Plans Change

The

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“Gunslinger.” I gaped at the man.

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“You’re hurt!” Jex said.

“No duh, Sherlock.” I hissed.

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My head shot up. “Doc!”

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“Can I do the shouty thing?”

(A mustachioed man fires a shot in the air. Ben Browder, everyone.)

Terra: “Doctor!” I shouted, sounding a little too close to a drill sergeant. The Western accent I used certainly made me sound more stern. The Doctor turned sharply, suddenly smiling widely once he found me. “You drag your tweed covered body over that line before Ah drag ya by the bowtie!”

“Hey! This is private business!” The man who started all of this shouted.

Isaac walked up to my side, pulling back his coat to reveal the Marshall badge to the Brits. “She’s with me.” Isaac said, before looking towards the Doctor. “Get over that line. Now.”

(The Doctor steps over the rocks and wood, and the Cyborg stops then vanishes.)

“This that fella you was talkin’ about?” Isaac asked me.

I crossed my arms, glaring his direction. “Believe me, he gets worse.”

WALTER: “Isaac, he said he was a doctor. An alien doctor.”

Isaac: “That a reason to hand him to his death?”

WALTER: “Isaac, it could be him.”

Isaac: “You know it ain’t.” (Isaac walks back down the street, nodding to Amy.) Isaac: “Ma’am.”

Amelia looked at my shirt, for the first time, then cracked a smile. “Nice shirt.”

I nervously smiled, feeling a bit weird wearing it now. “Shut up.”

It was a TARDIS blue shirt, with the saying ‘KEEP CALM’ in bold white words. The rest of the saying said ‘AND WAIT FOR A MAD MAN WITH A BOX’.

“Oh, really?” Amelia said, starting to laugh.

“It worked, didn’t it?” I said. “I kept calm, and waited for m- a madman.” I almost said ’my madman’. The Doctor wasn’t Mine.

WALTER: “Just letting him go like that? Be seeing you, boy.”

“Nurse boy!” I shouted, wincing in pain.

Rory looked back to me, eyes widening. “Terra? When did you get here?”

“An hour ago.” I stumbled a bit, my broken foot dragging behind me. “Doctor!” I shouted louder, off towards the town line.

The Time Lord turned to me, smiling. “Terra!” His smile shook when he saw my shaky leg. “What happened?”

“Nothing. Just tripped.” I shrugged, still in pain over my leg.

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The Doctor moved his glowing hand near my ankle.

I smacked it away. “You keep that regeneratin’ hand ‘way from me.” My country accent came out, strongly.

The Doctor looked me in the eyes, and I saw the silent plea. He didn’t want me hurt, it was even worse when I technically got hurt running away from him after he said he loved me. He just felt guilty, neither more nor less.

Even with the guilt trip, I shook my head. Those were years he was giving me, his years. I don’t want to walk around knowing Eleven gave up however many days of his life. “Ah don’t want ya wastin’ yer days on a broken ankle. Ah’ll be fine.”

The Doctor didn’t let up. “I won’t be wasting them. I’m giving them to you.” He said.

I sighed. The Doctor had a way of making it sound like something small, like giving me a flower. These were years, energy he would need in Trenzalore.

Then a sad thought crossed my mind, that every day he gave me was a day he didn’t spend in a long war. Tasha Lem brought Clara to Trenzalore because the Doctor was about to die. So I guess, it wasn’t that bad. Plus, he looked so sad with those puppy dog eyes.

‘Story damn my golden heart.’ I inwardly cursed. “Doc.” I sighed. He smirked. “Ah hate when ya do that, but get it over with.”

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The Doctor: “What was that outside?

Isaac: “The Gunslinger. Showed up three weeks back. We’ve been prisoners ever since. See that border line stretching round the town? Woke up one morning, there it was. Nothing gets past it, in or out. No supply wagons, no reinforcements. Pretty soon the whole town’s going to starve to death.

Rory: “But you let us in.

