☆
CALLISTO CURLED UP on the corner of a sofa in the library, the one lacking a swimming pool, a book laying on her lap. it was another of the doctor's suggestions and she was enjoying it far more than shakespeare. headphones sat on her ears, blocking out her surroundings as she got lost in the pages of her book.
the weight on the sofa changed with a dramatic bounce, pulling her attention from the book. callisto turned to the side to see the doctor lazily plopped beside her, sighing loudly. she pulled her headphones off and raised an eyebrow, "what's wrong?"
"i'm bored!" he groaned.
"i thought you decided to make a table that could make its own tea." callisto hummed.
"i did and i almost finished it, but then i bashed my thumb with the hammer." the doctor grumbled, shuffling to lean his head on her shoulder. "d'you wanna go somewhere? rid me of my boredom?"
"rose just went to sleep." callisto mused, threading her fingers through the doctor's hair, messing with the unruly strands. "can we really leave her?"
"yeah, she's safe in the t.a.r.d.i.s. also, she can sleep for earth so we'd probably be back before she woke up." the doctor smiled. "i'll put a note on on the console. c'mon! i have ideas of where to go!"
callisto smiled slightly as the doctor stood excitedly and pulled her up with him, dragging her through the halls of the t.a.r.d.i.s until they got to the console, callisto leaning against it as she watched the doctor pull and push a few buttons.
"what ideas do you have then?" callisto inquired.
"well, there's a planet completely empty of civilisation, and it's pretty much just a massive forest. it has no name because there's no one on there to name it. there's another and it has whales in the sky, which is made of a kinda blue vapour. and some of them glow at night apparently. i've never been, i've only read about it." the doctor explained, circling the console to stand beside callisto, his hand hovering over a lever.
"wait, i know which one you mean. it's called something like," callisto then made some clicking sounds and the doctor nodded enthusiastically. "the civilisation there also has a festival that lasts a month to celebrate the war their species won and it's supposed to be incredible."
"let's go then!" the doctor grinned and pulled down a lever sharply and the console whirred, callisto pressing a few switches as they travelled, the doctor slamming a sphere with a hammer. moments later, the t.a.r.i.s groaned and wheezed, having landed. the doctor said the clickey name of the planet, "the year 70452. to them, anyway."
callisto pushed open the door of the ship and stared around in amazement. they'd materialised in the middle of a street, people bustling down the sandy road, the sound of music filling the air. most people had purple skin, some pink but they also had colourful face paint on as they danced and skipped along together. stalls were put up all down the street, selling food, drinks, jewellery and other items for the celebratory occasion.
the doctor came up behind callisto, placing his hands on her hips as he looked outside, his broad grin never wavering, "brilliant!"
callisto stepped out of the ship and the doctor followed, closing the door behind them, it automatically locking rose inside, safe. they pair started to walk down the busy street in the flow of the crowds, marvelling at the amazing beauty of the planet and its people. the doctor looked down at callisto when he felt her hand reach for his own, their fingers intertwining, and he smiled at her lovingly as she watched the festival around her.
neighbours came out of their homes, which looked smooth and beige on the outside, but through the windows it was visible that their homes were decorated with brightness. the neighbours approached other houses, inviting them outside or exchanging gifts with large, proud smiles on their faces.
"this place is beautiful." callisto said in wonder, the doctor pulling her through the stream of people, twisting through the crowd.
a purple man with streaks of orange, blue, yellow and green decorating his happy face approached them and lay two necklaces of the planet's flowers over their heads, a way of welcoming to two clear non-residents of the planet. he was then whisked away by a pink man with similar face paint, dancing down the street together with the other people.
"let's go to the market." the doctor smiled, callisto nodding in agreement.
they followed the crowd for a little longer, glancing down streets until they saw an open patch of sand with market stalls standing up. it was quieter than the street they'd been on previously, but it was still fairly busy with the people buying what they pleased, even standing beside the stalls to talk with the sellers like old friends.
"wait here one second. i'll be right back!" the doctor called, already rushing off through the busy street, only leaving callisto a view of his spiky hair over a few shorter people before he was gone.
she smiled to herself and approached a stall, feeling the soft fabric of a blanket that was lay across the table, embroidered with bright flowers and the vibrant sky whales on a black base, which made the embroidery seem even more beautiful. everything on this planet seemed to be bright and colourful and it certainly reflected the attitude of its people.
"would you like it?" the stall owner asked with a friendly smile on his purple lips.
"no, thank you. i haven't got any money." callisto replied, taking her hands from the blanket.
"you don't need any." he stated and when callisto looked at him in confusion, he explained. "because of the occasion, most of the people choose to give their items instead of selling them. the whole reason for this celebration is generosity because of the help we received from our neighbouring planets. so, would you like it?"
