Chapter 7

In the time that had passed since the Tenth Doctor had recovered from the treatment to partially lift out the radiation, after the pain had faded away and the bruises had healed and his fluctuating and wavering strength had started to return in an ebb and flow, he had wasted no time and asked Adelaide to marry him. When she had said that perhaps she was too old for him, he had laughed and reminded her that he was well over nine hundred year old.

She had agreed to his proposal, and now they had been married for six months, it was 2065 and autumn was turning colder as the bleak chill of winter started to slip through the trees and shake their boughs as dying leaves twisted to the damp ground.

On days like this, the Doctor didn't like to think about the dying part of the year, because dying was a subject he was keen to avoid. The anti radiation device that had almost killed him on first use because the power needed to be adjusted, had turned out to be Dalek in origin. After explaining this and reminding the staff at the medical base that he was humanoid and not encased in a metal shell, he had been assured the lower level of power used on his next dose would be much kinder on him.

The first, on the day Adelaide had called Unit for help, had seen him screaming in agony for over four hours before losing consciousness, partly because of the pain and partly due to his weakness at the time. He had spent the next few days knowing nothing at all, and that had been ignorant bliss compared to the ordeal Adelaide had suffered as she worried for him as he was kept sedated, and on life support for over a week.

But he had soon recovered, at least enough to go home with her. His recovery had been rapid at first, then the pain had kicked back in and he had been able to fight it off using drugs manufactured by the Tardis – medication that thankfully had no side effects. But within twelve weeks the radiation effects returned, unpredictably, causing random pain in any part of his body that it chose to attack, and it was soon worked out that he would need an hour in the alien chamber once every twelve weeks. This was something he came to fear even though the power had been adjusted and he was now allowed heavy sedation to get him through the procedure. Each session left him with deep bruising where the radiation had risen up and attacked him, and he was used to feeling weak and needing rest, but on the good days, he made the most of it, knowing these good days were rare and impossible to predict.

No one could tell him how long he would last before regeneration would be his only option. So far he was coping, and he wanted to hold on as long as he could because he had grown closer to Steffi, who was seven years old now, and after marrying Adelaide, he had made himself a promise that he would stay as long as he was able – now he really didn't want to go, because he had his family, and they were enough to remind him of all the reasons he needed to stay...

As the wind blew a gust across the garden and the last of the dead leaves tugged from naked trees scattered about as they dashed against the side of the house like a rolling tide of debris carried on wind, the Doctor heard the bedroom door open and he turned over, away from the window, where beyond it stormy grey clouds were hurried along by the autumn gusts, and turned to see Adelaide enter the room.

She had taken off her heavy coat and scarf and her hair was tied back without a strand out of place as if this woman could even defy the weather. He thought how Adelaide Brooke could stand up to anything, and maybe the wind wouldn't dare to mess with that - and as she smiled so did he, and his dark eyes lit up with warmth as he sat up in bed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"You shouldn't have let me sleep in so late, you're always doing that to me!"

"I told you I was taking Steffi to school. She kissed your cheek and said goodbye – and you said Bye, and then went back to sleep."

"I wish I didn't need so much rest," he said to her, "I hate it when I have days like this – no energy, feeling like my head is full of fog. I'm missing out."

She sat on the edge of the bed and looked into his eyes.

"You need to rest," she reminded him, "You always will. We both know that. Maybe you're having one of those days again."

"No I'm not," he said as his mood brightened, "I feel much better today!"

Then he took hold of her hands as he started to smile.

"Do you realise, in the whole year I've been back here with you, I've been sleeping and resting so much I can count on both hands the number of times we've made love? That's terrible – well, it is for me! I should have lost count months ago!"

She laughed and drew one hand away from his grip and ran it over his hair as she looked at him fondly.

"But its different now. You know the radiation will have an impact on your life – it always will. And it really doesn't matter, as long as we cope with it, right?"

"I suppose so," he replied, and then a playful sparkle lit up his eyes.

