Heads up, no, this is NOT a dream. ;)
Where others' opinions are known, and Pond and Williams go snooping . . . but is it snooping if the TARDIS lets them?
Enjoy. :)
***
Amy had been searching for at least twenty minutes for the Bad Wolf when she started to wonder if this really was another nightmare . . . except this one was real, and the Bad Wolf had died because of it.
The Doctor had denied it immediately, telling them about how if one of them died, the other would, too. That had just made Rory freak out more, and she'd suggested going different ways. Three searches at once would be better than just one huge search.
She was wandering down one corridor when the TARDIS hummed suddenly. She frowned, looking around. "What is it?" she asked.
A lock clicked next to her, and Amy frowned, trying the door. She opened it and found herself somewhere she didn't expect.
A bedroom.
She stepped inside, cautious about what to touch and what not to, as she was probably intruding. It was normal, she supposed, with a dark colored bed that reminded her of wine and dark blue walls, a writing desk in the corner. A bookshelf along the wall was full of books Rory might enjoy. They were all about medical practices. Amy ran her finger along the spine of one and saw a photo on the desk, of a lovely young black woman with a girl that looked like her. "Martha Jones," she read off of the frame.
There was another picture next to that one, of Martha and a blonde girl, Martha in a wine-colored dress, the blonde in a . . . rather revealing black one. Amy's eyes widened when she recognized the girl. "Bad Wolf," she whispered.
Another lock clicked, and Amy opened a drawer in the desk. She pulled out the only book that was inside: a leather bound journal. She bit her lip before looking up. "Isn't this private?" she asked.
The TARDIS merely buzzed at her.
Amy fidgeted before she finally opened the book to where a bookmark was placed. She scanned as quickly as she could, but her eyes widened as she read it off. "It's only been a few hours since we left Manhattan, and the Doctor and the Bad Wolf still aren't talking to each other," she read. "I think I've just witnessed the worst fight ever, and I've seen my own parents go at it. The Bad Wolf was accused of being a serial killer and letting her best friend die because of superior orders. I can still hear her crying from nearby. The TARDIS is upset, too. I don't know if things will ever look up for the two of them again, but if there's a way to get them back to the way they were before, I'm going to do it."
Amy slowly looked up from the book, biting her lip. "Is this what you wanted me to see?" she asked. The TARDIS hummed, a bit more quietly.
Amy caught the silent urge and flipped a few more pages, sitting down in the chair to the desk to read some more. "I could never imagine 42 more stressful minutes ever. Riley and I were nearly sent to our deaths by an escape pod, but the Bad Wolf saved us, at the risk of her mind being invaded by a living sun. I've never seen her in that much pain before, and I've never seen the Doctor so panicked, either. I think things are finally starting to look up for them. I hope so. They've been through so much together, and I don't want it to be ruined by one simple argument." She didn't hear the door close behind her as footsteps sounded down the hallway, nor did she hear the footsteps, either. She flipped to the next page that was marked, and her eyes widened as she quickly read more. "Correction to my previous entry. The Bad Wolf is literally dying. Now I know what it's like to see her in pain. Screaming and pale, and I can see every vein in her body. Her right heart's stopped, and the Doctor says her regeneration cells are dying. Trying to become human to avoid the Family of Blood was the worst mistake he could have made. Had he opened his bloody watch sooner, all of this would have been avoided. But I think the Doctor's finally realized that he can't just keep pushing the Bad Wolf away. He's had his one shot, and now it's nearly gone. I've never seen him so agitated before. We just have to hope that the Tesseract and the Aether work together to bring the Bad Wolf back. I dread to think of what would happen if she doesn't wake up."
Amy felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach. That must've been the memory from Asgard they'd seen, where the Bad Wolf had barely responded at all. "Are you corresponding these to what we saw?" she asked to make sure. The TARDIS hummed again.
