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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 20, 2010 23:42:33 GMT -5
"Only on the outside,"
At first, Addi expected him to do something like unzip his human skin to show his true, freaky alien form; so she was very glad and relieved when he simply put her hand on his chest... though she didn’t understand why right away. Her breath caught tightly in her throat when she felt his second heartbeat, and to be short, she found it completely and utterly fantastic. Though she did feel this way on the inside, her face was frozen in an expression of genuine shock – hardly comforting, it was likely, for the poor Doctor alien thing. But before she could stop herself, she placed both hands on both different heartbeats, her eyes wide with surprise. Awesome. Absolutely awesome.
"It is indeed,"
“Would you take me there?!” she asked, her eyes lighting up. If the Doctor was anything to go by, the lot on Gallifrey were probably the safest aliens for her to speak to. He seemed agreeable enough, and smart, and like he could teach her a lot that she couldn’t learn from the observation tower at school – a whole world full of people like the Doctor would have been quite an adventure for Addi. She would probably get her PhD within a week of her return.
"And I like earth... humans are so... well... I just like it here."
Addi lowered the large piece of strange looking metal that she found herself examining, and gave him an odd look. “Humans are so...?” she inquired, turning toward him and making herself more comfortable on the ground. Unfortunately for him, she was determined to fix the TARDIS up as soon as possible so that she could try it out... and if she couldn’t be of any help, she would surely annoy him until he got it done himself. He didn’t know the power of an Ackerman woman. Just like she didn’t know the power of an alien... or a spaceship... “Humans are so what, exactly? And be careful... humans have a few opinions of aliens as well, and I won't hesitate to shout them.”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Jan 21, 2010 0:59:58 GMT -5
For a moment, the Doctor thought he had frightened Addi by showing his two hearts, but as she placed a hand over each of this hearts, he managed to figure out that she was more fascinated than freaked out. Which was quite a good thing as far as he was concerned.
“Would you take me there?!”
"No," he said, perhaps too quickly. But what with Gallifrey actually being impossible to reach and his last run in with the other Time Lords still fresh in his mind... it just was not going to happen. "What I mean to say is... I can't."
“Humans are so...?” the Doctor hesitated. How did he put into words just how much he bloody loved the human race? Especially when there were times that he hated it... so much. “Humans are so what, exactly? And be careful... humans have a few opinions of aliens as well, and I won't hesitate to shout them.”
He laughed. "Believe me, I know." Sitting himself down opposite her, he thought for a moment before trying to answer. "Humans are so fascinating," he said. "Right across time and space you people accomplish the most amazing things. Sometimes... the most terrible things... but usually I come across the most wonderful humans." He paused and looked at Addi for a moment. "Take you, for example. Aside from causing me physical harm you've shown yourself to be intelligent, adaptable and you'll probably become a famous doctor of astronomy and show the world just how amazing the universe can be."
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 22, 2010 16:19:14 GMT -5
"No, What I mean to say is... I can't."
Addi must have looked completely crestfallen at this, and she tried her best to recover quickly. Surely there was some good reason why he behaved this way, because he had been so cheerful before the mention of his home... but after a moment of hesitation, she nodded and shrugged. “Fair enough.” He didn’t have to explain; his shortness was enough to tell her it was a touchy subject, so she simply looked at him in mild concern.
She had only met him just now, after he crushed her camera, knocked her to the ground and trampled her, and she was concerned for him... but she figured that it was probably the whole ‘two hearts’ thing. She really liked that, and seemed to find it devastatingly poetic. A guy... or alien... with two hearts can’t be all bad, can he? “I’m sorry you can’t go home, but I’m not sorry you’re here now. My life was epically boring until you crushed me with your TARDIS.”
"Believe me, I know. Humans are so fascinating, Right across time and space you people accomplish the most amazing things. Sometimes... the most terrible things... but usually I come across the most wonderful humans. Take you, for example. Aside from causing me physical harm you've shown yourself to be intelligent, adaptable and you'll probably become a famous doctor of astronomy and show the world just how amazing the universe can be."
