A/N: Any dialogue in bold and italics is Italian. One or two words that are used often will be in Italian, though. Anyway, here's the first chapter of Bad Wolf and Her Pup! Enjoy!
Dio mio - my God or oh, my God
Colibrì - hummingbird
Merda santa - holy shit
Nonna - grandma
Zia - aunt
After a long shift at the cafe, Gabriella was so ready to get home, put Noemi to bed and then curl up in bed with a nice cup of hot cocoa and a book. Walking into the lobby of Henrick's, she smiles when she sees that Rose was on her way out with a few of the other girls that work in the shop. Being next-door neighbors, the two head home together when their shifts end near each other. Gabriella's smile fades, though, when the security guard waves a little plastic bag in Rose's face. Rose looks around the lobby, catching Gabriella's eye and pouting expectantly. Gabriella throws her head back with a groan before heading over. "You owe me," she narrows her eyes, grabbing Rose's arm on the way to the lift.
"You love me," Rose gives her usual tongue-in-teeth grin, letting the older blonde drag her into the lift.
"About as far as I can throw you," Gabriella rolls her eyes playfully, her Italian accent slipping out.
"I've no idea what you just said," Rose shakes her head.
"Oh, I know," Gabriella smirks, pushing the button on the lift.
***
The blondes step out of the lift and into a dimly-lit corridor of the basement. Rose and Gabriella look around, hoping that Wilson was just wandering about. "Wison?" Rose calls, grabbing Gabriella's hand to pull her down to Wilson's office. "Wilson! I've got the lottery money!" she bangs on the door that has the plaque 'HP Wilson CEO' on it. "Wilson?"
When there's no answer, Gabriella tries knocking, "Wilson! They're closing the shop! Wilson? Come on, you know I've got to get home to Noemi!" she calls, still getting nothing. "Lazy asshole," she sighs, running a hand through her hair while Rose chokes on a laugh. Ah, that's right... taught her that one, she thinks to herself with a slight smirk.
There was a sudden crash from down the corridor, causing both girls to turn to the sound curiously. "Hello?" Rose calls, both of them walking over to a set of huge double-doors. "Hello, Wilson! It's Gabi and Rose! Hello? Wil- Wilson?"
"Come on, Rosa," Gabriella takes her hand, gripping it tightly. "He's probably drunk in front of the telly," she looks around warily, an uneasy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach.
"I just want to check if he's in here," Rose waves her off, opening one of the doors cautiously.
Gabriella follows Rose into the room and an involuntary shudder runs through her body. She absolutely hates shop dummies and this is the room they kept them, along with excess supplies. "Wilson!" Gabriella calls hesitantly.
"Wilson!"
"Alright, he isn't here," Gabriella starts to move to the door. "Let's just-" her sentence is cut off and her eyes widen when the door slams shut, seemingly by itself. "You're kidding me," she groans, rushing over and trying to open the door, only to find it locked.
Rose rushes over and pulls on the door as well, getting the same result. "What did you do? Why won't it open?" she asks, her own nerves running a little thin at this point.
"Don't look at me! It just shut on its own!" Gabriella snaps, wishing she was home with Noemi instead of trapped in a basement with shop dummies.
There's a small squeaking sound behind the girls and they turn simultaneously, not seeing anything. "Is that someone mucking about?" Rose asks, her voice wavering slightly. "Who is it?"
Another squeaking sound draws Gabriella's attention and she turns, nearly jumping a foot in the air when she sees one of the dummies now turned toward her and Rose. "Dio mio!" she gasps, her hand going to her heart as it beats against her chest. "You scared the hell out of me!"
"Heh... you got us, very funny," Rose laughs nervously - unconsciously moving behind Gabriella a bit - and there was no answer. "Right, we've got the joke!" she snaps and two more dummies join the first. "Who's idea was this? Was it Derek's?" she demands, still getting nothing. "... Derek, is this you?"
"I don't think it's Derek... who is this?" Gabriella glares and the uneasy feeling in her gut grows as she backs her and Rose away from the dummies while more and more come toward them.
Rose trips over a box, nearly taking both of them down had Gabriella not quickly pulled her back up. The two are backed up against a wall with pipes along it by the dummies as they continue to advance. Gabriella tightens her grip on Rose's hand, pulling the blonde teen behind her a bit as her heart pounds. A flesh hand grabs Rose's free one and she gasps softly, looking over to see a man with bright, mischievous eyes and a wide grin. "Run," he whispers, pulling Rose and Gabriella out the exit.
