SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Ninety One He couldn’t take it anymore. River had barely survived their latest adventure with a deranged alien scientist named Doctor Borolangelus who decided that both of them would make excellent guinea pigs. Well actually, he was the guinea pig at first but River had to go charging into the lab and get herself captured just as the good doctor was about to inject several different chemicals into his bloodstream. And because River was focused only on him she ended up being knocked out by one of his assistants and strapped to a table right next to him, giving the Doctor added anguish since Borolangelus decided it would be more fun to experiment with the human first. And so the Doctor had to watch while several chemicals were pumped into her system, making her violently ill and delusional. Several machines recorded her bodily functions while she shook violently and the Doctor’s mouth ran dry when her heart alternated between racing like mad and slowing almost to the point of death. Rage gripped his mind and he fought like a wild animal to free himself from the leather straps while Borolangelus laughed and taunted him. Then, just when he thought River was going to die, an antidote was pumped into her system and her body calmed down and went back to normal. He watched while Borolangelus calmly noted the reactions on a clipboard and thought only of getting free and tearing his head from his neck. River, mercifully, had fallen unconscious but he knew it was only a matter of time until he started up again with her or moved onto him. After he was finished with his notations, he put the clipboard down and the Doctor tensed figuring he was next, but instead, he announced that it was late and he was too tired to continue on. He had given him the most evil of smiles when he told him that he would return bright and early to start the tests up again on the both of them. He made sure the restraints were tight on both his prisoners and with a chuckle, dimmed the lights and he and assistant left the room, leaving one guard standing vigil outside the door. He had spent the better part of an hour staring at River’s face, hoping that she stayed asleep for the rest of the night so she would have the strength to endure the horror in the morning. He could see in his mind that there wasn’t that much time left until The Library, months instead of years. He had been naïve to think his future self had years and years until the dreaded moment. Years and years to think about how to save River. Why would he have needed years when he would have known from the start what was going to happen and what had to be done? Both Martha and Donna barely lasted a year with him so why should River be any different? Post Time War, Rose had managed to stay with him the longest out of all his companions. She would have stayed even longer with me if I hadn’t sent her away again, he thought sadly. God, he missed her terribly. He missed her beautiful face, her smile, her loving looks, her voice. He cared for River but it wasn’t the same. Even thought it had been months since they first met, River was still very much a novice at time travel. He had been training her just as he trained all the other companions but truth be told, he was getting sick and tired of constantly starting over from scratch each and every year, tired of each new year bringing a new face to the TARDIS, tired of adjusting to constant change and upheaval and heartache. After 1200 years, he was finally beginning to feel his age and the heavy weight of his sorrows pressing down on his weary body and mind. It was while he was thinking all this that he became aware of a thud outside the door. He turned his head and noticed the door opening and in she stepped. Borolangelus’s daughter. She was young, probably in her teens with long black hair that reached to the middle of her back, a heart shaped pale face and beautiful piercing green eyes. As she came in the room, he noticed the guard was lying unconscious on the ground. He gave her an inquisitive look. He had noticed her when he was first captured. She had been standing off to one side when Borolangelus was making his customary villain, “I have you now and you will never escape,” speech. He had briefly introduced her as Lyra, but that was as far as the meeting between them went. Why she was here, he had no clue, but the fact that she had knocked out the guard filled him with hope that perhaps she was not like her insane father after all. Then, she did something that completely floored him. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips. The Doctor, stunned, did not return the kiss but it didn’t seem to matter since Lyra then began to stroke his cheek while she looked down at him. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered to him. “My father is a cruel man. You’re not the first one he’s done this to. I’ve tried to stop him before, begged him to stop but he’s beaten me for talking back to him.” “Then why are you defying him now?” the Doctor whispered back. She smiled as she ran her hand through his hair. “Because I think you’re handsome and I would hate to see you and your friend die like all the others. I’ll free you both but you must go before he returns.” “No, I can’t, I have to stop him.” “There’s nothing you can do. There are guards all over the building. You’ll be recaptured and suffer a horrible death. You have to run before it’s too late.” “Then come with me.” “I can’t.” “Why not?” “He’ll kill me.” “He’ll kill you anyway when he finds out what you’ve done,” the Doctor said. “Come with me. I can protect