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| Special note: I posted the first part of this story as a standalone in October, thinking that I might never finish any more of it. Well, I've decided I want to complete it. Since it's still a WIP, until it's finished it's only being posted at ff.net and here on my own LJ (where very few people are likely to see it, but if you do, you're more than welcome to read it). I'll post it to the main comms when it's all done. Part One and Part Two Title: Ginger Beer 3/? Author: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} castrovalva9Rating: G Pairing: Five/Nyssa Summary: The Doctor overindulges in ginger beer and speaks unwisely to Nyssa. Note: Set after Time-Flight. Over the last few days, Nyssa had noticed that the Doctor was behaving in a very shifty and evasive manner, which alternated with buoyant cheerfulness of a variety not seen since before the ginger-beer incident. Therefore, she became suspicious. She discovered she was entitled to this emotion when they landed on the planet Frania and the Doctor kept trying to slip away from her. This could mean Nothing Good. Letting him go off on his own was always a risky proposition. No matter how innocent their surroundings, he usually managed to become entangled in the most awful trouble the region had ever known. But eventually, her curiosity got the better of her and she allowed him to get "lost". If she found out he was doing something she didn't like, she would... she would... actually, she wasn't sure what she would do. She would just have to wait and base her reaction on whatever he had in mind. ***** The Doctor kept his wonderful plan of finding a new companion to himself for the time being. He had a sneaking suspicion that Nyssa might not fully appreciate it at first. Once he had selected the appropriate individual, he would surprise her with the news and then he was sure she would grow to appreciate the idea as much as he did. He seized the opportunity to search when they arrived on Frania. It was one of the most peaceful planets to be found, well, anywhere. Numerous species had coexisted there for centuries, and visitors were always welcome. Consequently, the Doctor experienced only minor guilt when, after several attempts, he succeeded in separating himself from Nyssa and sidled away into a nearby pub. After a few false starts, he struck up a conversation with a promising individual: an extremely friendly young foreigner named Z'le who expressed great interest in travel. Even better, he had no close family ties and spoke passionately against social injustices. The only slight drawback was that Z'le was covered with blue fur and even while motionless, he shed copiously. Still, presumably the TARDIS would clean up after him. But if necessary the Doctor would gladly take on the job himself. It would be a very small price to pay, he figured. Indeed, he almost couldn't believe his luck. Z'le seemed an ideal companion. Even if the Doctor hadn't been desperate, he would have liked to ask the young fellow along. A feeling of guilt again attempted to sneak in and taint the jubilation, but the Doctor shoved it away. He wasn't being completely selfish by any means. He was thinking of Nyssa in all of this, too. Not only would he be off the hook, so would she. And she would have another friend about the TARDIS. More friends were always of the good. In the midst of his musings, the pub door next to him swung open and he automatically glanced towards it. Nyssa had found him at just the right moment. He leaped up, eager to perform the introductions. "Ah, Nyssa, I'm glad you're here. Somehow we became separated, but I haven't wasted our time apart. I'd like you to meet my new friend Z'le. We--" He stopped talking. Rather than approaching them, Nyssa was quickly backing up. The retreat was accompanied by sneezing and choking on her part. Z'le edged towards the other side of the room, all the while apologising profusely as blue tufts of fur drifted through the air. The Doctor saw his perfect plan falling apart before him. Nyssa was suffering an allergic reaction to Z'le's fur. Her eyes were red and she was visibly upset. The surge of guilt returned with overwhelming force, the Doctor almost feeling like he had deliberately brought about Nyssa's condition. After a hurried goodbye to Z'le, he guided Nyssa back to the TARDIS without further delay. ***** Despite Nyssa's unfortunate allergy to his first choice of a new companion, the Doctor was not discouraged. The basic idea was sound and was bound to result in success. He decided to try again, on the planet Neptimius Prime. His first move was to distance himself from Nyssa. Since "getting lost" wouldn't work twice in a row, he instead attempted to leave her aboard the TARDIS. "Wait," Nyssa objected. "Maybe I'd like to accompany you. What are your plans?" The Doctor's immediate impulse was to claim that he was looking for spare parts for the TARDIS. Then he reconsidered. Nyssa had some interest in that area and might want to come with him, which would severely compromise his efforts. He quickly chose a safer alternative. "I believe they play cricket here. I might want to take in a match." As he had