The Doctor and The Nightingale {1}

the girl in the fireplace 4.3

Rose, Tate, and Mickey wandered the corridor looking for the clockwork droid. They still had their fire extinguishers. "So," Mickey started with a chuckle. "That Doctor, eh?"

"What are you talking about?" Rose asked.

"Well" Mickey began listing off some names. "Madame de Pompadour. Sarah Jane Smith. Cleopatra"

"Cleopatra" Rose scoffed. "He mentioned her once!"

"Yeah, but he called her Cleo"

"Actually, I think it might be Nova and Madame de Pompadour that---" Tate stopped himself when he saw the droid. "Mickey!" The droid grabbed Mickey by the throat. Two others grabbed Rose and Tate from behind. The droids injected them with something which made them all pass out.

______

Nova was still linked into Reinette's mind. "You and your friend are in my memories. You both walk among them" Reinette said.

"If there's anything you don't want me to see, just imagine a door and close it" Nova told her. "I won't look. Oh, actually there's a door just there" Reinette opened her eyes and grinned up at Nova. "You might want to cl. Oh, actually, several"

Reinette closed her eyes again. "To walk among the memories of another living soul. Do you ever get used to this?"

"Well, this is actually the first time I'm doing this"

"How can you resist?"

"How old are you?"

"So impertinent a question so early in the conversation. How promising." Reinette's tone was becoming flirty.

"No, not my question, theirs" Nova clarified. "You're twenty three and for some reason, that means you're not old enough. Sorry, you might find old memories reawakening. Side effect"

"Oh, such a lonely childhood" Reinette lamented. "Wait. You weren't completely alone. You had a---"

"Not important, Reinette. Stay with me"

"Oh, Nightingale. So lonely. You're important, but so very, very alone"

Nova furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean, alone? You've never been alone in your life" Nova opened her eyes. "When did you start calling me Nightingale?"

"Such a lonely little girl. With the exception of another young girl who kept you company. She was the only friend who had. Then something happened between the both of you and you never saw her again" Reinette recounted. "Lonely then and lonelier now. You're also afraid to love" Reinette's face twisted into sadness. "There's only two people you've ever loved in your past, both in different ways. They left you. You love someone now but you're afraid to let him in. You don't want him to leave you like the others did" Reinette opened her eyes. "How can you bear it?"

Reinette had seen too much for Nova's liking. She broke the link between them. "How did you do that?" Nova stepped away from Reinette and closer to The Doctor.

"A door, once opened, can be stepped through in either direction" Reinette answered. "Oh, Nightingale. My lonely Nightingale" Reinette moved closer to Nova, and placed a hand on her arm. "Dance with me"

"I can't"

"Dance with me"

"This is the night you dance with the King"

"Then first, I shall make him jealous"

"I can't"

"Your Doctor may join us" Reinette looked towards him. Then she looked back at Nova who still had uncertainty on her face. "Nightingale, you were promised a dance once, but you never got the chance to dance"