"yes, if you don't mind." callisto agreed and he pushed the blanket towards her on the stall. "thank you."
"no problem! enjoy the festival!" the man beamed, turning to the pair of children waiting to get something from his stall.
folding the blanket over her arm, callisto walked down the street further in search of the doctor. she still couldn't see him around and wondered why he'd ran off so suddenly. during her search, callisto continued to admire the planet she'd been so fascinated with feeling a little bit guilty they'd left rose on the t.a.r.d.i.s to sleep.
"callisto!" the doctor called, somehow behind callisto now, wrapping an arm around her waist.
callisto leaned into him and turned her gaze to his face, "where'd you go?"
"i thought i saw a perception filter on something but i was wrong. accidentally stood on a man. anyway, i found this!" the doctor grinned, choosing to ignore his second to last sentence as he held up a bowl with a luminous green and blue substance inside, looking almost like sorbet. "it's delicious! try some."
"is it safe to eat?" callisto asked, taking the bowl from him.
"i don't know. probably." the doctor shrugged. he then grimaced and placed a hand on his stomach and his body jolted sharply. "although, i think my liver just exploded." callisto looked up at him in concern, shock evident on her features. however, she rolled her eyes when he laughed loudly at her. "i scanned it, it's fine. i wouldn't give it to you if it wasn't."
"you're awful." callisto huffed and spooned some of the 'sorbet' into her mouth.
"yeah, well, you love me really." the doctor beamed, pulling her closer to his side by her hip.
"unfortunately." callisto mumbled jokingly.
"oi!"
the pair continued their day around the festival, joining in with the parades and watching the performances that were put on. the doctor even managed to persuade callisto into letting him put some face paint on her. now, as night fell, the pair walked up a fairly tall hill to watch the whales glow in the vaporised sky.
they sat down on the blue grass and callisto pulled the blanket she'd been given around their shoulders as a breeze swept by. the doctor felt the material and hummed quietly before turning his gaze to at the sky. distantly, a neon light flickered before it disappeared behind some vapour. it then got bigger and the outline of a giant whale-like creature swam through the sky.
"that's incredible." the doctor whispered, another whale swimming up beside the first, the pair communicating with noises sounding similar to moans and groans, but they sounded beautiful, echoing in the air.
"they're breathtaking." callisto murmured softly, leaning her head against the doctor's shoulder.
it was silent for a few moment until the doctor asked, "hey, moon, do you think when there's a fog, the whales come down? they'd have the capability because it'd be made of the same thing as their vapour."
"what?" callisto asked, more in reference to the nickname than anything else.
"it's possible!" the doctor defended.
"yeah, completely possible, i bet they do sometimes." callisto agreed, choosing not to clarify her question but just smile up at him.
she remembered reinette suddenly and how the young woman had been able to go through the open door between their minds to see into his own. she remembered what reinette had smiled when playfully demanding they dance. how he should dance, if not with her then with his moon.
when callisto was living on her home planet, she couldn't have even begun to imagine the life she had now. the thought of basically handing someone her heart would have made the past callisto scoff in disbelief. love was the furthest thing on her mind at one point, but as she gazed up at the doctor, her doctor, love was the only thing consuming her thoughts.
closing her eyes, callisto leaned towards him and kissed him softly, the affection being reciprocated without a second thought. the doctor grinned against her smile, bringing his hands up to cup her face. callisto pulled herself closer to him, slipping her arms underneath his long coat. the zen-whobian slowly leaned her weight on the doctor and he went with her, laying down.
"no!" callisto gasped suddenly and the doctor parted the kiss, eyebrows furrowed in worry.
"what? what happened?" he asked quickly.
"nothing." callisto mumbled, pressing their lips together again. although confused, the doctor reciprocated the kiss happily.
he then felt the blanket underneath his back shuffling out from under him. he spoke against her lips, "did you say no because you don't wanna get the blanket dirty on the grass?"
"perhaps." she answered, leaning her forehead on his with a smile.
"oh, but my coat's fine." the doctor remarked sarcastically.
"exactly, you get it!" callisto smirked, fully pulling the blanket from under the doctor.
the doctor gasped in offence, "how dare you? you clearly don't appreciate a fine coat when you see one."
"maybe not. but i appreciate a fine blanket every once in a while." she hummed, admiring the stars in his eyes as she played with his messy hair. "also, you have about 16 of these coats."
"that's not the poi—"
"and the t.a.r.d.i.s can make more!" callisto interrupted with a chuckle.
