It was as if his presence made the clasp give way. It opened slowly and the glowing was almost blinding.
"Doctor! What's going on?," Val asked, surprised and scared.
"It's alright Val," he reassured her, "I promise. Nothing's going to happen to you. Just let it happen."
Martha looked at him. She had seen this before.
"Oh my god...," she half-whispered, "Doctor, why didn't you say anything?"
"It would've spoiled the surprise," he smiled at Martha.
The energy flowed straight into Val, filling her with a bright golden light. It was all coming back to her now. The day she left Gallifrey, the evening when he had appeared to her, and the long days she had spent here on Nieva with nothing but scattered memories of a previous life.
Finally, the glowing stopped.
She looked at him from across the table.
"Doctor...," she began.
"Now I know what you're thinking Valkyrie. I know. Just let me explain."
"Doctor, how could you?"
She was nearly in tears.
"I think I'll walk over and get a coffee," said Martha, feeling the tension between the two.
"Val, darling, I didn't want to leave you behind. I was trying to protect you."
"From what? Why would I need protecting? We're timelords; we do the protecting."
"Listen, I know you're upset. You have every right to be. But I assure you it was for the best."
"I want to go home. I've been stuck on this planet for far too long. And you just LEFT me here!"
"I didn't leave you here. I was keeping you safe."
"Look, I just want to go home. I want to see my mother, my-our-children. I want to get away from this place."
"Well, sweetheart, that's part of the problem."
"What do you mean?," she said, her eyes full of confusion.
"The day I came to find you, a war had broken out."
"No..."
"The daleks..."
She was shaking her head slowly in disbelief. It couldn't be real.
"I had to time-lock the whole war."
"But...the children..."
"I didn't want them to fight either. But they insisted. They were adults. I begged them to go join you and they refused."
"So what does this mean?"
"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he reached for her hand.
"Are there others?"
"I'm afraid we're the only ones left. Everyone is gone. All of Gallifrey, the timelords, the daleks; everyone and everything that was is gone."
Tears were streaming down her face now, as faint sobs racked her chest. She wanted him to smile and tell her it wasn't true. But that smile never came. Instead, he moved over to her side of the table and put his arms around her.
"Valkyrie, my love, I just wanted you to be safe. I had no other choice."
"I know, I just can't wrap my mind around it. The whole planet?"
He nodded.
"I didn't want to do it, but there was no other way. The daleks would have destroyed the whole universe given half a chance."
"I still want to get away from here. It's been too long."
"Travel with me and Martha then. I've missed you more than anything. You've always been my greatest and most precious companion."
She looked up at him, her eyes full of fresh tears, but with a silent resolve in them.
"I guess I should go home and pack. I'll meet you back here in a few hours."
He agreed and watched her walk away just as Martha was joining him again.
"So Doctor, are you gonna tell me who that was now?"
He turned to look at her.
"That, Martha, was Valkyrie. One of the greatest timeladies to ever exist."
"Oh, so she was powerful then? Was she on the council?"
"She was very powerful; she's my wife."
Martha's jaw dropped as she watched the small beautiful woman walk away.
Another chapter's coming soon! Reviews are welcome!