Isaac: “You ain’t carrying any food. Just three more mouths to feed. We’ll all die even sooner now.

The Doctor: “What happens if someone crosses the line?

(Isaac throws the Doctor a Stetson with a neat hole in it.)

The Doctor: “Ah, well, he wasn’t a very good shot, then.

Isaac: “He was aiming for the hat.

The Doctor: “He shoots people’s hats?

Amelia: “It was a warning shot.

The Doctor: “Ah, no, yes. I see. Hmm.

Amelia: “What does he want? Has he issued some kind of demand?

Isaac: “Says he wants us to give him the alien doctor.

Amelia: “But that’s you. Why would he want to kill you? Unless he’s met you.

Rory: “And how could he know that we’d be here?” (sotto) “We didn’t even know we’d be here.

Amelia: “We were aiming for Mexico. The Doctor was taking us to see the Day of the Dead Festival.”

Isaac: “Mexico’s two hundred miles due south.”

The Doctor: “Well, that’s what happens when people get toast crumbs on the console. Anyway, I think it’s about time I met him, don’t you?”

Isaac: “Who?”

The Doctor: “The chap outside said I could be the alien doctor, but you said I wasn’t, so you already know who it is. Two alien doctors. We’re like buses. Resident eighty one, I presume, so beloved by the townsfolk he warranted an alteration to the sign. Probably because he rigged up these electrics, and I’m guessing he’s in here, because if half the town suddenly wanted to throw me to my death, this is where I’d want to be.”

Isaac: “I don’t know what you-”

(The man in the cell throws back his blanket. He has a curved mark down the left side of his face, similar but not the same as Mas had.)

Jex: “Isaac, I think the time for subterfuge has passed. Good afternoon. My name is Kahler-Jex. I’m the doctor.”

(The Gunslinger watches the town from a distant ridge.)

The Doctor: “The Kahler. I love the Kahler. They’re one of the most ingenious races in the galaxy. Seriously, they could build a spaceship out of Tupperware and moss.”

Amelia: “All right. How did you get here?”

Jex: “My craft crashed about a mile or so out of town. I would have died if Isaac and the others hadn’t pulled me from the wreckage.”

The Doctor: “And you stayed, as their doctor.”

Jex: “On my world I was a surgeon, so it seemed logical. And it gave me an opportunity to repay my debt to them.”

Isaac: “Listen to him. Talking like it was nothing. Tell them about the cholera.”

Jex: “Now, Isaac, I’m sure our guests are-”

Isaac: “Two years after he arrived, there was an outbreak of cholera. Thanks to the doc here, not a single person died.”

Jex: “A minor infection we’d found a treatment for centuries ago.”

Isaac: “No, no, what, what do you call them? The electrics?”

Jex: “Using my ship as a generator, I was able to rig up some rudimentary heating and lighting for the town.”

The Doctor: “So why does the Gunslinger want you?”

Isaac: “It don’t matter.”

The Doctor: “I’m just saying, if we knew that-”

Isaac: “America’s the land of second chances. We called this town Mercy for a reason. Others, some round here, don’t feel that way.”

Jex: “Now, Isaac, we’ve discussed this.”

Isaac: “People whose lives you’ve saved are suddenly saying we should hand you over.”

Jex: “They’re scared, that’s all. You can hardly blame them.”

Isaac: “Them being scared scares me. War only ended five years back. That old violence is still under the surface. We give up Doc Jex, then we hand the keys of the town over to chaos.”

The Doctor: “Did you try to repair your craft? Surely someone with your skills-”

Jex: “It really was very badly damaged.”

The Doctor: “We evacuate the town. Our ship’s just over the hills, room for everyone. I’ll pop out, bring it back here, Robert’s your uncle.”

Amelia: “Really? Simple as that. No crazy schemes, no negotiations.”

The Doctor: “I’ve matured. I’m twelve hundred years old now. Plus I don’t want to miss The Archers.”

Amelia: “Oh, so you’re not even a tiny bit curious?”