Gabriella lets out a yelp as they're dragged down another corridor by the mysterious savior. The man leads them away and past more and more dummies that are coming to life. What the hell is happening? Gabriella thinks to herself faintly. Getting to a lift, the man ushers the girls in before stepping in himself. But before the doors could close, one of the dummies - or Autons - puts it's hand through the doors, preventing them from closing all the way. The man was quick to act as he jolts forward, grabbing the Auton's wrist and giving a few hard tugs. After about the third one, the arm pops clean off and the lift doors slide shut.
Gabriella leans against the back lift wall, straightening out her work uniform while she tries to catch her breath. She also eyes the man curiously, questions running through her mind. Who is this guy? What was he doing down in the basement? Why were there people dressed as shop dummies trying to attack them? The answers were simple, of course: the man was an alien - a Time Lord who calls himself the Doctor, to be precise - with two hearts and a hero complex; he was at the shop to stop the signal from the Nestene Consciousness, the Autons 'master'; and the 'people' dressed as shop dummies had wanted to kill them.
Rose finally seems to find her voice, "you pulled his arm off!" she gapes at the Doctor's back in shock in horror.
"Yep!" the Doctor confirms, tossing the arm back to Rose and Gabriella couldn't help her snort of amusement as she fumbles to catch it. "Plastic," he sends the older blonde a grin before facing the lift doors and folding his arms.
"So... that was a pretty clever trick," Gabriella comments, still eyeing the Doctor as she crosses her ankles. "Had me going there, but who were they? Students? Employees? Mates of yours?"
The Doctor turns to her with furrowed eyebrows, "why would they be any of those?"
"People turn up dressed like shop dummies, got to be one of those three to do something so stupid," Gabriella shrugs.
"That makes sense," the Doctor nods. "Well done!" he praises with a smirk before turning back to the lift doors.
"Yeah... thanks," Gabriella rolls her eyes, taking the praise as mocking.
Rose decides to cut in, "well, whoever they are: when Wilson finds them, he's gonna call the police," she warns.
"Who's Wilson?" the Doctor turns back to the girls with a frown.
"Cheif electrician," they answer together.
The Doctor's face darkens and he turns back to the doors as they open, "Wilson's dead," he informs them, stepping out.
"... what?" Gabriella breathes out with a frown. She thought the man was a bastard, but for him to just be dead?
"That's not funny! That's sick!" Rose exclaims in horror as she pulls Gabriella after the Doctor.
"Hold on," he pushes them to the side gently. "Mind your eyes," he warns.
Gabriella doesn't listen to the warning and watches the Doctor take out his sonic screwdriver - a tube-like silver device with ceramic-like material along the side, a blue light, and a black end. The Doctor smirks to himself a bit when he sees the girl's curious gaze as he aims the sonic to the lift controls. Pressing the button on the sonic, it lights up with a whir and the controls spark up. Gabriella blinks in shock, "was that so they couldn't follow us up here?" she asks, looking up at the Doctor.
"I like you," the Doctor decides, pointing to her with the sonic. "You ask good questions," he grins and Gabriella couldn't help but smile back; his smile was contagious. "Yes, that was so they couldn't follow us," he answers before starting to walk off.
"I've had enough of this now!" Rose scoffs, making Gabriella sigh as she shakes her head. Rose was always a bit tetchy when she's stressed. "Who are you, then?" she starts to follow the man with her friend beside her. "Who's that lot down there?"
"Now her," the Doctor points to Rose without looking. "She asks annoying questions," he shakes his head, making Gabriella snort quietly. "Are you always this loud?" he rubs at his ear, smiling when he gets an actual giggle out of the older blonde.
"Oi!" Rose glares, inadvertently proving the Doctor's point with the volume. "I said: who are they!?"
The Doctor sighs, this girl isn't going to quit, is she? "They're made of plastic, living plastic creatures and they're being controlled by a relay device on the roof," he points to the ceiling and Gabriella looks up with an eyebrow raised skeptically. "Which would be a great big problem if I didn't have this!" he pulls out a small bomb.
Gabriella blinks at the thing, seeing wires sticking out of it and a blinking light, "that's... that's a bomb!" she exclaims incredulously. "Wait, how'd it fit in there?" she frowns, eyeing the Doctor's leather jacket and not coming up with a logical explanation.
