A Dust of Snow, From a Hemlock Tree

The pair were sat in silence again, The Doctor had redressed himself, but Mary sat, curled up, nude in one of the armchairs that littered the TARDIS console. The Doctor stood at the console, mindlessly flipping switches one way, only to flip them back.

"We can't do this again." Mary said, so suddenly it caused the Doctor to jump and look up at her.

"What?" He asked, furrowing his brow.

"I said, we can't do this ever again." Mary repeated, hugging her naked legs while she rested in the armchair. Her eyes were fixed to the floor, and she seemed to be refusing to look at him.

"Could I ask why?" The Doctor asked, confusion entering his voice. "Percy is my beloved." She said, but her voice seemed empty, without feeling.

"I'm confused... Didn't you come to me?" The Doctor asked, racking his brain. "Yes..." Mary said her voice quiet. "Please, Doctor... Just...Bring me home..." Her voice trailed off. The Doctor looked down and nodded, a small tear slipping down his face. "Alright..." He moved round the console and flipped the Time/space throttle, and watched as the TARDIS kicked into life, entering the Time Vortex.

"I... I need to go get dressed." She said, standing holding her chin high, if not for her nakedness, she would have been the exact picture of British pure ideals as she marched off to her room.

The Doctor took in a deep breath and worked on the console, flying the pair to Buckinghamshire, 1817.

The Doctor turned around as he heard the footsteps of Mary behind him, and saw her dressed in the dress she had worn when they first met.

"You look lovely..." He said, softly. "Please, don't." Mary said, raising a hand and shaking her head, keeping her eyes away from him. The Doctor sighed. "Look... Mary..." He started, running his hand over his chin. "... I understand why you want to go back, I do, but..." He stumbled for the words. "... It isn't like Percy didn't..." He started, but realized he was saying the wrong thing far too late. "What Percy and I did to Harriet was inexcusable! I will not do the same to my Percy!" Mary interjected, the words '*my Percy*' caused the Doctor to wince slightly.

The TARDIS suddenly let loose the echoing 'BONG' that signaled a landing.

"Goodbye Doctor..." Mary said, turning to leave, but the Doctor followed behind.

They both exited the TARDIS together. "I can find my own way, thank you." She said, she hadn't looked at him since they had were naked together...

"Please... One last walk?" The Doctor said, offering his arm to her.

Finally, Mary smiled, and nodded. "Fine..." She said, softer than she had before, but her eyes still did not quite meet his.

The pair moved down the small hill that the Doctor had landed them on, it was December, and there was a light snowfall coming down from the sky.

The pair walked in complete silence for the entire trip from the TARDIS to Mary and Percy Shelley's front door. Mary turned, taking her arm out from The Doctor's and finally... Finally... Looked the Doctor in the eyes. "Goodbye... My Doctor." Mary said, and smiled, turning and opening the door...

"MARY!?!" A man's voice shouted from inside the Door. The Doctor raised his eyebrow, he knew they hadn't landed much later than when they had left, he knew it... A few hours at most. Why would Percy be so surprised?

The Doctor walked in and saw what had made the man shout in shock...

Percy was laying atop a dark haired woman, both completely nude, Percy's dick shoved deep into the woman's pussy lips. "Claire...?" Mary said, her voice cracking. "Mary... Please... Don't... We can explain!" The woman called Claire said.

The Doctor racked his brain, the name Claire rang a bell when he associated it with Mary Shelley... Ah, right, Claire Clairmont, daughter of Mary Clairmont, Mary Shelley's step mother.

"Mary." The Doctor said, stepping up behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder. "Fuck you!" Mary shouted suddenly at the pair, then turned and hurried out the door.

The Doctor was frozen to the spot, on one hand, he thought Mary had every right to be angry about her husband and step-sister betraying her in the most depraved way... But on the other hand... She had just done the same?

It was at this moment, The Doctor realized that Percy was still thrusting into Claire, as both their eyes were laid upon him. The Doctor shook his head, turned and exited the door and looked around for Mary. He saw her footprints had run off to the left of the house.

"Where are you going?" The Doctor asked, following the prints at a brisk pace. She wasn't running back to the TARDIS, she just seemed to be running away.

Eventually, the Doctor caught up to Mary, slumped by a Hemlock tree, head in her hands.

He moved around to stand in front of her, and crouched down. Mary looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "You must think I'm a hypocritical idiot." She said, which rather surprised The Doctor, and he laughed. "No? Not at all." Mary glared at him. "How could you not?" She bellowed. "Look at me!" She shouted, scaring a bird that was resting in the tree. Snow plummeted down onto both of them, the cold causing both to shiver and shake, Mary let out a strange sound half way between a laugh, a scream and a groan.

There was a moments silence, and they both started to laugh.

"Good old Robert Frost." The Doctor joked, which prompted a questioning look from Mary, but the Doctor just shook his head and said; "C'mon." standing, offering her both his hands to pull her to her feet, she smirked up at him and took his hands, allowing him to pull her up.

"What happens now?" She asked, and the Doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure." He told her as they began the long walk back to the TARDIS. "History'll find a way, it normally does." Mary gave the Doctor another look of confusion. "What does that mean?" The Doctor gave her a side eye, and a knowing wink. "It means, you, Miss. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley..." Mary grimaced at the last part of her name. "... Are far more important than you would believe yourself to be." The Doctor told her. "Important to history?" She said, stopping in her tracks.

The Doctor stopped a few paces ahead of her and looked back. "Yes?" He said, raising an eyebrow. "You're not going to leave me here are you?" She asked, shaking her head. "The things I said in the TARDIS..." She rushed forwards, her hands on The Doctor's lapels. "...I didn't really mean them, I just thought... I thought Percy was my duty... My... I don't want to leave you!" She pleaded, but the Doctor gave her a warm, reassuring smile, and placed his hands over hers. "Don't worry Mary... I'm not going to leave you here." He promised. "But what about History?" She asked, worried about causing some kind of temporal paradox.

"Leave history to me." He reassured her, taking her by the hand and continuing to lead her back to the TARDIS.

"Besides... There's plenty more to see out there Mary... Planet's to see, Stars to align, civilizations to save, sonnets to sing, and stories to be written..." He looked down at her as she hugged his arm, refusing to let him go. "...Who put History in charge of what is going to happen anyway? It's all still waiting for you..." Mary smirked and added. "Waiting for US." She said, looking up at her Doctor. "...Waiting for us." The Doctor agreed.

Somewhere, somewhere deep inside the Doctor's mind... Doubt started to creep in... What if he couldn't do it? What if he couldn't fight them? After all, he knew precisely who had put History in charge of what happened, what will happen and what must never happen... And they weren't going to like what he was planning on doing.