InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "It's a perfect likeness."

The Eleventh Doctor (amadmanwithabox) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2012-01-02 23:19:00

Entry tags:

beth kane, lucy saxon, the doctor (11), the master

Who: The Doctor, Lucy Saxon and Harry Saxon. And Kitty the cat (NPC).
What: The Doctor brings Lucy her cat. Harry stops by too. Cue TARDIS part.
Where: Lucy's flat to begin. Then the Master's TARDIS, Lolita.
When: After this.
Rating: TBD.
Status: In progress.

The Doctor was confused. Happy, and a bit excited, but mostly confused. He was happy and excited because he had genuinely missed Lucy's company and was glad for the opportunity to visit with her, but he was confused because he hadn't really expected the invitation. Not now, at least. Not really any time soon, if he was being completely honest. And he did that sometimes. Not often, because Rule One existed for a reason, but he did do it. But he was digressing. Lucy was from a darker time in her life and she didn't remember their previous association in the city. She blamed him for many thing, and rightly so, so he could hardly blame her for not wanting anything to do with him. He had estimated that, if she ever forgave him and moved past her negative feelings toward him, it would take some time for her to interact with him in any sort of friendly manner. He just missed her warmth and her composure and her unfailing politeness. She had been lovely. She still was, he just didn't expect to see much of that.

Oh, she would be polite, of course; he had seen as much in the early days of sharing a flat with her last time. But it wouldn't be genuine so much as habit and breeding showing in her actions. And she certainly wouldn't like him, not right away and possibly not at all. And the Doctor really did like to be liked. Especially by her. He missed Lucy. His Lucy. Well, not his Lucy, since she wasn't his at all and he didn't own people and the Master and River would likely both be cross if he really thought of her like that, but the Lucy he had known before. But this was still her, just very different and not that yet, and there was a chance she could be again. He hoped she could be again, or even someone different with whom he could be close.

Mycroft was working, something he seemed to do rather a lot but not enough that the Doctor felt he was avoiding him through work, so he didn't have to worry about bringing his temporary spouse with him. And Mary was exploring the TARDIS, and possibly other worlds, with Mickey the Mogwai, so it was just him. Just him and Lucy. And possibly Jack, if he wasn't working. Though Mycroft wasn't using work to avoid him, he was certainly encouraging his employees to use their jobs as an escape if they wanted to. All in all, he found it rather clever. So, yes. Just him and Lucy. And that was a little scary. This Lucy really didn't know this him, and it felt a bit like going into battle unarmed...or un-sonic-ed, to put himself in this situation without knowing what would happen. He liked knowing, or faking it when he really didn't know, and appearing clever. He couldn't do that here. He could only hope he didn't bollocks things up too terribly much.

Leaning down to Kitty, his peace offering of sorts for this conversation, he held out his hand. "Come here, sweetheart," he said, smiling as she jumped up onto his shoulder. "You're a lovely girl, aren't you?" He was quite fond of the cat, and he knew he would miss her, but Lucy needed her more than he did right now. He had River and Mary and Mickey and Sexy. He would be fine. And, though Lucy had people too and he was grateful for that fact, he felt like Kitty would be good for her. "Let's go see Lucy. You remember her don't you? Lucy? Pretty blonde lady who was ever so nice to you." The feline mewed in the affirmative and the Doctor stroked her behind the ears with a fond grin before exiting the TARDIS and standing awkwardly in front of the door to Lucy's flat for a moment before finally knocking.

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neverthatbright
2012-01-03 05:48 pm UTC (link)

When the knock sounded at the door, Lucy felt her stomach tighten sharply. She wasn't a very big fan of the Doctor, having as many - if not more - issues with him as she did with Jack Harkness, and she really wasn't certain she was up for another argument after the one she'd just been in. However, if there was one thing she was quite good at doing it was being extremely polite, particularly when serving as a hostess, and it was that entire lifetime of training that she fell back on as she moved to the foyer and opened the door.

