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Fic: Dating the Cleverest Boy in the World. Chapter 17.
This chapter ballooned out of all proportion, so I decided to cut it in half. Which also means that I can post it now. :)
(All mistakes mine, and apologies for the writing. It just refused to flow.)
For anyone new, this is part of my 'Not the Last' AU 'verse, which centres around the Master's son. Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up, or just follow the tags. Also on AO3 and The Teaspoon.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Spring 2027
Characters (this chapter): Adelaide Brooke, Alex, Allison, Jamie, Josh, Matt, Chen & a few other OCs.
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 3900 words.
Feedback: Will make me happier than you can imagine.
Chapter 17
Spring 2027
Apparently shocks were like busses. None for ages, and then three came along at once. On the same day even.
Allison rather wanted a word with whoever was in charge - not that she was sure that she believed that there was someone, but if there was then he/she/it was clearly having a laugh at her expense.
It started in the morning with Alex asking her if she wanted to move in.
Although the wedding was still more than a year off, Josh was moving in with Jamie permanently as soon as possible, and Matt had decided that he wanted his own place. So if Allison wanted to try being a live-in girlfriend Alex was game.
This wasn’t an entirely unexpected development (after all they’d lived together the previous summer when they were travelling with the circus), yet it still felt oddly momentous. Moving in together... It was another step on the relationship path, and she was both excited and a little apprehensive. What if it didn’t work? What if, what if, what if...
Yet she agreed immediately.
It was the news in the middle of the day that it took time to recover from however - to such an extent that she almost had no more shock left in the evening, when she felt that she probably needed it the most.
The midday news made it difficult for her to process anything else, as it was effecting everything in her life with immediate effect. Professor Trinder had related the news herself, the spring sun falling through the windows with such shining brightness that Allison felt that she was dreaming:
She was going to NASA.
Alex had talked about the NASA internships since before Christmas, and had (with his customary persistence) cajoled Chen and herself into applying, even roping Professor Trinder into providing them with references.
But knowing that NASA only considered applications from Americans for the actual internship, Allison had dismissed the whole idea along with all the other mad ideas Alex mentioned on a regular basis. There were various opportunities for international students, but not proper internships - she’d made sure to read all the fine print. And it was hard to miss the part where it said ‘US citizens ONLY’ in black on white.
Still, somehow something magic had happened, and they were actually going, all three of them. Alex was of course smug as hell, but Allison was too stunned to even smack him around the head.
Come evening she was grateful to have been asked round to Jamie’s - she’d be able to to curl up on a sofa and pretend to pay attention as Josh would be telling herself, Alex and Matt all about the plans they had undoubtedly already made for the wedding. Not that she wasn’t interested, but she needed time to let the NASA news sink in properly, and the whole marriage thing was like something out of a different world - a strange intrusion into their easy university life.
Except that was not the evening she was in for.
Josh was the one to open the door, and, once they were in, took Alex’s hand, face oddly serious and his voice uncharacteristically hesitant.
“Just wanted to say... thank you. For... you know... the present...”
Allison turned to Alex, surprised.
“We got them an engagement present? Why didn’t you say?”
A sudden deafening silence followed her words, as Josh’s eyes grew huge, and Jamie, who was standing behind him, actually blushed (Allison hadn’t known that sie could do that) - and Allison immediately held up a hand.
“OK, I don’t want to know. Sorry I asked.”
Josh started saying something that might be an apology, but she stretched out her hand and put a finger across his lips.
“Not. A. Word.”
Josh nodded and Allison shot Alex a look.
“You could have warned me.”
Alex at least the grace to look sorry, which she supposed was something. As if Troy hadn’t traumatised her enough at Christmas... figured that Alex would think along those lines too. Not that she could imagine what on earth he’d suggested (or possibly given them), nor did she want to.
“I blame Jack, by the way,” she said, before seating herself down on the sofa next to Matt who shot her a reassuring ‘I don’t have a clue either’ look. She liked those, as well as the feeling of the two of them being the ‘normal’ ones. The fact that Matt had somehow managed to preserve his normalness, despite being best friends with Josh and Alex, gave her hope. She wasn’t doomed to peculiarity just because she was dating someone weird...
When everyone was seated, and tea and biscuits distributed, Josh bit his lip, looked at Jamie, then smiled nervously.
“OK, so this is... I’m not even sure what. I just... wanted to be a bit more open, so we thought we’d start small.”
Allison for a brief second thought that this would be a car keys in a bowl thing, except none of them had cars, plus that idea was ridiculous. Mentally hitting herself over the head, she told herself it was all Alex’s fault for having channelled Jack. And at the back of her mind NASA was still dancing tantalisingly, so she blew on her tea, and prepared herself for wedding preparations of the outlandish kind.
Then Jamie took over, face even paler than usual, as Josh grasped hir hand.
