𝐀 𝐒𝐋𝐀𝐏 𝐅𝐎𝐑
𝐂𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝐑𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒
𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟓— 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇
𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐆𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐘, 𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐁𝐀𝐌𝐀
𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀
𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃 been fourteen trying times that the Doctor had tried to get them home, it had been a long night of shaking and anxiousness among everyone.
The Doctor insisted that they even get some sleep in the rooms the TARDIS had provided for them at one point. The TARDIS was strange and expansive. Naomi was worried that once she got to her guest room she'd never be able to find her way back. When she had expressed this to the Doctor, she smiled politely and assured her that there was a phone connected to the console if she needed anything. Naomi smiled, and entered her room that surprisingly resembled her one at home. Just cleaner.
Once they were awake and back in the console room, the Doctor had tried her fourteenth attempt, stepped down the steps and looked outside for a moment.
"Nearly," she stated, shutting the doors and walking back up to the console.
"Sheffield?" Yasmin asked hopefully, although the Doctor returning to the console seemed an unlikely sign.
"Almost," the Doctor assured her. "Really close."
"So, not Sheffield, then?" Graham asked.
"You're doing this deliberately, aren't you?" the Doctor whispered towards the console as she pushed a few buttons.
Yasmin raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, "Who are you talking to?"
"If it's me," Ryan said, raising his hands. "I haven't touched anything!"
"I'm talking to the TARDIS, because this is our ninth attempt," the Doctor said to them before redirecting her statement to the TARDIS.
"Fourteenth," Graham corrected. "You can't control this thing, can you?"
"Excuse me. Yes, I can," the Doctor told him offended, although she started to deflate. "Most of the time. Just sometimes, like now, it has a mind of its own."
Naomi raised an eyebrow, most of the things the Doctor said seemed to go in a round-a-bout way but Naomi was used to that with most of the phone calls she got and tried to piece together what the Doctor was saying.
"If she keeps taking you away from Sheffield, could she be telling you something?" Naomi asked.
The Doctor looked up, furrowing her eyebrows together, "It's possible, she's done it before."
"Maybe you should listen," Naomi smiled lightly, placing her hand on her shoulder.
Yasmin started to pick up on Naomi's tone, figuring that maybe they needed to stay for one more trip. "So, where are we, actually?" she asked curiously.
"Earth, United States," the Doctor told her, looking down at the console for more information. "1955, Montgomery, Alabama, if I'm reading this properly. New displays. Still figuring them out," she explained, backing up slightly.
"Nineteen fifty five?" Graham asked, his tone sounded annoyed but suddenly it changed as he asked, "Could we see Elvis?"
Naomi laughed lightly at his question, knowing Graham for only a few days came with knowing him as grumpy, annoyed and most important, opinionated.
"I think he's in New York this week. I could give him a call," the Doctor stated offhandedly.
"You haven't got Elvis' phone number?" Graham stated, staring at her for an answer.
The Doctor's shoulder tensed and she took a step towards Graham, away from Naomi as she poked a finger at him. "Don't ever tell anyone I lent him a mobile phone."
"Is there someone out there controlling that kind of thing?" Naomi asked the Doctor.
The Doctor's shoulders tensed a little more before they lowered, her head started to fall but before anymore could be shown, alarms went off all around them.
"Whoa, what's that?" the Doctor asked, looking up at the projection the TARDIS had pulled up for her. "Traces of artron energy?"
"Show we know what artron energy is?" Yasmin asked.
"It's the same type of energy the TARDIS runs off," the Doctor explained, turning to look at her. "There really shouldn't be traces of artron energy here, unless they're ours, which they're not," she shrugged.
Naomi smiled, "You want to check it out, don't you?"
The Doctor turned to her and smiled back, "Yeah, I should. Quick look, but quietly. History is very delicate. We stick together."
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"𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 1950s," Yasmin grinned as the five walked down the streets of past America. "Time travel's awesome."
Naomi felt her hands shake as she looked around at the people passing by, giving her a look of superiority, mostly white men. "I have a bad feeling about this," she muttered.
A loud smack was heard behind them, the four turned around to see Ryan holding a glove in his hands out to a man. He was tall and white and everything from that American History class Naomi took in college came back to her. She was the first to run, and try to push Ryan back from the man. Graham was able to pull him back and away from the man and his wife.
"Whoa, stop," the Doctor shouted, stepping forward.