Even though Amy knew she was prying through Martha's stuff, she moved to the next entry. "1969 is a nightmare," she read, and couldn't help but laugh slightly. "The Doctor is an absolute wreck. The Bad Wolf always told me about how he hates domestics. Well, he's living out his worst nightmare now. I'm the one that has to work in a shop to support him while we try and work out these Weeping Angels. We're stuck in 1969, and the Bad Wolf is back in 2015 trying to work with Sally Sparrow on getting to the TARDIS and returning here to pick us up. Ever since the Doctor finally got his head in the game and proposed to her, he's been obsessed with making everything up to her. Nice way to start, Doctor. Still, when we met Sally before, we apparently got out of it. Hopefully the Bad Wolf can get us back in time."
There were only a few more pages left. Hesitantly, Amy started to read, and her eyes widened, horrified as she read. "I don't think I ever realized how truly important the Bad Wolf was to everyone who knew her before The Year That Never Was. Captain Jack Harkness, Natasha Romanoff, and Clint Barton stormed the TARDIS when we arrived in Cardiff to refuel, and were on the Doctor for the entire trip. None of them knew their friend, Jessie Nightshade, was actually the Bad Wolf, right in front of them. When the Bad Wolf revealed who she really was when she and Jack were fixing the pistons for the rocket to Utopia, they were stunned speechless. But Professor Yana had this watch that was just like the fob watches they used to make themselves human. It was the Doctor's old friend, the Master. Back on Earth, he'd become Harold Saxon, the Prime Minister. The Doctor tried to confront him, but the Master secured him and brought creatures claiming to be "the Toclafane" to Earth, and started destroying everything. I went on a trip round the world with the Bad Wolf's past self, the original Jessie Nightshade, to find a way to stop him. Jack, Natasha, Clint, and the other SHIELD members were held by the Master onboard the Valiant. The current Bad Wolf was stuck in New York, trying to hack the Archangel Network. But after a year, we did it, and reversed the paradox so it never happened, The Year That Never Was. But the First Bad Wolf died taking a bullet for the Master, and the Master took another one. Both of them died, making the Doctor and the Bad Wolf officially the last of the Time Lords. But now the Bad Wolf's secret is out, and everyone knows she's still alive. She and the Doctor were married only a few nights ago. I've never seen a happier couple in all of my life. Jack told me all about them when he saw them before, and whatever had begun as "Big Ears and Whiskey," as he called them, it had strengthened in their current selves. I wish them all the best. Of everyone in the universe, they deserve this more than anyone. I just wish Saleen and Sky could have seen them get married."
Amy closed Martha's journal, her eyes wide and filled with tears. She knew she wasn't the first companion. Of course she hadn't been. But to read the Doctor and the Bad Wolf's story through her eyes . . . it just made it more real. She'd read the Dream Lord's message to the Doctor through Martha's eyes. She stood and headed quietly for the door, slipping out . . . to find another door in front of her. Another bedroom, perhaps? She opened it and stepped inside, finding herself in a new room.
She closed the door just as Rory entered the corridor behind her.
***
Rory was seriously getting tired of all of the games the TARDIS was playing with him. "Don't you want to find her?" he asked grumpily. The TARDIS merely beeped at him. "I know," he huffed. "But can't you at least help?"
A lock clicked open nearby, and Rory frowned at the door he found himself in front of. This one wasn't like the others . . . when he held his hand up in front of it, he felt cool air radiating off of it. He opened the door, frowning a bit.
It was cold inside the room, too. He shivered a bit, looking around, his eyes wide. Although the room was chilly, the walls were almost alive with forest scenes and nature. The canopy bed in the middle was a frosty blue color, the bedposts a luscious brown color, like bark. Even before he saw the eagle logo on a notebook on the person's bedside table, he knew whose room this was. "Is this Saleen's?" he asked. The TARDIS hummed in reply.