He really seemed to rate his humans, didn’t he? Addi figured that he must have been very lucky for meeting such kind people, because she knew so many people who would have lost the only bloody marble they had left upon meeting the Doctor. She knew that she was different – she had always known that there was something more out there, so she didn’t need much more convincing to know that he was telling her the truth. It was both a gift and a defect of her personality – sometimes she was too quick to believe something if it was worded prettily enough.
“I wish it was that easy. Not many people see what you and I see when we look at space,” she said rather sadly, though his compliments did make her laugh a bit. Obviously Addi had a much darker view of the human race than the Doctor did. “I’m just afraid that if too many people learn too much about it, they will try to own it. You know, put a Starbucks on the moon—and hotels on Mars. Very few people see that it’s natural art up there.” She pointed upwards. “And art is something that you can’t teach people to appreciate... they have to experience it on their own terms... but that’s just my mad opinion...”
Addi shook herself out of the spiritual coma she often found herself slipping into, and raised her eyebrows at him. “So what’s your story, Doctor?” she asked. “Why did you crash? I’d like to get the TARDIS fixed as soon as possible so that you can take me very far from here, if you please.”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Jan 23, 2010 17:56:30 GMT -5
“I’m sorry you can’t go home, but I’m not sorry you’re here now. My life was epically boring until you crushed me with your TARDIS.”
At this, the Doctor brightened considerably, happy to turn the topic of conversation away from his lost home. "Well, travelling with me isn't boring" he said, squinting at the bottom of the control hub, trying to ascertain the amount of damage done there. "But it's not safe either," he warned. "I have this tendency to get in to trouble... pretty much everwhere or when I go."
“I wish it was that easy. Not many people see what you and I see when we look at space. I’m just afraid that if too many people learn too much about it, they will try to own it. You know, put a Starbucks on the moon—and hotels on Mars. Very few people see that it’s natural art up there. And art is something that you can’t teach people to appreciate... they have to experience it on their own terms... but that’s just my mad opinion...”
He stopped fiddling with one of the pieces of equpiment below him and looked at Addi for a long moment. "You were born on the wrong planet," he decided finally before returning to his fiddling. The TARDIS wasn't as badly damaged as she looked... she should be easily fixed.
“So what’s your story, Doctor?”
The Doctor hesitated, he really hoped she specified cause otherwise that would be a very, very long story.
“Why did you crash? I’d like to get the TARDIS fixed as soon as possible so that you can take me very far from here, if you please.”
He laughed and pulled out his sonic screwdriver to pull open a hatch below him. "Well... you see, I died, and then I regenerated but it was a bit too violent and the energy kind of messed with all the TARDIS' workings. Hence the crashing. But don't worry, we'll get her fixed up in no time."
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 23, 2010 19:19:31 GMT -5
"Well, travelling with me isn't boring But it's not safe either, I have this tendency to get in to trouble... pretty much everwhere or when I go."
“That’s alright,” she laughed, waving a passive hand at him. “Because I’m quite good at getting out of trouble.”
It was true: Addi seemed to be able to either talk her way out of any spot of trouble that she too found herself frequently in, or able to solve said trouble with some type of violence. Her ex-fiance, for example, seemed to create a scene whenever she came across him – and because Addi knew that he would hardly comprehend half of the choice vocabulary words she would have used in order to tell him off, she often resorted to just hitting him square in the nose. It worked that way for many different people: outwit them, or hit them... though violence often led to much, much more trouble than she was in in the first place. But the Doctor didn’t need to know that. She needed him, and anything that would hurt her chances of him taking her away was to be kept as hidden as possible.
...though if he was ever caught ‘kidnapping’ a woman of nobility, he would likely get in much more trouble than she could ever help him out of... but he didn’t need to know that either.
"You were born on the wrong planet,"
Addi just smiled at this, tilting her head to the side while she watched him fiddle around with the broken bits of TARDIS. That was probably the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her, and she would never be able the respond if she wanted to.