Yasmin pushed herself between the man and Ryan, puffing out her chest as she said, "Sir, please take a step back." She walked back and turned to Ryan. "You okay, Ryan?"
"I was just trying to give her back her glove," Ryan hissed, throwing the glove back down on the ground.
"Ryan, please, shut up," Naomi whispered, her hand on his chest as she looked up to him. He looked down at her with a frown. "It's not safe."
Ryan nodded, his face still sculpted in a frown as he stared at the man talking to the Doctor and Graham.
"Is this your boy?" he asked the Doctor.
"He's my grandson, actually," Graham stated, glaring up at the man.
"Your what?" the man asked in disgust.
"My grandson," Graham repeated himself.
The man frowned, his teeth bared as he looked between the five standing before him. "You ain't from around here."
"We don't want any trouble," the Doctor assured the man with her hands up in surrender.
"I don't know how it goes where you folks are from, but your boy, he'll be swinging from a tree with a noose for a neckerchief if he touches a white woman in Montgomery," the man threatened, his eyes pointed directly at Ryan.
Naomi felt Ryan tense at the man's words. She slowly inched her hand down to his hand so he wouldn't feel so alone in this situation.
Graham tensed as well, his shoulders rolling back as if preparing for a fight and everyone could sense it, "What did you just say?"
A light-skinned black woman emerged from behind the group in a pretty beige dress. She pushed herself to the front where the man stood and smiled prettily from behind her thin-rimmed glasses as she addressed the man she knew politely.
"There a problem here, Mr. Steele?" the woman asked, turning to the three standing close behind her. "Step away now. Go ahead, step away," she urged them.
Naomi tugged on Ryan's hand, pulling him away and Graham followed as they joined the Doctor and Yasmin a few feet away.
Mr. Steele looked down at the woman, his frown still prominent as he looked at her. "These friends of yours?" he asked.
"No, sir. Just on my lunch break, wondering if I can help out with any misunderstandings," she hissed, turning back to them. "Oh, I believe your suit will be ready tomorrow. The alterations going to make it look just right, sir," she appealed to him.
The man slightly nodded, the anger starting to edge away as he put his hat back on and called for his wife to follow him away.
As the Steele's left, the woman turned sharply on her heel, her sharp gaze boring into Ryan. "Are you crazy?" she asked him.
"He slapped me," Ryan defended himself, taking a few steps forward, inadvertently dragging Naomi along with him.
"Don't you read the newspapers? Your friend was right, it's not safe," she stated, pointing towards Naomi. "You know what they did to young Emmett Till," she said.
"We're from out of town," the Doctor tried to assure her that they just didn't know any better.
"So was Emmett Till," the woman said, nodding her head. "On vacation from the north... couple of words to a white woman in Mississippi and the next thing, they find his body in the river. You want that to be you?"
Ryan stared at her like he had been scolded his mother. His head tilted down as he quietly said, "No."
The woman frowned more so, raising her head as she looked at him. "Did your mother raise you with no manners? I will take a 'no, ma'am'," she demanded.
"No, ma'am," Ryan whispered.
The woman looked between the group, "You all together."
"Yes. We're very grateful, Miss..." the Doctor started to thank her but pined for a name.
"Mrs," she corrected. "Parks. Rosa Parks."
"Oh my God, I think I'm going to faint," Naomi whispered, taking a step back but Ryan's hand holding hers pulled her back up as he chuckled slightly at her enthusiasm.
"No way," Yasmin followed.
"You're kidding," Graham continued.
"Brilliant! Rosa Parks, lovely to meet you, Rosa Parks. Big fan," the Doctor gushed.
Rosa looked at the Doctor warily, "Excuse me?"
"Big fan... of Montgomery," she said with a slim save. "I am... we are just visiting. Recommend anything for tourists like us?"
"I recommend you get yourselves the hell out of Alabama before you find yourselves in trouble you can't get out of," Rosa demanded, turning to leave the five in the middle of the street.
The Doctor followed after her quickly, stretching a long arm to scan the woman.
"Oh, my God, can you believe it?" Yasmin asked everyone, although she pointed her gaze to Naomi who looked the most excited. "Actual Rosa Parks."
"Amazing. Also a problem," the Doctor agreed, walking back to them. "Registering traces of artron energy all around her. Why is that?"
