The TARDIS materialized in the woods near Maggieâs trailer. VairĂ« remembered the address. Magnolia had moved there during Spring Break the year she died. It was to be her and Joshâs first home together when they started their married life. It wasnât large â a single-wide set back in the wooded area of a sprawling trailer park. It wasnât fancy or new. But it had been Maggieâs and the woman had gone all out getting it set up.
VairĂ« walked through the woods, the sound of decaying leaves and gravel echoing her footsteps. The humid heat of a Southern summer pressed against her. Where it not for her bodyâs enhanced ability to regulate its temperature, she would have been dripping sweat. Instead, she could close her eyes, feel the slight breeze blowing off the nearby river, and savor the scent of wisteria, tomatoes, and pine trees that permeated the air.
She walked up into the back yard behind the trailer. She could see the car that Maggie would die in sitting in the shade, its hood open while some routine maintenance was being performed. Glancing at the sky, VairĂ« could tell it was close to supper time. She could see through the sliding glass doors that opened onto the back patio â a wooden structure the smelled of fresh lumber, newly built â and watch Maggie as she danced in the kitchen, cooking. The rumbling whine of an air conditioner kept VairĂ« from hearing the music her friend was listening to but she could guess what it would be. Walking up the wooden stairs and onto the deck, VairĂ« lifted a hand to knock at the back door.
Maggie spotted her before she could knock. The woman smiled broadly and ran to pull the door open with a loud bang. Sure enough, strains from Guns âNâ Roses filled the air. âWell, sakes alive, Rose-a-lee! I didnât know you were over this way at all! Come on in here and hug my neck, girl! I ainât seen you in a month of Sundays!â Maggie shouted gleefully.
âItâs been ages since anyoneâs called me that,â VairĂ« grinned sadly as she stepped into the trailer and threw her arms around Maggieâs neck.
âWhat are you talking about, Rose-a-lily? Sureân Mickey and Aunt Jackie call you by your name.â
âItâsâŠcomplicated.â
âWell, you come on in here and put your feet up, Rose-a-mund. Iâve got supper just about on the table and you can tell me just why people ainât callinâ you by your right name. ThoughâŠwait a minute,â Maggie said, one hand on her hip and the other under her chin. She tapped the side of her nose like she did when she was deep in thought. âYouâre older.â
âHow old do you think I am?âVairĂ« asked calmly.
âOh, âround about twenty from the face and body. Like the look, though. Sophisticated and sexy. Must have a string of men dancinâ attendance on you whenever you go out. Probably have your dance card filled up for the next decade. But your eyes, Rose. Your eyes tell me youâre way older than Iâd guess. Way, way older.â
âShoulda known youâd see it right off, Maggie,â VairĂ« sighed. âIâve been around forâŠa while.â
âHow longâs âa while?ââ
âYou may not believe it.â
âSpeak the truth like God intended and Iâll believe it.â
âWell, I lost track shortly after my four hundredth birthday,â VairĂ« grinned sadly. âFigured it didnât really matter that much anymore.â
âFour hundred years?â Maggie said flatly. âHuh. Lookinâ good for it, though. Lookinâ damned good.â
âYou believe me?â
âYouâve never lied to me when I asked you for the truth right-out before. Why would you start now?â Maggie shrugged. âMight be hard for me to imagine but I figure thereâs a good explanation behind it. One that youâll give me once you get some food in that belly of yours. Youâre too scrawny, Rose-a-lee. Ya got nice curves and all but men like a bit oâ meat on a woman. Now, what have people been callinâ you if they ainât calling you Rose Tyler?â
âI had to change my name. Everyone thought I was dead. So, I started going by VairĂ« Carter.â
âVairĂ« like from The Silmarillion? Mandosâs wife? The weaver?â
âYeah.â
âI like it. Told Josh I wanted to name our firstborn daughter Nienna Rose after you and after the Valier who taught Gandalf mercy and compassion. He said weâre not using anything too weird though so Iâm going to argue for Rose and let him pick the other name.â Maggie shrugged again and returned to the kitchen. She turned the volume on her CD player down and began dishing out the food. She brought the plates to the table with a quick admonishment to Rose to go wash her face and hands while Maggie put ice in the glasses and poured out a generous helping of iced tea, the Southern house wine.
âSweet or unsweet?â VairĂ« asked, pointing to her glass.
