The Hidden Room in the TARDIS

Chapter 5

We marched into the store. I don't know what we expected, but there was no one there. The lights were all off and nothing happened. No people, no alarms, no Sontarans. Nothing that seemed unusual for a closed hardware store.

"Are you sure they took over this place? It seems pretty normal," the Doctor whispered to me.

"I'm positive," I whispered back. I was slightly offended that the Doctor doubted me. Although looking around, it didn't really seem like a Sontaran war base. "Let's try in the back."

"Okay. You lead."

"Okay." I whispered. "Why are we whispering?"

"Because Sontarans don't have the best hearing and if they are here, I don't want to alert them immediately."

"Okay then."

We walked to the back of the store as quietly as possible and crouched between the rows and rows of tools and supplies. When we finally got to the backdoor, we both pointed our sonics at the same time and pressed it. The door locked and unlocked.

"Shhh..." we said simultaneously.

The Doctor pointed at himself and said "my turn."

I nodded quickly and as soon as the door opened we stepped in. It seemed abandoned at first, but then I noticed another door on the other side of the room. I crossed quickly and pulled at the handle. To my surprise, it opened quickly. I looked inside and then looked at the Doctor who had walked across the room right after me.

"It's Strax... In a Santa suit..." I said.

"Yup," he agreed.

"I don't understand. This isn't bad then. Strax is your friend. Right?"

"Yes. Normally... Kind of... Sometimes... Occasionally."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well I'm the clever one and he's the potato one."

I laughed and we wandered into the midst of the Sontarans who seemed alarmingly unaware of what was going on. They all wore Santa hats and other ridiculous Christmas accessories.

"What's happened to them?" I asked softly.

"I don't know."

"Well. They don't seem too bad. Not like with ATMOS. Luke Rattigan was it? You were with Martha and Donna. Oh yes. That was clever of you." I frowned. "And clever of him. Poor Luke. It was Luke wasn't it? And then you went with Martha and Donna. You followed your hand to Jenny. Creating an endless paradox. And then she died. Wait. Actually- nope. Never mind. Spoilers. Oh and you met your wife soon after. Silence in the library. Hello, Sweetie. River Song, Melody Pond." I made a conscious effort to stop talking.

He stared at me. "How do you know all that?"

"What?"

"One minute you were asking me questions about all my past adventures and about who I had met. Now you made a joke about River Song and about... About Jenny. My daughter."

"Oh." I didn't understand how I knew. It was just all in my head. "Why are you sad about Jenny?"

"She died. Don't you know?"

I did know. I frowned in concentration; it was all there beneath the surface. "Yes. She did, but then... Just after you left she... Spoilers. I see."

"Anyways? What were you saying about the Sontarans? Something about a boy name Luke? I don't know a Luke. And it's a pretty common name."

"Yeah. Luke Rattigan. Remember. He saved your life. 'Do something clever.'"

"What?"

"Luke Rattigan. He ran that academy for smart kids. He helped the Sontarans at first, but then he helped you. He sacrificed himself to save you."

"I don't know who you are talking about."

I stared at him. "Don't forget the names of those who saved you."

He stared back at me. "I won't." He drew back. "But I never knew a Luke."

"It must be some weird regeneration thing."

"Must be."

"Yup."

"Wait. How did you know that? How do you know what happens when I regenerate?"

"I don't know."

"Is it the voice in your head?"

"I don't know."

"This is important. I need to know this. It could be important. I must be missing something. Something key. Something important," he paced around the room. "Is it the voice? Is it something different? What is it?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!"I was getting frustrated. And my head was hurting a lot.

All the Sontarans turned towards me. They stared as though not full aware of what was happening, but they suddenly seemed more attentive, as though I had broken some kind of trance.

"Okay... So I may not remember everything, but uhh..." the Doctor turned towards me. "Run?"

"Yup. Love the running."

"Love the running," he smiled.