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 had led them to a three story shop where on the bottom floor rested a restaurant. The five had seated themselves but Naomi couldn't shake the feeling of being out of place. Her and Yasmin were probably far more exotic than Ryan as Asian and Indian. With the Asian Exclusion Act keeping them out of America for centuries. She was terrified, as a meek woman in the 50s, this was her true Hell.
"We were in Rosa Parks class in primary," Yasmin had been telling Ryan. "Do you remember? All the Year 4, 5 and 6 classes were named after inspirational people."
Ryan looked at Yasmin then to Naomi across from him, "She's the bus woman, right?"
"You do remember what she did," Yasmin smiled excitedly.
"Yeah, first black woman to ever drive a bus," he continued, making all of their stomachs sink.
"Oh, Ryan," Naomi muttered, putting her head in her hands.
"What?" Ryan asked, looking around the table for answers.
"Your Nan would have a fit right now. How could you have been in a class named after the woman and not know who she is?" Graham asked, shaking his head at his grandson.
"She's American," Ryan defended himself.
"She refused to give up her seat to a white since if there was no room, a person of color had to. She got arrested for it, and it put into motion the boycott of the buses in Montgomery. Allegedly beginning the Civil Rights Movement," Naomi explained, popping her head back up to look at Ryan.
"Or rather, will start," the Doctor corrected her, looking down at the newspaper she had picked up. "Today is Wednesday, November 30th, 1955. Tomorrow, Rosa refuses to give up her seat."
"Right, kicking of the movement that's led by Martin Luther King," Ryan finished for her, tapping his head. "See, I'm not totally ignorant. I just got confused by the whole bus thing."
"Martin Luther King is a minister here in Montgomery right now," the Doctor stated, looking up from her newspaper.
"He and Rosa knew each other?" Yasmin asked, the Doctor agreeing with her as the restaurant suddenly became quieter. Chairs and heads turned as they were all directed at their table.
"Is it me, or has it gone very quiet in here?" Graham asked, not moving his head to look around.
A waitress stalked up to them, her blonde hair bouncing as she stared right at Ryan with bright, blue eyes. "We don't serve negroes," she stated, looking him up and down with a large frown.
Ryan took a moment to let her statement stoke in before he leaned over a bit towards her, "Good, 'cos I don't eat them."
Naomi kicked him under the table and he winced slightly as the waitress turned to her and Yasmin.
"Or Mexicans and Japs."
"Is she talking to us?" Yasmin asked, not looking up from where she was staring ahead at the Doctor.
"Y'all need to eat somewhere else," the waitress told them.
"Come on," the Doctor said, standing up to leave.
Outside the restaurant, the Doctor turned to them with a frown, "Okay, listen. I can deal with this. You guys go back to the TARDIS and be safe," the Doctor told them.
"While you do what?" Yasmin asked defensively.
"Locate the source of these energy anomalies. We're one day out of a tipping point in Earth history. I don't want anything disrupting that. It's easy for me here. It's more dangerous for you. You can walk away from this," the Doctor told, although she didn't have much conviction in her statement. Her words said that she wanted to protect them from the 50s harsh society but her tone sounded like she wanted them to come with her, even if she couldn't protect them from the words.
"Rosa Parks can't," Ryan stated, head held high as he looked down at the Doctor.
"Rosa Parks doesn't," Yasmin agreed, nodding her head.
"Rosa Parks won't," Naomi finished, wrapping her arm with Yasmin's.
"If she can live her whole life here, a couple of hours ain't going to kill me," Ryan concluded with a finished expression before he turned to Graham and quietly asked, "It ain't going to kill me, right?"
"No," Graham assured him.
"Not if we look out for each other," the Doctor agreed.
"I'm cool with it. What do you reckon, Mexican lady?" Ryan asked turning to Yasmin, then looking at Naomi with an amused grin. "Japanese woman?"
Yasmin and Naomi both turned to Ryan with annoyed glares but the small smiles on their lips assured him that they were okay from his quip and the whole situation they had landed into.
"Oi, keep that up, I'll use you as a pinata," Yasmin threatened.
"Epicentre of the artron readings is 1.2 miles that way. Come on," the Doctor called, moving on from the restaurant.
"Hey, hey, we will stop somewhere else to eat though, won't we?" Graham asked, trying to pull the Doctor back but she was already on the move.
"No time, Graham!" she shouted.
"Have you noticed that happens a lot? I need regular food, that's all," Graham complained to the other three as they started to follow the Doctor.
"I don't think she ever eats, that's why she doesn't care. Must be an alien thing," Naomi shrugged.
