Dust in the Wind [Open!]

[cityship]

|| Attention, crew, Attention. All personnel who wish to attend the funeral of Howard Bassem and Cedric Diggory, please report to the Observation Deck. ||

Once again, the Observation Deck is prepared for a sending-off of the dead. A hard pod containing Howard's body sits in the center of the room, with a much smaller pod containing Cedric's wand sitting beside it. The observation window is open, showing the attending crew a stunning view of a nearby fiery red star: the final resting place of the two fallen crew members.

Before the launch, though, there are goodbyes to be said.

Comments

[splendid_roman]

"If I could. But if any of them are like Howard, they won't go." Even if knocking them out and sticking them in the pods himself wasn't ethical, it still wouldn't work if the children then just hid.

[first_in_time]

"They'd have to be to have gotten this far," Barbara said quietly.

[splendid_roman]

"And it won't bring Howard or Cedric back," he said quietly.

[first_in_time]

Barbara folded her arms and stared at the wall. "I know."

"I was going to teach Cedric how to ride a bike," she said eventually, "and Howard-" the words caught in her throat and she covered her eyes with a hand as tears flowed once more.

[splendid_roman]

Ian had a lump in his throat as he strode over and put an arm around her. "I'm sorry." He should have been making her feel better, not himself.

[first_in_time]

Barbara sniffed and shook her head, wiping the tears as they fell. She probably looked a mess. "It isn't your fault. It's this whole damn business."

[splendid_roman]

"It's this whole war." He wasn't sure what to say to make her feel better - he didn't know what to say to make himself feel better.

[first_in_time]

"And heaven help us if we want to have a say in our own participation." Barbara wanted to wallow in self pity and cry over the loss of life longer but it wouldn't help. She pulled away from Ian and sat on a near by stool of Stacey's flesh, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Can we do something else?" she asked suddenly, looking up at Ian. "Can we get off the ship or disappear in the Sensoriums or anything where we can't be reminded of any of this?"

[splendid_roman]

"Yes," he said. "I want to hit something." It probably wasn't what she had in mind, but it would make him feel better. "Let's go to the Sensoriums." They could conjure up a punching bag for him and something for her.

[first_in_time]

She nodded. That wasn't what Barbara had in mind but, remembering how Ian had looked before she came over, she figured he'd prefer to do something like that. She got up from her seat and took Ian's hand to lead him away.

[splendid_roman]

He dropped her hand when they reached the Sensoriums. He just gave himself a punching bag and left Barbara to add in anything she wanted. He stood in front of it for a moment before punching it.

[first_in_time]

She watched a moment. The intensity Ian showed with his violence was hypnotising. Or she was tired. Maybe she was tired. Tired of aliens and time travel and death. She may has well have stayed on Earth with the Daleks and Jenny for all this mattered.

The walls of the room were plain, but Barbara wasn't interested in being somewhere pretty. Instead she held an image in her head, turned around, and found her bed. It wasn't the egonomical nonsense she'd slept on in the TARDIS, but a spring mattress on a sturdy frame with a simple headboard. The quilt she cherished, made by her grandmother for her when she was nine, draped over the mattress and two pillows were dressed in matching cases. A teddy bear she'd had for as long as she could remember, nestled between the two pillows.

Barbara lay on the bed, curled up on her side and hugged the bear to herself.

[splendid_roman]

Ian kept going until he was sweaty, aching and his hands hurt. Then he kicked the bag for good measure. By the time he finished he felt better for getting rid of his anger and he was too tired to feel anything but physical pain.

He needed a shower really, but he sat on the edge of Barbara's bed.

[first_in_time]

"Do you feel better?" she asked quietly after a moment.

[splendid_roman]

He sighed. "I don't know." He looked over at her. "Does the bear have a name?"

[first_in_time]

"Royal Albert," she replied and sat up, handing the bear to him for a closer look.

[splendid_roman]

"Hello, Royal Albert," he said with a small smiled. "He looks well-loved."

[first_in_time]

"I've had him for as long as I can remember. Probably explains the ridiculous name." Despite everything, she chuckled lightly.

[splendid_roman]

"And you still have him?" Ian didn't have anything that he'd had that long.

[first_in_time]

"Don't you have anything from your childhood?" Barbara asked, head tilted to the side, "books? Toys? Comic books?"

[splendid_roman]

He shrugged. "Some comics. But they were my brother's really, I just took them when he left home."

[first_in_time]

"How old were you when he left?" If Barbara was honest, she wasn't entirely sure she remembered Ian having siblings. They discussed it at some point, she knew that much but she couldn't remember the exact answer. And talking about anything was better than thinking at the moment.

[splendid_roman]

"Fourteen." But he didn't really want to talk about it. "We're going to get home," he promised her. "Howard and Cedric won't have died in vain."

[first_in_time]

Her smile was strained but at least she looked up at Ian. Why would she want go home when Daleks had overrun the place? Why would she want return to a life she hadn't seemed to have lived?

Barbara patted Ian's knee then hugged her bear. "What's something else we could imagine?"

[splendid_roman]

He shrugged. "I don't know." There wasn't anything he wanted to do, other than stay with Barbara.