Author's Note:

Sorry for the long wait. Finals and stuff... :( Anyway, I've written a LOT more of this story! Reviews are welcome! Hope you're still interested. :)

"Me?" I ask in surprise. "I'm perfectly normal. I get A's and B's in school, I've got some great friends, I have two parents and a sister… I mean, nothing strange or remotely interesting has ever happened to me. I wish that our universes fully combined earlier on so that I could have known about Doctor Who – well, your adventures – being real earlier on. I was beginning to lose hope."

The Doctor smiles and says, "Well, at least you know now, eh? But I don't think that's all you are. I've never met a human who understood so much and saw the time energy like you did. Of course, my… other…. Companions," his eyes grow infinitely sad, and I know he is thinking of Rose, "understood many things, but never so quickly. And I don't think it's just the program that did that. I've got some theories, but I have to test them first. Something about you is different. Let's start with your past."

We reach the TARDIS and the Doctor leads me inside and sits me down on the yellowing jump seat, leaning against the console in front of me.

"Tell me about yourself. What are your hobbies? What's school like? And your parents, your friends, your weekends, your summers? What are your interests? Tell me as much as you're comfortable with telling."

I tell him about my love for art and music and books, and, of course, Doctor Who. By the end of this, I think that the Doctor knows as much about me as I do about him. I trust him so much, and I only just met him in person. It's a strange thing, it really is, but I just rambled on and on about every feeling inside of me. I never was able to do that with anyone else, and it feels so good just to let it all out, so that when I'm finished, there are tears in my eyes.

"… and when I hear the TARDIS, I didn't even think twice. The slightest possibility was enough for me. I knew that you would accept me, or at least understand more than anyone else, because even though you don't know it, you're the best man in the universe, because you save people without realizing, without any second thoughts or a backwards glance. Doctor Who wasn't just a television program – it showed me how to look at everything and not only see, but observe, look at every angle, and learn to understand everything I could possibly understand. Do you get it?" And that's when the tears start pouring out, the feelings all tumbling from my eyes, and I feel so happy and yet so sad, with the knowledge of all of the possibilities out there, that everything I ever imagined could be real. The danger doesn't matter anymore. I'm staying.

The Doctor sits beside me and lets me lean my head against his shoulder, rubbing my back as I cry. "I won't leave you, Tris. I understand. I understand," he whispers gently. For a while, I just stay like that, my arms wrapped around his neck, his hands on my shoulders.

Then I get up, and laugh softly. "You know, Doctor? You're everything I imagined, and more. Thank you."

"You're very welcome, Tris."

"Do you still need to figure out my mystery? I won't mind."

"If you'd like me to."

"Whatever it takes."

The Doctor smiles kindly and takes my hand as he leads me through a hallway and into a small silver room, with a wooden chair and several scanners and computers inside.

"Sit, please. It's okay, it won't hurt."

"So you're just going to scan me, that's it?"

"Yeah, if that's alright."

"Okay."

I lower myself into the seat and he turns one of the appliances on. A beam of blue light runs down my body, giving me a strange sensation. The Doctor looks intently at the results on one of the screens that I can't see. Then his face changes, his eyebrows raised and mouth open in disbelief.

"No! It can't be!"

"What?"

"Oh! Oh, it all makes sense! That's why you were different! Oh, brilliant!"

"What? Please tell me!"

"Tris, don't be alarmed." The Doctor stands in front of me, his eyes dancing with an emotion I can't quite make out.

"Go on."

"I integrated through into this universe in more than one way, Tris. Some of the Time Energy leaked out in a specific moment at a specific place, where I was about to land the TARDIS, a day before. You were standing there. Tris, you have the tiniest bit of Time Lord inside of you."

Okay. I don't even know what to think.

"Basically, you have Time Energy inside of your bloodstream like I do, and some of their intelligence. It's nothing like Donna, but it's more like you're a sixteenth part Time Lord. The perfect combination! I mean… well, you're safe, is all I meant. Understand?"

"So… I'm part… I'm part you?"

"Basically, yeah. Well, not me, exactly, but the Time Energy that's surrounding me. When the universes collided fully, I became part of the second one not only with the show, but also through you. You're the one who allowed me to exist with the show as well. My time energy locked onto yours because of your physical location a day before, which is when the second to last integration happened, when you actually got the energy, and then when I landed the TARDIS, it landed there and continued to exist because it had a bridge to cross, and that bridge, Tris, was you. If you hadn't stood in that exact spot with that exact thought of Doctor Who about a day ago, then I would never have been able to exist. In fact, I would have been erased from existence entirely. Do you see?" I can tell that the Doctor is trying as best he can to explain it to me gently, but I only smile.

"Yes. I should be scared, and hurt, shouldn't I?"

"Well…"

"I'm not, though. I'm glad. I'm oh, so glad, because this means that I returned the favor, Doctor. And it means that I can stay, doesn't it?"

"Of course!" The Doctor embraces me as I stand up, more tears running down my cheeks.

