Forget-Me-Not

Apologies

Lucy sat in the TARDIS and contemplated what she needed to say to The Mistress. Orion had appeared to not know what Lucy had planned, for which Lucy could only be grateful. Even D'Artagnan was angry with her. He was hiding under the panel in the TARDIS and ignoring all of Lucy's attempts to placate him.

"Buddy... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking about you, and I'm so sorry. Please come out," Lucy pleaded, but he seemed determined to stay out of sight.

"Why are they angry at you?" Orion asked, and Lucy jumped in surprise.

"I tricked them," Lucy answered and turned away from Orion. She didn't feel like talking to him at the moment, and his intrusion irritated her.

"How? Why did you leave us? What were you doing?"

"I don't... owe you an answer! I don't owe you anything!" Lucy snapped and got off the floor. She started to move past him when she felt him grab her hand. Fury rose in her as she raised her other hand to slap him but stopped when she caught the look on his face. Orion looked at her with heartbroken eyes and held her hand gently in his own fidgeting hands.

"I know. You don't. You saved my life on Florana. If anything, that has indebted me to you. I just... want you to trust me enough to tell me how you're feeling... what you're thinking. If you don't want to tell me, that's okay. Just so long as you're okay now," Orion finished with a sad smile and kissed her hand gently.

Lucy pulled her hand back slowly, and Orion let go. As she walked out of the TARDIS and back to the manor, thoughts swirled in her head. Why was Orion so damn understanding? And of all people why did he have the misfortune to fall for her? What would talking it out solve? Lucy had made a mistake. A big one. It was a wonder that The Mistress had taken her back at all, but Orion could be right. Perhaps the best solution to dealing with The Mistress would to talk to her directly. That way if The Mistress wanted Lucy gone, she could just leave.

Lucy paused as she got to The Mistress' door. Her body must have been on autopilot because she couldn't even remember walking there. With a deep breath Lucy opened the door and quietly closed it behind her. The Mistress looked up from her notes. After looking at Lucy for a moment, The Mistress hastily went back to them.

"Problem?" The Mistress asked curtly.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Papers fell from The Mistress' hands as she looked up at Lucy with confusion.

"I know that I hurt you... wronged you. If you want, I can gather my things quickly. If you want to yell at me, here I am. But I don't like this game you're playing. You've been cooped up in your room and treating me coldly. If you're angry and don't want to see me, that's fine. I'll leave."

Lucy turned away and started to walk toward the door when she felt The Mistress grab her from behind. The Mistress buried her head in Lucy's shoulder and whispered, "That's not what I want."

"Then what do you want? I've apologized to you quite a few times since we left, and I don't know how to make it right because you're not giving me a chance."

"At The Library... when we left, I was terrified," The Mistress admitted. "I saw a screen... people were going missing, and the system was about to deploy a function to save the rest. I didn't know if you were one of those people that the system couldn't find. I told you that we couldn't save the people inside, and that was true. But... honestly as long as I got you out and to safety, I didn't really care about the others. Learning your true goal... that upset me. To think that you don't care about me as much as I did you. I wanted to lock you away in the TARDIS and make sure you couldn't leave."

Now that sounded like The Mistress, Lucy thought.

"But I realized that was wrong... and Orion wouldn't stand for it," The Mistress said bitterly. "I first wanted you to come with me, so I could prove something. I wanted to prove to The Doctor that I could be as good as he was. I could keep a companion. I could save the world, the universe even. But... you knew that, didn't you? That I was using you, and you were using me. I don't really know where we go from here... but I don't want you to leave. Anything but that."

Lucy turned around to see tears glistening in The Mistress' eyes and enclosed her in a hug. The Mistress relaxed into her arms and breathed deeply.

"I suppose we can go wherever we want. We have a time machine and space ship," Lucy joked and heard a small laugh. "But on a less literal viewpoint... I care about you too. More than I cared to admit. Enough that I moved my plan forward because I was worried that my concern for you might ruin it."

At these words The Mistress silently led Lucy to the other side of the room before pulling her down onto the bed with her. Lucy's face flushed as she tried to get up, but The Mistress' hand grabbed hers.

"Please just lay with me," The Mistress pleaded, and Lucy relented.

The Mistress snuggled up beside Lucy, and soon The Mistress' rhythmic breathing told Lucy that she'd fallen asleep. Lucy thought about getting up, but The Mistress seemed to sense this plan. The Mistress' arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. Realizing that escape was beyond her grasp, Lucy tried to get comfortable and closed her eyes. She felt her body relax as the world around her dimmed.