Sweet little nightingale

Kate Mitchell-Swanson- aspiring FBI profiler, occasional SHIELD consultant. M!A: None but accepting

[lupusquattuor]

"Oh. Really? That’s great!" He patted at her head with his free arm. "SHIELD’s good, but…Dad’s been through a lot of tough times with them. Enough that they make me just a little bit uneasy.” He grinned. “Great. I’m glad they’re doing alright. …You don’t happen to have any cousins, do you?”

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Yeah. I mean, again, I do consultant work, but that's because they ask nicely. Also, decent pay. It all goes towards my dorm and books." Kate let out a loud snort, nudging him with her elbow. "You know I can't really tell you that." She stopped, thinking it over briefly. "Let's just say Gran likes to spoil her only granddaughter sometimes."

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

He started to object, then shut his mouth - more likely than not, Kate inherited Jo’s ability to argue, from what he’d seen so far. “…Yeah, alright. I’ve already crossed my timeline once, it’s not like I can do any more damage to it.” He joked, laughing.

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Awesome. Okay. We'll just pop forward a couple days and to the house- you mentioned this mission might only be a few days, and you left like, three days ago... I need a jacket. It's cold up there." Kate grinned at her grandfather excitedly. "I can't wait to see your face. I mean other you's face. Uh."

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

"Kate, hold on a sec-" He protested loudly when she picked him up, reluctantly pointing down a nearby hallway after a moment. Some part of him distantly wondered how much weight he’d lost from the events of the past few months for her to be able to carry him quite that easily. "…Thank you." 

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna drop you. I have to do tech with the Bellas sometimes, so I carry a lot of heavy shit." She laughed softly, starting down the indicated hallway. "We're family, I'm not gonna let you suffer."

[lupusquattuor]

“Noooo,” He cried, one part joking and one part completely serious, “I’m gonna be worrying about it for the next decade, damn it!” He laughed, squeezing her shoulder. “Didn’t say I had a problem with it! Following your mom might be the safer route, honestly. Hey, wait, didn’t even ask you about this yet - how’s Donna? And Mom and Dad?”

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Seriously, no big deal, Dad. There's no consequence." She leaned her head on her father with a big smile. "Well, that's the only thing that I copy of her at Barden. I'm trying to go into the FBI, actually." Kate scrunched up her nose with a laugh. "Aunt Donna's good. Gramps and Gran are okay."

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

"That’s the usual reaction." The Doctor chuckled, wincing as the side of his face stung from the action. "…Alright." Reluctantly at first, he looped an arm around her shoulders, unable to hold back a groan of pain as he was painfully reminded that he’d been running quite fast with his bad leg a few hours before, his injured leg going from numb to white hot shooting pains once he lifted his weight from it. He almost doubled over again, good leg shaking violently as he strained to keep himself upright.

[vicisparumluscinia]

She frowned at the state he was in, sighing. "You can't walk. Here- hold up." Kate maneuvered herself so she could pick him up, balancing him quickly. "There. That way you don't strain yourself. Which way, again?"

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

"…Great. Wonderful." He said, a heavy dose of sarcasm accompanying the words. "That’s good. Really - I’m sorry that I’m so down right now, it’s just…just the wrong time, I guess." He gave a short chuckle. "I’m a lot happier in your present, obviously?"

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Much happier. Bella's honor." Kate grinned at him. "Alright, I can't watch you like this. Come on. Taking a quick trip to the future won't hurt you. I want you to see that it's okay."

[lupusquattuor]

"No! No, no, no, don’t tell me that now!" He yelped, putting his fingers into his ears. He pulled them out, interested, when she mentioned Aubrey. "Oh, gosh. She does? She definitely takes after her mom, then. And by the looks of it, so did you." He said with a chuckle.

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Sorry! For the record, it's before I'm in kindergarten." She smirked and patted his shoulder. "Hell yeah, she does. I just didn't say that part. Oh. Yeah. I'm a Bella, blah blah blah, following in Mom's footsteps, freaking fight me, okay?" 

