Doctor Who 1. The Next Doctor - Part 1

A/N: Hiya! So this is Finding Forgiveness, the second story in my fourth OC series, The Time Lady Memoirs, for Doctor Who. I'd recommend new readers see 'Losing Hope' the first story to understand Mac's attitude towards the Doctor :) If interested, my other 3 series are 1. The Academic Series (OC - the Professor), 2. The Lunar Cycle (OC - Evy Daniels), and 3. The Heart of Time Saga (OC - the Angel) ;) This story will focus on my OC/Time Lady, Mackenzie AKA Mac. This story will largely follow the events that Mac is aware of, but will also include some scenes with the Doctor elsewhere and possibly others when they talk about her. But it'll largely focus on the scenes Mac is a part of :)

This will essentially be a revision of the 10-Specials of Doctor Who to incorporate the existence of another Time Lord, Mac. This story will be updated every day and each special will be two chapters, however I'll also be doing the Sarah Jane Adventures episode 'The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith' which will only be 1 chapter :) So this story will be about 11 chapters long :)

This will eventually be a Doctor/OC story, but at this point in their story, they've come a long way from where they were, but they'll more be coming to terms with truths and trying to resolve their past hurts :)

Short physical description of Mac, she's a tall woman with brown hair that goes to a little past her shoulders, though she tends to wear it in a tight bun. She sometimes wears glasses to focus, but leaves them on her head most of the time, and has hazel (more brownish) eyes. She tends to wear a professional outfit of a pencil skirt, flats, and a nice blouse. She is currently on her 7th incarnation and, as of the end of Losing Hope, was 913 :)

~8~ is a scene break.

"_italics_" is Gallifreyan.

'_italics_' is telepathic communication.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who...or the Daleks would have all been wiped out for good :)

Enjoy!

~8~

The Next Doctor - Part 1

Mac took a deep breath as she stepped out of the TARDIS with the Doctor, this was…actually going to be their first trip since losing Donna. Their first trip since he'd finally told her a little more about what he'd done to her on Gallifrey. She was honestly torn between wanting to give him a slap for being such a dunce, as Donna would have said, and wanting to…hug him. She had been so hurt on Gallifrey when he'd turned his back on her and run off to fulfill his Contract, when he'd refused to even see her before his wedding…she'd ended up thinking the worst in him despite knowing the person she was imagining him to be wasn't who he was at all. She'd fallen into the trap of thinking he hadn't cared for her at all, that he'd just been using her for fun before having to get married, that he had lied to her all along.

To find out that he had done what he had because he'd wanted her to be happy and safe and thought that she'd feel that more with her husband than him? It…was far more like the man she thought him to be originally than how he'd ended up appearing in her mind after the fact. THAT was the Doctor she'd always known, the one who just wanted people to have a better life and be ok and…and he'd truly thought that she would have that with her husband instead of him. His actions had hurt her yes, broken her hearts but to find that he'd been trying to protect her hearts? That was the Doctor in a nutshell. She had just…been impatient on Gallifrey, when she had been coming to tell him that she loved him, he had been coming to tell her that he thought they should end their courting. He'd been thinking long and hard during their entire time together, about all the things he couldn't give her, the places he couldn't take her, the people he didn't know how to act around, and he'd come to the realization that…he couldn't give her the life he thought she deserved.

He just hadn't thought that the life she 'deserved' wasn't the life she wanted and that she wanted that simple life with HIM more than that.

They'd both been in the wrong on Gallifrey. He'd made a decision about their relationship and about her life without asking HER about it. She had stayed away from him after he'd wed and when he'd tried to speak to her (much like he'd done to her before that) and tried to tell her why he'd done what he had. They'd both made mistakes and both been hurt for it.

She was still very upset about what he'd done with the time lock on Gallifrey, the fate of her family. It would still take her a…very long time to try and come to terms with the fact that he'd destroyed their entire planet, her home, her family, but she was trying very hard to remember he'd lost his as well. It was HIS planet too, he had distant family still alive when he'd done that, he'd lost his home too. She was trying to keep that in mind but it was hard because it had been HIS decision, he'd known what was coming and she'd only had mere moments to react when she'd found out. It was hard to know that she was alive and her family was dead and that the Doctor was the cause of it.

Most of her anger, for centuries, had come from what he'd done to her when he'd married, how he'd broken her hearts. THAT was the main root of her anger with him, with her snide remarks. She'd just…wanted to hurt him the way he'd hurt her, commenting on his dead companions, his mistakes, his failures and shortcomings and faults even though she knew he had so many good and redeeming qualities. Right now she felt…lighter of hearts than she had in a long time.

SO much of her anger came from the centuries of hurt festering inside her and now that she knew the truth…now that she realized so much of her anger was coming from his effort to do right by her…it was easier to let go of THAT. She still held onto the anger and hurt from the destruction of their planet. She still didn't think he should have done it, that there were other options, that the Daleks surviving were proof enough that his plan hadn't worked…he got a bit quiet when she'd mentioned that during their talks…but that was far more recent. Centuries of anger for heartbreak were healing now, but…she still had quite a few years on Earth knowing that her planet was gone.

It DID mean that she would likely be less…snippy? Snarky? Biting? All of the above? When it came to the Doctor and how he acted around other people. She really was healing, even now she could feel herself feeling less angry and bitter about the entire mess with Contracteds and Chosens and all that. She understood now, why he'd done it. It was what he thought was best for her at the time and even though he'd been completely wrong…she could feel her hearts starting to mend. Well, they were mending from the heartbreak even if they weren't healing from the loss of their planet.

She was actually hoping that this trip would be…good, for the both of them. A…new start, maybe? There was still a lot of hurt built between them, though it was more a lingering heartbreak from Gallifrey and the mourning of their planet, but she just…she didn't want to be angry anymore, not now that she knew the reasons behind the actions that angered her.

"Where are we?" Mac asked as she looked around. They'd landed under a bridge, in the snow, some light flurries falling around them as they walked, the Doctor with his hands in his pockets, casual, as she walked with her arms crossed, both of them were…nervous, around the other. No, not nervous just…unfamiliar. She had really not tried to get to know this new Doctor and he wasn't sure how to act around her given how often she'd snapped at him before. They had…a lot of work to get to know each other again.

"London," he answered.

She rolled her eyes at that, "I wasn't aware," she joked, "I meant, when are we? Let's see if you actually picked this or if you'll have to guess it."

She knew he'd been aiming for London, for Christmas as he said it was a very good time for a new start, and had been trying for 1850, a nice middle ground. It seemed near enough to the time though, from what she could see. They'd just stepped into a market where she could tell by the clothes the people milling by were wearing and the decorations of garlands and ribbons all over that they were at least close to the desired year. She glanced at the Doctor to see him looking around as though trying to determine the date and knew it meant he hadn't checked before he'd stepped out of the TARDIS, she really DID have to try and get him to at least do that. SO many dangers could be avoided if he'd just check that first.

She paused a moment though when she saw his gaze linger on something a little too long and followed it to see he was staring at a small stall with chestnuts and mistletoe on it…an got the feeling, from the faint pink on his cheeks, that he wasn't looking at the chestnuts.

The Doctor glanced at her to see she'd caught what had seized his attention and cleared his throat, looking around, "You there, boy," he called to a small boy trying to sell papers just a few feet away, "What day is this?"

"Christmas Eve, sir," the boy stated.

The Doctor rolled his eyes this time, even not knowing the date he knew it was Christmas Eve, there were far too many people around for it to not be THAT close to Christmas, "What year?"

"You thick or something?"

"Very thick," she stepped beside him and called to the boy, "So your answer would be most helpful."

The boy sighed, "Year of our Lord 1851, ma'am.

"Thank you."

The Doctor nodded to that and glanced around again, "Right. Nice year. Bit dull."

"And what happens in 1850 that's so much more exciting than this?" Mac gave him a questioning look.

The Doctor glanced at her, offering her a small smile for that. Her question, if it had been said by her only a short while ago would have probably been biting and sarcastic and harsh, like she thought him stupid for commenting that one single year would change anything. But this time…it was more joking. Granted he could still hear a tiny bit of bite to it, but he knew that it was more a left over anger than anything. She had spent centuries angry with him, it would take more than one single trip to get over that. He was expecting some anger to still leak through, but just…tapering off little by little. To hear her not completely snapping at him…well, that was already a sign that this was going to be a good trip.

"Well…" he began, only to be cut off when someone screamed in the distance.

"DOCTOR!" a woman cried out and the two of them spun around, trying to find out what the cry was from, where it was coming from, "Doctor!"

"Who, me?" the Doctor pointed at himself.

"Who else?" Mac countered. They looked at each other for a moment before taking off towards the shouting, thankful that the woman was still calling out so they knew where to run.

They followed the shouts into a side alley, rushing around a corner to another street where they saw a black woman in a period dress backing away from a pair of large bolted doors, staring at them in terror and knew that something had to be trapped behind them for her to be so fixated on them.

"Doctor!" the woman repeated as they reached her.

"Don't worry, don't worry," the Doctor smiled as they ran up, glancing at the door, "Stand back, what have we got here?" he turned, blinking when he saw that Mac was already pressed against the door, her ear to it, listening for what might be on the other side, "Mackenzie?"

She jumped back before she could say anything when something slammed against the doors, making them shift, a growling noise accompanying it.

"You should go," Mac turned to the black woman.

"We've got it," the Doctor agreed, "Leave whatever's behind that door to us."

But the woman just gave them a look as though they were both completely barking mad and turned around, shouting, "Doctor!" again.

"No…" the Doctor frowned at that, "I'm standing right here. Hello," he even gave her a small wave.

"I don't think she's calling for YOU," Mac remarked with a similar frown, "Which Doctor did you want?" she asked the woman.

"THE Doctor," the woman glanced at them, "Who are you?"

"_I'm_ The Doctor," the Doctor told her.

But the woman shook her head, clearly not recognizing him, "Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor."

"Well, there can't be two of ya."

"Oh please don't tell me this is the Library again," Mac muttered, rubbing her head. Foreknowledge was dangerous and if they'd just crossed timelines and were about to meet a future or even a past (though more likely future given the Doctor clearly didn't remember this event) Doctor then things were about to get far more complicated, "Can't you ever go somewhere without temporal incidents happening?" she looked at the Doctor with a lighter huff than he was used to.

Ok, so some of her irritation was with just his overall luck and personality, but in all fairness…he could be quite irritating and annoying at times.

The Doctor just gave her a grin and a wink at that, taking it in stride. He was trying to be different as well. Before, when she'd make remarks, he'd either go quiet and let her rant at him, or he'd fight back. But he knew that…there were some events he just…couldn't tell her about, like why he really time locked the planet. She thought it was to stop the Daleks, and it was, a little, but the real reason, the most dangerous reason…he hadn't told her and…he couldn't. Not yet. The wound was still too fresh, the loss of their planet too harsh and…he knew she wouldn't believe him just yet. She needed time to calm down and let go of most of her other anger before she could listen to him about the planet and his real reasons for what he'd done.

And because of that, because he knew she didn't know the truth…he was trying not to start snapping back at her. He wanted this to work, he wanted her to be less angry with him and arguing with her and bickering it was just going to make it worse and not better. He was just…trying to let it roll off him, as much as he could, to just smile and nod and 'kill her with kindness' as the humans would say. Just…not give her a reason to start yelling till most of her anger had been able to settle down and be worked out and released.

"Where the hell have you been?!" the woman demanded and they both looked over to see an older man in a yellow period jacket jogging up to them with a wide grin on his face.

"Don't worry," the man gestured for them to move, stepping ahead of them, "Stand back. What have we got here, then?"

Mac frowned at him, "Are YOU the Doctor then?"

"Yes," he chuckled, as the Doctor's eyes went wide, "I'm the Doctor. Simply the Doctor. The one, the only and the best. Rosita, give me the sonic screwdriver," he held out a hand to her and Rosita, the black woman, passed him…something they didn't quite catch.

"What?" the Doctor blinked.

"Now quickly," he ushered Rosita back, "Get back to the TARDIS."

"Back to the what?"

"Stand back, sir, madam," the man grinned again, "This is a job for a Time Lord."

"Job for a what lord?"

"I really hope this is the only version of you that does that," Mac told the Doctor dryly, there it was, that tiny part of his general personality that annoyed her. It was normal though, she knew, even the best of friends, even lovers, had something about the other that irritated them to no end.

But before the Doctor could respond, the doors burst open and a small, black, shaggy-furred creature trotted out.

"Hold on is that…" Mac blinked, seeing a Cyberman's face where the creature's should have been.

"Oh, that's different," the Doctor shrugged, moving to pull his sonic out of his pocket.

"Oh, that's new," the other Doctor said at the same time…

Before the two of them held up their sonics threateningly at the creature with a dual shout of, "Allons-y!"

The two men exchanged a glance at that as the creature looked between them.

"Oh put those down!" Mac stepped forward and slapped the Doctor, well, both Doctor's hands down, "It's a screwdriver!" she reminded the Doctor, "Unless you're scanning it, it's useless as a weapon."

He winced at that, "Right…" and put the sonic back in his pocket.

"I've been hunting this beast for a good fortnight," the other Doctor cut in, doing just as the Doctor was even if he'd only heard the first part of what Mac had said, "Now step back…"

They ducked instead when the creature leapt over them and latched onto the wall of the building behind them, staring down at them intently, as though studying them.

"Some sort of primitive conversion," the Doctor mumbled, "Like they took the brain of a cat or a dog…"

"A dog," Mac nodded, seeing more dog-like qualities in how it observed them and moved than a cat, even though it was clinging to a building the way a cat would, "Hold on…" she started to root through the pockets of her jacket for something…silently cursing in Gallifreyan how unorganized her pockets had gotten in the process as she struggled to find what she thought might be in there.

"Well, talking's all very well," the other Doctor rolled his eyes, "Rosita!" he held out a hand to her.

"I'm ready," the woman grinned, stepping over and handing him a rope she'd tied like a lasso.

The man grinned and began swinging it up and around his head, "Now, watch and learn," he cheered, throwing the rope at the creature and managing to snag it, "Excellent. Now then, let's pull this timorous beastie down to earth…"

Before he could even finish, the creature started to climb higher and higher up the wall, pulling the other Doctor right off the ground as he refused to let go of the rope.

"Or not," the Doctor murmured.

"It's never that easy with you," Mac sighed.

"I might be in a little bit of trouble," the other Doctor called down to them for help.

"Nothing changes," the Doctor agreed, rushing forward to help, "I've got you."

"Oh not you too!" Mac grumbled as he grabbed the rope and was pulled right up the building too.

"You idiots!" Rosita shouted at them.

"I prefer morons," Mac mumbled, "Or some other more colorful words," she sighed, pulling something out of her pocket and smiling, "There it is," she smiled, and ran for the stairs she could see running up the side of the building, hoping she could head off the creature before anything happened.

She ran as fast as she could, hearing the two Doctors arguing about pulling, before she heard them give a shout. She managed to peek her head in on one level and spotted an open window at the end of the room where she could see the two men being pulled up by the creature at a rapid pace, clearly it was on the run now, "Wonderful," she muttered to herself before she raced up the stairs again, trying to listen for where the creature might be going.

She gasped as she reached the top level to see the beast running across the floor, the Doctors being dragged behind it, right towards a window at the other side. She brought her fingers to her lips and let out a shrill whistle, holding up a small dog treat she'd confiscated off of one of the UNIT soldiers once when they were trying to bait one of the dogs in the training department.

"Here boy!" she called, holding the treat up and hoping that it was enough like a dog where it would take the treat…and thankfully it appeared to be just that as it wheeled around and started to run…right for her.

Ok, so she hadn't quite thought this part of the plan through.

"Out of the way!" Rosita called as she came barreling through the door towards her, an axe in her hands. She ran past the creature as it kept running for Mac and brought the axe down on the rope, cutting it off and sending the Doctors twisting and tumbling about the floor of the building.

Mac promptly threw the treat out the open door to the stairs, watching as the creature leapt over the side of it after it. She ran to the doors again and peered down, watching it land on its feet…more like a cat now, and ate the treat before it took off once more. She let out a breath, relieved that was over…when she felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind and hug her tightly for a moment before they let her go suddenly.

"Sorry," the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck, flushing, "I just…um…thanks?" he offered, he'd just…he'd gotten up and seen her and realized that if she hadn't turned the creature when she had they'd probably have been falling out the window by now and just wanted to hug her in relief. He liked hugging people but he knew that it was still too soon to really hug her like he wanted to, give her a big old bear hug and just never let her go. His body had gotten the best of him though and he'd found himself about to do that before he'd realized it, but he hoped he'd let her go quickly enough to not make her feel uncomfortable.

"You're um, welcome," she shrugged, though she took a step back from him. She had liked the hug, brief though it was but…it still felt awkward, if she had to admit it. She was used to keeping a distance from him, not just because of how cross she'd been with him recently but just…in general. They'd not had much contact with each other since he'd activated his Contract, at all, no physical contact, no verbal contact, barely any visual contact since that moment until they'd met again with the Sontarans. It was just a little…odd, to have him touching her again.

~8~

The small group of four was walking down the stairs from the warehouse, Mac at the head, with the Doctor after her, Rosita and the other Doctor behind him, the Doctors sharing a little laugh at nearly falling out of the window.

"Well, I'm glad you think it's so funny," Rosita muttered, sharing Mac's thoughts about it all, "You're mad. Both of you. You could've got killed!"

"But, evidently, we did not," the other Doctor countered.

"Give it time," Mac mumbled, "Luck has a way of running out."

The Doctor looked over at her, almost…shocked by how she sounded. He would have expected that to be more biting, like a little hiss, some sort of comment about his recklessness but…it sounded almost like she really DIDN'T mean for him to hear it this time. It sounded almost…worried, concerned. He knew what it was thought, she WAS worried. His last 'mad' moment had resulted in him giving up a regeneration, something he was now realizing was not a good thing to have lost. Seeing this man before him, if he really WAS the future him, it worried him…it made it all the more real to see how his actions would affect his future.

Mac sounded truly…scared for him, for his dumb luck as she liked to put it, running out on him. He knew she meant it as either him ended up regenerating or completely dying and, either way…that would be the end result after a while. She was just on her 7th self, she would live on afterwards if he died which, given how he went through bodies, was likely to happen too soon. He swallowed hard at that because…he knew what she'd do if it came down to it, Time Lords could give others their regenerations if they wished, it was a very dangerous thing to do though and…he could tell, maybe, by then, he and Mac might have rebuilt their relationship enough where she'd risk doing that just to help him out.

And he didn't want that, he didn't want her to give up any of her lives for him.

He'd already ruined every single life that had come before this one, including this one actually, he didn't want to ruin her future lives either.

"Oh," the other Doctor blinked, not having heard Mac, "I should introduce Rosita," he turned to her as they reached the bottom of the steps and gestured at the woman beside him, "My faithful companion, always telling me off."

"Not just companions though," the Doctor joked, managing a small nudge to Mac as well, getting her to roll her eyes at that.

She was…sorry for how she'd snapped at him so much, for quite a few of the things she'd said. Well…some of the things she said. Some things, most of it she realized sadly, were true. Most of the things she'd said were said with at least a shred of truth to them. She just…she wasn't proud now, of the way she'd said it, of how much of her anger she'd let leak through to it. That was the entire point of her ignoring him and avoiding him on Gallifrey, she DIDN'T want to lash out at him or say something like that to him…and now she had. She was a different woman now though, she'd lost and been through so much more than she had then.

She was glad, though, that the Doctor was entirely too forgiving, that he could manage to not be bitter and cross in return for how she'd treated him.

"Rosita though," the Doctor eyed Rosita, "Good name. Hello, Rosita," he offered her a hand to shake.

The woman shook it back quickly, turning to her Doctor with her hands on her hips, "Now I'll have to go and dismantle the traps. All that for nothing. And we've only got 20 minutes till the funeral, don't forget," she pointed at him warningly for that before she turned to walk off, calling, "Then back to the TARDIS, right?" over her shoulder as she disappeared around the corner.

"What funeral?" Mac turned to the other Doctor.

The Doctor nearly beamed at that, the last time someone brought up a death, in the Library with Donna, she'd muttered about how it was likely HIS fault the death had happened. So for her not to jump right to that…he was really starting to like this Mac again.

"Oh, long story," the other Doctor waved her off, making her cross her arms for it, the Doctor chuckling at how he still didn't seem to have the hang of telling others the entire truth, "Not my own, not yet," he bent over, panting a little, groaning in pain from the tumble, which made the Time Lords glance at each other for it, they were remarkably spry given they were aliens, the Doctor himself wasn't as battered or feeling it, yet this one was, "Ooh, I'm not as young as I was."

"Well, not as young as you were when you were me," the Doctor shrugged, confirming Mac's thoughts that this was a future Doctor.

"When I was who?" the man looked at him, making them frown…THAT was something he should have known if he really was a future Doctor though, actually…he should have recognized the both of them.

"You really don't recognize me?" the Doctor wondered, having thought his earlier waving off of their sudden appearance was just the present danger needing his attention.

"Not at all," the man smiled at them.

"And Mac?" he tried, nodding at the woman, "What about her?"

"You're the Doctor though," Mac cut in, already seeing in the man's confused expression that he didn't have the faintest idea who either of them were.

"Well, the next Doctor," the Doctor corrected, "Or the next-but-one. A future Doctor anyway…don't tell me how it happened," he begged, actually really NOT wanting to know, not wanting to know how much time he had left in that body of his, how much time before he ended up a situation Mac had only just mentioned a short while ago, "Although...I hope I don't just trip over a brick, that'd be embarrassing."

"And redundant," Mac muttered, "You nearly did twice before."

He nodded at that, he'd been a rather clumsy boy at the Academy. He really had nearly died twice from tripping over a brick. Once had been when the Master dared them all to walk on top of a ledge during a school trip to a future date on Earth. They'd been wandering the top of a crumbling castle's wall and the brick beneath him had given way and he'd nearly fallen off it, had Mac and the Master not grabbed his arms and hefted him up. And then there was the time he'd been helping the Corsair with a project, the man had, for some reason, wanted to build a set of houses, small hut-like things though, to test out the truth behind some old Earth fairytales featuring little talking pigs and straw/twig/brick houses. He'd been carrying a few bricks with the man and dropped one, tripped over it and nearly tumbled down the stairs if he'd been any closer to them than he had been. Instead he'd just dropped all the other bricks and THEY and tumbled down the steps instead of him.

"Worse ways to go," he offered, "Depends on the brick."

"You're gabbling, sir," the other Doctor chuckled, "Now, might I ask, who are you, exactly?"

"No, I'm, uh...I'm just Smith," the Doctor introduced himself, shaking the man's hand, "John Smith, and this is Mackenzie…er…"

"Noble," she went with it still, knowing that the Doctor was again debating whether to use Smith for her as well but…despite Caan's words, they were NOT Chosens, not now, not yet, possibly not ever. The destruction of a planet was…a lot to get over.

"Yes, Mackenzie Noble, my um…"

Mac nearly rolled her eyes at that, he really didn't need to add in who she was to him. What could he even say about that anyway? She wasn't his companion, they were somewhat almost-friends again, maybe…give it time, and she really…SHE didn't even understand why she was still there. She'd only agreed to travel with him because of Donna and Donna wasn't there anymore and…she supposed it was just…her own guilt? Her own guilt over how she'd acted towards him getting to her.

No, it was Wilf. It was what Wilf had said, he'd made her realize when he'd asked who the Doctor had that…he really only had HER left. She only had HIM too. They just had each other and the TARDIS and that was really it. Yes, she had a small flat in London, she had a job with UNIT, but…the TARDIS really had become her home. She…she didn't want to lose that either. She knew it was going against everything she'd wanted for the Earth, to stay there, to keep it safe but…she'd only done it so that the Doctor wouldn't have to come to it, so that she wouldn't have to see him and now she was, she saw him daily and she just…couldn't leave him, not now.

Not now that she knew the truth and that he hadn't really betrayed her or turned his back on her, that everything he'd done and put up with and put himself (and her) through on Gallifrey had been for what he thought was her benefit. She owed it to him to at least try to be kinder to him for that. The planet would always be a big gaping hole in her hearts, something that kept her from fully forgiving him or allowing herself close to him, but…she could at least try to see where a potential friendship might form. They'd both been alone for so long and…the Earth would be safe enough for now. It had Torchwood and UNIT and Sarah Jane watching out for it and she knew they'd be stopping in frequently to look after it.

"Fiancé?" the other Doctor guessed, cutting into her thoughts.

"No!" Mac shook her head.

"No, we're um, not…not engaged," the Doctor added.

"No," Mac repeated, "Just…no."

"Um…two travelers?" the Doctor supplied, not quite sure if they qualified as friends again, or if Mac would even agree to being his once more. He was hopeful though, because she'd stayed when she could have gone back to UNIT and Earth, "But we've heard all about you, Doctor," he continued, "Bit of a legend, if I say so myself."

"And you do," Mac mumbled.

"Modesty forbids me to agree with you, sir," the other Doctor gave a small bow of the head, "But yes. Yes, I am."

"Very modest of you," Mac gave him a small look, not modest at all was he?

"A legend with certain memories missing, am I right?" the Doctor guessed.

The other Doctor blinked and turned to him, completely startled, "How do you know that?"

"You've forgotten us," the Doctor said simply.

The other Doctor sighed, nodding solemnly, "Great swathes of my life have been stolen away. When I turn my mind to the past, there's nothing."

"From what point?" Mac asked.

"Since the Cybermen. Masters of that hellish wall-scuttler and old enemies of mine, now at work in London town. You won't believe this, Mr. Smith, Ms. Noble, but they are creatures from another world."

"Are they?" Mac nodded slowly.

"Really?" the Doctor agreed, giving a rather bad attempt at shock, "Wow…"

"It's said they fell onto London," the other Doctor continued, "Out of the sky in a blaze of light. And they found me. Something was taken. And something was lost," he looked at the two of them as though just realizing from their remarks about how he had forgotten THEM, that they must have known him a long while ago, "What was I like? In the past?"

Mac made the 'stop talking' motion, cutting the Doctor off from speaking, "Best not to say what with the amnesia," she gave the Doctor a pointed look, "Memory loss is a tricky thing."

"It's strange, though," he eyed them, "I talk of Cybermen from the stars and you don't blink. Either of you."

"Ah, don't blink, remember that?" the Doctor started to smile, "Whatever you do, don't blink? The blinking and the statues? Sally and the angels? No?"

"Didn't she happen after the Cybermen?" Mac glanced at the Doctor. She wasn't entirely sure which encounter with the Cybermen the man was speaking of, but whichever it was, Sally had happened after even the most recent encounter with the Cybers, and if he forgot everything since one of those encounters…he'd have forgotten Sally as well.

"Right," the Doctor nodded, "Forget I said anything."

"You're a very odd man," the other Doctor remarked.

"Hmm, I still am."

"You always were," Mac sighed.

"Something's wrong here."

"Oh!" the other Doctor cried out, almost making them jump if they hadn't been expecting something like that from him, "The funeral. The funeral's at two o'clock. It's been a pleasure, Mr. Smith, Ms. Noble. Don't breathe a word of it," he put a finger to his lips.

"Can't we come with you?" the Doctor called as the man started to head off.

The other Doctor turned to speak to them though he kept walking backwards, "It's far dangerous. Rest assured, I shall keep this city safe. Oh, and, er...Merry Christmas!" he gave them a small bow before he turned around the corner.

"Could be you," Mac remarked, "Absentminded as ever."

"Not THAT absentminded though," the Doctor countered before they both headed off after him, following his tracks in the snow.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac slowly made their way through the house of the late Reverend Fairchild, having followed the other Doctor through town and spied on him speaking to Rosita, basically telling her to go off to the TARDIS because this wasn't any place for a woman. Mac had huffed at that and muttered that she'd show him before she'd stormed off to the house of the deceased man, the Doctor jogging after her in higher spirits to see her cross with someone else instead of him…even if it might possibly BE him at a later part in his life but…he doubted it.

The more he thought about it, the more he was starting to think that this wasn't a future him. To start…neither of them had sensed a Time Lord presence in him and he wasn't wearing a sort of blocker like Mac had been wearing when he first met her. The man had no idea at all who Mac was, not that he could really blame the man for that one. Mac had since regenerated since then and he didn't feel right calling her Naery when the man might not be him. He actually should have realized that he wouldn't have ever recognized Mac for who she was not even as Mackenzie as he hadn't met her like that till just recently, LONG after the Cyber events. But that wasn't it, it was that Mac wasn't with him that was really making him think that the man wasn't him.

He was…determined to make sure that Mac remained with him for a good long while, forever if possible. He just…he wanted to keep her with him, he really did love her still and he just wanted to get back to that. He doubted it would ever happen but, he was quite the optimist at times and he had hope now. If she could forgive him for the centuries of hell he'd put her through with her husband, maybe she might, one day, be able to forgive him for Gallifrey and they might be able to build up and repair what they'd had. It was a long shot, he knew, and it would take time, but, as Mac had said, they were Time Lords, they had all the time in the world. He wasn't going to give up, ever, not on her.

And, knowing that, he couldn't wrap his mind around her NOT being there with him in the future. So if this man was alone…he couldn't be him, because he wouldn't ever go anywhere without Mac again. He'd made a decision once that led to them being separated, he wasn't going to do it again. If she ever decided she wanted to return to Earth, to UNIT…well, he'd park the TARDIS down right beside their base and he'd…he'd live there. He'd live a static life if it meant he could be with her every day or see her and just…he had too much at stake to leave her now. He had too much that needed to be repaired and he refused to allow it to happen.

They were in their 900s, both of them, and for centuries he'd been forced to not even see her. Then, with the war, to think her dead? He just…he couldn't do it, being alone, seeing the Master die…he HAD to protect her, in a way he'd failed to do in the past.

So where she went, he'd go to, no matter what.

He looked over at the door, the back door as they'd entered through the front, and head a faint rattling sound, like someone was trying to break in with a screwdriver. He walked over and threw the door open, revealing the other Doctor hunched over, doing just that, trying to break in with a screwdriver…an ordinary, not-sonic, screwdriver.

"Hello," he grinned.

The other Doctor blinked and stood, "How did you get in?"

"Front door and a hairpin," Mac answered, coming up beside him, "Far less obvious than a screwdriver…" she nodded down at his screwdriver as she put the hair pin back in her bun.

"That's your…sonic screwdriver?" the Doctor eyed the tool.

"Yeah," he held it up, "I'd be lost without it."

"But, that's a screwdriver. How's it sonic?"

"Well, er, it makes a noise," he shrugged, tapping it against the doorframe of the house, "That's sonic, isn't it? Now, since we're acting like common burglars, I suggest we get out of plain view," he gently pushed past them and into the house as the Doctor closed the door behind him.

They glanced at each other as the man continued on down the hall, towards a back room, the library they saw. Everything was very decorated for Christmas and, given that it was a man in the house, they knew it meant he truly appreciated the holiday. It was terrible that he'd passed before he could experience another one. It didn't seem to deter the other Doctor though as he went right for the shelves and drawers and chests and began to search through them.

"What exactly are you investigating?" Mac asked, "The death of a reverend?"

"A murder," the other man sighed, "The second one actually."

"Who was the first?" the Doctor wondered.

"Mr. Jackson Lake, a teacher of mathematics from Sussex. He came to London three weeks ago and died a terrible death."

"Was it those…Cybermen things?" Mac played off, trying to make it seem like they were JUST hearing about the Cybermen as she fingered the spine of one of the books on the shelves, eyeing it oddly, it was a collection of fairytales, which was not something she'd expect a reverend to have but a father, well not THAT sort of father but an actual father.

"It's hard to say," the man sighed, "His body was never found. But then it started. More secret murders. Then abductions. Children…stolen away in silence."

"Children?" Mac murmured, eyeing the book again.

"So the reverend Fairchild," the Doctor began, "He's the second murder then?"

"Yes," the other Doctor, "The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"But who was he, was he important?"

"You ask a lot of questions," he glanced at the Doctor.

"He talks a lot too," Mac murmured, "It's why I keep this handy," she pulled a small roll of duct tape out of her pocket, making the other Doctor chuckle and THE Doctor look at her mock-betrayed.

"We're your companions," the Doctor defended.

"The Reverend was the pillar of the community," the other Doctor smiled, "A member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children," Mac murmured, her gaze drifting back to the bookshelf with the fairytales on it, "Again."

"But why would the Cybermen want him dead?" the Doctor wondered, "And what's his connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?"

The other Doctor moved to open his mouth, only to close it, as though realizing he'd been about to actually tell them, "It's funny, I seem to be telling you everything. As though you engendered some sort of...trust. You both seem familiar to me. I know your face especially Mr. Smith. But how?"

"I wonder…" the Doctor glanced down, having caught sight of a watch dangling from a chain around the man's waist, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch."

Mac stiffened and glanced back at that, how had SHE not noticed that? But then she pulled her glasses down onto her head and looked over…there it was.

"Is that important?" the other Doctor inquired.

"We've read legends of Time Lords," Mac cut in, "Because of…" she gestured at the other Doctor, letting him continue thinking they were his past companions, "They say that, sometimes, the memories of a Time Lord can be stored in watches like that."

"Do you mind?" the Doctor gestured to it and the other Doctor handed it over, "It's said that if it's opened..." he took a breath and pressed the top button opening it…only for all the gears and springs and other workings to pop right out onto the floor, "Oh. Maybe not."

Mac glanced down at the pieces and moved to crouch down, gathering them up, they could be useful later.

"It's more for decoration," the other Doctor shrugged.

"Yeah. Anyway, alien infiltration?"

"Look for anything different," the other Doctor nodded, starting to move around the room again, searching for whatever it was he'd been looking for before, though he didn't seem to know what that might be, "Possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no earthly engine."

"Metal you said?" Mac glanced back.

"Yes."

She nodded, and pulled a set of magnets from her pocket, the Doctor watching with an eyebrow raised as she just shrugged, she honestly couldn't say any more just what she had in her pockets, but if it was metal, the magnets would help. Especially if the metal was hidden somewhere. They were quite powerful magnets, if small, but it would be much easier to use than a sonic, less conspicuous. She could only imagine the daft excuse the Doctor would have made up to explain the funny buzzing noise of the sonic going, probably would have claimed he was whistling or something.

"It could even seem to be organic," the other Doctor continued, "But unlike any organism of the natural world…"

Mac looked over as she felt her arm jerk, the magnet tugging towards a scroll-top desk a foot away. She caught the Doctor's eye and nodded over to it, the two of them stepping over, ignoring the other Doctor as he continued to speak, to focus on the desk. Mac ran the magnet along the wood, smiling when it caught something through it, a small thump signaling it had been caught on something. She let go and the magnet remained in place along the side of the desk, freeing her hands. She looked over when she saw the Doctor pull out the sonic and put her hand on his to stop him, shaking her head and letting go to crouch down. She pulled her hair pin out once more and quickly picked the lock on the desk.

She smirked triumphantly at him, giving him a pointed look that he knew meant he'd gotten too reliant on the sonic, and moved to open the desk.

"There we are," she nodded, seeing the other side of the magnet had a sort of cylinder shaped metal device stuck to it. She tugged it off the magnet, slipping it back into her pocket and tossing it to the Doctor to examine.

"Different and metal," he called to the other Doctor, cutting into the man's ramble about something to do with mechanical, metal trees, and pulling his attention back to them to see they'd found something, "You were right. They are infostamps."

"Possibly," Mac added, giving him a bit of a hard look for his slip.

"Right, I mean, at a guess," the Doctor shrugged, trying to cover up his flub, "Um, if I were you, I'd say they worked something like this," he turned and pointed one end of the cylinder at the wall, pressing a button on the side and projecting images onto the wall, "See?" he smiled, catching sight of the other Doctor falling back onto a chair at the sight of it, "Compressed information. Tons of it…" he pulled on his glasses and glanced at Mac, smirking to see she still had her glasses on, he liked that about them, that they both wore glasses but he knew she actually NEEDED them, he just liked looking clever.

"London," she murmured, "1066 to about 2009 I'd say," she glanced at the Doctor, speaking quietly so that the other Doctor wouldn't hear, having her own suspicions about whether he really was a future Doctor or not, "Why would they bother with a cyberdisk like this?"

He could only shrug, "It's too simple," he agreed, "They've gotta be wireless. Unless...they're in the wrong century."

"Maybe they crashed," she suggested, "If they've lost power they'd need something like this…"

"What do you think Doctor?" the Doctor turned to the other man, with a grin, happy that Mac was bouncing ideas off of him and him her, only o see him hunched over on the chair he'd fallen on, his head in his hands, seeming overwhelmed by it all, "Are you alright?"

The man took a deep breath and forced himself to sit up, "I'm fine."

"Well at least you're still a rubbish liar," Mac mumbled as they moved over to him, "Tell us what's wrong."

The man just reached out and took the infostamp from the Doctor, turning it over in his hands as he stared at it, "I've seen one of these before. I was holding... this device, the night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And you were there…" he looked up at the Doctor suddenly, "Who are you?"

"A friend," he held up his hands, "I swear. Mackenzie and me."

"Then I beg you, John," the other Doctor reached out for him, "Help me."

"Ah," he smiled, "Two words I never refuse."

Mac was quiet at that, the last time they'd gotten that request for help…nearly an entire expedition team had died along with someone she wasn't quite sure about. She…trusted River, she actually did. She knew that for the woman to know BOTH their names and to know that the other knew it was not something to be told lightly. Whoever River was they really would come to trust her completely. And to know that their future selves trusted her like that…it made a pit form in her stomach that she knew would just get worse and worse every time they met the woman, if they ever met her again which she thought likely. Because the more and more they learned about her, the more and more she knew she was going to regret what happened in the Library and not having whatever close relationship they'd have with the woman then. She didn't do well with big revelations and, whenever they learned who River was, she knew it would likely break her hearts to think back on what they were like to her in the Library and what she would do for them.

She…she didn't want this to be the same. She was trying so hard not to fault the Doctor for wanting to help a man that was in need of it, it was in his title, literally, to make people feel better but…she just didn't want more people to get hurt because of his efforts. And that was without any anger in her thoughts, people just…tended to get hurt when they got involved with him.

"But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house," the Doctor kept on, "It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS..."

"Your TARDIS," Mac corrected, looking to the other Doctor, she did have to admit she was curious as to what it was if not an actual TARDIS.

"Hold on," the Doctor called, straightening, "I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," Mac watched as he started making his way around the room, about to open a door when Mac called out.

"Try this," she tossed him the magnet from before.

He nodded, that would probably be best so that he didn't accidently open a door and see a Cyberman or something. He started moving from door to door, placing the magnet up against it to test, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…" he trailed off as he came to a particular door…the magnet remaining fixed to the door too high up for it to be anything but a Cyberman, "Mackenzie…" he reached back a hand for her, but she stood with the other Doctor.

"Time to run?" she guessed.

"Yeah," he nodded, swallowing hard and turning, ushering her and the other Doctor out of the room, right when there was a crash behind them, a Cyberman breaking down the door to get into the library. But at least Mac's magnet had given them time to get out…

Only to run into a second Cyberman in the main hall.

"The Doctor will be deleted!" the Cyberman reached for them, forcing them back, making them turn to go the other way but the first Cyber appeared behind them.

"Delete!" the first Cyber reached for them as well.

"Stairs!" the Doctor called, pointing at the stairs and pushing them up it, "Can't lead them outside!"

They ran up the stairs, Mac pushing the other Doctor ahead of her as the Doctor remained behind to try and find something to use…and decided that the umbrella within reach was not a useful weapon. He looked around quickly, spotting a sword on the wall and grabbed it, trying not to think of how he'd done the same in Agatha Christie's mystery and what had happened after that as he turned to face the Cybers.

"Delete!" they cried.

He swung the sword around, trying to keep them back, to by Mac and the other Doctor time, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" he quickly put the sword up, blocking a swipe from one of the men, "Ok, this is really your last warning!" and blocked another, starting to be forced up the stairs too, "Ok, I give up."

"Delete!"

He chanced a look up the stairs and could see Mac rushing about and searching her pockets, clearly about to try and come up with something to help him and turned back to the Cybers, needing to stall them, "Listen to me properly!" he backed up again, ducking a blow, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, I can help! Mac and I are the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete!"

"I'm the Doctor!" he tried this tactic instead, "You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!" he kicked one of the Cybers back and ran up the stairs, shaking his head when he saw Mac was tying some sort of metal wire from the umbrella he'd thrown up the stairs to the infostamp, not having a clue what the point of it was.

"Delete!"

"The Doctor, remember? I'm The Doctor! You need me alive! You need The Doctor, and that's me!"

"Now!" Mac shouted, "Doctor duck!"

He dropped to the ground as the other Doctor stepped forward, aiming the infostamp and flicking the edge of it open, sending out a wave of energy, focused down the metal wire and bolting right through the Cyberman's chest, allowing him to turn it on the second one, going right through its head, sending them both toppling down the stairs.

The Doctor let out a breath and looked up at Mac as she smiled, "Infostamp use a cyclo-Steinham core, the wire acts like a guiding rod. Open the core and break the safety and it lets you direct the blast with more accuracy."

"Only you would think of that," the Doctor smiled at her.

"You would have too," she could admit, "Given time."

He chuckled and picked himself up just as the other Doctor stumbled back against the wall, staring at the infostamp in his hand, "I did that... last time."

The Doctor glanced at Mac and moved over to the other Doctor, "Come here, you'll be ok. Let me just check," he pulled out an old stethoscope from his pocket and pressed it to the other Doctor's left side.

"You told them you were the Doctor," the other Doctor looked up at him, "Why did you do that?"

"Rule one," Mac murmured, "The Doctor lies," she glanced at him as the Doctor moved to his right side, "I suppose his companions must need to too."

The other Doctor stepped back, out of the Doctor's reach, "You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did. They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember. What happened to me? What did they do?"

Mac glanced at the Doctor, '_Human?_'

He nodded, "We'll find out. The three of us, together."

A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter :) Mac is a little bit better than she was, still unsure and tense around the Doctor, but she's got centuries of anger to try and let go of. I can say we'll see little things here and there that'll both slip through from her lingering anger but other things that will give the Doctor quite a bit of hope ;)

Let's just say...there'll be a little something at the end of the next chapter about that ;)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of Losing Hope)...

Definitely 20/20...unless you count Visionaries...I have no idea what eyesight for seeing the future would be lol :) I think Mac didn't go at Davros for his destroying worlds comment because she was being hit with how she'd said the same thing and focusing on piloting the TARDIS and being by the console instead of the door where she could go at him lol ;)

I can say Mac's husband wasn't the Master, nope :)

I think that song definitely parallel's the Doctor in Losing Hope :)

We'll get a lighter Mac, yup, but she's also still very confused about her feelings and trying to let go of anger so sometimes it'll come out, but not as much as before ;) Oh the second the War Doctor said 'No More' I thought of Caan :) I'm almost not sure how I feel about the parallel though, of the Doctor and a Dalek...hmm... :)

I can say that Mac's husband IS dead, yup. I sort of have a throwaway line about it, but I've been having trouble working out a place to put it, so I'm hoping, as I go through and edit, a place will jump out at me :) Her family, for the most part is safe, but I can say one member of her family did die in the war but she's unaware of it :( Oh the rekindling will really pick up with 11, but we'll see quite a few hints of it in these specials ;)

The 'yes, I know who you are' was meant to be a reference to the Harriet Jones joke yes :) I've noticed Captain Jack likes to introduce himself with his title as much as Harriet Jones so I had .Mac give him the same response on purpose ;) Mac meant her part about the Earth in that if she were there she'd have been by her scans and running them, she'd have seen some sort of atmospheric shell being put in place and been able to counter it with UNIT or Time Lord Science but she was off with the Doctor and couldn't do anything to protect it :( The Doctor is pretty arrogant too though, but being a Time Lord, she probably could have worked out a way to keep earth in place :) I don't really think it's an inconsistency when you take into account it was 9 who said those half-human Daleks were more deadly, because this is a new Doctor, a different Doctor with different and new opinions. We've seen 10 have different thoughts on things that 9 probably would have thought one way on the same as 11 had different opinions on things 9 was firm about... Like 9 was SO anti-paradox but 11 was basically like 'bring 'em on woo!' Lol. Different Doctors would have different opinions on what's more deadly for a Dalek so it's not really an inconsistency ;)


	2. The Next Doctor - Part 2

The Next Doctor - Part 2

Mac glanced over as she saw Rosita pacing before them just outside a set of barn doors, more like stable doors really, "Doctor!" the woman shouted as she saw them walking over, running towards them to hug the other Doctor, "I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita," the other Doctor pulled away just a little, "A little decorum."

"You've been gone for so long," she pointed at him, before huffing at the two Time Lords, "He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"I know the feeling," Mac muttered, making the Doctor look at her.

There was more to it than just a remnant of when he'd run off from her telling him she loved him. It was like…like it was bigger than that.

'_Word of your exploits didn't just come from watching you on Earth,_' was all she offered him silently for his look.

He was a little worried and a little touched at that. Touched that she was both starting to speak to him in his mind again. It was a trait for Time Lords, they were a largely telepathic people. They could read the minds of others, see their minds, tamper with their minds if they had physical contact and ample concentration. Within their own people, there was like a faint buzz in the back of their minds, the chatter of their people, more like their faint presence. It had been annoying before, an annoyance that they could easily push to the back of their mind but now with just each other…it was nearly gone. He could faintly feel her beside him in the back of his head.

For her to start talking to him again, it meant she was slowly forgiving him for at least one harm he'd done her. It wasn't strange or odd, that they could communicate via their mind, it was something all on their planet could do. Mostly they had generic mental walls to keep out others, no one really pried into the minds of a Time Lord either. But they could communicate using their mind if they wished.

He was touched for that, and…he was touched that she'd apparently been aware of some of the things he'd gotten into when off-world. That she knew of some of the things he'd done and, apparently, been worried for him. It gave him hope that, despite how angry she'd been, she DID still care for him a little.

But he was worried because she was quiet, in his head, a little too quiet, her voice was faint, like a whisper. He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, if it meant she was hesitant to speak to him. To speak to someone in their mind meant that, at that moment, your own mind was open to them. He wasn't sure if she was still guarding her mind or if there was just…something wrong with their telepathic abilities.

"What about the TARDIS?" the other Doctor asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

Rosita smiled at that though, "Oh, she's ready. Come on," she quickly took the other Doctor's arm and led him off.

"I dunno about you," the Doctor glanced at Mac, "But I'm looking forward to this."

She let out a long breath, "I'm not looking forward to telling him the truth."

He had to nod to that as they followed the man into the stables, stopping when they nearly walked into a suitcase. The stables were fairly small, only meant to house a couple horses it seemed. But it was filled with clothes and cases and boxes. The stalls seemed to serve as different rooms as well as there were no horses there. They could see a cot in one, a washing basin in another, a small table in a third, and that was just the ones in sight.

"You were right though, Rosita," the other Doctor was continuing to speak, not noticing their glances, "The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen."

"So, you live here?" the Doctor frowned at that.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy."

"Did you break the TARDIS or something?" Mac had to wonder, already rubbing her head at the thought the Doctor could break the time capsule so thoroughly he'd be forced to live in a barn…it was something he'd manage to do.

"The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," the other Doctor chuckled shaking his head as he entered a stall, the one with the wash basin and began to rub his face.

"And where's the TARDIS now?" the Doctor looked around, wondering if it might be disguised as one of the stalls.

"In the yard."

"Er...what's all this luggage?"

Mac frowned, eyeing the boxes and turned to them, pulling another magnet out of her pocket and running them alongside a stack of them.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friends are fighters, Rosita, much like myself. He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass and she rigged a directing rod for a weapon. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver and she calmer than I. They were quite brilliant."

Mac paused as the magnet caught on something and stood, pushing the top case off the stack so she could root through the one that was caught.

"That's another man's property!" Rosita cried, seeing her moving, the Doctor coming to stand on the other side of the case, watching her.

"Well, a dead man's," the Doctor defended, seeing Mac pull her glasses down to dig further in, "How did you two meet, then?" he looked at Rosita, trying to distract her.

"He saved my life," Rosita shrugged, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then, there he was. The Doctor. Can you help him, sir? He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror."

"He's not the only one," Mac mumbled.

The Doctor looked at her for that. He'd noticed this trip that she still made remarks, even if they were less biting and even more under her breath. It was like she really was trying not to let him hear her but…well, Time Lords had quite good hearing and, well, he was a bit embarrassed to say that he often heard her even when she wasn't trying to be heard. It was like his mind and ears just automatically zeroed in on her voice, like it still wasn't used to it being there, to HER being there, and just picked up on her faster and easier than normal.

He was worried now. He'd had nightmares of what he'd done during the war, yes, he managed to control them though. They'd…faded a little with the more people he met, the more people he helped, the longer his companions stayed with him. They were getting a little better. He could admit that they got a bit worse when Mac started to travel with him, most of her remarks really had gotten to him deeply, but…he could tell they'd soon start to fade. To find out that SHE was having nightmares, that she was STILL having nightmares…

He'd have to keep an eye on her.

He wouldn't wish nightmares like that on anyone.

"Come now, Rosita," the other Doctor chuckled as he stepped out of the stall, a towel around his neck, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

"Yeah," the Doctor swallowed.

"Infostamp," Mac called, pulling one out that was stuck to the side where the magnet was, "Property of one Mr. Jackson Lake apparently."

"But how?" the other Doctor seemed startled by that.

Mac blinked and looked at him, pushing her glasses up, "You've had all this luggage sitting around and you didn't go through it to see what might be in it?"

"I didn't think it was significant," the other Doctor blinked, "It was just his luggage, hardly had time to unpack even. Why? Is that significant?"

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS," the Doctor turned to him, "Could we see it?"

The other Doctor smiled at that, "Mr. Smith, Ms. Noble, it would be my honor. Come, this way," he gestured them to follow him as he led them to the back of the stables and out into a yard behind it…where a rather large, rather crude hot air balloon was sitting in the middle of the yard, "There she is! My transport through time and space. The TARDIS."

"You've…got a balloon," the Doctor blinked at it.

"I hadn't noticed," Mac rolled her eyes at that, the Doctor had quite a knack for stating the obvious, didn't he?

"TARDIS," the man nodded, "T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style. D'you see?"

"That is…something," Mac agreed.

"I like it," the Doctor shrugged, "Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one."

"Inflated by gas?" Mac glanced at the other Doctor as THE Doctor moved closer to look at it, "Or…"

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks," he nodded, "I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed," he moved over to a young boy that was tending to the balloon, slapping a small wad of notes into the boy's hand.

"Glad to be of service, sir," the boy smiled, he always seemed to get a bit more from the (other) Doctor than most other customers. He was a very gracious tipper.

"You've got quite a bit of money," the Doctor observed.

"I didn't think the Doctor carried money," Mac remarked, it was rather frustrating that he didn't.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," the other Doctor chuckled at that, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

Mac glanced up at the cloth that made the balloon, spotting the rip that had been repaired, "All repaired," the boy nodded, "Should work a treat. You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above."

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" the Doctor looked back over at him.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita murmured.

"I can depart, in the TARDIS, once London is safe," the other Doctor defended.

"That's a change," Mac remarked, before wincing, she hadn't meant to say that, it just sort of…slipped out then.

The Doctor gave her a smallish smile and a nod for it though. He knew, it really would take her a little bit of time to truly come to terms with the fact that he hadn't betrayed her like she thought he had. It would take time for her anger to settle, centuries of it didn't disappear in the blink of an eye. He was honestly surprised more stinging remarks hadn't made it through before that one.

The other Doctor didn't seem to notice though as he stared up at the balloon, "And finally, when I'm up there... Think of it, John, imagine it Ms. Noble. The time and the space."

"The perfect escape," the Doctor breathed.

"What exactly are you trying to escape from though?" Mac looked at the other Doctor, though her gaze actually landed on the Doctor himself.

That was one thing she'd never known, why had he left Gallifrey when he had? She'd made the remark once that he'd been trying to escape his wife but…that had been when she couldn't understand if he'd really loved her and that was why he was going to marry her (why run from his wife if he'd wanted her so badly?) or if there was something else. But she really didn't know.

"I…I'm not sure," the other Doctor admitted.

"Do you want us to tell you?" the Doctor inquired, "Cos I think we've worked it out now," he glanced at Mac as she nodded, "How you became The Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?"

"More than anything," the man nodded.

"We should go back in then," Mac gestured at the stables, "It…you'd best sit for it."

The other Doctor looked between the two of them, but headed back into the stables with Rosita, moving to sit on a few crates in the middle as the Doctor and Mac sat across from them.

"The story begins with the Cybermen," the Doctor began, "A long time away, and not so far from here, the Cybermen were fought and they were beaten, and they were sent into a howling wilderness called The Void, locked inside forevermore. But then a greater battle rose up, so great that everything inside The Void perished. But, as the walls of the world weakened, the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you."

Mac nodded along, knowing he was talking about the Battle of Canary Warf, how they'd been locked into the Void with the Daleks. But when the walls of the worlds started to fracture because of the Dimension Cannon, and the Dalek's work started to seep through across worlds and into other areas of them, the Cybermen were able to escape the Void and enter this world just as Rose had escaped the parallel world into this world through the cracks.

"I fought them, I know that," the other Doctor agreed, following along so far, "But what happened?"

"Jackson Lake happened," Mac took up, "He found the Cybermen as they entered this world. Mr. Lake, you said, was new to town, had just moved here," she gestured around, "With his luggage, likely all the money he possessed as well. He grabbed an infostamp to stop them when they attacked and broke the seal, just like you did in Fairchild's home. He fought them off."

"But he's dead," the other Doctor disagreed there, "Jackson Lake is dead. The Cybermen murdered him."

"Where's his body then?" Mac countered, "Why do YOU have all his luggage? Why does the Doctor, a man who never carries a penny, have so much money on him?"

"I told you the answer was in the fob watch," the Doctor nodded at it, "Can I see?" the other Doctor hesitated before he reached down and handed the Doctor his watch, only for the Doctor to turn it over and reveal the 'J.L.' that was inscribed on the back of it, "The watch is Jackson Lake's."

Rosita blinked at that and looked at the man, stunned, "Jackson Lake is... you, sir?"

