SquidgeWorld Archive

Destined 1: The Start of a Beautiful Friendship
by warinbabylon

The smell of roses was gentle, like the after effects of a rainstorm in Brisbane. It made the air positively shimmer with fragrance. She supposed it should be strange to have the smell of an Earth flower in an alien ship. It should have also been strange that a building the size of a police box would be larger than the largest plane on Earth. But, as with everything in the last two days, she tried to take it all in stride: Zero rooms, the smell of roses, a space and time machine that didn't quite work and a man that changed his appearance like others changed clothes, all of it.

Nyssa had left minutes before, bound for the control room. And she remained within the Zero room, standing over her new friend, the Doctor. He slept peacefully even as the universe around him fell to pieces. If only she could as well…be in a dream and wake, alone, in her bedroom in Brisbane.

"Rabbits! If only we could do something!" she said, quietly, staring at the wall where Adric had been. The boy might have been bothersome, but he was still someone that she had learned to count on in the last few hours, days.

A yawn broke her out of her introspection. Turning, she saw the Doctor rising on his hands, reclined. "What's the matter?"

"Sorry…Doctor….I didn't mean to wake you." Tegan said, looking guilty.

"Something is distinctly wrong…I can feel it." He muttered, opening his eyes. She realized for the first time that they had remained blue, strikingly so. Sitting up, he gazed at her. "Tegan? What's the matter?"

"Nothing to worry about, Doctor," Tegan answered, staring back at the prone Time Lord. "Just a minor problem. You should get your rest."

"They said that Hilter was a minor problem as well, you know," he stated, conversationally. With a groan, he rubbed at the back of his neck. "Rather an understatement, don't you think?"

Tegan sighed and shook her head. "I'm more worried about you than my history, right now, Doc. You should be sleeping."

"Well…" he muttered, slowly rising. "It would be quite easier to sleep if there were no distractions. A worried mind broadcasts an incredible amount of interference."

"Sorr-"

"Never mind," the Doctor said, running his hand through his blond hair. "Never mind. I never thought of myself as a fair head before, though."

"And I never thought of myself as a blond until I bleached the hair when I was 17, Doc. You never know until you try," Tegan joked back and crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll go outside if it will help you to sleep." She turned toward the door, only to see the Doctor walking alongside her. "Doctor…"

"What is the matter, Tegan?"

"Nothing, Doctor. Relax."

"You are a terrible liar."

She scowled. The Doctor held up a finger to shush her as they both heard a low bell knolling in the distance. "Shh…"

"Wha?"

"Hear that?" He held up his hands. "That is the cloister bell. Death and destruction. It means trouble."

"For us?"

"Worse for the TARDIS. Who is in the console room?" he asked, turning on her, looking over her shoulder to the door.

"Nyssa…"

"And Adric?"

"Doctor…"

"Well, is he or isn't he?"

"Welll…" Tegan began, hedging the answer. The last thing she wanted to do was to tell the Doctor about Adric. The last thing she needed was to have a weakened and crazed Doctor on her hands.

He threw his hands to the side in a show of temper and walked to the door. She followed hard on his heels, yelling: "No, you can't go out there…" But the door opened and he stumbled out, only to fall forward and catch his arms on the shelf outside.

Tegan ran forward, looping her hands under his arms, turning him to rest against her. He was tall, her face pressed into his breastbone and his long arms wrapped around her, using her as a crutch. "Doc…come on…back into the Zero Room. What good can you do like this?"

"I have to do something…" he muttered. "She's my ship, Tegan."

"Nyssa will take care of her." She answered back, slowly walking into the room, supporting the Time Lord. "You stay here…and I'll go to the console room…after all, I am the coordinator."

The Doctor was thrown into her as the TARDIS rocked to the side. Her back hit the column behind her and her breath rushed out of her lungs. Her heels slipped on the floor and she fought to remain on her feet. It didn't help that the Doctor's heavier, taller and somewhat broader body collided with her and pinned her against the wall. Her face was pressed hard against his chest; her arms were pinned against his flank by his own arms which wrapped around her tightly. He was panting above her head, his breath ruffling her hair. As the ship stopped rocking, he braced against her, moving his leg to take weight off of her.

"Are you okay-"

"I'm sorr-"

"Did you hit your head?"

"Did I hurt you?"

Tegan leaned her head back into the wall to help his body right to its full height, when the TARDIS rocked again.

His leg slipped alongside hers and she felt his body press up hard against hers: his thighs against hers, his chest against her upturned face, his pelvis against her lower abdomen. Her eyes widened as she realized that the hardness against her was all him and not something hidden in those pockets of his. Her mouth opened, to yell at him, to push him away, only to realize, as he tilted his head down to gaze at her, that he was just as surprised. "Doc?" she breathed.

His eyes widened and then he was stumbling backwards from her. She caught his hands before he could tumble to the ground. "Doc?"

