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Fic: Trust Me (I'm a Lying Liar Who Lies). Chapter 3.
Yet more again. :) (Chapter 1 for anyone wishing to catch up.)
Summary: In which River is enigmatic, Martha is frustrated, Mickey is intrigued and the Doctor... is a Pond.
Setting: Post-S6 (spoilers for everything aired so far, including First Night/Last Night and The Christmas Special).
Characters: Martha, Mickey, River, the Doctor (11), OCs. (More characters will probably turn up later.)
Word count (this chapter): 1000 approx.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 3
It was a small consolation, but River looked as shocked as Martha felt at the sudden arrival, although she curbed her alarm with great speed and smiled stiffly.
"Professor. How kind of you to join us."
But despite her outward calm her eyes were pure fury, and Martha half-expected the newcomer to wilt under her gaze.
The Silurian, however, did not hesitate to voice its concerns, looking like it was moments away from drawing its gun again.
"This-" it pointed to the vortex manipulator strapped to the Professor’s arm, "-is not current Earth technology."
Professor Pond laughed.
"Oh goodness me no! We're in..." he thought for a moment and then looked at River for confirmation, "the... 21st Century now? I have come from the Fifty-first.”
Holding the wrist strap up he turned his arm this way and that as if he’d never really seen it before.
“The clever tech people rigged me up with this - marvellous isn't it? Not entirely sure how it works, and I had to promise not to touch any of the buttons - technology isn't really my thing, and I am a little bit clumsy, I'm afraid. It’s rather an... unconventional way of travelling, truth be told, and I can't say I much care for it, but I really did want to come straight away... How could I pass up a find like this?"
He spread his arms out, face lit up with pure eagerness, but the Silurian didn't seem any happier. Smiling apologetically, River carefully turned to it.
"Please forgive my colleague, he has a tendency to... get a little overexcited. If you'd come this way, we could have a little talk in private maybe, and I'll explain?"
The Silurian reluctantly inclined its head, and the two stepped a short distance away, River shooting the Professor a parting glare which - as far as Martha could make out - came across mostly as ‘Please drop dead’.
Even though everything was suddenly rather precarious, and Martha had a feeling that the Silurian was actively looking for an excuse for kill them all, she couldn’t help but feel rather cheered. Anyone who rattled River this badly was to be welcomed as far as she was concerned...
The 'Professor' was now slowly turning, taking in the surroundings, and Martha - throwing caution to the wind - grasped her chance.
"Doctor?" she whispered, as loudly as she dared, and his eyes fastened on her with mild interest as he smiled politely.
"No, not Doctor - Professor," he said corrected punctiliously, "Professor Pond. Has a lovely ring to it, doesn't it? Professor Pond."
He seemed to taste the name, as if it was some sort of delicious toffee, and then explained: "It's quite new you see - still getting used to it."
"Well... you look a bit young to be a Professor," Mickey remarked drily, as Martha was trying to work out what was going on, and Professor Pond shook his head.
"Oh I've been a Professor for... Oh a good while now. It's the Pond bit that's new. I got married you see."
Mickey, forgetting that he was tied up and speaking to a weird bow-tied 'professor' from the future, frowned.
"You mean you took your wife's name?"
Professor Pond studied him with a matching frown, and when he spoke it was hard not to get the impression that he clearly thought Mickey somewhat sub-par in intelligence or understanding.
"That is how it works," he said, and then seemed to look at them properly for the first time, tilting his head, puzzled.
"Doctor Song?" he asked, half-turning, "why are these people tied up?"
River turned, sighed, apologised to the Silurian, and walked up to him.
"They're former Companions of the Doctor, and were actually the ones who led me here. They're tied up to stop them from causing trouble - apparently the Doctor was involved in some incident here 40 years ago."
Professor Pond stroked his chin, making a very good impression of a young man imitating a pensioner.
"The Doctor... Ah yes, that fellow you wrote your thesis on. You know, I'm still not sure about writing your archaeology thesis on a time traveller... highly unorthodox."
A gust of wind blew a handful of curls into River's eyes, and she brushed them away irritably. When she replied her voice was deceptively calm, but the exasperation in her eyes was unmistakable.
"If you have any issues with my academic work, I would suggest you go through the proper channels, Professor."
Clasping his hands together, Professor Pond looked somewhat chastised.
"No, no, not issues as such... But there are some of your sources which always struck me as rather spurious... Not to mention the footnotes. I recall one on page 43..."
He kept talking, fastidious and fussy, and Martha with a deep sigh tried to quell her sharp disappointment. Nothing more than a dull bore of an archaeologist, and about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. For a moment there she'd thought... God, she was a fool.
Looking up, she saw that River had obviously also had enough of the Professor's prattle, and was sending him off with the Silurian to have a look at the tomb, reminding him - rather sharply - that he wasn't to touch anything. This was not their dig - yet - so they weren't insured, and she was sure he remembered how things had turned out on Callisto?
He nodded, looking rather like a small boy who'd been scolded by his mother in public, and then followed the Silurian, admonishments forgotten instantly as he began quizzing it on its past. River dragged a hand across her face, muttering "Mama said there'd be days like this...", and Martha felt her anger growing. Damn straight this horrible woman should be having a difficult day.
When River looked up again, Martha caught her eyes and asked, as pointedly as she could: "You wrote your thesis on the Doctor?"
But River didn't so much as blink. Instead she held Martha's eyes and said, voice perfectly level and without emphasis: "Know your enemy."
And Martha - for the first time - felt genuinely afraid.
Chapter 4.
Summary: In which River is enigmatic, Martha is frustrated, Mickey is intrigued and the Doctor... is a Pond.
