The Next Doctor: A Cyber-Disk

"The latest murder," the Other Doctor replied as he moved to a bookcase, pulling out random books and checking behind them, "The Reverend Aubrey Fairchild. Found with burns to his forehead, like some advanced form of electrocution."

"But who was he, was he important?" the Doctor asked, though his gaze, like it often was, was on Angel, seeing she hadn't looked away from that particular desk.

"You ask a lot of questions," the Other Doctor glanced back at him.

The Doctor just shrugged, "We're your companions."

"The Reverend was the pillar of the community, a member of many parish boards. A keen advocate of children's charities."

"Children," Angel murmured...

'...Matron of the St. Joseph Workhouse, your humble servant...'

...they watched a group of orphans pass...

'...when it reaches 100, what about the children?...'

She shook her head out of the vision, feeling relieved she was getting them again though, now they had a hint of what might be coming, they could prepare. And that was always something she worried about when her visions had started to fade before, that the Doctor would be left unprepared and in a terrible danger because she hadn't seen something coming. Now though, she was immensely glad that they were back. She found this version of her rather liked them, was less afraid of what they and the Vortex could mean. She was happier now, she understood what it all meant. It was funny how dying gave you perspective like that. It seemed she was quite a bit like Jack in a way, it had taken him ages to think of his immortality as a gift instead of a curse, just as it had taken her quite a while to understand her visions, the Vortex, everything was a gift. With it...SHE could protect the Doctor just like he protected her.

He was always so aware of her, of when she was in danger, trying to keep her behind him, block attacks, distract enemies, just to protect her. But now she realized her visions, her feelings, they'd been there as a way to help HIM. He was so clever and brilliant and quick while she was...average. But her abilities, the Vortex and her 'psychic' qualities made them even. While she wasn't as bright or quick, she had a gift, she could use it in the same way as he used his mind. To help protect others. It was nice to know she could do that, that she could be just as amazing as him in a way. She honestly and truly felt confident for once, finally seemed to be able to believe that she deserved him, that she was good enough for him...

'You're SO wrong,' she heard him in her mind, realizing he'd heard everything and was gazing at her intensely, the Other Doctor not seeming to notice, 'Angel...I'M the one who doesn't deserve YOU,' he insisted, 'I still can't believe you picked me,' he whispered, his mental voice full of honesty, 'I still can't believe you said yes to being my Mate. I...' he shook his head, reaching out to take her hands, 'Every time I look at you, or dream, or wake...I can't believe this life I have is real. That you're real. That you exist and that...' he smiled, stroking her cheek, 'That you're mine. All mine...' he let out a happy little laugh, 'I feel like the luckiest man in the Universe because I have you. My good luck charm, eh?'

She blushed, looking down, but he gently lifted her chin up, 'I feel the same,' she told him, moving onto her toes to press a kiss to his lips, biting her lip as she pulled away with a wide grin.

He felt his breath leave him at that, it was a new habit of hers, he'd noticed, biting her lip in the most adorable way...but also a way that just...made his hearts race. He found himself staring at her lips whenever she did that, which did little to help his self-control in not kissing her whenever she did that...

'Self-control,' Angel spoke in his mind, making his eyes shoot to hers, 'Is no fun at all Theta,' she smirked mischievously.

He had to nod at that and leaned in, giving in, and kissing her again...and again...and then peppering her face in little kisses till she laughed and swatted him away playfully, looking back around the room before walking over to the desk that kept pulling her attention.

"But why would the Cybermen want him dead?" the Doctor asked, watching her go, realizing they had been a bit quiet and the Other Doctor might notice soon, "And what's his connection to the first death, this Jackson Lake?"

"It's funny, I seem to be telling you everything," the Other Doctor eyed them, actually more startled by the Doctor speaking again than having noticed them fall silent, "As though you engendered some sort of...trust. You seem familiar, Mr. Smith. I know your face Miss Jones," he eyed her a moment longer than the Doctor, "But how?"