“What Josh is trying to say is... I’m half-alien.”
And Allison choked on her tea.
***
Due to the internship life suddenly gained momentum, the easy humdrum of daily life metamorphosing into a whirlwind of packing and getting everything sorted, and although she technically knew that several weeks passed, it felt like mere moments.
(She was trying to get her stuff moved to Alex’s - with three bedrooms they could have a study each if they shared a bedroom - as well as processing the fact that one of her friends was an alien. Or half-alien, rather. She knew an alien. It was a piece of information that somehow refused to stick, and kept surprising her at odd moments.)
Yet she was now sitting in some sort of meeting room in the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas, along with Alex, Chen, and a group of American students. Which had to mean that she was genuinely, properly a part of the Undergraduate Student Research Programme, and would be here for 3 months...
(What was NASA’s policy re. aliens she wondered. Was there a protocol to follow? But then aliens that had grown up on Earth were a different thing to alien-aliens from other planets.)
The head of the programme - a jovial engineer called Richard, who wore a colourful checkered shirt paired with jeans and cowboy boots and on the whole looked like he’d stepped out of a TV show - was doing an introductory talk, explaining the basics in more detail using a smart board that made the ones at Cambridge seem slow and outdated.
As he spoke, a young woman silently slipped through the door and placed herself unobtrusively against the side wall. Allison would hardly have noticed her if it wasn’t for the way Alex had suddenly looked up from his pad and studied her so intently that it bordered on indecent. Eventually he returned to dividing his attention between the talk and his pad, but Allison could tell that he was distracted.
Trying to look at the woman without being as obvious as Alex, Allison had to admit that she was quite the stunner. The practical clothing and casual blonde ponytail didn’t hide the fact that she was as delicately built as Jamie, although she was obviously much more athletic, and facially she was just as striking - her features elegant and cool.
Under ordinary circumstances Allison tried her best to stomp down on her jealous impulses, but in this case she was worried that she was justified - especially as the woman’s eyes speculatively fasted on Alex, and when he briefly looked up again Allison felt the look that passed between them could have been cut with a knife. Except then the woman’s eyes moved onto Allison, and she abruptly realised that she’d not been paying attention to the talk.
Apparently there were lots of different departments they could choose to work in, but Richard was keen to stress that they all supported the same outcome, the same purpose. Their current undertaking being Project Pit Stop, which would use the Moon as a refuelling base for planetary exploration.
However this was just the beginning - presuming it was a success they would then go on to exploring other planets, the goal being a settlement on Mars by the year 2069 at the latest.
As he laid out the general scope of all their projects Allison plain forgot about the mysterious woman, and felt pure excitement building inside, bubbling and new. She could help create something that might end up on Mars. Something real. All the theories, all the text books, all the studying... This is where it ended up.
She could tell that the other students shared her feelings and was only vaguely aware of Alex, until he put the pad down and raised his hand, stopping Richard’s monologue.
“I’d like to join the Pit Stop Project.”
Richard smiled pleasantly.
“Already made up your mind, eh? Well, we’ll see what we can do... There’s plenty that needs doing, and I’m sure they could use another hand.”
Alex shot the woman a swift glance, before lightly shaking his head.
“Sorry, I wasn’t being clear. I want to help lead and plan it.”
Richard’s smile turned slightly uncomfortable, hesitating somewhat in his reply.
“Listen kid, it’s nice that you’re so enthusiastic, but we’re no more going to let you do that, than, say, the head of a construction company would let an apprentice run a building site on the first day.”
Allison could practically feel the smugness that was now coursing through Alex, as a smirk of pure, unalloyed Saxon settled on his features.
“I’ve done that,” he said lightly, and Richard’s smile vanished entirely, clearly thinking that Alex was being facetious.
“Very funny. But even if that’s true kiddo, space exploration is a little more complicated.”
Alex raised a condescending eyebrow.
“Which is why I’m here to help. I’m sure you could do with a hand - as you say, it’s complicated stuff. Well, relatively speaking...”
Allison could feel her heart sink. Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn’t he just be charming like he usually was? Guys like Richard tended to eat out of his hand in no time at all...
Then (heart sinking even further, before hitting the floor and beginning to dig) she realised that he was trying to show off because of the mystery woman. 'Men!' she thought tiredly. She’d not come here just so he could be a jerk and impress other women.
Richard stared, clearly unsure what on earth he was dealing with:
“Relatively speaking?”
“From your perspective it’s complicated. From mine, not so much.”
Richard had by now reached the thoroughly incredulous stage, and Allison could hear feet scuffling under tables. But Richard had clearly decided that enough was enough, and didn’t mince his next words.
“Now I know that your father is a nut job kid, but they could have warned us that you’re one too!”
Alex’s eyes narrowed, focussing on Richard with the sort of cold disdain and haughtiness Allison hadn’t seen very often, but that she remembered far too well. It was as if the whole room was holding its breath, waiting for his reply.
