There was only one reason Dr. Theodore Ashbury was waiting in the car on a very busy day at the law office; and that was because his very close friend, River Song, had insisted
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That look saved his skin, given how he nearly let his jaw drop. Coffee. This guy knew what coffee was? But he nodded.
"Right. I'll bring it up. Make yourselves at home."
Will slipped out of the office and dragged his hands down his face. What the hell was going on? If this was how the Twilight Zone worked, he was really glad he never had to be on that show. The elevator doors opened and Magnus stepped out, her own screen in her hand. She looked up at him with a smile, but it faded when she saw his expression.
Before she could say anything he raised a finger to his lips. Now he was really glad Henry forced him to learn ASL to help with Jack. It meant that River and Theodore couldn't over hear.
The Doctor is here.
Magnus's eyebrows raised and she tilted her head to the side. Even then, Will wouldn't have that expression.
He's different. Just a warning. Do you want some tea?
Her expression dropped for a moment but then her shoulders squared and she nodded. Will slipped around her into the elevator. The doors closed. She looked from the doors to her office.
"Try to behave." River looked over at him, before shaking her head. "Though I know you won't understand, this is for your own benefit."
Theodore twiddled his thumbs in his lap, looking around and adjusting his glasses, and then his tie. "Guess so, though I really have no idea what you're talking about. But I'll trust you." He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back on the couch and looking off toward the side. River shook her head, turning the device off.
"Then try to understand what I'm explaining to Dr. Magnus." As she looked at 'the Doctor' again, she kept the pain restrained and off of her face. He was so different, but the same. She almost placed a hand on his shoulder, before letting it fall and turning her attention to a window. "You'll need to understand."
Helen walked into the office, wearing a black turtle neck and black slacks to go with it. Her hair was straight, as opposed to it's usual perm. "I apologize for keeping you waiting. I was finishing an examine of a new patient."
She stopped and folded her hands together. Dr. River Song. It was the first time she had seen her in person, as opposed to a memory, but she knew exactly who she was. Her posture changed almost instantly as she spared a glance at 'the Doctor.' Helen didn't even need to look at his attire to know something was wrong with him. She folded her hands together in front of her.
Her eyebrows raised. She knew her, already? Now, that didn't quite make sense, Will hadn't recognized her. And Will was her protege, he would know. Which meant she knew her from a source other than direct, face-to-face contact. She managed a smile. "To my knowledge, this is the first time we've met. I'm sorry it has to be on these terms." She glanced from the Doctor to Helen, deliberately, before she stood. Theodore blinked and watched her as she walked over, pulling out a small blue book and flipping through it until she found an envelope, with her name on the cover.
River held it out for her. "The Doctor was supposed to give you this before this entire thing started, but I'm afraid everything happened too quickly for him to bring it to you. Inside are detailed instructions on how to return his memories to him, instructions he insisted only you would understand."
"It is." Helen nodded and shifted her weight onto her back leg. She glanced at 'the Doctor' before looking back at River as she walked over. The blue book in her hands was worn and had seen some better days. But, given how River held it, it was certainly out of love.
She took the envelope from River and looked at her name. It was certainly his handwriting. He didn't show up for four months and then expected her to understand what was written inside. Helen gave a small understanding nod to River.
"You haven't introduced us yet." She said, gesturing to the man she had walked in with. Then she turned and walked to her desk, standing behind it and placing the letter down on top of the wood.
Theodore seemed to be more engrossed with a small stress ball he had found, before he jolted 'awake', and back to Earth. "Oh, what?"
"Dr. Theodore Ashbury, meet Dr. Helen Magnus," she said delicately. Theodore pitched forward and took her hand with a firm shake and a friendly, carefree smile on his face. Nothing in the world mattered other than the present, to him, nothing like the Doctor. River tried to keep the wrong out of her face; maybe this was what the Doctor felt when he looked at another companion, Jack Harkness.
"Helen, meet Theodore. Though I'm sure you'll find you know him fairly well."
"You do look rather familiar, like a forgotten memory. Is that what you meant, River?"
The blonde woman chuckled, closing her diary. "Something like that."
Theodore turned his green eyes to Helen. "Do you mind if I... hug you? I know, I know, very odd and strange and out of the blue, but it just feels right."