"Hello, Doctor," she greeted the Time Lord, her gaze instantly flickering from him to the cat perched on his shoulder. Strictly speaking, this wasn't her cat. It had belonged to some other version of her that had been in the city before. Yet Lucy couldn't help but feel a certain fondness for the creature and found, particularly after it became painfully obvious that she and Jack Harkness were very likely not going to be getting along for however long they were stuck together, that she would prefer the company of a feline that she didn't even know over the thought of being completely alone and isolated.

"Please, come in," she tacked on as she stepped aside to allow the Doctor room to enter the flat. Once he'd stepped inside, she shut the door behind him then immediately tacked on, "Also, I asked Harry to come by so I could spend some time out of the flat without technically leaving it." She paused, forcing herself to fully meet the Time Lord's gaze. "I thought you should know as he is due here any moment."

Anything more she might have said was cut off by the rather loud meowing of the cat on the man's shoulder. Instantly Lucy's gaze slid to the animal, lips curving upward ever so slightly. The cat stared at her, yellow eyes unblinking, before quite suddenly jumping from the Doctor's shoulder directly onto her, fully trusting she would catch. Lucy did, eyes widening slightly in shock as her arms immediately went protectively around the cat and held her snugly against her chest. "Well," she said, unable to escape the slight giggle that passed her lips, "hello there."

Kitty mewed in response then began purring softly.

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amadmanwithabox
2012-01-03 09:32 pm UTC (link)

He probably shouldn't have been so surprised when Lucy opened the door, since that was generally what happened when you came to someone's flat and knocked - unless they went and shot you with a water pistol, and he really was going to have to have a talk with Amy about that if she ever came here again...and even then you still had to answer the door to do it unless you put a special hole in it through which to shoot people, which was a bit odd but actually quite clever now that he thought about it - but he was surprised nonetheless. The thing was, he knew it was absolutely ridiculous to be surprised. Lucy was hardly going to invite him over just to leave him out in the corridor like an idiot. Well...she might, if she was particularly cross with him on a given day, but she probably wouldn't.

"Hello, Lucy," he said with a small, hopeful smile on his face. He really did want her to like him, even though he knew that would take a good deal of time and effort. It took everything in him not to immediately apologise for everything that had happened. As much as he wanted to do that, he knew it would only be taken the wrong way. Lucy would think he was being disingenuous, and she had every right to do so. Why should she believe he regretted the way things had gone, when he had never done a thing to help her? She had put her faith in him, along with everyone else, and he had failed her. No, apologising could come with time, when she knew him well enough to recognise his sincerity. Besides, it would be a bit awkward to apologise out of nowhere, or so he'd been told on various occasions.

He also didn't hug her, though part of him very much wanted to, because he was fairly certain she would slap him or shoot him or something else in a fit of confused panic. He had to tread more carefully than usual with her, because she was with Jack for this whole mess and he could only imagine that whole pairing was going down like a lead balloon. A lead Zeppelin even, because the monumental wrongness of the two of them being stuck together was too immense to be described in terms of balloons. He was honestly a bit surprised they had managed for so long with any noticeable signs of violence, now that he thought about it. Jack was hot-tempered and impulsive and something of an idiot at times, and Lucy didn't react well to situations outside her control, and it all added up to quite the mess.

"Thank you," he said politely, with another small smile, stepping into the flat. As she mentioned 'Harry', he raised an eyebrow and couldn't help the expression that crossed his face. It was a bizarre mix of feelings, confusion and worry and amusement and 'Oh dear lord, something is going to explode and I'm going to have to clean it up', all while gaping a bit in shock. The expressions all passed in the span of a moment, then he nodded. "Of course," he said at last. "Quite the clever solution really. His TARDIS would be close enough to Jack that you wouldn't be hurt for trying to leave, but you would have distance inside it. That's...really very clever." He grinned, then reined in the expression and paused a moment. "Do you mind if I join you?" He asked finally. "I don't want to intrude, it's just...I'm a bit bored, honestly, and the person I'm with is working and it would be nice to spend some time with him. And with you." And also, he wasn't entirely sure something bad wouldn't happen if he wasn't there. But mostly, he just wanted company.

