A/N: I've tried to keep everything as canon as possible. This is a future Doctor, River, Clara going back to change what happened during Children of Earth (Torchwood), not as if that never happened at all. The first chapter is just a reworked version of my story "Saving an Old Friend". I reworked it into one chapter and made it lead into the next parts a little better. River in this is older than presently in DW. She has her screwdriver and vortex manipulator and has met Clara. The Doctor and Clara are in their stage of random travel at this point, assuming they have one of those of course. Thank you for reading. I would very much appreciate your reviews. Enjoy! =)
The Doctor and Clara were travelling in late 15th Century Spain. They were standing outside the Alcazar Castle in Cordoba, when Christopher Columbus emerged from the castle with a wide grin on his face. He came over to where they were standing.
"Thank you, Doctor. For all your knowledge and help. And you Clara, for your bravery and encouragement. I shall repay the favor in kind someday." Columbus nodded and walked off. Clara and the Doctor turned to each other, excited.
"That was Christopher Columbus. The Christopher Columbus. We helped him get to America." Clara jumped up and down with excitement.
"Did someone say Doctor?" River Song strolled around the corner of the building in that moment. The Doctor looked up immediately. "Hello, Sweetie," she said striding over to where they stood.
"River Song." A wide grin broke across the Doctor's face as he embraced his wife, or is she merely an acquaintance. "Where are we?"
"I'm further ahead than you."
"How can you tell?"
"You told me where to find you!"
"Stalking me from the future, you must care," he laughed, "But any way," he turned around. "Clara, this is River Song. River Song, Clara Oswald."
"How do you do?" River said as she shook Clara's hand.
"You two know each other?" Clara said looking up at the Doctor's face.
River raised her eyebrows.
"This is my wife," the Doctor offered, gesturing to her.
"Wife? You never told me you were married, Doctor."
"It's a long story," he said, look apologetically at River. "I suppose there's a reason you're here?"
"You mentioned Columbus, knew I'd find you here. I did some digging. And I've found something that I think we could help in the early 21st Century."
"What happened?"
"The 4-5-6. Does that ring any bells for you?"
"I've heard of them. I think it was Jack Harkness that mentioned it. He asked me if I knew anything about them which I don't."
"I do. Early Spring 1965," but she paused and looked around. "Probably best if we pop in the TARDIS for a chat actually. I'm thinking 1492 isn't the best time to be talking about events that are going to happen in 1965." She smiled at her husband and at his young companion.
The three of them wandered a few streets over to where the TARDIS was parked and went inside. Clara immediately sat on the bench near the console. The Doctor and River both remained standing near the entrance, though.
"Now. Early spring 1965. The 4-5-6 began broadcasting a message over the airwave with wavelength 456. That's where they got their name. It took most of the spring and summer months for the government agencies of Great Britain to translate, but they did. The 4-5-6 claimed they would release a strain of Spanish influenza capable of wiping out millions of human lives. They would release the anti-virus for a price. The price they requested was 12 children."
"Children? What were they going to do with human children?"
"That's where this gets interesting. In their proposal they stated that the children would not be harmed. That they would live forever. In November of 1965, the government assigned four people the task of escorting twelve orphans who had no one to miss the from the Holly Tree Lodge orphanage in Abroath, Scotland to a designated meeting point. The records showed that the children were to be transferred to another orphanage in Plymouth, but none of them ever arrived and no records were found of any of the children."
"But how does this tie into the 21st Century?"
"I'll get there. It's nice to have a good back story, no?"
"Yes, yes, alright. I'm sorry, dear." The Doctor and River retired to the bench closer the door for River to continue her storytelling.
"The four individuals assigned to the task were: Andrew Staines, a teacher, employed by the orphanage where the children originated; Ellen Hunt, a civil service secretary; Michael Sanders, the man in charge of Britain's clandestine operations at the time; and a name I think you'll recognize, Doctor."
"Who?"
"Captain Jack Harkness. The man that couldn't die was sent to walk the children towards the light beam the 4-5-6 were using to transport them."
"He wouldn't."
"He did," she said look, grievous. "44 years later in 2009 are the events we will prevent the history we can change."
"They came back?"
"For more children. 10% of the world's population of children ages 5 to 11. And the government authorities had every intension of giving them what they asked for until Captain Jack Harkness sacrificed his own grandson to stop them."
