Chapter Text
Chicago 1925
Aged 24 Years
Door opens, guard nods, she stands up, walks out of door and down the long corridor. It was a familiar dance. Lee Williams went through the motions like she had before, but as soon as she stepped into that corridor…
It was the first time anything like this had ever happened before. She had been sitting in the cell for less than an hour before a confused guard walked up to the bars and told her that her bail had been posted. She had fully intended on spending the night. She hadn't called anyone and Lee doubted that anyone in 1910's Chicago knew her. But as she approached the end of the corridor and looked around at the person standing at the end of the police station hallway, her heart dropped.
She knew who the man was because she had heard the stories. And because she had the memories in her mind of what he looked like. But never in her life did Lee ever imagine she would be meeting him like this.
Brian Williams stood behind a shabby desk, tucking a roll of money back into his puffer vest. He looked just as confused as she was. He was watching as a woman with short brown hair and a dirty face approached him. The Doctor must have brought him here. It was the only possible answer to how he was so out of his own time stream. But as Lee looked around she did not see that blue box or the man who owned it.
"Lily Williams?" Brian asked as she approached. The words sounded so strange coming from his mouth. Lee nodded, wondering if he knew who she was. From what she could tell about his age, he had already met Anthony. Had Anthony mentioned his sister, surely Lee had been in the photo albums.
Brian lead her down the dimly lit corridors to the entry way. Lee looked at him, he was so confused and yet there was some heart break in his face. "I'm your grandfather." He whispered as they reached the main doors.
So he knew a little bit about her. "I know." She whispered. Brian looked at her and took her hand in his. Life, it was a complicated mess. In the span of two weeks Brian had lost his son, meet his grandson who was older than him and was now meeting his granddaughter a hundred years in the past. Anthony had acted like Rory, but Lily. Lily looked like Amy, except her hair was a deeper red and she had Rory's nose. If he had wanted to contemplate the situation he could have stumbled upon the question, but Brian was too tiered for that. The Doctor had come in the middle of the night. He only had recognized the box but not the man, but the Doctor had asked him to do him one favor, to bail out Lily.
Brian looked at her once again, she was young barely twenty and yet she was in so much trouble. It reminded him of that friend Amy and Rory once had back when they were children, Mel's. Mels had always been getting into trouble, the number of times they all bailed her out, and now here he was doing the same for Amy and Rory's daughter. He already knew all about her from what Anthony and the Doctor had told him, and yet she was still so young. He wanted to ask her about her own life, how she would end up on the path she eventually followed, but he couldn’t. The Doctor had warned him, she needed to stumble upon her destiny in her own time. Lily Williams. He could see why they had named her that, with those light green eyes. Lily Williams, it fit. He was so proud of what she would become.
"Did he send you?" Lee whispered.
He, the Doctor of course. "Yes." Brian replied with a shaky voice. "Have you met him yet?"
Lee shook her head, "No not yet." He smiled even more, she was a clever girl. Lee looked at his face, seeing the sadness. She realized with a pang that this was the first time he had ever seen her. "I wasn’t there, was I, when Anthony gave you the letter."
"No." It could have been for a multitude of reasons, maybe she had regenerated by then that she didn’t match the girl in the pictures, or maybe she had just forgotten. Brian leaned in and kissed her on the top of the head. This would be the only time they ever properly meet, the Doctor had said. "Don’t worry you're going to meet him real soon." He pulled back as guided her to the door. The snow was beginning to fall on Chicago, maybe they would have a White Christmas this year. He opened the door the cold wind rushing into the building but neither of them moved.
"Brian-" Lee began but she didn’t know where that sentence should end.
"He said to tell you to stay out of trouble, but that he will always be there to bail you out."
Lee laughed as she wiped away at a tear with the back of her hand. "I'll do my best." She said as she stepped out into the cold and disappeared into the night.