"But _I'm_ the Doctor," Jackson insisted as the Doctor handed Mac the watch again, the woman opening the back of it, pulling the small workings out of her pocket and examining the pieces, slipping her glasses down in the process.

"You _became _the Doctor because the infostamp you picked up was a book about one particular man," the Doctor turned, pointing the stamp Mac had found at the wall and pressing the button, displaying all the past incarnations he'd had, right from his first one, "The Cybermen's database. Stolen from the Daleks inside The Void, I'd say, but it's everything you could want to know about the Doctor."

Jackson blinked and stiffened when the man before him appeared on the wall as well, "That's you!"

"Time Lord, TARDIS, enemy of the Cybermen," the Doctor shrugged, "The one and the only. You see? The infostamp must have backfired, streamed all that information about me right inside your head."

"I am nothing but a lie…" the man breathed.

"No, no, no, no, no," the Doctor quickly set down the stamp, ignoring the small curse in Gallifreyan beside him when a piece Mac was working on slipped, though neither Jackson nor Rosita seemed to hear her, "Infostamps are just facts and figures. All that bravery. Saving Rosita. Defending London town. Hmm? And the invention, building a TARDIS. That's all you."

"And what else?" Jackson looked back up at him, urgent, insistent, "Tell me what else?"

The Doctor paused, not quite sure what else there was to say, "There's still something missing, isn't there?"

"I demand you tell me, sir. Tell me what they took!"

The Doctor frowned, truly not sure what else there was to say, what other mystery there might be.

"This watch," Mac held it up as it started to tick again, her snapping the back into it once more, all fixed up, "It was a gift, wasn't it?"

Jackson looked at her, startled that she knew, startled that…that he was just remember that yes, it was. He nodded and Mac handed it back to him.

"I'm sorry Mr. Lake," she began, "But…for this day and age…a pocket watch would be something a…a wife would give her husband."

The Doctor stiffened at that, looking back at the luggage, it WAS an awful lot for just ONE man to need.

"Infostamps are so basic it wouldn't be able to completely replace your memories unless you WANTED them to," Mac continued, moving her glasses onto her head, "Unless you didn't want to remember what they were replacing and blanked them out yourself. That's called a fugue state."

"Midnight," Rosita whispered as she heard bells going off in the distance, Jackson just staring right at Mac with wide, stunned eyes at what she'd said, "Christmas Day."

"I remember..." he breathed, starting to blink rapidly, "Oh, my God..." he hunched over, pressing his hands to his eyes as he realized what she was saying and it hit him again, the memory, the one he'd buried just as she said, "Caroline. They killed my wife. They killed her!"

Rosita moved closer to him, putting an arm around his shoulder to comfort him as he started to weep for his loss.

The Doctor and Mac looked down as the two stamps before them started to beep at the same time. The Doctor grabbed them both and stood, moving in a circle till the beeping got louder in one area and headed over there, not even needing Mac's magnet as the moment he opened the top suitcase he spotted and entire chain of stamps lying there.

"Oh..." he pulled them out, tossing he two he'd been holding to Mac, "You found a whole cache of infostamps."

"But what is it?" Rosita looked between them, "What's that noise?"

Mac moved the two stamps to one hand and rubbed her head, "It's an activation alarm," she mumbled, "They're on the move."

"Come on!" the Doctor cried, rushing out the door with Mac after him, Rosita hesitating to check on Jackson first.

The Time Lords ran out onto the street to see a parade of small children walking down the road, an old man walking, more like marching, behind them, his face blank, two small earpods on his ears that were blinking in a most un-1851 like fashion.

"What is it?" Rosita gasped as she joined them, "What's happening?" she squinted into the dark spotting the old man as well, "That's Mr. Cole. He's Master of the Hazel Street Workhouse. Maybe he's taking them to prayers."

"I doubt it," Mac shook her head.

The Doctor rushed over to Mr. Cole, walking alongside him as the women rushed after him, "Can you hear me? Hello? No? Mr. Cole, you seem to have something in your ear," he eyed the pods, "Now, this might hurt a bit, but if I can just..."

He was about to flash the sonic on the pods when Mac pushed his hand down, "Are you out of your mind!?" she hissed at him, "I read the reports of Adeola in Torchwood, you do that you kill him."

"He's already dead," the Doctor countered.

"There's always a chance of undoing the programming, but he has to be alive for it to work!"

The Doctor seemed about to argue more when he spotted one of the Cyber-creatures off to the side, around a corner, watching them, "They're on guard," he murmured, slipping the sonic back into his coat pocket, "Can't risk a fight. Not with the children."

"But where are they going?" Rosita shook her head.

"All need a good whipping, if you ask me," Jed remarked as he joined them.

"No one asked you," Mac sent him a glare. The thought of anyone striking a child was just…completely loathsome to her. It was just…cruel and she couldn't imagine anyone ever lifting a hand to a boy or girl like that. Perhaps it was the differences in culture, with children being so treasured on Gallifrey, cases of child abuse were few and very far between.

"There's tons of 'em," Jed shrugged, not at all affected by her glare, "I've just seen another lot coming from the Ingleby Workhouse down Broadback Lane."

"Where's that?" the Doctor turned to Rosita for guidance.

"This way!" Rosita turned, rushing off with the Doctor and Mac following her through the side streets, nearly stumbling back when they came to another line of children being led by yet another old man with earpods in, "There's dozens of 'em!"

"Where are they going though?" Mac shook her head, "Why are they taking the children?"

The Doctor glanced at her only a moment before he reached out and took her hand a moment. He loved children, he did, he had them himself and it always made every adventure and trip that involved them that much more personal to him. But he knew it was actually just a little worse for Mac, having never had the chance to be a mother except for Teddy, having lost that chance and to know she'd never get it. She always had a softer spot for children, even before she'd lost that ability to have them. She had always been such a mother hen to everyone, even if she didn't act like it now he knew that the part of her that loved children and felt responsible for them had carried over.

They looked to the side as the old man led the children right up to a rather large set of wooden, double doors, "You will continue. You will enter the Court of the Cyberking."

"No!" Mac's eyes widened at that, feeling the Doctor's grip on her hand tighten as well.

A Cyberking? There was a Cyberking involved? They had to get the children out of there! But before they could even take a step up to try and interfere, one little boy tried to do the same, to flee…only for one of the furry-metal creatures to come out of the shadows and block his way, making him scramble and fall backwards. More of the creatures appeared, herding the children on towards the doors.

"March," the old man ordered, "That is an order. March!"

Mac squeezed the Doctor's hand back as they were forced to watch the children enter the doors until they were slammed shut.

"That's the door to the sluice," Rosita squinted, trying to see more in the dark, "All the sewage runs through there, straight into the Thames."

"There'll be no getting in that way," Mac murmured, seeing the creatures had remained outside the doors, acting like guards.

"Yeah, that's too well guarded," the Doctor agreed, "We'll have to find another way in," he pulled his hand away from Mac and turned to go…only to jump back, nearly right into the two women, when he saw that there were two Cybermen standing behind them, "Whoa! That's cheating, sneaking up! Did you have your legs on silent?"

The Cybers just stood there, silent, making them think they might be able to get an escape in as they hadn't automatically fired at them yet…but before they could take a step, a woman in a red dress made her way over, just strolling along, casual as ever, until she stopped right between the Cybermen and stared at the three of them.

"So...what do we have here?" she eyed them, her eyebrow quirking.

"Just walk towards me, slowly," the Doctor ushered her over, starting to stutter in alarm at seeing a human standing so close to the mental men, knowing she likely had no idea what they were or how much danger she was in, "Don't let them touch you."

"Oh," the woman chuckled, "But they wouldn't hurt me, my fine boys. They are my knights in shining armor. Quite literally."

"Even if they've converted you, that's not a Cyber speech pattern. You've still got free will. Step away..."

"There's been no conversion, sir," the woman seemed rather unamused with how he wasn't listening to her, "No one's ever been able to change my mind. The Cybermen offered me the one thing I wanted."

"Immortality?" Mac guessed, that seemed to be the main reason for it, to live forever in a metal body.

"Liberation," the woman corrected.

"Who are you?" Rosita glared at her.

"You can be quiet," she snapped at Rosita, looking at her as though she were a worm underneath her boot, "I doubt he paid you to talk. More importantly, who are you?" she turned her attention to the Doctor and Mac, "With such intimate knowledge of my companions?"

"Like we'd tell you," Mac began at the same time the Doctor stated, "I'm the Doctor."

'_Stop using your mouth and start using your brain,_' Mac's voice came over to him, '_Them not knowing you means you're not a threat._'

He winced at that, that was probably true. He hadn't quite thought of it like that though, he'd just sort of seen it as a way to get them to stop an attack, that was normally how it went, he shouted stop and people stopped. But if they didn't know who he was…and even more, he knew they thought Jackson was him, him shouting out that he was the Doctor wasn't going to do anything.

"Incorrect," one of the Cybermen stated, "You do not correspond to our image of the Doctor."

"Yeah," the Doctor began slowly, seeing Mac looking around for something to use to try and help get them out of the situation, "That's cos your database got corrupted. Oh, look, look, look!" he pulled the infostamp with his information on it out of his pocket, "Check this! The Doctor's infostamp," and threw it to them, "Plug it in. Go on, download."

Mac bit her tongue to keep herself from asking if he was just completely mad, knowing he'd only do that, give them access to the fact that HE was the Doctor if he had a plan…or at least she was really hoping he had a plan. Half the time his antics were hard to keep herself from shouting at him for. It was just…he was so foolish and foolhardy so much of the time, he never had a plan and that was where a lot of things got hard and dangerous.

"The core has been damaged," the second Cyber that he'd tossed it to declared, "This infostamp would damage Cyberunits."

Mac let out a breath and glanced at the Doctor, so that had been his plan then? She hated to admit it but…she really was having a hard time trusting him. To know what he was doing among other things. She was trying, she said she'd try, she just…kept thinking about Donna and how she'd trusted the Doctor, how she'd wanted HER to trust him again too. She was trying so hard not to make remarks, to remind herself that he hadn't betrayed her and that he was trying his best. But…she couldn't trust him completely, not knowing he'd been willing to burn Gallifrey just for the sake of stopping the Daleks and knowing the Daleks kept winning.

She was trying though, but her mind kept going to other things the man could have done differently to stop so many things. It was hard to trust someone who would kill an entire planet.

"Oh, well," the Doctor shrugged, "Nice try."

"You didn't really think that was going to work did you?" Mac rubbed her head, this was just getting to be too much right now…especially when the Cyber's hand beeped, making them look back over at him.

"Core repaired," it stated, "Download," it pressed a button and the plate on its chest dropped down allowing it to insert the stamp, downloading all the images of the Doctor.

"We should get ready to run," Mac murmured to the Doctor.

"Yeah…" he nodded, subtly reaching out to take her hand, but she was rooting through her pockets of her jacket to see if there was anything in them that could help.

"You are the Doctor," the Cyber pointed at him as it pulled the stamp out.

"Hello!" he offered the metal man a little wave.

"You will be deleted!" the first Cyberman jerked out his arm as well.

"Oh, but let me die happy!" the Doctor threw out his hands, glancing at Mac, trying to buy her some time, "Tell me, what d'you need those children for?"

"What are children ever needed for?" the woman in red smirked, "They're a workforce."

"Children are not a workforce," Mac looked at her, momentarily forgetting the items she was trying to look through, "They are children, they are treasures!"

"What are they a workforce for?" the Doctor held a hand back to Mac, signaling for her to be quite just this once as he asked the question, they needed to know what they were doing with the Cyberking. If they were a workforce, there was a chance the Cyberking wasn't completed yet.

"Very soon now, the whole Empire will see," the woman smirked, "And they will bow down, in worship."

"And it's all been timed for Christmas Day. Was that your idea, Miss..."

"Hartigan," she gave a demure nod of her head, "And, yes, it's the perfect day for a birth, with a new message for the people. Only this time, it won't be the words of a man."

"What birth?" Mac frowned.

"A birth, and a death. Namely, yours," she turned her head to look at the Doctor, "Thank you, Doctor. I'm glad to have been part of your very last conversation. Now," she sighed, sounding bored as she looked at the Cybers on either side of her, "Delete them."

"Delete!" the Cybers raised their arms again.

The trio flinched back when a sudden bolt of light flew out and struck the Cybers from behind, causing their heads to explode and their bodies to collapse, allowing them to spot Jackson standing behind them with an infostamp in his hand, "At your service, Doctor, Ms. Noble," he winked.

"Shades!" Hartigan started to cry out, now seeing herself defenseless, "Shades!"

"For the woman you claim to be, you rely on others too much!" Mac spat out at her.

"Just run!" the Doctor grabbed her arm, "Come on! You too Rosita!"

"Shades!" Hartigan continued to shout, wanting more protection even though they were running away.

"One last thing," Rosita turned, proving Hartigan's desire not unfounded as she punched the woman right across the face, sending her spiraling to the ground.

"Can I say, I completely disapprove!" the Doctor called.

"You would!" Mac snapped, though it was more a snap of them trying to escape a deadly situation than his desire not to fight…though, he could tell, it was just a little bit of that too.

"Come on!" he gestured to Rosita, the four of them running off, racing around a corner, down quite a few more streets, before they stopped to try and let the humans catch their breath.

"We need a way into the sluice," Mac turned to the humans, "Give us one."

"I'm ahead of you!" Jackson grinned, "My wife and I were moving to London so I could take up a post at the university. And while my memory is still not intact, this was in the luggage," he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a wad of documents with legal stamps on them, "The deeds, 15 Latimer Street. And if I discovered the Cybermen there, in the cellar, then..."

"That might be a way in!" the Doctor realized, "Brilliant!"

"But there's still more," Jackson frowned, "I remember the cellar...and my wife. But I swear there was something else in that room," he shook himself out of his thoughts, "If we can find that, perhaps that's the key to defeating these invaders. So...onwards!" he cheered, turning to head off, leading the way.

The Doctor opened his mouth only for Mac to make her 'stop talking' sign and give him a look, "Don't."

He rubbed the back of his head, glancing at Rosita, knowing she wouldn't take kindly to telling her to stay back, especially not when Mac was going with them…and he just realized that neither Jackson or Rosita knew she was a Time Lady did they?

"Come on," Rosita shouted as she ran off after Jackson, leaving them little option but to follow.

~8~

Jackson was the first person into the cellar of 15 Latimer Street, quickly taking out the lone Cyberman that was standing in the middle of the room, acting as guard for a rather large tunnel entrance cut into the wall in the side of the room, firing the infostamp at it.

"What is that?" Mac frowned as she and the Doctor ran in with Rosita, making their way to the base of the cellar where an odd device was set up in the middle of the floor, like a scepter standing straight up and being powered like a battery, "It…looks like a Dimension Vault," she murmured, pulling her glasses down for a better look.

She had made one or two in the weapons' factories, along with other Prison Ships for Daleks and such.

"Must've been guarding it," the Doctor glanced at the fallen Cyber, "What do you think?" he pulled his own glasses on to eye the scepter, "Stolen from the Daleks again?"

She nodded, "I think that's how they managed to get through time."

"Jackson," the Doctor turned to the man to see him looking around the cellar, a frown on his face, "Is this the thing you couldn't remember?"

"I don't think so," Jackson sighed, rubbing his head, "I'm...I just can't see. It's like it's hidden."

Mac shook her head and stood, "It's useless right now," she gestured at the Vault, "It needs more time to power up."

"Right," the Doctor nodded, waving them all towards the tunnel entrance, "Come on! Avanti!"

And with that, they all took off for the tunnels, ducking low at times, but manage to make it inside with relative ease. They moved slower than they would have liked, but with little warning that the Cybers were going to be there they had to be cautious not to run right into any of them, especially since they only had the two infostamps at hand and they had to reserve their energy and firepower.

"What do the Cybermen want?" Rosita whispered, trying to be quiet.

"To turn every human into them," Mac answered quickly, almost automatically, feeling quite sure that the Doctor would have lied and come up with some sort of reason for them to be there so as not to frighten Rosita, but she wouldn't have that, "They extract your brain and attach it to a metal armored suit," she glanced back at Jackson, "I feel terrible to say Jackson…but it was a blessing your wife was killed instead of converted."

Jackson swallowed hard but had to nod, he still retained enough memory of the Cybermen to know what conversion was and what it entailed even if she hadn't said it so bluntly just before. He…he didn't want that for his wife, to have her go on with her thoughts controlled and thinking like a Cyberman, feeling nothing. He didn't want to remember his wife like that, in a way it was a blessing his last memory of her was as a human.

"Shhh…" the Doctor put a finger to his lips as they came to a larger archway, able to hear noise coming from it. They peered in and stared in sorrow at the large work room beyond, the children all there, dirty and sweaty and tired but being forced to work.

"Upon my soul," Jackson breathed.

"What is it?" Rosita squinted, making out some sort of intricate metal work in the back, unlike anything she'd ever seen.

"It's an engine," the Doctor murmured, "They're generating electricity. But what for?"

"The Cyberking, I'd guess," Mac gave him a look.

Jackson nearly jolted forward at the mention of that, recalling that too from the Doctor's memories, "We can set them free!"

But the Doctor and Mac quickly pulled him back, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he turned and ran back the way they'd come, a thought striking him, especially at Mac's reminder of the Cyberking, "Power at 90%!" he read off a panel in the wall, the last one he could remember seeing as they'd passed it, "But if we stop the engine, the power dies down, the Cybermen will come running. Ooh," he frowned, tapping the image as it flickered and new information appeared, "Hold on. Power fluctuation."

"That shouldn't happen," Mac stepped up with her glasses still on her nose, watching as the flicker happened again.

"It's going wrong?" Jackson guessed.

"No…" Mac frowned, eyeing the data intently, the Doctor letting her, knowing that the Cyberking was like a giant weapon and Mac would know better what was going on than he would, she'd actually made the weapons, he'd just used them in the end, "The software…it's like it's rewriting itself. And that shouldn't happen. A Cyberking is programmed for one purpose but it's like someone's overwriting that.

The Doctor tugged her back as a surge struck the panel, "What the hell's happening?" he stared at it, "It's out of control!"

"It's accelerating!" Jackson pointed out, "96%, 97..."

Rosita looked at the Time Lords in alarm, "When it reaches 100, what about the children?"

"They won't care about the children," Mac muttered, "They're just the workforce and when that hits 100, the workforce won't be needed anymore.

"Come on!" the Doctor turned with a cry, rushing back down the tunnel towards the workroom, knowing that they had mere seconds, with the way the power was increasing, to get to the room and stop the Cybers.

And indeed they did only have seconds for just as they burst in the Cybers had readied to attack. The Doctor tossed Rosita the infostamp he'd nicked off the ground when the Cybers by Hartigan had fallen, and she used it along with Jackson to take out the lingering Cybermen in the room.

"All of you, out!" the Doctor called to the children, "D'you hear me? That's an order! Every single one of you, run!"

"Go!" Mac gestured to the exit, ushering them on, "Now! Quickly! Go!"

"All of you, come on!" Jackson pushed a few children on, "As fast as you can, come on!"

"There's a hot pie for everyone, if you leg it!" the Doctor added.

"Oi!" Mac huffed, "Don't lie to children!"

The Doctor winced at that, he really should take to carrying more money, shouldn't he?

"Go!" Jackson called to the last few children.

"Rosita, get them out of the sluice gate!" the Doctor ordered, "And once you're out, keep running! Far as you can! Come on, come on, come on."

"Faster!" Mac nudged a child on, "Faster! Go quickly!"

"Turn right at the corner!" Rosita ran after them, "Fast as you can, and don't stop! Keep running, keep running!"

"Go!" the Doctor got the last child out after her, "Quick, quick," he paused, spotting a gauge just beside the door, "It's some sort of starter motor…"

"Are all the children out?" Mac looked around, focusing on that more than the motor for the Cyberking.

Jackson spun around, looking every which way he could, trying to see if there might be any frightened children hiding…and saw only one, a very familiar little boy at the top of a very tall platform, staring down at him. He gasped, a pain hitting his head as he stared at the boy, "That's my son..." he breathed, before shouting for help, "My son. Doctor, Ms. Noble, please! My son!

The two Time Lords ran over, "What?!" the Doctor shouted as they looked up.

"They took my son. No wonder my mind escaped! Those damned Cybermen, they took my child. But he's alive, Doctor! Frederic!"

"Frederic can you jump down to us?" Mac called up to him.

"No, he's too scared," Jackson shook his head, knowing how his son was, "Stay there!" he yelled to his boy, "Don't move! I'm coming," he turned and rushed for the stairs that would lead up to the platform but a large explosion blocked the way, fire starting to blaze before him, "I can't get up there. Fred!"

"They've finished with the motor," the Doctor looked at Mac as she looked around for some way to get up there, "It's going to blow up."

"What are we going to do, Doctor?!" Jackson cried, "What are we going to do?!"

"There!" Mac pointed, "Grab the rope!" she pushed the Doctor over to a rope hanging right in front of the platform, she waited till he grabbed it and pulled out an army knife from her pocket, cutting into the rope.

"What are you doing?!" the Doctor called to her.

"Just hold on!" she snapped, managing to get through the entire rope, cutting off the Doctor's next words as the rope began to fly up with him with it, being pulled by a weight that was dropping, bringing him right to the top of the platform.

Mac looked up, watching intently as the Doctor managed to get Frederic to climb onto his back and hold on as he used the rope to swing off the platform and made his way slowly down to the ground.

"Merry Christmas!" the man cheered, handing the boy over to his father as Jackson hugged his son tightly.

Mac watched the display with a smile that was a hint sad, seeing father and son…it hurt, it always stung her to see happy parents and their children, knowing she could never have that, especially not with a child. It had been nice, with Teddy, she treasured that moment always, but…there was just something about having a baby or a child in your arms that was different. She shook her head so she could focus and get back to helping the humans and the Doctor, the four of them quickly turning to escape as explosions and fires sprang up around them.

~8~

The trio of adults…well, two adults, 1 Time Lord and 1 actual child, ran into the cellar of 15 Latimer Street, thankful that there were no Cybermen following them, they'd likely all teleported to the court of the Cyberking though.

"Get him out of here," Mac ushered Jackson towards the stairs with Frederic as the Doctor paused by the scepter, trying to get it out of its casing as an explosion went off in the tunnel.

"Come on, Doctor!" Jackson called, though he didn't slow his pace at heading for the exit at all, "Hurry up!"

"Gotcha!" the Doctor beamed as the scepter was released and ran after them, the small group of them stepping out onto the street…in the middle of chaos, people running around, screaming, and a rather large crudely made Cyberman standing in the middle of the city, "It's a Cyberking," he breathed, hearing it was one thing, actually SEEING it was another.

"And a Cyberking is what?" Jackson looked over at them, feeling like he should know, like he had known at one point, but that it was escaping him right now.

"A large Cyberman that can force conversion on millions," Mac told him, "We have to stop it," she murmured before taking off towards it.

"Mackenzie!" the Doctor shouted, quickly turning to Jackson, "Take him south, go to the parkland."

"But where are you going?!" Jackson grabbed his arm as the Doctor nearly ran off too.

"To stop that thing."

"I should be with you!"

"Jackson, you've got your son. You've got a reason to live."

"And you haven't?" Jackson breathed.

"I do," the Doctor admitted, "And she's just run off towards it," he pulled his arm out of Jackson's hold and ran off after Mac.

"God save you, Doctor," Jackson breathed before turning to run off with Frederic, heading south as they were told.

~8~

"Mackenzie!" the Doctor caught up with her just outside the stables, grabbing her arm and tugging her back to stop her running.

"Doctor we don't have time," she turned to him.

"I know," he panted a bit, though more from how fast his hearts were racing than the run, "Just…don't…don't wander off," he tried to joke, giving her a small smile.

She blinked at him, not quite understanding for a moment before she got it, he didn't want her to run off without him, "You wandered off first," she reminded him, before she turned and rushed through the stables to the back.

The Doctor sighed, knowing he couldn't argue with that, he'd 'wandered off' first and far more times than she had, he owed her…quite a few really, so he ran after her, stopping only when the open trunk that he'd found the line of infostamps in caught his eye. He rushed over to the case and grabbed the row of stamps before he followed Mac outside where she was talking to Jed.

"What the hell is that thing, sir?" the boy asked, seeing him coming running out of the stables too.

"Jed, wasn't it?" he moved to the boy's side, "Jed, I need your help! I'll give you five pound notes for it!"

Jed blinked, "Alright. What d'you want me to do?"

"The TARDIS is gonna fly!" he grinned.

"I was just asking him what he mended the tear with," Mac rolled her eyes at him, it WOULD be just like the Doctor to get into the hot air balloon and forget it had been torn earlier.

"Will it hold?" the Doctor looked at her.

She nodded, "Yeah."

He grinned again and ran to the basket, tossing in the stamps and the Vault before he hopped in and turned around.

"You're flamin' bonkers, sir!" Jed called as he rushed to the ropes.

"It's been said before," he shrugged, looking over at Mac and holding out a hand to help her in, "You coming?"

She shook her head, "It's a small basket," she told him, "It won't fit us both."

"It will," he insisted, holding out his hand more but she stepped back, so he rolled his own eyes and lunged forward, grabbing her hand and half pulling her into the basket with him, he was NOT about to leave her on the ground where she could be hurt. He wound an arm around her waist holding her close, the two of them nearly pressed against each other in the small basket, it really actually WAS quite small now that there were two of them in there, "See," he gave her a tense grin, praying that she wouldn't slap him for what he'd done, "Perfect fit!"

Before Mac could even open her mouth or try to scramble back out of the basket, Jed let loose the last rope and the balloon started to rise with a "God's luck to you!" called up to them by the boy.

"Best help me out," the Doctor remarked, turning to untie the sandbags, needing to get higher.

Mac let out a quiet huff by pulled out the spray bottle she'd had when they'd met Agatha Christie and sprayed it at the fire above them, making it blaze even more, helping them go higher and higher when coupled with the Doctor's releasing sandbags.

In no time at all they were equal with the Cyberking, which spun around to face them, revealing Hartigan sitting in between a row of Cybermen, a metal band on her head with wires in it, her eyes completely black.

"Excellent," the woman sneered, her voice echoing out from the large metal man, "The Doctor! Yet another man come to assert himself against me in the night. And you," she glared at Mac, "Are a traitor to our gender!"

"You do realize you're standing with at least a dozen mental MEN, yes?" Mac scoffed, trying to pull the woman's attention to her as the Doctor wrapped the line of infostamps around his wrist and arm and sonicing it.

"I RULE them," the woman countered.

"I'd rather be equal to a man than better than a man," Mac remarked.

"Then you are a fool!" the woman spit.

"Miss Hartigan," the Doctor cut in, ready, "I'm offering you a choice. You might have the most remarkable mind this world has ever seen. Strong enough to control the Cybermen themselves!"

"I don't need you to sanction me."

"No, but such a mind deserves to live! The Cybermen came to this world using a Dimension Vault. I can use that device to find you a home. With no people to convert. But a new world where you can live out your mechanical life in peace."

"I have the world below, and it is abundant with so many minds, ready to become extensions of me. Why would I leave this place?"

"Because we'll stop you if you don't," Mac warned her.

"What do you make of me?" she cackled, "An idiot?"

"A rather big one if you were unable to realize the Cybermen were manipulating you," Mac agreed.

Hartigan's eyes narrowed into slits of anger, "Destroy them!" she shouted.

"One day," the Doctor muttered to Mac, "Your mouth is going to get me in trouble."

"That's YOU Doctor," she countered, before standing as far back as she could while he thrust out his arm, firing a beam at the device on Hartigan's head, putting all the energy the stamps could afford into it till it was gone.

Hartigan looked around and smirked, seeing she was completely unharmed, "I have made you a failure. Your weapons are useless, sir."

"It would be," Mac agreed, "If he'd been trying to kill you."

The Doctor nodded solemnly, "All I did was break the Cyberconnection, leaving your mind open. Open, I think, for the first time in far too many years," he looked into her eyes, eyes that were no longer black but their normal color again, "So you can see. Just look at yourself. Look at what you've done," he watched as the Cybermen turned to her, free now that her hold on them was gone, "I'm sorry, Miss Hartigan. But look at what you've become."

They watched tensely as Hartigan looked at the Cybers and the burning city, all too aware of what was going to happen now that she was in the chair but without any control. She screamed as the energy ran out of her brain, through the machine, the pain of it all coursing through her and into them, causing the Cybers to explode, causing the Cyberking to break down at its joints.

The Doctor looked down, hearing a beep, "Oh," he grumbled trying to reach down for the Vault, but unable to get it in the cramped space, "Now you're ready!" he tried to wiggle himself lower, much like when he and Martha had been trapped in Lazarus's machine.

"Oi!" Mac smacked the top of his head, "Hands!"

"Sorry!" he winced, having had to grab one of her claves to steady himself, "Got it!" he cried, standing up quickly with the Vault in his hand, he glanced at it and then her, "Care to do the honors?" he held it out to her.

She eyed it a moment, "You…sharing credit now?"

He shrugged, "I'm modest," he gave her a small smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him but took the Vault and aimed it at the Cyberking, firing at it just as it fell, pulling the entire structure into the Vault and preventing it from landing on the Town below.

A moment later a cheer reached them, shouting and clapping sounding up to them from the small crowd that had gathered below, all the towns people, with Jackson right before them, applauding them.

"Bravo!" they could hear Jackson call, "Bravo, sir!" the Doctor chuckled at that and rang a small bell for them as the applause grew louder, "Bravo, Doctor."

He smiled down at the crowd till he saw Mac looking at him, a hint of a small smile on her face, "What?"

"Nothing," she shook her head, "I just…I like this you better," she offered, "The one who saves worlds instead of…" she let it hang, not wanting to say it but not being able to stop the rest of what she'd said from coming out.

He nodded though, "Me too."

~8~

The Doctor and Mac walked with Jackson through the market what seemed like not even an hour later, the people already getting to work picking up their stalls and repairing the damage.

"The city will recover, as London always does," Jackson agreed with the work, "Though the events of today will be history, spoken of for centuries to come!"

"I'm sure it will," Mac mumbled, though…it did strike her as odd that this event had happened yet there was nothing about it told in the future.

"Funny that," the Doctor seemed to be of the same sentiment about it.

"And a new history begins for me," Jackson sighed, "I find myself a widower, but with my son and with a good friend," he smiled as he saw Rosita tending to Frederic, Jed beside them.

"Now, take care of that one. She's marvelous."

"Jed as well," Mac added, giving the Doctor a pointed look that the young man had helped them as well and it wouldn't be fair to only care for Rosita.

"Yes," Jackson chuckled, "I could use an assistant for my lectures," he agreed, "And Frederic will need a nursemaid and I can think of none better. But you're welcome to join us. We thought we might all dine together, at the Traveler's Halt, a Christmas feast, in celebration, and in memory of those we have lost. You won't stay?"

"Oh, you know me," the Doctor shrugged as they reached the TARDIS.

"No, I don't think anyone does."

"Not even me," Mac nodded.

The Doctor looked at her with a frown on his face only to have it lighten a little bit. It wasn't said in anger or hurt, that she didn't know who he was anymore, that he was a monster or something to her, but more…an understanding that she hadn't tried to get to know the new him. That she…she wanted to.

That was something they both needed to do, together, just…get to know each other once more.

"Oh!" Jackson cried out with delight as he spotted the TARDIS, "And this is it! Oh, if I might, Doctor? One last adventure?"

"Be my guest," the Doctor unlocked the door for him.

"Oh..." Jackson beamed, rushing right in and looking around in awe, "Oh, my word. Oh," he made his way to the console, reaching out as though to touch it but just looked up at the rotor, "Oh, goodness me. But this is...but this is…"

"Don't say bigger on the inside," Mac rubbed her head at that.

"Nonsense!" Jackson supplied instead, making the Doctor laugh.

"Well, that's one word for it!" the Time Lord smiled.

"Complete and utter, wonderful nonsense! How very, very silly! Oh, no. I can't bear it! Oh," Jackson hunched forward, starting to rub his head, "It's causing my head to ache. No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." he turned and quickly made his way out of the box, "Oh! Oh, gracious. That's quite enough," he spun around as the Doctor closed the doors behind them, the Time Lords stepping out after him, "I take it this is goodbye?"

"Onwards and upwards," the Doctor nodded.

"Tell me one thing. All those facts and figures I saw of the Doctor's life, you were never alone. All those bright and shining companions! You have Ms. Noble!"

Mac blinked, as though just realizing she'd never properly introduced herself, "Um, actually…Time Lady," she pointed to herself.

"Truly!?" Jackson looked at her in a mixture of shock and awe, "Oh that is wonderful!" he reached out to shake her hand again, as though meeting a new her despite her being the same woman that had been there the entire time, "A pleasure to meet you!"

"You as well," Mac humored him.

Jackson smiled as he stepped back, before her words actually caught up with him and he looked at the Doctor, starting to blink and frown, "Then…no companions at the moment?"

"No," the Doctor answered.

"Might I ask, why not?"

"They leave," he shrugged sadly, "Because they should, or they find someone else. And some of them…some of them forget me. I suppose, in the end…they break my heart."

Mac looked down at that, he suffered all that, every time one left and she had had the nerve and gall to tell him that he didn't care about them. She truly hated some of the things she'd said to him in her anger.

"That offer of Christmas dinner, it's no longer a request, it's a demand," Jackson stated.

"In memory of those we've lost?" the Doctor eyed him as the man nodded, "Oh, go on then!"

"Really?" Jackson gaped at him.

"Looks like you've changed his mind," Mac mused.

"Not many people can do that!" the Doctor chuckled, "Jackson, if anyone had to be the Doctor, I'm glad it was you."

"The feast awaits," the man beamed, "Come with me! Walk this way."

"We certainly will, won't we?" he looked at Mac as Jackson started to walk off.

Mac hesitated for only a moment before nodding, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt," she offered and the Doctor grinned widely, the two of them walking off after the human.

"Merry Christmas to you, Jackson," the Doctor called.

"Merry Christmas, indeed, Doctor!" the man laughed, rushing over to his son to pick him up, speaking to Rosita and Jed about joining them as well as the Time Lords stood back.

"You know…" Mac began, "I don't think anyone really knew…" she looked at him, "Why DID you leave Gallifrey?"

He sighed, "You were actually right."

She blinked, thinking back to everything she'd said about his leaving the planet, "You wanted to escape your wife?"

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck, "She…um…she wanted another child and I just…" he shrugged, his meaning clear, he just couldn't, "It took too much to get her the first round of kids, I only did that because it was our agreement, she married me for kids, I married her for…for you," he glanced at her, "I didn't…I couldn't…with…her…" he started to stutter at the end.

Mac nodded, thinking on that, understanding him all too well, kids were expected and…he'd essentially been forced to have his first few children, but after that…he couldn't seem to make himself do the same because of HER. She felt her hearts crack a little at that, knowing that even now, even in the future, if they ever moved past their issues and somehow managed to be what they once were…there would still be no children.

"Well, um…" the Doctor began again, "I don't…I don't want you to think but…um…"

"Just say it Doctor," she looked at him.

He just sighed and pointed up.

She blinked and looked above them where a small garland of mistletoe was hanging.

"I don't want you to think you have to," he finally got out, "Just because it's a human tradition. We…we're Time Lords, we don't have to follow it."

Mac looked at the mistletoe, and then him, and back, then out at the Christmas decorations, reminding her of the holiday, before she let out a soft breath. She looked at him once more and reached out to touch his cheek, turning his head as she leaned in to give him the smallest of kisses on the cheek, "When in Rome," she murmured as she pulled away, the Doctor staring at her with wide eyes for even that small kiss, "We ARE on Earth though, and it IS their tradition...Merry Christmas Doctor."

"Come my friends!" they heard Jackson call.

Mac glanced at the Doctor before she turned and made her way after Jackson, the Doctor just…standing there a moment longer, blinking as he lifted his hand to touch his cheek. He gave a small smile at how warm it still felt from her kiss.

Another step, small though it was, in the right direction.

A/N: Small tiny hint of a bit of...not sure what the pairing name is lol. On that note, I'm going to be posting a poll when I put up the first chapter of Waters of Mars for a pairing name. So we have today, Planet of the Dead, and the Wedding of SJS for anyone who'd like to submit a pairing name for the Doctor/Mac (Theta/Naery) ;) I'll put them all together and open the poll then and announce the winner in the last chapter of this story :)

I hope you enjoyed the chapter :) I'm very excited for little things that'll be coming ^-^

Some notes on reviews...

I'd probably freak out internally and just stare at the box for about 10 minutes wondering if it was really there lol :) And if I saw the 11s I'd probably just want to hug Angel, knowing what's coming for her :( I'd take her aside and tell her it'll be ok, even though I'm not psychic, to just 'have faith' ;) And then, as they left, I'd probably slap the Doctor in the back of the head lol :)

Yup, I'll be doing Death of the Doctor in the next story :)

They're not quite Chosens yet, they have to reciprocate their feelings when they say they love each other, and Mac's took confused at the moment to know if she still loves him or if she can love him again given what he did to their planet, murdering her entire family would be a bit hard to look past just yet :( But there's a very BIG hope for the future ;)

I'm sorry I haven't been on tumblr much :( Real life keeps pulling me away :( I surprised my Latin Club at the Met on Saturday, had a father/daughter day with my dad on Sunday, helped my sister on Monday to find a suit (never ever going to the mall for 10 hours straight ever again), and Tuesday I had 2 doctor appointments (just general checkups) and class :( I also have an exam this week so I'm hoping for more time to really get back on on Friday :)

Oh I got it ;) I really cannot wait to get to the Moment too, Mac will be in for...quite a rude awakening ;)

Oh they'll SO get together during 11 yup ;) She'll still snap at times, when tensions are really high (like Dalek level high) :) I can say someone might just slap him for what he did at one point, but I won't say who ;) Oh Rory, I love Rory, Mac'll be very close to him. She won't so much snap at Amy as a sort of 'fight fire with fire' sort of thing, two can play at that game ;) But she will have some things to say to her about how she treats Rory yup :)


	3. Planet of the Dead - Part 1

Planet of the Dead - Part 1

Mac led the Doctor through London, heading for where one of the buses had pulled up. Having lived on Earth for quite a few years and having had no transport of her own, she'd made great use of the public transportation system of the area. She knew what the bus schedules were, how to use the tube, and how to hail a cab, something the Doctor was quite pouty about as the cab in particular would have come in quite useful when he'd first met Donna.

"You're just in time, mates," the bus driver greeted as they just managed to reach the bus in time.

The Doctor grinned at the man and flashed the psychic paper in front of the oyster card reader twice, allowing him and Mac to get onboard. They'd sort of ended up on Earth on accident, a mystery tour that was interrupted by the scanners Mac had set running to keep an eye on the Earth after it was stolen. The programs had picked up a small…tear in the fabric of reality, a very small one but still, given what had happened with the walls of the worlds, they were very determined to see it taken care of…

They just had to find it first.

Mac had been running a scan from where the TARDIS set down, the box not wanting to get too close to it, understandably so, and so they had to make their way across town on foot…or bus. The Doctor, however, while Mac was striding through the streets, had gotten distracted by a candy shop and gone inside to get a bit of chocolate as it was having an Easter Sale. He'd offered her some candy, knowing she'd had a bit of a sweet tooth in her first incarnation and truly not knowing if she still retained it, but she shook her head. He'd seen her glancing at the candy though and knew she'd only said no for the sake of trying to keep focused on their task at hand.

This bus in particular was going to take them right where the tear had come up on the scanners or at least very near it. They just had to find a spot to sit. Mac was going to head to one of the side seats, the ones that ran along the walls of the bus, but the Doctor tugged her over to one of the normal chairs, sliding in first and allowing her the aisle seat. She knew what he was doing, whenever they'd been on trips in the Academy, she would always prefer the aisle, feeling a little too cramped and trapped when there was someone else beside her and the wall. She'd noticed he'd do little things from time to time that her first self had liked or disliked, but he'd do so cautiously, as though he were merely observing her reaction.

He was trying to get to know her again, she realized, but she was doing the same as well so she couldn't fault him. Though her methods were more silent observations than active investigation like his. She watched what he did, what he ate, what he focused on and his expressions at times, just trying to gauge what he thought about certain things. She was…trying to at least. There were times he'd do something that irritated her or upset her or he brought up something that reminded her of her husband and she'd shut down and just walk off to the library or the pool or her room for a short time alone.

She really WAS trying not to lash out at him or make remarks against him anymore. Yes, she was devastated her planet was gone, her family was dead, and yes, she blamed him for all of it, for Gallifrey falling, for the war even happening because of his botched missions to stop the Daleks before they rose to power. She rightly, she believed, blamed him for a that. There were times, especially when a planet or species were in danger where she'd get angry with him and say something hurtful. But she tried NOT to let any of those comments be about his past companions, abandonment, or the more personal matters between the two of them from Gallifrey.

It was hard though, because she'd been angry for so long…she didn't know anymore what she'd be without her anger and she was honestly scared to find out. It WAS a scary notion, to let go of something, of the one emotion that had stuck with you through such horrible things. But…if she was going to stay with the Doctor a while longer, she would have to resolve all that. She would have to find a way to come to terms with it and let it go completely. He had had the best intentions in mind and she couldn't help but think of the old Earth quote, 'the road to hell is paved with good intentions,' and she knew that was what she'd done when she'd travelled with him and Donna, she'd made his life hell.

They'd already survived hell in the war, in all they'd lost, and while it was his fault, she just…she didn't want to put herself through hell either by constantly bringing up all his past mistakes. For all it seemed like her words hurt him when she'd spit them out, it hurt her equally because it forced her to remember them.

Her thoughts were cut off when the Doctor reached across her, one of his hands resting on her knee, to offer the broken chocolate egg he'd been eating to a woman across the aisle from her, "Hello, I'm the Doctor and this is Mackenzie! Happy Easter!" the woman just glanced at him and the egg and turned back to facing the front. The Doctor took that as a cue only that she didn't want chocolate though and sat back in his seat, starting to ramble…though Mac wasn't sure if he was speaking to HER or to the other woman, not that it made much difference, neither of them were paying much attention to him, "Funny thing is, I don't often do Easter. I can never find it, it's always at a different time. Although I remember the original. Between you and me, what really happened was..."

Mac did pick up that though and quickly made the 'stop talking' motion to silence him, "You say that you either completely tear down a religious order's entire belief system, or you end up sectioned."

He blinked and nodded at that, "Right," he smiled at her and held out the egg, offering her one more piece, "Come on," he urged, "We're on a bus, it's not like there's something here that requires your full attention."

She glanced at the chocolate and had to sigh, he did have a point, so she reached out and plucked a small piece of chocolate, about to put it to her mouth when a beep sounded. She smirked as the Doctor groaned, seeing her put the piece back down, "You spoke too soon."

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I seem to have a knack for it," he muttered, handing Mac the egg so he could dig around his pockets for the device he'd nicked from her so she'd stop focusing on it and at least enjoy the scenery around them as they headed for the tear, "Just…hold on to that for me. Actually, we should probably dump it somewhere. It's full of sugar and I'm determined to keep these teeth," he shot her a grin as he managed to find the device and pulled it out, "Ah! Oh, we've got excitation!"

"No," Mac remarked dryly, "I hadn't noticed," she looked at the small block in his hand, a small little metal box with a little satellite dish sticking up from it, frowning as she pulled her glasses down to examine it closer, "I'm picking up something very strange."

"I know the feeling," the black haired woman beside Mac mumbled, throwing a look at the Doctor before she turned to look out the window.

"Rhondium particles," the Doctor nodded, examining the box, "That's what we're looking for."

"The dish should be moving though if it had detected them," Mac pointed out.

"So it should," he nodded…and proceeded to bash the box against his palm, to try and get it to work.

"You're going to break that!" Mac chastised, trying to pull it out of his hands, but he tugged it back out of her reach.

"Right now, a way out would come in pretty handy," the woman beside her mumbled, "Can you detect me one of those?"

"Oh," the Doctor cheered, "There we go! The little dish is going round!"

"Doctor it's only meant to do that if we're within 50 feet of them!" Mac reminded him.

The Doctor's eyes widened, realizing what that meant and the time they had with the speed the bus was going, and then the device exploded in his hand, sparking more like it, but destroying all the circuitry and casing a small puff of smoke to go up.

"Excuse me," a middle-aged blonde woman coughed a bit, "Do you mind?"

"Everyone!" Mac shouted as she immediately stood, pushing her glasses up, knowing that the bus was about to hit a very BIG batch of particles if the device exploded like that, "Brace yourselves!" she turned and rushed to the back of the bus, trying to get up the stairs to check on if there were any passengers above them to warn them.

The Doctor jolted forward, "Mackenzie!" he cried just as the bus started to shake terrible, "Hold on everyone!" he warned as the bus gave a terrible lurch, jerking all of them around with a vicious swing, causing them to fall to the floor as the windows shattered and sparks flew from all the electronics above them.

The Doctor looked over, hearing a cry of pain to see Mac falling back down the stairs, a young black boy toppling down after her, the boy calling out, "What's going on?!"

A bright flash of light blazed through the windows as what was left of them shattered, raining shards of glass down upon the poor humans and Time Lords that were ducking on the floor of the bus, the bus driver straining to keep control of his vehicle until it suddenly slowed to a stop. The Doctor and Mac were on their feet instantly, Mac helping the young boy up as they'd both fallen together, though her gaze was out the windows where a very visible, very vast desert was stretched out…in broad daylight when it had been quite dark only moments ago.

She glanced at the Doctor to see him running for the doors, already eager to see where they'd ended up this time, and rushed after him, knowing there was no use thinking of an environment scan now that they didn't have the TARDIS…and realizing that it also meant they'd eventually have to reveal themselves to be aliens as, if they ran into any aliens, they'd be forced to speak their language and translate for the humans without the TARDIS translation tech there to help.

The Doctor looked to his side as Mac stepped next to him, "End of the line," he remarked, opening the doors and stepping out into the desert, "Call it a hunch, but I think we've gone a little bit further than Brixton."

"What was your first clue?" she gave him an unamused look, "The change in scenery? The change in lighting? Or the change in number of suns?" she gestured to the side where they could see three suns rising in the distance, "This isn't going to end well Doctor," she warned, "Humans always have a way of proving their hysteria in situations where they find themselves trapped and without escape."

"Then…we just have to find an escape," he shrugged.

"Easier said than done," she gestured around, "There's just desert, nothing to be seen, and if we even try the tear…" she threw her hand back at the bus which was in a complete state of wreckage, looking crushed and dented, the top deck nearly collapsed, smoke drifting off from it.

"We'll find one," the Doctor said resolutely as the last of the humans staggered off the bus, well, save for a middle aged black couple that had been sitting near the back, they had remained onboard. He turned and looked around, moving off a short ways away and crouching down, pressing his hands to the sand in an attempt to examine it, Mac moving to kneel in it, picking up a bit of it to run it over in her palm, sniffing it slightly.

They focused on that task as best they could while the humans took in their surroundings, the three suns and all. They hard one remark about when the Earth was stolen, but luckily, they also heard that the bus driver thought the bus able to be moved, to be driven once more, even though it was partially crushed…it was just that the wheels were stuck in the sand.

They glanced over as the black-haired woman joined them, dressed all in black now that they could see her properly and in the light, taking off her jacket and putting on a pair of sunglasses, "Ready for every emergency," she smiled.

"As am I," Mac tapped her glasses as she lowered them onto her nose, the lenses already starting to darken to adjust to the light as quite a few human glasses did.

The Doctor looked at the women before he pulled his glasses off his own nose where he'd slipped them on and soniced them darker, grinning as he fixed them back on his nose, "Me too!"

"And what's your name?" the woman eyed them as they got right back to examining the sand, "I'm Christina."

"Mackenzie," Mac muttered.

"And you?" Christina glanced at the Doctor.

"I'm the Doctor," he added.

"Name, not rank."

"The Doctor."

"Surname?"

"The Doctor."

"You're called 'the Doctor?'" Christina eyed him a moment before flicking a glance in Mac's direction a though to ask if he were really being serious about that.

"Unfortunately so," she nodded, pulling out a small magnifying glass from her pocket, more like a small square one that could be used for reading.

"Oi," the Doctor flicked a bit of sand at her, "There's nothing unfortunate about that."

"It's not a name, it's a psychological condition," Christina agreed.

"You really should just use John Smith," Mac looked up at him, "Not all hu…people will just accept someone called 'The Doctor' as a means to communicate. _A_ Doctor, perhaps, but they'd still want a name, not a title."

"Is that why you let them call you Mackenzie?" he frowned at her, honestly curious about that.

She hadn't picked a title on Gallifrey, hadn't picked a name even but had chosen to keep her own and he was always curious why she'd allowed the humans to pick a name for her. He knew she couldn't just introduce herself as Naery to humans, it was forbidden, but she could have still given a name of her own choosing. It wasn't like her to let people dictate things in her life though…now that he thought about it, that was how her life ended up going. So many people had a say in how her life went, her family and their Contract, her husband, even him, almost everyone except Mac herself. Maybe that was it?

"They cared," Mac shrugged.

He blinked, not sure he'd heard her right, "Sorry?"

She glanced up at him from the magnifying glass, "They cared enough to give me a nickname instead of just calling me Agent," she explained, "It was a new start, a new life."

He nodded, that also explained her anger at him calling her Naery that first time. Her true name was her Gallifreyan name, it was a connection to Gallifrey, something she lost. To her, it must have felt like she'd lost the use of her name as well, having spent years on Earth with humans and unable to use her own true name. To hear him call her that, it must have just reminded her that Gallifrey was gone. He hoped that he could change that though, he'd always thought her name beautiful.

"So…Mackenzie ISN'T your name then?" Christina eyed her, trying to keep up with what she was saying though she wasn't entirely sure.

"Everyone calls me Mac," was all Mac could give her without going through a whole long story she'd rather not speak of, "And besides, my name and his title aren't the main concern at the moment," Mac squinted through the magnifying glass at the sand as she rubbed it in her fingers, "This sand has got traces of other substances in it."

"Like what?" Christina frowned.

"Metal and bones," Mac stated bluntly, "Which means you DON'T have to taste it," she shot the Doctor a pointed look, Christina glancing over to see the man really did seem an inch away from tasting it…literally, his tongue as sticking out and his fingers were just above it about to sprinkle some sand onto it.

"What sort of metal and bones?" Christina looked back at her, "Like…animals or…"

"Just…bone," Mac shrugged, it wasn't like the small magnifying glass could pick that much up.

Before Christina could continue to question her though about what exactly that meant, the young black boy rounded on the three of them, pointing at the Doctor with a shout of, "Hold on a minute, I saw you, mate! You had that thing, that machine. Did you make this happen?"

"Oh, humans on buses, always blaming me," the Doctor mumbled.

"At least you're not at threat of being thrown out into Xtonic sunlight," Mac pointed out as they stood and made their way back over to the humans.

"If you must know," he began, "We were tracking a hole in the fabric of reality. Call it a hobby."

"Call it preventative measures," Mac corrected, pulling out an ID card from her pocket as she pusehd her glasses up, "Agent Mackenzie of UNIT," she flashed it at them, "With my…associate," she sighed, rolling her eyes, "Code Name: The Doctor," she offered, making him beam as he looked at her.

He was…actually loving her taking command of all this, it was…interesting to not be the one in charge, but he loved it. He really wanted to show her that he respected her and her opinion, her knowledge and experience, and that he valued her. He knew that she hadn't specifically stated that she was going to stay with him in the TARDIS, but nor had she said she'd be returning to UNIT. It was…all up in the air so far and he was doing all he could to try and subtly convince her to stay with him and travel with him. Maybe this would help, to show her that…that he DID need her. She was right, just because he said 'trust my I'm the Doctor' or introduced himself as that didn't always mean people believed him or trusted him. Unless he used the psychic paper to make them think he was some sort of official, it could be hard to build that trust.

But Mac, being a part of UNIT and all of these being humans in London, they HAD to know what UNIT was the organization was so involved in all things alien, truly far more public a figure than Torchwood was. It meant they'd trust her more than him, let her take command, and he was…he was actually eager to see it. He hadn't in…SO long. When they'd been younger, when they'd be in a group, she never really took over but more just kept them all to task, especially her younger siblings. But now…now it was time to see her skills and time with UNIT shine.

"We've been tasked to track tears in reality as part of the measures being put in place to prevent another Stolen Earth incident," she informed them, it was near enough to the truth for her to feel like she wasn't outright lying like the Doctor would, they really WERE trying to keep the Earth safe and prevent it being stolen again…and they both did still technically work for UNIT, and they'd sent themselves the task to track the tears.

"But it was a tiny little hole," the Doctor added, "No danger to anyone. Suddenly it gets big, and we drive right through it."

The scans from the TARDIS could only get so close to the pinpointing of the tear, she'd thought they be able to get off at the stop just after that tunnel and walk back to the tunnel to examine the tiny tear…but with it suddenly growing, it had consumed the bus instead of allowed it to drive past it.

"But then where is it?" the driver looked around, frantic, "There's nothing, there's just sand!"

Mac shot him a look, "Did you SEE the tear before you drove through it?" she asked the man.

"No."

"Then what makes you think you'd be able to see it NOW?" she crossed her arms, the man falling silent as he realized how foolish he'd just sounded, making a big thing of it. Clearly they wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye, "Doctor?" she turned to him.

He smiled, "If you want proof though," he leaned over and picked up a handful of sand, walking over to a few feet behind the bus, where the tear likely was, "We drove through this!" he tossed the sand out, creating a shimmering sort of circular portal before them which disappeared quite quickly.

Mac frowned as she watched it shimmer and fade, it wasn't that it disappeared because the sand had travelled through it, but because the sand within was being disintegrated and worn away instantly.

"And that's…" Christina blinked.

"The tear we drove through," Mac nodded.

"So what you're saying is, on the other side of that is home?" the Driver started to smile, "We can get to London through there?"

"The _bus_ came through, but we can't," the Doctor turned to him.

But the Driver just ignored him, rushing off with a cheer before they could stop him, "Well, then what are we waiting for?" he laughed, reaching the portal as the Time Lords shouted out not to, "I'm going home, mates!" he called…only to hit the portal and disintegrate before their very eyes, his entire body catching fire, leaving him nothing more than a skeleton as he fell through to the other side.

"He was a skeleton, man!" the black boy shouted, the humans stumbling back, screaming and scared at what they'd seen, "He was bones, just bones!"