"Wouldn't you like to know," he smirks, rather enjoying the girl's curious nature. "And yes, it is a bomb!" he grins, making Gabriella let out a startled laugh. "I'm going to go up there and blow them up and I might well die in the process!" he opens an exit door and ushers the girls out, making them stumble a bit. "But don't worry about me, no!" he shakes his head. "Go home, go on! Go and have your lovely beans on toast!" he smiles before becoming serious. "Don't tell anyone about this, because if you do: you'll get them killed," he warns before shutting the door.
"What the he-"
The door opens and the Time Lord sticks his head out, "I'm the Doctor, by the way! What's your name?" he looks Rose over curiously and she answers him immediately, stunned by his sudden reappearance. "Nice to meet you, Rose," he nods before looking at Gabriella and eyeing her up, his gaze stopping at her left wrist and his hearts speed up. "... and you?" his eyes snap up to hers as a soft smile pulls at his lips, making Gabriella frown slightly.
"Erm..." Gabriella shifts on her feet, pulling her left wrist behind her back and gripping it with her right hand. "Gabriella," she answers, a bit uncomfortable with how he was looking at her.
"That's a beautiful name, fantastic," the Doctor beams, making Gabriella's cheeks turn a light pink despite herself. "I'll see you around, then! Now... run for your life!" he waves the bomb with a huge, dorky grin before closing the door.
"I'm not entirely sure I want to see that man ever again," Gabriella shakes her head, staring at the closed door incredulously.
"Let's get out of here," Rose mutters shakily, walking toward the street quickly with the dummy arm still in her hand.
Gabriella follows after her distractedly, almost at a leisurely stroll, "I mean, he was good-looking and all... but the way he reacted to my birthmark was really weird," she frowns, looking down at the circular design that wraps around her left wrist. It has a slight golden sheen to it, has been there since she was born, and no one knows what it is.
"Maybe he just thought it was cool," Rose huffs as they cross the street, almost getting hit by a taxi. "Can we hurry up, please? I'd rather not get blown up!"
"I doubt he was really-"
Gabriella's sentence is cut off by a huge explosion, making the girls nearly fall with the strength of it. She turns and her eyes widen when she sees the top few floors on Henrick's on fire. "Merda santa," she mutters in shock.
Gabriella yelps when she's suddenly pulled down the pavement by Rose, who was running like mad to get home.
***
The Doctor unlocks his TARDIS, stepping inside while he brushes off his jacket. The time machine gives a few excited trills, making the Time Lord grin widely. "I found her," he breathes in shock, looking down at his own left wrist where similar symbols were wrapped around it. "I actually found her!" he laughs in delight, moving up to the console and beginning to search for the Nestene signal. "Right... find the Nestene, defeat them, and then I can track her down... explain myself, maybe convince her to come with me," he murmurs excitedly, his hearts beating a bit quicker in anticipation of seeing her again. "I found her..." he breathes again, hardly daring to believe that after all this time and after what he's done, that he deserved something as sacred and wonderful as this.
***
Rose and Gabriella walk into the Tyler flat and are immediately brought into a tight hug by Jackie. "Oh, I was worried sick!" she cries, holding the girls close and Gabriella smiles into Jackie's shoulder. "The shop was on the news! They said they'd found a body and I thought it might've been one of you!"
"We're fine," the girls assure her.
Gabriella squirms out of the hug and looks around, "where's Emi got to?" she asks curiously before turning to Jackie with wide eyes. "She doesn't know what happened, does she?"
"Course not," Jackie waves off, pulling away from her daughter after checking her over. "Want a cuppa?" she asks as she walks past and into the kitchen, getting a 'no, thanks' from Gabriella and a 'yeah' from Rose. "She collapsed on the sofa about an hour or so ago, so I put her in the guest bed!" she calls.
"Thank God," Gabriella sighs in relief, heading to the guest room and opening the door quietly.
She smiles softly when she sees her daughter wrapped up tightly in the covers with her stuffed unicorn, Jewel, hugged to her chest. Gabriella moves over to the bed, lifts the covers, and scoots in next to Noemi. The little girl stirs, turning her head to Gabriella and her eyes widen, "mamma! Where were you? You're late!" she snuggles closer and nuzzles her face against Gabriella's neck.
"Sorry, colibrì, the bus broke down," she lies, wrapping her arms around the four-year-old.
Noemi's eyes light up as she remembers something, "mamma!" she gasps, pulling away so she could sit up on her knees. "Guess what!"
