The Fate of Persephone (10/OC) (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Three: Could it Be?

            Much to her surprise, Persephone found herself visiting Jackie and Mickey four times over the course of the next three months, sometimes only staying a few hours and sometimes spending the night.  They began to seem to her as friends; the first she had ever had in her life!  They didn't ask prying questions and spoke freely and joked with her.  And to them, she also grew as one of their good friends, despite how she always fled from them in the end. 

           Sometimes, she would leave as she had done the first time, with a formal farewell.  Other times, panic would seize her uncontrollably and she would retreat into the bathroom or wait until they were out of the room and escape through a window or out the front door. 

           But Jackie and Mickey, after talking amongst themselves after this event happened for the first time, agreed that Persephone was not taking advantage of their hospitality and merely being kind in order to take their food; no, they realized it had to be a psychological issue, something that, fueled by her life on the streets, caused her to fear making attachments.  But they never brought this up to her and never scolded or confronted her about her sudden disappearances and reappearances. 

         Over the course of her visits, Persephone remained shy and skittish, but visibly opened herself up to the two just a crack, allowing them to see into her true personality.

             After her fourth visit (this one ending with a proper farewell), Mickey and Jackie were in her flat, watching telly, when they heard the familiar 'Vwoorp vwoorp' of the Tardis.  They jumped from their seats and whirled around, seeing the familiar blue box beginning to dematerialize right in the middle of Jackie's living room!

           Presently, the doors swung open and a familiar man with spikey hair and a blue suit poked his head out, eyes widening as he saw where he had landed. 

             "Oi!  What do you think you're doing, parking in my house?!" Jackie demanded, fists on her hips.   "Oops," the Doctor said, cowering slightly under the piercing glare of the Tyler.  "Meant to land outside.  Guess the old girl thought this was easier."  He patted the side of his ship lovingly.

           But Jackie was having none of it, marching right up to him and poking a finger to his chest, saying, "'Thought it was easier', my arse!  You'd better hop right back in and take your box out of my house before—"

             But the Doctor suddenly straightened, eyes wide and alert and eyebrows raised in curiosity.  All fear of Rose's mum vanished, as all of his senses, it seemed, were directed to the purpose of detecting or listening for something in the flat.  He looked, Mickey thought curiously, like a dog who heard a faint rustle of some squirrel in some nearby bushes. 

        The Time Lord then leaned down close to Jackie's face and asked in all seriousness, brows furrowed in concentration "Who's been here?"

Jackie took a step back, startled by the Doctor's intense stare and deep-throated words. 

           But the Doctor didn't wait for an answer.  He pushed past the stunned woman and stepped out into the flat, his brown eyes scanning the room for some unknown thing.  When his gaze had swept the whole room, not finding whatever it was he was looking for, he darted off into one of the adjoining bedrooms, Jackie chasing after him shouting questions and threats.  But she was ignored, and the Time Lord whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning around him, moving from room to room like a bloodhound on a scent. 

           "What on earth are you looking for," Jackie cried after him.  The Doctor didn't stop as he scanned the kitchen chairs and then the cups in the sink, shouting "Someone!  There was someone here!  I feel it.  I know it.  I know.  Who was it?"  He suddenly stopped rambling and grabbed Mickey, who was standing near him, by the shoulders and shook him as he shouted, nearly hysterical "Who was it?!"

           Mickey responded immediately, alarmed at the Time Lord's behavior "No one!  Just a homeless girl we've become friends with!"  But the wildness in the Doctor's eyes didn't fade as he demanded "Where?  Where is she?"  "I don't know!"  Mickey cried.  "She left 'bout an hour ago, she could be anywhere!" 

              The Doctor shoved Mickey aside in his mad bolt to the Tardis, where he plowed through the doors and dematerialized seconds after.

              Mickey and Jackie were left gaping, open-mouthed at the spot the box had been.  "What the hell..." was all they could say.

             But no sooner had they returned to their respective spots on the sofa, when the Tardis returned, the doors barging open to reveal the Doctor once more, though he now looked completely out of breath and his cheeks and nose were tinged red from the cold March air outside and his hair was wilder than ever. It was obvious he had traveled back into the past from the future.

          "I searched," he panted.  "All of London.  Up and down.  I can't find her."  He then looked at them with a seriousness that nearly frightened them.  "If she comes back, you must hold her here for me and call me!  You must!" 

           His eyes were so wild and his expression so desperately grave that Jackie and Mickey found themselves nodding dumbly.  But before the Time Lord could re-enter his box and fly away, Mickey recovered his wits and called out "But what for?  Why are you so panicked about her?" 

              The Doctor stopped and gazed sightlessly into the consul room as he formulated his words.  "She..." he started at last.  "She might be a Time Lord.  Then he shut the doors behind him and the Tardis vanished from sight once again, leaving Jackie and Mickey utterly dumbfounded in shock.  

Persephone?  A Time Lord?