Dates in Time (3/10)
Chapter 3: Flying Lessons or What the Future Doesn't Know the Past Won't Tell
"Okay! Now pull on the yellow thrusters!"
Melody looked right in front of her trying to hold on for dear life as the Tardis spun out of control, "What yellow thrusters?"
The Doctor who had discarded his pair of goggles when the Tardis began to act up, looked at her, "What was the third rule I gave you before we began the practical lessons?"
She bit her lip and let out a little squeak when there was a boom. She tried to remember but there were over a hundred little rules involving flying the Tardis, and she was after all half human.
"Oh!" she suddenly said and pulled herself around and closer to where the Doctor was, "If the blue stabilizers don't work, then move the yellow levers, the right one up and the left one down."
She pulled them in synchronization and the Tardis stabilized itself. She stood up straight, "Well wasn't that fun?"
He just gave her the look he always gave her whenever she crashed the Tardis in the virtual reality room, and began fiddling with the buttons, "Fun isn't exactly the word I'd use, but at least you didn't manage to force her out of the vortex, now that could've been disastrous for both of us and maybe several billion planets."
He began muttering to himself and Melody just twisted the screen around to her side and peered into it.
"We're back home," she exclaimed. "Well my home. About three days after we left though."
She looked over at the Doctor who was making cooing noises at the machine, "It's ok ol' girl. You'll be fine."
He looked up smiling at her, "She'll be fine. Just a couple of hours, and then she'll be up and running."
"But we're three days late, I promised my mum when I began gallivanting with you all over the universe that I would be back on the same day to the minute if I could. And now we're three days late. She's going to kill me."
Then she looked at him, "No, she's going to kill you! Future you, and then I'll be grounded forever. Perfect, and this weekend was that light ball, I guess I can't go now."
"Oh that is bad, maybe if we wait a few hours she'll be ready and you'll be ready to go."
She gave him a look, and then looked at her wrist where she was wearing the watch that the Doctor gave her when she first started to spend more time inside of the Tardis. It automatically corrected itself to the time and date of any place she landed in, "Can you get her running in two minutes?"
The Doctor looked around himself and then looked at her, "If we try to fly her now, she'll explode."
She looked away and sat down on the edge of the stairs, "Well then there is nothing we can do. My mum is on her way right now. Don't you think she'll recognize the noise the Tardis makes? Given the fact that I forgot to take off the breaks."
"Didn't I tell you to always remember to take off the breaks?"
She shrugged, "I kind of like the noise."
He sat down next to her, "So we've got two minutes."
She looked at him and hit him with her shoulder, "Think I'm almost ready to fly her myself?"
He laughed and it caused his eyes to wrinkle in the corners, and his mouth to do this twitchy thing. She lifted her hand to his cheek, and he stopped laughing slowly his eyes widening a bit. He shook his head, "Not close to ready yet."
She took a deep breath and leaned in a bit, and that's when she heard it the whoosh and loud sound that the Tardis made when it landed. "That was the Tardis," she whispered.
She felt him shudder a bit and she pressed her mouth against his cheek, "See you."
She stood and ran out the doors in time to see her mother rushing up the path like if the Devil was after her, "Melody Pond! You get home right now, you're grounded until you're thirty!"
She turned to the second Tardis and ran to it. The doors opened under her touch and she skidded to a halt right before the steps. The doors closed behind her and she looked at the Doctor who was smiling down at her.
She placed her hands on her hips and smirked, "Hello sweetie."
He laughed a bit, and she rushed up the steps.
He holds his hands out, "Look at you! My pretty haired, clever friend!" He pulls her into a hug and she holds on tight afraid for a second that if he lets go he'll disappear.
He pulls back and rests his hands on her shoulders, "Have I got a surprise for you."
He pushed her over to the counsel. She braced her hands against it and felt the Tardis hum delightedly under her, "Now, I'm going to set the date and time, and you." He walked over and leaned over her shoulder so that he could whisper in her ear, "Are going to show me your fancy driving skills."