Mac rubbed her head, just knowing the hysteria would be setting in rather soon.

"It was the bus," she heard the Doctor murmur beside her, "You were right about it, look at the damage, that was the bus protecting us. Great big box of metal."

"Rather like a Faraday cage?" Christina guessed from her other side, Mac glancing between them wondering when she'd ended up in the middle of them.

"Like in a thunderstorm, yeah?" another young man called, "Safest place is inside a car, cos the metal conducts the lightning right through. We did it in school."

"We were doing quantum physics in relation to wormholes in school," Mac muttered, making the Doctor smile.

He'd noticed once or twice on some recent adventures Mac getting a little…irritated with humans and how little they knew. It was likely a result of being with UNIT where they at least had some sense of what was going on and left her alone to work something out and report back to them. Most humans, it seemed, would just ask questions when they didn't understand something, unlike the UNIT soldiers who kept quiet and let her tell them what was going on. He'd heard her make small remarks about how slow the humans were making her.

As terrible as it was to admit…he was hoping that might continue just slightly so that she might decide to stay with him as he could offer her a 'challenge' or at least 'intelligent' conversation.

"But if we can only travel back inside the bus..." Christina frowned, "A Faraday cage needs to be closed. That thing's been ripped wide open."

"That's if you apply the same logic as a thunderstorm to a wormhole," Mac countered, "Vastly different areas with vastly different results. As long as we're surrounded by the metal, the bus should make it."

"Then we have to drive five tons of bus, which is currently buried in the sand, and we've got nothing but our bare hands. Correct?"

"I'd say nine and a half tons," the Doctor estimated, "But the point still stands, yes."

"Then we need to apply ourselves to the problem with discipline! Which starts with appointing a leader."

"Well then, Mackenzie…" the Doctor began, only to realize Christina wasn't finished speaking.

"Well, thank goodness you've got me!" she smirked at them.

"I think Mackenzie should be the leader," the Doctor vouched for her, "She's…my commanding officer," he joked, going along with her cover of them working in UNIT, "She was in charge of the mission and…"

"And that'll be brilliant," Christina nodded, "You and her can head the science branch. But how are either of you in dealing with actual people?"

"I prefer my lab," Mac said bluntly.

Christina nodded, "There you go," she gestured to her as the Doctor shrugged, "Everyone do exactly as I say!" she turned to the others, "Inside the bus immediately!"

"Is it safe in there?" the young man who had taken to comforting the blonde woman frowned.

"I don't think anything's safe anymore, but if it's a choice between baking in there or roasting out here, I'd say baking is slower. Come on! All of you. Right now! And you Mackenzie. And 'The Doctor.'"

"Yes, ma'am," the Doctor mock-saluted.

Christina gave a nod and turned to usher the other humans back inside the bus, "Up! Come on!"

The Doctor watched her for a moment, he saw a little bit of Mac in her, in how she was 'taking care' of the others, but…there was something more…arrogant about it, in a way, an almost too-sure nature to her. Mac, the first Mac, had tasked herself with taking care of them all but because she genuinely cared about them. Christina rubbed him the wrong way a bit.

"You um…really prefer the lab to interacting with humans?" he asked her as they started to head for the bus. He would have to keep that in consideration for future trips, he really, REALLY didn't want to do anything that would make any of the trips less enjoyable for her. He really wanted this to work, and if that meant him sacrificing watching and being around humans for a short while, he could do that.

And, it would be nice to just have time with Mac.

Mac shrugged though, "Carryover from the war," she sighed, "We didn't have much time to talk or chat in the factories. We worked and that was it. We worked, slept, ate, and built weapons. I prefer having just my one task, and seeing it through, than talking to someone else that might distract from it."

He nodded, "I can um…try to keep the gob from going if…if you'd like," he offered, knowing that he could certainly talk someone's ear off.

Mac looked at him, seeing he was genuinely serious about trying to not talk as much around her and shook her head slightly, "It's fine. YOU at least say intelligent things…"

"Thanks," he started to smile.

"Some of the time," she finished.

"Oi!" he cried…only to blink when he saw a faint twitch in the corner of her mouth, like she was trying not to smirk and realized…that hadn't been an insult (even though it sort of was) but…a joke, and felt himself smile fully behind her as he followed her into the bus.

~8~

Mac was sitting hunched over in her chair on the bus, her elbows on her knees as she rubbed her temples, Christina was taking the entire leadership thing a little too far and creating rules and codes and points to follow and all it was really doing was wasting time they could have been using to work out where they were and what was going on.

The Doctor was highly amused to see her irritated with someone other than him.

"Point five, the crucial thing is, do not panic," Christina continued, "Quite apart from anything else, the smell of sweat inside this thing is reaching atrocious levels. We don't need to add any more. Point six. Team identification. Names. I'm Christina, you all now Agent Mackenzie and the Doctor," she gave them a nod, before turning to the young boy beside her, "And you?"

"Nathan," he gave them a little wave.

"I'm Barclay," the black boy continued as it went around the small circle of them.

"Angela, Angela Whittaker," the blonde woman sniffled.

The Doctor and Mac looked over to the male in the black couple to the side, skipping over them as they'd already given their names, "My name's Louis, everyone calls me Lou, and this is Carmen," he nodded to the woman beside him.

"Excellent," Christina smiled, "Memorize those names. There might be a test," she waited for laughs but everyone just stared at her till she cleared her throat and continued on, "Point seven…"

"Is there an END point to all of this?" Mac cut in, "We've been sitting here for fifteen minutes so far and that's fifteen minutes we could have used to try and work out where we are and how to get back to Earth."

"Assessment and application of knowledge," Christina continued as though she hadn't been interrupted, "Over to you, UNIT."

The Doctor sat back, guessing this was the 'science' part she wanted them to take over with, "Right. So, the wormhole. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was just an accident."

"No, it wasn't," Carmen whispered, "That thing, the doorway. Someone made it. For a reason."

"And what reason is that?" Mac looked at her but the woman shrugged, "How do you know then?"

"She's got a gift," Lou smiled at her, "Ever since she was a little girl, she can just... tell things. We do the lottery, twice a week."

"You don't look like millionaires," Christina eyed them.

"No, but we win ten pounds. Every week, twice a week, ten pounds. Don't tell me that's not a gift!"

"Tell me, Carmen," the Doctor moved his hands behind his back, "How many fingers am I holding up?" Mac glanced back to see what they were, three of them, just as Carmen said, the woman changing her answer to four when the Doctor added another finger.

"Cheater," she muttered to the Doctor, knowing he'd been trying to trick her and test her at once.

"Very good!" the Doctor smiled at Carmen, before whispering to Mac, "Low level psychic ability, exacerbated by an alien sun."

"No," she rolled her eyes, "Never would have guessed that one," she nodded at the window where three alien suns were blazing at them.

The Doctor just winked at her and turned back to Carmen, "What can you see, Carmen? Tell me. What's out there?"

"Something...something is coming," she breathed, "Riding on the wind. And shining."

"What is it?"

"Death," she gasped, "Death is coming."

Angela let out a sob at that, "We're going to die!"

"Oh here we go," Mac mumbled, starting to rub her head again, here came the hysteria.

"I knew it, man, I said so!" Barclay called.

"We can't die out here," Nathan started to panic as well, "No one's gonna find us!"

"This isn't exactly helping!" Christina tried to call out as the humans began to cry and weep and shout among themselves, Mac massaging her temples even more.

This was why she preferred her lab.

"Shut up, we're not your soldiers," Barclay snapped at the woman.

"It's not doing any good..."

Lou put his arm around Carmen as the woman closed her eyes, flinching at the noise, "You're upsetting her, be quiet."

"Will we be bones, like the bus driver?!" Nathan asked.

"Stop whimpering, all of you!" Christina snapped, but it just made the noise that much louder.

Mac rolled her eyes and pulled out a whistle from her pocket, blowing it loudly to get them all to stop.

The Doctor winced from beside her, quickly putting his fingers in his ears to try and keep the whistle from blowing out his eardrums, "A little warning next time," he muttered to her.

"Stop getting humans on buses hysterical then," she huffed back at him, pocketing her whistle.

"It's not MY fault," he rolled his eyes, her words were just a hint too close to being snappish and blaming for comfort. He…they were doing so well with being around each other, he didn't want her to start snapping and blaming him for things beyond his control again.

"Just…fix this," she gestured at the humans, knowing that it wasn't HER strong suit to interact with them.

That had carried over from the war, definitely, the sense of being quiet and doing your task, not interacting. She wasn't…used to humans that needed comfort, not in such large numbers. Oh she could comfort one, two if she had to, but…she wasn't comfortable doing it. It was like…with Donna, it had taken her quite a while to get used to the human, to feel comfortable touching her in reassurance or hugging her. She didn't open herself up to others till she was fairly certain they weren't going to hurt her. Large groups of humans were more likely to hurt each other when they got scared, as the Doctor had proven on Midnight.

The Doctor looked around at the group, staring at them, at him…well, everyone except Angela who was quietly crying in her seat. He nodded to himself and got up, stepping over Mac, making her roll her eyes at how he could have just asked her to get up but he was always the sort to literally walk over things, tables, chairs, people, to get to some place faster.

The Doctor stepped over to Angela, kneeling down before her to grip her shoulders, "Angela, look at me. Angela, Angela, answer me one question, Angela. That's it, at me, at me," he smiled as she stopped crying and looked at him as he'd asked, "There we go, Angela, just answer me one thing. When you got on this bus, where were you going?"

"Doesn't matter now, does it?" she sniffled miserably.

"Just answer the question," Mac rubbed her forehead, the Doctor wouldn't have asked if the answer wasn't going to help…she didn't think. She hoped at least.

"Just…home," she shrugged.

"And what's home?" the Doctor continued.

"Me, and Mike and Suzanne, that's my daughter. She's 18."

"Suzanne. Good," he stood and nodded at Barclay, "What about you?"

"Dunno," he thought a moment, "Going round Tina's."

"Who's Tina? Your girlfriend?"

He grinned, "Not yet."

"Good boy."

"Bad boy," Mac countered, looking at Barclay, "If you like her, tell her. Flat out. To her face. That you do. And if you don't, tell her that too."

The Doctor swallowed, knowing where that had come from, and quickly changed to the other young boy in the bus, "What about you, Nathan?"

"Bit strapped for cash," he sighed, "I lost my job last week. I was gonna stay in. Watch TV."

"Brilliant. And you two?" he grinned at Carmen and Lou.

"I was going to cook," Lou took Carmen's hand.

"It's his turn tonight," Carmen smiled at him, "Then I clear up."

"Teamwork and partnerships," Mac did offer a small smile at that, "Nicely done."

"What's for tea?" the Doctor asked.

"Chops," Lou hummed, thinking about it, "Nice couple of chops and gravy. Nothing special."

"Oh, that's special, Lou. That is so special. Chops and gravy. Mmm! What about you, Christina?"

Christina blinked, as though she were shocked she was being included, but sighed, "I was going... so far away."

"Far away. Chops and gravy. Watching TV. Mike and Suzanne and poor old Tina."

"Hey!" Barclay laughed, earning a chuckle from the others as well.

"Just think of them," the Doctor told them, "Cos that planet out there, all three suns and wormholes and alien sand, that planet is nothing. You hear me? Nothing compared to all those things waiting for you. Food and home and people…" he trailed off a moment, seeing Mac look down at that and felt his hearts twist painfully in his chest to see her glance out the window, frowning.

He knew where her mind had gone, their home, their people, even their food. He'd been…trying to recreate a little treat he always used to make for her but it wasn't working. He'd just wanted to try and show her that, even though their planet was gone, they hadn't lost everything…but he'd even failed at that. Every time he tried to make the treat it came out worse than the previous attempt. There was just…nothing like Gallifreyan food out there and it was impossible to make again now and that just made the guilt sitting in his stomach grow all the bigger.

"Hold on to that," he cleared his throat, "Cos we're gonna get there. I promise. Mackenzie and I…we'll get you home."

~8~

Mac was standing beside the Doctor, Christina with them, as she eyed the bus, her mind racing with different things they could do to try and get it moving again using just what they had in front of them, which made the Doctor grin broadly, this was her niche, her specialty, taking what she had and working with it. She watched as Barclay and Nathan carried the seat cushions out of the bus, trying to remove everything from it to lighten the weight of the bus, try and shave off some tons.

"Here we go!" the Doctor cheered them on, "That's my boys!"

"If we can lay the cushions or even the side panels down behind the tires we can reverse the bus onto them like duckboards," Mac added, "Also, letting some air out of the tires'll spread the weight more evenly."

"Oh, that's good!" the Doctor smiled at her.

"Yeah," Barclay called as he and Nathan joined them, "But those wheels go deep."

"We need to dig them out then," Mac nodded.

"With what?"

"If you kick in one of the more flimsy panels and dent the niddle of an edge of it you can use it as a shovel," Mac said simply.

"Or…you can just use this," Christina reached into her bag and pulled out a folded shovel.

The Doctor took it and opened it, "Got anything else in there?" he asked as he handed the item to Barclay to get started.

"Try that, might help with the seats," she handed a hatchet to Nathan who rushed back to the bus with it.

"I rather like you Christina," Mac smiled at her, "I'm much the same with my pockets," she gestured to them, "Never ending supply of usefulness."

"I can't find the keys," Angela's voice called out to them from the bus and the Doctor quickly ran over to see to her, leaving the two women standing there.

"Anything else of use in that bag?" Mac inquired.

"Not unless we find some water," Christina shrugged, a small smirk on her face.

"We could," Mac mused, "Dig a hole and place something clear over the top of it. The sun would typically heat up the ground, create condensation and, putting a small rock in the middle for a dip and center, would slowly fill a container with water."

"Really?" Christina blinked at her.

"Mhmm," she nodded, "Desert survival 101, always bring a clear rain poncho. No one ever thinks they'll need it."

"The engine's clogged up!" they heard the Doctor shout and looked over to see him peeking at the front of the bus, the engine making a rather terrible grinding noise whenever Angela tried to start it.

"Anyone know mechanics?" Christina called to the two boys as she and Mac made their way to the bus once more.

"Me!" Barclay stood, "I did a two-week NVQ at the garage. Never finished it, but..."

"Off you go then," the Doctor nodded, "Try stripping the air filter, fast as you can. Back in two ticks. Mackenzie?" he glanced at her.

"Might as well," she shrugged, following him off into the desert as Barclay moved to the engine.

"Wait a minute!" Christina ran after them, "You're the ones with all the answers. I'm not letting you out of my sight!"

The Doctor glanced over at Christina as she caught up to them, "Easier if you left that backpack behind."

Christina put her chin in the air, mock-defiant, and readjusted the straps of the pack she really had taken with her, "Where I go, it goes."

"You know," Mac began, "I have a lot of things in my pockets that can help in almost any situation…but I don't quite have a shovel and hatchet…" she gave Christina a pointed look.

"Christina, who's going so far away, and yet scared by the sound of a siren," the Doctor mused, "Who are you?"

"You can talk," Christina scoffed, "Let's just say we three are equal mysteries. So come on then. Tell me. If Carmen's right, if that wormhole's not an accident, then what is it? Has someone done this on purpose?"

"I don't know," the Doctor slowed to a stop on the top of a large dune, "But every single instinct of mine is telling me to get off this planet, right now."

"And do you think we can?"

"If there's a way in, there's a way out," Mac said wisely, "Even if it's the same way."

They were silent for a long while, just looking out at the desert before Christina turned to them and held out her hand, "It's Christina de Souza. To be precise, _Lady _Christina de Souza."

The Doctor chuckled at that and reached out to take her hand, "That's handy. You know, Mackenzie's a Lady too."

"I'm not a Lady," Mac shook her head.

"Just like I'm a LORD," he winked at her, making her roll her eyes at him and pull her glasses down to focus on the land around them.

"Seriously?" Christina eyed them, "The Lady and Lord of where?"

"It's quite a big estate…"

"No, but there's something more about you. That device you were carrying, and the wormhole, and UNIT…the way you stride around this place, like..."

"Like?"

"Like you're not quite..."

Mac shook her head, "This is useless," she muttered, "I need to build a scanner of some sort. Come on," she turned back to the bus, "I need supplies."

"A scanner for what?" Christina asked as they rushed after her.

"That," she pointed to the side, not even looking in that direction.

They turned though and saw a rather large cloud of something in the distance, getting closer, "Don't like the look of that," the Doctor agreed.

"Storm clouds," Christina shrugged, "Must be hundreds of miles away."

"Getting closer."

"If that's a sand storm, we'll get ripped to shreds."

"It's a storm. Who says it's sand?"

"Which is precisely why I need a scanner!" Mac called, already halfway back to the bus and leaving them little option but to rush after her.

~8~

"Where is it?" the Doctor called as he, Christina, Mac, and Barclay rushed back onto the bus. He'd been about to help Mac start on her scanner when he'd heard the boy complain about how he wished he had service on his mobile so he could call Earth for help, jokingly of course…but that was ALL the Doctor needed to hear.

"There, there on the seat," Barclay pointed to his mobile as the Doctor picked it up.

"Honestly," he mumbled to Mac, "All the odds and ends in your pockets and you don't have a phone in there?"

"You live in a phone box and you can't be bothered to actually ANSWER them when they ring?" she countered, crossing her arms.

"Right…" he winced, sonicing the phone. They both knew that UNIT would be on site by now and they'd have all sorts of devices up to scan the tear, it would save them time and resources to use UNIT than to build a scanner there.

"You're hardly going to get a signal, we're on another planet!" Christina remarked.

"Oh, just watch me," he grinned, "Right, now, bit of hush, thank you. Gotta remember the number, very important number…" he stuck his tongue out to the side as he dialed, lifting the phone to his ear…

"Hello, Pizza Geronimo?" everyone could hear.

The Doctor blinked and looked down at the phone in confusion till Mac plucked it out of his hands, "76 not 67," she told him, putting it on speaker.

"This is the Unified Intelligence Taskforce," came the automated reply, "Please select one of the following four options…"

Mac shook her head and merely pressed 0, holding it down till a real officer came on the line, "UNIT helpline, which department would you like?"

"It's Agent Mackenzie," she said, "Get me the commanding officer investigating the bus disappearance."

"Right away Agent Mackenzie," the woman on the line called quickly.

The Doctor gave her an appreciative look, "What?" she blinked at him.

"Nothing just…" he shrugged, nodding at the phone, it…was really interesting to see her in charge.

"Agent Mackenzie," the voice of Erisa Magambo picked up, "This is Captain Magambo."

"I'm here with the Doctor…" Mac began.

"THE Doctor?" Magambo cut in, "Might I say, sir, it's an honor!"

"Captain," Mac rubbed her head, knowing what Magambo's reaction had likely included, "You ARE aware that we cannot see you saluting your phone yes?"

"I…didn't salute ma'am," Magambo tried to deny.

"Nevermind," Mac shook her head, "Captain, you are at the tunnel where the bus disappeared, yes?"

"Yes ma'am, might I ask how you know about the bus?"

"The Doctor and I are ON the bus."

"But apart from that, not a clue where we are," the Doctor added, "Except it's very pretty and pretty dangerous and pretty…"

He was cut off by Mac making the 'stop talking' sign, "Did a skeleton happen to fall through the tunnel?"

"Yes ma'am," Magambo replied, "Have you sustained any more fatalities?"

"No."

"And we're not going to," the Doctor looked at those on the bus meaningfully.

"Listen Captain, we are detained on the planet without use of the TARDIS. I need to know if there are any Science officers onsite that can analyze that wormhole."

"We DO have a scientific advisor on site, yes," Magambo told her, "Dr. Malcolm Taylor?"

Mac sighed, knowing who he was, brilliant man…bit too much of a fanboy though, tended to get awestruck rather quickly, "He'll do."

"One moment, ma'am," Magambo called, leaving them all in silence for a moment or two before they could faintly hear her speaking to someone else, clearly having forgotten she was still on the line with them, "Here's the Doctor and…"

"No, I'm alright now, thanks," Mac heard Taylor cut in, "It was just a bit of a sore throat, although I've got to be honest, a cup of tea might be nice…"

"It's THE Doctor and…"

"Do you mean..._the Doctor_ Doctor?!" Taylor interrupted again.

"And Agent Mackenzie," Magambo added.

"Agent Macke…why didn't you say so?!" Taylor cried, and then his voice was on, firmer and louder than before, having seized the phone from Magambo most likely, "Oh, my goodness! Agent Mackenzie and the Doctor!"

"Hello, Malcolm, lovely to speak to you again," Mac remarked dryly, the Doctor smirking as he saw her irritation with the man.

"And the Doctor's actually there with you?!"

"Yes, hello Malcolm," the Doctor chuckled.

"I can't believe I'm actually speaking to you! I mean, I've read all the files sir!"

"Really? What was your favorite, the giant robot?"

Mac made the 'stop talking' sign again, shooting him a glare to go with it, "Dr. Taylor if you could focus? There are quite a few items we need you to analyze," she told him, wandering to the front of the bus with the Doctor, "We are on another planet, the tear has grown bigger at a rate which, given the size of it when we first detected it, matches the speed of an approaching storm. Which leaves us to believe the two are connected. I need you to run a complete full-range analysis of the entire tear."

The Doctor just smiled widely, watching her go, watching her shooting orders and talking technical, he loved it when she did that. She was so good at telling his companions and the humans around them what was going on point blank in a way where they could understand the situation…but he loved hearing her talk on a more 'intelligent' level, where she was talking to someone who had a chance of understanding everything.

"I've probably got the wrong idea," Taylor began, "But I've wired up an integrator. I thought it could measure the energy signature."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, "That'll never work. Just listen…"

"It's quite extraordinary, though! I'm measuring an oscillation of 15 Malcolms per second."

"Fifteen what?"

"Fifteen Malcolms. It's my own little term. A wavelength parcel of ten kilohertz operating in four dimensions equals one Malcolm."

"You named a unit of measurement after yourself?"

"It didn't do Mr. Watt any harm. Furthermore, 100 Malcolms equals a Bernard."

"And who's that, your dad?"

"Don't be ridiculous, that's Quatermass."

"If you children are finished?" Mac snapped, cutting in to the Doctor and Taylor going back and forth, "Dr. Taylor, how did you set up the scanner?"

"To register what it can't detect and inverted the image," Taylor stated promptly.

The Doctor blinked at that, "You did what?"

"Is that wrong?"

"No, Malcolm, that's brilliant!"

Mac gave him a look, "I KNOW Dr. Taylor, Doctor, he's more than capable of seeing the tear analyzed. Doing that he can measure the tear for us."

"I admit," the Doctor nodded, "That is genius!"

"The Doctor called me a genius," Taylor breathed, sounding thrilled, "And Agent Mackenzie thinks I'm capable!"

"I know, I heard," Magambo remarked dryly.

"Dr. Taylor," Mac got back to point, "Run a capacity scan on the tear and contact me with a full report."

"And Malcolm?" the Doctor smiled, "You're my new best friend."

"And you're mine too, sir!" Taylor shouted, just awed.

"You realize you've distracted him for at least five minutes saying that," Mac muttered as she ended the call.

The Doctor shrugged, "Brightened up his day though, didn't it?" he winked at her, before rounding on the humans, "Barclay, I'm holding on to this," he plucked the phone out of Mac's hold and ran for the doors.

"Then you'd better bring it back!" Barclay called as Mac and Christina ran after him, following him back to the dune they'd been on before.

"Send this back to Earth," he snapped a picture of the storm, "See if Malcolm can analyze the storm."

"He can," Mac nodded, "I've helped him refine some of his programs."

"There's something in those clouds, something shining," Christina squinted at it, "Look..."

"Could be the metal I saw in the sand," Mac remarked.

"Why would there be metal there to begin with?" Christina shook her head, only to stiffen, hearing a sort of chirruping noise, a chittering, "Did you hear something?"

"Hold on," the Doctor waved her off, "Busy."

"There was a noise, like a sort of..." she turned, hearing it sound behind them, "There!"

The Doctor and Mac turned at a small sound of fear in her voice to see what looked like a humanoid body with a fly's head and insect-like hands standing behind them…a gun aimed right for them.

A/N: I really love Malcolm :) I hope you all liked Mac taking a little bit of charge, I figure, with her being an active member of UNIT she would be the one to handle them more than the Doctor :)

Loving all the pairing names suggested so far! ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I can't say about Teddy just yet, if he'll come back into the story. I can say that he IS alive just like Jenny was ;)

I'm not sure if all the TLs will meet like the 3 did, I might keep it as the first 3 and then make a second set where the next 3 meet :)

Lol, that's cool, I've never had a boyfriend either ;) I'm looking forward to their first kiss too ^-^


	4. Planet of the Dead - Part 2

Planet of the Dead - Part 2

The Doctor quickly held up his hands in surrender though he doubted the creature was going to fire, if it had wanted to harm them, it would have already, he thought. He frowned, listening intently as it chirped and chittered at them before answering in kind, "That's 'wait.' I shout 'wait,' people usually wait."

"No they don't," Mac countered, sending Christina a look, "He wishes it did."

"You speak the language?" Christina merely eyed the Doctor.

"Every language," he winked at her, "Mackenzie as well."

"What, UNIT trains you in alien languages?" Christina shook her head.

"Something like that," Mac mumbled before she turned and sent a few clicks at the creature as well, "I asked it if it needed help," she shrugged, "Everyone always wants something when gunpoint is involved, offering it assistance usually buys time."

The Doctor frowned and looked at her, "Why do you know that?"

She glanced at him, "I've been with UNIT a very long time Doctor."

He frowned, hearing an unspoken meaning in her words, "You were a hostage once?" with all the dangerous situations UNIT got into, it would make sense for it to happen at some point.

"More than once."

"Where was the rest of UNIT!?" he nearly shouted, Christina glancing from him to the alien, seeing it making a jerking/waving motion, like it wanted them to follow him.

"Hostages," Mac repeated, "Or dead. It's all a part of the job Doctor."

"But you stayed in your lab!"

"I also negotiated with the aliens!" she countered, starting to get irritated. HE put her in more danger in one adventure than she typically faced in a year at UNIT and he was getting antsy about this? "Did you not realize that half the time you got involved in Earth's troubles since the war it only made it more dangerous for ME? You try negotiating with the Family Slitheen and nearly get them to agree to leave the Earth alone…only to have them back out because they thought I was trying to trick them because another Time Lord showed up and was attacking them?!"

"Right…" he winced.

He…honestly hadn't been aware Mac had even survived, given the bracelet she'd been wearing to hide herself. But the point still stood, to have one person of one species speaking to you, promising peace, and then another of the same species burst in and electrocute you…that was likely very bad for Mac to have had to deal with even though he knew that she wasn't that particular alien's hostage, he knew the Slitheen would have wanted him to suffer. Not telling him about Mac and her negotiations would have forced him to think himself alone, having her hostage and telling him that would have made him frantic and scared.

"Um, if you're done bickering, I think Flyboy wants us to follow him," Christina cut in, nodding at the large fly which was now quite irritated in its motions for them to come with them, "I think he's telling us to move."

"You're learning," the Doctor tried to smile though he was quite disturbed to realize that Mac had been in situations like that, where she'd been a hostage before.

He knew HE put himself in danger too much of the time, but he had thought himself alone, the last one left. For Mac to know he was out there and still get herself into that…it hurt. Her words when she'd spoken to Davros came back to him in that, she'd said she wouldn't care if she lived or died and he knew it was his fault. Living past one's family was hard, it made you want to give up, give in, be with them again and he knew she was only feeling that way because he had been the one to take her family from her. If her family had still been there or if she'd been with them she'd be happier, content, not suffering like he knew she was now.

"These fly things," Christina began as they turned to follow the fly off, "They must be responsible. They brought us here."

"I don't believe so," Mac shook her head, "Their ship is worse off than our bus," she nodded ahead to where a ship was sitting in the middle of the desert, looking truly far worse than the bus was. Mac didn't even need to pull her glasses down to see the extent of the damage done to the ship.

"They crashed," the Doctor agreed, "Just like us."

The fly turned and chittered at them again, nodding his head towards a small entrance, well not really an entrance more like a hole they'd had to cut into the wall to get out of the ship which told the Time Lords the damage was far worse than they first thought if the mechanics of the doors and emergency doors wasn't working. The inside was truly a testament to that, wires were exposed, debris was everywhere, sparks were going off, lights were blinking on then off, flickering with the lingering power. It seemed like the fly was trying to fix the ship but just…didn't have the parts.

"But this place is freezing!" Christina gasped, winding her arms around herself to try and warm up, she could seven see her breath forming before her.

"Photafine steel," Mac guessed.

"Turns cold when it's hot," the Doctor recalled, "Boiling desert outside, freezing ship inside. Since we met you, Christina, we've been through all the extremes!"

Christina smirked at that and winked at him, "That's how I like things. Extreme."

Mac rolled her eyes at that and shook her head as the Doctor looked around, the man beaming at all of the tech around them, "Oh, this is beautiful! Intact, it must have been magnificent. A proper streamlined deep-spacer!"

"I'll remember that as I'm being slowly tortured. At least I'm bleeding on the floor of a really well-designed spaceship!"

"Which brings up the point Doctor," Mac shot him a look, "A deep-spacer of this build would be a strong ship to take down…so how did it crash? It wouldn't have been easy for mechanics to go wrong," they both knew the deep-space ships of any planet were one of the most technologically advanced and well put together ships of all, they had to be to survive in such conditions. For it to have crashed…it had to be something bigger than they realized.

They stopped walking when a second fly joined the first, handing him a sort of small device that they clicked at each other over before sticking it into their shirts, the device lighting up, "Oh," the Doctor nodded, "Right, good, yes, hello!"

"What is it?" Christina frowned.

"Telepathic translator that allow them to understand us," Mac told her as the flies started to click excitedly, clearly understanding them now.

"Still sounds like gibberish to me."

"HE can understand US," the Doctor emphasized, "Doesn't work the other way round," he glanced at the flies as their clicking and chittering started to get a little more aggressive, "'You will suffer for your crimes,'" he translated, "Et cetera. 'You have committed an act of violence against the Tritovore race.' Tritovores, they're called Tritovores. 'You came here in the 200 to destroy us.' Sorry, what's the 200?"

"The bus Doctor," Mac sighed, he never noticed little details like that did he?

"Oh!" he turned back to the flies, "No, look, I think you're making the same mistake Christina did. I'm the Doctor, by the way, and that's Mackenzie, and this is Christina, the Honorable Lady Christina, at least I hope she's honorable!"

"I doubt it," Mac muttered.

"I take offense to that," Christina stated, though she sounded more like she was pleased than offended to hear that.

"Look," Mac turned to the flies, "We were tracking a tear in the fabric of reality and fell through it. Simple as that."

"The 200 doesn't look like that normally," the Doctor added, "It's broken, just the same as you."

Christina blinked as the flies lowered their guns, "What are they doing?"

"They believe us."

"What, as simple as that?"

"Mackenzie's very honest," the Doctor shrugged.

"And the Doctor lies all the time," Mac countered.

"But the translator says I'm telling the truth right now though," he grinned back at her, "Right! So," he turned back to the flies, "First things first, there's a very strange storm heading our way, can you send out a probe?"

The flies nodded their heads and gestured for the trio to move once more, to follow them back to a small control room just to the side through a door. The flies clicked away as the Doctor went to look at the controls, Mac just looking around at the damage.

"They say they lost power," Mac translated for Christina, not wanting her to feel lost as she couldn't understand the flies, "Their crash landing took their mainline crystallography out of alignment."

"If I can jiggle it back..." the Doctor muttered, kicking one of the control panels, beaming as the power came on, "Ha!" he cheered, looking at Mac, "You're not the only one who can get things going," Mac rolled her eyes at that as he gave a small mock-bow to the flies as they chittered again and nearly seemed like they were clapping for him, "I thank you! Yes," he beamed at a few of their clicks, "I am! Frequently."

"Just launch the probe Doctor," Mac called, nearly able to see his head getting bigger at the flies' praises.

"Right," he turned and put in a command, hitting a button and launching the probe. A holographic monitor automatically came on in the middle of the room, creating a sort of small monitor that showed the area of space they were in as the probe flew up towards the sky first.

"That's the Scorpion Nebula, isn't it?" Mac asked as she put the glasses back down on her nose to look closer.

"Yep," the Doctor smiled, "We're on the other side of the universe. Just what you wanted Christina, so far away," they watched as the probe zoomed in, the Time Lords getting a better idea of the planet's location in space, realizing which planet it was, "The planet of San Helios."

"And that's us?" Christina watched as the image grew closer to the planet, "We're on another world!"

The Doctor glanced at her, not quite sure why she was so shocked, "We have been for quite a while."

"I know, but seeing it like that..."

"It's good, isn't it?"

"Wonderful."

"When it's not on the brink of a storm ripping it to shreds," Mac remarked.

The Doctor looked over at the flies as they began to click again, one moving to the controls and changing the image from the zooming in planet to an image of a lovely, futuristic city that seemed to balance the greens of nature well with the glistening metal of technology, "The Tritovores were going to trade with San Helios," he translated, giving Mac a break from keeping Christina informed, "Population of one hundred billion. Plenty of waste matter for them to absorb."

"By waste matter, you mean…" Christina turned a bit green at that.

"Exactly like a fly," Mac nodded, pushing her glasses up.

"Charming," she grimaced, "Just remind me never to kiss them."

The Doctor looked back at the project of the city, "San Helios City."

"That's amazing," she breathed, before seeing the faint smile on the Doctor's face and the rather unimpressed look on Mac's, they didn't seem quite as awed as she as, "But you've seen this sort of thing before, haven't you?"

"Thousands of times," the Doctor nodded.

"Nothing compares to home though," Mac murmured.

Christina frowned, seeing the Doctor flinch at that and look away, Mac just staring at the projection sadly, "That Lord and Ladyship of yours..." she began carefully, "The Lord and Lady of where, exactly? San Helios?"

"Of Time," the Doctor cleared his throat, "We come from a race of people called Time Lords."

"You're aliens?" Christina blinked.

"Yeah. But you don't have to kiss me either. Neither of us actually," and he…really was hoping she wouldn't.

Ever since he'd grabbed Mac when she'd been poisoned, ever since he'd kissed her…he'd just…it had reminded him of all the kisses they'd used to share on Gallifrey, all the little moments and stolen glances that had defined their relationship. All the small gestures that had brought such a wide smile to Mac's lips and led her to bestow a kiss upon him for it. He missed those moments, he missed her, he missed THEM. Ever since that kiss it was like it had been reaffirmed in his mind that there really was only one person he wanted to ever kiss…and that was Mac. He felt a bit guilty for his wife, the only time he'd ever kissed her on the lips had been their wedding day, and that was all. To him, kissing on the lips was an intimacy that he didn't share with the woman, and she understood. A kiss to the cheek or forehead (after giving birth) was as much as she could hope for from her husband, and that was fine with her, they really had only had a marriage of convenience, of mutual use.

"You look human," Christina mused.

"You look Time Lord," Mac countered, "We've been around longer than humans."

Christina shook her head, not wanting to even begin to guess how old the two of them were then and looked back at the projection, "So if that's San Helios, all we need to do is find that city. They can help us!"

"They can't," Mac shook her head, "I mentioned the storm destroying everything yes?"

The image faded to the desert as the Doctor sighed, "We're in the city right now."

"But it's sand!" Christina gaped, "That first image, the temples and things, what's that, then? Ancient history?"

"A bit more recent than that," Mac rubbed her head as the flies chirped out the answer, "That image was from their last trip here…just last year."

"It became a desert in one year?"

"Mackenzie was right, there's metal and bones in the sand," he sighed, "The buildings and the people, all of it turned to sand. All those voices in Carmen's head. She's hearing them die."

Christina stiffened at that, "But I've got sand in my hair. That's dead people! Oh, that's disgusting! Oh!"

"Something destroyed the whole of San Helios," the Doctor frowned at her for how she was getting more concerned with her hair than the fact that the entire planet had died in a year.

"Yes, but in my hair!"

Mac rolled her eyes, "You clean your home, yes?"

"What?" Christina looked at her from where she was frantically trying to wave the sand out of her dark locks.

"You dust?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

Mac gave her a look, "Dust is made of dead skin cells. Not much different than the sand in your hair and you actually live in it and breathe it in on a daily basis."

"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Christina winced at that, resolving to clean her flat from top to bottom the moment she got back home…if she got back home.

The Doctor jumped when Barclay's mobile in his pocket went off and quickly pulled it out, "Malcolm! Tell me the bad news!"

"Oh, you are clever!" Taylor's voice called out as the Doctor set the phone to speaker, "It _is_ bad news! It's the wormhole, it's getting bigger! We've gone way past 100 Bernards, I haven't invented a name for that."

"Call it a Mac," the Doctor offered, making Mackenzie blink and stare at him for that, she'd been half-expecting him to suggest it be called a Doctor or something, "How can it get bigger by itself?"

"Well, that's why I'm phoning! Agent Mackenzie asked for a full report. I'm sure she'll work it out, if I know her, sir."

"Thank you Dr. Taylor," Mac called over, "How large is the tear on your side?"

"We estimate the circumference to be about four miles now," Magambo answered, "And still heading upwards. I've grounded all flights above London. We can't risk anyone else falling through."

"Very good work Captain," Mac nodded, thinking on that.

"But I have to know…does that wormhole constitute a danger to this planet?"

"When doesn't a wormhole constitute a threat to the planet?" Mac countered, "But we'll have it closed before any true danger can come from it Captain, you have my word on that."

"Oh, sorry," the Doctor interrupted as the phone beeped, another call coming in, "Call waiting, gotta go," he quickly ended the call, much to Mac's irritation as she wasn't done speaking to UNIT, "Yep?"

"Doctor, it's Nathan," Nathan's voice came over.

Mac stiffened, "What happened?" she asked, knowing the humans wouldn't have contacted them if it wasn't important.

"We got those duckboard things down, but..."

"It's my fault," Angela sobbed.

"No, it's not, don't say that," Nathan tried to calm her.

"Nathan," Mac took the phone back, "Give me a report on the situation. Now."

"We kept on turning the engine, but...we're out of petrol. Used it all up. Even if we can get those wheels out...this bus is never going to move. You promised you'd get us home."

"I believe _the Doctor_ promised that," she gave him a look for it, "But I can say that we will see you all safely home, we're working on a way to get us through the tear now," they looked up when they heard a beep, "I'll call you lot back momentarily," she offered, before she shut the phone off, ending the call.

"It's the probe," the Doctor stood, "It's reached the storm."

"And what's he saying?" Christina asked as one of the flies began to click and point at the small image of the sand storm approaching.

"It's not a storm," Mac translated, "It's a swarm."

The probe got closer, revealing that what they thought was a cloud was actually an entire mess of what looked flying metal manta rays.

"There's millions of them," Christina breathed, staring in horror at the sight.

"Billions," the Doctor shook his head, wincing as one of the rays turned and literally ate the prove, cutting off their feed, "We've lost the probe. I think it got eaten. Everything on this planet gets eaten."

"That explains the metal and bone," Mac mumbled, "Did you see their exoskeleton?" she glanced at the Doctor as he nodded.

"How far away is that swarm?" Christina shook her head, trying to keep them on task of the danger and not what the rays looked like.

"Hundred miles," the Doctor stated, "But at that speed, it'll be here in twenty minutes," he glanced over at one of the flies as they clicked at him, "No, they're not just coming for us. They want the wormhole."

Christina's eyes widened as she realized, "They're heading for Earth!"

"Can you bring up the probe's analysis from before the feed was lost?" Mac glanced at the flies, one of them nodding and hitting a button, showing them a 3D image of the rays as she moved closer to it, settling her glasses on her nose again.

"Incredible," the Doctor stared at it in awe.

"Terrible," Mac countered, "They literally fly through a wormhole, eat a planet, and keep going!"

"So, they make the wormholes?" Christina guessed.

"Seems like it," the Doctor nodded.

"But how? They don't exactly look like technicians. And if the wormhole belongs to them, why are they 100 miles away?"

"It's basic physics," Mac mumbled, "If enough of them fly fast enough, in a certain formation, they create a tear in space."

"And the wormhole's getting bigger…"

"Because they're getting closer," the Doctor nodded.

"But how do they get through? Cos that wormhole's a killer, we've seen it!"

"That was what Mackenzie was saying about the exoskeleton," the Doctor pointed at the hologram, "It's metal. They've got bones of metal! They eat metal, and extrude it into the exoskeleton! So their velocity makes the wormhole, then their body makes it safe! Perfect design!"

"Doctor," Mac gave him a look, "They're about to cross through the wormhole, to Earth, where a good majority of the companions who are still alive live…you should NOT be smiling!" she snapped at him.

The Doctor winced at that, at that mention of his 'still living' companions. He knew Mac was trying to stay away from that topic, from the ones who hadn't been so lucky and the ones who had survived, but…he could tell she was tense and concerned and he couldn't be cross with her for being concerned about his companions…even if she hadn't expressed it in the kindest way. Right now she was reminding him that some of his companions had died and that him standing there, grinning, while the rest were in danger was not something someone who CARED about them would do. He should be running off, trying to find a way to close the wormhole.

"Right," he rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry."

"What I don't understand is that…we came here through the wormhole, yes?" Christina looked at them, "But our Tritovore friends didn't. They came here to trade with San Helios. Therefore, the question is, why did they crash?"

"Ah," the Doctor nodded, "Good question! Like she said," he turned to the flies, "Why _did_ you crash?"

The flies clicked at each other before one stepped away, motioning for them to follow as it led them out of the room and down a hall, into the entrance to their engine room where a large hole as cut into the floor, reminding the Doctor very much of the Racnoss's center of the earth entrance, though he could see a bottom of it this time at least.

"Oh, yes," he murmured, "Gravity Well, look. Goes all the way down to the engine. So what happened?" he looked at the fly and nodded to what it were saying.

Christina turned to Mac for translation at that, "The drive system stalled ten miles above the surface and they fell into a crash landing," she turned to the fly as well, "But why did you crash?"

Christina sighed, seeing it shrug, "Which means, 'no idea.'"

"Yeah," the Doctor hummed a moment, "But wait a minute, that's a crystal nucleus down there, yes?" he glanced back down the well, trying to squint through the dark till Mac pulled out her penlight and shined it down for him to see the small crystal glistening back up at them, "Looks like it survived the crash. If the crystal's intact..." he began, before his eyes widened, "Oh, yes, that's better than diesel!"

"What, you can use the crystal to move the bus?" Christina frowned barely keeping up.

"I think so," the Doctor grinned, "The spaceship's a write-off, but the 200's small enough."

"How does a crystal drive a bus?"

"In a super-clever outer-spacey way," he pointed at Mac, "NO telling!" he added warningly, wanting it to be a surprise, "Just…trust me on this," he looked at Mac a moment before turning to the fly again, Have you got access shafts?" he asked, knowing that the crystal, from what he could see, was trapped at the bottom of the shaft, "All frozen?" he frowned at the clicked answer, "Maybe I can open them! Mackenzie?" he looked at her, "Could you…stay here and…keep the communications open?"

She sighed, rubbing her head, knowing what he meant by that, keep their mental communications open, it had gotten only slightly stronger the short while she'd been with him. She could probably hear him on the other side of the ship and communicate with him yes, so she nodded.

"Thanks," he smiled at her, "You two stay here, keep an eye on the shaft. Tell me if anything happens!" he turned and rushed out with the fly, the two women moving over to the edge of the well and looking down into it.

"I can get it," Christina told her, "I've got a winch in my back I can use to lower me down into the well and…"

"Have you got any rope?" Mac turned to her instead.

Christina blinked, "Actually…yes…" she nodded, "It should be long enough to reach the bottom," she murmured, pulling out a rope from the bottom of her bag and handing it over, hesitating to let go of it when Mac grabbed it, "You're not going to try and abseil down there are you?"

Mac smiled, "No, I'd actually thought I'd just go fishing."

Christina blinked at her, "Come again?"

Mac just pulled a small handful of paperclips out of her pockets and got to work twisting them together, making a hook, glancing down the well from time to time when the Doctor would mentally ask her if anything was happening, "There we go," she smiled, stabbing the end of the hook through the rope and twisting it secure, the curved end jutting out the bottom.

Christina laughed a bit at that, "You're really going to fish for the crystal?"

"That's the plan," she nodded, lowering the hook down into the well, "So…" she glanced at Christina, "Care to say why you've got a winch in your bag that's strong enough to support a person?"

"Says the woman with all sorts of things in her pockets?" Christina countered with a smirk.

Mac shook her head, "If you think my pockets are odd, don't ask about the Doctor's."

"He's rather…odd, isn't he?" Christina mused, turning to lean over and watch as the hook reached the bottom of the well, Mac swinging the rope a bit to try and get the hook under some sort of metal catch around the crystal's base.

"He's seen a lot in his life," was all she offered.

"So he's a traveler then?" Christina guessed, "An explorer?"

"A virus is more like it at times," she sighed, "Always getting into trouble and danger and spreading his bad luck to others."

"Sounds like my sort of man."

"You know, I spend a lot of time in the International Gallery, in quite a few museums, examining their artifacts," Mac glanced at her, "I know for a fact that the Cup of Athelstan ought to be there, as it has been for 200 years, and not in your bag," Christina stiffened at that, "I saw it when you were getting the hatchet and shovel and rope out. Tools of the trade?"

"And which trade would that be?" Christina eyed her.

"A thief."

"Oi! I didn't steal the cup if that's what you're getting at. I…liberated it."

"Why? You don't need the money."

"I do, actually," she countered, "Daddy lost everything. Invested his fortune in the Icelandic banks."

"The Doctor's the biggest thief in the Universe," Mac informed her, "You want money, you rob a bank, stealing artifacts like that means it's a lifestyle. Being so prepared…this isn't the first time you've done it," she glanced back down at the well when she heard a clank and felt the rope tug, "I think I've snagged it…" she murmured, pulling the rope up to hear a terrible scraping noise as the plate the crystal was set in started to rise only on one side till it was off the ground.

But then a terrible screech roared up to them, "What the blazes was that?!" Christina gasped.

Mac closed her eyes for a moment, "The Tritovores never worked out what actually caused the ship to crash… and ships like this often have an open-vent system…"

"Which means what?"

"Which means," she pushed her glasses onto her head, "Help me tug this rope up because one of those manta trays is down there and all the clanking and scraping's woken it up! The Doctor's been fiddling with all sorts of controls, he's gotten the heating back on down there and it's warming up! Now come on and help me!"

Christina moved to her side, the two women quickly pulling the rope up, the plate and crystal coming closer and closer…but then they could see it, a rather enormous metal manta ray racing after it.

"Keep going," Mac ordered Christina, reaching into her pockets and pulling out a small rubber ball, throwing it down the well and hitting a red button on the side of it just as the crystal was pulled past it. A light grid shot on in crisscrossing patters, the manta ray flying right at it and shrieking, dropping back down, "Security grid," she breathed as Christina got the crystal and plate to the ledge.

Christina panted a bit from exertion and looked at her, "You just…carry a bouncy ball around with you?"

"Sometimes the Doctor needs to be occupied," she shrugged.

"You make him sound like a dog."

"More like an over-excited puppy really."

They glanced at each other a moment before laughing.

"Come on," Mac grabbed the plate and crystal, "We have to get out of here, that grid won't hold for long against that metal."

Christina grabbed her pack and slung it on her back as the two of them ran out of the room, heading back down the hall towards where the control room was, the Doctor still trying to get the access to the well working.

"Doctor!" Mac called, "We've got the crystal and the plate."

He blinked and looked over at that, "How did you…"

"Agent Mackenzie is quite the fisherman," Christina joked.

The Doctor blinked, not quite sure he understood, but Mac shook her head, "We don't have time, we need to get back to the 200 now. One of the creatures is stuck in the vents and it'll find a way out soon enough."

His eyes widened at that, "Right," he spun to the flies, "We need to go, all of us..." but the main fly just chittered and shook his head, "Oh, don't be so daft! A captain can leave his ship if there's a bus standing by."

Christina stiffened, hearing a rumbling noise, "What the hell was that? Is this place safe?"

"I told you, the grid won't hold for long and even if it does, it can move through the vents," Mac replied, "The manta ray isn't dead. And if it's not the only one…"

"Do you mean if there's more on board?" Christina gaped at the idea.

"This ship's built inside a metal sleeve," the Doctor muttered, serious now, "They can move through the infrastructure, all around us," he jumped back as there was a thud against the wall right beside them, "And they wake up hungry. Commander," he turned to the fly as it remained where it was, "You've got to come with us, right now!"

"You can come back to Earth, we'll find you a home!"

"And that's the word of a lady! Come on!" he gestured them on and one of the flies took a step towards them, the commander about to follow…when the ray burst through the ceiling, breaking through the vent and grabbing it in its teeth, eating it. The first fly immediately ran back, firing its gun at the creature but it did nothing.

"Lasers won't stop it!" Mac warned the fly, as little lights shot out of his gun, "You need metal bullets to stop metal creatures!"

But the fly didn't listen, just kept advancing…till it too was eaten.

"There's nothing we can do," the Doctor pushed them back, taking the plate from Mac so she could balance more as she ran, "Run!" and urged them out of the room, the three of them racing down the halls and out of the ship, into the bright desert, hurrying across it and down dunes as they could see the storm even more clearly even in the distance as it was closer than before.

The Doctor nearly rolled his eyes when the phone rang in his pocket. He quickly pulled it out, glancing at the number before he tossed it to Mac, "You deal with him!" he called to her as he tucked the plate and crystal under his arm.

"I will call you back in one moment Dr. Taylor," Mac answered quickly as they ran on, snapping the phone shut and slipping it into her pocket as she ran, it wouldn't do to answer while she was running. She wasn't the Doctor, she did her best thinking and focused more when she was stationary unlike how he had to move around constantly. She swore, one day he'd end up with an incarnation who'd be incapable of speaking without doing something that required movement, like flapping his hands about.

"At last!" Nathan grinned from where he'd been standing just outside the bus with Barclay, keeping a lookout for them, "Where've you been?!"

"Get inside," the Doctor didn't answer, just shoved Christina on after them, "Get them sitting down," he ordered the woman, "Now then," he turned to Mac depositing the plate into her arms as he examined the crystal, "Let's have a look…"

"Crystal's useless," Mac shook her head, "Just chuck it and get the clamps."

The Doctor nodded, tossing the crystal over his shoulder and began unhooking the clamps that had been holding it in place, "Get that set up on the steering," he called, nodding at the plate as he turned to rush around the bus, sticking the clamps on all of the tires.

Mac just gave him a brief nod and hurried into the bus, moving to the driver's seat and setting the plate down on the wheel, managing to hook the edges around the side.

"Those clamp things," Christina moved beside her, "Do they turn the wheels?"

"Something like that," the Doctor called as he hopped back in the bus, "How's it going?"

"Need a hammer…" Mac murmured.

"I bet you wish I'd kept that mallet NOW," the Doctor smirked at her. The very first trip after meeting Jackson Lake, he'd taken the mallet to the console…and then had Mac grab it out of his hands and chuck it out the doors, allowing it to just drift off into space and then give him an hour long lecture about why beating the console with a hammer was NOT a good thing to do.

The TARDIS had seemed amused by what Mac had done, the humming had been a bit lighter after that…and if he didn't know any better, the rhythm of it made him feel like the box was laughing at him.

"I said hammer, not mallet," Mac corrected, not really paying attention to what he was saying, the hooks only reached the top of the plate, but she'd need something to keep it from sliding off it when they turned the wheel.

"Christina?" the Doctor looked at her, nodding at her bag, "Anything?"

"Funnily enough," Christina pulled a small hammer out of her bag of tricks.

"Phone…" the Doctor held out a hand to try and trade the hammer for the phone to Taylor, "Phone..." but Mac just stood, shooting him a look and stepped aside, gesturing at the chair for him to take her spot. He sighed but did it nonetheless, they didn't have time to argue over who would handle what task…and Mac WAS the more active member of UNIT.

"Dr. Taylor," Mac called as the line picked up, watching the Doctor carefully as he hammered the bottom corners of the plate around the edge of the wheel, securing it in place, "What's your status?"

"I'm ready ma'am!" he cheered.

Mac shook her head at his eagerness, he was a little too much like the Doctor at times, "The Doctor and I have devised a way to return, but be warned there will be aliens following us. We'll need you to seal the tear as soon as we're through. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," Taylor called, "Would a compressed burst of feedback on a counter-oscillation do the trick?"

"Oh, Malcolm you're brilliant!" the Doctor shouted over, having heard that.

"Coming from you, sir, that means the world," Taylor sounded like he was sniffling.

Mac rolled her eyes and rubbed her head, "Agent Mackenzie," Magambo came on, "What sort of aliens? That wormhole is now measuring ten miles and growing, I need to know the exact nature of the threat."

"Oversized manta rays with exoskeletons of metal," Mac informed her, "Use your more powerful firing stock and you'll be able to effectively take them out. Be advised, we will be trying to enter the tear with enough time to seal it before any aliens make it through."

"Understood ma'am."

"Captain Magambo, please cease saluting when you know we are not present to witness it," Mac sighed, hearing a swish of fabric, "I'm sure it does nothing but make you look a fool before your soldiers."

"Yes ma'am."

"And Captain," Mac added, "DO NOT attempt to seal the tear before the bus is through, that is an ORDER," the Doctor looked over at her for that, his hammer partially raised, his eyes wide as though he were completely stunned she seemed to think that Magambo would try to seal it before they got through, "When the Doctor and I are back on Earth we will help you deal with any threats that might come through the tear, but we have a bus full of civilians and if you strand us here…I will find a way to cross planets and return to Earth and have you stripped of your rank and position in UNIT, is that understood?"

Magambo was silent a moment, "Yes, ma'am. Crystal."

"Good," Mac nodded, "We shall see you shortly," she ended the call and looked over to see the Doctor staring at her, "What?"

He just smiled, "That told her."

She shrugged, "UNIT protocols state that, unless otherwise ordered by a superior officer or expert, any and all threats and vulnerabilities to Earth's safety are to be dealt with posthaste. She would have sealed the tear and left us here to prevent the rays from hitting Earth if not for the order."

He eyed her a moment, "Just how highly ranked in UNIT ARE you?"