"We just got thrown out of bar and this is what you're worried about?" Ryan asked the two with a small laugh.
"Not just that," Graham disagreed.
"I could really do with a cheeseburger," Naomi stated with a sigh.
"Not sure your stomach's are compatible with time travel," Yasmin laughed at the two.
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 had them all the way to a bus works alley, where buses came to get gas fill ups, repairs and rest for the night. There were a few people walking around but they didn't pass care as the odd people walked by. They just continued on with their days.
The Doctor held out her sonic screwdriver as she walked them through, "This is where the artron signals converge, at the bus company," she explained.
"All roads lead to Rosa Parks," Yasmin said.
"Yeah. Bit of a worry. Let's have a look around," the Doctor stated, leading them to a shed with a row of padlocks on the door.
"I'm not sure about this," Graham muttered as the Doctor's sonic unlocked all of the padlocks on the door.
The five moved inside to realize that the shed was basically empty besides a few odd things lying around that meant nothing to any of them.
"There's nothing in here," Ryan stated, voicing what all of them had be thinking.
"Why padlock an empty room, unless it's not empty," the Doctor muttered, he sonic still buzzing as she looked for what they had been searching for.
Suddenly, a suitcase appeared in the middle of the room that had not been there before, as Graham had bluntly stated.
"No kidding," Ryan muttered, rolling his eyes.
"It was there. We just couldn't see it. Perception filter," the Doctor explained, walking towards the suitcase.
"Why would anybody do that to a suitcase?" Yasmin asked curiously.
"And why would they leave it so perfectly on the floor?" Naomi asked, turning her head to look at the table and chairs set up. "Why not leave it on that table?"
The Doctor nodded her head, noting that this could more or less be a trap, but she continued to move forward.
"Can we open it?" Ryan asked.
The Doctor grinned up at him, "Is the right question!" she cheered, throwing herself forward so she could open the suitcase with the initials G.F.B. printed on the front. "Is anyone excited? 'Cos I'm really excited," the Doctor grinned.
"You won't be if it's a bomb," Graham pointed out.
The Doctor's face fell as she whipped her head to look pointedly at Graham. "Don't kill the vibe, Graham!"
She opened the suitcase to showcase five small, highly advanced items inside.
"Whoa, not very 50s," Ryan noted, looking over the Doctor's shoulder.
"I knew it. See, now there's a problem. We're not the only ones in Montgomery who don't belong here," the Doctor explained.
"Any clues what any of that is?" Yasmin asked.
"Information brick, multi-intercept and surveillance device. All a bit knackered though," she observed.
"Well, why has it been left in here?" Graham asked.
The Doctor gasped, snatching one of the items as she realized what it was. "This explains the artron signals. This is very bad news. Secondary charger for a..." the Doctor was unable to finish her statement as a loud blast came from behind them, making the chair vanish.
"Run!" the Doctor shouted, pushing who she could before her.
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𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐈𝐍 the yard, the Doctor had them all hide behind large, rusted tanks before the man caught up to them. They breathed heavily from their sprint and waited for the sounds of the man chasing them. His heavy booted steps were heard and then he heaved himself on top of one of the fuel tanks as he tried to gain an aerial view.
The Doctor turned to her crew, "Stay here," she whispered, before running to jump on top of a fuel tank as well.
She spoke to the man, tauntingly calling him Brando as the two went back and forth about the artron energy left all around 1955. She left a few moments after and back to her crew when "Brando" walked out from behind the tank he had been standing on.
"Chop, chop, on your way now," he taunted.
The Doctor pulled her lips in as she dashed forward, held out her sonic and soniced him. The man laughed at her oddity.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
The Doctor didn't answer him, but called out to the four behind the tank, "Come on, gang."
"Are we actually leaving?" Yasmin asked, running up behind her.
"Not in a million years," the Doctor assured her.
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"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 we off to Doc?" Naomi asked after they had been walking around Montgomery for a good ten minutes with no real direction.
Graham had finally convinced the Doctor to stop for some food, so as he picked up some food from the grocery store. Naomi and the Doctor stood outside while waiting. Yasmin and Ryan had gone off inside since it allowed people of color inside as well, and having Graham on his own probably wasn't the smartest move.
"Not sure, where do you think we should go? We need somewhere private but where we have plenty of room to talk," she explained, pushing back her blonde hair only for it to flop back into her face.