âSweet as sin, of course, Rose-a-lee. You donât mind me callinâ you that? I can call you VairĂ« if you want.â
âNo,â VairĂ« whispered, tears in her eyes. âTo you, Iâll always be Rose Tyler.â
âRight you are. Now, eat up. Thatâs good deer meat there. Josh bagged an eight-point back right after Thanksgivinâ. Cooks up well, donât it? Biscuits might be a mite tough, though. Sop âem in some gravy if you like.â
âDonât you want me to tell you how I lived four hundred years?â
âSoon as you get supper in your stomach, yeah. Right now, I want you to relax and enjoy my cookinâ. You look like you ainât been enjoyinâ much lately, Rose-a-lynn. Once youâve got that food in you where it can do you some good, Iâll listen to whatever you have to tell me. Then you can get you a good hot shower and weâll keep each other up all night tellinâ tales like we did when we were younger. You oughta remember now, youâre in the South and we take hostinâ guests and hospitality real serious,â Maggie said with a smile.
VairĂ« coughed and forced herself to swallow the food in her mouth. Then she buried her face in her hands and began crying, her tears a mixture of joy, sorrow, and longing. It had been ages since someone had taken command of her and tried to make her feel welcome without her having done anything more spectacular than just show up unannounced on their back porch. Maggie moved over and put her arms around her friend, holding her against her chest as she stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth, letting her cry because, from what Magnolia could tell, itâd been far too long since someone held Rose and comforted her.
~*~*~*~
Once supper had been eaten and Maggie had cleared up the kitchen, she sent Rose to go wash her face off with cold water and began rummaging through her medicine cabinet. âYou must need aspirin somethinâ bad after that,â Maggie called out.
âI canât take aspirin. Iâm deathly allergic to it, now.â
âIbuprofen? Tylenol?â
âBetter not to risk it,â VairĂ« sighed as she walked back into the kitchen.
âI see. Well, how about some old-fashioned medicine? My granny used to fix me up a blend of mint, yarrow, chamomile, and thorn-apple when I got one of my monthly migraines. Said itâs sovereign for headaches or any womanâs complaint.â
âCould give it a try.â
âIâll spike it with some whisky. Thatâs the real trick,â Maggie grinned.
âYouâve got whisky? Youâre only nineteen.â
âIâm nineteen and getting married next month. âSides, itâs homebrewed.â
âHomebrewed whisky?â
âHow the hell else do you think my great grandpappy put ten kids through the Sistersâ school?â Maggie laughed as she mixed up the drink. âNow, come on out on the porch and tell me the rest of the story while we watch the stars light up.â
VairĂ« followed Maggieâs orders. Maggie had always been able to take charge of her. The two girls might have, at one time, been the same age but Maggie was the leader between them. She could mother her friends without being condescending at all. It was just her way. Once they were sitting out on the back patio with the cool night breeze setting in, VairĂ« gathered her thoughts. Maggie sat back and listened to the long story about meeting the Doctor and traveling through space and time. She interrupted only to get clarification on a few points. By the time VairĂ« was done with her story, the stars were out in full force.
âWell, that explains your eyes, Rose-a-lee,â Maggie said softly as she topped off her drink â tea, this time â and poured a glass for Rose as well. âYouâve really been out there. This is your first time back on Earth in a while?â VairĂ« nodded. âAnd this Doctor, how old is he?â
âNine hundred and something.â
âA Time Lord. A warrior. Man, thatâs somethinâ else. And your mother slapped him for getting you home late?â she laughed. âGod bless Aunt Jackie. She never changes. But him changing his face on you. That must have been scary.â
âIt was, yeah. But I like his new face. I loved his old one, too.â
âWell, under the skin, heâs the same man, isnât he? I mean, itâs like when Old Bill got caught in that house fire a few years back. Heâs had to have a lot of skin grafts and surgeries and all. He looks a lot different now than he used to. But, underneath it all, heâs still Old Bill. Still the same sweet man what that looks out for all us youngsters at the Shell station up the road.â
âI never thought of it like that,â VairĂ« sighed.
âWell, I reckon you donât know too many volunteer firefighters who got caught with a buildinâ collapsinâ on âem. Anyhow, you donât say why he ran off to old France and that bitch Madame du Pompadour.â
âBitch?â
âYeah. That whore was responsible for the French and Indian War. She was a greedy, grasping, covetous, conniving slut. Hell, even the Cajuns donât like her much and theyâre Frank-o-files. She couldnât stomach the thought of the Brits and the Colonials eclipsing the glory of France so she pressed for war and dragged the whole damned world into it. Why would anyone want to run off to her?â
âHeâŠhe was in love with her.â
âLike hell. A clever fellow like the Doctor? In love with her?â Magnoliaâs mouth twisted in distaste as if sheâd bitten into a particularly sour lemon.
