☆
"SHIT! GET DOWN!"
the doctor, callisto and martha burst through the doors of the t.a.r.d.i.s, everyone dropping low to the ground to avoid being shot at by a bright, green laser gun, the blast hitting the console instead. callisto kicked the doors shut with her foot while the doctor gripped martha's shoulders tightly.
"did they see you?" he demanded.
"i don't know!" martha replied.
"but did they see you?" the doctor repeated.
"i was too busy running!" martha answered.
"martha, it's important, did they see your face?" the doctor asked again.
"no. they couldn't have." martha shrugged, but she sounded slightly unsure.
"moon—"
"no, my back was to them the whole time." callisto replied, starting to rush around the console and the doctor nodded, pulling a lever.
"let's go." the doctor muttered. the ship began to wheeze and groan until a beeping came from the screen on the console. the doctor pulled it around towards him and groaned, "they're following us."
"how can they do that? you've got a time machine." martha wondered.
"stolen technology. they've got a time agents vortex manipulator. they can follow us wherever we go. right across the universe. they're never gonna stop. unless..." the doctor pushed a hand through his messy hair, "i'll have to do it. you both trust me, don't you?"
"of course i do." martha agreed easily.
"a ridiculous question, really." callisto mumbled, visibly confused.
"it all depends on you two." the doctor said, picking something up from the floor.
"what does? what are we supposed to do?" martha demanded.
the doctor held up a pocket watch and callisto's eyes widened, "take this watch, 'cause my life depends on it. this watch, martha, this watch—"
john smith woke up sharply in the comfort of his bed, tucked away in the corner of his living quarters. he sat up with a deep sigh and brushed a hand over his face, thinking of the odd dream he'd had, only one of many. as he pulled on his dressing gown, a couple of knocks sounded against his door.
"come in." he called.
carrying a tray of tea and breakfast, a maid walked into the room. she looked away from john politely when she noticed he was still in his pyjamas. she wore a black dress with a white apron tied around her waist into a neat bow on her back. in her soft, black hair was a white headpiece, falling over her bun. he smiled softly at his servant, so alike to the woman of his dreams, name and all.
"apologies, mr. smith, i can come back." callisto muttered.
"it's alright, it's alright. put it down." john replied, walking to lean against the desk by the windows while she placed the tray down. "i was, um... sorry. sorry. sometimes i have these extraordinary dreams."
callisto hummed while she opened the curtains to let in the morning sun, "what about, sir?"
"i dream i'm this... adventurer. this daredevil. a madman. the doctor, i'm called. and last night, like many others, i dreamt that you were there." john explained, watching her curiously. "we've even introduced ourselves as married before. other times, you're merely my, uh, companion, i suppose."
"a teacher and his housemaid? how scandalous." callisto joked and he smiled slightly.
"i was a man from another world, and you were a woman from another." he mused, walking towards his fireplace. "i looked as i always do, but my hair was unruly and improper. you had a more striking appearance, though. bright green skin, silver markings on your cheeks and forehead and your hair was pink at the ends. you wore leather a lot."
"well, it's certain that was a dream, then. unless you're going severely colourblind, sir, i'm not green." callisto smiled, but it looked slightly tight and false.
"no, you're not." john agreed with a soft chuckle before picking up the pocket watch on his fireplace. "and this thing, the watch, it was... yeah, funny how dreams slip away. i do remember one thing, this all took place in the future. in the year of our lord, 2007."
"i can prove that wrong for you, sir. morning paper." callisto said, picking it up off the tea tray and holding it out to him. "monday, november 10th, 1913, and we're both completely human."
"that's us. completely human." john mumbled, giving her a quick smile as he glanced over the paper.
callisto looked down at the tray in front of her and began to pour him a cup of tea. john sat down in an armchair and reached for his sketchbook, beginning to scribble something down in inky splotches. callisto walked in front of him and offered him the tea, which he took with a soft mutter of thanks.
john took a sip of his drink before placing it on the table beside him, "would you like to see?"
"you confuse me." callisto replied, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips, until she suddenly folded them in front of her politely.
"all of the things i dream up, well, what i can remember of them, i try and draw. take a seat." john smiled, clearly pleased to be able to discuss these things with someone.
callisto sat on the long sofa and he sat himself down beside her, handing her his sketchbook. she looked through the inky pages and the rough scribbles of writing doodled around and over the small pictures he'd drawn. there were sketches of a sonic screwdriver, a haunting child with a gas mask covering his face and daleks. she smiled at the drawings of the clockwork robots, their beautiful masks displayed perfectly. her smile fell ever so slightly at the sight of rose tyler.
