Title: Beauty, the Beast

Rating: T

Warnings: Violence and adult themes; mild swearing; complete nerdy-ness

A/N: LAST CHAPTER GUYS! Going to miss this one. But at least this time I didn't make you wait so long for the update! I told you I had this one almost finished :D

Thank you all for your amazing reviews/support! I love you guys so much and appreciate all of the reviews/alerts/favorites adds!

Special thanks goes to KMW1968 for all of her suggestions/comments/critiques and immense help on this story! I honestly doubt it would be half this good without her ideas and suggestions. And there probably wouldn't be a sequel in the works either.

And also a huge thanks to my dear friend Laura (SlasherrGirl) without whom this actual fic wouldn't exist because she's the reason I ever watched Doctor Who in the first place and yelled at me via PM whenever she wanted an update. Thanks :D

Now, ahem, drum roll please…

*da dada da!*

The reason for Reid's headaches is revealed!

(Also, remember, there is both a sequel in the making and a prequel as well - I want to tell the entire story about Reid's headaches and that's what the prequel will be for. The sequel will come first, however)

Also, some other stuff. LOL. Enjoy and PLEASE REVIEW!

Beauty, the Beast

Chapter Fourteen

"But that's impossible!" the Doctor frowned and the team, plus the two Marthas and Mickey, watched in apprehension as the Doctor stared at Reid with incredulous eyes. "You've traveled in time before…"

Reid blinked, frowning. Honestly, he'd have a better time focusing on what the Doctor was saying if his head didn't hurt this much. It was going to drive him crazy. "What are you talking about?"

"That's what the extra energy on you was… There's a block on your mind holding back the memories. You've traveled in time before, but how? You've only been on the TARDIS once, but somehow, somewhere, you've traveled in time. I suspected that someone put a psychic block on your mind, but they've done more than that, they put a great deal of energy into making sure you don't remember what happened."

Martha, the "past" Martha, frowned at the Doctor, "But how's that possible?" she asked, "How can he have time traveled before?"

"Oh, there are plenty of possibilities," the Doctor said, staring at Reid as he grimaced, still holding his head as he stumbled back and sat down. "None of them particularly good, but what I'm more interested in is why someone would go to the trouble of erasing those memories…" he spun around to face "future" Martha suddenly, who jumped at bit at the calculating gaze.

"What do you know? Do you know who did this to him? And why?"

She bit her lip and shook her head, "You told me not to tell you, Doctor, I'm sorry. You said it was imperative that I told you as little as possible."

The Doctor scowled, "Of course I did,"

"Forget about that," JJ spoke up suddenly, "Can you fix him? Is he going to be okay?"

The Doctor turned back to Reid and took a deep breath, "I can try. I can't guarantee anything, you understand, but I may be able to remove the block… Whoever did this clearly underestimated the power of Spencer's mind. He's been subconsciously trying to unlock the memories since they were shut out, that's what's causing the headaches."

He took a step forward and Reid winced as he gently removed the young man's hands from his temples and replaced them with his own. "Just close your eyes, Spencer, relax. Try not to think about the pain, alright?"

Reid nodded mutely and closed his eyes as the Doctor closed his own and everyone on the TARDIS fell silent, watching apprehensively. "Past" Martha jerked suddenly when she felt a hand grip her own and turned to see JJ standing there, blue eyes wide and worried as she watched the two men.

It seemed like a lifetime, but it really couldn't have been more than a minute, before Reid gasped and blinked a few times.

"It's alright," the Doctor whispered, "Just old memories. I'm trying to locate the block. Just relax."

Reid closed his eyes again, but only for a few seconds before both he and the Doctor seemed to freeze, eyes shooting open.

"What wa-" before the Doctor could finish the sentence, Reid had grabbed his wrists and flung him backwards, hazel eyes round and wide as he shook slightly, tremors running through his entire body as he doubled over for a moment.

"Doctor!" Martha let go of JJ's hand and rushed towards him as he stumbled and righted himself.

"I'm fine," he assured her, frowning at Reid.

"Spencer, I need to undo the block, you –"

Reid shook his head rapidly, "No, you did, it's gone, I can… I can remember…" he swallowed roughly and shut his eyes again, biting his lip.

The Doctor narrowed his own eyes, "Then let me see, Spencer, we need to figure out what happened, why someone blocked the memories. Do you remember who did that to you?"