âWell, she saw into his mind. Iâve told you about telepathy and all. She saw into his memories and he fell in love with her over it.â
âBullshit,â the Southerner spat.
âHe did. Thatâs why he left me and Mickey on that spaceship.â
âNo, seriously. Bullshit. She might have seen into his memories. She might even have intrigued him. But if he spent five minutes with her, thereâs no way he could have loved her. That woman loved power above all else. Iâve read my history books, Rose-a-mund. No, there was another reason why he ran off. Iâm not accusinâ you of lyinâ or nothing. Just sayinâ that thereâs more to the story than youâre tellinâ, is all. Anyhow, that ship youâve mentioned. The TARDISâŠis it here?â
âYeah. Itâs parked down the hill over yonder a bit,â VairĂ« said, slipping into Southernisms like she always had when she visited Maggie. âYou wanna see it?â
âA ship that travels in time and space and is bigger on the inside and named herself after me? No, Rose, I donât want to see that more than Iâve wanted to see anything in my entire life,â Maggie drawled sarcastically. âLemme go get a flash light and my .22. The snakesâll be out.â
âYou know I donât like guns. The TARDIS doesnât either.â
âWell, soon as you figure out a way to politely ask a rattler not to bite the ever-living crap out of us and to pretty please with tea and crumpets fuck off and die, Iâll quit carrying my pistol when I go in the woods. Until then, Iâm carrying it and youâll just have to deal with it. My daddy taught me that the only good snake is a dead snake and I intend to see only good snakes ifân you catch my drift.â
VairĂ« grinned and shook her head. Maggie would never change. She came back out onto the porch with a Maglite, her pistol, and a can of bug spray. After sheâd doused herself and her guest, she gestured for VairĂ« to lead the way to the ship. Maggie grinned broadly when the TARDIS appeared. âA real live space ship,â she whispered. âGod Almighty, Iâve always wanted to see one of these for real.â VairĂ« opened the door and Maggie walked up the ramp to the console. âHello, TARDIS,â she said, patting the console fondly. âIâm not telepathic or nothinâ like Rose is so if youâre talkinâ to me like that, Iâm not gonna understand. Flash some lights at me or somethinâ and I figger weâll get on right good.â
The console blinked and the shades in the Time Rotors flashed in what could only be amusement and welcome. Maggie glanced over at Rose and VairĂ« grinned at her, nodding in approval. âShe likes you. Youâre one of the only people who accepts that sheâs alive and intelligent.â
âWell, you told me she was and you donât lie, Rose-a-lee,â Maggie shrugged. She turned back to the console, âLook here,â she said to the ship, âI know you donât like guns or nothinâ but Iâm gonna ask you not to mess with my pistol. Itâs spring and thereâre snakes out there thatâll bite us and put us in the hospital. Iâll put my pistol down on that seat and leave it be but Iâll need it when we go back up to the house. Iâm sorry for bringinâ it inside you uninvited but I only know one way to deal with rattlers, cotton mouths, copper heads, and the other bajillion poisonous snakes we got livinâ in these parts and thatâs to shoot âem afore they bite you.â The console flashed again and, once again, VairĂ« shook her head in amazement.
âShe says itâs all right. That she understands. Just donât shoot inside her or anything.â
âOh, I wouldnât. Thatâd be rude. Thanks for having me in here, TARDIS. Rose says you call yourself Maggie after me but if you donât mind, Iâll call you TARDIS because itâd just be weird and confusinâ for me to call you by my own name.â The lights flashed again. âYeah, I donât mind you usinâ my name. Hell, Iâm right honored. Now, Iâm not ignorinâ you or nothinâ but I want to visit with Rose-a-lily a bit. Oh, do you need anything? Like gasoline or plutonium or somethinâ? I can get you gas easy but if you need nuke-le-ur stuff, well, Old Bill has a friend whose cousinâs next-door-neighborâs sister-in-law has a nephew who works down at Grand Gulf. The nephew owes Old Billâs friend a favor and might be able to sneak somethinâ out in a pinch. If itâs for a good cause and all.â
VairĂ« threw her head back and roared with laughter. Maggie grinned at her, a little uncertain. She wasnât sure how she was supposed to play a proper hostess to an intelligent space ship but she was damned well going to try. âShe doesnât need anything like that,â VairĂ« explained. âWhen she gets low on fuel, thereâs a rift in Cardiff we can visit and top her off there.â
âRight. Well, TARDIS, if you need anything I can provide, just tell Rose here and Iâll get it for you lickity-split. Donât want to be rude to the first intelligent space ship I get to meet. We take being hospitable to our guests serious here. And youâre more than a guest. Rose is practically my sister and if youâreân her sister, that makes you family. And family is always welcome in these parts. Now, if youâll excuse us a bit?â The TARDIS flashed her lights again and Maggie nodded before turning back to VairĂ«. âDo you have any photos of this Doctor of yours? Iâd like to see his face. Get a measure of this man you talk about. See if heâs worthy of your affections.â
âMy affections?â
âRose-a-lee, itâs clear as the nose on your face that youâre stupid in love with him. Just like itâs clear as my freckles that Iâm stupid in love with Josh. I want to see this Doctor of yours, even if itâs just in photos, and be certain heâs worthy of you. Because if heâs not, if heâs like that sonuvabitch Jimmy Stone, Iâll get this here TARDIS to take me back to France and give him what-for.â The TARDIS flashed her lights in agreement. âAnd it looks like sheâll let me,â Maggie concluded with a broad grin.