He pulled away a second later, and she took a deep breath realizing that the same trembling feeling in her stomach happened when she was around the other Doctor as well. They are both the same person, but they both seem so different to her.
"I kind of just crashed the Tardis," she said once he had made the trip around the counsel switching switches and turning faucets and pulling levers. "Do you really think it's wise to trust me with her now?"
He stopped what he was doing and looked at her for a second. He just looked and pursed his lips and then leaned down until they were face to face, "I don't trust you with her. But I do trust me to have told you everything you need to know."
He backed away and began fiddling with the rest of the controls before saying, "Besides after your last crash I managed to fix the Tardis so that she can stabilize herself if she feels like she is freefalling."
He turned and smiled at her, "So just have a go at it and let's see where we land."
She just shook her head and smiled back at him before pulling down the lever that made her go. But she couldn't help the feeling that she was missing something.
"Environmental check!" she yelled at him before he pushed open the doors. He just looked at her, and rolled his eyes.
"There is no need for one it is perfectly safe I promise you," he walked over to where she was still standing by the counsel and grabbed her hand. "We haven't even left Earth."
She flexed her fingers in his grip, and he tugged her along, "Come along Pond! We've got history to relive."
He pulled her through the Tardis doors and out into…scorching hot heat, and sand?
"Where are we?" she asked looking around.
"You're the archeologist. You tell me."
She wanted to protest that she wasn't an archeologist yet, but she didn't.
She took a closer look at her surroundings, at all of the sand, and of the people bumbling about wearing kilts or tube dresses , the naked children playing in the water, and then after the river men, lots of men, lots of dusty men, dragging what looked like a huge brick over to a structure that could possibly look like a pyramid.
"Oh my god," she exclaimed squeezing the Doctor's hand. "We're in Ancient Egypt! Right when they were building the pyramids! There have been many theories of how they were able to build them ranging from incredible brute strength to help from Aliens. Personally, I believe it was the Aliens after meeting you and seeing what is out there, it must have been the Aliens."
She looked up at him to see that he was watching her with this odd look on his face. She looked away and cleared her throat, "So was it the Aliens?"
"I do not know," he said slowly before tugging her hand so that she would look back at him. Once she did, he smiled blindingly at her, "Why don't we go find out!"
He began walking away at a rapid pace that she had to fight a bit to keep up with. Once she reached him, she saw that there were two other pyramids being built in the distance, "Not just any pyramids, but the Pyramids of Giza? My, my Doctor, how did you know?"
He just smiled mysteriously at her, "I know everything there is to know about you. You may have had a different childhood and a different name, but essentially you're still my River Song."
She stopped in her tracks, and he kept walking over to where the workers were pilling millions upon millions of rocks one on top of the other.
She ran over to him and reached just in time to hear him asking one of the workers what was it that they were doing, "We're just travelers from the North, kind of eccentrically rich, don't know if you're used to that sort of thing, but what I am interested in is how you've built this incredible beauty."
"It's planned and built layer by layer. Each layer more intricate and more dangerous than the last," he said before turning around and continuing his work.
"So no aliens?" Melody asked standing next to the Doctor.
He shook his head, "None that we know off, tell me Melody all you know about these pyramids."
She began spouting information about Khufu and the fifth dynasty and about the Great Pyramid of Giza being the largest in the world and the original seventh wonder. About the different chambers and the three Queen pyramids that will eventually find themselves on one side of the smallest pyramid of the three, "It took twenty years to build this thing, using only saws, if we're to go with the no aliens theory. That is what makes it even more spectacular. They built one of the tallest buildings that held the title for being the tallest building for close to four thousand years with no machines, just their hands and feet. These Egyptians are bloody amazing is what they are."
She finished her little history (or was is current history? She really couldn't tell the difference anymore.) lesson and looked up at the Doctor who was once again looking at her with this weird look on his face. He broke out into a slow and easy smile that made her toes curl inside of her boots, and said, "I love it when you do that."