She offered him a small smirk, "Let's just say I outrank you. And with good reason," she nodded pointedly at the plate he'd been working on, now completely forgotten about before him in his distraction.

"Right, yes," he winced, quickly putting the hammer down and sonicing the plate to activate it, only for it to spark, "Ah, it's not compatible!"

"Of course it's not, this is a BUS, not a deep-spacer," Mac told him, as though it should be obvious, "We'll have to merge the two systems."

"And how do you do that?" Christina blinked, having lost everything they were saying ages ago and given up trying to catch up.

"We need something non-corrosive," the Doctor told her, "Something malleable, something ductile, something..."

"Gold," Mac turned to Christina, glancing down at her bag.

"Oh, no you don't," the woman clutched the pack to her chest.

"What's going on?" the Doctor frowned.

"She's got a golden cup in her bag that she nicked from a museum," Mac informed him.

"Why Lady Christina de Souza, are you a thief?" the Doctor nearly laughed at that.

"Christina, give us the cup or everyone on this bus might die," Mac told her, they didn't know what happened to the words after the rays left, did the force of them entering the tear crack the planet wide open, destroy it after? They didn't know and that was enough to cause them alarm.

"Doesn't anyone else have something gold?" Christina tried to argue.

"Barclay's watch is fake, Nathan's got nothing, Carmen and Lou's wedding bands are platinum and Angela's is gold but I will NOT have us use her wedding ring to save this bus if there's an alternative."

"Christina, what's that cup worth to you now if you die here?" the Doctor argued.

Christina glanced at her bag before sighing and pulling the cup out of it, "It's over 1,000 years old. Worth 18 million pounds. Promise me you'll be careful."

The Doctor took the cup gently from her, "I promise."

"He's lying," Mac said bluntly, "We needed _malleable_ for a reason."

The Doctor gave the horrified Christina a cheeky grin before he turned the cup over on the plate and started to bang it and dent it and flatten the edges of it.

"I hate you," Christina muttered.

Mac bit her tongue, just managing to catch herself from adding 'you'd be surprised how many others do as well,' because she knew that the Doctor would take that to mean SHE hated him too. She felt anger towards him, a deep resentment at times, and yes…once or twice, when the situation got truly bad or her thoughts about Gallifrey turned truly dark, she did hate him. But the feeling never lasted and she was trying not to let it pop up again. So much of her anger had stemmed from what he'd done to her on Gallifrey before the War even started, but she was letting that go, she really was. And with it…a lot of the things that caused that 'hatred' to pop up in the first place.

The Doctor, for his part, just ignored Christina, calling back to the others, "This is your driver speaking! Hold on tight!"

"What for?" Barclay frowned, "What's he doing?"

"He's going to get the bus to fly," Mac informed them, "So hold on, all of you!" she nudged Christina towards a chair, the woman sitting down and grabbing on as the bust started to shake, slowly turning on.

"Come on, that's it," the Doctor murmured as though he were trying to encourage the engine, "You can do it, you beauty! One last trip!"

The humans gasped as the bus really DID start to hover in the air to the many cheers and shouts of the humans within her.

"The clams were anti-gravs," Mac called to them over the sound of the engine, grabbing onto an overhead rail as the bus turned sharply to face the tear.

"Doctor!" Carmen cried out, spotting the swarm getting closer, so close that they could actually SEE the manta rays, "They're coming!"

The Doctor took a breath and looked at Mac, "You think it'll make it?"

She nodded, "It's not a TARDIS, but it'll have to do."

He turned back to the window and hit the gas, propelling the bus onwards through the tear, wincing and shutting his eyes for only a moment as a bright flash of light nearly blinded them all…but when it faded, London was visible!

Mac gave a little smile as the humans cheered at the sight of the town as the bus rose higher in the air, flying above it in the night's sky. She moved to the side, leaning over to see UNIT gathered by the tunnel, staring up at them for only a moment before one of the manta rays made it through the tear and they fixed their attention on it, firing at it.

She quickly pulled out the mobile, flipping it open and putting it to her ear, "Dr. Taylor, seal the tear."

"Yes, ma'am!" he cheered, "My pleasure!"

Mac blinked and looked down at the phone as a dial tone sounded, "He just hung up on me," she remarked, before calling him again, having wanted a full report on the line in case anything went wrong, "Dr. Taylor…"

"Not now, I'm busy!"

The Doctor nearly started laughing, hearing the man snapping at Mac as she raised an eyebrow at the mobile, had it not been for the two other rays that flew through the tear.

"Dr. Taylor," she called him back again, an edge to her voice, "Hang up on me one more time and…"

"It's not working!" Taylor cut in, "I can't seal the tear."

"Dr. Taylor calm down," Mac snapped, hearing the man go silent, "Loop the signal into the integrator, increase the power to it."

"But by how much?"

"500 Bernards!" the Doctor called over to him, "Do it now!"

"And STAY on the line!" Mac added.

They listened intently to the sound of Taylor typing on a keyboard before he let out a cheer, "Yes!"

The Time Lords looked over, watching as there was a flash of light and the tear sealed closed, blinking out of existence, leaving the three rays stranded on Earth, one already taken out by UNIT, Mac slowly ending the call now that the tear was sealed.

"Doctor, it's coming for us!" Nathan warned, seeing one flying at the back of the bus.

The Doctor swung the wheel hard, swerving the bus around with a cry of, "Oh no you don't!" to swat it away, sending it crashing down to the ground, the force of the fall keeping it down for UNIT to deal with just as they finished the third and last ray with a missile.

The passengers looked at each other and started to cheer loudly, crying and hugging, so thrilled they were back and ok. Christina grinned and looked at the Doctor appreciatively, "Did I say I hated you?" she smirked, moving over to him, making him blink at her change in tone, "I was lying…"

But just as she leaned down to give him a kiss…the Doctor reached up and put a finger on her lips, "Don't, don't do that," he shook his head, "Just don't."

Christina frowned, blinking at that, never having been turned down from giving someone a kiss before and stepped back, not quite sure if she was hurt by that or even more interested in him for it, playing hard to get and all. Mac, though, just looked on, blinking herself, a little more stunned that the Doctor hadn't accepted the kiss and confused as to why.

'_You know why Naery,_' he called to her in her mind, making her look at him, him staring right at her, '_You were…always meant to be my Chosen, even my wife knew that,_' he swallowed hard even though he wasn't speaking out loud, '_I don't…you were the only woman I ever truly kissed,_' he admitted to her, yes, he had kissed his wife, once when they wed, on the lips, yes, he'd been kissed by others, and yes, he had kissed someone but always for ulterior motives and to save lives and buy time, but…she had been the only one he'd willingly kissed and had it mean something to him, '_And I want you to be the only one I ever kiss from now on._'

Mac blinked at that, at hearing such heartfelt and deep words from him, that admission was…powerful. But just as she opened her mouth, hesitant and potentially hurting words on her tongue, he gave a small shake of the head.

'_I know,_' he told her, '_I know there's too much to work through. And I've still done things that have hurt you in the past. We…are not what we once were and I don't know if we'll ever be Chosens…_'

They weren't officially Chosens. To do so, one had to declare their love and then have the other reciprocate it. Mac had declared her love to him on Gallifrey and he'd run away, which could hardly be classified as reciprocation in the eyes of their people no matter his intentions and he hadn't said it. He'd said it to her just after dealing with River but she hadn't reciprocated it that time. He knew she was confused about what, exactly, she felt for him if not the consuming anger from before. She was still working through that, but…he just wanted her to know, how he felt. He didn't know if she'd ever forgive him enough for them to be Chosens officially, to truly and both declare their love, but…she hadn't left him for Earth yet, so there was hope.

'_But I know in my hearts how I feel for you, and what I wish to have with you again,_' he continued, '_I'm a Time Lord. I can wait however long is needed, forever, even if it may not happen._'

Mac swallowed at that this time, looking down and out the windows, his words hit her hard, settled in her hearts and her mind despite her best efforts not to. It was hard to reconcile the man before her, the man who could say such things and say them so truthfully and meaningfully…with the man who had burned their planet. He was right, there was still a rather large tragedy he'd caused that affected her deeply in the loss of their planet, but he was also right…she still had many things to sort through. She honestly didn't know what she felt for him in her hearts anymore. With the majority of her anger slowly trickling out of her…it left room for other emotions, but she knew not what they might be.

She glanced up and saw him eyeing her intently and gave him a small nod, at least letting him know she understood, and a small smile to say that she was thankful that, while he felt more for her than she might feel for him at the moment, he was not going to push it or force it or confuse her emotions by doing so.

He gave her a gentle smile in return and turned back to the wheel, calling, "Do not stand forward of this point," over his shoulder to the humans, "Ladies and gentlemen, you have reached your final destination. Welcome home, the mighty 200!"

He turned the wheel, slowly bringing the bus down to a landing on the ground, ringing the bell for effect as he opened the doors to allow them to step out, the humans practically running for the solid soil of Earth. A soldier stepped up, greeting them as they filed off, "Welcome back. If you could step away from the bus to be safe. As fast as you can. It's standard procedure. We need to screen you, and then you'll all be taken to debriefing."

The Doctor and Mac were among the last to leave the bus, only Christina behind them, "Agent Mackenzie and I don't count," the Doctor held up the psychic paper to the man, knowing that Mac's title and rank would be enough to get them both out of it, but wanting to use the paper to be sure.

"No, but Doctor..." Christina tried to follow after them, but the soldier stopped her, leading her off to the other passengers.

The Doctor didn't even spare a glance back at her as he followed Mac through the crowd and towards a woman in a red cap, assuming it was Captain Magambo, the two of them nearly there when they heard someone else calling out, "Agent Mackenzie! Doctor!"

"Hello Dr. Taylor," Mac greeted as a man bundled up in his winter clothes, with round spectacles on his face rushed over, coming up between them and Magambo, "You did very well."

"I did?" he beamed at her and she gave him a nod.

"Ah, Malcolm then, is it?" the Doctor grinned, reaching out to shake the man's hand, "Thanks for the help…"

The Doctor was suddenly cut off by Taylor enveloping him in a tight hug, "Oh! Oh, I love you," he pulled away to smile up at the Time Lord, "I love you, I love you."

Magambo shook her head at him, "To your station, Dr. Taylor."

"Yes, ma'am," Taylor nodded, still stunned. Oh he was doing better than when he'd met Mac, finding out he was meeting one of two Time Lords had sent him fainting to the ground, but to meet the DOCTOR!? He didn't want to miss a single moment of it. He beamed and turned to head back to his own lab, spinning around once more when that thought reminded him of something, "I love you too, Agent Mackenzie!"

Mac rolled her eyes, "A little decorum Dr. Taylor."

The man flushed and turned to scuttle back to his lab as the Doctor shook his head at the man.

"Doctor," Magambo saluted him, "I salute you, whether you like it or not. Agent Mackenzie," she turned and did the same to the woman as well, "Now, I take it we're safe from those things?"

"It's a natural consequence to how they travel," Mac shook her head, "They generate wormholes."

"But we'll see if we can get the TARDIS to nudge the wormholes onto uninhabited planets," the Doctor added, "Closer to home, Captain, those two lads," he nodded over at Barclay and Nathan, "Very good in a crisis."

Magambo eyed them a moment before looking to Mac for confirmation, "Nathan kept a level head," Mac informed her, "Remained calm under stress, comforted and kept others calm as well. Barclay has a talent for engines and mechanics, he has a brave spirit as well."

Magambo nodded, considering that, "I'll see what I can do. And I've got something for you," she turned and a tarp a few feet away was dropped to reveal the TARDIS sitting on the back of a small lorry.

The Doctor let out a bright laugh at that, "Better than a bus, any day! Hello!"

"Where did she get to this time?" Mac had to wonder.

"Found in the gardens of Buckingham Palace," Magambo replied.

"Oh, she doesn't mind," the Doctor waved it off.

"THIS monarch doesn't," Mac reminded him, "Best lock the TARDIS down when we have to leave her for travel though."

"Now," Magambo turned to them, "I've got three dead alien stingrays to clear up. I don't suppose you fancy helping with the paperwork?" she glanced at the Doctor.

"Not a chance!" he winked.

She nodded and looked at Mac, "Agent Mackenzie, will you be returning to UNIT with us?"

The Doctor's smile started to fade at that as he looked at Mac…it was one thing to travel in the TARDIS, but…to be ASKED to return? He wasn't sure what she'd do now that it had been put out there.

Mac glanced at the TARDIS and then the Doctor and sighed, "No," she told Magambo, making the Doctor's eyes widen, "There are…matters I still need to see to. Issues to be resolved that can only be done elsewhere from UNIT."

The Doctor started to smile again at that, she was staying, she was really going to stay!

"Till we meet again then," Magambo saluted them once more before she turned to head off.

The Time Lords made their way over to the box, the Doctor about to open it when they heard a small commotion behind them and turned to see Christina rushing over to them, "Right then, off we go!" she grinned at them, looking around for a car of some sort that they'd be using for a quick transportation.

"No," the Doctor shook his head, making Mac blink for a moment and look at him, not quite sure she'd heard him right.

"What?" it seemed neither had Christina.

"I said no," he repeated.

Mac's eyes narrowed a little in curiosity and confusion, she had most certainly heard him right then…

"My cup saved everyone's life!"

"Technically not YOUR cup," Mac reminded her at the same time the Doctor shrugged out a "So?"

"We're surrounded by police," she dropped her voice, "I'll go to prison," the Doctor just gave her a blank stare, "Please," she whispered, "It's not about the money. I only steal things for the adventure, and today, with you two...I want more days like this. I want every day to be like this."

"But it can't be," the Doctor shook his head.

"Why not?!"

The Doctor blinked at how Christina had actually stomped her foot at that, "People have travelled with me and I've lost them," he swallowed, "Lost them all. Never again."

Mac's expression started to drop slightly into a small frown at that, hearing more to his words than he was letting on.

"Lady Christina de Souza!" a man in a trench coat stepped over, a detective's badge on his jacket, "Oh, I have waited a long time to say this. I am arresting you on suspicion of theft!" he nodded to his associate and the man stepped forward to handcuff Christina's hands behind her back, "You do not have to say anything, etcetera, etcetera. Dennison, take her away!"

The Doctor watched on, solemn and quiet, as the woman was led off by the police, his gaze pulled away only when he spotted Carmen and Lou walking past.

"Doctor?" Carmen called, "You take care, now."

"You too!" he smiled brightly, but Mac could see the forced nature of it, "Chops and gravy, lovely!"

"No, but you be _careful_. Because your song is ending, sir."

His smile faded quickly at that, something the Ood had said coming back to him, "What do you mean?"

"It is returning," Carmen looked at the both of them, "It is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor...oh, but then...he will knock four times."

Carmen cast one last sorrowful look at the Doctor before Lou led her off.

Mac watched as his gaze turned back to Christina, "You shouldn't do that," she remarked as he moved to pull the sonic from his coat.

"What, free her?" he glanced at her, hesitating to unlock the cuffs as Christina was stopped just before cop car.

"She stole," she said simply, "It's not our place to determine the laws of the humans. I believe their saying is, 'do the crime, do the time.'"

He blinked at her, "I stole the TARDIS," he nodded back at it.

"Yes," she agreed, "And if we were back on Gallifrey, I'd have turned you in in a heartbeat."

He actually started to smile at that, it was an old, nearly ancient threat she used to give him when he'd get in trouble. She'd tell him the rule he'd broken or planned to break, and threaten to turn him in, but she never ever did. He'd asked her once why she would do that to him, and she'd just smiled and said to see him get out of it…one must have practice for those sorts of situations where one DID get caught she'd remarked.

"All the more reason to do this then," he turned and flashed the sonic at Christina just as she was placed into the car, her handcuffs loosening as the door closed behind her. They watched as she quickly slid across the back seat, rushing out the other side and making a mad dash for the bus as the detective and his associate ran after her.

"No!" the detective was shouting, "Stop that woman! Stop that woman! Stop her! Don't just stand there, stop her!" but he was too late, Christina shut the doors to the bus in his face, locking him out, "Open the door!" he pounded on it, "I'll add resisting arrest!"

"I'd step back," the Doctor offered as a warning, he and Mac taking just a few steps closer, "if I were you."

"I'm charging you too!" the man pointed at them, shouting in their faces, "Aiding and abetting!"

"Yes," the Doctor reached out to take Mac's arm, seeing her open her mouth to argue with the man, "We'll just step inside this police box," he gave her a wink, "And arrest ourselves."

Mac gave him a small smile as they turned and headed back for the TARDIS, ignoring the shouts of the detective as Christina got the bus to fly once more and took off into the sky, the Doctor giving her a small salute off.

"You could have taken her along," Mac remarked as they leaned against the box, watching as the detective thought to try and run after her, then thought better of it and got in a car to give chase.

"No," he shook his head, "I…I AM a danger to them," he whispered, "I get them killed or…"

"I was wrong," she cut in, just knowing where his mind was going, back to Davros's words back to HER words about the fate of his companions.

"You've never been in the past," he remarked, still just staring out at the night's sky.

She sighed, "Doctor," she reached out to put a hand on his arm, making him turn to her, "I…" she took a breath, "I'm sorry," she pushed it out, "What I said about your companions and what happens to them…it was unfair of me, and it was cruel of me. I…I know you care for them, more than anyone. And I know you endeavor to keep them safe. I was angry when I said all that to you but…I've learned from it, how…wrong I really was."

He looked at her for that but she wasn't finished.

"I tried to keep Donna safe. It was my responsibility, it was MY task, something I swore to do…something I thought you'd fail to do. But…then_ I_ failed at it. I did…everything that I could to keep her safe and she still got hurt. It…it wasn't always your fault that they got hurt or worse and I realize that now. Everything is always clearer in hindsight, you see things you could have done differently when that path truly didn't seem to exist at that moment. I learned that with Donna. I see things now, I agonize over how…if I'd just stayed in the TARDIS maybe she'd remember us. And I know it haunts you too, every companion you couldn't help or protect. I have to bear that with only one…but you?" she shook her head, "I can't imagine how it pains you and…I truly AM sorry. It's not your fault. YOU don't get them killed, not at all. If you want Christina to be your next companion, we can track her down with the TARDIS and…"

"I don't," he interrupted her this time, a small smile on his face, her apology, her taking back what she said about his companions, truly one of the biggest sore spots in his hearts…it meant so much to him to hear, to hear that she didn't blame him, that she didn't accuse him or see it as his entire fault any longer. He could admit, to hear HER say it and believe it…it had started to make him believe it too, and…in a way, a small way, it WAS true, all his companions who had died or been lost would have likely lived if they'd never known him, but…to hear her not blame him was like a weight being lifted off of his hearts, "I don't want her to be my next companion. I…I really don't want one right now."

Mac blinked at that, "But that's how it always is. The Doctor, his TARDIS, and his companion."

He nodded at that, it did seem to happen that way a lot, "Well…how about for now it's just the Doctor, his TARDIS, and his Time Lady. I mean!" he started to stutter, "I mean, not HIS Time Lady as in you're mine, I mean not as in _my_ Time Lady or…or…or…I um, I just meant…"

"I know," Mac spared him any more stuttering, "Perhaps…just the Time Lords and the TARDIS then?"

He smiled, "I like that, yeah," he nodded, "I just…we do have a lot to work through and…I'd rather work through it with just you for now."

"That would probably be best," she agreed, glancing around to see the humans were starting to trickle off, back to their homes, Magambo speaking to Barclay and Nathan, the last to remain, "Where shall we go next then?"

He grinned widely, "Anywhere and everywhere."

And with that, he turned and unlocked the TARDIS, pushing the doors open to allow her in. He paused a moment, looking up at the stars, recalling Wilf's promise to look at them for Donna and think of him. Well…he could look at them and think of Donna in return, and so he did, sending up a silent thank you to the memory of the woman who, even now, was helping him and Mac heal.

A/N: Awww little bit of an apology from Mac there :') Tomorrow will be the Sarah Jane Adventures 'The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith' and it'll only be one chapter, just so you know ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Thanks for pointing that out, I went back and fixed the title :) I'm very excited for Waters of Mars too, that episode just gave me chills at the end of it to watch and I've really enjoyed adding the OCs to it :) I can't say if Jack'll meet 11 or not, I can't say if I think it's a fixed point the Children of Earth, mostly because I feel like nothing really happened in it that seriously impacted the future of Earth :/ Like...the aliens came, they were stopped, none of the children but Clem were really taken...unless it was just the end of the Prime Minister's term that was the fixed point or Ianto's death, but if Ianto's death was a fixed point, I feel like Jack would know about it being a Time Agent...hmm...tricky, tricky, tricky.

Lol, I wish the DW one was the 50th story too, just to go with the whole 50th anniversary ;) It makes me wonder what my 75th story will be as I just realized, if all goes to plan, I'll hit 75 this year too :D


	5. The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith

"This is either going to go very well, or very badly," Mac remarked as she and the Doctor landed the TARDIS in the parlor of a lovely manor in the country, racing out of it and heading down the hall towards where they could hear a woman reciting marriage vows.

"I know," the Doctor breathed, either Sarah Jane was going to love them for saving her, or hate them for interrupting her wedding…they were hoping for love them.

"…let them speak now or forever hold their peace," they could hear the female vicar say as they reached the doors to the chapel.

"As though that would ever happen with you," Mac mumbled, though she sent the Doctor a small smile.

He winked at her and threw the doors open, bursting into the room with her, "Stop this wedding now!" he shouted and everyone turned around to stare at the man who had dared actually interrupt a wedding!

"What?" Sarah Jane stared at him, seeming completely shocked he would do that…and quite a bit shocked that Mac would allow him to do that. Granted, she hadn't known the woman well having only met her when the Earth was stolen, but the sense she got from her was that Mac was a rather…no-nonsense sort of woman, always professional. Even now she was standing there in her typical attire, a white blouse and a light gray pencil skirt, her hair back in its severe bun. She certainly gave the impression of a very no-nonsense person.

"What's going on?" a young girl in a pink dress who was sitting next to Luke asked.

"Who the hell is that?" the man beside Sarah Jane, Peter, according to the transmission they'd picked up from Mr. Smith before the computer had been shut down.

"I don't believe it," Luke breathed, smiling at them.

"Who are they?" the girl repeated.

"Master!" K9, the little robotic dog rolled out from under a table, "Mistress Kenzie!"

Mac gave a small smile at that, sad though it was. Donna had been the only one to call her Kenzie, the only one she allowed to do it, more because Donna was the only one she knew who hadn't betrayed her trust or done anything to make her cross. They were in the same boat, so to speak, both having been hurt by men they loved, having lost their planets at one time or another. Donna was the only one who didn't try to convince her to forgive the Doctor or be nicer to him or anything without knowing the whole story. Donna had been the only one to listen to her remarks, to see the anger in her and to understand what it might be coming from. She had rightly guessed that the Doctor had been romantically involved with her and had broken her hearts and hadn't told her to forgive him, just…to rein in her comments. Donna had been the one to tell K9 her name was 'Kenzie' instead when they'd told Luke they were about to drop off his mum back no Earth again and the dog had latched onto it.

"I said stop this wedding!" the Doctor repeated.

Mac winced as a wind started to pick up, "He's coming!" she cried, the wind starting to push her and the Doctor back, whipping around the guests, forcing them to remain in their seats.

"Alert!" K9 began to roll in a circle, his scanners picking up what Mac had guessed, "Alert, danger Mistress Sarah Jane!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor reached out for her, "Get away from him!"

"Please Sarah Jane!" Mac called, the two Time Lords struggling against the wind, Mac reaching out to grab one of the chairs a guest was sitting in for more leverage to not be thrown back. She wasn't exactly a thick person.

"No…" Sarah Jane breathed, before looking at Peter, trying to step back, but he wouldn't let go of her arm, "Please let me go."

"Don't be afraid Sarah Jane," the man smiled at her, "It's the angel."

"It's the Trickster!" Mac shouted to her, "Don't listen to him Sarah Jane!"

As though hearing her words a figure appeared before them, in a long white robe with a very wide hood over his head. He was pale, floating in the air, his teeth sharp and pointed, his face without eyes, the skin smoothed over where they should be.

"The Trickster!" the girl beside Luke gasped, making Mac and the Doctor's head snap over at her at how she knew that was the creature. Despite Mac shouting it before, for all anyone knew, that thing floating there could be a minion and not the Trickster himself, but the way the girl sounded…she'd met the Trickster before.

"Mum!" Luke tried to get up, tried to run for his mother, but the wind pushed him back down, "Mum!"

"Sarah!" the Doctor turned back to her, "Trickster let her go!"

The floating creature merely chuckled, far too pleased with the events unfolding as he moved closer to Sarah Jane and Peter, "Too late Time Lord! You're mine Sarah Jane Smith," he reached out for her as she struggled to pull away, "Mine forever!"

"Sarah Jane!" Mac lost her grip on the chair and stumbled back, the Doctor reaching out to steady her.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane reached for him and Mac…only to vanish before their eyes along with the Trickster and Peter.

"No!" Mac cried.

"Sarah!" the Doctor yelled, the wind finally dying down, allowing them to run to the altar, "Sarah! No!" he spun around as he reached the altar, as though he'd be able to see Sarah Jane somehow, but the only thing that happened was the room starting to shake as energy waves began to ripple over the adults…making them fade away.

"Mum!" the girl gasped as her parents disappeared, "Dad!"

"It's alright," Mac moved over to them, the Doctor spinning around to see that three children, Luke and a boy and a girl, had been left, along with K9 and them, "It'll be alright."

The Doctor winced as the room started to shake again, worse than before, "Hold on!" he called to them, stumbling over to Mac's side as she knelt before the three children, "Everyone hold on!"

He reached out and took Mac's hand, holding it tightly as a bright white light filled the room…

~8~

Mac woke slowly to the sense of someone gently touching her face and blinked her eyes open to see the Doctor sitting beside her, smiling down at her, "Welcome back sleeping beauty."

She rolled her eyes at that and closed her eyes, "At least you didn't kiss me," she muttered.

"Tempting," he admitted, "But…we're not there yet, I know."

She opened her eyes to look at him once more, they had…talked, about their past and where they were in their feelings for each other. They had a past together, yes, they had deep feelings that, no matter what happened, hadn't entirely gone away but…they were different people, they'd endured different things, and her hearts had been shattered too often by him for her to trust him completely with them again. He had a lot of work to do in winning them back, in making her love him as much as she once had. He knew she cared for him, he knew there was a small chance she might even still love him, but it was very small, it was like a tiny spark that he had to work on igniting again.

He still loved her. Everything he'd done, it had been HIS doing, that she had suffered with, but it had been his choices. His feelings for her hadn't changed in centuries, he still loved her, more than anything, and he would do all he could to win her back. He'd come…a very long way from the Mac that he'd first met again. She wasn't as bitter against him. She didn't blame him for the deaths and danger his companions faced, Donna had proven to her that, sometimes…it was beyond his control. She had sworn to protect Donna in a way she thought he failed to do, and SHE had failed. She blamed herself for Donna but it had made her aware that he wasn't always at fault for things like that.

They'd talked about why he'd done what he had on Gallifrey, because it was Donna's ultimate goal to get them to reconcile and she had decided to talk to him about it for Donna's sake alone, her last way of honoring the…friendship she'd had with the human. And it was a good thing they had. He'd finally been able to tell her the reasons behind accepting his Contract and forcing her into her own. He'd been able to tell her why he'd avoided her, why he'd done all that, and…he'd finally been able to show her that it hadn't been cruelty but love on his part for her, his desire for her to have a better life than he could offer her. Neither of them had known her life would end up what it was because of him.

She'd finally understood but…centuries of anger were hard to overcome. And while she wasn't angry…she wasn't at the same place she'd been in before he'd 'turned his back on her' and he understood that too. He knew it would take a while for her to come to terms with it, to truly believe, after centuries of thinking one thing, that he had really loved her, that he STILL loved her. But he'd wait. He'd wait as long as needed for her to be his again, and he'd fight for her, he'd fight harder than ever to win her back and to prove to her that, if she gave him her hearts one more time, he would never ever break them again.

"Are the others alright?" she asked instead, not really knowing what to say to that.

He nodded, reaching out a hand to help her up, "They were knocked out like you were."

"Well I don't have as hard a head or as thick a skull as you," she brushed off her skirt.

The Doctor just rolled his eyes and headed over to Luke as he laid on his back, "Luke," he gently shook the boy awake, "Luke Smith?"

Luke slowly blinked awake to see the Time Lord beside him, "Doctor?"

"That's me," he winked, "Mackenzie's here too," he nodded to the side, "Good to meet you in the flesh."

"Luke," Mac called, "What are your friends' names?"

"Rani and Clyde," Luke rubbed his head.

"Bonnie and Clyde?" Mac blinked, thinking that was rather ironic.

"_Rani_."

"Oh," she nodded, "Thank you," before she turned to the two other children and started to try and wake them as well, slowly, not wanting to alarm them.

"What happened Doctor?" Luke looked back at the man, but the moment he saw his solemn expression he remembered, "Mum!" he sat bolt upright, "The Trickster!"

The Doctor quickly put his hands on Luke's shoulders to calm him down, "Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke, Luke listen to me, everything's going to be alright," he looked at the boy intently, right in the eye so that he'd know he was telling him the truth, "Mackenzie and I can find Sarah, we can bring her back, I promise."

"Stop promising things for me Doctor," Mac called over to him.

He winced, "Sorry," he mumbled to her, realizing he did tend to do that quite a lot.

Mac was the sort of person where she never really said a promise if she didn't know she could keep it. To her, promising something meant it WOULD happen, and if it didn't, no matter if the best effort was given, it was breaking a promise. Her family on Gallifrey, being one of the higher ones, operated a good deal in promises, not just in terms of the Contracts they made (both in marriage and other areas) but in deals and other negotiations. She'd been raised strictly in that sense, that she knew the responsibility and obligation that came with a promise and she never made one she knew she wouldn't be able to keep. The closest he'd ever heard her come to the promises he freely gave (and, he could admit hardly kept) was when she'd promise to TRY to do something. But those were just as rare as her true promises, because trying could mean too many different things and she wanted others to KNOW she was going to be giving them what they promised.

With the Trickster involved, she knew that they MIGHT get Sarah Jane back, that they might find her, and that they might best the Trickster, but there were too many 'mights' in there for her to feel comfortable promising (or end up lying to) children. She didn't like lying in general, she HATED it when he kept things from his companions and no matter how much he tried to not tell them something so as not to alarm them, Mac seemed to think they should know about every danger they were about to face.

Luckily though, no companions to speak of at the moment.

But that still left the issue of the Trickster, "Luke," he turned back to the boy, "Whatever happens, we need you to be strong for us, just like you were before. I know you can do it."

"They're waking up," Mac informed them as Clyde and Rani started to slowly wake as well.

"Who are you?" Clyde jerked back from her, seeing the woman who'd run in and helped disrupt the wedding looking down at him.

"How's your head Clyde?" she asked instead, ignoring his jerk, "Rani?" she looked at the other girl, helping her up, "Are you hurt?"

"How did you know my name?" Clyde stared at her.

Rani though, her gaze was on the Doctor as he crouched down on the floor by the altar and examined it, "Wait a minute…it's you isn't it?"

"It's me," the Doctor nodded, pushing himself up and going to the fireplace on the other end of the room, kneeling down to listen to the floor as Mac shook her head at him.

"The Doctor!" Rani gasped.

"You DO realize that you have a stethoscope in your pocket, don't you Doctor?" Mac sighed, "You don't have to put your ear on the dirty floor."

Rani glanced at her, eyeing her a moment as she crossed her arms, the Doctor flushing and taking the stethoscope out and using that instead, "Are you Mackenzie then?"

"Agent Mackenzie, of UNIT," she nodded, reaching out to shake the girl's hand, "Now, if you could answer my first questions?" she gave her and Clyde a look.

"Um…" Clyde blinked, not quite used to being called out by what he now knew was an alien, "My head's fine, thanks?"

Mac nodded and looked at Rani who shrugged, "I feel ok, a little confused…are you REALLY them? The Time Lords?"

Sarah Jane had told them a bit about the Doctor here, and there, but after the Earth had been stolen they'd gotten an inflow of stories about him, the woman just so pleased to have seen him again. And what's more, she told them there was even another Time Lady out there! She hadn't been able to tell them much about 'Mackenzie' she called the woman, Luke had been the only one of them to see her but looking at her now, she fit how he described her.

"Yes," Mac smiled at her a little, she wouldn't admit it out loud but…it was just a little nice to know that these children knew about her.

She tended to prefer to operate in the darkness, in the shadows, unknown. And when dealing with the Doctors companions, she expected them to ignore her a bit, the Doctor was…blinding, at times. He tended to blot out things when he appeared. Having dealt with Martha, having seen how she stuck to the Doctor, continued to trust him more than her despite working with her, despite all that she'd done for the Earth through UNIT…and then to be around Rose and see how the woman just clung to him and, to her, was just a little too obsessed with him to be healthy. Donna had really been the only companion that she'd been around that had treated her equally, trusted her just as much as the Doctor, and accepted her. She was sure it was probably just because she'd started to travel with the two early enough where Donna was still new to it all and open to new things. Sarah Jane, she'd expected, having had so many interactions with so many different incarnations of the Doctor, would have had the biggest focus on the Doctor and left her as an afterthought.

So it…touched her, to know that one of the Doctor's oldest companions had seen fit to talk about her to the children as well, despite the fact that neither of them really knew much about the other. Well, that wasn't true, she knew…quite a bit about Sarah Jane. The moment she got involved in the Krillitanes and ran into the Doctor, she'd kept track of the woman. She knew about Luke Smith, about the Bane, about Maria and Clyde and Rani, she just…hadn't wanted Luke to be aware that she'd dug that deeply into his mother's life. Mistaking someone's name for another was a good way to cover that you actually knew what the name was to begin with.

"I hope you're as good as Sarah Jane says you are," Clyde remarked, looking more at the Doctor than Mac.

"Well…" the Doctor shrugged, "You know journalists, always exaggerating," he pushed himself up, "But yeah, I'm pretty amazing on a good day. And Mackenzie well, she puts me to shame every day."

"Really?" Rani blinked at the woman, a bit stunned that the Doctor would say someone else was better than him.

"You know the Doctor," Mac deadpanned, "The king of exaggerating."

The Doctor turned, about to say he wasn't exaggerating, about to say that she was probably more crafty and resourceful than even his fifth self had been, that man could save the universe using a kettle and string…Mac could probably do it with a rubber band and a peanut, when K9 wheeled out and over to them, "Master, inquiry, where is Mistress Sarah Jane?"

"K9!" the Doctor spun around to rush to pet him, "Did you miss me? Did you miss me?"

Rani blinked and looked at Mac in question, the man had looked like he was about to say something and then just, at the drop of a hat, spun around and started to play with his dog.

"Attention span of a rodent," Mac told her.

The Doctor hide a smile at that by playing it off as being thrilled with K9, Mac had said that once before, a bit more irritatedly, and now…it almost sounded more amused. That was another point for him!

…and then he blinked, realizing he was actually happy he was being compared to a rodent now.

"Repeat," K9 cut into his thoughts, "Whereabouts of Sarah Jane? Where is she?"

"We'd have to work out where WE are first," Mac informed the robot.

"What do you mean?" Clyde frowned, "We're in the manor."

Mac nodded, "We are…but where's the manor got to?" she tilted her head at the windows.

The children turned and stared, seeing that there was nothing but white outside. They rushed over to it, staring outside, seeing that it looked like they were just floating among clouds in a bright mist. There was literally nothing out there but white and smoke…but none of the smoke was seeping inside.

"Interdimensional shift," the Doctor mused as he and Mac turned to look out a window closer to themselves, examining it, "Time's moved on. But us, and this entire building, we've been left behind."

"There's nothing out there!" Rani frowned.

"I said all along," Clyde shook his head, "I knew there was something wrong about all of this," he spun around and started to head back over to the Time Lords, "And what exactly is going on?"

"I'll explain later…"

Mac buried her face in her hands the second those words left the Doctor's mouth as the three children immediately started to talk over themselves in their concern for Sarah Jane, their parents, and the other guests. She shook her head at that, seeing the Doctor wincing at how they were starting to shout. So she quickly pulled out her whistle and blew it, getting them to quiet down.

"THIS…cannot possibly be the worst thing you three have encountered," Mac looked at the trio of children, "Defending the earth, this probably wouldn't even rank in the top 10 given what you've seen. So if you could please calm down enough for us to speak…Doctor?" she sent him a look, HE was the one who had gotten them worked up, HE was going to be the one to calm them down.

"Right, so…here's the answer to all your questions," he nodded, "Yes, that was the Trickster. Yes, we're trapped. Yes Mackenzie and I are the only ones who can get us out of the trap. Yes…we?" he glanced at Mac, and she nodded, "We are going to bring Sarah Jane, and your mum and dad, and all the others back safe. But we can't do any of it without you."

"You need us?" Clyde started to smirk at that.

"Just like Sarah Jane needs you," the Doctor nodded.

"So if you three can continue to keep your heads about you?" Mac gave them a look and they nodded, "Good, there may be an unofficial induction into UNIT because of this," she added.

"Really?" Luke smiled at the thought. His mother was amazing and it was his ultimate dream to continue in her footsteps, but she told so many stories about her past travels and the people she knew and how big a role UNIT had in it he would be lying to say that he wasn't interested in the facility.

"We'll see," Mac nodded.

Rani started to smile at that as well, before she shook her head, "But my mum and dad, where are they?"

"Just go on with it Rani," Luke whispered to her.

"I like you Luke," Mac remarked, "You're my new trainee."

Luke grinned widely at that, "Well," he shrugged, "If mum trusts you, then I trust you. I _did_ see you both save the world..."

"You helped us save the world Luke-y boy!" the Doctor laughed, slapping Luke's cheeks lightly, "Right!" he turned and headed for the doors of the chapel, "Come on, we can use the TARDIS!"

"You lot DO know what the TARDIS is though, yes?" Mac glanced at them, wanting to make sure, not quite certain just how much Sarah Jane had told them.

"Oh yeah," Clyde nodded, smiling, secretly hoping that they'd get a chance to see the magic box Sarah Jane spoke so fondly about.

They made their way into the halls, running fast down them towards the parlor, the poor children nearly running into the Doctor's back when he stopped short and stared around, looking for something that clearly wasn't there.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," he complained, "It was there!" he spun to Mac, "It was right there wasn't it?!"

Mac rubbed her forehead, "You didn't lock the TARDIS in place, did you?" she sighed.

He blinked, opening his mouth to come up with some sort of excuse…when he turned and pulled the children back, hearing a faint noise, "Wait, wait, wait, wait," he paused, listening intently, hearing the wheezing of the TARDIS though it sounded like it was straining, struggling to land.

"That noise!" Rani gasped, "I've heard it before."

"The Trickster put out a field to block access to the manor," Mac told them, "We had to implement some…less than desirable adaptations to the TARDIS to get through."

She winced, watching as the TARDIS tried to appear, energy crackling around the outside of it, Artron Energy. That was the adaptations, they'd had to reroute some of the Artron Energy to encircle the outside of the box. It was the only thing they felt safe doing to the box, something they knew they could do, do quickly, and repair fast when it was all taken care of later. It was equal enough to the power of the Trickster to counteract his field and break through, but the TARDIS herself didn't want to be there. Without them forcing the box through and locking her in place the first thing she wanted was to get out of there, but, upon escaping the emergency programs would set in and the TARDIS would try to break through again and get the Doctor out of there.

"Temporal schism is preventing TARDIS materialization," K9 assessed as the box struggled to take shape.

"Wait a minute," Clyde stared at the box, disappointed, "_That's_ the TARDIS? It's just a wooden box!"

"Looks can be deceiving Clyde," Mac reminded him, "Never trust what you see at first glance."

"Come on!" the Doctor bobbed on his feet, urging the box on, "You can do it, more power, come on!"

Mac shook her head as it disappeared again, "It's not built up enough Artron Energy," she remarked, "It'll need a little longer before it can touch down and stay down. That or time has to resume."

The Doctor sighed, "Ok, no TARDIS then."

"What, so we're trapped here?" Rani cried, "Wherever this is…"

"No, 'cos what have we got?" the Doctor smiled reassuringly at her as he turned to face the children, "We've got K9!"

"Affirmative," the dog wagged its tail.

"And we've got Mac!" he cheered, "She's gotten me out of worse snags using a mirror and a paperclip," Clyde glanced at her for that, impressed that a Time Lord could use such simple means where the Doctor seemed to favor the more complicated.

"Don't forget my trainee and his friends," Mac added.

"Yes," he pointed at her and then them, "You three! Any friend of Sarah Jane Smith is a friend of mine and Macke…"

"I make my own opinions of people based on what _I_ see of them," Mac cut in, "Not what others claim of them," she turned back to the kids, "I would be happy to count you among my friends."

"But where is this?" Clyde asked, "What's happened to the rest of the world?"

"Our present location," K9 called, "Nowhere, no when."

"No when?" Luke looked at the small dog, confused as to how that was possible.

"Time exists across all plains and dimensions," Mac recited, "Even in the Void though it's more from an outsider's perspective," from the Void you could watch time pass but it still was connected to time, "It's not technically no when so much as a when that's been frozen."

The Doctor nearly laughed when he saw the children staring at her confused, Luke with a small frown of concentration on his face as he tried to work out what she was saying and took pity on them, "Look at the clocks.

Luke turned with the others to see the clock on the wall was ticking the same second over and over, a digital clock seeming frozen in place, "Time has stopped."

"What?" Clyde looked at a watch on his wrist, "You're joking."

"Try once more Trainee," Mac nudged him.

Luke smiled at the title, "Time hasn't _stopped_," he corrected, seeing a clip on the TV of a horse jumping over a fence over and over, the same second repeating, "This second's on a loop. 23 seconds and 23 minutes past 3 o'clock."

"Well done," Mac nodded at him.

"We're just caught inside it, in this one second," the Doctor agreed, moving to the floor and pressing his stethoscope to it.

"But, again, where is Sarah Jane?" Clyde shook his head.

"I think she's right here."

"So we've been kept behind in this second…" Rani began slowly.

"Affirmative Mistress Rani," K9 called.

"And Sarah Jane's been caught in another one," Mac supplied.

"But the rest of the world," Rani frowned, "Mum and dad, and everyone else, they've moved on from here, going forwards in time. Why has the Trickster trapped us here?"

"Oh come on Rani," the Doctor popped up, "You know the answer to that."

"Guess it right and I'll make you a UNIT Trainee too," Mac offered.

Rani smirked, "We're Sarah Jane's friends, all of us, her best friends," she said with confidence.

"Which means…" the Doctor grinned, tossing Luke his long jacket as he headed for the stairs in the back of the parlor.

"Hostages," Rani declared, "He can use us to get at her!"

"Excellent," Mac nodded, "Consider yourself a Trainee."

"Yes!" Rani cheered, high-fiving Luke.

The Doctor had to smile at that and throw a questioning look at Mac, who shrugged, making him shake his head at her, realizing what she was doing. She was trying to keep the children calm and motivated and confident. Calling them Trainees, making them feel like they were working it all our…it was helping them think faster, think on their feet, and work it out efficiently. She was trying to help keep their minds partially off how they were trapped, in the clutches of the Trickster, and separated from Sarah Jane.

He hadn't seen that quality to her in…ages. He had always been the one to just outright lie or deflect a question to keep others calm, not always the best method he could admit. Mac had another method. She would tell them what was going on and make it a challenge for them to help work out, make them a part of it and feel included and like they were making a difference. It figured that it would come out more so with the children around her. It had been a trick she'd always used to get her younger siblings to do their chores or homework or face other challenges. He hadn't seen her do that since before the war now that he thought about it.

It was…nice…very nice, to see that coming out just a little bit again.

"We've met the Trickster before but we've never actually found out who he is," Clyde remarked with a roll of his eyes at his friends' antics.

"The Trickster is a creature from beyond the Universe, forever trying to break into our reality, manifest himself," the Doctor recited as he came back down the stairs, "He's one of the Pantheon of Discords."

"That's a good name for a band," Clyde mused.

"Actually, not bad!"

"The point of him," Mac gave the Doctor a look, "Is that he exists to create havoc and chaos wherever he goes. If we keep calm and keep rational about this we'll be able to face him and beat him."

"Oh!" the Doctor cried, hearing the sonic beep and quickly pulled it out, "Ha!" he cheered, flashing it around the room, "That's it! Time trace! Just a hint of Sarah Jane."

"Is she in the room or…"

"She's close," was all the Doctor could say, before he jumped onto one of the sofas and stood on the back of it, listening to the sonic.

Rani shivered suddenly, "What was that?"

"What was what?" Mac looked at her.

"I dunno," Rani frowned, "Felt like someone just walked over my grave."

Mac eyed her for a moment before turning to the Doctor, "Doctor?" she called, nodding at Rani when he glanced at her purposefully.

He gave her a confused look and she eyed the sonic and jerked her head, "Oh!" he nodded, turning the sonic in their direction, "Oh!" now his eyes were wider as he hopped off the chair and followed the beep past Rani, "She's here! She's here! Sarah!"

"Sarah Jane," Rani whispered to him, correcting him lightly, "She doesn't like being called Sarah."

"She does by me."

Mac shook her head at how easily distracted he was, "K9 can you scan for her?"

"Scanning Mistress," K9 nodded his head and turned to scan the room, slowly trundling into it.

"Why does he call me Mistress?" Mac glanced at the Doctor.

"He does that to pretty much everyone who's friends with Sarah Jane," Clyde told her.

Mac blinked at that, "She…counts me as a friend?"

"Of course she does," Luke nodded, "Mum talked about you almost more than the Doctor after the Earth was brought back."

Mac started to smile a little at that, feeling rather…touched. She knew it was probably just Sarah Jane's excitement that another Time Lord had been found. She knew that the Doctor had told her about the war and Gallifrey being lost, how he was the only Time Lord left. For HER to show up, Sarah Jane must have just been thrilled that her dearest friend wasn't alone any longer and that was likely why she had spoken of her so much. Sarah Jane really didn't know her though…she was aware that Sarah Jane had some rather strong ties to UNIT, she could have easily spoken to her contacts and learned about her. Still…that was one more person she could count as a friend that hadn't betrayed or hurt her in the past, those were…rather rare.

While she knew that the Doctor hadn't betrayed her now, that he hadn't lied to her or used her, he HAD hurt her by taking a decision that wasn't his to make on her behalf. That was the part that still angered her about all of that. Yes, she was still upset that everything she'd had to endure from her husband had come about because she had to marry him, and yes she'd only married him because the Doctor had married his own Contracted. But…the Doctor had made a decision about her life without asking her how she wanted her life to go…and because of it they were both hurt.

"Doctor!"

Mac looked over, pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Sarah Jane's ghostly voice calling from before them.

"Mum!" Luke gasped, proving it wasn't just her and the Doctor that had heard it.

"That was her!" Clyde agreed.

"K9!" the Doctor turned to the dog, "Isolate the time trace."

"Affirmative Master," K9's scanners started to spin.

Mac stared as the doors before them flew open, like someone not with them had thrown them open, "K9, scan the doors."

"Scanners indicate…temporal schism divided in two," K9 reported.

"We know that," Mac remarked, "We're trapped here in 3.23.23 and Sarah Jane's in another second," it was the only place Sarah Jane could be if the others in the room had moved on with time.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane's voice came from above them.

"Oh, she's upstairs…" the Doctor murmured.

"Really?" Mac rolled her eyes, "I hadn't noticed," she shook her head, "Ok, Trainee Luke, you remain here with K9 on lookout for the TARDIS. Warn us if you see her return. Trainee Rani, you and Clyde come with us…"

The Doctor laughed at how she was turning it into like a miniature UNIT mission for the kids, making it seem like a routine thing with orders and titles and ranks instead of a trap by the Trickster, "Come on you two," he turned and ran up the stairs, leading them and Mac, "Spit spot!"

~8~

"How did we end up here again?" Rani complained as the small quartet ran through a door on the second floor…and stepped into the chapel on the first floor once more.

The Time Lords frowned and looked around the room, knowing that there had to be a reason they were back in that particular room. It was either because the Trickster was there or about to show up there, or because it was the central point of the loop…they were hoping for the second, it would be easier to reverse from the central point.

"It's a spatial loop mixed up with a temporal loop," Clyde said simply.

Rani glanced at him, "How did you work that one out?"

"Well, we've been doing this for a while now, I have taken notes."

"And with that, you've just earned a trainee position as well," Mac called.

Clyde beamed smugly at that as Rani rolled her eyes.

"Come on," the Doctor murmured as he held out the sonic in his hands, turning slowly in a circle to try and find where Sarah Jane might be, "Come on, come on Sarah, let me find you…"

"Mackenzie…" Rani began, not quite wanting to disturb the Doctor.

"Mac," Mac corrected.

"Right, um, Mac," Rani repeated, "This is mad though, isn't it? The Trickster, he's this all powerful immortal who wants to cause chaos throughout the stars…and he wants Sarah Jane to get_ married_? What does he get out of that?"

"You'd be surprised what marriage can get you Rani," Mac sighed, "Political alliances, financial support, blackmail, cover-ups, influence, power, just as equally as it can give you love and family. The Trickster though…there's got to be something about Sarah Jane marrying this man…"

"Peter," Clyde offered.

"Peter that would cause chaos," she hummed, thinking on it.

"She's here!" the Doctor called over to them as the sonic started beeping rapidly, "If I can narrow the loop ratio…"

"Doctor," Mac called, "He's here."

The Doctor stiffened and looked over his shoulder to see the Trickster was floating in the air above the fireplace, now dressed in a black robe similar to his white one from the wedding. His lips pursed as he made his way back down from where he'd wandered to the altar to stand before him, "Oh, you look better in black, or is white the new black?"

"At last Doctor," the Trickster smirked, "I could feel this moment reverberating back through the ages, meeting the Pantheon of Discord, the last of the Time Lords," his gaze turned to Mac as well.

Mac's eyes narrowed as she walked over to the Doctor, the two of them standing before the Trickster, "Trickster," she gave as a greeting, making the man chuckle.

"We've known the legends of the Pantheon since we were children," the Doctor mused, "We've fought your shadows and your changelings. I never thought we'd actually meet."

"And I knew legends of the Doctor, the man of ice and fire, walked among gods, once held the key to time in his hands. Now he is surrounded by children," his smirk turned dangerous, "Children his precious Chosen can never have."

Mac's jaw clenched at that, feeling her hands tighten into fists even as she grew a shade paler at the man's words. This wasn't the first time she and the Doctor had been called Chosens, even though they were not, not officially anyway. Yes, they had both declared they loved the other, but they'd done so at different times and when the other was not reciprocating…whether it appeared that way or was truly that way. But for him to bring up her lack of ability to have children…that was hitting below the belt.

"I can still protect them, Trickster," Mac warned, "You would do well to remember never to anger a Time Lady."

Time Lords could be…scary when they were angry, when they were furious. But Time Ladies? When they were truly furious with someone else…run, just run. As with a good majority of female species in the Universe, there was always certain times they were more angry than normal and for that alone the Time Ladies of Gallifrey were NOT someone any wished to see truly angered.

"They are under our protection," the Doctor agreed, his voice tight and full of anger himself at what the Trickster had said to Mac, "They're our friends, which reminds me, you're looking a bit lonely for a pantheon."

"I embody multitudes," the Trickster remarked, "But for you, the man who will lose _everybody_," he cast a more victorious look at Mac for that one, making her stiffen, "To talk to me of loneliness, when the Gate is waiting for you."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor frowned at that, both for the implication that something might happen to Mac, that…that she might leave him as well, that he'd lose her, and also the Gate, whatever that was, waiting for him.

The Trickster merely chuckled and, instead, said, "Sarah Jane Smith is my prize. You knew Doctor. Didn't realize how wonderful she is."

"Why did you take her Trickster?" Mac demanded.

"I require something from her," he stated simply, "What I always want for many of those I visit, they're agreement. Goodbye Time Lords," he laughed, slowly disappearing from their sight.

"Her agreement?" Mac murmured, something about that striking her.

"The power of words…" the Doctor mumbled under his breath, "She says I do…yes!" he cheered, making the children jump, "That's it!"

"That's what?" Clyde frowned.

"You're kidding me," Mac looked at the Doctor horrified.

"No," he shook his head solemnly.

"What?" Rani looked between them.

"If Sarah Jane says 'I Do,'" Mac began, "Then she's promising to love, honor, and obey her husband, who recognized the Trickster. He was a part of it all, which means the Trickster controls him. She says I Do, then she's given her consent and agreement."

"She'll be totally under the Trickster's power too," the Doctor nodded, "Marital bliss but she forgets all about this. She starts living a new life."

"Forgetting about her old life, protecting the Earth!" Rani realized with horror.

"And the planet's wide open so that aliens can just barge in!" Clyde cried.

"Causing just the sort of chaos the Trickster thrives on," Mac rubbed her head.

"Without Sarah, without you lot, saving the world from your attic in Ealings, it'd be complete destruction," the Doctor told them seriously.

"That's if she's gonna say yes," Clyde reminded them.

"But she will won't she? Because we're here."

"We're the Trickster's prisoners," Mac countered Clyde's thoughts, "Like Rani said, we're essentially hostages, he can threaten her with our lives and she'll accept his terms to save us, to save you three especially."

"We can't let that happen!" Rani shouted.

The Time Lords looked at each other, all too aware they needed to come up with some way to escape…when they heard the wheezing of the TARDIS sound behind them. They spun around to see the faint crackle of Artron Energy appear at the side of the room.

"The TARDIS!" the Doctor cheered as it started to fade into existence, "Beautiful! Yes! It's honing in on me! The emergency program protecting the pilot! Of course! That's materialization!"

"What's happening?" Luke yelled as he and K9 ran into the room, they could hear the grinding and struggling wheezing of the TARDIS all the way from the parlor.

"Stay back," Mac pulled the children back, "That energy there," she nodded at the tendrils of it coating the surface of the box, "Is Artron energy, it's powerful enough to stop the Trickster so imagine what it would do to you if you touched it."

The Doctor quickly ran for the box the second it solidified, knowing there wasn't much time and needing to get the doors open. He struggled, the winds making it hard to push the doors so Mac ran over to his side, the two of them pushing on the door till they fell through it, Mac stumbling in first followed by the Doctor.

"Doctor!" Rani shouted.

