Friendly Hijacking (Emilie/River/11)

[Deleted]

"Lucky you," Emilie smiled sweetly at him. "But how often have you gotten where you intended to land, dear?"

Twirling in place, she zigzagged one lever before dancing around to the other side of the TARDIS console next to Eleven... and staggered.

Emilie caught herself, fortunately, but the dizzy spell took its time in releasing its hold.

"Want to start us off?"

The question wasn't directed at either of them in particular. Her head just hurt so much and the swimming wasn't stopping.

Emilie was not supposed to know the coordinates for the planet of the Weave, not yet at least, but she had. It had been right there. Where they were and how to set the TARDIS to land on a planet where the people were made of yarn.

Now her mind was aching in payment. But it would pass.

She knew that too.

[River Song]

River smiled brightly when the Doctor agreed to go to the Weave, but then... her smile faltered when she noticed Emilie sort of stagger a bit. The girl played it off as if nothing had happened, but... River was no stranger to pain. That, and she was a woman, also, and she could tell that something was wrong... but, wrong to what degree?

Perhaps it was none of her business... For the time being, River decided not to acknowledge what she had seen. Besides, she didn't wish to embarrass Emilie by jumping to conclusions about things that may or may not be a problem.

"Want to start us off?" she'd asked, though it seemed the question was open to both River and the Doctor.

Since River happened to be nearest the lever that dealt with dematerializing the TARDIS, she nodded and replied, "On it, Sweetie," to either/ or both of the others. A moment later, the familiar sound of the TARDIS' 'vorp, vorp' filled the room, and they were off - off to the Weave...

And, River was even gracious enough not to complain about the breaks being left on.

[Deleted]

"But how often have you gotten where you intended to land, dear?"

"Oh, ha ha," The Doctor shot back, "The TARDIS takes me where I need to be. That isn't always the same as where I want to be." He felt that was a good defense. After all, the TARDIS herself had been the one to tell him that. It made sense to him.

The Doctor had been looking down at the controls when Emilie stumbled. He hadn't really noticed. So, when she asked River of she wanted to work on getting them moving, he hadn't caught her expression.

However, he did see the look River made when she heard the sounds of the TARDISes 'breaks', "Ah ah! I was talking to The Meddler, he's a friend of mine. And he says that it's perfectly fine for the TARDIS to make that noise!" He would hear nothing otherwise, his old friend had validated his logic, and there was no convincing him after that.

[Deleted]

On it, Sweetie.

"Thanks, doll," Emilie murmured as she wandered back over to the Doctor.

Once she reached him, she rested her forehead against his shoulder, eyes shut tight as if she could will her headache away. It wouldn't until they landed, but Rassilon, it hurt.

At least the trip was going smoothly right now, a bit of bickering aside.

[River Song]

"Ah ah! I was talking to The Meddler, he's a friend of mine. And he says that it's perfectly fine for the TARDIS to make that noise!"

River gave a sort of withering look, but then she shook her head dismissively. "Your friend is quite right, Sweetie - it is perfectly fine for the TARDIS to make that noise. I only stopped it before because it was starting to give me a headache," she explained as patiently as she could muster. "That, and I figured you hadn't read the handbook, so you didn't know what it was - nor how easily it could be silenced," River added smugly.

But then, she noticed Emilie seemed to be suffering... as if she had a beast of a headache.

"Speaking of headache..." River murmured, nodding her head in Emilie's direction. "Do you think she's quite alright?" River asked the Doctor, raising an eyebrow. She wasn't sure if she ought to be concerned, or not.

[Deleted]

"Your friend is quite right, Sweetie - it is perfectly fine for the TARDIS to make that noise. I only stopped it before because it was starting to give me a headache. That, and I figured you hadn't read the handbook, so you didn't know what it was - nor how easily it could be silenced."

The Doctor waved off River's comments as soon as she mentioned the handbook, "I didn't need the handbook." Of course that wasn't true, The Doctor had simply disagreed with the book, so he'd tossed it into a star, "I can pilot this TARDIS just fine without it."

"Speaking of headache..." River murmured, nodding her head in Emilie's direction. "Do you think she's quite alright?"

The Doctor tilted his head, confused as to what she'd meant, "Hm?" He looked to Emilie, who appeared to be suffering some discomfort. That worried The Doctor quite a bit, "Emilie," he started, "What's the matter? Talk to me." He'd been noticing little things here and there, perhaps she had a cold.

[Deleted]

Smith was very good at picking his friends, wasn't he? Emilie wasn't so deaf that she couldn't hear her two companions talking.

She especially couldn't miss Smith asking her to talk to him.

"The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know. Doesn't know," Emilie sang quietly.

Only, they weren't really her words. It was just an echo from the gold. A tiny sliver of time that refracted into her mind.

Snapping her eyes up to his suddenly, Emilie peered into Smith's face for a long moment.
"We're going to cross Hell, Doctor."

All things considered, that announcement was rather detached, and also rather quiet because it simply didn't need to be loud.

Hell. The Void. Eternal silence and the absence of all things.

[River Song]

River glanced at the Doctor, horrified, when Emilie sort of burst into song... She looked back toward Emilie with great concern and asked her, "What doesn't he know, Emilie Dear? What doesn't the Doctor know?"

