A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to the ninth story in my third OC series, the Heart of Time Saga, New Beginnings. I would recommend new readers check first read the eight preceding stories of the saga (A Treasured Discovery, Meeting of the Minds, Hearts to Hearts, Fading, Mated Souls, Among the Forgotten, A Fallen Angel, and The Nightmare Begins) to really understand who my OC is, her unique abilities, and her relationship with the Doctor. This will be a Doctor/OC series, the pairing name officially called Thella, featuring my OC The Angel, AKA the Time Lady Nella, a woman with quite a few gifts, and hers/the Doctor's daughter The Tailor (formerly known as Ayla) ;)

As a treat for readers, if we ever make it through 100 reviews, for each hundred I'll post a 'sneak peek' of something happening later in Series 8 :)

Quick physical description: Angel, on her 12th body, is a tall woman, just a bit older looking but in a timeless way, with long, wavy strawberry-blonde hair that she likes to wear hanging but clipped on one side. She has deep blue eyes with specks of gold in them (a part of the Vortex inside her peeking out). Her typical outfit of choice is a white and blue (-cough- TARDIS blue -cough-) stripped top that is like a cross between a fashionable poncho and a baggy shirt, like a poncho with sleeves, black pants tucked into boots. She also wears a Whitepoint Star necklace the 10th Doctor gave her before he regenerated. She loves dressing up in period style clothing for those trips :) I picture her to look something like Nicole Kidman.

Her daughter, Tailor, is on her 2nd incarnation and, after living on Christmas with her parents for a time, appears to be around 16 though she is a little over 400. She has blonde hair that has a more strawberry hue to it, with very green eyes (the 11th Doctor's eyes) and a small birthmark/freckle by her nose. Her outfit of choice will be detailed later in the story as she hasn't selected it yet, but she wears a small necklace with a pink bowtie (a gift from the 11th Doctor) on it. I see her to look similar to Dakota Fanning.

Every episode will be broken into three chapters that has a special title to it, the Christmas special will be posted in 5 chapters since it is quite a bit longer. See the ending A/N for information on when the story will be updated, it will NOT be updated everyday this time :(

Also I've PUBLISHED A BOOK! (More about that in the end A/N too ;)).

~8~ is a scene break

'italics' is telepathic communication between Time Lords

'...words...' or ...action... is Angel hearing/seeing through time

Disclaimer 1: I do not own Doctor Who...or I would not be working two part time jobs ;)

Disclaimer 2: My OCs are not associated with any DW stories that have a Time Ladies with the same name/title.

Enjoy!

~8~

Deep Breath: A New Doctor

Victorian London was in an uproar, complete flabbergasted when, out of nowhere, a giant tyrannosaurus Rex appeared in the middle of the town, stomping past the House of Parliament while the crowds gathered in alarm and amazement along the river to watch. One man in particular didn't seem to give the dinosaur enough notice as he hurried through the crowd, a young constable was pushing people out of the way in order to clear a path for three people following him towards the Inspector.

"Come on!" he huffed, nudging another person away, "Out of the way. Move yourself, please. Coming through. That's it. Excuse me, sir," finally he had enough space to get his comrades to his commanding officer.

The Inspector didn't even look away from the dinosaur as the three approached him, a young maid, a rather dumpy fellow with brown skin and no neck, and a woman shrouded entirely in black, "Madame Vastra, thank God," he breathed as the shrouded woman came to his side, "I'll wager you've not seen anything like this before."

"Well," the woman mused, lifting her veil over her head to reveal her green, reptilian skin, "Not since I was a little girl."

"Big fella, isn't he?" the woman beside her murmured, staring at the dinosaur in awe.

"Dinosaurs were mostly this size," Vastra explained, before leaning in to whisper into her companion's ear, "I do believe it's a 'she.'"

"No, they weren't, I've seen fossils," the girl, Jenny, exclaimed.

Vastra gave her an amused look, as though her knowledge through fossils was nothing compared to her own knowledge, which it wasn't, "I was there."

"Well, that's all well and good," the inspector rolled his eyes, already used to the odd remarks that often came from the green woman, "But what's this dinosaur fellow doing in the Thames?"

Vastra would have been a bit surprised that the man was taking such a thing so well, a dinosaur just appearing in the middle of the town, but, then again, the man had seen his fair share of odd happenings between herself being a lizard woman and her 'manservant' being an alien Sontaran, "It must have time traveled. Jenny?" she looked at the girl who quickly held up her arm, scanning the dinosaur with a small device affixed to her wrist.

"Time traveled?" now THAT was what had done the inspector in, of all the odd things, this took the cake. Time travel?

Vastra didn't get a chance to answer before the dinosaur suddenly stilled and began to violently cough, distracting them, "Is it choking?"

Jenny frowned as she took in the readings on her device, "There seems to be something lodged in its throat."

"How could it time travel?" the Inspector asked, still stuck on that.

"I don't know," Vastra started to smile as she saw the scan Jenny was running home in on just what the beast was choking on, "Perhaps it was something it ate."

Not a moment later, with one last cough, a small, blue, police telephone box flew out of the dinosaur's mouth, spinning in the air frantically before it seemed to still and gently float down to the ground just at the edge of the river. While the crowd stared in awe, gasping at the turn of events, the Inspector wasted no time in starting to push the crowds aside to get closer to the odd box that Vastra and her associates were already heading for, "Stand back. Stand back, stand back!" he didn't bother to get too close though, choosing instead to lean over the rail at the edge of the waters and call out to Vastra, "Well, it's just laid an egg."

Vastra paused in her movements, turning to face the man with a rather alarmed expression, "It's dropped a blue box marked 'Police' out of its mouth. Your grasp of biology troubles me," she shook her head and continued on with Jenny and Strax as they slowly approached the box.

"It's the TARDIS," Jenny whispered to her, a note of anxiety in her voice, it WAS rather odd to see the box just fly out like that and nearly crash.

"It would seem so," Vastra agreed.

Jenny sighed and looked over at the Inspector, nearly shooing him, "We'll take care of this, Inspector."

"But what if that thing goes on the rampage?" the man called, gesturing at the dinosaur.