"What?" Gabriella giggles, watching her bounce excitedly.
"Nonna gave me biscuits and let me watch Mulan!" she squeals, squeezing her unicorn close.
"Oh, I'm sure you loved that, didn't you?" Gabriella laughs, grabbing Noemi and pulling her down to tickle her sides. "Were you good for nonna today?" she asks over Noemi's giggling squeals.
Noemi beams, her face pink as she tries to catch her breath when the torture stops. "I was perfect!" she throws her arms up in triumph. "Is Zia Rosa here!?"
"Why don't you go see for yourself?" Gabriella wiggles her eyebrows.
"I'm coming, Zia Rosa!" Noemi squeals, hopping out of bed and running from the room quickly.
Gabriella shakes her head, getting off the bed and following her hyperactive child into the living room. Rose was on the sofa, being smothered with affection by Noemi and Gabriella snorts at the scene, "let Rosa breathe, colibrì!"
"But I love her, mamma!" Noemi protests, squeezing Rose as tightly as she could with Jewel between them. "She gives the most bestest cuddles!"
"Aw, I love you too, munchkin," Rose laughs, squeezing Noemi back just as tight.
Gabriella smiles, shaking her head, "say goodbye, it's time to go home," she gestures to the front door with her thumb.
"But mamma, I want to stay!" Noemi gives her mother her 'power puppy-eyes'.
"Now, Noemi," Gabriella raises an eyebrow, folding her arms.
"Fine," Noemi huffs with a pout. "Bye, Zia Rosa," she mutters sadly, hugging her unicorn to her chest.
"Bye, sweetheart," Rose smiles, kissing Noemi on the cheek.
Noemi squeaks, jumping off Rose and wiping at her face, "Ew! Gross! Yuck! Spit!" she sticks her tongue out in disgust.
"Oi, I'll just have to give you more!" Rose laughs, grabbing Noemi and kissing her cheek over and over again.
"Noooo! Zia Rosa, stop!" she whines.
"Go see if nonna's got any more biscuits for you," Gabriella laughs, nodding to the kitchen.
"Yay!" Noemi beams, hopping off Rose's lap and running to the kitchen. "Nonna, mamma said I can have more biscuits!"
Gabriella sighs, sitting down on the sofa by Rose, "it'll take ages to get her to sleep," she shakes her head.
"What did you think about what that man said?" Rose asks quietly, chewing on her bottom lip and glancing at the dummy arm that was now on an armchair in her living room.
"About living plastic? That he's probably insane or it's some sort of joke gone wrong," Gabriella snorts. "Don't worry about it, Rosa, you'll just drive yourself mad trying to make sense of it," she shakes her head, standing up and stretching out her sore muscles. "I'm gonna go home and crash... bye," she leans down to kiss Rose on the head.
"Bye," Rose smiles, leaning back and kicking her feet up on the coffee table.
Gabriella stands in the doorway of the kitchen, watching as Noemi sits on the counter, happily eating a biscuit while Jackie finishes off the tea. "Thanks for watching her, Jackie," she smiles.
"You know I'll watch her whenever you need, Gabi," Jackie waves off. "Besides, Emi's my little angel," she pinches Noemi's nose, making her giggle. "Isn't that right?"
Noemi gasps, holding her unicorn out in front of her, "is Jewel a angel too, nonna?"
"Course he is, darling," Jackie grins, patting the stuffed animal on the head. "Now, you go on home and be good for your mum, alright?" she gives her a stern look.
"... ok," Noemi nods with a small frown, wanting to play a prank on her mother when they got home.
"That's my sweet girl," Jackie smiles. "I'll see you tomorrow for our girls night," she kisses Noemi on the head.
Noemi immediately lights up, "yay! Shopping!" she cheers, hopping down off the counter. "Come on, mamma!" she grabs Gabriella's hand, Jewel hanging from her free one as she pulls her mother out of the flat. "Bye, nonna!"
"Bye, Jackie!" Gabriella calls, hearing a 'later' being called after them.
***
After getting Noemi a bath and ready for bed, Gabriella was laying in their shared bed - the flat was only a one-bedroom. "Alright, colibrì, pick out a book," she smiles.
Noemi goes over to the bookshelf and puts her chin in her hand and her other hand on her hip while she looks through the books carefully. "This one!" she grins, grabbing a book and handing it to Gabriella before climbing into bed.
"Really?" Gabriella smiles, looking at the title Little Red Riding Hood. "You sure you want this story again?" she asks, knowing her daughter would; it was her favorite story they had.
