As The Doctor and Thomas emerged from the relocated TARDIS, they were met by Gemini, arms crossed and a smirk on her face.
“What’s that face for?” The Doctor grinned coyly.
“You’re about to have to move again,” she replied.
Sure enough, the elderly mechanic Timothy Rowlett hobbled out from around the TARDIS—now parked directly in front of his shop’s barn doors. The man’s short stature was paired with his unusually toned arms, and his short white hair starkly contrasted his brown, and thinning, skin. He appeared to be wearing the same shirt and overalls he had worn for the last ten years from the amount of wear and tear they had experienced.
His entire body tilted as he looked up and down the TARDIS. “Don’t tell me I need to fix this.” His voice, despite being worn with age, was still as spry as ever.
“No, but—”
“Good,” Timothy put his hands on his hips, eyes still on the blue box. “But I can’t get a tractor in here with this in the way.”
Gemini found a wistful smile. Timothy rarely let anyone finish a sentence. “Yes, sir; we’ll get it moved.”
“I don’t understand,” The Doctor mumbled under his breath as he waved his hands in annoyance. “The TARDIS shows all of this as abandoned!”
“Westfall’s not that dead, yet,” Thomas raised an eyebrow.
“Why don’t you move it to the roof; that’ll be out of the way.” Gemini called as The Doctor shut the door. “And, speaking of Westfall,” she turned to Thomas. “What’s the plan?”
“Well, we’re gonna—”
“Hey, if you’re here, where’s Hudson?” Timothy butted into the conversation, despite his head barely reaching Gemini’s nose.
Gemini’s train of thought was promptly derailed. “He’s not here?”
“Nope. Haven’t seen him since this mornin’. Some help he’s been today,” the man added with heavy sarcasm as he hobbled away. He stepped around the dematerializing TARDIS as if it were nothing new.
“He looked a bit rattled when we left the hospital,” Thomas frowned, noting Gemini’s worried expression. “He’s prob’ly at the chapel if he ain’t here.”
She nodded quietly, glancing up at the roof of the mechanic shop as the TARDIS came into view.
“Better?” The Doctor called, peeking over the shallow wall of bricks that formed the edge of the roof.
“Perfect.” She gave him a thumbs-up.
He started glancing around. “How do I get down?”
“There’s a ladder on the back,” Gemini stopped to smile as Timothy shouted the same from inside the garage.
“Right-o!” With that, he disappeared.
“To answer yer question,” Thomas regained her attention, “I’m gonna talk to a few folks tonight and pray about it,” he straightened his stance. “But I reckon we’ll stay through the end of harvest, and then we’ll be ready to go.”
Her face brightened. “You’re going to come with us?”
“I told yeh before, I can’t think of anything better for Westfall’s survival than moving elsewhere.” He twisted the side of his moustache with his fingers. “I know some folk’ll be wary about leaving this place, but Westfall is more than this place. We can still be our town without these buildings.”
“The heart of the town is what matters,” she smiled at him, “and this town has a lot of it.”
He smirked as he started to step aside. “Look who’s talkin’.”
She watched him walk away with a short wave in the direction of his in-laws’ farm. An amused smile had filled her face.
The Doctor stepped up to her, also smiling as he rocked on his feet. “Well, my meeting went well,” he said as he met her eyes.
“Are you two friends now?” She cracked a toothy grin.
“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” he chuckled, “but we’re at least on the same page.”
“So, if he agrees, they’re going to be here ‘til the end of harvest?”
“It would seem so.”
She tilted her head curiously. “Are we going to stay here, too?”
“Why not?” He tilted his head the same way. “Would you like to?”
Her eyes wandered down the road, a sentimental grin remaining on her lips. The windows of the buildings glistened in the light, and the shadows from the wooden porches and facades fell along one side. She could see Frieda carrying a basket of bread back from the bakery. Randall was throwing a ball back and forth with his young son in a grassy field down the street. A clanking in the shop beside her drew her attention to Timothy as he started hammering out a sheet of metal.
Her smile faded as her eyes grew distant. “I need to find Hudson.”
The Doctor leaned his head into her line of sight. “Is everything all right?”
“I hope so.”
The Doctor gently offered his hand, and she took it gratefully.
The walk through town seemed twice as long as residents continually stopped them along the way. Many recognized The Doctor from the market the day before, and they expressed their pleasure in knowing someone who knew The Wildfire was visiting Westfall. For Gemini, it was both touching and frustrating to be interrupted.
As they approached the chapel, her eyes couldn’t help but wander the scene. The tall steeple still rose high above the buildings around it, but the cupola it sat upon had seen better days. The tin roof was still in place, and the worn, wooden walls were still sturdy. Behind it, beyond overgrown tufts of grass around the iron gate, lay the graveyard. The wooden doors that led inside the chapel, however, were wide open. More red flags clouded her mind as she released The Doctor’s hand and rushed up the steps.
At the edge of the last pew, the back of a man was hunched heavily over his knees. His head was in his hands, and he was sobbing softly towards the floor.
Gemini’s hearts sank. “Hudson?”