Vastra huffed, pulling a lantern affixed to a small pole from a bag draped beside her, holding it out to the Inspector, "Place these lanterns on the shoreline and bridges, encircling the creature at 20-foot intervals."

"What will they do?" the man asked, eyeing the poles as though he'd just been handed a rock.

"They will emit a signal that will incline it to remain within their circumference. Jenny," she spun on her heel back to Strax and Jenny, "Strax...with me."

They headed down the small steps that led onto the bank, quickly making their way to the bright blue box that appeared to be smoking a little. It was starting to worry them how it was just sitting there, normally the doors would open and Ayla would rush out of them, jumping into their arms as though expecting them to be standing there. But there was no motion at all, no movement, not even a sound from inside, it was truly very worrying a thing.

"So it's him, then, the Doctor?" Jenny inquired in a hushed tone. To her, it had to be JUST him in there, Angel and her daughter would have already stepped out to greet them, "What about Angel and Ayla?"

"I believe it is the Tailor now," Vastra remarked offhandedly, recalling a small missive she'd received about the young girl and the name she had chosen to call herself by.

"Oi," Jenny huffed, knowing that Vastra only did that, wave off or ignore a question when she was too focused on something else, and her tone of voice told her enough that Vastra was just as worried.

Vastra gave her an apologetic smile, "A giant dinosaur from the distant past has just vomited a blue box from outer space, this is not a day for jumping to conclusions. Strax, if you wouldn't mind?" she gestured to the box.

Strax gave a bodily nod and stomped over to the box, lifting his hand to knock…when the door opened and a young woman stuck her head out, a girl with strawberry blonde hair and Ayla's eyes, though she appeared to be about 16 years of age instead of the mere 6 that they'd met her last, "Hello Strax!" she smiled, "Sorry, just give us a mo. Dad's being difficult," before she quickly shut the door.

Jenny blinked at that, "Was that…" she glanced at Vastra.

"I do believe so," Vastra nodded, "It seems it has been many more years, decades even, for them from last we saw them."

"THAT was Ayla?" Jenny's eyes widened. Yes, she knew all about time travel and yes she had seen a different version of the Doctor and Angel here and there, but she hadn't ever actually seen them age. She'd thought they were rather more immortal than that, but there had been Ayla, er, the Tailor, looking like a teenager.

"It appears so," Vastra remarked.

"It IS the boy then?" Strax looked over at that.

"Girl, Strax," another voice spoke as the door opened, Angel poking her head out, thankfully looking the same as the last time they'd met which was a relief, "She's a girl, our daughter."

"Yes!" a second voice joined them, a very noticeable Scottish drawl to it as an older man with bushy eyebrows and gray hair stuck his head out beside Angel, "We were being chased by a giant dinosaur, but I think I managed to give it the slip," he smiled at Angel, "With some help from my girls," he added, leaning in to give her a quick kiss.

Angel shook her head, "And nearly crashed us into the river till I took over," she nudged him back into the ship, and turned to glance at the others, "Just another moment, sorry," she offered, "Sissy is a bit temperamental at the moment," she winced, hearing a very loud grinding noise from inside, "And very cross, best not to crowd her till she's settled."

Vastra gave her a small nod at that and the woman quickly headed back inside, leaving the three to glance at each other, a small concern growing as they realized that they hadn't seen Clara. The only thing that could explain the Doctor regenerating, for clearly that had to be the Doctor with the new and improved eyebrows, Angel would not allow another man to kiss her so, would be something dangerous and far too deadly had happened, and if he'd regenerated, it would have been because he'd died trying to save someone.

They hoped he succeeded in saving Clara, the girl, from what they knew, had died far too many times already to save him and his family.

Not a moment later, the door was forcefully thrown open, the Doctor peering out at Strax with a very suspicious look in his eyes, "Sleepy?"

"Sir?" Strax blinked.

But the Doctor just stepped out of the box completely, staring at him more, "Bashful? Sneezey? Dopey?" he gasped, suddenly pointing at him as though he'd gotten his answer, "Grumpy!" and then he noticed Vastra and Jenny standing just a few feet away, "Oh, you two! The green one...and the not-green one. Or it could be the other way round, I mustn't prejudge! Oh, you remember, er..." he pointed at the TARDIS as the doors opened and Angel stepped out, Tailor beside her, "My magnificent Mate and my lovely daughter," he smiled at them, only to frown when he caught sight of Clara, "And the other one…the not-us one, the asking-questions one?" he huffed, "Names, not my area."

Clara glanced warily at Angel and Tailor, seeing faintly worried looks on their faces, "Um, it's not supposed to be like that is it?" she asked them quietly, she vaguely recalled what regeneration was, but she couldn't quite remember if his reaction was normal.

He'd seemed so calm at first, almost like his old self, especially when he looked at Angel or Tailor, he'd talked just like he used to also, but then the TARDIS had been crashing and it seemed like that last hint of his old self had fled his mind and, well, she didn't know what this new him was supposed to be like. It was like the last lingering bits of his old personality were gone after the crashing started and now there was a new person in his place, but even HE didn't seem to know what this new him was like.

"It can be," Angel began slowly, "Minor bouts of amnesia CAN be normal," she tried to remind and reassure herself. She was fairly certain that the Doctor hadn't forgotten her or Tailor, which was an inordinate relief, but that didn't mean she wanted him to forget Clara instead. The girl was his proclaimed 'sister' and she wanted their family to stay together. There had been far too much trying to separate them over the years. She just had to remind herself that there HAD been a time where he'd forgotten even his closest friends for a few hours and nearly strangled one of them just after regenerating. She was sure it wouldn't come to that, the Doctor would never hurt Clara, but still, she really hoped that this small bout of amnesia would fade with time, he just had to settle and he WOULD remember Clara.

"It's Clara, dad," Tailor called, moving over to her father's side.

"Well," he nodded as though accepting her answer, "It might be Clara, might not be, it's a lottery."

"It IS Clara," Clara agreed.

"Well, I'm not ruling it out!"

"She's your sister, dad," Tailor began again, reaching out to take his hand, getting him to focus on her more than the sounds of the dinosaur roaring that seemed to be irritating him, "My aunt Clara?"

"Ooh again with the aunts and uncles," he rolled his eyes, though Tailor could see a playful glint in it, "You've more human family than you would have had Time Lord."

"Which is just as well," Tailor nodded, "Humans are fantastic."

That earned a chuckle from the Doctor and seemed to calm him down some from his racing mind.

"Oh Vastra," Angel sighed, glancing at the dinosaur and back to the lizard woman, "Could you please turn down the frequency in your sonic lanterns? It's hurting her ears."

"Her?" Jenny glanced over at the dinosaur again, she'd thought Vastra was joking about the gender.

Angel smiled, "Yes, her."

"Better be her," the Doctor strode over to her, pointing at her in a mock-warning manner, "I'll not have you flirting with other men," he looked over her shoulder to the dinosaur and shouted at it, "And I'll not have you flirt with her either, man or woman or reptile!"

"Well that's too bad," Vastra jested, giving Jenny a reassuring look that she wasn't planning to flirt with Angel anyway.

"Yes," the Doctor spun around, standing in front of Angel as though trying to block her from Vastra now, "No flirting with my Mate. Only I flirt with my Mate."

"Doctor," Angel put a reassuring hand on the middle of his back and stepped to his side, "No one would flirt with me anyway."

"Jack did."

Angel blinked, "That was centuries ago," she reminded him.

"Was it?" he mused distractedly.

"He's my brother now," Angel continued carefully, moving around to stand in front of him now, looking up at him. His face was pinched in what seemed to be anger and pain and confusion.

"Tailor," Clara whispered to the young woman who seemed to be more amused by her new-father than alarmed, "I think something's gone wrong."

"Wrong?" the Doctor spun around to face her, having heard her, "What's gone wrong? Have you regenerated?"

"Well…no," Clara murmured, trying to think back to her time as a Time Lady, she couldn't remember ever having regenerated, it seemed like she'd died in her first incarnation during the war.

"I remember you!" the Doctor suddenly shouted, pointing right in the middle of her face, making her go cross eyed, "You're Handles! You used to be a little...a little robot head, and now you..." he eyed her, frowning, "You've really let yourself go. But, then again, Clara's not doing much better over there," he jerked his thumb over at Strax.

Clara seemed to be getting irritated now more than worried, "He's not Clara. I'm Clara."

"Well, you're very similar heights," the Doctor shrugged, not seeming to care, "Maybe you should wear labels," he leaned in to eye her a moment before stepping back quickly, "Why...why are you all doing that? Why are you..." he blanched, paling and seeming to go a bit green, "You're all going dark...and wobbly…stop that!"

Clara glanced over at Angel, seeing the woman looked very worried now and was moving closer to the Doctor as Tailor spoke, "I don't think they're the ones going wrong, dad…"

"Never mind!" the Doctor waved her off, seeming to notice the concern in her eyes and not wanting his daughter to worry about him, "Everyone..." he smiled, "Take five," before falling backwards in a dead faint, only to be caught by Angel who had seemed to know that this was going to happen and caught him, Clara rushing forward to help her gently lay him onto the ground.

For how skinny he appeared to be now, he still was rather heavy.

"Ok," Clara took a breath, looking to Angel and Tailor for their next move, "What do we do?"

Angel sighed, "He's regenerated, a new cycle of regenerations," she mused, "It's going to take a lot of out of him," she glanced at Vastra, "May we borrow a room Vastra?" she asked the lizard, "He needs rest."

Vastra just gave her a soft smile and a nod, "Here we go again."

~8~

Vastra shook her head as she stood behind Jenny, Clara, and Tailor just outside a closed door to one of the bedrooms of her home. The three young women all had their ears pressed against the door to hear Angel and the Doctor talking within the room. Well, not so much talking as Angel trying to calm the Doctor down.

Apparently waking up in a strange bedroom had not gone over well for him.

"She's not here is she?!" the Doctor was shouting, though they could all tell he wasn't yelling at Angel but just yelling in general.

~8~

"Who?" Angel asked, shaking her head as she sat on the end of the bed, looking at the Doctor as he frantically searched the room, checking in the closet, under the bed, behind the curtains, for what she genuinely didn't know.

"River."

Angel blinked, "River Song?" she shook her head, "Why would she be here?"

"Well I wake up in a strange bedroom what else am I supposed to think but that she kidnapped me!" he spun around to face her, moving to quickly get on his knees before her, taking her hands, "I'm trying to escape! She'll not hold me from you, ever, never ever again."

Angel smiled softly at that and reached out to touch his face, her smile growing more as he turned his head immediately to lean into her touch, lifting his other hand to press her hand more firmly to his cheek. It felt…odd to him, different, his skin felt less soft and firm than before, more wrinkled, like the end of his last self. He'd wanted to be a young man for her again, be someone that could keep up with her and have all the energy and strength in the world to be there for her and protect her…and what did he get? An old man just like his first regeneration cycle.

What foul luck.

Still, Angel didn't seem to mind as she lightly stroked his cheek with her thumb, not even seeming to care that his skin was older, that his hair was grayer, and why would she? It was still the Doctor. New outside, but same insides, same soul. And, if she was being very honest with herself, she felt like her current incarnation was a bit older looking, she'd felt, sometimes, that it looked odd to see her and the Doctor together in his last self. She seemed a little too old for that him, but she felt just perfect for this new him.

Maybe it was his way of regenerating to fit her this time.

"I know she wouldn't," she murmured, "You've proven more than once that no one can hold you for long"

"Except you," he looked at her, staring straight into her eyes so she would know he was being honest, "You and Tailor, you are the only ones I'd let hold me for any length of time you want."

She smiled at that, "The feeling is mutual, my love."

His eyes closed suddenly at that, heaving out a sigh of relief that confused her. It must have drifted over to him through their emotional bond for he looked up at her, "I'm still your love?" he would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid that she'd see him as being too different, that she'd change her mind about them being Mates, about everything he'd done to her and everything that he'd done that had hurt her, and want to walk away.

What a strange turn of events, for so long it had been Angel that had been fearful he would change his mind about her and now here he was with the same fear.

"You will always be my love, my Mate, my thief," she leaned in to give him a gentle kiss, 'My Theta,' she added through their mental link.

'My psychic,' he returned, 'My Nella.'

Angel inhaled a little at that, she always loved when he called her by her true name. She pulled away from him a bit and looked at him, "Are you feeling better now? Calmer?"

"Yes," he nodded, opening his eyes to look at her, but a small frown came onto his face, "But I do have one question…"

"What is it?"

"Who invented this room?"

She blinked, "What?"

"It doesn't make sense," he stated, "Look," he stood, pulling her up with him and gesturing at the bed, "It's only got a bed in it. Why is there only a bed in it?"

Angel seemed amused by that, of all the other furniture he could select, he picked the bed, "It IS a BED-room, my love, it's in the name. You remember what a bed is for don't you?" she glanced at him, seeing a pink flush springing to his cheeks, "It's meant to sleep in."

He coughed at that, "Yes, yes, right, of course," he coughed again, clearly that hadn't been the thought going through his mind, which was just as well, she KNEW what he was thinking but had said what she had to tease him, "But what do you do when you're awake?"

"Leave the bedroom," Angel stated, her grin growing more outwardly teasing, "Or have a lie in. There are plenty of activities to be done in a bed besides sleeping," she glanced away from him innocently when his head snapped to look at her, wide eyed, "Reading, writing, knitting, watching the telly…"

The Doctor swallowed hard, honestly not seeming to know if she was teasing him or truly being that innocent, so he did what he did best whenever something got to be too much for him to handle, he switched topics, "Why do you keep talking like that?" he asked her, "What's gone wrong with your accent?"

Angel glanced at him curiously, "MY accent hasn't changed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he frowned.

She just laughed lightly, "It seems that this time it was YOU that picked up a bit of Amy instead," she told him, "You've gone Scottish."

"No!" his eyes widened, almost seeming horrified by the notion that his accent had changed.

Angel smiled, nodding solemnly, "Which is just as well," she mused, looking back at the bed, "I missed your first accent."

He frowned at that, "My first accent wasn't…"

"The first you I met," she clarified, "'Lots of planets have a North,'" she imitated his accent, "What will you say this time? Not many planets have a Scotland I don't think…"

He shrugged, "I'll think of something," he yawned.

"Tired?"

"No."

"Doctor," she gave him a look, "Rule 3?"

He sighed but smiled at the reminder, the Doctor doesn't lie to Angel, "A bit," he looked at her, "You have a…very calming effect, my dear. The woman of peace indeed."

Angel shook her head at that, she knew that with all the regeneration energy bouncing around and bottled up inside him, he should, by rights, be bounding off the walls and completely wound up, but he'd grown calmer and calmer as they talked. She didn't even want to imagine what he'd be like if she'd left this to Vastra or Clara to handle him, he'd probably be shouting that the mirror was furious and that rooms with beds were pointless.

"Well then," she brought herself to the present, "You should rest, shouldn't you?"

He just pouted at that.

"Oh no," she shook her head, "You've just regenerated, you're going to need your rest."

"But I'm not THAT tired."

"Please," she reached out to take his hand, "For me?" he seemed on the verge of giving in when she brought up one last plea that did him in, "The first time I ever saw you regenerate," she reminded him softly, "I don't want that to happen again," she looked at him, "You were in so much pain, you were so vulnerable, I just want you to be ok this time."

He let out a breath already knowing that he'd have gone right to bed just because she'd said please never mind the extra incentive, "Alright," he nodded.

Angel smiled and moved to help him into bed, pulling back the covers and tucking him in once he was lying down.

"When did I get in to my jammies?" he raised an eyebrow, as though JUST realizing that he was dressed in a white sleeping gown instead of his purple suit.

Angel smiled mischievously at that, "Strax insisted it was proper decorum for a soldier of your status to be outfitted for bed instead of dropped on the sofa."

His eyes widened at that, "He didn't…"

"He was very gentle dressing you," Angel chuckled under her breath, amused, "Refused to let anyone else help."

The Doctor flopped back onto the bed, his reply being cut off by a wide yawn.

"Go to sleep, my love," Angel whispered, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

The Doctor reached out and took her hand as she moved to go, "Stay."

She smiled and moved back to the bed, the Doctor shuffling over and lifting the covers, undoing all her tucking, to bring the sheets around her, pulling her into his arms as she cuddled up next to him, the two of them settling down.

A moment later Angel giggled under her breath.

"What is it?" the Doctor asked, sleep heavy in his voice already.

"Your eyebrows."

"What about them?"

"They tickle my forehead."

That earned a small chuckle from the Doctor, the last thing he remembered before sleep took him.

~8~

Tailor smiled to herself as she heard the room fall silent and stood, moving away from the door and gesturing the other women go with her, knowing her mother wasn't about to leave her father any time soon. She could understand, for how strong her mother had been right at the end, the emotional turmoil of watching her father grow older and taking care of him, of nearly truly losing him, it would make anyone exhausted. Her parents deserved their rest. For her it had only been hours since she'd seen them before her father regenerated, for her parents it had been centuries of fighting and protecting.

They had earned a brief respite.

"So," Clara began as they entered Vastra's sunroom, a glass room filled nearly to the brim with green plants and situated with a few plush chairs and a little table with a teapot on it, "What now?" she dropped into one of the chairs, feeling utterly exhausted.

"He'll be fine," Tailor reassured her, "He just needs rest, Aunt Clara."

Clara smiled at that, at how the girl still called her Aunt Clara, it was reassuring, the bit of normalcy and familiarity she needed in the middle of all this change. Her thoughts were cut off by the roaring of a dinosaur outside the window, drawing all their attention to it, "Is she ok?"

"Doesn't seem very happy," Jenny remarked.

"Tailor?" Clara glanced at her, "You speak dinosaur yet?"

Tailor nodded, ever since she and her parents had been onboard the Silurian ship with the dinosaurs she'd wanted to learn how to understand them more, "She's…" she frowned a bit, actually listening to what the dino was saying, "She's alone, she feels lost, because the world she knew is gone and she's somewhere new and it's scary to her," she grew quieter as she heard one last roar, "She misses her family."

