It was done. The walls of the universe were closing. They'd just dropped off Rose and the Doctor's metacrisis on the parallel world, and it was back to their own universe.
Molly could feel a thousand new thoughts brimming in her mind, a golden glow of new knowledge. It felt fantastic, like her mind had suddenly been opened up, and the universe had come trickling in.
Donna, Sherlock, John, and Greg were already on the ship. Sherlock gave her a teasing smirk. "So, now you know what it feels like to be me," he joked.
Molly shoved him with her elbow. "Sod off," she laughed.
The Doctor finally came back into the TARDIS, closing the door slowly behind him. Molly didn't take the time to notice the carefully neutral expression on his face. She sent the TARDIS flying through space, back into their universe, because she knew how now. "So, where to next?" she asked brightly. "Maybe back to New Earth, visit a bit? Or how about Malstom? Apparently they've got mist that glows. That's gotta be cool, right?" She was babbling, but she didn't care. She felt fantastic.
The Time Lord's tone was emotionless. "And how do you know that?"
Molly glanced back at him. "Because you do," she said. "Everything that was in your head is in mine now."
"And how does that feel?"
She grinned. "Fantastic!" she said, quoting his former self, for she knew about him now, knew all about him, all about everything. "Molto bene! I feel like the whole universe is packed into my brain." She added teasingly, "You know you could fix that chameleon circuit if you just tried hotbinding the fragment links and superseding the binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary, binary..."
Molly stumbled forward with a gasp. She felt like something had slammed into her head. Greg was there in an instant, helping her back up, but she waved him off. "I'm fine, I'm alright. Okay, where else can we go? Maybe we could go to the Enterial Gardens, they have the most beautiful lilies. Should we do that? Go see the lilies?" She was babbling again, but this time she couldn't stop, her mouth was running away from her and there was a great burning pressure on her brain, like it was being squeezed. "Lily, Billie, Millie, filly." She gasped, stumbling again. This time, Greg was there to catch her, but the pain didn't ease. Her brain felt like it was on fire.
Sherlock, Donna, and John were by her side in an instant, John trying to figure out what was wrong, but the Doctor hung back. His face was carefully free of emotion, but Molly could see agony in his eyes. Because he knew, and so did she. "Do you know what's happening?" he asked quietly.
She nodded painfully. The Doctor's voice was so soft, so broken. "There's never been a human Time Lord metacrisis before now. And you know why."
"Because there can't be," Molly whispered.
"Molly?" Greg asked. Fear was heavy in his voice. His arms were around her waist and shoulders, holding her up, Molly was leaning against his chest, and she could hear his heartbeat growing frantic. "What's going on? What's happening?"
She whimpered as her mind burned. "I'm dying," she murmured. "My mind can't take the metacrisis.
The three humans stared at her in horror. "No," Greg whispered, sounding like he couldn't believe it.
"Molly, listen to me," John said in a tone of forced calm. "Is there anything we can do to help?"
Molly was about to shake her head, but the Doctor spoke. The very words chilled her to the bone. "There is one thing."
Her eyes flew open wide. "No!" She jerked back away from him, but she was too weak, and she was still in Greg's arms. The Doctor approached her, horrible sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Molly. I'm so sorry." He reached out, putting his hands on either side of her face. She was crying, and trembling in terror. "Molly Hooper, we had the best of times. The very best."
"Doctor, what are you doing?" Donna asked fearfully, glancing between the Time Lord and the woman.
"No!" Molly screamed, trying to pull away, but the pressure in her brain was too painful now. "I can't go back, Doctor I can't, please, I can't! Please, don't make me go back!" She could still remember who she had been before the TARDIS, scared and self-doubting and shy and so much less than she was now. She couldn't become that Molly Hooper again. It was too much. She couldn't."
The Doctor's eyes were brimming with tears. "Goodbye." There was a soft presence in her mind, a bright light, then everything went dark.
SCENEBREAK
The Doctor took the memories away, easing Molly into a gentle sleep. Her eyes were wide and terrified, then they closed, and she slumped against Greg. The Doctor knew he would remember that look in her eyes forever.
Greg looked up at him fearfully. "What did you do?"
He tried to keep his expression composed. "I took her memories away," he said dully. "Anything about me, or the TARDIS, or time and space."
Donna's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god," she breathed. "How could you?"
Greg's eyes were brimming with tears. He was holding Molly gently, going down to his knees. "Will she be okay?" he asked quietly.
"She'll live," the Doctor said. "She'll be fine. But she can never remember me, or anything about the last three years. If she remembers even for a second, her mind will burn, and she'll die."
"That's not fair," Sherlock said quietly. The Doctor was surprised to hear something so emotional and illogical from the detective, but he was Molly's friend too.
He nodded, his throat tight. "I know. But it's the only way to save her life."
Molly seemed so small in Greg's arms, already so different from the confident woman he'd come to know. Greg glanced down at her, then back up at the Doctor. "Then take my memories too," he said firmly.
The Doctor glanced at him in surprise. "You're sure?"
He nodded. "It wouldn't be fair to her if I remembered and she didn't. I love her. I can't keep that from her." His expression was sad but resolute as he looked up at the Time Lord. "If we end up together again, it'll be on equal footing."
The Time Lord was saddened by this further loss, but he couldn't blame Greg for his choice. "I'll miss you two," he said quietly. Greg just nodded in response.
He glanced at John and Sherlock. "What about you two? Remember or forget?"
The two flatmates shared a look, then shook their heads. "We want to stay with Torchwood, and we'll need our memories to do that," John said. "We can keep your secret."
"Besides," Sherlock said quietly, "someone needs to remember in order to keep Molly safe from the truth." There was a bit of accusation in his tone, but he knew as well as the Doctor that it had been his only choice.
The Doctor met his gaze. He couldn't make up for what he had done to Molly, but he could make a final request. "Help her, Sherlock," he said quietly. "She's still vulnerable to you."
Sherlock nodded. "I know. She is my friend now. I'll do everything I can to help her get over me, and to help her find herself, even without her memories."
The Doctor nodded. He knew Molly was in good hands, but it still killed him to do this. "Right then," he said quietly, heading for the console, "let's take Molly Hooper home."
SCENEBREAK
Molly Hooper woke in a hospital bed at St. Bart's. She felt groggy and disoriented – had she passed out?
To her surprise and nervous pleasure, Sherlock was there. He explained how she had been kidnapped by his nemesis Moriarty for three years, how she was safe now but the doctors said she would probably never remember the events of those years. It was a shock to hear she had missed so many years, but at least she was safe now, and back home. Even if those words rang hollow somehow.
She wasn't sure why Sherlock was there, or why he looked so sad. Why would he worry about her? She wasn't worth being so worried about, was he?
After all, she was just Molly Hooper.
SCENEBREAK
Donna was the only one left on the TARDIS once everyone was dropped off. She was still very quiet. The Doctor had a feeling it would take a while for her to forgive him for what he'd done. He knew it would take him even longer to forgive himself.
He started up the TARDIS, leaving behind The Woman Who Walked the Earth, The woman who had counted even when she'd feared she hadn't, and the soldier who had stayed after a year of hell.
Yeah. I wrote this just for fun, and because I'm a sadistic asshole. Not meant to be taken as part of the canon of my story. My story has a happy ending. This is purely for the feels.