The Doctor: “Why would I be curious? It’s a mysterious space cowboy assassin. Curious? Of course I’m not curious.”

Isaac: “Son? You’ve still got to get past the Gunslinger. How you going to do that?”

(The Doctor puts on the Stetson.)

The Doctor: “With a little sleight of hand.”

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Amelia: “When this is all done, do you want us to take you home?

Jex: “Thank you, but I’ve already given everything I have to the Kahler. My skills, energy, all that was good in me. Here, I could start afresh. I could remember myself and help people. That’s all I ever wanted to do, end suffering.

Amelia: “Here.

(She puts Isaac’s coat over Jex’s shoulders.)

Jex: “You’re a mother, aren’t you.

Amelia: “How did you know?

Jex: “There’s kindness in your eyes. And sadness, but a ferocity too.

Amelia: “Life’s not exactly straightforward.

Jex: “It seldom is.

Amelia: “And what about you? Are you a father?

Jex: “Yes. In a way, I suppose I am.

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(The alarm can even be heard in town.)

Jex: “That’s the alarm on my ship.

Amelia: “Maybe the Doctor wants to get it working again?

Jex: “But that wasn’t the plan. He’s not following the plan.

Amelia: “Welcome to my world.

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“Amelia, he’s gonna try to shoot you.”

The ginger scoffed. “Terra, he’s a nice guy. There’s no possible way he could-”

(Amy enters to discover Jex pointing a revolver at her head.)

Jex: “I’m sorry, Amy. He really should have followed the plan.

I elbowed her. “Told ya.”

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Jex: “Isaac says he doesn’t care about my past, but things may have been uncovered that even he might struggle to forgive, so it’s best we beat a hasty retreat.

Amelia: “We? We’re coming with you?

Jex: “It’s unlikely the Gunslinger will shoot if I’m with the two of you. As far as I can tell, he’s programmed to take innocent lives only if absolutely necessary.

Amelia: “Oh, well, color me reassured.

(Jex opens the door and gets a gun in the back of his neck.)

Isaac: “Doc? What are you doing?

Jex: “It was stupid of me, I realize that now. I just thought I’d put you all in enough danger. Perhaps if I left

(The Doctor enters.) The Doctor: “He’s lying. Every word, every thing he says, it’s all lies. This man is a murderer.

Jex: “I am a scientist.

The Doctor: “Sit down. Sit down! Tell them what you are.

Jex: “What am I? A war hero.

Isaac: “Okay, somebody want to tell me what is going on?

The Doctor: “The Gunslinger is a Cyborg.

Isaac: “A what?

The Doctor: “Half man, half machine. A weapon. Jex built it. He and his team took volunteers, told them they’d been selected for special training, then experimented on them, fused their bodies with weaponry, and programmed them to kill.

Isaac: “Okay. Why? Why would you do that, Doc?

Jex: “We’d been at war for nine years. A war that had already decimated half of our planet. Our task was to bring peace, and we did. We built an army that routed the enemy and ended the war in less than a week. Do you want me to repent, to beg forgiveness for saving millions of lives?

The Doctor: “And how many died screaming on the operating table before you had found your advantage?

Jex: “War is another world. You cannot apply the politics of peace to what I did. To what any of us did.

Rory: “What happened then? How come you’re here?

Jex: “When the war ended we had the Cyborgs decommissioned, but one of them must have got its circuitry damaged in battle. It went offline and began hunting down the team that created it until just two of us were left. We fled, and our ships crashed here.

Rory: “So, what do we do with Jex?

Isaac: “What do we do with him?

Rory: “Yeah. I mean, he’s a war criminal.

Isaac: “No, he’s the guy that saved the town from cholera, the guy that gave us heat and light.

Amelia: “Look, Jex may be a criminal and yeah, kind of creepy

Jex: “And still in the room.

Amelia: “But I think we should put aside what he did and find another solution.

Rory: “Another solution? It’s him or us.

Amelia: “When did we start letting people get executed? Did I miss a memo? Doctor, tell him.

