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There are many ways to get The Doctor’s attention, giving chase on a hovercraft and trying to kill him and his companions are just one of the many ways to pique his curiosity. It only increased when Astrid first brought up his resemblance to Salamander. Finding out more about Ramón Salamander's thirst to conquer the world and the dedication of those who wished to see him dead was the most exciting thing he had heard in a while. What was supposed to be an ordinary day at the beach led to the discovery of an assassination plot.
Perhaps it was due to their strong resemblance or his inability to walk away from a mystery. Why did he look like Salamander? The Doctor believed that infiltrating Salamander’s operation was the reason. Who better than him to take down a dictator?
He was a great deceiver, but even he had doubts about his abilities to be consistent with his accent and grasp Salamander’s personality. He only knew of his ambitions, not his character.
Then you burst into the room, the very image of the beautiful, alluring, seductive wife. He had fooled Bruce, but could he fool you? The one person who knew Ramón best. How did Ramón behave around you? Was he distant? Did he fall over his feet? He had been thrown into the act seconds after learning the truth about Salamander’s wrongdoings, so he did not know anything personal. Only his desire for world domination.
You could see it in his eyes the moment you entered the room. His eyebrows rising, however slightly, shock and curiosity mixed in his eyes. No one told him about you. Either Giles did not know about you, or he wanted him to be surprised. And he was.
Salamander was a brute. So he was shocked by how gracefully you entered the room, how bright your smile was. But your eyes gave it away, a quality you shared. You had witnessed some grotesque sights and horrors that had given you nightmares. It hadn’t been easy being married to a villain.
“Ramón, I heard about the attempt on your life, are you alright?” You placed your hands on his cheeks, searching for injuries. “Are you hurt? Shall I call you a doctor?”
He could see Jamie smirking out of the corner of his eyes and knew the Scotsman would tease him for a while, long after they had left.
He diverted your attention to Jamie, saying, “There was, but this man saved my life.”
You looked at Jamie, who was dressed in a security uniform, instead of his usual kilt and shirt. “Thank you.”
You took hold of The Doctor’s hands, “Now, husband, a word in your ear.” You turned around to address the people in the room, Bruce, Jamie, and two other security officers. “Excuse us, gentleman.”
You pulled The Doctor to the doorway, and he glanced at Jamie, who sent him a wink as you led him to the hallway.
“I assure you I was unharmed.” He said, following you down the hallway to the bedroom.
You closed the door and leaned your back against it, biting your lower lip. You knew he wasn’t your husband, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t have a little fun, did it?
“You had me worried, you know.” You stepped closer to him, and your lips formed a smirk when he stepped behind an armchair, attempting to put distance between you both.
“It’s dangerous work.” He said.
You kneeled on the chair, sliding your robe off your shoulders, exposing your nightgown, which left little to the imagination. “Any closer to those stars?” You asked, playing with the lapels on his jacket. “I wouldn’t be mad if you broke your promise, you know?”
You leaned your head closer to his, the corner of your lips turning upwards slightly when he moved his head away. “You want to see the stars?” He asked quietly, his eyes glancing at your ruby lips.
Your lips formed a grin. You almost had him.
“I’ll settle for the stars I witness when we kiss.” You ran your hands up his chest, onto his shoulders, wrapping your arms around his neck, standing on the armchair. Your noses brushed as you leaned to graze your lips over his before kissing him hotly, unable to pull away as he returned your kiss with equal enthusiasm, after a moment’s hesitation.
Salamander had left and wouldn’t return until morning. He always told you when he was leaving and when you could expect him to return. So the moment you saw the man before you, you knew he had to be an imposter. Ramón had big plans, and when the Time Lord took his place, you knew he wouldn’t cancel them to come back to you. In some ways, his plans meant more to him than you did - the reason your marriage started falling apart.
The Doctor knew he had a job to do. To find a way to stop Salamander’s plans for world domination, not sleeping with his wife. However, the latter was most tempting.
A giggle left your lips when he lifted you, carrying you to the bed, laying you down with a gentleness you weren’t used to, but you welcomed it although his kiss was anything but gentle.
You put your hands on his cheeks, pulling away from his devouring kiss to catch your breath, your eyes searching his. Amazed how two men could look so similar, yet be so different. “Who are you?” You asked in disbelief, a smile on your lips.
He opened his mouth to speak, but you place a finger over his lips to silence him. “No, don’t tell me.” You kissed him hotly, pushing his coat off his shoulders.
“I don’t,” He spoke between kisses, dropping the Mexican accent, “know your name.”
“Y/N.” You whispered in his ear as he kissed your neck. “Say something.”
“What do you want me to say?” He asked, tilting his head, meeting your gaze.
“Anything.”
“This bed is extremely uncomfortable.”
Laughter left your lips, and he smiled down at you as you tilted your head back, bowing his head to kiss your neck. “It’s not used for sleeping.”
His laughter made your heart race and the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. His eyes met yours, an eyebrow-raising, “Oh, really?”
For three hours, the two of you stayed in the bedroom, talking, kissing, laughing, kissing, and much, much more. And in that time, he told you everything, well, filling in the gaps as you guessed most of the plan.
“Given your appearance that can only be seen as identical to Ramón’s, it is logical that Giles chose you to take down Ramón. Who better to destroy his reputation?” You explained as he ran his hand up and down your arm, his fingers sending goosebumps along your skin.