you from him and find you a new home. Just free me and I will do everything within my power to keep you safe.” She leaned over and kissed him again and this time he returned the kiss in order to gain her trust. She then unbuckled the restraints from around him and River. He gathered River into his arms and ran with her and Lyra back towards the safety of his TARDIS. Halfway there, they were ambushed by three guards who had spotted them and set off a klaxon. The Doctor quickly eased River down to the floor and he dispatched them all in a matter of minutes. He picked her up and ran but by that time the guards were closing in on them along with Borolangelus. “We’re nearly there!” the Doctor had yelled to Lyra. “Go on! I need to do something!” she had yelled back. Before he could stop her, she turned and ran down another corridor. The Doctor paused, trying to decide whether to follow her, but the guards were closing fast and with River unconscious, he figured it was better to get to the TARDIS, leave River inside so she’d be safe and go back for Lyra. He hurried on towards the storage room where they had landed. After a few minutes, he reached it and opened the door but Borolangelus had beaten him there. He was standing there in front of the doors of his ship with a smug look on his face and two guards positioned on either side of it. The Doctor had River in his arms and he was about to lay her on the floor so he could fight when the guards pulled out their blasters and aimed them at him. He stood there, his mind feverishly working, trying to figure out a way to get out of this. “I don’t know how you escaped my lab, Doctor, but rest assured, you won’t make it back to the safety of your ship,” he said. “You might as well surrender. You can’t fight us with her in your arms and there’s no way we’ll let you put her down. Come quietly and I will show the human mercy if you will suffer in her stead.” The Doctor was stuck. He sighed angrily hating the fact that the TARDIS was only a few feet away and he couldn’t reach her. He was about to surrender and buy him and River time when he suddenly felt someone coming in the room behind him. “Lyra? What are you doing here?” Borolangelus demanded. “Go back to bed.” “No, father! You won’t hurt these people!” Lyra said, stepping in front of the Doctor. “You won’t hurt anyone ever again!” “Lyra, step back,” the Doctor said when he saw the murderous look in her father’s eyes. “Let me handle this.” “No, it’s time I stood up to my father and his evil ways,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “You dare defy me, little whelp?” Borolangelus said, stepping forward. “You are my flesh and blood, how dare you talk to me like this? I order you to obey me and be silent!” “I’ve been silent for too long, father! I have stood back and watched you torture and kill people all in the name of science, but no longer! I have activated the timer on the fusion bomb you were working on and this whole place will explode in ten minutes. I have fixed it so you can’t hurt anyone any more!” Borolangelus stared at her in silent shock and then turned his attention to the Doctor. “You! You have turned my daughter against me!” he said, grabbing a blaster from one of the guards. “You will die for this!” The Doctor was about to drop River and lunge at him when Lyra did it for him. She slammed into her father knocking him back against the TARDIS. The Doctor bent down and quickly dropped River on the ground intending to help his new friend. He was going for the guards who were trying to pull Lyra off her father’s body when suddenly there was a sickening sound of a blaster going off and everyone froze. The Doctor’s breath caught in his throat when Borolangelus shoved his dead daughter off of his body. His throat constricted when he saw the smoking blaster wound directly under her heart. Rage consumed him and he lost complete control, knowing that he had failed to keep his promise to protect her and get her away from her father. The Oncoming Storm was unleashed upon the hapless occupants of the room and the Doctor screamed his fury to the heavens, stunning Borolangelus and the others, freezing them immobile for several seconds which rendered them incapable of firing their blasters in defense. The next two minutes were a blur as he laid into them, knocking the guns away from the guard and Borolangelus’s hands and beating them all senseless. He merely knocked out the guards but Borolangelus bore the brunt of his violent anger and he beat and bloodied him, breaking his nose and snapping a couple of ribs before he finally had the presence of mind to remember where he was, what he was doing and what Lyra had done. Quickly opening the TARDIS doors, he grabbed River, laid her inside and managed to get everyone else in the room, Lyra included, inside his ship before he closed the doors and got the TARDIS back into the vortex, leaving the building and the remainder of its occupants to be consumed by the bomb. After getting River back to the med bay and getting her stabilized, the guards and Borolangelus, safely imprisoned in a force field in the console room, were dropped off at Volag Nok. Although the Doctor, still in the throes of rage, seriously considered being that merciful to the demented scientist before deciding he wasn’t worth the trouble and brainpower of thinking up a punishment he felt was more suitable. After dropping them off, he turned his attention to Lyra who was lying in state in a spare room. After sacrificing her life for his, he didn’t want to leave her to be blown to bits. Instead, he decided to give her a proper Gallifreyan cremation