hoped, Nyssa's interest evaporated at the mention of the sport. "Oh. I'll just go shopping, instead." "Wonderful idea." The Doctor searched his pockets and ended up depositing a handful of varied coins into Nyssa's palm. "Here. Something in that lot probably approximates the local currency." Together they left the TARDIS and walked for what turned out to a considerable distance, the Doctor having misjudged their landing position by a bit. At last, though, they reached the outer walls of the capital and promptly split up as agreed. This time the Doctor was careful to avoid anyone he so much as suspected of even wearing fur. His screening process led him to the plaza, where he met a young Neptimian woman named Olan. She said she enjoyed new experiences and meeting people. With little time to spend on more intensive interviewing, the Doctor decided to take his chances. He leaned closer to Olan and asked the all-important question. Her reaction was not precisely the one he had expected. One minute he was making his casually clever move, and in the next Olan had opened her mouth and emitted a piercing, persistent wail that instantly attracted the attention of four burly antennaed individuals wearing scarlet uniforms. As they dragged him away from the plaza, the Doctor realised he had committed a cultural faux pas. ***** Seven hours later... The Doctor studied his tiny jail cell, worries over his own captivity superseded by an ever-pressing concern. Surely Nyssa had missed him hours ago. She had probably been searching for him for the entire time, fearing the worst. He only hoped she hadn't run afoul of the local law and landed in her own cell. He had first-hand knowledge of how trigger-happy and unreasonable they were on this planet. Aside from his entirely unfair arrest, the few times a guard had passed along the corridor he had tried to reason with the fellow, but it was like the man had turned deaf. Seeking any means of release, the Doctor had paced his cell many times over, poked and prodded every bit of it he could reach, attempted to pick the lock, and was still trapped. Again, he bemoaned the loss of his sonic screwdriver. A handful of seconds with that trusty device, and he would have been free. On the other hand, at times its existence had made matters almost too easy. He had fallen out of the habit of using his brain. He now put it to work and came up with precisely zero viable solutions. So it was most fortuitous when the door swung heavily open on creaky hinges and he was allowed to step into the dim corridor. His liberator was the guard who had consistently ignored him earlier, but the Doctor wasn't one to hold a grudge. "Thank you for listening to me. I knew you were a man of good sense and reason." He extended a hand. The guard didn't take it. "You didn't talk yourself out. You could have babbled forever and never been released." "Then why did you let me out? Did Olan tell you I was harmless and she had misinterpreted the situation this afternoon?" "No. She saved you." The guard hooked a thumb towards the end of the corridor. Straining his eyes, the Doctor saw Nyssa. To his relief, she appeared perfectly unharmed, although it was difficult to decipher the expression on her face. He didn't think he had ever before seen her wearing quite that look, and it did not inspire great confidence in him. But he had no good opportunity to question her right away, as the guard escorted them both out of the jail and to the outskirts of the city, where he strongly advised them to leave and never return. Once they were alone, the Doctor eyed Nyssa. "I suppose we might as well go back to the TARDIS," he suggested. Nyssa immediately began to pick her way across the grass in that direction. The Doctor paced along beside her, stealing an occasional glance at her averted face and trying to determine what the right thing to say might possibly be. When the silence grew to be too much, he offered, "As jails go, it was among the more pleasant cells I've ever visited. It actually had a window. It was microscopic, but it was a window." Finally Nyssa spoke. "I talked to the woman who got you arrested. She said you asked her if she wanted to see your TARDIS." She had uttered the words entirely without inflection. The Doctor scented danger--did that mean his instincts were sharpening?--but didn't know the safest answer to give. At last he decided that when in doubt it was best to be honest. "Yes, I did say that to her." "Oh." That single syllable was the coldest the Doctor had ever heard. Clearly, he had chosen the wrong words; a lie had been in order. They continued for a time in even more uncomfortable silence, but as they neared the TARDIS, the Doctor could be quiet no longer. "What's wrong, Nyssa? Obviously you're upset, and I'd like to know why. It can't be because I was in jail, can it? Because that's happened often enough before and you never reacted in this manner." "If you don't know what's wrong, I can't tell you," she replied. The instant the door was open, she stalked into the TARDIS, leaving the Doctor to trail and reflect that interspecies communications could be very difficult at times. | ||||||||||
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