“My father might be insane, but he’s also a stone cold genius. As am I. More the fool you if you don’t give me the opportunity to prove it.”
It looked like stale mate, when the woman detached herself from the wall and moved forwards.
“Enough! Richard-” the engineer turned, and she calmly continued, her voice firm and her English accent without a hint of an American tinge. “I was the one who pushed for the boy to come. We were promised a genius, and it seems that’s what we’ve got.”
Walking up to Alex, she held out her hand.
“I’m Adelaide. Pleasure to meet you Alexander Saxon.”
Alex took the offered hand, eyes practically glazing over with emotions Allison could only guess at. However her jealousy was hampered by her sudden realisation that this had to be the Adelaide that Professor Trinder had mentioned.
“Trust me, the honour is entirely mine Doctor Brooke,” Alex replied, and Adelaide seemed pleased at the formality of the address, motioning for him to stand up.
“Come along Saxon, I’ll take it from here.”
As Alex gathered his things, one of the other students had clearly had enough and spoke up.
“Sorry, but why does the English kid get special attention? He ain’t even supposed to be here!”
Adelaide turned and studied him coolly.
“The English kid gets special attention because his father created a satellite network twenty years ago that we still don’t understand.”
“And killed our President!”
Alex had now pushed his chair under the table and finally spoke, voice perfectly neutral, yet with a hint of steel that Allison hadn’t seen very often.
“I’m perfectly aware that my father is an evil, psychotic, mass-murdering megalomaniac. Wanna swap?”
A couple of seconds, then the student lowered his eyes, deeply uncomfortable, muttering something unintelligible.
“See you later Allie, have fun!” Alex then said, briefly kissing her cheek, and she tried to smile without meeting any of the intensely curious eyes now on her. How was it possible that he could play people so skilfully that he had everyone dancing to his tune, yet be utterly tone-deaf at the same time?
When the door finally closed behind Alex and Adelaide, Richard smiled stiffly.
“Well, I think that young man could probably do with some therapy.”
Allison couldn’t help shrugging and adding a comment of her own.
“I tried suggesting that. He refused.”
“Ah,” Richard replied, a whole conversation contained in the utterance, and then - having effortlessly relegated Alex to Therapy Case rather than Genius - concentrated on explaining to the rest of them what their choices were for the summer.
Allison however knew that vindication would be Alex’s... Sooner or later everyone would discover that he was just as brilliant as he claimed to be. Adelaide obviously knew this, and Allison felt a tiny stab of something. She should be grateful to be here at all, but somewhere - far, far down - she wished she’d gotten here on her own merits, and not because of Alex.
As they set off for a tour of the different departments a little later, Chen (whom she had almost forgotten about) quietly caught her attention, and she made sure to slow her steps so they were out of earshot of the rest.
“I am not sure I understand what happened,” Chen said in his careful way. “Why the sudden talk about therapy?”
Allison sighed.
“It’s an American thing. Well, Western I suppose. Alex obviously has issues because of his father. And it would probably be good if he tried to talk through them and deal with everything.”
Chen studied her thoughtfully.
“But does this impact on his work?”
“No...”
A pause as Chen’s brow drew together.
“It is strange, the way people here behave. I do not understand it. Our Professor clearly marked out Alex as a special case, yet this Richard and the other students challenged his position. He dealt well with the disrespect, although I wonder - why was he not taken aside from the beginning? I found the argument very... Untasteful? Distasteful? Bad taste? What is the English word?”
As Allison tried to answer, her mind was busy trying to reconstruct the scene from this new perspective, and realised that Alex’s responses - rather than coming across as entitled and insulting - made perfect sense. Turning it over, it wasn’t so much the fact that Chen had a different outlook that made her pause, but that it was clearly one that Alex shared. She knew this already, but she’d never really examined it... How had he developed it? He’d grown up in England, after all, not China, and his father might be insane, but he was still British. Was it some weird Saxon-y hangover from the entitlements of Empire? But surely Alex was much too smart not to see the through that... He just expected all the rules to bend when he wanted them to - and they did.
Then they entered the robotechnics department, and Allison was suddenly rendered speechless when confronted with the actual people who had built Curiosity.
***
She didn’t see Alex again until that evening, when he appeared like a beaming, blond Jack-in-the-box, helping himself to one of her chicken wings, before scooting in alongside her on the bench.
“This is the life,” he said, smiling benignly at the other students round the table, all of whom fell silent as they took in his presence.
But curiosity swiftly won out over hostility, and Allison decided to just sit back and watch the show. She shot Chen a look, and he smiled back. Alex was ‘doing his thing’ again.
Later, when they finally found themselves alone, she did some quizzing of her own.
“So... Adelaide...”
She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but thankfully Alex guessed.
“You are wondering what we talked about? Or are you jealous because I look like I’d crawl over broken glass for her?”
