Mae and The Doctor

11 - The End of a Dark Era

When the TARDIS lands, I stumble out the doors excitedly. A light breeze blows, and I have to raise my hand to block out the bright light. Not from the sun - they don't have one - but from the light reflecting off of the radiant buildings around us; there are also a few large rocks here and there, and after a while, I  notice they're actually huge chunks of diamond and gold.

"Mae! Doctor!"

I squint as I see Flora walking towards us, arms outstretched.

"Hello," the Doctor says cheerily.

"Hi, Flora," I exclaim. She embraces the both of us, crushing my ribs. When she lets go, I breathe deeply. The Doctor has to do the same. Then I spot Bartholomew coming up behind her. He smiles broadly and roughly shakes our hands.

"Thank you, thank you," he says to us. "The autocrat told the planet all about how you saved us."

"Oh, we didn't really save anyone," the Doctor says, waving a hand dismissively. "All we did was get you back your energy."

"Well, he also said he was going to throw a huge gala in celebration of the returned power, in honor of you two," Bartholomew announces, a cheesy smile still plastered on his face.

"Really?" I ask, slightly surprised.

"How kind," the Doctor remarks, tucking his hands into his pockets and smiling.

"Yes indeed," Flora says, "do you have something to wear, Mae?"

I give her a slight shrug, smiling. "I'll find something."

"As will I," the Doctor says, looking to me. "Say, when is it?" He regards the other two again.

"Later this evening," Bartholomew responds. "He said the shadow creatures - I can't pronounce their names - left you a letter. I'm not sure if you were to pick it up from his office now or if he was going to give it to you later at the gala..."

"That's fine," the Doctor nods to him, "I think we'll get some rest from this adventure for a short while before getting down on the dance floor." He grins happily to me, and I grin back.

We loop arms and walk back into the TARDIS, the Doctor waving goodbye over his shoulder to the manatee looking couple.

As I walked over to a seat by the console, I hear the Doctor let out a sigh.

"Do you actually need to rest?" I ask him, turning to watch him walk to the center of the room.

He just shrugs, hanging his head a bit. Cautiously, I stand up and walk to him.

"What is it?" My voice is low as I put a hand to his shoulder.

"I don't want to embarrass myself on the dance floor," he says shyly. "Do you know how long it's been since I've danced? I'm a little over 900 and travel time and space; I would think the absolute least of my worries is dancing." He walks off towards the stairs and throws his hands in the air, exclaiming, "But nope! The omniscient Doctor can't handle misplacing his feet." The Doctor plops himself down on a stair. He frowns as he sees I'm grinning.

"You know, I could always teach you," I say. "I took dance as a young girl." Quickly, I take off my shoes; these wedges have been killing me! "C'mon," I plead, holding a hand out to him.

He looks to my hand, and then to my face. "I don't have cooties," I shake my head. Giggling, he takes my hand, and I grin again.

Guiding his hands to my shoulder and waist, I can't help but to ask, "Have you ever been to a gala?"

"Yes," he says, staring down to his feet, "a couple, actually. Being a time traveler and all, I kind of get around." I let out a laugh. "But not like that," the Doctor smiles at me.

"Does the TARDIS play music?" I tilt my head. He tilts his as well, seeming to only think about this now.

Side stepping toward the console, the Doctor presses a few buttons. Slowly, I hear a violin string start.

"Is this...?" I choke on my words. It's my brother; it's my brother's original violin work. The Doctor knows my brother. This is impossible.

"Mae, what is it?" The Doctor hangs on tighter to my hand.

"Is this m-my brother?" Thinking of my real family isn't really pleasant for me. All I remember as a child is listening to them yell at each other and ignore me. Then I was put into a foster home without a goodbye from anyone.

"What do you mean? This is Sherlock Holmes.... you have a brother?"

The Doctor leads me to a seat, and I get confused about my blurry vision - my glasses are on. I must be crying, but why? "Mae, it's okay," the Doctor says beside me, "just breathe."

After a moment, I've calmed my thoughts down. This is my brother; my brother, Sherlock Holmes.

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A/N: What could happen next? Feel free to comment and let me know how this chapter was - or even vote! Thanks for reading so far (: