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The Doctor and Ace had kept on walking, finding no sign of human life anywhere along the road. As the sun began to set, they decided to camp off the side of the road, luckily finding a small stream about a quarter of a mile into the woods. After he tested the water and deemed it safe to drink, they filled up their containers and sat down in a nearby clearing to eat a couple of things the Doctor had packed for them the night before. Once finished, he set about finding some sticks and kindling to use for their fire, thanking Rassilon he was able to find flint in his jacket pockets. Ace decided to lie back on the grass, stare up at the myriad of sunset hues, and attempt to relax her aching feet.
Before she knew it, he had gotten a small fire going and, sitting down beside her, said kindly, "Take off your shoes, Ace."
Sitting up, she looked at him quizzically and asked, "How'd you know my feet were hurting?"
"I can always tell when you're in pain," he answered honestly as he looked away from her and stared into the fire.
As she obligingly took off her shoes and socks, she said, "Same here." At his quizzical look, she responded, "I didn't used to know what you were feeling, but after living with you for these past ten years, I think I've gotten good at knowing at least some of what you're feeling and if you're in pain too." She placed her feet next to him and wiggled her toes invitingly.
Chuckling at them, he lifted his feet into her lap and began to massage her feet with deft fingers. "You constantly amaze me, Ace, even after all these years," he replied as he warmly gazed into her eyes.
Laying back down on the grass, she relished the feel of his hands on her feet and let out a soft sigh of contentment. She closed her eyes and, before she knew it, she fell asleep.
About four hours later, she was awakened by a familiar sound, a sound that just three days ago, she doubted she'd hear again. She turned around and was greeted by a sight that almost brought tears to her eyes, the Tardis dematerializing right there in the clearing. The Doctor had woken up a few seconds before she had and was staring at the Tardis in a mixture of disbelief and deep concern. Knowing he had no means of calling his own Tardis to them, she knew this was the arrival of one of his other selves. Could this be one of his future selves, the one who changed a fixed point in time, she thought to herself in a mixture of wonder and trepidation. As both she and the Doctor stood up, she glanced at his face and knew it was the calm before the storm. He would be civil to whichever incarnation this happened to be and accept whatever help he offered, but he would not readily forgive what his other self had done. She waited in weary anticipation for the Tardis door to open.
Ace caught a glimpse of the interior of the other Doctor's Tardis but it was a peripheral detail as she stared, shocked, at this future incarnation of the Doctor. He was tall, skinny, wearing a tan trench coat over top of a modern looking blue suit with red converse sneakers, with black hair that could only be defined as 'sticky-uppy'. It was his eyes, though, that made her breath catch in her throat. They were a dark brown, piercing, ancient, as if they had seen and caused more death and destruction than even her own Doctor was capable of. She thought all of this in a matter of seconds, before his eyes met hers and instantly changed to become warm and affectionate. He smiled at her widely and called out from the doorway of his Tardis, "Ace McShane, It feels like ages since I've seen you! Well, it's been lifetimes really. Tell me, are you still carrying any Nitro 9?"
Before she could answer, her own Doctor stood so he was in front of her. She felt his anger roll off of him in waves as he confronted his future self. "Before you start cozying up to 'my' companion, I want to know what exactly happened and how you could have let it happen! Seeing as how you're three regenerations older than me, I would have expected better of you!"
The smile instantly vanished from the Tenth Doctor's face and his eyes became filled with a darkness that far surpassed anything she had ever witnessed from her own Doctor.
"This isn't the time or place for this conversation. I came to pick you and Ace up and give you a lift back to your own Tardis in the capitol. After what I've gone through, I can do without a lecture from you until you've heard all the facts. Now, are you both coming?", he asked with barely suppressed anger as he turned around, walked back inside the Tardis, leaving the door open.
Ace looked at her Doctor and said, "We should go with him. You said yourself it's hundreds of miles back to the capitol."
"You're right, Ace. I can be civil for a short time, at least," he acquiesced even as he stared back angrily at the spot his Tenth self had formerly occupied.
They made sure their campfire was extinguished, picked up their bags, and walked toward the Tardis. After walking a few steps, the Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder to halt her movement. As she turned towards him expectantly, he stated, "Ace, as soon as we arrive at our Tardis, I want you to go inside and wait for me. I'm going to have a good, long talk with my Tenth self and get to the bottom of this." His eyes lost some of their anger, to be replaced by deep concern and a hint of fear. "Something inconceivable, too horrific to imagine, has changed my future self irrevocably, causing him to break the First Law of Time. That makes him extremely unpredictable and dangerous. I fear dealing with my future self may be my greatest challenge yet."