Doctor Who: Amy, Captured Ch. 15

Part of her wanted to call out, to swear and shout his name until he came running right into her closed fist. And that would be satisfying, in a way... But the truth was, she had no idea what she would do when she actually saw him. She forced herself to continue; thinking about it would just allow realism to intrude.

Once inside, Mara was startled at how normal Walker's home outwardly appeared to be. Of course, the operative word in that sentence was appeared; in the same way that when he had lived with her he had appeared to lack a criminal record. The place was well lit, homey even; a half empty cup of coffee on a table hinted at the fact that he was home. Good.

She slipped deeper into the house, her apprehension growing with each passing step. At a sudden, human sound, she froze, peering her head slowly around a corner. And there he was. Her hands clenched into fists, shaking with exertion. She moved out from cover.

'Walker,' The word had no inflection, no emotive edge to color it. It just was; a simple method of attracting Walker's attention. He turned at the sound. He looked the same as before.

Oh, he had gotten older. But then again, so had she. And she could tell that he, at least, hadn't changed all that much, whereas he had forced her to change completely.

The same blond hair shorn close to his head, the same oddly dead brown eyes, staring out from a face that was always smiling. The effect was odd, like his head was arguing with itself. He was still devastatingly handsome, though, in that vaguely uncomfortable way of a distinctly crazy person with a pretty face. The tight shirt he was wearing left Mara in no doubt that nothing had changed there either; he had always been frighteningly strong.

And there was that hollow, cold realization that, when it came right down to it, Walker did look a lot like Sander. Some strained part of her mind whimpered at that, shuddered and curled up into a ball, gave her a lump in her throat. She could only cling to her knowledge that the similarities were just skin deep. They had to be, or else when Sander...

No, it didn't bear thinking about. Not now.

Walker's eyes narrowed as he turned from his workbench and caught sight of her. Slowly, his head tilted to one side, 'Mara?'

She nodded, not trusting her voice. Across the room, Walker's face split into a wide grin, and suddenly she wanted more distance between the two of them. He had always been totally unflappable, damn him...

'Well, well... Hello again, little dove,' He said slowly, voice like oil on water. 'It's been something of a long time, hasn't it? You've been out of my sight for quite a while.'

'Don't call me by that name,' She managed to say, falteringly, with her voice twanging with rage.

'You liked it last time,' Walker pouted. 'When I whispered it in your ear at night, you used to scream...' He caught sight of her expression and looked away, 'But I suppose things change, don't they, little dove?'

'You haven't,' Mara said weakly. Her back was against the wall, she knew it. Damn it, why was this so hard?

'Why are you here, Mara Syfte?' Walker turned back to whatever he had been doing before she interrupted him. Mara got the distinct idea that she didn't want to know what it was. He continued, 'It's been thirteen years since you abandoned me-'

'Abandoned YOU?!' This time her voice came out strong, screaming out from her throat and obliterating the lump that had been there before. 'Abandoned you!'

'You left the planet, little dove. Left me all alone, left me to run all by my lonesome.'

'As I recall,' Mara ground out, snarling each word. 'You left Vesperia first, Walker. As I fucking recall, you left me to take the rap for your little extracurricular activities.'

'Ah, yes,' Walker nodded sullenly. 'That might be true... My memory was never that accurate. In any case, I do hope you haven't come a-calling to sate some lust for revenge. That's quite a dull notion, and I do so get tired of people trying to kill me.'

'I'm only here to deck you, Walker,' Mara said, the words seeming hollow now that she was saying them to him. 'You're the murderer here, not me.'

'Yes I am,' Walker turned suddenly, the cool, devastating lines of a pistol trailing absently from a pair of fingers. 'Do you think there's something about me you forgot to keep in mind when you were planning to come here?'

Mara felt her blood thin in her veins. She felt light, like she was filled with helium. Truthfully, she had forgotten, or at least assumed that, since they had a past, he wouldn't try to kill her. This idea clashed directly with the cold, instinctive knowledge that, on the list of Walker's victims, much of the top of that list probably shared his last name.

The pistol flipped idly from hand to hand, Walker's eyes following it, almost spellbound, 'Now, this isn't usually my style. Lacks intimacy. But if I'm one thing, it's flexible. I think you should remember that, my Mara.' She shuddered at the suddenly possessive tone of his voice, but there was nowhere to run. No time even to think.