Naomi smiled prettily, pushing the Doctor's hair behind her ear so that it would stay. Ever since the talk with "Brando" the Doctor seemed to be on edge and her hair had been a mess. It flopped all over and she just wanted it to stay back. She didn't seem to think that putting it behind her ear would be the most help.
"Thanks," the Doctor muttered with a small smile.
"A motel will probably be the best bet," Naomi stated. "But do you have any American money?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
The Doctor dug into her pockets, sticking her tongue out as she pulled out a small journal, a wooden bird and a few drawings that looked like they had been stenciled by Van Gogh.
"No, doesn't seem so. We could probably sneak in..." the Doctor shrugged, stuffing the items back into her coat.
Naomi nodded, noticing the three walk out and wave them over to her. They each held a bag in one hand and stood beside Naomi and the Doctor as they discussed their next moves.
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑 was able to find a motel, but it wasn't as friendly as the pretty blue lit up sign seemed as beneath it stated 'Whites Only'.
"I'm getting pretty sick of seeing that sign," Ryan sighed.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Yasmin asked, her hands in her pockets.
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𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 Yasmin helped pull Naomi inside the bathroom of a motel room, she hopped in lithely. Her frame and weight letting Ryan have an easier time pulling her in. She smiled, patting both of them on the shoulders before moving into the bedroom.
"Why can't we just stay in the TARDIS?" Graham asked the Doctor as the three moved inside.
"Our friend with the temporal displacement weapon's got eyes on it. We go in and out of there, we're going to run into him again and I don't what to just yet. Not till we've figured this out," the Doctor explained.
Naomi sat on the bed closer to the door while Ryan sat on the other. Yasmin walked to the other side of the room where the TV was and leaned against it.
"And this is better?" Ryan asked, pointing towards the bathroom. "Smuggling ourselves into crummy motels?"
"I just need a moment to work this out," the Doctor explained, holding her hands out.
"Yeah, like, what do we actually know?" Yasmin asked with a small smile.
"Well, 1955, Montgomery, one day away from Rosa Parks refusing to give her seat up on a bus," Graham supplied.
"Meanwhile, we've got an out-of-time impostor skulking at the bus works with a temporal displacement weapon," the Doctor said in turn, starting to sound like Graham the more she worried herself.
"I understand weapon, but not sure about temporal or displacement," Ryan explained.
"Displaces you through time. A blast hits you, you're thrown through time to wherever the user has set it. He had it set for the very far future," the Doctor explained, her hands thrown around as she showed her point.
"That's horrible," Ryan stated.
"Yes, and it uses artron molecules. That, plus his Vortex Manipultor were presumably what the TARDIS detected when it brought us here," the Doctor explained.
Naomi fell back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to come up with what she knew from that history class. She remembered talking a lot on Rosa Parks. Doing her own research while in the class because she had been so fascinated by it, but why was none of it coming to her now?
Suddenly, the Doctor had jumped up onto the bed, startling Naomi as she jumped.
"Sorry," the Doctor told her offhandedly as she uncapped a pen and started write on the wall.
"Oi, whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing? That is vandalism! We'll have to pay for that," Graham shouted.
"Don't worry, special pen," the Doctor assured him, turning back to write out her last name.
Naomi sat up, crossing her legs as she turned to face the Doctor on the bed.
"No, pack it in. You ain't Banksy!" Graham continued to shout.
"Or am I?" she asked, continuing to write. "Rosa takes the bus on the first of December 1955. What time of day?" the Doctor asked them.
"Evening, wasn't it?" Naomi asked, turning to look at Yasmin.
"Yeah, she was coming home from work," Yasmin agreed. "I remember 'cos she said people thought she didn't stand 'cos she was tired from working, but she wasn't."
"Where did she work?" the Doctor continued.
"She's a seamstress, I'm not sure where though," Naomi stated, leaning back on her elbows.
"Has to be near where Ryan got slapped by that git, she had said she was on lunch," Graham pointed out.
There was a loud bang on the motel door, the whole room stood still as Yasmin looked between Ryan and Naomi.
"Bathroom," Yasmin stated.
"Seriously?" Ryan asked her.
"Very seriously," Naomi finished, the three running into the bathroom and slamming the door closed behind them.
Ryan pushed himself out of the window first, landing feet first before waiting for the girls to follow. Naomi helped Yasmin get out by holding her hands as she went backwards so Ryan could take her by the waist. Naomi following after her, Ryan helping her steady herself.