The man sniffed in a sharp breath through his nose. “Oh—” He twisted his body to look toward the door. “Ms. Gemini—Doctor Smith,” he sniffled again, turning his face away as he stood. He nervously dug a handkerchief form his pocket and attempted to wipe his face.
The Doctor nudged her forward as he remained in the doorway, and she was at his side moments later. “What’s wrong?” She murmured as if afraid to know the answer.
He swallowed, his lips pinched in a tight frown. His eyes were red and still wet. He offered a glance up to The Doctor, still near the doorway, before turning his attention back to the woman at his side. “I just...” he sniffed another breath and swallowed again. “It broke my heart knowin’ what you’d been through.”
Gemini bit her lip, taken aback by his sorrow-filled answer.
“I hate that you had to hurt so much,” he shook his head, his body slumping from the emotional weight. “I know you’ve been scared; not gettin’ older while the rest of us were. But hearing all that...” He winced and dropped his gaze.
She used his lower posture to tuck her head against his and wrap her arms around his back. She felt his arms clutch her tightly in return as he shuddered through a residual sob.
“I thought keeping my distance would save me the heartache, but it just made it worse...” She sighed, frowning a bit as the two released from their embrace. “These last few years were brutal. I shouldn’t have pushed you away... And yet, despite it all, you still came and brought me food.” She took his hand. “I made it through because of you.”
He squinted at her. “You’re always puttin’ me up higher than I should be,” he tried to smile as he sniffed again.
“It’s about time someone does,” she squeezed his hand.
Hudson let out a deep breath to regain his composure. “I’m real glad you’re back now.” The kind smile had finally returned to his lips.
“Me too. It seems like we’re all getting a second chance.”
“That’s why I’m mighty glad Doctor Smith finally found you.” Hudson turned to The Doctor as the man started over to them. “Sir, I don’t have to hug her like that if you don’t—”
“Are you kidding? Come ‘ere!” The Doctor stepped in front of Gemini and grabbed him in a hug of his own—and even he was somewhat dwarfed by Hudson’s size.
Hudson was clearly confused, but he accepted and hugged him back nonetheless.
“I’m glad to know she was in good hands—very good hands, in fact,” The Doctor grinned, keeping his elbows tucked at his sides. “Very good hugs, too; I can see why you thought so,” he glanced at Gemini.
Her face was flushed, but she managed to smirk through it as Hudson finally found a short laugh.
“Y’all are mighty kind, but I’m not that special,” he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Over a thousand years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t special.” The Doctor ribbed. “And anyone who can care about Gem the way you do is high on my own list of special people.”
Hudson again looked away bashfully, but The Doctor and Gemini were distracted by a silhouette appearing at the door. The thick mass of curls was quick to give her away.
“There y’all are!” Lillith stepped inside. “I’ve been wanting to talk to this one,” she offered a pointed finger at The Doctor. “I’m a doctor, too, after all.”
“I’m just one by name,” he shrugged.
“So am I.”
“Well, in some places, a doctor has to go through years of study to receive the title.”
Lillith’s smirk grew. “That’s all I did.”
“All right, then, Ms. Doctor,” the Time Lord crossed his arms, grinning toothily. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve love to pick your brain,” she returned the grin, “but I mostly wanted to thank you.”
“Because I didn’t keep the TARDIS parked in front of your place?” He nudged cheekily.
Lillith laughed and leaned her arm on the pew beside her. “I want to thank you for rescuing us.”
“Ah, well,” The Doctor waved her off.
“Oh, I’m real excited about it,” Hudson’s eyes lit up as he glanced at Gemini. “I’ve never lived anywhere else before. I only ever visited Eastland once after the fire. I was just a scrawny kid, then.”
“I’m having a hard time picturing you as scrawny,” The Doctor chuckled.
“I was a scrawny kid back then, too—left behind in charge of the whole medical ward at the ripe old age of nineteen!” Lillith chuckled with her hands on her hips.
“William knew you could do it,” Hudson grinned. “Mrs. Beth, too.”
Lillith’s smile faded as she lost eye contact. “Mrs. Beth,” she sighed wistfully. “I still miss her. I miss them both.”
“They were good people; they always believed in us,” the preacher glanced at his shoes.
“William’s the other guy I told you about,” Gemini mentioned to The Doctor while the two friends grew nostalgic. “He was the one who knew my name and my story.”
“Wait, Will knew your name, too?” Lillith straightened, peeking into their conversation.
“It just sort of came up,” Gemini idly ran her fingers over the chain of her necklace. “But I told him I wasn’t Gemini yet, and he said...” She paused for a moment, her brows furrowing. “He said I’d be Gemini again when The Wildfire was quenched,” she concluded softly, eyes still focused elsewhere.
Lillith smirked. “Will and his puns.”
Hudson, however, seemed to catch the same thing Gemini had.
Their eyes met, and Gemini nodded. “Could you excuse me and Hudson another minute?” She turned to The Doctor.
“Of course,” he nodded. “I’d like to have a chat with Ms. Doctor anyway.”
As the two doctors reconvened at the back of the room, Gemini and Hudson slipped away near the altar.
