A/N: Hello. I know, I know, I have other fics to be working on. But I have this one already started and all the way conceptualized, including the ending, something that I usually never do, and so I wanted to post this to see if there was any interest. Really, I want to know if you like this idea or if I am barking up the wrong tree.

I have had the firt two chapters written up for over a year or two now, and it was begging to be posted. Deidra is my OC and I own her. I admit to creating a few new alien races, and I am not sorry for that. I would like to know what you think about that. And yes, her strange heritage is important later on in the story. It is not pointless.

Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who.

I am really not that big of a whovian, but I have watched it. This fic will not be going on forever. I think it will probably stop before the Ponds simply because I would have lost interest by then and that is where I have already planned the story to stop. If I get something wrong, let me know and I might fix it. Constructive Criticism is welcome, but people don't flame me. I hope you enjoy what my mind has cooked up this time.

Prologue: Running

I hated them. I really, really did. They thought that just because they could jump between times they were entitled to everything, and now they were here. I know that I shouldn't hate them, but that didn't make it any different. I could feel what they were feeling, and it wasn't good. They didn't care. They didn't care that they killed to get into here. Or that I was just a child.

Mum and dad, they weren't the normal couple. They had been scientists. Taking technology from other peoples across the universe and combining them to make it better. It was all started by my mother's grandfather, and dad came in as a mediator. It helped that he had been half Tzenlion. They were a people that had orange skin and dark ever seeing eyes and were renowned as empaths, even if their number was relatively small and in all honestly very few people knew about them or interacted with them. They were peace loving people; so much so that they honestly could handle any kind of violence. I should know, it hurts to feel others pain, and its muted for me, as I am only a fourth.

Then there is my mum. She's a fourth Malmooth. They were a blue or sometimes green insect like people that live in a large conglomeration. I actually spent my first few years of life with them. But the rest of my parents were all human, making me five eights human. Not that these humans cared.

My dad always did look a bit orange to other people, and they hated to look into his eyes. Seeing as we were living in a human colony, they just assumed he had been living on a planet with a strong sun or had done a cosmetic tan and gotten it wrong. That didn't bother him much; he would even poke fun at it. Then there was mum. She had a slight blue tinge to her skin and her head was slightly oblong, and if one looked closely they could see somewhat of an exoskeleton on her. Her antennae were also uninhibited and she had the start of mandibles that most Malmooth had.

That all lead down to me; I looked the most human of us three. My skin was slightly paler than a human's, but what looked like freckles were actually speckled orange skin from my father's side. My eyes were human looking but my iris was so dark that one couldn't separate it from my pupil. I had no mandibles, but my antennae were there, and when I didn't want them seen I could hide them in my hair and it would just look like I had ribbons tied into it. My hair was dark brown and most of the time I had it up in a ponytail that was braided with my antennae. I didn't have an exoskeleton, or I didn't until you saw my spine. I had plates that were the same color as my skin, if not slightly more blue, that went down to my tail bone. I usually hid them with a high collar sleeveless zip jacket.

Not that it really mattered at the moment. My parents had dragged me into the closet and had locked me in, telling me to be quiet and not to say a word. That they loved me and they never wanted me to get into the hands of the people that had come. I could feel their love almost as strongly as I could feel the fear, dread, and hopelessness that they were covered in. And as they died on the other side of the door, I could feel their pain.

They killed them with a gun, and they didn't even have the decency to make it quick. I could feel them dying, and it hurt me deeply. I felt their pain as if it was my own. It only increased the panicked fear that was inside of me. They had come to steal something that my parents were working on. And so they ransacked the place and found me. They were human, both of them. They were two men who sneered as they saw me. I could feel their contempt and disgust. I was only twelve.

They never found what they wanted. So they took what they did find and dragged me with them. With their time and space hoppers they dragged me to their boss and I was tossed in a cage. I never said anything. I had promised mum and dad that I wouldn't say anything. I know that she said it as a way to protect me from being found, but I didn't want to give these people anything. Not even my screams or begging.

I didn't know where I was, but I knew when. It was the fifty first century, and I could count the days and weeks and keep track of the days by the guards that came in and talked.