"that's rose, a character, a friend of ours." john explained. "only- only in the dreams, of course. she disappears later on."
"these are very well drawn considering you say you don't remember them properly." callisto complimented.
"some things stick with me." john hummed as she turned a page to see the cybermen. she turned the next and saw a police box. "that's what i travel in, a flying blue police box, whatever that is. it takes me to different places in space and time. impossible."
"you have quite the imagination." callisto mumbled, looking over a section where martha was mentioned, along with a quick doodle of the human.
john hummed in proud agreement and watched her turn to the next page. if was a sketch of her, full of rough lines but accurately drawn, made to look how she did when she first met the doctor. across the page with the drawing, john had written things liked, 'trapped' and 'murderous'. on the next page was another drawing of her, her hair plaited and pulled across one shoulder with a small braid on the other side, a cuff around it. she had her arms crossed and a look of annoyance on her face.
there were a few more of her and it made callisto's throat feel tight. in every single drawing of her, she was sketched with her silver markings and labelled to have green skin. she skimmed over words complimenting her appearance and her personality, describing her beauty shortly. she didn't want to read them too much, fearing the hurt she'd feel because she believed he only wrote those to convey what this dreamt up madman felt about her.
in the second to last sketch of her, she was smiling widely and looked truly perfect, happiness basically pouring out of her face. john started to smile at the drawing as well, not noticing the frown on the maids lips.
"that's one of my favourites." john mumbled.
"oh?" callisto asked quietly.
"yes." john confirmed easily, looking at the side of her face. "what i remember of this version of you in my dreams, you hardly smile, but when you do, it's always at me. and it's always wonderful to see."
callisto flipped the page quickly, hoping to be rid of the ache in her heart, but it didn't lessen when she saw another drawing of herself. she recognised the moment because of the added, rushed sketch of jupiter in the background. he'd clearly spent most of his effort drawing callisto looking at the planet. the lack of interest in the sight of the universe and instead the attention to detail in the memory of her was evident.
and it hurt, because callisto knew john smith was seeing her through the eyes of the doctor. john smith did not love callisto. the man with the doctor's face would never love her and every time she remembered that, it killed her a little inside.
"i call you my moon." john chuckled, not knowing what she was feeling. perhaps he didn't care enough to find out.
"perfectly logical, i'm named after one and in this mad dream we're good friends." callisto said.
"it's more than that. it's—"
"it's remarkably imaginative. you could be the next lewis carroll." callisto tried to joke, standing up quickly. she handed the book back to the teacher, ignoring the sudden confusion aimed at her random switch in interest. "anything else i can get for you, sir?"
just like that, john was reminded that he wasn't the doctor and she wasn't the woman of his dreams. she wasn't the brilliantly intelligent and beautiful woman from the stars. she wasn't an extraordinary person that claimed his fascination and his adoration. he wasn't the doctor, and she wasn't his moon.
callisto was just his maid.
"no, that's all until this afternoon." john replied, snapping the sketchbook closed with a slight flush of pink on his cheeks. "miss davis."
she nodded at his embarrassed goodbye and walked to the door with a quiet, "sir."
closing the door behind her, callisto strolled away from his quarters, her face void of any emotion. it never got any easier to see the so unlike himself, and to see the lack of care he held for her and martha. sometimes it felt as if some of the doctor's affection for her was bleeding through into john smith, but callisto knew it was probably just wishful thinking.
the family of blood had caused nothing but annoyance and pain for callisto and martha.
later in the day, after some of the lessons had passed by, martha was scrubbing the floors of the school, also acting as a maid like callisto. she was helped by jenny, an actual maid working at the school, while callisto had been told to polish the wooden banisters of the stairs. she found that all the effort she put into this part-time job was definitely not worth the money.
as martha was scrubbing the floor, john walked past, his mind clearly elsewhere as she greeted, "morning, sir."
john looked at her as if startled from a deep dream, "yes. miss davis?"
callisto turned to him and saw that he was hinting at the fact she was ever so slightly in the way of the stairs. with internal annoyance, she stepped to the side, "sorry, sir."
with a hum, john walked past her and up the stairs, his thoughts taking him far away again.
"head in the clouds, that one." jenny shook her head. "don't know why you two are so sweet on him."