He grinned as Kitty interrupted the conversation by jumping to Lucy, glad to see the pair getting along. "See!" he said. "She really has missed you. She was quite pleased when I told her we were coming to see you. Wouldn't stop talking about it." He paused. "I...uh...speak cat. So...yes. She's happy and you two seem to be getting along. And I can go now, if you want." He really did hate his tendency to get awkward in situations like this. "I know I said...but I don't want to intrude if you wanted to speak to Harry alone."

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neverthatbright
2012-01-03 10:17 pm UTC (link)

In all honesty, Lucy had been both rather expecting the Doctor to ask if he might come along and hoping for it as well. She might not be terribly fond of him, but he did have a way of keeping the Master focused on things that weren't necessarily going to send him into some sort of tirade. Not to mention, if Jack did decide to attack the Master despite her making it very clear that it would not be tolerated whatsoever, she knew the Doctor would intervene.

"You're more than welcome to join us, if you wish. I can't imagine Harry will have a problem with it." Because, really, why would he? Unless he was planning something he shouldn't be, which would be made rather obvious well in advance should he voice an objection to the Doctor's company. Yet another reason to have the Time Lord come along. An early warning system, as it were, was only smart when dealing with her husband.

Her attention remained primarily focused on Kitty even as she spoke, transferring the cat to the crook of one elbow and using her free hand to scratch her behind the ears. When the Doctor offered to leave rather than stay, she looked up briefly to meet his gaze. "Really," she assured him, the corners of her mouth quirking upward into a ghost of a smile, even if it was simply born out of politeness rather than true sentiment. "You're scarcely intruding."

She paused, for just a moment, to look back down at Kitty before tacking on a rather knowing, "Isn't that right, Harry?"

It was only after she'd said the nickname that she'd given her husband back when they'd first met that she looked up once more, glancing over her shoulder with a smile at where she had simply instinctively known he was standing. His TARDIS didn't make that same sound as the Doctor's, and she'd had no real indication that he'd arrived, but she somehow had known just the same. When it came to Harry, she simply had a sixth sense when he was near. It certainly wasn't explainable but, really, that was part of what she liked about it.

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cantyouhearit
2012-01-03 11:23 pm UTC (link)

The Master had been completely serious when he'd told Lucy that he would be there in the tick of a clock. It had only taken him a few seconds to fire up the engines of his TARDIS and set in the target of his flight, depositing a new piece of furniture into the facade of the flat with his arrival. Having arrived in the midst of Lucy and the Doctor's conversation, though, he hadn't wanted to intrude, lingering with the door of his TARDIS -- which now appeared to be a china cabinet sitting flush against the wall -- just open enough to overhear what was being said but not to be seen. At least, so he'd thought until Lucy turned and called him out on his presence. Whether she could see him peaking out of the cabinet or had just noted that there was now a piece of furniture in the flat that hadn't been there before, either way, there was no longer a point in trying to keep himself concealed.

Smiling as he pushed back the door and gave a quick look around to make sure that the three of them were currently alone, the Master stepped out of the TARDIS and moved towards the pair, arms extended open in greeting, "You're always welcome, Doctor. You should know that as well as anyone," He said, smiling as he settled a hand on the fellow Time Lord's shoulder with a mix of familiarity and affection that might have been baffling to Lucy. With the way that she was used to the Doctor and the Master interacting, actual friendly gestures between the two of them without any hint of malice or spite underlying them would probably seem wholly out of character, but the both of them had been through enough that the Master had managed to put most of his issues aside when it came to this version of the Doctor. They were still going to be at odds, of course, should the situation ever change to be within his favor again, but he didn't hold the same sort of ire towards him as he might towards any of the other versions that could have arrived in the city.

"I've already got the study set up for hosting company," The Master said with a benign smile as he reached out with his other hand, tickling his fingers playfully under Kitty's chin. "And I certain I can find some sardines for our little darling here as well. If the three of you would care to follow me," He said, gesturing towards the china cabinet. He was certain that the Doctor would be more than able to find his own way without being directed. Time Lords had a sort of sixth sense inside a TARDIS, even ones that weren't their own, when it came to layouts and ways of not getting lost, but he hardly wanted to leave Lucy behind without the two of them, if only to make sure that she didn't end up lost among the endless twists and turns of the corridors. Even if he was certain that Kitty would manage to show her the right way out with time, should it come to that.

