Survivor's Hearts

by Michael Weyer

It has been a while since I updated this but been busy. If you don't know, have been writing "Secrets of Serenity," an off-shoot of this that I recommend. Some might find it odd to bounce back to this then but when you're writing about a pair of time travelers, it does make an odd bit of sense. This chapter is relatively short but more to come, I promise.

That familiar moan and groan echoed in the hallway, no one around to hear it. Neither were they around to see the blue box materialize out of nothing, the flashing light slowing down as it formed. After a moment, the doors opened to allow the Doctor to exit, adjusting his coat around him. The Rani was behind him, clad in a rather fetching tan suit that fit her demeanor well. Glancing around, she sighed deeply. "The next time I offer to steer, let me do it."

"The last time you tried, we ended up next to a supernova," the Doctor pointed out as he locked the TARDIS. "She doesn't seem to like you very much."

The Rani decided she was too tired to begin another argument over the TARDIS' sentience as the two Time Lords made their way down the hallways. It appeared to be a mansion of some sort, the decor old-styled yet a feel much like more advanced Earth. "Any idea when and where we are?" she asked as they entered a foyer area by some stairs.

"Sussex, April 19th, 1991."

The Rani blinked in amazement. "How do you know that?"

The Doctor pointed to a sign next to a large doorway that had the date and location underneath a title. "Welcome to 19th Annual Sussex Archeological Exhibition."

The Doctor whistled as he made his way toward the ballroom doorway. A man in a suit came up toward them, frowning. "Do you have an invitation?"

The Doctor was already showing off his pad of psychic paper, the man nodding as the two entered. The ballroom was large, sunlight pouring through the wide glass doors and windows to add to the upscale motif. Various items decorated the room, artwork, artifacts and more from a dozen different places. People in suits and women in nice dresses mingled, chatting, looking at the exhibits and sipping champagne. The Doctor nonchalantly took a small dish off a passing tray to chew on its contents as he looked around. "Ah, always am a sucker for these things."

The Rani grabbed a glass of champagne and sipped at it as she peered around. "A curious place for a random stop."

"Now, now, you should know by now, nothing is ever random with us," the Doctor pointed out. "No, there's a reason to be here, we just have to find..." His voice trailed off as a few people parted and allowed him to see a figure by a table. The Rani followed his gaze, frowning at first before her eyes narrowed. "Wait a moment...is that..."

"Yes," the Doctor softly replied. "It is." He took a deep breath before calmly walking forward, his eyes never leaving the woman before him. She was small but quite bright, a lush of curly hair whose color bordered on orange. She wore a lovely dress, red and white that showed herself off well. She smiled at the man who came to her. "Hello," she said, her voice as bright as her smile. "Melanie Bush."

"I know," the Doctor softly said. "Hello, Mel. It's...good to see you again."

"Again?" Mel was confused. "Have we met before?"

"It was a while ago," the Doctor said. "Quite a few years for me...and a few faces."

Mel blinked before realization sunk in and her jaw dropped. "Doctor." She stiffened, her mouth setting. "I didn't think I'd see you again."

"Neither did I," the Doctor stated. "It...well, I know our last meeting wasn't exactly pleasant..."

"There's an understatement," Mel snapped. "I thought I made it clear I never wanted to see you again. Why are you here?"

He shrugged. "Not sure, really. The TARDIS made the stop, sometimes I'm just along for the ride."

She sniffed. "Things never change."

"You'd be surprised," the Rani intoned as she came up to him. She looked Mel over and shook her head. "She still has that horrid hair. I despised it enough the first time, let alone now."

"Who-" Mel began.

"Ah, yes, Mel, you remember the Rani, don't you?" the Doctor said, trying to make it sound nonchalant.

The woman's jaw dropped wide open as she stared in shock from one Time Lord to the other. "This...she...you and her..."

"The human mind at work, fascinating to watch," the Rani dryly stated.

Mel's glare was like ice as she fixed on the Doctor. "All this time...you come back...and with this...this..."

"A thesaurus is such an underrated tool," the Rani inserted.

"Shut up!" Mel snapped at her. "You drugged me, impersonated me, tried to kill me..."

"Halcyon days."

"Rani," the Doctor warned.

"And now, you decide she's someone you want to be with?" Mel sniffed. "Why should I be surprised. After what you did..."

"I didn't have a choice."

"Just keep using that excuse." Mel shook her head angrily. "You're not the Doctor I knew. Not anymore."

She turned to go, the Doctor reaching for her but she pulled back to slap him across the face. A few people glanced over in confusion as Mel marched away, heading to a nearby balcony. "Charming girl," the Rani said. "I cannot imagine what made you part ways."