VairĂ« raised her hands in surrender. âI think I have a few of him. Let me go get them.â She headed deeper into the ship while Maggie sat on the jump set.
âSo, does he love her?â she asked the TARDIS. The TARDISâs lights flashed uncertainly. âWell, Iâve been around a bit myself. If he loves her, itâll show in the photos if thereâs any of the two of them together.â
A few minutes later, VairĂ« returned with the albums sheâd taken from her and Jackieâs flat after Canary Wharf. She hadnât bothered to look at them before now. âLetâs go in the library. The couch there is more comfortable.â
âAll right,â Maggie nodded as she followed the other woman deeper into the ship. âPlace is huge.â
âYeah. You get used to it, though.â
âIâll bet.â They ducked into the library and Maggieâs eyes went wide. There were millions of books in the room. âYâall really like to read a bit, donât you?â
âYeah, a bit.Takes a while to get temporal physics under your belt. The math is tricky.â
âSounds like,â Maggie said blankly as she settled onto the sofa. VairĂ« sat next to her and handed her one of the albums. The Southerner began turning through it. âThat him?â she asked, pointing to the Doctor in his ninth regeneration. âHe looksâŠsolid. Love a man who can pull off leather like that.â Her breath caught when she came across a few photos of the Doctor staring down at Rose. âWho took that one?â she asked.
âMy mum. That was right after a space ship crashed into Big Ben. Turned out the whole thing had been a ruse. Some Slitheen were trying to get access to nuclear weapons so they could blow the Earth apart and sell the rubble to the highest bidders. We got caught in 10 Downing Street and had to blow the place up with a missile to kill the Slitheen. Of course, we were in there. Rode it out in a cupboard.â
âLike an earthquake or a tornado, then,â Maggie nodded. âGlad to see you paid attention to some of the things I taught you.â
ââLeaves of three, leave âem be.ââ
âYep. Now, who is this fellow?â she asked, pointing to the tenth regeneration of the Doctor. VairĂ« sighed. She didnât remember that photo being taken at all. She and the Doctor were sitting on the couch at her motherâs, watching the telly. It was just after Boxing Day. Theyâd been watching some special on the Egyptian pyramids, him laughing about rumors of alien assistance and her pointing out that he hadnât so much as lifted a hammer. Theyâd been sitting close in companionable silence when the events of the past few days caught up to her and sheâd fallen asleep. Sheâd woken later in her own bed. But in this photo, her head was resting against the Doctorâs chest and he had an arm draped over her, his hand on her waist. His cheek was pressed against the crown of her head and he looked as if he were half-asleep himself.
âThatâs the Doctor after he regenerated.â
âAh. What made him regenerate, again?â
âMe. I looked into the heart of the TARDIS so that I could get back to him. Heâd sent me home because he thought he was about to be killed by Daleks. But, I got back to him and turned the Daleks into dust using the power of the Time Vortex. He had to take it out of me â not sure how he managed that,â VairĂ« sighed, âand it forced him to regenerate.â
âLooks like heâs a bit of a dandy,â Maggie said, pointing to the photograph.
