Chapter Three : New Earth

♥✰♥

ROSE WASN'T HAPPY ABOUT CLAUDIA JOINING HER AND THE DOCTOR, but didn't put up a fight when the Doctor announced it. She'd taken to giving Claudia nasty looks behind his back, but Claudia ignored them. She'd been through far worse than a catty teenage girl.

Instead, Claudia found herself exploring the TARDIS. Rather than heading straight to her bedroom and sleeping -- not that it mattered, she'd be lucky to get three hours in since her father's death -- she went as far as she could into the TARDIS. She'd discovered a massive wardrobe that seemed to go on forever, and reminded herself to come back in case she ever wanted clothes that didn't belong to the men in her family, and a library that appeared to be over a couple hundred miles long. She'd found the kitchen, made herself a batch of muffins, and explored a bit more.

Claudia knew where Rose's room was, with the bright pink door and a simple rose pasted on the front, and managed to find her own at some point. She didn't know what to expect, when the Doctor told her the TARDIS created a room you most desired, but she half-expected it to be Dean's impala. After all, they didn't grow up in a house, with four stable walls.

It wasn't his impala, however, but it was so much more heartbreaking.

She'd forgotten all about the bedroom she and Sam stayed in as kids when Dean was sent away on a hunt. Their father had dropped them off at Bobby's house for three months and they pretended it was their home. They attended school and made up a whole new life for themselves, even changed their names to "Sam and Claudia Singer."

They shared the room, with two small twin-sized beds and peeling wallpaper. But it was the closest thing to home she'd ever had.

The door to her room was simple, with a dark wood peeling at the edges, and rusted hinges. It looked just like Bobby's. Upon entering, tears sprung to her eyes as she looked around, spotting even the smallest things, as though the TARDIS had taken a piece of Bobby's home and put it into a bedroom.

Claudia let out a strangled breath, eyes searching every nook and cranny. For a moment, she forgot she was even on the TARDIS, traveling with a Time Lord. She felt like Sam would barge into the room, talking about a new hunt, or Dean would just come out of the bathroom with toothpaste spilled on his shirt, complaining about running out of beer.

Claudia took a slow step forward, spotting the two dank wooden nightstands on each side of the bed, which was just a full-sized mattress and a few blankets. Above the bed hung a picture of three deers, sprinting across a field. Bobby always said his wife loved the picture, that it inspired her to have children.

He never did have kids, she was possessed and murdered before that could happen, but he claimed he had kids in his own way. He always told Claudia that she, Sam, and Dean were the three deer in the photo, skipping across the field. They were his kids, blood be damned.

She spotted a photo on the left nightstand and rushed towards it, holding it in her hands tightly, falling back against the bed. It was her favorite photo, she thought she'd lost it. She didn't have many pictures of their childhood, if any, after their mother's death, but this was one of the few.

Barely eleven years old, she stood in between Sam and Dean with a big gap in her teeth and her father's big red flannel drooping over her shoulders. She had her arms around the boys, both of which, happened to be smiling, though Dean's looked a bit less forced. A firework was exploding behind them, forever caught in the picture, and she remembered the smile on her dad's face when he took it.

They'd stopped after a big and successful hunt, and it just so happened to be Fourth of July. Their dad took them to a small diner, told them to order whatever they'd like, and they sat outside on the grass after watching the fireworks. He snapped the photo with a camera Claudia had stolen on impulse. Rather than letting her take the fall, Dean covered for her, claiming he wanted to take photos with his then-girlfriend. John was mad for awhile, but eventually let it go, especially after it brought them this photo.

Claudia hadn't seen it in years, she thought John took it and moved it somewhere. Or lost it. It couldn't have been the real photo -- surely, the TARDIS didn't have a way of grabbing photos from thin air and transporting them to her bedroom? Then again, the TARDIS did travel through space and time, so Claudia shouldn't assume anything.

She set the photo down, glancing at it again, her eyes falling to Sam's younger face, his eyes full of life and innocence. She remembered how he looked the last time she looked into his eyes, just before he took Michael and jumped into the pit. He'd stared at her with a resigned understanding, his eyes loving and warm. One of the few similarities between them were their big brown eyes, which came from their father.

Claudia's eyes moved to the hardwood floor, which even had a few gunshots and spare nails sticking out. The entire room was eerily similar to Bobby's spare bedroom. The chipped yellowing wallpaper with faded flowers, and the rough edges along the dresser and small desk that sat in the corner.