"Mac!" Clyde reached for them.

"Come on," the Doctor turned, holding out his hand to them as Mac struggled to keep the door open so he could, "All of you get in!" he lunged as much as he could, grabbing Clyde's hand and trying to pull, the children gathering behind Clyde, holding onto him but also trying to push him as well, "Come on now!"

He grunted, trying to pull the children in…but the wind knocked him back, sending him crashing into Mac as the doors slammed shut, a terrible thump hitting the doors after it and they knew one of the children, likely Clyde, had just slammed into the Artron Energy.

"We need to go!" Mac jumped up and ran to the controls, the only way for the energy to release Clyde was if it was focused somewhere else…like materialization. So they both got to work, sending the box off not spatially, but temporally, keeping the box in the same spot but taking it just a second into the future.

"I've locked her down," the Doctor called to Mac over the sounds of the grinding noise and alarms going off.

"Oh NOW you do," she grumbled.

"Just come on!" he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the doors, struggling to get them open, Mac literally using her entire body and all her weight to wedge it open enough just for the Doctor to stick his head out, "Sarah!" he shouted, seeing her standing before the altar, Peter before her with a ring held up in his hands.

Sarah Jane spun around, her eyes wide as she caught sight of him, "Oh, Doctor!" she ran for the box, able to tell from the noise and wind that there wasn't much time, she'd never seen the box struggling so much.

"Hurry up!" Mac grunted, pushing the door open more, "The lock will only last so long…"

"Clyde'll keep the Trickster busy a moment," the Doctor told Sarah Jane, "Oh those three are just brilliant!"

"DOCTOR!" Mac snapped at him, making him wince at how he'd gotten off track again.

But luckily Sarah Jane was spot on, "What can I do? If I say no, we're trapped here forever, if I say yes, I condemn the world to the Trickster. Either way I lose, there's no way out."

"It all rests with you Sarah," he said as softly as he could over the noise, "Your greatest challenge. The hardest thing you'll ever face in your life."

"What is it? Tell me what I've got to do."

"You've fought the Trickster before, you know how he operates, how he can be defeated…" his gaze flickered over to Peter and back to her, solemn.

Sarah Jane's eyes widened at that, turning to look back at Peter, "No…" she breathed, and back to the Doctor, shaking her head, pleading with him, "No!"

The Doctor swallowed and looked at the man "I know you're a good man Peter. I'm so sorry…"

Suddenly a scream sounded behind Sarah Jane and a flash of light filled the room, the Trickster and Clyde appearing in it, hands clasped together, Artron Energy sparking around them. Clyde was struggling to stand, the Trickster seemingly in pain as the energy crackled.

"Doctor, the door!" Mac gasped, actually being pushed away from the door as it tried to shut.

"She can't hold it!" the Doctor cried, pulling Mac back as the doors slammed shut and the box started to materialize.

"We can land in the parlor," Mac mumbled, turning to rush back to the console, "The Trickster's appearance in the epicenter of his loop was what forced the TARDIS out…we need to land somewhere he isn't."

The Doctor nodded and rushed to help her, the two of them managing to get the TARDIS to travel spatially this time and not temporally, setting down in the parlor of the manor with much more ease than it did the chapel.

"Locked?" the Doctor looked at Mac as she pulled a lever.

"For now," she warned.

He nodded and they ran for the doors, passing a startled Rani and Luke, hardly even managing to shout for them to follow not that they really had to as the children, and K9, dashed off after them as they ran back to the chapel. The Doctor threw open the doors…only to see the Trickster gone along with Peter and Sarah Jane weeping on the floor with Clyde's head in her lap, the poor boy unconscious before her.

"Mum!" Luke ran right for her, all of them gathering around.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane reached for him as he settled on her left, Luke on her right with Rani beside him, Mac on the other side of the Doctor as the woman reached for Clyde's wrist to check his vitals, "Oh Doctor!"

"My Sarah Jane," he hugged her tightly with an arm, "You did it, the trap's broken, time's moving forwards again!" he pulled her closer as the room started to shake, the light that had filled it before when the Trickster first sent them off returning, "We're going home!"

"Keep tight everyone!" Mac warned, all of them crouching together as close as they could, the shaking getting worse.

"We're all going home!" the Doctor repeated as the light blinded them all…

~8~

The Doctor and Mac were silent, odd for the Doctor, as the piloted the TARDIS to set down in Sarah Jane's attic. They'd had to take the TARDIS to the moon, somewhere safe and isolated so that they could repair the Artron Energy leaks before they could come back to Earth safely without fear of disrupting any sort of time or endangering the children again. They'd made quick work of it and gone back to the chapel, but the Doctor had overshot the landing and they'd arrived to see the wedding had long since been over, the last of the guests leaving, Sarah Jane having called the wedding off (obviously) and rushed to get to her home.

"I can't believe the Doctor ran off like that…" they could hear on the monitor where they'd brought up a live feed of the attic not wanting to accidently land on anyone or anything important. There was, luckily, a small patch on a little raised portion that was just perfect for a TARDIS and they were aiming for it.

"Sudden disappearing acts, that's him all over," Sarah Jane sighed.

The Doctor looked down at that, hearing a small echo of Mac's and Davros's words in that, it hurt that even his own companions just…expected him to disappear when they needed him now. Granted, he often DID disappear, but…to hear it was now an expectation? That hurt a little bit.

"Sarah Jane, escalation of Temporal Flux," the computer, Mr. Smith announced as they locked on the small landing space.

"Temporal Flux escalating!" K9 reported just as the box started to solidify.

"Doctor!" Sarah Jane gasped, the surprise in her voice breaking the Doctor's hearts more than they warmed them…she honestly hadn't expected him to come check on her?

He quickly made his way to the doors and opened one, "What do you take me for Sarah?" he poked his head out, Mac slowly joining him by the other door, pushing it open, "Just thought I'd go the quick way…"

"We had to take care of the Artron Energy," Mac informed her, not about to let the Doctor lie and make it seem like he hadn't wanted to be there right after Sarah Jane stepped out of the chapel room to hug her, "We went to the chapel first but missed you, HIS piloting," she nodded her head at the Doctor…

Who just took to looking around, "I like it in here," he said instead, pretending he wasn't listening to her.

"Can we have a look?" Rani asked, hopeful.

"What, in the TARDIS?" he turned to frown at them, "_My _TARDIS?" he waited till their hopeful smiles dropped before smiling, "Course you can, yeah," and stepped to the side to let them in, the children clambering up, eager to see the fabled bigger-on-the-inside box, Sarah Jane following a slower pace behind them.

"Oh wow!" Clyde stared in awe, "It really is, isn't it? It's bigger on the inside?"

Mac mock-groaned in Sarah Jane's ear for that as she offered the woman a small empathetic hug for what she'd been through. She could relate, in a way, to what Sarah Jane had to have been feeling. When she realized what Peter had done, at first, probably betrayal, then to find out that he'd done it to see her happy…to lose him so suddenly, it was very much like with her and the Doctor.

"It's beautiful!" Rani breathed, smiling as she ducked under a curve in a Y-beam.

"Transcendental dimensions," Luke grinned.

"Oh what does this do?" Clyde called, pointing at the console.

"Hey," Sarah Jane pulled away from the hug to point a warning finger at him, her and the Time Lords making their way up to the console, "Don't touch," she offered them a small smile as they started to explore again and turned to the Doctor, "You came all that way, for me."

"You are so important," he said simply, "Not just to me. Trickster wanted to end your story but it goes on. The things you've done Sarah they're pretty impressive. But oh! The things you're gonna do…"

"The future," Luke spoke, the three looking over to see the children had regrouped around them again, "How about we could go for a ride?"

"Or back to the dinosaurs yeah?" Clyde nodded.

"Another planet?" Rani suggested.

"No way!" Sarah Jane shook her head, "For one thing, you are grounded by the Judoon, and you're parents would never forgive me."

"And you've not completed your UNIT training yet," Mac added, jokingly as the children sighed.

"Go on," Sarah Jane nodded towards the doors and the children filed out, "Is this the last time I'm ever going to see you?" Sarah Jane turned back to the Time Lords, looking at the both of them, she was starting to rather like Mac despite her first impression of the woman.

"I don't know," the Doctor sighed, "I hope not."

"It won't be if you'd like it not to be," Mac said simply and reasonably.

"I don't," Sarah Jane told them, looking at the Doctor for that one, "Don't be a stranger Doctor. Please," he gave her a small nod, not promising but not denying her request, "Bye Doctor ," she gave him a hug, "Until the next time. See you Mackenzie," she offered the Time Lady a nod goodbye as well.

"Don't forget me Sarah Jane," the Doctor called as she turned to head for the doors.

Sarah Jane just stopped and smiled back at him, "No one's ever going to forget you," she told him, before she moved to step out of the box, shutting the doors behind her.

"You are a rather hard man to forget," Mac remarked, "Which is a blessing and a curse."

The Doctor looked over at her and smiled a bit at that, knowing that she wasn't just talking about friends remembering him fondly, like Sarah Jane, or enemies swearing revenge, like the Daleks, but…herself as well. She remembered him, all those centuries, whether it was in happy memories or bad, she still had keep him with her in her mind.

But now, with her before him, he was hopeful to make many more happier memories in the future.

A/N: I was really looking forward to this chapter to see how Mac acted around children :) She's definitely a little warmer around them than normal :) Ooh...but tomorrow we hit Waters of Mars }:)

Also, today'll be the last day to submit pairing names for the Doctor/Mac (Theta/Naery) ;) I'll open the polls tomorrow :)

Some notes on reviews...

I think Time Lords are born with two hearts :) I think for Mac, she just sees it as a natural process, regeneration, but the Doctor's just a little more clingy to his bodies :)

It made sense to me :) Losing them all in one go definitely hurt him terribly :( You never know about Mac's regeneraton, Proffy lasted 2 series and Evy lasted a few years (if you count before the series began) ;)

I'll be trying to pick up all my spinoffs in April, I've just been really, really swamped with school and family and writing and things and I'm trying not to let stress get to me too much so I had to put them all on hold for now :(

I can't say how WOM will go just yet, mostly because we'll see the start of it tomorrow, but we'll see quite a few reactions from Mac about all of it ;)

We'll see very soon who might be Victorious ;)


	6. The Waters of Mars - Part 1

The Waters of Mars - Part 1

Mac was…not entirely sure just how much she was looking forward to this particular trip. Mars. The Doctor had been on a quest of sorts to visit every planet in Earth's solar system for the last few trips. They'd gone in reverse though, from Pluto inwards instead of starting with Mercury. They'd had a rather rousing debate about that, whether to go to Pluto, she had argued that the Earth scientists had classified Pluto as not a true planet, a dwarf planet perhaps, but not one of the formerly-9 planets that made up Earth's system. The Doctor had just asked what Pluto had ever done to the scientists to deserve getting kicked off the roster, and then guilted her (she still didn't know quite how THAT had happened) by saying that Pluto hadn't even made one complete cycle around the sun before it was booted off…so they'd gone to Pluto and then every other planet between that and Earth. They were going to do the moon instead of Earth when they got to it, give Earth a little break, before going on to Venus and then Mercury and backtrack to the Doctor's more favored planet.

She just…there was a lot of ill luck that came with Mars, mostly due to the rumors of Ice Warriors and the whole Bowie Base One fiasco and so many other things but she knew that the Doctor wouldn't give this one up, they were actually there for one purpose…to celebrate Donna's birthday. The first time she'd met the Doctor she kept insisting he was from Mars, so, to honor her memory, he'd thought going to Mars for her birthday would be a good way to remember her. And Mac hadn't been able to argue against that. She'd even let him pilot because she knew it was that important to him that they get there…and if they didn't, it would be his own fault.

And there they were, on Mars, in their spacesuits. She felt really quite odd in hers though. The Doctor had an orange one from some sort of prior adventure, something about a planet orbiting a black hole. Hers was a bit more ancient than that, taken from one of his very, VERY old adventures, pre-war adventures and it truly looked it. The tech was terrible but it would be enough to walk about Mars for a short while.

"The Red Planet," he smiled, pleased as they looked at the red landscape, the two of them having wandered for a bit, making it to a ledge to over look one of the ice-filled craters, "Oh, beautiful."

Mac frowned though, seeing that there wasn't just an ice-crater before them but some sort of base as well. She wasn't quite sure which part of Mars they'd landed on. The Doctor had begged her, just this once, not to run a scan or check the environment and just…experience it, go into the planet with a fresh eye and no expectations. She hadn't wanted to, but she'd given in just this once but warned him if they ended up hunted by Ice Warriors she was NEVER going to NOT run an environment check again. He'd agreed and there they were, on a random part of Mars. Mars had quite a few icepatches throughout it, and, in the history of its colonization, there had been many bases set up on them for water. They couldn't be sure which one this one was till they got closer and, unfortunately, she'd had to leave her glasses in the TARDIS. The suit she was wearing only really allowed for her blouse and skirt, not even for her jacket and the helmet didn't allow for her glasses even on her face or on top of her head it was that old and small. She'd tried to get them into her skirt pocket, having selected one of her pocketed skits because of that, but the Doctor had grabbed her hand and tugged her off before she could, too excited to get going.

She could make out that there appeared to be a large central dome in the middle of five smaller ones spaced out around it, a rocket of some sort at the sixth end, with six tunnels leading to each area. It was…not exactly efficient. Each of the miniature domes was connected to the larger dome, but not connected to each other. So in order to get from one miniature dome to the next, the person would have to run down the tunnel, to the main dome, and then run down another tunnel to get to the second dome.

Well that was rubbish.

"What do you think?" the Doctor grinned at her, "Shall we go greet the neighbors?"

Mac closed her eyes a moment, "I don't think we have a choice anymore Doctor."

He blinked and looked over at her…only to see that there was a small, blocky robot behind her, a gun aimed at her back.

"Rotate, slowly," the robot demanded and both Time Lords put their arms up and turned, "You are under arrest, for trespassing. Gadget-gadget."

~8~

"State your name, rank, and intention," an older blonde woman demanded of the Time Lords as they found themselves inside the main dome of the base. They'd been ushered there by the robot, ordered to remove their suits by rather stunned looking men and women, and handed them over before being marched off to meet what they could only assume was the captain given her stern disposition, commanding voice, and the gun currently being held at their heads.

"Mackenzie, UNIT agent, inspection?" Mac supplied.

"The Doctor," the Doctor added, "Doctor. Fun."

"What the hell?!" another man called, rushing in as the blonde woman moved to speak, "People! People on Mars! How?"

Mac gave him a look, "You're people too. How are YOU here?"

"They were wearing these things," a German woman held up their suits, "I have never seen anything like it."

"What did Mission Control say?"

"They're out of range for ten hours with the solar flares…"

"If we could cut the chat, everyone," the captain snapped, silencing them all.

"Actually, chat's second on my list," the Doctor began.

"Oh here we go," Mac grumbled, "You and your lists."

"Lists are helpful."

"Not when YOU do them," she shot him a look, "You're rubbish at them."

"I am not," he defended, "I'll prove it too, see…the first is the gun pointed at our heads. Which then puts our heads second and chat third…" he blinked, "I think," he frowned, starting to think about that over again, "Gun, head, chat, yeah…" he winced looking at Mac to see her giving him a pointed look, "Right so I hate lists."

Mac shook her head, "If you could, ma'am, lower the gun?" she turned back to the captain.

But the woman just narrowed her eyes, "Oh, you'd like that."

"Very much yes," Mac agreed, "You can't say you wouldn't if the roles were reversed."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because we give you our word…" the Doctor began.

"Doctor!" Mac huffed.

He winced again, "Right, sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck at how he'd promised something for her again when SHE hadn't done so.

He did that a little too much, he knew, dragged her into his promises, but…it had been SO long since he'd had another Time Lord with him, he'd thought he was alone, the last, for too long. To have her with him again…he just liked saying we and us and our because it reminded him he really wasn't alone any longer…but he knew if he kept it up it might irritate her to the point where she left, and then he'd be alone again.

"I give you MY word," the Doctor amended.

"And I give you mine," Mac agreed.

"And, 40 million miles away from home, our word is all you've got."

The captain eyed them for a moment longer, before she slowly lowered her gun, calling, "Keep Gadget covering them," to a young man, the youngest they'd seen, standing next to the robot that had captured them.

He gave a nod, jerking his hand that was in rather thick cloves with a control board hanging around his neck and the robot twitched, "Gadget-gadget!"

"Oh, right," the Doctor glanced at the boy, "So you control that thing?"

"You're still using auto-glove response?" Mac frowned at that, it was rather…old tech, relatively speaking for robots, but it did narrow down the timeframe of where they had to be, help narrow down which base this was. There were three that had been placed on Mars during the time where auto-glove response was still widely used.

"You got it," the man nodded, moving his hand right, "To the right..." and the robot shifted with a squeak of 'Gadget-gadget,' and then left, "And to the left," making it move left as well.

"It's a bit flimsy," the Doctor remarked, earning a glare from the boy and what would have been an angry 'Gadget-gadget' if the robot had had a different set of tones than his set one, "Does it have to keep saying that?"

"I think it's funny."

"I hate funny robots."

"I'm not much a fan either," Mac sighed, "K9 is lovely but there's too much speculation about robot apocalypses and loopholes to the Three Rules and…" she trailed off seeing the group staring at her, "Ok, never read _I, Robot_ then," she worked out.

"Excuse me, boss," a voice came over the speakers, "Computer log says we've got extra people on site. Two of them. How's that possible?"

"Keep the Bio-dome closed," the captain snapped, "And when using open comms. you call me Captain."

"Yeah, but...who are they?"

The captain just pursed her lips and nodded at an older man to cut the call, "They can't be a World State flight, we'd know about it," the man added as he ended the call, "Therefore, they've got to be one of the independents, yeah? Was it the Branson inheritance lot? They've talked about a Mars shot for years."

"UNIT inspection," Mac countered, pulling her ID out to flash it to them, the Doctor quickly pulling out the psychic paper to play off that he was her associate like before, "Alien planets require alien experts."

"And that's you?" the man scoffed.

"It is," Mac's eyes narrowed at the man.

"We've been here months now and we haven't seen hide nor hair of any 'Martians.'"

"Alien PLANET," Mac emphasized, "Alien expert doesn't just mean we know the biologies and languages of aliens, we know their planets, their viruses, their food, their environment. We're merely here to observe and make sure you aren't putting yourselves at risk of alien parasites you're not aware of."

"Hence, the _Doctor_," he gestured to himself, "And you are?"

The captain scoffed at that now, Mac shaking her head at how he'd likely just given away that they were NOT in fact sent by UNIT if they had to ask who they were, "UNIT didn't provide you details?"

"Well they didn't specify which base we were heading to," the Doctor shrugged.

The captain gave him a look, "We're the ONLY base on Mars. We're the first off-world colonists in history. Everyone on Planet Earth knows who we are."

The Time Lords froze at that, "The first?" Mac blinked, looking around the base in mounting horror.

"Then..." the Doctor swallowed, "This is..."

"Bowie Base One?" he and the captain said at the same time.

"Number one?" he continued though, praying it wasn't so, "Founded July 1st, 2058. Established Bowie Base One in the Gusev Crater…"

"How long have you been here exactly?" Mac asked, "What's the date?"

"17 months," the captain frowned.

Mac closed her eyes before she rounded on the Doctor, "2059," she hissed at him, this was most certainly NOT Donna's birthday, especially not when she worked out where it put them, month wise, based on how long they'd been there, "You were supposed to make sure it was the right moment!" she added in a more hushed-whisper.

He winced at that, "I'm sorry."

"Did you even check!?" but his silence as enough, "Doctor!"

"I'm sorry!" he tried to appease her though his own hearts were racing as well, "I thought I got it right this time and…"

"Does this look right to you!?" she gestured at the crew, "We're on Bowie Base one, in 2059, right now, standing in front of Captain Adelaide Brooke!" she nodded at the blonde captain, starting to point around the room, "And Deputy Edward Gold," then to the older man, "Dr. Tarak Ital," and a middle eastern man, "Nurse Yuri Kerenski," and a Russian man, "Senior Technician Steffi Ehrlich," the German woman, "Junior Technician Roman Groom," the boy by Gadget, "And geologist Mia Bennett," then to the last woman, a lovely Asian girl, "How could you be so stupid?!"

The Doctor winced, knowing that this was really the absolute worst situation they could possibly be in and it was his fault. Every person on that base was going to die…in 2059. And it was a fixed point, they couldn't do a thing to save any of them. What's worse, Adelaide had said they'd been there 17 months, which meant that it was right around November, when the base would explode for a reason no one knew and take all the crew with it.

Mac spun to Adelaide, not even giving the Doctor a chance to speak, "What is the exact date?" she demanded, "November what?"

"It's the 21st," Adelaide stated, frowning at how angry the woman was getting, if they'd really been sent by UNIT they'd have known this all.

"Oh lovely," Mac rounded on the Doctor again, "TODAY is the 21st!"

That was the date the base was destroyed.

"Is there something wrong?" Steffi asked, eyeing them curiously.

"We are leaving, right now," Mac shot a glare at the Doctor just daring him to say no, to try and stay there and 'help.'

"We're sorry," he looked at Adelaide, completely agreeing with Mac not only was it their lives on the line if they stayed and got caught in whatever happened, but it was a fixed point he knew he'd be tempted to try and either fix or work out what happened (he really was far too curious for his own good) and also…it would kill them both to be there, to be around these people and realize they were all going to die and they couldn't speak a word about it or try and stop it, "We're both…SO sorry, but it's one of those very rare times when we've got no choice. It's been an honor," he moved to shake all their hands as Mac huffed at how he was wasting time, "Seriously, a...very great honor to meet you all. The Martian pioneers. Oh, thank you. Ah!"

"Don't you have to finish your investigation of the base?" Yuri frowned, knowing that they'd just said they were there to ensure the crew was following protocol and safe against alien parasites.

"We've seen enough," Mac nearly snapped at him, "We're going, NOW."

"Yes," the Doctor agreed, giving Adelaide a salute, "Thank you, I…" he frowned, "Hold on, there's the other two. Margaret Cain and Andrew Stone."

"Doctor we do NOT have time to go and meet them just so you can shake their hands before we go," Mac told him, "We are leaving NOW."

"Just…just…just 2 minutes," he turned to her, pleading, just…wanting to be able to thank the two as well for all they'd do, for all they'd sacrifice.

Ed eyed him a moment before turning to the comms., "Maggie...if you want to meet the only new human beings that you're gonna see in the next five years, better come take a look…"

His call was suddenly cut off by a vicious snarling noise over the speakers.

Mac's jaw tensed as the Doctor stiffened, it was an inhuman snarl.

"What was that?" Mia gasped.

"Ok," the Doctor swallowed, "We really should be going now…"

"Then MOVE," Mac nudged him, but the Doctor was just staring and she knew what it was, he was starting to get curious and concerned for the crew, for what danger they might face. It was one thing to know the base blew up and that everyone inside likely died instantly, not suffering at all, but that noise…it sounded like something was loose in the base and if they suffered and were hurt and struggling before the base blew…she knew the Doctor wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave them being hunted and attacked by whatever it was.

"This is Central," Ed called out to the comms., "Bio-dome report immediately."

Adelaide quickly moved to stand beside Ed, looking at a monitor that held the security feeds, "Show me the Bio-dome," she ordered and Ed quickly brought it up…but there was only static.

"Internal cameras are down, he mumbled.

"Show me the exterior," she countered and the feed switched to show the lights in the dome going out one by one, "I'm going over. Doctor, Agent Mackenzie, with me."

"No," Mac shook her head, "We are leaving, now."

"You really expect me to believe UNIT sent you?" she scoffed, "You didn't even know which base you were on. Steffi, take their spacesuits, lock them up," she commanded and Steffi stepped back with the suits, turning to go hide them, "This started as soon as you arrived, so you're not going anywhere, except with me."

Mac's jaw tensed though she saw the Doctor flinch realizing that, if Adelaide was right…their presence had caused this fixed point to happen. It was just like Pompeii all over again. And she was FUMING. She did NOT want to be a part of a fixed point like this, she didn't want to be the cause of it!

"Mackenzie…" the Doctor turned to her, as though sensing that.

"Don't," she cut in, sending him a hard look, "Just don't."

The Doctor sighed, running a hand through his hair as Mac stormed off after Adelaide, knowing that all his hard work had likely been for nothing now with this turn of events. They'd been doing so well, he'd actually gotten her to lighten up, to just…step out into the unknown…and it turned out to be this…this was not a good thing, at all and he was truly fearful for what it would do to their healing relationship now that this fixed point was on them. Not just him…but THEM, Mac as well.

He swallowed hard and rushed after them, not about to let Mac out of his sight when she was angry. Maybe…maybe there was still something they could do to fix all of this. They had just stepped into a tunnel, heading for the bio-dome, Tarak joining them, Gadget coming to follow them as Adelaide handed out torches, Mac shaking her head and keeping her penlight in her hand instead. There were faint lights on the walls as they walked on but the main lights were coming from the torches in their hands.

"Gadget, more light," Adelaide ordered.

"Gadget-gadget!" the robot said from behind them as a small spotlight turned on on the top of it.

"I hate robots," the Doctor mumbled if just for something to say, Mac had gone silent again…never a good sign, "Did I say?"

"Yeah, and he's not too fond of you," Roman's voice came over the bot's comms., "What's wrong with robots?"

"It's not the robots, it's the people. Dressing them up and giving them silly voices, like you're reducing them."

"Yeah. Friend of mine, she made her domestic robot look like a dog."

"Ah, well, dogs, that's different."

"But I adapted Gadget out of the worker drones. Those things are huge! They built this place when the shell was lowered down from orbit. They've got a strength capacity of..."

"Oh would you shut up about robots!" Mac snapped, "This is a serious matter and you're both talking about your pets!"

The Doctor looked down at that, Mac was…VERY angry.

Adelaide just smirked a bit at that, seeing that at least one of the pair seemed to sense the severity of the situation and was trying to remain focused, "The channel is open for essential communications only," she added.

"Sorry," Roman murmured, falling silent.

The Doctor looked around, seeing they weren't even halfway to down the tunnel before he glanced at Adelaide, "I've read all that stuff about you, Captain Adelaide," he began, Mac rolling her eyes at that, "But one thing they never said, was it worth it? The mission?"

"Now?" Mac looked at him, "You want to do this NOW?"

He shrugged, trying to keep it light, trying to add some levity to the situation. He knew that it was likely about to get worse, that snarl hadn't sounded good and that meant Mac would just get angrier with the situation. Not only had his decision to come there and not check the scans gotten them both in this situation but…now they might actually end up responsible for the base's explosion and for whatever it was that sounded like it was going to attack the crew. That was NOT a burden he ever wanted to put on her. To be in the middle of a fixed point was one thing, there was nothing you could do. To be the CAUSE of it was another, it meant that YOU were forcing this to happen, that you HAD to force it to happen and, now that they'd met the crew, with them knowing that the crew was all going to die…it was hard to know that you were responsible for the death of someone else. He had a planet's worth of guilt on him…he hadn't wanted even a single life to be on Mac.

Well, he'd failed that mission as well then.

"We've got excellent results from the soil analysis," Adelaide shrugged, not seeing the harm in answering relevant questions.

"I know…" the Doctor glanced at her, "But all of it. Cos they say you sacrificed everything, devoted your whole life to get here…"

Adelaide sighed, "It's been chaos back home. 40 long years, the climate, the ozone, the oil apocalypse. We almost reached extinction. And to fly above that, to stand on a world with no smoke, where the only straight line is the sunlight, yes. It's worth it."

"Ahh," he offered a small smiled, "That's the Adelaide Brooke I always wanted to meet. The woman with starlight in her soul," he glanced at Mac, but she was just shaking her head solemnly at that.

'_She'll BE starlight by the end of the day because of us,_' Mac countered, making him flinch to recall that, '_And it's our fault._'

He swallowed hard at that, no…no it shouldn't be their fault, it should be HIS fault. HE was the one who wanted Mars, who didn't run the scans, who hadn't checked everything out first…and now Mac was starting to blame herself…

"What's that?" Adelaide suddenly stopped, turning to look down the hall, her torch's light landing on something, a body, lying on the ground, "It's Maggie!" she gasped as they ran over to her.

"Don't touch her," the Doctor called out to Tarak.

"He's a doctor," Mac rolled her eyes, "I think he knows."

"I know the procedure," Tarak agreed, "Maggie, can you hear me? It's Tarak. Maggie?" he gently rolled her over and let out a breath to see her chest rising and falling, "It's ok. She's still breathing. She's alive. Yuri," he called into the comm., "I've got Margaret Cain, head trauma. I need a full medpack."

"I've got it," Yuri responded, "Medpack on its way."

"Do you think Andrew is harmed or the culprit?" Mac asked the Doctor, seeing him staring down the dark hall to where the bio-dome's door was.

"I hope the first," he murmured, knowing it sounded terrible, but it was better the man be an unfortunate victim than to be the reason Maggie was harmed as well. For the man to attack a crewmember…it meant he'd attack the others and the situation would get much worse. People tended to have more difficulty defending themselves from people they knew than strangers, had difficulty attacking back.

They looked back when they heard two sets of footsteps running for them to see Yuri and Ed racing down the tunnel, "Put on gloves before you touch her," Mac warned them.

"Do it," Tarak agreed, handing Yuri and Ed a pair of gloves before the three men moved to get Maggie onto the stretcher and strapped down, "Get her to sickbay. Put her in isolation."

"We're going to the bio-dome," Adelaide informed them, "Tarak, with me, Yuri can take care of her. Ed, go back. Gadget, stand guard. Keep an eye on this area."

"Gadget-gadget!" the robot agreed.

"Captain," Ed stepped forward, "You're gonna need me. Andy's the only other crew member out here, and if that wasn't an accident, then he's gone wild."

"You've deserted your post," Adelaide gave him a hard look, "Consider that an official warning. Now, get back to work. You three," she turned to Tarak, Mac, and the Doctor, "Let's go."

She turned and strode off down the last few feet of the hall, pushing the first door to the bio-dome open to a small sort of airlock chamber when Steffi came on the comms., "Captain. That sound we heard from the Bio-dome, I've run it through diagnostics. According to the computer, it's...it's Andy. It registers as the voice-print of Andy Stone."

"Understood," Adelaide nodded, "Double-check, thanks."

"Air pressure stabilized," Tarak called from a control panel, pressing a button to unlock the door to the bio-dome, the four of them stepping in and looking around. There was hardly any light at all, only some filtering in from the airlock chamber behind them.

"Andrew?" Adelaide called, shining her torch around but seeing nothing of her crewmember, "Andrew Stone? It's Captain Brooke. Andy, report. I need to see you. Where are you?"

"Well it's useless to search in the dark," Mac muttered, turning to head to a computer control off to the side, "Not to mention dangerous," she reached out and looked around for the circuit breakers to turn the lights back on…when there was a faint whir and they just flickered back.

"There you go," the Doctor smiled, having come beside her with the sonic to help.

"What's that device?" Adelaide asked, eyeing the small metal stick in the Doctor's hand.

"Screwdriver," he flipped it over and put it back in his pocket as he and Mac walked over to Adelaide again.

"Are you the Doctor or the Janitor?"

"I don't know, sounds like me. The maintenance man of the universe."

"I don't know," Mac mocked a bit, "You hardly EVER clean up your messes or others."

"That's not true…"

"Flying manta rays," she pointed out to him, making him pout at how he'd 'run off' before he could help Magambo deal with the rays or the paperwork.

"You, stay with me, Doctor, don't step out of my sight," Adelaide cut in, "Tarak, you take the girl and go to External Door South, make sure it's intact."

"Yes, ma'am," Tarak nodded.

"Now wait a minute…" the Doctor began, "Can't…can't Mackenzie and I stay together?"

"I only have two eyes Doctor," Adelaide countered, "One of them has to look for Andy."

The Doctor sighed and looked at Mac, not wanting this to happen, not wanting to let her alone in the dome without him there to help he or protect her or just…keep her safe.

"I'll be fine," Mac told him.

"I just…" he swallowed, not sure how to say it.

"I've survived years without you Doctor, I'll survive this," she reminded him, though her words weren't quite as biting as he knew they could be. She wasn't trying to shove it in his face, that they'd both been alone, she wasn't trying to remind him that she'd avoided him for a reason, she wasn't' even trying to warn him that she'd be leaving after this moment, that she was fed up with his trips and his antics and wanted to leave…she was just…stating a fact.

She HAD been without him for years and she had survived, not just on Gallifrey, not just in the war, but on Earth as well. They'd just be on opposite sides of a dome, there wasn't anything truly dangerous about that, he could be there in seconds with how fast he could run.

"Fine," he whispered, "Just…be careful."

Mac hesitated a moment, before saying, "You as well."

She was angry, she was so angry that they were there in the first place, that whatever might have started to spread around and get Andy to (possibly) attack someone might have happened because they had arrived when they had. But…seeing Maggie on the ground, it was real, the danger was real, not just to the crew, but to them as well. They'd become a part of events and though there was no record of them dying on the base, there was no record of them being there at all, so there was nothing to say this wasn't the end of the line for them. Seeing Maggie had just…reminded her that THEY were in danger too. It was one thing to be an observer or instigator, it was another to have your life on the line as well.

The Doctor gave her a nod, watching as she turned and walked off with Tarak, leaving him behind with Adelaide. Mac sighed as she stepped around the corner of a row of plants, following Tarak along, "You've done well," she remarked, "For 17 months."

Tarak glanced back to see her looking at the plants and vegetables as they walked, "Yeah," he smiled, "Maggie and Andy take care of the bio-dome, they wanted to surprise us with Christmas Dinner, actual vegetables and fruits instead of protein packs."

"And what," she looked at him, "You going to start shooting the birds up there to get 'turkey' dinners?"

He chuckled, "Nah, they're of too much use dealing with the bugs."

"Good thing you left them be," she murmured, "They're alive so whatever it is doesn't seem to spread easy."

"You really think it's a parasite or infection or something?"

"Something no one would notice?" she glanced at him, "Yes, I do."

"Well then we should find the source of it after we find Andy, maybe he can tell us what happened."

"You humans," she murmured, "Always so full of hope."

"Us humans?" he laughed, thinking she was joking, "We're Martians," he joked back.

"I don't think Andrew Stone will be of much help," she countered as they reached the doors Adelaide had wanted secured, "If that snarl was him…chances are he won't be able to anything but snarl."

"You're quite the optimist, aren't you?" he muttered, checking the locks on the doors to see they were still set.

"I'm a realist," Mac argued, "Better to expect the worst than hope for the best, that's how life normally goes."

Tarak sighed and turned, starting to head back into the dome, calling out, "Andy? Andy! Andy!"

"Andrew Stone?" Mac helped.

"Andy?" they turned a corner, "Andy…"

"Shh…" Mac put an arm out to stop him, "Listen, do you hear that?" they both slowly turned to see someone at the end of another row, standing there with their back to them," Is that him?"

Tarak nodded and took a step closer to Andy, "There you are," he called to the man, not wanting to alarm him, "Are you alright?"

"Tarak…I think you should get back," Mac warned, seeing the man stiffen before them.

"Andy?" Tarak ignored her, stepping closer…but Andy just turned around, his clothes, his hair, everything just entirely soaked with water, dripping from him, "Andy?"

"Tarak, get back!" Mac shouted, seeing that it wasn't that the man was wet…it was that HE was literally exuding water from every orifice, his pores, his hands, his eyes, his nose, his mouth especially was cracked as though it were dry, his eyes were nearly white with just a single spot of color to see out of.

"Andy what happened?!" Tarak gaped.

"Tarak!" Mac yelled as Andy lashed out and grabbed Tarak by the throat, moving his other hand to Tarak's forehead and pouring water right out of his hands and at the man, Mac watching in horror as Tarak sunk to his knees, seeming dazed, and just…let the water wash over him despite how he'd started to convulse.

"DOCTOR!" she screamed, glancing down the rows of greens and back at Andy, "DOCTOR!"

She heard him before she saw him, heard the pounding of his shoes, hears his shouts of "Mackenzie!" before he came bounding around the corner of a row, nearly plowing into her when he skid to a halt before her, "Mackenzie," he breathed, relieved to see her alright.

"What is it?" Adelaide followed him, looking none too pleased, "What happened?"

Mac just shook her head and pointed her light down the row, turning her head to follow it. The Doctor and Adelaide looked over as well, their eyes wide as they saw it, Tarak on his knees, Andy above him, pouring water onto him, the poor man convulsing even worse than before.

"Andy, just leave him alone," the Doctor tried to step forward, but Mac grabbed his arm tightly, keeping him beside her.

"Step away from him," Adelaide ordered, raising her gun.

Mac just stood there, watching Tarak intently, seeing the conversion, the infection, spreading as Andy refused to stop, the Doctor and Adelaide continued on, promising to help and ordering him to stop respectively but she just…stood there, staring at Tarak. She could see it, the cracking starting by his mouth, the way he struggled to breath, his eyes wide in horror and fear before they grew dazed and distant, the colors of his irises fading to white, just like Andy's. His hands were in fists, his body shaking as he struggled with the thing infecting him. It was all too clear to her, to the others as well, that this infection was spreading through the water that was pouring into him.

Water, for humans being made of so much of it, spread fast and was absorbed nearly instantly, just one drop would be all it would take to take the man over, but Andy seemed insistent to see it happen completely.

"Stop, or I'll shoot!" Adelaide's shout pulled Mac's gaze away.

Andy dropped his hand and turned to face them, Tarak collapsing to the ground, gasping and groaning and twitching so terribly it was like he was having a seizure.

"There now, that's better," the Doctor tried to keep calm, though his arm was going numb by how tightly Mac had a grip on it, "Hmm?" he glanced at her and then Andy, "So, you must be Andy," he tried to step forward but Mac held him in place, "Hello…"

He trailed off as Tarak stiffened and sat up, his eyes exactly like Andy's, his mouth cracked with water dripping from it.

"We have to go," Mac murmured to them, "Just one single drop…and we become them," she warned.

The Doctor nodded, putting his hand on hers for just a moment, squeezing it before he let go, "Go!" he shouted and the three of tem turned and ran off, racing back to the airlock as Andy and Tarak gave chase. They managed to make it with barely seconds to spare.

"Get it closed!" Mac gasped as she and the Doctor turned to swing it shut, "Seal it at max!" she cried to Adelaide, the woman quickly locking the doors as Andy and Tarak stopped short, glaring at them.

They watched through the small window in the door as Andy lifted his hand and fired water at it, the Doctor jumped back but Mac shook her head sadly to see them in such a state. Andy stepped closer, lowering his arm to look through the window at them…before he started to bash his fist against the door instead.

"Hopefully that means their primal instincts are overriding their memories," Mac murmured, knowing that Tarak or Andy would likely know the protocols or codes to get through the door if they'd been able to think of it. Maybe when whatever it was that took them over infected them, it literally consumed them, memories and all.

"Captain!" Steffi cried over the comms., "We need you back here."

"Just tell me that Maggie is contained," Adelaide called back, realizing that Maggie was likely infected given the report Yuri had given her about how her mouth had cracked and water was pouring out of her like with Andy and Tarak, "Can you confirm, Ed?"

"Confirmed," Ed reported, "She's locked in."

Adelaide nodded to herself, "Keep surveillance till I get back. And close down all water supplies. All pipes and outlets, don't consume anything. Have you got that, everyone? That's an order. Don't drink the water. Don't even touch it. Not one drop."

The Doctor slowly edged closer to the window, looking at Andy through it, "Can you talk?" he asked the man before he rubbed his head, glancing at Mac, "Human beings are 60% water, which makes them the perfect host."

"Not just them," she murmured, "We're a fair bit of water too. I'd imagine if they knew what we were," she added quietly, "They'd want us more."

"What is it though?" he shook his head, "What's infected them?"

"We can't wait to find out," Mac sent him a look, "We shouldn't even be standing here now. We need to go, Doctor," she added meaningfully, "We HAVE to."

He swallowed hard, "Whatever's started here, we can't see it to the end," he agreed, though he whispered, "I can't," to himself, this was shaping up to be FAR too much like Pompeii and he didn't want to stand there again and be the true cause of it all, he didn't want to be the one to pull a lever or the one who had to blow up the base, not again. He couldn't handle being THAT responsible for it again.

They jumped back when Andy slammed his hand against the door, Tarak joining him in opening his mouth and firing water right at the hinges and seals of the door.

"Is this thing water tight?" Mac asked.

"It's airtight," Adelaide nodded, "And therefore watertight."

"Water and air are two vastly different things," Mac murmured.

"And it depends how clever the water is," the Doctor agreed, just as the control panel began to spark as did the edges of the door.

"They're fusing the system!" Adelaide gasped, that should be impossible!

"Abandon ship!" the Doctor shouted, grabbing Mac's arm and turning to run out the door as Adelaide opened the one to the corridor, slamming it shut behind them as they ran for it.

Mac glanced back, hearing a slamming noise and realized, "They've made it to the airlock!"

The Doctor nodded, moving straight for Gadget and quickly sonicing him.

"Doctor, we haven't got time!" Adelaide shouted, seeing him stopping.

"They can run faster than us," he argued, "We need a lift!" he glanced at Mac, "Got any jet fuel on you?"

"No!" she huffed, even knowing he was joking, he was wasting time!

"Gadget-gadget," the robot started to hum as the Doctor fiddled more with the wires.

Mac glanced back, "They're trying the door to the corridor Doctor. Hurry up!"

He nodded, working more frantically till the sonic beeped and he jumped onto the back of the robot, "Get on behind me!" he shouted, Mac immediately getting on, having followed his work and worked out what he'd done.

"That thing goes at two miles an hour!" Adelaide shook her head.

"Just get on!" Mac snapped, reaching out to grab Adelaide's arm and pull her onto the robot, shifting her between her and the Doctor to help the human keep balance when Gadget suddenly took off, practically flying down the corridor just as Andy and Tarak burst through the door and fired water at them. The robot screeched as it went, flames shooting out from its exhaust, a trail of flames where its tracks were.

Andy and Tarak though raced after it, not about to let the trio escape, but they weren't quite so fast as to make it to the door before the Time Lords and Adelaide did. Mac swallowed hard as she ran ahead and opened the door, Adelaide bolting into the airlock control panel and quickly starting it to seal the doors.

"The Central Dome airlocks have got Hardinger seals," she told them, "There's no way they can get in."

"Come on," the Doctor remained in the doorway, gesturing back at Gadget to wheel himself in with them, "Come on!"

"Gadget-gadget," the robot slowly trundled over, its energy and tires spent from the race.

"Doctor don't bother with it," Mac groaned.

"I thought you hated robots!" Adelaide shouted.

"I do!" he agreed.

"Doctor…" Mac tried again, panting a bit.

But the Doctor just moved aside to let Gadget in before he slammed the door shut, Adelaide locking it just as Andy and Tarak reached them.

"We're safe," Adelaide breathed, "It's hermetically sealed. They can't get in."

"Water is patient, Adelaide," the Doctor shook his head, staring through the small window at the two men, "Water just waits. It wears down the clifftops, the mountains, the whole of the world. Water always wins."

"I…really hope that's…not true," Mac gasped from behind him.

The Doctor stiffened and turned around to see her pale and shaking, "Mackenzie?" he breathed, staring at her.

She let out a breath, "You…weren't fast enough," she struggled to get out, turning to reveal a dark patch on the back of her shirt, a WET patch.

The Doctor's hearts stopped at the sight, realizing that when Tarak and Andy made it through the first airlock and fired their water at them, just when he thought Gadget had been in time to escape the jet of liquid…he'd been too late…it had struck Mac.

"No…" he shook his head.

"Oh my god, she's infected!" Adelaide stared at her in horror, pulling out her gun to fire it.

"No!" the Doctor leapt forward to stop her, wrestling the gun out of her hands, "No, no…just…just…just wait a second."

"We have to go!" Adelaide pulled away from him, "She'll attack us!"

"You…really think…I'm THAT easy to control?" Mac shook her head though she was starting to shake, on the cusp of convulsing.

"All it takes is a drop!" Adelaide argued.

"To take a human over," Mac nodded, offering an ironic smile, "I'm not," Adelaide shook her head at that, not understanding, but the Doctor just stepped towards her, Mac backing up, "No," she shook her head, "Don't…"

"Mackenzie…" he whispered, staring at her with tears in his eyes, "I'm…I'm so sorry…it…it's infecting you and…"

"And you know as well as I do," she swallowed hard, panting as she tried to keep it back, "That we can burn it out."

He stared at her, "No…" he shook his head, realizing what she meant by that, "You can't…"

"I'm not ready," she agreed, struggling to keep moving backwards, further into to hall behind them, needing a wider space so as not to hurt anyone, "I don't want to…but I have to."

"I'm sorry," he murmured, stepping closer to her and touching her face, needing her to look at him, needing to say it, "I don't want you to go."

"You don't get a say it in."

"It's my fault…" he blinked, trying to keep the tears in as his thumbs stroked her cheeks, not caring if it was too much for her at the moment, if they weren't at that point, he just…he needed to touch her one last time, "It's all my fault…"

"We BOTH came to Mars and…"

"No," he cut in, seeing her struggling to keep the infection back, already seeing the faint wisps of regeneration energy starting to swirl around her skin, ready to burn the infection out of her, "I don't want you to go thinking it's your fault," he told her, "I don't want guilt to be your last emotion. It's MY fault," he insisted, "It is, every time…" his voice cracked, "Every time you regenerate, it's my fault. If…if I'd not run from you, the pregnancy wouldn't have happened when it did, I would never have left your side for a moment like HE did," he nearly spat the word out, thinking of her husband and the business trips he insisted on going on despite her condition, "We'd have found it earlier, it would be different…you wouldn't have died then. If I'd done what I was supposed to with the Daleks, we would never have had a war, you wouldn't have died all those other times. And now…" he couldn't finish, "All of this," he said instead, "It's on ME," he told her, looking into her eyes, making sure she knew that before it happened, "The base, the crew, the date, the place, the infection, all of it is on ME, not you, and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," his eyes searched hers for a moment before he forced himself to stand back, "_Goodbye Naery_…" his hearts broke to say that to her in Gallifreyan, knowing this was the last time he'd see_ her_.

"See you in a mo," she offered instead, she always had a different outlook on regeneration than he did. He saw it as death and an end to things, she saw it as change and a natural process of their biology.

"What's going on?" Adelaide demanded as the regeneration energy started to gather, started to drift out of her arms and legs and head, "What's happening!?"

"Just stay back!" the Doctor called, pulling the woman back as Mac took a single breath and threw her head back, her arms out wide, the energy bursting out of her violently, blindingly, forcing him to look away…

A/N: Boom! Regeneration! O.O Poor Mac, things are about to get very, very complicated }:)

I sort of figure that, if the Doctor could threaten to regenerate and believe that it would burn out the 'Cyber widgets' in his brain, then regeneration could be used to burn off an infection as well ;)

Also, the poll will officially be up in about 3 hours ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Lol, yes I know the Cyberman reference Jackson talks about is from when they appear and he 'regenerates' but the one the actual _Doctor_ talks about in the stables to lead into bringing up what happened to Jackson _is_ the one from Doomsday as a way to explain to Jackson how the Cyberman even made it to that time period ;) The Doctor says essentially 'the Cybermen were sent into The Void (Doomsday). A greater battle rose up, everything inside The Void perished (Journey's End, Rose says 'even the void was dead'). The walls of the world weakened (Journey's End), the last of the Cybermen must have fallen through the dimensions, back in time, to land here. And they found you...' which is where Jackson's words on the Cybermen then come into play with him encountering them and them making him 'regenerate.' The Doctor, at that point, was speaking about the events _before_ Jackson 'regenerated.' The Doctor also says, when they talk about the infostamp and the Dimension Vault, that it was 'stolen from the Daleks inside the Void' (Doomsday) ;)

Since we don't really know how Time Lord biology goes, given that they can _appear_ ancient yet be considered children among their people (with how they regenerate) I think they'd probably be able to have children for quite some time no matter their age or how old they appear to be since they're aliens ;) I actually DO talk like that though, especially when I talk to my friends and family, I say 'Mom, dad, can I talk to you?' 'What do you think of this, Jane? John?' I feel like it's more personal to say their names than to just go 'What do you think of this guys?' so I apologize if it makes you cringe but people do actually talk like that, maybe not everyone, but I personally do ;)

I can't say who will be Victorious...we'll be getting a new Mac so you never know }:) So I can't say what'll happen or what their relationship might be like because of it ;)

True, Angel and Proffy got a bit of a newer start than Evy and Mac lol ;) I might be a bit meaner to them, like with Mac here }:) I guess it might be because 9 only got 1 series so it sort of parallels that a little, I really have no idea why I do that :)


	7. The Waters of Mars - Part 2

The Waters of Mars - Part 2

The Doctor glanced back when he saw the bright light of regeneration energy starting to fade and jolted forward just in time to catch Mac as she fell out of her regeneration. She was just an inch or two shorter than she had been, appearing much younger as well, about 25 in human years he would guess. He had to smile softly as he took her in, she was a shade paler, with a small splattering of light freckles along her nose and her hair? He felt a small stirring of jealousy when he saw it, her hair was red, she was a ginger. Her hair was wavy, falling to just about the same length as it had been before, perhaps an inch or two longer though. She had bangs as well, though not full bangs but more like a side bang.

"Mackenzie?" he called softly, trying to wake her, knowing that time was truly of the essence and they had to be quick. He'd carry her if he had to, but he didn't know how she'd react to waking up in his arms as he was running and he didn't want to risk her in the middle of it. Sometimes regeneration could be very jarring, with amnesia, regeneration pains, excess regeneration energy seeping out at times, there was a mess of things that could affect her and he just…he wanted to make sure it had all gone ok, "Mackenzie, wake up…"

He let out a breath of relief when she slowly blinked her eyes open, revealing they were now a lightish green, it suited her.

"Doctor?" she frowned at him, wincing as she put a hand to her head and slowly sat up, her clothes felt odd now, they didn't fit her. They were just a bit too long, which was understandable, she appeared slightly shorter, but they just felt odd on her too…too restrictive and all…stuffy.

"Are you ok?" he asked her, looking at her intently, trying to assess what sort of side affects might be hitting her.

"I think so," she nodded, wincing again as she grabbed her head with her other hand as well, "Headache…"

"I'm sorry, but…can you stand?" he held out a hand to her and she took it, allowing him to help her up.

But she groaned and nearly doubled over the second she was standing straight, "Aches, pains, stomach hurts…" she mumbled, closing her eyes to try and take stock, "Body feels like lead…"

"You had to burn out the infection," he reminded her, "Do you remember that?"

She blinked and looked down a moment, "Mars…" she murmured, the events coming back to her, further relieving the Doctor that she wasn't suffering any memory affects, "We're on Mars…Bowie Base One and…" she scrunched her face, "Two, no…three…of the crew are infected. It transverses through water…" she blinked, "I got hit…"

"Yeah," he swallowed hard, "And you regenerated."

"So that's why I look like a stuffy old librarian?" she wondered eyeing her straight skirt and professional blouse, feeling a bit of her hair was still in a bun and pulled it out.

The Doctor chuckled at that, "You don't like it?"

She shrugged, "I like the shoes."

He laughed at that, about to open his mouth and ask if he might give her a hug, just…so relieved she was alright and not infected any longer, the regeneration energy having burned off the infection, when Adelaide cut in, "Is she clean?"

He sighed, glancing back at the woman, having forgotten she was there, "Yeah," he nodded, "She's fine now."

"I would ask what the hell that was and why she's like that now," Adelaide eyed Mac distrustfully, "But my crew is in danger and I need to see to them now."

And with that she turned and strode off down the tunnel at a run.

The Doctor looked at Mac, "Will you be ok till we…" he nodded down the tunnel.

Mac bit her lip and shifted from foot to foot, "I…I think so," she rubbed her arms, "Just…can we hurry?" she asked him, she could already feel it, the stiffness in her bones, the pain in her body, she knew that the infection had been deeper and faster spreading than she'd let on, the regeneration energy had taken its toll on her and her body was screaming at her to give it time to heal, but to do that would require a healing coma and…there wasn't time. Too much was at stake…so she swallowed hard and followed the Doctor after Adelaide, hoping she would be able to hang on long enough to get out of there and get somewhere safe before she collapsed entirely.

"Bio-dome Tunnel is out of bounds," Adelaide was shouting into her comm. when they caught up to her, "Andy and Tarak are infected, repeat, infected," she glanced back at Mac, not adding that she had been as well when the woman was…she didn't even know but as long as she was safe for her crew she didn't care nor did she have time to concern herself with that, "Make no contact. And if they make any move, tell me. I'm going to the Medical Dome."

"These tunnels are…rather long," Mac murmured, starting to pant at how they were jogging along, they hadn't looked quite so lengthy before.

"You could do with bikes in this place," the Doctor added, trying to keep it light though his concerned glance kept drifting to Mac.

"Every pound in weight equals three tons of fuel," Adelaide remarked.

"Yeah, I know, but bikes…"

"I'm…not quite sure bikes would be best right now," Mac swallowed hard, her body starting to scream at her for not even resting.

The Doctor looked at her again, hoping she'd be ok, he could see her starting to sweat just a little and he knew he had to get her back to the TARDIS quickly.

~8~

Adelaide pushed a door open to the sickbay, stepping in with the Doctor and Mac to see Ed standing before the isolation room with Yuri, staring at Maggie. The woman looked just like Andy and Tarak, water dripping from her, her mouth crackled, but her eyes…her eyes weren't white like theirs were but black where her irises used to be. She was just standing there as well, not attacking but just…staring at Ed as he eyed her.

"Has that door got a Hardinger seal?" Adelaide demanded as she strode over.

Mac stumbled, reaching over to put her hand on the corner of a desk for support and stability as the Doctor quickly pulled out a chair for her to sit on instead, the woman hunching over and burying her face in her hands, trying to breathe deep and push the pain down, but the Doctor could see her starting to tremble from the effort.

"No, just basic," Ed turned to her before he frowned, "Who's she?" he frowned at Mac, "Where's the other one? Was there another shuttle or something?"

"Now is not the time," Adelaide shook her head, not entirely sure what had happened herself but not having time to go through it, she could tell, given how the Doctor talked that he'd end up on a long tangent about it and she didn't want to get into it. She couldn't care less about two trespassers, her CREW was her main concern and as long as the two behind her posed no threat, she would focus on her crew and only her crew, "We have other things to focus on…"

"But who is she?"

