Chapter 9

My heart plummets to my stomach, and I rip the page out of the book in a fit of rage. I storm out of the library, and return to the control room of the TARDIS. I sit down between the two of them, watching helplessly as they shiver. I stroke Rose's blonde hair to calm her shaking body, letting her know I am here for her. She whispers in her sleep, but her voice grows louder and louder.

"Doctor! No…Doctor don't leave me! I love you! Get away from him!" She screams, thrashing about.

"Shhh…Rose it's only a nightmare. It's only a nightmare," I coo. I brush away the loose strands of hair, both my hearts skipping a beat. This frightens me. Losing her and the Doctor would kill me. If I let them die right before my eyes…I couldn't live with myself. I can't do this on my own either. I need the Doctor's wisdom and knowledge. I don't know what to do. My gaze shifts to the Doctor who trembles, but stays silent in his internal torture. I run my fingers along his hairline. I push back the clammy strands of hair sticking to his forehead. I begin to hum an old nursery rhyme that my mom always sang to me as a child. The sweet melody vibrates against my lips, calming him and me.

"No, no, no! Don't leave me! Don't let go! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" He cries. His body thrashes back and forth, smacking anything in a two foot radius.

"Shhh…you're okay. Everything's going to be okay," I assure, my voice quavering. Rose and the Doctor have already reached the third stage. He shoots straight up, and retches all over the blankets he's wrapped in. He immediately falls back down, and starts screaming again.

"Don't touch her! Get away all of you! Oh, Theria. Theria…I'm so afraid. I'm so alone," the Doctor sobs. He thrashes about, frightening me to the core. I have never seen him so vulnerable, so weak. It scares me. He wasn't afraid of anything. Not even death. I yank the vomit covered blankets to the side, and lean in close. I wipe away his cold tears, and stroke his cool skin.

"You are never alone. I'm here, Doctor. You'll be okay. You'll always be okay," I murmur in his ear. He grows silent, and the sobs from deep in his lungs cease.

"Theria. Hold me. Don't let me go," he stammers.

"I'm here, darling. I'm here. Everything's alright," I lie, holding him in my arms.

"Theria, I'm so cold. I'm dying, Theria. It hurts to breathe." Tears spring into my eyes, but I do not dare let one fall. I do not show weakness.

"Shhh…it's okay. You're fine. Now sleep, sweetheart. Fall asleep," I reply with a small smile. He settles down, but opens his mouth and whispers,

"I love you. You, Ava, and my family mean the world to me. Let Ava know that."

"Okay. I will. I promise. I love you too." He falls back into unconsciousness, and I instantly wipe away the tears that plague my eyes. I find a new resolve. I am going to save the Doctor and Rose even if it kills me. I tear through the TARDIS, grabbing supplies from every nook and cranny. I dump them all into the control room and begin to construct a heater. Not any heater. A really, really big heater. I've never been one who was fascinated with science and I often fell asleep during my lessons, but every now and then I watched the Doctor work on different projects and learned a little bit about how to build a sonic heater. My fingers fumble with the wires that I join to create the circuits. I work on it for about a half an hour until it is finished, and I proceed to drag it outside into the open air. I hold the two last wires apart, taking in a deep breath. God, please make this work. I fuse the two together. Nothing. I rub my face knowing that the heater cannot generate enough power to work like it's supposed to. I lick my lips, wondering if the TARDIS is powerful enough to keep itself at a toasty 100 degrees and heat the entire planet like that for 12 seconds. A click and mechanic drone from the TARDIS convinces me otherwise. She doesn't have enough energy to keep both going for 12 seconds. Then it hits me. Why haven't I been infected with the disease? I have been touching and caring for contagious patients for almost two hours now, and I feel normal. Regeneration. My body temperature has skyrocketed from my previous regeneration. I am bursting with heat and energy, something that the lethal virus can't handle. The second it would touch my scorching blood it would die. I run my fingertips over the base of my arm, feeling the hot and energized blood pulsing through my veins. My body would make the perfect power source. I take the pair of scissors I used earlier to cut the wires, and dig it deep into my arm. A small hole sits in the center of my lower arm between my wrist and forearm, and it begins to bleed gold-tainted blood. I inhale what could be my last breath, and fuse it into my arm. The heater springs to life, and creates massive heat waves across the planet. I let out a blood curdling scream as the intense heat kicks back into my body. My whole body feels like it's on fire, and I'm slowly burning to death. My skin ripples and twitches from the burning sensation, but I ignore it the best that I can. I feel boiling tears racing down my cheeks. I count silent numbers in my head. Ten Mississippi, eleven Mississippi, twelve Mississippi. I disconnect the wire from my body, and force myself to run back into the TARDIS. My heart falls at the vision I see. They are still unconscious and shivering. I collapse onto the floor, using my last energy to place my hands on their faces. I begin to transfer my heat into their bodies as my body tries desperately to adapt to the soaring temperature. In turn I receive buzzing memories from their past sending me into a fit of smiles, until one from the Doctor appears.