"I wonder," the Doctor looked down, "I can't help noticing you're wearing a fob watch."

The Other Doctor looked down at his waist where he did indeed have a fob watch attached to it, "Is that important?"

"Legend has it that the memories of a Time Lord can be contained within a watch," the Doctor murmured, "Do you mind?" Angel glanced over as the Other Doctor handed the Doctor his watch, "It's said that if it's opened..." he opened it...and the workings fell out, "Oh. Maybe not."

"It's more for decoration."

"Yeah," he nodded, walking over to Angel, draping his arm around her shoulders, making her smile, "Anyway, alien infiltration."

Angel looked at him with a shy little grin. She'd missed this as well. Being ill...most of the touches she'd gotten from the Doctor had been to help support her, keep her standing, help her walk...it didn't leave much time or enjoyment for lighter touches. It was so nice to be able to stand on her own, to lean against him solely for the closeness and not the support, to be able to touch him and be touched and not have to worry about falling down or him taking her pulse or anything but just...touching. It was odd how much such a little thing could mean.

"Look for anything different," the Other Doctor nodded, getting back to his search, "Possibly metal. Anything that doesn't seem to belong, perhaps a mechanical device that could fit no Earthly engine..."

Angel lightly nudged the Doctor, nodding at the desk beside them and the Doctor pulled out his sonic, flashing it across to open it.

"It could even seem to be organic, but unlike any organism of the natural world. Shh!" the Other Doctor pressed a finger to his lips, "What's that noise?"

The Doctor quickly slipped the sonic back into his pocket, "Oh, it's just me...whistling," he whistled an impression of the sonic whirring.

"That's a very good impression," Angel remarked quietly to him. She loved that as well, learning new things about him. Being psychic one would automatically assume she knew everything about someone or the future but she didn't. She liked only getting the very important snippets. She liked the adventure...it seemed nearly dying had been good for another thing. Being so sick, so unable to do anything for round about 2 years, well 2 sets of 1 year, but still...being so unable to do anything had made her eager to get out there and do something! She just wanted to run around and explore and laugh and help people, not that she hadn't before but she was just...more excited to be able to really do it this time.

The Doctor winked at her in thanks and pointed at the scroll top desk, "I wonder what's in here, though…"

"Only one way to find out," Angel turned and lifted the top, pulling out a metal cylinder, "Different and metal, just as you said," she smiled at the Other Doctor.

"They are infostamps," the Doctor said, taking it from Angel and peering at it, "I mean, at a guess. Um, if I were you, I'd say they worked something like this," he pressed one end of the cylinder and images were projected onto the wall behind him from the other end. He turned to look, "See? Compressed information. Tons of it."

"That is..." Angel squinted at the images racing by, "The history of London," she guessed, though she sounded a bit more certain that just guessing, the Doctor putting on his specs to examine it as well, "1066 to now."

The Doctor beamed, "Correctamundo!" he cheered, seeing that it WAS 1066 to the present day, oh he loved that about Angel.

She had been right, in the Crucible, she DID seem to have a natural affinity with time. She was always guessing the date, the year, even the time left for something, LONG before she'd taken in the Vortex. She'd done the same since he'd met her, guessed the date when they took Adam on his first trip, guessed how long before the Dalek fleet invaded the Game Station, and you know what, she hadn't been wrong yet. And that was just brilliant, SHE was brilliant.

"Thought you hoped to never say that again," Angel smiled up at him, the blush back on her cheeks having heard his praises in his mind.

"For you," he took her hand, kissing the back of it, "I'd say anything."

"An...infostamp?" the Other Doctor asked, something tugging at him at seeing the man and woman across from him so...in love. It made his chest tighten and tears come to his eyes...and not happy ones, but ones that spoke of a profound loss, one he didn't understand why he felt.

