Chapter Text
Safe And Sound
A Doctor Who Story
1—The Task
“Father,” Thalmidor said at the breakfast table, “We forgot about something . . . the IABC—'Intergalactic Awesome Baker Challenge'—starts in two days. I have to get to Oluilli right away so I can set up for the competition. We were all busy with the wedding and the trouble with the Valeyard, so I wasn't paying attention.”
The Doctor frowned. “I know this means a lot to you, Thalmidor, but I really don't feel comfortable leaving your mother like this.” He turned to Adora and said, “This business with the Valeyard showed me how vulnerable you are. It would be different if you had some sort of protection.”
Adora interrupted, “What kind of protection? I thought you didn't like weapons.”
“I'm not talking about weapons; weapons are a threat, not a protection. I mean a system that can get you help or to safety in case of an emergency like a Xaqua infestation, a fleet of Sontaran battle troops or a blizzard. I know you have a TARDIS, but you only have a bicycle as ground transportation so even something simple like a sprained ankle or, stars forbid, another intruder could be a problem. I don't feel good about it and I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier.”
“How could you have known? You've only been here to pick me up for Kenarn's wedding.”
“True,” the Doctor replied absently, wolfing down one of Thalmidor's fresh popberry muffins. “There's got to be some security options you can get for this place.”
Adora sighed. “I don't want a stupid robot that's going to overreact at the lightest storm, or an animal to train and feed and an umbrella house shield like the neighbor's would set me back so many credits I'd have to sell the house to pay for it.”
“Father,” Thalmidor suggested, “why don't you make Mother a security system—something she can use to call for help if needed, but one that doesn't get in the way or cost a fortune. You can get parts out of the TARDIS or go into the city to buy stuff and I can still make Oluilli in time to register and get settled in. I'll be done in an Alphazod week, which should be plenty of time for you; just drop me off, pick me up and everyone's happy.”
“Brilliant!” the Doctor exclaimed, jumping up from the table. “The other plus is I'll be able to trust the system one hundred percent, where I might have doubts on a contractor's work. Let me see what I have in the TARDIS and I'll get to it. Thalmidor, give me a few hours to get some parts and other necessities and you can take the TARDIS to the competition on your own; it's time you had a solo flight anyway. She'll be good for you; she always liked you better than Kenarn for whatever reason.” He left the house quickly and headed for his ship.
Adora looked over at her son. “You're not being sneaky again, are you?”
Thalmidor looked up innocently. “Sneaky?”
“You've given your father an excuse to be here alone with me for at least a week . . .”
“An Alphazod week, Mother,” Thalmidor broke in, “that's eighteen days here.”
“. . . While you sneak off to some type of baking competition. This isn't another of those 'Let's get Father and Mother back together' schemes, is it?”
Thalmidor shrugged. “It isn't, but if it works . . .”
“Thalmidor, your father and I are as 'back together' as we are ever going to be. That we've come this far after how things were on Gallifrey is amazing. We respect each other now, love each other even, but we are too different to spend long stretches of time together. The longest we could stand it was barely two years and that was with your father compromising most of who he naturally was. I felt so bad for him I took his children away to keep him from losing himself entirely. I can't live his life and I won't force him to live mine and that's the end of it.”
“But he would, Mother. He'd stay here as long as you'd have him and never complain.”
“And he would slowly die inside, not to mention how much evil would be running rampant throughout the Universe. Your father's best as he is and so am I. Don't set your hopes on what can never be, Thalmidor,” Adora said firmly, before she deftly changed the subject. “Would you like another muffin?”
*****
The Doctor finished hauling out the last box of sensor arrays and went into the house. “Is it going to rain in the next ten days?” he asked, popping his head into the kitchen.
Adora and Thalmidor were cleaning up in the kitchen. Drying off her hands, Adora said, “Let me check the weather upload; it's in the living room. Just give me a minute.”
“Don't let me disturb you; I can find it,” the Doctor replied with a smile.
He went in the living room and checked the environmental screen on the near wall. He saw that there was rain scheduled soon and groaned. He would have to do something so the tools and parts didn't get wet as they wouldn't fit in the house.