Four and a half years I stayed there. It was four and a half years of silence and despair. I never told them my name, and they had never asked for it. They didn't ask for anything. I thought they would have done something, but instead they had just kept me there for no reason. I didn't question it. I knew somewhere deep inside that if I did I would be in worse shape than I was. They were ignoring me for now. I could handle that.

But then one day there was a man that was running. I could feel him. He was different than the others. I could feel that he wanted to escape, that he was angry at them and he was missing something. I don't know why, but there was a feeling inside of me that told me I could trust him.

"Please," I called out as he ran past my cage, my voice raspy from disuse, "take me with you!" I had even managed to snag a part of his long coat a he was running past. I let my fear finally show on my face as well. I hoped against hope that he would see that and that he would let me out of this place.

He hesitated, looking like he just wanted to leave me here, but at the same time he had seemed to have been betrayed by them and was curious about me. He didn't know what to think about me, and I again found myself pushing my fear and pleading into the look on my face. I was begging him. I wouldn't even mind if he helped me out a pity. Any help was welcome.

Finally he asked "Why are you here? What have you done?" It wasn't accusing, but it was as if he had expected me to have done something that brought me into their viewfinder. After all, there really was no other reason to why I would have been here.

"Nothing, I swear it." I said desperately, my voice becoming smoother with use. I was surprised I could even speak after such a long time. "They came for my parents, they wanted something, and they took me with them after they killed mum and dad. I've been here for over four years; since I was twelve. Please, take me with you." I implored him. My hand fisted his coat just a bit tighter, not wanting him to leave me behind.

He looked at me for a few more seconds, looking right into my eyes, before he nodded and took out a sonic blaster and busting the lock.

Then we ran. He grabbed onto my wrist and dragged me along. I wasn't at all dismayed with him doing that, or insulted. It had been years since I had been able to run, and my body was not ready to do too much. The cage had only been about ten feet by five feet; not nearly big enough to do much of anything in. We ran, until we came to be a block away. Then he opened a flap on the device on his wrist and pressed a button.

A loud bang symbolized an explosion at the place that we had just left. I know that my mouth was gaping open at that. I couldn't feel anything because we were far away, but I couldn't help but think about the people that could have been there.

As if hearing what I was thinking, the man said "Don't worry, we were the only ones there that weren't a part of the Time Agency. I guess they just shoved you in there and forgot about you." The last part was an after comment, and it sure made me feel loved. Then again, I dreaded to think of what could have happened if they hadn't have forgotten about me.

I decided not to answer as I followed the man. I know that they forgot about me. They would leave for days at a time, and I know that if I had been a normal human I would not have survived. I would have succumbed to the cold or the starvation. As it was the internal milk that my body produced because of my Malmooth ancestry had kept me mostly healthy. Mom could comfortably survive months without human food, and grandma didn't really need it at all, but she liked to partake in special events. I could last just over a month, about five weeks, without the need to eat anything. It was slightly nasty to humans, but I was glad for it.

Running, the man found a space ship and somehow managed to turn it on. I stayed quiet as he talked his way out into space. It was almost as if he had done thing hundreds of times, and for all I knew, he had. The Time Agency as he had called them seemed to have wanted him for something, and he seemed familiar with them.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we had finally gotten into open space and there was no one chasing us.

"I don't know yet. I'm making it up as I go along here." The man admitted as he continued to press buttons. I was a bit apprehensive seeing as this ship did not have enough power to really get us anywhere too far away or for us to be wishy-washy about where we were going. If there was one thing I knew it was tech things. My parents had taught me the best they could.

"Oh, I never got you name," he then hinted as he swiveled his chair to look at me. It was an open ended demand.

"My name is Deidra. And you?" I asked him.

"What, no last name?" He joked before thinking "Well, I'm Jack. Yeah, I like that name. Now I just need to find a last name to go with it."

I didn't begrudge him taking a new name. He seemed to be running and he hadn't kept the name from me out of spite but because he seemed to think it was better off forgotten. At least, that was what I got from his emotions. "My mom named me. She grew up with her grandmother's costumes. We don't have last names, and my father didn't mind letting that be for her."

With a nod he then turned to the scanners and reported "Well, our options are a mining ship run my humans, another human ship that seems like a cruiser, and a Chula ship of some kind."