"he's just kind to us, that's all. not everyone's that considerate, what with us being..." martha trailed off and gestured to her face, hinting at their skin colour.
however, jenny, always so happy and kind, joked, "a pair of londoners."
"exactly." callisto agreed, a playful tilt to her voice as well.
"good old london town!" martha chuckled and jenny shared her laugh.
"now then, you three," one of the students interrupted, black hair neat on his head, lips pulled into a constant half smirk. callisto always found herself with a drastic desire to choke this boy, baines, "you're not paid to have fun, are you? put a little backbone into it."
"yes, sir. sorry, sir." jenny apologised sheepishly.
"you there, what's your name again?" the boy besides baines demanded of martha.
"martha, sir, martha jones." she answered.
"tell me then, jones, with hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean." he remarked proudly and baines laughed.
"very funny, sir." martha muttered flatly, clearly meaning otherwise.
"awful that they hire such people, isn't it? i mean, them cleaning the floor i can cope with, but i've got to touch that banister." baines laughed, eyeing callisto with open disgust.
"don't hold it then. you might slip and break your neck. what a horrid day that would be, sir." callisto smiled and the two boys left with scoffs, chins jutted high in the air.
"careful now, don't answer back." jenny said softly, knowing the risk of them losing their jobs were higher than most.
"i'd answer back with my bucket over his head." martha said firmly.
"oh, i wish!" jenny laughed. "just think, though, in a few years time, boys like that'll be running the country."
"1913, they might not." martha muttered, thinking about the war so soon to come.
callisto couldn't find it in herself to feel bad for the possible fate of those two boys, so alike many others on this planet.
☆
a little while later, they heard that john had fallen down the stairs with a stack of books. wondering if it was a bad injury considering they'd heard nothing about his well-being and only about the incident, martha and callisto headed for his quarters.
martha burst in first, "is he alright?"
"excuse me, martha, callisto," nurse redfern spoke up, checking over the back of john's head for any harm, "it's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking."
"sorry, right, yeah." martha apologised tightly and walked back to the door, knocked her knuckles against the wood of the door twice and strode back over. callisto struggled not to look like she enjoyed that. "there. is he alright?"
"we heard you fell down the stairs, sir." callisto explained, coming to stand beside martha.
"it was just a tumble, that's all." john answered quietly, eyes leaving hers as quickly as they found them.
"have you checked for concussion?" martha asked.
"i have, and i dare say i know a lot more about it than you." nurse redfern retorted smugly.
martha nodded, remembering she wasn't a doctor in training on this occasion, "sorry. i'll just tidy your things."
"i'll take your washing." callisto muttered, lifting the basket she was carrying, as if to prove she was actually doing her job, starting to collect the clothes around the room.
"i was just telling nurse redfern - matron - about my dreams." john explained. "they are quite remarkable tales. i keep imagining that i'm someone else and that i'm hiding..."
"hiding? in what way?" nurse redfern asked as martha and callisto glanced at one another.
"um, they're almost every night." john chuckled and tugged at his blazer, suddenly embarrassed. "this is going to sound silly."
"tell me." nurse redfern urged, leaning against the arm of his sofa, hands folded in her lap.
"i dream, quite often, that- that i have two hearts." john remembered.
"well, then, i can answer that. let's find out." nurse redfern said, putting her stethoscope on. callisto looked down uncomfortably as she folded some of the teacher's washing while nurse redfern placed her stethoscope on john's chest to listen for two hearts, the nurse's lips pulled into a playful smile. "i can confirm the diagnosis, just one heart. singular."
"i have, um, i have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction. um, not that it would be of any interest..." john trailed off.
"i'd be very interested." nurse redfern confirmed easily.
"well," john started, smiling happily as he went to retrieve the book, "i've only shown it to callisto before. she said i could be the next lewis carroll."
"with your imagination, sir, it's entirely plausible." callisto hummed. "you know how to draw a wonderful tale."
john smiled wider at her and she returned it in her usual, small manner, still reserved for him.
nurse redfern glanced at callisto with a small twinge of disgust in her eyes before she drew john's attention back to her, "sounds exciting."
"yes," john agreed, turning to the nurse quickly, handing the book to her, "here."
she opened it and read, "a journal of impossible things. look at these creatures. such an imagination."
"it's quite a hobby." john mused as she continued to click through.
"that's wonderful. quite an eye for the pretty girls." nurse redfern joked when she turned to the page with the drawing of rose on.