The Doctor: “Hmm? Yes. I don’t know. Whatever Amy said.

Jex: “Looking at you, Doctor, is like looking into a mirror, almost. There’s rage there, like me. Guilt, like me. Solitude. Everything but the nerve to do what needs to be done. Thank the gods my people weren’t relying on you to save them.”

‘The son of a bitch wants to die today, didn’t he?’

The Doctor: “No. No, but these people are. Out! Out! Out!

(Rory stops Amy at the door.)

Amelia: “Oh, you’re really letting him do this?

Rory: “Save us all? Yeah, I really am.

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Jex: “No!

(The Doctor pushes Jex along the street.)

The Doctor: “Go on.

(The townsfolk follow Isaac to see the Doctor push Jex over the boundary.)

The Doctor: “Get over, and don’t come back.

(The Doctor takes a gun from a man’s holster and points it at Jex as he tries to return.)

Jex: “You wouldn’t.

The Doctor: “I genuinely don’t know.

Isaac: “Doctor. Doctor.”

(Terra gets another gun and fires in the air.) Terra: “Let him come back, Doctor.” I ordered.

The Doctor: “Or what? You won’t shoot me, Terra.”

Terra: “How do you know? I’m young. I’m impulsive. Plus, if you get to go Sith Lord, why can’t I? I mean, you’ve clearly been taking stupid lessons since I saw you last.”

(So Isaac fires to get everyone’s attention.) Isaac: “Everyone who ain’t from this town, drop your gun.”

The Doctor: “We can end this right now. We could save everyone right now.”

Terra: “This is not how we roll, and you know it. What happened to you, Doctor? At what point in your timeline did killing someone become an option?”

The Doctor: “Jex has to answer for his crimes.”

Terra: “And who’s next? Hmm? Who will you go after next? Are you going to hunt down everyone who’s made a gun or a bullet or a bomb? Ya know what’s lets go back and kill Hitler! Second time’s the charm!”

The Doctor: “But they keep coming back, don’t you see? Every time I negotiate, I try to understand. Well, not today. No. Today, I honor the victims first. His, the Master’s, the Dalek’s, all the people who died because of my mercy!”

Terra: “You see, this is what happens when you travel alone for too long. This is why you need companions, need people like Amelia and Rory.”

“Well, manboy, you better listen and  listen good. We can’t be like him. We have to be better than him. We can’t lose the last bit of humanity we have left.”

The Doctor: “Terra Song. Fine, fine. We think of something else. But frankly, I’m betting on the Gunslinger.”

(The Doctor gives his gun back and holds out his hand.)

The Doctor: “Jex, move over the line. Now. “

(Because the Gunslinger is right behind him. Jex turns around.) Gunslinger: “Make peace with your gods.”

Jex: “Kahler-Tek, isn’t it? I remember all your names, even now. I’ll never hurt anyone again. I’m even helping people here.”

Gunslinger: “Last chance. Make peace with your gods.

The Gunslinger aimed his weapon at Jex.

“No!” I tried to move the gun away.

“Terra!” The Doctor screamed.

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“Did I save Isaac?” I asked.

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The Doctor: “Isaac. Isaac. Isaac. It’s okay, it’s okay. We can get you to Jex’s surgery. He can save you.”

Isaac: “Listen to me. You’ve got to stay. You’ve got to look after everyone.

The Doctor: “It won’t come to that, Isaac.

Isaac: “Protect Jex. Protect my town. You’re both good men. You just forget it sometimes.

(Isaac dies, handing on his Marshal’s badge. The Doctor stands up and pins it on his jacket.)

The Doctor: “Take Jex to his cell. If anything happens to him, you’ll have me to answer to.

(Jex is escorted away. The Doctor speaks to the Gunslinger.)

The Doctor: “This has gone on long enough.

Gunslinger: “You are right. You’ve got until noon tomorrow. Give him to me or I’ll kill you all.

(The Gunslinger vanishes.)