"This is like a disk, a Cyber-Disk," the Doctor looked down at it, pulled back to the present, "But why would the Cybermen need something so simple?" Angel glanced over to see the Other Doctor collapse into a chair, "They've gotta be wireless. Unless...they're in the wrong century, they haven't got much power. They need plain old basic infostamps to update themselves…"

"Are you alright?" Angel asked, walking over to kneel before the Other Doctor, placing a gentle hand on his arm.

"I'm fine," he nodded, patting her hand with his, resting his over hers in thanks for her concern.

"You can't lie to a psychic," she shook her head, frowning as she eyed him, something on the edge of her senses, "What is it?" the Doctor stepped over as well, "What's wrong?"

"I've seen one of these before," he frowned, seeing himself and a Cyberman in his mind, both of them in a dark, small, dank room, "I was holding...this device," he took the infostamp from the Doctor, "The night I lost my mind. The night I regenerated. The Cybermen, they made me change. My mind, my face, my whole self. And you were there," he looked up at the Doctor, "Who are you?"

"Friends," the Doctor said, "I swear."

"Then I beg you, John. Help me."

"Two words he would never refuse," Angel smiled softly.

"You can talk," he muttered, smiling at Angel as he helped her stand, as though Angel could EVER deny someone in need of help either, she'd saved so many people he hadn't been able to, "But it's not a conversation for a dead man's house. It'll make more sense if we go back to the TARDIS...your TARDIS. Hold on, I just need to do a final check. Won't take a tick," he turned and started opening doors, "There's one more thing I cannot figure. If this room's got infostamps, then maybe, just maybe, it's got something that needs infostamping…"

"No!" Angel shouted, leaping forward and shoving a door shut the Doctor had just opened. He caught the briefest glimpse of a Cyberman before it was thrust closed. Angel looked at him, "I think we should run."

They ran back to the Other Doctor, helping him up as the Cyberman broke through the door, "Run, Doctor!" the Doctor nudged him, "Now, Doctor!" he pushed him ahead of them out the library.

"Delete!" the Cyberman called.

They ran down the hallway towards the front door only for Angel to pull them back a moment before a second Cyberman stepped in, "The Doctor will be deleted."

Angel grabbed their arms and turned around, leading them towards the stairs as the first Cyberman arrived from the hallway, "Delete!"

The Other Doctor ran up the stairs, Angel following as the Doctor tried to find something to use as a weapon...only to open an umbrella. And then he spotted a sword on the wall and grabbed it.

"Delete!"

He swung the sword, "I'm a dab hand with a cutlass. You don't want to come near me when I've got one of these. This is your last warning. No?" the Cybermen advanced, "Ok, this is really your last warning! Ok, I give up," he started up the stairs as Angel watched from above.

"Delete!"

"Listen to me properly!" he shouted, backing up as they advanced, using the sword to block the blows they dealt, "Whatever you're doing stuck in 1851, Angel and I can help! We're the only people in the world who can help you! Listen to me!"

"Delete!"

"I'm the Doctor. You need me. Check your memory banks, my name's the Doctor. Leave this man alone! The Doctor is me!" he kicked the Cybermen back and ran up the stairs.

"Delete!"

"The Doctor, remember? I'm the Doctor! You need me alive! You need the Doctor, and that's me!"

The Other Doctor looked down at the infostamp in his hand and winced as another snippet of memory struck him, of a tip opening, a bright light shooting out of it.

"Delete!"

"Duck!" Angel called, pulling the Doctor down just as the Other Doctor opened the stamp and aimed the beam at the Cybers. They fell to their knees as their heads exploded.

"Infostamp with a cyclo-Steinham core," the Doctor and Angel stood up a moment later, staring at the Other Doctor, "You ripped open the core and broke the safety, zap!" he laughed, looking at the Other Doctor, "Only the Doctor would think of that."

"I did that...last time," he admitted heavily as he stared down at it.