"oh, no, no, she's just an invention, this character. rose, i call her. rose." john explained and martha looked a bit stunned at the mention of the lost girl. "she seems to disappear later on. oh, that's the box. the blue box, it's always there. um, like a, um, a magic carpet. this funny little box that transports me to far away places."
"what, like a doorway?" nurse redfern asked.
"hm. sometimes i think how magical life would be if stories like this were true." john smiled.
"if only." nurse redfern agreed, turning a page. she looked between john and callisto sharply. "she looks like..."
"ah, yes, yes." john stuttered, scratching the back of his neck, taking a quick look towards his maid who had her back to him at that moment. "um—"
"quite a lot of her." nurse redfern mumbled distastefully. "odd in your dreams, isn't she? somehow even more odd than she is in reality."
"i'm not sure i understand you." john said in confusion.
"it doesn't matter." nurse redfern denied, flipping over all of the pages complimenting and admiring callisto with slightly aggressive speed.
nurse redfern soon left with the sketchbook of stories after john said she could read through it. martha rushed after her to try and get the book back from her. callisto placed the washing basket on her hip and offered the teacher a polite smile.
"anything else i can do for you, sir?" callisto asked.
"n- no, i'm alright at the minute." john denied, looking down at his desk. "thank you."
"if you're sure, sir." callisto said, making her way out of his quarters.
martha was still just outside with nurse redfern, who had been wondering if there was more to the teacher than she actually knew. martha's kind face had fallen ever so slightly because the nurse began to give her an earful about her and john.
"well, i'd be careful. if you don't mind my saying, you sometimes seem a little familiar with him. best remember your position." nurse redfern ordered with a 'kind' smile. then she looked at callisto. "you too. perhaps even more so."
"i understand. it's rather unprofessional for two members of staff to get closer than necessary, isn't it, ma'am?" callisto retorted.
still looking at callisto with that same aura of distaste, nurse redfern turned on her heel and strode away, book clutched tightly in her hand. callisto even saw the human shake her head and scoff to herself.
martha chuckled and slapped callisto on the arm playfully, "make it more obvious, why don't you?"
"oh, shut up." callisto smiled, rearranging the washing basket comfortably on her hip to walk away.
"don't get caught kissing the teacher next time you're here." martha tutted, hands on her hips to show off her 'disapproval'.
callisto scoffed a laugh and started down the stairs, "piss off."
☆
later that night, martha and callisto joined jenny for a drink at the pub. jenny had taken a seat on the picnic bench outside, quite content, all bundled up in her hat, gloves and coat. martha offered to get the drinks for the three of them, so callisto sat down with jenny, not too bothered by the cold, lacking a hat and only wearing a thin coat.
martha came back with three drinks and placed them down, clearly annoyed, "ooh, it's freezing out here! why can't we have a drink inside the pub?"
"don't be ridiculous. you do get these notions. it's all very well those suffragettes, but that's london, that's miles away." jenny reminded them.
"but don't you just wanna scream sometimes having to plough and scrape and behave? don't you just wanna tell 'em?" martha asked, readjusting her hat on her head, clearly freezing.
"it's ridiculous. a woman can do any job a man can, a lot of the time, even better." callisto said, taking a sip of her drink, thankful martha hadn't gotten her anything completely revolting. martha hummed in agreement.
"not any job, surely." jenny scoffed.
"any job. i'd bet i'm a better mechanic most men." callisto shrugged.
"no!" jenny exclaimed with a grin, as if the idea was scandalous, and it was for her.
"yeah, easily!" martha backed her.
"wouldn't you rather have freedom to pick a better job and have a better wage?" callisto asked. "just stand up and be able to shout back for once?"
"i dunno. things must be different in your country." jenny hummed.
"yeah, well, they are. thank god we're not staying." martha nodded.
"you keep saying that." jenny mused.
"just you wait. one more month and we're as free as the wind." martha smiled, desperate to get back and explore time and space.
callisto was too, but there was something else she needed more than the rest of the waiting universe.
"i wish you could come with us, jenny, you'd love it!" martha beamed.
"where you gonna go?" jenny asked happily.
"anywhere. just look up there." martha nodded towards the night sky and all three women looked up at the darkness wistfully. "imagine you could go all the way out to the stars."
jenny laughed, "you don't half say mad things!"
"that's where we're going." callisto muttered.
