TRIAL OF A TIME LORD: THE VALEYARD

Chapter Seven

"Father, where is Hamish?" Lucy, Hamish's wife, asked while she and their daughters, nine year old Zoe and five year old Moira, ran inside the house and Jamie got off the couch, his dog, Wee Jock, following close behind him.

"What are you talking aboot?" Jamie asked as he placed his arms on her shoulders and Morita grabbed hold of his right leg, placing her head against it.

"Pa-pa's gone," Moira said as she pressed her face against his leg and he gently stroked the top of her head. Jamie reached out with his mind but didn't sense his son's mind anywhere on the planet and his hearts slammed in his chest.

"Angus, where is Hamish?" he thought, pulling his eldest son's mind forward.

"I dinnae ken, Father," Angus thought when Rose's mind came closer and Jamie felt concern coming from her mind.

"We've lost contact with Rain's mind as well," she thought and Jamie balled his hand into a fist.

"The bloody sod is taking us one by one!" Jamie thought as anger filled his eyes and he looked at Lucy.

"Right," he said as he picked Moira up then took Zoe's hand and headed for the door.

"Attention all members of the McCrimmon clan, meet me at the Doctor's house right away. The Valeyard has taken Rain an' Hamish," he thought as he felt his children, grandchildren and Jenna gasp inside his head and Moira wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. Headed out of the house, he turned, whistled and Wee Jock came running out of the house, following close beside his master.

Traveling through the vortex, Compassion felt the fear within her and knew that Hamish was becoming frightened. She assured him that everything was alright and the energy that was her favorite teacher calmed down, making her smile.

"You're a very special lass, you ken," Hamish told her once as they walked together toward the academy and she smiled at him.

"No, I'm not," she has told him and he laughed, nudging her with the end of the stick.

"Aye, you are. You see, you an' I are a lot alike because we were both born blind. The thing that impresses me is how you didnae let it hinder you into becoming the wonderful lass that you are."

"Well, that had a lot to do with my family. None of them ever treated me like a..." she said then looked at him and he softly laughed.

"Like a cripple or a freak?" he asked, arching one eyebrow.

"Yeah," she said with a nod of her head.

"Aye, my family was the same. They never treated me like I was different," he said then smiled, shaking his head. "Though I do admit I'm amazed that I lived to see adulthood, having three older brothers who kept forgetting tae tell me aboot the stoop in front of the house. "Come on, Hamish, let's go play!" they'd shout and, bang, I'd fall flat on my face after falling off the stupid thing."

"That was mean!" she said and he laughed.

"Now you ken why I carry this stick!" he said, tapping the stick on the pavement. "But it was all in fun, see. My brothers knew what I was but never minded it. I would wrestle, dog pile an' run after them like I could see. You should have seen me after a rain storm. My brothers an' I came home looking like we were dipped in chocolate then hung out tae dry."

"Why did you want to be a teacher?" she asked as he sighed and felt the edge of a bench near his leg. Sitting down, he placed the stick across his lap and she sat down next to him.

"I guess it had tae do with my teacher, Miss Lancaster. She had been schooled in teaching children with visual an' hearing problems. Now, sending me tae a school for the blind an' deaf was expensive but my mother's father had money. Dad, see, he wasnae keen on the idea, even though he wanted a life for me other than begging."

"Was that the only option for you?" Namid asked and he nodded.

"So, after long talks with my grandfather, they sent me tae London. Imagine me an' my dad on a carriage, heading for London. I was scared out of my mind. I thought they were getting rid of me."

"I would have thought the same thing."

"My dad assured me that it wasnae the case an' it was fun sleeping at those inns. The matrons always took pity on me an' gave me extra food an' whiskey!" he said with a smiled and she softly shoved him.

"How old were you when you went to school?"

"I was seventeen. See, I attended school with my brothers an' sisters, where I learned reading, maths an' my mother helped me with my letters, but my teachers didnae ken how tae handle someone like me."

"You were the class clown, eh?"

"Aye, I was sent home with many a note in those days."

"Weren't you scared when your dad left you at the school?"

"Och, aye, I was but I did have a roommate, a lad named Andrew, an' we became the school pranksters. That's a grand feat, pulling pranks on the blind students. We didnae do harmful ones, mind. Just put things where they shouldnae be or putting stuff in the tea. Though, to this day, I still dinnae ken how he got hold of those frogs he put in Molly Fredericks' bed," he said and she laughed. "Miss Lancaster, she put up with us. She scolded us until our ears rang an' we had tae formally apologize tae those we pulled pranks on. I wasnae slack in my education an' graduated at the top fifth of my class. She wrote a letter of recommendation for me an' I got a job working at the school where I met Lucy."

"She didn't mind that you were blind?"