"It's just a lot to take in. That all of this is real, I mean. I think I'll be fine, though. I mean, there was always hope, wasn't there?"

The Doctor looks into my eyes, giving me a bittersweet grin.

"Always." He takes my hand and walks me out of the scan room. "There is always hope."

My feet feel as though they are barely brushing the grated floor of the hallway as we stride quickly back to the control room. I'm so happy I could almost fly up into the air and just sail away. The Doctor senses my giddy energy and laughs, running with me through the TARDIS doors.

He asks me one last question. "Are you sure you're alright? That was a long talk, and I don't want you to feel like you've told me too much. I can always erase the memories."

"No," I respond amusedly. "I don't regret it. I told you. This Time Energy seems to have upped my already existing confidence, too. And I don't want to know more about you than you know about me. It's wrong. Hey, look who's here!"

Captain Jack Harkness is walking towards us across the pavement, holding a massive heavy-duty sack. It's nearly as big as he is, and I can't see how it's possible to hoist that over his back like he's doing without falling over backwards.

"Need a bit of help, Captain?"

"I'm fine, Tris, really." I sigh and put my hands on my hips.

"No, you're not. No man is so strong that that load feels 'fine.'"

Jack grins. "Okay, okay. Here, you take one end. I won't let you carry all of it."

"Jack, I've never seen Torchwood before, but from what I know, it's at least half a mile from here, and if you walked, your back has GOT to be killing you! Stop trying to be a gentleman; I'm not falling for it!"

He lets out a raucous laugh and sets his lumpy bag on the ground. "Doctor, better watch out for this one. She's feisty!"

"No, she just likes to help out.'

"Defensive now, are we?"

I break into their argument before it escalates. "Boys! I can take care of myself! I told you already, Doctor, I'm perfectly alright!"

They both look fully abashed and the Doctor looks at his feet somewhat awkwardly. But Jack realizes what I've said and narrows his eyes, more serious than the Doctor for once.

"Wait. Tris. Already? What are you talking about? What happened?"

I'm not exactly sure how to break it to him. I mean, what am I supposed to say, "oh hey guess what, while you were gone, I found out that I'm part Time Lord, which is why I can understand so much and see time energy"? Speaking of, I notice that the golden swirls of light are beginning to grow brighter. Aren't they supposed to stay the same until we make them go back to normal?

"Um, Jack? I think we can explain, but now is not the time. Right now, we need to move as quickly as we can. I don't think the Rift is going to stay stabilized for much longer…"

"How do you know?"

Not quite ready to tell him the truth, I lie, "Just assumed, really. Am I right, Doctor?"

I warn him with my eyes not to give me away and although he frowns in confusion, he just clears his throat and nods in agreement. "Yeah. The energy is starting to fluctuate again."

Jack accepts his word, but still looks at me skeptically.

"Oh, so his word is gold, huh? Just because I'm human, my word isn't worth anything?"

"Tris, you know I didn't mean that!"

"I know. I'm sorry. It's just that this seems to happen a lot, in the few hours that we've known each other. I'm just sort of put aside."

"No!" Both the Doctor and Jack shout at the same moment.

The Doctor speaks first. "I'm really sorry, Tris. I should have seen it in the first place, that you're just as good as we are."

"Yeah, me too," Jack adds on apologetically. It seems genuine when he continues, "I was just playing. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. We really should get a move on, though. Seriously, we don't have much time, and if we run out, there's no telling how this new universe will change, though it'll probably be for the worse. We have to stop it before the timelines entangle beyond repair."

The Doctor gazes at me proudly. "Nicely said, Tris. Come on, into the TARDIS, we have work to do!"

We drag Jack's enormous pack into the control room and dump it out onto the metal floor. The Doctor shows us how to reroute wires and connect different pieces and a whole bunch of fancy things and puts us to work. I begin to get the big picture once he finishes showing me how to create a clear energy loop from metal scraps and special, bendable, and virtually unbreakable glass scavenged from a wrecked alien ship. It makes me smile to see how happy the Doctor is as he rambles on about the planet that the ship came from.

"…Brilliant, they are! Absolutely fantastic builders, the Velae best in the Arrin Galaxy, and they lasted for probably for a good thousand years before they were bested by the Lirians. It's a real shame though, because the whole planet was destroyed by war when the two species competed over living space. Too overpopulated. I tried to persuade them to use their shipbuilding skills to colonize other planets, but they were too proud, the both of them. Ah, well, at least they managed to get a couple thousand people out. See, this crashed ship was a Velaen ship, and they're the ones who invented this special glass. You've got to get it in the perfect temperature, and then you can do practically anything with it. Look!" He takes a piece into his hands and twists it into the rounded shape we need.

"Doctor?"

"Hm?"

"Is this going to be a lock or something?"

"Yes! Very clever, Tris, how'd you manage that?"