All the same, it was just simpler to keep all of them together.

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amadmanwithabox
2012-01-04 01:33 am UTC (link)

"Oh, that's good," the Doctor said immediately, as Lucy reassured him that he was certainly allowed to join them and he wasn't intruding at all. He wasn't sure how much of it was sincere and how much of it was inborn politeness, but he appreciated the gesture either way. "And I don't imagine he would either." Because the Master had been behaving of late, which was something of a relief what with all the other thing he'd had to deal with of late. If his friend had gone off and got himself into trouble, or got other people into trouble, he really would have been cross with him. It was the principle of the matter after all, especially after what had happened with Melody and the Master rather stupidly dying. Yes, he was still not pleased about that.

He would have said more, likely babbling a bit more about not wanting to be a bother, but Lucy forestalled any such ridiculous by alerting him to the Master's presence. Honestly, the Doctor was somewhat embarrassed that he hadn't noticed his friends arrival, too caught up in his awkward fumblings to truly pay attention to his surroundings. That was a bit not good really, considering it could have been someone dangerous showing up. Not that he assumed there were a bunch of dangerous folks showing up at Lucy's flat at all hours, but that sort of inattention could end badly. Right. He clearly just needed to stop worrying so much and just be himself. After all, there was every chance Lucy might actually like this self if he could just stop overthinking everything.

He smiled as the Master rested a hand on his shoulder, his own expression shifting to one of comfortable fondness. "So you say, Koschei," he said, almost unconsciously defaulting to the Master's old nickname. He instantly worried that he had maybe said too much, given Lucy too much information, but he quickly pushed that aside. It was just a name. And it was certainly better than 'Harry'. The only Harry the Doctor could think of who was interesting, excepting Harry Sullivan of course, was Harry Potter and the Master was not a semi-fictional boy wizard. Or he hoped not anyway. If he was, he had clearly missed something somewhere along the way. And he liked to think he didn't miss much, not counting the Master's arrival in the flat.

"It's been a while since I came to see Lo," he said, his feelings toward the Master's TARDIS entirely fond. For the most part, they kept their meetings away from their respective ladies, since Sexy could get a bit tetchy when the Master was around - she was still, he assumed, cross over the whole Paradox Machine kafuffle - and she could get rather jealous if he spent too much time in other TARDISes. But they had other places they could go, so it was fine. Still, he really had missed Lolita, so the visit would be nice. He grinned as the Master took notice of Kitty then, keeping an eye on Lucy as they went, followed the Master along.

He was a bit surprised things were so calm between Lucy and the Master, since he had rather expected something a bit more explosive. But, all the same, he just accepted it. Honestly, he was grateful not to have to break up fights just yet.

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neverthatbright
2012-01-05 07:28 am UTC (link)

On a scale of one to ten - one being her decision to read through the book written by a man by the name of Harold Saxon what felt like so very long ago, and ten being her decision to marry the man despite knowing who he truly was and what his plans were for both her species and the planet she called home - Lucy would probably given her decision to spend the afternoon with the Master and the Doctor a solid four. Not that she was necessarily in the habit of rating such things, not really, but during her time in prison it had certainly helped piece back together her fractured mind by doing just that. Granted, while there her ratings had been about her decision of who to sit beside during meals or whether or not she should have spoken with fellow inmates at some particular point in time, things of that nature, but the concept was the same and certainly helped now much as it had then. For when she was rating things, she was also paying particular attention to every minute detail that she could in order to make the most accurate rating possible.

Right now, things were fine. The only reason she had decided her choice to go into the TARDIS with both Time Lords deserved anything more than a one had been due to the fact that she had her fair share of issues with both of them and, once she was inside the ship, there was every chance she wouldn't be able to even find her way back out without one of them deciding to assist her. That meant her options of escape, should things turn sour, were severely limited and she didn't particularly like that fact whatsoever.