"Do you miss him?" Clara asked suddenly, before seeming to realize how that was a rather terrible question to ask judging by how Vastra stiffened.

"What?" Tailor looked over.

Clara sighed, knowing she would have to ask the question again, Tailor might not be as psychic as Angel was, but the girl was almost scary in how she knew when people were lying, "The Doctor, do you…do you miss him?"

"Miss him?" Tailor seemed confused.

"The last him."

Tailor nodded a little, "I suppose," she shrugged, "I haven't really had time to process," she admitted, "I don't think I can miss the old him till I see what the new him is like."

"The new him," Clara began, trying to be delicate as Vastra seemed to be eyeing her warily now, "How did he get that face? Why's it got lines on it? It's brand-new. How can his hair be all grey? He only just got it."

Tailor's small laugh at the line of questions seemed to be what Vastra needed to relax, "It's regeneration," she said simply, "It's a lottery. It's usually random though I've heard that women can sometimes pick what they want to regenerate to look like. Men, not so much," she laughed a bit more, "Dad could have regenerated into a woman!"

Clara smiled at that, before shaking her head just imagining it, "I'm not sure the world could handle a female Doctor."

"I don't think dad could handle being a female Doctor either," Tailor told her with a grin, "He likes to joke that there's too many women already, me, mum, Aunt Idris, you," her smile faded slightly as her thoughts drifted, "On Christmas, he kept insisting mum should be the one to get the next companion."

"Why?"

"Mum's tend to be men, he thought it would even the odds."

Clara nodded at that, it made sense in a way even if it was still a little odd. Not many people she knew would be alright with their spouse having such a close relationship with someone of the opposite sex. She knew though that Angel could literally feel the Doctor's emotions regarding her and his companions, she knew without a doubt that he loved her and cared for his companions, it must be reassuring. The only one she'd ever heard of Angel having even the smallest issue with was River Song, and for good reason, the woman had used his essential brainwashing to her advantage and had done it partly to spite and hurt Angel on purpose. The Doctor, she supposed, it made a little more sense for him to be a tad jealous of Angel's companions, being men, she had had so few of them from what she knew, only two companions, but the fact that she ended up calling them brothers, for the most part, seemed to put him at ease. Whatever it was that allowed them to take on companions without the other getting jealous she was glad for.

She had no doubt that if Angel had had an issue with her that the Doctor would never have taken her as a companion or kept her as long as he had.

"Well," she cleared her throat, getting back to the present, "I'll keep my eye out for any deserving men."

Tailor smiled at that but fell silent. It didn't take much for Clara to guess where her thoughts had gone though, judging by the wistful look on her face as they spoke of companions. She knew that the Doctor and Angel both considered Tailor too young to be a designated Pilot and able to have a companion, but the girl seemed alright with it for the moment, dreaming of the day when she could be, but understanding that there was still an awful lot to learn before she would be ready. And for now, the companions her parents took became something greater to her, family.

And, speaking of family, Vastra held out two teacups to them, a warm smile on her face, "Tea?"

~8~

On the streets of London, the crowds still had not dispersed entirely from the sight of the dinosaur still pacing about, "It's not real, of course," a man was remarking to a woman beside him.

"What is it, then?"

"The government."

"The government?"

"Yeah, up to their usual tricks."

"It's a dinosaur, Alf. A real dinosaur."

"I wouldn't put it past them."

"You don't half talk a lot of rubbish, Alfie. See you don't stay out too late now," she leaned in and kissed the man on the cheek.

"You know me," the man, Alf, tried to wave off her concern.

The woman just laughed, "Yes, I do!" she agreed, giving him a pointed look as though that was the exact reason why she had told him to not stay out in the first place, before she turned to head away.

Alf watched her go till she disappeared into the dark of the night before he shook his head and turned to head in the opposite direction. He glanced up when a lamplighter lit the lamp just above him, not seeing a man in a top hate and rather heavy coat standing behind him. The man eyed Alf as he walked before quickly striding, rather stiffly, towards him, coming up beside him.

"It's the neck," Alf was muttering, staring at the dinosaur more than noticing who was near him, "That's what's wrong with it. Just don't look realistic."

"You have good eyes," the man stated, though his voice was rather flat and monotone. He glanced down, a sound of grinding gears following his movements, to pull a small set of forceps from his pocket, Alf none the wiser as he grinned over at the dinosaur, seemingly pleased that someone agreed with him about the grand hoax going on.

"Oh, I do, as it happens, very good eyes," Alf nodded, "They're my greatest gift."

"I accept," the man stated.

Alf frowned at the odd statement before he turned to actually look at the man behind him, his gaze going straight to the forceps in his hands, "What's that for?"

The man looked up at him, his eyes cold and dead, "Your gift," he stated, before turning to face him completely, revealing that his face was only half there, the other half nothing but clockwork gears through the missing skin, "I have bad eyes."

Before Alf could even move, the robotic man reached out and grabbed him by the neck, pulling him closer and lifting the forceps as he screamed…

~8~

Angel woke with a gasp though she didn't move beyond that. She glanced over to the side, seeing the Doctor sleeping soundly next to her, before she slowly started to sit up, careful not to wake him as she moved. She looked around the room a moment, trying to remember what had woken her, before her gaze was drawn out the window, to where the dinosaur was roaming. She frowned as she looked at it, sensing something was wrong but unable to really grasp what it was. She blamed her exhaustion on that, it had been an emotionally taxing day and she was very tired even now. Judging by the time, she had only been asleep not even two hours and that was hardly enough to recharge after what she'd been through. She glanced at the Doctor, it would take him even longer to feel refreshed after regenerating like he had.

She sighed, glancing at the window again, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep till she'd discovered what had woken her. She leaned over, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of the Doctor's mouth, "Rest, my love," she whispered to him before a dim flash of gold lit up the room, a similar flash appearing just outside the house, Angel heading off into the night for a brief walk, not even aware of the frown that grew on the Doctor's face as he slept on, his sleep growing more and more disturbed.