As if she thought she'd get a straight answer... Ha!

But, it was like the girl hadn't heard her. Instead, Emilie was suddenly looking at the Doctor, and she told him that they were going to cross Hell.

River narrowed her eyes at the girl, wondering what on Earth she meant by that. Was it a metaphor for some adventure they were going to have that was going to be incredibly arduous? Or... did she literally mean 'Hell'...? Or, what?

"Emilie..." River gently began, still standing across the control panel from the girl - she was really starting to creep her out...

"What do you mean by 'Hell'?" she asked.

With a glance at the Doctor, River added, "Perhaps she'd best sit down for a spell and get some rest?"

River had no clue what was going on in that girl's mind... No clue at all!

[Deleted]

"The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know. Doesn't know. Doesn't know," The Doctor nearly broke out in a cold sweat hearing that song again, how could Emilie possibly-

"What doesn't he know, Emilie Dear? What doesn't the Doctor know?"

He corrected River, "That's not Emilie, River. I've heard this before. Way back, when I first regenerated into this body. That was Prisoner Zero, but Prisoner Zero was taken care of, and then the Universe was rebooted. How could she know that song?"

Absolutely confusing.

"We're going to cross Hell, Doctor."

"Oh, wonderful, I'll pack my suntan lotion," The Doctor was beside Emilie, hoping to snap her out of whatever kind of episode this was. "Perhaps she'd best sit down for a spell and get some rest?"

The Doctor looked to River and nodded, "I was just thinking the same thing. Come along Emilie. We've got a lovely couch of moderate comfortableness here for you."

[Deleted]

It was a shame that Emilie couldn't appreciate the irony of the Doctor being the only one to know and recognize her song. But she was much more focused on the fact neither of her brilliant companions were getting it.

"No. Not you. We. We will make the impossible crossing through hell."

She smiled suddenly, the gold was so very glittering in her vision.

"Although you and your flowers may join us."

Emilie had spoken slowly, as one would to a small child, but that didn't stop them from offering her a place to sit. In the middle of such an important conversation!

"We have no need for comfy chairs."

Another fragment, also appropriate. It was kind of amusing how much of time had been touched by the Doctor.

But this was important! He needed to understand, and now, before they landed and went out to meet the Weave, was the best time she had.

[River Song]

River shifted her eyes from Emilie to the Doctor when the girl had said 'We', and she gave her Sweetie a somewhat worried look.

Looking back to Emilie again, River gently asked her, "We? Whatever do you mean by that, Dear?"

"Are you quite alright, Emilie...?" River probed. "Maybe you'd like some tea? ... or perhaps something a bit stronger?"

[Deleted]

The Doctor had caught River's look. He was just as concerned as she was about all this. Yes, Emilie had been acting strange as of late, but he hadn't thought all that much of it.

Until now. This was just over the top out of character for her, he'd never seen anything like it from Emilie Gunnar. Running a hand through his hair, he thought on the use of We, instead of I. What exactly did that mean? What was in Emilie's head poking around.

"Tea is a good idea. River, do me a favor and fetch some tea." He wanted a moment alone to see if that would shift Emilie's demeanor at all.

[Deleted]

What was so hard to understand about pronoun usage that both of her companions seemed to find so terribly daunting? Obviously, there was something.

Well, it was probably just like tense issues. Before you really travelled in time and space, it was hard to grasp the layers. And since they probably had all their memories sorted reasonably into one personality apiece....

The woman was starting to remind her of Iris. Drinking anything, even tea, was not the end all and be all of problem solving.

She stayed mum, simply watching the Doctor until the curly haired woman had left to fetch tea.

"We'll leave from Dårlig Ulv-Stranden," she told him simply. "And pass through hell. Very soon now, my friend."

[River Song]

"Tea is a good idea. River, do me a favor and fetch some tea."

"Right. Tea it is..." River said, silently kicking herself for, essentially, removing herself from wherever the conversation with 'Emilie' was about to go. But, no matter. The girl was likely to open up if she were alone with the Doctor - that tended to be the case with other women. They trusted him.

Sometimes, it was hard not to get just a little bit jealous.

"I'll be back in a few..." River said before excusing herself and walking off down one of the corridors of the Doctor's TARDIS, towards the kitchen - or what passed for a kitchen, at any rate.

She set to getting some water to boil in a kettle and nabbed some teabags from the cupboard, arranging a tray with everything they might need, and also stalling a bit to give the Doctor a proper chance at getting through to that girl... for, something was very wrong with poor Emilie.

[Deleted]

"Right. Tea it is..."

He shot River a grateful look. Hopefully while River was out of the room, whoever they were speaking to would open up to The Doctor. It wasn't exactly the most likely of plans, but The Doctor was glad they'd come up with something rather than nothing.

"I'll be back in a few..."

"Thank you River," The Doctor mentioned as she left. His eyes turned back to Emilie, or whoever it was that was speaking through Emilie, "Now. Who are you, and what are you doing hitching a ride in my friend's head? She's a human being, not a taxi, you know? I'm really not a fan of stowaways. Unless, I'm the stowaway, but that isn't the point!"