ignite ➝ Doctor Who¹

XXXXIII

"They would all be okay."
— Penelope Adaams, Army of Ghosts

Penelope watched her aunt closely. The woman had long since moved out of her old house, leaving it to Amy. It wasn't just her old house, it was an old house. It felt like there were too many floors, too many rooms - especially for one person. It had freaked her out when she visited years ago as well.

Either way, her aunt didn't live there anymore. And she didn't look good. The loss of so many family members was starting to take a toll on her. There used to be three sisters, now there was one. 'Auntie Sherry', so lovingly named, really fit her now with the amount she drank.

Luckily she had been taken and put into an independent care home. Well, it was less of a care home and more of a row of buildings that people can live in if they need to be checked in on by a carer every now and again. It was good, but they were clearly understaffed. There were a lot of.. accidents with the people in the care homes. Her aunt had warned her to not get too close to any other residents, as there was no telling if they would still be there the next time she visited.

She had been trying to get her aunt to explain what she meant when there was the call to say that her mum had come to visit. Like she told the Doctor, her nana had died ages ago, and so far, the supposedly alive woman hadn't made her rounds. Auntie Sherry keeps telling her 'wait for ten past'. Which is irritating as she didn't say ten past what, so every time it hits ten past she holds her breath. So far nothing has happened. The next time it rolls around should be-

"Penny! It's now! Ten past!" The ginger girl sighed, and placed the cup back into the sink, pulling off the gloves and grabbing a hand towel. Walking into the front room, a little worried for her aunt's mental stability, she dried her hands and watched the seconds tick down on the old wall clock.

The red hand seemed to hover just before the number, before it continued onwards into the time that her aunt had been so excited for.

It was instant, a ghost stepped through the closed - and locked - door, and just stood there. Auntie Sherry laughed, clapping her hands together before gesturing at the shadowed figure to her niece, missing the horrified look on her face.

"See! I told you Pen. And you didn't believe me. Here she is, you can see your nana again, isn't it wonderful."

"Auntie Sherry. What- Why do you think that's Judy?" The woman looked at her confused, her cheeks and nose a little red.

"Can't you just feel it in the air. The safety you get only with your mum. And I can hear her, she is whispering to me, she forgives me."

"I can't hear anything-" Her smile started to slip, eyebrows furrowing.

"Of course not, stupid girl, she's talking to me. But you can smell it right, her perfume? She used to use so much you could smell her five minutes before you saw her." The woman laughed and Penelope dropped the towel on the sofa, far too nervous to be around her right now.

"Alright, I'm- I'm going to go back into the kitchen, fix us all a drink."

She raced into the kitchen and closed the door, pulling up a chair to stop her aunt from getting in. Luckily, they were currently on the bottom floor, so Penelope started to unlock the window as she called the TARDIS' number. Snapping the safety lock - it stopped the residents escaping - she pushed the window open when she heard the familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello."

"Oh thank God, Doctor-"

"I'm afraid the number you've called isn't being answered right now. Worlds to save and the like, uh- feel free to leave me a message, or just.. call Penelope."

She laughed incredulously, furious that she could remember exactly when he made that voicemail message. And so she called Rose, hoping the girl was closer to her phone than the Doctor.

It's a good thing she was, although all she caught on Penelope's end was the girl falling out the window to the ground, which was a little further than she thought it would be. "Penelope! Are you okay?!" The Doctor was immediately on the phone, talking down to his ginger friend, who flicked her head back from where she was laying in the dirt.

"What is the point of giving me the TARDIS phone number if you never fucking answer it Doctor." She heard sheepish laughter from the other end and groaned in annoyance, picking herself up and trying to discreetly creep away from the house. "I will be angry at you later. Have you seen the ghosts?"

"Yes we have. We're dealing with it now, are you okay?" She huffed indignantly, swapping which side the phone was on so that she could pull open the garden gate.

"Just had to shimmy myself out of a window, I'm doing great." She really hoped they could hear the dead expression on her face as she walked down the street surrounded by care homes. The ghosts were everywhere, but easy enough to side step.

"I should come and get you." She could hear the worry, but also the distance in his voice. He was distracted by something, probably the ghosts. It wouldn't do anyone on this planet any good if he stopped to come and get her.

"No, no. It's okay Doctor. There are a lot of residents here that don't have anyone in case something goes wrong. I'll be okay, I will see you when you've saved the world, yeah." He couldn't ignore the worry at the back of his throat, or the panic in her voice.

"Are you sure?"

"The world needs you Doctor, but my aunt and these people need someone here with them." There was silence for a moment, he knew she was right. He was supposed to be letting her go slowly, maybe this was the way to do it?

"Alright.." he was quiet again, he had been making her nervous recently, he seemed off and she couldn't place why. "Penelope?"

"Yes?"

"..nevermind. We'll see you soon." Rose took the phone from him, smiling down the phone at her best friend.

"When we get back to the TARDIS we should bake those brownies again, mum loved them."

"Alright Rosie. You both stay safe. Don't have too much fun saving the world again without me." The line went dead, Penelope could breathe again, they would get back to the TARDIS, they would be okay.

They would all be okay.