"into the sky, all the way out." martha finished.
jenny gave a soft chuckle and looked down at her hands, rubbing them together to warm them up, her gloves not helping the nipping cold. a flash of green burst through the navy sky and the two time travellers frowned in worry. it disappeared after the slightest moment, but they saw it all the same.
"did you see that?" martha asked.
"see what?" jenny asked, looking back at the sky.
"i did." callisto mumbled, still staring at the same spot, waiting for it to flash back.
"did you see it, though? right up there, just for a second." martha urged jenny.
"there's nothing there." jenny told the pair.
martha sat back down with a quiet huff and brought her drink to her lips. jenny started a new conversation, her bright smile bringing the two out of their worried mood. a few minutes later, nurse redfern rushed up the hill, looking around the area madly, clearly shaken up by something.
martha stood up in concern, "matron, are you alright?"
"did you see that? there was something in the woods. this light." nurse redfern breathed, shaking her head.
"anything wrong, ladies?" a new voice asked and they turned to see john leaving the pub, hat in hand. "far too cold to be standing around in the dark—"
"there!" nurse redfern interrupted, pointing at the sky. a bright green shot of light burst across the blank canvas of night. "look there, in the sky!"
"oh, that's beautiful." jenny said, in awe. martha and callisto looked at it disappearing with narrowed eyes.
"all gone. commonly known as a meteorite. it's just rocks falling the the ground, that's all." john explained in his too posh voice.
"it came down in the woods." nurse redfern said, looking up at the teacher.
"no, no, no, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. nothing left but a cinder." john explained, looking to nurse redfern. "now, i should escort you back to the school. ladies?"
"no, we're fine, thanks." martha denied.
"aren't you cold, callisto?" john asked, looking at her with subtle concern.
callisto shook her head, "i'm fine, thank you, sir."
he looked like he wanted to disagree but slowly nodded, "if you're sure."
"would you mind if we left now?" nurse redfern asked, looking terribly confused and scared.
"yes, of course. i'll bid you goodnight then, ladies." john said, placing his hat on his head to walk nurse redfern back to the school.
"jenny, where was that?" martha asked. "on the horizon where the light was headed?"
"that's by cooper's field." jenny replied. callisto took martha's hand and they both started to run. "you can't just run off! it's dark, you'll break a leg!"
they ran down through the forest and jenny caught up to them, not wanting to leave her friends in the dark. when they got to the field, they saw absolutely nothing but green grass. not a sign of a spaceship or the family of blood. nothing but a dewy field.
"there we are. nothing there." jenny breathed. "i told you so."
"and that's cooper's field?" martha asked, catching her breath.
"as far as the eye can see. and no falling star." jenny responded. "now, come on, i'm frozen to the bone, let's go. as your mr. smith says, nothing to see."
jenny turned and began to walk away. with a sigh, martha and callisto shared a glance, knowing that something was wrong, but not exactly sure what it was. they caught up with jenny and the three women strolled back to the school where they said goodnight to one another and went to bed.
during the night, still half a month away from needing anymore sleep, callisto snuck out of the school. she left her bicycle at the school so no one would suspect a thing in the morning and wandered through the forest and down a path. she headed towards a large stone barn, opening the door of it.
inside of it, the t.a.r.d.i.s waited, only slightly illuminated by the sun bleeding through the cracks of the door, stacks of hay behind it. smiling thankfully at the police box, she unlocked the door and strode inside, feeling much more like herself. humanity, especially in times like the 1910s, made everything so much worse than her situation already was. how humans could be so horrible to people of their own species was beyond her.
she threw her jacket down over a pillar and approached the console happily. her fingers brushed over the console and the lights of the t.a.r.d.i.s glowed, a soft hum coming from the ship. she missed flying around in the ship and she knew the t.a.r.d.i.s probably missed travelling as well. another low hum came from the machine. callisto had come back to the t.a.r.d.i.s almost every night since their arrival.
"nearly over, now." callisto sighed, arms crossing over her chest. "a month and we can finally fuck off."
"bored?" a soft tone said in the back of her mind.
"angry." callisto corrected. "i miss him. i know he's going to come back, but right now he's not my doctor anymore. and i think he and the nurse are getting close."
the t.a.r.d.i.s made a quiet groaning sound and the lights dimmed making callisto chuckle. she assumed that was the ships way of expressing her disgust.
"yeah, can't say i'm particularly pleased." callisto mumbled, looking up at the high ceiling of the console room. the still dangling head piece brought her back to two months ago, when the doctor was still himself.
"martha, this watch is me." the doctor stated, handing the pocket watch to the human.