"This one," Noemi nods firmly, snuggling into the plush covers and making sure that her unicorn was comfortable.
"Ok, ok," Gabriella laughs, getting comfortable as well and taking a sip of her cocoa. "We'll go with Italian tonight," she smiles, beginning to read. "C'era una volta viveva in un certo villaggio una ragazzina di campagna ..."
***
The next morning, Gabriella was running around her flat to get herself and Noemi ready for the day. "Hurry up, Noemi! You're going to be late!" she calls to her daughter, hopping on one foot while she pulls her boot on the other.
"Coming!" Noemi calls, hurrying out of the bedroom with her school bag nearly hanging off her shoulder.
"Ok, let's go," Gabriella nods, grabbing her house keys on the way out the door.
The two hurry down the stairs and through the estate lot to get to the pickup. At the corner, Gabriella kneels down in front of Noemi, "you've got everything?" she asks, checking over Noemi's outfit.
"Sì, mamma," she nods.
"Ok... be good and nonna will pick you up after playgroup in a few hours, alright?"
"For girls night!" Noemi smiles excitedly.
"For girls night," Gabriella laughs, hugging her tight. "See you tonight, colibrì," she presses a kiss to the top of her head.
"Bye, mamma!" Noemi squeezes her before running over to the walking bus.
Gabriella waves to Mrs. Mason, the leader of the walking bus, before walking off. She didn't have a shift today - the entire street that Henrick's was on was shut down while they investigate - so she could enjoy some much-needed alone time. Maybe she could work on that painting she's been meaning to finish.
That was thrown out the window when she sees Rose chasing after the man they'd met last night. Gabriella didn't understand why her heart picked up at the sight of him. But she was curious as to what he and Rose were talking about, so she runs up to them.
"Is that supposed to sound tough?" the Doctor was asking Rose when Gabriella reaches them.
"Oh, Rosa, you know you aren't intimidating," she teases the blonde teen, folding her arms and smiling when the Time Lord and Rose turn to her in surprise.
"What're you doing here?" the Doctor asks with a wide grin, his hearts picking up at being near the young woman.
"I live here," Gabriella shrugs, pointing to the estate. "So, what're you two talking about?" she raises an eyebrow between them as they begin to walk through the estate lot.
"Getting information," Rose puts in. "Who are you?" she looks at the Doctor.
"I told you! The Doctor," he grins.
"Yeah," Rose rolls her eyes. "But Doctor what?"
"Just the Doctor," he shrugs.
"People seriously call you 'Doctor'?" Gabriella asks incredulously, finding the name strange.
"Yeah, they seriously do," he nods.
"You can tell us, we've seen enough," Rose tries to convince him. She needed to know what the hell happened with the shop dummies last night and the arm this morning. "Are you the police?"
"I highly doubt the police would go around blowing up shops, Rosa," Gabriella rolls her eyes.
"I was just passing through," the Doctor shrugs. "I'm a long way from home," he mutters.
Gabriella frowns when she sees his features darken and he looks lost in thought for a moment. Something deep inside tells her to comfort the man, but she firmly ignores that and shovses the instinct down. The Doctor feels something in the back of his mind and smiles faintly at the welcome almost tingling. It was Gabriella reaching out subconsciously to try and assure him he wasn't alone. She probably doesn't even realize it's happening, he muses to himself. It distracts him for a moment from his thoughts of Gallifrey.
"But what have I done wrong?" Rose asks, not noticing the change in mood. "How comes those plastic things keep coming after me?"
That snaps the Doctor out of his memories of the Time War completely and he snorts incredulously, "oh! Suddenly the entire world revolves around you!" he scoffs. "You were just an accident! You got in the way, that's all!"
"It tried to kill me!" Rose shouts, pissed off at the Doctor's lack of care.
"It what? Again?" Gabriella frowns.
"Up in my flat! It tried to strangle the Doctor and then it attacked me!"
"Are you alright?" Gabriella stops walking so she could check Rose over.
"I'm fine," Rose waves her off, following after the Doctor again.
"It was after me, not you," the Doctor shakes his head when the girls catch back up to him. "Last night, in the shop, I was there and you girls blundered in! Almost ruined the whole thing," he points out, smirking at their protests. "This morning, I was tracking it down, it was tracking me down... the only reason it fixed on you is that you've met me," he explains.