~8~

"And then?" Vastra asked as she listened intently to Tailor and Clara explaining exactly HOW they had ended up in the throat of a dinosaur.

"And then we got swallowed by a big dinosaur," Clara gave her a blank look, "You probably noticed."

"How did it happen though?" Jenny laughed, sitting on the armrest of Vastra's chair, one arm around the back and the other resting on Vastra's arm.

"I don't know," Clara shrugged, "I don't know, we were...crashing about everywhere. The Doctor was gone, the TARDIS went haywire…"

"He's not gone. He's upstairs."

"She means the last Doctor," Tailor defended, "Even I can admit that my old dad is gone and now I have a new one, it's still him, yeah, but he's different now. That's all she meant."

"Did she?" Vastra looked at Clara critically.

Clara glared at her, "Yes, that's what I meant," she huffed, "I DO know what regeneration is. I WAS a Time Lady for a little. Granted I don't remember much of it, I do remember regeneration. I'm not going to suddenly think differently of him, but until I get to know the new him I can't say that I KNOW him like I used to. Do you understand? He's the Doctor, he always will be, but he's a new Doctor, with new thoughts and new personality and new mannerisms, I just need time to see what sort of Doctor he is."

"Well said, Aunt Clara," Tailor reached out to squeeze her hand, "Dad was going to die," she explained to Vastra, "He really was, he was out of regenerations because one of his past incarnations was an idiot and wasted it. He was going to die, he was supposed to, but…the Time Lords showed him mercy and gave him another set. It was violent and painful but he got to say goodbye in the end. We were all distracted by dad that we didn't pay attention to where he'd set the TARDIS to go, he'd set her wrong and we were crashing, falling through time, and by the time mum and I got Aunt Idris under control we'd fallen out of the sky and right into a dinosaur's mouth. We were trying to get her to materialize back, outside of the dinosaur, but we were lodged in and took her with us. And here we are. Waiting till dad wakes up so we can make sure he's ok..." Tailor was silent a moment till she noticed that all three women were staring at her, "What?"

Vastra just chuckled lightly, "Defending your family, but with attitude. You sound just like your parents."

Tailor smiled at that.

~8~

The Doctor reached out an arm in his sleep, waving it about as he sniffed at the pillow beside him, his eyes flying open a moment later when his mind caught up to the fact that Angel was no longer beside him and hadn't been if the less-than-warm feel of the bed was meant to tell him anything. He sat up quickly, looking around and closed his eyes, he inhaled deeply, his eyes snapping open once more as he realized that Angel wasn't just not beside him, she wasn't even in the house!

He turned to get out of bed…only to get tangled in the sheets and fall to the floor with a flop and a groan, trying to get out of his mess…and only making himself more tangled for the effort. Eventually though he was able to extract himself, scrambling to his feet and spinning around the room as though trying to determine the best way to get out and get to Angel. He could tell that Tailor was still in the house, she was with the others, she was safe, it was Angel that wasn't there. He could feel his hearts constricting at the thought of anything happening to her because he'd been asleep. He quickly looked over, hearing the dinosaur roar. His eyes widened as he listened to the words.

It sounded like the dinosaur was TALKING to someone.

And the only person there that could talk and understand it was Angel!

"Door?" he looked at it, contemplating how much effort it would take to use that to get out of the house. No doubt the moment he stepped out of it, Strax would be waiting to escort him to the others. He'd be caught for sure and there was no time to waste in getting to Angel, and, well, to use the door? Like a normal person? That was just... "Boring," he determined, "Not me."

And so, with that, he turned and ran for the window, throwing it open and sticking his head out, grinning as he looked up at the roof, "Me!"

He quickly scampered out, grabbing onto a nearby pipe and hauling himself to the roof so that he could find a better way down to the ground. His window faced the dinosaur, he assumed that green one and the not-green one and the other one would be facing the dinosaur as well. If he tried to climb down he'd be seen and stopped. But if he made it to the roof, he could find a darker part of the house and climb down that way, unseen.

"Oi!" he spun around to face the dino, a frown on his face, "Stop it!" he shouted, "Stop flirting with her! That's MY Mate!"

Alright, the dinosaur likely wasn't actually flirting with Angel, they did seem to be talking, but there was something niggling him, a deep and profound need to be beside her. He couldn't shake it, but he felt like, even just talking to her, someone else HAD to be flirting with her. It was ridiculous, he would probably realize that eventually, to think that someone just saying hello to her would be flirting…

And then he remembered Jack and realized that it very well COULD be exactly like that. And he really should be there with his Mate, to protect her of course.

Just the thought of her being alone with someone else was driving him nearly mad. It was likely just the after affect of the regeneration, but he couldn't help it. It was like…everything Angel had ever felt about him being alone with River was coming out in him…only it wasn't just him fearing for her around one other person, but…well, everyone that wasn't family. He couldn't help but want to be around her every moment he could. It was selfish, he knew that, purely selfish, to want to be with her like that, to want to monopolize her time and attention. The only one he could even begin to comprehend sharing her with was their daughter, but other people? Men and women alike, he'd rather it just be them.

And really, what could anyone else offer her? These humans, they were so…pudding brained! Yes, that was exactly what they were. Always going off and making mistakes and leaving her and hurting her and…

Well, HE had hurt her more than anyone and he HAD to make up for that. It was like all the time he hadn't noticed her in his last body, it was reversing now. He felt like the only one he could notice was Angel and his daughter. They were the only ones worth remembering…well, them and someone else, who was it again? Strax or was it Handles? Clara? Was that her name?

Right now that didn't matter, not really, what mattered was that his Mate was somewhere else and he wasn't there and someone was talking to her. Who knew what they were saying! What if they said something sweet and made her blush? HE was the only one allowed to do that! What if they were threatening her? He wasn't there to protect her.

That was that, he was going to march right over there and right up to that dinosaur and give it a piece of his mind. Flirting with HIS Mate? Of all the low down and dirty things to do…

"Look!" he shouted once more, "I know it's all my fault you're away from your home. My time machine got stuck in your throat. It happens. We brought you along by accident, but that's no reason to flirt with MY Mate! Oi! I'm talking to you, beastie! Look, you just…you stop talking to her and I promise I will get you home. I swear, whatever it takes, I will keep you safe. You will be at home again so just stop and…"

Whatever he was about to say was cut off when there was a brilliant beam of golden light that illuminated the sky, surrounding and swirling around the dinosaur.