However, there was no going back now and Lucy would be lying if she said she really wanted to turn around and call the whole thing off. Yes, this wasn't very bright of her, in retrospect, but it had the potential of being good just as much as it could turn very bad. She rather wanted to think that there had been enough bad in all of their lives to date and, therefore, they were all allotted a bit of good.

Kitty's mewing brought Lucy out of her mental ramblings and back to the present. Blue eyes were filled with curiosity as she gazed about while following after the Master and the Doctor. She had every intention of staying silent, simply watching what was going on and perhaps commenting once she had her wits about her a bit more, but she found herself growing more and more inquisitive as they moved further into the TARDIS without so much as a glimpse of anyone else.

"Who is it you're stuck with, Harry?" she heard herself asking, only realising a bit belatedly that such a question might come across as though she were jealous. Which, to be fair, was a bit true, but she was hardly going to dwell on such things. Instead she absently scratched Kitty behind the ears, making sure to stay close enough to the Doctor that, should the question she asked provoke some sort of violent response from the Master, she would have at least one person between the two of them... and possibly enough time to flee and hide before he managed to catch her.

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cantyouhearit
2012-01-06 02:04 am UTC (link)

If the question struck the Master in any way, it was in Lucy expressing her own annoyance with the current arrangements. Considering she was stuck with the Captain, though, he could hardly blame her for being highly dissatisfied. There were simply so many better options in this city for her to have any gratefulness towards her pairing. "Hard to say. She keeps referring to herself as Alice, but I think that might be her rather odd proclivity to speak in Lewis Carroll quotes. Delightfully kooky if not somewhat unsettling," the Master said, chuckling vaguely at the sheer implication that something was odd enough to unsettle him, but not having anything of her own to say was something that the Master couldn't help but find a bit odd even if the rather extensive knowledge of quotes would probably strike others as the more disturbing aspect of her behavior. "She's about somewhere. I... actually haven't been keeping track," He said with an expression that showed just how much of a bad idea he'd belatedly realized that probably was. But it was hardly something that he could attend to now with company.

Stopping in front of one of the many doors that lined the corridor they were heading down, the Master opened the door to a study that was laid out with a tea set and a small plate of nibbles, a big fluffy sofa sitting behind the coffee table on which everything was laid out. The room had an unusually homey feel compared to the dark and foreboding atmosphere of the rest of his TARDIS, but there was also a rather significant layer of dust on the books that lined the shelves and some piles on the edges of the sofa that looked as if they'd been missed to the haste to clean it off. Clearly, the Master hadn't had much need for this area of his TARDIS in quite some time.

"Make yourselves at home," He said, motioning for the Doctor and Lucy to head into the room in front of him.

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amadmanwithabox
2012-01-06 05:00 am UTC (link)

The Doctor had to admit that he was also interested in who the Master had been paired off with, but he wasn't quite thrilled at the answer. "So she's a bit mental is what you're saying?" he asked, glancing over at his friend. "Yes, no way that could go horribly wrong. No way at all." He raised an eyebrow, continuing dryly. "And of course, you let the mad girl run about your TARDIS as she likes. I'm seeing absolutely no flaws in your reasoning there." Requisite lecture done, he turned to Lucy. "And you, Lucy," he said, "how are you coping with Jack? I know he can be very...well...he's Jack. Where do I start? He's temperamental, stubborn, childish...I mean...he's a dear friend, but I know he can be trying, especially if you're stuck with him. Are you all right? Do you need me to give him a talking to? Because I will. I absolutely will."

They reached the room where they would be having tea and he sighed, shaking his head. "Honestly, Koschei," he said, taking it in, "it's like you never have company over. All this dust." He made his way over to the tea, and started fiddling about with it. "I'll just..." he poured the tea into one of the cups, adding one sugar and holding it out to Lucy without even thinking. He'd made her tea on more than one occasion the last time she was here, and now it was practically second nature. "Here you...go..." He trailed off as he realised the level of familiarity he had implied with the action and got flustered. "I...um...I'm sorry if I...assumed...I just thought. I do that sometimes. Think. I really shouldn't. It's just...that's how...I mean...here you go. Tea." Well, that was certainly brilliant of him. Good job there. Why was he so dreadful at this?

