Lycanthropic Time Traveller (Part 3)

I was taking a minute to gather my thoughts. I realized I loved the Doctor. Both like a friend and like more than a friend. But he was a 900 year old Time Lord, and I was a werewolf in my early thirties. It wouldn't work well between us. Probably not, anyway. And it didn't really matter because I doubted he liked me. I didn't care, though, as long as he was happy. It was that kind of love.
The Doctor walked in, interrupting my thoughts, “Where do you want to go?”
I shrugged, “Anywhere.”
“You're no fun,” he stuck his tongue out at me. Adorable.
“Fine, uh, how about the Renaissance?”
“That's more like it. Go on, then, go get changed. There's a wardrobe through there,” he pointed at a doorway, “First left, second right, third on the left, go straight ahead, under the stairs, past the bins, fifth door on your left. Hurry up!” I followed his directions and changed into something period. I wasn't really a fan of dresses, but I didn't really have a choice either. I walked back out and he looked at me, “You look beautiful, considering...”
“Considering what?”
“You're a werewolf,” he said. I had to wonder if that meant he'd given it some thought, as well. “Alright let's go.”
“You're not gonna change?”
“I changed my jumper,” he tugged on his shirt, “Now let's go.

***

After our little adventure in the Renaissance period – where we'd met Van Gogh and fought an invisible monster – we got back on the TARDIS and I changed back into my clothes. I went back into my bedroom and sat at the foot of my bed. He came in and sat down next to me, “Sorry nothing's changed. At least we saved the world. Again.”
“Yeah, I guess that's what's important,” I said. We'd talked to Vincent Van Gogh, and I'd thought we'd made a difference. Nothing was different, though. “Kind of disappointing, though. Dunno what I expected.”
He didn't say anything, but he didn't leave. So we just sat there for a bit, staring at the wall. I enjoyed the company, I really did, but I didn't know what to say or do. So I just sat there awkwardly, staring at a poster, trying to think of something to say so maybe the awkwardness would dissolve. But I couldn't.
Then, suddenly, the Doctor grabbed my hand. Only this time wasn't like the times before when we'd held hands. This time he'd slipped his fingers between mine. That had never happened before. It made me think that maybe he liked me back, but I only let myself think that for a second before I decided I was reading too much into it. He was probably just trying to comfort me. Maybe he'd found out I liked him as more than just a friend and he was using that to try and make me feel better.
He didn't give me time to think about other possibilities, because then he broke the silence, “Kate?”
“Doctor?”
“I've been thinking...”
“About?”
He hesitated, as if trying to think of what to say, “I think I like you.”
“Even though you're a Time Lord and I'm a werewolf?”
“Even though I'm a Time Lord and you're a werewolf,” he confirmed.
I hesitated a minute then said, “I like you, too.”
He smiled, “Fantastic.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. He let go of my hand, and then he pulled my face to his and kissed me. “I take it back. I don't like you,” I began. He looked disappointed and a little confused. I finished my sentence, “I love you.”
“Fantastic!” he smiled wider than before. “I love you, too.”
I smiled, “Fantastic.”
“That's my line,” he teased, grinning.
“Yes, yes it is. I'm tired, I think I'm going to sleep,” I paused, “Want to stay in here tonight – or whatever time it is wherever we are?”
“Sure,” he scooted back so he was on the bed instead of at the foot. I did the same and then covered us both up. He put his arm around me, and I scooted closer to him. I rested my head on his shoulder and put my arm across his chest. Just like the first night we'd shared a bed, it didn't take long for me to fall asleep.

