Continuing from 'Lily - Part II'

✧

WHEN LILY WOKE UP THAT NEXT MORNING she turned on her side and noted that Rose wasn't in her bed. She sat up and opened her drapes, letting the light of the sun brighten up the small bedroom. Lily then looked at her alarm clock on her end table and widened her eyes when she noticed it was now ten in the morning. Rose must have turned off both of their alarm clocks so they could sleep in. There was no point in getting up in the morning anyways- they had no job to go to.

She looked back up at the sky, seeing nothing other than a clear blue sky. She didn't know what she expected to see. Maybe Rose was right. Maybe everything that occurred that night was all in her head. Lily released a sigh and got out of bed, grabbing some clothes and heading to the bathroom they shared between the three of them for a shower.

After taking another trip to her room to grab some boots and lace them up, Lily wandered to the kitchen to find the culprit of the smell in the air. She was still clasping her three necklaces around her neck when she found her mum and Rose near the stovetop. They were talking about what sounded like jobs but Lily didn't care. All she cared about was the bacon and toast she saw resting on the nearby counter- her growling stomach made her recall that she skipped dinner last night.

"Lily!" Jackie squealed in Lily's ear as she grabbed a plate- the high pitch making it ring. "I was just telling your sister to look into Finch's. They're always hiring."

After grabbing two pieces of bacon and putting them down on her plate Lily headed for the toast. She was in the midst of spreading raspberry jam on her single piece when she spoke, not trying to hide her disgust at the thought. "The butchers?"

Rose gestured to her sister. "That's what I said!"

Jackie rolled her eyes at Rose's outburst, waving them both off. "Oh, you and your sister. It might do you two good! That shop was giving you both airs and graces. And I'm not joking about compensation." Jackie followed Lily to the dining table, Rose right on her heels. "You've had genuine shock and trauma." Jackie caressed Lily's cheek lovingly- Lily found herself leaning into her mother's touch. "Oh!" She let go of Lily and exclaimed as she started towards the hallway, possibly to her bedroom. "Arianna got two thousand quid off the council just because the old man behind the desk said she looked Greek!"

After her mum's departure Lily took a seat at the table with her plate- Rose joining her to her right. Lily's nose scrunched up when she realized what her mum said. "Mum, Arianna is Greek."

"I know she is, but that's not the point. It was a valid claim!" Jackie had defended herself before possibly returning to working her hair and makeup for the day. Lily was eight when her mum started her home business of doing peoples hair- making ends meet after she was let go from her previous job. Jackie was great at what she did and was able to do something she loved while caring for her daughters at home.

Lily took a bite of her bacon and then realized she forgot her tea. Though, before she could stand to fetch some, a familiar item crossed her eyeline and made her halt. "Is that what I think it is?" Lily asked her sister, swallowing the rest of her bacon. She reached to pick it up, examining the clear capsule filled with pills of a white and mint green.

"I told her it's a bad idea."

Lily looked up at Rose. "It's probably old."

"It's a new prescription." Rose admitted, picking at the edge of the dining table. "She picked it up earlier this morning."

Lily chewed the corner of her lip in thought. "It's helped in the past." She remembered, going to unclasp the lid.

"Wait!" Rose put a hand on Lily's arm, stopping her from going any further. "I don't think you can call it that after you were bed bound for months. And when we finally got you out of bed you were in a zombie state for the rest of the month

Lily paused and gave her sister a raised brow. "What's with you? You were all for my medication last night." She reminded her.

"I was still reeling from learning of the explosion and nearly losing you! But this-" She took the capsule out of Lily's hand, holding it up to her line of eyesight. "Isn't the way. And I've been fighting with Mum all morning on this." Rose sighed when she noticed her sister's eyes focused on the capsule. "Look, just think about it and the aftermath of what could happen, the good and bad." She warned her before bracing her hands on the table top, standing up. "I'm gonna go jump in the shower and then after you and I are going to forget about being unemployed and stop worrying about our future, for once, and have a sister day."