She stood up, walking over and spotting Bobby's collection of hunting books. Had the TARDIS nicked these from him too? Or were they from the library? If the Doctor didn't believe in the supernatural, did the TARDIS? Did the TARDIS have feelings?

Claudia sighed, grabbing her duffel bag from atop the chair next to desk, unpacking the clothes and folding them away into the dresser. Flannel after flannel, she always wondered as a kid why it seemed to be the only thing they wore. John always said it was the cheapest option, and most of it was hand-me-downs. She didn't have any "girl" clothes, specifically, not that it mattered. She wore Dean's old t-shirts, which he'd inherited from their dad, and occasionally stole jewelry from stores if no one noticed.

She'd only been caught a handful of times, but as usual, Dean took the fall. He'd gotten a severe punishment when he said the gold rings Claudia stole were his. She thanked him more as an adult, when she realized what he'd gone through for her and Sam, but he always shrugged her off. That's what big brothers were for, he'd said. She was the youngest, if only two hours after Sam, and they both babied her growing up. She was the last one to go hunting, the one they always protected if something went south.

She didn't even have a "part" in the whole Michael vs. Lucifer debacle. The only time Gabriel spoke to her directly, he compared her to himself, saying she was always caught in between two brothers, both fighting tirelessly until the end.

But it was the end. Sam was gone now, and she wished everyday to hear him and Dean bickering about a case, or that Dean bought the wrong turkey slices.

Shaking herself from her reverie, Claudia threw on a different t-shirt and one of Dean's old grey flannels, walking outside and closing the door behind her.

♥✰♥

Claudia leaned against the railing, watching as the Doctor and Rose smiled at each other. He pushed buttons and pulled levers on the console, and Rose smiled over at him, clutching the end. Claudia's grip tightened on the railing as the TARDIS jerked.

"So, where are we going?" Rose asked him.

"Farther than we've ever gone before," he responded with a wide smile. Claudia looked down, feeling as though she shouldn't have come. There were obvious feelings there and she was just looking for a friend, companionship, someone to depend on. She knew Rose wouldn't give her anything of the sort, but she'd hoped her and the Doctor would have a friendly relationship.

Now, she wasn't so sure. She felt like a third wheel.

♥✰♥

Claudia followed the Doctor and Rose out of the TARDIS, smiling at the Doctor as he shut the door behind her. His lips tugged into a smile and he rested his hand on her back for a moment, staring into her eyes.

Her smile widened as his warm hand pressed again the thin flannel, and they stared at each other for a moment longer before he cleared his throat, dropping his hand and turning to Rose. Rose hadn't appeared to notice, staring at the new planet in front of them, and Claudia's jaw dropped when she saw it.

"Holy shit..." she breathed out.

Rose turned around with a smile. "It's weird, innit?" She asked.

Claudia nodded, a part of her wondering why Rose was so hot and cold with her. At times, she felt like they could be friends, but other times, Rose appeared to despise her. The entire relationship was given her whiplash.

"It's the year five-billion and twenty-three," the Doctor explained with a grin. "We're in the galaxy M-87, and this...this is New Earth."

Claudia shook her head, moving up a little past Rose to get a better look, awe taking over her face. "This is incredible," she mumbled, disbelieving. And it was. She knew her brothers would have loved this, and she wondered if Castiel had ever seen such beauty. Did he know of other solar systems? Dean mentioned he could travel through time. She wondered if he'd stood where she was now. "Thank you," she turned to look at the Doctor with a grateful smile, only to find him and Rose talking together. Her smile fell and she looked down, staring out at the world around her.

An enormous, seemingly endless city encompassed her vision, and a bridge close to the water travelled on for miles. They stood in front of a big ocean, full and clear and sparkling. The sky seemed to sparkle too, glistening against the clouds. A whooshing sound echoed through Claudia's ears and she found hovercrafts of sorts zooming and zipping past her.

She looked up in awe, turning in a small circle, feeling honored to stand on such beauty. Only a year prior, she and her brothers were fighting off ghosts and slaughtering demons in hopes of stopping the apocalypse from breaking out, and now...she stood on an entirely new planet thousands of years in the future. She couldn't believe it.

"Different ground beneath my feet," Rose laughed, jumping up and down on the grass. "Different sky." She turned to Claudia. "How're you doing over there?"

Claudia didn't respond, shrugging. "I--I have never seen anything like this in my life. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me. What's that smell?"