"Excuse me, Tegan…pardon…" he stumbled through the words. "I didn't…I mean…pardon me…."

"Its all right, Doctor," she reassured him, somewhat acidly. She pulled him, turning him and sitting him down by the wall. "It's all right."

"Of course its not all right, Tegan."

"Calm down, Doc. Stay here…I'll go to the console room and be back. Don't leave." And with that, she spun on her taupe heels and strode to the door. As it shut behind her, she leaned back against it. Even with the sense of doom around them, she fought the urge to giggle. "I wonder if that erection regenerated with him," she mused, silently. And then she was running away from the door.

**

It was the first morning in Castrovalva when Tegan remembered that the Doctor had looked particularly pained about his evident arousal. The time in between had been spent rather busily. As she picked at the porridge set in front of her, she idly wondered what she would be eating right at that moment aboard the midnight flight from London to Sydney, with stops in Calcutta. Probably some sort of a bread and bacon concoction, she mused.

Next to her, Nyssa picked at her food as well. Although they had not known each other very long, they had had to work closely to get the Doctor and themselves where they were and times like those created strong friendships very quickly. Nyssa was a sweet, young girl, Tegan thought as she played with her food again, and she was very smart. They were different, but she thought that maybe that difference would be stretching and not stifling.

The Doctor wandered in and sat down across from them just as their plates were being removed. Nyssa immediately jumped up and walked around to check his pupilary response and pulses. He allowed the fussing, but appeared abashed.

"Well…everything seems in order…"Nyssa said, as she put his wrist down on the table. "Both pulses are strong and you have normal response of the pupils. How is the memory, Doctor?"

"You want to know of my synapses, Nyssa," he answered with a smile. "I suppose they are well. You are Nyssa…daughter of Tremas of Traken. And…" the Doctor looked across the table at Tegan with a smile that remained, but seemed confused. "You are Tegan, aren't you?"

"That's right," she said, nodding. With a sigh, she tucked her hands into her lap. "How do you feel, Doc?"

"I've had better; I've been better," he admitted. Two women entered and put a series of plates and bowls in front of him. "It's the problem with regeneration, you know…I never know what I am going to get. And then there is the personality and physical changes…" he continued to hold Tegan's gaze. "…it sometimes causes things to happen…equilibrium imbalances, disassociation of the limbs, the synapse problems that you both noticed, and memory losses. I know it is not much of an apology…but…" he looked to Nyssa. "I do apologize for the trouble…" he returned his gaze to Tegan. "And the…well…differences that I was not quite prepared for earlier."

"Oh Doctor…" Nyssa stated, smiling as she walked around the table. "Don't worry about it."

"As she said, Doc," Tegan agreed, frowning slightly. What was the man about? Why was he apologizing for a simple erection? And why was he using terms that would not betray what had occurred. "Don't mention it."

He nodded once to Nyssa and smiled widely at Tegan. "Well…" he picked  up his spoon and began to eat. "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"

**

Tegan didn't think of the Doctor or the difference in what he was or how he acted until they were running through Castrovalva, hanging on each other's hands, shouting to each other to hold on. Adric led the way, pulling Nyssa behind him; the Doctor followed, her own small hand clenched in his; finally Mergrave followed, pulled and led by them. He was more disoriented than she was. She once turned to look at him, and finally released the Doctor to enclose both of his hands in hers. The Doctor was shouting something and reaching back to pull her along. They only had two seconds put together to stare at Mergrave before the wall was closing. He yanked hard on her arm and she was pulled into his arms.

Nyssa and Adric tumbled and rolled a small distance away. The Doctor backed into a rock and braced Tegan as she rocketed out of the alcove. Before she had completely stopped, she was punching the Doctor to let her go. "We can't just leave him…" She had done her fair share of self-saving in her lifetime, but it had never been a life or death situation. And hearing the screams…

Who were these people that she traveled with? How could they be so insensitive and inhuman?

She tore from the Doctor's arms only to be grasped about the shoulders forcefully by the Time Lord. "No, Tegan…he's gone."

She rounded on him, but was met with his dark blue eyes intensely staring into hers. His shoulders were hunched in an effort to hold her where she stood. She tried to draw away; his gaze was incredibly strong and it was almost as if he looked through her. With a vicious shake of her head, she denied what he said.

"He is gone, Tegan. It is gone," he blinked and bent at his waist, his hands flexing on her shoulders. "It should have never been. Let it go."

She opened her mouth, but closed it as the Doctor nodded. "Your fire does you credit, Tegan. But you might need to hold it in check occasionally."

With a frown, (this man talked more like her father than anyone else she had ever met), Tegan silently gave up and let him quiet her. With a smile, he gave her a final squeeze and then turned to her friends, still sprawled on the ground.

