Not With a Bang 10/10
Title: Not With a Bang
Author: flamingo_bandit
Fandom: Warehouse 13/Doctor Who crossover
Genre: General, humor, mystery, adventure
Spoilers: Takes place after 1x07 “Burnout,” but spoiler warning throughout the series to be on the safe side; the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie and some allusions to the new series, though nothing explicit.
Ships: Artie/Claudia
Rating: PG-13-ish
Warnings: Language, implied gore, obvious lack of beta, a bit silly.
Summary: The Doctor lent a hand in hunting down the artifact, but for the Warehouse 13 crew, the workday . . . actually, it’s finally over. Part 10/10.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
A very sappy shout-out to YOU. Like I said at the beginning, this was my first foray into fanfic in some five or six years, and I had no idea what a blast both the writing and the act of fandom-participation would be. It was so much fun talking to and connecting with you guys over the course of NWaB. Thanks for helping me with writers’ block, all the feedback, encouraging the shipping, and just sticking around. GROUP HUG!
Error alert: I recently realized that “Burnout” probably takes place in spring because “Claudia” shows melting snow around Leena’s B&B, and it wasn’t that long between the two. My fic, while directly following “Burnout,” takes place at the end of summer, so . . . oops? P.S. I am a massively dorky dork.
Chapter Ten
Leena was waiting for them in the kitchen. “That didn’t take long,” she said, but she didn’t sound surprised.
“I missed everything,” Pete told her, still sounding disappointed. Myka rolled her eyes and sat down next to Leena.
She smiled, then glanced up at Artie. “Are you okay?” she asked, and she wasn’t talking about his injuries.
Myka followed her gaze. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but she saw something in his expression that may or may not have been there, something that said “Will” but that she read as “Sam.”
But he still hadn’t even addressed the Joshua issue, though she’d invited him to, and she doubted very much that this would be any different. And even now, Artie looked tired and battered, but no more than expected; after a moment, she was sure what she’d seen wasn’t there at all.
“I could use a slice of pie,” he answered, eyebrows raised innocently.
Leena rose. “There’s still half an apple pie in the fridge.”
“I know,” he replied impishly, and she grinned, then disappeared to the kitchen.
“So, old man,” Pete said, plopping down next to him at the table. “What did we miss?”
He began to summarize, waving a hand to heighten the drama, when Myka spoke up. “Hold on,” she said, looking around. “Where’s the Doctor?”
Claudia jumped up. “I’ll go check.” She disappeared outside.
+
She found him outside unlocking the Tardis. The dim moonlight turned his coppery hair to black. The night was clear, stars bright pinpoints overhead, the Milky Way stretching across the sky like a banner. “Where are you going?”
He glanced up, not looking surprised. “Claudia. Leena,” he added, and Claudia looked up to find Leena following her down from the porch.
“I just thought I’d say good-bye,” she said calmly, walking towards him. “I know you don’t like to stay in one place long.”
The Doctor smiled, more luminous than the stars. “So many things to see, Leena! You know,” he said, twirling his keys on his fingers, an eyebrow arched, “I don’t usually travel alone.”
Leena smiles faintly. “I get enough excitement here without trying. I don’t need to go searching for it. Doctor,” she said. Then she reached up to hug him tightly, like it was important. “Be careful out there, okay?”
“Of course,” he answered, sounding startled. He hugged her back, then released her.
She looked up at him; Claudia saw them both in profile, Leena’s expression quite earnest. “I mean it. The last time I saw you-”
He held up a hand, a gentle admonition. “Let me find out the way I’m supposed to.”
She sighed audibly, then hugged him again briefly, but said no more.
“Bye, Doctor,” Claudia said, barging in to extend a hand. “Listen, I am so sorry about the-”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I have a notoriously faulty memory, Claudia. It’s already forgotten.” He winked. “You know, the offer’s open to you, too. Imagine what’s out there for you to see.”
Claudia’s heart pounded once, twice, as her mind flickered through the strange devices in the console room, and the feel of the Doctor when she’d hugged him. She could see aliens and futuristic civilizations and go spy on Artie in the seventies just to mess with him-
“Yeah, no,” she said then. “I mean, someone’s gotta look after the geezer and his minions.”
