Defining Brook: Fall

fall

verb \ˈfȯl\

to pass suddenly and passively into a state of body or mind or a new state or condition

"I know that look. Brook, I know that look, and you are up to no good," Foreman said.

"What are you talking about?" Brook said, with that same mischievous smile on her face. "I am just planning out my outfit for when I'm going to the 20's. I'm going to be a flapper!"

"I feel like you have another reason for doing this. I can see it from your expression."

She kept on smiling. "No clue what you're talking about, Foreman."

"No, you do. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Is it just me, or does it sound like you're flirting?" Foreman immediately turned red. "Better be careful with your words. Don't want to send out the wrong message. Well, anyways, I've got to go steal myself a headband or a hat or something. I'll be right back!" Brook ran off and grabbed the vortex manipulator, which had just been lying on the table. She put in on, plugged in a few numbers, and then vanished in a flash.

In just a few moments she was back, holding a sparkling headband and a hat in one hand and draping both a fringe covered dress and what appeared to be a suit on her arm.

"Ah, I can't wait to wear these! Foreman, this is for you!" She presented the suit and hat out to him.

"Oh, I'm coming?"

"Of course you're coming, you goof. Now go put on these glad rags and get a move on!"

She started to push him away. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Twenties speak. You might want to brush up before we go-ski."

"Yeah, maybe."

Brook smiled and shook her head and then ran off to go change into her outfit. Foreman sighed happily and went off to do the same.

Within a few minutes they were both ready. They came out and looked at one another. Brook had styled her hair to fit the time period better. She had really pulled out all the stops.

"Look at you, all dolled up! You look pos-i-tute-ly fantastic!" she said.

"Well, uh, you look pretty dapper yourself!"

Brook tilted her head at him for a moment, and then rushed off to grab her dictionary.

"Dapper. 1. A. Neat and trim in appearance. B. very spruce and stylish. But in the twenties 'dapper' means my father. Anyways...let's ankle it on out of here!" She delicately set the dictionary down and popped on the vortex manipulator. She tapped in a few codes and then had Foreman set his hand on top of it. In a flash they were gone. They reappeared in a whole different place where it was nighttime, only some street lights. Brook looked around, turning to see everything.

"Ah yes. I think we're here."

"But there's nothing here, Brook."

"Oh, but isn't there?"

She knocked on a door in an odd mix of beats and rhythms and then the door opened.

"Voila. A speakeasy." She went in smiling, Foreman following behind.

Brook blended right into the whole atmosphere, but Foreman just watched on it the background. Brook danced and drank for hours, and Foreman just stood to the side without saying a word. But he saw that Brook had suddenly decided to come towards him.

Brook was extremely drunk, and it was fully obvious to Foreman. She wobbled her way over to him, precarious on her high heels that were more like stilts.

"Oh, Foreman. You're the bee's knees. I'm so glad you're here."

"I'm glad I'm here too. Now take your shoes off."

"Telling me to take my clothes off?" she slurred. "That's awfully forward."

"No, Brook, I just don't want you to fall over and hurt yourself. Just your shoes. I want you safe." He held her shoulders to avoid her tilting over too much. She wasn't listening to him, she was just standing there.

"And how! But anyway, I just want to tell you, you're wonderful." Her words all collided into one another and her eyes were dazed.

"Thank you. Now, we need to get you out of here."

"Foreman, you're so wonderful." She laughed loudly and her head lolled back a little bit.

"Yes, thank you. We've been through this." Foreman was trying his best not to lose his patience with this impaired version of Brook.

"So...wonderful, swell. Now, cash or check?"

"What?" At least what Brook had been saying before actually made sense. Now it was just turning into nonsense.

"Cash or check?"

Foreman shook his head.

"Well, then I guess it'll have to be cash!" Before Foreman could even begin to comprehend what was going on, Brook attached her lips to his. Foreman was stunned by this, and almost forgot to close his eyes. She pulled away after a few seconds, but then went in for more. After she had finally stopped, Foreman now felt like he was in a daze as well.

"Oh, uh, we need...we need to get you home."

"Whatever you say," Brook said with a breathy giggle. She kept on laughing lightly as Foreman clutched her hand and took the vortex manipulator. He plugged in the numbers necessary for them to get back to their home. Brook's world soon blanked out, and she fell over with a smile on her face.

Brook woke up on her couch with a blanket draped around her shoulders. Her eyes were fogged over, and as soon as they cleared up her head began to pound. Foreman was taking care of this pitiful Brook stuck in a hangover.

"Ugh..." she moaned. Foreman immediately rushed over with a wet towel to put on her forehead.

"Foreman, what happened?"

"You got drunk. Really drunk."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right."

"Now you're hungover. But don't worry, because I got you these instant relief hangover pills and-" Brook cut Foreman off by drowsily holding a finger to his lips.

"Foreman. Shush. I'm practically a Time Lord. I can get rid of it myself." She proceeded to do just that.

"Why didn't you do that last night?"

"I was really drunk, remember? Although...I don't remember all that much from that night after I got drunk." Brook scrunched up her nose at this.