The Doctor sighed deeply as he began to walk off. The Rani watched him go, pursing her lips for a moment before moving off to another direction.

The Doctor stood by a statue of an old warrior of some sort but didn't really care about that. He knew a reunion with Mel would be rough but this was harder than he thought. He couldn't blame her, really. He'd never been happy with that entire "Time's Champion" title of his. He'd always suspected somehow the Guardian knew the Time War was coming and was preparing the Doctor for the harshness he'd need to survive it. But that incarnation of his, the manipulations and hidden agendas, it never really suited him. To that end, he could understand her anger. But that didn't make it any easier.

"Hello, sweetie."

At that voice, playful and lush with a gorgeous accent, the Doctor's eyes rolled skyward. "And the hits just keep on coming," he muttered before turning around.

The smile was as bright as he could remember, lighting up a gorgeous face that seemed timeless in so many ways. She wore a lovely black gown that ended at her knees, sleek but also professional and the Doctor could tell some hidden tools inside it. A row of pearls hung around her neck and her curly brown hair billowed nicely around her. Her eyes were bright and lively and filled with mischief as she looked the Doctor over. "Very nice. Better than a bow tie."

"Bow tie?"

"Spoilers."

In retrospect, the Doctor should have realized someone like River Song was inevitable. His life tended to be surprisingly linear for a time traveler but he should have known someday he would run into someone from his future. It was still disconcerting, though, seeing this bright woman he evidentially shared some sort of great relationship with, knowing the first time they met from his perspective would be the last for her. It was a strange relationship to say the least and one the Doctor wasn't exactly ready to explore again at this particular moment.

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"Oh, you know me," River said as she sauntered toward him. "So, where are we? Have we met Bob the Fish yet?" At the Doctor's blank look, she nodded. "Right, guess not." She cocked her head taking him in. "Damn. You do look...old and yet...young too. It must be early along, yet."

"A bit," the Doctor said. He realized the truly disconcerting sensation about this was that he finally understood how it must feel for other people to talk to him.

"Hmm," River stated as she looked around. "Just popped in, a lovely statue nearby, they have no idea of the worth it will have in 2574."

"So you're now expanding into thievery?"

River raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you are in early days, aren't you?" She sipped her champagne as she looked around. "Still with Donna or have you..." She paused as she saw the Rani heading toward the doors leading to the ground outside. "Oh. Her."

"You know her?"

'We've never met. We will. But yes...I know of her." She looked to the Doctor, her face now lined with sadness. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" The Doctor's face was blank, giving no indication he expected an actual answer.

"For how it ends." There was no mischief in River's voice, no humor in her eyes. "For you. And for her."

The Doctor licked his lips. "I...don't suppose you can elaborate?"

River just smiled sadly. "Spoilers," she said with true regret in her voice. She turned to walk away, the Doctor following her with his gaze, once more struck by the oddest sensation of now understanding so many conversations from another point of view.

The patio was quiet so the Rani had no problem finding Mel. The woman was by the line of bushes, staring outward as she sipped her glass. She glanced over to see the Rani coming forward and rolled her eyes. "God, just go away."

"I'd prefer to but as long as I'm here, we might as well clear the air." The Rani came up next to her, admiring the admittedly quite lovely garden before them.

"What, you want to apologize?"

"I never do."

"There's a surprise."

"It wasn't personal. You were merely a means to an end, to gain the Doctor's aid in my experiment."

"Oh, and that excuses it all?" Mel turned, her eyes flaring. "Kidnapping me, impersonating me, nearly getting me killed?"

"To my mind, yes." The Rani was quite matter of fact about it. "It's not like humans are perfect. I've known quite a few with even less qualms than me when it comes to science."

Mel scoffed. "No wonder the Doctor takes with you. He's so damn manipulative now, caring only for himself..." She was cut off by the Rani throwing her head back as she let out honest laughter.

"Oh, dear child," the Rani continued to laugh. "If there is one thing about the Doctor, in all his incarnations, it is that he is the least selfish person you can imagine. It's what makes him so damn irritating. Always throwing himself into things. Just the other week, we're in modern...well, future to you...London, he gets himself stuck on a bus that goes through a portal to another planet. I could pick him up with the TARDIS but no, he wants to stay and help the rest of the passengers and save the damn planet as well. Does that sound like a selfish man to you?"

Mel frowned but was still angry. "Then why are you with him?"

The Rani shrugged. "I had no other way to get out of where I was. Traveling with him made sense."

"Time Lords sticking together," Mel sniffed. "Honestly, thought he'd just drop you by somewhere, maybe let them judge you."