âNever thought of him like that,â VairĂ« laughed softly. âHe dresses like one but heâs not a dandy like you mean.â
âNaw. I know. Can tell from his eyes in this photo that heâs got a dark side to him. Hidden but still there. The eyes, they always tell you the truth of a person. And heâs a strong one. Not mean, just strong. Been through a lot in his life, I bet.â
âYeah. The Time War,â VairĂ« sighed. âHaving to kill all of his people to put an end to it.â
âHe never talked to you about that, did he?â
âNo. The TARDIS did. She was there too. Sheâs shown me her memories.â
âWell, then. Look, Rose-a-lee, itâs getting late and Iâm getting sleepy. Letâs head back to the house and sack out for the night. We can talk more in the morning.â
~*~*~*~
VairĂ« sent her silent thanks to the TARDIS as she sat down in front of another breakfast with Maggie. Her friend would be gone forever in less than forty-eight hours. Her lightness, laughter, and quick wit would be erased by one drunken driver who should have been in prison. But the past few days had been a wonder to VairĂ«. Hearing her old name from her friendâs lips was a balm to her spirit. Having listened to Maggie wax eloquent on of Time Lord reproduction â the Looms â had made VairĂ« wish she could watch her friend give that lecture to the Doctor. She could have made a fortune selling tickets to that particular explosion â not counting how much popcorn she could have sold at the venue. It would, quite literally, have been the biggest explosion since the Big Bang.
âIt occurs to me, Rose-a-lee,â Maggie said as she sat down and started eating, âthat thereâs a reason why youâre here now.â
âI came to see you. The TARDIS thought you could help me with myâŠdepression, I guess is the best word to describe it.â
âYou mean those voices you hear hollerinâ at you in your own head, never letting you get a bit oâ peace from âem?â
âHow do you knowâŠâ
âTâwasnât hard to figger out after listening to you thrash about in your sleep. Went and asked the TARDIS about it and she confirmed it. Me and that ship might not speak the same language, but we understand each other when it comes to you. But no, thatâs not what Iâm getting at. Youâre here and now. Now, even if Iâm married with a couple of youngâuns in a few years when you meet the Doctor for the first time, you know Iâd have come with you and dragged Josh and the kids along whatever he said. So, why wasnât I with you?â
VairĂ« sighed. This had been such a good visit up to this point. Trust Maggie to work it out. âYou do realize that this is why youâve got a full-ride scholarship to Olâ Miss and youâve got the law school already itchinâ to take you?â
âIâm smart, I know. People from off hear me talk and deduct a hundred IQ points, but Iâm no slouch, like you said. So, why here? Why now? Somethinâs about to happen to me, isnât it? Somethinâ Iâm not gonna walk away from.â
âI canât tell you and I canât stop it from happening. Itâs a fixed point. Iâve told you about fixed points andâŠâ
âYeah, about you nearly causing the end of the universe because you saved your dad,â Maggie nodded. âWill it hurt?â
âI donât know.â
âCould you keep an eye on Josh and my family for me, after, then? Make sure theyâre gettinâ on all right? And make sure that Josh finds him another wife. Men are helpless in a lot of ways without someone to look after âem,â Maggie said softly, wiping the tears trickling down her cheeks. âIf the Lord is gonna call me home, then Iâll go without a fight. JustâŠkeep an eye on my family for me. I reckon whatever happensâll be hard on them and I wonât be here to comfort them.â
âI will, that,â VairĂ« said hoarsely. âOh, Maggie, you donât know how much I wish I could just whisk you away with me in the TARDIS. Letting this happenâŠitâs going to be the hardest thing Iâll have done in ages. Almost as hard as just holding Dadâs hand while he died.â
âYouâll do it, though. I wonât have you sacrificing the universe for me,â Maggie sniffed. âIâd get right mad at you after I hugged you for it. I supposeâŠcould I leave them letters? To be opened after. I wonât say anything. Just some words from me to hold them through the years until weâll meet again? Or would that cause problems?â
âItâs like when you asked me not to tell you anything about the future so you couldnât cause problems,â VairĂ« said softly. âI told you I could tell whatever you wanted to know â within reason, of course â and itâd be no different than me telling you that the Mississippi River flows south. You canât alter its course with that knowledge alone. So, write your letters. Iâll check them with the TARDIS to be sure that nothing untoward will happen â she can analyze time-lines better than me â and Iâll see that they get to your family.â
âThanks,â Maggie said gratefully as she finished wiping her face and the two girls continued breakfast. VairĂ« had thought it would be hard for her to swallow the food â to taste anything but ashes â once she realized that Maggie had figured out that her time was nigh. Instead, the Londoner found that Maggie had taken a great weight off her own shoulders. She ate and stared at her friend in amazement, wondering how someone who was only nineteen could be so wise. Her only concern was for those sheâd be leaving behind, not for herself.