***

There was no way to know exactly how long I'd been traveling with the Doctor, but it felt like it must've been at least a year. We'd gone on so many adventures, most of which involved an awful lot of running. So why had I not transformed once? I understood that my transformations relied on my emotions and on moonlight, but we'd gone to plenty of planets and faced plenty of threatening foes. How had we always managed to avoid the full moon? And how had the Doctor kept me calm enough that I never shifted? It was unfathomable.
I glanced over at the man laying next to me. For once, he was asleep and I wasn't. I knew I should probably get sleep so I'd be alert on our next adventure, but I just couldn't turn my brain off. I couldn't stop thinking, mostly about how it was possible I didn't go wolf the entire time I was traveling with the Doctor in his big blue box. I sighed and kept trying to get my mind to shut up so I could get to sleep. At some point I did manage to fall asleep, but the Doctor accidentally woke me up when he got out of bed no more than an hour or two after I'd gotten to sleep. Surprisingly, I wasn't tired at all even though I got much less sleep than I actually needed. Actually, I was kind of hyper.
I jumped out of bed, and the Doctor looked at me, “Sorry I woke you up.”
“It's fine, I'm not tired anyway.”
“Really? Don't werewolves need more sleep that humans?”
I nodded, “Yeah, but really I'm not tired. I promise. Let's go somewhere. Anywhere.”
“Are you feeling alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little hyper.”
The Doctor just looked at me for a minute, “Okay... Where do you want to go?”
“Told you, anywhere. I really don't care, I just need to move.”
“Okay,” he headed for the door, and I followed him to the control room. He took the TARDIS somewhere, and as soon as we were there, I ran to the doors. I swung them open and walked outside, quickly taking in my surroundings. He'd landed us on a hill next to a dirt road, overlooking a field. It was some time in the evening, starting to get dark. I noticed a sort of shack right outside a forest on the other side of the field. I heard the Doctor walk up beside me.
“Wonder who lives there,” I pointed to the shack.
“Let's go find out,” he grabbed my hand and we started heading towards the small building. I was practically dragging him along, not quite running. I would've ran to it if the Doctor wasn't holding my hand, slowing me down. We got to the shack and he looked at me, “Calm down.” He knocked on the door.
“Go away!” a man yelled from inside. The Doctor knocked again, and I heard the man starting to walk towards the door. A second later, it swung open, revealing a man with short, brown hair and a stubble. He looked annoyed. “What do you people want?!” he snapped.
“We were just passing through and we noticed a random little cabin out here,” the Doctor explained, taking a step back so the man wasn't right in his face.
“Speaking of which, why are you living in a cabin outside a forest? That's just a little odd, don't you think?” I asked.
“Because I can. Now is there anything else? If not, you'd be wise to just leave me alone and go back wherever you came from,” the man said. That was cryptic.
“And why's that?” the Doctor asked.
The man exhaled, “Because tonight is not the night to mess with me. And I'd like to just leave it at that.” I was trying to figure out what he meant by that when something distracted me. That something was that, for the first time since I met the Doctor, I felt my body start to heat up like it always did when I was transforming. I looked up at the full moon and suddenly, things started clicking in my brain.
This guy was a werewolf like me, but he wasn't one of the werewolves that could control their wolf form. I realized the Doctor must not have dealt with any werewolves that could, so he'd been trying to keep me calm and avoiding full moons on purpose. Must've just gotten careless on this one. The Doctor must've figured out what the man was, too, because a glance in his direction told me he was a little worried. Worried that his werewolf girlfriend and some random stranger would try to tear him to pieces.
I took a small step forward so that I was standing in front of the Doctor. So I could protect him when the other werewolf changed, which would be any minute now. At first, the man raised an eyebrow, then he inhaled deeply and gave me a look that said he knew about me. For a second, he seemed angry, then he seemed happy. “You're like me,” he whispered, wiping sweat off his forehead, “It hurts. It hurts so much. Doesn't it?”
That's when I knew he wasn't a werewolf by birth. If he was, he'd be so used to the pain of the transformation, it wouldn't seem painful at all. I was born a werewolf, so I couldn't claim to know how he felt, though I had known some like him. I shook my head, “I'm not like you. It doesn't hurt me.”
“What do you mean? How does it not hurt you? Why am I the only one?” he asked, trying not to show that he was already in pain. He was close to transforming. So was I.