"Come here," Angel pulled him into a sideways hug, just knowing the man needed comfort, he was clearly shaken by everything that was going on, "You'll be ok."

"Let me just check…" the Doctor pulled out a stethoscope and held it to the man's chest, wanting to be 100 percent sure he was human as they thought he was.

"You told them you were the Doctor," he looked at the Doctor, "Why did you do that?"

"Oh, I was just protecting you," the Doctor mumbled, listening to the man's heart. Heart...as in one. Singular.

"You're trying to take away the only thing I've got, like they did!" he accused, stepping back, though not shaking Angel away from him, "They stole something, something so precious. But I can't remember," he shook his head, "What happened to me? What did they do?"

"We'll find out," Angel promised him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

The Doctor nodded, putting the scope away, "You, me, and Angel together."

~8~

Fairchild's body was lowered into the grave as the vicar spoke, a small gathering of men dressed in black gathered around the open hole in the earth, solemn, respectful, "Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy, to take unto Himself the soul of our dear brother here departed, we therefore commit his body to the ground. Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working..." he stopped suddenly, seeing the woman in red striding up to them, not seeming to have a care at all that her outfit and presence were must unbefitting the moment.

"Do continue," she smirked, coming to a stop beside the men.

"Madam, I must protest!"

"Whatever for?"

"A lady at the graveside is debatable enough, but...your apparel..."

"Is it too exciting?" she eyed her red dress, a stark contrast against the black of the mourners and the white of the snow.

"You're disgracing the ceremony, dressed like a harlot," another man glared at her.

"Oh, and you should know, Mr. Cole," she shot back at the man.

"How do you know my name?"

"You've walked past me so many times, all you good men of charity, never once asking my name."

"It's Miss Hartigan, isn't it?" another man asked.

"Oh, you noticed," she smiled, "I saw you looking, you cheeky boy."

"I'm sorry, but who is she?" the vicar looked at the men, lost.

"Matron of the St. Joseph Workhouse, your humble servant," she introduced, though it came out with a bit of a sneer, "Oh, I've watched you all. Visiting. Smiling. Bestowing your beneficence upon the poor while I scrubbed down their filthy beds."

"I must insist that you depart..."

"But that's why the late Reverend Fairchild had to die," she sighed, continuing on as though she hadn't heard the vicar speaking, "To gather you all in one place. Where better than a funeral?" she smiled up at the vicar, "Man that is born of woman hath but a short time to live. Although I've got some friends who might disagree with that. Would you like to meet them? Hark! I can hear them now," Cybermen marched in from all sides, surrounding the funeral party, "Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, Mr. Milligan," she eyed three of the older men, "Stay where you are. You're needed. The rest of you are disposable. Sorry."

"But what manner of men are they?" the vicar stared at the Cybers in horror.

"Cybermen," she smirked, watching as the mourners ran from the metal men and the Cyber-Shades. A large number of them were electrocuted as they tried to save themselves, "I repeat, Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, Mr. Milligan. Stay."

"You monstrous witch!" Cole shouted as he was herded back.

"Merry Christmas to you, too," she simply laughed.

"But why are we spared?" one of the men asked, "What do you need us for?"

"Your children. It's funny, now I think of it, but in all these years not one of you has asked my first name. It's Mercy."

The Cybermen came up and surrounded the small group of men.

~8~

Rosita paced nervously outside what looked like a stable of some sort, as she waited for the Other Doctor to return, looking up sharply when she heard three sets of approaching footsteps, "Doctor!" she gasped, running over to hug the man when she saw him appear around a corner with the other two, the Doctor with his arm gentlemanly linked through Angel's, "I thought you were dead!"

"Now then, Rosita," he pushed her away with a little laugh, "A little decorum."

"You've been gone for so long," she turned to Angel, "He's always doing this, leaving me behind. Going frantic."

"What about the TARDIS?"

"Oh, she's ready. Come on," she took the Other Doctor's arm and led him off.