"Did you say Chula?" I asked with a bright smile.

"Yeah, why?" He asked as he eyed me suspiciously.

"I have an in with them. My mother and father were working on something for them. They would welcome me if I tell them what happened. They would help." I said with conviction. I remembered sitting and waiting for the meeting to end. The daughter of our client was almost double my age, but she didn't mind waiting with me and keeping me occupied. She was a friend. And she told me with sincerity that I just had to call her and she would help me. Even though she was in training to become a general, she had a bigger heart that most Chula did.

Jack gave me an incredulous look before asking "Aren't the Chula a warrior race? How the hell would you have an in with them?"

"Yes they are," I rolled my eyes, "and my father was working on combining their nanogenes with new software that was found with the Kaplins. My father was half Tzenlion, and so they trusted us in time."

"Tzenlion?" Jack asked. I wasn't surprised that he had never heard of them, as I said before, not many have.

"Empaths; they don't really come out often, and there aren't many of them. So not many people really know about them. The point is that they are so empathic that they can't stand violence, and so they would never truly go against someone they are working with. I became close to a couple of them, and they trusted my parents enough to where if we contact the right one, they will help us out of respect for them." I explained with absolute certainty.

Jack nodded as he set the course. It would take two days to get to there, but once we were there, I would take over the coms and talk with them. Then I took a deep breath and found myself laughing in complete joy.

Four and a half years. I had been trapped in a cage for four and a half years. It felt so good to breathe free air and to be in a place with more colors than gray. I sat down during my laughing fit, and really didn't notice the confused look that Jack was giving me. I supposed I must have looked like a right mess at the time. But I couldn't care less.

"What do you find so funny?" His voice cut across my joy filled haze.

"We're free! You did it, Jack. You got us away. We are free to do whatever we want so long as we stay away from those bastards! Thank you, thank you so much." I said in a rush as I leaped forward and gave him a hug. I could feel that he was uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed by my outbreak, but deep down inside I could also tell that he felt slightly smug that he had done it, and was happy that he could save me. Of course I could only feel that because I was connected to him physically.

My dad could have picked it up if he was within ten feet of him, but I needed to be touching someone to feel the smaller emotions; those that were below the service and didn't want to be felt. Then for some other reason my antennae were very sensitive to emotion. I learned when I was younger never to let someone touch them unless they were calm and I needed their emotion. I didn't begrudge my grandmother's people for being unable to handle violence. I don't fare with it very well either.

…

It's been a week since Jack got me out of the cage. Mareceti of the Chula did welcome us with open arms, and perhaps a bit more with Jack. She was just as I remembered. Apparently the Chula had been looking for me as well. They had gone to my home a few months after they lost contact with mum and dad, and found their bodies. Then they looked for me, and when they didn't find me they had sent out a signal to be on the lookout for me.

I was just glad that I got to see someone familiar again. Mareceti didn't ask what happened, but she did let me know that she was there for me. Like right now the two of us were in her bedroom talking like old friends. It was actually the first time that we were alone, and I knew that she was going to ask me what had happened.

"Oh Deidra, when we found your home, we had feared the worst for you. Can you tell me what happened?" She asked. Mareceti was a beautiful woman, of course she was a fair bit thinner and somewhat smaller than a human, she was very similar. Her skin was a bronze color and her hair was as black as a raven's wing. She was also very curved, but had muscle to back her up. She was something that didn't exactly look strong but was able to kill you in under a second. I respected the Chula because of that.

"The Time Agency came looking for something. I don't know what they were looking for, but they didn't find it. And when they found me that took me with them. I was thrown in a cage and pretty much forgotten. Then last week Jack was running, and I ask him to take me with him, and he did. He saved me." I answered her.

"Oh sweety," Mareceti crooned as she hugged me. Her feelings were slightly grieved, but she had seen so much death as a warrior that she was mostly apathetic about it. I did feel some pity, but it wasn't really her fault that she felt it. Some people hated to be pitied, but it was not that bad. It wasn't as if they could help feeling it. And, sometimes you needed a little pity. It was not something to scorn.

