My Warm and Furry One

By

Bryan Weber

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who or any related characters. Any resemblance to any persons, living, dead, or anywhere in between, is entirely coincidental.

"Hey Jenny, Jenny, why are you crying? There's a beauty of a moon in the skyBut I guess when you've been leading such a sheltered lifeYou never lift your head and look so highYou don't have a lot, but it's all that you've gotAnd you can turn it into more than it seems."

-Meatloaf, Good Girls Go to Heaven (Bad Girls Go Everywhere)

London. Such a cold city. Especially in the winter time. I am thankful for my heavy cloak, which protects me from the stinging wind and icy chill. It also protects me from the gaze of curious onlookers, though I tend not to venture out until the night, anyway. Night is when the monsters come out, and it is upon them that I find my sport.

But the hour is late, and the cold is bitter. Besides, running around all these Mammals gives me something of a headache from time to time. My good and long time friend, The Doctor, assures me that they have a good deal of potential and will climb to astonishing heights one day, but looking at them as they are now, I can only wonder.

No, I'm being unfair. Certainly, the human who forged my blades was a master craftsman. He wasn't from this nation, but his skill with metals was superb, to say the least.

And not all of these Mammals are completely useless.

"I've got a warm soup ready for you, Ma'am," she greets me as I return to my mansion, "Just the thing to chase out a chill."

I smile, and consider telling her that gazing upon her lovely face has already warmed me considerably. But I refrain. I would spoil her on compliments and platitudes all day, and it would only serve to embarrass her. She considers me the Lady of the House, and as such, there is a certain amount of decorum she adheres to. I can't say I disapprove, but it sometimes puts us at a bit of a distance.

"I'll take my meal in the dining room. You should join me."

"Oh, Madame Vastra, I…"

I hold up my hand, "I shan't take 'no' for an answer, Jenny. It's been a cold, lonely night, and I would have someone…agreeable…to talk to."

She curtsied, "Very well, Ma'am. If it pleases you."

Ever the dutiful servant, Jenny pulls out my chair for me, and then she turns her back to me to retrieve our dinner from the serving cart. I take advantage of her turned back to allow my long tongue to snake it's way out of my mouth slowly. I slide it cautiously past the hem of her skirts, and then flick delicately upward, caressing her inner thighs. With my tongue I could paralyze with my venom, even kill if the need arose. But for my dear sweet Jenny, my touch is tender as a falling rose petal.

It still evokes a startled and embarrassed cry from her, and she spins on one foot to face the source of the unexpected caress. She is graceful and light on her feet, just as I taught her, and spills not a single drop of the soup even as she spins round.

"Madame Vastra!" she squeaks, "Honestly…"

I can't help but grin, "You startle so easily, Jenny. It's your own fault really, for letting your guard down."

"I didn't hear anything that would have warned me ahead of time," she protested.

"You've a good deal of skill for a Mammal, Jenny, but you really should be more cautious. Next time, set one of the polished silver items on the tray so that the reflection will tell you what's happening behind you."

I should have realized my mistake before I'd made it, but it wasn't until I saw the hint of a tear in Jenny's eye, and the slightest hitch in her voice that I realized.

"Thank you for the lesson, Ma'am. If you'll excuse me…" and with that, she turned on her toes and left the room.

"Oh, Vastra, you incredibly thick, dense woman," I chastised myself. Sighing, I rose from the table and followed her.

I found her sitting on the edge of her bed, her face composed, but her eyes quite red.

"Jenny, I'm sorry. I can be so horribly insensitive at times, I know. I'm a warrior with a very thick skin, and an even thicker head, I fear. Was it the slight I made on Mammals?"

She shook her head, "No, Ma'am."

I waited, but she did not elaborate, "Well?"

"I was actually complimented, Ma'am, that you put me ahead of most people. I know my lot can be fair thick sometimes.

"Still, Ma'am, I cannot help but wonder if you truly see me as your friend, as your lover, or if you think of me more as your pet."

It was my turn to be taken aback, "Oh, Jenny…"

"I love you, Ma'am. And there's not a whole lot of folk would understand that. And not just because you're a Silurian."

I half-smiled, "I know, Jenny. All too well. You think that there aren't Silurian's who wouldn't look at me as some sort of deviant for the life I live with you?

"I'm sorry, if I give you cause to doubt."

"Ma'am…you're shivering!"

I was, and I'd failed to notice it.

"The London winter, I suppose."

"That won't do at all, Ma'am," she said, standing up, "We must warm you up. Come, over by my fire here. I've got a sheepskin rug for us to sit on. And undress. You'll warm more quickly once you shed them cold, wet things."

I complied with her requests. Then I saw her disrobing as well. Her pale flesh radiated gloriously in the light of the pale moon through her bedroom window.

"Jenny?"

"I'll help warm you up, Ma'am. You're always sayin' how warm I am."

She was indeed quite warm as her bare flesh connected with my own. She turned my back to the fire and then sat in my lap. Her soft, silken flesh sliding along my own scales. She embraced me tightly, her breasts pressing against my own plated chest.

"Can you feel it, Madame Vastra?" She asked hopefully, "Can you feel my heartbeat?"

I could. Her Mammalian physiology worked so much more quickly than my own did, and I could feel the beating of her heart against my own body, it's vibrations constant, steady, insistent. It was like the beating of a drum. I wrapped my arms around her bare back and held her close to be, burying my nostrils in her lovely brown mane.

"Your fur is so soft and fragrant," I said. "Hair, Ma'am," she corrected, "On people, it's called hair. And…thank you."

I put a talon under her chin and raised her face to meet mine. Gazing into her eyes, I reminded myself that, strong as Jenny was for a Mammal, her heart was still very fragile, and that I would have to be more careful with my words in the future.

"Oh, Jenny, I'm a fool and a creature of many bad habits. Will you forgive me for speaking so callously?"

She leaned forward and touched her lips to my own, "Always."

We climbed into her bed, and I cradled her from behind as we both drifted off to sleep, her warm, bare flesh my shield against the cold, not only of winter, but of the whole of the world around us.

For who hasn't seen the cruel cold callousness of the Universe at some point in their lives? I only hope that I never forget the comfort given to me by my warm and furry little Jenny.