Title: Trouble
Author: TardisIsTheOnlyWaytoTravel
Pairings: None.
Story Summary: She's blonde, utterly mad, and from another universe. And if Serenity Saxon's anything like her father, there's going to be trouble.
Setting: After Series Three.
TROUBLE
PROLOGUE
The Doctor keeps his mind closed for the most part these days. Oh, if someone nearby is broadcasting, he'll hear it, but anything else runs up against a block. It's easier to pretend that he can't feel the aching absence of millions in the back of his head.
Which is why it's such a shock to him, walking about in Cardiff in the early twenty-first century, when he hears that instantly familiar groaning vworping sound and something tall and rectangular materialises just above the Rift, and a moment later someone tall and blonde falls out of it and curses.
-
The Doctor can only stare as she flails about in the snowdrift, and sits back to glare at the Port-a-Loo standing in front of her.
"Nice," she tells it. "You have such a weirdo sense of humour." The Port-a-Loo emits no visible response. She struggles out of the snow and stands, dusting wet snow off her jacket looking disgusted. "And snow," she adds meaningly, "whatever happened to a nice sunny day?"
"Well, hallo," the Doctor says in greeting, walking forwards. She spins around and stares at him. "Cold time of year for a friendly visit to Cardiff, isn't it? I'm the Doctor." His next remark fades away as he gets a good look at her. Blonde hair, blue eyes. Elegant features. A dawning grin with such a wildly-manic look in her eyes, that he thinks, that can't possibly…
"Aha!" She whirls round and kisses the outside of the TARDIS, ignoring the fact that it resembles a Port-a-Loo. "You brilliant girl! I told you it was possible! I told them all! Mwahahaha!"
She's doing a twirling dance in the snow, wild, insanely-happy laughter ringing through the air. That's familiar too. Well, the laughter, anyway, not the twirling.
"Er, I hate to interrupt," the Doctor interrupts, somewhat afraid now, "But what was possible, exactly?"
She stops and grins at him with mad, joyous eyes.
"Travelling between the universes now that the Time Lords are gone in my universe, of course." A suddenly polite, friendly smile. "And before you ask, my name is Serenity Saxon." Her eyes sparkle.
He knew it would be something like that.
-
He cautiously opens his mind anyway, though, because it's been too long since someone was in the back of his head. And she's there, frenetic and joyous and utterly, manically mad. Her father's daughter.
"What are you doing here?" he asks, even as he basks in the emotions of her presence.
She ignores his question.
"So you're the Doctor." A delighted, wondering smile. "Amazing. I've heard all about you, you know. The stories only go on until a wavy-haired loon in a green frock coat, though." The smile snaps off. "Until the end of Gallifrey." She looks thoughtful. "So clearly you survived the war here, yes? Or hasn't there been one?"
"Your father survived?" the Doctor manages to ask.
"Oh yes," she replies happily. "Then he conquered Earth and met Mama." A sudden scowl. "But of course, Romana and the others got onto it and stopped him. Interfering little… She ruins everything. Clever though, I'll grant you that. Anyway, I was only a baby then, so I don't remember that much, but Mama's told me some. I grew up on Earth with her until I was fourteen, and Dad got out." She smiles sunnily. "He was delighted, I'm just like him. We all went travelling again, and Dad set himself up as ruler of some backwards planet, until Romana turned up, again. They dumped me and Mama back on earth and locked him up somewhere. Mama had enough and decided, no more travelling for her, and I decided to go to another universe where the rest of the survivors couldn't interfere. Until Dad escapes again, anyway. If his latest scheme's grand enough I might join in. He's a lot of fun." Her eyes focus on him, something that isn't quite pity abruptly in her eyes. "But there aren't any other survivors in this universe, are there? Just you."
"Just me," the Doctor agrees in a low, rasping voice. "Your dad was around for a little while ago, but he –" it's hard to get the words out "– refused to regenerate."
"Ooh," such exaggerated sympathy it sounds mocking, "you poor thing. That's just like Dad, bloody stubborn." She paused. "I put too much sympathy into that, didn't I?"
"You did, yeah."
"Damn. I try, you know, I really do, but I just don't get this whole empathy thing. I mean, Dad and I care for each other, a bit, but if he got shot in the foot I'd laugh just as much as he would if it happened to me."
