Unusual Events
Title: Unusual Events
Author: tromana
Rating: PG13
Characters: Charley/Romana/Leela
Spoilers: None
Summary: Charley found she fell for Time Lords quite, quite easily.
Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who but I'm getting a Companion Chronicles subscription for Christmas.
Notes: Don’t ask why I felt the need to write Charley/Romana/Leela. Please.
Charley found she fell for Time Lords quite, quite easily. Not the typical, run of the mill bureaucrat though. Only special ones. She also found it hard to explain how she’d landed up billions of miles away from home, on a planet with a rich orange sky, with trees with silvered leaves and two suns. Never mind the fact she was currently lying languorously in the quarters of the President of this race whilst said President talked patiently to her savage bodyguard. Usually, she just didn’t bother. It was easier that way.
With a long stretch, she stood, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and wrapped a silken robe around her body. The shouting outside was getting louder. She was used to screaming, in the sense she’d become programmed to run towards it. Heated arguments were what unnerved her. Cringing slightly, not really wanting to become involved, she opened the door and shuffled outside.
“Romana?”
Romana spun around, her gaze immediately softening on sight of Charley. Charley couldn’t quite believe what she had originally thought Romana. She was very relieved that her opinion had changed; otherwise she wouldn’t be where she was now. She’d probably have been slotted into history’s pages somewhere, out of place, out of time and very, very lonely.
“Charley,” Romana smiled. “You should be asleep.”
“Can’t,” she muttered in response. “What’s happening?”
“Leela and I are, ah, having a discussion.”
Charley raised an eyebrow at Romana as Leela glared at her. Charley had the feeling the human savage didn’t particularly like her, for whatever reason. Whenever they were around each other, Leela would be scowling at her as if Charley had personally wronged her. It didn’t bother Charley much. Opinions rarely did. It was just annoying having Leela skulking around, sulking and having shouting matches with Romana at all hours of the day.
“We are not!” Leela raged. “We are arguing over the fact that you have left me. For her.”
“Leela…”
“Romana!”
“Charley, please…”
Romana glanced from human to human. Part of her was thoroughly relieved that no one else was around, as was another that the Doctor was not here. However, she could not believe how terrible she was at dealing with this situation. She’d been vaguely aware of Leela’s feelings, but always kept her at arm’s length. After all, she was still getting over Andred. As for Charley, well, she had just swept her off her feet.
The human women looked at each other conspiratorially, before Charley took Leela by the hand and dragged her into Romana’s bedroom, swiftly locking the door. Leela looked as horrified as Romana sounded on the other side of the door. Well. It served them both right, really.
Leela pounded on the door, insisting to be let out for a short while. Romana, from what Charley could hear, had resigned to her fate. She had probably gone off to do some paperwork or something. It was something she often did when she couldn’t sleep. The scenario may be different, but Charley knew how Romana worked now. She waited to speak until Leela had calmed down considerably.
“Leela,” Charley started.
“What?” she snapped.
“We both want the same thing, don’t we?”
Leela drew the point of her knife across the floorboards, nodding as Charley continued to talk persuasively. Romana, however, true to form had returned to her office. Not for paperwork however. She sighed heavily as she stared out at the view. Remembering the time she had heard of Leela’s arrival and the uproar about Andred marrying an off-worlder. She shuddered at the thought of the public finding out that their President was having had ‘relations’ with not one, but two humans. Maybe she should just call it off now…
“So we’re agreed?”
Leela shrugged. “I suppose. But I do not love you Charley, not the way I love her.”
“We’ve only known each other a short while, Leela,” Charley replied. She didn’t bother adding, ‘and in all that time you’ve been scowling at me.’
“I know. But you cannot expect of me what I cannot give.”
“I know.”
Charley smiled in what she hoped was a warm fashion as she and Leela wandered towards Romana’s office. They knocked, loudly, to no avail. Eventually, Leela let them in, having suddenly remembered her access code. Charley was mildly surprised to see Romana staring outside with a pensive expression, Leela was not.
Charley coughed and Romana spun around.
“So you’ve decide to unlock yourselves from my quarters, I see?” Romana sounded neither angry nor amused.
“Romana…”
She raised a hand. “I don’t want to hear it. I’ve made a decision.”
Romana’s words knocked Charley off-kilter. That wasn’t exactly what she had expected her to say. But then again, she knew she should have expected Romana to have given a great deal of thought to the matter. Leela crossed the room, frowning.
“I am the President of the Time Lords; I have to be a responsible leader.”
“Which means you cannot be in love?” Leela asked exasperatedly.
“Leela, I’m…”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Romana,” Charley stated emphatically. “If you’re not happy in life, you’ll never be able to lead.”
Romana threw up her hands, knowing that Leela and Charley were probably the most stubborn women that she had ever known. “I concede. What do you two have to say for yourselves?”
Leela grinned and grabbed Romana’s hand, and along with Charley, led her back to her quarters.
Some time later, Charley was smiling contentedly to herself. If she saw her mother or dear sister, she would not know how to explain any of the unusual happenings in her life. Even stranger, to them, would be the fact she was now sharing a bed with two women. But she wouldn’t change it for the Universe.