Travellers' Hearts {The Wattys 2017}

Chapter 3

'Come on!', Kate suddenly exclaimed and took the Doctor's hand. 'Where to?', he laughed and looked at her. She didn't respond, but just dragged him through the bar, leaving a few dollars on the counter. The Doctor stopped and gave her a questioning look, raising an eyebrow. Kate laughed and shook her head. 'Just come with me!', she giggled, 'don't you trust me?' The Doctor shrugged and grimaced at her. 'I barely know you', he said, winking. 'Oh, just come on!', Kate exclaimed and pulled him with her.

After running through several dark streets they reached a camp street with several shack houses. Kate ran to a storehouse and, careful to not make any noise, climbed up the tinny roof. She waved at the Doctor, gesturing and telling him to come up to her. 'Oh no: No, no, no. No way!', he mouthed, attempting to get away. 'Please', Kate whispered. The Doctor sighed. 'Okay, fine...', he said, rolled up his sleeves and climbed up the roof. Kate stretched out her hand to help him up. When he got up the roof, he murmured: 'Wow, that is beautiful. This place, it's-' 'Fantastic', Kate finished his sentence for him. 'Isn't it?' She gave him a long look. 'Yes, I think so', he mumbled, avoiding her eyes. Fantastic - the word itself awoke sad, painful memories, memories of Rose, of his past. He wondered if he'd ever be able to think of her without feeling a bitter twinge in his stomach. Kate, for once, didn't seem to notice his mood had dropped. She was too busy admiring the fireworks to observe what the Doctor was doing, and it made him feel both grateful and disappointed inside.

Kate didn't notice the Doctor sitting down next to her until he started wiggling his feet in agony. 'Danger, danger..., what did they mean by danger?', he groaned, kicking the roof with his foot. 'Oh. Oh!' 'What?', Kate asked worriedly. 'Danger! Not danger, but DOGON!! Ooh, the downsides of having an accent!', he laughed. 'Dogon?', Kate interrupted him. 'What's that?' 'Dogon, a reptilian species with thirteen eyes. The sixth eye, shaped like a marble, is located on the back of their heads, and it makes it possible for people to look back clearly on their lifes, to learn to make good choices. In 1982, twenty-seven Dogon eyes were reported to have gone missing somewhere in space, and the Spillaene have a very precise sense for locating alien lifeforms. They must have ment that the Dogons were heading towards Earth...' '... but nobody noticed them because they look like kids' marbles.' 'Yeah, right! Oh, they're nothing to worry about! Just once, Earth is safe!', the Doctor told Kate proudly, as if he himself was responsible for that safety.

'So, back to the Tardis? Your job's done now, isn't it, Doctor?', Kate asked after a small pause. The Doctor nodded: 'I reckon so, yeah', but didn't bother to get up. 'How old are you?', he suddenly blurred out. 'Sorry?', Kate burst out, laughing a bitter laugh. What on Earth did he mean? The Doctor shook his head, running his fingers through his head. 'No, no, I didn't mean that', he murmured, glancing at Kate, who looked, honestly, a bit scandalised. 'I just meant... well, when you entered the Tardis, she seemed to grow older with each step you made, and I thought that maybe... but no. I was being stupid.' 'Oh', Kate thought. She now understood what he meant. 'I see, yes. Well, I'm about, uhm... 5,000 years old', she answered with a smile. 'Don't look like it, do I?' In her voice, there was something teasing, but beneath that, the Doctor thought to hear bitterness. 'Sorry, do you mind me asking what species you are?', he blurted out quickly, turning red. Kate shrugged and shook her head. 'It just really doesn't matter. But I can tell what you want to know: No, our species does not generally grow that old', she said, the corners of her mouth turning up a bit, as if she was forcing a very fake smile. 'That's just me.' The Doctor nodded. He felt sorry for her, as he had just realised that Kate was probably immortal. It made sense, for it was most likely the only way she could've survived the Reaper's attack. And it also explained why she hadn't aged a day since that time. An immortal life, alone, with everyone else gone, and always in the same body, the same shell, seemed so much worse to him than his own destiny.

After a while, he found something to say again, even if it only was a helpless 'Back to the Tardis?' Kate smiled. She had forgiven the Doctor, and now felt quite embarrassed by her outburst. 'Yes, why not', she said, hoping that he had forgiven her as well. As they returned to the Tardis, Kate sat down on the stairs. He went to the controller and checked on the Tardis' wellbeing, which had improved a lot since that morning. 'Kate, where do you want to go next?', the Doctor asked. His mood had pretty improved since midnight as well. When Kate didn't answer, he went to have a look at her. She had fallen asleep sitting, her head rested on the banister. 'Kate', the Doctor whispered. She murmured something but didn't wake up. 'It must've been very straining for her', the Doctor realised. He really didn't want to wake her up, since he thought that she deserved some sleep.

Therefore, the Doctor lifted her up. Careful not to wake her up, he carried her upstairs to the nearest bedroom and laid her down on the bed. He noticed that Kate looked even more beautiful in her sleep than when she was awake, and that bothered him. The fact that he thought something like that about her made him feel like he was betraying Rose. His heart felt heavy as he turned around on his heel and headed off to his bedroom. At the doorstep, he turned around once more to look at Kate. Then, for some reason, and he couldn't explain to himself what that reason was, he stepped back into what was her room now and sat down on a wooden chair next to her bed to watch her and slowly drift off to sleep.