And so we reach the end.
NB for the purposes of this fic, Torchwood is still up and running, no Children of Earth and what have you. I've done my utmost to keep everything in else in keeping with canon and I hope I've succeeded!
Apologies for the multiple Lord of the Rings style endings, but there were a fair few loose ends to tie up. I do hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Please do let me know what you thought.
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The Doctor and the Angels - chapter 14
Sarah Jane clutched at the Doctor's arm with both hands as the explosion rocked around them. The light forced its way under her eyelids and her ears rang with the sound. Time seemed to slow down and what seemed minutes - but was probably only a fraction of a second - after the Doctor had shouted 'now,' the floor gave way beneath her feet and her stomach lurched as she fell. They landed in a heap on the floor below, she in the Doctor's lap. She blinked open her eyes, dots dancing in front of her vision and turned to look at the others. Liz and the Brigadier had landed in a heap of tangled limbs and Harry was sprawled on his back several feet away. Shaking her head, she twisted to look back over her shoulder, noticing as she did so that the Doctor's grip on her had loosened; and no wonder, because he was out cold, the sonic screwdriver still clasped in his hand.
"Doctor? Doctor!" she said urgently, "Harry, help!"
Harry rolled slowly onto his side and eased himself up, testing carefully as he did for signs of breaks or sprains. His whole body hurt from the fall and he couldn't be sure the aches weren't masking anything more serious. Satisfied he was still in one piece, he pulled himself quickly to his feet and hurried over to where Sarah was bending over the Doctor's prone form, gesturing for her to move out of his way. She complied, moving round to sit at the Doctor's shoulder, cradling his head in her lap while Harry bent his head to the Timelord's chest.
After several moments, during which the Brigadier had hauled himself up and started to scout round the corridor they found themselves in, Harry shook his head.
"No heart - hearts - beat," he said sadly, looking up to catch Sarah's eye. She shook her head vehemently.
"No. He's not dead. It'll his respiratory bypass. It has to be!"
"Respiratory bypass? What on - " Harry asked, his face incredulous, "No, Sarah, I'm telling you, you're wrong, you're-"
"A very clever girl," the deep voice finished for him. Liz, who'd been looking on anxiously, sighed in relief and Sarah let out a squeal of delight as the Doctor opened his eyes and looked up at her. Unable to contain her delight, she pressed a quick kiss to his forehead and he reached up, patting her awkwardly on the arm.
"When you've all finished," the Brigadier remarked dryly, "we could do with finding a way out of here. I've no idea if those Angels can climb down through that hole, but I've no desire to find out."
"Ah, but there's no need to worry," the Doctor told him with one of his signature Cheshire cat grins. "You see, I've fixed it. I've fixed them all. I am rather clever, you know"
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Upstairs, the other incarnation of the Doctor fiddled with the monitor, pulling out his own sonic screwdriver and forcing it back into action. It was terribly difficult to see the image on screen, given the blinding light created by his other self, but the effect was clear; the sonic screwdriver had blasted the remaining pieces or mirror into smithereens, burying them in the walls and floor, and the light from the overhead fluorescents, arterially amplified, reflected the against the mirrors, casting reflections in all directions.
"It's like a hall of mirrors," gaped Martha.
"Impressed?"
"Yes, actually."
"Not as much I was that it actually worked." the Doctor said sheepishly, and the two of them began to laugh.
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UNIT HQ, 1976
The Doctor eyed David across the Brigadier's office and reached out to clap the young man on the shoulder.
"Can you take him back, Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked, eyebrows raised.
"Yes." The Doctor answered shortly. "You'd do better to stay here. My research shows they appear to have a particular liking for repeat victims."
David looked crestfallen.
"How can I stay here? I've nowhere to live, no job…"
The Brigadier tapped the desk.
"UNIT can help you David. We can produce documentation, assist you with accommodation."
"And," the Doctor added cheerfully, "I've a friend who may be able to help you with a job. Come along now, there's a good chap, don't look so miserable."
The Doctor left the office, his arm round David, Sarah Jane on their heels. The Brigadier was left alone with Liz who turned to him, eyebrows raised.
"Alls well that ends well, then." she offered.
"Yes. So you decided against the twenty first century job then?"
Liz smiled and glanced down at her feet.
