so she moved it till she filmed the frame.

"Okay." she cleared her throat, "If you're watching this itcan mean only one thing, I've killed Cal. If notand you find this in years to come, I'm sure it's going to lead to some awkwardconversations."