"stop throwing logic my way, okay?" the doctor grinned, pulling her lips to his again.
some time later, the pair decided to walk around the hills. the doctor rambled happily about all of the things he'd seen, all of the amazing people he'd met and callisto listened with interest. the way he told stories, even the most mundane and dull ones, always made everything seem so much more interesting and incredible. as he spoke, callisto could see the light parts of the past glimmering in his eyes, hiding the dark.
the couple stopped walking at the top of the tallest hull and looked down at the busy city below. the lights were still visible from people's windows, and even from the lanterns they had begun to carry when it got darker. it wasn't as busy and it wasn't as lively as when they arrived, but there was still a quiet hum of life coming from the city.
they watched with calm smiles on their faces, callisto leaning back on the doctor's chest, his hands on her hips, his chin on her head. a loud, slow song started from somewhere in the city and there was a round of cheers from the civilians still outside. clearly, whatever beautiful song was playing was a well known favourite. they then bag an to sing together, the amount of voices making the singing seem louder than it really was.
callisto turned around to face the doctor, her hands sliding up his shoulders to tangle in his mess of hair. he smiled down at her widely and she wondered if his face ached from doing it so often. the doctor stared at her, admired her in the glow of the luminous whales. she was breathtaking and, despite the views available on this wonderful planet, the doctor found himself unable to look away from her.
"thank you for bringing me here." callisto hummed, the pair absentmindedly swaying to the slow singing coming from the city.
"i'll take you anywhere." the doctor murmured softly, leaning down to touch their foreheads together.
"well, that's good, we've got a whole universe to see together." callisto smiled, arms wrapping fully around the doctor's shoulders.
their eyes closed as the gentle thrum of the music continued from the city below continued to flow through the cool air. the couple swayed on the spot unknowingly, holding one another close. callisto's cold hands pressed to the doctor's cheeks and he leant into her soft touch, desperate for her to be impossibly closer.
the doctor's hearts hammered against his chest, callisto invading every thought that passed through his mind. he wanted nothing more than to travel the stars with her, take her through all of time and space, seeing new and unusual things together in the never-ending universe. and he would do that as far into the past, present and future as he possibly could.
after along walk down the hills and through the city, the pair made their way back to the ship. while the planet seemed to have quietened down severely so others could sleep, the festivities were still happening, mainly now just adults and people in their late teens. once they got to the t.a.r.d.i.s, the doctor pushed open the door, letting callisto go inside first.
"thank you." callisto smiled lovingly up at the doctor, her eyes staying on him as she walked backwards towards the console. "that was incredible."
"i would thank you for a great day, too, but my coat's blue now." the doctor sighed jokingly, approaching her with his own dopey grin.
"you're still on that?" callisto laughed, spinning him around by his waist to look at his coat. "it only has one, tiny smudge!"
"but this one's my favourite!" he whined as she span him back around.
"since when?" she scoffed.
"since you decided to get blue on it—"
"you two!" a sudden, angry voice snapped from the doorway to the console room. the couple turned to rose who held up a pale green post-it note. "that was it! the only thing to tell me you'd gone on a date!"
"i left a note!" the doctor exclaimed, gesturing to the post-it.
"a note? 'watching sky whales. you're probably asleep still' smiley face?" rose read.
"that tells you all!" the doctor retorted.
rose glared at him, "you stuck it on a surface the same colour as the note, doctor!"
he paused, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "did i?"
"yes!" rose snapped, walking closer to them angrily. "i couldn't find you, i thought you'd be taken or something!"
"you were asleep." the doctor said sheepishly, callisto watching in amusement.
"could've left the note on my bedside table or even on my forehead!" rose continued. "i can't believe you two! i was so worried but now i'm just angry..."
"jackie." the doctor whispered down at callisto who hummed questioningly while rose continued ranting at them. "i know you're wondering who she looks like. it's jackie."
"oh, yeah." callisto mumbled, squinting at rose. "spitting image."
"... i thought you two were— what did you say?" rose asked, cutting herself off.
"oh, nothing." the doctor said quickly.
"yes, you did. what was it?" rose demanded.
"i love your hair, it matches your eyes so much." callisto replied, the couple smirking at the blonde.
"stop being so nice, it's weird." rose huffed and turned around to leave them to their smirking. "i hate you both so much."
☆
the t.a.r.d.i.s wheezed and groaned as the doctor landed the ship. he walked to the doors, opened them and looked outside, mumbling an 'ah...' as he stood in the doorway. rose looked at him with furrowed brows, wondering what he meant by 'ah...' so callisto walked up behind him, looking over his shoulder.
"great job, my love." callisto smirked, leaning her chin on his shoulder. as she saw the blue crate blocking their way. the doctor huffed quietly and closed the door, rushing back to the console.
