eponymous_rose

Title: Opening Night
Author:

eponymous_rose
Word Count: 464
Rating: G
Characters: Barbara Wright, Ian Chesterton, First Doctor

They were only there, the Doctor had said, to ensure that the Markrannok aliens didn't try to invade a second time. All the same, Barbara was finding herself getting caught up in the atmosphere of the place - the long dresses and trim suits, the thick curtains framing the stage, the quiet, pensive music flickering across the room through some electronic apparatus that seemed impossibly futuristic in such a classical setting.

"It's merely a tribute to days gone by," the Doctor had said, waving a hand to encompass the theatre. "It comes in cycles, you know, your people's fascination with all the trappings of yesteryear."

All the same, the music was beautiful enough, all quivering strings and deep horns, and she felt for a moment quite ordinary, sitting in the theatre next to Ian, watching the show of lights on the wall behind the sound-stage. And if one of them spared a glance to the side doors in case of alien invasion, well, they had to make some concessions for this sort of normalcy, didn't they?

Ian elbowed her. "Barbara, look," he whispered, and his voice was full of ill-disguised amusement.

She turned to follow his gaze, saw the Doctor sitting a few rows back. He'd been so anxious that they return to the Ship, had seemed singularly uninterested in the proceedings all around him - they may as well have been in the middle of some barbarian battlefield, or an intergalactic peace conference, for all the interest he'd shown in the music.

But now he was leaning forward, his hands clasped together under his chin, chewing his lip thoughtfully and watching the play of lights on stage with a childlike fascination that seemed utterly alien on his implacable features. Barbara had the sudden impression she was intruding on something private, and glanced away quickly. She elbowed Ian right back.

"Ow," he hissed. "What was that for?"

"Leave him be," said Barbara. "He can enjoy a bit of music if he likes."

Ian smiled. "I suppose so," he said. "Still, it's nice to see a bit of humanity in him, isn't it?"

Barbara glanced over her shoulder again, a quick peek, and this time the Doctor caught sight of the motion and looked over, frowning. She wondered whether he was thinking of Susan, of the music they played wherever he came from, of the voices and rhythms on some distant planet. With an awkward smile that the Doctor didn't return, she looked back to the stage and hunched down in her seat. The music swelled; toneless meandering took form once more, with a well-remembered theme.

"No," she said, and watched the colours on the stage dance in time with the persistent drumbeat, echoing, foreshadowing some great crescendo. "No, there's not much of humanity in music."