She looked at River as she turned to Theodore. It was rather incredible how accurate the Doctor's memory of her was. Helen knew River could read her perfectly, and she could read River. The two seemed to be in the exact same position. There was a prickle of feeling like she didn't belong, but Helen effectively buried away for later.
Her attention moved over to the younger man. She shook his hand back delicately but still firm, before letting go and folding her hands together. She hadn't smiled once since walking into the room. All she did was nod to him and open a drawer in her desk for an envelop opener.
Then she paused and looked up at him. A glance was spared over in River's direction before she stood up straight again. "If you'd like."
He moved over to her, hugging her tightly--just like the Doctor had, a few months ago. River watched with a small smile on her face, appreciating just how happy Theodore seemed to be around Helen. It was definitely the Doctor inside there, he must've been overjoyed to see Helen again. She breathed in, closing her eyes for a moment, before Theodore pulled away from the brunette.
"Yes, that felt a lot better. Don't you think so?"
River returned to look at her watch before looking between them. "I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to why this happened," she stated, getting back on topic. "The Doctor never said, only told me that he needed me to keep him safe until it was time to bring him to you. Until I did a scan a few minutes ago." She sighed. "Three space ships over the Earth. I can't tell who they are, but I'm sure the Doctor was hiding from them."
Helen hugged him back, hesitantly at first. She wasn't exactly sure what she could do or say, or couldn't do and couldn't say, in this situation. She merely nodded at his question before looking back at River. Lovely, the Doctor was hiding from someone on Earth. Wasn't that a bit obvious?
Will entered the room again with the tray, setting it down on the table between the couch and chairs. "Sorry about that, had an argument with the Big Guy about what one I could make. Earl Gray alright with you guys?"
"It's fine, Will. Thank you."
He glanced at River and Theodore before looking at Helen again. This wasn't going to be good news.
Helen sat down in the chair behind the desk and opened the letter.
I'm sorry. First of all, I'm sorry, so sorry that I have to make you do this, but you are the only person I'd trust with my body.
An Idwen Imp erases all thought and existence, alters biology into the nearest thing around, when pressed to the skin of any creature. I have one, smack dab in the middle of my shoulder blades, right on top of the injuries I had in Egypt. (I know, I know, shouldn't irritate them, but in this case, it's good that I'm irritating them!) Right now, it'll just look like a marking, a tattoo on my back. It'll only turn back into an Imp when I'm sleeping, knocked out, unconscious, basically.
The Imp I have attached is an adolescent, barely an adult. That means it feeds on everything. Biology, memory, everything. Removing it would be tricky, you have to be very careful. The claws are embedded into my nerves, and its jaws are clamped around my brain stem. Once you remove it, I'll be a completely blank slate. You must keep me away from everyone else, in a secure location, until at least two days after. They should start to resurface.
If they don't, well... we'll just hope they will. If they don't, River should be able to help.
I'm sorry, Helen. When I wake up, I hope you'll understand. (And that the Big Guy won't, well, do what he always does. It does tend to hurt.)
- The Doctor.
River looked back at Theodore as he flicked his bangs away from his eyes, trying to keep his hair out of his eyes in vain.
"Thank you," she smiled, looking at Will and taking her tea with a light sip, retreating back to the couch.
Helen leaned back slightly in her chair as she read the note. No explanation as to why he did it, only how to change everything back to normal. How typical of him. She folded the letter back up and looked down at her desk. It was fairly similar to the scarab that had been attached to her father and Will when the Cabal were attempting to create abnormals for their own personal army. She had no doubt she could do it.
She looked up at Will first then over at River. "Did he, by chance, say how long to wait?"
"He told me to wait four months until I brought him to you, but on any other matter, nothing." River crossed her arms and looked over at Theodore. The man pulled back slightly, looking befuddled and slightly guilty.
"So I am in trouble, then?" he asked innocently, in a hushed tone. River gently squeezed his arm, but didn't answer his question.
"Hardly, Dr. Ashbury." Helen replied and looked up at him. How was she supposed to tell him, or even convince him, to let her do this? She wasn't going to perform surgery on an unwilling patient.
Will shifted, crossing his arms and watching.