The Doctor smiled over at her, his eyes soft and a pensive expression on his face. "Apple grass," he grinned. "I'm glad you're enjoying it."

Claudia nodded. "Yeah, I really am, yeah. You're not--I mean, can I stay awhile? Or do you only want--"

"--Please," the Doctor intercepted, grabbing Rose's hand. "Please do, we'd love to have you."

Rose looked up at him, annoyance flashing her features before she stilled, smiling over at Claudia. "Yeah, we'd love it!" She added unenthusiastically.

Claudia nodded after a moment, letting the pair run off first as she trailed along behind them, taking in every inch of the planet.

♥✰♥

The Doctor and Rose lay next to each other on the Doctor's jacket, and Claudia sat a bit behind them. Not for the first time, she felt out of place. She'd always felt out place, being too nerdy for her family, too strange and rebellious for kids at school, too different in every aspect of her life. Even now, next to a time-traveling alien, she still didn't quite fit in.

She picked at a few bits of apple grass, holding it up to her hand as Rose's laugh echoed in her ears, drifting through the wind. She felt like they were on a date, and she were a lost dog following them around.

She hated it.

Dean would have called her an idiot. The entire situation felt like pity, and as Winchesters, they were raised to go as far as they could without it. Pride was her middle name. The Doctor leaned his head back, looking at her and she raised her eyebrows in question. His lips widened into a small, his head lolling back. She must've been upside down in his position.

"Hello there, Claudia," he grinned up at her.

She smiled tightly, awkwardly, trying not to ruin the peace of jeopardize anything between her and Rose. She didn't want to go back to the flat in Powell Estate. She had this whole new life, far away from the demons, literally, in her own.

"Hey, Doctor," she replied. Rose glanced back and Claudia clammed up again, looking down at the grass. She hated this feeling, as though Rose could control her every move. She'd never been timid, always far more outspoken than anyone else. She took after Dean that way.

But now, sitting on a foreign planet, with a time-traveling alien and his nineteen-year-old girlfriend, she felt completely out of her depth. Not for the first time since interacting with the pair, did she feel more lonely than ever. Even with two perfectly pleasant people, though one more so than the other, she felt like a nobody, a nothing.

"Can we go visit New New York, so good they named it twice?" Rose asked as she and the Doctor stood up. Claudia let out a small breath of relief. Finally, maybe now they'd stop acting so couple-y.

"Well, I thought we might go there first," the Doctor nodded to a hospital. Claudia's heart clenched up and her stomach tightened. She hated hospitals. She'd been in and out of one as a young child, up until she was two and her father had had enough.

Aside from surgery at a young age, constant medication and check-ups, she'd lost her father in a hospital when he made a deal with Azazel to keep Dean alive. Claudia was sick of hospitals, alien or not.

She sighed, following Rose and the Doctor down the path towards the hospital, wrapping the leather jacket she'd brought with her around her shoulders. She dug her hands into the pockets, a small smile falling to her face when she felt her dad's ring thrown inside messily. She pulled it out, having thought it lost, and placed it on her finger, before collecting herself and following after her friends.

"I got this," the Doctor pulled out a wallet with an empty paper. "A message on the psychic paper."

"What's it say?" Claudia spoke up, moving on the Doctor's right side as Rose stood on the left. "It's blank."

The Doctor blinked in surprise, turning to look at her in a mix of shock and fascination. "No way," he grinned. "No way, you can't see it?"

Claudia shrugged, raising her eyebrows. "There's nothing there. What, am I missing something?"

The Doctor's grin widened and he laughed. "Oh, you're more of a surprise than I thought!" He laughed again, planting a kiss on her head. "Brilliant," he shook his head. "Absolutely brilliant."

Claudia looked at Rose in confusion and Rose clenched her jaw. "It's psychic paper. It can tell anyone anything."

"But the interesting thing," the Doctor looked at Claudia excitedly. "Is that for some reason, you can't see it. I didn't think you were a genius, are you a genius?"

Claudia shook her head. "No, I mean, I'm smart, but not like you smart, just a normal kind of smart. Maybe it doesn't work on Americans?"

He shook his head. "No, it works on everyone, unless you have no imagination and, in rare cases, you're a genius. But you're neither." He looked her over once more, as though seeing her for the first time. He often looked at her like that, like she surprised him just by existing.

"Come on, then," Rose hooked her arm through the Doctor's, grabbing his attention again. "Let's go and buy some grapes."

