August 2013

Kate turned the huge iron wheel with her whole self and drew upon strength that someone of her slight frame shouldn't have been capable of. The desperate need to save her city and the people in it spurred her on. How did UNIT exist in the 21st Century and still had crucial pieces of machinery that were only manually operated? McGillop appeared in front of her, concern etched on his features and a sense of urgency in his voice.

"Come on Ma'am, you shouldn't be doing this." He wanted to reach out to her, pull her back and physically stop her from continuing with something which he thought was, frankly, insane.

"It's the only way. Get everyone to safety McGillop, that's an order." Kate went back to the task at hand, as though McGillop wasn't even standing there.

"What about you? We're not leaving you here, you'll be killed." Kate had ordered everyone on the periphery of The Thames to get as far away from the river as they could and for Central London itself to be evacuated. A great number of people had already left but there were always going to be those that refused or who were unable to leave.

"Well that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make, it's my job." She was as stubborn as her father and hadn't mellowed at all over the years.

"Not to that extent! Osgood's working on diffusing the rift as we speak, she thinks it could work." At the mention of Osgood, Kate felt momentarily guilty. If this was to be the last thing she ever did, she'd never get the chance to tell the younger woman all the things she should have done.

"I need guarantees; I can't risk so many lives on a slim chance." It wasn't that she doubted Osgood's abilities but it had been only short amount of time between realising that both the rift in London and the one in Cardiff were pulling against each other, causing localised but dramatic weather systems. London had been battered by hurricanes and wild storms, testing even the Thames Barrier to its limits. Flood defences aside from the barrier had been breached and residential areas close to the banks of the Thames flooded out within days of the first storms hitting. It had shown no signs of abating and even the most sophisticated of meteorological equipment couldn't make sense of what had been causing the chaos. UNIT knew better, had declared a state of emergency and ordered the mass evacuation of London with the Queen and Prime Minister's authority. If even the most experienced meteorologists couldn't understand what was going on, then how could Osgood hope to come up with a solution? "Tell Osgood… tell her…" Kate shook her head, unable to say anything further.

"Ma'am… don't you think you ought to tell her yourself? And shouldn't you have done so a long time ago?" McGillop certainly had nothing to lose by speaking to his boss frankly in the current circumstances. Kate looked at him sharply then. She supposed it shouldn't have been that much of a surprise to discover that someone knew about them; whether he had been told or had worked it out for himself it didn't really matter, especially not now.

"Just tell her that I'm sorry." It had come out in an almost whisper, the gravity of the situation weighed heavily in her heart. "Now go, let me finish this alone and get yourself to safety." McGillop gave her a curt nod, there was obviously no convincing her otherwise and he'd be much more useful helping Osgood in her endeavour. He turned away from his boss, unable to actually say goodbye and leave it there. Kate pulled on the wheel once again, ever so gradually bringing up long-forgotten steel walls that had been buried deep into the banks of the Thames. The walls were several miles in length, solid and thick and tall. Enough to virtually seal the river off from the land and allow any flood water to seep back out into the sea. It was a massive undertaking, a heavy and lengthy process which would preserve the city and the people still within it. The trouble was that The Tower was the weak spot, the last part of the wall to get fixed into place so Kate might be successful but not before getting caught up in the tide herself. The chances of her surviving were slim to none.

Osgood kept working on her theory; numbers randomly jumped in front of her eyes and she dismissed some and took an interest in others, adapted her equipment to take into account different factors and new information. It was taking shape, becoming more sophisticated with every passing moment. She'd tracked both the Cardiff and London rifts for a while now and had gathered enough information on them to try to counteract the pull. She had to stop herself from getting too emotionally caught up in the moment and keep working as diligently as she could. She knew what Kate was trying to do and was torn between being angry at her and admiring her bravery. All she could do now was hope that her plan worked and that in turn she'd be able save Kate. It had to, there was still so much left unsaid between them. Time was running out fast, the tides of the Thames rose ever higher with each passing second and although those humongous steel barriers were pushing their way up from the river bed, and forcing the current back down into the sea, it wasn't happening quick enough. Storms were still raging above them and the sky crackled and fizzed with the electric atmosphere.