She just blushed and looked away pretty positive that this was the first time she had rambled about something history related in front of him. Before she could say anything else though they were stopped by a woman in a cloak, "What pretty hair you have my child all golden in the sunlight."
The woman moved in closer and seemed to want to stroke her hair, and Melody stepped back into the Doctor, "You're not from around here are you?"
The Doctor pulled Melody behind him and stepped up to the woman smiling, "No we are not. Who are you?"
"I am Eshe," she said pointing to herself. "And your lovely friend is making quite a stir."
The Doctor turned to look at her, and Melody looked down at herself. She was wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top with her knee length boots. So she was maybe attempting to slowly but surely seduce the Doctor, sue her! She sure did get a kick out off watching the other Doctor sputter for a bit before telling her that it wasn't proper dress wear for practicing to fly the Tardis. She did ask him what he was going to do about it, but he just turned quickly around and began to show her the controls.
She wiggled a bit and looked back up at them. They were both watching her disapprovingly, "What?"
The Doctor turned to his new friend while Melody frowned, "Do you have anything we could borrow preferably in red, but also black if you have it. Not white or any pale colour though it might be better if it was a pale colour, but I don't really want to hear you complain about how it's clashing with your skin tone."
Melody just watched him as he let the older woman lead them into the village and into her hut. They left him outside while Eshe, found her something more appropriate to wear.
"So how did you know?" she yelled so the Doctor could hear her.
"Know what?" he asked coming closer to the door.
"That I would complain that pastel colors clash with my skin tone," she asked before catching the garment that Eshe had thrown her way.
It was the colour deep purple, and it made her look up at Eshe in surprise. Only the wealthiest people could afford to dye their fabrics. She had been hoping for something in the darker pales, not something purple.
"That would fall under the category of spoilers, dear!" she heard from the door way, and she smiled.
"You've never called me dear before," she commented while taking off the clothes she was wearing and slipping the dress over her head. It fell to her ankles, and Eshe threw something else her way, "Sensible shoes."
"Oh, well there is a first time for everything."
She pulled off her boots and slipped the shoes on before tying her hair back.
Eshe smiled at her, "Now you are acceptable."
She gathered her belongings and walked to the door. She threw her clothing at the Doctor who caught it all, "And a last."
"A last of what?" the Doctor asks as Eshe joined them.
"A last time for you to call me 'dear' what am I married to you with children?" her eyes widened when he didn't speak. "Never mind I don't want to know. Just don't call me, dear."
He grinned at her, "I'll stop calling you dear when you stop calling me sweetie."
She scowled at him as Eshe put her belongings in a bag which she handed back to her.
"Great now that you're acceptable and not causing a stir to the general population, we can go exploring!"
He rushed off like a little kid, and Melody gathered her skirts and clamping down tight on the bag, because she really couldn't afford to lose the five hundred dollar boots, ran after him laughing the whole way.
"Mmm," Melody sighed leaning against the Doctor as he lead her over to her bed. "Red wine is divine isn't it?"
He just laughed a bit, "I never had the taste for it, you on the other hand love it."
She smiled and snuggled into his neck. This Doctor knew everything there was to know about her. She kind of liked that a bit, but there was something that was missing, something that was wrong, but she really couldn't put her finger on it.
"I really do," she whispered. "Doctor?"
He carefully transferred her from his arms to her bed and slipped off her sensible shoes, "Yes, my dear?"
She scrunched up her nose at the endearment, but sighed once he pulled the sheet over her, "Do you remember everything? I think I was going to kiss you earlier today."
His eyes widened a bit as he looked at her, "I remember."
She closed her eyes and snuggled into her pillow, "You're both so different though. Act different too. Especially with me."
"I'm sorry," he whispered leaning down and pressing a kiss on her forehead. "I just hope you'll be strong enough to handle what's coming next."