"Darling, run you got to run. Find the Doctor, and don't look back until you get there. Quickly, go!" Mom orders while motioning toward the door.

"Exterminate! Exterminate!" the metallic voice screams. A bright laser beam extends from the mechanical eye, and she crumples to the floor.

"Mommy!" I yell.

"Get the Time Child!" I shoot my sonic gun at the ceiling and climb out the window to my left. I land on my feet, and continue running down the road. I'm an orphan now. My father died before I was born, and I just watched the murderous Daleks kill my mother. I have nothing left. Tears stream down my flushed, dirty cheeks, blurring my vision. I stumble along the road, wiping my nose on my sleeve. The only thing that I have to protect to me is my sonic gun and screwdriver. My grimy, blue dress hangs heavy on my small body as rain pours down from the sky. I finally climb up the porch to the Doctor's house and bang on the door.

"Doctor! It's Ava! Help me!" I shriek, my voice cracking with tears. The door flies open, and he summons me inside.

"Ava what's wrong?" He asks with his serious brown eyes. A past regeneration of him stands there holding my shoulders.

"They killed her. They killed my mom," I stutter. Warm, fresh tears fall down my cheeks, and he wipes them away with his thumbs.

"Theria…" he murmurs. His eyes glaze over with salt water, but he pushes them away. "Give me that. Did your mother say you were allowed to use this?" he scolds. He snatches the sonic gun from my tiny grasp, and sets it to the side.

"I killed a Dalek with it. She told me to take it and use it as protection," I stammer. He hands me a tissue to wipe my nose with and shakes his head.

"You're only eight. I don't want to see you using one ever again. Come on let's get you dry." The Doctor leads me to the hallway where he retrieves a white, fluffy towel. He dries my shoulder-length, blonde hair, and gives me one of his t-shirts to wear as a dress. Just as he is about to go get me a cup of tea, I latch onto his waist.

"Don't leave me. The Daleks will come and kill me. I want my mom back!" I cry, my green eyes filling with salty tears. They splash down my face, and soak a spot on the Doctor's shirt. He crouches down to my level, and embraces me in his arms. He runs his fingers along the back of my hair and hushes my cries.

"I won't. I promise. I will never leave you. It's okay, shhh…"

I gasp for air, and fly backward from the Doctor and Rose. I am too weak to drag myself over, but both of them slowly rise off the floor.

"Blimey, my head hurts," Rose complains, rubbing her skull.

"Why do I smell like vomit?" the Doctor questions. He crinkles his nose in disgust, and then he spots me crying, and gasping for air on the floor. He slides over to me, and lays his hand on my flushed cheek. "What did you do? Ava, are you okay?"

"Heater…not enough energy…use myself…Hot…so hot…Going to die," I rasp. I manage a small smile, but he wriggles his arms underneath my body.

"No you're not going to die. Not today. The Doctor is in," he announces with a weak smile. He is exhausted from the disease ravaging through his body just a minute earlier.

"I…can…take care…of myself. You...need rest," I reply with concerned green eyes. He shakes his head.

"I'm the Doctor. No virus can wear me down. Now I'm going to ease you into the tub. The water is going to be cold, but it will help bring down your temperature," the Doctor informs. He lays me down in the large, porcelain basin, and turns on the faucet. Water cascades down into the tub, reaching my burning skin. It feels ice cold, and sends me trembling and squealing.

"It's…too…cold."

