Screeching To A Halt (Book Eight of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Penny In The Air

It was so hard to write this. I mean, really hard. How do you write the interlude going into one of the most gut-wrenching, heartbreaking episodes ever?

Well, I tried. *shrugs* Tell me how I did!

***

"You are a bottomless pit."

"I have a fast metabolism, sister."

"That does not mean you have to eat like a pig."

"Wanda, trust me, this isn't the worst eating act I've seen," Jessie sniggered as she watched Pietro eat all the meat on his plate. "The last time we were at a Brazilian steakhouse, we had to find a way to sedate Thor to get him to leave. This is nothing."

Nevertheless, Wanda eyed Pietro in disbelief. "If you say so, Bad Wolf."

"Volstagg, on the other hand, he was a hog," Jessie continued, smirking as she flagged down someone carrying around the top sirloin. While as salty as the ocean, it was still some of her favorite meat. "No one would be able to match him when you're trying to outeat someone."

Pietro raised an eyebrow. "Not even Thor?"

Jessie's snort was loud enough to draw attention to their table. "Hell, no. Thor couldn't even eat half as much as Volstagg. I swear, that Asgardian's main goal in life is to eat and drink as much as he can. War is just a hobby."

"Do you miss it?" Wanda asked. "Asgard, I mean?"

"Gods, I haven't been there in a long time," Jessie sighed. "The last time was centuries ago for me." Her smile faded slightly. "After the Family."

"Must've been some family," Pietro tried to cheer her up.

Jessie just gave a grim smile. "The Son stabbed me in the neck with a poisonous dart that would have killed me flat with no chance of regeneration if the Doctor hadn't gotten me to healers in time."

"Ah."

"Of course, that was also the time before I knew he loved me," Jessie added conversationally. "So this was back when it's hard to tell if he wants to hug me or if he wants to throttle me to death."

Wanda smirked. "It is obvious which choice he chose."

"Well, he was human at the time, and the Doctor stuck in the watch was screaming at him to help me, so . . . "

"I'm confused," Pietro put down his utensils. "The Doctor was human."

"Yes," Jessie nodded.

"But at the same time, he was stuck in a watch?"

"Basically, the alien part of him was stuck in the watch," Jessie nodded. "He became John Smith."

"What about you?" Wanda asked.

"Johanna Rossini," Jessie answered. "I returned to normal before the Doctor ever did. Ask Martha, she'd vouch for me."

"It's mad," Wanda sighed, shaking her head and looking up. "What the Mind Stone did to us, what you and the Doctor are capable of, the Shakri . . . "

"It's very mad," Jessie agreed. "And I loved being in your shoes, back before I became a Time Lady. I loved seeing where the Doctor would be taking me next, seeing impossible things that made no sense. My first trip, I watched the planet burn. I met the Doctor's worst enemy in a bunker in Utah. Grass that smelled like apples. Odd Ood." She smiled. "I thought it was never going to end."

"It hasn't," Pietro frowned. "You still travel with him."

"There's always something special when it's between us and a companion," Jessie shook her head. "There's the joy of knowing . . . but sometimes it's just as enjoyable to not know."

"Well, then, you will have to take me somewhere where there is no knowing," Wanda smirked as Jessie tossed down a few bills to pay, and they left.

"One day," Jessie nodded as they stepped outside, heading for the TARDIS.

Pietro, however, watched her smile freeze. "What? What is it?"

Jessie slowly looked up, narrowing her eyes as she took in the grey clouds overhead. "There's something someone told me once when none of us knew anything," she answered. "And it either gave us the most fantastic feeling ever, or sent it all to hell."

"What?" Wanda asked worriedly.

"Penny in the air," Jessie narrowed her eyes, walking faster towards the TARDIS. "There's a storm coming, and it's coming soon."

Pietro and Wanda eyed each other nervously before running after Jessie. Neither of them liked that impression.

***

And we all know what's coming next. *runs to bunker*

Wonderful gif of Enhanced to the Power of Three made by maddisondevil, who has also made a few others I hope to feature soon! Keep an eye out for "The Angels Take Manhattan!"