'Actually...' Walker continued, 'Why rush things? You and I, we used to have something. I'm thinking I'd like to rekindle that. What do you think, little dove? Before I end you, do you think I can make you scream like I used to? Can I make you mine again?'

He stepped forward, just slightly, but it was enough to make Mara squeak. Some tough part of her mind wondered when she had become so weak, but it was quickly drowned out by paralyzing terror. And then Sander was there.

He burst back into visibility, throwing all of his weight into Walker so that he stumbled back against the worktop with an incoherent cry of surprise. Suddenly, Walker was face to face with a pair of eyes that glowed with shaking, deadly fury. Sander's voice was like molten lead, dripping out from between clenched teeth with a force of feeling so deep and fervent that it was a wonder the word itself didn't break his teeth.

'Mine!'

The word was possessive, protective, deeply angry; like the growl of an alpha wolf. His hands shook, slammed onto the counter at either side of Walker's head. Mara felt her heart skip a beat; had he always been so sexy?

Walker was stunned for a moment, mouth open but no words coming out. But he quickly regained his senses and opted for action over words; his pistol pressed into Sander's stomach, and he pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Walker tried again. Nothing happened.

Sander's eyes still roiled darkly, but he spoke again in a deep voice vibrating with rage, 'You see, I've had a gun pointed at me before, Walker Ichihara. There's no other feeling like it, the way your guts turn to water. That's the feeling of somebody else holding your life in their hands. I didn't like it. Can you blame me for developing a little toy to stop repeat performances? Do you like it? Zero point field. Anything comes at me above a certain speed threshold, it stops.'

'Sander...' Mara quavered.

'Little dove, who is this man? Your new squeeze? New little boy toy?' Walker gave a rumbling laugh deep in his throat. Sander's fist slammed into his face hard enough to rob him of that laughter.

'Who am I? Excellent question!' Sander threw his arms wide. 'I am Sander Hackett. You may have heard of me, most humans have. I survived the Vesperian rebellion, and I just got through getting soundly beaten by one of the most dangerous beings in the universe, which should illustrate to you my commitment to staying alive. I don't always win the battles I fight, but I always survive. I keep going, Walker. Remember that: I keep going,' Sander's voice blazed with the threat of imminent violence. His eyes narrowed, and he looked for all the world like someone about to become a murderer. 'It's nice to meet you! I'm Sander motherfucking Hackett. I'm what you'd call the worst case scenario. Fuck with Mara again... Well, it's not a good career move. Basically... Run.'

Mara blinked in surprise, a thrill of deeply felt excitement running through her as Sander deliberately referenced the Doctor, of all people. Somehow, it made him seem even more impressive. He stepped away, reactivated his cloaking module, and Mara was treated to a rarely seen occurrence; exactly one half of a total ass kicking. Despite only seeing the effects of Sander's blows, Mara applauded wildly as Walker ended up sprawled on the floor. The gun disappeared from view into an invisible pocket, and Sander's voice sliced out of the air.

'I'll be waiting for you.'

Mara squeaked an unsteady noise to the affirmative, and Sander knocked on the wall closest to the door to signal that he was gone. Her legs shook, but she would be hard pressed to tell whether that was from fear of Walker or attraction to this new Action Sander. She quickly recovered, and walked over to Walker's prostrate form, cracking her knuckles speculatively.

'Oh my, Walker dearest,' She sang meanly. 'I don't think I'm going to be quite as nice as my boyfriend was. I ain't going to lie, this is going to be unpleasant for you.'

**************************

Minutes later, Mara skipped lightly out into the cold, coat wrapped tightly around her. Sander's voice slid out of the ether at her approach, 'That was quick.'

'We are not good people,' Mara shook her head and shrugged. Sander should know better than most how inventive she could be in her evil.

'Neither is Walker, but what do you want from us? We're the villains, Mara.'

'Yes, we are. And as to what I want from you, Sander Hackett... Maybe we should retire to that happily abandoned alley.'

'What does that mean?'

'I think it means that I want to fuck you in an alley, Sander. Because I'm nasty.'

'Invisible sex?' Sander said incredulously. 'Well, it'd certainly be a new experience- hey!'