The Doctor chuckled, smiling down at her and Claudia followed, trailing a bit behind them and thinking about the Doctor's words. What was different about her? Was it because she saw things others didn't? Like the supernatural? Or perhaps her trips to heaven and hell messed her brain up? Maybe it was the Enochian engravings on her ribs from Castiel? She hadn't a single clue, but she had so many more questions.

♥✰♥

"A bit rich, coming from you," Rose mocked as they entered the hospital. They'd been discussing whether or not they liked hospitals, and the Doctor told them he didn't.

"I can't help it," he explained. "I don't like hospitals, they give me the creeps."

"Me too," Claudia murmured, glancing around, half-expecting someone to jump out at her, or to see a ghost drift through a wall. "Spent too much time in them."

The Doctor glanced back at her in curiosity but Rose grabbed his attention again.

"The pleasure gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next 15 minutes," the PA system spoke overhead. "Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted."

"Very smart," Rose commented quietly as the trio walked through the big hospital. Claudia felt so small, and dirty, almost, as though she her blood was too poor to even step inside it. High ceilings, pillars of glass and wood, and a sleek marble flooring combed their way. Benches in stone etched throughout the ground floor, and glowing green lights in the shape of a moon. "Not exactly NHS."

Claudia nodded. "Yeah," she agreed. "Not that I know what NHS is, but it feels super rich, like the kind of rich I used to make fun of. This place is insane."

The Doctor shook his head. "No shop," he looked around and Claudia raised her eyebrows. "I like a little shop."

"I hate hospital shops," Claudia frowned. "They always have the same 'get better soon' or 'sorry your dad died' greeting cards and big stuffed bears. I cannot tell you the amount of stuffed teddy bears my dad threw out growing up."

"Did you spend time in a hospital?" Rose asked, seemingly genuine.

Claudia nodded. "Yeah, I have a heart disease. ASD, means there's a hole in my heart they can't fix, no matter how many surgeries they tried."

The Doctor frowned. "But that's a fairly routine surgery, they really couldn't operate on you?"

Claudia laughed bitterly. "Oh no, they tried. Just didn't end up working very well, and I kept having to come back. Eventually, my dad got sick of the the bills and the hospitals so we just stopped going."

She was diagnosed with a heart condition, Atrial Septal Defect, or ASD, a congenital heart disease that from when she was six months old. Supposedly, a surgery would solve everything, albeit leave her with a few side effects, but it did the opposite for Claudia. She found herself struggling throughout her life to catch her breath, focus on more than one thing at a time. All symptoms, she was told, of numerous heart surgeries gone wrong in attempts to fix her.

They later found out it was because Azazel had tried to kill her the day he gave Sam his blood, but her mother coming into the room and stopping him and foiled his plans, leaving her with an uncommon heart disease. The disease itself wasn't rare, but a case randomly sprouting up after six months of age was a little out there.

Rose raised her eyebrows in surprise. "That's a bit unfair, what if something happened to you? You couldn't have helped it."

Claudia shrugged. "I've had worse," she waved her off, "believe me, this stupid hole is the only normal thing in my life."

Which, was true.

"I thought this far in the future, they'd have cured everything," Rose said after a moment, looking around.

Claudia shook her head. "No, not likely. I mean, people adapt to their worlds as much as the world adapts to them. Sickness, drought, all of it. Even in the future it only makes sense for there to be new diseases. Or else how would the human race evolve?"

The Doctor grinned over at her, his eyes sparkling with pride. "Very clever, Claudia," he complimented. "The human race moves on," he added to Rose, "but so do the viruses. It's an ongoing war."

A humanoid looking woman walked past them, or, Claudia assumed it to be a woman, it seemed to don something akin to a nun, but with the face of a cat. Claudia blinked, looking at Rose in shock. They shared a surprised expression before turning back to the Doctor.

"Hope, harmony, and health..."

"They're cats," Rose pointed, her voice just above a whisper.

Claudia nodded. "Yeah, I'm sorry, what?"

"Now, don't stare," the Doctor chastised. "Think what you look like to them. All pink and yellow," he smirked at Claudia. "Brown and gloomy."

"I'm not gloomy," she protested.

"Totally are."

"Totally not."

"Totally are."

"Totally--"

"--Guys," Rose interrupted, giving them both a stern look.

