For the Old Love of a Time Lord
Prologue
The mountains loomed in the distance sensing the sadness between the man and a woman standing in front of a ranch house snuggled deep in a valley. The home was purposely placed there in its isolation, to prevent prying eyes from seeing a spaceship known as a TARDIS currently unhidden in front the yard.
A conversation loomed in the air taken away by the westerly wind blowing from the mountain tops.
"I have to go Chris they need me." A dark haired man dressed elegantly said to a woman with short red hair. He was trying desperately to make her understand why he must leave and join his people in the greatest of Time Wars that would ever be fought.
"But it isn't fair Jared they never supported you so why do you have to support them?" For years since their marriage they had been ridiculed by the other Time Lords on Gillifrey. They looked unkindly on their love and banished them from their world only to call them back when they needed Jared's help, then they would send them away again.
With tears streaming down her cheeks she tried to keep her husband from leaving her on Earth and running off to the planet of Gillifrey. But she knew she would be unsuccessful he would go no matter what; his connection with the other Time Lords ran deep. He would never leave them in a bind especially if he could help in any way. And that was one of the many reasons she loved him so much.
Looking at her sadly Jared knew she was just venting letting her feeling be known but it was important to make her understand the importance of his return to his planet.
"Chris listen to me you know the Daleks are very dangerous and they must be stopped otherwise no universe will be safe. They are dangerous emotionless beings that have no conscious. If I don't go back they will come to Earth and then you and your planet will be lost."
"But why can't I go with you maybe I can help in some way. I have been by your side before when encountering the Daleks what is different now?"
Pulling her into his arms he held her and spoke quietly in her ear "I need you here so I know you are safe and I can focus on what needs to be done then return back to you."
Inside he knew he shouldn't lie to her but he couldn't bring himself to tell her that this was one battle that he wouldn't come home from, he had sensed the emptiness of space that once will be where Gillifrey used to be.
He also knew that she needed to survive because around five years in the future the last of the Time Lords will need her help to save him from his desperation and help him get back on track so he can do what he is destined to complete. Jared wished sometimes that Time would remain a mystery to him but unfortunately Time wasn't that merciful.
He gently pulled away from her and held her at arm's length, "I will love you forever."
Chris focused on his face and replied "And I will always love you Jared till the end of time."
He turned away from his wife and walked into his TARDIS to face his destiny, not daring to turn back for one last glimpse of his beloved, because he was fearful that his courage will falter and he wouldn't leave. Besides he had a lot to do before he returned home.
Christine watched as Jared's ship disappeared from her time and planet to fight for her and everyone else in the universe. She waited fifteen minutes hoping that he would return to her and tell her that it was all over but deep inside she knew she would never see him again.
With her heart aching in pain she walked to the lake where she first Jared, and sat on a bench trying desperately to etch every aspect of the past five years of her life with Jared in her memory so that she would never forget her Time Lord.
5years later
Christine finished washing her face and patted the skin dry before placing the towel on the counter. Turning off the bathroom light she left to check on the kids. It had been a long but exciting day her Niece and Nephew were visiting for the weekend and today they went to the zoo, then had dinner and saw a movie and that was after a morning ride on the horses.
It didn't take too much coaching to get the kids to bed this evening and within moments they were asleep in their rooms. Julie, their mom, would be there in the morning to bring them back to their own home Chris always loved it when the children came to visit it always gave her some reprieve from the intense loneliness she often felt especially after her husband left her to fight in the Time War five years ago.
It seemed like an eternity to her but even now she could hear Jared's voice in her head correcting her. 'It has not been eternity Chris because you know time is relative, relatively speaking eternity is a long time.' She chuckled to herself as she reached Charles's temporary room. She crept in silently and covered him up in the blankets that he kicked off. With a quick glance at the room she made sure everything was in place.
Charles was ten years old and loved his room. He used the paintings on the wall to help him imagine that he was in a far off places fighting battles against unseen bad guys and becoming the hero of the would sometimes listened as he played and often was reminded of her own adventures in the TARDIS.
Chris in the last couple of years had made quite a name for herself as an artist. Most of the painted pictures were of things she saw when traveling with Jared. It helped her to remember because as time drifted on she found her memory wasn't as vivid as before and she desperately wanted to remember everything. So she painted who would have ever guessed that her paintings would become so popular. Many of her pictures were selling for a couple hundred dollars.
The paintings in her nephew's room were special and she would never sell them because they were scenes of Jared's home world of Gillifrey.
The pictures showed different landmarks and landforms on Gillifrey. One of the pictures showed the Citadal back lit by the moons in its entire silver splendor. Another one depicted the reddish grass that shined brightly in the morning light with a soft wind blowing through the hills moving the golden trees. The one she was most proud of was the purple lake hidden in a valley. The mountains on each side protected the lake from the elements which caused the surface to be as smooth as a mirror.