Rory sat on Saleen's bed and picked up the notebook curiously, debating on whether to open it or not. When the TARDIS beeped encouragingly, Rory finally flipped it open. A picture fell out, and he picked it up, his eyes wide. Two laughing girls, one ginger and the other dark-haired, were walking arm in arm, a Broadway sign in the background. He recognized the Bad Wolf's first self immediately, and knew the ginger had to be Saleen. He set the photo down carefully and started to read through the notebook. "I honestly didn't expect space travel to be like this," Saleen's first entry read. "Jessie told me all about the year 5.5/apple/26, which is apparently the end of the world, and the Game Station and the Daleks, but I don't think I ever believed half of what she said until now. I just saw clockwork droids try and take off Madame de Pompadour's head, and watched the Doctor be an idiot and mess it up between him and Jessie. So, I'm standing out in front of the library listening to those two dish it out to each other. Sure, I saw Slitheen crash into Big Ben, saw one of the same creatures as Mayor of Cardiff, watched the Doctor save the world with The Lion King on Christmas Day, and watched school teachers turn into bats, but seeing aliens affect history? This is what it's all about, and I don't blame Jessie for falling in love with this kind of a life. It's everything she's ever wanted: to run with someone who understood her and never look back."
Jessie Nightshade. That had been her name before she'd taken on Bad Wolf. The notebook wasn't full of a lot, but then he saw an entry that made his eyes widen. "It's hard to believe six years have passed in the parallel universe, but it's only been two here. Now that makes me four additional years older than Jessie . . . no, it's Bad Wolf now. I have to remember that . . . but I probably will never stop calling her Jessie. It's hard seeing her with a new face, being blonde and Australian and all, but there's this sparkle in her eyes that I haven't seen before. She's happy. She really is happy. But they're in pain, too. Unbearable pain. Something happened a few moments ago on the Crucible, something Jack was scared by. I don't know what it is, but I hope it can be solved. The way she and the Doctor look at each other now are more than lovers, more than just husband and wife. They are literally all the other has. But it's still so weird seeing them with a daughter . . . "
Rory closed the book with wide eyes. Saleen hadn't been a companion for very long, apparently. But six years in a parallel world? That was new. "Why did you show me this?" he asked out loud.
The TARDIS just opened the door again, and he slipped out, finding a new door in front of him. He sighed. "Is there a point to this?" he asked.
The TARDIS just buzzed, and he entered the next bedroom.
***
The first thing that came to Amy's mind was red.
The bed was red, the carpet was red, the walls were a darker red. The wood in the room was the color of cherry wood, but there was a certain . . . sassiness to the room that made it fit. "Ginger?" she guessed. She picked up the photo on the dresser and grinned when she saw the Second Bad Wolf with an older ginger woman, the two of them dressed in 1920s style clothes. "Oh, definitely ginger." A look at the name on the back made her smile. "Donna Noble . . . " She set the photo down before looking up at the TARDIS. "Is there something here you want me to read?"
As if on cue, the lock on a drawer in the dresser opened. She opened the drawer and pulled out a simple black journal, and she sat down on the bed to open it up. This time, she flipped to the first entry. "I finally found them again!" was how the entry began. "A bloody year, and they finally turn up when I do! But they're different this time. They're not trying to avoid each other. And they say they're married now, too! Such a different couple than when I first met them after they - " Here a word was scribbled out, and Amy barely made out "kidnapped" before it continued. " - crashed my wedding. They say as soon as I get settled in, we can head out on our first adventure!"
A few pages later, and Amy found the next log. "It's funny, how I imagined space travel. I imagined it would be brilliant and fantastic. It is, don't get me wrong, but it scares me to hell. I saw the Bad Wolf willing to keep history intact, and destroy Pompeii. I saw her tied to an altar to be sacrificed, saw her terrified out of her mind, saw the Doctor go into a fury seeing her like that. And then on the Ood Sphere, I saw slaves, not the willing servants the Ood were claimed to be. I wanted to go home, but then I reconsidered. And the Doctor told me I was right: they do need someone with them. And they do. So I'm staying, and I'm not giving this up for a long shot."