The Doctor smirked, pointing behind her. "That's where I'd put a shop," he exclaimed. "Right there." Rose looked behind her but the Doctor swooped next to Claudia, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hall to an elevator. "How're you doing with all this?" He asked her.

Claudia shrugged, looking away. "Fine," she answered. "It's amazing, really, just...a lot to take in."

"Too much?" His expression dropped and she shook her head immediately.

"No," she denied. "No, no, absolutely not. Seriously, please don't ever take me back to Earth. This is the craziest thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something."

"You keep saying that," he started, but stopped as the reached the elevator. "Ward 26, thanks," he told it aloud, clutching her hand tightly. Rose stood behind them outside, and Claudia moved to talk to her.

"Rose, hurry up!" She shouted, waving her in. Rose nodded, rushing towards them but the doors had already shut. The Doctor shrugged.

"Oh, too late, I'm going up," he said through the doors. "Ward 26!" He called to her. "And watch out for the disinfectant!"

"Watch out for the what?"

"The what?" Claudia asked as the elevator began to move.

"The disinfectant!"

"The what?"

"The dis--oh, you'll find out," he rolled his eyes, turning to Claudia again. "Get ready," he grinned. "You like a good shower?"

"What?" She asked flatly, her hands flying to her hair. Normally, she brushed it out, but if she didn't, the curls overtook and they bushed around her face like a lion's mane. She really didn't need to show that off.

The Doctor winked in response, squeezing her hand again before letting go.

"Commence stage one disinfection."

Green lights flickered around the elevator and a small blaring alarm sounded. A moment later, and sprinklers went off from the ceiling, drenching Claudia and the Doctor in water. Claudia blinked, trying to wipe her eyeliner, surely she looked horrible by now, and shook her head.

"This sucks!" She shouted to the Doctor. "Next time, I'm taking the stairs!"

He laughed, running his hands through his hair, as if properly taking a shower. She stood next to him, scowling under the running water, an annoyed look on her face.

After the water stopped, a powdery dust shot out from the elevator walls and Claudia spat out a bit that got into her mouth. The Doctor laughed and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, laugh it up, buck-o, I'm sure you're loving this."

He shrugged, a teasing smile on his face. "Well, it's certainly amusing."

Then, the drying began and the Doctor fanned his jacket out, whooping in excitement. Claudia moved closer, trying to dry her hair and face first, twisting out the water from her flannel and jacket.

A few minutes passed and the drying was over, doors open. The Doctor grinned down at Claudia, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the elevator. "What'd you think?" He asked.

She raised her eyebrows. "About the mandatory shower? Not a fan, but hey, now you get see my hair stick up to the sky."

His smile widened as his eyes followed the lengths of her curls, sprawling out in different directions. He reached out with his free hand, grabbing one and pushing it out of her face. "I like them," he commented softly.

Her eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever liked her hair before. Her father used to call it a hassle, cutting it off when she was younger, and after reaching puberty, he'd bought her a cheap brush and told her to 'figure it out.' She finally went against her curls and straightened it the best she could, usually ending up with tight waves.

A smile fell to her lips and she felt blood rush to her cheeks as the Doctor's eyes met her own. "Honestly, they suit you," he added, dropping the hand near her face.

She opened her mouth to reply, but he shifted positions, looking at something behind her, tugging her off in that direction. She spun for a moment, her hand still tightly wrapped in his own, before following him down the upper hospital floor.

A cat-nurse waited for them upon arrival to floor-to-ceiling walls of glass and the Doctor pulled Claudia along.

"Nice place," he commented to the woman.

Claudia nodded, trying not to stare as her cat face was covered in a white veil. "Yeah, it's great," she added, trying not to be sarcastic. "Better than a lot of other hospitals I've been in."

"No shop downstairs," the Doctor disagreed. "I'd have a shop, though, Claudia doesn't find them useful. Not a big one, mind you, just a shop."

"With cards and teddy bears," Claudia added. "Just so I could get him one and stuff it in his room."

"You don't even know where my room is," the Doctor pointed out, eyebrows raised.

Claudia shrugged. "I already found the swimming pool and library, your room can't be that far intermixed."

"The hospital is a place of healing," the woman spoke up, lifting the veil from her face. Definitely a cat. Claudia fought back a shudder. She loved cats, unlike Dean, but this was...another level.

"A shop does some people the world of good. Not me, other people."

"Have you ever been to a hospital with a shop, Doctor?" Claudia asked, but he didn't respond as they started walking again.