"No, it's fine. See your temperature is already going down. You'll be bright eyed and bushy tailed in no time!" He casts the sonic screwdriver beam over my head to get the reading of my temperature. After about an hour in the tub, the Doctor finally lets me get out of the freezing water, and go dry off in my room. I return to the library where he said he wanted to speak with me. My auburn hair is tied back into a wet bun, and I wear a pair of yoga pants and a tight, tie-dye tank top. Only one thing lingers in my mind. My mother's death.

"How are you feeling?" He inquires as I appear in the room.

"No the real question is how do you feel?" He gives me an irritated look, but gives in.

"Tired, exhausted actually, but fine," The Doctor asks, rubbing the back of his neck. I brush the sweat from my forehead.

"Sick. I've been throwing up gold energy for the past hour, but I'm fine," I laugh. His face remains serious.

"Are you sure you don't want to continue this tomorrow?"

"Doctor, I'm fine." He walks over to me, and embraces me in a big hug.

"You were brilliant today. Stupid because you could have killed yourself, but absolutely fantastic. You are truly becoming like your mother," he whispers in my ear, but I pull away.

"What did you do to me?" I splutter, taking cautious steps backward.

"What do you mean? Are you sure you're alright?" He approaches me, but I whip out my sonic screwdriver in protection. He holds his hands up in defeat and stops in his tracks.

"How could I forget about my mother's death, Doctor, tell me that. You must have done something to me!" I reply keeping my voice strong and steady. The Doctor licks his lips.

"I erased it from your mind. You were traumatized and wouldn't leave my side. I knew you wouldn't leave me unless you forgot about your mother's death," he drawls.

"Why didn't you go back for her? I could have been wrong. She died, alone with no one there to hold her or comfort her. She needed you, Doctor," I guilt.

"Everything must come to an end. Everything must die, Ava you know that."

"She didn't have to die though. It wasn't her time. She was everything to you, wasn't she? She was the woman you could never have, and you let her die," I shame.

"Yes, but something kept me from going back. Something that meant much more to me," he answers in a distant voice.

"What could be more important than my mother?"

"That long, straight blonde hair, and charming green eyes. That little girl who fascinated me, and brought me back down to Gallifrey when I thought I would never return home. The one who sat on my lap, and mistakenly called me dad every once in a while. She meant more to me than anything in this universe. She was the daughter I always dreamed of having before I started my own family. She-" the Doctor explained with a slight grin on his face. I start to tremor in realization.

"She didn't need you like her mother did," I fumble over the words.

"Oh yes she did. She needed a father. Not a doctor. She needed me more than her mother needed me. I needed to step in and be your father, just like I'm doing now," he defends.

"I know my father didn't die before I was born. I saw it in your nightmares, and memories. I know that was the story my mother fabricated. He was the great Master who tried to take over the universe. He left my mother after he found out that I was a girl. He wanted a boy to be the heir of the universe, so that when he died there would be someone that made sure his vision would never die. I was his greatest disappointment," I spit. I show my arm to him and lean in close to his face. "Your archenemy's blood runs through my veins. How can you stand to look at me? How could you ever have wished I was your daughter? Why haven't you killed me before I hurt someone?" He brings his hand to my face, and pushes away the lingering tears.

"I see your mother when I look at you. That blood that runs through your veins is the blood of a leader, fighter, and survivor. You are nothing like your father, but you are everything that your mother and I raised you to be," the Doctor speaks holding my face in his hands.

"How can you love me?" I murmur. I search his eyes for deception, but find only truth.

"Because you are my only daughter left." I fall into his arms, bawling like a child. I let go all of the hatred I had of his protection of me. I let all my walls come crashing down, and cling onto his body. He slumps to the floor, taking me with him and holds my head against his warm chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I cry.

"For what? You have done nothing wrong, sweetheart," he points out.

"For leaving you alone for so long. I've betrayed your trust," I explain through the warm tears.

"You saved my life two hours ago. You could never betray my trust," he reassures. The Doctor plants a kiss on my head. I fall asleep while crying in his arms, and he carries me back to my room. I listen to his beautiful hum of the nursery rhyme as he lays me gently on my bed. The Doctor kisses me on my burning forehead, and bids me a goodnight before turning off the light.