Amy couldn't help but smile. This Donna woman, she wanted to meet her. She flipped to the next entry and blinked. "That Martha Jones woman is definitely brilliant. It was nice to meet someone who had been so good for the Doctor and the Bad Wolf. The Bad Wolf insists that she helped get them together, but Martha is too modest, and too much of a doctor to say otherwise. I think she and that Captain Steve Rogers bloke fancy each other . . . no surprise there. Steve's good looking for sure. But I saw today what they could really be like. The Doctor doesn't like guns, that much is obvious, but I watched the Bad Wolf play soldier. She commanded everyone with ease, stared down Sontarans, risked her own life to destroy them. Sometimes I wonder if Gallifrey is the only past the Doctor wants to get rid of. But the TARDIS took us to the planet Messaline, and DNA was taken from both of them to create their daughter, Jenny. God, she looked so much like the Bad Wolf! It's remarkable how similar they were . . . even their soldier ways. But Jenny is so much like her mother. She stepped in front of a bullet to save her father. By some miracle, the Bad Wolf's first self appeared, and saved her. The current Bad Wolf nearly shot General Cobb dead, but stopped at the last moment. I never want to see that look on her face again."
Amy bit her lip, swallowing. The Bad Wolf, playing soldier . . . that was almost what this version of the Bad Wolf was like now. She flipped a few more pages, seeing something about Agatha Christie and a Library, passing by something about a Professor, when she stopped at an entry that made her eyes go wide. "What the hell?" she breathed, bending over to read closer. "I am never leaving those two alone again. On the planet Midnight, the two of them going off on a tour to see sapphire waterfalls, and what did the Doctor say? 'What could possibly go wrong?' Oh, gee, let me count, Spaceman." Amy giggled a bit at the nickname Donna had for her. "But it was worse than that. Something had attacked the shuttle, a mind parasite of some sort. It made the other passengers turn on the Doctor and the Bad Wolf, then it infected the Doctor. They tried to throw him out of the shuttle, but the Bad Wolf actually snapped someone's arm and fired off shots to keep them away from him. The face when she stepped off of the shuttle . . . I don't want to see her look like that again. There is so much of an agent still in her, so much of a soldier, that I wonder if she'll ever be able to get rid of it. The Doctor asked me to remind him never to go to Midnight again. I don't blame him one bit."
There with the soldier again. Amy was starting to understand a bit of why the TARDIS was doing this. Every Bad Wolf was the same in some way, but they were all different . . . and no matter what, the Doctor still loved her. She flipped to the final entry, and she actually started to blink back tears a bit as she read. "Earth was stolen today. Literally stolen, by that Davros creature, creator of the Daleks. I finally met the elusive Saleen and Skye . . . and I watched the Bad Wolf get shot by a Dalek. She and the Doctor screamed at the same time, and I finally knew the meaning of 'till death do us part.' The Time Lords seriously took that literally. But they didn't change their faces. Jenny returned, as did this rather good looking Captain Jack Harkness fellow. The Bad Wolf, Jenny, and I were sent down into the heart of the Crucible, leaving the Doctor, Skye, and Jack behind. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but apparently the Bad Wolf absorbed their regeneration energy and got a lot of the Doctor in her. On the Crucible, however . . . I don't even know what she was. All I can think of is a goddess, like the Asgardian legends they told me about. But she was dying, and it was killing the Doctor, too. I could see it. He said that if it had been anyone else, she'd have to forget everything about their travels, including him, to survive. Instead, he bound her to him in the most intimate way possible. If they're separated at all for any extended time, their minds will burn, and they both die, with no chance of that regeneration thing. We're all still waiting for her to wake up. I think it's time for me to stop. These two have already lost so much, and Skye and her parallel husband have returned to their world. The Doctor and the Bad Wolf need each other now more than anything else. Who am I to deny them that? Take care of her, Spaceman. Take care of him, Aussie Wolf. Not everyone has what you do."
Amy sniffed and wiped at her eyes after reading the entry. Who was she kidding? She'd had no chance whatsoever at having the Doctor. It would always be the Bad Wolf, never anyone else. How could she have missed that?
She replaced Donna's journal and headed out the door, silently closing it behind her. "Where is she?" she whispered to the TARDIS. "Please, tell me?"
The TARDIS hummed quietly . . . and then lights flickered on along a passageway. Amy smiled and walked down it. "Thank you," she whispered.
***
This was a man's room, Rory immediately knew when he looked around. There wasn't much in here, but for some reason, he was reminded instantly of World War II. Still, he felt a bit more comfortable in here than in Saleen's room.
