SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Sixty Nine Rose’s eyes snapped open when a sudden rumble of thunder invaded her dreams. She noticed the bed was empty and she felt a stab of longing for her fiancée. She turned her body around and noticed he was standing on the balcony staring at the dark storm clouds that were quickly blowing in. She glanced at Awinita. She was still asleep so Rose carefully got up from the bed and went to join Alan. She put her hand on his shoulder and he looked back at her. “Bang goes Pleasure Island,” he said softly. “I guess we’ll have to spend tonight in our room.” “Did you check the Weather Channel?” He shook his head. “No, I didn’t want to wake you guys up. But, I have a feeling the storm’s gonna last awhile.” “Did you sleep?” “A little bit. I’m wasn’t that tired,” he said. He grimaced when they saw a lightning bolt streak through the sky several miles away. “Yup, I think that’s it for Pleasure Island,” he said. “Hopefully, this isn’t the hurricane that’s come-a-callin’” “Nah, it was still a-ways out in the Atlantic, it couldn’t have gotten here this fast.” “Unless…” Rose looked at him. “Yeah?” He smiled at her. “Unless some evil villain sped the hurricane up in order to blow Florida off the map, that’s usually how it goes, isn’t it? Speeding up a hurricane sounds like a perfect villain’s scheme to me.” She giggled. “Well, I think in this case it’s just an ordinary storm.” She looked up at the sky when raindrops began to pelt her arms. “Come on, Rose, let’s get inside before we get soaked.” They went inside. Alan slid back the door and locked it. He turned and noticed Awinita was still asleep. He grimaced. “We can’t do anything with her sleeping,” he mouthed to Rose. Rose thought for a moment and then beckoned to him. “Follow me,” she mouthed. Alan nodded. Rose grabbed her purse and he followed her out the door. Ten minutes later they were sitting in the hotel bar having a couple of drinks. “I’m glad you thought of this,” Alan said, sipping a glass of scotch. Rose took a sip of her martini. “I saw it and thought about coming in here before we left but since we’re rained in and Awinita’s asleep, I figured now’s as good a time as any.” “Awinita must have been worn out,” Alan said. “Well, you notice that she wasn’t hoppin’ out of bed this mornin’ I think she’s knackered. I am too but I’m used to going places with the Doctor when I haven’t had much sleep.” “Well, she’ll adjust too when she travels with us.” “Alan, I know you want her to come with us in the TARDIS but will you quit pressuring her? If she wants to come that’s great but don’t keep on her until she feels guilty if she doesn’t want to come. If she wants to travel with us then she will, yeah?” “I know but you know, you don’t have very many friends and I have a grand total of two. I’d like to hold on to the ones I have.” Rose snorted softly. “What? Did I say something wrong?” Alan asked. “No, just thinking about how you want to hold on to the friends you have and the Doctor is doing the exact opposite. I guess that’s another example of you tryin’ to be different from him.” Alan’s heart broke when he heard the bitter tone in her voice. He put a hand on her back. “Rose…” “I know, I know, he loves me and he was doin’ what he thought was best for all of us. But, it still hurts. With you, I can come and tell you anything and you’ll be there for me but he just pushes people away when he should be doin’ what you’re doin’ and holding on to the one he loves.” “It’s because he’s depressed, Rose.” “I know, it just hurts seeing someone you care about behave like that. I’m sure I’m not the only one. I’m sure all the Doctor’s friends have tried to help him at some point, not just us but his past companions, yeah?” “Yes, but it’s hard to help someone unless they want to help themselves. You’ve tried your very best and you did help him but there are some things you can’t cure with a smile and a hug and a handhold.” “I just worry about him.” “The Valeyard?” “Well, yeah, but not just that, just him in general. I know he thinks he’s this macho, independent guy but in a lot of ways he needs other people to care for him and look after him.” Alan nodded. “Donna said as much to him.” “I just wish that he was here now having fun with us. You know, the four of us just walking around the parks laughing and jokin’. I think that’s what he needs more than anything else.” “I agree with you one hundred percent. But, once again, there’s no way we can get to him right now so we’ll just have to hope and trust that Donna is keeping him from getting too far down in the dumps, which I might add she was doing a extremely good job of doing. Donna was perfect for him. She was his friend but she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and tell him exactly what she thought. He needed that badly. I only hope he found a way to deal with her Time Lord mind before it killed her.” “Is…is there a way that he could save her?” Rose asked. Alan lowered his eyes to the table and took a sip of scotch. “Yes, but…the way I’m thinking