“Oh my God, you’re the Marshal.” Amelia groaned.

“And she’s the Deputy.” The Doctor said, looking over at me.

==PC==

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The Doctor: “Come in.

PREACHER: “Marshal. Deputy. Ma’am. Fella. You need to come outside.

The Doctor: “Why, what’s wrong?

PREACHER: “Just come outside. And you should put that on.

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The Doctor: “What’s going on?

WALTER: “He in there? Leave the keys and take a walk. By the time you get back, this’ll all be done.

The Doctor: “I promised Isaac I’d protect him.

WALTER: “Protecting him got Isaac dead. Tomorrow, it’s going to be us all, dead.

DOCKERY: “We thought Isaac was right to fight, but it’s different now. We’ve got to say, all right we lost, and give that thing what it wants.

SADIE: “What it wants is to kill our friend.

WALTER: “We don’t got any ill feeling towards the Doc. We just thinking about our families. Hand him over and we all safe again.

The Doctor: “You know I can’t do that.

WALTER: “We got us a problem.

The Doctor: “Please don’t do this.

WALTER: “Why, reckon you’re quicker than me?

The Doctor: “Oh, certainly not, but this? Lynch mobs? A town turning against itself? This is everything Isaac didn’t want.

“Put the gun down, boy.” I instructed.

He gulped. “I-”

“You’re eighteen, right?” I asked. His eyes widened. “First time holding a gun. Never killed a man. I am not letting you kill Jex, or take him to the Gunslinger.”

The boy looked ready to argue.

“Last time someone I knew was executed, I stabbed the executor’s heart. You really wanna see what I can do to a twiggy little thing like you?” I challenged, reaching for my water gun in my Infinity Bag. “No one is laying a finger on Jex.”

I didn’t like him, but Isaac wanted him safe. This was the least I could do.

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“Were you going to-”

I sprayed the Doctor with the gun. “Haha.” I laughed, going back inside.

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==PC==

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ABRAHAM: “Fresh coffee, Marshal. For what it’s worth, I know you’re going to save us. Isaac made you Marshal for a reason, and if you’re good enough for him, you’re good enough for me. Reckon you should know that.

The Doctor: “Thank you.

(Abraham continues to take his measurements.)

The Doctor: “Oi. Get out of it.

(Abraham leaves.)

Jex: “Let me guess. The good folk of Mercy wanted me to take a little stroll into the desert. You could turn a blind eye. No one would blame you. You’d be a hero.

The Doctor: “But I can’t, can I. Because then Isaac’s death would mean nothing. Just another casualty in your endless bloody war. Do you want me to hand you over? Is that what you want? Do you even know?

Jex: “You think I’m unaffected by what I did? That I don’t hear them screaming every time I close my eyes? It would be so much simpler if I was just one thing, wouldn’t it? The mad scientist who made that killing machine, or the physician who’s dedicated his life to serving this town. The fact that I’m both bewilders you.

The Doctor: “Oh, I know exactly what you are, and I see this reformation for what it really is. You committed an atrocity and chose this as your punishment. Don’t get me wrong, good choice. Civilised hours, lots of adulation, nice weather, but, but justice doesn’t work like that. You don’t get to decide when and how your debt is paid.

Jex: “In my culture, we believe that when you die your spirit has to climb a mountain carrying the souls of everyone you wronged in your lifetime. Imagine the weight I will have to lift. The monsters I created, the people they killed. Isaac, he was my friend. Now his soul will be in my arms, too. Can you see now why I fear death? You want to hand me over. There’s no shame in that. But you won’t. We all carry our prisons with us. Mine is my past. Yours is your morality.

The Doctor: “We all carry our prisons with us. Ha!

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==PC==

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The Doctor: “Go! Just go! I can’t save them while you’re here.

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Gunslinger: “Deactivate automatic targeting. Switch to manual.

(He locates the Doctor hiding around the corner of a building. He’s got the Jex mark, too.)

The Doctor: “Right.

Gunslinger: “Where is he?