He laughed when he saw two of the photos on the man's dresser. The First Bad Wolf was on one man's back in each photo. One of them, the Ninth Doctor was giving her a piggy back, both of them grinning widely. In the other one, the man had black hair and blue eyes, Cardiff in the background. "Captain Jack Harkness," he realized, looking around. So this was the bedroom of the man who had been made immortal . . . interesting. Sure enough, one more small look around revealed a photo from a wedding, actually. He picked out Jack immediately, right next to the Tenth Doctor, whose arms were around the Second Bad Wolf, the woman absolutely gorgeous in a simple silver lace wedding gown, a black woman, most likely Martha Jones, with her. He smiled, then found a leather bound journal next to the photos. He frowned and picked it up, flipping to the first entry. "Well, this is something I never expected," he read off. "The con man had been found out. Then again, if Jessie's telling the truth in saying she was a federal agent, I suppose she should've known. Doc's an interesting character, but I can see it between them. Flirt goes a long way, and they're starting to get defensive. I wonder how much more innuendo it'll take before they finally start shagging . . . "
Rory's eyes widened, and he quickly flipped the page, not wanting to see more of that entry. "Cardiff is an interesting place for aliens to pop up, apparently. The Rift was broken into during 1869, and then Margaret the Slitheen tried to rip it open and destroy the planet. Huh. Where do Big Ears and Whiskey get all these enemies? Maggie's back home on Raxacoricofallapatorius - " Rory hoped he said that right. " - but something's wrong. The Doctor and Jessie are both acting uncomfortable. I don't know what it is, but something must be coming. I just hope nothing happens because of it."
When Rory found the next entry, it was dated two years later. "It's been a long time since I've been back on the TARDIS. I've lost count of how old I am, but I know I'm over a hundred. And now I finally know the truth about the Game Station, and what happened to Jessie. I got the report from Ianto about Canary Wharf, about Jessie Nightshade being on the list of the dead. I paired up with Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton to try and find the Doctor again, get out of him what happened to our best friend, but then he finally arrived in Cardiff with not one, but two companions, both of them women. Martha Jones seemed to have a basic understanding about what was going on around her. Johanna Rossini, on the other hand, was much more familiar with it. It was only later when we were fixing the rocket for the Utopia Project that they both came clean. Jessie had brought me back to life on the Game Station, after I died from Dalek shots, but she brought me back forever. And at Canary Wharf, she died after her skull caved in. She regenerated into who she is now, and apparently, she and the Doc were engaged! Well, who was I to say no to an invitation to be best man? But the Yana fellow was a Time Lord in disguise, a Time Lord called the Master, who stole the TARDIS and went back to our time as the man Harold Saxon, later the Prime Minister. He caused a paradox, bringing humans back from the Utopia Project, and the Doctor and the Bad Wolf were unable to help us. Martha returned from her year trip journey, telling everyone she knew the story of the Doctor. Out of nowhere, Jessie appeared, and with two of them by her side, she was able to free the Doctor of his aging and save the world. The Year That Never Was doesn't exist now, but I still remember every time I died, and I still remember the horror the world went through. The Master is dead, allowed himself to die after being shot, but I have never felt more relief before. If the Master was still alive, the Doctor or Jessie or even both could be dead. To see a world with one or both of them missing . . . God, I don't know how the universe would still be intact. Those two deserve each other more than anything. Their wedding was only a few days ago, and it's like seeing the world's happiest couple. Sure, I wanted to punch the Doctor senseless after hearing about the torture he put my little sis through from Martha, but I can't exactly blame him when we all thought the same thing at one point in time. He'd just better watch out for her now, or I break his hand . . . and his arms . . . and anything else I can think of."
Rory closed the book silently, closing his eyes. "Where is she?" he asked, putting Jack's journal down.
The door opened, and Rory headed down the hall, not realizing a few seconds later, Amy passed by in the corridor right behind him.
***
Amy wasn't quite sure where she was going, but when she opened a metal door the TARDIS led her to, she understood immediately when the sharp scent of chlorine hit her nostrils. She smiled and closed the door behind her, seeing the Bad Wolf doing laps in the pool that had apparently been found since its mysterious disappearance. "I thought this was in the library?" she called.