of would have cost Donna her memories.” Rose’s eyes widened. “All her memories?” she said horrified. “No, not all. He would have to take out the memories of their time together and shut down the Time Lord part of her mind. She’d live but she wouldn’t remember him or what they did. She’d go back to being the way she was before.” “God. Oh God, I hope he didn’t have to resort to that.” “Me too. Like I said, Donna’s got a special place in my heart. I would hate to think that the Doctor would have to give her amnesia in order to save her life. Not to mention what that would do to the Doctor, losing another close friend and all. Another bout of darkness for him to deal with.” He sighed as Rose leaned her head against him. “Seems amazing that good things are happening to us, eh?” he asked her. “But then again we’re not out looking for monsters to battle like he does. When you’re constantly poking the cobra, sooner or later you’re gonna get bit.” He smiled at Rose. “Did that analogy make sense?” “Made a lot more sense than some of the ones the Doctor’s thought up,” Rose replied. Alan shook his head. “Blimey and here I thought we came down here to cheer ourselves up,” he said. “Instead we got to talkin’ ‘bout the Doctor and became depressed.” “Yeah, but I’d rather talk about it and get it out in the open than hold it in.” He nodded. “Yup, same here, but we came down here to have a bit of fun so let’s leave that discussion for another time and focus on something else, okay?” Rose nodded. “For instance…how fast do you think we can get through MGM Studios and leave Disneyworld behind before the killer hurricane descends upon us and not only destroys the car but musses up my to-die-for hairdo?” he said with a wink. Rose feigned horror. “Oh God, I don’t think I’ll be able to live if your hair gets blown off your skull,” she said as he laughed. “Well, I didn’t say it would get blown away, but yeah, that would be a nightmare scenario. I really don’t fancy being bald. Thank god for the chameleon arch so I won’t have to find out what it’s like.” “Unless your hair starts falling out before the ten years are up.” “In that case I want you to grab the glue and reattach every single follicle, which I figure you’ll do anyway,” he said. They jerked their heads over towards the door when they heard a loud rumble of thunder. “Blimey, I’m glad we decided to come back when we did. I’d hate to think of the people who got caught out in this,” Alan said. He thought as he took another sip of his scotch. “I s’pose we better head back up before Awinita wakes up and worries about us,” he said. Rose nodded. Both them finished up their drinks, paid the tab and went back up to their room. “Oh, thank God,” Awinita said when they entered the room. “I was afraid you went back out in the park and got caught in the storm.” “Nah, we just went downstairs to that little pub and had a drink,” Alan said. “We didn’t want to stay up here while you were sleeping.” “You didn’t have to worry about me, I can sleep through anything. I’ve been able to do it while you guys were driving. But thanks for thinking of me.” She looked towards the balcony door. “So, I guess we’re stuck in here for awhile,” she said to them. “I hope it clears up so we can go back out tonight. Especially since we didn’t get to ride the roller coaster again.” “If we can’t, we’ll ride it again in the morning before heading over to MGM,” Rose said. “I checked the weather while you were out. The hurricane is up to category 2 and they think it’ll be here in two days.” Rose sighed. “Then we better make tomorrow the last day.” “Bollocks, curse Mother Nature and her hurricanes,” Alan said. “I guess we’ll head back up through Alabama then. Question is do you guys want to head up or over?” “Might as well go up,” Rose said, shrugging. “I’m in no hurry to get through the US.” “Yeah, same here,” Awinita said. “Except…” They looked at her. “Yes?” Alan said. “I have a small request.” They looked at each other. “And that request is?” Alan said. “If we’re still in the US on Thanksgiving, can we find a restaurant that’s serving turkey so I can kinda celebrate?” “Sure, that’s fine,” Rose said. “You don’t wanna celebrate with your family though?” Alan asked. “We can always swing back to North Carolina when the time comes.” “No, that’s okay; I haven’t eaten Thanksgiving dinner with my relatives for a couple of years now.” “Really?” Alan said frowning. “Why?” “Well…I have some uncles and cousins who insist on getting plastered and we have to put up with them being drunk and arguing with the rest of the family. I finally got tired of it and told my mom I wasn’t gonna come home anymore.” “Oh man, that’s terrible,” Rose said. “Yeah, I had a couple of cousins that would get soused at the holidays too and mum finally stopped inviting them because they’d come over and cause trouble, so yeah, I can understand completely.” “Well, the reason I’m asking is I know you guys don’t celebrate Thanksgiving.” “Yes,” Alan said. “But nothing beats a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Rose and I