That could be very bad for Foreman. She might not remember that kiss. That kiss had given him so much hope, and now it might turn out that it was just her stumbling around drunk and she completely forgotten it.

"You don't remember anything?"

"No, I don't." Brook looked up at Foreman's face. "Oh no. I did something. Something happened. Was my Mum there? Daddy?"

"What? No. I don't think so, anyways. But do you remember anything, you know, maybe?" Foreman bit his lip, hoping his prompt would help her remember.

"Oh my goodness. Was Clara there? It was Clara, wasn't it? I was making out with Clara. Oh no. This is not good."

"Clara? Who's Clara?"

"Oh, so I wasn't making out with Clara. Good. I was just worried, because of the whole Nina thing..."

"Brook, are you sure you're not still hungover?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Nina. It's a long story."

"Nothing. You remember nothing?"

Brook looked up at Foreman with concerned eyes. "Is something wrong? Is there something I'm supposed to remember? You're acting really odd."

"I...I'm sorry. It's nothing."

Foreman turned and walked away, with Brook staring at him the whole time. Obviously something had happened, but for some reason he wanted her to remember it on her own. Foreman was really upset about how she couldn't remember whatever happened. Poor Foreman. It must be so difficult living with someone like her. Oh well. Brook just went over to her library and grabbed a book, getting cozy with the blanket and the couch again.

As she always did, she soon was absorbed in her book. Hours could pass by and she would hardly even notice. It was a skill she had developed after having so many days alone with nothing but these stories full of words to keep her company. She had spent years literally reading books. Before she had gotten a vortex manipulator, a typical day would be eating, reading, and sleeping. It wasn't the best life, but she had gotten used to it. Having someone like Foreman for company was helping her change, though. It wasn't such a bad thing, in the end. But before him she had lived for the days when her parents would show up and whisk her away on some adventure. Even with a vortex manipulator she had felt lonely. But Foreman had become like her companion. She liked it. But Brook would always turn back to books in the end.

She had began to hum absentmindedly when there was a sudden noise and a flash of blue light. Foreman walked over, saying, "Brook, did you use the vortex manipulator?"

But Brook was sitting on the couch, putting a bookmark into her book so that she could set it down. There was an enormous smile on her face. Foreman followed her gaze.

"Mum!" she said.

"Brook," the woman smiled. They rushed together and hugged. Foreman just watched on. This woman was Brook's mother. Well, they certainly looked similar. They both shared that mop of curls on their heads.

"Oh my gosh, I've missed you so much!" Brook squealed. She jumped up and down a little bit.

"What book have you brought along this time?" she asked.

"Les Miserables. Bit of a downer, but it's beautiful. Now, Brook, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" River said, gesturing to Foreman.

Brook took the book from her and after looking it over a little bit she turned around to introduce Foreman to her mother. "Mum, this is Foreman. He's a Time Lord. A little twenty-first birthday gift from the Daleks. And Foreman, this is my mother, River Song. But you can call her Professor. Professor Song."

"Um, hello." Foreman raised up a hand in greeting.

River looked at her daughter curiously. "A gift from the Daleks? Time Lord?" She turned back to Foreman for a second. "It's nice to meet you." Then she faced Brook again. "Brook, what exactly did you do?"

"Time bubble. I went to Gallifrey, turned out to be the Time War..."

Foreman picked up the story from Brook. "I had just regenerated and she saved me from the Daleks, and then took me here. And named me Foreman. I kind of like it, actually."

River raised her eyebrows. There were certainly a lot of interesting things going around in Brook's home.

Brook noticed her mother's look and changed the subject a little bit.

"By any chance, were you recently at a party in the 1920's?"

"What? Why would you be asking that?"

Foreman gave Brook a look, and then answered for her. "She was. She got so drunk that she could hardly remember a thing."

Brook frowned at Foreman, but didn't say a word against it.

"Well, it's good to see that someone in this home can give you a straight answer. Thank you, Foreman, for telling me that. And no, Brook. Now, we need to go talk about something in private. Foreman, do you mind?"

Foreman shook his head and then Brook and River walked off to have their conversation.

"Is something wrong?" River said.

"It's Foreman," Brook began. "I think I might be falling for him."

"I see," River replied with a knowing smile.

"Anyways, what did you need to talk about?"

"Well, there now there a few things I need to talk to you about," River said. "This Foreman. If you have feelings for him and he cares about you at all, you need to know. One day, you might have to hide your pain for his sake. He seems like your father in that way. He won't be able to deal with it so you have to deal with it for him."

Brook stared at her mother, not wanting to think about something like that. But her mother had a point. They both looked so serious, which was odd for them.

"Now, I want you to tell Foreman about your feelings."

"What? No."

"Yes, Brook. You're going to regret it if you don't."

Brook sighed. "I guess you're right." She wasn't happy with the serious atmosphere in the room. But then River broke into a huge grin.

"Now, here's the other thing I wanted to talk about. So, how would you feel about a little heist?"

Brook's lips curled into a smile. "Oh, I would love it."

