Chapter Text
A few moments earlier.....
“Okay....okay,” Maggie breathed, keeping her eyes trained on the road.
She couldn’t actually believe she was doing this. In fact, she found it difficult to believe that Claus had actually let her drive his car. She shook her head.
The Varjo Kilpi or whatever must be messing with his head...for all she knew that judgement call could have been the real Claus trying to break through.
The car rolled to a stop. She unclipped her seatbelt and leapt out, breaking into a run towards the TARDIS. She barely slid into a stop, jiggling the door handle. With a final shove, and to her relieve, it opened.
Her hand buried itself into her hair as she looked around.
“Okay.....okay….now what the hell do I do...?” she trailed off, her eyes resting on the frozen figure of Wolfie.
Slowly, she stepped towards the creature, still frozen mid-snarl. She stopped less than a foot from it, gingerly tracing a finger across a tuft of fur.
“I temporarily froze it in time, like a time capsule.”
Maggie replayed the Doctor’s words in her head a few times as she slowly pet the wolf.
If it’s a time lock then......maybe it could be broken.
She pulled her hand back as she noticed something that resembled a combination of fine netting and a jell-like substance. It was unnoticeable, until touched. Maybe....
She extended her arm back to the fur and carefully balled her hand into a fist, pulling back ever so slightly. The film seemed to stretch. She pulled back a little harder and the quiet of the TARDIS was shattered with a loud pop!
She stumbled backward, still grasping the film-like substance. She gasped as a low growl emitted from Wolfie.
Its ears twitched, and it turned its head towards Maggie.
Shit.
Maggie held her breath, not daring to move an inch as it slowly stepped towards her.
The creature stopped and lowered its head. Maggie shut her eyes as she felt hot breath on her face.
Well....this is it.
She clenched her eyes shut and braced for the worst. Something wet nudged against her forehead and her eyes sprung open. Wolfie’s snout hovered over her head, his nose nudging her now on the shoulder.
Maggie brows drew together as she blinked in surprise. After a moment, she warily reached her hand out and pet its head. She suddenly recalled Claus’s words.
“It was all a matter of triggers. Some of the creatures coming through the portal had sensitivity to triggers like colors, in the case of our little wolf friend.”
“Ohhh.....I see! You’re friendly without those triggers aren’t you?” she muttered, a smile creeping across her face as she climbed back to her feet. Wolfie’s eyes remained locked on her with an unusual intensity.
“Can you...can you understand me?” she asked, looking into the seemingly intelligent eyes of Wolfie.
Wolfie gave a slight whimper, and nodded its head.
“Would you mind giving me a hand with something? No pun intended,” Maggie remarked slyly. Wolfie’s ears perked and he quirked his head.
“Then I’ll take that as a yes….”
……….
…….
………………..
When she arrived the Doctor seemed to be in a bit of a sticky situation…..as per usual, she supposed.
“Well, hello, stranger,” he chimed.
“What’s up, Doc?” Maggie said with a wry smile, leaning against the doorframe, holding the empty paint can Wolfie stalked slowly towards the paint-slicked Claus.
“No...” Claus muttered, looking down at the paint dripping down his form. He raised his eyes to Wolfie, and the floorboards creaked as he warily stepped back.
Another sharp tearing sound ripped through the air, all three looked to the rift.
“It’s getting out of control!” the Doctor shouted as the rift grew wider and brighter.
“What is that?” Maggie yelled over the noise of the rift.
“The time rift that brought me here!” the Doctor replied, turning back to Claus.
“No!” Claus roared suddenly, sounding seemingly inhuman. A large dark smoke-like wisp of emerged from his mouth. The black of his eyes faded to his original minty green.
”No...” Claus muttered, falling to his knees. He looked around, wide-eyed, “It’s gone.”
Maggie furrowed her brow, “Wait....what do you mean?” she said looking back at the Doctor. The vortex seemed to increase in ferocity, winds sucking miscellaneous objects into its gaping mouth.
“Maggie, watch out!” Claus yelled. Maggie spun around and stumbled backwards with a yelp as Wolfie swatted a massive paw at her. It bared its teeth and Maggie caught a glimpse at its eyes, which resembled two black pits, much like Claus’s had.