A/N: I'm very glad to be back and updating, even if it took me much longer than I wanted to get back to posting. Apologies for how late this series is resuming, too many things happened since TNB ended, my dad was diagnosed with (and beat) cancer, my dog died, my sister moved out, my brother got engaged (to a harpy that hates our entire family, so we're not handling the engagement very well), I got a job, quit a job, got a different job at a Barnes and Nobles, started a side business making candles, got a tutoring spot, got another part-time job, had a few health scares in the family, but we've pulled through all of it and now I am back.

On the note of updating, I have a few tidbits of information that I want to share with all of you in regards to this story, other stories, and updating.

1. This story will not be updated every day, it won't even be updated every other day. I've been trying to keep to a schedule for updating, but life has been hating me recently and eating my time due to jobs and side businesses and original writing and family and things, so what I'm going to do for the time being is update when I can. I have the chapters written, but editing takes me almost the same amount of time as writing, so it'll mostly be whenever I can get a chapter edited is when the story will be updated.

2. This means that we'll be seeing this story, my OUAT (Lyssa) story, my Big Bang Theory (Claire) story, and even my Lord of the Rings story updated whenever I can get a chapter edited. So we may get a chapter of something every day, or here and there. It may take a week to get an update for this story or just a day or two, it'll really depend on the time I have in a day and what chapter I can get through for whatever story to get it updated.

3. We WILL be seeing a surprise for DW at some point this week also ;)

4. I've started a side candle business that's taken up some time (along with an actual second part-time job), I sell some soy candles on Etsy (Shop: AnitaCandle, because if you need a candle, I've got them lol), and also some custom candles like the TARDIS, the black cubes from The Power of Three, some small Death Star Candles, etc.

5. I'VE PUBLISHED A BOOK! :D It's an e-book so far, available on Amazon (they offer a free Kindle App so you don't have to buy a kindle to read their e-books). It is 'Patrapolis' by Elixabeth Xavier (my penname, which is derived from LizzeXX), and it is $3.99 ;)

6. I won't be resuming Mac's Series 8 till I've finished this story, then I will do Mac's, then the Judge's, and loop back to Proffy's series 9 and so on.

7. Since I'm mostly updating when I can, my OUAT (Piper) story won't be resumed till I finish my current OUAT (Lyssa) story for Season 2.

8. The spin-offs and AUs for DW will be resumed in June, so just a few weeks, and I hope to get a Crossover between Angel, Evy, and Proffy up by the end of the month too ;)

I think that's pretty much it lol :) I'm very glad to be updating again, even if it'll be a little more stretched out, but a little is better than nothing :) I'm hoping to be able to get back to posting more consistently when the summer is over (when my second part-time job should be done).

I'm very glad you all enjoyed The Nightmare Begins and I hope you'll enjoy this story too :)

Some notes on reviews...(from the end of The Nightmare Begins)...

Lol, ironically, the Doctor and my other OC (Evy) had a son and he IS the Captain, like his uncle. Literally, his title is 'The Captain' ;)

I agree, 12 is a little off when he speaks to Angel at the end of TNB, but I think if we take into account he's just regenerated, he's still got a tiny bit of his old self still there, he hasn't settled yet or discovered the sort of man he is, and his Mate is internally freaking out over his regeneration and he needs/wants/has to comfort her, what he says isn't too out of character for him ;) I hinted at it in this chapter, Clara notices that the longer the new Doctor is awake and about, the more the traces of the old him fade away ;)

I've heard that theory with Susan yup :) I actually have something similar to it in my Professor story, that Susan traveled back in time in order to travel with the Doctor when she was older :)

I don't think I'll be doing a Merlin/OC story. There's always a chance an OC will jump out at me for him, but so far I'm a big fan of Mergana so I see more Merlin with Morgana than an OC ;)

I agree, I think that Kovarian went off the deep end and was a sort of Master-like member of the Church. She had the same sort of mentality as the Doctor, in a way, to me she wanted the fighting to stop but went about it in the worst way ever and went sort of insane/evil like the Master did. Someone like Octavian wouldn't have been a part of a group like Kovarian's but more the general church order. I wonder if Octavian came in a time period before or after Tasha, maybe her predecessor Mainframe or successor. Ayla can remember them due to her exposure to them as a child, the trauma of it allowed her to remember them (sort of like in Harry Potter, seeing someone die allows you to see Thestrals) but also a small addition of Time Lord mind and exposure to them while in Angel's womb. A lot of little things add up for Ayla. I'm not sure Ayla would hug a Silent, it's similar to Angel's story with the Cybermen. The Silence became something, in Ayla's mind, that she's afraid of and very much dislikes, just like Angel dislikes Cybermen due to the loss of her mother :( The entire Kovarian timeline was very odd to me, so many possibilities lol :) I think a platonic Time Lady for the Doctor could be interesting too :) I'm not sure if I could personally do that though, just because I seem to end up writing the TLs for him because I always feel so bad for how alone he is and how the ones he cares about always leave or are lost to him, so having someone to love that loves him back and won't suffer the same weaknesses or flaws as humans drives me to write more for him :)

Mac is my 4th Time Lady OC, her series is called The Time Lady Memoirs ;)

