Lost In Time: A Doctor Who Fanfiction

Chapter 115 - The Family of Blood, Part 2

A/N: I sent this to a friend to look over and apparently it made them scream, so make of that what you will. Also, welcome back!

A warm breeze blew gently around them, rustling her hair and leaving a trail of heat behind on her skin that slowly dissipated along with the wind, though the warm fluttering in her stomach remained. There was a pause - a brief hesitation, and the distant sound of a small metal object clanging to the floor - before he pulled her closer into him, his other hand curling around her waist and thumb brushing against her ribs, leaving a trail of sparks on her skin at the touch. He finally moved back ever so slightly and she almost followed before she caught herself, their panting breaths easily heard in the almost infinitesimal space between them as his warm breath brushed against her lips.

Her eyes fluttered open, just in time to see the ribbons of golden fire swirling around them slowly fading away into nothing. Her hands, still cupping his face, were faintly glowing, though now even that was dimming. She raised her eyes to his, uncertain what she would see there, only to find him blinking in confusion.

"Fairy-girl?" he murmured when his gaze met hers, and her heart broke and healed all at once at the name; the wisdom and loss of the long-lived once more present in his eyes just the final confirmation.

John was gone.

And the Doctor was back.

She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them again to give him a watery smile. "Hello, Doctor," she told him as the confusion began to change to concern. "It's been a while."

"I don't..." He shook his head slightly, though not enough to dislodge her grip. "Why are you crying? What's going on? Are you hurt?"

She sucked in an involuntary breath. "You... you don't remember?" she stammered, too heart-bruised and weary to even begin feeling ready to explain the last three months to him.

He furrowed his brow. "I..." He looked her over from head to toe, then scanned their surroundings and sniffed the air before returning his gaze to her. "1913, why are we in 1913?" He blinked, finally seeming to take in their incredibly close position - and its implications, as a faint pink dusted his cheeks. "And you... we..." He slid his hand carefully out of her hair to gently wipe away yet another tear that had spilled over onto her cheek.

"There's this family of hunters that found you," she told him softly. "They wanted to steal your life for their own. The only way to stop them would've been permanent, so you made yourself human to give them a chance to change. We've been here for three months, they only just found us."

His gaze sharpened with recognition. "I used the Chameleon Arch." His eyes glazed over slightly as he presumably scanned his returning memories before his gaze sharpened. "Why do I taste pear?" he grimaced, disgust wrinkling his features. "I don't remember everything yet, but I distinctly recall telling you and Martha in the video to not let my human self eat any pears, because he wouldn't know any better. Unless..."

Lyssa, who had very much not been meeting his gaze, let out a startled shriek that was abruptly muffled when he pulled her into another kiss that left her wide-eyed and breathless when he finally pulled away.

"No, it's not from you," he murmured, brow furrowed in thought. "Or at least not all from you. Which means for some reason he chose to eat it, but I would've thought the TARDIS would've left a warning against that. Unless..."

Already flustered, Lyssa had no defenses left when he turned a wounded face on her.

"Fairy-girl!"

She managed to utter something that sounded vaguely intelligible if one closed their eyes, plugged their ears, and didn't actually know what the English language was supposed to sound like. Another missile fell outside, close enough that one of the glass panes in the window cracked, and he shifted his hands to keep her upright when she stumbled.