Well, that certainly sounded like the Master all right. And so did she. He could just see her now, laughing and pointing as the Master hopped around cursing.
For some reason the image makes him want to either laugh or cry.
"I tell you what," she declares, "I'll travel around with you for a bit, shall I? TARDIS'll be fine by herself for a while, she says, parked where she is. I can keep you company, and you can show me all kinds of interesting things I don't know about this universe." A sly smile. "And stop me conquering the galaxy. Even without Dad, I'm quite something."
He knows he shouldn't let her, that she shouldn't even be here, but
"Oh, why not," he grins at her. "But if you come with me, you do what I say, got it? No wandering off so I have to go looking for you, no taking over small planets, no evil of any sort, you understand me?"
"Sure," she grins back.
He knows she's not going to stick to it, of course, no more than the Master would the first time he found something interesting or wanted to annoy the Doctor, but… oh, to hell with it. She reminds him too much of the Master and evil or not, he and the Doctor were like brothers for a while and the Doctor never did stop loving him.
"Come on then," he says.
oo o0o oo
It can't be that simple, of course. The Doctor gets a phone call on Martha's mobile while Serenity's looking around the coral-like interior of the control room in pleasure.
It's Jack, wanting to know what the hell is going on. Torchwood's rift-monitoring systems have picked up Serenity's entrance into this universe. The Doctor tries to explain, but it's complicated, and he's not sure how much he wants to tell Jack anyway. In the end Jack tells him to just stop by and discuss it.
"Right," the Doctor says after he hangs up, "let's put the travelling on hold for a bit. Friend of mine saw your TARDIS arrive – well, not saw exactly, more like detected – and wants to know what's going on."
"Great," Serenity says happily, "what's their name?"
"Jack," the Doctor says as he sends the TARDIS back to Cardiff, "Captain Jack Harkness."
They step out into Torchwood Cardiff's Hub. There's a struggle going on between two men and an alien. They get in under control within minutes.
"Doctor!"
The Doctor turns to see Jack with a big grin on his face.
"Jack." he acknowledges, smiling. They hug.
"So, what's going on?" Jack asks.
The Doctor takes a deep breath.
"A Time Lady from another universe landed in ours," he explains briefly. "I'm… not quite sure how that can be possible, because the Time Lords only ever existed in one universe, but I suppose the Time War might have been enough to make our universe divide…" he sighs, "anyway, she's going to be travelling with me for a bit."
Jack knows the Doctor too well to let him get away with just that, though.
"What aren't you telling me, Doc?"
Bugger.
"She's the Master's daughter," he admits.
"She's what?"
They both turn to stare at Serenity. It appears she's managed to find a stick somewhere in the past few minutes, because despite the Torchwood team's protests she is poking the alien with it.
"Yeah, I believe you," Jack says dryly.
"Oi!" the Doctor says sternly, "that's not nice, quit jabbing the poor bloke." Taking the stick off her, "how's you like to be poked with a stick?"
The alien hisses. Serenity gleefully hisses back. It cowers.
"What are you, two?" the Doctor demands.
Serenity gives him a wide smile that shows almost all her teeth.
"A hundred and seventy three."
"Old enough to know better," the Doctor says firmly. "Didn't anyone ever teach you, don't go round poking things with sticks?"
She just blinks at him.
"Who d'you think I learnt it from? If in doubt, poke it with something sharp."
"You mean he still pokes everything with a stick?" the Doctor asks in exasperation, momentarily distracted from the main issue. "I thought he learnt not to do that back when we were still at the Academy! Do you know, he poked a jora plant once, and got the both of us covered slime sap? Took me ages to get clean! But anyway," he returns to the main topic of the discussion, "new rule: when you're travelling with me, no poking anything living with a stick."
"Can I poke it if it's dead?" Serenity wants to know.
He pauses, is about to speak, pauses again.
"You know what, let's wait till we come to it, shall we?"
"What are you going to do about her?" Jack demands. "You can't just turn her loose on our universe, she's probably as bad as he is."
"Not quite," Serenity says amiably, "but bad enough." Manic grin.
Jack stares at the Doctor.
He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, trying to come up with something.
Serenity stares at the mannerism in fascination.
"Now I know why your hair's such a complete mess."