"But today is a good day – I do feel a bit better for sleeping in late - and its been far too long. Come here!"

And he slid his arms around her and pulled her on to the bed and then playfully held her down as he looked into her eyes.

"I love you Adelaide," he said softly, and as his grip on her hands loosened she broke free from it and wrapped her arms around him, welcoming his deep and passionate kiss.


The storm clouds were heavy and dark and the wind was icy as it blew about the lonely house set far out in the countryside, and as the rain began to fall, it hit the windows and ran down the pane in heavy streaks, but the Doctor and Adelaide were warm together in bed, beneath a soft quilt as they embraced, their skin warm and damp from lovemaking. It took the Doctor a while to get his breath back, and as he turned over and took a few minutes to recover, he put his arm around his wife and held her closer as she lay beside him.

"That was good," he said to her, "I needed that, Adelaide. Now I really feel alive!"

"Are we spending all day in bed, then?" she asked him doubtfully.

As he looked at her, he took in the sight of how her fair hair tumbled to her shoulders, and again he thought how beautiful she was. But he didn't want to linger on that thought, or on how much he loved her, because as she had said, things were different now – he was too weak and tired to make love as often as he wanted, and right now the thought was at the back of his mind that he wanted to take her in his arms all over again. But that would have to wait, because he was aware of the aches and pains that flickered through his body, they had been present since waking and perhaps would get worse as the day went on, because sometimes it was like that...

"No, I want to get up and get dressed," he told her, "I can't stay in bed all day – and one of us has to pick Steffi up from school later."

"That will be me," she reminded him, and she had spoken in the tone of voice he had come to recognise as her authoritative tone – the one she gently used when she reminded him that he wasn't going anywhere, because today he looked too tired to be doing much at all.

"I'm still going to get up," he told her, "I don't want Steffi to see me stuck in bed al the time."

Adelaide pushed a lock of hair out of his eyes with a brush of her fingertip.

"She does know."

"Yes, she knows I'm ill."

"She knows you're dying. I have explained everything to her – not in a way that would frighten her, I said you could live for a very long time, but you have to have a lot of rest. That's all she needs to know at her age."

The Doctor looked at her in surprise.

"When did you tell her that?"

"After you recovered from the first treatment. It's only fair to be honest, Doctor. She's a child, I'd never lie to her."

There was a flicker of concern in his eyes now.

"Does she have any questions, is there anything she needs to ask me?"

"No," she replied, "I've covered everything. But she knows she can talk to you about it if she feels the need. She's young – the fact that you could live for years to come makes any kind of fear of losing you seem a very long way off. She thinks if you sleep and rest you'll last forever."

"But I won't," he said sadly.

She was giving him that look again,the one that told him Adelaide was far too strong to listen to his doubts.

"Stop it," she replied firmly, "You're doing well and there's no reason to think the worst. You could last for years, and you will, because I'm going to make sure of it."

"I love it when you give me orders," he said playfully.

Adelaide replied with a kiss and got out of bed.

"I'm going back downstairs," she said as picked up her clothing from the floor and started to get dressed, "Get up, Doctor. I'll run you a bath, that should make you feel more comfortable."

And as she fastened the back of her bra she turned her head and looked at him, and he smiled as she caught him out.

"Sitting there watching me get dressed won't help you get going," she told him.

He was still smiling.

"Oh believe me, it already has!" he exclaimed, and then he got out of bed, finally ready to pull together his low level of energy to face another day.


It was just gone mid day when the sound of the gusting wind outside mixed with another sound – a wheeze and a groan on the air that lasted for a brief time, and then it faded out. Adelaide was in the kitchen making tea, the Doctor was in the front room on the sofa, and as she paused to listen to the wind that now carried no other sound with it, her mind was instantly taken back to the blue box that her husband had led her into, the ship that travelled through space and time – the ship that had saved her from death on Mars when Bowie Base One exploded.