Osgood had returned to London and resumed working for UNIT at the Tower of London in January. She and Kate had made their peace in a roundabout way but there was something missing from their interactions; warmth and a genuine feeling of friendship that had been obvious to anyone that knew them in the past. They still worked well together and achieved great results, but they didn't bounce off each other with that same sort of energy and humour that they had had before. Osgood had brought dozens of ideas and experiments back with her from Cardiff and it suited Kate to allow her to work on them as much as she liked. They largely stayed out of each other's way unless absolutely necessary.

Sarah Jane, Maria and McGillop had all tried to intervene but with no success. Kate was stubborn; she had completely drawn up her barriers and was beyond the ability to listen to reason. Osgood had been willing to listen to any advice and talked openly enough about how she felt about the situation, but she didn't have the confidence or the heart to try and win Kate round. She just thought she'd end up getting more hurt than she already was and whatever tenuous relationship they had was better than none at all. All in all, the atmosphere at UNIT, particularly around the labs, wasn't the best it had been in quite some time.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion; Osgood's device was as ready as it was going to be so she pointed it into the rift, pressed the button and released a steady, powerful beam of energy right into its centre. The loudest thunderclap any human being had ever witnessed crashed and reverberated across the city sky, right out into the far reaches of the surrounding suburbs. Lightening struck from within the rift and the entire thing began to close in on itself.

The last of the steel barriers were just slotting into place as the rift grew more unstable. The electrical storm raged on, the rift was angry and spat out purple-blue streaks of energy for several minutes until it stopped. All of a sudden; one minute the rift was there punishing the citizens of London for goodness knows what and then the next it had vanished. Bright, clear blue skies dominated the skyline, the like of which hadn't been seen since the rift's arrival a couple of years before. It was like someone had switched on a halogen light bulb in a pitch black room.

The lines of communication crackled into life now that there was no interference. Everyone was calling for Greyhound One, needing some sort of leadership after the event. Osgood had been temporarily placed in charge during Kate's absence and she had been unable to contact her, either by personal or UNIT mobile. The radio had been no good in the deepest caverns of The Tower anyway. Someone hailed Greyhound One over the radio once again and McGillop nudged Osgood.

"Answer it, take control of the situation. Kate put you in charge; she would have wanted you to do this." Osgood looked at him sharply.

"You're talking about her as if she's dead!" McGillop's eyes bored into hers.

"You're going to have to face facts that she might be. The chances of her surviving that last battering before the barriers were fully installed are massively against her." Osgood swallowed down her own fears, she'd have to deal with her emotions later. Right now London needed a leader and if Kate was dead, then she would honour her by carrying out her legacy.

"This is Greyhound Two to all units; Greyhound One MIA, presumed down. Search for survivors and civilians near the perimeters, there are likely to be many casualties. Brief the hospitals and set up a triage for the walking wounded and space for emergencies." Osgood looked to McGillop who nodded his approval of what she was doing. "Greyhound Two to Martha Jones."

"Martha here."

"Can you locate Ka… Greyhound One? Last known location in the dungeons underneath The Tower. Probably injured and maybe critical. If possible can you have emergency assistance with you as back up?" Martha must have understood how painful that had been for Osgood to issue those orders efficiently and without emotion. She felt honoured to have been thought highly enough of to be the one Osgood trusted to find the Head of Unit and treat her if found injured.

Martha had heeded Osgood's advice and had taken four UNIT soldiers along with her as well as a paramedic. The trouble was, she couldn't take too many emergency crew with her just for one person, despite that person being incredibly important. There were so many inhabitants of London that were in need of medical assistance, it would have been unfair to leave them without. She just hoped it was enough. The UNIT soldiers knew the dungeons well, had been trained to find their way through seemingly impossible spaces. They'd been briefed on what Kate had been doing and where the wheel to draw up the barriers was located; it was just a question of getting there.