"right, okay. gotcha. no, hold on! completely lost!" martha exclaimed while the doctor rushed around the console.
"those creatures are hunters. they can sniff out anyone. and me being a time lord, well, i'm unique. they could track me down across the whole of time and space." the doctor explained.
"oh, and the good news is?" martha joked.
"they can smell me, but they haven't seen me. and their life span's running out, so, we hide, wait for them to die." the doctor said, passing callisto, who stood to the side of the console, clearly thinking deeply.
"but they can track us down." martha retorted.
"that's why i've gotta do it. i have to stop being a time lord. i'm gonna become human." the doctor finished.
"what about you? could they track you?" martha asked callisto.
"no. not unless i'm in my natural form. if i look human and smell human, it's highly unlikely they'll be able to tell a difference." callisto denied, twisting the rings on her fingers anxiously. "i doubt they even know of my species anyway. there's hardly anything on us, we were able to keep ourselves hidden most of the time."
a reeling noise came from behind them and the two women looked to see a headpiece being lowered towards the doctor from a long wire.
"never thought i'd have to use this. all the times i've wondered." the doctor muttered, staring at the device as it lowered to his eye line.
"what does it do?" martha inquired.
"chameleon arch. rewrites my biology. literally changes every single cell in my body. i've set it to human." the doctor answered, taking the pocket watch to lock it into the machine so he would be transferred into it. "now, the t.a.r.d.i.s will take care of everything, invent a life story for me, find me a setting and integrate me. it can't do it for either of you, you'll have to improvise. i should have just enough residual awareness to let you in."
"but, hold on, if you're going to rewrite every single cell, isn't it gonna hurt?" martha asked.
"oh, yeah. it hurts." the doctor agreed.
"is there nothing else we could do?" callisto asked, stepping towards the doctor as he was about to put it on. "really nothing?"
"you know there isn't." the doctor frowned, bringing a hand to her cheek, thumb brushing the silver markings. "i'm sorry, moon."
"it's fine." callisto assured with a soft nod. "you better not go and forget me completely."
"i'm sure you'll be on my mind anyway." the doctor smiled, leaning down to kiss her softly, a temporary goodbye.
callisto curled her fingers into his blazer and pulled him closer, wanting a few extra seconds with him before he turned human and she became a mere friend, probably less than. the doctor leaned away from her and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead before grabbing the headpiece again.
callisto could still remember how loud and pained the doctor's screams were when he changed. he'd gripped the headpiece for dear life and jolted aggressively, eyes screwed shut in agony while his entire body switched its biology.
with a soft sigh, callisto pulled the screen on the console around towards her. she pressed a few buttons on the controls and it turned on. it turned onto a recording of the doctor sitting down. he flicked the camera, checking over if it was working.
"is this working? moon, martha—"
"not that one." callisto muttered, pulling a small knob on the control panel.
the screen changed to a different recording, the doctor sat in the same place. he smiled widely at the camera, as if callisto was actually standing there when he was recording it. she wondered when he'd found the moment to record these two videos.
"hi, moon. i've already left instructions, but this is a second video for you." the doctor explained. "deadly serious about the pear thing, by the way. i know what you're like, you're obsessed, you weirdo. if i eat one, i may implode and that's a big give away."
"dramatic." callisto scoffed with a small smile.
"it's not dramatic, they're offensive to my mouth." the doctor retorted, speaking as if they were in a real conversation. "anyway, i just wanted to leave this in case you miss me. and i know you will, course you will."
"smug bastard." callisto muttered.
"you love me really." the doctor grinned madly before his smile turned soft and easy. "i won't be myself. i'll look like me, might sound like me, sometimes might even act like me, but i won't be your doctor. i can't promise i'll be completely in love with you like i am now, so if whoever i become isn't then he's a complete fool. an absolutely unforgivable idiot. i do love you, moon. more than even i can comprehend. if i'm acting like that unforgivable idiot, don't forget that."
"easier said than done." callisto mused, watching the doctor grin and reach to turn the camera off.
callisto then watched over the video of instructions he left for her and martha to see if he'd say anything about a meteorite, but she knew he didn't, she'd seen it before. with annoyance and some sadness, callisto made her way to the library to spend the next few hours curled up on one of the sofa's, occupying her thoughts with music and books, trying to forget the teacher.
{5496}
why was baines' face always stuck in a half smirk, it was so weird, it was like that even before he was used by the family of blood.
🤜👩⚕️