The Bad Wolf paused and swam to the side of the pool. "Apparently not anymore," she called back, shrugging, but she seemed tense. "Something you need?"
"We've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Really?" she asked in amusement. "There's a reason why I've been blocking the Doctor out."
"Why?" Amy had to ask, walking over, slipping her jacket off and crouching by the pool as the Bad Wolf hauled herself out, wearing a very dark grey one piece. "He's going frantic. Everyone's scared this is just another dream."
"It's not," she shook her head. "Where I was was a nightmare enough."
Amy bit her lip. "How do you do it?" she asked softly, wrapping her arms around her knees. "How do you go through so much, and still . . . " She bit her lip again, not knowing how to say it.
"Love each other so much?" the Bad Wolf guessed.
"Yeah," Amy nodded. "The TARDIS took me through a few . . . detours. What you two have been through . . . it's incredible."
"It is," the Bad Wolf nodded. "It's hard to understand."
"Help me to," Amy begged. "I love Rory, I really do. It's just . . . I don't feel . . . "
"Like you're ready?" the Bad Wolf suggested. Amy nodded, a bit embarrassed, but the Bad Wolf just smiled. "Change," she said, nodding at the pool. "I think I finally found the hot tub in this place."
Amy smiled. "And Bad Wolf?" she added as she stood. "I'm sorry."
"About what?" she frowned in confusion.
Amy swallowed. "How I treated you. It wasn't fair."
"To be fair, you didn't know," the Bad Wolf shrugged. "And I've been hurt worse."
"Yeah, I saw," Amy admitted.
"You all did." The Bad Wolf stood, taking a black towel hanging off of a rack nearby. "Change into a suit, and we'll talk, yeah?"
Amy smiled. "Yeah," she nodded, and headed off as the Bad Wolf headed towards the back of the room.
***
Rory found himself in the library, and he paused, looking up . . . and up . . . and up. "How big is this place?" he found himself asking.
"I really don't know," a voice he didn't expect answered, and he looked up to . . . oh, about the fourth floor, to see the Doctor lean down to call. "Never really checked . . . although I imagine quite big."
"You're telling me," Rory nodded, looking around. "Have you found her yet?"
The Doctor's look darkened. "No," he shook his head. "But she has to be here somewhere."
Rory folded his arms, looking around. "Well, she's not going to be in here. Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," the Doctor shrugged, heading for the staircase. "What is it?"
"How do you and the Bad Wolf not exactly . . . hate each other?"
The footsteps paused, then the sound of running footsteps sounded, and the Doctor looked over the railing from the second floor. "What?"
"It's just," Rory fumbled for something to say as the Doctor hurried down the staircase. "The TARDIS, she gave me a few detours, and, well . . . " He took a deep breath. "I found Saleen's and Jack's rooms."
The Doctor blinked. "She let you in?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "I think she was trying to make a point. You've done so much to each other . . . and here you are now, two of the best people in the universe. How can you still love each other so much?"
"I've been asking myself the same question," the Doctor admitted, sitting down at a table. "I'm scared one day she's going to see me as who I am, a murderer, a killer, but she looks at me like I'm the most precious thing ever." He sighed. "Women."
"Tell me about it, mate," Rory laughed.
The Doctor smiled. "Basically, you're worrying about you and Amy."
"Basically, yeah."
The Doctor smiled. "Well, you'll be glad to know Amy's worried about the same thing."
Rory blinked. "What?"
The Doctor tapped the side of his head. "Her links opened up again. Amy found her. She's concerned about what's going to happen to your relationship as well."
Rory swallowed. "Can you help?"
The Doctor beamed. "Rory Williams . . . I am glad you asked."
***
The lovely Martha and Donna on the side, two of the most critical people in the Bad Wolf's lives, and the 10s theme. The 10th Doctor's theme is also the updated theme for the First Bad Wolf. But first and foremost, it is the 10s. So beautiful. :)
So many of you freaked out when Jessie went missing. :P I really wasn't going to do that to you, shame for thinking I would!
Two-parter next, and after "Cold Blood" . . . sneak peek two of my new OC! :D See you for "The Hungry Earth" soon!