Our Story

Chapter 23: Lucille

The Archivist stood on the familiar porch, her fingers nervously tapping against the Doctor's hand as he held hers.

As the door opened, a gasp immediately escaped from Lucille Bellow when she saw the two Time Lords.

"Oh, it's been so long. So, so long. But it's really you now, isn't it?"

"Hello, Lucille," the Archivist said with a fond smile.

"Oh, Archivist. It's really you."

"It is me, Lucille."

The older woman turned her attention to the Doctor. "I was right. You're a Time Lord, too."

He nodded. "I am, Lucille. You're very perceptive."

"Thank you, sir. Please, you two, come in. There's so much to talk about."

**—**—**

"He never meant to fall in love with you. But when he realized you felt the same way—he didn't know what else to do. He couldn't bear to leave you, and if he stayed—he wouldn't let himself stay without committing his whole heart to you."

The Archivist looked down at her hands, a bit bashfully, as she thought about Greg and how much they cared about each other. It suddenly felt a bit awkward talking about it with the Doctor there.

"And you," Lucille continued. "You're the Doctor, aren't you?"

The Doctor's eyebrow raised. "How did you know about me?"

Lucille smiled. "Before she went under the Chameleon Arch, the Archivist told us that there was only one other Time Lord she thought might have escaped Gallifrey. Just one. Only one who might survive the War and maybe, just maybe, if she was lucky enough—would find her one day. The Doctor, she said."

The Doctor turned to the Archivist. "You really were still thinking about me, all those years later."

She nodded a bit hesitantly. "It was more of a dream than an expectation. I could only hope you'd survive the War. That you'd find a way to end it and save reality."

"So, you used the Arch because the Dalek's spotted you—" the Doctor continued from what he remembered of seeing her memories.

"It was only our second trip out into time and space when we ran into them. I managed to escape before they could track me. I parked on Earth and for months I scanned to be sure they hadn't followed us. Then, I started to worry they might track my genetic structure somehow. So, I hid—"

"In plain sight," Lucille finished. "That's how she explained it to us. She told us we were only to have her open the watch if there were an imminent threat to the entire planet. There have been some strange occurrences, but nothing that seemed to indicate a threat to the entire species."

"Nothing yet," the Doctor mumbled. Archie raised an eyebrow in warning. In the time period that Lucille lived in, the moving of Earth to the Medusa Cascade and the ensuing Dalek invasion of Earth hadn't happened. The Doctor cleared his throat and continued. "So why did you hint around for me to find her watch?" the Doctor leaned forward as he asked.

"Because, Doctor—if I was wrong, and you weren't who I thought you were, you'd find a watch and have an interesting story. If I was right—which I was—well now she's not alone anymore. And she deserves happiness. She's lost—she lost so much. Her planet, her people, and then her husband—and—and her children," the woman was crying by the time she was done. "She deserves happiness. And that's what she's got—isn't it? Am I right? You two—you're—"

The Archivist nodded slowly. "Yes, Lucille. The Doctor and I—we've got a long history and, well—"

"I've asked her to marry me, Lucille. And while Time Lord ceremonies are a bit different, and we won't do things exactly as they would on Gallifrey—we do want those closest to us there."

"And you're my family, Lucille—no matter what. You're all I've got left. Will you come?"

"Oh, sweetie—I'd want nothing more than to be there."