"A sister day?"

"Yeah." She beamed. "I mean you've been so busy lately with .. things." By 'things' Lily knew Rose meant her current dilemma with a certain publishing company, but did not want to bring up the entire ordeal. "And I miss those days."

Lily admitted to herself that she agreed with Rose. 'Sister Day' was something they tried to do one day a week where they spent the entire day together- going shopping, trying out new restaurants, or just hanging out at home. As long as they were together. "Sure, why not."

"Yay!" The squeal that escaped Rose's lips was enough to make a tired Lily crack a smile. "Okay, good. Well, it'll be just a few minutes. Umm," She pointed down at the capsule. "Please don't touch that until I get back? Okay?"

"No worries." Lily waved her off and put on a brave face- biting off a piece of her toast. "Go enjoy your shower. I'll be okay just sitting here."

It was after Rose vanished around the corner that Lily let her face fall. She examined the capsule once more and the mere sight of the all too familiar pills made her lose her appetite. She heard the shower head turn on, the cat flap fluttering, her mom- wait. The cat flap fluttering? Lily stood up from the table, leaving her barely touched food and the capsule behind. Going to the front door she dropped to her knees and examined the screws laying on the shag carpet. She picked one up and rubbed it between her fingers and dropped it with a start when the cat flap started to move again.

She took in a breath, leaned over and started opening the cat flap. "Eek!" Lily exclaimed, jolting back with a start and letting go of the cat flap in the process. Was that real, what she just saw? She leaned over again to answer her own questions. Once it was confirmed what she saw was actually true she was quick to point get back to her feet and unlocked the door, pulling it open.

There was the Doctor, once again, smiling down at her with that all too familiar grin. The one that haunted Lily's every waking thought since last night. "Well . ." His blue eyes were enough to get lost in (No Lily, stop it!) and were scanning Lily from head to toe. "Hello again, Red."

She felt her insides start melting. "Hello . ." She took a pause, remembering why him being there was something that needed to be discussed. "again. Why are you here?" She looked over his shoulder but he was completely alone.

She was taken back by the confused look on his face that mirrored her own. "I must have got the wrong signal. You're not plastic, are you?" The Doctor had the nerve to knock on her forwards as if it was a door.

She swatted away his hand. "No, stop it. I meant-" She touched her temples- feeling a tension headache forming by the thought that the Doctor was in her doorway. He just couldn't be real and Lily started to wonder if she should take those pills.

"I was scanning for more of those Autons you know all about." The look he casted down at her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. It wasn't one of fury- but one of unease. "Got a signal of something coming from your flat. Mind if I come in for a quick spell?" The Doctor didn't wait for consent, hurrying past Lily to venture down her hallway. "Thanks!" He called back.

"Hey!" Lily closed her door, not bothering to lock it, and cried out. "You can't just barge into my home uninvited!"

"Sure I can." She lost sight of him. "I'm doing it right now!"

"Lillian Marie?" Lily looked to the right which was where her mum's bedroom was located. Her door was open and she was sitting at her own vanity, still in her dressing gown and working on her hair. "Who just walked past?"

"He's um," Lily looked back down the hall and found the Doctor skimming through the magazines on the coffee table in the living room. She looked back at Jackie. Lily hated lying to her mum, avoiding any chance she could get. But telling her mum that this was the same man who possessed her dreams since she was a young girl seemed like something that would elevate the situation. Lily couldn't deal with two problems at the same time. So, she lied. "He's a part of the inquiry. Just give us ten minutes."

Jackie believed her eldest and Lily let out a silent sigh of relief. "Tell him you-"

"Deserve compensation, I know." She smiled to keep Jackie's suspicions at bay. "Finish your hair. It won't be long." She promised before pulling her mum's door to a crack, hearing her blow dryer turn on. Lily walked down the hallway, still hearing the water from Rose's shower, but paused her step when she couldn't see the Doctor any longer. "Dang, he's slippery." She muttered.

