Receiving Another Chance (Book Ten of The Bad Wolf Chronicles)

Prologue

What the hell. You guys wanted it, I wanted it to get started. We all win!

Here's the prologue to Series 8!

***

"Does this normally happen when they do this?"

"With the Doctor? Yes!"

"What about with her?"

"I don't think so!"

"Usually by now," Jessie Nightshade grimaced as she tried to regain her footing, only to nearly fall again as the TARDIS groaned, "I'd get this under control!"

"Why the need for control?" the Doctor grinned as he worked the TARDIS. "It's no fun if there's no control!"

"You keep telling yourself that," Pietro Maximoff grimaced as he looked over at his girlfriend. Clara Oswald was trying to help Jessie get back to her feet as Wanda Maximoff ran around the smoking console, trying to see what she could do to even out the TARDIS ride. Jessie had started off piloting, only to have another bout of nausea, leading to the Doctor then taking over. Since then, it had been one hell of a ride . . . and not in a good way.

It had also included being swallowed by a dinosaur while the Doctor was time traveling, and now they were taking the dinosaur with them to . . . wherever they were going.

The TARDIS suddenly landed with a thud, making them all fall to the ground. "Oh, that's wonderful," Jessie grimaced, closing her eyes. "That was just perfect."

"Are you OK?" the Doctor scrambled to his feet to check on her.

"Perfect," she repeated, holding up her hands, and he lifted her to her feet. "Just . . . yeah."

He kissed her forehead, then started when they heard a knock on the door. "Hello?" a voice called. "Exit the box and surrender to the glory of the Sontaran empire."

The Doctor scowled at the door and flung it open, revealing Strax at the door, Madame Vastra and Jenny behind him. "Shush," he ordered, then shut the door.

"That was rude," Jessie closed her eyes.

"I still don't think I'm ginger, love."

"Oh, yeah," she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Still the Doctor."

The Doctor opened the door again. "We were being chased by a giant dinosaur, but I think I managed to give it the slip," he told Strax, then shut the door again. He paused, then slowly opened it again, narrowing his eyes at Strax. "Sleepy?"

"Sir?" Strax asked.

"Bashful? Sneezy? Dopey? Grumpy?" He looked past Strax and saw Vastra and Jenny. "Oh, you two! The green one and the . . . not-green one. Or it could be the other way round. I mustn't prejudice."

"Because we can never have prejudice, oh, no," Jessie stumbled out next, her fingers to her temples, Wanda with her arm around her as Pietro and Clara came out, all four of them disheveled. "

"Oh, you remember my wife, very beautiful, hasn't changed a bit," the Doctor waved towards Jessie, the woman blushing. Barely a few minutes out of their regenerations, and he was already complimenting her over and over. Well, it could be worse. He could have been how he had been when she started out her second incarnation. "And the, er . . . thingies. The not-us ones. The asking questions ones. Names not my area."

"Clara," Clara frowned at him. "That's Pietro, that's Wanda."

"Well, it might be Clara, Pietro, and Wanda. Might not be. It's a lottery."

"It is, Doctor," Pietro sighed.

"Well, I'm not ruling it out," he shrugged, then turned when he heard a dinosaur roar behind him. "Oi!" he glared. "Big man! Shut it! Oh, you've got a dinosaur, too." He winced. "Big woman. Sorry."

"Doctor," Wanda walked forward. "You need to calm down - "

"I'm not flirting, by the way," the Doctor scowled at the dinosaur. "I have a gorgeous blood bonded I'm not giving up any time soon, thank you very much."

Jessie blushed even redder. "Has something gone wrong?" Pietro asked her.

"Wrong?" the Doctor scowled at him. "What's wrong? Have you regenerated?" He brightened suddenly, pointing at Clara. "I remember you! You're Handles! You used to be a little, a little robot head, and now you! You've really let yourself go."

"Nah, I'm good with who she is, thanks," Pietro held up a hand.

"Agh!" Jessie bent over double, clutching her head, Wanda hastily trying to help her get upright.

"Jessie!" the Doctor ran over to her, cupping her face. "Jessie?"

"Hi," she mumbled, wincing. "Headache . . . "

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. "Reduce the frequency."

"I'm sorry?" Clara blinked.

"Your sonic lanterns, turn them down," the Doctor ordered. "You're giving her a headache."

"The Bad Wolf?" Jenny asked.

"And her," the Doctor nodded at the dinosaur.

"How do you know?" Strax asked.

He sighed. "Come on, Clara, you know that I speak dinosaur."

Clara scowled. "He's not Clara, I'm Clara!"

"Well, you're all very similar heights," the Doctor shrugged. "Maybe you should wear labels."

"Doctor," Jessie mumbled. "Stop wobbling."

He frowned at her. "I'm not wobbling."

"'Course you are," she tilted her head, her green eyes going glassy. "You aren't in focus, either - "

The Doctor quickly caught Jessie when she pitched forward, unconscious. "Bad Wolf!" Pietro ran forward.

"No, no, she's fine," the Doctor held up a hand.

"She just passed out!"

"Regeneration after-effects," he shook his head, then paused. "Actually, she has the right idea . . . everyone, take five."

The Maximoffs caught him when he fell as well. "What do we do?" Clara asked nervously.

"I don't understand," Jenny shook her head, looking terribly confused. "Who are they? Where're the Doctor and the Bad Wolf?"

"Right here," Wanda answered. "This is them. This is the Doctor and the Bad Wolf."

Jenny's jaw dropped, and Strax's eyes widened. Vastra just looked down at the Time Lords and their tightly linked hands, then sighed. "Well, then . . . here we go again."

***

Here's Series 8, starring Peter Capaldi, Meghan Ory, Jenna Coleman, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Billie Piper, and Samuel Anderson!

Writing the prologue, and I'm already loving Capalry. I really do love this pairing to bits. I'm super excited for when they hit "Civil War." :)

"Deep Breath" is in the making, but there are tons of tests next week I need to do, so we'll have to see when it comes up. Just keep an eye out! :)