The Doctor chuckled. “Very well. It was nice meeting all of you. My regards to the others.” He released her hand; it felt warm after, even though his skin was cold, and he glanced up at Leena. His blue-green eyes stood out more clearly than they should have, sparkling like the sea. “I look forward to our next meeting.”
“Yes,” she said neutrally. “You’ll see me. Even if I probably won’t see you.”
He shrugged. “Never rule anything out,” he said, and Claudia barked out a laugh. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “You just remind me of someone else sometimes.” She and Leena exchanged a quick grin.
The Doctor shook his head, smiled, and waved, then opened the Tardis door.
+
The Tardis felt happy to greet him, he thought, which was nice. This felt a little lonely, travelling without companions, especially after an adventure like that; he thought about trying to renegotiate with the women outside. Some of his regenerations had enjoyed solitude. He was pretty sure this was not one of them. He touched the control panel, considering.
And suddenly the cloister bell chimed overhead. He whirled around, hearts pounding, but before he could take action, a monitor emitted a sharp, high sound.
“Oh, what now?” he asked it irritably. “I’m about to be busy.”
Urgent message from the Time Lords, demanding his presence on Gallifrey. Of course. He heaved a sigh. “I suppose I’d better go see what they want.”
+
The two women sat on the steps, watching as the Tardis faded from view. Crickets chirped in a frenzy and, under that, the faint murmur of conversation drifted out through the open door. The breeze was still, and so were they.
“Well,” Claudia said finally. “I guess that’s done.” She tugged down the collar of Joshua’s sweatshirt absently.
It must have been something in her tone, or maybe her aura, that made Leena look at her sidelong. “Wish you’d gone along?”
“No,” she answered quickly, and with some surprise she realized she meant it. “Leena, what happens to him? You made it sound . . .”
Leena’s eyes shot to where the Tardis had stood just seconds before, then looked out over the countryside. She opened her mouth, then stopped. “Come on,” she said, and climbed to her feet. “It's time for pie.”
Claudia followed her inside, never glancing back.
Author: flamingo_bandit
Fandom: Warehouse 13/Doctor Who crossover
Genre: General, humor, mystery, adventure
Spoilers: Takes place after 1x07 “Burnout,” but spoiler warning throughout the series to be on the safe side; the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie and some allusions to the new series, though nothing explicit.
Ships: Artie/Claudia
Rating: PG-13-ish
Warnings: Language, implied gore, obvious lack of beta, a bit silly.
Summary: The Doctor lent a hand in hunting down the artifact, but for the Warehouse 13 crew, the workday . . . actually, it’s finally over. Part 10/10.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
A very sappy shout-out to YOU. Like I said at the beginning, this was my first foray into fanfic in some five or six years, and I had no idea what a blast both the writing and the act of fandom-participation would be. It was so much fun talking to and connecting with you guys over the course of NWaB. Thanks for helping me with writers’ block, all the feedback, encouraging the shipping, and just sticking around. GROUP HUG!
Error alert: I recently realized that “Burnout” probably takes place in spring because “Claudia” shows melting snow around Leena’s B&B, and it wasn’t that long between the two. My fic, while directly following “Burnout,” takes place at the end of summer, so . . . oops? P.S. I am a massively dorky dork.
Chapter Ten
Leena was waiting for them in the kitchen. “That didn’t take long,” she said, but she didn’t sound surprised.
“I missed everything,” Pete told her, still sounding disappointed. Myka rolled her eyes and sat down next to Leena.
She smiled, then glanced up at Artie. “Are you okay?” she asked, and she wasn’t talking about his injuries.
Myka followed her gaze. She wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, but she saw something in his expression that may or may not have been there, something that said “Will” but that she read as “Sam.”
But he still hadn’t even addressed the Joshua issue, though she’d invited him to, and she doubted very much that this would be any different. And even now, Artie looked tired and battered, but no more than expected; after a moment, she was sure what she’d seen wasn’t there at all.
“I could use a slice of pie,” he answered, eyebrows raised innocently.
Leena rose. “There’s still half an apple pie in the fridge.”