She surveyed the area and, after seeing the light in her and Rose's bedroom switch on, she started towards the open doorway with a roll of her eyes.

✧

Lily wasn't shocked at all when she walked into her bedroom and saw the Doctor fiddling with the items on Rose's vanity. "Hey!" Nothing shocked her anymore with this man. "It's one thing to barge into someone's house. It's an entirely other thing to go into their bedroom." She told him as she made her way to his side.

He ignored her outbursts, holding up an envelope to eye level with her. "Rose Tyler?"

"That's my sister's and it's-" Lily snatched it from his hand, careful not to rip it, and stuffed it into the vanity's drawer. "private."

"Then how come you have different last names?"

"I was adopted." Lily halted, straightening her spin to narrow her eyes at him. She recalled last night and how she never told him her full name. "How would you know about my last name?"

He ignored her (why was she not surprised?) and turned his attention to Lily's side of the room. "This is your side then." Once he focused on her bookcase, the first two shelves in particular, a ghost of a smile formed upon his lips. "Great collection." He took her copy of 'Beauty and the Beast' off her shelf and flipped through the pages. "First edition."

Lily grew nervous seeing him holding her book, picking at her fingers. Sure, he seemed to handle it with care but it took her five years to hunt down that edition. "It's my favorite book."

The smile still on his face he put the book back, and looked down at the other shelves- the ones that held her many notebooks. He started to run his finger along the spines- Lily's heart stopped. "And these?" He looked over his shoulder, raising a brow.

"That's really personal and-" He disregarded the ginger, grabbing a notebook and started flicking through the pages. Lily's mouth was left gaped open. "Does nothing deter you?"

He was silent as he read and it gave Lily time to truly study him in his entirety. Her ex-fiance Liam (though the engagement lasted merely two full days) had ruined her trust in men. She had flings since him, men and women, and non-binary alike as Lily classified herself as pansexual- none of them ever stuck. Not ever since Liam made her feel like the only woman on the planet- and later the scum on the bottom of his shoe. No, she hadn't found anyone that made her feel the way he had- until "The Doctor" crashed into her life. The way that just his smile and the twinkle in his eyes made her stomach feel like jelly.

The Doctor had muttered something that Lily couldn't catch. "What?"

With the notebook still in his hands his face raised, clear blue eyes seemed to look at her in a completely different way than before. "I never forget a face. Even one that I met in a museum with Sarah Jane," Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him put the notebook back and stepped closer to her, raising his fingers- gingerly touching her temples. Those eyes of his held her there- frozen. "Thirteen years ago." A slight pain passed through her brain but it only lasted moments and in its path was left memories. Memories of Lily as a child, the intense fear of an angel statue and a man in a rainbow scarf. He saw it in her eyes and it seemed to please him, bringing his hands back to his side and giving her a grin. "Hello again, Lily Carter."

Suddenly, nothing felt like a trick of her mind. But Lily couldn't trust herself so she responded with a shake of her head. "You're not real." Her voice was shaken and she couldn't seem to breathe. "You're not. You're a figment of my imagination. I'm daydreaming-" And then he was taking her hand in his, lifting it to his chest. "I-" He covered both of his hands over her one, and held her stare. They were so close she could feel his breath on her lips. She was then able to focus on the feeling under her hand where it laid on his chest. Lily felt the rhythm of his hearts beating- his hearts? "My god." She gasped with eyes wide- knowing the Doctor had two hearts but to actually feel them beating made everything real to her. He was real and she finally believed herself, her mind, for the first time in her life.

He released her hand. "When we met again last night I couldn't get you out of my mind." She almost thought he meant it in a romantic way, until he took her locket and lifted it up. "This locket that I gave you." He meant her locket and not her. She never felt more stupid. "How often do you wear it?"

She answered with a shrug. "I never take it off ."

"For thirteen years?" The Doctor was asking to confirm. Lily only nodded, pondering where he was going with this.