"That is an order," Adelaide shot Ed a glare, Yuri shifting as he looked between the two leaders and glanced at the woman, confused but remaining silent, "Our safety comes first. The moment Maggie heads for the door, we evacuate. Got that?"

Ed stared Adelaide down a moment longer, not liking how he wasn't getting answers but realizing the truth in her words, their own safety was far more important right now than wondering who some ginger woman was, for all he knew the brunette had been infected and was with Andy and Tarak, and really…he didn't truly care, she was right, the crew came first, "Pulse is low," he offered instead, Adelaide nodding at how he was giving up his questioning for now and giving her the report she wanted, "Electrical activity in the brain seems to be going haywire."

"Can she talk?"

"Don't know," Yuri shrugged, "She was before we noticed the change, but..."

"Maggie?" Adelaide turned to the woman, the infected girl just lazily dragging her blank eyes up to look at her, "Can you hear me? Do you know who I am? Your commanding officer, Captain Adelaide Brooke. Can you tell me what happened?"

"Hoorghwall in schtochman ahn warrellinsh och fortabellan iin hoorgwahn," the Doctor called from Mac's side, not feeling comfortable stepping so far away from her. She'd dropped her hands to wrap around her middle and he could see her face scrunched with pain.

"What language is that?" Ed frowned.

"Ancient North Martian," Mac mumbled.

"Don't be ridiculous," Adelaide rolled her eyes.

"Alien expert," Mac glanced up at her, her eyes so…exhausted but fighting it, speaking only of the Doctor as pretending to be the woman she was before the crew would just make them more suspicious, she couldn't rightly tell them she was the brown-haired woman from before without even more questions that would waste time, "Remember? Alien languages are a…part of the package."

"It's like she recognized it," Ed murmured, seeing Maggie staring at the Doctor now with slightly wider eyes, more focused eyes.

"And her eyes are different," the Doctor mused, squinting at the woman, "They're clear, like she's closer to human."

"Gender-based differences are a possibility," Mac remarked, closing her eyes and bowing her head again, biting back a groan of pain, it was entirely possible that the male-infected had no irises while the females had darker ones.

"Where do you get your water from?" the Doctor turned to Adelaide.

"The ice," Mac answered instead, "Martian bases were set around the ice-filled craters, for water to be melted and filtered."

"Tons of water," the Doctor mumbled, "Marvelous."

"But every single drop is filtered like um…she said," Yuri supplied, not sure who the woman was but not wanting to start the questions up again, especially when Adelaide shot him a warning look, "It's screened, it's safe."

"Looks like it, yeah," the Doctor scoffed, eyeing Maggie, trying to keep focused on anything besides Mac, if he started to fret about her (more than he already was internally) he'd try to touch her or help her or do something that he was sure she'd be angry with, or…might have been angry with if it was still the other her. But…he didn't know this new her, SHE didn't know this new her and he couldn't risk a fight not now, he couldn't risk anything so it was better to try and work out what was happening or work out a way to get out of there.

"If something was frozen down there, a viral life form, held in the ice for all those years..." Ed began.

"Look at her mouth," the Doctor frowned at it, noticing the cracks now, "All blackened, like there's some sort of fission. This thing, whatever it is, doesn't just hide in water, it CREATES water."

"So what does it want?" Mac swallowed hard, taking a breath, "Why take over…it chose to take Maggie and Tarak…to convert them instead of kill them. They're useful…but what for?"

"Good question," the Doctor nodded and looked at Maggie, "Tell us what you want."

"She was looking at the screen, at Earth," Yuri answered instead, pointing to one of the monitors even though it was blank at the moment, knowing Maggie couldn't speak any longer, "She wanted Earth. A world full of water."

"Captain, with me," Ed nodded to the side, leading Adelaide off to speak to her privately.

The Doctor eyed them a moment before moving to kneel before Mac, "You doing alright?" he asked her, his hearts tugging painfully to see her in such a state.

"Not really," she admitted, wincing, "It hurts Doctor…it's getting worse."

He nodded, swallowing hard, "We'll get off the base soon," he promised, lifting his hand, about to put it on her knee in promise before thinking better of it and pulling back, "We'll be in the TARDIS soon and you can rest."

She nodded, "Hurry," she whispered, "Please…"

"This is Captain Brooke," they heard Adelaide speak over the comms., stepping back over, "I'm declaring Action One, repeat to all crewmembers, this is Action One, with immediate effect."

"Sorry, sorry," the Doctor stood and faced her, a frown on his face, that was…NOT the action that the base had implemented in history, "But... Action One, that means evacuation, yeah?"

She nodded, "Evacuate the base," she continued into the comm., "We're going home. Steffi, what's your estimate on shuttle viability?"

"It's a nine-month flight, it'll take three hours to load what we need," Steffi reported over the small radio.

"You've got 20 minutes. And give me a report on Andy and Tarak."

"Still in the Bio-dome Tunnel. They're just standing there, like they're waiting."

Mac took a deep breath and looked up, seeing Ed and Yuri eyeing her for that, knowing it was because the woman hadn't reported her last incarnation standing there with them.

"Keep an eye on them," Adelaide ordered, "And make that 20 minutes 15! Ed, line up the shuttle, go straight to ignition status."

"Doing it now," Ed called as he rushed off.

"But what about Maggie?" Yuri turned to Adelaide with a frown.

But Adelaide merely turned and started packing up supplies of her own, "She stays behind. We've got no way to contain her on board. Close this place down. I want the power directed to the shuttle."

"Action One…" Mac murmured from beside the Doctor, "If they take it with them…"

The Doctor nodded and swallowed hard, stepping over to Adelaide, "Of course, the only problem is..."

"Thank you, Doctor," Adelaide cut in, "Your spacesuits will be returned. And good luck to you both," she glanced at Mac for a moment, seeing the girl looked paler than ever and was breathing far too shallowly and rapidly for it to be healthy. If it weren't for her order that every hand available start preparing for evacuation she would have ordered Yuri to take a look at her and help, but time was of the essence and the Doctor was a doctor.

"The problem is," he continued, "That this thing is clever. Mac was right, it CHOSE the humans. Those birds and insects in the bio-dome weren't affected. And I told you, Adelaide, water can wait. Tarak changed straight away, but when Maggie was infected it stayed hidden inside her, no doubt, so it could infiltrate the Central Dome. Which means..."

Adelaide let out a breath at that, realizing what he was implying, "Any one of us could already be infected. We've all been drinking the same water."

"And if you take that back to Earth," he repeated Mac's concerns, "One drop, just one drop…"

"But we're only _presuming_ infection. If we can find out how this thing got through, when it got through..." she glanced back at a door and turned to Yuri, "Yuri, continue with Action One. I'm going to inspect the ice-field," she turned and rushed out.

The Doctor watched her go a moment before he headed back to Mac, "We should leave," he told her, crouching in front of her as she panted, "I need to get you back to the TARDIS. There's no point in me seeing the ice-field…"

Mac winced and pushed herself up.

"Mackenzie!" the Doctor jolted up, reaching out to steady her as she nearly swayed and fell to the side, "What are you doing!?"

"If it's an infection…" she swallowed hard, "UNIT needs to be made aware…so it won't happen on the other bases. We…need to know what happened," she looked at him, pain in her eyes from her regeneration effects but trying to be determined as well, "We have to go after her."

"No, _I_ can go after her," he argued, "You sit here and wait…"

"Sit here with Maggie?" she countered, making him pause.

He swallowed hard and nodded to himself, "Let's go," he was NOT about to leave her alone with anyone, not now, not when any of them could be infected, she was in no state to defend herself.

"Might need help," she admitted quietly.

He held out an arm to her, allowing her to do whatever she wanted, get any leverage she needed and she grabbed his arm, just using it for support as they tried to rush off after Adelaide.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac had only barely managed to follow Adelaide and reach the ice field with her as she opened the door to the room. It was like a square hole in the ground through which they could chip away at the ice, with a platform around it and a small stair leading down to it from the door.

Mac let out a breath of relief, the room was cold, the humans couldn't risk having it too hot and melting any of the ice so it was left alone for the most part, but it felt wonderful against her overheated skin. The regeneration energy was still swirling inside her, she could feel it, making her feel warmer than normal. She felt…just a little better now.

"They tell legends of Mars," the Doctor remarked as they looked down at the ice a moment, "From long ago of a fine and noble race who built an empire out of snow."

"The Ice Warriors," Mac wheezed a bit.

"I haven't got time for stories," Adelaide shook her head and made her way down to the ice, looking at it intently as she walked around the platform to a second set of stairs that led to a small monitoring station on the other end of the room.

"Perhaps they found something down there," the Doctor mused thoughtfully, "Used their might and their wisdom to freeze it."

Adelaide shook her head at him and continued up the stairs towards the computers, "We need to find any sort of change in the water process," she called, the two following her slowly, "We've got to date the infection."

The Doctor moved over to one of the computers and tried to get through, "Access denied," it called as Adelaide tried to work at a different one.

"Let me try," Mac offered quietly, moving to the computer, the Doctor grabbing a chair for her to help as she typed slowly, blinking rapidly as she squinted at the codes flying past, he wasn't sure if it was because she permanently might need glasses now instead of periodically or if it was just the effect of the regeneration making her vision go blurry…if it was the second he would have to keep an eye on her more than he was, because that wasn't a good sign at all.

Adelaide glanced at them, seeing how intently he was focusing on watching Mac as the woman struggled to get whatever codes she was doing into the computer, "You don't look like cowards, but all you've wanted to do is leave. You know so much about us."

"Well, you're famous," the Doctor murmured absently, watching Mac.

"It's like you know more."

"Doctor," Mac paused in her typing and looked up at him, "Please don't…" she asked him, just knowing what he was likely about to do.

He offered her a small smile, "It's ok, I'll be careful," he promised her, before he looked at Adelaide who seemed curious as to what that was about, but instead said, "This moment, this precise moment in time, it's like...I mean, it's only a theory. What do I know? But I think certain moments in time are fixed. Tiny, precious moments. Everything else is in flux, anything can happen, but those certain moments, they have to stand. This base, on Mars, with you, Adelaide Brooke, this is one vital moment. What happens here must always happen."

"Which is what?" the woman asked.

"I don't know," he said when he saw Mac stop typing, waiting for his answer, before she continued again, "I think something wonderful happens, something that started 50 years ago, isn't that right?"

"I've never told anyone that!" Adelaide looked shocked at that.

"You told your daughter. And maybe, one day, she tells the story to her daughter of the day the Earth was stolen and moved across the universe. And you..."

"I saw the Daleks," Adelaide whispered, recalling that night, "We looked up, the sky had changed. Everyone was running and screaming. And my father took hold of me...told me to wait for him, that he'd get my mother and bring her home. I never saw him again. Nor my mother. They were never found. But out on the streets, there was panic and burning. I went to the window. And there in the sky..." she breathed, thinking of the Dalek she'd seen, "I saw it, Doctor. And it saw me. It stared at me. It looked right into me. And then..." she shook her head, "It simply went away. I knew, that night, I knew I would follow it."

"Why did you?" Mac had to wonder, "Curiosity? Revenge?"

"What would be the point of revenge?" Adelaide frowned.

"That's what makes you remarkable," the Doctor told her with a smile, "And that's how you create history."

Adelaide stiffened and looked at him, "What do you mean?"

"Doctor…" Mac panted, looking at him, shaking her head and wincing at the pain that motion sent flying through her skull.

The Doctor swallowed hard and looked at Adelaide, knowing Mac wouldn't be pleased with what he was about to do, but feeling it had to be sent, to…to offer some sort of comfort to the woman for what was about to happen, "Imagine it, Adelaide. If you began a journey that takes the human race all the way out to the stars. It begins with you. And then your granddaughter, you inspire her so that in 30 years, Susie Fontana Brooke is the pilot of the first light-speed ship to Proxima Centauri. And then everywhere. With her children, and her children's children forging the way to the Dragon Star, the Celestial Belt of the Winter Queen, the Map of the Water Snake Wormholes. One day a Brooke will fall in love with a Tandonian prince, and that's the start of a whole new species. But everything starts with you, Adelaide. From 50 years ago, to right here, today. Imagine."

"Who are you?" Adelaide breathed, she knew they were aliens, that much was certain from what Mac had done, but this…this was beyond anything she'd ever have imagined, "Why are you telling me this? Doctor, why tell me?"

"As consolation."

"I'm in," Mac interrupted, closing her eyes tightly, not just from the pounding headache she was feeling but from what the Doctor had just done, what he'd just revealed to the woman and tried to, TRIED to remind herself that the woman was going to die soon…she wouldn't be able to take that information and do anything with it, she wouldn't be able to reveal it to anyone, nothing would change from her knowing that particular future…

"Andy Stone," Adelaide looked over, seeing an image of Andy on it, "He logged on yesterday…" she leaned in and pressed a button, playing the video.

"Maintenance log, 21.20, November 2059," Andy began, "Number three water filter's bust. And guess what? The spares they sent don't fit. What a surprise. Over and out."

"A filter," the Doctor mused, "One tiny little filter and then the flood."

"The carrot," Mac groaned, moving her arms around her middle again, "There was a carrot with a bite in it…just under a small pipe connected to the 3rd tank…"

She'd seen it just before they'd split up, seen the carrot lying there, looking clean on one side, the side where it hadn't been dropped in the dirt and realized it had been cleaned with water from that tank, tank 3. She winced, praying that it wasn't what she was thinking now. Maggie had contacted them just after they'd been taken in, everything had been fine and…if Maggie had been that shocked, what if Andy had been shocked or distracted by their appearance as well, what if he had been so distracted that he'd used the water from a tank he should have remembered wasn't filtered properly? It would be their fault, their presence had distracted the man and led to his infection and the infection of others as well…

"But that means the infection arrived today," Adelaide realized, "And the water's only cycled _out _of the Bio-dome after a week," the water inside it would have been infected, the water Andy had access to, but NOT the rest of it, "The rest of us can't be infected. We can leave!" she quickly turned to stride out of the room, lifting her radio in the process, "Ed, we're clean! How are we doing?"

"Shuttle's active, stage one!" Ed reported.

"Doctor," Mac wheezed as she tried to stand, "I don't…I don't feel…" she tried to take a step and nearly collapsed, the Doctor jolting forward to grab her, her leaning heavily against him for a moment before she gathered strength enough to stand, "I don't feel well," she whispered, swallowing, "I don't think I can keep this up much longer."

He nodded, "Let's get you out of here," he put her arm around his shoulder and one of his own around her waist, helping her walk out of the room and after Adelaide.

~8~

Mac was nearly unconscious by the time she and the Doctor made it back to the main dome with Adelaide, the Doctor quickly hurrying her to a chair to rest a moment while he tried to get their suits. She was panting and warm but shivering and sweating, her eyes were hazy and her hearts were racing far too fast, he had been able to feel them beating against his ribs from how tightly he'd had to hold her to help her on down the tunnels. Bikes would have certainly been very useful indeed.

He had just approached Adelaide to demand the suits back when she turned and had them in her hands already, "Now get to your ship," she handed him the suits, "I'm saving my people, you save yours. I know what this moment is. It's the moment we escape. Now get out."

The Doctor swallowed hard and moved back to Mac.

"Come on!" Yuri was calling.

"How many do we need?" Steffi rushed about.

The Doctor knelt before Mac, "I've got the suits," he told her, Mac forcing her eyes open from where she'd scrunched them shut to see him with them.

"Just…" she took a breath, "Give me a mo?" she shook, she just…she just needed a moment, just a minute or two to gather her strength so she could get into the suit herself and try to walk without him needing to carry her.

He nodded, "As long as you need," he offered, even though they both knew time was NOT on their side this time as, all around them, the crew rushed to get ready, to gather all the supplies that they could.

"Roman, what about you?" Adelaide was shouting to the boy.

"Protein-packs 30 to 36," he reported, shoving them into a container.

"Doctor…" Mac breathed, making him look at her, "Tell me the…the beeping noise is in my head…"

He looked over, seeing the small beeping alarm that she'd heard with her eyes shut…two blinking dots standing ON TOP of the main dome's roof…and he knew…they were Andy and Tarak.

"Steffi, ditch the central containers," Adelaide commanded, "We don't need them."

"Units 41, 42 and 43," Steffi agreed, doing that.

"Unit 41 is here," Mia called.

"I'll swap them around," Roman offered.

The Doctor glanced from the crew to Mac, who was trying to take as deep of breaths as she could to get more air to her and he was starting to worry, he knew what it was like for something to go wrong with a regeneration, he'd experienced it becoming this particular Doctor. His one heart had shut down and he'd needed a healing coma to get better, that and tea. Mac was fighting it off, he knew, she was fighting the coma because it was too dangerous right now to slip into one. He really had to get her out of there but she didn't seem ready to move yet.

"Roman try to condense the oxygen membranes," Adelaide remarked, "We can lose ten pounds. Faster! Come on! Ed, how's the fuel jets?"

"Cooling down in about 30 seconds," Ed called from where he was helping to get things situated while the shuttle prepped.

"What the hell's that noise?" Adelaide froze, just hearing the beeping now, "Mia, you lot, shut up."

"It's the module sensors," Ed reported, all of them able to hear it once they'd stopped their ruckus and quieted, "Exterior as well," he rushed to a monitor, seeing what it was, "The cameras are down, but there's pressure on top of the module. Two signals right above us."

"That means...they're on the roof?" Steffi frowned, all of them starting to look up at the ceiling.

"How did they get inside the Dome?" Roman gaped.

"They used the maintenance shafts," Ed answered.

"The shaft's open, they haven't got spacesuits!" Mia reached out for Yuri's hand, starting to get scared now, if they could survive outside, then so could Maggie and they didn't know where she was…

"They breathe water," Ed reminded them.

"But they'd freeze!" Steffi cried.

"They've got that internal fission," Yuri shook his head.

"Are we safe?" Mia looked around, frantic, "They can't get through, can they?" her gaze shot up again when the ceiling creaked, "Can they?"

"This place is airtight," Roman argued, trying to convince himself they were safe more than the others.

"Can it get through?" Steffi turned to Ed, knowing he was more aware of the structure around them than they were, "Ed? Can it get through?"

"I don't know," Ed was forced to admit, "Water itself isn't motile, but it has some resistance."

"Everyone, listen to me!" Adelaide snapped, cutting into their panic, the Doctor looking at Mac, knowing she didn't do well with humans and hysteria, "That's ten feet of steel-combination up there. We need all the protein-packs or we'll starve. Now keep working!" she turned to continue her packing, forcing the others to do the same, "Roman, watch the ceiling! Ed, get to the shuttle, fire it up."

"I can carry more than this lot, Captain," Ed argued.

"That's an order!"

"Captain," Ed nodded and ran out.

"Doctor…" Mac's quiet voice called out to him, pulling his attention back to her from where it had drifted to the crew rushing about, "I…I think I can make it now," she told him, not panting quite as much but still looking FAR too weak.

He nodded, holding out a hand to help her up, moving his arm around her waist as she stumbled, the suits in his other arm, as he turned and led her out of the room, not seeing Adelaide look up as they left.

~8~

It took more time than Mac would have liked to get into her suit, she'd managed to get the bottom half on but nearly staggered into the wall beside her after that. The Doctor had quickly helped her into the top half though, her murmuring a small thanks to him though she knew her words came out far more slurred than they should have. Soon enough though they had their helmets on and were heading for the airlock, the Doctor kept one of his arms around her waist as he tried to start the process to open the door to the surface.

"Access denied," the computer stated, so he tried again, "Access denied."

"Tell me what happens," Adelaide's voice spoke from above them, over the comms..

"I don't know," the Doctor said quickly, feeling Mac whimper beside him, feeling her tense at another pain.

"Yes, you do. Now tell me."

"Can't…" Mac breathed.

"You should be with the others," the Doctor tried instead.

"Tell me!" Adelaide demanded, "I could ramp up the pressure in that airlock and crush you."

"Go on then," Mac mumbled, "I'm probably about to die anyway…"

"Don't say that," the Doctor looked at her, shaking her just slightly to try and keep her conscious but she was slumping an awful lot, "You just need rest, a nice sleep and a cup of tea, you'll be fine."

"Doesn't feel like it," she muttered.

"You won't do it Adelaide," he looked up at a small camera, knowing she was likely watching them, "You could have shot Andy Stone, but you didn't. I loved you for that," his head snapped back down as he felt Mac sway, as though she'd nearly fallen asleep and jerked herself awake again and knew that he HAD to get her out of there…and if telling Adelaide was the only way to get her to open that door…he had to do it, "Imagine...Imagine you knew something. Imagine you found yourself somewhere, I don't know, Pompeii. Imagine you were in Pompeii."

"What the hell's that got to do with it?" Adelaide snapped.

"And you tried to save them, but, in doing so, you make it happen. Anything I do just makes it happen."

"Captain, we need you right now," Steffi's voice called distantly.

There was silence for a moment but Adelaide came back on, "I'm still here."

He swallowed, "You're taking Action One. There are four more standard action procedures. And Action Five is..."

"Detonation."

"Don't…" Mac whispered beside him, her voice faint and shaking and he could see her struggling just to keep her eyes open, he could feel her getting weaker beside him the longer she held off the coma, knowing she'd fight it as long as she could till she got to the TARDIS again.

He swallowed hard, "The final option. The nuclear device at the heart of the Central Dome. Today, on the 21st November 2059, Captain Brooke activates that device, taking the base and all her crew members with her. No one ever knows why. But you were saving Earth. That's what inspires your granddaughter. She takes your people out into the galaxy, because you die, on Mars. You die, today. She flies out there like she's trying to meet you."

"I won't die," Adelaide denied in a whisper, "I will not."

"But your death creates the future."

"Help me!" she begged, "Why won't you help, Doctor, if you know all of this? Why can't you change it?"

"Like Mac said," he squeezed her tighter, feeling her tense from where she'd gone limp, waking her slightly, "We can't."

"Why can't you find a way? Tell me!"

"Adelaide, I swear, we can't. I'm sorry, but we can't. Sometimes we can, sometimes I do. Most times, I can save someone. Or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed, in time, forever. And that's right."

"You'll die here too," she warned.

"No, we won't," he argued.

"What's gonna save you?"

"Captain Adelaide Brooke," was all he had to say.

"Damn you," Adelaide muttered before there was a hiss as the airlock door opened before them.

"Water!" they could hear Roman start to shout, "We've got water!"

Mac flinched at that, the Doctor looking at her as she started to shake, "It's starting," she wheezed out.

And they could hear it, everyone calling for help, shouting at everyone to get back, Adelaide ordering them to the shuttle only for their path to be blocked by water that nearly got Yuri. They could hear it all, Adelaide had left the comms. open.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Mac, even though it wasn't his fault, he felt like he had to say it for them both being forced to hear what was happening, what they'd be walking away from.

Adelaide quickly took charge though, rerouting their course to the shuttle, but Steffi was soon trapped by the water and screaming for help. The Doctor took a step out of the airlock and onto the surface, struggling to help keep Mac going as she leaned heavily on him, him nearly supporting all of her weight as they tried to get away from the base, all the while forced to hear them crying out for Steffi…

And then two children started to speak in German, talking to the woman, a video feed they were sure, a video of the woman's daughters. She wanted her last memory to be of her children…but they could hear it, the woman convulsing, everyone screaming out for her in horror as she was taken by the infection. Ed was shouting out, trying to keep them calm, trying to reassure them the shuttle was ready, they just had to make it there, they just had to redirect the air to another corridor and they'd be ok, it would all be ok…

Until they heard Roman urge them to go on, having been infected as well and start to convulse, a single drop having gotten him. Mia was screaming for him, Yuri holding her back, Adelaide trying to keep control of the situation, when it got much, much worse…

The shuttle had been compromised, Ed had been infected by Maggie. They had to listen as he apologized over and over to Adelaide, not just for something he'd done to upset her in the past, but for what he was going to do…he couldn't let them get the ship to Earth…

And so he'd blown it up, with him in it.

The explosion was so powerful it reached the Time Lords and sent the Doctor and Mac to the ground, sending debris raining down around them in flames, the base on fire, partially destroyed, the explosion compromising the integrity of the central dome as well as Yuri and Mia were crying out reports of their situation.

The Doctor sat up and looked back at the utter devastation and destruction around them, around the base, and turned to Mac, his hearts stopping when he saw her. She was on her side, not moving, her eyes closed and he couldn't tell if she was breathing or just unconscious because of her suit. He moved to her side, rolling her on her back, but there was still no sign and the suit was too thick, his gloves too think as well, to be able to check her pulse, there were no vitals or lifesign detectors on her suit.

He quickly reached out and gently scooped her into his arms, carrying her to the TARDIS. He pushed the doors open and moved to the base of the console, gently placing Mac down and pulling their helmets off, leaning down to put his ear to her mouth, hearing her breathing, feeling it tickle his ear and let out a breath of relief, she'd slipped into the healing coma. She'd be ok if he didn't disturb her…which meant…it was up to him now.

The base was in danger, the humans were in jeopardy, and it was his fault. He was one of the LAST Time Lords ever, they were all dead and with them the laws were dead as well. Only Mac remained besides him and she was in no state to argue with him or stop him from doing this. And that was good. Because what was the point in being stopped? What said he had to follow the laws when there was no one to enforce them? When there would be no consequences to breaking them?

He was the last Time Lord left, and if he wanted to save the humans, he would save them. So he stood, putting his helmet back on, and headed for the doors, not even looking back as he stepped out and made his way back towards the base. Without a second pilot the TARDIS would never let her land there with her pilots inside, in such a place that was about to be torn to shreds by the fires and tears in the walls…if he could stabilize it then…he could get the TARDIS in there and get them all out.

And he would.

He'd get them out.

He'd save them all this time.

~8~

Mac slowly blinked awake to find herself in her bedroom on the TARDIS, the lights out, the room dark, the only light she could see coming from the crack under her door that led the halls. She frowned and pushed herself up, her hand flying to her head as she felt the blood rush a moment from sitting to quickly, it was nothing compared to the throbbing and pounding in her head from earlier though. And with that thought she pushed herself out of her bed and moved to a small mirror hanging on the wall, taking in the sight of her new self, not sure how she felt about it. Regeneration, to her, was natural, it happened and it was expected. One was not always ready for it, but people seldom were ready for anything that involved dying.

It was…suitable, she supposed, how she looked now but her clothes though…she grimaced a bit at how she looked, the clothes didn't suit her tastes now, but that could be dealt with later as seeing her last outfit on her new body made her realize something. She hadn't been changed for bed, which she was thankful for, it would have been more awkward to speak to the Doctor now if she knew he'd undressed her while she'd been asleep, even if she were in a coma. Still, she knew he had to have been the one to bring her to her room and…to be honest, the fact that he hadn't been there when she'd woken up disturbed her.

The Doctor she had gotten to know on these trips…it was the sort of thing he would do, sit by the bedside of someone till they were better. For him not to be there…it worried her. It worried her that she honestly didn't know what had happened after she'd collapsed on Mars. She remembered regenerating and feeling terribly. She remembered struggling to keep the healing coma at bay and struggling to do just about anything, the pain was so bad. She remembered them walking across Mars and an explosion and hitting the ground and then…nothing. She knew the Doctor had likely brought her to the TARDIS but what happened after she had no idea about.

So with that in mind she turned and stepped out of her room, blinking a bit at the light in the hall before she realized that she could see rather clearly, it seemed she wouldn't need her glasses in this body. It was a momentary thought before she headed down the hall, checking the console room first. The Doctor wasn't really the sort to wallow in darkness or in his room but in the console room, distracting himself with 'repairs' for the TARDIS which she was quite sure would actually end up breaking more of the box so he had more to distract him later.

She stopped at the top of the gantry when she saw that her thoughts were only half-accurate. The Doctor was there, but he was not fixing the TARDIS. Instead he was just staring at the monitor, what looked like an article of some sort up on it. She headed down the steps quietly, though she doubted she had to be so quiet as she doubted he was even aware she was there, and saw it was an article about Adelaide's death…her eyes widening when she saw that it had her listed as dying on EARTH instead of Mars.

"What happened?" she whispered.

The Doctor tensed, hearing her, and slowly turned, "I…" he swallowed hard, struggling to speak.

"Theta," she looked at him, concerned and alarmed, for the DOCTOR to be unable to speak about something, the man with the gob to be silenced with emotion…it was not a good thing, "Tell me."

He let out a long breath and rubbed his hand across his face, "I…the shuttle exploded."

"I remember that," she nodded, "I don't remember what happened after."

"I brought you to the TARDIS," he told her, "And…I went back," she blinked at that but kept quiet, so he took another breath and tried to say it as quickly but clearly as possible, knowing that if he stopped she'd start in on him about what he'd done and how badly he'd mucked it up and how furious she was with him and how she wanted to leave and never see him again, "I went back and I took charge. I got the base stable and I tried to save them. I tried to put the fires out and stop the oxygen leaking out. It tried to max out the environment controls, use heat to steam the others out but they were down. So I tried to go outside and activate the heat regulator but my helmet was broken. I looked for more suits and found Gadget instead and sent him to get the TARDIS. And all the while Adelaide was shouting about how they had to die to set the future for the humans and I…I told her that the only reason I'd said it was because of the Laws of time and that with the Time Lords gone and with…with me being the only one left, that I would force them to obey ME instead," he closed his eyes, feeling so…disgusted and horrified with himself for what he'd done, "Adelaide set off Action Five herself. But I got Gadget to bring the TARDIS over, the base was stable enough, and I got them to Earth and…"

"And what?" she breathed, feeling tears in her eyes for what he'd done.

He winced, "Adelaide was worried about the future, about how the history of the human race could change because of what I'd done, said no one should have that much power. I…" his voice cracked, "I said I'd saved little people before but no one as important as her," he felt his hearts shatter to say that out loud to her, it was EXACTLY what she'd said to him so long ago, about him and the 'little people' in the grand scope of the universe, "I said that I wasn't a survivor but he victor, called myself Time Lord Victorious, that there was no one to stop me. That it was MY right to do what I wanted with time…" he let out a shaking breath, the burden and guilt of what he'd done all too clear, "She killed herself, she…she walked right into her house and she…she shot herself…just to maintain the timelines. Because I told her she HAD to die for it to happen before. I went too far," he shook his head, starting to cry, he could hardly bring himself to look up at her, he couldn't bear it, to see the disgust, the devastation, the horror on her face…he didn't want to see it, and so…he didn't look, "I went too far and I…I'm sorry," he sobbed, breaking down in front of her, "I'm so sorry…I just…I don't…I'm sorry, Naery, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…"

He stiffened though when he felt something he was _not_ expecting to feel and his eyes flew open to see…Mackenzie had stepped forward and put her arms around him and was just…hugging him.

"It'll be alright Theta," she whispered in his ear as she held him, feeling him shaking in her arms, "It'll be alright…"

He didn't even hesitate to put his arms around her waist and hold her tighter, burying his face in her neck as he just…cried. He needed this, he needed this so badly, he just…he needed a hug right now, more than he knew, and so he clutched her to him, not willing to let go.

And, for once, Mackenzie didn't seem willing to do so either.

A/N: I'm really glad I surprised you with the regeneration ^-^ I know we didn't see much of what the new her is like, since she was fighting off the healing coma, but we're going to get a _very_ different Mac from here on out who'll have a...rather different take of the Doctor and her relationship with him come Series 5 ;) For reference, I picture the new her to look something like Emma Stone :)

I'll also be announcing her new theme song at the end of End of Time just so we get to see a bit of what the new Mac is like first ;)

And the poll for pairing name is officially up ;) I'll be announcing the winner in the last chapter too :)

Some notes on reviews...

Mac unfortunately did need the healing sleep, I sort of feel like the infection would have been very aggressive with her being an alien and she'd need a lot more to fight it off :( She'll be very close to 11, we'll see a more 'wooing' 11 when it comes to Mac in Series 5 ;)

Yup, this new Mac is her 8th self ;)

Lol, that's a very cool reference with 'angel' and 'trickster' ;) And thanks, I'm glad you're enjoying Mac :)

I don't think it's weird. I do that all the time with my TLs, deciding how/when they should regenerate ;) It's probably not very much like Proffy where things carry over, but there'll be some thoughts that'll affect the new her ;) I'm glad I made you giggle with evilness ;)

Lol, yup, she's ginger ;) I was trying to think of the hair colors of my other TLs and keep it different. Like...we didn't have a brunette TL in Series 4, we haven't had a ginger one with 11 yet ;)

I have seen the clip lol, that'll be very useful for Halloween :)


	8. The End of Time (Part One) - Part 1

The End of Time (Part One) - Part 1

Mac smiled up as she looked at the light snow falling around her and the Doctor when they stepped out of the TARDIS and onto the Ood Sphere. She wasn't smiling about the reason they were there, no. The Doctor had told her (after he'd calmed down with a nice cup of tea) how he'd seen Ood Sigma, one of the Ood from his trip with Donna, standing just before the TARDIS in the snow outside Adelaide's home and he'd panicked. He'd fled and taken them into the Vortex. He'd tried to get them on a few adventures since then, but they'd had many more before that. It seemed like every time they landed on Earth, before Mars at least, a year or so had passed for them. The Doctor had been 904 when they ended up on San Helios, 905 when helping Sarah Jane, and had just turned 906 when they went to Mars. And here they were, on the Ood Sphere once more. The Doctor had admitted to her that he'd been hearing the Ood Song, a call to him across time and space since they'd met Jackson Lake, that it grew steadily stronger as the years went by for them but that he'd ignored it all…till Ood Sigma, it appeared, had been forced to confront him himself about it.

She knew where his mind had gone, to how Carmen warned his song was ending, just like the Ood had warned him of that with Donna. For the song to be such a key word and then end up back on the Ood Sphere, having heard THEIR song in his head? She knew he was worried but he'd come. He'd come because she knew that he felt the guilt still from what had happened with Adelaide. He felt the guilt of what she'd done and what he'd (in his mind) forced her to do. He felt like he'd lived too long and that, if his song was ending, it was better to end now than later. They'd only managed a trip or two, more for her sake than his she knew, he wanted her to be able to get at least one or two happy trips in with her new body.

THAT was what she was smiling about, besides the snow around her, it was that she had changed clothes and this new her was just…not as angry. She liked it. It was like her last body had been the one holding onto all that anger for the Doctor and, while she WAS still sad about Gallifrey, while she was still hesitant about the Doctor, and while she missed her family and hurt and was angry about losing them…she wasn't holding onto all the anger from when he'd run away from her. She had a vague idea that seeing him taking all the guilt and burden onto him just before she regenerated almost…metaphorically took the burden and anger off of her, to see him deeply accept what he'd done and apologize for it all…to see just how much he truly regretted what he'd done to her had made something change in her as she was regenerating. She was just…not as angry with him for that.

Something she knew he was probably rather pleased with as she didn't snap at him all the time. Well, not ALL the time. She honestly didn't know if there would be times she'd still snap at him, she thought she might. There were always times where everyone snapped at other people, she just…hadn't reached that point just yet.

She was glad that she wasn't as angry, she felt like she enjoyed things more now without that extra feeling burning in her. And she was very much enjoying her new incarnation so far. She had taken to wearing her hair down, but with a single head band across her head, her hair falling in waves around her shoulders. She'd kept a bit of her old style but only in that she seemed to have switched a skirt for a dress. She found she rather liked wearing strapless dresses, or thin-strapped dresses, that were a bit fitted at the top but flowed to her knees, with a nice and simple 3/4 sleeved cardigan that had bigger-on-the-inside pockets to it. Sometimes she wore them buttoned closed, other times open, but always had some sort of cardigan with her. She'd kept the flats as well, she really DID like the shoes of her old self at least but had added a key to the TARDIS on a long chain around her neck. It was a new style for the new her and she could tell the Doctor enjoyed the change very much.

Well he would, who wanted someone travelling that just kept snapping at you and glowering and glaring like an old stuffy librarian? She liked her new her and she…as terrible as it was to say, she was interested to see what the next Doctor would be like.

She very much doubted that the Doctor's 'song' ending meant he was going to die permanently. She was very hopeful that it merely meant regeneration. It was a natural process for them and it happened whether they liked it to or not. They could avoid it at times, hold it off, but it was detrimental and often well, if they refused to regenerate, they died. She doubted the Doctor would willingly not regenerate and just let himself die. If there had been absolutely no bio-compatible receptacle in the TARDIS before, she was sure he would have regenerated before facing the Daleks. It would happen, if the Ood 'prophecy' was to be believed and she was more curious to who he'd become where she knew he did NOT want to give up the man he was.

"Ah, now!" the Doctor called as he stepped out after her, a cowboy hat on his head, a pink lei around his neck, and sunglasses on, shutting the TARDIS door behind him. She shook her head at him, amused, she honestly had no idea why he was wearing that, "Sorry! There you are," he grinned at Ood Sigma who was standing a few feet away as though waiting for the Doctor, "So, where were we? I was summoned, wasn't I? An Ood, in the snow, calling to me," he looked at Mac and nodded to the Ood, the two of them walking towards it, neither of them affected much by the temperature, "Well, I didn't exactly come straight here," he shrugged, thinking about how the Ood had been calling to him for years now, but he'd been avoiding them just for their 'prophecy' of how his song would end. But, confronting the infected on Mars had made him realize that he could control his own destiny and…if his time was coming, he had to face it, he truly didn't know if this body could handle living with the guilt of what he'd done to Adelaide, maybe…maybe a new start was what he needed, "Had a bit of fun, y'know, travelled about, did this and that. Got into trouble, you know me."

"Unfortunately so," Mac said with a small smile, joking.

"It was brilliant though, wasn't it?" he smiled back at her, he really liked how he could joke with her now. He was still getting used to it, to be completely truthful. Half the time he expected to say something and hear a snide comment but (most of the time) it didn't come.

"The Phosphorous Carousel of the Great Magellan Gestadt was lovely," Mac nodded, "And helping save those people from the Red Carnivorous Maw was wonderful. We could have picked a better name for a galaxy…"

"What's wrong with Alison?" he frowned, it was a lovely name.

She shook her head, "Given that all the names of the galaxies in that quadrant of space were named after colors? Alison's a bit out of place."

"Well at least I didn't get married," he joked, recalling a rather…interesting trip to Queen Elizabeth's court The Queen had been rather besotted with him but he'd managed to avoid her, not that Mac had been much help. That had been an adventure from before she regenerated. Though, thinking on it, she had helped in her own unique way…by stressing to the Queen about how ill-suited he was to be king and how, if he was ever left to rule a planet, it would fall to ruin and other rather semi-hurtful things that hadn't deterred Elizabeth in the slightest.

"That really would have been a mistake," Mac agreed, "Good Queen Bess, she has that nickname for a reason," she gave him a pointed look for it.

He cleared his throat, a faint blush coming to his cheeks as he recalled what she meant by the nickname, what would have utterly tarnished it, and…his mind quite on its own power, turning to thoughts of Mac in that sort of sense, which was highly inappropriate given she was still trying to work out just who she was in this body, though he had a fairly good idea already, "Anyway...what d'you want Ood Sigma?"

"You should not have delayed," the alien stated.

"The last time I was here, you said my song would be ending soon. And I'm in no hurry for that," he wasn't sure if that was a lie or not. In one breath he didn't want to go, he…he'd just gotten a Mac that wasn't cross with him, that was…rather a bit like her first self again, and he didn't want to leave her. But in another breath, the guilt over Adelaide was crushing him.

"You will come with me," the Ood merely turned and started to walk off through the snow.

"Hold on, better lock the TARDIS," the Doctor turned and pulled a small key out of his pocket, pointing it at the doors and pressing on it…making the TARDIS beep as though it were a car alarm locking. He beamed and looked at Mac, "Thanks for that."

She shrugged, "After the incident with the Master? It was best you have a remote way to lock the doors when you forget."

He laughed and looked at Ood Sigma who was just staring at him, "See? Like a car. I locked it like a car. Like...it's funny," but Ood Sigma merely blinked, "No? Little bit? Blimey, try to make an Ood laugh," he grumbled to Mac.

Mac patted his arm comfortingly, "I'm sure someone will find it funny," she reassured him before walking on after the Ood.

The Doctor smiled as he watched her go, she was like that now, more reassuring to others instead of just those she knew and felt comfortable about. It reminded him very much of how she'd always fret over everyone in her first body, she was just…concerned now where she'd been closed off and wary. It was…refreshing.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and turned to head after them as well, "So how old are you now, Ood Sigma?" he asked, coming to a stop before a rather lovely city that the Ood had clearly built into the mountains. It was like a city carved right out of the ice and stone, just glistening, "Magnificent!" he nudged the Ood, "Oh, come on! That is...splendid! You've achieved all this in how long?"

"Doctor…" Mac frowned though, "It's only been 100 years since your last visit here…"

He blinked and looked at her, stunned at that. Donna had told her about the last trip, how it had been 4156. He'd seen her running environment scans of the area before they'd stepped out into the snow, he did that now, let her run the scans. THAT had carried over from Mars as well, she was determined to run the scans everywhere no matter what, and she'd found the environment, location, and date, each and every trip. If she said it was 4256, then he believed her.

"And that's not good," she looked at him, "That's far too advanced for the Ood."

"And not just the city too," he agreed, "Their ability to call me all the way back to the 21st century and across time and space?" he shook his head, glancing at Ood Sigma, "Something's accelerating your species way beyond normal."

"And the Mind of the Ood is troubled," Ood Sigma bowed his head in agreement.

"What's wrong?" Mac turned to him instantly, the Doctor's smile returning a little at that, at how quickly she took to worrying about others, it really was quite a bit like how she'd been in school, "What's happened? Has anyone tried to attack the Third Brain again?"

"No," Ood Sigma shook his head, "Every night…every night, we have bad dreams," he gave them a nod to the side and continued to lead them on, across the white expanse of snow and into the stone city, leading them through the halls and to a large chamber with faint wisps of smoke drifting out of it.

They stepped in to see a gathering of older looking Ood sitting on the ground in a circle, the tops of their heads looked a bit more like brains than was normal though.

"Returning, returning, returning, it is slowly returning," they chanted, "Through the dark and the fire and the blood, always returning, returning to this world. It is returning and he is returning and they are returning, but too late, too late, far too late, he is come."

"Sit with the Elder of the Ood and share the dreaming," Ood Sigma gestured at them.

The Doctor and Mac glanced at each other, Mac shrugging before she headed right in and sat down, her intent of wanting to help them clear. The Doctor nodded to himself and moved to plop beside her, "Hello!" he greeted the Elders of the Ood amicably.

"You will join," they continued to chant, "You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join. You will join."

The Time Lords looked down as the Ood around them joined hands and held one out to each of them. They reached out and took the Oods' hands…only to see the Master's face laughing at them, forcing them to pull away in shock and horror for Mac and the Doctor respectively.

Mac remembered him, the Master, the Doctor's oldest friend on Gallifrey. She had…actually been one of the first ones he'd told about the pounding in his head that he claimed sounded like drums, she had been one of the few to believe that he actually DID hear something like that. She was sure her fretting had driven him away though. She was always checking on him and asking him if he was ok and trying to offer him medicines she'd read about from other planets to help him. She could be…quite overbearing back then, but she just hated seeing her friends and family in pain or hurt and HE was hurting. She'd tried to be there if he needed someone to talk to but he'd just kept pushing them all away over the years to the point where he hardly spoke to them and it had broken her hearts to lose a friend like that. He'd always respected her for saving the Doctor's life when they first met, had started off kind to her. He'd seemed to appreciate her efforts at first, had seemed touched that she actually CARED about him…but she supposed she'd just irritated him too much with remedies that hadn't worked and he'd pushed her away as well.

"He comes to us, every night," one of the Elders looked at them, taking in their expressions, "I think all the peoples of the universe dream of him now."

"That man is dead," the Doctor stated, squeezing Mac's hand when she flinched at him saying it so firmly.

She remembered it as well, the Year-That-Never-Was and how the Master had turned the Earth into his own personal weapons' factory. She remembered his tyranny, she remembered Martha coming to her with the Doctor's ridiculous plan of using the Satellites and Archangel network, and she remembered making the gun with the four poisons that would kill the Master dead without regeneration. She had given Martha that gun with the intent to have her use it and had been furious when Martha hadn't. The Master had still died, yes, and she was relieved now that it hadn't been her gun that had done it but she knew that her last body had just felt irritation that Martha had let her gun be destroyed and lost her chance to stop the Master.

She felt sick thinking on it now, how she'd truly just become a weapons maker like in the war. She'd hated working in the factories at first, but just…sort of gotten used to it, to the routine, to the feel of the metal and different components fitting together like pieces of a little puzzle. She didn't want to make weapons, she wanted to make things that helped.

"There is yet more," the Elder continued, "Join us," the two Elders on either side of the Time Lords held out their hands once more and they joined hands, "Events are taking shape, so many years ago, and yet changing the now. There is a man..."

An image flashed through all their minds, of Wilf, sitting in his home, tears in his eyes, scared and alone and deep in thought.

"So scared…"

"Wilf!" Mac cried out, "What happened to him? Why's he so upset?"

"Is he alright?" the Doctor frowned, "What about Donna, is she safe?"

"You should not have delayed," the Elder Ood warned, "For the lines of convergence are being drawn across the Earth, even now. The king is in his counting house."

Another image flashed, of a black man and a young black woman, probably father and daughter, both impeccably dressed and sitting in a room on what seemed like throne-like chairs.

"I don't know who they are," the Doctor shook his head, knowing that Mac didn't either.

"I can find out though…" she murmured, thinking of contacting UNIT and running a scan and search for them.

"And there is another," the Elder continued, "The most lonely of all, lost and forgotten."

"Is that Lucy Saxon?" Mac squinted though her eyes were closed, seeing a woman that looked like what she remembered from the Saxon campaigns as Lucy sitting in a cell, alone, in the dark.

"She's the Master's wife," the Doctor nodded, agreeing.

"We see so much, but understand little," Ood Sigma stated, "The woman in the cage, who is she?"

"She was...it wasn't her fault, she was..." he swallowed, feeling Mac squeeze his hand and took a moment to organize his thoughts, "The Master, he's a Time Lord, like us. I can show you…" he squeezed the hands of those around him and showed them his own memories of the Master gallivanting around under the guise of being Harold Saxon, "The Master took the name of Saxon. He married a human, a woman called Lucy. And he corrupted her. She stood at his side while he conquered the Earth. I reversed everything he'd done, so it never even happened. But Lucy Saxon remembered," he showed them Lucy shooting the Master, how the man had died, the pyre he'd built and burned with the Master's body on it, "I held him in my arms. I burnt his body! The Master is dead!"

"And yet, you did not see..." the Elder warned, expanding the last image, the Doctor walking away…but another woman walking towards the pyre and picking something up from the ashes.

"What's she got in her hand?" Mac asked, seeing the woman eyeing the item she'd picked up.

A signet ring.

"Part of him survived," the Doctor breathed, his eyes snapping open as he tried to jump to his feet, but the Ood held him down, "We have to go!"

"But something more is happening," the Elder continued, "The Master is part of a greater design, because a shadow is falling over creation. Something vast is stirring in the dark," the Elder lifted his head to reveal his eyes were red, "The Ood have gained this power to see through time because time is bleeding," and soon all the other Ood followed suit, revealing their red eyes as well, "Shapes of things once lost are moving through the veil. And these events from years ago threaten to destroy this future. And the present and the past."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor tugged Mac closer to him as the Ood stared at them with their red eyes though didn't seem about to attack just yet.

"This is what we have seen, Doctor. The darkness heralds only one thing, the end of time itself. Events that have happened are happening now!"

The Doctor just jumped up, pulling Mac with him and turned to run for the doors, the two of them racing out onto the snow and across the land to the TARDIS.

"Get the key!" Mac shouted when they came in sight of the box, not about to wait for him to fumble and try to get it into the lock.

He quickly pulled it out and unlocked the TARDIS, allowing them to bolt through the doors and bound right up to the console, quickly flying around it in a flurry of button pushing and lever pulling and knob twisting to try and get the box to Earth in time to stop whatever was happening with Lucy. The TARDIS sparked in protest, Mac wincing and offering apologies here and there as she pulled a wrong lever or pushed the wrong button, she really was NOT a good pilot when it came to high stakes and tense flyings when time was of the essence and they were racing about. For having been travelling with the Doctor about 3 or 4 years now…piloting the TARDIS like this was still not something she was familiar with. She was better at scans and calm piloting and hops in place instead of running around, that was the Doctor's specialty.

The box landed with a thump that, for once, didn't knock them to the ground and they turned to run out of the doors as they reached the prison Lucy had been in…only to see that it was in ruins.

They were too late.

~8~

The Doctor reached out to help Mac step onto a pile of dirt in the middle of a shipyard, looking around the site for the Master. The TARDIS had managed to track the Time Lord down to that location but they couldn't risk him hearing the box coming or seeing it or sensing it so they'd left it by the prison, hoping it would be far enough away where the man wouldn't get his hands on the old box. They eyed the area intently but wherever the man was, they couldn't see him just yet. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath, calming down and sensing for him in a way only a Time Lord could.

Their eyes snapped open however when they heard something banging…four times. They exchanged a glance before they turned and ran off in the direction the noise was coming from, spotting the man standing on t a mound of dirt a short distance ahead of them. The Master roared at them, jumping into the air higher than was normal for even a Time Lord and cackling at them. Mac wasn't sure if he even realized she was a Time Lady or if he was sensing the Doctor only, if he might even recognize her in this body…she hadn't seen him in centuries and through quite a few regenerations. If it hadn't been for the Year-That-Never-Was, she wouldn't have recognized him either.

Oh she had been suspicious of the Archangel network from the start, had had to listen to everyone talking about how they were going to vote Saxon and that was what did it for her. EVERYONE was going to vote for him, every single person she spoke to and none of them really knew why, just said that they thought he sounded like he knew what he was doing. She'd investigated the Archangel Network, broken it down just before the Year started and realized what he'd done. She didn't have a cell phone, she hadn't been exposed to the beeps in the messages like the others had so it had taken her a longer while to notice, especially when the satellites weren't alien in origin but human so her scans didn't pick it up.

They caught up with him again as he stood on a small stack of metal, just standing there laughing at them…until his face flickered, appearing as though his skin had disappeared to reveal the skeleton beneath before he was back to looking Time Lord again.

"Stop it!" she shouted at him, "We can help!"

"Please," the Doctor called, "You're burning up your own life force!"

But the Master just leapt up again, jumping behind the stack of metal beams he'd been on and disappearing into the shipyard just as they reached a small wall of girders…and ran right into Wilf.

"Oh, my gosh, Doctor, you're a sight for sore eyes!" Wilf smiled, "Where's Mackenzie?" he frowned, looking around.

"Hello Wilf," Mac smiled at him.

"Do I know you?" Wilf eyed her.

"Mac," she pointed at herself, "Sorry about the face," she gestured at it, "Regeneration, little trick we have."

"You…changed your face?" Wilf blinked at her, about to ask another question when the Doctor rushed past him.

"Out of my way!" the Doctor tried to climb up the pile of girders but only got halfway, seeing the Master was nowhere in sight and plopped back down onto the ground.

"Um…Doctor?" Mac called and he turned to see a group of elderly citizens had come to join them, all rushing up to Wilf.

"Did we do it?" one of the older men asked, "Is that him? Where's the girl? The one with the bun?"

Mac gave the Doctor a look and put her finger on her lips, telling him not to say anything about it being her. Wilf, though, seemed to realize he couldn't say anything without any sort of sign as he just sort of opened and closed his mouth for a short while, trying to think of an excuse but there was none he could give without it exposing her as an alien.

"Tall and thin, big brown coat," another man observed the Doctor, as though reciting a description.

Mac nodded to herself, realizing what had happened, that Wilf had gotten his friends together to try and find them…which was confirmed when another older woman gave a cheer, "The Silver Cloak! It worked. Cos Wilf phoned Netty, who phoned June, and her sister lives opposite Broadfell, and she saw the police box, and her neighbor saw this man heading east with that girl," she pointed at Mac.

"Very resourceful Wilf," Mac remarked.

The Doctor was less amused as he turned back to the group, and strode over to Wilf, "Wilfred? Have you told them who we…I am?" he corrected with a wince, not about to let them say that either of them were aliens, "You promised!"

"No, I just said you were two UNIT agents," Wilf shook his head, "That's all. And might I say, sir, it is an honor to see you again," he saluted the Doctor, sending a small wink to Mac as he couldn't quite greet her since the group was under the impression he didn't know who she was.

The Doctor sighed and gave Wilf a small salute back as well.

"Ooh, but you never said he was a looker!" the old woman grinned, eyeing the Doctor appreciatively as Mac glanced at her with an odd look, she sounded a bit…TOO fond of him for such an old woman…not that she could really say, the Doctor himself was likely 10 times older than the woman was, "He's gorgeous, take a photo!" she quickly shoved a camera into another man's hand as the group started to bustle about how they all wanted a picture with the Doctor.

"I'm Minnie," the woman smirked at the Doctor as she ran right to his side, linking her arm with him, "Minnie the Menace. It's a long time since I had a photo with a handsome man," she patted the Doctor's cheeks and readied herself for the picture. The group pushed in, all of them gathering around the Doctor and Minnie as Mac, Wilf, and the man with the camera stood back and watched.

"Just get off him, leave him alone, will you?!" Wilf called.

"Hush, you old misery. Come on, Doctor. Give us a smile," she gave the Doctor a pinch of the cheeks as well till he grimaced more than smiled, "That's it."

"Hold on..." the man with the camera tried to click a picture, "Did it flash?"

"No, there's a blue light, try again."

"I'm all fingers and thumbs…"

"Here," Mac reached out, "Allow me," she took the camera from him, "Why don't you get in on the picture?" she suggested, smiling, it wasn't fair for one man to be left out in taking a picture with the group, "Wilf, do you want in as well?"

Wilf huffed but shuffled over to join the picture and she knew he secretly did want a picture with the man.

"Mackenzie…" the Doctor shifted, "We're a bit busy…"

"And 5 seconds won't kill us," she countered, focusing the image on the camera, "We found him once, we can again and we'll be there in the blink of an eye so hush and respect your elders and let them have a picture."