Reid took a deep breath and nodded slowly, "I do. But I can't tell you, Doctor," he said quietly, fighting back a grimace as an insane grin flashed through his mind and a shiver ran down his spine. "Future" Martha walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing gently.

"What? Why can't you tell me?"

"Because you told me not to," Reid whispered quietly.

Memories were flashing by so quickly across his mind that he never believed he'd possessed. Impossible memories, going backwards in his mind like an old tape on rewind.

"Spencer, I need you to listen to me, please!" the Doctor was clutching him by his shoulders, green eyes wide and vaguely desperate. "Very soon, I'm not exactly sure when, but very soon someone is going to try to erase all of this. It's my fault, I think… I ended up too early in your timestream. Before you meet me. But you need to listen,"

Reid didn't even know how he was certain that the man was the Doctor. He looked nothing like the Doctor he'd met a few days ago with Martha. This Doctor looked younger and was wearing a bowtie. Why was he wearing a bowtie?

"But I'll fix it, I swear to you, I will. Not with this face, I remember that bit, but I can't tell you anything. Just promise me that the second you start to remember you push me away. Do not let me see your memories. I can't know what's coming in my future and you know too much!"

Spencer swallowed roughly, shaking. He hardly knew this man who claimed to know him extremely well. Too well, in fact. How was that even possible? "Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"No, no, Spencer, I'm sorry, you've just got to trust me," The Doctor pulled Reid to him, closing his eyes as he gripped his shoulders tightly, pressing his forehead to his. "Please. Just do this for me. It's important. No matter how much I beg, no matter what I do, do not let me know what happens."

"Doctor –"

The Doctor leaned up and pressed a kiss to the young man's forehead, "Please," he said softly, his voice so quiet he could hardly hear him. "Please, Spencer, do this for me."

Reid nodded shakily, "O-okay," he said, still confused. Still absolutely lost. But he'd do it. Because the Doctor asked him to.

"What? I told you not to? How –"

Reid took a deep breath and shook his head, "You made me promise, Doctor, I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

For a moment, everyone was quiet and the Doctor slowly let out a breath. "You've met me before,"

"Future" Martha nodded, "A future version of you, Doctor. And you made him promise not to tell you anything about you or what had happened."

"Of course I did, of course. Foreknowledge is dangerous, tricky. Messy. Can't have me knowing my own future, can we?"

Reid pressed his lips together, headache still fading away with rapid progress as the memories flowed in and out and he began to wonder how he'd ever forgotten any of it. It all seemed so fantastic, so unbelievably wonderful and terrifying. Something that should have been etched into his memory forever.

"This is going to be dangerous, Spencer, you remember – Well, no, of course you don't. Keep forgetting you haven't met me yet."

"I'm still confused. How can you know me and I don't know you?"

"I meet you later, in your future. I got here too early, can't go back and change that now, crossing my own timestream is tricky business, don't want to destroy the entire universe now do I?" there was an odd smile on the Doctor's face as he said those words, but his eyes were distant and worried.

"I'll do whatever I can to help you, but… I'm still not convinced this isn't some hallucination," Reid insisted, looking around the TARDIS with curious yet suspicious eyes.

The Doctor sighed heavily, "Of course. No offense Spencer, but I liked you much better when you trusted me."

"Well you can't really blame that on me, can you? I hardly know you!"

He looked sad then, "I know. That's what's unfair. If I'd landed in the correct time, this wouldn't even be happening. You're much more helpful when you know what you're doing, by the way."

For some reason that memory made Reid want to laugh. It was obviously a difficult thing for the Doctor, but Reid knew him better now – not as well as he apparently would eventually though. Having the knowledge that he did made it all seem just a tiny bit hilarious.

The Doctor standing in front of him now was giving him an odd look, clearly wanting the answer to the question, but knowing how dangerous having the answer would be.

"I'm sorry," Reid said quietly, meeting his eyes. "But you made me promise not to tell you what happens." He paused and took a deep breath, "But… I will tell you this. One day you're going to meet me and I won't know you. Take me with you anyway."

The Doctor blinked, frowning. "Why?"

Reid shook his head, "That's all I can tell you without risking too much. Just please, take me with you. And don't blame yourself for what happens because it's not your fault and you fix it anyway."

The Doctor's eyes narrowed and he glanced over at "future" Martha and Mickey. Martha looked anxious, biting her lower lip. She hoped he'd accept that they couldn't tell him anything more and let it go. Of course, knowing the Doctor he probably wouldn't really let it go, but he'd at least not actively try to find the answer.

