Red ⋆ Doctor Who

Chapter Twenty-six

The atmosphere in the Tardis is tense. The Doctor and Cherry aren't talking. Amy has been acting a little strange around the Doctor since she wrote the note for them to find in the paper shop window. So, their trip to Space Florida was an extremely uncomfortable affair, and the automatic sand didn't impress Cherry nearly as much as the pink and intelligent sand of Karass Don Slava had. Amy enjoyed it more than Cherry and the Doctor did, though, so at least that makes up for her being stuck in the Tardis for so long while they were staying with Craig.

Unfortunately for Cherry and the Doctor, Amy is stubborn and very perceptive. So, she notices when the pair come back from their stay in Essex and can barely look at each other. Cherry isn't even angry at him; she's just upset that he's ignoring her. The Doctor is still angry, and sad, and frightened, and he just can't face her. But Amy grills him about it relentlessly when Cherry isn't around to hear it, and the redhead does the same to her cousin, bombarding her with questions about what happened. Cherry tells her, of course, because they're practically sisters, and they share almost everything with one another. Amy agrees with Cherry for the most part. The Doctor is being overly dramatic and frankly a little childish with his sulking about the Tardis, refusing to make eye contact with Cherry or murmur anything more than single-word answers to her questions.

Cherry would be lying if she said his behaviour wasn't hurting her. She misses him. She misses the Doctor. Her Doctor. So, she does try to talk to him, but she's met with the same bitter, unenthusiastic responses from him, and it cuts deep in her heart. It keeps her awake at night, and when she ventures down to the console room to distract herself, reading the big book of artists by the projection of the night sky, the Doctor doesn't join her.

Not until one fateful night when he's working on the console underneath the glass floor, and Cherry, consumed with emotions, doesn't notice him. She settles down in her usual spot on the stairs, her duvet wrapped tightly around her shoulders, but she doesn't open the book in her lap. Instead, she leans her head against the railing and stares at the blank screen, which she doesn't have the energy to turn on. She pushes the book to one side, hugs her legs to her chest, and then closes her eyes as she contemplates everything that has happened since they left Craig's. If the Doctor doesn't get over himself soon, and Amy doesn't start acting like herself again, Cherry doesn't know how much longer she can carry on travelling with them. But then she considers the alternative, which is going home to an empty house with no family other than Aunt Sharon, whom she never sees, and no friends other than Mels. She'd be stuck working in the Post Office on her own. She'd be lonely. But that's how she feels right now, so maybe it wouldn't make any difference.

Cherry moves a hand to cover her mouth when she feels her eyes starting to well with tears. She doesn't even know why she's crying, but she honestly feels hopeless. She stifles her cries with her hand and then leans forward to hide her face in her knees because she feels a little stupid. The Doctor ignoring her upsets her more than any of it. She isn't even sure what she has done wrong. In her mind, all she did was help save the solar system from being blown up. If anything, Cherry assumed the Doctor might be impressed by her act of bravery. But it seems to have had the complete opposite effect. He can barely bring himself to look at her now. She doesn't move for what feels like forever, silently crying with her head down until she hears someone walking toward her and calling her name.