âNow that that unpleasantness is out of the way,â Maggie said with forced brightness that made VairĂ« laugh, âI find I have a few things I want to say to you and I want you to clean the dirt out of your ears and hear them.â VairĂ« chuckled and pretended to dig her fingers in her ears, cleaning them out. âRight, those voices of yours â theyâre real, arenât they? Theyâre real things that people have said to you and, for whatever reason, you canât let go of them. Kinda like how you were after Jimmy Stone damned near kilt ya.â
âYeah. A bit more intense than that, though, since Iâve got the telepathy bit now.â
âWell, you remember what I told you when I came over there after Aunt Jackie and Mickey told me about what happened to you?â
âYeah.â
âIt still applies. You are one of the most wonderful, intelligent, and beautiful people in all of Godâs creation. And Iâm not just talking about the Earth â I mean the cosmos, Rose Marion. And, youâve gone and done so many great things, Rose-a-lee. Youâve fought a good fight. Youâve helped people reclaim their freedom. Youâve stood up for what was right when others ran away. And youâll keep doing it until you die. I told you back then not to let that sonuvabitch Jimmy Stone â who I firmly intend to haunt and torment â put you down and make you feel like youâre less. Donât you let yourself do that either,â she threw her arms around Rose and hugged the woman tightly. âDonât you dare ever even let yourself think youâre anything other than wonderful.â
âButâŠâ
âBut nothing, Rose. Here,â she said, taking down her pair of Confederate officer swords from the mantle. Those swords had been handed down in her family for generations. âTake these with you. They fought once for slavery. Use them to fight for the right things. For the good things. And take this, too,â she added, handing over the .44 sheâd been given on her eighteenth birthday, âbecause youâd have to be a pure-blind ignorant fool to carry a sword to a gun-fight.â
âYou know I donât like gunsâŠâ
âThatâs why youâre the best one to carry one. I donât like âem neither. Not really. I mean, yeah, Iâve been shootinâ since I was five. But I donât like âem. I wish we lived in a world where violence was inconceivable. But, we donât. And from what you tell me, thereâs plenty of bad guys out there,â she gestured towards the sky. âSo, take these with you and use them in a good cause. And since you dislike guns, youâll use that one more wisely than most. You wonât be quick to draw it out. You wonât flash it around. And you damned well better not try shooting it with only one hand on it. Not unless you want those teeth knocked out by the recoil.â
âAs you wish, Maggie,â VairĂ« said, taking the pistol and the holster. âBut only because itâs you thatâs askinâ this of me. Now,â she sighed, taking a deep breath, âI canât take you with me through space and timeâŠnot the way Iâd like to. But, I can take you on one trip.â
âMight be temptinâ fate to do that, Rose-a-lee.â
âIâll risk it. If there was one person you could go visit, one place you could go see, who or where would it be?â
âDo you really mean it? I wonât let you take me on but one trip. One trip and we come right back here.â
âI mean it.â
âThen thatâs a simple question to answer, Rose-a-lily. Bournemouth, England in 1970.â
âI should have guessed.â
âLet me go get my leather-bound editions,â Maggie grinned as she darted into her bedroom, returning with her most prized possessions â leather-bound prints of The Lord of the Ring, The Silmarillion, and The Hobbit. âI always wanted to meet Professor Tolkien and tell him what his stories meant to me. And now, thanks to you, the most wonderful woman in the entirety of space and time, Iâll get my wish.â
~*~*~*~
Maggie was happy but subdued when VairĂ« returned her home. Sheâd gotten to meet her favorite author of all time and heâd gladly signed her books. Now the two girls were sitting on the back porch, watching the stars come out, each lost in their own thoughts. Maggie had sat down that afternoon after their return and written out the letters to her family and to Josh. Sheâd written one for Rose as well â two, actually. One for the younger Rose and one for the Rose who had just taken her on the trip of a life-time. Still, she wanted to do something more substantial for her friend. She knew that these attacks were taking a lot out of the woman. She knew, in a way, that they could kill Rose. That her brain and body could only take so much more of the stress from the attacks before, even if she was âenhanced,â her body would fail and she would die. When the other woman was snoring lightly â Maggie had snuck a few sleeping pills into her drink â Maggie made her way down to the TARDIS. She didnât need a key to get in once she explained her mission to the ship.