The Doctor: “He’s gone.

Gunslinger: “Where? Answer me.

The Doctor: “Away from here. Look up. Any second now you’ll see the vapour trail of his ship. This is their home, not the backdrop for your revenge. Lookup, go after him, take this battle away from-”

Jex: “Kahler-Tek. Kahler-Tek.

Gunslinger: “Jex. Coward. Where are you?

Jex: “I’m in my ship.

The Doctor: “What are you doing? Just go!

Jex: “Where are you from? Where on Kahler?

The Doctor: “Now? You’re asking him this now?

Gunslinger: “Gabriah.

Jex: “I know it. It’s beautiful there. When this is over, will you go back?

Gunslinger: “How can I? I am a monster now.

Jex: “So am I.

The Doctor: “Just go! Finish this!

Gunslinger: “I’ll find you. If I have to tear this universe apart, I will find you.

Jex: “I don’t doubt that. You’ll chase me to another planet and another race will be caught in the cross-fire.

Gunslinger: “Face me!

“Countdown to self-destruct resumed.

Gunslinger: “Face me!

Jex: “No. You’ve killed enough. I’m ending the war for you, too.

“Countdown to self-destruct resumed.

The Doctor: “What’s going on?

“Ten.

The Doctor: “The count down. What’s going on? Jex!

Jex: “Thank you, Doctor. I have to face the souls of those I’ve wronged.

“Five

Jex: “Perhaps they will be kind.

“Three, two, one, zero.

(The white egg goes KaBOOM.)

(The black smoke rises above the roof tops. The Gunslinger bows his head.)

Gunslinger: “He behaved with honour at the end. Maybe more than me.

The Doctor: “We could take you back to your world. You could help with the reconstruction.

Gunslinger: “I will walk into the desert and self-destruct. I’m a creature of war. I have no role to play during peace.

The Doctor: “Except maybe to protect it.

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The Doctor: “Okay, so, our next trip. Oh! You know all the monkeys and dogs they sent into space in the fifties and sixties? You will never guess what really happened to them.

Amelia: “Could we leave it a while? Our friends are going to start noticing that we’re aging faster than them.

The Doctor: “Another time? No worry.

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==PC==

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“Ask me.” The Doctor asked, giving me a deep, meaningful stare.

I stared back, wondering if I had been to open with my emotions. “No.” I said.

“Terra, you’ve been wanting to ask all day.” The Doctor said with a sigh. “Please tell me. I know how it’s hurting you.”

“You’ll lie.” I said, my voice wavering.

The Doctor looked me in the eyes. Somehow, I was able to keep looking back. “I won’t.”

“You were just saying it.” I shrugged away the feelings. “It was just cause you were dying, you don’t really feel that way about me.”

The Doctor walked up to me, cupping a cheek with his hand. He shook his head. “No, I wasn’t then and I’m not now.”

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“Do you...really love me?”

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The Doctor backed me into the TARDIS wall. One of his arms slammed into the wall, effectively keeping me from escaping. It was dangerous, making my breath catch in my throat. The Doctor had that look in his eyes, the kind of look Twelve had. Those eyes made my knees weak.

“Does this answer your question?” The Doctor’s voice was deeper, almost a growl. He leaned down, while pulling my face up to meet his. He pressed his lips against mine with a bruising force. I could only whimper in response, almost trembling against the wall.

His hand let go of my cheek, taking ahold of my hip. The hand on the wall moved to my neck, keeping my head from turning away. Not that I wanted to anyway.

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“Yes.” I got out. “Answers. Question. Good.”

The Doctor chuckled, bopping me on the nose. “By the way, I love the shirt.” He said softly into my ear before walking down the hall.

I was too breathless to shout at him, to demand that he come back here and finish what he started.

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“I need to wear more shirts like this.” I decided, stumbling off towards my room.

The TARDIS apparently planned that, cause the first shirt I found I knew I had to wear. It was white, with two words written in a gold spray paint font. Just two words.

Bad Wolf.