"That's what I was worried about. This locket was in my pocket for centuries- soaking up all my memories. Turning those same memories into dreams for you. May I?"

"I guess?" She understood what he meant- reached back to unclasp her locket and handed it to him. "But how did it stay up to date?" She recalled her dreams being filled with the stories and adventures of, whom she named, the first doctor all the way to the eighth- but it stopped after him.

He shrugged, examining her locket like he was remembering a distance memory. Lily turned her attention from him to the open doorway. She could have sworn she just heard the cat flap. "Gallifreyan technology is tricky." She looked back at him. "Even I don't understand it fully-"

It happened so fast- at one moment they were focused on her necklace and the next Lily was thrown backwards, laying on her bed. She was unable to breathe and could feel the culprit was the plastic arm (the same from last night) latched onto her throat. The Doctor worked fast, sticking Lily's locket into his coat pocket, and then rushing to Lily's aid. He had one knee on her bed and was hovering over her as he grabbed the arm and took his sonic screwdriver, as Lily can now confirm, pointing it at it. Once he had the opportunity he ripped it off her and soniced the arm again, forcing its movements to cease.

Lily was still gasping for breath, clawing at her throat that was sure now red from the hands tight grasp. The Doctor looked down, and spoke with his voice giving away that he was concerned for her. "You're okay. Try and control your breathing." Those were his parting words before leaving her bedroom.

"Hey!" Lily struggled to stand up from her now messy bed. "Not again." She muttered, hurrying to her wardrobe to grab her jacket before she hurried out to the hallway. It was empty and the front door was left open, though before she could step any further Rose exited the bathroom, hair damp and tying a robe around her body.

"Where's the rush?" She looked to the open front door as Lily slipped on her jacket. "Who was that?"

"I can't really explain it right now but I will soon. I promise." She left her jacket unzipped and quickened her step towards the front door. "I won't be long!"

"Wait, where are you going? And where's your locket?" Was what she heard her sister called out before leaving, closing the front door behind her.

✧

She had basically ran down eight flights of stairs and barrelled herself out of the double door entrance to their flat building, 'The Powell Estate.' Lily couldn't see any sign of the Doctor. So, she just kept running and running and running. She didn't know where to but the way she was going felt right. She understood why when she stopped short, in the middle of the pavement, and saw the all too familiar blue box.

"Took you long enough." She turned and saw the Doctor only a few feet away, with the arm still in his right fist.

"I still have so many questions." She was out of breath when she spoke, the Doctor lessening their distance from each other. "And I think, if what you've said is true, I deserve answers."

He stopped when he was close enough to her, about the same space they were in her bedroom. "Do you know about the Earth revolving? It's like when you're a kid." He took her hand in his free one and laced their fingers together. "The first time they tell you the world's turning and you just can't quite believe it because everything looks like it's standing still. I can feel it. The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet is spinning at a thousand miles an hour, and the entire planet is hurling round the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour, and I can feel it. We're falling through space, you and I, even Rose, clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, and if we let go. " he released her hand. "That's who I am. That's who the person in your dreams is. I know you're curious. But you should know, better than anyone, that when you step inside that box," He nodded over her shoulder. "There's no going back."

She didn't hesitate. "I know."

If his face could get any more serious- gazing down into her eyes. "I'm giving you a way out, Lily. To walk away."

She had to be crazy. "I know." Lily repeated.

"Because you're scared."

"Oh," Lily grinned from ear to ear. "Terrified."

"As you should be." Something passed over the Doctor's eyes when he looked down at her grin. Lily didn't know what it was but it made him smirk. "But you're right." She blinked, understanding how serious his tone was. "You deserve more than the answers I've given you."

"Exactly."

"Then we better hurry since I've still got this-" He waved the plastic arm in the air. "matter to deal with." He winked and walked past her. She turned to watch him saunter closer to the TARDIS. "Stick close, Red."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

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- Kayleigh