He rolled his eyes, knowing he was older than all of them combined, but didn't say it.

"It really won't take a tick," Minnie promised, "Keep smiling."

"On three," Mac called, "One…two…"

And just as she called three and snapped a picture the Doctor jumped forward in shock, seeming like he was twisting to grab something behind him.

"Is that your HAND, Minnie?!" the Doctor rushed away from her, extracting himself from the gaggle of elderly and rushing to Mac's side.

Minnie just smirked and shrugged.

The Doctor reached back and rubbed his bum from where Minnie had goosed him before he glanced at Mac…letting out a small breath when he saw that she…wasn't affected by what had happened at all. In fact she was just offering Minnie back her camera and saying she looked lovely. He had to wonder if it was terrible to have hoped she'd have flown into a jealous rage and gone off on Minnie a la her last incarnation for touching him? Well, probably not terrible but…he knew it was a far hope. This new Mac was more…calm, less biting, and more at ease around him. But he knew they did have a long way to go before they were at the point of…maybe…being Chosens.

He was just very thankful, at the moment, that she had stayed with him and not gone back to UNIT over the last few years, that she kept travelling with him and that, well, that the new her touched him again, that she was ok with holding his hand and giving him a hug or checking him if he got injured. He knew it meant that she did still care about him, and that was all he could hope for right now.

But he knew…he would have to tell her, if he ever wanted that hope of being what they once were to grow more, about Gallifrey and about WHY he'd done what he had to the planet. He hadn't thought he'd be able to tell the last her about it, that she'd not believe him, but now that she was more open and understanding, he was hoping he could tell her about what their people had been willing to do and maybe then she'd fully forgive him for what he'd done. Well, not FULLY forgive him, he, through his actions, had killed her family and destroyed their planet, that wouldn't be easily forgotten or something to get over, HE still hadn't gotten over it.

But…there was a chance that she would understand and that…that would be the next step for them.

He just had to get them to it, it was just hard to bring up, to talk about. But if he ever wanted a hope of getting her back…he had to do it.

~8~

Wilf and Mac sat in a café later that day, having been dropped off by the other elderly on their bus, the Doctor was across from them. The Time Lord was torn between being putoff that Mac hadn't sat beside him and a little amused and touched that she wanted to keep Wilf company on his side. She was sitting at the end of the booth, closer to the open space of the café with Wilf by the window, but he expected that. What he hadn't been expecting was Wilf to insist that they go to this particular café when they'd passed so many others on the way.

"Oh, we had some good times, didn't we, though?" Wilf began, if just for something to say in the silence that had fallen over them. The Doctor had smiled at it, it was a different silence than he was used to coming from Mac. She had been very quiet to him for most of their travels, more observing him, or ignoring him, but not really speaking. This new her was a bit quiet too, but in far more of a comfortable silence way, "I mean, all those ATMOS things and planets in the sky and me with that paint gun," he mimed a little click and point of his small gun.

"Wilfred," Mac reached over and put a hand on his arm, "What's wrong? I can tell you've not been sleeping," she looked pointedly at the bags under his eyes, "And you wouldn't have gotten all those people together to find the Doctor if it wasn't important and something alien. Please," she squeezed his arm, "Tell us what's wrong and maybe we can help."

The Doctor smiled at that, she still had that bit of 'mother hen' to her that her first self had, but in a less overbearing way. She seemed more amused than angry by the things around her, by him, though he knew she was still a little wary of letting herself get closer to him, he understood (which was another reason to tell her about why he'd locked Gallifrey away), but she seemed to take things in stride and find amusement in the adventures, but the second someone was hurt or off or not quite feeling right, she honed in on them like a bloodhound. He'd always admired that about her on Gallifrey, she knew instantly when you weren't feeling right and there was no point lying to her about it, she always got the truth out of you and stayed with you till you were better.

"I keep seeing things," Wilf admitted, "I...this face at night."

"Who are you?" the Doctor asked.

"Doctor," Mac shook her head, "Not the time."

But Wilf answered anyway, "I'm Wilfred Mott."

"No," the Doctor shook his head, not talking about that, "People have waited hundreds of years to find me and then you manage it in a few hours."

"Well, I'm just lucky, I s'pose," he shrugged.

"No, we keep on meeting, Wilf. Over and over again, like something's still connecting us."

"Yeah, but what's so important about me?"

"Exactly. Why you?"

"Doctor," Mac sent him a pointed look, before she turned to Wilf, "You're Donna's grandfather," she told him, "Makes you the most important grandfather in the universe by association, doesn't it?"

There was another round of silence as Wilf smiled at that and patted her hand, though the Doctor seemed to grow more solemn, thinking about Donna, about what had happened to her, about the adventures with her and the songs other aliens were singing about her…songs making him think of his own ending.

The Doctor swallowed hard and said it out loud, "I'm going to die."

"Well, so am I, one day," Wilf took it all in stride.

"Don't you dare."

"Alright, I'll try not to."

"But I was told. 'He will knock four times,'" he took a deep breath, trying not to let on how affected he was by that, "That was the prophecy. Knock four times, and then..." he shrugged.

He and Mac had very different ideas of what dying and regeneration were like. She saw it as the next step in their lives, a natural occurrence, he saw it as HIM dying. It was odd to think that she'd maintained that thought process on it through the war, given her last self, he'd half expected her to be bitter and angry and resentful of regeneration, but she wasn't. HE was, the man who loved adventures was afraid to die and begin the next great one, and even for them it just meant a continuation of adventures as he'd regenerate and go on having them.

But Mac seem to know just how much it was truly upsetting him for she reached out and put a hand on his as it rested on the table, much like he had done after they'd spoken when they'd left Donna on Earth. She knew what it was, why this particular death was bothering him so much when all his others hadn't. This regeneration…because of what he'd done with his spare hand…it was going to have more permanent consequences than his others. His next body was going to be…well, she knew his next one was going to be the one he'd have to have all the adventures he'd ever dreamed of having in.

To regenerate this time…meant moving on to a body that was a little more…permanent than the others.

"But I thought when I saw you before, you said your people could change, like, your whole body," Wilf frowned.

"There are still ways to kill us Wilf," Mac looked at him, "I created a simple gun that could do it, that could kill us without the change. There are ways for us to refuse to change, and we'd die. Or, if we're killed before regeneration sets in, or even in the middle of it, we still die, just like a human."

"And even then," the Doctor sighed, "Even if I change, it feels like dying. Everything I am dies. Some new man goes sauntering away. And I'm dead…"

Mac looked down, seeing the Doctor do as she had done and turn his hand over to clasp hers, holding it tightly. Even if his next body wasn't the one she knew it would be, she knew that…that SHE was affecting his reluctance to change as well. She knew she'd been cruel and harsh and hurtful to the Doctor in her last body, and she knew this new her was far more pleasant to be around for him. She remembered their talks, how he'd admitted to still loving her, even now, and she could tell he didn't want to lose HIS chance to spend more time with the new her. They'd only had a few adventures between her regeneration and now and she knew that he wanted more…but the time didn't seem like it was going to cooperate.

She…didn't know how she felt, about the Doctor, she wasn't as angry with him as before but there was still a lot of things that he'd done that had hurt her. Though she knew those same actions had hurt him as well, like with Gallifrey. It wouldn't be easy to get over him doing that just to stop the Daleks when the Daleks still kept escaping and causing havoc. To see those aliens again just meant that everything he'd done had been for nothing, their planet's loss, her family's death, had been for nothing.

Still, she squeezed his hand, "It'll be alright," she tried to reassure him. No matter what she may or may not feel, she knew he was scared of what was coming.

"Hmm," Wilf hummed from beside her and they turned to see him looking out the window…where Donna was getting out of her car across the street, "I'm sorry," Wilf turned to them, "But I had to. Look, can't you make her better?"

"Stop it," the Doctor said quickly, not wanting to hear it. It was hard enough to see Donna but to know that Wilf thought she needed help broke both their hearts. He squeezed Mac's hand in return, seeing her staring at Donna with a sorrowful frown.

"No, but you're so clever. Can't you bring her memory back? Look, just go to her now, go on. Just run across the street. Go up and say hello."

"Wilf I warned you last time," Mac murmured, "If she remembers even a moment with us…it will burn her mind and she'll die," she looked at Wilf, "How will THAT make her better?"

They looked over, hearing a slamming noise to see Donna was right across the street.

A/N: Took a little bit of freedom with the age of the Doctor during a few adventures since the next episode is the only time he specifies his age between the Titanic and now ;) For this story, it's my interpretation of events that, perhaps the Ood were calling to him for all those years he was spending in the specials until they finally had to appear for him to know that they NEEDED to see him. In which case, all the events he described to Ood Sigma were events that also happened in between specials, just a general summary of what he'd done. So for this story, the Doctor was 903 in Series 4 (as stated in the Titanic) and 906 by the events of this chapter. So (if he's telling the truth lol), I've spread out those 3 years between the specials instead of putting those events that he describes to Sigma as between Waters and now ;)

Slight spoiler for Time of the Doctor (incase any haven't seen it yet ;)): I sort of tried to allude to what 11 would be, the final incarnation and considered that maybe THAT was why 10 was so upset to regenerate, maybe that was why he didn't want to go because he knew his next body would be his last one :'(

Some notes on reviews...

8th Mac will be a tiny bit like Angel, but only in how concerned she gets for other people, but it'll come about mostly when she sees them in pain or hurt ;) She'll have a much bigger backbone and snap much more than Angel though so that'll be the only similarity...well, that and her red hair ;)

I thought it would be interesting to see the consequences of Victorious without actually seeing him happen, I feel like it would be a little more shocking for Mac to see his breakdown than what led to it ;) Yup Emma Stone :) I actually wanted her to be Proffy at one point but I also really wanted to see someone like her with 11 so it fit very well for Mac :) We'll see much more of Mac's simple ways of solving things more so will 11 yup ;)

Mac's on more friendly and almost pitying terms with the Master :( I feel like with how she was in her first incarnation she'd have worried about him and his mind the most and actually believed he heard drumming, I think he'd feel a little bit closer to her than the Doctor since he kept denying there was drumming and Mac believed him without needing to hear it :) And that's ok, I've been a little absent from tumblr recently, papers and presentations coming up soon :(

Lol, it's a clip of Mark Gatiss making fake blood ;)

That's great that your suggestion's doing well! I'm glad it brightened up your day a bit :)


	9. The End of Time (Part One) - Part 2

The End of Time (Part One) - Part 2

The Time Lords had to smile when they saw Donna was shouting at one of the meter attendants about not touching her car.

"She's not changed," the Doctor remarked.

"Nah," Wilf sighed, "Oh, there he is..." he grinned, seeing a young man rush up to Donna, carrying her shopping bags for her.

"A gentleman," Mac smiled at the sight.

"Shawn Temple. They're engaged. Getting married in the spring."

"Another wedding," the Doctor chuckled.

"Yeah."

"Hold on, she's not gonna be called Noble-Temple? Sounds like a tourist spot!"

"No, it's Temple-Noble. "

"Right," he nodded, relieved.

"He's a good man, isn't he?" Mac glanced at Wilf, she…had a soft spot for Donna, more so than any of the Doctor's other companions, having gotten to travel with her and build a friendship that, for once, hadn't ended in betrayal by the other person, "He treats her properly?"

"Yeah," Wilf smiled at her concern, "He's sweet enough. He's a bit of a dreamer. Mind you, he's on minimum wage, she's earning tuppence, so all they can afford is a tiny little flat. And then sometimes I see this look on her face. Like she's so sad, but she can't remember why."

"She's got him," the Doctor shrugged, though his gaze was on Mac.

She let out a soft breath and looked back at Donna, she knew he hadn't just been talking about Donna and Shawn but her and him as well. She _did_ have the Doctor but…she wasn't sure how she felt about it all. This new body was so confusing. It was like…her old one knew, just _knew_ how she felt about him completely. But this her…she was still settling in and with the anger gone…she had been right, she didn't know what she was if not angry. She was still trying to work that out. While she may have the Doctor (as he'd proven by sending Rose back to the parallel world), she wasn't sure if the Doctor had her in that sense.

"She's making do," Wilf shrugged.

"Aren't we all?"

"Yeah, how about you? Who've you two got now?" Wilf looked between them.

The Doctor smiled and squeezed Mac's hand once more before letting it go, "Just the two of us," he nodded, though his expression slowly grew more sad, "I thought it would be better," his voice broke, not voicing the thoughts that Mac heard in his head, that he thought he could protect her and help her heal more if it was just them, if he was focusing on JUST her instead of her and a companion…and then she'd gotten hurt and she'd regenerated and in the middle of that, the instant he was truly alone…his voice broke, "But I did some things that went wrong. I need..." he shook his head and started to wipe his eyes, trying not to break down.

Wilf blinked and Mac was no longer beside him, but next to the Doctor, offering him a tight hug…something that made Wilf smile at bit to see, "Merry Christmas," he murmured, knowing that this Mac was VERY different from the last her.

The Doctor chuckled sadly as he pulled away though Wilf detected that the man's arm was still lightly around Mac's waist from where he'd hugged her, not truly holding her but just more for contact, "Look at us."

"Well, don't you…don't you see?" Wilf began gently, "You know, you need her, Doctor. I think you both do," he looked at Mac as well, "I mean, look, wouldn't she make you laugh again? Good old Donna? Eh?" they glanced out the window to see Donna had gotten in her car with Shawn and driven off.

"Come on," Mac slid out of the booth and held out a hand to help the Doctor out, "We have work to do," she smiled, "She may not remember us or be able to help us, but we can help her and keep her safe."

The Doctor nodded, getting up, the Master all too prominent a thought in his mind as they walked with Wilf to the door and out into the cold, slipping off before Wilf could see them and follow.

They were not about to risk his life either.

~8~

The Doctor wasn't quite sure how to feel about what he and Mac were about to do…confront the Master. The TARDIS had tracked the man down to an abandoned warehouse of sorts, or a series of them. He seemed relatively stationary at the moment so they had set the TARDIS down elsewhere and were walking over to where they could sense him. He had actually tried to get her to stay in the TARDIS and wait, but she'd brought up a very good point that she WAS his friend on Gallifrey as well.

Actually, now that he thought about it, the Master had been kinder and more accepting of her than his other new friends…he wasn't sure if it was because she'd saved his life when they first met or something else. He didn't know every single detail of Mac's life on Gallifrey in terms of who her other friends were…he was fairly certain there was NOTHING romantic between her and the Master, nothing at all, but still…the Master was just a little kinder to her at first. He actually remembered a time or two where the man would ask him if he'd seen her because he wanted to talk to her. That was odd in itself, the Master hardly ever talked to anyone. Talked down to people, talked AT people, but not really talk to them.

So they'd both gone out there and stopped to look sadly upon the sight before them. The Master as kneeling on a small pile of dirt, hunched over and just gnawing at a bone. He seemed to sense them soon enough and looked over at them before he stood and turned to face them. They took that as a sign and started walking towards him…only to have him rub his hands together and fire bolts of energy at them…something that was NOT a good thing they knew. He fired one beam that missed Mac, figuring he'd meant to scare her or the Doctor into stopping, but they continued, so he fired at the Doctor's side, yet they still kept on. So he threw out both hands and hit the Doctor in the chest, sending him to the ground.

"Master stop it!" Mac rushed forward, her hands up.

And, shockingly, he did, though the loud cackling laugh he gave upon doing so made them both think it was more his own decision to stop than her order. The Doctor fell to his knees and Mac rushed back before him, reaching out with both hands to touch his face, her eyes quickly searching over his face before one hand moved to his chest, feeling his hearts racing. He seemed a bit weak, a bit in pain, but was relatively ok beyond that.

"Are you ok?" she asked him quietly.

He swallowed hard and nodded…only for Mac to be shoved to the side as the Master squatted before him. He looked over at Mac to see her picking herself up and throwing a little glare at the Master and he realized…the Master had no idea she was a Time Lady, did he? Or even which Time Lady she was. It made sense, with whatever was wrong with him, he probably just sensed something Time Lord there and assumed it was HIM. HE had told the Master they were the only ones left and if he didn't expect a Time lady to be there, he probably just thought she was his companion or something.

"I had estates," the Master began, "Do you remember my father's land, back home? Pastures of red grass stretching far across the slopes of Mount Perdition," he sighed, taking no notice of how Mac stood up and had moved to stand slightly behind the Doctor, watching him cautiously, sadly, "We used to run across those fields all day, calling up at the sky," he plopped back down on the dirt, "Look at us now."

"All that eloquence," the Doctor panted, "But how many people have you killed?"

"I am so hungry."

"Your resurrection went wrong. That energy...your body's ripped open. Now you're killing yourself."

"And that's human Christmas out there. They eat so much. All that roasting meat, cakes and red wine. Hot, fat, blood food. Pots, plates of meat and flesh and grease and juice. And baking, burnt, sticky hot skin. Hot! It's so hot!"

"Stop it…"

"Slice! Slice!

"Stop it."

"It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!"

"Stop it!"

"It's…"

"Do you remember the waterfalls?" Mac spoke suddenly, cutting into the Master's tirade, "In the courtyard of the Academy, do you remember the one that filtered down into the fountains?"

The Master looked up at her, startled that she knew that, startled she knew about the Academy and the waterfalls and…was she a Time Lady?

"Do you remember how I first showed you the spots near the back, closer to the trees and the mountain's base that the waterfalls ran into?" she looked at the Master, seeing recognition flashing in his eyes as he worked out who she was, "I used to sit with you there, at the base, listening to the waters because it was soothing and calm and you could relax, try to use the waterfall to drown out the drumming."

The Master slowly stood, staring at her with wide eyes, "You…you're not…you can't be…" he shook his head, "He said he killed the planet," he murmured, all of them knowing that he was talking about the Doctor, "That everyone was..."

She offered him a small smile, "And I got off before that," she nodded, confirming his thoughts, "Hello."

But the Master just stared at her.

"Are you going to strike me too?"

He swallowed and shook his head, "No," he blinked rapidly.

The Doctor looked between them, seeing the Master so stunned that he wasn't attacking, and pushed himself to his feet, "We came to ask you for help," he told the man, hoping that his shock at seeing Mac (though he wasn't quite sure why the man was SO stunned at that, why he wouldn't attack her too…not that he wanted the man to) would be enough for him to listen, "There's more at work tonight than either of us."

"Oh, yeah?" the Master whispered, still staring at Mac.

She nodded, "We were told by the Ood that something is returning."

"And here I am," he held out his arms.

"No, it was something more," the Doctor shook his head.

"But it hurts," he whispered, clutching his head.

"We were told the end of time…" the Doctor continued, thinking it was a ruse.

"It hurts," he repeated, "The noise...the noise in my head."

"The drums," Mac murmured sadly as the Doctor glanced at her, nearly all of Gallifrey knew of the madness that had plagued the Master given the things he'd done.

"One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, stronger than ever before! Can't you hear it?"

"I'm sorry," the Doctor shook his head.

"Listen, listen, listen, listen! Every minute, every second, every beat of my hearts, there it is...calling to me. Please, listen!"

"I can't hear it."

"Listen!" he grabbed the Doctor's head and pressed their foreheads together, forcing the noise into the Doctor's mind.

Mac watched as he stumbled away and stared at the Master in horror, "But that's..."

"You heard it then?" Mac looked at him.

She'd asked the Master once if he could let her hear it. If it was in his head, he could share it, but he'd refused, he'd said he didn't want to hurt her because the drums hurt him. She was the only one of their friends who believed him without needing to hear it, and he didn't want to risk the drums setting in her mind as well. But now…now he was desperate.

"Yeah," the Doctor swallowed, "But there's no noise, there never has been, it's just your insanity, it's the...what is it? What's inside your head?"

The Master just started laughing, "It's real! It's real! It's REAL!"

"Master!" Mac cried as he threw his hands at the ground and launched himself into the air, the two of them running after him to see him land on a large pile of gravel a short distance away.

"All these years, so many thought I was mad. King of the wasteland. But something is calling me, Doctor, what is it? What is it? What is it?"

Before any of them could answer, a spotlight shown down on the Master moments before the whirring of blades sounded and more and more lights focused on the Master and them. Ropes were thrown down from the helicopters that had surrounded them and men rappelled down. Two grabbed the Master, injecting him with something that knocked him out.

"No!" Mac shouted, rushing forward as the Doctor yelled, "Don't!" at the men and went with her.

But the soldiers opened fire on them, forcing them back, forcing them to watch as the Master was hauled up into the helicopter.

"Let him go!" the Doctor warned, Mac searching her pockets for something that might help stop the helicopter…when they felt a sharp pain in the backs of their heads and fell to the ground, unconscious.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac waited outside the TARDIS for Wilf, having parked the box across the street of the Noble home. They knew they had to be quick, Donna might look outside her window and see a blue telephone box and think nothing of it, or she might see it and be hit with a memory and they couldn't afford that. Mac had shot a small pebble at the window they'd spotted Wilf through with her rubber band from her pocket and they saw the man scurrying away. Luckily he made it outside rather quickly.

"We lost him," the Doctor began quickly, "We were unconscious and…"

"We know he's still on Earth," Mac cut in, making the 'stop talking' gesture as she could sense a ramble coming on, "We can sense him, but wherever he is there must be some sort of interference because the TARDIS can't track him."

Wilf though, was more concerned with the box, "Listen, you can't park there, what if Donna sees it?"

"Wilf, please, focus," Mac put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're the only one, Wilf," the Doctor nodded, "The only connection we can think of. You're involved. If we could work out how…"

"I've checked with UNIT, but they haven't had any odd reports sent to them. I know from personal experience that doesn't always mean anything," the Doctor had to smile at that, at her admitting that she had failed to notice the bees disappearing where Donna had, "So can YOU think of anything Wilf? Anything odd, even the smallest thing…"

"Well, there was..." Wilf began, before stopping quickly.

"What?" the Doctor blinked, "What is it? Tell us!"

"Well, there was...no, it's nothing."

"Wilf we _need_ to know," Mac looked at him intently, "Sometimes what seems like nothing, what seems so small and unimportant, like a tiny bee, can mean monumental things."

"Well…" he hesitated, "Donna was a bit strange. She had a funny little moment, this morning, all because of that book."

"What book?" the Time Lords asked at the same time.

~8~

Wilf made his way out of the house and into his back garden as quickly as he could without his daughter or Donna noticing him sneaking about within, handing the Time Lords a book that looked more like some sort of business book than anything they figured Wilf would want to read. There was a black man on the cover, smartly dressed, looking far too powerful and arrogant for his own good, "Here you are, his name's Joshua Naismith."

"That's the man!" the Doctor cheered as he and Mac recognized the cover from the man and daughter in their vision, "We were shown him, by the Ood."

"By the what?"

"By the Ood."

"What's the Ood?"

"They're just Ood…"

"Doctor," Mac cut in, giving him a look to stop it, "If he's affecting the convergence it would have touched Donna's subconscious like the dreams people are having of the Master…"

He grinned widely at that, "Oh, she's still fighting for us, even now. The Doctor-Donna."

"I'm going to run a search for this Naismith man," Mac took the book and dashed off for the TARDIS, the key around her neck to let herself in. She ran right up to the console, setting the book next to her as she typed in the man's name on the datacore, searching for where he could be found, wherever he was, she'd guess, was where the Master was right now.

She glanced at the door when she heard the Doctor and Wilf arguing on the other side and bit her lip a moment. She felt…guilt hit her. Here she was, about to go off with the Doctor to save the Master…someone who had done unspeakable evils in the past, had nearly obliterated the Earth, had caused so much devastation and destruction…and she was willing and eager to help save him. It wasn't fair, she knew, to feel more comfortable around the Master than the Doctor even for those few minutes they'd all been together. It was just…

She had been his only friend that gave him the benefit of the doubt that the drumming was truly there. She had been the only one to notice him getting worse, the headaches and pounding getting louder, because she fretted over him and the others so much. She blamed the drumming for many of the things he'd done. She didn't know why he thought some of his efforts and actions would lessen the drumming, he believed they were a call to war and that only by creating war would the drumming stop she supposed. But she did blame the drumming for a lot of what he did. She felt like it drove him to do some terrible things. She had experienced pain before, a pain so deep that you just wanted it to end, that you'd do ANYTHING for it to just stop, when she'd lost her baby and learned she could never have any more by natural means. She still felt that pain though it had lessened over time. But she knew what it was like to want it to stop and the Master had been left to try and make it stop on his own because hardly anyone believed him.

It wasn't fair of her to not blame the Master, to see herself able to forgive him for the horrible things he'd done to others, to her even, but to…feel not the same for the Doctor. In the grand scope of evils done to the Universe, the Doctor had destroyed one planet, their planet, and the Master had done far FAR worse to so many others. She shouldn't be willing to forgive the Master and NOT forgive the Doctor. That wasn't fair and that wasn't how it was supposed to work. The Doctor did all he could to do good, to save others from making the mistakes he had, and she knew he considered what he'd done to Gallifrey a mistake. He tried so hard to save others and be a good person and help…where the Master constantly destroyed and attacked and hurt people.

It was just harder, she supposed, because all that the Master had done had been to others, for the most part, and what the Doctor had done had affected HER very personally.

It still wasn't fair though and she knew, when this was over and the Master had been dealt with, she would have to speak to the Doctor about Gallifrey. Being confronted with a man who had done such evil and realize she COULD forgive HIM…it made her realize she truly needed to have a long discussion with the Doctor about what he'd done and see his view on it and actually LISTEN to him and his reasons…and maybe, just maybe, she might one day be able to forgive him for taking her family from her.

If…if he'd destroyed Gallifrey AND all the Daleks, every single one in existence…she knew she'd have accepted it better. In doing what he had, he'd have saved the Universe from a great evil. But the Daleks HAD survived and THAT alone made the sacrifice of their planet feel pointless to her.

"Naismith!" the Doctor cheered as he ran up the console to her, Wilf trailing behind him as he took in the size of the TARDIS, "Have you managed to track him down?"

"Yeah," she nodded, moving past him and over to Wilf as the man seemed rather overwhelmed, "Wilfred? Are you alright?" she put a hand on his shoulder.

The Doctor smiled and shook his head at her, she was still a fretter even if she wasn't quite as bad as she had been on Gallifrey…he was actually almost hoping he might get a cold one day just to see how she'd react.

"It's…"

"Bigger on the inside?" she guessed.

"Not quite as clean as I thought it'd be," Wilf supplied instead, making her laugh and the Doctor 'Oi!'

"I could take you back home, right now," the Doctor threatened.

"Hold on," Wilf frowned as Mac led him towards the console, "If this is a time machine, that man you're chasing, why can't you just pop back to yesterday and catch him?"

"We're forbidden to go back within our own timelines," Mac informed him, "One of the laws of our people."

"Laws that are NOT meant to be broken," the Doctor agreed, looking at Mac with both a determined and heartbroken small smile, he was pained to know he'd broken the laws of Gallifrey the way he had, but…at the same time…he was determined never to ever do it again, "We have to stay relative to the Master within the causal nexus. Understand?"

"Not a word," Wilf shook his head.

"Neither would a lot of his companions," Mac reassured him.

"Welcome aboard," the Doctor grinned, reaching out to shake Wilf's hand as he reached the console.

"Thank you," Wilf grinned, excited to see his first ever adventure.

Mac moved to help the Doctor, a sort of routine they'd fallen into where he took one half of the controls and she took the other half. She glanced at Wilf over the console's edge and nodded determinedly to herself, she may not have been able to protect Donna, but she was going to protect Wilf or die trying.

~8~

Wilf was, of course, quite excited to learn that all the stories Donna had told him of the magic blue box were true when he stepped out of the TARDIS moments later to see that they were in an entirely new place, what looked like a stable of some sort.

"We've moved!" Wilf cried, "We've really moved!"

"You should stay here…" the Doctor began.

"Not bloody likely!"

Mac laughed a bit at that, "That wouldn't have worked on Donna, what makes you think it would have worked on her grandfather, Doctor?" the Doctor just shrugged, "Don't forget to hide the TARDIS," she warned, taking precautions.

He nodded and turned, using the key on the TARDIS to make it fade out of existence, "Just a second out of sync," he reassured Wilf, "Don't want the Master finding the TARDIS, that's the last thing we need."

Mac nodded and they turned to head off down the stables, making their way outside quickly till they reached a corner, "Hold on!" she pulled the Doctor back before he could step out into the open and pulled out her flat mirror, moving closer to the corner and holding it around the edge just enough to see around the corner of it. She smirked when she saw two guards walk past a moment later, knowing the Doctor would have been caught if she hadn't pulled him back when she had.

"Brilliant," he murmured to her.

"That book said he's a billionaire," Wilf whispered to them, "He's got his own private army."

The Doctor waited till the two men had disappeared in the mirror before peeking round the corner to see a small door just across the archway from them, "Down here," he rushed over, flashing the sonic at the lock, knowing they didn't have time for Mac to pick it and ushering them through it, shutting the door behind them just as the guards came back and made their rounds.

They quickly moved down the stairs on the other side of the door to a basement level, pausing when they could hear someone speaking from a nearby room and followed the voice.

"The man's a miracle!" a woman was saying, "All the systems are slotting back into place. The shatterthreads have harmonized and the multiple overshots have triplicated."

The three of them peeked around the corner of the doorway and into the room, spotting quite the advanced set of monitoring systems, compete with video footage of what appeared to be a room on an upper level of the house that had a sort of gate-like device that it was focused on.

"Nice Gate!" the Doctor called, startling the woman…only for his hearts to freeze a second after the words left his mouth, recalling the Trickster's warning that 'the Gate was waiting for him' and there it was…a Gate. Well, he hoped THAT was the Gate in question and not the 'pearly gates' people meant when one died completely.

"Hello!" Wilf gave a small wave.

Mac, though, was more concerned with the tech set up, "What are you doing with tech like that?" she demanded walking into the room, every bit the UNIT member concerned with the advancement of human technology, "You shouldn't have monitoring systems like this," she frowned and looked at the woman intently, "Well…the humans shouldn't."

The Doctor's eyebrows raised at that implication as he quickly pulled the sonic out and scanned the woman, grinning when the device picked up another one on the woman herself, "Don't call security, or I'll tell them you're wearing a Shimmer," he warned her casually, moving to look at the read outs while Mac inspected the other instruments to try and determine just how much alien tech had been infused into this station, "Cos I reckon anyone wearing a Shimmer doesn't want the Shimmer to be noticed or they wouldn't need a Shimmer in the first place."

"I'm sorry, what's a Shimmer?" the woman blinked, a little too innocently for it to be believable.

"Shimmer," the Doctor flicked the sonic at her, cancelling out a sort of holographic image that had been set over her body, making her go from blonde human woman to bright green alien with short spike sticking out of her head.

"Oh, my Lord," Wilf gaped, "She's a cactus!"

"Miss Addams?" a man was calling over the comms., so they could only assume that the woman was 'Miss Addams' or went by that name while on Earth and playing human.

"According to this, the Master's got that Gate working," Mac remarked, eyeing the readings as she went through the tech, "What sort of Gate is it?" she turned to Addams, "I don't recognize it?"

"What's working?" the male voice that spoke before asked as the man it belonged to entered the room, he was tall, with black hair, but the sonic beeped, already picking up the shimmer from the trace already locked into it, "What are you doing here?"

Without even looking over, the Doctor just raised the sonic and flashed it at the man, "Shimmer!" he cancelled that one out as well, revealing a tall green alien much like the woman, "Now tell us, quickly, what's going on, the Master, Harold Saxon? Skeletor, whatever you're calling him, what's he doing up there?"

"But I checked the readings. He's done good work. It's operational."

"Again, I ask what sort of Gate is it?" Mac cut in, "What's the planet of origin? You're Vinvocci," she eyed the green aliens, recognizing them from the catalogues that UNIT had and also from her classes on Gallifrey, "But that Gate isn't."

"Vinvocci?" the Doctor repeated, "Are they little and red too or just tall and green?"

"No, that's a Zocci," Addams remarked.

"The Gate?" Mac emphasized, wanting to know and wanting to know now…it seemed this new her was just a tad impatient at times, especially when she had to repeat herself.

"Hipocci," Addams answered.

"Then why are YOU here?"

"We're a salvage team. We picked up the signal when the humans reactivated it, and as soon as it's working, we can transport it to the ship."

"But what does it do?" the Doctor frowned, it had to do something pretty big for a salvage team to want it.

"Well, it mends," the male alien shrugged, "It's a simple as that. It's a medical device to repair the body. It makes people better."

"What's your name?" Mac looked at him.

"Rossiter."

"Right, then, Rossiter, what ELSE does it do?" she shook her head, "If it just mended things, it would be simple for any human scientist like the sort Naismith can afford to fix…but for the Master to be needed…it's something bigger."

"Every single warning says the Master's going to do something colossal," the Doctor agreed, checking the readings once more.

"So that thing's like a sickbed, yes?" Wilf glanced between them, trying to follow along.

Addams shrugged, "More or less."

"Well, pardon me for asking, but why is it so big?"

"Oh, good question," the Doctor cheered, turning to the others, "Why's it so big?"

"It doesn't just mend one person at a time," Addams rolled her eyes at them.

"That would be ridiculous," Rossiter agreed.

Mac closed her eyes a moment, "Please tell me that doesn't mean it can mend an entire planet?"

Addams nodded, "It transmits the medical template across the entire population."

The Doctor and Mac exchanged a single glance before they turned and bolted out of the room, rushing up all the stairs they could, following the sound of people talking, of energy gathering, till they saw a light coming from one of the rooms. They burst into it to see the Master standing beside Naismith and the man's daughter, a straightjacket on, the gate activated and bright with energy crackling around it.

"Shut the Gate down!" Mac ordered, "On UNIT authority, turn it off!"

"At arms!" one of the men in black ordered, other similarly dressed men all lifting their guns and aiming it at them, clearly the guards.

"No, no, no, no!" the Doctor jolted forward, moving in front of Mac with his hands up, making her blink at the action, a little startled, "Whatever you do, just don't let him near that device."

"Oh, like that was ever gonna happen," the Master muttered, tearing off his straightjacket in a single burst of energy that also had him flying into the air in a jump…and landing right in the middle of the active Gate, the man screaming in pain as the energy ripped through him, "Homeless, was I? Destitute and dying? Well, look at me now!"

Mac shook her head and ran to the side controls, "We need to deactivate it!"

"All of you," the Doctor rushed to help her, shouting at the scientists and engineers, "Turn the whole thing off!"

But no one made a move as all the humans in the room just started to shake their heads, the Master laughing insanely behind them.

"He's...inside my head…" Naismith murmured.

"Get out of here!" the Doctor cried to the humans, but they just…stood there. He turned to help Mac, who was ripping the plugs out of everything in a bid to stop the machine, when the Master fired a bolt of energy at him to stop him.

"Doctor!" Wilf called as he stumbled into the room, "Mackenzie…" he gripped his head, "There's this face..."

"Have you got this?" Mac looked at the Doctor urgently. He nodded and hopped over a control panel to help finish her work as she ran right to Wilf's side, "Wilfred, are you seeing the Master?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah," Wilf winced, nodding, "I can see him! I can see his face."

Mac looked around, trying to find some way to help…when she spotted a small glass booth to the side of the room, two of them, with controls in each, one with a green light above it, the other with a red one, and distinct Vinvocci markings to it…

"There's something wrong..." they could hear a news report on a TV going, "It seems to be affecting the President…"

"I can't turn it off!" the Doctor shouted to Mac, "I've pulled al the plugs but it's not stopping!"

"That's because I locked it, idiot," the Master sneered at him.

Mac shook her head, "In here Wilf," she rushed him over to the glass booth, getting him in one side and moving into the other, quickly typing commands into the box to strengthen the level of shielding on Wilf's side.

"Oh!" she looked up when she heard Wilf breathe easier, "I can see again. He's gone!"

"I've increased the radiation shielding," she told him quickly, "Push that button right there…" she pointed at it and he did so, letting her out and locking him in.

"50 seconds and counting!" the Master announced as Mac ran back to the Doctor, trying to help him stop the power, but there really was nothing that could be done if all the plugs and screens were down and yet there was STILL power going to the Gate.

"To what?" the Doctor demanded.

"Oh, you're gonna love this," the Master merely laughed.

"What is it? Hypnotism? Mind control? You're grafting your thoughts inside them, is that it?"

"Doctor the Gate is meant to mend," Mac shook her head, "It's mending all of them into HIM!"

The Master just laughed as an energy wave burst out of the machine, flying through the room and, they were sure, over the entire planet given what the Gate as capable of…and then…right before their eyes, all the humans in the room began to morph into the Master, shaking their heads so quickly that they literally shifted into his face…

"He can't have!" the Doctor breathed.

"He has," Mac swallowed, reaching out to take his hand.

"Doctor!" they looked over, hearing Wilf shouting to them, waving a mobile in his hand, "She's starting to remember. What is it?" he glared at the Master, "What have you done, you monster?"

The Master just stepped out of the Gate, smirking, "Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me? Or to me?"

"Or to me?" various Masters across the room asked the same thing, from Naismith to his daughter to the guards, everyone was the Master now…

"Breaking news," a reporter called on the TV, also the Master now, "I'm everyone. And everyone in the world is me!"

"I'm President," the footage cut to the Master standing before a podium, dressed in a suit, "President of the United States. Look at me!" all the while the press, now numerous Masters, cheered and jumped for joy, "Ooh, financial solution…deleted. Ha ha!"

"Why are you doing this?" Mac turned to the Master, shaking her head at him.

"The human race was always his favorite," the Master smirked at the Doctor, his clones moving to stand behind him in formation, "But now, there is no human race. There is only... the Master race!"

The Doctor stared in horror at all the Masters that were surrounding them and squeezed Mac's hand back…this…had just gotten infinitely more complicated.

To be continued...

A/N: Oh wow! I can't believe there's only 2 chapters left! O.O But I'm really very excited for quite a few revelations that Mac will be hit with and also for 11 to come around, big things planned for Mac and the Doctor for that series...and a quite a bit planned for Mac and Rory too ;)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh Mac will be VERY surprised with what she learns about the last day of the war ;)

We'll have to wait and see how many Macs we'll have between now and Trenzalore ;) But I can say that it will actually be the 7th Mac that they meet during the 50th :) I mentioned in the last chapter that, for this story, I've spread out the 3 years between Series 4 and these last 2 episodes over the specials, so the Doctor was 904 around the time of San Helios, which means we'll have 7th Mac in the 50th ;)

Lol, I think your message got cut off at the end, but thanks so much! ^-^ I'm really, really glad you've enjoyed all the stories so far :) I definitely wanted to explore one possible result of Clara in the Time Tunnel for TLC and see what could have affected her as a result :) For TAS, that was just a reference that wasn't fully discussed till A Town Called Mercy (she visited a planet with the Doctor once and the natives ran away and essentially committed mass suicide because they thought she'd come for them :( ), but there were other times not mentioned as in detail as that one :( I'm glad you liked Angel so much, she's my favorite because we really get to see her journey and growth :) Lol, I think she's the one I 'tortured' the most in terms of hardships. If you'd like pictures, I actually do some Episode Covers where I try to work an image of the actress that is closest to how I see the OC into a scene from the show, it's on my tumblr (link on my profile) on my 'Episode Covers' page, I've got Angel all through her latest story, one image per episode, as well as Proffy's. I'm about a series and a half left for Evy and (I think) 1 episode left for the AU Proffy :) I fell a bit behind on doing my covers but I'll be back and posting them today ;) I never understood that about River either, how she suddenly changed after years and years of training and manipulations, as well as how the Doctor could fall in love with someone like that :/ If you're interested, I've also got a page on my tumblr 'Challenges' where quite a few people submitted their thoughts and hopes for how the Doctor would remember before the actual scene was written, I've loved reading all of them :') I'm not sure if I'd do drabbles for it, I've got a spinoff going of the TARDIS's POV on the Thella relationship and I'm struggling just a little to keep to schedule for stories just this year, but there's hope for next year ;) And no worries, I love any length review and I read each and every one right to the end ;) I'm glad you like Mac so far, I hope you'll like the new her as well :)

I think 10 would still save Wilf if he knew the man would be responsible for his regeneration, at the end of the day, he's still Donna's grandfather, and I think the guilt of what he had to do to Donna alone would make him protect Wilf ;) This current Mac is still settling a bit, but we'll see her set personality much more in Series 5, I can say she's VERY different from Angel ;) Lol, that's cool, 7th and 8th Mac are separate and different people in a way :)

The War Doctor doesn't remember 10 and 11 in this story nope. The reason the 'why he did what he did' keeps coming up is because Mac thinks he did it to stop the Daleks, the Doctor knows he did it to stop the Time Lords, Mac has no idea that he was literally saving the entire Universe and only thinks he meant to save them from the Daleks...so to her it wasn't worth her planet when the Daleks still survived. What she finds out in the last chapter of this story will shake her very much and THAT will be the 'why he did what he did' thing ;) Oh Mac will know what the round things are, no worries, she's definitely studied the parts of a TARDIS ;) She's more a technical knowledge person than application when it comes to flying the TARDIS as well as she can :)

Yup, Emma Stone is the closest actress I can picture to how I see Mac ;) I'm not sure I'd do a HP/OC story, only because the pairings I like are existing characters (namely Harry/Luna, and (for some reason, probably because it's a Slytherin) Harry/Daphne Greengrass). But the Gryffindor/Slytherin pairing, Daphne is essentially like an OC since there's hardly any information on her so it's possible I might attempt a Harry/Daphne one in the future :) And that's awesome! I'm glad you're enjoying Evy! ^-^

Lol, thanks! That was a typo, I went back and fixed it :)

I write the story out entirely before I post it yup :) That way all it needs is a final read through/edit and I can be 100% sure that I'll finish a story :) I think seeing all his companions like that and losing them again definitely affected him too :( I've considered the Ood like that yup, but for some reason I can't quite see them as forcing him to follow the events. It's like with 11, everyone kept saying that Silence will Fall and talking about Silencio (sort of like how the Ood pop up), but in the end the Doctor ran for 200 years, he could have kept going but he chose to go to Utah when he did. Being a Time Traveller, I sort of feel like he wouldn't be forced to stick to linear time just because someone else was, if that makes any sense lol :)

I don't think my perception really changed, I always thought it was horrible to experience something like that. I feel like it explained 9 better but in a way I almost feel like the War Doctor should have been a bit worse, not able to joke or talk politely about anything but that might just be my interpretation of warriors carrying over from Proffy :)


	10. The End of Time (Part Two) - Part 1

The End of Time (Part Two) - Part 1

Mac chewed on her bottom lip as she stood beside Wilf, the poor man tied to a chair on one side of the office in Naismith manor. They were both set up across from the Doctor who was…rather tied up at the moment, literally. He was forced down on a wheeled chair with quite a few straps across him, securing him there. There were binds across his legs, wrists, chest, even a strap or two holding his head back and covering his mouth. Mac had to sigh, at least she'd gotten off a little easier. She was merely standing there with her hands handcuffed behind her back. She wasn't sure if it was lingering sentiment on the Master's part or the fact that she was a woman (though she doubted he'd be that considerate in his present state of madness just because of her gender) but she hadn't been tied down or forced down just…restrained, and forced to watch as there was a guard standing in the room with a gun, ready to use it…though she doubted that particular guard would.

"Now, then," the Master cheered as he walked to the center of the room, "I've got a planet to run," and leaned over a small monitor set up there, "Is everybody ready?"

While they couldn't see what was going on in the screen, they could hear all the various Masters giving their confirmation that they were in charge, Naismith in his lab, the President, UNIT's general in Geneva, the Commissioner in China, all of them, all the ones with access to armies ready to go to war. Mac shook her head at that and looked across the room to the Doctor, seeing the man staring at her with apology in his eyes. She gave a small shake of her head, she had been the one to insist she go with him, and then offered him a small wink and a tiny smirk that had his eyebrows furrowing before his eyes widened and he could tell she had a plan.

"Enough soldiers and weapons to turn this planet into a warship," the Master chuckled in glee, not noticing the little exchange, "Nothing to say...Doctor?" he walked back to the man, "What's that? Pardon? Sorry?"

"You let him go, you swine!" Wilf shouted, Mac letting out a small sigh, she'd been about to implement her plan with the man's back turned but now he was looking back at Wilf, at her.

"Oh, your dad's still kicking up a fuss," the Master rolled his eyes.

"Yeah? Well, I'd be proud if I was!"

The Master smirked and put a finger to his lips, "Hush, now. Listen to your Master..." his smirk faded though when Wilf's mobile rang, "But that…that's a mobile."

"No, is it?" Mac rolled her eyes, "I hadn't noticed."

The Doctor nearly laughed at that, seeing that sort of…sarcasm slip back from her last self. That…wasn't something he'd ever associated with Mac, not the ones he knew from before her last self at least, but still, it was almost…comforting to see that might be the same. Mac, from what he knew, always took a bit longer than others to work out who she was after regeneration. He'd listened to some whispers after she'd regenerated the first time, having been unable to go see her himself, and from what he could tell, it had taken her months not just to come to terms with what had happened enough to try and recuperate, but to work through her grief and see who she might be. He wasn't sure if it was some sort of lingering thing attached to her first regeneration, how long it took for her to really feel herself out. He could probably work out who HE was by the end of an adventure, and had, but Mac always seemed to need a bit more time. It would almost make sense if it was some lingering thing from her first regeneration, by rights she should have been healed when she regenerated but the damage to her body from the pregnancy just never had so it wasn't hard to imagine that how long it had taken her then to work out who she was might be around the same as her other bodies.

Wilf though gave a bit of a snort at her words, even as the Master shot a glare at her, "Yeah, it's mine, let me turn it off."

"No, no, no," the Master strode over to him, glancing at Mac as she took a protective step closer to Wilf, "I don't think you understand. Everybody on this planet...is me. And I'm not phoning you, so who the hell is that?" he leaned over and started to search Wilf's pockets.

"It's nobody. Probably some ring-back call."

"Or an alarm," Mac agreed, though she and the Doctor both knew it was likely Donna, the Metacrisis had protected her from seeing the Master in her head, it would probably protect her from allowing the man into her head as well, "Mobiles can be set for alarms. Many elderly do so with their medications and…"

"I'm not on any bloody medications," Wilf grumbled, he hated medications.

Mac closed her eyes at that, taking a breath, "That was meant to be a clever lie to get him to stop," she supposed she shouldn't have even tried, even though it wasn't so much a lie as a general statement left to interpretation, she hated when others (especially the Doctor) lied so she really was rather rubbish at it anyway. The Master and the Doctor, all her friends on Gallifrey had always been able to see through her when she attempted a lie, rare though it was.

The Master grinned as he pulled a revolver from Wilf's pocket and held it up, "Ooh, and look at this. Good man!" he dropped it to the ground, the Time Lords' eyes following it a moment, frowns on their faces, before the Master let out a cheer, finding the phone, "'Donna.' Who's Donna?"

"She's no one," Wilf said instantly, but the fear in his voice gave him away, "Just leave it."

"Gramps?" Donna called over the phone as the Master answered it, "Don't hang up. You've got to help me. I ran out. Everyone was changing."

"Who is she?" the Master's eyes narrowed at Wilf, "Why didn't she change?"

"Gramps, I can't hear you."

"Well, it was this thing the Doctor did...he did it to her," Wilf shrugged, really not understanding what that was at all, something about growing things like worms, "The Metacrisis."

"Oh," the Master chuckled, looking at Mac, "He loves playing with _Earth _girls doesn't he?"

Mac's expression hardened at bit at that rather painful dig. When she and the Master had still been friends on Gallifrey…she talked to him at times, about the Doctor, things she wasn't sure she could tell the man just yet. The Master had actually been the one to help her realize she loved the Doctor, had encouraged her to tell the man herself. Right now though…she wasn't sure if he had done it with as pure intentions as she had thought before. What if…what if the Doctor also spoke to the Master about HER? What if he'd told the Master that he was going to end their courtship and the Master encouraged her to tell the Doctor to make it all the harder? She didn't like to think that, she liked to think that all of it happened before the Master completely lost it and decided he wanted to ruin and hurt the ones who cared for him most. She liked to think they had truly been friends at that point still. Because if he wasn't…then she didn't know who he'd been trying to hurt, her by having her hearts broken and embarrassing her to confess her love to someone (she thought) didn't reciprocate, or the Doctor by leading him to run off and make both their lives miserable? She hoped that he had genuinely just wanted to help her.

But that dig…it had always been a joke that the Doctor loved the Earth so much he'd marry it if he could, or that he'd find some human girl to run away with…and then he had, many of them, SO many of them. And even though nothing too romantic happened between him and them…it still hurt her to hear that from the Master, that dig and implication that he'd love Earth girls more than her…even when she knew it wasn't true…

And then she had to frown, why did she feel anything from a dig like that? Why would she care if he loved earth girls more than her?

She shouldn't, because she did NOT feel that way about the Doctor.

"Are you there?" Donna's voice brought her back to the present.

The Master pressed the phone to his shoulder and walked over to the computer screen that held Naismith on it, "Find her. Trace the call."

"Are you still there? Can you hear me?"

"Say goodbye to the freak, Granddad," the Master walked back over and put the phone up to Wilf.

Mac forced herself to remain quiet, knowing her shouting would mean nothing to Donna as she didn't know who she was, but Wilf didn't hold back," Donna, get out of there! Look, Just get out of there! Run!"

"What do I do?" Donna cried.

"Run, sweetheart, that's all. Run for your life!"

"There's more of them!"

"Donna? What's happening? Are you still there?"

"They're everywhere..."

"Donna? Look, I'm telling you. Run, Donna! Just run, sweetheart. Just run!"

"It's not just them..." Donna gasped, "I can see those things again. Those creatures. Why can I see a giant wasp?"

"Donna, don't think about that, Donna, my love, don't!"

Mac looked at the Doctor who have her a sad look and the barest nod, telling her it would be ok without having to say it in her mind. When they had brought Donna back to her family, while she had taken care of erasing Donna's memory…there was still a bit of the excess regeneration energy inside her. The Doctor had managed to redirect it, since it was HIS energy, and created a sort of failsafe using the energy…Donna would be safe.

"And it hurts. My head, it keeps getting hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter, and hotter!" she let out a small scream, making the Time Lords flinch, "What did I..." Donna breathed, before the line went dead.

"Donna?" Wilf cried, "What was that? Donna...Donna, are you there? Donna...! Donna! Donna..."

"Wilf…" Mac looked down at him, "She's ok, I swear, she'll be just fine…"

The Master looked between her and the Doctor, having seen her gaze flicker to the man while Donna was shouting, and strode over to him, yanking off the gag.

The Doctor grinned widely, "That's better," he spoke, keeping his gaze from flickering to Mac, knowing he had to distract the Master as long as possible, "Hello. But really, did you think I'd leave my best friend without a defense mechanism?"

Wilf opened his mouth to speak when Mac shook her head, catching his eye behind the Master's back, mouthing 'shhh,' to him. Wilf frowned, seeing her tugging at the back of her cardigan like she was trying to pull one side of it back behind her, not sure what she was doing…

"Tell me, where's your TARDIS?" the Master demanded, not caring at all for the earth girl.

"You could be so wonderful," the Doctor remarked, watching Mac out of the corner of his eye, just over the Master's shoulder, seeing her release her cardigan back to where it was, a triumphant grin on her face as she shifted in place, her arms behind her.

"Where is it?"

"You're a genius," he continued, using his rambling to the best of his ability, "You're stone-cold brilliant. You are, I swear, you really are. But you could be so much more. You could be beautiful. With a mind like that, we could travel the stars. It would be my honor, cos you don't need to own the universe, just see it. To have the privilege of seeing the whole of time and space. That's ownership enough."

The Master fell silent at that, looking at the Doctor hesitantly, "Would it stop, then? The noise in my head?"

"You know we'll do everything we can to help you," Mac called, pulling his attention back to her, standing there perfectly still and at ease, "You know that."

"I don't know what I'd be without that noise," he admitted to her quietly, straightening and looking between her and the Doctor.

"I don't know who I am without my anger," Mac shrugged, "But if you'd like, come with us, and we can figure ourselves out together."

The Master scoffed a bit, "You? Angry?"

"And biting," she nodded, "And harsh and cruel and cynical. Vicious, hurtful," she swallowed hard, "A right little Dalek."

The Master frowned at that, eyeing her, she didn't seem like that so…he realized she must have regenerated then, and nodded. He could remember Mac, on Gallifrey, he'd…visited her a few times after her pregnancy failed, knowing she was ignoring the Doctor and just…she had been there for him when no one else believed him, so he tried to be there for her. But the drumming got to be too much, he'd started to get cold to her, snap at her near the end and he didn't want that. For once he actually cared what someone else thought of him and he didn't want her last few memories of him being him acting like that to her. She'd helped him so much in just believing him when he said he heard drums in his head than she knew.

He remembered visiting her and seeing her struggle to work out who she was, and while he hadn't met many other incarnations of her, he could see that that had likely stuck, her needing time. From what he could tell of Mac…she tended to have vastly different incarnations when she regenerated, it was so…shocking and jarring the changes in her that she really did need more time to come to terms with who she was. The Mac he remembered from after her pregnancy had been so…apathetic, hopeless, solemn, she rarely joked, she didn't seem to care about herself or anyone else, not in the way she once had. She didn't fret if someone was ill, just…wished them a 'feel better' and that was it. Even despite that, he knew that her husband taking a mistress had affected her as well, she'd lost the small amount of respect she had for the man when he'd done that and just…closed down. It was so different from the happy, mothering, fretting, nervous woman she had been to see her so…uncaring in that sense.

He could imagine it was the same for the Doctor now, to have had a Mac that was like she'd described and get someone so…not anymore.

"What does he mean?" Wilf asked, looking between them, "What noise?"

The Master sighed and wiped a hand down his face, "It began on Gallifrey. As children. Not that you'd call it childhood," he moved and leaned against the desk behind him, "More a life of duty. Eight years old. I was taken for initiation. To stare into the Untempered Schism."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a sort of tear in reality," Mac offered, "You can see the Time Vortex through it and…" she sighed, "It can be a bit painful."

"A bit?" the Master and Doctor scoffed, but she shrugged.

"They took me there, in the dark," the Master continued, "I looked into time, old man, and I heard it calling to me. Drums, the never-ending drums. Listen to it," he looked at the Doctor, not about to try and force the drums on Mac ever, he still retained that at least, "Listen."