"I'm looking forward to this," the Doctor muttered to Angel as they followed along, the Doctor trailing his hand down Angel's arm till they were hand-in-hand. They stepped into a stable, looking around at the clothes and suitcases littered through the building.

"You were right though, Rosita," the Other Doctor nodded, "The Reverend Fairchild's death was the work of the Cybermen."

"So, you live here?" the Doctor eyed the place, it was...nice. But he didn't think he'd ever seen the TARDIS turn into a stable before.

"This isn't the TARDIS," Angel frowned.

A TARDIS in any shape or form had a distinct...vibe...to it. She could always tell where one was, what it was. There was a little game she used to play with the newly grown TARDISes, the ones fresh from adaption with the Chameleon Circuit technology...much like the Earth Hide-and-Seek. They would transform into anything, a statue, a vase, a cupboard, anything at all, and she would have to find them. It was fun, and it gave the TARDISes a chance to adapt and get used to the new tech. She'd always been able to tell where they were though, and it was NOT a feeling at the time just...well, she'd always had a special connection with them. They couldn't fool her.

Her father and sister on the other hand...they could go days without finding a TARDIS.

"A temporary base, until we rout the enemy," the Other Doctor nodded, "The TARDIS is magnificent, but it's hardly a home," he stepped into one of the stalls to wash his face.

"And where's the TARDIS now?" Angel wondered, vaguely wondering if it WAS one of the stalls, if perhaps she was just...not sensing it because, IF, and it was a very big IF, the man really was a future Doctor, perhaps having the same TARDIS there at different points in its timeline might be shorting out that connection.

But she doubted it.

She was fairly certain the only TARDIS, the only real TARDIS, around was theirs. She shivered a bit, she loved that, their TARDIS.

"In the yard," the man gestured to the side.

"Er...what's all this luggage?" the Doctor frowned, glancing around at the cases.

"Evidence. The property of Jackson Lake, the first man to be murdered. Oh, but my new friend is a fighter, Rosita," he turned to his companion, drying his face, "Much like myself. He faced the Cybermen with a cutlass. I'm not ashamed to say, he was braver than I."

The Doctor looked over to see Angel eyeing a stack of suitcases with the same look on her face that she'd gotten when they'd found the first infostamp. He pulled out the sonic, flashing it to see which suitcase it was.

"He was quite brilliant..." the Other Doctor continued, before pausing, listening, "Are you whistling again?"

"Yes," the Doctor turned, hiding the sonic behind his back, "Yes, I am, yeah. Yeah."

Angel put a finger to her lips and winked at Rosita, whom she knew had seen him, as the Doctor turned and opened the top trunk.

"That's another man's property!" Rosita cried.

"Well, a dead man's," the Doctor countered, searching the trunk.

"Rosita," Angel smiled at her, wanting to distract her from stopping the Doctor, "How did you meet the Doctor?"

"He saved my life," Rosita smiled softly, "Late one night, by the Osterman's Wharf, this...creature came out of the shadows. A man made of metal. I thought I was gonna die. And then...there he was. The Doctor," she fell silent a moment, glancing between them, before looking at Angel, "Can you help him?" she asked the woman, glancing between her and the Doctor, "He has such terrible dreams. Wakes at night in such a state of terror..."

"Come now, Rosita," the Other Doctor chastised lightly, coming over, "With all the things a Time Lord has seen, everything he's lost, he may surely have bad dreams."

"At first yeah," the Doctor agreed, his hand taking Angel's as he winked at her and dropped a kiss on the back of it. She blushed at his unspoken words...

Not anymore.

