A Reunion || Closed
Jenny sat leaned forward, studying her clasped hands as she sorted her thoughts. “Well…after you had left, the Source was able to heal the wound. I woke up around six hours after you and Donna had left, but I knew by that time you could honestly be anywhere. So, I ah…borrowed a pod and set out.” She permitted a small grin. “Piece of junk, that old pod was..but I loved it all the same. After a year though, I started to miss home. I was only going to visit, just a quick in-and-out, but when I got there I found a completely different planet than what I had left.” She sat up straight again, her eyes focused on something unseen.
“Cobb had taken over, made himself dictator- and he was a bloody awful leader.” Her eyes hardened as she spoke of him. “Ridiculous rules and regulations, with even more ludicrous punishments. It was absolutely disgusting. Once there, I wasn’t allowed to leave- no Messalinian was. After a few weeks, I was informed of the Matching system. The government apparently knew who we were best matched with, and they ended up pairing me with Cliff.” A softer look came about her, almost a glow. “You met Cliff, he was our guard, remember?” She snickered softly over the memory. “A year later, I had two twin girls- Donna and Martha, sweetest little things you ever saw.”
Here the story took a twist. “Cobb was becoming worse and worse, and I knew I had to do something. So..I started a rebellion. Cliff and I, that is- we had a huge volunteer army, and we would’ve taken over had we not been infiltrated…” She trailed off for a moment, lost in her thoughts. “That’s when I had my baby boy, John.” She grinned. “Looked just like you, ya should’ve seen him..”
Her eyes got watery, and her throat clogged up. This was the part she hated the most. “The rebellion fell- they slaughtered everyone, there were hardly any more people left…and it was all my fault, I should’ve been more careful..”
“And..my baby…they took him away from me.” Her voice wobbled, “He was only a baby, didn’t even understand what was happening.” And with that, the great soldier-turned-detective broke down. “They drowned him- my sweet little John, they drowned him to punish me for treason.” She buried her face in her hands, the pain overcoming her. “They took away my whole family, made me watch them suffer in the most unimaginable ways- burnings, whippings, all of it, to my innocent little angels and my..my..”
She couldn’t continue, couldn’t finish describing the awful conditions she had endured. She just cried and cried,
He cradled her in his arms as she finished her tale. He softly brushed his fingers through her hair, placing an occasional kiss on her forehead. After a while he realized that he had picked up a constant repeating mantra of “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” He wasn’t sure how long he held her, but once her sobs had started to subside and her body was still shivering violently he began to sing an old Gallifreyan lullaby that he was surprised he even remembered. She wouldn’t recognize the song, or even the language, but he hoped that the tones would soothe her.
It was strange, this feeling of safety- it was something the ex soldier knew she had felt once, but she had been fighting for so long, had been in pain for so long that she had forgotten there was such thing as peace. She held onto it, onto her dad like her life depended on it. This is was so odd- the hard, crusty exterior she had built crumbled, and suddenly she seemed as young as her own children had been.
But here, even though deep down she felt like a little kid, she found that feeling. She didn't want to let it go, but after a moment she managed to compose herself, the unfamiliar songs helping to calm the painful memories, locking them back into their corner of her mind. She took a deep breath, and sat next to the Doctor as she pulled out her wallet. "I have pictures.." She gave a wan grin, her hands trembling still as she fished out the folded pictures. They had obviously been handled a lot, but you could see the care they were given.
She handed them to her father. "Donna, Martha, and little John." She grinned as she pointed them out, full and bright as she looked at her family. "And there's me and Clint.." She trailed off, a warm, nostalgic feeling about her.