"what'd he do now?" rose asked.
"blocked us between a crate." callisto replied and rose grinned broadly at the doctor in amusement as he flicked a few switches.
"well, we're the right way round now." the doctor grumbled as the t.a.r.d.i.s wheezed and groaned again, now facing the correct way.
"i wonder if he just parked facing a brick wall." rose mumbled to callisto.
"i wouldn't put it past him." she smiled back at the human as the trio walked to the grating.
"horrible, the pair of you." the doctor scowled jokingly as he shoved open the door again, grinning back at them. "no brick wall." he stepped outside. "ah!"
rose and callisto followed, the latter shifting her skin to match a humans. while the doctor glanced around the area they'd landed in, rose looked to some posters that were stapled roughly into a wooden crate. they read 'shayne ward, the greatest hits'.
"so, near future, yeah?" rose asked.
"i had a passing fancy, only it didn't pass, it stopped." the doctor muttered back, walking out of the working area they'd been in.
the trio of time travellers continued to walk until they found a street. a banner hung across the top of the street by the houses, signalling the upcoming olympics of london 2012.
"30th olympiad!" the doctor cheered.
"no way! why didn't i think of this? that's great!" rose beamed.
"only seems like yesterday a few naked greek blokes were tossing a discus about, wrestling with each other in the sand as crowds stood around baying- no, wait a minute." the doctor paused. "that was club med. just in time for the opening doo-dah... ceremony tonight. i thought you'd like that, the last one they had in london was dynamite. wembley, 1948 and i enjoyed it so much i went back and watched it all over again. fella carrying the torch. lovely chap. what was his...? john? mark? legs like pipe cleaners, but strong as a whippet!"
"doctor." rose called, she and callisto looking at a lamppost in which a man had just stuck a piece of paper too.
"and in those days everyone had a tea party to go to!" he continued rambling, not noticing the two had stopped.
"doctor!" rose called again.
"they always had those little cakes with the crunchy ball bearings on them—"
"doc, you should see this!" callisto tried.
the doctor finally turned to them a few metres away, still thinking of the edible ball bearings, "d'you remember those things? nobody else in this entire galaxy's ever even bothered to make edible ball bearings. genius." he then finally looked at the posters stuck to the lamppost. they were of 3 missing children all in the same area. "what's taken them, d'you think? snatching children from a fairly ordinary street like this. why's it so cold? is someone reducing the temperature?"
"it says they all went missing this week." rose read. "why would a person do something like this?"
"what makes you think it's a person?" the doctor asked.
a few houses down a woman left her house, placed a red bag of rubbish on the path for the bin men, before looking around nervously and rushing inside.
"whatever it is, it's got the whole street scared to death." rose mused. "doctor, what—"
the two women turned to where the doctor was standing only to see him running down the street, his coat blowing after him. sharing a look, the pair started walking down the street after him at a slower jog. as they did so, a man in a red mini suddenly broke down. he tried to start his car again but it didn't work. close by, a dark-skinned man wearing a high-vis left the back of his council van and approached the man in the red mini.
"there you go. fifth today. that's not natural, is it?" he asked, bending down to talk to the man still in his car.
"dunno what happened. i had it serviced less than a month ago." he replied.
"nah, don't even try and explain it, mate. all the cars are doing it. and y'know what? it's bonkers. bonkers." the councilman hummed as the man left his mini, the other going to the back to help push. "c'mon then, pal. i'll help ya shift it. quicker you're on your way, happier you'll be."
with the owner pushing by the inside of the window and the councilman pushing by the back, they started to move it. although at a snails pace.
"d'you want a hand?" rose offered.
"nah, we're alright, love." the councilman declined with a shake of his head.
"but you're not." rose grinned, she and callisto walking over to the mini. "we're tougher than we look, honest."
rose started to push the back of the car with the councilman and callisto pushed up opposite the owner with the inside of the other window. it revved suddenly and began to drive once more. the councilman stumbled and fell over, callisto letting go and closing the door as rose stopped pushing.
"that happen a lot?" callisto inquired, walking back to stand beside rose.
"cheers, mate!" the owner called as he drove off.
the councilman sighed, rubbing a bit of gravel off his hands, "i've been doing it all week."
"since those children started going missing?" rose asked.
"yeah, s'pose so." he shrugged. callisto and rose began walking with the councilman while he explained, "every car cuts out. council are going nuts. i mean, they've given this street the works. renamed it, i've been tarmacking every pothole. look at that. beauty, ain't it? yep, all that 'cause that olympic touch comes right by this close. just down there. everything's gotta be perfect, ain't it? only it ain't."
"it takes them when they're playing." an old lady said suddenly to the three, looking more specifically at rose and callisto.