can certainly eat with you and keep you company so you don’t have to put up with drunken relatives.” “Yeah, I don’t mind stopping somewhere for that. It’s a holiday here and you should celebrate it regardless of who you’re with. It’s supposed to be a time for giving thanks and Alan and I certainly have a lot to be thankful for so don’t worry about it. Just let me know what day it is. It’s the end of November, right?” “Yeah, the last Thursday in November, whatever day that is this year. Thanks.” “It’s no problem,” Rose said. “Alan will certainly help you eat a whole turkey, I know that much.” She laughed when he nodded his head rapidly. “What about Christmas though?” Alan asked. “Do you want to go home then?” Awinita sighed. “I’m not sure. It’s the same thing at Christmas. Holidays in general are unpleasant with my family.” “Yeah, but you really should drop in just to say hello,” Alan said. “Rose and I can come with you and meet your family. I mean she won’t be able to spend Christmas with her family so we can come and be with you, if you want.” “That sounds cool. I won’t mind being there if you guys are with me. But…then you’d have to drive all the way back to North Carolina for it. That’s out of the way. I don’t want you to drive hundreds of miles just so I can go back home.” Rose thought about it. “How ‘bout this then? When the time comes we can take a bus or train back to North Carolina and get a round trip ticket so we can go back to wherever we are in our journey. That way I won’t have to spend extra money on gas and you can still see your family.” “Brilliant,” Alan said. “I’ll think about it. I have a feeling you might change your minds about meeting my family when you actually get there. My uncles and cousins are complete assholes when they get tanked. It’s not a pretty picture.” “Yeah, but it’ll be worth putting up with that if you get to see your family,” Alan said. “Not to mention your sick gran will probably want to see you as well.” “But that’s a few months away,” Rose said. “So, just keep it in mind and let us know when the time comes.” Awinita smiled. “I will, thanks guys.” “You’re welcome. You’ve been a great friend to us and the least we can do is get you home for Christmas,” Alan said. He winced when a thunderclap rattled the balcony door. “Of course, that might not matter if we get blown off the map before we get there,” he said. Awinita chuckled. “Don’t worry, guys. I’ve been through a hurricane before. Most people survive them. I doubt you’ll get blown off the map unless it’s a monster category 5. Have no fear. If you guys can survive Daleks, you can survive a hurricane.” Alan looked at Rose. “Now see, that’s the kind of nonchalant I don’t give a crap if I’m in mortal danger attitude that we need in a companion. I told you she’s perfect for the TARDIS.” Awinita blushed. “Well, judging from your stories, a lot of the stuff you guys see is a hundred times worse than any hurricane.” “True enough, but you’re tough and you can handle anything the universe can throw at ya,” Alan said. “Besides no puny hurricane can compare to…” There was a dramatic pause. “The Oncoming Storm,” he said in a deep voice. “I thought you weren’t claiming that name anymore,” Rose said. “Well, I’ll claim it every once in awhile just to scare people who might think about messing with me.” Awinita giggled. “What?” he said. “This whole Oncoming Storm thing still tickles me; you are the last person I would think of as having a name like that.” Alan glanced at Rose. “She don’t know me too well, do she?” he said to her. “Nope.” He looked at Awinita. He leaned down into her face and scowled at her. Awinita raised her eyebrow. “I take it that’s supposed to strike fear into my heart?” she said. “I am the Oncoming Storm, Ka Fariq Gatri and the Destroyer of Worlds!” he said menacingly. “I am the Beast, Time’s Champion, the Evil One…” “And you’re also incredibly cute,” Awinita said. Rose bent over laughing when she ruffled his hair. Alan stared at her in shock as she tickled his chin. “What’s wrong? Did I ruin your whole I’m a dangerous man spiel there?” Awinita said. “I’m sorry, it’s your face. It’s hard to believe you’re a threat to anyone with that cute little baby face of yours.” “BABY FACE?” He said as Rose fell back on the bed laughing. “Baby face! I do not have a baby face! I am not a pretty boy! I am the Oncoming Storm! I am the destroyer of the Daleks, evildoers live in fear of me and madmen tremble at the very mention of my name! I am an unstoppable force of nature that will take out anyone who threatens me, my friends or the universe and I’m getting sick and tired of the hair ruffling and cooing that is coming from your lips, Awinita Harris!” “I can’t help it. I can understand why Rose likes the hair. It’s just so…cute!” Alan sighed when both she and Rose threw their arms around him and began to tousle his hair while they made cooing noises. “If I find the Doctor again, I’m gonna kill him for regenerating into this body,” he muttered as they laughed.
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