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

"Trust me, she’s usually much brighter than this. It’s been a bad couple of months for us." The Doctor approached her slowly, with a slight limp in one leg and one hand bracing against the console to keep himself upright. "Hello, Kate." He responded, giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile to make up for his current injuries. "Sorry for any leftover smoke-" He turned to the side as another cough interrupted him halfway, "-whatever was in it is causing this cough…although I don’t think it’s too potent, I did breathe in quite a lot of it.”

[vicisparumluscinia]

"No, like.... it's just hard to put my finger on, alright? Give me half a sec." She took in the TARDIS thoughtfully, shaking her head. "Nope. Nothing. Not a word I can come up with." Kate beamed at him- this was her, what, fourth time meeting her great great grandfather? It was bizarre. "Don't worry about it, I've had worse. Now, let's get you to the infirmary so I can take a look at everything." She moved to help support him, remaining cheerful. 

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

Sebastian went from red to a shade of pink, thoroughly embarrassed. “Please tell me I’m not still like this in the future.” He muttered half-jokingly, averting his eyes. “Don’t tell me that, that makes me do the opposite of calming down!”

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Oh, totes, you're actually worse about it. Gran thinks it's freaking hilarious." Kate chuckled and moved to give him a quick hug. "Really, though, don't worry! We're all okay. I promise."

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

"I can’t put them in danger, I wo-" At the mention of Diana, his speech came to a halting stop. The Doctor bit his lip, closing his eyes and releasing a sigh, turning away from the screen. "Diana," He muttered into the empty air, as if his daughter would hear him, voice barely audible, "a few minutes. For family. That’s all I ask." He stayed there for a minute or two before turning back, tapping at a keyboard on the console. "Alright. The coordinates I sent you will only work for an hour or so. After that, all it’ll lead to is empty space." He gave a gentle smile, just briefly, something else besides fear flashing through his brown eyes for the first time in months. "I’m glad that I get to see you in person."

[vicisparumluscinia]

Kate glanced down at the vortex manipulator, noting the coordinates that just popped up. "Awesome. See you in a jiffy." She shut down the video feed and retyped the coordinates properly, soon reappearing inside the TARDIS. "Oh." Her eyes lit up as she looked around. "This is what she looks like now. So much more.... bright in the future." She spotted the Doctor and hustled over to him quickly, sighing. "Hi."

[lupusquattuor]

"Well, you can’t expect me to react calmly when I’ve just been told that I’m having a kid in four years! I mean, you know me - or will know me -  I always overreact about things." David scolded jokingly, trying his best to imitate Sebastian’s angry parent face. He broke away from her, draping an arm over her shoulders and closing the manor door behind him. "Really? Glad to know! It’d be a shame if they all got along just because one a ca-girl got with one a ca-boy.” He said, laughing through the entire sentence.

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Yeah, you do. Like that time I swallowed a marble- oh. Yeah. Hasn't happened yet." She leaned into her father happily, grinning. "Oh please, Aunt Aubrey's daughter is a Bella. She still makes them say that whole part about their vocal cords getting ripped out by wolves."

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

"That’s an interesting way to look at it… There’s not much of a difference between SHIELD me and actual me, besides the name I use though?" All of his friends were from or currently worked for SHIELD, after all - and he was hunted down for both names he used. "Well, I- you- er-" He tried his best to come up with something snarky in response, but just ended up stammering and turning red as usual. "I really need to stop doing that." He said, once he’d turned a slightly lighter shade of red.

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Well, you're special, old man." Kate couldn't help but laugh hysterically at the look on his face, heaving and choking. "Oh my god, Granddad, the look on your face right now- absolutely classic!" She shook her head. "Calm down, it'll happen eventually."

[lupusquattuor]

"Oh." He reeled back, a little bit terrified. "Oh. Okay, now I know how Dad felt when I told him a while ago.” He gave a short laugh, hesitating for a little more than a few seconds before hugging her back. “Well, that means a lot to me, future daughter of mine. And, oh hey, you’re going to Barden? Has it changed much since I went there?”

