***70 VOTES FOR CHAPTER 3***
Hey hey! Sorry for the wait, I was kind of busy and my sister's always on the computer these days -.- Anyways, I'm glad so many liked the first chapter even if it was really sad. I'm afraid to say this chapter doesn't get any better, but things will lighten up eventually, I promise! There's always rain before a rainbow, right?
Life has been going well mostly, I'm passing french this semester! One more semester and I'm sure to have my high school diploma :) Things with the bf have been a little meh lately, but next week is our one year anniversary, so things will get better ^^ I'll probably just get better tomorrow anyways, I can never stay mad at him lol Nothing else to say...
So here you go! I hope you enjoy :D
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CHAPTER 2
TORCHWOOD
A week had passed since that night. I felt like there was an invisible wall between us, blocking us from being how we were before no matter how hard I tried to break it down. We never mentioned what I told him before he shot up in the Pandorica. I could tell that whatever was there between us that day, it would do no good to bring it up.
And now the Doctor didn’t know how to be around me. I could see him constantly struggling between acting sad and guilty against indifferent. We didn’t talk much, but I would catch him in the corner of my eye, looking at me with those green eyes so full of loneliness and grief. I didn’t give up on trying to convince him it wasn’t his fault, that no one but Leonardo was to blame… But it seemed useless now.
As to what we did during our week? We took Amy and Rory to a few places for their honeymoon, leaving the Doctor and I alone together most of the time while they were… busy. We had just finished saying our goodbyes to them, as they wanted to spend some married time on Earth for a while, when the Doctor and I walked back in the TARDIS to the controls. I tried myself at a conversation with him.
“So… Where are you taking me now? We’ve never really travelled alone,” I pointed out.
He shrugged without even looking up at me as he set in the coordinates.
“Doctor?” I asked, trying to get his attention.
“Yes?” he said dully, deciding to be indifferent today.
“Where are we going? You didn’t set the TARDIS at random. I assume you have a destination in mind,” I repeated.
“Cardiff, Wales,” he finally answered.
I frowned in confusion. We could literally go anywhere in the universe and he chooses Cardiff on Earth?
“Ok… Past or future?”
“Present. Well, there is no present for me. Let’s say today’s date.”
My confusion grew stronger. He wasn’t making sense. Finally, he lowered a lever and the TARDIS disappeared from London to land in Cardiff a moment later. We walked out to find ourselves next to this tall building or monument with water falling along its side. It was a particular sunny day for Wales. I waited for the Doctor to advance in a certain direction to know where in Cardiff were going, but he stayed put in front of the TARDIS, looking around.
“Doctor, aren’t we going somewhere?”
“No, what I want will come to me,” he replied.
Before I could question him more, he spotted a man standing next to the waterfall monument. The tall man was wearing a long grey World War II coat and seemed to recognize the Doctor. He came marching towards us to stop in front of us. Closer I could really see him. He had beautiful blue eyes and a very handsome face with a strong square jaw. His hair was dark brown and spiked up a little.
“Doctor?” he asked with a clear American accent.
“Captain Jack Harkness,” the Doctor smiled.
“You’ve regenerated,” the man I now knew as Jack replied.
“Yeah, well it’s a long story. Take us to Torchwood? I need to speak to you in private.”
“First,” Jack said and he turned to me. “Hello there. What’s your name?” he asked, smiling charmingly to me which caused a slight blush to rise to my cheeks.
“Jack…” the Doctor warned.
“Can’t I say hello?” I defended himself.
“Hello is flirting for you,” the Doctor sighed. “Her name is Ariella Jacob – aka AJ. Now take us to Torchwood?”
“Follow me then,” he answered and we did as he said.
Jack took us to the base of Torchwood that was under ground. It was a large room that kind of looked like a sewer, but with computers and alien technology. Because that’s what Torchwood did, they gathered alien technology that ended up on Earth and defended Earth in case of an invasion.
I sat at some persons desk covered in computer stuff as the Doctor and Jack were in his office, talking about something I didn’t know about. They had been there for about an hour now and I was getting very bored.
Suddenly, someone cleared their throat behind me and I turned to chair to find a small Asian woman who looked to be in her 30s.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” she asked.
At the same time, Jack and the Doctor where leaving his office, walking over to me. The Doctor was putting a blue envelope in the inside pocket of his tweed blazer
“It’s ok, Tosh. She’s a guest. Actually, she’s a new resi-“ he started, but the Doctor tapped him on the shoulder and he stopped.
“Resi-what?” I asked since it did concern me.
“Ariella, I have to talk to you…” the Doctor said darkly.
The expression on his face was worrying me. He looked so apologetic and reprehensive.
“Call me AJ,” I said between my teeth. “You always call me AJ!”
I knew something bad was about to happen. Something mostly bad for me and the Doctor was scaring me. It was like he was going to tell me that I’m dying or something. Tears were starting to rise in my eyes, but I fought them back, not wanting to look stupid.
The Doctor simply took my hand and pulled me towards Jack’s office. Once there, he closed the door behind us and asked me to take a seat as he sat as well in front of me.
“What’s going on, Doctor? Why are we here? Anything to do with that blue letter?” I started to question him.
“It has nothing to do with the blue letter. It’s an invitation of some sort. Someone gave it to Jack to give it to me,” he shrugged.
His piercing green eyes were glued on me and they suddenly became impossible to read.
“I’m about to tell you something that you will not take well and I would like to start by apologizing, AJ… I am so sorry, but I think it would be good for you to… be away from me.”
My mind registered what he said, but it still didn’t make sense no matter how many times I repeated it in my mind. Away from him? Was he… leaving me here?
“W-what do you mean?” I stuttered, my hands were shaking uncontrollably.
“Jack has accepted to look after you. When I leave… you will not be leaving with me,” he elaborated.
I was speechless. The words were stunk in my throat in a big ball. He was leaving me here! He was abandoning me to be “looked after” by some other man I didn’t know so he can go travelling in peace.
He leaned down over me and wrapped his arms around me, trying to be of some comfort, but I pushed him away. I wanted to yell at him, I wanted to tell him I hate him, that I never wanted to see him again, that he was the worst thing that ever happened to me just so he would feel bad about doing this. Just so he would be as heartbroken and hurt as me. But it would all be lies. The biggest lies I would have ever said, so I kept my mouth shut.
I looked up at him with my tear filled eyes and managed to mutter one word.
“Why?”
“For your own good, AJ,” he said. “I just think that… you are too attached to me. You proved that to me in the museum… and before I launched off in the Pandorica…”
“Because you saved my life from worse than death! I owe you everything.”
“You owe me nothing.”
Silence fell as I tried to understand what was going on. It was kind of like he was breaking up with me, but then again we were never a couple… And we’ll probably never be.
Suddenly the office door opened and Jack came running in.
“Sorry for interrupting, but we’ve got a hit. Mind helping out, Doctor?”
***70 VOTES FOR CHAPTER 3***