"Then let's find it, the three of us," the Doctor nodded.

"Except..." the Master pushed off the desk, grinning, "Oh! Oh, wait a minute. Oh, yes. Oh, that's good."

"What's good?" Mac shook her head.

"What?" even the Doctor looked confused, "What is?"

"The noise exists within my head. And now within six billion heads. Everyone on Earth can hear it…"

"Oh no…" Mac breathed, realizing what he meant to do. She did it a few times with UNIT, triangulating signals that they received allows someone to trace it back and find the source of it. She'd done the same with the Archangel Network, triangulated the 4-beat message back to the satellites.

"Oh, yes!" the Master countered, laughing deeply…only for his skull to flash before their eyes, forcing him to drop to his knees, panting, his hand to his chest.

"The Gate wasn't enough," the Doctor realized, "You're still dying."

"This body was born out of death. All it can do is die," the Master swallowed and pushed himself to stand, "But what did you say to me, back in the wasteland? You said, 'the end of time.'"

"We said something is returning," Mac reminded him, "The Ood gave us a prophecy."

"That's why we need your help," the Doctor agreed.

"What if I'm part of it?" he brought up to them, smirking at how they didn't seem to think about that, "Don't you see? The drumbeat is calling from so far away, from the end of time itself. And now it's been amplified six billion times. Triangulate all those signals. I could find its source! Oh _that's_ what your prophecy was. Me!" he stormed back over to the Doctor, "Where's the TARDIS?"

"No," the Doctor tried to shake his head, but it was still strapped, "Just stop. Just think."

"Kill him," the Master ordered, spinning around and pointing at Wilf.

"No!" Mac moved in front of him, Wilf's eyes widening as a soldier stepped over to her lifting the gun, "Why not kill me?" she countered, "Or threaten to. You won't care if I die, the Doctor would," she hated to say that, because she could see it, just the tiny flash in the Master's eyes that…he really WOULD care if she died, "What's one human compared to the last Time Lady? If you're dying, you'll die, if you kill me…the Doctor will be alone."

The Master nodded, considering that, as the Doctor looked horrified at what she was suggesting, "I need that technology, Doctor. So tell me where it is, or Mackenzie dies."

"Just…just…just stop!" the Doctor tried to plead.

"I'll kill her," the Master threatened, "I really will, right now!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes, suddenly calm, well, suddenly to the Master as he hadn't seen Mac wink at the Doctor and give him a nod, "Actually, the most impressive thing about you is that after all this time, you're still bone-dead stupid."

"Take aim," the Master ordered, hearing a click behind him.

"You've got six billion pairs of eyes, but you still can't see the obvious, can you?"

"Like what?"

"Mackenzie's out of her handcuffs."

The Master spun around to see Mac _had_ gotten her handcuffs off for only a second before she sprayed something into his face, knocking him right out.

"How did you do that?" Wilf blinked at her.

Mac just dropped the handcuffs to the ground, "Paperclips are useful," she winked at Wilf, before she moved behind him, "Rossiter take off that helmet!" she called to the guard.

"How did you know it was me?" the green alien stared at her as he pulled his helmet off.

"You're one inch too tall," the Doctor called, "Now get me out of here!"

"Come on!" Addams ran into the room a moment later, "We need to get out of here, fast."

"Got it," Mac cheered, cutting Wilf's ropes with her pocket knife, "Help him," she pointed Addams to Wilf in getting the ropes off him, before she rushed over to the Doctor to help Rossiter.

"What was that?" the Doctor looked down at Mac as she tried to cut the straps around his legs, Rossiter behind him, "What did you use on him?"

"No idea," she admitted, "Found it in the TARDIS bathroom, woke up a few minutes later and thought it might be useful," she looked up at him, "Why did you have knock out spray in your bathroom?"

"Must have been Rose," he muttered, "Er, Cassandra had it, must have left it on Rose," he tried to shrug.

"Enough chatter!" Addams snapped, "Come on! We've got to get out."

"There's too many buckles and straps!" Rossiter told her.

"Right then," Mac stood up, knowing there would be no getting to the sonic with the straps pressing across his pockets and holding his jacket shut, "Move," she rushed behind Rossiter and started to push the chair.

"No, no, no!" the Doctor cried, "Get me out! No, no, don't! Don't! No, no, no..."

"Doctor, stop using your mouth and start using your brain!" Mac huffed behind him, "We need to get you out of here before the Master wakes up and this is the quickest way!"

"Which way?" Rossiter helped Wilf follow them into the hall.

"This way!" Addams led them off.

"No, no, no, the other way!" the Doctor struggled, "Mac, the TARDIS!"

"Is locked a second out of synch and your key is stuck in your pockets," she countered, "My key is useless if I can't find the TARDIS."

"And I know what I'm doing," Addams huffed.

"Not the stairs!" the Doctor grimaced as they started to wheel him down the stairs, bumping up and down with each thump, "Not the stairs! Worst...rescue...ever!"

"I've read your reports Doctor," Mac grumbled, "This is not the worst by FAR."

They ran down a hall, back to the lab they'd found Addams in, just as the guards appeared behind them, trapping them in the room. The Master was right in front of them, "Gotcha."

"You think so?" Addams tilted her head, pressing a device on her wrist.

"No, no, no, don't, don't!" the Doctor shouted…right as they disappeared from the room…

~8~

…and appeared on a rather old and mismashed ship.

"Alright, we're out, now get me out of this thing!" the Doctor started to shift in his chair, straining to get out.

"Patience Doctor!" Mac nearly snapped, moving over to try and get the strap behind him that Rossiter were struggling with open, hoping it might be what all the straps were connected to and free him.

"He's not going to let us go. Just hurry up and get me out!"

"The straps are thick and I've only got a pocket knife, give me a moment!"

"Why do you even have a knife on you?" he huffed.

"You're _really_ going to complain about me having something that's going to free you when a sonic fails?"

"It's a _knife_!"

"It was a joke!" she really _did_ snap this time, "UNIT gave it to me because MacGyver apparently always had a pocket knife!"

"Oh, my goodness me..." Wilf breathed and Mac looked up to see him staring out a rather large window at the earth below, "We're in space!"

"Come on!" the Doctor's struggling brought her back to the task at hand.

"Have you got any duct tape?" Mac huffed to Addams, seriously contemplating covering his mouth.

"Mackenzie!" the Doctor grunted.

"Just hold on!" she muttered, finally managing to cut through the last of the straps, "There!"

The Doctor bound out of the chair, instantly grabbing the sonic and flashing it on a control panel to short circuit it, causing it to explode.

"I could have done that if you'd given me a chance," Mac told him as she stood.

But the Doctor just turned to Addams, "Where's your flight deck?"

"But we're safe," Addams shook her head, "We're a hundred thousand miles above the Earth."

"And he's got every single missile on the planet ready to fire!"

Addams blinked, not quite having realized that, "Good point," before she turned and rushed out of the room, the Doctor and Rossiter after her.

Mac sighed, seeing the Doctor forget Wilf in his rush and quickly made her way to the man's side, "I'm sorry Wilf, but we have to go."

"But we're in space!" Wilf pointed at the window.

"I know, come on," she tugged his arm, leading him off after the others, following the sounds of the Doctor's shouts towards the flight deck, stepping onto it to see him rushing towards the controls.

"We've got to close it down!" the Doctor was shouting.

"No chance, mate, we're going home," Rossiter moved over to one of the controls, intent to do just that and get the ship moving.

"We're a salvage team," Addams agreed, "Local politics has nothing to do with us. Not unless there's a carnival. Sooner we get back to Vinvocci space the better."

"You really think we're just going to let you leave the Earth like that?" Mac shook her head, "Doctor?"

"Already on it," he winked at her, flashing the sonic at the controls before Rossiter…killing the ship, the lights going off, the engine powering down.

"What…" Rossiter began, but Mac made her 'stop talking' motion to him, all of them remaining quiet, listening, hearing only the creaking of the ship around them.

"No sign of any missiles," Addams' fists clenched into fists at her irritation, "No sign of...anything! You've wrecked the place!"

Rossiter nodded, confirming her assessment, "The engines are burnt out. Just auxiliary lights. Everything else is kaput. We can't move. We're stuck, in orbit."

"Thanks to you. You idiot!" Addams stomped her foot and turned to storm out of the room, Rossiter hurrying after her to try and calm her down while the Time Lords remained, staring out the window at Earth.

"I know you, though," Wilf began, stepping beside them, "I bet you've got a plan, haven't you? Eh? Come on! You've always got a trick up your sleeve. Nice little bit of the old Doctor flimflam, ha-ha-ha, sort of thing? Eh?" but the Doctor just gave him the most solemn of looks, "Oh, blimey. What about you Mackenzie?"

Mac sighed and rubbed her head, biting on her bottom lip, "There's still power in the ship, if we can divert it though non-tech means we would be able to fly and move the ship without having to activate anything…"

The Doctor glanced at her, "You're talking about an entire ship being essentially rewired."

"Best get started then," she murmured, moving to the controls and starting to take apart their top panels. The Doctor sighed and moved to help her, Wilf watching on sadly, the Doctor's expression said it all, it wouldn't be ready in time to stop the Master.

And so Wilf turned and headed out of the room to give the Time Lords space to talk and work.

~8~

Mac was walking through the halls of the ship, an armful of odds and ends clutched to her chest from the 'rubbish' that Addams and Rossiter had cast off. She had to laugh to herself at how much that old Earth phrase 'one man's trash is another man's treasure' seemed to fit. People threw out all sorts of 'useless' things that they didn't understand could be reconfigured into something useful. Still, it meant more for her to work with and a few of the items she'd found ought to help them get the ship up and running once more faster than she or the Doctor thought.

She paused though when something caught her eye out of the window. She frowned, turning to see what looked like a meteor heading for earth but…it was too direct, the angle of it didn't fit with something caught in the gravitational pull…it was more like someone had thrown it at the Earth. She bit her lip and turned, hurrying back to the Doctor, they needed to move faster and get back to Earth to see what that was.

She walked in and over to the Doctor, depositing her items beside him. He smiled as he took in them, unable to see how they'd be useful but trusting her, "I never understood," he began, "How you did it."

"Did what?" she asked distractedly, sifting through them.

"Make the things you do," he shrugged, "Come up with the solutions to things. Like using hairspray and a lighter to fend off an alien wasp or a paperclip to escape handcuffs…"

She sighed, "I dunno, just…like looking for simple ways to get through things," she glanced at him, "Life isn't as complicated as people think it is, we've lived long enough to realize that. Everyone asks what the meaning of life is like it's some complicated mystery. The meaning of life is just…to live. It's the same for problems, people make it out to be these huge complicated events when, if you just ask a child what to do, they can give you the best and most simple answer. I don't like overcomplicating things, I like simplicity. Always have, had to adapt to use more complicated things but…I use what I have and I use what's around me. Usually the answer to a problem or a question is right in front of you."

He smiled, "So what does it say about me that I tend to go for the big complicated scientific solutions?"

"I think Martha's sister summed it up just right, you're a science geek," she offered him a small smile for it.

He chuckled, "Oh nice," he rolled his eyes at her.

She shook her head and looked up when Wilf entered from another door, "Aye, aye, got this old tub mended?" he grinned at them, seeing the Doctor working on stripping wires while she began to piece something together.

"Just trying to fix the heating," the Doctor joked.

Wilf sighed and sat beside him, the Doctor in the middle of him and Mac, and looked out the window at Earth, "D'you know, I've always dreamt of a view like that," he gave a soft chuckle, "I'm an astronaut. It's dawn over England, look. Brand new day. My wife's buried down there. I might never visit her again now. D'you think he changed them, in their graves?"

"The Gate 'mended' everything with human DNA," Mac said, not about to lie, "Sorry."

"No," Wilf waved her off, "Not your fault. Either of you."

"Isn't it?" the Doctor looked down.

Wilf glanced at him and then the earth, changing the subject, "Ooh...1948, I was over there. End of the Mandate in Palestine. Private Mott. Skinny little idiot, I was, stood on this rooftop, the middle of a skirmish. It was like a blizzard, all them bullets in the air. The world gone mad. Yeah, you don't want to listen to an old man's tales, do you?"

"We're both older than you," the Doctor told him.

"Get away!"

"Mackenzie's older than me," the Doctor nodded.

"Nice Doctor," she whacked him on the shoulder for that, "Go telling people a lady's age."

"Well you're a TIME Lady," he countered teasingly, "I'm just being very technical," before he turned to Wilf again, "I'm 906. Mackenzie's 916."

Wilf stared at them, "What, really, though?"

"Yeah," he nodded.

"900 years," Wilf shook his head at that, just trying to take it all in, "We must look like insects to you."

"I think you look like giants."

"I'm still debating," Mac admitted, she'd never been an enormous fan of the humans but… "You're growing on me. Like a nicer insect. Like…a caterpillar," she nodded at that, yes, she knew what the humans would one day become, and it (even she could admit it) was beautiful. The transformation they'd make, the evolution they'd go through, it would be something to behold. And that was why she was so adamant about maintaining their development and advancement in UNIT. What they became was done so slowly, when they were ready and able to handle the things they invented. Introduce something too early and it might destroy them.

Wilf chuckled at that, "Well, I'm glad you're starting to like us more," he smiled kindly at Mac, before he glanced at the Doctor and fell silent, "Listen," he sighed, reaching into his coat, "I...I want you to have this," he pulled out the revolver, "I've kept it all this time, and I thought..."

"No," the Doctor said instantly, knowing what Wilf wanted.

"No, but if you take it, you could..."

"No. You had that gun in the mansion. You could have shot the Master there and then."

"Too scared, I suppose."

"You're not the first Wilf," Mac reached out to touch his hand, "You won't be the last. It's not a good thing to take a person's life, there is nothing shameful in not wanting to."

Mac glanced at the Doctor a moment and looked away, feeling guilt twist inside of her. She'd made such a big deal in her last body about how he hadn't fought in the war, how he'd refused to defend his people and attack the Daleks. And here this new her was, telling Wilf it was ok not to want to fight in a war, to not want to kill someone else. But…the Daleks weren't people, they weren't humans, they were evil, vicious, cruel monsters that would have no guilt at all for taking a life…unlike other human soldiers would. Was it the same thing? Taking a life, even if it was a Dalek's?

She closed her eyes at that, SHE hadn't even been able to fight in the war, not really. Oh she'd volunteered like so many others had, to fight on the front lines…but then she'd been reassigned to the weapons factories. She'd barely gotten any real fighting done and there she'd been going off on the Doctor about how he'd tried to not fight. It wasn't fair of her to do that. She KNEW the sort of man the Doctor was, the one he would always be at hearts, to kill anyone was a difficult choice to him. It was not something he ever enjoyed doing, it was something he struggled with and tried to find ways around doing every time he could. It was truly a last resort for him…and she'd been expecting him to drop that and forget everything that made him who he was to pick up a gun and run off to battle?

Just how bitter had her last self been?

More importantly…how did she feel about that now?

She shook her head and got back to work, not wanting to think on it, not wanting to think on the war. It was still a…VERY sore spot for her and thinking about it would only make the situation more tense and neither she nor the Doctor needed that at the moment.

"I'd be proud," the Doctor offered Wilf.

"Of what?" Wilf glanced at him.

"If you were my dad."

"Oh, come on, don't start," Wilf waved him off, before a thought struck him, "But you said...you were told...he will knock four times, and then you die. Well, that's him, isn't it, The Master? That noise in his head? The Master is going to kill you."

"Yeah," the Doctor breathed, Mac glancing at him sadly.

To die in an accident was one thing, to die saving someone else was another thing, both were ways she knew the Doctor would be alright with going, but…to have someone actively trying to kill you like it appeared the Master might…that was something she knew he wouldn't want to face. But at the same time, she knew he was struggling with it, because the Master had died because of HIM last time, because he 'hadn't been paying enough attention' as she remembered spitting off at Martha when she described the events of it to her in UNIT, and this time…it would be like 'just desserts' for him to die because of the Master. She knew the Doctor still had unbelievable guilt over what had happened to the Master. In one way, he didn't want to try and prevent it, because, to him, he deserved it for what he'd done to the Master, in another way though he just…he didn't want his former best friend to kill him…because it would just prove, to him, how much the Master had truly come to hate him, and that would break his hearts.

"Then kill him first," Wilf held out the gun.

"And that's how the Master started," the Doctor shook his head, "It's not like I'm an innocent. I've taken lives. I got worse, I got clever. Manipulated people into taking their own. Sometimes I think a Time Lord lives too long," he let out a long breath, "I can't," he shook his head, "I just can't."

"If the Master dies, what happens to all the people?"

"I don't know."

"Doctor," Mac gave him a look for his lie, "The template shatters," she told Wilf.

"What, they go back to being human?" Wilf frowned, and she nodded, "They're alive and human? Then don't you dare, sir," he turned to the Doctor, half-angry and half-desperate, "Don't you DARE put him before them. Now you take this, that's an order, Doctor. Take the gun," he tried to put the gun in the Doctor's hand, but the man wouldn't even close his fingers around it, "You take the gun and save your life. And please don't die. You're the most wonderful man and I don't want you to die!" he let out a sorrowful sob at that.

"Never," the Doctor swallowed, hurt to see Wilf so pained but…unable to bring himself to touch the gun and pushed it away.

"A star," the Master's voice called suddenly, actually making Mac jump, "Fell from the sky. Don't you want to know where from? Because now it makes sense. The whole of my life. My destiny. The star was a diamond. And the diamond...is a Whitepoint star," the Doctor's hand shot out to grab Mac's at that, his eyes wide in horror, "And I have worked all night to sanctify that gift. Now the star is mine. I can increase the signal and use it as a lifeline. Do you get it now? Do you see? Keep watching. This should be...spectacular. Over and out."

"Is he serious?" Mac looked at the Doctor, desperate, but _knowing_, she'd seen it, she'd _seen_ the meteor herself, "Can he do that?"

"What's he on about?" Wilf frowned, "What's he doing? What does that mean?"

The Doctor just swallowed, "A Whitepoint Star is only found on one planet, Gallifrey, which means…"

Mac gasped, squeezing his hand, "The Time Lords are the ones returning. _Gallifrey's _coming back!"

A/N: Poor Mac...I feel like she'd be so hopeful...imagine what'll happen when she learns the truth of what happened at the end of the war O.O

Also, today is the last day to vote for the pairing name for the Doctor/Mac ;) I'll announce the official name and the new theme for Mac tomorrow ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I can say that Mac's personality and quirks won't really appear till Series 5, mostly because she's hashing out who she is and how she feels and there's A LOT I have planned for her, personality wise, that can't really come out till she learns the truth about Gallifrey, but we'll see much more of that in Series 5...especially when Rory gets involved ;)

Lol, I didn't realize that :) I can say I have another TL coming that has a 'human' name, but it's 5 letters for her ;)

Donna won't be in the 50 as it'll take place sometime between The Next Doctor and The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith, which is after Donna forgets :( I can't really go for Classic Who in the main stories, I haven't seen the series yet :( I do have AUs planned that would start on Gallifrey so there's chances of the Classic episodes popping up, or even an entirely new OC but only after I've gotten a chance to watch the series. If I watch 1 episode a day, it would take me 2 years (I think) and at the moment I'm barely managing to find time to watch OUAT once a week lol :)

I'm very excited for 11 too :) Big things planned for him and Mac, especially in Venice ;) I'll be on tumblr later today, I planned to be on yesterday but my family's dog was ill and he developed a really bad limp so I was keeping an eye on him and taking him to the vet and had class. He's ok now :) He just ate some berries he knows not to eat off bushes by my house that upset his stomach and his limp was a cramp, according to the vet :)


	11. The End of Time (Part Two) - Part 2

The End of Time (Part Two) - Part 2

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Wilf frowned, looking between them to see the Doctor looked horrified and Mac seemed stunned, "That's your people."

The Doctor just looked at Mac, swallowing hard before he grabbed Wilf's gun and ran from the room, putting it in his inner coat pocket.

"Doctor!" Mac shouted, pushing herself up to run after him, not understanding why he was trying to stop the Master.

She KNEW how guilty he felt over Gallifrey, and now it was coming back? What was wrong with that!? If it had been their enemies, it would have been one thing, but the Daleks were already back, why not return a planet of Time Lords to stop them? They had been OUTSIDE the planet when it had been time locked, hidden in the sky trenches and surrounding the planet, if it came back now, just a split second before that, the result would be the same, the Daleks (as many as had been) would be destroyed but their people would be back!

She caught up with him in another control room where he'd flipped on a radio system, allowing a four beat rhythm to play out.

"What's that?" Addams frowned.

"Coming from Earth," Rossiter reported, "It's on every single wavelength."

"But you said your people were dead, past tense," Wilf reminded the Time Lords.

"Inside the Time War," the Doctor nodded, getting to work on the equipment, having no time for Mac's plan to try and use non-tech to get it working again, too much was at stake to wait, "When the whole War was time-locked, like, sealed inside a bubble. It's not a bubble but think of a bubble. Nothing can get in or get out of the time-lock. Don't you see? Nothing can get in or get out, except something that was already there."

"The drumming," Mac answered.

The Doctor didn't look at her, knowing that it would be too hard, she…she wouldn't listen to him right now if he told her why he had to stop Gallifrey, not with it being so close, not with her family about to come back, "If they can follow the signal, they can escape, before they die."

"Well, big reunion," Wilf chuckled, "We'll have a party."

"There will be no party."

"Doctor," Mac shook her head, "They're coming BACK, why are you trying to stop that? That's my family! Your friends! Our people!"

"You talk about your people like they're wonderful," Wilf agreed.

The Doctor swallowed and closed his eyes, "That's how I choose to remember them, the Time Lords of old," before he opened them and looked at Mac, "You weren't there Mackenzie, you were in the factories, you weren't on the front lines. You have no idea what they became. The war…it changed them, right to the core. Of all our enemies," he winced, "All MY enemies…right now those Time Lords are more dangerous than any of them."

"I don't understand," she shook her head, "They're our _people_, not our _enemies_!"

"I'm sorry," he looked at her, before spinning to Addams, "Right, you! This is a salvage ship, yes? You go trawling the asteroid fields for junk?"

"Yeah," Addams blinked, started at the change in topic, "What about it?"

"So, you've got asteroid lasers!"

"Yeah, but they're all frazzled," Rossiter frowned.

"Consider them unfrazzled," he turned and flipped a lever, opening two doors, one on either side of the room, "Addams I'm going to need you on navigation. And you, Rossiter, get in the laser-pod. Wilfred?"

"Yeah?" Wilf blinked.

"Laser number two. The old soldier's got one more battle."

"Right," Wilf nodded.

"Doctor stop it!" Mac shouted, "Think about what you're doing!"

The Doctor just swallowed hard and pushed two large levers on either side of the control panel, starting up the ship.

"But now they can see us," Addams reminded him.

"Oh, yes," he nodded grimly, ignoring Mac.

'This is my ship and you're not moving it. Step away from the wheel."

"There's an old Earth saying, Captain, a phrase of great power, and wisdom, and consolation to the soul in times of need."

"What's that, then?"

"Allons-y!" he cried, sending the ship down towards earth, making Mac stumble backwards into the other controls, clearly intent to do that as it stopped her trying to stop him, "Come on!" he looked out the window determinedly as the ship began to burn in the atmosphere, flying back towards the surface, "Come on..."

"Doctor!" Mac called above the noise, "Please stop!"

"You two," he continued to ignore her, looking over at Wilf and Rossiter, "What did I say? Lasers."

"What for?" Rossiter shook his head.

"Because of the missiles. We've got to fight off the entire planet!"

The two men's eyes widened as they hurriedly scuttled through the doors and down to the lasers, preparing, just in time as Addams shouted, "We've got incoming!"

The Time Lords looked out the window to see a massive amount of missiles flying right for them…

"You two!" the Doctor shouted over the comms. to Wilf and Rossiter, "Open fire!"

"Doctor!" Mac cried, knowing there was no way she could try and short out the controls around her without risking shutting down the steering or lasers or navigation or anything that was making the ship fly.

He quickly turned the ship to the side, both using evasive maneuvers and keeping Mac from rushing up to him, he knew this was terrible, he shouldn't be throwing her about like that, but…she didn't know, she had no idea what was coming and he didn't have the time to tell her what was going on, "Open fire! Come on, Wilf!"

He let out a breath of relief when the lasers began to fire, taking out the rest of the missiles…but it was short lived when Addams reported, "And there's more. 16 of them. Oh! And another 16."

"Go to the rear-gun lasers Mackenzie!" he ordered the woman, but Mac didn't move, "Mackenzie!"

Mac rolled her eye and huffed but ran to the back of the room to man the other laser.

"You two," he called to Wilf and Rossiter, "Open fire! NOW!"

Mac started firing at the missiles coming at them from behind while Rossiter and Wilf took out the ones in front of them. She struggled a bit, the Doctor's flying was erratic at best, and nearly had her flying into the wall beside her, but she hung on.

"No, you don't!" he spat, turning the ship into a spin, Mac unable to keep using the laser at that though Wilf and Rossiter were able to take out the last few missiles. The Doctor winced as the front windows shattered from flying through one of the exploding missiles, "Lock the navigation!"

"Onto what?" Addams snapped.

"England! The Naismith mansion!"

Mac grunted as she tried to make her way back across the room and up to the Doctor, "Doctor," she called, "Why are you doing this?"

"Mackenzie…"

"We're talking about our people coming back! What's so wrong about that? Our planet, our _home_!"

"Mackenzie..."

"Tell me why are you trying to stop this!"

"Because I have to!" he looked at her, "I'm sorry, I don't have the time to explain, but…I need you to trust me," he stared into her eyes, "_Please Naery,_" he added in Gallifreyan, "_I need you to trust me. To trust that I wouldn't be trying to stop this without a reason, without a true reason,_" he swallowed hard, "Please…"

Mac swallowed hard, seeing a desperation in his eyes, seeing a guilt and a…fear. Whatever was happening, he was truly afraid of it.

"Where are we?" she called to Addams, not promising to trust him or not trust him but just...see what happened so far, "How far away from our destination?"

The Doctor let out a breath and went back to piloting, thankful that she wasn't fighting him at the moment, and that was all he needed, because he knew that what was going to be revealed…was not something he wanted her to see. He HAD to stop the planet, even if he knew she was hoping that they'd get there too late. And too late was not an option.

"50 klicks and closing," Addams looked up at her from navigation, "We've locked on to the house. We are going to stop, though?" Mac glanced at the Doctor but he was silent, "Doctor? We are going to stop?!"

"Doctor!" Wilf called as he and Rossiter made their way back to the room, "Doctor, you said you were going to die…"

"He said what?!"

"But is that all of us?" Wilf looked at the Doctor intently, "I won't stop you, sir, but is this it?"

The Doctor was silent as he aimed the ship right for the mansion, pulling the entire thing up at the last possible second. He locked the controls and ran for a hatch on the bottom of the floor, lifting it. He looked at Mac a long moment before he took the gun out and jumped through it.

"Oh like hell…" Mac muttered, jumping after him. He hadn't explained even the smallest detail of what was going on and if this was a chance to get her planet back she wasn't going to let him stop it till she knew why.

The Doctor crashed through the glass domed ceiling of Naismith manor, falling with a grunt onto the floor on his stomach, only to hear an oomph from beside him as Mac landed as well, on her back, groaning and rolling onto her side, curling into a ball at the pain for a moment. He pushed himself up as quickly as he could and aimed his gun…

Right at the President of Gallifrey, Rassilon.

There standing before him was the President, with two women on either side of him, behind him, their heads bowed with their hands over their eyes like Weeping Angels, and two guards on the edges. They were standing in a white area of the room, like a portal or a vortex was opening and he could see them through it. It was just like the Void in Torchwood, but instead of sucking people in, the Time Lords were coming out. Behind them was the Master, standing beside some sort of machine that he'd made, the Whitepoint Star glistening inside it.

He panted, trying to keep the gun up in his shaking hands…but dropped his arm, struggling to try and stand.

"My Lord Doctor," the President took a step forward, "My Lord Master. And a wayward Time Lady," he eyed Mac as she tried to push herself onto her knees at least, but was failing, her back hurt quite terribly, "We are gathered for the end."

"Listen to me," the Doctor pushed himself onto the back of his legs, kneeling there, "You can't…"

"It is a fitting paradox that our salvation comes at the hands of our most infamous child."

"Oh, he's not saving you," the Doctor spat, "Don't you realize what he's doing?"

Mac rolled onto her arm, just barely able to push herself up a bit, looking at the Gate, "He's going to mend you like he did the humans…"

"Hey, no, hey!" the Master pointed at her warningly, "That's mine. Hush. Look around you," he opened his arms for the Time Lords, "I've transplanted myself into every single human being. But who wants a mongrel little species like them? Because now I can transplant myself into every single Time Lord. Oh, yes, Mr. President, sir, standing there all noble and resplendent and decrepit. Think how much better you're going to look as me!"

The President gave him an unamused, almost bored, look before he held out his hand, covered in a metal gauntlet, and activated it. It began to glow, spreading out towards the Gate and suddenly…the humans returned to their prior disposition, humans once more.

"No, don't!" the Master whined, "No, no, no, stop it! No, no! No, no! Don't!"

"On your knees, mankind," the President barked, and the humans dropped to their knees.

"No, that's fine, that's good, because you said salvation. I still saved you, don't forget that."

"The approach begins," the President threw out his arms, smiling at the sky as the room began to shake and get brighter.

"Approach of what?!"

"Some_thing_ is returning," the Doctor glared at the Master, "Don't you ever listen? That was the prophecy. Not someone, something."

Mac looked up, able to spot a red planet, THEIR red planet starting to blink into existence above them, "It's Gallifrey!"

The Master dropped to one knee, grinning as the humans fled the room, "But I...I did this. I get the credit! I'm on your side."

"Come on," Mac winced and looked over, hearing Wilf out there, seeming to try and battle his way into the room, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Mackenzie! Doctor..." but he was distracted in his quest to get to them by a technician that was trapped in the Vinvocci booth, "Alright! I've got you," he headed over and got into the other side, ignoring the Doctor calling a warning to him, "I've got you," he pushed, letting the other man out, trapping himself, "Come on. Go on."

The Master shook his head from his shock and stood, "But this is fantastic, isn't it? The Time Lords restored."

Mac opened her mouth to say something, when the Doctor spoke up, a glare on his face fixed on the Master, "You weren't there in the final days of the War. You never saw what was born. But if the time lock's broken, then everything's coming through, not just the Daleks, but the Skaro Degradations, the Horde of Travesties, the Nightmare Child, the Could-Have-Been King with his army of Meanwhiles and Never-weres, the War turning to hell."

"What?!" Mac demanded, staring at him in horror, she…she hadn't known that so many others had gotten involved, the Nightmare Child? All the others…she…she thought there was just the Daleks, just them! They never said ANYTHING about those others in the factories, just told them to keep making weapons against the Daleks! She let out a breath at that, if…if the Daleks, a handful of them, were the only ones to escape the War and not the others…it…what she thought the Doctor had done wasn't…wasn't quite as worthless…

"And that's what you opened, right above the Earth. Hell is descending!"

"My kind of world," the Master smirked.

"Just listen!" he took a breath and swallowed hard, glancing at Mac now more than the Master, "Cos even the Time Lords can't survive that!"

Mac blinked, staring at him, "What do you mean?"

"We will initiate the Final Sanction," the President called, making Mac's gaze snap to him in horror, "The end of time will come at my hand. The rupture will continue, until it rips the Time Vortex apart."

"That's suicide!" the Master shouted.

Mac let out a shuddering breath and looked at the Doctor to see him looking at her grimly, and looked down, tears in her eyes at that. The final sanction…they all knew what that meant. It meant death and destruction not just for their people, for their planet, but for the entire Universe as well. To rip apart the Time Vortex was to rip apart time itself, it would destroy EVERYTHING. Every single thing, every planet, every galaxy, every single life in the Universe would be destroyed, not just their people.

She closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head, not wanting to believe it but…the President himself had just said it. She let out a gasp as she realized what that meant. Her eyes snapped open to look at the Doctor as he kept staring at her…

He _knew_.

The Doctor had known what the President was planning…he'd done what he had not to stop the Daleks, but to stop their PEOPLE. He'd done it to save the Universe. A handful of Daleks could be stopped every now and then when they came up, the Doctor had done so numerous times, but…to stop their own people from doing what they'd been about to? That was a much greater threat to the Universe than she had ever thought possible. And he _knew_. She'd spent so long thinking he'd done what he had because he just wanted to stop the Daleks from spreading and in how they survived the destruction, she'd thought it was worthless to destroy Gallifrey when the Daleks survived…when really, he'd been trying to stop their president from killing every one else.

It…the planet HAD to be locked away to stop Rassilon. There would have been no way to get everyone off the planet in the time between the Final Sanction's decision and implementation. She realized it now. She'd been in the factories and all they'd had was a report that the High Council was meeting to discuss a way to end the war, only hours later they'd gotten the order for a time lock containment box, a transport box. She knew that the only time locks powerful enough to warrant a box like that were in the Archives and for the Doctor to get in there and get out and get off planet to activate it between the meeting and, well, now, would have meant doing all of it immediately, without pause. The time it would take to go back in time, to change anything…especially in the middle of the war, with all the other TARDISes being used, with all the distortions to time, it would have taken hours, possibly even days to get the TARDIS to do a temporal jump through all of that, to lock onto the proper date and get there.

The Doctor…he really had had ONLY one choice…to save the Universe, their people had to be stopped, sealed away, prevented from doing that.

The Daleks had NEVER been the Doctor's target, no wonder a few escaped, but every single Time Lord had been on Gallifrey…and THAT had been his target, their planet…in that sense, he'd done what he'd set out to do…he'd stopped them.

She swallowed hard, feeling like she couldn't breathe as she realized…he'd never told her, not when he found her again, not when she'd talked to him about how he'd run from her…and she knew why. She wouldn't have believed him. Especially her last body, it would have thought that he was trying to lie to her, to make her think he'd 'done the right thing' (which…he had), she would have thought he was trying to excuse himself or something like that. Even…even her new body would have been not quite so ready to believe him…had she not heard it from Rassilon's mouth herself.

"We will ascend to become creatures of consciousness alone," the President continued, "Free of these bodies, free of time, and cause and effect, while creation itself ceases to be!"

"Do you see?" the Doctor breathed, reaching out to touch Mac's hand, holding it tightly, "That's what they were planning in the final days of the War. I _had _to stop them."

Mac blinked and she could feel the tears falling from her eyes, he really did…he'd HAD to do it…and all that time she…she felt sick thinking of how terribly she'd acted to him, the things she'd blamed him for, how angry and unforgiving she'd been when the entire existence of the Universe was at stake.

"Then take me with you, Lord President," the Master offered himself up, "Let me ascend into glory," he dropped to his knees, pleading.

"You are diseased," the President merely sneered at him, "Albeit a disease of our own making. No more," the President held up his gauntleted hand again, closing his eyes as energy grew around it…only to open them when he heard a click to see the Doctor had stood, the revolver aimed at him, "Choose your enemy well. We are many. The Master is but one."

"But he's the President," the Master countered, "Kill him, and Gallifrey could be yours!"

Mac closed her eyes, wrong thing to say, the Doctor hadn't really wanted to be President, it had just ended up being a last ditch effort to avoid execution that he'd even put a bid in for it. The Doctor spun around and aimed the gun at the Master instead.

"He's to blame, not me!" the Master nearly huffed, "Oh, the link is inside my head. Kill me, the link gets broken, they go back. You never would, you coward. Go on then. Do it," he smirked as the Doctor turned back to the President, "Exactly. It's not just me, it's him. He's the link, kill him!"

"The final act of your life is murder," the President threatened, "But which one of us?"

The Doctor swallowed hard, looking down at Mac, but knowing that she was too emotionally overwhelmed with all of this to process what was happening. It was too much, he knew, for her to realize just how far that their leaders were willing to go for victory. It was too much and it had been too suddenly revealed. In a single instant her entire belief system had been shattered, everything she thought she knew thrown away, and every belief in their people just…destroyed. It was too much for her and he knew…he had to do this on his own, and that was right.

He started this with the time lock, he had to see it through. So he turned back to the President, ready to take his shot, ready to force himself (though it made him sick to think on it) to take someone's life to save the planet and the universe again…when he saw one of the women shifting. He watched as she lowered her hands, a slightly plump woman, with short brown hair and brown eyes. She was crying and it broke his hearts to see her, to see her like that, for her to see him like this.

He wanted his mother to be proud of him and here he was, about to kill someone in front of her and…and send her back into the time lock.

He saw her eyes flicker behind him and he blinked, realizing what she meant for him to do and spun around, aiming at the Master, "Get out of the way," he spoke, his voice thick with emotion.

The Master grinned and jumped aside as he fired, striking the device and killing the link to the time lock. The machine burst into flames, the Whitepoint Star falling out of it.

"The link is broken!" he shouted back at the President, pausing just a moment when he saw the woman smiling at him, PROUD of him, "Back into the Time War, Rassilon. Back into hell."

Mac looked up, seeing Gallifrey starting to flicker above them and closed her eyes tightly, this time...this time she wasn't doing a thing to stop it. This time...she was _choosing_ to let it go...

"You'll die with me, Doctor!" the President threatened.

"I know," the Doctor stood there, accepting his fate.

"Doctor!" Mac gasped, trying to push herself up more, to stop him…

But then a voice spoke behind him, "Get out of the way," the Doctor didn't even hesitate in diving to the side, pulling Mac away from the scene as the Master fired a bolt of energy back at the President, right in the chest, "You did this to me! All of my life!" he fired another bolt, "You made me!" and another, "One!" he began to count, blasting the man again and again with each fire, stepping closer and closer to the white space with each move, "Two! Three! FOUR!"

The Doctor turned, shielding Mac as the room filled with light, the Master getting pulled into it as Gallifrey flickered and faded from above them…

~8~

"Doctor?" a voice called to the man as he slowly woke to find himself on the floor of Naismith Manor a short while later, "Doctor?"

He blinked blearily, slowly coming round to see Mac beside him, leaning over him slightly, shaking him gently to rouse him, "I'm alive?" he murmured, wincing a bit…yup, THAT felt alive, he shouldn't be in pain if he were dead.

"Yeah," she nodded, giving him a soft chuckle as she helped him sit up.

He just looked at her a moment, before starting to laugh, "I'm alive!" and pulled her to him to hug her tightly, "I'm still alive," he breathed in her ear and she could hear the tears in his voice at that…

When four knocks sounded.

They both froze, till they heard four more knocks, and four more…and turned to see Wilf was still in the Vinvocci booth. He knocked four more times, giving them a little wave when they saw him, "They've gone, then? Good-oh. If you could let me out..."

"Yeah," the Doctor swallowed and Mac felt her hearts breaking to see the hope leave his eyes, the joy replaced with despair, the just the utter devastation to realize he hadn't escaped like he'd hoped.

"Only, this thing seems to be making a bit of a noise…"

Mac closed her eyes as the Doctor stood, stretching, "The nuclear bolt was left running," Mac murmured, "It's overloading…"

"And that's bad, is it?" Wilf guessed.

"No," the Doctor looked at the man sadly, Mac still kneeling on the floor, watching them both, "Cos all the excess radiation gets vented inside there. Vinvocci glass contains it. All 500,000 rads, about to flood that thing."

"Oh!" Wilf gave a nervous chuckle, "Well, you'd better let me out, then."

"It's hit critical Wilf," Mac told him, "Touch a control and it'll flood the booth with radiation. Even the sonic would set it off."

"I'm sorry," Wilf swallowed, tears in his eyes as he realized he was trapped and likely about to die from radiation.

"Sure," the Doctor whispered, still staring at the man…already knowing what was going to happen, what HE would do to save Wilf but just…unable to bring himself to move.

"Look, just leave me," Wilf tried to wave them off.

"Ok," he scoffed, his voice breaking, making Mac flinch, the poor girl still trying to process all of this, "Right, then...I will," he started to pace, "I'll take Mackenzie and we'll just be off, cos you had to go in there, didn't you? You had to go and get stuck, oh, yes! Cos that's who you are, Wilfred. You were always this. Waiting for me all this time."

"No, really, just leave me," Wilf pleaded, starting to realize what the Doctor was getting at, what he was planning, "I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time."

"Wrong thing to say Wilf," Mac looked at him, "Time Lords are old as well."

"But that's just it!" the Doctor pointed at the booth, starting to get upset, "Look at him. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more!" he started shouting to the heavens, to fate itself, "So much more! But this is what I get. My reward? And it's not fair!" he raged and turned to a desk, pushing the items off of it, Mac closing her eyes in sorrow, the Doctor was hardly ever like that, that destructive, unless he was truly very upset, "Oh," the Doctor took a breath, shaking his head, "Lived too long," and started walking across the room towards the booth.

"No!" Wilf shouted, "No, no, please, please don't. No, don't. Don't...please don't! Please!"

"Doctor!" Mac got up and ran after him, ignoring the faint pain in her ankle as she reached out and grabbed his arm, "Don't…just…let ME do it," she looked at him, pleading with him with her eyes, she...she had so much to make up for with him, to apologize for what she'd done and how she'd treated him now that she knew the truth.

"I can't," he shook his head, staring at her sadly, "You JUST regenerated Mackenzie…I can't ask you to do that again."

"You're not asking, I'm offering."

"I can't let you waste a body on some stupid old Doctor," he tried to smile but couldn't manage it.

"I've got the bodies to waste though," she gave him a pointed look.

He just smiled at her but shook his head, "No," he told her, reaching up to put a hand on hers, squeezing it, "It's prophecy, it's on ME now," he told her, turning to Wilf as he let go of her hand, "Wilfred...it's my honor. Better be quick. Three, two, one!" he quickly stepped into the booth and pushed the button to release Wilf, the old man stumbling out and over to Mac as she steadied him…just as a red light began to pour into the booth the Doctor was in, filling it with radiation.

The two watched in horror and tears as the Doctor groaned, sliding down the walls of the booth and to the ground, curling in on himself as the pain got to be too much…before he lost consciousness again.

"Doctor!" Mac broke away from Wilf as the man clutched her, kneeling before the booth and watching intently, breathing out in relief when she saw the Doctor still breathing…then stirring as the machine switched off. He slowly unwound himself, sitting up and looking at them.

"What..." Wilf breathed, before smiling widely to see him alive again, NOT killed before regeneration like he knew the man had also feared, "Hello."

"Hi," the Doctor spoke, his voice gravelly and harsh, pained.

"Still with us?" he eyed the Doctor as the man winced, standing and gasping in pain.

"The system should be dead," Mac looked up at it, before her gaze settled on the Doctor sadly, "You absorbed it," she reached out to try the door and it opened easily this time, no need for one of them to get trapped in the second booth any longer.

"Oh," the Doctor muttered, "_Now_ it opens, yeah."

"There we are then," Wilf smiled, not seeming to notice the solemn disposition of the Time Lords, "Safe and sound. Mind you, you're in hell of a state. You've got some battle scars there…" he trailed off as the Doctor lifted his hands to his face and wiped them down it, revealing his face all healed of the little nicks and cuts that had dotted his skin, "But they've..." he looked at Mac to see she still had a few scrapes, but they were already healing, "Your face! How did you do that?"

The Doctor just sighed and looked at his hand, seeing the cuts on that starting to heal over as well at a far more rapid pace than with Mac, "It's started."

Wilf watched, in tears, as the Doctor looked at Mac and just stepped over to her, hugging her tightly, clearly wanting comfort in that knowledge.

~8~

The Doctor and Mac stepped out of the TARDIS with Wilf to see Mrs. Noble over by the doorway to her house, smiling at them, "Oh, she's smiling," the Doctor mumbled, "As if today wasn't bad enough."

"Doctor," Mac gave him a pointed look.

"Anyway," he sighed, "Don't go thinking this is goodbye, Wilf. I'll see you again, one more time."

"What do you mean?" Wilf frowned at that, "When's that?"

"Just keep looking. I'll be there."

"Where are you going?"

"To get his reward," Mac told him, looking at the Doctor sadly, "He deserves it, he really does."

The Doctor smiled a bit at that as the two of them stepped into the TARDIS and closed the door behind them.

~8~

They'd gone to see Martha and her new husband Mickey Smith. Mac was…sad, to learn that she'd married Mickey instead of Tom. Not sad that Martha had married him, but sad that she hadn't realized it. She hadn't known that Martha had broken off her engagement with Tom, she hadn't know that Martha had started a relationship with Mickey or married him, yet they'd seen the two of them, seen the wedding rings on their fingers. But this wasn't about her, it was about the Doctor, it had been a trip for him. They'd stopped a Sontaran from attaching them, and gotten a small wave to them. She was fairly certain that Martha had worked out it was HER standing beside the Doctor, and she was sure that seeing them again, seeing the Doctor wave goodbye had tipped her off to what was about to happen. They'd seen a bit of a tear in Martha's eyes as they turned to go, her regenerated and him about to.

They'd seen Sarah Jane as well, the Doctor had saved her son from crossing the street on his mobile and nearly getting hit by a car. The boy had run off to his mother and pointed back at them, standing in the TARDIS doorway. She knew without a doubt that Sarah Jane had worked out what would happen next. There was a look in Sarah Jane's tear-filled eyes that told her that the man was about to regenerate.

They'd even gone to see Jack, though she'd stayed a bit further back for that one, she wasn't as used to being around Jack as the Doctor was. She hadn't been joking when she'd told him he came off as 'wrong' to her. But she hadn't wanted to begrudge the Doctor of seeing the man before he regenerated, so she'd hung back in the alien bar and watched as he sent a message about another man, Alonso, to Jack, the man apparently sitting right beside Jack moments later. He'd given Jack a small salute and headed off, back to her, and they'd gone back to the TARDIS for their next stop.

She had been a bit surprised but also not-surprised by one stop, to a Verity Newman, the granddaughter of Jane Redfern from 1913, someone the Doctor had known when he'd been human. She knew over practically every appearance the Doctor had made in Earth's documented and recorded history, she knew about Joan. The woman's granddaughter had taken her grandmother's journal and made it into a book about the experience. She'd been all too aware that the Doctor was the same man her grandmother spoke about. Mac knew she had no idea who she was, probably thought she was the latest companion and that was ok. This was about the Doctor.

It had been harder to visit Donna, she knew, to show up at the woman's wedding as she was taking pictures with her friends and Shawn. Sylvia and Wilf had been the only ones who noticed them and gone to speak to them. Apparently Naismith and his daughter were arrested. The Doctor had wanted to give Donna a wedding gift, a lottery ticket that she knew would win her the entire lot of the triple rollover. What was better was that the ticket had been bought using the quid loaned to them by Mr. Noble, Donna's father. Wilf had been devastated to see them go, it was like the man could tell how much pain the Doctor was in and trying to hide as his regeneration got closer. He'd been in tears when they'd left but they had to go. There was still another trip to make.

Rose.

Mac had remained in the TARDIS for that one. She'd watched from the monitor but…Rose was the only recent companion that had only really been on adventures with just the Doctor. She didn't feel right being there when the Doctor spoke to her. It had hurt to stand there and watch him in pain in the shadows of the alley he'd hidden in, waiting till Rose walked past with her mother. It was New Years, 2005, a date she'd selected, one of the safer ones to set down in. Rose's timeline was so fragile because of her involvement with the Doctor that it was safer to see her before she even met the Doctor.

He'd worked it out pretty quickly what year it was…when Rose told him, and wished her a great year. Rose had run off and the Doctor had stumbled his way towards the TARDIS. She'd shut off the monitor and rushed to the door, intent to help him, pausing only when she heard the Ood song sounding from outside. She'd raced to the doors and thrown them open to see Ood Sigma standing there in the snow, lifting the song to the Doctor as he fell to his knees before the TARDIS. Without saying a word, she moved over to the Doctor's side and helped him up, supporting him as he struggled to the  
box.

"We will sing to you, Doctor," Ood Sigma reassured him, "The universe will sing you to your sleep. This song is ending. But the story never ends."

Mac held the door open, helping the Doctor inside, taking his coat from him to help and placing it over a Y-beam, her arm moving back around him as she helped him walk to the console, him letting go of her to lean on it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered to him as she stepped away, "For everything, I…"

"Don't," he offered her a strained smile, one she knew was genuine but just pained, "It was my fault…I kept things from you that I shouldn't have," he grunted, nearly hunching over…only to pull his arm away and stare at his hand sadly, resignedly, seeing it already glowing.

"It's time," she tried to step back, but he reached out and took her hand.

"I…I don't want to go," the Doctor murmured, looking at Mac with tears in his eyes, "Not now, not…" he swallowed hard, unable to continue.

"I know," Mackenzie nodded, watching him, "Be…before you do, there's something I have to say."

"No," he shook his head, "You…"

"Theta," she cut in, making him stop for use of his name, "I NEED to tell you this before…before you go. I need YOU to know."

He looked at her, pushing the pain of regeneration aside, seeing the serious look in her face and her eyes as she stood before him, "Alright."

She took a breath, "I…I forgive you."

There was so many bad memories between them, so much bad energy…so many misinterpretations and hidden information, half-truths and omitted truths. But she knew now, she knew everything, and her behavior was what she'd apologized for. He'd forgiven her. Everything he'd hidden from her…he hadn't asked for forgiveness because she knew him, he never thought he deserved it, but she was giving it to him now no matter what.

This time…this time was a fresh start, a new beginning, no secrets.

He blinked and smiled at her, "Thank you."

She nodded and stepped back, gently pulling her hand from his, "See you in a mo."

He nodded and took a breath, starting to pant as the energy started to build more and more before it burst out of him, forcing his head back, his arms out as the regeneration energy flew out like an explosion. The TARDIS shook as Mac ran to the console, trying to pilot the ship away from Earth, into the Vortex, cursing herself for not having remembered to do it BEFORE he'd started to regenerate. But before she could get it there, the controls sparked and went up in flames, flames and explosions that were spreading throughout the room, causing the beams to collapse, fires to spring up everywhere, the Doctor in the middle of it all.

Mac stumbled back, not wanting to get burned, and quickly tried to pat out the fire that had started at the bottom of her cardigan, looking up just as the Doctor twisted out of his regeneration…now a brown, floppy haired, slightly less-thin, man with dark green eyes and rather…delicate eyebrows…

Did he even HAVE eyebrows?

He did...if she squinted.

"Doctor?" she called tentatively.

He held up a finger to her for a moment, looking down at himself and patting his extremities to make sure it was all in order, "Legs. I've still got legs, good," he kissed his knee, "Arms. Hands. Ooh, fingers, lots of fingers. Ears, yes. Eyes, two. Nose, I've had worse. Chin, blimey. Hair..." he quickly ran his hands through his hair and blinked, horrified when he felt how long it was, "I'm a girl!"

"Not quite," she offered.

He immediately gripped his Adam's apple, "No," he breathed in relief, "No...I'm not a girl," before he pulled his hair in front of his eyes to examine the color, "And still not ginger! And something else, something important," he started tapping his temples, "We're…we're…we're…" and he blinked, "WE're," he spun around, about to say something to her, actually was pointing at her…only to stop and just sort of stare at her.

"Doctor?" she repeated, not quite sure why he had just frozen, "Um…crashing?" she pointed to the console, thinking he might have been waiting for her to tell him what he'd forgotten…

"Crashing!" he suddenly cheered, rushing to the console, actually making her jump from the shout, before she cautiously made her way across the console to help him, "Ha ha!" he laughed, "Geronimo!"

To be continued…in…Endeavors in Wooing!

A/N: Lol, I hope you like the title of the next story ;) I'm VERY excited for it ^-^ But as for this chapter, poor Mac, to have the hope of getting her family and planet back and realize the truth of what the Doctor did, to have to choose herself to let it happen again to save the universe :( Definitely gives a new perspective of the war and the Doctor for her :)

On a lighter note...the official pairing name of the Doctor/Mac is...Thaery! Woo! ^-^

And to finish, I just wanted to say thank you to anyone who's read/reviewed/favorited/followed/anything this story :') It really means a lot to me to know that you're enjoying it so far, I'll do my best to give some good twists and fluff in Series 5 ;)

Some notes on reviews...

I actually don't think Mac is a hypocrite for claiming she could have shorted out the controls as she _does_ have more than JUST paperclips in her pockets lol and quite a few of her items would work just as fast as a sonic ;) I'm not entirely sure the term/definition of hypocrite applies correctly in that situation, I sort of take hypocrite as someone who criticizes something and does it themselves, Mac says she can short it out...she really CAN. Looking at the moment, I can actually think of at least 7 non-sonic/human ways to short circuit that panel, some of which include...opening the base panel and ripping the wires that are hanging in there (non-sonic), using her ordinary screwdriver (from the Library) to stab the control panel and short it (non-sonic), she might even have a mini-water bottle in her pockets (like the half-sized ones, I carry one in my purse at all times) and pour it on the controls to short it (non-sonic), use her pocket knife to pry something open and cut wires (non-sonic). And likely many more as it's a salvage ship and probably has quite a bit of tools lying around that she could have grabbed to help. Just because she had a paperclip on her doesn't mean that's ALL she has lol :) Not to mention...Rossiter still had that guard gun (I think), she could have taken it and shot the controls or even grabbed Wilf's gun and done it. There are many, MANY ways to stop something without use of a sonic ;) If the Doctor hadn't been shouting and demanding release and struggling and being all distracting and let her take just a second to focus, she _could_ have stopped the teleport controls so the Master couldn't follow them and THEN gotten the Doctor out. It wasn't a literal she could do exactly what he did with the sonic with just a paperclip as it's not a sonic, but she was saying she _could_ have shorted out the controls in her own way just as quickly if he hadn't demanded she help him first :)

I actually have that in the first A/N for both Losing Hope and Finding Forgiveness that the episodes are all 1 chapter each, but the specials are 2 chapters. The End of Time is 4 because it's 2 separate episodes that are just a 2 parter special (4 chapters total) :)

I can say that I've got...4 more TLs that have title names coming ;)

Yup, Mac was very torn about what was happening :( I can't say if Mac will pull Amy aside, but she'll definitely make it VERY clear that what she's doing with Rory and the Doctor is wrong ;) She's a little jealous and we'll see some more of that to come ;) Aww, your dogs sound adorable ^-^


End file.

Doctor Who, Adventure, Hurt-Comfort