"But Jack did it then, why are we going stop him saving the world?"
"We're not. We're going to stop the 4-5-6 from killing a bunch of people in Thames House including Jack and his colleague Ianto Jones. We, you and I, have the technology to do what Jack did without sacrificing a human child, especially not his grandson. And I happen to know where they have the station set up we can do it from. We're going to save the day before Jack Harkness has to."
"Alright," the Doctor said staring at her. "But how do you know all this?"
"Jack told me," she said with a smile. "I met him at the Intergalactic Bar the other night. He just came over and told me all these things and that he thought maybe you and I could help."
"Why would he think that?"
"It's in the past (or is it future)," she smiled as she spoke. "That's our specialty!"
The Doctor turned to the console and started the engines. "Oh," River shook her head and pushed her husband out of the way, "You really should stop leaving the breaks on." She flipped a few switches and adjusted a few things and they were off on the smoothest TARDIS ride Clara had ever felt.
A few moments later they landed in an underground bunker in 2009 London.
"Hello, everyone!" the Doctor announced cheerfully as he stepped out of the TARDIS.. "I'm the Doctor, this is Clara, and this is my lovely wife, River Song. We're here to save the world."
"Excuse me?"
"Were going to save you of course!" said River as she and the Doctor pulled out their sonic screwdrivers. "No children will be handed over today."
"Now, if you don't mind. We're going to need you to step away from that equipment so we can adjust it properly to do what needs doing," the Doctor said approaching the control panels. "River, how much time do we have?"
River looked at her watch. "Jack and Ianto are going in just about now. Fifteen minutes."
The Doctor's eyes went wide with fear, but they both continued working. Clara stood nearby, her arms crossed. "Suppose there's nothing I could do to help, is there, Doctor?"
"What?" the Doctor said, looking up. "Clara, yes. Come over here and just hold the sonic at that part there 'til is buzzes," he said handing her the screwdriver and moving to the main console.
Minutes passed. Too many minutes. River looked at her watch again. "Doctor, it's done."
"What is? What's happened?"
"They've released the virus."
"We can still save them River. Keep working."
And a moment later they were ready. The Doctor flipped the switch and the three of them ran for the TARDIS. Once they got back inside, the really tricky part began.
"Do we go back or just go?" River asked looking at him.
"Just go," the Doctor answer. "We'd be too close to our own time stream otherwise. And besides, I've got an anti-virus for every virus right here," he said as he held up a small canister. We just got to get in there before anyone dies and set this off. And with that the TARDIS was in flight and a moment later it had landed on Floor 13 of Thames House, headquarters of MI5. The tank containing the 4-5-6 exploded just as they opened the TARDIS doors and Jack flung himself over Ianto, protectively, not even noticing the TARDIS arriving or the three individuals exiting.
The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS and pulled the pin on the canister. Within moments, people could be heard coughing, regaining their functions throughout the building, including Ianto beneath Jack. Jack himself however was lying quite still, face down on top of Ianto. The Doctor turned around just in time for Jack to look up and say his name before he was gone. A piece of the bullet proof glass had hit him square in the back. He was bleeding too much to survive.
"He'll be alright," Ianto said sitting up, cradling Jack's head in his arms and smiling at the Doctor. "Can't die, can he?"
The Doctor smiled and shook his head, motioning for Clara and River to follow him back into the TARDIS. Once they were back inside. He went to the console.
"You're not going to wait for him to wake up?" River inquired.
"No. He'll be alright. He's in good hands," he said with a smile. River and the Doctor together took the controls of the TARDIS and set it into motion. Jack sat up in Ianto's arms, gasping for air, just in time to see and hear the TARDIS fade away for view.
"The Doctor was here?" were the first words Jack spoke in his new life. "And now he's left," he add falling gently backwards again. His head landed perfectly in Ianto's lap.
"Yeah, but he looked quite different," Ianto said, running his fingers through Jack's hair as they sat on the floor together.
"He could have regenerated. I mean, who else arrives in a big blue box?"
"He had two women with him. Not anyone I'd seen before though."
"New companions I suppose," Jack said. Ianto knew he was upset to have missed the chance to travel with the Doctor again, but he didn't want Jack to go anywhere. Right here was perfect for Ianto. They could just stay right here on the floor in Thames House for all of eternity and that would be just fine with Ianto, so long has he had Jack there with him.