God the nightmares used to terrify him. He'd dream of the planet burning, as though he were still on it, as though he were watching its destruction but just...protected from it. He'd seen his friends and family die around him, his children crying out for him to help...and been powerless to stop it. He'd been helpless in the knowledge that it was HIS fault, that HE was the reason his children were suffering, burning, dying...he'd wake up in a cold sweat each time. Sometimes he'd dream of what might have happened if he'd stopped Davros when he'd had the chance, when he'd been tasked to stop the Daleks by going back in their timeline. And he'd feel regret and disappointment in himself at not having succeeded. Sometimes he wouldn't even dream of the planet, but just a dark room where his children stood before him, his friends, his family, his people and just...pointed at him, staring at him accusingly, telling him it was HIS fault...and it was.

He could still remember the first night he hadn't had a nightmare...when he and Rose had taken a little trip to a museum in America...that night had been the beginning of it all. He had nightmares periodically after that, their frequency diminishing the more time he spent around Angel. He couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt to know one of his people survived and DIDN'T hate him for what he'd done. His dreams had slowly begun to shift, from nightmares to in-between dreams. The faces were still there, still pointing...but Angel was beside him, holding his hand, silently reassuring him that not everyone believed him to be at fault. And slowly, the faces faded as well, the number of people accusing him lessened.

Eventually...well, really when he'd regenerated into his healing coma...the dreams had become just him and Angel. The desolate worlds and black rooms turning into Earth, with its blue sky, and the warm console room of the TARDIS. And it had remained that way ever since...he didn't have nightmares when she was with him, when she was beside him and she hadn't left his side since. The dreams though, had gotten stronger, more vivid, more...heated...

He blushed and looked away from Angel, back at the suitcase, desperately trying to keep her from seeing just where his thoughts and dreams had gone, luckily seeming to do so, "Oh, now, look," he pulled out another infostamp, "Jackson Lake had an infostamp."

"But how?" the Other Doctor shook his head, "Is that significant?"

"Doctor, the answer to all this is in your TARDIS."

"May we see it?" Angel asked politely.

"Mr. Smith, Miss Jones," the Other Doctor grinned, "It would be my honor," he turned and led them out the back of the stables and into a small stable yard...

Where a hot air balloon was tied up.

"There she is! My transport through time and space. The TARDIS."

"You've...got a balloon," the Doctor blinked, that was not quite what he was expecting, nor, it seemed, was Angel either.

"TARDIS. T-A-R-D-I-S. It stands for Tethered Aerial Release Developed In Style. D'you see?"

"Well, I do now. I like it. Good TARDIS. Brilliant. Nice one," he inspected it closely, "And it's inflated by gas, yeah?"

"We're adjacent to the Mutton Street Gasworks, I pay them a modest fee. Good work, Jed," he clapped a young man on the shoulder.

"Glad to be of service, sir," Jed nodded.

The Other Doctor pulled out a number of bills from his inner coat pocket and slapped one into Jed's hand.

"You've got quite a bit of money," the Doctor noted, absently patting his own pockets, not a penny on him.

"Oh, you get nothing for nothing," the Other Doctor nodded, "How's that ripped panel, Jed?"

"All repaired, should work a treat," he said, "You never know, maybe tonight's the night, Doctor. Imagine it, seeing Christmas from above."

"Well, not just yet, I think. One day, I will ascend. One day soon."

"You've never actually been up?" the Doctor asked.

"He dreams of leaving, but never does," Rosita remarked.

"I can depart, in the TARDIS, once London is safe," the Other Doctor replied, "And finally, when I'm up there...think of it, John. The time and the space."

"The perfect escape," Angel smiled softly, before looking at the Other Doctor, "Have you ever wondered what you're trying to escape from?"

"With every moment."

"Then do you want us to tell you?" the Doctor asked, "'Cos I think I've worked it out now, I'd wager Angel has too. How you became the Doctor. What do you think? Do you want to know?"

The Other Doctor was silent a moment, before nodding.

~8~

The men Miss Hartigan had collected stood before her, with an earpiece in each ear, "Mr. Cole, Mr. Scoones, Mr. Fetch, and Mr. Milligan, you have your instructions and the Court of the Cyber-King is waiting," she smiled, "First of all, let's just see. A little test. Turn right," they turned right, "Turn left," and left, "And face me," they did, "Oh, I could do this forever. But now, set about your appointed tasks. And bring them to me."