“Thalmidor?” he called, “We're going to have to set up a pavilion; there's rain coming before long and it'll ruin all the parts if I leave them out unprotected. The sooner we get that done the sooner you can leave.”
“Coming, Father,” Thalmidor replied.
The two went into the TARDIS and grabbed one of the large canopies to cover the equipment. When they came out Adora was waiting and they all worked together to get the structure up and secured properly so no winds would knock it over.
Once the canopy was up it was time for Thalmidor to leave. “Wish me luck—the competition was fierce last year and I only came in eighth. I'm really hoping to crack the top five this time around.”
“Best of luck,” Adora told him as he kissed her on the cheek. “I hope you have a good time, no matter how you place.”
“You'll be brilliant, Thalmidor; you always are.” The Doctor shook Thalmidor's hand and reminded him, “Now, remember not to stress the magnetron acceleration unit; we really need a new one but we'll have to make do for now, and watch the temporal gyroscope; it froze up on me when we had that bad landing on Mycov Seven, so be careful . . . have a wonderful time!”
The door closed, and slowly the TARDIS disappeared.
*****
The Doctor rubbed his hands together. “Well, I've got my work cut out for me, but I'm sure with your help it won't take as long. Now, what's the house made of?”
“It's three-inch thick tri-steel, with a Klinob faux wood glaze both inside and outside. The outside glaze is only cosmetic, but the inner layer is four inches thick for insulation and so I can put things up on the walls.”
“Central heating and cooling?” the Doctor questioned.
“There's central heating but no cooling system; back when this house was built this was a cold-weather zone year-round. I use electric fans mostly, or cold showers.”
The Doctor tried not to think of Adora cool, naked and wet, but failed. His ears were turning red, he was sure of it. “Well,” he said hurriedly, “how about access to your TARDIS? Could you get to it in an emergency?”
“It's in the attic,” Adora told him, “which was part of an addition after the house was built. Someone thought the house needed a second floor and an attic, but it's pretty awkward to get up there; it would take me three minutes to get to the hatch, pull down the stairs and climb up.”
“Not fast enough,” the Doctor decided. “I'm going to set up a transmat pad that can get you up there quickly. It'll have a perception filter so no one else can see it.”
“Where would you put it?” Adora inquired.
“How about the far corner of the kitchen next to the grandfather clock?” the Doctor suggested. “You only need a little space.”
“Now, how would you want to disarm the system when it goes off? A panel by the environmental screen?”
“Shouldn't it be here by the transmat pad, so if it's a real emergency I can get out quickly?”
“Of course! But how do we keep it hidden?”
Adora considered, then said, “You could put up a fake thermostat in here since the room doesn't have one. You could put the switch and controls right there and no one would think twice.”
“You're brilliant, Adora! What about the fact that the thermostat controls will be high up?”
“They won't be, you'll actually have to set it lower than your height. The person who originally built the house was in a motorized wheelchair, so everything's at a fine level for me. That's one of the reasons I bought the house, that and the fireplace. You didn't notice the environmental screen was lower than usual?”
The Doctor shook his head. “Actually, I hadn't.” He had been too busy thinking about the weather concern, that and the prospect of spending some extra time with Adora. “There's no Entertainment Grid set up, that I did notice.”
“It was the first thing I ditched when I bought the place. I don't think I've had a regeneration yet that could stand television or any facsimile thereof. I'm surprised you watch it.”
“I don't really, it's my companions that want it. I do have a small collection of films.”
“I'm just not interested. If I want entertainment, I get a book from my auto-library subscription. I have whole galaxies worth of choice, and that's just the planet selections themselves. It's a little expensive, but it's one of my only luxuries.”
“That reminds me—when I met the boys, you told me you were writing romance novels. How's that been going for you? Are you a household name yet?”
“Hardly,” Adora laughed. “There isn't a big market for romance novels these days, but I do well enough; I try to write a book about once every three years. And even if I were to become famous if you're a writer you don't necessarily have people banging down your door for autographs. You get a little anonymity because people can't tell who you are unless you put your picture on the face-work. Given how much I value my privacy, I'd be an idiot to do it.”
“What is 'face-work'? Never heard the term . . .”