“How did you know it was Giles Kent?”
“He’s the only one who is either brave or stupid enough to do such a thing. But I would be careful if I were you. Giles has been primed to kill Ramón for months now. Do you plan to kill my husband?”
It was the first time you had referred to Ramón as your husband since you started talking, and he was unsure of how to interpret it. You sounded protective, yet you didn’t care for Ramón very much, not that he could blame you.
His hand stopped moving, his eyes observing you for a moment as you listened to his two hearts beating. “Why do you stay with him? Salamander - Ramón has had no place in your heart for years now, as you say. So why did you stay?” He asked.
“I may not be in love with him, but that does not mean I don’t love him.” Your gaze dropped to his chest, where you drew patterns with your fingers. “The things he has done, there are no words for how despicable they are. But I also know that one of the many reasons for doing what he does is because of a promise he made to me when we first met.”
“The stars?”
“No,” You rolled onto your stomach, meeting his gaze, “the promise of a better life. He would never let anyone hurt me again, and I would never want for anything.”
As curious as he was, his thoughts were silenced when you kissed him. “Now, Time Lord, no holding back this time.”
He jokingly rolled his eyes, a giggle leaving your lips when he hovered over you, sharing a tender smile before he kissed you.
The next morning he left the bedroom, finding Jamie as he searched for you. As predicted, the Scotsman was eager to tease him about his activities last night.
“She was very helpful.”
“I bet she was.”
The Doctor looked at the smirking Scotsman, “She is the key to taking down Salamander. She is the only one who knows exactly what he’s planning. Where is she?”
“Out on the balcony. Victoria has just given her breakfast.”
The Doctor followed him as he directed him to the balcony where you were sitting at a table, laughing with a guard, your hand on his arm. If Jamie were to ask, he would claim it was because of his new role as Salamander that he sounded so harsh, but truthfully he felt protective over you after last night.
“Is there a reason why you are drooling over my wife?” He stepped onto the balcony, head held high as his eyes stared at the guard with disgust.
“No, sir. Sorry, sir.” The guard rushed into the house, and Jamie snickered as he headed inside.
You sipped your tea, hiding your smirk behind your cup at the guard’s swift exit. The Doctor took a seat beside you, and you smiled as you popped a strawberry in your mouth, placing your legs over his lap. “Sleep well, dear?”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
“I told you, if one wants to sleep in that bed, one must tire themselves out first.”
He raised an eyebrow at you, a smile forming on his lips when you winked at him. He placed his hand on your thigh, holding your legs on his lap, taking a sip of tea you had poured for him. “You never did give me an answer last night.”
You sighed as you looked over at him, “I don’t want to kill Ramón. But I don’t want to stay with him either. If you are telling the truth and you do have a Tardis that can take you anywhere in time and space, well, I would love to witness it…”
“But…”
“If they kill Ramón, then they will kill me too.” You told him, lowering your feet to the floor. “Now, fancy some toast?” You picked up a plate and a butter knife.
“Why would they kill you?” He asked.
You sighed, placing the knife on the plate, and setting them both on the table. “Two years ago, I was given poison. They wanted me to slip it into his drink. Back then, he didn’t have a food taster, so it would’ve been much easier. But I…I couldn’t do it. He never knew I was given the poison, but I did tell him someone planned to poison his food. So he got the taster. I saved his life and for that, I will meet the same grizzly fate.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. Not if you come with me.”
Your gaze fell to the table when he was informed of an invasion, and trouble downstairs, and you knew that you didn’t have long to consider his request. It was happening now.
You went to your bedroom and were sitting on the bed when the guards arrived. The Doctor burst through the door as the last guard hit the floor, looking at your panicked state as you dropped the brass statue you had knocked them out with.
“Come with me.” He held a hand out. “If you stay here, you will never see those stars.”
You thought for a moment before taking his hand, following him as he fled the base, taking you to the Tardis.
“Quite right, Jamie.”
You gasped when you saw the state Ramón was in.
“You were doing such a good job impersonating me. I thought I would return the compliment.”
You swallowed thickly, seeing the fury in his eyes as he stared. He knew.
You looked at The Doctor when he stood in front of you, “We’re going to put you outside, Salamander. No friends. No security. Nothing. You’ll run, but they’ll catch up to you.”
He touched something on the console, and the Tardis tilted the doors opening, revealing the unforgiving depths of space. A scream left your lips as you slid along the floor, grabbing hold of The Doctor’s hand when he caught you, feeling Ramón clutch your ankle.
You looked down at him and knew what you had to do, what you should have done two years ago.
You looked at The Doctor, and the look in your eyes would always haunt him. “No. Don’t.”
You smiled, tears in your eyes, out of sadness, and out of fear. “Thank you.”
You let go of his hand, and he yelled as you fell out of the Tardis, Ramón falling with you. The doors closed, and the Tardis returned to normal, and the two companions slowly got to their feet while The Doctor held onto the control panel, eyes wide, focused on the closed doors.
You had sacrificed yourself to save them—a man who you considered a lover and his two friends who were strangers to you. Out there, you would meet a brutal end. A fate you didn’t deserve.
You had made it to the stars, and you would die admiring them.
And he had been powerless to stop it.