Mara had taken the opportunity to cloak herself, locate the source of his voice and grab him by the collar and physically drag him into a secluded place. She was glad he couldn't see her, because something in that performance inside had gotten her very flustered; that had been something else. And besides, she was always open to new experiences.

For a moment, there was nothing to be seen except a trail of footprints crunching through the sparse covering of snow, marking a ragged trail as though two people were stumbling forwards. Light, airy, feminine giggling could be heard, followed by a heavy thud, as though a body had been pressed up against a wall. In an alley a little ways off, the ice on one wall began to rapidly thaw, set to a soundtrack of heated, increasingly frantic moaning. The volume of the giggling only increased, before it faded away entirely, replaced exclusively by the sounds of pleasure. A circular trench of shuffling, swaying footprints developed in the seclusion of the alley, slowly deepening and filling with melting ice.

Mara only stayed in Sander's arms for a short moment; possibly only just long enough to readjust her clothes and get everything in order again. She chuckled, just once by his ear, and then she was grabbing his hand and leading him back to the shuttle. Now that she had accomplished her mission, and gotten over this hot new fascination with Sander- at least for now- she just wanted to get off this planet as soon as possible. She wasn't even surprised to see a ring of dead would-be shuttle jackers lining the landing pad.

Some people would never learn...

*****************

The shuttle flight, landing and disembarkation went as well as one could have expected, with Mara's newly buoyantly light mood making everything just that little bit more entertaining. She joked almost constantly, with Sander's smile never seeming anything less that genuinely amused. If he was tired, he didn't show it, despite the many hours put into this little manhunt to begin with.

And Mara was feeling a barely familiar stirring deep within her, something she hadn't cared to indulge in for a long time. Well, Sander had given a convincing performance; it might be fun to try it with him...

When she led him to his- their- room, he actually rolled his eyes at her and called her predictable. Well, Mara was fairly sure he wouldn't be expecting what she would ask him to do. He was always so nice to her, but watching him with Amy, she knew he was capable of it. He wouldn't disappoint, she was sure.

Mara tipped him backwards onto his bed, then knelt by his feet. Now faced with the prospect of actually having to vocalize what she wanted, Mara was uncharacteristically uncomfortable, and found herself unable to meet Sander's gaze.

'What's up?' He sounded a mite concerned.

'Thank you. For earlier,' She said in a small voice. 'You were really impressive back there. All forceful and angry... It was kind of hot.'

'You showed me you felt that way, yes,' Sander shrugged.

'Sander, I... Um' Mara's voice faltered and fell away, her eyes drifted away from Sander's. She shifted her weight in agitation, chewing her lip; something in her was being incredibly difficult, and wouldn't allow her to simply ask the question that was weighing on her mind. She frowned, and her eyes caught Sander's for a single moment before dashing away with a tiny, half-formed squeak on her lips.

But he was watching her closely; a spark of recognition crossed his features. He gave a soft little laugh and reached out to gently stroke Mara's cheek, 'Mara, I think I know what you want.'

'You do?'

Silently, Sander stroked his chin and leaned back, a thoughtful frown developing on his face. He tried to call on the manic, rushing energy he had used on Amy; hoped he could summon it when it was needed. When he looked back at her, his eyes were unreadable, 'Take off your clothes.'

Mara felt a shiver go down her spine at the bluntness of the order. Okay, so Sander did understand; her eyes widened in unbidden surprise, her tongue stilled from the half-hearted protest she had been planning to offer. Her heart pounded in her chest as Sander sat watching, face impassive, unyielding and, frankly, expectant. She stood and quickly stripped off her thermal coat and the simple dress she had worn underneath. She never caught his abstract, faraway gaze, and when she was naked she dropped to her knees again, feeling it was somehow necessary. Sander smirked.

'This is kind of a nice change, don't you think?' He grinned, weaving the fingers of one hand through her hair. 'I mean, usually I'm struggling to keep up with you, and I suppose I still am, when you go and do something unexpected like this. I'd ask why-'

'Because it's fun, Sander. You know from experience.'

'Sure,' His fingers trailed the curve of her cheek until he was holding her chin in his palm. 'I do know. But you... You were awfully accommodating when you were in the driver's seat.'