She tried smiling, but failed miserably.
“The second part. Mostly.”
“Well I would. Crawl over broken glass, I mean.”
His voice was perfectly even and calm, like stating the fact that the Earth revolved around the sun, and Allison buried her head in her hands.
“That’s not helping.”
He took her hands, and looked at her as if she was three years old. (Which didn’t help either.)
“Allison - I’m more likely to try it on with the Statue of Liberty. And the Statue of Liberty would probably be more forthcoming. Doctor Brooke is... something utterly singular. She’s like... the Pyramids or the Niagara Falls. She is a true visionary, except she’s right at the start of her journey. But trust me, one day the whole world will know her name. I can... I can feel the rush and weight of history just standing next to her, it’s incredible.”
Sighing deeply, Allison decided to just drop it for the time being, as she was rather exhausted and the jet lag was beginning to kick in. Mostly she was annoyed - this was the fulfilment of a lifetime’s worth of dreams and it was being dented by a woman who was entirely too pretty and clever for comfort. She had never felt threatened before - not really - but Adelaide... There was no way she could compete. Because surely Adelaide would soon realise just how clever Alex was. And where would that leave Allison...
Plus, he was hiding behind history. Possible future history, but history nonetheless, and there was nothing Allison could do about that. He might very well be vindicated in 30 or 40 years time, but Allison couldn’t wait that long.
As she fell asleep, she thought that Josh had got it right. Jamie might be half-alien, but sie was, without a doubt, all Josh’s. But Alex... he loved her, she knew that, but he was also terrified of his emotions, and had too many issues to count. A half-alien was nothing in comparison...
***
Oddly enough it was Adelaide herself who allayed Allison’s fears.
The next morning, as she was trying to come to terms with what passed for tea in America and deciding that she would probably have to stick to coffee for the duration of the summer, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see a fresh faced Adelaide behind her.
“Allison- I was wondering whether I could borrow a few minutes of your time?”
“Um... course,” she replied, bewildered, and followed the other woman down yet more endless corridors (she was going to have to get a proper map, this place was a labyrinth), before finally finding herself in Adelaide’s office. It was as tidy and organised as Alex’s flat (their flat she corrected herself), and she took a seat, trying her best to smile.
“I presume this is about Alex?”
“Yes and no,” Adelaide replied, “although we can certainly begin with him.”
Bringing out a tablet, she shot Allison a candid look.
“As everyone is probably now aware, he was the reason your inclusion was green-lit. Let me see... How did Suzanne put it again?”
She tapped her tablet, bringing up what she was looking for, as Allison's brain slowly connected the dots, remembering that Professor Trinder's first name was Suzanne.
“‘A polymath that leaves Leonardo da Vinci and Stephen Hawking trailing. Unfortunately very unfocussed.’ Tell me Allison - what does he want to do once he’s graduated?”
Allison could only shake her head.
“I don’t know. Anything, everything... He’s very... vague. He talks about his own projects.”
Adelaide nodded, eyes speculative and cool.
“Genius is a wonderful thing, but without focus it’s not much good. I’m hoping that we can harness and channel his genius here - help it serve a greater purpose than just showing off.”
Putting the tablet down, she looked at Allison with a look Allison couldn’t work out at all. She’d have called it conspiratorial, except how would that even work?
“That said... Alex might have been the bait that got the big names here to allow you in, but you and Chen - you were what I was after.”
Allison stared at her, stunned. She was expecting a punch line, or laughter, but none came.
“Chen and I?”
Adelaide nodded, leaning forward and speaking very carefully.
“Chen because he’s Chinese and we need to start co-operating with others in a big way if we’re not going to be left behind. As you might be aware, I am the first NASA candidate to be selected who isn’t a US citizen. I want to make them see that they can’t afford to make me a one-off. The Chinese education system is vigourous in ways they’re not accustomed to, so Chen should hopefully give them a taste for more. And you...”
A sudden smile, as bright as it was unexpected.
“Suzanne said that you reminded her of me. That you had the same ambition.”
Allison wasn’t sure what to say to this, and Adelaide fixed her with a focus that would have been downright unnerving if she hadn’t been used to Alex.
“I will be the first human on Mars. But I need dedicated people beside me, in order to get there. People with vision. People who can keep a goal firmly in their heads even as they work on the tiniest of details. You are welcome to choose whichever project you want while you’re here, but - if you like - you can be my personal assistant, getting a taste of how to make the future happen.”
Heart beating, and breath suddenly caught, Allison realised that she, too, would probably crawl over broken glass for Doctor Adelaide Brooke.
Chapter 18
(All mistakes mine, and apologies for the writing. It just refused to flow.)
For anyone new, this is part of my 'Not the Last' AU 'verse, which centres around the Master's son. Fic index here if anyone wants to catch up, or just follow the tags. Also on AO3 and The Teaspoon.