“I know,” he replied impishly, and she grinned, then disappeared to the kitchen.
“So, old man,” Pete said, plopping down next to him at the table. “What did we miss?”
He began to summarize, waving a hand to heighten the drama, when Myka spoke up. “Hold on,” she said, looking around. “Where’s the Doctor?”
Claudia jumped up. “I’ll go check.” She disappeared outside.
+
She found him outside unlocking the Tardis. The dim moonlight turned his coppery hair to black. The night was clear, stars bright pinpoints overhead, the Milky Way stretching across the sky like a banner. “Where are you going?”
He glanced up, not looking surprised. “Claudia. Leena,” he added, and Claudia looked up to find Leena following her down from the porch.
“I just thought I’d say good-bye,” she said calmly, walking towards him. “I know you don’t like to stay in one place long.”
The Doctor smiled, more luminous than the stars. “So many things to see, Leena! You know,” he said, twirling his keys on his fingers, an eyebrow arched, “I don’t usually travel alone.”
Leena smiles faintly. “I get enough excitement here without trying. I don’t need to go searching for it. Doctor,” she said. Then she reached up to hug him tightly, like it was important. “Be careful out there, okay?”
“Of course,” he answered, sounding startled. He hugged her back, then released her.
She looked up at him; Claudia saw them both in profile, Leena’s expression quite earnest. “I mean it. The last time I saw you-”
He held up a hand, a gentle admonition. “Let me find out the way I’m supposed to.”
She sighed audibly, then hugged him again briefly, but said no more.
“Bye, Doctor,” Claudia said, barging in to extend a hand. “Listen, I am so sorry about the-”
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “I have a notoriously faulty memory, Claudia. It’s already forgotten.” He winked. “You know, the offer’s open to you, too. Imagine what’s out there for you to see.”
Claudia’s heart pounded once, twice, as her mind flickered through the strange devices in the console room, and the feel of the Doctor when she’d hugged him. She could see aliens and futuristic civilizations and go spy on Artie in the seventies just to mess with him-
“Yeah, no,” she said then. “I mean, someone’s gotta look after the geezer and his minions.”
The Doctor chuckled. “Very well. It was nice meeting all of you. My regards to the others.” He released her hand; it felt warm after, even though his skin was cold, and he glanced up at Leena. His blue-green eyes stood out more clearly than they should have, sparkling like the sea. “I look forward to our next meeting.”
“Yes,” she said neutrally. “You’ll see me. Even if I probably won’t see you.”
He shrugged. “Never rule anything out,” he said, and Claudia barked out a laugh. “What?”
“Nothing,” she said. “You just remind me of someone else sometimes.” She and Leena exchanged a quick grin.
The Doctor shook his head, smiled, and waved, then opened the Tardis door.
+
The Tardis felt happy to greet him, he thought, which was nice. This felt a little lonely, travelling without companions, especially after an adventure like that; he thought about trying to renegotiate with the women outside. Some of his regenerations had enjoyed solitude. He was pretty sure this was not one of them. He touched the control panel, considering.
And suddenly the cloister bell chimed overhead. He whirled around, hearts pounding, but before he could take action, a monitor emitted a sharp, high sound.
“Oh, what now?” he asked it irritably. “I’m about to be busy.”
Urgent message from the Time Lords, demanding his presence on Gallifrey. Of course. He heaved a sigh. “I suppose I’d better go see what they want.”
+
The two women sat on the steps, watching as the Tardis faded from view. Crickets chirped in a frenzy and, under that, the faint murmur of conversation drifted out through the open door. The breeze was still, and so were they.
“Well,” Claudia said finally. “I guess that’s done.” She tugged down the collar of Joshua’s sweatshirt absently.
It must have been something in her tone, or maybe her aura, that made Leena look at her sidelong. “Wish you’d gone along?”
“No,” she answered quickly, and with some surprise she realized she meant it. “Leena, what happens to him? You made it sound . . .”
Leena’s eyes shot to where the Tardis had stood just seconds before, then looked out over the countryside. She opened her mouth, then stopped. “Come on,” she said, and climbed to her feet. “It's time for pie.”
Claudia followed her inside, never glancing back.