"Well... you see, I died, and then I regenerated but it was a bit too violent and the energy kind of messed with all the TARDIS' workings. Hence the crashing. But don't worry, we'll get her fixed up in no time."
Her smile froze on her face, and she blinked a few times. “You died,” she repeated, raising an eyebrow. “And you regenerated.” Of course he died and then regenerated. What kind of bloody alien was he!? The kind you better hope to be if you were ever born an alien, that’s for damn certain... “Awesome. Me too.”
Not knowing what to do with herself after this bit of information, she went back to poking around the rubble, chewing her lip hard. Absently, Addi drew her name in a pile of the dust. She wasn’t going to be much help to him... she was smart, but she wasn’t space-age smart. “Oi mate," she sat up straighter, remembering. "You owe me a camera... don't think for a minute that your charming ways and TARDIS will make me forget about that. I would like one from the year 7061.”
Frowning in the wake of her little joke, she shuffled over to him to watch what he was doing. “Tell me why you travel alone, Doctor?” she asked him quietly. “You say you've met wonderful humans... and yet you're alone.”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Jan 23, 2010 20:26:12 GMT -5
“You died,”
"Yep," he said, one of the seals of the hatch coming undone.
“And you regenerated.”
"Yep," he said again, another seal coming undone.
“Awesome. Me too.”
He laughed as he pried the hatch open and looked into the workings of the TARDIS. "It's just a thing my people do," he explained reaching inside and tugging on something.
“Oi mate," He glanced up from the hatch, his arm still inside, and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly. "You owe me a camera... don't think for a minute that your charming ways and TARDIS will make me forget about that. I would like one from the year 7061.”
"Hand me that," he said pointing to one of the pieces of TARDIS resting by her knee. "I can get you a camera from 7061," he said, nodding. "But you can't ever show it to anyone. Ever."
“Tell me why you travel alone, Doctor?” The Doctor paused to look at her. That... was a really hard question to answer. “You say you've met wonderful humans... and yet you're alone.”
"I..." he trailed off. This was a rather odd conversation to be having while his arm was shoulder deep inside the TARDIS. He slowly pulled his arm back and sat up, resting his head against the control hub. "I don't usually travel alone," he admitted. "Sometimes I meet fantastic people, and they come with me. Sometimes, they end up choosing to stay home... sometimes they're forced to leave..." He glanced at Addi briefly. "Like I said... it's not safe, travelling with me. So I've been by myself for a bit. But I learnt something recently that puts me in a bit of a predicament: Sometimes I need someone." He sighed. "I made a bad choice recently, while trying to fix everything. But it just made everything worse... if I'd had someone, maybe I wouldn't have done it. I don't know..."
He trailed off, realising he'd been rambling about the most depressing part of being the Doctor. He chuckled bitterly to himself. "Still want to come along?" he asked.
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 24, 2010 16:15:30 GMT -5
"It's just a thing my people do,"
Addi wondered how he could possibly be so comfortable telling her all of this so quickly after meeting her. How did he know that she wasn’t going to turn him in to the authorities or hand him over to scientists? Granted, she wasn’t about to do that and couldn’t imagine doing so, but still... he was very trusting.
"Hand me that,"
Right-o. Good. That was something Addi could do. She nodded and carefully picked up the piece of equipment that he had gestured to and passed it to him, trying hard to hide her excited smile. She was helping an alien! A real one! And she was fixing his ship! If only those bloody idiot Professors at school could see her now!
"I can get you a camera from 7061, But you can't ever show it to anyone. Ever."
How boring.
"I... I don't usually travel alone, Sometimes I meet fantastic people, and they come with me. Sometimes, they end up choosing to stay home... sometimes they're forced to leave..."
Addi swallowed and looked down, guilt suddenly niggling at her. She had no idea that what seemed like a harmless question was going to be such a bummer. As well as the guilt, she now felt a bit worried. All of those people were, according to him, wonderful... but they’d left him, and she didn’t want to leave him for anything. He was the one thing that was going to save her boring life.