She sighed and shook her head, looking down at the desk. This was an impossible decision. "Our mutual friend has just informed me through this letter that you have a certain type of condition. One I'm sure you're aware of, vaguely." She forced herself to look back up at him. "Do you have any sort of pains in your upper back?"
Theodore was caught off-guard at the question and glanced at River, not hiding any of his surprise. River just gestured back to Helen, and he spoke up, nodding at first before elaborating. "Yes, sometimes. Usually during the night, when I'm dreaming--but it goes away once I wake up, I've dismissed it as some sort of dream."
He hesitated again before running a hand through his hair and continuing. His hands were making wild gestures, and for a few moments, it seemed like the Doctor was back. "I--I ... well, when I awoke from amnesia, that was the first thing I noticed, that mark on my back, I thought it odd. But it's not like I'm Harry Potter and this tattoo's hurting because I have some unknown... thing, is it?"
"Trauma." She said softly, not even stopping at his reference to Harry Potter like she normally would. "Old injuries will flare up over time, but if there is a continual pain, than something else could be wrong. I'm a medical doctorate as well as several others. If you'd like, I could try to find the cause of it."
Helen forced the lump in her throat down as she looked up at him. "And then we can decide from there what to do."
Behind glasses, green eyes inspected her face, before he straightened and nodded again. "Yes--I'd like to know." He looked at River quickly, and then back to Helen. "You're obviously very much qualified, or else I wouldn't have been brought here, and all." Theodore gave her a smile, clasping his hands behind him.
"Right. I'll bring it up. Make yourselves at home."
Will slipped out of the office and dragged his hands down his face. What the hell was going on? If this was how the Twilight Zone worked, he was really glad he never had to be on that show. The elevator doors opened and Magnus stepped out, her own screen in her hand. She looked up at him with a smile, but it faded when she saw his expression.
Before she could say anything he raised a finger to his lips. Now he was really glad Henry forced him to learn ASL to help with Jack. It meant that River and Theodore couldn't over hear.
The Doctor is here.
Magnus's eyebrows raised and she tilted her head to the side. Even then, Will wouldn't have that expression.
He's different. Just a warning. Do you want some tea?
Her expression dropped for a moment but then her shoulders squared and she nodded. Will slipped around her into the elevator. The doors closed. She looked from the doors to her office.
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Theodore twiddled his thumbs in his lap, looking around and adjusting his glasses, and then his tie. "Guess so, though I really have no idea what you're talking about. But I'll trust you." He ran a hand through his hair, leaning back on the couch and looking off toward the side. River shook her head, turning the device off.
"Then try to understand what I'm explaining to Dr. Magnus." As she looked at 'the Doctor' again, she kept the pain restrained and off of her face. He was so different, but the same. She almost placed a hand on his shoulder, before letting it fall and turning her attention to a window. "You'll need to understand."
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She stopped and folded her hands together. Dr. River Song. It was the first time she had seen her in person, as opposed to a memory, but she knew exactly who she was. Her posture changed almost instantly as she spared a glance at 'the Doctor.' Helen didn't even need to look at his attire to know something was wrong with him. She folded her hands together in front of her.
"Hello, River."
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Her eyebrows raised. She knew her, already? Now, that didn't quite make sense, Will hadn't recognized her. And Will was her protege, he would know. Which meant she knew her from a source other than direct, face-to-face contact. She managed a smile. "To my knowledge, this is the first time we've met. I'm sorry it has to be on these terms." She glanced from the Doctor to Helen, deliberately, before she stood. Theodore blinked and watched her as she walked over, pulling out a small blue book and flipping through it until she found an envelope, with her name on the cover.
River held it out for her. "The Doctor was supposed to give you this before this entire thing started, but I'm afraid everything happened too quickly for him to bring it to you. Inside are detailed instructions on how to return his memories to him, instructions he insisted only you would understand."
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She took the envelope from River and looked at her name. It was certainly his handwriting. He didn't show up for four months and then expected her to understand what was written inside. Helen gave a small understanding nod to River.
"You haven't introduced us yet." She said, gesturing to the man she had walked in with. Then she turned and walked to her desk, standing behind it and placing the letter down on top of the wood.