"The Sisters of Plenitude take a lifelong vow to help and to mend," the cat-woman explained. Claudia's eyes widened when they passed someone completely red. What happened to him? Another man, quite large, was made entirely of stone, and next to him stood a stern looking woman with thin glasses and frown.

"Excuse me!" She started. "Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York."

Claudia shook her head. "So nothing's changed that much."

"That's petrified regression, right?" The Doctor asked.

"I'm dying, sir, madam," the Duke spoke up from his bed, "A lifetime of charity and abstinence and it ends like this."

"Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance," the stern-looking woman spoke up again.

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Yes, ma'am," she saluted mockingly.

"Frau Clovis," the Duke choked, calling the woman back. She turned around swiftly, gripping his hand tightly as they stared at each other. "I'm so weak."

"Sister Jatt," the woman chastised the cat-nurse. That must have been her name. "A little privacy, please."

Sister Jatt nodded, gesturing the Doctor and Claudia out from behind the curtain and they walked a bit away again.

"He'll be up and about in no time," Sister Jatt reassured the pair.

"I doubt it," the Doctor argued. "Petrifold regression, he's turning to stone."

"God, that sounds painful," Claudia shook her head.

"There won't be a cure for...oh, a thousand years? He might be up and about but only as a statue."

"Have faith in the Sisterhood," Sister Jatt reminded the Doctor. "But is there no one here you recognize? It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."

The Doctor looked around for a moment, before his eyes fell on something a bit further down the hall. Claudia's eyes widened. A giant face with squiggly lines rested inside a large tank.

"No," the Doctor smiled. "I think I've found him."

They walked further down to where the giant face rested, it's eyes closed as though sleeping, and Sister Jatt spoke up to another nurse.

"Novice Hame," she started. "If I can leave this gentlemen and lady in your care."

"Oh," the Doctor reminded the woman. "I think my friend got lost. Rose Tyler. Could you ask at reception?"

"She's got yellow hair and a bright purple shirt, can't miss her," Claudia added.

"Certainly sir, ma'am," Sister Jatt nodded before hurrying off.

Claudia and the Doctor turned back to Novice Hame and the giant head.

"I'm afraid the Face of Boe is asleep. That's all he tends to do these days."

"What species is he?" Claudia asked.

Novice Hame shrugged. "No one knows," she answered, "he's ancient, they say. Are you a friend, or...?"

"We met just the once on Platform One," the Doctor responded. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm so sorry," Novice Hame's voice softened a fraction. "I thought you knew. The Face of Boe is dying."

"Of what?" Claudia asked.

"Old age. One thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old, some people say millions, although that's impossible."

Claudia's eyebrows raised in thought, wondering what sort of creature he was. From what the Doctor had briefly mentioned, his people were one of the oldest, so who could be older than him?

"Oh," the Doctor blew out a breath through his cheeks. "I don't know, I like impossible. It's why I brought Claudia along."

Claudia's head snapped up to his. "What?" She asked, but he simply smirked, not responding. What did that mean? She wasn't impossible. She was just an average supernatural-hunter, with a bad reputation and terrible manners. And, a bit of a dysfunctional family dynamic -- but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary. And certainly nothing 'impossible.'

"I'm here," the Doctor leaned up to the glass, kneeling down and staring at the face, "I look a bit different, but it's me. It's the Doctor." He pressed his palm against the glass, his voice soft and gentle.

Claudia felt overcome with a deep sadness, feeling as though someone she knew was passing. She kneeled down next to the Doctor, staring up at the face.

"I'm Claudia," she spoke up quietly. "We haven't met before."

The Face of Boe breathed in deeply, a light groan echoing through the glass.

♥✰♥

"Hope, harmony, and health."

The Doctor handed Novice Hame a small cup of water as Claudia sipped her own, sitting in front of the Face of Boe, watching him. She felt as though she knew him, he reminded her of someone she couldn't remember.

"That's very kind," Novice Hame smiled at the Doctor. "There's no need."

"You're the one working," the Doctor replied, walking to stand in front of the large glass window.

"There's not much to do," Novice Hame responded. "Just maintain his smoke. And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing sometimes in my mind. Such ancient songs."

Claudia smiled softly, pressing her hand against the glass. Why was he so familiar?

"Are we the only visitors?" The Doctor asked Novice Hame.

"The rest of Boekind became extinct long ago. He's the only one left."