Yup, I do know Chesterton was an original companion ;) That's why I included the mention of 'Mr. John Smith' in there too ;) I'm glad you feel that way about the spoilering with Angel lol, it's intentional to counter River's 'Spoilers' thing ;) Clyde and Sky are from the Sarah Jane Adventures, Sky is Sarah's second adopted child and Clyde is Sarah's first adopted child's friend ;) John is what I called the Meta-Crisis Doctor in Angel's story :) I think after everything the Doctor's lost and how close he came to scarring his Mate and child with the fear that he didn't love/care about them, kissing them a lot is his way of coping and showing that he loves them (and the rest of the family) :) Lol, I could see the Doctor doing impressions too :) For the first Christmas special, it was the Jenny from the show, Vastra's Jenny ;) I agree, I can't do sex scenes, it's like, that act should be something private and behind closed doors and I don't want to exploit my babies like that by having to write my OCs and their bedroom acts lol. Though imagining 11 blushing and sputtering if he ever found stories where his exploits are written in detail makes me laugh. True, Angel's memories are a bit better than the Doctor, as she hasn't experienced as much as he has and doesn't have many memories past TARDISes till she travels with him, but she wasn't there during his second self and only knows what he knows as a vague story in his mind ;) That's cool that Rose is your favorite, she's my least favorite, but she grew on me just a tiny bit in writing Angel's story :)

Oh boy, if the Doctor was ever taken like that, I can imagine his captors giving him back because of how annoying he gets around them, amping it up just to irritate them more :) I have 0 clue how the Doctor planned to regenerate when he knew he was out of regenerations lol, that was something I think the writers of the episode missed. I think that maybe he said it just to scare the Planner, that the Planner didn't know he was out and was using it as a way to keep the Planner from doing too much destruction though ;) There was a bit of I told you so going on, I agree, but I think it's more an after affect of the mini-sode, we didn't see much of what the Doctor was talking about as it was actually happening :) I think the Cold War being a non-fixed point might work like all other wars, there's so many of them and for all we know, the Doctor went back in the past and the history we know now is the result of him messing with time and changing the winner lol :) Clara's had some time to come to terms with what the Doctor did, why he did it, and she can see how he deals with it and carries that burden every day, how his entire family suffers the loneliness of what he did. I think it affects her more seeing them dealing with being the last because she actually SEES it and is experiencing it, whereas what he did to Gallifrey is a story she's heard and not one she's actually lived through. It's not HER planet (yet) but they are her friends sort of thing. Nope, the next TL was 'Chosen' by the Doctor, instead of being his wife by 'Contract' ;)

Nope, Clara wasn't his actual sister on Gallifrey ;) As for the line, lol, just try to keep the context in mind, talking about not-quite-plans and so on ;) I think Mr. Sweet was with Gillyflower since before her rocket plans, but that still doesn't make sense to me how she built a rocket, if he's a leech and just eats sweets, how does he communicate plans like that? Unless she was just insane enough to come up with the rocket on her own? I have no idea lol. We'll have to wait and see if meta-crisis Doctor even exists in an AU series 5 ;) Artie is quite the gentleman, I agree, but I think even the best gentlemen, when they get truly frightened, might forget their manners. To Artie, Ayla is brave and likely not about to be scared, but she's also a stranger and he doesn't want his big sister to leave him alone ;) But nope, nothing between Artie and Ayla ;) I think Angel didn't point it out or get Ayla away because she was still hoping they could stop the Cybers from activating at all. The same could be said for the Doctor, when he worked out there were Cybers around, why didn't he get Angie and Artie off the planet and then come back to deal with it too? :) For Angel, she's still got a tiny bit of resentment for Cybers in general, and it might have been easier for her to think of them as more robotic than human to deal with the situation :( As for the destruction of Gallifrey, I think most people see it more that he's trying to STOP them doing the same thing. It's a very terrible thing what he did, if he were telling them to do the same thing he did, then I think they'd have more concerns about him, but when he's trying to stop them and get them to do the ethical thing, it's not quite as much an issue for them.

The Doctor's as careful as he can be with her name, so he said it quietly so it wouldn't be picked up by the Mites, and I think Angel would know if he was going to say it in a way that others would hear and stop him too ;) As for the breakdown, some things just can't be helped, it's a natural reaction. My father was undergoing a surgery that had a 80% chance of killing him, my mother broke down in my arms over it, she was strong through his entire treatment, but sometimes things just impact us more and at the worst times :'( My sister, as a child, always included my brother or me in her questions like that, 'Are Bud and I the only ones starving! Foooood!' lol, so kids do sometimes speak like that :) 10 had his moments of blaming single people instead of other things at times, I think ;) But nope, 9 wasn't involved because Angel wasn't technically HIS Mate the way she was 10's. But I agree, Angel wouldn't want a Time Lord Victorious, but it's all a part of 10's bigger plan ;) I know Susan isn't ginger ;) The key Clara nicked was off of Angel and the other gingers running around with the Doctors were Angel's past selves. So never Susan, but Angel ;) 10's reasonings get revealed soon and 11 has some words about that lol ;) I think Ayla would definitely love 6's garb yup :)

Thank you for your concern! It really means a lot to me. I've been told that about the story and author before but from what I've seen, the story is fairly different from mine. I get more concerned with copy/pasting or very blatant/obvious paraphrasing than if a story has a similarity here or there ;) But thank you so much for bringing it up to me :')

Lol, I was hoping that line would scare some people ;) I'm glad you liked it :)

I'm continuing now :) I'm sorry it was so late! Life got in the way in the worst way :( But I'm back now for the most part :) It made sense to me :) I think a little of it also has to do with the time travel, like he could be in the TARDIS for ages and step outside it and it's only been 5 minutes since he last saw Amy. Sort of like how Amy and Rory spent, they thought, 10 years with the Doctor but it wasn't that long on Earth, so how do they identify their age? Their friends would think them insane to say they were 10 years older when they only saw them last month or something lol :) The age thing is definitely complicated :)

Yup there's more! And even an AU for Angel up as well ;)

Thank you for pointing it out! I've added it to a list I've made of things to fix when I get some time :) I feel torn about the Doctor suffering, on one hand I evilly want him to suffer for Angel's pain, but on the other hand I don't blame him. So I think the nightmares serve a good purpose, he punishes himself because he feels he should suffer more for the hurt he created :)

I can say Clara will still be paired with Danny in the story, Ayla will have to do some searching for her own special someone one day (if the Doctor doesn't go dad-mode on them and scare them off lol). But Clara and Ayla will be very good friends :)

New Beginnings is up now :) Updated slower than I'd like, but I'd rather get it up little by little than promise a specific schedule and be unable to keep it going :)

Yup, still going with this series and then some ;) I've got an AU of Angel up too ;)