"So, what you're saying is, the entire world revolves around you?" Rose folds her arms, narrowing her eyes at the Doctor.
"Sort of, yeah," the Doctor grins.
"You're full of it!" Gabriella smiles.
"Sort of, yeah!"
"But... all this plastic stuff," she grabs the arm off the Doctor and looks it over. "Does anyone else know about? Like have you got a... partner or something?" she asks curiously.
"Nope, just me," the Doctor answers.
"What, you're on your own?" she frowns, the thought hurting her more than it should have and making her frown deepen.
The Doctor smiles faintly, glancing down at Gabriella's wrist quickly - no, not until he deals with the Nestene. "Well, who else is there?" he shrugs. "I mean, you lot: all you do is eat chips, go to bed, and watch telly! When all the time, underneath you, there's a war going on!"
"Excuse you?" Gabriella scoffs, hitting the Doctor on the arm with the dummy one lightly. "You're making a lot of assumptions about someone you don't even know," she narrows her eyes.
"I didn't mean you, specifically," the Doctor shakes his head with a smile. "I meant... Humans in general," he shrugs.
"Yeah, that made it better," Gabriella rolls her eyes, making the Doctor snort quietly.
"Ok, start from the beginning," Rose cuts in, huffing at the two getting off-topic. "If you're gonna go with this living plastic, and I don't even believe that, but if we do... how did you kill it?"
"The thing controlling it projects life into the arm - I cut off the signal, dead," the Doctor explains.
"So that's... radio control?"
"Thought control," the Doctor corrects, glancing between the girls when he gets nothing but silence in return. "Are you alright?" he asks, the question more toward Gabriella than Rose.
"Yeah," Rose answers while Gabriella nods distractedly, lost in her own thoughts. "So, who's controlling it, then?"
"Long story," the Doctor waves off.
"Helpful," Gabriella mutters under her breath with an eye-roll, making the Doctor tilt his head when he notices that her RP accent disappears when she speaks Italian. "What's it all for, then? I mean... why shop window dummies?" she shudders, thinking about them trying to attack her last night.
"Is someone trying to take over Britain's shops?" Rose snorts.
"No," the Doctor laughs.
"I know," Rose rolls her eyes with a smile.
"It's not a price war," the Doctor jokes, getting both girls to laugh before he becomes serious. "They want to overthrow the Human Race and destroy you," he tells them and they both quiet immediately. "Do you believe me?"
"No," they both scoff.
"But you're still listening," the Doctor smirks.
Gabriella pulls Rose to a stop, watching the Doctor walk away, "who are you?" her question stops him.
The Doctor struggles with what to tell her for a moment before smiling, "do you know like we were saying? About the Earth revolving?" he turns to them and walks back over. "It's like when you were a kid; the first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still... I can feel it," he takes Gabriella's hand in his.
Gabriella gasps softly as a warm sensation spreads through her body from where their skin was touching and it was like everything else besides them fades away. The Doctor closes his eyes briefly, reveling in the warmth and the soft tug on his hearts before looking down at Gabriella with a soft smile that makes her heart do a flip in her chest. Rose was standing beside the two, frowning at the strange interaction. They're just holding hands, what the hell's so bloody special about that?
"The turn of the Earth," the Doctor continues in a quiet tone, trying not to disturb the moment. "The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour and the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and me, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world and if we let go..." he lets go of Gabriella's hand and it was like a spell was broken as she blinks up at him slowly. "That's who I am, Gabriella," he smiles, reaching up to grab her chin between his thumb and forefinger, nearly making her shiver. "You'll see me again..." he promises before letting her go and walking away toward the TARDIS.
Gabriella's snapped back to reality and she breathes a bit heavier, staring after the Doctor as he walks off. Rose frowns, waving a hand in front of her friend's face. "... what?" Gabriella frowns, blinking over at Rose in a slight daze.
"Alright, there?" Rose raises her eyebrows. "Looks like you're about to faint..."
"I'm... fine, I think," Gabriella's eyebrows furrow as she starts to walk off.
Before the girls get too far, they hear what sounds like mechanical whirring along with a wheezing, groaning sound. Gabriella's eyes widen as her heart picks up and she runs back to the corner and looks around frantically. Seeing nothing, her mood sinks a bit and she frowns at the strange feeling. Why am I reacting like this? I don't even know that man... she thinks to herself. "I want to find him," she decides, turning to Rose.
"What? No, I've gotten attacked twice now cause of him," Rose looks at Gabriella as if she's mad.