[vicisparumluscinia]

"I said sorry! Come on, Dad, give me a break, I'm all addle brained and shit." Kate nuzzled into him, grinning brightly. "Yeah, Barden. A little, obviously, but it's pretty near the same. The Trebles and Bellas still have that rivalry, but it's not as bad as it was when you and Mom were there."

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

"It’s not-" He was interrupted by a third fit of coughing, to the point that he doubled over beside the console and had to remain there for a few minutes to regain his breath. "It’s not that bad. I’m always okay." He said, shaking his head in response to her. "I can’t stop. Not right now. I’ll be putting your grandparents and your aunt in danger if I do."

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Idiot. You don't need to stop, I stole- borrowed Granddad's vortex manipulator. Plane tickets home from Barden aren't cheap!" Kate pouted at the image. "Send me your coordinates and I will come and help you, alright? Keep arguing and I will tear a goddamn hole in the time space continuum. Trust me. Grandma Di taught me how to in case I ever needed to argue with you."

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

"Yeah…that’s my fault, I guess." He smiled sheepishly, although inwardly he knew how hard it must’ve been growing up, hiding an identity from everyone but the few that she could hopefully trust. He nodded in agreement. "…I really should actually go talk to her. All I’ve done in the past few months is pick up Donna for visits now and then. Guess I’m too scared of what she might say to me." He chuckled weakly, attempting to lighten his words somewhat.

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Again. We don't mind. It comes with the territory! I actually like it. It helps me distinguish between college me and consultant me." Kate chuckled wryly, nodding. "It'd be nice. You two need to get back together to make Dad so he can make me," she teased. 

[formerly10thregiment]

Granddad? What are you doing at Barden? Shouldn't you be with Gran in Albania?

…"Granddad"?

[formerly10thregiment]

"Ah. So even he has to have an alias, doesn’t he?" He sighed again, but at least he was smiling this time. "Yeah, I know. I met your dad - the future version of your dad - not too long ago. I know he existed, and now that I know you do too it convinces me just a little bit more."

[vicisparumluscinia]

"We all do. It's just the way life works for us, Granddad. We don't mind. At least, I don't." She wasn't bitter about it at all. "Well, there you go. So please, cheer up. No one's getting anywhere with you sad." 

[farewelltheten]

She's ridiculously desperate to get home- well, no, that's not very true. She'd just rather not cause a whole bunch of paradoxes. At this point her father isn't born yet, and he's who she'd normally go to... Kate prods at the vortex manipulator, hoping to get through. "Um, hello? Is this thing working?"

The console room was smoking. He could barely see through the stinging clouds, but was aware of the screen as it lit up, wires sparking as it did. Blood dripped from the tip of his nose onto the console, scarlet streaked across his forehead, the side of his face badly bruised. His ears were pounding from the damage, and the voice that came from the screen was similar enough to Diana’s that he panicked, shoulders and hands starting to shake as he responded, still staring at the controls of the console.

"You can’t have found me that fast, it’s not possibl-" He glanced up at the image above the console, squinting as the TARDIS cleared the room of smoke, not recognizing the girl whose concerned face flickered on the screen. He coughed as the smoke disappeared, wincing and clutching at his chest as he did.

"Who…who is this?"

[farewelltheten]

The Doctor coughed again despite the lack of smoke, not as violently this time, but now he could taste iron in the back of his throat and his vision briefly flashed red as he did. “David’s…daughter?” He repeated somewhat slowly, injuries dulling his comprehension. “So…my great great granddaughter, then.”

"I’m in the TARDIS orbiting Earth for now. I’m leaving soon." He swayed dangerously and gripped the edge of the console to keep himself upright, shaking his head briefly to keep it clear. "I’m fine… This is happening often recently. I can take care of myself."

[vicisparumluscinia]

"Yeah. Your only great great granddaughter. Actually, your only great great grandchild. Sorry. Aunt Donna was always so into SHIELD, never happened." She winced slightly at the cough. "That sounded painful."

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "Listen, you are not okay. Please, maybe I can help. I can't watch you like this."