Claudia's heart went out for him. How sad, to live a life completely on your own with no one to share your journey. All of the people he knew and loved -- gone. She looked down, a small sigh escaping her lips. On a much smaller scale, she was the only one left. Her and Dean's relationship was practically non-existent and she had no living family other than him to speak of. She knew what it felt to lose everyone.

"Legend says that the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old," Novice Hame continued. "There's all sorts of superstitions around him," she added excitedly, turning to the Doctor.

He smiled gently, eyes flickering to Claudia as she glanced at him. His smile grew a fraction, before his eyes moved back to Novice Hame.

"One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret. That he will speak those words only to one like himself."

"What does that mean?" The Doctor asked softly.

"It's just a story," Novice Hame answered with a small shrug.

"Tell me the rest."

"It's said he'll talk to two wanderers. To the pair without a home. The lonely god and his great love."

The Doctor's face flickered in realization and his eyes glanced to Claudia, who looked up at him in confusion. His eyes widened and he looked away from her, jaw clenching as his face tightened. What did he know? Did he know the people in the story?

♥✰♥

The Doctor looked to the entryway of the floor, frowning.

"You haven't heard from Rose, have you?" He asked Claudia. She gave him a look.

"I've literally been with you the whole time."

He nodded. "Yeah, alright, fair enough. I'm going to call her," he walked to a large phone handing on the wall. Claudia raised her eyebrows.

"God, that things huge," she commented, smirking a bit. "That's what she said," cracking one of Dean's old jokes.

The Doctor frowned. "Who said that? Rose?"

Claudia rolled her eyes. "Dude, really?"

"What?"

They stared at each other for a moment, his face full of confusion before he shook his head, holding the phone to his ear and speaking a phone number into it.

"Rose?" He asked and Claudia crossed her arms, watching him. "Where are you?"

He was quiet for a moment and Claudia presumed she'd answered. "How long does it take to get to Ward 26?" He asked. He was quiet for a moment before a grin overtook his features. "You'll never guess! I'm with the Face of Boe. Remember him?"

Claudia glanced behind her as commotion rang out from the Duke of Manhattan's bed. The Doctor frowned. "I'd better go, see you in a minute," he told Rose, hanging up the phone. He grabbed Claudia's hand, pulling her towards the Duke.

"I didn't think I was going to make it," the man laughed, his body now clear of any stone remnants.

Claudia's eyes widened. "How'd they do that?" She asked the Doctor. "That's amazing."

The Doctor rubbed his ear, not answering her and the Duke spotted them.

"It's that man again!" He shouted gleefully. "And his pretty woman! They're my good luck charm. Come in, don't be shy."

The Doctor smiled, pulling her into the curtained room.

"Any friendship expressed by the Duke of Manhattan does not constitute a form of legal contract," Fraur Clovis told them sternly.

"Winch me up!" The Duke whispered and she held up a remote to the chain bed he'd been lying on, pressing a button so it turned, moving him upright.

"Up!" The Duke laughed. "Look at me. No sign of infection."

"Champagne, sir?" A waiter asked the Doctor. "Ma'am?"

Claudia glanced up at the Doctor, watching him with furrowed eyebrows. He was no longer smiling, a deep crease in his eyebrows as he watched with a serious expression.

"No, thanks, we're fine," the Doctor replied.

Claudia snorted. "Speak for yourself," she replied, grabbing the champagne with a smile. "Winchesters never say no to a drink."

The Doctor's lips turned up but he didn't acknowledge her comment, his attention focused on the Duke once again. "You had petrified regression, right?"

"Had being the operative word," the Duke smiled. Claudia took a sip of the champagne, grimacing at the taste. It was quite different to the one she usually drank, not that she drank it often. Typically, they'd buy cheap beer from bars and grocery stores, but occasionally, on celebratory days, she and her brothers would buy a bottle of it from a Walmart and hope for the best. This was much fancier, and much more bubbly. "Past tense! Completely cured."

"But that's impossible," the Doctor argued.

"Primitive species would accuse us of magic," a cat-nurse spoke up, coming up from behind the Doctor and Claudia. "But it's merely the tender application of service."

"How on earth did you cure him?" The Doctor asked quietly, his hand tightening on Claudia's. She took another sip of her champagne, watching the cat-nurse suspiciously. She'd met enough strange people to know when something wasn't right. And a bunch of cat-nurses curing diseases? Sounded a bit cult-y to her.

"How on New Earth, you might say."