"There's a dumpster right there," Ryan pointed out.
Yasmin deflated, "Seriously?" she asked.
"Very serious," he smirked, tugging on her hand to follow him.
They sat behind the dumpster quietly and pressed together. Ryan by the brick wall while Naomi sat closest to the dumpster. She would have complained if they weren't so close to being dragged off to jail.
"I'm sick of this place already," Ryan scoffed, his knee bumping into Yasmin's as they tried to keep themselves as hidden as possible.
"I know, but to be here just as history's taking place—" Yasmin tried to twist it into positivity but both Naomi and Ryan knew it wasn't enough, history wasn't enough to put it all away.
"This isn't worth the history," Naomi sighed. "This is a bunch of stupid shit we've been pulled into. We should have never come here," Naomi muttered, leaning her head against the dumpster before realizing what she was doing and pulled away quickly.
"Exactly, this ain't history. We're hiding behind bins. I'm having to work so hard to keep my temper, every second here. I could've slapped that guy back there as soon as we arrived. Thank God my Nan taught me how to keep my temper," Ryan told her.
Naomi coughed, making Ryan roll his eyes.
"You too, Nai. You helped too. Never give them an excuse."
"Yeah? My dad tells me the same," Yasmin agreed with a smile.
"Yeah, see? It's not like Rosa Parks wipes out racism from the world forever. Otherwise, how come I get stopped way more by the police than my white mates?" Ryan asked, his temper starting to rise again.
"Oi, not this police!" Yasmin defended.
"Tell me you don't get hassled," Ryan pushed her.
"Course I do, especially on the job. I get called a Paki when I'm sorting out a domestic, or a terrorist on the way home from the mosque," Yasmin said, her voice going quieter as she spoke.
"You know, I get harassed all the time at my job. A lot of it's on the phone but when I talk to my co-workers it's always something offensive but not offensive. Like a stereotypical Asian accent or... a play on the gay card."
"You're gay?" Ryan asked curiously, leaning forward to look at her.
"Don't be frightened," Naomi laughed nervously.
Ryan laughed, easing the tension, "No, I just thought you were hitting on me earlier. Holding my hand, touching my chest," he explained teasingly. "But now I know you were just being weird."
"I was not," Naomi laughed, leaning over Yasmin to hit Ryan. "Plus, I'm way older than you."
Ryan rolled his eyes as he laughed.
Yasmin continued on, "Guys, they don't win, those people. I can be a police officer now 'cos people like Rosa Parks fought those battles for me. For us, and in fifty-three years, they'll have a black President as leader. Who knows where they'll be fifty years after that. But that's proper change."
Naomi and Ryan looked at her with small smiles, "What?" she asked them.
"Were you born this positive?" Ryan asked her.
"Guess so, must be my Mexican blood," Yasmin stated, making both Naomi and Ryan laugh softly.
"Yaz. Naomi. Ryan," Graham shouted into the alley, concluding their discussion.
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"𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 we?" the Doctor asked, back on the bed as everyone else stood around. "We need as much intel as we can get. If we're going to protect Rosa, we need to know the facts of her life. Home address, daily routine, where she works, the routes she takes and the church she attends. Also, the name of the driver she refused."
"I know that," Graham spoke up. "It's James Blake."
"How do you know that?" Ryan asked.
"Well, your Nan, when she found out I was a bus driver, said to me, "you'd better not be like James Black. Blake the Snake," that's what she called him, and I had to asked her who he was. She just said he gave all bus drivers a bad name," Graham explained.
"She said that when you'd only just met?" Yasmin asked with a smile.
"Yeah."
"That's pretty hard line," Yasmin laughed.
"That's me Nan," Ryan agreed.
"Yeah, she had a t-shirt that said... The Spirit of Rosa and, um, well, I wish that she was here," Graham said softly.
The room seemed to stop for a few moments. Everyone wished she could be there with them. She embodied this movement, this rightful love and activism. Naomi felt a tear fall but she quickly wiped it away.
"I don't," Ryan grinned. "She's start a riot."
The Doctor nodded her head, "Right. Operation Rosa Parks," the Doctor stated.
Ryan, Yasmin and Graham had made their way out of the Motel to collect things that could help them with their search as Naomi stood back to help the Doctor try and remember things that could potentially help them.
The three had returned with pamphlets and newspaper and laid them out on the table.
