Travellers' Hearts {The Wattys 2017}

Chapter 6

Something woke Kate up in the middle of the night. She didn't know what exactly it was, but she had suddenly sat up straight from her sleep and was now listening to the sounds of the night. Judging by the moonlight that was shining through the window and the absence of any car-sounds, it was probably past midnight. The rest of the house was fast asleep. Or was it? Kate pricked up her ears, carefully listening to any possible rustle or noise in the room. There was nothing, but noises seemed to come from another room. Careful not to wake Rose up, she got out of her bed and left the bedroom. Now standing there, she could hear the noise clearer. It was coming from somewhere at the end of the corridor. Slowly and as quietly as possible, she walked up to the bedroom on the other end and knocked on the door. No answer. Kate opened the door and stepped into the room. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness, but when they did, she found what had waken her up.

Apparently, she wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep well tonight: The Doctor was tossing and turning in his sleep, sweating. Kate thought to have heard him murmur something. 'Rose, run', he whispered in his sleep. 'Don't, no! Reinette, Joan! Don't kill them! No!' He jumped up a bit and his eyelids lifted for a moment. Sighing heavily, he let himself fall back again. Another nightmare. He wasn't so keen on falling asleep again, so he rubbed his eyes and let his gaze wander in the semi-darkness of the room. Suddenly, a dark figure appeared in his field of vision. 'Rose?', he whispered. 'It's Kate', Kate said softly and went over to his bed. She hunkered down next to him. 'Are you alright?' He coughed a little cough. 'Yes. Yes, just a dream. Did I wake you up?' Kate nodded. 'Seems like neither of us could sleep well', she whispered with a small smile. For a moment, neither of them could think of anything to say. Kate just remained still, as if she was getting up the nerve to do something. 'Do you want to talk?', she asked the Doctor after a long break. He shook his head. 'Are you sure?' 'No', he wanted to say, but he knew he shouldn't. He didn't know precisely what he wanted and what he didn't. On one hand, it had just been a silly dream, and he wasn't a child anymore. But on the other hand, he hadn't dreamt of the Master for decades. It had been a vivid dream that left him wondering, even though that was stupid, if it had meant something. 'I...', he started his sentence but broke off immediately. It was night, he was tired and exhausted and actually really craved some rest. Although, he doubted he'd fall asleep again that night, so he could as well talk.

'I dreamt about the Master', he said, shaking his head at the feeling of chills creeping down his neck. 'Who's that?' A voice from the other side of the room made the Doctor and Kate jump up and whirl around with a jolt. To their (partial) relief (, but also to their great horror), it was Rose, who had probably been waken up by them. She switched the lights on and looked at them, arms crossed, wearing an expression of strong jealousy and accusation on her face. This time, Kate was unable to find anything about the situation that would excuse her from feeling obliged to sincerely apologise to Rose. Friendship, okay, but coming to someone's bedroom in the middle of the night when that someone's love interest was in the same house without telling that second person probably would justify if Rose threw her out of her house immediately, and Kate wished to avoid that if possible, so she quickly went, brabbling, along: 'I'm sorry, I know I should've waken you up, this probably looks wrong. I just-' 'I had a nightmare', the Doctor helped her out, sounding tired, 'and Kate was wakened by something that appeared to be me sitting up in a screeching bed.' Kate noticed how he had lied about the last part, for it had not been a screeching she had heard, but rather tossing and whispering, but naturally, having a healthy sense of self-preservation, she didn't mention that. 'A nightmare', Rose repeated, not sounding pleased, 'about a so-called Master?' The Doctor took a deep breath. 'Yes, but it's alright. Now, why don't you go back to sleep?' 'Yeah, you can go to bed, I'm sure I can handle', Kate suggested in a friendly manner. 'I'm sorry we woke you up', she added with a small smile. 'Yeah, right', Rose answered with a cold look on her face as she turned away in anger. 'I'll let you handle, then', she hissed before she stomped out of the room and loudly slammed the door shut.

Kate stood up and buried her face in her hands, trying to hide the sobs that escaped her lips. She didn't dare return to Rose's room. Unnerved, she decided to ask the Doctor for help. 'Doctor, would it be possible for me to stay the night? I don't want to wake the whole house up, and I'm afraid that's what would happen if I go back now.' He turned away from her, not sure what to say. 'Yeah', he finally stated, tidying the blanket a bit. Unconfidentially, Kate went over to the other side of the bed on her tiptoes and laid down on her back. If Rose entered now... She shrugged the thought off. Kate really needed some rest... Tomorrow- yes, tommorow, they would explain everything to her. With that thought, Kate fell into an uneasy slumber, not enough to escape notice that the person next to her was lying awake until sunrise.

The Doctor got up as the first rays of sunlight shone through the close-drawn curtains. He was eager to leave the bed and didn't bother to change into his suit. He felt somewhat uncomfortable and therefore quietly left the room, still in his pajamas, planning to go downstairs and wait in the living room until someone else woke up. The Doctor wasn't paying attention, which was why he bumped into somebody on the corridor. That somebody turned out to be Rose, who was already fully dressed and holding a creme pullover in one hand. 'Good morning', she said casually, blocking his path. He shook his head, asking her if she was going somewhere. 'Yes, and so are you', Rose answered in a very convinced manner, 'into the Tardis, where you are going to explain to me who the Master is, and where you'll be going next!' Baffled, the Doctor followed her as they hurried out of the house. Outside, she waited with patience until he unlocked the Tardis door, and they stepped inside. The Doctor put his hands in his pockets and nervously paced up and down. 'I can't', he murmured more to himself than to Rose. 'I can't explain it to you, it's too complicated. I just need to go somewhere to check - where is Kate, actually?' The answer came with a knock on the door. The Doctor hurled over in relief and opened it for Kate, whom he dragged in quickly. 'Kate, this is important, so you need to think carefully. Are you sure you are immortal? Because you need to be one hundred percently sure that you are! This is crucial!', he told her with a serious expression on his face. Kate nodded in surprise. 'Yes, yes I'm sure', she said. But the Doctor had his worries. There mustn't be a single way she could possibly die! Therefore, he made a decision. No matter how rude it was to ask that, he had to know how Kate had become immortal. 'Kate, this is very important, it might even be the most important thing in the universe! I need to know exactly how that happened, everything. All our lives depend on it!', he explained to her. Kate shrugged. What did it matter? They knew so much that she could as well show them. It took her less than half a minute to make the decision. 'Come on', she said, leaving the Tardis. Rose and the Doctor exchanged a small glance. He nodded and grabbed his coat. Kate took the Doctor by her hand, who was holding Rose's, and with her other hand, Kate touched the Tardis. A moment later, they were back their universe.

'Parallel existence', she explained to Rose, who was a bit unsteady but still coping better than the Doctor, who had to lean against his Tardis and buried his face in his hands. 'My planet is here. Are you alright, Doctor?', she asked worriedly. He nodded, regretting it the moment after when it made him feel sick again. 'Let's get inside', he proposed quietly. Kate held the door open for Rose, who had taken the Doctor by his hand and led him to the controller. 'So, where are we actually going?', Rose wanted to know. Kate took a deep breath. 'March 23rd, 4:00 pm 3004 BC, coordinates 24.98, 79.20, 61.96 in the Lower Sophia Clouds, System B56 new.'

Home.