"what takes them?" callisto asked.
"danny, jane, dale, snatched in the blink of an eye." she explained vaguely.
"— i'm a police officer, that's what i am!" the doctor's frantic voice appeared in the conversation and they looked to see a man backing the doctor off his front garden. "got a badge and a- a police car. you don't have to get— i can- i can prove it. just hold on."
"we've had plenty of coppers poking 'round here and you don't look do sound like any of 'em." the man stated firmly.
"see, look, i've got two colleagues!" the doctor exclaimed, gesturing to callisto and rose. "... lewis and... smith."
"they look less like a copper than you do." he snapped.
"training. new recruits. it was either that or hairdressing, so... voila!" the doctor said, showing the man his psychic paper.
"what're you going to do?" a woman asked who's made a sudden appearance in the street.
but callisto had noticed her. she'd almost sheepishly left her home, watching the commotion in the street curiously.
"the police have knocked on every door, no clues, no leads, nothing." the elderly lady said, clearly distressed.
"look, kids run off sometimes, alright? that's what they do!" the man retorted.
"i saw it with me own eyes. dale hicks in your garden, playing with your tommy, and then," the old lady gestured with her hands that he just disappeared, "right in front of me, like he was never there. there's no need to look any further than this street, it's right here amongst us!"
"why don't we—"
"why don't we start with him?" a middle-aged woman with short hair interrupted the doctor, a newcomer in the discussion. she was pointing to the councilman. "there's been all sorts like him in this street, day and night."
"setting things up for the olympics!" the councilman defended.
"and taking an awful long time about it!" the man snapped.
"i'm of the opinion that all we've gotta do is—"
"that- what you just said, that's slander!" the councilman exclaimed, pointing at the woman that insulted him, interrupting the doctor.
"i don't care what it is!" she raised her voice back at him.
"i think we need to just—"
"i want an apology off her!" the councilman interrupted the doctor again.
"stop picking on him." the elderly lady tutted.
"yeah, stop picking on me!" the councilman added as the doctor looked increasingly agitated by the constant interruptions while he was clearly trying to give a suggestion.
"and stop pretending to be blind!" the old woman continued. "it's evil!"
"i don't believe in evil!" the middle-aged woman snapped, staring down the councilman.
"oh, no, you just believe in tarmackers with kidnapped kiddies in their van!" the councilman shot back.
"hey, hey, that's not what she's saying!" the man defended.
"will you stop ganging up on me?" the councilman demanded desperately.
"feeling guilty, are we?" the middle-aged woman asked rhetorically.
"fingers on lips!" the doctor shouted, and everyone followed, slightly confused. the doctor turned his gaze to rose and callisto, gesturing with his eyes for them to do the same and they did so, sharing amused smiles. "in the last 6 days, 3 of your children have been stolen. snatched out of thin air, right?"
"uh, can i?" the elderly woman asked, pulling her finger away from her mouth slightly. the doctor nodded. "look around you. this was a safe street 'til it came. it's not a person. i'll say it if no one else will. maybe you're coppers, maybe you're not, i don't care who you are, can you please help us?"
rose nudged callisto and the alien followed her line of sight. the dark-skinned woman who had left her house sheepishly looked up at the window of the upstairs of her home to see what the two were looking at. it was her daughter. her hand was pressed to the glass of her window as she stared out at the street. the woman, seeing her daughter, turned around and walked back into her house, almost fearfully.
☆
a man looked out of his front window in confusion as he watched the doctor sniff the air repeatedly, and aggressively, in his front garden. rose stared at him weirdly.
"need a hanky?" she asked.
"you smell it?" the doctor asked the pair, sniffing again.
"sort of... metal?" rose guessed.
"mhm." the doctor confirmed with a smile and rose grinned back.
callisto sniffed the air, "it smells like lead almost."
grinning, the doctor nodded in agreement before he waved to the man looking out of his front window. the trio walked down the street before going into a back alleyway, where a child had disappeared.
"danny edwards cycled in one end, but never came out the other." the doctor mumbled before pausing in his step, lifting his arm to show his companions the back of his hand. "whoa! there it goes again. look at the hairs on the back of my manly, hairy hand."
"were the adjectives necessary?" callisto chuckled.
the doctor grinned down at her, threading his fingers through hers, "oh, absolutely."
rose sniffed, "there's that smell. like a... a burnt fuse plug or something."
"there's a residual energy in the spots where the kids vanished. whatever it was, it used an awful lot of power to do this." the doctor mumbled, the three of them walking out of the alleyway.
when they did, they came back into the street the other end. rose spotted a cat and a grin immediately made its way onto her lips as she cooed, "aren't you a beautiful boy."
