A HUGE thank you to Allison (Roxas) for giving me the title name- you're awesome! :)

This is a little something I wrote for Mother's Day last Sunday, but decided it was going to go a little more in depth than a holiday one-shot that I was gonna half-ass. This goes along the story lines of my story "Rise & Fall" and its many futures spin-off stories in the series it will become. Why am I posting this when 'Rise & Fall" only has one chapter posted, you ask?

Because you'll have to piece the puzzle together...starting with breaking the whole puzzle apart, and starting over.

I JUST BLEW YOUR MIND.

Enjoy- and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


" No one laughs at God in a hospital,
No one laughs at God in a war,
No one's laughing at God when they've lost all they've got-
And they don't know what for. "

- Regina Spektor, "Laughing With"


The sleek black Cadillac pulled almost silently over the patted down earth, becoming suddenly noisy as it it the damp gravel. It had been a few awkward hours in the car, both of them staring out the window longingly at times. It was a dense fog, along with a fine mist of bone-chilling precipitation.

The car finally stopped, both of them stepping out on either side of the car in perfect sync. "Thank you, Benjamin." said the woman silently as her male counterpart muttered it silently, but still thankfully. The man held a small white bundle, clinging to it like a lifeline.

Jennifer Elizabeth Moore-Saxton was looking hopeful, yet somber at the same time- like someone facing the harsh evil of the real world after a heavenly dream. She was very tall, especially in her heels, her dark brown hair in a bun, her wavy bangs cropping her face. Her dress was black- not a funeral black, but a professional businesswoman shade.

Harold Saxton was a different story, yet also the same. After messing with a few time-related things he shouldn't have touched, he had jumped from his new body to his past regeneration a while back, and had finally gotten back on track with the one he had started out with before messing everything up. He had short brown hair that was usually curly, but was especially curly do to the misty rain. One of Jennifer's personal turn-ons was the fact that one large curl swooped down and always landed between his eyebrows, which were somewhat thin, and always gave him a questioning look- especially when he tried to amuse her by having his almost unreal aquamarine eyes go cross-eyed as he attempted to stare at the loose crl that always was in the middle of his forehead. Like his wife, he was looking very professional in his black suit, which was unbuttoned and not crisply ironed like he would have had it any other time. This was a time to have more of an air of equality to those around him, instead of always being one level up.

Who knew two different creatures of two different species from two different parts of the vast universe could be so alike.

They walked towards the large house, Benjamin staying in the car. Jennifer stopped, glancing at the scenery of a vast mountain-like hills that surrounded them, since they themselves were up on one, and glanced to her husband. He knew she was getting sappy and emotional, so he brought her close to him so she could nuzzle into his chest for a second, and then pull herself together and walk onward.

The house was large, yet ancient. The paint appeared to be left in only a few places, the wood exposed, or what was left of it, since most of that had rotted away, too, but was also half engulfed in vegetation as sign above the door read Mrs. Burswell's Home for Orphaned Children in pint that had come off in strips over the years, only making it legible by the way the different shades had faded the wood, which was decaying, but less than the actual house.

The reached the door, and knocked- a short and stout woman with short brown hair answered the door, her expression puzzled and surprised. "How may I help you?"

"We're here to see -uhm- Mrs. Burswell?" The Master said, pulling out a police badge carrier which held his government ID inside it. Which needed no psychic paper, since he had messed up time to the point that his world domination plot while he was in office as his past regeneration had happened in a parallel universe. Her eyes grew wide at the name that was written on it.

"Oh, well...Mr. Prime Minister, sir...Mrs. Burswell died in the 70's. I care for the few children that are still left."

"Speaking of the children, Miss-?" Jennifer asked. "Miss Hundley." the woman replied. "-Miss Hundley." she repeated, flashing her ID card, making her acknowledge she was his wife, and walked forward towards her.

"We're here because we want to help you. We heard that since most people in the nearby towns have left, your orphanage is the last sign of humanity for miles around. We also heard that you're getting the last few children foster parents and moving out if they aren't adopted within the next week or so."

"That's correct.' she said flatly, nodding respectively.

"We're here to adopt one." The Master replied. "We're especially interested in a girl named Lizzy that you've been caring for." Miss Hundley nodded with a grin on her face, opening the doors, knowing maybe her hopes of finally leaving the lifeless house might come true sooner than she had thought. "Right this way!"

She escorted them quickly through the house, up the stairs, and down the hall, not giving them any time to notice the also decaying interior state of the house, or any of the few other children left without a family. She finally reached a doorframe and stopped.

"Lizzy-" she called into the room, announcing her presence and walking into the room.

A little girl, about age seven or eight, popped her head up from over the bed. She had short curly dishwater-blonde hair, and big green eyes. She wore a thin army green polo shirt, off-white pants, and trainers. She held a doll, which was old and probably from when she was a baby. It was supposed to be a Victorian woman, with her hair put up and her dress with old fake gemstones on it.

"This is Mister and Misses Saxton."

The Master and Jennifer walked into the room further, beaming at her. Lizzy whispered a shy hello and smiled for a second.

"-they want to adopt you."