"I need to find him again... please help me?" she gives Rose a pleading look, not understanding the strong urge to see him again but deciding to go with it for now.
"... I guess we could go to Mickey's and use his computer," Rose suggests reluctantly.
"Grazie, Rosa!" Gabriella smiles, wrapping her arms around the blonde teen happily.
"Yeah, yeah," Rose rolls her eyes with a smile. "Think of it as payment for last night," she sighs.
***
The girls get to Mickey's flat - which was also at the Powell Estate, but on a different floor - and knock. Mickey opens the door and beams at Rose, "yahey! There's my woman!" he slaps her butt as she walks by. "Kit off!" he smirks.
"Shut up!" Rose smiles and he pulls her into a kiss.
"Horny bastards," Gabriella rolls her eyes with a smirk, walking into the flat and shutting the door.
"Oh, hey, Gabs," Mickey smiles, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"Hey, Mick," she smiles, wrapping an arm around his waist.
"You two want a coffee?"
"Yeah, only if you wash the mug," Gabriella smirks.
"And she doesn't mean rinse, she means wash," Rose gives him a pointed look.
"Can we use your computer?" Gabriella asks.
"Both of you that desperate to get in the bedroom, eh?" Mickey smirks, wiggling his eyebrows.
"That's disgusting," Gabriella laughs, pushing him off her.
"Sure go ahead," Mickey shrugs with a laugh, going in the kitchen to get them their drinks before his eyes widen. "Don't read my e-mails!" he shouts after them.
Gabriella and Rose snicker as they walk into Mickey's bedroom. "Oh, that's nasty," Gabriella wrinkles her nose at the filthy room. "Noemi keeps our room in better condition than this!"
"Shut up and come on," Rose rolls her eyes with a smile, sitting at the computer. "What should we look up?" she asks, getting the search engine up.
"I don't know... try 'Doctor'," Gabriella suggests, leaning on the back of the chair.
Rose types it in and there's tens of thousands of results, "that's not gonna work," she shakes her head. "Hm... what about..." she trails off, typing in 'Doctor Living Plastic'.
"Nope," Gabriella shakes her head when nothing but plastic surgeon websites come up. "What about..." she bites her lip, thinking about that strange box that had been on the corner at the Powell Estate and she leans forward to type in 'Doctor Blue Box'.
Rose looks up at her with a raised eyebrow and Gabriella just shrugs, hitting the enter key. The very first result was 'Doctor Who - do you know this man? Contact Clive here...' She clicks on it and it takes her to a page with a blurry photo of the Doctor, making her smile in triumph.
***
After e-mailing with Clive, Gabriella had decided to go see him in person to see what he's found about the Doctor. It was nagging at her, this desperate need to know more about him and it was driving her crazy. Rose was worried about her friend's seeming obsession and so she got Mickey to drive them to the house. Mickey wasn't too thrilled about it either and was trying to get the girls to let him come with them.
"You're not coming in!" Rose groans at her boyfriend's persistence.
"He's safe, he's got a wife and kids," Gabriella rolls her eyes.
"Yeah, but who told you that?" Mickey raises his eyebrows between the girls. "He did! That's exactly what an internet lunatic murderer would say!"
Gabriella rolls her eyes again, getting out of the car. Rose smiles, giving an upset Mickey a quick kiss before following after. The two get up to the house and Gabriella knocks. A boy of about eleven opens the doors.
"Hi, I've come to talk to Clive?" Gabriella smiles politely, messing with the chain on her jeans. "We've... been e-mailing on his website?"
The boy rolls his eyes, "dad!" he calls into the house, eyeing the blondes with disgust. "It's some of your nutters!"
Gabriella scoffs quietly when the boy walks off, "he needs to learn some manners," she folds her arms.
A heavy-set man comes down the corridor, "sorry," he apologizes for his son. "Hello, you must be Gabriella and Rose! I'm Clive, obviously," he laughs, shaking each of the girls' hands.
"I better tell you now," Rose smiles. "My boyfriend's waiting in the car, just in case you're going to kill us!"
"No, good point," Clive laughs as Gabriella rolls her eyes with a smile. "No murders!" he grins, waving out to the car where Mickey sat, glaring at the man with distrust.
"Who is it?" Clive's wife calls down from upstairs.
"Oh, it's something to do with the Doctor! They've been reading the website!" Clive calls back. "Please, come through, I'm in the shed," he ushers the girls through the door.