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Theodore seemed to be more engrossed with a small stress ball he had found, before he jolted 'awake', and back to Earth. "Oh, what?"
"Dr. Theodore Ashbury, meet Dr. Helen Magnus," she said delicately. Theodore pitched forward and took her hand with a firm shake and a friendly, carefree smile on his face. Nothing in the world mattered other than the present, to him, nothing like the Doctor. River tried to keep the wrong out of her face; maybe this was what the Doctor felt when he looked at another companion, Jack Harkness.
"Helen, meet Theodore. Though I'm sure you'll find you know him fairly well."
"You do look rather familiar, like a forgotten memory. Is that what you meant, River?"
The blonde woman chuckled, closing her diary. "Something like that."
Theodore turned his green eyes to Helen. "Do you mind if I... hug you? I know, I know, very odd and strange and out of the blue, but it just feels right."
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Her attention moved over to the younger man. She shook his hand back delicately but still firm, before letting go and folding her hands together. She hadn't smiled once since walking into the room. All she did was nod to him and open a drawer in her desk for an envelop opener.
Then she paused and looked up at him. A glance was spared over in River's direction before she stood up straight again. "If you'd like."
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"Yes, that felt a lot better. Don't you think so?"
River returned to look at her watch before looking between them. "I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to why this happened," she stated, getting back on topic. "The Doctor never said, only told me that he needed me to keep him safe until it was time to bring him to you. Until I did a scan a few minutes ago." She sighed. "Three space ships over the Earth. I can't tell who they are, but I'm sure the Doctor was hiding from them."
Reply
Will entered the room again with the tray, setting it down on the table between the couch and chairs. "Sorry about that, had an argument with the Big Guy about what one I could make. Earl Gray alright with you guys?"
"It's fine, Will. Thank you."
He glanced at River and Theodore before looking at Helen again. This wasn't going to be good news.
Helen sat down in the chair behind the desk and opened the letter.
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I'm sorry. First of all, I'm sorry, so sorry that I have to make you do this, but you are the only person I'd trust with my body.
An Idwen Imp erases all thought and existence, alters biology into the nearest thing around, when pressed to the skin of any creature. I have one, smack dab in the middle of my shoulder blades, right on top of the injuries I had in Egypt. (I know, I know, shouldn't irritate them, but in this case, it's good that I'm irritating them!) Right now, it'll just look like a marking, a tattoo on my back. It'll only turn back into an Imp when I'm sleeping, knocked out, unconscious, basically.
The Imp I have attached is an adolescent, barely an adult. That means it feeds on everything. Biology, memory, everything. Removing it would be tricky, you have to be very careful. The claws are embedded into my nerves, and its jaws are clamped around my brain stem. Once you remove it, I'll be a completely blank slate. You must keep me away from everyone else, in a secure location, until at least two days after. They should start to resurface.
If they don't, well... we'll just hope they will. If they don't, River should be able to help.
I'm sorry, Helen. When I wake up, I hope you'll understand. (And that the Big Guy won't, well, do what he always does. It does tend to hurt.)
- The Doctor.
River looked back at Theodore as he flicked his bangs away from his eyes, trying to keep his hair out of his eyes in vain.
"Thank you," she smiled, looking at Will and taking her tea with a light sip, retreating back to the couch.
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She looked up at Will first then over at River. "Did he, by chance, say how long to wait?"
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"So I am in trouble, then?" he asked innocently, in a hushed tone. River gently squeezed his arm, but didn't answer his question.
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Will shifted, crossing his arms and watching.
She sighed and shook her head, looking down at the desk. This was an impossible decision. "Our mutual friend has just informed me through this letter that you have a certain type of condition. One I'm sure you're aware of, vaguely." She forced herself to look back up at him. "Do you have any sort of pains in your upper back?"
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He hesitated again before running a hand through his hair and continuing. His hands were making wild gestures, and for a few moments, it seemed like the Doctor was back. "I--I ... well, when I awoke from amnesia, that was the first thing I noticed, that mark on my back, I thought it odd. But it's not like I'm Harry Potter and this tattoo's hurting because I have some unknown... thing, is it?"
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Helen forced the lump in her throat down as she looked up at him. "And then we can decide from there what to do."
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