"Like I said... it's not safe, travelling with me. So I've been by myself for a bit. But I learnt something recently that puts me in a bit of a predicament: Sometimes I need someone. I made a bad choice recently, while trying to fix everything. But it just made everything worse... if I'd had someone, maybe I wouldn't have done it. I don't know..."
She reached out and patted his arm. “We all make bad choices, mate,” she assured him, shrugging a shoulder. Lord knows that she had made a few of those in her life. “Whatever you’ve done, we’ll figure it out... because if I’ve learned anything in my life it’s that being lonely really, really sucks the big one... and trouble is much more fun to get in to when you’ve got a friend.”
"Still want to come along?"
However ‘comforting’ her touch may have been, it disappeared as soon as she hit his arm. “Don’t be stupid,” she spat, smirking to herself through her hard exterior. She turned her attention back to the broken pieces around her on the floor and started rearranging them absently. “You’re stuck with me, even if I have to latch myself to the TARDIS whilst you fly away. I won't leave you.”
Realizing how cheesy that sounded, even up against everything she had gone on about earlier, she cringed a bit. “Unless you, like, you know... break my camera from 7061. I’m not sure I’d be as forgiving the second time.”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Jan 24, 2010 20:50:04 GMT -5
“We all make bad choices, mate,”
The Doctor looked down at his arm as she patted it comfortingly. He knew everyone made bad choices... but the fate of the universe didn't tend to hinge on everyone's choices. Just his.
“Whatever you’ve done, we’ll figure it out... because if I’ve learned anything in my life it’s that being lonely really, really sucks the big one... and trouble is much more fun to get in to when you’ve got a friend.”
"Wise beyond your years," he said, a small smile spreading across his face. The smile disappeared briefly as she hit him on the arm. Violent young woman, wasn't she?
““Don’t be stupid, You’re stuck with me, even if I have to latch myself to the TARDIS whilst you fly away. I won't leave you.” He just looked at her for a long moment. He knew she couldn't stay with him forever, and at some point, she would want to leave. But he appreciated the sentiment. “Unless you, like, you know... break my camera from 7061. I’m not sure I’d be as forgiving the second time.”
Laughing, the Doctor nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." He tossed the piece of TARDIS she had handed him into the air before catching it and nodded to himself. "Right, better get the old girl working again, or no one's going anywhere."
He reached back into the TARDIS, this time attaching the small piece to a system inside. Pausing for a moment, he frowned at himself rethinking what he was actually trying to do with the piece. After going over the plan several times in his head, he nodded to himself and firmly attached the piece before pulling his hand out and resealing the hatch.
"Now... let's hope that actually worked," he said, grinning at Addi before getting to his feet and pulling down a lever. When nothing happened, the Doctor frowned, picked up the hammer laying at his feet and hit the lever hard, forcing it down lower. All the lights inside the TARDIS came to life and the Doctor's grin widened. "There we go!"
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 27, 2010 17:31:17 GMT -5
"Right, better get the old girl working again, or no one's going anywhere."
Addi nodded firmly even though there was actually nothing she could do to help the process along. Leaning forward, she watched with new bright eyes as he went back to poking about at the inner workings of the TARDIS, and she tried to keep quiet. Her genuine curiosity was rearing its irksome head – she desperately wanted to ask what this did, or what that was for, but she didn’t want to slow him down. He probably wouldn’t have minded her questions, but she really just wanted to see it all working before she turned ninety-two.
Jumping slightly, startled when the latch closed shut, she looked up at the Doctor.
"Now... let's hope that actually worked,"
When he got to his feet Addi immediately followed suit, unable to contain her excited grin, and reached her hand out to touch the control hub. She couldn’t exactly explain it, but she had a strange feeling that the TARDIS needed a comforting touch as well. She could tell that there was something special about it... just like her camera, the TARDIS had a soul of its own. “Best of British to you,” she whispered quietly to the controls.
She started for a second time when the Doctor took a hammer to the poor defenceless machine, and Addi felt extremely offended. She was about to shout at him for behaving this way, when he cut her off. And he was smiling rather triumphantly, so that must have been a good sign... unless he’d gone mental. That was possible.