Summary: Allison had always thought that university would be an adventure. But she'd not imagined that she'd end up dating Harold Saxon's son.
Setting: Spring 2027
Characters (this chapter): Adelaide Brooke, Alex, Allison, Jamie, Josh, Matt, Chen & a few other OCs.
Rating: Teen
Wordcount: 3900 words.
Feedback: Will make me happier than you can imagine.
Chapter 17
Spring 2027
Apparently shocks were like busses. None for ages, and then three came along at once. On the same day even.
Allison rather wanted a word with whoever was in charge - not that she was sure that she believed that there was someone, but if there was then he/she/it was clearly having a laugh at her expense.
It started in the morning with Alex asking her if she wanted to move in.
Although the wedding was still more than a year off, Josh was moving in with Jamie permanently as soon as possible, and Matt had decided that he wanted his own place. So if Allison wanted to try being a live-in girlfriend Alex was game.
This wasn’t an entirely unexpected development (after all they’d lived together the previous summer when they were travelling with the circus), yet it still felt oddly momentous. Moving in together... It was another step on the relationship path, and she was both excited and a little apprehensive. What if it didn’t work? What if, what if, what if...
Yet she agreed immediately.
It was the news in the middle of the day that it took time to recover from however - to such an extent that she almost had no more shock left in the evening, when she felt that she probably needed it the most.
The midday news made it difficult for her to process anything else, as it was effecting everything in her life with immediate effect. Professor Trinder had related the news herself, the spring sun falling through the windows with such shining brightness that Allison felt that she was dreaming:
She was going to NASA.
Alex had talked about the NASA internships since before Christmas, and had (with his customary persistence) cajoled Chen and herself into applying, even roping Professor Trinder into providing them with references.
But knowing that NASA only considered applications from Americans for the actual internship, Allison had dismissed the whole idea along with all the other mad ideas Alex mentioned on a regular basis. There were various opportunities for international students, but not proper internships - she’d made sure to read all the fine print. And it was hard to miss the part where it said ‘US citizens ONLY’ in black on white.
Still, somehow something magic had happened, and they were actually going, all three of them. Alex was of course smug as hell, but Allison was too stunned to even smack him around the head.
Come evening she was grateful to have been asked round to Jamie’s - she’d be able to to curl up on a sofa and pretend to pay attention as Josh would be telling herself, Alex and Matt all about the plans they had undoubtedly already made for the wedding. Not that she wasn’t interested, but she needed time to let the NASA news sink in properly, and the whole marriage thing was like something out of a different world - a strange intrusion into their easy university life.
Except that was not the evening she was in for.
Josh was the one to open the door, and, once they were in, took Alex’s hand, face oddly serious and his voice uncharacteristically hesitant.
“Just wanted to say... thank you. For... you know... the present...”
Allison turned to Alex, surprised.
“We got them an engagement present? Why didn’t you say?”
A sudden deafening silence followed her words, as Josh’s eyes grew huge, and Jamie, who was standing behind him, actually blushed (Allison hadn’t known that sie could do that) - and Allison immediately held up a hand.
“OK, I don’t want to know. Sorry I asked.”
Josh started saying something that might be an apology, but she stretched out her hand and put a finger across his lips.
“Not. A. Word.”
Josh nodded and Allison shot Alex a look.
“You could have warned me.”
Alex at least the grace to look sorry, which she supposed was something. As if Troy hadn’t traumatised her enough at Christmas... figured that Alex would think along those lines too. Not that she could imagine what on earth he’d suggested (or possibly given them), nor did she want to.
“I blame Jack, by the way,” she said, before seating herself down on the sofa next to Matt who shot her a reassuring ‘I don’t have a clue either’ look. She liked those, as well as the feeling of the two of them being the ‘normal’ ones. The fact that Matt had somehow managed to preserve his normalness, despite being best friends with Josh and Alex, gave her hope. She wasn’t doomed to peculiarity just because she was dating someone weird...
When everyone was seated, and tea and biscuits distributed, Josh bit his lip, looked at Jamie, then smiled nervously.
“OK, so this is... I’m not even sure what. I just... wanted to be a bit more open, so we thought we’d start small.”
Allison for a brief second thought that this would be a car keys in a bowl thing, except none of them had cars, plus that idea was ridiculous. Mentally hitting herself over the head, she told herself it was all Alex’s fault for having channelled Jack. And at the back of her mind NASA was still dancing tantalisingly, so she blew on her tea, and prepared herself for wedding preparations of the outlandish kind.
Then Jamie took over, face even paler than usual, as Josh grasped hir hand.
“What Josh is trying to say is... I’m half-alien.”
And Allison choked on her tea.
Due to the internship life suddenly gained momentum, the easy humdrum of daily life metamorphosing into a whirlwind of packing and getting everything sorted, and although she technically knew that several weeks passed, it felt like mere moments.
