I was up in the loft. I had been on my phone, minding my own business and staying out of his way. I did not want another reoccurrence of the brown coat man. It left me feeling strange and wrong. I know I had joked with the Doctor about...well, interpersonal relations. But I had grown accustomed to the steadfast feeling of an older brother or loving grandfather. The feelings of love only extended to that direction. Infatuation and/or lust, on the other hand, was something I was not qualified to deal with; especially with him. I did not need my cards to tell me that an interpersonal relationship with him would never work out.
I won't lie. There were and still are times that I think about it; the taboo of it. The what if's and should have's. But there is a huge and lasting difference between thinking about it and acting on it. I set my boundaries and I was going to stick to them. Not just for my sake, but for his too. Then, there was also my insecurity. I wasn't good enough for him. That was a truth I was willing to believe.
"Ten over fourteen!" He yelled. Then, he danced around the console.
I jumped out of the chair I was sitting in. "What does that mean?" I asked. "She wouldn't say."
"It means that you were mostly right. I was mostly right. But both of us were wrong in so many ways!" he yelled joyfully. "It also means that I now have a little more cooperation from the wife!"
"So are finally getting to Numiah?" I asked. Now, I was excited too.
"No!" The static Doctor laughed. "Nowhere near Numiah!" He flipped a switch. The TARDIS began her wheezing sound, which did sound happier.
"Not Numiah?" I said, confused. I held up my hand. "What about my..."
"I told you," he said. "It's all connected. No worries!"
"How can I not be worried? I am turning into a..." I stopped. The Doctor stopped his dance, and he looked up at me from below. "Doctor? Tell me I'm not in danger."
"Nope. You volunteered!" He threw his hands up in the air.
"Not for this! I cannot be..."
"Well, I'm not sure, but I think I know where to go to find out," he said and chuckled. I ran down the stairs and stood with him at the console. After pushing more buttons, I heard the TARDIS thud it's landing. The Doctor turned to me. "Are you ready to meet some witches?"
I laughed at him. "Yeah, sure. Some Wiccans are going to know all about me."
He shook his head. "No, no. Real Witches. They cast spells and everything."
"You're lying again."
"Cross my hearts! Real witches that use words to cast spells that are real magic." He threw out his arms and made his hands wiggle at me. " They even have warts to prove their credibility!"
"Now, I know you're lying, Doctor." I scoffed.
He ran to the doors and opened them. "See for yourself, then. And question everything you know."
I stepped out of the TARDIS and onto the grass. "I'm not sure if I should count this as my first planet," I said.
"It's not. But it can be if you want it too," he said and bumped me with his hip. "That's the best thing about being with me. Every time is the first time."
I smiled. That was the Doctor I was used to. Not the sullen, worried, old soldier, too wrapped up in keeping me safe. He didn't have to do that. He was right. I volunteered. I rolled the dice. And I had to accept my critical failures, head wounds and all. I think for once, in all his whole lives, he had finally let go of the fear that I would die. I think I did too. It was possible. Maybe, I would die. But then again, maybe I wouldn't. That didn't matter. The journey getting there was the important thing. Death is irrelevant. Because it didn't matter, I was standing on a planet of witches with the Doctor. And it wasn't what I thought it was going to be.
"Those aren't suns, those are moons."
"Moons don't burn like that."
"Some moons do," he said. "This sytems star is very far away. In this case, it is the moons that gives life. The perfect planet for a civilization of witches." The Doctor and I stepped from the grass onto a walking path. There wasn't a need for roads when everyone rides a broom. We laughed as we watched one whizz by.
When I saw the buildings, I knew why we were here. I could see the houses were made of organic and inorganic matter. As we walked by, there were two women waving their arms around and chanting. The tree that made up the foundation of the house was growing a new room. Two others were in setting windows and doorframes into the new addition as the walls were growing upwards.
"Now thatis how you build a house! That's amazing," I said. "Doctor, you said they had warts." The women looked like human women with all the differences included. The dress code was a lot more sci-fi fantasy. It looked like all of them were wearing robes and dresses. I giggled. "Where's Harry, Doctor?"
"No, Harry's here. All women," he said.
"Did you say all women?" I asked. I stopped to watch another broom whizz by. "If they are all women, how do they..."
"It's best not to ask that. Instead, you should ask about that alarm," he stopped and put his hands up.
"What al..." There it went, blasting through my eardrums like canon fire. "I'm glad for the helmet now!" I yelled. I followed the Doctor's lead. I had stopped beside him and put my hands up.
The women in the area cleared out in a hurry. They were replaced by fifteen fierce looking women on broomsticks brandishing wands. They spent no time in surrounding us and pointing the wands at the Doctor. "Stop right there, Time-lord!" ordered the leader. "We have ways of preventing regenerations here!"
The Shadow Doctor nodded. "I am aware. Hence, the hands in the air."
"Yes, well, you are violating serious code being here. You better have a good reason to show up, unannounced, and without permission! You have five seconds." She demanded.
"I need to retrieve something from my coat," he pointed at himself. "May I?"
"Slow! Time-lord. We will not hesitate to blow you away into the void!"
The Doctor reached into his coat, slowly, and pulled out a crystal ball. "Hey," I said. "That belongs to the Spineless Witch! It's in her painting!" Everybody stopped to look at me. An awkward moment passed.
The Doctor spoke up. "Silence! Muggle!"
I dropped my arms. "Did you seriously just call me a muggle?"
"Oh yes, she is a muggle type person." He nodded. "She is even more than that. She is a muggle-wuzzle!" He leaned over and whispered. "Show them your arm." The Doctor stood straight again. "And she has brought you a gift, which I will now present!" He held up the crystal ball for them to see. I shrugged and pulled back the arm of my shirt. Holding up my arm, I turned on the spot for everyone to see. "As you can see, our presence here is required despite the code."
The leader woman wasn't impressed. "It isn't up to me, Time-lord." She mentioned to the others. "Take them straight to the Vasha!"
The next thing I know, I am on the back of a broom, flying over town and field. I looked over at the Shadow Doctor. "Doctor!" I yelled. "It's a Magic Flight!"
"And the fairy tale?" He yelled back.
"Fricken Epic!"
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