The men turned and went their separate ways to collect the children as ordered, as Miss Hartigan climbed into a carriage pulled by a Cyber-Shade.

A/N: Awww, I loved writing the new new new Angel :) I love being able to really bring the fluff back since so much of Angel's time had been with her ill :( But she's healthy again! And I promise, she won't be slowly dying again in this series, nope, she's 100 percent healthy :)

Have to say though...this Christmas isn't quite shaping up to be a 'happy' one is it? Oh Doctor, you get an A for effort, and it's the thought that counts :) Makes me wonder if he'll EVER be able to give Angel just 1 Christmas where they aren't about to be killed by something lol :)

Just want to say thanks so much for the input about the Torchwood crossover :) I think I have an idea of what I should do :) Oh! And...Angel's 10th incarnation video is up on my youtube account if anyone's interested :) The link to my account is on my profile. Just a warning though, it focuses mostly on Angel's time in Fading so...it's a tiny bit sad :( I had to use two other ginger actresses to substitute for some scenes so, if anyone wants to watch it, just pretend all the gingers (except Donna) are Angel :)

Some notes on reviews...

Oh there is a HUGE twist for when we see River again, so I really can't say exactly how she'll act till we get there :) Oh Rassilon's reaction to Angel will actually have A LOT to do with the Master's final sacrifice, but I won't say how }:)

Nope, the Doctor and Angel won't be married in this saga. At least not now. Angel is, at the moment, still firmly a believer in Mate being a far more unique title than 'wife.' You never know, it might change in the future, but so far I don't see them as getting married like Keta did :)

All I can say about the TW crossover...if I had Angel save Tosh and Owen...well, she'll definitely be able to save at least ONE more person... }:)

Lol, oh Marilyn :) I can say that she'll be trying to plan a wedding yes. But I won't say whose just yet :)

Aww, thanks! I think I'm just pretty average, but thank you!

If 12 is a woman, I'd have to make the Time Ladies men...so I'm hoping 12 won't be. I don't think 12 will be a woman because, I feel like you'd need the opposite sex companion to balance the show, to give both men and women something to watch and relate to. Clara has been confirmed (as far as I know) through Series 8 so I think it might be a hint that it'll be a man. I feel like the Doctor being a man works because boys look up to him and girls want him to be the 'knight in shining armor'. If the Doctor was a woman, even though this isn't always true for either gender, I feel like girls would be jealous of her and boys would want to...do other things than see the Universe with her. And they'd have to deal with the 'River is his WIFE' thing and the semi-relationship 11's been building with Clara... Overall, if 12 was a woman, the Time Ladies would regenerate into men to compensate. Which I can't quite see myself writing as I have their personalities so set as women it would be really weird for me...hmmm...and then there's the fact that the Professor's pregnant...

Yup, Martha and Mickey's relationship will actually be mentioned in the next episode :)

I don't know if Jack would feel the changes. My own opinion is that he wouldn't, like...he's still human and being a 'fixed point' wouldn't make him more sensitive to that. But that's just me :) I can say that Angel will be FAR more aware of the cracks than the Doctor, this series will really be about her powers and abilities strengthening now that she has fully accepted them so by Series 5 she'll be very aware of them. But as for the Doctor and how much he may or may not notice and why...not saying :) She sees BIG things coming sometimes, she'll 'see' a bit of what's coming for the Doctor in this series as well (won't say when though). I can say that her powers will be changing just a little, which we'll see in TWOSJS, Waters of Mars, and the TW crossover especially and even more in Series 5. It'll be a slow progression but every step she takes helps her understand her powers and allow her to evolve in them. They will be changing as the saga goes on yup :)

Aww thanks for the pies! :)