"Well, it's going to be very heavy, like a padlock, and this energy loop we're making will keep the excess time energy from getting too powerful. If we can latch it on at the right place in the right time, probably somewhere safe on the ground with a perception filter, it should stay there basically forever, what with these unbreakable materials. And they're age-proof, too, yeah?"

The Doctor looks speechless. "Well… I… yes, that's… brilliant! You're absolutely brilliant, Tris! Nice work figuring that out!"

"I got it from you!"

"Nah, not really. You only got the time energy, and that made your intelligence come out from inside of you – you had it all along!"

I grin, but then I freeze. Jack is staring at me, nearly dropping his metal clamp that will become the actual lock. His icy blue eyes look infinitely shocked and the slightest bit hurt.

"What? Tris, what time energy? We've got enough time that you can tell me what the heck is going on! You know more about me than I do about you, so I think I deserve at least to know this one thing about yourself!"

Sighing, I tell him. Jack lets out a breath of air through puffed cheeks. He doesn't say anything except for, "Thank you for telling me, Tris. I'm glad." Then he returns to his work in silence, as do I. The Doctor simply toys with his sonic screwdriver with dark eyes. I finish the energy loop ten minutes later, and he's still fiddling with it.

"Aren't you going to work, Doctor?"

"I am working!"

"On what, though? You don't seem to be pointing that at anything!"

"I'm measuring the rift energy. I'd say we've got… say, eight minutes before the rift changes again. We have to put these parts together, and we have to do it NOW!"

I call out to Jack, who is now on the other side of the control room, leaning against one of the curved beams of creamy coral, finishing up the heavy clamp. "Hey, Jack! You done yet? We've only got eight minutes!"

He jumps, and runs over to us. "Yeah. How's this, Doc?"

"Fine. Brilliant! Okay, let me finish this up." Both Jack and I watch in amazement as he attaches wires and welds metal, connecting clips and plugs, all with inhuman speed, and done in under a minute. When he finishes, it looks a lot like the Magnaclamp that kept him from being sucked into the void at Canary Warf, except this one is silver and contains the energy loop, as well as a lot more hidden buttons. I assume that the buttons are for hiding it from view with perception filters and keeping it safe.

"We'd better hurry. Where are we going to put this?"

"Here. Look." The Doctor steps outside and point his screwdriver at a block of pavement about three or four square feet. It grinds upward and slides out of the way. Underneath is a perfect chamber, almost like a grave, made of packed dirt and only three feet deep.

"This," The Doctor explains as he lowers the lock into the pit, "is the best possible place to put it, because it's the central point of the rift, where most of the energy is, and it's directly touching the soil. Plus, it'll be hidden even without the perception filters and force shields. But still, we'll have to take precautions."

The Doctor presses a few buttons, and the lock firmly latches on to the ground, whirring slightly. However, the golden streaks of energy don't yet go through the loop as they should. Then he points his sonic screwdriver at the device, and a clear shield covers it, and it disappears from sight with a perception filter. But I can still see it slightly, and when the Doctor adjusts his sonic and zaps it again, I can see the time energy being sucked into the lock, and suddenly there is immense wind all around us. I gasp as I feel tons and tons of excess time energy flooding through me. I can actually see it as it hits my body, using me like a funnel. When I lift up my hand to look, it's glowing with golden light. Then it's all over, and the awed feeling leaves me. When I look around, the swirls of yellow are much dimmer, but in the pit, they are circling around in an endless ring of light, thanks to our energy loop and the lock.

"What… what was that?"

"I'm sorry, Tris. I'd forgotten. Since you were the link that allowed my universe to exist, the energy had to go through you again. Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine. Fantastic, actually!" I smile at him.

"Really?"

"Really!"

I laugh. The Doctor begins to walk back to the TARDIS and Jack follows, and I clear my throat loudly. "Ahem!"

"What is it?" The Doctor actually sounds puzzled.

"I think you've forgotten something."

"Oh!" He runs back over to me and hastily closes up the hole with the cement block again.

"For a genius, you really can be quite stupid sometimes."

"Oi! That's not fair!"

"Ah, but truth isn't always fair!"

The Doctor rolls his eyes but gives in, taking my hand. We run back inside of the TARDIS and make our goodbyes to Jack, who promises to keep an eye on the rift stabilizer for us. Then I turn to the Doctor before we leave.

"So. What are we going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you going to take me back home again, or do I stay with you?"

"Didn't I already make this clear?" The Doctor puts his hands on my shoulders and gives me a cheeky grin. "You, Miss Beatrice Nightingale, are definitely a keeper!"

End note:

Please let me know what you thought. I'd love some ideas for new fan fictions (Sherlock or Doctor Who) or cross overs or anything, really. Feel free to give requests! Also, I'd like to know how to improve my writing, if anyone knows, lol. Hope I didn't loose your interest because of the wait!

(Well crap - I was going to say something else, but I forgot! Oh well. I'll remember at some irrelevant moment tomorrow afternoon.)

Until next time! :)