'Because you'd never done anything like that before,' Mara said hoarsely, her skin prickling under his touch. This was so working for her, just staring into the fires of his eyes while he held her still, 'Wanted to start you off slow. With me-'

'There's no need, since you're so experienced,' There was a vague mocking tone to his words. 'You want me to use you? Take you, make you do what I want, and don't hold back?'

'That's the idea, Hackett,' A quivering smile washed across her face, vaguely encouraging while at the same time loaded with trepidation. Sander didn't usually sound like this.

'Well then...' His eyes flickered curiously. 'Tell me you love me.'

'What?'

His eyes shut, closing off his thoughts from her, as though she wasn't worth eye contact, 'You heard me. I've been saying it to you all the time now, but you never say it back. In fact, the one time you did, I had to prod you there, too. Well, you've said you'll do what I want, so I'll damn well hear it from you now, Mara. So say it.'

He was still holding her chin, and when her mouth opened, it took a while for the sound to come out, 'I do love you.'

'Again.'

When she paused and shot him a confused look, his fingers tightened on her chin, so hard as to be painful, 'Again.'

'I... I love you!' She choked. 'Sander-'

'Once more.'

'I... Love you...' Her voice dwindled away to nothing with a sob. A few tears rolled down her cheeks as Sander released her, firing himself up from the bed to pace the room, his back to her.

'Why is this so hard for you?' He growled, voice shaking with rage and something else...

'Sander... Don't go there,' Mara warned, her voice the smallest it had ever been. She eyed the floor between her legs, shoulders shaking. Damn it, she hated crying!

'No! Fuck you, Mara!' He was suddenly behind her, hands clasping her shoulders, face right beside hers. 'I asked a goddamn question, and you're going to fucking answer it right now! Because if you're just screwing with me for a laugh, I'd rather you just left-'

'It's because you'll leave me!' She screamed, not daring to look in his eyes. 'Like everyone else! Nobody can handle me for long without leaving...' She snarled with a bitter sob. 'Walker leaves... Dad leaves... Sisters leave... Everybody always does. Do you know, I've never had a continuous relationship with anyone?'

It was a terrible, frozen moment for the girl. Her soul was bared, so easily, her deepest fear aired for the man to see. And he just stood there, staring, motionless. The girl could feel her heart breaking; once again, she was too much work for the one she loved to bother with. What had she done?

She gasped as strong arms wrapped around her, his palms resting on either shoulder. She was still on her knees, so even this gesture of affection led to him towering over her, bent at the waist to get to her level. Normally he would have done something; hugged her close, kissed her, whispered sweet reassurances in her ear. But that wasn't the game now; they'd both travelled beyond that the moment he'd made her cross her most deeply entrenched internal line.

So instead, one hand molded to her shoulder, the other slipped down over the curve of her breast to toy with one nipple, rolling it between his fingers. She gasped again at that, and he laid his chin on her free shoulder, eyes staring resolutely ahead.

He spoke, 'You drive me nuts, you know that?'

'Yes,' She answered softly, her voice quavering slightly as he teased her nipple to full hardness.

'You make me insane, you drive me wild, I just wanna take a bite out of you every time I see you. Understand?'

'Yes,' She whimpered, not daring to look at him. Her soul still throbbed in anguish, but it was joined by another throbbing, from lower down. Sander switched breasts, and her sharp intake of breath indicated that he was doing it right.

'I love you to death, yes?'

'Yes.' Mesmerized.

'And you know I'm never going to leave you, right?' His voice thrummed with a deeply powerful harmonic that brooked no opposition. And the only possible answer was...

'Yes,' She spoke the truth. The beginnings of a moan, deep in her throat.

'Good!' Sander exclaimed, flicking her painfully on the forehead. His teasing ceased in the same moment, and Mara arched her back and began to complain, both at the demeaning pain and the sudden lack of his touch. 'Idiot!'

'Sander-'

'No, shut up! Eleven years, Mara!' Sander growled right by her ear. 'I had eleven years to dump your ass. And you think that now, now, just when we're getting to know each other, I'm going to let you go? No. You're all mine now, and I'm not letting you out of my sight,' His hands returned to their stroking game, just momentarily. She moaned, and he spoke again, 'We keep playing.'