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“You can pop her on my bed if you like. Seb can have a friend!” The Doctor had dropped everyone back in Sheffield for the weekend and when she returned to pick everyone up, Yaz had remembered to bring Ellie the elephant with her. She’d been meaning to bring her onboard for a while now. It was her guilty pleasure that she loved cuddling at night. Yaz adored cuddling the Doctor but seeing her girlfriend have Seb made her miss Ellie.
Yaz placed Ellie down onto the Doctor’s bed next to Seb and then quickly walked back to the console room. The Doctor had promised them she would take them to the planet Delva, a place which was purely spas and beaches under a warm crystal sun. Graham had insisted they go somewhere relaxing as he was feeling a bit worn down from all the running they had been doing. Yaz had also suggested it would be a nice chance for her and the Doctor to spend some quality time together as a couple.
As the TARDIS doors closed, the spaceship became quieter and quieter as she settled. The TARDIS herself knew she had hours of peace without the team. The rooms and corridors became silent bar the gentle hum of the live energy within.
In the Doctor’s room, a plush shark lay dormant on the bed. Seb’s eyes had looked up sharply to see what had been placed next to him. He’d enjoyed having the bed to himself these last few weeks. He was always there when the Doctor wanted him which was fairly often if he was honest. He loved his space mum with all his heart and he loved how spoilt he got to be around her. She gave him the best life. When the Doctor wasn’t around though, he got her king size bed all to himself. He was living. Until now…
His Earth mum had come in and placed an elephant down of all things. Did she not realise this was his territory now? The word sharing was not in his vocabulary. Seb stared at the grey elephant for a few minutes, shaken. He was angry. He was going to get to the bottom of this and he was going to get rid of this newcomer. Seb couldn’t be dealing with someone else stealing the limelight.
Seb sighed and moved round to face the Elephant. “Hi. My name is Seb. I’d say nice to meet you but look, I’m just going to say it. You can’t be here. This is my bed”
The elephant turned slightly to look at the shark in front of her. She wasn’t sure why he was being hostile when they’d only just met so she frowned in confusion. “Er, hi? I’m Ellie. I think there’s been a misunderstanding here?” Ellie knew she was going somewhere new for a while and was excited about that adventure but now she was here, she was nervous.
“You bet there’s been a misunderstanding, Ellie. This is my bed. I’m sure you’re here by mistake anyway. When my space mums get back, I’m sure you’ll be placed on Yaz’s bed instead. You know, down the corridor.” Seb stared at her. “Away from this room” He continued staring. “Far away”
Ellie opened her mouth slightly at what he was implying. “So what you’re saying is, you don’t want me here?”
Seb sounded cool and collected. “You know what, yes. Well done, that is exactly what I’m saying. I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
“Well until Yaz gets back, I’m going to explore.” Ellie stated as she climbed down from the bed, hitting the floor with a slight bump when she realised this new bed was a bit higher than what she was used to.
Seb rushed down after her, groaning. “You can’t just go swanning off like you now own the place. You’ve only just got here and that’s not how it works”
Ellie was walking around this new spacious room and she was in awe at what she saw. She now understood what Yaz was so smitten about. This room was the most beautiful thing she had seen. The ceiling was full of various planets, stars and swirls of colour. It almost looked like it was alive. Blues, purples and pinks danced around in unison like a kaleidoscope.
There was a clatter from across the room and Ellie turned her head to see where the sound was coming from. She worried she had knocked something over. She was clumsy like that and her nerves got the better of her. Except, it wasn’t Ellie at all. In fact, the culprit was Seb. He’d just appeared from the wardrobe wearing a khaki coloured stetson. “Look at me, I’m Woody. Howdy howdy howdy.”
Ellie wasn’t sure what to make of Seb so far. He was a strange shark. “You look confused” Seb stated. “You don’t understand the joke, do you?”
“No, I understand the joke. You’re quoting Toy Story, I’m not stupid. Yaz and I watched it a while ago. It’s just… Ah, never mind. Forget it.” Ellie strode out of the Doctor’s room to explore the rest of this new place. She was curious to know how this compared to the size of Yaz’s home.
