Rising From The Ashes (Book Five of the Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Nightshade and Williams

I can promise you, Jessie had fun answering the questions she got. :) Next up is the Apocalypse's takeover days, either this next weekend or the weekend after.

***

The Doctor stood shellshocked in front of the monitors Jessie had up, her with her arms folded as he looked over the photos she'd taken on her phone and from the TARDIS's scanners, of the Starship UK and the wall from the Blitz and the hull of the Byzantium . . . all of them with the crack from Amy's wall. "Wow," was all he managed to say.

"You said it yourself, it wasn't a crack in her wall," Jessie told him. "It's a crack in the fabric of reality, in the future and in the past."

"Which means this is very bad," he nodded.

She smirked. "Bad bad crack."

He smirked right back at her. "Bad bad beans."

They spent a good few minutes just laughing before the Doctor stopped. "You've got a companion to get to, don't you?" he asked her.

Jessie smiled. "Yeah, I do." She looked up at him. "I hope you don't mind that - "

She squeaked when he kissed her, cutting off anything else she might have said. "I think it's brilliant!" he told her, grinning and pulling back. "It's about time you had one of your own."

She beamed. "Thank you," she told him, kissing his cheek before snatching her phone and heading out the door.

The Doctor sighed, leaning against the kitchen table, watching her go. "I am so whipped," he said out loud.

The TARDIS hummed very loudly in reply, so loudly that - "Shut up!" he complained.

He could've sworn she was laughing at him.

He huffed. "You are not my mother," he muttered.

She just laughed even more at him.

***

Rory was fidgeting in the control room, a little put out that he'd been left alone. Amy had left a little bit ago, claiming to get some sleep, but he was pretty sure he'd seen the Doctor and the Bad Wolf head for the bedrooms down another hallway . . .

"Rory?" a voice behind him asked, and he jumped, startled, turning to see the Bad Wolf come back from a different staircase, smiling at him. "Is everything all right?"

"Fine," he nodded quickly, looking around. "Just . . . trying to figure out . . . "

"How she works?" the Bad Wolf guessed. He nodded, and she smiled. "Well, here's how you can immediately get on her good side." She held out her hand, which Rory took without hesitation, and she laid it on the time rotor. "TARDIS?" she called, and his eyes widened as a few of the lights on the console switched on. "This is Rory Williams. He's my companion." He definitely didn't expect the TARDIS to hum quite so loudly at the statement. The Bad Wolf beamed at him. "Rory, meet the TARDIS."

"Hello," he smiled a bit nervously, patting the rotor. He felt a bit odd, talking to a machine . . .

But the TARDIS beeped back at him, a few more lights turning on, and the Bad Wolf smiled. "She likes you," she told him, patting his hand and stepping back. "Now, don't call her an 'it' and she'll like you even more."

"I think I can handle that," Rory nodded, looking over the controls. "I just hope she doesn't expect me to know how to fly her . . . "

The Bad Wolf laughed. "Nah, that's just for the Doctor and I. Don't worry about it, you won't have to pilot us out of any devastating situations."