Her eyes grew wide in a mix of emotions, each being equal to the next, so they couldn't tell if she was happy or confused.

"I'll leave you three alone now..." She said as she walked out of the room.

Lizzy slowly got onto her bed, and sat with her legs crossed. "Thank you." she said, less shyly than before. "But you'll never be like my real parents...but I'll love you all just the same."

The Master stifled a laugh. That's my girl, he thought, always blatantly honest. "But this isn't like a normal adoption, Lizzy." He said simply, looking down at her, still holding the white bundle.

"Why? Are you just f-foster parents?" She asked, eyes wide in fear.

"No," said Jennifer, walking towards the bed and kneeling down on the ground so that she was face-to-face with her. "We've come to retrieve something. Something we lost a long time ago."

Lizzy looked from her to The Master in shock and surprise, unable to say a word.

"Elizabeth Hazel Saxton" Jeniffer whispered almost inaudibly, cupping Lizzy's face in her hand, tears of joy rolling down her face.

"My baby girl..."

Suddenly, there was a whimper and she automatically got up and quickly walked to her husband and took the small white bundle from him. She slowly walked back to Lizzy, handling it with caution.

"There's someone I want you to meet..." She said as she looked her daughter in the eye, and she nodded. Jennifer moved the bundle so Lizzy could see the face of a baby.

"This is Harold Saxton Jr. ...your baby brother."

Lizzy looked at the baby, his big blue eyes meeting hers. He was small, so she guessed he wasn't born that too long ago. She smiled, still taking in the fact that the people in this room were her biological mother, father, and baby brother."Why?" she asked as Jennifer sat on the bed, slowly rocking Harold Jr.

Her mother raised a thin eyebrow, her scarlet lips pursed together. "Why what, dear?" She asked as Lizzy clung to her doll. "Why did you leave me? Was I bad? Why did you give me up, but keep him?" She looked at her father this time, too. "Was it because my heart beats funny?"

Jennifer cocked an eyebrow towards her husband as a sign to come over. He did, laying down and curling up with his daughter. The fact that he was being so childish, but still wearing a suit, was a bit ironic. Her husband was childish and playful under his strict and stern demeanor after the drums in his head went away for good, unlike when they got softer when him and her were together both pre and post marriage, how they went away after learning she was pregnant, but sadly came back when Lizzy was born, thus she had to give up her to save her husband's sanity.

The Master put an ear up to her chest, hearing the Timelord double-heartbeat. He put a hand over one of his hearts, and leaned back. "Come on, take a listen!" He said eagerly.

Lizzy did as she was told, and gasped when she heard the same heartbeat. Her father got up from laying down and grabbed her in a bear hug. "See? Jus' like Daddy...jus' like Daddy."

Jennifer broke the silence by explaining Lizzy's past question.

"Lizzy, dear...when Daddy and I met, he was sick. When we found out you were going to be born, he made a full recovery...but the illness came back worse than before right after you were born. We had no friends or family to take care of you, and it wasn't safe for you to be around Daddy while he was sick...it may seem confusing now, but you'll learn more about it when you're older."

Lizzy grabbed her father's tie and tugged a bit. "You're not sick anymore, right Daddy?"

The Master sat up, crossing his legs on the bed, and hugged his daughter again. "No, sweetie. Not anymore...and hopefully never again." She giggled at the affection he was giving. His wife later joined in on the hug, and whispered "Mummy and daddy have to go talk to Miss Hundley for a little bit, and then we can leave. Why don't you go pack your things and say goodbye?" she asked before the left to go sign adoption papers.

Lizzy couldn't have been happier. Her mum had brought her a suitcase to put her stuff in, and it was already plenty big for her little to no belongings. She went through her dresser drawers, pulling out her faded and oppressed-looking clothes, and folding them again and packing them away. She put her doll in there carefully, along with two books she had, and one special thing.

The treasure she had kept hidden from everyone.

She remembered receiving it from her windowsill, a little scrap of paper saying "Happy 7th Birthday, Lizzy!" attached to it. It was a long, cylindrical object that appeared to be very high-tech, yet didn't physically appear to be so.

What she didn't know was that the object was her father's sonic screwdriver.

Instead of the suitcase, she zipped it up and put the sonic screwdriver in her coat pocket. As soon as she finished, her parents were ready to go. With one final goodbye to a gleeful Miss Hundely, she hopped in the car with her parents.

Within an hour, she had fallen asleep, her face nestled in her father's shoulder, while her mother held her. He gave her a look. A look of love, of longing, and of pure tenderness. He glanced at Lizzy, and then to Harold Jr.-who was sleeping in his arms-, and then back at her. She understood it perfectly:

They were a family again.

THE END


Did I ever mention I'm like Tinkerbell?

If she doesn't get applause- she dies.

If Idon't get reviews- I die.

So PLEASE press that little review button and leave your comments/thoughts/etc. on the story.

IT'S NOT THAT HARD. IT WILL TAKE LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES AND IT WON'T HURT AT ALL- I PROMISE.

Who knows- maybe if I get enough positive feedback...I'll start a mini-series of one-shots base on the whole series!