“Hang on, that was funny!” Seb shouted after her, following. “You can’t just dismiss my joke and then leave”
“Course I can. This is me, dismissing your joke and leaving”
“Oh cool! There’s a swimming pool! That’s awesome!” Ellie gasped as she began walking the length of the pool, the lights reflecting upon the water as she caught her reflection.
“You’re not supposed to be in here” Seb stated.
“Are you in charge?” Ellie smirked. Seb was annoying.
“You could say that, yes.” Seb had an idea then as Ellie continued walking along the edge of the pool. “Well, if you like the pool so much…”
It went quiet for a few moments. Too quiet. Way too quiet. Surely Seb hadn’t given up and left? As she turned around to see if Seb had indeed left, she saw him taking a run up towards her. Before she even had time to register what was happening, she felt the water hit her like a ton of bricks. She panicked as she splashed around, fumbling for the edge of the pool. Her clumsy limbs caught the edge of the pool ladder and she gripped onto it for dear life. She was shaking but she could still feel the motion of the water moving around her. Ellie turned her head and saw Seb swimming around the pool with his fin sticking out of the water. He was singing the theme tune for Jaws.
“What on Earth is wrong with you?!” Ellie sobbed, climbing out of the pool. She was soaking wet and just wanted her Yaz back with her. She couldn’t believe she’d have to put with this idiot shark.
Seb paused his singing. “Oh come on, it was funny. Elephants can swim, can’t they?”
Ellie shook the worst of the water off and tried to force herself to stop sobbing. “Look, you can’t just go round pushing people into water whenever you feel like it. You don’t own this place and you certainly can’t tell me what to do. So for the sake of Yaz and um…”
“The Doctor”
“Thank you. For the sake of Yaz and the Doctor, we at least need to be civil with each other.”
Seb was taken aback by her words and he stood there in shock. Was she aware who she was talking to? “Well okay um…” Before Seb had time to continue, Ellie had stormed out of the pool room, holding back tears. Her walk back to the Doctor’s room mostly dried her off and she climbed back onto the bed. She was upset and just wanted to be cuddled. Seb jumped up and scooted along opposite.
“Hey er, you okay?”
“Yes” Ellie was cuddled up into herself.
“Okay. Well...” Seb choked at the idea of saying these words. “I’m sorry”
Ellie registered his apology but did not respond.
“You probably hate me and I get it but what can I say? It’s just been me for a while now and then suddenly, you’re here! That’s kinda difficult for a shark like me to comprehend. The Doctor and I have a special bond.”
“I’m not taking that away from you. Yaz and I do as well.”
“Great. Glad to hear. Like you said, for the sake of both of them we need to get along. So… Hi, I’m Seb”
Ellie sighed. “Restarting isn’t going to change the fact that you’ve given the worst introduction.”
“Okay okay, I get it. I’m a bad shark and this is going to be a work in progress.”
They sat in silence for a few hours before they heard noise again coming from the console room and they both shot up with smiles on their faces.
“Thank you for today, Doctor.” Yaz smiled as she climbed into bed, grabbing Ellie and pulling her under the quilt.
“You’re welcome, my lovely Yaz! Anytime!” The Doctor took Seb and got into bed next to Yaz. “Look at us both with our cuddlies!”
Yaz giggled. “It’s cute. I’m glad I finally went back for Ellie. She means a lot to me.”
“See, and there’s something else we have in common. Seb means a lot to me. We care about each other and have something of our own to care about too.”
Yaz reached out and took the Doctor’s hand in her own, gently stroking her thumb across the top. She then hugged Ellie slightly tighter and Ellie smiled at the warmth and familiarity.
Seb looked across and could see how deep Ellie’s bond with Yaz was just from her smile and he suddenly felt really bad for what he had done to her. He felt the Doctor’s arm tighten around his waist and his face softened. They were almost like a family and whilst he would do his best to get along with Ellie, he now saw her for what she really was. A sister. A sister who he could annoy.