"What's in that solution?" The Doctor asked, nodding to the purple and orange bags next to the Duke.

"A simple remedy."

"Then tell me what it is."

Claudia took note of how the Doctor's voice dropped a fraction, darker and with a slight edge to it. She hadn't heard that voice since he'd spoken to Harriet Jones. Her eyes moved between him and the cat-nurse. He didn't trust her -- how interesting.

"I'm sorry," the cat-nurse replied, feigning innocence. "Patient confidentiality. I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp."

"I'm the Doctor," he replied evenly.

"I think you'll find that we are the doctors here."

"Matron Case," another cat-nurse came up, interrupting their conversation. "You're needed in intensive care."

"If you would excuse me," she smiled at the Doctor and Claudia. The Doctor nodded and she walked off, leaving the Doctor and Claudia. They exchanged a look, suspicion wracking their faces.

♥✰♥

Claudia looked over to the doors, dropping the Doctor's hand as Rose came into view. She knew Rose had feelings for him and guilt settled in her stomach. She shouldn't have held his hand for so long, what was wrong with her? The Doctor spared her a curious glance before looking over the bags hooked around other patient's bedside. He'd told Claudia something seemed very wrong here, and that people were healing from diseases that should have killed them.

Claudia took notice of Rose's shirt, how it'd been unbuttoned and was extremely low-cut, and a bit of her midriff was showing. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't need to try that hard, she was already pretty enough.

"Repeat, 14 degrees cohezic. This temperature is designed to promote the healing and well-being."

"There you are," the Doctor greeted, spotting Rose. "Come and look at this patient," he waved her over, pulling her to Claudia and the Duke, reading a hand on her back. "Marconi's disease. Should take years to recover."

They all stood, watching the red man from before, seemingly hovering above the ground in stasis.

"Two days. I've never seen anything like it. They've invented a cell-washing cascade. It's amazing. Their medical science is way advanced," he filled Rose in. "And this one," he brought them to another patient, completely white with tubes sticking into his neck. "Pallidome pancrosis. Kills you in ten minutes, and he's fine. I need to find a terminal," the Doctor looked around. "I've got to see how they do this." He grabbed Rose's arm, pulling her down the halls as Claudia followed behind.

"'Cause if they've got the best medicine in the world, then why is it such a secret?"

"I can't Adam and Eve it," Rose replied.

Claudia coughed out a laugh. "Look, I'm not from London or anything but that's -- who says that?" She laughed again and the Doctor gave Rose a curious look.

"What--what's with the voice?"

"I don't know," she responded, lowering her voice seductively. "Just larking about. New Earth," she ran her hands along her sides, looking the Doctor up and down. Claudia's laugh subsided and the Doctor looked down, trying to figure out what Rose was looking at. "New me."

"Well, I can talk," he grinned. "New new Doctor."

"Mm, aren't you just?" Rose agreed, reaching her hands up behind his neck and pulling him down into a deep, long kiss. The Doctor didn't appear to be kissing back and his arms stuck at his sides but Rose was going all in.

Claudia stared at them for a moment, wide-eyed, before looking around, trying to focus on anything else. "This is fucking weird," she whispered to herself, focusing on a small hole on the end of her flannel, toying with it awkwardly. "I hope this ends soon."

Rose pulled away with a smack, brushing her hair behind her ear, panting heavily. "T--terminal's this way," she stuttered, pointing down the hall.

The Doctor's eyes followed her before ehe turned back to Claudia with a smirk. "I've still got it."

She nodded, a disgusted look on her face. "Yeah, totally, can y'all do that...not around me? Ever again? Please?"

His smirk dropped and he looked guilty. "Claudia, I--that was--"

She raised a hand, moving past him. "Dude, it's your business, I don't care but just...um, it was weird to watch, please keep it in the bedroom."

♥✰♥

okieeee new chapter hehe. I'll probably write another one and either put it up today or tomorrow and possibly do spaceman and the moon. I'm really excited about this story!! and I can't believe how much love it's already gotten, thank you guys so so much. as you can see....the Doctor and Claudia are definitely only friends rn and that'll change at some point buuuut not for awhile. it's not as fast as him and luna so yeah:) but!! she's going through it and I can't wait for the next chapter and I'm soooo so so excited for impossible planet omfg I have so many plans y'all are not ready. okay so let me know what you guys thought! please leave comments I love reading and responding to them!! and don't forget to vote!! don't be a silent reader! and please stay safe!!:) - osw