Perhaps I simply thought like that because I was young. Or it could be my empathy speaking. The point was that pity was a natural emotion to be felt. In its wake it brings about its own kindness. Does the emotion behind a good deed matter? In the end the good deed was still sincere in its meaning.

When I had calmed down, she pulled away and asked "Now, what do you know about this Jack person?"

I went to answer and then paused. I really didn't know much about him at all. "I don't know. I mean, Jack is not his real name, but he saved me. Inside I think he is a good man, he just doesn't know it yet. But he is so angry at the Agency that he wants something from them. But he's been a stable person to be around for me. Almost like a big brother. But don't tell him that."

"So you plan on staying with him." She asked, but I could tell it was more of a statement.

"Yeah, I have a feeling that I should." I nodded in response.

She let out a long suffering sigh. "Alright, I can see that you will. But you should know, though I find him very sexy and I wouldn't mind getting some of that, I do not trust him. If at any point you don't feel safe with him anymore, you will call me, and I will grant you asylum here. You will always have a place here, Deidra."

I could feel her sincerity. She meant every word of that, and I was so grateful to her. "I…thank you so much. Mareceti, you have no idea how much that means to me."

"Oh, I can just about guess." The woman laughed. And after that she left, saying something about getting to know my rescuer a bit better. That thought made me pale and fake gag, but it was only in jest. She would do what she wanted, and I would tease Jack about it later.

…

I was pissed and I was scared. We had been with the Chula for two more days, and now I was on Mareceti's battle ship with Jack at the controls running from some other Chula as we were both being hailed by them and towing a burnt out ambulance.

Then, to make things worse, he had hooked up his space/time hopping thing up to the ship and activated it, sending us through space and time. And I was fuming once again, and I was going to let him know.

"What the fuck are you doing Jack?" I yelled at him as I held onto the seat I was strapped in.

"I'm getting away, what does it look like I'm doing?" He yelled back, elation in his tone.

"You told me you were going to buy this ship, not steal it! They trusted me, you used me!" I yelled back, panic making my breathing come out in quick pants. It hurt to know that he had used their trust of me in that way. How could he be so callus and stupid?

"Come on, it's not that bad," he tried to reason.

I interrupted him though "No, you don't get to tell me that. They would have let us barrow it if I had asked! Mareceti had offered me sanctuary in case you just left me! I don't have a home to go back to Jack, they were my one hope of finding a place to stay if you ever just abandoned me, and now you have ruined that!"

It looked like he was going to interrupt me, but I stopped him as I continued my rant, my anger had clouded over anything else that I could have been feeling at the moment. "I can't go to the humans because they don't take nicely to mixed people, and I don't want to be found there. I can't go to the Tzenlion, because they can't be found even if you are looking and I am too emotional for their society, and there is no way in hell that I'm going to the Malmooth conglomeration! Even if I knew how to find them there are too many structured ways to interact to be there for life! I could have found a home there with the Chula!" And then my tears started as my breathing came out even harder.

I was just a kid. I was a lost kid. Sure, in a few months I would be turning seventeen, but until then I was still a sixteen year old girl who hadn't been out in the real world for over four years. I was scared.

Jack finally got that because he stopped the ship and looked at me, guilt clearly written in his face and emotions. "Look, I'm sorry. I should have given you warning, or tried to do this differently. But what's done is done. I'm sorry."

I wanted to yell at him that it wasn't enough, but damn it if his emotions weren't sincere and guilt ridden. It was really hard to be mad at someone when they really meant it.

"At least you could claim that I kidnapped you if you need to." He joked half heartedly. I let it wash over me and let out a half laugh half sob. "And I was never going to abandon you. It had never crossed my mind to actually leave you behind with the Chula. You're my responsibility, and I was going to take care of you." He said with a slight wince at the last part.

"What… like a brother?" I asked, with a small smirk coming to my face.

He looked so embarrassed about that, that I laughed and suddenly it was alright. We were alright, and I was going to go along with his plan, no matter how crazy it was. I had only known him for ten days, and yet, that was enough.

We ended up in London during World War II. At least he could aim with his time thing.

A/N: And there you have it! I hope that you liked it and will let me know what you think. Fav, Follow, and best of all, please review!