"There we go!"
Addi covered her mouth with her hands as the TARDIS lit up around her, her eyes as wide as a child’s. He wasn’t mental... he was a genius. “Smashing!” she cried happily, turning her gaze to him after doing a once-over of the whole room. She could have hugged him, she was so happy – but as happy as she was, she couldn’t stop herself from throwing a spanner in the works as she suddenly took a glance back at the door. She hadn’t expected him to fix it all so soon. She hardly had enough time to mentally prepare herself for this.
“Are you sure you want me to come along?” she asked him rather nervously, lowering her hands.
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Jan 29, 2010 3:02:09 GMT -5
The Doctor was quite relieved, to say the least, watching the TARDIS right herself. He had been sure, of course, that what he had been doing would fix her but it was always nice to have ones suspicions confirmed. Especially with such a display of life.
"You're welcome, old friend," he said, patting the controls affectionately and tossing the hammer into the corner of the room somewhere.
His eyes fell on Addi, who looked liked she was thoroughly enjoying herself upon seeing the TARDIS fixed. The look of joy on her face was just as wonderful as the happy lights now surrounding them. He did so enjoy making people happy.
“Are you sure you want me to come along?”
Hesitating slightly, the Doctor looked at the girl closely. "It would be my honour," he said finally bowing slightly to her. "To take you across time and space until you get sick of me. But," he paused for a moment, looking about the room and thinking about what past companions of his had been like while travelling with him. One in particular stuck out. "But, if, you know, you'd like to take a moment to prepare yourself, maybe pack a bag... I could always drop you home first."
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Jan 30, 2010 14:17:32 GMT -5
"It would be my honour, To take you across time and space until you get sick of me. But, But, if, you know, you'd like to take a moment to prepare yourself, maybe pack a bag... I could always drop you home first."
Addi had no idea what about her would make the Doctor want to travel with her (after all, she had displayed a few acts of violence in the short time of knowing him), but her instincts told her not to question it any more. Nothing so exciting had ever happened to her in her whole life... and now, in less than a day, everything was different. If only she could go and tell all of the children in the world who dreamt of something so wonderful happening to them was actually possible... all those people dissatisfied with what they are told is ‘reality’... most of them would never even know about the Doctor and what he can do. Addi felt this was a shame. But she also was so grateful that the fates chose her – that he had chosen her.
She finally smiled at him and nodded. “That’d be lovely, thank you,” she said happily, and then added mostly to herself, “My mum is going to love you...” Her mother was even more mental about space than she was. Letting her know that her daughter was going to just skip off through space and time with an alien would be like telling her she’s won the lottery. Addi would probably have to beat her with a stick to keep her from trying to join them. “But as far as being prepared goes – have any of your mates ever been fully prepared to travel through time?!”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Feb 1, 2010 19:32:11 GMT -5
“That’d be lovely, thank you,”
The Doctor grinned broadly. He had been half afraid that Addi would change her mind and decide to stay home. Which was completely her choice of course, but it would be nice to have her along for whatever trouble was going on.
“My mum is going to love you...”
He hesitated, hand hovering over one of the controls. Mothers. This incarnation hadn't yet met anyone's mother and he had no idea how he would be able to deal with that... only one way to find out of course. However, he didn't know how good an idea it would be to tell Addi's mother the whole truth of the situtation.
"You sure?" he asked. "I mean, 'hi mum, this here is an alien and he's going to take me across the universe in his slightly broken spaceship' doesn't really sound like a winning speech."
“But as far as being prepared goes – have any of your mates ever been fully prepared to travel through time?!”
"Well..." he said, stopping what he was doing to think for a moment. "I guess that depends on what you mean by prepared. I mean, mentally, can a human ever really be fully prepared to travel through time? But I did have a friend who packed her entire wardrobe, hats and all, I think it made her feel better."