Her task done, Maggie snuck back up to the house, roused Rose enough to get her into bed instead of leaving her to sleep on the porch, and then went to sleep herself. She wasnât surprised when, the next afternoon, Rose left. In a way, it brought home to the Southern girl that this was it. These were her last few hours on Earth. She took her time squaring things away in the trailer. She called and talked to her mother and father, making sure to tell them she loved them. She left a message for Josh on his answering machine saying she just wanted to let him know she loved him. Then she settled down to watch the sunset, wondering just what was going to happen.
Her phone rang. Her friend Big Dave had his truck break down on him and he needed her to come pick him up and take him on home. Sighing, Maggie checked the time. She was tempted to tell him ânoâ but heâd bailed her out of trouble before and she owed him. Promising that sheâd be there shortly, she hopped in her car and headed out.
She was just a quarter-mile away from her destination when another driver came barreling out of a side road, T-boning her car and sending it spinning crazily until it slid off the road and wrapped around an oak tree. She looked over, dazed, and could have sworn she saw Rose standing there with a sorrowful look on her face. Maggie blinked and groaned. She hurt but the pain was beginning to fade.
VairĂ« watched the impact impassively. She couldnât do a damned thing to change it. Just like her fatherâs death, Maggieâs death was a fixed point in time and space. But she could do this. She could stay with her friend, as she had stayed with her father, while she died. VairĂ« pulled out her super-phone and called 911, affecting a Southern accent. However, she knew that Maggie was gone already. She walked over to the mangled car and forced herself to swallow the gorge rising in her throat when she saw the extent of Maggieâs injuries. The driverâs side window was down â Maggie rarely bothered with the AC after sundown. VairĂ« bent down.
She was stunned speechless when Maggie turned her face and opened her eyes to look at her. ââMember,â she whispered hoarsely, âyer wondâful. Never fârgit.â Then her blue eyes closed and VairĂ« could tell that the part of Maggie that was Maggie was gone.
âI wonât forget, Maggie. Weâll meet again, you and me, in the Undying Lands, there on the silver shores of Valinor,â VairĂ« whispered as she pressed her fingers to her lips and then placed them on her friendâs cooling forehead. An oath to the dead was sacred, she knew, especially one to Maggie. Untying the scarf from her neck, VairĂ« walked over and tied it to a branch on the tree that Maggieâs car had slammed in to. It would be the first â but not the last â offering left here to mark the spot where a remarkable womanâs life had ended far too soon and where a light had begun to blaze through the darkness, sparing woman another from an untimely death.
~*~*~*~
The TARDIS relaxed when her sister walked back in. She could sense the sorrow and grief in her sisterâs heart but it was not of the despairing kind. Instead, the TARDIS could see that in such a short time, Magnolia had gone most of the way towards healing the Londoner. The storms would come again, in time. VairĂ« would always be walking the knifeâs edge towards them unless the Doctor could dispel the last of her doubts and fears. But Magnolia Gloria had been a godsend. VairĂ« placed her hands on the console and began to sing, taking them into the Vortex. The moment she left the flow of time, she could feel her memories shifting slightly, taking in Maggieâs minor alterations to the time-lines. She could recall a letter sheâd received after Maggieâs death and a packageâŠa package so precious to her she would never have left it behind once she started traveling. She darted back to her room â the room that the Doctor had given her. She was not surprised to see the leather-bound and author-signed editions of Tolkienâs books sitting on her nightstand. Opening them up, she glanced over at her dresser and saw an unopened letter with Maggieâs clear cursive on the envelope. Carefully opening it, she began to read.
âRose-a-lee,
If my calculations are correct, when this TARDIS hits 88 miles-per-hour, youâre gonna see some serious shit.
Sorry. Couldnât resist the Back to the Future reference. Anyway, if Iâm right, youâll see this letter for the first time when you visit your âold roomâ in the TARDIS. Iâll probably be gone by then. I know that youâll look after my family like you promised. So, this letter isnât about them. Itâs about you. Itâs about whatâs happened to you and what I think you ought to do about it. I know some of it might be very difficult for you to read and believe but youâve always told me the truth and I wonât do any less for you.
First things first, move back in to your old room. Itâs where it is for a reason. I know youâve gotten more comfortable in the library. Hell, if I could sleep in a room with that many books, Iâd never leave either. But the TARDIS and the Doctor placed your room where it is for a reason. I wish I could tell you that reason but I canât say itâs so for 100% myself. But, I reckon youâll figure it out in time. And, if you absolutely, positively, CANâT move back to your old room, have the TARDIS fix up something a little nicer for you in the library. Eventually, that pallet is going to murder your back.