They waded in knee-deep water and it was almost pitch black, the dungeons having suffered power damage during the storms. No wonder Kate was out of contact range down here, mobile signals were impossible. It was such a deep and forgotten part of the Tower, Martha was surprised about just how forgotten it was. It took the best part of forty minutes to find their way through the tunnels and to Kate's location.

Martha's medical training kicked in the moment she saw the intrepid UNIT leader laying on her side on the stone floor, half in the storm water. She crouched over her prone form and checked for a pulse; weak but steady. She was breathing, her chest moved up and down and Martha could feel the breath on her cheek as she bent forward to listen. She tried to rouse Kate by shaking her shoulders and calling her name but she didn't get a response. She checked for injuries and broken bones to find a possible cause of her unconsciousness. Kate's smart trouser suit was dirty and crumpled and she was lying next to rough stone walls and floor. She was several feet away from the huge iron wheel that Martha assumed belonged to the barriers now lining the Thames.

If Martha's assumptions were correct, Kate must have been thrown from behind the wheel, against the wall and down to the floor. She was lucky not to have landed further into the storm water and drowned. As it was, Martha suspected her injuries to be vast and covered up by her clothes. She felt around Kate's head for signs of blood or obvious bruising and couldn't detect anything, but in the dim light from their torches it wasn't clear to see. Eventually they got her out, slowly but surely, on a stretcher carried by two of the UNIT soldiers. They seemed more than pleased to assist and despite the difficult relationship between the Science division and the Military part of UNIT, they seemed to respect their boss and treated her with the utmost dignity.

Martha had been gone for nearly two hours and Osgood had done her best to keep occupied by steering the cleanup operation. She organised teams of military personnel to scour the city for survivors and set the various research teams to work analysing her device and their equipment to work out what had just happened. She'd phoned Gordon, who had been with Maria's team at the Torchwood hub during the incident, and had that difficult conversation with him about his mum being missing and the uncertainty of her condition. He was on his way back to London with Maria in tow and Osgood promised to update him when she had news. Osgood's radio crackled into life and Martha was calling for her attention.

"Greyhound Two here, what's your position? Over." Everything around Osgood seemed to stop, whatever Martha was about to tell her had the ability to change everything.

"Greyhound One retrieved. Unconscious but stable, for now. Taking her to Royal London for further assessment." The relief that came over the scientist was immense, she couldn't help but let out a sob over the radio. Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest and her body thrummed with nervous energy.

"Thank you Martha, thank you." It wasn't strictly radio protocol but Osgood had to let her Torchwood colleague know her gratitude.

"No problem, Martha out."

The hospital room was thankfully quiet, save for the intermittent beeping of the machine that kept a close eye on Kate's heart rate. The room was clean and sterile, as you would expect, but the soft blue blanket that had been placed over Kate's prone form broke the stark white colour of everything else. Kate's face was pale, only marred by several cuts and bruises up her arms and a couple across her face. There were more bruises all over her body but they were hidden underneath the layers of blankets. Between Martha and the doctors they had surmised that Kate must have definitely been thrown against the wall, hit her head on the way down and landed in the storm water.

Physically she appeared to have come through it relatively unscathed but she had yet to regain consciousness. They doctors weren't particularly worried at this point, considering the trauma she had been through and anticipated her waking up in her own time eventually. Osgood sat in an uncomfortable chair at her bedside and kept watch as she spoke to her gently, filling her in on everything she had missed.

"McGillop is holding fort back at HQ, only while I'm here with you. I hope I've made the right decisions and done the sort of things that you would have, had you been able to. It's weird, I didn't really think about it all that much at the time. You were down in the dungeons and people needed answers and direction, so I just did it. It's only now that I'm thinking about it I realised how scary that sort of responsibility is. I understand your decision, that trying to be a leader and have a private life, a relationship, is perhaps too difficult to handle. I still love you Kate, not that I've ever said it to you in so many words, but I respect your decision. I think I'll always love you but I just want us to be friends again, just like we used to be." Osgood reached out and ran the back of her hand gently over Kate's cheek. She leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the blonde's forehead. The door to the room opened slowly and Gordon popped his head through before he walked all the way in.

"Thanks for sitting with her for a bit. I really needed to go home, get changed and have something to eat."