“William had told me how water was involved in the path of following God and his Son,” she huddled close, speaking softly despite ample room between conversations.
“Baptism,” Hudson replied succinctly.
“Yes,” she nodded, eyes wandering as smile played on her lips. “His words were so much more than just a pun: The Wildfire—and all the past I was hanging onto—needed to be quenched and forgiven in order for me to be me again.” She bit her lip, returning her gaze to his eyes. “I struggled with taking that step—along with everything else, as you know quite well.” She gave him a knowing, albeit sheepish smirk.
He smiled and shook his head in dismissal. “We all struggle.”
“Even you, Mr. Hopeful?” She smiled.
“Hey, I’m human, too.” He looked at her, playfully incredulous—only to freeze. “Oh, wait.”
She laughed, but it soon faded as she glanced aside. “While I was pushing all of you away, I was pushing God away too.” Her eyes narrowed despairingly, focused far beyond the cross hung on the wall beside them.
“Ms. Gemini?”
She looked at him in realization. “But just like you, God never stopped caring about me. In fact, he has done nothing but bless me. Despite what I’ve done, he gave me a town in need of protection, and he gave me the tools and skills to do it. He gave me William when I needed someone to set me straight and show me a better path. He gave me Lillith and the others to hold me accountable and give me people I could count on. And he gave me you when I needed a companion,” she said softly, “someone to care about me... and show me his unconditional love in a way I could understand.”
He ran his fingers up her arm to touch the worn blue bracelet that still adorned it. “I hope you know you’ve done the same for me,” he could barely whisper the words.
“And then, when I thought I’d lost everything, he gave back the one thing I thought I’d never have again.” She glanced down the aisle to The Doctor, watching him chuckle through his discussion with Lillith. “And he opened my eyes to see everything I’d been missing.”
It was her turn to let out a deep breath, and Hudson’s dark eyes looked deep into hers as she squared herself with him.
“I don’t need to put this off anymore,” she said firmly. “I have no more excuses. Besides,” grateful tears threatened to form at the edges of her eyes, “I need to do this so I can truly meet you at the end of the finish line.”
His lips tugged as his eyes widened. He squashed them shut as he grabbed her in a tight hug. “I would want nothin’ more.” His smile beamed as tears of joy ran down his face and fell into her hair.
- - -
She stood on the bank of the creek, barefoot in her white shirt and jeans. She felt a multitude of emotions pulsing within her: fear, nervousness, anxiety; but also determination, anticipation, and hope.
The preacher had already entered the water and was holding out his hand to her.
His smile wore off on her. She could also feel love.
Unconditional love; a love that would never end; a love far beyond that of any human, or Gallifreyan.
She took Hudson’s hand and stepped into the water, shrinking at first from the cold. She fought through the chill and stepped beside him, the water coming up to her waist. The warmth from the hand on her back countered the cold. With a simple profession of faith, she brought her hand to her nose and shut her eyes.
She was laid into the water like a burial. Without breath, without light, she remained still in the coldness of certain death.
But the hand on her back raised her up. She broke from the water, bathed in the orange light of evening. She gasped more from the cold than a lack of breath. She trembled as she stood, more from the freedom of leaving the weight of her past behind her than from weakness. She looked to the sky with wide eyes, tears falling with the water dripping from her body, more from joy than could ever be from sorrow.
“We welcome our new sister,” Hudson’s gentle voice returned behind her as his hands grasped her shoulders, “Gemini.”
Gemini turned to him as her name was spoken. At last, it fit her. At last, The Wildfire was quenched, and Gemini was restored.
Her eyes lost their focus. Baptism was more than putting out the flames of her old life; it was being restored to a new, imperishable life. Even her body had become new; one rooted in spirit that would pass beyond the physical world. She had, in a way, regenerated once more.
“May God be praised,” Hudson beamed as he looked upon her.
She smiled and leapt into his arms. He hugged her tightly for a moment before pulling her up to carry her back to the bank. Laughing from the emotions bubbling from within her, Gemini held tight until he set her down in front of The Doctor.
Grinning from ear to ear, and despite her drenched state, The Doctor grasped her in a warm and honored embrace. She held onto him as if to never let go.
Lillith jokingly wrapped the blanket meant for Gemini around them both, and once they parted, she bundled up within it to shield against the cold air the water had accentuated.
Carla provided her with a hug that could have rivaled Hudson’s for tightness. Even Thomas, though he started by extending his hand, ended up pulling the woman into a hug of his own.
“Yeh never cease to amaze me,” he joked, resting his hands within his pockets.
“I’m glad I keep you on your toes,” she returned.
His smile turned more genuine. “Welcome to the family, Ms. Gemini.”
“I’m so glad to be a part of it,” she smiled too. It spread wider when The Doctor’s hand returned to her back and she cozied against his side.
At last.
At last, surrounded by her new family and the man she loved, still wet from the waters of the creek, she truly felt as if she were a part of the small community called Westfall.
Her debt had been paid; her lost state had been redeemed.
Gemini had truly been found.
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Chapter Notes