She loved to see Jared's home world and when they would visit they would walk for hours on the surface not saying much of anything just holding on to each other glad the fate and time allowed them to meet and fall in love.
They always seemed to have fun until they would be seen by someone who would report them to the Council which eventually, would cause a summons High Council chambers where the other Time Lords would chastise him for allowing a mere human to see their planet. Soon after Jared would grab her hand then they would leave for a while till he was forgotten then he would always return to his home to show her more.
When she and Jared married against the wishes of the Gillifreying government they never returned again to his world. The pictures were the only thing left of Gillifrey everything else was destroyed in the last Time War. Willing the tears away Chris closed her nephew's door and went to check on Julianna her niece.
Her niece, who was fifteen, occupied what people called the waterfall room of the house. She was sleeping soundly the bluish green comforter covered her petitie form. The blanket accented all the colors in the paintings of waterfalls on the walls perfectly.
The paintings in this room were tapestry size and took up almost every space on the walls. Chris loved waterfalls and her husband made it a point to show her as many of these natural wonders as possible. He even showed her the well known Angel Falls in South America. The Angel Falls were very special to her because it was where she and Jared become husband and wife, witnessed by their close friend Jack.
When she started to paint the waterfalls she always had a problem fitting the paintings on a standard canvas; they never seemed real enough to her so she decided to paint the walls instead.
Her waterfall paintings were extremely detailed; it was almost as if you could feel the mist on your skin from the water and hear the roaring crash as it plummeted to the surface hitting the rocks below. Her niece was so much like her in many ways but especially when it came to a love of waterfalls.
Turning she left the room and headed for her bedroom which was her most favorite place in the house. When she stepped inside it was being like transported to a different place and time in her life. Her room was the exact duplicate of the room Jared and she shared on his TARDIS. The walls curved up to the ceiling slightly bowing as if she stepped into a bubble, her linens were burgundy with black pillow accents. But the most amazing aspect of the room was the photographs of her and Jared. They showed the many different places they saw in the universe as well as different times they visited.
Christine never allowed anyone in her room due to the many questions that would arise because of the photos and she wasn't ready to explain things to anyone yet. She loved being in her inner sanctuary it made her feel closer to Jared almost if he was still alive.
Her favorite feature of the room was the fireplace. It was made out of the most unusual stones found on Earth. The large stones were red granite which was surrounded by mother of pearl. Mica was inlaid inside the pearl in delicate diamond shapes. The mantel was made of black obsidian which glowed in the firelight. But the best thing about her fireplace was that whenever she got cold all she had to do is snap her fingers and the flames came to life.
The fireplace, in her bedroom, wasn't as immaculate as the one in the TARDIS but it was beautiful. The fireplace in the TARDIS had some of the most usual stones Jared could find. He said they came from all areas of the galaxies they visited. Of course she couldn't have the exact same fireplace but she made do with what was available to her.
She smiled as she remembered why a fireplace was placed in the bedroom on the TARDIS; it was because she always felt cold when lying next to her Time Lord at night. He said it had something to do about the body chemistry of a Time Lord that made their core temperature a little bit lower than humans.
One morning she complained about the temperature to Jared and by the end of the evening there was a fire place on her side of the bed he said he did it because he couldn't have the love of his life dying of hypothermia.
Lying down in her bed she leaned to turn off the light and fall into blissful sleep when she noticed the date on her alarm. It was exactly five years ago today that Jared left her on Earth to fight a battle that marked the end of the Time Lords.
Turning off the light she wondered if she would have another vision tonight as she had in the past. Every year on the anniversary of their departure from each other she always dreamed of Jared and he always had words of comfort for her. The first time she saw him in her dreams she was shocked that he was there. Then she started to think she might be going crazy.
The first thing he said to her was that she wasn't crazy then he tried to explain how he was there. He told her that encapsulated in her mind were different messages from him that would open when the time was right and to not be fearful because they wouldn't damage her mind at all. He continued to tell her that they were there to help her at difficult times of her life and give her comfort. He never said how many there were im her mind or how they got there, but she had a feeling she knew how he placed them there.
Many times in their travels he showed a psychic connection to other life forms and of course to his TARDIS as well. She had seen him use his abilities many times in tense situation to gain an upper hand when needed or understand how a species was feeling. Once she also was a recipient of his psychic connection when a harsh memory was disturbing her sleep. He used his ablities to block the memories so she could rest. She guessed he probably placed the messages in her mind while she slept as well. When she asked him how many of them there were he refused to answer all he said was that there were enough of them to help her.
Closing her eyes she hoped he would be there in her dreams again because she missed him dearly.