Thorn Bush (Doctor Who Story)

Chapter 3: The Girl Who Died

Life back in the century, Kathy had gotten used to so life went back to a relative normal. No one had noticed that she had left!

Kathy gave birth to a beautiful little boy, who they called Carlyle. As she stared at him in her arms, she wondered how much like her he is. She checked his pulse as soon as she was alone with him and found the beating of two hearts. It made her happy that while she'll lose this family due to their human life span, she knew, and know, she'll still have him.

When Kathy's son reached 8, her mother handed her a box that belonged to her biological father, who had gifted it to her just before he left. When seeing the box, she then remembered having seen it before but clearly, something about it had made her forget. Was it possible it was one of those perception filters or something even stronger? Anyway, she now remembered that when she was 8, her mother had given her the box. It was only when it opened did, Kathy finds a chameleon circuit or something similar and when she opened it, she was looking into a fraction of the untempered schism. It explained how Kathy gained her apparent ability to regenerate though not in the same way a Time Lord would. It also gave her son the same ability.

Barden, her husband, in case you have forgotten, does early when Carlyle is only 14 and she's '39' though she physically looks like she's still in her 20s. With the knowledge that she won't continue to age and so will Carlyle at some point, and this will become suspicious, she took the opportunity to take them away as soon as Carlyle turned 18 to protect them. This is so as not to take Carlyle away from his extended family too soon though she didn't think his not biologically related grandfather would miss him. He seemed more verbally abusive towards him than he did to her.

Kathy checked on her half siblings and their own offspring as well as her parents as they lived out their own lives to make sure they were okay. She hoped that she would be able to check in on their line in the future.

The first time Kathy needed regeneration to save herself was for the stupidest reason, one she will never tell anyone. She had been alive for a century in this world now when she's on a walk and she trips and falls down a hill. Not one of her finest moments.

Kathy and her son are not always together as he often likes to live out his own life, which means that at times she's going off on adventures on her own, sometimes it's together.

It was the beginning of the 9th century and after the invasion of the Vikings onto the English shores where she had re-lived, she decided to go off and explore Scandinavia, particularly in an attempt to find a village with a future immortal.

Kathy searched for years until she found the correct village. In the meantime, she had been darting around the different Scandinavian countries exploring and learning about the people. She had to learn the language for real. Learning Old Norse was fun and weird.

Eventually, Kathy found them in a remote part of Norway. They found her odd but because she spent time assimilating into similar cultures to theirs, they welcomed her in. Kathy intentionally grew close to Ashildr as she knew that she could help her and keep her company in the future years.

——

The fighters of the village had headed off pillaging and exploring but it was not long before they return. In the village, the horn blasts causing the residents to start clamouring, yelling and cheering.

Kathy hurries behind Ashildr to see them enter the village.

"See it's okay," Kathy says to her, she's been worried. Ashildr nods as her face breaks out into a smile.

"You're back! All of you! Are all of you back?" Ashildr asks Nollarr as she runs up to him with Kathy still following.

"I suppose so, I haven't counted." The man says.