(She was trying to get her stuff moved to Alex’s - with three bedrooms they could have a study each if they shared a bedroom - as well as processing the fact that one of her friends was an alien. Or half-alien, rather. She knew an alien. It was a piece of information that somehow refused to stick, and kept surprising her at odd moments.)
Yet she was now sitting in some sort of meeting room in the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Texas, along with Alex, Chen, and a group of American students. Which had to mean that she was genuinely, properly a part of the Undergraduate Student Research Programme, and would be here for 3 months...
(What was NASA’s policy re. aliens she wondered. Was there a protocol to follow? But then aliens that had grown up on Earth were a different thing to alien-aliens from other planets.)
The head of the programme - a jovial engineer called Richard, who wore a colourful checkered shirt paired with jeans and cowboy boots and on the whole looked like he’d stepped out of a TV show - was doing an introductory talk, explaining the basics in more detail using a smart board that made the ones at Cambridge seem slow and outdated.
As he spoke, a young woman silently slipped through the door and placed herself unobtrusively against the side wall. Allison would hardly have noticed her if it wasn’t for the way Alex had suddenly looked up from his pad and studied her so intently that it bordered on indecent. Eventually he returned to dividing his attention between the talk and his pad, but Allison could tell that he was distracted.
Trying to look at the woman without being as obvious as Alex, Allison had to admit that she was quite the stunner. The practical clothing and casual blonde ponytail didn’t hide the fact that she was as delicately built as Jamie, although she was obviously much more athletic, and facially she was just as striking - her features elegant and cool.
Under ordinary circumstances Allison tried her best to stomp down on her jealous impulses, but in this case she was worried that she was justified - especially as the woman’s eyes speculatively fasted on Alex, and when he briefly looked up again Allison felt the look that passed between them could have been cut with a knife. Except then the woman’s eyes moved onto Allison, and she abruptly realised that she’d not been paying attention to the talk.
Apparently there were lots of different departments they could choose to work in, but Richard was keen to stress that they all supported the same outcome, the same purpose. Their current undertaking being Project Pit Stop, which would use the Moon as a refuelling base for planetary exploration.
However this was just the beginning - presuming it was a success they would then go on to exploring other planets, the goal being a settlement on Mars by the year 2069 at the latest.
As he laid out the general scope of all their projects Allison plain forgot about the mysterious woman, and felt pure excitement building inside, bubbling and new. She could help create something that might end up on Mars. Something real. All the theories, all the text books, all the studying... This is where it ended up.
She could tell that the other students shared her feelings and was only vaguely aware of Alex, until he put the pad down and raised his hand, stopping Richard’s monologue.
“I’d like to join the Pit Stop Project.”
Richard smiled pleasantly.
“Already made up your mind, eh? Well, we’ll see what we can do... There’s plenty that needs doing, and I’m sure they could use another hand.”
Alex shot the woman a swift glance, before lightly shaking his head.
“Sorry, I wasn’t being clear. I want to help lead and plan it.”
Richard’s smile turned slightly uncomfortable, hesitating somewhat in his reply.
“Listen kid, it’s nice that you’re so enthusiastic, but we’re no more going to let you do that, than, say, the head of a construction company would let an apprentice run a building site on the first day.”
Allison could practically feel the smugness that was now coursing through Alex, as a smirk of pure, unalloyed Saxon settled on his features.
“I’ve done that,” he said lightly, and Richard’s smile vanished entirely, clearly thinking that Alex was being facetious.
“Very funny. But even if that’s true kiddo, space exploration is a little more complicated.”
Alex raised a condescending eyebrow.
“Which is why I’m here to help. I’m sure you could do with a hand - as you say, it’s complicated stuff. Well, relatively speaking...”
Allison could feel her heart sink. Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn’t he just be charming like he usually was? Guys like Richard tended to eat out of his hand in no time at all...
Then (heart sinking even further, before hitting the floor and beginning to dig) she realised that he was trying to show off because of the mystery woman. 'Men!' she thought tiredly. She’d not come here just so he could be a jerk and impress other women.
Richard stared, clearly unsure what on earth he was dealing with:
“Relatively speaking?”
“From your perspective it’s complicated. From mine, not so much.”
Richard had by now reached the thoroughly incredulous stage, and Allison could hear feet scuffling under tables. But Richard had clearly decided that enough was enough, and didn’t mince his next words.
“Now I know that your father is a nut job kid, but they could have warned us that you’re one too!”
Alex’s eyes narrowed, focussing on Richard with the sort of cold disdain and haughtiness Allison hadn’t seen very often, but that she remembered far too well. It was as if the whole room was holding its breath, waiting for his reply.
“My father might be insane, but he’s also a stone cold genius. As am I. More the fool you if you don’t give me the opportunity to prove it.”
