Secrets I Keep

Chapter One

Bill set her books down on a bench and peeled off the denim shirt she'd been comfortable in all day. Her nose crinkled as she realized how sweaty it was, and how thickly the air wrapped around her bare arms. Even in her St. Luke's tank top she was barely cool enough. With a shake of the head, she tied the shirt around her waist and kept walking.

When she reached the office for her lesson, there was a fan standing by the desk. The Doctor's coat hung over the back of his chair. As Bill took out her pens and notebooks, the Doctor walked in with his white shirt sleeves rolled up.

"Bill," he said, giving her a nod. Before he sat down, he turned up the dial on the fan.

"Do you know why it's so hot?" She asked.

The Doctor shrugged. "Global warming?"

"It's March. This time last year it was still snowing."

The Doctor shrugged again, looking down at his lesson plans. "You've seen how much damage your species does to this planet every day. It's probably sped up its increasing temperatures."

Bill watched him for a minute. He moved slower than usual. Normally, his whole body darted around without a moment's pause, but today his movements were sluggish and his eyes dull.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," the Doctor replied shortly without looking up from his paperwork. "Just hot."

Bill chuckled and glanced at the fan. "I'm actually kind of cold right now."

The Doctor gestured toward himself. "Lower body temperature. Better suited for cold climates."

"Is that why you came to England?" Bill asked. The Doctor smirked but didn't respond. Bill noticed the sweat covering his forehead and clapped her hands on the desk, standing. "Alright, I think we should skip class today. You need to go cool off before you get a bloody heatstroke."

The Doctor opened his mouth to argue, but closed it without a sound. Bill raised her eyebrows.

"Fine," he said, getting to his feet. "But Nardole's not permitting me in the TARDIS, so…"

"I'll tell him to make an exception."

The Doctor paused on his way to the TARDIS, giving her a strange look.

"Why are you being so protective of me?"

Bill tilted her head. "When your best mate hides the fact that he's blind for a few weeks, it tends to leave an impact." She nudged his arm with a smile. "Someone has to look out for you if you won't do it yourself."

The Doctor replied with a genuine smile before heading into the TARDIS. Bill shut off the fan and grabbed her books before heading home for the night.

. . .

Bill sat on her bed with her laptop leaned on her knees and a jar of Ben and Jerry's beside her. As she licked the mint chocolate chips off of her spoon, she leaned closer to the screen.

"Weird weather. Crop circles. UFOs, that looks promising."

Bill clicked into a thread from some students at the university, each one discussing a booming sound and then the blinding green light of a spaceship. She set her spoon in the ice cream tin and scrolled faster. A smile slowly made its way across her face.

. . .

"Boom," Bill said, dropping a roll of papers and charts onto the Doctor's desk.

He wore usual jacket, the weather finally permitting sensible March clothing, and a curious frown.

"What's this?" He asked.

Bill unrolled one of the papers, showing him the thread of comments she'd read and a map of the university. In black ink, she'd circled all of the UFO sightings.

"It's more weird stuff happening. I knew it wasn't just global warming."

The Doctor looked through a few of the papers and smiled, unimpressed. "Humans are always trying to claim 'ET sightings'. Especially students."

Bill held up a finger and pulled out one of the other papers.

"But this is the only time a UFO around here has been seen by over ten different people. Look; this thread just started last week; right around the time the weather started heating up."

The Doctor stood slowly, shaking his head. "That was just an abnormal little glitch. Happens everywhere. The weather is fine now."

Bill pursed her lips. The Doctor sighed.

"Okay, I'll look into it. But I'm telling you, if there was an alien-besides me and Missy and Nardole-here, then I'd know about it. Full stop."

Bill quirked an eyebrow. "Alright. If you say so."

The Doctor gave her an assured smile. "Now, can we get into today's lesson? I've got a good one: Quantum mechanics."

Bill let herself forget her mind's wanderings for the duration of their lesson, but something told her it wasn't over. Perhaps it was the strange look in the Doctor's eye that told her he was hiding something. Or perhaps it was the UFO she saw flying with green lights in the corner of her eye during their lesson.

Whatever it was, Bill resolved to find out the truth. Wasn't that what an inquiring mind was for?

. . .

When Bill next had a lesson with the Doctor, she carried not only her brilliant essay on quantum mechanics which she was sure would make a high first, but also some more indisputable proof that something was going on. Instead of lugging around charts and graphs, this time she came armed with her phone. Just the other night she had recorded strange sounds, similar to whispers but more inhuman. The Doctor would probably write it off as a cat or an injured fox.

Bill shook her head with a smile as she climbed the heavy wooden steps. Her shoes echoed louder than normal, and she realized that the Doctor and Nardole weren't bickering like they usually did on Monday nights. Nardole must already have gone to the Vault for the night, she thought.

She hardly bothered to knock on the door before she squeaked it open, pulling out her phone.

"Doctor, I've got something to show…"

She looked around the office and found it empty. No, wait; she looked around the desk and her phone slipped out of her hand.

The Doctor lay motionless on the floor, Nardole a few feet away lying on his side. Bill hurried to them, feeling her mind go blank.

"Doctor?" She called with a small voice, shaking his shoulders. He didn't stir. Holding her breath, she placed two fingers on his neck. Two beats pulsed in a normal rhythm, and his chest rose as she watched him with wide eyes.

Relieved, Bill sat back on her heels and checked Nardole as well. He was in the same condition. Totally knocked out, but not in any immediate danger.

She looked back at the Doctor and put a hand back on his shoulder.

"Doctor? Can you hear me?"

She bit her lip and looked him over. He didn't seem to be injured; certainly nothing that would have rendered him unconscious. Bill was at a loss. Their lessons hadn't really covered medical care; especially in the absence of any obvious diagnosis.

Thankfully, a few seconds later, the Doctor began stirring. He groaned quietly as his eyebrows furrowed, head shifting toward Bill. She felt the air come back into her lungs.

"Oh thank God," she breathed.

He opened his eyes and ran a hand over his face. With her help, he slowly sat up. Bill put a supportive hand on his back.

"Doctor," she said steadily. "Do you know what happened?"

The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "There was a green light and then…"

His eyes widened. "Nardole!"

Bill tightened her hold on his shoulders. "He's fine. Same as you. Just...sleeping."

The Doctor examined Nardole, who woke up a moment later. Bill stared at the Doctor and wouldn't look away until he met her eyes.

"Okay," he relented. "Something's up."

"Something...alien?" Bill asked.

The Doctor got to his feet. "Almost definitely."

Nardole stood beside the other two and shook his head to clear it. "I don't know about you, but I could do with a cuppa."

The Doctor grabbed Nardole's arm as he turned to the door.

"No one should go anywhere until we figure out what it is and how dangerous it can be,"

The Doctor said sternly.

Nardole and Bill shared a look.

"You think it can really be that harmful?" Nardole asked.

"It made us fall unconscious without even being in the same room. It could have been studying us. All of our secrets out in the open like that. Could be a field day for a telepath."

Bill felt shivers up her spine. "Are there aliens that can do that? Read minds? Study people without being near them?"

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. "Of course."

She took a deep breath. "I'm with Nardole. I'm gonna need a cuppa for this one."