"thanks! i'm experimenting with backcombing!" the doctor beamed but then saw the cat rose was reaching for and grimaced. "oh."
"don't worry, love, you look very beautiful." callisto hummed making the doctor grin again as she crouched to fuss the cat too.
the doctor grimaced again and rose caught it, "what?"
"no, i'm not really a cat person. once you've been threatened by one in a nuns wimple, it kinda takes the joy out of it." he replied
the cat started to walk away so callisto stood up from her corniches position, walking back over to the doctor.
"c'mere, puss." rose whispered to try and get the cat to come back to her but it slinked away into a cardboard box. rose stood to follow. "what d'you wanna go in there for?"
it's steps faded away but it didn't come back out. rose's happy smile faded and she swallowed, kneeling in front of the box to look inside. it was empty, no sign of the ginger cat that had just strolled in.
"doctor, callisto." the blonde waved them over. immediately, they were all hit with a smell. rose huffed a sound of disgust.
"fuck." callisto grimaced.
"whoa! hoo-hoo-hoo!" the doctor added, picking up the now empty cardboard box. "ion residue. blimey! that takes some doing. just to snatch a living organism outta space-time. this baby is just like, 'i'm havin' some a' that!' i'm impressed."
"so the cat's been transported." rose mumbled.
"it can harness huge reserves of ionic power. we need to find the source of that power. find the source and you will find... whatever is taking the... stealing children and fluffy animals. see what you can see. keep 'em peeled, smith, lewis." the doctor joked.
the trio began to look around the street and rose went to an area filled with many garages. she glanced around, her head snapping towards a garage when she could hear clanking and banging behind the white, metal door. carefully, she approached it and the banging continued to sound from inside.
"that you, puss-cat, are you trapped?" she asked and the loud fidgeting could still be heard inside. rose leant her ear close to the door and something slammed onto it making her jolt back. "not gonna open it, not gonna open it. not gonna open it..."
"gonna open it." callisto hummed, coming up beside rose with a smirk.
rose grinned back at her and watched as the zen-whobian pulled on the black handle to lift the garage door. she pulled on the bottom, pushing it up. once it was about three quarters of the way open, a tight ball of black squiggle sprang out and shot towards them. rose fell on her back as the squiggle, almost drawing-like, hovered above her. callisto grabbed onto part of the lively, vibrating squiggle and tried to pull it away from rose.
"stay still!" the doctor called from across the street, running towards them with his arm outstretched, sonic screwdriver in hand. callisto stilled and the doctor zapped at the squiggle with his screwdriver, making it freeze and shrink into a small, tennis-ball sized black mess. rose caught it and callisto pulled her up as the blonde exhaled in relief. "okey-dokey?"
"yeah, cheers." rose breathed, hugging the doctor in thanks.
"i'll give you a fiver if you can tell me what it is, 'cause i haven't got the foggiest." the doctor mused, the trio watching as he pushed the black ball around with the blue end of his sonic screwdriver.
"well, i can tell you've just killed it." rose replied.
"that's not a living thing. it's animated by energy, the same energy that's taking the children." callisto spoke up as the doctor took the squiggle from rose.
he grinned down at her with adoration, enjoying when she showed off her intelligence. he threw the squiggle up and caught it a few times, "it is so dinky! the go anywhere creature. fits in your pocket, makes friends, impresses the boss, breaks the ice at parties."
the doctor placed the squiggle in his coat pocket as rose chuckled and the three went back to the t.a.r.d.i.s. the squiggle was scanned and they waited for the results, watching the screen on the console beep as it worked it out. slowly, the shapes on the screen contorted into circular gallifreyan.
"oh, hi-ho, here we go." the doctor mumbled as the symbol was formed. once it stopped he seemed shocked, eyes widening with that familiar, excited wonder. "get out of here."
"what's it say?" rose inquired.
the doctor grabbed the squiggle and then a pencil. he held it up and flipped the pencil so the rubber was touching the squiggle. he started to swipe it across the object and it rubbed out, just like a sketch draw onto paper. the trio looked in amazement.
"it is!" the doctor approved, blowing the fragments of rubber from the object. "it's graphite. basically the same material of an hb pencil."
"i was attacked by a pencil scribble?" rose asked in disbelief.
"scribble creature." the doctor corrected before sniffing the scribble. "brought into being with ionic energy. whatever we're dealing with, it can create things as well as take them. but why make a scribble creature?"
"maybe it was a mistake. i mean, you scribble over something when you wanna get rid of it. like a, um... like a drawing. like a- a... child's drawing." rose said, eyes dawning with a realisation. "he said it was in the street."
"probably." the doctor mumbled.