It looked like stale mate, when the woman detached herself from the wall and moved forwards.
“Enough! Richard-” the engineer turned, and she calmly continued, her voice firm and her English accent without a hint of an American tinge. “I was the one who pushed for the boy to come. We were promised a genius, and it seems that’s what we’ve got.”
Walking up to Alex, she held out her hand.
“I’m Adelaide. Pleasure to meet you Alexander Saxon.”
Alex took the offered hand, eyes practically glazing over with emotions Allison could only guess at. However her jealousy was hampered by her sudden realisation that this had to be the Adelaide that Professor Trinder had mentioned.
“Trust me, the honour is entirely mine Doctor Brooke,” Alex replied, and Adelaide seemed pleased at the formality of the address, motioning for him to stand up.
“Come along Saxon, I’ll take it from here.”
As Alex gathered his things, one of the other students had clearly had enough and spoke up.
“Sorry, but why does the English kid get special attention? He ain’t even supposed to be here!”
Adelaide turned and studied him coolly.
“The English kid gets special attention because his father created a satellite network twenty years ago that we still don’t understand.”
“And killed our President!”
Alex had now pushed his chair under the table and finally spoke, voice perfectly neutral, yet with a hint of steel that Allison hadn’t seen very often.
“I’m perfectly aware that my father is an evil, psychotic, mass-murdering megalomaniac. Wanna swap?”
A couple of seconds, then the student lowered his eyes, deeply uncomfortable, muttering something unintelligible.
“See you later Allie, have fun!” Alex then said, briefly kissing her cheek, and she tried to smile without meeting any of the intensely curious eyes now on her. How was it possible that he could play people so skilfully that he had everyone dancing to his tune, yet be utterly tone-deaf at the same time?
When the door finally closed behind Alex and Adelaide, Richard smiled stiffly.
“Well, I think that young man could probably do with some therapy.”
Allison couldn’t help shrugging and adding a comment of her own.
“I tried suggesting that. He refused.”
“Ah,” Richard replied, a whole conversation contained in the utterance, and then - having effortlessly relegated Alex to Therapy Case rather than Genius - concentrated on explaining to the rest of them what their choices were for the summer.
Allison however knew that vindication would be Alex’s... Sooner or later everyone would discover that he was just as brilliant as he claimed to be. Adelaide obviously knew this, and Allison felt a tiny stab of something. She should be grateful to be here at all, but somewhere - far, far down - she wished she’d gotten here on her own merits, and not because of Alex.
As they set off for a tour of the different departments a little later, Chen (whom she had almost forgotten about) quietly caught her attention, and she made sure to slow her steps so they were out of earshot of the rest.
“I am not sure I understand what happened,” Chen said in his careful way. “Why the sudden talk about therapy?”
Allison sighed.
“It’s an American thing. Well, Western I suppose. Alex obviously has issues because of his father. And it would probably be good if he tried to talk through them and deal with everything.”
Chen studied her thoughtfully.
“But does this impact on his work?”
“No...”
A pause as Chen’s brow drew together.
“It is strange, the way people here behave. I do not understand it. Our Professor clearly marked out Alex as a special case, yet this Richard and the other students challenged his position. He dealt well with the disrespect, although I wonder - why was he not taken aside from the beginning? I found the argument very... Untasteful? Distasteful? Bad taste? What is the English word?”
As Allison tried to answer, her mind was busy trying to reconstruct the scene from this new perspective, and realised that Alex’s responses - rather than coming across as entitled and insulting - made perfect sense. Turning it over, it wasn’t so much the fact that Chen had a different outlook that made her pause, but that it was clearly one that Alex shared. She knew this already, but she’d never really examined it... How had he developed it? He’d grown up in England, after all, not China, and his father might be insane, but he was still British. Was it some weird Saxon-y hangover from the entitlements of Empire? But surely Alex was much too smart not to see the through that... He just expected all the rules to bend when he wanted them to - and they did.
Then they entered the robotechnics department, and Allison was suddenly rendered speechless when confronted with the actual people who had built Curiosity.
She didn’t see Alex again until that evening, when he appeared like a beaming, blond Jack-in-the-box, helping himself to one of her chicken wings, before scooting in alongside her on the bench.
“This is the life,” he said, smiling benignly at the other students round the table, all of whom fell silent as they took in his presence.
But curiosity swiftly won out over hostility, and Allison decided to just sit back and watch the show. She shot Chen a look, and he smiled back. Alex was ‘doing his thing’ again.
Later, when they finally found themselves alone, she did some quizzing of her own.
“So... Adelaide...”
She wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, but thankfully Alex guessed.
“You are wondering what we talked about? Or are you jealous because I look like I’d crawl over broken glass for her?”
She tried smiling, but failed miserably.
“The second part. Mostly.”
“Well I would. Crawl over broken glass, I mean.”