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Feb 2, 2010 2:20:25 GMT -5
"You sure? I mean, 'hi mum, this here is an alien and he's going to take me across the universe in his slightly broken spaceship' doesn't really sound like a winning speech."
Addi raised her eyebrows and stared at him for a moment, and a smile slowly broke through her studying expression. That sounded exactly like something her mother would go for immediately. She probably wouldn’t even look up from her tea while she waved goodbye. “Cheers for the concern, Spock.” Addi pulled the whole Vulcan hand salute and tried not to laugh. She thought this was very clever. “My mum loves this...stuff...” She hesitated and glanced around the TARDIS. “Almost as much as I do.”
"Well... I guess that depends on what you mean by prepared. I mean, mentally, can a human ever really be fully prepared to travel through time? But I did have a friend who packed her entire wardrobe, hats and all, I think it made her feel better."
Addi laughed at the thought of bringing aboard her entire wardrobe... she wasn’t sure even the TARDIS had enough room for everything that she would need to make her feel better while travelling through time and space. For instance, she would need her stuffed animals and cameras. And her horses. And probably a gurney. And about a gallon of vodka. But the Doctor probably wouldn’t approve of most of those things.
“I can’t imagine any of your friends were ready for this. They were probably terrified in the beginning... like I am,” she said kindly. It was the truth... Addi was so frightened of what she was about to do, but she knew that she had to do it, and she would regret it for the rest of her life if she didn’t. She seemed to trust the Doctor not to get her killed... not purposely, anyway. “But I promise to try and not lose my head. We’ll have fun, Doctor.” She looked at him closely, searching his face. “We both need some of that, I should think.”
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Post by The Eleventh Doctor on Feb 2, 2010 3:01:04 GMT -5
“Cheers for the concern, Spock.”
The Doctor immediately raised a hand to check for abnormal brow ridges but discovered his were normal and decided she was just making a reference to his alien nature.
“My mum loves this...stuff...Almost as much as I do.”
"Well that's different then," he said, now focusing his attention to the controls so they could get going. "Just as long as you make sure she knows she can't come... I can't keep two human women out of trouble at the same time... it's just not possible."
He made to enter a destination point but hesitated, his hand hovering over the screen. "So... where exactly do you live?"
“I can’t imagine any of your friends were ready for this. They were probably terrified in the beginning... like I am,”
A slight frown crossed his face. Had they been afraid? He supposed it would make sense, usually the first time he met his travelling companions they were in some sort of terrible danger or in the middle of the world being in terrible danger... and still they chose to follow him... he knew some weird humans.
“But I promise to try and not lose my head. We’ll have fun, Doctor. We both need some of that, I should think.”
The Doctor turned to her and gave her an almost sad smile. "Yeah, I think I could go for some fun."
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Post by Addi Ackerman on Feb 2, 2010 22:27:40 GMT -5
"Well that's different then, Just as long as you make sure she knows she can't come... I can't keep two human women out of trouble at the same time... it's just not possible."
Addi wasn’t so sure that he would even be able to keep her alone out of trouble, but she decided it was best not to point that out to him, and so she just chuckled softly. Her mum would probably make it even harder on him, so Addi would make sure that she was tied to the kitchen chair when they left. Just in case.
"So... where exactly do you live?"
“Lindisfarne Castle,” she answered after a pause. “On Holy Island, in Berwick-upon-Tweed.”
It felt strange to be going back home... she had almost vowed to herself that she wouldn’t ever return during a moment of incredible dramatics. Memories of her father were surely to haunt her there, even if she only spent a quarter of an hour under the roof of it. Her family was sure to be floating around too, and she was even less excited to see them. However, all of her things were there and she had to return. Like hell she would keep anything of importance in her little apartment near the university.
"Yeah, I think I could go for some fun."
There seemed to be way too many sad undertones in their conversation, so Addi brightened her expression significantly and stepped closer to him. She tried to prepare herself for what was about to happen... because she wasn’t entirely sure what that would be. “Good!” she said happily, grinning at him and then looking down at the controls. “Let’s have it then, Doctor! – wait, what should I be doing?”
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