The Rani was silent for a long moment, Mel frowning at her silence. "There is no one else," she softly said.

"What?"

The Rani kept staring off in the distance, her voice low and actually showing real emotion. "There was a Time War. A massive conflict, Time Lords, Daleks...It swallowed entire eras, planets and species. It all built to a point where...it had to be ended. No matter what it took, no matter if it meant every Time Lord dying...it had to end."

"And he ended it," Mel whispered, her eyes showing horror at the thought.

The Rani nodded. "Yes. He ended it. He ended his own species, his own people, his planet...He ended it all to ensure time would survive. To ensure little planets like this one would live on and reach their potential." She arched an eyebrow to Mel. "Does that sound like a selfish man to you?"

The younger woman was quiet as the Rani sipped her drink. "I was human for a time." She waved off Mel's confused look. "Long story. Suffice to say, I was fully human, no memories of my Time Lord life. It was..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Enlightening in many ways. I always thought you humans so petty with emotions and worries but then...Well, then I found myself overwhelmed with them. With some in particular..." Memories of liaisons with Victor flashed through her mind briefly. Shaking them off, the Rani continued. "Anyway, as much as I tried to deny it..it gave me a new perspective on you people."

"Such as?" Despite herself, Mel was interested in where this was going.

The Rani was silent for a moment before replying. "It made me see for the first time why the Doctor does what he does. He never sees you as something to be forgotten. As ants or such. No matter what, no matter what time or how long, he never sees you as beneath him. If anything..." She looked to Mel with what seemed true sympathy. "He sees you as greater than he could ever be."

She shrugged. "Personally, I don't see it one bit. But that's how he feels. It's why he does what he does. So remember that the next time you berate him for his actions. Remember how he cares for this miserable little planet more than most actual humans do." She backed up. "I don't know what happened between you two. I mostly don't care. But he gets more irritating than usual when he's in a funk and rather not have to deal with that. So if you want to deal with him before we leave, you have a chance. Personally...I'd say take it."

She walked away, leaving Mel staring after her. The young woman looked back to the party, biting her lip. Then, she marched back into the party. It didn't take long to find the Doctor; no matter what incarnation, the man always stood out. She walked over to him as he turned, instantly steeling himself as she came up. "I...um..." She licked her lips. "I know that to you, time can pass by quick and you can come back to it...But the rest of us don't have that luxury."

"Even I can't change a lot of things, Mel," he sadly told her. "I wish I could, believe me. I wish I could change what I did then. At the time...well, it made sense but now..." He looked off. "I realize now how much harder it made me. Too hard. Hard enough that I did things later I never thought I would."

"The Time War." She shrugged at his surprised look. "The Rani told me about it. I...I'm sorry." It seemed so little but it was all he could say.

The Doctor offered a sad smile. "Thank you." He paused again before speaking. "I am sorry I never cleared the air with you. That I could never make peace with what I did. I treated you far worse than I should have, you didn't deserve that at all. So...I'm sorry, Mel. For what I did, for how I left you. I am sorry."

She stared at him for a long moment before breaking out into that bright smile. "How do you do it? How do you just...make it hard for someone to keep hating you?"

"Oh, that I could use that trick on everyone I meet." The Doctor laughed as they hugged. He broke off as he looked her over. "So, what have you been up to? Married?"

"No, you set too high a bar."

Chuckling, the Doctor took her arm as they walked on, already chatting like old times. Nearby, the Rani watched them go with a thin smile. She was barely aware of the woman at her side until she spoke up. "He cares for them." The Rani turned to the brown-haired woman next to her as she continued to speak. "Never forget that."

"Do I know you?'

"No, but I know you. What you've done." Those dark eyes narrowed. "And what you're going to do. To him and the planet he cares for."

Fear was not an emotion the Rani felt that often yet she could not suppress it now as she stared into a pair of eyes far older than the woman should have been. The woman moved closer, her voice dipping lower. "Events are coming for you both. You're going to change more than you can imagine, in more ways than one. And there will come a time when you have to make a choice."

Keeping her voice calm, the Rani calmly replied. "If you know what's to happen...you know there are some things you can't change."

"Some can be," the woman replied. "You should know that." She sipped her glass, her face still solid. "So now...just know. He will knock four times."

With that, she turned on her heel to walk away. The Rani stared after her before slowly turning her head to see the Doctor and Mel chatting in a corner. And for the first time in a very long time, the Rani felt not just a shiver but a burst of pure fear rock through her body as she realized she'd just been given an unwanted look at what may be coming.

A bit short but wanted to get it out, clearly implications for the future...as will be the same with our next chapter.