His voice was perfectly even and calm, like stating the fact that the Earth revolved around the sun, and Allison buried her head in her hands.
“That’s not helping.”
He took her hands, and looked at her as if she was three years old. (Which didn’t help either.)
“Allison - I’m more likely to try it on with the Statue of Liberty. And the Statue of Liberty would probably be more forthcoming. Doctor Brooke is... something utterly singular. She’s like... the Pyramids or the Niagara Falls. She is a true visionary, except she’s right at the start of her journey. But trust me, one day the whole world will know her name. I can... I can feel the rush and weight of history just standing next to her, it’s incredible.”
Sighing deeply, Allison decided to just drop it for the time being, as she was rather exhausted and the jet lag was beginning to kick in. Mostly she was annoyed - this was the fulfilment of a lifetime’s worth of dreams and it was being dented by a woman who was entirely too pretty and clever for comfort. She had never felt threatened before - not really - but Adelaide... There was no way she could compete. Because surely Adelaide would soon realise just how clever Alex was. And where would that leave Allison...
Plus, he was hiding behind history. Possible future history, but history nonetheless, and there was nothing Allison could do about that. He might very well be vindicated in 30 or 40 years time, but Allison couldn’t wait that long.
As she fell asleep, she thought that Josh had got it right. Jamie might be half-alien, but sie was, without a doubt, all Josh’s. But Alex... he loved her, she knew that, but he was also terrified of his emotions, and had too many issues to count. A half-alien was nothing in comparison...
Oddly enough it was Adelaide herself who allayed Allison’s fears.
The next morning, as she was trying to come to terms with what passed for tea in America and deciding that she would probably have to stick to coffee for the duration of the summer, she felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see a fresh faced Adelaide behind her.
“Allison- I was wondering whether I could borrow a few minutes of your time?”
“Um... course,” she replied, bewildered, and followed the other woman down yet more endless corridors (she was going to have to get a proper map, this place was a labyrinth), before finally finding herself in Adelaide’s office. It was as tidy and organised as Alex’s flat (their flat she corrected herself), and she took a seat, trying her best to smile.
“I presume this is about Alex?”
“Yes and no,” Adelaide replied, “although we can certainly begin with him.”
Bringing out a tablet, she shot Allison a candid look.
“As everyone is probably now aware, he was the reason your inclusion was green-lit. Let me see... How did Suzanne put it again?”
She tapped her tablet, bringing up what she was looking for, as Allison's brain slowly connected the dots, remembering that Professor Trinder's first name was Suzanne.
“‘A polymath that leaves Leonardo da Vinci and Stephen Hawking trailing. Unfortunately very unfocussed.’ Tell me Allison - what does he want to do once he’s graduated?”
Allison could only shake her head.
“I don’t know. Anything, everything... He’s very... vague. He talks about his own projects.”
Adelaide nodded, eyes speculative and cool.
“Genius is a wonderful thing, but without focus it’s not much good. I’m hoping that we can harness and channel his genius here - help it serve a greater purpose than just showing off.”
Putting the tablet down, she looked at Allison with a look Allison couldn’t work out at all. She’d have called it conspiratorial, except how would that even work?
“That said... Alex might have been the bait that got the big names here to allow you in, but you and Chen - you were what I was after.”
Allison stared at her, stunned. She was expecting a punch line, or laughter, but none came.
“Chen and I?”
Adelaide nodded, leaning forward and speaking very carefully.
“Chen because he’s Chinese and we need to start co-operating with others in a big way if we’re not going to be left behind. As you might be aware, I am the first NASA candidate to be selected who isn’t a US citizen. I want to make them see that they can’t afford to make me a one-off. The Chinese education system is vigourous in ways they’re not accustomed to, so Chen should hopefully give them a taste for more. And you...”
A sudden smile, as bright as it was unexpected.
“Suzanne said that you reminded her of me. That you had the same ambition.”
Allison wasn’t sure what to say to this, and Adelaide fixed her with a focus that would have been downright unnerving if she hadn’t been used to Alex.
“I will be the first human on Mars. But I need dedicated people beside me, in order to get there. People with vision. People who can keep a goal firmly in their heads even as they work on the tiniest of details. You are welcome to choose whichever project you want while you’re here, but - if you like - you can be my personal assistant, getting a taste of how to make the future happen.”
Heart beating, and breath suddenly caught, Allison realised that she, too, would probably crawl over broken glass for Doctor Adelaide Brooke.
Chapter 18
no subject
Funnily enough I didn't see her either. This chapter changed almost beyond recognition, which is a good thing really, because adding Adelaide has made everything better. <3
Though why do I suspect that when the truth finally comes out that things will get a mite explosive? Oh, Alex!
Well... you'll have to wait and see. *g* (Although remember that this is an AU, so come future!Mars there'll be no Tenth Doctor running around with her and going Victorious. Which is good.)