Setting: Post-S6 (spoilers for everything aired so far, including First Night/Last Night and The Christmas Special).
Characters: Martha, Mickey, River, the Doctor (11), OCs. (More characters will probably turn up later.)
Word count (this chapter): 1000 approx.
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
It was a small consolation, but River looked as shocked as Martha felt at the sudden arrival, although she curbed her alarm with great speed and smiled stiffly.
"Professor. How kind of you to join us."
But despite her outward calm her eyes were pure fury, and Martha half-expected the newcomer to wilt under her gaze.
The Silurian, however, did not hesitate to voice its concerns, looking like it was moments away from drawing its gun again.
"This-" it pointed to the vortex manipulator strapped to the Professor’s arm, "-is not current Earth technology."
Professor Pond laughed.
"Oh goodness me no! We're in..." he thought for a moment and then looked at River for confirmation, "the... 21st Century now? I have come from the Fifty-first.”
Holding the wrist strap up he turned his arm this way and that as if he’d never really seen it before.
“The clever tech people rigged me up with this - marvellous isn't it? Not entirely sure how it works, and I had to promise not to touch any of the buttons - technology isn't really my thing, and I am a little bit clumsy, I'm afraid. It’s rather an... unconventional way of travelling, truth be told, and I can't say I much care for it, but I really did want to come straight away... How could I pass up a find like this?"
He spread his arms out, face lit up with pure eagerness, but the Silurian didn't seem any happier. Smiling apologetically, River carefully turned to it.
"Please forgive my colleague, he has a tendency to... get a little overexcited. If you'd come this way, we could have a little talk in private maybe, and I'll explain?"
The Silurian reluctantly inclined its head, and the two stepped a short distance away, River shooting the Professor a parting glare which - as far as Martha could make out - came across mostly as ‘Please drop dead’.
Even though everything was suddenly rather precarious, and Martha had a feeling that the Silurian was actively looking for an excuse for kill them all, she couldn’t help but feel rather cheered. Anyone who rattled River this badly was to be welcomed as far as she was concerned...
The 'Professor' was now slowly turning, taking in the surroundings, and Martha - throwing caution to the wind - grasped her chance.
"Doctor?" she whispered, as loudly as she dared, and his eyes fastened on her with mild interest as he smiled politely.
"No, not Doctor - Professor," he said corrected punctiliously, "Professor Pond. Has a lovely ring to it, doesn't it? Professor Pond."
He seemed to taste the name, as if it was some sort of delicious toffee, and then explained: "It's quite new you see - still getting used to it."
"Well... you look a bit young to be a Professor," Mickey remarked drily, as Martha was trying to work out what was going on, and Professor Pond shook his head.
"Oh I've been a Professor for... Oh a good while now. It's the Pond bit that's new. I got married you see."
Mickey, forgetting that he was tied up and speaking to a weird bow-tied 'professor' from the future, frowned.
"You mean you took your wife's name?"
Professor Pond studied him with a matching frown, and when he spoke it was hard not to get the impression that he clearly thought Mickey somewhat sub-par in intelligence or understanding.
"That is how it works," he said, and then seemed to look at them properly for the first time, tilting his head, puzzled.
"Doctor Song?" he asked, half-turning, "why are these people tied up?"
River turned, sighed, apologised to the Silurian, and walked up to him.
"They're former Companions of the Doctor, and were actually the ones who led me here. They're tied up to stop them from causing trouble - apparently the Doctor was involved in some incident here 40 years ago."
Professor Pond stroked his chin, making a very good impression of a young man imitating a pensioner.
"The Doctor... Ah yes, that fellow you wrote your thesis on. You know, I'm still not sure about writing your archaeology thesis on a time traveller... highly unorthodox."
A gust of wind blew a handful of curls into River's eyes, and she brushed them away irritably. When she replied her voice was deceptively calm, but the exasperation in her eyes was unmistakable.
"If you have any issues with my academic work, I would suggest you go through the proper channels, Professor."
Clasping his hands together, Professor Pond looked somewhat chastised.
"No, no, not issues as such... But there are some of your sources which always struck me as rather spurious... Not to mention the footnotes. I recall one on page 43..."
He kept talking, fastidious and fussy, and Martha with a deep sigh tried to quell her sharp disappointment. Nothing more than a dull bore of an archaeologist, and about as much use as a chocolate fireguard. For a moment there she'd thought... God, she was a fool.
Looking up, she saw that River had obviously also had enough of the Professor's prattle, and was sending him off with the Silurian to have a look at the tomb, reminding him - rather sharply - that he wasn't to touch anything. This was not their dig - yet - so they weren't insured, and she was sure he remembered how things had turned out on Callisto?
He nodded, looking rather like a small boy who'd been scolded by his mother in public, and then followed the Silurian, admonishments forgotten instantly as he began quizzing it on its past. River dragged a hand across her face, muttering "Mama said there'd be days like this...", and Martha felt her anger growing. Damn straight this horrible woman should be having a difficult day.
When River looked up again, Martha caught her eyes and asked, as pointedly as she could: "You wrote your thesis on the Doctor?"
But River didn't so much as blink. Instead she held Martha's eyes and said, voice perfectly level and without emphasis: "Know your enemy."
And Martha - for the first time - felt genuinely afraid.
Chapter 4.
no subject
no subject
I'd give my right arm to see past Companions back on screen, but since it's unlikely, I write instead...
River is wonderful, and the "archeaology vs time travel" nod amuses me greatly :)
Thank you! :) And I'm having lots of fun (in case you can't tell...)