Ending of the Hours (Book Four of the Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Promises To Keep

The first thing the Doctor realized when he woke up in the middle of the night was that it was very late into the night.

The second thing he realized, though, was that Jessie wasn't beside him.

H sat up, taking a quick look around the room, before he took his dressing gown, trying to find her location in the TARDIS telepathically, but he slowed a little when he realized she was blocking him out.

She never blocked him out.

Unless it was something serious.

His pace quickened as he thought about the last time something had gotten to her hard. This hard. And that had been . . . that had been . . .

He stopped.

That had been when he'd taken her to see Coulson and Grant's deaths.

He turned on his heel and made his way towards the pool. Sure enough, when he opened the door, the lights were dimmed slightly, but he could see her swimming furiously, no doubt trying to settle down, as from this distance, he could practically feel her frustration and confusion rolling off of her instead of in his head.

The Doctor sighed, finding a towel and walking to the edge of the pool. He stood by the side, waiting for Jessie to notice him. When she took a turn, she saw him and swam to the side of the pool. He crouched down and held out a hand, helping her out before handing her the towel he held. "It's the middle of the night," he told her.

"I know," she said simply, wrapping it around her before sitting back down on the side of the pool, letting her feet dangle.

The Doctor sat down next to her, keeping his eye on the rippling water. He took a deep breath. "Jezebel - "

"I'm not going crazy, am I?" she interrupted, looking at him. "There really wasn't anyone else in the Library, was there?"

"There wasn't," the Doctor replied firmly. "I remember us, River, Lux, Anita, the Daves, and Evangelista. There was no one else."

Jessie blew out a breath. "OK," she whispered, nodding. "Good." She turned to face out into the pool, still nodding almost absently.

She was still tense. The Doctor scooted behind her a little bit, and she turned a bit to ask him what he was doing, but he motioned for her to keep talking. She turned back, bending over slightly so her elbows rested on her knees, and the Doctor started massaging the tense knots out of her shoulders. "Remember when I had that nightmare after the Ood Sphere?" she asked.

"I remember," the Doctor replied. "What about it?"

"I knew about the wasp then, I saw the wasp before it even happened. How could that have happened?"

The Doctor paused what he was doing. He could remember that day, brighter than any others, when they had both been entirely different people, him in danger of dying, her in even worse danger, as beautiful as she was terrifying, gold swirling around her, the Aether struggling to be let loose, her eyes full of tears, but not for herself. For him. "I can see everything," he remembered her saying. "All that is. All that was. All that ever could be." "The TARDIS brought you back to life," he answered, sharing his guess with her. "What you've done with the Vortex . . . it terrified me," he said bluntly, making her smile a little bit. "If some of the Vortex is still inside you, that could have seen what happened."

"I thought you were going to lie and say you had absolutely no idea," Jessie said with a smile.

The Doctor shook his head, putting his arm around her shoulder even though she was still slightly damp, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I promised I never would again," he told her firmly. "Unless it meant death and regeneration, I promised I would never, ever lie to you again."

Jessie smiled at him. "Thanks for coming after me," she added.

The Doctor nodded, and they were silent for a few seconds when he spoke up. "You know, I seem to remember another promise I made that I haven't taken up yet."

"I can't imagine that this is a good one."

"Oh, I think it is."

"Then bite me."

"I promised to take you to Midnight, didn't I?"

Jessie shot up straight, turning to him with eyes wide in excitement. "Really?" she asked in excitement. "We can go?"

"Why not?" he asked with a smile. "We need a break, don't we?"

Jessie laughed breathlessly. "Don't we ever!"

"But," he began, pointing at her. "You are getting back in bed and getting more sleep than - " He checked his time senses. " - the three hours and forty six minutes you were asleep for before you came down here."

Jessie blushed. "Fine," she mumbled. "But can I hit the shower first?"

"Go," he told her with a laugh.

She smiled, kissing his cheek before standing and heading for the bathroom. He sat back, watching her go before looking at the ceiling. "Does she still have it?" he asked telepathically. "In 1913, on the Sontaran ship, was that because of the Vortex?" The TARDIS didn't answer at first, and the Doctor sighed. "Old girl - "

"Yes," She finally answered. "But it will not kill her. I would never let it kill my Wolf."

The Doctor smiled, standing up to head back to the bedroom. That had been one of the promises he and Jessie had exchanged in their blood bond, to swear never to lie again. So far, they'd done a pretty incredible job of keeping it. And he couldn't think of another lie he'd tell her, unless it was a serious one, and regeneration was out of the question.

So when Jessie came back in about twenty minutes later, back in her white nightgown, he smiled at her and held the sheets up for her to get under. She did and snuggled into his side, him pulling her closer, feeling her bury her head into his chest before he felt her drift off almost instantly. He smiled, resting his chin on top of her head before he drifted off, too.

It had been a HUGE mistake to ever doubt who she'd been after she regenerated. He cringed on the inside.

He really did deserve that slap Martha had given him, hadn't he? "Don't screw up and she won't do it again," Jessie mumbled sleepily.

He laughed at that, feeling her smile.

Yeah. He had definitely deserved that slap.

***

Since this tied into "Father's Day" from "Running Throug The Stars," yet another photo of Coulson and Ward, along with the theme. :)

But don't you just love how they've promised to never lie to each other? :) I know, this was major fluff here, but I promise, these two are more flirts than fluffers. >:) It's like the Bad Wolf is the flirt, the Apocalypse is more of the gossiper (sort of), and the Alchemist is the teaser/bully. The next OC I have planned is definitely more innocent and clueless (for a reason, there's a reason I'm not saying exactly who she is), and the other one definitely is more tense, and overprotective. I'm obsessed with this show. Seriously, I am.

Kind of obvious, isn't it?

But next up . . . "Midnight!" O.O One of the creepiest episodes ever. How's Jessie going to react to this big adventure? I can tell you this . . . she gets badass! :D I quote from one of my fans, MissWolke: "A badass Jess is one of the best Jess.'" ;) I agree. I love it when I make her badass. She's just more fun that way!

But stay posted! "Midnight" should (hopefully) be posted some time before Thanksgiving!