as a way of showing his gratitude. He carefully washed the young woman’s naked body, his bile rising in his throat when he noticed the bruises and welts all over her body. His hearts went out to the poor woman who probably never had one moment of love in her whole life and he wished that he could have saved her. How many more? Just think, how many have died in your name? The Doctor lowered his head to his hand, grief consuming him when that thought entered his mind. Another one who chose to give up her life so he could live. She had done this for him and he barely knew her. His hands shaking, he forced himself to continue washing her off, determined to give her all the respect she never had in life. Somehow, he managed to steady himself enough to finish washing her and he wrapped her in a white linen shroud and tied it securely around her. After that, he piloted the TARDIS to a forest much like the one he had cremated The Master in and stood silently by the wooden pyre he had built and watched while her body was reduced to ashes. That was a week ago and since then River’s body had recovered from the punishment it had undergone, although she was still a bit weak. But the Doctor was still traumatized by it all and he knew he needed a break before his mind snapped. Whether or not it was the right time, he had to take River back home so he could have time to prepare himself for what he eventually had to do. He found her lying in her bed in her room. She was snuggled under a big fluffy pink comforter reading a book. The Doctor stood in the doorway staring at her sadly for a moment before forcing himself to go inside. When he moved up next to the bed, River lowered the book and smiled at him. “Hello there, pretty boy,” she said with a wink. “How’re you and that cute little freckle face of yours doing today?” The Doctor smiled at that and knelt down beside the bed. “I’m doing fine,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “How are you?” “Well, considering I was the human chemical factory for awhile, I’m doing surprisingly well,” she said. The Doctor tried to smile at that, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. He sighed. “River, I…I think it’s time we both had a break,” he said. “You mean we’re going to some alien beach for a little relaxation?” “No, I mean, I think it would be best if you went home.” River set her book down on her nightstand. “What do you mean?” she said. “I mean, I would like for you to go home for awhile and get some rest,” he said. “But…I can rest here in the TARDIS.” “River, you nearly died this time. You need a break.” She grabbed his hands. “No, don’t make me do this. I’m sorry. Really I am. I’ll be more careful next time, I promise! Please don’t make me go. I love traveling with you! I don’t want to lose you!” The Doctor’s hearts stopped at that and he forced himself to stay calm. “This isn’t goodbye, River, not permanently,” he said, surprised his voice was so steady. “I just need a break. I…do this on occasion. I let my companions go home to rest and recuperate and I do the same here in the TARDIS. It’s nothing to do with you. You’ve been brilliant, River, and you’ve saved me numerous times but we both need some time to catch our breath and get our strength back.” “But, you’ll come back for me, right?” The Doctor swallowed hard and nodded. “Doctor, what’s wrong?” River said. “You look so sad. If this is a normal thing then why do you look so upset? I’m gonna come back, right?” He forced a smile onto his face. “Right,” he said, expertly throwing the everything’s okay mask on his face. “You’ll be back traveling through time and space after a little R and R.” “Well, what will you do in the meantime?” “I go into hibernation to heal and rejuvenate my body and mind,” he lied. “The TARDIS will be in the vortex until I’m finished.” “And I can’t do that too?” He shook his head. “No, it only works for Time Lords.” “And you come back and get me when you’re done with this…hibernation?” He nodded. River sighed. “Okay, I guess if this is what you do then I won’t try to fight it. I just hate going back home after everything I’ve seen and done with you.” “I know, but you can go on a dig in the meantime or go to the cinema or talk to your friends and catch up on old times. I promise I won’t be doing anything remotely interesting in the meantime. I’ll just be sleeping in my bed and you don’t wanna be here while I’m doing that, where’s the fun for you?” She smiled. “Oh I don’t know, I can think of a lot of interesting things I could be doing with you in bed,” she said, winking. The Doctor forced the smile back onto his face and he laid a hand on her cheek. He kept it steady when River took it and gave it a kiss. “I’ll be thinking of you every moment, love, until we’re reunited again,” she said. He smiled and nodded but didn’t say anything. River leaned over and kissed him on the lips, lingering there for a moment before pulling away. The Doctor felt the old familiar loathing resurface and he was so glad he had finally decided to take her home. Seeing her in the TARDIS filled him with constant pain and repeatedly brought back the memory of her death in front of his eyes. The universe had apparently chosen to give him one small mercy before he became her executioner and he was going to take it. He stroked her hair fondly and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. “I’ll give you time to get ready before I land at your house. There’s one other thing I want to do in the meantime so that I can alert you when the time comes to get you. Do you have a mobile handy?”
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