That ship – his Tardis – was now at the side of the house, beneath the shade of an evergreen tree, hidden from sight. She was very familiar with the Tardis now – on his better days he had taken her inside it and showed her the controls, even taken her for a spin around the galaxy a few times. And after all her years of training that had ultimately led to the Mars mission, it was not so difficult for the Doctor to teach her how to fly his Tardis, either...

She was sure, after how familiar she was with the sound of her husband's ship, that she had just heard a Tardis landing somewhere outside. Not his Tardis, because he was tired and resting in the front room, but another Tardis.

She was certain she had heard it...

Adelaide pulled back the curtain and looked out the window down the long garden, towards the back – and there it was - another Tardis, just as she had suspected.

"Did you hear that?"

She turned and glanced at her husband, who looked well for his rest, and as he stood there in his brown suit, with his hair combed and not a trace of sweat on his face, she knew he was definitely going to have a good day – his energy was back at last, and it had happened at the right time, too.

"Look," she said, indicating to the other Tardis.

Then as the door opened she let go of the net and the Doctor joined her at the window, watching as the other Doctor stepped out, the wind ruffled his grey hair and blew back his open jacket showing the crimson lining as he walked down the path towards the house.

"I was expecting him to return," the Doctor said to her, "And I'm glad he's here, because he needs my help."

Adelaide looked at him in surprise.

"Doctor, you are chronically ill! Every single day of your life is an uphill struggle - and you want to waste time and energy on helping another version of you, a man who can clearly fight his personal battles well enough alone?"

The Doctor's dark brown eyes clouded with sorrow as he recalled the day they had met on the Ood planet, and his future self had walked back to his Tardis through the snow and biting wind, not caring about the cold, not caring about anything at all, going by the look in his eyes...

"Yes," he said, "Because he does need my help. He's lost. It's like he's losing the will to carry on. And I think I know why. I might need your help with this."

Adelaide looked at him in confusion and was about to ask him what kind of help he needed, but then it was to late, because his future self was at the back door, and he tapped on the glass and waited to be let in.


When Adelaide opened the door, the Twelfth Doctor thanked her and stepped inside. He glanced at his Tenth self and briefly smiled.

"You're looking well," he remarked. "And I can tell you that you will last for a number of years yet – so please, stop thinking about dying. It's depressing for you, and for me to look back on. You'll have a few more years. That's all I can say."

His younger self breathed a relieved sigh, and as he exchanged a glance with Adelaide the Twelfth Doctor guessed had he not been there in the room now, the two of them would have hugged and wept out of relief - and they probably would after he had left...In fact, he had the feeling that was what would happen, but he put the incoming memories to the back of his mind as he focussed on the task at hand.

"I came here to deliver a message," he said, looking intently to Adelaide and then to his younger self, "Doctor, you will have plenty of time here with your family. But when time time comes and you know you can't hold back from regeneration, you must leave in the Tardis to preserve the time line and you must do this alone."

On hearing a mention of the time line, his younger self said nothing and simply nodded.

"I'm sorry," he added, remembering his Tenth self's sadness on hearing that news like a memory that had shot instantly from his former self and into his own mind, he felt his pain on taking in that news, and it was deeper than he cared to show.

"This has to be done," he added, "But you will have many years with Adelaide and Steffi. Please let that be a comfort, to know you do get to spend time with your family. I wish there was more I could do, but the timeline -"

"What about you?"

The question his former self had asked had taken him by surprise.

"Me? What about me?"

The younger Doctor looked at him knowingly.

"I hope you've got time to stay around for at least a day," he told him, "Because I'd like you to tell me the story of Clara. Tell me everything, every last detail."

The Doctor's blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Why would you want to hear about a story that lives inside my head?"

His younger self stepped closer, pausing for a moment to compose his thoughts. And when he spoke up again, all ideas his Twelfth incarnation had been toying with of making excuses to leave were banished:

"Because I've met your former self," the Tenth Doctor replied, "Our Eleventh life, on the day we saved Gallifrey. And he wasn't travelling alone. He had a companion, and that's why I know she's not just a story. His companion was a young woman named Clara Oswald..."