The Fate of Persephone (10/OC) (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Five: Explanations

            "No!  No, of course not!" Jackie exclaimed.  "Why on earth would you think that?!  We would never hurt her!  I'll have you know she's visited us five times in the last three months and has gotten to know and trust us quite well!  And you had better watch who you're making threats to when you're in my own house!" 

            The Doctor slumped and rested his face in his hands, elbows on the table.  "I know," he said, all anger dissipated and replaced with an almost hopelessness.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that you had hurt her, I'm just so stressed right now and I'm so worried about her and the future."  There was a moment's pause as Mickey and Jackie nodded their acceptance of his apology and smiled sympathetically at his admission.  "But still," the Doctor continued, pulling his head out of his hands.  "You were going to tell me why she ran.  And everything you know about her, while you're at it."

          Mickey smiled, "That's a long and complicated story.  Care to hear it?"  The Doctor nodded eagerly, so Mickey retold all of the details of Persephone's visits, from the times he, Rose and Jackie saw her wandering outside, to the reason she bolted from the flat just a few minutes ago.  He also revealed to him her deep phobia they thought she had of being tied down and reliant on others; that she actually feared being taken care of!

            When his tale was done, the Doctor nodded.  "That actually makes sense.  If what you're saying is true, and she really thinks she's a born human, then it makes sense for her suppressed Time Lord mind to try and distance itself from others until it found one of its own kind.  Not to mention protect itself from people who would want to capture such a rare person for their own purposes!"  

           He then turned to Mickey and Jackie and spoke in a serious tone.  "You see, Time Lord children (time tots) are born with an immeasurable amount of power in their minds that even they can't hope to control.  For this reason, there's a special bond between tots and their parents in order for their parents to help them regulate and tame this power without their child going absolutely mad.  It's essential to Time Lord development!  And from what you say of Persephone and from what I've felt in my soul of her, she has not had a proper upbringing and has been living for many many years without any parent who could support her through their bonds.  She must be so underdeveloped that she doesn't even know what species she is!  I wouldn't be surprised if she's gone mad because of it!"

           Jackie sat down next to Mickey, asking in fear for their friend "Well is there anything you can do?  Is it too late for her?"  The two of them gave the Doctor their undivided attention as he continued,

         "No.  It's not.  There's another bond as well."  He shifted in his seat and folded his hands on top of the table.  "Each time lord has a bond with another—one other—time lady and vise versa.  It's called Amarthin, a High Gallifreyan word that doesn't translate into anything in English or any other language in the universe.  In short, it's like a soul bond, or a red string of fate, in human terms.  They're the only ones in all of time and space that can equal and surpass a parent's bond.  In rare cases of child neglect or abandonment (actually punishable by death), if a child has already found their bonded, then they could be raised just as safely by them as they would have been by their parents, only with the one person in the universe made for them."

         "So..." Mickey trailed, trying to wrap his head around what the Doctor was hinting at.  "You're saying that her parents abandoned her-" (he nodded)  "-And that.... you are her.... soul mate."  The Doctor nodded again, slower this time, gauging the reactions of the two before him. 

         Finally, Jackie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arm over her chest, a twisted look of disgust on her face.  "That's just sick!" she exclaimed, glaring at the Doctor.  "You're tell'n me that that eighteen-year-old girl's supposed to be in a relationship with you?!  Were all your people pedophiles?!"  It didn't matter that Persephone was an adult, she looked about ready to slap him across his already bruised face!

          "Jackie...," the Doctor whined, rubbing the bridge of his nose.  "We're not pedophiles!  Chances are, Persephone's probably not actually eighteen anyway!"  (Mickie and Jackie visibly recoiled in disbelief at this.)  "You've got to understand that Time Lords were spread out all through time and space!  The chances of two bondeds ever meeting when they're the exact same age is astronomically small!  It wasn't uncommon at all for one member to be several hundred years older than the other!  In those cases, strong bonds and friendships were formed until the younger person reached the age of maturity and was able to accept their bonded back!"  Jackie still didn't look convinced and so the Doctor continued "And not even all Amarthins ended up in a romantic relationship anyway!  It's rare, but sometimes they stay being just best friends for the rest of their lives, getting married and having families apart from each other!"

              "I get it," Mickey said, preventing Jackie from insulting the Doctor's race further.  "But you said she might not be eighteen.  How old is she?"  His brow was creased in confusion.

           "Well," the Doctor responded.  "You never can be sure when it comes to regenerations.  Sometimes, an ancient time lord gets a child's body!  But I feel in my hearts that although her mind is underdeveloped, she has already reach the Time Lord age of maturity, which is 300.   I'd say she's nearer to 320 years old."

        Mickey whistled at that large number, not being able to imagine what it would be like to remain underaged for three hundred years!  "And how old are you," he asked. 

"Nine hundred and three." 

            The Doctor's answer was said in a totally matter-of-fact tone, but Jackie's mouth hung open in response and Mickey laughed in disbelief, saying "Oh, dang!"  But Jackie wasn't ready to let the subject go.  "So you're tell'n me that that girl's marrying an old man!?" 

"Hey, I'm not old," the Doctor defended.  "I'm not even middle aged!" 

"Not middle aged?!" Jackie cried.  "You're six hundred years older than her!" 

"And I told you," he responded, voice raising a little as well.  "That's totally normal!"

Jackie did not appreciate his tone "And I told you that—" 

            "Hey, guys!  Relax!" Mickey interjected before things could get bloody.  The two fell silent, though still glaring daggers at each other.  "Doctor, you have to understand that, from a human standpoint, this is all very bizarre and even a little creepy."  (The Doctor leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.)  "And Jackie," Mickie continued.  "It may not make sense to us, but we're talking to the only person in existence who is of the same species and therefore knows how to help Persephone! We've got to take his word for it!"

             There was a brief pause, before the Doctor said, "Blimey, Mickey!  When did you become an expert in peace-negotiations?"  Mickey just shrugged bashfully.  "I didn't, I just didn't want to be present for the deaths of Rose's mum and the last Time Lord in existence." 

          The Doctor chuckled a little.  "Fair enough," he said.  He then fell to thinking of how close he had been to meeting his bonded, gently rubbing his bruised temple as he thought.

        Jackie broke the silence, saying "Alright I have another question."  The Doctor looked up as she continued. "Right before she met you, she completely ripped the security chain on my door off without any problem!  Then she punched you to the ground!  How was she able to do that?"

       "Oh," the Doctor said, sitting back and waving his hand dismissively.  "That's nothing unusual. Time Lords are just naturally stronger than humans."  The two thought about that for a moment before Mickey said "So Doctor, how do you want to find Persephone again?  I highly doubt she'll be stopping by any time soon." 

       The Doctor sighed regretfully.  "No, I think you're right.  After today's episode, I would expect her to try to stay hidden for at least a few weeks to rid herself of any potential pursuers."  He paused, and then continued "I'll do some more searches of her on my own."  He stood and straightened his coat, walking towards the door.  "If she does come back though, please call me."  He hesitated a moment before adding "And maybe don't tell her I'm coming over."  Mickey and Jackie nodded, and with a final word of thanks, the Doctor bounded through the door and into his Tardis, eager to start the search again.