Chapter 7

She noticed it when they reached the TARDIS; that flicker of pain that dashed across his face as he turned the key in the lock. This wasn't over. He was hiding something.

Bill let him keep his silence for a moment, a they clambered inside and got the door shut. Even as he input the controls and dialled some gibberish into the computer she remained quiet, watching with a close but nonchalant eye. If he knew she was worried, he'd never tell her the truth. It drove Bill crazy, but she threw that annoyance aside for the moment. Carefully, she went to the Console, fiddling with a harmless control by the Doctor's right elbow.

"So...how did you get the Dream Shade to leave?"

The Doctor kept is eyes on the controls. Thought for a moment too long. Before he opened his mouth, Bill knew it would be lies.

"Told you. Banished to a different planet. Somewhere without any telepaths; just an empty telepathic field. It can gorge for centuries without hurting anyone."

Bill leaned on the Console. "But, like, how exactly? Did you use some kind of mental force push kind of thing? Push it across the galaxy from your mind?"

The Doctor still didn't look at her. He even took a few steps away, pretending to work with some controls on the opposite side of the Console. Bill followed after, keeping her tone light even though alarms were going off in her head.

"Or did it just give in? You told it to go and it listened to you?"

"Why do you want to know?" The Doctor threw her furrowed brows. She flashed a smile.

"I'm the 'asking questions girl', aren't I?"

The Doctor started turning an eye back to her, but stopped midway, scrunching his eyes and bringing a palm to his forehead. He cried out, and then let his voice turn to a groan. Bill froze.

"Doctor? You alright?"

He kept his eyes closed but lowered his hand. "I didn't exactly get it to that other planet yet. I was hoping...ugh." He brought the hand up to his head again and blinked slowly. "I was hoping it would lie dormant for a bit longer."

Bill's eyes widened. "You let a dangerous telepathic alien use your brain for a lift?"

The Doctor's lips turned into a lopsided grin. "More like a police escort. It wasn't exactly thrilled with the new arrangement."

Bill pressed her hands together and brought them over her face. "This. This is exactly what I was talking about! You can't just take risks like that, Doctor."

The Doctor pulled a lever down and the engines started. He leaned heavily with one arm on the Console and closed his eyes again. "Thank you for your concern, Bill, honestly, but it's not a big deal."

Just then, the Doctor cried out again, holding his head.

Doctor...you will not get away with this. I shall feed on you and grow stronger than ever before.

"Oh no you don't," the Doctor grumbled to the entity in his head. Bill looked on, speechless with worry.

The Doctor started building his walls again, but it was useless. The Dream Shade was angry. Angry and on its last chance. All the protective barriers in the universe couldn't stop it at this point.

Except…

"Doctor, let me help."

The Doctor shook his head, even as he slipped to his knees on the grating floor. "You're not telepathic."

"No...but I know someone who is."

The Doctor worked his eyes open and found one of Bill's hands in his own and the other latched onto the TARDIS telepathic circuits.

"Bill, you are brilliant."

The TARDIS whirred to life around them, lights blinking and engines wheezing. Bill plucked her hand out of the telepathic circuits and latched onto the Console as the TARDIS took control of the situation.

Simultaneously, the TARDIS steered herself and helped her thief fight the creature off. Bill watched the whole situation with overwhelmed, but impressed, wide eyes.

Finally, the ship stopped lurching back and forth and they landed. The TARDIS roughly snatched the Dream Shade from the Doctor's mind, opened the doors, and sent it away in a gust of energy. The doors slammed shut as soon as it was outside, and the Console room was left in stunned silence.

Bill shut her eyes for a second to get her bearings and a message flashed through her mind. Thank you for alerting me, Bill. My thief should wake in a few moments.

Bill's eyes shot open and she looked over to the Doctor, who suddenly slumped to the floor with a groan. Awkwardly, Bill caught him in her arms and knelt behind him. "Okay, we're doing this again."

Bill sighed, looking down at her unconscious tutor. "What am I going to do with you?"

Footsteps entered the space. Bill's eyes widened.

"What the hell just happened? TARDIS going berserk; lights flashing. I thought I left the kettle on or…"

Nardole came to the top of the steps and his jaw dropped. Bill looked up from her position on the floor and cringed.

Instead of launching into a long series of lectures, however, Nardole simply let out a breath, walked over to Bill, and crouched beside her and the Doctor still slumped and asleep leaned on her.

"What kind of trouble did he get into this time?"

Bill set the Doctor on the floor as she explained. "Telepathic monster; frightened locals...same old, same old. He let it into his head to transport it to a new planet, but it woke up early and the TARDIS and I had to do some rescuing."

Nardole shook his head and brushed some dust off of the Doctor's jacket. "What are we gonna do with him?"

Bill shrugged with a small smile. "We can't keep him from being himself." She turned a more stern eye to Nardole. "But we seriously need to have a talk with him when he's feeling better. All this sacrificial hero stuff has my nerves on edge."

"Ditto," Nardole said.

The Doctor woke suddenly, sitting up and opening his eyes with a gasp. Nardole put a hand on his shoulder.

"Take it easy. You're in the TARDIS, not a haunted house."

The Doctor blinked rapidly, taking slow breaths. "Sorry, just, er…"

Bill quirked an eyebrow. "Did that creature give you a nightmare?"

The Doctor nodded, wiping his face. "Over now," he said, sounding like he was reassuring himself. Bill rubbed his back and he turned to her, then the floor.

"I'm sorry, Bill," the Doctor said. "About before. Not telling you…"

"Don't worry about it," Bill replied. "We'll talk later. It's been a long day."

The Doctor nodded again. Then he seemed to notice Nardole. "How did you get here?"

Nardole rolled his eyes. "You mean how did you forget I was in the TARDIS when you decided to visit the Sense Sphere?" Nardole let a smile betray his cooler exterior. "There I was making tea for us to share, and you two go galavanting off."

The Doctor rubbed his face. "I thought you went to the canteen to get tea, not the TARDIS."

"They never have the biscuits I like. Anyway, it's a good thing I did. What if something happened and both of you went missing? I wouldn't have even known where you were!"

The Doctor rubbed his temples. "Please, Nardole, can we do this later. I did just have a nasty Dream Shade in my head for a while."

Bill put a hand on Nardole's arm. "Maybe we can talk about this later, when he's feeling better."

Nardole turned to her. "You think you're innocent in all this? You're getting as bad as he is; running off God-knows-where. It's like you two go lookin for trouble."

Bill opened her mouth to argue, but she thought over his words. It was true. She was taking a liking to this new lifestyle, dangerous and nerve-wracking as it was.

The worst part was that she didn't even feel like defending herself.

The worst part was that when he made these accusations, that she was taking too many risks or getting too involved in the TARDIS life, she suddenly couldn't think of a better way of living.

When he gave her an incredulous look, waiting for her response or her defense or whatever, she merely turned to the Doctor and shared a smile.