The Doctor had told Peyton and Rory to get some rest.
They both protested avidly at first but with a silencing look from the Time Lord, they both headed down the long corridor toward the bedrooms. Their doors were thankfully close today, Peyton pushes her door open and watches over her shoulder as Rory hovers in the doorway of his and Amy's room before slipping in and closing the door gently.
Peyton decides it's in her best interest not to bother him. She's sure he's going through just as much as her, if not more. Amy Pond, why is it always her?
Peyton showers quickly and by the time she slips into her bedclothes and her body hits the mattress, the exhaustion of the last day hits her all at once. They'd arrived at the monastery early afternoon, but it was mid-morning the following day by the time they had piled back into the TARDIS after a visit to Morpeth Jetson headquarters.
That is by no means an excruciatingly long period of time for Peyton, half Time Lord and all, but with all the running, the worry, and the threats on her life, it adds up to quite a lot of exhaustion. Her final coherent thoughts before she is pulled into subconsciousness are about what the Doctor could be doing right now. Is he too falling into sleep, or is he tinkering and plotting somewhere? She never reaches a conclusion.
• • •
Peyton awakens suddenly, ejected from her slumber by a rush of adrenaline. She hadn't had a nightmare in a long time.
The more she tries to recall it, the less she can see. Amy's unmistakable red hair is the only thing she can grasp. She sighs and rubs her face, turning on her side and closing her eyes again.
Just as she feels sleep about to wash over her, she hears a knock at the door. It's faint and easy to miss but her eyes snap open.
"Come in," she calls, her voice croaky with sleep.
The door to her bedroom opens slowly, the dim light from the hallway allowing her to see that it's Rory, dressed in baggy v-neck and flannel trousers.
Peyton pushes herself up and swings her legs off the side of her bed and gestures for him to come to sit with her.
He does silently, only exhaling loudly as he sits next to his friend.
"Got any sleep?" Peyton asks.
"No. You?"
"A little."
"Did I wake you?" He sounds concerned.
"No, I was up."
He doesn't answer. Peyton realises that he probably just needed to be around someone, not be alone in that bedroom he is supposed to be sharing.
"We'll get her back," Peyton says.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. The Doctor will save her," Rory murmurs.
"No, Doctor or not, you and I will always save her," Peyton says confidently, looking him in the eye. In the dark of her bedroom, she can only just make out his facial features. "The last centurion and the half Time Lord, what could stop us?"
Peyton almost sees the corner of his mouth lift. But he says nothing for a couple of minutes. "I'm a dad," he says, as if just realising.
"Congratulations," Peyton says.
Another bout of silence passes, this time Peyton breaks it. "I'm sorry, to say this but if we are going to be in any shape to save your wife you need to get some sleep."
"You're right," he sighs, making a lethargic effort to get up.
"If you don't want to be alone, you can stay here. We can have a sleepover, like back in the day."
"We haven't had a sleepover since primary school," he chuckles lowly, "The four of us all crammed into someone's double bed."
"We were so little." Peyton smiles to herself.
"Alright," he concedes. "Scoot over."
Peyton shuffles over and kicks back the duvet before siding underneath, lying on her back. Rory does the same.
"Get some sleep, Rory, just a little. For Amy," Peyton suggests.
"For Amy," he mumbles, before curling up on his side with his back toward her.
Peyton lets the darkness overcome her once more.
• • •
Restless sleep is better than no sleep. When Peyton wakes again, the steady yet shallow rise and fall of Rory's chest tells her that he is still asleep.
She carefully slides out of the bed, trying her best not to disturb him. He needs the rest.
She pads silently out of the room and in the direction of the console room, stretching at she does so, her limbs not used to not being allowed to splay out in all directions as she sleeps.
Upon entering the console room, she halts and a blush rushes to her cheeks as she not only sees the Doctor by the console but a few strange figures around.
"Doctor," she calls, feeling quite exposed in her sleep shirt and shorts.
He looks up from the console and his eyes widen, realising the situation she's in. He shrugs off his jacket and makes his way up the stairs to her.
She takes it and nods, slipping her arms into its sleeves, she cuffs them a little so her hands don't get lost in the fabric. The length of the jacket comes just below her shorts, allowing her a bit more privacy in front of the unexpected guests.
"So, what's all this?" She queries.
"I've been asking around, I have a few people who owe me a favour," he says, trotting back down the stairs, Peyton follows. "Tracking down whoever thinks they can take something precious from me."
The righteous anger in which he utters that last statement chills her. It almost makes her pity whoever they're going to find when they reunite with Amy.
"You've met Henry and Toby," the Doctor nods when they're both at the bottom of the stairs.
Peyton can't help but crack a smile as she sees Captain Avery and his young son who she met a few months ago aboard a pirate ship in the seventeenth century.
"Good morning, miss," Toby smiles up at her, a lot healthier and happier than when she last saw him.
"How have you been, ma'am," Henry extends a hand for her in what Peyton assumes is a handshake, but when their hands meet, the Pirate captain raises her hand to his lips.
"I've been alright," Peyton answers politely with a charmed smile.
"Oh, and this is Madame Vastra and Jenny," the Doctor grabs Peyton's attention. "You'll love them."
She's pulled in another direction by the wrist to see two ladies dressed in very Victorian attire, one surprisingly not human, rather Silurian.
"These guys are a certain Conan-Doyle's real-life inspiration," the Doctor boasts.
"Was Victorian England not ready for two woman detectives?" Peyton jokes, not even touching the non-human from the dawn of time.
"Married, woman detectives," the Silurian adds.
That, she was not expecting, but she smiles.
"Now, Peyton," the Doctor says. "Get changed, get Rory up too. I don't think anyone has ever saved the day in pyjamas."
"Dress code?" Peyton asks.
His eyes turn dark, looking around at the small crowd in the console room before turning back to Peyton. "Battle."
YOU ARE READING
The Time Lord's Apprentice
Fanfiction"But, you're impossible!" "Yeah, and the world is ending, I don't think now is the time." Peyton is an orphan, taken from her mother as an infant by the Unified Intelligence Taskforce. She is raised separately from other children because she is spec...