"Och, no, she thought it was sexy as...She liked me for me an' not for my blindness," he said and the tips of his ears turned pink.

"Uncle Jamie said that you're a really good fighter."

"Aye, I am good when it comes tae fighting," he said and patted the stick.

"Daddy taught me how to defend myself when I was blind. He used sensors that beeped when I came toward a target and heightened my sense so I could hear and sense anything around me."

"Aye, that's what I did, though I didnae have any beeping sensors telling me where things were. I just had my guts an' ears. Lucky for me that I had brothers who helped me learn the hard way just how tae do that."

"Show me," she said as she stood up and held her hand out. He reached out his hand as she helped him up and they walked away from the bench. No one was around as she watched him twirled the stick around until it settled under his left arm and he stood perfectly still. She wasn't sure if he was breathing as she softly lifted her foot to take a step toward him and he smiled. She didn't have time to move when he spun around, gently swept her foot out from under her and she fell to her bottom. "Blimey, you are fast!"

"Aye, mo ionmhuinn oileanach, that I am!" he said and smiled.

"What did you call me?"

"I called you "my dear student" in Gaelic," he said when he heard the sound of bells ringing and sighed. "Och, we're late."

"Well, I won't tell if you won't," she said as she got off the ground and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Ah, seeing that I am your teacher, I will excuse you this one time," he said as she took his arm and they headed down the path.

Sighing, Compassion wiped the tears in the corners of her eyes as she moved faster through the vortex and prayed that she would find her father and uncle before it was too late.

"Come on, Daisy, talk to us! Where are we going?" Adam demanded as Daisy zoomed through the vortex and he and John held onto the console.

"I am sorry," was the only response they got as Daisy started to slow down and twirled silently in the vortex. Adam and John checked the screens as Adam arched his eyebrow and blinked.

"That can't be right," he said and John looked at him.

"Why? Where are we?" John asked.

"We're in my universe."

"Why?"

"Because this is where I must go to atone for what I did to River," Daisy said and Adam looked at the ceiling.

"I don't understand. River's never traveled with you, Daisy. In fact, the only one who has is David," Adam said and the engines grumbled around them.

"He made me do it."

"You mean the Valeyard?" John asked.

"Yes, I didn't want to, but he ordered me to."

"Wait, I am getting really confused. You have never been to my universe, Daisy. The only other TARDISes that have are my brother's and the Doctor's," Adam said but the engines moaned, making them look at each other.

"Daisy, what aren't you telling us?" John said, gently stroking the console.

"She was so scared. I am so sorry," Daisy said and Adam frowned.

"She was scared?" Adam asked then thought for a few seconds. He paced back and forth when something crept into his mind and his mouth fell open. "Oh, shit, Daisy, how old was River?"

"She was two years old," Daisy said and Adam's hearts started racing.

"No, that can't be!" he whispered and John looked at him.

"What are you on about?" he asked and Adam sat down hard on the jump seat.

"You know that I killed my brother's Valeyard, right?"

"Yeah, but that was because he...kidnapped River when she was two years old," John said and Adam nodded.

"We never found out how he got into the mansion. That place had security up the ass. No one got in or out without someone knowing."

"And the only way to do it is either with a void manipulator or..." John said and Adam nodded.

"They used a TARDIS," Adam said and Daisy moaned around them. "But that can't be right! It was the Valeyard that took her but Daisy can't be his TARDIS!"

Suddenly a small robotic arm rose out of the console as Adam stood up and walked to the console. The thin metal claws held a silver disc as he looked at it and John titled his head to one side.

"I know what that is. It's the disc the Valeyard used to control the Doctor's mind when he worked for him. Alan showed it to me," John said as Adam took the disc in his hand and flipped it over, seeing a tiny mark on the back of the disc. Reaching into his pocket, he brought out a pair of black framed magnification glasses and put them on. John caught the disc after Adam dropped it and Adam took the glasses off, placing them on the counter.

"Son of a bitch," Adam said as John looked at the disc then at Adam and blinked.

"What?"

"There is a tiny engraving on the back," Adam said and John looked at the disc.

"What sort of engraving?" John asked while Adam pointed to the glasses and John put the glasses on. He looked at the back of the disc then he saw what looked like a T then some numbers and blinked. "That looked like the Torchwood logo."

"It is the Torchwood logo and those numbers are the catalog numbers."

"How do you know?" John asked, taking the glasses off.

"I know because everyone that works for Torchwood has to know all the catalog numbers. That is a Class 45-G control disc," Adam said then sighed. "We used them all the time on the weevils in my universe."

"And this is one of them?"

"Yes, Beloved, it is," Daisy said.

"And no one in our universe has them?"

"No."

"So, the only way the Doctor's Valeyard could have gotten hold of them..." John said and Adam nodded.

"He got them from my universe," Adam said and the engines whimpered around them.

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