"I've found out where she works. Montgomery Fair Department Store," Yasmin stated, pointing to the ad in the paper.
"And if the phone book's right, this is where she lives," Ryan stated, pointing to the map.
"Right, so these bus routes don't go near Rosa's shop or house," Graham stated, setting aside a large stack of pamphlets. "But these ones do," Graham explained, setting the few down.
"Great!" the Doctor cheered, standing up. "If we can find Rosa's route and time today, we can keep an eye on her tomorrow. Who's up for a bus ride?"
Graham raised his hand.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 approached the bus stop, waiting for it to arrive together but when it pulled up Yasmin, the Doctor and Graham all crowded toward the front door that let them in for white seating. Ryan moved to the second door and Naomi followed him, not sure how the bus driver would react to her Asian heritage.
"This is me, on the back fo the bus," Ryan called, sitting in the first row with Naomi squeezing in beside him and crossing her legs.
"I'm so ashamed," Graham said, a frown on his face as he turned back to look at Ryan. "You shouldn't have to do this."
"I agree. I'm sorry, Ryan, Naomi," she told them, looking up at Yasmin as she began talking.
"You didn't have to sit with me, Nai," Ryan told her as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
"I don't know how that driver would have reacted anyways, although he doesn't seem to mind, Yaz," Naomi noticed, watching as Yasmin took a seat. "Plus, I'm not letting you do this alone," she told him, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze.
Ryan gave her a small smirk, lightening the mood as she threw his hand away from her. "Oh, shut up."
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
𝐑𝐘𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 Naomi got off the bus as the Doctor, Graham and Yasmin did, standing with them as they stared at the tall building on the other side of the street.
"That's where she works!" Yasmin cheered. "This must be her stop."
"Perfect, we can wait here, then get on the bus with her when she finishes work, have a little chat," the Doctor stated.
⋆⋅☆⋅⋆
𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 day had turned to night and the five had gotten on the bus as Rosa Parks did.
"Hi, nice to see you again," Yasmin greeted, catching Rosa's attention. "Mrs. Parks, right?"
"Yes," Rosa agreed.
"You helped us earlier today with our little misunderstanding," the Doctor explained, sitting beside Rosa in the colored section.
"I remember. British," she said, turning to look at Ryan and Naomi before back to the Doctor.
"Yes, funny thing, you'll never believe this. We're actually doing market research for bus companies. Looking at people's transport habits. Answer the questions, enter the raffle for a prize. You get this bus this time every day?" the Doctor asked with a smile.
"Most days. Always this time," she answered, looking down at her purse in her lap.
"And you live...?"
"Cleveland Court, next stop," she stated, pointing in front of them to show. Rosa took a long pause, watching the Doctor as she sat there without moving. "Ma'am, if you keep sitting there, we're all going to have to move," Rosa stated.
Graham leaned slightly towards them in his seat to say, "What do you mean?"
"If white folks need seats, by law, I have to give up mine. This middle section is only for coloreds, if white folk don't need it," Rosa explained.
"Well, that's not right," Graham said.
"Tell your company that, sir," she told Graham as the Doctor got up to move a seat up, but out of the coloreds section. She smiled tightly, looking at the Doctor, "If I win your raffle, will that give me the right to sit anywhere I want on this bus?"
The Doctor gave her a hard look, "No."
"I didn't think so," Rosa agreed. "This is my stop," she stated, standing up and leaving out the rear door.
"I'm going to follow her. See what i can find out. Meet you back at the motel later," Ryan told the Doctor, standing up from beside Naomi as she stood too.
"I'll go with him, keep him out of trouble," Naomi told her.
"Good idea, be careful," the Doctor told them as they left through the rear door as well.
author's note. oh my GOD! look who's finally back. this bitch! can't believe it's been so long but i'm going to try my best to regularly update this story after so long. i was trying to watch all the episodes for doctor who so that i knew where i wanted to go with this story. didn't help, but at least we can see where this goes! i've missed you all and i can't believe i'm at 4k reads. thank you to everyone who's read, voted and commented!
anyone else missing naomi, because i know i have! i wasn't sure if i had naomi come out to the crew and i tried to check quickly but i'm not certain. if i have if you would please tell me cause i'm dumb!
ALSO, i've posted a cover shop so if anyone's interested in getting some covers for their stories please hmu!
thanks so much for reading and i'll see y'all later, BYE! 🖐🏻
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