He fixed a cup for the Master, then his own with milk and sugar, and fidgeted as he sat down. "I...hope you like your tea, Lucy," he finally said, still feeling a bit like an idiot. He took a sip of his tea, mostly because if he was drinking it he couldn't say any more stupid things.

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wellthisisgrand
2012-01-13 04:37 am UTC (link)

In the midst of the fidgeting, said mad-girl-running-about-the-TARDIS drifted into the room, a burst of white and pastels broken up by black-rimmed eyes and red lips. Upon seeing the tea set out, she clapped her hands together and proclaimed in a girlish voice, "There's PLENTY of room! Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?"

Without waiting for an answer, she came right up to the table and picked up the tea pot. "No, I'll look first, and see whether it's marked "poison" or not." She closed one eye and examined closely. Apparently nothing about the tea pot registered as "poison" because she tipped the tea pot to fill a cup to overflowing. Then, she worked her mouth around a few times and spat out a razor blade that clinked as it hit the wet saucer.

She looked silently to each of the three people at the table, expression solemn. Then she attempted to bite her tea cup, gave up and set on the table with a slosh of tea, and snatched away the Doctor's tea cup as she danced off to the doorway. She paused a moment before exiting to smash the tea cup against a dusty bookcase and sighed melodramatically. "Oh, I like it well enough-- only it was so dusty and hot, and the elephants did tease so!"

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neverthatbright
2012-01-13 05:03 am UTC (link)

Truth be told, Lucy wasn't certain what bothered her more. The fact that the Master was stuck with someone that he felt the need to describe as 'delightfully kooky' or the fact that the thought of him actually spending his time with a woman that wasn't her wasn't something she liked to think about. She knew it wasn't logical, or even sane, to be jealous. She was all too well aware that, not only was this not his fault in any shape or fashion, but also that she had no right to be jealous in the first place. Yet she couldn't help how she felt.

Fortunately, the Doctor managed to refocus on her thoughts away from such a dangerous topic by fixing her tea all without benefit of being asked how she preferred it. Blinking a bit owlishly, Lucy took the offered cup with a faint smile and a murmured thanks. She took a seat, casting a curious gaze around the room they were in. She had just raised the teacup to her lips to take a sip in order to be able to assure the Doctor that it was fine, when the most peculiar thing happened.

The woman they had been talking about entered, examined the teapot, poured herself a cup, and spit out a razorblade. Then she stole the Doctor's tea before flouncing away with a melodramatic proclamation and the smashing of that teacup as though it was the most normal thing in the world to do. All the while quoting the writings of an author that Lucy personally hadn't read since she was a very young girl.

Honestly, if she hadn't just witnessed the entire debacle herself, she never would have believed it happened. And, for a long moment after the talk of teasing elephants had finished bouncing around inside her mind, Lucy could do nothing more than stare with wide eyes - her own teacup still raised halfway to her mouth and seemingly frozen in place - as she tried to process what she had just witnessed. Which is precisely when she did something that, in retrospect, wasn't very polite yet she couldn't have stopped no matter how hard she might have tried.

She laughed.

It began as a giggle. More of a snicker, really, half-covered with a cough in a vain attempt to stifle the sound. Then she blinked, gaze flickering first to the Doctor then to the Master. And giggled again. And again. Finally, as her laughter began to flow more regularly, she managed to set down her teacup and quickly moved to pour the Doctor some more. "Well," she said, blue eyes shining with merriment that she knew she likely shouldn't express but couldn't seem to help, "she's certainly... colourful."

With another giggle, Lucy held the newly poured cup of tea out for the Doctor to take and shot the Master a sly little smile somewhat reminiscent of how she used to look when they would sit about, discussing things that she knew she shouldn't. "I would say perhaps you should have invited her to stay but I'm not certain the dishes would survive an entire sitting..."

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