“I was born like this, you weren't,” I said. By that time, the man was too far into his transformation to focus on anything I was saying. I watched as his body grew into that of a large wolf-like creature, his clothes tearing off to reveal a thick layer of fur. The same thing was happening to me, but I was still fully in control. “Stay back, Doctor,” I warned, standing in front of him protectively.
“Okay, I know I don't often deal with werewolves, but since when can giant, bipedal wolves speak English? And why aren't you trying to kill me?” he asked.
“Because I'm not like him. I'm in control of my body, and for now he's just a beast,” I swished my tail, making sure to hit him, “Honestly, Doctor, it's like we've never met.”
“Sorry,” he said, “Though, you might want to worry less about my understanding of werewolves and more about the one in front of you.”
“I can do both,” I argued, not taking my eyes off the other wolf. The Doctor didn't speak, forcing me to focus on the other werewolf. He growled and lunged toward the Doctor. I stopped him, blocking him with my arm and wincing as his teeth sank into it. I growled at the beast, causing it to lose interest in the Doctor and focus on me. He released my arm, but pounced onto me, sending us both rolling a short distance away from the Doctor.
The two of us fought like wild animals, snarling as we tore at each other. I started to lose control and give in to the wolf, but the Doctor's voice snapped me out of it, “Um, I don't mean to worry you, but there's more wolves here.”
Of course there would be others, how could I have missed it? The one hadn't been born a werewolf, and that meant there had to be at least two. I kicked the beast off so I could get a look at the others. There were four of them, one was smaller and obviously younger than the rest. This wolf had a pack, and that meant I was screwed. “Doctor! Get to the TARDIS! I'll buy you some time!” I shouted. I made sure I got between the Doctor and the wolves before they got to him, and I felt four sets of teeth sink into various parts of my body.
The next thing I could remember was waking up in my room in the TARDIS. I presumed my wolf instincts took over and the Doctor somehow managed to save me. I turned my head too look around the room and grimaced as I felt a sharp pain in my neck. “Try not to move,” the oh-so-familiar voice of the Doctor advised.
“Thanks,” I muttered sarcastically, “I never would've figured that out if you hadn't said something.” He laughed dryly. “What's wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said, obviously lying.
“Doctor, I'm not an idiot. What's wrong? Why can't I remember anything after four wolves bit me? How'd we get out of there alive?”
“When they attacked you all at once, you lost control.”
“But how did I survive? How did you get me out and back onto the TARDIS?”
“A couple more werewolves showed up. None of them were like you, none of them were in control. All beasts,” he began, “Luckily, they were more interested in killing each other than me, so I was able to get you out of the middle of it. By then, you were already unconscious, so I didn't have to worry about you trying to kill me.”
“Oh,” I said simply. I didn't know what else to say.
I felt his hand touch mine. “I'll be back in a little while. Try to get some sleep.”
“Wait,” I grabbed his hand before he could run off, “Where are you going?”
“The library,” he answered, “Anyway, you need sleep.”
I let go of his hand, “Okay.” I heard him leave the room and shut the door behind him. I was just left staring up at the projector on my ceiling as I slowly fell asleep.
The next time I woke up, I risked turning my head to look around. No pain. “Feeling better?” the Doctor asked. I looked over at him to see him leaning against the closed bedroom door.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Good,” he said. He didn't sound happy, though, he actually sounded sad. “Pack up a few changes of clothes and your money,” he instructed.
I raised an eyebrow, “Why? Where are we going?” Instead of answering, he walked out of the room. I crawled out of bed and packed up enough clothes to last me a week and a half in my backpack. Then I slid my wallet in one of the pouches and threw it over my shoulder as I walked out of the room. The Doctor was waiting for me by the TARDIS doors. “Where are we?” I asked. “And when?”
He didn't say anything, so I went over to him. He opened the doors and the two of us went outside. He shut the doors behind us, “We're outside your house about an hour after we took your stuff into the TARDIS and left.”
Now I understood why he sounded sad. I looked at him, “Why?”
“Because I almost got you killed, and I'm not going to have you dying because of me. You'll be safe here. Things will go back to the way they were before you met me,” he answered, “You'll find your laptop inside on the couch, as well as some money to replace the things of yours I didn't take out of the TARDIS before I brought you back.”
“I don't want things to go back to the way they were before I met you,” I said.
He sighed and gave me a hug, “I don't either. But I'd rather this than get you killed. And trust me, this hurts me at least as much as it hurts you. Goodbye, Kate.”
“Goodbye, Doctor,” I said, my voice devoid of emotion. He let me go and got back onto the TARDIS, not turning back.