"Yes," she agreed, "there were lots of things on offer, but there were more important things keeping me here."
The Brigadier smiled back.
"I'm glad of it."
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Cardiff, 2012.
Martha stepped through the heavy rolling door into the Torchwood hub and smiled at the young man who'd handed her a coffee almost the second she'd appeared.
"Thanks, Ianto."
He nodded politely and left her to it.
Jack emerged from his office and threw her a megawatt grin.
"Martha Jones! Come to check up on us?"
Martha chuckled.
"Just come to see how the storage operation's going."
Jack turned and motioned for her to follow him down to the cells in the basement. At the foot of the stairs a dark haired woman was filling out notes on a clipboard.
"Hi Gwen,"
"Hi Martha. Jack, there's two hundred and four of the bloody things down here now, are there many more to come?"
"One more load. We've got space, right?"
"I suppose so. They don't need much room each, but we wont' be able to hold anything else until they're properly arranged."
Jack nodded and gestured the past the cells. There were several steps down at the end of the dark hallway and Martha moved over to the top, peering down into a large cellar space. Lined up row upon row, each with its mirror necklace, the Angels looked no less threatening than they had before. More mirrors had been arranged on the walls, ceilings and stacked around the floor, covering any chance of an angel losing its necklace. The whole place was a mass of reflections.
Martha was impressed.
"Very good."
Jack grinned.
"Well, you know me. I aim to please."
Martha waited until Gwen had disappeared back upstairs before nudging Jack's arm.
"You were at Wester Drumlins."
"Yep."
"Where'd it send you back to?"
"1952"
"Where did you spend the last forty years this time?"
"Vegas."
Martha let out a short laugh.
"Figures."
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Coal Hill School, London, 1976
David straightened his new suit jacket and looked up at the school entrance. It was the day before term started and the place was eerily quiet; he tightened his grip on his briefcase and tried to stand taller, attempting to look more confident than he felt. The door opened and a man came down the steps towards him, holding out hand for him to shake. He was perhaps in his late forties, his hair peppered with grey. The headmaster, presumably.
"Mr Chesterton?"
"Ian," the older man confirmed.
"Ian. Thank you for the opportunity -" David began, but Ian waved his gratitude away.
"No need of that, any friend of the Doctor's is a friend of mine. Happy to help."
David relaxed, just a little. At least this man might understand.
"I must say, I feel quite out of place." he admitted.
Ian laughed.
"Out of place and out of time, I expect." he leaned in to speak in a confidential tone, "I'd lost two years when I got back. At least you have the advantage."
David stopped and gaped at Ian's retreating back. The older man glanced back over his shoulder.
"Well, come along in, then. I'll show you the science classroom. But first you must meet my wife."
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Sarah Jane followed the Doctor into the TARDIS and leaned against the console, watching him as he tinkered with the controls.
"So… your future self got us out a couple of tricky situations there." she remarked, sending him a cheeky grin as he looked up to catch her eye.
"Nonsense. I was perfectly in control the whole time."
"Hmm. Do you think he's better looking than you?"
The Doctor looked perfectly outraged and Sarah laughed out loud. She glanced down thoughtfully and then back up at the Doctor who was watching her a little too closely.
"Do you think we're still friends? That version of you and I?"
The Doctor sent her a warm smile.
"I'm sure we are, Sarah."
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The Delirium Archive, the distant future.
"That which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel."
River looked confused.
"What does that mean? An image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel?"
The Doctor stared at her with sudden realisation. At the faint shout from the viewing room he leapt to his feet.
"Amy!"
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It was hours later; Amy was fast asleep, exhausted after her ordeal. The TARDIS was floating quietly in the vortex and the Doctor himself had laid down for a much needed rest. He was thinking about River, and attempting to mentally sort through his hopelessly tangled personal timeline. Being close to people always made it more complicated. And River especially threw him for a loop. He was not used to others having the upper hand; he thought back to her face as they'd looked through the book together.
The book!
The Doctor sat up abruptly and ran the words from the book back over in his mind.
"That which holds the image of an Angel becomes itself an Angel."
The image of an Angel… did a mirror image count? How many hundreds of those had they created?
Swiftly, he moved back into the console room and picked up the newest transmitting device he'd installed.
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Thousands of years earlier, and untold light years away, in an attic in Ealing, the phone began to ring.
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