A few minutes later, the two Songs strutted into the room. Brook was using her mother's scanner to look at something. Foreman's jaw immediately dropped.

Both the women were wearing catsuits.

"Hey, Foreman," Brook said, looking up from the scanner. "Mum and I are going out to steal something. Do you want to come with us?"

"Um...uh..." Foreman could hardly speak as he was gawking. "Um...no thanks...I'd probably mess it up."

"Well, if you say so. Mum, are you ready?"

"Whenever you are."

Brook put a hat over her head, covering up her curls. When she recieved some odd looks, she said, "It gets in the way sometimes. Anyways. I'm ready!"

"Let's go."

Both women plugged the same numbers into their matching vortex manipulators and vanished in two little flashes of blue lightning. Now that they were alone, River brought something up.

"I see your little boyfriend was staring you up and down."

Brook rolled her eyes. "I'm a young woman in a skintight suit. I don't think it takes much for a man to be distracted by that."

"If you say so."

"Anyways, Mum, we have a job to do."

"Very much so."

What was only a few seconds later in Foreman's time but hours for River and Brook, the women appeared laughing their heads off. Brook was holding a dress. It looked like it was from some era of royalty, encrusted with jewels of all sorts. It must have cost a fortune at any point in time.

"What's that?" Foreman said.

"It's my dress," Brook said with a laugh.

"It's actually her dress," River said. "It was given to her a long time ago but she had to leave it behind. We just rescued it from the museum it was in."

"Now it's all mine. And I don't plan to give it back this time."

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go now, Brook."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

"Bye, Mum!" Brook gave River a hug and then River disappeared soon after. River's words about Foreman never left Brook, though. They stayed with her for weeks until Brook finally decided to do something about it. She walked up to Foreman one day, sitting next to him on the couch.

"Foreman, I have something very important to ask you."

Foreman nodded in order to let her know she could continue.

"I want you to be honest. Do you have feelings for me?"

Foreman blinked a few times, planning out his response. Brook never gave up her relentless gaze.

"No, I don't."

Brook raised her eyebrows.

"Don't give me that look. Why are you-" He began to stumble on his words. Foreman started again. "Why are you asking me, anyways? Do you have feelings for me?"

Brook batted her eyelashes. "Oh, of course not. And unlike you, I can prove it." Brook tilted in to Foreman, grabbing one of his hands in one of hers and using the other to touch his face. She brought their lips together slowly, for a kiss that was tantalizingly short.

She slowly pulled away, just as she had come in, and their eyes met. Foreman was at a complete loss at to what to do. But then Brook broke out into a huge grin and moved away quickly.

"I knew it!" she said. "I knew you had feelings for me!"

"Wh-what? What are you talking about?"

"Dilated pupils, highly elevated heart rate. Yes, that's right, I took your pulse! They don't call Daddy the Doctor for nothing. And I'm a nurse, after all."

"What? I don't understand."

"Well, from what I've seen, you biologically have feelings for me."

Foreman couldn't take it anymore, not her eyes or her voice or anything. He dived over to Brook, clutching her face in both of his hands, and kissed her. And again. And again. When he finally pulled himself away from her, he was a bit surprised to see just how shocked Brook was. He was afraid that he had badly messed up everything. But then her face broke into a smile.

"I was very right, wasn't I?"

"Very," he replied breathlessly. He began to lean in for another kiss but she stopped him.

"Not so fast-ski."

"Fast-ski?"

"Ugh, that flapper slang really took a toll on me."

"Well, I still think you look beautiful."

"See, this is what I was trying to avoid," Brook said.

Foreman's adoring eyes creased in confusion.

"I don't want us moving too quickly, saying words we might not really mean yet. Do...do you understand?"

"Yes...I don't understand why, but I guess I understand what."

"Good. You don't have to know why." Brook turned and began to walk away.

"You're so beautiful, though." Brook stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath.

"Gorgeous." Brook took in a deep breath and resisted the urge to turn around.

"The most beautiful girl I've ever seen, anywhere, anytime." Now Brook had to turn around. She feigned a smile on her face.

"You may even be the most beautiful, gorgeous girl in all of time and space." Brook walked up close to Foreman, with that same little smile. They were awfully close, and Foreman thought she was going to kiss him.

That was not the case. She brought up her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek.

"Ow!" he cried out.

"This is why you listen to me," she said, her former smile fading away.

Foreman recovered from his small plight and grabbed Brook's face again, kissing her. She tried to resist at first, but then she melted into it. When she pulled away first, Foreman thought he might be in danger of another slap. Brook had tensed up immensely. But she just took a deep breath and walked out without a word. He might have just made a fatal mistake.

At least he got to kiss Brook, though.

A/N This might seem a bit out of nowhere for those of you who are reading this, but I have a reason for it. On Wattpad, I write Doctor Who fanfiction. I started off with a character named Brook who I ended up creating many stories for...so many that I had to make more to share with the world. I'll be posting all of those here. They likely won't make sense without reading the other stories, so...click here for my profile! You can read The Other Definition and The Child's Mistake to see Brook's main story. This is what defines her...hence "Defining Brook."