"Alright, alright," the Doctor repeated, though his voice said that it most certainly was not alright. "Well then, solved the case. Stopped the problem…" his voice hitched there, clearly still upset about how "the problem" had been stopped. Despite all her flaws and the lives she'd take, the Doctor hated that she'd had to die.

"Fixed Dr. Reid and everything fine and dandy again, isn't it? So, time for Mr. and Mrs. Smith to go back home, you BAU agents to get back to your jobs and Martha and I will get back to our travel schedule. Still got a whole universe out there to see…"

The Doctor turned his back on everyone, focusing on the TARDIS controls, pressing his lips together tightly. Slowly, the BAU said goodbye and left the ship. Garcia was the last to leave, casting one last, aweing look around the magnificent space and slipping out behind JJ. Only Reid, "past" Martha, "future" Martha and Mickey remained.

"Future" Martha stepped forward, "Doctor," she said quietly, "I know you can't take us home, the TARDIS already doesn't like just having both of us on board, but…" her eyes darted to her past-self and she looked sad. She knew what was coming and wished there were some other way to prepare herself for that.

"I just wanted to say that… I had the time of my life with you, running across the universe, saving people and planets and fighting alien monsters. Really. And no matter what happens, please don't forget that. I wouldn't take it back for anything."

The Doctor blinked and slowly looked up at her, giving her a curt nod. She sighed. That was all she was going to get for now, she knew. She wanted to say that she'd see him again, but figured that was something best left unsaid. She glanced to Mickey and took his hand, smiling at her husband.

"Goodbye, Doctor," she said quietly, "Spencer… I'll see you later."

And then they were gone too. Martha could hear the voices of the FBI agents outside still, probably waiting for Reid, mingling with her own voice and Mickey's. She was bursting with questions she wanted to ask her future-self. Who was Mickey to her? How had they met? When would she see Spencer again? Why had she ever left the Doctor in the first place? Her feet itched to run out that door after herself and ask all those questions and more, but she didn't. She knew enough to know how badly that could end, how dangerous that was.

The TARDIS was silent for a moment and the Doctor finally frowned, getting tired of pretending to fiddle with the console.

"Aren't you going to go?" he demanded.

Reid took a breath and shook his head, "Not yet. I want to say something…" he trailed off and glanced to Martha. He didn't know exactly what happened or why she left, but from what he remembered of the other Martha, he knew it was bad.

"You probably won't understand what I'm talking about for a long time, but… Despite what you think, you don't need to be sorry. Not for giving people something they could only dream about with you. I know you think you put people in danger, but they choose to go with you because it's worth that risk. You're worth the monsters."

Martha smiled, nodding and putting a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. For once he didn't tug away from her touch. "I couldn't have said it better myself," she said, grinning brightly. "No matter what nightmare we run through, it's always worth it to be with you."

The Doctor looked between Martha and Spencer's faces and sighed, "You two are amazing," he said, "Blind and possibly more naïve than you think, but still, brilliant and amazing." He smiled, finally, and Martha moved her hand from his shoulder. Spencer stood to leave, picking up his discarded jacket and looking around the TARDIS sadly. He knew he would miss this.

Martha smiled and nudged the Doctor gently, "Doctor," she said, watching Reid, "Don't you think Spencer deserves a trip? Just one at least?"

Reid blinked, surprised at Martha's offer. The Doctor hesitated and glanced at the young agent's face. He smiled again, "Absolutely. What d'ya say, Spencer? Fancy a trip?"

Reid grinned, shaking his head, "As long as you can get me home before the team starts a search party,"

The Doctor laughed then, nodding and pushing buttons and levers, "Oh, I'm sure I can manage that. Now, just a quick stop in Cardiff to fuel up and we'll be on our way… Somewhere safe this time, hmm?"

He was in his element again, much happier and more excited than he'd been just minutes ago. A wide grin spread across his face and his eyes shone and Martha and Reid got the distinct impression that he was showing off as he pressed the button and glanced at them excitedly, the TARDIS engines whirring to life once more.

~/.\~

Martha shut the TARDIS doors behind her and closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if this would be the last time she would see the Doctor. She knew her past-self still had many more adventures on the way – she wasn't even married yet. But what about her? Every time she saw him she wondered if it would be the last time. Maybe this was it. She didn't know. And she found an odd sort of comfort in not knowing. Knowing what was coming didn't really make anything easier, after all.

"Where's Reid?" JJ frowned as they stepped away from the wonderful, impossible blue box.