“It’s in him! The Varjo Kilpi’s in the wolf!” Maggie yelled to the Doctor as she slowly stepped away without turning her back to the creature. The winds grew stronger and sucked contents of the barn into the vortex. Maggie nearly slid back from the force of the winds.
“Grab a hold of something sturdy!” the Doctor replied.
“But the—“
“—just do it!” the Doctor cut her off, and looked at Claus. “Claus, you too, hold on!”
Claus didn’t move, he just stood silently staring at the giant wolf.
“No.”
“Sorry, what?” the Doctor asked incredulously. He took a firm hold of a metal beam, reaching a hand to Claus, while warily watching the possessed wolf creep nearer.
“I caused this mess....” Claus trailed off. The wind was dangerously powerful now. Maggie clung desperately to a column and watched.
“Claus...” she said, but her voice was drowned out by the vortex.
“No!” Claus shouted lunging at the wolf creature and yanking it off balance. It bared its teeth, scraping Claus with its claws. That one push was all it needed with the violent winds thrashing the pair towards the vortex. They went flying.
The creature lost its grip on Claus and vanished into the vortex. Claus managed to latch on to a piece of wooden board and he hung with one arm, the other hanging limply and blood-stained by his side.
All the loose contents of the barn, large equipment and all soared through the rift.
“Claus!” the Doctor shouted, reaching out for him. Claus raised his head and met the Doctor’s eyes. He shook his head sadly.
“I’m so sorry.....all I wanted was a good story,” he said, his grip loosening.
“No!” the Doctor shouted, his extended arm stretching to its limits. Maggie held on to the beam and shouted to Claus, but the wind was too loud.
He let go.
The Doctor lunged for him, but the rift closed. The Doctor landed on the ground with a thud. An uneasy silence descended upon them. Maggie slowly unclenched her grip on the column, her muscles tense and ears ringing. She rose to her feet and walked to where the Doctor sat.
She plopped down beside him. The Doctor sat back on his knees, drinking in Maggie’s baffled expression.
“So........wow.”
“Yeah, I know,” the Doctor said with a small sad smile.
Maggie looked to where the rift had been.
“He never meant to do that….”
“I know,” the Doctor nodded.
“Do you think he’ll make it out alive?” she asked with a pang of regret.
“Who knows, it could have sent him anywhere,” the Doctor said, climbing to his feet and dusting off his tweed jacket.
“So that’s that then? No more Varjo Kilpi, experiments, or weird fairytale creatures?”
The Doctor smiled, extending her a hand and she moved to her feet.
“Ah, well, not in this town anyway,” The Doctor smiled, nodding his head towards Claus’s car. Looking at it she felt another sharp sting of regret. They drove off.
…………………………….
………………….
….
..
The orange glow of the TARDIS gave a surrealistic distortion to the skyline. A smile stretched easily across Maggie’s face.
“Oi, close the door, it’s cold out there!” The Doctor shouted from the upper level railing. Maggie looked over to him over her shoulder as she pulled the door shut.
The Doctor leapt down the stairs and gestured her over. She raised a brow and stepped closer.
“So.....well, it was amazing meeting you…..and thanks for everything,” Maggie smiled, a hint of sadness seeping into her voice. She extended her hand.
He looked down and stared at her extended hand and made no move to take it. He met her eyes. Maggie’s hand slowly dropped back to her side as she stared at him in confusion.
“About that.....” the Doctor trailed off, before glancing around. “I was wondering, well, I’ve been traveling alone for a while and—“
“Are you asking me to come with you?” Maggie interjected. A smile involuntarily tugged at her lips.
“Well, yes, I am,” he said with a shy smile.
“Hold on, finish what you were saying,” she said.
“Sorry, what?”
“Ask me,” Maggie beamed, nudging him excitedly.
The Doctor stared at her in confusion for a moment before it registered. His eyes lit up in realization.
“Maggie Dalton. All of time and space, anything that ever happened or ever will…..every star, every planet, would you like to come see it with me?”
“Yes!” she nearly squealed, half-toppling him over with a hug. “You have no idea.”
The Doctor regained his balance and looked down at her, returning her hug. He smiled and whispered,
“Geronimo.”
Well, here it is, my first Maggie and the Doctor story, but certainly not my last! I really needed to give this one a facelift before moving foreward, so now I’m much happier with it than before. So, whether this is your first time reading it, or here from its first publication, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews would be lovely, and thanks for reading!