**

"Up you go, Adric," the Doctor offered, waving his hand to usher his young friend up the inclined TARDIS. Nyssa was right behind him, scampering up with the help of Adric. As the door was unlocked, and Adric eased inside, the Doctor called: "On the first side of the console, Adric, flick the dimensional direction switch…"

Adric nodded and disappeared, Nyssa following him. Tegan watched them go with a frown and a sigh. She was still upset about the fact that she had not piloted the TARDIS as she had thought. Then she pressed away from the tree where she was leaning and approached the interdimensional time ship with which she was now familiar. The Doctor stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Tegan…a moment, please…"

"You want to tell me again how I did not pilot the TARDIS?" she asked, almost bitingly.

"For what you were able to do," he swallowed and waved his hands in the air. "You did rather well. No…no…I wanted to apologize again…"

"There is no need," Tegan answered, rolling her eyes. "Really, Doctor…it happens…"

"Not to me. I was forgetting several things about my regenerations, actually the number of them that I have had, and my age. You see…I am nine hundred…"

Tegan gasped. "And I thought I was old at twenty-two."

"Yes…well…without boring you of Gallifreyan…"

"Eh?"

He appeared surprised for a moment and then continued. "I was forgetting again. I have never told you of Gallifrey. Never mind. I'm a Time Lord, Tegan. And what happened was natural in the scheme of things for my age and stage, but…I am sorry that it occurred in the manner that it did."

Tegan crossed her arms over her chest. "And here I thought it was a compliment, Doc…never mind, yourself…let's just get in that crate of yours and you can get me home."

The Doctor smiled suddenly. "It was a compliment, Tegan. Not surprisingly…with the way that you helped me at the Pharos project and on Logopolis…and the protectiveness that you display over me and the others…"

"What are you on about now? Come on, Doctor…we need to go," she turned to start towards the TARDIS.

"You are attractive," the Doctor said, almost too quietly to be heard, but she turned to stare at him nonetheless. When she did, she saw the Doctor standing in the sunlight, his hat in his hands.

"What?"

"Just stating a fact, Tegan. You are attractive and you are very determined…have a spark about you…" he swallowed and waved his hand. "The… strength of the arousal…was surprising…but…"

"Surprising?" Tegan approached him slowly. "Are you saying…"

"Quiet, Tegan. It was surprising…I usually don't find humans that attractive, but you are. And although it was surprising, I was trying to tell you, that it was not undue."

Tegan released an explosive breath. "Lord…first I get hijacked and now I have my hijacker saying…"

"That his body finds you attractive and that he thinks of you kindly," the Doctor supplied.

Something about his words was ominous. Her stomach suddenly felt leaden and she backed away from him slowly. She had had her fair share of men in her young life that had used pretty language to entice her, but this was different. It was almost as if the Time Lord was saying the words but didn't really know the absolute meaning behind them. None if it mattered, she thought, as she stopped retreating and faced him with a raised and set chin. None of it mattered. All that mattered was her getting back to Heathrow. And the sooner the better…this man with his longish blond hair, tallish athletic build and deep/light eyes, and gentlemen manner could unbalance her. She had had enough of men…and the games that they played. Tegan held up her hands to stop him from coming closer. "Look…I just need to get to my job. If you think kindly of me…"

"I will return you, Tegan, I promise."

"Is that all you wanted to say? To tell me that you had an erection because you found me attractive?"

"Without my knowledge I had an erection, Tegan," he waved his hands in the air. "That is what is the part that is surprising. My body knew before my mind."

"Apology accepted, I think," she huffed, turning toward the TARDIS. "Let's get out of here."

He watched her go, his eyes centering on her hips and her legs as her tight skirt rode up on her thighs as she climbed to the door of the TARDIS. As she levered into the door, he lowered his eyes and rubbed at his chin. He was in his fifth incarnation; he had always known it was going to happen. But, as with everything else in his life that he cared not to think about, he had pushed that knowledge from his mind.

He approached the TARDIS slowly. The attraction to the Earth woman was still bubbling beneath the conscious level of his mind. He could feel its pull, but was able to control it. Why it had to happen now, at the outset of a new incarnation and not later was, of course, par for course in his life. And why it had to be Tegan… he sighed. Well, he grimaced, contemplating the TARDIS, there was nothing for it, he supposed. It was either return to Gallifrey, try and fight the depth of his arousal for her or let what nature demanded happen. He didn't have the stomach for any of the three eventualities.

He slapped his thigh. His fifth…blast Rassilon and his laws and biological imperatives. If the Lord had not made Time Lords capable of exceedingly long lives, had still maintained their biological imperatives, and had mandated when those biological imperatives should be given life none of this would be an issue. He only hoped that his fifth would not last a long time; he hated feeling out of control. What was it that Romana had called him? A micro-manager? He thought of Romana with a smile. Now…if it had been her…there would be no explanations, no apologies. But it hadn't.

The Doctor eyed the trees overhead and released another sigh, as if building up courage. It seemed that problems were following him in this incarnation, as they seemed to follow him in all his lives. Except in this life, trouble had a name. Tegan.

end