"the girl!" both women exclaimed.
"of course!" the doctor yelled out. "what girl?"
"something about her gave me the creeps, even her own mum looked scared of her." rose remembered.
"looked like she didn't even want to go back into the same house as her." callisto added.
the doctor grinned at them, "are you deducting?"
"i think we are." rose smiled.
"copper's 'unch?" the doctor joked.
"permission to follow it up, sarge?" callisto added.
☆
stood outside of the house where the odd girl and her mother lived, the doctor rang their doorbell, waiting for someone to answer. inside, the girl's mother stared at the door worriedly, messing with her fingers as she hesitated to open the door. after her moment of hesitation, she made her way to the door after a quick knock from the awaiting time travellers.
when she opened it, the doctor gave her a friendly smile, "hello, i'm the doctor, this is callisto and this is rose. can we see your daughter?"
"no, you can't." the woman answered, firmly but somewhat in a panicked manner.
"okay, bye." the doctor bid and the trio turned around.
their dismissal interested the worried mother and she leaned out of her house to grab their attention again, "why?" they turned back to her, "why do you want to see chloe?"
"well, there's some interesting stuff going on in this street and i just thought- well, we thought she might like to give us a hand." the doctor explained.
"sorry to bother you." rose held a hand up in a fake apology.
"we'll let you carry on." callisto hummed. "on your own."
"bye, again!" the doctor repeated and they started walking again.
"wait!" the woman called and they turned back around. "can you help her?"
the doctor smiled, "yes, i can."
the worried mother invited the trio inside and rose sat down on the sofa in the living room, watching the television which was showing the man who was running and holding the olympic torch, close to buckingham palace. the doctor pulled his jacket off and threw it over the arm of the sofa, callisto standing close to him.
the woman, who's name turned out to be trish, stood in the living room doorway, ready to explain what was going on with her daughter, "she stays in her room most of the time. i tried to talking to her, but it's like trying to speak to a brick wall. she gives me nothing, just asks to be left alone."
"what about chloe's dad?" rose inquired.
"chloe's dad died a year ago." trish replied, but it didn't sound as though his passing pained her.
"oh, i'm sorry." rose apologised immediately.
trish chuckled humourlessly as she remembered him, "you wouldn't be if you'd known him."
"well," the doctor smiled, diverting the tension, "let's go and say hi!"
the mother paused before blurting, "i should check on her first, she might be asleep."
"why are you afraid of her?" callisto asked bluntly.
trish didn't answer her question but spoke anyway, "i want you to know, before you see her, she's really a great kid."
"i'm sure she is!" the doctor agreed.
"yeah... she's never been in trouble at school. you should see her report from last year, a's and b's." trish said proudly and rose smiled softly at her, nervousness still evident in trish's voice.
"can i use your loo?" rose asked and trish nodded.
rose stood up and gave her a thankful smile, the doctor and callisto watching the blonde leave the room, knowing exactly what her plan would be.
trish looked back to the couple across the room from her and forced a proud smile, "she's in the choir, she sings in an old folks home, any mum would be proud, y'know? i want you to know these things before you see her, doctor, callisto. because right now she's not herself."
footsteps creaked down the stairs and trish inhaled a deep breath. chloe was coming from her bedroom and she headed straight for the kitchen. her steps were quick and to the point, as if she had something to get back to, something to do, people to see. the three adults walked into the kitchen and saw the child standing in front of the fridge, drinking from the milk bottle.
"alright there?" the doctor asked, he and callisto stepping closer to chloe. however, trish lingered in the doorway.
she acted as though her daughter was a stranger. and in a way, she was.
the doctor leant against the table pressed to the wall, callisto standing beside him as the zen-whobian spoke up, "i'm callisto and this is the doctor."
"i'm chloe webber." the child replied after she'd placed the milk back and closed the fridge. she faced them, her face emotionless and her posture stiff.
"how're you doing, chloe webber?" the doctor asked.
"i'm busy. i'm making something." chloe said and turned her almost cold gaze to her mother. "aren't i, mum?"
trish broke eye contact with chloe as soon as it happened, turning to the other adults, "as i said, she's not been sleeping."
"but you've been drawing, though. i'm rubbish. stick men are about my limit." the doctor hummed, trying to joke with the blank-faced girl.
"i've never tried, i doubt i'd be much good. but i've heard you are." callisto mused, arms crossed over her chest as chloe webber stared at her with an unblinking gaze.
"we can do this, though." he held up his hand, splitting his four fingers apart so they created a 'v', two fingers on each side. callisto did the same. "can you do that?"
"they don't stop moaning." chloe said suddenly, staring between the doctor and callisto.