"How is your house? Much damage?"

"Not too bad, garden's a bit soggy and there are a few trees in the street that have been either struck by lightning or had branches ripped off by the winds but other than that I think we were lucky."

"That's good to hear. Right, I should be off."

"You don't have to go just because of me; she'd want you to be here."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Of course she would! You're her girlfriend."

"No, not really."

"Oh, I thought…."

"Once upon a time. A lot's happened since then."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did she break it off?" Osgood didn't want to say but the look on her face must have given her away because Gordon continued. "Yeah, she has a habit of doing that. Look, I'll tell you one thing about my mum. I love her dearly but when she's scared about something she pushes it as far away from her as possible, especially when it comes to emotions. It's not really about getting hurt, she's probably more scared that she'd hurt you by not being good enough or there enough or some other inadequacy she can think of. She worries that she's too much like Granddad was, stubborn and inflexible. Okay, so that's actually true but the point I'm making is that she's not necessarily going to make the same mistakes that he did and she won't know unless she tries."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence but I think whatever there was between us is all water under the bridge now. At least for her anyway."

"Do you still love her?"

"Yes, of course I do."

"Then don't give up on her. That's all I ask." Osgood nodded and stood up anyway.

"I'm going for a breath of fresh air, a bit of a walk. I'll come back; I just need to think for a bit."

"Okay, just don't leave without saying goodbye."

Osgood arrived back at the door to Kate's hospital room and peered through the glass panel. Several medical personnel were standing around the bed checking the equipment and speaking to Gordon. He stood a little way from the bed and observed the people working around his mum. At first Osgood thought that something had happened while she'd been away, but she looked closer and saw that Kate was moving - she was coming round! Suddenly Gordon looked up at the door and he caught her eye. He grinned and nodded at her, sticking his thumbs up to further indicate it was good news. Osgood nodded back and then collapsed against the wall by the door in relief. She'd leave Gordon to it for the time being but she would keep her promise and stay around to say goodbye. Her eyes filled with tears and spilled unchecked down her face.

"Hi Mum, welcome back!" Gordon smiled down at his mum gently and held onto her hand. She was still a bit groggy from having been asleep for so long but she immediately recognised him.

"Gordy!" He squeezed her hand to reassure her. "Did it work?"

"London's safe. You managed to get the barrier up in time and Osgood's plan worked; the rift collapsed in on itself and then disappeared." Kate pressed her head back against the pillow and closed her eyes briefly in relief.

"Osgood?"

"You should be proud of her Mum. She took command when you disappeared and sorted everything out. She's just outside if you wanted to see her?" Kate shook her head and Gordon wondered what had happened between the two friends to have split them apart like this. "She's probably upset with me." Gordon smiled, ah so perhaps it wasn't that she didn't want to see her but that she didn't want to be told off?

"Well, I think it's safe to say that she's not pleased you decided that your life was worth sacrificing, me neither while we're on that point!" Kate looked suitably admonished but Gordon knew that she wouldn't have done anything different if she had to do it again.

"I'm sorry, it was the only way to save so many lives. I couldn't have lived with that on my conscience."

"I understand, really I do, but I could have lost my mum in the process!" Gordon leaned over to give his mother a hug and a few tears were shed. "Osgood told me that you're not seeing each other anymore?"

"We never really started anything to be honest."

"She loves you, you know?" Kate nodded.

"I think I'd worked that one out."

"And what about you? Do you love her?" Kate's lip trembled and she gave the smallest, most imperceptible of nods but Gordon caught it anyway. "Then surely after everything you've been through today you can't waste any more time? Put your fears to one side and go with your heart. I want you to be happy, you should be happy." Gordon stood up and went to move. "Look, I'm going to get her. It's only fair she gets a chance to see you now that you're awake." Gordon left the room and went to get Osgood. He looked down the corridor but couldn't see her and was disappointed that she'd left and not said anything. Then he spotted her squashed into a corner seat behind the vending machines. "I thought you'd gone!" The sound of his voice startled her for a moment.

"Sorry, I needed a cup of coffee. Not that it's done much good, this stuff is revolting!"