Next, youâre WONDERFUL. I donât ever want you to forget that. You are wonderful. You are a loyal, kind, compassionate, caring, loving and beautiful woman. And, from what Iâve seen of you these last few days, you are smart, clever, knowledgeable, and even a little wise. That French Madame is nothing compared to you. Do you think sheâd ever leave the comfort of a cozy palace to travel the stars? The first time she had to change her own stockings, sheâd be ready to leave. The first time she encountered something truly different, sheâd break. And the first time she had to run, sheâd cry to go back home. You, on the other hand, have faced down horrors. Youâve conquered tyrants. Youâve fought, suffered, and killed for a good cause. Youâre so much better than she is or ever could be. You are WONDERFUL. Donât you dare forget that, Rose-a-lee! Donât you DARE!
Lastly, you need to get back to the Doctor. Those voices you hearâŠI think heâs the only one who can get rid of them entirely. I know it will be hard going back to him. Youâve changed a lot, Rose-a-lee, and it will be hard. At first, heâll see you as you were because heâs not been there to see you grow up into the incredible person you are right now. Still, if heâs worth his salt, heâll see that youâve only become MORE beautiful and wonderful. And yeah, heâs a man, Rose. Men are stupid and wondrously strange creatures. Heâll have done all kinds of stupid things before admitting the truth about how he feels to himself. Remember how I told you about Josh making out with that stupid cheerleader right before he asked me to marry him? Well, I think the Doctorâs doing the same thing. Men are men â regardless of species. I have a pretty strong feeling that the Doctor cares about you a lot. But that heâs scared of it. Because caring for you would mean making a commitment and if thereâs one thing that men will run from, itâs commitment. Itâs just their nature. Thatâs why us women have to be wiser and more patient. Heâs going to have to fight himself over it, fight himself to realize that youâre good for him â no, that youâre PERFECT for him â so when he finally gets over his Time Lord Masculinity, go easy on him a bit. Once heâs over it though, and has made himself clear to you, smack him upside the back of his head and tell him that Magnolia is warning him not to ever even think about breaking your heart again. Tell him I WILL come back from Beyond if he ever hurts you again and he WONâT like getting his ass beaten by me. So, go back to him. Get him out of France and away from that French Madame, and then let him sort himself out. And take time to sort your own feelings out. I do think you love him. But give yourself time to think on it a bit. Could just be that you hero-worship him. Could just be that heâs different from any man youâve ever known. Once you know your own mind, youâll know better what to do.
At any rate, me and the TARDIS have had a lot of talks. If you need reminders now and again, she knows what to do. I love this ship of yours. Iâm honored that she calls herself after me. And since sheâs doing that and since I know you were planning to name your daughter after me and that will get confusing, how about you name your first-born daughter âRiverâ after the Mississippi River I grew up on? If you do that, she can come visit the South and Olâ Man River will recognize her as one of his own. Means she wonât get bitten by the skeeters so much.
I love you, Rose-a-lee. Youâve been the sister I always wanted. Youâre fantastic and wonderful. I hope that you find happiness one day and raise up a whole bunch of children. Remember me. Tell your kids about their crazy gun-shooting Aunt Magnolia and tell them that Iâm watching them from the Undying Lands. And you and I will meet there one day. On those white sands. Weâll meet again and look to the Deathless West and join in the Chorus of the Children of Men.
Your loving sister,
Magnolia âMaggieâ Bard.â
Vairë sighed as she folded the letter and carefully tucked it back in the envelope. She put it in one of the inner pockets of her jacket. She would keep it with her always and, when the storms struck, she would remember it to help shield herself from them.
âIâll go back for him,â she whispered, âbut I doubt he cares about me as much as you think, Magnolia.â Standing up, she left her old room and headed for the console room. The TARDIS sent waves of gentle comfort to her sister. VairĂ« would still grieve for her friend but her grief would be the grief of healing, not of bitter sorrow. âSo, think you could stomach a trip to France in, oh, say 1759? About six months after Sir Doctor of TARDIS mounted that horse and rode through the time window like a knight out of bloody legend?â VairĂ« asked.
I can stomach it, sister. But if he finds out what I did to save youâŠ
âIf he does anything to hurt you over that, Iâll stop him. Heâll have to kill me first.â
We need to stop at the Rift in Cardiff before we go to France. My fuel supplies are getting rather low.
âRight. Weâll do that. Iâll give Martha a call. Maybe sheâd like to tag along. Could make a trip of it. Letâs stop off a week after that memorial thing she told us about, shall we? Iâll give her a call the day after it to tell her when and where to meet us.â