Saving the Doctor

Chapter 29

"Doc, come on! I was only doing what any normal person would do." I'm standing on the catwalk that leads to the door, one step away from standing on the console platform. The Doctor is pacing slightly, and he does not look happy.

"Do you know what you've done? That man is not who he says he is, I told you that, and what do you do? Invite him home for dinner."

"He's nice!" I throw back, my voice higher than usual. "He's not evil, he's caring and sweet. He just wants to see my home."

"Oh, yes, I heard all about that." He remarks sarcastically, "'You've told me so much about it, that I feel it is close to my heart as well, and what is important to you is important to me.'" He mocks Edrik's voice and exaggeratedly flutters his eyelashes with hands clasped in front of him. As soon as he's finished, though, he turns back into his previous self. "If you fell for that, you really are just some daft girl with expectations placed too high. You'll never find someone like that who is sincere about it when he's only known you for a half hour."

My cheeks turn red, from embarrassment or anger, I don't know which, but I hate it. On the bright side, I can finally use one of my favorite lines in a real life situation. "Are you so severe on your own sex?" I can't help using my fake British accent. I've never done the line without it.

He gives me this look and I know he knows where I got the line. Everybody loves Pride and Prejudice. He doesn't seem amused, though.

"You're going to have to use your own brain this time, so don't think book quotes are going to get you out of this." He continues pacing, "You've just endangered an entire planet, Bethany!"

"Thats just it, I can't think when I'm around him! And you have zero proof that my planet is in danger!"

"No?"

Oh boy. He thinks he does. But no matter what he says, I know he's wrong.

"No."

"Alright then. Now tell me. How many ships has he got?"

Oh, here we go. He knows how many I think Edrik has, and since he's asking me in his 'let's see just how much you really know' voice. That means that he knows I'm wrong.

I know he has at least one, and the Doc knows I know that. So if I say that he only has one, I'm going to be wrong. But there's no way to know just how many he actually has. I'll just have to take a guess. I'll make it high, but not too high. Maybe somewhere in the higher end of the double-digits? But not to far over the halfway mark.

"Seventy-five." There. Can't go wrong with that. Nice big number, but not too big.

Hopefully.

His facial expression doesn't change in the least as he hits one of the controls for the screen and a new map shows up on it. "Not even close. You were just guessing, I can tell. He has much more than that. Like to try and count them?" He indicates the screen and I see a star-chart covered in small red dots.

I take one look at it and know just how wrong I was in guessing at seventy-five. I don't even try to count them.

"This ship we're on is the mother ship, Bethany. He's brought his whole army. All eight-thousand ships of it. What do you think he plans to do with them? Have a nice little picnic with your charming family? Maybe go to a cinema?"

I just keep staring at the screen. It can't be. He must be wrong. Edrik is just too nice. Too caring. It can't possibly be true.

"No. You're wrong. He wouldn't do something like that. He's too sweet."

"You trust too easily."

"And you distrust too easily! When are you ever going to get back to normal? You are so grumpy and sarcastic and irritable and it's all because of the past! You need to let it go! You can't hold onto it forever!"

He stops and looks at me glaringly and I realize what I just said. My mind starts losing the fog of being with Edrik and i start to use my brain again. What on Earth has gotten into me? I am definitely in for it now...

"You think that is what this is about? Do you really?" He has that Nine seriousness about him, and it's making me nervous, "Let me tell you what this is really about. I don't distrust him because I've been in a war. I distrust him because I know war. I know how it works. How it begins, and how it ends. And I know about what horrors happen in between. I personally knew men who started wars and I knew them well. I know how they think, how they act. What they want, and that they will do whatever they can to get it, no matter the cost." He points to the picture on-screen. "Now, I look at those ships on the monitor and I see those men and their armies. The armies that destroyed millions of lives, and I will not stand by and let it happen. Not again. Not to Earth."

I stare down at my hands, unable to say a word, because there's really nothing to say after that. Thankfully, though, he has more to say so I don't need to come up with anything. Even if I could, it would probably be wisest not to say it.

"Earth is our home now, Bethany. We have to protect it with our lives. Do you understand?"

I nod tentatively without looking up, not even going to say anything about Earth already having been my home anyway.

"Good. Now, you're going to go back in there, and tell that liar that you don't know how to get to Earth. And don't let him get near you." He basically spits the word 'liar' when he comes to it, which almost brings a grin to my face.

Almost.

Rule #1: The Doctor lies.

The irony.

Oh, well, now's not the time. I'll point it out later.

Right now, I need to go talk to Edrik. Without losing my thought processes during the conversation.

"Okay..."