***
Out in the back garden, there was a shed that was filled to the brim with files on the Doctor. Clive was sifting through a box while Gabriella and Rose look around at all the photos tacked onto the walls. This guy's nuts, Gabriella thinks to herself.
"A lot of this stuff's quite sensitive, I couldn't just send it to you," Clive was telling them. "People might intercept it, if you know what I mean... if you dig deep enough - keep a lively enough mind - this Doctor keeps cropping up all over the place; political diaries, conspiracy theories... even ghost stories," he pulls out the binder he was searching for. "No first name, no last name; just 'the Doctor'... always the Doctor, and the title seems to have been passed down from father to son; it appears to be an inheritance," he points over to a computer. "That's your Doctor there, isn't it?"
Gabriella looks at the photo, her heart picking up a bit and she shakes her head. It's a blurry photo, get ahold of yourself, Gabriella, she mentally scolds herself. "Yeah..." she nods, turning back to Clive.
"I tracked it down to the Washington public archive last year," Clive shows them a few photos. "The online photo's enhanced, but if we look at the original..." each photo gets closer until the last one that shows, "November the 22nd, 1963... the assassination of President Kennedy."
Gabriella takes the photo from him and looks it over with a frown. She couldn't think of any reason why the Doctor would be standing in the crowd of something that happened over forty years ago. Rose's eyebrows furrow, "must be his father..." she tries to reason.
"Going further back... April 1912," Clive grabs a photo album. "This is a photo of the Daniels family, Southhampton... and friend," he shows them a photo of a family standing by the Titanic with the Doctor in a period-appropriate suit beside them. "This was taken the day before they were due to sail off for the New World - on the Titanic - and for some reason, they canceled the trip and survived... and..." he takes out a sketch of an island with the Doctor standing on it, back in his leather jacket. "1883, another Doctor and look - the same lineage, he's identical! This one washed up on the coast of Sumatra on the very day the Krakatoa exploded. The Doctor is a legend woven throughout history... when disaster comes, he's there; he has a storm in his wake and he has one constant companion."
"Who's that?" Gabriella asks, her voice quiet from the intensity of the man.
"Death," Clive tells the girls and Gabriella deflates... so he is a nutter. "If the Doctor's back... if you've seen him, girls... then one thing's for certain - we're all in danger," he warns them. "If he's singled you out... if the Doctor's making house calls... then God help you," he shakes his head.
"But who is he? Who do you think he is?" Rose asks.
"I think he's the same man," Clive answers honestly, making the girls glance at each other. "I think he's immortal... I think he's an alien from another world..."
***
Mickey was still outside in the car, waiting for the girls to come back. Movement catches his eye and he looks to the pavement, seeing nothing but a bin. After a few seconds, the bin shuffles toward his car. Rolling his eyes - thinking it was some kids playing a joke - he gets out of the car and walks over to it. Placing his hands on the lid, he jerks it open dramatically, "come on, then!" he shouts, frowning when he sees that the bin's empty.
Confused, he shuts the bin and tries to walk away but his hands are stuck to the bin. Mickey frowns, trying to move away, but the plastic just stretches to stay attached, not letting him go. Mickey's heart races in fear and he yelps when the bin yanks back, pulling him into it. The lid shuts with a rather comical burp.
***
Rose and Gabriella walk out to the car, Rose complaining about the wasted trip, "he's a nutter! Off his head! Complete online conspiracy freak!"
"I'm sorry, ok!" Gabriella huffs as they hop in, neither paying attention to the fact that Mickey has now been replaced by an Auton. "I thought he might really have some useful information!"
"Well, what're we going to do now? I fancy a pizza," Rose suggests.
"Pizzaaa! P-p-p-pizza!" 'Mickey' exclaims.
"... or a chinese..."
"Pizza!" 'Mickey' says firmly before driving off.
Gabriella grips the edge of her seat at the reckless driving, "Lord, help me," she murmurs.
A/N: I'd like to thank xMiss_Mercuryx and Alphawolfgirl666 for listening to my ideas on the story and giving me their own and their opinions! :* You guys should totally check out their stories! :D
I decided to do this story because (as far as I know) there aren't any DW fanfics that have a companion with a child before and while traveling with the Doctor. Anywho, I thought it would be interesting to see how things change and how the Doctor interacts with a child on the TARDIS. Noemi is based off a few people, though mainly my niece, who is an absolute joy! :D Let me know what you think so far by dropping a comment or a vote! :*