"I thought you might like to speak to Mum now that she's awake?"

"She probably won't want to see me, besides I shouldn't intrude on your time with her."

"I think you should see her and I wouldn't have suggested it if I minded."

"But does she want to see me?"

"Well, you're going to have to see each other eventually. Might as well be now."

Osgood approached Kate's bed nervously. When had it become this difficult to speak to her friend? Someone she'd known and been friends with for years before all of this had happened between them? Perhaps they'd both got too bogged down in thinking about all the risks instead of going with their hearts?

"Hello you." Kate greeted Osgood with a smile. "I hear you've been a rather good replacement in my absence?" Osgood blushed.

"Nowhere near as effective, I can assure you and I'm sadly lacking some of your authority and the personality to carry it off but I think it sufficed for a temporary arrangement." There was a pregnant pause and Osgood took the opportunity to take up the seat Gordon had just vacated. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Sore, although I'm on some pretty heavy duty painkillers at the moment so I imagine that I'm going to feel a whole lot worse when they stop dosing me up. I've also got some very attractive bruises! I must look a fright!"

"You're beautiful," It was out of Osgood's mouth before she could stop herself from saying it but she wasn't sorry. "...and brave and heroic. And you're also an idiot, a selfish idiot for thinking you're expendable!" Osgood couldn't help the rise in volume as her anger seeped through and Kate looked suitably admonished.

"I deserved that."

"And then some! Oh Kate, why? Why put yourself in danger like that? You knew I was working on something and even if I wasn't, we go down as a team."

"I couldn't guarantee your plan would even have been ready in time, let alone even worked. One life for the sake of the many makes more sense to me."

"Yes but not when it's your life. What about Gordon?" It was unspoken but Kate heard the 'what about me' anyway.

"I'm sorry but I can't promise you that I wouldn't do it again." There were a few moments of silence and Osgood felt disappointed when she realised that things were still going to be awkward between them, even after this.

"I'd better go, let you rest." Osgood would have stayed all night if she could but she was exhausted and in desperate need of food and a shower herself. She stood up with the intention of leaving but Kate caught her arm.

"No, don't go, not just yet and not like this." Osgood sat back down at Kate's request. "I feel like there's this distance between us and I hate it." Osgood added the 'well, you put it there' comment in her head but left it unspoken. Now wasn't the time for an argument. She allowed Kate time to gather her thoughts and have her say. "I could give you a list of reasons why I've been running away from this, from us, but you know me, know my history and probably worked it out anyway." Osgood nodded to let Kate know she was following her and that she was correct in her assumption. "I was wrong to push you away, even if we had decided not to pursue it, I should have told you how I felt instead of trying to ignore it." Kate looked right at Osgood then and held her gaze. "I love you. It frightens me and I don't know what to do about it." Osgood's emotions bubbled over and her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. Tears rolled down her cheek, happy tears full of relief. Kate didn't seem to be able to say any more, too choked up with emotion herself.

"Well, I'd say that was probably a good start! I love you too, anything else and well we can deal with it as it comes." Osgood reached out and laced her fingers through Kate's, a symbolic gesture that together they were stronger. "The world didn't end then?" Osgood's comment had a double meaning and Kate couldn't help but laugh, she'd missed the younger woman's corny jokes. They laughed until Kate very clearly became uncomfortable with the pain. "I really think I should go now, let you rest. Besides, Gordon's still outside and is probably wondering if we've killed each other yet."

"Okay. I'm really proud of everything you've done today you know." Osgood blushed and basked in the praise.

"I had a good teacher. Although, I wouldn't want to do it full time, or ever again while we're on that subject! It's made me see things from your point of view, given me a new appreciation for your responsibilities." Osgood thought if anything, it would only serve to make any future relationship they had work better.

"Thank you. I'll try not to let it happen again." Osgood stood and this time she leaned over the hospital bed and pressed a kiss to Kate's forehead. "Is that it?" Kate remarked when the younger woman had pulled away from her. "We declare our undying love for each other and you kiss my head?!" It was said in jest and Osgood chuckled. She then leaned in, met Kate halfway and they pressed their lips against each other. Kate hooked her hand around Osgood's neck and pulled her closer so she could deepen the kiss. It was slow and gentle but full of love and held a promise of things to come.

