unfeathered | Ficlet: Save Me From The Monsters

For

morgynleri_fic, who requested 'Ninth Doctor meets Lorne, preferably before he meets Rose. He sings for Lorne, in fact, and Lorne has to mention Jack, but not by the name the Doctor meets him under or as a Time Agent, or as a conman.'

Title: Save Me From The Monsters
Fandom: Doctor Who/Angel
Author:

unfeathered
Characters: Ninth Doctor, Lorne
Rating: G
Word Count: 500 exactly
Spoilers: Set after Not Fade Away but before Season One of Doctor Who
Disclaimer: Not mine
Summary: The Doctor goes to Lorne to find out if his future is really as bleak as it seems…
Author’s Note 1: For those who don't know the Buffyverse, the title is a reference to a line from Angel: "Handsome man saved me from the monsters" (Fred, Through The Looking Glass)
Author’s Note 2: Huge thanks to

becky_h for coming up with a song for the Doctor to sing!

Followed up here.

"All right, all right, I think three minutes are quite enough! Come and sit down, pumpkin, and I'll see what I can do."

Lorne watches as the Doctor (strange name, but that's all he's getting from the man) steps down off the little stage with undisguised relief and shimmies between the little round tables to join Lorne at his. The rest of the clientele in Lorne's new Vegas establishment look relieved too, and the next singer – a slimy purple demon Lorne can't identify – takes his place on the stage.

"I'm curious." Lorne twirls the little umbrella sticking up from his Sea Breeze. "What made you choose Time Stand Still? Not the easiest song to sing."

The Doctor shrugs uncomfortably, eyes on his pint. "I'm not that up on turn of the millennium music. But I knew that one."

Lorne raises his eyebrows. "I think there's more to it than that, Glum 'n' Gloomy. Time is what you're all about, isn't it? And time has been standing still for you recently. Ever since…" The Doctor winces, and Lorne holds up his hands. "Sorry. Just saying! And hey, I ran away from home too, but at least I didn't burn mine!"

The Doctor glares at him, and Lorne shivers slightly and looks down. Takes a deep breath and leans forward with a smile. "But things are about to start moving for you again, sweetcheeks. You're gonna have people around you again. A nice little English girl – actually, several English girls, though not all at once – " He chuckles, but stops when the Doctor gives him a dour look that threatens extreme violence if he doesn't get to the point soon. "Anyway, there's a man too… A handsome man – very handsome – hey, if you ever get tired of him could you give him my address? And he's going to be the one. The one who won't leave you. He'll wait for you, and stand by you, and – oh, he may do other things with you too…"

Lorne breaks off, because the Doctor's getting to his feet. "Thanks," the Doctor says, patting his cheek warmly. "Oh, and no, I'm not giving you Jack's address. I don't share."

Lorne frowns. "How did you - ?"

The Doctor flashes him a surprisingly bright grin. "You're not the only one who can read minds, sunshine. I'm just not very good at reading my own. 'Experience slips away' and all that." He straightens his jacket. "Right. London, spring 2005, is that right?"

Lorne nods helplessly, and the Doctor's grin spreads even wider.

"Good. I'm going to get things moving again, then. Going to go and find me a girl!"

Lorne watches him turn to go. "You know, you remind me of someone I knew. The heroics, the lack of humour, the sparse look, the dark sweater, the dark coat… though his was long and sweeping…"

The Doctor gives him another dark look. "I don't do long and sweeping."

But Lorne's seen the Doctor's future. He grins. "You will."

Note: Unbeta'd so if anyone has any beta-like comments to make, please feel free! :-)

Ficlet: Save Me From The Monsters

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