“It's a term for an auto-book's cover.”
The Doctor smiled. “And where are you in the rotation?”
“I'm just getting my first payments for this latest one called 'No Time for Tears'. It's about a mail-order bride who has to get used to living on a first-generation colony world with her new husband, the governor of the colony. It's the third in a series and it's selling well so far, or so my agent and bank account tell me.”
“'Mail-order'? I didn't know you were writing ancient historical romance . . .”
“I'm not, the term and practice never changed, that's all. There will be plenty of starships and up-to-date technology, never fear.”
“I'll have to read it while I'm here, if I get the chance,” the Doctor declared. “Right now I have to get to work. You'll help me?”
“As much as I can; I'm not technology-savvy.”
“I'm sure you'll do well,” he encouraged.
They started with the transmat pad in the kitchen then went up to the attic to set up the link to the pad. The Doctor looked around the empty space and commented, “There's nothing up here but your TARDIS, I suggest you get a few pieces of old furniture just to give it a little cover. I do like what you've done with it, though; I never thought of a mirror.”
“You've never thought of anything but your 'I don't belong here at all, come investigate or carry me away' blue box. I'm sure all your enemies that you've come across more than once get all excited when they see it.”
“I had the Chameleon Circuit fixed in my sixth incarnation,” the Doctor argued. “I ended up with things like a pipe organ and then it stopped working again. I think she'd got used to her outside appearance and didn't want me fiddling with it.”
“Your magnetron acceleration unit is dying, you said?”
The Doctor nodded gloomily. “It's one of the oldest and most necessary parts of the TARDIS and unfortunately I can't do any more patches or overhauls, it's just in too bad of shape. I hope I can find a new one before it dies or I'll be staying here whether you like it or not.”
“I have an arrangement with my agent which might help you out,” Adora volunteered. “I pay him five percent more than other agents get and in return he does me favors I can't do on my own. He's one of those people who knows everyone, so he points me to someone who can help me with whatever I need. Last season he gave me the name of a naturalist when my popberry bushes started dying off; saved them just in time, too. I'm sure he could find someone who either has or could get a magnetron acceleration unit. You build me a security system and I'll buy you the parts you need.”
“You don't have to pay me, Adora!” the Doctor protested.
“It's not paying; it's barter and you should get something in exchange for all this work.”
“I don't . . . there's no . . .”
Adora gave him a look, and the Doctor caved. “Thank you.”
Adora smiled. “You finish your work on this and I can give him a call.”
*****
Four days later Adora and the Doctor went into the city to find the place Adora's agent recommended as the surest way to get a magnetron acceleration unit. The Doctor had asked about using her TARDIS, but Adora was adamant.
“I already ordered a ground car and there's no need to go to all that trouble. Besides, it'll probably get jealous when it reads your thoughts about your vehicle and then I'll never get it to work properly again.”
A huge, top-of-the-line luxury ground car arrived with the rain mid-morning along with an auto-driver. They got in back and it told them, “A smaller vehicle was unavailable; you will not be charged for the upgrade. Destination?”
“We'd like to go to Jorbithoth Street in Lapiz City, stay for an undetermined amount of time and then return here,” Adora announced, closing her umbrella.
The robot intoned, “Overnight stays are an extra two hundred credits per night, which will be added to the original day fee. Passengers pay all tolls and fueling charges. Acknowledge?”
“That's fine,” Adora said.
The car started up and Adora sat watching the scenery go by. She rarely rode in a car; she tried to avoid going to the city unless she really needed to and used her bicycle whenever she could. The Doctor was uncharacteristically quiet. He just leant back into the seat with his eyes closed and stroked her hand. It really unsettled her until finally she asked, “Nothing to say?”
“Just enjoying the rain and the ride; it's been a bit since I rode in a car. The last time I was in one was with you, and before that it must have been at least a hundred years ago.”
Adora was curious. “Didn't you once own a car?”
“Hmm?” the Doctor opened his eyes. “Oh, yes—Bessie! I don't even know where she is now, or what I did with her. Too long ago, for certain.” He smiled at her and said, “Some things just get lost over time, and some get lost and then you find them again.”
He squeezed her hand, then closed his eyes again.