"chloe—"
"i tried to help them, but they don't stop moaning." chloe continued, cutting off her mother's saddened voice.
"who don't?" the doctor asked curiously.
"we can be together." chloe continued, ignoring his question.
"sweetheart..." trish muttered, eyebrows furrowed in worry as she headed to hug chloe.
however, chloe turned to her sharply, "don't touch me, mum."
trish stepped back, not comforting her daughter as she so desperately wanted to. hurt was visible in trish's gaze as she looked to the doctor and callisto, the aliens staring back at her sorrowful eyes. some children didn't like affection and they were generally just blunt and odd, but the way trish was reacting to this behaviour proved how different chloe was acting from her usual self.
"i'm busy, callisto, doctor." chloe stated coldly, looking away from them as she started to walk away.
"c'mon, chloe! don't be a spoil sport!" the doctor tried, but the child only left the kitchen quicker. the couple moved to follow her, stopping in the doorway that entered the front hall. "what's the big project? we're dying to know, what you making up there?"
"doctor! callisto!" rose's sudden, frightened yell came from upstairs and the two aliens sprung into action.
the couple rushed up the stairs, chloe following them quickly as trish rushed from the kitchen at the sound of the stranger's fearful shout. as the doctor and callisto turned into chloe's room, they noticed rose looking into chloe's wardrobe. the interior was glowing red and something was growling menacingly from inside. rose was leaning towards it as if she was enticed by whatever was inside.
callisto pulled rose back and the doctor slammed the wardrobe shut sharply, the red glow disappearing with the slam of the doors.
"look at it." rose gasped.
"no, tar." the doctor replied firmly.
"what the hell was that?" trish asked worriedly, coming into the room behind chloe.
"a drawing. the face of a man." rose answered quickly.
trish reached for the doorknob of the wardrobe door, "what face?"
"best not." rose said, pushing her weight onto the doors so trish couldn't pry them open.
"what've you been drawing?" trish asked chloe.
the doctor was standing behind the girl, his back turned to the rest of them as he eyed the drawings all over chloe's bedroom wall. there were many, many, many pages and all of the ones with human faces on seemed to be panicked, afraid and even angry.
"i drew him yesterday." chloe stated.
"who?" trish asked.
"dad." chloe answered and the reply clearly upset trish.
"your dad? but he's long gone! chloe, with all the lovely things in the world, why him?" trish asked desperately and the doctor turned from chloe's drawings to watch the interaction.
"i dream about him. staring at me." chloe explained.
"i thought we were putting him behind us. what's the matter with you?" trish asked, though her voice wasn't filled with anger, it was filled with a painful love, a worry as to why her child was acting like this.
"we need to stay together." chloe replied.
"yes, we do." trish nodded firmly in agreement.
"no. not you. us." chloe shot back. "we need to stay together and then it'll be alright."
trish moved to hold her daughter's face, but chloe simply shrugged her off.
"trish, the drawings, have you seen what chloe's drawings can do?" rose inquired, still close to the wardrobe.
"who gave you permission to come into her room?" trish demanded rhetorically.
callisto had to agree silently with that as trish didn't exactly know who they were and what they could do to help, so a random young woman snooping around her daughter's room was something to be angered by. but this all of this anger didn't seem to stem from that. it stemmed from something else, too. as though she knew something and she wanted to defend it, whether it hurt her feelings or not.
"get out of my house." trish ordered.
"tell us about the drawings, chloe." the doctor spoke up, ignoring trish's demand.
"i don't wanna hear any more of this." trish stated firmly.
"but that drawing of her dad, i heard a voice, he spoke." rose chimed in.
"he's dead!" trish shot back. "and these, they're kid pictures! now, get out!"
"chloe has a power, and i don't know how, but she used it to take danny edwards, dale hicks. she's using it to snatch the kids." rose tried to explain.
"get out." trish repeated.
"have you seen those drawings move?" rose asked.
trish laughed in disbelief, "i haven't seen anything!"
"yes, you have. out of the corner of your eye." callisto retorted and trish turned to her sharply.
"no—"
"but you ignored it, because you can't explain or understand it." callisto continued.
"because what do you do when you can't explain something? you dismiss it. the moment someone mentions it, you get angry, so it's never spoken of, ever again—"
"she's a child!" trish cut the doctor off.
"and your terrified of her. but there's no one to turn to, 'cause who's gonna believe the things you see out of the corner of your eye? no one. except me." the doctor continued, standing directly in front of trish as he spoke with confidence.
"who are you?" trish asked.
"i'm help." the doctor replied softly.
{7619}
i don't know if i like this episode
i think i just hate the voice chloe speaks with at some points, cuz i have a problem with really breathy talking