Up, Up, and Away

Chapter 17

Yaz

The room was silent, despite the crowd of people trembling against the wall, the members of team TARDIS, River, Marge, and her siblings.

After Willie spoke, I subconsciously put a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. I noticed River staring at me skeptically out of the corner of my eye, and the red in my cheeks immediately flared.

The Doctor was still kneeling before the boy, hands on his arms. When she looked back at me, concern written all over her features, I fumbled for something to say.

"What does he mean?" I asked, looking between her and the child while pulling my hand away from her shoulder. The Doctor turned back to Willie.

"Who are you?" She asked, surprising the whole room. The boy didn't respond. Marge detached herself from Ryan and put her hands on her hips, confused and frustrated.

"What do you mean? It's Willie, he's my brother!" She exclaimed. The Doctor got to her feet and faced Marjorie with a look I could only compare to a golden retriever when it catches the scent of a squirrel.

She was excited that she was onto something, but one warning look from Graham reminded her to reduce her smile and replace it with a sympathetic expression. Graham did that sometimes; he grounded her and reminded her to read the feeling of the room, and right now, it was not as energetic and celebratory as her smile.

The Doctor mended her expression and turned to address Graham and I before beginning to explain her theory.

"Can you get everyone out of here? Just don't go upstairs- or downstairs, matter of fact," she asked us. Graham and I gave a willing nod as we walked off to herd the crowd into a different, safer space. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't eavesdropping the whole time.

"Of course he's your brother, he's Willie. But let me ask you this- do you remember him? Do you remember him growing up? Being born?"

"Of course! He- he used to play ball. We used to go out for ice cream when it was hot in the summer, and I still have to tie his shoes...And he was born on... he was born on the- ...Why can't I remember?" Marge suddenly broke down, putting a trembling hand to her lips and letting a dry sob escape.

"Why can't I remember when he was born? What have you done, Doctor?" She asked, terrified. She bent down and pulled her brother into her chest, protectively.

"I haven't done a thing. You don't remember him because he was never born. Well, he wasn't born human. You and your siblings were given a child and false memories three months ago because the Vashta wanted you to believe he had always been there," the Doctor explained cautiously.

Marge looked like she was about to explode. I could see, even from the kitchen where we finally got everyone to safely, the struggle in her head, the difficulty to remember anything about this child when prompted. She couldn't, and it was killing her, because despite the lack of memories, she was attached to Willie the same as her other siblings.

"No. No, you're wrong," she looked up at Ryan and grabbed his sleeve, "tell her she's wrong, she's wrong!" Marjorie's voice traveled up to hysteria and Ryan bent down to put a hand on her back. That surprised me a bit- he wasn't a touchy person.

"I really hate to say it, but the Doctor's never wrong. I mean, sometimes she doesn't land the TARDIS in the right century, but we always end up in the right place," Ryan concluded. The Doctor narrowed her eyes and gave him a look. When it came to her police box, she would always claim to know exactly what she was doing.

I was just about to return to the room when I heard River begin talking. I decided to hide behind the kitchen door and watch for a bit longer. I wasn't sure how much closer I could get to the archeologist without wanting to tear my own hair out with envy. I was jealous of her giant beautiful space hair and her strange instant charisma and the way the Doctor looked at her even when she wasn't paying attention. I hated seeing jealousy in other people, and couldn't stand it when it was myself.

"This is my fault," River whispered from behind the Doctor, shocking me. She sounded earnest and apologetic, in contrast to her previous cheeky behavior.

The Doctor frowned, but it was in unwilling agreement. She stepped towards River and grabbed her hands, which were clasped together and fretting in front of her. I took a deep breath and told myself I had no standing, no right to feel this way.

"Ready to go?" Asked Graham cheerily, slapping a hand on my shoulder. I jumped, startled. I'd forgotten I was spying.

Graham quickly picked up on what I was doing, and gave me a sympathetic smile.

"You know, you should just tell her how you feel," he suggested. I rolled my eyes and placed my head in my palm.

"It's not that easy," I mumbled, rushing through the doors and back out to the main room. I would've rather watched the Doctor and her wife than continue that awkward conversation with Graham.

River picked up where she left off, explaining why it was her fault we were all here.

"I let them in Doctor, they must've-"

"They learned," the Doctor finished, not willing to sacrifice her explanation.

"They learned how to inhabit a-" we all watched her pause to swallow, "a dead body. The Vashta learned from you, and then-"

"-And then they made their own," River finished. I could've smirked at how they interrupted each other. I couldn't say that they were terrible together. I could see why the Doctor loved her.

We all looked at Willie, and he stared back with eyes that I could've sworn were human.

"They're talking too loud," he said suddenly, pressing his hands to his ears like a frightened child. I noticed his siblings peering out from the door I was at earlier.

"Who? The Vashta? They're talking to you? What are they saying?" The Doctor fired questions at the boy and Marge only held him tighter. She picked him up and started to back up, scared. The shadows were still on one side of the room, seeming to only be held back by Willie's will.

As Marjorie backed up, the boy began to cry and scream in pain. The farther she moved from the shadows, the worse it hurt him. Ryan rushed over and talked to her softly, convincing her to take Willie back to where we were standing in the middle of the room. None of the rest of us dared to move. As far as we were concerned, we were surrounded.