"Not coming," Martha said quietly, glancing over at Mickey, "The Doctor's taking him on a trip."

"Is he coming back?" Prentiss frowned incredulously, glancing back at the TARDIS where it sat in the middle of the now nearly destroyed spaceship. They were all avoiding even standing near the body of the alien. UNIT couldn't arrive too soon in their opinion.

"Yeah, I think so," Martha nodded, "That I'm not too clear on, but he wasn't with Donna and the Doctor when I called him to help UNIT on the ATMOS disaster so I'm pretty sure he does end up back here. Don't think he could stay away for too long, really."

"ATMOS?" Hotch frowned, "The Atmospheric Omission System that was in all those vehicles a few years ago?"

"Yeah," Martha nodded, "The one that almost wiped out most of the Earth."

Morgan frowned, "The Doctor was part of that?"

"Of course," Mickey answered, "When there's something freaky goin' on, good bet the Doctor'll be there to fix it."

"He used to work with UNIT," Martha explained, "Back in the 1970s… I think. He wasn't just there when the Sycorax threatened or when the Cybermen attacked… He's always there. Whenever we need him. Defending us."

"The seventies?" Garcia said, "How… there's no way he was old enough to work for UNIT in the seventies!"

"He's older than you think," Martha said, "The Doctor you just met is about… 903?" she glanced over at Mickey, her brows furrowed.

"Don't look at me," he said, "You know him better than I do."

She smiled, shaking her head, "But last time I saw him he was 1103. He's getting up there in age."

"So he was telling the truth?" JJ asked, "What he said earlier about having lived so long and seen all those things… That was true?"

"'Course it was," Martha smiled, "Even the Doctor couldn't make that up."

Behind Martha and Mickey the TARDIS began to fade, the engines whirring as she blinked in and out of focus for a few seconds and then vanished completely. Martha turned to watch her go, a sad sort of smile on her face as she gripped Mickey's hand. She really did miss those days, travelling with the Doctor…

"Is Reid going to be okay?" Garcia asked, "With the Doctor, I mean? From everything I've seen he's not the safest person to travel with…"

Martha eyed the technical analyst and sighed, "He'll be okay," she said, "I mean… what's about to happen to them isn't going to be good, not at all, but he'll make it and so will the Doctor and everyone else."

She laughed a slightly bitter laugh, "You guys won't even remember it happened… Er, well, you don't remember it happened, I should say."

"What do you mean?" Hotch frowned.

"I meet you… Again, before… Time travel makes everything more complicated. And…" her eyes were sad, "And I really wish there had been more I could do, but I couldn't and even though you don't remember it, I am sorry. But don't worry about Spencer. He's with the Doctor, which is exactly where he needs to be. It how things have to happen… And if there's one person in this world that I would trust to get me out of a dangerous situation, it's the Doctor. He's never let me down before."

The team were all quiet for a moment, unsure of what to say.

It took UNIT almost two hours to arrive and Martha and Mickey explained what had happened quietly. The BAU was still there, waiting to see if they would need to answer any questions. The UNIT agents were brisk and professional and abrupt and they got the body cleared off the ship in less than half an hour. It would take longer to get the ship out of the warehouse without anyone noticing, but as far as the BAU were concerned the case was over and in UNIT hands now.

Martha and Mickey said their goodbyes and left, saying that they had somewhere else they needed to be. As the BAU was leaving, Morgan hesitated and stopped, frowning back at the spot where the TARDIS had been sitting not so long ago. The rest of the team was outside waiting for him but he caught one of the UNIT employees and tugged him to the side.

"Can I ask you a question?"

The man was young, probably hadn't been working in UNIT too long. He nodded slowly, "Yes, sir?"

"Do you know who the Doctor is?"

The man's face broke out into a grin and he nodded, "Of course, sir. He's a legend. A lot of aren't sure he really exists, but I know he does. I'll meet him one day, if I'm lucky."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because…" he hesitated, "He's the greatest man to ever live and no one knows his name, sir. The things he's done to help this planet… And he never even asks for a thank-you."

Morgan nodded slowly, chewing his lip thoughtfully. "Thank you," he said quietly, turning and leaving. He glanced up at the sky, pitch black and scattered with stars and he sighed.

"Wherever you are, Pretty Boy, at least you're with a good man…"

THE END

(Don't miss the sequel, "Armageddon", coming this June!)

Please don't forget to review!

Thank you all for reading this, I hope you enjoyed!

~criminalxxxmindsxxxfreak~