Epilogue 1 (Post Day of The Doctor)

Kate hadn't been lying when she said that she would consider sacrificing herself again for the greater good. Only a few months later and she had been prepared to detonate a nuclear warhead in the Black Archive underneath the Tower of London. This time she would have wiped out some of city she had saved to ensure the survival of the rest of the planet. However, this time she had McGillop and Osgood by her side. Osgood had tried to reason with her that there was another way but she had conceded due to the time restrictions. It had taken The Doctor's interference to make Kate see sense and negotiate a deal with the Zygons instead. Although, he'd given them the advantage of memory loss so no one had known which side they were on, ensuring a fair treaty for all.

Osgood had also finally had the chance to meet her hero. Kate was secretly pleased and felt absolved of any remaining guilt for when she had exiled her in Cardiff during the Year of the Slow Invasion and she'd missed him the first time. Osgood had even been given a tour of the TARDIS, resulting in an over-excited asthma attack in the middle of it! Kate was half waiting for the Doctor to offer the younger woman the opportunity to travel with him, but thankfully it didn't come. He seemed to have had enough on his plate with Clara who appeared to be more than a match for him.

Tommy was curled into a ball on a blanket at the end of the settee. He was dozing quite soundly and seemed fairly content in his new surroundings. Kate's house was bigger than Osgood's flat and he had constant access to the garden and a nearby park. Osgood hadn't moved in and neither of them had any intention of making that sort of a commitment at this stage, if ever. However, it had been getting quite ridiculous the amount of time Osgood had been spending at Kate's in the evenings after work, ultimately staying overnight and on occasional days off. Poor Tommy had been suffering without his human companion being around much, so Kate had suggested that he come to live with her and take advantage of the extra space. It meant that Osgood didn't feel quite so guilty and it was even more of an excuse for her to visit.

They'd navigated this shift in their relationship reasonably well so far and ensured that they communicated how they felt at each stage. They'd not openly declared anything to their colleagues but they'd also not bothered to try and hide it either. As he had prepared to leave after the trouble with the Zygons, The Doctor had nudged Kate with his elbow, winked at her and told her that he thought Osgood was a keeper. She'd smiled gratefully at him, appreciating his approval as a substitute for her father's. At the other end of the settee Osgood sat upright with her nose in a book and her legs up on the coffee table. Kate lay stretched out on the settee with her head in Osgood's lap and she alternated between reading and then tapping away on her Tablet. Osgood absentmindedly played with a strand of Kate's hair, which was rapidly growing out of her previously shorter style. Without warning, Kate rested the tablet on her lap and angled herself upwards to place a firm kiss on Osgood's lips. The younger woman grinned widely and looked down at her girlfriend.

"What was that for?" Kate shrugged her shoulders from their position against Osgood's thighs. She was comfortable and settled and warm.

"Just felt like it." Osgood nodded but then her grin turned into a wry smile as she realised that she couldn't take anything Kate said for no reason at face value.

"What do you want?" It was mildly accusatory but in a jovial way.

"What makes you think I want something?" But the tone of Kate's voice was telling; mock innocence and Kate had always been rubbish at lying when it came to her emotions.

"Uh, huh…?"

"Alright, you've got me. I'd love a cup of tea?" She nudged Osgood again for effect.

"Hey! What did your last slave die of?" It was said in jest and Kate chuckled.

"I'm sure I could find a way of suitably recompensing you…" Kate's fingers walked their way up Osgood's arm to the collar of her shirt and fiddled with the top button. The younger woman flushed instantly and cleared her suddenly dry throat with a little cough.

"You're such a tease!" Osgood moved herself off the settee and Kate sat up with her as she did so. The brunette leaned down and planted a solid kiss to Kate's lips.

"And yet you still love me?" Kate asked rhetorically as they separated. The younger woman paused then and took a moment to look at Kate seriously.

"Yes, yes I do."

An epilogue will follow this chapter in due course...